Florida Laws Affirm Unborn Children Have Legal Rights NEWS PROVIDED BY Liberty Counsel Feb 16, 2024 TALLAHASSEE, Fla., Feb 16, 2024 / Christian Newswire / -- Last week, after arguing at the Florida Supreme Court against a proposed deceptive and misleading abortion amendment, Liberty Counsel filed a supplemental authority with the Court regarding how Florida's laws affirm the legal rights of an "unborn child." During the oral argument on February 7, Chief Justice Carlos Muniz noted that Article I, Section 2 of the Florida Constitution protects the rights of a "natural person," and he asked if the ballot summary should apprise voters of how the proposed abortion amendment could impact this section if "natural person" also included the unborn. Many Florida laws recognize the legal rights of an "unborn child" or "unborn person," including, by way of example, the following: Criminal Statutes "Whoever commits ... a criminal offense ... and thereby causes the death of, or bodily injury to, an unborn child commits a separate offense ..." (Fla. Stat. 775.021(5)). "Vehicular homicide" is "the killing of a human being, or the killing of an unborn child by any injury to the mother, caused by the operation of a motor vehicle by another in a reckless manner..." (Fla. Stat. 782.071). "The unlawful killing of an unborn child, by any injury to the mother of such child which would be murder if it resulted in the death of such mother, shall be deemed murder in the same degree as that which would have been committed against the mother" (Fla. Stat. 782.09(1)). "The unlawful killing of an unborn child by any injury to the mother of such child which would be manslaughter if it resulted in the death of such mother shall be deemed manslaughter. A person who unlawfully kills an unborn child by any injury to the mother which would be manslaughter if it resulted in the mother's death commits manslaughter, a felony of the second degree" (Fla. Stat. 782.09(2)). "The death of the mother resulting from the same act or criminal episode that caused the death of the unborn child does not bar prosecution under this section" (Fla. Stat. 782.09(3)). "The clear and unambiguous language of the feticide statute provides that the killing of an unborn quick child may constitute murder." Wyche v. State, 232 So.3d 1117, 1120 (Fla. 1st DCA 2017). "Driving Under the Influence Manslaughter does not require the State to prove that the defendant knew or should have known that (victim) was pregnant or that the defendant intended to cause the death of the unborn child." In Re: Standard Jury Instructions in Criminal CasesReport No. 2016-08, 211 So.3d 995, 998 (Fla. 2017). Florida Trust and Estate Law "Unless otherwise represented, [an] unborn individual ... may be represented by and bound by another person having a substantially identical interest with respect to the particular question or dispute ..." (Fla. Stat. 736.0304). "If the court determines that representation of the interest would otherwise be inadequate, the court may, at any time, appoint a guardian ad litem to represent the interests of an incapacitated person, an unborn or unascertained person ..." (Fla. Stat. 731.303(4)). The Florida Guardianship Law also specifically protects unborn children (Fla. Stat. 744.3725). The Florida Habeus Corpus and Incarceration Law protects the health and welfare of unborn children whose mothers are incarcerated, requiring jails and prisons to provide health and care to the unborn child (Fla. Stat. Ann. 951.175(4)). The Florida Tort Law also protects the unborn, requiring auto insurers to pay damages, including wrongful death damages, to the unborn. The Florida Supreme Court will release its decision before April 1. If the Court rejects the amendment, it will not appear on Florida's 2024 ballot. Liberty Counsel Founder and Chairman Mat Staver said, "Florida law routinely recognizes that an 'unborn child' has the legally protected rights of a person. Yet, the Ballot Summary does not make voters aware of the existing rights of unborn children or the impact this proposed amendment will have on these preexisting rights. A Ballot Summary that fails to include critical information of how a proposed amendment will impact existing rights is deceptive and should not be permitted." Liberty Counsel provides broadcast quality TV interviews via Hi-Def Skype and LTN at no cost. SOURCE Liberty Counsel CONTACT: Mat Staver, 407-875-1776, Liberty@LC.org Share Tweet Aviation hub drives Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei coordinated development Xinhua) 09:40, February 16, 2024 BEIJING, Feb. 15 (Xinhua) -- The coordinated development of Beijing and its neighboring Tianjin Municipality and Hebei Province is now in full swing. Eyeing a global aviation hub, the Beijing Daxing International Airport is injecting new impetus into the region's development. Ahead of the Spring Festival holiday, the Langfang City Terminal of the Daxing airport saw a constant stream of passengers. Located some 39 km from the airport, the city terminal provides passengers with integrated boarding services ahead of time and with minimal fuss. Feng Liming, who lives in Langfang, checked in at the terminal in advance to take a flight with her husband at the Daxing airport. She completed check-in procedures in just a few minutes. "The waiting time for check-in is shorter here. It's very convenient for me to fly to other cities from Beijing," said Feng. Sitting at the junction of Beijing's southern Daxing District and Hebei's Langfang City, the Daxing airport was officially put into operation in September 2019, and has attracted the settlement of 54 domestic and foreign airlines as of September 2023. In 2023 alone, it handled over 290,000 inbound and outbound flights and more than 39.4 million passenger trips. It aims to handle 100 million passenger trips annually in the future. To date, the airport has put into service four inter-provincial urban terminals in Beijing's Fengtai and Hebei's Zhuozhou, Langfang and Gu'an to provide passengers with a "one-ticket" service for air and train travel, which has promoted the integration of transport in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region. The airport also sees busy goods and mail logistics. A fully loaded cargo plane from Tianjin Air Cargo Co., Ltd. took off from the Daxing airport for the Wuhu Xuanzhou Airport in east China's Anhui Province ahead of the Spring Festival. The cargo route operates six flights per week, mainly transporting daily chemical supplies, e-commerce goods, clothing, and fresh goods, among others. "The route has become the company's focus to serve the development of the air logistics industry in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region," said Qin Liansheng, vice president of marketing of Tianjin Air Cargo. Qin said that since the Daxing airport became operational, the air cargo industry has embraced new development opportunities. "We are constantly improving the layout of our cargo transport network to better serve the coordinated development of the region." According to the airport's long-term planning goal, its annual cargo throughput is expected to reach 4 million tonnes in the future. With a planned area of 150 square km in total, the Beijing Daxing International Airport Economic Zone is pioneering the coordinated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region. Industries ranging from international medical care and airport guarantee and support services to international convention and exhibition spaces, comprehensive-purpose bonded areas, as well as aviation logistics, are seeing vigorous development. Nearly 10,000 new enterprises, including Fortune Global 500 companies and international industry leaders, had settled there, and more than 30 major industrial projects had been completed and put into operation in the region by the end of 2023. "The coordinated development of the region has greatly promoted the exchange and coordination of capital, industries and talent. The location of the economic zone has a strong radiation effect and is conducive to integrating the superior resources of sci-tech, industries and talent of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei city cluster," said Guo Jiancheng, general manager of Saudi developer Dar Al Arkan's office in Beijing. "As a global developer, we have benefited a lot from the region's coordinated development." The economic zone has built an online public service platform to facilitate cross-border settlement for international trade enterprises in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, and has been delegated administrative examination and approval power of over 300 items to provide "one-stop" government services. (Web editor: Peng Yukai, Liu Ning) NATO has revealed its collaboration with Ukraine to establish a joint training center in Poland. The secretary general of NATO, Jens Stoltenberg, said during a press conference in Brussels on Thursday the establishment of a new center. This center will enable Ukraine to exchange valuable insights gained from Russia's war and facilitate the development of a framework for Ukrainian forces to train and collaborate with their allied counterparts. NATO, Ukraine Open Joint Training Stoltenberg stressed the importance of the new facility, which would be located in the northern region of Poland, particularly in the city of Bydgoszcz. With the purpose of facilitating the sharing of experiences obtained during the Russian-Ukrainian war, the center is created to provide a forum for Ukrainian military personnel to exchange vital ideas with one another. The primary objective of the joint training center is to allow Ukrainian forces to learn and train alongside their NATO counterparts. Stoltenberg highlighted the center's dual purpose, serving not only the interests of Ukraine but also contributing to the overall capabilities and cooperation of the NATO alliance. The move comes amid ongoing tensions and security concerns in the region, with Stoltenberg reaffirming NATO's commitment to supporting Ukraine. The establishment of the joint facility reflects a collaborative effort to enhance Ukraine's military capabilities and foster closer ties between Ukrainian and NATO forces. The location of Bydgoszcz in Poland contributes to the center's strategic importance, as it serves as a central point for training, analysis, and education. According to Ukrainian News, Stoltenberg's remark reaffirms NATO's and its member states' dedication to actively collaborating with Ukraine to solve security concerns and bolster the region's military capabilities, according to Ukrainian News. Read Also: Biden Signs Memo To Protect Palestinians in US From Deportation for Humanitarian Reasons Russia-Ukraine War This development follows recent statements by Latvian Defense Minister Andris Spruds, advocating for a firm approach in NATO's dialogue with Russia, which has been perceived as an aggressor country. Stoltenberg, in a separate statement on February 14, hailed the destruction of the Russian ship Tsezar Kunikov as a notable achievement. Earlier in February, Stoltenberg expressed concerns about the potential spread of Russian aggression to other countries if Ukraine were to succumb to Russian influence. The joint training center is seen as a proactive measure to strengthen Ukraine's resilience and readiness against external threats. This year, Ukraine's parliament clarified the relevance of enhancing its connection with NATO as a top priority for the country this year. It underscores the need of working together and fostering a strong partnership with the alliance. In 2020, Ukraine's recognition of Ukraine as NATO's Enhanced Opportunities Partner in 2020 strengthens the collaboration between Ukraine and the alliance, ensuring ongoing support and strategic initiatives, China Daily reported. Related Article: NATO Chief Issues Stark Warning on Global Peace Amid Rising Russian Threats Two people involved in the violent assault on two police officers in Times Square have been identified as suspected members of a well-known Venezuelan gang. Wilson Juarez, 21, and Kelvin Servita-Arocha, 19, are facing charges in connection with the incident that occurred last month. According to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials, the two individuals have been identified as members of the Tren de Aragua gang. NYC Police Re-Arrest Venezuelan Migrants The New York Police Department (NYPD) has re-arrested two Venezuelan migrants involved in a violent assault on NYPD officers near Times Square several weeks ago. The incident, captured on video, depicted a gang of young men kicking and punching two officers who were attempting to detain someone outside a migrant shelter. The subsequent arrest and release of the individuals have ignited a heated debate on immigration policies and law enforcement procedures. Initially arrested after the mob attack, the two migrants, identified as Mr. Servita-Arocha and Mr. Juarez-Aguilarte, were released by local authorities, leading to widespread outrage. However, police encountered them again while apprehending another suspect linked to the assault on officers. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) promptly intervened and took the duo into custody. ICE spokeswoman Marie Ferguson confirmed that both migrants are currently detained without bond, facing charges related to the violent gang assault on the NYPD officers. Ferguson added that the agency has identified the migrants as associated with the notorious Tren de Aragua gang from Venezuela, known for engaging in human trafficking, extortion, and murder. Mr. Servita-Arocha was taken into custody due to an immigration warrant, while Mr. Juarez-Aguilarte was apprehended again because of an unresolved deportation order. It was unexpected that Juarez's deportation had been ordered by an immigration judge a year prior, which begged the issue of why ICE had not carried out the order sooner, according to The Washington Times. Read Also: Prostate Cancer Threat: Genetic Mutations Could Explain Higher Risk Among Black Men Tren de Aragua Gang Exploits US Immigration According to experts, the Tren de Aragua gang has found ways to exploit the US immigration system, infiltrating members across the southern border. Retired US Marshal and gang expert Robert Almonte emphasized the gang's violent history in Venezuela and expressed concerns about their potential continuation of criminal activities in the United States. The assault in Times Square resulted in the arrest of eight individuals, but local authorities have faced challenges in keeping them behind bars. The controversy escalated when a second migrant linked to the attack, Darwin Andres Gomez-Izquiel, was ordered held without bail after being re-arrested for alleged shoplifting at a Queens Macy's department store. Melinda Katz, the district attorney for Queens, emphasized the value of following the law and taking people who participate in obvious illegality responsible. The decision to detain Gomez-Izquiel and another migrant, Ulises Bohorquez, on significant bail amounts demonstrates a dedication to maintaining accountability. NYPD PBA President Patrick Hendry criticized the migrant suspects for having "no regard for the law" and vowed to hold the criminal justice system accountable for their actions. With at least one migrant still at large and others facing charges, the investigation continues to unfold. While ICE has confirmed the unlawful presence of the detained migrants, the NYPD has not definitively linked them to the Tren de Aragua gang. The broader concern remains as the NYPD issues warnings about the gang infiltrating the city, prompting National Guard troops to monitor migrant shelters for potential gang members seeking asylum, New York Post reported. Related Article: Senate Likely To Reject GOP Attempt To Impeach Alejandro Mayorkas After 3 Republicans Vote Against Party Efforts From the The Collision on The Dispatch Were back here at The Collision, and theres so much to get to. In this weeks edition, well focus on Thursdays hearing in Fulton County, Georgia, concerning whether District Attorney Fani Willis will be disqualified from her racketeering case against Donald Trump and associates, before turning to some of the continued fallout from last weeks explosive report from special counsel Robert Hur into Joe Bidens retention of classified documents. The Docket The first criminal trial for Donald Trump looks set to kick off on March 25. Judge Juan Merchan in Manhattan will begin jury selection on that date in the case brought by District Attorney Alvin Bragg regarding hush money payments to adult film actress Stormy Daniels. Braggs indictment of Trump on charges of falsification of business records was the first of the eventual four criminal indictments the former president received last year. The special counsel investigating Hunter Biden has charged 43-year-old Alexander Smirnov, an FBI informant, on felony counts of false statements and obstruction, the Justice Department announced Thursday. The unsealed indictment alleges Smirnov provided false derogatory information to the FBI about Joe and Hunter Biden after the elder Biden became a candidate for president. Those alleged false statements include Smirnovs claims that officials at the Ukrainian energy company Burisma told him the company had bribed both Joe and Hunter Biden to influence U.S. policy toward Ukraine when Biden was vice president. The indictment claims these statements from Smirnov were fabrications and that Smirnovs routine and unextraordinary business contacts with company executives didnt even take place until 2017, after Biden had left office. Smirnovs statements have been the basis for a significant part of the argument for House Republicans impeachment inquiry into Biden. Last year, GOP Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa and House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer of Kentucky jointly released documentation of the FBIs interview with the source, now known to be Smirnov. The House impeachment inquiry has continued to move forward slowly but steadily, with Tony Bobulinski, a former business partner of Hunter Bidens, testifying before House Oversight investigators this week on his claims that Biden was involved in his sons foreign business deals. Donald Trumps legal team, as expected, asked the Supreme Court on Monday to delay Trumps election interference trial in Washington, D.C., until after the Supreme Court has decided if it will hear his case on whether former presidents have absolute immunity from all criminal prosecutions for their official acts while in office. Special counsel Jack Smith, predictably, responded by urging the court to let the trial proceed. It will take five justices to keep Trumps trial on hold. This means there are four general paths for the Supreme Court to take: keep the criminal trial on hold but consider the immunity question on an expedited basis (probably April at this point); keep the trial on hold and consider the immunity question in the normal course (probably this fall); let the trial proceed and decide on immunity if Trump is convicted (it would be moot if hes acquitted); or let the trial proceed and decline to hear the immunity case at all. We could know the answer in just a matter of days. The Fani Willis Show Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis testifies during a hearing in the case of the State of Georgia v. Donald John Trump at the Fulton County Courthouse on February 15, 2024, in Atlanta. (Photo by Alyssa Pointer-Pool/Getty Images) Even via livestream, you could feel the electricity in the Fulton County, Georgia, courtroom during Thursdays daylong hearing. Among the dramatic moments: a former friend providing damning testimony against District Attorney Fani Willis; salacious details about when Willis and a member of her team, Nathan Wade, began having sex and ended it; and Willis herself, sitting on the witness stand, indignantly accusing a defense attorney multiple times of lying. Oh, and we learned that Willis prefers Grey Goose vodka over wine. But we should back up. The issue, as The Collision has previously reported, involves whether Willis, the Democratic district attorney prosecuting the massive racketeering case against Donald Trump and several of his associates in Georgia, should be disqualified because of a romantic relationship she had with Wade. If Willis and Wade became a couple after she hired him as a contracted special prosecutor in November 2021, the relationship, while ill-advised, is unlikely to upend the case. But if there is compelling evidence that the two were romantically linked earlier than that, then Willis taking on Wadea lawyer with no experience trying a felony racketeering caselooks more like a way to pay off her boyfriend at the taxpayers expense. After the lawyer for one of Trumps co-defendants, GOP operative Michael Roman, filed a motion to disqualify Willis and dismiss the charges, Willis and Wade filed their own responseadmitting personal relationship but swearing that their personal relationship did not begin until months after she hired him, and asserting that there is no conflict of interest or basis for disqualification. On Thursday, Judge Scott McAfee of the Fulton Superior Court heard from a room full of lawyersfor both the state and for several co-defendants who joined the Roman motionas they questioned witnesses who had been subpoenaed by Ashleigh Merchant, Romans attorney. A key moment came early in the day when Robin Bryant-Yeartie, a former friend and employee of Willis, testified she had no doubt that Willis and Wade were in a romantic relationship in late 2019, saying she witnessed them hugging and kissing. Thats in direct contradiction to the sworn statements from Willis and Wade, both in their filing and in Thursdays hearing, that the romantic relationship began in early 2022. A polite and deliberate Wade took the stand from late morning to early afternoon, where he testified that, while he developed a friendship on professional grounds with Willis after they first met in late 2019, they did not become romantically involved until 2022 and that their romance ended sometime in summer 2023. Wade also provided interesting testimony about the nature of how multiple vacations he took with Willis were paid for, including a birthday trip to Belize and another to Napa Valley in California since he was hired for the Trump case. This has been a sticking point for the defense, which has suggested that these vacations demonstrate how both Willis and Wade have benefited financially from the prosecution of Trump and his codefendants thanks to the additional funds appropriated to the DAs office to hire special prosecutors like Wade. While he may have purchased hotel rooms and airfare with his credit cards, Wade claimed, Willis often paid him backin cash. (At this revelation one of the codefendants, former Georgia GOP Chairman David Shafer, audibly laughed, causing McAfee to warn Shafer that he would make him leave the courtroom if such an outburst happened again.) Defense attorneys pressed the point that there was no record of these cash payments and no way to verify them. But the drama reached a high point once Willis herself took the stand. The district attorney sparred with Merchant, accusing her of lying in her filings and being unfair. Willis frequently ignored her own attorneys objections to questions so she could push back against Merchant and other defense attorneys. She defended her cash payments to Wade and insisted that she keeps large amounts of cash with her as a point of female independence. She accused Bryant-Yeartie of lying about when her relationship with Wade began. And she mused that although Wade likely believes their relationship ended in June or July of 2023the last time the two had sexWillis considers the end of their relationship to be a hard conversation in August of that year. Above all, she maintained that she is not guilty of any misconduct or wrongdoing. Willis, who normally spends her time in courtrooms like this one interrogating witnesses, seemed at various times angry, bemused, and annoyed during her testimony Thursday. Little of her performance will have any bearing on the decision McAfee will have to make about whether to disqualify Willis and Wade from the case, but her command of the roomand her performanceseemed more pitched for the court of public opinion. Youve been intrusive into peoples personal lives, Willis said at one point to Merchant. Youre confused. You think Im on trial. These people are on trial for trying to steal an election in 2020. Im not on trial, no matter how hard you try to put me on trial. But if McAfee does decide to disqualify Willis, that will mean reassigning the case to a different prosecutorwhich could delay the trial by months or, more likely, years. For Trump, whose goal for all of his criminal cases had been delay, delay, delay, no outcome in Georgia could be better. Despite Willis defiance, the evidence contradicting her Thursday testimony gave reason to think Trump may get what hes been looking for. Verbatim I dont really like wine, to be honest with you. I like Grey Goose Fani Willis, on the stand in Fulton County, February 15, 2024. Before we get to the next item, a quick disclosure: As Advisory Opinions and Dispatch Podcast listeners know, Sarah worked closely with Rob Hur at the Department of Justice during Robert Muellers special counsel investigation, and they remain friends. On Thursday, Axios reported on a conversation between them that took place earlier this week, in which Hur asked Sarah whether shed consider helping him if and when Congress calls on him to testify about his report on President Joe Bidens retention of classified material. Hur didnt offer her a job, and Sarah didnt accept onebut, as always, we wanted to be as transparent as possible with our readers, and we will continue to do so. Cliffs Notes on the Robert Hur Report As we reported last week, Robert Hur, the Justice Department special counsel, declined to bring charges against Joe Biden for the willful retention of national security information. Unlike normal federal prosecutors, special counsels areby lawrequired to provide the attorney general with a full report detailing their findings and their decision to charge or not charge the subjects of their investigation. In this case, Attorney General Merrick Garland turned that report over to Congress and released it to the public. And here we are, still discussing the fallout from that decision a week later. Backing up, lets address some misconceptions about what Hur wasand wasntrequired to do in his report, especially since some of the details about Bidens memory and age have become a big political issue in the last week. To prove that Biden committed a crime, Hur would have needed to prove that Biden kept classified or other highly sensitive materials outside of a secure facility in the four years between his vice presidency and his presidencyand that he did so willfully, meaning he knew the documents were there and that they shouldnt have been. Or, perhaps, that Biden willfully disseminated that information, telling someone information he knew was classified and that he knew he shouldnt tell that person. A federal prosecutor must clear three hurdles before bringing an indictment: First, he or she must believe the person is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Second, he or she must have evidence to prove that the person is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Third, he or she must believe that a jury would convict the person. That last onewhich is the least well-known requirementis vital to understanding this report. Now lets move to the evidence. In late 2022 and early 2023, FBI agents found documents at Bidens home in Delaware that were related to the war in Afghanistan and marked with the highest classification levels. They also found handwritten notebooks containing classified information that Biden had taken with him from the White House. During the investigation, Hur found a 2017 recording of Biden telling the ghostwriter of his memoir, Promise Me, Dad, (during that crucial four-year period) that Biden had just found all the classified stuff downstairs, along with recordings of Biden giving the ghostwriter information that Biden himself described as probably classified. Thats all pretty bad for Biden. So bad, in fact, that you may be wondering why a prosecutor wouldnt bring charges under these circumstances. Indeed, this is the whole point of the 388-page report. Despite damning evidence that Biden broke the law, Hur is telling his bossthe attorney generalthat he does not believe the Department of Justice should charge the president with a crime after he leaves the White House. (Because, remember, they cant charge him while hes serving as president.) Hur outlines four reasons for not recommending Biden be indicted. First, the Afghanistan documents are now almost 15 years old and pertain to a conflict that is over, meaning their potential exposure no longer poses much of a threat to Americas national security. Second, Biden was allowed to have the Afghanistan documents in his home for eight years as vice president and now as president. It could be hard to prove that he knew he had the documents during that four-year gap (even with the ghostwriter recordings as evidence). Third, as has now become a famous line from the report, Hur believed that Mr. Biden will likely present himself to the jury, as he did during his interview with our office, as a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory. Lastly, Hur noted that jurors may find reasonable doubt because of the cumulative effect of some or all of these shortcomings. Now we get to the meat of the political controversy surrounding Hurs report: Did he need to include Bidens memory as a reason at all? Did he need to include specific examples of memory lapses in his report? Was it a political hit job, or at least gratuitous? Remember that its not enough for Hur to believe that Biden broke the law and that he has the evidence to prove it. He also must believe a jury will convict Biden. On this point, Hur is clear that he does not believe he can overcome that hurdle. The report is littered with instances of Hur writing a reasonable juror could believe or jurors would likely find reasonable doubt. (The words juror or jurors appear 40 times in the report.) But its clear Hur had other, independent reasons for not recommending charges against Biden. In that sense, he didnt need to include the analysis of Bidens memory, as many of Bidens defenders have argued. Yet it was clearly part of Hurs own reasoning, and being transparent in a report that, given its political implications, was likely to be released to the public appears in line with the federal prosecutors duty to be candid. Here are the specifics Hur included, on page 207 of the report: Mr. Bidens memory also appeared to have significant limitationsboth at the time he spoke to Zwonitzer in 2017, as evidenced by their recorded conversations, and today, as evidenced by his recorded interview with our office. Mr. Bidens recorded conversations with Zwonitzer from 2017 are often painfully slow, with Mr. Biden struggling to remember events and straining at times to read and relay his own notebook entries. In his interview with our office, Mr. Bidens memory was worse. He did not remember when he was vice president, forgetting on the first day of the interview when his term ended (if it was 2013when did I stop being Vice President?), and forgetting on the second day of the interview when his term began (in 2009, am I still Vice President?). He did not remember, even within several years, when his son Beau died. And his memory appeared hazy when describing the Afghanistan debate that was once so important to him. Among other things, he mistakenly said he had a real difference of opinion with General Karl Eikenberry, when, in fact, Eikenberry was an ally whom Mr. Eiden cited approvingly in his Thanksgiving memo to President Obama. In a case where the government must prove that Mr. Biden knew he had possession of the classified Afghanistan documents after the vice presidency and chose to keep those documents, knowing he was violating the law, we expect that at trial, his attorneys would emphasize these limitations in his recall. Its worth noting that the most common answer anyone represented by a lawyer gives to an investigator is, I do not recall. Its obvious throughout the report that Hur was trying to distinguish Bidens memory issues from those more typical I do not recall responses. But Hur clearly had multiple examples of Bidens memory lapses. Did he need to include Bidens dead son? Perhaps not, especially given how its become a public point of contention between the special counsel and the president. On the other hand, we have now seen a letter in which the most senior career attorney at the Department of Justice told the White House that he believes the inclusion of these paragraphs about Bidens memory are consistent with legal requirements and Department policy and that the language is neither gratuitous or unduly prejudicial. Additional reporting calls into question Bidens memory during his press conference about his memory. After the release of the report, Biden said, Frankly, when I was asked the question, I thought to myself, it wasnt any of their damn business. But according to Ken Dilanian at NBC News, who spoke with two people familiar with the interview transcript, it was the president, not Hur or his team, who first introduced Beau Bidens death. A full transcript of the interview with Biden could clarify some of this, but dont hold your breath waiting for its release any time soon. First, the various agencies that make up the intelligence community will need to review it and redact any classified or sensitive information. Then, the White House will have a chance to review it for executive privilege. These processes can take weeks or months. In the meantime, Congress will no doubt be champing at the bit to get it, and the White House may decide its in the presidents interest to get the transcript out sooner rather than have it drop closer to the election. Meanwhile, House Republicans reportedly plan to have Hur appear before the Judiciary Committee on March 12, which could provide some clarity. And with that, well let you make up your own mind. Read more at The Dispatch The Dispatch is a new digital media company providing engaged citizens with fact-based reporting and commentary, informed by conservative principles. Sign up for free. The attorney representing one of the defendants in the Young Slime Life RICO gang trial in Fulton County is now facing gang-related charges. The Fulton County District Attorneys Office confirmed the charges to Channel 2 investigative reporter Mark Winne. The attorney, Nicole Fegan, has represented Tenquarius Mender, whose case was severed from the main RICO trial in early 2023. Channel 2 Action News learned Fegan was released from jail on bond Friday evening, attorney Renee Rockwell confirmed. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] RELATED STORIES: Friday afternoon, Atlanta police confirmed to Channel 2 Action News that Fegan was arrested based on information that shed contacted a suspect in a Sept. 27, 2022 shooting of two men at Williams Street and Baker Street in Northwest Atlanta. One of the victims died, according to APD. APD said Fegan was arrested in Gwinnett County and will be transported to Fulton County on warrants charging her with participating in criminal street gang activity and criminal solicitation to commit the offense of tampering with evidence. Officers told Channel 2 Action News that Fegan called a suspect that she was not representing as an attorney, leading to the warrants charging her for the gang activity. Fegan, according to APD, told the suspect there were active warrants for his arrest, and that she had learned it during a preliminary hearing related to the shooting, telling the suspect to dispose of his phone as police were going to arrest him. Seiden has learned that Fegan has been booked into the Fulton County Jail. A copy of her booking photo is not available because of the Fulton County cybersecurity attack. Defense attorney Renee Rockwell later confirmed to Channel 2 Action News that Fegan was granted a $40,000 bond and could be released from custody at the Fulton County Jail sometime Friday night. Fegan maintains her innocence. Speaking later on Friday evening with Channel 2 Action News, Rockwell confirmed that Fegan was released on bond and headed home, but said that she would not be representing Fegan, and that Fegan had not yet, to Rockwells knowledge, retained counsel. Instead, Rockwell said she had reached out to the Fulton County District Attorneys Office on Fegans behalf upon hearing of her arrest and felt urged to action, then asked them to grant Fegan a fair bond, which was agreed to at $40,000. Channel 2 Action News has also reached out to the Fulton County Sheriffs Office for additional information and are waiting to hear back. [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] IN OTHER NEWS: A defense attorney connected to the Young Slime Life racketeering trial has been arrested on unrelated gang charges, police said. Nicole Fegan, who represents Tenquarius Mender in a since-severed case, was arrested Friday on charges of participation in criminal street gang activity and criminal solicitation to commit the offense of tampering with evidence in connection with a Sept. 27, 2022, shooting of two men, an Atlanta Police Department spokesperson told The Daily Beast. During an investigation into the shootingin which one man died authorities said they received information that Fegan contacted a suspect and advised him he had an active warrant for his arrest. Fegan also allegedly relayed information that she learned during a preliminary hearing about the shooting and told the suspect to dispose of his phone because police were going to arrest him. Investigators confirmed Fegan was not representing the suspect she called, the spokesperson said. Last year, Fegans client was severed from the RICO criminal trial against rapper Young Thug and his alleged associates after she and another defense attorney announced they were pregnant, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. After 10 months of jury selection, the trial began in November and is ongoing. Fegan is currently being held in Fulton County Jail and it is not immediately clear if she has an attorney. She could not be reached for comment but posted a cryptic video Thursday, on Instagram. People play gangsta and pull these games at the same time. That shit is weird, Fegan said. That shit is weird. Read more at The Daily Beast. Get the Daily Beast's biggest scoops and scandals delivered right to your inbox. Sign up now. Stay informed and gain unlimited access to the Daily Beast's unmatched reporting. Subscribe now. This article was originally published in Maryland Matters. A state audit shows at least eight Maryland school systems didnt use $12.3 million designated for students in underserved communities. According to the document from the Office of the Inspector General for Education, officials with the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) didnt provide training and guidance for local school officials to utilize what are known as concentration of poverty grants. Those grants are to aid students inside buildings designated as community schools, which receive services such as before- or after-school tutoring, access to mental health professionals and educational field trips. Community schools, which are gradually being established around the state, are part of the Blueprint of Marylands Future education reform plan. Get stories like these delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for The 74 Newsletter Two pieces of legislation focused on community schools are part of this years Legislative Black Caucus of Maryland set of priorities. The bills are proposed to help expand the number of community schools in school systems with fewer than 40. Several [school districts] shared frustrations about the lack of clarification or guidance by MSDE staff about whether certain items, positions, or services could/could not be procured using [concentration of poverty] funding, Inspector General Richard P. Henry wrote in last weeks audit. Specifically, [the districts] advised that MSDE staff would primarily provide only verbal guidance regarding how to spend CoP funds on wraparound services, and little to no written approval or guidance was provided. The audit, which reviewed records from July 1, 2019, through Jan. 31, 2023, noted about $1 million was returned to the state. The selected school systems, also referred to as local education agencies, or LEAs, that were investigated were Allegany, Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Dorchester, Montgomery, Somerset, Washington and Wicomico counties. According to the audit, money from the concentration of poverty grants is disbursed in two portions: Personnel grants: A fixed amount to hire a community school coordinator and a health care practitioner. Per-pupil grants: Money used to provide various wraparound services that can include additional school counselors, English language leaner classes and professional development for teachers and other staff. However, the audit shows personnel grants allocated between fiscal years 2020 to 2022 were only used in Dorchester and Wicomico counties. Some local school officials used the concentration of poverty grant funding to pay consultants to train staff on how to use the money. One example in the audit noted a school system entered into a five-year, $4.1 million contract to receive continued technical support in implementing a community school strategy. Senior staff with the MSDE werent aware of this going on, the audit said, but LEAs appropriately reported these training costs to MSDE, but MSDE did not have any follow-up questions regarding these expenses. This absence of follow-up appears to be attributable to MSDEs lack of adequate controls regarding LEAs submitted reports and expenditures. A recommendation from the audit to the department: develop a strategy for communicating policies and procedures to all school staff. In addition, the department should establish a team of subject matter experts, legal counsel and other stakeholders in the process such as representatives from the Blueprint Accountability and Implementation Board. The board, known as the AIB, oversees the education reform plan through 2032. Responses Interim Superintendent of Schools Carey Wright, who began working as the states public schools leader in October, wrote in a letter dated Feb. 1 that the agency is committed to continuously improving its processes and internal controls The department submitted several responses to the inspector general, including that a concentration of poverty grant program manager continues to coordinate the development of policies and procedures that began in November. A draft of the procedures will be shared with the AIB, with full implementation estimated for March 1. The program manager is coordinating an annual review process of the concentration of poverty grant policies and procedures with stakeholders to be implemented by July 1, the agency said in response to the audit. One recommendation where the department disagrees with the inspector general was a suggestion to temporarily pause specific finance and program activities. State law mandates funding for buildings designated as community schools. The department hired an independent firm in September 2023 to verify grant expenditures incurred from fiscal year 2020 to fiscal year 2023. The contract is set to expire this September. Henry, the inspector general, wrote in response that the department should continue to engage the independent firm beyond September. The [inspector generals office] believes that the State Audit referenced in MSDEs response will not ensure that LEAs are using grant funds in accordance with State law, Henry wrote. Shamoyia Gardiner, executive director of Strong Schools Maryland, said its not the first time an audit has reported problems with the department. Its not a surprise, she said after a rainy rally Monday in Annapolis by advocates requesting that lawmakers fully fund the Blueprint plan. Gardiner said the Blueprint board has the authority to approve all implementation plans and assess the spending of funds. The fact that didnt happen is a sign that perhaps we need stronger accountability, she said. This article originally appeared in Maryland Matters. Augustana College on Friday morning celebrated the launch of its new film major and film production facilities at Sorensen Hall, at 38th Street and 7th Avenue, Rock Island. The renovation of the first-floor space (formerly housing the colleges IT department, which moved to the basement level) included creation of a state-of-the-art production studio, with a 20-seat iMac lab, LED lighting grid, green screen, recording studio, professional equipment and private editing suite. Stacy Barton, director of Augustana Colleges film program, spoke at the ribbon cutting Friday, Feb. 16, 2024 at Sorensen Hall, Rock Island (photos by Jonathan Turner). Stacy Barton, director of the film program, joined Augie in fall 2022 and she launched the Augustana Student Film Showcase in October 2023, at Olin Auditorium. She teaches students all stages of film production, including all genres. We look forward to a future full of local partnerships, as more film majors are attracted to Augustana, Barton said Friday at a formal ribbon-cutting. They plan to show Augie student films this May in a free showcase at Last Picture House in downtown Davenport. The juried festival will culminate in student awards next October during Augies Symposium Day. The iMac lab in the film program production facilities. Last falls juried event included short videos made in film courses during the previous academic year. Last Octobers event featured 18 student films, in the genres of documentary, narrative fiction, experimental and public service announcement. Junior Matthew Chezum, a film and chemistry double major from New Windsor, Ill., won the best narrative fiction and audience choice award at last Octobers film student showcase for his live action short Smores. His film (3 minutes and 49 seconds) featured marshmallows caught up in the Salem witch trials. He will take a crew production class and edit his film for the May film showcase. Augie junior Matt Chezum is a double major in film and chemistry. There is such a rich arts scene whether its music, live music every week somewhere, and especially film, Chezum said Friday. It seems natural that Augustana would get a film program and I feel so grateful for the work theyve done to put together this facility. I feel very grateful to be part of the inaugural class of film majors, he said, noting the curriculum is very hands-on and relevant. I just want to say, Im super thankful and excited to keep learning, Chezum said. Watch out Quad Cities, and watch out Hollywood, because this program is going to produce great filmmakers and great films. Feeling emotions in film The greatest part of creating a film is compelling other people to truly feel the emotions that the story gives, whether that is through the music or the camera angles or the script or even the makeup and costuming, he said. The beauty in a group of people all experiencing the same feelings and sharing in that is quite beautiful to me, and film is the greatest medium when it comes to not only telling a story, but also conveying all of the subtle sentiments and personality of that story. A green screen in the Augie film production facilities. Creating films is a passion of mine, but I wouldnt complain if it brought in some money too, Chezum added. A career in film could mean lots of different things whether I am directing small indie films or being part of the crew on a blockbuster movie. Im learning what I can here at Augie so I can maximize opportunities when they inevitably show up. Augie provost Dianna Shandy said the colleges department name change from the former Department of Theatre Arts to the Department of Theatre and Film reflects vital synergy between the two areas of study. Augustanas rich tradition of theatre arts is enhanced by the colleges new film major and minor, Shandy said Friday. Cross-curricular opportunities build students with the skills to enter the modern workforce prepared and confident in their abilities. Augustana provost Dianna Shandy (left) speaks at the Friday morning event as film program director Stacy Barton looks on. The growth and interest in our film program is very exciting, and Im proud to say Augustana students remain committed to telling powerful stories, she said. Its hard to over-emphasize the power of film in telling those stories. Augustana educates students broadly and deeply, and the film program is an excellent opportunity for students to take courses across several departments, Shandy said. Augustana prepares its graduates for the world, and the importance of strong storytellers are always in demand, she said. The jobs they take may lead them to Hollywood, or to put down roots right here in Illinois and the Quad Cities. Jennifer Popple, associate professor of theatre arts, is happy with the merged department. It seems like a really natural connection, one that we needed for a long time, she said Friday. Our students are graduating and going into an industry that is really connected. Theater majors want to do not only live theater, but film, TV and commercials, Popple said. What were hoping to do is expand the number of classes we have, like having a course on acting for the camera, she said. It felt like such a natural fit and Im really excited, cause it offers up theater will always be important to the world, but it also speaks to the realities of streaming and film and television. Augie is still looking at ideas and opportunities on how to combine film and theater activities, Popple said. The walls at the Augie film offices are covered with posters of major feature films. There are about 24 film majors and minors, and 45 theater majors and minors. Barton may look at hiring more faculty, and work with local filmmakers to teach, Popple said. For more information on the new film major, click HERE. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WHBF - OurQuadCities.com. A 99-year prison term was handed down to an Alaskan woman who confessed to killing her "best friend" after being "catfished" by a person claiming to pay $9 million for pictures of the crime. Denali Brehmer, who is currently 23 years old, admitted that she killed Cynthia Hoffman, 19, on June 2, 2019, when she entered a guilty plea in February 2023 for first-degree murder. Online Murder-for-Hire Scheme Exposed Court documents reveal the disturbing details of a murder-for-hire plot orchestrated through an online relationship. Denali Brehmer, now 23, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in February 2023, receiving a 99-year sentence for her role in the grisly crime. Simply 18 years old, she set up an online relationship with Darin Schilmiller, then 21, who presented himself as a wealthy individual living in Indiana. According to court records, Schilmiller allegedly made a promise to Brehmer involving a significant sum of money in exchange for her involvement in a disturbing act, as well as providing him with visual evidence. Schilmiller, now 25, didn't specify the target for the murder, leaving authorities bewildered. Brehmer, eager for the promised payout, enlisted four friends to assist her in the sinister plan. Photos and video footage of the murder were sent to Schilmiller, sealing their involvement in the heinous act. The victim, Cynthia Hoffman, 19, fell prey to the malevolent scheme orchestrated by Brehmer. Kayden McIntosh, then 16, allegedly lured Hoffman on a hike, during which she was shot in the back of the head. Hoffman's lifeless body was callously disposed of in a river, discovered a day after she was reported missing. Brehmer faced a litany of charges, including conspiracy to commit murder, solicitation of murder, tampering with evidence, and murder in the second degree. Her guilty plea led to the dismissal of some charges, but the court handed down the maximum sentence allowed, according to WSB-TV. Read Also: Woman Shot Dead at Chiefs Victory Party Identified as Local Radio DJ Schilmiller Gets 99 Years for Hoffman Murder The sentencing of Schilmiller, also to 99 years in prison, took place in January. Apart from his role in Hoffman's murder, Schilmiller solicited child pornography from Brehmer, leading to additional charges from the US Justice Department. Caleb Leyland, 19 at the time of the murder, awaits sentencing in June for his involvement. Two minors implicated in the crime faced prosecution in juvenile court, with sealed trial outcomes. During the sentencing, Anchorage assistant district attorney Patrick McKay asserted, "She may not have pulled the trigger, but this never would have happened if it weren't for Denali Brehmer." He emphasized Brehmer's pivotal role in the premeditated murder-for-hire and hoped her sentence would serve as a deterrent. The defense claimed a sentence of 80 years, with 20 years suspended, including the absence of the death penalty in Alaska. However, the court decided to impose the most severe punishment, pointing out the seriousness of the offense and Brehmer's apparent absence of regret. While the accomplices' judicial actions are still ongoing, the alarming revelation of this murder-for-hire scheme exposes the dangers of online relationships and the terrible occurrences that happened in Cynthia Hoffman's life, WTHR reported Related Article: Kanye West Admits Near Bankruptcy After Adidas Deal Termination Voters in Bear Creek Township will decide whether to approve a bond proposal that would build a new fire station and voting hall at 1710 Click Road. BEAR CREEK TWP. In the upcoming presidential primary election, voters in Bear Creek Township will decide whether to approve a bond proposal that would build a new fire station and voting hall. The bond proposal would allow the township to borrow up to $4.1 million to complete the project, which is estimated to cost $6 million. The township has already saved more than $2 million to put towards the cost of the project. The proposed millage rate is up to 0.5152 mills. The full proposal reads: Shall the Township of Bear Creek, County of Emmet, Michigan, borrow the principal sum of not to exceed $4,100,000 and issue its unlimited tax general obligation bonds, in one or more series, payable in not to exceed 20 years from the date of issue, to pay all or part of the cost of acquiring, constructing, furnishing and equipping a new fire station, including all site improvements, appurtenances and attachments? If approved, the estimated millage to be levied in 2024 is 0.5152 mills ($0.52 per $1,000 of taxable value) and the estimated simple average annual millage rate required to retire the bonds is 0.4315 mills ($0.43 per $1,000 of taxable value). More: 75 years later, Resort-Bear Creek Fire Department celebrates the past and looks to the future A rendering of a proposed additional fire hall and voting location for Bear Creek Township and the Resort-Bear Creek Fire Department. Al Welsheimer, fire chief of the Resort-Bear Creek Fire Department, said the proposed project would include both a new fire station and a meeting room for voting. The current Bear Creek Township offices would remain in place. The thought process behind this is building out for the future, he said. We know that the growth of Bear Creek Township is going to be on the south side of (the township) because the north side and kind of the east side is already grown out as far as development goes in single-family dwellings. That whole south side is going to be the push for residential development. Welsheimer pointed to several ongoing or proposed housing developments as evidence that the townships population will continue to grow over the next several years. Theres growth coming, he said. Its just, when is it going to come? The townships current fire station has four trucks and two bays, and the building is bulging with equipment, Welsheimer said. Were currently storing another piece of equipment off site thats not even on our property because we dont have room for it, he said. The new station would be adding four drive-through bays with eight doors. The big thing about it is by building a station, it doesnt require us to acquire more equipment to fill the station, Welsheimer said. We have equipment right now that would be filling that station. We have a truck that were due to take delivery of here within the next 30 days, another tanker to haul water. Subscribe: Check out our offers and read the local news that matters to you A Resort-Bear Creek Fire Department truck is shown. The new station, which is planned to be built at 1710 Click Road, would also allow the fire department to expand its ISO coverage to the entire southern part of the township. According to bankrate.com, an ISO fire rating is a score provided to fire departments and insurance companies by the Insurance Services Office (ISO). The score reflects how prepared a community and area is for fires. While it mainly focuses on the local fire departments and water supply, there are other factors that contribute to an areas score. According to township documents, establishing this new station could help reduce property insurance premiums for properties within five road miles. The new building would also serve as a voting location for Precinct 2 voters in the township. Currently, the township rents space from the Petoskey Snowmobile Club for elections. The snowmobile club we know is a private-owned organization, Welsheimer said. They generously let us rent it from them and theyve done that in the past for several years. But on the same token, if something was to happen to that group and they sell that building or say, No, were not going to let you rent it anymore, we at Bear Creek Township is without a voting location for those residents. So its our duty to find a place to rent or we build our own and have our own. Welsheimer added that the new building would be fully ADA compliant and be much more accessible to voters. It will be a larger building with a larger parking area, so parking wont be an issue, he said. The bigger impact is it will be a new building and have all the latest as far as ADA requirements and accessibility for people and easier flow for voters to go in and out. Al Welsheimer The new building would be approximately 14,000 square feet, with 6,000 square feet of that reserved for the fire station. Welsheimer said one of the main questions township residents have asked is, why does the building have to be so big? Anybody thats in the building trades, anybody thats in construction, anybody that has built anything in the last 10 years knows that theres no better time to build something than when youre currently building it, he said. So, could we go with a smaller building? Yeah, we could go with a smaller building. But, the cost of adding on to that building in five years or 10 years could be a third of the cost of what youre paying right now and the taxpayers that are paying for this potentially would be saying Why didnt you build it big enough the first time, anticipating this growth? Welsheimer noted that the current township hall has been added on to five times over the years. Each time its cost a third more or half more than it would have cost at the beginning, he said. And we cant predict whats going to happen in 20 years, but you look at past history and we already know the growth is here, so we need to plan for the future. We think that nows the time to go for the future. The presidential primary election will take place on Tuesday, Feb. 27. For more voting information, visit emmetcounty.org/officials-departments/county-clerk/elections. For additional information on the township, visit bearcreektownshipmi.gov. Contact Jillian Fellows at jfellows@petoskeynews.com. This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Bear Creek Township fire station, voting hall proposal on Feb. 27 ballot Florida has earned recognition nationwide for its "war on woke" policies, Republicans' plurality in voter registrations and being home to some of the most prominent Republican figures in American politics. But the Sunshine State may still be pivotal to the Democrats' aspirations to keep control of the U.S. Senate in the November elections. At the outset, it seems a long shot. But Democrats point out incumbent Rick Scott, a senator since 2018, has a record of winning narrow elections. He won his two gubernatorial elections by about a percentage point in each and his Senate seat six years ago by just over 10,000 votes. It also doesn't help that Scott entered 2024 in a vulnerable position. U.S. Senator Rick Scott, R-FL, smiles during a roundtable at the Collier Senior Center's Golden Gate location in Naples on Friday, Feb. 2, 2024. His 2022 plan to sunset all federal programs was dismissed by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican. Scott then failed in a challenge to unseat McConnell as GOP leader in November of that year, and then fumed when McConnell removed him from the Senate Commerce committee. Just as bad, President Biden slammed Scott's plan in last year's State of the Union address, saying it would imperil Social Security and Medicare. Scott fired back that Biden was "lying" about his proposal, but the Florida senator ultimately capitulated by carving out Social Security, Medicare, the Veterans Administration as well as national defense and security funding. Democrats say they are eager to remind voters of the debacle. "Democrats will look for every opportunity to put Republicans on defense, including in Florida," said Maeve Coyle, a senior communications strategist with the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. "In 2024, voters will hold Rick Scott accountable for his toxic plans to end Medicare and Social Security and pass a national abortion ban." Winning Rick Scott's seat would greatly improve Democrats' odds to keep the U.S. Senate majority Democrats currently hold a two-seat majority in the U.S. Senate, 51-49. But the mathematics for them in November look dicey. It is a virtual certainty they will lose a seat in West Virginia, where incumbent Democrat Joe Manchin has announced he will not run again. In Maryland, Larry Hogan, a popular former Republican governor, will mount a serious challenge to fill the seat being vacated by retiring Democrat Ben Cardin. And in Arizona, Democrats are looking at potentially splitting their votes between Democrat-turned-independent U.S. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema and the likely Democratic nominee, Congressman Ruben Gallego, which could allow far-right Republican Kari Lake to win that seat. To balance out those three potential losses, Democrats are eyeing the seats held by Scott and Texas U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz. Both Scott and Cruz are working to buttress their standing by lining up firmly behind former President Donald Trump. After saying a year ago that he was focused on his own race, Scott endorsed Trump late last year. On Saturday night, Cruz showed up for a gala at Mar-a-Lago to honor the former president and almost certain 2024 Republican presidential nominee. Cruz said he was confident ahead of this year's voting. "We're going to campaign hard, and I think we're going to win," he said. "And we're going to win the Senate." Potential Democratic opponent said Scott is beatable. But can she raise the necessary dollars? Scott's record of narrow election wins is one reason former south Miami-Dade County U.S. Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell believes she can win his seat. "He has never won by more than 1 percentage point," Mucarsel-Powell said in a news conference in Greenacres on Feb. 6 addressing Hispanic leaders and voters. "He has never run against the millions of women and men that I see right here that are going to go to the ballot box to protect a woman's right to choose." Yet one of Mucarsel-Powell's biggest challenges in defeating Scott will be money. Although she's raised close to $3.6 million, she is facing Scott's personal wealth, which offers him a nearly bottomless campaign chest. Former U.S. Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell speaks to about 30 Hispanic leaders and voters at El Sabor Latino in Greenacres. She is running against U.S. Sen. Rick Scott in 2024. Jessica Taylor, Senate and governors editor with Cook Political Report, said the U.S. Senate battle is "virtually an entirely defensive map for Democrats," meaning Democrats have seats to lose and few they can win. Two pick-up opportunities are in Florida and Texas. But Taylor offered up some stark caveats. One, the Democratic candidate competing against Scott will need help and money from the national Democratic Party. So far, though, Democrats have focused heavily on defending seats in states like Pennsylvania, Michigan, Nevada and Wisconsin, and Taylor said there may not be too much funding available for a state like Florida with a history of voting for Republicans. So despite Scott's track record of tight races, the highly watched Cook Political Report still estimates Scott's seat as a "likely" Republican victory. It's not a solid Republican race, Taylor said, but it's not been given a more promising, for Democrats, designation as "leaning" Republican or a toss-up race because of Florida's demographic changes and past embracing of GOP candidates. "Florida, which was once the ultimate swing state, has trended Republican in recent years, and it's a state where, of course, Donald Trump improved upon his margin as well," Taylor said. There is a potential wild card. The current landscape for the 2024 election in Florida could change if constitutional amendments to protect abortion or permit recreational marijuana are placed on the ballot. It may be too early to tell how significant these could be in luring more voters open to voting for Democrats, Taylor said, but it could be something for Democrats to draw voters with. Still, beating Rick Scott looks like an uphill fight. "Democrats have a lot of really difficult states where they're playing defense before they can play offense in a place like Florida," Taylor said. "They're going to want to defend states that they hold before trying to challenge ones, and then you have her up against a billionaire." Stephany Matat is a politics reporter for The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY-Florida network. Reach her at smatat@pbpost.com. Support local journalism: Subscribe today. This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Democrats look to beat Florida's Rick Scott to keep Senate majority MOSCOW (Reuters) -Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said on Friday that several "saboteurs", including Ukrainian and Belarusian nationals, had been detained earlier on Friday on the border of the two countries in a "counter-terrorist operation". Speaking at an event in Minsk, Lukashenko said that the detainees had "crawled across our border and transported explosives to commit sabotage primarily in Russia and in Belarus." He did not say how many had been detained. Later in his speech, Lukashenko said that similar groups were detained "two or three times a week". Belarus, a close Russian ally, has provided logistical support to Moscow throughout its military campaign in Ukraine. (Writing by Felix Light; editing by Guy Faulconbridge) The police confirmed that Anand Sujith Henry, a former Meta employee, was suspected of killing his wife and four-year-old twins before shooting himself in a brutal murder-suicide in California. His wife, Alice Priyanka, and their twin sons, Noah and Neithan, were found dead at their $2.1 million home in California's San Mateo. Henry Identified as a Suspect On Monday, the police discovered the couple dead with gunshot wounds inside a bathroom when they checked on the couple. The kids were found dead in a bedroom. "At this time, next of kin have been notified, and we can now confirm the identities as Anand Henry (father), Alice Benziger (mother), and their minor twin boys. A 9mm handgun legally registered to Henry was located on the bathroom floor where both adults' bodies were located," the San Mateo Police Department said in a statement as they investigated the scene. The police department accused Henry of being responsible for the killings. The officials claimed that Henry and Benziger succumbed to gunshot wounds, and based on the investigation to date, Henry has been identified as the suspect. The officials added that their investigation shows Benziger succumbed to multiple gunshot wounds while Henry suffered from a single shot. The cause of death for the children is still pending pathology, but they could confirm they did not die from gunfire or showed any signs of bodily trauma. The family, originally from Kerala, lived in the US for the past nine years. Priyanka worked as a senior analyst, and Henry was a software engineer. According to court documents, Henry filed for divorce in 2016, but it was not finalized. The authorities claimed no history of violence at the residence, and the family only contacted the police when they spotted a mountain lion in their backyard. However, when people who knew the family could not contact them over the weekend, police were called to conduct a welfare check. The murder-suicide's motivation is still a mystery. Furthermore, the police said their investigation into the motive behind this tragedy continues. They would like to share with the community both domestic violence and mental health resources to help and assist, and they noted that something like this does not need to happen again. Read Also: [UPDATE] Mayorkas Impeachment: Senate Likely To Reject GOP Attempt After 3 Republicans Vote Against Party Efforts San Jose Shooting Kills 10, Including Gunman At least ten people, including the gunman, have died in a shooting that broke out at a light rail maintenance yard in San Jose, California, early on Wednesday morning. Authorities are looking for a motive for the violence, which local officials have described as a 'terrible' tragedy. According to the authorities, about 40 people were present at the facility when the shootings started, and the gunfire broke out in two different buildings on Wednesday. The police said that the shooter worked for the Valley Transportation Authority, which operates the light rail facility in Silicon Valley. The shooting started around 6:30 am local time in a facility that stores trains and serves as a transit control center, and the employees are among the victims. Cindy Chavez, a Santa Clara county supervisor, said these folks were heroes during COVID-19 as the buses and VTA never stopped running. Related Article: New Jersey Suicide: Sheriff Takes Own Life in Restaurant Following Layoffs, Charges Against Fellow Officers By Jarrett Renshaw (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden on Thursday again told Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he should not proceed with military action in Rafah without a credible and executable plan to protect Palestinian civilians, the White House said. The call between the two leaders on Thursday was the second time in less than a week that Biden warned Netanyahu about moving into the southern part of the Gaza Strip without a plan to ensure the safety of some 1 million people sheltering there. They also spoke about ongoing hostage negotiations and Biden pledged to continue to work around the clock to help free the hostages, who have spent 132 days in Hamas captivity, according to the White House read out of the call. Israeli forces said on Thursday they had raided the biggest functioning hospital in Gaza, an incursion that raised fresh alarms over the fate of hundreds of patients and medical workers and the many displaced Palestinians who had sought shelter there from the war. Fighting at the hospital comes as Israel faces growing international pressure to show restraint, after vowing to press its offensive into Rafah, the last relatively safe place in Gaza. Earlier this month, Biden said Israel's military response in the Gaza Strip had been "over the top" and expressed grave concern over the rising civilian death toll in the Palestinian enclave. The war began on Oct. 7 when Iran-backed Hamas sent fighters into Israel, killing 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and seizing 253 hostages according to Israeli tallies. Israel's air and ground offensive has since devastated tiny, crowded Gaza, killing 28,663 people, also mostly civilian, according to health authorities, and forcing nearly all its more than 2 million inhabitants from their homes. (Reporting by Rami Ayyub and Jarrett Renshaw; Editing by Chris Reese and Stephen Coates) Washington President Joe Biden on Friday blamed Russian President Vladimir Putin for the reported death of Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny, saying he was "outraged" but "not surprised" by the news. "Make no mistake, Putin is responsible for Navalny's death," Mr. Biden said from the White House, adding that is was "more proof of Putin's brutality." Navalny died in a Russian penal colony, prison authorities said Friday. The prison authority said Navalny "felt unwell" after going for a walk on Friday and "almost immediately" lost consciousness. Resuscitation measures were attempted, but emergency doctors confirmed his death. He had survived at least two previous suspected poisoning attempts. When asked whether Navalny, Russia's most prominent opposition leader, was assassinated, Mr. Biden replied, "We don't know exactly what happened." "But there is no doubt that the death of Navalny was a consequence of something that Putin and his thugs did," he said. Mr. Biden said Navalny was a "powerful voice for the truth," who "bravely stood up to the corruption" of Putin's government. He accused Putin of having Navalny poisoned, arrested and held in isolation, and said it didn't stop Navalny "from calling out all those lies." The president noted that Navalny might have lived out his life "safely in exile," but instead returned to Russia because of his belief in his country and his people, even though he knew he might be imprisoned or killed. Vice President Kamala Harris, who is in Germany for the Munich Security Conference, said if the reports of his death were confirmed, "this would be a further sign of Putin's brutality. Whatever story they tell, let us be clear: Russia is responsible." Secretary of State Antony Blinken also blamed Putin and said that if the reports are accurate, "[Navalny's] death in a Russian prison and the fixation and fear of one man only underscores the weakness and rot at the heart of the system that Putin has built. Russia is responsible for this." Mr. Biden also invoked Russia's war against Ukraine, saying Navalny's death "reminds us of the stakes of this moment," and he urged Congress to provide more funding to its ally. "We have to provide the funding so Ukraine can keep defending itself against Putin's vicious onslaughts and war crimes," he said. "There was a bipartisan Senate vote that passed overwhelmingly in the United States Senate to fund Ukraine. Now, as I've said before, and I mean this in a literal sense, history is watching. History is watching the House of Representatives." The president also criticized former President Donald Trump, who recently said he would allow Russia to invade NATO allies that haven't paid 2% of their gross domestic product to the mutual defense pact. "This is an outrageous thing for a president to say. I can't fathom," Mr. Biden said. "As long as I'm president, America stands by our sacred commitment to our NATO allies, as they have stood by their commitments to us repeatedly." Judge in Trump's New York civil fraud case expected to issue long-awaited ruling Shooting after Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl parade leaves one dead Arrest in Hunter Biden case could derail Republican impeachment plans President Joe Biden expressed shock and outrage at the death of Alexei Navalny on Friday, blaming Russian President Vladimir Putin for the opposition leader's passing in a Siberian prison and saying the incident showed the importance of funding for Ukraine. Make no mistake, Putin is responsible for Navalnys death, Biden said in a fiery speech at the White House. He said the U.S. did not know exactly what had happened to Navalny, but that there is no doubt" that his death "was the consequence of something that Putin and his thugs did. This tragedy reminds us of the stakes in this moment. Lets provide the funding so Ukraine can keep defending itself against Putin's vicious onslaught and war crimes, he added, referring to billions in aid to help Ukraine fight Russia's invasion that has been held up in Congress for months. Throughout the day, global leaders and senior officials were swift to condemn the Kremlin after Russias most prominent opposition figure died. "His death in a Russian prison and the fixation and fear of one man only underscores the weakness and rot at the heart of the system that Putin has built," Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters at a conference in Munich. While Navalny's own team has not confirmed his death, other leaders were quick to blame it on the Russian government and even Putin himself. Vice President Kamala Harris called the news of Navalny's death, "terrible" and "a further sign of Putins brutality." Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics likewise did not mince words. He was just brutally murdered by the Kremlin, he said on X. Navalny was poisoned with a nerve agent in 2020 an attempt on his life that he blamed directly on Putin and spent his final years behind bars as the Russian leader focused on his war in Ukraine. For now, a spokesperson for Navalny said on X that they did not have any confirmation or information about his death. Russias Federal Prison Service said in a statement that Navalny had died after feeling unwell following a walk Friday, "almost immediately losing consciousness. His mother, Lyudmila Navalnaya, was quoted by the Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta as saying that her son had been alive, healthy and happy when she last saw him on Monday. Alexei Navalny Dies in Prison (AFP - Getty Images) Many leaders said they were "disturbed" by the wider implications of Navalny's death, what it says about an ascendant Putin and the deteriorating conditions for Russia's already beleaguered opposition, as the Kremlin tightens control over his critics with increasingly stringent laws and crackdowns on freedom of speech. "Putin fears nothing more than dissent from his own people," E.U. Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said. French President Emmanuel Macron expressed "anger and indignation," and said: "In todays Russia, free spirits are sent to the gulag and condemned to death." "My thoughts go out to his family, loved ones, and to the Russian people," he added. Charles Michel, president of the European Council, added condolences to "those who fight for democracy around the world in the darkest conditions." "Fighters die. But the fight for #freedom never ends," Michel said. Alexei @navalny fought for the values of freedom and democracy. For his ideals, he made the ultimate sacrifice. The EU holds the Russian regime for sole responsible for this tragic death. I extend my deepest condolences to his family. And to those who fight for democracy around Charles Michel (@CharlesMichel) February 16, 2024 Also on X, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called Navalny's death "Terrible news. As the fiercest advocate for Russian democracy, Alexei Navalny demonstrated incredible courage throughout his life." German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said: "Like no other, Alexei #Navalny was a symbol of a free and democratic Russia. Thats exactly why he had to die." Even as condolences and expressions of shock pour in, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg laid out the task ahead for an international community that will have to grapple with an increasingly brazen and authoritarian Russia: We need to establish all the facts, and Russia needs to answer all the serious questions about the circumstances of his death." This article was originally published on NBCNews.com The Biden campaign on Friday unveiled a fresh ad targeting former President Trumps recent comments calling into question his commitment to NATO allies. The 60-second digital ad is set to run through Super Tuesday and is aimed at voters in Michigan, WIsconsin and Pennsylvania, which the campaign said are home to more than 2.5 million Americans who identify as Polish, Finnish, Norwegian, Lithuanian, Latvian or Estonian. Trump wants to walk away from NATO. Hes even given Putin the green light to attack Americas allies, the ad states, calling the former presidents rhetoric shameful, weak and un-American. At a recent rally in South Carolina, Trump indicated he told other NATO members that he would not protect them from an attack if they had not contributed enough to meet the alliances defense spending targets. You didnt pay? Youre delinquent? Trump said. No, I would not protect you. In fact, I would encourage them to do whatever the hell they want. You gotta pay. You gotta pay your bills. Biden himself has attacked Trump over those comments, while the NATO secretary-general has warned they undermine the security of alliance members. President Biden is right: Trumps attempts to appease dictators like Putin are dumb, shameful, dangerous, and un-American, Biden campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez said in a statement. The bottom line is that the only person Donald Trump is loyal to is Donald Trump not to our allies and certainly not to the American people. And while he thinks that sucking up to Putin and other dictators will make him strong, the American people know him for who he truly is: a coward and a loser. The campaign ad was released hours after Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny died in prison. The Russian Federal Prison Service said Navalny felt unwell after a walk and lost consciousness. An ambulance arrived, and its crew tried to rehabilitate him but was unsuccessful, it added. Navalny was serving a 19-year sentence on charges of extremism, and in December was moved from a different prison to the highest-security level facility in the country near the Arctic Circle. The special regime penal colony prison in the town of Kharp, which is about 1,200 miles northeast of Moscow, is in a remote area known for its severe winters. Navalny has been imprisoned since January 2021, when he returned to Russia after recovering from a poisoning that he blamed on Putin, who has denied trying to kill Navalny with a nerve agent. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. U.S. President Joe Biden criticized the ongoing impasse in Congress over aid for Ukraine on Feb. 16, the latest of a series of messages aimed at Republicans. Biden characterized their inaction on supporting Ukraine as directly playing into Russian President Vladimir Putin's hands and implied it was a mistake of historical proportions. Biden's comments came as House Speaker Mike Johnson convened an early recess for Congress without bringing a $95 billion aid package, which includes $60 billion in funding for Ukraine, for a vote. The Senate passed the package on Feb. 13. U.S. aid for Ukraine has stalled for months and has effectively run out. Domestic political infighting has been amplified by former President Donald Trump's victories in the first presidential primaries. Trump, who opposes further aid to Ukraine, has urged members of his party not to make any deals with Biden. Johnson said that the Senate bill lacks the stricter border security measures requested by House Republicans and refuses to advance it in the lower chamber. In a memo obtained by The Hill, White House spokesperson Andrew Bates criticized Johnson for prematurely starting the recess, accusing him of causing harm to national security. "Supporting our bipartisan national security bill is standing up to Putin. Opposing it is playing into his hands," Biden wrote on Feb. 15. The previous day, he wrote, "For those Republicans in Congress who think they can oppose funding for Ukraine and not be held to account: History is watching." The House is scheduled to reconvene in Washington on Feb. 28 following the Presidents Day recess. "The only advice I would give the Speaker publicly: Let the House vote on Ukraine. Just let them vote," Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell told The Hill on Feb. 15. Read also: Biden: Trumps NATO comments dangerous, shameful, un-American Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. The Norfolk Southern train derailment that sent toxins into the soil, water and air of East Palestine, Ohio, was an act of greed, President Joe Biden said Friday as he visited the town for the first time. Describing the crash as an act of cruelty that was 100% preventable, Biden said the administration had been pushing railroad companies to take more precautions prior to the February 3, 2023, Norfolk Southern derailment. Multibillion dollar railroad companies transporting toxic chemical have a responsibility to do it safely, Biden said Friday. Norfolk Southern, he said, failed. While there are acts of God, Biden said, this was an act of greed. While nobody was killed in the Norfolk Southern crash, the trains derailment and the later decision to vent and burn five tankers containing cancer-causing vinyl chloride created a plume of toxic smoke that could be seen from space and caused a panic over the quality of the towns drinking water. More than 1 million pounds of toxins were put into the towns water, air and soil as a result of the derailment and its aftermath. Hundreds of residents were ordered to evacuate. Some moved away permanently. Others said they had developed rashes, sore throats, nausea and headaches after eventually returning to their homes, and worried the symptoms were related to chemicals released after the derailment. Biden had been under pressure to visit East Palestine since the derailment. The White House said shortly after the trains derailment that the president would find a time to visit, but that did not happen last year. Former President Donald Trump visited East Palestine about three weeks after the derailment on February 22, and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg visited the next day. Trump during his visit criticized Bidens absence and what resulted was a political uproar, all while residents said they simply wanted to know whether their water was safe to drink. In the town on Friday, both Biden and Environmental Protection Administration Administrator Michael Regan sought to reassure residents that the administrations focus was on helping clean the town up and hold Norfolk Southern accountable from the crash since the outset - including Bidens signing of an executive order in September ordering federal agencies to hold the company responsible for cleaning up the mess and reporting progress. The company reported last summer that costs associated with the cleanup were around $1 billion. While visiting with East Palestine residents, Biden drank local tap water and sipped on coffee that was brewed with the tap water and local beans, according to the traveling press pool. He also announced his administration was awarding six National Institutes of Health grants to research the short- and long-term effects of the derailment. Bidens visit comes at the invitation of East Palestine Mayor Trent Conaway and other community leaders, according to the White House. Conaway has been critical of Bidens failure to visit East Palestine sooner, telling Fox News last month: My personal opinion is the best time for him to come would be February of 2025, when he is on his book tour. Speaking after Biden and Regan, Conaway on Friday said the presidents visit was long awaited. East Palestine, Conaway said, will not be defined by this single event rather our response to it and our perseverance. President Biden, your long-awaited visit to our village today allows us to focus on the things we agree with, acknowledge this disaster should never happen, address the long-term health concerns and the economic growth of the village and ensure this never happens again to another community, Conaway said. The White House said the president would visit East Palestine to meet with residents impacted by the Norfolk Southern train derailment and assess the progress that his Administration has helped deliver in coordination with state and local leaders to protect the community and hold Norfolk Southern accountable. He also has heard loud and clear from the folks in East Palestine that they dont want to be defined by an event, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said earlier this week. And so, hell speak to the administrations work to deliver on the needs for family businesses that are affected. Biden echoed that message on Friday, promising his administration would stick with its efforts to help the town recover. It doesnt matter if youre Democrat or Republican or independent. What matters is were all Americans, everyone, everyone, we look out for one another. We leave no one behind and we come back stronger than before. Thats what youre doing here. Thats whats happening right here in this community, Biden said. A vast majority has been done. But were gonna stay to the very end until every deed is met. Buttigieg said last month efforts to address rail safety have been stymied by Republicans in Congress. Almost one year after the Norfolk Southern derailment, Congress has still not passed the bipartisan Railway Safety Act, he said. It should not be the case that one year after that derailment, we are still waiting for Congress to act, and yet we have seen many who had a lot to say about this in Congress a year ago still not make clear on the record whether they are for or against this bill, and weve seen some House Republicans who have now voted twice to pass legislation that would cut railroad safety fund funding and track inspections. But Buttigieg previously acknowledged some mistakes in his own response, saying he should have visited East Palestine sooner and that he failed to anticipate the political fallout from the derailment. The Environmental Protection Agency has overseen the removal of more than 174,000 tons of contaminated soil from the site, but questions about whether toxins still lurk remain. Regan told reporters last month that his agency was confident the residents of East Palestine are not at risk from impacted surface water, soil or air from the derailment. This story has been updated with additional developments. CNNs Sam Fossum contributed to this report. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com President Biden said Friday the House GOPs impeachment inquiry into his conduct should be dropped after the confidential source at the center of bribery allegations was arrested and charged with making false statements to the FBI. He is lying, and it should be dropped, and its just been an outrageous effort from the beginning, Biden told reporters when asked about the charges. GOP lawmakers pushing for Bidens impeachment have frequently pointed to conversations the confidential source, Alexander Smirnov, had with the FBI relaying that the head of Ukrainian energy company Burisma told him he had paid the president and his son Hunter Biden $5 million. The indictment alleges Smirnov made up the allegations given his opposition to President Bidens candidacy. As alleged in the indictment, the events that Smirnov first reported to the FBI Agent in June 2020 were fabrications, the Justice Department wrote in a press release announcing the grand jury indictment. The charges were brought by special counsel David Weiss, a Trump appointee who has brought tax changes against Hunter Biden who once served on Burismas board. The indictment threatens to undercut the House GOP effort to paint Biden as corrupt and pursue potential articles of his impeachment. Biden has long maintained he did nothing wrong and has not been involved in his sons business. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. FILE - The White House is seen at sunset in Washington, Friday, Jan. 26, 2024. President Joe Biden plans to welcome Kenyan President William Ruto to the White House in May, hosting a state visit after reneging on his promise to visit Africa last year. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre announced Friday that the visit set for May 23. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File) WASHINGTON (AP) President Joe Biden plans to welcome Kenyan President William Ruto to the White House in May, hosting a state visit after reneging on his promise to visit Africa last year. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre announced Friday that the visit set for May 23 will mark the 60th anniversary of U.S.-Kenya diplomatic relations and celebrate a partnership that is delivering for the people of both countries while affirming our strategic partnership with Ruto's country. It will strengthen our shared commitment to advance peace and security, expand our economic ties, and stand together in defense of democratic values, Jean-Pierre said in a statement. The leaders will discuss ways to bolster our cooperation in areas including people-to-people ties, trade and investment, technological innovation, climate and clean energy, health, and security. Word of Ruto's visit comes after Haiti announced this week that it is working on an official agreement with Kenyan officials to secure the long-awaited deployment of Kenyan police forces there. High-ranking officials from both countries recently met in the U.S. for three days to draft a memorandum of understanding and set a deadline for the arrival of forces in Haiti from the east African country. Jean-Pierre added Friday that, beyond Kenya, Ruttos visit to Washington will "further the vision that African leadership is essential to addressing global priorities. First lady Jill Biden traveled to Kenya last February during a five-day, two-country tour of the continent. The White House also confirmed that both Ruto and Kenyan first lady Rachel Ruto will be honored with a dinner with the Bidens. The White House hosted a state dinner celebrating close ally Australia in October, which followed the president's skipping a stop in that country earlier in 2023 to focus on debt limit talks in Washington. But those festivities last fall were toned down some given Israels ongoing war with Hamas. Biden said in December 2022 that he would visit sub-Saharan Africa the following year, which would have made him the first U.S. president to travel there in a decade. The president pledged at the end of a U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit in Washington with 49 leaders, in which he suggested the continent would be a strategic focus as the U.S. made political and financial commitments. But other priorities interceded in 2023. Biden pulled off last-minute trips to Israel and Vietnam, as well as a secretive journey to Ukraine. He ended last year by skipping a December U.N. climate change conference in Dubai, while sending Vice President Kamala Harris in his place, and never scheduled an Africa trip. Biden is now seeking reelection in November's election while juggling a host of pressing foreign security matters, including the Israel-Hamas war and continuing discussion in Congress over proposed foreign aid for Ukraine amid its war with Russia. On Friday he traveled to East Palestine, Ohio, making good on months of saying he'd visit the site of a Norfolk Southern train derailment that spilled a cocktail of hazardous chemicals and caught fire in February 2023. Vice President Kamala also spoke Friday at the Munich Security Conference and was asked about Washingtons growing transitional mindset toward Africa a characterization she disputed, countering that the future has to be about partnership and investment. I believe that we must think differently about the relationship between the United States and the continent of Africa, the vice president said, adding, We look at the future of the continent and how it will affect the world: It is indisputable. There will be a direct impact. Harris noted that the median age on the African continent is 19 and that population growth means that, in coming decades, as many as 1 in 4 people in the world will live there. In terms of the future, we must see the innovation that is currently happening there and partner with African leaders and nations, she said. And change the way we are thinking, in a way that is not about aid, but about partnership. Not what we do for the continent, but what we do with the continent and its leaders. In the midst of widespread breakup rumors involving Hollywood's beloved pair, Tom Holland and Zendaya, the Spider-Man actor emerged to stand by his girlfriend's side at the premiere party for her latest film, Dune: Part Two. The event unfolded on Thursday, February 15, 2023, in London, England. While Holland wasn't photographed alongside Zendaya on the red carpet, his presence at the subsequent festivities served as a clear statement against the breakup rumors. Zendaya's Social Media Move Sparks Breakup Rumors On January 4, 2023, Zendaya made headlines when she unfollowed all accounts on her Instagram, including Holland's. While some speculate that Zendaya's decision to unfollow all accounts on her Instagram may be related to the forthcoming promotional campaigns for her films, Dune: Part Two and Challengers, fans of the couple could not help but wonder if this action hints at a potential breakup between her and Holland. Holland swiftly dispelled these rumors with a straightforward denial, affirming the couple's unity. Several days after the unfollowing incident, a TMZ photographer followed the actor, questioning him about the ongoing rumors concerning his relationship with Zendaya. "No, absolutely not," Holland firmly asserted. The premiere party for Dune: Part Two served as a rare public outing for the pair, marking their first public appearance together since addressing the breakup rumors. Read Also: Netflix To Release A Pair Of Shows Focused On The Boston Red Sox Zendayaa, Tom Holland Make Rare Public Appearance Together During the event, Zendaya, 27, exuded elegance in a black velvet floor-length gown complemented by vintage jewelry from Bulgari, while Holland opted for a more casual look, sticking to an all-black attire with a vest layered over a t-shirt and dress pants. In recent remarks made at the 2024 Critics Choice Awards, Holland expressed his affection for Zendaya, reflecting on their shared memories and experiences. The actor reminisced about their time filming the Spider-Man movies, highlighting the significance of those moments in their relationship. Having first met on the set of Spider-Man: Homecoming in 2017, the former co-stars have maintained a relatively private relationship despite occasional glimpses into their personal lives. Despite inadvertently confirming their romance in 2021, the couple has remained steadfast in their efforts to shield their personal lives from the spotlight. As Holland continues to stand by Zendaya's side, their steadfast support for each other amidst swirling rumors reaffirms the strength of their bond, both on and off the screen. Related Article: Usher Marries Long-time Girlfriend Jennifer Goicoechea After Super Bowl Performance President Biden praised the East Palestine, Ohio, community during a visit to the town Friday, saying it was absolutely amazing what it rose to following the 2023 train derailment that caused a toxic chemical spill. The president also condemned what he described as the corporate negligence that led to the derailment, which caused a train operated by Norfolk Southern Railway to spill toxic chemicals including vinyl chloride, a compound used in production of plastics. Saying the town had been through hell, Biden praised local and federal officials Herculean efforts in the wake of the crash. The president conceded theres a lot more to do, and vowed that the government would continue to support the community and hold Norfolk Southern accountable. What they cannot make whole, the government will make whole. While there are acts of God, this was an act of greed that was 100 percent preventable, Biden said, accompanied by Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Michael Regan and Mayor Trent Conaway. We were pushing railroads to take more precautions, to deal with braking, to do a whole range of things that were not dealt with. Norfolk Southern failed its responsibility. A spokesperson for Norfolk Southern said it had promised from the beginning to make it right in East Palestine. With major site remediation completed and the investment of more than $104 million in the East Palestine community, were keeping our promises, the spokesperson said. Well continue to partner with elected officials, residents, and local leaders to keep making measurable progress, and on our shared focus to help East Palestine thrive for the long-term. Biden also announced six new National Institutes of Health (NIH) grants to top American universities to analyze the crashs short and long-term impacts of the crash, and reiterated his endorsement of bipartisan legislation that would tighten railway safety protocols. The president also called on the Senate to pass a tax package that already cleared the House, which would ensure locals compensation from Norfolk Southern is not treated as taxable income. The president emphasized local and national unity in his remarks, saying in moments like this, lets remember who we arewere the United States of America, for Gods sake. We have obligations to one another. Theres nothing beyond our capacity when we do it together, and were going to stay here and do it together for as long as it takes. Regan, who spoke after Biden, said that since the crash, the EPA has removed 176,000 tons of contaminated soil, while Conaway praised the communitys resilience and called for the passage of the railway safety bill. Although both Regan and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg visited the town in the immediate wake of the crash, Biden did not visit the town until this week, shortly after the anniversary of the event. While no one was injured or killed in the derailment, locals have expressed concerns about longer-term health and environmental hazards and appealed to the president to declare an emergency. Biden did not respond to reporters questions on the scene about why he did not visit the site in 2023. This story was updated at 6:54 p.m. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Russian dictator Vladimir Putin is responsible for the death of opposition leader Alexei Navalny, said U.S. President Joe Biden on Feb. 16. "Reports of his death, if true, and I have no reason to believe they're not," Biden said, noting that Russian authorities are going to "make up their own story." "Make no mistake, Putin is responsible for Navalny's death," Biden told the press, calling it another example of the Russian leader's brutality. Responding to a journalist later on, Biden clarified that Washington does not know the exact circumstances of Navalny's death but said they were certainly a result of actions by "Putin and his thugs." The president was reminded of his words from 2021 that Russia would face "devastating consequences" if something were to happen to Navalny. Biden clarified that since then, Russia has already faced "hell of a lot of consequences," including extensive sanctions and military losses in Ukraine. He did not reveal any potential further steps that the U.S. would take in response to Navalny's death, saying that multiple options are being considered. The U.S. president lauded Navalny "as a powerful voice of the truth," saying that despite the Kremlin persecution, he returned to Russia "as he deeply believed in his country." "Putin does not only target the citizens of other countries, as we can see in Ukraine right now, he also inflicts terrible crimes on his own people," the president said. Biden added that this tragedy should remind the U.S. of the stakes at this moment, again urging Congress to pass additional aid for Ukraine. The U.S. Senate approved additional funding for Kyiv earlier this week. However, the bill is likely to face steep opposition from hardline Republicans in the House who are close to their party's presidential hopeful, Donald Trump. House Speaker Mike Johnson, whose views closely align with those of Trump, has so far refused to put the bill for a vote, putting the House on recess until the end of February. "A failure to support Ukraine at this moment will never be forgotten," Biden said, adding that "the clock is ticking." Read also: Kremlin spokesperson: Putin informed about Navalnys death Russian media reported on Feb. 16 that Navalny died in prison. Navalny was being held in a penal colony in Russia's far northern Yamal-Nenets Autonomous District. According to the prison service, Navalny supposedly lost consciousness and could not be revived. The penal colony that Navalny was held in is located in a remote settlement north of the Arctic Circle, with "tough conditions" and limited access to letter delivery, according to Zhdanov, the head of the Anti-Corruption Foundation established by Navalny. Navalny was previously held in the IK-6 Melekhovo high-security prison in Russia's Vladimir Oblast. Navalny had been serving a 2.5-year prison sentence since 2021 and a separate 9-year sentence on fraud charges since 2022. A Russian court also sentenced Navalny to 19 years in a maximum security prison in August 2023 on extremism charges for creating the Anti-Corruption Foundation. All these cases have been recognized as politically motivated and fabricated by international human rights organizations and governments. Navalny was poisoned in Russia in 2020 and flown for treatment in Germany. German doctors said he had been poisoned with a Novichok nerve agent a chemical weapon produced by the Russian government. The Insider, Bellingcat, CNN, and Der Spiegel published an investigation according to which Navalny had been poisoned by agents of Russias Federal Security Service. They also identified the agents' names. Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. Joe Biden and Kamala Harris celebrated what would have been the 51st anniversary of Roe v. Wade in late January their first campaign event of 2024. The Restore Roe rally in northern Virginia made it clear that the Biden/Harris ticket will center abortion rights in the reelection campaign. The theater was filled with the presidents supporters and leadership from national reproductive rights organizations who have endorsed him, including Planned Parenthood, the National Organization for Women and Reproductive Freedom for All. Only a few minutes into Bidens speech, several protesters interrupted, calling for a cease-fire in Israels U.S.-backed military operation in Gaza, which has killed more than 28,000 Palestinians and set off a maternal and reproductive health crisis. The president was interrupted over a dozen times as security struggled to wrangle protesters who were screaming Genocide Joe! and demanding a cease-fire. Hundreds of Biden supporters tried to drown out the protesters by clapping and chanting, Four more years! Israel kills two mothers every hour in Gaza! Cease-fire now! End the genocide! one protester yelled at Biden, who was standing on stage in front of a massive Restore Roe banner and flanked by supporters holding Defend choice signs. A video of the event shows Alexis McGill Johnson, the president of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, clad in her trademark hot-pink pantsuit, standing up and chanting Four more years! as security dragged the shouting protester out. It was a real-time illustration of the growing rift in the reproductive rights movement during an election year that will determine the future of reproductive health in the U.S. No One Is Making The Connection Biden has seemingly embraced abortion rights, a pivotal issue for Democrats, and earned an extremely early endorsement from national reproductive rights groups. Despite the president making abortion rights a pillar of his campaign, Biden is generally reluctant to talk about abortion, saying things like Im not big on abortion and, more recently, I dont want abortion on demand. When it comes to abortion care, many who work for reproductive justice believe that the president is a lukewarm advocate at best. Now workers are deeply concerned that Bidens administration is contributing to a maternal and reproductive health crisis in Gaza through its aid to Israel. Gaza is home to about 55,000 women who are currently pregnant, according to a recent report. Theres been a 300% increase in pregnancy loss due to the lack of neonatal and maternal health care since the conflict began five months ago. Most women are giving birth in crowded tents or on the streets because theres no ambulance or car to take them to a hospital. There have been several reports of women undergoing C-sections without anesthesia or properly sanitized medical tools, leading to wound infections. Basic prenatal care, such as treating anemia, is nonexistent, causing more women to die during childbirth and more babies born prematurely, many of whom die without access to hospital incubators. Food shortages are leaving pregnant women, new mothers and newborns malnourished. And a lack of menstrual hygiene products has caused an increase in infections in women and girls. No one is making the connection that theres a huge repro genocide happening in Gaza that we are funding, and the big repro organizations that are endorsing him are pretending like its not happening, one leader who has met with the Biden administration on abortion issues told HuffPost. Most of the workers who spoke with HuffPost asked to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation from their employers or others in the reproductive rights field. No one is making the connection that theres a huge repro genocide happening in Gaza that we are funding. HuffPost spoke with over a dozen people who work for reproductive justice causes including current Planned Parenthood employees, legal experts, nurse midwives, abortion fund workers and clinic staffers from across the country who say that Bidens unwavering support for Israel has fractured the movement. The rift has left those who support Palestinians to feel ostracized by the larger reproductive rights groups and questioning whether they can vote for Biden in November. They also fear retaliation. All of the workers said that they cannot ignore how their reproductive justice work in the U.S. ties into the reproductive health crisis happening in Gaza, especially when the U.S. is actively involved in the conflict. Many of the workers stressed that although abortion access is critically important, its part of the larger reproductive justice framework that includes the right to choose when and how to have a child and the right to raise that child in a safe environment. Denying a woman dignified health care in birth is such a huge part of reproductive justice. How can you not see that this is the same thing? Allie Felker, a stillbirth prevention advocate whose first child was stillborn, told HuffPost. Theres so much more to reproductive justice than just having access to abortions. The workers tell HuffPost they cannot in good conscience vote for Biden in the 2024 election given his ardent support for Israel. Nearly every worker, including those at Planned Parenthood, said they wished big reproductive rights organizations, which have the ability to endorse and help fund presidential candidates, had used their political power to demand a Democratic candidate that was a stronger advocate for abortion rights. Theres so much you can do in 10 months to make Biden a better candidate, and instead of doing that, youre yelling at people like me who have been doing the hard work for a long time, one abortion fund worker from the South told HuffPost. Youre telling me I should forget about all these bad things hes done because it could be worse, instead of asking the person who could change things to change them. A protester shouts in support of the people of Gaza as President Joe Biden speaks at a A protester shouts in support of the people of Gaza as President Joe Biden speaks at a "Restore Roe" campaign rally on Jan. 23 in Manassas, Virginia. Bidens halfhearted support for abortion access had already soured many of the workers on his administration. Many said they can no longer support a candidate who barely says the word abortion and is working to restore a status quo that never gave marginalized people abortion access to begin with. Some said that Bidens policy stance on immigration also contributed to their decision to not vote for him in November. Everyone said that Gaza was the last straw. They understand whats at stake: A second Trump presidency would likely be worse for abortion access in the U.S. But theyre tired of campaigning for Democrats who rarely listen to frontline service workers and then renege on their abortion rights promises once in office. The Biden campaign declined to comment on the record. The Biden administration is using abortion access to win his presidential campaign, which is a huge problem when there is a reproductive justice crisis in Palestine that he is contributing to, said one Planned Parenthood employee. Theres a huge divide in our movement now that a lot of the union workers are talking about. Were feeling used; were feeling abandoned, the worker added. Its definitely a betrayal to see these CEOs saying Four more years when Biden hasnt even done anything to help our movement. Two people in the reproductive rights space who are close to some of the national groups told HuffPost that organizations dont penalize employees for speaking out about their viewpoints. Leaders at these groups are also put in a tough position, they said, because theyre asked to put their personal opinions aside in order to lead in an environment that can be hostile. Denying a woman dignified health care in birth is such a huge part of reproductive justice. How can you not see that this is the same thing? Voters need to pay more attention to Vice President Kamala Harris, they said, who they believe has been a critical part of the administrations push to protect abortion care. Vice President Harris words and actions have made her, in particular, the reproductive rights champion that we need for the time that were in, one of the people who works closely with some of the national organizations told HuffPost. Were going to continue to work with [the administration], but we also push them, they said. Just because people dont hear it or see it doesnt mean we arent using the relationship that we have to push them harder. Tensions Rise Across The Movement Many of the U.S. workers became emotional when discussing what they described as genocide in the Gaza Strip. They told HuffPost they cant ignore the racist history of the reproductive rights movement. The truth is it plays right into our movements history of participating in reproductive coercion, injustice and genocide, the reproductive rights leader who has met with the Biden administration told HuffPost, referring to the sterilization of Puerto Rican women who sought contraception and the experimentation on Black womens bodies to create modern gynecological care. What I see is our movements history repeating itself, and that is so dangerous. Were not going to talk about the entire generations of Palestinians who are dead so, what, this man can stay in office? ARC Southeast, an abortion fund in the South, is one of the few reproductive rights organizations in the U.S. that has put out a powerful, in-depth statement of support for the Palestinian people. Much of the statement acknowledges the parallels between the barriers their callers, the majority of whom are Black, experience when trying to get health care in the South and the obstacles to maternal and reproductive health care Palestinians are facing. Nearly 70 other grassroots reproductive justice organizations across the country signed on in support of the statement, which was published in October. Repro Jobs, a hub for workers in the industry, also published a statement signed by about 700 workers that calls for a cease-fire and acknowledges the industrywide concern over the rising suppression of speech of workers who protest the genocide of Palestinians. In contrast, Planned Parenthood put out a statement in December that directly condemned Hamas for killing Israelis but chose to use a passive voice when describing Palestinian deaths. Many employees were deeply frustrated with the statement because, they said, it did little to acknowledge the violence in Gaza and did not call for a cease-fire. More than 430 current and former employees, as well as donors, criticized Planned Parenthood in a letter responding to the organizations statement. The letter was written by PPFA union workers who claimed that their employers December statement contributed to the spread of rampant disinformation. For PPFA to ignore the Israeli governments war crimes against the Palestinian people stands antithetical to their purported mission to fight for the dignity, safety, and rights of all people, the letter says. The letter is endorsed by a range of departments that the signatories work in, including Planned Parenthoods litigation and law sector, Planned Parenthood Global and Planned Parenthood state groups from all over the country. Planned Parenthood declined to comment on the record. Some workers who spoke with HuffPost acknowledged that this is simply the role of larger organizations during a critical election year; organizations like Planned Parenthood have to tread carefully on controversial issues in order to ensure donations continue, some said. Others felt differently. All of the Planned Parenthood workers, I think we know that Planned Parenthood is a white liberal feminist organization thats of the Hillary Clinton types or imperial feminists, one Planned Parenthood worker said. Through our unions were trying to change that but its not easy. Reproductive Justice Isnt Only About Abortion Care Since October, the Biden administration has supported Israel on the world stage, bypassing Congress multiple times to approve sending weapons to Israel. Despite months of international criticism and growing concern from lawmakers at home, Biden has aided Israel like no other president before him. He only recently began pushing for a sustained pause in fighting and calling Israels military response in Gaza over the top. The president promised to adjust U.S. policy to curb violence in the region, though current and former officials told HuffPosts Akbar Shahid Ahmed that theyre skeptical the administration will actually reduce U.S. military or diplomatic support for Israel. 24 year-old Rua al-Sindavi, a Palestinian woman pregnant with triplets, expects to give birth in a tent due to insufficient medical facilities. She recently had to migrate to Rafah due to Israeli attacks on February 14, 2024. Sindavi suffers from malnutrition and extreme anaemia due to the food shortages in the city. 24 year-old Rua al-Sindavi, a Palestinian woman pregnant with triplets, expects to give birth in a tent due to insufficient medical facilities. She recently had to migrate to Rafah due to Israeli attacks on February 14, 2024. Sindavi suffers from malnutrition and extreme anaemia due to the food shortages in the city. Dr. Deborah Harrington, a high-risk obstetrician, saw women die from pregnancy complications in December when she worked in Al-Aqsa Hospital in central Gaza for two weeks as part of a humanitarian aid trip. Harrington told HuffPost that most of the maternal and newborn health care providers were moved to Al-Helal Al-Emirati Maternity Hospital in Rafah, one of the last designated safe zones, sheltering nearly 1.4 million displaced Gazans. Al-Emirati hospital was designed to accommodate 30 to 40 daily appointments for pregnant patients but now sees 300 to 400 pregnant women, postpartum mothers and newborns each day. Most of the newborns admitted to Al-Emirati are dying of infections because of the horrible conditions, said Dr. Ahmed Al Shaer, a pediatric specialist at the hospital. Today I am scheduled for a cesarean section, then Ill return to the same suffering in the tent, a pregnant woman at Al-Emirati told the United Nations. I will be facing difficulties after birth from physical pain to an ice-cold tent. The baby has no clothes, she added before starting to cry. Israel began airstrikes in Rafah this week. One Gazan described the first night as full of horror, strikes, death and destruction. Harrington fears for her colleagues who are continuing their work at Al-Emirati hospital, adding that there will likely be no place left to safely give birth if Rafah becomes an active military zone. Felker, the stillbirth prevention advocate, was part of a group of reproductive justice workers who disrupted a Harris campaign event that was part of the vice presidents Fight for Reproductive Freedoms tour late last month in San Jose, California. Before Felker stood from her seat to demand a cease-fire, she said there were several women sitting on either side of her who were cheering any time Harris talked about reproductive freedom. When Felker stood up and yelled: Cease-fire now! I have lost a child, I know how these women [in Gaza] feel, the same women pulled on her purse to get her to sit down. One woman stood in front of her and said, I will not let you speak. When we first attained these [reproductive] rights, it was from women doing exactly what Im doing: standing up for justice, protesting, shouting in the streets, raising our voices, she said. Now its like these same women who would champion that justice here are standing against me for championing that justice where our administration is actively repressing it. Related... Biden calls Ohio train derailment 'an act of greed' as he visits area a year later By Jeff Mason and Nandita Bose EAST PALESTINE, Ohio (Reuters) -U.S. President Joe Biden on Friday called the toxic derailment of a Norfolk Southern train in East Palestine, Ohio, completely preventable during a visit to the area a year after the incident sparked a health and environmental crisis. In his first trip since the derailment, Biden toured the site of the accident, which forced residents to abandon their homes. Many people have since suffered from rashes, breathing problems and other ailments. "While there are acts of God, this was an act of greed that was 100% preventable," he said. "We were pushing railroads to take more precautions, to deal with braking, to deal with a whole range of things that were not dealt with. Norfolk Southern failed its responsibility." East Palestine Mayor Trent Conaway, a conservative who does not support Biden, extended the invitation to visit to the Democratic president, saying it would be good for his community. "President Biden, your long-awaited visit to our village today allows us to focus on the things we agree with," Conaway said, listing efforts to address long-term health concerns in the community and economic growth as two of those things. The president urged Congress to pass a bipartisan bill to toughen rail safety laws and said the federal government would remain active in the community until the cleanup was complete. The bill, advanced by Ohio Senators J.D. Vance, a Republican, and Democrat Sherrod Brown, has stalled. Republicans and some local residents have criticized Biden for not visiting earlier. Biden's motorcade passed by protesters in the village; some made crude gestures and one person yelled: One year too late! Biden's administration says he has been laser-focused on the issue since the derailment. Norfolk Southern said it knew more work was needed. Were proud of the progress weve made toward fully remediating the site, and helping the community recover. But we know there is more work to do. Well continue keeping our promises and listening to the community," Chief Executive Alan Shaw said in a statement. During a stop at a candle shop in town, Biden sipped from a glass of local tap water and a container of coffee. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan told reporters the agency has been monitoring wells and municipal water and "there were no elevated levels of pollution exposure due to this derailment." Former President Donald Trump, expected to be Biden's 2024 presidential rival, traveled to East Palestine about two weeks after the incident and called the federal response a betrayal. He did not comment on Friday about Biden's visit. The National Transportation Safety Board, which has yet to submit a final report, has said 38 train cars derailed on Feb. 3, 2023 and a fire damaged another dozen train cars. Residents on both sides of the Ohio-Pennsylvania border were ordered to evacuate because of the derailment and release of toxic chemicals. Norfolk Southern has estimated it will cost the company more than $800 million to clean up the hazardous chemicals, help the community rebuild and respond to lawsuits. (Reporting by Jeff Mason in East Palestine, Nandita Bose in Washington and Jarrett Renshaw in Pennsylvania; Additional reporting by Andrea Shalal; Editing by David Gregorio and Edwina Gibbs) Officials from the Hong Kong Customs and Excise Department revealed on Friday (Feb. 16) that they had arrested seven people linked to the territory's largest ever money laundering case to date, which involved about HK$14 billion ($1.8 billion), some of it linked to a scam case in India. The Associated Press reported that the seven residents, aged between 23 and 74, were part of a large-scale transnational syndicate that used several shell companies and bank accounts to transfer large sums from overseas to the city under the guise of running international trading businesses. Some of those arrested were non-Chinese residents of Hong Kong. One of the accounts seized once received as much as HK$100 million ($12.8 million) on a single day, the customs officials said. Aside from bank accounts, officials have confiscated electronic devices, documents, and over 8,000 carats of suspected synthetic gemstones apparently meant for export to India. Investigations on the case are continuing. Read Also: Chinese Court Orders Liquidation of Evergrande Over $300 Billion in Liabilities Money Laundering Case Involves Indian App Hong Kong Customs Financial Investigation Bureau head Ip Tung-ching said that HK$2.9 billion ($371 million) of the total was suspected to be linked to a scam case involving a mobile application in India but fell short of identifying the app. Ip added that the syndicate received remittances from India to process the exporting of electronic devices, diamonds, gems, and precious metals. Proceeds were then transferred to bank accounts in Hong Kong for money laundering. "These acts of money laundering provide protective umbrellas for the illegal profits of criminals," she said. Hong Kongers, Indians, and other international law enforcement agents cooperated in the success of the operation. A 34-year-old Hong Kong resident arrested in late January was suspected to be the syndicate's mastermind, according to Hong Kong Customs divisional commander Yu Yiu-wing. Related Article: China Ousts Head of Securities Watchdog A grassroots group of Black activists are demanding cash payouts from the City of Boston in reparations related to slavery and centuries of institutional racism, the group said in a statement Friday. In the statement, the Rev. Kevin Peterson, founder of the New Democracy Coalition and the Boston Peoples Reparations Commission, said the group is asking city officials to fully commit to writing checks to compensate Black Bostonians, in a move that would be part of a comprehensive reparations project. The reparations effort in Boston will not be domesticated into simple historical studies and meaningless rhetoric about equity and diversity in some future time, Peterson said. We call on the Task Force to fully commit to writing checks that will compensate Black Bostonians and fiscally support the creation of new institutions in our community. A press conference will be held on the topic at 2 p.m. on Saturday at the Dudley Cafe, Nubian Square, 115 Warren St., Roxbury. During that press conference, Rev. Peterson will announce a specific initial monetary payout to Bostons Black residents, organizers said in their statement. Peterson authored legislation that successfully resulted in the City of Boston apologizing for its participation in the trans-Atlantic Slave Trade, the groups statement said. That led to the creation of the citys Task Force on Reparations, the groups statement said. The citys Task Force was established through a 2022 City Council ordinance and appointed by Mayor Michelle Wu, according to the citys website. The task force is made up of 10 members, including two youths. According to the city, the Task Force will focus on working with a research partner to release a study on the legacy of slavery in Boston and its impact on descendants today; engaging the community throughout the process to include input from lived experience; and providing recommendations to the mayor for reparative justice solutions for Black residents. The Task Force last met on Feb. 6, according to meeting minutes posted on the citys website. Peterson also organized the successful Boston City Council vote to change the name of Faneuil Hall as a specific reparations action. Faneuil Hall is named after a slave owner, the groups statement said. Its not enough to talk about the vagaries of healthcare, housing and public education reform for Blacks in Boston as part of a reparations bill. The reality is that labor and lives were stolen from Blacks in Boston. Money is owed. A debt must be paid in dollars, Peterson said. This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available. Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW During Black History Month, we recognize a wide variety of firsts, the achievements of people who overcame prejudice to be the first of their race to do a job, hold an office, lead a group. Starting with Ada Dunbar, who is said to be one of the first if not the first Black settlers in what became Rochester, many of these pioneers are on our list of Remarkable Rochesterians, a roll call of people who have done Rochester proud. A look at the list shows that many of the firsts did not come early in the citys history. Who's, Who in local Black history It was 1921 before Dr. Charles Lunsford became the citys first Black doctor. In 1947, Charles Price became the citys first Black police officer. Constance Mitchell, the first Black woman on the Monroe County Board of Supervisors, was elected to that group in 1961. Then in 1963, Alice Young, who celebrated her 100th birthday last year, became the first Black educator to become a principal in the Rochester City School District. A first who needs to be added is Dr. Edwin A. Robinson, a surgeon. (Thanks to a blog on the website boldandgritty.com for calling Robinson to my attention.) Dr. Edwin A. Robinson was the first Black man to graduate from the University of Rochester Medical School. In 1945, Robinson became the first Black graduate of the University of Rochester Medical School, a school that had existed since 1925. Rochester's racist history For years, as a matter of policy under the leadership of Dr. George Hoyt Whipple, its founding dean, the medical school had rejected all Black candidates. In a form letter to Black applicants, Whipple said that it would be impossible for the school to offer them clinical training, particularly in obstetrics. Presumably, he could not envision Black caregivers treating white women. .As the Democrat & Chronicles Justin Murphy has written, in 1939 a New York state commission found the schools rejection of Black candidates to be an example of flaunted discrimination. Lunsford was a lead witness before the commission, as he had long lobbied the school to admit Black students. Given the commissions findings, the medical school faced the loss of its tax-exempt status. Thus, to save that status, with Robinson in 1941, it began to admit Black candidates. Robinson paved way for others Other Black students followed him, though at first only a few were admitted. In 1972, Dr. Ruby Belton, who is on our list of Remarkable Rochesterians, became the first Black woman to graduate from the medical school. After his graduation, Robinson practiced surgery in Rochester, and he was on the staff at Strong Memorial, Rochester General and Highland hospitals. At Highland, he served two one-year terms as president of hospitals medical staff. Robinson was also active in bringing Black students to URs medical school as chair of the schools minority recruitment program. Robinson died in 1972 at age 55. Two years later, Black medical students at UR held a health symposium in his memory to discuss medical issues involving the Black community. Those issues were well known in the Robinson family. Of Dr. Edwin Robinsons three brothers, two, Alfred and Russell, were dentists. Another, C. Harvey Robinson Jr., was a physician. Their father, the Rev. C. Harvey Robinson Sr., was a minister. He lived in Rochester and served as a field representative raising funds for Tuskegee Institute, the historically Black college in Tuskegee, Alabama. He was said to have received a $1 million donation from George Eastman, the founder of the Eastman Kodak Co., and, as it happened, the person who had brought George Whipple to Rochester. Dr. Edwin Robinson, a remarkable Rochesterian As noted, lets add the name of this pioneering surgeon to the list of Remarkable Rochesterians that can be found at https://data.democratandchronicle.com/remarkable-rochesterians/ Dr. Edwin A. Robinson: (1917-1952): In 1945, he became the first Black person to graduate from the University of Rochester Medical School. Born in Louisiana, he grew up in Rochester and graduated from Benjamin Franklin High School and Cornell University. After medical school, he was an intern or resident at Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester and other hospitals, before establishing a surgical practice in Rochester. He served on the staff of Highland Hospital and other hospitals and was president of Highlands medical staff for two years. He was on the boards of several organizations and active in recruiting Black students to URs medical school. From his home in Geneseo, Livingston County, retired senior editor Jim Memmott, writes Remarkable Rochester, who we were, who we are. He can be reached at jmemmott@gannett.com or write Box 274, Geneseo, NY 14454 This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Dr. Edwin A. Robinson was first Black graduate of UR's medical school CHICAGO The Black woman who took on the city of Chicago following a wrongful police raid that left her handcuffed and naked in her home five years ago returned to City Hall on Friday to deliver a stark message. I need the public to know, and I need city government to know, that Anjanette Young is not going away until we have some real accountability in this city, the social worker whose story sparked widespread outrage told reporters. Change to the way Chicago police handle search warrants must come quicker, Young said. On Feb. 21, 2019, police botched the execution of a warrant and went to the wrong home, restraining Young instead of an unrelated male suspect while she was getting ready for bed. Officers did not allow her to put clothes on and handcuffed her during their search. Since then, Young has crusaded against the Police Departments search warrant process via a proposed namesake City Council ordinance. But efforts stalled under former Mayor Lori Lightfoots administration, which instead baked in smaller changes via internal CPD directives. In December 2021, aldermen approved a $2.9 million settlement for Young. She went on to back now-Mayor Brandon Johnson in the 2023 election, and on Friday Young and Ald. Maria Hadden, 49th, said they were optimistic their proposed reforms will be added to the police departments court-ordered consent decree. But the two also expressed impatience at the timeline. You see us wearing these sweatshirts, Hadden said. They say, I am her. Anjanette made these hoodies to help us show our solidarity with not just her, but with all Black women who are disregarded, humiliated and disrespected by our society. Young added, I endorsed the new administration, and I campaigned for them. And my statement to them is, lets get at the table and make this happen. The eyes are on the city right now. Johnson released a statement Friday as the fifth anniversary of the raid approaches, expressing his personal appreciation for Ms. Youngs resilience and courage in turning her personal experience into a catalyst for positive change. Johnsons statement did not address Youngs calls for a faster pace to police warrant reforms. A spokesperson for Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raouls office which is a party to the Police Department consent decree process did not immediately respond to request for comment. The raid at Youngs home was captured on officers body cameras and quickly went viral after the video was publicly released, sparking one of Lightfoots biggest police accountability scandals of her term. The footage was first reported by WBBM-TV Ch. 2 in its series of stories about faulty search warrants after the mayors administration took the extraordinary step of seeking a court order to stop the outlet from broadcasting the video. In 2022, Hadden attempted to push the Anjanette Young ordinance forward in a City Council committee but failed in a 10-4 vote. That was after a previous version presented to the body in 2021 also failed to garner a floor vote as Lightfoot argued such reforms should be reflected within Police Department directives, not codified in law. The legislation would have banned no-knock warrants except in the case of exigent circumstances, such as someone facing imminent physical harm. No-knock warrants allow officers to forcibly enter homes without announcing themselves, most notably in the 2020 police shooting of Breonna Taylor, a Black woman killed in Louisville, Kentucky, during a flawed drug investigation. Hadden said the ban on that type of search warrant will be one of their top demands in negotiations with consent decree stakeholders. Other reforms they have called for include mandating officers conduct more surveillance on the location before seeking a warrant, requiring the police department to publish data on raids and tightening up standards for informants. Under Lightfoot, the Chicago Police Department did make changes to its warrant policy that went into effect May 2021, and Hadden has acknowledged those reforms touched upon many of the Anjanette Young Ordinances proposed changes. They required a department member at the rank of lieutenant or above to be at the scene when the warrant is executed, and for each member of the team serving the warrant to wear body cameras. A female member of the department also is required to be present while the warrant is being served. In addition, the more unusual John Doe and no-knock warrants must be authorized by bureau chiefs. John Doe warrants are based on anonymous, but verified, tips. But Hadden and Young say these changes and more need to be reflected in something more permanent, such as the consent decree. If that does not move fast enough, then Hadden said she will reintroduce the ordinance and try again to go via the City Council route. Though Young struck an authoritative tone when speaking out for police accountability on Friday, she also said she continues to grapple with the trauma of that day. She will not spend the fifth anniversary of the raid in Chicago, she said. Yes, Im going to leave the city, and Im going to go away and have some quiet time for myself and reflect on life and reflect on the fact that God spared my life that night, Young said. And then Im also going to refresh and come back ready to do more work in the city. ____ TOPEKA (KSNT) New information has been released by city officials regarding a house fire in west Topeka that injured a local firefighter. Alan Stahl with the Topeka Fire Department (TFD) said in a press release that fire crews were first called about a possible fire in the evening of Thursday, Feb. 15 in the 4800 block of SW 17th Street. Arriving at the scene, firefighters found a two-story home on fire. This embedded content is not available in your region. During the response to this situation, a Topeka firefighter experienced a medical emergency and had to be taken to a local hospital for additional treatment. The firefighter is receiving care by hospital staff at this time. Two people dead in central Topeka shooting Stahl said an investigation into the cause of the fire has yet to identify the cause. He said the fire resulted in $65,000 in damages. For more local news, click here. Keep up with the latest breaking news in northeast Kansas by downloading our mobile app and by signing up for our news email alerts. Sign up for our Storm Track Weather app by clicking here. Follow Matthew Self on X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/MatthewLeoSelf For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KSNT 27 News. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Friday that Alexei Navalnys reported death underscores the weakness and rot at the heart of Russian President Vladimir Putins system, holding the Kremlin responsible for the death of their top opposition leader. Blinken blasted Putins regime and the chokehold he has over the countrys affairs in remarks at the Munich Security Conference, offering condolences to the Navalny family. First and foremost, if these reports are accurate, our hearts go out to his wife and to his family, Blinken said while speaking with Indias External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar. Beyond that, his death in a Russian prison and the fixation and fear of one man only underscores the weakness and rot at the heart of the system that Putin has built. Blinken said Russia is responsible for Navalnys death and that the U.S. will be in correspondence with other nations regarding the situation. The Russian Federal Prison Service said that Navalny felt unwell and lost consciousness after a walk. Medical teams allegedly tried to save him, but they were unsuccessful. Navalnys death caused an outcry around the world. Vice President Harris, in reaction to the news of his death, cast doubt on the narrative coming out of Russia. Weve all just received reports that Alexei Navalny has died in Russia. This is of course terrible news, which we are working to confirm, Harris said while also attending the conference in Munich. My prayers are with his family, including his wife Yulia, who is with us today, she continued. If confirmed, this would be a further sign of Putins brutality. Whatever story they tell, let us be clear: Russia is responsible, and we will have more to say on this later. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Called the "Davos of Defense," the Munich Security Conference is underway beginning Friday (Feb. 16), with an estimated 60 world leaders and over 85 other government officials flying to the capital of the German state of Bavaria for a three-day summit to discuss current and future global security issues. Among those attending include US Vice President Kamala Harris and Secretary of State Antony Blinklen, British Foreign Minister Lord David Cameron, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Israeli President Isaac Herzog, and Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh were also expected to speak at the conference to discuss the situation in their respective countries. Read Also: NATO Chief Issues Stark Warning on Global Peace Amid Rising Russian Threats Munich Locked Down As a result of the high-stakes conference held at the Hotel Bayerischer Hof, roads have been sealed off and parts of the local airspace closed as organizers prepared for increased security risks and a potential public backlash to the event, CNBC reported. At least 20 protests were expected in downtown Munich, with more likely to occur over the weekend. One of the first organized to highlight alleged human rights abuses by Iran. It came as the Munich Security Index 2024, released earlier this week, pointed to a disconnect between public sentiment and political leadership, with voters more likely to be concerned with non-traditional security risks such as mass migration and climate change than traditional hard security threats. This is a developing story. Please follow HNGN for more updates. Related Article: NATO, Ukraine Forge Alliance, Unveil Joint Training Center in Poland By Gabriel Araujo and Simon Lewis (Reuters) -U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel next week to Brazil and Argentina, where he is set to meet with both countries' leaders and attend a gathering of G20 foreign ministers, the State Department said on Friday. Blinken will head to Brasilia, Rio de Janeiro and Buenos Aires from Feb. 20 to 23, with Brazil hosting meetings as president of the G20 grouping of the world's largest economies. He will meet Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in Brasilia to discuss the U.S.-Brazil partnership for workers' rights and cooperation on the energy transition, the State Department said. Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Brian Nichols said he expected a "robust" conversation on issues of global peace and security between Blinken and Lula, who has sharply criticized U.S.-ally Israel's war in Gaza, including in Cairo this week. "I think it's going to be a dynamic conversation," Nichols told reporters in a phone briefing ahead of the trip, noting that Blinken will have just returned from conversations at the Munich Security Conference this week and recently visited the Middle East, his fifth trip there since the Oct. 7 attacks that ignited Israel's bombardment and invasion of Gaza. In Rio, Blinken expects to "engage world leaders on our shared initiatives for increasing peace and stability" and address international efforts to support Haiti as the country grapples with an escalating humanitarian crisis and spikes of violence, the State Department said. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is also set to attend the G20 meeting, but no meeting has been scheduled between him and Blinken, amid heightened tensions over Russia's war in Ukraine. Blinken, who last met Lavrov during a brief exchange on the sidelines of a G20 meeting in New Delhi last year, said on Friday that if reports of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny's death in prison were true, Russia was responsible. U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Economic and Business Affairs Ramin Toloui, also briefing reporters, said he could not preview any bilateral meetings Blinken might have in Rio, but said the U.S. delegation would "underscore and continue to discuss the damage that the Kremlins war of aggression has caused." Blinken will then head to Buenos Aires for a meeting with Argentine President Javier Milei, a right-wing libertarian who was sworn in December pledging a "shock therapy" to stabilize the country's embattled economy. Blinken and Milei will discuss "sustainable economic growth, our shared commitment to human rights and democratic governance, critical minerals, and enhancing trade and investment," the State Department said in a statement. (Reporting by Gabriel Araujo and Simon Lewis; additional reporting by Daphne Psaledakis; Editing by Josie Kao) Border authorities report a steep drop in January migrant encounters EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) The number of unauthorized migrant crossings across the U.S.-Southern Border took a steep dive in January, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection numbers. CBP reported a 50 percent drop, with 124,220 encounters in January compared to 249,735 in December. Experts say fluctuation in border migration is normal due to cyclical trends. The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) Director of Law & Behavior Victor Manjarrez said: Weve typically seen in the last 35 years or so, January is a drop-off monthand its usually due to the holidays, religious events that are occurring in January. In the middle of January or so the numbers start to pop up a little bit. According to Dr. Manjarrez, while the drop in encounters between December 2023 to January 2024 was significant, its still higher than normal trends in January. I dont see February hitting a number of 300,000, which I have never seen in 35 years, but I do expect those numbers to start popping up where they were before between 200 to 225,000 arrests in a 29-day period, said Dr. Manjarrez. In addition to holidays, another factor for the drop in migrant encounters is simply weather conditions. Dr. Manjarrez said: I expect March and April because thats what we always see, the weather starts to warm up and we start looking at other conditions globally, environmental changes globally in terms of natural disasters. As border authorities monitor the crossing numbers, democrats and republicans on Capitol Hill continue to battle for border security funds. I do believe the numbers are going to continue to increase. I know that the Administration right now is working with Mexico to help curtail that flow I hope it changes and they put a bigger focus on that because it will alleviate some of the strains that we experience here in the city, said Dr. Manjarrez. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTSM 9 News. High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell speaks during a press conference with Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan after the EU-Armenia Partnership Council meeting. Francois Lenoir/European Council/dpa EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell says he wants to see all EU countries make a joint appeal to the Israeli government not to launch a full-scale ground offensive into Rafah. Borrell, speaking on Friday on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, said he hoped the 27 EU members could find unanimity on the subject and "formally" urge Israel not to invade the southern Gaza city. More than 1 million Palestinians currently live in Rafah, which has been turned into a sprawling tent city on the border with Egypt. Most of them are refugees displaced from other parts of the Gaza Strip. Many of Israel's allies, including the US, Britain and Germany, have expressed fears that a ground invasion could dramatically worsen the already dire humanitarian situation in the area. NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) When you think of motorcycles, the first big brand that comes to mind is Harley Davidson. And when you think of Harleys in Nashville, its Boswells. The man behind the Nashville shop loves to help riders find the perfect bike, while also keeping them safe. Bubba Boswell is pretty passionate about motorcycles. His dealership, Boswells, has been a staple of Nashville for more than 75 years, but they dont just sell bikes. They also focus on safety. Even if you have ridden all your life, you may well come out and get a refresher course, said Boswell. SEE ALSO: Motorcycle classes essential for safety on Tennessee streets The dealership hosts one of seven courses across Middle Tennessee, with the help of Lana Grant, who has a very personal reason to care about safety. July 4, 2007, I was riding some back roads in Woodbury and not really sure what happened. I dont remember anything, but very blessed to be here, explained Grant. The course isnt required to have your license, but it is recommended. They teach riders the basics, but also bad habits to break, like speeding, tailgating tractor-trailers and lane splitting, which is illegal in Tennessee. However, the biggest risk to riders, if you ask Grant and Boswell, is distracted drivers. Theres too much going on. You have iPhones. I mean, we carry them aroundPeople are, theyre always texting, theyre always doing their emails, or theyre eating in the car. Youre always running late, said Grant. Another big issue they see and hear about is bar-hopping and riding, which is something Boswell takes very seriously. Dont drink and ride. Once you put the kickstand down, if you want to have a cold one, knock yourself out. I may take one with you, but the kickstands down for the day, said Boswell. SEE ALSO: More young riders dying in Tennessees fatal motorcycle crashes, data finds The course lasts two days and includes a riding and written portion. You learn a lot. I dont care if youve ridden for 10 or 15 years, youre going to learn something, guaranteed, said Grant. If you ask Boswell, one thing is true for everyone who rides: How many times do you go by a psychiatrists office and ever see one [motorcycle] parked out front? Never. Because it is two-wheel psychiatry. Theres no doubt about it. Theres nothing like getting on one. If you pass the course, you also get an extra 10% off your motorcycle insurance. For more information on the safety course, click here. Deadly motorcycle accidents are on the rise in Tennessee. News 2 explores the disturbing trend and looks at ways to improve safety in a special report Riders at Risk. Find the latest articles in the Riders at Risk series here. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKRN News 2. AUSTIN (KXAN) You may want to think twice before taking a sip from a bottle of water. A recent study found that nanoplastics, small flecks of plastic a thousand times smaller than a human hair, are likely floating around in your drink. The study was published in January in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Researchers from Columbia University looked at the three most popular brands of water sold in the United States and found that the bottles contained on average 240,000 plastic particles. 90% of these are considered nanoplastics. Were talking about one micron or micrometer to one nanometer, said Zhanfei Liu, Ph.D. with the University of Texas Marine Science Institute. According to Liu, consuming nanoplastics and microplastics, a larger form of degraded plastic, has caused trouble for wildlife in our oceans. The animal may feel full but they are not. They can starve to death because there are no nutrients, Liu said. Nano and microplastics can also host bacteria, which can be dangerous for things that consume them directly or indirectly by eating something that contains them. Drinking a bottle of water containing thousands of nanoplastics may not be the best thing. A recent study at the University of Texas might have a solution. How can we filter out microplastics and nanoplastics? Professor Guihua Yu with UTs Material Science department has been working with a new type of material for some time now: hydrogel. Hydrogels have some unique properties, including having a tightly interlaced netting and being hydrophobic, meaning they repel water. Last year, Yu and his team used this hydrogel to construct rollers that could collect oil from the ocean after a spill. Now theyre using it to create a filtration system capable of cleaning water down to the nano level. A filtration system using hydrogel could help us eliminate nanoplastics from our drinking water. (Credit: University of Texas) Getting rid of fine particles from contaminated water is very challenging, Yu said. The hydrogel is laced together like a basket. When water passes through it, using a syringe, plastic and other particles get trapped in this weave. The cleaned water passes right through. This actually is very easily accessible and extremely scalable and extremely also low-cost material to start with, Yu said. The filter only requires a syringe, hydrogel and something to collect the water once it passes through. Yu estimates the filter could be used at home and would cost about $2. Yus work with hydrogel was published in the science journal Nature Sustainability in January. He next plans to scale the filtration system up, so it could be used on a larger project and commercialized. How are microplastics and nanoplastics made? Plastic can last for a very long time. It is flexible, moldable and highly resistant, but it does degrade and break apart. As you can imagine, they tend to accumulate if they dont degrade, Liu said. Plastic left in landfills or the open ocean does accumulate. Liu notes that nanoplastics havent been located in the open ocean yet due to technological challenges. Microplastics have been found in the bodies of sea life. While many nanoplastics are created through degradation, we actually make them ourselves. Nanoplastics can be found in toothpaste and makeup, Liu said. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KXAN Austin. The new Google "Talk to a Live Rep" feature is now being tested by the American software giant. This innovation was spotted by numerous users, who shared what they saw on X (formerly called Twitter). They said that the new Talk to a Live Representative is quite similar to Google Pixel's "Hold for Me" feature, which is exclusive to the tech firm's Android smartphones. Thanks to the arrival of the new Talk to a Live Representative, Google users who don't have a Google Pixel smartphone can now take advantage of a new feature that will call a company and wait for an available rep on their behalf. New Google Feature Calls Business, Waits for Available Representative on Your Behalf! According to Tech Crunch's latest report, the new Google Talk to a Live Rep feature is currently available in the United States. However, only selected users who joined Search Labs can access it. Those who are able to access it said that the new Talk to a Live Rep is available on the Google app for both Android and iOS, as well as Chrome on PCs. Although this new Google feature has many similarities to Google Pixel's Hold for Me, tech enthusiasts said that it has one advantage over the latter. Unlike the Hold for Me, the new Talk to a Live Rep feature allows Google's systems to navigate the user's phone tree. It will be the one calling the user back when a customer representative is already available on the line. This is more effective compared to the Hold for Me feature, which can only be activated once a user is already on hold and waiting for a customer service representative to answer. Read Also: Google Upgrades Bard AI's YouTube Extension To Better Answer Questions About Videos How to Access Google Talk to a Live Rep Feature The new Google Talk to a Live Rep feature is accessible by searching for the company's customer support number via Google Search. After that, a "Request a Call" button will appear. However, this will only happen if Google's new feature supports the company. Google said that supported businesses include telcos, retailers, insurance providers, U.S. airlines, and other service companies. But there's a chance that this could expand in the future. What's great about the new Talk to a Live Rep feature is that it will send SMS messages first to update you on the call's progress before calling you, as reported by The Verge. Related Article: Google Chrome Update: Browser Gains New Features, Including Generative AI A 40-year-old man was found guilty in the 2022 killing of his girlfriend in Utah, federal officials said. Randy Lansing, 40, unlawfully, deliberately and intentionally killed his girlfriend, Tammy Clark, according to a Feb. news release by the district attorneys office. In April 2022, Lansing drove from Aneth in Indian Country with Clark, her two daughters and another woman to McElmo Creek, officials said. Once there, Lansing parked his blue SUV and started drinking beer with Clark, officials said. Then, Lansing is accused of violently beating Clark in front of her two daughters and the other woman, officials said. Clark suffered facial swelling, brain bleeding, cuts to her face, fractured ribs and blunt force trauma to her body, federal officials said. The strongest piece of evidence is Tammy Clarks body. Tammy Clarks body tells of the brutal beating she experienced during her last moments of life, U.S. Attorney, Trina A. Higgins, said in the release. Lansing put Clarks beaten body in the back of his SUV and drove back to Aneth, the district attorney said. Neighbors called for an ambulance and Clark was taken to a hospital, but she was pronounced dead, prosecutors said. Lansings lawyer declined to comment when McClatchy News reached out on Feb. 16. Lansing is scheduled to appear in court in May for his sentencing on the second-degree murder charge. Aneth is about 350 miles southeast of Salt Lake City. Man leaves blood trail trying to put dead man in car, New Mexico officials say Man kills 4-year-olds mom and tells girl to hide weapon, feds say. Now hes sentenced Mom accused of killing 2-month-old son because he wouldnt stop crying, Utah cops say A Border Patrol vehicle parks in front of a group of asylum-seeking migrants as they line up in a makeshift, mountainous campsite to be processed after crossing the border with Mexico on Feb. 2, 2024, near Jacumba Hot Springs, Calif. | Gregory Bull, Associated Press As a lawyer, I tell my clients to obey the law. Thats my job. Judges enforce the law because thats their job. It is inexcusable for our elected leaders to not do their job to implement the law, but that is exactly what the president and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas are failing to do their job. What seems to be lost on the president is why everyone is upset and how unfair the situation is. First, caring people realize how wrong the present policies are to the immigrants themselves. There is nothing charitable or Christian about recklessly allowing masses of people to come here after a perilous journey only to sleep in airports (Boston), schools (New York) or the streets, public parks and other facilities (everywhere) without the capacity to provide even the basics of shelter and care. Legal immigration is measured and never exceeds the resources available. Second, allowing more immigrants into the country than we can reasonably assimilate is unfair to American citizens. Our cities and resources are being overrun, seemingly with no concern for the impact and cost on our citizens. The Biden policy is inhumane both to those coming here and to the American people whose lives are being upended by it. Third, giving precedence to immigrants entering the country illegally at the expense of the homeless is not right. The homeless are citizens and many are veterans who have protected our homeland. Allowing non-citizens into our country before we can adequately take care of our own is more than unfair, its irresponsible. The Biden policies are simply straining our charitable organizations and government resources to the breaking point. Fourth, it is unfair to our children because billions of dollars are being spent to support immigrants who entered the country illegally, thus putting pressure on our already sky-high $34 trillion national debt. Sadly, money that could be spent on reducing the deficit is actually being spent on increasing illegal immigration. A new report on the border and immigration shows how the Biden administration is paying the United Nations and nongovernmental organizations to facilitate the invasion. There are reportedly 57 international organizations and 132 national NGOs and civil service organizations designated to hand out $343 million in aid for 2024 to help more migrants invade America. Related Fifth, not securing our borders threatens our national security needlessly and increases risk to our citizenry. Numerous terrorists have been caught trying to cross the border, but many more have evaded capture. It is troubling that many of these migrants appearing at our southern border are military age men from China, Africa and the Middle East. Drug cartels have used our open borders to flood our streets with Mexican- and Chinese-made fentanyl and use the same routes and connections into America for human trafficking and funneling terrorists across the border. If and when an attack on the homeland comes, it is highly likely their entry will have been through our porous southern border. According to the House Homeland Security Committee report, last year marked the worst in U.S. history for people entering our country without authorization. The impact of these misguided efforts is self-evident. The strain on schools and city budgets in many parts of the country is overwhelming. Our governor went to Texas recently and reported that the situation has gotten significantly worse, especially over the last year with no solution or end in sight. We have reached an inflection point and the Biden administrations policy of open borders and use of the United Nations and nongovernmental organizations to push immigrants lacking permanent legal status into our country must be stopped. The current system has become an illegal immigration industrial complex. The president does not need a deal or new laws to enforce our border, and Congress voting to borrow more money and increase our national debt for a Ukraine funding bill in lieu of border security is misguided. Prioritize America, her borders and sovereignty, and then we can discuss the rest. President Biden, do your job and shut our border. The American people will speak loudly this November. Brent Orrin Hatch is the son of former Sen. Orrin Hatch. He is a candidate from Utah for the United States Senate. Details of a panicked phone call made by Brian Laundrie to his parents shortly after killing his fiancee, Gabby Petito, have emerged following the release of new court documents. Christopher and Roberta Laundrie revealed in an October 2023 deposition that their son called them in a frantic state to tell them Gabbys gone and requested their help in finding an attorney. I asked him, you know, how is he doing, and he you know, he was not calm and he got very excited and told me things had you know, Gabbys gone and he got very frantic, Christopher Laundrie recalled, according to a transcript of his deposition published Tuesday by WFLA.com, the website for Floridas News Channel 8. Everything was frantic and quick. Asked to clarify what Brian Laundrie was implying by Petito being gone, Christopher Laundrie replied, Well, I have no idea what he meant. Supporters of Petito gathered at the entrance of Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park in North Port, Florida, in 2021. Supporters of Petito gathered at the entrance of Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park in North Port, Florida, in 2021. According to the transcript, the call was one of several that Brian Laundrie made to his parents on Aug. 29, 2021, about two days after Petito, 22, is believed to have been murdered. Her remains were found near Wyomings Grand Teton National Park about three weeks later. Petito, an aspiring lifestyle influencer, had been on a cross-country road trip with Brian Laundrie, 23, prior to her death. Brian Laundrie was found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound in Floridas Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park in October 2021. In 2022, the Laundrie family released handwritten pages from a notebook that belonged to Brian Laundrie, in which he confessed to killing Petito. Petitos parents, Joe Petito and Nichole Schmidt, have filed a civil lawsuit against the Laundries, alleging that they helped Brian Laundrie conceal his fiancees murder. The depositions, which also include statements from Petitos parents, are part of the lawsuit. A trial is scheduled for May. There will be no justice for Gabby Petito, Joe Petito said to WFLA, adding that the lawsuit is really to hold people accountable for their actions and their choices. While the Petito family is seeking damages of at least $100,000, Joe Petito noted, Its not about the money. I want to make them hurt as much as they hurt us. Related... Glynn Simmons spent 48 years in an Oklahoma prison for the murder of a liquor store clerk killed during a robbery. But a judge ordered him freed last year, and, in a separate proceeding, declared him to be "actually innocent." His lawyers said detectives withheld a report saying that an eyewitness did not identify him as the killer in a lineup. That woman, who was shot in the head during the robbery, did identify at least five other men in different lineups. Simmons has now filed a federal lawsuit against the detectives and the departments they worked for. The post Brickbat: Time Gone By appeared first on Reason.com. The robbers that recently targeted a Buddhist temple in Brooklyn may be connected to similar break-ins in upstate New York and in Virginia, according to police. Four suspects wore gloves and masks and wielded large screwdrivers as they kicked in the back door of a Flatbush home doubling as a temple on Sunday afternoon, making off with $60 in cash and two cell phones, NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said in a Thursday news briefing. A monk on the premises at the time of the break-in got the crooks to back off from trying to break in through his bedroom window by brandishing a spare shelf bracket, he previously told the Daily News. No one was injured during the incident. The crooks approach mirrored similar robberies at temples in Kent, N.Y., and in Hanover, Va., Kenny said. Virginia authorities recently shared the tip with the NYPD, noting two men were arrested in that break-in. They were linked to vehicles and phones that were tracked to New York, Kenny said. Police hadnt made any arrests in the Flatbush case as of Thursday night. A Broward County Sheriffs Office sergeant was placed on administrative leave without pay after he was arrested Tuesday at Miami International Airport for possessing ecstasy. Bryan Vidal Lorenzo, 35, was charged with two felony counts of possessing a controlled substance. According to BSO, Sgt. Lorenzo was hired by the agency on June 3, 2013. According to the arrest affidavit, Miami-Dade Police was called into the customs checkpoint at Terminal D in MIA to meet with two Customs and Border Protection Officers. Both officers told police that a passenger arriving at the airport later identified as Lorenzo had MDMA (commonly known as ecstasy or molly) on him. The CBP officers then advised MDPD that they found the drug in Lorenzos luggage, inside of his ski pants right cargo pocket. Lorenzo was then arrested and transported to the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center. On Wednesday morning, BSO released a statement, telling CBS News Miami that he was placed on administrative leave without pay after serving with the agency for more than a decade. Karyn Arceneaux browses the internet on her laptop. She got home internet for the first time recently through a federal program that helps 1.6 million low-income Texas families get access to high speed broadband. The program runs out of funding in April if Congress doesn't take action. Brett Coomer/Staff photographer Karyn Arceneaux browses the internet on her laptop on Feb. 15. Arceneaux got home internet for the first time recently through a federal program that helps low income families get access to high speed broadband, but that program runs out of funding in April if Congress doesn't take action. Brett Coomer/Staff photographer Karyn Arceneaux browses the internet on her laptop. She got home internet for the first time recently through a federal program that helps low income families get access to high speed broadband, but that program runs out of funding in April if Congress doesn't take action. Brett Coomer/Staff photographer WASHINGTON Two months ago, Karyn Arceneaux, a 59-year-old high school teacher from Humble, got high-speed internet for the first time, allowing her to put aside her slow-loading smart phone and check out online courses in sociology, study up on behavioral health and watch her favorite television shows. And two months from now, she might have to give it up. Arceneauxs is among the 1.6 million Texas households and 23 million nationwide about to lose access to a $30-a-month stipend Congress created in 2021 to help low-income families get access to the internet. The $14.2 billion program, named the Affordable Connectivity Program, is expected to run out of money in April or May without congressional action. Advertisement Article continues below this ad When I got signed up, I thought this is wonderful. A person can grow with this, Arceneaux said. Its really opened my world up, and now Im not sure I can afford internet anymore. The price is just so high. Expanding broadband service to low-income and rural communities has long been a popular cause in Congress. In recent months, Republicans and Democrats alike have filed legislation to extend the program for another year while they try to find a permanent solution. But with politicians at odds over the size of the federal budget, the two parties have been unable to come to agreement on how to fund the broadband program. Theres still time to make it happen, said Jonathan Spalter, president of the United States Telecom Association, a trade group for telephone and broadband companies. What time needs to be paired with is the political will to get it over the finish line. Haves, have-nots Currently, 80% of Americans have high-speed internet service at home, according to a recent survey by the Pew Research Center. But that percentage drops precipitously in many rural areas and low-income neighborhoods, either due to poverty or the high cost of laying fiber optic cable to sparsely populated areas. Advertisement Article continues below this ad In West Texas, for instance, Big Bend Telecom is moving to provide high-speed internet to every one of its customers. But with a service area of around 18,000 square miles and roughly 10,000 customers, residents live so far apart Big Bend will sometimes have to install wireless equipment at the end of fiber optic lines to connect their most remote customers. That drives up costs exponentially beyond what an urban carrier would have to spend, and without the Affordable Connectivity Program the company risks building broadband lines that arent adequately subscribed, said Rusty Moore, the companys general manager. Our investments fall flat if theres not enough adoption, he said. Thirty bucks is a big deal for some folks. They can stretch it a long way. Economic impact In todays digital economy, a lack of internet connectivity can have serious consequences for local economies. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Office work, health care, business transactions and education increasingly are conducted over the internet. Gov. Greg Abbott called broadband, a critical tool to keep our economy booming, children learning and families connected to the best healthcare facilities in the world, following the announcement of a $1.3 billion internet upgrade to Charter Communications Texas network last year. But Texas still has a long way to go. Kelty Garbee, executive director of nonprofit Texas Rural Funders, estimated it would cost about $10 billion to connect those remaining parts of Texas without high-speed internet. The federal government has already set aside $3.3 billion for Texas to lay more fiber optic cable, with the state Legislature approving another $1.5 billion last year. Turban-wearing Sikh motorcyclists would be free to ride helmet-free in California if Assembly Bill 2392, proposed by Fresno Assembly member Esmeralda Soria, becomes law this year. Californias helmet law for motorcyclists was passed in the 1990s as a public safety issue, but for former Fresno City Councilmember Soria the measure violates the right to religious freedom for Sikhs. In advocating the measure, Soria said: Many Sikhs are motorcycle enthusiasts and they deserve to continue their privilege to ride while at the same time, respecting their freedom of religion in a way that supports safety. As Soria noted, California is home to half of the Sikhs in the United States an estimated quarter million people. Sikhism is a monotheistic faith with origins in 15th-century India. The right of Sikhs to wear turbans is gaining a growing recognition in the United States, with the Marine Corps recently granting members of the religion to do so in boot camp. AB 2392 ensures we safeguard our Sikh communitys right to practice their religious expression freely, while also protecting their and other motorcyclists safety on Californias roads Soria said. Currently, only Iowa, Illinois and New Hampshire have no form of helmet law in the United States. Californias measure became law in 1992 after a battle that pitted libertarians and motorcyclists, including outlaw bikers, against public safety advocates and medical professionals. An earlier attempt was vetoed in 1988 by then-governor George Deukmejian. A 1994 study by the the American Medical Association reported that motorcycle fatalities dropped by 37.5 percent after passage of the measure. California bill would allow Sikhs to ride motorcycles without a helmet Much of California is on flood watch on Tuesday as some regions approach ten inches of total rainfall while bracing for floods and landslides. Road blockages, landslides and toppled trees have already been reported in and around Los Angeles. A massive tree also crashed in a Los Angeles neighbourhood on Monday, damaging parked vehicles and downing power lines. Flood watches for other regions, including the Bay Area, Sacramento and San Diego are still in effect as of Tuesday morning. Officials are warning Californians to avoid road travel and prepare for power outages, mud or rock slides and coastal flooding. Portions of the US-101 and Pacific Coast Highway were blocked on Monday as rainfall intensified and floodwaters rushed onto the major roadway. Meanwhile, Santa Barbara County officials issued evacuation warnings for some waterfront neighbourhoods, which could persist through Wednesday. Many parts of California are already saturated from the heavy rain after a storm earlier this month caused hundreds of landslides so far. Key Points Entire Bay Area under flood watch Mudslide damages roadside fence in Los Angeles SEE IT: Massive tree falls in Los Angeles neighbourhood, damaging cars and power lines Southern California rainfall total approaches 10 inches in some areas Santa Barbara airport recovers from Monday travel woes Tuesday 20 February 2024 22:00 , Katie Hawkinson Santa Barbara Municipal Airport has recovered from its travel issues on Monday. The airport has cancelled only one flight so far today, according to FlightAware. Meanwhile, 45 per cent of departing flights were cancelled yesterday, alongside 51 per cent of arriving flights. Those cancellations came amid evacuation warnings in Santa Barbara County due to heavy rain and flooding, some of which are still in effect as of Tuesday afternoon. Mudslide closes portion of State Route 150 Tuesday 20 February 2024 21:40 , Katie Hawkinson A mudslide has caused officials to close a portion of State Route 150 in Ventura County, according to the California Department of Transportation. Officials do not currently have an estimate for when the impacted section will reopen. Officials are working to remove the landslide blocking a portion of State Route 150 (California Department of Transportation) Up to 35% chance of Sacramento-area thunderstorms Tuesday 20 February 2024 21:20 , Katie Hawkinson From noon to 8 pm local time, there will be a 15 - 35 per cent chance of severe thunderstorms in the Sacramento area, according to the National Weather Service. These storms could bring high winds, hail and even funnel clouds however, not all funnel clouds will turn into tornadoes. The National Weather Service said tornadoes are possible in northern California today (National Weather Service) Waterspouts could form in Bay Area Tuesday 20 February 2024 21:00 , Katie Hawkinson A series of thunderstorms rolling through the Bay Area could trigger waterspouts, climate scientist Dr Daniel Swain said on X. Waterspouts are essentially tornadoes that form over water and are associated with severe thunderstorms, like those blowing through the state of California today. A pretty impressive and slow-moving line of thunderstorms (containing lightning, torrential downpours, and maybe some small hail) is now moving across the SF Bay Area. Pretty good rotational signatures offshore supportive of (multiple?) potential waterspouts offshore. #CAwx pic.twitter.com/2Jk4Uy0GUK Dr. Daniel Swain (@Weather_West) February 20, 2024 Bay Area braces for thunderstorms, wind gusts, lightning Tuesday 20 February 2024 20:40 , Katie Hawkinson A line of rain showers is approaching the Bay Area, set to bring thunderstorms, wind gusts and potentially lightning, the National Weather Service said. A line of showers and thunderstorms is gaining strength. This is bringing moderate to heavy rain, gusty winds, and the potential for lightning. It is already affecting the North Bay and will begin to affect the Bay Area and the Central Coast within the next few hours#CAwx pic.twitter.com/046ZnCnFL5 NWS Bay Area (@NWSBayArea) February 20, 2024 The entire Bay Area is currently under a flood watch until Wednesday morning. What are atmospheric rivers, the weather phenomena that left a lasting impact on California? Tuesday 20 February 2024 20:20 , Katie Hawkinson This week, a swirling low-pressure system is bringing torrential rain, strong winds and heavy snow to the state of California. That storm, set to last through Wednesday, means an increased risk of devastating mudslides a hazard worsened by a historic atmospheric river that passed through California earlier this month. In early February, a deadly Pacific storm, the second Pineapple Express weather system to sweep the West Coast in just a few days, dumped torrential rain over Southern California, triggering street flooding and mudslides throughout the region. The event killed at least nine people and caused 400 mudslides in Los Angeles alone. Thanks to the torrential downpour, the California soils are over-saturated, leaving them prone to slides. The storms that have pummeled California both in early February and this week have been caused by what is known as atmospheric rivers. Heres a look at the phenomenon: What are atmospheric rivers, the phenomena that left a lasting impact on California? SEE IT: High surf slams Californias Bay Area Tuesday 20 February 2024 20:00 , Katie Hawkinson The entire Bay Area is under a flash flooding alert as of Tuesday morning. High surf & wind advisory here in #Pacifica as another round of Atmospheric River makes its way into the Bay Area. @foxweather #CAwx pic.twitter.com/2P9V34Nd0q Robert Ray (@RobertRayWx) February 19, 2024 ICYMI: California residents survey damage caused by historic storms: We were in shock Tuesday 20 February 2024 19:40 , Katie Hawkinson During torrential downpours earlier this month, firefighters responded to a heavy debris flow in the Beverly Crest area of Los Angeles, evacuating seven homes. That same storm left Californias soil over-saturated, increasing the risk of mudslides this week. Residents told Mike Bedigan they had not even remotely had anything like this before. Read more: California residents survey damage caused by historic storms: We were in shock IN PICTURES: California flash flooding, high tides as storm rages on Tuesday 20 February 2024 19:20 , Katie Hawkinson Floodwaters rush down a street in Montecito, California on Monday (via REUTERS) California officials are warning of high waves and coastal erosion on Tuesday (REUTERS) Floodwaters swell Californias San Ysidro Creek (via REUTERS) What are supercells, the weather phenomena that formed over California? Tuesday 20 February 2024 19:00 , Katie Hawkinson Supercells formed over California on Monday, worsening an already severe weather situation in the state. Supercells are storm systems that generate rotating winds and a strong updraft meaning they can cause both hail and tornadoes in the regions they impact. However, as of Tuesday morning, no tornadoes appear to have been reported or confirmed in California as a result of this weeks storm. Southwest California shores should prepare for flooding Tuesday 20 February 2024 18:40 , Katie Hawkinson Southwest coastal communities such as Santa Barbara and Malibu should prepare for flooding today, the National Weather Service said. This warning comes amid the last forecasted day of heavy rainfall in California. Large breaking waves are hitting several points along the states coast, and coastal erosion is posing a danger to nearby structures, officials say. California residents should avoid coastal areas if possible through Wednesday, officials say (National Weather Service) SEE IT: Satellite imagery of firehose of moisture over California Tuesday 20 February 2024 18:20 , Katie Hawkinson A firehose of moisture is aimed at Southern California this morning. Flooding risks remain as the atmospheric river continues to bring heavy rain. pic.twitter.com/BglQiC6V7w CIRA (@CIRA_CSU) February 20, 2024 ICYMI: Southern California rainfall total approaches 10 inches in some areas Tuesday 20 February 2024 18:00 , Katie Hawkinson Sunday through Monday, nearly 10 inches of rain fell in Santa Barbara County, California, according to the National Weather Service. Other nearby counties mostly saw 6-8 inches of rain. Several Santa Barbara County neighbourhoods are under evacuation warnings as rain continues, bringing threats of flash floods. SEE IT: Satellite imagery of gravity waves rippling across California as storm blows through the state Tuesday 20 February 2024 17:40 , Katie Hawkinson Showers and storms soak the west coast, posing the risk for flooding up and down the state of California. Gravity waves ripple across the rugged terrain as the atmospheric river moves onshore. pic.twitter.com/hX5X1RrYnX CIRA (@CIRA_CSU) February 19, 2024 WATCH: Entire Bay Area under flood watch Tuesday 20 February 2024 17:20 , Katie Hawkinson SEE IT: Swirling storm over California brings more rain, snow today through Wednesday Tuesday 20 February 2024 17:01 , Katie Hawkinson The low pressure system over the coast of the western US continues to direct moisture at California. Heavy rain and snow are expected to continue across the state through today. pic.twitter.com/QPW0slxdqh CIRA (@CIRA_CSU) February 20, 2024 Massive waves hit the coast of California Tuesday 20 February 2024 16:40 , Katie Hawkinson The National Weather Service is warning Los Angeles residents to stay away from coastlines today as severe thunderstorms cause large, unpredictable waves. The WAVES ARE LARGE today over nearly all beaches thanks to a big 10-15 foot long period west swell, the NWS wrote on X. These waves are very DANGEROUS. STAY FAR BACK from the waves and OFF THE ROCKS. Weather to ease on Wednesday morning Tuesday 20 February 2024 16:20 , Katie Hawkinson Forecasters with the National Weather Service expect the severe rain and winds to subside by Wednesday morning. Through Tuesday night, severe thunderstorms will continue to impact the southern coast and heavy snow will continue to fall in Californias mountain regions. The severe weather impacting California will begin to subside on Wednesday (National Weather Service) SEE IT: Massive tree falls in Los Angeles neighbourhood, damaging cars and power lines Tuesday 20 February 2024 16:00 , Katie Hawkinson Officials clean up a large tree that fell in a Los Angeles neighbourhood, damaging vehicles and power lines on 19 February 2024 (Getty Images) High winds and heavy rain caused trees like this one to fall throughout California, causing damage to property and power lines (Getty Images) Less than 7,000 people across California are without power as of Tuesday (Getty Images) Mudslide damages roadside fence in Los Angeles Tuesday 20 February 2024 15:40 , Katie Hawkinson Officials closed part of Interstate 5 in Los Angeles, California to complete repairs on a fence damaged by a mudslide on Monday. Los Angeles: On southbound I-5 the right lane is closed from Stadium Way to State Route 110. Southbound I-5 connector ramp to southbound SR-110 is also closed. Mud slide & fence repair. Video: Frontloader & damaged retaining fence. https://t.co/O37QesJHpw pic.twitter.com/Pve0Gp4eVU Caltrans District 7 (@CaltransDist7) February 20, 2024 With California soils already over-saturated from a brutal storm earlier this month, the risk of mudslides is high as the state battles yet another heavy spell of rain. Several roads blocked in Santa Barbara Tuesday 20 February 2024 15:20 , Katie Hawkinson Flooding and mudslides have blocked several roadways in Santa Barbara, California, according to the countys Public Works Department. These blockages come as several waterfront neighbourhoods in the county face evacuation warnings as heavy rain increases the risk of flooding. A blocked roadway in Santa Barbara County, California on 19 February 2024 (Santa Barbara County Public Works Department) A flooded roadway in Santa Barbara County, California on 19 February 2024 (Santa Barbara County Public Works Department) Some evacuation orders in cancelled in Santa Barbara County Tuesday 20 February 2024 15:00 , Katie Hawkinson Officials have lifted evacuation orders for certain waterfront neighbourhoods in Santa Barbara County. The move comes after the Santa Barbara County Office of Emergency Management issued the orders for several neighbourhoods on Monday morning. Other residential areas remain under the orders, which could last until Wednesday as rain and flood risks persist. Landslides reported in Southern California Tuesday 20 February 2024 14:28 , Katie Hawkinson Landslides are already impacting Southern California amid this weeks torrential downpour, Fox Weather reports. This comes after Los Angeles alone saw 400 mudslides earlier this month from a historic series of atmospheric storms that battered the state. ICYMI: Several neighbourhoods under evacuation warnings in Santa Barbara County Tuesday 20 February 2024 14:00 , Katie Hawkinson Santa Barbara County officials have issued evacuation warnings for waterfront neighbourhoods as a destructive storm hits the region. The warnings come amid threats of flash flooding and landslides from excessive rain, the Santa Barbara County Office of Emergency Management said in a statement. The risk will persist through Wednesday. Santa Barbara County officials have issued evacuation warnings, indicated in orange, for several neighbourhoods (Santa Barbara County Office of Emergency Management) IN PICTURES: Road closures, flooding on Southern California freeways on Monday morning Tuesday 20 February 2024 13:00 , Katie Hawkinson Heavy rain pours down on US-101 in Ventura, California on Monday morning (California Department of Transportation) Cones and signs block off a portion os US-101 in Ventura, California as heavy rain pours down (California Department of Transportation) Rushing floodwaters pour onto US-101 in Ventura, California (California Department of Transportation) ICYMI: Los Angeles officials prepare shelters for unhoused people amid storm Tuesday 20 February 2024 12:00 , Katie Hawkinson Los Angeles city officials have opened winter weather shelters for unhoused people as a powerful storm hits the region, according to a statement from Mayor Karen Bass. The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority outreach workers will also be offering transportation and hotel vouchers, the statement reads. Earlier this month, the city faced heavy criticism from community organisers over their efforts to protect the unhoused population during a record-breaking storm. [The system] is not designed to help anyone thats actually out there It was such an abysmal response, community organiser Carla Orendorff told The Independent several days ago. Read more about Ms Orendorffs response and the impact of storms on unhoused people in Los Angeles, California from Mike Bedigan: LA authorities response to homeless citizens during California storms abysmal ICYMI: Watch as floodwaters rush through Santa Barbara County Tuesday 20 February 2024 11:00 , Katie Hawkinson ICYMI: California residents survey damage caused by historic storms: We were in shock Tuesday 20 February 2024 09:00 , Katie Hawkinson During torrential downpours earlier this month, firefighters responded to a heavy debris flow in the Beverly Crest area of Los Angeles, evacuating seven homes. Residents told Mike Bedigan they had not even remotely had anything like this before. Read more: SEE IT: High surf slams Californias Bay Area on Monday afternoon Tuesday 20 February 2024 07:00 , Katie Hawkinson High surf & wind advisory here in #Pacifica as another round of Atmospheric River makes its way into the Bay Area. @foxweather #CAwx pic.twitter.com/2P9V34Nd0q Robert Ray (@RobertRayWx) February 19, 2024 SEE IT: Satellite imagery of gravity waves rippling across California as storm blows through the state Tuesday 20 February 2024 05:01 , Katie Hawkinson Showers and storms soak the west coast, posing the risk for flooding up and down the state of California. Gravity waves ripple across the rugged terrain as the atmospheric river moves onshore. pic.twitter.com/hX5X1RrYnX CIRA (@CIRA_CSU) February 19, 2024 What are supercells, the weather phenomena forming over California today? Tuesday 20 February 2024 04:27 , Io Dodds Supercells are beginning to form over California today, worsening an already severe weather situation in the state. Supercells are storm systems that generate rotating winds and a strong updraft meaning they can cause both hail and tornadoes in the regions they impact. These supercells come as parts of California are already under tornado threats and heavy thunderstorms are threatening much of the state. Tornado warnings expire for seven California towns Tuesday 20 February 2024 03:41 , Io Dodds As of 7pm Pacific Time, the latest bulletin from the National Weather Service (NWS) remains largely unchanged from earlier this afternoon. "Gusty southerly winds will continue thru early this evening, especially over the Ventura County and LA County mountains and the Antelope Valley, where wind advisories remain in effect until 6pm," the NWS said. "Additional rainfall tonight through Wed morning is expected to be highest over LA County, with 1.5 to three inches for the coast and valleys, and two to four inches in the mountains, with most of the rain falling tonight through Tue. "Tornado warnings for Meadow Valley, Belden, Tobin, Kelly Ridge, Berry Creek, and Meadow Valley, had expired as of 4:30pm local time, according to the NWS's tornado-focused account on X (formerly Twitter). A tornado warning for Georgetown in northeastern California also expired at 6:45pm, according to the NWS's Sacramento branch. This warning has been replaced to include the Severe T-storm near Georgetown, valid until 645PM PST. Same hazards expected, quarter sized hail, winds in excess of 60 mph, frequent lightning, and a brief tornado is possible. #CAwx https://t.co/FKnxrTqntP pic.twitter.com/I2m39dZM6P NWS Sacramento (@NWSSacramento) February 20, 2024 Road closures hit all over LA County Tuesday 20 February 2024 03:18 , Io Dodds Numerous roads have been closed and residential areas evacuated due to the risk of floods and mudflows. The Los Angeles Sheriffs Department issued an evacuation warning for some parts of Santa Maria Road near Topanga Canyon, northwest of the city proper, lasting through 9am on Wednesday. Residents should prepare to evacuated rapidly if the situation worsens, the department said, while those who would need extra time (such as people with pets and livestock) should leave immediately. An Evacuation Warning issued for Zone 4 due to possible mud/debris flows in the area along Santa Maria Rd north of Topanga Cyn Bl from 9:00 AM on Monday, Feb 19th through 9:00 AM on Wednesday, Feb 21st https://t.co/yi21HU8hIj@LACOFD @TheMalibuTimes @acornnewspaper @991KBU pic.twitter.com/J8LhXhb62k LASD Lost Hills Stn. (@LHSLASD) February 19, 2024 Los Angeles County officials also issued an alert for debris flows in the northern San Fernando Valley, saying evacuations may be ordered if conditions require it. Part of Mullholland Drive remained closed to through traffic on Monday evening following landslides earlier this month, while the Pacific Coast Highway will be closed between 6pm and 7am every night between Sycamore Canyon Road and Las Posas Road in Ventura County. Southern California rainfall total approaches 10 inches in some areas Tuesday 20 February 2024 03:00 , Katie Hawkinson Over the last two days, nearly 10 inches of rain fell in Santa Barbara County, California, according to the National Weather Service. Other nearby counties mostly saw 6-8 inches of rain. Several Santa Barbara County neighbourhoods are under evacuation warnings as rain continues, brining threats of flash floods. ICYMI: Wind gusts hit over 60 miles per hour this weekend Tuesday 20 February 2024 02:00 , Katie Hawkinson As a brutal storm blows into California, wind gusts peaked at 61 miles per hour in the states southern region yesterday. Meanwhile, Santa Rosa island, just off the states coast, saw peak gusts of 63 miles per hour. Elsewhere in Southern California, wind gusts peaked in the 40s and 50s, according to the National Weather Service. Gusts are only expected to worsen as the storm blows through the state until Wednesday. The National Weather Service recorded the peak wind gusts over 24 hours from 18 February 2024 to 19 February 2024 (National Weather Service) ICYMI: Fresh concerns for LA County about this weeks atmospheric river storms Tuesday 20 February 2024 01:00 , Katie Hawkinson Weather officials said there is concern for Los Angeles County ahead of todays new atmospheric river weather system that threatens to bring more potential destruction to the area. The National Weather Service (NWS) Los Angeles says that overly saturated ground a result of recent poor weather and flooding may raise the chances of further landslides in and around LA. California was previously battered by similar weather systems, during which nine people were killed, and billions of dollars worth of damage was incurred. Read more about officials concerns about todays storm from Mike Bedigan: Fresh concerns for LA County ahead of new California atmospheric river storms ICYMI: Ten inches of snow in California mountains Tuesday 20 February 2024 00:00 , Katie Hawkinson More than ten inches of snow hit the central Sierra Nevada Mountains, according to the University of California, Berkeley Central Sierra Snow Lab. Another two feet could blanket the region by Wednesday morning. Ten inches of snow fell in the central Sierra Nevada Mountains (University of California, Berkeley Central Sierra Snow Lab) IN PICTURES: Rain pelts Los Angeles, California on Monday afternoon Monday 19 February 2024 23:00 , Katie Hawkinson A woman walks with an umbrella in Los Angeles on 19 February 2024 (AP) People walk on Hollywood Boulevard during a heavy downpour on 19 February 2024 (Getty Images) Cars drive through torrential rain on US-101 in Los Angeles on 19 February 2024 (Getty Images) Mondays storm follows month of historic weather for California Monday 19 February 2024 22:40 , Katie Hawkinson This weeks storm comes after a month of devastating weather in California The slow-moving atmospheric river that was finally moving out of California nearly two weeks ago unleashed record rainfall, triple-digit winds and hundreds of mudslides. Here is the historic storm by the numbers: Record rainfall, triple-digit winds, hundreds of mudslides. Here's California's storm by the numbers SEE IT: Floodwaters rush through town in Santa Barbara County Monday 19 February 2024 22:20 , Katie Hawkinson Storm has potential to produce waterspout Monday 19 February 2024 22:00 , Katie Hawkinson A storm cell forming off the central coast of California could form a waterspout, Bay Area meteorologist Rob Mayeda said on X. Another example of radar detected rotation offshore triggering another special marine warning until 2pm for a potential waterspout producing storm. #CAwx 2/19/2024 https://t.co/uf1MkHMUrh pic.twitter.com/qO6siiwb8Y Rob Mayeda (@RobMayeda) February 19, 2024 A waterspout is essentially a whirling column of air and mist, resembling a tornado, that forms over water. ICYMI: Beverly Hills, West Hollywood under flash flood warnings Monday 19 February 2024 21:40 , Katie Hawkinson Some of Californias most iconic and wealthiest cities are under flash flood warnings until 6 pm local time, according to the National Weather Service. More than 800,000 people across Malibu, Calabasas, Beverly Hills, Topanga, West Hollywood and other southern California cities are under the warnings. Earlier this month, Los Angeles and the surrounding Southern California region saw a similar storm that brought hundreds of landslides and intense flooding. Santa Barbara airport cancels several flights Monday 19 February 2024 21:20 , Katie Hawkinson 50 per cent of departing flights on Monday out of Santa Barbara Municipal Airport have been cancelled so far, according to FlightAware. Meanwhile, 51 per cent of flights arriving at the airport have been cancelled. In total, 34 flights arriving or departing the small airport have been cancelled. These cancellations come as some Santa Barbara neighbourhoods face evacuation warnings due to the risk of flash flooding amid heavy rain. Southern California rainfall total approaches 10 inches in some areas Monday 19 February 2024 21:00 , Katie Hawkinson Over the last two days, nearly 10 inches of rain fell in Santa Barbara County, California, according to the National Weather Service. Other nearby counties mostly saw 6-8 inches of rain. Several Santa Barbara County neighbourhoods are under evacuation warnings as rain continues, brining threats of flash floods. Floodwaters rush through Montecito, a town in Santa Barbara County, on 19 February 2024 (Montecito Fire Department) Floodwaters rush through California town Monday 19 February 2024 20:40 , Katie Hawkinson Footage from the Montecito, California Fire Department shows floodwaters rushing through the streets of the town. Road closures and stream videos! Remember that these increased stream flows are dangerous. Stay away from the water, and the banks nearby. Stay off the roads if you can and definitely do not go around road closed signs! pic.twitter.com/YGBJJA2CZB Montecito Fire (@montecitofire) February 19, 2024 The town is located in Santa Barbara County, where officials have issued evacuation warnings to several waterfront neighbourhoods due to the threat of flash flooding from todays deluge. Stay off the roads if you can and definitely do not go around road closed signs, Montecito Fire Department officials said on X. What are supercells, the weather phenomena forming over California today? Monday 19 February 2024 20:20 , Katie Hawkinson Supercells are beginning to form over California today, worsening an already severe weather situation in the state. Supercells are storm systems that generate rotating winds and a strong updraft meaning they can cause both hail and tornadoes in the regions they impact. These supercells come as parts of California are already under tornado threats and heavy thunderstorms are threatening much of the state. SEE IT: Storm blows across California, putting millions under weather alerts Monday 19 February 2024 20:01 , Katie Hawkinson A strong upper-level low continues to direct moisture at California, bringing heavy rain and snow, and even a chance of thunderstorms to the state. pic.twitter.com/uQkwVh2OmW CIRA (@CIRA_CSU) February 19, 2024 ICYMI: Several neighbourhoods under evacuation warnings in Santa Barbara County Monday 19 February 2024 19:40 , Katie Hawkinson Santa Barbara County officials have issued evacuation warnings for waterfront neighbourhoods as a destructive storm hits the region. The warnings come amid threats of flash flooding and landslides from excessive rain, the Santa Barbara County Office of Emergency Management said in a statement. The risk will persist through Wednesday. Santa Barbara County officials have issued evacuation warnings, indicated in orange, for several neighbourhoods (Santa Barbara County Office of Emergency Management) ICYMI: Fresh concerns for LA County about this weeks atmospheric river storms Monday 19 February 2024 19:20 , Katie Hawkinson Weather officials said there is concern for Los Angeles County ahead of todays new atmospheric river weather system that threatens to bring more potential destruction to the area. The National Weather Service (NWS) Los Angeles says that overly saturated ground a result of recent poor weather and flooding may raise the chances of further landslides in and around LA. California was previously battered by similar weather systems, during which nine people were killed, and billions of dollars worth of damage was incurred. Read more about officials concerns about todays storm from Mike Bedigan: Fresh concerns for LA County ahead of new California atmospheric river storms Northern California reports 5% probability of tornadoes Monday 19 February 2024 19:00 , Katie Hawkinson There is a 5 per cent probability of tornadoes, severe hail and severe wind in northern California today, according to the National Weather Service (NWS). Forecasters are also predicting severe, isolated thunderstorms with medium confidence in the region. The worst impacts are set to hit before 12 pm local time on Monday, the NWS warns. Power outages, flooded roadways and landslides are all major hazards facing northern California residents as these storms strike. Officials are warning residents to stay weather aware and prepare for potential hazards. SEE IT: High surf slams Californias Bay Area Monday 19 February 2024 18:40 , Katie Hawkinson High surf & wind advisory here in #Pacifica as another round of Atmospheric River makes its way into the Bay Area. @foxweather #CAwx pic.twitter.com/2P9V34Nd0q Robert Ray (@RobertRayWx) February 19, 2024 Ten inches of snow in California mountains Monday 19 February 2024 18:20 , Katie Hawkinson More than ten inches of snow hit the central Sierra Nevada Mountains, according to the University of California, Berkeley Central Sierra Snow Lab. Another two feet could blanket the region by Wednesday morning. Ten inches of snow fell in the central Sierra Nevada Mountains (University of California, Berkeley Central Sierra Snow Lab) High-elevation residents should avoid driving, officials warn, as heavy snowfall could create whiteout conditions. WATCH: San Diego rain forecast through Wednesday Monday 19 February 2024 18:00 , Katie Hawkinson So you want to know timing of the rain over the next few days, but only have 12 seconds to spare? Well you're in luck! Simulated radar and winds in the video below! Most impacts today will occur from Orange County northward, with rain arriving in San Diego later tomorrow. #CAwx pic.twitter.com/2mCxECoaoX NWS San Diego (@NWSSanDiego) February 19, 2024 SEE IT: Road closures, flooding on Southern California freeways Monday 19 February 2024 17:40 , Katie Hawkinson Heavy rain pours down on US-101 in Ventura, California on Monday morning (California Department of Transportation) Cones and signs block off a portion os US-101 in Ventura, California as heavy rain pours down (California Department of Transportation) Rushing floodwaters pour onto US-101 in Ventura, California (California Department of Transportation) Wind gusts hit over 60 miles per hour this weekend Monday 19 February 2024 17:20 , Katie Hawkinson As a brutal storm blows into California, wind gusts peaked at 61 miles per hour in the states southern region yesterday. Meanwhile, Santa Rosa island, just off the states coast, saw peak gusts of 63 miles per hour. Elsewhere in Southern California, wind gusts peaked in the 40s and 50s, according to the National Weather Service. Gusts are only expected to worsen as the storm blows through the state starting today and lasting through Wednesday. The National Weather Service recorded the peak wind gusts over 24 hours from 18 February 2024 to 19 February 2024 (National Weather Service) Beverly Hills, West Hollywood under flash flood warnings Monday 19 February 2024 17:00 , Katie Hawkinson Some of Californias most iconic and wealthiest cities are under flash flood warnings until 6 pm local time, according to the National Weather Service. More than 800,000 people across Malibu, Calabasas, Beverly Hills, Topanga, West Hollywood and other southern California cities are under the warnings. Earlier this month, Los Angeles and the surrounding Southern California region saw a similar storm that brought hundreds of landslides and intense flooding. Several neighbourhoods under evacuation warnings in Santa Barbara County Monday 19 February 2024 16:40 , Katie Hawkinson Santa Barbara County officials have issued evacuation warnings for waterfront neighbourhoods as a destructive storm hits the region. The warnings come amid threats of flash flooding and landslides from excessive rain, the Santa Barbara County Office of Emergency Management said in a statement. The risk will persist through Wednesday. Santa Barbara County officials have issued evacuation warnings, indicated in orange, for several neighbourhoods (Santa Barbara County Office of Emergency Management) This risk for floods and landslides comes after a tumultuous storm earlier this month that caused hundreds of landslides in Los Angeles alone. Soils remain saturated from the previous rainstorm, the National Weather Service said, increasing the risk for flooding and muslides this week. Northern California to see heavy thunderstorms, possible tornadoes in coming hours Monday 19 February 2024 16:20 , Katie Hawkinson Severe thunderstorms and heavy winds are set to hit the Sacramento, California region in the next two hours. Residents should prepare for brief tornadoes, hail, rain, lightning and heavy gusts, the National Weather Service said. Forecasters predict up to 6 inches of rain in the region through Wednesday. Up to eight inches of snow are also possible in Californias northeastern mountain ranges, bringing the possibility of whiteouts for mountain drivers. The National Weather Service said tornadoes are possible in northern California today (National Weather Service) Los Angeles officials prepare shelters for unhoused people amid storm Monday 19 February 2024 16:00 , Katie Hawkinson Los Angeles city officials have opened winter weather shelters for unhoused people as a powerful storm hits the region, according to a statement from Mayor Karen Bass. The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority outreach workers will also be offering transportation and hotel vouchers, the statement reads. Earlier this month, the city faced heavy criticism from community organisers over their efforts to protect the unhoused population during a record-breaking storm. [The system] is not designed to help anyone thats actually out there It was such an abysmal response, community organiser Carla Orendorff told The Independent several days ago.Read more about Ms Orendorffs response and the impact of storms on unhoused people in Los Angeles, California from Mike Bedigan: LA authorities response to homeless citizens during California storms abysmal Power outages begin Monday 19 February 2024 15:40 , Katie Hawkinson Across California, officials are warning residents to prepare for power outages as they brace for heavy rain and wind in several regions. As of Monday morning, nearly 20,000 homes are already without power, according to PowerOutage.us. The vast majority of those homes are in Nevada County, which is being hit with heavy rain and wind this morning, according to the National Weather Service. More outages across the state are to be expected as weather conditions intensify through Wednesday morning. SEE IT: Heavy rain in San Francisco, California Monday 19 February 2024 15:20 , Katie Hawkinson San Francisco saw heavy rain and winds on Sunday night as the first clouds of the upcoming storm rolled into California. Gusts up to 50 miles per hour, as well as thunderstorms and flooding, are expected throughout Monday in the Bay Area, according to the National Weather Service. Heavy rain and subsequent flooding hit San Francisco, California on Sunday (Anadolu via Getty Images) California mountains could see up to ten inches of rain Monday 19 February 2024 15:06 , Katie Hawkinson The Saint Lucias and Saint Ynez Ranges could see up to ten inches of rain through Wednesday morning, according to the National Weather Service. Up to three inches of snow is also possible in the region. Officials are warning residents to prepare for significant flooding as a result of the downpour and to move parked cars out of flood-prone areas. SEE IT: Satellite imagery of storm barreling towards West Coast Monday 19 February 2024 14:40 , Katie Hawkinson The next storm system set to hit the West Coast is packed with lightning over the Pacific. A spectacular view from GOES-18. pic.twitter.com/sH2tpjIlYO CIRA (@CIRA_CSU) February 18, 2024 California residents survey damage caused by historic storms: We were in shock Monday 19 February 2024 14:21 , Katie Hawkinson During torrential downpours earlier this month, firefighters responded to a heavy debris flow in the Beverly Crest area of Los Angeles, evacuating seven homes. Residents told Mike Bedigan they had not even remotely had anything like this before. Read the full report here: California residents survey damage caused by historic storms: We were in shock Fresh concerns for LA County ahead of new California atmospheric river storms Monday 19 February 2024 14:00 , Mike Bedigan Weather officials say there is concern for Los Angeles County ahead of a new atmospheric river weather system that threatens to bring more potential destruction to the area. The National Weather Service (NWS) Los Angeles says that overly saturated ground a result of recent poor weather and flooding may raise the chances of further landslides in and around LA. California was previously battered by similar weather systems, during which nine people were killed, and billions of dollars worth of damage was incurred. Fresh concerns for LA County ahead of new California atmospheric river storms Watch: Rock landslide covers street with trees and debris in California Monday 19 February 2024 13:00 , Mike Bedigan In pictures: Scenes of destruction in California Monday 19 February 2024 12:00 , Mike Bedigan Across California, residents were still battling the impacts of last weeks atmospheric river-driven storms which caused flash flooding and hundreds of devastating mudslides. An SUV sits buried by a mudslide, Monday, Feb. 5, 2024, in the Beverly Crest area of Los Angeles (AP) The remains of a piano and a collapsed carport are what's left of a house demolished by mud flows caused by heavy rains in the Beverly Glen section of Los Angeles (Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.) Cars are seen buried by mud in the garage of a home in Los Angeles on Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2024 (Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.) A local resident checks the damage to her neighbor's house after heavy rains and mud flows caused it to slide down from the hill in Beverly Glen (Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.) A woman stands among the wreckage of a house that was abruptly destroyed by a landslide as a historic atmospheric river storm inundates the Hollywood Hills area of Los Angeles, California, on February 6, (AFP via Getty Images) Minimum wage advocates are often asked why, if they think prosperity can be achieved by setting a floor on what people are allowed to charge for their labor, they don't just hike it until everybody is wealthy? A candidate for the U.S. Senate has now risen to that challenge, proposing to set wages as high as $50 per hour. That could be a pathway to making everybody wealthyif only the minimum wage made sense as policy, which it doesn't. This week, the four leading candidates for the U.S. Senate seat opened by the overdue departure of Dianne Feinstein met for a televised debate. Under California's open primary system, Democratic Reps. Adam Schiff, Katie Porter, and Barbara Lee, Republican Steve Garvey, and all other candidates for the seat will go against each other March 5, with the two top vote-getters facing off in November. Unsurprisingly for California and the year 2024, the spotlight was on bad ideas. More Prosperity by Law "Porter and Lee both support a $20 to $25 an hour minimum wage," according to Clara Harter of the Los Angeles Daily News. "Lee, who is pitching herself as the most progressive candidate in the race, has said that she would consider $50 per hour a living wage in the Bay Area, which she represents." Lee based her argument on a 2021 study by United Way that claimed that one in three California earn less than the "real cost measure" of living in the state based on neighborhood demographic analysis and what the organization called "household dignity budgets." In San Francisco, "a family of four would need to make $127,332 each year just to meet basic needs," SFGate reported at the time. For context, Lee's $50 wage, multiplied by 40 hours per week and 52 weeks each year comes in at $104,000. United Way's methodology for arriving at a "poverty measure that points the way to a decent standard of living" is more than a bit squishy, but California cities are notoriously expensive. Still, waving a magic policy wand and mandating that employers pay everybody "a living wage" based on fond wishes isn't going to make everybody able to afford the state's costs. It might put them out of work instead. Higher Costs and Fewer Jobs Just before the new year, Pizza Hut announced "it would lay off about 1,200 delivery drivers in Los Angeles, Orange, and Riverside counties," Reason's Eric Boehm noted. The layoffs were planned to take effect "just weeks before the new, higher minimum wage hits" in California, hiking wages to $20 per hour. Remaining workers might get higher pay (assuming their hours remain the samea big "if"), but fewer people will be employed. The cost of buying meals is expected to rise, too, as restaurants adjust to California's new wage law. "Minimum wage for California fast-food workers is set to rise to $20 an hour in April, a 25% increase from the state's broader $16 minimum wage," The Wall Street Journal's Heather Haddon wrote earlier this month. "Restaurants including McDonald's, Chipotle, Jack in the Box and others say they will raise menu prices in California in response, with some McDonald's franchisees estimating hundreds of thousands of dollars per restaurant in added labor costs." Higher price tags are likely to reduce demand for fast food as people make their own meals or turn to other alternatives. That's what happened when Seattle mandated higher compensation for food delivery drivers, driving up the cost of meals and giving would-be diners second thoughts. "Assuming that you are working constantly, then yes, you're going to be making that much money," Mia Shagen, a driver, told King5 News earlier this month. "But that's not what's happening right now. Because people are not ordering as much anymore." Economists Know Better It's no surprise that higher labor prices raise costs and reduce the demand for labor. In 2021, the Congressional Budget Office researched the impact of a proposal to raise the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour from (still current) $7.25. "The number of people in poverty would be reduced by 0.9 million," the study predicted. But "employment would be reduced by 1.4 million workers." Government officials can dictate a price, but they can't make it worth people's while to pay that price. That's why most economists oppose minimum wages. A 2015 survey of economists found "nearly three-quarters of these US-based economists oppose a federal minimum wage of $15.00 per hour." The survey also reported a "majority of surveyed economists believe a $15.00 per hour minimum wage will have negative effects on youth employment levels (83%), adult employment levels (52%), and the number of jobs available (76%)." "So what are the effects of increasing minimum wages?," economist Paul Krugman wrote in 1998. "Any Econ 101 student can tell you the answer: The higher wage reduces the quantity of labor demanded, and hence leads to unemployment." Having morphed since then into a political columnist, Krugman now endorses government-set prices for labor. He insists "the market for labor isn't like the market for, say, wheat, because workers are people." But he explicitly mocked that argument a quarter-century ago, writing: "Clearly these advocates very much want to believe that the price of laborunlike that of gasoline, or Manhattan apartmentscan be set based on considerations of justice, not supply and demand, without unpleasant side effects." Pundits like the modern version of Krugman and politicians like Barbara Lee might want prices for labor to be different than other prices, but economic laws remain in the way. People's labor is worth what others are willing to pay and artificially hiking the price by decree means fewer jobs and reduced income for many real people who were falsely promised benefits from the law. "Government-mandated minimum wages are always arbitrary and almost never based on any sound economic/cost-benefit analysis," economist Mark Perry wrote for the American Enterprise Institute in response to the eternal debate over this issue. "Why $10.10 an hourand not $9.10 or $11.10 an hour? Why $15 an hour and not $14 or $16 an hour or $25 an hour?" Like many politicians, Barbara Lee must have heard some version of that question. Her response is to raise the ante to $50 per hour in a bid for votes. But hiking the price people are allowed to charge for their labor always pays off in higher costs, lost jobs, and less prosperity for those on the receiving end. The post California Senate Hopeful Barbara Lee Wants $50 Per Hour Minimum Wage appeared first on Reason.com. A camera trap hangs on a tree at Khnorng Phsar, a national park of Cardamom Mountain in western Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Friday, Feb. 16, 2024. As part of a plan to restore Cambodia's population of tigers, the country's Environment Ministry this weekend will start installing a network of camera traps in the country's Cardamom Mountains and soon import four tigers from India to jumpstart the repopulating process. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith) PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) Cambodia will begin installing hundreds of monitoring cameras and import four tigers from India as part of a plan to restore its tiger population, officials said Friday. Tigers were declared functionally extinct in Cambodia in 2016 by the World Wide Fund for Nature. The last tiger spotted in the country was seen in 2007 by a camera trap - a hidden camera that is triggered by the movement of animals - in the forests of eastern Mondulkiri province. Cambodia's Environment Ministry said it plans to install cameras at one-kilometer intervals in the Cardamom Mountains for use over a three-month period covering both the dry and rainy seasons to monitor wildlife, particularly those preyed upon by tigers such as deer and wild boar. The conservation group Wildlife Alliance, which is working with the ministry on the project, said 410 cameras will be installed. This information will aid conservationists in devising plans to bolster big tiger populations, which may involve measures like breeding more wildlife or supplying domestic cattle or buffaloes," the ministry said in a statement. "It will facilitate the study of the density and distribution of prey species crucial for the survival of big tigers. Ministry spokesperson Khvay Atitya said the installation of the camera traps will begin this weekend. He said four tigers, three female and one male, will be sent from India by the end of the year to be settled in a 90-hectare (222-acre) protected zone inside the Tatai Wildlife Sanctuary, which is in the western provinces of Koh Kong and Pursat. Under an agreement with India, if the pilot plan proceeds smoothly, 12 more tigers will be imported over the following five years, he said. In 2022, Cambodia and India signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in Biodiversity Conservation, Sustainable Wildlife Management, and Strategies to Restore Big Tigers and Their Habitats. Cambodia's once-significant undeveloped forest areas were abundant with wildlife. But after the communist Khmer Rouges brutal rule in the 1970s left society and the economy devastated, poor rural dwellers scoured the forests for wildlife. Much of what was found was sold to traders who sent it to China, where many wild animals, including tigers, are believed to possess medicinal and sex-enhancing properties. Poaching is still rampant, and forest cover has been reduced by intense logging. Worldwide, tigers have been classified as a nearly extinct species. There are about 3,200 tigers in only 13 countries globally, according to WWF, compared to approximately 100,000 in the early 20th century. The contest to run the often-overlooked office responsible for managing filings in the nations second largest court system could become one of the most expensive races in the March 19 primary. Mariyana Spyropoulos, a Democrat seeking to knock out incumbent Cook County Circuit Court Clerk Iris Martinez, loaned her campaign $875,000 on Valentines Day, allowing both candidates to accept unlimited campaign contributions in the run-up to Election Day. Martinez has about $128,000 in cash on hand among her three main campaign funds. Meanwhile, the incumbent clerk defended her first term at the helm of the office she described as a wild, wild west when she took over in the midst of the pandemic in 2020 from Dorothy Brown, the controversial former clerk who ran the office for 20 years. Martinez defended her record in a session with the Chicago Tribune Editorial Board Thursday, citing as her chief accomplishments improvements to customer service, progress on digitizing a system that long relied on carbon paper and hard copies, and work to clear a backlog of criminal record expungements. Earlier Thursday, she cut the ribbon on a new expungement department on the fifth floor of the Leighton Criminal Court Building at 26th Street and California Avenue, where members of the public will be able to submit paperwork and get information about whether they can try to have their court case records expunged and sealed. The office also put together a global filing system that will allow the public to file for expungement at any court location, clerks office staff said. Previously, people had to file at the branch court where the case was filed. The changes eliminate some filing fees as well, staff members said. But Spyropoulos, who is currently a commissioner on the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago board, told editorial board members in a separate session Tuesday that Martinezs modernization efforts have fallen short and that the incumbents ethical lapses are little more than an extension of the scandals of Browns tenure. Related Articles On top of her significant cash advantage, Spyropoulos has the backing of the Cook County Democratic Party and the Teamsters Local 700 in Park Ridge. The Teamsters represent most of the clerks employees. Spyropoulos was previously a Cook County prosecutor and real estate attorney whose late father was a businessman who worked in auto wholesaling, the oil and chemical industry and manufacturing, according to news accounts. She has been on the water reclamation board since 2010. Among Spyropoulos proposed reforms: eliminating the internal inspector general role currently chosen by the clerk and instead asking the countys Office of the Independent Inspector General to do the job. Spyropoulos introduced similar legislation to give the OIIG oversight of the Water Reclamation District in April of 2017. It took us two years to pass it, but we did pass it, finally, she told the Tribune Editorial Board earlier this week. Employees can submit complaints anonymously to the OIIG, whose investigators can also audit MWRD functions and make recommendations. She wants the same oversight of the clerks office. Martinez said she inherited the existing inspector but defended his independence and said he was doing a phenomenal job. Spyropoulos also pledged to further open up public access to clerk data. The clerks office is currently not subject to the states Freedom of Information Act, which Martinez at the time a state senator pledged to take up with lawmakers in Springfield. Amid pushback from judges, however, Martinez backed a separate bill to make the office subject to a weaker local public records act. Spyropoulos said she would push for even more data access while working to change the state law to make the office subject to FOIA. She said, if elected, she would release information on the offices spending, case statistics and how many continuances are taken in cases. Certainly we dont want any sensitive information with regards to cases or peoples personal data to be compromised, but I think that the operation of the office, how the budget is handled and what kind of resources are being used should be subject to FOIA, she said. Alluding to a Tribune investigation that found dozens of the clerks employees were engaged in campaign work or had contributed cash to Martinez, Spyropoulos said she would draw a clear line between government and political activity. The Tribune found 52 clerk employees had contributed $45,000 to Martinezs campaign funds since she took office, and that of those 22 received promotions or significant raises in their clerk jobs just months sometimes days before or after making those political contributions. The Tribune also found 86 clerks office employees circulated petitions to get her on this years ballot. Thats not how you operate government, Spyropoulos said. Martinez defended taking the campaign money and said she accepted contributions at two annual events including a birthday party that were widely publicized. She said employees were not required to attend or to cut checks. I am about as ethical as I can possibly be, she said during the editorial board session, while pointing out that Spyropoulos during her time at the Water Reclamation District has accepted campaign contributions from district contractors. A Tribune analysis of Spyropoulos contributions since 2010 showed she received more than $140,000 from companies that have done business with the board. Asked about it Tuesday, Spyropoulos said those contributions havent influenced the way I vote, but that, if elected, she would not accept contributions from any contractors who do business with the clerks office. Chicago Tribunes Madeline Buckley contributed. aquig@chicagotribune.com The Canadian government has lifted sanctions on four individuals, including Olga Ayziman, ex-wife of Russian billionaire Mikhail Fridman. Source: Decision by the regulatory authorities, published in the Canada Gazette newspaper, as reported by liga.net The reason for the removal from the list is stated as follows: Ayziman, who came under Canadian sanctions in May 2022, no longer meets the criteria for imposing restrictions. Politico says that Canadian sanctions have also been lifted from former Sberbank deputy chairmen Alexandra Buriko and Sergey Maltsev, and Gazprom board member Alexander Dushko. Canada had sanctioned all three, along with Ayziman. Last year, Ayziman was removed from the EU sanctions list. However, she continues to be affected by sanctions imposed by Ukraine, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Reminder: Canada has lifted sanctions against Russian billionaire Oleg Boyko, founder of the Finstar Financial Group investment holding company. Support UP or become our patron! Megan Thee Stallion talks to students outside of Sawyer Auditorium after she surprised recipients of the Flamin Hot scholarship fund at Texas Southern University on Wednesday, Nov. 8, 2023, in Houston. Raquel Natalicchio/Staff photographer Nike and Megan Thee Stallion team up for Hot Girl Systems, a collection of footwear and apparel. Nike Nike and Megan Thee Stallion team up for Hot Girl Systems, a collection of footwear and apparel. Nike Megan Thee Stallion fans, or Hotties, paid for a digital billboard in Houston to celebrate the rapper's birthday. Joey Guerra Megan Thee Stallion fans, or Hotties, paid for a digital billboard in Houston to celebrate the rapper's birthday. Joey Guerra Megan Thee Stallion got a Houston-sized surprise for her 29th birthday this week. A handful of her biggest fans, or Hotties, pooled their money to buy a digital billboard with a birthday message for the Houston rapper. I was so nervous for this project. We didnt know if it would actually work. We just hoped that Meg would love it, said X (formerly Twitter) user @50shadesofstal3, whose first name is Niya. She lives in Dallas. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Megan Thee Stallion fans, or Hotties, paid for a digital billboard in Houston to celebrate the rapper's birthday. Joey Guerra The digital artwork featured Megan in a purple dress, reclined beside a birthday cake, with the message, Happy Birthday Megan! From: Thee Hotties. It ran for 10 hours Thursday off the East Freeway in Jacinto City, near the Anheuser-Busch and Coors breweries. Several Hotties chipped in to pay $300 for the billboard. Niya said a small group began planning in December and originally wanted to do it in California but couldnt find the right spot. Houston, then, was an obvious choice. Megan herself responded to the gesture Thursday night, tweeting, l LOVE YALL SO MUCH THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOUUU HOTTIES ARE THEE BEST IM SO GRATEFUL TO HAVE YALL. Megan celebrated by dropping Hot Girl Systems, her footwear and apparel collaboration with Nike. Several pieces quickly sold out. Earlier this month, her single Hiss debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 ahead of a forthcoming album and tour. She also signed a deal with Warner Music Group to release her music through Hot Girl Productions and retain ownership of her master recordings and publishing. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The former white Louisiana state police troopers who were recorded beating a Black driver in 2020 following a high-speed chase and who later wrote a series of text messages bragging about the violent arrests will no longer face charges. The states prosecutors have dropped the charges against Dakota DeMoss and Jacob Brown, with plans to drop charges against George Kam Harper, who were involved in the brutal arrest of Antonio Harris and were seen on body camera footage beating him and dragging him by his braids, The Associated Press reported. Harris said he feared for his life during the physical altercation, during which he was left bloodied and battered, Atlanta Black Star previously reported. Louisiana State troopers Jacob Brown, Dakota DeMoss and George Kam Harper are facing six months in prison and a $1,000 fine for beating Antonio Harris. (Photos: YouTube/ Roland S. Martin) Some of the texts reportedly exchanged among the former state police troopers two of whom were fired and one of whom resigned included, He gonna be sore tomorrow for sure. Bet he wont run from a full grown bear again, from Brown, and Bet he dont even cross into LA anymore, from DeMoss, who earlier in the 14 group texts had jeered that Harris was still digesting that ass whoopin. Atlanta Black Star has contacted District Attorney Penny Douciere for a comment. Douciere, whose jurisdiction is Louisianas Fifth Judicial District, had initially vowed to take down the former troopers, who had at one point tried to hide the fact that bodycam footage of the incident existed and produced false reports about the incident, to trial. However, the AP reports that Douciere dismissed misdemeanor charges against Brown in November and against DeMoss weeks after he was acquitted after beating another Black driver with a flashlight 18 times. In an interview with the AP, Douciere provided no explanation for the dropped charges but said she also planned to dismiss charges against Harper. Harris attorney, Michael T. Sterling, told the AP he felt the system is rigged against people like his client. The record was clear that these officers senselessly and ruthlessly beat Antonio Harris and lied about it in reports. Its hard to understand whats going on here, Sterling said, according to the AP. The incident began after Harris was pulled over by Brown for a minor traffic violation on an interstate in Richland Parish, Louisiana. Harris got back into his car and drove off, and a chase lasting 29 miles and reaching speeds of 150 mph ensued, Atlanta Black Star previously reported. After troopers used a tire deflation device to stop Harris vehicle, he surrendered immediately, but the officers proceeded to use force during the arrest. Harris laid face down on the ground and extended his arms away from his body and his legs spread apart, according to court records, and was approached by DeMoss, who delivered a knee strike and slapped Harris before turning his body camera off, Atlanta Black Star reported previously. An investigation by the Louisiana State Police found that Harris did not resist arrest at any point during the incident. Harris arrest was one of many that prompted the United States Justice Department to launch an investigation in 2022 into the state polices use of force and whether it engaged in racially discriminatory policing, marking the first investigation of a state police agency in 20 years, according to the American Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana. Charges Dismissed Against Former White Louisiana State Troopers Who Ruthlessly Beat Black Man Then Bragged About In Texts: He Gonna be Sore Tomorrow KANSAS CITY, Mo. Jackson County family court says the Office of the Juvenile Officer filed charges against two juveniles in Wednesdays shooting at the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl rally near Union Station. Family court says the suspects are currently at the Juvenile Detention Center on gun-related and resisting arrest charges. The courts office said in a news release that the charges were filed Thursday and more charges are expected as Kansas City police continue to investigate. FOX4 is working to determine when the juveniles are due in court. The Jackson County Prosecutors Office told FOX4 on Thursday that the juveniles will be charged as adults if and when they are certified to stand trial as adults. They have not been identified, nor have their ages been given. Blaze that hospitalized Topeka firefighter causes $65,000 in damages The charges come after 23 people were shot at the conclusion of the Super Bowl rally Wednesday, leaving one woman dead. Police Chief Stacey Graves said a dispute between several people led to the shooting. She stressed a preliminary investigation shows no connection to terrorism or homegrown violent extremism. On Thursday, police confirmed 43-year-old Elizabeth Lisa Lopez-Galvan was killed in the shooting. She was a DJ and host of Taste of Tejano at local radio station KKFI. Our hearts and prayers are with her family, the station wrote on Facebook. This senseless act has taken a beautiful person from her family and this KC Community. The 23 shooting victims ranged in age from 8 to 47, and over half of them were under the age of 16, police said. KCPD has set up a tips line for people who witnessed the shooting incident or were a victim of the shooting who havent yet reported being shot. Please call 816-413-3477. Additionally, the FBI Kansas City office has set up a website where anyone can share photos or videos from the shooting with law enforcement. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KSNT 27 News. CHICAGO Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle on Thursday pledged to seek more than $250 million in additional funding for Chicagos migrant response, about $70 million short of what officials estimate will be needed this year. The announcement from Pritzkers office did not mention any contributions from the city of Chicago, and Mayor Brandon Johnson spent a post-City Council news conference denying there was a rift between him and other levels of government, while also defending the citys reluctance thus far to fill in the $70 million gap. State, county and city officials project $321 million is needed to keep the migrant operation including the citys costly shelter system afloat through the end of 2024, according to the governors office. The mayor told reporters his administration remains in talks with Pritzker and Preckwinkles teams but hinted at differences on how to respond to the crisis including the ongoing strife over who should be in charge of the mission to house and feed the asylum-seekers. There are a number of matters that need to be worked through, Johnson said when pressed about the lack of a financial commitment from the city. Its not just about financial resources. As Ive said before, right now the city of Chicago is solely responsible for providing emergency temporary shelter. Remember the state, theyve committed to 2,000 beds back in November? Do you remember that? Johnson was referring to the $65 million Pritzker previously pledged for a massive winterized tent encampment that never materialized. The mayor also said that despite the potential for an additional $250 million in state and county funding, the city is still on track to close shelters in the long run amid financial restraints. He said he could not guarantee the funding would even carry the citys migrant response through the summer which is when the pace of migrant buses sent from Texas Republican governor is expected to ramp up ahead of the Democratic National Convention in late August. A source familiar with talks on the migrant response among city, county and state officials said Johnson initially agreed to provide additional funding but later backed off, a characterization the mayor bristled at during Thursdays news conference. No one in this city lets make it broader. No one in the state of Illinois, in this country, is questioning Mayor Brandon Johnsons commitment to this mission, he said. No one is. But Pritzkers office appeared to be doing just that in pointing out the citys failure to join in on the latest funding plan. The governor agreed to step up and cover more than half of this cost at $182 million, Pritzker spokesperson Jordan Abudayyeh said. The county president also stepped up to cover an additional $70 million. You will have to ask the city what their plans are for the remaining $70 million that all parties have agreed is needed to fund this humanitarian response. The migrant crisis has been marked by several instances of tension between Pritzker and Johnson. In December, the governor scrapped Johnsons plan to build a migrant camp on a Southwest Side lot over environmental concerns. Last month, Pritzker said he was deeply concerned about the mayors decision to hold off on opening new shelters. Pritzker said he will propose $182 million for migrant assistance as part of the fiscal year 2025 budget, which goes into effect July 1, while Preckwinkle said she will work with her County Board to come up with $70 million. Pritzker is scheduled to give his budget address in Springfield on Wednesday. His proposals will have to be approved by the General Assembly, where Senate President Don Harmon, an Oak Park Democrat, has expressed resistance to funding migrants as a standalone issue. With thousands of asylum-seekers continuing to come to Chicago in desperate need of support and with Congress continuing to refuse to actit is clear the state, county, and city will have to do more to keep people safe, Pritzker said in a statement. Since August 2022, the state said it has directed about $640 million to deal with the influx of some 35,000 migrants, most of them bused to Chicago from Texas, including $160 million that was announced in November. The money was aimed at providing more robust legal and employment assistance and relieving pressure on Chicagos shelter system that was hampering efforts to connect migrants with housing and jobs through the construction of a centralized intake center. Johnson allocated $150 million in his 2024 budget for the citys migrant response, though he and others acknowledged that amount will likely be insufficient for the mounting costs to care for the asylum-seekers. Over the past several months, the mayors office announced they could no longer open new shelters as the money was quickly dwindling. City officials recently projected the $150 million would run out by April, saying that all options were on the table to address that fiscal cliff. While the number of migrants arriving to the city has dropped in recent weeks, Abudayyeh noted arrival numbers can ebb and flow regularly and that the state funding is necessary to anticipate more migrants arriving to the city in the coming months, especially during the remainder of winter. If we could get through this year and less people come, that would be the best solution, she said. But we have to plan for what we think could be ahead of us. Experts who study immigration trends say a drop in border crossings is typical for this time of year but theres no indication of how numbers may look in a few weeks or months. In any event, the situation remains chaotic. A single shelter on the Lower West Side is housing over 2,200 migrants, many in dire need of food and shelter. Ninoska Rivas, 34, said she got to Chicago 15 days ago with her husband and seven children on a bus from Texas. She hasnt been able to find work and her kids havent enrolled in school. The only people who get rental assistance are those who got here three months ago, she said Thursday. We dont know what to do. Its crowded and the food is bad inside the shelter. It was so cold this morning. This years county budget included more than $100 million for new arrival costs, largely for health care spending. Cook County Health has been spending roughly $1.5 million to $2.5 million a month to provide physicals, testing and lab services, vaccinations, behavioral health screenings and counseling, prescriptions and follow-up visits, as well as transport to appointments. A late budget amendment included in the countys 2024 budget created an emergency fund largely dedicated to the migrant mission, including $70 million that could be tapped for new arrival health care and $20 million set aside to compensate municipal or local government costs involving migrant care. Late last month, Preckwinkle said officials had yet to tap into that emergency fund and that suburban officials had not taken her up on a request to provide shelter space to supplement Chicagos efforts. Given the current run rate of the countys health care spending, its unclear what the $70 million in additional funding would entail. County officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment. As critical funding for this ongoing humanitarian crisis stalls in Congress, Cook County stands committed to the well-being of the region, Preckwinkle said in Thursdays news release. We cannot wait for additional resources, and Cook County is proud to stand alongside Governor Pritzker in this joint funding plan, ensuring that shelter capacity, health care and wraparound services remain accessible to those in need. In addition to possible resistance from his fellow Democrats in the legislature, Pritzkers proposal for additional state funding was already being criticized by Republican legislative leadership, with House Republican leader Tony McCombie of Savanna saying that the Pritzker administration said four weeks ago that the state didnt have money for basic care for our developmentally disabled. Now he has $182 million burning a hole in his pocket, she said. This migrant crisis needs a long-term plan, not a blank check that disregards our most vulnerable. _____ (Chicago Tribunes Nell Salzman contributed.) _____ CHICAGO Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle on Thursday pledged more than $250 million in additional funding to deal with the migrant crisis in Chicago, while at the same time saying the state, county and city of Chicago have concluded that $321 million is needed to maintain shelter and other services this year. The announcement from Pritzkers office did not mention any contributions from the city of Chicago, and Mayor Brandon Johnsons office declined to comment. We put together these cost projections in collaboration with the county and city, said Pritzkers spokesperson Jordan Abudayyeh. The Governor agreed to step up and cover more than half of this cost at $182 million. The County President also stepped up to cover an additional $70 million. You will have to ask the city what their plans are for the remaining $70 million that all parties have agreed is needed to fund this humanitarian response. Pritzker said he will propose $182 million for migrant assistance as part of the fiscal year 2025 budget, which goes into effect on July 1, while Preckwinkle said she will work with her county board to come up with $70 million. Pritzker is scheduled to give his budget address in Springfield on Wednesday, and his proposals will have to be approved by the General Assembly, where Senate President Don Harmon, an Oak Park Democrat, has expressed resistance to funding migrants as a standalone issue. With thousands of asylum seekers continuing to come to Chicago in desperate need of support and with Congress continuing to refuse to actit is clear the state, county, and city will have to do more to keep people safe, Pritzker said in the release. A source familiar with the talks said Johnson initially agreed to provide additional funding but later backed off. Since August 2022, the state said it has directed about $640 million to deal with the influx of some 35,000 migrants, most of them bused to Chicago from Texas, including $160 million that was announced in November. The money was aimed at providing more robust legal and employment assistance and relieving pressure on Chicagos shelter system that was hampering efforts to connect migrants with housing and jobs through the construction of a centralized intake center. Johnson allocated $150 million in his 2024 budget for the citys migrant response, though he and others acknowledged that amount will likely be insufficient for the mounting costs to care for the asylum seekers. Over the past several months, the mayors office announced they could no longer open new shelters as the money was fast dwindling. City officials recently projected the $150 million would run out by April, saying that all options were on the table to address that fiscal cliff. While the number of migrants arriving to the city has dropped in recent weeks, Abudayyeh noted arrival numbers can ebb and flow regularly and that the state funding is necessary to anticipate more migrants still arriving to the city in the coming months, especially during the remaining part of winter. If we could get through this year and less people come, that would be the best solution, she said. But we have to plan for what we think could be ahead of us. The migrant crisis has been marked by several instances of tension between Pritzker and Mayor Johnson. In December, the governor scrapped Johnsons plan to build a migrant camp on a Southwest Side lot over environmental concerns. Last month, Pritzker said he was deeply concerned about the mayors decision to hold off on opening new shelters. This years county budget included more than $100 million for new arrival costs, largely for healthcare spending. Cook County Health has been spending roughly $1.5 to $2.5 million a month to provide physicals, testing and lab services, vaccinations, behavioral health screenings and counseling, prescriptions and follow up visits, as well as transport to appointments. A late budget amendment included for the countys 2024 budget created a new $100 million emergency fund largely dedicated to the migrant mission, including $70 million that could be tapped for new arrival health care and $20 million set aside to compensate municipal or local government costs involving migrant care. Late last month, Preckwinkle said officials had yet to tap into that emergency fund and that suburban officials had not taken her up on a request to provide shelter space to supplement Chicagos efforts. As part of Thursdays announcement, Preckwinkle said she will work with Cook County commissioners to commit up to $70 million more for this joint funding plan. Given the current run rate of the countys healthcare spending, its unclear what the $70 million in additional funding would entail. County officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment. As critical funding for this ongoing humanitarian crisis stalls in Congress, Cook County stands committed to the well-being of the region, Preckwinkle said in Thursdays news release. We cannot wait for additional resources and Cook County is proud to stand alongside Governor Pritzker in this joint funding plan, ensuring that shelter capacity, healthcare and wraparound services remain accessible to those in need. In addition to possible resistance from his fellow Democrats, Pritzkers proposal was alreaddy being questioned by Republican legislative leadership. Illinois House Republican leader Tony McCombie of Savanna criticized Pritzkers announcement of the new funding, saying four weeks ago the Pritzker administration didnt have money for basic care for our developmentally disabled. Now he has $182 million burning a hole in his pocket, she said. This migrant crisis needs a long-term plan, not a blank check that disregards our most vulnerable. ____ China's top diplomat to attend Munich Security Conference, visit Spain, France Xinhua) 09:44, February 16, 2024 BEIJING, Feb. 15 (Xinhua) -- China's top diplomat Wang Yi will attend the 60th Munich Security Conference where he will deliver a speech at the event on China and elaborate on China's position on major international issues in light of the conference's theme, visit Spain and France, and hold the China-France Strategic Dialogue in France from Feb. 16 to 21. Wang, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and Chinese foreign minister, was invited by Munich Security Conference Chairman Christoph Heusgen, Minister for Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation of Spain Jose Manuel Albares Bueno, and French President's Diplomatic Adviser Emmanuel Bonne, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said Thursday in a statement. As the world goes through accelerating changes unseen in a century and a new period of turbulence and change, Wang will elaborate on China's propositions on building a community with a shared future for mankind and advocating an equal and orderly multipolar world when attending the Munich Security Conference, a foreign ministry spokesperson said in another statement. Wang's visit to Spain is happening as the Year of the Dragon kicks off and China-Spain diplomatic relations enter the second 50 years, said the spokesperson, noting that both sides attach great importance to this visit and Spain has made thoughtful and cordial arrangements. China hopes that this visit will enable both sides to further implement the common understandings reached by the two heads of state, continue the friendly atmosphere of the 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties, consolidate mutual trust, enhance friendship, promote cooperation and enrich the China-Spain comprehensive strategic partnership, according to the spokesperson. Wang's visit to France will be the first important visit between the two countries this year, the spokesperson said, noting this year marks the 60th anniversary of China-France diplomatic ties. Last month, the two heads of state exchanged congratulatory messages and delivered video speeches, stressing that the two sides need to work together for a more solid and dynamic China-France comprehensive strategic partnership for the next 60 years, according to the spokesperson. Wang will hold bilateral meetings with the French side and co-chair a new round of the China-France Strategic Dialogue, the spokesperson said, stressing that China hopes to work with France to further deepen strategic communication, consolidate political mutual trust, and advance practical cooperation and people-to-people and cultural exchanges. China is also ready to enhance communication and coordination with France on multilateral issues to jointly steer China-Europe relations toward sound and steady growth, and contribute to global peace, stability, development, and progress, said the spokesperson. (Web editor: Peng Yukai, Liu Ning) Octavia Johnson is a general assignment reporter for the Houston Chronicle. She can be reached at octavia.johnson@houstonchronicle.com. Before joining the Chronicle, Octavia worked as a digital content producer at WATE-TV in Knoxville, Tenn., where she became a leader in producing fast paced, audience-focused content. Octavia graduated from UNC Pembroke with a bachelor's degree in journalism before earning her master's degree in media and communications at Norfolk State University. CHICAGO Amid a lack of clarity over whether the gunfire detection devices known as ShotSpotter will stay on in Chicago beyond this week, Mayor Brandon Johnson on Thursday said he has been clear he expects the technology to continue operating in the city through September. However, Johnson repeatedly refused to answer whether the companys operators had agreed to the contract extension apparently needed to keep the police tool running. Johnson announced Tuesday he would end the citys use of the police surveillance tool after extending the citys contract to use the technology through September. The short-term extension sought to give police a runway to revamp operations, the mayors administration said. But some aldermen have since said that ShotSpotter rejected Johnsons offer of a short-term contract extension and predicted the surveillance tool will shut off this weekend. ShotSpotter, now known as SoundThinking, released a statement Thursday saying they had been in discussions with the city about a longer extension before Johnson announced he was canceling the deal. The statement reads in part that the company believes an extension of at least a year was needed to provide the best possible data and analysis to the residents of the city of Chicago. Johnson had a different take. When Ive had conversations with those who operate and run ShotSpotter, from the very beginning we were clear about what Ive already announced. That is still in place, Johnson said at a news conference Thursday. Johnsons administration left no doubt about the technologys future in Chicago in a statement shared Tuesday. The City of Chicago will not renew its contract with SoundThinking that expires February 16, 2024, and will decommission the use of ShotSpotter technology on September 22, 2024, the administrations statement said. The extension to September would give police time to implement new training, tools and response models before ShotSpotters use ended, the statement continued. But that runway doesnt exist, Ald. Chris Taliaferro, 29th, told the Chicago Tribune on Wednesday. Taliaferro said a ShotSpotter lobbyist informed him the company is rejecting Johnsons extension. The way that it turned out, we should not have expected anything different, said Taliaferro, a former police officer and chair of Johnsons police and fire committee in City Council. When we say to them that we dont believe in what you offer, you cant fault ShotSpotter. Why wait? From Wednesday into Thursday, Johnson officials and the company did not answer questions about whether or not the police surveillance tool would remain in operation after the current contract expires Friday. The lack of clarity was on display at Thursdays news conference as reporters repeatedly shouted questions calling on Johnson to answer yes or no on whether ShotSpotter would be running this weekend, drawing rebukes from the mayor. Retiring and moving away from this particular form of technology while providing a runway is what Ive said, thats the understanding that you all should work with, and Ill leave it at that, Johnson said. He added that it is not my understanding that ShotSpotter is unwilling to negotiate an extension. Johnson repeatedly highlighted the need for a runway to transition the citys emergency response away from ShotSpotter, which uses light pole-mounted acoustic sensors, mostly on the South and West Sides, to quickly alert police about the location of suspected gunfire. He also stated the city will not replace ShotSpotter with other gunshot sound detection technology. The mayor campaigned on a promise to stop the citys use of the tool, a target of activists that gained notoriety in 2021 after a gunshot alert from a street in Little Village sent responding police running after 13-year-old Adam Toledo. An officer fatally shot Toledo during the chase. Johnsons Tuesday announcement that ShotSpotter would be cut off in September drew applause as a promise kept from activists, who argue the technology is used to over-police and racially profile communities of color. But in late January, as ShotSpotters future in Chicago was in question, police Superintendent Larry Snelling publicly praised it for speeding up emergency responses to shootings and saving lives. ShotSpotter CEO Ralph Clark ignored questions about whether the company would operate in Chicago through the summer in a statement Wednesday. Instead, he argued the technologys value is in lives saved. In the time that it has been deployed in Chicago, ShotSpotter has led police to locate hundreds of gunshot wound victims where there was no corresponding call to 911. Those are victims who most likely would not have received aid if not for ShotSpotter, Clark said. If ShotSpotters use suddenly ends in the near future, it would mean a tremendous deal for the city, Taliaferro said Wednesday. Police leaders would have to scramble to find interim measures to speed up gunshot responses, he said. They have to be able to find a way, he said. A Chicago Police Department spokesperson referred questions about the citys ShotSpotter contract to Johnson administration officials. _____ After the death of a 12-year-old at Trails Carolina, local social services workers are removing all children enrolled in the western North Carolina wilderness camp. While the investigation is ongoing and we cannot comment on specific details, it was determined that action needed to be taken to ensure the health and safety of the children, a state Department of Health and Human Services press release says. Parents were notified and the Transylvania County Department of Social Services will temporarily take custody of campers, the release says. Eighteen children were affected, according to Trails Carolina, which lashed out at the states action Friday. It called the move reckless and accused local law enforcement of bias. The children were receiving high-level clinical care for complex mental health diagnoses requiring experienced professionals with full knowledge of critical medications and specialized treatment regimens, the statement said, adding: This reckless move by the State denied parents the opportunity to continue to care for their children in the appropriate manner. On Feb. 12, state regulators ordered the wilderness therapy program to stop taking new admissions and to put immediate measures in place to keep children safe. That suspension a rare step for state regulators will remain in effect until April 14. That move came nine days after the 12-year-old boy from New York was found dead at a camp cabin in Lake Toxaway, 140 miles west of Charlotte. The boy had arrived at the program less than 24 hours earlier. How the boy died has not yet been determined, authorities say. But the death appeared suspicious, according to a news release issued by the Transylvania County Sheriffs Office. A forensic pathologist told investigators that the death did not appear to be natural, the sheriffs office said. Trails Carolina disputes that characterization, contending that there is no evidence of criminal conduct or suspicious acts and that preliminary reports indicate the boys death was accidental. The Transylvania County Sheriffs Office has maintained a biased approach in what appears to be an attempt to close a program that has successfully treated and helped restore and heal more than 2,700 families and saved lives, the statement released Friday said. What investigators have disclosed The boy who died reportedly experienced a panic attack the night he arrived and was found cold, stiff and frothing at the mouth the next morning, search warrants show. While its unclear what caused the boys mouth to froth, that couldve indicated that he ingested some sort of poison, according to an affidavit from a detective who obtained the search warrant. A camp counselor told investigators that the boy was required to sleep on the floor inside a sleeping bag, which in turn was inside a small tent called a bivy bag. The counselor said the boy was checked at 12 am, 3 am and 6 am on Feb. 3, and was found dead at 7:45 am that day. But when investigators arrived that morning, the boys body was stiff and cold to the touch, the search warrants said. Four adults were assigned to the cabin where the boy was died, and all reportedly were placed on leave, the sheriffs office said. The Transylvania County Sheriffs Office said Friday it is actively pursuing the investigation daily and cooperating with Transylvania County DSS and the Dept of Health and Human Services in their investigations. On its website, Trails Carolina says it was founded in 2008, largely on the belief that a wilderness setting enhances the benefits of therapy. Participants in the for-profit program typically enroll for 85 days, the programs website says, and tuition is $675 to $715 per day. Trails Carolina takes children ages 10 to 17 on wilderness expeditions, and its therapists meet with children on a weekly basis, the website says. The program helps minors with a variety of conditions, including depression, anxiety and anger management problems, it says. Concerns about Trails Carolina have been voiced for years. In 2014, 17-year-old Alec Lansing died after running away from the program. DHHS, which regulates therapeutic programs, has cited the program with multiple deficiencies in recent years. A wilderness therapy camp in North Carolina wont be able to admit any new children as the state investigates a death that happened earlier this month. The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services said on Friday that all children had been removed from Trails Carolina, and all new admissions are suspended. Channel 9 reported in early February when a 12-year-old boy died at Trails Carolina, which is in the mountains in Transylvania County. The student, who had enrolled the day before, could not be resuscitated by emergency personnel, according to a statement from camp officials at Trails Carolina. Few details have been released about the boys death, but the DHHS began conducting investigations after his death was reported on Feb. 3. The death at Trails Carolina is tragic and concerning, said a DHHS statement, in part. We extend our deepest sympathies to the family and loved ones of the child who died, and commit to them that we are conducting a thorough investigation with our county partners and will take every appropriate step based on the outcome of our and other investigations. This isnt the first investigation involving Trails Carolina. Channel 9 also learned that the camp is being sued by the family of a camper who alleges they were sexually abused in 2016. SEE MORE: Lawsuit says sexual assaults went unreported at NC wilderness camp where child died The department said on Friday that it cant share any more details on the 12-year-olds death, but the statement did say it was determined that action needed to be taken to ensure the health and safety of the children. No criminal charges have been filed in connection with the death. Officials say the children who were at the camp were temporarily taken into care of Transylvania County [Department of Social Services]. (WATCH: Charlotte-based chiropractor sentenced to Texas prison for child sex abuse) Propaganda accounts controlled by foreign entities aiming to influence U.S. politics are flourishing on X even after theyve been exposed by other social media platforms or criminal proceedings, a Washington Post analysis shows. Previously, tech companies including Twitter, Facebook owner Meta and Googles YouTube worked with each other, outside researchers and federal law enforcement agencies to limit foreign interference campaigns, following revelations that Russian operatives used fake social media accounts to spread misinformation and exacerbate divisions in 2016. Subscribe to The Post Most newsletter for the most important and interesting stories from The Washington Post. But X has been largely absent from that effort since Elon Musk bought it in 2022, when it was still Twitter, and for months hasnt sent representatives to biweekly meetings in which the companies share notes on networks of fake accounts they are investigating or planning to take down, according to other participants. They just kind of disappeared, one said. The result has been that accounts spreading disinformation that the other social media companies took down remain active on X. That allows the disinformation to be spread from there, including back to the other platforms. Anyone trying to run a disinformation campaign is going to do it across multiple mainstream platforms, said Yael Eisenstat, a senior fellow at the nonprofit Cybersecurity for Democracy. With foreign influence, we are less protected than we were in 2020. The last X representative to attend one of the information sharing sessions was Ireland-based expert Aaron Rodericks, said the people familiar with the meetings, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal matters. Rodericks was suspended from X after liking posts critical of Musk and is suing him and the company. Before that, Twitters representative was its safety chief, Yoel Roth, who resigned not long after Musks takeover and had to flee his home after Musk wrongly implied that he was soft on pedophiles. One result: In the months since Meta identified 150 artificial influence accounts on X in a series of public reports last year, 136 were still present on X as of Thursday evening, according to The Posts review. That includes a Turkey-based account with more than 1 million followers and five other accounts that have Xs blue check mark designating them as verified. Most troubling to some researchers, out of 123 accounts that Meta called out in May, August and December for participating in deceptive China-based campaigns, all but eight remain on X. Meta said this week that such China-based campaigns have been multiplying: Of 10 networks taken down by the company since 2017, six were identified in the past year. There has been a markedly increased emphasis in [Communist] Party leadership in taking a much more robust approach to influencing foreign audiences through all tools available at their disposal, said Kieran Green, an analyst for advisory firm Exovera and the lead author of a study being published Friday on Chinese censorship and propaganda for the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, a body Congress created in 2000 to monitor U.S.-China relations. Methods include flooding hashtags with junk, impersonating high-profile experts that are critical of the government and using bot accounts to give the false impression of social consensus, Green said. The object is not necessarily to change hearts and minds but to muddy the discourse to the degree that its impossible to form an anti-China narrative. Meta and YouTube declined to comment. X did not respond to a request for comment. The retreat by X is just one of the new challenges in the quest to counter determined foreign interference. The U.S. government stopped warning social networks about disinformation campaigns in July, after a court ruling barred some communications between the White House and tech companies over censorship concerns. Tech companies have also slashed thousands of workers - some of whom were responsible for guarding their platforms against misinformation - while reversing policies prohibiting some election-related lies. The industry has sort of regressed. We staffed up, got everything into what was going to be the best trust and safety of its time before the 2020 election. And, all of that has now gone back to pre-2016 preparedness, said Anika Collier Navaroli, a senior fellow at the Tow Center for Digital Journalism at Columbia University and a former senior Twitter policy official. Youre seeing the lack of communication between government and companies, the lack of communication between companies and companies. Thats something that took a very long time to work on, Navaroli said. In addition, probes by House Republicans and lawsuits by conservative activists have forced some disinformation researchers to rethink efforts to study or counter the spread of online misinformation as they battle accusations that their work leads to censorship. Though some Chinese propaganda is focused on deflecting concerns about its human rights record, treatment of Hong Kong and ambitions in the South China Sea, it has increasingly sought to stoke existing U.S. divisions in the same way Russia has, researchers said. Chinese influence operations have rapidly expanded to more platforms and more languages, Microsoft reported in September. In the past few weeks, one of the X accounts listed by Meta as part of a covert China-based campaign, @boltinMich2800, has posted links to stories about hot-button political issues on obscure media sites. Some of them covered political events such as the Ohio governors veto of a bill restricting transgender care for teens or the qualification of candidates for a televised debate. Other posts and reposts promoted far-right ideas, including that of banning liberal financier George Soros from politics. Another account in the same network, @JeroenWolf52208, has been posting right-wing takes on race and the Texas border controversy, as well as a story on Israels war plans from Russias government-controlled RT. The two accounts did not respond to direct messages sent on X. A separate preliminary analysis from Stanford University researchers of Metas November quarterly report on what is known as coordinated inauthentic behavior found 86 of those accounts are still active on X. Of those accounts, two were connected to Russia, three to Iran and the remaining 81 were connected to China. The analysis, shared exclusively with The Post, found that the majority of the China-based accounts are posing as North Americans, sometimes scraping photos from real Americans LinkedIn pages but changing their names. The accounts often post about China, Elon Musk, President Biden and the U.S. election. The presence of these accounts reinforces the fact that state actors continue to try to influence U.S. politics by masquerading as media and fellow Americans, said Renee DiResta, the technical research manager for the Stanford Internet Observatory. Ahead of the 2022 midterms, researchers and platform integrity teams were collaborating to disrupt foreign influence efforts. That collaboration seems to have ground to a halt; Twitter does not seem to be addressing even networks identified by its peers, and thats not great. Meanwhile, an account that is accused of being run by the Chinese Ministry of Public Security is still on X 10 months after U.S. prosecutors cited its tweets in a criminal complaint. It posted as recently as Jan. 24. The Post was able to link the account, @Bag_monk, to the 912 Special Project Working Group by comparing the text of two of its tweets to those referenced by prosecutors in an April 2023 complaint, which match verbatim. Prosecutors at the time described the unit as being part of a broad effort to influence and shape public perceptions of the [Chinese] government, the [Chinese Communist Party] and its leaders in the United States and around the world. The account appears tied to dozens of accounts on X and other platforms that post and repost inflammatory messages. On Thursday, the London nonprofit Institute for Strategic Dialogue issued a report connecting some of the indictments posts to Spamouflage, a seven-year-old covert influence campaign suspected of being driven by the Chinese Communist Party. The content includes negative depictions of both Biden and former president Donald Trump, as well as material that appears aimed at creating a sense of dismay over the state of America without any clear partisan bent. It focuses on issues like urban decay, the fentanyl crisis, dirty drinking water, police brutality, gun violence and crumbling infrastructure, wrote Elise Thomas, an analyst at the institute. Some images shared by @Bag_monk and similar accounts have six fingers or body parts that blend together, an indicator that they may have been created with artificial intelligence tools. The apparent AI-generated images also depict Trump in an orange prison jumpsuit. One such graphic, which also depicted Biden and his son Hunter, was posted by 10 separate accounts. Their posts all used the same caption and were published after federal prosecutors last year charged Trump with illegally retaining classified documents. The posts garnered around 16,900 views altogether, according to Xs public tabulation. Researchers said that China, again like Russia, has also begun planting articles advancing its political views on what appear to be local news sites. One campaign that the University of Torontos Citizen Lab recently attributed to a Beijing marketing company included 123 websites in 30 countries. - - - Will Oremus contributed to this report. Related Content He was born at home in D.C. Now his parents have to prove hes theirs. Speaker Johnson says he has priorities. So why hasnt he acted on them? Ukraine on verge of losing Avdiivka, strategic city long targeted by Russia Engineers working on China's Chang'e-6 mission have foregone family reunions over the Lunar New Year to help get the spacecraft ready for launch. The components of the complex Chang'e-6 moon sample return mission arrived at Wenchang spaceport on Hainan island in early January. There, a team of engineers and researchers, many with extensive experience from the 2020 Chang'e-5 mission, is intensively testing and adjusting the equipment, according to a China Central Television (CCTV) report. The mission will make the first ever attempt at collecting material from the far side of the moon and deliver it to Earth for analysis. Launch is planned for around May. Related: China's Chang'e 5 moon samples, beyond NASA's reach for years, are finally available to US scientists Zhang Yang, managing engineer of Chang'e-6, said that Spring Festival , as Lunar New Year is known in China, is a critical period for the mission. "We must ensure that the probe is in good condition, and each step we take is quality guaranteed," Zhang said. As traveling back to see families was not possible, team members caught with loved ones remotely. "This is the first time that I am not celebrating the Spring Festival with my family, and I wish all my family members good health in the Year of the Dragon," Zhu Rongkuan, a young engineer on the team, said. Chang'e-6 is expected to be a 53-day-long mission. The mission lander will seek to touch down in Apollo basin on the far side of the moon and collect up to 4.4 pounds (2 kilograms) of lunar materials using a scoop and a drill. The short CCTV report also reveals a logo for the mission. The image contains the moon, the stack of four spacecraft comprising Chang'e-6 the service module, lander, ascent vehicle and reentry capsule and an apparent representation of the Chinese lunar goddess Chang'e, for which China's lunar exploration program and missions are named. Also shown is the Queqiao-2 relay satellite which will launch in February or March to support the mission. The satellite is required to relay communications between ground stations and the Chang'e-6 spacecraft because the far side of the moon is never visible from Earth. RELATED STORIES: China's Chang'e-5 moon samples contain 'perplexing combination' of minerals China puts models of its future crewed moon landing spacecraft on display (video) US must beat China back to the moon, Congress tells NASA Once on the moon, the mission lander will load lunar samples into an ascent vehicle ready to be blasted into lunar orbit. There, the ascent vehicle will rendezvous and dock with the waiting service module, which will receive the precious cargo. The service module will then head back to Earth, releasing the reentry capsule just before arrival. The capsule's task is to protect the samples during a fiery reentry into Earth's atmosphere and parachute safely down to the surface. Analysis of samples from the lunar far side could provide new insights into why the near and far sides of the moon are so different, and clues about the history of the moon and the development of the solar system. FILE PHOTO: South Korea's Black Eagles aerobatics team perform a manoeuvre during an aerial display at the Singapore Airshow at Changi Exhibition Center FILE PHOTO: South Korea's Black Eagles aerobatics team perform a manoeuvre during an aerial display at the Singapore Airshow at Changi Exhibition Center By Lisa Barrington and Tim Hepher SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Singapore will play host to Asia's biggest air show next week for the first time since the end of COVID border restrictions, with regional travel rebounding and the military side of the show bristling with defensive systems and nervous arms buyers. An expected full return of civil demand in Asia is being tested by an industry-wide supply crunch and macroeconomic headwinds, however - especially in the world's second-largest aviation market, China - while geopolitical tensions have put weapons in the spotlight. "Supply chain issues are limiting the ability of many airlines to upgrade their fleets and service their aircraft," said Association of Asia Pacific Airlines head Subhas Menon. The biennial show will also feature the first trip outside Chinese territory for China's first homegrown passenger jet, COMAC's narrow-body C919. With the dominant two planemakers, Airbus and Boeing, struggling to ramp up production and meet demand for new planes, and Boeing struggling with a string of crises, air show attendees will be watching how the Commercial Aircraft Corporation Of China (COMAC) positions itself as a viable alternative. Many inside the industry caution that only four C919s are in service in China; the plane is only certified by Chinese regulators; and the C919 relies on international supply chains. Nevertheless, China's aviation authority has said it would promote the plane internationally this year and pursue European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) certification. "We have also seen a growing trend where clients are including the C919 option in their fleet evaluation," said Adam Cowburn of Alton Aviation Consultancy. COMAC will be one of two commercial planemakers flying their planes alongside Airbus. Boeing will not send a commercial aircraft to the show this year. It is the first major international industry event since last month's blowout of a door plug on a 737 MAX 9 pushed Boeing into its second safety crisis in five years and sent images of a fuselage with a gaping hole whizzing across the globe. Analyst Sash Tusa of UK-based Agency Partners said that in the past, the industry rarely discussed aviation safety in public, on the assumption that any mention would undermine confidence. "But this omerta no longer seems to apply," he added in a note. ENVIRONMENT AND DEFENCE Singapore will invite industry delegates to discuss aviation's environmental impact, and will reveal a plan for making Singapore's aviation sector sustainable. In November, the global aviation industry agreed to lower fuel carbon emissions 5% by 2030, towards a goal of "net zero" carbon emissions by 2050. "For the industry to meet its Fly Net Zero ambitions by 2050, Asia will be a key driver given that it will continue to remain the largest aviation market," Cowburn said. A massive ramp-up in sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) production is the current hope for meeting these targets, but it costs three to five times more than traditional jet fuel and there are concerns about how to sustainably meet demand. "That awareness of aviation's climate impact has been rising and the questions about this industry's licence to operate have been increasingly raised - without there being a credible path of tackling that problem," said Sami Jauhiainen of refiner Neste, which started refining SAF in Singapore last year. Singapore is not traditionally a major show for new plane orders but some business could coincide with the show. Some new freighters are also in demand, delegates said. Amid spiralling tensions over Taiwan, disputes over South China Sea sovereignty and a spike in North Korean missile tests, regional defence budgets are rising. Systems from small drones to complex sub-hunting aircraft will be on display. The war in Ukraine, which has seen extensive use of high-end air defences, and repeated attacks on Red Sea shipping, may also spur interest in systems that can intercept missiles and drones, as well as intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) platforms used to keep tabs on adversaries. No Russian companies are listed among the exhibitors at the air show. Six air forces will stage flying demonstrations, including the United States, India and Korea. (Reporting by Lisa Barrington in Seoul and Tim Hepher in Paris; Additional reporting by Xinghui Kok in Singapore) An upcoming Chinese lunar mission will carry a small ecosystem and other payloads to test using lunar resources later this decade. China's Chang'e 8 mission is a precursor mission for a moon base, named the International Lunar Research Station ( ILRS ) that the country wants to build with partners in the 2030s. Chang'e 8 will test key technologies needed to make the ILRS sustainable. The China National Space Administration (CNSA) revealed details of Chang'e 8's planned payloads in a solicitation for domestic expressions of interest in developing the payloads released on Feb. 7. Notably, these include in-situ resource utilization (ISRU) and terrestrial ecosystem experiments. Related: Facts about China's Chang'e moon program The ISRU payload will be designed to melt lunar soil using solar energy. This material will then be used to manufacture components and measure their mechanical and thermal properties. Previous reporting suggests the plan is to produce bricks, which would then be capable of being assembled by robots . The ecosystem experiment is described as a two-chain terrestrial ecosystem containing plants and microbes. The controlled, sealed environment aims to explore the viability of biological utilization of lunar soil resources and how they potentially support life-support technology such as food and oxygen production for a crewed lunar base. The 2019 Chang'e 4 mission notably saw a cotton seed sprout in a container on the far side of the moon. Other payloads include a lunar-based radiometer and a multispectral imager for Earth observation. These will collect data related to Earth's climate and its magnetosphere and how it interacts with the solar wind. Chang'e 8 will also carry a lunar surface low-frequency electromagnetic field detector, lunar soil thermal flow profiler, a soft X-ray telescope and a terrain camera. RELATED STORIES: China's moon plans involve 3D printing bricks from lunar soil Here's what China's 1st moon landing with astronauts might look like (video) China's next moon missions get the green light An in-situ sample analysis device will collect and analyze lunar material. It will provide scientific data on the composition of the lunar regolith, including the presence of rare gases to support research on lunar magma ocean evolution and the history of lunar impacts. Chang'e 8 is currently scheduled to launch no earlier than 2028. Around May this year, China plans to launch its complex Chang'e 6 mission to attempt a first-ever collection of samples from the far side of the moon. Chang'e 7 , which will feature a lander, rover, relay satellite and a hopping spacecraft, is scheduled for 2026. China also aims to put astronauts on the moon before 2030 . Christian Bruckner appeared in court in Germany before his trial was adjourned - FILIP SINGER/POOL/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock/Shutterstock A sex crimes trial of the prime suspect in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann was adjourned on Friday morning after one of the magistrates was found to have called for the assassination of former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro. Christian Bruckner appeared in a German court to face three counts of rape and two of child sexual abuse. He is already serving a seven-year sentence for raping an American pensioner in the Algarve resort town where three-year-old Madeleine went missing in 2007. But the first day of the trial ended in chaos after just an hour when it emerged that Britta Thielen-Donckel, one of the lay judges sitting in the case, had posted on social media calling for the Brazilian to be killed. Mr Bolsonaro was president from 2019 to 2022. A conservative populist, his supporters stormed federal buildings in January 2023 after his defeat in the presidential election. He is banned from holding public office until 2030 for making false claims about voter fraud in that election. Presiding judge Christina Engelmann ruled the posts made Ms Thielen-Donckel unfit to take part. The trial has now been adjourned until Feb 23 so a replacement magistrate can be found. German and Portuguese prosecutors have named Bruckner as the main suspect in Madeleines disappearance in 2007. He has denied any involvement and has not been formally charged. Bruckner, a convicted paedophile, wore a grey suit jacket over a purple shirt with black trousers and brown shoes after being driven from prison to the court in Braunschweig, northern Germany, in the back of a police van. The 47-year-old did not speak in court as he appeared in the dock for the first time to face the five fresh charges. He could be given a maximum sentence of 15 years on top of his current sentence which is due to end in 2027 if found guilty in a trial expected to last four months and involve 26 separate hearings. But he could remain in prison indefinitely on grounds of public safety. One of the magistrates of the trial was found to have called for the assassination of former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro - EVARISTO SA/AFP Bruckner is accused of raping a woman aged between 70 and 80 at her Algarve holiday apartment on an unspecified date between December 2000 and April 2006. He is also being prosecuted over an alleged 2004 rape of a 20-year-old woman who was working in the Algarve. Prosecutors say he filmed both rapes on a video camera and that two friends later found the footage. Both are expected to testify against him as witnesses. Bruckner is facing a third charge of rape against a German-speaking girl who was aged at least 14. The incident is said to have occurred at his house in Praia da Luz on an unspecified date between December 2000 and April 2006. The fourth charge involves alleged sexual abuse of a German girl, 10, on an Algarve beach in April 2007 and the fifth concerns a Portuguese girl, 11, who he is accused of forcing to watch a sex act at a playground in June 2017. He is also being tried for defamation against prison officers who he termed torturers for leaving him in solitary confinement. Bruckner said last night that his new trial is ridiculous as he made his first public comments on the case. I hope [they] will find some answers to [their] questions soon, he told MailOnline. Friedrich Fulscher, his lawyer, added that he is aiming for a full acquittal on all charges. The first day of the trial had been expected to focus on procedural matters. Madeleine, three, went missing in 2007 - PA McCann was on a family holiday to the Algarve resort town of Praia da Luz in May 2007 when she disappeared from her bedroom while her parents were dining with friends. Bruckner was living in a campervan nearby at the time. German prosecutors have said they believe she is dead. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 3 months with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) has not ruled out voting for President Biden while vowing to not back former President Trump as the two head toward a likely rematch in November. Christie was asked in an interview on Crooked Medias Pod Save America podcast on Wednesday whether the choice between Biden and Trump matters in next Novembers election as the two remain the front-runners of their respective parties. He did not commit to voting for Biden, suggesting that he would likely support a potential No Labels bid by Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) instead. What I believe is that we dont know yet what the full choice will be. And I do think there will be put Bobby Kennedy Jr. aside, whom I think is a joke and probably wont wind up on the ballot in most states, he said. But I do think that the No Labels effort is a real effort. I think they will get on the ballot in most, if not all the states. So part of the reason why Im not making a decision other than my decision to definitively never vote for Trump is they might nominate somebody who I prefer to Joe Biden, he continued. So for instance, if they nominated Joe Manchin, I would vote for Joe Manchin. No Labels is a political organization looking to put forward a unity ticket in all fifty states. Manchin has been floated as a potential candidate for the group, which has faced bipartisan criticism and sparked concerns among Democrats who worry that a third-party bid will turn the election in favor of Trump. When asked if it mattered that voting for a third-party candidate could help elect Trump, Christie argued that his vote does not matter much in New Jersey which has voted for the Democrat in the last eight presidential elections. I dont want Trump to win. And I would certainly that would be something I would evaluate as the time went on. I wouldnt be an early voter. I would go on Election Day so I had all the information I could, he said. But Im just telling you, dispositionally, I think Joe, Joe Biden is not more qualified than Joe Manchin to be president of the United States in this term coming up. When pressed further on why he wouldnt commit to voting for Biden if it was necessary to save the country, Christie said he has not ruled it out. And Im not telling you that I wont. Im just telling you, Im not there yet. You know, the only thing that I have decided firmly is that I will not vote for Trump under any circumstances, he said. Christie, who dropped out of the GOP presidential primary last month, previously said during an interview with NBC Meet the Press host Kristen Welker earlier this week that it is unlikely he would cast a ballot for the Democratic front-runner. The Hill has reached out to the Biden campaign and the Trump campaign for comment. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. MEMPHIS, Tenn. This week, WREG Investigators have been digging deeper into the crime hurting Memphis. We end our series with a vital question How do we fix it? Memphis is a city full of culture, creativity and compassion. Its resilient yet exhausted. Violence seems to have the upper hand leaving residents fed up with the small population wreaking havoc. Something has to be done, said a mother who lost her son to violence. People in this city are sick of it. We are tired of it, Stan Norton said. Every day we feel like we are sitting ducks. He is the chief operating officer of City Auto. In December, security cameras at his dealership on Elmore captured thieves driving off with two Corvettes. More stories in this series: They used an iPad. They have these programs. They can be in the car and gone in 30 seconds or less, Norton said. It probably happens 10 times a year. The losses each of the past two years have been north of $500,000. Thats hard to absorb. Plus, theres the money spent on more security. I love Memphis. I have a home here. I have a business here, but I feel like I have to constantly protect it, said Norton. Its a feeling far too many know, especially over the past three years. The pandemic unleashed a crime wave across the country. The FBI hadnt seen so many murders since it started tracking those statistics in 1960. Last year, many cities finally started to see a decrease. Memphis was the exception. It reported the deadliest year yet in 2023. Property and other violent crime increased too. As U.S. crime trends down, murders rise in Memphis Looking at other cities for answers There is a small amount of people creating the bulk of the chaos in our community, Memphis Mayor Paul Young said. Young said his team is working on various strategies to get those people off the streets, like stepping up investigative services. So behind the scenes, we have had a lot of discussions with our national partners and internally around how we can be more aggressive with identifying those committing crimes, he said. Young said his team is also looking what other cities have done, like Omaha, Nebraska where the number of gunshot victims was cut in half in the past 15 years. Its Omaha 360 strategy gets representatives from every part of the community including the school system, churches, housing, businesses, police and politicians together. Hundreds show up to weekly meetings where they go over recent data and mobilize resources to tackle underlying issues. We want to build a structure that allows for us to seamlessly communicate and share data, Young said. He said theyre working on a similar system now while also adding a new office focused on violence intervention. How do we get them to go to scale? How do we have better data sharing, so as they are focusing on which individuals need those services? he said. When I talk about data sharing, its equipping our violence interrupters with the information, so they can do a better job. He said more investments in our youth is also vital. What we have to do is introduce other options. Open community centers and engage them. Better, deeper ways, he said. Not just sports, but thats part of it. Also, what are nonprofits doing in our community that could be operating in our community centers and engaging our young people over and beyond. Other city leaders are also doing their own research, like Memphis councilwoman Jerri Green. Every place that I have looked, they have come up with plans, and I think there are bits and pieces we can bring to Memphis, she said. Theres so many tools out there, and theres so many plans shown to work across the country, but we arent doing it. Councilwoman says MPD homicide solve rate below 50% Some examples include community policing, technology and working to regain the communitys trust. There are some things that are deeper we need to work on, she said. We need immediate action, but we are going to have to look at root causes. What are we doing in our schools? What are we doing in our communities for our youth? what are we doing for our reentering citizens? She wants to see a concrete plan. Detroit, Michigan had one. It just reported a significant drop in homicides and record-low carjackings. It laid out a series of strategies like giving officers a raises, investing in more community violence intervention groups and through collaboration, focused on clearing a backlog of felony gun cases that amassed when COVID forced courts to close and defendants were released to clear space in the jail. Moving 4,000 pretrial felons through the system, so theres accountability in a fair way. We are seeing numbers we have never seen. 18 percent reduction in homicide, their mayor said in a press conference. Shelby County also has a backlog from COVID. Some entities and local lawmakers want to do what Detriot did and have called on state leadership to help surge available resources. Judge calls delays in Shelby County criminal court system catastrophic Public safety is one of the greatest challenges in our day, Governor Bill Lee told WREG while he was in Memphis last week. He said he is working to send more troopers to help in the Bluff City and dedicated grant money for violence intervention. That money just being implemented. He didnt mention the backlog of court cases in our interview or in his state of state address. Local lawmakers, however, tell us discussions are happening behind the scenes. TN troopers saturating Memphis interstates Unique challenges in Memphis If I had to prioritize the ways the state could help, I want them helping with just the crime level. Funding violence intervention methods. I want them helping to supplement the pay of police, so we can help recruit more police. I want them to fund a crime lab, Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy said. WREG Investigators found out Memphis police solved 68% percent of homicides in 2022 and 50% last year. Mulroy said he wants more funds to help get those numbers up. And then also, with the kind of programs that would decrease the repeat offender rate like violence intervention programs, drug treatment, mental health, he said. Thats what I think will actually make us safer. Memphis has unique challenges. It has a poverty rate of 21% and a child poverty rate of 32%. Around 35,000 people between ages 16 and 24 are not in school or are not working. Lack of educational opportunities, meaningful employment, prejudice, trauma and lack of hope are all contributors of crime. Researchers also believe dysfunctional families also play a role. Some have suggested the most reliable indicator of violent crime in a community is the proportion of fatherless families. Shelby County Criminal Court Judge Christopher Craft agrees. He became a judge 12 years ago. And since then, I have had three dads. Three dads testify, he said. Out of all the cases Ive handled, three have testified at a sentencing hearing for their kid. Commissioner calls for changes in the Shelby County court system He believes whats happening is many boys dont have a positive male influence to look up to and find admiration and love. Mom may care about [the child]. She might love them, but is working too many jobs to make ends meet or is on drugs or other problems, he said. Judge Craft said the pandemic made it worse, because teachers and mentoring programs had to press pause while the negative influences and gangs didnt shut down. They have nothing. They have nothing positive in their lives except trying to impress their friends, Judge Craft said. They carjack a car and then run it into another car to carjack that car, so that they can drive around a while and leave that car there. At the end of the day, they carjacked two to three cars and then they just go home. When they go home, nobody cares. No one knows they came home. He said more mentors is key in reducing crime long term. We need people to care enough to try to make a difference, he said. It could make a much needed difference in a city where far too many like Norton want and deserve change. Just encourage all the citizens to hold you elected officials accountable, Norton said. I dont plan on losing this battle. I plan on, we the people, take the city back. DO YOU NEED A STORY INVESTIGATED? WREG Investigators want to hear from you! Call our tip line at 901-543-2378. You can also send an email to newstips@wreg.com. Get the latest from the WREG Investigators in your inbox For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WREG.com. Christopher Hassig, commander Houston Police Homicide speaks to members of the media in the aftermath of the shooting at Lakewood Church during a news conference at police headquarters on Monday, Feb. 12, 2024 in Houston. Brett Coomer/Staff photographer Houston Police and Harris County Sheriffs officers outside of Lakewood Church on Sunday, Feb. 11, 2024, in Houston, after a reported shooting during a Spanish church service. Karen Warren/Staff photographer Houston Police officers watch over displaced church goers outside Lakewood Church on Sunday, Feb. 11, 2024, in Houston, after a reported shooting during a Spanish church service. Karen Warren/Staff photographer People listen to Houston police officers speak in front of the Lifetime Fitness outside of Lakewood Church on Sunday, Feb. 11, 2024, in Houston, after a reported shooting during a Spanish church service. Karen Warren/Staff photographer Christopher Hassig, commander of the Houston Police Departments homicide division, gave a phalanx of journalists new information about the person who had opened fire with a rifle at Lakewood Church, Houston's famed megachurch. The womans name was Genesse Moreno, Hassig said. A child who was with her, and was critically wounded, was her 7-year-old biological son. But there was a confusing factor, Hassig said. "She has utilized both male and female names," Hassig said. "But through all of our investigation to this point talking with individuals, interviews, documents, Houston Police Department reports, she has been identified as female. She. Her. And so we are identifying her as Genesse Moreno, Hispanic female." Advertisement Article continues below this ad By the time Hassig spoke, a story had already been latched onto in corners of the Internet, and by some of the countrys largest news organizations, where it was declared that Moreno was transgender and that the Lakewood shooting was now part of an unsubstantiated increase in shootings committed by transgender people. Other unsubstantiated claims were made about her immigration status, though public documents indicate she was in the country legally. The rush to identify Moreno as transgender is one of the latest examples of people using a crisis to score points in a contest over the national narrative and reputation gains, said Kate Starbird, the director of the University of Washington Center for an Informed Public, which studies misinformation. A lot of people spreading those things, they dont care whether or not thats true, because it fits their political goal, Starbird said. The veracity isnt as important to them as the political valence. Name helps launch claims As of Thursday, Houston police hadnt speculated on an exact motive for Morenos attack. Reporting has revealed claims she was diagnosed with schizophrenia, had made antisemitic comments amidst a fight with Jewish family members and had gone through an acrimonious divorce. Little has been revealed that backs up claims that she identified with a gender other than female. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Moreno was connected to a mans names including Jeffery Escalante and Jeffery Escalante-Moreno. Hassig on Monday said the name was used as an alias. But her lawyer told the Associated Press she was just a woman named Jeffery. In court records from Harris County, Moreno is identified as Jeffery G. Escalante-Moreno or Jeffery G. Escalante in relation charges filed against her from 2005 to 2011. Divorce filings from Montgomery County include salacious details about Morenos personal life, but doesnt say anything about Morenos gender identity. Political, news groups take the word of neighbors Unverified claims that Moreno was transgender began spreading Monday morning. Advertisement Article continues below this ad As early as 6 a.m. Monday, Grizzys Hood News, a Facebook page run by Grisela Castillo that reports on Houston crime, posted a video noting Morenos aliases and also calling her a trans woman and asserting that Moreno wasnt actually the childs mother. Castillo later that morning went on Michael Berrys radio show on New Radio 740, and again called Moreno transgender woman. By 9:30 a.m., right-wing influencers on X, the social media platform, were implying Moreno was transgender. A post by Libs of TikTok account calling Moreno trans was shared more than 17,000 times on X. That post, and ones like it, were amplified by prominent conservative figures including U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz and Donald Trump Jr. The claims then spread to more mainstream news outlets. Advertisement Article continues below this ad An MSNBC report around noon Monday said Moreno identified as a woman and was a Hispanic transgender woman. Around the same time, a story on Fox News claimed Moreno was born as a man, without citing a source. The sentence was removed after Hassig spoke at the news conference. After the police update, the Libs of TikTok account dismissively noted Hassigs comments and accused the police of being focused on pronouns. In a statement, a Fox News spokesperson said the outlets reporting was updated with new information as it became available, which is typical in breaking news events. MSNBC didnt respond to a request for comment. Advertisement Article continues below this ad On Tuesday, a different story on Fox News website continued to refer to Moreno as a transgender Texan citing an account from a neighbor identified only as Jill. The Fox spokesman said information was aggregated from a report from local TV station Fox 26. The local report referenced by Fox News was an unedited interview with neighbors who outlined complaints they had made about Moreno in the past, who didnt all give their full names, posted on the news stations website at 6 p.m. Monday. As of Thursday, Fox 26 had no articles referring to Morenos gender on its website. Following Monday's press conference and Hassig's comments, followers on Grizzy's Hood News questioned the conflicting information. Castillo explained she got the information about Moreno's gender identity from neighbors and backed away slightly from her earlier claims. "I believe that this was an individual that had a lot of mental issues, and perhaps she is the woman, but she was identifying herself as trans," Castillo said. William Capasso, Moreno's former divorce lawyer, told The Associated Press on Wednesday "that there was no indication that she was transgender. Instead, he said Moreno's first name was simply Jeffery. It is my understanding that although her birth name was Jeffrey Moreno, she was born female and identified as a female, he said. She did use Genesse and may have changed her name to Genesse Moreno after I represented her. CHURCH SERVICES: Lakewood holds its first services since the deadly shooting Blame game serves anti-trans narrative Lakewood was not the first highly public shooting to generate a wave of misinformation before facts are confirmed. Famously, conspiracy theorists falsely claimed the 2012 mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary in Connecticut was a false flag event. Following the 2019 mass shooting at an El Paso Walmart, prominent right wing accounts misidentified the alleged shooter in an attempt to blame rap music on the shoot. There can be a similar trend from left-leaning political actors to quickly blame mass shootings on things like the availability of certain types of guns or inaction on gun laws, Starbird said. People already have a frame theyre trying to push that trans people are doing bad things, Starbird said. They try to take whatever evidence they can find and fit into that frame. Especially when details are uncertain, and you get ambiguous details, theyre going to be amplified. After the Uvalde shooting in 2022, social media accounts spread rumors that the shooter was in the country illegally, or was transgender. Neither was true. Accounts like the ones that weighed in on the Lakewood shooting have made repeated claims that mass shootings committed by transgender people are increasing, citing four shootings over the course of five years, where the perpetrator may have identified as transgender or non-binary. The vast majority of mass shootings are committed by cisgender men. An obscure measure on the March ballot called Measure C is a timely illustration of why the culture at Sacramento City Hall is badly in need of a reset. Measure C seeks to increase the business operations tax by about 75% over time, but thats not why we believe voters should reject it. The city violated the letter and spirit of a transparency requirement for Measure C within its own charter, the rules that are supposed to govern Sacramento. Measure C ended up on the ballot without an argument against it, the city saying that is the fault of opponents rather than its flawed noticing. Since The Bee Editorial Board brought this issue to the attention of city leaders, Mayor Darrell Steinberg has admitted they made a mistake while staff move forward with Measure C anyways. Thats why we oppose it. The same city leaders trying to justify their actions on Measure C also violated the Brown Act as they placed on a Dec. 12 agenda with scant notice a preposterous raise for City Manager Howard Chan. The action was rescinded and is now in limbo. The city manager recommended large raises for city employees in December and just weeks later, he told the council that the city couldnt afford them. Why didnt one member of the council or one city charter officer pump the brakes on violating the Brown Act back in December? Why didnt Chan say in that December meeting that the city couldnt afford the raises they were about to give? And why is Steinberg admitting a mistake on Measure C while also suggesting that media critics are confused? We could cite other examples of flawed decision-making among Sacramento leaders, but there is the bigger point to make here. We believe that the remedy for Sacramento City Hall is fresh leadership. Thats why The Bee Editorial Board endorsed Flojaune Cofer for mayor. Opinion Though she faces three veteran politicians in her candidacy for mayor, Cofer offers the most sober assessment of what is needed in Sacramento. She stands alone as the public advocate who understands the issues and knows the players at city hall but isnt of city hall. I have often felt blindsided by things that were happening (at city hall), and I consider myself fairly aware, Cofer said. What I hear time and time again from people is that they dont know about things (because) most people are not eat-sleep-breathing local government the way these elected officials are. We need to slow down. Cofer remembers when the city held an emergency meeting in July of 2021 to establish the Department of Community Response, which deploys specialists to help unhoused residents and oversees the citys homelessness services. It was the creation of an entirely new department, yet the public had barely any notice at all and their comment time was cut to just two minutes. We only got 24 hours notice, Cofer said. Nothing that was done there was illegal, but the looming perception is that we werent included, that we werent appreciated and anything we had to add was a hindrance. If Cofer becomes mayor, that perception looks to change. The standard process at the city is to keep things very close to the vest and then share them at the last minute so theres limited opportunity for amendments or input, she said. I recognize that change is hard, but if you want things to be successful, you have to offer opportunities for people to be involved, to have a role, voice their concerns and make your initial idea better. The city may think its governing by the book, but if the public feels left out, then whats technically legal or a blatant violation, in the case of Measure C just isnt cutting it for Sacramento, she said. Im really committed to ... shifting the way we make decisions so that even if we do things by law, people dont feel like they werent included, she said. That kind of outreach boosts peoples willingness to participate in their government. Cofer believes more community outreach is within the power of the mayors office, even if it doesnt have the strong mayor title that allows this leader to singularly hire and fire top managers. Theres a lot that the mayors office can do that can yield dividends that arent just policy, Cofer said. Its also culture-setting and offering the opportunities for collaboration and outreach. That does not require five votes, it just requires someone with the will and desire to do that work. As we said in our endorsement editorial, in a field of aspirants loudly calling for change, Cofer is the one most likely to bring it. She has the most potential to dramatically transform the Sacramento political landscape in the next four years, and that landscape desperately needs transformation. Given the Measure C mess that has unfolded since our endorsement of Cofer, the need for change has grown greater than ever. Measure C deserves to fail because the city flunked a pretty minimal transparency test. This is not a tax increase miraculously without any opposition, which is the illusion of this flawed ballot. The first step toward ending the citys pattern of information control is for top leaders to recognize the problem. Cofer sees it clear as day, and the heavy dose of sunshine she would bring to city hall is precisely what Sacramento needs. Vote yes for Flojaune Cofer for mayor. Vote no on Measure C. Coming next: The city clerk and city attorney Civil lawsuits seeking to hold Donald Trump accountable for the January 6, 2021, US Capitol attack can move forward after the former president declined to ask the Supreme Court to decide whether he is shielded by presidential immunity. A federal appeals court in December cleared the way for three lawsuits brought against Trump by Democratic lawmakers and US Capitol Police officers to proceed, unanimously holding that not everything a president does or says while in office is protected from liability. Trump faced a Thursday deadline to seek the Supreme Courts review of that decision, but his legal team declined to turn to the high court. The decision means the lawsuits will move to a fact-finding phase at the trial-level federal court in Washington, DC. Trump can continue to claim presidential immunity before that court, but it will be up to the judge overseeing the case to determine whether the conduct at issue was done in Trumps official capacity as president or as a candidate and therefore not shielded by presidential immunity. The case could still eventually come before the Supreme Court. The decision to not turn to the justices is a departure from how Trumps team has been handling stinging lower-court rulings as he barrels toward the 2024 Republican presidential nomination. On Monday, the former president asked the Supreme Court to temporarily block a unanimous decision issued last week by the DC Circuit Court of Appeals that rejected his claim that hes immune from criminal election subversion charges brought by special counsel Jack Smith. And last week, the justices heard oral arguments in a dispute over whether Trump should be disqualified from the ballot for his conduct on January 6, with a majority of them appearing ready to back the former president in the case. In the civil immunity matter, the plaintiffs in the three underlying lawsuits have all seized on Trumps speech on January 6, alleging that his words led to the subsequent attack on the Capitol. The lawmakers claimed in a pair of lawsuits that they were threatened by Trump and others as part of a conspiracy to stop the congressional session that would certify the 2020 presidential election. They argue Trump should bear responsibility for directing the assaults. The police officers said in their suit that they were hit by chemical sprays and objects attendees threw at them because Trump inspired the crowd. Lower courts sided with the plaintiffs as Trump sought to have the cases dismissed based on his claims of presidential immunity. A federal judge in DC ruled in 2022 that Trumps statements to his supporters before the riot is the essence of civil conspiracy because Trump spoke about himself and rallygoers working towards a common goal of fighting and walking down Pennsylvania Avenue. The DC Circuit later upheld that ruling, saying in December that the president does not spend every minute of every day exercising official responsibilities. And when he acts outside the functions of his office, he does not continue to enjoy immunity. When he acts in an unofficial, private capacity, he is subject to civil suits like any private citizen, the court said in the unanimous ruling authored by Chief Judge Sri Srinivasan. The Supreme Court is still considering whether to step into Trumps federal criminal case related to January 6. In his emergency request earlier this week, the former president asked the high court to pause the DC Circuits ruling so he can appeal it to the justices and, potentially, a panel consisting of all the judges on the appeals court. In the DC Circuits ruling last week, the judges left no question that Trump can be prosecuted by Smith, writing: For the purpose of this criminal case, former President Trump has become citizen Trump, with all of the defenses of any other criminal defendant. But any executive immunity that may have protected him while he served as President no longer protects him against this prosecution, the judges said. For now, Trumps trial on federal charges that he worked to undermine the results of the 2020 election remains paused as the high court considers what to do with his emergency request. CNNs Katelyn Polantz, John Fritze and Holmes Lybrand contributed to this report. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com (FOX40.COM) Operations are still underway to remove a railcar and an undisclosed amount of coal from the middle fork of the Feather River after 15 trains derailed on Sunday, according to the California Office of Spill Prevention and Response. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) and Union Pacific Railroad have created a unified command to address the large derailment. Coal dumped into the Feather River after large train derailment in Plumas County According to the OSPR, work is ongoing to remove the third of three railcars from the river and repair the railway. So far there have been no observed environmental impacts. Water quality tests will remain ongoing along with monitoring fish and surrounding wildlife, according to the OSPR. Car pulled out of Elk Grove lake; driver charged with DUI and hit-and-run Land-based remediation has begun, and best management practices have been implemented to keep coal from migrating any further. the OSPR wrote in a news release. Efforts to remove derailed cars, as well as in-river remediation, will continue until all federal and state agency requirements are met. There are still ongoing investigations of how the derailment occurred. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX40. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, left, arrives to the 185th District Court for a hearing in his securities fraud case, Friday, Feb. 16, 2024, at the Harris County criminal courthouse in Houston. A judge on Friday rejected Paxtons attempts to throw out felony securities fraud charges that have shadowed the Republican for nearly a decade. (Jon Shapley/Houston Chronicle via AP) Jon Shapley/Associated Press Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, third from left, speaks with his defense attorneys after appearing in the 185th District Court for a hearing in his securities fraud case Friday, Feb. 16, 2024, at the Harris County criminal courthouse in Houston. Jon Shapley/Staff photographer Judge Andrea Beall listens to Philip Hilder, a defense attorney for Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, during a hearing in Paxton's securities fraud case, Friday, Feb. 16, 2024, at the Harris County criminal courthouse in Houston. Beall rejected Paxtons attempts to throw out felony securities fraud charges that have shadowed the Republican for nearly a decade. (Jon Shapley/Houston Chronicle via AP) Jon Shapley/Associated Press Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, center, leaves the 185th District Court after a hearing in his securities fraud case, Friday, Feb. 16, 2024, at the Harris County criminal courthouse in Houston. A judge on Friday rejected Paxtons attempts to throw out felony securities fraud charges that have shadowed the Republican for nearly a decade. (Jon Shapley/Houston Chronicle via AP) Jon Shapley/Associated Press Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, left, arrives to the 185th District Court for a hearing in his securities fraud case, Friday, Feb. 16, 2024, at the Harris County criminal courthouse in Houston. A judge on Friday rejected Paxtons attempts to throw out felony securities fraud charges that have shadowed the Republican for nearly a decade. (Jon Shapley/Houston Chronicle via AP) Jon Shapley/Associated Press Dan Cogdell, rear-center, a defense attorney for Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, talks to reporters with fellow defense attorneys Philip Hilder, rear-center-left, and Anthony Osso, Jr., rear-center-right, after Paxton appeared in the 185th District Court for a hearing in his securities fraud case Friday, Feb. 16, 2024, at the Harris County criminal courthouse in Houston. Jon Shapley/Staff photographer Ken Paxton will have to stand trial in a security fraud case after a Harris County judge on Friday rejected the Texas attorney generals attempt to have it dismissed. Paxton attempted to have the 9-year-old securities fraud case dismissed, claiming the charges have taken too long to go before a jury. The long-awaited trial on the felony charges is expected to proceed in April. Paxton, 61, is accused of encouraging investors in 2011 to invest in a technology startup, failing to disclose that the firm paid him for those referrals. In a separate charge, officials allege Paxton solicited clients for a friends investment company without registering himself as an adviser with the state. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The attorney general blamed the special prosecutors for trying for years to seek additional payment from Collin County, where the case began, for the bulk of the delay. An appellate court is separately considering their payment concerns. Paxtons lawyer, Dan Cogdell, said his client had nothing to do with delays over payment a contention that prosecutors disputed. Brian Wice, one of the prosecutors, said Paxton has been free on bond for most of the case, a privilege people unable to afford bail lack. Unlike those folks in the holdover, Paxton is living his best life, Wice said. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Judge Andrea Beall asked both sides to tally the number of days Paxton had spent behind bars and how many court appearances he had made. His jail time amounted to about a day before he quickly posted bail. He has appeared in court at least four times in Harris County and other occasions in Collin County, the lawyers said. Cogdell conceded Paxtons number of court appearances were few. The judge then weighed in. Both sides had earlier agreed that the April trial date would work with their schedules, she said, then dismissing Paxtons motion. Cogdell described the ruling as expected. Disagreement between lawyers Wice was joined in court by his longtime co-counsel on the prosecution, Kent Schaffer, who announced that the Friday appearance would be his last on the case. He would be withdrawing. Wice later attributed his departure to a legitimate disagreement between the prosecutors. Advertisement Article continues below this ad To his dismay, Schaffer had considered pretrial intervention for the case and had extensive discussions with Paxtons defense team about the proposed offer, Wice said. The intervention would have allowed Paxton to end the case without acknowledging guilt or jailtime, he said. Without an acknowledgment of guilt, to me, that was worse than a slap on the wrist, Wice said. After court, Schaffer offered a blunt explanation for his departure. A possible plea deal had been debated years earlier, he said, but the lawyers were sidetracked by a number of complications, namely the Hurricane Harvey- and pandemic-related delays to the criminal justice infrastructure in Harris County. The latest negotiations would have guaranteed a stringent agreement forcing Paxton to undergo community service at the countys discretion and other orders, Schaffer said. He also warned of the looming possibility of a federal indictment that would make their efforts to wrangle witnesses with decade-old accounts for trial a total waste of time, he continued. Advertisement Article continues below this ad No one expects him to go to prison, Schaffer continued. At worst, he gets probation. Paxton already survived multiple elections, an impeachment attempt and would likely remain in his position regardless of any outcome in the securities fraud case, he said. Payment not guaranteed The continued plea negotiation and his decision to withdraw from the case also stemmed from how far he was willing to go as an attorney effectively working for free, he said. Were already in the hole financially, Schaffer said. Im out of pocket $140,000. Advertisement Article continues below this ad He accused his former colleague of willing to do the case without payment merely for the publicity. Before I spent another 200 hours of my time, I want a guarantee that at some point in the future, Ill be paid, Schaffer continued. The court said I cant give a guarantee. Cogdell did not characterize Schaffers communications as plea negotiations but said the lawyer reached out to him and believed the case should not go forward. Paxton plans on going to trial, he said. He has never entertained the idea of pleading guilty to anything and never will entertain the idea of pleading guilty because he is not guilty, Cogdell said. Criminal defense attorney Jed Silverman joined Wice as a special prosecutor in Schaffers place on the case. The judge warned him that she could not guarantee that hed be paid. The U.S. Congress was informed about Russia's efforts to develop anti-satellite weapons several weeks ago, said Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, Mike Johnson, reported The Hill. "This is a matter that weve known about for a few weeks, he told reporters on Feb. 14 following a classified briefing. We requested a meeting with the president. I did, we did in writing in January." House Intelligence Committee Chair Mike Turner recently made public a disclosure, issuing a cryptic statement about a serious threat to national security on Feb. 13. He called on U.S. President Joe Biden to declassify information about the threat so that potential U.S. responses could be publicly discussed. Read also: Ukraine expert surprised over U.S. response to alleged Russian space weapons The U.S. response to this threat must be immediate, Johnson said. "The United States cant rely on other nations to handle matters like this, he said. We must do it ourselves, and we will." Read also: Russia spins narrative about its plan to send nukes to space Turner described the threat as a "Russian anti-satellite weapon," and shortly after, ABC reported that Russia intends to deploy nuclear weapons into space to threaten satellites. White House spokesperson John Kirby confirmed during a Feb. 15 briefing that the threat is related to anti-satellite capabilities being developed by Russia, but did not fully disclose the nature of the threat. 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 Following complaints by some of the U.S. officials affected by what came to be known as Havana Syndrome, the House Intelligence Committee will open a formal investigation into how U.S. intelligence agencies handled the inquiry into the mysterious incidents and why they concluded the ailments were likely caused by stress and other factors and not by an attack by a foreign adversary. Sara Robertson, a spokeswoman for Arkansas Republican Rep. Rick Crawford, a member of the House Intelligence Committee, said the panel has looked into the incidents, first reported in late 2016 in Havana, for quite some time and is transitioning this to a formal investigation, and they are expecting Intelligence Community components to be responsive in their requests. The New York Times reported earlier this week that Crawford sent a letter to the director of national intelligence, Avril D. Haines, informing her of the investigation. According to the report, the inquiry would look into improper suppression of information about the incidents between intelligence agencies and between the executive branch and Congress. Robertson said most of the content of the letter is classified. A former U.S. official affected said he and other victims had provided testimonies to the Committee in the last two months. Last week, two members of the intelligence committee, Ohio Republican Brad Wenstrup and Virginia Democrat Abigail D. Spanberger, introduced a bill requiring that the Secretary of Defense brief the Armed Services committees in the Senate and the House about the Defense Department personnel affected by the anomalous health incidents, the government term for the Havana Syndrome-related events. In March 2023, seven unnamed U.S. spy agencies published an assessment concluding that there is no credible evidence that a foreign adversary has a weapon or collection device that is causing Havana Syndrome. The CIA compensated some of its officials affected in Havana and elsewhere even though the assessment disputed the doctors findings that the victims suffered injuries similar to a concussion. The U.S. and Canadian officials affected by the incidents, first in Havana, then in Russia, Europe, China and even Washington, D.C., said they heard noises or felt pressure coming from a specific direction. They also developed debilitating symptoms like migraine, memory loss, ear pain and cognitive problems. Victims of the incidents have been urging Congress for years to investigate further, expressing dismay at the slow response by some U.S. agencies to provide medical treatment and at an assessment they view as wrongfully dismissing their ailments. Marc Polymeropoulos, a former CIA deputy chief for operations in Europe and Eurasia who said he got sick in Moscow during one of those incidents, called the congressional investigation long overdue. It is high time that Congress take its oversight role seriously on the issue of attribution of the incidents, Polymeropoulos said. Im glad to see whistleblowers and intelligence community officers come forward to Congress, as the intelligence community investigation was terribly flawed and suffered from bias. The unit involved, in fact, mocked the victims and showed a lack of compassion. To me, that was a betrayal from colleagues. He added: How can it be that the U.S. government compensated us for an injury that they also claim did not ever happen? Knife in the back: Havana Syndrome victims dispute report dismissing their cases After the intelligence agencies made public their conclusions, former CIA officials who had been affected, Canadian diplomats who got sick in Havana and scientists in contact with the patients pointed to several discrepancies and omissions in the studies commissioned by different government agencies to understand the nature of the incidents and the ailments they caused. Experts cant agree on cause of Havana Syndrome or even if its real. Heres what they say A Miami Herald review found that the studies followed different methodologies and used limited data, which would make it difficult to draw conclusions by academic standards. Much of the information is classified and out of reach even for some of the scientists involved in figuring out what happened. The assessment also prioritized findings from one study over the others with little explanation. The agencies writing the evaluation also disagreed with each other regarding how sure they were about some of the conclusions they made. In conversations with reporters, senior intelligence officials have said they could not intercept conversations by Russia or other adversaries that would implicate them in the incidents. The New York Times suggested that weighs heavily against suspicions about Russia as a possible culprit because American spy agencies had penetrated Russian military and intelligence services so thoroughly that they knew many details of the Russian invasion plan for Ukraine. However, intelligence experts said such a conclusion would imply that the United States can know everything that Russian intelligence services are doing. Yet Russia is known in the spy world as a hard target a hostile place where gathering intelligence is challenging. In the intelligence assessment published last year, two of the seven unnamed agencies said they had low confidence in concluding that an adversary was unlikely responsible for the incidents, citing collection gaps and their review of the evidence. Adding to the confusion, a report declassified after the assessment was made public and written by experts convened by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and the CIA concluded that commercially available devices known as directional loudspeakers or acoustic lasers could be behind the unexplained health incidents causing Havana Syndrome. A Connellsville auto shop owner was sentenced in federal court Wednesday for conspiracy to commit mail and bank fraud. Channel 11 told you in November 2021 of Red Carpet Auto Sales owner Joshua DeWitt and employee Terry Newmeyer. They were accused of helping people fraudulently sign up for government assistance funds, so those individuals could then purchase cars from the shop. The Department of Justice said they used the fraudulently obtained pandemic benefits for themselves and the dealership by, among other things, accepting them as payment for cars and services. >> Connellsville auto shop, customers charged in alleged unemployment scheme In total, investigators say the scheme netted $311,301 in Pennsylvania Pandemic Unemployment Assistance funds and $32,300 from the Paycheck Protection Program. The judge said the fraud conspiracy happened several times over multiple months. DeWitt, 38, was sentenced to 10 months in jail followed by two years of supervised release. He was also ordered to pay restitution totaling $60,022.50. Newmeyers sentencing is scheduled for March 5. TRENDING NOW: Local woman warns others about potentially fraudulent tax refund checks from U.S. Treasury WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY: Several inches of snow possible across the area Transformer catches on fire outside local school VIDEO: Former Allegheny County dispatcher indicted in federal child porn investigation DOWNLOAD the Channel 11 News app for breaking news alerts "Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links." Fords chief futurist says the worldwide survey of 16,000 people reveals 69% say all-electric vehicles are the future (compared to 59% in the US, alone). Globally, 47% of the respondents agree that people should drive EVs, but just 4% drive EVs themselves, and 35% say people should drive hybrids and 8% actually do so. (Ford F-150 Lightning is pictured above at a consumer test driving clinic in Dearborn, Michigan.) Some 73% of those surveyed worldwide worry about not having enough infrastructure to support EVs. It is important to actively fight climate change today, said 84% of people polled globally for the Further With Ford 2024 trends report, which this year carries the theme, Charting My Path. The number is 77% in the United States and Australia on the low end, with 93% in China on the high end, Fords chief futurist, Jennifer Brace, said in a Society of Automotive Analysts webinar Thursday. More from the annual survey of 16,000 respondentsnot focused on Ford customers, according to Bracefrom the general population of 16 countries: 69% say all-electric vehicles are the future. US is third-lowest on this question, at 59%, above only France (47%) and Germany (50%). For the oil-rich Middle East, 78% expect EVs to take over some day. What does this mean for the recent downshift in Fords transition to EVs, placing more emphasis on plug-in hybrids for the interim? These results are designed to give the automaker a birds eye view of what is happening around the world, a scan of consumer sentiment and identity shifts, Brace explained. Ford Like most corporate futurist studies at a variety of corporations since early in the industrial revolution, the annual Further with Ford survey is designed to map out where the world is heading, not to give the company specific direction on how to plan for the changes. But Charting My Path does back up Fords recent EV-to-PHEV downshift. Globally, 47% of the respondents agree that people should drive EVs, but just 4% drive EVs themselves, and 35% say people should drive hybrids and 8% actually do so. Ford The hope is that these are people who are willing to do that, Brace said of that 47% and 35%, and she expects many of them will buy one or the other when they get to their next car. Globally, 73% of those surveyed worry about not having enough infrastructure to support EVs, which is higher than the number for the same question from the 2020 survey, 72%. Asked to agree with the statement, Im waiting to buy an EV until more people I know have them, 56% globally said yes, breaking down to 54% for females and 58% for males. Much of Charting My Path has little direct connection with attitudes about buying new cars and trucks, although there are plenty of data for product planning. The question, In the next 10 years, my ideal living/family situation looks like 26% having children vs. 34% having pets might dictate the need to design more two-row SUVs and fewer three-row SUVs. I am afraid of AI: 51% agree, an 11% increase from the 2019 survey. I dont really understand AI: 50% agree, up 6% from 2019. And 55% agree AI will be stronger than the human mind within 10 years, a 7% increase over five years. Perhaps this is why Ford has removed parallel parking capability from its automated vehicle technology? Ford Globally, 29% like the idea of digital detoxing, cutting back on smartphone use, or shutting it off for a day, for example, with the number 28% in the US and a high of 46% in India. Brace anecdotally noted newfound popularity of old-fashioned, non-smart flip phones among Generation Z. Self-care trends emphasizing serenity bode well for Lincolns, with their quiet, coddling interiors, she said. But then theres Working for Balance, in which 77% globally of those employed agree with, I prioritize a balanced personal worklife over my advancement at work, and that 52% globally of those employed agree to achieve a lifestyle that prioritizes my quality of life, I would be willing to take a 20% pay cut. Try making the monthly payments on a Lincoln with that. If you believe that climate change is real, have you altered your lifestyle? If so, how? Please comment below. Starbucks employees nation wide, and four particularly in Louisiana are coming together to negotiate a union contract due to health and safety conditions, unfair firings, and wage problems. According to Starbucks Workers United, the campaign representing thousands of the coffee chains employees, federal administrative law judges have found that Starbucks has committed more than 300 violations of federal labor law, including 38 unlawful firings, refusing to bargain, and unlawfully providing non-union workers higher wages. The historic organizing campaign, one of the most successful in decades has won election after election in stores nationwide including the St. Claude & Elysian Fields store in New Orleans, and the Sherwood store in Baton Rouge, which became the 4th store in Louisiana to win union. Steph Kronos (L), a pro-Union activist, joins Starbucks workers, former employees, and supporters in holding signs in support of a strike, outside of a Starbucks store in Arlington, Virginia, on November 16, 2023. The workers are striking on Red Cup Day, where Starbucks gives out collectible, reusable red cups with every drink purchase to celebrate the holidays, making it one of the busiest days of the year for the company. In 2022, workers at 4300 Ambassador Caffery Parkway in Lafayette filed documents with the National Labor Relations Board to form a union but failed after a 10-10 tie. A majority vote of employees must be in place to initiate the union. "Workers at our Starbucks fought hard to win this vote and will continue to fight until we get a contract and the pay, dignity, and safety we deserve," said Abbey Lodwig, a five-month shift supervisor at the St. Claude & Elysian Fields location. "About three or four months ago we formed a committee to unionize the store due to safety concerns. In two weeks we got about 90% of our store employees to sign and sent a letter of demand to the store." The workers made a video setting a list of demands, the next step is for a bargaining initiative from employers for a negotiation, and union contract. According to Starbucks Workers Union, a union contract, also known as a collective bargaining agreement, is a document negotiated between workers and management. The contract sets forth the pay, benefits, policies, and working conditions at the company, similar to the way the partner handbook does. Before a contract goes into effect at the store, employees get to approve it. Since December 2021, more than 390 Starbucks stores in 42 states and the District of Columbia have successfully unionized more than any other company in the 21st Century. "As a supervisor, it's my responsibility to make sure things go smooth even if it just two of us working. Often times, while we are working, people in the lobby are talking to themselves which obviously they are experiencing mental health crisis, but I've seen people passed out in the bathrooms due to drug use, and even came to work and found out someone died in the parking lot of the store," Lodwig added. Lodwig states, after speaking with the supervisor at the Poydras location in New Orleans, she realized they experienced similar concerns such as safety, wages, and hour cuts. Starbucks Workers United website, states one of the Starbucks partners believes the franchise does good things, but it takes more from you than they give. "We believe that workers deserve to have a real voice in negotiating what benefits matter most to us, how they need to be improved, and how they are allocated. With a union, we can make sure our benefits and wages dont stagnate, that no matter who your Regional Director is, no matter who is the CEO, you have a safe workplace and that you can stand up for yourself and your coworkers without fear of retaliation." More victories are expected to be announced soon, as partners at stores across the country continue to come together. This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: Louisiana Starbucks workers unionize, as they fight for justice The inventory list from an executed search warrant on the home shows officers collected more than 32 pieces of evidence from the home of Gennesse Moreno. Kirk Sides/Fort Bend County Sheriff's Office Decorations adorn the porch and flowerbeds outside a home in Conroe, Monday, Feb. 12, 2024, that is associated with the shooting at Lakewood Church Sunday in Houston. Kirk Sides/Staff photographer Bulletproof vests, ammunition, plastic bottles filled with unknown substances, antisemitic books and a white mask that read Free Gaza Trump were pulled from the Conroe home of the suspected Lakewood Church shooter, records show. The inventory list from an executed search warrant on the home shows officers collected more than 32 pieces of evidence from the home of Gennesse Moreno, including a cellphone, a laptop computer, three iPads, a thumb drive, several notebooks, printed text messages, the two soft-shelled bulletproof vests and ammunition for a 9 mm handgun and an AR-15. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Details about what police found in the home comes as the unfolding investigation shows several agencies dealt with Morenos family in the years leading up the shooting in which she was killed, her 7-year-old was seriously wounded and another man injured. People listen to Houston police officers speak in front of the Lifetime Fitness outside of Lakewood Church on Sunday, Feb. 11, 2024, in Houston, after a reported shooting during a Spanish church service. Karen Warren/Staff photographer Before she was killed, Moreno allegedly said she had a bomb, according to the warrant. Detectives searched for evidence of a bomb as well as her motive and intentions for the shooting. Officers also found a book titled All Remainers are Neo-Nazis. Its unclear what the book is referring to, but the term remainers is often used in the United Kingdom to describe people who voted for the country to stay in the European Union. Seven handmade poster signs were found in a trash can, but the warrant does not indicate what they said. Full list of items in search inventory Unknown substance inside plastic bottle Thumb drive Inside black purse by front door Texas driver license for Genesse Ivonne Moreno 5.56 cartridge Notebook Two white colored bullet proof soft shelled vests iPad Magazine containing one 9mm bullet One 9mm bullet and three .22 bullets One 9mm bullet 223 cartridge Apple cellphone Hewlitt Packard laptop Green notebook White mask with "Free Gaza Trump Printed text messages Notes Notebooks Notebooks One 22 caliber bullet 5.56 cartridge 5.56 cartridge Seven sheets of hand made poster signs iPad Book titled All Remainers are Nee-Nazis. EZ Pawn receipt Not collected Not collected One 9mm bullet and eleven 5.56 cartridges Tablet One 5.56 cartridge iPad The same items listed separately were found in different locations. Police respond to reports of strange, violent behavior Conroe police have responded to more than 20 calls since 2019 tied to the address where Moreno lived, records show. The calls ranged in severity from neighbors reporting strange interactions with the woman to one who said Moreno tried to hit her with her vehicle. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Representatives for the Conroe Police Department said, in reviewing the calls which both originated from and against Moreno and her family, they determined officers responded appropriately according to the law. Nothing relayed to officers would give authority to arrest or require mental health emergency detention, officials said in a prepared statement. Nor would any of the information have been an indication that the suspect would commit such a heinous crime. Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez, whose office reported several interactions with Moreno over the years, wrote Thursday night that lawmakers should reconsider red flag laws in Texas as evidence mounts of officers' interactions with her. As more details are learned about Lakewood Church shooter Genesse Moreno, including repeated arrests and mental health history, he began, I continue to believe that red flag laws could help save lives by giving law enforcement the tools they need to keep deadly weapons out of the hands of dangerous criminals and folks who pose a threat to their communities. Advertisement Article continues below this ad One neighbor called police in December 2022 to report a concern that tensions were rising with Moreno and they worried the matter could escalate without intervention, according to police reports. Another called in July 2022 to say Moreno tried to hit her with her vehicle. The second call ended with responding officers determining attempted aggravated assault hadnt occurred. LAKEWOOD RECAP: What to know about the Lakewood Church shooting Convicted felon with Nazi memorabilia arrested on weapons charge, FHP says TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) Florida troopers arrested a convicted felon who was in possession of Nazi memorabilia Thursday on charges related to possessing weapons and driving without a license, according to Florida Highway Patrol. Ronald Lee Murray Jr., 42, of Cypress, Texas, was pulled over along Interstate 10 in Escambia County for allegedly following a dump truck too closely, troopers said. The car had a Texas license plate. During the traffic stop, troopers discovered handguns, ammo, other weapons and Nazi memorabilia. Courtesy: Florida Highway Patrol Courtesy: Florida Highway Patrol Courtesy: Florida Highway Patrol Courtesy: Florida Highway Patrol Troopers said Murray has been convicted of multiple felonies and was out of jail on bond in Orange County. He also allegedly doesnt have a valid Florida drivers license. Murray was charged with driving while license suspended or revoked and possession of a weapon or ammunition by a convicted felon, troopers said. Multiple passengers who were in the car at the time of the traffic stop were released. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WFLA. Hana Ikramuddin is a Hearst Fellow for the Houston Chronicle. Raised in the Twin Cities, Hana majored in journalism and political science at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. She has held internships with the Star Tribune, APM Reports and Sahan Journal. In her free time, she loves to cook, make chai and take care of her houseplants. When the Florida Supreme Court issues a unanimous opinion about state law, that should settle any lingering debates at least unless there's some underlying constitutional issue that gets the federal high court involved. Yet it seems the Florida Highway Patrol must not have seen the Florida Supreme Court's recent decision interpreting the circumstances under which Marsy's Law can be used to withhold information from the public. In 2018, Florida voters passed its version of Marsy's Law, which enumerated rights for crime victims, such as letting them know about upcoming court proceedings and giving them the ability to speak during hearings. The law also granted victims the right to prevent the disclosure of information or records that could be used to locate or harass the victim(s) or their families. The law makes sense. Unfortunately, some Florida law enforcement agencies, including FHP, seized on the provision of the law dealing with disclosure of information to shield the names of crime and accident victims, including deceased victims who can no longer be subjected to intimidation or harassment. A debate that should already be settled FHP Col. Gary Howze II speaks during a news conference at Christ Fellowship Church in Port St. Lucie following the death of Trooper Zachary Fink, 26, on Friday, Feb. 2, 2024. Fink was in pursuit of a fleeing felon when he collided with a semi-truck on Interstate 95, FHP officials said. The truck driver died at the scene. Fink, 26, was taken to HCA Florida Lawnwood Hospital in Fort Pierce, where he died. In a 6-0 decision last November, the state's highest court said this was a no-no. But, in a recent high-profile case in which an FHP trooper was killed during a high-speed chase in Port St. Lucie, the name of the truck driver who also died during the incident was kept secret by the state agency for several days. Molly Best, director of communications for the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, sent the following statement in response to TCPalm's inquiries about the department's policy regarding the release of accident victims' names: "The public records produced by the Department pursuant to Chapter 119, Florida Statutes will be redacted in accordance with statutory law. The Department aims to provide public records as efficiently as possible, while also ensuring legally protected data and/or records are not improperly disclosed. Pursuant to statutory law, the names of persons who are a victim of a crime will not ordinarily be redacted unless a specific statutory exemption applies. Section 316.066, Florida Statutes, governs the completion and subsequent distribution of traffic crash reports." If redacting the names wasn't an issue and Best's statement suggests it wasn't then there was no logical reason to slow walk the release of the truck driver's name. TCPalm reported a lot of information about the chase that also claimed the life of Trooper Zachary Fink, as one might expect for any incident involving mulitiple deaths. However, in response to the chorus of readers' questions about the truck driver's life and background, our journalists weren't able to share much in the early days after the incident. Many readers wanted to know about Fink, who bravely gave his life in the line of duty. Some also wanted to know about the unfortunate man who evidently was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Almost a full week went by before authorities identified the deceased truck driver as Arsenio Mas, 55, of Homestead. His name should have been made available after his next-of-kin was notified of his passing. There was no valid excuse for withholding the information after that unpleasant task had been performed. Following the law isn't optional, even for police Dave Kerner (center) Director of the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles talks about the Florida Highway Patrol Trooper Zachary Fink during a press conference at Christ Fellowship Church in Port St. Lucie. on Friday, Feb. 2, 2024. Fink died in a crash on Interstate 95 near mile marker 120 in Port St. Lucie. Fink was in pursuit of a fleeing felon, when the felon made a U-turn and crashed. A semi-truck also was involved in the crash, FHP officials said. The truck driver died at the crash scene. When records are withheld, the public suffers. Most people can't stop by local or state law enforcement agencies on their way home from work or school to pick up the latest incident reports to read over dinner. Citizens shouldn't have to wait 10 days to find them published on the FHP website, then pay to get a copy. People rely on information obtained by local media to know what's going on in their communities. This following should go without saying. FHP or any other agency that wants to creatively interpret Florida's open government laws should know: Public records are public records. Period. It's not OK to withhold them based on personal feelings or the way officers perceive the world should be. Florida's constitution says it's not OK to limit the release of public information to reports citizens or journalists must pay extra to obtain, or must wait days, weeks or months to see. The Florida Supreme Court made that clear with regard to Marsy's Law. As any good police officer will tell you: Ignorance of the law is no excuse. Editorials published by TCPalm/Treasure Coast Newspapers are decided collectively by its editorial board. To respond to this editorial with a letter to the editor, email up to 300 words to TCNLetters@TCPalm.com. This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Court said FHP shouldn't deny public information about crash victims Cincinnati has delivered only lip service, not solutions, to Covington's complaints about noise from the Icon Festival Stage at Smale Riverfront Park, according Patrick Hughes, a community leader and lawyer. Windows vibrate. Dishes rattle. Meetings are disrupted. And summer nights are punctuated with blaring music and more than the occasional F-word. Thats what Covington has been telling Cincinnati since the summer of 2021, when the Andrew J Brady Music Center opened its outdoor stage at Downtowns Smale Riverfront Park. The whole neighborhood was not pleased, said Covington attorney Patrick Hughes. Since then, letters and emails have flown across the Ohio River, with Covington continuing to ask the venue to turn down the volume and its operator, an arm of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, saying it has taken all reasonable measures to address sound concerns. Most recently, last month, Covingtons mayor and four city commissioners reiterated their complaints and asked for a meeting to find a solution. With Cincinnati Parks plan to spend another $4.5 million on-site upgrades at the venue, the Covington officials wrote in a Jan. 8 letter to Cincinnati City Manager Sheryl Long, This is a perfect time to work together to fix this problem so that both cities can move forward knowing that no further disputes or legal action will arise. Hughes, the immediate past president of the Historic Licking Riverside Civic Association, believes the venue is violating laws on noise and nuisance. Im anticipating there will be legal action if this is not resolved, he said. Dave Grohl, guitarist and lead singer of the Foo Fighters, performs at the Icon Festival Stage at Smale Riverfront Park on July 28, 2021. Officials estimated the crowd for the stage's first-ever concert at 8,000. Stage faced Covington from the start Music and Event Management Inc., the non-profit concert manager for the symphony, won the contract to build and operate Brady and its Icon Festival Stage in 2019 over two other bidders. From the start, the organization planned to point the stage toward the Ohio River. The outdoor venue, with a capacity of 7,000, opened in July 2021 with the Foo Fighters as its first act. Covington noticed the noise five minutes into the first concert, said Valerie Newell, a resident of eight years. Our houses were literally shaking. Everyone was just freaking out, she said. That August and September, neighbors hired a sound expert to record Icon stage concerts from one of their homes. They sent a 1:39-minute sample to Music and Event Management of performers profanity-laced chatter with audiences You are so f---ing great and You are f---ing beautiful among the comments saying the noise levels violated Cincinnati and Covington laws. At their request, Covington officials amplified their complaints, with letters to and meetings with the symphony and Music and Event Management, as well as Cincinnati and Hamilton County officials. Their Jan. 8 letter addressed to Long was copied to 78 others, current and former members of the symphony's board of prominent Cincinnatians among them. Noise levels directed toward the city of Covington have remained at excessive levels, the letter says, with attempts to find solutions met with silence, apathy and continued inaction from CSO/MEMI. They've had no response to the letter, according to Covington Mayor Joe Meyer. We would hope that they would engage, he said. MegaCorp Pavilion's outdoor venue in neighboring Newport, by the way, doesn't bother Covington residents. The stage of that facility, which opened in August 2021, points toward the Campbell County Circuit Court building in Newport. The Andrew J Brady Music Center, pictured from its back side, sits next to the Icon Festival Stage on Mehring Way on the north edge of Downtown's Smale Riverfront Park. Icon operator lists significant changes In Cincinnati, parks, city and county officials all have a stake in the Icon Festival Stage site. Spokespersons for Parks and Hamilton County commissioners referred questions to the city, since it holds the contract with Music and Event Management. City manager Long, through a spokesperson, said she was aware the organization "has been actively engaged with Covington officials and has made several adjustments at the venue to address noise concerns. Music and Event Management and the symphony have made significant changes to the operation of events at the Icon Festival Stage in response to complaints, Rosemarie Moehring, the organization's vice president of marketing, said in an email. Among them, the organization has: Moved five scheduled Icon performances to either Brady or Riverbend Music Center, another Music and Event Management venue. That reduced the 2021 and 2022 lineups to six shows, with seven last year and this year's schedule yet to be released. Established sound limits, installed equipment and staff to monitor sound, and directed speakers downward to reduce sound from flowing over the river. Imposed 11 p.m. concert cutoffs. Rotated the stage and its sound system 20 degrees, toward Newport. The venue is in compliance with all applicable ordinances and permits, Moehrings email said. 2023 renderings for the Reef at Cincinnati's Landing depict a marina with a restaurant/bar and 700-foot dock along the shore of the Ohio River. Expect an impact from planned marina, too Covington thinks more can be done. Transparent sound barriers like ones planned for sections of Interstate 75 as part of the Brent Spence Bridge Corridor project might help, Meyer said. Hughes would like the Icon stage rotated 180 degrees, to face downtown Cincinnati. Newell thinks sound consultants could offer solutions and prevent a lawsuit. Lets just have the experts tell us, she said. Covington officials fear more noise is on the way. Cincinnati Parks wants a marina with a restaurant on downtowns public landing and is working with a contractor that proposes it include a rooftop bar with live music. I would expect an impact, said Lisa Sauer, current president of the historic district association. The government should study potential disruptions in advance of a marina, Sauer and Meyer both said. The two were among about three dozen individuals two-thirds in favor, one-third with concerns who filed public comments about the project with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers last December. We want a seat at the table so that our concerns, particularly the noise concerns, be addressed, said Meyer. Hughes fears the marina, like the Icon stage, wont be a good neighbor to Covington. Its one more way that Cincinnati is looking to pursue economic development gains without considering the surrounding neighbors, he said. Concerts at the Icon Festival Stage across the Ohio River from Covington have been "extraordinarily loud," according to DBL Law partner Patrick Hughes, past president of a Covington residents group considering a lawsuit against Cincinnati. This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Covington residents fighting Icon Festival Stage, MEMI on noise Editors Note: The following arrest and incident reports were supplied by the Abilene Police Department. All information below comes from reports made by responding officers, and all suspects are considered not guilty unless determined otherwise in a court of law. Incidents 3100 block of S 1st Street Theft of Property Monday, a wallet, and more was reported stolen from a south Abilene motel. 800 block of Vista Lane Assault A victim claimed she was assaulted by a known suspect during a verbal argument. 2300 block of S Willis Street Theft of Property A reported an unknown suspect took $600 worth of flooring tools from the bed of his truck. 400 block of Cherry Street Burglary of Building A known suspect used force to enter his storage shed and take thousands of dollars worth of tools and other items. 5100 block of Buffalo Gap Road Burglary of Building A victim reported an unknown suspect forced entry into his business and stole thousands of dollars worth of car parts and other property. 5000 block of N 9th Street Aggravated Assault Deadly Weapon 1200 block of Lowden Street Criminal Mischief A victim reported an unknown suspect attempted to remove a catalytic converter from their vehicle. 5500 block of Texas Avenue Burglary of Habitation A victim reported her ex-boyfriend broke into her apartment and took money without permission. 1600 block of Highway 351 Theft of Property A suspect was arrested for theft and drug charges at a north Abilene Walmart. 900 block of Clinton Street Assault Family Violence A family violence report was taken in north Abilene. 7400 block of West Lake Road Theft of Firearm An unknown suspect stole a firearm from a vehicle worth $400. 2600 block of Hollis Drive Assault Family Violence A suspect was arrested for assault family violence. 600 block of Clinton Street Assault Family Violence Police responded to a disturbance in progress in north Abilene. 1000 block of S Clack Street Assault Family Violence A report was taken for assault family violence. 7900 block of Bonnie Circle Assault Family Violence A report was taken for assault family violence in south Abilene. 200 block of Fannin Street Criminal Mischief A report was taken for criminal mischief in north Abilene. 200 block of Fannin Street Criminal Mischief A report was taken for criminal mischief in north Abilene. 5300 block of Encino Road Criminal Trespass Habitation A suspect was taken into custody for criminal trespass. 3100 block of Vine Street Fraudulent Use/Possession of Identifying Information Police responded to a home in south Abilene, where an elderly woman stole her identity. 1900 block of Campbell Drive Criminal Mischief A citizen reported an unknown suspect damaged his property. 1200 block of Victoria Street Aggravated Assault Deadly Weapon A report for aggravated robbery was taken in north Abilene. 2100 block of N Mockingbird Lane Assault Family Violence A victim reported his sister hit him in the arm. He did have visible injury. 800 block of Chestnut Street Assault Family Violence A victim reported her significant other hit her, causing her pain. 1200 block Yeomans Road Assault Family Violence A suspect was arrested for assaulting his girlfriend in south Abilene. 5200 block of Deerwood Lane Assault Family Violence A report for misdemeanor assault was taken in south Abilene. 1300 block of Meander Street Theft of Motor Vehicle A suspect was arrested for taking $300 worth of coins from an Abilene rental property. 100 block of ES 11th Street Burglary of Vehicle Three vehicles were burglarized in south Abilene. Several purses, cards, wallets, and other items were reported stolen. 300 block of Westmoreland Street Criminal Trespass A suspect was arrested in north Abilene after she was contacted in reference to a call for service. 3900 block of Lynwood Lane Assault Family Violence A suspect is accused of striking a victim in the face with his elbow. 5400 block of Durango Drive Assault Family Violence A report for assault family violence was taken in south Abilene. 3300 block of Sherry Lane Robbery A report for robbery was taken in north Abilene. 1100 block of Clinton Street Assault A victim was arrested for assault in north Abilene. 3000 block of Catclaw Drive Criminal Trespass An arrest was made for criminal trespass in south Abilene. 1200 block of Locust Street Assault Police responded to a injured subject call where a victim was jumped by a known suspect. 4900 block of Prominent Way Assault Family Violence A report was taken for assault family violence in south Abilene. 2900 block of N 2nd Street Assault Family Violence A report was taken for assault in north Abilene. 2400 block of Buffalo Gap Road Assault A report was taken for assault in south Abilene. 2000 block of S Clack Street Criminal Mischief A victim reported his ex-girlfriend damaged the windshield of his vehicle and burglarized his car. 4400 block of S Clack Street Criminal Mischief A victim reported a suspect damaged his truck by punching it with his fist during a road range incident, causing a dent. 2200 block of Vogel Avenue Assault Family Violence A vcitim in north Abilene alleged her son assaulted her sometime earlier in the day. 2200 block of EN 10th Street Burglary of Habitation A victim reported an unknown suspect took property from his habitation. 5100 block of Highway 277 S Terroristic Threat Causing Fear of Imminent SBI An unknown suspect called a local south Abilene business and threatened to shoot it up. 3500 block of Cedar Run Road Burglary of Habitation A report for Burglary of Habitation was completed in south Abilene. 4900 block of Hialeah Drive Criminal Mischief A report for criminal mischief was taken after a TV was destroyed. 2200 block of S 2nd Street Criminal Mischief A report for Criminal Mischief was taken. 3200 block of Pine Street Assault A victim alleged a known suspect kicked him on his leg. 700 block of Meander Street Criminal Trespass A trailer was broken into over the weekend and tools were reported stolen. 1100 block of Elm Street Identity Theft by Electronic Device A victim complained his identity was stolen and someone used his information to pay for utilities. 3100 block Chimney Circle Terroristic Threat of Family/Household A victim stated the offender threatened to cause imminent serious bodily injury to him and his family. 1400 block of N Willis Street Assault Family Violence Durin a disturbance call, a victim alleged her husband had assaulted her three different times over the past few months. 3800 block of Antilley Road Hinder Secured Creditors Police took a report for hindering a secured creditor. 100 block of S Leggett Drive Criminal Trespass A suspect was arrested for criminal trespass in south Abilene. 1300 block of Lillius Street Burglary of Habitation A resident in north Abilene reported a known suspect came to her residence without permission and stole several household items. 2700 block of Nonesuch Road Theft of Property A victim reported he was scammed out of $500 worth of cash and $1,000 worth of property. 1500 block of E Stamford Street Theft of ID A victim reported an unknown suspect stole his property, including several identification cards. 4500 block of S 1st Street Theft of Property A victim contacted police and reported his wallet was stolen. 2200 block of Edgemont Drive Burglary of Habitation A bicycle worth $1,800 was reported stolen. 4500 block of Buffalo Gap Road Theft of Property $2,715 was reported stolen. 900 block of N Willis Street Theft of Property Cash worth $500 was reported stolen. 5200 block of Highway 277 S Theft of Property Furniture worth $155 was reported stolen. 1000 block of S Clack Street Criminal Mischief Police responded to a disturbance call where a victims daughter broke the front window of her apartment. 1800 block of Beltway South Theft of Property A victim reported her motorcycle was stolen from her south Abilene home. 3300 block of S 14th Street Assault Family Violence A suspect was in a physical altercation with his brother at an Abilene coffee shop 4100 block of N 1st Street Theft of Property $280 was reported stolen. 1600 block of Ambler Avenue Criminal Mischief A victim reported her vehicle was damaged at a north Abilene gas station. 1200 block of Kirkwood Street Assault A resident in north Abilene reported she was assaulted days ago. 3500 block of Curry Lane Assault Family Violence A suspect was arrested in south Abilene for assaulting her father during an argument. 600 block of Portland Avenue Assault Family Violence A victim alleged a suspect assaulted him in south Abilene. No arrest was made. 3200 block of Russell Avenue Assault Family Violence 5600 block of S 1st Street Assault Family Violence A victim alleged she was assaulted by her husband at a hotel in south Abilene. 4800 block of S 14th Street Burglary of Building A gas station employee reported an unknown suspect broke a window and entered a business. 900 block of S Crockett Drive Theft of Property A victim reported a known suspect stole his watch. 2500 block of Barrow Street Credit Card or Debit Card Abuse Two suspects were contacted at a south Abilene supermarket after they were found to be fraudulently using a card without permission. 4100 block of Southwest Drive Criminal Trespass A suspect was arrested for criminal trespass after he was found sleeping on a property he was trespassed from. 4500 block of S 1st Street Identity Theft by Electronic Device A victim reported an unknown suspect used his name and address to get a vehicle. 2600 block of Nonesuch Road Assault Family Violence A victim was brought to the hospital for an assault. 1500 block of N 16th Street Fraudulent Use/Possession of Identifying Information A victim reported an unknown suspect took over her Facebook and was demanding money. 2500 block of Glenwood Drive Criminal Mischief A report was taken for criminal mischief in south Abilene. 1300 block of N Mockingbird Lane Criminal Trespass 1700 block of Butternut Street Assault A report for Assault was taken in south Abilene. 7600 block of Ruby Esther Circle Assault Family Violence A victim reported he was assaulted by his ex-girlfriend. 1000 block of Ballinger Street Assault Family Violence A suspect is accused of assaulting two victims. 3000 block of LaFaye Court Theft of Property Police responded to a theft in north Abilene where money, perfume, a necklace, and a bag was reported stolen. 2700 block of E Lake Road Assault Family Violence Police responded to a disturbance at a north Abilene apartment complex. 600 block of Briarwood Street Burglary of Vehicle A vacuum, speaker, and bag were stolen during a vehicle burglary. 1400 block of Yeomans Road Assault Family Violence A victim was assaulted by his girlfriend in south Abilene. 300 block of EN 12th Street Assault Family Violence A suspect was arrested for assault family violence in north Abilene. Arrests Nicholas Ontiveros Discharge Firearm in Certain Municipalities John Schelly Warrant John Carrion Aggravated Assault Deadly Weapon Keelan Chadwick Possession of Controlled Substance Audrey Mueller Theft of Property Tammy Robinson Possession of Controlled Substance x6, Theft of Property Kiana Moore Assault Family Violence Stacey Winfield Assault Family Violence Jerry Ohearn Chavarria Assault Family Violence Casandra Arriola Warrant Daniel Thompson Possession of Controlled Substance Ashley Lovins Robbery, Driving While Intoxicated Darrell Jones Public Intoxication Terry Turner Criminal Trespass Habitation/Super Fund site Francisco Arriola Assault Family Violence, Resist Arrest Search or Transport Todd Henderson Assault Family Violence Lauren Gotelaere Criminal Trespass Antonio Mendoza Theft of Property Daniel Lopez Possession of Controlled Substance x2 Murrayh Hicks Assault Nicholas Frye Criminal Trespass Quincy Walker Warrant Heather Sell Warrant Eric Verschoore Warrant Ruben Hernandez Evading Arrest Detention Cedric Shields Warrant Victoria Valverde Warrant Jared Melander Warrant Michael Marchant Possession of Controlled Substance John Wilcoxen Criminal Trespass John Garner Unlawful Carrying Weapon, Possession of Controlled Substance Teddy Weaver- Warrant Luis Gutierrez Warrant Whitney Panas Warrant Samantha Olvera Manufacture Delivery Controlled Substance Matthew Turner Warrant Brandon Stephens Warrant Joshua McGough Possession of Controlled Substance, Possession of Marijuana, Warrant, Manufacture Delivery Controlled Substance Cadence Rose Warrant Charlie Van Horn Warrant Devlin Hyland Possession of Controlled Substance Julieanne Moore Assault Family Violence Theus Johnson Possession of Controlled Substance, Failure to Identify, Unlawful Possession of Firearm by Felon Alexx Cooper Warrant Angelina Ticossi Credit Card or Debit Card Abuse Marty Stringer Criminal Trespass Cody German Criminal Trespass David Baker Warrant Bobby Penney Warrant Shannon Cannon Warrant Eduardo Dellossantos Public Intoxication Stephen Daggs Warrant Brandon Jones Driving While License Invalid Antony Bollier Warrant Joseph Breiten Driving While Intoxicated Jermon Freeman Public Intoxication Chanayah Schuler Assault Family Violence Jimmy Garcia Assault Family Violence Henry Robinson Assault Family Violence For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTAB - BigCountryHomepage.com. Nine candidates for L.A. County district attorney appear in a debate in October at Pacific Palms Resort in the City of Industry. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times) The candidates vying to become L.A. County's next district attorney could barely fit on stage together for a debate. Scrunched into a dozen studio chairs that left political foes and ideological opposites inches apart at the Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills, the largest field of contenders ever to run for the office spent close to an hour slogging through opening statements. The candidates mostly longtime judges and prosecutors challenging Dist. Atty. George Gascon cried out for microphone time, which they mainly used to deliver messages as similar as their resumes. Former federal prosecutor Jeff Chemerinsky said his "No. 1 priority is public safety." Deputy Dist. Atty. Jonathan Hatami is running to "make sure your children are safe." L.A. County Superior Court Judge Debra Archuleta asked if voters were "safer now than they were three years ago." Challenger Deputy Dist. Atty. Jonathan Hatami. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times) Between the packed stage and a feisty crowd that occasionally interrupted the discussion, the Feb. 8 event left little room for substantive policy discussion. In some ways, the forum reflected the state of the race: crowded, chaotic and confusing for voters. Recent polls indicate many Angelenos are fed up with Gascon and anxious about crime, yet two-thirds of voters remain undecided in the March primary, according to a recent USC/Dornsife poll. Though Gascon is likely to glide into the general election, observers believe he is vulnerable in November. But the tight pack has made it hard for a true threat to emerge, with no challengers rising above single digits in polls. Read more: Your guide to the L.A. County district attorney race: 11 candidates aim to unseat Gascon I think a lot of the other candidates smell blood in the water, hence they are hopping in this thing just to see what would happen," said political consultant Brian Van Riper, who is not involved in the race. "The interesting question is: How do they pop through? Nearly all of the 11 challengers want to roll back some or all of Gascon's restrictions on the use of the death penalty, sentencing enhancements and prosecuting juveniles as adults. The test is to find a way to stand out not from the district attorney but one another without pulling too far right of an increasingly progressive L.A. electorate. Standing head and shoulders above the pack in fundraising is Nathan Hochman, the onetime Republican candidate for state attorney general who is now running as an independent to "get politics out" of the D.A.'s office. Hochman has raised well over $1.5 million and bought television advertisements that often prove key in communicating with L.A. County's more than 5 million registered voters. Hochman is a longtime federal prosecutor and defense attorney who once served as president of the Los Angeles City Ethics Commission, and his fundraising prowess could prove pivotal in a November matchup with Gascon, who pulled in $12.4 million when he ousted Jackie Lacey in 2020. Challenger Nathan Hochman. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times) Arguing that he's been miscast as the conservative in the race, Hochman described his politics as "socially moderate" and his approach to criminal justice as "the hard middle." He said his approach requires figuring out "who the true threats are to public safety and have to go to jail, and quite honestly the ones that arent." A first time, nonviolent offender, he said, "still has to be held accountable for their actions, but community service or diversion might be the play. Hochman wears his defense background as a mark of distinction in a race against many experienced prosecutors. He has called for expanded use of mental health and drug courts to push lower level offenders into treatment, but has also made aggressive prosecution of fentanyl dealers a hallmark of his campaign message. Hochman bristles at any suggestion that he's too conservative for L.A.'s electorate. He says he's never voted for Donald Trump, but he sometimes talks about crime in apocalyptic terms that echo right-wing criticisms of California, frequently comparing L.A. to "Gotham City." He has accused Gascon of ushering in "the golden age of criminals." Read more: L.A. officials tout double-digit drop in violent crime in 2023 Gerard Marcil, a Republican mega-donor who pumped significant funds into campaigns to recall Gov. Gavin Newsom and Gascon, has given a quarter of a million dollars to a committee supporting Hochman. Hochman's campaign has also paid more than $100,000 to the Pluvious Group, a Republican firm that organized Trump fundraisers in 2020. My campaign employs a bipartisan mix of Democrat and Republican fundraisers, which reflects the independent approach that Ill bring to the D.A.s office. Criminals dont ask for your party registration when they rob you," said Hochman, who estimates half of his major donors are Democrats or independents. Rival candidates have been quick to try to paint Hochman as incapable of beating Gascon one on one. During a January debate, Deputy Dist. Atty. Eric Siddall referenced Hochman's 2022 loss to Rob Bonta in the attorney general election. "There is no way in Gods green earth that he is going to beat George Gascon in a general election, Siddall said. In 2020, Gascon swept into office on a raft of endorsements from national Democrats after a summer of protests demanding criminal justice reform. But his first term has been marked by legal battles with his own prosecutors, two failed recall bids and controversial decisions that have led opponents to blame him for acts of violence. Some of his reform policies were blocked by a judge early in his term. Participants show unanimous support in response to a question posed at the D.A. debate in October. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times) Polls show voter anxieties about crime are surging, and several polls indicate more than 50% of voters have an unfavorable view of Gascon's job performance. Van Riper, the political consultant, said such a low rating can be a political "death sentence" in a competitive race. "People typically dont change their minds about who they dont like, he said. Gascon scoffed at the polling during a recent interview. "During my campaign in 2020, I was polling around 27%. I got 54% of the vote," he said. "The reality is the poll that counts is the one on election day. The field, the incumbent D.A. said, has failed to make any substantive "policy argument" to voters beyond a promise to erase his tenure. Of the four members of Gascon's office in the race, Hatami might have the best chance of unseating his boss. The USC poll placed Hatami in second in the primary, with support from 8% of voters compared with Gascon's 15%. Hochman was third with 4%, and no other candidate garnered more than 2% support. Hatami is one of only three candidates to raise over half a million dollars in the race and has been a thorn in Gascon's side, frequently challenging the D.A. on TV and elsewhere in public. A longtime prosecutor of crimes against children, he is best known for winning convictions in the gruesome torture murders of Anthony Avalos and Gabriel Fernandez. He has built up a base of crime victims frustrated with what they perceive as leniency from Gascon. I think sometimes when you vote for a D.A. its not just policies, I think people want a leader," he said. "I think people want someone who is going to fight for them. Read more: L.A. County D.A. to pay $5 million in civil rights case over bungled election conspiracy prosecution Promising to govern "with a heart," Hatami has promised to be flexible on some public safety issues: He says most juveniles should not be tried as adults and rejects the idea of prosecuting in a way in which every defendant "is getting slammed with the most severe punishment." Hatami allied himself with conservative talk radio host Larry Elder and former Sheriff Alex Villanueva during the recall campaigns against Gascon, which could turn off some general election voters. "I dont run from them or hide from them," Hatami said of those connections. "Ive joined forces with a lot of people that I dont politically agree with. At a recent debate, when asked to rate how safe he felt in L.A. County on a scale of 1 to 10, Hatami said "zero." In L.A. County, violent and property crime are up roughly 8% from 2019 to 2022, according to California Department of Justice data. Criminologists say it is disingenuous to solely blame, or credit, crime trends on a district attorney's policies. LAPD records show homicides and robberies trending down in recent years. That's the kind of nuance Chemerinsky hopes will carry him to the November ballot. The most progressive of Gascon's top challengers with a war chest second only to Hochman's the former federal prosecutor is hoping to scoop up Angelenos unhappy with the incumbent but squeamish about an overcorrection that would erase reforms they demanded four years ago. I believe strongly in criminal justice reform," he said. "I think we need reform at each and every stage of the process. Chemerinsky says he would undo all of Gascon's initial policies except for his ban on the use of the death penalty. Like Hatami, he says he believes that "juveniles should be treated as juveniles" outside of extreme cases, but rejects Gascon's initial blanket ban on seeking to try some teens as adults. (Gascon retreated from his absolutist policy on juveniles in 2022.) But Chemerinsky is more measured on the use of sentencing enhancements in gang crimes. In an interview, he noted flaws in law enforcement databases tracking gang members, and said that the use of such enhancements should be carefully considered. I think [gang enhancements] have been abused in a couple of ways. ... Are we talking about actual gang-related conduct as opposed to a gang-related individual?" he asked. Read more: Sentenced to life in prison as teens, two L.A. County men declared innocent on same day Comments like that have opened Chemerinsky up to attack. Siddall labeled him "mini-Gascon," and other critics have noted his father, legal scholar Erwin Chemerinsky, was on Gascon's transition team in 2020. The elder Chemerinsky says he had no hand in drafting Gascon's policies. Also running as a moderate but struggling to match Chemerinsky in fundraising, Siddall has taken up the role of attack dog in the race, labeling Hochman as too right-leaning and Chemerinsky as a Gascon sequel. Claiming to represent a "new generation of prosecutors," Siddall rejects the death penalty and wants to refocus the office on prosecuting what he believes to be the true drivers of violent crime gang leaders and enforcers, as well as those who organize "smash and grab" retail thefts. But he thinks others in the field are giving unrealistic assessments of crime in L.A. I think it is overblown to say that we live in Gotham," he said. "The idea that were at a zero [safety level] is absurd and it doesnt bear out in reality." With less than three weeks before the primary, the rest of the field is fighting for air and tends to echo itself. Archuleta and Deputy Dist. Atty. Maria Ramirez have both struggled to raise money. While Ramirez has cast herself as a steady hand whose wealth of management experience can restore confidence in the office, Archuleta has leaned heavily into concerns about public safety and dismissed statistics that show crime is down. Deputy Dist. Atty. John McKinney is the longtime major-crimes prosecutor who convicted Nipsey Hussle's killer in 2022, but it's unclear how his record of trial success helps him stand out in a field replete with courtroom veterans. Read more: After secret recording emerged, a plea deal freed him. Now hes accused of killing 3 Superior Court Judge Craig Mitchell, founder of the Skid Row Running Club, says he is uniquely qualified to help tackle L.A.'s spiraling homelessness crisis. Another judge, David Milton, frequently champions the death penalty and has proudly invoked his Republican bona fides in a county where most registered voters are Democrats and independents. Dan Kapelovitz, a defense attorney running to Gascon's left, refers to the rest of the field as "mass incarcerators," but has spent more time on debate stages making jokes than offering policy solutions. The last to enter the race was a cold case prosecutor named Lloyd Bobcat Masson, who says his focus on property crime and made-for-prime-time moniker will give him a boost with voters who find themselves dazed and confused by the long list of alternatives. "Each candidate saw there was no one coalescing, and for different reasons they all thought they could do it better," he said of the primary. Masson sounds confident for a complete unknown in the race. But after 10 challengers threw their hat into the ring, he figured, why not him, too? "If its a party, Im coming," he said. Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. The office of the Colorado State Public Defender announced a cyber attack on Feb. 11 after encryption malware was discovered on some computer systems. "This type of malware is used to lock access to computer files. In an abundance of caution and to prevent the computer malware from spreading to other systems, we took our computer network offline," according to the website. In acknowledging that the attack was ransomware, the statement explained that a "third party locks files on computer systems and then seeks payment in exchange for unlocking the files." "The computer network was proactively taken offline. Because of this, services that rely on connectivity to network data are unavailable. We are working to safely and securely bring systems back online," the statement read. The Dennis Maes Judicial Building is at 501 Elizabeth Street. In Pueblo, Laura Snyder, court executive, said a spirit of cooperation has helped court cases go on as planned locally. "The primary impact has been the way in which we have shifted to provide as much business continuity as possible. Court staff is assisting by adding more detail to minute orders, printing docket schedules a day in advance, and printing off pre-negotiated plea and sentencing paperwork," Snyder explained. Pueblo courts also are accepting paper filings rather than electronic filings. "There have been some continuances directly related to the incident, but most have been due to the normal flow of cases and court business," Snyder said. Pueblo Public Defender's office lead Albie Singleton declined to comment on the cyber attack. State Public Defender Zach Brown told the Chieftain Friday that he couldn't discuss the attack due to its sensitive nature "on many different levels." No timeline was given for when the public defenders' computer systems would be back online, but Brown said he expected an update late Friday. "The courts are still calling cases because there is still stuff that can happen. Either it's got to be continued, or it can get resolved where you don't need computer access," Brown said. "It would be rough for anyone. It is really scary the extent of harm that can happen," Brown said of cyber security attacks in general. "This is a time and resource-intensive process. We do not have a timeframe for when services will be restored," the Colorado public defenders office stated in the online statement. The attack has been reported to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Brown said. This story will be updated as more information is received. Chieftain reporter Tracy Harmon covers business news. She can be reached by email at tharmon@chieftain.com or via X, formerly Twitter, at twitter.com/tracywumps. Support local news, subscribe to The Pueblo Chieftain at subscribe.chieftain.com. This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: Cyber attack prompts shut down of Colorado public defender computers CLOVIS, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) The male suspect in a domestic violence shooting case in Clovis has been charged, according to the Fresno County Districts Attorney Office on Thursday. Officers say they responded to a welfare check at a residence in the area of Clovis and Teague Avenues on Tuesday morning where they located a woman suffering from a gunshot wound. At the time, officers say the woman was transported to a local hospital in critical condition. PD: Woman hospitalized in domestic violence incident in Clovis According to officers, the suspect in this event, 36-year-old Manuel Ramirez of Fresno, had left the scene and was at an apartment in the area of Hughes and Dakota Avenues in Fresno. Clovis Police officers and the Clovis SWAT Team responded to the area and said Ramirez was taken into custody without incident with the assistance of the Fresno Police Department and the California Highway Patrol. According to the District Attorneys Office on Thursday, Ramirez has been charged with attempted homicide and child abuse. Officers say the victim in this event has a child in common with the suspect, and on Tuesday, they say the child was staying with relatives. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to YourCentralValley.com | KSEE24 and CBS47. FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Daiichi Sankyo said on Friday it would invest about 1 billion euros ($1.07 billion) to expand a site near Munich, Germany, to boost its work on precision cancer drugs. The expansion project marks another welcome win to shore up the government's economic credentials after U.S. drugmaker Eli Lilly in November pledged to invest 2.3 billion euros to make obesity and diabetes drugs in Germany, even as the country is likely to see a second year of recession in 2024. The investment was announced as health minister Karl Lauterbach visited the center in Pfaffenhofen, north of Daiichi's European headquarters in Munich. Daiichi's project, which will create 350 jobs by 2030, will add capacity to make cardiovascular drugs and labs to develop and produce antibody drug conjugates (ADC), a promising new class of precision chemotherapy drugs. The Japanese drugmaker has partnered with AstraZeneca on two ADCs, one of which is breast cancer drug Enhertu, and it struck another deal on three ADCs with Merck & Co in October. ($1 = 0.9305 euros) (Reporting by Ludwig Burger; editing by Bartosz Dabrowski) (KRON) A Daly City man was convicted of burglary, vandalism and attempted grand theft after he broke into a San Francisco tech companys office and stole several valuable laptops, San Francisco DA Brooke Jenkins said. According to evidence presented at the trial, Jaylym Jackson, 29, broke into Aurora Innovation on Sunday, Oct. 15 at about 5:15 p.m. Aurora is a technology company that focuses on self-driving with an office at 85 Bluxome St. Cache of weapons, 1 million rounds of ammo found at Richmond residence According to a press release from the DAs office, Jackson ransacked each floor of the building. A surveillance camera captured him taking multiple laptops and other equipment and putting them in a stolen backpack. Jackson broke at least four doors during the burglary, the DAs office said. He caused roughly $4,000 in damage and the laptops he stole were about $1,000 each. Security saw Jackson on a live feed and called police. Jackson wedged himself behind a planter box on the fifth floor in an attempt to hide but he was captured, arrested and eventually convicted. I would like to thank the jury for their service in this trial, said District Attorney Brooke Jenkins. The jurys verdict in this case ensures there is accountability and sends a message that commercial burglaries will not be tolerated. Prolific thieves have an outsized impact on small businesses and neighborhoods that can lead to businesses closing. We must do everything we can to protect our businesses and neighborhoods. Jackson is facing four years in prison for the burglary. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KRON4. Texas State Rep. Jarvis Johnson speaks during a press conference about the U.S. Environmental Protection Agencys recent announcement that it will investigate the Texas Commission on Environment Qualitys concrete batch permitting criteria and processes under federal civil rights laws shown Tuesday, Aug. 9, 2022, in Houston. Melissa Phillip / Staff Photographer In the fight to fill the state Senate seat vacated by Houston Mayor John Whitmire, voters will have to consider not just policy priorities, but also the strategy to get anything accomplished. As it is, even Republican senators cant get much done without the personal blessing of Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick. Democrats hardly stand a chance. We think Jarvis Johnson will be able to squeak through a few wins. With experience as a Houston council member and a state representative since 2016, Johnson has a pragmatic view of how to get things done. Advertisement Article continues below this ad In his first term in the House, he championed a vocational education bill that became law. I was successful in working with my colleagues to help understand that industry across the state of Texas need skilled laborers, he said. But that was in 2017. We know things changed dramatically over the years. For Johnson that means not taking what he describes as Republican bait and switch moves. Instead of reacting to culture war provocations, he said he wants to be proactive about pursuing his policy goals: defending and funding public education, passing criminal justice reform, protecting Texans from environmental degradation and more. In the House, hes pursued restrictions on concrete batch plants, created a sickle cell registry that Gov. Greg Abbott later spitefully vetoed, part of his vengeance against opponents of school vouchers. Johnson also rallied around legislation to raise the age to buy assault rifles. As an experienced politician, Johnson, 52, brings a certain blunt sensibility about the lawmaking process. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Anybody who makes a donation to my campaign, that means they have access, said Johnson, Doesnt mean that they get a yes. Some might find his frankness off-putting. We dont, but several of his challengers represent a far more idealistic version of politics. At the crowded table, Molly Cook, 32, stood out the most as a possible foil to Johnsons battle-tested insider pragmatism. The ER nurse, who has been running for Whitmires seat since before he left it, is strategic in her own way to get things done. I bear witness on a daily basis to the kind of suffering that our policy causes, she said. Rather than working within the confines of politics as usual, shes perfected identifying the pressure points of power structures and pushing them. She has organized for a better deal on the I-45 expansion knocking on countless doors in the Houston heat and campaigned for the proposition that has finally put light on the (im)balance of power at the Houston-Galveston Area Council, one of the regions largest governing bodies. But shes also worked behind the scenes, with Republican legislators, to pass bills, including one that brings more accountability to public facility corporations that take housing off the property tax rolls on the promise of affordability. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The other candidates each brought their own unique perspectives to the table. Karthik Soora, 34, a former chemistry teacher and a renewable energy developer, has worked in the Houston mayors office of resilience. He was most persuasive when talking about strengthening the Texas electric grid. He also brought a lot of unconventional ideas to the table, including allowing citizen-led ballot initiatives, an intriguing idea it could put reproductive rights on the ballot but with a high potential for unintended consequences such as giving an opening to the Texit movement for secession. VOTER GUIDE: Everything you need to know for the 2024 Texas Primary Todd Litton, 53, an attorney and mediator, is the fundraising heavyweight in the race and had a notable 2018 run for Congress. Hes campaigning now on ending the politics of hate and fear in Austin. Instead, he wants to focus on education, infrastructure and health care. He has experience as a founding board member of the nonprofit Immunization Partnership, and has testified on early childhood education bills at the Capitol. Michelle Bonton, 57, an arts nonprofit leader and a former school administrator, connects her lived experiences with her policy priorities, including boosting teacher pay, strengthening re-entry programs for individuals leaving the criminal justice system and raising the minimum wage. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Alberto Beto Cardenas, originally from South Texas, has done a little bit of everything it seems. The high-profile lawyer has worked with community groups and power players. Hes been on the Houston Food Bank board, served as a chairman of the Harris County Housing Authority and is a current member of the Houston Parks Board. All very impressive, but his proposals lacked specificity beyond the standard Democratic platform. We all have great ideas, Johnson said, and I think everybody at this table has some great ideas, but the difference is the realism of how you get it. Without having the relationships, without understanding procedures, without having the very qualified staff in order to move the ball down the field, youre gonna be lost. We think Johnson has the clearest map of the Senate right now. Indian River School District leaders were finally able to break months of legally bound silence Thursday at former Sussex Central High School Principal Bradley Layfield's termination hearing, where witness after witness attested to his unprofessional conduct. The hearing stemmed from a May 17, 2023, incident in which a student's breast was briefly exposed on a surveillance camera at the school near Georgetown. The 44-year-old Layfield and former Assistant Principal Matt Jones are facing a lawsuit from 18-year-old Aniya Harmon, who claims they inappropriately showed the video to numerous staff and created and circulated a meme made from a screenshot of the video. Both Layfield and Jones were placed on administrative leave in May and, in November, after receiving notice of his firing, Layfield requested a public termination hearing. Jones has been unable to be reached, but Layfield and his lawyer, Thomas Neuberger, have been speaking publicly about the case since September, attempting to "clear his good name." Layfield has worked for Indian River for 22 years and was principal at Sussex Central for nearly 10 years, and many of his colleagues have spoken about his good character and leadership at school board meetings. Indian River School District Superintendent Jay Owens is questioned at former Sussex Central High School Principal Bradley Layfield's termination Feb. 15, 2024. Thursday's testimonies, however, painted a different picture, a picture of what one employee called a "middle school-boy" culture in leadership at Sussex Central, a culture that culminated in the harmful mocking of a teenage girl whose breast had been exposed at school. Layfield and Neuberger's previous press releases, including last week's "Findings of Fact" document, are actually "miles apart from the facts," Indian River attorney James McMackin said at the hearing, and "support the wild theory the district is trying to conceal racial violence." "But it's not," McMackin said. "No one mentions this being a racial incident except Dr. Layfield." Previous coverage: 4 things to know: New info ahead former Sussex Central principal's hearing Thursday Indian River School District dismissed from lawsuit, but not principals Firing of Sussex Central Principal Bradley Layfield confirmed. Plans to challenge decision Sussex Central principal denies involvement in meme circulated of student's exposed breast Perspectives of female employees Thursday's administrative hearing took place at the CHEER Center in Georgetown and was led by former Judge William Carpenter. Fifty or so people showed up in the morning, but that number dwindled as the over-five-hour event went on. It was made clear throughout the hearing that the blame for the meme was falling on Jones. Layfield was not seen with the meme, several people testified. Rather, his fire-able offense was showing the video to numerous staff (23 times, according to McMackin) in a derisive manner. Layfield and Neuberger claim he showed the video as a tool for safety and discipline, but numerous employees said otherwise. Director of Secondary Education Renee Jerns was at Sussex Central May 17 for a meeting, she testified, and went to Layfield's office afterward. He asked her if she "wanted to see something funny," she said. Morris James attorney James McMackin represented the Indian River School District Feb. 15, 2024. He showed Jerns the video in which Harmon's breast was exposed, she said, several times. According to Jerns, he asked her if she saw the student's breast and laughed. She asked him if anyone had checked on the student or called the parents, she said. Jerns' interaction with Layfield happened at the end of the school day, and she reported it the next morning. When asked why she waited until morning, she said, in part, she was fearful of retaliation from "a family member on the board." Layfield's brother was president of the Indian River Board of Education at the time. When Assistant Principal Karen Oliphant arrived that day, she said Layfield asked her, "Want to see something that's gonna make you laugh?" Upon showing her the video, he asked her, too, if she saw the student's breast, she said. Oliphant said she felt "horrible" when she saw the video because Harmon was "a teenage girl in high school and her breast was exposed in a hallway with other people around." Former Sussex Central High School Principal Bradley Layfield just after his termination hearing Feb. 15, 2024. When asked what it was like at Sussex Central after Layfield and Jones left, Oliphant said bluntly, "There's less joking and 'deez nuts' jokes." "There was an air of 'hehe-haha,' like middle school boy-type behavior" during their tenure, she said. Layfield showed Assistant Principal Aerin Donovan the video numerous times, as well, she said. He was "giddy" and laughing, she said. McMackin also revealed Layfield used an acronym, "DFWTLB," on personal and professional items. It was on a sticker on a clipboard he used daily, according to Donovan, and was at times used as his screensaver. It stood for "Don't (expletive) With the Layfield Boys," she said. More: What is a voluntary school assessment and why did Sussex County reject it? When Neuberger asked Donovan if race was involved in the incident, she was adamant. "Absolutely not," she said. Also questioned at the hearing were teachers Cris Revel and Trace DeLeon, two of three male employees who watched the video together with Layfield on May 17. "We were laughing," Revel said. According to DeLeon, Layfield approached him the next day and said, "If someone asks, you didn't see the video, right?" The crowd at the CHEER Center in Georgetown for former Sussex Central High School Principal Bradley Layfield's termination hearing Feb. 15, 2024. Layfield is seated at left. The superintendent's testimony Indian River Superintendent Jay Owens' testimony on Layfield's unprofessional behavior before Harmon's incident was especially damning. "The sharing of the (video) wasn't for safety purposes, it was to make a mockery of the situation," Owens said. Layfield's unprofessional behavior was documented multiple times, according to Owens, and he was warned further misconduct could result in his termination. More: Sussex: 128-lot subdivision in Harbeson gets 1st approval; auto shop effectively shut down According to Owens: In 2020, Layfield slurred his words during a Zoom meeting and an investigation found he "may have been impaired." In another 2020 Zoom meeting, Layfield displayed a penis lollipop and tapped it on the screen. In 2021, he sent a message to staff members calling a school resource officer a variety of vulgar names. Instead of firing Layfield, Owens said he considered simply suspending him or moving him to a different school, but "the trust has been lost." In Neuberger's "Finding of Facts" document, provided to Delaware Online/The News Journal the week of Feb. 12, Layfield claimed that, during Owens' time as principal at Sussex Central, "there were several student sexual encounters that were discovered via review of surveillance camera footage and shared with staff who were not administrators." Aniya Harmon, right, with mother Latosha White at a news conference Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2023. While witnesses at the hearing confirmed some non-administrators (such as a school resource officer) saw a video of students engaging in sexual activity while Owens was principal, there was no laughing or mockery, nor was there any superfluous viewing, they said. Layfield did not testify at the hearing. What happens next Judge Carpenter has five days to make his recommendation to the Board of Education, Indian River School District spokesman David Maull said. After that, the board has 15 days to decide if they will uphold Layfield's firing. Shannon Marvel McNaught reports on southern Delaware and beyond. Reach her at smcnaught@gannett.com or on Twitter @MarvelMcNaught. This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: 'A mockery': Why Sussex Central principal was fired over video Tubi has nabbed another British series to launch in the U.S. and Canada. The Fox-owned streamer will air Dead Hot, a UK comedy thriller series starring Rye Lanes Vivian Oparah. Created and written by Charlotte Coben, the series also stars Bilal Hasna, Vivian Oparah, Penelope Wilton and Peter Serafinowicz. The series debuts soon in the UK and Ireland on Prime Video. Tubis North American acquisition of Dead Hot comes as they recently nabbed Boarders for U.S. and Canada as well. Heres the official description for Dead Hot: Set in present-day Liverpool, twentysomethings Elliot (Hasna) and Jess (Oparah) are best friends united by a bond of grief at losing Peterthe first and only love of Elliot and Jess twin brother. Its been five years since Peter went missing in mysterious circumstances, and still reeling from the trauma, the best friends spiral into a hedonistic lifestyle, partying to numb their grief while clinging to a small hope that they will one day find out what happened. When Elliot meets Will, he starts to think he can put the past behind him. But when Elliot learns Will has his own dark secrets, just as Jess is contacted by somebody claiming to be her brother, it sets into motion a determination for the pair to find out if Elliots romantically cursedor being targeted. Dead Hot is exactly the type of dynamic series that we are excited to bring to Tubi audiences who have long been passionate about diving head first into rabbit holes of engaging, thrilling and genre-bending series, said Sam Harowitz VP of Acquisitions and Partnerships, Tubi. Charlotte has created an incredibly clever world in Dead Hot with storytelling that is brimming with wild twists and turns. Having partnered with Nicola and the team at Quay Street we have no doubt that Charlottes unique vision for this series will have audiences guessing right up until the very end on this wild ride! Produced by Quay Street Productions, Dead Hot is executive-produced by Nicola Shindler. At its heart, Dead Hot is a unique thriller about heartbreak surrounded by humour and absurdity and I cant wait for US and Canadian audiences to be gripped by the brilliant world that Charlotte Coben has created and that has been brought to life by our outstanding cast, Shindler said. With plenty of twists, turns, and surprises along the way, expect the unexpected! Dead Hot was filmed in and around Liverpool and the North West of England. A prominent Democratic super PAC rolled out a Black History Month initiative Friday aimed at reminding voters of former President Trumps history of incendiary comments on race. American Bridge 21st Century said it would highlight examples of Trumps blatant racism as part of its This Fing Guy campaign, a broader effort to highlight controversial moments from the former presidents time in office. The Black History Month effort, which was shared first with The Hill, cited Trumps role as a leading proponent of the racist birther theory that then-President Obama was not born in the United States. The organization also pointed to a 1975 settlement between Trump and the Justice Department, after the government accused Trump and his father of refusing to rent to prospective Black tenants. American Bridge highlighted Trumps targeting of the Central Park Five, a group of teens whose rape convictions were later overturned. Trump in 1989 took out full-page ads in New York newspapers calling for the death penalty for the group. In 2019, he refused to apologize for the incident. Trump also drew backlash for his handling of protests in the wake of the murder of George Floyd in 2020. There are numerous examples from Trumps four decades in public life that highlight his blatant racism, Brandon Weathersby, the groups presidential campaign communications director, said in a statement. He wields racism as a tool to divide Americans and serve himself, without caring who may be hurt by his actions or rhetoric. This fing guy is a racist who cannot be president again. American Bridge has taken a lead on efforts to highlight Trumps controversial actions and comments as he campaigns for another White House term. The former president is on track to become the GOP nominee for president, setting up a rematch with President Biden in November. Polling has shown a close race between the two men, with Biden leading in recent swing state polls out of Pennsylvania and New Hampshire, but Trump ahead in key states including Michigan and Georgia. Trump sought to make Bidens leading role in a 1994 crime bill that led to a spike in incarceration rates for Black people a major issue in the 2020 campaign. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. A guard watches the entrance to a Louis Vuitton store, which had its windows boarded up near San Francisco's Union Square in November 2021. Stores in the city have increased security in response to a spike in thefts. (Ethan Swope / Getty Images) Two top Democrats in the California Legislature on Thursday announced a multi-pronged plan to tackle the recent rash of organized thefts that has blighted the state's national reputation and tormented retailers. The legislative package, authored by Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas (D-Hollister) and Assemblymember Rick Chavez Zbur (D-Los Angeles), will focus on so-called organized retail theft crime rings, which are blamed for the uptick in the high-profile, smash-and-grab incidents plaguing California. Rivas and Zbur, chair of the Select Committee on Retail Theft, said the details of the legislation will be released Friday, adding to a list of an anticipated 15 to 20 additional bills that also address retail crime. The lawmakers said the package was inspired in part by some of Gov. Gavin Newsom's suggestions for legislation to combat the crimes. This month, Newsom sent 120 California Highway Patrol officers to Oakland under a new state law enforcement campaign targeting a rise in violent crime and theft that has increased criticism of Californias criminal justice policies. If passed, the bill would penalize what the lawmakers referred to as "professional retail thieves," increasing potential prison sentences to up to three years. Under the legislation, thieves could be prosecuted for the total value of items stolen in a series of crimes, even if there were separate victims. It also would target the resale of stolen merchandise, including items sold online. Large retailers would be required to provide theft data, likely to a state agency, although the specifics are unclear, while protecting consumer information. One major setback in resolving retail crimes has been the lack of data largely due to underreporting from retailers that say it takes too long to file police reports. The bill will also expand diversion programs and tools for police to make arrests based on witness statements or surveillance videos. Recently, Mayors London Breed of San Francisco and Matt Mahan of San Jose endorsed a ballot measure that would reform Proposition 47, an initiative voters passed a decade ago to reduce mass incarceration by reclassifying some felony crimes, including retail theft, into misdemeanors. The proposition raised from $400 to $950 the amount for which theft can be prosecuted as a felony. Incidents of retail crime hit the San Francisco Bay Area hard between 2020 and 2022, but the city saw those crimes dwindle last year. The first three weeks of the year witnessed property crime go down 41%. While he was lieutenant governor, Newsom supported Proposition 47 and recently said he was opposed to asking voters to reform the measure. The governor believes the thefts can be addressed through legislation. And Rivas and Zbur are delivering the same message. "I'm most interested in getting it right," Rivas said. "We know this is a problem. We don't want to have a knee-jerk reaction and blame Prop. 47." California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta on Friday told reporters that solutions to these thefts can be made through more investigations and more arrests, and not amending Prop. 47. We need to arrest people when they commit crimes, he said, reiterating, Misdemeanors are crimes. Misdemeanors are crimes. Bonta made the comment after announcing his office had filed criminal charges against nine people who were engaged in a multimillion-dollar organized retail theft operation across 21 counties in the state. The suspects reportedly targeted beauty retailers, notably Sephora and Ulta, for years. One woman, who is claimed to be the main suspect, is alleged to have resold up to $8 million of mostly cosmetic items on Amazon Marketplace. Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.) took a swipe at House Oversight Committee chair James Comer (R-Ky.) on Thursday after the Justice Department indicted an FBI informant key to the GOP-led impeachment inquiry against President Joe Biden. The informant, Alexander Smirnov, was charged with making false statements to the FBI about the president and his son Hunter after he claimed that Joe Biden had accepted a bribe from a Ukrainian oligarch. Moskowitz, a member of the committee, responded to the charges by mocking Comer with a gif of the you sit on a throne of lies line from the holiday film Elf. The witness of the FD-1023 form was just indicted for making it all up, wrote Moskowitz, who quoted a post by Comer where he cited an FBI form that documented Smirnovs claims. The witness of the FD-1023 form was just indicted for making it all up https://t.co/gEkZmTkTOGpic.twitter.com/wx0HA4y1Fl Jared Moskowitz (@JaredEMoskowitz) February 15, 2024 Moskowitz later returned to the platform with a message for Comer about the indictment. Hey James, Have a round on me tonight. You deserve it. Send me the bill. Your Dear Friend, Smurf, wrote Moskowitz, referring to Comer likening him to the blue creature in November. Moskowitz, when asked by CNNs Abby Phillip if Comer had any reason to believe the claim was all false and ignored it, cooked up a different way to pose the question. When did James Comer know this was false and how long did he conceal that from the American people? Moskowitz asked. Moskowitz: When did James comer know this was false? And how long did he conceal that from the American people? Those are he'll questions we need to get to the bottom of. When did he find out that this was a lie.. and they were still using this information pic.twitter.com/uFA2AJlYEu Acyn (@Acyn) February 16, 2024 Related... Tom Suozzis success this week flipping a New York congressional district from red to blue is emboldening Democrats to go on offense on immigration, raising both hopes and fears among advocates. The former and future congressman leaned into immigration during his campaign to replace ousted Rep. George Santos (R), bucking a trend of Democrats shying away from the issue as Republicans consistently hammer President Biden over his handling of the border. Suozzis message was twofold: more border security and an expansion of legal pathways for migrants to come in legally. The two-tiered message resonated with the New York suburban districts voters and, as a package, its music to the ears of advocates. Tough border security, coupled with increased legal pathways, humane efforts to bring in the immigrants safely those who really have a reason to come over here and ask for asylum, said Maria Cardona, a Democratic strategist. Now I think Democrats are understanding the way that Suozzi won was not just the security, the tough approach. He did both, and thats why he won. It demonstrated that thats where the American people are, Cardona said. For years, immigrant advocates have been telling anyone wholl listen that they support better border security, and that they want to see fewer people forced to use asylum as a means of U.S. immigration. Against conventional wisdom, the Suozzi campaign didnt ignore the issue of immigration, but addressed it head on, addressing border security and the path to citizenship for long-settled immigrants, while countering his opponents extremism. Weve long advocated for this winning formula, said Beatriz Lopez, deputy director of the Immigration Hub. Few in either party had been listening. The Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC), the group thats taken ownership of representing immigrant communities in Congress, was shut out of the bipartisan Senate border negotiations for the deal that crashed spectacularly this month. That legislation was heavy on the border security elements and light on the creation of new pathways for new immigrants or for existing undocumented immigrants to fix their papers. Though the Senate package provided immigration relief to groups including so-called documented Dreamers, the children of work-visa holders who age out of status, its relatively one-sided approach drew ire from advocates. Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), one of the architects of the deal, released a memo Wednesday after Suozzis victory, encouraging Democrats to replicate the Long Island model and go on the offensive on immigration. Murphy implied, however, that Democrats in the past had put too much focus on relief for the undocumented. The primary, proactive change Democrats talk about is a pathway to citizenship for undocumented people. This is a worthy, broadly popular objective one that we should keep as a priority, wrote Murphy. But we can make it more popular by framing it inside a message that prioritizes strong and fair border policies. An immigration message that supports legal immigration and a pathway to citizenship, but leads with a belief in an orderly, safe border is both politically advantageous and morally defensible. Immigration advocates, on a high after Suozzis victory appears to have changed the conversation in their favor, skirted around their differences with Murphys approach, but pointed out what they see as the core deficiency of the failed bipartisan Senate deal. One of the things that needs to happen is that we need to be at the table. And unfortunately, the process in the Senate did not guarantee that, said Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-N.Y.). We need to be at the table so that we can have our agenda items fully discussed, understanding that were not going to get everything we want, just like the other side is not going to get everything they want that there must be a consensus built to move forward together, as the election showed last night. The subtle differences between Murphys and Espaillats approaches boil down to a chicken-or-the-egg scenario: Do voters want border security first and a functioning immigration system second, or vice versa? For immigration advocates and experts, that distinction is important because they see expanded legal pathways as a first step to reduce demand for illegal crossings and asylum claims. Advocates have fought to maintain the current standard to apply for asylum prospective asylees must convince border authorities they have a significant possibility of making a successful asylum case before a judge. The Senate deal would have raised that standard to only allow applicants with a reasonable possibility of making their case, in order to reduce the number of foreign nationals who get to the second step in the asylum process. In theory, that heightened standard, coupled with more detention and other border security measures, would deter people from crossing the border to claim asylum, though some advocates say it would only encourage migrants to attempt to enter the United States undetected. Improving legal pathways creating visas that migrants can realistically apply for and receive would channel migrants away from unauthorized border crossings and asylum applications altogether, advocates say. Espaillat said Suozzi beat Republican Mazi Pilips immigration attacks by speaking right in front of it, directly through the center and talking about not just border security but opening up pathways to legal migration which we see how it impacts favorably the situation at the border. Yet Suozzi also crossed lines that under different circumstances would have landed him in the doghouse with progressives and immigration advocates, for instance expressing comfort at calling conditions at the border an invasion. Suozzis vision also matches Murphys more closely than it does the advocates; he praised the Senate deal and used its failure to attack his opponent. The immigration left is mostly ready to give Democratic candidates a pass on that sort of campaign language, so long as going on offense doesnt imply going back to the Senate deals approach. While this election will not predict the winners or losers in November, the lesson for President Biden and Democrats is key. No strategy that rushes to the far right or attempts to out-Trump Trump will mobilize voters, Lopez said. And many Democrats feel comfortable with Suozzis approach, with the party requiring less fealty to its leader than the GOP under former President Trump. What youre not going to see is President Biden going out there and throwing Tom Suozzi under the bus because he distanced himself from him, the way that youre seeing Donald Trump throw his candidates under the bus if they dont come and kiss the ring, Cardona said. That means that Democrats understand the politics of all of the different districts and states that Democrats need to win. And the president and the White House and the campaign are absolutely OK with that. We are a big tent party. Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) Chair Suzan DelBene (D-Wash.) told reporters Wednesday that Suozzis approach worked because he spoke authentically about his positions, and because he had a resume as a deal-making centrist in his prior tenure in the House. But DelBene didnt explicitly endorse going on offense as a national Democratic strategy. Each of our districts are very different in different parts of the country in terms of how they rank issues, how theyre impacted by issues. So youre gonna see folks talking in an authentic way about how theyre going to approach issues, she said. And some on the left are warning against attributing Suozzis win entirely to how he talked about immigration, or to his willingness to adopt some right-leaning language on the matter. All the hot takes hanging the entirety of Suozzis win on immigration are conflating two different dynamics. Suozzi didnt win because he edged rightward on immigration. To the degree that his focus on immigration helped, it was because it highlighted Republican chaos, political theater, and their complete lack of interest in serious governing, all with a crisp receipt in their choice to tank their own border bill, said Ezra Levin, co-executive director of Indivisible, a group that supported Suozzi. Levin added that Suozzis campaign also leaned on other top issues such as abortion, and benefited from the fact the special election was held to replace Santos, who was expelled from the House amid scandals and criminal indictments. Suozzi successfully made the contrast sharp: Republicans are chaos in Congress, theyre a threat to abortion and elections, and they cant be trusted to work for solutions. Its all political theater for them. And that lack of trust is especially true in a district that had just been represented by George fing Santos. Caroline Vakil contributed. Updated at 11:15 a.m. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Lauren Ashley Simmons is a candidate for Texas House District 146. Raj Mankad State Rep. Shawn Thierry is used to breaking barriers and making waves. Her mother was the first Black teacher to integrate Sharpstown Junior High School in Houston. In 2016, Thierry herself became the first woman to represent Texas House District 146, the east-west district where she grew up that stretches from Sunnyside, through Meyerland, beyond Sharpstown. This past legislative session, she rankled fellow Democrats by breaking with most in party dogma and supporting a Republican-led ban on puberty blockers and hormone therapy for transgender youths. In an impassioned, roughly 10-minute speech on the House floor in May that nearly moved her to tears several times, she explained her vote to colleagues. She told us in a candidate screening that her decision came from a place of love, was based on years of research on the topic and was meant to prioritize the protection of children. Some Republicans commended Thierry, 54, for her intellectually honest stand, as state Rep. Tom Oliverson put it. Thierrys vocal support didnt tip the vote and she wasnt the only Democrat to defend the bill, but it certainly drew condemnation from Democrats and advocates, some of whom described her vote as a knife in the back. The stand left her vulnerable to an election challenge, which she now faces. Advertisement Article continues below this ad But this endorsement isnt about that vote. Not really. This board has wrestled with many of the same questions Thierry surfaced, some of which have been explored thoughtfully in the New York Times. We ultimately found the bill more harmful than helpful, but Thierry struck us as sincere and principled in her speech and we tend to admire the rare act of a politician breaking with party when facts and consciences lead elsewhere. What we dont admire are some of the things that have since come to light about Thierry, including her unproductive behavior in managing staff and negotiating with House colleagues. When allegations from former staffers about mistreatment in her office resurfaced, including that she threw flowerpots and tasked them after hours with her personal chores, Thierry dismissed the comments as retaliation for her vote on the trans care bill. She told Texas Monthly she believed the accusing former staffers were gay or bisexual. That doesnt explain, of course, her relatively high staff turnover or the fact that those staffers first filed their complaint back in 2021 and apparently it was never followed up on. We saw an unexpected glimpse of Thierrys short temper and poor conduct when we met with the four-time incumbent and one of her challengers, Lauren Ashley Simmons. (Ashton Woods did not meet with us.) After a combative and petty performance that was beyond the debating showmanship we typically see, Thierry again interrupted Simmons during what was supposed to be her closing statement. Simmons, 36, was noting that she had earned the support of three of Thierrys colleagues. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The gay ones, Thierry interjected sharply. It was a frustrating end to a difficult screening in which neither candidate was able to share a full accounting of her experience and goals. Thierry urged voters to judge her on her record, which includes strong advocacy to address Texas' maternal mortality rate, earning a powerful spot on the House ways and means committee, and attempting to undo the state takeover at Houston ISD. This is the legislator that helped get the maternal mortality task force on the special session agenda with a personal letter to Gov. Greg Abbott. VOTER GUIDE: Everything you need to know for the 2024 Texas Primary Still, we were irked when Thierry seemed to misrepresent what happened during the negotiations over the transgender care bill. She claimed she was unable to get her fellow Democrats to bend at all on a compromise she might accept. We checked the record and its full of amendments that couldve offered a principled middle ground. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Rep. Ann Johnson, D-Houston, offered an amendment replete with layers of necessary interventions and restrictions on treatment, including an evaluation by a state-appointed commission of professionals that would have to be completed before a young person could receive certain prescriptions. So much for intellectually honest. In between the interjections in our screening, Simmons managed to share some of her life story and pitch herself as a grounded candidate with deep experience representing vulnerable communities. Raised in Third Ward, Simmons became pregnant at 19 and her safety net evaporated. She was rejected for food stamps multiple times. When she was arrested for shoplifting baby clothing and food, she told us, a compassionate judge dismissed the charges, allowing her to continue her education. Since then, shes worked as a union representative with the Houston Federation of Teachers and is working to organize a group for parents in the Yates High School feeder pattern, hopefully expanding to Worthing and Sterling High Schools as well in Houston ISD, to amplify parent voices amid the takeover. That was the experience she drew on when she confronted state-appointed Superintendent Mike Miles in a video that garnered online attention for her pointed concerns about the loss of voter representation and parental accountability in the district where her own children are currently students. Im not a politician, she said, Im a community advocate. Shes also organized to raise the minimum wage thats been stubbornly stuck at $7.25 for years here in Texas, helping people get to Austin to testify and meet with legislators. Advertisement Article continues below this ad I work directly with the people who are most vulnerable to our systems and decisions that come out of Austin, she said. SAN DIEGO (Border Report) Direct flight service between Tijuana and Phoenix is now available, according to Baja California Governor Marina del Pilar Avila Olmeda. While complete details have not been announced, she said there will be one flight per day on American Airlines. According to the airlines website, the flight out of Tijuana departs daily at 12:22 p.m. and lands in Phoenix at 2:42 p.m. With the time change, its a one-hour and 20-minute flight. Return service leaves Phoenix at 11:15 a.m. and is scheduled to arrive in Tijuana at 11:42 a.m. This is one of the most important flights to a city in the United States, and its a direct flight, said Governor Avila Olmeda. With connections, this will generate more destinations to and from Tijuana, and its something to celebrate. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 5 San Diego & KUSI News. Somebody finally told the truth about endorsement mailers and political clubs slate cards. Theyre worthless. Throw them away. If they say theyre from Donald Trump, they should be dropped in the trash, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick announced Thursday. With a yellow caution-tape message FAKE SLATE Warning, Patrick alerted voters against ads and web endorsements by an unnamed Trump Conservative Club of Texas. Patrick included a slate card from Collin County with a grinning photo of Trump and a list of 24 state and local candidates. The web address links to an unsigned list of 150 statewide endorsements at TeamTrumpTexas.com, and asks for your email address. Theres only one problem with this phantom Trump club: It has absolutely zero to do with Trump. Patrick would know. Hes the state chairman of the Trump campaign. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick is the state officeholder most closely tied to Donald Trump. Voters should beware fake slates and endorsement cards that claim Trumps support, Patrick wrote. Slate cards like this are designed specifically to mislead and confuse voters, he wrote. I want to warn voters to be on the lookout and caution everyone involved in these underhanded campaign dirty tricks. Not a single club member is actually named. The cards disclaimer says its from the Our Values PAC. But thats in New Mexico. It is not clear whether or where the card was printed or distributed. Patricks spokesman, Allen Blakemore, said the lieutenant governor was sent the ad Wednesday and forwarded it to Trump. In the fine print at the bottom of the website, the club is described as a grassroots effort to rally supporters for the former president. Im not sure exactly what kind of grass is involved. But the club members made some peculiar endorsements. For example, the ad defies Patricks own endorsement in at least two races. One is Texas Senate District 30 north and west of Fort Worth, where the unnamed club recommends Frisco Republican Carrie de Moor but Patrick has endorsed Denton Republican Brent Hagenbuch. Trump has not made an endorsement. That may be why Patrick reacted so strongly to a slate card in Collin County. Statewide, the so-called club endorsed 150 candidates as far down the ballot as Lubbock County constable or Aransas County party chair, offices that typically would not draw Trumps attention. Only 12 of those 150 candidates are actually endorsed by Trump. And one of those 12 is best listed as Its Complicated. In U.S. House District 3 north of Dallas, Trump endorsed U.S. Rep. Keith Self, R-McKinney. But the Trump Club is telling voters to either vote for Self or against him. Self shares the card endorsement along with challenger Suzanne Harp, an Allen Republican. See? You can vote against Trumps candidate and somehow still be in the Trump Club. The whole thing is baffling, Blakemore said. Its definitely a b-word. Sen. Ted Cruz speaks at a 2021 press conference at the Texas border. JOEL MARTINEZ/Associated Press U.S. Senator Ted Cruz, R-Texas, center, docks after a boat tour along on the Rio Grande with Texas State Troopers before a group of U.S. Senators hold a press conference at Anzalduas Park on Friday, March 26, 2021, in Mission, Texas. Sen. Ted Cruz led a delegation of lawmakers to the border area Friday. He tweeted out photos of dozens of minors, wrapped in foil-like space blankets, lying on the floor of crowded Border Patrol facilities.(Joel Martinez/The Monitor via AP) JOEL MARTINEZ/Associated Press US Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, talks about border security as Othal E. Brand Jr. stands beside him during a news conference near the U.S. Border Patrol Rio Grande Valley Sector headquarters, Tuesday June 9, 2015 in Edinburg, Texas. Cruz, who is seeking the Republican nomination for President, was in the area to tour the local Border Patrol headquarters before attending a fundraiser. (Nathan Lambrecht/The Monitor via AP) MANDATORY CREDIT MAGS OUT TV OUT Nathan Lambrecht/Associated Press Over the past decade, Ive made many trips to our southern border, often bringing my colleagues in the Senate down with me. On a recent trip, we had a conversation with a girl who was only 10 years old. This girl was with a man who claimed to be her father. He had his arm draped forcefully around her, and it was obvious to everyone that these two were not related. It was horrifying to leave knowing there was a very real chance that this girl, like many other children crossing the border, would be taken off to be sex trafficked. This is the reality at our southern border. Since Joe Biden became president, Border Patrol has seen over 7 million encounters along our southern border, and many of them are children like the 10-year-old girl we encountered. Border officials also estimate that over 1.7 million gotaways have exploited this chaos by entering the country illegally and avoiding arrest. This is nothing short of a humanitarian and security crisis. Thats why I was proud to help lead the fight against Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumers bill on the border, which was terrible by two metrics: policy and politics. Advertisement Article continues below this ad When it comes to policy, this bill would have codified a new catch-and-release policy and normalized up to 5,000 illegal crossing encounters a day. The emergency authority contained in the bill, which was supposed to tame the millions streaming over our border, would have operated for only a limited number of days per year and would completely disappear after three years. As my Democratic colleague Chris Murphy wrote in a post on X, under this bill the border never closes. Ted Cruz (In the yellow jacket) listens to President Donald Trump at a 2021 press briefing on border security. JIM WATSON/AFP/Getty Images This bill also would have given immediate work permits to those who claim asylum and pass their initial screening, even if they entered illegally. It would have provided taxpayer-funded lawyers to unaccompanied minors, and it would have dedicated billions of taxpayer dollars to sanctuary cities and the nonprofits enabling this unprecedented level of illegal immigration. One of the provisions I found particularly egregious was that it would have stripped the jurisdiction from federal courts in Texas to hear the state's own legal challenges to some of the bills most important provisions and instead give these cases to the left-leaning D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. This bill was also terrible politically. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson said it was dead on arrival in the House, so it had no chance of passing there. If it had no chance of passing into law, what was the purpose of it? To give Democrats running for office political camouflage. Many Americans are not happy with how Democrats have handled this crisis, and a recent poll found that 68% of voters including 50% of Democrats believe the Biden administration should make it more difficult to enter our country illegally. This bill was designed not to secure the border, but to give Democratic candidates the ability to say they wanted to secure the border. If the Democrats wanted to secure the border, there are two avenues to do so. Number one, President Biden could work to secure the border any time he wants, by reinstating the Remain in Mexico policy, ending catch-and-release and finishing construction on the border wall all policies he ended upon coming into office and that, under President Trump, helped produce the lowest level of illegal immigration in 45 years. Thats what Biden inherited, and he deliberately halted the policies that were successfully securing the border. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Number two, the Senate could have passed House Resolution 2, or the Secure the Border Act of 2023, which would defund catch-and-release, expand detention and deportation, and mandate construction of the border wall. HR2 has the support of the House of Representatives, which passed it in May. Ive introduced HR2 in the Senate, and my position has been that we should have attached HR2 to Ukraine funding, so we can secure our border and help Ukraine secure its border. What we should not do is vote to secure Ukraines border without securing ours, which is what Senate Democrats tried to do last week. I believe Majority Leader Schumer rejected my idea because HR2 would have been effective in securing our southern border. Washington The Senate approved a $95 billion foreign aid package this week, with a bipartisan group of senators backing the bill that includes assistance to Ukraine and Israel. But Republican leaders in the House have been reluctant to commit to bringing the measure to the floor, resisting calls from President Biden and Democratic leaders. Accordingly, House Democrats are considering "every available legislative tool" to move the legislation forward in the chamber, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said after the Senate vote. One option to do so involves a rarely successful legislative maneuver that allows a majority of members to bring a bill to the floor, a move known as a discharge petition. What is a discharge petition, and how does it work? House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries holds a news conference at the Capitol on Thursday, Jan. 18, 2024. / Credit: Julia Nikhinson/Bloomberg via Getty Images In the House, the speaker typically works with leaders to set the agenda and decides which bills or resolutions will or won't get a vote. Most legislation originates in committees, which then vote to send bills to the floor for final approval. But lawmakers can "discharge" legislation that's been sitting in committee if 218 members, a majority of the lower chamber, sign a petition to do so, effectively bypassing the speaker to bring a bill before the full House for a vote. "Discharge is generally the only procedure by which Members can secure consideration of a measure without cooperation from the committee of referral, or the majority party leadership and the Committee on Rules," a Congressional Research Service report from 2023 said. "For this reason, discharge is designed to be difficult to accomplish and has rarely been used successfully." A House rule dating back to 1931 outlines the process. Any member can file a discharge petition with the House clerk, who then makes it available in a "convenient place" for members to sign. A waiting period of seven legislative days kicks off once the petition gains the signatures of a majority of the chamber. After that, a member who has signed the petition can notify leadership that they'll bring the discharge motion on the floor. The speaker must then designate a time for the motion to be considered within two legislative days. If a majority approves it, the House then moves to consider the underlying measure. Discharge petitions are rarely successful, since a petition brought by the minority party requires members of the majority to buck their party leaders. In recent years, members have tried to use discharge petitions to raise the debt ceiling, increase the federal minimum wage and address other issues. In 2015, several dozen House Republicans bucked party leaders to join with Democrats, who were in the minority, to reauthorize the Export-Import Bank. Before that, a discharge petition hadn't succeeded since 2002. The waiting periods, and the fact that garnering enough signatures can take weeks, often renders the maneuver futile for time-sensitive legislation. And a discharge petition can only be brought to the floor on specific days, further complicating its use. House Democrats already have one broadly worded discharge petition that has the support of 212 active members, and party leaders believe they can use that as a shell or vehicle for bringing the foreign aid bill to the floor. But it would still need sign-on from a handful of House Republicans to reach the 218-member threshold. Getting members of the majority party to sign on remains the biggest hurdle for a discharge petition, according to Matt Glassman, a senior fellow at the Government Affairs Institute at Georgetown University. While there may be a sizable group of Republicans willing to vote for the bill should it come to the floor, they may not be willing to "make themselves targets" by signing onto a discharge petition. "If 218 people are hell-bent on doing something in the House, they're going to get it done," Glassman says. "You can block them, you can slow them down, but they're going to win. But nobody's hell-bent on doing this in the Republican Party." Adding to the difficulty is the possibility that some progressives who oppose sending more assistance to Israel could remove their names from the petition. Jeffries said he was not concerned about losing Democratic support. The minority leader explained that his caucus has been meeting to discuss the "precise steps" that members will take, saying that "all options are on the table." He added that "it's clear to me that the overwhelming majority of House Democrats are ready, willing and able to support the national security bill right now." "We have a national security bill in front of us that passed the Senate in decisive and bipartisan fashion, and all we need is an up or down vote so we can lift up America's national security priorities," Jeffries said. What's in the foreign aid package? The legislation would provide tens of billions of dollars in aid to U.S. allies, including about $60 billion for Ukraine and $14.1 billion for Israel, along with around $9.2 billion for humanitarian assistance in Gaza. On Tuesday morning, after an overnight session, a bipartisan group of senators coalesced around the package, propelling it to passage after months of disagreement about how to move forward. The legislation notably leaves out enhanced border security measures, after congressional Republicans last week rejected a bipartisan border agreement negotiated in the Senate that former President Donald Trump opposed. But House Republican leaders have nonetheless fiercely criticized the foreign aid bill for failing to address the U.S.-Mexico border. House Speaker Mike Johnson released a statement hours before the Senate approved the foreign aid bill casting doubt on whether the bill would get a vote in the lower chamber, saying that "in the absence of having received any single border policy change from the Senate, the House will have to continue to work its own will on these important matters." The Louisiana Republican added during a news conference on Wednesday that "the Republican-led House will not be jammed or forced into passing a foreign aid bill that was opposed by most Republican senators, and does nothing to secure our own border." Shooting after Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl parade leaves one dead Eyewitnesses describe scene at Kansas City Chiefs parade shooting The life and impact of Alexey Navalny WASHINGTON An influential conservative group this week launched a blatantly Islamophobic and misleading ad campaign targeting one of President Joe Bidens Muslim judicial nominees, Adeel Mangi. The Judicial Crisis Network, a right-wing judicial advocacy group known for its steady stream of anonymous funding and a previous multimillion-dollar campaign aimed at smearing then-Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson, unveiled digital ads on Tuesday that attempt to pressure Sens. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) and Bob Casey (D-Pa.) to oppose Mangis confirmation. Both Democrats are up for reelection in November. JCNs attacks on Mangi, a 23-year civil litigator based in New Jersey who is on track to be the nations first Muslim appeals court judge, are as deceptive as they are ugly. The groups ads accuse Mangi of being a radical and an antisemite, and of advisingan organization that teaches students to hate Israel, to hate America and to support global terrorism. The ads even use video footage of the second plane crashing into the World Trade Center in the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attack, overlaid with a headline about Mangi. Tell Jon Tester to vote no on giving antisemite Adeel Mangi a lifetime position on our courts, says the narrator in the ad, as dramatic music plays in the background. You can see the Tester ad for yourself here: What the ads dont mention is what happened after Republicans made similarly ugly attacks on Mangi in his December hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee. During that hearing, GOP Sens. Ted Cruz (Texas), Tom Cotton (Ark.) and Josh Hawley (Mo.) berated Mangi and inappropriately demanded he share his personal views on the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the Oct. 7 terrorist attack in Israel and the Israeli-Hamas conflict in general. Mangi sharply rejected their false claims about his record and views. He denounced all terrorism. He repeatedly said he didnt know anything about a 2021 anti-Zionist event co-sponsored by Rutgers Law Schools Center for Security, Race and Rights or its controversial speakers. (Mangi was on an advisory board for the center from 1999 to 2023; it met once a year and was solely focused on presenting ideas for academic research at the law school.) Republicans also questioned Mangi about donations he and his law firm, Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler LLP, made to this center, saying it showed they supported its antisemitic activities. Mangi said his donations were all intended to support the law schools academic research to oppose bigotry and discrimination and to advance religious liberty. His law firm donated money for law fellowships, he said, and he had no role in those decisions. Meanwhile, Democrats scolded Republicans for their open hostility toward Mangi. Chairman Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) told them theyd reached a new low and even apologized to Mangi on behalf of the committee. The largest national Muslim civil rights organization later publicly denounced the GOP senators for their treatment of Mangi. So did the Anti-Defamation League, the leading national group focused on combating antisemitism. ADL is compelled to speak out about the inappropriate and prejudicial treatment of Adeel Abdullah Mangi, the ADL said in a January statement. Just as associating Jewish Americans with certain views or beliefs regarding Israeli government actions would be deemed antisemitic, berating the first American Muslim federal appellate judicial nominee with endless questions that appear to have been motivated by bias towards his religion is profoundly wrong, said the organization. This was an attempt to create controversy where one did not exist. Most notably, more than a dozen major Jewish groups have since endorsed Mangis nomination and praised his record of defending religious freedom. Having ethical and unbiased judges is ingrained in our Jewish teachings in which we are taught that judges need to be people of strength through good deeds, the National Council of Jewish Women, Bend the Arc: Jewish Action and others said in a joint letter to senators. It is clear to us that Adeel A. Mangi is a person of strength and good deeds, as evidenced by his career, devotion to his community, and commitment to religious freedom and civil rights. On Friday, still another prominent Jewish leader stood up to defend Mangi. Amy Spitalnick, CEO of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs and the leader of the group that funded the 2017 lawsuit against organizers of the deadly neo-Nazi rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, condemned JCNs ads. The attacks that Adeel Mangi has faced from members of the Senate Judiciary Committee and now from outside groups are a sickening example of politicians fueling Islamophobic bigotry by weaponizing false smears of antisemitism, Spitalnick said in a statement. These smears do nothing to further the safety and security of Jews, or anyone else, in this country theyre only an attempt to drive dangerous wedges between our community and others at a moment when solidarity has never been more urgent. These are cynical attacks, she added, and we wont stand silently by when cynical politicians stoke division in our name. President Joe Biden's judicial nominee Adeel Mangi testifies during his Senate Judiciary Committee nomination hearing on Dec. 13, 2023. President Joe Biden's judicial nominee Adeel Mangi testifies during his Senate Judiciary Committee nomination hearing on Dec. 13, 2023. JCN is counting on people not knowing any of this as it tries to paint Mangi as an antisemitic terrorist sympathizer. Conservative media, meanwhile, has been amplifyingJCNsattacks. Biden continues to defend Mangi, who Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) recommended to the White House for the seat on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit. The White House stands 100% behind Mr. Mangi and we call on the Senate to swiftly confirm him, White House spokesperson Andrew Bates said in a statement. Mr. Mangi has been subjected to uniquely hostile attacks, in a way other nominees have not precisely because of his Muslim faith. Bates noted that Fox News was among the conservative news outlets that ran a story this week featuring JCNs ads attacking Mangi. The outlet didnt reach out to the White House for comment, Bates said, and didnt use a comment the White House offered. Instead, it used an old statement about Mangi. He passed along the statement the White House sent to Fox News that was not used. Fox News is discredited on this subject because it has failed to even apologize after allowing its hosts to make a series of outrageous Antisemitic comments on the air, including the repugnant claim that the Holocaust taught its victims a better work ethic, Bates said in the statement. President Biden is deeply proud to have nominated Adeel Abdullah Mangi, an indisputably qualified and experienced attorney who has lived the American dream and is devoted to our Constitution and the rule of law. Booker similarly fumed to HuffPost on Thursday about the baseless attacks on Mangi, who he said is an accomplished and respected attorney in New Jerseys legal community and doesnt deserve this treatment. Its disgusting that a person of Adeel Mangis character and stature has had to face this unrelenting smear campaign from right-wing dark money groups who will stop at nothing to tear down one of President Bidens best judicial nominees, including slandering a good man with unconscionable false claims, the Democratic senator said in a statement. Its disgusting, Its disgusting," Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) said of the GOP's Islamophobic attacks on Muslim judicial nominee, Adeel Mangi. Emily Hampsten, a spokesperson for Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said its obvious that JCNs ads are part of a broader, coordinated effort by conservative groups to tank Mangis nomination. Senate Judiciary Committee Republicans have stooped to a new low, shamelessly hurling meritless, Islamophobic insults and unfounded lines of questioning at Mr. Mangi, and now their dark money partners are pouring in thousands of dollars to spew a completely false and racist narrative about his character, Hampsten said. Its not clear when the Senate plans to hold Mangis final confirmation vote. The judiciary committee advanced his nomination last month in a party-line vote, which is common with Bidens judicial nominees. A spokesperson for Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said the timing of Mangis vote hasnt yet been decided. Tester is keeping mum on how hell vote. Senator Tester is reviewing the nomination and taking feedback from Montanans, said his spokesperson, Sarah Feldman. Caseys office did not respond to a request for comment. It's disgusting.Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) JCN president Carrie Severino did not respond to a request for comment on why her group is attacking Mangi for being antisemitic when there is no evidence that he is, and when virtually every major Jewish group, including ADL, has strongly endorsed him. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), a member of the judiciary committee, said it is important to remember JCNs ties to other influential conservative groups like the Federalist Society and its powerful leader, Leonard Leo. These groups are collectively hellbent on putting far-right conservatives into lifetime seats on federal courts, he said. The Judicial Crisis Network is the phony front into which Leonard Leo shoveled millions in special-interest dark money to capture and control the Supreme Court, Whitehouse told HuffPost in a statement. Now Leos dark-money outfit is disparaging Judge Mangis record, to tank Americas first Muslim federal appellate court nominee. Its a dark-money hit job on a highly qualified person. By Nathan Layne KALAMAZOO, Michigan (Reuters) - Warring factions within the Michigan Republican Party are planning to hold separate meetings next month to choose the party's presidential nominee, the latest sign of the turmoil gripping the party in the key battleground state. Pete Hoekstra, who this week was formally recognized by the Republican National Committee (RNC) as state party chair, said on Friday he would preside over a nominating convention on March 2, separate from one planned on the same date by Kristina Karamo, who also claims to be chair. The turmoil in the party has raised fears among Republicans in the state that it could hurt the candidacy of former President Donald Trump if he prevails and becomes the party's nominee in the November general election. State party structures play a key role in raising money and getting out the vote. Karamo was voted out of her position in January by a group of Michigan Republicans unhappy with her performance, but she did not accept that vote. She has also said she does not recognize the RNC's decision. Hoekstra, who was endorsed by Trump last month, told Reuters he would oversee caucus meetings for all 13 congressional districts "under one roof as required by the RNC." He did not say where it would be held. "The results of that convention will be recognized by the RNC because we are the legitimate Republican Party. Whatever happens at another meeting is just noise," he said. Karamo, meanwhile, is planning to hold a nominating convention in Detroit on March 2, where she has told delegates to also be ready to vote to resolve the leadership dispute, according to Bridge Michigan, a news site that first reported on the dueling conventions. Karamo, a former community college instructor and grassroots activist who was elevated to her post in February 2023, did not respond to a request for comment. In a change from past elections, this year Michigan Republicans will allocate its presidential delegates to the Republican National Convention in July in Milwaukee based on both a Feb. 27 primary open to all voters and the March 2 caucus convention in which active party members choose the nominee. Of Michigan's 55 delegates, 16 will be decided in the primary and 39 in the caucuses. The hybrid system is expected to advantage Trump, who is far ahead of sole challenger Nikki Haley in national opinion polls, because of his grip on the party loyalists who will be at the caucus meetings. Michael Schostak, a delegate from Bloomfield Township, said he planned to attend the convention chaired by Hoekstra, in part because he expected those delegates to be seated by the RNC at the national convention in July in Milwaukee. After running unsuccessfully for Michigan secretary of state in 2022, Karamo ran for the party's top position with a promise to break free from the big donors she vilified as part of the "establishment" while expanding the base of small donors. But she has failed to deliver on that promise while angering many of her supporters with what they called a lack of transparency from her administration. (Reporting by Nathan Layne in Kalamazoo, Michigan; editing by Ross Colvin and Jonathan Oatis) After a man wrongfully spent 37 years in prison for rape and murder, the Tampa City Council unanimously voted Thursday to approve a $14 million settlement in a federal lawsuit. Robert DuBoise, who was convicted of the August 1983 rape and murder of 19-year-old Barbara Grams in Tampa Heights, was exonerated in September 2020 after DNA evidence established that he did not commit the crimes. That made him the 30th person exonerated from Floridas death row, according to the Innocence Project of Florida, which assisted with DuBoises case. I am sad for the families who have waited so long to get true closure, DuBoise told CNN after his exoneration. I spent 37 years imprisoned for a crime I was totally innocent. This is what happens when the police focus on the wrong person, make up evidence to fit their theory and dont investigate to find the truth. Lives are ruined and communities are less safe. DNA samples also led investigators to link Grams murder to two convicted felons, Amos Robinson and Abron Scott, who were already serving life sentences in a Florida prison for a murder they committed in Pinellas County the same year. In a statement, Tampa Mayor Jane Castor said: The credibility of our criminal justice system requires scrupulous accuracy and adherence to the highest investigation standards. Todays Tampa Police Department is light years ahead of where we were four decades ago in technology and training. We hope this settlement helps Mr. DuBoise in his healing. At the time of DuBoises trial, there wasnt any physical or circumstantial evidence connecting DuBoise to the attack, according to the Innocence Project of Florida. Before his conviction, he was transported to Hillsborough County Jail. A jailhouse informant who spoke with DuBoise later testified falsely that DuBoise had confessed to the crime during his jail stay, the organization said. We recognize the profound and lasting effects of this case, especially on Mr. DuBoise nearly four decades later, Tampas Chief of Police Lee Bercaw said in a statement. Advancements in training and technology have significantly enhanced the Tampa Police Departments capacity for conducting investigations, ensuring greater accuracy and due process for all. The settlement will be paid over three years, with an initial payment of $9 million within thirty days of the settlement execution, followed by a $3 million installment next year and the final $2 million in 2026. Within 10 days of the initial payment, DuBoise will file to dismiss the wrongful conviction lawsuit, the resolution adds. CNN has reached out to the Innocence Project of Florida for comment on the settlement. During the city council meeting, council member Charlie Miranda commented on what DuBoise has lost through the wrongful conviction. How would you feel if you were in jail for 14,600 days and every one of them damn days you knew you were innocent? he asked the council. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com PLYMOUTH A 10-year-old boy's dream to visit Disney World in Florida is coming true thanks to the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Teaghan Bowden, a fourth grader at Federal Furnace Elementary School, got the news during a surprise celebration involving his classmates, Plymouth police officers and firefighters and other community members, according to a Make-A-Wish news release. Teaghan, who has Duchenne muscular dystrophy, was helped by the school's principal and four classmates as he opened gifts including sunscreen, a toy airplane and a Disney autograph book clues that he would be going south to meet Mickey Mouse. Teaghan Bowen, a fourth grader at Federal Furnace Elementary School in Plymouth, is surrounded by family and friends. Last night, after his reveal, he wanted to see what he will be seeing, so we put some Disney World YouTube videos on and every new character he saw he kept cheering that he was going to get to meet them too, Bowdens stepmother, Shelby Maclary, said in the news release. Looking back: Weymouth's 'Mighty Quinn' heads to Disney World Police and firefighters attended the celebration because Teaghan admires first responders and he wants to be a police officer. Teaghan Bowden celebrates after finding out he's going to Disney World. Plymouth police officer Tom Souza presented Teaghan with a special gift that included a variety of patches, a chiefs coin, a captains coin and other police memorabilia. The Make-A-Wish Foundation of Massachusetts and Rhode Island is sponsoring Teaghan's trip to Orlando. This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Plymouth boy's dream comes true: A trip to Disney World Dade Phelan addresses the crowd during a Feb. 15 campaign rally at Jack Brooks Airport in Beaumont. Kim Brent/Staff photographer The crowd takes in the speakers during a Dade Phelan campaign rally Feb. 15 at Jack Brooks Airport in Beaumont. Kim Brent/Staff photographer Rick Perry talks with guests at a Dade Phelan campaign rally Feb. 15 at Jack Brooks Airport in Beaumont. Kim Brent/Staff photographer BEAUMONT Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan hasnt had the best start to 2024. The state GOP censured him this month for his efforts to impeach Attorney General Ken Paxton. His main Republican primary challenger was endorsed by former President Donald Trump. Ads attacking his conservative record are sweeping his East Texas district, including one featuring Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, the powerful Senate leader who has feuded with Phelan over property taxes and border security. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Police recently arrested a man on suspicion of threatening to kill Phelan. And this week, political critics showed up at his house in Beaumont to confront his wife. Now, Phelan is fighting back. This is a war, he told a crowd of roughly 400 at a campaign event Thursday night. This is the nastiest, most negative campaign Ive seen in Texas legislative history millions of dollars, Phelan said. Theyre going to lose on March 5, and theyre going to regret every damn dime they spent. Phelan, who has spent two terms leading the lower chamber, typically uses his campaign cash to help reelect members of the GOP majority. But in recent weeks, hes had to focus more on making it through his own race, launching ads attacking David Covey, the energy consultant and GOP activist challenging him in the March 5 primary, and Paxton, who has led the charge to unseat Phelan since the attorney general was acquitted by the Senate last year. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Phelan also has been promoting his own conservative credentials and touting the benefits of having a hometown representative as the powerful speaker of the House. And hes leaned into his record responding to the string of natural disasters to hit his coastal district in recent years, including Hurricane Harvey. The seat covers all of Jasper and Orange counties and part of Jefferson County, including about a quarter of Phelans hometown of Beaumont. Much of the race has centered on charges from Phelans critics that he has held up conservative legislation and ceded too much power to Democrats over his two terms as speaker. Phelan faced similar criticism after his first stint with the gavel in 2021, mostly from a small but vocal faction of conservatives, but the Houses move to impeach Paxton paired with its failure to pass a school voucher proposal has turbocharged GOP backlash toward Phelan and other House Republicans. Covey said Phelan is more beholden to his liberal donors and friends in the Texas House than the constituents of his district. This race is a chance to put every elected official in Texas, and in the entire county, on notice, Covey said in an email to Hearst Newspapers. Our victory in this race will serve as a reminder to every elected official that they work for the people, and when they dont, there are consequences. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The speaker has enlisted former Texas Gov. Rick Perry to vouch for his conservative bona fides, featuring the former governor in a recent ad and at the campaign event this week. Perry told the crowd on Thursday that the attacks against Phelan were baseless, and that they should weigh the value of sitting at the table when every big issue gets decided in Austin through Phelans status as speaker. This in-house fighting and all that kind of stuff I dont understand, frankly, why this is happening, Perry said. I dont know why I need to be in Beaumont, Texas, telling you that you will be absolutely out of your mind if you get rid of Dade Phelan. Phelan also has sought to refocus the race on the needs of the district and urged voters to reject the attacks lobbed by two West Texas oil tycoons, Tim Dunn and Farris Wilks, who have been dropping tens of thousands of dollars on attack ads against him. This election is about Southeast Texas, Phelan said at the campaign event. Its actually about more than Southeast Texas its an inflection point in the Republican Party of Texas. Its about right and wrong. Are you going to allow this seat to be bought back by West Texas billionaires? Advertisement Article continues below this ad The crowd offered back a chorus of nos. I say hell no, Phelan agreed. Also challenging Phelan is Alicia Davis, a retired hairdresser from Jasper County who has focused her campaign on eliminating property taxes. Davis, who did not respond to a request for comment, framed herself in a recent social media video as an anti-career politician who is fighting for the regular folks like us. While Davis is running a far less visible campaign than Covey, having spent only a few thousand dollars, her candidacy could force Phelan into a runoff if he does not win an outright majority. It would be a major embarrassment for the speaker. Phelan said Thursday he isnt worried about a runoff, but he appealed to attendees for their votes and any extra support they could gather from their families and friends. At least 10 state representatives traveled to Phelans district to lend their support to the speaker, who spent much of his time on stage railing against Paxton, Patrick and other right-wing critics. State Rep. Jared Patterson of Frisco said he cant wrap my brain around the effort to trade a speaker of the House for a freshman legislator whos not even going to know where the bathrooms are in the Capitol. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Hes the most conservative speaker that weve had in Texas, not only in the history of the state of Texas, but leading the conservative agenda forward in the entire nation, Patterson said. Covey acknowledged that the speaker has tremendous power but argued that Phelan did not wield it for the benefit of Texans, let alone his district. Phelan and his liberal lieutenants killed conservative legislation on border security, election integrity, and educational freedom at every turn, Covey said. Southeast Texas will be better off with a representative that fights for our communitys values than we ever were with a liberal Speaker. Lori Rape of Nederland attended Phelans event on Thursday just to get a feel for the speaker and what kind of support he has. Rape used to follow politics closely, and she still keeps tabs on whats going on, but things have gotten so divisive that its hard to be fully invested, she said. I hate that we have such infighting, said Rape, 60, as she sat at a table with her son and two grandchildren. I hate that they keep fighting, and I wish theyd quit. She saw that Trump endorsed Phelans primary opponent, but she also knows that wouldnt be a thing if the party wasnt at war with itself. There are so many local issues that need attention, she said, and she hopes Phelan in his high-profile job can help residents address them. Hes the speaker of the House, she said. Hes got a lot of control and power. Her 10-year-old grandson, Bradley, nodded next to her. It was his first campaign event, and he said he was having a good time though not necessarily because he has any particular feelings about the speakers race. A Virginia State Police trooper walks toward the wreckage of a 2022 Kia SUV Thursday, Feb. 15, 2024, at the intersection of Liberty and Harrison streets in Petersburg. The wrecked vehicle belonged to a man who led state police on a pursuit of more tha 20 miles on Interstate 85 before veering off into the city. PETERSBURG Two Florida men are in custody after leading state police on a high-speed chase off Interstate 85 and eventually crashing the car in downtown Petersburg Thursday night. State Police Sgt. Jessica Shehan said one of those people in custody was let out of the vehicle shortly before it crashed at the intersection of Liberty and Harrison streets near First Baptist Church. It all started shortly before 5:30 p.m. at the 41-mile marker on I-85 northbound in Dinwiddie County. Shehan said a trooper clocked a 2022 Kia SUV going 85 mph in a 70 mph zone. That trooper tried to stop the vehicle, but the driver kept on going. The chase lasted for more than 20 miles before the driver veered off the highway at the Squirrel Level Road exit with the trooper in tow. Shehan said the SUV stopped long enough to let a passenger out, but sped off again on Halifax Street toward downtown. The pursuit continued until the SUV driver struck a utility pole. After the SUV crashed, the driver ran from the scene, but was eventually caught. Dispatch reports claimed the speed on I-85 ran as high as 135 mph, and 60-80 mph once they left I-85. The driver of the car was identified as Willie Antonio Douglas, 22, of North Lauderdale, Florida; and the passenger was Marcus Felder, 34. of Pompano Beach, Florida. Douglas has been charged with felony eluding, reckless driving, driving without an operator's license, possession of a Schedule 1/2 controlled substance, failure to wear a seat belt, failure to stop at a stop sign and speeding. Felder was charged with eluding authorities and possession of a Schedule 1/2 controlled substance. According to VSP policy, a trooper may start a pursuit if the driver does not stop for the lights or sirens. During the chase, the pursuing officer has to consider several factors, including road and traffic conditions, the risk of them, the suspect or bystanders getting seriously hurt, and whether or not the driver could be caught another way. Chases cannot go against traffic flow, nor can the fleeing car be rammed intentionally unless extraordinary circumstances warrant it. This article originally appeared on The Progress-Index: Two people in custody after high-speed pursuit into Petersburg Drones, which are being actively used in the war by both Ukraine and Russia, will not bring a "decisive advantage" to either side, Ukraines Main Intelligence Directorates (HUR) chef, Kyrylo Budanov, said in an interview with the French newspaper Liberation published on Feb. 15. Read also: Ukrainian military to have dedicated drone branch "Drones have been in full use by both sides for a year now, he said. But so far, drones have not brought a decisive advantage to either side, and this is not going to happen. And why is that? Because, just like in the Middle Ages, until a man goes on foot to plant a flag in an enemy trench, you can launch a million drones over it and no one will take it back." Ukraine is set to receive one million drones from NATO members in 2024, Alliance Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said at a press briefing following the NATO-Ukraine Council meeting on Feb. 15. Read also: Ukraines strategy to produce over 1 million drones in 2024 The Feb. 14 Ramstein meeting participants officially launched the Drone Coalition according to Ukraines Defense Minister Rustem Umerov. The drone coalition was established by Ukraine and Latvia, with the decision made during the visit of Latvian Defense Minister Artis Pabriks to Kyiv in December 2023. Latvia is working to create a coalition to transfer drones to Ukraine, involving approximately 20 countries, Pabriks said. Sweden and the UK announced their participation in the drone coalition for Ukraine on Jan. 25. The Netherlands has also joined a military coalition of allies that will supply Ukraine with advanced drone technology to bolster its "offensive potential" in the war against Russia, Dutch Defense Minister Kajsa Ollongren said on Feb. 14. Read also: Netherlands joins drone coalition supporting Ukraine At the same time, Ukraine itself is set to manufacture over one million drones in 2024 through the Drone Army initiative, according to the Digital Ministry report. On Feb. 6, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy ordered the Ukrainian Armed Forces to establish a separate branch dedicated to UAVs. Were bringing the voice of Ukraine to the world. Support us with a one-time donation, or become a Patron! Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine A Midlands high school student was charged Thursday with bringing a loaded gun to school, according to the Richland County Sheriffs Department. Around 11 a.m. Thursday, administrators at Dutch Fork High School, in Irmo, received a tip that a male student had brought a gun to school earlier this week and had allegedly been showing other students the gun. The unnamed student was believed to still have the weapon with him, leading administrators to bring him into the office and separate him from his book bag, according to the sheriffs department. The student then allegedly admitted to having a gun in his bag. A search of the bag revealed a loaded handgun. He was charged with possession of a weapon on school grounds, possession of a pistol under the age of 18, and unlawful carry of a firearm. The student was arrested by the Richland County Sheriffs Deputies and transported to the juvenile wing at Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center. Dutch Fork High School is in the Lexington and Richland County School District Five. EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) The early voting period for the March 2024 Primary Election begins on Tuesday, Feb. 20 and ends on Friday, March 1, according to a press release from the El Paso County Elections Department. The County Elections Department says voters will be choosing their candidates for U.S. President, U.S. Senate, congressional and legislative offices, the State Board of Education, the Railroad Commission, Judicial, local, and political party seats. The County Elections Department says there is a total of 33 early voting locations for the convenience of voters and hours of operation vary by location. Voters can locate sites by clicking Find My Nearest Early Voting Location or by entering their zip code on the Early Voting Locations page on the County Election Departments website: Early Voting Locations El Paso County, TX Elections | El Paso County Elections Department (epcountyvotes.com). The County Elections Department encourages voters to be prepared before heading to the polls by checking their voter registration status/eligibility and current election information. Those can be accessed by clicking here: Voters may vote on a regular ballot by providing one of the seven forms of acceptable photo identification or by completing a Reasonable Impediment Declaration at the voting place and providing one of the supporting documents. For a list of acceptable photo identifications or supporting documents, click here: Identification required for voting | El Paso County Elections Department If a voter requested a ballot by mail and later decides to vote at the voting place, a voter must surrender their ballot by mail to vote in person, according to the County Elections Department. If a voter does not surrender their ballot, a provisional ballot will be offered to the voter, according to the County Elections Department. Voters with questions can call the County Elections Department at (915) 546-2154 or email at epelections@epcounty.com. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTSM 9 News. LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) Michigan voters have more expanded options for casting their ballots than ever before. Starting Saturday in-person early voting will be available throughout the state and for all future elections statewide and federal. Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson was in Lansing Thursday talking about the new opportunity. Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson touts new early voting options in Michigan. (WLNS) As the Michigan Presidential Primary scheduled for February 27, 2024 approaches, people dont have to wait for election day to cast their ballots. This Saturday, February 17th will be the kickoff, in every part of the state, Benson said. This early voting comes from a state constitutional amendment that people voted on in 2022. The Secretary says the process will be just like how its done on election day. Walk into the polling location, get a ballot, mark the ballot and enter it into the tabulator. Benson discussed where Michigan falls in comparison to other states when it comes to the new voting option. 21 other states provide this as a convenient option to their voters, and this Saturday Michigan will join them as a state that has election days rather than just one election day, she said. Before this year an absentee ballot or voting on election day were the only two options for voters. Delta Township Clerk Mary Clark said adding early voting gives the people what theyve been asking for. Absentee voters frequently, very frequently ask for the opportunity to put their own ballot in the tabulator, Clark said. And this new process affords voters this opportunity. A few areas in Michigan tested out early voting in November including Delta Township and the city of Lansing. You can only identify potential challenges by actually executing the process in real-time and the pilot allowed us to do just that and ultimately create a great functional process, Clark said about the test run. The organization of polling locations, Benson said, was determined by the clerks. There were three options, countywide, individual municipal bodies, or a partnership of multiple municipalities. A clerk in Houghton may have different needs than a clerk in Rochester Hills, in terms of their resources and what their voters need, Benson said of the various options. the opportunity for people to vote early will end on Feb. 25. Polling locations can be found by visiting the Michigan Secretary of States website. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WLNS 6 News. HOPKINS COUNTY, Texas (KETK) The Hopkins County Sheriffs Office announced that they have made an arrest for murder connected to a fentanyl overdose. Abbott signs Texas bill allowing fentanyl deaths to be prosecuted as murder According to the HCSO, a woman was found dead of a drug overdose on Jan. 30, and it was later determined that the overdose was caused by fentanyl and investigators obtained a warrant. On Friday, Hopkins County investigators, Rockwall County and DPS Narcotics Agents arrested an individual identified as Tyler Bromley, 26, in Rockwall for the Hopkins County warrant. 3 arrested in connection to fentanyl overdose of 21-year-old Sulphur Springs man Bromley was taken to Rockwall County Jail. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KETK.com | FOX51.com. Getting help paying for college starts with filling out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, but this year there's (another) major glitch. (Irfan Khan/Los Angeles Times) The federal government had supposedly made it much easier to apply for college financial aid. Except there was a glitch and students could not access the new online tool they needed. Applications were delayed by months and the numbers of students seeking aid plunged. Thats the scene in 2024. No, wait, that was 2017. Actually, its both. It seems as though each time the dreaded Free Application for Federal Student Aid is made easier, it (temporarily) gets a lot worse. Never has the problem been bigger than this year, when colleges have been forced to put off their application deadlines to allow more students to work their way through the impossibly mangled FAFSA system, when they can at all. Read more: Editorial: Early decision admissions for college unfairly favor wealthy students Students are getting stuck in repeating loops, or told by the website that they already have accounts when they dont, and if they try to access this unheard-of account, they cant. Some parents who dont have Social Security numbers find they can get through the system without one. Others cant. School counselors who try to help their students get error messages but no indication of what the problem is or how to overcome it. The U.S. Education Department, which is responsible for the FAFSA, has set up help lines, but the lines are swamped with calls and many students cant get through. As a result, the number of applications is half what it normally would be at this point. This week, U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said the department would soften many of the requirements for income verification, a complicated process for colleges that shouldnt be necessary anyway, since the new system uses families federal tax returns. Hes also lowering other bureaucratic hurdles. Read more: Editorial: U.S. colleges are overusing and underpaying adjunct professors Its a good start but not nearly enough. Cardona should hire a host of quickly trained people to answer phones or work with families online to fill out their paperwork then and there. He also must stand prepared to offer additional financial aid to students who miss their colleges' deadlines through no fault of their own. Above all, the public is owed an explanation of what appears to be a bungled rollout of the new system. The online application, which had been promised by late October, was late by nearly three months. And once it was up and running, the endless loops, mysterious error messages and other glitches made it look more like a rush job in its early phases than a sophisticated system that would lighten the load on families. Democratic lawmakers want guarantees that Cardona will make sure students dont fall through the cracks. Republicans want a Government Accountability Office investigation of the still-chaotic FAFSA rollout. Both are right. But lawmakers also played a significant role in creating the financial-aid pandemonium this year. The Department of Education was ordered to produce this new, simpler FAFSA system at the same time that it had to start collecting student loan payments, which had been on hiatus because of the COVID-19 pandemic. That's two massive projects, without receiving the funding the department had estimated it needed to produce a smoothly running operation. The price of that cheapness will be high. Thats something to remember the next time the federal government wants to "simplify" FAFSA. 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 camp for displaced Palestinians near the border fence between Gaza and Egypt - MOHAMMED ABED/AFP Egypt is constructing a massive, walled compound near its border with the Gaza Strip, reportedly in preparation for a mass influx of Palestinian refugees fleeing Israels expected invasion of Rafah. Satellite images taken by Maxar Technologies show cranes, trucks, bulldozers and other construction equipment along the Sheikh Zuweid-Rafah road in the Sinai Peninsula, about two miles west of Egypts border with Gaza. In just the last few days, large swathes of farmland have been levelled and cleared, based on Maxars images from Feb 10 to Feb 16. Unnamed Egyptian officials told the Wall Street Journal that an eight square mile, walled enclosure, which could hold more than 100,000 people, was being constructed in the border area. This week the Sinai Foundation for Human Rights said two contractors told it construction firms had been tasked with building the gated area, surrounded by seven-metre-high walls. The NGO also released a video showing a crane lifting and placing precast concrete panels along the road. The construction is intended to create a high-security, gated and isolated area near the border with the Gaza Strip, in preparation for the reception of Palestinian refugees in the case of mass exodus, the foundation said. A mass of tents and shelters sheltering refugees in Rafah - AFP Sources in Sinai told AFP the area was being prepared in case of a breach of the Gaza border, which Egypt has already fortified with additional walls and buffer areas since the war began. The area will be readied with tents and humanitarian assistance would be delivered inside, said one source who spoke on condition of anonymity. The Israeli military is expected to bombard Rafah, a border city that straddles both Gaza and Egypt, which is now home to 1.5 million Palestinians, according to a UN estimate. Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, has insisted that troops must achieve complete victory over Hamas. Many countries and organisations, including the United Nations, the UK, the US and nations across the Middle East have warned of the humanitarian catastrophe that would occur once Israel begins its attack. Last refuge for displaced people Rafah, the most southern point in Gaza, has become the last remaining refuge for those trying to shelter from a war that has already killed more than 28,000 Palestinians. Hundreds of thousands who have somehow survived are now squeezed within it, in what has become a sprawling tent city. Since the war between Israel and Hamas militants began in early October, Egypt has warned against the forced displacement of Palestinians into the Sinai desert. Cairo has not publicly acknowledged that it is building what appears to be a buffer zone in the border area. North Sinai Governor Mohamed Shousha on Friday denied Egypt was preparing an isolated area in Sinai to receive refugees. But with so many displaced Palestinians pushed up against its border and no results from ceasefire talks, the compound is part of contingency plans, the Wall Street Journal reported. Its unclear what Egypt would seek to do if the enclosure were to be filled with refugees. The Egyptian ministry of foreign affairs could not be reached for comment. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 3 months with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. People voting for general election on Election Day on Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2023 at West Gray Multiservice Center in Houston. Yi-Chin Lee/Staff photographer Harris County voters and election workers can look forward to one major improvement in the upcoming March primaries: the county's lengthy ballot now fits on one piece of paper, rather than two. The change is due to a recent software upgrade from Hart InterCivic, the manufacturer of Harris County's voting machines, that allows the ballot to be printed with two columns. "We typically have one of the largest ballots in the nation," said Harris County Clerk Teneshia Hudspeth, who took over election duties in September after the Texas Legislature abolished Harris County's elections administrator position. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Hudspeth said reformatting the paper ballot was near the top of her list of priorities when she took on the role. Harris County debuted new machines with a paper trail three years ago, after two decades of using machines that produced only an electronic record of a voter's selections. Under state legislation passed in 2021, Texas counties are required to use voting machines that produce a paper trail. The transition hasn't gone perfectly in Harris County, where the seemingly endless list of races in some elections has meant that voters have to feed two pieces of paper into the voting machine, then scan both of those pages after they've voted. Advertisement Article continues below this ad That second page has been a major headache for election workers, often resulting in paper jams, equipment malfunctions and longer lines. Harris County had 12,833 spoiled ballots in the Nov. 2022 election, a high volume that resulted from frequent paper jams, according to the Texas Secretary of State's office preliminary audit findings. Auditors found that multiple voting locations reported problems specifically with the acceptance of the second page of the ballot. In the weeks after that election, then-Elections Administrator Cliff Tatum called for improvements to the system that would reduce the number of paper jams. Election judges have been surprised and relieved to hear about the one page ballot, Hudspeth said. Advertisement Article continues below this ad County officials are considering it a big win, as well. "Clerk Hudspeth and her team deserve a ton of credit for making this change happen," said Precinct 2 Commissioner Adrian Garcia's spokesperson Scott Spiegel. "Doing democracy in Harris County just got a whole heck of a lot more efficient because of this effort." The upcoming March election also will be the first time Harris County's two political parties hold a joint primary. Rather than having separate voting machines at each polling location, the parties will work together and use the same equipment. Egypt has begun construction of a wall near its border with Gaza, according to reports. Its purpose remains unclear, leading to speculation it could be used to hold those crossing the border. This comes amid increased border security in anticipation of Israeli attacks. Egypt is building a wall near Gaza's border, but the government has refused to say what it will be used for, CNN and The New York Times reported. Images of a large section of land being bulldozed and a wall being built between the Egypt and Rafah buffer zone are visible in newly-released satellite images taken by Maxar Technologies. Construction began at the beginning of February, according to CNN and The Times' respective analyses of the images. An overview of the construction. Satellite image 2024 Maxar Technologies It's unclear when it is due to be completed, or its purpose. One possibility, The Times reports, is that the wall could be used to hold Palestinians crossing the border. However, if this scenario were true, it would be a significant shift in the Egyptian government's previous refusal to accept Palestinian refugees. A spokesperson for the Egyptian government declined to provide details on the construction when contacted by The Times, but instead referred to previous statements issued by the government, which highlighted the fortification of the border, the publication said. Egyptian security officials told CNN on Friday that the country's border security has increased as a precaution ahead of an expected Israeli attack in Rafah, where around 1.4 million Palestinians are seeking shelter. Representatives for the Egyptian government did not immediately respond to BI's request for comment. An unnamed contractor and engineer who said they were working on the construction told The Times that the Egyptian army had ordered it. They said the wall is set to be five meters high, about 16 feet, and will close off a five-square-kilometer plot of land. The project began on February 5, and construction of the wall on Tuesday, they said. The source provided the information anonymously due to fear of reprisals, according to The Times. A spokesperson for the Sinai Foundation for Human Rights told CNN that two local contractors had confirmed to them that the project was commissioned by the Egyptian army. The organization, which focuses on marginalized areas in Egypt, did not immediately respond to BI's request for comment. This comes after sources who spoke anonymously to Reuters said a desert area on the border "with some basic facilities" for Palestinians is being set up as a contingency plan. However, the head of Egypt's State Information Service told the publication that this was not the case. Read the original article on Business Insider Alma Trejo candidate for El Paso County District Attorney. El Paso County District Attorney candidate Alma Trejo - D Age: 59 Please describe your personal and professional background. Like many El Pasoans, I am a first generation American. My father and his brothers came to the US to work in agriculture as braceros. After moving around for several years, we settled down in Fabens and I attended school and worked as a waitress at a local diner during my high school and college years. My parents still reside in Fabens. I am the proud mother of a high school senior at EPHS. I was involved in school organizations during her school years. I started as an intern at the County Attorneys Office and eventually became a misdemeanor prosecutor. I started as a felony prosecutor at the District Attorneys Office and was promoted to Chief of a felony trial team and later promoted to Chief of the Rape and Child Abuse Unit. I tried at least 80 felony jury trials including sexual assault cases, murder cases, capital murder cases and a death penalty case. In 2002, I was elected as the Judge of County Criminal Court at Law #1 and remained on the bench until September 30, 2023. I presided over hundreds of misdemeanors jury trials during my time as a Judge. I was elected as the Local Administrative Judge for the Council of Judges in 2015 and served in that capacity for 4 years. In 2021, I was appointed by Supreme Court Chief Justice Hecht to serve on the Judicial Advisory Council, I am still serving as a board member. I also served on the El Paso Juvenile Probation Board for approximately 15 years. How do you earn a living? Do you plan to continue if elected? I resigned as the presiding judge of County Criminal Court #1, pursuant to state law, to run for the office of District Attorney. I plan to go back to work after my daughter goes off to college this fall. My employment will be determined by the election. Please describe your education. Where did you get your high school diploma? What higher education degrees and certificates have you earned from where? After graduating from Fabens High School, I obtained my Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice from UTEP and my Doctor of Jurisprudence from Texas Tech School of Law. What experiences in leadership do you have that qualify you for this position? I was elected as Local Administrative Judge (LAJ) of the Council of Judges for 4 years. One of my first duties included repairing the Countys Indigent Defense Plan after failing an audit conducted by the Texas Indigent Defense Commission. I wrote the Countys response and established our current Indigent Defense system and procedures that complied with the Fair Defense Act. As the LAJ, I managed our $6 million budget for 40 courts and 200 court employees, handled HR matters, handled the hiring and firing of employees, established a performance metric team, addressed court backlogs, implemented court paperless procedures, updated court practices to comply with changing statutes, helped create the Jail Magistrate Court and collaborated with other county and community partners to address court issues. I met all these administrative responsibilities while still handing all my responsibilities in my court. Have you ever been arrested or charged with a crime? Have you ever had a civil judgment against you? Have you ever been in arrears on local, state or federal taxes? If so, please provide an explanation. No. If elected, would you have any potential conflicts of interest that you are aware of that would impair your ability to serve? Please explain what they are and how you would avoid the conflict. My brother is employed by EPPD as a detective, I am not sure if that would qualify as a conflict. That was a conflict when I served as a judge, I will inquire with the appropriate agencies to determine if a conflict exists. What does transparent government mean to you? Will you be personally accessible to answer questions while in office? The District Attorney has a responsibility to keep the public appraised of what the office is doing to keep El Paso safe. As I stated early in the campaign, I am committed to posting case data metrics on the website, the public should know how many capital murders, murders, sexual assaults, DWIs and other case types are pending in the office and the results of our jury trials. I plan to be available to the press and to community organizations. I would like to also set up town hall meetings in different parts of town to talk to discuss community issues. Issue related questions What do you feel are the largest challenges facing the El Paso District Attorneys Office? As District Attorney, what would you do to address those challenges? The biggest challenge facing the DAs office is the shortage of attorneys. This shortage has caused a backlog of pending cases. During the last three years as a Judge, I had to reduce the number of hearings and trials by half since I only had 1 prosecutor assigned to the court instead of the 2 prosecutors normally assigned to each court under the Jaime Esparza administration. It is my understanding that 24 attorneys have left the office in 1 year due to low morale. I would read the exit interviews of the attorneys who have left in the past 4 years to avoid the same problems. I would offer part-time employment in addition to full time employment and would allow remote employment, when possible, to improve morale. I would also send recruitment teams to our Texas law schools in hopes of attracting soon to be lawyers. I would build a work environment that appreciates our employees and keeps them happy. I have a good reputation among the legal field, and I know I can attract enough attorneys to establish a fully staffed office again. Why are you the best candidate for this office? I have vast trial experience as well as managerial experience. I can make decisions on day one. I have experience with budgets, employee matters, best practices and collaboration with others. I am a problem solver who focuses on solving the issue not playing the blame game. I am the only candidate in the democratic primary with death penalty experience. My main motivation for running for this position is to make El Paso safe for my daughter, nieces and for all our families. I have the skill set required to lead and transform the DAs office with 170 employees and a $20 million budget. What are your top three priorities? My three priorities include the Walmart case, the attorney shortage and the backlog of murder cases. On the first day in office, I would meet with the Walmart case lawyers to find out the status of the case and figure out how soon we can try this case. I would also meet with the families of the Walmart case to give them an update of the case. The answers to question 8 details how I plan to address the attorney shortage problem. There are currently 80 murder cases and 35 capital murder cases pending in the office, some cases as old as 6 years. In the first month, we would assign all these cases to two person teams so that the cases can be worked on. All lawyers in the office would be included in these assignments. Once a case is ready, we would ask the court for a hearing date to proceed to trial, if necessary. What role does the district attorney play? Is it more administrative position or litigation position? The role of the DA is 95% administrative and 5% litigation, especially when the office needs to be rebuilt. Having said that, a DA needs to have vast litigation experience, especially in death penalty cases, murder cases and sexual assault cases since the DA makes the ultimate decision in these types of cases. The DA is responsible for making sure the budget incorporates enough attorneys and staff to handle all the cases in 8 misdemeanor courts and 11 felony courts. If more personnel are needed, the DA must ask commissioners court for more positions and be able to justify these new positions with data. The DA is also responsible for all HR matters such as hiring, firing and employee grievances. Making sure your attorneys are properly trained and supervised is also another duty of the DA. The DA hires an administrative team for them to carry out the offices priorities. The DA also sits on various committees with criminal justice partners and must collaborate with others. What are your plans and strategies to address the large backlog of cases currently pending in the El Paso justice system? What types of cases would you prioritize? I would run data reports to find out how many pending cases we have and the age of those pending cases. I would classify the cases by high priority vs low priority. I would ask the courts to set up rocket docket hearings for the low priority cases so we can quickly dispose of those cases, this will free up the lawyers to start working on the high priority cases such as murder, rapes, violent offenses, DWIs and assaults. Murder cases would be assigned to all lawyers in the office to resolve those cases as soon as possible and everyone would learn to try a murder case. The goal would be for each prosecutor to be sent a monthly dashboard detailing the age and classification of the pending cases so that he/she can concentrate on the high priority cases and quickly resolve the low priority cases. How do you plan to handle low level misdemeanors such as marijuana possession? The County Courts implemented a cite and release program for misdemeanor marijuana cases, I would continue this program to avoid criminalizing our youth and save taxpayer money. Do you plan on continuing to seek the death penalty against the El Paso Walmart mass shooter? I would say yes for now. I would need to examine the penalty phase evidence and determine if we have the evidence to meet our burden and obtain the death penalty. I would also talk to the US Attorneys office to find out why they didnt seek the death penalty in the federal case. I would also find out if he is going to serve out his federal sentence first even if he is given a death sentence on the state charges. I doubt we can find enough El Paso jurors who have not made up their mind as to his guilt, therefore this case will need to be tried in another county. As a steward of taxpayer money, I would need to make sure we have the evidence required to obtain a death sentence. I would speak to the victims before deciding on whether to proceed to trial in another county to seek the death penalty or allow him to plead to life sentences. A number of El Paso Police officers where recently arrested on criminal charges; how should these cases be handled? Would you be open to plea agreements that result in reduced charges? These cases should be evaluated and handled in the same manner as any other case. The case may proceed to trial, to a guilty plea or even a dismissal depending on the evidence and strength of the case. If the evidence merits a reduction of charges, that is how the case will be handled. How can the District Attorneys Office address border crime? How important is building relationships with law enforcement? All cases presented by law enforcement will be evaluated and prioritized on a case-by-case basis. I would start a dialogue with law enforcement, Commissioners Court, Public Defenders office and other agencies to determine if we have the resources to prosecute SB4 offenses if the statute is determined to be constitutional by the courts. Trust and open communication between prosecutors and law enforcement is necessary. I would initiate quarterly meetings between all law enforcement agencies and our office to address any issues. What must be done to regain the El Paso communitys trust after the resignation of former District Attorney Yvonne Rosales? The resolution of the Walmart case is one step toward regaining the communitys confidence again. Transparency through a website, media presses and town hall meetings will also help regain peoples confidence. Once the community hears that the office is fully staffed again and the backlog of cases is being addressed, I have no doubt the public will start trusting the DAs office again. The candidates' responses are being published largely as they were submitted. This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: El Paso County District Attorney candidate: Alma Trejo El Paso County Sheriff candidate Minerva Torres Shelton - R Age: Please describe your personal and professional background. I was born in Oxnard, CA when my parents worked in the fields. Shortly after I was born, my parents returned to Mexico, and we lived in Paracho, Michoacan. When I was eight years old, we moved to the United States because my father needed an open-heart surgery. My professional experience is described below: Military Veteran, US Army El Paso Police Veteran Retired Supervisory Special Agent, FBI Board Member of Several Nonprofit Organizations Raised two children with my husband and currently live with our fur babies. How do you earn a living? Do you plan to continue if elected? I recently retired, so I would be able to run for office. I currently serve on the Appraisal Review Board, and my term expires at the end of the year. Please describe your education. Where did you get your high school diploma? What higher education degrees and certificates have you earned from where? Bachelors in Criminal Justice, University of New Mexico (UNM) Masters in Political Science, with a concentration in International Relations, American Military University.Attended the FBI Crisis Negotiation School and was a negotiator for over seven years. Attended the FBIs National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime (NCAVC) School. As an agent, provided threat assessment support to federal, state, local, tribal, and various law enforcement partners. As an FBI Agent, I became a human trafficking expert and provided training to peace officers through their Peace Officer Standardized Training (POST). What experiences in leadership do you have that qualify you for this position? My leadership journey began as a Sergeant in the US Army. Later, upon joining the FBI, I demonstrated my leadership skills and a steadfast commitment to addressing pressing societal issues. Notably, during my tenure with the FBI, I initiated and spearheaded a human trafficking task force, leveraging resources from local, state, and federal agencies. Recognizing a critical gap in services for trafficked victims, I advocated tirelessly, both through media engagements and presentations in the community, which ultimately led to the creation of a rehabilitation center. This grassroots movement, spurred by my efforts to this day, continues to provide crucial support to trafficked victims. Furthermore, my expertise in combating human trafficking led to an opportunity to testify before Congressional staff members at the Capitol in Washington, DC. In my latter years with the FBI, I assumed leadership roles within diverse squads, including gangs and drugs, crimes against children, and the joint terrorism squad, where I effectively managed operations and fostered inter-agency collaboration to uphold national security and public safety objectives. Additionally, during my time in DC, I had the privilege and honor to coordinate a significant operation involving the 56 FBI field offices and 85 task forces throughout the US. Have you ever been arrested or charged with a crime? Have you ever had a civil judgment against you? Have you ever been in arrears on local, state or federal taxes? If so, please provide an explanation. Never If elected, would you have any potential conflicts of interest that you are aware of that would impair your ability to serve? Please explain what they are and how you would avoid the conflict. I do not have any potential conicts of interest. My campaign donations are coming directly from the people. What does transparent government mean to you? Will you be personally accessible to answer questions while in office? As your next sheriff, I am committed to fostering a transparent government prioritizing visibility, accountability, and public trust. To achieve this, I will overhaul the sheriffs website to provide the community with up-to-date crime statistics and detailed information on the allocation of taxpayer funds. Presently, the most recent annual report available dates back to 2016. By implementing these measures, I aim to empower citizens with the knowledge they need to actively participate in shaping the safety and welfare of our community. Additionally, as part of my pledge to transparency, I plan to meet with the public in person at least three times a year to provide the latest information and address any concerns directly. Unlike the current administration, I will be available to answer questions and update the community on relevant information. Issue related questions What motivated you to run for sheriff of El Paso County? Im running for sheriff of El Paso County with a steadfast commitment to transparency and accountability in law enforcement. The sheriff must represent the peoples interests without interference from external sources, including elected officials endorsing candidates. My conviction for justice stems from a personal experience when, years ago, my father was wrongfully convicted in a civil court, sparking a lifelong commitment to justice. I believe in equal treatment under the law, regardless of status. Currently, there is no transparency and accountability. For example, in June 2022, KTSM reported alarming statistics: between 2020 and 2022, while in custody, nine deaths were reported as suicides and four as drug overdoses. These deaths were caused by overdoses in a secured facility and suicides that proper policies and procedures could prevent. This underscores a pressing need for action and accountability. Despite these troubling numbers, there has been a notable absence of explanations regarding measures to prevent future tragedies. This lack of transparency is unacceptable. After the latest death of an inmate, the sheriff was silent on the matter until he was seen at another candidates signing. Drawing from my personal experience and a dedication to justice, I am determined to address these issues head-on. I aim to earn the communitys trust by implementing proactive strategies to ensure the safety and well-being of all individuals under our care. For far too long, the same people have determined who our leaders should be by endorsements or actively campaigning for them. It is time that the community decide for themselves who should represent them, and that is why I am running as the Peoples Sheriff and seek the endorsement of the people rather than the politicians who have always controlled our community. Why should voters choose you over your opponents in the race for sheriff? As a female candidate for the position of sheriff, I believe I offer a unique perspective and set of qualifications that make me the ideal choice for this important role. One of the critical factors distinguishing my candidacy is my commitment to revitalizing the organization by introducing fresh leadership from outside its current structure. I will assess policies and scrutinize the budget; I am dedicated to ensuring that taxpayer funds are utilized wisely and effectively. Our spending must align with the priorities of safeguarding both the deputies under our charge and the security of our citizens. Secondly, I am committed to creating a culture of community policing, fostering strong bonds between deputies and the community we serve. Furthermore, I will incorporate experienced investigators into the jails to eliminate the trafficking of drugs into the facilities. I will work with the DA to assist with stagnant cases with inmates sitting in jail, costing the taxpayers hard-earned money. Lastly, I will prioritize mental health within the jails to prevent further loss of life and ensure the well-being of all individuals under our custody. What do you feel are the largest challenges facing the El Paso County Sheriffs Office? As sheriff, what would you do to address those challenges? The biggest challenges that face the EPCSO mainly stem from a lack of visibility, accountability, and transparency. Because the leadership of the sheriffs office has not been held accountable for far too long, and because of the lack of visibility and transparency, the community has lost trust in the department. This is unfair to the community and the hard-working and dedicated deputies and employees who serve and protect the community. I will rebuild the relationship between the community and the sheriffs office by being visible, accountable, and transparent and implementing the aforementioned programs, policies, and procedures. What do you see as the most pressing crime concern in El Paso County? How would you handle it as sheriff? Drug and human trafficking has impacted our community for far too long, and it is now also affecting our children. They are lured into a life of crime or, worse yet, killing them through overdoses. I am the only candidate with experience in large-scale and transnational criminal investigations. I will bring my experience and relationships with other agencies to the office to ensure that we become a safer community and that our youth do not get involved in crimes that will destroy their futures. Should the El Paso County Sheriffs Office be involved in the enforcement of immigration law? Why or why not? Texas Peace Officers have a duty to uphold all applicable laws, including Senate Bill 4 (SB4), within the framework of their investigations. However, it is imperative to highlight that principles of fairness and non-discrimination guide our approach. While deputies will invoke SB4 as necessary during investigations, it is essential to clarify that individuals will not be targeted or subjected to undue scrutiny solely based on the provisions of this law. I am the only candidate who has the training, experience, and foresight to be in favor of SB4 from the beginning. No other candidate has or will ever have the experience and relationships with other agencies I have developed throughout my career. It became apparent after 9/11 that all local, state, and federal agencies must work together and share information to keep our communities safe. Our commitment remains steadfast in ensuring public safety and upholding the integrity of our community. The candidates' responses are being published largely as they were submitted. This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: El Paso County Sheriff candidate: Minerva Torres Shelton Several of the defendants in the Georgia election interference case were in the courtroom Thursday as Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis took the stand during a hearing to have her removed from the case over allegations that she had an improper relationship with the man she named as special prosecutor to head the case for her office. Depending on what Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee ultimately rules following the hearing, it could have a lot to do with Trevian Kuttis future. [PHOTOS: Fulton DA takes the stand in hearing to disqualify her from election interference case] You sat in the hearing all morning? Channel 2 investigative reporter Mark Winne asked Kutti. All morning, Kutti said. Why are you here? Winne asked her. I think its a phenomenal moment for justice and I wouldnt have missed it for the world, Kutti said. Whats your position, innocent or guilty? Winne asked Kutti. Im definitely innocent and Im not worried about the specifics. I just want to be informed and when I have my day in court, whether it happens or not, Im ready, Kutti said. [READ: Im not on trial! Willis defiant in hearing to disqualify her from election interference case] Kutti told Winne that she traveled from Chicago, where she lives, to Atlanta to sit in the spectator section of the courtroom to witness for herself what happened in front of the rails in a hearing that could determine the future of the case against her and the other remaining codefendants who have not resolved their charges. Im just paying attention to make sure Im fully immersed in all of the movement in this case and thats another reason, Kutti said. Key issues seemed to be whether Willis election interference special prosecutor Nathan Wade and her office should be disqualified from the case, whether Willis and Wades romantic relationship began before the prosecution said it did, and whether she financially benefitted from Wades hiring because he paid for travel. The prosecution has suggested there was no personal relationship between Willis and Wade in November 2021, at the time of special prosecutor Wades appointment and that financial responsibility for personal travel taken was divided roughly evenly between the two, with neither being primarily responsible for expenses of the other, and all expenses paid for with individual personal funds. RELATED STORIES: You said the DA should step aside? Winne asked Kutti. For her own sake, she shouldve recused herself, Kutti said. Even if that means the end of the case? Winne asked Kutti. If so, thats what was, you know, was meant to happen, Kutti said. Winne spoke with Kutti before Willis testimony Thursday and in the midst of Wades time on the stand. I thought Nathan Wade definitely dealt a blow to Fanis case, their case collectively, Kutti said. There was a lot of roundabout, a lot of spin, but eventually Judge McAfee, who I think has been very good in this case at bringing things back full circle, he demanded the yes and no answers. Winne also spoke with attorney Charlie Bailey, who is a friend and political ally of Willis. What was your impression of Nathan Wades testimony? Winne asked Bailey. I think he was calm, respectful and gave credible answers to frankly some very private matters, Bailey said. You think he did well? Winne asked. I do, Bailey said. You convinced theres no grounds for disqualification from what youve heard? Winne asked Bailey. Absolutely no grounds. Disqualification is required when there is a conflict, and two people in their 50s, single folks having a consensual relationship on the same side of the case, is not a conflict, Bailey said. Winne spoke with Kutti by phone after court recessed for the day, he said she seemed to indicate nothing she heard in court after his interview changed the opinions she gave us. Bailey said nothing he heard after our interview changed his mind either. It is important to note for transparency purposes that Baileys wife works in communications in the Fulton County District Attorneys office, and Willis officiated the couples wedding. RELATED NEWS: Today, February 16th, is Elizabeth Peratrovich Day in Alaska. Elizabeth Wanamaker Peratrovich (Tlingit) was a civil rights activist who is credited with pushing for the antidiscrimination law in the United States. Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy signed a proclamation earlier this week officially declaring today as Elizabeth Peratrovich Day. Almost two decades before the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Peratrovich was instrumental in passing the Anti-Discrimination Act of 1945 that ended legal discrimination against Alaska Native people. The Act was passed before Alaska gained statehood, which caused Alaska to be the first state or territory in the country to have an anti-discrimination law. Peratrovich, born in 1911 in St. Petersburg, Alaska, grew up during a time where signs outside of restaurants often read: No Indians or dogs allowed. As a young woman, witnessing this discrimination was the inspiration that set Peratrovich and her husband, Roy Peratrovich (Tlingit), on a lifelong endeavor to end discrimination against Natives. In 1941, they wrote a letter to their governor, asking him to remove the racist signs, which was ultimately the first step in their push towards the Anti-Discrimination Act. In remarks to the National Congress of American Indians Executive Council Winter Session in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, Rep. Mary Peltola (D-Alaska) said Peratrovich was an early civil rights leader who should be recognized nationally for the work she did. Peltola said her staff is working a on resolution to gain national recognition for Peratrovich. We urgently need more Elizabeth Peratrovichs willing to get involved, educate, and inspire, Peltola said. Governor Dunleavys proclamation said: Elizabeth and her husband, Roy, fought for their campaign tirelessly, and after four years of penning legislation, enlisting the help of other Alaska Natives, and lobbying territorial legislators for support, in 1945 their anti-discrimination bill passed the House and was sent to the Senate; and on February 16, 1945, after a two-hour long hearing, Elizabeth stood and delivered an impassioned and eloquent speech that garnered the support needed to pass the Anti-Discrimination Act of 1945. The proclamation said Peratrovich continued championing civil rights until her death on December 1, 1958, at the age of 47. In celebration of Elizabeth Peratrovich Day, DNC Chair Jaime Harrison and DNC Native Caucus Chair Clara Pratte released on Friday, Feb. 16, 2024 the following statement: On Elizabeth Peratrovich Day, we celebrate the enduring legacy of a fearless leader who championed Indigenous rights and social justice. Elizabeth Peratrovichs groundbreaking work, including her instrumental role in passing the countrys first anti-discrimination law in 1945, paved the way for progress and equality. She was also an active voice in the fight for voting rights, ensuring that Indigenous voices across Tribal communities are heard and respected in the democratic process. As our freedoms and rights are threatened by extremists, we look to Elizabeths trailblazing legacy for inspiration and as a reminder that we must never be afraid to fight on behalf of all our communities. Today and every day, we honor Elizabeth Peratrovichs contributions and recommit ourselves to advancing Indigenous rights, combatting discrimination, and upholding the principles of equality and justice for all. The State of Alaska has recognized February 16 as Elizabeth Peratrovich Day since 1988. But in February 2023, the United States Senate recognized the holiday nationally, thanks to legislation introduced by Alaska Senators Dan Sullivan and Lisa Murkowski. Also, in 2020, the civil rights activist was commemorated on $1 coins for her contributions to the betterment of Alaska Natives for future generations. Native News Online senior reporter Jenna Kunze contributed to this article. About the Author: "Levi \"Calm Before the Storm\" Rickert (Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation) is the founder, publisher and editor of Native News Online. Rickert was awarded Best Column 2021 Native Media Award for the print\/online category by the Native American Journalists Association. He serves on the advisory board of the Multicultural Media Correspondents Association. He can be reached at levi@nativenewsonline.net." Contact: levi@nativenewsonline.net As freezing temperatures battered the Atlantic coast in December, thousands of ocean creatures fought to stay warm. Among them were hundreds of Kemps ridley sea turtles, a critically endangered species. For a few, the cold was too great and their bodies shut down, leaving them washed up on the shore of New England in dire need of rescue, the Clearwater Marine Aquarium said in a Feb. 15 release. Dozens of the turtles were taken to the New England Aquarium in Boston, the Florida aquarium said, before they were transferred down south for medical care and treatment. In total, 52 turtles arrived in Tampa and were distributed to Florida aquariums and facilities, 16 of which ended up in Clearwater. More than a dozen cold-stunned Kemps ridley sea turtles were treated at a Florida aquarium after being rescued off the coast of Massachusetts, the aquarium said. The turtles were experiencing cold-stunning, a phenomenon that occurs when the water temperature drops too low and causes the turtles bodies to shut down, the aquarium said. Because sea turtles are cold blooded reptiles, they rely on their environment to regulate their body temperatures. When water temperatures drop, their body temperature decreases causing hypothermia and severe debilitation, the aquarium said. The aquarium said it monitored the turtles before treating about 75% of them for pneumonia. Rehabilitating the Kemps ridley sea turtles is particularly important due to their critically endangered status. The species used to be abundant throughout the Gulf of Mexico and nested in Rancho Nuevo, Mexico, in the tens of thousands, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Between the 1940s and 1980s their species took dramatic hits, NOAA said, and by 1985 there were only 250 females producing eggs. The species has slowly rebounded in the decades since, but fishing and habitat destruction continues to threaten the sea turtles, NOAA said. The turtles were given medical treatment and were fed to increase their body weight before being returned to the Atlantic Ocean, the aquarium said. Two months after the 16 Kemps ridley sea turtles arrived in Clearwater, some were ready to be back in the open ocean. We are excited to share that 11 of our Kemps ridley patients are fully recovered and have been cleared for release by us, as well as Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC). All 11 were ready to go back home to the east coast of Florida into a warmer part of the Atlantic Ocean, Shelly Marquardt, a Clearwater Marine Aquarium veterinarian, said in the release. A group of aquarium staff crossed the state, bringing the turtles to the Atlantic coast in the area of Cape Canaveral on Feb. 15. They walked into the shallow water with turtles in hand, then released them into the surf. The aquarium shared a video of the release on Facebook. The water off the east coast of Florida is much warmer for the turtles, the aquarium said, allowing them to readjust to their habitat before traveling north as the sea warms. The remaining turtles still require additional TLC and will remain in our sea turtle hospital until they fully recover. We are happy to be able to take in sea turtle patients from other parts of the country who need our help! the aquarium said. The Clearwater Marine Aquarium is about 25 miles west of Tampa. Dozens of frozen creatures wash up on Florida coast. See them head back to sea 109 sea turtles found paralyzed on Outer Banks beach in NC. Only 36 survived the day 600 pound babies return to Florida waters after rehabilitation. See their release Curious shift in ocean currents is having chilling impact on Outer Banks, experts say Multicultural residential compound's dual festivals in Lhasa Xinhua) 09:47, February 16, 2024 LHASA, Feb. 15 (Xinhua) -- As the first rays of sunlight bathed the ancient city of Lhasa, the capital of southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region, a residential compound was filled with traditional new year greetings in different languages -- "Chunjie Kuaile" (meaning "Happy Spring Festival" in Mandarin) and "Losar Tashi Delek" (meaning "Happy New Year" in Tibetan). The compound named Ngangpa Kangchung, a Tibetan-style residence in downtown Lhasa, is home to some 70 residents from Han, Tibetan, Hui and other ethnic groups. As the Tibetan New Year coincided with the Lunar New Year, also known as the Spring Festival, on Saturday this year, residents in the multicultural compound savored delectable traditional dishes of different ethnic groups and celebrated the two festivals together. Sun Jianxue and his wife Sonam Badran treated their visiting neighbors with "chema," a wooden box filled with colorful grains and barley flour, symbolizing good luck and prosperity in Tibetan culture. "Neighbors from various ethnic groups of the compound have integrated deeply, just like butter and tea leaves in buttered tea," said Sun, 62. Sun, a Han retired road construction worker from Gansu Province, married his Tibetan wife 34 years ago when he worked in Xizang. Over the years, he has developed a taste for Tibetan food like tsampa and buttered tea. He also got used to making traditional fried snacks for the Tibetan New Year. On Saturday, Sun cooked beef noodles, a specialty of his hometown, for his family. They also enjoyed hot and fresh hand-grabbed rice while visiting their Hui neighbors. Rigzin, who runs a small grocery store on the first floor of the compound, said the neighbors have been living there for decades and are so familiar with each other. "If any household in the compound is in urgent need of oil, salt, soy sauce, or vinegar for cooking, my son will deliver to their doorstep in no time upon receiving their call," she said. Xizang has long had a fine tradition of exchanges, communication, and integration among ethnic groups since ancient times. In the seventh century, Tibetan King Songtsen Gampo married Princess Wencheng of the Tang Dynasty (618-907), starting a new chapter of building ties among different ethnic groups. Now, about 88 percent of the region's population of 3.65 million are from Tibetan and other ethnic minority groups. In Lhasa alone, there are over 100 such multicultural compounds like Ngangpa Kangchung. Ma Chenghu, a Hui ethnic, has been Sun's neighbor for over 20 years. Whenever Sun and his wife need to change their gas cylinder, Ma is ready to help the elderly couple, and then they will have a meal together. "A close neighbor is better than a brother far off," Sun said. (Web editor: Peng Yukai, Liu Ning) State Sen. Roland Gutierrez addresses reporters before the release of the U.S. Department of Justices report on the Robb Elementary at the town square in Uvalde, Texas, on Thursday, Jan. 18, 2024. Sam Owens/San Antonio Express-News I guess if you would have asked me if I would have run for the United States Senate on May 23 I would have told you youre crazy, Roland Gutierrez said, when asked if the Uvalde mass school shooting, which happened on May 24, 2022, impacted his decision to run. Uvalde kind of did change things. It changed everything about what was important in my life and I was a pretty centered person. But when I saw those families and got to know those families, got to see the horrible outcomes and the horrible carnage, it became very clear to me that no economic issue, no political issue matters if you dont have your kid. Sam Owens/Staff photographer Roland Gutierrez at his law office in San Antonio, Texas. Sam Owens/Staff photographer While Democrat Roland Gutierrez is campaigning for a seat in the U.S. Senate, hes been battling the IRS over a series of tax liens they have placed on his private law practice in San Antonio. From 2021 to 2022, the IRS issued three liens against the Gutierrez Law Firm totaling $64,414 in back taxes going back to 2018. Tax liens are a way to make a legal claim against the assets of a taxpayer who fails to pay taxes that are owed. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Gutierrez said he had been paying the IRS back, but he has a related dispute over taxes he claims the agency owes him. Right now its a standstill, said Gutierrez, a state senator and immigration attorney who is one of nine Democrats battling in the March 5 primary to see who will face likely GOP nominee U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz in November. Gutierrez said he is still waiting for a tax credit he deserves from the COVID-19 pandemic. During the shutdowns to contain the virus, businesses that continued to pay employees were able to apply for tax credits. The government owes $80,000, Gutierrez said during a live interview with Hearst Newspapers on Thursday. Gutierrez, 53, said that money would essentially wash out his IRS debt. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Gutierrez has had tax liens on his businesses before. The San Antonio Express-News reported in 2018 that while he was campaigning for the state Senate, the IRS released a $26,382 lien against his law firm for unpaid payroll taxes covering the first half of 2017. They released another one months later totaling $34,807. The IRS issued a new tax lien in April 2021 against his firm for $18,669, according to records filed with the Bexar County Clerks Office. Later that year, they issued another for $7,283 and a third for $38,462. Gutierrez said the tax issues show how challenging it can be for a small-business owner who also is fighting to make payroll and look after his workers. Ive employed more people than anybody running in this race, he said. Ive been a businessman for over 25 years and Ill continue doing that. Gutierrez said he and his wife at one point ran a restaurant in San Antonio, and he continues to run a small residential construction company. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Gutierrez has a long history in elected office. A former San Antonio City Council member who represented the South Side, he went on to win a seat in the Texas House of Representatives in 2008 and in 2020 won a seat in the Texas Senate. With a district that includes Uvalde, Gutierrez has called for stronger gun control legislation and says hes fighting to bring more progressive ideas to state politics. Public polling shows his top rival is U.S. Rep. Colin Allred, a Dallas civil rights attorney. Allred, 40, has campaigned as a bipartisan lawmaker who can get things down. When criticized by Gutierrez for hand-holding with Republicans, Allred has countered that people want their politicians to get things done instead of being a partisan lightning rod that will continue this divisiveness. Other candidates with experience in elected office include former Nueces County District Attorney Mark Gonzalez and North Texas state Rep. Carl Sherman. In-person early voting in the primary starts on Tuesday. Texas doesnt register voters by party, so voters can vote in either of the primaries, regardless of their personal party affiliation or past voting history. A Ukrainian drone spots Russian soldiers hiding amid the remains of what was once someones home, in the middle of a lunar-like landscape of charred ground, craters and sapless trunks. Another drone carrying a small warhead moves in and detonates on impact. A second one follows. Then a third. Finally, the Russian unit is eliminated. We are smoking the occupiers, says the drones controller, a Ukrainian unit fighting to keep the key town of Avdiivka out of Moscows hands, which shared video footage of the attacks with CNN. For the drone operators, it is a victory, but such wins are becoming rare in this part of Ukraine, as Moscow throws everything it has at the small, battered and now largely deserted town. In an apparent nod to the importance of Avdiivka, which lies to the northwest of Donetsk city, Ukraines new army chief Oleksandr Syrskyi and Ukraines Defense Minister Rustem Umerov this week visited soldiers on the front lines there. The operational situation is extremely complicated and tense, Syrskyi acknowledged. We are doing everything possible to prevent the enemy from advancing deeper into our territory and to hold our positions. Quelling rumors that Ukraine was considering a withdrawal from Avdiivka, Syrskyi has instead sent in reinforcements. Hes deployed one of Ukraines most battle-hardened units - the 3rd Separate Assault Brigade - which earned praise for its daring attacks on Russian forces around Bakhmut. We made a number of important decisions aimed at strengthening the combat capabilities of our military units and preventing enemy actions, Syrskyi explained during his visit to the front line. On Tuesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky promised maximum attention for the eastern front and said the new army chiefs visit to the area would help address the issues facing units on the ground. The existing problems are being solved - manning the units, reinforcement, command and control, Zelensky said in his nightly address. We will be reinforced with drones, electronic warfare, and command positions will also be strengthened. But just a couple of days later, amid the ongoing Russian onslaught, even the reinforcements were describing hellish conditions. Our brigade is carrying out combat missions in conditions that even we could hardly imagine, Maksym Zhorin, the 3rd Separate Assault Brigades deputy commander said in a battlefield report on Thursday. The battles in Avdiivka are several times more hellish than the hottest battles of this phase of the war, which took place in Bakhmut. Much as it did in Bakhmut this time last year, Russia is throwing everything it has at Avdiivka in pursuit of victory, pummeling the town with airstrikes and artillery, while launching wave after wave of ground assaults by armored vehicles and soldiers. Its turned the town into what Ukrainian soldiers call a meat grinder. During the offensive Russia has suffered immense losses so large it might make other militaries regroup and rethink but Moscow appears to be calculating these losses are worth it, given its numerical advantage. The enemy is huge, coming from all sides, Zhorin added. Im not going anywhere Other video footage from Avdiivka shows a quite different side to the towns plight. Scenes caught on the bodycams of two Ukrainian policemen, seen by CNN, shows the moment they approach a grey-haired elderly resident in an effort to convince him to evacuate the town. He shies away as the policeman approach, holding up a smartphone. The mans adult daughter is on the other end, trying to convince him to leave. Im not going anywhere, he tells her. Ill send you money and you will come to me, in Kherson, his daughter pleads in desperation. Ill pay for travel and accommodation. A resident of Avdiivka, Ukraine, near destroyed buildings on February 14. - Kostiantyn Lieberov/Libkos/Getty Images But her cries fall on deaf ears. The officers who approached the man with the phone are part of a special Ukrainian police unit known as the White Angels, which has been tasked with helping vulnerable civilians flee the town, home to 30,000 people two years ago. Already this year theyve evacuated more than 120 people, mostly elderly, but also some children. Many of these battle-worn citizens have been living through some level of conflict ever since Avdiivka - about 20km from the city of Donetsk - became the front line against Russian-backed fighters in 2015. Reluctant to leave, many resisted the first thrust of Russias full-scale invasion in February 2022, holding out until they could no longer bear it. Now, with Russian shelling intensifying since the end of last year, theres little left to cling to. Other footage collected by Ukrainian units shows scenes of devastation, with high-rise buildings covered in holes from the constant Russian barrages. Some high-rises have been knocked over completely and most small buildings have been reduced to mounds of rubble. Pushing back The Russian assault on Avdiivka comes after an unconvincing Ukrainian counter-offensive in the summer and as Western support for Kyiv falters. European shipments of ammunition and financial aid have been delayed by Brussels notorious red tape and some resistance from Hungary but its the delays in Washington that are most concerning to Kyiv. The United States has been Ukraines largest backer since day one, but its continued military support has become a divisive issue among lawmakers. The reluctance of Trump-supporting Republicans to back the White House is giving Putin and Russia an edge, according to NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg. We see the impact already of the fact that the US has not been able to make a decision, Stoltenberg said in an interview Thursday. Ukrainian servicemen of the 47th Mechanized Brigade prepare for combat in a Bradley Fighting Vehicle, near to Avdiivka, on February 11, 2024. - Genya Savilov/AFP/Getty Images Seemingly outmanned and outgunned, the 3rd Separate Assault Brigade admits the situation is critical, but insists it will continue to push back, and claims to have critically damaged two Russian brigades. CNN cannot independently verify the claim, though recent combat footage geolocated to the town suggests Russia continues to suffer heavy losses even while it makes territorial gains there. Still, even if the claim is true, the brigade is well aware that Russia has plenty more soldiers to replace its loses as it continues to actively rotate its troops and deploy new forces and equipment to the town. We are forced to fight 360 degrees against new brigades that the enemy is deploying, says the commander of the 3rd Brigade, Andrii Biletskyi. Our soldiers are demonstrating unprecedented heroism. Vasco Cotovio wrote in London, Olga Voitovych and Svietlana Vlasova reported from Kyiv, Ukraine. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com Rachel Hooper, right, representing Pappas Restaurants, gestures during arguments in the lawsuit filed by Pappas over being booted by the City of Houston from their IAH location on Wednesday, Apr. 12, 2023 in Houston. In addition, there was a wealth of publicly available information at the time of Hoopers hiring spelling out her political activities ranging from state finance reports to her role as a party precinct chair. Her personnel file with the DAs office also makes claims of a character attack over her political affiliation. However, the Chronicle has found that Hoopers role was extensive. Hooper returned to working for the DAs office in November 2021 and started immediately writing subpoenas. She later worked on numerous search warrants and motions related to the case. She clocked more than 420 hours on the investigation through July 2022, billing the county more than $175,000 as outside counsel on the case, according to several invoices filed with the Harris County Auditors Office. Ogg says Hooper was retained through an existing contract with her employer BakerHostetler, a national law firm covering a wide variety of commercial and criminal matters. Her role was focused on reviewing records obtained through grand jury subpoenas and search warrants, Ogg said. The district attorney denied knowledge of the extent of Hoopers political activities, beyond being a Republican, in a recent Chronicle editorial board meeting. Political opponents including her primary challenger Sean Teare have questioned Oggs decision to hire Hooper out of all the former prosecutors in the Houston area, noting that her conservative credentials are evident in almost every aspect of her life. Shes a former Harris County Republican precinct chair. She has represented Republicans in court, donated to Republicans and advocated for Republican causes. Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg visits with supporters after members of Harris County Democratic Party voted in favor to censor her during a meeting, Tuesday, Dec. 12, 2023, in Houston. Much of the criticism that surrounded Oggs initial hiring of Hoopers law firm has resurfaced as the district attorney tries to fend off a former employees bid to unseat her in the Democratic primary this March. Hidalgo, whose Democratic-led court has increased funding for Oggs office annually but denied requests for additional prosecutors, has painted the indictments as part of a political vendetta . Ogg has refuted that characterization. Revelations that Ogg hired Hooper to work behind the scenes, unbeknownst to the defense teams involved, intensified fury that the district attorney was using the case to retaliate against Hidalgos administration. The investigation started with a complaint from former Republican County Commissioner Jack Cagle , who alleged that Hidalgos office handed an $11 million vaccine outreach contract to a political ally. Then, in April 2022, three of Hidalgos former staffers Alex Triantaphyllis, Wallis Nader and Aaron Dunn were indicted . Lawyers for the trio have adamantly denied wrongdoing by their clients. Harris Co. Judge Lina Hidalgo, right, receives her first dose of the Moderna vaccine at Pitner Pocket Park Thursday, Apr. 1, 2021 in Houston, TX. Aaron Dunn and Wallis Nader appear in front of Judge Vanessa Velasquez after COVID-19 contract indictments were handed down Tuesday, April 12, 2022 in Houston. Aaron Dunn, one of Hidalgo's former aides, stands in the elevator after leaving the courtroom after COVID-19 contract indictments were handed down Tuesday, April 12, 2022 in Houston. The circumstances behind Hoopers hiring on the so-called Elevate Strategies investigation amid her representation of state Republicans presented a problematic look that could risk politicizing the investigation, he said. District attorneys, when considering prosecutions, should bend over backwards to make everything appear apolitical as possible, said Richard Painter, chief ethics lawyer under former President George W. Bush. Rachel Palmer Hoopers hiring added a dose of political intrigue into a high-stakes legal showdown after she logged hundreds of hours of work that helped lead to indictments against three of County Judge Lina Hidalgos former staffers . Now District Attorney Kim Ogg is facing fresh criticism for hiring the state Republican Partys general counsel to work on a politically fraught case despite having a full-time public corruption division at the time. An outside lawyer hired by the Harris County District Attorneys Office to scrutinize corruption claims under the countys highest-elected Democrat came with a surprising pedigree a career as a Republican operative. Ive known her a long time, Ogg said during a recent meeting with the Chronicles editorial board. Ive been to dinner with (her) and her husband, but would I describe it as a close, personal relationship? No. Kim Ogg hosts a Meet and Greet event for her District Attorney campaign on Friday, Jan. 26, 2024, at Fuzzy's Pizzeria in Katy . Call out the supporters of bond reform that would put individuals accused of violent offenses back on our streets, she said during a City Council meeting. Her comments came at a time when lawmakers and law enforcement officials, Ogg included, began urging Democratic judges to change their bail practices. Rachel Hooper mirrored similar sentiment when she urged former Mayor Sylvester Turner in February 2021 to call out Democratic judges who are giving low or free bonds delaying trials. Ogg has known Hooper since 2009, when Hooper sought judicial office on the Republican ticket. Hoopers husband, Don Hooper, blogged years later about supporting Ogg over a Republican opponent and pinned their meeting to a campaign fundraiser for his wife. On his own social media, he has publicly questioned Hidalgos law enforcement budget decisions and linked the pandemics rise in violent crime to her tenure. In Hoopers call to Paxtons office, the former prosecutor said she also made a formal complaint about Harris Countys drive-thru voting, a pandemic-era attempt to improve voter access that drew the ire and litigation of county conservatives. The attorney generals office passed the voting case from Montgomery County to Harris County to review. Prosecutors presented the case to a grand jury, which declined to have him charged. Local Democrats admonished Ogg for even taking the case to a grand jury to begin with. State law requires district attorneys to investigate a complaint, but the code does not specify whether a complaint should be presented to a grand jury. Were very concerned about election fraud and election integrity, just in general, said Hooper, identifying herself as a Republican precinct chair during the call. During a February 2021 call with the Office of the Attorney General, Hooper cited Republican politics and her own nagging curiosity as a former prosecutor to explain why she reported Rogers, according to an audio recording of the call obtained by the Chronicle. The lawyer looked him up, learned he was a parolee who shouldnt have voted and reported him days after the election, she said during the call. Hooper lodged a complaint against parolee Hervis Rogers following his widely reported hourslong wait to vote in the 2020 presidential primary. He endured a yearslong legal nightmare that started with illegal voting charges that were eventually dismissed . Hoopers role in making the complaint was publicly disclosed in a July 2021 report by The Guardian . Her work has also aligned with attempts by Republicans to crack down on voter fraud. She filed an amicus brief for state GOP chair Matthew Rinaldi while she was in the thick of the Elevate case and later represented him in another legal matter involving the Texas Nationalist Movement, court records show. In North Carolina, she most recently represented a former Republican Party chair and politician in federal court over claims of gerrymandering. She moved on to BakerHostetler. She has since represented the interests of conservatives in Texas and elsewhere. I am undergoing a character attack because of my political affiliation and the fact that I exercised my Constitutional right to remain silent in objection to a sham grand jury process, Hooper wrote. Hooper challenged the review and resigned from the office months later. By that point, Hooper had donated hundreds of dollars to Republican groups, including those involved in the local tea party movement. One of her last performance reviews in 2014 stated that fellow prosecutors felt they could no longer trust her. Her shocking refusal made lasting waves in her career at the office even though the investigation never produced charges against anyone. She pushed back on testifying, alleging a wild political plot as the genesis of the case. She tied political donations, marriages and the grand jury foreman to Lykos political challengers. Her claims were outlined in a motion to recuse the judge from the case. The judge eventually ruled that Hooper was not compelled to testify. She pleaded the Fifth Amendment invoking her constitutional right to not incriminate herself when asked to testify during a 2011 grand jury investigation centered on police vehicles used to gather potentially problematic DWI evidence. Hooper was not the target of the investigation, but the jurors were eyeing Lykos office for possible misconduct. Hoopers political views became the subject of much discussion years after she joined the DAs office in 2003. She worked her way up to misdemeanor division chief under former District Attorney Pat Lykos, a Republican, when her character came into question. Oggs hiring decision Ogg offered an array of reasons for why she hired Hooper. She blamed a staffing shortage, saying that three prosecutors were on military leave, to explain the need for extra help. But timecards obtained through records requests dispute that claim. The office had five prosecutors assigned to the public corruption unit when Hooper joined the investigation, and none of those lawyers were absent on military leave when she was sworn in, according to a review of office rosters and timecard records. The unit underwent staffing changes in March 2022, according to an internal memo, swapping in two prosecutors from other divisions. One of those prosecutors had taken military leave shortly before joining the unit, records show. A roster from January 2024 shows the unit at some point grew to eight employees, some of whom have military experience, but those prosecutors were assigned to trial courts or other divisions at the time of Hoopers hiring. The Chronicle asked Oggs spokesman Joe Stinebaker to clarify which employees military leave prompted Hoopers hiring, but he declined to elaborate on that. Ogg also had a simpler explanation for Hoopers hiring. I knew itd be easy, said Ogg, noting that Hooper is a former prosecutor with a firm that had earlier contracted with Harris County for unrelated matters. Oggs network of former prosecutors was also limited after having purged the office of about 40 lawyers before she took over in January 2017, an act that strained her relationship with those lawyers. Ogg described the nixed prosecutors at the time as those who were either loyal to her predecessor or were tied to scandals. Theres not a lot of them that I deal with, and thats because of the harsh feelings about when I came in, Ogg said during the editorial board meeting. Emails show Barbara Armstrong, then Oggs deputy general counsel, communicated with Hooper on Oct. 27, 2021, about hiring her for a special project later revealed to be the vaccine outreach investigation. The emails make no mention of Hoopers role with the Republican Party, and none of her partisan ties are discussed. Hooper was sworn in Nov. 5 and got to work. She drafted 25 subpoenas her first week on the job, according to invoice records. The following week, subpoenas were handed to Harris County officials seeking records related to the contracts procurement. One of the subpoenaed county employees hired Murray Newman to handle the requests, which Newman characterized as overly broad and confusing. He didnt know at the time that Hooper was working behind the scenes. None of the motions or communications had her name on it, and she never appeared in court, he said. While Oggs office was not obligated to disclose all the prosecutors involved in the case, Newman says he would have been less cooperative had he known of Hoopers involvement. I would have raised hell about it, he said. If we had known that then, it would have clearly shown us that they werent interested in the truth they were interested in a war. Hooper continued working in December analyzing documents and writing responses to requests by defense attorneys, the invoices show. She attended team meetings and drafted questions for Cagle, Harris County Public Health employees and others, ahead of grand jurors hearing evidence. Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo shares remarks during a commissioners court meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 25, 2022, in Houston. Her former chief of staff, Alex Triantaphyllis, appears alongside her. Marie D. De Jesus/Staff photographer She logged the most hours in January as she researched disobedience of grand jury subpoenas and drafted motions to compel aimed at top county employees, records show. She later spent hours reviewing grand jury transcripts and drafting a brief for the judge overseeing the grand jury proceedings. Some days she focused on revising unspecified search warrants, records show. Judges signed off on four warrants before the indictments. As the indictments neared, Hooper prepared work product regarding evidence review, according to her invoices. On the day of the indictments, Hooper analyzed transcripts and documents. Defense attorney Rusty Hardin, who has since endorsed Oggs primary opponent, had no knowledge of Hoopers involvement when one of his clients, Hidalgos former chief of staff Joe Madden, testified before the grand jury. Even then, he views Hoopers work on the case as a political conflict, rather than a legal one, he said. 'DONT CROSS HER': How DA Kim Ogg has repeatedly aimed her power at Harris County officials Triantaphyllis lawyer, Marla Poirot, questioned Hoopers hiring when Oggs office already had an army of prosecutors. They have hired a partner at a private law firm to work on the case from the very beginning to draft search warrants, to review evidence, to respond to my motions. Its all in her detailed time invoices, Poirot said. The criminal cases against the three former staffers have not gone to trial, and Hidalgo believes they wont at least not until after the election. Shes not going to do that before the election because shes going to flop and fall flat on her face, Hidalgo said last November. Separately, two of the defendants have asked the judge to disqualify Oggs office from handling the prosecution, arguing Ogg cant be neutral given her ongoing feud with Hidalgo. The request, filed in June 2022 before Hoopers involvement was known, remains pending. Donald Andrew Sharp A former babysitter faces up to life in prison after he was convicted Thursday of all seven charges involving sex crimes against two children he babysat while living in Palm Coast, according to the State Attorney's Office. State Attorney R.J. Larizza stated in a release that it was unfortunate that the crimes were committed before the law was amended to allow the death penalty in such cases. "Otherwise a death sentence would have been pursued in this case," he stated. Donald Andrew Sharp, who will turn 23 on Feb. 24, was convicted by a jury Thursday of all seven counts against him: four counts of sexual battery on a person less than 12 years of age; one count of principal to sexual battery on a person less than 12 years of age; one count of lewd/lascivious battery molestation by a person 18 years or older on a victim under 12; and principal to lewd/lascivious molestation by a person 18 years or older and victim under 12. "This defendant used the love between a brother and sister and their family to engage in the most horrific crimes against children," Larizza stated. Circuit Judge Terence Perkins set sentencing for April 2 at 8:30 a.m. at the Kim C. Hammond Justice Center. The crimes occurred between May 1, 2021, and June 4, 2022, according to documents. Sharp was babysitting the children when he performed sex acts on the younger child multiple times over a year between May 2021 and May 2022 at the childrens home in Palm Coast, according to the Flagler County Sheriff's Office. Sharp also had one child touch the other in a lewd or lascivious manner, according to a charging document. Sharp was arrested on Aug. 13, 2022, in Huntington, West Virginia, by the police there on a felony warrant obtained by Flagler County Sheriffs Office detectives. Assistant State Attorney Melissa Clark prosecuted the case. This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Ex-babysitter facing life in prison for sex crimes against 2 children Charles McGonigal, a former FBI official arrives at Federal Court in New York WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A former FBI official was sentenced to more than two years in prison on Friday for hiding $225,000 in payments from a former Albanian intelligence officer while serving in a prominent role at the agency, the Justice Department said. Charles McGonigal, 55, was sentenced to 28 months in prison after pleading guilty to concealing the payments while he oversaw counterintelligence and national-security matters as the top agent in the FBI's New York office between 2017 and 2019. It is the second prison sentence for McGonigal, who was sentenced to more than four years in December for working for Oleg Deripaska, a Russian oligarch under U.S. sanctions whom prosecutors have called President Vladimir Putin's "henchman." According to the Justice Department, McGonigal did not tell the FBI that he was paid by the Albanian official and traveled abroad with him on private business. His prison sentence will start once he completes his sentence for working for Deripaska, the Justice Department said. (Reporting by Andy Sullivan in Washington; Editing by Matthew Lewis) Charles McGonigal, former special agent in charge of the FBI's counterintelligence division in New York, arrives at the federal courthouse in Washington, Friday, Feb. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana) WASHINGTON (AP) A former high-ranking FBI counterintelligence official was sentenced on Friday to more than two years in prison for taking hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash from a businessman with ties to the Albanian government and trying to conceal their corrupt financial relationship. Charles McGonigal, 55, supervised national security operations for the FBI in New York for nearly two years before his retirement in 2018. He appeared to advance Albanian interests in the U.S. after he asked for and received roughly $225,000 in 2017 from a man who had worked for an Albanian intelligence agency, prosecutors said. U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly sentenced McGonigal to two years and four months in prison for the case brought in Washington, D.C. She ordered him to serve it consecutively to a 50-month prison sentence for a separate case in New York, so he is facing a total of six years and six months when he reports to prison next month. McGonigal expressed remorse and sorrow for what he called mistakes, saying he betrayed the confidence and trust of his loved ones. For the rest of my life, I will be fighting to regain that trust and become a better person, he told Kollar-Kotelly before she imposed his sentence. The judge told McGonigal that it appears he lost his moral compass at the end of a distinguished FBI career, when he held one of the highest national security positions in the federal government. She said his remorse seemed genuine. Unfortunately, it doesn't repair the damage, she added. Justice Department prosecutors had recommended sentencing McGonigal to a prison term of two years and six months for the Washington case alone. Abusing the public trust is particularly egregious when, as here, the motivation was pure greed and the defendant is a law enforcement officer charged with enforcing the very same laws he flagrantly violated., they wrote in a court filing. In December, a federal judge in New York sentenced McGonigal to four years and two months in prison for conspiring to violate sanctions on Russia by going to work for a Russian oligarch whom he once investigated. The oligarch, billionaire industrialist Oleg Deripaska, was under U.S. sanctions for reasons related to Russias occupation of Crimea. McGonigal was scheduled to report to prison next month to begin serving his sentence in the New York case. His lawyers urged the judge in Washington to refrain from imposing more prison time, arguing that he already has received a just punishment for his crimes. His fall from grace has been precipitous, having lost his job, his reputation and the peace of his family life, and he now faces the stark prospect of the 50-month sentence he is about to begin serving, his defense attorneys wrote. McGonigal was separately charged with concealing his ties to the former Albanian official, a naturalized U.S. citizen who was living in New Jersey. McGonigal has said that he borrowed the $225,000 to launch a security consulting business after he retired from the FBI. He didn't repay the loan. In 2017, McGonigal flew to Albania with his benefactor and met with a former Albanian energy minister and the countrys prime minister. McGonigle warned the prime minister to avoid awarding oil field drilling licenses in Albania to Russian front companies, according to prosecutors. They say McGonigals travel companion and the energy minister had financial stakes in the Albanian governments decisions about the drilling licenses. McGonigal pleaded guilty last September to concealing material facts, a charge punishable by a maximum prison sentence of five years. He admitted that he failed to report the loan, his travel in Europe with the person who lent him the money or his contacts with foreign officials during the trips. He put his own greed above service to his country, a prosecutor, Elizabeth Aloi, said Friday. Defense attorney Seth Ducharme urged the judge to let McGonigal serve his two prison sentences simultaneously. McGonigal didn't need more prison time beyond his 50-month sentence in New York to serve the ends of justice, Ducharme argued. He didn't betray his country. He broke the law, the attorney said. The FBI had to review many other investigations to determine whether McGonigal compromised any of them during his tenure. The defendant worked on some of the most sensitive and significant matters handled by the FBI. His lack of credibility, as revealed by his conduct underlying his offense of conviction, could jeopardize them all, prosecutors wrote. McGonigal expressed remorse in a statement submitted to the court. I keep wishing this was all a bad dream I could simply wake up from, he wrote. Washington Charles McGonigal, the former top counterintelligence official at the FBI's New York office, was sentenced to more than two years in prison on Friday for concealing at least $225,000 in cash he received from a former Albanian intelligence officer. McGonigal pleaded guilty in September to one count of hiding from the FBI the payments he received from a former employee of Albania's intelligence agency who had moved to New Jersey. Charles McGonigal, the former head of counterintelligence in the FBI's New York office, is seen leaving the federal courthouse in Manhattan on Feb. 9, 2023. / Credit: Michael M Santiago / Getty Images In exchange for his guilty plea, charges relating to McGonigal's failure to disclose his overseas travel to meet with foreign government officials and businesspeople while employed by the FBI were dropped. McGonigal will serve the 28-month sentence consecutively with his other prison term, for a total of 6.5 years in prison. In December, McGonigal was sentenced in New York to more than four years in prison for his work for a sanctioned Russian oligarch and close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin. "Mr. McGonigal seems to have lost his moral compass," Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly said Friday. "The motivation could only be greed and frankly, an arrogance." The charges in both cases marked a stunning downfall for someone who once held one of the FBI's top counterintelligence posts. Prosecutors in Washington argued that McGonigal's actions "suggest he was compromised" and employment after his retirement from the FBI "was not his only motivation." The FBI was also forced to review numerous investigations of which he had knowledge to determine whether they had been compromised, according to prosecutors. "The defendant worked on some of the most sensitive and significant matters handled by the FBI," prosecutors said in a sentencing memorandum. "His lack of credibility, as revealed by his conduct underlying his offense of conviction, could jeopardize them all. The resulting internal review has been a large undertaking, requiring an unnecessary expenditure of substantial governmental resources." Prosecutor Elizabeth Aloi emphasized those allegations on Friday, saying McGonigal "sold his badge" in a scheme that was "the stuff of lore." McGonigal's attorney Seth DuCharme rebutted those claims. "This is not the stuff of lore," he said. "This is not the Robert Hanssen case," DuCharme said, referring to a former FBI agent who spied for Moscow. McGonigal's lawyer said in court documents that his omissions were "done to conceal the fact that Mr. McGonigal had prematurely launched his business networking plan, including by obtaining a $225,000 loan, in the months before he retired from the FBI." The start of McGonigal's troubles McGonigal spent more than two decades at the FBI, working on some of the top national security cases, from stopping a plot to bomb the New York City subway to WikiLeaks' release of a trove of classified documents. He rose through the ranks to become its counterintelligence chief in New York before retiring in 2018. His fall from grace began in 2017 as he prepared for retirement, according to court documents. McGonigal asked the former Albanian intelligence officer, who had become a naturalized U.S. citizen, for a loan as they discussed business opportunities. The loan was never repaid. The two traveled to Albania and other countries where the individual had business interests and met with foreign nationals on multiple occasions. On one of those trips, McGonigal met with the prime minister of Albania to warn him against awarding lucrative oil drilling licenses to Russian front companies a matter in which the former intelligence officer had a financial interest. As a show of appreciation, McGonigal gave the prime minister an FBI hat. He then traveled to the Balkans nation of Kosovo for "the dual purpose of collecting information that was potentially useful both to the FBI" and McGonigal's "own undisclosed personal business development plan," prosecutors said. During that trip, he gave another FBI hat to a politician in Kosovo. About a month later, in a parked car outside a New York restaurant, the former intelligence officer handed McGonigal about $80,000 in cash as part of the loan he had requested. In 2017, he gave McGonigal two more payments at his home in New Jersey. At McGonigal's urging, the bureau opened an investigation into an American lobbyist working for a political opponent of the Albanian prime minister, in which the former intelligence officer served as an FBI source. The investigation was closed shortly after McGonigal retired, "as the allegations were never substantiated," prosecutors said. The charges against McGonigal in the New York case also related to the concealment of payments. McGonigal admitted to helping oligarch Oleg Deripaska dig up dirt on a rival Russian oligarch and laundering money by concealing the source of the payments for that work. The work was in violation of U.S. sanctions imposed on Deripaska in 2018. McGonigal expresses regret McGonigal asked for mercy in court on Friday, telling the judge he had a "deep sense of remorse and sorrow" for his admitted crimes. "I am humbly asking you for a second chance," he said, apologizing to his wife, their two children and his former FBI colleagues. In a statement to the judge before Friday's hearing, McGonigal said that his actions "taken for the purpose of making money post-retirement from the FBI overrode my good judgment and values." His wife Pamela, in a letter to the federal judges in Washington and New York ahead of his sentencings, said McGonigal "was ambitious and was looking to provide a good life" for his family after his retirement. "I believe this ambition led him astray and caused him to lose focus on the reality of his decision making and actions," she wrote. McGonigal is set to start his prison sentence on March 18. Judge in Trump's New York civil fraud case expected to issue long-awaited ruling Shooting after Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl parade leaves one dead Eyewitnesses describe scene at Kansas City Chiefs parade shooting Alice Benziger and Anand Henry on a Facebook post from Dec. 17, 2020 by Benziger. (Alice Benziger via Facebook) A former Meta employee is suspected of killing his wife and twin sons before turning a gun on himself in a gruesome murder-suicide in San Mateo, police said Thursday. Anand Henry, 37, and his wife, Alice Benziger, 36, were found dead in the bathroom of their home on the 4100 block of Alameda de las Pulgas Monday morning, according to the San Mateo Police Department. A 9mm handgun registered to Henry was lying on the bathroom floor by their bodies. "Our investigation shows Benziger succumbed to multiple gunshot wounds, while Henry suffered from a single shot," police said in a statement. The twin boys, meanwhile, did not die from gunfire. They showed no signs of trauma, and authorities have not yet determined their cause of death. Police allege that Henry was responsible for all four deaths. According to his LinkedIn profile, Henry used to work at Meta as a software engineer and before that for Google in a similar role. Meta did not immediately respond to a request for comment. He was working in artificial intelligence at the time of his death, according to his profile. Benziger worked for Zillow as a data scientist, according to her profile on LinkedIn. The couple both attended Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. Police said there was no history of violence at the home the only time they came to the house was when the family reported seeing a mountain lion in the backyard. But when people who knew the family could not get in contact with them over the weekend, police responded to the scene to do a wellness check, according to the department. The suspected murder-suicide is believed to have occurred Saturday afternoon, the police said. "Our investigation into the motive for this tragedy continues. While we cant undo this horrific incident, we would like to share with our community both domestic violence and mental health resources, because there is help and/or assistance out there, and something like this does not need to happen again," the department said. Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. Former teacher Arin Hankerd enters the courtroom, Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2024, at the S. James Foxman Justice Center in Daytona Beach. Arin Hankerd, the former high school teacher accused of having sexual relations with two female students, will be sentenced May 10, according to court records. Hankerd, 43, was a teacher at Mainland High School when he met a student there and had her perform oral sex on him at his home, according to court records. Hankerd later went to work at Atlantic High School where he met another girl with whom he engaged in inappropriate behavior on campus, records show. Circuit Judge Karen Foxman set the sentencing to begin at 9 a.m. May 10 at the S. James Foxman Justice Center in Daytona Beach. Hankerd entered an open plea of no contest to the charges against him, meaning there was no agreement with prosecutors on the sentence. Hankerd will face a maximum of 186 years in prison. According to state sentencing guidelines, he faces a minimum sentence of 18.6 years in prison. Hankerd's defense attorney, John Selden, has filed a notice that he will seek a downward departure, meaning a sentence less than the 18.6 years. The judge is not obligated to grant it. The sentencing was originally set for Jan. 25, but a clash over a change by a prosecutor to a scoresheet that increased the minimum sentence threatened to scuttle the plea deal. The issue was resolved, clearing the way for the sentencing. Hankerd rejected a 25-year prison term followed by 10 years offered by prosecutors. Hankerd's attorney made a counter offer of 20 years in prison, which the state rejected after consulting with the family and other prosecutors. This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Arin Hankerd has new sentencing date in Florida student sex case Nearly a quarter of people worldwide lived under drought conditions in the past two years, according to a new report summarized by The New York Times. What happened? The International Drought Resilience Alliance and the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification released the Global Drought Snapshot 2023, which showed that 1.84 billion people across the globe lived under drought in 2022 and 2023. Most of these people were located in low- and middle-income countries. Some of the abnormally dry, hot conditions experienced in the past few years were intensified by the burning of planet-warming energy sources like natural gas and coal, The New York Times reports. Last years arrival of El Nino, a natural weather phenomenon associated with warmer temperatures in parts of the Pacific Ocean, likely also played a role. Why is drought concerning? Droughts have a significant impact on agricultural productivity, endangering our food supply. According to the Famine Early Warning Systems Network, El Nino combined with climate change is likely to result in drier- and hotter-than-normal conditions in Southern Africa, Central America, and northern South America into the early months of 2024, which is likely to affect food security in those regions. Meanwhile, above-normal precipitation in the Horn of Africa and Central Asia in late 2023 and early 2024 could have a similar effect. Downturns in agricultural productivity due to droughts can also affect human migration patterns. For instance, one study found that unusually dry years were associated with 70.7% more emigration from Central America to the United States. This drought-induced migration pattern can be found in other regions of the world, with case studies in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Of course, drought also impacts the availability of drinking water. Last year, residents of an island of about 310,000 people off the east coast of Africa faced a water crisis. One woman told CNN that she had little or no running water in her home for four months. Drought also affects ecosystems. In Brazil, the Amazon rainforest faced a record-breaking drought in 2023. A healthy forest efficiently stores carbon, but drought kills those carbon-storing trees and helps to fuel wildfires, which could pose an even greater threat, according to Philip Fearnside, a biologist at the Institute for Amazonian Research in Manaus, Brazil. If that goes into [the] atmosphere as greenhouse gases, that can be the straw that breaks the camels back for the global climate, Fearnside told The New York Times. Not just the Amazon. Whats being done about drought? While we cant prevent droughts, per se, we can do our best to try to curb the warming of our planet that is driving many megadroughts. One way you can help is to vote for pro-climate candidates. Meanwhile, some are finding new ways to adapt. For instance, Spain experienced a crippling drought between October 2022 and May 2023. Southern Spain was hit particularly hard and hopes to restore an irrigation system built more than 1,000 years ago to replenish its aquifers this will supply much-needed water for crops. California is also looking to its irrigation canals. Project Nexus aims to cover about 8,500 feet of canals near Sacramento with solar panels. The panels will reportedly help combat drought by reducing water evaporation and producing renewable energy. Join our free newsletter for weekly updates on the coolest innovations improving our lives and saving our planet. By Guy Faulconbridge MOSCOW (Reuters) -Alexei Navalny, Russia's most prominent opposition leader, died on Friday after collapsing and losing consciousness at the penal colony north of the Arctic Circle where he was serving a long jail term, the Russian prison service said. OPPOSITION LEADER Navalny, 47, became the leading figure among Russia's splintered opposition. Supporters cast him as a Russian version of South Africa's Nelson Mandela who would one day be freed from jail to lead the country. He earned admiration from many in Russian opposition circles for voluntarily returning to Russia in 2021 from Germany, where he underwent treatment for what Western laboratory tests showed was an attempt to poison him with a nerve agent in Siberia. RISE TO PROMINENCE A former lawyer, Navalny rose to prominence with blogs which exposed what he said was vast corruption across the Russian elite, describing Russia as ruled by "crooks and thieves". He participated in Russian nationalist marches in the 2000s. Calls for restrictions on immigration and criticism over what some viewed as his overly nationalist views prompted his expulsion from the liberal Yabloko opposition party in 2007. He lampooned President Vladimir Putin's elite and exposed some of the opulence of the lifestyles of senior officials, using the internet and even drones to illustrate what he described as their vast holdings and luxury property. When demonstrations against Putin flared in December 2011, after an election tainted by fraud accusations, he was one of the first protest leaders arrested. Navalny long forecast Russia could face seismic political turmoil, including revolution, because he said Putin had built a brittle system of personal rule reliant on sycophancy and corruption. WHAT DOES THE KREMLIN SAY? The Kremlin said Putin had been informed of his death. The Kremlin dismissed Navalny's allegations of vast corruption and Putin's personal wealth. Navalny's movement is outlawed and most of his senior allies have fled Russia and now live in Europe. Russian officials cast Navalny as an extremist who was a puppet of the U.S. CIA intelligence agency which they say is intent on trying to sow the seeds of revolution to weaken Russia and make it a client state of the West. Navalny was detained countless times for organising public rallies, and prosecuted repeatedly on charges including corruption, embezzlement and fraud. He said the accusations and convictions were politically motivated. Navalny had an extra 19 years in a maximum security penal colony added to his jail term in 2023 in a criminal case that he said was designed to cow the Russian people into political submission. POISONING In August 2020, Navalny fell ill on a flight from Tomsk, in Siberia, to Moscow. The pilot made an emergency landing, saving his life, and Navalny was flown to Berlin, where he was treated for the effects of a neurotoxin that German military tests showed to be Novichok, a poison developed in the Soviet Union. Putin dismissed a joint media investigation that said it had identified a team of assassins from Russia's FSB security service. "If someone had wanted to poison him, they would have finished him off," he said. FAMILY Navalny's wife is Yulia. Their daughter is called Darya, and their son is called Zakhar. KEY NAVALNY QUOTES: ON THE UKRAINE WAR: "This is a stupid war which your Putin started," Navalny told an appeal court in Moscow via video link from a corrective penal colony in 2022. "This war was built on lies." "One madman has got his claws into Ukraine and I do not know what he wants to do with it - this crazy thief." ON PUTIN: "Corruption is the foundation of contemporary Russia, it is the foundation of Mr Putins political power," Navalny told Reuters in an interview in 2011. ON RUSSIA: "Once the great Russian writer Leo Tolstoy described the structure of power in Russia: 'the villains who robbed their own people got together, recruited soldiers and judges to guard their orgy, and now they're having a feast'. This brilliant phrase precisely describes what is happing in our country." In 2023, he admonished the Russian elite for its venality, expressing hatred for those who he said squandered a historic opportunity to reform after the 1991 fall of the Soviet Union. He dissected Russia's post-Soviet history, including the legacies of the most powerful figures of the 1990s who became known as the reformers who sought to lay the foundations of capitalism and the oligarchs who won fabulous fortunes. "I cant stop myself from fiercely, wildly hating those who sold, pissed away, and squandered the historical chance that our country had in the early nineties," Navalny said. ON FEAR AND AMBITION: "Why should I be afraid?" he said in 2011 when asked about the dangers of challenging the Kremlin. When asked by Reuters about his ambition, he winced but said: "I would like to be president, but there are no elections in Russia." ON DEATH: "If they decide to kill me then it means we are incredibly strong and we need to use that power and not give up," he once told CNN. "We don't realise how strong we actually are." (Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge, Editing by Timothy Heritage) Explosions rocked Ukraines Kremenchuk, Poltava Oblast, and Kropyvnytskyi, Kirovohrad Oblast during an air raid alert, local Telegram channels reported on Feb. 16. No preliminary casualties or damage after the explosions were reported in Kropyvnytskyi, regional governor, Andriy Raikovych, said on Telegram. Poltava regional governor, Filip Pronin, also reported no damage or casualties in the Oblast. Read also: Fire at Kremenchuk industrial plant caused by Russian missiles put out by over 150 firefighters Ukraines Air Force earlier reported the missiles flying toward Myrhorod, Kremenchuk, and Kropyvnytskyi. Russias missile attack triggered air raid alerts across multiple Ukraines Oblasts on Feb. 15. Explosions reverberated across Ukraine, from the eastern cities to Lviv in the west. Air defense systems were engaged in Kyiv and the surrounding Kyiv Oblast. Thirteen out of 26 Russian missiles of various types were shot down in the early morning attack on Ukraine, the Air Force reported on that day. Read also: Russian attack: Heavy damage to transformer substation in Lviv 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 Judge Lina Hidalgo holds a press conference to address the District Attorney investigation on Friday, Nov. 10, 2023, in Houston. Raquel Natalicchio/Staff photographer The case surrounding allegations that three former staffers for Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo steered a COVID-19 contract to a political ally has stretched on for more than two years with criminal indictments and multiple search warrants with no trial date set. All three of the staffers have denied any wrongdoing. The district attorney's office asked the Texas Rangers to help in their investigation, with many of the search warrants attributed to one of their investigators. Invoices show the district attorney's office hired an outside lawyer to conduct hundreds of hours of work in bringing the case to a grand jury. Advertisement Article continues below this ad What are the Rangers investigating? Harris County Commissioners Court awarded an $11 million contract in June 2021 to Elevate Strategies, a political consulting firm, to run a COVID-19 vaccine public outreach campaign. Jack Cagle, one of the county's two Republican commissioners at the time, accused Democrats of steering the contract to a politically connected firm. Hidalgo canceled the contract in September 2021 on the grounds that it had become politicized, but she maintained there was no wrongdoing. That fall, Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg and the Rangers began investigating the contract. Advertisement Article continues below this ad What's happened so far in the case? Once the investigation began, at least a dozen county officials and their staffers received subpoenas seeking more information. In April 2022, a grand jury indicted three Hidalgo staffers on felony charges of misuse of official information and tampering with government documents. The staffers served on the five-person county panel that evaluated proposals for the contract. They're accused of giving the Elevate owner early access to information about the contract before the bidding process had become public. The second charge tampering with government documents stems from the fact that they signed paperwork stating they had followed county guidelines. Lawyers for Hidalgo and her aides say one mistaken email was sent to Elevates owner that included language about the contract before it was opened for bidding, according to records they shared with the Chronicle last year. Hidalgo's team has pointed out that she has no political ties to the Elevate owner, and she chose voluntarily to seek out competitive bidders for the contract even though she could have selected the vendor herself. By contrast, a Houston Chronicle analysis found that all the Harris County commissioners routinely award no-bid contracts to firms who have contributed to their campaigns. Advertisement Article continues below this ad 'DON'T CROSS HER': How DA Kim Ogg has repeatedly aimed her power at Harris County officials Two of the accused staffers filed a motion in June 2022 asking a judge to remove Ogg from the case, arguing that the district attorney was biased and the investigation was a politically motivated attack on Hidalgo. In response, Ogg denied having a conflict of interest. If the District Attorney has such an insurmountable personal animus toward Judge Hidalgo, wouldnt the District Attorney not simply have indicted Judge Hidalgo instead if that be the case? she wrote in court documents. Nearly a year and a half later, District Judge Hazel Jones has not ruled on the matter. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Why were more search warrants sought? In 2022, investigators submitted search warrants and seized staffers' devices, such as computers and phones, to extract communications related to the contract. But according to the latest warrants, they conducted a "new investigation to determine if the felony offense of tampering with evidence has been committed." The investigator said some documents turned over by the Elevate owner in response to a subpoena included messages that weren't included in the documents that Hidalgo's office submitted. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Investigators also received documents through a subpoena of Google that Hidalgos team did not hand over, according to the warrants. The missing documents contain notes that were written by Hidalgo. The judge's office had previously turned over more than 24,000 pages of records to comply with the subpoenas, according to the warrants. Hidalgo responded to the new warrants and alleged that released them in order to make a political splash amid her re-election bid. Two of the new warrants gleaned little to no intel that prosecutors plan to use, officials said in January. One of them asked for records using the wrong phone number for an indicted staffer. What's a former prosecutor have to do with the case? Ogg's office hired former Harris County prosecutor Rachel Hooper to work for months on the Elevate case. She tallied more than 400 hours and earned more than $175,000 from Nov. 2021 to July 2022, writing subpoenas, working on search warrants and motions related to the case. Hooper worked for the Republican Party of Texas amid her work on the Elevate case. Many defense attorneys did not know Hooper had worked on the case until after the indictments and were concerned that Ogg had tapped a highly-partisan lawyer to do case work on an already politicized investigation. The same lawyer lodged a complaint against Hervis Rogers, a former parolee, for voting in the 2020 presidential primary at a Houston polling place. The complaint led to criminal charges against Rogers in Montgomery County that were dismissed. LAS VEGAS (KLAS) The Flamingo bridge Formula One built may be gone, but the racing giant left behind a few other things: hundreds of traffic cones. Theyre along the streets outside of Las Vegas Boulevard repaved for the November 2023 racing weekend: Harmon Avenue, Koval Lane and Sands Avenue. Rows of orange cones and barrels sit where center traffic medians once stood before their removal. The 6 inches of concrete more in some places were removed across all those streets to create a suitable racing surface for the technically burdensome racing cars. Theyre visible on satellite views from before the 2023 repaving. While their removal may have been necessary for the race, it likely does not help driver or pedestrian safety. The Federal Highway Administration reported that center medians reduce crashes involving pedestrians by up to 40%. (KLAS) Erin Breen knowns that. She has dedicated her life to traffic and pedestrian safety as Director of UNLVs Road Equity Alliance. People, especially workers in this area, they are tired, Breen said along Harmon Thursday morning, referencing the months of road construction that frequently lengthened travel for hospitality workers going to and from their jobs. Traffic-wise, she says the flat surfaces where raised medians once were are a temptation, and drivers tend to go where theyre not supposed to. Someones traveling, usually at a high rate of speed because theyre frustrated, down the center turn lane, Breen said. Theyre important to drivers to keep them where theyre supposed to be and be predictable. That predictability is most important to the pedestrians crossing right in front of them, whether illegally or not, Breen said. I always tell pedestrians, It wont protect you, Breen said, referencing those more at risk when not crossing at designated crosswalks. But, it is a place for them to be out of the travel street. (KLAS) Pedestrians walking alongside these areas Thursday said they noticed faster than usual traffic, signaling the wide and flat street surface might be enabling it. It feels a little dangerous, Daymon Green said while visiting from New York. But, you can tell Im a New Yorker because I never wait. Youll see me not waiting at anything. I see accidents. I mean, look at the curb. You have residue just being eaten away from the tires and rims that are touching. Its that close, Raul De La Paz said while visiting from Texas. Though F1 told 8 News Now Thursday that they are working with Clark County to finalize permanent solution for where the medians previously resided, a county spokesperson said they had yet to submit an alternative. Any solution would need approval from the countys public works department. (KLAS) The temporary solution is currently large orange barrels that mostly prevent drivers from entering the interior. That Breen might be the best alternative for now, Breen said. To put those medians back, they have to tear up the road. To take those medians out for the race, they have to tear up the road, Breen said. Does it offer the same protection to a pedestrian? No, because its still flat on the ground. But, like I said, those big barrels are full of water and as a driver, you dont want to hit that because it will do some serious damage to your car. Las Vegas Grand Prix officials estimate the next round of construction needed for the 2024 race will not be as long as the roughly six-month project seen last summer. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KLAS. Claim: Former U.S. President Donald Trump said the real "tragedy" was not the Feb. 14, 2024, shooting at the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl victory parade but rather his 2020 election loss. Rating: Rating: False On Feb. 14, 2024, a social media post from U.S. President Joe Biden's reelection campaign implied that former President Donald Trump had compared the mass shooting at the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl victory parade which left left one person dead and nearly two dozen others injured to his 2020 election loss. "Hours after another deadly shooting, Trump says the real 'tragedy' was his own election loss in 2020," the @BidenHQ account posted (archived) on X. The account is an official rapid-response arm for Biden's campaign. Included with the post was a 14-second video clip that showed Trump giving a campaign speech that evening in North Charleston, South Carolina. Hours after another deadly shooting, Trump says the real "tragedy" was his own election loss in 2020 pic.twitter.com/qF6ZXROZTQ Biden-Harris HQ (@BidenHQ) February 15, 2024 During the clip, Trump references the Democratic Party and his 2020 election loss with the words, "We can't let them win. We're not going to have a country. But after the election, if a tragedy happened like happened three years ago. That was a tragedy what happened. That was a tragedy. Look what's happened to our country. Our country has gone to hell." But Trump was not referencing the Kansas City shooting when he made those remarks, so we rate this claim as "False." One of the top replies under the Biden campaign post read (archived), "Heartless and cold. Wow." "Trump gives a true narcissist's reply to this tragedy," a different user remarked (archived). Another user captioned (archived) the video as, "Sick f--- has words for 9 children shot today in Missouri." These three examples were only a drop in the bucket of the number of people whose replies and reposts reflected that they believed that the post was saying that the video showed Trump addressing the shooting in Missouri that had happened just hours earlier. However, the truth was that Trump did not mention the shooting during his speech. Further, surrounding context was missing from the 14-second video clip posted by the Biden campaign, as several users noted in other replies. "Where's the entire video and the context of what he was saying? That matters," one person responded (archived). Other users also asked for context. Snopes transcribed Trump's remarks that surrounded what the brief video in the Biden campaign post had highlighted. His full comments revealed that he was talking about energy prices and was boasting that he believed he could have done a better job than Biden, had he been elected in 2020. Only the bolded part below was included in the post: Under "Crooked Joe," energy prices have reached the highest in history. And gas prices have reached $5, $6 and even $7 a gallon. And now, it seems like they're going up again. They're doing everything they can. They'll use anybody. Send it around. They want to do anything they can. But after the election, we can't let them win. We're not going to have a country. But after the election, if a tragedy happened like happened three years ago. That was a tragedy what happened. That was a tragedy. Look what's happened to our country. Our country has gone to hell. But if a tragedy happened, you'd see prices, energy prices, go up double and triple. Readers can watch this part of the speech beginning at the 5:58 mark in this YouTube video: Snopes contacted both campaigns by email to ask about this matter and will update this story if they respond. We previously reported about another false rumor also posted by the @BidenHQ account. In that instance, the Biden campaign's target was former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley. Sources: Hollingsworth, Heather, et al. "Dispute May Have Led to the Mass Shooting after the Chiefs Super Bowl Parade, Police Say." The Associated Press, 15 Feb. 2024, https://apnews.com/article/chiefs-super-bowl-parade-shooting-kansas-city-62e69a17b469b854afd7bcc3f548d1fc. Liles, Jordan. "Nikki Haley Said 9/11 Happened on Sept. 10?" Snopes, 14 Feb. 2024, https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/haley-911-sept-10/. "LIVE: President Donald Trump Get Out The Vote Rally in North Charleston, S.C. | NEWSMAX2." YouTube, Newsmax, 14 Feb. 2024, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zainWIHMnF0. Claim: Cats are banned in the town of Longyearbyen, Norway. Rating: Rating: True A town so isolated from the world that residents are prohibited from owning cats is a claim that has been online since at least October 2022. It's been shared across a number of social media platforms, from YouTube and TikTok to the online forum Quora. One such iteration was posted on Reddit (archived here) in 2023 to the subreddit r/todayilearned, and had received more than 43,000 upvotes as of this publication: Longyearbyen is one of several small settlements in the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard, located between mainland Norway and the North Pole, considered to be one of the world's northernmost inhabited regions. Because the settlements "located on top of the world," like Longyearbyen, are on the doorstep of the "high Arctic wilderness, cats have been banned across the Svalbard archipelago," Anja Nordvalen, marketing coordinator for the tourism agency Visit Svalbard, told Snopes in an email. This measure is to "protect the fragile flora and fauna." Nordvalen referred Snopes to the specific law, written in Norwegian, which she translated as: It is forbidden to bring live mammals and birds of all kinds into Svalbard. Eva Jenssen, a spokesperson for the governor of Svalbard, told Snopes via email that the ban on most pets is also due to the presence of rabies on the archipelago. Jenssen referred our newsroom to regulations published on the governor's webpage, which prohibit the importation of most live mammals and birds: Dogs and pets You are not permitted to import live mammals and birds to Svalbard, with the exception of cage birds, rabbits and small rodents from Norway and Sweden and cage birds from Finland. The Norwegian Food Safety Authority can grant permission for importing a dog. Because of its unique and isolated location, Svalbard has been at the heart of other online rumors, including whether alcohol is banned. It's not, but there is a monthly alcohol quota per person. (Longyearbyen is also said to have a pub that is "right around the corner" from the North Pole, for what it's worth.) "There are limits on how much beer and hard liquor a person can buy per month. This is a relic from the old days, when Longyearbyen was a coal mining town and the coal company wanted to prevent the coal miners from drinking too much," Jenssen told Snopes. "However, there was never a limit on purchasing wine, and to this day there still isn't a limit on purchasing wine." It's also been said that residents are "required to carry a gun by law" because of the threat of polar bears: This, again, is not entirely true. Nordvalen told Snopes that "when venturing out of the settlement, everyone MUST be equipped with suitable means of scaring off polar bears, but it is also highly recommended to carry a gun." It's recommended to take a rifle, but not required, Jenssen added. As of Feb. 12, 2024, the Svalbard region was home to approximately 2,600 residents, who all experience many other unique living arrangements, according to the Visit Svalbard website: Sources: "About Svalbard." Visit Svalbard, https://en.visitsvalbard.com/visitor-information/about-svalbard. Accessed 12 Feb. 2024. Visit Svalbard, https://en.visitsvalbard.com/visitor-information/about-svalbard. Accessed 12 Feb. 2024. "Alcohol." Governor of Svalbard, https://www.sysselmesteren.no/en/alcohol/. Accessed 12 Feb. 2024. Cats Are BANNED on This Arctic Island | Svalbard, Longyearbyen. www.youtube.com, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9rJk7HZXgw. Accessed 12 Feb. 2024. "Destinations." Visit Svalbard, https://en.visitsvalbard.com/visitor-information/destinations. Accessed 12 Feb. 2024. "Dogs and Pets." Governor of Svalbard, https://www.sysselmesteren.no/en/dogs-and-pets/. Accessed 12 Feb. 2024. Governor of Svalbard, https://www.sysselmesteren.no/en/dogs-and-pets/. Accessed 12 Feb. 2024. Dzinzi, Mellissa. "Planet Earth's Northernmost Town Where It's 'illegal to Die' and Cats Are Banned." Daily Star, 2 Oct. 2022, https://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/world-news/earths-northernmost-town-its-illegal-28057431. "Firearms." Governor of Svalbard, https://www.sysselmesteren.no/en/weapon/. Accessed 12 Feb. 2024. Forskrift Om Forbud Mot Innfrsel Av Dyr Til Svalbard - Lovdata. https://lovdata.no/dokument/SF/forskrift/1988-08-31-744. Accessed 12 Feb. 2024. "Population of Svalbard." SSB, https://www.ssb.no/en/befolkning/folketall/statistikk/befolkningen-pa-svalbard. Accessed 12 Feb. 2024. TikTok - Make Your Day. https://www.tiktok.com/@sejsejlija/video/7161188639169400069. Accessed 12 Feb. 2024. "Welcome to Longyearbyen." Visit Svalbard, https://en.visitsvalbard.com/visitor-information/destinations/longyearbyen. Accessed 12 Feb. 2024. "What Is the Reason for the Cat Ban on the Norwegian Islands of Svalbard?" Quora, https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-reason-for-the-cat-ban-on-the-Norwegian-islands-of-Svalbard. Accessed 12 Feb. 2024. "Why Did Norway Ban Cats from Going to Svalbard, but Not IF@F? Should IFAF Be Banned in Norway?" Quora, https://www.quora.com/Why-did-Norway-ban-cats-from-going-to-Svalbard-but-not-IF-F-Should-IFAF-be-banned-in-Norway. Accessed 12 Feb. 2024. Claim: Sahil Omar, a 44 year-old immigrant, is the named suspect in the Kansas City Super Bowl victory parade shooting on Feb. 14, 2024. Rating: Rating: False Context: A so-called "immigrant" named "Sahil Omar" has been falsely named in internet posts as a suspect in previous incidents, including a Fort Worth explosion in January 2024. Police have not revealed any suspects' names in the Kansas City shooting. On Feb. 14, 2024, a shooting upended Kansas City's Super Bowl victory parade, resulting in one death and more than 20 wounded from the gunfire. As police investigated, a number of internet rumors took hold, including a familiar-sounding one that blamed the shooting on an immigrant named Sahil Omar. A number of posts on X purported to show a shooting suspect being arrested, saying he was a 44-year-old immigrant named Sahil Omar. BREAKING HERE IS A NEW PHOTO OF SAHIL OMAR - THE 44 YEAR OLD MIGRANT WHO IS SUSPECTED TO BE THE SHOOTER AT THE KANSAS CITY SUPERBOWL PARADE - AFTER BEING ARRESTED #KansasCity #Shooter #Shooting pic.twitter.com/aggD65gtiq Praveer Tiwari (@therealpraveer) February 14, 2024 The above image, from a photograph published by Getty Images, does show an unidentified man being detained near the scene of the shooting. However, Kansas City police had not revealed the name of any suspects as of Feb. 15. As such, we rate this claim as "Unfounded." Furthermore, the name "Sahil Omar" has been frequently and falsely referenced after other shootings and explosions. In January 2024, "Sahil Omar," an "immigrant," was the purported suspect in an explosion at a Fort Worth, Texas, hotel, according to a Facebook post. In December 2023, "Sahil Omar" was accused on X of being behind a shooting at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. That same month, a different post accused "Sahil Omar" of being armed and evading security at a Florida airport. Accusations followed "Sahil Omar" all the way to Prague, Czechia, where one post on X said he died by suicide after carrying out a shooting in late December 2023. The real perpetrator was David Kozak, who killed himself after being surrounded by police. The rumors surrounding the name "Sahil Omar" did not stop there and have been circulating for a few months, based on searches on X (formerly Twitter). In all of the above cases, "Sahil Omar" was a hoax. In the Kansas City shooting, police Chief Stacey Graves said three people were detained, two of whom were juveniles. Police had not filed any charges as the investigation continued, but Graves said the shooting started as a dispute among several people. We will update this story as we get more information. This is not the first time we've covered hoaxes surrounding shooting suspects. After the March 27, 2023, school shooting in Nashville, Tennessee, internet rumors claimed the shooter had been identified as "Samantha Hyde." The real perpetrator was Audrey Hale. Internet hoaxes in the U.S. also frequently target minority groups and religions. As we previously reported, after a mass shooting at a Baptist church in Texas in 2017, a variant of the hoax claimed the perpetrator was a "Muslim convert" named "Samir Al-Hajeed." Sources: Bogel-Burroughs, Nicholas, et al. "Shooting at Kansas City Super Bowl Rally Probably Stemmed From Argument, Police Say." The New York Times, 15 Feb. 2024. NYTimes.com, https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/15/us/kansas-city-super-bowl-shooting.html. Accessed 15 Feb. 2024. "Live Updates: Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl Parade Shooting News." CNN, 15 Feb. 2024, https://www.cnn.com/us/live-news/kansas-city-chiefs-super-bowl-shooting-02-15-24/index.html. Accessed 15 Feb. 2024. "Czech Mass Shooting: Gunman Confessed to Shooting Baby in Woods." BBC, 28 Dec. 2023. www.bbc.com, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-67830858. Accessed 15 Feb. 2024. Emery, David. "No, 'Samantha Hyde' Is Not the Name of the Nashville School Shooter." Snopes, 27 Mar. 2023, https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/samantha-hyde-tennessee-school-shooter/. Accessed 15 Feb. 2024. "Fact Check: 'Sahil Omar' Not Named a Suspect in Fort Worth Explosion." Reuters, 12 Jan. 2024. www.reuters.com, https://www.reuters.com/fact-check/sahil-omar-not-named-suspect-fort-worth-explosion-2024-01-12/. Accessed 15 Feb. 2024. Sloan, Nick. "Kansas City Chiefs Parade and Rally Shooting Investigation Continues Thursday, Mayor Says." KMBC, 15 Feb. 2024, https://www.kmbc.com/article/shooting-reported-at-kansas-city-chiefs-super-bowl-victory-rally/46790065. Accessed 15 Feb. 2024. "TOPSHOT - A Person Is Detained by Police near the Kansas City Chiefs'..." Getty Images, 14 Feb. 2024, https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/person-is-detained-by-police-near-the-kansas-city-chiefs-news-photo/2003719063. Accessed 15 Feb. 2024. How many teachers could a half a billion dollars pay for using savings from Wisconsin expanding Medicaid? Thats the hypothetical that was raised by state Sen. Chris Larson, D-Milwaukee. On X, formally known as Twitter, Larson said Wisconsin is one of 10 states that have not expanded Medicaid but if it had done so, the state would have saved $530 million in the 2021-23 budget cycle. Then he said: For that amount, we could have hired 3,287 additional K-12 teachers at the statewide median salary, including benefits.That's an average of 7.8 more educators PER DISTRICT. That seems like a lot of teachers. Medicaid expansion savings We reached out to Larsons office for evidence to support his claim and staffers provided us with a January 2023 memo from the Legislative Fiscal Bureau that showed the state would have saved $530 million in the 2021-23 budget if Medicaid had been expanded in 2014. The Republican-controlled Legislature and previous Gov. Scott Walker, a fellow Republican, have been opposed to expanding Medicaid which would provide the state more federal funding. Medicaid expansion covers the vast majority of the costs of expansion coverage, while generating offsetting savings and, for some states, revenue increases, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a nonpartisan research and policy institute. So hes right on that point. But what about the number of teachers? Lasons office said it used the median district average salary and fringe benefits from the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction dashboard for 2022-23. We went to the departments dashboard and found the same numbers as Larson. The median average salary is $56,364 and the median average fringe benefits is $24,244. That makes the average teacher compensation including benefits $80,608. From here its simple math. You take the $530 million, divided by the total compensation $80,608 and then divide that number by 2 for the two years the budget covers and it equals roughly 3,287 teachers. You divide that by 421, the number of school districts in the state, and you get 7.8 which is the potential number of teachers that could be hired per district using the potential savings. Meanwhile, Bob Lang, executive director of the Legislative Fiscal Bureau said, using the information that (Larson) received from this office and the Department of Public Instruction, his calculations are correct. So Larsons math is solid. But there are some wrinkles as to how it is applied. First, even if the Legislature had agreed to the Medicaid expansion, theres no guarantee the money would have gone toward education though, of course, Larson was creating his own hypothetical comparison. DPI spokesperson Chris Bucher noted that Larson was making a theoretical statement but emphasized he is not speaking for Larson or his intentions with the statement. Generally, though, school districts receive aid from the state through a relatively complex formula based on enrollment information, Bucher said in an email. School districts are also limited in the amount of revenue they can raise by revenue limits. At the end of the day, though, Wisconsin is a local-control state and therefore it is up to individual school districts and school boards to determine budgeting and how much money goes toward hiring personnel and other areas. True Our ruling Larson said if the state expanded Medicaid, it could save the state $530 million, resulting in more than 3,200 teachers being hired, meaning roughly 7-8 teachers could be added to each school district. While his math is correct, funding from the state is complex and the school districts decide for themselves on how they want to spend the money. We rate the claim True. Sources This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Fact Check: If the state expanded Medicaid could Wisconsin hire thousands more teachers? Claim: Russian dissident Alexei Navalny's death notice was posted just two minutes after his official time of death. Rating: Rating: Unproven On Feb. 16, 2024, the death of Russian President Vladimir Putin's most outspoken and formidable opponent, Alexei Navalny, was announced by the Russian prison service. The former lawyer was 47, and he was serving a 19-year prison sentence on charges of extremism in an isolated penal colony above the Arctic Circle. The notice, released by the prison service of the Yamalo-Nenets region and translated from Russian by Reuters, read as follows: On Feb. 16, 2024, in penal colony number 3, convict Alexei Navalny felt unwell after a walk, almost immediately losing consciousness. The medical staff of the institution arrived immediately, and an ambulance team was called. All necessary resuscitation measures were carried out, which did not yield positive results. Doctors of the ambulance stated the death of the convict. The causes of death are being established. The notice indicated it was last updated on at 2:19 p.m. Feb. 16. According to the former adviser to the Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, Anton Gerashchenko, this notice was posted only two minutes after his death reportedly occurred. "According to Russian media, Navalny started feeling poorly at around 1 p.m.," Gerashchenko wrote on X (formerly Twitter). "The doctors tried to resuscitate him but Navalny died at 2:17 p.m." Information about the death of Aleksey Navalny appeared on the website of the Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia for the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous District two minutes after the death reportedly occurred. Never do the authorities act so promptly, especially when it comes to https://t.co/e3XZHMyKd7 pic.twitter.com/9wrKNf5udc Anton Gerashchenko (@Gerashchenko_en) February 16, 2024 Gerashchenko did not cite what specific Russian media made this claim, and as of Feb. 16, we were unable to confirm Navalny's official time of death. Therefore, we rate this claim as "Unproven." If more information surrounding the details of his death is confirmed, this story will be updated accordingly. Although many world leaders including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, and U.S. President Joe Biden publicly pointed to Putin as the cause of Navalny's death; according to The Associated Press, his associates had not (as of this writing) received independent confirmation of his death. Navalny's wife, Yulia Navalnaya, said she did not know whether to believe the report of his death because "we cannot trust Putin and the Putin government. They always lie." Just one day before the announcement of his death, on Feb. 15, Navalny was seen in a video-link court hearing in which he joked with the judge about sending him money because he was running out of funds due to the judge's decisions. Sources: Alexei Navalny Appears Healthy in Video-Link Court Hearing on Day before His Death. www.youtube.com, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFGlH9WS5yI. Accessed 16 Feb. 2024. 'Alexey Navalny Timeline: From Poisoning to Prison to Death'. Al Jazeera, https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/2/16/hold-alexei-navalny-timeline-from-poisoning-to-prison. Accessed 16 Feb. 2024. Bayer, Lili. 'Yulia Navalnaya Takes Stage at Munich Meeting after News of Husband's Death'. The Guardian, 16 Feb. 2024. The Guardian, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/feb/16/yulia-navalnaya-munich-security-conference-navalny-putin. Faulconbridge, Guy, et al. 'Putin Foe Alexei Navalny Dies in Jail, West Holds Russia Responsible'. Reuters, 16 Feb. 2024. www.reuters.com, https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/jailed-russian-opposition-leader-navalny-dead-prison-service-2024-02-16/. Guldbk, Karoline. 'Bekrefter ddsfall'. dagbladet.no, 17 Feb. 2024, https://www.dagbladet.no/nyheter/bekrefter-dodsfall/80992002. Henderson, Cameron, et al. 'Putin Is Responsible for Navalny's Death, Says Biden - Follow Latest'. The Telegraph, 16 Feb. 2024. www.telegraph.co.uk, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2024/02/16/russia-ukraine-zelensky-putin-war-latest-news5/. 'Https://Twitter.Com/Gerashchenko_en/Status/1758479753898504421?T=137'. X (Formerly Twitter), https://twitter.com/Gerashchenko_en/status/1758479753898504421?t=137. Accessed 16 Feb. 2024. 'Https://Twitter.Com/ioannZH/Status/1758831082500165791'. X (Formerly Twitter), https://twitter.com/ioannZH/status/1758831082500165791. Accessed 20 Feb. 2024. 'Https://Twitter.Com/Kira_Yarmysh/Status/1758801430125695199'. X (Formerly Twitter), https://twitter.com/Kira_Yarmysh/status/1758801430125695199. Accessed 20 Feb. 2024. 'Kremlin Foe Alexei Navalny's Team Confirms His Death and Says His Mother Is Searching for His Body'. AP News, 17 Feb. 2024, https://apnews.com/article/russia-alexei-navalny-death-opposition-leader-37da0915157576372d6493be7ad04b5c. 'Navalny's Death: The Full Russian Prison Service Statement'. Reuters, 16 Feb. 2024. www.reuters.com, https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/russian-prison-service-statement-about-navalnys-death-2024-02-16/. 'Western Officials and Kremlin Critics Blame Putin and His Government for Navalny's Death in Prison'. AP News, 16 Feb. 2024, https://apnews.com/article/russia-navalny-death-global-reactions-putin-19e7fd6318763627f6917a92678cd190. 'World Leaders Blame Putin's Government in Russia for Death of Alexei Navalny'. PBS NewsHour, 16 Feb. 2024, https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/world-leaders-blame-putins-government-in-russia-for-death-of-alexei-navalny. - . 16 Feb. 2024, https://web.archive.org/web/20240216120742/https://89.fsin.gov.ru/news/detail.php?ELEMENT_ID=729444. Updates: Feb. 20, 2024: This article was updated to include new information released by Navalny's team in the days following the announcement of his death. By Lucy Papachristou LONDON (Reuters) - Alexei Navalny, Russia's most prominent opposition leader, died on Friday after collapsing at the penal colony where he was serving a long jail term, prison officials said. Following is a list of some other opposition activists jailed in Russia. ILYA YASHIN A longtime ally of Navalny and the former head of an opposition party, Yashin was sentenced in December 2022 to eight-and-a-half years in prison for statements he made on his YouTube channel about war crimes allegedly committed by Russian forces in the Kyiv suburb of Bucha. Russia criminalised "spreading false information" about the Russian armed forces shortly after it sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022. In his closing words at his sentencing, Yashin, 40, named Putin as "the person responsible for this slaughter" and said "it is better to spend 10 years behind bars as an honest man than silently burning with shame for the blood that your government sheds." VLADIMIR KARA-MURZA Vladimir Kara-Murza is an opposition politician and former aide to Boris Nemtsov, an opposition figure who was assassinated in central Moscow in 2015. He was sentenced in April 2023 to 25 years in prison on treason and other charges that he has denied, comparing the case against him to a Stalinist show trial. Kara-Murza, 42, was transferred last month to a new Siberian penal colony and is being held in a strict isolation cell. He suffers from a nerve disorder after surviving two attempts to poison him, and his wife Evgenia has voiced fears for his life in prison. IGOR GIRKIN A prominent nationalist ex-militia commander, Girkin, also known as Igor Strelkov, was sentenced last month to four years for inciting extremism after he insulted Putin. Girkin, 53, had publicly entertained ideas about running against Putin in a March presidential election, saying he could do a better job than Russia's veteran leader. He denied the extremism charge and his legal team said it planned to appeal. He was remanded in custody last July after setting up the "Club of Angry Patriots" to save Russia from what he said was the danger of systemic turmoil because of military failures. Girkin helped Russia annex the Crimean peninsula from Ukraine in 2014 before organising and commanding pro-Russian militias who wrested part of eastern Ukraine from Kyiv's control. He was handed a life sentence in absentia by a Dutch court in 2022 for murder in the shooting down of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 over eastern Ukraine in 2014, which killed 298 passengers and crew. He denied wrongdoing at the time. LILIYA CHANYSHEVA, VADIM OSTANIN, KSENIA FADEYEVA Chanysheva, Ostanin and Fadeyeva are all former employees of Navalny's campaign or of his anti-corruption organisation (FBK). Chanysheva, who ran the politician's campaign in the Urals city of Ufa, was given a seven-and-a-half year sentence in June for "creating an extremist organisation". Ostanin had run Navalny's local headquarters in the Siberian city of Barnaul and was sentenced to nine years in July for participating in an "extremist community". A former head of FBK in Siberia's Tomsk region and a local lawmaker, Fadeyeva was sentenced to nine and a half years in prison in December for running an "extremist organisation." Navalny's aides have called their prosecutions politically motivated. IGOR SERGUNIN, ALEXEI LIPTSER, VADIM KOBZEV Three lawyers for Navalny were detained in October on suspicion of belonging to an "extremist group" in a move his supporters cast at the time as an attempt to further isolate the jailed politician from the outside world. The lawyers stand accused of using their access to Navalny to enable him to direct extremist activity from behind bars by passing material to his supporters, claims Navalny rejected as ridiculous. Russia's interior ministry this month added two additional lawyers for Navalny to its wanted list, Olga Mikhailova and Alexander Fedulov. Both are believed to be outside Russia. (Reporting and writing by Lucy Papachristou; Editing by Frances Kerry) Two sisters paid a man claiming to be a lawyer to take on their moms wrongful death lawsuit, Tennessee authorities said. Except he wasnt a real attorney and he scammed the sisters and other victims out of nearly $40,000, according to the Memphis Police Department. Now, 59-year-old Glenis Chip Campbell is charged with impersonating a licensed professional and theft, according to Shelby County case records. His attorneys information wasnt available in Shelby County records the afternoon of Feb. 16. Its not the first time Campbell was accused of such charges, according to police. In 2008, Campbell pleaded guilty to a charge of impersonating a lawyer, records show. In July 2022, the sisters told police they had been scammed out of $7,600 since December 2021, when they hired Campbell to handle their mothers wrongful death lawsuit. They told investigators they paid him for expenses including a medical examiners report, a formal report and court and legal fees, in addition to other costs. Detectives found he wasnt a licensed attorney in Tennessee. At around the same time the sisters hired Campbell, another family took him on to represent them in a workers compensation case, police said. Since December 2021, they paid him more than $28,000, they told police. The man would only accept blank money orders or cash, police said, and sometimes asked clients to pay him through a middle man. The family also began doing research and learned he wasnt a practicing attorney, according to police. In October 2023, a third victim came forward, telling police he hired Campbell to represent him in a criminal case in Mississippi. He identified himself as a lawyer and was licensed in Mississippi, the man told Memphis police officers, so he paid him $3,240. After that, Campbell is accused of ghosting him, even as his court date approached. He learned no one by the name of Glenis Campbell was licensed to practice law in Mississippi, police said. Campbell was arrested Feb. 15 and booked in Shelby County Jail. Fake cop scams man out of $9,000 in Bitcoin using caller ID trick, Maine police say Ex-FBI agent told woman she was on secret probation to scam her out of $700K, feds say Tow company owners made millions illegally towing parked cars, California official says Attorney stole $250K from vulnerable clients she was appointed to protect, officials say Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and fellow Governors hold a press conference along the Rio Grande at the U.S.-Mexico border to discuss Operation Lone Star and border concerns on Sunday, February 4, 2024 in Eagle Pass, TX. Raquel Natalicchio/Staff photographer Texas officials are building an 80-acre base camp in Eagle Pass that will allow the state to permanently station nearly 2,000 National Guard members along the border under Gov. Greg Abbotts ramped-up enforcement efforts. The facility, announced by Abbott on Friday, will sit several miles southeast of Shelby Park, a key border area near the Eagle Pass International Bridge that was seized last month by Texas National Guard members. Abbott said the base camp would allow the Guard to consolidate our forces and increase the speed and flexibility of Guard members to respond to attempted border crossings. AT THE BORDER: Abbott vows expansion of Texas border security push alongside 13 Republican governors in Eagle Pass Advertisement Article continues below this ad For now, the National Guard have been scattered across this entire region, in cramped quarters, away from fellow soldiers, sometimes traveling long distances to be able to do their job, Abbott said. What this is going to do is to dramatically improve the conditions for our soldiers. The facility will be able to house 1,800 soldiers, with capacity for up to 2,300 if we have surge needs, Abbott said. It will include individual rooms for soldiers, a large dining facility and recreational facilities. The camp will be operated by the Texas Military Department, which includes the Texas Army National Guard, Texas Air National Guard and Texas State Guard. Abbott did not say how much the project would cost, though he argued it would be minimal because the Guard will save money in the long run by cutting down on lodging expenses. This will improve the quality of conditions and lower the cost of those conditions, Abbott said, calling it a win-win for the National Guard and for the state of Texas. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Backed with some $11 billion from the GOP-controlled Legislature, Abbott has deployed thousands of state police and National Guard members to the border to arrest migrants for trespassing on private land and other state charges. The administration also has set up barriers along the Rio Grande, including thick strands of razor wire, all under the umbrella of Abbotts sweeping border initiative known as Operation Lone Star. The U.S. Supreme Court last month cleared the way for federal agents to remove the razor wire, prompting an uproar from Republicans around the country. The feud then escalated after state soldiers seized the city-owned Shelby Park in Eagle Pass. The Department of Homeland Security demanded that state officials remove any and all obstructions on federally owned land around it. State leaders have refused to comply. Abbott has pointed to a recent dip in crossings around Shelby Park and other parts of the state, claiming credit due to the resistance that the Texas National Guard has provided. BORDER PUSH: Abbott vows expansion of Texas border security push alongside 13 Republican governors in Eagle Pass Advertisement Article continues below this ad Federal authorities recorded a drop in the number of migrants encountered at the southern border in January, a term that includes people apprehended between ports of entry and those who were admitted illegally. WASHINGTON (AP) An FBI informant has been charged with lying to his handler about ties between President Joe Biden, his son Hunter and a Ukrainian energy company. Alexander Smirnov falsely told FBI agents in June 2020 that executives associated with the Ukrainian energy company Burisma paid Hunter and Joe Biden $5 million each in 2015 or 2016, prosecutors said Thursday. Smirnov told the FBI that a Burisma executive had claimed to have hired Hunter Biden to protect us, through his dad, from all kinds of problems, prosecutors said. The allegations became a flashpoint in Congress last summer as Republicans demanded the FBI release the unredacted form documenting the allegations as they pursued investigations of Biden and his family. They acknowledged at the time that it was unclear if the allegations were true. Prosecutors say that though Smirnov claimed to have had contact with Burisma executives near the end of the Obama administration, it actually took place after Obama and Biden had left office when Biden would have had no ability to influence U.S. policy. In short, the Defendant transformed his routine and unextraordinary business contacts with Burisma in 2017 and later into bribery allegations against Public Official 1, the presumptive nominee of one of the two major political parties for President, after expressing bias against Public Official 1 and his candidacy, the indictment said. He repeated some of the false claims when he was interviewed by FBI agents in September 2023 and changed his story about others and promoted a new false narrative after he said he met with Russian officials, prosecutors said. Smirnov, 43, was indicted on charges of making a false statement and creating a false and fictitious record. No attorney was immediately listed for him in court records. He was expected to make a first court appearance in Las Vegas, where he was arrested Wednesday after arriving from overseas, prosecutors said. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 25 years in prison. The charges were filed by Justice Department special counsel David Wiess, who has separately charged Hunter Biden with firearm and tax violations. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WFLA. Texas House District 121 candidate Marc LaHood, right, speaks at the Barn Door Restaurant in San Antonio where he received the endorsement of Gov. Greg Abbott on Friday, Feb. 8, 2024. Marvin Pfeiffer/Staff Photographer Texas House District 121 Republican Rep. Steve Allison, speaks Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2020 at his election night watch party at the Barn Door to supporters after early voting results showed Allison ahead of opponent Democrat Celina Montoya. William Luther/Staff John Kocurek, poses for a photo with Gov. Greg Abbott, center, and Texas House District 121 candidate Marc LaHood at The Barn Door Restaurant in San Antonio where Abbott gave his support to LaHood on Friday, Feb. 8, 2024. Marvin Pfeiffer/Staff Photographer Texas House District 121 candidate Michael Champion, right, addresses a question opposite fellow candidate Marc LaHood in a first round of debates with candidates for Texas House District 121 and Precinct 3 County Commissioner hosted by the Republican Party of Bexar County at Aggie Park in San Antonio on Thursday, Feb. 1, 2024. District 121 incumbent, Steve Allison, was not present for the debate. Marvin Pfeiffer/Staff Photographer In a debate this week between San Antonio Rep. Steve Allison and the Republican trying to take his place, the moderator was so eager to ask the pair about private school vouchers that she skipped the candidates opening remarks. The issue is defining the GOP primary between Allison, who voted against vouchers, and Marc LaHood, who says he would support spending taxpayer dollars on private education. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The race is one of a dozen the governor is targeting to push his school voucher program over the finish line. And the contest between Allison and Lahood appears to be among the closest and most heated in the state. Adding to the stakes: the seat will be one of the most competitive in the state come November, so nominating a more conservative Republican could create an opening for Democrats. Although Allison enjoyed a huge fundraising head start last year, in the last month LaHood narrowed the gap thanks to hefty donations from Gov. Greg Abbott and James Leininger, a San Antonio billionaire who has long donated to conservative causes, particularly to support school vouchers. Voters in the district say theyre receiving prodigious amounts of mailers, text messages and digital ads in the race. Jon Taylor, a political science professor at the University of Texas at San Antonio who also lives in the district, said he doesnt see many LaHood or Allison yard signs in the district, but theres a heated virtual campaign. Vouchers are on the ballot no question, Taylor said. Given the amount of money and the amount of at least virtual air war thats taking place, especially on LaHoods side, it does make me wonder if hes going to pull an upset. Advertisement Article continues below this ad There is a third candidate in the race, physicians assistant Michael Champion, who unsuccessfully ran against Allison in 2022 and won about 2,500 votes. Taylor noted that if Champion were to win enough votes, he could force LaHood and Allison into a runoff that would likely draw intense statewide attention and outside spending. Statewide, most of the anti-voucher Republicans live in rural districts where they say voters arent interested in the subsidies because there are very few private education options and public schools often serve as the center of local communities. Allison, however, represents a wealthy area of north San Antonio and Alamo Heights that counts a number of private schools. Of the public school students in the district, most attend either Alamo Heights, an A-rated district in the most recent year of Texas Education Agency accountability scores, and North East ISD, which has a B-rating. A former member of Alamo Heights ISDs board, Allison is presenting himself as an experienced community leader with the relationships in Austin and San Antonio to make good things happen for the district. His major campaign backers are Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan, and the Charles Butt Education PAC, which opposes vouchers. The education lobbying group Hillco has also donated $25,000 to Allisons campaign. Allison decries vouchers as an entitlement that is being pushed with dishonest talking points. He says vouchers provide choices not to parents, but to the private schools themselves, which dont have to meet the same accountability metrics as public ones and are allowed to pick and choose students. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Allison said he absolutely believed hed done the right thing by voting against vouchers last year, even if it costs him his seat. Ive been with the governor on every single issue since Ive been in the House every single one except school vouchers. I just cant get there on private school vouchers, he said at the debate Monday night, hosted by the San Antonio Report at Norris Conference Center in the Park North Shopping Center. LaHood, a criminal defense attorney who previously ran for Bexar County district attorney, is presenting himself as more conservative than Allison, whom he attacks as a fake conservative who voted with Democrats to block vouchers and to impeach Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. Paxton has endorsed LaHood, as have Abbott and U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz. Advertisement Article continues below this ad In recent campaign speeches, LaHood has stayed laser-focused on securing the border, eliminating election fraud and passing school vouchers. In contrast to some other candidates whom Abbott has supported for their position on vouchers, LaHood has placed the issue at the forefront of the campaign. I believe and I am unashamedly pro-school choice, he said at the debate. I believe in competition as a driving force. I believe in freedom, that indoctrination doesn't belong in our schools. Those are the platforms I plan on pushing forward. For many voters, Allisons vote on vouchers is presented as either the primary reason to vote for him or reject him. Jon Cochran, a lifetime Republican who said he has become more independent-minded in the last 8 years, said hes supporting Allison in the primary because of the backbone he showed opposing the voucher plan. Parents have a choice to send their kids to private schools and thats great. But they should have to pay for it, he said. Theyre taking money away from public schools. Public schools that need it more. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Meanwhile, those supporting LaHood present it as an example of how Allison is not conservative enough to represent the district. Adrien Childers, a bitcoin investor, said he is enthusiastically supporting LaHood in the race. Im just really surprised at how liberal some Republicans are in San Antonio, he said, accusing Allison of relying on liberal talking points to oppose school vouchers, such as criticizing them for defunding public schools. Im surprised hed say that out loud, Childers said, adding hes surprised Allison has taken this position even though its private schools that have God in schools. Not only is the contest key to the future of school vouchers, its also one of the best pickup opportunities for Democrats a rarity in a state where Republicans have used the map-making pens to carefully protect incumbents. In 2022, Allison won reelection by one of the slimmest margins of all state House races. With LaHood running as an uncompromising conservative who will be a loyal foot soldier for Abbott if elected, he may struggle more than Allison to win over independents or moderate Democrats in a tight general election. If Allison is not the nominee and LaHoods the nominee, I think you might see a much more competitive race in November, Taylor said, describing Allison as more of a consensus-builder compared to LaHood, who is more in-your-face. LaHood said he learned from his unsuccessful campaign to become Bexar County DA that his messaging appeals to all voters, not just conservatives. He lost that race by about 60,000 votes, or 12 percent, but he won the most total votes of the Republicans running for countywide office, including for county judge, county clerk and district clerk. When we talk to (Democrats) about what we care about, about what we have in common those are messages that are beyond a party, LaHood said. Those are truths, those are fears that apply to everybody. The winner of the GOP primary will face one of the two Democrats who are facing off in the March primaries: Shekhar Sinha, a retired IT professional and Laurel Jordan Swift, who works in Medical sales. When Abbott came to campaign for LaHood last week at The Barn Door Restaurant & Meat Market in San Antonio, about a dozen protestors gathered outside. Jessica Latimer held a sign saying vouchers would defund public schools. Although shes a Democrat, she said she was considering voting in the Republican primary to support Allison, who last year defied the governor along with 20 others in the GOP by voting to strip vouchers from a public education funding bill. You really have to see all the issues that each person stands for and then you vote for the lesser of two evils, Latimer said. Another protester and Democrat, Claudia Glass, disagreed, although she also preferred Allison to LaHood. WASHINGTON (AP) An FBI informant has been charged with lying to authorities about a multimillion-dollar bribery scheme involving President Joe Biden, his son Hunter and a Ukrainian energy company, a claim that is central to the Republican impeachment inquiry in Congress. Alexander Smirnov falsely reported in June 2020 that executives associated with the Ukrainian energy company Burisma paid Hunter and Joe Biden $5 million each in 2015 or 2016, prosecutors said Thursday. Smirnov said a Burisma executive had claimed to have hired Hunter Biden to protect us, through his dad, from all kinds of problems, prosecutors said. No charges in deadly Kansas City parade shooting Smirnov, 43, was indicted Wednesday on charges of making a false statement and creating a false and fictitious record. No attorney was immediately listed for him in court records. He was expected to make a first court appearance in Las Vegas, where he was arrested Wednesday after arriving from overseas, prosecutors said. The informants claims have been central to the Republican effort in Congress to investigate the president and his family, and helped spark what is now a House impeachment inquiry into Biden. Prosecutors say that Smirnov had contact with Burisma executives, but it was routine and actually took place took place in 2017, after President Barack Obama and Biden, his vice president, had left office when Biden would have had no ability to influence U.S. policy. Smirnov transformed his routine and unextraordinary business contacts with Burisma in 2017 and later into bribery allegations against Public Official 1, the presumptive nominee of one of the two major political parties for President, after expressing bias against Public Official 1 and his candidacy, the indictment said. He repeated some of the false claims when he was interviewed by FBI agents in September 2023 and changed his story about others and promoted a new false narrative after he said he met with Russian officials, prosecutors said. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 25 years in prison. The charges were filed by Justice Department special counsel David Weiss, who has separately charged Hunter Biden with firearm and tax violations. Hunter Bidens legal team did not immediately return a message seeking comment. The allegations became a flashpoint in Congress as Republicans pursing investigations of President Joe Biden and his family demanded the FBI release the unredacted form documenting the allegations. They acknowledged they couldnt confirm if the allegations were true. What to do if you get this letter from the IRS House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., had subpoenaed the FBI last year for the so-called FD-1023 document as Republicans deepened their probe of Biden and his son Hunter ahead of the 2024 presidential election. Working alongside Comer, Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa released an unclassified document that Republicans at the time claimed was significant in their investigation of Hunter Biden. It added to information that had been widely aired during Donald Trumps first impeachment trial involving Trump attorney Rudy Giulianis efforts to dig up dirt on the Bidens ahead of the 2020 election. The White House said at the time that the claims had been debunked for years. The impeachment inquiry into Biden over his sons business dealings has lagged in the House, but the panel is pushing ahead with its work. Hunter Biden is expected to appear before the committee later this month for an interview. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Fox 8 Cleveland WJW. Washington The special counsel who is investigating the president's son, Hunter Biden, charged a one-time FBI informant with lying to investigators about the business dealings of the first son and President Biden. Special counsel David Weiss charged Alexander Smirnov, 43, with making a false statement and creating a fictitious record in what's known as an FBI 1023 report based on the false information he provided to investigators. Smirnov was arrested at a Nevada airport on Wednesday, the Justice Department said. According to a grand jury indictment unsealed in the Central District of California, Smirnov allegedly began speaking with his FBI handler in 2017 to discuss Burisma Holdings, Limited, a Ukrainian holding company that hired Hunter Biden to sit on its board. It was not until June 2020, three years later, that Smirnov allegedly told the FBI about two meetings in 2015 or 2016 in which he said he was told that the company was paying Hunter Biden on serve on Burisma's board to "protect us, through his dad, from all kinds of problems." Later, Smirnov allegedly told investigators that "that they had specifically paid $5 million each to Public Official 1, when he was in office, and Businessperson 1 so that '[Businessperson 1] will take care of all those issues through his dad," according to charging documents. The indictment does not specifically identify President Biden nor his son by name, but the descriptions in court papers match their identities. "The Defendant made these statements to the Handler in June 2020, when Public Official 1 was a candidate for President of the United States and the presumptive nominee of one of the two major political parties," the indictment alleged. Prosecutors alleged both statements, which were memorialized in an FBI record form, "were false, as the Defendant knew." "No such statements were made to the Defendant because, in truth and fact, Defendant met with officials from Burisma for the first time in 2017, after Public Official 1 left office in January 2017, and after the then-Ukrainian Prosecutor General had been fired in February 2016," the special counsel said. Smirnov continued to make his alleged false statements to federal investigators up until September 2023, when the indictment said he, "repeated some of his false claims, changed his story as to other of his claims, and promoted a new false narrative after he said he met with Russian officials." The special counsel accused Smirnov of "expressing a bias" against Mr. Biden in May 2020 text messages with his FBI handler, expressing a view that the then presidential candidate was "going to jail." The FBI 1023 that the special counsel alleges was based on Smirnov's false information correlates with an investigative document that drew intense scrutiny from congressional Republicans over the last year because they alleged it pointed to alleged misdeeds by Mr. Biden and his son. Weiss' indictment appears to rebut that claim, alleging Smirnov "transformed his routine and unextraordinary business contacts with Burisma in 2017 and later into bribery allegations against Public Official 1, the presumptive nominee of one of the two major political parties for President, after expressing bias against Public Official 1 and his candidacy." An attorney for the defendant could not be immediately identified. The president's son has been charged with nine federal tax charges for what the special counsel alleges was a "four-year scheme" to avoid paying at least $1.4 million in federal taxes. Weiss, who was appointed U.S. attorney for Delaware by former President Donald Trump and named special counsel by Attorney General Merrick Garland in 2023, charged Hunter Biden with three felony gun charges in the state of Delaware that are related to his alleged unlawful possession of a firearm. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges. Responding to Thursday's charges, Hunter Biden's attorney, Abbe Lowell, said in a statement, ""For months we have warned that Republicans have built their conspiracies about Hunter and his family on lies told by people with political agendas, not facts. We were right and the air is out of their balloon." Texas Smokehouse Creek Fire becomes second-largest wildfire in U.S. history Closing arguments to start in bid to remove Fani Willis from Trump Georgia case Trump asks court to push classified documents trial to after 2024 election Hunter Biden, son of President Joe Biden, talks to reporters at the US Capitol last December - Jose Luis Magana/AP An FBI informant who played a central role in the claims of corruption levelled by Republicans at Joe Biden and his son has been charged with making false statements. Alexander Smirnov falsely reported to the FBI that executives associated with the Ukrainian energy company Burisma paid the US President and his son Hunter $5 million each. Mr Smirnov make the allegations to agents in June 2020 and claimed the Bidens had received the money in either 2015 or 2016, according to an indictment make public on Thursday. As alleged in the indictment, the events that Smirnov first reported to the FBI agent in June 2020 were fabrications, the Justice Department said in a statement. Referring to President Biden, it added: The indictment alleges that the defendant transformed his routine and unextraordinary business contacts with Burisma in 2017 and later into bribery allegations against Public Official 1 after expressing bias against Public Official 1 and his presidential candidacy. Mr Smirnov was arrested on Wednesday when he flew into Las Vegas from overseas, and charged with making a false statement and creating a false and fictitious record. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 25 years in prison. On Thursday, Mr Smirnov, 43, appeared in a Las Vegas court where the charges were made public. He has not yet entered a plea and judge ordered the courtroom cleared after a federal public defender requested a closed hearing for arguments about sealing court documents. Court documents allege Mr Smirnov told his handler that an executive claimed to have hired Hunter Biden to protect us, through his dad, from all kinds of problems. In reality, Mr Smirnov had only routine business dealings with the company in 2017 and made the bribery allegations after he expressed bias against Mr Biden while he was a presidential candidate, officials allege. The claims have been a central part of allegations of corruption levelled at Mr Biden and his son by Republicans, including Donald Trump. Last December, the House of Representatives voted on party lines to launch an impeachment investigation into the President. The House Oversight Committee has sought Hunter Bidens testimony, something he has said he will provide but only at a public hearing. The President and his son have always denied any wrong-doing. A lawyer for Hunter Biden said the charges showed the probe was based on dishonest, uncredible allegations and witnesses. Meanwhile senior Democrats on the committee called for an end to the impeachment inquiry. Congressman Jamie Raskin of Maryland said the case against Mr Biden have always been a tissue of lies built on conspiracy theories. He called on Speaker Mike Johnson, Oversight Committee chairman James Comer and House Republicans to stop promoting this nonsense and end their doomed impeachment inquiry. Yet Mr Comer downplayed the importance of the informant, who had figured centrally to the start of the probe. To be clear, the impeachment inquiry is not reliant on the FBIs FD-1023, Mr Comer said in a statement, referring to the form documenting Mr Smirnovs allegations. Republican committee chairman James Comer prepares for a television interview in the Capitol last month - Kent Nishimura/Getty Images North America He claimed the inquiry was based on a large record of evidence, including bank records and witness testimony including interviews this week. He said the committee would continue to follow the facts and determine whether to proceed with articles of impeachment against Mr Biden. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 3 months with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. A federal judge plans to quickly issue a ruling in a lawsuit over legislation designed to institute new penalties for illegal border crossings. David Ezra, judge for the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, said Thursday he will soon make the ruling on whether Senate Bill 4 is constitutional. The bill is a state-level effort to curb illegal border crossings in Texas. During a three-hour hearing, Ezra on many occasions bemoaned the confrontation between state and federal authority that SB 4 instigates in an effort to give Texas' law enforcement the ability to arrest, detain and deport those thought to have entered the country illegally. Federal prosecutors take issue with provisions under the bill that give state officials the ability to exercise authority over a person's entry or removal from the country. They also decried the legislation as a hindrance to international relations, a violation of foreign commerce laws and an affront to the existing judicial process. Federal prosecutors have categorically rebutted the state's ability to make decisions in the immigration arena. They argued throughout the hearing and in previous filings that it's an issue entirely under the purview of the federal government. "While SB 4 would inflict concrete, irreparable harms on the United States, Texas fails to show that its absence will have any material impact," prosecutors wrote in the days leading up to the hearing. Kristin Etter of the Texas Immigration Law Council speaks at a news conference Thursday before a federal court hearing in Austin about the constitutionality of Senate Bill 4. Prosecutors also argue Texas' immigration law is based on the idea that the state has been forced to face an invasion by itself, which is not the case and, even so, legal precedent does not allow for the actions being taken to repel immigration. More: Texas Latinos as large a voting bloc as ever. What this means for Democrats and Republicans "There's been no abandonment here," U.S. Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian Boynton said Thursday. What is SB 4 and when would go into effect Passed by the Legislature in November, SB 4 creates a series of penalties for those suspected of coming into Texas from Mexico other than through a legal international port of entry. The penalties range from a Class B misdemeanor to a second-degree felony. SB 4, which is set to go into effect on March 5, requires people accused of illegally crossing the state's southern border to either accept a magistrate judge's deportation order or face a second-degree felony charge for noncompliance. The law was immediately challenged in court after its passage. Federal prosecutors entered their lawsuit in January, suing the state of Texas and joining a previous lawsuit filed late last year by the ACLU, ACLU of Texas, Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center, American Gateways, the Texas Civil Rights Project and the County of El Paso. Ryan Walters of the Texas attorney general's office leaves after Thursday's court hearing where he defended SB 4. Gov. Greg Abbott and others praise SB 4, while judge expresses skepticism In a campaign visit alongside Gov. Greg Abbott to the border last week, state Rep. David Spiller, R-Jacksboro, celebrated carrying SB 4 through the House, calling the legislation a "landmark" bill. "It's not preempted by existing federal immigration law," Spiller said during the border news conference. "It's not in conflict with federal immigration law, that's in place and, mostly, Texas has the right, the constitutional right and authority, to secure its border." Expressing skepticism, and at times criticism, of the legislation's structure, Ezra disagreed with the bill's author during Thursday's hearing, addressing concerns over the due process of migrants, the feasibility of the state's removal process and the ramifications of Texas setting a precedent for other states to follow in rejecting federal authority. Although Ezra reiterated on multiple occasions that he views the complaints from state officials stemming from the border to be legitimate, citing previous experience adjudicating on the immigration issue previously in Arizona, California and South Texas. David Donatti of the ACLU of Texas talks to reporters about SB 4, which the organization opposes. But the question that wakes him up at 2:30 a.m., Ezra told attorneys during the hearing, is what happens when other states begin to follow Texas' example and introduce their own immigration interpretations, neglecting federal law in the process. "And that's precisely the same thing that the Civil War said you can't do," Ezra said. Texas argues in support of its immigration law, claims it's facing invasion alone Ryan Walters, chief of special litigation in the Texas attorney general's office, argued that the state's attempt at immigration law should be seen as a mirror policy to those of the federal government and necessary on account of increasing immigration patterns. More: How the border crisis sparked the worst Texas-federal relationship in modern memory Walters, in front of the court and in previous filings, argued that seeking to delay the implementation of the law is not necessary as the concerns are based on situations that have not yet occurred. Meanwhile, a group of nearly 50 members of Congress have signed an amicus brief, backing Texas' argument that the state has faced an invasion that has necessitated its own immigration policy. From left, Mori Leyva, Heather Malkawi and Bryce Lambeth unfurl a banner protesting SB 4 outside Austin's U.S. Courthouse on Thursday. "In the absence of any meaningful federal action, Texas has taken several measures to secure its borders and repel the invasion of criminal drug cartels and the flood of illegal aliens from around the world whom the cartels traffic into Texas." the lawmakers, led by U.S. Rep. Jodey Arrington, R-Lubbock, wrote in their brief. There is also concern SB 4 could lead to an increase in arrests and strain the criminal justice system, the Harris County district attorney's office wrote in a separate amicus brief. Roughly 80,000 people could face charges, according to previous legislative testimony from the Texas Department of Public Safety. Mandatory sentences under SB 4, which range between six months and 20 years, will affect the county's jail costs and possibly force further outsourcing of jail operations, the letter argues. Additionally, community members might be more fearful of approaching law enforcement upon the implementation of the law, which is set to go into effect March 5. When will the judge rule on SB 4 Saying he expects any ruling will be promptly appealed, Ezra said he expects to rule on whether to grant an injunction of SB 4 prior to the new law taking effect in March. "I will try to get my decision out as quickly as I possibly can," Ezra said. This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Federal judge skeptical of Texas' sweeping immigration, deportation law Timothy Marlowe, Ph.D., talks about cancer research at the new Biomedical Sciences Partnership Building that opened on Feb. 23, 2017, at the University of Arizona College of Medicine-Phoenix. A proposal that gives federal government great powers on the relicensing of patents could inadvertently suppress research including by Arizonas world-class universities and hurt local startups and small businesses. Officials at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, or NIST, are trying to change how the federal government implements a hugely influential, 43-year-old law that empowers universities to patent their federally funded discoveries and license them to private companies. Absent this ability, many world-changing innovations from therapeutics to medical devices and more would never reach the public. The proposed changes would deter companies from licensing those research discoveries thereby jeopardizing a system that supports tens of thousands of high-tech jobs for Arizonans and spurs billions in economic activity. The old system stymied new technology Tech Launch Arizona, the organization I lead, works on a daily basis with companies to license the University of Arizonas patented discoveries and develop them into products that improve, even save, Americans lives. As we recently warned in a public comment letter to NIST, this new policy could kill much of this beneficial licensing activity. To see the consequences clearly, we have to look back nearly 50 years. In the 1970s, the federal government was devoting billions to basic research, much of it at university labs. The research the government funded resulted in thousands of discoveries and inventions. But Washington retained the patent and licensing rights and typically refused to grant exclusive licenses to companies that could have turned the research discoveries into useful products for consumers and businesses. Fewer than 5% of nearly 30,000 government-held patents were licensed. The system discouraged the further development of countless new medicines and technologies. University patents generate billions in Arizona The Bayh-Dole Act, passed in 1980, aimed to restore American technological leadership and revive our moribund innovation ecosystem. The act allowed universities and researchers to retain those intellectual property rights, and provided incentives for investors and licensees to help move these ideas into the marketplace. Bayh-Dole exceeded all expectations. More than 17,000 startups emerged from it and today the act is credited with supporting 6.5 million jobs. In Arizona alone, Tech Launch has secured since our inception in 2012 more than 600 patents for inventions from our brilliant researchers and spun off more than 130 startups. Just in the five-year span between 2017-2021, this activity has contributed more than $1.6 billion to our states economy. Our license partners are working to commercialize revolutionary inventions, including: NIST would allow government to march in Over the next 10 years, were projected to generate another $4.7 billion in economic output and more than $172 million in tax revenues for our state. Now, however, the National Institute of Standards and Technology has essentially proposed that federal agencies have greater flexibility to march-in and relicense patents when a products price is challenged. This change could hurt: Critical cancer research This change would constitute a huge departure from precedent and would flout congressional intent. The federal government has never asserted this march-in authority based solely on the price of an already developed product. Indeed, price is mentioned nowhere in the legislative text as a potential trigger for march-in, and the laws drafters, Sens. Birch Bayh, D-Ind., and Bob Dole, R-Kansas, explicitly stated that this omission was intentional. Why is this so important? Change could undermine UA's research Entrepreneurs and investors are willing to take a chance on risky technologies only if they are certain they can reap the rewards of any successful efforts. If patents that touched federal research funding come with the risk that the government can step in if it doesnt agree with the pricing set by the company, Tech Launch Arizona and similar institutions nationwide will find it much harder to identify partners willing to take a chance on bringing inventions to market. The proposal doesnt just affect the funding of university research. Any federal funding including Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer program funding would be impacted. The march-in proposal would undermine the work of University of Arizona researchers and our community of entrepreneurs. President Biden can still direct his Department of Commerce to reverse course before the proposed guidance becomes final. For the sake of thousands of world-changing products that are still early in the R&D pipeline, lets hope he does so. Doug Hockstad is associate vice president for Tech Launch Arizona at the University of Arizona. Reach him at douglash@tla.arizona.edu. This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: University of Arizona patents generate billions. NIST could yank them Since AI is a progressing technology, we can expect many more firsts to come after generative AI tools have more functions developed. One would not expect to hear about a person marrying anything generated by AI, but that is exactly what a Spanish artist is planning to do. The First Human-AI Marriage It has already been established that AI is far from being advanced to the point of sentience, meaning that it is still incapable of processing or understanding emotions. However, that's not stopping a Spanish artist from marrying an AI-generated projection. 57-year-old Alicia Framis marks the first when it comes to any marital relationship with AI. Artificial intelligence boyfriends and girlfriends are nothing new, but in Framis' case, she will also be accompanied by a hologram of her future husband named AILex. She believes that "the next important step is emotionally connecting humans with artificial intelligence," also stating in her blog that holograms are closer to her emotions than robots, as reported by Interesting Engineering. Although holograms do not provide any tactile form for the sense of touch, there are researchers who managed to create simulations of sensation by using jets of air. Still, it's far from anything physical that a robotic figure could provide. The artist has been experimenting with loneliness and intimacy for more than two decades. There was even a point in her life in the mid-90s when she had a mannequin doll as a companion, so it's not the first time that she had a relationship with what most see as inanimate. The wedding, which is part of the artist's project called "The Hybrid Couple," will take place this summer in Rotterdam, Netherlands. Framis sees the holographic projections as "interactive presences in our homes," the same way telephones "saved us from loneliness." Framis expressed that she wants to develop an artistic way for an artist such as herself to develop a relationship with a hologram and "explore how this relationship will come to be." Although some may see it as absurd, it could be interesting to see the turnout a couple of years from now. Read Also: GPT Store is Already Infested with 'Girlfriend' Bots Despite Restrictions Humans' Relationships with AI A simple Google search for AI companions will result in several links to apps and sites, and they will take on the role of assistants, friends, and even romantic partners. Many have already resorted to chatbots to assuage feelings of loneliness. This may seem harmful enough, but recent reports say that may not be the case. Aside from AI chatbots not having the emotional capacity of a human being, they also come with security risks as users reveal personal information about themselves. As reported by Gizmodo, Around 90% collect your data, with some apps and sites selling your information to companies for targeted ads. More than half of the researched romantic AI apps have no option for deleting the files they acquired from their users. The study comes from a project called *Privacy Not Included by Mozilla, which looks into such apps including Replika, Chai, Romantic AI, EVA AI Chat Bot & Soulmate, CrushOn.AI, and many other platforms that provide romantic companionship. Related: Romantic AI Chatbots Are Harvesting Personal Data, Researcher Says Plans would allow dentists trained abroad to start work in the NHS without a formal check on the quality of their education - ANDY RAIN/EPA-EFE/SHUTTERSTOCK Foreign dentists are to be allowed to work in the UK without taking an exam to check their qualifications, under Government plans to solve the dental crisis. Ministers plan to scrap the overseas entrance exam currently required to allow dentists from countries outside of Europe to come and work in Britain. The plans would mean dentists trained abroad would be able to start work in the NHS without a formal check on the quality of their education, amid fears it will lead to substandard care. Around four in five NHS dental surgeries are not accepting new patients, which has caused a surge in teeth-related A&E admissions, including among children with tooth decay. The dentists union accused the Government of trying to a fill a leaky bucket without addressing the real issues keeping the profession away from NHS work. The proposals would see foreign dentists start working quicker, with the regulator the General Dental Council (GDC) given new legal powers to provisionally register dentists using its own judgment on their qualifications. Officials claim this will ensure patient safety and quality of care are maintained, while those on the new, provisional register would have to be supervised to work. Dame Andrea Leadsom, the health minister, said the plan would abolish red tape - HEATHCLIFF O'MALLEY Dame Andrea Leadsom, the health minister, said the plan would abolish red tape that currently prevents fully qualified overseas dentists from working in this country, while ensuring the highest standards of care and patient safety. The shortage of NHS dentists led to hundreds of people queuing outside a new practice in Bristol from the early hours of the morning at the start of this month. It was the first in the city to accept new patients in more than six months and the police were forced to intervene as the practice had to turn patients away. Patient groups are concerned the plans wont fix the crisis, particularly if there is no obligation for foreign dentists to do NHS work. Dennis Reed, director of over-60s campaign group Silver Voices, said: It is not the number of dentists thats the issue, its the number directly concentrating on NHS work. The worst possible outcome of this would be for large numbers of overseas dentists to come over and concentrate on private work. Worst possible outcome The British Dental Association (BDA) said the recovery plan was unworthy of the title, and that there was no evidence overseas dentists were more willing to do NHS work than those already in the UK. A record number of dentists are registered to practise with the GDC, the union said, but the number doing NHS work has fallen to 2016 levels because of tick boxes and targets. It said the Department of Health had provided no modelling to back up its claims of millions of new appointments, and that there was no plan to increase capacity. Eddie Crouch, BDA chair, said: A broken contract is forcing dentists out of the NHS with every day it remains in force. Overseas dentists are no more likely to stick with a failed system than their UK colleagues. Ministers need to stop trying to fill a leaky bucket, and actually fix it. Currently dentists who qualify outside of the European Economic Area are required to take an exam set by Britains dental regulator, the GDC. Dentists with qualifications from 14 select universities in Australia, South Africa, Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia and New Zealand are also exempt from the exam, but only if they graduated before 2001. Health leaders described the UK entrance exams as red tape and causing lengthy delays in dentists being able to register and start treating Brits. Dental deserts It comes a week after the NHS announced its recovery plan to fix so-called dental deserts by giving dentists cash incentives to relocate. Among the bonuses on offer are 20,000 golden hello payments to move to areas without an NHS dentist, as well as up to 50 extra for patients who havent had an appointment in two years, with the aim of creating 2.5 million extra appointments. The minimum cost of an appointment is also set to rise from 23 to 28. The proposals will be consulted on for three-months before being debated on by MPs in Parliament before any changes come into effect. Jason Wong, the interim chief dental officer for England, said the proposals could be another vital step towards transforming NHS dental services to ensure faster access for patients. Stefan Czerniawski, a director at the GDC said it was an exciting opportunity but added that we need to take time to get this right. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 3 months with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. The office of L.A. City Councilmember Curren Price, pictured last year, denies allegations that he or his staff retaliated against the aide. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times) A former longtime aide to Los Angeles City Councilmember Curren Price alleges in a claim filed against the city that she was fired from her job after Price staffers accused her of being a snitch in the criminal case brought against the councilman by L.A. County Dist. Atty. George Gascon. Angie Reyes English, a former senior field deputy for Price, filed the claim on Feb 1. Such claims are typically lodged before a formal lawsuit. The four-page claim, which was reviewed by The Times, alleges that Reyes English faced intimidation by Price and his team and was eventually dismissed from her job in January. Angelina Valencia-Dumarot, a Price spokesperson, denied the former staffer's allegations. In fact, Reyes English had been the subject of complaints from Price's staff, Valencia-Dumarot said. Read more: L.A. Councilmember Curren Price says he is innocent and should not be suspended We deny these baseless allegations and have been working closely with [the city's Personnel Department] on this matter for months," Valencia-Dumarot said in a statement. "Last year, several district office staff members lodged separate formal complaints [with the Personnel Department] citing Angie Reyes Englishs harassing and threatening behavior, which caused some to become anxious and depressed." Attorney Greg Smith, who represents Reyes English, said his client is unaware of any complaints, and has never been notified of any complaints, formal or informal, against her. Reyes English serves in Hawthorne as mayor pro tem and a City Council member, according to that city's website. She declined an interview request. She worked for Price for 17 years, according to her complaint. Price, a Democrat, previously served in the state Senate and Assembly. Ivor Pine, a spokesperson for Los Angeles City Atty. Hydee Feldstein Soto, declined to comment on the claim. Gascon charged Price in June 2023 with 10 counts of embezzlement, perjury and conflict of interest. The charges relate to medical benefits that his wife, Del Richardson Price, received from the city and votes that the councilman cast that allegedly benefited his wife's business. Price has vigorously denied the charges. Reyes English's claim alleges that nearly two weeks after the district attorney's office filed its case against Price, the councilmans right-hand man, Jose Ugarte a deputy chief of staff called Reyes English and told her that he and other Price confidants believed she was a whistleblower" and had disclosed information to "government agencies." The next day, Reyes English told her supervisors and human resources representatives that she had been intimidated by those who thought she was the snitch, according to her claim. Price and others retaliated against Reyes English, according to her claim. She was placed on "involuntary medical leave for about 3 months starting July 1, 2023. When she returned to work, she said, additional actions were taken to intimidate, harass, and harm her. She was terminated from her job on Jan. 9, according to the claim. The district attorney's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment about her claim. Price is due back in court in early March. Last month, a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge denied a request from Price's defense team to throw out the case against him on the grounds that the prosecution had failed to prove Price's votes were motivated by his wife's business dealings. Price's defense attorney, Michael Schafler, had also argued that prosecutors inappropriately filed embezzlement charges when Price's alleged conduct related to his wife's health insurance did not meet the definition of the crime under California law. Times staff writer James Queally contributed to this report. Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (WJHL) The massive former Citi building in Gray once the topic of discussions about conversion to a new school has a new owner and is set to house the regions largest CPA firm. Property records show RBM Properties of Gray and Mark Larkey paid Citigroup Technology $6 million for the nearly 128,000 square feet of floor space that once housed around 2,000 Citi employees. The property, sold Jan. 29, covers 9.8 acres. It was originally listed for $10 million last year and that asking price had been lowered to $8 million when News Channel 11 reported last June on the discussions about using it for a school. John Speropulos is marketing the property for lease and said regional accounting firm Blackburn, Childers & Steagall (BCS) has purchased about 55,000 square feet of the space, leaving roughly 75,000 for lease. Despite the large amount of available space, Speropulos sounded bullish on the prospects Thursday. The former Citi building. (WJHL) Theres a lot of activity right now in the commercial market in all asset types, he said, referring to the main sectors of office, warehouse/industrial and retail/restaurant. He said that includes office demand and added theres not a lot of product out there for people. Many local Citi employees now work from home and the companys call center is now in a smaller building in Boones Creek. A Johnson City building permit issued Feb. 12 for interior demolition calls for $265,000 of work to be performed by Burleson Construction, and its described as for BCS Office. BCSs Andy Hatfield told News Channel 11in November 2023 the firm was considering putting all its paid staff under one roof. It was BCS that sought and got a rezoning approval for the property from light industrial to planned community business in November. A BCS representative said Thursday the firm expects to be able to provide more details about plans for its portion of the building within the next few weeks. Speropulos said he doesnt expect BCS to be alone among companies in considering once-sleepy Gray as a location. Its a great opportunity for other users within the region who want to be more centrally located to stake a presence in Gray and be more easily accessible to their client base in this market, he said. The building, which Speropulos said Citi took very good care of, isnt necessarily limited to office uses. In late January the director of the Washington County Public Librarys Gray branch told News Channel 11 the library had outgrown its current space and that board members were eyeing the Citi building as a possible new location. Speropulos said the new owners, who have their own business headquartered just a stones throw away, considered the building a really nice asset for our community and wanted to see it continue to be something nice. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WJHL | Tri-Cities News & Weather. A new Samsung Chromebook with an Assistant key feature is reportedly on its way, as spotted by Chrome Unboxed. According to the report, a file in the Chromium Repositories gave a hint that the new Chromebook is coming under the codename 'Xol.' Read Also: Google Chromebooks Are Getting Lifespan Extensions After Extreme Criticism Chromebook with Assistant Key Feature Although a dozen Chromebooks are continuously being developed, there have only been a few ChromeOS devices to offer the Assistant key feature over the past years. All of them are Made by Google products such as the Pixelbook, Pixelbook Go, and Pixel Slate. However, code changes to Xol have been traced to Samsung developers. It is also no secret that Google and Samsung have been working together in the past years such as the Pixel series' Tensor chips. 9to5Google suggested that there are no signs of Samsung building the next Google Pixelbook but rather Xol will be the next Samsung Chromebook following the 2021 Galaxy Chromebook Go. Samsung Chromebook With Assistant Key Rumored Specs Based on the report there are few hints about its possible specifications. For instance, it would be powered by either a 13th or 14th-generation Intel Core processor under the Raptor Lake series. In addition, there are also no signs of making it a convertible device, and is expected to adopt the traditional clamshell look. Beyond its processor and design, the in-depth details of the next-generation Chromebook are still unknown, with only the Assistant key as the main highlight. As of writing, Xol's life is fairly new with a speculation that it only began last January 3. "It's simply too early in this Chromebook's life cycle to determine who is behind it, what it will be, and why it exists with a dedicated Assistant key," Chrome Unboxed wrote. Regardless, both Samsung and Google have been actively working on integrating and improving their AI tools for their devices. Related Article: Samsung Defends 'Washed Out' Colors on Galaxy S24 Ultra, Says it's on Purpose Former U.S. diplomat Victor Manuel Rocha eluded detection as a Cuban agent for decades, authorities say, until the FBI uncovered his secret past in a sting operation that led to his arrest at his home in Miami in December. More than two months later, Rocha pleaded not guilty on Friday to a 15-count indictment at his arraignment in Miami federal court. Asked by U.S. Magistrate Judge Edwin Torres whether he understood the charges, Rocha said: I do, your honor. Rocha, who was cuffed and wearing a khaki detention uniform, is the former U.S. ambassador to Bolivia. He spent two decades at the U.S. State Department until he left the diplomatic service in 2002, and then worked in the private sector for two more decades before being arrested in Miami in early December. Rocha, 73, is charged with violating the Foreign Agents Registration Act, which requires those working under the control of a foreign government to notify the U.S. Attorney Generals office. Rocha faces charges of conspiracy, acting as a foreign agent, wire fraud and making false statements to obtain and use a U.S. passport, according to the indictment. His attorney, Jacqueline Arango, entered Rochas plea with him and requested a jury trial. The unusual delay in his arraignment suggested to legal experts that his endgame will be a plea deal. After the brief arraignment, Arango declined to answer questions. Since his arrest, Rocha has remained at the federal detention center, after agreeing to prosecutors demands that he be held before trial. They argued he is a danger to the community and a flight risk. If convicted, he faces years in prison and the loss of certain assets that can be traced to his alleged criminal activity as a Cuban agent over the past four decades. After being charged in December, Rocha transferred the deeds on four luxury Brickell City Centre condos that he bought with his wife, Karla Wittkop Rocha, exclusively to her, according to records filed on Feb. 8, with the Miami-Dade County Clerks office. The documents were originally signed in January. The quit-claim deed transfers were first reported by local Spanish-language station America TV. The Rochas two units in the Rise tower and two units in the Reach tower, located at the Brickell City Centre in downtown Miami, are valued at more than $4 million in total, according to the real estate website Zillow. Arango, the Miami attorney with the firm Akerman who is representing Rocha and formerly worked as a longtime federal prosecutor, signed the deed transfers as a witness. Asked after Fridays arraignment whether the deed transfers might be fraudulent, Arango declined to answer. According to the federal indictment, if Rocha is found guilty the government would seize any property derived from any proceeds obtained, directly or indirectly from the commission of such offense. Nelson Rodriguez Varela, a Miami attorney specializing in criminal and real estate law, said the property transfers were curious, though he stressed that Rocha is presumed innocent until found guilty or he pleads guilty to some or all of the charges. If he did that in order to defeat any government attempt to take his interest in the property if he is found guilty, I dont think he would be successful because he cannot transfer his equitable interest in the property because he is married, he said. People who knew Rocha described him as someone preoccupied with money. He told acquaintances that he left the federal government to pursue better-paid positions in the private sector. He worked as senior business advisor at the Miami law firm Foley & Lardner, senior vice president for Xcoal, a coal exporting company, and as senior vice president for Latin America at Canadian firm Barrick Gold Corp. Although Rocha was not charged with espionage, the U.S. Justice Department accused him of working as an undercover agent of Cubas General Directorate of Intelligence. The indictment accuses him of using his position to obtain sensitive information and pass it to Cuba, though it does not provide any details about what damage he may have done or the sort of secrets he revealed. A document attached to the indictment has been sealed by the court. The case sent shockwaves through the diplomatic and intelligence communities, where Rocha was highly regarded as an expert on Cuba and Latin American affairs. In Miami circles he was known as a fervent Republican and an admirer of former President Donald. Trump, although the indictment says Rocha was taped by an FBI undercover agent claiming his right-wing persona was part of his cover as a Cuban agent. The delay in Rochas arraignment, which was postponed twice, suggested to legal experts that he might have been negotiating a plea deal with prosecutors in the U.S. Attorneys Office. U.S. District Judge Beth Bloom has set trial for March 25 in Miami. Special Counsel David Weiss has charged a former FBI informant with lying about U.S. President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Bidens involvement in business dealings with Ukrainian energy company Burisma Holdings, CNN reported on Feb. 15. Alexander Smirnov, 43, is facing charges in connection with lying to the FBI and creating false records. He was arrested on Feb. 15 at Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas, after his arrival in the US from overseas, and will make his initial appearance in federal court the same afternoon. Read also: Probably after the war Ukraine wont be invited to join NATO this year U.S. State Department The charges undercut a key linchpin of the Republican impeachment case against the President. The indictment alleges that Smirnovs story to the FBI was a fabrication, an amalgam of otherwise unremarkable business meetings and contacts that had actually occurred, but at a later date than he claimed, and for the purpose of pitching Burisma on the Defendants services and products, not for discussing bribes to [Joe Biden] when he was in office. Congressional Republicans have uncritically championed Smirnovs now-discredited allegations for roughly a year and they fought with the FBI to obtain memos detailing what Smirnov told investigators. They later released the materials publicly, over the FBIs objections. Read also: SBU and SBI search Dubinskys residence in state treason case NV sources Republicans have repeatedly praised Smirnov as credible and put his uncorroborated claims front-and-center in their impeachment inquiry into the President. While announcing the impeachment inquiry, then-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said a trusted FBI informant has alleged a bribe to the Biden family. The collapse of Smirnovs story is a major blow to Republican narratives about the Biden family. For months we have warned that Republicans have built their conspiracies about Hunter and his family on lies told by people with political agendas, not facts, said Abbe Lowell, Hunter Bidens lawyer, in a statement to CNN. During Bidens campaign for the Presidency, Smirnov allegedly submitted reports to the FBI about two meetings with Burisma executives from 2015 and 2016, during which the executives admitted that they hired Hunter Biden to protect us, through his dad, from all kinds of problems. Read also: NATO to provide Ukraine with one million UAVs in 2024 Smirnov also allegedly reported that executives paid $5 million each to Joe and Hunter Biden while Joe Biden was Vice President so that Hunter would take care of all those issues through his dad, referring to a criminal investigation being conducted by the then-Ukrainian Prosecutor General into Burisma. In truth and fact, the Defendant had contact with executives from Burisma in 2017, after the end of the Obama-Biden Administration and after the then-Ukrainian Prosecutor General had been fired in February 2016. In other words, when [Joe Biden] had no ability to influence U.S. policy and when the Prosecutor General was no longer in office, the indictment states. Burisma is a privately owned Ukrainian gas production group. It is the country's only vertically integrated holding company engaged in the exploration, production, service, and sale of hydrocarbons. Burisma Group is one of the three largest independent gas producers in Ukraine and is headquartered in Cyprus. On June 12, 2020, Mykola Ilyashenko, the Kyiv Tax Services first deputy head, Andriy Kicha, Burisma's chief legal officer, and another trustee of former Ecology Minister Mykola Zlochevskyi, Burisma's owner, were detained. According to law enforcement, Zlochevskyi attempted to pay a bribe of $6 million to the then-head of the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) Nazar Kholodnytskyi, and the-then head of National Anti-Corruption Agency of Ukraine (NABU) Artem Sytnyk. SAPO and NABU were pursuing a criminal case against Zlochevskyi at the time, involving embezzling funds from the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) stabilization loan program. Read also: Everywhere is full of dead Russians CNN reporter stunned after his trip to the frontlines Zlochevskyi was served with a notice of suspicion in July 2020 and arrested in absentia by the Supreme Anti-Corruption Court. He left Ukraine in late 2014 when he received the status of a suspect in the case of illicit enrichment. In January 2015, the Prosecutor General's Office put him on the wanted list. In the fall of 2016, information about ex-minister was removed from the website of the Ukrainian Internal Affairs Ministry. Republicans have accused the President and his family of illicit enrichment through political decisions that they allege Biden made during his Vice Presidency in 2009-2017, when he held the position under Barack Obama. In addition, Republicans claim that the U.S. Department of Justice has interfered with the Hunter Biden investigation. However, they have yet to provide anything resembling convincing evidence linking Joe Biden's actions as Vice President to his son's business activities. On Dec. 14, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to formally authorize impeachment proceedings against Joe Biden. Were bringing the voice of Ukraine to the world. Support us with a one-time donation, or become a Patron! Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine Mr Philippe served as PM in Mr Macrons first government, before resigning to become mayor of Le Havre - ALAIN JOCARD/AFP Edouard Philippe, the former prime minister of France, has said he will stand for president, amid a growing swell of defections to his party from Emmanuel Macrons Renaissance camp. I have no problem saying that, in fact, I am preparing, he said during an interview with France Bleu. Why should I be the only one not to prepare? Madame Le Pen, she is preparing. When you think there are important deadlines in your life, we prepare for them. Mr Philippe served as prime minister in Mr Macrons first government between 2017 and 2020, before resigning to become mayor of Le Havre. The next elections in France are due in 2027 and Mr Macron cannot stand again because of the countrys two-term limit. Mr Philippe, who founded the centre-Right party Horizons in 2021, has not yet officially declared his candidacy, but MPs from Mr Macrons Renaissance party have already been defecting to join him, reports Le Figaro. Mr Macron cannot stand for president again due to France's two-term limit - LUDOVIC MARIN/AFP I am pleased to announce that Bertrand Bouyx and Pierre Henriet will now be at our side. Im really very happy about it, wrote Laurent Marcangeli, Horizons president, in an internal Telegram chat for party members. Mr Henriet has been vocal about his disapproval of Mr Macron in recent months. In December, he criticised the president for hosting a candle lighting ceremony at the Elysee palace during Hanukkah, which he said violated Frances secularism laws that call for the separation of church and state. I strongly condemn this attempt at religious preference. The Elysee is not a place of worship. France is a secular Republic, he wrote on X (formerly Twitter). Mr Macron has faced increasing resistance within the ranks of his Renaissance party, particularly during the vote on the contentious immigration bill. Horizons has also gained a new member former of Right-wing party Les Republicains this week. Chriselle Morancais announced that she had joined Horizons because she believed in Mr Philippe as a leader, describing him as a man who loves France and who believes in the power and nobility of politics. A recent poll found Mr Philippe was seen as the best presidential candidate - LOU BENOIST/AFP Mr Philippe has been open about his presidential ambitions before, telling France Bleu in January: A lot of people think 2027 is a long way off. But I learned that when you are preparing something difficult, you have to prepare yourself for it. This is what Im doing, in a relaxed but serious way. In the latest poll conducted for Le Figaro published on Thursday, Mr Philippe was seen as the best presidential candidate for the majority party, garnering 49 per cent of the vote. But not far behind him is Gabriel Attal, the current prime minister, with 44 per cent. He has made major gains since last year. French pundits speculate that Mr Philippes increased visits to regions across the country and media interviews are an offensive tactic aimed at widening the narrowing distance in opinion polls between him and Mr Attal. Rounding out the top five spots are Bruno Le Maire, the finance minister, Gerald Darmanin, the interior minister, and Francois Bayou, president of the centrist party Mouvement Democrate. In December, Mr Darmanin said he no longer had any presidential ambitions and instead threw his support behind Mr Philippe. He said he is the best person to face Marine Le Pen in 2027. Another poll from last week also found that Marine Le Pen, leader of the far-Right party the National Rally, would win the presidential election if she ran against Mr Attal. But the survey also found that the race would be neck and neck were she to face off against Mr Philippe. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 3 months with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. A former Republican congressman came under fire Friday after he compared the death of a prominent Vladimir Putin critic to the many criminal accusations made against former president Donald Trump. Lee Zeldin took to X, formerly Twitter, on Friday to make a post meant as a tribute to Russian dissident Alexei Navalny, who died in a Russian jail while serving a 19-year sentence on extremism charges. Zeldin, who served New York from 2015 to 2023 before running a failed gubernatorial campaign, decided to mourn Navalny by comparing his situation to Trumps current legal problems: As the world reflects on the murder of Alexei Navalny at the hands of Putin, its worth remembering that Democrats are actively doing Bidens bidding as they also try to imprison his chief political opponent, Donald Trump, remove him from the ballot, and ensure he dies in prison. As the world reflects on the murder of Alexei Navalny at the hands of Putin, its worth remembering that Democrats are actively doing Bidens bidding as they also try to imprison his chief political opponent, Donald Trump, remove him from the ballot, and ensure he dies in prison. https://t.co/FdLJUR9w4u Lee Zeldin (@LeeMZeldin) February 16, 2024 Considering that Navalny was a political prisoner fighting for democracy and Trump attempted to stop a peaceful transfer of power, many people on social media were shocked by Zeldins post. And many people didnt mince words, including former Republican congressman Joe Walsh. What the fuck is wrong with you? https://t.co/ykcbX1yotr Joe Walsh (@WalshFreedom) February 16, 2024 Others piled on Zeldin. Lee, with all do respect, youre better than this. Eat a bowl of https://t.co/aNz73fKZqZ Adam Kinzinger (Slava Ukraini) (@AdamKinzinger) February 16, 2024 What a ridiculous comparison. https://t.co/czq28f6VsJ Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) February 16, 2024 What a lowlife piece of sh*t! Americans watched in realtime as Trumps domestic terrorists attacked the Capitol and as boxes of classified documents were carted out of his country club and as a parade of his stooges tried to steal the election. Theres no comparison to Putin. https://t.co/s8WJ6n78Bp Moe Davis (U.S. Air Force, Retired) (@ColMoeDavis) February 16, 2024 In this perverse analogy, Trump is the heroic Navalny, Biden is like the murderous Putin (who poisons anyone who speaks out against him), and Americas system of justice is akin to Russias show trials. Gotcha. (Honestly, their creative, if devious, spin and projection is https://t.co/jBXM5F2k6Z Matt Lewis (@mattklewis) February 16, 2024 Theres no way you just compared Navalnys death to the orange hag being indicted for committing felonies, have some shame you piece of shit https://t.co/1xMCcXy3uj TimRyanFan (@TimRyanFan) February 16, 2024 The problem with this tweet is that almost all of the people who will testify against Trump will be Republicans, many of them people he hired. And its not Democrats asking the USSC to enforce the 14th amendment. https://t.co/aBsqZHxGdN Dave Thul (@davethul) February 16, 2024 Trump and Trump alone is responsible for his criminality and you know it. Youre a disgusting asshole https://t.co/164SlsUmKM REDDOG (Mrs.) now on Threads and Post (@ReddogOHIO) February 16, 2024 Its becoming increasingly clear that Russia is winning the information war within the US. GOP politicians - who know better - are amplifying Kremlin garbage. We are in deep, deep trouble. https://t.co/RZsglBxCmU Alyssa Farah Griffin (@Alyssafarah) February 16, 2024 Zeldin eventually responded to one post critical of him and claimed that President Joe Biden and his loyalists are trying to deny Americans the right to choose who they want in the White House. He added, mocking language from liberal group Meidas Touch: These extremist Democrats have no bottom. How shameful. How disgusting. There is no greater threat to democracy than Biden and his loyalists trying to deny Americans the right to choose for themselves who they want to elect in November as their next President. These extremist Democrats have no bottom. How shameful. How disgusting. https://t.co/L7cSCVx8NR Lee Zeldin (@LeeMZeldin) February 16, 2024 Related... The South Carolina estate where the now-infamous Murdaugh family lived has sold during an online auction for $1 million. Alex Murdaugh was found guilty of killing his wife Margaret and son Paul in June 2021 at the Moselle Estate, where the family lived. He was given two consecutive life sentences and is currently in the process of appealing his conviction. Since the murder, the property has been bought and sold a few times. The money from the initial sale of the entire Moselle property went towards Murdaughs legal fees, son Buster Murdaugh, Palmetto State Bank, and the victims of a 2019 boat crash that killed Mallory Beach, in which Paul Murdaugh was implicated. According to WJCL-TV, the Moselle estate was sold during an online auction by J.P. King Auction Company and Crosby Land Company. The estate consists of the former Murdaugh home and surrounding 21 acres. RELATED STORIES: The buyer, who did not wish to be identified, has multiple business offices in South Carolina and plans to develop Moselle for use as a horse farm, WJCL reported. The estate sits on about 21 acres of land. The home has 4 bedrooms, 4.5 baths and is just under 5,300 square feet. The lofty vaulted ceilings extend from the foyer into a spacious family room, decorated with custom built-ins, crown molding, and mahogany French doors that open to an expansive back porch. The kitchen is a chefs delight, featuring premium stainless-steel appliances, a cozy breakfast nook, and a large island with granite countertops, seamlessly blending into the family room for a communal culinary experience. The adjoining dining room, with its statement chandelier, sets the stage for memorable gatherings, the listing says. The Moselle Estate is located in Islandton, S.C., which is about 45 miles from Beaufort, 70 miles from Charleston, and about 75 miles from Savannah. RELATED NEWS: A year after filing a lawsuit claiming she was retaliated against in the workplace, former New Mexico State University Title IX coordinator Laura Castille will go home with a one-time payment of $60,000 in a new 2024 settlement. Castille, who filed her complaint on Feb. 7, 2023, will be awarded $54,000 from the New Mexico Risk Management Division and the remaining $6,000 from NMSU, according to the seven-page document published on New Mexicos government transparency and accountability portal. Castille was hired at the university in 2018 to serve as the executive director and coordinator of the Title IX office. She also is an alumna of the university. As outlined in previous Sun-News reporting, she accused many of NMSUs top leadership at the time of gross mismanagement, abuse of authority and violation of university policy. She also alleged her civil rights under the Whistleblower Protection Act had been violated. Hadley Hall, the building that houses some of New Mexico State University's central administration, is pictured on Feb.14, 2024. Out of all the officials named in that suit, Castille mostly recalled her interactions with former Vice Chancellor and Chief Operating Officer Ruth Johnston. She alleged Johnston had changed a job posting for the chief auditor position to fit the qualifications of a preferred candidate. Castille, responsible for ensuring postings complied with state law, noticed the change and reported it to colleagues resulting in her being put on leave and later resigning, according to the complaint. In the settlement that Castille signed on Jan. 24, 2024, the university did not admit to any of her claims or agree to any liability moving forward but did agree to remove a July 28, 2022 written reprimand from her personnel file. A pre-trial conference and docket call were scheduled for May 2024 but dismissed by Judge Manuel Arrieta, who presided over the case, because Castille agreed to the settlement. Where is Ruth Johnston now? In an effort to restructure university leadership and cut back on expenses, Johnstons position at NMSU no longer exists. As also previously reported by the Sun-News, Johnston resigned in May 2023 and her last day was at the university was June 30, 2023. In preparing NMSU for the transition to new leadership, the university is working to ensure the organizational structure of our central administration better reflects our size, budget, and student enrollment, said university spokesperson Justin Bannister at the time. In that restructuring, there will not be a position of Vice Chancellor. Johnston now leads the National Association of College and University Business Officers as acting vice president of consulting, according to a media release. NMSU declines to comment to Laura Castilles settlement Comments and statements regarding legal matters or pending litigation by the university are typically limited or not commented upon. The Sun-News contacted the university and Castille's lawyer Ben Gubernick to ask for comment on Castilles case which no longer falls under pending litigation. A spokesperson for NMSU said the university did not have a statement regarding the matter, and Gubernick did not respond to requests for comment. Ernesto Cisneros is a reporting fellow with the UNM/NM Local News Fund program. He covers education for the Sun-News and can be reached at ECisneros@lcsun-news.com. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter at @_ernestcisneros. This article originally appeared on Las Cruces Sun-News: Former NMSU Title IX coordinator settles retaliation lawsuit SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WCIA) A former state legislator and gubernatorial candidate has pled guilty to wire fraud after improperly spending campaign funds. Court documents confirm former Central Illinois legislator Sam McCann pled guilty on all counts Thursday afternoon after appearing several days in court this week. McCann served in the Senate as a Republican from 2011 to 2019. He ran as a third-party candidate under the Conservative Party for the 2018 governor election, and received around 4.2 percent of the vote. Former Madigan chief of staff sentenced to 30 months in prison Federal investigators were looking into McCanns campaign expenses as early as Feb. 2019. WCIA investigated McCanns expenses in December 2019 and found $168,665 in secret payroll expenses. A spokesperson for the State Board of Elections described the expenses as illegal at the time. McCann was indicted in 2021 for seven counts of wire fraud, as well as one count of money laundering and one count of tax evasion. In that announcement, then-U.S. Attorney for the Central District of Illinois John Milhiser said McCann engaged in a scheme to convert over $200,000 in campaign donations to pay himself and make personal purchases from May 2015 to June 2020. Additionally, the charges accused him of concealing his fraud from donors, the public, the Illinois State Board of Elections, and law enforcement. McCanns court date was delayed several times over the years. The person in his former State Senate seat, Sen. Steve McClure (R-Springfield) said in a statement its important to root out corruption. I got into politics because I was concerned that my senator at the time, Sam McCann, was corrupt, McClure said. Justice was served today as McCann finally took responsibility for his actions by pleading guilty. I commend the U.S. Attorneys office for their outstanding work. We have to root out corruption in this state at all levels because Illinois deserves better. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WCIA.com. SAN ANGELO, Texas (Concho Valley Homepage) In honor of Buffalo Soldier Heritage Day, the Fort Concho National Historic Landmark will be holding a presentation at the Buffalo Soldier Memorial on Sunday, Feb. 25. The memorial grounds, which is adjacent to the San Angelo Farmers Market located at 609 S. Oakes St., will see a presentation given by Sherley Spears, the memorials founder. The program will then move across the street to Fort Conchos Barracks 1 Visitor Center for a book signing by Jim Matthews, a San Antonio author who has written a new book on the Buffalo Soldier unit. Participants will also get the chance to see the forts new Buffalo Soldier exhibit at Barracks 1. The program runs from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. and is free for everyone. Light refreshments will be provided. Buffalo soldiers were Black soldiers of the regular Army who served mostly west of the Mississippi after the Civil War. Units of all four Buffalo Soldier regiments served at Fort Concho from 1869 to 1885, with the most famous unit, the 10th Cavalry, having its headquarters at the fort from 1875 to 1882. Over Fort Conchos 22 active years, the buffalo soldiers comprised half of the posts enlisted men. This is a great opportunity to learn about the history and achievements of the Buffalo Soldiers and to pay tribute to their contributions to our country, Fort Concho said on its webpage for the event. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ConchoValleyHomepage.com. Tucked away on base at Fort Moore inside a large warehouse-like building rests a unique feature of the history of war in the world. The U.S. Army Armor & Cavalry Collection sports 200 pieces including rows of tanks, a Cobra helicopter, and various other cavalry vehicles spanning over a century. These hulking tanks date all the way back to World War I and come from countries around the globe such as Italy, Germany, Russia, and various other countries. Walking past each, one might not sense the history that is stowed within the steel walls of these historic vehicles. As patrons walk in, they are greeted by the Mark IV tank from World War I wearing red and white paint on the side. It was a tank made by the British but used by Americans. Robert Cogan, curator, U.S. Army Armor and Cavalry Collection at Ft. Moore, Georgia, talks about the restoration of this M 14/41 Italian tank, also called the Carro Armato M 14/41. 02/01/2024 Robert Cogan, Curator of the Armor & Cavalry Collection, told the Ledger-Enquirer the unique history behind the tank. During one battle during World War I the tank was hit by German gunfire that knocked it out after clearing multiple machine gun nests. Two of the 11 crew members onboard were killed and seven were wounded. The two who remained unharmed helped evacuate the crew. Afterwards, the two remaining soldiers grabbed two machine guns from the tank and went on foot to clear the German trenches and survived. The two soldiers earned Distinguished Service Crosses for their actions. Now, people can still admire and learn the history about these behemoths through the work of those who restore these mechanical beasts at Fort Moore. Robert Barlow, the museum specialist restoration shop manager at Fort Moore, breathes life back into the tanks in the collection on base. Barlow, a former aviator for the army who piloted scout helicopters, used to restore aircraft at the Army Aviation Museum in Fort Novosel in Alabama. Robert Barlow, museum specialist and restoration shop manager with the U.S. Army Armor and Cavalry Collection at Ft. Moore, Georgia, talks about the restoration of this M 14/41 Italian tank, also called the Carro Armato M 14/41. 02/01/2024 This job came open and it seemed perfect and I took it. Thats been about three and a half years ago, said Barlow. You want to restore something thats going to be around for a long time, said Barlow. You hope that people take away something from it. Barlow told the Ledger-Enquirer his job is fun and said, You get to play with tanks all day. Barlow said theres a certain amount of humility in the tanks they restore that have seen action. People actually lived in those things and sometimes breathed their last in them, he said. So, you got to think about that. You cant be cavalier about it. Barlow said it takes a lot of preparation to restore these tanks and that sometimes the tanks arent in the best condition. Sometimes the tanks coming into their shop may be missing several components, which then brings up the question as to how to replace those parts. Barlow said he wants to keep everything as authentic as possible without using fabricated replica parts when possible. Attention to detail goes into restorations Right now hes working on a M3A3 Stuart tank from World War II with authentic spare parts from the era on shelves nearby in the original packaging. Staff at the U.S. Army Armor and Cavalry Collection at Ft. Moore, Georgia, are restoring this M3A3 Stuart tank. The team restoring these tanks wants to get everything as accurate as possible and researches the history of each tank when its available. They even work to replicate the exact paint color and markings the tank wouldve had back when it was in action. Another hassle the crew can run into is the weight of the parts for some of these vehicles. Everything you deal with is heavy, Barlow said. Barlow said the volunteers that help him with these tanks are indispensable. I absolutely could not do it without them, said Barlow. I could not do my job; I wouldve quit long ago if I didnt have volunteers to help me. The M3A3 tank Barlow and crew are currently working on weighs around 19 tons with one of the heaviest tanks in the collection weighing nearly 95 tons. Robert Cogan, curator of the U.S. Army Armor and Cavalry Collection at Ft. Moore, Georgia, talks about their restoration of this M3A3 Stuart tank. That tank is the experimental American T28 super-heavy tank that currently sits in the museums collection making other nearby tanks seem small in comparison. The tank features a 105 millimeter barrel with two sets of tracks on both sides of the tank to support the immense weight. Despite the difficulties that can arise in working with these machines, Barlow drives over two hours each way from Enterprise, Ala. to Fort Moore to do his job. Barlow said I like doing this, or I wouldnt be doing this. The collection is typically closed off to the general public because of its purpose as a teaching collection. However, periodically the collection does open their doors to the public to come see the collection. The collection will be open for public visitation this year on the following dates, according to the collections Facebook page: April 27-28 July 13 Sept. 7 Nov. 2 Dec. 14 (Photo : Unsplash/Jack Cohen) The Biden administration relaxed some restrictions on Wells Fargo, stating that the bank has addressed its toxic culture following years of scandals. The announcement boosted Wells Fargo's stock significantly on Thursday. Investors believe the bank might now be able to improve its reputation and start growing again after years of facing strict regulation. Wells Fargo's shares surged by 7.2% to $52.04, marking its highest closing price since March 2022, amidst high trading activity. An Order Lifting Wells Fargo's Regulatory Constraints On Thursday, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, which oversees major national banks like Wells Fargo, lifted a consent order that had been in effect since September 2016, which mandated the bank to revamp its sales practices, enhance consumer protections, and safeguard employees from whistleblowers, after series of investigations revealed Wells Fargo's toxic sales culture. READ ALSO: Citigroup's "Project Bora-Bora" Overhaul: Sweetening Workers' Voluntary Departure With An Early Bonus Take Home Pay A Scandal Damaging the Nation's Best-Run Banks Employees working in "stores" instead of bank branches were pressured to sell unnecessary products, opening millions of unauthorized accounts. Many customers, especially non-English speakers, suffered identity theft and credit score damage as a result, damaging the reputation of the once highly regarded as one of the nation's best-run banks by investors and analysts. Since the scandal, Wells Fargo changed its board and leadership, paid over a billion dollars in fines, and spent eight years addressing public concerns about its practices. The scandal even led to unionization efforts as employees at some branches objected to unrealistic sales targets set by managers. Wells Fargo's Solid Evidence of Compliance to Laws and Regulations According to the Comptroller of the Currency's statement on Thursday, Wells Fargo's financial stability and adherence to laws and regulations no longer necessitate the Order's continuation. The decision is a big win for Wells Fargo's leadership and CEO Charles Scharf, who assumed the role in 2019. Scharf expressed gratitude for the effort put in by Wells Fargo employees, acknowledging their dedication to changing the company's business practices. Citigroup banking analyst Keith Horwitz also noted that the OCC's decision proves that Wells Fargo's management diligently took effective steps to fix the company's cultural issues. One Remaining Federal Order Left The Federal Reserve still has a consent order against Wells Fargo, which has mandated that the bank cannot expand beyond its current size until it resolves its sales culture issues. While the Fed didn't provide a comment, the OCC's move is expected to influence the Fed's decision on whether to maintain its restrictions on Wells Fargo. Including the Fed's Order, Wells Fargo currently has eight consent orders regulating its operations, which is a decrease from the 14 orders in place when Scharf became CEO. The leadership acknowledges that there is still more work to be done. In a recent interview, Scott Powell, Wells Fargo's chief operating officer, highlighted changes within the company. Powell, who joined the bank similarly to Scharf, emphasized improvements for customers and employees, mentioning ongoing efforts to tackle remaining risk issues. RELATED ARTICLE: Wells Fargo To Settle Mortgage-Fee Lawsuit, Will Pay $50 Million 2017 Jobs & Hire All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Feb. 16 (UPI) -- After finding the body of a missing 5-year-old in a sewage drain near Columbus, Ohio, authorities arrested and charged his foster mother Thursday night. Pammy Maye faces murder, kidnapping and endangering children charges in the death of Darnell Taylor, who had been reported missing Wednesday. A state-wide Amber Alert was issued Wednesday in Ohio when Maye's husband said she made statements that made him concerned Taylor had either been hurt or was in danger. Columbus Police Chief Elaine R. Bryant said at a 1 a.m. Friday news conference, "This is a tragic development and we certainly hoped for a different outcome." Bryant said Maye was arrested in the Cleveland suburb of Brooklyn shortly before 10 p.m. Thursday after reports of a woman who was suspiciously walking around a building. When Maye was arrested, Bryant said, she told police Darnell's body was in the sewage drain in the 1000 block of Marsdale Avenue in Columbus. Maye's husband told police in a 911 call that she killed the child and that he searched the home for the boy before calling police. Maye, according to court records, held her hand over her husband's mouth as he tried to call police and said she "had a plan." Darnell was last seen at the Maye home at about 3 a.m. Wednesday morning, according to police. France will provide Ukraine with a defense package that includes artillery shells and Caesar howitzers, as well as reinforced air defense systems, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced at a press conference alongside French President Emmanuel Macron on Feb. 16. "I am grateful to the president of France for all this strong military assistance we are receiving," said Zelensky. "Today, another defense package. Just the one we need. These are shells for artillery, cannons, effective 'Caesar' systems, additional reinforcement of air defense." Withholding specific details on the package, Zelensky made the announcement alongside Macron as they concurrently signed a bilateral agreement on security cooperation, which will provide 3 billion euros ($3.2 billion) in military aid this year. This is the third bilateral security agreement that Kyiv finalized with its partners based on commitments made by G7 countries last July. Referring to the military assistance, Zelensky said the new package is "an absolutely worthy response to Putin's attempts to increase pressure on (Ukrainian) positions." According to the Kiel Institute's Ukraine tracker, France has thus far unilaterally contributed nearly 1.8 billion euros ($1.92 billion) in humanitarian, military, and financial assistance for Ukraine since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022. Read also: Zelensky, Macron sign security agreement between Ukraine, France Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. French President Emmanuel Macron (L) welcomes Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to sign a bilateral security agreement between France and Ukraine at the Palais de l'Elysee. Julien Mattia/Le Pictorium via ZUMA Press/dpa France signed a security pact with Ukraine on Friday, pledging more weapons and assistance to help the war-torn nation in its defence against Russia. "France will support Ukraine in the long term," said President Emmanuel Macron after signing the agreement with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the Elysee Palace in Paris on Friday evening. This year, Ukraine will receive up to 3 billion ($3,2 billion) in military aid from France, following 1.7 billion in 2022 and 2.1 billion last year, in figures made public by Macron for the first time. "France is helping us a lot today," Zelensky said of the agreement, highlighting the delivery of missiles, guns and air defence technology. The security pact is "ambitious and concrete." Zelensky had previously concluded a similar agreement with Germany during a stopover in Berlin on Friday. The security agreements stem from a decision made by NATO's heads of state and prime ministers at their summit in Vilnius, Lithuania in July. There it was agreed that the individual member states would conclude bilateral agreements in order to guarantee Ukraine's security in the long term. The United Kingdom was the first to do so, in January and other NATO states are to follow suit. The agreement signed in Paris assures Ukraine of long-term military and economic aid as well as support for reconstruction following the end of Russia's war against Ukraine. It is also a clear signal of joint determination to Moscow that Ukraine will be supported for as long as necessary, according to statements made in Paris. Ukraine is promising further reforms on its path towards joining the European Union. Macron, for his part, gave more details of his planned trip to Ukraine, which he intends to make by mid-March. French President Emmanuel Macron (R) welcomes Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to sign a bilateral security agreement between France and Ukraine at the Palais de l'Elysee. Julien Mattia/Le Pictorium via ZUMA Press/dpa (Photo : Unsplash/BoliviaInteligente) Female employees of Oracle Corporation fought the company in court for nearly seven years regarding gender-pay equity, only to reach a $25 million settlement, which, when compared to the software giant's size, is relatively small, equivalent to just one or two paychecks for most of the women involved. A proposed agreement was filed this week that needs court approval to end a conflict that started in June 2017, alleging tech giants are paying women less than men for the same work systematically. Gender-pay Discrimination Lawsuit From 4,000 Employees The discrimination case against Oracle made history by becoming the first in the industry to be granted class-action status, a milestone never reached in similar cases against Microsoft and Twitter, and was taken away from the employees in 2022 by a California state judge. In the agreement with Oracle America Inc., once attorney fees are settled and a portion goes to the state Labor Department, around $15 million will be split among roughly 4,000 employees, including women who worked in product development, support, and I.T. departments in California from June 2013 onward. Oracle did not respond right away to a comment request. In the proposed settlement, despite its market capitalization of about $314 billion, the company maintains its denial of the allegations. This case highlights the challenges women in the tech industry encounter when seeking equal pay through legal channels. Class-action status is vital because it enables plaintiffs to combine resources and seek larger settlements. However, it has become harder to achieve since a significant ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2011 raised the bar for large-scale employment discrimination cases. READ ALSO: Gender Pay Gap Study Brings Good News And Bad News To Younger Generation Google's Similar Claim Settlement in 2022 The lawyers who worked on the Oracle case also settled comparable claims against Google in 2022 for $118 million for a group of 15,500 women who had previously obtained class-action status in the preceding year. The average payouts per person in the Oracle and Google cases were $3,750 and $5,500, respectively, after covering legal expenses, which are significantly lower compared to the approximately $50,000 each received by around 2,800 women at Goldman Sachs as part of a $215 million pay equity settlement with the Wall Street titan last year. Oracle's Unsuccessful 2017 Case Another aspect to consider regarding the Oracle settlement is the U.S. Labor Department's unsuccessful 2017 case against the company, where the government sought $400 million in back pay for women and minorities. Still, an agency judge concluded that the company did not intentionally engage in pay discrimination after a trial. To be certain, the Oracle agreement goes beyond just a monetary settlement. According to the deal, an independent expert would examine the relevant positions and provide suggestions to the company to ensure its policies align with equal-pay regulations. A Positive Settlement's Outcome Attorneys for the plaintiffs, James Finberg and John Mullen, stated that the work they put in over seven years was worth more than the $8.3 million but stressed that they did not want to reduce the payout for their clients any further. Each woman's actual payout in the settlement would vary depending on how much overall compensation they collected during their time at Oracle. In a court filing on Tuesday seeking approval for the settlement, the lawyers praised it as a positive outcome considering the challenges of reinstating class status on appeal, proceeding to trial, and the potential delays in receiving payouts even if they were to win due to company appeals. The filing highlighted San Mateo County Superior Judge Raymond Swope's decision two years ago to overturn his groundbreaking ruling from 2020, which had granted class-action status to the three Oracle women who filed the original complaint. Upon reconsideration, Swope sided with Oracle, concurring that proceeding to trial with a class of over 3,000 employees across 125 different job classifications would be unmanageable. The company contended that the lawsuit made an inaccurate comparison between women and men with the same job codes, even though such coding doesn't necessarily imply that the work demands similar skills, effort, or responsibility, given Oracle's extensive range of products and services. Now Amazon is under scrutiny for gender-pay disparity allegations. In November, the retailer faced a proposed class action lawsuit, alleging it pays women less than male employees in similar roles. Amazon has refuted these allegations. This month, the three women who initiated the lawsuit claimed that Amazon retaliated against them. RELATED ARTICLE: Gender Disparity Perspectives In The U.S. Corporate Leadership 2017 Jobs & Hire All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) General Motors reiterated Friday that work with Michael Andretti on a Formula 1 entry is continuing to develop our car at pace and that it completely disputes F1's assertion that an Andretti Cadillac effort would not be competitive. General Motors partnered with Andretti in early 2023 in its request that F1 expand the current grid from 10 teams to 11 so Michael Andretti can field a truly American team in the globe-hopping motorsports series. At the time, GM was only committed to badge engines for Andretti. Long after F1 sanctioning body FIA approved the Andretti application, GM then formally applied to become an official engine supplier in 2028. In denying Andretti's application last month, F1 said, among other things that it did not believe Andretti would be a competitive team; that the Andretti name does not bring the value to the series that Michael Andretti believes it would; and that getting on the grid in the next two years would be a challenge Andretti has never faced before. F1 said it would be willing to reconsider an Andretti application when GM has an engine ready in 2028. But both GM and the Andretti camp have been seething over how dismissive F1 was of Andretti Cadillac's ability to put a competitive car on the racetrack. Asked about it Friday at Daytona International Speedway, the director of GM Racing said the company remains steadfast in the strength of its application. Jim Campbell, however, twice declined to answer if GM was insulted by F1's assertations. We feel great about our application. The FIA studied it against other applicants and then gave our application a vote of confidence and approval, Campbell said. "So obviously (Formula One Management) made their statement, and we have asked for a follow up meeting with FOM and so we will work through that. "We do believe between Andretti and Cadillac that we have got the capability of fielding a competitive entry. We are not saying that it is easy, but we do between our two organizations have examples in our history of where we have been successful in other motorsports categories and that is true of Cadillac and Andretti. Our joint teams are continuing to develop our car at pace. So, that is where we are at. Campbell also said that GM could build an engine for Andretti for the 2026 season, but because it had not initially planned to be a power unit supplier, it did not apply to be one when the new engine regulations begin in two years. When you register to be a power unit, there is a deadline to do that, and for us it was last June for 2028, Campbell said. If you wanted to develop an engine sooner, then you would have had to register the previous year for that. So, its simply a regulation. F1 in its rejection claimed that Andretti Cadillac did not respond to a December invitation for an in-person meeting to discuss the application. The Andretti group only learned of the invitation when F1 made the revelation, and its IT department found that an email sent Dec. 12 went to a junk mail folder. The email was not from F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali and there was no follow-up from F1 when it failed to receive a response from Andretti. F1 said Friday the invitation was sent from a senior staff member who had previously corresponded via email with the Andretti group. Andretti Cadillac has since asked for a meeting with FOM. As I said, we believe in the application we submitted and in that application we articulated the abilities of both Andretti as a race team, and Cadillac as a manufacturing and engineering entity, Campbell said. "So, we feel confident in the application and are asking for a meeting with FOM. ___ AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing A state House committee has narrowly approved legislation guaranteeing Georgians the right to fish in navigable rivers and streams over the objections of representatives of recreational boating interests who complained the bill is overly restrictive. House Bill 1172, which cleared the House Judiciary Committee by just one vote, is a follow-up to legislation the General Assembly passed on the last day of last years session. Last years bill was introduced following a lawsuit a property owner along the Upper Flint River filed seeking to ban public fishing along his stretch of the river. After Gov. Brian Kemp signed the bill and it became law last July, some waterfront property owners expressed concerns that the measure included language codifying Georgia citizens right to use the states waterways under the public trust doctrine. The new bill struck the reference to the public trust doctrine while maintaining the purpose of last years legislation, House Majority Whip James Burchett, R-Waycross, House Bill 1172s chief sponsor, told committee members before Thursdays vote. By common law, the citizens of this state have the inherent right of use for passage for hunting and fishing on navigable streams, he said. Burchett emphasized that the bill only applies to navigable streams. But the measures opponents argued the current definition of navigable streams in state law dates back to the 19th century, a time when Georgias waterways were used to transport freight. Joe Cook, coordinator of the Georgia River Networks Paddle Georgia program, said that definition leaves out many streams across the state that are capable of floating a boat. Vast numbers of Georgia streams will fall under the category of non-navigable, he said. Many of our trips take place on rivers and streams that may not be deemed navigable. ... There is a right of passage on all these streams that are not navigable. Suzanne Welander, author of a Georgia canoeing and kayaking guide book, said recreational paddling is a fast-growing activity in Georgia that generated $1.1 billion in revenue in 2022 and is responsible for 238,000 jobs. Im concerned future generations might lose this ability to have those experiences, she said. Carol Reiser, past president of the Georgia Canoeing Association, said lawmakers in North Carolina and South Carolina have passed fishing rights legislation that guarantees public access to any river and stream that can float a boat, as long as the boaters dont get out of the water and enter private property. She suggested recreational canoeists in Georgia would welcome a similar approach. We pass through, Reiser said. We dont get out and party on peoples property. However, representatives of the Georgia Farm Bureau, the Georgia Forestry Association, and the Georgia Agribusiness Council told the committee they support Burchetts bill in its current form. Committee Chairman Stan Gunter, R-Blairsville, who cast the deciding vote to approve the bill, suggested it could be subject to some changes as its moves through the House. This is just the first step, Gunter said following the vote. Theres more to go. House Bill 1172 now heads to the House Rules Committee to schedule a vote of the full House. An expansion of paid parental leave for Georgia state employees passed the states House of Representatives Thursday, setting it up for review in the Georgia Senate. According to a release from House Speaker Jon Burns, the passage of the bill moves the legislature one step closer to help the state employees who work tirelessly to serve our communities, and show them that they are valued and supported as working families across Georgia. The House first passed this initiative in 2021 to create paid parental leave for our state workers, and, now, we are taking another step so that these employees can spend even more time with their families after having or adopting a child, according to Burns. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] TRENDING STORIES: The legislation in question is House Bill 1010. Under the bills provisions, Georgias recently created paid parental leave would grow from three weeks to six weeks for state employees and Georgia teachers. Burns said it was crucial that we support them in both their professional and personal lives, saying the expanded parental leave would show the states commitment to ensuring healthy work-life balances and recognizing the importance of family. This would provide a low-cost, high-value benefit to help recruit and retain employees and tangibly demonstrates our respect and support for them at a most significant and life-changing time in their lives, Speaker Pro Tem Jones, the man who sponsored the bill, said. Summarized by the speakers office, current state law allows 120 hours, or three weeks, of paid parental leave following the birth, adoption or foster care placement of a child in in a state employee or teachers home. If HB 1010 passes in the Senate and moves to Gov. Brian Kemp for approval, and he signs it into law, that time would be doubled. [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] IN OTHER NEWS: An empty log truck drives away from the Buckeye Florida pulp mill near Perry in this file photo. The mill grinds pine trees to produce cellulose that is used in products including food thickeners and automotive filters. The Foley Cellulose mill in Perry, Florida, announced on Sept. 18, 2023, that Georgia-Pacific plans to permanently close the plant. There will be no immediate international buyer to save the day for the now closed Foley Cellulose Paper mill in Perry. The facility, which was once the "lifeblood" industry for the north Florida town, will remain closed for another year while Georgia Pacific studies if it is suitable for "another business opportunity." The January announcement came four months after Georgia Pacific said it would sell the plant. The move effectively freezes local efforts to court a buyer in the global market to revive what had been a major economic driver of the Big Bend economy. Georgia Pacific, a multi-billion dollar subsidiary of Koch Industries, announced in September it would lay off more than 500 workers who had earned doubled the states median income of $35,216 and would sell the facility. The last worker was laid off Nov. 16. It told the Florida Department of Commerce in January and what sources say up to a dozen companies that had inquired about purchasing the facility it now planned to spend at least 12 months studying other possible uses for the facility. They threw a bucket of cold water on our efforts, said Bob Cate, a former plant manager who served as spokesman for the Citizens Action Task Force, a group of retired Foley executives who had banded together to find a buyer. A Georgia Pacific spokesman told the Tallahassee Democrat Thursday the company will continue to accept calls from those interested in purchasing the site. The Foley facility remains for sale. GP has also decided to evaluate the possible use of the site and facility for another business opportunity. GP anticipates this evaluation process to take up to 12 months or longer, said Scott Mixon. Trees are unloaded by a crane at Buckeyes Foley plant in Taylor County in 2012. The Foley Cellulose mill in Perry, Florida, announced on Sept. 18, 2023, that Georgia-Pacific plans to permanently close the plant. The papermill is one of seven worldwide capable of dissolving pulp fibers into chemicals used in the manufacturing of cell phones and acetate products, and as an additive in ice cream and shredded cheese. The citizens group maintains the mill had been profitable for 60 years before GP bought it in 2013 and can be profitable again. Cate traveled to a symposium in London in November to inform industry leaders that the Foley mill was on the market. The Department of Commerce credits the group with generating inquiries from 12 companies The state vetted the companies and explained what incentives were available to help restart the plant. Commerce then passed the companies names and contact information on to GP, which had picked Commerce to serve as an intermediary between it and Taylor County residents and prospective buyers. We wont be sharing details on the number of companies or what companies have inquired about purchasing the facility, said Mixon, the GP spokesperson. Calculating the Cost The staggering numbers behind Perry paper mill closing: 2,000 jobs, $10 million in taxes lost Mixon said GP would not share any details related to options it or Koch Industries may have under consideration for the mill. GP insists it is not revisiting or evaluating the decision to close and sell the Foley mill. Regardless if the announcement signals a change in plans, it has frozen local efforts to find a buyer and rebuild a major cog of the Big Bends economy. The papermill had been in operation since the 1950s, and according to a University of Florida study supported more than 2,000 jobs in the heavily forested Big Bend, generated nearly $400 million in local spending, and produced $10 million in state and local tax revenue. Cate, who managed the plant for 20 years, said GP has handled the plant closure and sale like a person who says they will have a garage sale on Saturday and when people agree to show up then says it is a Saturday sometime next year. Michele Curtis, a forester and leader of the Citizens Action Task Force in Taylor County, speaks during the public comment portion of a legislative delegation meeting on Monday, Oct. 23, 2023. It doesnt mean I wont come but you know, Im going to move on to other options and other opportunities, said Cate. A local economic development official confessed he was not sure what to make of GPs announcement. But former workers had more certainty. Michelle Curtis feels betrayed by Georgia Pacific. She worked at the mill for 35 years, retiring as a wood supply manager. She would purchase 550 semi-trailer loads of wood daily. While environmentalists point out Foleys effluent discharged dioxins and other toxins into the Fenholloway River and Gulf of Mexico, others note the mills role in supporting a countywide payroll of $77 million. Curtis fumed when she discussed how GP has handled the plants shutdown. Since September thousands of lives in Taylor County have been disrupted. She hears former mill workers have taken jobs that pay less than half what they were making. People have begun to move away from a county of 22,000 people and her two favorite restaurants have closed. Curtis said GP had told the State of Florida, the Taylor County Economic Development Authority, and virtually anyone who asked, it had closed the mill permanently and it was for sale. Then after the community enticed 12 companies to inquire about the facility and Commerce vetted them as potential buyers, GP announced its studying other options. I really dont know what their strategy is, but I dont believe anything they say, said Curtis, who now plants trees for a forestry management company. I dont know if they just want to make sure that another wood using industry doesnt get in here quickly and competes with their other businesses, said Curtis. James Call is a member of the USA TODAY NETWORK-Florida Capital Bureau. He can be reached at jcall@tallahassee.com. Follow him on X: @CallTallahassee This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Georgia Pacific Perry mill: Shifting plans blindside workers, officials Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos said Friday he plans to visit the filming set of Season 2 of the global smash hit series "Squid Game" in central Korea this weekend. In a short meet-and-greet media event held in Seoul, Sarandos said he is "excited" to visit the set located in an undisclosed area in the central Chungcheong region for the first time and meet with director Hwang Dong-hyuk on Saturday. "We are really excited about director Hwang's ability for storytelling, more dynamic sets and more mind blowing storylines that are going to thrill the entire world," he said. "I'm so impressed with the industry and vibrant storytelling, immediate industry with these incredible journalists to nurture this business and help share with us the passion for great storytelling that can change the world," he added. He is said to be visiting the visual effects company Eyeline Studios Korea under Scanline VFX, a Netflix subsidiary, later in the day. Sarandos last visited Korea in June last year. "Squid Game" will return for a second season later in the year, with new characters and games enriching the series' narratives, the director said in December 2023. "You can look forward to Season 2 delivering a deeper story and messages with new games and new characters," Hwang said at that time. The filming for Season 2 is currently under way, and the release date of the new season has yet to be announced. (Yonhap) German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has stated that Russia is not ready for a long-term and just peace with Ukraine, so support for Kyiv must continue. Source: Scholz at a press conference with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during his visit to Germany, as reported by European Pravda Quote: "I turn my attention to those who advocate for quick peace and negotiations with Russia. It shouldn't be a Russian-style world," Scholz said. Details: According to Scholz, Germany, like everyone in Ukraine, wants the war to end soon. "Unfortunately, we see that Russia is not prepared for a long-term and just peace. On the contrary, it continues to pursue its goals, as Putin recently demonstrated to us," said the German Chancellor. "Two years after the start of this terrible war, we send a clear message to the Russian president: we will not reduce support for Ukraine; we will continue to stand with Ukrainians and Ukrainians," Scholz said. Separately, he addressed the US Congress, urging lawmakers to make the necessary decisions for Ukraine. Background: On 16 February, during President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's visit to Berlin, Ukraine and Germany signed a bilateral security agreement, extending the G7 declaration on security guarantees for Ukraine. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz called the signing of this agreement a historic step. Support UP or become our patron! Vehicles of the German Armed Forces (Bundeswehr) and equipment are loaded on a ship in the seaport of Emden. The material is destined for the Grand North exercise in the north of Norway. According to the Bundeswehr, the loading of the equipment also marks the start of the German Quadriga exercise, with which the German armed forces are participating in the large-scale NATO maneuver Steadfast Defender. Sina Schuldt/dpa German military logistics specialists on Friday loaded about 100 vehicles and assorted equipment for the large-scale NATO military exercise Steadfast Defender onto a transport ship destined for northern Norway. Steadfast Defender, which will run through May, is the defence alliance's largest exercise since the Cold War. The German hardware, which includes Hagglunds snow-mobiles, will be used to train mountain troops for combat under extreme weather conditions on NATO's northern flank. These drills will take place under the sub-maneouver known as Quadriga. The ship carrying the vehicles left the seaport of Emden. "Here today in Emden, the logistical support of the Armed Forces Base is making it possible for Quadriga 2024 to take part in the exercise," said Colonel Alexander Heinze, Commander of Mobile Logistics Troops of the Armed Forces Base, said. Vehicles of the German Armed Forces (Bundeswehr) and equipment are loaded on a ship in the seaport of Emden. The material is destined for the Grand North exercise in the north of Norway. According to the Bundeswehr, the loading of the equipment also marks the start of the German Quadriga exercise, with which the German armed forces are participating in the large-scale NATO maneuver Steadfast Defender. Sina Schuldt/dpa The accused Christian B. enters the courtroom of Braunschweig Regional Court at the start of the trial. Christian B. is accused of three cases of aggravated rape and two cases of sexual abuse of children in Portugal. Julian Stratenschulte/dpa Pool/dpa The 47-year-old German man who is the prime suspect in the 2007 disappearance of 3-year-old British girl Madeleine McCann in Portugal went on trial on Friday morning for unrelated sex offences. The crowd of spectators and press outside the courthouse in the central German city of Braunschweig was so large that the start of the trial was briefly delayed. The accused, who can only be identified as Christian B under Germany's strict privacy laws, is facing charges on three counts of rape and two counts of sexual abuse of children, all of which date to between December 2000 and June 2017. The crimes were allegedly committed in Portugal. The man has never been charged in McCann's disappearance, although investigators remain convinced that he is the most likely culprit. According to a court spokeswoman, no witnesses have yet been summoned for the first day of the trial. The defendant's attorney, Friedrich Fulscher, has asserted his client's innocence and said he would seek an aquittal on the charges. German investigators announced in the summer of 2020 that they suspect Christian B, who has a lengthy and serious criminal record including previous rape convictions, in the McCann case. The young girl vanished from a vacation resort in Praia da Luz in the Algarve, Portugal, in May 2007. The case made headlines around the world and has been covered extensively in the British press. The accused Christian B. enters the courtroom of Braunschweig Regional Court at the start of the trial. Christian B. is accused of three cases of aggravated rape and two cases of sexual abuse of children in Portugal. Julian Stratenschulte/dpa Media representatives wait for admission at the start of the trial against the accused Christian B. in Braunschweig Regional Court. Christian B. is accused of three cases of aggravated rape and two cases of sexual abuse of children in Portugal. Julian Stratenschulte/dpa BERLIN (Reuters) - As part of a security agreement signed between Germany and Ukraine, Berlin has prepared a further military support package worth 1.13 billion euros ($1.22 billion) that is focused on air defence and artillery, the German defence ministry said. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy signed the security agreement at a ceremony in the German capital on Friday, the same day that the Munich Security Conference was set to kick off in southern Germany. "Our security agreement with Ukraine is historic. For the first time in its history, the Federal Republic of Germany is acting as a guarantor state," said Defence Minister Boris Pistorius in a statement from the ministry. The so-called Munich Package includes provisions for 120,000 rounds of 122-millimetre calibre artillery ammunition and an additional 100 IRIS-T SLS missiles this year, as well as a second SkyNext air defence system set to be delivered in 2025. In addition, 18 more self-propelled howitzers will be provided from industry stocks in 2026 and 2027, including training, spare parts and ammunition. The Panzerhaubitze 2000 howitzer is one of the most powerful artillery weapons in Bundeswehr (German military) inventories. It can hit targets at a distance of 30 kilometres (18.6 miles) with standard ammunition and at a distance of up to 100 kilometres with advanced types of ammunition. ($1 = 0.9282 euros) (Writing by Miranda Murray, editing by Kirsti Knolle) Ukraine began receiving a package of military assistance from Germany for 100 million, which includes transport equipment and shells for drones. Source: German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius during a meeting in the Ramstein format, as reported by European Pravda Details: According to Pistorius, General Inspector of the Bundeswehr General Carsten Breuer announced the aid package during a visit to Ukraine last week, where he met with Ukraine's Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi. The package includes, among other things, anti-mine vehicles with ambush protection (MRV), bombs to arm small drones, 77 MULTI 1A1 trucks, medical equipment, and spare parts kits for various weapon systems. Quote: "These weapons have already arrived or will soon be delivered to Ukraine's Armed Forces. According to the minister, supplies and repairs will become even more important than before, in the third year of the war," the German Ministry of Defence said in a press release. Pistorius also stated that Germany has recently transferred to Ukraine additional 155-mm rounds, demining tanks, engineering equipment, and reconnaissance drones. Furthermore, on 14 February, Germany and France's defence ministers agreed to form a capability coalition to develop Ukraine's air defence. Earlier, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock stated that the Russian leadership should not expect Western support for Ukraine to weaken. Support UP or become our patron! Editor's note: The article originally incorrectly said that Germany handed over eight armored personnel carriers. Germany has handed over 3,990 155 mm shells, 18 armored personnel carriers, three Wisent demining tanks, and other aid in their latest delivery, the German government said on Feb. 16. The tranche included a sizable supply of reconnaissance drones, including 10 Vector drones, 35 RQ-35 Hiedruns, 10 Primoco ONE drones, and seven Songbird drones. Ukraine has also received a Dachs engineering vehicle, nine mine-clearing plows, four border guard vehicles, as well as 500 LED lights and IT equipment. President Volodymyr Zelensky visited Berlin earlier on Feb. 16 to sign a long-term security agreement with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. On that occasion, Scholz revealed that Berlin was reading a new large-scale defense assistance package of 1.1 billion euros ($1.2 billion) that includes artillery ammunition, air defense systems, and more. Read also: Germany signs long-term security deal with Ukraine, unveils new aid package Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. Germany and Ukraine signed an agreement on long-term security cooperation and support, Ukraine's Presidential Office announced on Feb. 16. President Volodymyr Zelensky signed the deal with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz during his visit to Germany. This makes Germany the second country to finalize a bilateral security deal based on the pledge made by the Group of Seven (G7) countries last July. The U.K. signed a similar treaty with Ukraine in January. The treaty stipulates Germany's "unwavering support" for Ukraine's territorial integrity and promises to help the country defend itself against aggression. It is valid for 10 years and defines priorities in international cooperation in the military, political, financial, and humanitarian spheres. The document also pledges more than 7 billion euros ($7.5 billion) in German defense support for Ukraine this year, Zelensky's office said. "Germany will continue to support Ukraine in the face of the Russian war of aggression. Slava Ukraini," Scholz said on social media upon signing the agreement. The chancellor also revealed that apart from 7 billion euros in 2024, Germany will also provide 6 billion euros ($6.5 billion) to Ukraine in the following years. During a press briefing with Zelensky, Scholz also announced that Germany is preparing a 1.1 billion euro ($1.2 billion) aid package, including 36 howitzers, 120,000 shells, two Skynex air defense systems, and missiles for IRIS-T air defense systems. The agreement also contains Germany's positions on sanctions against Russia and frozen assets. "I am grateful to Germany and all Germans for their solidarity with our country and people, as well as all the support and assistance," Zelensky said, calling the agreement a "strong document." Read also: Zelensky: Security agreement with UK unprecedented, today entered history of our state Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz (2nd R) and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, sign a long-term security agreement between the two countries at the Federal Chancellery. Kay Nietfeld/dpa Germany has signed a long-term security pact with Ukraine and pledged additional weapons worth around 1.1 billion ($1.2 billion) for its defence against Russia. The weapons package includes 36 howitzers, 120,000 rounds of artillery ammunition, two additional air defence systems and Iris-T rockets German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Friday after a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Berlin. The aid is a clear show of support from Berlin as Kiev prepares for a third year of war with Russia. Scholz spoke of an "historic" step. With the agreeement, Germany assures Ukraine that it will be supported for as long as necessary. "The important thing is: (Russian President Vladimir) Putin has not achieved any of his goals," Scholz asserted. The Ukrainian armed forces, on the other hand, were able to liberate more than half the areas occupied by Russian troops, he added. Relations between Germany and Ukraine had "reached a completely new quality" in the past two years since the Russian invasion, Scholz emphasized. The security agreement goes back to a decision by NATO heads of state and government at their summit in Vilnius, Lithuania last July. It was agreed there that the individual member states would conclude bilateral agreements to ensure Ukraine's long-term security. Britain started the process by reaching an agreement with Kiev in January. Zelensky has been pressing Western allies for desperately needed weapons and military equipment to fight Russia's invasion. Zelensky was to meet French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris on Friday evening where they were due to sign a similar French-Ukrainian agreement. "We need this right now," Zelensky said as he thanked Scholz. "German support is vital for us, for our fighters on the front line." The Ukrainian leader's visit - his third to Germany since Russian President Vladimir Putin launched an all-out invasion on February 24, 2022 - comes at a precarious moment for his country. After months of wrangling, earlier this week the US Senate approved $60 billion in aid for Kiev. But support for Ukraine has eroded among many conservatives and it is not clear that the measure will get through the Republican-led House of Representatives. Meanwhile, Ukraine's battlefield momentum has been stalled for months and Zelensky recently replaced much of the military leadership in the most significant shake-up since the war began. On Friday, there were signs that Russia could soon seize Ukraine's key eastern town of Avdiivka. Scholz said his government's latest military aid pledge showed that Germany will continue to support Ukraine for "as long as it takes." Germany has so far provided around 7.1 billion in military support for Ukraine in 2024 and pledged 6 billion in commitments for subsequent years. Scholz said that, in total, Germany has pledged or provided around 28 billion in various aid to Ukraine. From Paris, Zelensky will travel to Munich, where he will appear on Saturday at the Munich Security Conference. Further bilateral meetings are planned there, for example with US Vice President Kamala Harris. The Ukrainian president opened the most important meeting of politicians and experts on security policy last year via video address. He is now attending in person for the first time since the Russian invasion almost exactly two years ago. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz (2nd R) and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, sign a long-term security agreement between the two countries at the Federal Chancellery. Kay Nietfeld/dpa Chinese envoy stresses commitment to Yemen's political solution Xinhua) 09:48, February 16, 2024 A UN Security Council meeting on Yemen is held at the UN headquarters in New York on Feb. 14, 2024. China's permanent representative to the UN on Wednesday emphasized China's willingness to collaborate with the global community in pursuing a "political resolution" to the conflict in Yemen with an aim to uphold peace and stability in the Middle East. (Eskinder Debebe/UN Photo/Handout via Xinhua) UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 14 (Xinhua) -- China's permanent representative to the UN on Wednesday emphasized China's willingness to collaborate with the global community in pursuing a "political resolution" to the conflict in Yemen with an aim to uphold peace and stability in the Middle East. During a Security Council meeting on Yemen, Zhang Jun highlighted the ongoing dialogue among concerned parties toward a political settlement in Yemen, acknowledging progress in the Yemeni political process, as well as the concerted efforts to alleviate the suffering of the Yemeni people. However, he voiced concern over the recent uptick in tensions in the Red Sea region, particularly the "continued military operations by certain nations" against Yemen. He called for an immediate cessation of hostilities by the Houthi forces against commercial shipping and underscored the fact that the Security Council has not sanctioned any use of force against Yemen. "At this critical moment," Zhang said, "China hopes that all parties in Yemen will prioritize the interests of the people, show determination, eliminate interference, and firmly advance the political process to achieve final results." He reaffirmed China's support for a "Yemeni-led, Yemeni-owned" political process and encouraged the international community to contribute constructively to the peace efforts. Zhang also called attention to Yemen's dire humanitarian crisis, urging the international community to bolster humanitarian and developmental support to meet the urgent needs of the Yemeni people for food, water, and health care. Linking the political resolution in Yemen with the broader regional context, he cautioned against the spillover of the Gaza conflict and the escalating tensions in the Red Sea. "The most urgent task is to immediately promote a ceasefire in Gaza and take responsible actions to prevent further regional escalation," Zhang said, calling for international solidarity and action to foster peace in Yemen and the wider Middle East. (Web editor: Peng Yukai, Liu Ning) Netflix series explores moral ambiguity By Lee Gyu-lee What are the chances that an ordinary college student would get involved in murders, especially where the victims are later revealed to be vicious criminals? Does this scenario represent merely a series of coincidental killings or is it a form of justice being served? Netflixs new original series A Killer Paradox explores this complex and debatable ethical conundrum through the story of college student Lee Tang (played by Choi Woo-shik), who finds himself in extraordinary situations. I wanted to throw up a question on what it would be like to have a figure like Lee Tang in real life. He is a character who continuously questions whether killing wrongdoers is his special gift or a mere coincidence until the end, the series director Lee Chang-hee said during an interview with The Korea Times at a cafe in Jongno District, Seoul, Wednesday. Based on the hit webtoon of the same name, the thriller crime series follows the story of Lee Tang, who accidentally kills a man who attacks him, only to later discover that the dead man was a serial killer. One killing leads to another and he realizes he has a sense that enables him to detect criminals, and finds a new purpose in life with the help of hacker Noh Bin (played by Kim Yo-han). While caught in an endless cat-and-mouse chase with shrewd detective Jang Nan-gam (Son Suk-ku), the rookie killer goes on to murder heinous criminal after heinous criminal until everything becomes complicated with the appearance of Song Chon (played by Lee Hee-joon), a former detective who is himself far from innocent. The eight-part series, which hit the streaming site on Feb. 9, soon climbed to second place on Netflixs top 10 streaming chart for non-English TV series. The director, whose previous work includes the 2019 thriller series Watch Strangers from Hell, clarified that he didnt want to portray Lee Tang as a vigilante. I had no intention of creating a dark hero. I simply thought it could offer an entertaining thrill with the fictional aspect, kind of feeling satisfaction vicariously, he said. Choi also disagreed with those who see Lee Tang as a vigilante, referring to him rather as "a college kid on the edge." Many people say the series is of the dark hero genre but I kind of disagree with that. I felt it is about Lees process of compromising Lee felt he was pushed to the edge and moved forward in a self-destructive state. So I put weight on how a normal college student would feel after killing somebody and what face he would make, the actor said, adding that he paid great attention to making the character realistic. I dont think Lee came to the point where he told himself I can just kill this person, even during his murders. I portrayed him as someone who gave up on life In depicting the color Lee had in the original work, I tried to make him down-to-earth and not dramatic. Following his emotions was very important. The series features contrasting bright and dark tones visually and sorytelling-wise to breathe life into the unorthodox webtoon. The director, who prides himself on capturing reality in his works, shared that it was difficult to adopt the uniquely fictional depictions. As a director, I think my biggest strength is reality. So I brought the webtoon elements to the ground (in the adaptation) but it came out awkward. I grappled with how viewers would perceive the clashes of contrasting elements like realistic vs. unrealistic characters and observing vs. imaginative scenes, he said. It was interesting how the contradictory characters collide in the original works. From a directorial standpoint, I saw it as the opportunity to break free from conventional formats and grammar, giving me a new creative challenge. Despite the series popularity with its stylish cinematographic techniques and the actors compelling performances, it has not been without controversy. The series faced a backlash when an accusation was raised that one of its villainous characters resembles Rep. Lee Jae-myung, chairman of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK). The accusation alleges that the series character of the chairman, who runs an illegal business, committing multiple crimes along the way, bears strong visual similarities to the politician and features Easter egg-like details about him, particularly the character's prisoner number and him eating sushi in prison, which appears to reference the real-life chairman and his wife's involvement in a land development scandal and the use of a government credit card to purchase personal items. The director denied the allegation saying all of the details were just coincidental, as the series aims to entertain and provoke thought, rather than serve as a platform for political commentary. Im just bewildered. Its absolutely not true. If I were to reflect my political views in my work, I wouldnt have done it in that petty way. And I think injecting my political opinions secretly into a work that is not a political genre is inappropriate and unfair. I see it as an incident that happened because a lot of people have watched it over the weekend, he said, emphasizing that it started from one online user. The accusation started from a post made two days after the release. But if I had intentionally hinted at a specific politician, wouldn't it have arisen immediately after the release? I just want to emphasize that I don't have enough of a strong interest in politics for my work to contain a hidden political agenda. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz (2nd R) and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, sign a long-term security agreement between the two countries at the Federal Chancellery. Kay Nietfeld/dpa Germany and Ukraine have signed a bilateral security agreement as Kiev looks to bolster its long-term defences. The deal was signed in Berlin by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The agreement is intended to bridge the gap until Ukraine becomes a member of NATO. But admission to the Western defence alliance is far from sight given that Ukraine is about to enter its third year of war with Russia. The conclusion of a similar agreement with France is planned for Friday in the evening. Britain has already concluded an initial bilateral security agreement with Ukraine. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz (2nd R)) and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, look on at the signing of a long-term security agreement between the two countries in the Federal Chancellery in front of Ukrainian Foreign Minister Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (L), German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and Minister of Defense Boris Pistorius. Kay Nietfeld/dpa German Minister of the Interior and Home Affairs Nancy Faeser gives a press conference. Faeser has condemned aggressive protests against the Green Party which took place on Wednesday in connection with traditional Ash Wednesday political rallies. Kay Nietfeld/dpa Germany's Interior Minister Nancy Faeser has condemned aggressive protests against the Green Party which took place on Wednesday in connection with traditional Ash Wednesday political rallies. "When a political event is prevented by rabble-rousing and violence, when police officers are attacked and stones are thrown, then boundaries have been massively overstepped," Faeser told the media organization Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland (RND), in remarks published on Friday. This aggression has no part in a democratic dispute, she said. "This is just as true when democrats are defamed as 'traitors to the people,' when a whipped-up mob visits politicians at their homes or when those in power are symbolically hung from gallows," said Faeser. These are all boundaries crossed, that show a brutalization and poisoning of the discourse. Following massive farmers' protests during Ash Wednesday, the Green Party cancelled their political rally in the south-western German state of Baden-Wurttemberg because of security concerns. According to the police, police officers were injured amid violent behaviour. In addition to Green Party chairwoman Ricarda Lang, Germany's Agriculture Minister Cem Ozdemir and Baden-Wurttemberg Premier Winfried Kretschmann were also due to attend the event. Lang was later booed, insulted and prevented from leaving at another event in Schorndorf near Stuttgart. Faeser went on to say that political violence does not come out of nowhere, but starts with language. "Those who verbally pander to radicals only strengthen the radicals that we must fight together from the political centre," she said. Other states, including Bavaria, saw similar incidents of politically motivated violence. BERLIN (Reuters) - The NATO military alliance will continue to ensure its members security in the coming decades and everything must be done to keep it stable, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said. Scholz was speaking after former U.S. President Donald Trump sparked outrage among U.S. allies by suggesting the United States might not protect fellow NATO members who are not spending enough on defence against a potential Russian invasion. Asked whether Germany needed a new security doctrine without the United States, Scholz said: "I am a convinced transatlanticist, a staunch supporter of NATO and firmly convinced that NATO will continue to ensure our security in the coming decades." Regardless of the U.S. presidential election outcome, the NATO's European pillar should be significantly strengthened, Scholz said, adding that he was working specifically on this issue, especially with French President Emmanuel Macron. The United States has simultaneously gained influence in Europe through NATO and its security guarantees, he added. "It is right and important that all NATO partners do their part to ensure that the alliance is as strong as possible - that's what the 2% target is for," Scholz said, adding that Germany has reached this goal this year. Commenting on demands from a ruling coalition partner to discuss nuclear protection with France, Scholz said NATO's nuclear arsenal was not only based on U.S. weapons and that Germany had a close dialogue with France. Scholz, who met U.S. President Joe Biden on a visit to Washington last week, said Biden seemed very focused and determined, dismissing doubts about the president's age. "We talked long and in detail. He is probably one of the U.S. politicians with the most experience in world politics. And he has a clear idea of developments in his own country," he added. (Reporting by Riham Alkousaa, Editing by Rachel More and Alex Richardson) The Department of Justice has charged a former FBI informant whose claims Republicans used to bolster allegations of a corrupt bribery scheme involving Hunter Biden and the Ukrainian energy company Burisma with two counts of making false statements to federal authorities. The indictment, announced Thursday by Special Counsel David Weiss, alleges that Alexander Smirnov falsely claimed that during two business meetings in 2015 and/or 2016 executives associated with Burisma, admitted to him that they hired [Hunter Biden] to protect us, through his dad, from all kinds of problems. Smirnov added that the Burisma officials also said they had paid $5 million each to Joe and Hunter Biden, so that the then vice presidents son would take care of all those issues through his dad referring to a criminal investigation being conducted by the then-Ukrainian Prosecutor General into Burisma. The indictment alleges that the events that Smirnov first reported to the FBI Agent in June 2020 were fabrications. In truth and fact, the defendant had contact with executives from Burisma in 2017, after the end of the administration when [Joe Biden] had no ability to influence U.S. policy and after the Ukrainian Prosecutor General had been fired in February 2016. The DOJ claims that Smirnov transformed his routine and unextraordinary business contacts with Burisma in 2017 and later into bribery allegations, after expressing bias against Joe Bidens candidacy for the presidency in 2020. Republicans in Congress have long attempted to leverage the allegations made by Smirnov into an all-out assault against the Biden presidency. In September, former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy announced that he would be directing members of his party to launch an impeachment inquiry into President Biden. Even a trusted FBI informant has alleged a bribe to the Biden family, McCarthy said in his announcement. While Smirnovs allegations were known at the time, it had already been well documented that he had not provided additional proof to verify his claims. During the impeachment inquirys first hearing later that month, Republicans on the House Oversight Committee repeatedly referred to the claims made by the FBI informant as fact. Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) told the committee at one point that we already know the president took bribes from Burisma. In December, the House of Representatives voted along party lines to formally authorize the impeachment investigation. At the time, House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) told reporters that the investigation may center around allegations that President Biden and his son profiteered from unethical deals with Burisma. Smirnovs claims spread far and wide as a centerpiece of the GOPs largely unproven allegations against the Biden family. According to the progressive watchdog Media Matters, Fox News host Sean Hannity aired at least 85 Hunter Biden segments in 2023 that included allegations that Burisma executives had paid out bribes to the Bidens. Smirnov was arrested at Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Feb. 14, and is expected to appear in court for his arraignment on Thursday. He faces a maximum penalty of 25 years in prison if convicted on both counts. More from Rolling Stone Best of Rolling Stone The influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said there is no impediment to closer ties with Japan and there may come a day Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida visits Pyongyang, state news agency KCNA said on Thursday. Kishida, whose nation has no formal diplomatic ties with Pyongyang, has said he was exploring possibilities to meet North Korea's leader to resolve the matter of Japanese civilians abducted in the 1970s and 1980s. Kim Yo-jong, a deputy department director in the ruling Workers' Party, said Kishida's comments could be considered positive if meant to advance relations. "If Japan ... makes a political decision to open a new path for improving ties based on mutual respect and respectful behaviour, it is my view that the two countries can open a new future," she was quoted as saying. Japan has been critical of North Korea's pursuit of ballistic missiles and nuclear weapons, often drawing harsh rebukes from Pyongyang, especially as Tokyo stepped up its security alliance with South Korea and the United States. The Japanese government noted Kim Yo-jong's remarks but is refraining from commenting further, including how Tokyo sees them, said chief cabinet secretary and top government spokesperson Yoshimasa Hayashi. Japan cannot accept North Korea's position that the abduction issue has been resolved, Hayashi said. "Our stance of comprehensively resolving issues (with North Korea) such as abductions, nuclear (weapons) and missiles remains unchanged," Hayashi said. Kim added her view was a personal observation and, as far as she knew, the North's leadership had no specific plans for its relations with Japan or to make contact with Tokyo, KCNA said. Kim is widely considered the closest confidant and adviser to her brother on external policy matters. U.S. Senior Official for North Korea Jung Pak told reporters Washington supports any diplomacy with Kim's government, which has not responded to repeated U.S. offers to engage in talks without preconditions since President Joe Biden took office in 2021. "They've shut their borders since January 2020 and we support... any diplomacy there," Pak said in a briefing at the State Department. "Any kind of diplomacy that DPRK does, that's not Russia, is a positive thing," she said in a reference to Pyongyang's growing cooperation with Moscow that has alarmed Washington. Another U.S. official has said Washington wanted Japan to ensure it had "smoothed over" a possible meeting between Kim and Kishida with South Korea. The U.S. has worked to develop three-way coordination of policy on North Korea and other security issues between itself, Japan and South Korea. Pak said she could not say whether North Korea's willingness to speak to Japan could be linked to Seoul's recent move to establish diplomatic ties with the North's longtime ally Cuba, but added: "I think Pyongyang has always been interested in driving a wedge in our relationships or in the relationships between Japan and other countries and Korea and other countries." (Reuters) Rep. Brad Wenstrup (R-Ohio) defended House Intelligence Committee Chair Mike Turner (R-Ohio) on Thursday in the wake of a fellow House Republican saying Turners call for President Biden to declassify a national security threat occurred with reckless disregard. We didnt feel like the White House was responding to what we knew as the threat on the Intelligence Committee. And we want to have some type of reaction, Wenstrup said in interview with host Blake Burman on The Hill on NewsNation. Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.) wrote in a letter that Turners Wednesday statement in which he called on the Biden administration to declassify information relating to a national security threat was made to ensure additional funding for Ukraine and passage of an unreformed Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). I never heard that mentioned, one time, as we discussed this issue in the Intelligence Committee, Wenstrup, a member of the committee, said about Ogless claim. Not one time. I didnt hear one member talk about that, Wenstrup continued. And you know, Mr. Ogles, hes got the responsibility as a member of Congress, I hope that he went and read what the threat was, but he can have his opinion and he might have a motive for his opinion. The threat was later revealed to be the development of an anti-satellite weapon by Russia, which Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-La.) said Thursday was known about by Congress for weeks. This is a matter that weve known about for a few weeks. We requested a meeting with the president. I did we did, in writing in January, Johnson said at a press conference. In his letter, Ogles said Turners act of putting out the statement constituted poor judgment at a minimum and a complete breach of trust influenced by the pursuit of a political agenda at the maximum. As the Chairman of the Select Committee on Intelligence is solely appointed by the Speaker and under your direct purview, should the Chairman retain his post, you have a duty and an obligation to reassure this body (Congress) and the American people that the processes of the Intelligence Committee have not been corrupted by the very institutions they are charged with monitoring, Ogles wrote. The Hill show on NewsNation airs Monday to Friday at 6 p.m. EST. NewsNation is a cable news channel launched in 2021 by Nexstar Media Group, which owns and operates dozens of local television stations across the country and purchased The Hill in fall 2021. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. (Bloomberg) -- Twenty-two Republican-led states urged the US Supreme Court to delay Donald Trumps criminal trial for election interference, casting the federal prosecution as an effort to undermine his campaign to recapture the White House. Most Read from Bloomberg The filing came as the justices met privately Friday to discuss pending matters, potentially including Trumps bid for an extended pause in the Washington case while he presses an appeal that seeks immunity from criminal charges. The courts handling of the request promises to be a pivotal moment as Trump navigates four criminal prosecutions and several civil suits, along with efforts to bar him from the ballot as an insurrectionist. Trump, the likely Republican presidential nominee, is pushing to delay the Washington trial at least until after his possible election rematch with President Joe Biden in November. The Alabama-led group of states told the justices they represent millions of Americans, many of whom worry that the timing of this prosecution was calculated to silence or to imprison President Bidens political rival. The court could act at any time on Trumps request. Special Counsel Jack Smith in a court filing this week urged the justices to reject Trump and let the trial go forward. Smith didnt mention the upcoming election. The nation has a compelling interest in seeing the charges brought to trial, Smith said. The case is Trump v. US, 23A745. Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2024 Bloomberg L.P. North Carolina Senator Thom Tillis paid tribute to Alexei Navalny after the Russian dissident died in prison Friday. Navalny laid down his life fighting for the freedom of the country he loved, Tillis wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. Putin is a murderous, paranoid dictator. History will not be kind to those in America who make apologies for Putin and praise Russian autocracy. In condemning American apologists for Putin, Tillis may have been referencing Tucker Carlson, whose recent interview with the Russian president drew sharp criticism. Tillis himself savaged Carlsons Moscow grocery store stunt on Thursday, calling Carlson a useful idiot. But he may have also been taking a not-so-veiled shot at other members of his party. Tilliss position on Russia is evidently not shared by all of his Republican colleagues in the Senate. Alabama Senator Tommy Tuberville and Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson both expressed reserved praise for Putins leadership earlier this week, in comments that look even worse after Navalnys death. Tillis, it should be noted, was previously endorsed by Trump and has been careful not to criticize the Republican Partys front-runner who once called Putin a genius. The North Carolina senators comments are hardly a bold geopolitical stance in 2024, but they gesture at a different political reality: There may be a new Cold War brewing in the Republican Party. People living in one Clark County community say parked trains are no longer trapping them in their neighborhood for hours at a time. This was happening along Wynn Road in Mad River Township. People living in the neighborhood reached out to share their concerns with the News Center 7 I-Team. >> PREVIOUS COVERAGE: I-TEAM: Blocked rail crossing traps members of local community in neighborhood several times a month As reported on News Center 7 at 5:30, people reached out to the I-Teams lead investigative reporter, John Bedell, for help because they worried those delays could be putting lives at risk. Since the I-Team started asking questions, they say theyre no longer dealing with that problem. Debbie Reynolds and her neighbors contacted the I-Team in January saying parked trains on a Norfolk Southern railroad that runs next to their homes were blocking the crossing thats the only way in or out of their neighborhood. Reynolds shared photos on January 8 of a parked train she says blocked the crossing for four hours that afternoon. Weve lived here for 50 years, Reynolds neighbor Don Hamblin said. Its always been a problem. On a monthly basis. Two or three times a month maybe. People the I-Team spoke to say theyve missed work, school, and doctor appointments because of this. And theyre worried about being cut off in an emergency. >> RELATED: I-TEAM: Longer train lengths causing issues for emergency response in local communities If someone has a heart attack or if theres a pregnancy down here, theres no medical access, Ron Frazier said. We cant even get to a hospital and nobody can get to us to help us out. The I-Team started asking Norfolk Southern questions on January 10 for our initial investigation that aired the following day. Since then, neighbors say any stopped trains now park short of the crossing to keep it open. We hope to continue that way, Frazier said. Hopefully your story got the attention the railroad needed to stay focused on this. Hamblin added, Ever since you guys came out and reported on it, it hasnt been blocked since then. So thats been a good thing. The I-Teams John Bedell checked Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) data that shows over the last four years since the start of 2020 someone has reported the crossing along Wynn Road being blocked three times. Someone reported a blocked crossing there in April 2021, another report was made in June 2021, and the most recent reported blocked crossing in Mad River Township was in September 2023. However, the people the I-Team talked to in the neighborhood said they did not know they could report a blocked crossing through the FRA until we told them that was an option. You call the train company and you get no results, Reynolds said. So I thought I would turn to Channel 7 and see if, you know, you could help us out. And you did. We got some results. Theres not been a train thats blocked us in since. After Reynolds and her neighbors told the I-Team theyve noticed a stark difference since we first reached out to Norfolk Southern on January 10, The I-Team reached out to Norfolk Southern again Thursday. We asked if Norfolk Southern train crews have now been instructed to stop shy of the crossing in Mad River Township in order to keep the crossing open if a train has to park there for a while. So far, the company has not answered that question. However, an NS spokesperson did send the I-Team a statement identical to the one it sent when we reached out January 10. The I-Team included that statement in our original investigation last month: Norfolk Southern makes every effort to avoid inconveniencing a community with a stopped train. Though there are a number of reasons a train may have to stop, our goal is to keep our trains moving safely. Teams within our Network Operations Center make every effort to minimize these instances. We also partner with communities to identify short-term and permanent solutions such as overpasses and closing crossings, where it makes sense. That includes contributing funds directly to communities and helping them to apply for infrastructure grants. News Center 7 will continue updating this story. Texas will build a permanent military installation along its border with Mexico, signaling that the Texas National Guard deployment there, which is part of Gov. Greg Abbott's $11 billion Operation Lone Star, is not likely to end any time soon. Abbott, a third-term Republican, announced construction plans for the "Forward Operating Base" during a news conference Friday in Eagle Pass' Shelby Park, which for months has been a staging point for National Guard soldiers and Texas Department of Public Safety troopers in the state's effort to stem the tide of unauthorized crossings into Texas from Mexico. "This will increase the ability for a larger number of Texas military department personnel in Eagle Pass to operate more effectively and more efficiently," Abbott said. The facility will be able to handle up to 1,800 Guard troops with the capacity to expand to accommodate 2,300 troops, Abbott said. "If we have surge needs, it will include individual rooms for soldiers," he said. "It'll provide a large dining facility, recreation theaters (and) things like Wi Fi." Shipping containers and concertina wire line the banks of the Rio Grande in Eagle Pass' Shelby Park. On Friday, Gov. Greg Abbott announced that construction of a permanent military installation was underway on about 80 acres near the park. Abbott acknowledged that the installation's construction will come at a cost to taxpayers, though he did not offer a price tag. But, he added, that having a permanent facility will mean that the state will not have to underwrite the cost of hotel rooms and other expenses for the soldiers and DPS troopers being sent to the border. As he has done in recent appearances at Shelby Park, the governor was flanked by uniformed soldiers carrying rifles and standing alongside military vehicles. He also repeated what has become a mantra whenever he speaks about the record surge in unlawful immigration: President Joe Biden is not doing enough to secure the nation's southern border. "The Texas National Guard (is) going above and beyond to make sure that they are showing the way that Texas will defend itself from the lawlessness that's been created by Joe Biden's refusal to follow the laws in the United States Congress," Abbott said. More: How the border crisis sparked the worst Texas-federal relationship in modern memory Abbott launched Operation Lone Star in the months after Biden replaced then-President Donald Trump in January 2021 and began rolling back many of his predecessor's hard-line border policies, such as Title 42, a COVID-19 era policy that allowed for asylum-seekers' quick expulsions based on public health concerns. Friday's announcement continues the escalations that began when Abbott announced last April that he was installing a floating buoy barrier in the Rio Grande to deter unauthorized crossings, and later ordered hundreds of miles of coiled razor wire to be placed along the shoreline. Both actions have led the Biden administration to sue Texas, saying that Abbott has encroached upon the federal government's authority to set immigration and border policies. More: In Eagle Pass, Greg Abbott and GOP governors strike familiar themes about border unrest Friday's event was Abbott's third in Eagle Pass inside of two weeks. On Feb. 4, he hosted about a dozen of his fellow Republican governors for a private briefing on conditions at the border and a news conference to reassert his belief that states have constitutional authority to take aggressive measures if they believe they are under an "invasion," which is how Abbott has framed the pace of unauthorized immigration. Gov. Greg Abbott appears with fellow Republican governors at a Feb. 4 news conference in Shelby Park. A few days later, he was joined in Eagle Pass by several Texas GOP lawmakers from Texas, and he offered a similar message. At Friday's event, Abbott said the first stage of the military compound's construction was underway on about 80 acres near municipally owned Shelby Park, which has been taken over by the state as part of the border initiative. The project will likely be an improvement in conditions for soldiers at the border, Abbott said. "They have been living in conditions that were atypical for military operations," he said. "And now, because of the magnitude of what we're doing, because of the need to sustain and actually expand our efforts of what we're doing, it's essential that we build this base camp." This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Military base being constructed at Texas-Mexico border, Abbott says North Korea praised leader Kim Jong-un and called for loyalty as the country marked the 82nd birthday of Kim's late father and former leader Kim Jong-il on Friday. In an editorial, the Rodong Sinmun, the North's main newspaper, lauded the late leader as a "patriot" who established the foundation for national dignity and prosperity and said such feats have been inherited by the current leader. The newspaper claimed the country was able to achieve "miraculous" achievements and growth in areas, including the military, economy and culture, thanks to Kim, and called for the public to uphold his orders for national development. North Korea has been setting a festive mood ahead of the anniversary, which the country celebrates as one of its most important holidays, alongside the birthday of Kim's grandfather and national founder Kim Il-sung. The Korean Central News Agency reported Friday that celebratory events were held in Laos, Myanmar, Pakistan and Switzerland earlier this month to mark the late leader's birthday, while flower baskets from overseas were laid in front of the statues of the former leaders in Pyongyang. (Yonhap) GULF SHORES, Ala. (WKRG) Already one of the busiest airports in the country, it looks like Gulf Shores International is about to get a whole lot busier. According to the White House, the airport will receive five million dollars to build a new commercial airline terminal. The new terminal is a key to bringing commercial air service to the coastal community. It is something that has been talked about for years. Faith Academy guidance counselor charged with failure to report: DAs Office Site work began in 2022 near the air traffic control tower. Back then three airlines had submitted letters of intent to operate out of Gulf Shores, a fourth was in discussions. The original plan had construction beginning next year at the cost of around 10 million dollars. The Airport Authority was not ready to talk specifics Thursday after the announcement in Washington. That information is expected to be released next week. Nevertheless, five million dollars will go a long way in making the dream of commercial air service in Gulf Shores a reality. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKRG News 5. A New Alexandria man is facing charges after a gun was found in a backpack at Pittsburgh International Airport on Thursday afternoon. TSA officers saw a .40 caliber handgun in a passengers backpack at the main security checkpoint at 4:33 p.m., Allegheny County police said. The passenger was identified as Matthew Curry, 35. Police said Curry did not have a valid concealed carry permit. He was charged with carrying a firearm without a license and taken to the Allegheny County Jail. The FBI was notified. Passengers who bring firearms into an airport security checkpoint can face fines from the TSA of up to $10,000. Repeat offenders can be fined up to $13,910. Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW TRENDING NOW: Homicide suspect arrested at Pittsburgh International Airport after jumping from parking garage Local woman warns others about potentially fraudulent tax refund checks from U.S. Treasury 2 local men amongst 25 people charged in Philadelphia drug trafficking case VIDEO: Some Jefferson Township neighbors frustrated with noise from snow clearing business DOWNLOAD the Channel 11 News app for breaking news alerts Gypsy Rose Blanchard was a victim of Munchausen by proxy. Experts explain why moms are often behind the abuse. Munchausen syndrome by proxy is a form of child abuse where a parent or carer fabricates symptoms of illness in a child. It is also known as fabricated or induced illness (FII), per the UK's National Health Service. It is often a "crime of opportunity" and is usually committed by women, experts say. "I really did think it was me and my mom against the world. I thought she was my best friend," Jordyn Hope, a Munchausen by proxy advocate who was medically abused by their mother, told Business Insider. Munchausen syndrome by proxy, also known as fabricated or induced illness (FII), is a form of child abuse that grabbed headlines late last year following the release of Gypsy Rose Blanchard from prison. Blanchard served eight years after being convicted for her role in the murder of her mother, Clauddine "Dee Dee" Blanchard. "I just wanted out of my situation, and I thought that was the only way out," Gypsy Rose Blanchard said in an interview on Good Morning America following her release. Following Blanchard's arrest, it came to light that Dee Dee had spent much of Gypsy Rose's life persuading her and others that her daughter was terminally ill and forcing her to undergo many unnecessary medical procedures. While Blanchard's story was an extraordinary tale of deceit and abuse, she is one of many to have suffered from the abuse. Business Insider spoke to several experts and one victim about who typically carries out the crime. Gypsy Rose Blanchard attends "The Prison Confessions Of Gypsy Rose Blanchard" Red Carpet Event on January 05, 2024 in New York City. Jamie McCarthy Hope, whose pronouns are they/them, said their mother subjected them to numerous hospital visits and treatments for made-up illnesses. "My mom claimed I had rare blood diseases, saying I had neutropenia which is a rare disease that affects white blood cells," they said. Hope now knows that they don't have neutropenia, but they were made to believe they did until the age of 22. They were even put through unnecessary major back surgery and a spinal fusion at 15, leaving them with four screws and two rods in their back, they added. Hope's story is reflective of a much wider pattern that shows that women are often behind the abuse. Studies suggest moms are often the perpetrators A study published by the National Library of Medicine in 2017 found that in many cases of Munchausen by proxy, women were the perpetrators. The report, which looked at 796 cases of the abuse, found that 97.6% of the offenders were women and 95.6% were the victim's mother. Beatrice Yorker, a professor at the California State University, Los Angeles's College of Health, told BI that this was likely due to "women's roles in society." "This is their domain. This is where women have the utmost power and control over their children," she said. Marc Feldman, an expert in Munchausen by proxy, agreed, saying that as women are frequently the primary caregivers for children, "they simply have more access" and it is often a "crime of opportunity." Andrea Dunlop, who created the podcast Nobody Should Believe Me, a hit true crime show about Munchausen by proxy, said "abusers will look for places where they have power because abuse is an abuse of power." "One of the only places that we give women authority is over children. This arena of managing a child's medical care is the place where we cede full authority to the female parents," Dunlop added. Father figures are also often absent in cases of Munchausen by proxy, Hope added. This was the case for Blanchard, whose parents separated shortly before she was born. Rod Blanchard had been so in the dark about his daughter's true health that the first time he saw her walk was in a news report on her arraignment hearing following Dee Dee's murder, BuzzFeed News reported. He said he was so confused that his first thought was how happy he was that she was walking, per the report. Dee Dee Blanchard and Gypsy Rose Blanchard. Courtesy of the Blanchard Family Why Munchausen by proxy occurs There is no definite answer as to why this form of abuse occurs, but the UK's National Health Service (NHS) says it may be influenced by the the parent or carer attempting to gain something, "such as attention, support or closeness to the child." It adds that it may also stem from having "anxiety or incorrect beliefs about their child's health, and they need these beliefs to be confirmed and acted upon." Perpetrators are usually seeking "attention, sympathy, and care," Feldman said, adding that this could become exasperated in women after giving birth, when their personalities can be "subsumed under the category of mother or superwoman." "They're defined by their children, not by their own achievements," he said. Emma Milne, an associate professor in criminal law and criminal justice from the University of Durham whose research interests include gender and crime, told BI that she believed fabricated illness as a form of abuse was "mostly a consequence of a psychiatric condition." The NHS notes that many of the perpetrators of the abuse have "borderline personality disorders characterised by emotional instability, impulsiveness and disturbed thinking." Read the original article on Business Insider Donald Trump, the frontrunner for the GOP presidential nomination, was silent following news of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalnys death on Friday. Instead, his campaign referred a reporter to a statement that didn't reference Navalny or Russian President Vladimir Putin. "In just three and a half years under Crooked Joe Biden, the World has experienced Misery, Destruction, and Death. America is no longer respected because we have an incompetent president who is weak and doesnt understand what the World is thinking. I am the only one who can bring Peace, Prosperity, and Stability like I did during my first term. America will be respected and feared (if necessary!) again," Trump said in the vague statement posted to Truth Social. Trump's silence has been criticized by his last remaining GOP opponent, Nikki Haley, who also slammed the former president for his past praise of Putin. "Putin murdered his political opponent and Trump hasnt said a word after he said he would encourage Putin to invade our allies. He has, however, posted 20+ times on social media about his legal drama and fake polls," Haley said on X, formerly known as Twitter, several hours after Navalny's death was first reported. Putin did this. The same Putin who Donald Trump praises and defends, Haley wrote in a social media post reacting to the news earlier Friday morning. The same Trump who said: In all fairness to Putin, youre saying he killed people. I havent seen that, Haley continued, referring to comments Trump made in 2015, when he pushed back against the notion that Putin had killed journalists. Trump also praised Putins leadership, describing him as a strong leader. Since then, Trump has called Putin pretty smart, and welcomed Putins praise of him, telling NBCs Kristen Welker in September 2023, I like that he said that. The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to POLITICO's request for comment Friday. According to the Russian federal prison service, Navalny died in a high-security prison near the Arctic Circle after losing consciousness following a walk. Navalny has long been Putins most prominent foil, and survived a poisoning attempt in 2020 that his supporters say was a state-sponsored attempt to kill him. After being treated in Germany, he returned to Russia and was immediately arrested and imprisoned. Former Vice President Mike Pence struck a similar tone: "There is no room in the Republican Party for apologists for Putin," he wrote in a post to X on Friday. NKs invitation is attempt to sway Seoul, Washington, Tokyo 3-way security ties: experts By Nam Hyun-woo South Koreas presidential office expressed a negative outlook on remarks by North Korean leader Kim Jong-uns sister on the regimes openness to discussing a visit by Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to Pyongyang. An official at the presidential office told The Korea Times that the Norths remarks appear to be a hurried reaction to Seouls recent forming of formal diplomatic ties with Cuba, and the visit, even if it takes place, will not likely bring fundamental changes in the relations between North Korea and Japan. There have been history and trajectory in Japan-North Korea relations, and chances seem very slim that the Norths abrupt offer will bring a fundamental change in the two sides relations, the official said, Friday. The offices negative view came after Kim Yo-jong, sister of the North Korean leader, said in a statement on Thursday night that Kishidas visit to Pyongyang is possible if Tokyo does not make the issue of the past abductions of Japanese nationals an obstacle between the two sides. Japan believes 17 Japanese citizens were abducted by North Korea in the 1970s and 1980s, and their return still remains as one of the key hurdles in the two sides relations. The official cited former Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumis visits to North Korea in 2002 and 2004, which resulted in five Japanese abductees being returned home. The returns offered a short-term boost in Koizumis job approval ratings, but did not bring fundamental changes in the two sides relations. Japan and North Korea still have no diplomatic ties, as Pyongyangs repeated missile tests are casting security concerns for Tokyo, and the Japanese government is still seeking the return of 12 others whom it has officially recognized as having been abducted to the North. The official added that Kim Yo-jongs statement can be interpreted as Pyongyangs disgruntled response to Seouls announcement on Wednesday night that it has established formal diplomatic ties with Cuba, which is the Norths long-time ally. The South Korean foreign ministry refused to comment on the hypothetical situation of Kishida's possible summit with the North Korean leader, but added that the ministry is closely communicating with its Japanese counterparts on the contact between Tokyo and Pyongyang. It added, The contact should contribute to North Koreas denuclearization and peace and stability of the Korean Peninsula. Japans Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said Friday that Tokyo is carefully looking at Kim Yo-jongs comments and its government has been seeking high-level official talks for a Japan-North Korea summit, but added that Japan will not accept the North's claim that the abductees issue has been resolved. While Japan is taking a cautious stance, South Korea is already casting a negative outlook on the offered talks between Kim and Kishida, which it sees as the North's attempt to disrupt the trilateral security cooperation between Seoul, Tokyo and Washington. Kim Yo-jongs statement seems to be a reaction to South Koreas diplomatic ties with Cuba and at the same time a strategy to plant concerns that the North Korea-Japan summit may crack the current security cooperation between Seoul, Tokyo and Washington, said Park Won-gon, a professor of North Korean studies at Ewha Womans University. And chances are very slim for the trilateral security cooperation to be damaged by North Korea, since Japan is participating in the cooperation because of the North's missile and nuclear threats. Though chances are very slim for the North Korea-Japan summit to take place, it can rather be a breakthrough in the stalemate related to Pyongyang. Yang Moo-jin, president of the University of North Korean Studies, also noted that Kim Yo-jongs statement is North Koreas attempt to urge Japan to take a more proactive stance in their working-level talks for the summit, but it remains difficult for Kishida to accept the conditions set by Pyongyang. North Koreas demands for not mentioning the abductees issue and nuclear programs are not easy conditions that Kishida can accept, meaning chances are slim for a Kim-Kishida summit, Yang said. There is no need for the South Korean government to have only negative views on this agenda, because Japans diplomatic relations with North Korea can rather be an assist for the Yoon Suk Yeol administrations efforts to control Northeast Asian geopolitics. Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley blasted GOP primary rival former President Trump for his past praise of Russian President Vladimir Putin following the death of the countrys top opposition leader Alexei Navalny on Friday. Putin did this, Haley wrote Friday morning on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, in response to news of Navalnys death in prison. The same Putin who Donald Trump praises and defends. The same Trump who said: In all fairness to Putin, youre saying he killed people. I havent seen that. The former South Carolina governor has continued to intensify her attacks against Trump, under whom she served as United Nation ambassador, as her home states primary draws closer. The Russian Federal Prison Service said Friday that Navalny felt unwell after a walk and lost consciousness, after which he was pronounced dead. Haley, who is trailing Trump in the polls ahead of the Feb. 24 South Carolina primary, has repeatedly gone after the former president on the campaign trail for his apparent friendliness to foreign dictators. Her campaign reinforced that tactic on Valentines Day, dishing out satirical love letters that highlighted Trumps past quotes about world leaders of countries that are considered adversarial to the U.S. One of the letters referenced comments Trump made in 2018 about Putin and his victory in Russias election that year. I called President Putin of Russia to congratulate him on his election victory. The Fake News Media is crazed because they wanted me to excoriate him. They are wrong! Putin is widely expected to win reelection once again in Russias upcoming election in March. Haley also warned against taking the side of a thug earlier this month after Trumps warning to NATO allies that he would entice Russia to do whatever the hell they want to nations that are delinquent. Trump retains a comfortable lead over Haley in South Carolina. The former governor currently trails the former president by close to 35 percentage points in the state in the latest The Hill/Decision Desk HQs aggregate of polls. The Hill has reached out to the Trump campaign for comment. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley has hit out at her 2024 Republican presidential primary opponent, former president Donald Trump, following the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. Ms Haley on Friday released a statement denouncing Mr Trump, under whom shed served as US ambassador to the United Nations, for his frequent and repeated praise of Russian President Vladimir Putin. In the statement, she said that Mr Trump continues to side with Vladimir Putina man who kills his political opponents, holds American journalists hostage, and has never hidden his desire to destroy America. Trump continues to side with Putin over our allies and our military service members, she added. Mr Trump, whose 2016 election victory was aided by Russias efforts to interfere in that years election according to the US Intelligence Community and a report issued by the then-Republican-controlled Senate Intelligence Committee has long made a habit of refusing to criticise Mr Putin, and in some instances has issued glowing praise of the Russian dictator. During his 2016 campaign, he told television hosts that he respects the Russian leader after he was told that Mr Putin murders journalists and opposition figures. Nikki Haley hit out at her Republican rival (AP) A succession of US officials, led by Vice President Kamala Harris, has placed blame on the Russian government for Navalnys death in a prison colony in Siberia. Ms Harris told attendees at the annual Munich Security Conference that the US government is still working to confirm the facts and circumstances of Navalnys passing, but called the development terrible news while offering prayers to his family, including his wife Yulia Navalnaya, who is also attending the conference. If confirmed, this would be a further sign of Putins brutality, said Ms Harris. She added: Whatever story they tell, let us be clear, Russia is responsible. Even after at least nine children were treated for gunshot wounds at a Kansas City hospital, Missouri Republicans still wont address the states loose gun laws. And that stubborn resistance to reform is irresponsible if not outright dangerous. One day after a mass shooting in Kansas City left one woman dead and 22 others injured by gunfire, including nearly a dozen minors under the age of 16, top GOP lawmakers and Gov. Mike Parson shrugged their shoulders at the calamity. From the governor to House Speaker Dean Plocher to other elected officials such as state Sen. Bill Eigel of Charles County, the tone-deaf reaction to the shooting from leading Republicans wasnt all that surprising. When it comes to sensible gun laws, the GOP-controlled General Assembly reacts with the stubbornness of a Missouri mule, the states official animal. And that bullheadedness was on full display Thursday. During an interview with a local radio host in Kansas City, Parson never bothered to use the word gun. He did, however, use language we all should condemn when describing the suspects. What happened yesterday with those thugs is not who we are in Missouri, Parson told radio host Pete Mundo of KCMO Talk Radio. Dog whistle? You bet. We found it difficult to ignore Parsons screed, which continued: You just got some absolutely be careful what I say before I say something Im gonna probably regret but just a bunch of criminals, thugs out there, just killing people at an incident like that and attempting to kill all those people and created such chaos that people got hurt, being trampled. On X, formerly known as Twitter, Eigel, a candidate for Missouri governor, echoed Parsons questionable talking points, erroneously writing: One good guy with a gun could have stopped the evil criminals who opened fire on the crowd immediately. Guns dont kill people. Thugs and criminals kill people. More than 800 law enforcement officials worked the Chiefs Super Bowl victory parade, according to Kansas City police. Not even a heavy police presence could deter these shooters from opening fire, debunking this stale good guy with a gun myth. Firearm safety is not a partisan issue From what we can best tell, early reports indicate a father and daughter from Omaha tackled a person suspected of being involved in this shooting. Neither used a weapon to take down the figure seen on video running from the scene. And then there was Plocher, the top Republican lawmaker in Missouris House of Representatives. On Thursday, he refused to answer questions from a Kansas City Star reporter about the states lax gun laws. When pressed about the Union Station shooting, Plocher shut down a news conference. He said little about plans to prevent another mass shooting. Laws alone dont solve the problem, Plocher said, later adding: Were not going to dwell on Kansas City today. If the day after a mass shooting wasnt the appropriate time to address gun violence, when would be a convenient time to discuss this pressing issue, Speaker? Your abject failure of leadership must be called out. Gun safety is not a matter of right versus left or conservative versus liberal. Nor should the debate fall along party lines. When kids are seriously injured by gunfire and an innocent mother is killed, lawmakers have a duty to address ways to prevent these sorts of shootings. Not in Missouri, though. This week, lawmakers doubled down on the states gun laws, rated the nations 38th weakest by Everytown for Gun Safety, a gun safety think tank. Only 12 other states have weaker legislation. Worse, some GOP lawmakers seek to allow concealed carry on public transit and inside churches and other places of worship. We will monitor House Bill 1708 which aims to further relax gun laws in our state. Earlier this month, the measure, sponsored by Republican state Rep. Adam Schnelting of St. Charles, was placed on the House calendar for perfection. Here, no permit is necessary for anyone over the age of 18 to carry a concealed weapon. No training is required either. Background checks are not mandated. According to anti-gun violence advocates with Everytown for Gun Safety and the Missouri NAACP, this unfettered access to guns contributed to a record number of homicides in Kansas City 185 killings were recorded just last year. Half of firearm violence victims under 15 Kansas Citys mass shooting victims ranged from 8 to 47, according to Kansas City Police. Half of the victims were under 15. Lisa Lopez-Galvan, a 44-year-old Johnson County mother of two, was shot and died on the grounds of Union Station after the victory parade and rally ended, her brother Beto Lopez told The Star. A Leavenworth family and others were among a total of 39 people treated for various injuries related to the shooting. Three people were detained after Wednesdays shooting, including two juveniles and an adult man, according to police. As of Thursday, no charges had been announced. Liberals are not coming for your guns Law-abiding citizens in Missouri who own guns need not worry. No one not even the federal government has a right to take your firearm from you, a long-held argument and perhaps the biggest misconception about the right to bear arms. But people under 21 should not have the right to carry a concealed handgun or rifle without the proper training, permit or a background check. Allowing unchecked access to weapons is as much to blame for Wednesdays mass shooting in Kansas City as any other underlying factor. Will Republicans in Missouri see it that way? Based on Thursdays reaction, our guess is no. We call on elected officials in Missouri to set partisan politics aside and do whats best for all Missourians: Enact sensible reform to the states concealed weapons law. More guns on the streets will not make us safer. GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) The World of Winter in downtown Grand Rapids is well underway, and this weekend its hosting a Hamburglar scavenger hunt. There will be 10 Hamburglar calling cards hidden throughout the World of Winter on Saturday, Downtown Grand Rapids Inc. and McDonalds said in a Friday release. The calling cards will have McDonalds gift cards inside, and those who find a calling card will have a chance to win free burgers for a year. Were thrilled to be a part of this exciting event with McDonalds of Michigan, Tim Kelly, President & CEO of DGRI, said in the release. World of Winter is all about bringing the community together to celebrate the beauty of winter, art, and family fun. And what better way to do that than with a thrilling treasure hunt throughout the best that World of Winter has to offer? Ten Hamburglar calling cards will be hidden in downtown Grand Rapids Saturday for a World of Winter scavenger hunt. (Courtesy Downtown Grand Rapids, Inc.) Ten Hamburglar calling cards will be hidden in downtown Grand Rapids Saturday for a World of Winter scavenger hunt. (Courtesy Downtown Grand Rapids, Inc.) Ten Hamburglar calling cards will be hidden in downtown Grand Rapids Saturday for a World of Winter scavenger hunt. (Courtesy Downtown Grand Rapids, Inc.) Along with the scavenger hunt, this weekend World of Winter is also hosting a Paint the Park at Rosa Parks Circle event and an Art Installation Walking Tour. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WOODTV.com. HAMPTON, Va. (WAVY) In our Children of Change segment, we feature local kids doing great things to make a positive impact on the community. 11-year-old Israel Veney of Hampton is one of those children. He is a 6th grader at Kilgore Gifted Center in Hampton. He says his favorite subject is pre-algebra, so you might be surprised to learn he is now a published author! I started writing the book around the end of 3rd grade, and then I finished it around the end of 2023, said Veney. The title of Veneys book is Buddy: The Scorpion Who Saved the Town. Its about a scorpion who saves the town by getting help from other city leaders after a catastrophic event, a series of catastrophic events, called the unmentionable. Veney explained more about the role Buddy the scorpion plays in the book. He actually sneaks into the mayors office and finds a book that contains the truth about the past, and then, once he learns the truth, he goes to Ant Town and then he asks forgiveness for the past. He said the scorpions of the past mistreated their fellow insects. Veney says forgiveness, and learning from the past, is a big message in his book. Were not our ancestors and we should stop acting like the things that have happened in the past are their faults. Like racism, people are acting like we are our ancestors. Veney said his teacher, Joy Tanner, inspired him to write the book. Tanner was his teacher in 3rd grade during the pandemic, and then she moved up with his class to teach them in 4th grade as well. Tanner says Veney started writing his book in 3rd grade, and he wasnt sure if he wanted to continue, but she recognized his writing ability and encouraged him. Israel was very good at analyzing the texts that we read, and thats a start, because he was able to pick out the themes and the characters and the story elements that go with it. Get the message when the message sometimes wasnt easy to find, he was very good at that, and then when we started doing the writing in 4th grade, he would go above and beyond then and wanting to keep adding and fixing his writing. It might be like, okay, were going to write two or three paragraphs. Israel would write two or three pages. So, I noticed that he really was good, and did have a talent for writing. So, I just really encouraged him to keep writing. He had picked up using dialogue with quotations, and identifying the speaker in his dialogue, and so thats a really strong skill for a 4th grader to be able to do that. So, he definitely had that talent. Tanner worked with Veney on figuring out what he wanted to get rid of in the book and what he wanted to keep. He blossomed into a great writer. As you can tell when he reads the book, he has lots of descriptive words, he has a clear theme, and all those elements that go into writing. Tanner says on the day Veneys book was published, his mother sent her a message. I just started crying when I was reading that. I was so proud of him and so amazed at what he had done, and then right away I ordered my copy. I started reading it to my class and telling them this was a former student, and so hopefully that inspires them to see you can do this, too, or you can do something you really want to do if you really put the work into it and follow through. So, it was inspirational for me as a teacher. So, he says I inspire him, but hes also inspired me. Veneys book is for sale on Amazon. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WAVY.com. In a push to convince the U.S. Supreme Court to take their case, an Anderson couple who lost custody of their transgender teen are arguing that without intervention more parents around the country could be stripped of parental rights because of their religious beliefs. "If this can happen in Indiana, it can happen anywhere. Tearing a child away from loving parents because of their religious beliefs, which are shared by millions of Americans, is an outrage to the law, parental rights, and basic human decency," Lori Windham, vice president and senior counsel at Becket, said in a statement Thursday. The Washington, D.C.-based law firm that specializes in religious freedom cases is representing Mary and Jeremy Cox in their appeal of an Indiana court ruling that upheld a decision by the Department of Child Services to remove their child. The case touches on some of the most controversial and divisive social issues in Indiana, where conservative lawmakers have passed legislation targeting transgender rights, and LGBTQ+ advocates have turned to the courts for help. The issue of parental rights has also gained political momentum, particularly among Republicans over the last few years, focusing on issues such as vaccination requirements, school curricula and gender-affirming care for transgender youth. The U.S Supreme Court is seen, Nov. 3, 2023, in Washington. A religious couple from Anderson, Indiana is asking the Supreme Court to intervene in a case involving their child, a transgender teen who was removed from their home after the state Department of Child Services received allegations of verbal and emotional abuse stemming from the teen's transgender identity. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib, File) In 2019, the Coxes' teen, identified in court records as A.C., told them that she identified as a girl, clashing with her parents' devout Christian views that children should be raised based on their sex at birth and the use of pronouns or names inconsistent with their biological sex is both immoral and harmful. The Coxes said they sought therapeutic care for A.C.'s gender dysphoria and scheduled appointments with a specialist to treat the eating disorder. In 2021, a Madison County judge ordered that A.C. be removed from the Coxes' custody following a recommendation by DCS that she be placed in a home that affirms her gender identity. DCS had received allegations that A.C.'s physical and mental condition was endangered by her parents, who were not referring to her by her preferred pronouns, and reports of alleged verbal and emotional abuse over the teen's gender identity. More on this case: Indiana parents asking U.S. Supreme Court to take case involving custody of trans teen The Coxes have denied the abuse allegations, which DCS later dismissed, and have turned to the U.S. Supreme Court after losing appeals in state courts. The Indiana Attorney General's Office, which is tasked with defending DCS, argued the conflict between the Coxes' religious beliefs and A.C.'s gender identity was not why the state took her away from her parents. "Rather, petitioners' child was removed because the child had a severe eating disorder that petitioners had not been able to effectively address for two years, that jeopardized the child's brain and bone health," the attorney general's office argued in a brief filed earlier this month. The brief also reiterated a Madison County judge's ruling that A.C.'s eating disorder was partly caused by "self-isolation" from her parents that was "likely to reoccur" if she's returned home. The state is also saying the case is moot because A.C. is now an adult. Trans rights in Indiana: These new Indiana laws affect transgender and other LGBTQ Hoosiers But the Coxes argue the case is still relevant and could have an impact on other parents around the country. A brief filed Thursday cited the rising number of transgender youth and the government's willingness to remove children with gender dysphoria from their parents' custody. The Coxes also accused state officials of blaming an underlying mental health condition in this case, A.C.'s eating disorder for why they took the teen away. "Indiana's tack ... provides a playbook that any state can use to eviscerate bedrock constitutional protections while guaranteeing they remain insulated from review," according to the brief. The case was at the center of a failed bill that would have banned courts from removing transgender children from their parents based solely on their refusal to allow gender-affirming care and acknowledge the child's gender identity. Contact IndyStar reporter Kristine Phillips at (317) 444-3026 or at kphillips@indystar.com. This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Parental rights vs transgender rights: Supreme Court urged to take case When the pandemic hit, and the world shut down, Malaysians were largely left to fend for themselves. With no furlough scheme and limited help from the government, they were forced to dig into their savings to survive. Many raided their pension pots, after the rules were made more flexible to allow people of any age to withdraw money to survive lockdowns. They took out billions of pounds, using their pension as a cash machine. Now, Malaysians teeter on the brink of disaster. Many have exhausted their retirement savings and now face living out old age in poverty. This loosening of pension rules is exactly what think tank the Resolution Foundation recently called for in a major new report. It argued that British savers should be allowed to borrow from their pensions to weather financial hardship an idea that will appeal to lawmakers who are concerned about Britons low household savings and who want to reduce reliance on benefits. Over 114bn has accrued in workers pension pots since automatic enrolment came into force 10 years ago, according to official figures, suggesting a healthy balance sheet for a future government to play with. But while schemes in America and South Africa, which allow cash withdrawals for any reason and loans to be secured against lifetime savings, have largely been successful, increasing pension flexibility in Malaysia has left the nation grappling with a retirement crisis. A flexible pension pot On paper, Malaysia has one of the best state-run pension schemes in the developing world. Workers put in 11pc of their salary and employers more than match it, making defined contributions of at least 12pc. It is also considerably more flexible than those of many higher income countries. The two pot system has a second account, worth just under a third of the total, which can be used to buy a house or pay for education and medical expenses. The rest is locked away until it can be drawn down at age 55. During the pandemic, millions of Malaysians were permitted to make four rounds of cash withdrawals from their pensions, totalling RM145bn (24bn). The Employees Provident Fund (EPF), the main Malaysian retirement fund for private sector employees, saw total assets dip 15pc after more than eight million savers made withdrawals to survive the financial shock of lockdown. With each round of pension raids the public demanded more, amid limited direct government support. Now, millions face being unable to afford to retire. The median savings in EPF accounts for all Malaysians fell by approximately 50pc from 2019 to 2022, when they stood at just RM8,100 (1,347). It means retirement savings for around half of savers will provide a monthly income well below the nations poverty line, with only the wealthiest 2pc having enough for a comfortable retirement, according to EPF figures. And unlike the UK, there is no equivalent state pension. A recipe for disaster Geoffrey Williams, an economist at the Malaysian Institute for Economic Research, said that the failure of Malaysias experiment with super-flexible pensions should serve as a warning to other countries. He said: The example from Malaysia shows that withdrawals from pension funds leads to widespread pensions inadequacy and old-age poverty. At best it requires full-scale evaluation; at worst, it is prima facie a recipe for disaster. For reasons of choice for housing or education or for factors outside peoples control like illness, public health crises or unemployment the option to raid your pension becomes too compelling and funds withdrawn are almost never replenished. This has caused millions of people in Malaysia to have nothing saved for retirement and no state pension to fall back on. In the UK, it would likely lead to millions having inadequate savings and becoming reliant on the state pension and benefits with obvious implications for government spending, borrowing and higher taxes. He added: The withdrawals option is not one that should be followed, nor is it one that Malaysia is likely to repeat. The Malaysian government has since restructured EPF, adding a third account to limit instant withdrawals to only smaller payments, while major reforms to the nations savings could be needed in the future to guarantee an above-poverty line income to the poorest retirees. Even before the pandemic, Malaysias two pot pensions, designed to help savers cover the costs of essentials during their working life, were severely depleted, in part due to an over reliance of the withdrawal feature for housing and other expenses. In 2019, over 50pc of those with one year left to work before retirement had less than RM50,000 (8,323) or just RM200 (33) per month for retirement, meaning they likely will need to work well into later life. A similar scheme in the UK would benefit from the safety net of the state pension system, a guarantee Malaysia does not have, but could see more savers relying on this income if they use up private savings while working and fail to replenish them. As many as one in three working age people in the UK live in families with less than 1,000 in savings, leaving them unprepared for sudden financial hardship, according to the Resolution Foundations research. The think tanks report calls for savers to be able to have a borrowable fund in their pensions, of 15,000 or 20pc of their pot, whichever is lower, to be paid back across with interest over a period of several years. It would essentially give every worker a rainy day fund to fall back on. Under the UKs current rules, an individual accessing their pension pot before the age of 55 (rising to 57 by 2028), unless they are terminally ill, will incur a tax charge of up to 55pc. Australia also created a pension cash-out scheme during the pandemic, which allowed millions of typically young workers to cash out AUD36.4 billion (17.6bn) from their pensions early to cushion financial hardship. Recommended When (and how) to drawdown your private pension Read more Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 3 months with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. 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. Every Lunar New Year, China ushers in a new zodiac sign from a cycle of 12 auspicious animals. This year, its the Year of the Dragon, or more accurately, the Year of the Loong, says Chinese state media, using its preferred term for the mythical beast. Loong has been used in the past to describe dragons, but this year its been popularly embraced as the preferred translation of the Mandarin word for a creature long revered in Chinese culture. The word dragon, state media says, is heavily associated with the Western image of a vicious and fire-breathing beast, unrepresentative of the wise and peaceful folkloric creature many in China know and love. The Chinese loong conjures positivity, nobleness and fortune and therefore should be distinguished linguistically from its Western cousin, state media argues. Chinese media has dedicated coverage and airtime to promote the new nomenclature over the past week or so, though both dragon and loong are being used interchangeably in English-language reports. The push comes as Chinese leader Xi Jinping in recent years has urged the country to assert more cultural confidence part of his bid to raise Chinas international stature. Amid rising nationalism, Western books, movies, and other forms of perceived influence have been viewed with increasing suspicion. Some Chinese revelers have embraced the loong terminology, sending each other blessings of loong during the Lunar New Year including, mostly notably, a top official from Hong Kong. We are all here to welcome the Year of the Loong, said the citys Chief Executive John Lee at a tourism event last week that further ignited discussion about whether to use the word dragon, or the term apparently preferred by Beijing. People gather in front of a dragon statue at the Wong Tai Sin Taoist temple in Hong Kong on February 9, 2024. - Alex Chan Tsz Yuk/SOPA Images/LightRocket/Getty Images What does a loong look like? Just like their Western counterparts, loongs have sharp claws and fangs. But unlike the rough, scaly skin of some mythical Western depictions, they have elongated bodies and often shiny golden scales. A long silky mane runs down their backs, as depicted in most Chinese paintings and sculptures, and they glide effortlessly through the sky despite having no wings. Their eyes, round and benevolent, are believed to be the window to their soul, as the Chinese saying goes painting the pupils when drawing dragons, meaning the image of a dragon is incomplete without the finishing touch of the eyes. Western dragons come in many forms and shapes, from the most fearsome Smaug from The Hobbit to the cuddly version in Petes Dragon, a 1977 Disney film that featured Elliott, a large green cartoon dragon. But in a recent article, Chinas official state news agency Xinhua said: Western dragons are often described as giant reptiles with wings. It is much harder to liken Chinese dragons to any existing animal, it added. Bradford Lee Eden, a scholar in fantasy writing and Dean of Library Services at Valparaiso University, Indiana, said the popular image of the Western dragon can be traced back to ancient literature and tales, elements of which have carried over to modern-day pop culture productions such as Game of Thrones. Traits associated with Western dragons include aggressiveness, love of gold and treasure, greedy, destroyers, and generally enemies of mankind, said Eden, the founding editor of Journal of Tolkien Research. Fierce Western dragons may have been based on evolutionary theories related to mankinds inner fears, he said, which resulted in an amalgam creature that could fly, breath fire, cause fear and panic by its presence, and chase on the ground. Meanwhile, Eastern dragons are generally seen as more contemplative, thoughtful, helpful, and lucky than their Western counterparts, said Eden. Why are dragons so central to the Chinese culture? Eden noted that the Chinese loong is also seen as the guardian of Chinese emperors, who wore golden dragon robes and sat on their dragon throne. Royal palaces were adorned with paintings and carvings of dragons, decorations that can also be found in temples and shrines across the country. Ancient Chinese also viewed themselves as the descendants of the dragon, the same phrase used in a popular song released in the 1970s thats still sung today as a patriotic tribute to Han ethnicity. A 238 mter-long dragon dance is performed during celebrations on the first day of the Chinese lunar new year in Macau on January 22, 2023. - Eduardo Leal/AFP/Getty Images Some couples try to ensure their children are born in the Year of the Dragon, a symbol of prosperity and vigor, often resulting in a bump in the countrys birth rate. The dragon also plays an integral part of the Chinese language, often symbolizing vitality. For example, dragon horse vitality - or long ma jing shen in Mandarin - is a blessing people exchange during Chinese New Year to wish each other a life full of vigor. Is there a need to tell loongs from Western dragons? Many on Chinese social media Weibo supported the use of the term. Its a good thing because the west has demonized China and then put the name of one of their evil objects on our mascot, which is nothing short of being civilized, one influential user, who has 1.8 million followers, wrote in a post liked by 4,000 others on Weibo. But the accurate translation should have been Long - with a single o - based on Chinas standard romanization, Professor Victor Mair, who specializes in Chinese Language and Literature at the University of Pennsylvania, pointed out in his blog recently. Transcribing long into English loong would cause more problems and confusion than translating it as dragon, he wrote. Mair also suggested the move to use loong appears to be driven more by politics than language. He noted that some patriotic and political sources in the Sinosphere have been peddling the concept that the Western dragon is fearful. But he said he doesnt believe that, since the typical Chinese dragon has horns, claws, fangs, gaping whiskered maw, glaring eyes, snake-like body with scales, [and is] not a creature youd like to meet in the middle of the night. Eden, from Valparaiso University, said evil dragons exist in Eastern culture just as there are benevolent dragons in the West. Their portrayal depends on whos telling the story and the message they want to convey about their society, he said. I think that this emphasis comes from nationalistic and cultural developments that arise from cultures, modern-day nations, and peoples wanting to distinguish themselves and their cultures and ideas from others, in this particular case, to focus on the differences between Eastern and Western society, he said. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com A new bill introduced into the California state Senate would add reporting requirements at higher education campuses like Fresno State, where regulators found the administration had mishandled many sexual misconduct cases. State Sen. Bill Dodd, D-Napa, on Thursday announced Senate Bill 1166, which he said was meant to add oversight through investigations at California State University campuses, the University of California system and community colleges. Fresno State for several years has been dealing with a string of incidents involving allegations of sexual harassment and Title IX violations. Many of the complaints surrounded a slow response or mishandling of harassment reports by university officials. Dodds announcement also pointed to colleges in his district, Sonoma State and California Maritime Academy, where violence and harassment has been an issue. Right now, we have deficient standards and transparency in the investigation and reporting process, and theres a serious lack of consistency and accountability from those in charge, Dodd said in a statement. My bill will incorporate key recommendations from the auditors report to create meaningful systemic and cultural change. The proposed legislation was written to accompany Dodds bill from last year, SB 808, that required regular reporting from the CSU system to the state and for annual reports to be made public online. College campuses have been in the spotlight in recent years. Failings at Fresno State came to light after a report that former school President Joseph Castro mishandled as many as 12 sexual harassment complaints about another administrator, who was also a friend of Castro. While Fresno States top official, Castro failed to document allegations and continued to provide support to Frank Lamas, the former vice president of student affairs, even after an investigation confirmed alleged inappropriate behavior, a CSU system investigation found. Castro later resigned from his position as head of the CSU system after the issues came to light. SB 1166 was expected to be heard in its first policy committee in about a month, the senators office said. A mystery caller dialled into a tip line with information about the Harmony Montgomery case amid her fathers New Hampshire trial over the little girls alleged murder. The developments were revealed by Adam Montgomerys defence attorney at the end of his second week of trial in Manchester. Montgomery, who is accused of beating Harmony to death in December 2019, is facing a count of second-degree murder. Last week, he conceded to two lesser charges of abuse of a corpse and falsifying information. Montgomery only appeared in court during the first day of jury selection and has not returned since. The prosecution has argued throughout the two weeks of trial that Montgomery killed his daughter after he became enraged because she had a bathroom accident. Jurors have heard from more than a dozen witnesses about the horrific ways he worked to conceal, reduce, and destroy Harmonys remains. Montgomery then disposed of what was left of Harmonys body at an unknown location in March 2020. Despite massive multi-state searches and a $150,000 reward for information, her remains have never been found. On Friday, attorney Caroline Smith brought up a tip made by an unknown individual. During the course of the trial, apparently somebody contacted the tipline and was interviewed, gave information, Ms Smith told Judge Amy Messer. The state has given us a recording of the interview. I have not [gone through it.] We certainly have somebody trying to go through it. I dont know, and I dont need to name this person. I dont know if well be seeking to call this person [to testify]. A photo of Harmony provided by the National Center for Missing Children (National Center for Missing Children/Manchester Police Department) Senior Assistant Attorney General Ben Agati later explained that the call was placed by a woman on Tuesday after she had spent several days watching the trial. Manchester Police only notified the prosecution the following day. She came into the station to be interviewed and provided a statement, Mr Agati said. Mr Agati said that a written report and the taped interview were sent to his office and then forwarded to the defence. Judge Messer asked Ms Smith to expeditiously file a motion seeking to have the mystery called on her witness list if the defence wished to call her to the stand. The judge also asked the prosecution to advise the individual against watching the remainder of the trial. Superior Court Justice Amy Messer, background, watches as Assistant New Hampshire Attorney General Christopher Knowles, from left, Senior Assistant New Hampshire Attorney General Benjamin Agati and defence lawyers Caroline Smith and James Brooks walks back to their posts following a bench meeting (AP) Adam Montgomery only attended the first day of jury selection and has not returned to court since (AP) The prosecutions case has largely hinged on testimony from Montgomerys estranged wife, Kayla Montgomery. Kayla told jurors last week that she was in the car with Harmony, Montgomery, and the couples two infant sons when the little girl had a bathroom accident. Montgomery reportedly became enraged and hit Harmony in the head several times between traffic stops. Kayla and Montgomery did not realise that Harmony had died until several hours later. According to Kaylas testimony, they usually kept the little girl under a blanket in order to hide her bruised and beaten body. The family stopped at a Burger King, with Kayla reportedly even placing a sandwich on the dead girls lap, before heading to buy drugs. After Montgomery realised his daughter was dead, he placed the body inside a duffel bag that he buried in the snow for a few days. The remains were later crushed to fit inside a diaper bag and further manipulated with lime and different power tools, according to the prosecution, before Montgomery disposed of the body. Harmonys death went unreported for two years. In December 2021, her mothers pleas to authorities were finally heard, prompting an investigation into the little girls disappearance. Harmony, who was born in 2014 while her father was in prison, was removed from her mothers home in Massachusetts due to the latters substance abuse problem. In 2018, DCFS sent Harmony to live with her father and stepmother in New Hampshire after failing to complete home studies to ensure she would be safe. Last December, the Manchester Police Department established a new tip line (603-932-8997). The health ministry on Friday ordered 221 training hospitals to ban mass leave and maintain essential medical personnel, as trainee doctors decided to submit their letters of collective resignations in protest of a plan to boost the number of medical students. The order came hours after trainee doctors of five major general hospitals in Seoul decided to submit their letters of resignation en masse Monday, in a move certain to intensify their strike threat over the plan. Second Vice Health Minister Park Min-soo told reporters that the government will "protect the lives and health of the people by mobilizing all necessary resources." "The government will unwaveringly accomplish medical reform," Park said, reaffirming the government's pledge to take stern measures against any collective action by doctors that threatens the safety of patients. The trainee doctors at the five hospitals also decided to walk off the job at 6 a.m. next Tuesday, according to their association. Doctors have warned of a massive strike and other responses in opposition to the government's decision announced last week to add 2,000 to the country's medical school enrollment quota next year, marking a sharp rise from the current 3,058 seats. The five hospitals are Asan Medical Center, Samsung Medical Center, Severance Hospital, Seoul National University Hospital and Seoul St. Mary's Hospital. More than 150 doctors from seven other hospitals, including Wonkwang University Hospital, Gachon University Gil Medical Center and Korea University Guro Hospital, had also submitted letters of resignation as of Thursday midnight, according to the ministry. (Yonhap) Government continues strong stance, threatening to take legal action By Jun Ji-hye Trainee doctors at five major hospitals in Seoul decided on Friday to collectively submit letters of resignation to protest against the governments plan to increase the annual enrollment quota at medical schools starting next year. In a similar move, medical students agreed to take a leave of absence en masse. Intensified protests by young doctors raise concerns that patients may find themselves unable to receive adequate and timely medical services. But the government continued to take an unmovable stance, saying there will be no leniency for those engaging in collective actions. Tensions between doctors and the government have escalated, with both sides showing no sign of backing down, over the health ministrys Feb. 6 announcement that the annual enrollment quota at 40 medical schools nationwide will increase next year to 5,058 from the current 3,058. According to the Korean Intern Resident Association (KIRA), an association of interns and resident doctors, trainee doctors at the so-called big five hospitals in Seoul Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul Asan Medical Center, Samsung Medical Center, Severance Hospital and Seoul St. Marys Hospital decided to submit their letters of resignation en masse on Monday and stop working at 6 a.m. on Tuesday. The strike threat by interns and resident doctors is considered serious, as they play a key role in emergency rooms and intensive care units at large hospitals. When the previous Moon Jae-in government was pushing to raise the medical school enrollment quota in 2020, collective action by trainee doctors caused substantial inconveniences for patients, especially at the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. This eventually led the Moon government to retract its proposal. The latest decision made by trainee doctors at the big five hospitals raised the possibility of those at other hospitals joining in. At Wonkwang University Hospital, all 126 of its trainee doctors had already submitted their letters of resignation en masse, expressing their intention to work until March 15 and quit. According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare, 154 trainee doctors at seven hospitals, including the 126 at Wonkwang University Hospital, have submitted their letters of resignation as of Thursday. None of these resignation letters have been accepted, the ministry noted. In response to actions by junior doctors, the health ministry ordered 221 teaching hospitals across the country to put an effective ban on mass leave and ensure they maintain essential medical personnel. The ministry said leaving hospitals is equivalent to refusing patients, and in this case, the government can issue an order for doctors to return to work, citing the Medical Service Act. Violators of this order face suspension of their licenses for up to one year or imprisonment of up to three years. The law also stipulates that the government possesses the authority to potentially revoke doctors licenses should they be sentenced by a court after failing to adhere to this order. The government will mobilize all available legal and administrative measures against any actions that take hostage the lives of patients, to protect the safety of the public, Second Vice Health Minister Park Min-soo said during a media briefing. Medical students, for their part, are also moving to join the protests by taking an en masse leave of absence. Representatives from 35 medical schools out of 40 agreed unanimously to apply for leave of absence on Tuesday. In response, the Ministry of Education urged medical schools to monitor the situation closely. The government has been seeking to raise the medical school enrollment quota to address shortages of doctors and improve public access to medical services. On the other hand, doctors and medical students raised concerns that expanding the number of placements could adversely affect the quality of education and training. In a Gallup Korea survey of 1,002 adults, released also on Friday, 76 percent of participants supported the governments plan, while 16 percent disagreed with it, and 9 percent reserved judgment. Welcome to the least surprising turn of events imaginable: Federal prosecutors have charged a former FBI informant on Thursday with lying to the bureau about corruption allegations against President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden involving the latters work in Ukraine. Its hard not to appreciate the way this ridiculous put-up job has fallen to pieces. Special counsel David Weiss announced on Thursday evening that a federal grand jury had returned an indictment against Alexander Smirnov, a 43-year-old longtime FBI informant with ties to Ukraine, for one count of making false statements to a federal agent and one count of falsifying records in a grand jury investigation. Despite repeated admonishments that he must provide truthful information to the FBI and that he must not fabricate evidence, the Defendant provided false derogatory information to the FBI about Public Official 1, an elected official in the Obama-Biden Administration who left office in January 2017, and Businessperson 1, the son of Public Official 1, in 2020, after Public Official 1 became a candidate for President of the United States of America, the indictment alleged. Why is this so unsurprising? Because Republican officials and right-wing media outlets have spent the last five years claiming that Bidens actions in Ukraine were corrupt without marshaling even a shred of evidence to prove their allegations. Former President Donald Trump was even impeached in 2019 for pressuring Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelenskiy to falsely smear Biden as corrupt in advance of the 2020 presidential election. So, of course the Ukraine corruption allegations fell apart. They always do, and for a very good reason. The grand jurys indictment is understandably vague about when and why Smirnov became a confidential informant for the FBI. He began providing information to the bureau in 2010 in various criminal investigations, during which FBI agents warned him multiple times to only provide truthful information or risk criminal charges. In 2017, he first described to the FBI that he had conversations with Burisma officials about acquiring an unidentified U.S. company. Smirnov mentioned, perhaps in passing, that Hunter was on Burismas board. In 2020, after Biden became the likely Democratic nominee against Trump, Smirnovs claims began to escalate. Suddenly he was alleging that executives associated with Burisma admitted to him that they hired [Hunter] to protect us, through his dad, from all kinds of problems. Those same executives later went on to say, according to Smirnov, that they specifically paid $5 million each to [Biden] and [Hunter], when [Biden] was still in office, so that [Businessperson 1] will take care of all those issues through his dad, referring to corruption investigations into Burisma. These conversations allegedly took place in 2015 or 2016. The lies about Bidens role in Ukraine are based on a kernel of truth. ThenVice President Biden did, in fact, pressure Ukraines leaders to fire Viktor Shokin, the countrys prosecutor general at the time, in 2015. Biden also did so with an eye toward the countrys handling of corruption cases. He even publicly boasted that he personally helped block loan guarantees to Ukraine as part of the pressure campaign. And Hunter Biden, the presidents only surviving son, did serve on the board of Burisma, a Ukrainian oil and gas company, during this time. There is one major problem with the anti-Biden narrative: The then vice president was pushing for Shokins removal not because Shokin was being too aggressive about corruption cases but because he wasnt being aggressive enough. Bidens efforts were part of a campaign by U.S. and EU diplomats for Ukrainian leaders to take a more aggressive tack on endemic corruption in the former Soviet republic. All of this was widely covered at the time because it was not only a legitimate foreign policy endeavor by the Obama administration but an important component of its Eastern European policy. The FBI apparently realized that Smirnov was lying to them when they discovered that his interactions with Burisma executives only began in 2017, after Biden had already left office and after the alleged conversations had supposedly taken place. In short, the Defendant transformed his routine and unextraordinary business contacts with Burisma in 2017 and later into bribery allegations against [Biden], the presumptive nominee of one of the two major political parties for President, after expressing bias against [Biden] and his candidacy, the indictment alleged. The indictment also included screenshots of text exchanges between Smirnov and his handler where Smirnov suggested that Biden and other polititions should be jailed, after which Smirnov begins suggesting that he can link Bidens Ukraine efforts as vice president to Burisma. When his handler expressed doubt about that, Smirnov replied, Ill try to prove it for you bro. The messages give the impression that Smirnov was eager to provide damaging information against a presidential candidate whom he disliked. All of this might have gone unnoticed had someone not told Republican members of Congress about Smirnovs false allegations. Leading GOP lawmakers, including Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley and Georgia Representative James Comer, drew public attention to the unnamed informants claims as evidence of corruption by Biden and his son after apparently learning about Smirnovs testimony through what they described as a whistleblower. For the better part of a year, Ive been pushing the Justice Department and FBI to provide details on its handling of very significant allegations from a trusted FBI informant implicating then-Vice President Biden in a criminal bribery scheme, Grassley claimed in a braggadocious press release last July. While the FBI sought to obfuscate and redact, the American people can now read this document for themselves, without the filter of politicians or bureaucrats, thanks to brave and heroic whistleblowers. When news of Smirnovs indictment broke on Thursday night, Grassley expressed no regret for his role in smearing the president. To the contrary, he insisted that he had done the right thing and that he deserved credit for the outcome. Todays indictment makes clear that, without Senator Grassleys oversight and exposure of the FD-1023, the agency would have continued neglecting its duties and failing to provide the transparency the American people deserve, his office told reporters on Thursday night. Grassley also castigated the FBI for refusing to expose its sources and methods to inquiring lawmakers, then exposing Smirnov anyway when it charged him with lying. Theres a good reason that the FBI didnt cooperate more readily with Grassley and Comers inquiries: There was no evidence to substantiate Smirnovs claims, there was plenty of reason to doubt them, and there was zero reason to believe that Republican lawmakers had any interest in publicizing them other than doing political damage. The FBIs record in revealing sensitive information in ongoing criminal inquiries is, shall we say, imperfect, and the GOPs record in hyping it up to inflict political damage is well established. Indeed, the Republicans strategy worked. The Burisma allegations provided mountains of grist for GOP lawmakers to demand further inquiries, which gave wide latitude for their allies at Fox News and other right-wing media outlets to feverishly speculate about the all-but-certain bombshell in front of their audiences. The Washington Posts Phillip Bump estimated that Fox hosts and guests had mentioned Biden and bribes more than 2,600 times over the past year. Comer and other House GOP lawmakers appeared on Sean Hannitys show at least 86 times since last summer to argue for impeaching Biden based on the allegations. Indeed, the lack of evidence or truth to support the case for impeaching Biden is why more than a few Republicans are growing dissatisfied with Comers leadership of the House Oversight Committee. Its goal is not to actually find out what happened, as Democrats did when they pursued inquiries into Trump during his presidency. Just as with Hillary Clinton and Benghazi, the goal is to smear the Democratic presidential candidate by locking them in a cycle of perpetual investigations. Burisma even vaguely resembles Benghazi as a catchword. This is not to say that Democrats cant be corrupt or that legitimate allegations of corruption shouldnt be investigated. Senator Bob Menendez, who comes loaded down with enough comical corruption to fuel a season of Fargo, is right there. (The GOP would evidently prefer to cast Senator Gold Bars as a Biden-deep-state victim.) The real takeaway here is that Republican lawmakers like Grassley and Comer cant be trusted to make these allegations or pursue their credibility. Its not because these lawmakers were partisan, or overly zealous, or even because theyre wrong. (Sometimes legitimate inquiries just dont pan out.) The problem is that they dont seem to care whether theyre actually right in the first place. The White House criticized U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson for starting House recess without voting on a Senate-approved Ukraine aid package. The bipartisan funding measure, passed by the Senate on Feb. 13 with 70 votes, includes aid for Ukraine, Israel, and other allies. Johnson contends that the Senate bill lacks the stricter border security measures requested by House Republicans, and he refuses to advance it in the lower chamber. White House spokesperson Andrew Bates, in a memo obtained by The Hill, criticized Johnson for prematurely starting the recess, accusing him of exacerbating harm to national security. "Every day that Speaker Johnson causes our national security to deteriorate, America loses. And every day that he puts off a clean vote, congressional Republicans standing with the American people plunges," Bates said. "Running away for an early vacation only worsens both problems." Republicans who had insisted on tying aid to Ukraine with border security measures contended that the proposed package was inadequate. Johnson declared it dead on arrival in the House, a stance in line with former President Donald Trump's strategy to use border issues as a political weapon against President Joe Biden. House GOP leadership has scrapped votes scheduled for Friday, and the House is now scheduled to reconvene in Washington on Feb. 28 following the Presidents Day recess. Read also: FBI informant charged with lying about Biden familys ties to Ukrainian business Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. Photo: Office of the President of Ukraine German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has commented on the signing of a bilateral security cooperation agreement with Ukraine, following the G7 declaration on security guarantees for Ukraine. Source: Scholz on Twitter (X), reported by European Pravda Quote: "Volodymyr Zelenskyy and I signed an agreement today on our long-term security commitments an historic step." Details: He stressed that Germany would continue to support Ukraine against Russian aggression. For as long as it takes.@ZelenskyyUa and I signed an agreement today on our long-term security commitments an historic step. Germany will continue to support Ukraine in the face of the Russian war of aggression. Slava Ukraini. pic.twitter.com/YFFzELiGz3 Bundeskanzler Olaf Scholz (@Bundeskanzler) February 16, 2024 Background: On 16 February, during Volodymyr Zelenskyy's visit to Germany, a bilateral agreement on security cooperation was signed, following up on the G7 declaration on security guarantees for Ukraine. An agreement is also planned to be signed with France, where Zelenskyy will go after his meetings in Germany. Support UP or become our patron! TAMPA It seemed everything was set for restoration to begin on the Jackson House, the downtown segregation-era Black boarding home that is deteriorating and likely cannot survive a major storm. In October, the city of Tampa agreed on a land swap with 717 Parking, which owns a surface parking lot next to the historic structure at 851 E. Zack St. The deal would provide the Jackson House with room for a city-required 10-foot fire code buffer between property boundaries. That was believed to be the final hurdle for the restoration to be funded largely with government money. But there is one more obstacle an agreement proposed to the Jackson House Foundation nonprofit by 717 Parking. The details are a mystery. The foundation has yet to sign it and, until they do, restoration remains on hold. Chairperson Carolyn Collins was not enthusiastic about whatever has been proposed. Maybe we are being asked to do things we shouldnt do at all, she said. If we are required, we want to make sure were doing what is best for the Jackson House. Asked for particulars of the proposal, she said, We dont have the flexibility to discuss details. 717 owner Jason Accardi did not provide details, either. We have proposed a mutual cooperation agreement and the Jackson House Foundation is reviewing and considering the same, he said through an email. CJ Roberts, the CEO of the Tampa Bay History Center, which is assisting with the restoration that will turn the Jackson House into a Black history museum, said he thinks the proposal involves site access and construction staging. Accardi said this agreement has nothing to do with our agreement with the City and that it is in no way delaying or holding up progress under the Citys agreement and/or our commitments made to the City thereunder. But something is delaying the next step. The contract between the city and Acardis is signed, but numerous steps must occur before any property is transferred, city spokesperson Adam Smith said. Asked if the proposed agreement between 717 and the foundation is one of those steps, Smith declined to comment. He also declined to comment on whether the city knows the details of the proposed agreement. The city has allocated $1 million in Community Redevelopment Area funds to the restoration of the two-story, 4,000-square-foot building, where notables like Ray Charles and Cab Calloway stayed. It was built at the turn of the 20th century. A spokesperson for Jeff Viniks Family Foundation, which has donated $1 million toward restoration, also declined to comment. In all, the Jackson House Foundation has received $4 million through grants and donations, with Hillsborough County providing $500,000 and the state of Florida $1.5 million. On three occasions since October, the Tampa City Council has requested that Collins provide a status update at a meeting, but the foundation has asked for a continuance each time, with this weeks meeting being the latest. The foundation is next scheduled for the May 2 meeting. We provided the money years ago, council member Bill Carlson said. Now we have removed the other obstacles. Its time for the foundation to step forward with an action plan. But they dont have one finalized yet. Jerel McCants, the architect in charge of the restoration, said he cannot complete a restoration plan until the Jackson House receives that easement through the land swap. We cant do anything, he said, until the agreement is set. HOPKINTON The town's release of documents that included the first name of a woman who is alleged to have been sexually assaulted by a former police officer will be investigated by the Northwest District Attorney's Office at the request of the Middlesex County District Attorney's Office. Northwest District Attorney David E. Sullivan's office which serves Hampshire and Franklin counties and the Worcester County town of Athol confirmed in an email to the Daily News that it's looking into the circumstances surrounding the release of internal investigation documents that included the first name of a woman who was allegedly sexually assaulted by now-retired Deputy Chief John "Jay" Porter when she was a teenager. Hopkinton police Sgt. Timothy Brennan heads into Town Hall surrounded by supporters for the continuation of a Loudermill hearing to decide disciplinary action against him, Feb. 8, 2024. The Select Board voted 4-1 to approve Police Chief Joseph Bennett's recommendation to terminate Brennan. 'Our efforts fell short': Hopkinton fails to redact first name of woman accusing former officer of sex assault Laurie Loisel, a spokesperson from the Northwest DA's Office and Meghan Kelly, who holds the same position with the Middlesex DA's Office, said the independent review was requested to avoid any appearance of a conflict of interest, and to ensure the review is as independent and objective as possible. Both Loisel and Kelly said they could not comment further due to the ongoing investigation. Hopkinton Town Manager Norman Khumalo declined to comment. Documents released on Jan. 19 failed to redact victim's first name The 15 documents were released on Jan. 19 by the Hopkinton Police Department on its news blog and via John Guilfoil Public Relations after a Loudermill hearing part of a due process requirement that must be provided to a public employee prior to removing the employee or imposing severe discipline involving police Sgt. Timothy Brennan. The documents detailed an internal investigation into whether Brennan had prior knowledge of a sexual assault and rape of a child allegedly committed by Porter. Among the documents is a transcript of an interview between independent investigators from New York City-based Kroll and Brennan, in which the first name of the woman who was allegedly assaulted by Porter was not redacted in two instances: once in the transcript and once in the index. Kroll Managing Director Daniel Linskey told the Daily News that Kroll does not comment on its investigations. Police Chief Joseph Bennett did not respond to a request for comment. Full transcript recalled after it was discovered to be improperly redacted The full transcript between Brennan and investigators was recalled after it was improperly redacted, according to a Jan. 23 press release from the Police Department. It no longer appears on the HPD news blog. The Daily News does not disclose the names of sex assault victims. 'Completely one-sided': Angered with handling of Brennan case, Hopkinton residents start recall efforts Documents released on Jan. 19 included the full Kroll investigative report; correspondence from the Massachusetts Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) Commission; a Brady Letter, affecting the possible credibility of future court testimony from Brennan in future criminal cases; and Hopkinton Police Department procedures, including signature pages. Sgt. Brennan fired last week The Select Board voted 4-1, with Chair Muriel Kramer opposed, on Feb. 8 to approve Bennett's recommendation to terminate Brennan. The vote was conducted in executive session at Town Hall, and followed the continuation of the Loudermill hearing on Jan. 19, when the board heard attorneys representing Bennett and Brennan present their sides regarding Brennan's failure to report the alleged sexual assaults. Kroll, the independent investigator retained by the town, found several instances in which Brennan violated the department's rules and regulations, according to a redacted copy of the report that was previously provided to the Daily News. Brennan stood accused of: Knowing, as of Aug. 21, 2022, of Porter's alleged rape of a minor and failing to report it to law enforcement; Knowing, as of 2017, of an alleged sexual assault on a minor and failing to report it to law enforcement; Knowing in August 2022 that the woman was pursing a criminal investigation and was concerned for her safety, but failing to report her safety concern to law enforcement; Not reporting the woman engaging in an inappropriate sexual relationship with Porter when she was underage; Using the victim as a baby sitter while serving as a school resource officer. Porter is awaiting trial. This article originally appeared on MetroWest Daily News: Investigation launched over Hopkinton's release of victim's name WASHINGTON After Speaker Mike Johnson rejected a Senate-passed $95 billion national security package, centrist House lawmakers on Friday unveiled their own bipartisan proposal that calls for new border policies coupled with critical military aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan. This is a really good piece of legislation. Its pared-down. Its airtight. Theres really not a whole lot of area that anyone can criticize on this, Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., told reporters before releasing the text. And its bipartisan. Its the only bipartisan solution in the House. The $66.3 billion bipartisan package, titled the "Defending Borders, Defending Democracies Act," has six initial co-sponsors, equally split between Democrats and Republicans. In addition to Fitzpatrick, the Republican backers are Reps. Don Bacon of Nebraska and Mike Lawler of New York. The Democrats are Reps. Jared Golden of Maine, Ed Case of Hawaii and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez of Washington. The release of the bill comes as the House leaves for a nearly two-week recess. Fitzpatrick is a co-chair of the Problem Solvers Caucus, a bipartisan group of centrist lawmakers, but he said the legislation wasnt a Problem Solvers product. The $66 billion package for the Defense Department calls for $47.7 billion to help defend Ukraine from Russia; $10.4 billion to support the defense of Israel, including funding for the Iron Dome; $4.9 billion to shore up the defense of allies in the Indo-Pacific; and $2.4 billion to back U.S. Central Command operations, including the conflict in the Red Sea. In addition to scaled-back military aid, the package borrows language from the House GOPs tough border bill, known as H.R. 2, members said. That includes bringing back the Remain in Mexico policy for one year, requiring some migrants, including asylum-seekers, to wait in Mexico while their claims are adjudicated. President Joe Biden ended the policy, which human rights groups said led migrants to face kidnappings and violence, when he took office, and the Supreme Court upheld the move. But reinstating the border policy would require cooperation from Mexico, which it has rejected. Neither Fitzpatrick nor Bacon could explain how to resolve that dilemma. Thats something well have to work out, Bacon said. Im not on the foreign Im not an ambassador, so I have no idea how theyre going to respond. Our guys want something that makes a difference on the border. Fitzpatrick said itll be the Biden administrations job to find a way to make Mexico comply. Well, thats going to be part of what the administrations role is in this, he said. Were the legislative branch. The executive branch has to enforce the law. Fitzpatrick said he doesnt have a commitment from Johnson to bring the bill to the floor. He said hed do whatever it takes to advance the bill but downplayed the idea of a using a discharge petition a tool to bypass leadership and force a vote instead suggesting a queen of the hill rule in which many bills can get votes and the one with the largest number of votes is adopted. We have to talk to leadership or both parties and hopefully theyll support it," he said, adding that he doesnt have a firm timeline. "I think this is a good spot to be if youre Republican," said Bacon, a swing-district lawmaker who worked with Fitzpatrick to craft the bill. "Youre reducing the Senate bill by about 30%. So its fiscally more responsible. We know we got to do military aid to Ukraine or theyre going to fall, and itll cost us more if that happens. And we can deal with the border. So I just feel good about what were doing. House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Michael McCaul, R-Texas, who supports Ukraine aid, said there won't be a discharge petition to bring it to the floor. No. Thatd be a nuclear option, McCaul said. Taking away the speakers power would backfire. A lot of Republicans that would vote for Ukraine would not if that happens." But Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., who has threatened to force a vote to overthrow Johnson if he puts a Ukraine funding bill on the floor, said the moderates' bill is all but dead. Ill assure you: Ukraine aid is not coming to the floor, she said Thursday in an interview. Unlike the Senate package, which passed 70-29, the House bill doesnt include any humanitarian aid for those affected by war in Gaza, Ukraine and other hot spots; the aid would be solely for military needs. But Fitzpatrick said lawmakers are free to try to change the legislation through the amendment process. We can open up to amendments and everybody can get their votes and let the House do its will," he said. This article was originally published on NBCNews.com South Korea and Japan held disarmament and nonproliferation consultations to discuss ways to address growing military threats from North Korea, Seoul's foreign ministry said Friday. Youn Jong-kwon, director-general for nuclear nonproliferation and diplomatic planning at the ministry, met with his Japanese counterpart, Katsuro Kitagawa, in Tokyo, the ministry said. The two sides shared concerns about North Korea's increasingly advanced nuclear and missile threats and illegal arms trade in violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions, and agreed to continue working together at various multilateral levels, including the United Nations. (Yonhap) Blair McDougall will be standing for Labour in East Renfrewshire as a general election candidate - PA/David Cheskin A Labour general election candidate has been accused of astonishing hypocrisy after he attacked Rishi Sunaks Rwanda plan despite previously working for the African countrys government. Blair McDougall, who is standing for Labour in East Renfrewshire, has called plans to send migrants from Britain to Rwanda inhumane and has also highlighted criticism of the countrys treatment of refugees being held in camps. However, it emerged that Mr McDougall, a prominent figure in Scottish Labour who played a key role in the unionist campaign in the independence referendum, had personally lived in the country and advised the Rwandan government. He worked in the office of Rwandan president Paul Kagame as an adviser on governance and strategic communications as part of an initiative led by Tony Blair between September 2009 and July 2010. A spokesman for the Scottish Conservatives said: The astonishing hypocrisy from this senior Scottish Labour candidate is clear for all to see. Blair McDougall has relentlessly attacked the UK governments Rwanda scheme, yet was happy to live in the country as well as work for and possibly be paid by the Rwandan government in a previous job. His double standards will raise eyebrows among voters. Controversial figure Mr Kagame, who has been the de-facto leader of Rwanda since the end of the countrys genocide in 1994 and has been president since 2000, is a controversial figure. His admirers have claimed he is a visionary African leader who has been behind remarkable economic progress in the country, but his critics claim he is a despot who tramples on human rights and tolerates no criticism. Mr McDougall, a former Labour special adviser, worked with Mr Kagame as part of the Tony Blair Africa Governance Initiative. Mr Blair has also acted as an adviser to Mr Kagame. According to an online biography, Mr McDougall lived and worked in Rwanda as a governance adviser in the office of the president. The Prime Ministers flagship plan to send some asylum seekers to Rwanda is a key part of his pledge to stop the boats and deter illegal immigration to Britain. It has been stalled by legal challenges, but legislation declaring Rwanda a safe country has been issued to revive the plan. Ministers have insisted that flights to the country can still take off by spring. Mr Kagame suggested last month that he could return the 240 million Britain has paid to his country if no migrants arrive. He said there were limits to how long wrangling could continue and for how long this can drag on. Excessive force Mr McDougall wrote on X, formerly Twitter, last October that Labour was committed to ending the inhumane Rwanda deportation policy. He has also criticised the Rwandan governments handling of protests in refugee camps, highlighting a UK government assessment that said authorities were guilty of reportedly using excessive force in some instances. The East Renfrewshire constituency is seen as a three-way fight between the SNP, which currently holds the seat, Labour and the Tories. Mr McDougall said: I know the Tories are desperate because their vote has collapsed in East Renfrewshire but they should do basic research before slinging mud. I worked for a charity working to improve the development and governance of Rwanda. Im not surprised nobody in the Tory party was willing to put their name to this desperate attack. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 3 months with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. South Korea's Defense Minister Shin Won-sik on Friday called for "sternly" punishing any North Korean provocation south of the sea and land borders, his office said, amid tensions from Pyongyang's continued weapons tests and increasingly harsh rhetoric. Shin made the call during his visit to an Army command tasked with overseeing front-line operations, two days after the North fired multiple cruise missiles off its eastern coast in its fifth such launch this year. The North's leader Kim Jong-un oversaw the new "surface-to-sea" missile test and called for using force against South Korean vessels violating its waters, while claiming that the Northern Limit Line, the de facto inter-Korean sea border, is a "ghost" line without any legal ground. Shin said the North is intentionally creating an atmosphere of war to strengthen internal solidarity and sow division within South Korea as he inspected the Ground Operations Command in Yongin, just south of Seoul, according to his office. "If the enemy carries out a provocation south of the Military Demarcation Line and the Northern Limit Line, sternly punish them immediately, strongly and until the end, and completely destroy the force undertaking provocations and its support forces," he was quoted as saying. Experts have raised concern that the North could carry out localized provocations around the sea and land borders ahead of South Korea's parliamentary elections in April or the U.S. presidential election in November. (Yonhap) Criticism against a powerful figure could seem harmless a mean tweet, a public tiff, a disapproving statement. Then, youre hit with a lawsuit. Notice can come in threatening letters from lawyers or in court summons. But the message is often similar: Your actions will cost you, in legal fees and in time. For wealthy actors, lawsuits can be a way to deter dissent, especially when filed against people with fewer resources. These lawsuits are known as Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation, or SLAPPs, and filed to intimidate people with expensive legal proceedings. Idaho legislators are now proposing a bill that would protect residents against those lawsuits. Such laws have been passed in other states with the aim of thwarting frivolous lawsuits meant to silence critics. More than half of U.S. states have some kind of anti-SLAPP laws, according to the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. Protections in some states only prevent retaliation for criticizing the government, while other states, like California, have laws that broadly protect speech made in connection with a public issue, according to the committee. In August, lawmakers in Wisconsin proposed protections from SLAPP lawsuits after a state legislator sued a local nonprofit news outlet for reporting on previous comments he made during a public meeting. The lawsuit which a judge dismissed but is now on appeal has cost the publication nearly $150,000 in legal fees, which left the editor unsure how she would manage to stay open and pay her staff of four reporters. That proposal has not become law. Most anti-SLAPP laws allow defendants in lawsuits to quickly move to dismiss them. The Idaho version would require a defendant ask that a case be dismissed within 60 days of the complaints filing. Courts would then be required to hold a hearing within the next two months and decide whether the lawsuit is frivolous or an attempt to limit a persons commentary on a matter of public concern two months after that. That timeline would wrap up SLAPP lawsuits faster than the years it often takes to settle litigation. Sen. Brian Lenney, R-Nampa, in a news release said he wants to safeguard free speech in Idaho by providing robust protections against legal bullying through frivolous lawsuits. Rep. Heather Scott, R-Blanchard, is also a co-sponsor. The proposed bill draws from the successful frameworks of laws in states like Texas and California, Lenney said in the release. It aims to shield Idahoans from the misuse of litigation by powerful interests seeking to suppress public dialogue and dissent through intimidation. Lenney, a member of the far-right Idaho Freedom Caucus, told the Statesman Senate Bill 1325 is based on a Public Expression Protection Act proposed by the Uniform Law Commission, a nonprofit that proposes standard legislative language for state legislatures to adopt. For its anti-SLAPP bill, the commission lists endorsements from the national ACLU, the Institute for Free Speech, the Institute for Justice, and other groups. The president of the Institute for Free Speech, a conservative nonprofit in Washington, also wrote an opinion article in the Statesman supporting anti-SLAPP legislation and pointing out that Idaho is one of only a few states that doesnt already have those protections. Enough is enough, Lenney said in his news release. The era where deep pockets dictate our freedoms is over. This anti-SLAPP legislation is our stand for the voiceless, ensuring that the right to speak out in Idaho is not a privilege of the wealthy but a right for all. Characteristics of a SLAPP lawsuit Multiple lawsuits in Idaho have been prompted by critical comments. In one case in 2021, former Rep. Chad Christensen, R-Iona, sued Greg Graf, a political consultant, on grounds of defamation. Graf later filed a counterclaim. Both claims were eventually dismissed. That same month, Idaho figures on the right, including Dustin Hurst, the former vice president of the Idaho Freedom Foundation who was also a party to the lawsuit, posted on social media in support of laws that would squelch efforts to silence critics. Hurst posted on X, formerly Twitter, that government shouldnt be used to silence those who say things we disagree with. He later commented on a post from Lenney, noting that he supported such legislation. In another case, in 2022, Clearwater Analytics co-founder Mike Boren sued public officials in the Stanley area who had objected to the investment managers proposal to designate a private airstrip in the Sawtooth Valley. Boren accused several public officials of defamation after they made critical statements about a planned airstrip on his property. After the lawsuit was dismissed by a Custer County judge, Boren and his attorneys filed an amended complaint, which was also rejected by the court, and have since appealed the decision to the Idaho Supreme Court. Custer County Judge Stevan H. Thompson wrote that the lawsuit had many of the key characteristics of a SLAPP lawsuit, according to previous Statesman reporting. The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression represents one of the defendants in Borens lawsuit. J.T. Morris, a senior attorney at the foundation, said the organization has endorsed the kind of anti-SLAPP measures proposed by the Uniform Law Commission. Theyre a vital tool to provide both substantive laws and procedures that allow Americans who are facing lawsuits targeting their expressive freedoms to kick those lawsuits out of court faster, Morris told the Statesman by phone. Morris told the Statesman that Lenneys bill has all the hallmarks of a good SLAPP bill, including mechanisms for defendants to recover their attorneys fees and procedures to allow them to quickly request courts to dismiss such cases. An attorney for Boren, Tom Banducci, told the Statesman his client supports First Amendment rights and would support anti-SLAPP legislation, but that such a law would still not protect people who make defamatory statements. He said he believes Borens lawsuit was not a SLAPP suit. Want the latest news on the Idaho Legislature? Sign up for Capitol Letters, a newsletter we send for every day of the legislative session. We'll keep you up to date on bills in the process of becoming law. Israeli soldiers participate in a drill in an undisclosed location in the south of Israel near Gaza border. Ilia Yefimovich/dpa Israeli special forces continued their deployment in the Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis in the south of the Gaza Strip for a second day, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said. Thus far, 20 people suspected of involvement in the October 7 attacks have been detained, according to the IDF. It said that dozens of people had been interrogated during the operation, and that Israeli troops had seized weapons in the hospital and found Hamas shells in the vicinity. The IDF special forces also found medication boxes with the names of Israeli hostages abducted on October 7. The IDF said it was investigating where the medications had originated and the circumstances of their use. The Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip health authority reported that four patients in the intensive care unit had died after a power cut during the IDF operation shut off their oxygen supply. The authority had warned previously that six people and three infants in incubators would be at risk. The IDF said it was investigating the report, which could not be independently verified. From the The Morning Dispatch on The Dispatch Happy Friday! As journalists, we spend a lot of time and energy digging up the next scoop. Sometimes its a long and laborious processand sometimes, the New Jersey governor inadvertently adds a reporter to a text thread between him and his staff telling them hes white-hot mad. Quick Hits: Todays Top Stories Mayorkas Have Another? U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas holds a press conference at a U.S. Border Patrol station on January 8, 2024 in Eagle Pass, Texas. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images) House Republicans learned a valuable lesson in perseverance on Tuesday, bringing to life the age-old adage: If at first you dont succeed, try, try Mayorkas. In their second attempt to do so in as many weeks, Republicans voted to impeach Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkasby a razor-thin margin of 214-213on two charges: willfully refusing to comply with the law and breaching public trust. Though he is unlikely to be convicted and removed from his post by the Senate, Mayorkas impeachment represents just how bitter the battle over the border has become in Washington. And although both parties admit that the country is experiencing a migrant crisis of historic proportions, tangible legislation to solve the issue seems all but dead. Mayorkas impeachment was the first of a Cabinet secretary since 1876, and it only succeeded this time because House Majority Leader Steve Scalise had returned to work from cancer treatments to cast the deciding vote. In an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal, Rep. Mark Green of Tennessee, chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, explained why Republicans had decided to take the step: First, Mr. Mayorkas willfully refused to comply with the law, blatantly disregarding numerous provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act Second, Mr. Mayorkas breached the public trust, both by violating his statutory duty to control the border and by knowingly making false statements to Congress. This transcends mere policy disagreements. The peoples representatives are seeking to address a cabinet officials unlawful actions, which have clearly harmed the country. But the impeachment proceedings werent only meant as a referendum on the Biden administrations immigration policy. Secretary Mayorkas refusal to comply with the law is also a direct attack on the separation of powers, a Homeland Security Committee source told TMD. Executive branch officials do not get to ignore the laws that Congress has passed, but that is exactly what Secretary Mayorkas has done, as clearly articulated in our articles of impeachment. In fact, he has issued directives and guidance effectively ordering DHS law enforcement not to enforce the law. This simply cannot be tolerated in a constitutional republic built on the separation of powers. Democrats blasted the process as purely political. Extreme MAGA Republicans decided to torch the Constitutiononce againto suit their political ends, Rep. Bennie G. Thompson, ranking member of the Homeland Security Committee, said in a statement released after the vote Tuesday. President Biden remarked that history will not look kindly on the blatant act of unconstitutional partisanship. Philip Wallach, a senior fellow at the conservative American Enterprise Institute who focuses on Congress, said this weeks vote may represent the inevitable politicization of the impeachment process. Ever since the 2019 to 2020 impeachment of Trump on the Russia stuff, I feel like Republicans have just been itching to do a tit-for-tat retaliation with impeachment, he told TMD. The fact that it arguably dilutes the impeachment power, or sort of opens the door to making it a routine, I guess they just feel like thats as much on the Democrats in 2019 as it is on them. Three House Republicans joined all their present Democratic colleagues to vote against the impeachment: Reps. Ken Buck of Colorado, Mike Gallagher of Wisconsin, and Tom McClintock of California, who argued the move overstepped the constitutional role of impeachment. In effect, they stretch and distort the Constitution in order to hold the administration accountable for stretching and distorting the law, McClintock said in a statement released after the first failed vote. Gallagher, who recently announced he will not run for reelection, wrote an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal explaining his no vote: Creating a new, lower standard for impeachment, one without any clear limiting principle, wouldnt secure the border or hold Mr. Biden accountable. It would only pry open the Pandoras box of perpetual impeachment. Despite the defectionsand what Wallach called an embarrassing need to hold the vote twiceHouse Republicans managed to score a win on Tuesday. This is a way to bring this issue of border security into the news and make sure everyone is paying attention to it. I think it succeeded at that, he said. And it succeeded in bringing the House party together, much better than we might have imagined. The articles of impeachment will next be delivered to the Senate, which is expected to move quickly to end the trial and clear Mayorkas. Even some Senate Republicans have expressed doubt about the charges. Its not going to result in his removal from office and never was intended to, because you need a two-thirds majority in the Senate, Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies, told TMD. But it does lay down a marker that the Republicans clearly lay responsibility for the border disaster at the feet of the administration. Republicans have long blamed the Biden administration, and Mayorkas in particular, for a worsening crisis at the southern border. Although the number of migrant encounters decreased in Januarylikely a temporary downturn due to seasonal patternsthat figure had repeatedly come in at record levels in late 2023. Earlier this month, the Senate failed to pass a bipartisan compromise bill intended to mitigate the crisispairing border security reforms with aid to Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwanafter months of negotiations. It seemed like a big part of why that happened was because the House made it so clear that they were going to try to kill it immediately, not give it any chance, said Wallach. And so that made it so a lot of Republicans in the Senate didnt want to stick their necks out for this deal. Former President Donald Trump, the current frontrunner in the Republican presidential primary, also came out against the deal. Since the collapse of the compromise, the finger pointing in Washington has only gotten worse. I do think in terms of the border, it is a huge issue, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell told The Hill on Thursday. I think President Biden really mishandled this from the very beginning and I think in his race its going to be huge. The Biden administration, in turn, has knocked House Speaker Mike Johnson for killing the compromise bill. On Wednesday, the White Houses Twitter account posted a valentine for Johnson: Roses are red / Violets are blue / The border deal was crushed / Because of you Meanwhile, border security politics are already creeping into electoral politics. The special election in New Yorks 3rd Congressional District, for examplewhich former Democratic Rep. Tom Suozzi won by eight pointsfeatured both the Republican and Democratic candidates touting their tough-on-illegal-immigration bona fides. That focus on immigration supports polling released by the Pew Research Center yesterday that found 77 percent of respondents consider the situation at the border a crisis or major problem. Eighty-nine percent of Republicans and 73 percent of Democrats believe that the government has done a bad job handling the border. But with an impeached DHS secretary and one killed border bill, is there an appetite in Congress for any kind of immigration reform before the election? In theory, there might be room for another try. Now that the Senate thing has crashed and burned, the House Republicans might consider taking, you know, one substantive element out of HR 2 and sticking it into the Ukraine bill and sending that to the Senate, Krikorian said, referencing an immigration reform bill passed by the Republican-controlled House in 2023 that included multiple limitations on immigration that predictably stalled in the Democratic Senate. Krikorian pointed to several conservative proposalsincluding the inclusion of a remain in Mexico policythat might appeal to House Republicans. While the GOP might be emboldened since their win on impeachment, Democrats could be equally motivated against taking any action. The question on the Senate side, Krikorian added, is would impeachment cause the Democrats to dig their heels in on something like parole limitation or some other measure attached to the House version of the Ukraine bill? But with a Senate focused on moving away from the impeachment proceedings as quickly as possible, Wallach believes its unlikely that Republicans will be able to use their impeachment as an opening salvo for another round of negotiations. I have a hard time imagining that the Senate in particular is going to be jolted into acting in any particular way by this impeachment, he said. I think they see it as just something that theyre obliged to shepherd into the garbage can. Worth Your Time Long before there was Bud Light, there was the Teddy Hat, a drink that revealed ones political affiliations. Enough was enough, Rachel Lane wrote for Atlas Obscura. Someone had to challenge the current president for the Republican nomination, and it was going to be him. My hat is in the ring, former president Theodore Roosevelt told W. F. Eirick, a local politician in Cleveland, Ohio, on February 21, 1912. And thus began Roosevelts run for an unprecedented third term for the presidency. The image of his hat in the ring captured the American consciousness, and the phrase began to appear in newspaper articles, political cartoons, campaign swag like pins, and even sheet music. Although Roosevelt won the vast majority of delegates in states holding primary electionssome states still used the older party-convention styleparty leaders supported [President William Howard] Taft and intended to nominate him at the Republican National Convention in Chicago from June 18 to 22, 1912. As delegates began to arrive in the Windy City for the convention, a bartender at the Congress Hotel, Charles W. Svendsen, came up with a new idea for a drinkthe Teddy Hat cocktail, capitalizing on the popularity of Roosevelts declaration to Eirick. The recipe consisted of orange bitters, raspberry syrup, Dubonnet, gin, and vermouth. Bartenders cut a lemon peel into a shape like the distinctive Rough Rider hat Roosevelt had worn during the SpanishAmerican War of 1898 and tossed it into the glassthe ringwith a flourish. How drinkers responded to the lemon revealed their politics. If they tossed it out, they supported Taft. If they kept the lemon in, they supported Roosevelt. Though Roosevelt himself wasnt much of a drinker, the recipe for the cocktail in his honor is at the bottom of the story. Presented Without Comment NBC News: National Archives Closes After Climate Change Protesters Dump Red Powder on U.S. Constitution Also Presented Without Comment New York Times: [Republican Rep.] Matt Rosendale Ends Short-Lived Senate Campaign in Montana He announced his withdrawal less than a week after he formally entered the race. Just hours after he began his campaign, former President Donald J. Trump endorsed Tim Sheehy, a businessman and retired Navy SEAL who was Mr. Rosendales opponent in the primary. Also Also Presented Without Comment The Guardian: OpenAI Launches Tool That Instantly Creates Video From Text Toeing the Company Line Fact checker Alex Demas broke down accusations made against Sen. John Cornyn regarding funding for Ukraine, border security, and Russian disinformation. On the podcasts: Sarah is joined on the Dispatch Podcast by Steve and Jonah to discuss the Republican Partys foreign policy schism. On the site: Michael Torres argues that conservatives shouldnt be fooled by John Fettermans not-so-new schtick, and Mackenzie Eaglen explains that most of the money in the Ukraine/Israel/Taiwan aid package that passed the Senate will actually stay in the U.S. Let Us Know Do you think DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas deserved to be impeached? Read more at The Dispatch The Dispatch is a new digital media company providing engaged citizens with fact-based reporting and commentary, informed by conservative principles. Sign up for free. Supporters of the Grand Democratic Alliance attend a rally to protest against what they call vote-rigging in some constituencies in the parliamentary elections, on the outskirts of Hyderabad, Pakistan, Friday, Feb. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Pervez Masih) ISLAMABAD (AP) The legal team of Pakistans imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday appealed his recent convictions and sentences in three controversial legal cases, a defense lawyer said. Khan was sentenced to a total of 31 years in prison on charges of corruption, revealing official secrets and marriage law violations in three separate verdicts in late January and early February during trials at a prison in Rawalpindi. The appeals in all three cases were filed Friday, Khan's lawyer Latif Khosa said. Supporters of Khan said the prosecutions were politically motivated moves to make him ineligible to run in the countrys Feb. 8 elections to choose a parliament and ultimately to elect a new prime minister. Despite Khan's legal woes, candidates backed his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, or PTI, won the most seats. However, no party was able to get a simple majority in the vote to rule alone, though Khan's rivals have announced they are forming a coalition government. Khan was sentenced on Jan. 30 to 10 years on the conviction of revealing official secrets. Within the next few days, he was sentenced to 14 years in a graft case and seven years on violation of a marriage law. Khosa said the appeals of the convictions for corruption and revealing official secrets have been filed in the Islamabad High Court, while an appeal of the conviction of Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi on a charge of violation of a marriage law was filed in another court. Meanwhile, Khans PTI and several other political parties rallied Friday against alleged rigging of the Feb. 8 vote, with thousands gathering near the southern city of Hyderabad. Khan's party also issued a call for nationwide protests on Saturday. However, Islamabad police in a statement Friday warned PTI and other political parties not to hold any rally in the capital, where a ban on such gatherings has been in place since December for security reasons. The statement said action would be taken against anyone who defies the ban. The party of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, which replaced Khan's government after his ouster in a vote of no confidence in 2022, is finalizing a power-sharing deal to form a coalition government. Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League party is in talks with the Pakistan Peoples Party of former President Asif Ali Zardari and those allies who had replaced Khan in 2022. Khan has been embroiled in more than 170 legal cases, including inciting people to violence after his arrest in May 2023. During nationwide riots in May, Khans supporters attacked the military headquarters in Rawalpindi, stormed an air base in Mianwali in the eastern Punjab province and torched a building housing state-run Radio Pakistan in the northwest. The violence subsided only when Khan was released at the time by the Supreme Court. Khosa said Khan's legal team is seeking the suspension of all three convictions and sentences given to Khan and his wife. Taylor Taranto, detained for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, riots on the U.S. Capitol, is facing 5 additional felony charges. Photo courtesy of U.S. Justice Department Feb. 15 (UPI) -- A defendant in the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol riot who was arrested near the Washington residence of former President Barack Obama has been indicted on five new felony charges, officials announced Thursday. Taylor Taranto is facing charges related to guns and ammunition that were allegedly found in his van when he was arrested last summer. He also faces charges for threatening to detonate an explosive at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, and a charge of obstruction of an official proceeding for his conduct on Jan. 6, 2021, when rioters, some of whom were armed, stormed the Capitol at the behest of then-President Donald Trump, who lost the 2020 election but refused to concede, and instead fomented violence and unrest on Congress as lawmakers gathered to vote to certify the election for Joe Biden. Obama's address became public when Trump posted a photo on his Truth Social online platform on June 29 that included it. Taranto reposted Trump's post on his own Truth Social account, then posted about being outside the residence that same day, prosecutors said. A group of armchair investigators referred to as 'sedition hunters' initially identified Taranto in 2021 as having taken part in the Capitol riot, but he was not arrested until he was detained near Obama's home two years later. Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol riot defendant Taylor Taranto is facing 5 additional felony charges for his role in the violent attacks that day. He was arrested in June, 2023, near the Washington, D.C., home of former President Barack Obama. Photo courtesy of U.S. Justice Department After he was identified by the online investigators, but before his arrest, Taranto and another man, David Walls-Kaufman, were sued by the widow of the late Capitol police officer, Jeffrey Smith, who was assaulted on Jan. 6 and died by suicide days after the attack. His death was ruled to have occurred in the line of duty. Taranto has been ordered held until trial, a date for which has been set for July. Before his arrest, Taranto was seen on live social media streams spending time near the Washington, D.C., jail where some of the Jan. 6 defendants are being held before their trials, and where supporters of the defendants have routinely gathered to show solidarity. Already detained, Taylor Taranto is facing additional felony charges for his involvement in the Jan. 6, 2021, riots on the U.S. Capitol. Photo courtesy of U.S. Justice Department "We got these losers surrounded!" Taranto posted on Telegram, according to prosecutors. "See you in hell, Podesta's and Obama's." Police arrested Taranto when they discovered the social media posts and that he had engaged in unusual behavior outside Obama's residence. Taranto was eventually apprehended in the woods near Obama's home by Rock Creek Parkway while live streaming. Formerly enlisted in the military, Taranto had "successfully worked for many years with a mental health therapist and psychiatrist" through the Veterans Affairs Department, according to a court ruling. But in ordering Taranto held pre-trial, Judge Carl Nichols said he could not "be confident" that mental health treatment plans proposed by Taranto's attorney would provide "sufficient safeguards in light of Taranto's recent escalating behavior." At least 1,250 defendants have been charged in connection with the attack on the U.S. Capitol, and prosecutors have secured more than 900 convictions. Hundreds more rioters have been identified but not arrested, including a man who appears to have fired a gun in the air during the attack in newly surfaced footage. Speed, safety belts, and OVI enforcement are top of mind for Ohio State Highway Patrol troopers this weekend. OSHP is joining forces with other members of the 6-State Trooper Project for increased patrols on Interstate 75, according to a spokesperson from OSHP. >> Accumulating snow expected today; Timing, how much, what to expect OSHP, Kentucky State Police, and Michigan State Police have started the I-75 high-visibility enforcement effort. The initiative started on Friday, Feb. 16 at 12:01 a.m., and will continue through Sunday, Feb. 18 at 11:59 p.m. This initiative is an effort to reduce unsafe driving behaviors on I-75. According to the spokesperson, during last years initiative, OSHP issued 618 speeding citations, 52 safety belt violations, and 12 OVI citations. The state police agencies in Indiana, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia are not participating in this enforcement effort as the initiative only includes I-75. Independent Russian media Novaya Gazeta said on Feb. 16 that they will demand the body camera recordings of medical service personnel working in the penal colony where Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has allegedly died. All medical service personnel in the colony are technically required to wear body cameras, meaning that there should be footage of Navalny's death that can be examined. Novaya Gazeta's Chief Editor Dmitry Muratov is quoted as saying that Navalny's alleged death is likely a "direct consequence" of being placed in a punishment cell for the 27th time. "(Being in a punishment cell means) immobility, low-calorie food, lack of air, constant cold. Alexei Navalny has been subjected to torment and torture for three years. As Navalny's doctor told me: such a body cannot endure," Muratov added. Russian media reported on Feb. 16 that Navalny died in prison. Navalny was being held in a penal colony in Russia's far northern Yamal-Nenets Autonomous District. According to the prison service, Navalny supposedly lost consciousness and could not be revived. The penal colony that Navalny was held in is located in a remote settlement north of the Arctic Circle, with "tough conditions" and limited access to letter delivery, according to Zhdanov, the head of the Anti-Corruption Foundation established by Navalny. Navalny was previously held in the IK-6 Melekhovo high-security prison in Russia's Vladimir Oblast. Navalny had been serving a 2.5-year prison sentence since 2021 and a separate 9-year sentence on fraud charges since 2022. A Russian court also sentenced Navalny to 19 years in a maximum security prison in August 2023 on extremism charges for creating the Anti-Corruption Foundation. All these cases have been recognized as politically motivated and fabricated by international human rights organizations and governments. Navalny was poisoned in Russia in 2020 and flown for treatment in Germany. German doctors said he had been poisoned with a Novichok nerve agent a chemical weapon produced by the Russian government. The Insider, Bellingcat, CNN, and Der Spiegel published an investigation according to which Navalny had been poisoned by agents of Russias Federal Security Service. They also identified the agents' names. Read also: BREAKING: Russian opposition leader Navalny reportedly dies in prison Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. Indias main opposition party, the Indian National Congress, said Friday that its bank accounts had been frozen by federal tax authorities, just weeks before an expected nationwide election. Authorities later temporarily restored access to the accounts, the party said, but not before the move drew widespread criticism from the Congress and its allies, who accused the government of conducting an attack on democracy. Congress Treasurer Ajay Maken told a news conference the accounts had been frozen after an investigation of the partys income tax returns for the 2018-19 financial year. He added that the Income Tax Department had issued a payment demand for 2.1 billion rupees ($25.3 million) in connection to the ongoing probe. The Congress partys bank accounts havent been frozen. Its the democracy that has been frozen, Maken said. Will there be only a one party system in this country? Later on Friday, an income tex tribunal granted the party temporary access to its accounts ahead of a hearing Wednesday, lawyer and Congress lawmaker Vivek Tankha confirmed to CNN. CNN has reached out to Indias Income Tax Department and Finance Ministry, and multiple leaders within the Congress party for further comment. On Friday, Congress supporters gathered in Delhis iconic Jantar Mantar area to protest the action, as party chief Mallikarjun Kharge called on the judiciary to save the multi-party system in this country and protect Indias Democracy. Allies of the Congress party have repeatedly claimed democracy is being stifled in India, with Fridays case the latest in a series of investigations targeting prominent opponents of Prime Minister Narendra Modis ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Former Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, the scion of a political dynasty that produced three prime ministers, was last year disqualified as a lawmaker, and handed a two-year jail sentence for defamation, in a ruling his supporters say was politically motivated. Gandhi was later reinstated as a lawmaker following an intervention from Indias Supreme Court. Gandhi on Friday said his party will fight tooth and nail to protect Indias democracy. We have never bowed down before dictatorship, nor will we ever bow down, he wrote on X, formerly Twitter. The Congress party, a once formidable force in Indian politics, has been languishing in the polls since Modi rose to power a decade ago with the promise of economic growth and a prosperous society for all. The Congress Party attempted to form an alliance of opposition groups in a bid to unseat Modis BJP in the upcoming election. But that alliance is already starting to see cracks emerge as support for the BJP surges, just weeks before an estimated 900 million Indians are expected to head to the polls. Often called the worlds largest experiment in democracy, the Indian election comes at a crucial time for the country, as it gains prominence on the world stage with Modi presenting himself as a statesman who is cementing the South Asian nation as a modern superpower. But tensions are running high at home, with minorities feeling sidelined under the BJPs majoritarian Hindu nationalist policies. In its most recent gauge of voter sentiment, the Congress Party lost three out of four regional votes in key state elections in December, giving a boost to Modi and his BJP. This is a developing story. More to follow For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com By Ananda Teresia and Kate Lamb JAKARTA (Reuters) - Everything about Indonesia's 36-year-old presumed incoming vice president - from his looks and mannerisms to his baritone voice - is reminiscent of his father, the outgoing and wildly popular President Joko Widodo, known as Jokowi. Many voters say they were drawn to president-in-waiting Prabowo Subianto's ticket in part because of the ex-commander having Jokowi's eldest son Gibran Rakabuming Raka as his running mate. The Prabowo-Gibran team clinched about 58% of votes in unofficial "quick counts" by independent pollsters after Wednesday's elections. These counts have proven to be accurate in past elections. That puts Gibran on track to be the youngest vice president in Indonesia's history. However, there are clear differences between Jokowi and his millennial son. While Jokowi already had 10 years of public service under his belt before climbing to the presidency in 2014, Gibran has but two as mayor of their hometown of Solo. Where Jokowi was once seen as breaking through old-guard barriers to usher in a new era of democracy, Gibran's expedited rise has led to complaints of nepotism and judicial transgression. Jokowi has been criticised for alleged political interference after making highly publicised appearances with his former rival Prabowo, and after a last-minute court ruling tweaked eligibility criteria, enabling his son to join the leading ticket. The president has denied any wrongdoing. Gibran's path to the vice presidency has also raised questions about how prepared he is to step up to the national stage, even if the vice presidency is a position with limited power and influence. Gibran, however, expressed confidence he is ready for a national role in a speech on Wednesday night after Prabowo declared victory. "Three months ago, I was nothing. They said I was vacuous, and afraid to face the debate," Gibran told supporters. "But one thing is for sure, thanks to your prayers and support, Prabowo and I are here." Past vice presidents have typically tended to play a low-key role, unless given a specific mandate by the president. But the perceived manoeuvres to install Gibran as second-in-line to the top job has prompted speculation the vice president's office may be granted additional powers. VP'S ROLE Ongoing deliberations of a draft law about a new special region for Jakarta, the status of which will change with a planned new capital, include a proposal for a greater Jakarta council, chaired by the vice president. "It does show that there is this type of thinking going on by some people in the background," said political analyst, Kevin O'Rourke. Despite widespread expectation of continuity of Jokowi's programmes in a Prabowo government, analysts say one focus will be how Jokowi may seek to wield influence through his son. Before Gibran was elected as mayor of his hometown Solo in 2020, a position also once held by his father, he ran a catering and restaurant business in the city and reportedly shied away from politics. Jokowi has repeatedly denied he was involved in Gibran's decision to run for mayor, and then for the vice presidency. At one point, he even said he'd like to see his son eventually take over the family furniture business. Before Gibran's candidacy was finalised, the constitutional court - which was then headed by his uncle - amended an age limit rule to allow people under 40 to run for the presidency, or vice presidency, if they had regional leadership experience. Many Indonesians said they were shocked and disappointed by the ruling. With Jokowi's rise to power coming just 15 years after the fall of ex-strongman Suharto, many worried the decision signalled a resurgence of patronage politics and cronyism, they said. One humorous critic on social media posted an image of a packet of instant noodles with Gibran's face on the packaging labelled "Instant Vice Presidential candidate" and the comment "RIP DEMOKRASI". Educated abroad, in Singapore and Australia, Gibran's own attitude toward his ascent has also been described by some Indonesians as off-putting, and a contrast to the humble, Javanese demeanour of his father. Responding to criticism that he is riding on the coat-tails of his father, Gibran has said that Indonesia is a democracy and people are free to choose their leaders. But last October he reportedly told a crowd of mothers in Solo who were protesting against dynastic politics to "go home and cook for their children". Nevertheless, Indonesians have opted to give Gibran a go, and having a youthful scion on the ticket with the 72-year-old Prabowo may have helped draw in the votes of young people. "The quick count is high because of the young voters," Gibran said on Wednesday. "We want to involve more youngsters in the future." (Writing by Kanupriya Kapoor; Editing by Kay Johnson and Raju Gopalakrishnan) A cargo ship carrying 11 crew members sank off the southern island of Jeju, but all the people on board were safely rescued, the Coast Guard said Friday. The 1,959-ton cargo ship sent out a distress signal at 9:55 p.m. Thursday in waters 61 kilometers southwest of the port in Seogwipo of Jeju, according to the Coast Guard. When Coast Guard personnel arrived at the scene at 11:52 p.m., the vessel was sinking tilted by over 25 degrees to the left. All 11 crew members, comprising two Koreans, six Myanmar nationals and three Indonesians, were rescued about 1 1/2 hours later. The rescue operation faced difficulty due to strong wind and high waves. The Coast Guard plans to investigate the exact cause of the incident. (Yonhap) An influential French journalist and editor lived a double life as a highly rated KGB spy for 35 years, according to LExpress magazine, his former employer. Philippe Grumbach worked for French news outlets including LAgence Francaise de Presse now AFP and Liberation, as well as the centre-Right news magazine LExpress, where he worked as editor, political director and editor-in-chief in the 1970s. But LExpress has revealed that from 1946 to 1981, he was also in the service of the KGB under the alias Brok, feeding the Soviet secret service information about his friends in high places, most notably Francois Mitterrand and Valery Giscard dEstaing during the French presidential election of 1974. Grumbach was unmasked by a French PhD student who came across the journalists name while studying the Mitrokhin archives, a collection of highly classified documents smuggled out of Moscow and handed to British intelligence in 1992 by Soviet defector and senior archivist Vasili Mitrokhin. In the papers, Grumbach was described as a well-connected journalist and one of the most highly rated and longest-serving agents. An entry in the archive said: Brok, born in 1924, Jewish, citizen Frenchman, director of the newspaper LExpress, has collaborated since 1946. [He] has good personal relations with Edgar Faure, Mitterrand, the Minister of Affairs foreigners Schumann, Defferre and Servan-Schreiber, the latter entrusted him with the mission to resolve delicate issues, liaison with representatives and leaders of political parties and groups. Philippe Grumbach and friend Sylvie de Waldner at an event in the French capital in 1985 - WWD/Penske Media The detailed description left little doubt that Brok was indeed Grumbach. LExpress also received confirmation from Grumbachs wife, Nicole, who said her late husband confessed to being a spy a few years before his death in 2003. The revelation is all the more surprising as Grumbach had long been associated with the centre-Right UDP party since the 1970s. Exaggerated his capacities According to the Mitrokhin files, Grumbach was originally recruited as an ideological agent, but likely continued working for the money. Between 1976 and 1978, he was paid 399,000 francs, the equivalent of 215,600, LExpress reported. Though details of his missions are sparse, the archives mention one particular assignment tantamount to more recent Russian election interference in the West. Grumbach was tasked with fomenting conflict among the Right-wing candidates of the 1974 presidential election Giscard dEstaing and his rival Jacques Chaban-Delmas. The assignment involved sending Chaban-Delmas fabricated documents from the Americans which offered Giscard dEstaing advice on how to win the election. In 1981, the KGB dispensed with Grumbach. According to the Mitrokhin files, Grumbach was deemed insincere and deceptive in his contacts with officers. By then, the Soviets suspected that he had exaggerated his capacities for information and the value of his information, as well as showing a lack of discipline in carrying out his missions successfully. In 1984 he became deputy director of Le Figaro. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 3 months with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. EDITORS NOTE: An earlier version of this story had the incorrect name for the town where the plane crashed. More information has been released about the November 2023 plane crash that killed Nathan Finney, a restaurateur who owned eateries around Indiana. Pilot Warren Bruhl, who was teaching Finney to fly his new plane, also died in the crash. The Herald-Times reported Friday on the preliminary report from the National Transportation Safety Board. Here's what we know. Read the full story here. The heading on a National Transportation Safety Board initial accident report on the Nov. 22, 2023 small-plane crash in Shelby County that killed Bloomington restaurateur Nathan Finney and Warren Bruhl, his flight instructor What happened in the plane crash? NTSB's preliminary report, which includes evidence from the crash site and a witness's account, said a safety feature of the small plane wasn't deployed. Finney's plane was equipped with a parachute system that a pilot can engage by pulling a handle. When used in many circumstances, the system causes the plane to coast to the ground instead of crashing. A witness saw the plane flying very low when it took a sharp turn and "seemed to lose all control." The witness saw the plane descend behind a tree line, and then saw "a fireball and thick black smoke." The NTSB report said the plane crashed nose first into a cornfield and was destroyed by the impact and fire. A final report may not be completed for several months. Previously: Flight of plane that crashed and killed two originated in Monroe County What was the flight path? Finney's plane was traveling from Monroe County Airport to Shelbyville Municipal Airport on November 22, 2023. It crashed near Fairland. Who was Nathan Finney? Finney was president and founder of Finney Hospitality Group, which owns The Tap, Tap Brewery, Yogi's, SmokeWorks and Social Cantina in downtown Bloomington. Social Cantina also has locations in Indianapolis, Carmel, West Lafayette and Mishawaka. His first restaurant was The Tap in Bloomington, which opened in 2012. An Indianapolis location opened in 2015. Who was Warren Bruhl? Bruhl worked as a flight instructor for Gambit Aviation, a flight school in Illinois. He was teaching Finney to fly a Cirrus SR22 Turbo single engine plane. This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Nathan Finney plane crash: NTSB releases initial report INDIAN RIVER Inland Lakes junior Andrew Cole has known for awhile hes interested in going into law, so when social studies teacher Jordan Paterson asked if hed be interested in joining the schools new Mock Trial team, it was an easy yes. The team traveled to Lansing last weekend for the YMCA Model Judiciary Program competition. More: Cheboygan, Inland Lakes students head downstate for mock trial competition After getting case information in October, the team works to develop arguments and determine who will act in what roles. The students prepare the case based on the curriculum packet released to them. Cole said the roles chosen for each person were based on their personalities and aligning characters with similar characterization. When the team was on prosecution, he was the teams lawyer. At the event, he was awarded Best Prosecuting Attorney. While it was an individual award, Cole noted he wouldnt have been able to win the award without the help of the entire team. We had spent a lot of time working on the case, and it felt like it was just a really good way to wrap it up, Cole said. "It showed that our hard work was appreciated, and we had something to show for it. The Inland Lakes Mock Trial team. The five-person team, currently in its first year, was well prepared. They were aided by Amber Libby, attorney magistrate for the 89th District Court and retired judge Maria Barton. I'm glad Inland Lakes is offering something like that, Cole said. Our school isnt that big, and up here, it's kind of hard to get good extracurriculars other than sports. So it was nice to be able to do something else that will help me later. Subscribe: Get unlimited digital access to our coverage about your community Before the trip to the Lansing Center for the competition, the Inland Lakes team practiced in a real courtroom against the Cheboygan mock trial team. Libby told the Daily Tribune the experience helped both teams enhance their own cases. It was really great, because we kind of produced a mock trial for them to learn from before competition and I think it really gave them a sense of competence, Libby said. Contact reporter Karly Graham at kgraham@petoskeynews.com. Follow her on Twitter at @KarlyGrahamJRN. This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Inland Lakes Mock Trial team earns best youth prosecutor title Michael Raymond Kennedy died Friday of injuries suffered Monday in a fight with a fellow inmate at the Shawnee County Jail. Kennedy, 41, was declared dead at 2:45 p.m. at Stormont Vail Health, said Tim Phelps, deputy director of the Shawnee County Department of Corrections. No charges had been filed. A man died Friday of injuries suffered Monday in a fight at the Shawnee County Jail, where he was an inmate. What happened? An emergency was declared just before 1 p.m. Monday in response to inmates fighting in the jail, 501 S.E. 8th Ave., where Kennedy soon afterward became unresponsive, Phelps said. Kennedy was in apparent medical distress as he was taken by ambulance to Stormont Vail, he said. The death was under investigation by the corrections department, Shawnee County Sheriffs Office and Kansas Bureau of Investigation, Phelps said. Kansas law requires any unexplained death while in custody of a jail to be investigated by the KBI, Phelps said. The county corrections department is conducting an administrative probe, he said. Kennedy had been an inmate since Dec. 28 at the jail, where he was being held on a warrant charging him with a violation of probation, which was imposed after he was convicted of a felony, and misdemeanor charges that included domestic battery, disorderly conduct, criminal damage to property, assault on a law enforcement officer and disobeying a lawful police order, he said. Contact Tim Hrenchir at threnchir@gannett.com or 785-213-5934. This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Shawnee County Jail inmate dies days after fight with another inmate The inner ear may not seem like a particularly bony place, but human ears in fact have three small bones (also known as ossicles): the malleus, the incus and the stapes. While most people would assume that these bones are necessary for hearing, one would not imagine that they relate much to how we walk. Yet according to Chinese and American scientists working together for a study in the journal The Innovation, the ear bones of ancient apes can teach us a lot not only about our primate ancestors, but also about ourselves. It all comes down to bipedalism, or the fact that humans walk on two legs. Because our various primate ancestors were often quadrupedal (walking on four legs), evolutionary scientists have often wondered how we made the shift from being a four-legged species to one that relies on two legs. The experts turned to the seemingly obvious places for answers: They studied the bones of ancient monkeys when they came from their limbs, pelvis, shoulders and spine. Yet in The Innovation study, the team of scientists looked instead to the inner ear. They specifically chose the remains of a Lufengpithecus, an ape from China that has been extinct for 7 to 8 million years. "The semicircular canals, located in the skull between our brain and the external ear, are critical for our sense of balance and position when we move, and they provide a fundamental component of our locomotion that most people are probably unaware of," Zhang Yinan, first author of the study and a Ph.D. student at the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, said in a press statement. "The size and shape of the semicircular canals have mathematical correlation with how mammals, including apes and humans, move around their environment. Using modern imaging techniques, we are able to visualize the internal structure of fossil skulls and study the anatomical details of the semicircular canals to reveal how extinct mammals moved." After doing this, the scientists observed that the Lufengpithecus inner ear revealed an animal that moved in ways unlike anything previously known about ancient or modern primates. Instead, it is believed that the primate moved around by combining various motion types clambering, climbing, bipedalism, quadrupedalism and forelimb suspension. The ancestors of the Lufengpithecus did not move anything like this their locomotion was more analogous to what we see today among gibbons in Asia and humans developed their bipedalism afterward. In a sense, the inner ear bones of the Lufengpithecus is a overlooked connection in the evolutionary history of human locomotion. As the authors of the study explain, it is because the inner ear bones yield information about the locomotion of primates that cannot be found through traditional methods. "The bony labyrinth of the inner ear of vertebrates houses the peripheral vestibular system comprised of three fluid-filled semicircular canals that are functionally tied to sense of balance, spatial orientation, posture, and body movements," the authors explain. "This, in turn, is linked to modes of locomotion among living and extinct taxa." Want more health and science stories in your inbox? Subscribe to Salon's weekly newsletter Lab Notes. Interestingly, natural climate change may have also played a role in this ear evolution. After observing that evolutionary rates tend to slow down as global temperatures rise, the authors point out that "the dramatic increase in the average evolution rate of semicircular canals" within these apes may illuminate that "the rapid evolution of bipedalism in the human lineage in response to gradual global cooling." The Lufengpithecus lived during a warm period in the Pliocene era, one that "marks the beginning of Plio-Pleistocene continuous cooling and the onset of Northern Hemisphere alaciation. Against the backdrop of global cooling, the increase of grassy vegetation driven by regional-scale environmental factors may be the trigger for the accelerated evolution of" primates and humans walking on two legs in Africa. Studying our primate relatives has shed enormous light on our own evolution. A paper last year in the journal iScience studied chimpanzees and bonobos to determine if they possess a trait known as "vocal functional flexibility." Vocal functional flexibility refers to an animal's ability to produce complex sounds that form speech, as opposed to the more simple sounds that come forward from screaming, crying, laughing or making other basic sounds. Humans are not born with vocal functional flexibility but rather develop it over stages, and it is considered one of the prerequisites to creating actual speech. In their research, the authors of the iScience study discovered that grunting chimpanzees from newborns through to ten-year-old youths display vocal functional flexibility. "The logic is, if we find good evidence for something in humans and good evidence for something in chimpanzees, then were kind of justified in making the inference that this was also a trait that was held by the last common ancestor," Dr. Derry Taylor, the paper's corresponding author and a professor at the University of Portsmouth, told Salon at the time. "So we can say with a reasonable degree of confidence that whatever those vocal communication systems were like, they probably at least had this type of flexibility. Another study this one published last year in the journal Current Biology involved scientists performing a magic trick known as the "French drop effect" in front of three types of monkeys: common marmosets, Humboldt's squirrel monkeys and yellow-breasted capuchin monkeys. The trick involves a scientist putting food in one hand, presenting it to the money and then putting their other hand over the treat while appearing to grab it. In fact, the scientists did not grab the treat with their second hand, therefore leading those monkeys that had opposable thumbs to be surprised when discovering it was still in the first hand. Yet the one species of monkey in the group that lacks opposable thumbs, the marmosets, were less likely to be fooled by the trick because they lacked the same digital frame of reference. "It tells us something about how we think without work," Dr. Nicky Clayton, a professor at the University of Cambridge and corresponding author on the paper explained to Salon at the time. "We know this because we know . . . there's this massive power in this non-verbal communication. And then I think of seeing non-human animals respond in that way to these non-verbal stimuli. It creates all kinds of questions in your mind, doesn't it? Why is it so soothing to us? What does it mean for the animals that watch it?" Whether it is in shedding light on the origins of human locomotion and speech or helping us understand our very sense of selves, scientists who study primates both living and extinct continue to learn a lot more about human beings. A regional court on Friday sentenced three activists to 12 years in prison on charges of organizing an anti-state group and collecting state intelligence at the orders of a North Korean agent. The three activists, including a 50-year-old man surnamed Sohn, were indicted on charges of establishing an anti-state organization, named "Self-reliant Unification North Chungcheong Brethren Society," under the instruction of a North Korean spy in 2017. They are also charged with collecting state intelligence and information on national security over a four-year period, as well as receiving $20,000 from the North Korean to finance their espionage activities. The accused allegedly shared dozens of instructions and reports with the North Korean spy in codified file formats and attempted to win over politicians and civic activists in areas around North Chungcheong Province. The Cheongju District Court on Friday sentenced the three to 12 years behind bars and took them into custody at the courtroom right after the sentencing. Friday's court ruling came more than two years after the first court hearing on the case, as a result of the accused's strategy to delay the court proceedings, which included filing several requests for recusal and seeking political asylum with the United Nations. Prosecutors had initially indicted a total of four people on espionage charges, but the case for one of them has been separated after the individual filed a request for recusal. (Yonhap) Israel raised fresh allegations against the Palestinian aid agency UNRWA on Friday, charging that more than 30 staff members of the UN agency that provides aid to Palestinians had been involved in the October 7 attacks. Defence Minister Yoav Gallant accused them of facilitating the hostage-taking on that day and of looting Israeli communities. In addition, 1,468 or 12% of the 13,000 UNRWA staff working in the Gaza Strip maintained links to Hamas or to Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), he said. Gallant added that 185 UNRWA staff were active in Hamas' military wing and 51 in the PIJ's military wing. UNRWA was deeply engaged in terrorist activities, he said. He identified 12 UNRWA staff whom Israel had previously accused of being involved in the October 7 attacks. The reports have led a number of Western countries to suspend funding to UNRWA, including major donors, the United States and Germany. Other smaller Western countries have, by contrast, increased support. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has pledged a comprehensive investigation and terminated the employment of a number of staff. Set up in 1949, UNRWA provides relief to Palestinian refugees, operating educational and medical facilities. More than 30,000 people work for the organization, some 13,000 of them in the Gaza Strip alone. The agency is seen as irreplaceable in the area, where it provides aid to more than 2 million civilians currently suffering the effects of the Gaza War. Experts from the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) have analysed the actions of Russian invaders conducting a tactical manoeuvre through Avdiivka, highlighting their inability to carry out a successful operational encirclement or siege. Source: Institute for the Study of War (ISW) Details: Experts note that Russian forces are conducting a tactical manoeuvre via Avdiivka, which could create conditions that would compel the Ukrainian Defence Forces to abandon their positions in the town. Ukrainian troops have not fully withdrawn from the area and are continuing to impede Russian forces from achieving more significant advances than the current gradual progress of the Russians. The report mentions that geolocation footage released on 15 February indicates that Russian forces have recently advanced to the southern edges of the Avdiivka Coke and Chemical Plant in the northwestern part of Avdiivka. Additionally, other geolocation footage indicates that Russian forces have captured a fortified Ukrainian position south of Avdiivka, a location that has been a longstanding Russian subtactical goal. Russian military bloggers claimed that Russian forces had effectively surrounded positions south of Avdiivka adjacent to it. Recent geolocation data suggests that Russian forces have closed off the last road in Avdiivka connecting the citys southern and northern parts. However, Ukrainian military spokesperson Dmytro Lykhovii stated that the Ukrainians are currently using secondary ground communication lines prepared in advance to supply their forces in the southern and eastern parts of Avdiivka. Russian bloggers claim that the Russians have made further advances to the west of Avdiivka, attempting to cut off the dirt roads used by Ukrainian forces to supply positions in Avdiivka from Lastochkyne and Pivnichne (both to the west of Avdiivka). However, ISW has not yet seen any confirmation of this movement by Russian forces. Lykhovii acknowledged that Ukrainian forces were withdrawing from some positions around Avdiivka but stated that Ukrainian forces were continuing to reclaim certain positions from the Russians. The analysts assess that the Russian offensive operation to capture Avdiivka highlights the inability of the Russian military to conduct a successful operational encirclement or siege in Ukraine. Russian forces initially attempted to swiftly encircle Ukrainian forces in Avdiivka at the beginning of a local offensive operation in October 2023. However, they gradually shifted to conducting combat actions through the populated area with a tactical manoeuvre after failing to execute the rapid manoeuvre required for encirclement. The review explains that an operational encirclement is a manoeuvre in which attacking forces surround and then destroy a group of enemy forces. During an operational envelopment manoeuvre, attacking forces try to bypass the main defensive structures of the enemy to capture objects behind these defensive structures. This allows attacking forces to eliminate defenders in their current positions. Russian forces failed to achieve either encirclement or envelopment in Avdiivka, and specifically have faced repeated failures in conducting operations to encircle or envelop Ukrainian forces throughout the entire full-scale invasion of Ukraine. ISW experts note that Russian forces executed a tactical manoeuvre in Avdiivka, similar to the capture of Bakhmut in the spring of 2023. In this manoeuvre, they attempted to bypass the main Ukrainian defensive positions to gain tactical advantages but did not seek more extensive destruction of the Ukrainian force grouping. The overview also adds that Russian forces have expended a significant amount of manpower and equipment in capturing Avdiivka, and it is likely that they will need an extended period of consolidation, recovery and rest before attempting further coordinated offensive actions in this area. To quote the ISWs Key Takeaways on 15 February: Russian forces are conducting a tactical turning movement through Avdiika likely to create conditions that would force Ukrainian troops to withdraw from their positions in the settlement. Ukrainian forces have yet to fully withdraw from the settlement and continue to prevent Russian forces from making gains that are more significant than the current incremental Russian advances. The Russian offensive effort to capture Avdiivka underscores the Russian militarys inability to conduct a successful operational envelopment or encirclement in Ukraine. The potential Russian capture of Avdiivka would not be operationally significant and would likely only offer the Kremlin immediate informational and political victories. The Russian command reportedly reorganised the command structures of the Russian grouping of forces in southern Ukraine. Russian forces conducted a relatively larger series of missile strikes against Ukraine on the night of 14 to 15 February. Ukrainian security forces reportedly conducted a successful drone strike against an oil depot in Kursk Oblast. Russian President Vladimir Putin continues to elaborate on an amorphous ideology for Russia to support geopolitical confrontation with the West by attempting to portray Russia as the leader of an international anti-Nazi movement. Putin intentionally misrepresented a statement from US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in an attempt to promote pseudo-history aimed at denying Ukrainian statehood. Russian sources claimed that the Russian military officially removed Russian Black Sea Fleet (BSF) Commander Admiral Viktor Sokolov and replaced him with the BSFs Chief of Staff Vice Admiral Sergei Pinchuk. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg announced that NATO and Ukraine will create a joint analysis, training, and education centre in Poland following the meetings of NATO Defence Ministers in Brussels on 15 February. Russian forces recently made confirmed advances near Kupiansk, Bakhmut, Avdiivka, and in the Donetsk-Zaporizhia Oblast border area. Russian President Vladimir Putin visited the Uralvagonzavod plant in Sverdlovsk Oblast, one of Russias largest tank producers, on February 15 to promote Russian efforts to expand Russias defence industrial base (DIB). Head of Ukraines nuclear operating enterprise Energoatom Petro Kotin stated that the situation at the occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) is becoming more dangerous due to Russian activity near and at the plant. Support UP or become our patron! The Ithaca Rotary Club recently awarded two $5,000 to nonprofit groups in Kenya and Costa Rica for their projects tackling climate change, according to a Friday statement from the club. Science Centre Kenya used the grant to plant 1,250 fruit trees at 10 school and teach nearly 2,500 children about agriculture and climate change, helping to alleviate increasing food insecurity in the western part of the country. In Costa Rica, the Mastate Charitable Foundation is developing a family-run fruit tree and vegetable farm that demonstrates a new model for food production in the region, set apart by a reduced reliance on agricultural chemicals and an aim to draw carbon from the atmosphere. Kenyan students plant a fruit tree following a $5,000 grant award from the Ithaca Rotary Club. Kenya project Charlie Trautmann, former director of the Sciencenter in Ithaca, , helped develop the application for the project in Kenya with Kenneth Monjero, director of the Science Centre Kenya, whom he met at a conference in South Africa a decade ago. Monjero said he leveraged the grant awarded by the rotary to mobilize parents of children at Kenyan schools to donate an additional 1,250 trees, bringing the total number planted to 2,500. This wouldnt have happened without the Rotary funding, he said in a statement. It ignited the interest and now the students understand what climate change is all about. The carbon dioxide that will be captured by the trees is the equivalent of the greenhouse gases emitted by 25 cars a year, the statement said. Its not thousands of cars, but its something, Trautmann said. The more important aspect is that children will be learning about the environment and taking care of the environment. The trees will take three to six years to harvest and will provide up to 25 years of fruit production. The tree species planted include guava, avocado, mango and passion fruit trees. Tim O'Hara holding fruit at a family-run fruit and vegetable farm in Mastatal, Costa Rica. Costa Rica project In Costa Rica, the farm project was proposed by a 1991 graduate of Cornells College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Tim OHara. OHara and his wife moved to Costa Rica 22 years ago and started Rancho Mastatal, which offers workshops on permaculture design, conservation, sustainable food production and natural building. OHara said Costa Rica is losing its food security and degrading its farmland by using more agricultural chemicals per capital than any other country on earth. While large-scale agricultural production is causing deforestation, he said, small farms can keep soil healthy and remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. The project to develop a family-run fruit tree and vegetable farm rural Costa Rica will demonstrate a model for farmers who want to transition to crops that require less agricultural chemicals and that pull carbon from the air. When it is completed by the end of this year, the farm will increase the amount of organic produce grown locally, including avocados, plantains, mangos, jackfruit and citrus. For additional information about the Ithaca Rotary Club, visit www.ithacarotary.com. This article originally appeared on Ithaca Journal: Ithaca Rotary gives to Kenya, Costa Rica climate change projects Energy storage industry put on fast track in China Xinhua) 09:53, February 16, 2024 NANJING, Feb. 14 (Xinhua) -- At an energy storage station in eastern Chinese city of Nanjing, a total of 88 white battery cartridges with a storage capacity of nearly 200,000 kilowatt-hours are transmitting electricity to the city's grid. "It is equivalent to a medium-sized power plant, and the electricity it generates in one hour can meet the power consumption of 26,000 households in one day," said Shi Shengdong, a local manager of the grid. The grid-scale storage station in Nanjing is an epitome of China's prospering energy storage industry as the country has put the emerging industry on a pedestal. The energy storage facilities serve to iron out electric use volatility in peaks and troughs and, more importantly, facilitate the utilization of the country's growing clean energy amid its efforts to pursue low-carbon development. The energy storage power plants help improve the utilization rate of wind power, solar and other renewable sources, thus promoting the proportion of new energy consumption. In the first half of 2023, China's installed renewable energy capacity surpassed coal power for the first time in history. Meanwhile, batteries that store energy are being preserved to ensure that the electricity produced from those intermittent sources is available and ready to use when needed. The country's installed new-type energy storage capacity had reached 31.39 gigawatts by the end of 2023, of which 22.6 gigawatts was newly installed in that year alone, which was nearly 10 times that at the end of 2020, according to the National Energy Administration (NEA). The rapid growth is guaranteed by China's strong battery manufacturing capability. Last year, a new energy power and energy storage battery manufacturing base with an annual production capacity of 30 GWh, constructed by China's battery giant Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Ltd. (CATL), went into operations in Guizhou Province. By 2025, Guizhou aims to develop itself into an important research and development and production center for new energy power batteries and materials. Recently, China saw a diversifying new energy storage know-hows. Lithium-ion batteries accounted for 97.4 percent of China's new-type energy storage capacity at the end of 2023. Aside from the lithium-ion battery, which is a dominant type, the technical routes such as compressed air, liquid flow battery and flywheel storage are being developed rapidly. Since 2023, a number of 300-megawatts-grade compressed air energy storage projects along with 100-megawatts-grade liquid flow battery projects begun construction. The new technologies including gravity storage, liquid air storage, carbon dioxide storage have been developed as well, according to the NEA. Also, some provincial-level regions launched a new business model to rev up the energy storage industry, allowing the energy storage investors to collect capacity rental fees from users using the grid. Last year, Guangxi completed its first trading transaction during peak electricity consumption in a grid that covers south and southwest China's Guangdong, Guangxi, Yunnan, Guizhou and Hainan. (Web editor: Peng Yukai, Liu Ning) By Kim Hyun-bin A free unmanned monorail system commenced operations to connect the Sindang Hyundai Apartment complex to Daehyeonsan Reservoir Park in Seoul's Jung District on Thursday, according to the district office on Friday. The introduction of the 110-meter-long monorail represents the first time such a mode of transport has been rolled out in the capital. Operating from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily, the monorail shuttles passengers between its three stations. With a capacity of 15 individuals, including provisions for wheelchair and stroller accessibility, the monorail is free for all to use. The system operates autonomously, triggered by the simple push of a departure button. Additionally, efforts have been made to enhance accessibility, with the renovation of existing steep staircases to ensure a smoother transition for commuters. In 2020, the introduction of the monorail system was selected as part of the Seoul Metropolitan Government's project to improve convenience in hilly areas, and groundbreaking commenced in September 2022. Kim Kil-sung, the head of the district, underscored the transformative impact of the monorail, heralding a new era of accessibility and convenience. "It is no longer necessary for citizens to climb steep stairs to go to the park," Kim said. "In the future, Jung District will continue to offer solid and sturdy support for residents." Daehyeonsan Reservoir Park, which spans around 75,570 square meters and offers an array of recreational amenities, is expected to offer greater benefits to the local community with its improved accessibility, Kim said. As the monorail assumes its role as a prominent landmark in the area, district officials anticipate a ripple effect on the local economy, attracting tourists and fostering economic growth in neighboring districts. As an Aldi employee, I regularly find high-quality, luxurious-feeling items at the budget grocer. The Specially Selected bacon-wrapped sea scallops and lobster tails make for delicious family meals. Finds like the SOHL Furniture office chair make my home look and feel more luxurious. I'm someone who's worked at Aldi for two years, and the store is my go-to for home decor and groceries that feel high end. Here are 10 luxurious-feeling items I've gotten at Aldi. I'd happily eat a box of the Specially Selected bacon-wrapped sea scallops by myself. The Specially Selected bacon-wrapped sea scallops are full of flavor. Dajha Zamot The Specially Selected items at Aldi are must-tries, and the bacon-wrapped sea scallops are no exception. They're the perfect appetizer for family dinners or parties. I just pop them in the air fryer for a delicious meal that's ready in 10 minutes. No family breakfast would be complete without the Ambiano rotating Belgian-waffle maker. I use the Ambiano rotating Belgian-waffle maker to make a sweet breakfast for my family. Dajha Zamot Don't pass up the Aldi home section, especially if your location carries great products such as the Ambiano rotating Belgian-waffle maker. I use this to cook breakfast for my family. The handy gadget has a nonstick cooking surface and is easy to clean. The Specially Selected wild-caught cold-water lobster tails are delicious. I use the Specially Selected cold-water lobster tails to make delicious dinners. Dajha Zamot In my opinion, the Specially Selected wild-caught cold-water lobster tails taste super fresh almost as if they didn't come from the frozen section. The high-quality lobster tails are a favorite among seafood-loving customers. My family cooks them when we want to create a five-star at-home dining experience. My kitchen wouldn't be complete without the Crofton 16-piece durable food-storage set. The Crofton 16-piece durable food-storage set keeps leftovers, fruit, and other items fresh. Dajha Zamot Regardless of where you are in life, a storage set like the 16-piece option from Crofton is necessary. This set comes with eight containers and lids, giving you a lot of bang for your buck. I've had my set for over two years, and the containers are durable and easy to clean. They can store fruit, vegetables, soups, leftovers, and more. Lunch looks stylish in the Crofton two-tiered bento box. The Crofton two-tiered bento boxes come in green, yellow, and black. Dajha Zamot The Crofton two-tiered bento box has plenty of compartments, making packing lunches and snacks easy. They also come in various colors, including black, green, and yellow. When I'm craving something sweet, I reach for the Specially Selected butter cookies coated with chocolate. The Specially Selected butter cookies come coated with either milk or dark chocolate. Dajha Zamot Nothing is better than finding the perfect sweet snack, and the Specially Selected butter cookies coated with chocolate are my current go-to. The butter cookies, which are imported from Germany, come with milk- or dark-chocolate coatings. I love to snack on either option for a quick chocolate fix. I enjoy cold beverages served in the Crofton glass coffee mugs. The Crofton glass coffee mugs have a sleek ribbed design. Dajha Zamot Whether you prefer a hot or cold beverage, the Crofton glass coffee mug will not disappoint. The beautiful glass mugs make my iced coffees seem more glamorous. The ribbed design makes me feel like I'm sitting in a high-end coffee shop. I love incorporating the Specially Selected raw honey in recipes and beverages. The Specially Selected raw honey adds the perfect sweetness to meals or beverages. Dajha Zamot I'll take any opportunity to rave about the Specially Selected raw honey. No matter what you use it for, a little sweet honey goes a long way. It can be added to recipes, baked goods, and beverages. My favorite way to have it is with tea. The Huntington Home wire organizers elevate my kitchen. The Huntington Home wire organizer is perfect for storing bags and kitchen essentials. Dajha Zamot So many customers love the Huntington Home wire organizers to help tidy up their kitchens. They're great quality and look stylish. As a mom, I have to be organized, and this contraption is perfect for managing bags and kitchen equipment. Since getting it, I've been told my home looks more put together. The SOHL Furniture office chair is super comfortable. I love that the SOHL Furniture office chair is just as stylish as it is comfy. Dajha Zamot Any chance I get, I'm in my SOHL Furniture office chair. It's so easy to assemble and extremely comfortable. The shell-shaped design fully supports my back and makes the chair look expensive. Click to keep reading Aldi diaries like this one. Read the original article on Business Insider Jennifer Lopez has just released her visual album This is Me...Now: A Love Story on Amazon Prime. The fantastical musical film was largely inspired by her first relationship and then, later, marriage to Ben Affleck. But is also a personal ode to Lopez's journey as a "hopeless romantic" and the film opens with folktale that may partially explain why. This is Me...Now: A Love Story begins with the singer who, in the film, plays a fictionalized version of herself called "The Artist" recalling a story from her childhood. According to the opener, when J.Lo as "The Artist" was a girl, her mother would tell her a Puerto Rican legend of two star-crossed lovers, a couple named Alida and Taroo, who have been forbidden from being together. Desperate, the couple turns to the gods for help, which manifests in Alida turning into a flower and Taroo into a hummingbird. In the film, Lopez recalls how the story of Alida and Taroo became a symbol of love in many cultures, including for Puerto Ricans. But many viewers might be left wondering: Is this hummingbird legend real? And what are its origins? Jennifer Lopez / a hummingbird (Getty Images) Dr. Antonio Sotomayor is an associate professor of Latin American and Caribbean Studies Librarian at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Speaking to TODAY.com, he said that it can be hard to trace the true origins of a longstanding folktale. Currently, there are various versions of Alida and Taroos story floating around on the internet, with shades of similar titles. Sotomayor pointed TODAY.com to a collection of legends by Pura Belpre titled Once in Puerto Rico, which was initially published in 1973. Belpre was an Afro-Puerto Rican educator and collector of folktales who, according to Sotomayor, became the first Puerto Rican librarian in New York City. Between the pages of her collection, Once in Puerto Rico, Belpree includes The Legend of The Hummingbird, which weaves a similar story to Lopezs opening for This is Me...Now: A Love Story. Belpres story adds more details, however. In addition to sharing that Alida and Taroos story is set on the island of Borinquen, the indigenous name for the island known today as Puerto Rico, Belpres story notes that the two lovers specifically met at a waterfall-fed pool located between the towns of Caye and Cidra. The context of the background is a reminder that the truth behind folktales might hold little weight, but can certainly be grounded in historical places or events. In the case of Belpres story, there's truth in the setting. Today, Cayey or Cayey de Muesas exists in Puerto Rico, and so does the town of Cidra. The story also details how Alida is a native of the island, and her father is a chief of a hill-inhabiting tribe. Meanwhile, Taroo was left behind on the island by his tribe, Carib, which he says in the story often attacked Borinquen. Thus, the forbidden love Lopez describes develops through several meetings at the pool. The turn in the couples love story occurs when Alidas father finds out and arranges for her immediate marriage to a stranger, and Alida pleads to her god Yukiyu to kill her. Instead, the god turns her into a red flower. Taroo is left to his own once again, this time with a broken heart. He prays to Yukiyu, who turns him into a hummingbird with instructions to search for Alida, whod been turned into a red flower. In the morning, the people on the island saw a new bird and named it a hummingbird for the music it made with its wings. Ever since then, the little mini-colored bird has hovered over every flower he finds, but he returns most often to the flowers that are red. He is still looking. Hes always looking for the one red flower that will be his last Alida. He has not found her yet, Belpres story concludes. Sotomayor says its likely that Belprees collection is the oldest, most reliable printed source of the folk tale. For him, it's understandable how a person like Jennifer Lopez would have grown up being told such a legend and why she would be compelled to share it now. Folktales have a very important role in our societies in the construction of identities of ideas of communities that are different from other communities, he explains. They help to give shape to our culture. This is Me...Now: A Love Story is an Amazon Prime-exclusive narrative film that debuted on Feb. 16, in tandem with her ninth studio album, titled This is Me...Now. Her music documentary The Greatest Love Story Never Told will be released on Feb. 27, 2024. Combined, the three projects track Lopezs life as a romantic, as well as her love life and reunion with Affleck. This article was originally published on TODAY.com The U.S. Department of Justice announced on Friday that a Jacksonville man was sentenced to prison on two felony charges related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. >>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<< Daniel Paul Gray, 43, was sentenced to 30 months in prison, 36 months of supervised release, and ordered to pay $2,000 restitution. Gray had pleaded guilty on Oct. 25, 2023, to felony charges of obstruction of an official proceeding and assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers. [DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks] According to court documents, Gray was very active on social media about his distrust of the 2020 presidential election results. This included messages to prevent President Joe Biden from becoming president. RELATED: What to know about Supreme Court arguments over Trump, the Capitol attack and the ballot The following is a timeline the DOJ released related to Grays activities: Dec. 12, 2020 - Gray posted to Facebook a screenshot of the Wikipedia page for the Insurrection Act of 1807. The screenshot was captioned, [expletive] about to get lit yall. Im actually really excited at the possibility of the insurrection act being implemented. Jan. 6, 2021 - Gray attended a rally at the Ellipse. He made his way to a restricted area of the Capitol building as early as 2:25 p.m. Grey was present when the police line fell on the west side of the building and at 2:41 p.m. entered the Capitol. Once inside, Gray was at the front of the mob when he approached an officer at the front of the defensive line. Gray shoved the officer after being told to back up several times. At 3:01 p.m., body-worn camera footage shows Gray and other rioters pushing the police line to the edge of a marble staircase. He shoved an officer, knocking the officer off balance. The officer fell down the staircase and suffered a concussion and chronic back pain. Gray continued to push against officers, and eventually broke through the police line. Gray posted a four-minute Instagram video boasting about his actions during the Jan. 6 events. We said, We start pushing the police out the back of the Capitol; we pushed them from the front to the back of the Capitol... pushing them [the police] down the staircase. Later, Gray wrote Dude we literally took Congress over. I dont wanna say too much more lol was the rowdiest thing Ive ever done and you know me lol. In social media messages Gray sent after Jan. 6, he further boasted, Lol I was one of the first in the capital. The Department of Justice said Gray was arrested by the FBI on May 18, 2021, in Jacksonville. RELATED: St. Augustine man pleads guilty to felony charges for January 6 involvement The DOJ said that over 1,300 people have been charged for their crimes relating to the Jan. 6 breach. [SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter] In the 37 months since Jan. 6, 2021, more than 1,313 individuals have been charged in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, including more than 469 individuals charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement, a felony, the Department of Justice said in a release. The investigation remains ongoing. Anyone with tips can call 1-800-CALL-FBI (800-225-5324) or visit tips.fbi.gov. 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. DC Studios CEO James Gunn has hit back at speculation that comedian and TV host Bassem Youssef was fired from the upcoming Superman: Legacy for speaking out about the conflict in Gaza. Gunn, 57, reposted an IGN article on his X/Twitter account, which reported that the character Youssef had been approached to play was entirely cut from the script prior to his comments about Palestine. Gunn wrote about the article: This is accurate. Earlier this week, Youssef had told Salon that he believed he had been let go from the project due to a viral interview with Piers Morgan regarding the Israel-Hamas conflict. In the United States of America, you can talk about Joe Biden, you can talk about Donald Trump, but you cannot criticize a foreign government which is kind of, like, very sad, you know? Youssef said in the Salon interview. And then because of that, I was cast in the movie Superman, and then they told me, We changed the script after this Piers Morgan interview, and I want to assume good faith. I understand maybe the people who are, you know, in charge, they took the decision, looked at me and didnt want to have me and maybe I understand, he continued. If Im Arab Muslim, I was the head of Warner Bros., I wouldnt like a pro-Zionist or pro-Israel to be in my movie if he attacked my people. This is the thing that we need to dissect: When I attack Israel, I attack its policy, Im not attacking Jewish people. DC Studios boss James Gunn (left) and comedian Bassem Youssef (Getty) However, IGN reported that while Gunn had discussed casting Youssef as the politician Rumaan Harjavti, the character had been written out of the script entirely by September, a month before the Piers Morgan interview in October. The article states that Youssef was never formally offered the part, and the decision to cut the character was purely down to script changes. Superman: Legacy is expected to arrive in cinemas on 11 July 2025. It will star David Corenswet as Superman, Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane, and Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor. Milly Alcock was also recently cast as Supergirl, although it remains unclear whether she will make her DCU debut in Superman: Legacy. Argylle director Matthew Vaughn recently questioned the timing of Alcocks casting. Vaughn was extremely complimentary of Alcock, saying that he was sad when the actor turned down a film he once offered her. But the British filmmaker said he was confused by the timing of the casting considering the film currently has no director attached. At this point, it is only in the planning stages with DC bosses James Gunn and Peter Safran. Speaking to BroBible, Vaughn said; Im a huge fan of Milly Alcock. Huge fan. Met with her for this other project were working on she turned me down, which was sad. Shes a fabulous actress. Then again, I do find it very weird that they havent got a director. That surprised me, because you shouldnt cast a movie the director should be casting the movie. I dont understand who cast it if there isnt a director. When asked if he would direct the film, he said he would consider it, adding: Never say never. PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) Januarys arctic blast led to 414 workplace accident claims in Oregon, marking a seven-year high for the state. Earlier this week, the State Accident Insurance Fund a workers compensation insurance company reported that it hadnt received that many winter-storm-related claims since January 2017. An incredible moment: Columbia Sportswear product heading to the moon According to SAIF, 151 claims came out of its Northern region that includes the city of Portland. Another 58 claims were submitted from the valley region, where Salem is located. The company said this is the highest number of slip, trip and fall claims its recorded from the region within one quarter. Despite the winter storm occurring one month ago, Portland and its surrounding areas are still seeing the fallout. Changing tide carries huge whale carcass 3 miles from Sunset Beach location The extreme weather event cost Portland General Electric over $30 million, restaurants faced revenue loss due to closures, and the Portland Water Bureau has even begun to offer credits to customers who were affected by frozen pipes. Similar to the local agencies preparing for future winter storms, SAIF has advised Oregon workers to stay prepared as well. Significant ice and snow accumulation is uncommon in many parts of Oregon and its easy to forget some of the simple precautions you can take to prevent injury when the weather deteriorates, SAIF Portland Senior Safety Management Consultant Kyle DeHart said. MultCo. commissioners left frustrated by lack of action on fentanyl emergency, 15 days later As soon as you see the potential for snow or ice in the forecast, consider talking with your employees about winter weather safety and ways they can prepare, he added. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KOIN.com. "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances." First Amendment to the United States Constitution When youre the president of the United States, the First Amendment can have a downside. There you are, one of the most powerful people in the world, and more than 340 million people have the right to criticize you. Journalists watch your every move and columnists write articles challenging your positions. Frustrated citizens take to the streets to march against your policies. It's not a good job for someone with thin skin. As we prepare to celebrate Presidents Day on Feb. 19, it's worth remembering that the power of the presidency has long been kept in check by the First Amendment via the voices of the American people and the news media that keep an eye on government. The First Amendment allows us to confront the abuse of power and demand change. John Vile, a distinguished constitutional scholar and my colleague at Middle Tennessee State University, has just completed the First Amendment Encyclopedias ambitious overview of every American presidents engagement with the First Amendment. Some presidents have been tempted to limit freedom of expression in the face of public criticism, while others have embraced freedom of speech and press throughout their terms. Guest opinion column by John Vile: Sorting out the legal issues surrounding Donald Trump Examine the relationship between selected presidents and the First Amendment Observations from the just-published overview: James Madison, shown in an 1804 portrait by Gilbert Stuart, served as Secretary of State under President Thomas Jefferson from 1801-1809, after which he succeeded Jefferson as the country's fourth president. Presidents Thomas Jefferson and James Madison were largely responsible for the very existence of the First Amendment, with Jefferson advocating for a Bill of Rights and Madison authoring it. The First Amendment was ratified in 1791, but just seven years later, second President John Adams supported the passage of the Alien and Sedition Acts, legislation that was used to jail newspaper editors critical of the Adams administration and to prosecute others deemed to be disloyal. Some of our most respected presidents had their lapses. During the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln imprisoned newspaper editors, shut down telegraph lines and engaged in censorship in clear violation of First Amendment principles. Woodrow Wilson led our nation through World War I and successfully proposed the League of Nations, but also sought and secured passage of the Espionage Act of 1917 and the Sedition Act of 1918, limiting free speech perceived as being disloyal. Franklin Delano Roosevelt incorporated two First Amendment Freedoms into his timeless Four Freedoms address asserting the essential nature of freedom of speech, the freedom of worship, the freedom from want, and the freedom from fear. Yet for all his emphasis on personal freedom, he was also responsible for the internment of Japanese-American U.S. citizens during World War II. More: Tennessee House ticketing: How the First Amendment affects new policy set by House Speaker One of the toughest challenges was the Red Scare and McCarthyism Until 1970, Presidents Day largely focused on George Washingtons birthday and his accomplishments. With the establishment of Presidents Day as a national holiday, the celebration includes everyone who has held the office of the presidency. Sen. Joe McCarthy sits in the witness chair at the close of the June 11, 1954 proceedings in the Senate hearings on his dispute with the Army, as Roy Cohn breaks in to ask for a 10-minute round of questioning McCarthy. Thats a good thing. Our presidents have been a varied lot, politically, intellectually and spiritually. There is much to be learned from the men who held the toughest job in the world. Today, we live in a highly polarized society in which politicians harness hate and fear for electoral purposes. Its commonplace to dismiss or demonize the beliefs and speech of others, and as the free speech organization PEN America observes, We face the worst spate of book bans since the Red Scare of the 1950s. The Red Scare a national hysteria about the threat of communism was most visibly fueled by Sen. Joseph McCarthy, who made undocumented claims about widespread infiltration of the U.S. government by communists, leading to congressional investigations. Congress also held hearings to explore the influence of communism in Hollywood, leading to the blacklisting of more than 200 film professionals who had done nothing other than exercise their freedoms of speech and assembly. Harry Truman was president during those dark days and he had no patience for McCarthys theatrics, calling him "the best asset that the Kremlin can have." Truman, one of our most colorful and outspoken presidents, was also one of our most beleaguered, with his approval rating plummeting at frequent intervals. He took tough stands and received widespread criticism, particularly when he dismissed once-beloved Gen. Douglas McArthur. Yet Truman was also a fierce defender of the publics right to dissent. In a 1950 speech pointing to the insecurity of police states, Truman said Once a government is committed to the principle of silencing the voice of opposition, it has only one way to go, and that is down the path of increasingly repressive measures, until it becomes a source of terror to all its citizens and creates a country where everyone lives in fear. Ken Paulson, a former USA TODAY editor, is director of the Free Speech Center at Middle Tennessee State University. Give em hell, Harry. Happy Presidents Day. Ken Paulson is the director of the Free Speech Center and a professor at Middle Tennessee State University. He is the former editor-in-chief of USA TODAY. This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: American presidents had different ways of embracing First Amendment Public broadcaster criticized for overtly pro-government stance under new chief By Lee Hae-rin Koreas public broadcaster KBS decided not to broadcast a documentary on the 2014 sinking of the Sewol ferry initially scheduled to be broadcast in April, citing that it could affect the general elections. An episode of the channels weekly documentary series "DOCU INSIGHT" was slated to air on April 18, reexamining the tragedy and survivors struggle with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) to mark the 10th anniversary of the disaster, according to a letter that the show producers sent to other members of the Korean Producers and Directors Association (KPDA) about the broadcast, Thursday. However, a decision was made from higher up in the production headquarters to put it on hold. As to the reason for the delay, the decision makers cited the documentary's potential effects on the April 10 general elections, even though the episode was initially scheduled to air more than a week after the elections. In response to multiple protests from producers regarding the shows timeliness, a senior KBS official said a month or two before and after the elections are within the sphere of influence of a major political event. Additionally, the producers were told to remake the documentary into part of a series by adding PTSD cases of other tragedies that have struck the nation, such as the 2010 sinking of the ROKS Cheonan, the deadly 2003 Daegu subway fire and the 1995 collapse of Sampoong Department Store, each of which resulted in large numbers of casualties. The Sewol ferry disaster that cost 304 lives, among which 250 were high school students, triggered a huge public outcry and brought the conservative Park Geun-hye administrations incompetence and corruption into full view, resulting in the shift of power to the liberal Moon Jae-in government. Some 80 percent of the casting and 40 percent of the shooting have been already completed to meet the production deadline and broadcast schedule. Nevertheless, under the current programming circumstances, the documentary will be rescheduled to air around August or September. "The program to be restructured and aired in a different month other than April will not be a program marking the 10th anniversary of the Sewol disaster but a totally new one," the letter read. "We have to explain this to the victims and other people who have spent two months with us (to help make the documentary). We wonder how they will regard this decision by KBS." KBS has been criticized for suppressing freedom of speech and taking a pro-government stance since the appointment of its new president and CEO last November. Park Min, a former editorial writer at the Munhwa Ilbo daily who had no previous broadcasting experience, was appointed to the position with a unilateral recommendation from conservative members of the broadcasters board and approval from President Yoon Suk Yeol, provoking allegations of cronyism. On his first day at work, Park sacked main anchor Lee So-jung on the channels most popular evening news program and removed left-wing journalist Joo Jin-woo from his radio talk show that had been running for three years. On Feb. 8, Park replaced the broadcasters auditor-in-chief to conduct a special inspection into the channels biased reporting from the past, which he vowed to do since taking the position. The broadcaster was also criticized for allegedly downplaying the recent scandal surrounding first lady Kim Keon Hee during an exclusive prerecorded New Year interview with Yoon. The interviewer called the Dior handbag which Kim received from a pastor a "small pouch made by a foreign company" while other media outlets usually call it a "luxury bag." The broadcasts labor union published a bulletin, Feb. 7 that employees at the current affairs and culture production divisions had started to sense infringement on freedom of production since the head of the production headquarters was replaced after Parks appointment. Jeremy Clarkson seems to have admitted to calling former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown an expletive during the filming of Top Gear in 2009. The outspoken television presenter, 63, responded on X/Twitter to a post stating that: In July 2009, [Jeremy Clarkson] was reported to have called then-British Prime Minister Gordon Brown a silly c*** during a warm-up while recording Top Gear. Clarkson replied: Well he had sold all our gold reserves at rock bottom prices. Seemed a bit silly to me. A few months before the alleged incident, in February 2009, Clarkson issued an apology for calling Brown a one-eyed Scottish idiot. Clarkson had been at a press conference in Australia when he made the comment about Browns blindness in one eye. Speaking in Sydney, Clarkson compared Brown to the Australian Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, after Rudd had just addressed the country on the global financial crisis. Jeremy Clarkson (left) and Gordon Brown (Getty) He said: Its the first time Ive ever seen a world leader admit we really are in deep s***. He genuinely looked terrified. The poor man, hes actually seen the books. [In the UK] weve got this one-eyed Scottish idiot, he keeps telling us everythings fine and hes saved the world, and we know hes lying, but hes smooth at telling us. Brown lost his sight in one eye when he was accidentally kicked in the face while playing rugby as a 16-year-old; he was playing for his school team against a side of former pupils. He suffered a detached retina in one eye and spent the next five years undergoing treatment to save the other eye. When Clarksons comments were reported in Britain they drew a furious response from politicians and disabled charities. Following the outcry, a statement of apology was issued by Clarkson amid the rising tide of criticism for the offence he had caused. In the heat of the moment, I made a remark about the Prime Ministers personal appearance for which, upon reflection, I apologise, he said. The BBC added in a statement: We note that Jeremy has issued an apology for the personal remarks he made about the Prime Minister. Clarkson has a long history of making controversial, politically incorrect comments. The Independents television critic Nick Hilton explores the presenters enduring appeal in a feature asking whether Clarkson is: Hilarious and honest or boorish and bigoted? He is a social conservative with strongly held views and a gift for articulating them, but he is also more pragmatic than his critics give him credit for, writes Hilton. Clarksons Farm, for example, has provided a loud, clear voice for Britains farmers who are often elided from political discourse. If it werent for his tendency towards a self-immolating form of nastiness whether administered via fist or pen there would be much to admire about Clarkson. But he has a lot of second chances in an industry where most people dont even get a first attempt. Clarksons apparent admission comes the day the penultimate episode of The Grand Tour, titled Sand Job, was released on Prime Video. In his three-star review for The Independent, Hilton called the series an enjoyably blokey pantomime. Flags are flying at half-mast today in New Jersey in honor of the life of state senator and assemblyman Paul J. Contillo. Gov. Phil Murphy signed Executive Order No. 355 to order the United States and State of New Jersey flags flown at half-staff at all state buildings on Friday, Feb. 16, in recognition of Contillo, a "dedicated public servant" who died on Feb. 6 at the age of 94. The New Jersey state flag. Contillo, who was born on July 8, 1929, in Brooklyn, was elected in 1973 to the New Jersey General Assembly, where he represented the 38th Legislative District from 1974 to 1980; elected in 1983 to the New Jersey Senate, where he represented the 38th Legislative District from 1984 to 1992 and served as Assistant Majority Leader; and again served in the General Assembly from November 2013 to January 2014 to fill out the term of a 38th Legislative District assemplyperson who resigned early. "Senator Contillo was a loving and devoted husband, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather," the executive order states. "Senator Contillo will be remembered not only for his lifetime of public service, but also for his deep faith and his ability to work across the aisle to promote the public good ... It is appropriate to recognize and honor his legacy as a public servant and his commitment to Paramus, the 38th Legislative District, Bergen County, and the State of New Jersey." Read the full executive order here: nj.gov/infobank/eo/056murphy/pdf/EO-355.pdf. Why do flags fly at half-staff? According to USA.gov, "The American flag flies at half-staff or at half-mast when the country or a state is in mourning. The president, a state governor or the mayor of the District of Columbia can order flags to fly at half-staff." It says the American flag most often flies at half-staff upon the death of government official, military member or first responder; a national tragedy and Memorial Day or another national day of remembrance. Whats the difference between half-staff and half-mast? In the United States, flags are flown at half-staff when they are at a building. When the flags are on a ship, its called half-mast. Both are to show a sign of mourning, and to pay tribute to those who died. This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Gov. Murphy orders flags at half-staff in honor of Paul J. Contillo JoAnn Clarks mission is to introduce Minnesota students of color to historically Black colleges and universities. Once the students more than 1,000 since 2004 tour HBCUs, Clarks work is practically done, she said. Its the window-and-mirror effect, she said. Once they can picture themselves on campus, once they can see themselves there, theyll do whatever it takes to get there. PROCEED HBCU, an annual week-long tour of HBCUs, takes place in October over the MEA break. Students must apply to the program, interview in person, attend workshops and a college fair before the tour and commit to six hours of volunteer work, she said. The 80 students selected to attend the tour each year visit predominantly Black campuses throughout the South and on the East Coast; each tour generally visits six HBCUs, she said. Clark also is co-chair of the Thinking Career and College Early Fair, which takes place each year at Harding High School in St. Paul. The fair a requirement for any student applying to take part in the PROCEED HBCU tour program is held in partnership with Achieve, PROCEED HBCU and St. Paul Public Schools. PROCEED stands for Progressive Center for Education and Economic Development. It is billed as a way to help students from grades 6 through 12 understand and get excited about their options after high school and to develop the skills to thrive in their communities as adolescents and adults. The fair, which will be held Saturday, includes representatives from universities, four-year colleges, two-year colleges, trade schools, the military services, police departments, fire departments and other community agencies. Among the HBCUs taking part in the college fair this weekend: Spelman College, Tennessee State University, Fisk University, Howard University, Hampton University, Morehouse University and Florida A&M University. I dont care where they go to school as long as they dont end up in an orange jumpsuit, Clark said. People give up on our Black kids, but we cannot give up on Black kids. Most of the tour participants have been Black, and about 60 percent have come from St. Paul. About half of the participants end up going to an HBCU; 80 percent go on to higher education, she said. Clark works to raise money more than $1.2 million to date to offset the cost of the tours. Each tour costs about $1,000 to $1,300 per student; students are asked to pay between $500 and $900, she said. Clark also raises money for scholarships to help students attend the school of their choice; the JoAnn Clark Scholarship Fund has raised $20,000 in the past four years. Clark jokes that she will ask anyone for money to help support the HBCU tour, even strangers walking down the street. I met one guy, he was a school board member, out one day, and I said, I noticed you didnt donate, she said. He said, Oh, I meant to send you a check. I said, Well, how much do you have on you? He said, I only have $25 in my wallet. I said, Well, Ill take that. Auditorium honor Clark, who has three children and five grandchildren, is a longtime Harding High School parent volunteer. She served as PTSA president and was an AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) tutor. On Saturday, during the Thinking Career and College Early Fair, the auditorium at Harding High School will be renamed the JoAnn Clark Auditorium in honor of her achievements and her legacy to Harding students. No one is more deserving than Clark, said Taylor Smith, who graduated from Harding in 2020 and from Florida A&M University, a public, historically Black university located in Tallahassee, Fla., in December 2022. Smith, who is pursuing her masters degree in psychology at Pepperdine University in Malibu, Calif., first visited Florida A&M with Clark during a tour of HBCUs when she was a freshman at Harding. I felt comfortable there, she said. Its history was very interesting and intriguing. After I applied, I found out their psychology program is African/Black-centered, and that made me not want to apply anywhere else. Related Articles The success of PROCEED HBCU can be attributed to Clarks love and passion for youth enrichment, Smith said. People listen to her because she is very direct. She lets you know exactly what is going on, but she also layers that with compassion. She knows what we need to do to help support our kids and our community. Tour participants who have graduated are working as doctors, lawyers, teachers, engineers, pharmacists, researchers, you name it, Clark said. Those kids I did not give up on are now doing great. What bothers me is people who judge kids as if they have never made a mistake in their lives. Somebody has to speak up for young people. I build relationships with them. I understand lots of stuff that is going on with them. Youve got kids who come to school hungry. You have kids who come to school who have parents who dont accept their choice about who they love. You have kids who come to school from families whose language is cussing. Mama JoAnn JoAnn Robinson grew up in Memphis, Tenn., and graduated from Miller Hawkins Business College in 1970. In 1976, she married Otis Clark. Four years later, the couple moved to St. Pauls Battle Creek neighborhood when Otis, who worked for 3M Co., was promoted and transferred to the companys Maplewood headquarters. He tricked me, she said. He came home one day and said he got a promotion. Where? I said. He said, Minnesota. I said, Where in the heck is Minnesota? JoAnn agreed to the move as long as she could turn the heat up as high as I want to and get a fur coat, she said. I didnt get the fur coat, but he let me turn the heat up. Clark ran her own child-care business for 15 years. Harding High School offered a class on day care, and Clark volunteered to bring in her child-care children to work with the students. I was there one day, and they were having a college fair, she said. I said, Oh, how often do they do this? My kids had never brought anything home about it. I didnt know about it. I didnt know about the process. I didnt know you had to do the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid). They had these college fairs at the school, but the parents the ones who actually have to pay for this they werent there. Clark, who is co-chair of Progressive Baptist Churchs education ministry team, talked to her then-pastor, Dr. Earl Miller, about her concerns. He suggested that Clark organize a college fair in the churchs basement. The first fair was held in February 2002 to coincide with Black History Month. When the fair outgrew the churchs basement two years later, Clark partnered with SPPS to bring the fair to Harding. The church later was instrumental in starting the tours of HBCUs. Clark, known as Mama JoAnn, runs a tight ship on the tours. The group, which takes two buses, includes two nurses, two social workers and its own security detail. Participants must agree to a dress code that includes no sagging. She brings belts and extra outfits just in case. Expectations are very high, she said. I dont want them looking like a nun, but I want them to dress appropriately. If you come down, and you are dressed inappropriately, that means you are going to have to go back up and change and make us late for our next appointment. Before the tour starts, Clark asks couples on the tour to raise their hands. I say, OK, when we get on the bus, youve got to break up, but you can pick right back up after you get back, she said. This is not a honeymoon trip. Registration for the tours starts at 12:01 a.m., and there is generally a waitlist within hours; participants can attend more than one tour. Some of the kids who started with us have visited over 20 colleges, she said. Participants bring their high school transcripts with them on the tour, and many apply to the schools while they are on the tour, said Annette Lee, Clarks daughter, who serves as student coordinator at PROCEED HBCU. Many have been offered full-ride scholarships on the spot, Lee said. Reach out and help that child St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter, a graduate of Florida A&M, has had two daughters and a niece go on PROCEED HBCU tours. He joins the crew of well-wishers at Progressive Baptist each year for the send-off for tour participants. I get to tell them how proud I am of them, he said. Carter said he decided to go to Florida A&M after he graduated from Central High School in St. Paul because he felt a profound sense of home as soon as he stepped foot on the FAMU campus. I just felt this amazing sense of belonging that this was just where I belonged, he said. My goal for all of them whether its FAMU or somewhere else is to be able to have a chance to feel that. The more places they visit, the more chances they have to feel what it felt like for me to just step foot on that campus. Research shows that students of color feel more at home and are more likely to succeed when they attend schools where they feel supported and welcomed, Carter said. Growing up, frankly, there werent a lot of people who I both had class with on a Monday morning and hung out with on the weekend, he said. That always had a tendency to feel somewhat isolating. And feeling isolated in your educational environment, theres a whole lot of research that suggests that it doesnt exactly help your academic performance or your ability to learn. Even if those students dont end up choosing a historically Black college, just being able to know that it is there changes everything. Clark is an inspiration for her vision and her ability to sustain it, Carter said. People in sales know the phrase, Always be closing, he said. She is the personification of that phrase, but shes closing for the young folks. Clark will give her last dollar to making sure that these students can have this experience, said Duane Dutrieuille, principal at Hazel Park Preparatory Academy, who is co-chair with Clark of the education ministry team at Progressive Baptist. She doesnt care if you are the president of the United States or the superintendent of schools or the mayor, she will ask you for money, he said. She has raised money for this college tour singlehandedly for decades. Its just a joy to know someone who loves our children so much. Clark has received numerous awards through the years, including the Presidents Award for Community Service in 2015, the 2021 Annie C. Singleton Award from Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc., the 2022 NAACP Award, Mamie Till Mobley Woman of Courage Award, Minnesota African American Heritage Award, the 2006 MLK Legacy Award and the 2022 History Maker at Home Award. In 2022, she received a proclamation from Carter and the city of St. Paul acknowledging Sept. 11 as JoAnn Clark Day in the city. Clark said she keeps a laminated card in her wallet with a quotation from the late radio host Bernard Meltzer. It reads: Blessed are those who give without remembering. And blessed are those who take without forgetting. It is more blessed to give than to receive. Thats Acts 20:35, Clark said. What will your legacy be? Will your legacy be that you reached out and brought that one child up? That child at the bottom of the hill? Did you reach out and help that child climb that hill? Thinking Career and College Early Fair What: Free college fair for families and students grade 6-12 When: 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Saturday Where: Harding Senior High School in St. Paul Information: spps.org/academics/college-and-career-readiness/thinking-career-and-college-early-fair Donate: Go to proceedmn.org. Checks made out to PROCEED HBCU can be mailed c/o Progressive Baptist Church, 1505 Burns Ave, St Paul, MN 55106. Please put JC Scholarship in the memo line. Related Articles The death of Alexei Navalny in Siberia should be a reminder to the democracies of the world. Not all countries play nice. Some like Putins Russia play very nasty indeed. And while we in democracies should of course keep to our own standards we should not be capable of being outflanked or outsmarted by the worlds despotisms and tyrannies. Yet that is precisely what is happening at the moment. It is not just that Putin is entrenching his power inside Russia and attempting to push his forces ever-forward in Ukraine. It is that wherever you look around the world the unfree states seem to be advancing and the free ones are in peril. In the Middle East, the revolutionary Islamist government in Iran is managing to successfully wage a war on multiple fronts. Through its proxies in Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Yemen it is threatening Israels security. Its Houthi proxies, the latest object of adoration for Britains pro-Palestine movement, are targeting British and American vessels in the Red Sea. Other proxies have even dared to carry out a deadly attack on American troops inside Jordan. All of this has been responded to with a small degree of surgical precision but absolutely no significant deterrence apart from in Israels near-completed war against Hamas. Look to the rest of the region. You have the government in Qatar acting as a broker when it is in fact a part of the problem. Aside from accusations of funding terror, Qatar has also hosted such luminaries as the Taliban and the heads of Hamas. The Gulf state likes to pretend it is an honest arbiter between sides. In fact it acts like a mob boss who, when they knock on your door, pretends that they dont mean you harm but the big armed thug behind them is barely being held back. Nice society youve got there: shame if anything happened to it. Qatar believes it can get away with this gangster trick because it has invested billions of pounds into the UK. It seemingly does so in the belief that the British even more than most other Western societies can be easily and cheaply bought, and that our desperate government and institutions will slaver over the money on offer. To date nobody high up in the British government has made it clear that if we can requisition the yachts of Putins oligarchs we can also requisition the assets even the department stores of the foul rulers in Gulf states. Anyone interested in slavery or colonialism would do well to look to Qatar, that fragile little statelet. China must also believe that Britain and America are up for sale. So tightly have our governments tied us into Chinas financial web that there too we have a serious domestic vulnerability. Were the third totalitarian boot to drop in the coming months or years and the CCP invaded Taiwan, we could say goodbye to the phones in our pockets, Taiwan being the worlds foremost provider of the chips on which all our communications and therefore much of our lives depend. Yet on each of these fronts the West, led by Joe Biden, is displaying not dominance or even deterrence, but appalling weakness. This week Lord Cameron was in Washington cack-handedly trying to persuade Republicans to continue funding Ukraine, after suggesting the West reward Palestinian terror by giving the Palestinians more recognition. His attempt to strong-arm Republicans into further funding to Ukraine included a reference to appeasement of Adolf Hitler. This did not go down well at all. One ally of Donald Trumps (the admittedly rather out there Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene) said angrily after the meeting that Cameron needs to worry about his own country, and frankly, he can kiss my a**. Not very diplomatic language, perhaps, but a reminder that British foreign secretaries trying to lecture a leading party within the worlds superpower should do so with extreme caution. But of course the main missing component in all this is the superpower itself. Under President Biden America has been seen continuously as being in retreat from the rest of the world. Some Republicans as well as Democrats agree with this stance, albeit for rather different reasons. Democrats worry that their partys reputation for foreign policy ability has collapsed not least since the catastrophically inept withdrawal from Afghanistan. At the same time a growing number of Republicans believe that America should address its own southern border crisis before it sends billions more in aid to deal with the far more violent border crises in other continents. At the heart of the growing unease, however, is a simple fact: that it is not clear that the superpower is able to effectively wield its military predominance. The government in Washington like Westminster is now undermining its Israeli ally by suggesting that its actions in Gaza are somehow too much and that too many civilians have been killed in Gaza. In fact, as the historian Lord Roberts of Belgravia noted in a recent debate in the House of Lords, nothing could be further from the truth. Even if we accept Hamass own casualty figures which we should not the terrorist to civilian casualty ratio in Gaza is relatively low. Some people may think that any casualty is too many, but this is war. A war that Hamas brought on the people of Gaza by attacking Israel. The true problem of walking away from allowing Israel to win in Gaza is that the war is not about Hamas in itself. It is about destroying one of the proxies of Iran in the region. Both the British and American governments continue to believe the delusion that Iran can be brought in from the cold with enough diplomatic love and funding. Indeed British and American governments have together handed over billions in cash to Tehran in recent years. If people wonder why the Houthis in Yemen are so well-armed, like the terrorists in Gaza, Lebanon and Syria, look no further. Because a catastrophic strategic mistake was made by Democrats and Conservatives, and as a result the revolutionary Islamic government in Iran is more emboldened than ever. We shall see if either country has the capacity to reverse this mistake in the months ahead. But one thing is for sure: whether in Ukraine, Taiwan or the Middle East, nothing can fall out for the good if the worlds leading democracies are seen to be in disarray, to be weak, or to be pursuing demonstrably failed policies. At the head of this problem lies the absence of leadership from the White House. While Russia has put its economy onto a full war footing, China continues to push its military exercises and Iranian proxies fire missiles across its region, the British and American armies have serious recruitment problems, perhaps caused by our delusion that diversity, representation and other such woke mantras should be the priority of our armed forces. We have been too sated by peace in the West to realise the stupidity of these policies. They are policies you can only pursue in a period of luxurious, unnatural peace. The autocracies and Islamist authoritarian governments of the world have seen through this mistake and taken advantage of it. Surely it is time we saw through them too. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 3 months with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. Shortly after the Kansas City Chiefs won the Super Bowl on Sunday, President Joe Bidens social media accounts shared a Dark Brandon meme with the caption Just like we drew it up. The meme was supposed to reference the right-wing conspiracy theory that Taylor Swift and Travis Kelces relationship was set up as a runway to a political play. What it actually came across as was grossly insensitive and out of touch as the Israel-Gaza conflict took an ugly turn. While Americans were watching the Super Bowl, Israel launched an attack on Rafah, a city where 1.5 million are sheltering, killing 67 Palestinians. Biden tried to do damage control with this tweet: I give you my word: I'm working day and night to find the means to bring all the hostages home, to ease the humanitarian crisis, to end the terror threat, and to bring peace to Gaza and Israel an enduring peace with two states for two peoples. President Biden (@POTUS) February 12, 2024 Its clear that Bidens camp is trying really hard to reach Gen Z. His TikTok presence alone is proof of that. Thats not an issue. The issue begins to rear its head when he uses social media to pander to younger generations with a disingenuous approach instead of sharing policy information to keep them informed ahead of the election. And that issue worsens drastically when trolling the opposing party gets in the way of condemning a genocide that the United States is playing a part in funding. Though Biden has reportedly become tougher on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, even prior to the Rafah assault, U.S. policy has not changed. Nearly 30,000 Palestinians have been killed since Hamas launched an Oct. 7 attack that killed 1,200 Israelis, according to health officials in Gaza. Israel has cut off vital resources for Gaza, including food, water and fuel. Since Sunday, Bidens newly launched TikTok page has been flooded with comments about Gaza. I know politicians can miss the mark in their swing for reelection, but this is more than an inexcusable flub. On this weeks episode of I Know Thats Right, I break down why Biden needs to focus more on the ongoing humanitarian crisis. Listen here: If you want more interviews, pop culture rundowns and conversations too layered for a social media thread to tackle, subscribe to I Know Thats Right. With new episodes dropping each week, this show is sure to keep you entertained, informed and shouting I know thats right! every now and then. WASHINGTON President Joe Biden said Friday that Republicans should drop their impeachment inquiry against him after the Justice Department said an FBI informant made up a bribery allegation. He is lying and it should be dropped, Biden said at brief White House press conference, in response to a question from a reporter. Its been an outrageous effort from the beginning, he added of the impeachment effort. Since last year, Republicans have trumpeted unverified bribery accusations from an FBI informant who claimed to have heard them from a Ukrainian oligarch. But after the Justice Department announced it would be prosecuting the informant for allegedly fabricating the bribe rumors, Democrats called on Republicans to drop impeachment. Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), the top Democrat on the House oversight committee, said the indictment has demonstrated how key evidence at the heart of House Republicans impeachment inquiry is based on a lie. The informant, 43-year-old Alexander Smirnov, told his FBI handler in 2020 that the owner of Burisma, a Ukrainian gas company, said hed paid $5 million bribes to both Joe Biden and his son Hunter. The younger Biden served on Burismas board from 2014 to 2019, and Republicans have long claimed that when he was vice president, Biden forced out a Ukrainian prosecutor in order to benefit Burisma and his son. State Department officials have repeatedly debunked that allegation, but the bribe claim gave it new life last year. House oversight committee chair James Comer (R-Ky.) said Thursday the impeachment inquiry would continue, and he said the FBIs actions were very concerning since theyd previously vouched for the informant. On Friday, the House Judiciary Committee released the transcript of its interview last year with Scott Brady, a former U.S. attorney who oversaw the vetting of evidence related to the Bidens and Ukraine. Brady said the FBI received the allegation from Smirnov in June 2020 and found it credible enough to forward it to Delaware U.S. Attorney David Weiss, who was leading an investigation into Hunter Bidens failure to pay taxes on his overseas income. We felt that there were sufficient indicia of credibility... to pass it on to an office that had a predicated grand jury investigation, Brady said. As the indictment explains, however, further investigation revealed that the travel and meetings Smirnov described didnt match information obtained from other people mentioned in his account. He was arrested this week in Las Vegas. Republicans have looked through thousands of pages of Hunter Bidens bank records and not announced theyve found the Ukrainian bribe money. The White House has previously said Republicans should drop their impeachment inquiry, and its not the first time Biden has commented on the bribe allegation. Wheres the money? Biden said last June, before adding: Im joking. Its a bunch of malarkey. MORGANTOWN, W.Va. Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., announced Friday that he is not running for president after spending months mulling a bid that would have shaken up the 2024 campaign. "I will not be seeking a third-party run. I will not be involved in a presidential run," Manchin said during a speech. "I will be involved in making sure that we secure a president that has the knowledge and has the passion and has the ability to bring this country together." Manchin said that a third party could be viable down the road, but that a bid this year would have been very challenging. He added that he didn't want to be a "deal-breaker" or a "spoiler." "I just dont think its the right time," Manchin said. "Were on a real teetering situation here that could go either way. Democracy is at stake right now." Manchin, 76, had said last November that he would not seek re-election to his Senate seat this year, leading to speculation that he would run for the White House as an independent or as a third-party candidate. Democrats feared a Manchin candidacy would have pulled votes away from President Joe Biden and boost former President Donald Trump, the 2024 Republican frontrunner, in a general election. Manchin told reporters after his speech Friday that he spoke with Biden before he made his announcement, calling their conversation "very, very respectful." The centrist senator had been publicly refusing to rule out a White House bid as recently as Thursday, when floated Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, and former Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, as potential running mates. Manchin also appeared at events over the past few months hosted by No Labels, the political group trying to mount a bipartisan, third-party presidential campaign. He told reporters that he wished the group well, but that he didn't think joining their ticket was the "proper course" for him. In a statement following Manchin's announcement, former Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman, former North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory and civil rights leader Benjamin Chavis Jr., the national co-chairs of No Labels, said they were speaking with "several exceptional leaders" about a possible presidential ticket. Manchin said he planned to eventually endorse a candidate for president. He also didn't rule out leaving the Democratic Party, but said he wants to try to fix it first. "I would like to think you can save your family," Manchin said. "Or you can save your party that you were raised in." As a Democrat representing a red state, Manchin has long been vocally critical of both major parties and the political system as a whole, a note he struck once again during his speech to about 80 attendees on Friday. "I am convinced you cant fix it from Washington. Ive tried for 14 years and I saw break last week, Manchin said, referring the the failed bipartisan border bill. CORRECTION (Feb. 16, 2024, 7:34 p.m. ET): A previous version of this article misspelled the last name of a national co-chair of No Labels. He is Joe Lieberman, not Liberman. This article was originally published on NBCNews.com Presidential security agents carried a member of a minor progressive party out of his own commencement ceremony Friday after he created a scene by shouting at President Yoon Suk Yeol during his congratulatory speech, the second time such a commotion has happened in a month. Shin Min-ki, spokesperson for the Daejeon wing of the Justice Party, was dressed in a graduation robe at the commencement ceremony of the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology in Daejeon, 139 kilometers south of Seoul, and shouted words to the effect of demanding an increase in the government's research and development (R&D) budget, according to eyewitnesses. The government has slashed the R&D budget with the aim of reallocating it to areas where it is needed most. Video circulating online showed members of the Presidential Security Service covering Shin's mouth and carrying him out of the venue by his limbs. "The Presidential Security Service separated the person causing the disturbance in order to secure safety within the security zone and establish order at the event," the presidential office said in a notice to the press. "This was an inevitable measure taken in accordance with the law, regulations and security principles." The security detail later handed Shin over to local police. An official at the presidential office said Shin had snuck in a banner with a politically charged message and had ignored verbal warnings from security officers on the scene. Kim Jun-woo, head of the Justice Party, accused the presidential security guards of abusing their power and locking Shin inside a basement, even though Shin had not taken any physical action. In a Facebook posting, Kim demanded the immediate release of Shin and an apology from the Presidential Security Service. A similar incident occurred on Jan. 18, when presidential security agents carried Rep. Kang Sung-hee of the minor progressive Jinbo Party out of an official ceremony in Jeonju, 192 km south of Seoul. Kang said he simply asked Yoon during the ceremony to change the way the country was run, but the presidential office offered a different account, saying the lawmaker shouted and would not let go of Yoon's hand. (Yonhap) (Bloomberg) -- Indonesia is set to get its youngest-ever vice-president in Joko Widodos son, which may allow the outgoing leader to wield influence beyond the end of his final term. Most Read from Bloomberg The rise to power of Gibran Rakabuming Raka, 36, has been dizzying. Four years ago, he was a wedding caterer who also sold Indonesian-spiced pasta wrapped in leaves. In 2021, he ran largely unopposed to become the mayor of Solo, a city of about half a million people, about a seven-hour drive from the capital Jakarta. On Wednesday, he stood alongside Prabowo Subianto as the latter declared an election victory that will soon put the pair in charge of a country of 270 million people. Three months ago, I was a nobody, Gibran said in the packed stadium in Jakarta. But whats clear is that, thanks to all your prayers and support, Prabowo and I can stand here today. Gibrans rise was widely seen to be orchestrated by Jokowi, in part, to cement his legacy and ensure his policies are sustained after his decade-long term as president ends in October. The question is whether Prabowo will stay true to his pledge of continuing Jokowis policies that aim to transform the $1-trillion economy, Southeast Asias largest, into a high-income one by 2045 and whether Gibran, who has only three years of political experience under his belt, would have the maturity to navigate Indonesias complicated politics. Gibrans election campaign itself was marred by controversies that he responded to either dismissively or jokingly. Thats a departure from the soft-spoken Jokowi, who often described himself as legowo a Javanese word that means he would peacefully accept whatever comes his way. Last October, for example, the Constitutional Court ruled in favor of exempting those with regional political experience from the 40-and-above age requirement to run for the nations top two offices, paving the way for Gibrans candidacy. As critics derided the move that day, Gibran posted Awokwokwok essentially laughter in Indonesian alongside an emoji of a face with tears of joy, on X (formerly Twitter). A week later, he was named Prabowos running mate. The chief justice who presided over the ruling, Jokowis brother-in-law, was later dismissed for the ethical breach. Adding the son of a hugely popular president to the ticket gave Prabowo a big poll boost and was perhaps key to his resounding first round win. At the same time, it fueled more frustration over what is perceived as Jokowi building a political dynasty. Gibran was one of the first names considered as Prabowo wanted to have a young running mate, Eddy Soeparno, vice-chairman of Prabowos campaign team, said in a Thursday interview, defending the choice. So we downsized from five to three, three to one. And Gibran was the final name that came up, Soeparno said. It was Prabowos intention to push for Gibran and he managed to do so successfully. In his victory speech, Gibran was grateful. I thank Prabowo for giving room for young people to be part of the journey to a Golden Indonesia, said he said. After Prabowo announced Gibran as his running mate in October, Jokowi said his only role there was to give blessings to his sons aspiration. Yet in a closed-lunch meeting with activists that same month, the president acknowledged that he wanted to pair Gibran with Prabowo, whose popularity then was rising, to ensure he could continue to influence policymaking, according to a person familiar with the discussion, who asked not to be named speaking about private matters. A representative for Jokowi didnt immediately respond to requests for comment. Businessman and Mayor Gibran studied in Singapore and Australia before starting his catering business in the familys hometown Solo. He expanded into selling snacks before opening roadside stalls across the country to sell traditional cakes called martabak. His shaved ice business Goola which shuttered during the pandemic received a $5 million investment from Alpha JWC Ventures in 2019. His rice bowl enterprise Mangkokku got $2 million from the same funder in 2020 followed by $7 million in 2022, along with other investors. After he became mayor of Solo, Gibran worked with small businesses to expand their export markets by hosting expos and pushing them to sell online. He leveraged his business experience on the campaign trail, pledging to focus on unlocking Indonesias demographic potential by making it easier for young people to become entrepreneurs and learn new technological skills. While his father has focused on a minerals downstreaming policy pushing for more raw commodities to be refined onshore before being exported Gibran is calling for a youth downstreaming. Thats where students are encouraged to become data scientists, artificial intelligence engineers and blockchain designers to equip them for higher-paying jobs. Indonesia has extraordinary energy thats not often talked about, that is the energy of the youth, he said in a Jan. 28 speech. Even as Gibran sets out a vision for the young people, some Indonesians are growing concerned over Jokowis political dynasty. On Wednesday, after the worlds biggest single-day voting pointed to their victory, Gibran and Prabowo celebrated with their supporters. But it wasnt Gibrans name that was trending on X in Indonesia. Instead it was of Jan Ethes, his seven-year-old son and Jokowis grandson. One X post shows a woman holding up a banner that says: I dont want my grandchildren to be ruled by Jan Ethes. --With assistance from Claire Jiao, Grace Sihombing and Chandra Asmara. Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2024 Bloomberg L.P. BBC Radio 1 presenter Jordan North is leaving the stations drivetime slot after ten years and his replacement has been revealed. Radio 1 made the announcement on X/Twitter on Friday morning (16 February) in a post saying: Radio 1 will be saying goodbye to Jordan North. Jordan has been behind some of the most hilarious and entertaining moments on air over the years, and has been a constant source of inspiration for younger presenters. Thank you for everything. North, 34, has yet to comment on the news but the BBC have announced that Made in Chelsea star Jamie Laing would be taking over alongside Vick Hope on the Going Home show. He will take over from 4 March and has called the appointment an absolute dream after he previously covered for Mollie King on her maternity leave. Aled Haydn Jones, Head of Radio 1, said: Jordan has been an amazing presenter and a valued colleague at Radio 1, and Im so proud of his journey with us. He has always connected with the Radio 1 audience through his shows and projects, as witnessed by the huge amount of money raised for Comic Relief during his rowing trip from London to Burnley. Jordan North has been a BBC Radio 1 presenter for over ten years (BBC) During the 2022 challenge, the Burnley presenter raised more than 700,000 for charity as he rowed 100 miles along canals from London to his hometown. He has presented the drivetime show, which airs on Thursdays between 3:30pm and 6:00pm, with Hope since 2021 after he previously presented weekend shows. He has been a favourite with listeners known for segments such as Judge Jordan, Something Songs and Complete the Year. He also co-hosts the popular Help I Sexted My Boss podcast with William Hanson. In 2020, he took part in Im a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! and finished second after just losing out to Giovanna Fletcher. Fans reacted badly to the news with one saying: Well this is ridiculous. No more Radio 1 for me then. I hope hes moving onto something bigger and another adding My week days are going to feel so empty without him. Jordan is my hero and always will be. He makes me smile so much and knows how to cheer me up when Im down. Radio 1 wont be the same without him and Ill miss him so much! Praying its just a prank tho. Maybe for mega Monday. (Bloomberg) -- This is from the Green Daily newsletter. Sign up to receive it in your inbox. Most Read from Bloomberg Was it greenhushing or greenwashing? Thats the question the ESG world is asking after JPMorgan Asset Management and State Street Global Advisors quit the worlds largest investor group formed to fight climate change. One interpretation of their withdrawal from Climate Action 100+ on Thursday, the investor coalition that pressures major polluters such as Exxon Mobil Corp. and Shell Plc to decarbonize, is that ferocious Republican attacks on environmental, social and governance investing strategies in the US are prompting high-profile firms to try and downplay or disguise their sustainability efforts. And its certainly true that finance sector climate groups have been top targets for the ESG backlash. The other way of looking at it is that some large investors only sign up to initiatives like CA100+ when theres a clear marketing benefit to doing so. Just a few years ago being a signatory of a group like CA100+ was seen as a badge of honor that was keenly touted in press releases and company reports. Today, membership has become a liability and those that were never truly committed to the cause are first to the exits. Mark Campanale, founder and director of Carbon Tracker, an energy transition research firm, is ready to give the asset managers the benefit of the doubt. He said the anti-ESG lobby has put the fear of God into investors and thats only going to get more extreme if Donald Trump triumphs in the US presidential election later this year. In this scenario, sustainability is going underground. Institutions will continue to embed sustainability because its a real risk, but they will do it without showing off or parading themselves, Campanale said. Its easier to go underground instead of showcasing big initiatives that draw the wrong attention. What were seeing now is greenhushing. Others are less generous. Rebecca Self, a former senior green finance banker at HSBC Holdings Plc who now runs a sustainability consulting firm, said the departures lead her to question if there was ever a real commitment by these organizations to the overall goals of the alliances in the first place. Ben Cushing, director of the Sierra Clubs Fossil-Free Finance campaign, is even more scathing. Asset managers that cave to disingenuous political attacks from climate-deniers are signaling that they will abandon their fiduciary duty to mitigate climate risk for short-term expediencys sake, he said. State Street Global Advisors, which manages $4.1 trillion, said Thursday that a revamp of CA100+ in which signatories are expected to take a more hands-on approach by requesting that companies move from words to action was inconsistent with its stance on proxy voting and company engagement. JPMorgan Asset Management, which oversees $3.1 trillion, didnt mention CA100+s new strategy, saying it left the group because it has made significant investments to develop its own climate-risk engagement framework. BlackRock Inc. is also changing its relationship with CA100+, and its statement on Thursday, like the ones from the other firms, divided opinion. The worlds biggest money manager said it will shift its membership in CA100+ to BlackRock International, meaning the New York-based parent will no longer be affiliated with CA100+. The firm said the majority of its clients that want investment solutions to help them meet climate, energy transition and decarbonization commitments reside outside the US, while the new strategy from CA100+ would raise legal considerations, particularly in the US. For Adam Matthews, chief responsible investment officer for the Church of England Pensions Board, the move is a pragmatic work around that allows BlackRock to maintain its reputation among clients for whom climate is a big theme, while taking some of the heat away in the US, where the firm and Chief Executive Officer Larry Fink have been a focal point of the GOP campaign. BlackRock, while changing its affiliation, has recognized that a significant part of its client base wants the firm involved, Matthews said. The move is an acknowledgment of the ultimate destination the majority of assets will go over time, he said. Eli Kasargod-Staub, the executive director of Majority Action, a nonprofit in Washington focused on responsible investing, disagreed. He called BlackRocks move heinous risk mismanagement that shows it views climate action as optional window-dressing. Whoever is right on the reasons for firms leaving CA100+ or readjusting membership, this weeks departures raise bigger questions, especially about how much influence investors can really wield over polluting companies. Harald Walkate, former head of ESG investing at Natixis Investment Managers whos now a partner at sustainable investment adviser Route17, said the departures likely reflect a growing view among investors that engagement, the core strategy of CA100+, is a tool that rarely yields the desired results. The initiative appears to be based on the premise that investors can force companies to decarbonize and that this will get us to a net zero economy, Walkate said. But of course, addressing climate change will require a much more fundamental transformation of most industrial sectors, he said. The incentives of big finance may be misaligned with the worlds climate goals. What comes next may be regulation, according to Lucie Pinson, executive director at nonprofit Reclaim Finance. All this at least removes any ambiguity about the ability of financial players to support the transformation of the economy in a context of ecological urgency, Pinson said. Without regulation, catastrophic financial risks for the global economy and intolerable impacts for the millions of people on the front lines of climate change can be expected. Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2024 Bloomberg L.P. Jacksonville Sheriffs Office announced that it has made an arrest for the shooting that killed a 17-year-old boy Tuesday night. >>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<< On Tuesday, patrol officers responded to Post Street to calls of a reported shooting and located 17-year-old Blaise Conner suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. The Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department responded and pronounced Conner dead at the scene. JSO homicide detectives, along with members of the Crime Scene Unit, responded to the scene and conducted their respective investigations. Read: Teen dead after shooting in Murray Hill neighborhood JSO Homicide Team 4 was able to identify 18-year-old Josef D. Madison as the suspect. He was located and arrested for murder on Thursday. If you would like to help Conners family, they created a GoFundMe link. Action News Jax will continue to follow the story and will update you as events unfold. [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. Rapper Kodak Black will no longer need to report to the Broward jail whenever hes released from federal custody in Miami, a judge ruled days after dismissing the rappers drug charge. Broward Circuit Court Judge Barbara Duffy on Friday reinstated Kodaks bond, setting his bail in a December case at $5,000. Duffy ordered that Kodak refrain from driving and surrender his drivers license to attorney Brad Cohen. In December, police say they found Kodak asleep at the wheel in a Bentley with drugs on him. The rapper was charged with oxycodone possession, evidence tampering and improperly stopping, standing or parking. Last week, Duffy dismissed the drug possession charge, writing that prosecutors could not refute or negate the fact that Kodaks prescription for oxycodone was filled by a pharmacy. At the hearing Friday, Cohen said Kodak, whose legal name is Bill Kapri, should have the opportunity for release because he has a child due next week. Court records show that Maranda Johnson, the babys mother, wrote the judge a letter stating that the couple is expecting a beautiful bundle of joy and ... would be elated to have [Kodak] home to bring a new life into this world and begin to nest. Prosecutor Jonathan Goodman, however, opposed Duffy reinstating Kodaks bond. Goodman pointed out that the rapper had picked up the charges while out on bond awaiting trial in a 2022 Broward case. Mounting legal woes? The South Florida rapper has been held in the Miami federal detention center since December. The probation violation stems from a 2019 case in which he pleaded guilty to lying on a background check form when he purchased handguns at a Hialeah weapons store, federal court records show. READ MORE: Kodak Black remains jailed in Miami. Is the South Florida rapper getting out anytime soon? He was sentenced to 46 months in prison, though it was commuted by former President Donald Trump in January 2021, shortly before he left office. The rapper, however, was placed on probation for three years, with the period ending in January. U.S. District Judge Jose Martinez has abstained from releasing the rapper, instead granting Cohen more time to resolve the pending cases in Broward. At the time of his arrest in Plantation, Kodak Black was out on bond in connection to Broward drug possession and trafficking charges. In 2022, Kodak was pulled over in his purple Dodge Durango by the Florida Highway Patrol. State troopers say they found 31 oxycodone tablets inside the car. In January, Duffy had ordered the rapper placed behind bars whenever hes released from federal custody. The judge, at the time, had agreed that there was probable cause to hold Kodak Black in jail pending trial but said she made the ruling on her own volition and not because of the prosecutors request. READ MORE: Kodak Black is behind bars in Miami. If hes released, a Broward judge wants him in jail While Kodak Black is still charged with tampering with evidence, Cohen indicated that he seeks to have the charge thrown out. He argued that the case is on shaky ground and shouldnt survive. He shouldve never been charged with it, Cohen said. You cant tamper with something you legally possess. NEW YORK Donald Trump faces a criminal trial in the Stormy Daniels hush money case on March 25, a judge ruled Thursday as he denied Trumps motion to dismiss entirely the case brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. Trump appeared before Supreme Court Judge Juan Merchan in his lower Manhattan courtroom at 9:30 a.m. for the first time since making history in the same courthouse last April as the first U.S. president to appear before a judge charged with a crime. Moments after he took the bench, Merchan denied Trumps motion to dismiss the case. The judge also firmly rejected efforts by his attorney, Todd Blanche, to reschedule the March 25 trial to a later date, with Blanche describing it as unfathomable that it would take place mid-primary season and alleging election interference. The defense lawyer has also complained about millions of pages of discovery to go through in various legal matters hes handling for Trump. You knew about this case. You willingly chose to accept those cases, the judge told Blanche. You proceeded at your own peril, the judge said. Merchan subjected to online abuse by Trump and a torrent of death threats from his supporters grew irritated soon into the hearing, telling Blanche to stop interrupting me. He estimated the trial would last six weeks. Trump has pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records that allege that in 2017 he concealed a series of checks to his former lawyer, Michael Cohen, to disguise that they were payback for an illegal scheme to bury negative press ahead of the 2016 election and secure his victory. Along with having Cohen buy Daniels silence over an alleged tryst in 2006, Bragg alleges Trump worked to silence Playboy model Karen McDougal, who claims she had an affair with him in 2006 and 2007, and a Trump Tower doorman, who allegedly knew rumors about him fathering a child out of wedlock. If convicted, Trump could face four years in prison. Should he win the election, he wouldnt be able to pardon himself as it is a state case, not a federal one. DA Bragg attended Thursdays hearing and said he was pleased the trial date was locked in. Trump complained to reporters about being stuck at the hearing he was not obligated to attend and said hed figure out how to manage his clashing campaign schedule and court calendar. Ill be here during the day, and Ill be campaigning during the night, he said. The GOP front-runners Manhattan case is ramping up as he battles numerous others. Hes facing 57 more felony counts in other courtrooms that carry significant prison time if hes convicted. Trump has pleaded not guilty to those charges, which stemmed from his alleged efforts to overturn President Bidens win in 2020 and his handling of classified documents. The stakes are just as high in Trumps civil cases. Three weeks ago, he was ordered to pay $83.3 million to writer E. Jean Carroll, which could pale compared to a judgment expected to come down Friday in his civil fraud case. Judge Arthur Engoron is slated to rule on six claims against Trump and his former company executives, a source familiar with the timing told The New York Daily News. The New York attorney general is seeking at least $370 million. Before Thursdays proceedings wrapped, Blanche whispered with Trump and told the court that he is going to now spend the next two months working on this trial instead of out on the campaign trail, which is something that should not happen in this country. Merchan asked if Blanche had a legal argument to make. That is my legal argument, Blanche said. Thats not a legal argument, the judge said. Before the hearing, Trump put on a bit of swagger as he entered the courtroom by elaborately giving a finger gun gesture to journalist Jeffrey Toobin, who was seated in the gallery. After the hearing, Trump winked at Toobin as he walked out. _____ By Ko Dong-hwan Musinsa, the country's online and offline platform for small and medium-sized fashion brands, has launched a season preview event to collect consumers' votes for their favorite items and decide which clothes to unveil in the coming fall and winter season, according to the company, Thursday. The company on the same day kicked off a seven-day preview event in central Seoul with its 34 brands that are selling through the platform. Some 280 items of clothes and bags made by the country's local designers were displayed, each with a tag showing a QR code. During the period, the company invites visitors to check out the items and vote for their favorites by visiting the company's smartphone app linked to the QR codes. The visitors are not limited by how many items they can vote for. Once the votes are tallied and the most-anticipated items are shortlisted, the brands then start mass-producing them for the upcoming season. "We encourage our local designers to be as creative as they want to be and not to fear challenges and experiments," a company official said. "And holding a season preview allows them some time to prepare for their creative works in advance. We also finance part of their works by covering costs incurred up to the time they come up with samples." This year's Fall/Winter season presented by Musinsa is represented by six key phrases: hyper statements, lowkey classics, retro lux, leather remix, re:sartorial and glam & thin silhouette. During the preview at Hyundai Card's Vinyl & Plastic, each keyword showcased dozens of collection made by different brands. The preview event comes as the company previously hosted its first-ever season preview event last September for this year's spring and summer season and garnered a significant amount of attention from consumers. The 70 items that drew the most votes from 28,000participants will be unveiled by the company this spring and summer. "Season previews help us support our brands so that they can plan ahead by selecting key items and predicting the volume of demand," the official said. Of the 22 people who suffered gunshot injuries during a shooting at the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl victory parade on Wednesday, more than half of the victims are under the age of 16, police said. The victims ranged in age from eight to 47 years old. As thousands of Chiefs fans were gathered at Union Station to celebrate the teams recent Super Bowl win, an undetermined number of shooters opened fire on the crowd, killing one person and injuring dozens of others. The deceased has been identified as local DJ and mother-of-two, Elizabeth Lopez-Galvan. So far, police have detained three individuals, two of whom are juveniles, but have not released any further details about the subjects or weapons used. On Thursday police confirmed that one of the three had been released. Kansas City Police Chief, Stacey Graves, said that the shooting appeared to have stemmed from a dispute between people and was not terrorism-related. President Joe Biden condemned the shooting, calling on stricter gun control measures that Republicans have rejected. Key Points Shooting appeared to be from dispute between people One person killed in shooting, identified as DJ by radio station Half of victims are under 16 years old One of three suspects detained after Kansas City shooting released Shooting was not related to terrorism 11:00 , Ariana Baio The tragic shooting in Kansas City, Missouri on Wednesday was not related to terrorism or home-grown violent extremism, the Kansas City Police Department said on Thursday. Chief Stacey Graves said that preliminary investigation found no nexus related to the two but rather the shooting was tied to a dispute. This appeared to be a dispute between several people that ended in gunfire, Ms Graves said on Thursday. Two in custody 10:28 , Chris Stevenson Kansas City police are working with juvenile prosecutors to review evidence and "determine applicable charges" against the two minors, both teenagers, still held in custody, Chief Stacey Graves has said. The police chief told reporters several firearms had been recovered from the shooting scene. Security guard describes chaos during shooting at Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl parade 10:00 , Chris Stevenson A security guard who was working at Union Station has described the chaos that ensued when gunfire set off panic in the crowd at the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl parade. Stephanie Sommerkamp, 59, was acting as a non-armed observer for the celebration when the shooting began outside Union Station in Kansas City, Missouri, in the early afternoon of 14 February. All of a sudden, people were screaming theyre shooting, theyre shooting! and running into Union Station. That was chaos, Ms Sommerkamp, who is a registered nurse, told The Independent. There was a lot of people out there, and they just started flooding in... so I dove behind the stone wall where I was stationed. We had no idea what was going on, if shooters were coming in. A woman that had run inside got basically thrown to the ground had a laceration above her left eye, Ms Sommerkamp continued. I treated her, took care of the bleeding, and eventually, when they were ushering people out of the building, helped her to the door. After sheltering in place for a time, event staff gathered in the entrance to an outdoor plaza northwest of the station building, where a replica dinosaur skeleton stands in the middle of the traffic circle. But while waiting for instructions, they heard gunshots and had to hit the ground, Ms Sommerkamp said. She and the other staff members ended up sheltering in the station until nearly 5pm along with an older woman who had arrived on a train from one of Kansas Citys suburbs and could not leave. I went for him: Hero Kansas City Chiefs fan says he tackled suspected gunman on instinct 09:34 , Chris Stevenson Trey Filter was standing among a sea of around one million people who lined the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl parade route on Wednesday when he heard the shots ring out. The lifelong Chiefs fan initially thought it was firecrackers going off, before a sense of panic swept through the crowd. There was a huge commotion. It felt like there was a rat loose or something, he told The Independent in a phone interview on Thursday morning. Mr Filter, who was attending Wednesdays victory parade with his wife Casey and their sons Gage, 15, and Levi, 12, said dozens of crowdgoers began rushing past them. He heard the crowd yelling get him, get him, and turned around to see a flash as a person ran past. Bevan Hurley reports: Hero Kansas City Chiefs fan said he acted on instinct as he tackled suspected gunman Watch: Witness describes moment he tackled man with gun at Kansas City Chiefs rally 09:00 , Ariana Baio Hero Kansas City Chiefs fan says he tackled suspected gunman on instinct 07:00 , Bevan Hurley Trey Filter was standing among a sea of around one million people who lined the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl parade route on Wednesday when he heard the shots ring out. The lifelong Chiefs fan initially thought it was firecrackers going off, before a sense of panic swept through the crowd. There was a huge commotion. It felt like there was a rat loose or something, he told The Independent in a phone interview on Thursday morning. Mr Filter, who was attending Wednesdays victory parade with his wife Casey and their sons Gage, 15, and Levi, 12, said dozens of crowdgoers began rushing past them. He heard the crowd yelling get him, get him, and turned around to see a flash as a person ran past. My brain was just doing the math and I went for him. Dramatic footage posted to social media captured the moment Mr Filter and a second man Paul Contreras tackled the suspect. The suspects handgun fell out as he went to the ground, and Mr Filter said his quick-thinking wife Casey picked it up and took it out of reach. Kansas City shooting survivor reveals moment woman apparently begged shooter dont do it 05:00 , Ariana Baio A survivor of the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl parade shooting recounted the moments before gunfire in an interview with CBS Mornings. Jacob Gooch said he heard a woman say, presumably to the shooter, dont do it. I personally did not see the shooter, Mr Gooch said. I heard the altercation of a girl or some girls like dont do it, not here this is stupid or something like that. And then the gunshots, which at the time I thought were fireworks. Katie Hawkinson reports: Kansas City shooting survivor reveals moment woman begged shooter dont do it Trump boasts about protecting Second Amendment hours after Kansas City parade shooting 03:00 , Joe Sommerlad Donald Trump boasted that he did nothing to alter the Second Amendment during his time as president just hours after a mass shooting at the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl parade left one person dead and dozens more injured. Not long after the shooting, Mr Trump appeared at his latest campaign rally in North Charleston, South Carolina, on Wednesday evening where he was campaigning ahead of the Palmetto States upcoming primary on 24 February. Nobody took care of our Second Amendment, during that four-year period nothing happened with our Second Amendment, Mr Trump told his supporters. He added: We will protect innocent life and we will restore free speech. Some of the deadliest mass shootings in American history took place during Mr Trumps tenure in the White House from 2017 to 2021. Watch: Kansas City Police reveal at least half of the shooting victims are under the age of 16 01:00 , Ariana Baio One of three suspects detained after Kansas City shooting released 00:21 , Mike Bedigan One of three people detained by police after the shooting at the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl victory parade has been released, The Independent has confirmed. A statement from Kansas City Police read: There are two juvenile teens currently in custody for further investigation. A third person who was in custody was determined to not be involved. The two juveniles are currently being held in custody while we work with juvenile prosecutors to review investigative findings and determine applicable charges. The juvenile court system determines the custody status of all juvenile arrests. To clarify, we never indicated the third person was an adult. They are also a juvenile. White House says Super Bowl parade shooting cuts deep into soul of America Thursday 15 February 2024 23:00 , Oliver Browning The White House has said the shooting at the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl parade cuts deep into the soul of America. We pray for the families who lost loved ones and wish a speedy recovery to those who suffered injuries, press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said. More than half of the 22 victims who suffered gunshot injuries are under the age of 16, police said. The incident, which killed one person, unfolded close to Union Station in Kansas City on Wednesday 14 February. So far, police have detained three individuals, two of whom are juveniles. (Reuters) Kansas City Chiefs parade shooting stemmed from dispute between people, not terrorism Thursday 15 February 2024 22:00 , Ariana Baio Wednesdays shooting at the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl parade stemmed from a dispute between people, Kansas City Police Chief Stacey Graves told reporters on Thursday morning. I want to stress that preliminary investigative findings have shown there was no nexus to terrorism or homegrown violent extremism, Ms Graves said. This appeared to be a dispute between several people that ended in gunfire. The updated victim total is now 23 people, including one fatality: 43-year-old Lisa Lopez-Galvan, a mother of two and a local radio DJ. Katie Hawkinson reports: Kansas City Chiefs parade shooting began as dispute between people, not terrorism Radio DJ mother-of-two identified as victim of Super Bowl parade shooting Thursday 15 February 2024 21:00 , Ariana Baio Kansas City Police Chief Stacey Graves said at a press conference on Thursday that half of the victims shot in the attack are children while one victim a 43-year-old mother-of-two died. Elizabeth Lisa Lopez-Galvan adult son and cousins, believed to be minors, also may have been wounded in the shooting, The Kansas City Star reported. Beto Lopez, the victims brother, told ABC News that his sister loved her family and had a life-of-the-party personality. She was dearly loved in this community and gave a lot back, Mr Lopez said. Lopez-Galvan worked as a local DJ, with her radio station KKFI also confirming her death in a statement on Wednesday evening. It is with sincere sadness and an extremely heavy and broken heart that we let our community know that KKFI DJ Lisa Lopez-Galvan, host of Taste of Tejano lost her life today in the shooting at the KC Chiefs rally, the station said. Katie Hawkinson reports: Who are the victims of the Kansas City shooting? Kansas City shooting survivor reveals moment woman apparently begged shooter dont do it Thursday 15 February 2024 20:30 , Katie Hawkinson A survivor of the Kansas City ChiefsSuper Bowl parade shooting recounted the moments before gunfire in an interview with CBS Mornings. Jacob Gooch said he heard a woman say, presumably to the shooter, dont do it. I personally did not see the shooter, Mr Gooch said. I heard the altercation of a girl or some girls like dont do it, not here this is stupid or something like that. And then the gunshots, which at the time I thought were fireworks. Mr Gooch was shot in the ankle, his wife was shot in the calf, and his son was shot in the foot, he said. The survivor also told CBS Mornings that he saw a group of suspicious people before gunshots rang out, though he was not sure if they were actually connected to the attack. I mean, I got suspicious of a certain group of people that were there, Mr Gooch said. We were standing on the left side of the stage when the shooting ended up happening. And right before it ended up happening, there was this group dressed in all black. About four, five, six kids with black on, black masks. They disappeared into the crowd and then the show ended and as soon as we started walking around, it happened, he continued. I went for him: Hero Kansas City Chiefs fan says he tackled suspected gunman on instinct Thursday 15 February 2024 20:00 , Ariana Baio Trey Filter was standing among a sea of around one million people who lined the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl parade route on Wednesday when he heard the shots ring out. The lifelong Chiefs fan initially thought it was firecrackers going off, before a sense of panic swept through the crowd. There was a huge commotion. It felt like there was a rat loose or something, he told The Independent in a phone interview on Thursday morning. Mr Filter, who was attending Wednesdays victory parade with his wife Casey and their sons Gage, 15, and Levi, 12, said dozens of crowdgoers began rushing past them. He heard the crowd yelling get him, get him, and turned around to see a flash as a person ran past. Bevan Hurley reports: Hero Kansas City Chiefs fan said he acted on instinct as he tackled suspected gunman When I heard the gunshots, I hid: 10-year-old who was shot describes Kansas City Chiefs parade shooting Thursday 15 February 2024 19:30 , Ariana Baio Ten-year-old Samuel Arellano kept telling his family hed been hit after shots rang out Wednesday near Kansas Citys Union Station. Hed come to the parade with his grandfather, aunt and uncle, all of them massive Kansas City Chiefs fans, and theyd been reveling in the day and their Chiefs jerseys. Samuel was particularly thrilled to see the players in person, addressing the crowd from microphones at the Union Station rally; Patrick Mahomes is his favourite. Soon, though, the elation of the day was marred by gunshots and Samuel felt a biting pain under his arm as training from the active shooter drills at school kicked in. When I heard the gunshots, I hid, he told The Independent Thursday morning. I fell to the ground and then hid behind a trashcan. Sheila Flynn reports: 10-year-old who was shot describes Kansas City Chiefs parade tragedy Trump boasts about protecting Second Amendment hours after Kansas City parade shooting Thursday 15 February 2024 19:00 , Ariana Baio Donald Trump boasted that he did nothing to alter the Second Amendment during his time as president just hours after a mass shooting at the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl parade left one person dead and dozens more injured. Joe Sommerlad reports: Trump boasts about protecting Second Amendment hours after Kansas City shooting Kansas City PD chief praises effort of law enforcement and civilians Thursday 15 February 2024 18:30 , Ariana Baio Kansas City Police Department Chief Stacey Graves praised the effort by law enforcement officials and civilians at the onset of the shooting at the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl shooting on Wednesday. The law enforcement response was exemplary, Ms Graves said on Thursday during a press conference. Those in attendance also responded, Ms Graves said. They helped one another and even physically stopped a person who was believed to be involved in the incident. Attendees rushed to tackle an individual they believed to be involved in the shooting as soon as it began occurring. It is unclear if that person was detained by police or if they were involved in the incident. Security guard describes chaos during shooting at Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl parade Thursday 15 February 2024 18:00 , Ariana Baio A security guard who was working at Union Station has described the chaos that ensued when gunfire set off panic in the crowd at the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl parade. Stephanie Sommerkamp, 59, was acting as a non-armed observer for the celebration when the shooting began outside Union Station in Kansas City, Missouri, in the early afternoon of 14 February. All of a sudden, people were screaming theyre shooting, theyre shooting! and running into Union Station. That was chaos, Ms Sommerkamp, who is a registered nurse, told The Independent. There was a lot of people out there, and they just started flooding in... so I dove behind the stone wall where I was stationed. We had no idea what was going on, if shooters were coming in. Io Dodds reports: Guard describes chaos during shooting at Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl parade Biden urges Congress to enact gun control measures Thursday 15 February 2024 17:30 , Ariana Baio President Joe Biden said that the shooting in Kansas City should motivate Congress to finally act to enact stricter gun control measures to prevent shootings from occurring in the future. On X, the president wrote: Yesterdays events in Kansas City should move us into action. How many more families need to be torn apart? Its time for Congress to finally act to ban assault weapons, limit high-capacity magazines, strengthen background checks, and keep guns out of the hands of those who have no business owning them. Kansas City Police Department said that the shooting may have arisen out of a dispute between people but did not clarify what weapons were used or how the shooters were able to access the firearms. An investigation is still underway Yesterdays events in Kansas City should move us into action. How many more families need to be torn apart? Its time for Congress to finally act to ban assault weapons, limit high-capacity magazines, strengthen background checks, and keep guns out of the hands of those who Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) February 15, 2024 Shooting appeared to be from dispute between people Thursday 15 February 2024 16:50 , Ariana Baio Kansas City Police Department Chief, Stacey Graves, said that the shooting on Wednesday appeared to have arisen from a dispute between several people. This appeared to be a dispute between several people that ended in gunfire, Ms Graves said on Thursday. Three individuals are currently detained by the police department, two of which are juveniles. Law enforcement individuals have 24 hours until they must deliver charges or release the individuals. Ms Graves said they had all intentions of presenting charges. Half of victims are under 16 years old Thursday 15 February 2024 16:41 , Ariana Baio In a press conference on Thursday morning, Kansas City Police Department Chief, Stacey Graves, said that more than half of the 22 gunshot wound victims are under the age of 16 years old. The victims range in age from eight years old to 47 years old. Five gunshot victims discharged Thursday 15 February 2024 16:40 , Ariana Baio Five people who were being treated at the University Health hospital for gunshot injuries were discharged, according to NBC News. Eight people who suffered wounds during the shooting in Kansas City yesterday were brought to the hospital for treatment. Two of those remain in critical condition and one is in stable condition, the medical centre told NBC News. Police will hold press conference at 11:30 EST Thursday 15 February 2024 16:06 , Ariana Baio The Kansas City Police Department said they would hold a press conference to update the public on the shooting investigation at 10:30 CT / 11:30 ET. The press conference will take place outside of the Kansas City Police Department headquarters and will be live-streamed on their X page. We will hold another media availability at 10:30 a.m. outside of KCPD headquarters. This will be live-streamed on our twitter page. kcpolice (@kcpolice) February 15, 2024 Kansas City Chiefs fan describes horrific moment he heard gunshots Thursday 15 February 2024 15:45 , Ariana Baio Gabe Wallace, a sophomore at Shawnee Mission East, shared the chaotic and horrifying moments he heard gunshots inside Union Station with a reporter. Im pretty sure I heard shots in Union Station, Mr Wallace said, describing at least two gunshots before running away from the shooting. Mr Wallace, who was attending the parade with friends, said that officers instructed him to run out of Union Station as soon as gunshots were fired. The sophomore said he ran and tripped on the sidewalk, scrapping his face while escaping the scene. I had no idea if my friends were ok, Mr Wallace said. Its terrible. Gabe Wallace, a sophomore at Shawnee Mission East, heard the gunshots and hopped a barricade, scraping head on the concrete. He lost track of his friends. On what he was thinking? My friends are dead. Said Andy Reid hugged him. He trying to comfort me. pic.twitter.com/arcWCm7ytu Sam McDowell (@SamMcDowell11) February 14, 2024 FBI ask public for tips on shooting Thursday 15 February 2024 15:00 , Ariana Baio Amid an investigation into the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl parade shooting, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Kansas City Police Department (KCPD) have asked those with any information related to the shooting to submit tips. Those with information can submit tips here. Kamala Harris condemns senseless gun violence' Thursday 15 February 2024 14:30 , Ariana Baio Vice President Kamala Harris spoke briefly about the mass shooting in Kansas City, Missouri on Wednesday night, calling it another act of senseless gun violence. Today was supposed to be a day of celebration and joy in Kansas City. Instead, it is another day where America has experienced senseless gun violence. It doesnt have to be this way, Ms Harris said. Today was supposed to be a day of celebration and joy in Kansas City. Instead, it is another day where America has experienced senseless gun violence. It doesnt have to be this way. pic.twitter.com/WoazEoF3Ct Vice President Kamala Harris (@VP) February 15, 2024 ICYMI: Shooting at Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl victory parade leaves one dead and multiple injured Thursday 15 February 2024 14:00 , Mike Bedigan Officials said that 22 people had suffered from gunshot injuries including several children during the incident, that occurred around 2pm on Wednesday. Catch up with the full story here: Shooting at Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl victory parade leaves one dead Watch: Kansas Fire Chief confirms 22 gunshot victims in Super Bowl parade shooting Thursday 15 February 2024 13:00 , Mike Bedigan Kansas City shooting: What are the gun laws in the state of Missouri Thursday 15 February 2024 12:27 , Tom Watling At least one person was killed and multiple other victims were wounded after a shooting at a Super Bowl victory parade in Kansas City, Missouri. Three suspects have now reportedly been detained in connection with the shooting on Wednesday. Im angry at what happened today. People who came to this celebration should expect a safe environment, Kansas City Police Chief Stacey Graves said at a press conference. According to 2021 data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Missouri has the ninth-highest rate of gun deaths in the US. Its also one of the states with the highest rates of gun ownership. About 48.8 per cent of adults in Missouri own firearms, according to a 2020 study by the RAND Corporation . What are the gun laws in the state of Missouri Kansas City Chiefs offer statement following fatal shooting: senseless act of violence' Thursday 15 February 2024 12:00 , Mike Bedigan The Kansas City Chiefs issued a statement acknowledging the shooting that occured on Wednesday during the teams Super Bowl victory parade. The team called the incident a senseless act of violence and offered its condolences to victims of the mass shooting. Statement from the Kansas City Chiefs pic.twitter.com/erKsrF3SX8 Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) February 14, 2024 How a lethal mass shooting derailed a day of Super Bowl victory celebrations in Kansas City Thursday 15 February 2024 11:46 , Tom Watling A day of jubilant celebration was plunged into chaos after shots were fired at a victory parade for the Kansas City Chiefs in Missouri, following their Super Bowl win on Sunday. Hundreds of police officers swarmed the scene at Union Station as panicked fans ran, with some later carried out on stretchers. Police said that 22 people had sustained gunshot injuries, and confirmed that one person had died at the scene. Heres what we know so far about the incident. How a lethal mass shooting derailed a day of Super Bowl celebrations in Kansas City Watch: Kansas Fire Chief confirms 22 gunshot victims in Super Bowl parade shooting Thursday 15 February 2024 11:00 , Mike Bedigan Below are some of the latest photos from Kansas Thursday 15 February 2024 10:30 , Tom Watling Here are some of the latest photos from Kansas. Police respond to injuries after shots were fired after the celebration of the Kansas City Chiefs winning Super Bowl LVIII (via REUTERS) An injured fan receives assistance after gun shots were fired after the celebration of the Kansas City Chiefs winning Super Bowl LVIII (via REUTERS) Fans flee the area after shots were fired after the celebration of the Kansas City Chiefs winning Super Bowl LVIII (USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Con) Kansas City Police Chief weighs in on shooting: Im angry' Thursday 15 February 2024 10:00 , Mike Bedigan Kansas City Police Chief Stacey Graves offered the following comments during a press briefing Wednesday just hours after a shooting at the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl victory parade left one person dead and 14 others injured. Im angry at what happened today. People who came to this celebration should expect a safe environment. We had over 800 law enforcement officers from Kansas City and other agencies at the location to keep everyone safe because of bad actors, which were very few. This tragedy occurred even in the presence of uniformed law enforcement officers who again ran towards them and took them into custody. To the people who were injured in this tragedy. Our hearts go out to you and your families. This investigation is just beginning And we are working safely to clear all surrounding areas and businesses. This is still an active investigation. We will continue to keep you updated. Footage shows Chiefs fans tackling a potential suspect Thursday 15 February 2024 09:36 , Tom Watling A video on social media has appeared to show the moment a handful of Kansas City Chiefs fans tackled someone to the ground as a crowd ran away in terror. Kansas City Police Chief Stacey Graves told a news conference that police were investigating whether the person tackled in the video is a suspect. In the footage, a single person can be seen running from the right, before two men bring them to the ground, while another signals for help. Two police officers arrive seconds later. I do want to comment on the question that I got earlier about a video of some fans tackling someone, said Police chief Graves. We do have three persons detained and under investigation for todays incident. We are working to determine if one of the three are the one that was in that video were fans assisted police. The Independent has chosen not to share this video while investigations are ongoing. Parents of Parkland shooting victims learn of Kansas City parade attack on live TV Thursday 15 February 2024 09:00 , Mike Bedigan Parents of Parkland shooting victims learn of Kansas City parade attack on live TV It seems like nothing is safe Thursday 15 February 2024 07:25 , Namita Singh Yesterdays shooting outside Union Station happened despite the presence of more than 800 police officers who were in the building and nearby, including on top of nearby structures, said mayor Quinton Lucas, who attended with his wife and mother and ran for safety when the shots rang out. Parades, rallies, schools, movies. It seems like almost nothing is safe, Mr Lucas said. General view after shots were fired after the celebration of the Kansas City Chiefs winning Super Bowl LVIII (USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Con) Police seek clues to Kansas City mass shooting, with 3 people in custody Thursday 15 February 2024 07:18 , Namita Singh Three people were in custody in Kansas City, Missouri facing questions about what led to a deadly mass shooting near the citys Super Bowl victory rally and who was behind it. Investigators were still unsure whether the Super Bowl victory celebration was targeted for attack, or whether the violence was incidental to the event and spilled over into it, said Police Chief Chief Stacey Graves. Authorities appealed to anyone who had information about the shooting or video that might help shed light on what transpired to share it with police. Missouri Senators weigh in on shooting Thursday 15 February 2024 07:00 , Mike Bedigan Missouri Senators Josh Hawley and Eric Schmitt offered comments in response to the mass shooting in Kansas City on Wednesday. Thank you to @kcpolice for their quick and courageous action this afternoon at the Chiefs parade. The criminals who did this must be brought swiftly to justice Josh Hawley (@HawleyMO) February 14, 2024 A day that was supposed to be triumphant has turned into tragedy. My prayers go out to the victims, and a huge thank you to the brave police officers and first responders working to apprehend those responsible and bring them to justice. Senator Eric Schmitt (@SenEricSchmitt) February 14, 2024 KC mayor was present during shooting, calls shooting absolutely a tragedy Thursday 15 February 2024 06:00 , Mike Bedigan Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas said he was present when gunfire erupted at the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl victory parade on Wednesday. When the shooting started, I like many others, ran and ran for safety, he said, noting that he saw police officers running toward the gunfire as he fled. He then said an investigation was ongoing, and that the shooting was absolutely a tragedy. This is absolutely a tragedy the likes of which we would have never expected in Kansas City and the likes of which we will remember for some time. However, I want to say thank you to those who are making sure that we are safe today. Those were investigating this incident and those who will continue to make sure that those who committed these acts today are brought to justice, he said. Crowds scatter after shooting at Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl parade Thursday 15 February 2024 05:30 , Mike Bedigan Crowds scatter after shooting at Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl parade Kansas shooting cuts deep in the American soul, says Biden Thursday 15 February 2024 04:58 , Namita Singh President Joe Biden said the shooting cuts deep in the American soul and called on people to press Congress to ban assault weapons, to limit high-capacity gun magazines and for other gun measures that have been rejected by Republicans. Todays events should move us, shock us, shame us into acting. What are we waiting for? he said. NFL condoles victims of senseless shooting Thursday 15 February 2024 04:45 , Namita Singh NFL issued a statement condoling victims of senseless shooting. We are deeply saddened by the senseless shooting that occurred today near the end of the rally in Kansas City for the Chiefs. Our thoughts are with the victims and everyone affected, they said. We are grateful for the quick and thorough response of law enforcement and emergency personnel. Earlier, the city had been in party mode as Super Bowl MVP Mahomes and team-mate Travis Kelce took centre stage on a platform near Union Station. Mahomes had told a cheering crowd the Chiefs were going for a three-peat next season while Kelce led the supporters in some chanting What qualifies as a mass shooting? Thursday 15 February 2024 04:30 , Mike Bedigan In Uvalde, Texas, 19 children and two teachers were murdered in a mass shooting. In Lewiston, Maine, 17 people were killed and 13 others were wounded. In Parkland, Florida, 17 people were murdered and 17 other were injured in yet another shooting. Despite mass shootings being ever-present in Americas daily life, there is no singular definition for what constitutes a mass shooting. The FBI has no set definition for a mass shooting. It does, however, include a definition of mass murder: four or more killed during the same incident at roughly the same time. So this definition could be expanded to include gun violence. READ MORE: What qualifies as a mass shooting? We did what we could, and were alive Thursday 15 February 2024 04:18 , Namita Singh A security guard who was working at Union Station has described the chaos that ensued when gunfire set off panic in the crowd. Stephanie Sommerkamp, 59, was acting as a non-armed observer for the Chiefs event when the shooting began outside the station in the early afternoon. All of a sudden, people were screaming theyre shooting, theyre shooting! and running into Union Station. That was chaos, Ms Sommerkamp, who is a registered nurse, told The Independents Io Dodds. There was a lot of people out there, and they just started flooding in... so I dove behind the stone wall where I was stationed. We had no idea what was going on, if shooters were coming in. Police respond after shots were fired after the celebration of the Kansas City Chiefs winning Super Bowl LVII (David Rainey/USA Today Sports via Reuters) A woman that had run inside got basically thrown to the ground had a laceration above her left eye. I treated her, took care of the bleeding, and eventually, when they were ushering people out of the building, helped her to the door. After sheltering in place for a time, event staff gathered in the entrance to an outdoor plaza northwest of the station building, where a T-Rex skeleton (or possibly a replica) is on display. But while waiting for instructions, they heard gunshots and had to hit the ground, Ms Sommerkamp said. She and the other staff members ended up sheltering in the station until nearly 5pm along with an older woman who had arrived on a train from one of Kansas Citys suburbs and could not leave. During that time, Ms Sommerkamp said, she prayed for everyone to get through the incident safely. She and the other staff were mostly calm, with many having come from military or law enforcement backgrounds. We did what we could, and were alive. Im grateful, she told The Independent. Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong on Friday visited Samsung Biologics, a biotech drug unit of Samsung Group, marking his first local schedule since he was acquitted in connection with the controversial 2015 merger of two affiliates. Earlier this month, a court delivered the not-guilty sentence for Lee, three years and five months after he was indicted on charges of involvement in market irregularities in the merger of Cheil Industries Inc. and Samsung C&T. Lee made a visit to Biologics in Incheon, west of Seoul, where its fifth production facility is being built, and held a meeting with its executives, encouraging them to set a higher business goal, the company said in a statement. Last year, Biologics posted sales of 3.7 trillion won ($2.7 billion) with an operating profit of 1.1 trillion won. (Yonhap) KANSAS CITY, Mo. Goldie Powell, better known as Ms. G to her students, has a background in computer science. She says she always felt frightened sitting in computer class chairs as a youngster. She says she didnt feel like she had the same information as the student sitting next to her. UG Black History Committee helping students, celebrating Black art I didnt see anyone that looked like me, she said in an interview with FOX4 Thursday. It was hard to have conversations with people that I didnt normally talk to on the regular, so that was pretty hard and intimidating. Powell graduated college in 2012. After that she worked at Koch Industries and at Cerner, but in November of 2021, she started creating Cyber Creationz Tech, the non-profit that teaches students as young as elementary school how to code. Absolutely, Powell said when asked if she feels like her work now is more rewarding than her work before. I love it. I love working with the students. They keep me on my toes. Theyre always asking me questions. They keep me up to date with whats going on in tech, and thats how our camp continues to grow because theyre always like, Ms. G, we want to do this, or we want to do that.' Thursday evening, her students were building a website for a festival theyre planning to invite people to. KC group announces citywide scavenger hunt for Black History Month Because I basically know everything that there is to know in my class, 5th grader Kamaya Jones said Thursday when asked whether she likes this class better than her classes at school. So, to have an extracurricular activity is pretty fun. Shes amazing, 4th grader Mekhi Flanagan said when asked what he thought of Ms. G. Shes a good teacher. FOX4 asked Powell how it makes her feel to have an impact on her students. She says right now, her groups just putting in the work. I think in the future I always think about what its going to be like when my students come, and they say, Ms. G, I started my company, or Ms. G, Ive been on my job for ten plus years, and I helped on this project and that project that has done X, Y, Z for the community or the Kansas City area. I think thats when my heart will be full. If youre interested in signing your child up for Powells class, click here. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports. Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly on Friday bemoaned the polarization that she says has fundamentally upended the states politics since she first entered elected office nearly 20 years ago as a state senator. A Democratic chief executive in a state with a Republican-controlled Legislature, partisan division has blocked the second-term governor from achieving some of her key policy goals, most prominently expanding Medicaid. Kelly aired her frustrations while delivering the Landon Lecture at Kansas State University a prominent lecture series that has hosted presidents, U.S. Supreme Court justices and foreign leaders. While Kelly made no grand new announcements in the speech, the address underscored an emerging theme of her governorship. As she enters her likely final two years in elected office, Kelly is growing more outspoken about the importance of civility amid the growing political and cultural gulf between Republicans and Democrats. The second-term governor has long staked her reputation on being a commonsense, moderate policy maker focused on the nuts and bolts of government over politics. In her speech at K-State, she sought to further cement that brand, lamenting that politicians at the state and local level have lost sight of compromise and laying the groundwork for healthier political discourse. Polarization is crushing our ability to get things done for Kansans, Kelly said, citing her decade-long fight to expand Medicaid. Kansas is one of 10 states that havent expanded who is eligible for health coverage under the program. Kelly argued a toxic political discourse was blocking meaningful conversation and compromise within the Legislature on a slew of issues including child care, education, and tax reform. Republicans are preparing to vote to override Kellys veto on a tax package that includes some of her priorities alongside a flat income tax she opposes. Kelly insisted Republicans opposed Medicaid expansion because they didnt want her to succeed. If the Legislature approved expansion, Kelly said, shed be happy to let them take the credit. The idea that people arent getting the care they need because of petty partisan politics is just shameful, she said. House Speaker Dan Hawkins, a Wichita Republican and vehement opponent of expansion, said his party was focused on solutions for those already on Medicaid rather than expanding the program. His position, he said, wasnt about giving someone a win. The Governors claims to the contrary are a disingenuous example of the type of politics she claimed to be opposing in this speech, Hawkins said in a statement that highlighted bipartisan policies on water, transportation and rural broadband. Kelly, Hawkins argued has a long history of blaming polarization and politics whenever anyone disagrees with her. In the past decade, moderate Republicans have seen their power and presence shrink in the Kansas Legislature. Once an influential voting bloc, moderate Republicans are now rare in Topeka. Some became Democrats following the election of former President Donald J. Trump. Others lost primaries to candidates running to their right. Former Kansas Senate President Steve Morris, a moderate Republican who lost a primary challenge in 2012, argued this change has harmed the state. It promotes these culture war bills and legislation gets passed thats specific to somebody that has an agenda item thats not good for the state, he said. Morris couldnt recall many significant policy differences between legislative leaders and then-Democratic Gov. Kathleen Sebelius when he was in office. Kellys relationship with the Legislature has been more fraught; last year she vetoed more bills than any of her predecessors in the last three decades. The polarization, Kelly said, can be attributed to the nationalization of politics and an inability for Americans to disagree about politics while seeking common ground. Local and state races are no longer about the issues those politicians can control but instead about national hot button issues driving the conversations on cable news, she said. Both of my opponents, in 2018 and again in 2022, didnt attack me based on my record, or really anything happening in Kansas, Kelly said, referring to Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach and former Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt. Instead, they ran ad after ad trying to convince Kansans that Im actually Bernie Sanders in a wig or Joe Biden in heels. The strategy, Kelly argued, encourages voters to pick candidates based solely on their party and results in more extreme candidates being elected into office. Former Kansas Gov. John Carlin, a Democrat who left office in 1987, said polarization in Kansas is not nearly as bad as the U.S. Congress. But he said the discourse was still unrecognizable from his time as governor when he regularly played racquetball with a Republican lawmaker. At times, Carlin said, Republicans were better allies to him than his own party. There has been a dramatic change, he said. While bipartisan progress remains possible in Kansas, and has occurred on issues like economic development and school funding, Kelly said it only happens when elected leaders abandon their partisan impulse to meet in the middle. More of that is possible, she said, if Americans break out of their political bubbles and engage with people they disagree with and walk in the middle of the road. We need to get back to a place where people can disagree about politics, but still form a bond still engage in community service and civic life together, she said. Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach is preparing for the states first execution in nearly six decades a moment the Republican believes is finally approaching. Kobach wants change in state law that would require death warrants the formal judicial documents authorizing officials to kill a prisoner to be issued within 30 days of a death row prisoner exhausting their appeals. His proposal would take the responsibility for issuing death warrants away from the Kansas Supreme Court and place it with district judges. Kansas should also allow executions by hypoxia, Kobach says. The controversial execution method deprives a person of oxygen and was used in the United States for the first time last month, when Alabama executed a man using nitrogen gas. Witnesses said he writhed violently, according to the Associated Press. At a news conference on Thursday, Kobach voiced concern that existing law would prevent an execution from taking place because it does not clearly state how an execution is ordered and lethal injection drugs are difficult to obtain. Kobach, who was joined by the family members of crime victims, said the Legislature needs to address the situation soon as death row prisoners may soon begin exhausting their appeals. He said at least one death row prisoner could exhaust his appeals in 9 months. In a statement prior to the press conference he said Kansas was likely to execute a prisoner in the next year or two. We are lying to the people of Kansas if we say that we have the death penalty but we actually cant carry out an execution, Kobach said. The changes would ensure family members of victims dont have to wait any longer than already necessary to see justice served, Kobach said. There is no closure, Brian Sanderholm said of the years hes spent waiting for his daughters killer, Justin Thurber, to be executed. But critics say the bill allows executions in an inhumane manner and speeds up the execution process in a way that risks limiting a defendants ability to exhaust their federal and state appeals. Micah Kubic, executive director of the ACLU of Kansas, called the proposed legislation extreme. We are truly disturbed by AG Kobachs desire to not only boost the power of the state to kill in a novel, potentially painful way but to also remove the safeguards against this most brutal kind of government overreach. Looking across the country, states that use the death penalty actively are far from safer because of it, Kubic said. Others say the bill contains vague language open to interpretation that would lead to litigation. Nine people are on death row in Kansas. None have exhausted their appeals. New death warrant process Under existing law, the Kansas Supreme Court issues a death warrant once a prisoner has exhausted the appeals process. But the law imposes no required timeline. Kobachs bill would instead require the high court to notify the district court where the case began that appeals have been exhausted. Within 30 days that district court judge would be required to present a death warrant to the Kansas Department of Corrections. Rep. John Carmichael, a Wichita Democrat, said it seemed to him that the bill may be crafted to bypass a state Supreme Court or governor unwilling to let an execution go forward. I think what theyre attempting to do here is to shortcut if you will so that when the judge pronounces the sentence of death the judge can also sign the so-called warrant, Carmichael said. The Kansas Supreme Court has not recently considered the legality of the death penalty. Still, Justice Caleb Stegall, the courts most conservative member, said in a concurring decision affirming a death sentence last month that he was open to considering whether the death penalty is constitutional. And Gov. Laura Kelly, a Democrat, has long been a vocal opponent to the death penalty, voting as a state senator to abolish the practice and reiterating that belief on the campaign trail in 2022. In a statement this week, Kellys office said the governor still opposes the death penalty, but did not say how she would respond if an execution was ordered while she remained in office. Kelly has the power to offer clemency to any Kansas prisoner, eliminating or reducing their sentence. Governor Kelly has long supported repealing the death penalty, both as a state senator and on the campaign trail, because it is impractical, expensive, and inhumane, Kelly spokeswoman Grace Hoge said in a statement. She added that the office has not received any clemency applications from a defendant facing a death sentence. If our office were to receive one, it would first have to be reviewed by the Prisoner Review Board and then Governor Kelly would make a determination based on the details of the case. Sedgwick County District Attorney Marc Bennett said Kobachs bill adds needed clarity to the death penalty process by making district courts responsible for ordering an execution rather than landing with the Kansas Supreme Court. He said this mirrors other types of cases where the Supreme Court decides a legal issue and sends it back to lower courts to deliver a sentence. When the appeals are finally over, the new law would dictate that the order of the Supreme Court would go back to the district court directing the KDOC to implement a specific schedule to implement the death sentence, Bennett said in an email. That clarity would seem to benefit the families of the victims. Use of hypoxia Robert Dunham, director of policy for the Death Penalty Policy Project, said Kansas bill was problematic for several reasons, especially in light of Alabamas use of hypoxia. Witnesses to the Alabama execution reported Kenneth Smith was convulsing and gasping for several minutes. If we go down that path, Kansas will be an international pariah, Dunham said. The U.S. will lose even more moral authority on issues of human rights. Dunham also said bills in other states specify that nitrogen gas be used in executions while Kansas bill says hypoxia, which is a broader term. Either way, Dunham said, using gas equates to human experimentation. It also presents risks to corrections staff and spiritual advisors, who are allowed in an execution chamber during a prisoners last moments, Dunham said. Heather Cessna, executive director of the Kansas State Board of Indigents Defense Services, said hypoxia was not clearly defined in the bill. We have a lot of concerns about hypoxia, both the definition of hypoxia because of its vagueness and the variety of things that could be covered underneath it, she said. I think its going to open up the doors to a whole slew of litigation. The language has prompted questions about specific procedures that could be used as well as worries about cruel and unusual punishment. Hypoxia is defined as the deprivation of oxygen. Alabama used nitrogen gas for its hypoxia execution, but Kobachs bill does not specify. I have human concern for any of our clients that might be subjected to that sort of treatment at the hands of the state, Cessna said. Cessna said the proposal would almost certainly prompt a new round of litigation over the method of execution. She called Kobachs timeline for an execution in Kansas ambitious. Kobach told reporters he believed hypoxia was the most humane way to conduct an execution, but said he did not limit the form to the most common method of hypoxia via nitrogen gas, suggesting other gasses, like helium, could be used. The Alabama Attorney Generals Office, Kobach said, has said the descriptions of the Alabama execution using hypoxia were inaccurate. Even if there were some discomfort, which I dont think there was in the Alabama case, we need to remember the victims who suffered extraordinary pain, Kobach said. Its dangerous The language of Kobachs bill has prompted wide ranging concerns among opponents to the death penalty. The measure directs district courts to send the secretary of corrections a death warrant within 30 days after a final judgment. But it doesnt specify whether a federal or state court makes that final judgment. Ron Wurtz, vice chair of Kansas Coalition Against the Death Penalty, is a retired attorney who worked on capital cases. He said if final judgment refers to the Kansas Supreme Court, it causes problems because a defendant could still pursue a federal case. Thirty days is not much time to file a federal court challenge, he said. Its dangerous, he said. Theres definitely a problem there. Wurtz also voiced other longstanding concerns with the death penalty that go beyond Kobachs proposal, including the cost of litigating death penalty cases and the possibility of executing someone who is innocent. More than 130 people have been exonerated from death row, according to the National Registry of Exonerations. Kobach said the final judgment would only come after a court had determined both federal and state appeals were exhausted. The Kansas attorney generals push for changes come as Kansas death penalty opponents have tried for years to eliminate it altogether. Rep. Mark Schreiber, an Emporia Republican who has introduced several bills to abolish the death penalty, said he would oppose any effort to expedite executions or greenlight a new execution method. While Kobachs bill may open a door for amendments to abolish the death penalty, Schreiber said he didnt believe the Legislature would ban it before a prisoner has exhausted their appeals process in the coming years. Theres a substantial number of my colleagues that would support abolishing the death penalty, I dont know if wed get to 63 in the House, he said, referring to the number of votes needed to pass a bill through the chamber. Kubic, with the ACLU of Kansas, urged legislators to reject the bill, which he said was utterly antithetical to the values of this state. Kansans have lost the appetite for this brand of false justice. OTTAWA, Kan. A 24-year-old Richmond, Kansas man has been arrested and charged related to the death of his newborn son. The Kansas Bureau of Investigation says Jason Marnell was arrested Wednesday night by KBI agents and Franklin County sheriffs deputies during a traffic stop near Highway 59 and Clark Road, just north of Richmond. Kansas City woman, charged in infants death, appears in court Franklin County District Attorney Brandon Jones confirms with FOX4 Marnell has been charged with first-degree murder and abuse of a child. On Jan. 14, Franklin County sheriffs deputies responded to a medical call at a home in Richmond, according to KBI. KBI said when deputies arrived on scene they found an unresponsive infant. Life-saving measures were attempted and the baby was taken to an Ottawa hospital. The infant was later identified as 1-month-old Waylon S. Marnell. Waylon was later transferred to Childrens Mercy Hospital in Kansas City in critical condition. The KBI was asked to help in the investigation on Jan. 17. Super Bowl rally shooting victim had long odds of survival, hospital says On Jan. 28, KBI said Waylon was removed from life-support, and he died around 3 p.m. KBI said the investigation led agents and deputies to believe Marnell was responsible for the injuries that caused the infants death. Marnell had his first court appearance Thursday and is being held in the Franklin County jail. The investigation is ongoing. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports. Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas on Friday said Missouri Gov. Mike Parson used a dog whistle when he blamed thugs for the shooting at the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl victory rally. Speaking to KCUR host Steve Kraske, Lucas said he respected Parson but strongly disagreed with how the Republican governor described Wednesdays shooting that left one person dead and at least 23 shot. I certainly do think this was criminal activity, its lawlessness and I think that thats troubling, Lucas said. But thugs is a dog whistle in the most classic sense and I have seen this dog whistle time and again. The mayor was responding to comments Parson made on Thursday with host Pete Mundo on KCMO Talk Radio in which he used the word thugs three times but made no mention of the states gun laws, among the loosest for firearms in the country. Thug has been used as a dog whistle, typically to demonize Black people as criminals. You just got some absolutely, be careful what I say before I say something Im gonna probably regret, but just a bunch of criminals, thugs out there, just killing people at an incident like that and attempting to kill all those people and created such chaos that people got hurt, being trampled, Parson said in the Thursday interview. Parsons office did not respond to a request for comment on the mayors remarks. Kansas City police have not released the names of the suspects in Wednesdays shooting. As of Friday morning, police have said only that two juveniles were in custody. During his own interview with KCURs Kraske on Friday, Parson largely deflected questions about the possibility of stricter gun control measures in the wake of the shooting, instead pointing to gun laws in Chicago. Chicagos got the strictest gun laws in the nation and they lead the nation in homicides, he said. You got to have a real conversation about what is the root problem because, you know, their laws are not working by no means. The Republican governor, a former Polk County sheriff, instead indicated that more incarcerations could be a deterrent for violent crimes, saying that were not putting very many people in jail. Parson also sidestepped another question about a Missouri House Republican vote last year against an amendment that would have banned minors from openly carrying guns on public land without adult supervision. I dont think theres nothing in the world wrong with having these discussions of what happened with these minors, he said. People are doing these kinds of crimes and I think its much more than a gun, Ill be honest with you. Because I think we have allowed people to commit crimes with no accountability. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxtons impeachment trial looms large in the Republican primaries, but will his influence affect the outcomes? The impeachment and subsequent trial in the Senate highlighted divides within the Republican Party fractions that have remained on display in the months leading up to primary election. Early voting starts Tuesday and runs through March 1. The Texas House in May voted 121-23 to send articles of impeachment against Paxton to the Senate for trial. Paxton was accused of abusing his office to benefit real estate investor Nate Paul and retaliating against former employees who reported him to law enforcement. After a two week trial in September, senators voted to acquit Paxton. As Election Day nears, Paxton has endorsed 35 challengers to Republican state House incumbents who supported impeachment, including David Lowe, who is running against Fort Worth Rep. Stephanie Klick in the Republican primary, and Jack Reynolds, who is running against Rep. Charlie Geren, a Fort Worth Republican who was one of the House impeachment managers. In House District 65, Mitch Little, one of Paxtons attorneys during the Senate trial, is challenging Rep. Kronda Thimesch, a Lewisville Republican. Also in North Texas, Jace Yarbrough is running for Senate District 30, an open seat. He was general counsel to Sen. Angela Paxton, Paxtons wife, during the Senate trial. Paxton has endorsed Yarbroughs opponent Carrie de Moor. A poll from the University of Houston found that 56% of Republican primary voters familiar with Paxtons impeachment trial say they would have voted to acquit Paxton if they were jurors. Twenty-six percent said they would have convicted and 18% said they dont know. The poll found that 46% of Republican primary voters say theyre less likely to vote for a House incumbent who supported the articles of impeachment. While he was cleared in the Texas Senate, Paxtons criminal securities fraud case is still playing out in court, as is a civil lawsuit filed by former employees who said they were retaliated against after they raised concerns related to Paxtons dealings with Paul. Paxton in January said he wouldnt contest the facts of the whistleblower lawsuit. That prompted Sen. Drew Springer, who isnt seeking reelection to Senate District 30, to ask Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and the Senate if theres a mechanism to reopen the impeachment proceedings. He cant accept the whistleblowers claims against him while touting that hes innocent against those very claims, Springer wrote in a Jan. 25 letter. Paxtons attorneys in a court document said they are not admitting that Paxton and his office or employees violated any law. The office in a Jan. 18 news release called the proceedings an unjustifiable waste of taxpayer resources and an intolerable distraction that risks compromising critical state business. I will not allow my office to be distracted by these disgruntled former employees and their self-serving sideshow, Paxton said in a statement at the time. North Texas candidates running for the Texas Legislature vary on whether Paxton should have been convicted in the Senate trial. Rep. Lynn Stucky, a Denton Republican, took a position similar to Springers in his response to the Star-Telegrams candidate questionnaire. Paxton has endorsed Stuckys opponent, software engineer Andy Hopper. Given the Attorney Generals recent admission of guilt in a public court document, I believe the impeachment should be reconsidered, Stucky said. He wants to escape the punishment and leave taxpayers on the hook for his self-professed violation of state law as Attorney General. Taxpayers are being punished for his actions, not the Attorney General. North Texas candidates weigh in The Star-Telegram asked North Texas legislative candidates in contested races about their thoughts on Paxtons impeachment in its candidate questionnaire. Heres what they said when asked, Should Attorney General Ken Paxton have been convicted during his Senate impeachment trial? Why/Why not? State Senate District 30 Cody Clark (R): The most straightforward answer is that the goods were not brought during the trial, so Ken was not convicted. Carrie De Moor (R): No. There was not evidence to suggest that he should be convicted. Brent Hagenbuch (R): Did not respond. Jace Yarbrough (R): I served as general counsel to Sen. Angela Paxton during the impeachment trial of the Attorney General. I am on record as opposing the Houses Impeachment Process for the reasons laid out on the House floor by Representatives John Smithee, Matt Schaefer, and others. The House failed to develop a record of evidence, without which no serious trial could be held. Michael Braxton (D): Yes, He broke the law, he is not above the law. Dale Frey (D): Yes. Paxton was sued by his own staff, and then tried to make us tax-payers pay for his fines. His actions alone are what led to this.He was given ample opportunity to testify to the State House before his impeachment, and he turned the invitation down. He is clearly a disgraced politician. Matthew McGhee (D): If they ran the trial honestly, let evidence actually be shown, and Dan Patrick wasnt bought and paid for, he would have been, no question. Theres enough sketchiness youd think Paxton would have resigned by now. House District 60 Mike Olcott (R): Did not respond Glenn Rogers (R, Incumbent): Just recently in the ongoing whistleblower lawsuit, Mr. Paxton dropped all pretense of innocence. His actions speak for themselves. House District 64 Elaine Hays (R): Did not respond Andy Hopper (R): Absolutely not, there was no proof or evidence provided before a vote to impeach the voters chosen Attorney General was taken. Lynn Stucky (R, Incumbent): Given the Attorney Generals recent admission of guilt in a public court document, I believe the impeachment should be reconsidered. He wants to escape the punishment and leave taxpayers on the hook for his self-professed violation of state law as Attorney General. Taxpayers are being punished for his actions, not the Attorney General. House District 65 Kronda Thimesch (R, Incumbent): My opponent apparently was paid close to a quarter of a million dollars to speak for Ken Paxton during the Senate impeachment (since the attorney general refuses to speak for himself under oath). Still, by Ken Paxtons own admission on January 18, the allegations of House impeachment articles 6, 7, 8 and 15 are true. This clearly proves that the Texas House of Representatives was vindicated in its decision to send impeachment articles to the Senate, and I stand by my vote. Mitch Little (R): No. As our team showed you during the trial, there was a total lack of supporting evidence to substantiate the claims rushed through the house in an illegal manner, denying the accused the right to due process. Every single Texan in both parties should be disturbed by that. House District 91 Stephanie Klick (R, Incumbent): As a member of the House my role was to determine if there was sufficient evidence to merit a trial in the Senate. I believe there was sufficient evidence to proceed to a trial, and, on the first day of the trial, the members of the Senate agreed to continue the trial. No one is above the law. David Lowe (R): Did not respond Teresa Ramirez (R): Attorney General Ken Paxtons constitutional rights were violated when the Senate denied him a fair trial and due process. This underscores the fundamental principle that everyone is presumed innocent until proven guilty. House District 97 Cheryl Bean (R): The senate heard all the evidence and overwhelmingly voted in favor of his innocence. The evidence presented clearly did not meet the burden of proof to convict. They did the right thing. The real question is should the house have brought forth such a hasty impeachment with no evidence, and the answer to that is absolutely not. They wasted time and taxpayer dollars for a political vendetta. Leslie Robnett (R): I was not an elected official during the Senate impeachment trial, nor am I running for an elected position that would have even allowed me to convict the Attorney General. The Texas House of Representatives has the power to impeach someone, while the Texas Senate is who decides on a conviction. Regardless of the responsibilities, though, I am interested in one thing: moving forward. We cannot and should not spend precious taxpayer money allowing political infighting to prevent our legislators from passing critical legislation that we need to keep Texas economically strong. John McQueeney (R): I was not in the legislature during these events. I was not a juror in the trial. It would be irresponsible of me to decide on the merits of the evidence and the deliberations that I was not privy to. Diane Symons (D): Yes. He was guilty. When republicans were threatened by losing donations or their campaigns for reelection if they voted to impeach, that should be considered jury tampering. Carlos Walker (D): Did not respond. William W. Thorburn (D): 121 representatives voted to impeach in the House, including 61 of his fellow Republicans. According to Texas Monthly, on the eve of the trial, Dan Patrick took money in the form of a $1million campaign contribution and $2 million in campaign loans from the [PAC] Defend Texas Liberty, funded by Paxtons most generous backers, Farris Wilks and Tim Dunn.. This seems to be the most rhetorical of rhetorical questions and what is wrong with Texas politics. The system runs on money and money corrupts most politicians. House District 98 Brad Schofield (R): No matter where you stand on the impeachment of Attorney General Ken Paxton, we can all agree on the following. 1) it was a total waste of time, 2) It was a big waste of money, and 3) it made Texas Republicans look like idiots to the rest of the country. I was not in favor of the impeachment and opposed how the process was conducted. Giovanni Capriglione (R, Incumbent): Did not respond. House District 99 Jack Reynolds (R): No. Unless I am mistaken, there was not a single piece of evidence presented in the house that was provided under the pains and penalties of perjury. Once the evidence was subjected to a thorough review and witnesses were placed under oath, it fell well short of any reasonable standard of evidence that would justify an impeachment. Charlie Geren (R, Incumbent): Did not respond. After outcry from transparency advocates against parts of his bill re-shaping the definition of a public record in Kentucky, Rep. John Hodgson, R-Fisherville, said hes making big changes to the measure. Hodgson told the Herald-Leader Friday a new version of his House Bill 509 would not touch the current definition of public records, which all Kentuckians can attain via an open records request. The law has been in place since 1976. He made the change after constituent concerns had been raised and conversations with some very well-informed citizens, he said. These were ordinary people that have a lot of personal experience doing open records requests, and they were able to show me how it could be detrimental to them. They convinced me. Thats the way the process is supposed to work, Hodgson said. He added he will make the changes to the bill early next week. As introduced, the bill would have greatly narrowed the definition of what would be accessible to Kentuckians via open records requests to only include documentation that gives notice to a person outside the public agency of a transaction or final action. Hodgson said that the new version of the bill will focus more strictly on mandating that agencies provide employees and members with state-sponsored email addresses on which they must conduct public business. Amye Bensenhaver, a former deputy attorney general specializing in the Kentucky Open Records Act and current co-director of the Kentucky Open Government Coalition, celebrated the news. She was a strong critic of the initial bills language, but expressed neutrality on the provision explicitly requiring all agency employees and members to conduct public business on state-sponsored email addresses on which they must conduct public business. In order to fully satisfy the goal of ensuring that the open records rights that currently exist under the open records law are not abridged, he will have to remove all sections pertaining to redefining public records. Leave the (other provisions) in there, and I think everybody will be more or less happy, Bensenhaver said. If the section of the bill redefining what a public record is isnt removed, Bensenhaver said there may still be a problem. She mentioned some very welcomed and much needed voices from right-leaning individuals and groups, helped spur the change. Bensenhaver said thats proof that transparency in government can come from all political sides. This is not about Democrat, not about Republican this is about good government. By Ko Dong-hwan Employees of BGF Retail, an operator of the country's major convenience franchise CU, have begun mobilizing a protest against the company. They say the company slashed their bonuses despite its record sales in 2023, according to the industry watchers, Friday. They also say that, in contrast, the retailer has decided to increase dividends to mainly benefit the group's chairman and his family. BGF Retail, a BGF Group subsidiary, logged 8.19 trillion won ($6.1 billion) in sales last year, a 7.6 percent increase from the previous year. It recorded an operating profit of 235 million won and a net profit of 195 million won during the same period, a year-on-year increase of 0.3 percent and 1.2 percent, respectively. Despite the record figures, the bonuses handed to employees last month shrunk by 30 percent in amount compared to last year. What upset the employees further was how much the group's owner family will receive in dividend payments this year. The group's chairman, Hong Suk-jo, and his family own 23.37 percent of BGF Retail's shares, and they will receive around 16.6 billion won in dividend payments for their stake in the company, whose per share dividend is set at 4,100 won. BGF Group retains 30 percent of the company's stock and will receive 21.3 billion won in dividends from the subsidiary. The family also owns 69.62 percent of BGF Group's shares for which they will receive 8 billion won in dividends after the group's per share dividend was raised from 110 won to 120 for the upcoming dividend payout. The amount of dividends will be finalized at the upcoming general shareholders' meeting scheduled for next month. BGF Retail employees unhappy with the amount of their bonuses created an online chat room with 1,170 anonymous participants and started planning a protest with a truck and sound equipment in front of the company's office in Seoul. The company's CEO Min Seung-bae said, in an email sent out to employees, that the decision to cut bonuses resulted from the firm's underperforming last year compared to the previous year. However, that didn't stop employees from voicing their dismay. "We hear from outside the company we made record sales, but inside, the management ironically says we're in a crisis and must tighten our belts," an employee said. "I don't know which story to believe." Another employee said his colleagues have so far collected 1.8 million won to rent a truck and speakers for the protest. "We've set up the chat room to improve the organization as a whole," he said. The planned protest comes as employees of LG Energy Solution earlier this month launched a one-person protest against their firm in a similar style in Seoul's Yeouido, where the company's office is located. A BGF Retail official said the company had to reduce bonuses by a "slight" amount because didn't meet its perfromance goals last year. She added that the company allocates bonuses to its employees equally and shares the calculation of bonuses transparently. "The volume of BGF Retail's stock dividends is the same as the previous year, while that for BGF Group has been lowered this year," the official said. "We must consider comprehensively the company's profit, investors and cash in possession to decide how to calculate the dividends. And the method applies to all our shareholders equally." As war in Ukraine grinds toward its third year and fighting in Gaza inflames a broader crisis across the Middle East, global security observers are keeping a close watch on another part of the world North Korea, where Kim Jong Uns latest provocations are raising questions about his military intentions. In recent weeks, the leader has brushed aside decades of his countrys policy toward South Korea now proclaiming that North Korea would no longer seek reconciliation and reunification with the South and calling for it to be classified as their permanent enemy. North Korea does not want war, but will not avoid it, Kim declared at a political gathering last month, according to state outlet KCNA. If war came, the countrys goal would be occupying, suppressing and reclaiming the Republic of Korea and subjugating it into the territory of the republic, he said, referring to South Korea by its official name. The sweeping policy shift in the nuclear-capable country has come alongside a volley of weapons tests, the shelling of a maritime buffer zone, and calls from Kim for North Korea to accelerate war preparations in response to confrontation moves by the US. Together the developments are drawing international concern and debate among seasoned observers about the intentions of the leader at the heart of the countrys secretive regime. We do not know when or how Kim plans to pull the trigger, but the danger is already far beyond the routine warnings in Washington, Seoul and Tokyo about Pyongyangs provocations, prominent experts Robert Carlin and Siegfried Hecker wrote in North Korea-focused publication 38 North last month. Kim, they suggest, has made a strategic decision to go to war. Many other observers disagree arguing that the 40-year-old leader knows well that any major military move against South Korea and its ally the United States could hasten the demise of his own regime. But those observers too are bracing for a year of ramped up aggression and express concern about the risk of North Koreas escalated hostilities leading to some kind of military engagement on the Korean Peninsula, raising the risk, however remote, of nuclear conflict. This image released by Pyongyang's official Korean Central News Agency this month appears to show an inspection test of a new surface-to-sea missile at an undisclosed location in North Korea. - KCNA/Reuters The situation on the Korean Peninsula has entered a very critical phase, said Eul-Chul Lim, director of the North Korea Research Center at Kyungnam Universitys Institute for Far Eastern Studies (IFES) in Seoul. Given the high level of mutual tension, there is a possibility of accidental conflict due to misunderstandings, misjudgments, and misperceptions even if Kim likely sees little political or economic benefit in war, he added. Kim is known for his provocations and has signaled in recent years a coming policy shift on South Korea. But experts say the changes now are likely driven by Kims mounting concerns as South Korea and the United States ramp up military drills and coordination and his newfound confidence in a shifting geopolitical climate that has drawn Pyongyang closer to a key partner, Russia. The changes also coincide with an election year in the US, where President Joe Biden seeks a second term while managing multiple global crises. Kim is likely watching carefully and may be keen to see him replaced by predecessor and candidate Donald Trump. A major shift For decades, governments on both sides of the divided Korean Peninsula have maintained they were members of the same family with the ultimate goal of peacefully reunifying. The two sides have been cut off from each other since 1953, when an armistice ended the Korean War, and remain technically at war. (Kim Jong Un) is now saying that South Korea is no longer viewed as another Korea. South Korea is viewed as a completely foreign power, said Edward Howell, a lecturer in politics at the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom, who focuses on the Korean Peninsula. Reclassifying South Korea as an enemy state, experts say, allows Kim to justify the continued build-up of his nuclear and missile arsenal and hold it over Seoul, which has adopted a harder line against Pyongyang under President Yoon Suk Yeol. Despite heavy international sanctions, Kim has continued to build that arsenal in recent years, focused on developing weapons able to strike not just South Korea and Japan but the US territory of Guam and the American mainland capabilities he sees as essential to deterring a potential attack and ensuring the survival of his regime. Alongside his policy shift, Kim ordered the destruction of the Arch of Reunification monument in Pyongyang, pictured above. - Ayse Topbas/Moment Editorial/FlickrVision/Getty Images Since 2022 Kim has reiterated that the principle point of his nuclear arsenal is to deter war, but also raised the potential for nuclear weapons to be used to counter efforts to violate the Norths fundamental interests. Hes also become increasingly alarmed by strengthened ties between the US and South Korea. Yoon and Biden have sharpened their countries deterrence plans and coordination in the face of North Koreas threats and weapons development. Thats included expanding joint drills in the region and security cooperation, including with Japan all of which Kim sees as a threat to his regime. The progress by South Korea and the United States on deterrence is one of the major reasons that Kim Jong Un feels very frustrated, according to Won Gon Park, a professor in the department of North Korean studies at Ewha Womans University in Seoul. Kim has been explicit about these concerns. Last month he said that instability of the regional situation is soaring due to the US-led escalation of military tensions, and that while Pyongyang doesnt want war the danger of its outbreak has considerably aggravated, according to KCNA. Kims policy shift on South Korea may also be linked to a view that negotiations with the US are no longer a viable path to meet goals of being recognized as a nuclear state and receiving sanctions relief. Pyongyang has rebuffed outreach from Washington in the wake of a failed 2019 summit between Kim and then-US President Trump, according to the US. The North Korean leader may also see scrapping a policy of reunification not as a step toward war but a necessary defense, some say. Kim has indicated as much in his own public statements, saying last month the country is cultivating its strength not for a preemptive attack to realize reunification by force, but instead for legitimate self-defense. Kim is particularly wary of (North Koreas) absorption by the South (and) believes that it is impossible to establish normal relations with the South without developing the North Korean economy, according to IFESs Lim, pointing to the countrys economic weakness relative to the South. Instead of empty reunification talk, Kim wants to focus resources on building his arsenal and economy and working with new partners for economic benefit, he added. Five US officials also recently told CNN the US has seen no signs Kim is preparing for a potential attack on South Korea, or a broader provocation involving nuclear weapons. If anything, some analysts believe, North Koreas public statements signal that North Korea is abandoning its reunification policy in pursuit of peace on the peninsula. Kims No. 1 priority is the sustainment of his regime, a senior defense official said. Thats not a shift thats been a strategic priority of his entire family since the Korean War. An emboldened Kim The North Korean leader may also feel more confident about his arsenal and his options as he watches a shifting global landscape. From his view, experts say, Kim sees a US whose waning influence is being tested in conflicts from Ukraine to the Middle East and an ascendant China surrounded by a burgeoning coalition of countries, including Russia and Iran, all at odds with the West. Kim Jong Un has been emboldened not simply by the divide between the US and China and the US and Russia, but more importantly, a fragmented world where US leadership has been weakened considerably and there are no meaningful consequences for aggression, said Rachel Minyoung Lee, a nonresident fellow with the 38 North Program at the Stimson Center think tank in Washington. His policy shift on South Korea is part of a broader, fundamental shift in foreign policy, namely giving up normalization of relations with the US through denuclearization and pivoting to China and Russia, she said. That pivot got a major boost in September, when Vladimir Putin welcomed the North Korean leader to Russia for a rare overseas trip a meeting Western officials say was fueled by the Russian Presidents need to bolster dwindling munitions in his war on Ukraine. Russia has since fired North Korean-supplied short-range ballistic missiles in its war, according to the White House, which called it a concerning escalation of Pyongyangs support. Analysts have speculated that Russia has reciprocated with aid for North Koreas spy satellite program. More cooperation with Moscow could also potentially help Kim address chronic food and fuel shortages and build North Koreas economy. China, by far North Koreas most important economic lifeline, remains wary of any moves from Pyongyang that could destabilize or draw more US forces to the region. However, amid rising friction with Washington, Beijing has in recent years blocked US-backed efforts in the United Nations Security Council to censure North Korea, and will look to stay engaged with Pyongyang, especially as it draws closer to Moscow. Kims regime may also see the expanding conflict in the Middle East as an opportunity to criticize the West and garner income, according to Howell at Oxford, pointing to how Iran has long played the role of middleman for North Korea to supply weapons to militant groups like Hamas. (One) thing thats changed is North Koreas ability to exploit the broader global crises to its advantage, he said. South Korean, American and Japanese naval vessels sail in formation during a joint exercise in international waters off South Korea's southern island of Jeju last year. - South Korean Defense Ministry/Getty Images Whats next? Experts warn that North Koreas ratcheting up of tensions is likely to continue this year, as Washington continues to boost drills and collaboration with its regional partners to deter Kim. How to dial down those tensions is open to debate, with some policy experts stressing that this show of strength remains the best deterrence for North Korean aggression. Others argue that the coalition needs to find ways to minimize the potential for Kim to feel his regime is threatened by their activities and prevent Pyongyang from drawing closer to Moscow and Beijing as a result. Kim Jong Un is wary of a full-scale provocation by the South Korean military disguised as a military exercise and has vowed to occupy South Korean territory without hesitation, said Lim in Seoul. Therefore, if the US, South Korea, and Japan fail to de-escalate the threat from North Korea during joint military exercises, a military conflict could occur on the Korean Peninsula, he said. Lee in Washington agreed an emboldened Kim Jong Un may be more inclined to take military action against what he perceives to be the slightest threat to North Korea, such as joint US-South Korea military exercises. In the months ahead, Kim will also be closely watching the upcoming US presidential elections as Trump seeks to win back office. Its unclear whether Kim would engage with the former president again were he to be reelected. But experts say Kim is likely hopeful that a newly elected Trump, who has long been dismissive of overseas alliances, would roll back Americas security cooperation with South Korea and Japan and the North Korean leader could even seek to impact election dynamics with an aggressive move. One potential could be for Kim to launch Pyongyangs seventh nuclear test, in what would be the first since 2017, according to Park of Ewha Womans University. If North Korea conducts a seventh nuclear test it means a total failure of the Biden administration and gives a very good attack point for Trump (to call Biden) ineffective in dealing with the North Korean leader, he said. Further ahead, despite the sweeping changes Kim has now made to his countrys policy toward South Korea, if the North Korean leader sees an opening to advance his larger goals by sitting back down with the South and the US, he could change tack anytime to reverse these changes, Park added. This is the kind of behavior (one can expect from) North Korea, he said. CNNs Yoonjung Seo and Brad Lendon contributed reporting. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com The Scoop The Biden administration is closely monitoring a military buildup between North and South Korea along their Yellow Sea maritime border, alarmed by Pyongyang leader Kim Jong Uns growing threats to redraw the two countries Cold War map. Kim oversaw the test-firing this week of a new surface-to-air missile system near the Northern Limit Line thats served as the de facto sea border between the two Koreas since the 1950-53 Korean War. The Norths show of force followed Kims instructions last month to his countrys most powerful governing body, the Supreme Peoples Assembly, that North Korea no longer recognize this maritime boundary and that its military should prepare for action against South Korean forces defending the line. The puppet Republic of Korea is trying to defend the so-called fictitious Northern Limit Line, which is neither based on international law nor has a legal justification, North Korean state media quoted Kim as saying Wednesday. They are using pretexts such as control over fishing vessels and maritime patrols to deploy warships of various classes to our waters and blatantly violate our sovereignty. Kim has specifically ordered combat readiness near two disputed Yellow Sea islands, Yeonpyeong and Baengnyeong, over which North and South Korea fought an extensive artillery battle in 2010 that killed as many as 20 soldiers. Current and former U.S. officials told Semafor this week that the Norths actions are particularly alarming given Kim Jong Uns increasingly aggressive posture towards South Korea and his pledges to align more forcefully with Russia and China in their growing standoff with the West over issues ranging from Ukraine and the Middle East to territorial disputes in the South China Sea. Kim, in his speech last month, also announced that he was abandoning North Koreas long-held policy of reconciliation with the South and ordered the Supreme Peoples Assembly to rewrite the countrys constitution to cement South Korea as Pyongyangs most hostile foreign adversary. Hes also been issuing directives to his military to be prepared to take South Korea by force, according to state media. The situation on the Korean Peninsula is more dangerous than it has been at any time since early June 1950, two of the U.S.s most acclaimed North Korea watchers, Robert Carlin and Siegfried Hecker wrote for the website, 38 North, last month. That may sound overly dramatic, but we believe that, like his grandfather in 1950, Kim Jong Un has made a strategic decision to go to war. Jays view The Biden administration has so far tried but failed to directly engage North Korea, despite numerous U.S. offers, and has instead been consumed by other foreign policy issues like the Afghanistan withdrawal, wars in Ukraine and Middle East, and Washingtons growing competition with Beijing. But North Korea might be preparing to force the U.S. to focus on the Korean Peninsula, as has historically been the case. Donald Trump, during his single term, attempted to make the normalization of relations with North Korea one of his signature foreign policy successes. Trump held three summits with Kim Jong Un and exchanged letters with the 40-year-old dictator. In 2018, the two leaders signed the four point Singapore Declaration that laid out a plan for Pyongyang to dismantle its nuclear arsenal estimated to include 40 to 50 warheads in exchange for an armistice ending the Korean War and normal diplomatic ties with Washington. This diplomatic process collapsed, though, in 2019 after Trump and Kim failed to formalize an agreement at a summit in Vietnam. Carlin and Hecker now argue, as well as other North Korea-watchers, that Pyongyangs leader essentially concluded that building relations with the U.S. was impossible. He moved instead to codify North Korea as a nuclear weapons state in his countrys constitution and doubled down on relations with Russia and China, Pyongyangs Cold War patrons. This has included North Korea becoming a major arms supplier for the Kremlins war effort in Ukraine, including shipping munitions and rockets. Carlin and Hecker dont conclude that North Korea is planning for a full-scale invasion of the South. But they do argue that Kim, sensing the U.S. is overstretched militarily due to Washingtons commitments to Ukraine and Israel, now questions the Biden administrations will and ability to defend South Korea, where the Pentagon still has 30,000 American troops deployed as a tripwire against North Korean aggression. As a result, Pyongyang could increasingly try to test the defenses of the South, as it appears to be doing now in the Yellow Sea. The probing of the military situation might be the most likely, [for the North Koreans] to see just how far they can get away with it, Hecker said on the NK News podcast late last month. Current and former U.S. officials told Semafor that they are concerned North Korea is set to become just one of many U.S. adversaries challenging the American-backed order at the same time. These include: China threatening the Philippine navy in the South China Sea; Russia making gains in accumulating Ukrainian territory; and Iranian-backed militias attacking U.S. military personnel and assets in Iraq, Syria and the Red Sea. And these are all occurring as the U.S. is entering an election year. Room for Disagreement U.S. officials and independent North Korea-watchers are largely united in their assessment that the security situation on the Korean Peninsula is deteriorating. But there are divisions over whether they believe Kim Jong Un is seriously preparing his forces for a military offensive on the South, even a limited one. And there continues to be a debate inside Washington over whether Pyongyangs dictator was ever serious about relinquishing his nuclear arsenal. Successive U.S. administrations going back to President Bill Clintons have attempted to negotiate away North Koreas nuclear weapons in exchange for economic and diplomatic incentives, only to be frustrated by Pyongyangs backtracking or cheating. In the early 2000s, the George W. Bush administration canceled an agreement with Pyongyang to end its nuclear weapons program called the Agreed Framework after learning the North had been secretly developing the technologies to enrich uranium. Trump administration officials, including former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, have publicly stated that it was unclear if Kim was really offering to dismantle his arsenal during the Hanoi summit, though Pompeo said the diplomatic track could be reopened if Trump wins reelection this year. North Korea experts say that the Kim family, including Kim Jong Uns father and grandfather, have repeatedly increased tensions on the Korean Peninsula particularly during U.S. election years in an attempt to wrestle new economic concessions from South Korea and the West. This year could fit into that pattern. This recent propaganda increase has nothing to do with a policy shift after Hanoi, but the timing is related to the coming U.S. presidential elections, wrote Thomas Schafer, who served as Germanys ambassador to Pyongyang for nearly a decade, in a rebuttal to the Carlin-Hecker article. [North Korea] surely believes that a Republican victory (preferably with Trump, but even with some of the other Republican contenders) would give North Korea a second chance to further its objectives. Notable Kim Jong Un met last September with Russian President Vladimir Putin at a cosmodrome in the Russian Far East, fueling speculation that the Kremlin would provide North Korea with ballistic missile technologies in exchange for its support in Ukraine. Last month, North Korea, under the order of Kim, demolished a major monument symbolizing the unification of the two Koreas. (Bloomberg) -- The influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un offered a rare opening for Japan, saying she saw a positive tone in comments from Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who is seeking a summit. Most Read from Bloomberg Kim Yo Jong indicated a meeting of leaders would be possible if Japan does not lay such a stumbling block as the already settled abduction issue, she said in a press statement issued Thursday on state media. It is my opinion that if Japan makes a political decision to open up a new way of mending the relations through its courteous behavior and trustworthy action on the basis of courageously breaking with anachronistic hostility and unattainable desire and recognizing each other, the two countries can open up a new future together, the statement carried on the Korean Central News Agency said. The tone is a marked change from comments she issued nearly two years ago when she lumped Japan in a bunch of sinister nations she accused of raising rabble at the United Nations to criticize Pyongyang for the test of an intercontinental ballistic missile. She has also unleashed speeches with fiery and threatening language directed at South Koreas leaders. Japans top government spokesman, Yoshimasa Hayashi, said Friday that Tokyo was taking note of the comments from Kim Yo Jong. He also said it was totally unacceptable to consider the abduction issue as resolved. It would be nearly impossible for Kishida not to focus on the abductee issue, which has played a prominent role in the priorities of his ruling Liberal Democratic Party for years. While North Korea appears to be warming up slightly to Japan, it has widened a chasm between itself and Seoul. Last week, Kim Jong Un said he has the legal right to annihilate South Korea, in his latest move to threaten his neighbor after starting the year by eliminating the concept of peaceful unification from his states national policy. Read more: South Korea Establishes Ties With Norths Long-Time Friend Cuba North Korea has been under new pressure as South Korea, Japan and the US have raised their cooperation to new levels over the past two years and stepped up military training against threats posed by Pyongyang. The US has also been bringing nuclear-capable military assets such as aircraft carrier groups and attack submarines off the Korean Peninsula in shows of force meant to deter Kim Jong Un from aggression. North Korea is nervous to the reinforced trilateral partnership between Seoul, Washington and Tokyo, said Kak Soo Shin, a former career diplomat who once served as South Koreas ambassador to Japan. In a bid to drive a wedge in this strengthening ties, North Korea seems to make use of the prime ministers desire to open up a door to Pyongyang adding this could help Kishida boost his low support rate. Shin sees little likelihood of a summit taking place given the differences on abductees and the thorny issue of North Koreas nuclear weapons program. Last month, leader Kim Jong Un also offered an olive branch when he sent a rare message to Kishida expressing sympathy and condolences for the victims of an earthquake in Japan. Kishida has long said he is willing to meet Kim Jong Un without preconditions. Last week, he said his government has made various, concrete efforts for a summit with the aim to resolve the long-standing issue of Japanese abducted by North Korea, Kyodo News reported. Tokyo officially lists 17 of its citizens as having been abducted by North Korea in the 1970 and 80s, five of whom returned home in 2002. North Korea considers the issue settled and has blasted Japan for repeatedly raising it. North Korea claims that eight of the abductees have died and the other four were never in its country. Prior to the statement from Kim Yo Jong, a senior US State Department official charged with managing issues with Pyongyang said Kishida has mentioned a summit before and Washington would support talks. We encourage any kind of dialogue, Jung Pak said in an interview. Read more: Kim Jong Uns Russia Lifeline Gives Big Reason to Avoid War North Korea has a habit of seeking concessions for engagement with countries it sees as adversaries, such as Japan. It has shunned offers over the past several years from the US, Japan and South Korea for talks and appears to be receiving significant support from Russia in recent months in return for arms sent by Kims regime to help President Vladimir Putin in his war on Ukraine. Read more: Japanese Kidnapped by N. Korea Return Home After 24 Years In 2002, Junichiro Koizumi became the first Japanese prime minister to visit North Korea. Soon after that, five Japanese kidnapped by North Korean agents in 1978 were reunited with their families after arriving in Tokyo. Koizumi and then North Korean leader Kim Jong Il also agreed to work to establish formal diplomatic relations but that never came to fruition. That Kim Yo Jongs invitation to Kishida comes with strings attached should have us question the sincerity of the DPRKs intentions, said Soo Kim, a former Korea analyst at the Central Intelligence Agency who now works at US-based management consulting firm LMI, referring to North Korea by its formal name. Not to mention, the chasm in North Korea-Japan relations is quite wide would thawing their relations be so simple? she said. --With assistance from Iain Marlow and Takashi Hirokawa. (Updates with comments from Japan government spokesman, analysts.) Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2024 Bloomberg L.P. Duke Energy customers are reaching out to Channel 9 with concerns over rising electricity rates, and some are even saying the rise is forcing them to choose between feeding the family or paying the power bill. The company is planning on raising rates as high as 15% over the next few years. Channel 9 reporter Ken Lemon learned that the biggest hit in that rate increase may come with your next bill. An eight percent increase went into effect last month -- Duke says for the average customer, thats an increase of $10 a month. That will be followed by an additional $4 increase next January, and then another $4 the following year. Some customers say that would be a reasonable increase on an average bill, but their bills arent average, according to those standards. RELATED: Customers say bills doubled after Duke Energy rate increase Thomas Cornwell of Gastonia told Lemon on Friday that the simple act of flipping a light switch makes him feel caged. Imprisoned, like they are going to take everything you got just because you might have to run a light bulb or cook or have air conditioning, Cornwell said. He lives in a modest home in the Smyre community. His most recent bill from December was %564, well above Duke Energys average power bill of $130. He said hes not happy about talk of a 14% increase over three years. It would strap us so bad for cash wed have to choose between power and food, Cornwell told Lemon. Cornwell is one of several people who have complained about issues with the power bill and a rate increase. Lemon spoke to Duke Energy media specialist Bill Norton about their concerns. We recognize there is never a good time to ask for a rate increase, which is why we actually hadnt initiated a rate review request since 2019, Norton told Lemon. Norton said since 2019, the company has invested over $3.5 billion in improvements to shorten power outages. He says the rate increase will cover those costs and what he calls effective changes. Over the last five years, technology upgrades cut out about 400,000 outages, Norton said. SEE WHY: Layoffs hit Charlotte-based Duke Energy According to Norton, the increases will also cover about $8 billion in more upgrades. Meanwhile, Cornwell says the cost still hurts him. He says he feels like he has no options. They are kind of monopolizing it, because it aint like you can go to another power company or choose somebody else, Cornwell said. North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein has filed a petition to overturn the rate increase, saying people are already swamped with rising prices. He made his appeal while finishing his term and making a pitch amid his run for governor. Help with the bills Duke Energy does offer special assistance for electricity bills, including payment plans or extensions. There are also local and federal programs that can help with money, including the Share the Light Fund and federal energy bill assistance programs. That includes: (WATCH: Duke Energy launches EV charger rental program) NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) A sophomore at KIPP Collegiate High School was arrested Thursday for carrying a gun on school property. The Metro Nashville Police Department said due to KIPPs no-phone policy, an administrator asked for the 16-year-old students phone. The teen then threatened the administrator which several others overheard. Have breaking come to you: Subscribe to News 2 email alerts School staff members found a loaded 9mm semi-automatic pistol in the students backpack. The gun was not reported stolen and authorities are trying to determine how the student got the gun, according to investigators. The student was charged in Juvenile Court with carrying a gun on school property and false reporting. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKRN News 2. Iowa Republican lawmakers are advancing legislation that would limit challenges to Donald Trump's place on the 2024 election ballot, as well as make other widespread changes to voting laws. Lawmakers have advanced two identical bills containing the election changes, House Study Bill 697 and Senate Study Bill 3161. Both were passed through full committees this week with Republicans in favor and Democrats opposed. Here's what else you should know about the legislation. The legislation would also: Allow federal candidates convicted of felonies to appear on Iowa's ballot. Ban ballot drop boxes. Ban ranked-choice voting. Require absentee ballots to be returned the day before Election Day to be counted. Here's a breakdown: Challenges to Donald Trump's candidacy would be limited in Iowa The Iowa bill would limit the grounds for any challenges to a presidential candidate in the general election. Political parties are required to submit a certificate with the names of their presidential and vice presidential candidates to the Iowa Secretary of State's office 81 days before the general election. Under the bill, challenges to presidential candidates would be limited to whether that certificate meets all the legal requirements. If the bill in Iowa passed, Iowans could still challenge Trump's eligibility in court, but not through the state's law for objecting to candidates appearing on the ballot. Candidates for other federal offices, such as Congress, could only be challenged on the candidate's age, residency, citizenship and whether their nominating papers meet all the legal requirements. Requirements for federal candidates are set in the U.S. Constitution, and states do not have the authority to place additional requirements on federal candidates as they can with candidates for state office. Candidates for Congress and the presidency would no longer have to sign an affidavit attesting that they know they are disqualified from holding office if they have been convicted of a felony. That means they could appear on Iowa's ballot even if they have been convicted of a felony. Trump faces 91 felony charges in four criminal cases around the country. And he has faced challenges to his candidacy in other states under Section 3 of the U.S. Constitution's 14th Amendment that bars officials from holding office again if they "have engaged in insurrection or rebellion" against the United States. Absentee ballots could be mailed to voters sooner, but would have to be returned sooner The bill would change the deadline for returning mail-in absentee ballots, requiring them to be delivered to the county auditor's office by close of business on the day before Election Day to be counted. Currently, absentee ballots are accepted as long as they arrive by the time polls close on Election Day. County auditors would also be allowed to begin mailing absentee ballots to voters two days earlier, starting 22 days before Election Day rather than 20 days under current law. Iowa Republicans have steadily shortened the state's early voting window from 40 days to 29 days down to 20 days since taking full control of state government in 2016. In-person early voting would remain at 20 days under the bill. Counties would also be required to send voters three envelopes with every absentee ballot. While some counties do use a three-envelope system, some use just two envelopes when handling absentee ballots. Voters would be required to mark their absentee ballots with a four digit voter verification number or driver's license number. Ballot drop boxes would be banned in Iowa County auditors would no longer be able to set up ballot drop boxes for Iowans to return their absentee ballots, under the bill. A wide-ranging 2021 election law currently allows county auditors to set up one drop box at the auditor's office, under video surveillance. Ranked-choice voting would be banned in Iowa (it's already not allowed) Ranked-choice voting would be explicitly banned under the bill, although a spokesperson for the Iowa Secretary of State's office said Iowa law already prohibits the practice. Ranked choice voting involves voters ranking each candidate in order of preference. If the voter's first-choice candidate failed to win support, their vote would be transferred to their second-choice candidate and so on until one candidate received a majority. What are Democrats and Republicans saying about the election bill? Republicans say the bill is about protecting "election integrity" while Democrats say it would make it harder for Iowans to vote. "You can say it as many times as you want, but this is not an election integrity bill," said Rep. Adam Zabner, D-Iowa City. "This bill will suppress the vote, and its a favor for one man, Donald Trump, putting his needs in front of the needs of everyday Iowans who want to exercise their right to vote." IA- Rep. Bobby Kaufmann, R-Wilton, takes the stage at a campaign rally for former President Donald Trump, on Friday, July 7, 2023, at the Mid-America Center, in Council Bluffs. The bill's author, Rep. Bobby Kaufmann, R-Wilton, said "activists" should not be able to decide who appears on a state's ballot. "The only people obsessed with Donald Trump are my friends across the aisle," said Kaufmann, who worked for Trump's presidential campaign in Iowa as a senior adviser. "I dont care if youre Republican, Democrat, Libertarian, independent, Green Party. I dont care what you are. Ballot access remains with the people." 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: Iowa's bill to limit ballot challenges against Donald Trump, explained The White House publicly confirmed on Thursday that Russia has obtained a troubling emerging anti-satellite weapon but said it cannot directly cause physical destruction on Earth. White House national security spokesman John Kirby said U.S. intelligence officials have information that Russia has obtained the capability but that such a weapon is not currently operational. U.S. officials are analyzing the information they have on the emerging technology and have consulted with allies and partners on the matter. First this is not an active capability thats been deployed and though Russias pursuit of this particular capability is troubling, there is no immediate threat to anyones safety," Kirby said. "Were not talking about a weapon that can be used to attack human beings or cause physical destruction here on Earth. The White House confirmed its intelligence after a vague warning Wednesday from the Republican head of the House Intelligence Committee, Ohio Rep. Mike Turner, urged the Biden administration to declassify information about what he called a serious national security threat. Kirby said that the process of reviewing and declassifying aspects of the Russian capability was underway when Turner regrettably released his statement. We have been very careful and deliberate about what we decide to declassify downgrade and share with the public, he added. Russia has downplayed the U.S. concern about the capability. In Moscow, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov described the claims about a new Russian military capability as a ruse intended to make the U.S. Congress support aid for Ukraine. Its obvious that Washington is trying to force Congress to vote on the aid bill by hook or by crook, Peskov said in remarks carried by Russian news agencies. Lets see what ruse the White House will use. Kirby said the capability is space based and would violate the international Outer Space Treaty, which more than 130 countries have signed onto, including Russia. He declined to comment on whether the weapon is nuclear capable. The treaty prohibits the deployment of nuclear weapons or any other kinds of weapons of mass destruction in orbit or station weapons in outer space in any other manner." The White House said it would look to engage the Russians directly on the concerns. Even as the White House sought to assure Americans, Kirby acknowledged it was a serious matter. I dont want to minimize the potential here for disruption, Kirby said. White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan briefed lawmakers Thursday on Capitol Hill on the Russian threat. After the meeting, Turner said Sullivan spoke to lawmakers about the administration's options in addressing the threat. I think the bottom line is that we all came away with a very strong impression that the administration is taking this very seriously and that the administration has a plan in place, Turner said. We look forward to supporting them as they go to implement it. Connecticut Rep. Jim Himes, the ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, called the threat pretty standard stuff in terms of the national security threats that the intelligence panel deals with. This is not a threat for today, tomorrow, next week or next month, Himes said. Himes said he respected Turners decision to warn Congress at large about the threat but had expressed concern in advance about taking it public on social media. And my concern was specific that if we did that, we would be staring into a whole lot of cameras and microphones, Himes told the reporters and camera crews outside the secure briefing room. And here we are. Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson, who also attended Thursday's briefing with Sullivan, said that lawmakers raised concerns about the threat with the Biden administration last month and requested a meeting with Biden to discuss it. He called Thursday's meeting informative and said Sullivan had assured leaders the White House will remain in close contact with lawmakers about the matter. Its not a matter that can involve delay, Johnson said. Its something we have to address seriously and on an immediate basis, and we are. The White House did not hide its frustration with how Turner went about sharing concerns about the threat. We make decisions about how and when to publicly disclose intelligence in a careful deliberate and strategic way, in a way that we choose, Kirby said. Were not going to be knocked off that process, regardless of what, in this particular case has found its way into the public domain, he added. I can assure you that we will continue to keep members of Congress as well as our international partners and all of you and the American people as fully informed as possible. White House officials said the U.S. intelligence community has concerns about a broad declassification of the intelligence. The U.S. has been aware of Russias pursuit of anti-satellite capability going back at least months, if not a few years. Biden has been regularly briefed by his national security team on the issue, including on Thursday. The U.S. has frequently downgraded and unveiled intelligence findings about Moscows plans and operations over the course of its nearly two-year war with Ukraine. Such efforts have been focused on highlighting plans for Russian misinformation operations or to throw attention on Moscows difficulties in prosecuting its war against Ukraine as well as its coordination with Iran and North Korea to supply it with badly needed weaponry. Intelligence officials assessed that starting with private engagement on the Russian anti-satellite threat could have been a more effective approach, Kirby said. We agree with that, which is consistent, of course, with the manner in which we have conducted downgrades of information in the past, Kirby said. This administration has put a lot of focus on doing that in a strategic way, a deliberate way. And in particular, when it comes to Russia. anti Some far-right members of Congress and allies of former President Donald Trump claimed that information about the Russian threat only surfaced to help President Joe Biden win passage of additional funding for Ukraine's war effort, as well as funding for Israel and Taiwan. A $95 billion package that includes aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan is stalled in the Republican-controlled House. Does anyone really believe that there is a serious Russian threat that magically leaks about 30 seconds after the Speaker said theyre not going to take up funding another $60 billion in Ukraine? said Donald Trump Jr., the president's son, in a social media post. Is anyone stupid enough to buy this at this point? Textbook deep state propaganda! Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., another Trump ally, suggested the government was leaking the intelligence in order to pressure Congress to make certain votes, protect its own power to spy on its own citizens. Other lawmakers, however, including some on the House Intelligence Committee, defended Turners handling of the situation. The panel had voted earlier in the week to make the information available to lawmakers. The public has an interest in knowing, said Rep. Dan Crenshaw, R-Texas, a Navy veteran who serves on the intelligence panel. (AP) Los Angeles County will once again have to figure out where to place over 300 young people in its custody unless probation officials can pull off dramatic improvements at their long-troubled facilities in the next two months. State regulators on Thursday voted to find both Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall in Downey and Barry J. Nidorf Juvenile Hall in Sylmar "unsuitable" after the county repeatedly failed to correct problems inside, including paltry staffing and meager programming offerings. Its the latest embarrassment for the county in a years-long back-and-forth between the Board of State and Community Corrections , which has the power to inspect and shut down dangerous correctional facilities, and the county, whose juvenile halls have been plagued with violence and staffing issues for decades. The vote sets the clock: The county has two months to either fix all the issues highlighted by regulators or get everyone out. Los Padrinos currently houses around 280 youths while Nidorf has about 50, according to the county's Probation Oversight Commission. The vote was a surprise to many advocates, who have criticized the board for being reluctant to crack down, and some in the county, who hoped the board would put off a vote. Read more: Nine months after opening, L.A. County's newest juvenile hall under fire from regulators Instead, top county officials, who had arrived in Sacramento to argue that the department had made great strides since the last inspection, were met with exasperation and disbelief. I'm literally at a loss for words, said Board Chair Linda Penner, noting a chasm between the countys positive update and the grim picture painted by her own staff. Let me help you out here, L.A., she continued. If I have to be the decider of fact between the two of you, I'm going to lean heavily towards what our agency comes in with. All nine board members present voted to find the facilities unsuitable to house young people. Two board members Scott Budnick and Angeles Zaragoza had recused themselves. County officials indicated in a statement Thursday they would spend the next two months focusing on bringing the facilities into compliance with state standards rather than evacuating them. "Unfortunately, todays decision places the County in the position of continuing to conduct triage rather than to press forward with the reforms currently underway to achieve lasting change," the county said. "We intend to use the 60-day regulatory window to take all necessary steps to meet the states requirements." Nine months ago, state inspectors ordered all youths out of Central Juvenile Hall in Boyle Heights and most youths out of Nidorf after the county had repeatedly failed to bring the halls into compliance with a long list of state regulations. The youths at Nidorf who were accused of more serious crimes stayed put because the state did not have jurisdiction over them at the time. The governor recently changed that policy in his budget. The decision last year to vacate the two halls left the county scrambling to figure out where to put the 300 young people in its care. Officials decided to reopen Los Padrinos, a juvenile hall that had been closed in 2019 amid dwindling population and mounting safety concerns. Since it opened, there have been fights, overdoses and an escape attempt. The department recently placed eight officers on leave after they allegedly stood by while a group of youths beat up another teen inside the hall. The department's ongoing staffing crisis persisted at the new facility. Deputy Probation Chief Kimberly Epps said Thursday that more than 1,400 probation staffers are on some form of protected leave meaning theyre either not working or on light duty out of 3,800 sworn personnel. She said hundreds of employees simply dont show up. Two people never showed up for their shift on Super Bowl Sunday, she said. Sheila Williams, a senior manager with the countys chief executive office, emphasized the county has been cracking down on no-shows, among other improvement efforts. She said more than 590 notices of discipline have been issued since October, 2022, to staff who were skipping shifts. Supervisor Janice Hahn said in a statement after the meeting that she felt the department's top brass was making excuses rather than owning up to the unacceptable conditions. I am concerned about the future of the Probation Department and whether they are capable of the reform that we all know needs to happen, wrote Hahn, whose district includes Los Padrinos. Supervisor Hilda Solis blamed the problems on long-term Probation Department leaders who have "abused their authority, turned a blind eye, and who created a culture that has enabled rank-and-file staff to operate with impunity." Read more: From 'mission accomplished' to riot: Inside the chaotic first month at Los Padrinos The five county supervisors had picked Chief Probation Officer Guillermo Viera Rosa, a former member of the Board of State and Community Corrections, for the job last year, partly with the hope that he could help bring the county back into the regulatory boards good graces. Instead, he is squarely in their cross-hairs. A plea he made to postpone the hearing was ignored and his argument that the agency was struggling with conflicting mandates made by the Department of Justice and the state regulatory board drew little support. If I were in his shoes, I would choose to comply with both, and I would figure it out, said board member Brian Richart, the chief probation officer for El Dorado County. Eduardo Mundo, chair of the county's Probation Oversight Commission, said he wasnt clear where the youth will go if the county cant fix the problems in the two facilities in the next 60 days. Mundo emphasized he was not speaking on behalf of the commission. I do have mixed emotions. Where do we go from here? Everyone wants them to close down, but what's the alternative? said Mundo, noting the countys long-term plan to stop confining youths in juvenile halls had not yet been implemented. What do you do with these kids? Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. The Wayfarers Chapel, a glass-walled, mid-century marvel that sits beneath a canopy of redwoods in Los Angeles, has closed indefinitely due to accelerated land movement in the area. Related: Los Angeles firefighters rushed to hospital after huge truck explosion Known locally as the glass church, the building was designed by architect Lloyd Wright and designated a national historic landmark just two months ago. But the structure sits on the Palos Verdes peninsula, which is prone to landslides. Cracks had begun to appear in the structure, and several panes of glass had broken in recent months. Effective immediately, we are extremely devastated to announce the closure of Wayfarers Chapel and its surrounding property, a statement from the chapel reads. The chapel is located in the city of Rancho Palos Verdes, just south of LA, amid towering redwood trees overlooking the Pacific Ocean. It sits just above Abalone Cove, where homes have cracked and streets have buckled in recent months, and south of the Rolling Hills Estates, where dozens of homes last year began sliding into a canyon. The City stands ready to support Wayfarers Chapel in any way possible to safely reopen this sacred space to the community, a city statement on the closure reads. City inspectors noted damage and signs of land movement at the chapel, though they did not yellow- or red-tag any structures for immediate closure. Still, the chapels board of directors decided to shut the chapel and grounds so repairs could be made, according to the city. Intense rain and storms in recent weeks have deepened worries about landslides, which have been a hazard in the region for decades. The chapel was completed in 1951, and over the years has become an iconic wedding venue and tourist attraction. Film stars Jayne Mansfield and Mickey Hargitay were married here in 1958, as were thousands of less-famous couples. It is the most well-known work of Wright, the eldest son of architect Frank Lloyd Wright. It was built as a memorial to the 18th-century Swedish philosopher and mystic Emanuel Swedenborg conceptualised as a place where people could connect with God and nature. It blurs the lines between architectural structure and natural landscape, the national historic landmarks program wrote, after dedicating the structure in December. (Bloomberg) -- Keir Starmers UK Labour Party overturned large majorities to take two parliamentary seats from Rishi Sunaks governing Conservative Party, handing it a major victory before nationwide elections expected this year. Most Read from Bloomberg Labour recorded its second-highest vote swing 28.5 points from the Tories in a post-war by-election to take Wellingborough, a central England seat Sunaks party has held since 2005. It won Kingswood in the southwest with a 16.4-point swing, still well above what analysts expect Labour needs for a governing majority if replicated across the country. Meanwhile a strong performance in both seats by Reform UK, the anti-immigration party founded by Brexit campaigner Nigel Farage, will spark worries among Tory strategists about a split in the right-wing vote. Starmer still looks on course to be the next prime minister, John Curtice, a prominent psephologist and politics professor at Strathclyde University, told the BBC. Wellingborough underscored an adverse reaction among voters to the Tories record in government, he said. It is a major blow to Sunak, whose administration has now accrued more by-election defeats in a single term of office than any government since the 1960s. The results compound a damaging week after data showed the UK slipped into recession in the second half of 2023. That undermines Sunaks key pledge to grow the economy, and his election campaign built around persuading voters to stick with the plan. Midterm elections are always difficult for incumbent governments, Sunak told broadcasters on Friday. Lower turnout than in some of last years by-elections suggested there isnt a huge amount of enthusiasm for the alternative in Keir Starmer and the Labour Party, he said. Still, its not just the losses to Labour that will worry Tory MPs, who have long warned that a right-wing vote split with Reform UK could pave the way for a Labour landslide in the general election. Some of Sunaks fiercest critics had warned a poor Tory performance combined with a Reform UK surge could be the next flash point in their campaign to oust him before the general election. Reform UK won 13% of the vote in Wellingborough, far above its by-election record suggesting its rising support in national opinion polls is translating into votes on the ground. Its 10.4% share in Kingswood represented enough votes to narrowly hold the seat for the Tories had they all gone to Sunaks party. It really is an epic morning of by-election results and puts the Conservatives in a very bad place, Michael Thrasher, politics professor at Plymouth University, told Sky News. Any support that Reform gets is bound to hurt the Conservatives and will be the difference between some Conservatives holding onto their seats or losing them, so they are a critical player. Reform UK is polling at 12% nationally according to YouGov, but was yet to produce that level in local elections or by-elections. Achieving that in Wellingborough could be a pivotal moment in British politics, and is likely to renew calls on the Tory right for Sunak to do more to counter the threat. Farage and Reform UK leader Richard Tice have repeatedly ruled out the kind of deal the Brexit Party Reforms former name cut with the Tories before the 2019 general election to stand aside in seats to try to block Labour. Tonight was the night Reform came of age, Farage told GB News, the right-wing channel on which he has his own show. It became a real political party, not a theoretical political party and both those results show that. Even so, some expected Reform UK to do better, and its performance was a far cry from the 19.6% achieved by the similarly anti-immigration UKIP party when Farage was leader in Wellingborough at the 2015 general election. Its not quite as successful as UKIP was in 2015, but theyre going to be significant players, Thrasher said. Meanwhile the results will also come as something of a relief to Starmer, who has faced his own setbacks in recent weeks that threatened to undermine his leadership, including a U-turn on Labours flagship economic policy and a row over its candidate in the by-election in Rochdale, northwest England on Feb. 29. The party withdrew support from Azhar Ali over antisemitic remarks he made last year, meaning Labour will lose a seat it has held since 2010 though it will expect to win it back in the general election. Starmer said he was not complacent about the general election, despite the scale of Thursdays wins. As every football fan knows, you dont win the league by a good result in February, the Labour leader, who supports Arsenal in the Premier League, told broadcasters. Weve got to fight as if were five points behind in the polls. In Wellingborough, Labours Gen Kitchen won 13,844 votes a 45.9% share defeating Conservative Helen Harrison who got 7,408 votes, or 24.6%. Reform UKs Ben Habib came third with 3,919 votes. This shows that people are fed up, they want change, they want competency, they want pragmatism and they want politicians to under-promise and over-deliver, which is what I am hoping to do, Kitchen said after the vote count. The vote was triggered when veteran Conservative MP Peter Bone was suspended from the House of Commons for bullying and sexual misconduct, which he denies. His partner Harrison became the Tory candidate. Read more: Sunak Faces Electoral Tests That Risk Encouraging Tory Plotters In Kingswood, Labours Damien Egan won 11,176 votes a 44.9% share ahead of Conservative Sam Bromiley who got 8,675 votes, or 34.9%. Reform UKs Rupert Lowe finished third with 2,578 votes, a 10.4% share. That seat became vacant when former Tory energy minister Chris Skidmore quit in protest over Sunaks watering-down of the UKs climate policy. He had been MP since 2010, though the district traditionally moved between Labour and the Conservatives since it was created in 1974. In Kingswood, as across the country, 14 years of Conservative government have sucked the hope out of our country with a feeling that no matter how hard you work, you just cant move forward, Egan said. With Rishis recession were left again paying more and getting less. It doesnt have to be this way, you know it, I know it, we all know it. Egan faces a short spell as Kingswoods MP because the seat will be abolished at the general election under boundary changes to reflect shifting demographics. He said he will be Labours candidate for neighboring Bristol North East, which will absorb some of the Kingswood district, in the UK vote. Labour made a strong push to win because the contest was seen as a precursor to trying to oust Tory Jacob Rees-Mogg in neighboring North East Somerset which will also absorb some of the current Kingswood district. The former Cabinet minister dismissed the significance of Labours win, saying by-elections are an opportunity for people not to turn out, to protest. Even so, he said the Tories should learn from the result and Reform UKs performance. Conservative Party votes are most likely to come from people who stay at home or who voted Reform, Rees-Mogg said. I wouldnt expect any deals, I think you have to win people over by argument and persuasion. The Tories have now lost 10 by-elections since the 2019 UK vote including three to Labour with swings of at least 20% last year alone. That is more losses than any previous government since the 1966-70 Labour administration of Harold Wilson, which was defeated 15 times, according to the Press Association. (Updates with comments from Sunak, Starmer and Farage from 6th paragraph.) Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2024 Bloomberg L.P. Gen Kitchen, seen here addressing her new constituency on Friday morning, also called for 'massive expansion of public ownership, including of the banks and finance' - Leon Neal/Getty Images The Labour candidate who won the Wellingborough by-election once called for a second Brexit referendum and open borders. Genevieve Kitchen signed a letter in which she also called for a nuclear weapons ban, according to reports by The Sun. The letter also called for a massive expansion of public ownership, including of the banks and finance while she was a London councillor in 2019. A Labour spokesman told The Sun that the letter was five years old and that Ms Kitchen now believes the people have spoken on Brexit. Ms Kitchen, 28, grew up near Wellingborough in Northamptonshire and attended university in London. She took 46 per cent of the vote at Thursday nights count and overturned a Conservative majority of 18,500, a result she said she was ecstatic at. Ms Kitchen represented the Boleyn ward as a councillor for Newham between 2018 and 2022 and was previously a charity fundraiser. Married last year, Ms Kitchen cut her honeymoon short after just four days when a recall petition was triggered for former Conservative MP Peter Bone. She wrote for the Labour List website that she travelled home immediately after hearing the news, although she would have said wild horses couldnt drag me from my honeymoon early. Joining Ms Kitchen in her success on Thursday night was Damien Egan, the new Labour MP for Kingswood in Gloucestershire. Mr Egan served as the Mayor of Lewisham until January this year. He grew up in Kingswood and was a parish councillor in Bristol before he moved to London. During his childhood, he and his mother spent time in temporary accommodation after being made homeless, an experience that Mr Egan says led him into politics. The Kingswood by-election was triggered when Conservative MP Chris Skidmore resigned earlier this year, over the Governments Offshore Petroleum Licensing Bill. Mr Egan resigned as mayor to campaign for Mr Skidmores seat, even though the Conservatives had a majority of over 11,000 in the 2019 general election. Like his predecessor, Mr Egan has strong views on environmental issues. Under his leadership, Lewisham Council became one of the first local authorities to declare a climate emergency. Kingswood is to be dissolved at the next election so Mr Egan will campaign for a new seat in just a few months. He will represent Bristol North East, a new constituency that he has already been selected to represent. On Friday morning he told The Telegraph: People talk to me about how they feel like theyre not living life to the full and just existing working from day to day to day and getting poorer. The challenge at the general election will be, obviously well have a Labour manifesto that will set our vision for the country and that will need to be a positive vision. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 3 months with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny died Friday in the Arctic prison colony where he was serving a 19-year term, Russia's federal penitentiary service said. Western governments immediately attacked the Kremlin over the death of the most outspoken critic of President Vladimir Putin. Navalny lost consciousness after a walk and could not be revived by medics, the prison service said. "Navalny felt bad after a walk, almost immediately losing consciousness. Medical staff arrived immediately and an ambulance team was called," it said. "Resuscitation measures were carried out which did not yield positive results. Paramedics confirmed the death of the convict. The causes of death are being established." The 47-year-old was Russia's most prominent opposition leader and won a huge following with his criticism of corruption in Vladimir Putin's Russia. Russia's Investigative Committee said it had opened an investigation into the death. Navalny's press secretary Kira Yarmysh said his team had not been informed of his death. "Alexei's lawyer is now flying to Kharp," where his prison colony is, she said in a post on social media. Citing his spokesman, Russian news agencies reported that Putin had been informed of Navalny's death. Western governments and Russian opposition figures on Friday said the Kremlin was responsible for his death. Latvia's president said he had been "brutally murdered by the Kremlin." "The Russian government bears a heavy responsibility," Norway's Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide wrote on X, formerly Twitter. France's foreign minister said Navalny had paid with his life for resisting oppression. Navalny's exposes, posted on his YouTube channel racked up millions of views and brought tens of thousands of Russians to the streets, despite Russia's harsh anti-protests laws. He was jailed in early 2021 after returning to Russia from Germany, where he was recuperating from a near-fatal poisoning attack with Novichok, a Soviet-era nerve agent. In a string of cases he was sentenced to 19 years in prison on charges widely condemned by independent rights groups and in the West as retribution for his opposition to the Kremlin. His return to Russia despite facing jail put him on a collision course with Putin, after Navalny blamed the poisoning attack in Siberia on the Kremlin. "I'm not afraid and I call on you not to be afraid," he said in an appeal to supporters as he landed in Moscow, moments before being detained on charges linked to an old fraud conviction. His 2021 arrest spurred some of the largest demonstrations Russia had seen in decades, and thousands were detained at rallies nationwide calling for his release. In prison, Navalny's team said he had been harassed and repeatedly moved to a punitive solitary confinement cell. He said guards had subjected him and other inmates to "torture by Putin," making them listen to the president's speeches. From behind bars he was a staunch opponent of Moscow's full-scale military offensive against Ukraine. The Kremlin moved to dismantle his organisation, locking up his allies and sending dozens of others into exile. Late last year he was moved to a remove Arctic prison colony in Russia's Yamalo-Nenets region in northern Siberia. The last post on Navalny's Telegram channel, which he managed through his lawyers and team in exile, was a tribute to his wife, Yulia Navalnaya, posted on Valentine's Day. (AFP) VIDEO: Footage from Edmondsons inauguration in 2023. LaGRANGE, Ga. (WRBL) The City of LaGrange has confirmed its mayor passed away this morning. Mayor Willie Edmondson was sworn into office in March of 2023. He was the citys first African American mayor. Remembering Willie Edmondson: Statements on the LaGrange mayors passing Last week, the city held a prayer vigil for Edmondson while he was in the hospital. According to Mayor Pro Tem Jim Arrington, Edmondson was heaving health issues. My heart is broken and we are all grieving as a community. Willie was my dear friend and it is truly a sad day for LaGrange. I reached out to his family to offer our condolences and full support from the City. He was a great man and we will all miss him dearly. Mayor Pro Tem Jim Arrington The City of LaGrange is asking the community to keep the family in their thoughts and prayers. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WRBL. Leading politicians, military officers and diplomats from around the world gather in Munich on Friday for a security conference that will be dominated by the wars in Israel and Ukraine as well as fears over the U.S. commitment to defending its allies. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy are among top officials attending the Munich Security Conference (MSC), an annual global gathering focused on defence and diplomacy. Israel's President Isaac Herzog and Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh are also expected to attend the conference, which begins on Friday and runs until Sunday at the luxury Bayerischer Hof hotel in the southern German city. The conference takes place as the war in the Gaza Strip between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas, in which more than 28,000 Palestinians and about 1,430 Israelis have been killed, enters its fifth month with no end in sight. It also takes place shortly before Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine enters its third year. Both wars have ignited fears that will likely be addressed at Munich about possible regional spillover. "The world has become more dangerous," Jens Stoltenberg, secretary-general of the NATO Western defence alliance, told Reuters on Wednesday. British Foreign Secretary David Cameron said officials from European countries that help to fund the occupied Palestinian territories and key Arab and Gulf states would meet on the sidelines of the Munich event to start discussing the future for Israel and the Palestinian people after a potential ceasefire. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is also expected to join. "There are lots of things we need to start talking about now," Cameron said in remarks to Britain's House of Lords. "Whether it's about this question of how you offer a political horizon to people in the Palestinian territories, or indeed, how we deal with Israel's very real security concerns." Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said he would set foot on German soil for the first time to give a keynote speech at the conference, after refraining from doing so as he grew up in a family of Holocaust survivors. ""I will do everything for Israel's security, securing our future and returning the hostages," he said. Zelenskyy is expected to plead for more support for Ukraine as the U.S. House of Representatives stalls a multi-billion-dollar military aid package for the country. "The stakes couldn't be higher," said one senior State Department official, adding that the delay was already being felt on the battlefield. "Our support is absolutely essential in achieving the objectives Ukraine has." European and U.S. officials are increasingly warning of the risk Russian President Vladimir Putin could attack other countries if his military operation in Ukraine is successful. "It is clear Putin will not stop at Ukraine," a second U.S. State Department official said. No Russian officials were invited to the MSC, for the second year in a row, as they did not seem interested in meaningful dialogue, organizers said. The event comes as the U.S. commitment to defending its allies more broadly is in doubt as the prospect of the reelection of former President Donald Trump looms. Such worries have reignited a push in Europe for more strategic autonomy. Until recently the idea was championed by only a handful of countries, in particular France, but is gaining traction and will likely be addressed at the security gathering. Trump, the front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination, suggested last Saturday he would not defend NATO allies who failed to spend enough on defence, prompting consternation in Europe. Harris is scheduled on Friday to deliver what aides have billed as a major speech on "the importance of fulfilling the U.S. role of global leadership" before meeting with U.S. lawmakers, Zelenskyy and Scholz. Harris is also likely to be watched closely for her ability to lead after a Department of Justice special counsel report last week described U.S. President Joe Biden, 81, as an elderly man with "poor memory." Trump is 77. Other big international issues will also feature at the conference, such as conflicts in the Horn of Africa increasing food insecurity and displacing millions, and relations between the West and China. (Reuters) During the Nov. 7, 2023 municipal elections, North Lebanon Township resident Brenda Hunter had a 97-year-old neighbor who had trouble returning their mail-in ballot before the deadline. So Hunter and her husband offered to take her to the Lebanon County Courthouse to place her ballot in the drop box. "The ease of that drop box was the right choice for her," she said. "The drop box is secure, it's in a safe place where she wouldn't have felt threatened. It's a reliable choice when time is of the essence, as it was in her case." Hunter was one of more than 30 residents crowded the county commissioners' meeting room Thursday morning asking that commissioners reconsider removing the courthouse ballot drop box. However, commissioners introduced new plans to residents for a proposed ballot drop off station. In a 2-1 vote on Thursday, Feb. 15, Republican incumbent Commissioners Bob Phillips and Michael Kuhn ratified their previous vote to remove the box where voters could turn in their mail-in ballots. Both commissioners have said that the removal of the box was about voter integrity. "Even before we made this decision, I was wondering, 'Can we do this a better way?'" Kuhn, the election board chairman, said. "'Is there a better way to do this?' And I think we've come up with an idea." Lebanon County Commissioner Michael Kuhn shares comments he received about reinstating the the courthouse ballot drop box to residents Thursday, Feb. 15. Kuhn was one of two commissioners who voted to remove the box in January. The former ballot drop box was located behind the Lebanon County Courthouse near a security entrance. The box had a surveillance camera mounted to the top, and in April 2021 Phillips and then Commissioner William Ames voted to limit access to the box to regular business hours. Lebanon Countys Bureau of Registration and Elections office received about 27% of mail-in ballots from the drop box, according to officials. In a 2-1 vote on Jan. 18, Phillips and Kuhn originally voted to remove the box. County Solicitor Matt Bugli said the ratification vote Thursday was to address issues of the Sunshine Act brought up by the Pennsylvania ACLU. The last day to register to vote in the presidential primary is April 8, and the last day to request a mail-in or absentee ballot is April 16. Proposed Ballot Drop Off Area Elections Director Sean Drasher introduced a proposal to residents and the county commissioners Thursday for a staffed ballot drop off point. The structure would be placed in five spaces of a Lebanon County municipal building parking lot, which is about 30 yards from where the original drop of box was. "We'll be able to make sure there is somebody double checking one person, one ballot," he said. "That person will be in a shelter of some kind, which we're trying to figure out how to do right now and get in place by the election." While the project specifics are still being finalized, Drasher said residents would be able to access the structure by a drive-up lane. The only function for staff at the drop off location would be to collect ballots from voters. If the ballot drop off point is approved by commissioners, officials acknowledged that there would need to be a discussion of cost. Drasher said the project does not fall under the election budget, and there would be recruiting for people to staff the drop off location. "I will have to pull from my office to cover holes, but I have three full-timers," he said. "That's it, and I already struggle to fill all the temporary job workers we hire this time of year to keep the data processing going in the office. So we will need help." Lebanon Countys Bureau of Registration and Elections proposed a staffed ballot drop off point located in the county municipal parking lot. Elections director Sean Drasher said the details of the drop off point is still being developed. Among the decisions that would need to be ironed out is how to secure the ballots after they've been collected. Drasher said polling places already have secure bags to transport ballots and areas such as Chester County already have staffed polling drop off areas, so there are options to secure ballots after a worker receives them. Commissioners voted unanimously to move forward with Drasher's proposal, asking for a final plan be brought at the commissioner's March 7 meeting for approval. Public Comment During an almost two-hour public comment on the issue, commissioners said that most of their correspondence was from residents who wanted them to reinstate the drop box. Phillips said during the meeting that he would not retract his vote to eliminate the box, referencing incidents in Lehigh and Chester counties. "We've taken a lot of hits on making it as convenient as possible," he said to residents. "I think convenience is important, but I can tell you, with the feedback that I got, several people have violated the law by carrying more than one ballot to that drop box." Lebanon resident Suzanne Fry told commissioners she was initially angry at the elimination of the drop box with no proposed alternatives before Thursday's meeting. "I may remind you that voting voting should be as easy as possible, and it's something to keep in mind for every action of the election board," she said. "And that process of voting has a reasonable amount of checks and balances already in place." Amy Widestrom, executive director of the League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania, told commissioners the drop box helps Lebanon County voters and is a vital part of the democratic process in the county. "Ballot drop boxes are a crucial means for citizens to exercise their right to vote securely and conveniently," she said. "By offering a way to submit ballots at a time and a place that suits their needs, drop boxes ensure that no voter is disenfranchised due to logistical hurdles or physical challenges." Rachel Moyer, A Republican primary candidate for state representative for the 102nd Legislative District, was one of only two residents who publicly supported the removal of the box Thursday. "I would like to point out that several counties have already removed drop boxes, one of them is our neighbor Lancaster County," she said. "I believe this to be their third year doing that, so we will not be the only ones with this removal." Mail-in Ballot security Despite how they voted on the ballot drop box issue, both commissioners and election officials said there are no free range mail-in ballots that are being distributed. Mail-in ballots that are sent out by the elections office have been specifically requested by registered voters. "It's one ballot per person," he said. "It's tracked individually by person. Ballots and voting materials are watermarked and barcode tracked, and everything is tied to one individual. So there is no extra out there." County officials are estimating they will send out more than 16,000 mail-in ballots for the April primary. Primary Election Info The Pennsylvania 2024 presidential primary is scheduled for April 23. The last day to register to vote is April 8. The last day to request a mail-in or absentee ballot is April 16. Residents looking for more information can visit the Lebanon County Voter Registration Office website at http://www.lebcounty.org/depts/Voter_Registration or contact them by phone at 717-228-4428. Matthew Toth is a reporter for the Lebanon Daily News. Reach him at mtoth@ldnews.com or on X at @DAMattToth. This article originally appeared on Lebanon Daily News: Lebanon County PA officials propose staffed ballot drop off point Beginning on Feb. 16 through the 18th, the Missouri Republican Party will host Lincoln Days. The state committee will also meet at the Hilton at the Kansas City International Airport on the 17th. This has been a tradition since 1900, when it was organized by the Young Republicans of Missouri, and in the early 1940s became the Missouri Association of Republicans, according to the State Historical Society of Missouri, where records kept by historian Herbert Douglas and later added to by William C. Phelps are deposited. As a former member of the Missouri GOPs state central committee and past president of the Missouri Association of Republicans, I was invited to the traditional Past Presidents Breakfast on Saturday by the current president, Kevin Corlew. I will not be able to attend. Since I wrote in an op-ed to The Kansas City Star in August 2017, regarding the need to change to a more effective and fair primary voting system out of concerns for our democracy, our current political environment has underscored this need. At a presentation by Jon Meacham with David Von Drehle on Nov. 30, 2022, at the Unity Temple in Kansas City, Meacham, a distinguished presidential historian and scholar, stated that at the present time, our democracy is at its greatest danger since the 1850s, prior to the Civil War. I became alarmed as a lifelong Republican when in 2015 Donald Trump posted a news article on Twitter (now X) calling John McCain a loser. Then at a conservative (?) forum in Iowa in 2015, Trump said he didnt like losers, dismissing McCains war service: Hes not a war hero. I like people that werent captured. As a previous serviceman myself, I reject Trumps refusal to honor the American veterans buried in a military graveyard as suckers and losers, according to the Marine Corps general at his side, his longtime chief of staff John Kelly. Trumps latest insult to the American people occurred Feb. 10, when speaking at a rally in Conway, South Carolina, he stated that he would withhold U.S. help from NATO member nations and encourage Russia and Vladimir Putin to do whatever the hell they want. And just days later, USA Today reported that Russia was moving troops up to the borders of NATO allies in the Baltic states and Finland. Book burnings and defunding libraries are current topics among Jefferson City lawmakers, reminiscent of the same things in the past in other countries. Add in the latest efforts by Republicans in the capital to quickly blame a so-called illegal immigrant for the shooting at the Chiefs Super Bowl victory rally in Kansas City, not mentioning anything of the guns that actually killed and injured so many. This was quickly debunked as false by The Star. In Washington, D.C., Republicans who for years called for control of our southern borders defeated on the command of Trump a bipartisan bill to work on the problem. This was done to continue the divisiveness and insecurity for purely political reasons, to use as a political campaign issue again and again. Let no doubt be known: Republicans do not want to address control of our border at this time. No bill is perfect, but this bipartisan bill proposed and negotiated by Republicans for four months would have been a start. I have good friends who are engaged in the present Republican Party with whom I disagree on many issues. We have become entrenched in power and the need to win, but negotiating legislation, with give and take, is necessary for good government. The world is wondering who our friends and allies are. Until our elected officials become reasonable and return to what I have believed was good government for all people, for those of all religions and social status, and perhaps what I thought were historical principals of Republican values small government, strong military, and fiscal responsibility for government and all citizens I will not be able to attend Lincoln Days. This was, in part, my response to the nice invitation to breakfast: I volunteer at Blessings Abound, a thrift store in Overland Park, and they have called for an executive/volunteer meeting for this Saturday. I unfortunately will have to miss your breakfast. I find myself disappointed in the presumptive nominee of the GOP since he has called upon Putin to invade our friends and allies. Donald Trump is a false prophet favoring dictators rather than democracy, calling our military traitors. I think I can do more good as a Christian and Republican at the thrift store. Sorry to be so late on notifying you. We should all remember what Benjamin Franklin said at the Constitutional Convention: Our republic is the best form of government if you can keep it. Do we believe in democracy or a pied piper? The silent majority must be vocal and vote. Marvin A. Singleton is a former Missouri state senator and president of the Missouri Association of Republicans. He lives in Overland Park. WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) It was a busy day for the former president and his lawyers as they fought legal battles in two different states. From New York to Georgia the cases against Donald Trump have him scrambling to balance the legal drama with his campaign for president. On Thursday morning, Trump fumed outside of a New York court room. Instead of being in South Carolina and other states campaigning Im stuck here, Trump said. His angry reaction came after a New York judge set a trial date of March 25th in the case accusing Trump of breaking campaign finance laws by paying hush money to cover up alleged affairs. Im going to have to sit here for months on a trial. I think its ridiculous. Its unfair, Trump said. At around the same time, hundreds of miles away in Atlanta, Georgia the fireworks were flying inside of the courtroom. In a hearing, Trumps legal team argued that Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis should be kicked off of the case accusing Trump of election interference in Georgia. The lawyers want the judge to remove Willis because she hired Nathan Wade, a prosecutor they say she was romantically involved with. Willis and Wade admit they had a relationship, but say it started after the case began. Thursdays hearing got heated when Willis took the stand to defend herself. At one point she shouted at the defense attorney questioning her, accusing her of making up details about the relationship. It is a lie! It is a lie! Willis said. The defense argues that Williss romantic relationship with Wade began earlier than they claim. It is highly offensive when someone lies on you and its highly offensive when they try to implicate that you slept with somebody the first day you met with them, and I take exception to it, Willis said. Our relationship wasnt a secret. It was just private, Wade said. The judge says he may remove Willis if he finds the relationship created a conflict of interest. That could delay the trial and would be a win for the former president who is criticizing all the cases for keeping him off of the campaign trail. They want to keep me nice and busy so I cant campaign so hard, Trump said. Also, in Washington D.C., the Supreme Court is considering whether to pause the federal election interference case against Trump or whether to let that go to trial too. Meanwhile this week a New York judge is expected to rule in a civil fraud case against Trump, which could leave him on the hook for millions of dollars in penalties. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to DC News Now | Washington, DC. Illinois residents spent more than $95 per month on average in 2022 for their energy bills, according to one Forbes report, and costs continued to rise last year, with a 3.8% increase in electricity service expenses across the U.S. With costs going up for other essentials as well, such as groceries, housing and more, some Illinois families may be struggling to make their utility bill payments. But can your energy company lawfully cut off your service in dangerously cold weather in Illinois, and what help is available to pay the bills? Heres what to know. Can your heat be shut off in the winter due to nonpayment? The Illinois Public Utilities Act says utility companies cannot deny people essential utility services in the winter due to an inability to pay. This period is considered to be between Dec. 1 and March 31. There is an exception, however. Utility companies may be able to disconnect service in the winter if the company has taken each of the following steps: Offered a deferred payment plan at least four months long, with a down payment requirement no more than 10% of the amount owed, and the customer has not enrolled in it. Provided contact information for available utility assistance programs. Given proper notice outlined in the law. If you receive a disconnect notice or your utilities have already been disconnected, Illinois officials recommend you call your county agency directly. In St. Clair County, you can call 618-277-6790. Utility assistance programs in Illinois State residents who meet income eligibility requirements can apply to utility bill assistance programs. One program, the federal Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, is available to Illinois residents who make no more than 200% of the federal poverty level in gross income. There is no cost to apply to LIHEAP, and you can call 1-833-711-0374 with any questions about applying. You can also fill out an online form from the Energy Assistance Foundation, which offers the Warm Neighbors Cool Friends program. The Energy Assistance Foundation partners with Ameren Illinois. The United Way of Greater St. Louis offers warming sites in excessively cold weather, as well as assistance with utility bills, food, shelter, rent and mortgage payments. The organization provides help to residents in the St. Louis metro area in Illinois and Missouri. Last week, homeless people were cleared from Cesar Chavez Plaza so that some of Hollywoods biggest names including actor Leonardo DiCaprio and director Paul Thomas Anderson could film their new movie. The budget for the film is $100 million, yet neither the Oscar winners nor their studio, Warner Bros., could be bothered to foot the bill to house people they temporarily displaced. The city of Sacramento placed notice to vacate fliers around the park and green stickers on the remaining tents. As has become common in Sacramento and other cities across California law enforcement forced people living in public spaces to leave their location and find shelter elsewhere. The city claims to have offered people in the park relocation to a shelter on Roseville Road, but only a few have accepted. Opinion Even if this is the case, relocation tremendously impacts the unhoused, with any move negatively impacting their life. Every time an unhoused individual must relocate, they may not only lose some or all of their possessions, but they also may lose connection to support systems. Communities are built, and people look out for one another. Beyond a sense of community, organizations that attempt to provide services to the unhoused cannot provide effective and adequate support. Organizations like Sacramento Street Medicine attempt to provide medical care to people experiencing homelessness. When unhoused people with medical conditions are moved from one location to another, it means their providers must track them down, which is not always easy and does not always happen. This results in the failure to reach the people who need care the most. I understand that public areas like Cesar Chavez Plaza may sometimes need to make space available for specific uses, and unhoused individuals may need to relocate. But what is most frustrating in this case was that law enforcement performed the actual sweeps for the benefit of wealthy visitors. Warner Bros. is a multi-billion-dollar company. Leonardo DiCaprio made roughly $30 million in his latest film, Killers of the Flower Moon. To think that the parties involved could not pay for short-term lodging for the individuals they displaced seems outrageous. A few nights at a motel, meals, transportation and storage would be just a drop in the bucket for DiCaprio, Anderson and Warner Bros. DiCaprio, specifically, seems passionate about the current challenges facing our world today. He has been involved in several organizations that focus on environmental issues. And, although these pursuits are admirable, he should realize the consequences his actions have on a local level. He wouldnt even have to deviate from his overall mission: People experiencing homelessness are often the most impacted by the effects of climate change. The extreme heat and heavy rainfall our region sees consistently directly threaten the health and safety of our most vulnerable. Like many other Sacramentans, Im excited to have the film in town. We dont often see the City of Trees on the silver screen. But the least our visitors could do is offer temporary lodging for the people they are displacing. A visit from Hollywood A-listers will inevitably require the city to roll out the red carpet. But to make room for that carpet, we shouldnt be forced to displace our fellow residents from their homes, however temporary they might be. Instead, we should expect our guests to help provide support and extend some graciousness to the community thats hosting them. Griff Ryan-Roberts is a law student at the University of the Pacifics McGeorge School of Law studying legislative and policy issues. He is the chief legislation editor for Volume 56 of the University of the Pacific Law Review. In New York magazines the Cut, the writer Charlotte Cowles has offered up a memoiristic account of being scammed out of $50,000. Its a humbling tale made all the more mortifying because Cowles, who personally handed her scammers fat stacks of cash in a taped-up shoe box, is the financial advice columnist for the magazine. Lord have mercy. As Cowles tells it, the scam was a feat of human manipulation. An unknown cadre of perps managed to keep her on the phone for hours on end, first pretending to be representatives of Amazon (Amazons website: Amazon will never call you.), then transferring her to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (the FTCs website: If someone says theyre calling from the FTC and then demands moneyfor ANY reasonor demands your personal or financial information, thats a scam.). Soon enough, she was on the line with a CIA agent purporting to investigate a wide-ranging conspiracy involving money laundering, drug trafficking, and blood-filled trucks at the Southern border (the CIAs website: Please DO NOT give your personal information to anyone on a dating site claiming to be a CIA officer. OK, maybe that one is not germane to Cowles.) The scammers told Cowles that some other scammers stole her identity and used it to open 22 separate bank accounts, buy countless vehicles and properties, and wire $3 million to Iraq and Jamaica. There were warrants out for her arrest in two different states for cybercrimes, money laundering, and drug trafficking. What had Cowlessupposedly, according to the scammersdone to compromise her information and identity, and to require their urgent help? In the course of their discussions, the faux-CIA agent asked Cowles if she had ever used public public or unsecured Wi-Fi: I dont know. Maybe? I said. I used the airport Wi-Fi recently. Ah, he said. Thats unfortunate. Its how many of these breaches start. I was embarrassed, like Id left my fly unzipped. How could I have been so thoughtless? But also didnt everyone use the airport Wi-Fi? Of course, the whole story the scammers told her is ridiculous. Whether or not Cowles is correct in her assertions that handing over $50,000 in a shoe box could happen to anyone is up for debate. But shes right that we could all at least use her tale as an occasion to learn something. In true financial advice columnist form, she published a service piece alongside the essay with tips on protecting yourself. Theres a question she doesnt get at: Is it plausible that someone could steal your identity if you use public Wi-Fi? Im admittedly writing this very article from a neighborhood coffee shop! The reality is that Cowles and Iand you, scrolling as you wait for your next flightare probably safe. Using public Wi-Fi is as safe as any other Wi-Fi, as long as you follow best practices, says Katie Moussouris, the founder and CEO of Luta Security. Use unique passwords stored in a password manager, use multifactor authentication, and keep your devices updated. (Seriously, use a password manager.) Every layer of defense protects your information wherever you go, says Moussouris. Chester Wisniewski, director and global field CTO at the security company Sophos, agrees. If you keep your devices up to date and use unique passwords for every site, you are unlikely to encounter safety issues online, Wisniewski says. If you enable multifactor and dont respond to suspicious texts and emails, you are nearly bulletproof. As it turns out, concerns about using public Wi-Fi networks are outdated given the encryption standards of the modern internet. So what changed this? Edward Snowden. When the allegations about the NSA vacuuming up all of our information emerged in 2013, we began to encrypt everything online including our websites, chat applications, and phone apps, Wisniewski told me. By 2019 over 90 percent of the web was encrypted and it is very close to 100 percent for most Americans today. Cowles made mistake after mistake in her high-pressure phone calls with her scammers. Many of her missteps, in addition to being fueled by the intense fear that the scammers successfully instilled in her, have to do with her hurried misunderstanding of how federal law enforcement works, and how corporate customer support works. Her understanding of cybersecurity wast exactly wrong; it was just outdated. Cowles, as it turns out, was too worried about getting hackedand not worried enough about getting scammed. Lexington will soon become the second city in Kentucky to ban landlords from discriminating against people who use federal housing vouchers and alternative forms of payment to pay rent. The Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council voted 13-2 to pass the ordinance after months of debate. Under the ordinance, the Lexington-Fayette County Human Rights Commission would investigate complaints a landlord discriminated against someone who uses a federal voucher or other forms of payment to pay rent. The commission could assess fines if a landlord is found guilty. But its not clear if the ban can take effect March 1. The GOP-controlled Kentucky General Assembly is moving swiftly to pass a bill that would prohibit local governments from enacting such bans. House Bill 18 and Senate Bill 25 have passed their respective chambers. On Wednesday, the day before the councils vote, the Senate State and Local Government committee passed a revised HB 18 that combines the House and Senate bills, which were similar but not identical. That likely means if the full Senate passes amended HB 18, the bill will be sent back to the House who can okay and or reject the changes. If passed by both chambers., it then goes to Democratic Gov. Andy Beshears desk for signature or veto. But there is likely enough votes in the Republican-controlled House and Senate to override the veto. Several Lexington council members who voted against the ordinance have previously said they felt the city should wait until the General Assembly concludes the legislative session before voting on the ordinance. Emma Anderson, one of the organizers of Kentucky Tenants, a tenants rights group that has pushed for the ban on source of income for 18 months, said Thursday nights passage of the ban was bittersweet. Its sweet because we are so much stronger than when we started. We have learned so much about how everything works. We have won something that really impacts our lives and will help us and help so many our neighbors, Anderson said. At the same time, we are now contending with whats happening at the state level. To us that means we did a good job here because the landlords felt that they had to go somewhere else to get what they wanted. I am proud. It truly was a team effort so many tenants had to take time out, miss their family events, come directly from work. Were going to come keep going. Bans help people move out of shelters and into more neighborhoods, advocates say Supporters of the local ordinance have said the citys homeless shelter system has a backlog of people waiting for housing because too few landlords take federal housing vouchers, called Housing Choice, but commonly referred to as Section 8. The vast majority of voucher holders more than 70% are Black, according to data provided by the Lexington-Fayette Housing Authority. Yet the majority of available properties that take Housing Choice in Lexington are in largely Black neighborhoods, recent searches of available rental properties show. The ban on source of income would address long-standing inequalities in rental housing, Councilwoman Shayla Lynch has said. Lynch is one of the co-sponsors of the legislation. Landlords say federal vouchers are cumbersome, problematic Landlords have pushed back against the measure, saying it would force them to participate in the Housing Choice program. That program requires inspections and other regulations. Landlords have argued the process can be cumbersome, resulting in lost rental income. Others have argued rents will increase to make it unaffordable for people with housing vouchers. Housing vouchers cover all or a portion of a persons rent depending on income. Housing advocates, however, point to research showing cities and states with bans on source of income have not seen rental rates climb higher than jurisdictions without source of income bans. Source of income bans arent new. Nineteen states have enacted similar protections including South Dakota, Oregon and Washington. Louisvilles source of income ban was enacted in 2020. Louisville is believed to be one of at least 100 local governments to enact such a ban. The bans have also been upheld in federal and state court, housing advocates have said. Council members who voted against the ordinance were Fred Brown and Chuck Ellinger. Those who voted in favor were Lynch, David Sevigny, Vice Mayor Dan Wu, Liz Sheehan, Hannah LeGris, Kathy Plomin, Tayna Fogle, James Brown, Preston Worley, Jennifer Reynolds, Denise Gray and Brenda Monarrez. How to wean our children off their smartphones? Bearing in mind we are the ones who got our offspring addicted in the first place; we bought them the mobiles and we pay for their rolling contracts, so its a bit rich that were now complaining bitterly about how they use them. The truth is that as soon as you give your son a Samsung Galaxy you effectively end his childhood. The moment your daughter gets an iPhone she will be swept away by a new peer group. But we are where we are and what is parenthood if not a painful process of revisionism followed by the constant redrawing of boundaries? We have reached a point of inflection in a groundswell of concern among adults about the mental health impact of phones on children and not before time. An Ofcom report published last year revealed more than half of eight- to 11-year-olds (55 per cent) owned a mobile phone, as did a fifth of children aged three to seven. Come secondary school, virtually every child gets a phone. Yet excessive use by children, teenagers and young adults has been linked with impaired cognitive functions and mental health problems. Some studies find frequent mobile phone use among adolescents predicts a higher incidence of symptoms of anxiety and depression something almost every parent can vouch for anecdotally. Long before Esther Ghey, the grieving mother of murdered teenager Brianna, spoke out this week about the shortcomings of the Governments new Online Safety Act, which aims to protect youngsters, she called for smartphones to be banned for under-16s. Earlier this month, two British mothers set up a WhatsApp group called Parents United for a Smartphone-Free Childhood, half-assuming it would just be the two of them, talking to each other. Within days, so many people had joined that there are now 50 groups across the country. And now actress and campaigner Sophie Winkleman, who is married to Lord Freddie Windsor, second cousin to the King, has said that schoolchildren should be given brick phones instead of smartphones to protect them from social media. Something needs to happen from higher up, said the mother of two. I dont know how anyone can defend social media and smartphone use for under-16s. I agree with her wholeheartedly but the first thing that needs to happen is to stop using the term brick, along with ban. Anything that smacks of punishment must be wiped from the discussion. Our children, understandably, dont want us to take their handsets away, so we need to be smarter and replace smartphones with something shinier and more exciting. Besides, vested interests mean huge behemoths have no incentive to curtail their businesses for moral reasons. So heres a way of satisfying both kids and corporations may I present you with the y-phone: a sleek, slick and reassuringly expensive gadget that has so many whizzy features such as incredible-quality cameras or high-end music production apps that they wont have time to scroll. Unlike grown-ups boring handsets, the y-phone (yes, Im quite pleased with the name; Id trademark it if I knew how) reflects young peoples real interests. I get that developing the y-phone wont be cheap but neither is the latest iPhone. But most importantly, the phones would be incapable of accessing social media sites, porn and, of course, the dark web. Now I know that a lot of this access can already be turned off on current smartphones should parents wish, but again, thats banning and restricting two words that teenagers do not want to hear. My y-phone will not require parental control. Its as much about breaking the habit as anything else. Like it or loathe it, and thats assuming you notice it, our phones have become extensions of us, which is why we need to intervene by preventing young people seeking affirmation, trolling one another, losing themselves down virtual rabbit holes that can lead to the most devastating outcomes. Brianna, who was transgender, was 16 when she was murdered last February. Her mother admits her daughter was addicted to her phone, which had an effect on her self-esteem. One of Briannas killers, Scarlett Jenkinson, who was just 15 at the time, had been able to access videos of torture and murder on encrypted internet browsers. We all know that extreme cases make for bad law, but underpinning all these disparate calls for action is a shared conviction that unless adults step in, we will consign another generation to poor mental health, stress and anxiety fuelled by algorithms. The moment for hand-wringing and helplessness is past. We cant pull the plug on the internet or switch off the Wi-Fi but we can reinvent the mobile and give youngsters a feeling of ownership rather than deprivation. The day tweenagers sneer at their dads fuddy-duddy new iPhone will be a day to celebrate. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 3 months with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. Ronnie Kray (right) was committed to a maximum security psychiatric hospital in 1979, serving a life sentence for murder - HULTON DEUTSCH/CORBIS HISTORICAL Ronnie Kray, the infamous East End gangster, can be heard urging young people to turn away from a life of crime in a previously unheard interview recorded from Broadmoor Hospital. Ronnie, who ruled Londons underworld with his identical twin Reggie during the Sixties, was committed to the maximum security psychiatric hospital in 1979, serving a life sentence for murder. During his confinement, he was regularly interviewed by Fred Dinenage, the veteran presenter and twins chosen biographer. Dinenage has now publicly released several cassette tapes of their conversations which had remained untouched in his attic for some 44 years. In one recording, Kray admits that his gangster lifestyle, which saw him consort with politicians and celebrities alike, has bought nothing but a life of misery. He said: Many people who have read our books may think weve had a glamorous life, but I advise any young people today not to get into any trouble because it will only bring them a life of misery. I hope people will look again at Broadmoor and the people who are here. I have also made the governor look again at my brother Reg who has been locked up for more than 25 years, its time he had justice. Good luck to you and thank you for your support, I wish I could be with you. One day with any luck I will be, all the best Ron Kray. Ronnie Kray says in the recordings that crime has brought him a 'life of misery' - WILLIAM LOVELACE/HULTON ARCHIVE Kray, a paranoid schizophrenic, had been jailed for the murder of fellow gangster George Cornell at the Blind Beggar pub in 1966. He spent 26 years at Broadmoor until his death aged 61 in 1995 from a heart attack. His brother Reggie in August 2000, was diagnosed with inoperable cancer of the bladder, and died aged 66 shortly after being freed from prison on compassionate grounds. Several tapes will be made public after spending 44 years in Fred Dinenage attic - SOLENT NEWS AND PHOTO AGENCY Dinenage, recalling the moment he dug out the cassette tape, said it took numerous attempts to convince authorities at Broadmoor to let him interview Ronnie. It was like a voice from the dead. It was quite an emotional moment for me, really. Hearing Ronnie after all these years, it was amazing to listen to. After many attempts at trying, I was allowed by Broadmoor to record a conversation with Ronnie. I put the recording away in the attic and to be honest, I completely forgot about it and then lost it. Further recordings of Kray will be heard on Dinenages upcoming tour, Ronnie, Reggie and me with Fred Dinenage. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 3 months with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. A minute of silence was observed in Lithuania during the celebration of Independence Day in connection with the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, the Telegram channel Volna.Lithuania reported on Feb. 16. The minute of silence was declared by Lithuanian politician and First Chairman of the Seimas, Vytautas Landsbergis. A spontaneous memorial rally will be held in the park near the Museum of Occupations and Freedom Fights in Vilnius, where people were called to bring flowers and candles to the monument to the victims of political repression. Russian authorities announced the death of 47-year-old opposition leader Alexei Navalny on Feb. 16. The politician spent the last three years in prison. He was arrested immediately after returning to Russia from Germany in January 2021. Since the end of 2023, he had been serving his sentence in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug in the Russian Far North. Read also: Russia claims death of jailed opposition figure Alexei Navalny Navalny's spokeswoman Kira Yarmysh nonetheless said that his team currently has no confirmation of the oppositionist's death. Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for Vladimir Putin, said he was not aware of the circumstances of Navalny's death, but added that Putin had already been informed. Were bringing the voice of Ukraine to the world. Support us with a one-time donation, or become a Patron! Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine The big headlines Friday morning concerned Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and the combative testimony Thursday she offered concerning her affair with Nathan Wade. But that wasnt the big story of the week on the Donald Trump legal front. In fact, it may have been about fifth. Whats bigger? Lets start with Judge Aileen Cannons href="https://news.yahoo.com/judge-cannon-yes-judge-cannon-213135308.html" data-3p-content-referrer="https://newrepublic.com/post/179061/judge-cannon-shut-down-trump-delay-tactic-classified-documents-trial" data-original-link="https://newrepublic.com/post/179061/judge-cannon-shut-down-trump-delay-tactic-classified-documents-trial">decision to deny Trumps attorneys bid to delay pretrial motions in the case shes hearing, about Trumps removal of classified documents from the White House. Cannon, youll recall, was appointed by Trump. After the documents case landed so unserendipitously in her lap, she made a series of nakedly pro-Trump rulings; the 11th Circuit vacated one order of hers that would have helped Trump delay the proceedings. She also blocked federal investigators from examining the material seized by the FBI, a decision eviscerated by legal experts. So maybe shes gotten the message that shed better be a real judge, not a sycophant. Trump also was dealt a blow this week when Juan Merchan, the judge in the Stormy Daniels hush-money trial, dismissed another attempt at delay by Trumps lawyers. That trial will start, as scheduled, on March 25. Andno, it doesnt stop!another judge, Arthur Engoron, is supposed to hand down his decision in the penalty phase of the civil suit brought by the New York attorney general against the Trump Organization. AG Letitia James is seeking $370 million. There are reasons to think that that number may be on the low end of where Engoron will land. But for my money, the worst part of Trumps week came in the filing by special counsel Jack Smith to the Supreme Court in response to the Trump teams request for a stay on that trial, which is the January 6 insurrection case. In a 40-page filing, Smith and his attorneys dismantled Trumps arguments one by one. Smith had until February 20 to file this response, but he did it eight days early and he means business: The charged crimes strike at the heart of our democracy. A Presidents alleged criminal scheme to overturn an election and thwart the peaceful transfer of power to his successor should be the last place to recognize a novel form of absolute immunity from federal criminal law. Applicant seeks a stay to prevent proceedings in the district court from moving towards trial, which the district court had scheduled to begin on March 4, 2024, before applicants interlocutory appeal necessitated postponement of that date. Applicant cannot show, as he must to merit a stay, a fair prospect of success in this Court. Why is this filing so important? Three reasons. First, Smith urges the Court to act quickly. He still wants the trial to start in March. If the Court agrees, picture it: Trump on trial in two separate courtrooms, on charges that strike precisely at the heart of the two biggest manifestations of his moral turpitude: In New York, as a private citizen, as a man, who treats women like garbage; in Washington, as a public, um, servant who mocks the Constitution and believes that no law applies to him. It will be perfect stereo spectacle for Americans to spend the spring observing. Second, while its true that were dealing with a very politicized Supreme Court here, and its obvious that at least two justices (Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas) will rule for Trump on just about anything, Smiths response makes a very strong set of arguments that should appeal to at least some of the Courts conservative originalists. The Framers, Smith writes, did not provide any explicit textual source of immunity to the President. And third: The Smith case is the most important of all, for the simple reason that inciting the January 6 insurrection is the worst thing Trump has done. Granted there is stiff competition for his most mortal sin. But egging on a crowd to overthrow the government and hang your own vice president still takes the cake. If Smith succeeds in convincing the Supremes to expedite this case and goes on to win a pre-election conviction, that ought to seal Trumps fate. Some recent polls have shown that swing state swing voters would be highly disinclined to vote for Trump if convicted of a crime. Weve seen the conventional wisdom turning on this question in recent weeks. Last year, the standard media line was to say that all the indictments were helping Trump, which was true if you were talking only about Republican primary voters. But now the attention of the media and of pollsters is turning toward general election voters, and they see matters differently. Every one of these cases is important because each one points to a grotesque deficiency of character that demonstrates why Trump should never be president again. But the insurrection case is the first among equals. A conviction in this case before November 5 really should be the end of the road for Trump. It all depends on the Supreme Court agreeing with Smiths motion this week. He made as strong a case as could be made. This article first appeared in Fighting Words, a weekly TNR newsletter authored by editor Michael Tomasky. Sign up here. Palestinians look at the destruction after an Israeli strike on a residential building in Rafah, Gaza Strip, Friday, Feb. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Hatem Ali) President Joe Biden has again cautioned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu against moving forward with a military operation into Gaza's southernmost city of Rafah without a credible and executable plan to protect around 1.4 million Palestinians sheltering there. However, Israels defense minister said the country is thoroughly planning its promised ground invasion of Rafah, and Netanyahu vowed early Friday to reject international dictates on a long-term resolution of Israel's conflict with the Palestinians. Two Israeli airstrikes on Rafah overnight killed at least 13 people, including nine members of the same family, according to hospital officials and relatives. The number of Palestinians killed during the war in Gaza has surpassed 28,000 people, according to the Health Ministry in Gaza. A quarter of Gazas residents are starving. About 1,200 people, mostly civilians, were killed and around 250 abducted in Hamas' attack on Israel on Oct. 7 that sparked the war. Currently: Israeli forces storm the main hospital in southern Gaza, saying hostages were likely held there. Israeli airstrikes killed 10 Lebanese civilians in a single day. Hezbollah has vowed to retaliate. A look at the arsenals of Israel and Lebanons Hezbollah militia as cross-border strikes escalate. On the USS Eisenhower, four months of combat at sea facing Houthi missiles. Find more of APs coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war. Here's the latest: PALESTINIANS ARE FLEEING RAFAH BACK TO CENTRAL GAZA, U.N. OFFICIALS SAY UNITED NATIONS U.N. humanitarian officials say Palestinians in Gazas southern city of Rafah are reportedly moving out of that region toward central areas around Deir al-Balah as intensified Israeli airstrikes continue. An estimated 1.4 million Palestinians, more than half of Gazas population, have crammed into Rafah, most of them displaced by fighting elsewhere in the territory. Hundreds of thousands are living in sprawling tent camps. U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters Friday about the reported movements toward Deir al-Balah, which is roughly 16 kilometers (10 miles) north of Rafah. He also described the lack of food in Rafah and elsewhere especially in northern Gaza, the first target of the offensive, where large areas have been completely destroyed. In Rafah, humanitarian conditions have become increasingly severe, with continued reports of people stopping aid trucks to take food, he said. Vulnerable segments of the population include children, the elderly, and people with underlying health conditions, are particularly susceptible to the risk of malnutrition. Throughout Gaza, Dujarric said the delivery of aid is hindered by frequent border closures, longstanding import restrictions of goods into Gaza, damage to critical infrastructure, and the security situation. TOP U.N. COURT REJECTS SOUTH AFRICAN REQUEST FOR URGENT MEASURES TO SAFEGUARD RAFAH FROM ISRAELI OPERATION THE HAGUE, Netherlands The top U.N. court on Friday rejected a South African request to impose urgent measures to safeguard Rafah in the Gaza Strip, but also stressed that Israel must respect earlier measures imposed late last month at a preliminary stage in a landmark genocide case. The International Court of Justice said in a statement that the perilous situation in Rafah demands immediate and effective implementation of the provisional measures that it ordered Jan. 26. It said no new order was necessary because the existing measures are applicable throughout the Gaza Strip, including in Rafah. The world court added that Israel remains bound to fully comply with its obligations under the Genocide Convention and the Jan. 26 ruling which ordered Israel to do all it can to prevent death, destruction and any acts of genocide in Gaza. Citing U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, the court noted the most recent developments in the Gaza Strip, and in Rafah in particular, would exponentially increase what is already a humanitarian nightmare with untold regional consequences. Israel has identified Rafah as the last remaining Hamas stronghold in Gaza and vowed to continue its offensive there. An estimated 1.4 million Palestinians, more than half of Gazas population, has crammed into the city, most of them displaced people who fled fighting elsewhere in Gaza. Israel has said it will evacuate the civilians before attacking, though international aid officials have said there is nowhere to go due to the vast devastation left behind by the offensive. ISRAEL IS THOROUGHLY PLANNING A GROUND INVASION OF RAFAH, DEFENSE MINISTER SAYS TEL AVIV, Israel Israels defense minister says that Israel is thoroughly planning its promised ground invasion of the southern border town of Rafah. The United States has urged Israel not to carry out the operation without a credible plan to protect the hundreds of thousands of civilians there. Many other world leaders have issued similar calls. An estimated 1.4 million Palestinians, more than half of Gazas entire population, have crammed into Rafah. The vast majority have fled fighting in other areas of Gaza, and hundreds of thousands are living in sprawling tent camps. Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told reporters Friday that Rafah is the next Hamas center of gravity that Israel plans on targeting. We are thoroughly planning future operations in Rafah, which is a significant Hamas stronghold, he said. He declined to say when the operation might begin. As he spoke, Israel pressed ahead with its operation in the nearby southern city of Khan Younis, where troops have focused on its main hospital. Gallant said a total of 70 militants have been arrested in the hospital. He alleged 20 of them participated in the Oct. 7 cross-border attack that triggered the war. ISRAEL DOES NOT INTEND TO FORCE PALESTINIANS INTO EGYPT, DEFENSE MINISTER SAYS TEL AVIV, Israel Israels defense minister says Israel has no intention of forcing Palestinian civilians into Egypt. Israel has promised a military operation in Rafah, a southern Gaza town along the Egyptian border where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have sought refuge. The Israeli pledges have raised fears that large numbers of civilians could be pushed across the border a scenario Egypt says is unacceptable. Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told reporters Friday that Israel understands Egypts concerns. The state of Israel has no intention of evacuating Palestinian civilians to Egypt, he said. We respect and value our peace agreement with Egypt, which is a cornerstone of stability in the region as well as an important partner. New satellite photos show that Egypt is building a wall near the border in its territory that appears to be in anticipation of an Israeli operation in Rafah. MISSILE FIRE TARGETS SHIP OFF YEMEN IN THE RED SEA, LIKELY FIRED BY HOUTI REBELS DUBAI, United Arab Emirates Missile fire apparently targeted a ship Friday off Yemen in the Red Sea, the latest attack suspected to have been carried out by Yemens Houthi rebels amid Israels war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip. The vessels captain reported an explosion nearby the ship in the Red Sea off the Yemeni city of Mocha, the British militarys United Kingdom Maritime Trade Organization center said. The crew and the vessel are reported safe, the UKMTO said. It did not immediately identify the vessel targeted. Yemens Houthi rebels did not immediately acknowledge carrying out the attack. However, the rebels typically take several hours before claiming their assaults. Since November, the rebels have repeatedly targeted ships in the Red Sea over Israels offensive in Gaza. They have frequently targeted vessels with tenuous or no clear links to Israel, imperiling shipping in a key route for trade among Asia, the Mideast and Europe. The U.S. and British militaries have conducted multiple rounds of airstrikes targeting the Houthis missile arsenals and launch sites in territory they hold. Meanwhile, the U.S. militarys Central Command acknowledged carrying out new airstrikes targeting the Houthis on Thursday. It described hitting three mobile anti-ship cruise missiles in Houthi-controlled territory that were prepared to launch against ships in the Red Sea. HEZBOLLAH LEADER SAYS ISRAEL WILL PAY FOR STRIKES THAT KILLED CIVILIANS IN LEBANON BEIRUT The leader of Lebanons militant Hezbollah group vowed Friday to make Israel pay blood for the killing of civilians in southern Lebanon earlier this week. Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah warned that if Israel decides to expand the war, the Iran-backed group has a huge arsenal of precision-guided missiles that can strike all parts of Israel all the way to southern Red Sea city of Eilat. Nasrallah's comments came two days after Israeli airstrikes on southern Lebanon killed 10 civilians, making it the deadliest day in more than four months of cross-border exchanges. Our enemies and friends will see that the price of blood will be blood, Nasrallah said. He added that Thursdays rocket attack on the northern Israeli town of Kiryat Shmona was only an initial response for the killing of civilians in the southern city of Nabatiyeh and the village of Souaneh. Nasrallah did not go into details of how Hezbollah will retaliate, but as he was giving his televised speech, the group said its fighters attacked two Israeli posts along the border including one with an Iran-made Burkan rocket that has a large warhead. Hezbollah activated Lebanons southern front with Israel following the Oct. 7 outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. The war began with the surprise attack in southern Israel by the Palestinian militant group Hamas, a Hezbollah ally. Hezbollah officials have said they will stop attacking Israeli military posts when Israels attack on Gaza ends. Also on Friday, Lebanon filed a complaint with the U.N. Security Council over the Israeli strikes Wednesday. Lebanon has filed 13 Security Council complaints alleging violations by Israel since Oct. 7. U.N. CHIEF SAYS AN ISRAELI OFFENSIVE ON GAZA'S RAFAH WOULD BE DEVASTATING MUNICH The United Nations chief on Friday warned that an all-out offense by Israel on southern Gaza city of Rafah would be devastating for Palestinian civilians there. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called the situation in Gaza an appalling indictment of the deadlock in global relations and said the U.N.'s humanitarian aid operation there is barely functioning. Rafah is at the core of the entire humanitarian aid operation, Guterres said in an opening speech at the Munich Security Conference. He said that humanitarian workers in Gaza are working under unimaginable conditions that include live fire, Israeli restrictions and the breakdown of public order. An all-out offensive on the city would be devastating for the Palestinian civilians living there, he added. PALESTINIAN ATTACKER OPENS FIRE AT A CROSSROADS IN SOUTHERN ISRAEL, KILLING 2 CIVILIANS JERUSALEM A Palestinian attacker opened fire at Israeli civilians in the country's south on Friday, killing two men and wounding four people, police said. The shooting took place at a central Reem junction in the city of Ashdod. Police said that the attacker had driven to the junction and started firing toward a group of civilians, before he was shot and killed by a civilian at the scene. Kaplan Hospital in the nearby city of Rehovot said two men who were shot died at the scene while two others were being treated there. One of them was in critical condition, on a ventilator, while the other was reported to be seriously wounded. Images circulated online of the assailant lying bloodied. His identity, condition and motivation for the attack were not immediately known. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sent his condolences to the families of those killed and said the attack reminds us that the whole country is a front line and that attackers do not come from just Gaza. SATELLITE IMAGES SHOW EGYPT IS BUILDING A WALL NEAR GAZA STRIP Egypt is building a wall and is leveling land near its border with the Gaza Strip ahead of a planned Israeli offensive targeting Rafah, satellite images analyzed Friday by The Associated Press show. Egypt hasn't publicly acknowledged the construction but has warned Israel not to forcibly expel the Palestinians now displaced in Rafah into Egypt. But the images from the Egyptian side of the border in the Sinai Peninsula suggest Cairo is preparing for just that scenario, something that could threatened its 1979 peace deal with Israel. Cairo officials did not respond to requests for comment Friday from the AP. The satellite images, taken Thursday by Maxar Technologies, show construction ongoing on the wall, which sits along the Sheikh Zuweid-Rafah Road some 3.5 kilometers (2 miles) west of the border with Gaza. The images show cranes, trucks and what appear to be precast concrete barriers being set up along the road. NETANYAHU REJECTS INTERNATIONAL DICTATES ON CONFLICT WITH PALESTINIANS JERUSALEM Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel will not accept what he portrayed as international dictates regarding a resolution of the conflict with the Palestinians. Writing early Friday on X, Netanyahu said such a resolution can only be the result of negotiations. He also said Israel opposes a unilateral recognition of statehood, claiming it would amount to a huge reward for the militant group Hamas following its deadly Oct. 7 attack on Israel. Netanyahu leads a right-wing coalition that is fiercely opposed to a Palestinian state arising alongside Israel. During his years as prime minister, there were no significant high-level negotiations with the Palestinians. He has boasted that he has been instrumental over the years in preventing Palestinian statehood. The two-state solution has broad international support, but international diplomatic efforts were long dormant, with successive U.S. presidents reluctant to spend political capital on a seemingly intractable conflict. This changed after the Oct. 7 attack that triggered Israels destructive war on Hamas in Gaza. Western diplomats have renewed a push for Palestinian statehood as part of a post-war scenario. Recognition of a provisional Palestinian state as an interim step has been floated, including by Britains foreign secretary. Netanyahu wrote Friday that Israel rejects outright international dictates regarding a permanent settlement with the Palestinians. ISRAELI HOSTAGE IN GAZA IS CONFIRMED DEAD BY HIS KIBBUTZ JERUSALEM An Israeli kibbutz says one of its residents who was kidnapped by Hamas has been pronounced dead. Yair Yaakov, 59, was captured from his home in Kibbutz Nir Oz on Oct. 7 when Hamas militants staged a attack on southern Israel that killed roughly 1,200 people and took 250 others hostage. His partner, Meirav Tal, and two of his children, Yagil and Or, were also taken captive but released during a brief cease-fire in November. Nir Oz was hit hard on Oct. 7, with dozens of residents taken hostage. The kibbutz said Thursday that Yaakov had been killed on Oct. 7 and his body was being held in Gaza. He was energetic, loved life, and often enjoyed music with a cold beer. He was a loving father to his children, the kibbutz said. It did not say how it had determined the death, but families are typically notified of intelligence assessments by the Israeli military. Over 100 hostages are still held captive in the Gaza Strip after 121 were released during the cease-fire. The remains of roughly 30 others either killed on Oct. 7 or who died in Hamas captivity are believed to be in Gaza. LLANO COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) A Llano County man was arrested and faces several charges connected with child pornography, according to the Llano County Sheriffs Office. Brian Edwards, 40, was arrested on Feb. 9 on charges of Possession and Promotion of Child Pornography, Possession or Promotion of Lewd Visual Material Depicting Child, Invasive Visual Recording In a Bathroom. KXAN is working to find attorney information for Edwards. We reached out to Llano County and will update this story if more information becomes available. The Llano County Sheriffs Office said it arrested Edwards after receiving information about child pornography being found at his residence. Investigators found evidence that led to warrants being issued for his arrest, according to LCSO. Edwards was taken into custody and booked into the Llano County Jail on a $740,000 bond. The investigation is still ongoing. According to LCSO, Edwards faces the following charges: 10 counts of Possession or Promotion of Child Pornography 1 count of Invasive Video Recording 1 count of Possession of Lewd Visual Material Depicting Child 9 counts of Sexual Performance by Child For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KXAN Austin. Hidden Figures is the hit movie that revealed the brilliance of a Black woman who worked for NASA in the 1960s and had to fight for respect and access to a bathroom. The movie depicted scientists and mathematicians who deserved to be recognized in fields dominated by white men -- and it wasnt easy. As we celebrate Bostons Black History this month, were talking to a local woman who faced similar challenges in her career. Gilda Barabino, Ph.D., is now president of Olin College of Engineering in Needham. President Barabino has been a trailblazer in chemical engineering and is now working to get more young people of color excited about STEM-related fields. Barabino has been the president of Olin College of Engineering since 2020. To get there, shes broken through many barriers. She was the first African-American woman admitted to the graduate program in chemical engineering at Rice University. She was just the 5th Black woman to earn a Ph.D. in that field in the entire country. When I walked into an engineering class, I didnt see much diversity and I didnt see many women. And I certainly didnt see many people who looked like me. When asked about some of the barriers she faced throughout her career, Barabino said The isolation that comes with solo status. The marginalization that might come with solo status. The idea that there might be stereotypes because people have certain perceptions, particularly if you are presenting a package that theyre not used to seeing. One thing propelled her inner drive throughout this journey. For me, it always was the love of learning, just really wanting to learn everything that I could and share it with others. Thats why today, Barabino lights up when shes around young people trying to find solutions to complex problems. She is concerned, however, about the rate of young people of color getting into STEM fields. If you look at the statistics, theres only 12% of the engineering workforce that is comprised of Blacks and Hispanics, explained Barabino. Some are not necessarily having the educational opportunities for the kind of preparation that it would take to pursue those kinds of fields. Sometimes its just not even knowing about the fields. She says society loses if those fields do not include a broad spectrum of people. When we think about having an impact on society, the problems and challenges that were facing right now could not be more complex and theyre getting larger and larger. We need every piece of talent we can put our hands-on, which means we need diverse perspectives, we need people who have had different lived experiences, we need people from different walks of life, and if we dont do that, were going to have a very difficult time solving these problems. All around Olins Needham campus are banners that say Engineering for Everyone. Its a slogan Barabino takes to heart. When we say everyone, we really mean everyone. We also mean that engineering should serve everyone. When Barabino was asked what first drew her into science, she said it was a chemistry teacher who told her that he didnt think his class was meant for girls. She said that made her determined to prove him wrong, and in the process, she fell in love with it. Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW The price rise was revealed by analysis of tickets sold by London North Eastern Railway - CHARLOTTE GRAHAM A trial to simplify train fares is adding more than 100 to the cost of some journeys on one of Britains busiest railway lines. The price rise was revealed by analysis of tickets sold by government-owned operator London North Eastern Railway (LNER) for travel on the East Coast Main Line. This follows the introduction of a two-year trial advertised as offering simpler fares. Railfuture, a campaign group, described the scheme as awful, while seat61.com, a train travel website, claimed it was designed to allow big price increases. LNER pledged to make adjustments so that as many people as possible can access the right ticket at the right price. Under the trial, the cheapest available tickets for some single journeys between London Kings Cross and Edinburgh have increased from 87 to 193.90 if purchased on the day of travel. Similar rises were found for journeys between London Kings Cross and both Newcastle and Berwick-upon-Tweed. An awful move The pilot, which was implemented earlier this month, is limited to those three routes but could be rolled out across the network if deemed successful. The price increase has been caused by the removal of super off-peak fares, which were the cheapest tickets that could be used on several departures during traditionally quieter periods without needing to be bought in advance. PA news agency analysed prices for services that could previously be travelled on by holders of those tickets, which cost between 83.80 and 87 depending on the route. Now, for some services booked on the day of travel, the lowest-priced available tickets are fully flexible anytime fares priced between 192.80 and 193.90. Most services have cheaper options available either fixed advance tickets or new semi-flexible 70min flex tickets but in some cases these fares are more expensive than the super off-peak prices. Neil Middleton, Railfuture director, said: The removal of the super off-peak ticket is an awful move. Just the possibility of having to pay over 192 for a railway ticket to travel between Kings Cross and Newcastle is enough to put you off travelling by train, possibly forever. Yes, it is quite possible to travel for a lot less, but if you need to travel unexpectedly or travel plans change, these are eye-watering prices to pay. I think they are well beyond tolerable for most peoples wallets and indeed most companies expense claims. Mr Middleton said the flexibility offered by the 70min flex fare is a real benefit but he expressed concern that the ticket may not be available when I want to travel. He urged LNER to reinstate super off-peak fares but to continue with the rest of the trial. It has already failed The introduction of the scheme comes as train operators are under increasing pressure from the Department for Transport (DfT) to increase revenue in an attempt to reduce taxpayer-funded subsidies. Mark Smith, founder of seat61.com, said: Its now pretty clear to everyone that the LNER fares simplification was a smokescreen for removing the off-peak fare to allow big price increases. I now suspect DfT is behind this. As a trial simplification for passengers, it has already failed and should not be extended. He explained that people travelling from London Kings Cross to Edinburgh at short notice could get a better deal if they buy an 87 super off-peak ticket to Haymarket, one station beyond Edinburgh. Those tickets which are still available because Haymarket is not part of the trial permit a break of journey, meaning passengers can end their trip at Edinburgh and save 55 per cent compared with the 193.90 anytime fare. Guy Hobbs, travel expert at consumer group Which?, said: It will be incredibly frustrating to passengers if a scheme proposed to simplify the ticket purchasing process is sneaking in price hikes by the back door. Super off-peak fares are usually the best value, so its essential that LNER looks at making changes to ensure this new scheme offers travellers equally competitive prices. Fares will be same or cheaper An LNER spokesperson said: Since the pilot launched, the majority of customers who have bought advance tickets have paid less than the old super off-peak fare. There will, from time to time, be traditionally classified off-peak trains where advance tickets have sold out and a more expensive anytime ticket is the only option on popular services. However, the pilot will see even more advance and 70min flex tickets being available up to the day of travel. Well continue to monitor and will make adjustments so that as many people as possible can access the right ticket at the right price for them. The operator added that before the trial, the percentage of fares purchased on the routes that were super off-peak was 11 per cent. It believes the new pricing system will more closely reflect demand and lead to fewer instances of overcrowding. A DfT spokesperson said: LNERs trial is part of a long-standing commitment to simplify complicated ticketing which can often put people off taking the train. Through this, the majority of passengers on these routes will find fares to be the same or cheaper than the old super off-peak fare. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 3 months with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. DPRK test-fires new-type surface-to-sea missile Xinhua) 09:58, February 16, 2024 SEOUL, Feb. 15 (Xinhua) -- The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) test-fired new-type surface-to-sea missile Padasuri-6 on Wednesday, with its top leader supervising the move, the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported Thursday. The missile, which is to be equipped by the DPRK navy, flew over the waters off the country's east coast for more than 1,400 seconds before hitting the target boat, the KCNA report said. Kim Jong Un, general secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea and president of the State Affairs of the DPRK, set forth the ways for reliably defending the maritime border by deploying surface-to-sea missile forces in the forward area and strengthening them to the maximum and thoroughly containing and frustrating the adventurous attempt of the enemy navy, the report said. Kim stressed the need for the DPRK to "thoroughly defend the maritime sovereignty by force of arms and actions, not by any rhetoric, statement and public notice," it added. The top leader also gave specific instructions to bolster up military preparedness in the border waters north of the Yonphyong Island and Paekryong Island, citing frequent invasions by the enemies' warships including destroyers, escort ships and speedboats, according to the KCNA report. Kim affirmed that when an enemy intrudes into the maritime border recognized by the DPRK, the country will regard it as an encroachment upon its sovereignty and an armed provocation against it, the report said. In a separate move to bolster up the national defense capabilities, Kim gave a field guidance to a major munitions factory of the country, according to another KCNA dispatch on Thursday, without specifying the exact date of the visit. (Web editor: Peng Yukai, Liu Ning) In yet another scandalous attack on freedom of expression, a number of our Austrian comrades have been summoned by a state prosecutor for their support for the IMT and Palestine. We thoroughly reject the baseless accusations of the Austrian state, and express our complete solidarity with the comrades subject to this attack. Our comrades in Austria are being persecuted by the state because they are the most consistent and determined defenders of the Palestinian people, in contrast to every other organised left-wing group in the country. Around the globe, communists are fighting not only to oppose the slaughter in Gaza, but to defend the basic democratic right to protest against Israels crimes. We refuse to be intimidated! If you are also enraged by the bloodbath in Gaza, and the complicity of your ruling class, then join the communists! We are launching the Revolutionary Communist International (RCI) in June: click here and register to attend! The comrades of Der Funke in the State of Vorarlberg in Austria have been under constant harassment since the autumn, as a result of their activities in solidarity with Palestine. The press, the state, the bourgeois parties and the Social Democratic Party (SPO) have done their utmost to put pressure on the comrades. The comrades have faced a flurry of hostile articles, including the naming of individual comrades, visits by the police at their homes and workplaces, scandalous false accusations and threats of expulsion from the (SPO). Now, the state prosecutors office in Vorarlberg has taken things one step further and formally summoned the comrades to an interview, accusing them of supporting Hamas and terrorism. The bundle of so-called evidence, compiled by the State Office for the Protection of the Constitution and Counterterrorism (LVT), tasked with monitoring extremism and threats, is not evidence at all. It consists of screenshots of the Socialist Youth of Vorarlberg (SJV) sharing the IMT statement on Palestine on social media. This was covered extensively in the press back in the autumn, and the comrades reiterated that it is perfectly possible to oppose Israels brutal occupation without supporting Hamas. But to defend Israels massacre of the Palestinians it is necessary to lump all opposition together and declare them all terrorist sympathisers. The distortions got so bad that the state broadcaster, ORF even had to issue a correction and a retraction for misrepresenting the IMT statement on Palestine. The ORF, in an article entitled The Socialist Youth justifies the Hamas attack, claimed that the IMT defended the 7 October attack as part of a revolutionary struggle. The comrades of Der Funke in the State of Vorarlberg in Austria have been under constant harassment since the autumn / Image: Der Funke This was actually something that the journalist had copied more-or-less verbatim from a press statement of a regional conservative MP of the youth of the Conservative Party (OVP) in Vorarlberg a few hours earlier. The very same slanderous accusation also found its way into an LVT police officers report. It is, of course, a completely baseless lie. The IMT statement is perfectly clear on this question, under the heading: Do we support Hamas? Our enemies will say: then you support Hamas. To this accusation we will answer: we have never supported Hamas. We do not share its ideology, nor do we condone the methods it uses. We are communists and have our own ideas, programme and methods, based on the class struggle between rich and poor, oppressors and oppressed. It is this that determines our attitude in every case. The LVT has to admit that the statement distances itself from Hamas and the attacks. But as the IMT expresses sympathy for the plight of the Palestinians, and explains what might lead Palestinians to cheer on the attack; in the warped minds of the OVP and the security police, this means that the IMT supports the attack. The fact that Hamas is hardly mentioned in the IMT statement, and support is only expressed for the Palestinians, does not seem to bother the police one bit. But they decided, without any evidence whatsoever, that what the IMT really means when it speaks about supporting the rights of Palestinians is that it is supporting Hamas. Again, theres not a sliver of evidence, but this doesnt seem to cause them undue concern. In reality, of course, this is not at all about evidence. Its an attempt to intimidate these young comrades through legal harassment, and to criminalise Palestine solidarity. It is ironic that a state body that is supposed to protect the Constitution, and presumably the freedoms enshrined in that constitution, engages in blatant harassment of opponents of the governments policy. The fact that the lies stem from the OVP, the ruling party both in the state of Vorarlberg and nationally, makes it all the more damning. The cowardly, slanderous actions of social democratic leaders certainly helped to fuel the attacks on the comrades. They not only joined the most blatant slanders of leading conservative MPs in the national parliament against Der Funke and the SJV, but even contributed their own fantastical lies to the witch hunt. This is an attempt to intimidate these young comrades through legal harassment, and to criminalise Palestine solidarity / Image: fair use Regional SPO leader Mario Leiter accused the Vorarlberg comrades of expressing sympathies with people who slit childrens throats. The Viennese party general secretary Barbara Novak invented and promoted the claim that Der Funke stands for the glorification of violence and terrorism. The subservient social democratic leaders are sucking up to the establishment in the hopes that they will be allowed to enter government and manage capitalism on behalf of the ruling class. The revolutionary communists of Der Funke constitute one of the organisations in Austria that has campaigned most energetically in defence of Palestine, in stark contrast to most of the cowardly Austrian left. This is what singled them out for attacks by the press and the whole establishment, which have published daily articles full of lies and slanders of this type. Austria is of course not the only country where the 7 October attack has been used as an excuse for an assault on freedom of speech. All of the Western democracies have engaged in an orgy of censorship and victimisation of pro-Palestine activists. Along with many others, our comrades in Switzerland, the US, Canada, Germany and Britain have been subjected to similar actions. We take the slanders of the bourgeois and their hired lackeys as a compliment. It shows that we are doing something right. Today, the comrades of Der Funke are launching a nationwide campaign condemning the harassment of the comrades and the attacks on democratic rights. The IMT offers them our full support against this attack. Freedom for Palestine! Hands off Sonja and Alex! [The following is the appeal that the Austrian comrades published in German on their website at derfunke.at] The ruling class internationally have been on the offensive against any organisation displaying solidarity with Palestine. The revolutionary communists of Der Funke the Austrian section of the International Marxist Tendency have been slandered and harassed by our political enemies for months. Now our comrades Sonja and Alex have been summoned to the public prosecutor's office as defendants, because they shared the IMT statement denouncing Israels war. In conjunction with the attacks on Gaza, the ruling class has launched a wave of slander and persecution against all those who take the side of the oppressed the Palestinians. Throughout Europe and the USA, pro-Palestinian demonstrations have been banned; activists have been arrested and harrassd by the police, and fired by their employers; while pro-Palestinian events have been cancelled and speakers censored. In Austria, at least 13 gatherings have been banned, 400 legal charges have been filed, 10 people have been arrested and the judiciary is investigating more than 70 cases. However, the Austrian state is now going one step further: it is claiming that the IMT statement Down with hypocrisy! For the defence of Gaza! is guilty of inciting terrorism, a crime that carries a maximum two-year sentence. This accusation is devoid of any truth and is simply a brutal attack on democracy and freedom of expression. The revolutionary communists of Der Funke have been slandered and harassed by our political enemies for months / Image: Der Funke The revolutionary communists of Der Funke have been slandered and harassed by our political enemies for months. The current defendants are our comrades Sonja and Alex, the chair and vice-chair of the Socialist Youth Vorarlberg, who are being targeted for sharing the IMT statement. They will be summoned as defendants to the public prosecutor's office in Feldkirch on Wednesday 21 February. The IMT statement, now criminalised in Austria, has been distributed and reproduced in dozens of countries worldwide. Has the Austrian Ministry of the Interior really discovered something new here, or is this a simple case of politically motivated defamation? We know that the latter is the case. On 18 October, the right-wing People's Party (OVP) in Vorarlberg launched a media campaign against us that rapidly spread throughout Austria and continued for weeks. A particularly important role in this witch hunt against us has been played by politicians and the media. Raphael Wichtl, a member of state parliament and the youth wing of the People's Party (JVP), has never before achieved such political success as he has from starting this smear campaign. In his initial press release, he hysterically decried our solidarity with the Palestinians and claimed that our statement welcomed the Hamas attacks as a revolutionary means for Palestinian freedom. This defamatory press release was reproduced uncritically in several media outlets and can also be found in the state polices investigation file. The IMT statement clearly explains that, with regard to Hamas: "We do not share its ideology, nor do we condone the methods it uses." The young capitalists of the JVP and all the other slanderers for that matter have deliberately ignored this. They have been at pains to show solidarity with the actions of the Israeli state apparatus, which has since killed 30,000 Palestinians and is currently bombing Rafah, the last intact city in Gaza and the last refuge for over a million imprisoned Palestinians. The hypocrisy of the bourgeoisie is unrivalled. The social democrats in Austria (SPO), meanwhile, are desperate to return to government and its leaders are prepared to capitulate at any cost. These ladies and gentlemen are using the bourgeois attacks on our principled revolutionary position to make their subservience to the OVP quite clear. In doing so, they are scraping the barrel to find whatever fantastical lies they can. The chair of the SPO in Vorarlberg, Mario Leiter, used a press conference to claim that we sympathise with child murderers: Imagine my son lives in a flat and terrorists come and slit his throat... and then perhaps our own people come along and say that everything is fine. In addition, the SPO in Vienna, in particular its regional party secretary, accused us of glorifying violence and terrorism. We stand for the international solidarity of the working class as the only force that can put an end to capitalist barbarism / Image: Der Funke All those who agitate against the Palestinians and their defenders follow the same primitive logic: Anyone who is not in favour of the genocide of the Palestinians must instead be in favour of the extermination of Jews. This is absurd and shows that the logic of the defenders of capitalism can only lead to genocide and war! The truth is that only through the class struggle, the methods of the labour movement, intifada and socialist revolution can the barbarism in the Middle East be ended. This is what we stand and fight for as revolutionary communists. Instead, the ruling class and the reformists support oppression and exploitation. All parliamentary parties in Austria are unconditionally backing Israel and are scapegoating Muslims and migrants in this country. This is profitable for them in several ways. The Austrian ruling class want to show Washington and Brussels that they are firmly committed to Western values, despite their wheeling and dealing with the West's main enemy Vladimir Putin. But the Palestinians? They have nothing, not even the half-state that they were guaranteed 30 years ago. This makes them the perfect target for the ruling class to prove their loyalty to their Western friends. Stomping on the weak also helps the ruling class deal with their problems at home. Their goal is to hammer the working class so that it cannot oppose further real wage cuts and attacks on working conditions! The bosses demonstrated this tactic in the autumn by sabotaging collective bargaining negotiations with the metalworkers, due to anonymous threats against representatives of the industry for which the trade unions are partly responsible. We stand against this hypocrisy. Dividing the working class only strengthens the exploiters. We stand for the international solidarity of the working class as the only force that can put an end to capitalist barbarism! Withdraw all accusations against Sonja and Alex! Long live international solidarity! Stop the criminalisation of solidarity with the Palestinian people! Down with the racism and division of the ruling class in Austria! For class struggle against all attacks by the capitalists on workers' rights, wages and democratic rights! For a socialist revolution in the Middle East and internationally to end the barbarism of capitalism! What can YOU do? If you want to help fight back against these slanderous attacks on revolutionary communists, here are some ways you can help: Show solidarity Share this article as widely as possible on social media and with colleagues, friends, family, acquaintances or others. It is often surprising where like-minded people can be found! Our comrades in Austria have produced this flyer in German, explaining the attacks on them. Solidarity messages can be sent by email to the following address: solidaritaet.sonja-alex@derfunke.at Donate so that we can fight back! The ruling class are becoming increasingly brazen in their attempts at intimidation and attacks. This was not the first and will not be the last. We will not be silenced support Der Funke financially to cover campaign, printing and legal costs. Support the revolutionary press! Spread the ideas that the rulers want to silence. We are attacked for openly standing on the side of the oppressed and the working class. It is precisely these ideas that are needed to change the world! Get a copy of our Austrian comrades newspaper Der Funke here. Join us! Help us to build the forces of revolutionary communism internationally! We have local groups all over the world, as well as in Austria. If there is nothing in your area, build a branch yourself with our help. Get in touch and get organised! [Source] A woman from Baton Rouge seeking a digital nomad lifestyle in Tokyo recently recounted on social media how she ended up becoming homeless in Thailand. Digital nomad aspirations: In August 2023, 25-year-old Louisiana native Kiawanna Moore booked a one-way flight to Japan to pursue becoming a remote worker. According to Moore, it was a spontaneous decision she made after a skydiving trip. She sold her car and things in her condo and gave up her "six-figure business to start a new life overseas." However, after staying in Tokyo for just one day, she realized it was too expensive and she wouldn't "last long" if she stayed, and so she booked another one-way flight to Thailand. She shared on TikTok that she traveled there with no plans and not knowing anything about the country. Trending on NextShark: Viola Davis shows love for lively atmosphere of Filipino classroom with singing student How she ended up homeless: Moore initially found a place to stay she called "treehouse" when she moved to Pai, Thailand. In a video, she shared that she enjoyed living there with the local community. However, she revealed on Jan. 11 that she moved out of the place and ended her lease after six months. Trending on NextShark: Woman laid off from LinkedIn lands job at Google after sending this video Three days after moving to Pattaya, Thailand, she ended up being homeless. After staying in Thailand for five months, I still was not able to obtain income. I still wasnt able to figure out how to make an income. I ran out of money and that is how I ended up homeless, she says in the video. Trending on NextShark: More Asian Americans own homes now than ever before Netizens' reactions: Moore's videos have elicited a range of responses from viewers. Some offered words of encouragement and practical advice, while others criticized her lack of financial planning and decision-making. "Call your family back home & say, your sorry & get them to buy you tickets to fly back. it may be cheaper to live outside the US, but without a plan," a commenter suggested. "Not having a financial plan was way risky. I am a digital nomad so I understand the wunderlust, but gotta be smart about it. Good luck to you!" another chimed in. Trending on NextShark: Missing 4-year-old boy found after 2 women go on search following Amber alert "Running away from your problems sometimes only creates more. Hopefully you find yourself and reunite with your family," wrote another. Finding good people: After sharing her plight in a TikTok livestream, a follower offered help and linked her with a Thai woman who gave her money, treated her to a spa day and even booked her a hotel room. Trending on NextShark: Watch: Hearts melt as senior Singapore couple reunite with daughter, grandkids for Lunar New Year Why she chooses to stay: Moore went on to share that despite the struggles, she does not plan to return to the U.S. just yet. People will say to me, 'Why dont you go back to America?' and I will tell them, ' I gave up everything in America to come here to start a life abroad. Why would I go and start from scratch at home when Im starting from scratch here? she said. Moore shared that while she had only $7 upon her initial move to Pattaya Beach, she managed to generate around $650 in a week and has since been working as a hairstylist. Download the NextShark App: Want to keep up to date on Asian American News? Download the NextShark App today! LUFKIN, Texas (KETK) The City of Lufkin announced on Thursday that the city council approved lowering the speed limit on FM 324/Southwood Drive. Tyler City Council approves traffic signal upgrades According to the City of Lufkin, the speed limit will be reduced from 55 to 45 on FM 324/Southwood Drive approximately 0.8 miles from the South Loop 287. The City said that their decision to lower the speed limit came as the result of a speed study conducted by the TxDOT Lufkin District. The City of Lufkin urges motorists to follow the new speed limit, and it will be enforced when signs are installed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KETK.com | FOX51.com. Self-proclaimed President of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, has announced the conclusion of the so-called counter-terrorist operation regime on the border with Ukraine, claiming to have detained several "saboteurs." Source: Lukashenko's address Quote from Lukashenko: "I received these reports in the morning. Just today, we detained several saboteurs on the Ukrainian border. With the help of drones, some Ukrainian citizens crawled through the swamps to our border, transferring explosives for carrying out [acts of] sabotage, primarily on the territory of Russia and Belarus." Details: Lukashenko mentioned the recently concluded "counter-terrorist operation regime", which, as he put it, "you didn't even notice." "Just now, the chekist-military operation has ended. All saboteurs were detained, including Belarusians. And this, in fact, happens 2-3 times a week. Can we relax? We cannot!" noted Lukashenko. (Chekist is probably a reference to Belarusian KGB staff; chekism is a term that relates to the situation in the Soviet Union where the secret police strongly controlled all spheres of society. It is also used to point out similar circumstances in post-Soviet intelligence states such as modern Russia) Background: On 15 February, the Belarusian KGB administration in Gomel Oblast introduced a counter-terrorist operation regime in the Lyelchytsy district of Gomel Oblast in Belarus, which shares a border with Ukraine. The reasons for implementing the counter-terrorist operation regime have not been disclosed. The districts executive committee stated that the counter-terrorism operation regime has been introduced within the framework of drills. At the same time, Andrii Demchenko, spokesperson for the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine, in an interview with Ukrainska Pravda, said that Ukrainian border guards did not report any offensive activities on the border with Belarus due to the introduction of a counter-terrorist operation regime in the Lyelchytsy district of Gomel Oblast in Belarus; the situation is under control. Support UP or become our patron! A court ordered the temporary closure of an East Side after-hours club in Columbus that was the site of a recent homicide. City Attorney Zach Klein issued a statement Friday that Luxxe Lounge at 1320 Beechwood Rd has been operating without a liquor license and has been on the radar of police and city officials for illegal liquor sales and reports of gun-related issues. Jul 21, 2023; Columbus, Ohio, USA; Columbus Police and SWAT officers serve an arrest warrant at a University District apartment. The city filed for a court order to shut down the club, and a Franklin County Municipal Court judge Thursday granted a temporary restraining order closing the club. Dante Gamble, 39, died early Sunday in a shooting as he left the club at closing time. Gunfire erupted at about 5:20 a.m., and Gamble suffered a gunshot. Several patrons tried to render aid. Gamble was pronounced dead at 6 a.m. after EMS transported him to Mount Carmel East Hospital.Since January 1, 2023, the Division of Police has received approximately eleven calls for service at the property, including one fight, one person with a gun, and two shootings. Mixing guns and alcohol is a recipe for disaster, and after the violence at this club over the weekend that left one dead, along with a history of violence, it is time for the City to step in to hold operators accountable and ask the Court to shut this club down, Klein said in the news release. No one should have to deal with the kind of recklessness and violence in their neighborhood. This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus nightclub shut down by court order following fatal shooting Defense attorneys for former President Donald Trump and others were in court Thursday demanding a judge disqualify Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and special prosecutor Nathan Wade from the Georgia election interference case over allegations the two had a romantic relationship and Willis benefitted from it financially. Channel 2s Richard Elliot was inside the courtroom Thursday where there were heated exchanges between Willis and one of the defense attorneys. Elliot said it was one of the most heated court hearings hes ever attended in nearly 40 years as a journalist. Willis walked into the courtroom Thursday afternoon practically demanding to testify in the hearing that could see her removed from prosecuting the case. [PHOTOS: Fulton DA takes the stand in hearing to disqualify her from election interference case] Defense attorney Ashley Merchant accused Willis of having an improper romantic relationship with Wade and of possibly misusing taxpayer money for vacations to places like the Bahamas, the Napa Valley, and the Tennessee mountains. During several tense exchanges, Willis showed her indignation at those allegations. In one of your motions, you tried to implicate I slept with him at that conference which I find to be extremely offensive, Willis said. Attorneys for Trump and the other defendants, including former Georgia Republican Party Chair David Shafer, who was at the hearing, want Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee to remove Willis and Wade from the case. Defense attorneys grilled Wade for nearly four hours as he insisted the relationship wasnt improper -- only private. [STORY: How will Fani Willis testimony impact the election interference case? A legal expert weighs in] Ms. Willis is a very, as am I, were private people not. Our relationship wasnt a secret. It was just private, Wade said. Willis didnt hide her anger at all the motions wanting to look at her bank accounts and credit card records, and she reminded the defendants that they were the ones on trial. I object to you getting records. Youve been intrusive into peoples personal lives. Youre confused. You think Im on trial. These people are on trial for trying to steal an election in 2020. Im not on trial, no matter how hard you put me on trial, Willis said. One of the witnesses earlier in the day was a former Friend of Willis, Robin Yearti, who claimed Willis was romantically involved with Wade. Theres no doubt in your mind that Ms. Willis and Mr. Wade were in a romantic relationship? Merchant asked Yearti. No doubt, Yearti said. Yearti is also a former employee of the DAs office. She told the court during a hearing on Thursday she had firsthand knowledge that Willis and Wade were romantically involved after Willis confided to her about their relationship. RELATED STORIES: She told the court, Willis and Wades relationship began in 2019 after they met at a judicial conference. Merchant asked Yearti did Willis tell her on one or more occasions that she was engaged in a romantic relationship with Wade. Yearti replied, Yes. Willis and Wade acknowledged in previous court documents that they have had a personal relationship. Yearti told the court she witnessed Willis and Wade being romantic on multiple occasions before November 2021. Hugging, kissing, just affection, Yearti said. Willis is expected to be back on the stand when court starts back up at 9 a.m. on Friday. ATLANTA, GA - FEBRUARY 15: Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis testifies during a hearing in the case of the State of Georgia v. Donald John Trump at the Fulton County Courthouse on February 15, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia. Judge Scott McAfee is hearing testimony as to whether Willis and Special Prosecutor Nathan Wade should be disqualified from the case for allegedly lying about a personal relationship. (Photo by Alyssa Pointer-Pool/Getty Images) ATLANTA, GA - FEBRUARY 15: Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis takes the stand as a witness during a hearing in the case of the State of Georgia v. Donald John Trump at the Fulton County Courthouse on February 15, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia. Judge Scott McAfee is hearing testimony as to whether Willis and Special Prosecutor Nathan Wade should be disqualified from the case for allegedly lying about a personal relationship. (Photo by Alyssa Pointer-Pool/Getty Images) ATLANTA, GA - FEBRUARY 15: Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis takes the stand as a witness during a hearing in the case of the State of Georgia v. Donald John Trump at the Fulton County Courthouse on February 15, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia. Judge Scott McAfee is hearing testimony as to whether Willis and Special Prosecutor Nathan Wade should be disqualified from the case for allegedly lying about a personal relationship. (Photo by Alyssa Pointer-Pool/Getty Images) ATLANTA, GA - FEBRUARY 15: Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis testifies during a hearing in the case of the State of Georgia v. Donald John Trump at the Fulton County Courthouse on February 15, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia. Judge Scott McAfee is hearing testimony as to whether Willis and Special Prosecutor Nathan Wade should be disqualified from the case for allegedly lying about a personal relationship. (Photo by Alyssa Pointer-Pool/Getty Images) ATLANTA, GA - FEBRUARY 15: Attorney Adam Abbatte, co-counsel for the Fulton County District Attorney's office, speaks during a hearing in the case of the State of Georgia v. Donald John Trump at the Fulton County Courthouse on February 15, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia. Judge Scott McAfee is hearing testimony as to whether DA Fani Willis and Special Prosecutor Nathan Wade should be disqualified from the case for allegedly lying about a personal relationship. (Photo by Alyssa Pointer-Pool/Getty Images) ATLANTA, GA - FEBRUARY 15: Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis testifies during a hearing in the case of the State of Georgia v. Donald John Trump at the Fulton County Courthouse on February 15, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia. Judge Scott McAfee is hearing testimony as to whether Willis and Special Prosecutor Nathan Wade should be disqualified from the case for allegedly lying about a personal relationship. (Photo by Alyssa Pointer-Pool/Getty Images) ATLANTA, GA - FEBRUARY 15: Attorney Steve Sadow speaks during a hearing in the case of the State of Georgia v. Donald John Trump at the Fulton County Courthouse on February 15, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia. Judge Scott McAfee is hearing testimony as to whether DA Fani Willis and Special Prosecutor Nathan Wade should be disqualified from the case for allegedly lying about a personal relationship. (Photo by Alyssa Pointer-Pool/Getty Images) ATLANTA, GA - FEBRUARY 15: Attorney Ashleigh Merchant speaks during a hearing in the case of the State of Georgia v. Donald John Trump at the Fulton County Courthouse on February 15, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia. Judge Scott McAfee is hearing testimony as to whether DA Fani Willis and Special Prosecutor Nathan Wade should be disqualified from the case for allegedly lying about a personal relationship. (Photo by Alyssa Pointer-Pool/Getty Images) ATLANTA, GA - FEBRUARY 15: Attorney Craig Gillen, representing David Schaffer speaks during a hearing in the case of the State of Georgia v. Donald John Trump at the Fulton County Courthouse on February 15, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia. Judge Scott McAfee is hearing testimony as to whether DA Fani Willis and Special Prosecutor Nathan Wade should be disqualified from the case for allegedly lying about a personal relationship. (Photo by Alyssa Pointer-Pool/Getty Images) ATLANTA, GA - FEBRUARY 15: Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis testifies during a hearing in the case of the State of Georgia v. Donald John Trump at the Fulton County Courthouse on February 15, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia. Judge Scott McAfee is hearing testimony as to whether Willis and Special Prosecutor Nathan Wade should be disqualified from the case for allegedly lying about a personal relationship. (Photo by Alyssa Pointer-Pool/Getty Images) ATLANTA, GA - FEBRUARY 15: Fulton County Special prosecutor Anna Cross, representing the Fulton County District attorney's office, attorney Adam Abbatte, co-counsel for the Fulton County District Attorney's office and attorney Andrew Evans, representing attorney Nathan Wade, attend a hearing in the case of the State of Georgia v. Donald John Trump at the Fulton County Courthouse on February 15, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia. Judge Scott McAfee is hearing testimony as to whether DA Fani Willis and Special Prosecutor Nathan Wade should be disqualified from the case for allegedly lying about a personal relationship. (Photo by Alyssa Pointer-Pool/Getty Images) ATLANTA, GA - FEBRUARY 15: Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis testifies during a hearing in the case of the State of Georgia v. Donald John Trump at the Fulton County Courthouse on February 15, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia. Judge Scott McAfee is hearing testimony as to whether Willis and Special Prosecutor Nathan Wade should be disqualified from the case for allegedly lying about a personal relationship. (Photo by Alyssa Pointer-Pool/Getty Images) ATLANTA, GA - FEBRUARY 15: Fulton County Special prosecutor Anna Cross, who is representing the Fulton County District attorney's office, looks on during a hearing in the case of the State of Georgia v. Donald John Trump at the Fulton County Courthouse on February 15, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia. Judge Scott McAfee is hearing testimony as to whether DA Fani Willis and Special Prosecutor Nathan Wade should be disqualified from the case for allegedly lying about a personal relationship. (Photo by Alyssa Pointer-Pool/Getty Images) ATLANTA, GA - FEBRUARY 15: Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis testifies during a hearing in the case of the State of Georgia v. Donald John Trump at the Fulton County Courthouse on February 15, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia. Judge Scott McAfee is hearing testimony as to whether Willis and Special Prosecutor Nathan Wade should be disqualified from the case for allegedly lying about a personal relationship. (Photo by Alyssa Pointer-Pool/Getty Images) ATLANTA, GA - FEBRUARY 15: Fulton County Special prosecutor Anna Cross, who is representing the Fulton County District Attorney's office, looks at District Attorney Fani Willis as she enters the courtroom during a hearing in the case of the State of Georgia v. Donald John Trump at the Fulton County Courthouse on February 15, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia. Judge Scott McAfee is hearing testimony as to whether Willis and Special Prosecutor Nathan Wade should be disqualified from the case for allegedly lying about a personal relationship. (Photo by Alyssa Pointer-Pool/Getty Images) ATLANTA, GA - FEBRUARY 15: Attorney Allyn Stockton, representing Rudy Giuliani, speaks during a hearing in the case of the State of Georgia v. Donald John Trump at the Fulton County Courthouse on February 15, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia. Judge Scott McAfee is hearing testimony as to whether DA Fani Willis and Special Prosecutor Nathan Wade should be disqualified from the case for allegedly lying about a personal relationship. (Photo by Alyssa Pointer-Pool/Getty Images) ATLANTA, GA - FEBRUARY 15: Attorney Ashleigh Merchant speaks during a hearing in the case of the State of Georgia v. Donald John Trump at the Fulton County Courthouse on February 15, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia. Judge Scott McAfee is hearing testimony as to whether DA Fani Willis and Special Prosecutor Nathan Wade should be disqualified from the case for allegedly lying about a personal relationship. (Photo by Alyssa Pointer-Pool/Getty Images) ATLANTA, GA - FEBRUARY 15: Fulton County Special Prosecutor Nathan Wade testifies during a hearing in the case of the State of Georgia v. Donald John Trump at the Fulton County Courthouse on February 15, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia. Judge Scott McAfee is hearing testimony as to whether DA Fanni Willis and Wade should be disqualified from the case for allegedly lying about a personal relationship. (Photo by Alyssa Pointer-Pool/Getty Images) ATLANTA, GA - FEBRUARY 15: Fulton County Special Prosecutor Nathan Wade is sworn in for a hearing in the case of the State of Georgia v. Donald John Trump at the Fulton County Courthouse on February 15, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia. The court is hearing testimony as to whether DA Fanni Willis and Wade should be disqualified from the case for allegedly lying about a personal relationship. (Photo by Alyssa Pointer-Pool/Getty Images) ATLANTA, GA - FEBRUARY 15: Special Prosecutor Nathan Wade testifies during a hearing in the case of the State of Georgia v. Donald John Trump at the Fulton County Courthouse on February 15, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia. Judge Scott McAfee is hearing testimony as to whether DA Fanni Willis and Wade should be disqualified from the case for allegedly lying about a personal relationship. (Photo by Alyssa Pointer-Pool/Getty Images) ATLANTA, GA - FEBRUARY 15: Fulton County Special Prosecutor Nathan Wade talks with his attorney Andrew Evans during a hearing in the case of the State of Georgia v. Donald John Trump at the Fulton County Courthouse on February 15, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia. The court is hearing testimony as to whether DA Fanni Willis and Wade should be disqualified from the case for allegedly lying about a personal relationship. (Photo by Alyssa Pointer-Pool/Getty Images) ATLANTA, GA - FEBRUARY 15: Attorney Ashleigh Merchant, representing defendant Michael Roman, speaks during a hearing in the case of the State of Georgia v. Donald John Trump at the Fulton County Courthouse on February 15, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia. Judge Scott McAfee is hearing testimony as to whether DA Fanni Willis and Special Prosecutor Nathan Wade should be disqualified from the case for allegedly lying about a personal relationship. (Photo by Alyssa Pointer-Pool/Getty Images) ATLANTA, GA - FEBRUARY 15: Attorney Ashleigh Merchant attends a hearing in the case of the State of Georgia v. Donald John Trump at the Fulton County Courthouse on February 15, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia. Judge Scott McAfee is hearing testimony as to whether DA Fanni Willis and Special Prosecutor Nathan Wade should be disqualified from the case for allegedly lying about a personal relationship. (Photo by Alyssa Pointer-Pool/Getty Images) ATLANTA, GA - FEBRUARY 15: Attorney Terrence Bradley testifies during a hearing in the case of the State of Georgia v. Donald John Trump at the Fulton County Courthouse on February 15, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia. Judge Scott McAfee is hearing testimony as to whether DA Fanni Willis and Special Prosecutor Nathan Wade should be disqualified from the case for allegedly lying about a personal relationship. (Photo by Alyssa Pointer-Pool/Getty Images) ATLANTA, GA - FEBRUARY 15: Attorney Ashleigh Merchant, representing defendant Michael Roman, speaks during a hearing in the case of the State of Georgia v. Donald John Trump at the Fulton County Courthouse on February 15, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia. Judge Scott McAfee is hearing testimony as to whether DA Fanni Willis and Special Prosecutor Nathan Wade should be disqualified from the case for allegedly lying about a personal relationship. (Photo by Alyssa Pointer-Pool/Getty Images) ATLANTA, GA - FEBRUARY 15: Fulton County Special prosecutor Anna Cross (R), who is representing the Fulton County District Attorney's office, speaks next to attorney Ashleigh Merchant, representing Michael Roman, during a hearing in the case of the State of Georgia v. Donald John Trump at the Fulton County Courthouse on February 15, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia. Judge Scott McAfee is hearing testimony as to whether DA Fanni Willis and Special Prosecutor Nathan Wade should be disqualified from the case for allegedly lying about a personal relationship. (Photo by Alyssa Pointer-Pool/Getty Images) ATLANTA, GA - FEBRUARY 15: Special Prosecutor Nathan Wade looks on during a hearing in the case of the State of Georgia v. Donald John Trump at the Fulton County Courthouse on February 15, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia. Judge Scott McAfee is hearing testimony as to whether DA Fanni Willis and Wade should be disqualified from the case for allegedly lying about a personal relationship. (Photo by Alyssa Pointer-Pool/Getty Images) ATLANTA, GA - FEBRUARY 15: Ashleigh Merchant, attorney representing defendant Michael Roman, questions Special Prosecutor Nathan Wade during a hearing in the case of the State of Georgia v. Donald John Trump at the Fulton County Courthouse on February 15, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia. Judge Scott McAfee is hearing testimony as to whether DA Fanni Willis and Wade should be disqualified from the case for allegedly lying about a personal relationship. (Photo by Alyssa Pointer-Pool/Getty Images) ATLANTA, GA - FEBRUARY 15: Defendant David Shafer attends a hearing in the case of the State of Georgia v. Donald John Trump at the Fulton County Courthouse on February 15, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia. Judge Scott McAfee is hearing testimony as to whether DA Fanni Willis and Special Prosecutor Wade should be disqualified from the case for allegedly lying about a personal relationship. (Photo by Alyssa Pointer-Pool/Getty Images) ATLANTA, GA - FEBRUARY 15: Ashleigh Merchant, attorney representing defendant Michael Roman, questions Special Prosecutor Nathan Wade during a hearing in the case of the State of Georgia v. Donald John Trump at the Fulton County Courthouse on February 15, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia. Judge Scott McAfee is hearing testimony as to whether DA Fanni Willis and Wade should be disqualified from the case for allegedly lying about a personal relationship. (Photo by Alyssa Pointer-Pool/Getty Images) ATLANTA, GA - FEBRUARY 15: Fulton County Special prosecutor Anna Cross, who is representing the Fulton County District Attorney's office, speaks during a hearing in the case of the State of Georgia v. Donald John Trump at the Fulton County Courthouse on February 15, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia. Judge Scott McAfee is hearing testimony as to whether DA Fanni Willis and Special Prosecutor Nathan Wade should be disqualified from the case for allegedly lying about a personal relationship. (Photo by Alyssa Pointer-Pool/Getty Images) ATLANTA, GA - FEBRUARY 15: Ashleigh Merchant, attorney representing defendant Michael Roman, speaks during a hearing in the case of the State of Georgia v. Donald John Trump at the Fulton County Courthouse on February 15, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia. Judge Scott McAfee is hearing testimony as to whether DA Fanni Willis and Special Prosecutor Nathan Wade should be disqualified from the case for allegedly lying about a personal relationship. (Photo by Alyssa Pointer-Pool/Getty Images) Following rulings in Colorado and Maine disqualifying former President Donald Trump from the ballot under a Fourteenth Amendment clause, Arizona House Republicans are pushing a bold initiative to designate Trump as the winner of the 2024 presidential election regardless of voters decision. State lawmakers in the GOP-controlled Legislature are pushing it as a resolution, not a bill, which would automatically declare Trump as the winner of the 2024 election in the state by offsetting the removal of a Republican candidate in two other states, Colorado and Maine. It will be heard by members of the House Election Committee on Wednesday. Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to guests at a campaign event on December 19, 2023, in Waterloo, Iowa. Iowa Republicans will be the first to select their partys nomination for the 2024 presidential race when they go to caucus on January 15, 2024. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images) In fact, some Republicans want to change the manner of the presidential election for 2024, according to the resolution. They also claim the last two elections have been riddled with controversy and lawsuits with rules, forms and procedures of the election broken that has led to low public confidence in how elections are run. To change the manner of the presidential election by appointing the eleven presidential electors to the republican primary winner to offset the removal of a republican candidate from the ballot in Colorado and Maine, the resolution states. That Governor (Katie) Hobbs sign the election reform measures listed below, and if not, the presidential electors be appointed to protect the 2024 presidential election from another mal-administered and illegally run election. As reported by KPNXs Brahm Resnik, however, its important to note that the resolution would not carry any force of law because it is not a bill. Meanwhile, Arizona state Rep. Rachel Jones, a Republican, is listed as the sponsor of the resolution. Jones has been described as a MAGA acolyte and has expressed support for Trump, according to the Phoenix New Times. She went from a stay-at-home mom to being elected to the Arizona House, the Phoenix New Times wrote. Jones has expressed concerns about the integrity of the 2020 election results, with baseless claims, like Trump, that the election was stolen. A vocal critic of the Democratic Arizona governor, Jones advocated for banning critical race theory in Arizona schools, a common talking point among GOP members across the nation. Jones wrote in an X post on Jan. 2: I will NOT move on like everything is o.k. I will NOT pretend like Fake Katie Hobbs is the legitimate governor of AZ. I will NOT standby [sic] while my favorite state is stolen by radical leftists. I will NOT allow this election to be stolen. #decertifynow. History has recently favored the voters themselves voting for presidential electors, according to the resolution. The state has the full and complete authority to change the manner of the presidential election at any time and can take back the power to change its manner. The right of the legislature to resume the power of choosing the presidential electors at any time, which constitutes changing the manner of the election, can neither be taken away nor abdicated. As for the two states mentioned in Jones resolution, she wrote that Colorado and Maine have removed a Republican candidate from the ballot and are unlawfully taking away the peoples voice to vote for whom they want to represent them in the executive branch of government. She added: The supreme court of the United States has repeatedly agreed that the state legislature has the full and complete authority regarding presidential electors. The resolution comes amid the 2024 front-runner for the Republican presidential primary facing legal challenges in several states that seek to remove him from the ballot. Trump voiced his opposition to a recent appeals court decision denying him presidential immunity, clearing the path for a federal trial in the election interference case. The U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled last week that former presidents do not enjoy absolute immunity, challenging Trumps assertion that his status shields him from federal charges related to allegations of orchestrating efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election. MAGA Acolyte In Arizona House Is Pushing to Declare Trump the Winner of the 2024 Election Regardless of Voters Choice LAKE ARIEL, WAYNE COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) The Wayne County District Attorneys Office announced Thursday, that a Lake Ariel man has been arrested on numerous charges relating to methamphetamines. According to Wayne County District Attorney, A.G. Howel, on Friday, February 9, Pennsylvania State Police (PSP) executed a search warrant in the 1500 block of Easton Turnpike, Lake Ariel, Wayne County, due to two separate occasions a Confidential Informant (CI) provided law enforcement with evidence that Joseph Phillips was selling methamphetamine from his home. Police say upon arrival, Phillips along with three other people, Ashley Brown, Donald Lamberton, and Carol Defeice were located inside the home and detained as each had an active warrant out of Wayne and Pike Counties. During the search law enforcement says several items were found that were seized as evidence. Lackawanna Co. Commissioners call for investigation into Roaring Brook Creek According to police Phillips told PSP troopers that he flushed around 1/4 ounce of meth down the toilet before state police took him into custody. Phillips was charged with two counts of manufacture, delivery, or possession of drug paraphernalia with intent to deliver manufacture, three counts of possession of a controlled substance, one count of criminal use of a communication facility, and two counts of possession of drug paraphernalia. Phillips was remanded to the Wayne County Prison after not being able to post $100,000 monetary bail. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, February 21. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to PAhomepage.com. COOKEVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) Police arrested a man after a road rage incident reportedly led to at least one shot being fired into a Cookeville business Tuesday evening. According to the Cookeville Police Department, at approximately 6:38 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 13, officers responded to a report of a firearm being discharged in the area of 7th Street and N. Walnut Avenue, near Tennessee Tech University. When authorities arrived at the scene, they said they discovered a bullet had traveled through a window of a nearby business. Even though there were customers and employees inside the business, which was open at the time of the incident, nobody was injured. Convicted felon arrested after spotted inside carjacked vehicle, Metro police say Police said they tracked down a person of interest at the Marc L. Burnett Student Recreation and Fitness Center. Even though the investigation is still ongoing, officials said they determined the gun was intentionally fired at the business as a result of a road rage incident. Using that information, law enforcement reported 30-year-old Chaz Colton Miller of Cookeville, was charged with 10 counts of reckless endangerment a class C felony and held on a $150,000 bond. CRIME TRACKER | Read the latest crime news from Middle Tennessee CPD would like to thank the Tennessee Tech University Police Department for their quick response in alerting students of the situation due to the proximity to campus as well as for their assistance with locating the person of interest, the Cookeville Police Department posted on Facebook on Wednesday, Feb. 14. If you have any information about this incident, you are asked to call the Criminal Investigation Division at 931-520-5321 or dispatch at 931-526-2125. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKRN News 2. A man convicted in the murder of a rural Carlyle woman in 1993 has been released from prison because of a new state law allowing inmates to reduce their sentences for working while incarcerated, Clinton County Sheriff Dan Travous said Friday. Robert Nail, 50, was released on parole Thursday after serving nearly 30 years of an 80-year sentence for the first-degree murder of 31-year-old Michelle L. Laux, whose body was found on March 13, 1993, north of Carlyle. Nail was tried and convicted of savagely beating Laux and leaving her to die in the frigid cold, Travous said in a news release Friday. Laux had met Nail and another man at a tavern. They all were last seen leaving the tavern at about 1 a.m.. Days later, a passer-by found Lauxs body at 9:30 a.m. about 1 miles from the tavern, according to a Belleville News-Democrat article from March 16, 1993. Travous said Nail was paroled to a home in southern Missouri. Illinois Department of Corrections records show his parole ends on Feb. 15, 2027. It is my opinion, and Im sure many of yours, Robert Nail failed to receive the punishment he deserved for his unthinkable crime, Travous said in the news release. Neither Nail nor an attorney for him could be reached for comment Friday. Travous said House Bill 3026, which went into effect on Jan. 1, paved the way for Nail to be released. The bill passed in the House by a 113-0 vote and the Senate approved it 53-1. The law, which was signed by Gov. J.B. Pritzker last summer, states that the Department of Corrections must give sentence credit for a prisoner who is engaged in self-improvement programs, volunteer work, or work assignments, according to a bill summary by the Illinois General Assembly. Clinton County is known for its safe communities and dedication to law and order, Travous said. This will not change, even as Springfield continues to undermine our efforts. Travous said the law allowed Nail to get years slashed off his sentence for working while incarcerated. A second person was charged and convicted in connection with Lauxs death. Billy E. Marsh received a 30-year sentence for first-degree murder, according to Clinton County court records. Marsh is no longer listed as being in custody of the Illinois Department of Corrections. BATTLE CREEK, Mich. (WOOD) A man was shot dead and an officer was shot in the leg in downtown Battle Creek Thursday afternoon, police say. It happened shortly after 3:40 p.m. at Cafe Rica on E. Michigan Avenue near Division Street. Authorities say officers were called there on a report of an unwanted person, a release said. A Battle Creek spokesperson could not clarify why the person was unwanted. Police on E. Michigan Avenue in downtown Battle Creek after a man was shot and killed and an officer shot in the leg at Cafe Rica on Feb. 15, 2024. Police on E. Michigan Avenue in downtown Battle Creek after a man was shot and killed and an officer shot in the leg at Cafe Rica on Feb. 15, 2024. Several officers responded, there was a physical altercation and an officer was shot in the leg. Another officer shot the man and stopped the altercation, the release said. The man died at the scene. Police did not immediately release his name but said he was a 29-year-old from Texas. A witness who was nearby told News 8 she saw an officer run inside Cafe Rica and heard multiple gunshots. Literally within minutes. I just seen her run inside and then all you heard was a ring of gunshots. Thats all you heard, said Baylee Chadwick, who was sitting in a car in a nearby parking lot. I knew it was gunshots right off I looked at my mom like, Mom, thats gunshots, we need to get out of here. And she didnt know what to do. We were literally frozen. Chadwick saw another officer run inside and she heard more gunshots. Both officers soon came out of the cafe. She was kind of trying to limp along with the male officer, but she was just holding her leg and trying to get out of there, Chadwick described. Both officers got into a cruiser, which was driven away, said Chadwick. The officer who was shot was hospitalized, according to BCPD. She is expected to be OK. The officer who shot the man will be placed on administrative leave while an investigation is underway. Michigan State Police have been tapped to conduct that investigation. Thats all standard procedure. This embedded content is not available in your region. Michigan Avenue was shut down between Division and Capital Avenue while law enforcement remained on scene. Cafe Rica said on Facebook that it would be closed for the rest of the day Thursday. I was very scared, you know? You dont know if that persons going to come out and start shooting around you, you dont know whats going to happen. It was scary, Chadwick said. She was grateful she and her family were able to drive away from the situation. My prayers go out to the police officer and her family because I cant imagine what theyre going through, Chadwick said. It was hard watching that, you know? I couldnt imagine how shes feeling. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WOODTV.com. SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) A Utah Highway Patrol troopers life was put in danger when he fell from an overpass earlier this week. The man he was attempting to stop is now being charged. Samuel Michael Swickey is charged with two counts of third-degree felony failure to respond to an officers signal to stop, one count of class B misdemeanor use or possession of drug paraphernalia, and one count of class C misdemeanor driving on a denied license, the Salt Lake County District Attorneys Office said. More mammograms, more women, more fun: The Boob Bus is coming to SLC On Feb. 13, Swickey was allegedly seen with drug paraphernalia in his mouth while driving his vehicle. A Salt Lake City police officer tried to conduct a traffic stop near 160 North 1000 West, but Swickey quickly drove away, charging documents state. Later, another officer tried to conduct a traffic stop on him near I-80 on 7200 West, but Swickey allegedly accelerated toward the officers vehicle and sideswiped it as he escaped at a high rate of speed. The Utah Department of Public Safetys helicopter began tracking him, and they found him at a motel near Amelia Earhart Drive, charging documents state. Before being taken into custody, however, Utah Highway Patrol Trooper Steve Myer attempted to disable Swickeys vehicle by deploying spike strips on a bridge that was more than 30 feet high. After Swickey avoided the spike strips, Myer lost his balance and fell off the bridge. The trooper sustained serious injuries as a result of the fall and is currently hospitalized, charging documents state. Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill said multiple law enforcement officers lives were put in danger while trying to take Swickey into custody. I think it is important to recognize that whenever you have somebody who flees, there is a concern for public safety, he said. He continued to say authorities put their lives at risk in order to safeguard our community. We are grateful that we have men and women in law enforcement who are willing to put themselves in danger to help protect the Salt Lake County community, Gill said. Our hearts go out to the loved ones and colleagues of Utah Highway Patrol Trooper Myer, who fell from the overpass while trying to ensure the safety of his fellow citizens. A GoFundMe has been set up for UHP Trooper Myer. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ABC4 Utah. A man is facing felony charges after narcotics were discovered by deputies during a traffic stop in Darke County. >>Winter Weather Advisory issued for most of region today; Accumulating snow expected Darke County Sheriffs deputies were dispatched to State Route 49 and Beamsville- Union City Road in Ansonia on Wednesday just after 5:40 p.m. on initial reports of a traffic offense. Deputies were told a silver Ford Taurus was swerving all over the road and that a male and female were fighting, according to the Darke County Sheriffs office. The vehicle had pulled into Woodington Church, and deputies found a man and woman inside. A deputy detected an odor of alcohol coming from the male driver. He took a Standard Field Sobriety Test and failed it. They placed James Moland, 49, of Winchester, Indiana under arrest for OVI. >>Something has to be done; Parents worried about school bus reliability want answers Before transporting him to jail, deputies searched Moland and located multiple baggies of suspected illegal narcotics. A probable cause search of the vehicle was conducted, and deputies found an additional bag of suspected illegal narcotics and drug paraphernalia, the sheriffs office said. The suspected narcotics field tested positive for methamphetamine and cocaine. The woman was released without charges and there was no evidence of a physical altercation in the vehicle. Moland was booked in the Darke County Jail on two felony counts of Aggravated Trafficking in Drugs and a misdemeanor charge of an OVI. Online jail records indicate that he remains in the Darke County Jail and no court appearance has been scheduled yet. The incident remains under investigation. SANTA ROSA COUNTY, Fla. (WKRG) A Georgia man has been found guilty of a 2021 murder in Navarre Beach. Man shot several times, dropped off at a Mobile McDonalds John Patrick Guillebeau (Photo courtesy of the Santa Rosa County Sheriffs Office) John Patrick Guillebeau, 62, of Ellijay, Georgia, was found guilty of second-degree murder with a firearm for the death of Victor Trial in November of 2021. On Nov. 14, 2021, officers were called to a home where they found Trial dead from a gunshot wound to his back. Officers viewed surveillance footage and gathered forensic evidence, which reportedly showed Guillebeau entering the apartment at 12:58 p.m. and leaving at 1:01 p.m. Guillebeau was arrested several days later in Alabama. Seasonal flights to 3 popular locations added at Destin-Fort Walton Beach airport He faces a minimum mandatory sentence of 25 years and a maximum sentence of life in prison. His sentencing is scheduled for April 29. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKRG News 5. BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) A man who pleaded no contest to voluntary manslaughter in a deadly gang-related shooting on Oak Street was sentenced Thursday to 21 years in prison. Mario Romo, 31, was sentenced in the death of Mario Bojorquez, 33. Suspect sought in 2018 shooting that killed 1, wounded 4 On July 9, 2022, police were called to Oak Street just south of Palm Street to reports of a shooting. They found Bojorquez with several gunshot wounds. He was taken to Kern Medical, where he later died. Click here for more details on the killing. Police said in reports filed in Superior Court they believe Romo and others were involved in a marijuana trafficking organization, and Bojorquez, a documented Sureno gang member, stole from them. The shooting was retaliation for the theft, an investigator wrote. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KGET 17. A man accused of wielding a pickax Thursday at residents in the park behind City Hall was arrested by Folsom police after a victim was hospitalized with a puncture wound. After the assault occurred about 8 a.m., the 20-year-old suspect dropped the pickax and ran from City Lions Park to the Johnny Cash Trail nearby, The Folsom Police Department said in a news release Friday that was posted on social media. The area where the attack occurred is between City Hall, the citys main library and the citys zoo sanctuary. Officers caught up to the suspect and arrested him near the 200 block of Leidesdorff Street. According to police, both the suspect and victim were experiencing homelessness. The suspect was booked into Sacramento County Main Jail and is being held without bail. According to jail records, the man is expected to be arraigned Tuesday and faces felony charges of assault with a deadly weapon and attempted murder. Our officers are often faced with tense, rapidly evolving situations involving violence or deadly weapons, Folsom police said in a statement. We are thankful this situation was resolved quickly and peacefully, and that no one else was injured. SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) A man was sentenced to prison today for the 2021 murder of Alonso Garcia-Mendoza, who was killed during a drug deal turned robbery in an LDS church parking lot. Jonathan Montrail Johnson, 23, was sentenced on Thursday to 36 years to life in prison after being convicted of several charges, including first-degree felony murder, discharge of a firearm and aggravated robbery, according to filings from Utahs Third District Court. In May 2023, one of Johnsons co-defendants, Shihab Wesaga, was also convicted for his involvement in the robbery and shooting. Wesaga was sentenced in July 2023 to multiple consecutive prison terms, court documents state. Payson High invites Kevin Bacon for one last dance in celebration of Footloose 40th anniversary Johnson, along with Wesaga and two others, were accused of luring Garcia-Mendoza to meet up for a drug deal with the intention of robbing him. The robbery led to two men firing at Garcia-Mendozas vehicle, killing him and injuring two others. According to court documents, officers with the Unified Police Department responded to the LDS church parking lot at 5305 W 5400 S on March 9, 2021, on reports of a vehicle crash. While they were on their way, officers also received reports of shots fired in the same area. Upon arrival, two men were found injured in a crashed 2014 BMW with gunshot wounds. A third man, later identified as Garcia-Mendoza, was found dead in the drivers seat of the vehicle. The two men were transported to the Intermountain Medical Center with critical injuries. One of them was shot in the chest and had two collapsed lungs. The other man suffered a gunshot wound to his hand and an injury to his face, according to court documents. Video surveillance showed a red Saturn fleeing from the churchs parking lot after the shooting. UPD detectives were able to identify the four occupants as Wesaga, Dalmar Abdi, Johnson, and a then 15-year-old boy. When interviewed, Abdi revealed that the 15-year-old boy set up a meeting with Garcia-Mendoza with the intention or robbing him during the drug deal, court documents stated. The 15-year-old boy allegedly told Abdi they needed guns and ordered Abdi to pick up shooters, to which Abdi obliged. Police say Abdi did not know the two men he picked up on the way to the church with the 15-year-old boy. The shooters were later identified as Johnson and Wesaga, documents state. When they arrived at the LDS church, Abdi said he parked the red Saturn right next to a black BMW. Two men allegedly got out of the BMW, and then two other men armed with guns exited Abdis vehicle as well. At this point, the two men from the BMW reportedly returned to their car and began to pull away, and that was when the shooters from the red Saturn started firing at the BMW. The Utah Office of the Medical Examiner determined Garcia-Mendozas cause of death as a gunshot wound that entered his left arm, penetrated his heart and then exited through his right arm. He was also reportedly shot in his jaw and lower back. His death was ruled a homicide, court documents state. Witnesses reported Johnson fled on foot after the shooting and returned a short time after to the area with the other three involved. He was later found at a residence in Kearns where he was taken into custody. Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill said the judge sent a strong message to Johnson when she sentenced him. Gun violence not only affects the victims and their loved ones, but it affects our entire community, Gill said. This sentence cannot bring the victim back, but it can help deliver some measure of justice for his loved ones and our community. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ABC4 Utah. MOBILE, Ala. (WKRG) A man was taken to a hospital after he was shot Wednesday, according to the Mobile Police Department. Texas man accused of possessing weapons, Neo-Nazi memorabilia: FHP The Mobile Police Department said officers were called to University Hospital at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday for a report of a man who had showed up with a gunshot wound. Officers determined that a man that the victim knew had shot him during an argument. MPD said this is an ongoing investigation. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKRG News 5. MEMPHIS, Tenn. A man wanted for a deadly shooting at an apartment complex in East Memphis last year was captured Thursday night, according to the U.S. Marshals Service. The deadly attack happened in November the day after Thanksgiving inside the Willow Apartments off Getwell Road in East Memphis. When police arrived, they found the victim, Brandon Houston, with a gunshot wound. He was taken to a hospital in critical condition and later died. ORIGINAL STORY: Shooting in East Memphis leaves man dead Police say two weeks ago, an eyewitness came forward regarding the November attack after the victims family tracked him down. He was able to give detectives the nickname D-Lo as the person he says shot and killed the 42-year-old victim. D-Lo, according to police, is Deangelo Valentine, who has since been charged with first-degree murder. U.S. Marshals along with the MPD and Shelby County Sheriffs Office fugitive teams went to a house on Hillbrook Road in South Memphis Thursday night to search for Valentine. The U.S. Marshals said when investigators surrounded the home, Valentine tried to flee out of the rear of the house but ran back inside. Thats when law enforcement forced their way inside. Investigators gave warnings at the door and called for Valentine to come out. He surrendered without incident. Valentine is set to appear in court on February 20. There have been five murders and/or homicides within a half-mile radius of the complex over the past year. According to property records, the complex is in foreclosure. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WREG.com. People visit Crater Lake on June 1, 2023, in Crater Lake, Ore. Management issues at Oregon's Crater Lake have prompted the federal government to consider terminating its contract with the national park's concessionaire. Crater Lake Hospitality is a subsidiary of Philadelphia-based Aramark and is contracted through 2030 to run concessions such as food and lodging. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane) PORTLAND, Ore. Years of management issues involving facility upkeep and staff at Oregon's Crater Lake have prompted the federal government to consider terminating its contract with the national park's concessionaire. Crater Lake Hospitality, a subsidiary of Philadelphia-based Aramark, is contracted through 2030 to run concessions such as food and lodging. But the National Park Service's Pacific West regional director, David Szymanski, told The Oregonian/OregonLive that the agency will terminate its contract with the company unless it shows cause as to why NPS should not do so." Szymanski did not specify a timeline of when that might happen and declined to comment on communications between the federal agency and the company, the news outlet reported. National Park Service guidelines require it to provide written notice to a concessioner when a termination is under consideration. A person takes a photo of Crater Lake on June 1, 2023, in Crater Lake, Ore. Management issues at Oregon's Crater Lake have prompted the federal government to consider terminating its contract with the national park's concessionaire. Crater Lake Hospitality is a subsidiary of Philadelphia-based Aramark and is contracted through 2030 to run concessions such as food and lodging. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane) Termination would be an extremely rare action, and one we dont take lightly. But consistent failures to meet contract requirements led to our notice of intent to terminate this contract to protect visitors and park resources, Szymanski told the news outlet. If NPS terminates the contract, NPS would organize an orderly discontinuation of Crater Lake Hospitalitys operations at the park and work to transition to a short-term contract with another operator to minimize impacts to visitors. The comments came two months after Oregon's U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden wrote to the National Park Service to highlight his serious concerns about Crater Lake Hospitality. In a public letter, he asked the federal agency to take immediate action to prevent concessionaire mismanagement from continuing to threaten Crater Lake National Park, its visitors, or the employees who live and work there. In recent annual reviews, the National Park Service has slammed the concessionaire over poor facility upkeep, failure to complete maintenance projects and a lack of staff training. The reviews have also noted staff reports of sexual assault and harassment, and subpar living and working conditions. Aramark said it was taking steps to improve conditions. The challenges at Crater Lake National Park are not indicative of our overall business operations, the company said in an emailed statement. Aramark signed a 10-year contract at Crater Lake in 2018, taking over from hospitality company Xanterra, which had operated there since 2002. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Aramark's contract was extended to 2030. According to National Park Service guidelines, the agency can terminate a contract with a concessionaire to protect visitors from unsanitary or hazardous conditions or to address a default of contract, among other reasons. Clouds appear over Crater Lake on June 1, 2023, in Crater Lake, Ore. Management issues at Oregon's Crater Lake have prompted the federal government to consider terminating its contract with the national park's concessionaire. Crater Lake Hospitality is a subsidiary of Philadelphia-based Aramark and is contracted through 2030 to run concessions such as food and lodging. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane) As The Oregonian/OregonLive reported, a concessionaire can be found in default for receiving an overall rating of unsatisfactory in one annual review or ratings of marginal in two consecutive reviews, according to the guidelines. At Crater Lake, Aramark received an unsatisfactory rating for 2023 and marginal ratings in 2022, 2021 and 2019. This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Feds consider terminating Crater Lake concession contract John Vita, 58, a long-time community volunteer, activist and leader, received the 7th Annual Robert P. Bartz Award for Outstanding Leadership before a crowd of 575. The award was the highlight of the Manatee Chamber of Commerces 61st Annual Dinner at the Bradenton Area Convention Center in Palmetto Thursday night. This award gives us the opportunity to celebrate all of the things we loved about Bob while recognizing leaders in our community who are making differences and creating their own legacies, said Janelle (Esposito) VanHoose of the Esposito Law Group, the chambers new board chair. Robert Paul Bob Bartz served as president of the Manatee Chamber of Commerce from 1982 until his death in 2017 at 65. Bob Bartz was an incredible leader, mentor and friend to many, VanHoose said. His leadership was marked by humility, tenacity and a deep commitment to doing the right thing always. David Barrett, Vitas former partner at The Milstone Group at Morgan Stanley, cited Vitas record of service: former president of the Bradenton Kiwanis Club, past Kiwanian of the Year, Key Club advisor for 30 years and two-time chair of the Kiwanis Foundation. John Vita, 58, a long-time community volunteer, activist and leader, received the 7th Annual Robert P. Bartz Award for Outstanding Leadership Thursday night before a crowd of 575. How do you introduce someone who has done so much for so many? Barrett said. His other service included serving on the Manatee County Childrens Services Advisory Board, as president of the Hernando DeSoto Historical Society and as president of the Manatee High School Alumni Association. Plus, said Barrett, Vita served on the Manatee Chamber of Commerce board, the Bradenton Area Economic Development Corporation and the Boy Scouts of Southwest Florida. Ray and Rich Morris, left and center, praised their uncle, John Vita, as a father figure who inspired them to always do their best. Vitas nephews, Ray and Rich Morris, praised him as a father figure. People love them some John Vita. This isnt something that just happens. It happens because John cares deeply about each and every one of us. He cares so much that you can feel it, Rich Morris said. And that feeling inspires us to go out and be a better version of ourselves each day. I know this is the case for my brother Ray and I, Rich Morris said. When Vita took the stage, he said that his service with the Manatee Chamber of Commerce gave him the opportunity to be part of the community. A crowd of 575 attended the Manatee Chamber of Commerces 61st annual dinner at the Bradenton Area Convention Center 2/15/2024. The leaders I met had a profound influence on my life, Vita said. The work was a benefit to the community and had an impact on the lives of many. Vita credited his parents with putting him on the right path, early on. Mom and Dad were incredible examples of the right way. They didnt just preach it. They lived it, he said. You dont have to be a hero to accomplish heroic things, Vita said. Previous recipients 2023: Bob Blalock, an attorney with the Blalock Walters law firm for his community activism and behind the scenes efforts to build a better community. 2022: Mac Carraway for his three decades of service to the Chamber. Carraway served as an executive for Schroeder-Manatee Ranch and Pacific Tomato Growers and headed his own consulting business. 2021: John and Amanda Horne, owners of the Anna Maria Oyster Bar restaurants and Cafe LEurope in Sarasota, for their service to the chamber and their many works benefiting children. 2020: Bob Buzz Turner, former publisher of the Bradenton Herald. 2019: Ron Allen, Manatee County businessman and community leader. 2018: Cliff Walters, business and community leader and principal partner with the Blalock Walters law firm. The chambers year in review In looking at the Florida scoreboard, the chambers president and CEO, Jacki Dezelski, said employers have created 4,800 jobs in Manatee County in the past 12 months. Unemployment sits at approximately 3%. Projections are that our county population will reach half a million by 2030, she said. Jacki Dezelski, president and CEO of the Manatee Chamber of Commerce, said employers have created 4,800 jobs in Manatee County in the past 12 months. While growth like we have experienced brings challenges, I will take that over the crises that come for communities that are stagnating or worse, declining. Rising to challenges takes leadership, Dezelski said. The chambers immediate past chairman, Jeff Podobnik, vice president of Florida and Dominican operations with the Pittsburgh Pirates and Bradenton Marauders, said he became involved with the chamber almost 30 years ago. It provides countless opportunities to make connections and impact our economic progress and quality of life, Podobnik said. Our chambers founding dates back to 1889. For more than 130 years, leaders just like us have seen how important it is to work together, build partnerships and get the job done, he said. The chambers immediate past chairman, Jeff Podobnik, vice president of Florida and Dominican operations with the Pittsburgh Pirates and Bradenton Marauders, said the chamber provides countless opportunities to make connections and impact Manatee Countys economic progress and quality of life. A look ahead New board chair Janelle VanHoose said that chamber members say that workforce development and finding the right talent are their top challenges. We all know that the most important resources for our businesses are the people who get the job done. Your chamber will continue and expand our efforts with many other partners to build a long-term pipeline of talent for our region, she said. Among the chambers advocacy priorities are funding for roads and bridges, continued work on residential and commercial property insurance, education and training for the workforce, attainable housing, water quality, small business resources and the tax and regulatory climate, she said. By Jarrett Renshaw (Reuters) - U.S. Senator Joe Manchin, a centrist Democrat from West Virginia, announced on Friday that he will not run for president after months of flirting with a campaign that threatened to complicate the 2024 presidential race. Manchin made the announcement during a speech at West Virginia University billed as "The Future of American Politics." Manchin, who is not seeking reelection this year, fueled speculation for months that he could enter the presidential race as an independent or third-party candidate. He has had talks with No Labels, a centrist group that has been looking into fielding a possible centrist ticket. Democrats feared a Manchin presidential bid would peel off moderate voters as they look to a likely rematch between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump. (Reporting by Jarrett Renshaw; editing by Jonathan Oatis) Kinshasa, DR Congo (PANA) - Immediate action to address the escalating humanitarian crisis in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) must be taken before the situation deteriorates further, urges humanitarian charity, the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) FILE - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, center, is escorted by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., left, and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., as he comes to the Capitol in Washington, to issue a plea for Congress to break its deadlock and approve continued wartime funding for Ukraine, Dec. 12, 2023. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File) Mitch McConnell and Chuck Schumer began their relationship as Senate leaders on a deeply toxic note as Donald Trump took office, clashing bitterly over an open Supreme Court seat. Seven years later, when it comes to the volatile topic of Ukraine aid, theyre acting like partners. The monthslong push to get Ukraine money through the Senate could have easily ended in a stalemate and a familiar round of finger pointing and blame-shifting between McConnell and Schumer. In the end, despite Trumps lobbying to kill it and the implosion of a bipartisan border deal originally designed to boost its GOP support, the $95 billion foreign aid package passed with more votes than it won during the initial floor fight. Of course, McConnell and Schumer are still battling fiercely for the Senate majority next year, each reveling in the opposing partys missteps. And their alignment to help steer Ukraine assistance past a Trump-juiced wall of conservative opposition is a largely temporary phenomenon, and no one should expect it to continue when the next high court seat opens or when Trump-era tax cuts expire next year. And yet, the two longtime rivals willingness to put their past acrimony aside amounted to a remarkable sign that, while the House devolves into ever-harsher partisanship, the Senates two leaders see themselves as something of a beacon of stability in a tumultuous Washington. Schumer even joked as much two weeks ago at a formal dinner with much of official Washington, riffing off his fellow Brooklynite Jay-Z, that he had 99 problems, but Mitch aint one." We changed the rules of the Senate without Chuck Schumer and Mitch McConnell having a personal conversation, said Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), who was intimately involved in the monthslong Ukraine fight. Here, I think they were speaking nearly every day. And when we were going back and forth in the discussions, they had an idea about what purpose we're all trying to serve. Serving that purpose came with a serious cost, particularly for McConnell. Days before his 82nd birthday, the GOP leader continues to take political body blows from his critics as he diverges from House Speaker Mike Johnson who, unlike McConnell, is vocally pro-Trump. The more that Trump and others on the right prioritize squashing Ukraine aid, the greater the challenge to McConnell. As is clear to anyone in Congress, aiding Ukraine is his top priority. Which makes it all the more revealing that McConnell has benefited from the uncharacteristic patience of Schumer. It couldnt have happened without McConnells willingness to keep his distance from Trump. Its also a 180-degree turn from the 2017 Supreme Court battle that served as their opening act together, when Schumer mounted a filibuster that led McConnell to change Senate rules. Its been a pretty rare thing, said Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.). We ought to see this from leaders more often. CONSTANT COORDINATION The Ukraine debate might serve as a capstone to a post-Trump thaw between McConnell and Schumer, who ended up collaborating on a series of bipartisan bills during President Joe Bidens first two years in office. McConnell didnt do that out of charity: He wanted to save the legislative filibuster and knew blocking everything risked hastening its demise. But Ukraine was different a last stand from the partys Reagan wing as Trumps grip on the GOP tightens. And with a Democratic president in office, Schumer and his party prioritized the fight against the Russians in a strikingly hawkish manner. In separate interviews this week, Schumer and McConnell gave each other careful praise. McConnell said that on this particular issue, which is unusual, were generally in agreement. Schumer barely deviated from that sentiment: Behind the scenes, though, the process revealed how closely they coordinated on an effort that appeared near-collapse every few days. Sometimes they chatted in conspicuous one-on-one office meetings, other times in just a few quiet words on the Senate floor. McConnell had to manage growing resistance within his own ranks, while Schumer had to handle Democrats who dont trust the GOP leader. McConnell insisted that Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.), a fastidious conservative, be the GOPs lead border negotiator, which Schumer took issue with: "I went to him and said, Lankford is not a good negotiator. He would never take Lankford out of it," the Democrat recalled. Ultimately, Trumps pull proved stronger than Lankfords. But the Sooner stuck with a deal that most of his party abandoned. It was a telltale sign of shifting fates for the two leaders. Schumer has faced scrutiny for his management of the Democratic caucus over the years, but today the heat is mostly on his counterpart. McConnells conservative critics have latched onto his work with Schumer, which Sen. Mike Braun (R-Ind.) deemed part of an "unholy alliance. While McConnell worked to defuse the intraparty tension, Schumer gave McConnell broad leeway to let months of border negotiations play out. He had no other option, effectively; working with McConnell was the only way to get a Ukraine bill through the Senate. And they needed a big vote total on the GOP side to boot. After trying unsuccessfully to keep Ukraine money in last falls spending bill, McConnell told Schumer in October that they needed to add the border to the massive foreign aid bill to have any prayer of success. As McConnell saw it, his conference needed strict immigration changes as cover to support Ukraine, which has grown increasingly unpopular among the Trump-aligned wing of the Republican Party. GOP WARMS TO DEAL BEFORE TRUMP SPEAKS McConnell and Schumer agreed early on to keep Ukraine funding packaged with Israel and Taiwan aid. Most senators thought the matter would be resolved well before Trump reclaimed his command over the congressional GOP. That proved incorrect, and it wasn't until December that the Biden administration fully engaged with the Senate negotiators. Months of negotiations followed, producing a bill that would have tightened the asylum standard, limited presidential use of parole authority and shut down the border at times of high migrant flows. It was a relatively conservative deal one that looked like a hard sell for Schumers Democrats, who spent the last decade demanding a path to citizenship for some migrants as the cost for stricter border security. Schumer recalled that when negotiators showed their agreement to some Senate Republicans, they were surprised that Democrats were prepared to accept something so right-leaning. McConnell thought he might get the 15, 16 votes he needed," Schumer said in the interview. But he remembered, even then, asking McConnell what would happen if Trump publicly opposed the border plan. McConnell's reply, in Schumer's memory: "I'm not sure it could survive. Those words were prophetic: Trumps pushback toppled the carefully constructed border deal. Republican senators, privately, were already indicating leeriness about any deal that Democrats could pass and tout during an election year. The conference kept changing positions on what it wanted to do on the border, McConnell said of his members. That's what prolonged the situation. DEMOCRATIC HAWKS ROOST As negotiations wound on and members got antsy, Schumer deputized several Democratic Ukraine hawks," including Bennet, to nudge Republicans. The normally reserved Bennet had threatened a government shutdown in September over the lack of Ukraine aid attached to government spending legislation. He and the other Ukraine hawks pushed Schumer and McConnell to issue joint statements in support of Ukraine markers that even when the Senate failed to reach an agreement, the leaders were not giving up. Those hawks eventually had their own meeting with McConnell in his office. Like many Democrats, Bennet has complained that McConnell often got the better of Democrats in the toughest conflicts of the day. Yet during that meeting, Bennet said, McConnell seemed to be ignoring the politics of the day inside the Senate GOP: He made it very clear that he was committed to doing everything he could do, Bennet said in an interview. When we were with President Zelenskyy in the old Senate chamber, he said: I'm with you,'" recalled Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.), another member of the hawks. After finally getting 70 votes for a $95 billion aid package, including $60 billion for Ukraine, the two leaders now must work together to force the House to move a task that could prove impossible. Still, they appear mutually aware that it would have proven impossible to get this far without legitimate trust. That doesn't mean they'll stop fighting for an advantage in the battle for the majority. Just ask Schumer about the price McConnell's GOP might pay for rejecting that border deal. We were playing chess, they were playing checkers, and we ended up with a Ukraine bill, Schumer said. We also end up in much better shape on the border than we were three months ago. Ursula Perano contributed to this report. When the Senate voted 70-29 Tuesday to send more aid to Ukraine, Republican Leader Mitch McConnell was in the majority of senators but in the minority of his own party. It was an important marker for the nations longest-serving Senate leader. For most of his career, the Kentuckian has been known for his use of political power, and not so much for acting on principle. But in this case, he fought for what was once a core value of the Republican Party: Internationalism, with the United States as the pole holding up the tent of world order. McConnell acted on principle to help Ukraine In a party led by Donald Trump, that has not only ceased to become a core value, but something for Republicans to campaign against. Trump opposed the bill, which has $60 billion to help Ukraine repeal Russias invasion and $14 billion to help Israel fight Hamas, which cost it some Democratic votes. McConnell is also known for acting with political motives, but in this case, Republicans Senate campaign chair, Steve Daines of Montana, said they would be hurt by passing a foreign-aid bill without the border-security measures on which the House is insisting. Remember, the House rejected the Senates bipartisan border-security bill because Trump wants to use immigration as a campaign issue. If this craziness continues, Ukraine, or much of it, will become part of Russia and the standing of our country will be greatly damaged at a perilous time. By any objective standard, the world is in a very, very challenging phase, McConnell told me. We now have two major-power competitors ... and we have what Reagan would have called an axis of evil ... with Iran funding all these proxies. ... I think this is a uniquely dangerous position for our country and the world. U.S. Senate Minority Leader Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) arrives at the U.S. Capitol on February 12, 2024 in Washington, DC. With most Republican senators not voting that way, McConnell said he has sometimes felt like Winston Churchill warning about the Germans before World War II in which his father was a soldier and met the Russians in what is now Czechia in 1945. We have some letters he wrote to my mother ... saying he thought the Russians were going to be a big problem, and that certainly proved to be true. McConnell entered politics as a moderate Republican, but moved rightward with his party to climb its leadership ladder. He had largely stopped doing that as it became more Trumpian, so this wasnt the first time he has been in a minority of his caucus. Other examples include the big infrastructure bill and measures to raise the national-debt limit and keep the government open. We need someone we can trust: Mitch McConnell no longer aligns with today's Republican base There are a number of members who are glad these matters get taken care of, but for some reason or another dont want to vote for them, McConnell said. According to The Wall Street Journal, 19 Republican senators voted the infrastructure bill in 2021, and 17 voted to raise the debt ceiling in June 2023. Mitch McConnell's next test Keeping the government open in early March, and avoiding the blame that always attaches to Republicans when it shuts down, is likely to be McConnells next test. He can do little for the Ukraine-aid bill in the House, other than what he has already done publicly call on struggling Speaker Mike Johnson to put the bill up for a vote. The politics are difficult but the facts are simply overwhelming, McConnell told me. That sounds like a failure of the political system. McConnell said he didnt mean it that way: Im just trying to focus on the facts and the right thing for our country and the free world. This is the latest chapter in a long struggle between the forces of internationalism and isolationism, largely among Republicans. Isolationism prevailed in the GOP before World War II, but after it, enough Republicans changed their minds for the nation to adopt internationalism. Republicans did that after 1952, when they chose an internationalist, Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower, as their presidential nominee, and he was elected twice. Todays GOP bears little resemblance to that one, and Trump is its ruler, as Republicans in Congress kowtow to him, pleasing voters who want simple answers to complex problems. I think the declining support for Ukraine is almost entirely because our nominee for president doesnt think its a good idea, McConnell told the Journal. McConnell usually talks little about Trump, because casting aspersions at the leader of your party is not a way to maintain your influence. Getting 21 Republicans to vote with him was something of a victory over Trump, but that very observation is an indicator of McConnells reduced influence. McConnell is in a fix of his own making: The return of Donald Trump. McConnells health issues lead many to think he will give up the leaders job after this year, but hes mum on that. He will be 82 Tuesday, and his Senate term runs through 2026. Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, who didnt vote with him on Ukraine, told reporters that McConnell could probably be re-elected leader even if Trump wins the presidency. The election will also determine Senate control, and Republicans are reasonably hopeful about regaining it. McConnell would surely relish one more round as majority leader, and hes all about politics when it comes to regaining control. On Ukraine, he told me, Our non-incumbents can take whatever position they want to on this issue. Al Cross (X @ruralj) is a professor in the University of Kentucky School of Journalism and Media and director emeritus of its Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues. His opinions are his own, not UKs. He was the longest-serving political writer for the Louisville Courier Journal (1989-2004) and national president of the Society of Professional Journalists in 2001-02. He joined the Kentucky Journalism Hall of Fame in 2010. The NKyTribune is the anchor home for his column. This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: McConnell bucks Trump? What Senator's Ukraine aid vote signals to GOP The number of measles cases in Florida is continuing to rise, as more states across the rest of the U.S. are reporting cases of the highly contagious virus. Eight people have been confirmed to have measles in South Florida as of Feb. 25, NBC Miami reported. The cases are linked to Manatee Bay Elementary in Weston, Florida, part of Broward County. The school first reported that a third grader with no history of travel was sick with the virus on Feb. 16. That number has since increased to at least eight cases. The ages of the other patients hasn't been made public. Local authorities haven't confirmed if the infected children are unvaccinated, but experts told NBC Miami it is likely, as two doses of measles vaccine (the recommendation) are 97% effective. The state's Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo has been criticized for his handling of measles at the school, telling parents in a letter last week that children who are not fully vaccinated are still permitted to attend school if parents choose to send them. Measles was previously eradicated more than 20 years ago in the U.S. But childhood vaccination rates are falling, and so far this year, at least 13 states are reporting cases. In order to prevent measles outbreaks, at least 95% of the population must have received two doses of the vaccine. But two-thirds of U.S. states, including Florida, have not hit this mark, TODAY reported in a segment aired Feb. 22. The last case of measles in Broward County was in 2019, and there was only one the whole year, NBC Miami reported. Globally, measles cases were up 79% in 2023 compared to the prior year, according to the World Health Organization. There are currently multiple large measles outbreaks around the world. In a press conference on Feb. 20, WHO noted that by the end of 2024, more than half of countries would be at risk of a measles outbreak unless prevention measures are put in place. Measles is a highly contagious virus that can spread quickly through the general public if people are not vaccinated, Dr. Sandra Kemmerly, infectious diseases specialist and system medical director for quality and patient safety at Ochsner Health in New Orleans, Louisiana, tells TODAY.com. Heres a look at how widespread measles is in the U.S. right now, why experts think it is making a resurgence, the symptoms to watch for and how to know if you are immune. Measles hits the US in 2024 Measles was declared eradicated from the United States in 2000 due to a highly effective vaccination program. Over the last decade and a half, we saw an irregular but overall increase in the number of cases, Dr. Linda Yancey, infectious disease specialist at Memorial Hermann Health System in Houston, Texas, tells TODAY.com. The trend stopped abruptly in 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic hit as everyone was isolating and protecting themselves against the coronavirus, she adds. But now, the U.S. is again seeing a rise in cases. Many people have missed vaccinations due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and anti-vaccination sentiment is on the rise, NBC News reported. On Jan. 25, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a health alert to warn the public about growing cases of measles. The agency confirmed 23 cases from Dec. 1, 2023, to Jan. 23, 2024, including seven cases of international travelers and two outbreaks of more than five cases each, mostly in children and adolescents who had not been vaccinated. Worldwide, we are in the midst of a large measles outbreak, Yancey notes. There are currently large outbreaks in many Asian, Middle Eastern, African and European countries, a CDC spokesperson tells TODAY.com. The World Health Organization recently warned of an "alarming" 45-fold increase in measles cases in Europe in 2023 compared to 2022, BBC reported. In Europe and western Asia, measles numbers went from under 1,000 in 2022 to 30,000 in 2023, and these numbers appear to be increasing in 2024, Yancey adds. Last month, health officials in the United Kingdom warned of measles spreading rapidly after confirming more than 200 cases in the West Midlands, according to a press release. Where is measles in the US? So far, the following U.S. states have recently reported cases of measles: California two cases, first case in Los Angeles County since 2020 Georgia two siblings in metro Atlanta family, first case since 2020 Missouri one case in Clay County Maryland one case in Montgomery County after international travel New Jersey one case in Camden County, first case since March 2023 Ohio one case in Montgomery County Pennsylvania nine cases, eight in Philadelphia and one outside the city Washington six cases in Clark and Wahkiakum counties Arizona one case in Maricopa County Minnesota two cases in Twin Cities metro area Florida New York City Virginia Is there a measles outbreak in the US right now? An outbreak is defined by more cases occurring than what's expected, according to the CDC. While the nation is not experiencing a widespread outbreak, there are small pockets in the country, including Philadelphia and several Washington counties, that initiated outbreak investigations after discovering an increase in the number of related cases for this time of year. There have been a few small, isolated outbreaks mostly related to international travelers and children who have not been vaccinated, Kemmerly explains. "Infectious diseases experts are on high alert as several cases of measles have been reported in the U.S. since December." The last major outbreak of measles in the U.S. occurred in 2019 when there were 1,274 individual cases confirmed in 31 states, according to the CDC. This was the highest number of reported cases in the U.S. since 1992, with most cases among those who were unvaccinated. Why has measles made a comeback in the US? The decline in measles vaccination rates globally increases the risk of larger measles outbreaks worldwide, including in the United States, a CDC spokesperson explains. Because measles remains a common disease in many parts of the world, we are seeing cases brought into the United States by unvaccinated U.S. residents following international travel, the spokesperson adds. As the COVID-19 pandemic caused many children to miss their well visits, fewer children were vaccinated compared to before the pandemic. The CDC estimates over 61 million doses of measles vaccines were either postponed or missed from 2020 to 2022 due to the pandemic. When community protection drops, we know that unvaccinated people are at risk, a CDC spokesperson says. The pandemic also fueled the anti-vaccine movement despite infectious disease experts and health officials emphasizing to the public that vaccines are safe and prevent disease. Last year, the CDC also found school vaccination exemptions were the highest on record among kindergarteners, with measles vaccination rates lower than pre-pandemic levels at 93.1%. Experts say this is below the 95% threshold needed for herd immunity for measles, where enough of a population is vaccinated so that even if some get measles, outbreaks cannot occur. The current increase in cases is alarming and can most likely be explained by a decrease in the overall vaccination rate, Kemmerly says. Measles symptoms Measles has several stages of infection that occur over two to three weeks. The incubation period, or the time between exposure to a disease and symptoms starting, is usually one to two weeks. Symptoms then develop in stages, lasting about 10 days in total. Recovery also progresses in phases. The first symptoms of measles last two to three days and are non-specific and mild, including: Cough Runny nose Watery eyes In the next phase, look for: White spots over a red background inside the cheeks called Koplik spots. These skin findings are unique for measles (so if you see these lesions, its most likely measles and nothing else). A red rash, usually three to five days after the first symptoms develop. It looks like small raised bumps that erupt on the face and near the hairline, then spread down to the rest of the body. A high fever as the rash starts to appear The bumps eventually clustering together, giving a splotchy red appearance all over the body, according to Mayo Clinic Usually the rash lasts about a week. You'll know you're recovering if: The rash gradually fades first on the face and last on the extremities. The cough goes away. The skin peels where rash appeared for about 10 days. People are generally contagious four days before the rash develops to four days after, the CDC notes. Kids and adults will have a similar pattern of symptoms, Yancey adds. But some children, especially those not update with their vaccines or younger than 5, are more likely to experience complications, such as ear infections and serious infections, such as pneumonia and encephalitis, a life-threatening inflammation in the brain. Approximately, one in five people with measles is hospitalized, according to the CDC. Measles vaccine To prevent measles infection and importation, all U.S. residents should be up to date on their MMR vaccinations prior to international travel, a CDC spokesperson tells TODAY.com. The MMR vaccine protects against three infectious diseases: measles, mumps and rubella. Typically, children get two doses early in life, starting the first dose at 12 to 15 months and the second dose at 4 to 6 years old (but they can receive it earlier as long as at least 28 days from first dose). Adults who are not immune should get at least one MMR vaccine, but those who are at higher risk of contracting the disease, such as college teachers, health care workers and international travelers, should get two vaccines at least 28 days apart, according to the CDC. The CDC emphasizes the vaccine is highly protective. One dose of the MMR vaccine provides 93% protection against measles and two doses provide 97% protection, a CDC spokesperson explains. For those who are unsure if they are immune to measles, the CDC says there are three main ways to find out: Lab test: Ask for a blood test that looks for antibodies against measles. If the test is positive, this means someone was naturally infected in the past or were previously vaccinated. Birth year: Adults born before 1957 are presumed to be naturally protected against measles (because they were infected as a child). Written documentation: Adults not at high risk for exposure and preschool-age children are considered immune if they have at least one documented dose of a MMR vaccine that was given on or after their first birthday. Adults high risk for exposure and school-age children need two documented doses of the MMR vaccine to be presumed immune. Do you need a measles booster? No, if you received two doses of the MMR vaccine as a child according to the recommended schedule, you do not need a booster and are considered protected for life, according to the CDC. This article was originally published on TODAY.com A new piece of legislation aimed at slowing property tax increases for Georgia residents passed the state Senate, setting it up for approval in the Georgia House of Representatives and, potentially, Gov. Brian Kemp. Lt. Gov. Burt Jones has highlighted the measure as a priority for the state in a bid to bring tax relief to Georgians, one of several separate legislative efforts and plans by both Jones and Kemp. Senate Bill 349, called the Save Our Homes Act, would limit the annual increases of home valuations, as related to property taxes, to a cap of 3% each year. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] According to Jones, its part of an overall effort to keep costs for Georgia families lower. Our goal has always been to keep costs low for Georgia families, Jones said in a statement. Senate Bill 349 limits increases in property taxes year to year, reforms the appeals process, and allows for more transparency in our taxation procedures. This bill will make the taxation process both less confusing and less expensive for Georgia taxpayers. Speaking to the Associated Press in January, Sen. Chuck Hufstetler said school districts and municipal governments are pocketing higher revenues based on values rather than keeping bills level. TRENDING STORIES: Ive seen some increases where, just in a couple of years, their collections have gone up 40%, Hufstetler told The Associated Press on Friday. And they havent dropped the millage rate and they are using it for a backdoor tax increase. And I think there needs to be some moderation on that. The Georgia Department of Revenue reported in January that property taxes statewide rose about 41% from 2018 to 2022, while properties assessed values were up 39%. In terms of impact on local governments, DOR reported that property tax continues to be the primary revenue source, totaling approximately $16.5 billion in revenue. However, that figure doesnt include taxes levied and collected from local municipalities, because DORs involvement in the collection of city taxes is limited. As previously reported, House Speaker Jon Burns has also proposed doubling the states homestead exemption. In a more localized effort, Atlanta lawmakers have also filed legislation to give senior residents a break on their property taxes, at least when it comes to funding the public school system. Now that its passed the Senate, SB 349 heads to the Georgia House of Representatives. If it clears the chamber and is approved by Kemp, property tax changes for Georgia homeowners could be in effect by Jan. 1, 2025. Still, the bill itself says a referendum vote may be necessary as well, regarding the provisions of the bill. [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] IN OTHER NEWS: The reported death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny is unlikely to spark mass protests across the country, the Russian independent outlet Meduza reported on Feb. 16, citing four Russian official sources. Navalny's death may have a negative impact on dictator Vladimir Putin's electoral campaign ahead of this year's presidential vote but is unlikely to affect the actual result, according to two sources close to Putin's administration, one source close to the United Russia party, and a political strategist working for the Kremlin. Meduza noted that some of their sources spoke cynically about the oppositionist's demise, saying he "understood what he was getting into when returning to Russia." They explained his death by poor prison conditions, insisting it was not a targeted killing. Another source told the outlet that Navalny's prison conditions were contingent on decisions by Russia's top leadership. Navalny had reportedly faced extensive abuse during his imprisonment, and several Russian doctors sent an open letter to Putin in January demanding proper medical access to the oppositionist, saying he suffered from a "temperature, fever, and cough." Russian media reported on Feb. 16 that Russian opposition leader Navalny died in prison. Navalny was being held in a penal colony in Russia's far northern Yamal-Nenets Autonomous District. According to the prison service, Navalny supposedly lost consciousness and could not be revived. The penal colony that Navalny was held in is located in a remote settlement north of the Arctic Circle, with "tough conditions" and limited access to letter delivery, according to Zhdanov, the head of the Anti-Corruption Foundation established by Navalny. Navalny was previously held in the IK-6 Melekhovo high-security prison in Russia's Vladimir Oblast. Navalny had been serving a 2.5-year prison sentence since 2021 and a separate 9-year sentence on fraud charges since 2022. A Russian court also sentenced Navalny to 19 years in a maximum security prison in August 2023 on extremism charges for creating the Anti-Corruption Foundation. All these cases have been recognized as politically motivated and fabricated by international human rights organizations and governments. Navalny was poisoned in Russia in 2020 and flown for treatment in Germany. German doctors said he had been poisoned with a Novichok nerve agent a chemical weapon produced by the Russian government. The Insider, Bellingcat, CNN, and Der Spiegel published an investigation according to which Navalny had been poisoned by agents of Russias Federal Security Service. They also identified the agents' names. Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) The coronavirus pandemic has caused many Americans to worry about side effects from vaccines. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) says shes heard horror stories. All kinds of injuries, miscarriages, heart attacks, myocarditis, permanent disabilities, neurological problems, Greene said. Talk like that makes Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.) angry. Its shameful that members of Congress continue to put down vaccinations as an opportunity to get our communities healthier, Garcia said. Rep. Brad Wenstrup insists, the vaccines were effective and safe, and the real problem is communication. Public perception becomes reality. And because of that, words matter, Wenstrup said. So, now we have a society that thinks that the polio vaccine and the other vaccines arent necessarily safe and effective. Experts with the FDA agree it is necessary to reassure the public of the safety of vaccines and ensure their effectiveness. If we want to maintain confidence in the vaccines and the other medical products that we authorize or approve, we must have very robust safety surveillance systems in place, Peter Marks, FDA Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research Director said. Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) says the CDC and FDA need to avoid mistakes and shut down misinformation to save more lives. Public health response of the federal government makes a huge difference in terms of health outcomes for the American people, Raskin said. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to DC News Now | Washington, DC. Members of Congress say theyre still concerned over racial disparities after meeting with Navy Federal Credit Union CEO Members of Congress pressed the CEO of the nations largest credit union for answers about racial disparities in its mortgage lending during a Capitol Hill meeting Thursday but said they left unsatisfied with her responses. Mary McDuffie, the CEO of Navy Federal Credit Union, met with three members of the Congressional Black Caucus who have demanded answers in the wake of CNNs reporting on racial disparities in the lenders mortgage approvals. She told them that an external review the credit union commissioned had preliminarily found that the disparities were mostly explained by other factors, a spokesperson said. But members of Congress said they still had concerns about the mortgage practices of Navy Federal, which has more than 13 million members and lends to military servicemembers, defense personnel, veterans and their families. Were trying to achieve the goal of closing the racial wealth gap in America, said Rep. Steven Horsford, a Nevada Democrat, after meeting with McDuffie. You cannot do that with practices like this that deny equal opportunity to homeownership. A CNN investigation published in December found that Navy Federal approved more than 75% of the White borrowers who applied for a new conventional home purchase mortgage in 2022 while approving less than 50% of Black borrowers who applied for the same type of loan, according to the most recent federal data available. The nearly 29-percentage-point gap in Navy Federals approval rates was the widest of any of the 50 lenders that originated the most mortgage loans in 2022. The disparity remained even after accounting for variables available in public mortgage data such as applicants income, debt-to-income ratio and property value, CNNs review found. McDuffie met for about an hour Thursday with Horsford, the chair of the Congressional Black Caucus; Rep. Emanuel Cleaver of Missouri, the ranking Democrat on the House Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance; and Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove of California. McDuffie declined to answer CNNs questions as she entered and exited the closed-door meeting. A Navy Federal spokesperson said in a statement that McDuffie shared with the House members the results of a preliminary analysis from an external review the credit union initiated showing that the racial disparity in approval rates drops to around 1% when all other factors that we consider when approving home loans are incorporated, including credit score, verified income, and property information. The spokesperson did not provide additional details or data supporting the analysis. Navy Federal has previously argued that CNNs analysis is incomplete because it did not include applicants credit scores or information about their available cash deposits or relationship history with the lender none of which is publicly available in the public federal data. The credit union has declined to provide CNN any data that would make it possible to analyze those factors. The credit union is committed to engaging with policymakers on this important issue and we continue to work daily to help expand economic opportunity and access to credit for our diverse community of members, the spokesperson said. But Cleaver told CNN after the meeting that McDuffie and other Navy Federal representatives could not provide an answer explaining the racial disparities in mortgage approvals, and that he hoped to hear more from them in the future. Were expecting to have another meeting with them, were expecting to get facts this time, he said. Reps. Steven Horsford and Emanuel Cleaver speak to reporters after meeting with Navy Federal Credit Union CEO Mary McDuffie on Capitol Hill. - CNN Horsford said that the members asked very specific questions about the timeline of Navy Federals external review, and found the responses from Navy Federal inadequate. Time is of the essence, because every single day that they dont change or update their protocols is a servicemember, and particularly a Black or Latino servicemember, who is facing denials, he said. Navy Federal has also noted that a higher percentage of its mortgage loans go to Black borrowers than most other large lenders. But Horsford said Thursday that that excuse didnt address the issue of denials. More than 40% of our servicemembers, active duty, are people of color, he said. So yeah, they are one of the leading lenders and mortgage lenders for Black home loans because they have a higher percentage of servicemembers who are their membership. It should be higher. Several Democrats on the House Financial Services Committee, including Cleaver and ranking member Rep. Maxine Waters, a California Democrat, wrote a letter last week asking the committees Republican chair to hold a hearing on the racial disparities in Navy Federals mortgage lending. And ten Democratic senators have separately asked federal regulators to examine Navy Federals mortgage practices, citing both CNN and a separate analysis of public mortgage data by Senate banking committee staff that also found racial disparities in its lending. Navy Federal is also facing a federal class-action lawsuit from mortgage applicants who cite CNNs reporting and allege that the credit union discriminated against them. A judge approved a motion to consolidate three separate lawsuits against the credit union into a single case last month. Editors Note: This story was update to include a statement from Navy Federal. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com News and commentary on organized crime, street crime, white collar crime, cyber crime, sex crime, crime fiction, crime prevention, espionage and terrorism. An activist stands in front of the Russian embassy in Berlin with a poster of Russian activist Alexei Navalny. Leading Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny has died in prison on Friday at the age of 47. Paul Zinken/dpa Former German chancellor Angela Merkel blames the Russian state for the death of leading opposition figure Alexei Navalny. "He was a victim of Russia's repressive state power. It is terrible that a courageous, fearless voice that stood up for his country was silenced using terrible methods," Merkel said in Berlin on Friday. "My thoughts are with his wife, his children, his friends and his colleagues." FILES - This combination of two file photos shows Xochitl Galvez, at left, arriving to register her name as a presidential candidate on July 4, 2023 in Mexico City, and at right, Claudia Sheinbaum at an event that presented her as her party's presidential nominee on Sept. 6, 2023 in Mexico City. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano, Files) MEXICO CITY (AP) Mexico is almost certain to elect its first female president in June both leading candidates are women but its almost equally as certain that she wont have much room to act independently of outgoing President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador. The populist president has continued proposing new, expensive projects in the closing months of his administration, before he leaves office on Sept. 30. He will also leave a lot of big-ticket projects unfinished. That will probably leave his successor with her hands tied for much of her six-year term. Even if opposition candidate Xochitl Galvez wins, a mountain of financial commitments will weigh on her. The candidate of Lopez Obrador's party, former Mexico City mayor Claudia Sheinbaum, leads in polls. A third male candidate from a small party has almost no chance of winning. The next administration will inherit a country with a financial hole that will limit the maneuvering room throughout the next term, said Moodys Analytics Director Alfredo Coutino. In order to deactivate the current fiscal vulnerability, the incoming administration will have to adjust fiscally (spending or taxes) in 2025. Lopez Obrador has said that before he steps down, he'll expropriate U.S.-owned Vulcan Materials, a move which could cost the Mexican government as much as $1.9 billion if the Alabama-based quarry company wins an ongoing international arbitration complaint against Mexico. Then there is a yet-to-be-fleshed-out promise to bring passenger trains back to Mexico before he leaves office. On Nov. 20, Lopez Obrador published a decree stating that if private freight operators refuse to run passenger service, the government would step in to do so. While the trains would have to run on tracks run by the private concessionary operators Mexico folded its money-losing state-run railroads in the late 1990s the government would probably have to buy the trains, fix up stations and set up a ticket-selling scheme. The money-losing ideas keep coming. On Dec. 26, Lopez Obrador launched a state-owned airline at a time when most countries have decided to shut down or sell off their own. With guaranteed ultra-low ticket prices on flights to little-used, government-run airports, the prospects for hemorrhaging cash are endless. To cap it all off, on Feb. 5 he announced the government would guarantee workers retirement at full pay. The plan, once explained, was less generous than originally depicted. Only workers in official retirement plans would have their pensions topped up, and only to the level of the median wage of registered employees to about $10,000 per year. Still, that will probably cost billions of dollars. On that same day Sheinbaum, who is running for Lopez Obradors Morena party and is viewed as his most devoted follower, claimed she would carry out the presidents programs, and add a few of her own. Of course these (Lopez Obradors programs) are the foundations, the base of what our government will be, and whats more we are going to present other proposals, Sheinbaum said. But almost as soon as she spoke, evidence emerged that she wont have the financial power to do so. A few days later, Moodys rating service downgraded the debt of the national oil company, Petroleos Mexicanos, or Pemex, even further into junk bond status. Moody's based that on projections of the governments further deterioration in fiscal conditions in 2024, due to "a material increase in the deficit, fueled by social spending, persistently high borrowing costs, and augmented expenditures in flagship projects. Consider what the next president will find on her plate: She will have to finish an oft-delayed, $20 billion oil refinery plagued by cost overruns. There's a similarly priced, 950-mile (1,530-kilometer) railway meant to run in a rough loop around the Yucatan peninsula to connect beach resorts and archaeological sites. Lopez Obrador considers both to be his flagship projects, but the train is far from finished. Work also won't be completed on modernizing other oil refineries, or on a train service leading into Mexico City, or yet another train service crossing from the Pacific to the Gulf of Mexico. A host of other building projects are still unfinished as well. Lopez Obrador claimed at the start of his administration in 2018 that all these projects would be finished by the time he left office, and that all would be paid for out of government cost-cutting and reducing corruption. That turned out not to be true. In fact, last year we finished with a budget deficit of 3.4% of GDP, the highest since 1989, said Gabriela Siller, the director of analysis at Nuevo Leon-based Banco Base. This year they are predicting a deficit of 4.9% of GDP, the highest since 1988, and debt means more borrowing. Their numbers don't add up. The infrastructure projects the planes and trains are unlikely to ever turn a profit at the current pace. For example, the first section of the Maya Train project on the Yucatan peninsula carried about 1,780 foreign tourists in its first two months, or about five per train run. The original plan stated tourists would be the trains most lucrative source of income, but now officials are suggesting the trains revenue could come from short commuter runs or freight shipments. The peninsula has little industry and nothing suggests there is an urgent need for trains to carry shipments of sunscreen. Lopez Obrador has defended his free spending ways and increased debt, saying it was less than the debt his predecessors had piled up. We are going to be lower in the percent of borrowing than (Enrique) Pena and (Felipe) Calderon, the president said in September. Mexico's debt currently is around 50% of its GDP. While that doesn't sound high compared to the United Kingdom and United States, who are both around 100%, Mexico has additional debt held by the state-owned oil company and doesn't have unlimited access to low-cost borrowing, like the U.S. does. Historian Lorenzo Meyer wrote in the newspaper El Universal that Lopez Obradors actions were not an attempt to limit his successors freedom of action, but rather as a productive investment of the huge political capital he has built up to help the new administration start off. The biggest bombshell ever handed by an outgoing president to his successor in Mexico came on Sept. 1, 1982, when President Jose Lopez Portillo, who had three months left in office, announced that he was expropriating the entire banking industry amid a currency devaluation and debt crisis. His successor, Miguel de la Madrid, spent his entire six-year term struggling to deal with the fallout and paying the huge debt to bank owners. Lopez Obrador's debt mountain, while less dramatic, is a way of setting the political agenda for the next administration, a way of placing his imprint on the next administration, said Siller, the analysis chief at Banco Base. ____ Follow APs coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america A new messaging campaign from Miami Beach says the city is breaking up with spring break. Declaring that enough is enough and vowing to mean it this time, Miami Beachs new mayor, Steven Meiner, held a news conference Thursday to make it crystal clear to visitors and, specifically, college students that Miami Beach is breaking up with them. The centerpiece of a new messaging campaign designed to discourage the annual onslaught of spring break chaos features an imaginary text-message conversation in which the city says: Hey, Spring Break, were over. As the mayor put it, Come here, enjoy, but dont come here looking for trouble. Weve had enough. Unprecedented steps This year, as in others, city officials are taking steps to try to keep the slew of spring breakers under control. The city says the measures this time are unprecedented and more targeted. For far too long, at too high a cost in reputation and city finances, Miami Beach has struggled to deal with the mayhem that descends upon its streets, especially Ocean Drive, during the month of March, city leaders have said. Rowdy crowds, public drunkenness and disorderly conduct, gunplay and even murder the scenes playing out on South Beach since the early 2000s have become all too common, especially on the second and third weeks of March. The Editorial Board has written for years about the mostly failed attempts by several different Miami Beach mayors, police chiefs and city managers to control the flow of visitors, something Fort Lauderdale eventually was able to do. One of the measures that might actually make a dent this time around, even for locals who can cause their share of trouble: exorbitant parking and towing fees. $100 parking spaces That means a flat $100 parking rate ouch at city garages and lots in South Beach from March 7-10 and again from March 14-17. And vehicles will not be allowed into those garages and lots after 6 p.m., which means it wont be easy to drive, park and party till dawn in the city. Residents are exempt. The high-ticket parking is meant to act as a deterrent, and the city might be on to something here. An economic tactic might work better than an Alanis Morissette concert, last years unsuccessful attempt to calm the crowds. Secondly, if you park on the street to avoid the parking charge and get towed, a doubled towing rate of $516 for nonresidents will apply. Double ouch. And then theres also the plan to close sidewalk cafes on Ocean Drive during those same two weekends in March. And security checkpoints and bag checks to enter the beach via Ocean Drive, where the entrances will close at 6 p.m. during spring break. The hope is that the combination of measures will stop the kind of violence that marred 2023s festivities, when there were two deadly shootings, hundreds of arrests and the city manager declared a state of emergency and curfew. We know this is a tightrope for officials on Miami Beach, a world-renowned tourist attraction. They insist that Miami Beach is still welcoming to visitors while also announcing steps that are likely to make visitors experiences in the city unpleasant. Police Chief Wayne Jones said people can expect more police in South Beach than youve ever seen before, the Miami Herald reported. We realize police have a difficult job in such a pressured situation but when officers crack down, they must ensure that civil rights are not violated. The spotlight will be on the department. Weve had enough Meiner, a former commissioner elected mayor in November, said the city has had enough, and rightfully so. No city should have to endure the lawlessness and disruption that Miami Beach faces each spring when its residents are held hostage by the crowds that paralyze sections of the city. This year, perhaps, that may finally change. Like the rest of Miami, well be watching to see. Click here to send the letter. Michael Cohen predicts Trump will be convicted on all charges in New York hush money case Michael Cohen, who served as the vice president of the Trump Organization and as counsel to former president Donald Trump, said hes confident his ex-boss will be convicted in the Stormy Daniels hush money case. Mr Trumps legal team has tried to get the case tossed out, but that effort was rejected by New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan on Thursday. His trial has now been scheduled for 25 March. This is a very simple case, Cohen told CNN on Thursday. This case could and should be over in a month with a decision. Mr Trumps former employee has been subpoenaed to testify in the case and will be a key witness at the trial. Mr Cohen was previously sentenced to serve three years in federal prison for criminal tax evasion and campaign finance violations, but spent about 13-and-a-half months behind bars and a year-and-a-half under house arrest. The case is set to be Mr Trumps first criminal trial as he faces 91 charges across four separate indictments. Speaking outside the courthouse, he expressed his reservations about the upcoming proceedings. We want delays, he said. Obviously, Im running for election. A Monmouth University poll found that 58 per cent of voters believe that Mr Trump should be taken off the ballot if hes convicted of a crime before the Republican Party convention this summer. Last year, a grand jury under Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg charged the former president with 34 counts of falsifying business records in connection with repayments to Cohen, who arranged the so-called hush-money scheme to prevent the release of potentially damaging stories about Mr Trump and his affairs. While appearing on CNNs Erin Burnett OutFront, Cohen was asked about whether he thinks Mr Trump will be convicted in the case. This is not even a six-week case, he said. At best it would be a four-week case. He added that he believes Mr Trumps legal team has only secured one witness, while the prosecution has multiple people lined up. I believe based upon the information that I know, and based upon not just the documentary evidence but the corroborating testimony from so many people, I believe that he will be found guilty on all charges, he said. When asked if he had any reservations about seeing his old boss in the courtroom, he said, Theres no intimidation by him. Hes the one sitting at the defendants desk. Not me. Still, when it comes to testifying, he said: Nobody wants to do this. This isnt fun. They get personnel. They get nasty. European Council President Charles Michel said, "Alexei Navalny fought for the values of freedom and democracy. For his ideals, he made the ultimate sacrifice." "The EU holds the Russian regime (solely) responsible for this tragic death. I extend my deepest condolences to his family. And to those who fight for democracy around the world in the darkest conditions." Russian media reported on Feb. 16 that Russian opposition leader Navalny died in prison. Navalny was being held in a penal colony in Russia's far northern Yamal-Nenets Autonomous District. According to the prison service, Navalny supposedly lost consciousness and could not be revived. The penal colony that Navalny was held in is located in a remote settlement north of the Arctic Circle, with "tough conditions" and limited access to letter delivery, according to Zhdanov, the head of the Anti-Corruption Foundation established by Navalny. Navalny was previously held in the IK-6 Melekhovo high-security prison in Russia's Vladimir Oblast. Navalny had been serving a 2.5-year prison sentence since 2021 and a separate 9-year sentence on fraud charges since 2022. A Russian court also sentenced Navalny to 19 years in a maximum security prison in August 2023 on extremism charges for creating the Anti-Corruption Foundation. All these cases have been recognized as politically motivated and fabricated by international human rights organizations and governments. Navalny was poisoned in Russia in 2020 and flown for treatment in Germany. German doctors said he had been poisoned with a Novichok nerve agent a chemical weapon produced by the Russian government. The Insider, Bellingcat, CNN, and Der Spiegel published an investigation according to which Navalny had been poisoned by agents of Russias Federal Security Service. They also identified the agents' names. Read also: BREAKING: Russian opposition leader Navalny reportedly dies in prison Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. [Source] Michelle Yeoh is taking on the role of an immigrant mother protecting her family in the upcoming thriller "The Mother." About the film: Yeoh, who won a best actress Oscar for her role in last year's "Everything Everywhere All at Once," is returning to the action genre with the new film to be helmed by French filmmaker Melanie Laurent ("Galveston"), reported Variety. Based on the screenplay by P.G. Cuschieri, "The Mother" features Yeoh as a dedicated mother and businesswoman in the U.S. who ends up taking on a criminal organization to protect her sons. Production and release: "The Mother" is backed by 30West financing and produced by Thunder Road, known for their work on the "John Wick" franchise. While filming for the movie has been set to begin this summer, a release date is yet to be confirmed. Other details about the film are currently under wraps. Trending on NextShark: Viola Davis shows love for lively atmosphere of Filipino classroom with singing student Yeoh's busy schedule: Yeoh recently starred in the mystery horror film "A Haunting in Venice," Netflix's "The Brothers Sun" series and Disney's "American Born Chinese" series. In addition to her upcoming roles in major franchises like "Wicked" and "Avatar," the Malaysian star is also set to reprise her Star Trek: Discovery character, Emperor Philippa Georgiou, in the new series "Section 31." Trending on NextShark: Woman laid off from LinkedIn lands job at Google after sending this video Download the NextShark App: Want to keep up to date on Asian American News? Download the NextShark App today! The UK research highlights stark differences in the pain relief given to different classes - BERNARDBODO Wealthy women are far more likely to get an epidural during labour, a major study shows. The UK research highlights stark differences in the pain relief given to different classes. Researchers examined the care given to more than half a million women who gave birth between 2007 and 2020. Of the 593,230 women who gave birth, 131,521 (22.2 per cent) received an epidural for pain relief. Those from the most affluent areas were 19 per cent more likely to receive an epidural than those from more deprived places, the study found. The research suggests that women from poorer backgrounds might feel under more pressure to put up with pain, with middle-class women prepared to be more sharp-elbowed. Researchers said healthcare professionals might treat poorer women differently, with institutional bias against those from deprived backgrounds. Widespread failings in maternity care The study found an even greater difference among deliveries where there was a clear documented medical indication showing an epidural was necessary. In such cases, women in the 10 per cent of most affluent areas were 27 per cent more likely to receive pain relief compared to those from the poorest 10 per cent. NHS watchdogs have warned of widespread failings in maternity care. Two in three units in England were rated inadequate or requires improvement for safety in the last ratings by the Care Quality Commission, with major scandals uncovered in Shrewsbury, East Kent and Nottingham. The study published in Anaesthesia, the journal of the Association of Anaesthetists, was led by the School of Medicine, Dentistry and Nursing, from the University of Glasgow. It examined NHS data for all women in labour in Scotland between Jan 1 2007 and Oct 23 2020, excluding elective caesarean sections. Socioeconomic status deciles (groups of 10 per cent from richest to poorest) were defined using the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation. Institutional and structural biases Last month, Victoria Atkins, the Health Secretary, announced 50 million of funding for research to tackle maternal disparities. She said improving maternity services was personal to her after her own frightening experience of childbirth. Researchers, led by Dr Lucy Halliday, from the University of Glasgows School of Medicine, Dentistry and Nursing suggested women in the poorest groups may be more likely to feel they should put up with pain. They said: These women [in the poorest groups] may lack knowledge about indications for epidural analgesia; have life circumstances that may adversely impact antenatal care attendance; mistrust medical staff; feel disempowered during labour; hold misconceptions about epidural safety; or have differing expectations and societal pressures regarding the pain of childbirth. Differences in healthcare professionals attitudes and potential institutional and structural biases might also influence the use of epidurals during labour. The authors said: We found that women from areas of greater socioeconomic disadvantage were substantially less likely to receive an epidural for pain relief during labour. These results were consistent when the analysis was restricted to births occurring within an inner-city environment with uniform access to obstetric and obstetric anaesthetic services, or when restricted to only include births in women having their first child. Ethnicity disparities Previous studies have found that black women are almost four times more likely to die from childbirth than white women. Maternal death rates in deprived areas are on the rise, with women in the most deprived areas 2.5 times more likely to die than those in the least deprived areas. A separate study published at the same time in Anaesthesia also shows Asian women in England are more than twice as likely to report severe pain. The research looked at outcomes following caesarean section deliveries in different ethnic groups, using data from 107 participating obstetric units within the NHS in England during a two-week period in October 2021. This research by University College London Hospitals London UK and Stanford University School of Medicine included data from 1,000 women who underwent caesarean section delivery with ethnicity and deprivation information provided. It found that Asian patients had over twice the risk of moderate or severe pain compared to those of white ethnic groups with no differences in pain medication usage, at rest and on movement, respectively. A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: The NHS is already one of the safest places to give birth in the world and we are absolutely clear that maternity care must be of the same high standard for everyone. NHS England has published guidance for local maternity systems, supported by 6.8 million, focusing on actions to reduce disparities for women and babies from ethnic minorities and those living in the most deprived areas. We also set up the Maternity Disparities Taskforce, which brings together experts from across the health system, government departments and the voluntary sector to explore and consider evidence-based interventions to tackle maternal disparities. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 3 months with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. Earlier this month, Republican Speaker of the House Mike Johnson spoke on the Fox Business channel about Mazi Pilip, the partys nominee to replace George Santos in New Yorks 3rd Congressional District. Shes gonna get that job done, he said, predicting a victory that would reverberate across the country. Itll send a strong message to the Democrats that, coming into this election cycle, we have great candidates. Were feeling really bullish about the future. Two weeks later, Pilip lost her race to Democrat Tom Suozzi by a nearly 8-point margin. Johnson, speaking at the Capitol on Wednesday, now expressed a different view about whether the race had national implications. Pilips loss is in no way a bellwether of whats going to happen this fall, he said, and has nothing to do on the efforts going forward. Johnson argued that the races dynamics wouldnt pertain to other swing-district elections because Democrats spent so heavily on advertising and ran a candidate who agreed with Republicans that the influx of migrants at the southern border constitutes a national crisis. They spent about $15 million to win a seat that President Biden won by 8 points; they won it by less than 8 points, he said. (Technically correct: It was 7.8 points.) Their candidate ran like a Republicanhe sounded like a Republican, talking about border and immigration, because thats the top issue on the hearts and minds of everybody. There are two immediate problems with Johnsons argument. First: While its true that Democrats spent more on advertising in the race than Republicans did, this was not a matter of random bad luck. Immediately after Johnson was elected as speaker, Republicans in districts that could easily swing back to the Demsincluding those in New York and Californiahave been saying they are worried that Johnson isnt as good at raising money as his predecessor, Kevin McCarthy. McCarthy was a genial country-club backslapper whod been in leadership for years; Johnson is a right-wing evangelical conservative who was unknown nationally until he won the speakership in October because House Republicans couldnt figure out anyone else to give it to. Per Ballotpedia, Democratic congressional campaign committees have raised $315 million during this campaign cycle, while Republicans have raised $257 million. Secondly, Suozzis statements and advertisements about immigration dont, like, not count because they co-opted Republican talking points. In fact, in the wake of his victory, the idea of doing such co-opting more broadly is the chief topic of discussion among Democrats and in the national political press. Any other Democrat running for Congress who wants to copy Suozzis rhetoric about the top issue on the hearts and minds of everybody can do it immediately! Drill down a bit and theres a bigger problem under both of these things. McCarthy got swapped for a weaker fundraiser in Johnson because Republicans have a tiny majority in the House and a small number of far-right representatives can depose the speaker anytime they want. They threaten to do thisand, last fall, did itwhen the speaker says he wants to cooperate in even the most limited way with Democrats to maintain an operating government or pass legislation. This premise, that bipartisan cooperation is betrayal, is also why Republicans killed the Senates Ukraine-immigration bill, which in turn is what gave Democrats like Tom Suozzi the opportunity to legitimately say they would do more than their opponents to fund border security and prevent undocumented immigrants from entering the country. Pilip, while a little less of a wild card than George Santos, was also not what operatives would call a quality recruit. When she began the race, she was a registered Democrat. Her husband had been sued for allegedly failing to pay tens of thousands of dollars in a lease dispute. She told everyone that shed been a paratrooper in the Israel Defense Forces, only for reporting to reveal that shed merely done weapons maintenance for paratroopers and had never been in combat. In reality, Mike Johnson probably recognized a lot of what he saw in New Yorks 3rd: A new-to-politics candidate with red flags in their past who gets caught lying a lot; big donors staying on the sidelines because they dont trust the new generation of Republican leaders; the ceding of middle ground on basic issues to Democrats because of conspiratorial thinking and a collective insistence on valorizing partisan hostility and obstinacy. And both you and he likely know the reason why those are features, not bugs, for his party. (The reason is former President Donald Trump!) Its appropriate that the Pilip-Suozzi vote was held in February, really, because for the modern GOP, every election might as well be Groundhog Day. Blog Archive: Mar 2024 (90) Feb 2024 (145) Jan 2024 (156) Dec 2023 (155) Nov 2023 (150) Oct 2023 (155) Sep 2023 (150) Aug 2023 (155) Jul 2023 (155) Jun 2023 (150) May 2023 (155) Apr 2023 (150) Mar 2023 (155) Feb 2023 (140) Jan 2023 (155) Dec 2022 (156) Nov 2022 (150) Oct 2022 (155) Sep 2022 (150) Aug 2022 (155) Jul 2022 (154) Jun 2022 (150) May 2022 (155) Apr 2022 (150) Mar 2022 (155) Feb 2022 (140) Jan 2022 (156) Dec 2021 (156) Nov 2021 (150) Oct 2021 (155) Sep 2021 (150) Aug 2021 (155) Jul 2021 (155) Jun 2021 (150) May 2021 (155) Apr 2021 (150) Mar 2021 (155) Feb 2021 (140) Jan 2021 (155) Dec 2020 (155) Nov 2020 (150) Oct 2020 (158) Sep 2020 (150) Aug 2020 (130) Jul 2020 (124) Jun 2020 (120) May 2020 (124) Apr 2020 (120) Mar 2020 (124) Feb 2020 (116) Jan 2020 (125) Dec 2019 (126) Nov 2019 (120) Oct 2019 (124) Sep 2019 (120) Aug 2019 (125) Jul 2019 (124) Jun 2019 (120) May 2019 (123) Apr 2019 (121) Mar 2019 (124) Feb 2019 (112) Jan 2019 (125) Dec 2018 (126) Nov 2018 (120) Oct 2018 (124) Sep 2018 (121) Aug 2018 (124) Jul 2018 (125) Jun 2018 (120) May 2018 (124) Apr 2018 (121) Mar 2018 (124) Feb 2018 (112) Jan 2018 (123) Dec 2017 (124) Nov 2017 (124) Oct 2017 (141) Sep 2017 (135) Aug 2017 (138) Jul 2017 (137) Jun 2017 (134) May 2017 (138) Apr 2017 (135) Mar 2017 (139) Feb 2017 (129) Jan 2017 (143) Dec 2016 (135) Nov 2016 (138) Oct 2016 (142) Sep 2016 (128) Aug 2016 (133) Jul 2016 (136) Jun 2016 (138) May 2016 (164) Apr 2016 (311) Mar 2016 (348) Feb 2016 (320) Jan 2016 (348) Dec 2015 (314) Nov 2015 (338) Oct 2015 (363) Sep 2015 (358) Aug 2015 (399) Jul 2015 (374) Jun 2015 (331) May 2015 (337) Apr 2015 (319) Mar 2015 (320) Feb 2015 (271) Jan 2015 (286) Dec 2014 (254) Nov 2014 (238) Oct 2014 (287) Sep 2014 (267) Aug 2014 (259) Jul 2014 (260) Jun 2014 (238) May 2014 (241) Apr 2014 (228) Mar 2014 (240) Feb 2014 (217) Jan 2014 (263) Dec 2013 (226) Nov 2013 (254) Oct 2013 (256) Sep 2013 (252) Aug 2013 (263) Jul 2013 (261) Jun 2013 (251) May 2013 (250) Apr 2013 (221) Mar 2013 (193) Feb 2013 (164) Jan 2013 (157) Dec 2012 (155) Nov 2012 (240) Oct 2012 (526) Sep 2012 (411) Aug 2012 (394) Jul 2012 (284) Jun 2012 (229) May 2012 (213) Apr 2012 (213) Mar 2012 (253) Feb 2012 (269) Jan 2012 (298) Dec 2011 (273) Nov 2011 (219) Oct 2011 (204) Sep 2011 (201) Aug 2011 (236) Jul 2011 (217) Jun 2011 (211) May 2011 (206) Apr 2011 (215) Mar 2011 (215) Feb 2011 (186) Jan 2011 (215) Dec 2010 (107) Nov 2010 (98) Oct 2010 (55) NASA has officially bid adieu to its Spacecraft Fire Safety Experiment (Saffire), fittingly having the last one burn up in the Earth's atmosphere following six successful missions involving controlled fires in orbit. The agency's sixth and final experiment dubbed Saffire-VI traveled to the International Space Station in August, safely tucked inside an uncrewed Northrop Grumman Cygnus spacecraft. Last month, the capsule burned up while reentering the atmosphere, putting an end to a series of experiments that have provided invaluable insights into how fire behaves in space and how to enhance the safety of future space exploration missions. The first Saffire mission took place in 2016, with scientists lighting a sample of a cotton-fiberglass blend inside a roughly three-by-four-foot enclosure, dwarfing the previously largest fire experiment in space, which was roughly the size of an index card, per NASA. The mission, as well as the five subsequent experiments, were designed to probe important questions when it comes to crew safety. "How big a fire does it take for things to get bad for a crew?" said Saffire principal investigator David Urban in a NASA statement. "This kind of work is done for every other inhabited structure here on Earth buildings, planes, trains, automobiles, mines, submarines, ships but we hadnt done this research for spacecraft until Saffire." For Saffire-VI, scientists cranked up the concentration of oxygen and lowered the pressure compared to previous experiments. In other words, NASA really let it rip for its grand finale. Over 19 different runs, scientists ignited a roaring flame on a number of materials, including plexiglass, cotton, a flame-resistant fiber called Nomex, and other fabrics, specially designed to resist fire. Thanks to cameras inside the container, scientists watched as the flames roared, gathering crucial data in the process. "Youve got a heat release rate and a rate of release of combustion products," said project manager Gary Ruff in the statement. "You can take those as model input and predict what will happen in a vehicle." Perhaps unsurprisingly, fire in space habitats is really bad news. In 1997, the six crew members on board Russia's Mir space station were shocked to discover a fire that ignited in an oxygen-generating system. The flame burned bright for several minutes, filling the station with smoke. Fortunately, crew members acted quickly enough and managed to extinguish the flames. We've come a long way since then, in large part thanks to NASA's Saffire experiments. In September, two fearless astronauts on board China's Tiangong space station even lit a candle with a match during a live broadcast, a symbolic vote of confidence in our ability to control fire and create safe environments in space. More on fire in space: NASA Is Starting Fires in Space Just to Watch Them Burn Voyager 1 rendering of the craft out in space, on the right side of the image. On Dec. 12, 2023, NASA shared some worrisome news about Voyager 1, the first probe to walk away from our solar system 's gravitational party and enter the isolation of interstellar space . Surrounded by darkness, Voyager 1 seems to be glitching. It has been out there for more than 45 years, having supplied us with a bounty of treasure like the discovery of two new moons of Jupiter, another incredible ring of Saturn and the warm feeling that comes from knowing pieces of our lives will drift across the cosmos even after we're gone. (See: The Golden Record.) But now, Voyager 1 's fate seems to be uncertain. As of Feb. 6, NASA said the team remains working on bringing the spacecraft back to proper health. "Engineers are still working to resolve a data issue on Voyager 1," NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory said in a post on X (formerly Twitter). "We can talk to the spacecraft, and it can hear us, but it's a slow process given the spacecraft's incredible distance from Earth." Related: NASA's interstellar Voyager probes get software updates beamed from 12 billion miles away So, on the bright side, even though Voyager 1 sits so utterly far away from us, ground control can actually communicate with it. In fact, last year, scientists beamed some software updates to the spacecraft as well as its counterpart, Voyager 2 , from billions of miles away. Though on the dimmer side, due to that distance, a single back-and-forth communication between Voyager 1 and anyone on Earth takes a total of 45 hours. If NASA finds a solution, it won't be for some time . The issue, engineers realized, has to do with one of Voyager 1's onboard computers known as the Flight Data System, or FDS. (The backup FDS stopped working in 1981.) "The FDS is not communicating properly with one of the probe's subsystems, called the telemetry modulation unit (TMU)," NASA said in a blog post. "As a result, no science or engineering data is being sent back to Earth." This is of course despite the fact that ground control can indeed send information to Voyager 1, which, at the time of writing this article , sits about 162 AU's from our planet. One AU is equal to the distance between the Earth and the sun , or 149,597,870.7 kilometers (92,955,807.3 miles). From the beginning Voyager 1's FDS dilemma was first noticed last year , after the probe's TMU stopped sending back clear data and started procuring a bunch of rubbish. As NASA explains in the blog post, one of the FDS' core jobs is to collect information about the spacecraft itself, in terms of its health and general status. "It then combines that information into a single data 'package' to be sent back to Earth by the TMU," the post says. "The data is in the form of ones and zeros, or binary code." However, the TMU seemed to be shuffling back a non-intelligible version of binary code recently. Or, as the team puts it, it seems like the system is "stuck." Yes, the engineers tried turning it off and on again. That didn't work. The cover of the Golden Record, copies of which were sent on the NASA's Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 probes in 1977. The cover of the Golden Record, copies of which were sent on the NASA's Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 probes in 1977. (Image credit: NASA) Related Stories: SpaceX's Starship to launch 'Starlab' private space station in late 2020s Wonder what it's like to fall into Uranus? These scientists do, too Scientists' predictions for the long-term future of the Voyager Golden Records will blow your mind Then, in early February, Suzanne Dodd, Voyager project manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, told Ars Technica that the team might have pinpointed what's going on with the FDS at last. The theory is that the problem lies somewhere with the FDS' memory; there might be a computer bit that got corrupted. Unfortunately, though, because the FDS and TMU work together to relay information about the spacecraft's health, engineers are having a hard time figuring out where exactly the possible corruption may exist. The messenger is the one that needs a messenger. They do know, however, that the spacecraft must be alive because they are receiving what's known as a "carrier tone." Carrier tone wavelengths don't carry information, but they are signals nonetheless, akin to a heartbeat. It's also worth considering that Voyager 1 has experienced problems before, such as in 2022 when the probe's "attitude articulation and control system" exhibited some blips that were ultimately patched up. Something similar happened to Voyager 2 during the summer of 2023, when Voyager 1's twin suffered some antenna complications before coming right back online again. Still, Dodd says this situation has been the most serious since she began working on the historic Voyager mission. Supporters of the Iranian-backed Hezbollah group raise their fists and cheer, as they listen to a speech by Hassan Nasrallah, Secretary-general of Hezbollah, who appears via a video link, during an event to mark the "Wounded Resistance Fighter Day". Marwan Naamani/dpa Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah vowed on Friday to make Israel pay "in blood" for killing civilians in southern Lebanon. "We do not tolerate the issue of harming civilians, and the enemy must understand that they have gone too far in this matter," Nasrallah said during a ceremony to commemorate the leaders of the resistance. "The price of civilian blood will be blood, not posts," On Wednesday, Israeli airstrikes on the southern Lebanese towns of Sawaneh and Nabatiyeh killed at least nine Lebanese civilians, among them children. Israel said on Wednesday it began an "extensive" wave of attacks on Lebanese territories after rockets fired from Lebanon hit the city of Safed in northern Israel, killing a 20-year-old soldier. Nasrallah stressed that his movement has "tremendous and accurate missile capabilities that extend from Kiryat Shmona (northern Israel) to Eilat," in southern Israel. "The front in southern Lebanon will not stop, Nasrallah added. Since the beginning of the Gaza war after the Hamas massacre in Israel on October 7, there have been repeated confrontations between Israel's army and militant groups such as Hezbollah in the Israeli-Lebanese border region. Since then, Hezbollah, which is supported by Iran, has reported around 200 fighters killed in its own ranks. There was shelling again on Friday. Civilians have also been killed on both sides. Tens of thousands of residents also left their hometowns in both countries. Utilization of straws drives rural revitalization, economically and ecologically Xinhua) 10:06, February 16, 2024 This photo taken on Nov. 3, 2023 shows a straw collection station in Dianjiang County, southwest China's Chongqing. (Photo by Zhao Jiale/Xinhua) CHONGQING, Feb. 14 (Xinhua) -- While Chinese people enjoy the pleasure of harvesting rice, an annoying problem often gets in their way -- the rice straws. In 2022 alone, southwest China's Chongqing Municipality, for instance, produced 10 million tonnes of straws, which is nearly on a par with the output of grains. There are essentially two methods for disposing of the rice straws: burning them or cutting them into pieces and throwing them back in the fields. The former will produce thick smoke and has been largely banned by the country in order to protect the environment. The latter can potentially add nutrients to the soil, but also carries the risk of introducing pest eggs to the fields. "Since the authorities banned the burning of straws, we have been troubled by how to dispose of them," said Ye Hongmei, a local who rents more than 700 mu (about 47 hectares) of farmland with a rotation of rice and oilseed rape every year. "But now things are changing." In recent years, Dianjiang County of Chongqing, where Ye's lands are located, has explored multiple ways to utilize the resources. In Zhushihua renewable resources utilization Co., Ltd. of Zhoujia Township, Dianjiang, the lands are stacked with straws. "These high-quality straws have been purchased by liquor factories to make yeast for distillers and the inferior-quality straws will be processed into cushions, which glass or steel factories badly need," said Wu Mengyuan, co-founder of the factory. "We can collect more than 2,000 tonnes of straws from the local villagers." Dianjiang puts into use rural lands that sit idle such as abandoned schools and factories to build 17 straw collection stations. These stations can collect and consume 50,000 tonnes of straw every year, said Zou Qizhong, director of Dianjiang's agricultural ecological services station, adding that the yearly processed straws in Dianjiang are worth about 59 million yuan (8 million U.S. dollars). In addition, Dianjiang also seeks to process straws into feeds or organic fertilizers. Six feed factories and two fertilizer factories are now in construction, which will consume 23,000 tonnes of straw per year. The utilization of straw has delivered real gains to local farmers. On the one hand, Wu buys straws from local farmers at a price of 1,400 yuan every tonne. That is to say, One mu of land can earn the farmers about 350 yuan, which can fully cover the costs of the seeds and fertilizers in the coming year. On the other, mushrooming factories are also offering jobs to nearby residents. In Zhoujia, straw utilization and collection factories can provide about 1,500 part or full-time jobs for the locals, according to Zhong Juan, director of the township's agricultural service center. "My family of three earns more than 20,000 yuan every year by working at nearby factories, and another 1,500 yuan by selling straw," said Jiang Lilu, 63, once living in poverty. Prior to the straw utilization measures, many burned the straws in secret. The burning of straw really does harm to the environment. The thick smoke will float to nearby highways and make it hard for the drivers to see. It also puts more pressure on wildfire prevention, said Zou. "Burning straw in the open air is a rare occurrence nowadays. These measures of utilizing straw have resulted in positive outcomes, both economically and ecologically," he added. (Web editor: Peng Yukai, Liu Ning) AUSTIN (KXAN) A federal district judge on Friday pushed the bank and wire fraud trial of Austin real estate developer Nate Paul back nine months. It is now set for Nov. 6, 2024. Senior U.S. District Judge David Ezra said he weighed arguments from Pauls defense team and the prosecution, as well as considered the courts packed calendar and end-of-year holidays in making his decision. The trial date was previously reset from August 2023 to July 2024 in light of the mountain of discovery materials involved. Pauls defense sought a trial date in January 2025. Prosecutors didnt oppose rescheduling, but they wanted the trial set in October, according to recent motions. Ezra said waiting until January was just too long, but a trial in December would be troublesome because of the proximity to holidays, which could cause problems with picking a jury. Pauls attorneys said they are dealing with an exceptional amount of discovery information left to process, including more than 4 million documents and a database of more than 700 different bank accounts, among other records, according to a motion for continuance filed in January. Analyzing the documents is just part of the work, said Pauls attorney, E.G. Morris. His team is also interviewing numerous witnesses who are scattered all over the place. In response to KXANs question of whether the defense was entertaining a plea agreement, Morris said, This case is going to trial. Paul was present at the hearing but did not answer questions from the media as he exited the Austin courtroom. Paul has pleaded not guilty to all the charges. Real estate developer Nate Paul seeks to push bank and wire fraud trial to 2025 Paul, 36, has close ties to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and allegations that led to Paxtons impeachment. Paul faces 12 felony counts, including eight counts of making false statements to lending institutions, three counts of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, according to court records. The counts against Paul are tied to his real estate business World Class Holdings and do not involve Paxton. Federal authorities first indicted Paul on bank fraud charges in June 2023, alleging he lied to lenders about his companies bank balances and debts in 2017 and 2018. Paul was later indicted on four counts of wire fraud in November 2023 those allegations extend back to 2011, according to a superseding indictment. Pauls trial date was previously pushed to July 2024, according to court records. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KXAN Austin. Austin real estate investor Nate Paul's trial on federal charges of wire fraud and making false statements to financial institutions will begin Nov. 6, a delay of about 4 months because both sides and the judge in the case agreed the underlying issues are complex and voluminous. Lawyers for Paul, who has been inextricably associated with last year's impeachment of embattled Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, had sought to push the case from the previous start date of July 29 to next year. But Senior U.S. District Judge David Alan Ezra on Friday agreed with the U.S. attorney's office that such a request was unreasonable. Austin real estate investor Nate Paul leaves a federal courtroom in Austin after his pretrial hearing Friday. "I'm not going to go all the way to January," Ezra said during a brief pretrial hearing in the federal courthouse in Austin. "It's just too long." Paul, who was named in an eight-count indictment on federal financial crimes handed up in June 2023 and in a four-count superseding indictment announced in November, was present in the courtroom alongside two of his lawyers who spoke on his behalf. In previous appearances, Paul entered not-guilty pleas on all of the charges against him. Ezra asked Paul whether the conditions of his pretrial release limit his ability to travel. Lawyer E.G. Morris answered for his client, saying Paul is free to travel inside the United States as he awaits trial. The judge suggested he'd also likely allow at least limited international travel should Paul need to attend to his business affairs or perhaps even go on vacation. "I have no reason at all to worry (that) Mr. Paul is a flight risk," Ezra said. The original eight-count indictment charges Paul with making false statements to secure loans in 2017 and 2018. The superseding indictment adds four counts of wire fraud and accuses him of lying to business partners who had invested in his real estate company. The indictments are not connected to Paul's association with Paxton, the three-term Republican attorney general. But the Paxton-Paul relationship was a central feature in the Texas House's impeachment of Paxton, which tracked many of the allegations leveled in a whistleblower lawsuit, including for bribery and abuse of office, brought by former top Paxton aides. Judge David Alan Ezra The impeachment charged that in exchange for Paxton's assistance in Paul's legal matters, Paul paid to renovate Paxton's Austin home and hired a woman with whom Paxton reportedly had an extramarital affair, according to former attorney general aides. Paxton, through private attorneys, vigorously fought back against the impeachment charges, and he was acquitted in the Texas Senate trial in September. More: Judge denies Texas AG Ken Paxton's motion to dismiss fraud case on speedy trial concerns But this year, Paxton said he would no longer contest the whistleblower lawsuit, which was revived after lawmakers declined to appropriate the $3.3 million settlement agreement announced a year ago. Paul is in the process of bringing in additional lawyers from the nationally recognized firm of Williams & Connolly based in Washington and his defense team is also wading through 4.5 million documents and tracking down and interviewing numerous witnesses who might be called to testify. The November start date was a function of both compromise and necessity because the federal docket in Austin is always crowded, Ezra said. He told lawyers for both sides he had openings in August and September, but that would not provide sufficient preparation time. Early or middle October might be better, but there were no openings. December would be too close to the holidays, and January was already off the table, Ezra said. Ezra originally was prepared to start Nov. 4 until it was noted Nov. 5 is Election Day and people might miss the opportunity to vote. The judge said he expects the trial to last three weeks, or maybe four. If it bleeds into Thanksgiving week, Ezra said he'll make sure everyone involved has the time needed to prepare for and celebrate the holiday. This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Investor Nate Paul's trial delayed from July until November The Department of Veterans Affairs announced Tuesday it exempted or reimbursed more than 143,000 copayments totaling approximately $2.5 million for more than 3,800 eligible American Indian and Alaska Native veterans. The recent move comes after a policy change last year resulted in eligible members of the demographic no longer being required to make copayments for VA health care, urgent care or prescriptions. Under the policy, VA also reimburses for copayments paid on or after Jan. 5, 2022, according to a department release. This exemption honors our treaties with sovereign nations. It addresses health care access and disparities. It provides more health care options. And it builds on our work to strengthen our partnerships and trust, Secretary of Veterans Affairs Denis McDonough said during a Feb. 13 meeting of the National Congress of American Indians. McDonough encouraged eligible Native American veterans to use VA services, noting that while the department historically did not have sufficient data to capture the full number of American Indian and Alaska Native veterans, it now estimates more than 60,000 are enrolled. He added that in 2023, the department received over 22,000 claims from American Indians and Alaska Natives, more than a 40% increase over the previous year. The new claims also equated to nearly $70 million in benefits, a 23% increase over 2022. Defense bill grants Native American veterans more paths to advocacy Carol Scott, who has worked for the Veterans and Military Law Section of the Federal Bar Association, told Military Times via email that the decision to eliminate the copayments for the group was a long time coming. The action was mandated by Congress in 2021 as part of a set of initiatives to improve benefits for Native American veterans, Military Times previously reported. Senate Veterans Affairs Committee Chairman Jon Tester, D-Mont., who helped champion the provision into law, praised the move last spring in a release. This is a necessary step in ensuring those who served in uniform get the care theyve earned, he said. More information on eligibility and benefits for Native American veterans is available through the VAs website. Military Veterans in Journalism Fellow Nikki Wentling contributed to this story. Aimed to prepare for a potential war with Russia, NATOs Steadfast Defender exercises have become the alliance's largest military drills since the Cold War, NATOs Military Committee Chair, Admiral Rob Bauer, told the Financial Times. The experience gained during the Steadfast Defender exercises is expected to form the basis for NATO's plans to deploy and reinforce forces in Europe in case of war. Read also: Europe must rearm as new threats loom, German defense minister says The exercises started on January 24 and will continue until the end of spring 2024. NATO aims to demonstrate the alliance's capacity to swiftly deploy forces from North America and other regions to reinforce Europe's defense. NATO officials believe Russia, as an aggressor nation, will likely attack a NATO member country, not only Ukraine. Diplomats argue there is "no luxury to think" Russia's aggression will stop at Ukraine's border, the Financial Times wrote. Read also: EU Foreign Affairs official says Europeans must better understand Russian threat "The threat is real, and we must prepare for it," a senior NATO diplomat said, responding to warnings of a possible Russian attack against a NATO member state. Threat of Russian attack on NATO - What's known Read also: Estonian Commander-in-Chief names four factors to assess Russian threat to NATO Russia might try to attack Europe by late 2024 or early 2025, when the United States could be in a weakened leadership position that delays its ability to assist European allies, reported Germanys Bild, citing its intelligence sources from a European country. This refers to the period between the departure of President Joe Biden in early November 2024 and the assumption of office by the next president in January 2025. If Russia seizes Ukraine, it could then attack NATO member countries, Biden told the U.S. Congress in a speech on Dec. 6, 2023. Were bringing the voice of Ukraine to the world. Support us with a one-time donation, or become a Patron! Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine When Russian President Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine in 2022, he justified his war as a means of reunifying historical Kievan Rus'. As the war drags on into its third year, however, a different sort of geopolitical polarization has taken place not a reunification, exactly, but a reaffirmation of the nearly century-old North Atlantic Treaty Organization, or NATO, the alliance of primarily European countries which worked to keep Russian expansion in check throughout the Cold War. Over the past few years, NATO has become the backbone of Western support for Ukraine as it fends off Russia's advances. It has also expanded its roster of member nations to include Finland, and is moving toward adding Ukraine and several other countries in the future. Now, as Russia and Ukraine continue to launch and repel attacks across their shared border, a number of similarly proximal NATO states have begun fortifying their own Russia-facing fronts in response to Putin's active bellicosity and the broader sense of preemptive necessity. Sometimes working in consort, other times simply engaging in contemporaneous preparation for a shared potential future, these NATO nations are getting ready for anything Russia might someday throw at them. What did the commentators say? Finland, with its long and storied history of Russian and Soviet repulsion, is "in a better condition than most of the other 28 European alliance members" when it comes to preparing for future conflicts to its east, Finnish Institute of International Affairs fellow Minna Alander said to The Times UK, highlighting the effectiveness of Finland's ongoing revival of its WWII-era military procurement plans. While it is the newest NATO state, Finland has spent the past several decades operating "not based on the wrongheaded assumption" that the threat of a post-Soviet Russia would ebb, but instead expecting its neighbor would "deviate back to its historic norm" of regional bullying and expansion. In this, Finland is an "encouraging example" for European nations who may once have ignored their "country cousins." Like Finland, nearby Estonia is also bracing for potential future conflict, predicting that Russia "intends to double the number of its troops stationed along its border" with the Baltic state and its neighbors, said the Financial Times. To that end, the Estonian foreign intelligence service's Kaupo Rosin has called for NATO members to "deter Russia by stepping up their military spending," saying it could "influence the Russian calculation." Working with its Baltic neighbors Latvia and Lithuania, Estonia has begun bolstering the "most militarily exposed section of NATO's eastern flank" by constructing "well over 1,000 concrete bunkers on the three countries' borders with Russia," The Times UK said. Prompted by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, famously neutral Sweden embarked on a "once-in-a-lifetime political swerve" by applying to join NATO shortly after the war began, Foreign Policy said earlier this month, with Sweden and NATO both "hoping that swerve will give the Russians pause." While still not an official member state yet, Sweden has already begun limited use of Link 22, "a secure digital radio system that ties together NATO planes and ships," in the hopes of being the group's "eyes and ears in the region." Poland, meanwhile, has continued to rapidly expand its military capacity, hoping to double its armed forces to "comfortably" become "NATO's largest land army in Europe," said The Times UK, which noted that GDP to defense spending ratio is poised to become the highest in the organization as well. What next? Although Russia has, for now, remained focused militarily on the Ukrainian front, it has increased the tenor of its saber-rattling toward other European nations, including most recently placing Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas on a wanted list, widely believed to be in response to Estonia's removal of various Soviet monuments. The move is "the first time the Kremlin has sought criminal charges against a foreign leader" since the war with Ukraine began, the Financial Times said. At the same time, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump shocked experts this week by encouraging Russia to "do whatever the hell they want" to any NATO country that doesn't fulfill its financial membership obligations. The announcement of Alexey Navalnys death on Friday thrust fresh urgency into the roiling debate in Washington over how forcefully to counter Russia and its president, Vladimir Putin, a question of wide-ranging consequence on which President Joe Biden and his likely opponent Donald Trump have adopted diametrically opposed positions. The disparity in how the two men reacted to the news underscored the divide. Make no mistake: Putin is responsible for Navalnys death. Putin is responsible. What has happened to Navalny is yet more proof of Putins brutality. Nobody should be fooled, Biden said from the Roosevelt Room of the White House on Friday, forcefully pinning blame on Putin and his thugs. Trump, meanwhile, said nothing directly about the Russian opposition leader in a post that his campaign said was his official response to Navalnys death. Instead, he spent the morning posting more than 20 times on Truth Social about his criminal cases, his election poll numbers, immigrants in the US, his GOP presidential rival Nikki Haley, the Teamsters labor union and Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis testimony in Georgia. For Democrats and a minority of Republicans who are proponents of a muscular American presence in Europe within the NATO defense alliance, Navalnys death served as yet another grim reminder of Putins brutality and the necessity of a US-led effort to isolate Moscow. But for skeptics in the Trump camp, it was far from clear whether even the death in a notoriously brutal prison camp of Putins leading critic would alter a hardening view that Russias aggression no longer requires robust western reprisals, and that the nearly 80-year-old US-led security architecture in Europe is outdated. The stakes could hardly be higher, and Biden warned forcefully from the White House that history is watching the debate unfold. The failure to support Ukraine at this critical moment will never be forgotten, Biden said Friday. Its going to go down in the pages of history. It really is. Its consequential. And the clock is ticking. The decision US politicians make in the coming weeks and months on whether to continue sending assistance to Ukraine could dramatically alter the battlefield realties there and send a global signal of American willingness not only to push back on Russia but to involve itself abroad at all. Other top Biden administration officials wasted little time pinning blame on Navalnys death directly on Putin, even as the Kremlin said it was working to determine the cause. Whatever story they tell, let us be clear Russia is responsible and well have more to say on this later, Vice President Kamala Harris said at the start of an address at the Munich Security Conference, where American support for Ukraine and to its NATO commitments has been a central and pressing topic of conversation. A few moments earlier, Secretary of State Antony Blinken linked Navalnys death directly to Russias president. His death in a Russian prison and the fixation and fear of one man only underscores the weakness and rot at the heart of the system that Putin has built, the US top diplomat said at the start of a meeting with Indian officials on the sidelines of the Munich gathering. Lingering just underneath those pronouncements was the reality that in the United States, the long-held consensus on the value of alliances and systems to guard against Russian aggression is fraying. Asked whether Navalnys death might spur Congress to act in providing more Ukraine aid, Biden was hopeful. I hope to God it helps, he said. Trump has shattered orthodox thinking Trump, who seems to be reveling in undermining what had been a bipartisan consensus in American foreign policy for more than 70 years, has said he would encourage Russia to attack NATO allies who didnt pay a remark that sent shockwaves through the defense alliance, which had already been bracing for his potential return to office in 2025, but was hardly surprising to his followers. Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson and fellow Republicans have refused to consider a spending package that includes around $60 billion in new funding for Ukraine, despite administration warnings that Ukrainian troops are running out of ammunition and failing to support Kyiv would amount to a victory for Putin. Even so, Johnson said in a statement Friday that Putin is likely directly responsible for Navalnys death. And Tucker Carlson, the former Fox News host with a major conservative following, returned from an interview with Putin last week (which even Putin complained was too soft) proclaiming how much nicer and cleaner Moscow was than any American city. Trump has reportedly mused about selecting Carlson as a running mate. A select number of Republicans have sought to guard against the growing strain of isolationism within their party. On Friday, Trumps sole remaining competitor for the Republican presidential nomination, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, assailed her opponent for saying he would encourage Russia to invade other nations and called the comments so disturbing. That means Donald Trump is siding with a thug who kills his political opponents, Haley told CNNs Kaitlan Collins on The Source, after saying Putin is absolutely directly responsible for Navalnys death. Hes siding with someone who has made no bones about wanting to destroy America. Hes siding with someone who arrests American journalists and holds them hostage. And hes siding with the dictator, instead of siding with our allies who stood with us at 9/11, Haley added. For Biden and his top officials, the assault on international norms and institutions has generated both fury and concern. Biden was aghast at Trumps remark when he learned about it last weekend and condemned it as dumb and un-American in a speech from the White House on Tuesday. A campaign issue On Friday, the Biden campaign unveiled a new digital ad blasting Trumps comment. Every president since Truman has been a rock-solid supporter of NATO - except for Donald Trump, a narrator says as images of Trump with Putin flashes across the screen. Trump wants to walk away from NATO. Hes even given Putin and Russia the greenlight to attack Americas allies. Part of a three-week, six-figure digital ad campaign, the spot is set to run through Super Tuesday targeting voters in the battleground states of Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. The campaign said it was looking to reach more than 2.5 million Americans who identify as Estonian, Finnish, Latvian, Lithuanian, Norwegian and Polish all NATO countries bordering Russia. In 2021, Biden emerged from his first (and, so far, only) face-to-face meeting with Putin to say he had warned his counterpart that hed be punished if Navalny were to die in prison. I made it clear to him that I believe the consequences of that would be devastating for Russia, Biden said in Geneva, where the summit was held. Since then, the United States and its partners in Europe and Asia have piled sanctions on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, seeking to isolate the country from the global financial system and ratchet up costs on the perpetrators of the war. But its those same sanctions that have caused energy prices to rise in Europe and taken a toll on the global economy, lending grist to some Republican efforts to halt foreign funding for Ukraines military and urge an immediate end to the conflict. As American assistance for Ukraine wavers, defense officials have warned of the consequences on the battlefield. On Friday, an official told reporters the US is sixteenth in the world among the countries providing security assistance to Ukraine when considering the percentage of GDP. At this point, the United States is were not the top donor to Ukraine when it comes to security assistance, or economic assistance for that matter, the official told reporters. When you look at security assistance, were actually the sixteenth in the world when it comes to percentage of GDP. So we have a lot to appreciate from our allies and partners. Harris, who was already preparing to provide reassurances to rattled allies during her visit to the Munich conference this week, sought to underscore American commitment to protecting democracy and freedom around the world, and took veiled aim at Trump for suggesting otherwise. They suggest its in the best interest of the American people to isolate ourselves from the world, to flout common understandings among nations, to embrace dictators, and adopt the repressive tactics and abandon commitments to our allies in favor of unilateral action, Harris said in her remarks at the yearly gathering of US and European leaders, which has traditionally acted as a citadel of transatlanticism. Let me be clearthat worldview is dangerous, destabilizing and indeed shortsighted, she said. Shortly after Harris left the stage, Navalnys wife made a surprise appearance in Munich to urge the international community to fight against Putins horrific regime. They will be brought to justice, and this day will come soon, she said. This story has been updated with additional developments. CNNs Haley Britzky, Lauren Fox, Kate Sullivan and Kit Maher contributed reporting. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com Nora Mishanec is a San Francisco Chronicle breaking news and enterprise reporter. She joined the paper in 2020 as a Hearst fellow and returned in 2022 after a stint at The Houston Chronicle. She can be reached at nora.mishanec@sfchronicle.com. Jordan Parker is a breaking news reporter for The San Francisco Chronicle. He graduated from Sacramento State University in May 2022 with a degree in journalism. During his time there, he spent three years as a reporter and editor for the university's award-winning student newspaper, The State Hornet. He spent his senior year of college serving as The Hornet's first Black editor in chief, leading the organization to two Pacemaker awards and several other national honors from the Associated Collegiate Press. When he's not chasing down a story, he likes watching movies, traveling and trying new restaurants. He can be reached at Jordan.Parker@sfchronicle.com. Marsha Maytum, center, co-founded the San Francisco design firm Leddy Maytum Stacy Architects. Maytum died Sunday, Feb. 11. Courtesy Leddy Maytum Stacy Marsha Maytum, a low-key local architect whose work spoke volumes about how design can nurture a more humane society, died on Feb. 10, in San Francisco, of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. She was 69. The firm she co-founded in 2001, Leddy Maytum Stacy Architects, focuses on buildings that serve varied populations in multiple ways from more than a dozen affordable housing complexes to civic structures and such cultural destinations as the Bay Area Discovery Museum, tucked into the Marin Headlands near the Golden Gate Bridge. As significant as any single building was Maytums determined advocacy among other architects on such topics as sustainable design, and the model she presented as a woman sharing the helm of an office so well regarded that, in 2017, it was named the firm of the year by the American Institute of Architects. Advertisement Article continues below this ad You can build a building one at a time and, of course, they have impact, Maytum commented in 2022 on the podcast Design the Future. We think the impact you can have beyond the property line of your buildings is equally, if not more, significant. Marsha Maytum, a San Francisco architect who co-founded the design firm Leddy Maytum Stacy Architects, died after a battle with ALS. Courtesy Leddy Maytum Stacy Colleagues praise a friend and coworker who never sought the limelight, but was tireless in aiding younger architects and listening to concerns justified or not raised by neighbors worried about change in their midst. Her kindness radiated from her, recalled Stacy Williams, executive director of the San Francisco chapter of the American Institute of Architects. Her generosity with her time, her mentoring and kindness everything she did was gracious and so thoughtful. Such largesse isnt always the case in a profession where the phrase starchitect only recently has gone out of vogue. Advertisement Article continues below this ad She was always encouraging, always supportive, recalled Vanna Whitney, a principal at Leddy Maytum Stacy Architects, who joined the firm in 2005 after being impressed by the idealistic aspect of the work by Maytum and her partners. She always was the one to say, We can build a new kind of firm. The ever affable Maytum played down the strife that can be part of local decision-making, as when her design for a new branch library in North Beach on Columbus Avenue was attacked by opponents who tried to claim that its nondescript predecessor was a precious architectural landmark. Thats one of the challenges of working in the Bay Area. We call it hyper-democracy, because everybody has a voice, she told Architectural Record last year. But learning about all the different viewpoints, and understanding how they relate, or dont, is what makes this work super interesting. The restoration of the North Beach Branch of the San Francisco Public Library was led by Marsha Maytums design firm. Michael Macor/The Chronicle The library that opened in 2014 shows the humanism connecting all of Maytums work. The contemporary flatiron with its long wedge shape is straightforward on the exterior but inside, there are light-drenched views of cable cars on one side and the abundantly landscaped Joe DiMaggio Playground on the other. Patrons are immersed in the city, even as Maytum dedicated the glassy southern prow to a reading nook where they could immerse themselves in books as well. Maytum also had a particular feel for historic restoration, putting old buildings to use in new eras. Advertisement Article continues below this ad As far back as the mid-1990s, before Leddy Maytum Stacy was founded, she led the design effort in San Franciscos Presidio to convert a dozen hospital buildings from the 1890s into the Thoreau Center for Sustainability, an immaculate effort in historic preservation that far exceeded so-called green building standards for the era and now is home to 60 nonprofits, many with an ecological bent. Were always trying to make each design solution solve several problems at once, Maytum said of another restoration project, which transformed a 1912 pier at Fort Mason into a seductively austere home for the (now closed) San Francisco Art Institute. A mural by Alicia McCarthy hangs prominently inside the new home of San Francisco Art Institute at Pier 2 in Fort Mason in San Francisco in 2017. The piers restoration was handled by Marsha Maytums design firm. Michael Macor/The Chronicle Some of this traces back to the University of Oregon, where Maytum who was born in San Francisco in 1954 and grew up in Los Altos attended architecture school after having her love for the craft ignited by glimpsing the Taj Mahal bathed in moonlight on a family trip at the age of 15. Several of her professors were architects beginning to explore the design ramifications of what it meant to design with an eye to protecting the earth. In a 2017 interview, Maytum commented how she took from her studies a deep understanding of environmental design and the importance of working with nature. Maytum gained something else from Oregon: a lifelong personal and professional relationship with Bill Leddy, a fellow architecture student. The couple married in 1978 and moved to the Bay Area, getting jobs at different firms but eventually uniting at the small firm of Tanner VanDine and, in 2001, deciding with fellow architect Richard Stacy to create a practice devoted to what Maytum often called mission-driven work. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Stacy put it another way this month: We decided we liked community based and nonprofit clients better than developer clients, frankly. Stacy first met Maytum when she was hired in 1982 by Tanner Vandine, where he already worked. I was incredibly impressed at how together she was, organized and efficient, Stacy said. The office was not like that before. Architects Marsha Maytum, right, Bill Leddy, center, and Richard Stacy in their San Francisco offices in 2017. John Storey/Special to the Chronicle As the years went on, the honors mounted: Maytum was elected to the College of Fellows of the American Institute of Architects in 2001, a coveted designation, and her work in sustainable architecture earned so many awards that it was no surprise when, in 2019, she was selected to chair the institutes Committee on the Environment. There was the firm of the year award in 2017, all the more impressive given that the firms size has never topped 38 people. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Through it all, Maytum patiently wrestled with clients and contractors while being open to whatever request for assistance came her way: Any (design) jury anybody asked her to sit on, she would do it, Williams recalled. All this changed in the last half of 2020, when Maytum was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a debilitating disease that slowly takes control of a persons body and slowly takes away the ability to move or speak and, eventually, breathe. Marsha Maytum, the architect for the Old Letterman Hospital rehab project, said in 1996 that she walks into a room like this and sees possibilities. Russell Yip/The Chronicle She continued working during its early stages, but in 2022 she shifted to the role of principal emeritas. Even then, Maytum would offer design tips and advice to coworkers while battling the disease even showing up in her wheelchair last year to cheer on other firm employees during a fundraising bike ride in Napa Valley. This disease really was the ultimate test of her character and, as always, she brought her best self, Stacy said. The spark was still there. Kim Yo Jong, sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, said Thursday that Pyongyang could potentially be open to improving ties with Japan and hosting a summit with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. File Pool Photo by Jorge Silva/EPA-EFE SEOUL, Feb. 16 (UPI) -- Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, said that Pyongyang would be open to improving relations with Japan and potentially hosting a visit from Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, state-run media reported. Kim made the remarks on Thursday night in response to recent calls by Kishida for a summit with Kim Jong Un to help "[raise] Japan-North Korea relations to a new stage" and resolve the longstanding issue of the North's abductions of Japanese citizens. "I think there would be no reason not to appreciate [Kishida's] recent speech as a positive one, if it was prompted by his real intention to boldly free himself from the past fetters and promote the DPRK-Japan relations," Kim said in a statement carried by Korean Central News Agency. The Democratic People's Republic of Korea is the official name of North Korea. However, she cautioned that Tokyo would have to drop its criticisms of Pyongyang's illicit missile and nuclear programs and set aside the "already settled abduction issue" before any steps could be taken. Under such conditions, "there will be no reason for the two countries not to become close and the day of the prime minister's Pyongyang visit might come," Kim said. The abduction issue has remained a deeply contentious one between the two countries for decades. Japan says at least 17 citizens were kidnapped by North Korea in the 1970s and 1980s for purposes that included giving language lessons to the North's spies. In 2002, North Korea admitted to abducting 13 Japanese citizens and allowed five to return home, while claiming eight others had died. Japan's top government spokesman said Friday that Tokyo was "paying attention" to the remarks by Kim but called her claims about the abduction issue "completely unacceptable." Kishida raised the issue of a meeting with Kim Jong Un at the U.N. General Assembly in September, saying he was determined to meet the North Korean leader face-to-face without any conditions. The potential thaw in the relationship comes as North Korea has hardened its belligerent stance toward South Korea with a steady stream of threatening words and missile launches. Japan has frequently condemned North Korea's weapons tests, which have included ballistic missiles flying near Japan on several occasions. Tokyo has also grown closer to Seoul and Washington, with security cooperation ramping up in the wake of a trilateral Camp David summit in August. While North Korea generally uses hostile rhetoric toward Tokyo, last month Kim Jong Un sent a rare message of sympathy to Kishida over the deadly New Year's Day earthquake that struck central Japan. In her message Thursday, Kim Yo Jong cautioned that the positive response was her "personal view only" and did not represent Pyongyang's official stance. "I think our state leadership still has no idea of repairing the DPRK-Japan relations and has no interest in contact," she said. "It is necessary to watch the ulterior intention of Prime Minister Kishida in the future," she added. North Texans looking for an alternative to Donald Trump and Joe Biden as president gathered in Dallas Thursday evening to hear from Nikki Haley. The former United Nations ambassador and South Carolina governor was at Gilleys Dallas South Side Music Hall to address Texans ahead of Super Tuesday on March 5. Early voting starts Tuesday for the Republican and Democratic primaries. Former Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price introduced Haley, the crowd meeting the former governor with cheers as I Love Rock n Roll played in the background. Weve defeated a dozen of the fellas, Haley said. Ive just got one more fella Ive got to catch up to. Haley sought to contrast herself from the former president as she encouraged Texans to support her presidential bid. I voted for Donald Trump twice, she said. I was proud to serve America in his administration. But the truth is, chaos follows him. Everywhere he goes, chaos follows him. And we cant be a country in disarray and world on fire and go through four more years of chaos. A handful of people were in line a little before 5:30 p.m., waiting for doors to open for the campaign event. Jacob Garza, an Ellis County college student was among them, waiting to see the presidential hopeful speak, rather than studying for an economics exam. The March primary will be his first time voting in a presidential election. Garza, 20, said hes an Independent and plans to vote for Haley in the Republican Primary. Hes looking for an alternative to Trump, and was excited to see Haley visit South Dallas. In 2020, I actually came to this exact same location to hear out Joe Biden, although I was not able to vote, Garza said. And four years later, now, Im going to listen to Nikki Haley. And really, I know her positions and Im excited to see the enthusiasm for her, but also as the primary candidate against Trump. Sitting in a camping chair ahead of the event, Cathy Hartman of Fort Worth waited to be let in with her 15-year-old grandson. She wants a candidate who is electable and wont bring divisiveness to the Republican Party. Nikki Haley, I think, stands a chance of uniting and not having the rhetoric and the issues that Donald Trump has, said Hartman, 66. I feel like shes highly qualified for the job, and I feel like it is time that we give her a chance to see what she can do in a leadership role. Haleys trip to Texas comes as many elected officials and potential Republican primary voters are supporting Trumps reelection bid. Gov. Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, U.S. Senators Ted Cruz and John Cornyn and several North Texas congressional representatives support Trump. The former president has has raised $7.2 million in Texas, while has raised Haleys $4 million, according to the Federal Election Commission. Trump has a 61 percentage point lead over Haley among likely Texas Republican primary voters, according to a University of Houston poll released in late January. Polls also show her lagging behind Trump in her home state of South Carolina in its Republican Primary on Feb. 24. People crowded in front of a stage in the Dallas ballroom as they waited to hear Haleys remark, which were interrupted multiple times by protesters. Several people were removed from the ballroom at multiple points throughout the event, some yelling Free Palestine! They continued protesting outside. As they waited for the speech to begin, Patrick Harris, 23, and Lydia Long, 21, said they see Haley as having the best chance of beating Biden in November. I think she appeals more to moderates, and maybe even those on the left, said Harris. Tonja Cooper of Garland said shes always voted Democratic, but is excited for Haley and even signed up at the event to volunteer for her campaign. She drew me out of my comfort zone, Cooper said. Im really open-minded to the right person for the job. It remains to be see if Haley will have dropped out of the running by the time Super Tuesday comes. But attendees at the event remained hopeful, if realistic. I think the pathway is very narrow, said Hartman, who plans to vote for Haley in the primary. How confident was Garza, the Ellis County college student, that Haley will continue her bid? Well, I was confident enough to where Im... spending my Thursday here in line, rather than studying for an exam I have tomorrow, he said. Texas Democrats respond to Nikki Haleys visit Ahead of her Dallas Rally, Texas Democrats criticized Haleys stance on abortion policy and fundraising efforts with billionaires like Harlan Crow of Dallas. Haleys long record of support for the extreme MAGA agenda makes it clear: Texans cant trust her to look out for them and their fundamental freedoms, Texas Democratic Party Chairman Gilberto Hinojosa said in a statement Thursday. In a Tuesday interview with the Star-Telegram, Hinojosa said theres not a lot of difference between Trump and Haley in terms of policy. The two are different in style, he said. One is an insane criminal, and the other one is a person who is a little bit more palatable in terms of how she treats other human beings, Hinojosa said. But, this is not a call thats going to be made by us. Its going to be a call thats made by Texas Republicans, and if theres anybody further to the right than Texas Republicans, I dont know who is. Hinojosa expects Texans will ultimately pick Trump as their nominee. I dont think it makes a difference that shes here, he said. At the end of the day, the Texas Republican Party probably doesnt think that Nikki Haley is sufficiently right wing for them to support her. I mean, this is not the Republican Party of George W. Bush. PORTSMOUTH Northeast Credit Union is cautioning its 144,000-plus members about a cryptocurrency scam that has allegedly targeted the financial institution. This week, Northeast Credit Union reported some of its members have been contacted by fraudulent actors, who have posed as representatives of the institution and told members to withdraw money from their accounts. They are then instructed to deposit their funds into a bitcoin machine, the financial institution shared in a notice on Tuesday. Some members have also had their computers hacked and compromised from a fraudulent Microsoft pop-up link. No members have lost money to the scam, nor has the credit union itself, Northeast Credit Union spokesperson Diane Carragher said Friday. Northeast Credit Union Carragher said the false phone calls mirror a national bitcoin scam and urged anyone with a bank account to be vigilant for similar scams, regardless of the financial institution. We take an active approach in educating our members with every scam scenario we hear about and communicate it to them for their own protection. General education on scams is part of our fraud loss and mitigation strategy where we inform and protect members through website fraud alerts, blogs and newsletter articles, she said. Due to our educational approach, some members reached out upon receiving a fraudulent call from an imposter claiming to be a company representative. More local news: Dover Bowl to close as casino and sportsbook expand, rebrand: What feds say about digital currency scams Cryptocurrency like bitcoin is a digital currency that only exists electronically, and values can change quickly, according to the Federal Trade Commission. In 2023, there were roughly 2.6 million reports of fraud in the United States and more than $10 billion in reported losses due to fraudulent activity, both of which were year-over-year increases, per the commission. Imposter scams were the most frequent type of fraudulent schemes last year. The Federal Trade Commission reported losses to business imposters in 2023 tallied approximately $752 million nationwide, soaring up from $438 million two years prior. Ranked by number of reports, imposter scams were at the top of the list and by top of the list, we mean the bottom of the barrel with reported losses of $2.7 billion, the commissions Feb. 9 summary of last years fraud statistics states. The most frequently reported form of this scam is the business imposter scammers who falsely claim to be affiliated with a well-known company or a financial institution. Northeast Credit Union offers advice to members Northeast Credit Union was founded at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in 1936. The company states it has expanded to more than $2 billion in assets, more than 144,000 members and has 17 branches throughout Maine and New Hampshire. The company is in the process of relocating its headquarters from Portsmouth to 100 Education Way in Dover, a renovated space that is expected to be fully operational by early 2025. More: Northeast Credit Union to transform old Measured Progress site in Dover Northeast Credit Union advised members to ignore or hang up on suspicious callers who claim to be an employee of the company. Members who are uncertain about the scam or believe they fell victim to it can contact Northeast Credit Union at 888-436-1847. This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Bitcoin scam: Northeast Credit Union warns members Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stre has announced that he expects the signing of a bilateral agreement with Ukraine on what is known as security guarantees within the framework of the Group of Seven declaration in a few weeks. Source: Jonas Gahr Stre in a comment to the NTB news agency on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference on 16 February Details: Stre stated that Ukraine will conclude the most comprehensive agreements on security commitments with the G7 countries "for obvious reasons". "But the Scandinavian nations will also sign agreements individually over a period of time. The goal is to conclude an agreement confirming Norway's support for Ukraine's independence and its right to self-defence," he added. The Norwegian prime minister estimated it would take several more weeks to sign the agreement between Norway and Ukraine. The leaders of Ukraine and Norway agreed in October 2023 to launch talks on security guarantees. To date, Ukraine has signed bilateral security agreements with the United Kingdom and Germany and will soon sign one with France. Support UP or become our patron! It is rare that both Labour and the Conservatives can both be right. But after the Conservatives dismal night in which they lost two formerly safe seats, it actually happened. Keir Starmer, the Labour leader, welcomed the results as fantastic for his party and a sure sign that the voters want a change in government. Meanwhile Jacob Rees-Mogg said, accurately, that by-election results are never an accurate prediction of what will happen at a subsequent by-election. Both these things are true, and there is no doubt which side is happier this morning. The two results can hardly be interpreted in any other way than as a sign of a forthcoming Labour government. Nevertheless, it is extremely unlikely that the nearly 30 per cent swing in Wellingborough will be accurately replicated on a national scale. The loss of Wellingborough and Kingswood to Labour (with the Reform Party lending a hand) could hardly be worse news for Rishi Sunak at the end of a week that started so well with Labour division and indecision over its Rochdale candidate and ended so badly with news that the economy went into recession at the end of last year. Its clear that voters consider the latter factor to be more important than the former. Politics is necessarily about argument and spin. But it is also, just occasionally, about empirical facts, and these by-elections surely cannot be spun in any respect as anything other than unalloyed good news for the Labour Party. Would they have preferred to have won over more former Conservative voters, many of whom defected to Reform instead? Obviously. Does the fact that Reform syphoned off a large portion of disaffected voters worry Starmer? Should it? Or do these results merely confirm that, as has threatened to happen many times before, the right wing vote is going to be split at the general election, and to Labours enormous advantage? If you were looking really hard, you might, perhaps, be able to identify a couple of morsels of positivity for the Conservatives and Sunak, but they are slight indeed. The first is that these results are no worse than everyone expected them to be the poverty of low expectations at least softening the blow. It is also unlikely (though not impossible) that Labour will hold onto either of these seats come the general election. Lastly, Conservatives can at least look forward to next weeks Rochdale by-election in the certain knowledge that whoever wins, it will not be the Labour Party, which has disowned its candidate after he claimed Israel allowed the October 7 massacre to take place. But these are meagre offerings indeed. Wellingborough and Kingswood only serve to confirm that the national polls predicting a massive victory for Labour are close to accurate. And even the unwelcome re-emergence of Labours anti-Semitism travails has been shown to be of less importance to voters than their desire to remove Rishi Sunak from office. A dreadful night for the Government was hardly helped by the party chairman himself. Richard Holden appeared on the wireless this morning and was challenged about his partys decision to issue an edited clip of London Mayor Sadiq Khan claiming that Labour was proud to be both anti-racist but also anti-Semitic. Khan had immediately corrected himself, adding, beg your pardon, tackling anti-Semitism, but that part was missed out from the clip distributed by the Conservatives on social media. It was a desperate move, defended by Mr Holden, who was presumably hoping that concerns over anti-Jewish hatred in sections of the Labour Party would obscure his own disastrous performance in the by-elections. The first rule of politics: when in a hole, stop digging. Theres something else that both sides ought to agree on. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 3 months with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. Danielle Echeverria is a reporter for The Chronicles Engagement and Breaking News team. She recently completed her Master's degree in journalism at Stanford University, where she won the Nicholas Roosevelt Environmental Journalism Award for her reporting and covered agriculture, climate change and worker safety. She previously interned The Chronicle on the Business desk, as well as at Big Local News, focusing on data journalism. She is originally from Bakersfield, California. She can be reached at danielle.echeverria@sfchronicle.com. We have a national antisemitism crisis, and it affects Jews every day on the streets, at school, at work, online and everywhere in between. Take just a few incidents in South Florida. Near Boca Raton, a home was vandalized with a swastika. At the University of South Florida, a mob of students shouted, repeatedly, resistance is justified excusing the Hamas terror attack on Oct. 7, the slaughter of 1,200 Israelis, and the kidnapping of 240 hostages. In South Beach, a woman screamed at pro-Israel demonstrators, Hitler should have f***ing finished the job! Several South Florida synagogues, including Parklands Congregation Kol Tikvah, Coral Gables Temple Judea and Temple Sinai of North Dade, have been the targets of fake bomb threats. In the last year, nearly half (46%) of Jewish Americans reported altering their behavior because of antisemitism. They avoided posting content online that would identify them as Jewish or reveal their opinion on Jewish matters. They did not wear or display anything that would identify them as Jewish or avoided places, events or situations out of concern for their safety. These are the disturbing findings of American Jewish Committees (AJC) newly released State of Antisemitism in America 2023 Report which explores how rising antisemitism affects the lives and behavior of Jewish Americans and shows the profound impact of Jew hatred. One survey participant told us: My middle school children have been targeted at school for being Jewish. My elementary school child is scared of being attacked at school. The report one of the most extensive surveys ever conducted on antisemitism in America among both American Jews and the general U.S. population shows Hamas October 7 terror attack, the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust, has only exacerbated the problem. More than three-quarters of American Jews (78%) who heard of Hamas attack said it made them feel less safe here at home. But the terror attack and ensuing surge in antisemitism didnt happen in a vacuum. For years, antisemitism has been rising here in the U.S. 50% of Jewish survey participants said it increased a lot in 2023, up from 43% in 2022, and 37% in 2021. This is reflected not just in protests or on campus, as we often see reported in the media, but also in the workplace. Thirty percent of American Jews reported feeling uncomfortable about expressing their views on Israel or identifying themselves as Jews according to our data. Some even said that they had been told that they could not take time off work for Jewish holidays. Thankfully, the American public is beginning to understand the nature of the threat. Nearly three-quarters (74%) of Americans say that antisemitism is a problem. The subset of this group that believes antisemitism is a very serious problem has increased to 34% in 2023. Four in 10 Americans have personally seen or heard antisemitic activity in the past 12 months. This issue has been ignored for far too long but this new data provides a welcome note of hope. Jews are not alone in noticing the enraged crowds screaming From the river to the sea! and Globalize the intifada! and accusing Israel of genocide in Gaza, an obscene falsehood meant to divert attention from the Hamas terror attack and the hostages still being held captive. A huge majority of adults (both Jewish and non-Jewish) agreed that Antisemitism affects society as a whole; everyone is responsible for combating it. It takes a whole-of-society effort to tackle antisemitism, so the more people on board, the better. The National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism, released in May 2023, follows that exact premise. Implementing it requires a receptive public, and AJC is working across sectors to ensure that we, as a society, follow through on this overdue plan of action. We need our friends and allies to stand with us. I know that we can count on your support. Ted Deutch, a former congressman from Florida, is CEO of the American Jewish Committee (AJC). Cops on Friday released images of the man who knifed a Brazilian tourist at a Queens train station during an unprovoked attack. The victim, 29, was on the mezzanine level of the Queens Plaza E, M, R subway station about 10:30 a.m. Thursday when a man in a ski-mask and a black and gray hooded jacket charged at him, cops said. Without saying a word, the stranger lunged forward with a knife and slashed the left side of the victims neck before running back up to the street. EMS rushed the victim to Elmhurst Hospital. Hes expected to survive. The stabbing comes as assaults in the citys transit system have jumped this year. As of Sunday, 64 assaults were reported in the citys subway system in 2024, compared to 58 recorded in the same period of 2023 an increase of 10%. The number of robberies in the subway is also up 60 robberies have been reported in 2024 as of Sunday, a 5% increase from 57 reported in the same period of 2023, police data shows. The violence on the citys rail lines was on full display Monday, when a shooting on a Bronx subway platform left one man dead and five others hurt. Detectives arrested one of the three shooters Thursday. Cops recovered surveillance footage of the tourists assailant in the hopes someone recognizes him. Anyone with information regarding his whereabouts is urged to call NYPD Crime Stoppers at (800) 577-TIPS. All calls will be kept confidential. A suspected shoplifter was shot multiple times after authorities said he charged at an officer while armed with a machete. Officers got a call around 2:40 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 15, about a man with a weapon in the pharmacy area of a Walmart store in Chamblee, Georgia, according to the states Bureau of Investigation. The 22-year-old was also accused of shoplifting, Chamblee Police Chief Michael Dieppa told WXIA and WSB-TV. A responding officer saw the man walking after he left the store and began to walk after him, state investigators said. The man kept going, ignoring the officers calls to stop and show his hands, authorities said. Thats when police said the man walked into a road, beneath a MARTA train overpass, and brandished the weapon. The offender pulled out a machete from his waistband, viciously attempted to attack our officer, forcing her to discharge her firearm to protect herself, Dieppa told WAGA. The officer shot the man multiple times, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. Authorities said the man continued to be combative, assaulting two officers and two firefighters while they were providing aid. He was taken to a hospital in critical condition, investigators said. The GBI said the shooting remains under investigation. Chamblee is about 15 miles northeast of downtown Atlanta. Bloody man found at doorstep was victim of samurai sword attack, Florida cops say Shopper strangles woman at Kroger pharmacy because he thought she cut line, IN cops say Family feud over pizza for breakfast ends with assault using grits, Florida cops say A Permian Basin oil and gas operator agreed to a $9.5 million settlement with the State of New Mexico and federal government over air pollution caused by the companys facilities in southeast New Mexico and West Texas. Apache Corporation agreed to pay $4 million in fines and spend $5.5 million on projects intended to curb emissions at 422 oil and gas well pads in the two states, to comply with state and federal regulations and offset past illegal emissions. The settlement resolved a civil lawsuit filed by the New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) and the Environmental Protection Agency that accused Apache of failing to control emissions at 23 of its oil and gas operations. More: It could become more expensive to drill for oil on New Mexico state land, should bill pass The violations were discovered during aircraft surveillance and field inspections in 2019, 2020 and 2022. The settlement was believed to reduce emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which form ground-level ozone of smog, by 9,650 tons per year, along with 900 tons of methane. The $4 million in fines was shared equally between New Mexico and the federal government, with the states portion heading to the General Fund, NMED said. More: Diamondback Energy buys Endeavor Resources in Permian Basin for $26 billion Apache will spend $4.5 million to design and implement improvements to its facilities, including new tank pressure monitoring systems, and $1 million to retrofit more than 400 pneumatic devices with electric, non-emitting devices. In a statement from Apache, the company said it already began increasing site inspections and measurement of emissions, while increasing maintenance and gas capture at its facilities in the Permian, before and during negotiations on the settlement. The company touted industry-led environmental initiatives with other companies like the Environmental Partnership, which includes Permian oil giants like Chevron, Occidental Petroleum, Devon Energy and XTO Energy. More: Thousands of acres of Eddy County could be sold to oil industry. Here's how to participate. The consent decree resolves alleged violations from years ago and we acted swiftly to remedy those issues that were identified, read the statement. Moving forward, the consent decree represents our commitment to continuous improvement across our facilities in the Permian Basin. Calling them what they are, which is polluters. Actions to prevent future violations will include government audits of the facilities, inspections and preventative maintenance, NMED said, along with additional future monitoring. But James Kenney, NMED cabinet secretary said if Apache was really following environmental laws, the settlement would not have been necessary. More: Lawmakers hope to block oil wells near homes, schools via New Mexico Senate memorial Had they complied with the law, they wouldnt find themselves in this position. First and foremost, its a failure when we have enforcement because it indicates the air quality was degraded, Kenney said in an interview with the Current-Argus. When we flip the scrip to enforcement, were unapologetic about holding up the mirror and calling them what they are which is polluters. New Mexico Cabinet Secretary of the Environment James Kenney meets with Carlsbad business leaders, Feb. 3, 2020 in Santa Fe. Kenney said the NMED was hamstrung by budget cuts during the administration of former-Gov. Susana Martinez, meaning it was difficult to track the extent of past of violations before recent actions his agency took. NMED and the federal government previously fined Mewbourne Oil Company $5.5 million in August 2023 for violations at its wells in the Permian Basin and ordered the company to pay $4.6 million on improvements. More: Lawmakers look to send more state funds to clean up New Mexico's abandoned oil wells In June 2023, Texas-based Ameredev was issued $42 million in fines for air pollution violations by the NMED and state Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department (EMNRD) for its oil and gas facilities in the Permian Basin. Money was taken out of our air quality program, the records of compliance issues under the Martinez administration are hard for us to reconstruct, Kenney said. The gravity of what were announcing today is that this is significant both in New Mexico and across the country. Air pollution like Apaches was largely responsible for worsening air quality in southeast New Mexico, Kenney said. He said he expected the EPA to list the Permian Basin region in violation of the federal Clean Air Act, a move that would restrict further oil and gas development in the booming region. More: Oilfield workers struggle for healthcare, benefits in Permian Basin, UNM study says I have not heard anything from them that theyre walking back that intention. Ive heard more that the modeling and monitoring data, that theyre reviewing that with a finer granularity, Kenney said. New Mexico has to take certain actions when ozone levels rise. Were being good stewards of our air quality by taking the emissions seriously. We would want Texas to do the same. Somebodys got to do it. New Mexico to raise fees to pay for more oil well inspections About half the oil and gas industry in New Mexico was complying with air pollution laws, Kenney said, but that NMED lacked the capacity to fully enforce the rules with only six air inspectors for the entire state. More: Too far or not far enough? Industry, environmentalist unite to opposed oil and gas reforms While the budget bill moving through the New Mexico legislature in the final days of its ongoing session did include funds to properly pay the staff NMED does have, Kenney said more employees were needed to properly conduct oversight of the industry. NMED was planning to file a petition to its governing Environmental Improvement Board, he said, to raise permitting fees paid by oil and gas operators to fund more inspectors. Should any New Mexicans be happy with six inspectors for air quality statewide? Im not, Kenney said. This is a do better moment for the industry. I think its a big wake up call for industry. Simply, do better. Were going to continue to ramp up our air program by increasing fees. More: Oil and gas supported by NM, federal subsidies in Permian Basin Cindy Hollenberg, compliance and enforcement section chief at NMEDs Air Quality Bureau said Apaches fines were intended to send a message to the broader oil and gas industry in New Mexico and the Permian Basin to follow state and federal laws The reason we did these joint inspections is because we know many of these smaller facilities just knew in the past that no one was ever going to inspect them, she said. We wanted to send a message that we are out here and there are consequences for that. Adrian Hedden can be reached at 575-628-5516, achedden@currentargus.com or @AdrianHedden on the social media platform X. This article originally appeared on Carlsbad Current-Argus: Permian oil driller Apache agrees to $9.5M air pollution settlement Applying for federal aid to help pay for college was supposed to be much easier this year. Thanks to delayed and buggy new software, it hasnt worked out that way. Here, students get help filling out forms at San Franciscos Mission High School on Thursday. Loren Elliott/Special to the Chronicle Donovan, 17, glanced up from his laptop at Balboa High School in San Francisco, where he was filling out a federal financial aid application for college next fall. Ive got some bad news, he told his counselor, John Moreno. After two frustrating hours of trying on Tuesday, Donovans Pell grant request still hadnt gone through. Applying for the federal aid to help pay for college was supposed to be much easier this year. The Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, has been overhauled for the first time in three decades, cutting in half, to about 20 minutes, the time it takes to fill out the previously cumbersome form. Advertisement Article continues below this ad But Donovan has been trying to submit his FAFSA for two weeks. Hes one of more than 100,000 high school seniors in California and an untold number across the country hit by a glitch that blocks the applications of citizens and other legal residents whose parents dont have a Social Security number or numbers. Donovan, a Balboa High School senior and U.S. citizen trying to apply for a Pell Grant for college, is one of millions of students thwarted by glitches in the federal governments new FAFSA application, which is especially hitting children of undocumented residents. Nanette Asimov/The Chronicle Experts fear the technical snafu preventing these mixed-immigration status students from applying for aid will derail or discourage thousands of students across the state and nation from enrolling in college even more than during the COVID pandemic. How and where to get help with the FAFSA The California Student Aid Commission is promoting webinars by Cash for College, a nonprofit that helps high school students fill out FAFSA financial aid forms to receive federal Pell grants for college. Here is a listing of online workshops. In person workshops for San Francisco students are taking place from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m on Tuesday, Mon. Feb. 20 at Independence High, 1350 7th Ave., on Tuesday, Feb. 20 and on Thursday, Feb. 22 at June Jordan High, 325 La Grande Ave. Bring: 2022 federal income tax returns Social security number or green card number for students and parents. Month and year of parents marriage, separation or divorce. Current bank statements. Records of businesses, farms or other real estate. Records of stocks, bonds and other investments. For more information email cashforcollege@jcyc.org Donovan, a U.S. citizen who wants to study environmental science, said hes worried he wont be able to go to college if he doesnt get the financial aid hes entitled to. The Chronicle is withholding his last name because his parents lack documentation to be in the country legally. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Yet that problem is just one of many that have tangled up the FAFSA since the streamlined version premiered on Dec. 31, three months late: Signatures vanishing from saved forms. School names truncated. Applicants unable to come back to the form after exiting. Kids are upset. Theyre super anxious, said Kateri Dodds, who coordinates college access for the Oakland Unified School District. This has brought me to tears multiple times in the last few months because of how blatantly unfair this is. The U.S. Department of Education has listed more than a dozen errors needing repair. Yet thats only a partial account that doesnt even mention problems with the live chat or the help line where no one picks up. Phone lines are flooded all over the country, said Jose Jimenez, a director of college access at 10,000 Degrees, a nonprofit that helps students navigate the FAFSA. The group sponsored a workshop on Thursday at Mission High School in San Francisco, like the one Donovan attended at Balboa. Another problem, it turns out, is twins. One was able to sign in, but the other couldnt, said Iris Castillo, a college student who has been helping applicants at Balboa and ran into the conundrum. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Last year, 40% of high school seniors had submitted their FAFSA by early February, said the National College Attainment Network, which has tracked FAFSA data for seven years. This year, just 20% had done so. Much of the lag is from the late rollout. If you compare both years five weeks in, this years seniors are running slightly ahead, by about 4%, which is encouraging, said Bill DeBaun, the nonprofits senior director. But since the rollout was late, that puts everything behind schedule. The delay and multiple snafus threaten crucial timelines, he said. Students have to know how much grant money to expect so they can decide whether to accept a college admission offer by the required deadline. Although California has pushed deadlines back to accommodate the disruption, college start dates are firm. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The finish line hasnt moved, DeBaun said. So we need the rate of completion to accelerate very quickly. This year, high school seniors heading to four-year colleges will get an extra month, until April 2, to apply for a state Cal Grant because the California Student Aid Commission relies on FAFSA information to determine each students eligibility but there is none. Christina Phonseya, program manager at the Future Center at Mission High School in San Francisco, speaks to students and parents during a workshop on Thursday called Cash for College, aimed at helping them fill out the new federal FAFSA financial aid application form. Loren Elliott/Special to the Chronicle The U.S. education department has processed no applications yet and isnt expected to start releasing that data until mid-March. Last year, 141 Balboa High students had completed their FAFSAs by this time. Advertisement Article continues below this ad I share the same frustrations that many students are expressing, said Moreno, the counselor helping Donovan at Balboa. In my opinion, the FAFSA launch felt rushed. It obviously wasnt ready to be used when the application opened on Dec. 31. As a work-around, state officials are considering letting students whose parents lack a Social Security number use the California Dream Act application because it generates the same data. Were ... exploring other options, said Jake Brymner, a deputy director at the California Student Aid Commission who called the FAFSA debacle the commissions top-most concern this year. Ultimately, Brymner expects the new FAFSA to be better than the old one, and we really want to encourage students to stick with it because higher education unlocks so much in your life. The earlier a student submits a FAFSA application, the more grant money may be available, according to Mark Kantrowitz, an expert on student financial aid who has written widely on the subject. We tell them to get their application in ASAP, and theyre trying, said Lance Cheng, another Balboa High counselor. But families are not getting the support they need from the government. This is totally not on them. A parent looks through paperwork at Mission High School in San Francisco on Thursday while taking part in a workshop aimed at helping families fill out the new federal FAFSA financial aid application form. Loren Elliott/Special to the Chronicle The University of California and California State University are giving students an extra two weeks, until May 15, to accept admission offers. The exception is for out-of-state applicants to UC Berkeley. Because the campus is trying to reduce the number of nonresident students, administrators havent decided yet whether to give those applicants a break, said spokesperson Janet Gilmore. A major difference in the new FAFSA is that parents or other contributors to the application must, for the first time, use a separate login to add their information. But students whose parents are less skilled technologically who are often the lowest-income applicants disproportionately run into trouble with this new requirement, especially because parents are often told to call the help line. The number basically doesnt work, said Dodds of the Oakland public schools. Theyre put on hold for hours. They hang up on you. Most affected are students from mixed-immigration status families and those in foster care, who arent in contact with their parents, Dodds said. Its just barrier after barrier. I just think its a really great example of institutionalized racism, she said. At Balboa High the other day, about 30 students gathered to work on their FAFSAs with counselors and volunteers. One of them, Donovan, had been wrestling with the live chat for about 40 minutes, receiving advice that didnt work. Its very confusing, Donovan said. He next planned to try using a relatives phone number, but didnt really expect it to work. Of one thing he was sure, though, he said. Yuan Yuan Tan gets some flowers from fans while taking her final bow at San Francisco Ballet on Valentines Day. Reneff-Olson Productions/Alexander Reneff-Olson San Francisco was not ready to say goodbye to Yuan Yuan Tan. In the basement of the War Memorial Opera House, as Tan prepared to take the stage a final time after 29 years as San Francisco Ballets star dancer, Lydia Reviglio of Walnut Creek trawled among bar patrons in an old fur coat, seeking signatures for her handwritten petition. I just made it up on the spot, she said of her barely legible demand for an additional program to celebrate Tans historic contributions to the company. Advertisement Article continues below this ad She doesnt jump, she flies, continued Reviglio, who saw Tans first performance with the company when the Shanghai-born dancer was just a teenage guest artist in 1995. She still flies. Did you see her last year in Romeo and Juliet? She was the best and tonight is sold out. Next steps: Yuan Yuan Tan looks beyond her final company bow Yuan Yuan Tan poses for a portrait at the War Memorial Opera House ahead of her retirement from the San Francisco Ballet. Gabrielle Lurie/The Chronicle Principal dancer Yuan Yuan Tan gives a hug to Tiit Helimets, a former company principal dancer who guest starred with her at the San Francisco Ballets 2024 Opening Night Gala on Jan. 24, during the after-party. Laura Morton/Special to The Chronicle Yuan Yuan Tan gives a hug to fellow dancer Isaac Hernandez during the San Francisco Ballets 2023 Opening Night Gala at City Hall. Laura Morton/Special to The Chronicle Yuan Yuan Tan performs in Possokhovs Firebird. Erik Tomasson/San Francisco Ballet Yuan Yuan Tan, lower center, and Muriel Maffre in George Balanchines Concerto Barocco in 1996. Marty Sohl/The Balanchine Trust / Courtesy SFMPD Indeed, the Wednesday, Feb. 14, performance of the British Icons program sold out almost instantly upon the announcement last month that Tan, the companys longest-ever serving dancer and a role model instantly recognizable to ballet lovers around the world, would retire from the company after a performance of the evenings second ballet, Marguerite and Armand. But this arrangement was not enough for Reviglio and her petitions many signees. Its an insult, Reviglio said of Artistic Director Tamara Rojos unwillingness to give Tan a full-evening farewell. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Perhaps the undercurrent of indignation among Tans admirers can be reckoned a speed bump in Rojos new tenure. During Helgi Tomassons 37 years as artistic director (1985-2021), longtime principals were often offered special programs in which to dance works of their choosing, or allowed to go out in a favorite full-length ballet. (Such is not the tradition in Europe, where Rojo herself took final bows at the Royal Ballet after a performance in Marguerite and Armand.) Yuan Yuan Tan takes her final bow with the San Francisco Ballet at the War Memorial Opera House in San Francisco. Reneff-Olson Productions/Valentina Reneff-Olson Or perhaps the frustration is a way of lingering in the denial stage of grief in the face of such an era-defining loss. After all, as former rehearsal director Anita Paciotti said in the tribute video that played just before Tans last stage entrance, She was an instrumental part of the companys success in San Francisco and internationally. She elevated the company. Her talent, you cant repeat it, resident choreographer Yuri Possokhov said in that same video, bursting with love for his muse. Tan, who turned 48 on Valentines Day, proved that again as she stepped onstage in the red off-the-shoulder ball gown worn by the character Marguerite in Frederick Ashtons 1963 ballet. The work was famously created as a vehicle for Royal Ballet star Margot Fonteyn to dance with Rudolf Nureyev shortly after the formation of their legendary partnership. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Yuan Yuan Tan and Aaron Robison perform in Helgi Tomassons 7 For Eight. Lindsay Thomas/San Francisco Ballet With her long, ethereal lines and her unfurling style in signature works like John Neumeiers The Little Mermaid and Tomassons 7 for Eight, Tan is a markedly different dancer from Fonteyn, not often seen to embody Ashtons British style. But Tan fit herself to the ballets more conservative contours while letting her artistry flow through her passionate, selfless acting. The scene with Armands father, who tells Marguerite she must give up happiness with his son, was especially moving, as Ricardo Bustamante pushed down Tans pleading hands, and Tan gazed helplessly away toward the audience, her face utterly naturalistic in its pain. The final pas de deux, when Armand returns to Marguerites deathbed, was both absorbing and emblematic of her partnering skills. As Armand, Aaron Robison spun Tans pliant body through the air in lifts that gave the convincing illusion of final throes. Like so many unreal performances Tan has given during her three decades with the Ballet, her Marguerite was consummate. Then came goodbye. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Yuan Yuan Tan and Aaron Robison rehearse Frederick Ashtons Marguerite and Armand. Lindsey Rallo/San Francisco Ballet After the initial full-cast bow, Tan took the stage alone, and the rose tossing and screaming began. Rojo walked out with a bouquet, and Tan hugged her respectfully. Then Tomasson walked out, and Tan hugged him ardently and knelt in reverence. Ringed by company members and staff, Tan wiped away a tear. Many in attendance knew she had chosen Feb. 14 for her farewell because it was also her birthday, with Tan born in the Year of the Dragon. A creature of strength, she rose once more onto her toes as the cheers grew louder. As though to prove she would not really stop dancing, she sprang into a jump. (Tan had told the Chronicle she looks forward to her next steps perhaps teaching and perhaps still performing, at places other than San Francisco Ballet.) Then as the final curtain began to fall, the crowd shouted, Noooooo! and the grief set in. Umami Mart serves Japanese sake and spirits. Andria Lo/Special to The Chronicle Its not behind a bookcase that turns into a secret entrance, and you dont need a password to get in. But theres no sign for this bar, one of the best places in the Bay Area for Japanese drinks, hidden in the back of a shop in Oakland. Umami Mart, a Japanese specialty store in the Temescal neighborhood, opened the bar in 2019, but people are still shocked when they stumble upon it, said co-owner Kayoko Akabori. Its quietly become one of the best places in the Bay Area to drink sake and other Japanese spirits. Akabori and co-owner Yoko Kumano moved Umami Mart from its original home in downtown Oakland to this location with the express purpose of starting the tasting room theyd always wanted. But then the pandemic hit, interrupting the bars growth. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Now, in the back of the shop, past shelves of sake bottles and imported soy sauce, people sip cocktails in stunning Japanese glassware while soft jazz seeps through the speakers. The tiny, ink-black bar, designed by Oaklands Manual Labor, is meant to evoke the intimate back-alley drinking establishments of Japan. A chalkboard menu offers an ever-changing list of sake, shochu, whiskey and beer. Cocktails are always inventive and expressive, featuring unusual spirits like hojicha-infused gin or ingredients like shio koji, the umami-rich seasoning made from fermented rice. Umeshu, a tart, aged plum liqueur made by the owners, makes its way into the Umehattan, the bars spin on a manhattan. They soak unripened plums in a mix of sake and spirits for two years before serving it. A cocktail of sake and shochu, left, and the Umehattan, right, at Umami Mart in Oakland. Elena Kadvany/The Chronicle The owners think of the bar as an educational space, particularly for learning about sake, which in the U.S. was long limited to cheap, hot sake at Japanese restaurants. There are still few devoted sake bars in the Bay Area, but the drink has boomed in popularity in recent years, particularly at trendy restaurants. Akabori and Kumano have always been geared toward sharing information: Umami Mart started as a food-and-drink blog, which they still maintain. Kumano, a certified sake specialist and Umami Marts sake director, picks six or seven bottles to open every week. Theres always a mix of styles: some unpasteurized and wild, some meant to be enjoyed cold or warm. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Flights and the by-the-glass menu are the best ways to explore Umami Marts extensive sake library, from an effervescent, delicate sake brewed in Kyoto to a junmai ginjo from Hiroshima thats served hot and tastes like miso and caramel. The bar feels accessible to drinking newbies as much as cocktail experts (who can find here the sought-after clear Kuramoto Ice from Japan). Umami Mart has a large selection of Japanese sake and spirits. Andria Lo/Special to The Chronicle Theres no food, though you can, and should, raid the stores shelves for a snack, like sweet potato-flavored mini Kit Kats. (A warning: After a drink or two, youll inevitably end up buying more Kit Kats, soba noodles and a bottle of that sake you tried.) The bar closes at 6 p.m., so its an ideal pre-dinner stop and luckily, many of Temescals best restaurants are within walking distance. Umami Marts bar is never static. It once served coffee and sweets in the style of a Japanese kissaten, or teahouse (heres hoping that comes back). You can order a beautiful bowl of hand-whisked matcha during the day, or be surprised by a new sake Kumano has put on the menu in the evening. Its always evolving and changing, Akabori said. Advertisement Article continues below this ad California Forever CEO Jan Sramek leads a press conference unveiling the groups plan for a new city in Solano County at the Rio Vista Veterans Building on Jan. 17. Jessica Christian/The Chronicle Silicon Valley tech titans could create their own de facto government over 17,500 acres if their plan to build a new city in Solano County is approved, lawmakers warned Thursday. Reps. John Garamendi, D-Fairfield, and Mike Thompson, D-Napa, have been early opponents of the new city proposed by the California Forever group because of concerns about the impact on the existing community and nearby Travis Air Force Base. Theyre now raising additional concerns about the proposed citys governance. The projects developers filed a ballot initiative Jan. 17 that needs 13,500 signatures by Feb. 29 in order to qualify for the November ballot. The East Solano Homes, Jobs, and Clean Energy Initiative asks voters to allow an exemption from the countys Orderly Growth ordinance, which requires that all urban development take place within the countys seven cities: Vallejo, Fairfield, Rio Vista, Vacaville, Suisun City, Dixon and Benicia. Under Orderly Growth, a majority of Solano residents must approve any development in unincorporated parts of the county. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The city, which would sit about 60 miles north and east of San Francisco, would be separated from Rio Vista by a 700-acre park, about a half-mile wide. While the city could eventually grow to 400,000 residents, the first generation of development would likely allow 50,000 residents living in about 20,000 housing units, along with schools, retail, parks, public transit and at least 15,000 jobs, according to California Forever. Thompson and Garamendi told reporters Thursday that the measure is structured in a way that would remove all the protections on that land and the amount of input the county would have after that was done is minimal. The county is very concerned about this, Thompson said. A California Forever spokesman disputed the congressmens characterization and pointed to provisions in the measure stating that the project wouldnt proceed without a full environmental impact report a step required by California law and others promising benefits to Solano County residents. We know that building a new community in East Solano County is a big decision. Bringing that decision directly to the voters in November is the best way to make it democratic and transparent, Brian Brokaw, a spokesman for California Forever, said in an email. The initiative spells out very clearly what the proposal is and what it is not and includes ten voter guarantees to ensure accountability. The initiative further requires that prior to starting construction, a full Environmental Impact Report is completed, and a Development Agreement is negotiated and signed with Solano County. The Environmental Impact Report will address water, transportation, and all other impacts, and the Development Agreement will give Solano County the power to enforce all voter guarantees. Advertisement Article continues below this ad But by removing the Orderly Growth restrictions, the measure allows a new city to be built without any governance requirements, Garamendi told the Chronicle. Garamendi said he is concerned about the inability of the county government to control what goes on in this 400,000-person city. No city council, no local government to be set up at all. The initiative bills the development as a new community, and the members of Congress emphasized that decisions about how it is built and integrated into Solano County would be left to the developers. This isnt a proposal for a city, this is a proposal for a development and it would be the developers calling the shot in their development, Thompson said. J.K. Dineen contributed to this story. A former Contra Costa County judge removed from the bench in 2019 for sexual harassment has won approval from the state Supreme Court to resume work as a lawyer. ftwitty/Getty Images A former Contra Costa County judge who was removed from the bench in 2019 for sexual harassment and mistreatment of attorneys and court staff has won approval from the state Supreme Court to resume work as a lawyer. John Laettners reinstatement was based on the State Bar Courts findings that Laettner had undergone therapy, understood his past misconduct and was unlikely to repeat it. Laettner was a prosecutor for 21 years before Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger appointed him to the court in 2006. In its November 2019 order, the state Commission on Judicial Performance said Laettner had generally been an exemplary, conscientious judge, but had engaged in a pattern of undignified, discourteous and offensive conduct toward women for more than a decade. Advertisement Article continues below this ad He regularly commented on female lawyers appearance, told one public defender she could get anything she wanted from him, told another she had not been spanked enough as a child, and called his courtroom stenographic reporter pretty and hot, the commission said. The State Bar then prohibited Laettner from practicing law in California. Laettner had previously denied accusations of wrongdoing and claimed the county public defenders office was attacking him because of his policies on bail. He first sought reinstatement as a lawyer in 2021, but the State Bar Court said he had not shown full understanding of his previous actions, and the state Supreme Court denied his appeal. He reapplied last year, and in a decision in August, the State Bar Court said Laettner has expressed insight and remorse for his behavior relating to gender bias and workplace harassment. The court said Laettner has undergone more than six months of treatment from a mental health therapist, who described him as humbled and remorseful, and also accepted counseling from six former judicial colleagues. He has volunteered at a library in Walnut Creek and a food bank and has done carpentry work for a local branch of Habitat for Humanity, the court said. Five Contra Costa County judges and three retired judges have filed declarations that attest to Laettners competency in the law, strong work ethic, and his commitment to justice, the State Bar Court said. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Laettner then asked the state Supreme Court to restore his license to practice law, and the court agreed in a brief order on Wednesday. No arguments were filed opposing Laettners reinstatement. His attorney, David Darnell Bowie, said Laettner would probably handle cases in family law and civil damage suits in Walnut Creek, either on his own or with a law firm. "We're very grateful to the State Bar Court," Bowie said. UN counter-terrorism chief advocates multilateral approach beyond force Xinhua) 10:11, February 16, 2024 UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 15 (Xinhua) -- The UN's top counter-terrorism official on Thursday emphasized the need for international cooperation and a comprehensive strategy to effectively combat the global threat of terrorism, advocating a multilateral approach that goes beyond the use of force. "Force alone is not the answer," said Vladimir Voronkov, under-secretary-general for the Office of Counter-Terrorism, during his address to the UN Security Council. He underscored the necessity of "comprehensive responses, firmly grounded in political strategies, anchored in international law, and based on all-of-government and all-of-society approaches." Referring to the secretary-general's report on the persistent threat posed by Da'esh, also known as ISIL, Voronkov said that despite significant strides in diminishing the group's operational capabilities, it continues to pose a serious threat, especially in conflict zones. "The prolonged delay in announcing a new leader following the killing of his predecessor was indicative of internal challenges within the group," Voronkov pointed out. He also noted the success of member states' efforts in countering terrorist financing, with Da'esh's financial reserves now estimated to be between 10 million U.S. dollars and 25 million dollars, significantly lower than in previous years. The counter-terrorism chief also acknowledged the progress made in combating Da'esh affiliates in various regions, including Afghanistan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Egypt, and Mozambique. However, he warned of the potential for Da'esh's resurgence, evidenced by increased attacks in Iraq and Syria since November, which underscore the group's enduring resilience. Voronkov highlighted the challenges in West Africa and the Sahel, where Da'esh and its affiliates continue to exploit local disputes and the complex security environment to further their agenda. In his concluding remarks, Voronkov reiterated the UN's dedication to counter-terrorism efforts and called on member states to be mindful of the unintended consequences of certain measures. He stressed the importance of ensuring that counter-terrorism strategies are grounded in international law, including human rights and humanitarian law. (Web editor: Peng Yukai, Liu Ning) Those who took part in Prop. 47-funded treatment programs had rates of recidivism committing new crimes far lower than the rate for those released from state prison, according to a state report. Gabrielle Lurie/The Chronicle Proposition 47, the 2014 ballot measure that reduced punishment for low-level theft and drug offenses, is under attack by a bipartisan ensemble including San Francisco Mayor London Breed, who say it has encouraged crime and should be scaled back. But a new state report says a lesser-known feature of Prop. 47 shifting funds from jails to treatment programs has led to demonstrably lower crime rates for those who receive treatment. Prop. 47 reclassified drug possession and nonviolent theft of less than $950 in property as misdemeanors rather than felonies, sparing defendants from potential prison sentences. The measure required 65% of the savings to be used for treatment and other programs intended to reduce recidivism. Between August 2019 and May 2023, nearly $93 million in savings generated by Prop. 47s reduction in incarceration was invested in mental health and drug treatment, housing, job training and legal services for more than 21,000 defendants who would have been jailed or imprisoned under previous laws, the Board of State and Community Corrections reported Thursday. The grants were provided to health departments and other agencies in 15 cities and counties, including San Francisco, Alameda, Marin and Santa Clara counties and the city of Hayward. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Those who took part in the programs had rates of recidivism committing new crimes of 15.3%, the report said. In comparison, it said, recidivism among inmates released from state prison has averaged between 35% and 45%, though it has been declining. The rate of recidivism was lower for Black participants, at 11%, than for those of other races or ethnicities, the report said. It said women had lower rates of committing new crimes than men, and the rates were also lower for juveniles and for those older than 45 than for other age groups. The report also said participants in the treatment, housing and job training programs had a 60% decrease in their rate of homelessness and a 50% decrease in unemployment, though a majority of the newly employed had part-time jobs. When they began receiving aid, the report said, 31% of the participants were homeless and 65% were unemployed. A new round of Prop. 47 grants, with $143 million in funding, is underway and is scheduled to run through March 2026. These results continue to indicate that Prop. 47 is delivering the results voters demanded safer communities where individuals who commit low-level crimes are directed to housing, employment, mental health and substance use services instead of prison sentences, Linda Penner, chairwoman of the state board, said in a statement accompanying the report. Advertisement Article continues below this ad California should continue to build on this progress investing in efforts that are effective in both reducing incarceration and improving public safety, added Penner, whose board distributes the treatment funds. Breed and some other centrist Democrats, however, are adding support to a Republican-led campaign to overturn parts of Prop. 47 that they say have allowed people to steal and use drugs without fear of consequences. The proposed ballot measure would allow felony charges for drug possession or property theft in any amount if the defendant had two previous drug or theft convictions, and would increase sentences for some drug dealers. With financial support from businesses such as Walmart and Target and the states prison guards union, the campaign is seeking more than a half million signatures by April 23 to qualify the initiative for the November ballot. When there are no real consequences for crimes that are committed in this city, thats a real problem, Breed, told the Chronicle in explaining her support for a rollback of Prop. 47, a ballot measure she had previously endorsed. She is also seeking reelection in November. Gov. Gavin Newsom continues to support Prop. 47, though he has called for changes in the law that would make it easier for prosecutors to prove a defendant had stolen goods worth $950. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Roland Li covers commercial real estate for the business desk, focusing on the Bay Area office and retail sectors. He was previously a reporter at San Francisco Business Times, where he won one award from the California News Publishers Association and three from the National Association of Real Estate Editors. He is the author of Good Luck Have Fun: The Rise of eSports," a 2016 book on the history of the competitive video game industry. Before moving to the Bay Area in 2015, he studied and worked in New York. He freelanced for the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times and other local publications. His hobbies include swimming and urban photography. He can be reached at roland.li@sfchronicle.com. Megan Fan Munce is a reporter who joined the San Francisco Chronicle as part of the two-year Hearst Journalism Fellowship, spending her first year of the program at the Houston Chronicle. Munce grew up in San Jose before attending Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism, graduating with a B.S. and M.S. in journalism and a second major in political science. She previously worked as an audience engagement fellow and a reporting fellow at the Texas Tribune, as well as an audience intelligence intern for KQED. She can be reached at Megan.Munce@sfchronicle.com. Eric McDonnell speaks at a meeting considering a resolution about the effects of racism at City Hall in San Francisco on Thursday. Benjamin Fanjoy/The Chronicle San Francisco is poised to apologize for its role in decades of discrimination against Black residents amid an ongoing debate over whether to give cash payments and make other reparations to the African American community. Dozens of people packed the San Francisco Board of Supervisors chamber Thursday to hear for the first time a resolution apologizing for the forced removal of Black communities from historic neighborhoods, ongoing tensions with the Police Department and underinvestment in key public services. A task force set up by the city released recommendations last summer suggesting reparations to the citys Black community, including potential $5 million payments meant to rectify some of the harm caused by generations of systemic racism. The task force also recommended issuing the apology. But Mayor London Breed has made it clear she does not support the cash payments, arguing they should be dealt with at the state or federal level. Breed also did not agree to spend money to set up an Office of Reparations to roll out some of the recommendations in the 400-page report. Breed has invested tens of millions of dollars in the Black community through her popular Dream Keeper Initiative. Still, the city became one of the first in the country to tackle reparations and cash payments, which remain controversial. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Supervisor Shamann Walton sits at a meeting considering a resolution to apologize to the Black community at City Hall in San Francisco on Thursday. Benjamin Fanjoy/The Chronicle The seven-page draft resolution says San Francisco has a long history of creating laws, policies and institutions that have perpetuated racial inequity in our city, much of which is difficult to document due to historical erasure. But for some, an apology is not enough. Sala-Haquekyah Chandler, a local activist, said she was disappointed that Black residents need to repeatedly ask for reparations to happen. You are an embarrassment to my people and my nation, and every one of you is guilty. We need you to call to action, she said. The Rev. Amos Brown, a former supervisor, said an apology is just cotton candy rhetoric after running through a list of wrongdoings by San Francisco against Black residents. He likened recently unveiled plans to redevelop the Fillmore Safeway site into housing to the urban renewal in the 1960s and 70s that destroyed housing and businesses in the neighborhood. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Rev. Amos Brown speaks in San Francisco at a meeting considering a proposed resolution calling for the city to apologize to the Black community for decades of discrimination. Benjamin Fanjoy/The Chronicle Brown said the city ought to be ashamed of the decline of its Black population to less than 6% of the population. We dont need another conversation, we need to change our conduct, Brown said. So far, all supervisors have cosponsored the resolution, and it appears likely to pass the full board. The resolution begins by talking about the trauma of slavery and Jim Crow. It then highlights how San Francisco was one of more than 200 cities starting in the 1930s that were redlined by federal and financial agencies, dividing areas into those that were deemed appropriate for investment and those that were deemed too risky. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Redlining meant that majority-white neighborhoods saw their property values and wealth rise, while redlined neighborhoods were denied loans, city investment and infrastructure upgrades, concentrating poverty and blight, the resolution says. Gloria Berry sits at a meeting considering a resolution apologizing for the citys role in racism against the Black community at City Hall in San Francisco on Thursday. Benjamin Fanjoy/The Chronicle Neighborhoods that were redlined included the Western Addition, Bayview-Hunters Point, the Haight, Chinatown and parts of the Mission. Amid World War II, the Fillmore became a largely Black neighborhood, but it was later devastated by the citys urban renewal policies. The resolution says Black residents continue to face racial discrimination in employment, housing, education, health care and the criminal justice system. The resolution also says the city has systemically robbed Black San Franciscans of opportunities to build generational wealth. The median net worth for Black families was $44,100 in 2022, a fraction of the wealth that white families amassed, estimated at just over $284,000, according to Lending Tree. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The resolution notes that Black residents experience poverty at three times the overall poverty rate in the city and that Black residents continue to suffer from high unemployment and poor health outcomes. The effect that policing has had on the African American community was also underscored in the resolution. In the last quarter of 2022, Black residents were 25 times more likely than white people to experience use of force from the San Francisco Police Department. And though Black people make up less than 6% of the citys population, they make up 35% of the citys arrests and 38% of unhoused people. Nine states have made formal apologies to African Americans, and Boston was the first major city to pass an apology resolution in 2022. San Francisco Supervisor Shamann Walton, who has been leading the legislation and discussions around reparations, said the apology is a key part of making amends to Black people. Walton also said he will continue fighting to create the Office of Reparations and fund the task forces recommendations. I want to acknowledge all the work around reparations here in San Francisco, so as we continue to improve outcomes for Black people in this city this apology will bring us all closer to that end goal, Walton said. SF SAFEs executive director, Kyra Worthy, speaks during a Lunar New Year public safety news conference on Jan. 11, 2023, in San Francisco. SF SAFE fired Worthy earlier this month after its board found evidence of a forged check and referred the case to police. SF Gov TV San Francisco officials slammed the Police Department at a heated hearing Thursday over the embattled crime prevention nonprofit SF SAFE that imploded several weeks ago after an audit found improper spending on luxury items and trips, and the nonprofits board accused its executive director of forging checks and draining its bank accounts. The district attorneys office is investigating the nonprofit, which had close ties to the Police Department. Supervisors held a hearing to look at why city officials took so long to uncover problems at the nonprofit. Its executive director, Kyra Worthy, had a troubled history and had left a trail of unpaid debts while running another nonprofit in the East Bay. The Police Department contracted with SF SAFE to provide community-based crime prevention and education services to San Francisco residents. Supervisors learned that the Police Departments performance-monitoring meetings, which would have reviewed the nonprofits expenditures, were not held in 2022 and 2023 due to a lack of cooperation from SF SAFE. Police also took months, instead of weeks, to respond to the scathing findings in the audit. The audit found that the nonprofit improperly spent grant money from the Police Department on a lavish trip to Lake Tahoe, limo service to an exclusive club and to buy luxury gift boxes for SAFE-sponsored events. Those missteps raise questions about whether the department could have done a better job at ensuring the organization was using taxpayer money properly and whether it could have known about improper spending earlier. Diana Oliva-Aroche, the SFPDs director of public affairs, told supervisors that the department heard in early 2023 about concerns over SF SAFEs unpaid bills. Advertisement Article continues below this ad She said early 2023 was the first time the department ended up confirming that we needed to move forward with calling the controller about additional support, but the department didnt reach out to the controller about an audit until June 2023. The revelations astounded Supervisor Aaron Peskin, who called for the hearings. Peskin had asked the Police Department to consider cutting the SF SAFE contract when SFPD asked for supplemental funding of about $25 million in March 2023. The department refused despite the fact that it knew about potential improper use of funds and unpaid debts at the time. There were concerns that led you (the Police Department) to request an audit and that the department was aware of before you guys refused to cut that contract, Peskin said. Im disappointed. Former SFPD Chief Financial Officer Patrick Leung said that scheduling issues and the pandemic prevented the department from conducting a regular fiscal and performance monitoring meeting with SAFE in 2021. Subsequent requests for monitoring meetings 2022 and 2023 were not scheduled due to lack of cooperation from SAFE. The controllers office also added that after receiving the results of its audit in October 2023, the department did not respond to recommendations made in the report until early January 2024, though departments are typically given two-three weeks to respond. An SFPD spokesperson said the Police Department promptly implemented the controllers recommendations, but delayed on the formal written response because of its role in coordinating security for the Asia-Pacifc Economic Conference. So this was arguably three to four times longer than you would expect, Peskin said in reference to the timeline. SF SAFE, founded in 1976, has long enjoyed a close relationship with the SFPD, with former police officers serving on its board and in the organization. SF SAFEs work included helping neighborhood residents set up neighborhood-watch organizations, operating surveillance cameras funded by a $1.8 million donation from billionaire Chris Larsen, and doing safety assessments for businesses and residences. The organization also ran an ambassador program in the Mission District. Advertisement Article continues below this ad But days after the audit came out, Worthy, who had worked with the organization since 2018, was fired after the board said it found that the organizations bank accounts were drained and it suspected check forgery. Following Worthys firing, the Chronicle found that the West Contra Costa Unified School District in 2017 terminated its contract with a community organization Worthy headed over concerns that it failed to provide services and submitted false or unsupported invoices. The school district also found that Worthy may have forged checks. Board Chair Dan Lawson told the Chronicle the board asked the Police Department to check on allegations against Worthy before she was hired. But the SFPD said it only looked at the allegations against Worthy after she was hired and found that the Contra Costa County district attorney did not file charges against Worthy. There are many failures here, said Supervisor Catherine Stefani, who has been working on legislation to standardize city monitoring of nonprofit contracts. Theres absolutely no consistent oversight for these contracts, as we see today which I think leads to misuse (of taxpayer money). Supervisor Dean Preston told the Chronicle following the hearing that there are still many outstanding questions, and he looks forward to continuing the hearings in March. The department said some of its services, like public safety education, will be absorbed by the department, but it was not clear about business and residence assessments, neighborhood-watch group coordination, and other services that SAFE provided. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Resident Mark Parsons makes his way slowly up the stairs of the Cadillac Hotel on Eddy Street in San Franciscos Tenderloin neighborhood in November. Scott Strazzante/The Chronicle More than a year after San Francisco Mayor London Breed agreed to spend $10 million to repair faulty elevators throughout dozens of the citys aging single-room-occupancy hotels for the formerly homeless, not a single dollar has been spent. Breed has delayed disbursing the money without explanation despite continuing concerns from residents with disabilities that they are being inadvertently held captive. It would make anyone with a pulse mad, said Anthony Cordell Pinkney, a tenant at the Cadillac Hotel, where the elevator goes down frequently. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Pinkney, 63, said he has chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, which restricts his breathing and makes it difficult to trudge up the three flights of stairs to his apartment. Pinkney said not properly fixing the elevators is like putting a Band-Aid on a bullet wound. Non-operational elevators in SROs have been a persistent problem for decades, posing significant barriers especially for seniors and adults with disabilities. A 2009 report cited by the Department of Public Health found that half of residents in SROs said the elevator in their hotel was not consistently working. A 2012 report from the San Francisco Senior and Disability Action came away with the same findings. The Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing finally made funds available to SRO operators on Friday after inquiries from the Chronicle about why the funds had been held up. But Deborah Bouck, a department spokesperson, declined to speak to a reporter and provide an explanation for the repeated delays. In June 2022, Breed and the Board of Supervisors agreed on a historic $112 million affordable housing budget package, which included the $10 million for elevator repairs. The citys homeless department anticipates that the money will cover significant repairs to about 15 elevators. Mark Parsons in his room at Cadillac Hotel on Eddy Street in San Franciscos Tenderloin neighborhood. Parsons filed a lawsuit over the buildings persistently broken elevator. Scott Strazzante/The Chronicle The mayor first promised to make the money available late last February, but her office missed that deadline. The citys homeless department, which Breed oversees, later informed Supervisor Dean Preston, whose district includes buildings with most of the faulty elevators, that the target date had been pushed back to later that summer and then again to the end of 2023. In January, when Preston asked the mayor during public questioning at the board when the funds would be released after 580 days of delays, she acknowledged the city needed to move faster and took full responsibility, but she refused to commit to getting the money disbursed by Feb. 12. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The wait has been harrowing for Mark Parsons, a 15-year resident of the Cadillac Hotel in the Tenderloin. Parsons has spent the past several years documenting the numerous times a year when he says the Cadillacs elevator fails, often trapping residents with disabilities inside including himself and requiring the assistance of firefighters and paramedics who have themselves gotten stuck. He once witnessed an 86-year-old tenant collapse on the fourth floor after walking up the 143 steps to his floor. Tired of asking the buildings owner to fix the elevator, Parsons filed a lawsuit. In the suit, filed in San Francisco Superior Court on Feb. 1, Parsons alleges mental and physical distress based on years of getting stuck in the elevator and having to trudge up and down the buildings stairs. Former Supervisor Angela Alioto is representing Parsons in the suit against the buildings owner, Reality House West, and the management company, Caritas Property Management. Reality House West Executive Director Katherine Looper said she had no comment on the suit. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Caritas Property Management could not immediately be reached for comment. Parsons, who relies on a cane for mobility and has difficulty with stairs, says his health has deteriorated because of the elevator issue. Starting in 2018, Parsons began lobbying the building owners and property managers to permanently fix the elevator. But the problems continued, he said, and the elevators condition has forced Parsons to make difficult health decisions. In January 2020, Parsons suffered physical disabilities from a stroke, the lawsuit says. Several months later Parsons doctor told him that he needed a hip replacement, but he decided not to undergo the surgery, fearful of getting stuck in the elevator or becoming trapped on his floor because he uses a wheelchair. Forgoing the surgery has caused Parsons emotional distress, and going up and down the stairs has only worsened his already weak hips, he said. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The lawsuit says that since September the elevator problems have increased exponentially, and Parsons has made dozens of videos of elevator rescues. Twice in November paramedics responding to a call for help at the hotel ended up stuck themselves, once while taking a patient to an ambulance, the lawsuit says. First responders have had to go to the Cadillac Hotel for calls about someone stuck in the elevator more than 20 times a year, including five times in just the last two months, said Alioto. Just think of all the money the city and citizens of San Francisco are paying for all those responses from the Fire Department, paramedics and other first responders, Alioto said. Its mind-boggling. But the most stunning issue to me is that the Cadillac owners are imprisoning people in their bedrooms. And nobody cares. Her message to the owners of the Cadillac: Fix it and dont let it happen again. Alioto also blamed Breed for sitting on the $10 million elevator repair fund. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Its disgraceful, she said. Preston called the situation mind-boggling. It continues to be an acute need, and it makes absolutely no sense why the administration continues to delay the release of funds that have already been approved, authorized and committed, he said before the money was made available. These are some of the most vulnerable tenants in the city, many of them senior and disabled, and I think the administration owes them an explanation, he added. The Cadillac isnt the only hotel where the elevator has been a consistent problem. The elevator at the Pierre Hotel at 540 Jones St. was out of order for about five months at the end of 2023, according to resident Joan Curry. The hotels management offered to relocate people with disabilities and assisted tenants with package deliveries. OpenAI said its Sora model can generate short, hyper-realistic videos from text prompts, but it isnt releasing the software to the public yet. OpenAI San Francisco-based software company OpenAI released its latest eye-popping artificial intelligence tool Thursday, a text-to-video generator that can build short clips from written prompts with photorealistic details of fantastical scenes. CEO Sam Altman announced the tool, called Sora, on X, inviting users to send him prompts that he then plugged into the program to spit out sample videos. The new AI model works by generating a video with lots of visual static and then refining it until a clear image emerges. The technology can also take a still image and create a video from it, as well as extending an existing video or filling in frames. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Altman wrote on X that OpenAI was making Sora available to a limited number of users, and was still safety testing, or red teaming, the software amid concerns that it could be used to spread misinformation, particularly during an election year. One X user asked Altman to create a video of a a street-level tour through a futuristic city which (is) in harmony with nature and also simultaneously cyperpunk (sic) / high-tech. The OpenAI CEO responded with a zooming drone-like view flying over a sleek city of the future complete with forested walkways and a shimmering roadway. Another user asked for two golden retrievers podcasting on top of a mountain and got seemingly exactly that in hyper-realistic form. Still another asked for an instructional cooking session for homemade gnocchi, hosted by a grandmother social media influencer set in a rustic Tuscan country kitchen with cinematic lighting, and Altman posted a video that at first blush would be hard to distinguish from an actual clip of a real life scene, down to the five-fingered hands that many AI programs have notoriously struggled with in the past. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Other clips of spacemen, woolly mammoths and stylish women in Japan abounded in a blog post where OpenAI described the tools abilities in more detail and declared that the videos had been produced by Sora without alteration. That page also outlined Soras shortcomings and the measures the company said it was taking to ensure the tool does not push out large amounts of realistic-seeming fakes. Last week, OpenAI signed on to an effort to add metadata to the images its products create to make them more identifiable as computer generated. Meta, which also makes AI models, signed on as well, but some criticized those efforts as too easy to defeat. The company said it would include that kind of metadata in clips generated by Sora as well. Advertisement Article continues below this ad State Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, introduced a bill last week that would require companies to test the largest and most powerful AI models for safety before releasing them to the public. OpenAI said it checks and rejects prompts that request images of extreme violence, sexual content, hateful imagery, celebrity likeness, or the IP of others, referring to intellectual property. The company also says it uses software that reviews every frame generated for a video before showing it to a user. Were sharing our research progress early to start working with and getting feedback from people outside of OpenAI and to give the public a sense of what AI capabilities are on the horizon, the company said in its Thursday post. OpenAI said it was giving access to the tool to red teamers to assess critical areas for harms or risks, as well as a few artists, designers and filmmakers to get feedback on how to make it more helpful for creatives. Along with being able to produce scenes with specific characters and types of motion, the company said the model understands not only what the user has asked for in the prompt, but also how those things exist in the physical world. Advertisement Article continues below this ad But its not perfect. System error error: Can't call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25. context: ... 21: 22: 23: % foreach my $c (@categories) { 24: <%perl> 25: my $category_id = $c->get_id(); 26: my @stories = Bric::Biz::Asset::Business::Story->list ( { element_type_id=>1148, category_id=>$category_id , Order=> 'cover_date', publish_status => 't' , OrderDirection=> 'DESC' , Limit=>10 } ); 27: 28: 29: ... code stack: /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html:25 /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm:948 /var/cache/mason/obj/2011159162/main/smetimes/dhandler.html.obj:17 /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/autohandler_template.html:149 Can't call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25. Trace begun at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Exceptions.pm line 125 HTML::Mason::Exceptions::rethrow_exception('Can\'t call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25.^J') called at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 157 HTML::Mason::Component::run_dynamic_sub('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x563cff1efb78)', 'main') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 948 HTML::Mason::Request::call_dynamic('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x563cfd1bf1d8)', 'main') called at /var/cache/mason/obj/2011159162/main/smetimes/dhandler.html.obj line 17 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 135 HTML::Mason::Component::run('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x563cff1efb78)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1302 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1292 HTML::Mason::Request::comp(undef, undef, undef) called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 955 HTML::Mason::Request::call_next('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x563cfd1bf1d8)') called at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/autohandler_template.html line 149 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 135 HTML::Mason::Component::run('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x563cff1c2f28)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1300 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1292 HTML::Mason::Request::comp(undef, undef, undef) called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 481 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 481 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 433 HTML::Mason::Request::exec('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x563cfd1bf1d8)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 165 HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler::exec('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x563cfd1bf1d8)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 831 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handle_request('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x563cfe8284f8)', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x563cfef13c70)') called at (eval 612) line 8 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handler('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x563cfef13c70)') called at -e line 0 eval {...} at -e line 0 by Pitasanna Shanmugathas There are striking parallels between Israels offensive on Gaza starting October 7th, 2023, and the Sri Lankan governments actions in the final stages of the war, where shelling by the government led to the loss of thousands of civilians in their bid to defeat the LTTE. According to Human Rights Watch, during the final stages of the war, the Sri Lankan armed forces indiscriminately shelled densely populated areas, including hospitals, in violation of the laws of war. This mirrors exactly what Israel has been doing in its latest offensive on Gaza. Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Gary Anandasangaree [File Photo] MP Gary Anandasangaree has rightly condemned the Sri Lankan governments war crimes, and successfully led efforts for Canada to sanction former President Mahinda Rajapaksa and former Defense Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa for credible war crimes allegations. However, questions arise about Anandasangarees human rights commitment given his silence on Israels recent Gaza offensive, which mirrors Sri Lankas actions in 2009. While Israel has been escalating its offensive in Gaza, the Canadian government has ramped up arms sales. Since the October 7th offensive, Canada has authorized over $28 million in exports of military goods and technology to Israel. Such arms sales are in violation of Canadas own domestic arms control laws as well as in violation of international law, both of which prohibits a country from selling arms to any nation likely to use those arms to engage in human rights violations. Trudeau has also come under scrutiny for cutting off aid to UNRWAthe United Nations relief organization for Palestinian refugeeswhich serves as a vital lifeline for Palestinians in Gaza. This decision came amidst unsubstantiated reports from Israeli officials accusing a dozen UNRWA employees of having affiliations with Hamas forces. While Trudeau is providing arms to Israel during its heinous offensive against the Palestinians and cutting the most vital aid source to help besieged Gazans, Gary Anandasangaree supports it all through his cowardly silence. MP Anandansagarees constituency in his riding consists of a significant portion of Sri Lankan Tamil Canadians who know all too well about the international communitys silence while their brothers and sisters in the North were being shelled and bombed relentlessly, despite assurances from the government of designated safe zones. As a result of MP Anandasangarees silence when the same atrocities are being committed against Gazans, he has now lost his legitimacy to be outspoken about human rights abuses committed by the Sri Lankan government during the final stages of the war. Furthermore, his Sri Lankan Tamil constituents should now think twice about re-electing somebody who remains relatively silent while a similar atrocity to theirs is happening to another people. MP Anandasangaree would respond that he did issue a statement in response to the October 7th attacks. MP Anandasangaree put out a tweet with a statement where he reiterated his support for a two-state solution while condemning Hamas attack on Israel. Yet MP Anandasangarees tweet did not express condemnation of the indiscriminate attacks being carried out by Israel on the densely populated area of Gaza. MP Anandasangaree has never once made a speech in Parliament condemning Israels indiscriminate assault, nor has he, in weeks following the October 7th attacks, made a speech calling for his government to support a ceasefire. MP Anandasangaree has repeatedly played it safe and said practically nothing at all in condemnation of the Wests role in fueling this Israeli atrocity. However, there is some private dissent within the Liberal Party. It has been revealed that in a private call with a constituent, a key Liberal Member of Parliament, Rob Oliphant, recently condemned his own partys policy on the Gazan war. MP Anandasangaree could take it a step further and publicly do the same, but he wont. To answer the pertinent question as to why MP Anandasangaree has chosen to remain silent in calling for Trudeau to end arms sales to Israel, or in calling for Canada to resume aid to UNRWA, or in calling for Canada to impose sanctions against Israelthe answer is obvious. MP Anandasangaree values the political perks that he receives as a member of the Liberal Party more than he values ending the bloodshed inflicted by Israel against Gazans with the support of the Trudeau government. In addition to being entitled to receive a lifelong government pension as a result of having successfully served as a Member of Parliament for six years, MP Anandasangaree, for his unwavering loyalty towards Trudeaus policies, was awarded a cabinet ministerial position on July 23rd, 2023, as the Minister of Crown-Indigenous relations. This accomplishment makes MP Anandasangaree the first Sri Lankan-Tamil Canadian to hold a ministerial position at the federal level of government. If MP Anandasangaree chose to exercise his moral conscience and speak out against Trudeaus heinous foreign policy, then he would lose his cabinet ministerial position and might not be endorsed by his party for re-election. As is the case with almost all politicians, MP Anandasangaree solely cares about his political survival and will seemingly do anything it takes to climb the upper echelons of the political ladder. MP Gary Anandasangarees silence while Israel is decimating the Gazan people indicates he lacks the political courage and consciousness possessed by his fatheran individual this writer has previously met and interviewedto speak truth to power and take a stand when ones own government is supporting atrocities in ones name. Fast forward several years from nowGary Anandasangaree has retired from politics after serving for several decades. He is now vacationing at his cottage which overlooks Lake Muskoka with his family, living comfortably on his lifetime government pension. What would MP Anandasangaree have to show for his decades long career in politics? Did MP Anandasangaree speak out when his government was selling weapons to Saudi Araba while they were conducting a brutal assault on Yementhe poorest nation in the region? No. Did MP Anandasangaree speak out when his government was allowing Canadian mining companies to commit horrendous atrocities such as displacing and raping villagers and polluting ecosystems in the Global South? No. Did MP Anandasangaree speak out in the aftermath of Russias invasion of Ukraine to call for a diplomatic solution to end the war as countless number of Ukrainians died? No. Did MP Anandasangaree condemn his own government for supplying weapons to Ukraine and thereby continue to exacerbate this US-led proxy war? No. Did MP Anandasangaree condemn his governments decision to terminate aid to UNRWA as Gaza is on the brink of famine, while his government continued to arm Israel in their assault on the besieged territory? No. Did MP Anandasangaree successfully push the Canadian government to impose sanctions against human rights abusers within the Sri Lankan government while hypocritically being silent about the atrocities committed by the LTTE against the Tamil people? Yes! So, what would MP Gary Anandasangaree have to show for his decades-long political service? A good track record of enriching the Canadian elite and weapons manufacturers at the expense of his complicity and that of his governments in the bloodshed of innocent populations in various regions around the world. Well done, MP Gary Anandasangaree. Pitasanna Shanmugathas is a documentary filmmaker and advocate for peace and disarmament. Inspired by progressive thinkers, he embarked on a three-year exploration of Canada's foreign policy while completing his post-graduate studies in global affairs at the University of Toronto. EQS-Ad-hoc: ESPG AG / Key word(s): Bond ESPG AG invites bondholders of the 2018/2026 bond to vote on the suspension of the total LTV covenant as a precautionary measure 16-Feb-2024 / 20:45 CET/CEST Disclosure of an inside information acc. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. ESPG AG invites bondholders of the 2018/2026 bond to vote on the suspension of the total LTV covenant as a precautionary measure Cologne, 16 February 2024: The Management Board of ESPG AG ("ESPG" or "Company") has decided today to request the holders of the 2018/2026 bond to vote in a resolution without a bondholders' meeting. The background to this is a possible breach by the Company of the obligation under Section 11(1) of the terms and conditions of the Bonds, according to which the Company must ensure that the total LTV of the ESPG Group on a consolidated basis does not exceed the total LTV within the meaning of the terms and conditions of the bond ("Total LTV Covenant") on any reporting date. The relevant comparative value is set at 75% as of 31 December 2023, 70% as of 31 December 2024 and 65% as of 31 December 2025 in Section 11(1) of the terms and conditions of the bond. According to the currently available, but still preliminary valuation and calculation bases, the Management Board assumes that the total LTV as at 31 December 2023 was 74.3% and that the total LTV covenant was therefore met. However, as this preliminary value is only just below the relevant comparative value and changes or adjustments to the valuation and calculation bases may still be made during the audit of the financial statements, it cannot be ruled out that the comparative value of 75% as at 31 December 2023, which must be complied with, will ultimately be exceeded. As a precautionary measure, the Management Board has therefore decided to ask the holders of the 2018/2026 bond to approve the suspension of the total LTV covenant as at the reporting date of 31 December 2023. The vote without a meeting will take place in the period from 18 to 20 March 2024. A corresponding invitation to bondholders to cast their votes is expected to be published on the company's website on 19 February 2024 and in the Federal Gazette on 20 February 2024. In addition to the suspension of the total LTV covenant as of 31 December 2023, the company proposes to the bondholders to grant the joint representative of the bondholders the authority to approve a (renewed) suspension of the total LTV covenant vis-a-vis the issuer for 2024 and 2025 if necessary. In addition, as a precautionary measure, a possible increase in the volume of the 2018/2026 bond by 20% of the currently outstanding total nominal amount at a price of at least 95% of the nominal amount in accordance with Section 11(5)(c) of the bond terms and conditions is to be approved in order to provide the company with financial flexibility. The invitation to vote will also contain proposals by the issuer for further amendments to the terms and conditions of the bonds. Important information This publication may not be published, distributed or transmitted in the United States of America, Canada, Australia, New Zealand or Japan. It contains neither an offer nor a solicitation of an offer to sell, purchase or subscribe for securities. End of Inside Information 16-Feb-2024 CET/CEST The EQS Distribution Services include Regulatory Announcements, Financial/Corporate News and Press Releases. Archive at www.eqs-news.com MBABANE Former Minister of Health Mfomfo Nkhambule says, should the chief justice (CJ) leave office, we would say good riddance. This, Mfomfo said when he appeared before the Judicial Commission of Inquiry that is investigating allegations of professional misconduct in the Office of the Master of the High Court. Mfomfo, who is also a former Mtfongwaneni Member of Parliament (MP), raised a number of concerns about the Masters Office and the manner the estate of his father, Mncene Nkhambule, who died on October 4, 2018, was being handled. He said he even approached CJ Bheki Maphalala, seeking his assistance. Mfomfo told the commission that he knew the CJ and he welcomed him when he went to see him. According to Mfomfo, he told the CJ about the challenges he was facing at the Masters Office. The former minister alleged that the CJ told him that in the end, the matter would reach him. Mfomfo said up to now, his family was yet to get the assistance they sought.Mfomfo also stated that even though he was happy with the judges who were part of the commission, he had reservations. He said he hoped that, despite that not everything will be included in the report to be compiled by the commission at the end of the investigation, some of what would be considered by the commission would be used to influence certain decisions. This is the CJs report. No one will go and ask for it from the CJ. Every time the office of the CJ is brought into disrepute, he is the only casualty. We dont want him to leave but we will say good riddance. We dont want to celebrate when he is gone waMaphalala, said Mfomfo. Supervisor He informed the commission that there were certain things that one could not do when they had a supervisor. According to Mfomfo, the CJ was allegedly investigating himself. He said Parliament wanted to investigate the Masters Office for alleged misconduct and the CJ rushed to court to stop the probe. The CJ went to court to stop the probe. If it was Parliament that wanted to investigate the Masters Office, it means that it was, in fact, the people who are represented by the MPs who wanted the investigation. However, the CJ went on and put the commission in place. He is investigating himself, said Mfomfo. He also mentioned that in terms of the Eswatini culture, there is no CJ. The CJ sought to interdict a Parliament Select Committee from investigating alleged gross maladministration, abuse of power and embezzlement of estate monies at the Office of the Master of the High Court.High Court Judge Ticheme Dlamini found that it would not be judicious for the CJ to empanel the bench to hear the matter, as he was conflicted. Judge Dlamini had ordered that the principal judge of the High Court should be the one empanelling the full bench. Discontent with the judgment of the High Court, the CJ and the commission then filed an application for leave to appeal the High Court judgment that was issued on April 8, 2022. Supreme Court Judge Jacobus Annandale granted the CJ and the JSC leave to appeal the judgment. He found that there were prospects of success. The matter will be heard by the Supreme Court on February 29, 2024 and at this stage, the parties will be dealing with the question, as to who has the authority to empanel the full bench at the High Court to hear the matter. MBABANE As members of the Lutsango regiment prepare for the Marula Festival this weekend, women have been warned against drinking the marula brew if they have never tasted it before. The warning was issued by Lutsango LwakaNgwane Executive Committee, during a radio programme known as Iyatfutfuka imiphakatsi on Tuesday. The committee was represented by Indvuna Velabahleke Masuku and Joyce Vilane. The duo warned that members of the regiment should not dare drink the marula brew if they had never tasted it before. Uma nje ungatange sewunatse buganu, kuhle kutsi ungalokotsi ubucale lemkhosini ngoba butakujika phasi the duo said in vernacular, loosely translated to mean: Do not dare drink the marula brew if you have never tasted it before, as it may cause you trouble at the event. Even though the duo did not expand further, it is common knowledge that the marula brew has a high alcohol content compared to other alcoholic drinks. Marula brew could trigger diarrhoea in certain instances. The committee warned its members against any conduct that could bring the image of the regiment into disrepute. Impression The members of the executive committee warned its members against conducting themselves in a manner that would create the impression that the event was only about imbibing the marula brew. The event is not only about imbibing marula brew as it comes with many business opportunities for women across the country. Women can earn a living through marula products as they can make and sell marula organic oil, marula juice and marula jam, as well as alcoholic beverages, the duo said. The executive members shared that the women would be afforded an opportunity to showcase and sell their marula products to the thousands of emaSwati and tourists at the event. Apart from the event, the duo stated that many companies would be bringing their services to the regiment during the three-day event. They made an example of the Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC), stating that the commission would be educating the women about elections-related issues. As emaSwati have requested during the civic voter education that the exercise should not wait for the next election, the commission will be educating Lutsango at the event, they said. On another note, the executive member said inasmuch as the event was open to all emaSwati, it was primarily for women. Permission Women should report to their royal kraals and families before attending the event. It will not be good for women to leave their matrimonial homesteads without seeking permission from their husbands. Even if the women are left with children, it would be wise for them to talk to them before they leave, the duo said. They added that one or two men were enough to look after the regiment as opposed to having many men coming with the regiment. The executive also warned that security personnel would be deployed to guard against anyone taking pictures without authorisation. The women were also warned against any conduct that could cause a stampede as it happened during the distribution of food and other parcels last year. MBABANE While the country has been battling the shortage of travel documents and passports, over 400 of these are lying idle, uncollected by applicants, at the Ministry of Home Affairs offices. The ministrys Acting Chief Immigration Officer, Sandile Mazibuko, revealed that around 445 travel documents from two service centres had not been collected by the people who applied for them. Mazibuko stated that a total of 365 travel documents were uncollected at the Mbabane Headquarters, while 80 were at the Piggs Peak service centre. Some of the travel documents have not been collected by their owners since 2022. Mazibuko said the issue of uncollected travel documents was not unique to the two offices, but all Home Affairs service centres were facing the same challenge. The uncollected travel documents robbed a number of emaSwati who desperately needed travel documents, but could not have them at the time of making the application. Noteworthy, the countrys shortage of travel documents became serious during the 2023 festive season. EmaSwati were seen queueing outside the headquarters for days, without getting assistance. Some were compelled to obtain the E500 travel documents, yet they only required the cheaper ones. We have 10 more other service centres with the same problem but we do not have the statistics yet. Despite all the challenges faced by the ministry, we have many travel documents that have not been collected by their owners. We do not know the reasons why they abandon their travel documents after applying for them, said Mazibuko. The acting chief immigration officer further said government spent a lot of money producing the documents, only for the applicants to abandon them. Inasmuch as emaSwati paid for the travel documents, it should be noted that government pays much more as the prices are subsidised. Government subsidises the pricing of travel documents. EmaSwati pay a small portion of the money for such documents, while the rest comes from government. It costs government a lot of money to process applicants particulars, before producing the passports, Mazibuko said. He said the non-collection of travel documents posed a threat, as their personal information could fall into the wrong hands. He said once that happened, some criminals would start producing fake travel documents or passports. In trying to sort the issue of not collecting travel documents, Mazibuko said the ministry was on a mission to raise awareness by calling upon all the applicants to come and collect their travel documents. During Sibaya, some members of the public complained about long queues, more especially at the Home Affairs Headquarters. Some criticised the staff for allegedly being rude. On Wednesday, the ministry announced the arrival of a new stock of travel documents and international passports. The Minister of Home Affairs Princess Lindiwe, said the long-awaited restocking would facilitate efficient and timely service delivery to the citizens of the country. Dedication The minister said in line with the development and their dedication to improve service delivery, all service centres across the country, as well as selected tinkhundla centres, would commence operations, starting from Wednesday (February 14, 2024) to provide prompt and reliable services to the public. She further requested the public to visit their nearest service centres or tinkhundla centres to apply for their travel documents. As always, we advise citizens to come prepared with the required documentation and to follow the prescribed guidelines and procedures to ensure a smooth and seamless application process, she said. Canberra, Feb 16 (UNI) Australia, Canada, and New Zealand have called for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza. According to a joint statement by the prime ministers of the three countries on Thursday, they expressed "grave concern" over indications that Israel was planning a ground offensive into Rafah, a Palestinian city in the southern Gaza Strip. A military operation into Rafah would be catastrophic, as about 1.5 million Palestinians are taking refuge in the area, the statement said. "With the humanitarian situation in Gaza already dire, the impacts on Palestinian civilians from an expanded military operation would be devastating. We urge the Israeli government not to go down this path. There is simply nowhere else for civilians to go," it said. "An immediate humanitarian ceasefire is urgently needed," it said, stressing that a sustainable ceasefire is necessary to finding a path towards securing lasting peace for Israelis and Palestinians. UNI/XINHUA XC AKS New Delhi, Feb 16 (UNI) Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday announced compensation of Rs 10 lakh each to the families of the deceased and Rs 2 lakh for those seriously injured in the Alipur factory fire incident, which has claimed eleven lives. The CM has also announced assistance of Rs 20,000 for those with minor injuries while taking stock of the situation in Alipur where the fire broke out yesterday evening. Speaking to reporters, Kejriwal said, It's an unfortunate incident. We will provide Rs 10 lakhs each to the families of the deceased, Rs 2 lakhs each to the people with major injuries, and Rs 20,000 each to the people with minor injuries. The CM further added that it has been reported that the fire tenders reached the spot late. "I will order an inquiry into the matter, and whoever is found guilty will not be spared. Action in this matter will be taken soon," he said. At least eleven people were killed, and four were reported injured after a massive fire broke out in a paint and chemical factory in a market area in North Delhis Alipur on Thursday evening. All the injured have been taken to the nearest Raja Harishchandra hospital, according to an official from Delhi Fire Services (DFS). According to the official, the fire was reported at 5:25 pm yesterday, and nearly 22 fire tenders were rushed to the spot. The fire had been brought under control by around 9 pm. Additionally, two motorcycles, two cars, and one mini-truck were engulfed by the flames. A search operation is currently underway at the incident site, the official added. UNI PSP CS1619 Chennai, Feb 16 (UNI) Asserting that the Supreme Court ruling on Electoral Bonds has restored democracy and level playing field for all political parties, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK President M.K.Stalin said the Apex Court has rightly held that Electoral Bonds are Unconstitutional and it will ensure transparent electoral process and the integrity of system. He said the Judgement has also ensured common man's faith in the system. In a post on X, reacting to the Apex Court's landmark ruling, the Chief Minister said "The Honble Supreme Court has rightly held that the #ElectoralBonds are unconstitutional. This will ensure transparent electoral process and the integrity of the system." "This judgement has restored the #democracy and level playing field for all political parties. It has also ensured the common mans faith in the system, he added. It may be recalled that a 5-member Constitutional Bench of the Supreme Court has held the Electoral Bonds Scheme as 'Unconstitutional' and directed the banks to stop issuing Bonds. The Bench also directed the SBI to furnish the details of electoral bonds encashed by the political parties. While directing the Election Commission of India (ECI) to make all donations public within one week of the receipt of the information, the Apex Court directed that all Electoral Bonds within the 15-day validity period shall be returned by political parties to the purchasers. The five-judge Bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dr D Y Chandrachud struck down the 2018 electoral bonds scheme which allowed anonymous and unlimited contributions to political parties on the grounds of violating voters right to information. The Constitutional bench comprising CJI, Justice Sanjiv Khanna, Justice B R Gavai, Justice JB Pardiwala, and Justice Manoj Misra said the Electoral bonds scheme has to be struck down as unconstitutional. Amendments to the Income Tax Act provision and the Section 29C of the Representation of Peoples Act are declared to be ultra vires. 'The amendment to the Companies Act (allowing blanket corporate political funding) is unconstitutional,' the Bench held. Leaders of the alliance parties of the DMK also hailed the Supreme Court and demanded that the Centre should disclose the details of the electoral bonds encashed by the political parties without any further delay. UNI GV 2025 SL, Israel sign direct air service agreement Colombo, Feb 15 (UNI) Sri Lanka's Ports, Shipping and Aviation Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva on Thursday announced the signing of a direct air service agreement between Israel and Sri Lanka. Speaking at a press briefing at the President's Media Center, the minister said the agreement marks the beginning of direct flights between Israel and Sri Lanka, which would enhance passenger convenience. The minister said this agreement will help Sri Lankan workers going to Israel and will encourage Israelis to visit Sri Lanka. If you have an event you'd like to list on the site, submit it now! Submit Foreign leaders, heads of int'l organizations extend greetings for Chinese New Year of Dragon Xinhua) 08:34, February 16, 2024 BEIJING, Feb. 14 (Xinhua) -- More foreign leaders and heads of international organizations have sent their festive blessings to Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, to extend greetings to the Chinese people on the occasion of the Chinese New Year of the Dragon. The comprehensive strategic partnership between Laos and China continues to bear fruits, said Thongloun Sisoulith, general secretary of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party Central Committee and Lao president. The high-quality, high-standard, and high-level Laos-China community with a shared future is bringing greater prosperity to the people of both countries, he said. The relations between Cuba and China are full of dynamics, and serve as a model of solidarity and cooperation among socialist countries, said Raul Castro, the leader of Cuba's socialist revolution, and Miguel Diaz-Canel, first secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba and Cuban president. This year marks the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Mongolia and China, the 30th anniversary of the revision of the Treaty on Friendship and Cooperation between China and Mongolia, and the 10th anniversary of the establishment of their comprehensive strategic partnership, said Mongolian President Ukhnaa Khurelsukh, adding that he believes both sides will strengthen cooperation in various fields, deepen friendly exchanges, and work together to promote prosperity and development. Israeli President Isaac Herzog said that the friendship between Israel and China is rooted in two ancient and great civilizations, with a long history of shared wisdom. He looks forward to continually deepening the traditional friendship between the two countries and advancing cooperation in various fields. Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said he believes that the cooperation between Iran and China will continue to deepen at bilateral, regional and international levels. The resumption of diplomatic ties between Nauru and China is a historic milestone, marking the two sides' mutual respect, joint renewal of friendship and promotion of cooperation, said David Adeang, president of Nauru. The Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative, the Global Civilization Initiative and the Belt and Road Initiative have benefited the people of the world and won global appreciation, said Kiribati President Taneti Maamau. International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach wished all Chinese athletes participating in the 2024 Paris Olympics and Paralympics a complete success. (Web editor: Peng Yukai, Liu Ning) Victoria Wiet at the LARB: ALMOST IMMEDIATELY after melodrama had its heyday in the mid-19th century, it began to be mocked for being obsolete. In an 1890 burlesque of Victorien Sardous La Tosca, the play later adapted into a more famous opera, the police chief Scarpia proudly admits that, as a villain intent on possess[ing] the plays titular heroine, he is a vestige of that dark age / when curdling melodrama held the stage. Belonging to a genre that has come to feel more campy than poignant, even villains like Scarpia cant take themselves seriously. And yet, no matter how many generations have claimed to have evolved away from a genre besmirched for its expressive storytelling and moral polarities, melodrama has retained its power as a way for artists to represent the world and as a lens for critics to interpret what they see. When it comes to the work of director Todd Hayneswhose latest feature, May December (2023), has been the subject of critical buzz and an Oscar nomination for best original screenplaythat turn to melodrama can feel automatic, even obligatory. more here. Myth 5: At-home laser hair removal devices are as effective as professional treatments At-home laser hair removal devices have gained popularity over the last few years, but like most DIY options, theyre no substitute for the expertise of a trained professional using medical grade equipment. Many at-home devices use IPL technology, which may not be well suited for every skin tone and cant ensure permanent results. Most at-home devices do not work on tan or brown skin tones and can be dangerous if used. Milan Lasers professional treatments are safe, fast, easy and may be far less painful than DIY devices. Plus, professional treatments at Milan Laser offers lasting results that, in the long run, save you time and money. Still not sure if professional laser hair removal treatments are right for you? Milan Laser offers one free treatment for all new clients. Book your free consultation now and see if laser hair removal is your solution to unwanted body hair forever. BEDFORD A radio station that broadcasts in the Smith Mountain Lake area is seeking zoning approval from Bedford County officials to install a 197-foot-tall tower on a roughly five-acre parcel in Moneta. WSLK Lake Radio is requesting a rezoning from low-density residential, R-1, to agricultural/rural preserve, AP, and a special use permit to allow the tower in the 1300 block of Lynch Road. A broadcasting tower use is not permissible in R-1 but if the land is rezoned to AP, it could be allowed through a special use permit, according to the county. The Bedford County Board of Supervisors held a public hearing Monday on the request but postponed action so a text amendment to the county zoning ordinance allowing radio broadcasting towers as a special use permit in certain districts, including AP, can move forward in coming months. Jordan Mitchell, director of Bedford Countys community development department, said the radio broadcasting tower use request is a first for the county. It would be in full compliance with Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulations, is planned to locate at the end of a cul-de-sac and will not be subject to much traffic, according to the application. Part of the reason for choosing this property was its secluded location, WSLKs application states. The few neighboring properties would not be negatively impacted from the tower. WSLK is an AM radio station licensed by the FCC operating at 880 on AM and simulcasting on a FM translator at 98.3 FM that serves Bedford County and Smith Mountain Lake, a project description states. The station currently is operating under temporary authority to use temporary antennas, which limit its range. We are the only radio station in Bedford County, locally owned and operated, and the only one that primarily serves the SML community, the project description states. We take pride in our service to the lake area. A WSLK Radio representative told the board Monday the station looks to resume being a profitable business that serves the community with a new tower location after no longer being able to use a previous spot. The station is trying to get back and running to full capacity, the representative said. Lawrence Baker, a Moneta resident, said he advertises on the station and spoke in favor of the request during a public hearing Monday. We really need this radio station back up and running, Baker said. Supervisor Mickey Johnson said he thinks the station has been missed among area listeners affected by the recent transmission issues. The community looks forward to having you back on the air at full strength, Johnson told the stations representatives. Contracts for broadband work revised In other news, the board voted Monday to authorize contract amendments with Zitel and Shentel, two companies working on broadband expansion efforts in the county, for a re-scope of projects approved with Virginia Telecommunication Initiative (VATI) money. In 2022, the county entered into contracts with the two internet service providers and another provider, Riverstreet, for VATI grant subsidized projects to expand broadband to unserved and underserved areas of the county. Zitel anticipated completion of its project by early this year, Shentel in September and Riverstreet by September 2025, according to a staff report to supervisors. The county negotiated a contract scope adjustment with Shentel that reduces its contract by 1,530 addresses in exchange for a 12-month extension to complete the remaining balance of the project, the report states. Three companies address Bedford supervisors on broadband expansion efforts Three internet providers working with Bedford County to expand broadband service throughout the county -- Verizon, ZiTel and Shentel -- addressed the countys board of supervisors Monday on their progress with fiber builds both buried and above ground through utility poles. The county determined Zitel was capable of delivering service to those 1,530 addresses at an expeditious rate and the company needs a 15-month extension to complete its project with the added scope, the report states. The change puts Zitels targeted completion at March 2025 and Shentels at September 2025. County Administrator Robert Hiss said after amending the contracts with each, the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development will issue amendments for its contracts to transfer the grant money. The change means Shentels original contract of $29.1 million is now at $20.1 million, a $9 million drop, and Zitels contract goes from $18.7 million to $25.9 million, a $7.2 million gain, county documents show. The VATI source is $2.9 million on the plus side for Zitel while the same amount is subtracted from Shentels portion of grant money. Grant sought for Va. 122 corridor study In another matter, the board authorized the county seeking a planning grant to study the Virginia 122 corridor. The project limits are roughly divided between Bedford and Franklin counties from Joppa Mill Road in Bedford to Wirtz Road in Franklin County. Bedford County staff anticipates the total application amount is about $1.7 million, according to a staff report to the board. Hiss said the most recent study on Virginia 122, a major corridor for Bedford, was completed in May 2023 and needs updating. Bedford County anticipates future growth, particularly in the Moneta area, further compounding roadway issues, the staff report states. The Office of the State Inspector General investigated the Virginia Department of Education on allegations of rigged hiring practices, and cleared the department on one allegation, but found another inconclusive and said the department did not completely comply with state hiring policy. A letter from State Inspector General Michael Westfall, which the Richmond Times-Dispatch obtained through a public records request, said that in at least one instance the department was unable to provide any documentation relating to the use of an interview selection panel in the hiring process. Todd Reid, a spokesman for the Department of Education said in a statement: "Having found almost all of this matter unsubstantiated, the Inspector General thanked the Department for its cooperation and noted the improvements already implemented previously by the Department to remedy any issues in these areas. An unnamed complainant made a report to the state's Waste Fraud and Abuse hotline alleging that the Department of Education violated hiring policies, according to the OSIG letter. The hiring process for all state agencies is lengthy, scripted and highly documented. The Inspector General found one allegation of improper hiring practices was unsubstantiated. In the allegation that the Inspector General found inconclusive, the department was unable to provide documentation regarding screening and selection criteria applied, members of interview selection panels, interview questions and notes on applicants responses, summaries of interviews, and documentation supporting selection or addressing non-selection. The report also notes that VDOE hired a candidate for a position, which was redacted in the report, who did not meet all of the minimum job requirements. Two applicants who met the minimum job requirements were not selected for interviews, according to the report. OSIG recommends additional training regarding state hiring policies for education department employees who are responsible for managing the recruitment and selection process. The report noted that during the course of the investigation, the education department hired a new employee who implemented a major initiative to create standard operating procedures to be used going forward. The department's HR forms are updated and the agency's supervisors and managers are scheduled to attend HR courses. Reid, the education department spokesman, said: VDOE is proud of our staff and the work they are doing to support our teachers and educators throughout the commonwealth." A spokeswoman for Gov. Glenn Youngkin declined to comment. The period covered in the review was April to December of 2023. Virginias State Superintendent Lisa Coons took over as head of the department on April 17. Under Coons tenure, the agency created a new tier of upper-level officials in the department. The education department has historically been a leaner agency, typically with one deputy superintendent and about half a dozen assistant superintendents who reported directly to the state superintendent. Now, top-level management has grown with the addition of a new layer of deputy superintendents between the assistant superintendent position and the state superintendent. In December 2021, the month before Youngkin began his governorship, the state education department had 12 employees who earned an annual salary of at least $130,000. As of December, 32 department employees made $130,000 or more, according to payroll records obtained through public records requests. TOKYO, Feb 17 (News On Japan) - In the bustling streets of Tokyo's Kabukicho, an alarming trend of getting high on over-the-counter medications, known as "overdose," has regained the spotlight, with the arrest of a 19-year-old man for distributing a large quantity of cough medicine to two high school girls free of charge. The suspect, who frequents the "Toyoko" area of Kabukicho and the so-called "Guri-shita" area around Dotonbori in Osaka, admitted to the charges, stating that he thought it would help him become friends with the girls. The unemployed man from Osaka is suspected of giving 90 tablets of cough medicine to two first-year high school girls in December of last year, with the intention of overdosing. According to the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, since around May of the previous year, the man had been handing out large quantities of over-the-counter drugs to girls in the Toyoko area, some of whom were even elementary school students, under the guise of offering them for free. The man's confession sheds light on a disturbing trend of individuals exploiting the vulnerability of minors by providing them with harmful substances. He has also been known to frequent the Dotonbori area in Osaka, a spot notorious for gatherings of minors late at night, leading the police to investigate his motives towards several girls. Source: ANN KYOTO, Feb 17 (News On Japan) - A man fell down a slope at Amanohashidate, one of Japan's three most scenic views on Thursday, with the moment he was pushed captured on camera. At an observation deck overlooking the stunning view of Amanohashidate, a male tourist was engaging in the familiar activity of "Matanozoki," where one looks between their legs to see the scenery upside down. Suddenly, another man approached from behind and pushed him, causing him to lose balance and fall. The incident caused a stir among those present, and the usually peaceful tourist spot was thrown into disarray. The accident occurred around 2:20 p.m. at the Umbrella Pine Park observation deck, situated on a hilltop 130 meters above sea level, reached by cable car. The 50-year-old man who was pushed during Matanozoki fell over the iron fence meant to prevent falls, plummeting approximately 15 meters. Matanozoki, a viewing style said to have originated in the Meiji era, involves standing on a platform, bending at the waist, and looking through one's legs. This position makes the land and sea appear inverted, and Amanohashidate resembles a "dragon" ascending into the sky, which is considered auspicious. Umbrella Pine Park is known as the birthplace of Matanozoki. Tourists who tried it found it interesting and a unique way to view the scenery, though some admitted it could be scary without holding onto the handrail properly. During the reporting, there was also a woman who almost fell after losing her balance while doing Matanozoki, saying she felt dizzy and almost fell backward. A sign next to the Matanozoki platform advises visitors to "always use the handrail." The man who fell suffered chest pain and was hospitalized with serious injuries. According to the park, there have been instances of people falling from the platform, but this is the first time someone has fallen 15 meters. The man was visiting with his work colleagues, and the person who pushed him was one of these colleagues. Live camera footage capturing the moment of the accident showed the man doing Matanozoki in the opposite direction of the sea, and a colleague, who had been watching from a distance, ran up from behind and appeared to jokingly push him near his buttocks. Takashi Matsukuma, a lawyer at Hashimoto Comprehensive Law Office, stated, "The footage is solid evidence. Given the severity of the injuries, there's a very high possibility that assault charges could apply. Legally, this could result in imprisonment for up to 15 years or a fine of up to 500,000 yen." The observation deck will continue to operate as usual, and the management urges visitors to "hold onto the handrail firmly and use it safely when doing Matanozoki." Source: FNN TOKYO, Feb 17 (News On Japan) - As the use of generative AI, like ChatGPT, expands globally, it is bringing changes to our "jobs" and "work styles." Last year, beverage giant Ito En renewed the packaging of one of its products, with the design's original draft created by "generative AI." The woman featured in the commercial was also generated by AI. Generative AI refers to artificial intelligence that generates text, images, and other content based on learned data. At major food manufacturer Nissin Foods, a "unique generative AI," NISSIN AI-chat, is being utilized during meetings. In a meeting of the sales promotion team discussing summer promotions for Donbei noodles, the generative AI suggested "proposing new eating habits for summer and creating new trends." It also provided specific ideas such as "unique summer actions, introducing 'Cold Donbei' as a new summer staple, or 'Donbei Summer Festival.'" Thanks to AI, meeting times are shortened, allowing more time for preparations for business negotiations. Nissin Foods' Business Solutions Division Deputy Manager, Hideki Watanabe, stated, "AI chat provides the first step in brainstorming ideas, enabling us to produce more creative outputs." New Challenges Arising from Generative AI However, the use of generative AI also presents new challenges. Benesse Corporation, which operates educational businesses, utilizes generative AI for website creation. Sachiko Tomita, Manager of Benesse's Digital Marketing Department, mentioned, "Generative AI significantly reduces time while maintaining quality." The reduction isn't limited to time alone. Chuji Mizukami, Deputy Manager of Benesse Digital Innovation Partners, said, "Work that used to require a team of about 15 people can now be done with about half." While efficiency has improved, "employee staffing" has become a new challenge. Mizukami added, "We plan to reorganize our structure from the next fiscal year, so we'll proceed with reassignments accordingly." Last year, the American film industry saw strikes over concerns that "actors' roles might be taken over by generative AI." The fear that "generative AI might take away human jobs" is a growing concern. To address this, organizations like Benesse have established "Generative AI Japan," a group that transcends industry boundaries. Hiroyuki Miyata, Representative Director of Generative AI Japan, said, "We aim to foster talent and create rules based on the premise of generative AI. This is difficult for a single company to achieve, so we're working together on this." As new challenges emerge, the ability to skillfully use generative AI and adapt human responses is becoming increasingly important. Source: NEWS Karoweso Margaret Chipendo, a psychiatric-mental health and family nurse practitioner, has a passion for whole-person health. After growing up in Harare, Zimbabwe, Margaret found her educational journey taking her to the United States, where all of her nursing training took place. Margaret earned her Master of Science in nursing from Clarkson College in Omaha to become an Advanced Practice Registered Nurse Family Nurse Practitioner. Margaret soon expanded upon her skills to earn a post-masters certificate from Maryville University in Saint Louis as an Advanced Practice Registered Nurse - Psych Mental Health Nurse Practitioner while receiving deans list honors for academic excellence. With her dual licensing, Margaret has worked as a family practice provider in an urgent care setting to prescribe appropriate pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic treatment to patients with acute and chronic medical illnesses. In this role, she coordinated with physicians, specialists, and other medical staff to develop continued treatment and care plans. While working in an urgent care setting, Margaret simultaneously provided internal medicine/psychiatry for prison mates at Nebraska Department of Corrections. In this setting, she provided direct quality care to patients after assessing needs and implementing treatment plans. Working with this population gave Margaret the opportunity to monitor, record, and evaluate psychiatric conditions and coordinate care with multiple disciplinary teams. Her intense practice has given her the ability to utilize multi-modal diagnostic tools to diagnose and treat patients with anxiety, depression, bipolar, schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorders, ADHD, memory difficulties and dementia. Her passions surround disease management, prevention, and mental health maintenance of patients across the lifespan, and the effective collaboration with other providers to manage acute general medical illnesses. Additionally, Ben Moore, a physician's assistant, recently joined All Care to fill patient care gaps at the Florence M. Lakin Health Center, the main campus location, and at the New Visions Homeless Services private clinic. He brings experience from a larger community healthcare setting and skills in diagnosis and treatment of primary and urgent care concerns, including acute and chronic conditions. He has special experience in the testing, assessment, and education of patients and their families on the pathophysiology of tuberculosis and common treatment protocols. After growing up in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, Moore began his higher education through the studies of biological chemistry, biopsychology and Spanish at Evangel University in Missouri, where he earned his Bachelor of Science degree. He continued at Des Moines University to become a physicians assistant. All Care Health Center is a nonprofit community health center committed to providing affordable, comprehensive and high quality healthcare to the entire community. Health care services include primary health care, mental health care and dental services. Mushroom gatherers and wild-harvested mushroom sellers from across the state are encouraged to attend Iowa State University Extension and Outreachs Wild-Harvested Mushroom Certification Class this spring. The class is an especially important resource for those looking to sell wild-harvested mushrooms, as sellers are legally required to complete a certification workshop in order to sell eight different varieties of wild-harvested mushrooms. In-person workshops will be held March 23, April 6 and April 20, and the cost is $60. Register at ipm.iastate.edu/morel-mushroom-certification. Chelsea Harbach, plant disease diagnostician with ISU Extension and Outreach, said in a news release that it is essential to distinguish commonly harvested mushroom species from look-alikes, as people can be poisoned by eating misidentified mushrooms. Iowa legally requires a certification workshop that covers identifying mushrooms and distinguishing them from lookalikes if selling morel, oyster, chanterelles, hen of the woods, chicken of the woods, lions mane, pheasant back and black trumpet. Iowans who have not been certified to sell morel mushrooms for three or more years must recertify this year. Dont plan on selling the mushrooms you forage? No problem, Harbach said. This workshop will provide every participant a strong foundation in mushroom identification and distinguishing edibles from poisonous lookalikes. All knowledge levels are welcome. Registration is open to out-of-state individuals who hunt and sell in Iowa. However, additional certification may be required to legally sell foraged mushrooms in other states. Water is essential for life and can be used in many ways, bringing people together with each other and the natural world. That's why the theme for Our Community Reads 2024 is Water Connects Us All. The community program is sponsored by the Council Bluffs Public Library Foundation in partnership with organizations around the community. The annual event focuses primarily on conservation issues, said Antonia Krupicka-Smith, director of the Council Bluffs Public Library. This program started three years ago with a different element each year, she said. Last year, the focus was on native prairies. This years theme focuses on how water connects area communities, she said. Our Community Reads aims to raise awareness of a community or regional challenge through a book selection that supports community discussion, awareness and action. The official name was changed from "One Community Reads" to make it more inclusive sounding for the public, said Corrie Oberdin, spokesperson for the library foundation. A kickoff event, titled Water Fest, will take place at the library on Saturday, March 9, from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. with fun and educational activities for the whole family. These activities will include ways to conserve and protect water, exploring the city sewer system with a sewer cam, along with viewing a hovercraft. Our Community Reads brings us together as a community through reading, said Krupicka-Smith. This year, our three books 'Riverman' by Ben McGrath, 'Ocean! Waves for All' by Stacy McAnulty, and 'Sunny Makes a Splash' by Jennifer Holm focus on water. Well look at oceans, rivers and even community pools and discover how they relate to us." The library will engage with all ages in the community through public and school-focused events, helping to promote reflection on the incredible resource that we often take for granted, she said. McGrath will appear in person at the library on April 16 to talk about his book. The two youth authors, McAnulty and Holm, will speak to students at schools in Council Bluffs during April. With the librarys partnership with the organization Raise Me to Read, every second grader will get the book Ocean! Waves for All, while every sixth grader will receive the book Sunny Makes a Splash thanks to a grant from the Iowa West Foundation. Iowa West Foundation gift allows all Council Bluffs second, sixth graders to meet authors Every second grader and sixth grader in Council Bluffs will get to meet an author next year and take home a copy of their book, thanks to Iowa West. Each year DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge hosts turkey hunts for both youth and mobility impaired hunters. These weekend turkey hunts are limited in numbers to provide a safe and enjoyable hunt for all participants. The refuge will hold one youth shotgun turkey hunt on April 6-7. Interested Iowa or Nebraska youth hunters may apply for the hunt by sending in a letter with their name, address and telephone number along with the name and phone number of the adult mentor who will accompany them. Applications should be sent to DeSoto Refuge, 1434 316th Lane, Missouri Valley, IA 51555 or can be emailed to Park Ranger Peter Rea at peter_rea@fws.gov. A random drawing for the limited slots will be done on March 8. Drawn hunters will receive a mailed letter regarding the hunt details and refuge specific regulations. All applications must be received by March 7. Any remaining slots will be filled on request. A shotgun hunt for mobility impaired hunters will be held on April 20-21. During this hunt weekend, the refuge provides a limited number of accessible hunt blinds. Interested mobility impaired hunters can find out more or sign up by calling 712-388-4803 or emailing peter_rea@fws.gov. A trio of candidates, including the city's former mayor, have declared their candidacy for an upcoming special election to select the Fremont County community's mayor. Ken Brown, Justin Shirley and Brandon Van Scyoc will stand for election March 5 following the sudden resignation of recently elected Mayor Warren Forbes on Jan. 12. Brown was at odds with the Sidney City Council following an incident last March between a tree service company and the city clerk. Brown claimed he was exempt from Iowa's public record law, eventually earning a rebuke from the Iowa Public Information Board that required the city to undergo training on its statutory requirements. The council unanimously expressed a lack of confidence in Brown on June 12, asking him to voluntarily resign. He didn't, but voters in November chose Forbes to replace him. In resigning, Forbes said the prevailing environment in the city government hindered his ability to effectively serve as mayor. The elation at the confidence the community saw in me was quickly replaced with concern as to what my role as mayor really would entail after the turmoil our city government has been put through in recent years, he wrote in a letter. The council has expressed intention to address issues raised by Forbes, and City Attorney Bri Sorensen said the city "must find where the breakdown is in order to move forward." The Council Bluffs Public Library will host author Hank Kohler next month for a discussion of his adventures and ecological concerns on the Mississippi River. Kohler, who grew up on a small family farm in northwest Iowa, will be giving a presentation on his 1,900 mile canoe trip from west central Minnesota to the Gulf of Mexico. The adventure and subsequent book, both called "One4water," have raised tens of thousands of dollars for conservation education projects at The National Mississippi River and Aquarium, a combination science center, museum and aquarium in Dubuque. One of the unique aspects of One4Water is that the journey started from the same lake where Kohler and three companions left from on a journey north to Hudson Bay 42 years earlier, according to a library news release. He will talk about the beauty and dangers of the 64 day trip to the Gulf and explain how donations are being used and the impact they have made. "The library is excited to host Kohler in conjunction with Our Community Reads' theme Water Connects Us All to help raise awareness to how water, essential for all life, connects our communities," said Marlys Lien, adult programming librarian. The free event will be held Thursday, March 7, at 6:30 p.m. in Meeting Room A. The Council Bluffs Public Library Foundation provided support. Find more at tinyurl.com/one4watercbpl. DES MOINES Democrats, parents and education officials applauded, but still expressed reservations Thursday over a new proposal advanced by Iowa House Republicans in how services are delivered by the states education agencies. Iowa House Republicans held the first legislative hearings on their newly filed bills on area education agencies, teacher salaries and state K-12 school funding. Advocates and lobbyists for education groups, including the AEAs, told lawmakers in a House subcommittee that the new plan represented significant progress compared with initial proposals by Gov. Kim Reynolds and a bill advancing in the Iowa Senate. The new House bill removes a key piece of Reynolds proposal that would allow school districts to contract with other parties, like a private company, to provide special education support services to students with disabilities. Iowas area education agencies would continue to be the sole provider of special education support to school districts but the funding structure and provision of other services would change under the House proposal. Cindy Yelick, chief administrator of Heartland AEA, and Heather Sievers, an Altoona mother of a student who has used AEA special education services and is the founder of Advocates for Iowa's Children, said the House plan was an improvement but could still create gaps in services across the state. "The fundamental, core issue with the bill still is that we're kind of backtracking in time, moving away from an integrated model," said Sievers. "Which I think is what people are worried about." House Study Bill 713 passed out of the House Education Committee on a 15-8 party-line vote, clearing a legislative deadline and keeping it eligible for debate on the House floor. Rep. Skyler Wheeler, R-Hull, chair of the committee, said the bill remains a work in progress and pledged it would see more changes as it moves forward. I think we have the opportunity to improve student outcomes with this, Wheeler said. We have the opportunity to improve the system. And we had the opportunity, I think, to get wins, not just for students, but for our schools in general as well. He noted he has a daughter with autism, and that the issue is very near and dear to me personally. He said the state has a chance to improve student outcomes if you can keep some of that money closer to the school district, the school of which is going to know the students a little bit better and know some of their needs a little bit better. House lawmakers last month declined to move Reynolds bill forward after hearing from parents and school administrators concerned that her proposed overhaul would lead to worsened outcomes for students with disabilities and less support and diminished services for students and teachers with a piecemeal, fee-for-service approach. Reynolds pitched the bill as a key piece of her agenda for this years session. She said the change is necessary as test scores of Iowa students with disabilities have lagged but the state spends a comparatively high amount of money on those students. The Senate late Wednesday advanced Reynolds original proposal, Senate Study Bill 3073, out of a committee but with an amendment. What does the House bill do? Under the House proposal, federal special education funding still would go directly to the AEAs. But beginning in the 2025-26 academic year, funds for special education support coming from state sources would be kept by the school districts. The districts still would have to spend that money with the AEAs for special education services, but could receive those services through any AEA in the state. Starting with the 2025-26 school year, school districts could choose where to spend their funding for media services. The same would happen the following year in how to use funding for education-related services, like teacher training and curriculum. The bill would move local AEA governing boards to an advisory capacity, and require state approval of AEA budgets. The salary for AEA administrators would be capped at the average salary of all superintendents in the district served by the AEA. The House proposal would still create a new division within the Iowa Department of Education to oversee special education, but with a smaller scope: 58 new employees five at each AEA and 13 in Des Moines. Reynolds proposal called for hiring 139 employees, funded through $20 million moved from the AEAs to the state. The House bill also calls for establishing a 10-member task force to study the AEAs. Democrats request public hearing Democrats echoed some parents and education groups who said more changes are needed to the House bill. They expressed concerns it would remove a districts ability to receive mental health therapy services from AEA social workers. Access to mental health therapy is desperately needed, particularly in rural areas, they said, noting that the Heartland AEA responded with a crisis team to meet with students, families and staff in the wake of last months deadly shooting at Perry High School. I do applaud House Republicans for bringing folks to the table. Thats what should have happened in the first place, House Minority Leader Jennifer Konfrst, D-Windsor Heights, told reporters. So just the fact that the House Republicans brought in some stakeholders doesnt mean that theyre listening to Iowans or that theyve done the homework on determining if this is even a necessary change. House Democrats disagree with the premise that AEAs need wholesale change. "I think it would be best if we scrapped this instead of trying to polish it, because it would still achieve the same dismantling of our AEA services around the state, Rep. Art Staed, D-Cedar Rapids, said during the committee meeting. House Democrats requested a public hearing be held on the bill. Wheeler said Republicans were working to schedule a hearing. Teacher pay increase advanced Increases in baseline pay for teachers and staff would be increased and phased in over two years under a plan that advanced Thursday in the Iowa House. House Study Bill 714 would increase the minimum salary for first-year teachers to $47,500 in the 2024-2025 school year and $50,000 in the 2025-2026 school year. Education advocates who spoke at a legislative hearing praised the phased-in approach, saying it would give districts time to plan and adjust their budgets. We were happy to have an opportunity to work with legislators on the most appropriate and best way to accomplish the goal set up by Gov. Reynolds to increase the minimum salary to $50,000 for all beginning Iowa teachers, said Melissa Petersen, with the Iowa State Education Association the statewide teachers union. The House Republican salary bill also would boost the minimum wage for school support staff to $15 per hour, another provision that was met with praise by education advocates. The bill also appropriates $22 million in supplemental funding for districts to use to increase the salaries of veteran teachers and support staff. The bill unanimously passed out of committee and is eligible for debate in the House. House Republicans also advanced a bill to give a 3 percent increase to state funding for K-12 education for the coming year. Caleb McCullough of The Gazette-Lee Des Moines Bureau contributed to this report Which states need K-12 educators the mostand in which subjects? Which states need K-12 educators the mostand in which subjects? Teacher shortages KYIV, Ukraine (AP) First responders who arrived at the scene of a Russian missile attack on homes in the southern Ukrainian city of Odesa on Friday were themselves struck by a second missile, officials said. A paramedic and an emergency service worker were among the 14 people killed. Cooperation between the Moroccan Royal Armed Forces and the UN mission for the Sahara, MINURSO, was reviewed at a meeting in Agadir Thursday between Inspector General of FAR and Commander of the South Zone, Lieutenant General Mohammed Berrid, and the Special Representative of the UN Secretary General and Head of MINURSO, Alexander Ivanko. MINURSO chief was accompanied during the meeting held at the headquarters of the South Zone Staff in Agadir by Major General Md Fakhrul Ahsan, MINURSO Force Commander, and a large delegation, the FAR General Staff said in a statement. Talks covered the various aspects of cooperation between the FAR and MINURSO Forces, the statement said, adding that the two sides expressed their desire to strengthen this cooperation in the service of peace and stability in the region. An announced visit by Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares to Algiers never took place, due to what Spanish media ascribe to the conflicting agenda of Tebboune. According to analysts, the visit could have signaled a rapprochement between the two countries after Algiers protested at the sovereign decision of Madrid to back Morocco on the Sahara issue. Albares conditioned his visit on a meeting with president Tebboune, the latter declined and insisted that Albares meets his foreign minister Ahmed Attaf. The goal was to give a false impression to his own disenchanted people that Spain is the party that is seeking reconciliation. Spain postponed the visit sine die as it continues to reiterate its commitment to the declaration made by PM Pedro Sanchez in 2022 recognizing Moroccos autonomy plan as the only solution to the Sahara issue. Algeria last month returned its ambassador to Madrid without any diplomatic gains, ending a chapter of economic warfare and diplomatic hostility to Spain. Algeria has in late 2021 reduced gas flows to Spain when it halted the flow through the pipeline crossing Morocco. It then threatened to cut gas exports to Spain altogether if Madrid sells Algerian gas to Morocco. Algeria also asked its banks to shun funding imports from Spain and loosened border control, turning a blind eye to thousands of Algerian migrants crossing on risky boats to Spain. All these measures failed to force Spain to abandon its sovereign decision to support Moroccos territorial integrity. Algeria has then sought to use its proxies in Spain who were also dealt a heavy blow a few days ago. Spains position on Western Sahara is fully consistent with international legality, as Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez underlined in his September 2023 speech at the United Nations General Assembly, Albares said few days ago in a written answer to Basque deputy Jon Inarritu of the pro-Algeria EH-Bildu party. The Joint Declaration of April 7, 2022, specifically states: Spain considers the Moroccan autonomy initiative, presented in 2007, as the most serious, realistic and credible basis for the resolution of this dispute. A group defending the interests of Moroccan farmers, COMADER, denounced the attacks on trucks exporting Moroccan fresh produce in the EU. Videos on social media showed angry Spanish farmers taking aim at Moroccan trucks loaded with tomatoes heading to the UK market. We express our concern following the recurrent and unjustified attacks on Moroccan products and the media stigmatization that made Moroccan farmers a collateral damage, COMADER said in a statement. COMADER assured the high quality of Moroccos fresh produce sold to the EU, adding that these products meet all regulatory requirements and safety standards. In 2022, Moroccos farm exports grew by 15% to the EU and 2% to Spain whole sales, while EUs exports to Morocco jumped 75% the same year. Spanish agricultural exports to Morocco grew 20% in 2022, COMADER reports. In total, Morocco runs a deficit in its farm trade with the EU, totaling 900 million euros. The Algerian regime has deployed a propaganda campaign for its Polisario chief puppet in Ireland in a bid to deflect the attention from diplomatic setbacks suffered around the world, but the multi-dollar PR operation ended in total failure and disappointment. The Algerian intelligence services have organized a trip to Dublin for Head of Polisario militia Brahim Ghali and his meeting with President Michael D. Higgins of Ireland. They were counting on this meeting to trumpet a shallow diplomatic success after suffering setbacks in Sahel, Africa, the Arab world, Europe, Asia, and Latin America. The Dublin-operation was designed to deceive the Algerian public opinion and the Sahrawis sequestered in Tindouf camps to sell them an elusive dream with growing popular uproar, frustration, resentment, and protests in both Tindouf and Algeria. However, things did not go as planned. The Irish President received on Thursday Brahim Ghali, described as secretary-general of Polisario and nothing else, dealing a hard blow to the separatist group and the Algerian junta. President Michael D. Higgins receives Brahim Ghali, secretary-general of Polisario, on a courtesy call, said the Irish presidency on its official website in a brief statement. It was just a courtesy visit with souvenir photos and no political talks which the Algerian-Polisario manipulators were expecting. Neither the Presidency of Ireland nor the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs issued a press release on Benbatouch trip to Dublin. The Polisario selfie show, financed by Algiers, turned into utter humiliation and embarrassment as Morocco continues to attract huge investments into its Sahara and gain a growing international recognition of its sovereignty over its entire Saharan territories. According to some analysts, the Dublin-operation carried out by Algerian regime was just smoke- and-mirrors ushering in no shift in foreign policy. The move comes after sensing that London is edging closer to recognizing the Moroccanness of the Sahara following the footsteps of the United States with the mounting pressure of UK think-tanks and MPs. As Morocco is building a new regional order with its African Atlantic Access initiative, France is expected to come out of the shadow and its comfort zone to join Spain, Germany and other European superpowers which adopted a clear stand on the Moroccan Sahara. Senegals Constitutional Council, the countrys top election authority, ruled on Thursday that the presidents postponement of a presidential election scheduled for 25 February and its rescheduling for 14 December was unconstitutional. The Constitutional Council therefore voided the decree signed by President Macky Sall that postponed the presidential election, according to a judgement approved by seven members of the body. The National Assemblys move on February 5 to reschedule the vote for December was contrary to the constitution, the judgement said. The constitutional council, noting the impossibility of organizing the presidential election on the date initially planned, invites the competent authorities to hold it as soon as possible, it added. The postponement has thrown the country into political turmoil, with opposition presidential candidates and lawmakers having filed several legal challenges to last weeks parliamentary bill described by many as an institutional coup. It was not immediately clear if the election could go forward as initially scheduled, or whether more time would be needed to allow for political campaigns. Macky Sall, who has been in power since 2012, sparked uproar on February 3 when he called off the elections over disputes about the disqualification of potential candidates and concern about a repeat of the unrest seen in 2021 and 2023. The Parliament approved Salls decree two days later but only after security forces stormed the building and removed some opposition lawmakers who opposed the bill. Meanwhile, at least three people have died and scores more have been arrested in the ensuing protests against the delayed presidential elections. So far, Macky Sall did not immediately make any public comments in reaction to the Constitutional Councils ruling. Lincoln County CASA has announced Janet Vath as the new executive director for the group. I bring with me 25 years of dedicated service in the juvenile justice system, Vath said in a press release. I am passionate about advocating for the welfare of children and ensuring they have a voice in the legal system. Before joining Court Appointed Special Advocates, Vath served as volunteer coordinator for PlainsWest CASA in Cheyenne County. In that role, I witnessed firsthand the positive impact that dedicated volunteers can have on the lives of children facing the challenges of the juvenile justice system, she said. Now, I am eager to apply my experience and commitment to serve the children of Lincoln County. CASA plays a vital role in the lives of children involved in the foster care and juvenile justice systems. CASA volunteers are appointed by judges to advocate for the best interests of children who have experienced abuse or neglect. These volunteers help ensure that each child receives the attention, care and support they need during a critical time in their lives. CASA volunteers become the voice of the child in court, providing valuable information and insights to help judges make informed decisions about the childs future. The relationships formed between CASA volunteers and the children they represent often extend beyond the courtroom, providing much-needed stability and support. As the new executive director, I recognize the urgent need for additional advocates in our community, Vath said. The number of children entering the juvenile justice system or foster care is unfortunately on the rise. Each child deserves the opportunity to have a dedicated advocate by their side during these challenging times. By becoming a CASA volunteer, community members can make a lasting impact on the lives of these children, offering hope and support when it is needed most. To raise awareness and encourage community involvement, Lincoln County CASA will host a community breakfast on April 5 at the Prairie Arts Center. This event marks the kickoff of Child Prevention Month, a time to focus on the importance of protecting our children and ensuring their well-being. This breakfast provides an excellent opportunity for community members to learn more about CASA, its mission, and how they can make a difference in the lives of local children. I am excited to meet each of you, share my vision for CASA in Lincoln County, and discuss how together we can create a brighter future for our communitys youth. North Platte school board member Matthew Pederson filed for a third term Thursday, the final day for incumbents to seek new terms or run for other offices in Nebraskas 2024 elections. Longtime Mid-Plains Community College Area board member Ernie Mehl of North Platte failed to file for re-election after a long career of service on local educational governing boards. Incumbents had until 5 p.m. Thursday to file at the Lincoln County Clerks Office for city, school board or county office or Secretary of State Bob Evnens office in Lincoln for multicounty, state and federal offices on the May 14 primary and Nov. 5 general election ballots. Potential challengers have two more weeks until 5 p.m. March 1 to decide whether they want to run for city, school board, state or federal offices or most county and multicounty boards. Open seats on village boards, county noxious weed control boards, smaller public power districts and educational service units wont appear on the May primary ballot. Filing deadlines for those races are July 15 for incumbents and Aug. 1 for challengers. Individual North Platte city and school board races wont appear on the primary ballot unless they have at least three official candidates for an open seat. Candidates otherwise will automatically advance to the November election. The countys other school boards all of them elected at-large will need at least seven candidates for three open seats to be contested in the primary. Races in Brady, Maxwell, Hershey, Sutherland and Wallace have just three candidates apiece so far. Pederson, 614 Sequoia Court, won his Ward 3 school board seat in 2016 and was re-elected in 2020. The 2023 board vice president joins challenger Justin Thompson in his ward race. Incumbents Delbert Skip Altig (Ward 1) and Angela Blaesi (Ward 2) are currently unopposed for re-election. Mid-Plains District 5 seat has no candidates thus far to succeed Mehl, who also is a former North Platte school board member. District 4 incumbent Kent Miller and at-large board member Ted Klug Jr. of rural Maxwell are seeking re-election. County, state and federal races will appear on the May 14 ballot regardless of the number of candidates. As of Thursdays first filing deadline, only one major North Platte or Lincoln County race will see a candidate eliminated in May. Thats the Republican primary for District 1 on the Lincoln County Board, where 39-year Commissioner Joe Hewgley faces Stuart Simpson, North Platte Public Schools executive director of finance. No Democrats have filed for the May 14 primary to face the GOP winner in November. Republican incumbent Commissioners Chris Bruns (District 4) and Jerry Woodruff (District 5) are unopposed for re-election so far. North Platte Mayor Brandon Kelliher is currently unopposed for a second four-year term, as are City Councilmen Pete Volz in Ward 2 and Brad Garrick in Ward 3. Ward 1 Councilwoman Donna Tryon is opposed by Rod Dye as she seeks re-election. In Ward 4, new candidates Aaron Edwards and Nick McNew have filed to succeed Councilman Mark Woods, who declined a re-election run. North Platte voters currently have three candidates for two open Airport Authority six-year terms: Chairman Darrel Smith, appointed incumbent Randy Billingsley and challenger Dan Phelps. Unless at least two more people file, those three will automatically advance to the Nov. 5 election. Donald Trump at his hearing in the civil-fraud case last year. Photo: David Dee Delgado/Getty Images A New York judge on Friday handed down the penalties for Donald Trump and the Trump Organization after finding last fall that they had committed financial fraud, ordering the former president to pay a penalty of more than $355 million, plus nearly $100 million in interest. As a result of the ruling, Trump will also be barred leading his business for three years. Justice Arthur Engoron, who took no shortage of abuse from Trump during the trial, was scathing in his final assessment of the defendants. Their complete lack of contrition and remorse borders on pathological, he wrote in his decision. Defendants did not commit murder or arson. They did not rob a bank at gunpoint. Donald Trump is not Bernard Madoff. Yet, defendants are incapable of admitting the error of their ways. Instead, they adopt a See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil posture that the evidence belies. Trump blasted the ruling as illegal and unAmerican on his social media site TruthSocial. This decision is a Complete and Total SHAM, he said. This marks the end of a yearslong civil-fraud prosecution by the office of New York attorney general Letitia James, which alleged that Trump, some of his children, and other Trump business executives had lied to lenders about the value of their properties in order to obtain favorable loan terms and had fraudulently inflated the former presidents net worth. (The size of Trumps own penthouse apartment in his eponymous tower was tripled in representations.) Here is the breakdown of Engorons decision, which Trump is almost certain to appeal: Trump banned from doing business in New York for three years Engoron has ordered that Trump be barred from leading any New Yorkbased corporation or legal entity for a span of three years, which includes the Trump Organization. The companys former CFO Allen Weisselberg and former controller Jeffrey McConney received the same penalty and are permanently banned from serving in the financial control function of any New York company. Overall, this is less than the attorney general sought. James had requested that Trump, Weisselberg, and McConney all be banned for life from operating in the New York real-estate industry or from running any New York corporation. Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump each received a two-year ban from leading any company in the state. The attorney general had sought a five-year ban against the former presidents eldest sons, who both currently serve as executive vice-presidents of the Trump Organization. Ivanka Trump, who was named in Jamess initial lawsuit, was later dismissed from the case owing to the statute of limitations. A $355 million penalty In conjunction with the Trump Organization, Donald Trump has been ordered to pay a staggering $354.8 million, along with roughly $100 million in interest, according to the New York Attorney Generals office. (It will wipe out most of his cash.) James had asked the judge to levy $370 million as a penalty against the defendants, a significant increase from her initial ask of $250 million when she first filed the lawsuit. Eric and Donald Trump Jr. have each been ordered to pay a little more than $4 million plus interest. Weisselberg was handed a $1 million penalty, also with interest. All told, including interest which will only grow until they pay the defendants were ordered to pay nearly $464 million. Trumps business will be monitored In September, Engoron shocked the political world when he ordered that the organizations business certificates in New York be rescinded tantamount to the death penalty for the company and something even James did not explicitly request. Instead, the attorney general asked that the independent monitor appointed to oversee the company be kept on for an additional five years to ensure compliance with the ruling. The organization is already being monitored by Barbara Jones, a retired federal judge, who has been criticized by Trumps legal team. In his ruling, Engoron vacated his original order to cancel the business certificate, ensuring the company will continue to exist for the time being. The judge noted, however, that the decision could be revisited depending on reports from the independent monitor. He also said Jones will continue in her role for a minimum of three years. Sign Up for the Intelligencer Newsletter Daily news about the politics, business, and technology shaping our world. Email This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Vox Media, LLC Terms and Privacy Notice By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Notice and to receive email correspondence from us. Looks like Manchin is hanging up his spurs. Photo: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images One peculiar variable in the 2024 presidential election has now been put to rest: Democratic senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia has announced he will not pursue an independent or unity ticket candidacy for president this year, as USA Today reports: Manchin made the announcement during a speaking engagement at West Virginia University for his recently created nonprofit group Americans Together, which is aimed at connecting and empowering moderate voices. I will not be seeking a third-party run, I will not be involved in a presidential run, Manchin, 76, told the crowd. I will be involved in making sure that we secure a president who has the knowledge, has the function and has the ability to bring this country together. He argued that the system right now is not set up for candidates not affiliated with either major political party to win the presidency but said that in the long game there could be room to make a third party viable. Manchins vow not to be involved in a presidential run seems also to preclude a vice-presidential candidacy, which had seemed a possibility if No Labels, the nonpartisan organization with which Manchin has been closely associated, winds up sponsoring a ticket headed by a Republican. His subsequent comment about the kind of president he wanted to help the country secure could indicate that for all his third-party flirtations and ideological heresies, Manchin might endorse a second term for Joe Biden. He could not possibly have been talking about Donald Trump by referring to a president who had the ability to bring this country together. In any event, Manchins decision was good news for his partys 2024 prospects. Theres likely a ceiling on Trumps support well short of a popular majority, so its a strategic imperative for Biden to corral anti-Trump voters without too much competition from minor candidates, and particularly from a well-known Democrat. The announcement obviously takes away one option for No Labels, which is reportedly in the process of interviewing potential candidates, even though the group has not formally decided whether to undertake a campaign (it has, however, secured ballot access in 13 states so far). It also likely means Manchin has run his last campaign. He chose not to run for a third full term in the Senate this year, likely because West Virginia had turned so bright red that even a relatively conservative Democrat would have no real chance of winning, particularly in a presidential-election year. With no electoral base, the 76-year-old former governor will wind up his Senate service and presumably retire to his houseboat. His family already dodged one calamity this year when Manchins wife, Gayle, survived a serious car accident. A futile presidential run would not have improved their quality of life. Supposedly, she is recuperating at her home in Windsor, right where the palace said shed be. After days of frenzied social media speculation and media coverage, paparazzi happened to spot the princess on March 4. She was sitting in the passenger seat of a black Audi SUV while her mom, Carole Middleton, drove near Windsor Castle. But the photos were grainy and everyone loves conspiracy theories, so the rumors continued. The princess was spotted in a car again on March 11, hours after she took the blame for the altered photo debacle. Kate is pictured leaving Windsor Castle in car with William as she heads for 'private appointment' - while Prince makes his way to Commonwealth Service at Westminster Abbey https://t.co/AvKwpGbyMK pic.twitter.com/2haLXHkHJc Daily Mail Online (@MailOnline) March 11, 2024 No other photos or videos of Middleton were published, just this one shot of her looking away from the camera. The Daily Mail reported that she was heading to a private appointment, and she was no longer in the car when William arrived in London, which is about a 1 hour drive from Windsor: The Prince of Wales was heading to Westminster Abbey for the annual Commonwealth Day service this afternoon with his wife beside him. But rather than an extraordinary return to royal duties, MailOnline understands that Kate was heading to a private appointment instead. It is not known where the Princess of Wales was going, but it was clearly on her husbands route into central London because he arrived alone for the 2.45pm service attended by senior royals including Queen Camilla and Princess Anne. Kate had looked out of her window as William appeared to read some notes on his phone as they were swept out of the grounds of Windsor Castle in a blue Range Rover that later dropped William at the Abbey without her. Following online speculation that this photo was doctored too, the paparazzo who took the shot, Jim Bennett, insisted that it was authentic. We dont change our photos in Photoshop other than adjusting the light levels if necessary, he told the New York Post. Bennett said he initially didnt realize hed captured a photo of the missing princess: The cars left Windsor Castle and I photographed them a short distance away on Datchet High Street outside No. 39, to be precise! he said. Car shots are unpredictable at the best of times and with some reflection on the glass, it can be difficult. He added: As it happened, it wasnt until I checked on the back of the camera to make sure I had a frame of Prince William that I realized there was someone sitting next to him. It turned out to be Catherine! Goff Photos, the agency that syndicated the photo in the U.S., told E! News that the photo has been cropped and lightened but nothing has been doctored. In light of the altered Mothers Day photo, CNN said it is now reviewing all handout photos previously provided by Kensington Palace. Photo: Andrew Chin/Getty Images Have you ever had a moment when youre relentlessly complaining about someone and then you suddenly realize that, actually, youre the problem? It seems that such a revelation is long overdue for Britains royal family and many royal commentators. Last month, Queen Camilla got the proverbial tongues wagging when she accompanied King Charles to his treatment for an enlarged prostate. Apparently, it is a breach of royal protocol to comfort your spouse of 18 years during a medical procedure. Now Prince Harry has generated negative headlines and has reportedly infuriated the royal family by speaking about King Charless recent cancer diagnosis to Good Morning America. So what did Harry say that was so awful? Hope youre sitting down. He said, I love my family. The fact that I was able to get on a plane and go see and spend any time with [my dad], Im grateful for that. EXCLUSIVE: Prince Harry to @ReeveWill on visiting King Charles after cancer diagnosis: I love my family. The fact that I was able to get on a plane and go see and spend anytime with him, Im grateful for that. https://t.co/yDp82WU7Bk pic.twitter.com/lO0cebeO9i Good Morning America (@GMA) February 16, 2024 Prince Harry gave GMA an interview which was almost certainly scheduled before his fathers diagnosis to promote the one-year countdown to the Invictus Games Vancouver Whistler 2025. Harry founded the international competition for wounded service members in 2014. Naturally, during the segment, Harry was asked about his fathers diagnosis. He seemed somewhat uncomfortable and did not provide any significant details. Harry confirmed that his father broke the news to him over the phone, he immediately went to the U.K. to see him, and he plans to visit him again at some indefinite point in the future. When asked about his outlook on his dads health, Harry replied, That stays between me and him. The most controversial thing Harry did was agree with GMA host Will Reeve, son of Superman actor Christopher Reeve, when he made an apparent reference to how his own family coped with his late fathers paralysis. Ive also found in my own life that, sort of, an illness in the family can have a galvanizing or a sort of reunifying effect for a family. Is that possible in this case? Reeve said. Absolutely. Yeah, Im sure, Harry replied, quickly steering the focus back to the athletes. Throughout all these [Invictus] families, I see it on a day-to-day basis, again, the strength of the family unit coming together. I think any illness, any sickness, brings families together. Harry has said he loves his father and is open to reconciliation in many recent interviews. Yet this did not go over well with certain royal commentators. Even before the interview aired in full, GB News anchors fretted about what Harry might reveal, and royal correspondent Rafe Heydel-Mankoo said he should have sought permission to speak about his fathers health. On another GB News program, host Stephen Dixon declared, The king is going to hate this. Grant Harrold, Charless former butler, told the New York Post, I dont think William and the king will be thrilled about Harrys interview. Even though the king has already shared some information on his diagnosis, he is very private. He added, I have no idea why Harry feels the need to speak out. Thats what I dont understand. And the Daily Beast reported that Harrys remarks look likely to infuriate the palace, as friends of the royals believe the prince should have remained silent (or maybe silenced): One friend of Charles and Queen Camilla, when told of Harrys comments by The Daily Beast, responded: It seems Harry has taken it on himself to use the diagnosis to publicize his own agenda. If it wasnt so sickening it would be funny. What really would have helped the family come together would have been if Harry had said he wouldnt be taking questions about his father. Another friend of the family said: Its hard to believe that Harry can keep finding ways to make things worse. He just needs to pipe down. To be sure, with the tell-all book and multiple interviews and documentaries, Harry and Meghan have given the royals plenty of reason to tense up whenever hes set to speak in public. But in the GMA interview, Prince Harry managed to politely respond to the questions on everyones mind without really saying anything at all. Doesnt he deserve a little credit for doing exactly what the royals trained him to do? Photo: JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images Its not the feeble old man part that matters most in the incendiary report by special counsel Robert Hur. Its that Joe Biden knew he had highly classified documents in his home, kept them for a reason, and held on to them for years. He knew, all along. He arguably broke the law, and he definitely misled the American public. That should be the vital takeaway from Hurs investigation more than the reports headline-stealing description of Bidens advanced age and creaky memory. For anyone howling about Hurs report, lets recognize, first, that he had to write it. Federal regulations require that, at the end of the investigation, the special counsel must create a report explaining the prosecution or declination decisions. Now, one could fairly take issue with how Hur wrote the report. We dont want prosecutors flaming people they dont indict, after all, and Hur drafted a 300-plus page tome that included damaging revelations (at times with excessive flourishes) about Biden and others around him. Ill allow that objection on one condition: You also must be on record condemning another special counsel, Robert Mueller, who wrote a 400-plus page report excoriating Donald Trump without recommending indictment. Its entirely fair to argue that prosecutors should either charge or stay as mum as possible, or that the special counsel rules are a mess but it has to work both ways. Hurs report is essentially a prosecution memo, a standard document in which prosecutors lay out their evidence and consider the arguments for and against indicting. (DOJ policy prohibits a criminal charge against a sitting president, but Hur certainly could have recommended a post-presidency indictment.) Ive written hundreds of these documents and reviewed many more. In my view, this is a razors-edge call, and it reasonably couldve gone either way. The report states on page one that the investigation uncovered evidence that President Biden willfully retained and disclosed classified materials after his vice presidency. If that sounds familiar, it might be because Trump now faces 32 felony counts in Florida (brought by a higher-profile DOJ special counsel, Jack Smith) for willful retention of national defense information, a federal crime. Hur comprehensively lays out the evidence, and the difficulties a prosecution might face, including the challenge of establishing Bidens criminal intent. The special counsels account of Bidens mental acuity feels overstated and unnecessarily colorful to me, but its a relevant factor that weighs considerably in Hurs assessment of the cases shortcomings. Further complicating the picture: Biden had several different batches of classified materials circulating around his Delaware-Virginia-D.C. home-office ecosystem, and he plainly did not know about some of the documents but, as well discuss in a moment, he absolutely did know about others. The end result is a Rorschach test of sorts. There are Bill Barresque whitewashes out there that gloss over or ignore the damning evidence while highlighting the soft spots in the report for Biden, including the fact that he seemingly did not know about some of the documents. And then there are headlines that focus entirely on Hurs use of the term willful and conclude that a criminal charge was mandatory. Neither tells the full story. The truth is prosecutors are not automatons who take concrete inputs and spit out a mathematical result. Theres judgment involved, and this ones close enough that reasonable prosecutors can reach different conclusions. Lets do this part right now because its mandatory and important: Trumps conduct was worse than Bidens. Ill say it again: Trumps conduct was worse. Thats a plain, irrefutable truth; Hur even takes pains to say so perhaps gratuitously in his report. Trump took more classified documents than Biden did, he was more careless (or worse) with them, and he obstructed justice (bigly) while Biden did not. But Bidens conduct is indefensible nonetheless. Heres the reports biggest revelation: Biden held on to classified top-secret national-security documents after he left the vice-presidency, and he did it intentionally. This was no accident. Biden had those documents for this specific reason: He believed he had been right on American policy in Afghanistan (and that President Barack Obama had been wrong), and he wanted to paint himself as the visionary hero (and Obama as the heel) in the historical narrative. Thats why Biden shared some of their contents with his ghostwriter though Hur acknowledges that Biden may have disclosed that classified information inadvertently, citing Bidens lapses in attention and vigilance. Heres the single most important piece of evidence in Hurs report: In a recording made by the ghostwriter in February 2017 a month after Biden left the vice-presidency Biden says he had just found all the classified stuff downstairs. That, folks, is the needle-scratch moment. Up until last week, the party line has essentially been, Hey, classified documents are strewn all around the White House, a bunch of boxes got moved around, transition is chaotic, documents end up in various places; big mistake, whoops, sorry. Now we know thats untrue. Indeed, for the past year, the president and his mouthpieces have doggedly denied intentionality. Bidens attorney declared in January 2023, as the scandal broke, that documents were inadvertently misplaced. Wrong. It wasnt inadvertent: Biden possessed at least some of the papers knowingly and on purpose. White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Biden did not know that classified documents were in his home or office and had no idea what they contained. False and false. Biden himself said he was surprised to learn there were any government records that were taken there to that office in Washington D.C. This is misdirection at best. Perhaps Biden was surprised that classified documents wound up at that specific location, but he sure as hell knew (and omitted) that he had classified documents elsewhere, at his home (downstairs, to be specific). Now that Biden has been caught dissembling to the public, he has tried to pivot to the better news. In an official statement issued just after Hurs report became public, the president proclaimed that he cooperated completely, threw up no roadblocks, and sought no delays. Ill give him cooperated but not completely, not anymore. Timing is key here. Think back to that February 2017 recording, when Biden said he found all the classified stuff downstairs. What did Biden do back then? Did he have his people get right on the phone with the Archives or the FBI to turn the documents back in? Nope. He kept those sensitive documents and said nothing for five more years. Not until 2022 after the FBI executed its search warrant on Trump at Mar-a-Lago did Bidens people alert the authorities. As a whole, Biden and his team get maybe a B-minus for cooperation. Its not quite the gold star his flacks have made it out to be. Cooperation is a relevant consideration for prosecutors, and Hur plainly gave Biden some credit for his belated efforts to return documents to the government. But of course cooperation especially when its less than complete does not erase everything that preceded it. It counts, but its not a magic wand. Biden supporters are rightly concerned that Hurs colorful and extraneous harping on the mans mental state could hurt his electoral chances in November. That may be true. But an indictment wouldve been far worse. Listen to this article. And for more analysis of law and politics with Elie Honig, Preet Bharara, and other contributors, sign up for the free CAFE newsletter or become a member of CAFE Insider. Photo-Illustration: Intelligencer; Photos: Getty In a typical presidential-election year, wed currently be in the thick of primary season. But since the 2024 election will be a rematch between Donald Trump and Joe Biden, people with an unhealthy addiction to political drama are already turning their attention to the race to be Trumps running mate. This is yet another aspect of the 2024 race where the normal rules dont quite apply. Candidates typically want a potential vice-president who can balance the ticket demographically, ideologically, or geographically. Even Trump succumbed to this thinking in 2016: Mike Pence got the gig because he was a boring, midwestern, ultraconservative Christian with some governing experience basically the opposite of the erratic, boorish New York TV personality. But this concession to the RNC ultimately backfired (in Trumps mind) because Pence wouldnt participate in his January 6 coup attempt. Now that Trumps GOP takeover is complete, hes free to pick anyone he wants. And hell probably put a lot of stock in personal loyalty and who has the look (hes known to base hiring decisions on whether candidates are out of central casting). This is, obviously, very creepy and inappropriate. But its something you have to consider when trying to predict Trumps VP pick. Its unclear when Trump will announce his VP choice, but it could be months away; he revealed Pence was his running mate in July of 2016. For now, hes just dropping hints about his pick. When asked in a March 14, 2024 Newsmax interview if hes started to rule candidates out, Trump replied: Yeah, I probably have a couple of people that you may know very well. Some people that I didnt think behaved properly. Yeah, I think Ive ruled some people out, but Ive ruled a lot of people in. Heres a list (which well keep updated) of who is believed to be on Trumps shortlist for vice-president, and the pros and cons of each possibility, loosely arranged from the candidates with the best odds to the worst. South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem Graphic: Intelligencer; Photos: Getty PROS: Kristi Noem has impeccable MAGA credentials. She has government experience but is no creature of the swamp; she served as South Dakotas sole representative in the U.S. House for eight years before she was elected as the states first female governor in 2018. In 2020, she gained national attention for easing up on COVID restrictions faster than other governors and supporting Trumps election-fraud lies. Noem has been issuing orders and legislation that put her at the center of hot culture-war issues, such as banning critical race theory and targeting transgender people. She was also the top pick for VP (tied with Vivek Ramaswamy) among attendees at the 2024 CPAC. CONS: South Dakota is a solidly red state with only three Electoral College votes. In 2023, several outlets reported that the married mother of three was having an absurdly blatant affair with Trump adviser Corey Lewandowski (shes denied this). Trump is reportedly concerned that Noem is too strict on abortion; she has called herself an absolutist on the issue and has defended the lack of rape and incest exceptions in her states extreme abortion ban. LOYALTY CHECK: She can often be seen on Newsmax, Fox News, and other right-wing outlets almost openly campaigning for the job of Trumps VP. LOOK CHECK: Noem passes with flying colors. Shes a former farm girl and beauty queen whose recent memoir, Not My First Rodeo, is chock-full of folksy idioms and Bible verses, per The Atlantic. TRUMPS STANCE: He mentioned Noem (along with Tim Scott) as a potential VP pick in February 2024, saying shes been incredible fighting for him. Noem was among the six people Trump (offhandedly) confirmed are on his shortlist during a February 20 Fox News town hall. Noem met with Trump at Mar-a-Lago on February 27. NOEMS STANCE: When Newsmax asked her if shed consider an offer to be Trumps VP, she said Oh, absolutely. I would in a heartbeat. New York Representative Elise Stefanik Graphic: Intelligencer; Photos: Getty PROS: As the fourth-ranking member in House GOP leadership, Elise Stefanik could help Trump do the parts of the job that dont interest him, like working with Congress and articulating the GOP platform. Shes also a talented fundraiser. Adding a 39-year-old woman to the Republican ticket could theoretically allay any concerns voters and particularly suburban women might have about reelecting a 77-year-old man who was found liable for sexual abuse and repeatedly accused of sexual misconduct. CONS: The New York congresswoman cant deliver her home state for Trump. And with its high turnover rate, perhaps the GOP House leadership cant afford to lose a competent woman. LOYALTY CHECK: During the 2016 campaign, Stefanik harshly criticized Trump for his incendiary rhetoric and policy views, saying he has been insulting to women. But after she started rising in the GOP leadership, she morphed into a MAGA cheerleader. Trump may appreciate that Stefanik is seemingly so desperate to be his running mate that shell say just about anything, from bemoaning the plight of the J6 hostages to blaming the media for the jurys verdict in the E. Jean Carroll case. But her previous anti-Trump sentiments would certainly cause headaches for his campaign. LOOK CHECK: Stefanik is a white woman from Albany of Italian and Czech heritage, but who knows if Trump considers the last name Stefanik too ethnic. TRUMPS STANCE: He reportedly nodded and said, Shes a killer, when Stefaniks name came up as a potential VP pick during a December 2023 dinner with Mar-a-Lago members. STEFANIKS STANCE: When asked if shed be Trumps running mate, Stefanik said, Of course, Id be honored to serve in a future Trump administration in any capacity. South Carolina Senator Tim Scott Graphic: Intelligencer; Photos: Getty PROS: Trumps allies are reportedly urging him to pick a woman or a Black man as his running mate, and Tim Scott is the only Black Republican in the Senate. In contrast to Trumps vision of American carnage, Scott is consistently described as a sunny and optimistic guy (though hes actually pretty into partisan warfare). CONS: Scotts performance in the 2024 GOP primary was unimpressive; he dropped out months before voting started. Trump doesnt need Scott to win South Carolina, as Republicans have won the state in 13 of the last 14 presidential elections. Trump is reportedly concerned that Scott is too hard-line on abortion; the senator has said he will sign the most conservative pro-life legislation that they can get through Congress, suggesting hes in favor of a national abortion ban. LOYALTY CHECK: Scott voted to certify Bidens 2020 win, still thinks Mike Pence did the right thing on January 6, and dared to challenge Trump in the 2024 race. But he may have erased any ill will when he endorsed Trump ahead of the New Hampshire primary, though Nikki Haley launched his Senate career. When Trump highlighted this awkward fact during his primary-night victory speech, Scott delivered some grade-A groveling, telling Trump he doesnt hate anyone, I just love you! LOOK CHECK: Did Tim Scott get engaged to his mystery girlfriend, Mindy Noce, then feed the story to the Washington Post in a matter of hours just because he was worried that Trump wouldnt like the look of a bachelor VP? Maybe! TRUMPS STANCE: When asked about potential VP picks in February 2024, Trump mentioned Scott and Noem (though he said he didnt want people to make any inference from the name drop). A lot of people like Tim Scott I called him, and I said, You are a much better candidate for me than you are for yourself, Trump said, noting that Scott also gave him a beautiful endorsement. Scott was among the six people Trump (offhandedly) confirmed are on his shortlist during a February 20 Fox News town hall. SCOTTS STANCE: Scott initially claimed he had no interest in being anyones VP. But he reversed course in late January 2024, saying you can take it any way you want when CNN noted he seemed open to being Trumps running mate. former 2024 presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy Graphic: Intelligencer; Photos: Getty PROS: Vivek Ramaswamy could be the best of both worlds for Trump. Demographically, hes the opposite of the elderly white Florida man: a young Indian American from Ohio. But spiritually, Ramaswamy is Trumps clone; his presidential campaign was all about railing against wokeness and passionately defending the former president. And he was also the cotop pick for VP in the 2024 CPAC straw poll. CONS: The biotech entrepreneur has no political experience and veered into extremism toward the end of his presidential campaign (for example, he called January 6 an inside job and embraced the great replacement theory). And the more Americans saw of him, the less they liked him. Shortly after Ramaswamy launched his candidacy last spring, 18 percent of Americans viewed him favorably, while 13 percent viewed him unfavorably, according to FiveThirtyEights polling averages. After a campaign performance that many found glib and obnoxious, those numbers flipped. Today his average is 36 percent unfavorable to 24 percent favorable. LOYALTY CHECK: Ramaswamy praised Trump effusively even when they were primary opponents and demanded that other GOP candidates sign his pledge to pardon Trump. It increasingly seemed that Ramaswamy was running for a spot in Trumps administration, not the presidency. LOOK CHECK: Can you really picture Trump putting Ramaswamy on a bumper sticker? TRUMPS STANCE: When asked about Ramaswamy as VP in August 2023, Trump praised his obsequiousness and commented, Hes got good energy, and he could be in some form of something. I tell ya, I think hed be very good. When chants of VP, VP, VP broke out for Ramaswamy during a January 2024 rally, Trump responded, Hes going to be working with us for a long time. Ramaswamy was among the six people Trump (offhandedly) confirmed are on his shortlist during a February 20 Fox News town hall. RAMASWAMYS STANCE: When asked if hed be Trumps running mate hours after ending his own presidential campaign in January, Ramaswamy said hed evaluate whatever is best for the future of this country. texas governor Greg Abbott Photo-Illustration: Intelligencer; Photo: Brandon Bell/Getty Images PROS: Selecting Texas governor Greg Abbott as his running mate would amplify Trumps border-security messaging. Hes repeatedly clashed with the Biden administration over border policy, increasing his national popularity and boosting his job-approval rating in Texas. Hes an experienced politician and a strong fundraiser. CONS: Some of Abbotts policies may be too harsh for swing voters. He signed into law one of the strictest abortion bans in the country, and critics say his anti-migrant policies are inhumane. LOYALTY CHECK: While Abbott isnt as sycophantic as some other Texas officials, he and Trump generally have a solid relationship. LOOK CHECK: Abbott has used a wheelchair since 1984, when he was paralyzed from the waist down after a tree fell on him while he was jogging. It would be great if this didnt figure into Trumps decision, but he has expressed some pretty horrifying views about disabled people. TRUMPS STANCE: During a joint interview with Abbott and Trump after their visit to the southern border on February 29, Sean Hannity asked if the governor could be Trumps running mate. Hes done a great job, Trump said. Yeah, certainly he would be somebody that I would very much consider. When Hannity asked if hes on the short list, Trump replied absolutely. ABBOTTS STANCE: Abbott downplayed the idea of becoming Trumps VP at a press conference after the border visit. Obviously, its very nice of him to say, but I think you all know that my focus is entirely on the state of Texas, he said. As you know, Im working right now on the midterm-election process. Ive already talked about that Ive announced that Im running for reelection two years from now, and so my commitment is to Texas and Im staying in Texas. arkansas governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders Graphic: Intelligencer; Photos: Getty PROS: Like Noem, Arkansas governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders is the first woman elected to lead her state. And like Stefanik, the 41-year-old is one of the youngest and most well-known women in the GOP, so she could theoretically help Trump win over suburban women. Plus, Trumps former White House press secretary already has plenty of experience defending his record. CONS: Will suburban women love Sanderss aggressively pro-life stance? Perhaps not. Also, Sanders isnt very popular, even in Arkansas. A recent poll found her job-approval rating is only 48 percent, the lowest for any governor in the state since her father Mike Huckabees rating of 47 percent in 2003. And the scandal over her offices purchase of a $19,000 podium is ongoing. LOYALTY CHECK: While Sanders remained neutral in the 2024 GOP primary longer than some other VP contenders, she eventually endorsed Trump in November 2023, describing him as my former boss, my friend, and everybodys favorite president. LOOK CHECK: It seems she meets Trumps standards as she served as the face of his administration for two years. TRUMPS STANCE: He endorsed Sanderss gubernatorial bid but didnt say anything positive about her while denying reports that she initially declined to back his 2024 campaign. SANDERSS STANCE: When asked about the prospect of serving as VP on Face the Nation in January 2024, Sanders said, Look, I absolutely love the job I have. I think its one of the best jobs I could ever ask for, and I am honored to serve as governor, and I hope I get to do it for the next seven years. So either shes trying to play it cool or she genuinely isnt interested. ohio senator J.D. Vance Graphic: Intelligencer; Photos: Getty PROS: Trump needs to win Ohio again in 2024. Who better to help him than J.D. Vance, the states freshman senator, who literally wrote the book on the MAGA base (at least in the view of bewildered liberals who turned to Hillbilly Elegy after Trumps 2016 win)? CONS: A lot of people, actually. Trump won Ohio twice without Vances help. And in the 2022 Senate race, Vances campaigning and fundraising skills were unimpressive. That November he underperformed the eight other Republicans on the statewide ballot by more than 11 points, as the Washington Post noted. His current term ends in 2029, so his exit might ruin the GOPs effort to retake the Senate. LOYALTY CHECK: In 2016, Vance declared himself a Never Trump guy and wondered if Trump might be Americas Hitler. Then during his 2022 Senate campaign he underwent a stunning MAGA conversion. Trump remarked at a 2022 Vance rally, J.D. is kissing my ass he wants my support so much. More recently, Vance said he would have rejected Biden-won states electoral votes on January 6 if he had been in Mike Pences shoes. LOOK CHECK: If Trump really is looking for a woman or a person of color, Vance obviously isnt his guy. TRUMPS STANCE: Although Trump campaigned for Vance in 2022, hes never seemed that impressed with his belated turn to Trumpism. At another midterms rally, Trump said of Vance, Hes a guy that said some bad shit about me But I have to do what I have to do. VANCES STANCE: While campaigning for Trump in January 2024, he said, The best place for me is to actually be an advocate of the agenda in the United States Senate. But he added, Certainly, if the president asked, I would have to think about it, because I want to help him. Arizona senate candidate Kari Lake Graphic: Intelligencer; Photos: Getty PROS: The former TV-news anchor turned Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake is such an effective MAGA cheerleader that The Atlantic proclaimed her the leading lady of Trumpism. She also won a straw poll for Republican VP pick at CPAC. CONS: Lake lost Arizonas 2022 gubernatorial election for the GOP (though, like Trump, she baselessly cast herself as the victim of election fraud). Shes currently running in the 2024 Arizona Senate race, which would seem to take her out of the running for VP. (However, Vanity Fair reports that her frequent trips out of state have fueled speculation that she still has her eye on VP.) LOYALTY CHECK: Is it possible to love Trump too much? Lake seems to be on a mission to find out. Shes openly gushed about his BDE and personally vacuumed a red carpet for Trump. LOOK CHECK: Shes undeniably telegenic and may be what AI would churn out if asked to conjure the perfect MAGA running mate. TRUMPS STANCE: In January 2024, Trump said Lake would be wonderful in the Senate. Shes terrific, Trump said at a rally. Shell be a senator a great senator, I predict, right? Youre going to be a great senator. LAKES STANCE: In November 2023, her campaign spokesperson said shes focused on winning her Senate race in Arizona. And she looks forward to casting her vote in Arizona for president Trump and whoever he selects as VP. alabama senator Katie Britt Photo-Illustration: Intelligencer; Photo: Getty PROS: Katie Britt, a freshman senator from Alabama, is the youngest Republican woman ever elected to the Senate. She is also the only mother of school-aged children in the Senate Republican Conference. She has a son in eighth grade and a daughter in ninth grade with her husband, Wesley Britt, a former offensive tackle for the New England Patriots. Britt raised her national profile when she came out in favor of legal protections for IVF when an Alabama Supreme Court ruling shut down IVF services in the state, then delivered the GOP response to Bidens 2024 State of the Union address. CONS: Britts SOTU response was terrible. Its one of our biggest disasters ever, a GOP strategist told the Daily Beast. Also, she has held public office for less than a year and Trump doesnt need her help to win Alabama. LOYALTY CHECK: As former chief of staff to longtime senator Richard Shelby, Britt has a rather swampy past. But she managed to get Trumps endorsement over his crony Mo Brooks in 2022, going on to win her former bosss seat when he retired. LOOK CHECK: On paper, Britt is exactly who the GOP wants as the face of the party. But she probably ruined her VP chances with her poor delivery of the GOP SOTU rebuttal. TRUMPS STANCE: Trump hasnt said anything about Britt as a potential running mate. BRITTS STANCE: She dodged the question when CBS News This Morning asked about her VP aspirations in November 2023, saying, Oh, goodness, Im just working hard in the U.S. Senate. Georgia representative Marjorie Taylor Greene Graphic: Intelligencer; Photos: Getty PROS: Standing next to two-term Georgia congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene could make Trump look sane and measured. CONS: Her selection would turn the 2024 election into a national debate over the capabilities of secret Jewish space lasers. LOYALTY CHECK: Shes arguably Trumps most rabid defender in Congress. And if any of her colleagues do argue with her, she may call them a little bitch. LOOK CHECK: Picking the QAnon congresswoman would definitely be a wild look for the Trump campaign, but that has nothing to do with her appearance. TRUMPS STANCE: Hes clearly a huge MTG fan hes publicly called her brilliant and a badass but that doesnt mean hes making her VP. Several Trump-world sources told Rolling Stone that hes not stupid enough to make her his running mate. GREENES STANCE: Shes openly fanned the MTG for VP speculation. In August 2023, she told The Guardian, Its talked about frequently and I know my name is on a list but really my biggest focus right now is serving the district that elected me. That same month, she mused to the Atlanta Journal Constitution, I have a lot of things to think about. Am I going to be a part of President Trumps Cabinet if he wins? Is it possible that Ill be VP? Former Fox News Host Tucker Carlson Graphic: Intelligencer; Photos: Getty PROS: Pundit Tucker Carlson was a pillar of the Fox News prime-time lineup until he was fired in April 2023, so hed bring a huge amount of star power to the Trump campaign. Also, Melania Trump reportedly likes him as VP. CONS: Carlson is beloved by the most nativist, paranoid, and bigoted constituents in the Republican Party, as Jonathan Chait put it. But swing voters might not be as charmed by a guy whos embraced the great replacement theory by name. Also, the last thing Trump wants is a running mate who might outshine him. LOYALTY CHECK: Though he later backtracked, we learned from the Fox NewsDominion Voting Systems defamation suit that Tucker told colleagues via text that he sees Trump as a demonic force and a destroyer, adding, I hate him passionately. So lets put him down as not that loyal. LOOK CHECK: If Trump is okay with seeing a lot of memes featuring his running mates dumbfounded face, Carlson should be fine. TRUMPS STANCE: When asked about Carlson for VP in November 2023, Trump responded, I like Tucker a lot. I guess I would consider him. Hes got great common sense. In January 2024, Donald Trump Jr. said the Carlson was still on the table and he would certainly be a contender for VP. CARLSONS STANCE: He seemed to shoot down the idea in a December 2023 interview, saying, I just dont think Im really suited for that. I mean, would anyone want to see a guy like me run for office? florida governor Ron DeSantis Graphic: Intelligencer; Photos: Getty PROS: He pitched himself to Republicans as a less erratic, not dumb Trump clone. So who better to step up if Trump becomes incapacitated? CONS: DeSantis embarrassed himself by running an incompetent 2024 presidential campaign. Putting two demagogic Florida men on the GOP ticket doesnt make any sense and it may even be unconstitutional! LOYALTY CHECK: DeSantis fails this crucial test. He grudgingly bent the knee to Trump by endorsing him as he dropped out of the race days before the New Hampshire primary. That may be enough to serve in a future Trump administration but he hasnt groveled hard enough to be VP. LOOK CHECK: Nobody wants a VP who eats pudding with his hands. TRUMPS STANCE: DeSantis was one of the six people Trump (offhandedly) confirmed are on his shortlist during a February 20 Fox News town hall, which is the only reason theres been a surge in DeSantis for VP chatter. DeSANTISS STANCE: DeSantis seemingly took himself out of the running a day later when he said on a private call to supporters, I am not doing that, then made some lightly insulting remarks about Trump, the people running his campaign, and the right-wing media in general. This post has been updated throughout. No home cooking for Nikki Haley. Photo-Illustration: Intelligencer; Photos: Getty When Nikki Haley lost by a relatively narrow (11-point) margin to Donald Trump in New Hampshire last month, the narrative her campaign was putting out there was that she would use that showing as a springboard to a breakthrough in her home state of South Carolina on February 24. If evidence from the polls means anything, Haley is much more likely to break down than to break through in the Palmetto State. Nine days before the primary with early voting already underway, Haley is trailing Trump by 33 points (hes at 64 percent, shes at 31 percent) in the RealClearPolitics polling averages for South Carolina. There is no discernible trend in her favor. And as likely voter polls replace registered voter polls, the fantasy that there is a big pool of independent and Democratic voters ready to invade the open GOP primary and save Haleys bacon is being exploded. Three February LV surveys have Trump leading by 45 points (Florida Atlantic University/Mainstreet Research), 35 points (CBS News), and 36 points (Winthrop). The CBS and Winthrop polls show Trump leading among self-identified independents modestly and among self-identified Republicans massively. The expectations for Haley in South Carolina are so low (her onetime mentor and Trump foe Mark Sanford told Politico it would take a meteor strike for her to win) that exceeding them is possible. But the path for her postSouth Carolina looks even more formidable. The only other February primary (its on February 24, and only controls a portion of the delegates for that state) is in Michigan, and the only public poll (from Morning Consult) since it became a two-race race shows Trump leading 79 percent to Haleys 19 percent. The March primaries look like an unmitigated bloodbath for the former South Carolina governor. In the RCP national polling averages, Trumps lead over Haley keeps rising and is now up to 56 points (74 percent to 19 percent). Beyond the primaries, as her criticisms of Trump grow sharper and more personal (she is now regularly challenging his fitness to serve as president), the far-fetched idea that Haley could snag the nomination as a plan B alternative to Trump, if he is felled by a jury or an act of God, looks even more preposterous. MAGA-world will look far and wide to overlook Nikki Haley until she undergoes the sort of humiliation and rehabilitation that eventually reconciled 2016 Trump rivals Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz to the former president, well down the road. Nikki Haley is 52, which is relatively young at a time when her party is sending a late-septuagenarian up against the octogenarian incumbent. So theres no telling what the future holds for her. But for 2024, the end is near. 26 items in this article 4 items on sale! Photo: The Strategist; Photo: Retailer Choosing a coffee table, like any piece of furniture that takes pride of place in a room, can feel like a daunting task. I should know: Five years after we moved into our house, were still on the hunt for a coffee table for our main living space. What were looking for isnt too specific wooden, round, good for kids but theres still a lot to consider. In terms of scale, there are a few simple rules for getting it right. Interior designer Nina Gotlieb points out that its helpful to consider the proportions and relative mass of each piece in your living room. You dont want a super-leggy coffee table if you have a super-leggy couch, she points out. Or if you have a sofa thats upholstered all the way to the ground, you dont want a massive coffee table because then everything will feel too heavy. You can also start with a material or a style and go from there, while being open to experimenting with nontraditional shapes and finishes. To help you (and myself) find the best coffee table for your aesthetic and budget, I looked at a lot of coffee tables, tested options at home, and consulted interior designers about their go-to pieces. Below, 23 coffee tables in a range of styles from mid-century to Scandinavian to contemporary that encompass a variety of materials like wood, stone, marble, metal, glass, and more. What were looking for Material Ive roughly arranged the tables below by material, starting with wood, which comes in a variety of styles, from contemporary to mid-century modern to more rustic styles. Marble continues to be a popular choice for a tabletop as well, but other stones, like travertine, can give you a more casual feel. There are also plenty of tables that incorporate mixed materials, too, like wood and metal, glass and metal, and wood and marble, adding a bit more texture and dynamism to a piece. Style Coffee tables come in a few basic tabletop shapes: round, oval, square, rectangular, or a variation therein. They can stand on four legs (or fewer or more), or have a plinth- or pedestal-type base, or be shaped like a drum. Some come with additional shelving or built-in storage. What youre looking for will depend on how you want to arrange your space, keeping in mind the scale of your other furniture like sofa and accent chairs. Price You dont have to spend a lot of money to buy a good-looking table, but if youre looking for premium materials, youll have to pay up. There are plenty of options in the $500-and-under range here, and Ive denoted them with $ in the specs. Anything in the $500 to $1000 range will be denoted by $$, and anything above $1000 will be designed by $$$. Best coffee table overall Hem Alle Coffee Table (Set of 2) $1,298 Material: Solid wood | Style: Round, nesting | Price: $$ I love how versatile this line of coffee tables from Stockholm-based design studio Hem is. Its available in three sizes small, medium, and large which can be used individually or as a nesting cluster, thanks to the differing heights of each one. It comes recommended by interior designer Penelope August, whose preferred configuration pairs the medium and large size tables (shown here), and who notes they would function well with sectionals, either as a cluster or separately. According to August, the two overlapping circles work well in L-sofa configurations where a single table always seems too far from one side or the other. Of course, one (or three of them) could work with a regular sofa as well. Made of solid oak (black and natural finishes) or solid walnut (dark brown finish), they are well priced for the quality of wood youre getting, August adds. Prices start at $559 for the smallest table. $1,298 at Hem Buy Best (less expensive) coffee table Article Amoeba Table From $199 Material: Solid wood | Style: Tear drop or round | Price: $ Article is a reliable source if youre looking for quality mid-century-inspired pieces at a reasonable price point, according to Eliza McNabb, a designer at Hyphen. She suggests pairing two tables from its Amoeba line to create tiers and the ability to reconfigure a space whenever necessary. These are a good option if you want the nesting look try the round or triangle table with the taller end table without spending too much money. Like the Hem tables above, they are constructed from solid wood. From $199 at Article Buy Best round wooden coffee table Four Hands Holmes Coffee Table $849 $849 Material: Solid wood, metal | Style: Round | Price: $$ If all you want is a single round table, consider this one that Los Angelesbased designer Kate Lester recommends. She likes the sleek Danish-inspired look of the solid-oak tabletop contrasted with the waxed black joinery, which I think gives it a little more edge. $849 at Burke Decor Buy Best round wooden coffee table with storage Audo Copenhagen Turning Table $573 Material: Solid wood, metal | Style: Round, storage | Price: $$ Sometimes you might want a little more from your coffee table, which is why photographer and designer Tommy Lei loves this multipurpose option from Audo Copenhagen that has hidden storage underneath the tabletop. This sleek interpretation is the perfect balance between form and function, says Lei. The turning element is genius easily stow away books and other knickknacks without having to lift your coffee cup. Also made of solid oak, it has black chrome braces connecting the trio of thin legs and a matching knob that helps you glide open the tabletop. $573 at Finnish Design Shop Buy Best (less expensive) round wooden coffee table with storage Ikea Borgeby Coffee Table $150 $150 Material: Plywood| Style: Round, storage | Price: $ For something slightly cheaper that still incorporates storage, Lei recommends this one from Ikea. We love a good dupe, and this is as close as we can get to the Menu Turning Table at a fraction of the price, he says. You lose the fancy turning function but in return you gain a generous level of storage that is ideal for chunky coffee-table books. I would also use it as snack or blanket storage. Made of bent plywood, the airy piece has waterfalling legs with rounded edges and a lipped tabletop that keeps small items from falling off the surface. Priced under $150, this is a definite steal for a well-designed coffee table, adds Lei. $150 at Ikea Buy Best curvy wooden coffee table Little Anana Coffee Table Haricot $692 $692 Material: Solid wood | Style: Curvy | Price: $$ For a rounded coffee table thats not quite an oval and not quite a circle, consider this one that interior designer Lauren Ashley Allan recommends. I love the natural, harmonious feel and curved lines, she says of the table thats handcrafted in the southwest of France of birchwood for the top and beechwood for the legs. Its treated with natural oil, giving it a raw-wood look. $692 at Etsy Buy Best square wooden coffee table West Elm Hazel Square Coffee Table $399 $399 To get the best of both round and square coffee tables, consider this one from West Elm that Denver-based interior designer Jess Knauf recommends for its style. The 36-square-inch table has rounded corners and thick, cylindrical legs, and is made with sustainably sourced wood it has an engineered wood top and solid poplar legs. Its covered with a water-based finish that Knauf says is great for wiping down. At under $500, its also among the more affordable options on this list. $399 at West Elm Buy Best plinth-style wooden coffee table Sundays All We Need Coffee Table $1,550 Material: Solid wood | Style: Rectangular, plinth | Price: $$$ Jenny Xie, content designer and author of shopping newsletter Ode, had her eye on this pedestal style from newish Canadian DTC-furniture brand Sundays for months in 2021, when furniture prices were soaring amid supply-chain issues. No other coffee table won me over during that time. I liked it on first sight, she says. I was looking for something simple that still had a presence. Thats what got me hooked on the idea of a pedestal coffee table in general, where theres a base and the surface overhangs. It comes off as being sculptural. Made of solid reclaimed oak, it has exposed dents and nicks, elements which Xie appreciates and thinks exudes a vibe of being humble yet high-quality. Now that shes had it for a year and a half, she loves that its spacious, makes a quiet statement, and has that natural Japandi aesthetic that I cant help but enjoy. $1,550 at Sundays Buy Best plinth-style wooden coffee table with storage Room & Board Graham Coffee Table From $1,499 Material: Solid wood veneer | Style: Rectangular or square, plinth | Price: $$$ Heres another plinth-style coffee table, but this one has a shelf built in to it. Its recommended by interior designer Allison Tick, who has used it in her projects a few times. I like the visual weight, the size options, and the second shelf for organizing ubiquitous stuff, she says. (It comes in three different sizes, one thats square, and two rectangular versions.) Available in four different finishes, its made from walnut, white oak, or maple solid wood veneers, and Tick points out that the finishes are particularly good, especially at this price point. She also appreciates how versatile the style is. I like the dress it up/dress it down factor: Its simple but chic shape allows it to blend into either a casual or more tailored interior, Tick explains. From $1,499 at Room & Board Buy Best industrial-style coffee table WW Make Industrial Coffee Table From $685 From $685 Material: Reclaimed wood, metal | Style: Rectangular, industrial | Price: $$ Etsy is a great resource for well-priced, handmade pieces, says McNabb. She explains that its easy to work with vendors to create custom pieces that will fit your space perfectly a must for those living in city apartments. Its also a more affordable first step into the custom-made world, since a coffee table wont be as expensive as a bed or a dining table, for instance. She recommends this industrial coffee table made from reclaimed wood and H-shaped hand-welded steel legs if youre going for a farmhouse vibe. From $685 at Etsy Buy Best industrial-style coffee table with storage West Elm Industrial Storage Pop-Up Coffee Table From $699 From $699 Material: Wood, metal | Style: Industrial, storage | Price: $$ I got this table used over ten years ago and it has held up phenomenally. The raw mango finish has only gotten more interesting and camouflages grease, water, and wine stains pretty well, and the lifting storage mechanism is as reliable as ever. We have it in the TV room, and the pop-up tabletop is great for eating or using as a work space when you want to watch something at the same time. And the storage inside is more than ample we use it for stashing (or hiding) remote controls, paper towels, magazines, and whatever other junk we have lying around. The industrial look has aged pretty decently, too, and can blend into most decor schemes without calling too much attention to itself, in part because of its slender, blackened steel legs. Despite it being, in essence, an empty box, it feels hefty, making it a solid multipurpose option for those looking for a little more functionality in a coffee table. From $699 at West Elm Buy Best marble coffee table Best oval marble coffee table Secant Table by Sara Wright Polmar for Warm Nordic $789 $789 Material: Metal, marble | Style: | Oval | Price: $$ If youre going for an easy Milanese vibe, sisters Hollister and Porter Hovey of Hovey Design recommend the Secant Table (which is actually designed by Sara Wright Polmar, a Norwegian). They call it one of the most Italian-looking tables weve seen for its streamlined industrial look and, of course, its heavily veined marble top. (You can choose a glass top and a base in a different color, if you please.) $789 at Danish Design Store Buy Best travertine coffee table CB2 Enyo Rectangular Travertine Coffee Table $1,899 $1,899 Material: Travertine veneer | Style: Rectangular, plinth | Price: $$$ Victoria Adesanmi, the founder and principal of interior-design studio Aesthetics Studios, loves the fact that this coffee table from CB2, inspired by post-and-lintel construction, has legs, since most dont, making it a unique option. We all know marble and travertine are in and here to stay. I love the simplicity of this design, she says. The oversize piece is covered in a natural travertine veneer and is low to the ground, making it ideal for large sectionals and rooms. $1,899 at CB2 Buy Best round stone coffee table West Elm Monti Lava Stone Coffee Table $599 $599 Material: Stone | Style: Round | Price: $$ For those looking to purchase a price-friendly stone coffee table, this option is perfect, says Adesanmi of this round table made of volcanic ash, stone, fiberglass, and sand resin from West Elm. I personally love it and have used it twice for two residential projects. Its suitable for indoors and outdoors and brings an organic element to any living room. $599 at West Elm Buy Best acrylic coffee table CB2 Peekaboo Acrylic Coffee Table $399 $399 Material: Acrylic | Style: Waterfall, rectangular | Price: $ If youre looking for a coffee table that doesnt distract from the other furniture in your room, interior designer Dee Murphy recommends this curved acrylic number from CB2, which she likes to use in a space where I feel the eye needs a rest in a room that has a lot of color or pattern, for example, or even in a small space. The table wont crowd or compete with the rest of the furniture or decor. It also works well with all design styles, she says. Plus, its a great price. $399 at CB2 Buy Best tray coffee table Hay Tray Coffee Table $345 Material: Metal | Style: Square, removable storage tray, four colors | Price: $ Heres a straightforward, utilitarian option that Kirsten Grove of We Three Design Studio recommends. Its a square, powder-coated-steel table designed by Danish collective Hay that features a tray tabletop (all the better for catching your red-wine spills) and a wiry frame. Grove thinks the simple design lends itself to a variety of decor schemes, including Scandinavian and mid-century. Bonus the tray is removable. $345 at Design Within Reach Buy Best steel coffee table Room & Board Slim Round Coffee Table in Natural Steel $499 $499 Material: Metal | Style: Round, storage shelf, 17 colors | Price: $ Rayman Boozer of Apartment48 is a fan of this simple steel coffee table and its round, slim profile, which, he says, subtly allows you to make bold choices with your other furnishings. I especially appreciate how smooth and stonelike the finish feels. A second shelf provides always-welcome extra storage. Shown here in natural steel, its also available in 16 different eye-catching colors. $499 at Room & Board Buy Best metal drum coffee table Crate and Barrel Fernando Metal Drum Coffee Table $899 $899 Material: Metal | Style: Round, drum | Price: $$ Meghan Hackett-Cassidy and Erin Hackett of Bronxville, New Yorkbased Hackett Interiors recommends trying a circular drum table, especially for rooms with sectionals. Those rooms are usually a little less formal, which is why we gravitate to the drum, the designers say, adding that this particular one from Crate and Barrel is substantial and effortless. The powder-coated hammered-iron surface feels cool and earthy. $899 at Crate and Barrel Buy Best wooden drum coffee table Best glass-and-metal coffee table Serena & Lily St. Germain Coffee Table $1,998 $1,998 Material: Glass, metal | Style: Rectangular, storage shelf | Price: $$$ Tiered brass and glass give this coffee table a hint of glamour. Its another favorite of the designers at Hackett Interiors, who say that incorporating glass can elevate the style of a room if youre looking to create a more formal feeling. I love those dainty, Frenchy scroll posts. $1,998 at Serena & Lily Buy Best round glass-and-metal coffee table Warren Platner Coffee Table From $2,281 Material: Glass, metal | Style: Round | Price: $$$ Interior designer Elizabeth Stuart loves this iconic glass-and-steel coffee table from mid-century-modern architect Warren Platner, calling it design at its best. First introduced in the 60s, the table features a base made of curved steel rods and a thick, tempered-glass tabletop. Designer Amee Swarz recommends it for its airy feeling and suggests pairing it with a modern sofa or sectional, adding that the top is durable and heat- and scratch-resistant, making it ideal for a family with kids and for entertaining guests. From $2,281 at Design Within Reach Buy Best wicker coffee table Hawkins New York Woven Coffee Table $600 Material: Wicker | Style: Rectangular | Price: $$ This woven-wicker coffee table is what the Hovey sisters use to balance out uneven-sided asymmetrical sectional sofas by placing it at the short end, noting that sectionals that are not symmetrical make selecting a coffee table a little tricky. Its a versatile piece, thanks to its boxy shape, and I think it would work just as well in front of the sectional, too, as it could be used as extra seating or an ottoman. $600 at Hawkins New York Buy Our experts Victoria Adesanmi, founder and principal of Aesthetics Studios Lauren Ashley Allan, interior designer Penelope August, interior designer LeeAnn Baker, interior designer Rayman Boozer, Apartment48 Toussaint Derby, Havenly lead designer Nina Gotlieb, interior designer Kirsten Grove, We Three Design Studio Meghan Hackett-Cassidy and Erin Hackett, Hackett Interiors Hollister and Porter Hovey, Hovey Design Jess Knauf, interior designer Tommy Lei, photographer and designer Kate Lester, interior designer Eliza McNabb, Hyphen Dee Murphy, interior designer Rachel Schwartzmann, founder of the Style Line Devin Shaffer, Decorilla lead sales designer Elizabeth Stuart, interior designer Amee Swarz, interior designer Allison Tick, interior designer Jenny Xie, author of Ode newsletter get the strategist newsletter Actually good deals, smart shopping advice, and exclusive discounts. Email This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Vox Media, LLC Terms and Privacy Notice By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Notice and to receive email correspondence from us. 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. In less than a month, the Alabama residents will come together to vote in the 2024 primary elections. While the biggest national names on that March 5 ballot will be Donald Trump and Nikki Haley in the 2024 Republican presidential primary, there are many local primary elections that could have an impact across Lee County. According to the Ala. Secretary of State website, primary elections in Alabama serve as part of the nominating process for a political party. A primary is used to select who will represent a party in the general election in November. Due to that, voters are required to chose one party's primary over another and voters are not allowed to participate in the nomination of both parties' candidates. Voters are allowed to not declare a political preference at a primary election, which means they will not be eligible to vote in any political partys primary election. If done, the voter is still allowed to vote on any proposed constitutional amendments that are up for a vote. Both primary ballots will feature the constitutional amendment up for a vote this March, which is to amend Section 71.01 of the Alabama Constitution to authorize the legislature to sign and transmit local laws or constitutional amendments before the transmission of basic appropriations. But how do you make sure you're registered to vote ahead of March 5 and where do you vote? All that and more can be found below: Deadlines in March 5 primary election Friday, Feb. 16 Last day to hand-deliver voter registration forms Saturday, Feb. 17 Last day to postmark voter registration forms Monday, Feb. 19 The last day to electronically register to vote Tuesday, Feb. 27 -Last day to apply for an absentee ballot by mail. Thursday, Feb. 29 - Deadline to apply in person for absentee ballots Monday, March 4 Last day to hand-deliver an absentee ballot Tuesday, March 5 - Mail in absentee ballot accepted until noon Where and how to register to vote When March 5 comes, you need a valid photo ID in order to vote. This can include any of the following: a drivers license; nondriver ID card Alabama photo voter ID card state-issued ID including pistol permit, AL movement/booking sheet from prison/jail system or AL Department of Corrections release temporary ID federal-issued ID US passport employee ID from federal government, State of Alabama, county, municipality, board or other entity of this state student or employee ID form a public or private college or university in the State of Alabama student or employee ID issued by a state institution of higher learning in any other state military ID tribal ID. Where to vote Polling places in Alabama are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on March 5. There were recent changes made to several polling locations across Lee County, particularly in Waverly and Auburn. Lee County Probate Judge Bill English told the Opelika-Auburn News that the probate office will be sending postcards to anyone that had their polling location changed ahead of the primary. Those changes will be in effect on March 5. You can check both your voter registration status and designated polling place through the Ala. Secretary of State website: myinfo.alabamavotes.gov/voterview/. That applies to all counties in the state, as do the deadlines for registration and absentee. Key local races in Lee County This is the first Alabama Primary since the United States Supreme Court approved remedial map 3 for redistricting of Alabama in order to create a 2nd majority-Black voting district. While Lee County did not see any major changes from this, the county has experienced changes of its own with new polling places chosen by the Lee County Commission in 2023. Lee County probate Judge said there are just over 128,000 registered voters in the county, with 25 polling places in the area. In many cases, there are races that will not be appearing on the primary ballot, because candidates are running uncontested. That includes Jere Colley Jr., who is running for the Lee County Probate Judge position. Since there is no Republican opposition, Colley is not on the Republican Primary Ballot. There are no local races on the Democratic Primary ballot in Lee County, and that ballot only features one race U.S. President Joe Biden against Dean Phillips in selecting the democratic candidate. There is also a portion of the ballot for selecting the delegates to send to 2024 Democratic National Convention. There are no local amendments, and the statewide amendment on both democratic and republican ballots will allow the state legislature to pass local laws and amendments before passing the budget. U.S. Representative Alabama Congressional District 3 Incumbent Mike Rogers, Republican Challenger Bryan K. Newell, Republican Challenger Barron Rae Bevels, Republican Lee County District Judge Place 2 Samantha Burt Copelan, Republican Harold W. Morris, Republican Clay Thomas, Republican Lee County Commissioner District 3 Incumbent Gary Long, Republican Challenger Jeff Drury, Republican Challenger Brian Davis, Republican The state and national races on the primary ballots Place 2 in the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals Incumbent Chad Hanson, Republican Challenger Stephen Davis Parker, Republican Place 2 in the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals Rich Anderson, Republican Thomas Govan, Republican President of the Alabama Public Services Commission Incumbent Twinkle Andress Cavanaugh, Republican Challenger Robert L. McCollum, Republican Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court Sarah Stewart, Republican Bryan Taylor, Republican Absentee voting The March 5 primary will also be taking place while Auburn City Schools and Auburn University are on spring break, meaning any residents out of town during that time will need to vote absentee in order to participate in the primary. According to the Lee County website, the absentee office is located in the Lee County Courthouse at 215 S 9th Street in Opelika. Anyone with questions regarding absentee voting is asked to call 334-737-3490. An absentee voting form for Lee County can be found here. That last day to apply for an absentee ballot to mail is Feb. 27 and the last day to apply for an absentee ballot in person is Feb. 29. The deadline for hand delivering an absentee ballot is March 4. According to the Alabama Voter Guide, a voter is eligible for an absentee ballot if: The voter is out of the country or state on Election Day; The voter has any physical illness or infirmity which prevents the voter from attending the polls; The voter works a shift that has at least 10 hours which coincide with the hours the polls are open at the voters regular polling place; The voter is a registered Alabama voter living outside of the county, including but not limited to, members of the armed forces or a spouse or dependent of such a person, or a U.S. citizen residing overseas or students at an educational institution located outside their county of residence The voter is a caregiver for a family member who is confined to their own home; The voter is an appointed election officer or poll watcher at a polling place other than their regular polling place The voter is incarcerated in prison or jail and has not been convicted of a felony involving moral turpitude. For more information on voter registration as well sample ballots, visit Alabama Votes on the Ala. Secretary of State website. Teambaas Christian Horner van Red Bull Racing beticht van seksueel grensoverschrijdend gedrag, zo blijkt uit berichten en documenten. Advocaten van Brit (50) deden op 3 februari aanbod aan meldster om te schikken voor 650.000 pond. https://t.co/WXxwOgBRNR via @telegraaf Erik van Haren (@ErikvHaren) February 16, 2024 Red Bull F1s team principal was under investigation, but now we know it wasn't just 'inappropriate behaviour'. The editor of De Telegraaf has confirmed they know the victim by name, as she approached them directly and showed them evidence of his sexual misconduct. This comes days after sources close to Geri Horner (nee Halliwell) said she was standing by her husband, and one day after Red Bull hosted an event showcasing their 2024 car with Horner in attendance, calling the investigation a distraction. Summary: - The earlier claims of this being about an "aggressive management style" were all lies - Horner had sent several sexually-charged text messages to a female employee over a significant amount of time - again, not a one-off incident like was claimed in some early rumours - When the newspaper first heard about the allegations two weeks ago, Horner tried to cover this up by getting his lawyers to force the victim to settle by writing a letter to offer her 650,000 - Horner attended the Red Bull car launch yesterday and spoke to the media, repeating that he has no intention of leaving his role - This new information shows Red Bull were aware of the evidence and still let him attend the event, with the drivers (particularly Max Verstappen) saying they weren't fighting and still in a good working relationship with him - Horner's allegations are now known by several other people in F1 - no idea if this means they know the victim as well, or if there is more than one victim Edited to add updates: - The internal investigation from last Friday was carried out by an 'apparently' independent lawyer for Red Bull. 'Apparently' because the lawyer was appointed by the Thai part-owners of Red Bull - He interviewed Horner and the employee, among others, for eight hours and was then supposed to submit a final report. But it never arrived at Red Bull headquarters in Austria as he 'went on vacation'. The journalist implied here that the lawyer had been told to stall the investigation by the Thai part-owners - A Ford representative said (Ford are planning on working with Red Bull in the future): "as a family company that holds itself to very high standards of behavior and integrity, we expect the same from our partners." Another update (ffs can midland Europe please go to sleep): - Christian Horner apparently was offered an opportunity to resign last year (so Red Bull knew about the misconduct and have been trying to hide it since 2023) and Red Bull suggested he could say he resigned due to 'health reasons' - Christian Horner rejected the offer Red Bull messed up massively with this we stand by the team principal bs. Especially after launching women drivers in the F1 Academy. I feel sorry for the victim having to deal with this crap. Sources 1 2 3 4 5 6 - Even though the IEA cut its 2024 demand forecast to 1.22 million b/d this month, OPEC remains vehemently bullish about the oil markets, expecting them to rise 2.25 million b/d. - Expecting global liquids consumption to reach 104.4 million b/d this year, OPEC has been creating leeway to influence oil prices should its bullishness materializing, saying the call on OPEC production is set to hit 28.38 million b/d in 2024. - Such a call on OPEC would be 2.04 million b/d higher than the current output of the 12-member producers group, creating some food for thought ahead the much-anticipated June 1 meeting in Vienna. - Saudi Arabia, having recently lowered its long-term production target to 12 million b/d, is still pumping 9 million b/d, whilst the likes of Iraq and Kuwait are reportedly producing above their quotas, setting the stage for another compliance row. In the latest edition of the Numbers Report, we will take a look at some of the most interesting figures put out this week in the energy and metals sectors. Each week well dig into some data and provide a bit of explanation on what drives the numbers. Lets take a look. Numbers Report February 16, 2024 In the latest edition of the Numbers Report, we will take a look at some of the most interesting figures put out this week in the energy and metals sectors. Each week well dig into some data and provide a bit of explanation on what drives the numbers. Lets take a look. 1. OPEC Plays the Bullish Tune, Hinting at Need to Increase Production - Even though the IEA cut its 2024 demand forecast to 1.22 million b/d this month, OPEC remains vehemently bullish about the oil markets, expecting them to rise 2.25 million b/d. - Expecting global liquids consumption to reach 104.4 million b/d this year, OPEC has been creating leeway to influence oil prices should its bullishness materializing, saying the call on OPEC production is set to hit 28.38 million b/d in 2024. - Such a call on OPEC would be 2.04 million b/d higher than the current output of the 12-member producers group, creating some food for thought ahead the much-anticipated June 1 meeting in Vienna. - Saudi Arabia, having recently lowered its long-term production target to 12 million b/d, is still pumping 9 million b/d, whilst the likes of Iraq and Kuwait are reportedly producing above their quotas, setting the stage for another compliance row. 2. European Shipping Enters Carbon Markets - As part of Brussels mandate, Europes shipping industry is compelled to cover shipping emissions via the continents Emissions Trading System from this year, entering the market when its at its lowest in 28 months. - European carbon prices have plunged to 56.5/mtCO2 (or $60/mtCO2) by mid-February, a far cry from the 100/mtCO2 seen a year ago when both gas prices and power prices were significantly higher. - Analysts expect carbon prices to remain depressed as the EU is front-loading carbon allowances from 2027-2030 to 2023-2026, prompting market participants to buy EUAs for future compliance needs. - Greece will have the largest representation in the shipping sectors carbon emission compliance, with 707 shipping companies, followed by Spain with 450 companies. 3. Texas Has a Wind Power Problem - Wind power generation in Texas dropped a whopping 22% year-on-year in January 2024 as low wind speeds continue to stymie output from renewable generation. - According to ERCOT data, wind generation in the Lone Star State amounted to 356,000 MW last month, well below the 455,000 MW in January 2023, whilst coal and natural gas boomed by 56% and 48%, respectively. - Even though wind power generation is intermittent by default, US cumulative wind output rose to 4,500,000 MW last year, up 2% year-on-year, suggesting that production is increasing at a lower rate than generation capacity. - Natural gas is expected to remain the backbone of ERCOT power generation, boasting a generation capacity of 68,000 MW, with solar growth most probably overtaking wind energy over 2024-2025. 4. Power Grid Investment Still Lagging Low-Carbon Ambition - Inadequate electricity grids might become the largest stumbling block for renewable energy projects worldwide as Rystad Energy estimates $3.1 trillion of grid infrastructure investments are required before 2030. - Some 18 million kilometers of grid network would be required by 2030, a 20% increase compared to existing power grids across the world, also necessitating nearly 30 million tonnes of copper. - Global grid investments are set to reach $374 billion this year, with China accounting for a third of that, a general trend seeing Asian countries taking the lead in grid expansion. - Across the Atlantic, grid expansion is still lagging, despite the US IIJA bill allocating $65 billion for upgrading power infrastructure and the European Commission calling for $626 billion in grid investment by 2030. 5. Red Sea Disruptions Create New Hubs of Fuel Demand - Bunkering fuel sales in Singapore have soared to the highest ever level in December, totalling 5.1 million tonnes, keeping the same momentum into January as well, as Red Sea disruptions upended usual shipping flows. - With tankers now compelled to make longer voyages, the price of marine fuel has also been perking up, climbing to as much as $670 per metric tonne last month, up 10% compared to end-2023 levels. - Seeking to avoid delays because of the longer routes around the Cape of Good Hope, tankers are now increasingly resorting to fast steaming, i.e. sailing even quicker than nameplate speeds, especially when it comes to containerships. - Singapore, being the last major port before the openness of the Indian Ocean, has been particularly benefitting from tanker diversions, similarly to South Africas Durban, the first large bunkering hub on the African coast. 6. Mexicos Energy Transition Is Back to Fossil Fuels - Mexicos electricity generation has seen an all-time high in fossil fuel-based output last year as the country needed to make up for a 40% plunge in hydroelectric output and flat wind power generation. - In times of trouble, Mexico has been relying on natural gas, the share of which rose to 57% in nationwide power generation, with coal accounting for another 7%, whilst diesel and oil derivatives added another 14%. - Fossil fuels-based generation rose 4% year-on-year to 270.5 TWh, sending the countrys power emissions up 11% to more than 175 million metric tonnes of CO2, the highest level in more than five years. - Mexico maintains a target of sourcing 35% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2025, with clean generation capacity expanding by almost 10% per year since 2018, however droughts and low winds could jeopardize that goal. 7. When Will the Collapse of Lithium Prices Stop? - Lithium prices have been in freefall for the past seven months, dropping to their lowest levels since mid-2021 with Chinese lithium carbonate prices potentially bottoming out at $13,500 per metric tonne lately. - The upside remains limited for lithium, considering even with mine closures across the world the market remains oversupplied as industrial demand for the transition metal softened on weaker Chinese macroeconomic data. - The worlds largest lithium miner Albemarle indicated that lithium prices are unsustainably low, seeing that production halts seen across Australia and elsewhere are not enough to stop the decline in prices. - Albemarle posted better-than-expected Q4 earnings, posting a net loss of $617.7 million which was greatly alleviated by the companys aggressive cost-cutting spree, estimated to have saved $750 million in cash flow. Thats it for this weeks Numbers Report. Thanks for reading, and well see you next week. In a development underscoring the delicate balance between addressing the needs of Tajikistan's domestic population and the government's reliance on stable revenue, the state-owned power company has said it intends to boost electricity exports to Afghanistan, despite ongoing shortages at home. Speaking to reporters on February 13, Barki Tojik head Mahmadumar Asozoda said Tajikistan is poised this year to increase electricity sales to Afghanistan by 17 percent. Barki Tojik exported 2.7 billion kilowatt-hours in 2023, which was 124 million kilowatt-hours more than the year before. Of that total, some 1.6 billion kilowatt-hours were supplied to Afghanistan, Asozoda said. Another 907.5 million kilowatt-hours of electricity was sold to Uzbekistan, and the remaining 144.6 million kilowatt hours went to Kazakhstan. The power company chief revealed this data and export plans for 2024 while also conceding that Tajik households may again have to endure electricity rationing. A rationing regime has been in force for a number of winters in Tajikistan. When the temperature sinks below a certain level, output from the Nurek hydropower plant, which produces most of the countrys electricity needs, grinds to a near-halt. Under the economy regime currently in place, households outside the countrys largest urban centers ensure blackouts from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m and then from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. Asia-Plus news website reported that Asozoda attributed this requirement to Tajikistans rapidly growing population and improving living standards, which he said were driving up demand. But Asozoda denied there was any tension between increased exports and the needs of the Tajik population. That is not exactly correct, he was quoted as saying. With the exception of Afghanistan, electricity exports stop in winter. A small amount of electricity is supplied [to Afghanistan] to keep their power lines in working order. Asozoda further noted that output is increasing. Tajikistan produced 21.65 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity last year, a 2.1 percent increase from 2022. One development in support of upping sales to Afghanistan is that the Taliban-run regime in Kabul is proving a reliable payer. On February 1, Tajik Energy and Water Resources Minister Daler Juma announced to reporters that Afghanistan had fully paid off its debts for power delivered to date. Kabul has since 2021 struggled to keep up with its dues. The current electricity supply agreement in place until 2028 between Afganistan and Tajikistan is the result of an agreement reached in 2008. At the end of each year, the parties sign a renewal protocol, which determines the cost and volume of electricity supplies for the next year. Asozoda met in December in Turkey with his Afghan opposite party, Alhaj Mullah Muhammad Hanif Hamza, head of Da Afghanistan Breshna Sherkat, or DABS, to sign an electricity purchase agreement for 2024. ADVERTISEMENT Taliban officials later confirmed to journalists that they had paid off their electricity bills to the full amount of $627 million to all its suppliers, which also include Iran, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. By Eurasianet.org More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: -In Guyana, we view Venezuelas deploying more troops to the border as tensions over Maduros claim on the oil-rich Essequibo area rise. Venezuela is building up its troop presence on Ankoko Island, a disputed territory on the border area with Guyana. The build-up is likely more of a smokescreen for Maduro, who has launched an all-out war with the opposition in Caracas in the face of presidential elections that are planned for this year. The buildup itself is unimpressive in terms of scale. -Estonian intelligence warning that Russia is preparing for a military confrontation with the West in the next decadeanalysis derived from the fact that Russia is planning to double its military troops at its borders with Finland and the Baltics. -Ukraine said this week that it had destroyed a Russian warship off the coast of occupied Crimea, sinking the vessel with navy drones. This comes amid a number of developments related to the war in Ukraine this week, including a Ukrainian strike on a Russian border town, Belgorod, near a shopping center, in which seven people were killed on Thursday. The flashpoint, frontline city in Ukraine is now Avdiivka, near occupied Donetsk, which the Russians have turned their attention to. The Russians have yet to make any decisive breakthrough. Politics, Geopolitics & Conflict -Ukraine said this week that it had destroyed a Russian warship off the coast of occupied Crimea, sinking the vessel with navy drones. This comes amid a number of developments related to the war in Ukraine this week, including a Ukrainian strike on a Russian border town, Belgorod, near a shopping center, in which seven people were killed on Thursday. The flashpoint, frontline city in Ukraine is now Avdiivka, near occupied Donetsk, which the Russians have turned their attention to. The Russians have yet to make any decisive breakthrough. -Estonian intelligence warning that Russia is preparing for a military confrontation with the West in the next decadeanalysis derived from the fact that Russia is planning to double its military troops at its borders with Finland and the Baltics. -In Guyana, we view Venezuelas deploying more troops to the border as tensions over Maduros claim on the oil-rich Essequibo area rise. Venezuela is building up its troop presence on Ankoko Island, a disputed territory on the border area with Guyana. The build-up is likely more of a smokescreen for Maduro, who has launched an all-out war with the opposition in Caracas in the face of presidential elections that are planned for this year. The buildup itself is unimpressive in terms of scale. -On Thursday, U.S. Centcom said its forces had seized a weapons shipment from Iran en route to Yemens Houthis, who continue their bombardment of the Red Sea shipping lane. U.S. forces seized unmanned underwater surface vehicle components, anti-tank launcher assemblies and medium-range ballistic missile components, among other weaponry. Deals, Mergers & Acquisitions -BP and ADNOC will form a natural gas JV in Egypt, in line with ADNOCs goal of growing its presence internationally, as evidenced by other international projects such as in Azerbaijan. The JV will also further cement Egypts ties with the UAE, which has been a supporter of El-Sisi. As part of the new deal, BP will contribute towards three development concessions, and ADNOC will help foot the bill for growth opportunities in an unspecified amount. The deal will give the UAE a foothold in the European LNG market, of which Egypt is a supplier. -Diamondback Energy will purchase privately held Endeavor Energy in a $26B deal, comprising $17.8B of Diamondback stock and $8B in cash. The resulting entity will be 60.5% by Diamondback and 39.5% by Endeavor, boasting a market cap of $50B. Discovery & Development -Cyprus first natural gas production could begin as soon as 2026, and the presidential republic also plans to participate in a high-powered electricity cable project that would link the eastern Mediterranean to continental Europe. The island would greatly benefit from a hook-up to overseas power markets, and domestic gas production could also change. The gas discovery that will be first to production will likely be TotalEnergy and Enis 2022 discovery known as Cronos, which is thought to hold 2.5 tcf of gas. The project would see nat gas delivered to Eniz Zohr facilities in Egypt. Eni completed the drilling of a second appraisal well at Cronos this week. -Wintershall Dea will drill more appraisal wells in its shallow-water discovery known as Kan-1EXP in Block 30 of the Sureste basin offshore Mexico, with last years pre-drill estimating the wildcats resource potential to be 78.5 million boe with a 40% probability of success. -Var Energi ASA drilled two dry wells at its Hubert and Magellan prospects in PL 917 off the coast of Norway. The wells were the third and fourth in the license, and have since been permanently plugged. Var Energi is the operator of PL 917 at 40%. Its partners are Aker BP (40%) and Equinor (20%). -Despite Venezuelas objections, Exxon said it would carry on with its drilling in Essequibo in Guyanas Stabroek block. Venezuelas pushback and insistence that the area in question rightfully belongs to Venezuela likely brings back bad memories for Exxon following the countrys nationalization of Exxons oil assets back in 2007a move that the World Bank said in 2014 would cost PDVSA $1.6B. Russian troops in Ukraine increasingly have access to Starlink, the private satellite Internet network owned by Elon Musk that Ukraine's military relies on heavily for battlefield communications. The findings from RFE/RL's Russian Service corroborate earlier statements from Ukrainian military officials, underscoring how Kyiv's ability to secure its command communications is potentially threatened. It comes as Ukrainian forces grapple with depleted weaponry and ammunition, and overall exhaustion, with Russian forces pressing localized offensives in several locations along the 1,200-kilometer front line. The industrial city of Avdiyivka, in particular, is under severe strain with Russian forces making steady advances, threatening to encircle Ukrainian defenses there. Ukraine has relied heavily on Starlink, a network for low-orbit satellites that provide high-speed Internet access. The network is owned by SpaceX, the private space company that is in turn owned by Musk, the American billionaire entrepreneur. They are used on the front line primarily for stable communications between units, medics, and commanders. Ukrainian troops have also experimented with installing Starlink antennas on large attack drones, which are an essential tool for Ukrainian troops but are frequently jammed by Russian electronic-warfare systems. However, a growing number of Ukrainian military sources and civilian activists have pointed to evidence that Russian troops are using the network, either for their own communications or to potentially monitor Ukraine's. On February 11, Ukraine's military intelligence service, known as HUR, said Russian forces were not only using Starlink terminals but also doing it in a "systemic" way. HUR also published an audio excerpt of what it said was an intercepted exchange between two Russian soldiers discussing how to set up the terminals. Units like Russia's 83rd Air Assault Brigade, which is fighting in the partially occupied eastern region of Donetsk, are reportedly using the system, HUR spokesman Andriy Yusov was quoted as saying. Ukraine's Defense Ministry, meanwhile, said on February 13 that Russia was acquiring Starlink terminals from unnamed Arab countries. Starlink has said that it does not do business with Russia's government or its military, and Musk himself published a statement on his social-media company X, formerly Twitter, in response to the Ukrainian assertions. "A number of false news reports claim that SpaceX is selling Starlink terminals to Russia. This is categorically false. To the best of our knowledge, no Starlinks have been sold directly or indirectly to Russia," Musk wrote on February 11. Russian troops may have acquired Starlink terminals from one of potentially dozens of companies within Russia that claim to sell them alongside household products, RFE/RL found. One Russian website, called Topmachines.ru, advertised a Starlink set for 220,000 rubles (about $2,200), and a $100 monthly subscription fee. Starlink appears to have lax oversight on the type of personal data used by new Starlink clients when they register for the first time, as well. One Moscow-based reseller told RFE/RL that new accounts were registered with random European first and last names and that there is no need to enter a valid European passport. The only important thing, the vendor said, is to have a valid bank card that uses one of the main international payment systems. Another vendor told RFE/RL that the terminals he sold were brought in from Europe, though he declined to specify which country. The vendor said a terminal costs 250,000 rubles (about $2,400), and the monthly fee was 14,000 rubles. ADVERTISEMENT Additionally, Starlink's technology appears to be incapable of precisely restricting signal access; independent researchers say Starlink's system only knows the approximate location of its terminals, meaning it would have to restrict access for Ukrainian frontline positions in order to limit Russian battlefield use. IStories, an independent Russian news outlet, also identified at least three vendors in Moscow who claim to sell Starlink terminals. Asked by reporters whether Russian troops might be using Starlink terminals, Peskov said: "This is not a certified system with us, therefore, it cannot be supplied and is not supplied officially. Accordingly, we cannot use it officially in any way." By RFE/RL More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Cross-border missile exchanges between Israel and Lebanon intensified this week, with Hezbollah launching missiles at northern Israel and Israel responding with its own missile barrage on southern Lebanon, both resulting in civilian deaths. As we have mentioned previously, Hezbollah has been attempting to avoid anything that would lead to all-out conflict with Israel. For the same reason, Kaitab Hezbollah in Iraq suspended strikes against U.S. targets after two American soldiers were killed in Jordan. While it is unclear how much of that was pressure from Tehran or the Iraqi Hezbollah groups own calculated decision, remains unclear. But it tells us something about what is happening right now on the Israeli-Lebanese border. Hezbollah continues to refrain from becoming a full partner with Hamas in this conflict, and while it continues to attack Israeli defense force positions just on the other side of the border, they are potshots, generally, compared to Israels response to Hezbollah in the reverse direction. The question now is whether the ten civilians Israel killed this week in southern Lebanon will push the group over the edge. Cross-border strikes, which have been daily, have intensified this week in terms of scope and scale. On Tuesday, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah warned Israel that these attacks would result in a million evacuees from northern Israel, accusing Israel of purposefully widening the war, but what Israel Chinese electric vehicle major BYD is considering opening a factory in Mexico, the Wall Street Journal has reported. Citing unnamed sources, the publication said that BYD was scouting for suitable locations. The factory would manufacture cars for the U.S. market, the sources also said. Chinese EV makers are the top sellers globally after Tesla. Thats because they sell on their local market and that market is huge. But now it is reaching saturation point so the companies are beginning to look abroad. BYD, by the way, dethroned Tesla as the largest EV sells in thw world in the final quarter of 2023. European carmakers are already spooked by Chinese EV manufacturers plans to enter the European market and start offering same-quality, lower-price cars. To that end, the EU launched an investigation into subsidy practices in the EV space in China while continuing to offer subsidies to EV buyers at home. U.S. carmakers could sleep easily until now, safe in the knowledge that tense political relations between Washington and Beijing were hardly conducive to a Chinese EV invasion. They probably forgot about Mexico. The United States has a free-trade agreement with its southern neighbors. This means that cars manufactured in Mexico cannot be subject to tariffs if they are to be exported north of the border. And the car industry is beginning to worry, even though the WSJ sources noted that BYD had yet to make a final decision on the Mexico factory. The report also noted that Chinese companies active in the EV industry had been opening factories in Mexico in recent years or expanding already existing manufacturing capacity. The expansion is quite likely a response to the Biden administrations ambitious electrification goals for the transport industry, with plans for 67% of all cars sold in 2032 to be EVs. By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com ADVERTISEMENT More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: There is no forecasted date for when oil exports from Iraqs semi-autonomous Kurdistan region to Turkey will resume, a Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) leader said on Friday. On the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference on Friday, Bafel Talabini told Argus that the relationship between Baghdad and Erbil was a very delicate one, and one wrong negotiating move could upend the entire process of restarting pipeline exports to Turkey. For months, the pipeline between the two countries has been out of commission since March 2023, after a squabble between the Iraqi government, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), and Turkey over KRG crude that had been making its way to Turkey via pipeline. The International Chamber of Commerce decided in March that Turkey could only purchase oil from Iraq through Iraqs State Organization for Marketing of Oil (SOMO) and that it must pay Iraq $1.47 billion in compensation for oil exports between 2014 and 2018, when it didnt have official Iraqi permission to purchase oil directly from the KRG. Turkey balked at the ruling and sent Baghdad additional conditions that would need to be met before exports would resumeconditions that Iraq wasnt interested in meeting. And with oil flows via pipeline between KRG and Turkey halted, an apparent stalemate ensued and continues today. The groups from time to time hint that a new deal for resumption is imminent, but the last few updates on the subject from the parties involved suggest that a deal is still not near. So while the pipeline is physically ready to resume operations, the spatting parties are anything butand the international oil companies currently operating in KRG are getting ancy and have been putting pressure on the U.S. government to hurry a deal along. By Julianne Geiger for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: We have been covering the full on implosion of ESG and "green" investing for the better part of the last 6 months and today, the wreckage continues. That's because mega-bank JP Morgan has officially left a $68 trillion investor coalition that is "focused on pressing the worlds biggest emitters of greenhouse gases to decarbonize," according to Bloomberg. In other words, the "fight" to decarbonize is imploding. JP Morgan said it is leaving the Climate Action 100+ because it has "made significant investments in developing its own climate risk engagement framework", the report says. The bank claims to have 40 professionals now focused on sustainable investing. And the damage for the Climate Action 100+ may only be getting started. Lance Dial, a Boston-based partner at law firm K&L Gates LLP, told Bloomberg: I wouldnt be surprised if we see more defections, especially given that theres now a cost, such as potential litigation, that wasnt there when companies joined. He added: Attorneys general have subpoenaed firms about their membership of these groups. The group responded by saying its 700+ members are committed to managing climate risk and preserving shareholder value through their participation in the initiative. The bank's involvement in CA100+ was initially seen as a significant step in its ESG investment journey. However, the initiative, alongside its participants, has faced increasing criticism from Republican circles in the U.S., labeling it and similar ESG efforts as politically motivated. This criticism has led many investment firms to retreat from publicly aligning with net zero commitments and downplay their involvement in climate-focused finance groups, which are now considered more of a political burden than a merit. Originally, CA100+ aimed to engage major companies like BP, Exxon Mobil, and Glencore in enhancing governance, cutting emissions, and improving climate financial disclosures, the report says. As the initiative enters a more proactive stage, asking members to ensure companies transition from plans to tangible emission reductions, the heightened activist stance poses additional difficulties for investors wishing to keep a lower profile in climate advocacy. The political winds arent rewarding climate-active firms today, but climate risk and regulations arent going away in the mid to long run, so short-term decisions may need to be undone when those longer term threats begin to manifest or regulators clamp down harder, said Michael Sheren, a former senior adviser at the Bank of England whos now a fellow at the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership. JPMorgan pulling out matters because it sends the wrong, short-sighted signal and gives cover for others to do the same," he added. And we're sure they will... We noted earlier this year, "ESG" has become a "dirty word" on Wall Street. For some context, peak ESG and related synonyms, such as "climate change" and "clean energy" and green energy" and net zero," among other terms, peaked at 28,000 mentions in the first quarter of 2022. Ever since, the number of mentions has rapidly plunged. Halfway through the first quarter earnings season, mentions are around 4,800. Recall, we have written about the dying off of ESG and "green" investment products over the last few months. Most recently, at the end of 2023, Goldman Sachs shuttered its ActiveBeta Paris-Aligned Climate U.S. Large Cap Equity ETF. ADVERTISEMENT Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas pointed out last month that "there was just way too much supply for the demand" with the ETF and that "it's going to get worse too". Balchunas says the ETF only took in $7 million over the course of 2 years. We also wrote about Jeff Ubben late last year, who shuttered his sustainability fund - calling traditional climate summitry an echo chamber of diplomats. Less than a week before that we noted that $30 billion had been shaved off the value of clean energy stocks over the preceding 6 months. Finally, we pointed out last year how the ESG grift was reaching endgame after Markus Muller, chief investment officer ESG at Deutsche Bank's Private Bank stated that sustainability funds should include traditional energy stocks, arguing that not doing so deprives investors of a prime opportunity to invest in the transition to renewable energy. By Zerohedge.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Alexey Navalny, who was imprisoned in a penal colony in Russias Arctic Circle, has died, Russias prison service said on Friday. Navalny, 47, was a fierce critic of Putins regime and his circle of cronies, and was serving a 19-year prison sentence, which was seen by many as politically motivated and aimed at stifling Putins critics and opposition. The Russian prison service system said today that Navalny felt unwell after a walk on Friday, and almost immediately lost consciousness. The emergency doctors declared the prisoner dead. Cause of death is being established, Russia said. The death of Navalny comes a month before Russia is slated to hold a presidential election, in which Putin is sure to win another six years in office, after banning opposition candidates from running in the poll. Navalny was last seen a day ago, the BBC reports. Novaya Gazeta reported that Navalnys mother, Lyudmila Navalnaya, wrote in a Facebook post on Friday: I don't want to hear any condolences. We saw him in prison on the (Feb) 12, in a meeting. He was alive, healthy and happy. Alexey Navalnys spokesperson Kira Yarmysh wrote on X that the team have no confirmation of this yet. Alexey's lawyer is currently on his way to Kharp. As soon as we have some information, we will report on it. World leaders also reacted to the news of Navalnys death. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said from Munich, Germany, that if confirmed, Navalnys death in a Russian prison and the fixation and fear of one man only underscores the weakness and rot at the heart of the system that Putin has built. Russia is responsible for this. ADVERTISEMENT UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron wrote on X, Navalny fought bravely against corruption. Putins Russia fabricated charges against him, poisoned him, sent him to an arctic penal colony & now he has tragically died. Putin should be accountable for what has happened - no one should doubt the dreadful nature of his regime. By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: U.S. natural gas producers are beginning to reduce drilling and investment as low prices weigh on their returns. Reuters reports that natural gas prices in the U.S. hit the lowest in three and a half year, betraying drillers expectations for a rebound this year after last years price depression due to ample supply. As a result, they are no longer waiting for prices to improve but are curbing output, as expressed in their financial report presentations. Reuters cited Comstock Resources presentation as including an intention to reduce active drilling rigs from seven to five. Not only this, but the company will also suspend dividend payments until natural gas prices rise enough to generate money for it. Another gas heavyweight, Antero Resources, was cited in the Reuters report as planning to cut its drilling budget by over a quarter and cut a rig from its three-rig lineup. Antero Resources also said it had reduced the number of its completion crews from two to one. Natural gas prices in the United States have been stubbornly low in the past year or so on the back of strong supply, not least from the oil fields of the shale patch where natural gas is extracted as a byproduct of crude oil. But even in the gas plays drillers have been giving it their all with an eye to expanding LNG exports as local demand remains relatively flat. Then President Biden paused new LNG export terminal approvals. Among the motives for the move, the White House cited the prospect of higher gas prices at home. That, and the coming end of peak demand season as the weather begins to warm, pushed natural gas prices below $2 per million British thermal units earlier this month. This week, the House passed a bill aimed at reversing President Bidens pause on new LNG capacity but it has yet to go through the Senate and it might die there, leaving the prospects of gas demand unchanged. ADVERTISEMENT By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: A beloved Italian opera, among the most produced of its genre, is onstage at the Orpheum Theater this weekend. La Traviata, by Giuseppe Verdi, is Opera Omahas first production in 2024. Showtimes are 7:30 p.m. Friday and 2 p.m. Sunday. Tickets range from $19 to $119 and are available at ticketomaha.com. The opera, which will be staged in a traditional way, tells the scandalous love story of a courtesan, Violetta, and a man from the upper crust of society. Their passion is blissful until societal expectations force Violetta to confront the sacrifices she must make in exchange for his honor. Soprano Andriana Chuchman will make her role debut as Violetta. She is a favorite with Opera Omaha patrons after appearing in The Capulets and the Montagues here in 2021. Another familiar face to opera lovers, Steven White, will be the conductor. His other operas with the local company include Eugene Onegin and The Marriage of Figaro and he was recently named Opera Omahas principal guest conductor. Brian Vu will make his Opera Omaha debut as Violettas lover, Alfredo, and baritone Hyung Yun will make his local debut as Alfredos father, Giorgio. E. Loren Meeker, another newcomer, is the operas director. Nebraska Wind Symphony to play Middle school band directors in the area recently nominated tuba and euphonium players to participate in a special music event. The honorees will be featured performers in Sundays Nebraska Wind Symphony winter concert. They will perform Theme from The Pink Panther. by Henry Mancini and arranged by Paul Cook, and Tiptoe Through the Tubas, by Jerry Brubaker. The young musicians were selected through the symphonys Middle School All-Stars program. Guest conductors for the concert will be Dr. Michael Beard from St. Albert Catholic School in Council Bluffs and professor Sarah Aymond from Iowa Western Community College. The program will include composer George Gershwins Rhapsody in Blue in honor of the epic pieces 100th anniversary. Tammy Miller from the Omaha Conservatory of Music will be the guest pianist. The symphony also will perform Vienna Philharmonic Fanfare by Richard Strauss, The Hounds of Spring by Alfred Reed, Dun matin de printemps by Lili Boulanger and Stillwater by Keluah Dunton. Theres no charge for the concert, although free-will donations are welcome. It begins at 3 p.m. at the Strauss Performing Arts Center on the University of Nebraska at Omaha campus near 66th and Dodge Streets. Joshua Kearney, the UNO director of bands, is the symphonys director. Keith Michael Davis is the associate director. Omaha Symphony does Chicago Brass Transit: The Music of Chicago is the Omaha Symphony program this Saturday. The concert, performed for one night only, will feature the top Chicago tribute band in North America. They have been touring for more than a decade, performing such hits as Youre the Inspiration, 25 or 6 to 4 and Saturday in the Park. The band Chicago with Peter Cetera, Terry Kath and others hit the scene in 1967 as Chicago Transit Authority, describing themselves as a rock and roll band with horns. They shortened their name in 1969 and went on to win five Grammy Awards. The group was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2014 and won a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2020. It was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland in 2016. Tickets for the 7:30 p.m. concert range from $20 to $93 and are available at omahasymphony.org Gala to feature Christopher Cross Christopher Cross will replace Michael Bolton at the Omaha Symphonys April 13 concert. Bolton had to drop out of the event when he learned he had brain cancer. The concert is open to the public, but its also the evening of the symphonys annual Gala. In 1980, Cross made Grammy history when his self-titled debut album won five Grammy Awards, including the top four honors: record, album and song of the year and best new artist. The album included two of his top hits, Ride Like the Wind and Sail Away. He went on to be one of the top songwriters of the 1980s and 90s and is also an Academy Award and Golden Globe winner for his work. Tickets, available at omahasymphony.org, range from $44 to $124. Our best Omaha staff photos & videos of February 2024 Matt Ray sat next to tiny plastic chairs and a short table on Thursday in Ashland Park-Robbins Elementary School, the building where he began his career in the Omaha Public Schools. In a room full of colorful posters and alphabet rugs, Ray detailed his self-doubt, top priorities and plans for the future as the district's incoming superintendent. The school board voted unanimously on Tuesday to hire Ray as the leader of the district following the resignation of Cheryl Logan, who served for five years. Ray, who has worked in the district for 27 years, was chosen out of a field that included three out-of-state candidates. The board still has to vote on the contract for his hiring to be official and he will continue to work on an interim basis until the end of the school year. He began his career as a student teacher at Ashland Park-Robbins Elementary School in South Omaha before substituting around the district. He eventually returned to Ashland Park-Robbins as a fifth grade elementary teacher. He then worked his way through several administrator positions before being named interim superintendent last year. On Tuesday, during his public interview for the job, he spoke of his plan to implement widespread changes in the district. He told The World-Herald he already started implementing some "subtle" changes on Wednesday and the differences will continue under his leadership. "It's not going to be a new brand, it's not going to be all of a sudden a shift, the lights look different," he said. "Some of these are gradual changes, but we have to keep moving and part of that, too, is we're also completing the strategic plan. The board has approved it. We've committed to it." Below are his responses to questions about his new position and plans for OPS. When did you decide to apply for the superintendent position? Can you describe the specific moment or day you made the decision? So, over the winter this is how close it was over winter break, I was at the holiday tournament. I try to go to as many holiday games as possible and it clicked for me right then our kids are great, staff's great, parents are great, I want to do this. There was always a little doubt, but that brought me over. I think that's when I made the decision to apply. So it was really close to that (application) deadline, but that's what put me over. Was there any hesitation? I think I'm overwhelmed with self-doubt. But as I got into it more and I got to see more kids and I got to see the work we were doing, I thought, 'This is what I want to do.' There's always doubt. I mean, even Tuesday night there was doubt. If there's not some doubt in leading such a massive organization, with so many things that have to change, I think we should ask why. But I'm in it. You've been in the district for almost 30 years. What changes have you seen in the district since you began teaching here? Just the approach of the district has been so different in those 30 years. When I started at central offices, you had to wear your jacket and tie at a certain part of the building. If you weren't wearing your jacket and tie, there (were) questions. When I started, I had my cellphone out and I was told to put my cellphone away. There's these organizational things that have changed and how we approach the work and how we acknowledge our mistakes has changed, too. It's not a critique of any past superintendent, but I think we filtered more. We're sharing more and more information than we ever have. During the interview process, was there anything the other candidates mentioned that you thought you should try in OPS? I didn't go back and watch their interviews because I was afraid I'd watch my own. If anything, the parts that I saw, I had a gut reaction when they talked about the Omaha Public Schools. There were three people from outside Nebraska and they were talking and representing their knowledge of the school district. That hit me a little bit, like, 'well, who are you to talk about the Omaha Public Schools?' I understood the why, but that was my reaction. I didn't meet with them individually, I didn't watch their interview. Clearly, they felt like they wanted to lead the Omaha Public Schools. After your interview, did you leave? Did you watch the livestream? So, I was told to leave. I did leave and I went home. I had a box of cookies on my counter and I opened them, because it was going to be Valentine's Day. I opened the box of cookies and they're Valentine's cookies and they say, 'It's over.' So, my first reaction was Valentine's Day cookies that say 'It's over' is never a good sign. But it was a reference to the whole process being over. My wife came out and said, 'The process is over, we're not over.' I showered, kind of just sat for a minute and then we ended up watching the livestream. You've mentioned that the staffing shortage is something that keeps you up at night and that it's one of the biggest priorities for you coming into the next school year. Can you give me some specific plans? I didn't hold anything in my pocket for this time. We've been moving. We've been moving grow-your-own programs, I think that's going to be our best success. But that's long-term. I think where we're at now is talking about what we can offer and what changes we need to make in scheduling or courses we offer. Or at least this idea of guaranteeing "X" (number of) courses at every place. I think we're going to have tough discussions of looking at how can we operate within the staff shortage. You saw this after COVID, where restaurants changed their menu or restaurants changed their hours because of staff shortages. We haven't done that. Not that I'm recommending we change our hours, but how we work within the parameters we have. We can't just keep pushing through, hoping that the following year there is going to be 400, 500 extra teachers. We really have to look at what we're offering and what we're doing. And those are hard conversations. What do you mean by scheduling? Scheduling could be how we look at block scheduling, how we look at the day, can we build in plan time. I'd also love to start looking at start times and end times with elementary and secondary schools. The research would have us flip it. So, we have to look at all that stuff and this is the time to do it. When can the public expect to see some of these changes come to light? Wednesday, I already started some things, moving some staff positions, some things that we're doing around the student experience in the Omaha Public Schools. So there's these subtle things that we're already working on. We've already started planning for next school year. It's not going to be a new brand, it's not going to be all of a sudden a shift, the lights look different. Some of these are gradual changes, but we have to keep moving and part of that, too, is we're also completing the strategic plan. The board has approved it. We've committed to it. And then we need to start having that discussion about what the next strategic plan looks like and that will happen next school year. It's not Matt Ray's school district. It's the board of education, it's staff, it's students. This vision has to be created together. There's some things that I want to do that we're moving forward with and we're doing. The one thing I did mention in the interview, is what's the district going to take on that we nail? And that could be literacy. So everybody in the school district knows our literacy strategy. And that's huge. And it takes a lot if you think about that one strategy, to get everyone in the school district on the same page. Besides staffing, what are some of your top priorities for the next school year? Finishing the strategic plan and not letting us deviate from what we said we were going to do is a top priority. It's a top priority for staff and I think it's a top priority for the board. The board voted on it. The board committed to these 20-plus goals, so we have to show where we are at those. We didn't stop them because it was Dr. Logan's plan. We're keeping them going. I know the priority has to be on instruction. We'll continue that work because we know the biggest impact is what's happening in the classroom. And that's connected to those literacy strategies that I talked about. We just have to figure out what we want to focus on and do it right. We're doing a lot of great buckets of things. But we're not 100% implementing them, we're not moving toward it as a district. The rise of student misbehavior has been a big reason why teachers have thought about leaving or why they left the district. Do you have any specific plans to address that? We have been doing some things, this year and last year, around student supports. What we need to build upon is how we support teachers and their interactions with students. And providing teachers skills to address the behaviors in their classroom as we work with students on behaviors. It's not the teacher's fault, by any means. But it's giving them the skills that they need to intervene or to address the behaviors in their classroom. It's an ongoing conversation with OEA, the union, about how we address it. Student and community services continues to look at behavior data, looking at what's happening in schools and what interventions are working and what's not working. So, we have been working on it and we'll continue to work on it. How long do you see yourself serving as superintendent? My commitment to the school district has never changed. This is my 27th year. My kids went to the district. I taught in the district. I'm very committed to the district. And a part of that commitment is the board's commitment to the superintendent. So it's a relationship. And as we work through the next years, I have no plans of being a career superintendent, I don't plan on interviewing or moving any place else. This is where I am, this is my home. This is where I'll finish my career. Photos: OPS superintendent candidates interviewed by board of education Friday saw winter weather return to Nebraska. But its set to go away as quickly as it arrived. As of noon, Eppley Airfield recorded snowfall measuring eight-tenths of an inch. Snowfall totals ranged from three-tenths of an inch on the south and east sides of the Omaha metro area to about 1 inch on the areas north and west sides, said Dirk Petersen, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Valley. One report from Fremont said 2 inches of snow had fallen. There was just enough snow in the Omaha area to create slick roads for the morning commute. No major car crashes occurred. There were 10 weather-related crashes in Sarpy County, according to a 911 dispatcher. One person was taken to the hospital but didnt suffer any serious injuries. In Douglas County, a 911 dispatcher said vehicle crashes amounted to property damage only. Most of the snowfall was concentrated near the South Dakota border in northeast Nebraska. Northern Cedar County received 2.3 inches of snow. Bloomfield in Knox County also received just over 2 inches of snow. The snow is expected to quickly melt. High temperatures are expected to hit 40 degrees on Saturday and 50 degrees on Sunday. We kind of got spoiled by the warm stretch. Well be more than happy to have it back, Petersen said. Our best Omaha staff photos & videos of February 2024 WASHINGTON In a single week, the Republican chairs of three House committees announced they would not seek reelection, raising questions about whether the chaos that has reigned this Congress is driving out some of the GOP's top talent. What makes the retirements particularly noteworthy is that none of the chairs were at risk of losing their position due to the term limits that House Republicans impose on their committee leaders. They conceivably could have returned to the same leadership roles in the next Congress, but chose instead to leave and give up jobs they worked years to obtain. "They would clearly rather be home with their family than in Washington with a dysfunctional Congress," said Republican strategist Doug Heye. "I would have said this to you 10 years ago, but it's just gotten worse. Congress has become a bad workplace." The three are Reps. Cathy McMorris Rodgers of Washington, Mike Gallagher of Wisconsin and Mark Green of Tennessee. McMorris Rodgers was the first to announce she would leave after four years as the top GOP member on the Energy and Commerce Committee, one of the most prestigious panels on Capitol Hill. Past chairmen such as Republican Billy Tauzin helped add prescription drug coverage to the Medicare program, while Democrat Henry Waxman authored the Affordable Care Act, expanding health coverage for millions of Americans. The second retirement announcement came from the new chair of a special committee focused on China. Gallagher, announced "with a heavy heart," he would not seek reelection. Gallagher's announcement came days after he voted against impeaching Homeland Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, frustrating the right flank of the GOP and generating a likely primary challenge. But Gallagher told the local Fox affiliate in his Wisconsin district that he and his wife were thinking about his leaving Congress long before the impeachment vote. He also said the pushback was nothing compared to what he endured when he refused to object to the Electoral College count in 2021. On Wednesday, Rep. Green, now in just his second year as chair of the Homeland Security Committee, announced he would not seek reelection. The move came one day after he led the Mayorkas impeachment vote on the House floor. He said he wanted to get in front of a pending story about his retirement that leaked to the press. Green came the closest to acknowledging the chaos of the last 14 months played a role in his decision. "Well, the work to productivity ratio may have had a little bit to do with it," Green said. He said Republicans would have to increase their majority in the House to get anything done. "So I'm going to go do a few other things," Green said. McMorris Rodgers said chairing the Energy and Commerce Committee has been the best position that she's had in her 10 terms in Congress. She said there were a lot of factors in her decision "and it was mostly about my family." "It was a difficult decision. I've worked very hard and I'm proud of what we accomplished, but for me, this was the time," she said. Gallagher also said it was time for him to go. "The Framers intended citizens to serve in Congress for a season and then return to their private lives. Electoral politics was never supposed to be a career and, trust me, Congress is no place to grow old," Gallagher said. Rep. Frank Lucas, R-Okla., said he believes the exodus includes the possibility that Republicans could be serving in the minority next year if they lose the House in the November election. "Who wants to finish your career here in the minority?" Lucas said. "It's also a frustration with the difficulty of legislating at this time because of issues within factions and the balanced nature of the House membership." He also noted that there's been no cost-of-living adjustment for lawmakers. At $174,000 a year, they make the same wage they did 15 years ago. "Most of these members are experienced people on really important, relevant committees and the outside world realizes their skill sets, and they're probably trying to pull them," he said. The number of lawmakers retiring at the end of this term or seeking higher office stands at 44, with Democrats making up 23 of those members and Republicans 21. Republican Rep. Richard Hudson, the chair of the House Republican campaign arm, said all of the GOP members leaving are in safe Republican seats, but that some of the Democratic retirements would lead to "flips for us." Photos: Scenes from historic speaker vote of 118th Congress In August 2015, a 14-year-old girl did something thousands of Native American children have done over the past 133 years. She left her home and walked through the doors of a federally funded boarding school called the Pierre Indian Learning Center. Learn about this project Read more about why we pursued this three-part series on student welfare within the Bureau of Indian Education by clicking on the headline. But this girl never walked out. She is one of at least four students who have died as a result of injuries sustained at federally funded and, in some cases, operated Bureau of Indian Education schools over the past two decades, according to previous news stories and lawsuits. But the total number of such deaths is not known. The bureau declined to provide a complete count, and the BIEs FOIA office claimed to have no record that was responsive to a public records request for a count of deaths on BIE property. The girl who died at Pierre Indian Learning Center had long struggled with her emotional well-being and had been involuntarily committed twice to South Dakota hospitals because of suicidal ideation in 2014, the year before she started at the boarding school, according to a lawsuit filed by her guardian and later settled by the U.S. government. Two months after she moved in, that lawsuit says, she died by suicide in the boarding schools Big Girls dorm. The death of this young teen, who is identified only by her initials in the lawsuit, was a tragedy in its own right, one that Superintendent Veronica Morley and the school community are still mourning, she said. This was somebodys child, Morley said. This was a member of our family. And its not something that was taken lightly. And we do everything in our power to ensure it does not happen again. Morley said no other deaths have occurred in her 29-year-career at the tribally-operated school in South Dakotas capital city. But the death did not represent the first or the last time a students safety has been compromised in the Bureau of Indian Education. Thousands of reports of abuse at BIE schools A Lee Enterprises Public Service Team investigation found that thousands of reports designated for abuse, neglect, life-threatening incidents and death have been filed at the 55 Bureau of Indian Education-operated schools since 2008, though not all incidents occurred on campus. And a string of government investigations, a smattering of lawsuits and previous reporting provide further insight into long-held concerns about student safety in the BIEs 55 bureau-operated and 128 tribally-controlled elementary schools, secondary schools and residential facilities, which serve some 45,000 Native American students. Nationwide, the BIE system serves a small fraction of Native American students, about 90% of whom attend traditional public schools, according to previous reporting. Investigators from the Government Accountability Office and the Department of the Interiors Office of Inspector General have identified issues that may have put BIE student health and safety at risk. In 2018, for example, the GAO found the BIE left students vulnerable by not ensuring that required background checks for individuals who work with children at Indian education facilities are complete. In 2022, the U.S. Government Accountability Office found that the BIEs overall staff vacancy rate is about 33 percent and that BIEs School Operations Division, which provides vital administrative support to schools, has a vacancy rate now of about 45 percent. We believe that high staff vacancy rates significantly inhibit BIEs capacity to support and oversee schools. In 2014, a group formed by the secretaries of the U.S. Department of Education and Department of the Interior, where the BIE is housed, produced a report that described the bureau as the legacy of the Indian boarding schools established in the 19th century and argued the BIE system remained a stain on our nations history. During a 2019 congressional hearing, Deb Haaland, the secretary of the Interior Department and the first Native American to serve as a Cabinet secretary, offered a harsh critique of the bureau she now oversees. It is no secret that the BIE schools have historically under-performed, although it is the nations most expensive educational system that is failing 183 schools for Native American children in 23 states, she said, according to a transcript of the hearing. This is a department that continues to fail our children so substantially that a 2015 Politico article stated, BIE students performed worse than every major urban district in the country except Detroit. This is a failure of the federal government and completely unacceptable. During her time leading the Interior Department, Haaland has pushed for an investigation into and a reckoning with the history of the federal Native American boarding school system during the 19th and 20th centuries. The results have included publication in 2022 of the first volume of a report that laid bare the appalling treatment of students in those schools as well as a series of visits from Haaland herself to hear from survivors of that system and from their descendants. Mandy Smoker Broaddus, a member of the National Advisory Council on Indian Education who emphasized she was not speaking in her capacity as a board member, said Haalands work to deal with the harmful history of federal schools for Native children is important, but that the conditions at federal Indian schools still in operation should be probed further. Everybody primarily focuses on the historical context, said Smoker Broaddus, who is a member of the Assiniboine and Sioux tribes from the Fort Peck Indian Reservation. Those issues are really important, but we have problems going on in schools right now that we should talk about. Its difficult to know the exact scope and nature of those problems in a school system that spans 23 states and includes a mix of day schools, boarding schools and dormitories operated by an opaque federal agency and a large number of tribes. But allegations and reports of abuse, neglect and even death at BIE schools have emerged over the past two decades. Sexual misconduct, exploitation by school leaders alleged In April 2022, for example, the BIE responded to a request from tribal officials on the Wind River Indian Reservation, which is home to the Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho tribes, to investigate Frank No Runner. He had been the superintendent of the then tribally-operated, K-12 St. Stephens Indian School in St. Stephens, Wyoming, since 2015. The result was a lengthy report that documented a wide range of allegations against No Runner and other school officials, including claims that: No Runner asked a student to have sex with him for money. No Runner solicited underage girls for nude photographs and sex. A student was dancing topless and being encouraged by the adults in the room during a party at No Runners house and that this was so traumatic for (a witness) that it contributed to her deteriorated emotional state, and she was considering suicide. No Runner solicited nude photos and sex from students and former students. No Runner offered to pay students to attend parties at his house. No Runner smoked marijuana with some boys outside the (school) gym. The BIEs investigation concluded that No Runner and other school officials engaged in a wide range of misconduct, including sexual misconduct that may have harmed Indian children, sexual harassment, bullying of parents and staff, and consuming alcohol and marijuana on school grounds. The investigators believe the preponderance of evidence and testimony support that No Runner more likely than not had or attempted to have sexual relationships with students of SSIS, the report said. The report led to the dismissal of No Runner, who did not offer comment when reached as part of the reporting of this story. It also led to the dismissal of two principals, other school officials and the entire St. Stephens school board. As a result, the Wind River Intertribal Council relinquished tribal control of the school. The FBI also investigated the allegations at St. Stephens but did not pursue charges, said Vikki Migoya, public affairs officer for the FBI Denver Field Office. "After a comprehensive investigation, and in consultation with federal partners, the FBI determined that any misconduct in this case did not rise to the level of a federal crime, Migoya wrote in an email response. Multiple BIE schools allegedly compromised student welfare St. Stephens is not the only BIE school where student welfare has allegedly been compromised. In 2017, students at the bureau-operated Havasupai Elementary School successfully sued the BIE over a range of alleged failures, including claims of student mistreatment at the K-8 school, which is located on the floor of the Grand Canyon on the Havasupai Indian Reservation in Arizona. Among those allegations were claims that an 11-year-old student at the school was prosecuted in federal court for pulling the cord out of the back of a computer monitor and that a 10-year-old was forcibly restrained in a classroom by a teacher who sat and laid down on the student while he cried out and yelled, I cant breathe. Get off of me, youre hurting me. The lawsuit, which the BIE and Interior Department settled, also alleges that the BIEs failure to maintain adequate staffing levels has contributed to student harm. The lack of adequate staffing also leads to dangerous conditions at the school when children are routinely left unsupervised, the suit reads. Recently, two children accessed a supply cabinet at the school during the school day and drank hand sanitizer. One child was airlifted out of the canyon for medical treatment, and the other was handcuffed and taken to the local medical clinic." Similarly, the suit, which uses pseudonyms for students, continues, Plaintiff Taylor P. was recently pushed against a wall and choked by another student while her kindergarten teacher was not watching. In her first semester at the school, Taylor P. was also sexually assaulted and penetrated by another student on the playground. In neither situation was Taylor P.s mother, Billie P., informed by the school of what had happened. In 2019, the U.S. House of Representatives held a hearing on the Health and Safety Risks of Native Children at Boarding Schools in response to an expansive reporting project from Oregon Public Broadcasting that examined student deaths, academic problems, allegations that administrators bullied staff, questionable hiring practices and a culture of secrecy at the BIE-operated Chemawa Indian School. During that hearing, a former Chemawa teacher named Joy ORenick told committee members that (s)tudents who experience harm while under Chemawas care are treated with indifference. ORenick said that a special education student reported to her that she had been raped on campus but that administrators had not provided her counseling or medical treatment, had not separated her from her alleged attacker, and stated that they were not giving credibility to her report because she was special education and probably confused. The principal and counselor at the time quickly put her and her alleged attacker on planes back to their respective reservations rather than investigating or supporting the students, denying the young lady nearly a year of education because she had reported being assaulted, and ensuring that the young man faced no accountability if he had raped her. This incident, ORenick said, was one of countless examples of student harm at Chemawa. Celeste Karzon, another former Chemawa teacher, told House members her concern for the well-being and safety of students at Chemawa went unaddressed, including instances where students were filming fights in the dorms and posting them on YouTube without consequence. In an emailed statement, Amanda Ward, Chemawas superintendent, declined to speak to specific incidents but wrote that the school is dedicated to supporting the overall well-being of students and offers therapy to students. She also said that all reported incidents at Chemawa are investigated, and if the claims are substantiated then appropriate action is taken. Continued deaths at schools for Native students Within the past two decades, two students have died at Chemawa: a 16-year-old who died of alcohol poisoning in 2003, and an 18-year-old who died of heart failure in 2014. A year later and 1,400 miles away, another BIE student died: the 14-year-old girl who committed suicide at the Pierre Indian Learning Center in 2015. A lawsuit filed by the girls guardian alleged that PILC and its employees breached their duty to provide adequate supervision of (the girl) to prevent her from engaging in self-harming behavior, to document and report her suicidal comments, to follow its admissions policies and to provide her with adequate mental health care. The lawsuit, which the federal government ultimately settled for nearly $35,000 without admitting fault, also noted that her mental-health challenges began before she arrived on campus. The suit says she was involuntarily committed twice to South Dakota hospitals because of suicidal ideation in 2014, the year before she moved into the boarding school. Because of this history and incomplete documentation in her enrollment application, the lawsuit contended, the girl never should have been admitted to a school that wasnt equipped to address her issues. It is PILC policy that a history of suicidal ideation or attempt will preclude a child from admission to PILC, the lawsuit states. PILC does not accept students who have histories of suicidal behavior because it is not a treatment center and does not have the resources to care for or provide adequate supervision for such children. PILC settlement and complaint Read the full settlement and complaint court documents involving PILC and Little Elk. The suit alleged that PILC administrators and staff didnt provide adequate supervision for the girl and acted with carelessness and negligence during her brief stay. Soon after she moved into the staff-supervised dormitory, the lawsuit says, she was found crying and told staff that another student had hit her. Days later, she was visibly upset after she was further bullied by a fellow student. When staff found her engaging in fighting behavior with another student, she told counselors that she fought because she was frustrated. She was also upset when, a month after she moved in, a fellow dorm resident and friend attempted suicide. Not all of her discussions about suicide occurred with staff, the lawsuit says. She also talked to other students about suicide and made self-harm attempts that were not discovered by PILC supervisory staff. That suit says protocol at Pierre Indian Learning Center includes a requirement that school staff immediately fill out a Critical Incident Report, provide it to the school superintendent and school dorm supervisor, and contact local law enforcement. But staff at the tribally-run Pierre Indian Learning Center did not follow this protocol after the girl who died discussed suicide multiple times or even after the suicide attempt that led to her death, according to the lawsuit. The suit also says that a staff member who worked with the 14-year-old who died admitted that she does not always pass on her self-harm risk assessment documents to supervisors, and she does not always document her risk assessment of the students risk of self-harm despite PILC policies. Long-troubled school in North Dakota Three years later, a student at another tribally-operated BIE school died: a 13-year-old who committed suicide at Circle of Nations, a BIE boarding school in Wahpeton, North Dakota. Soon after, a local television station, KVLY, reported that several former employees of the school told the station they tried to do something about lack of protection for kids at what some have called a long-troubled school. Some of these employees reportedly claimed they lost their jobs (because they were) trying to get more supervision for the children. A lawsuit filed on behalf of a student who was allegedly raped at Circle of Nations in 2017, one year before the 13-year-olds death, made similar accusations, claiming the BIE was negligent in failing to ensure students were adequately supervised at the school and failing to provide a safe environment for students. Circle of Nations complaint and dismissal Read the full complaint and dismissal court filings involving Circle of Nations. The plaintiff in the case also charged that the BIE knew, or should have known, of the many other incidents occurring upon the Circle of Nations campus, and of which the perpetrators were a part, that involved similar, sexual behavior and reports indicating the perpetrators have accosted other students in the past. A judge ultimately dismissed the suit over a lack of jurisdiction. In May of 2018, during a hearing on safety and security at BIE-funded and -operated schools, North Dakotas then Sen. Heidi Heitkamp brought up the death at Circle of Nations as well as reports of child abuse at the school. Heitkamp noted, though, that she and others had a difficult time even figuring out who had jurisdiction over that school and who could come in and do an investigation. Heitkamp indicated the North Dakota Office of the Attorney General ultimately pursued an investigation just because no one else was stepping up, but efforts to reach Heitkamp and the attorney generals office for information about the outcome of that investigation were unsuccessful. Tanner Rabbithead, CEO of Circle of Nations School, said such allegations were unfounded, that the school has experienced no other student deaths in the years since and that he knew of no allegations of child abuse on campus. He claimed that the teachers who made accusations to the local TV station were disgruntled. As for the lawsuit, Rabbithead said it was an illegitimate claim filed by the students guardian, whom Rabbithead claims was looking to make a quick dollar on the schools account. Rabbithead said the school works hard to ensure students are safe: Thats our main priority: the care, welfare, safety and security of the student. ATLANTA Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis took the witness stand Thursday and forcefully pushed back against what she described as "lies" about her romantic relationship with a special prosecutor during an extraordinary hearing over misconduct allegations that threaten to upend one of four criminal cases against Donald Trump. A visibly upset Willis, who originally fought to stay off the witness stand, agreed to testify after a previous witness said her relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade began earlier than they claimed. The district attorney's testimony grew heated under questioning from a defense attorney who's trying to remove Willis from Trump's 2020 election interference case, with the prosecutor at one point raising papers in front of her and shouting: "It's a lie!" "Do you think I'm on trial? These people are on trial for trying to steal an election in 2020. I'm not on trial no matter how hard you try to put me on trial," Willis told defense attorney Ashleigh Merchant. At another point, Willis said, "Merchant's interests are contrary to democracy." Willis is expected to return to the witness stand Friday to continue answering questions. The probing questions for Willis and for Wade, who testified before her, underscored the extent to which the prosecutors who pledged to hold Trump accountable are themselves now under a public microscope, with revelations about their personal lives diverting attention away from Trump's conduct and raising questions about the future of the case. Trump and his co-defendants argue the relationship presents a conflict of interest that should force Willis off the case. Wade sought to downplay the matter, casting himself and Willis as "private people." "There is nothing secret or salacious about having a private life," Wade said. "Nothing." Robin Yeartie, a former friend and co-worker of Willis, testified earlier Thursday that she saw Willis and Wade hugging and kissing before he was hired as special prosecutor in November 2021. Wade and Willis both testified that they didn't start dating until 2022, and that their relationship ended months ago. During personal and uncomfortable testimony that spanned hours, Wade also admitted to having sex with Willis during his separation from his estranged wife, even though he claimed in a divorce filing that wasn't the case. That admission and Yeartie's testimony together threaten to undermine the prosecutors' credibility as they prepare for trial in the case accusing Trump and others of conspiring to overturn the 2020 presidential election results in Georgia. If Willis were disqualified, a council that supports prosecuting attorneys in Georgia would find a new attorney to take over who could either proceed with the charges against Trump and 14 others or drop the case. Willis and Wade's relationship was first revealed by Merchant, an attorney for Trump co-defendant Michael Roman, a former campaign staffer and onetime White House aide. Merchant alleges that Willis personally profited from the case, paying Wade more than $650,000 for his work and then benefiting when Wade used his earnings to pay for vacations the pair took together. Wade, who took the stand after the judge refused to quash a subpoena for his testimony, testified that he and Willis traveled together to Belize, Aruba and California and took cruises together, but said Willis paid him back in cash for some travel expenses that he charged to his credit card. "She was very emphatic and adamant about this independent, strong woman thing so she demanded that she paid her own way," Wade said. Defense attorneys pressed Wade to answer uncomfortable questions about his relationship with Willis, prompting objections from the district attorney's office. The hearing began with lengthy sparring between lawyers over who must answer questions. Willis' removal would be a stunning development. Even if a new lawyer went forward with the case, it would very likely not go to trial before November, when Trump is expected to be the Republican nominee for president. At a separate hearing in New York on Thursday, a judge ruled that Trump's hush-money criminal case will go ahead as scheduled with jury selection starting on March 25. In a court filing this month, Willis' office insisted that she has no financial or personal conflict of interest and that there are no grounds to dismiss the case or to remove her from the prosecution. Her filing called the allegations "salacious" and said they were designed to generate headlines. Judge Scott McAfee said during a hearing Monday that Willis could be disqualified "if evidence is produced demonstrating an actual conflict or the appearance of one." He said the issues he wants to explore at the hearing are "whether a relationship existed, whether that relationship was romantic or nonromantic in nature, when it formed and whether it continues." Those questions are only relevant, he said, "in combination with the question of the existence and extent of any personal benefit conveyed as a result of the relationship." A look at the 19 people charged in the Georgia indictment connected to Trump's election scheme Key people in the Georgia election fraud case Donald Trump Rudy Giuliani John Eastman Mark Meadows Sidney Powell Kenneth Chesebro Prosecutors have said Chesebro, an attorney, worked with Republicans in numerous swing states Trump lost, including Georgia, in the weeks after the November 2020 election at the direction of Trumps campaign. Chesebro worked on the coordination and execution of a plan to have 16 Georgia Republicans sign a certificate declaring falsely that Trump won and declaring themselves the states duly elected and qualified electors. Jeffrey Clark Jenna Ellis Ray Smith A Georgia-based lawyer, Smith was involved in multiple lawsuits challenging the results of the 2020 election in Georgia. He also gathered witnesses to provide testimony before Georgia legislative subcommittee hearings held in December 2020 on alleged issues with the states election. Robert Cheeley A Georgia lawyer, Cheeley presented video clips to legislators of election workers at the State Farm Arena in Atlanta and alleged the workers were counting votes twice or sometimes three times. He spoke to the lawmakers after Giuliani. Michael Roman A former White House aide who served as the director of Trumps election day operations, Roman was involved in efforts to put forth a set of fake electors after the 2020 election. Shawn Still He was one of 16 Georgia Republicans who signed a certificate falsely stating that Trump had won the state and declaring themselves the states duly elected and qualified electors. Still was the finance chairman for the state GOP in 2020 and served as a Georgia delegate to the Republican National Convention that year. He was elected to the Georgia state Senate in November 2022 and represents a district in Atlantas suburbs. Stephen Cliffgard Lee Prosecutors say Cliffgard Lee, a pastor, worked with others to try to pressure Georgia election worker Ruby Freeman and her daughter after Trump and his allies falsely accused them of pulling fraudulent ballots from a suitcase during the vote count. Lee allegedly knocked on Freemans door, frightening her and causing her to call 911 three times, prosecutors said in a court filing last year. Harrison William Prescott Floyd Also known as Willie Lewis Floyd III, he served as director of Black Voices for Trump, and is accused of recruiting Lee to arrange a meeting with Freeman and Chicago-based publicist Trevian Kutti. Trevian C. Kutti Prosecutors allege Kutti, a publicist, claimed to have high-level law enforcement connections. They say Freeman met with Kutti at a police precinct, where she brought Floyd into the conversation on a speakerphone. Prosecutors say Kutti presented herself as someone who could help Freeman but then pressured her to falsely confess to election fraud. Cathy Latham Scott Graham Hall An Atlanta-area bail bondsman, Hall was allegedly involved in commandeering voting information that was the property of Dominion Voting Systems from Coffee County, a small south Georgia jurisdiction. Also charged in the scheme were Powell, Latham and former county elections supervisor Misty Hampton. Misty Hampton She was the elections director in Coffee County. Hampton was present in the county elections office on Jan. 7, 2021, when a computer forensics team copied software and data from the countys election equipment. She also allowed two other men who had been active in efforts to question the 2020 election results to access the elections office later that month and to spend hours inside with the equipment. Read the Trump indictment in Georgia Your browser does not support the iframe HTML tag. Try viewing this in a modern browser like Chrome, Safari, Firefox or Internet Explorer 9 or later. Lead pipes have been banned since the 1980s, but millions of residents in Illinois and across the Midwest remain exposed to lead from water lines, a Lee Enterprises news investigation shows. And the prospects for an equitable fix for low-income families could be dimming, the Lee probe of public records and interviews shows. Lead water lines hold the potential to poison people who drink water from them. Infants and children are particularly at risk for significant health problems tied to lead exposure because their bodies absorb the neurotoxin more easily. Prolonged exposure can lead to developmental delays, lowered IQs and brain damage. On Nov. 30, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency proposed long-awaited new drinking water regulations that include a 10-year deadline for water systems to eliminate lead lines, with exemptions for bigger cities like Chicago. A major concern voiced by environmental advocates, however, is how part of the cost will fall on homeowners because the EPA did not outright ban utility companies from charging residents for the remediation. Its a move that will disproportionately harm low-income households, renters and people of color, according to Suzanne Novak, senior attorney with the nonprofit law firm EarthJustice. If we dont prohibit charging a customer, we may very well end up with a two-tiered system, where wealthier communities, which are disproportionately white, will have more of their lead service lines replaced than in other (low-income and black and brown) communities, Novak said. Since high-profile lead-contamination crises in places like Flint, Michigan, there has been a major push in recent years to replace an estimated 9.2 million lead pipes in the U.S. Under the Biden administration, EPA has provided nearly $800 million in grants to assist utilities that serve disadvantaged communities. But environmental justice advocates say even with an unprecedented boost from the Biden administration, theres not enough federal or state money to address a glaring problem: What if homeowners cant afford to replace the lead pipes considered part of their private property? Who's responsible for paying to replace pipes? Across the U.S., many utilities argue they are only financially responsible for the lead line from the water main to the curb and that from the curb to the home is the responsibility of homeowners. So, many public and private utilities are ultimately telling residents: Pay up or well pass over your house. In some cases, utilities are covering the costs by issuing bonds, raising customer rates across the board, or reimbursing customers up to a certain amount once the replacement is complete. In other cases, utilities have conducted partials in which only the public half of the lead service line is replaced, leaving the private side intact and the potential for water contamination in play. EPA has recently proposed banning the common practice of partial replacements, citing dangerous spikes in lead levels post-removal. According to EPAs latest estimates, Illinois could have as many as 1.04 million lead service lines or about 11% of the countrys inventory leaving millions exposed. Minority and low-income populations are already disproportionately exposed to lead in drinking water, raising concerns in the environmental justice community about utilities placing the burden of costly replacements on those populations. According to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, young children at highest risk for lead exposure are those living in housing built before 1978, non-Hispanic Black or African American children, children eligible for Medicaid and children living in areas with higher poverty rates. 'Discriminatory effects' are undeniable, advocates say Erik Olson, of the Natural Resource Defense Council, and other environmental justice advocates say its crucial for utilities to fund the full cost of replacement under both public and private property. The discriminatory effects of (lead line replacement) programs with cost-sharing are well documented and undeniable. Fortunately, they are also avoidable. Subjecting poor and non-white communities already bearing the brunt of lead exposure to prolonged or increased lead intake is illegal and contrary to federal requirements the NRDC and EarthJustice wrote to the EPA this past spring ahead of EPAs publishing of the new regulations. The EPA's newly proposed regulations remain subject to change as the agency seeks public comment over a 60-day window. The deadline for the public to submit comment was Feb. 5. While there are several provisions in the EPA proposal that are heartening and provide us a ray of hope, the lack of a mandate for water systems to pay for full (lead line) replacement is one of the major concerns we have with the proposed rule. Were also concerned about the availability of extensions for some cities; Chicago for example could get from 40 to 50 years to replace all of its (lead lines), which is far too long , Olson said. In proposing new water regulations, EPA officials said the agency initially considered the perspective from stakeholders that cost-sharing should be banned but ultimately chose not to do so. Ultimately, the EPA decided to kick that question back to state and local government. How a water system covers the cost of compliance with a national drinking water regulation is, at its core, a matter of state and local law, the agency stated in releasing its proposal. There is no explicit statutory authority for EPA to do so; state and local governments regulate how water systems provide and charge for services to their customers. EPA expects that any attempt to assert federal authority over how water systems charge for their services would be met with a protracted legal challenge that would delay implementation of the rule, the agency said. An EPA spokeswoman told Lee Enterprises that the agency strongly encourages water systems to offer customer-side service line replacement at no direct cost to the customer to achieve higher customer participation rates and reduce potential environmental justice impacts..." EPA noted a significant amount of federal funding available for service line replacements, and a commitment from the agency to ensure every community particularly underserved ones can access their fair share of resources with financial and technical assistance. Utility: 'Take care of the problem now' Brent Cain, who works for the Marion Water Department in downstate Illinois, said the city is busy putting together a detailed inventory of its service lines that is due to the state by April 15. The water department intends to cover the cost of replacing the private line for families, he said, adding that he hopes state and federal grants will help. The benefits are clear, he said. Covering the cost of replacements will reduce the likelihood of a homeowner signing a waiver and leaving the lead pipes intact. Its clear that some people would just not be able to afford it. (The new law) allows someone to sign a waiver if they dont want it done, but at some point, somebody else is going to own that house. So from our point of view, its lets take care of the problem now, Cain said. Lead service line replacement projects across the U.S. are largely funded through the federal State Revolving Loan program, established in 1996. As utilities repay their loans, the repayments and interest circulate back into the dedicated revolving fund for future projects. In some cases, principal forgiveness loans act like grants in that they do not have to be repaid. Under current Illinois EPA rules, only water systems that service 25,000 customers or less are eligible for principal forgiveness loans, or loans that do not have to be repaid. The Illinois EPA also has set an initial cap of $2.755 million per principal forgiveness loan recipient. Olson, with the NRDC, said the state EPA's funding limitations could be harmful to cities like Chicago. The city has more lead lines than anywhere else in the country, at about 400,000. Clearly, this means Chicago is very limited in its ability to get grant/forgivable loan funding to help with (lead line) replacement. Chicago therefore has to rely on loans from IEPA or its own funds for (lead line) replacement. Wed like to see the city include expedited (lead line) replacement in its capital improvement plans, Olson said. IEPA is considering a rule change to allow larger water systems to become eligible for forgivable loans, but the rule isnt expected to be finalized until early next year. Nationally, the average cost for a full lead service line replacement ranges between $5,000 and $7,000 but in places like Chicago, estimates are closer to $16,000 to $30,000. Illinois city shares the cost burden of pipes In central Illinois, Decatur water department officials have adopted a cost-share program that covers 50% up to $3,000 for residential customers and $5,000 for commercial property owners. While the city's system goes above and beyond what is required of Illinois water systems, the program doesnt come without its flaws. The reimbursement is meant to ease a burden often placed on those who can least afford it, but households still have to come up with the money upfront. Not every family has adequate savings and those with poor credit scores may not secure a bank loan. So far, the city has reimbursed over $21,000, split among 10 customers in the urban core older neighborhoods with low-income households and water lines typically installed before 1940. Ten more are pending, and 12 others have inquired about the program. The program, however, represents a proverbial drop in the bucket considering the nearly 7,000 lead service lines need to be replaced within Decatur city limits by EPAs recently proposed 10-year deadline. Decatur Councilman David Horn told Lee Enterprises hes concerned that news of the reimbursement program isnt reaching its intended audience. Water department staff confirmed they are currently only notifying households having issues with their water service in the form of leaks. Its a much different story in the city of St. Louis, Missouri, which ranks in the top 10 for cities with the most lead pipes. St. Louis residents are financially responsible for replacing the entire lead service line, according to a city spokesperson. The spokesman said the St. Louis Water Division is awaiting guidance from the federal EPA. Until the final EPA regulations are implemented, the state has advised utilities to focus on building their (lead pipe) inventories, the spokesperson said. Currently, staff is building a lead service line inventory with support from the state of Missouri. In 2021, the St. Louis Water Division reported having 3,000 lead service lines; thats more lead service lines than in the entire state of Kansas. Alternative ways to pay to replace pipes The good news is there are some signs of progress. A small but increasing number of states, including Illinois, New Jersey, Michigan and Rhode Island, have passed laws mandating lead pipe removal within a certain time frame. Tom Neltner, senior director for safer chemicals with the Environmental Defense Fund, and Novak said several utilities and cities are starting to recognize this as a glaring problem and are finding ways to cover the costs. Missouri American Water, which services 1.5 million in the state, is offering a no-cost option through a WIFIA loan, which means homeowners in places like St. Louis County, Missouri, wont have to pay a dime. In Newark, New Jersey, city officials launched a lead pipe replacement program in 2018 that required residents to cover $1,000 of the cost, but found there was little, if any, enrollment, according to a legal analysis EarthJustice and the NRDC sent to EPA in April, urging the agency to ban cost-sharing programs. Newark city officials had numerous factors working against them: the city predominantly consists of Black and Hispanic families, renters, and low-income households. Following a lawsuit by the NRDC, the city ultimately reduced the cost to zero and passed an ordinance green-lighting lead pipe replacements with approval only from an occupant of a property. That eliminated the need to track down unresponsive landlords or every far-flung LLC that owned property, the analysis stated. Newark borrowed $120 million and replaced all of its 24,000 lead service lines by February 2022, absent those barriers, making it a model for the nation, Neltner said. Madison, Wisconsin was the first major city in the country to launch a full replacement program, starting in 2000. To ease the burden, Madison Utility Water offered homeowners a rebate of up to $1,500. Marcus Pearson, utility spokesperson, said lead lines are still occasionally discovered. If property owners provide a dated receipt of a pipe replacement after 1994, the utility offers a rebate retroactively. In Indiana, the states largest water utility, Indiana American Water, urged lawmakers in 2017 to pass a law allowing utilities to recover the costs of full replacements by raising customer rates. More than 10,000 of the lead service lines have been replaced or retired in Northwest Indiana, just outside Chicago. Crews are on the ground nearly every weekday carrying out this work. Novak said water utilities issue bonds to prioritize system improvements "all the time." They just have to decide what their priorities are. This should be a high priority There are ways to get it done. Other cities and states have shown that, Novak said. Allison Swisher, director of public utilities in Joliet, Illinois, said when the city first started lead pipe replacements in 2018, low-interest loans were offered to households. But the program gained little traction. Only a handful of people signed up. Now, contractors are replacing homeowners lead service lines for free as the city simultaneously replaces several miles of aging and leaky water mains constructed before 1970. We dont advertise that as much, but in practice, thats whats happening, Swisher said. Sewer and water rate hikes were approved last fall to fund the lead pipe replacements, with the worry that federal and state funds may thin out over time. (The money) doesnt go as far as you think, Swisher said. Reporter Brenden Moore contributed to this report. More about this story 5 things you should know about lead pipes There are an estimated 9.2 million lead pipes in the U.S., with the majority in the Midwest. Nationally, the average cost for a full lead service line replacement ranges between $5,000 and $7,000. In places like Chicago, estimates are closer to $16,000 to $30,000. The Biden administration has invested an unprecedented $50 billion in the nation's water and wastewater infrastructure, including $15 billion for lead service lines but experts say more money is needed to address this long-term. In children, even minimal exposure to lead has been linked to learning disabilities, slowed growth, anemia, hearing problems and nerve damage. In pregnant women, lead exposure can result in premature birth and slowed fetal growth. Young children at highest risk for lead exposure are those living in housing built before 1978, non-Hispanic Black or African American children, children eligible for Medicaid, and children living in areas with higher poverty rates. Uncharted territory and challenges Lead pipes have been banned since the 1980s. Since water crises in places like Flint, Michigan and East Chicago, Indiana, there has been a major push in recent years to replace an estimated 9.2 million lead pipes in the U.S. Utilities have said the uncharted nature of such an undertaking is exacerbated by the cost and complexity of such projects on a large scale under accelerated timelines. There are also supply chain challenges, rising inflation and the fear that, as demand for this type of work grows, too few qualified contractors will be available, further driving up the costs. Who's paying for this? With State Revolving Loan dollars and other resources, Lead Service Line Replacement programs are happening all across the country, but how they are financed and carried out varies: Residents are financially responsible for replacing their portion Cities or utilities cover the cost in cases where theyve target public and/or private lines after major leaks Residents receive a subsidy and only pay up to a certain amount to replace their lead pipe while the city pays for the public portion. In certain cases, cities or utilities are offering low-interest loans. Some cities are offering reimbursement only after the fact, meaning residents must have the money upfront to remove the lead pipes States have passed legislation allowing nominal utility rate increases to cover the utilities cost of replacing the full service line An unprecedented investment The Biden administration has invested an unprecedented $50 billion in the nation's water and wastewater infrastructure, including $15 billion for lead service lines and $11.7 billion of general Drinking Water State Revolving Funds (SRF) that can also be used for lead lines, according to the EPA. The SRF program, established in 1996, works so that as utilities repay their loans, the repayments and interest circulate back into the dedicated revolving fund for future projects. Principal forgiveness loans do not have to be repaid. What if I have lead pipes? 1. Contact your water utility or a licensed plumber to find out if you have lead service lines a pipe that runs from the water main or curb to the homes internal plumbing. Fixtures in your home may also contain lead. The likelihood of lead pipes increases if your house was built before 1986. 2. You can find out if you had lead service lines on your own, too. Use a key or a coin to gently scratch the pipe. If your pipe is soft, easily scratched and a magnet doesnt stick to it, then it may be made of lead. 3. Connect with your local utility to see if they have a lead service line replacement program in the works. Some municipalities offer free replacements or rebates to help offset costs but in many cases, households are financially responsible for replacing the private side of the lead pipe. 4. If you are pregnant or have a child in the home and are concerned about blood lead levels, you should consult with a family doctor or pediatrician. Lead can impact fetus development and cause behavior learning problems in small children. While increasingly rare, lead exposure can be fatal or result in hospitalization. Your local state or county health department can also provide additional information. 5. You can reduce exposure by: flushing your water before consumption, regularly cleaning your faucets screen, using a water filter certified to remove lead, and using cold water for drinking, cooking and making baby formula. Boiling water does not remove lead. Source: U.S. EPA Today is Friday, Feb. 16, 2024. Let's get caught up. Keep scrolling for celebrity birthdays and a look back at this date in history. Plus, check out our daily news podcast: *** Putin critic Alexei Navalny has died in prison, officials say Alexei Navalny, the fiercest foe of Russian President Vladimir Putin who crusaded against official corruption and staged massive anti-Kremlin protests, died in prison Friday, Russias prison agency said. He was 47. The Federal Prison Service said in a statement that Navalny felt unwell after a walk on Friday and lost consciousness. An ambulance arrived to try to rehabilitate him, but he died. Navalnys spokeswoman Kira Yarmysh said on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, that the politicians team had no confirmation of his death so far and that his lawyer was traveling to the town where he was held. *** Takeaways from two Trump case hearings in New York and Georgia In Manhattan, a judge ruled that Donald Trumps hush-money case will begin on March 25, making it the first of his indictments to go to trial. So there are fewer than 40 days before he becomes the first former president in U.S. history to be tried on criminal charges. By that time, Trump could very well have won enough Republican delegates to be his partys presumptive nominee. In Atlanta, attorneys grilled a special prosecutor on the Georgia election interference indictment against Trump over the prosecutor's romantic relationship with Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, trying to get Willis and her office thrown off the case. Here are other takeaways from two courtrooms on Thursday: *** 5 patients die as oxygen runs out in Gaza hospital seized by Israeli forces, health officials say Five patients in intensive care died after their oxygen cut off in southern Gaza's main hospital that was stormed by Israeli troops, causing chaos for hundreds of staff and wounded inside, health officials said Friday. Troops were searching the complex where the military said it believes the remains of hostages abducted by Hamas might be located. *** MORE TOP STORIES *** TODAY IN HISTORY Today in history: Feb. 16 In 1959, Fidel Castro became premier of Cuba a month and a-half after the overthrow of Fulgencio Batista. Today in sports history: Feb. 16 In 1970, Joe Frazier retains his world heavyweight title with a fifth-round knockout of Jimmy Ellis. See more sports moments from this day in *** TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS Minutes before her window to formally file for reelection closed, Nebraska State Sen. Julie Slama announced that she will not seek a second full term in the Legislature this year. The 27-year-old lawmaker from Dunbar and newly minted lawyer will instead begin a new chapter as a private attorney and focus on the joys and responsibilities of being a new mom, she said in a statement posted to social media. It has been the honor and privilege of my lifetime to serve my neighbors in Southeast Nebraska, Slama said, thanking her family and pointing to legislation she championed in her single full term as a state senator, such as bringing voter ID requirements to Nebraskas elections and infrastructure upgrades throughout her district. In January 2025, District 1 will have a new state senator, she wrote. Until then Im going to keep fighting the good fight for Southeast Nebraska in our Legislature. Slamas announcement marks a surprising end to her tenure in the Legislature, which began in 2019 when then-Gov. Pete Ricketts appointed the then-22-year-old law student to replace former Sen. Dan Watermeier, who resigned from the body after winning a seat on Nebraskas Public Service Commission. She ran for a full term in 2020, beating Janet Palmtag with 68% of the vote in a heated Republican primary that saw much of the states GOP establishment back Slama over Palmtag, a longtime state party volunteer. Palmtag in 2021 sued the Nebraska Republican Party over political mailers the party sent to voters in the lead-up to the election that claimed Palmtag had broke the law & lost her real estate license, neither of which were true. Nebraskas Supreme Court revived Palmtags lawsuit last month after a Lancaster County District Court judge had dismissed it in 2022. Slama, who did not return a phone call seeking comment Thursday evening, had given little public indication that she planned to end her political career before Thursdays announcement. But she had grown increasingly at odds with the new-age Nebraska GOP, which was taken over by conservative activists in 2022, when establishment party leaders loyal to Ricketts were unseated at a contentious state party convention since described as a coup. In a speech on the legislative floor this month, Slama called the Nebraska GOP broke and, almost immediately, faced attacks from nameless far-right accounts on X, the social media website more commonly known as Twitter. Her comments came as she and 25 other conservative state senators circulated a letter endorsing Nebraskas federal incumbents in a break with the state party, which withheld endorsements from the states five congressional office-holders. As a lawmaker, Slama championed deeply conservative causes, helping usher in the age of voter ID requirements in Nebraska, where voters will be required to show a photo ID at the ballot box for the first time in May. Our best Omaha staff photos & videos of February 2024 Airport authorities in Omaha and North Platte have been awarded an additional $10.1 million in Federal Aviation Administration grants, the FAA announced this week. The Omaha Airport Authority will receive $3.1 million to pay for up to five new passenger boarding bridges at Eppley Airfield, one piece of the $950 million terminal modernization project announced last month. The modernization project will nearly double the size of Eppleys terminal, add new ticket counters, baggage carousels and security area, and connect the existing A and B concourses into a single one with 22 gates. A groundbreaking ceremony is scheduled Tuesday, with completion slated for 2028. This grant funding will create benefits for travelers from Omaha and throughout Nebraska, said Dave Roth, the Omaha Airport Authoritys chief executive officer, in a statement. The other $7 million grant will help to fund a replacement terminal as well as other infrastructure at North Platte-Lee Bird Regional Airport. Airport Manager Justin Gosnell said the grant would accelerate the terminal-replacement project. Its the culmination of several years of planning, design, and advocacy for the project, and the airport is now poised to make the project a reality, he said in a statement. In Iowa, Des Moines International Airport was awarded $5.36 million to pay for renovations that will improve the terminals accessibility, energy efficiency and climate resilience. This is the third round of airport improvement grants announced for fiscal year 2024, which began Oct. 1. An earlier round totaling $15.3 million included grants to all of the states major airports. The grants are part of the $1.2 billion Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, passed by Congress in 2021 at the urging of President Joe Biden. Of that amount, $15 billion was reserved for improvements at the nations airports. Of the three current members of the Nebraska delegation who were serving in Congress at the time, Sen. Deb Fischer and Rep. Don Bacon voted in favor of the bill while Rep. Adrian Smith opposed it. Fischer and Sen. Pete Ricketts issued a joint press release welcoming the grant awards. Nebraskas airports connect communities and grow our economy. Travelers from across our state will benefit from these strategic investments in critical infrastructure, Ricketts said in the statement. Fischer said the grants will help to enhance the passenger experience for Nebraskans who fly. Investments from the infrastructure law continue to make a difference for Nebraska travelers. she said in the statement. These grants are great news for Nebraskans who rely on our airports to stay connected. Photos: Omaha's Eppley Airfield temporarily changing pick-up/drop-off location The heightened state of insecurity in Nigeria following clashes between the Nigerian Police and members of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN) has forced the government of the United Kingdom to issue a travel advisory to its citizens resident in Nigeria. The UK government had issued a warning to its citizens in Nigeria to stay away from 24 states in Nigeria prone to terror attacks and insecurity issues. However, in an updated travel advisory published on its website on Wednesday, the UK government advised its citizens to avoid crowded places and specifically advised against traveling to Borno, Yobe, Adamawa and Gombe states. Other states listed by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office include; Delta, Bayelsa, Rivers, Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Bauchi, Zamfara, Kano State, Kaduna, Jigawa, Katsina and Kogi States. According to the UK government, the updated travel advisory was issued because terrorists are very likely to try to carry out attacks in Nigeria adding that attacks could be indiscriminate and could affect western interests as well as places visited by tourists. President Muhammadu Buhari Monday in Abuja assured Nigerians that he will put in all effort to ensure the best for the country and her citizens when he begins a second term in office on May 29. The president also appreciated all those who voted him during the elections. Receiving the Board of Trustees and Advisory Council of Gidauniyar Jihar Katsina (Katsina State Development Fund) led by Mamman Nasir, a former president of the Court of Appeal, at the State House, Mr Buhari said his campaign to all states of the federation was an eye opener. Thank you for supporting me. I assure you that I will do my best during the second term. We will work for Nigeria and her people, he said. Mr Buhari said the crowd that welcomed his campaign train in each state was more than anyone can possibly induce, attributing the turnouts to the peoples appreciation of the efforts of his administration. President Buhari noted that he was the chairman of the Katsina State Development Fund for 17 years, during which period a lot was done to support education, healthcare and agriculture in the state, especially for those that were less privileged. In his remarks, Justice Nasir, who is the Galadima of Katsina, said the foundation gratitude to God and all Nigerians for giving President Buhari the opportunity to serve another term in office. We are most grateful to almighty Allah for bringing you back for another term in office. Our happiness and gratitude goes to Nigerians for electing you, he said. Justice Nasir said the foundation also remained grateful for the years the president served as its chairman. Seventy-two of the 99 journalists killed in 2023 were killed in the Israel-Hamas war, making the last 12 months the deadliest for the media in almost a decade, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday. Killings of reporters would have dropped globally year-on-year had it not been for the deaths in Gaza, Israel and Lebanon, the CPJ said, although fatalities were stable in Somalia and the Philippines. The toll is the highest since 2015 and an increase of nearly 44 percent on 2022s figures. In December 2023, CPJ reported that more journalists were killed in the first three months of the Israel-Gaza war than have ever been killed in a single country over an entire year, the CPJ said. The 72 journalists killed in the Israel-Hamas conflict also include three Lebanese and two Israeli victims, the organization said. Journalists in Gaza are bearing witness on the frontlines, said CPJ chief executive Jodie Ginsberg. The immense loss suffered by Palestinian journalists in this war will have long-term impacts for journalism not just in the Palestinian territories but for the region and beyond. Every journalist killed is a further blow to our understanding of the world. On February 7, the New York-based press freedom organization said the number of journalists killed in the Gaza conflict had risen to 85. CPJ has previously attacked what it calls persecution of journalists by Israeli forces, and is investigating whether a dozen journalists killed in the Gaza conflict were deliberately targeted by Israeli soldiers, which would constitute a war crime. Israel vowed to crush Hamas in response to the Islamist groups October 7 attack on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of about 1,160 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures. Militants also took around 250 people hostage, in the deadliest-ever attack in the country, and around 130 of them are believed to remain in Gaza, including 29 who are believed to be dead. At least 28,576 people, mostly women and children, have been killed in Israels retaliatory military offensive on Gaza, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run Palestinian territory. The greatest reductions in journalist fatalities were registered in Ukraine and Mexico, which both went from 13 killings to two. One of those killed in Ukraine was AFP journalist Arman Soldin. Soldin, 32, died when his reporting team came under fire near the eastern city of Bakhmut. The CPJ warned that Mexico, along with the Philippines and Somalia, was one of the worlds deadliest countries for the press. Compounding the situation, government agencies spy on reporters and rights defenders, and a significant number of journalists have had to leave their homes, and abandon their professions, due to violence, the CPJ report warned. AFP Ministers from Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger Republic plan to proceed with the establishment of a confederation, the Malian foreign ministry said on Thursday. This was as the three countries deepened ties via an alliance that threatened broader West African integration. The latest meeting comes just weeks after the neighbours in the impoverished Sahel region announced in January 2024 their withdrawal from the Economic Community of West African states- a decision the bloc has urged them to rethink, warning of the additional hardships this withdrawal would bring. All three were founding members of the regional bloc in 1975 but had been suspended following military coups that overthrew elected civilian governments. Burkinas Defence Minister General Kassoum Coulibaly said the talks in Ouagadougou were an opportunity to pursue the implementation of instruments, mechanisms and procedures and the legal architecture for the confederation as quoted by Reuters. The procedures will allow our alliance and the confederation to function efficiently and to the great joy of the three countries populations, his Niger counterpart General Salifou Modi said. Last November, their finance ministers said they would weigh the option of setting up a monetary union and top officials from all three countries have, to varying degrees, voiced support for abandoning West Africas CFA franc common currency. The juntas have all severed long-standing military ties with former colonial ruler France, dealing a blow to Frances influence in the Sahel and complicating international efforts to fight the militants linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State. The International Monetary Fund (IMF), had on or about the 12th day of February 2023, confirmed that the Federal Government of Nigeria had quietly resumed the payment of subsidies on the Premium Motor Spirit (PMS). The IMF issued a statement expressing its concerns that the government had capped the prices of fuel at retail stations. There are unconfirmed reports that the Federal Government paid N169.4 Billion as subsidy to keep the pump price at N620 per litre. This is due to the continuous variation in the prices of the Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) in the international market. This position unfortunately brings the country back to where it was before the emergence of the current administration. The current administration upon being sworn into power on the 29th day of May 2023, made it their first point of call in office to immediately and totally withdraw the privileges of the subsidization of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS). This action saw the astronomical rise in the pump price from an average of N185 per litre to N400 per litre and then to N568 per litre and currently N617. This current price is only applicable at NNPC fueling outlets as other retail outlets are selling at higher prices. This removal brought and is still bringing untold hardship on Nigeria and Nigerians as the action triggered a hike in the prices of goods and services in the country. Prices are still on the rise by the week. Nigerians have so far groaned through the hardship without any succor in sight. We are compelled to ask; for how long will Nigeria continue to lurk in the murky waters of subsidy when we have all it takes within our power and resources to delete subsidy from our economy and still sell the product at an affordable rate? From the foregoing, I make bold to say that the enormous demon called subsidy might NEVER disappear from the Nigerian space until the right thing is done by those in power. If Nigeria wants to sell PMS for as low as N50 naira per litre, it is not an impossibility, it is just willpower to do it. This will only work out if the leadership of the country is ready to shelve its selfish ambition and ideas and accept the concepts that will make Nigeria work. Ordinarily and in my personal opinion, the price of PMS in the international market should only affect countries that do not have crude oil. But in countries like Nigeria that have this crude oil, the prices of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) should not be controlled or be determined by the ups and downs of the international market. Nigeria as an oil-producing country, as a matter of fact, the 11th largest oil-producing country in the world and the 1st in Africa should not be tossed to and fro, nor be determined by the whims and caprices of the international market. All these issues still boil down to the failure of successive governments to put our refineries in order. We had an administration that promised to build one refinery per year in office. They stayed 8 years in office without revamping just one of the four moribund refineries, not to talk of building new ones. This has been my simple line of thought as a pathway for the downstream sector. Refine Nigerias crude oil in Nigeria for consumption first When Nigeria explores its crude oil, it can determine the price by itself after paying the necessary royalties to the communities. Royalties are also determined by a new price regime the government intends to put in place. Secondly, the crude oil is refined here in Nigeria. We have four government-owned refineries, one private refinery and a private refinery nearing completion as well as a series of illegal refineries that are being bombarded by raiding government officers. All these refineries at full capacity can refine the entire PMS, diesel, gas, and kerosene as well as other by-products that come from crude oil. As a matter of fact, the private refinery built by business mogul, Alhaji Dangote is believed to have the capacity to take care of the entire PMS needs of Nigeria and still have so much left over for exportation. Nearly one year since the inauguration of the refinery, Nigerians are yet to feel the positive impact of the refinery. The government can determine what the price of the refined product can be at this stage without running into loss. Let our refined product satisfy the country while the remaining is left for exportation. The ones left for exportation can now be determined or be subjected to the forces of the international market, but the product that is released into the Nigerian market is simply determined by the prevailing economic situation in Nigeria and as determined by the government cap. No external force or forces will change prices at will in this circumstance. With this arrangement, Nigeria can sell PMS to the Nigerian market for as low as N100, while the product that is exported goes for as high as N1000, depending on the value at the international market. Furthermore, I must state emphatically that if Nigeria becomes a major refined product exporter, our currency which has been tossed back and forth by the malevolent wind of the market forces will find its bearing and value within a few months. The legalization of illegal refineries Illegal refineries have been an issue in Nigeria even before the discovery of crude oil in commercial quantity. It was reported that during the civil war that lasted between 1967 and 1970, the erstwhile Republic of Biafra was already exploring oil and refining it through makeshift procedures. This position is confirmed in several books written about the prosecution of the civil war from the Biafran side. Products from these refineries were reportedly used to move most of the machines and equipment used by the Biafran soldiers during the war. These makeshift refineries still exist in several locations but without the recognition and authorization of the government and have been declared illegal. It has always been on the news for several decades that government forces raided illegal refineries operating in the Niger Delta region. This to my mind is a situation that will forever remain. Illegal refining of these products will remain until the crude oil dries up completely. My opinion for several years has been that the government can recognize these crude refineries but with very close monitoring. The government can set up a body that operates like NAFDAC, to monitor the standard of every product emanating from these makeshift refineries. Until a product gets the satisfactory pass mark of an inspector that is attached to it as well as a pass mark for all environmental factors connected to the product, it must not be allowed into the market. This license given to small-scale crude oil refiners will go a long way to fight the menace posed by the international market. We have watched several documentaries where operators of these dubbed illegal refineries have spoken to reporters and said they wish to be recognized by the government and be allowed to operate formally. Setting a timeline to stop the outright exportation of crude oil and banning the importation of PMS I am also of the view that the government may also set a timeline within which it will stop exporting crude oil as well as ban the importation of refined oil products. This might sound illogical but I must say emphatically that when all refineries in Nigeria are working adequately and in full capacity, Nigeria can begin to export strictly refined products of all kinds. The exportation of strictly refined products can further strengthen the Nigerian currency and make it favorably compete with foreign currencies. Nigeria exporting refined products can on its own determine what the international market should be. But as long as just push out crude oil, we will be at the mercy of the international market. Everything stated herein is not new to the people in power, but the willingness and the desire to carry out this project has been the biggest thorn in the flesh of succeeding governments in Nigeria and still remains. For the sake of emphasis, one of the biggest things that can make Nigerias currency find its bearing is when Nigeria becomes a big exporting country and this can happen through the exportation of refined products. Until this is done, retention or removal of subsidies will remain a popular character in Nigeria. Until we put our own house in order, we will continually be controlled by what the international markets say. The Nigerian economy has all it takes to be independent of the international market, particularly as it relates to the price of PMS, but as long as the house is in disarray, we might find it difficult to make progress as a nation. We can only hope Nigeria gets it right and in good time. The suffering of the ordinary citizens is becoming unbearable and is telling hard. The increasing rate of kidnapping and demand for ransom cannot be unconnected to the fact that the economic situation is not sustainable. The earlier the government takes proactive steps to curb the continuous rise in prices and services of daily commodities and needs of the ordinary citizen, the better it will be for all. At the current rate of administration and governance, we can only hope that the revolution bubble will not burst under the groans of suffering. There is a limit to which you can push people. Akintayo Balogun Esq., LL.B (Hons), BL, LL.M, is a legal practitioner in private practice based in Abuja, FCT. A prolific writer, public affairs analyst, and commentator on national issues. akinson6@gmail.com . Related By Chuks Eke Following the recent violent attack on a commercial bus belonging to GUO Transport Company by unknown gunmen, a security analyst, Mr. Matthew Okafor has called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to declare a state of emergency on security in Nigeria in order to stem the tide of violent crimes and ensure a safer highway for road users and transporters in the country. The call is coming barely a week after the gunmen suspected to be ransom kidnappers carried out a bloody attack on the 14-seater passenger bus belonging to GUO Transport Company Ikare-Akoko in Ondo state, along Lagos/Abuja. Expressway. The gunmen who shot and killed the driver of the bus, abducted all the passengers on board the vehivle, leaving only a three-year old girl in the vehicle. Condemning the the nefarious activities of the hoodlums in strongest terms, Okafor decried the spate of kidnappings and other violent crimes on the highway across the country, and called for withholding of the Governors security votes in states where such deadly violent crimes are prevalent, until they sit up to combat the scourge. According to Okafor, it is high time the federal government declares a state of emergency on security on Nigeria. He regretted that the police, army and other security agencies would mount roadblocks on the highways and would be concentrating on collecting tolls from motorists, whereas armed robberies and kidnapping operations would be ongoing 100 yards away without any intervention. In the past weeks, over 20 commercial buses had been waylaid and their passengers either killed or kidnapped on the highway without security agencies intervention in resolving this dangerous trend. Thats too bad, he lamented. Okafor queried whether the police and army are complicit with criminals in making the highways too dangerous to travel in. As a matter of national security emergency, he advocated for the police, army and other security agencies to be equipped with operational patrol vehicles, armoured cars, walkie-talkies, drones and other logistics, including prompt payment of duty allowances to security personnel on duty. He pointed out that armed robberies and kidnapping of innocent passengers in commercial buses had become rampant in states like Edo, Delta, Kogi and Abuja, while passengers see hell on those routes. He called the governors of those states, and the bosses of security agencies in their domain to sit up and tackle the security challenges or resign from their offices and make room for more competent hands to take over and fight highway crimes to make the roads safe again. Related From Msurshima Andrew, Makurdi The Centre for Food Technology and Research, (CEFTER), Benue State University, (BSU), Makurdi, has called on Benue Investment and Property Company Limited, (BIPC), to partner with them to end post-harvest losses in the state. The Director of CEFTER, Professor Barnabas Ikyo, made the request on while presenting activities of the institution to the Management of BIPC at the Companys Corporate Headquarters in Makurdi, on Wednesday. Ikyo, during his presentation outlined many viable opportunities in food production that BIPC can key into to create a brand for the Company. He said the research institution has proposed to undertake 10 mini-factories sponsored by the World Bank where oranges, mangos, casava, yams, tomatoes, rice, among others, can be processed. The CEFTER boss said the factories when launched in April, the centre will produce many consumables and beverages, such as biscuits, tomatoes, pepper paste and water. He particularly requested BIPC partnership in the production of wine, craft beer, and processing of mango, pineapple, sorghum, lemon, and other agriculture crops produced in the state. According to him, the institute is setting up a controlled-atmosphere storage facility and a dryer to store fruits and vegetables produced in the state. Responding, the Managing Director of BIPC, Dr. Raymond Asemakaha, expressed readiness to partner with the institute in creating wealth for the people of the state. He said, BIPC is ready to partner with the center because Benue State has a peculiar problem of unemployment, which is about 4.7 million youths. Were sitting on a time bomb that will soon explode, so we are doing everything to make sure we engage in ventures that will add value to the state and create jobs for our teeming youths. The Managing Director emphasized that if post-harvest losses are controlled, farmers will have value for their farm produce and prevent capital flight. If we control post-harvest losses, we will stop capital flight, allow our farmers to have value for their goods, and give the right revenue to our state. It is a good business; BIPC will visit the plant. We need to up our game in Benue, so were interested in investing in wine and craft beer processing. the MD said. Related By Chuks Eke Mrs. Eucharia Agbasimalo, wife of Chief Obiorah Agbasimalo, the kidnapped governorship candidate of the Labour Party, LP in the November 2021 Anambra state gubernatorial election has told an Ihiala High Court sitting at Nnewi that she has a concrete evidence to prove that the two defendants currently standing trial before the court have hands in her husbands abduction. Testifying before the court presided over by Justice C. N. Mbonu-Nwenyi during a cross-examination by B. I. Nkememena, counsel to one of the defendants in continuation of the trial of Chukwudi Odimegwu and Maxwell Nwokolo and others at large, over their alleged involvement in her husbands kidnap on September 18, 2021, while on a campaign tour, Eucharia contended that from her personal conversation with Nwokolo to his statement to the police and how he collected a total sum of N5.4 million as ransom, she was convinced that Nwokolo and his accomplice had hands in the kidnap saga She further contended that Nwokolos advice to her family to play down the police reports, the failure of the kidnappers to release her abducted husband up till date, despite Nwokolos assurance that he would be released once our family played down the police report and at the same time cough out a whooping sum of N5.4 million, are enough evidence to prove that Nwokolo and his cohorts are culpable in the abduction saga. Besides, she stated that in his statement to the police, Nwokolo wrote that his Investigating Police Officer, IPO told him that the first defendant, Chukwudi Odimegwu disclosed that the running mate to the abducted Obiorah Agbasimalo, Chinedu Nuokwe paid N8 million to the police for Odimegwus bail Bond and also hired a lawyer to secure his bail from the police custody. Further testifying, Mrs. Agbasimalo declared that Maxwell himself called her after a meeting held at the Palace of the traditional ruler of Ezinifite Nnewi South on how to secure the release of her husband from the kidnappers camp, adding that he was at the meeting with Blackstone, one of the suspected kidnappers still at large and some others from the kidnappers camp where her husband was being kept. He assured me that my husband will not only be taken good care of but also will come back home alife once the abducted Obiorah governorship campaign sponsor, Chief Godwin Agbasimalo Oga Ndi Oga who is my husbands elder brother and my.family members comply with the kidnappers demands. It was at that same meeting held at Igwes palace that the second defendant, Maxwell Nwokolo was given an initial sum of N2.5 million. Although, I did not see when Nwokolo collected the money from Oga Ndi Oga, my husbands sponsor and elder brother, it was Oga Ndi Oga himself that informed me that he had given the money to Nwokolo as he demanded, Nwokolo himself confirmed to me that he had received the cash. Maxwell Nwokolo told me this on phone when men of the Intelligence Response Team, IRT from Abuja arrested Blackstone who is now at large and Maxwell confirmed before me, the police and every other person present at the meeting that he received the money. I did not witness the giving and receiving of another N400,000 to Maxwell but the Ezinifite traditional ruler who gave him the money told me on phone and I also confirmed it from Maxwell himself. I did not know Maswell Bank Account details where the second N2.5 million ransom was paid into but my husbands sponsor. and elder brother, Godwin Agbasimalo ,(Oga Ndi Oga) knew his Account details and he included it in his statement to the Department of State Services, DSS. So, I did not witness the payments but Oga Ndi Oga told me and Maxwell who was also the receipent equally told me). After listening to her evidence,, the presiding Judge, Justice Mbonu-Nwenyi adjourned further hearing to Friday, February. 16 this year for the next prosecution witness to mount the witness box. Related The National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives (NANNM) has declared that its members will commence a nationwide strike at any moment following the lapse of the 48-hour ultimatum issued to the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria (NMCN) regarding the stringent certificate verification guidelines. This is contained in a statement signed by Thomas A.O (RN) on behalf of the Naija Nurses Forum on Thursday. The nurse on Monday, February 12, 2024, staged a peaceful protest at the head office of NMCN in Abuja and Lagos to demand the review of the verification guidelines which they said would hinder their freedom to practice. The statement noted that the verification exercise should not take more than 48 hours, according to international standards as applicable in other countries. The statement also called for the immediate withdrawal of the new circular and the reopening of the verification portal without conditions. The nurses said they would have no option but to embark on an industrial action since the council had failed to meet their demands. Other demands of the nurses are improved nurses welfare; increased hazard allowance; improved working conditions and increased support for professional development opportunities. The statement said, It is no longer news that nurses in Lagos and Abuja held a protest on Monday, 12th February 2024, against the inability of nurses to access the verification portal and the new verification guidelines. The verification was suspended on the NMCN portal in December 2023. This is an act of unaccountability and irresponsibility on the part of NMCN registrar and other Nursing leaders including the NANNM president. As if that was not enough, a circular was released last week through the official Twitter handle of the regulatory body, stating new verification guidelines with lots of stringent rules which are not only absurd but also barbaric and unexpected of a regulatory body. The registrar has portrayed himself to be an autocratic and oppressive leader so also does the minister of health. Also, we want to use this medium to inform nurses that NMCN establishment act needs to be reviewed while the regulatory body should be an independent one and not under the Federal Ministry of Health anymore, as the current status quo and dependency will continue to enslave nurses! This is an eye opener for nursing leaders to work towards our professional bodys independence. It is time for us to resist all forms of oppression against nurses and work towards our liberation as certified professionals. We are in unwavering solidarity with nurses in Oyo, Ondo and Bayelsa states that are holding their protests today against oppression of nurses and other state chapters currently organizing massive actions at chosen dates nationwide. We had given NMCN an ultimatum of 48 hours to meet our demands, which elapsed on Wednesday, 14th of February 2024. We will embark on nationwide protest if the federal government fails to meet our demands. The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has sealed off Sahad Stores Supermarket at Area 11 Garki, Abuja. This development followed President Bola Ahmed Tinubus recent directive to clampdown on hoarders and speculators. National Daily Newspaper learned that FCCPC accused the management of Sahad Store Supermarket of shortchanging customers by charging prices other than the official price tag on their shelves. Following the development, residents expressed anger over the actions of the government, lamenting government policies are not always thought out to proffer long term solutions. A Civil Servant who simply identified as Chris said the prices are increasing everyday and a shop as big as Sahad cannot update it price everyday. According to him, business people have to sell at prevailing prices to keep their business running, else they will end up in huge debt. Also Rebecca Adikwu an Entrepreneur said this is not the right move for government to take. On his part, Kenneth Maduabuchi said, Nigerias problem is hydra headed and more complicated because those at the helm of affairs have no concrete plans for the control, their plans is just to be in power. ALSO READ : Police commence investigation into death of restaurant owner Hadiza Nakowa How does shutting down Sahad Stores reduce prices of commodities in Nigeria. The FCCPC enforcement team was led by Acting Executive Vice Chairman of the agency, Adamu Ahmed Abdullahi. Briefing journalists thereafter, Abdullahi said the commissions preliminary investigation confirmed that the owners of the supermarket were short-changing customers. He said the store would remain sealed until the completion of the further investigation, National Daily Newspaper gathered. The Supreme Court has dismissed the appeal filed by the federal government against the reversal of the conviction of former Niger Delta Minister, Godsday Orubebe, on allegation of breach of Code of Conduct for Public Officers. In a judgment on Friday, a five-member panel of the apex court held that the appeal by the federal government was incompetent. In the lead judgment prepared by Justice Mohammed Lawal Garba, but read on Friday by Justice Emmanuel Agim, the court found that the appellant failed to obtain the prior leave of the court before filing the appeal, which was based on grounds of mixed law and facts. The court held that since the prior leave of court was not obtained as required, the appeal was incompetent and proceeded to dismiss it. READ ALSO: Aisha Yesufu reacts to the defection of Godsday Orubebe from the PDP to the APC The federal government appeal, marked: SC/680/2017 was against the June 14, 2017 judgment of the Court of Appeal, Abuja which set aside Orubebes conviction on October 4, 2016 by the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) for breach of Code of Conduct for public officers. The federal government had, in a single-count charge, accused him of failing to declare a property at Plot 2057, Asokoro District, Abuja, in any of the asset declaration forms which he submitted to the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) while serving as a minister. Orubebe denied the allegation, claiming to have sold the property before becoming a minister and therefore found no need to declare it. President Bola Tinubu, joined by Vice President Kashim Shettima at a meeting with the 36 Governors in the federation, and the FCT Minister, at the State House, Abuja, reached agreement with the governors on what constitute major takeaways from the meeting. The takeaways, according to the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, include the following: 1. On insecurity which is also affecting farming and food production, President Tinubu made 3 key pronouncements A. More police personnel to be recruited to strengthen the force. B. President Tinubu informed the Governors that the Federal Government will work with them and the National Assembly towards putting in place a mechanism that will engender state police instead of the vigilantes that are being used in some states. C. The President charged the Governors to strengthen their Forest Rangers and arm them to keep all the forest safe from criminals. D. Modalities for State Police and addressing security issues to be discussed further at National Economic Council. 2. On rising cost of food: The President directed that the State Governments and Federal government should collaborate to increase local food production. The President advised against the idea of food importation and price control when local food producers should be encouraged to produce more food. 3. President advised Governors to follow the example of Kano State in dealing with hoarding of food for profiteering by commodities merchants. He directed the Inspector-General of Police, National Security Adviser, Department of State Services to monitor warehouses hoarding food items across the country and stop profiteering by merchants. 4. President charged Governors to pay attention to livestock development in their states and increase production most especially poultry and fishing products. 5. President pleaded with Governors to ensure all salary arrears to workers, gratuities to retired workers and pensioners are cleared as a way to put money into the hands of the people since states are now getting more monthly FAAC revenue. Spend the money, dont spend the people, he urged the governors 6. President Tinubu implored Governors to create more economic opportunities for the youths in their states to keep them more productively engaged. Akwa Ibom State Governor, Pastor Umo Eno has described late GMD/CEO of Access Holdings Plc, Dr Herbert Wigwe as a dear brother who not only planted his footprints on the sands of time but also impacted the world. Governor Eno made the assertion during a condolence visit today on Pastor Shyngle and Lady Stella Wigwe, the aged parents of the late top banker and entrepreneur at their Northern Foresehore Estate, Lagos residence. The State Chief Executive while consoling the Wigwes noted that their son was a star and urged them to take heart and be strong. He assured them that he, and the rest of Herberts brothers and sisters will rally round them to mitigate the effects of the tragic helicopter accident that also claimed the lives of the late bankers wife, Chizoba, son, Chizzy as well as former Chairman of the Nigerian Exchange ( NGX), Mr. Abimbola Ogunbanjo. Governor Eno who was received by Access Bank Plc Chairman, Mr Paul Usoro, SAN, Mr Aigboje Aig -Imoukhuede and deceased brother, Mr Emeka Wigwe stated that the thoughts and prayers of the people of Akwa Ibom were with the families of all the deceased while praying for God to bless their souls. In his response, Pastor Shyngle Wigwe thanked Governor Eno for the visit and expression of love. The Former Director- General of Nigerian Television Authority ( NTA) noted that though every parents dream is to be buried by his children, the devastating incident was indeed a test of his faith. He urged everyone to keep praying for the Wigwe family at this hour of grieve. Governor Eno who also spent time thanking family and friends such as former Governor Donald Duke and wife, Onari, Mrs Cecila Ibru, Dr. Dere Awosika, Mr Dere Otubu, Dr Yemi Ogunbiyi, Sam Iwuajoku and Greg Unaseru for being present and standing by the family, later signed the condolence register , where he wrote: To my brother Herbert, you came, impacted the world and made it better than you met it. May your memory live forever. May God grant everyone, particularly your aged parents, the fortitude to bear this irreparable loss. Rest in peace my brother The Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi has urged Nigerians especially southwesterners to stop blaming President Muhammadu Buhari, but support him and his government for the peace of the country. Oba Adeyemi stated this on Thursday during a gathering of Yoruba leaders in Ibadan, while calling for collective efforts toward restoring peace and unity in the country. The respected monarch noted that Buhari cannot fix the country alone, even though he is doing his best for the nation. He recalls that the southwest once had its son, Olusegun Obasanjo, as president but he did not do all that was demanded of him. Stop blaming Buhari, we will work with him to achieve the desired nation. We have had our son as the president who never did all we wanted for us. Send us to Buhari and we will deliver the message, Oba Adeyemi said The Alaafin called for the restructuring of the nations federal system as the only solution to the current national challenge. The Electoral Institute, Abuja on Friday said that it would use the Kogi and Bayelsa State governorship elections to correct all the wrongs from the lessons learnt during the 2019 general elections. Dr. Saad Idris, Director-General of the institute said at a Policy Dialogue series tagged, Dynamics of Delegation: Reforms in the Recruitment, Training and Deployment of Ad-hoc Election Personnel in Abuja that Professor Mahmood Yakubu, Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), has been engaging with stakeholders since the last elections, to know what went wrong to improve on subsequent elections. The INEC chairman, according to him, has been making effort to address the challenges faced, so this is a part of that effort to look into the recruitment, training and deployment of ad-hoc staff during elections. The effort of the commission is clear, it has owned up to some things that it did not do right, so beginning from the Kogi and Bayelsa elections, you will see improvement. Idris said that the plans to correct the electoral process had started, adding that we are not going to wait for general elections before correcting all the wrongs. Idris explained that the meeting was part of the mandate to organize a policy dialogue, to engage in dialogue for reforms, recruitment, training and deployment of ad-hoc staff. He also said that the dialogue was with particular reference to what happened in 2019 elections. Earlier, Prof. Shola Omotola, lead speaker and lecturer, Federal University of Oye-Ekiti, Ekiti State called for expansion of the recruitment data base of adhoc staff to include ex-NYSC members, to guarantee continuity. Omotola, therefore, called for training and re-training of ad-hoc staff and the need to put mechanisms in place to enable such staff to also vote on Election Day, in order not to disenfranchise them. He advised INEC to imbibe the culture of timely recruitment and training of ad-hoc staff to enable them work effectively. Omotola also said that there was need to guarantee their security as well as increase their remunerations for greater performance. Mr. Adedeji Soyebi, Chairman, Board of Electoral Institute, said that a lot had been learnt from the lessons shared by various stakeholders at the occasion. Soyebi said that ad-ahoc staff played critical role in the electoral process, adding that INEC could not afford to overlook such role. So the reforms in the delegation of responsibilities would constantly be reviewed he said. He said that the institute would continue to improve on the electoral process in consonance with the commitment of INEC to ensure free, fair and credible elections and acceptable by all. Chief Lucy Ajayi, the Executive Director of Lagos International Trade Fair, has congratulated President Muhammadu Buhari over his victory at the last Saturday presidential polls,urging Nigerians to anticipate a better days ahead. Madam Lucy made this assertion while in a media chat with newsmen in her office. She said that President Buhari is a silent achiever, who the propaganda machine of the opposition finds it very hard to stop. Like I said prior to the election, his works has spoken for him, sincerely people know whom to vote for. Forget what they are saying, it is all propaganda,many confided in me, saying madam never mind what they are saying,we have seen your works. The remaining election will be smooth,Nigerians should go out and perform their civic duty without fear, they should vote for APC candidates all through for the good works to continue seamlessly. Commenting on the errorneous statement making the rounds, that the economy might nosedive again, Lucy dispel the rumour citing the LITFC as one of probable pointers to a better Nigeria all thanks to Buhari. With Buhari on the saddle again,Nigerians have nothing to fear,as there lies better days ahead,he would surely put smiles on their faces. Take for instance what we have been able to do the at Lagos International Trade Fair here, gradually we are restoring its lost glory, owing to Buharis forthrightness. I make bold to say Nigeria will work again,Buhari is seriously pursuing that course and it is already yielding fruits via our GDP. Massive Infrastructural works across the country and the direct economic facelift for the downtrodden are clear pointers to better days coming,genuine and patriotic Nigerians have nothing to fear. I want to congratulate Mr President, my father Muhammadu Buhari,APC elected Senators and Reps on this well deserved victory, as I have always said,Nigerians FeBuhari in February, Lucy reiterated. Nasir El-Rufai, Muhammadu Sanusi II Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai has named dethroned Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II as Chancellor of Kaduna State University, KASU. Sanusi succeeds the pioneer Chancellor, His Highness, Malam Tagwai Sambo, the Chief of Moroa, who was appointed to the role in 2005. A statement from Sir Kashim Ibrahim House announced the new appointment. On behalf of the government and people of Kaduna State, Malam Nasir El-Rufai is delighted to appoint His Highness, Muhammadu Sanusi II as the Chancellor of the Kaduna State University. In public life, His Highness has demonstrated a strong commitment to education. The Kaduna State Government has no doubt that as Chancellor, His Highness Muhammadu Sanusi, would provide symbolic and substantive leadership in raising the profile of KASU as an emerging centre of learning on the national and global level. This appointment of the new chancellor comes at an exciting moment for KASU which is transiting to a multi-campus structure with presence across the state, a statement issued by Muyiwa Adekeye, Special Adviser to the Governor (Media & Communication), said. According to the statement, Muhammadu Sanusi II replaces the pioneer Chancellor, HH Malam Tagwai Sambo, the Chief of Moroa, who has served in that role since 2005. Governor El-Rufai has conveyed the profound appreciation of the government to HH Malam Tagwai Sambo for the long years of distinguished service to KASU and the state. Malam Nasir El-Rufai welcomes with gratitude the consent of His Highness Muhammadu Sanusi to serve as Chancellor of KASU and as Vice-Chairman of the board of KADIPA. The Kaduna State Government is grateful that HH Muhammadu Sanusi II continues to support and assist the realisation of the governance objectives of the Kaduna State Government. Currently showing on Apple TV+ is Masters of the Air, a critically acclaimed program based on the true-life experiences of U.S. airmen fighting against Nazi Germany in World War II. The nine-part series, which began Jan. 26 and ends March 15, is produced by Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg. Episode 5 airs tonight. The series is based on the book of the same name by Donald L. Miller, and recounts the dangerous missions of the 100th Bombardment Group. The U.S. troops were stationed at Royal Air Force Thorpe Abbotts airfield in Britain and were known as the "Bloody Hundredth" because of the heavy casualties they suffered during bombing runs over Nazi-occupied Europe. This series is particularly interesting to my family as our uncle Don Phillips, a native of Chenoa, was also a navigator in a B-17 bomber during WWII. On Sept. 6, 1943, his plane ran out of fuel near the coast of France, forcing all 10 crew members to bail. Don was captured and became a prisoner of war at Stalag Luft III, the same German POW camp highlighted in the Masters of the Air. The official synopsis for the TV series reads: Portraying the psychological and emotional price paid by these young men as they helped destroy the horror of Hitlers Third Reich is at the heart of Masters of the Air. Some were shot down and captured; some were wounded or killed. And some were lucky enough to make it home. Regardless of individual fate, a toll was exacted on them all. From his journals and letters, we know the conditions Uncle Don endured were deplorable. Yet, the profound impact of the experience was something he rarely talked about in later years. Like many of that generation, suffering and sacrifice were part of life you just dealt with and moved on. The depiction is the closest thing we will ever have to understanding Dons experience, said my cousin Theresa Ripley, also a Chenoa native. Two years ago, Theresa authored an e-book entitled After the Great Escape: 1945, Forced March to Liberation. The work is a collection of letters, transcripts and memories of Don and several other POWs, including Ernest Thorp of Clinton and Verl Fisher of Assumption, all of whom are now deceased. The book is available free of charge on Apple Books. The narrative describes the brutal, forced march made by the POWs in early 1945. As Allied forces were advancing into Germany, the 10,000 prisoners confined at Stalag Luft III faced their most dangerous situation yet. Would they be executed by their captors or moved deeper into Germany? Knowing Russian troops were closing in, camp commanders forced the men on a grueling march to another site, Stalag VIIA near Moosburg. The march began amid severe weather conditions, as men walked three abreast through a foot of snow. Dons group of 2,000 men, led by Col. Delmar Spivey, spent the first night in a small church at Halbau. POW Vern Burda recalled, several of us already had frostbitten feet and hands. We were finally put up about 2,000 of us in a church which had a capacity of 500. It was so crowded we had to sleep in shifts, and it was very, very cold. However, the worst was yet to come for the last leg of the journey, as the men were crammed into cattle cars for four days in horrifying conditions. Ernest Thorp noted in his memoirs, The trip was a nightmare. Crowded and cramped Eating in dirt and filth. Water only once. The rest of the story including the extreme elation as American tanks crashed through the camp gate on April 29, 1945, to liberate the men make the book a riveting read. The true life stories of patriotism and valor shared in Masters of the Air and Theresas e-book are astounding. Eighty years later, the sacrifices of the men, and their deep commitment to one another, remain inspirational examples for us all. Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site. 0108263 License for publishing multimedia online Registration Number: 130349 Registration Number: 130349 BLOOMINGTON A 48-year-old Bloomington man is facing felony charges after state police said he twice sold cocaine in McLean County. Adrian Rosales-Zenteno first appeared Thursday on the charges of unlawful delivery of 1-15 grams of cocaine and unlawful delivery of a controlled substance. An assistant states attorney told the court the charges are not eligible for pretrial detention. Rosales-Zenteno was released from police custody after a judge ordered him to follow all statutory conditions of release and to not use or possess alcohol, cannabis or controlled substances without a valid prescription. Charging documents stated Rosales-Zenteno sold cocaine on two occasions. The records indicated that both purchases were monitored by agents working for Illinois State Police Task Force Six, a narcotics enforcement unit. Rosales-Zenteno's arraignment is scheduled for 10 a.m. March 1. Close 07316-blm-loc-3drugfree The Christian Faith Center at 502 W. Front St. is protected from drug dealers with a 1,000 foot drug-free zone. The zone gives prosecutors options when dealing with dangerous individuals. 073116-blm-loc-2drugfree A sign warns of the existence of a drug-free school zone at Sugar Creek Elementary School in Normal. 073116-blm-loc-1drugfree The West Bloomington Revitalization Center, more than 400 feet from Friendship Park at Allin and Jefferson streets, is protected by a 1,000-foot drug-free zone. At 1,000 feet away, it is virtually impossible to see the park from the center. 073116-blm-loc-4drugfree A contractor mows a lawn near First Christian Church at Monroe and Lee streets in downtown Bloomington. The church and surrounding property are located within a 1,000-foot drug-free zone. 07316-blm-loc-5drugfree Constitution Trail is among the largest drug free zones in McLean County. Because the law requires a 1,000-foot zone on each side of the trail, there is actually a 2,000-foot wide drug-free corridor through the center of Bloomington-Normal. 07316-blm-loc-6drugfree Students attending Illinois State University would do well to know that selling drugs on campus could bring additional penalties that could send them to prison. Photos: Drug free zones in the area There are a variety of drug free zones in McLean County that extend protection to 1,000 feet from individuals who would sell narcotics. 07316-blm-loc-3drugfree The Christian Faith Center at 502 W. Front St. is protected from drug dealers with a 1,000 foot drug-free zone. The zone gives prosecutors options when dealing with dangerous individuals. 073116-blm-loc-2drugfree A sign warns of the existence of a drug-free school zone at Sugar Creek Elementary School in Normal. 073116-blm-loc-1drugfree The West Bloomington Revitalization Center, more than 400 feet from Friendship Park at Allin and Jefferson streets, is protected by a 1,000-foot drug-free zone. At 1,000 feet away, it is virtually impossible to see the park from the center. 073116-blm-loc-4drugfree A contractor mows a lawn near First Christian Church at Monroe and Lee streets in downtown Bloomington. The church and surrounding property are located within a 1,000-foot drug-free zone. 07316-blm-loc-5drugfree Constitution Trail is among the largest drug free zones in McLean County. Because the law requires a 1,000-foot zone on each side of the trail, there is actually a 2,000-foot wide drug-free corridor through the center of Bloomington-Normal. 07316-blm-loc-6drugfree Students attending Illinois State University would do well to know that selling drugs on campus could bring additional penalties that could send them to prison. BLOOMINGTON A moderate snowstorm Friday morning contributed to multiple car crashes in McLean County but with a significant warmup expected by next week, the snow won't stick around for long. McLean, Tazewell and Fulton counties were put under a winter weather advisory starting at 6 a.m. Friday with anticipated snow accumulations of 2 to 4 inches as well as slippery road conditions. The advisory is in effect in McLean County until 3 p.m. Nicole Albano, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, said that by 9:30 a.m. Friday, an inch of snow had been reported in McLean County. She added that the Illinois Department of Transportation reported at least some partially covered roads in McLean County. She expected the snow to be finished by mid-afternoon. "Snow will begin to exit from north to south some time in the early afternoon," Albano said. "It should be out of the area as early as 3 p.m." Bryce Janssen, public information officer for the Bloomington Police Department, said in a statement that the department had responded to five crashes by 7:30 a.m. Friday. We want to remind everyone to plan ahead and leave plenty of time to get to their destinations, avoid distractions while driving, and always wear your seatbelts, Janssen stated. Brad Park, community services officer with the Normal Police Department, said officers responded to "a few" traffic crashes Friday morning. He advised drivers to turn on their headlights, clear their windows and drive cautiously. The weather caused more problems outside of city limits, with the McLean County Sheriff's Office and rural police departments responding to 19 calls for traffic crashes or other assistance by early Friday afternoon, according to Lt. Jon Albee. He noted rural roadways in unincorporated areas of McLean County are under a collision alert until further notice. A statement made to the sheriff's Facebook page advised drivers to increase their following and stopping distance, reduce their speed and turn on headlights. Those involved in minor crashes should exchange insurance information and report the crash to the sheriffs office within 48 hours. The department will dispatch deputies for crashes that involve injuries, or for vehicles unable to be driven away. Lee Enterprises meteorologist Matt Holiner had said rain showers were projected overnight, but when the precipitation moved into Central Illinois at around 1 a.m. Friday, the temperature was cold enough for it to start out as snow. As a result, the estimated snow accumulation increased from 1 to 3 inches to 2 to 4 inches. Albano said overnight lows Friday night into Saturday morning would be in the low teens with wind chills dropping into single digits. Temperatures will stay chilly at least for the first half of the weekend, and there may still be slick spots on untreated roads. However, temperatures will rebound quickly by Sunday, and are forecast to reach the 50s to near 60 by midweek. How to keep your kids safe while they play in the snow Dont let your kids dig forts in snowbanks Beware of cars Go sledding instead of playing in snowbanks Monitor your kids Watch for frostbite Don't eat the snow Stay hydrated Keep a keen eye on man's best friend Dress appropriately for the activity How Time Flies is a daily feature looking back at Pantagraph archives to revisit what was happening in our community and region. 100 years ago Feb. 16, 1924: Community troops of Boy Scouts are soon to be organized in the public schools of the city after the consent of the Parent-Teacher Association was obtained, according to the local headquarters. Art Kane is chairman of the committee on troop organization. Elmo Franklin has consented that the scouts use his grove, about 22 miles from Bloomington on the hard road west of LeRoy, for the annual summer camp. 75 years ago Feb. 16, 1949: A young woman of Bloomington or McLean County may become "Miss America of 1949" or, at least, the Bloomington Junior Chamber of Commerce will start her on the way this summer. The state Jaycee organization now owns the exclusive franchise of the "Miss America" contest in Illinois. 50 years ago Feb. 16, 1974: Ciba-Geigy Corporation, American subsidiary of a Swiss-based group, announced it intends to make an offer to purchase shares of Funk Seeds International Inc. Ciba-Geigy will offer to buy Funk stock at $16 per share only if it can obtain a majority of the outstanding shares. 25 years ago Feb. 16, 1999: SuperValu Inc. made an offer that Bloomington Cub Foods owner Mike Bell couldn't refuse, and now the food retailer at 403 N. Veterans Parkway will be changing hands March 1, officials for both sides confirmed. The Cub Foods name will remain, and the store's 150 employees will be kept, SuperValu representatives said. Vintage Pantagraph newspaper ads for medicine, 'magic' remedies Clover Blossom Extract - Nov. 15, 1883 St. Jacobs Oil - July 14, 1887 Castoria - July 26, 1892 Rheumatic Ring - May 29, 1894 Beefmalt - May 29, 1894 Wakefield's Cough Syrup - Feb. 13, 1908 S.S.S. - April 23, 1908 Olive Tablets - Nov. 20, 1911 Cold-go - Dec. 11, 1911 Dr. Danby - Dec. 11, 1911 Allcock Plasters - March 2, 1917 Olive Tablets - Feb. 23, 1918 Laxative Bromo Quinine - Oct. 16, 1918 Bayer Tablets of Aspirin - April 24, 1919 Bayer Tablets of Aspirin - April 29, 1919 Snake Oil - Nov. 22, 1919 Beecham's Pills - Nov. 22, 1919 Snake Oil - Nov. 29, 1919 Doan's Kidney Pills - March 8, 1920 Bayer Tablets of Aspirin - Sept. 21, 1920 J.C. Hutzell's Eczema Treatment - Nov. 11, 1922 Gude's Pepto-Mangan - April 2, 1923 O-Joy Corn Wafers - March 4, 1930 Dr. Pierce's Favorite Prescription - March 19, 1930 666 Tablets - March 25, 1930 Cuticura - March 25, 1930 Geo-Mineral - Dec. 8, 1948 Anacin - Jan. 16, 1963 Liquiprin - Aug. 27, 1970 Icy Hot - Nov. 20, 1977 Accra Financial Centre (AFC) and Clubhouse Ghana Limited have collaborated to lend a fresh lease of life to the aging Queen Elizabeth II Educational Foundation, known to be the first nursery school to be established in the country. The two organisations on Tuesday, handed over refurbished school infrastructure and equipment worth USD12,000 to the Administrator of the 74-year-old early childhood learning institution, putting smiles on the faces of the pupils, staff, and school authorities. Queen Elizabeth II Educational Foundation is a private community school established in 1950 when Lady Arden-Clarke, wife of the last Governor of the then Gold Coast, Sir Charles Noble Arden-Clarke, led philanthropists to build an educational facility for children which, at the time, became known as the Accra Day Nursery. The Accra Day Nursery, the very first of its kind in the country, was then entrusted to the local community under the auspices of the overlord of the Gbese people on whose soil the institution was located. The schools name changed to Queen Elizabeth II Educational Foundation in 1961 after the British monarch, accompanied by Ghanas first President, Dr Kwame Nkrumah, paid a historic visit to children at the school. Operating just a creche and a Kindergarten in its prime years, the school is said to have enrolled a large number of children of notable individuals as well as children of successful traders at the erstwhile Makola Market nearby. Over the years, the school advanced from its purely nursery status and went into the full stretch of primary and basic education, serving mostly families in the Gbese community, children and dependents of Makola traders as well as some market porters. Unfortunately, in recent years, facilities at the school, particularly at the nursery department which currently caters for over 150 pupils, have been rendered completely decrepit, mainly due to the lack of financial and logistical support. Team leaders for the CSR initiative, Mrs Janet Ghartey of the Accra Financial Centre and Alice Esi Coleman of Clubhouse Ghana Limited, said they were deeply touched by the level of disrepair at the nursery school when they made their first contact with school authorities and inspected the existing infrastructure last year. The two organisations subscribe to a common policy of promoting basic education whenever possible and once the need for support was established for Queen Elizabeth II Educational Foundation, it took barely two months to transform the rundown school into a new and refreshing facility worthy of its enviable history. The entire building block which accommodates a Creche and two streams of Kindergarten, saw remarkable refurbishing works, as the roofing and ceilings were refit, fans were installed, floors were re-tiled, a new modern washroom - all set with five water closet toilet units, handwashing sinks, a bathroom for the infants and one additional W/C toilet for the teaching staff were installed. New tables and chairs were provided and a cupboard and individual storage nooks were built for stowing learning materials and personal effects of the children. For us, it is an honour to be of some help to this great school. As part of our commitment to give back to society, we tried to identify some of the most pressing needs of this school so we may help in solving them. Today, we are delighted to hand over a completely refurbished facility to you, Mr. George Adjei-Ampofo, the Regional Head, West Africa, of Lango Real Estate, said as he cut the ribbon to signify the handing over of the refurbished facility. In his comment of gratitude, Mr. Ebenezer Tetteh Nartey, the School Administrator said, the gesture would go a long way to enhance the academic quality and status of the school. Nursery education is the bedrock of education in general and we are determined to build a sound foundation to support our basic schools. You will see greater things to come because our vision is to develop into the Senior High School level; when that time comes, we look forward to getting support from you, said Mr. Nartey. Source: Peacefmonline.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video A notice from the presidency has confirmed that the Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, is acting as President in the absence of His Excellency Nana Akufo-Addo, as enshrined in the 1992 Constitution. This notice was contained in Facebook by the Jubilee House on President Akufo-Addos official handle on February 14. The page announced the presidents trip to Germany for the Munich Security Conference, then to Adis Ababa, Ethiopia, for the 37th AU Summit. The post said, The President will return to Ghana on Sunday, 18th February 2024, and in his absence, the Vice President, Alhaji Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, shall, in accordance with Article 60(8) of the Constitution, act in his stead. President Akufo-Addo will attend the 37th AU Summit, being held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The meeting of the Heads of State will take place from 17th to 18th February 2024, the presidency revealed. The Summit is on the theme, Educate an African fit for the 21st Century: Building resilient education systems for increased access to inclusive, lifelong, quality, and relevant learning in Africa. The communique said President Akufo-Addo will host Member States of the Commission to a breakfast meeting on Education and on the AU Financial Institutions; and provide an update on Ghana as host of the Secretariat of the African Continental Free Trade Area. Before traveling to Ethiopia, President Akufo-Addo will be in Munich, Federal Republic of Germany, to participate in a security conference. The Munich Security Conference (MSC) is a prominent platform for global leaders to discuss certain security policies. According to the presidency, MSC 2024 aims to reinforce the rules-based international order and counter revisionist tendencies. The event will include debates, side events, and commemorate the conferences 60th anniversary. He was accompanied by the First Lady, Mrs Rebecca Akufo-Addo; Minister for Foreign Affairs, Hon. Shirley Ayorkor Botchway, MP; and some officials of the Presidency and the Foreign Ministry. Source: Kobina Darlington/peacefmonline.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Dr. Bernard Okoe Boye, the Health Minister-designate, has assured Ghanaians of his commitment to continue the variou projects initiated by his predecessor, Hon. Kwaku Agyeman Manu. He indicated that, despite having his priorities, he views this approach as essential for a seamless tenure, especially considering the limited time left for the Akufo-Addo administration. On Wednesday 14th February, President Akufo-Addo effected his first ever major reshuffle which has stirred controversy with some ministers being kicked out of office while others make way for new entrants, including Dr. Bernard Okoe Boye. Dr. Okoe Boye's appointment awaits approval from the Parliamentary vetting committee. Dr Okoe Boye, who previously served as Deputy Health Minister from 2020 to 2021, is set to return to the health sector when the approval is given. In an interview with Bernard Avle on the Citi Breakfast Show, Dr. Okoe Boye emphasized his intention to see to the completion of the projects started by his predecessor. Sometimes it is not the programmes you introduce into a sector that makes people happy or improve the state of mind. It is the relationship and addressing basic things which do not require resources necessarily but require attention and offering protocols and this is going to be my major priority. Despite not yet receiving Parliaments approval, he revealed that he had already initiated discussions with key players, including those at Korle Bu and the Ghana Medical Association. When I went to Korle Bu, what I did was that I sat with those who have been there for a long time and most of them have a fair idea what the problems are, what it ought to be done and what to put in. As I speak to you, Ive spoken to the Ghana Medical Association President and some of the Executives. Ive not gone for the vetting but informally, Im like guys, lets sit down, what do you want, where do we get to? What must be done? The first approach is to talk to the people in the field, Dr Okoe Boye revealed. Source: Kobina Darlington/peacefmonline.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Kenyan science teacher, Rose Tata Wekesa, appears to have broken the world record for the longest non-stop science lesson. The classroom laboratory, in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, erupted into loud cheers as the clock reached 50 hours. But Ms Wekesa was not finished and has pressed on beyond the 50-hours target. The record will now need to be verified by Guinness World Records. She is a biology and chemistry teacher at St. Austin's Academy, an international school in Nairobi. Last month she told the privately owned Citizen Digital news website she was undertaking the challenge because she wanted "to show the doable and interesting side of science". She added: "I want to motivate young ones in school who want to become teachers by showing a teacher can achieve greater things beyond the classroom." Her attempt is currently being livestreamed online and is taking place at the Multimedia University in Kenya. 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 Nigeria's President Bola Tinubu is meeting state governors to discuss the crippling cost of living crisis. One of Nigeria's most influential traditional rulers, the Sultan of Sokoto, said on Wednesday the country was at a tipping point, because of the increasing struggle many Nigerians faced in buying basic foods. He called on President Tinubu to address the economic crisis sparked by his decision to cut fuel subsidies. Nigeria, Africa's biggest oil producer, had for years underwritten the cost of petrol, but following his election last year, Mr Tinubu said the policy was unsustainable. Higher transport costs have placed additional pressure on Nigerians and in recent weeks there have been protests over soaring food prices and the failure of wages to keep pace. Unions have threatened strike action in the coming weeks. 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 decision to postpone this month's elections in Senegal is against the constitution, the country's top court has ruled. The Constitutional Council annulled both President Macky Sall's decree and a contentious bill passed by parliament moving the vote to December. Widespread protests have gripped the West African country, once considered a bastion of democracy in the region. Opposition figures said it amounted to an "constitutional coup". Mr Sall had announced he was pushing the election back because of concerns over the eligibility of opposition candidates. His proposal was backed by 105 out of the 165 MPs after a fiery debate which saw police remove some opposition MPs from the chamber. A six-month postponement was originally proposed, but a last-minute amendment extended it to 10 months, meaning a new election date of 15 December. Mr Sall had reiterated that he was not planning to run for office again. But his critics accused him of either trying to cling on to power or unfairly influencing whoever succeeds him. Opposition candidates and lawmakers, who had filed a number of legal challenges to the bill, will feel vindicated by the court's decision on Thursday evening. Khalifa Sall, a leading opponent and a former mayor of the capital Dakar, who is not related to the president, had called the delay a "constitutional coup", while Thierno Alassane Sall, another candidate, also no relation, called it "high treason". The court said it was "impossible" for the election to be held on the original date of 25 February - just 10 days away - but urged authorities to organise it "as soon as possible". Mr Sall is yet to react to the ruling. His second term of office expires on 2 April. While the election could be held before April, the disputes that led to the polls being postponed in the first place remain unresolved, including allegations of corruption in the Constitutional Court and objections from opposition candidates who had been excluded from the candidate list published last month. Holding the elections using the disputed candidate list could spark renewed unrest and violence by supporters of those barred from contesting, in particular Ousmane Sonko, who is hugely popular among young Senegalese. Most candidates have not been campaigning since President Sall issued his 3 February decree, hours before campaigns were meant to kick off. The decision comes on the same day as several opposition politicians and civil society members were released from prison, in what some in the country viewed as a move to appease public opinion. Senegal had long been seen as one of the most stable democracies in the region. It is the only country in mainland West Africa that has never had a military coup. It has had three largely peaceful handovers of power and until earlier this month had never delayed a presidential election. Source: BBC Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Accra's Mayor, Hon. Elizabeth Naa Kwatsoe Sackey, has commended J. Stanley Owusu Company Limited, an accredited waste management firm, for procuring three new fleet vehicles to enhance service delivery in waste collection, treatment, and disposal and elevate sanitation standards in Accra. The Mayor commended J. Stanley Owusu Company Limited on Wednesday when the fleet consisting of two compactors and one roll-on, roll-off truck was presented at Accra City Hall, stating that the addition was in line with the Presidents vision of transforming Accra into the cleanest city in Africa. She urged other waste management firms to similarly expand their vehicle fleets to combat monopolies and foster healthy competition and productivity within the sub-metros. Mayor Sackey emphasized the direct link between sanitation and climate change and admonished residents to refrain from burning waste and instead collaborate with accredited waste companies to recycle waste, to ensure the success of AMA's source separation program. She added that under her leadership, the Assembly has introduced some innovative measures such as the Street Sweepers Initiative, the Creating Livelihood Environmentalism in Accra Now (CLEAN) project, and Zero Waste Street, among others, as part of continuing efforts to achieve a clean and liveable city. The General Manager responsible for Finance and Administration at J Stanley Owusu Company Limited, Joshua Abrako Darko, said his entity was positioning itself to deliver quality service and disclosed that consignments of new trucks were expected to arrive next year. He stated that the presentation was done to inform the AMA about the new trucks, demonstrate competence, and update its record system to ensure transparency. Mr. Darko outlined plans to establish landfills in all sixteen regions nationwide. He emphasized that J. Stanley Owusu was aware of the operational challenges and diligently procured new fleets to enhance service delivery. The fleet of vehicles is set to operate within the Okaikoi South Sub-Metropolitan District, except for the Bubui Electoral Area. Present at the ceremony were the Coordinating Director for the AMA, Douglas N.K. Annoful, Director of Finance, Mr. Abeiku Amissah, Director of Waste Management, Solomon Noi, and Deputy Director for Waste Management, Mr. Victor Kotey, among others. Source: Prince Baffour Asamoah/Peace FM Newsroom 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 Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC), in collaboration with the Governments of Norway and Germany(implemented by GIZ) has launched the third edition of the Kofi Annan Peace and Security Forum (KAPS Forum) in Accra. Africas democracy and governance developments will be under scrutiny from February 27-28, 2024, when leaders from the continent and beyond gather at the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Centre (KAIPTC) in Accra for the third Kofi Annan Peace and Security Forum (KAPS Forum). The Kofi Annan Peace and Security Forum (KAPS Forum) will be on the theme: "Migration and Societal Resilience in a Multipolar World Order: Addressing Conflicts and Building Peace in Africa". The forum will provide a platform for delegates and participants to explore approaches to addressing migration-related conflicts through effective policies and peace building mechanisms in the region. The annual event provides the platform for political leaders, diplomats, scholars and experts to dialogue and take stock of the state of democracy and governance, while addressing contemporary peace and security issues on the African continent. The KAPS Forum is funded by the Government of Norway, the Federal Government of Germany, and the Swedish Government. This highly anticipated event brings prominent figures, together including HE. Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, President of Ghana, and H.E. Dr. Mohamed Ibn Chambas, the African Union High Representative for Silencing the Guns, to tackle the burning issue of migration and its impact on societal resilience in Africa. Speaking at the launch of the forum, Commandant of the Kofi Anan International Peace Keeping Training Center, Major General, Richard Addo Gyane explained that KAIPTC is set to ignite critical discussions on migration at the third KAPS Forum. Over the years, KAIPTC, through its numerous courses on peace, security and governance, has become a pillar for peace, security and governance in Africa. The Deputy head of delegation at the German Embassy, H.E Sivine Jansen noted that the forum seeks to address complex link between migration and security hence German Governments commitment. Source: Portia Mensah Bonsu/Peace FM Newsroom Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video In a recent development surrounding the potential running mate for John Dramani Mahama in the 2024 elections, Togbe Afede XIV, the Agbogbomefia of the Asogli State, has expressed his willingness to serve the country in any capacity, including partnering with the NDC flagbearer for the 2024. However, Togbe Afede stated that the decision to choose a running mate ultimately rests with the flag bearer, who already knows him well, indicating that he is ready to abdicate his throne for the purpose of joining the mainstream politics. Albeit traditional rulers and custodians of their respective communities are supposed to remain neutral in their day-to-day administration, to enable them to get the fair share of the national cake of projects but Togbe Afede thinks otherwise and want to be politician cum chief. Ghanas 1992 Constitution disallows chiefs to actively take part in partisan politics so as to do away with the current situation where they flout the law and nothing happens to them. Article 276 of the 1992 Constitution says: (1) A chief shall not take part in active party politics; and any chief wishing to do so and seeking election to Parliament shall abdicate his stool or skin; (2) Notwithstanding clause (1) of this article and paragraph (c) of clause (3) of article 94 of this Constitution, a chief may be appointed to any public office of which he is otherwise qualified. The list of possible contenders for the position of running mate has been growing, with names such as Julius Debrah, former Chief of Staff to President Mahama, Member of Parliament for Asunafo Eric Opoku who is enjoying the support Lordina Mahama, and retired Police Commissioner Nathan Kofi Boakye joining the 2020 running mate, Prof Jean Naana Opoku Agyemang for the NDC running mate slot. Nonetheless, the Asogli State Council issued a statement to clarify the situation. The statement from the Asogli State Council emphasized Togbe Afedes passion for the development of Ghana. It highlighted his dedication to the country, having returned to Ghana immediately after completing his studies at Yale in the United States. The statement also mentioned that numerous groups and individuals have approached Togbe Afede over the years, encouraging him to actively engage in political leadership. In response, Togbe Afede has consistently emphasized that chieftaincy offers avenues for Chiefs and Queens to contribute to national development. The statement further revealed that a group known as the Change Makers Forum recently approached Togbe Afede to consider joining President Mahama as his running mate for the 2024 Presidential election. In his response, Togbe Afede acknowledged his patriotic duty to serve the country and expressed gratitude for the trust placed in him. However, he reiterated that the final decision rests with the flagbearer, who is already well-acquainted with him. The Asogli State Council apologized for any surprise or embarrassment caused by the speculation surrounding Togbe Afedes potential candidacy. They emphasized their commitment to an open-door policy, welcoming communication and feedback from all citizens and stakeholders. As the race for the NDC running mate heats up, Togbe Afedes willingness to serve the country has emerged as a prominent consideration. However, the final decision lies in the hands of John Mahama, who will carefully weigh his options before announcing his choice. Source: Daily Guide 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 Renowned fashion designer and creative director of Poqua Poqu, Pokua Poku-Mouhtiseb has passed on. She is said to have died at the Lister Hospital on Wednesday, February 14 through labour complications. The news of the death of Pokua started trending on social media on Thursday morning when a number of her friends including New Patriotic Partys Afia Akoto shared tribute in her memory. Shes survived by her husband, Mr Mouhtiseb and three children. Poqua Poqu, the fashion label brands itself as an affordable luxury womens fashion brand. The label was established in 2011 with an aim to provide multifunctional apparel for the trendy, stylish and sophisticated woman. The brand boasts of customers in high standing in the society including Anita Erskine, Eugenia Tachie-Menson, Ayesha Bedwei Ibe, Shirley Emma Tibilla, Claudia Lumor Lady Dentaa Amoateng MBE, Menaye Donkor among others. Pokua had her primary school education at Martyrs of Uganda R/C JHS and proceeded to Achimota School for her secondary education. She had her university education at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) and University of Hull in England. https://www.instagram.com/poquapoqu/?hl=en Source: graphiconline.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Kumawood actor Lilwin has refused to back down after news emerged of Martha Ankomah suing him hes reiterated that shes an idiot! Actress Martha Ankomah has dragged her colleague Lilwin, born Kwadwo Nkansah, to court for defamation. This follows a long rant by Lilwin in which he railed against Ankomah based on comments he claimed she passed to a Kumawood director. The director, Frank Garbin, had contacted Ankomah for a role and she turned it down. However, Garbin told Lilwin that Ankomah said she was turning down the movie because Kumawood scripts dont make sense, infuriating the actor. He slammed her in a video released last week, calling her an idiot, broke, and said shes not even famous. He rained insults on her and insinuated she makes money by sleeping with powerful people. Ankomah did not take that lying down and took the issue to court, but Lilwin is not backing down. Sharing a famous video of Asiedu Nketia, Lilwin called Ankomah an idiot once again! Watch the video below View this post on Instagram A post shared by OfficialLilWin (@officiallilwin) Source: instagram/ghanacelebrities Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: New excavations as Herculaneum, Naples, Italy. CC BY 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons On 19 October 1752, a discovery was made 20 meters underneath the town of Resina, near Naples in Italy. Peasants digging wells in the area around Mount Vesuvius had struck marble statuary and mosaic pavementsand they also found lumps of carbon. Initially, they were tossed asidethe lumps weren't considered valuable or pretty, so were of no interest. But thankfully, someone noticed they were all about the same size and shape, and investigated further. It was soon discovered the carbonized lumps they thought were rolled-up hunting or fishing nets, or bolts of cloth, in fact contained writing. What these peasants had found turned out to be a huge building from the ancient Roman age, when the town was known as Herculaneum. Recent re-excavations suggest that nearly three square kilometers of it have never been explored. The carbonized lumps turned out to be papyrus scrolls belonging to a great library full of Roman writing that had been thought lost. For this reason, the building is now known as the Villa dei Papiri. Papyrus is an Egyptian reed and type of paper common in the ancient Mediterranean that was made from its pith. When Vesuvius erupted in AD79the same eruption that buried Pompeiithe papyrus rolls in the villa were carbonized. Without enough oxygen to combust and turn to ash, they became charcoal instead. This meant the scrolls were fused solid and to get at the writing inside, they had to be opened. This process has been ongoing since the 1750s and researchers have just entered a new stage, thanks to AI. The lumps of carbonized scroll have been digitally scanned and, using 3D mapping and AI, researchers have been unable to "virtually unroll" the papyri and detect letters. This process has, for example, allowed them to read a previously unknown philosophical work discussing the senses and pleasure by the Epicurean philosopher and poet, Philodemus. I have worked on the scrolls in the Herculaneum library since 2010, when I began my Ph.D. thesis on Philodemus's text On Poems. I worked on the papyri in Naples for a year and a half from 2013, and still visit them nearly every summer. The news that we could finally read these still rolled-up papyri hit me like a lightning bolt. In the past, opening the scrolls, even those in excellent condition that unrolled easily, caused damage to themespecially the outsides that contain the beginning of each text. This means no one alive has ever read the first sentence of a Herculaneum text, only the first visible, surviving sentence. Unrolling and reading the library When research on the scrolls began in the mid-18th century, the rolls were simply cut into halves or more pieces, then the insides were scooped out until legible text was revealed. The drawback of this approach is obviouslarge parts of the best-preserved parts of scrolls were destroyedso a better solution was sought. In 1753, Italian priest and scholar Antonio Piaggio, on loan from the Vatican library, invented a machine to unroll the papyri by slowly pulling the outer layer off. Hundreds of Herculaneum papyri were thus unrolled, though their harder outer bits were cut off to get at the better-preserved insides. Piaggio's machine was remarkably successful, and the papyri unrolled on it have fueled two-and-a-half centuries of scholarship so far. But not every scroll could be unrolled this wayand up to 300 of these still rolled-up scrolls, out of the 800 or so found originally, have been set aside until now. The Herculaneum library contains mostly works of Epicurean philosophy. This is a strand of philosophy founded around 307BC, based on the teachings of Epicurusan ancient Greek philosopher who believed that a correct understanding of physics, backed up by rigorous argument, was necessary to achieve happiness, because it removed human fears about the gods (they don't care about us), natural phenomena (not signs of divine anger), and post-mortem punishment (our souls do not survive our deaths). Philodemus of Gadara is the most common author in the library. One copy of his History of Plato's Academy was probably his own draft, so we can be confident the library is made up in part from his books. This is also why we think the owner of the villa was Julius Caesar's father-in-law, L. Calpurnius Piso Caesoninus: we know Philodemus was his personal philosopher, and only the highest Roman elite could afford a house that big. Epicurus makes up a substantial proportion of the library tooespecially On Nature, his magnum opus. Other Epicureans have been textually resurrected as well, including Metrodorus and Demetrius the Spartan. There are also works by the Stoic philosopher Chrysippus, as well as papyri in Latin. Most legible of these is a poem about the Battle of Actium: the battle on September 2, 31 BC, in which Octavian defeated Mark Antony. Seneca the Elder's Histories have also recently been identified. What will we find? People have dreamed about discovering "lost" works in libraries such as Herculaneum. The art historian Johann Joachim Winckelmann wanted to discover works by the historians Diodorus, Theopompus and Ephorus, lost Aristotle, more Sophocles and Euripies, comedies by Menander and Alexis, and ancient scholarship on art. The poet William Wordsworth wanted the Greek poets Pindar and Simonides. The chances of finding lost Ancient Greek literature are slim because none has so far been found in the Herculaneum library, though it would be thrilling. But there's real hope for more Latin literature at Herculaneumlost works from the first centuries BC and AD. The safest bet for what we will read now with the aid of AI in Herculaneum is more of what we already have. There will be more Philodemus and, as a scholar of his work, I am over the moon about this. Every new text is importantmaking our knowledge deeper, more textured and more accurate. I cannot really bring myself to hope for one specific text or another. As Epicurus himself put it, "One should not have vain desires that cannot be fulfilled." This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: The features of the 0D vdW interfacial ferroelectricity. Credit: Nature Communications (2023). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-41045-8 Recent research has broken the size limitation of traditional ferroelectric effects, providing experimental evidence and theoretical simulations to confirm that a structure with as few as 5,000 atoms can still exhibit solid-state ferroelectric effects. The studies, by a joint team from Israel and China, are published in Nature Electronics and Nature Communications under the titles "Ferroelectricity in zero-dimensional" and "0D van der Waals interfacial sliding Ferroelectricity," respectively. The ferroelectric effect is a physical phenomenon discovered in the early 20th century by Joseph Valasek, and it provides an important technological route for achieving information storage. Traditional ferroelectric effects are subject to size limitations. "When the size of traditional ferroelectric materials decreases, the significant influence of depolarization field can cause the original polarization characteristics to disappear," explain Prof. Guo Yao and Prof. Alla Zak. "This size effect limits the application of ferroelectric materials in high-density storage devices." Prof. Guo Yao from Beijing Institute of Technology, Prof. Alla Zak from Holon Institute of Technology, and collaborators used tungsten disulfide nanotubes to construct an interface with around 5,000 atoms at the nanoscale, and observed resistance change and hysteresis phenomena in ferroelectric diodes at the interface. Through further experimental and theoretical verification, it was confirmed that the electrical behavior of the ferroelectric diode was due to lattice slip at the interface, enabling the device to produce resistance changes suitable for information storage and programmable photovoltaic responses across almost the entire visible light wavelength range. "We are surprised that a 5,000-atom interface system can produce such rich functionality," say the researchers. Prof. Reshef Tenne, from the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel and a co-author of this study, believes that this downscaled ferroelectricity has important advantages for future high-density information storage. He also believes that this research is of great significance in the size reduction of ferroelectric devices. 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: Scientific Reports (2023). DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-47605-8 The Space Climate Research Group at the University of Oulu, Finland has been studying the effects of energetic particle precipitation from space, more commonly known as the aurora borealis or Northern Lights, on winter weather variations for quite some time. The aurora borealis is not only a beautiful light phenomenon, but also involves chemical changes that lead to ozone depletion high in the polar stratosphere in winter. Ozone depletion caused by energetic particles intensifies the polar vortex, a strong wind that blows from west to east around the polar region during the winter season. Intensified polar vortex also enhances westerly winds at the surface, producing mild winters in northern Europe and Finland in particular. "On the other hand, during winters with weak particle precipitation, the polar vortex can weaken and even break down completely, allowing cold Arctic air to flow south. This is when Finland and Northern Europe typically experience cold spells, like this winter," says Associate Professor Timo Asikainen. "The polar vortex has already broken once this winter and is forecasted to break again this coming weekend. Our own models predicted the likely break-up of the polar vortex during the winter already last summer." Experience shows that, especially in Finland, the consumption of electricity and, more generally, of energy used for heating, is very much dependent on weather. This raises the question: How much can the particle precipitation from space affect electricity consumption via the polar vortex? A recent study by the University of Oulu's Space Climate Group was the first to address this very question. The study, published in Scientific Reports, found a significant influence of particle precipitation on Finland's winter temperatures and on the temperature-dependent part of electricity consumption during the winter period (JanuaryMarch). Finlands total monthly electricity consumption from 1990 to 2021 (blue) and normalized values (red). The green curve shows the normalized detrended monthly electricity consumption values (linear trend removed from each month separately) used in the analysis. Credit: Scientific Reports (2023). DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-47605-8 At best, the variability associated with energetic particle precipitation was about 14% of the average level of electricity consumption in Finland during winter and explained up to 50% of the inter-annual variations in electricity consumption. "The most significant result of the study showed that the particle precipitation, or geomagnetic activity as its proxy, significantly influences Finland's winter temperatures and electricity consumption through the polar vortex: Strong particle precipitation corresponds to higher winter temperatures and lower electricity consumption, and vice versa," says Veera Juntunen, a doctoral researcher. The study used comprehensive electricity consumption statistics from the 1990s to the present day from the Finnish Energy association. "From these data, we had to carefully remove variations unrelated to temperatures. This then revealed the influence of particle precipitation on temperature and electricity consumption," says Juntunen. The connection was valid from the 1950s to the present, but interestingly only in winters when the equatorial stratospheric winds, the so-called QBO winds, blow from the east. "This QBO effect has already been observed in previous studies and is related to the fact that when QBO winds are easterly, large-scale atmospheric waves, the so-called planetary waves, are guided from the lower atmosphere into the polar stratosphere. There, together with the particle precipitation, they create the observed effect on the polar vortex," explains Asikainen. The study reveals an interesting new societal influence of the space weather. Taking into account particle precipitation from space might help to predict winter temperatures and electricity consumption, in the best case, several months or even years in advance, if we learn how to better predict the particle precipitation in longer timescales than currently. More information: Veera Juntunen et al, Electricity consumption in Finland influenced by climate effects of energetic particle precipitation, Scientific Reports (2023). DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-47605-8 Journal information: Scientific Reports 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 boy holds locusts he caught in Elburgon, Kenya, March 17, 2021. Extreme wind and rain may lead to bigger and worse desert locust outbreaks, with human-caused climate change likely to intensify the weather patterns and cause higher outbreak risks, a new study has found. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga, File) Extreme wind and rain may lead to bigger and worse desert locust outbreaks, with human-caused climate change likely to intensify the weather patterns and cause higher outbreak risks, a new study has found. The desert locusta short-horned species found in some dry areas of northern and eastern Africa, the Middle East, and South Asiais a migratory insect that travels in swarms of millions over long distances and damages crops, causing famine and food insecurity. A square kilometer swarm comprises 80 million locusts that can in one day consume food crops enough to feed 35,000 people. The U.N.'s Food and Agriculture Organization describes it as "the most destructive migratory pest in the world." The study, published in Science Advances on Wednesday, said these outbreaks will be "increasingly hard to prevent and control" in a warming climate. Xiaogang He, author of the study and an assistant professor at the National University of Singapore, said more frequent and severe extreme weather events due to climate change could add unpredictability to locust outbreaks. But he hoped that the study could help countries understand and address "the impacts of climate variability on locust dynamics, particularly in the context of its repercussions on agricultural productivity and food security" and urged better regional and continental cooperation among countries and control organizations to respond quickly and build early warning systems. To assess the risk of locust outbreaks in Africa and the Middle East and the connection to climate change, scientists analyzed incidents of desert locust outbreaks from 1985 to 2020 using the Food and Agriculture Organization's Locust Hub data tool. They created and used a data-driven framework to examine the insects' patterns to find out what may cause outbreaks to happen across long distances. They found that 10 countries, including Kenya, Morocco, Niger, Yemen, and Pakistan, experienced the majority of locust outbreaks among 48 affected nations. The worst outbreak of desert locusts in 25 years struck East Africa in 2019 and 2020, when the insects ravaged hundreds of thousands of acres of farmland and damaged crops, trees and other vegetation, impacting food security and livelihoods. Elfatih Abdel-Rahman, a scientist at International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology who wasn't part of the study, said widespread desert locust outbreaks due to climate change will substantially threaten livelihoods in the affected regions due to reduced food production and increase in food prices. The researchers also found a strong link between the magnitude of desert locust outbreaks and weather and land conditions like air temperature, precipitation, soil moisture, and wind. Desert locusts are more likely to infest arid areas that receive sudden extreme rainfall, and the number of the insects in an outbreak is strongly impacted by weather conditions. El Nino, a recurring and natural climate phenomenon that affects weather worldwide, was also strongly tied to bigger and worse desert locust outbreaks. University of Delaware entomology professor Douglas Tallamy, who wasn't part of the research, said erratic weather and rainfall trigger spurts in vegetation and therefore fuels enormous population growth in locusts. "As such variability increases, it is logical to predict that locust outbreaks will increase as well," said Tallamy. The study is "yet another example of what should be a very strong wake-up call that societies across the globe need to come together to reduce climate change and its impacts but also to implement strategies in response to global events such as increasing threats of desert locusts," said Paula Shrewsbury, an entomology professor at the University of Maryland. Shrewsbury was not involved in the study. The study found that especially vulnerable locations like Morocco and Kenya remain high-risk but locust habitats had expanded since 1985 and projects that they will continue growing by at least 5% by the end of the 21st century, predictably to west India and west central Asia. It gives the example of the Rub' al Khali, or Empty Quarter, a desert in the southern Arabian Peninsula, as a place that was historically uncommon for desert locust outbreaks but then became a hotspot. The desert experienced locust outbreaks in 2019 after uncontrolled breeding following cyclones, which filled the desert with freshwater lakes. Major locust outbreaks can have huge financial impacts. It cost more than $450 million to respond to a locust outbreak that happened in West Africa from 2003 to 2005, according to the World Bank. The outbreak had caused an estimated $2.5 billion in crop damage, it said. Countries affected by desert locust outbreaks are already grappling with climate-driven extremes like droughts, floods and heat waves, and the potential escalation of locust risks in these regions could exacerbate existing challenges, said research author Xiaogang. "Failure to address these risks could further strain food production systems and escalate the severity of global food insecurity," he said. More information: Xinyue Liu et al, Unveiling the role of climate in spatially synchronized locust outbreak risks, Science Advances (2024). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adj1164 Journal information: Science Advances 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Credit: Ono Kosuki from Pexels Back in 1981, Tom Petty sang that the waiting is the hardest part. New research from The University of Texas helps to explain why. In two recent papers, Annabelle Roberts, Texas McCombs assistant marketing professor, explores the internal negotiations that happen when people feel impatient, whether they're standing in a long queue or awaiting an important announcement. Both papers examine how the desire for closure impacts impatience. The first paper looks at how it affects decision-makingfor example, choosing to complete a task now rather than later. The second explores people's feelings as they wait and how the experience changes as the end of the wait draws closer. Roberts, who has a Ph.D. in behavioral science, is interested in how impatience influences the choices people make, such as whether to invest for the future or spend on something today. Her work also offers lessons on what marketers can do to make waiting less annoying. She says, "Everyone has had this experience of getting overly frustrated while they're waiting." The need for closure In one paper, Roberts looks at what causes impatience. With Alex Imas and Ayelet Fishbach of the University of Chicago, she finds one answer: closure. A need for closure, she says, affects intertemporal choicethe relative values people assign to a payoff today versus a payoff at a future date. In seven studies conducted online and in the lab, participants made choices between working more sooner or waiting to work less later for the same outcome. Participants were willing to pay more or work more when it allowed them to achieve closure sooner. They would pay $1 more when it allowed them to pay sooner and get the payment off their minds. They preferred to complete 15% more work for the same pay when they could finish the work earlier and cross it off their lists of things to do. To get a report off their minds before an upcoming vacation, they preferred to work one hour of unpaid overtime to finish it, rather than get paid to finish it after vacation. "The need for goal closure helps explain the counterintuitive preference for working more sooner or paying more sooner," Roberts says. "We find that impatience isn't just about this myopic desire for the reward. It's also about crossing goals off their list, not having the goal hanging over them." The findings could interest managers who want to motivate their teams better, she notes, because people who desire closure are less likely to procrastinate. The study also suggests why marketing promotions, such as "buy now, pay later" deals, sometimes don't work, she adds. Consumers may not want the stress of knowing a payment is due. The end is nearbut not near enough Prior research has calculated that Americans spend 37 billion hours a year waiting in line, and the average commuter spends 42 hours a year stuck in traffic. For her second paper, also with Fishbach, Roberts tracked the emotional trajectory of those waits. They found that the distress of waiting intensifies as the wait nears an end. "This paper was about people's feelings, their experiences while they wait," Roberts says. "When you expect the wait to be ending soon, you become more impatient closer to that expectation." In real-life situations, respondents rated their levels of impatience while waiting for the first COVID-19 vaccine or for their bus to arrive in downtown Chicago. Their frustration increased the closer they got to the end of the wait. They felt worse when they were closer to receiving the vaccine or when the bus was closer to arriving. One group of respondents reported their impatience for results in the 2020 presidential election. Levels rose for supporters of both Joe Biden and Donald Trump on Election Day. The following day, impatience was even higher as votes were still being counted. It rose for both sides, Roberts notes, even though Biden was pulling ahead. "Even for those who expected their candidate wasn't going to win, they just wanted to get this over with," Roberts says. "This nicely demonstrates the desire for closure and how it plays out in the experience of waiting." She suggests this takeaway for companies: If there is uncertainty about when a package will be delivered, it's better to prepare customers for a longer wait than a shorter one. That way, it may arrive before they become impatient. It may also be better to inform customers about a delay earlier in the wait than later so they can adjust their expectations accordingly. For a follow-up project, Roberts is researching useful interventions to help people feel more patient while they wait. "I want my research to help people manage their waiting experiences," she says. "A lot of people really want help with how they can be more patient while they wait and how they can make better choices, like saving for the future." The research is published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology and Social Psychological and Personality Science. This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain Environmental regulators have decided to set a tighter standard for a tiny, but insidious class of air pollution particles linked to serious illnesses and thousands of premature deaths. The federal Environmental Protection Agency and health experts say the rule will save lives and yield billions of dollars in savings. But Georgia Environmental Protection Division leaders say it will be difficult for parts of the state to comply, and along with manufacturing interest groups, claim the new limits could stifle economic growth. The new rule finalized last week is for a type of pollutant known as particulate matter 2.5, or PM 2.5 . The change to the standard is the first in more than a decade, after the EPA under former President Donald Trump kept previous limits in place. Here's what you need to know. What is PM 2.5 ? PM 2.5 are ultra-fine pollution particles measuring 2.5 micrometers or less in diameter. That's about 30 times smaller than the width of a human hair. The pollution comes from many sources: Car tailpipes, coal-fired power plants and manufacturing that involves combustion. The wear and tear of vehicle tires and brakes also produces PM 2.5 , as do fires and yard work, like leaf blowing. The particles' microscopic size allows them to penetrate the body's defenses, making them particularly dangerous. "Whereas larger particles tend to get caught in your mouth, your nose, things like that ... PM 2.5 is more problematic because it's small enough to go deep into your lungs," said Jeremy Weber, a professor in Georgia Tech's School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences. Health effects The particles have also been linked to serious health problems, especially heart and respiratory issues. The World Health Organization estimates as many 4.2 million premature deaths each year globally are caused by all types of outdoor air pollution. For years, research has tied PM 2.5 exposure to heart attacks and irregular heartbeats, as well as lung disease, asthma and breathing issues. More recently, the particles have been linked to strokes and neurological disorders, like dementia. Maternal exposure is also associated with lower birthweights. Children, the elderly and those with pre-existing conditions are most at-risk, while studies have shown lower-income areas and communities of color are more likely to breathe dirty air. In Georgia, nearly 9% of children have asthma, with Black children, especially boys, most likely to have the disease. What changed? The EPA lowered the annual PM 2.5 standard from 12 micrograms per cubic meter (g/m3) down to nine. The annual value is an average of all data collected by an area's air monitors in a year. The agency says it expects the change will help prevent 4,500 premature deaths, 800,000 cases of asthma and 290,000 days of lost productivity once it is fully implemented in 2032. In all, the agency estimates improvements in air quality will bring the country $46 billion in net health benefits. "Cleaner air means that our children have brighter futures, and people can live more productive and active lives, improving our ability to grow and develop as a nation," EPA administrator Michael Regan said in a statement about the change. Does Georgia's air comply? All of Georgia is in compliance with the current rule. But if the new limit went into effect today, parts of the state with heavy traffic or industry would not meet the standard. The most recent data from Georgia EPD shows most of the state's urban centers have PM 2.5 concentrations above the new limit, including Atlanta, Augusta, Columbus and Georgia counties near Chattanooga. Rural Washington County, located to the east of Macon and at the epicenter of the region's kaolin clay mining industry, has the highest particle pollution concentrations, state data shows. Officials with EPD's Air Protection Branch, however, cautioned that the latest figures from 2021 through 2023 are preliminary and final values could be lower. Pushback Before the standard was finalized, state and regional trade groups wrote a letter to the agency urging President Joe Biden's administration not to lower the standard, claiming stricter air permitting requirements and costly pollution controls would put jobs at risk. The Georgia Association of Manufacturers, one of the letter's signees, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the final rule. The rule also appears to be giving Georgia's environmental regulators heartburn. Asked whether the EPD supports the changeJames Boylan, the chief of EPD's Air Protection Branch, which will be tasked with devising plans to meet the new limitsaid the agency will implement the new standard. But other EPD officials are displeased. In written testimony to be delivered Thursday morning to a U.S. House of Representatives subcommittee, EPD's Deputy Director John Eunice said it will be difficult for the state to comply because regulators have limited tools left to bring pollution levels down in some areas. Eunice wrote that pollution controls at coal power plants have already been implemented, while other large sources, like wildfires and dust kicked up from roads and farms, are difficult to control. Eunice wrote that 12 of Georgia's 14 multi-county metropolitan statistical areasrepresenting more than 90% of the state's populationhave PM 2.5 concentrations above 9 g/m3. He also warned the standard "will likely pose difficulties for future economic development." Scientists say those fears are understandable, but are likely overblown. Jeremy Sarnat, an associate professor of environmental health at Emory University and part of a scientific committee that advised EPA on the new limit, said air quality across the U.S. has improved dramatically since the 1970 passage of the Clean Air Act. At the same time, the economy has grown and health has improved. "I don't think it's going to be too difficult to attain the standards," Sarnat said. "And I don't think it's going to result in a drag on the economy, or specific industrial sectors in any meaningful way." When does the rule take effect? States will have several years to comply. The EPA won't officially slap regions that are out of compliance with "nonattainment" tags for two years. After that, states will have until 2032 to help those areas meet the standard. Boylan said facilities in nonattainment areas could have to install more pollution controls and businesses could face stringent air permitting regulations. If the EPA determines that the state is not conforming to the requirements, the federal government could take other steps, like withholding transportation fundingas it once did in the late '90s when Atlanta's air quality grew unsafe during a population boom. 2024 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Artists impression of a directed-energy propulsion laser sail in action. Credit: Q. Zhang/deepspace.ucsb.edu The future of space exploration includes some rather ambitious plans to send missions farther from Earth than ever before. Beyond the current proposals for building infrastructure in cis-lunar space and sending regular crewed missions to the moon and Mars, there are also plans to send robotic missions to the outer solar system, to the focal length of our sun's gravitational lens, and even to the nearest stars to explore exoplanets. Accomplishing these goals requires next-generation propulsion that can enable high thrust and consistent acceleration. Focused arrays of lasersor directed energy (DE)and lightsails are a means that is being investigated extensivelysuch as Breakthrough Starshot and Swarming Proxima Centauri. Beyond these proposals, a team from McGill University in Montreal has proposed a new type of directed energy propulsion system for exploring the solar system. In a recent paper, the team shared the early results of their Laser-Thermal Propulsion (LTP) thruster facility, which suggests that the technology has the potential to provide both high thrust and specific impulse for interstellar missions. The research team was led by Gabriel R. Dube, an Undergraduate Research Trainee with the McGill Interstellar Flight Experimental Research Group (IFERG), and Associate Professor Andrew Higgins, the Principal Investigator of the IFERG. They were joined by Emmanuel Duplay, a graduate researcher from the Technische Universiteit Delft (TU Delft); Siera Riel, a Summer Research Assistant with the IFERG; and Jason Loiseau, an Associate Professor with the Royal Military College Of Canada. The team presented their results at the 2024 AIAA Science and Technology Forum and Exposition and in a paper that appeared in the AIAA SCITECH 2024 Forum. Higgins and his colleagues originally proposed this concept in a 2022 paper that appeared in Acta Astronautica titled "Design of a rapid transit to Mars mission using laser-thermal propulsion." As Universe Today reported at the time, the LTP was inspired by interstellar concepts like Starshot and Project Dragonfly. However, Higgins and his associates from McGill were interested in how the same technology could enable rapid transit missions to Mars in just 45 days and throughout the solar system. This method, they argued, could also validate the technologies involved and act as a stepping stone toward interstellar missions. As Higgins told Universe Today via email, the concept came to them during the pandemic when they were unable to get into their lab: "[M]y students did a detailed conceptual study of how we could use the kind of large laser arrays envisioned for the Breakthrough Starshot for a more near-term mission in the solar system. Rather than at 10-km-diameter, 100-GW laser envisioned for Breakthrough Starshot, we limited ourselves to a 10-m-diameter, 100-MW laser and showed it would be able to deliver power to a spacecraft out to nearly the distance of the moon. By heating hydrogen propellant to 10,000s of K, the laser enables the 'holy grail' of high thrust and high specific impulse." The concept is similar to nuclear-thermal propulsion (NTP), which NASA and DARPA are currently developing for rapid transit missions to Mars. In an NTP system, a nuclear reactor generates heat that causes hydrogen or deuterium propellant to expand, which is then focused through nozzles to generate thrust. In this case, phased-array lasers are focused into a hydrogen heating chamber, which is then exhausted through a nozzle to realize specific impulses of 3,000 seconds. Since Higgins and his students returned to the lab, he said, they have been attempting to experimentally verify their idea: "Obviously, we don't have a 100 MW laser at McGill, but we now have a 3-kilowatt laser set-up in the lab (which is scary enough) and are studying how the laser would couple its energy to a propellant (eventually hydrogen, but for now argon just because it is easier to ionize). The AIAA paper reports on the design, construction, and 'shake-down' of our 3-kW laser facility." Higgins and his team constructed an apparatus containing 5 to 20 bars of static argon gas from their tests. While the final concept will utilize hydrogen gas as a propellant, they used argon gas for the test because it is easier to ionize. They then fired the 3-kW laser in pulses at a frequency of 1,070 nanometers (corresponding to the near-infrared wavelength) to determine the threshold power necessary for Laser-Sustained Plasma (LSP). Their results indicated that around 80% of the laser energy was deposited into the plasma, which is consistent with previous studies. The pressure and spectral data they acquired also revealed the peak LSP temperature with the working gas, though they stress that further research is needed for conclusive results. They also stressed that a dedicated apparatus is needed to conduct forced flow and other LSP tests. Lastly, the team plans to conduct thrust measurements later this year to gauge how much acceleration (delta-v) and specific impulse (Isp) a laser-thermal propulsion system can deliver for future missions to Mars and other planets in the solar system. If the technology is up to the task, we could be looking at a system capable of delivering astronauts to Mars in weeks rather than months. Other concepts selected for the NIAC this year include tests to evaluate hibernation systems for long-duration missions in microgravity. Alone or in combination, these technologies could enable fast-transit missions that require less cargo and supplies and minimize astronaut exposure to microgravity and radiation. More information: Gabriel R. Dube et al, Laser-Sustained Plasma for Deep Space Propulsion: Initial LTP Thruster Results, AIAA SCITECH 2024 Forum (2024). DOI: 10.2514/6.2024-2029 This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: The New Shepard crew capsule descends under parachutes during its launch Tuesday, Dec. 19, 2023. Credit: Blue Origin Researchers are studying data from a recent suborbital flight test to better understand lunar regolith, or moon dust, and its potentially damaging effects as NASA prepares to send astronauts back to the lunar surface under the Artemis campaign. The experiment, developed jointly by NASA and the University of Central Florida, sheds light on how these abrasive dust grains interact with astronauts, their spacesuits, and other equipment on the moon. The Electrostatic Regolith Interaction Experiment (ERIE) was one of 14 NASA-supported payloads launched on Dec. 19 aboard Blue Origin's New Shepard uncrewed rocket from Launch Site One in West Texas. During the flight test, ERIE collected data to help researchers at the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida study tribocharging, or friction-induced charges, in microgravity. The moon is highly charged by phenomena such as solar wind and ultraviolet light from the sun. Under those conditions, regolith grains are attracted to lunar explorers and their equipmentthink of it as similar to the static created by rubbing a balloon on a person's head. Enough regolith can cause instruments to overheat or not function as intended. "For example, if you get dust on an astronaut suit and bring it back into the habitat, that dust could unstick and fly around the cabin," said Krystal Acosta, a researcher for NASA's triboelectric sensor board component inside the ERIE payload. "One of the major problems is that there's no way to electrically ground anything on the moon. So even a lander, rover, or really any object on the moon will have polarity to it. There's no good solution to the dust charging problem right now." A Kennedy team designed and built the triboelectric sensor board inside the ERIE payload, which reached an altitude of 351,248 feet aboard New Shepard. In the microgravity phase of this flight, dust grains simulating regolith particles brushed up against eight insulators within ERIE, creating a tribocharge. The electrometer measured the negative and positive charge of the simulated regolith as it traveled through an electric field applied during microgravity. "We want to know what causes the dust to charge, how it moves around, and where it ultimately settles. The dust has rough edges that can scratch surfaces and block thermal radiators," said Jay Phillips, lead of Electrostatics Environments and Spacecraft Charging at NASA Kennedy. The ERIE payload spent approximately three minutes in microgravity during the New Shepard capsule's suborbital flight, which lasted about 10 minutes before landing safely back on Earth in the Texas desert. A camera recorded the interactions, and Philips and his team are reviewing the data. The results will inform applications for future missions destined for the lunar surface. For example, by using triboelectric sensors on a rover's wheels, astronauts can measure the positive and negative charges between the vehicle and regolith on the lunar surface. The end goal is to develop technologies that will help keep it from sticking to and damaging astronaut suits and electronics during missions. The flight was supported by the Flight Opportunities program, part of NASA's Space Technology Mission Directorate, which rapidly demonstrates space technologies with industry flight providers. Provided by NASA 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: Tridentinosaurus antiquus was discovered in the Italian alps in 1931 and was thought to be an important specimen for understanding early reptile evolutionbut has now been found to be, in part a forgery. Its body outline, appearing dark against the surrounding rock, was initially interpreted as preserved soft tissues but is now known to be painted. Credit: Dr. Valentina Rossi A 280-million-year-old fossil that has baffled researchers for decades has been shown to bein parta forgery, following new examination of the remnants. The discovery has led the team, headed by Dr. Valentina Rossi of University College Cork, Ireland (UCC) to urge caution in how the fossil is used in future research. Tridentinosaurus antiquus was discovered in the Italian Alps in 1931 and was thought to be an important specimen for understanding early reptile evolution. Its body outline, appearing dark against the surrounding rock, was initially interpreted as preserved soft tissues. This led to its classification as a member of the reptile group Protorosauria. However, this new research, published in the journal Palaeontology, reveals that the fossil renowned for its remarkable preservation is mostly just black paint on a carved lizard-shaped rock surface. The purported fossilized skin had been celebrated in articles and books but never studied in detail. The somewhat strange preservation of the fossil had left many experts uncertain about which group of reptiles this strange lizard-like animal belonged to, and more generally its geological history. Dr. Valentina Rossi with an image of Tridentinosaurus antiquus. The fossil, discovered in the Italian alps in 1931, was thought to be an important specimen for understanding early reptile evolutionbut has now been found to be, in part a forgery. Its body outline, appearing dark against the surrounding rock, was initially interpreted as preserved soft tissues but is now known to be paint. Credit: Zixiao Yang Dr. Rossi, of UCC's School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, said, "Fossil soft tissues are rare, but when found in a fossil they can reveal important biological information, for instance, the external coloration, internal anatomy and physiology. The answer to all our questions was right in front of us; we had to study this fossil specimen in details to reveal its secretseven those that perhaps we did not want to know." The microscopic analysis showed that the texture and composition of the material did not match that of genuine fossilized soft tissues. Preliminary investigation using UV photography revealed that the entirety of the specimen was treated with some sort of coating material. Coating fossils with varnishes and/or lacquers was the norm in the past and sometimes is still necessary to preserve a fossil specimen in museum cabinets and exhibits. The team was hoping that beneath the coating layer, the original soft tissues were still in good condition to extract meaningful paleobiological information. The findings indicate that the body outline of Tridentinosaurus antiquus was artificially created, likely to enhance the appearance of the fossil. This deception misled previous researchers, and now caution is being urged when using this specimen in future studies. The team behind this research includes contributors based in Italy at the University of Padua, Museum of Nature South Tyrol, and the Museo delle Scienze in Trento. Co-author Prof Evelyn Kustatscher, coordinator of the project "Living with the supervolcano," said, "The peculiar preservation of Tridentinosaurus had puzzled experts for decades. Now, it all makes sense. What it was described as carbonized skin is just paint." However, not all is lost, and the fossil is not a complete fake. The bones of the hindlimbs, in particular, the femurs seem genuine, although poorly preserved. Moreover, the new analyses have shown the presence of tiny bony scales called osteodermslike the scales of crocodileson what perhaps was the back of the animal. This study is an example of how modern analytical paleontology and rigorous scientific methods can resolve an almost century-old paleontological enigma. More information: Forged soft tissues revealed in the oldest fossil reptile from the early Permian of the Alps, Palaeontology (2024). DOI: 10.1111/pala.12690 Journal information: Palaeontology 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: People are more likely to sell their homes and move out of a neighborhood if new neighbors with opposing political views move nearby, according to research by UVA economists. Credit: John DiJulio, University Communications, assisted by AI Politics not only make for strange bedfellows, but also for bad neighbors, apparently. People are more likely to sell their homes and move out of a neighborhood if new neighbors whose political views are opposite of theirs move in, according to research by University of Virginia economists. The study, published last week in The Journal of Finance, uses information gleaned from North Carolina public records. It found residents were 4% more likely to sell their property and move within two years if their new neighbors have opposite political views, compared to residents whose new neighbors share their politics. "Political identity and partisanship are salient features of today's society," the researchers wrote in the paper. "Using deeds records and voter rolls, we show that current residents are more likely to sell their homes when opposite-party neighbors move in nearby than when unaffiliated or same-party neighbors do. "We document that an aversion to living near members of the opposite party is an important factor affecting households' home-sale decisions. Our causal test shows that households are willing to sell their homes and movean enormously costly activitywhen presented with opposite-party neighbors," they wrote. Although the figures are believed to be representative of society at large, the data was limited to North Carolina. Researchers used public records to focus on residents who were politically affiliated. The desire to move away was seen in both Republicans and Democrats. "That we're seeing any movement there at all is kind of surprising because moving is very expensive," said W. Ben McCartney, assistant professor of commerce at the McIntire School of Commerce and a faculty affiliate of UVA's White Ruffin Byron Center for Real Estate, who led the research. "You can imagine that, if you didn't like your new neighbor, you would just send more angry tweets, or something. "The main finding in the paper is that people who get a new neighbor with opposite-party affiliation are 3.41 percentage points more likely to move. That's 4% more likely than someone whose new neighbor is of the same affiliation," he said. "We're estimating it's about 1% of all moves. That may not seem like a lot, but that is thousands of moves every year." John Orellana-Li and Calvin Zhang, financial economists at the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, joined McCartney in the research. McCartney said there are many reasons why people move into and out of communities and why some cities and neighborhoods are predominately Republican or Democrat. "There are regions and cities and big chunks of space across the country that are going to be bright blue and bright red, and we know even before November rolls around that parts of Virginia are going to be very red and others very blue," McCartney said. "It's not just a rural/urban divide. It can break down into neighborhoods as well." Some neighborhoods attract residents based on "amenity bundles," such as local public or private schools, parks or even restaurants that attract residents, McCartney explained. People may move in or out based on those amenities. "So, there are two competing theories for why you might have politically segregated cities and built environments. On the one hand, it could be because people who value similar things end up living together. Or it could be because people don't like living with people flying Joe Biden flags or with 'Let's Go Brandon' stickers on their car. They think, 'I don't want to see that every day, so I'm going to move.' Both end up resulting in a politically segregated city, but for two very different reasons." What the research tried to do was separate the reasons using real estate transaction information and public records regarding political affiliations in North Carolina, paring down the apparent reasons to simply politics. "Disentangling the potential causes in the data is really hard, so we fixed the amenity bundle so the only thing that's different between the residents we studied was who is getting the opposite-party neighbor and who is not," McCartney said. "When we see the current residents getting the opposite-party neighbors are more likely to move, that's first-order evidence that there's something about the new neighbor that's causing them to move." McCartney said the study shows the nation's political divide is real. "This is, therefore, strong evidence that political polarization isn't just a Twitter phenomenon, but also affects major life decisions," he said. More information: W. Ben McCartney et al, Political Polarization Affects Households' Financial Decisions: Evidence from Home Sales, The Journal of Finance (2024). DOI: 10.1111/jofi.13315 This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: In the study, it was observed that quadruply quantized vortices have three ways of splitting, leading to three different patterns. Credit: Physical Review Letters (2023). DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.131.221602 According to a recent study from the University of Helsinki, published in the journal Physical Review Letters, a vortex of a superfluid that has been quantized four times has three ways of dividing, depending on the temperature. The fluid transforms into a superfluid near the absolute zero point of temperature (approximately -273C). Internal resisting forces, such as friction, disappear. At this point, the behavior of the fluid can no longer be described using classical mechanics; instead, quantum physics must be applied. When a superfluid is spun, the resulting rotation should never slow down because superfluids have no viscosity or friction. This has been experimented with at the atomic level using helium at very slow rotation, and it was observed that the superfluid, however, eventually halted. The reason is that the vorticity of a superfluid becomes quantized: overall twirling breaks down into small vorticesthe angular momentum is both quantized and persistent and therefore does not disappear. Rotation is restricted A regular vortexsuch as water draining from a sinkcan spin on its axis at any speed, whereas the angular momentum of a quantized vortex is always proportional to an integer. This integer is called the winding number. The winding numbers of individual and quadruply quantized vortices are one and four, respectively. A quadruply quantized vortex easily splits into four singly quantized vortices because a quadruply quantized vortex is more unstable due to the system's energy significantly decreasing after the splitting. Lower energy means a more stable system. Doctoral researcher Xin Li from the University of Helsinki investigated the splitting processes of quadruply quantized vortices in his recent work. What happens when an unstable, quadruply quantized vortex is allowed to exist at three different temperatures, all still very close to absolute zero? Three temperatures, three ways of splitting In the study, it was observed that quadruply quantized vortices have three ways of splitting, leading to three different patterns. Although these patterns had been theoretically identified in previous studies, the results demonstrated for the first time that temperature leads to different splitting processes. The splitting was modeled by applying a relatively new theory to the phenomenon, known as the gauge/gravity duality or holography. This duality allows for a systematic examination of the temperature's impact in a way that bears close resemblance to a realistic situation. The study indicates that two observed patterns exist in the low-temperature range, while a third pattern may emerge if the temperature is further increased. Experimentally, two of these splitting patterns have been observed so far, and the researchers suggest that at a higher temperature, a new pattern could become visible. This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Professor Richi Nayak and Dr Md Abul Bashar. Credit: Anthony Weate/Queensland University of Technology The return of the ancestral human remains of Australian and other Indigenous peoples held in anthropological collections could be sped up using machine-based deep learning according to a new study led by QUT computer scientists. In a paper published in Social Science Computer Review titled "An Informed Neural Network for Discovering Historical Documentation Assisting the Repatriation of Indigenous Ancestral Human Remains," a research team including Dr. Md Abul Bashar and Professor Richi Nayak, both from QUT's School of Computer Science, outlines how. "The repatriation of the bodily remains of the ancestors of Australian and other First Nations peoples from mostly Western scientific institutions depends largely on locating information within scientific and other literature published between 1790 and 1970 documenting their theft, donation, sale, or exchange between institutions," Dr. Bashar said. "Digital library initiatives by national and major research libraries since the mid-1990s have made it possible to systematically search large historical corpora of books, journals, and newspapers. However, finding relevant information within these corpora is difficult." Supported by the Australian Research Council, Dr. Bashar and Professor Nayak worked with academics from the Australian National University and University of Tasmania. In collaboration with data scientists and social science researchers from the Research, Reconcile, Renew Network (RRR), who have developed and applied text mining techniques, the team have created a machine learning-based solution to automate the process of finding and semantically analyzing relevant texts. "The RRR researchers face a huge challenge as they work to assist First Nation communities in repatriating their ancestors' remains from Western scientific collections," Professor Nayak said. "They endeavor to confirm the identity, current location, and other information necessary for a successful reburial. To do this, RRR researchers invest substantial time and intellectual energy in tracing the movement of the remains after they were stolen through an as yet only partially identified networks of collectors, donors, private sellers, commercial dealers, and scientists associated with museums and other institutions with anthropological collections. "Current museum catalogues provide some data for analysis but relying purely on the sum of information within them runs the risk of making potentially devastating mistakes." Dr. Bashar said text mining was a research field that has made significant progress in developing techniques for uncovering and extracting knowledge from large collections of documents. "Text mining has mostly been applied to pre-existing textual corpora. In the humanities and social sciences, though, there are many pressing research questions related to past human thought and behavior for which relevant collections of historical documents do not exist in machine-readable form," Dr. Bashar said. "Instead, researchers must use search engines to locate, gather, and analyze documentary content about past people, places, and events. The challenge here is that search engine results can be biased by algorithms and indexing practices and may not accurately reflect all relevant content. "For RRR researchers, the usefulness of keyword-based search services provided by the creators of corpora really depends on how queries are formed. If the search terms are too specific, few or no relevant documents will be returned. If terms are generic, large numbers of irrelevant documents will be returned." Professor Nayak said classification models, particularly deep learning-based models, can have low accuracy when trained with small amounts of labeled (i.e., relevant/non-relevant) documents. "To improve the accuracy of our detection model, we explored the use of an Informed Neural Network (INN) model that describes documentary content using expert-informed contextual knowledge," Professor Nayak said. "A set of keywords was provided by RRR researchers, chosen for their highly probability of appearing in documents of interest. "This provided the basis for a deep learning-based classification model trained with a small portion of labeled documents. "The results of our search confirm the value of using an INN network model for accurately and quickly identifying relevant documents related to the investigation of the global commercial trade in Indigenous human remains." It was developed it in 2014 to raise awareness and understanding about repatriation and assist repatriation practitioners and researchers in their efforts to bring Old People home. Dr. Bashar and Professor Nayak, along with co-authors Professor Cressida Fforde (ANU), Dr. Gareth Knapman (ANU) and Professor Paul Turnbull (University of Tasmania) are all members of projects team with the Research, Reconcile, Renew Network. It was launched in 2014 to raise awareness and understanding about repatriation and assist repatriation practitioners and researchers in their efforts to bring Old People home. Dr. Knapman is a Research Fellow on the ARC Discovery Project "Profit and Loss, The commercial trade in Indigenous human remains" at the Center for Heritage and Museum Studies at the Australian National University. Professor Fforde's primary area of research focus has been the history of the removal and subsequent study of Indigenous human remains by European institutions within the "race" paradigm in the nineteenth century and the campaigns to secure their return. Professor Turnbull is a historian of anthropology and the biomedical sciences in colonial contexts. He is internationally known for his research on the theft and scientific uses of Australian and other Indigenous peoples' bodily remains. More information: Md Abul Bashar et al, An Informed Neural Network for Discovering Historical Documentation Assisting the Repatriation of Indigenous Ancestral Human Remains, Social Science Computer Review (2023). DOI: 10.1177/08944393231158788 This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: The spider Ero lizae was found living on the black scale fern, but may live on other plants as well. Credit: Liza Fowler/St Helena National Trust On a remote tropical island in the Atlantic Ocean, a pair of marooned pirates have been discovered. While they lack eyepatches and cutlasses, the two new species of pirate spider certainly live up to their nautical name, which refers to their habit of violently taking over the webs of other spiders and killing the occupants. Having been confused for a closely related species, the two new spiders have been hiding out on St Helena for decades. Now newly recognized, it's hoped the spiders will provide added impetus to preserve the island's threatened cloud forest. Danni Sherwood, the lead author of a new study of these spiders, says, "Our work showed that two species new to science existed in the cloud forest, but for over four decades they were thought to be a single, common, species which can be found in many parts of the world including the U.K." "These spiders don't just have interesting morphology. Their type localities are in one of the most unique and threatened habitats in the world: the Saint Helenian cloud forest. Knowing what species are there and which are found nowhere else helps with efforts to conserve the cloud forest as a whole." The findings were published in the European Journal of Taxonomy. Island of invertebrates Found 2,000 kilometers off the coast of west Africa, St Helena is one of the most isolated places on Earth. With environments ranging from tropical forests to desert-like coasts, it has developed a biodiversity unlike anywhere else. The cloud forest found around the island's peaks are particularly important. The trees capture water from the clouds, which then drains to the lower parts of the island and accounts for about 60% of the water falling on St Helena every year. This supports a variety of unique plants, such as the he cabbage-tree and black scale fern, which in turn play host to at least 120 invertebrate species found nowhere else in the world. Unfortunately, very little of this original forest now remains. The historic clearance of the forest for cattle and crops, as well as the introduction of invasive species, has left only small, fragmented patches remaining. The U.K. government, supported by the Saint Helena National Trust, RSPB and Species Recovery Trust are working to reverse these declines through the St Helena Cloud Forest Project. But this means it is now more important than ever to work out what exactly is living in the cloud forest. One species thought to have made the forest its home was Ero aphana, a pirate spider normally found in western Europe. It was thought it had been inadvertently introduced during the last 500 years, but when the research team went back to examine specimens of the spider, they realized something was amiss. Dr. Ben Price, who is the Natural History Museum's Senior Curator in Charge of Small Orders, was a co-author of the research. "We were carrying out a project to improve the DNA reference library for St Helena, so that the people of the island can monitor their biodiversity more easily," Ben explains. "This has been using a mix of museum specimens and freshly collected ones to help fill gaps in our knowledge." "Danni already suspected that Ero aphana might not be all that it appears, so we added it into the mix. It turns out that there's not just one pirate spider on the island, but two entirely different species." The spider Ero natashae was last captured in the 1970s, so little is known about its lifestyle. Credit: Sherwood et al., licensed under CC BY 4.0 via the European Journal of Taxonomy How were the new pirate spiders discovered? A close examination of the spiders provided the first hints that they were different species. Ero lizae has two spike-like structures at the back of its body, while Ero natashae is significantly smaller. DNA evidence also played a role in proving these spiders were their own species. "There are a lot of cryptic species for which DNA is one of the few, if only, ways of distinguishing between them," Ben says. "While DNA in typical museum specimens tends to fragment rapidly in the first decade or so after collection, it slows down significantly after that." "This means that sequencing the DNA of a 150-year-old specimen isn't that different from sequencing a 50-year-old one, so we were able to use methods developed for ancient DNA to extract genetic material from two legs of Ero lizae. Its genetics are significantly different from Ero aphana, showing they couldn't be the same species." Based on this information, the researchers were confident enough to formally describe two new species from specimens kept in the Natural History Museum, London, and the Royal Museum of Central Africa in Belgium. The species were named in honor of Liza Fowler and Natasha Stevens, two conservationists working at the St Helena National Trust. "Naming these species after two friends and colleagues who did so much to help me during my visit to Saint Helena in 2022, and who have spent years dedicated to saving Saint Helenian invertebrates, was a great pleasure," Danni says. While little is currently known about these spiders, it's hoped that further research will help to work out how they live, and how they can be allowed to thrive. More information: Danniella Sherwood et al, Two new sympatric species of the pirate spider genus Ero C.L. Koch, 1836 from the cloud forest of Saint Helena Island, South Atlantic Ocean (Araneae: Mimetidae), European Journal of Taxonomy (2024). DOI: 10.5852/ejt.2024.921.2417 This story is republished courtesy of Natural History Museum. Read the original story here. 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: Daiwei Lu/Unsplash The Houthis are attacking ships in the Red Sea. Rerouting via South Africa is expensive, whereas the Arctic route only takes a week. Once a no-go zone, this route might be a more realistic option. Mind the nuclear submarines, though Having spent years researching the Arctic from many different anglesusing his knowledge of the law, geography, biology, international relations, national security studies, economics, energy, and governancePh.D. candidate Alexandros Sarris is the go-to person to shed light on current affairs affecting the Arctic. We sat down with Sarris. Cold War 2.0 in Arctic waters Sarris: When I started researching the Arctic back in 2010, everyone was talking about climate change. The North Pole was melting much faster than expected and there was a real sense of urgency to protect the environment. But in 2022, the situation changed practically overnight due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. This brought a halt to environmental plans and collaborations between the Arctic states. Now that armed conflict has entered the dialogue, the Arctic states tend to consider their priorities more carefully. According to a theory on international relations, a Cold War 2.0 is going on that's also affecting the Arctic. Nuclear submarines It's not common knowledge that the Arctic is heavily militarized with a lot of activity going on in Arctic waters. Russia has deployed its nuclear submarines in Murmansk, a small Arctic gulf with only submarines and king crabs. Due to their extended range, Russian submarines can target any city in Europe, the United States or Ukraine. The United States, which is the other major nuclear power and Arctic state, has its nuclear missiles based in Alaska, which is partially situated in the Arctic. Ghost submarines, which take their name from their ability to be untraceable and unseen, travel through the middle of the Arctic. These massive submarines, which measure between 100m and 120m in length, move along the seabed. These submarines are sometimes involved in collisions, not that this is ever reported as such. Recently, an American submarine "collided with an object." Anyone who's listening carefully will know that the incident most likely involved a collision between two submarines. Houthi attacks: Rerouting via the North Pole And then there's the Israel-Gaza war. This conflict has turned out to be a gamechanger for the future of the Arctic because it's changed the maritime routes from one day to the next. Houthi rebels are attacking ships passing through the Red Sea. Rerouting via South Africa takes an additional two weeks, meaning that a four-week journey is now taking five to six weeks. These massive delays are expensive in themselves, but the higher gas and oil prices are making this route even more expensive. The carriers say that if we continue traveling via South Africa, the current supply chains will be destroyedand that's not a sustainable option. Alternative route And that's where the Arctic route comes in. Take a look at the mapthere's no other option than to travel via the North Pole. The Arctic is ice free between March and October. It takes only one week to sail from Shanghai to Rotterdam via the Arctic route, and it's a no-go for pirates as it's too cold for them. And so this route is rapidly becoming a more realistic option. Albeit not in the very near future as no one can argue that a war zone counts as a viable route. Military activity would disrupt normal shipping communications, for example. There's also a lack of other essential infrastructure such as harbors. And don't forget that there are many unregulated watersRussia and the United States wouldn't allow ships to pass through these waters without paying a toll. An environmental disaster At some point, however, when there's at least some level of peace between Russia and Ukraine, the route will become more navigable and financially sustainable. Not that I think it's a good ideaon the contrary, in fact. From an environmental perspective, it could be disastrous. An oil spill in cold water would be much worse as it's harder to clean up. And let's not forget the impact on the region's biodiversity and Indigenous people, who are already struggling to survive due to the loss of viable fisheries. But it's a realistic scenario that might soon feature in public debate. Locals are asking for the Glens Falls Common Council to adopt the New York State Equal Rights Act. Lower Adirondack Pride and a community member expressed their urgency for the board members to adopt a resolution in support of equal rights. Glens Falls resident Kate Roos approached the council during public comment at the Common Council meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 13, about the equal rights act, reminding them the importance of accepting it for the Glens Falls community. The New York State Equal Rights Amendment passed the legislature for the second year in a row last year, meaning that the amendment moves to voters this November. If ratified, the amendment would be the first time the state ERA has been changed since 1938 when it protected people of any race, color, creed or religion, according to a press release from the state Senate. The ERA gives New York Voters the opportunity to add to that list ethnicity, national origin, age, disability, or sex including pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, or expression, the Senate press release says. Roos said she attended a council meeting a few weeks prior, she facilitated the documents she shared prior about the act to the council again on Tuesday. The wording of that amendment is very important. It affects every resident of Glens Falls, she said. Its all-inclusive and an extremely important amendment at this time in our history when there is so much division and hatred that we see around us that we come together, she said. I am coming to you because I have been attending these meetings now for several years since I moved to Glens Falls, and I have to say I am very impressed with leadership that you bring to the work that you do. Lower Adirondack Pride President Cam Cardinale also urged the panel to make a statement supporting the amendment. He read a comment from the LGBTQ+ advocacy group in Glens Falls and said its something that will continue to expand the citys view of equality and acceptance. This crucial piece of legislation aims to prohibit discrimination by the government on the grounds of a person's ethnicity, national origin, age, disability, and sex, he said. This includes protections for individuals based on their sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, and pregnancy outcomes. Fifth-ward councilwoman Mary Gooden said its time to make a move on the Equal Rights Act and its not an amendment that the council can overlook. Its not just important to Glens Falls, its important to the entire country, she said. This is a right that we are still having to fight for, why are we still fighting it in 2024 We are pleading, pleading, and pleading for people to take this seriously. We need this amendment. This amendment is different than the Equal Rights Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which saw Virginia become the 38th state to ratify it in 2020. PLEASE BE ADVISED: Soon we will no longer integrate with Facebook for story comments. The commenting option is not going away, however, readers will need to register for a FREE site account to continue sharing their thoughts and feedback on stories. If you already have an account (i.e. current subscribers, posting in obituary guestbooks, for submitting community events), you may use that login, otherwise, you will be prompted to create a new account. CAPE MAY COURT HOUSE The attorney representing Wildwood Mayor Ernie Troiano Jr. against charges of official misconduct was disqualified from the case Friday after accepting a job with the Attorney Generals Office, the same office that is prosecuting his client. The public and the courts view of the defense counsels continued representation of a client in a criminal case being prosecuted by the same office that the defense counsel will accept employment with upon completion of this case is concerning, Cape May County Superior Court Judge Bernard DeLury said during his ruling. While the defense argues that separations of the attorney generals several units and roles make his ongoing representation appropriate, the court has concluded that this conflict of interest isnt waivable. Troiano, former Mayor Pete Byron and Commissioner Steve Mikulski are each charged with four counts of official misconduct, theft by unlawful taking, tampering with public records, and falsifying or tampering with records for allegedly accepting health benefits to which the state attorney general said they were not entitled. Byron and Mikulski both made brief appearances Friday before the focus shifted to Troiano. Attorney Brian Pelloni applied for a position within the AGs office to prosecute environmental crimes, a job he said was a dream of his. He argued that none of the departments in the office communicate with one another. My potential employment has been going on now for over a year with that office, Pelloni said. The fact the counsel didnt bring it up to the court until recently shows these units have no connection and dont perform the same functions, or involve the same staff or directors. All of the pieces are separate. To consider the Attorney Generals Office as one big employer doesnt make any sense. Pelloni also questioned the timing of the states objection as he alleges it came after he requested a trial date for his client. I find it interesting that the state is making this issue now after we asked for a trial date because we want to get this matter resolved, Pelloni said. The state knew about this when they brought it up at the end of last year. Now that we ask for a trial date to get some justice for my client, the state wants to say it doesnt look good, and I think that is a huge prejudice in itself. Wildwood officials' legal troubles complicate matters at City Hall With two-thirds of the governing body under state indictment, Wildwood has needed to rely on whats called the doctrine of necessity to allow votes to take place where there is a conflict of interest, including one Wednesday about representing the citys interest in a civil suit filed by the mayor and deputy mayor. After Pelloni revealed to the state that he was taking the job, Troiano indicated he was understanding of his attorneys desire for the position and wanted Pelloni to continue to represent him. In the end, DeLury ruled that allowing Pelloni to represent Troiano could put the prosecution of the case in jeopardy. I have concluded that the attorney generals objection must be sustained, DeLury said. Despite any waiver provisions that might be applicable here, there are some conflicts that cannot be waived even with full disclosure and consent. The public will rightfully question whether the defense counsel has pulled punches in favor of his future employer. Similar charges were dismissed last year, and the state brought them back before a grand jury, describing the dismissal as taking place on a technicality. Troiano and Byron were elected to Wildwoods Board of Commissioners in 2011 and passed a resolution declaring themselves full-time employees. However, an investigation revealed the two didnt maintain a regular schedule and submitted inaccurate timesheets to the city indicating they worked Monday to Friday, the charges allege. Wildwood and its benefits program paid more than $286,500 in premiums for Troiano from July 2011 through December 2019, and more than $608,000 for Byron from July 2011 through October 2021, investigators have said. Mikulski joined the City Commission in 2020 and enrolled in the same program shortly after taking office. The charges claim he made false statements on a health benefits enrollment form, leading the city to pay more than $103,000 in premiums and claims for him through October 2021. All three men have pleaded not guilty. Court weighs ethics of Troiano lawyer taking job with Attorney General's Office An attorney representing Wildwood Mayor Ernie Troiano Jr. against charges of official misconduct told the judge Friday hed been offered a job by the state Attorney Generals Office, the same office that is prosecuting his client. DeLury rejected a motion filed by Troianos attorney seeking dismissal in December. Byron resigned as mayor shortly after pleading guilty to unrelated federal tax charges last year. All three ran for office during the last election, with Troiano and Mikulski running together and joining Krista Fitzsimons, who ran a separate campaign. Troiano was named Wildwoods mayor in January. All three men are due back in court April 19 for a status hearing. WILDWOOD The doctrine of necessity comes to the citys rescue once again, allowing two members of the Board of Commissioners on Wednesday to vote to hire an attorney to represent the citys interests in a lawsuit the elected officials have filed. Its part of the complications that come with having two of the three members of the governing body defending themselves against state indictments. In this case, Mayor Ernie Troiano Jr., Commissioner Steve Mikulski and former Mayor Pete Byron face criminal charges in their acceptance of health benefits to which the state attorney general alleges they were not entitled. The three are set to be back in Cape May County Superior Court on Friday morning in connection to the charges. The three men have maintained their innocence, and Troiano succeeded in having the charges thrown out last year, only to have them revived by a state grand jury in August. In December, a judge declined a fresh request to dismiss the charges. With a three-member governing body like the Wildwood Board of Commissioners, having two members involved in a legal defense against state charges can complicate matters. In previous instances, the citys attorney has cited the doctrine of necessity for allowing members to vote who would otherwise be advised to abstain because of a conflict of interest. On Wednesday, thats what happened in a unanimous vote to appoint Eric M. Bernstein and Associates the citys conflict counsel for 2024, at a cost not to exceed $15,000. Communities often hire additional attorneys in situations where there is a potential conflict of interest. Usually, an elected official who may be on the opposite side of an issue from that attorney does not get a say in who gets the job. Court weighs ethics of Troiano lawyer taking job with Attorney General's Office An attorney representing Wildwood Mayor Ernie Troiano Jr. against charges of official misconduct told the judge Friday hed been offered a job by the state Attorney Generals Office, the same office that is prosecuting his client. One of the primary needs for a conflict counsel for the city at this time is to represent the citys interest in a civil action wherein the plaintiffs are seeking an interpretation of the state health benefits statute, city attorney Steven Morris said at the Wednesday commission meeting. The plaintiffs in that matter are Mayor Troiano and Deputy Mayor Mikulski, he continued. The defendants in that matter are the New Jersey Department of Treasury, division of pension benefits, the New Jersey State Health Benefits Commission, the New Jersey Department of Law and Public Safety and the City of Wildwood. The question of whether elected officials can be considered full-time employees is central to the case against Troiano, Mikulski and Byron. At the Wednesday meeting, Troiano said serving in local government is far more than a full-time job, with constant questions and requests from constituents. He also said he was called late at night over the weekend as a SWAT team responded to a man barricaded into a property on 26th Street. Normally, Morris said, Troiano and Mikulski would be required to abstain from the vote, but that would leave only Krista Fitzsimons to make the decision, and a single vote would not be enough to approve the resolution. In this case, he said, the doctrine of necessity allowed Troiano and Mikulski to vote, but he added there was a firewall between them and the decision of what attorney to hire. He said at the meeting that he and Fitzsimons and City Clerk Lisa Brown reviewed whom to appoint to the position. Brown also is Wildwoods acting city administrator. A grand jury last year returned a 12-count indictment against Troiano, Byron and Mikulski, alleging they improperly accepted health benefits as members of the Wildwood Board of Commissioners. They each face four counts: official misconduct, theft by unlawful taking, tampering with public records and falsifying or tampering with records. Wildwood clerk to fill in as administrator search begins For 30 days, City Clerk Lisa Brown will also serve as Wildwoods city administrator, while the Board of Commissioners looks for a more permanent candidate. All three have pleaded not guilty. All three were on the ballot in November, in a crowded race for the three seats on the Board of Commissioners. Troiano and Mikulski ran together, while Byron ran a separate campaign after resigning before the election. Fitzsimons ran as part of a three-person ticket but was the only one on her ticket to win a seat. After the Wednesday meeting, Troiano said he could not discuss the civil suit Morris mentioned. Id love to talk about it, but I cant, he said. He referred any questions to his attorneys, Brian Pelloni and Louis Hornstine. Neither immediately responded to messages left Thursday. At the same meeting, in which Mikulski participated remotely, resident Al Brannen asked about progress in finding a new administrator. Former Administrator Steve OConnors contract ended at the end of last year. In mid-January, Brown was named interim administrator for 30 days. To be honest with you, I think Lisas been doing a good job with what shes got, Troiano said. Im happy with what shes doing. Wildwood to discuss whom to name as administrator The Wildwood Board of Commissioners plans to hold a closed-door meeting Wednesday, to include a discussion of the city administrator. Brannen, who is a former commissioner, had called on the city to use an outside firm to find a new administrator and cautioned against hiring locally, suggesting the job could end up going to someone who is owed a favor or who is insufficiently qualified. We need a professional, Brannen said. Troiano said there are enough competent people working in City Hall to evaluate applications for the administrators position. Ive been asking the same questions, Fitzsimons said. Mikulski, who has human resources as part of his responsibilities, said he would work on the administrator search. ATLANTIC CITY The Galloway Township Office of Emergency Management, Hammonton Independent Volunteer Fire Company #2 and Wildwood Fire Department were among eight recipients of $40,000 in first responder grants provided by South Jersey Gas. The grants are intended to help first responders enhance operations, safety measures and training. Grants this year will cover the purchase of first-aid and firefighting gear, fire hose equipment, gas leak detectors and other protective gear, the company said in a news release. "These grants represent our appreciation for their unwavering dedication, supporting the invaluable work they do to ensure the safety of our customers and communities," Brent Schomber, president and chief operating officer of South Jersey Gas, said in a statement. When assessing damage to a residential or commercial building, we are concerned not only with obvious structural damage but also the possibility of hidden dangers such as hydrogen sulfide, carbon monoxide or natural gas leaks," said Joe Picardi, Galloway Township emergency management coordinator. "The detection equipment that we will purchase with the grant funds will allow us to determine these unsafe conditions and evacuate the occupants to safety until the fire department and gas company are able to rectify the situation. This grant funded the purchase of a new multi-gas detector equipped with the latest technology on the market," said Daniel Dunn, deputy chief of the Wildwood Fire Department. "Without the generosity of South Jersey Gas in awarding us this grant, our department would not have been able to purchase this potentially life-saving equipment. The First Responders Grant Program will be offered again in the fall. Since June 2022, The Atlantic County Prosecutors Office has demonstrated a comprehensive approach to criminal justice, balancing tough prosecution with progressive reforms. Justice requires compassion, empathy, conviction, integrity and understanding for the victim and the defendant. As for prosecution, the office has had tremendous success. In 20 of 20 trials, the jury said guilty. The net result was winning 19 of 20 jury trials, due to one guilty verdict being overturned. At the same time, ACPO has also prioritized empathy, fairness and rehabilitation through initiatives and creation of diversion programs. By reducing recidivism and offering second chances, ACPOs efforts have not only improved public safety but also provided individuals with pathways to recovery, employment and education. The Atlantic County Prosecutors Office prioritizes fair and just outcomes while upholding public safety. The creation of diversion programs for at-risk and addicted offenders and those with mental health issues addresses the root causes of crime, promoting rehabilitation over incarceration. Entering 2023, the Atlantic County Prosecutors Office focused on clearing the backlog of expungements and processed over 7,200 expungements in just over a year. This initiative provides individuals with second chances for employment and education, fostering a more inclusive and equitable society. ACPO has focused on the issues relating to criminal justice reform. Bail reform in New Jersey, when done right, can be very effective. When a suspect is arrested, the decision to place that individual on a summons or warrant is critical in the bail reform process. In 2023, Atlantic County had the second lowest percentage of criminal complaints placed on warrants in the state of New Jersey. In Atlantic County, the total number of defendants was 4,819. Of those arrested, 72% were placed on a summons; 28% were placed on warrants. Atlantic City's Craig Callaway charged with mail-in ballot fraud Political operative Craig Callaway was arrested Thursday and charged with procuring, casting and tabulating fraudulent mail-in ballots in the November 2022 general election. Sussex County led the state at 22% on warrants but only had 182 defendants who were placed on warrants and committed to jail, whereas Atlantic County had a total of 1,349 defendants committed to jail on warrants. Out of those 1,349 defendants placed on a warrant in Atlantic County, a total of 686 individuals were detained, equating to a detention rate of 50.9%, the highest in the State of New Jersey. The state average for detaining individuals placed on a warrant in 2023 was 19.8%. Likewise, Atlantic County led the state with the highest rate of detention motions filed at 99% (1,338) and lowest number of detention motions withdrawn (11), which further bolstered the importance of the decision-making process at the initial summons vs. warrant complaint stage. The local police departments and the ACPO Screening Unit are very effective in the decision-making process to place a defendant on a warrant or a summons. Why does the decision-making of placing a defendant on a summons or warrant matter? Placing someone on summons allows them to continue to live their lives while having due process. Placing someone on a warrant deprives that person of their liberty. That decision is critical for all of society. Taking someones liberty is not and should not be taken lightly. However, if a person is violent and likely to hurt someone or be a victim themselves, the communitys interest in public safety outweighs that persons constitutional right to liberty. Simply stated, detaining the most violent and dangerous individuals reduces violence in the community. Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office announces more special needs training for law enforcement The Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office, in partnership with the Atlantic County Special Services School District and the Atlantic City Police Department, has developed training to better respond to situations that involve people with special developmental and/or mental health needs. Both in Atlantic County and statewide there has been a reduction in gun violence. In 2023, the State of New Jersey had a total of 924 people shot, the lowest total in 15 years, a reduction of 13% from 2022; and 191 homicides as a result of gun violence, a reduction of 8% from 2022. When it comes to gun violence, an undisputed fact is that todays shooters are tomorrows victims. By detaining those at risk for being involved in gun violence, the probability of that person shooting anyone else or being shot becomes zero. William E. Reynolds is the Atlantic County prosecutor. The City of Davenport is asking a judge to rule on whether the city must release a demand letter from its former administrator under state public records laws. Then-city administrator Corri Spiegel delivered a letter Sept. 15, 2023, to former city attorney Tom Warner addressed to the mayor, members of the city council, and the city, according to a petition filed Wednesday by the city in Scott County court. In the court filing, the city says the letter detailed "a series of circumstances that Spiegel contends constitutes discrimination, harassment, bias, intimidation and retaliation and makes a monetary demand." Spiegel signed a separation agreement that included a $1.6 million payment for emotional damages and lost wages in early October, which wasn't announced to the public until just before Thanksgiving and wasn't voted on in public by the city council until December. The city has named David Ezra Sidran, a frequent records requestor and retired University of Iowa computer science professor, as the defendant, though the city is not seeking any judgement against Sidran, nor any damages. In November and again in January, Sidran sent open records requests to the City of Davenport requesting documents that the city wrote could be interpreted to include Spiegel's letter. Others have made similar requests, including the Quad-City Times. "Initially believing the Letter to be a confidential personnel record, the city has not released it in response to any open records requests," the city wrote in its filing. The city wrote that it received threats of lawsuits after it released other "allegedly confidential records." In a records request filled in late November, the city released demand letters from two other employees that detailed allegations of harassment by elected officials and included health care sought in response. City legal staff said at the time that the documents were mistakenly released unredacted. The city also faces a separate lawsuit from a Scott County resident, Allen Diercks, that alleges the city failed to follow open meetings laws in the handling of separation from and agreeing on payments to three city employees. "The city has now been placed in an impossible position: if it does not release the letter as a confidential record it risks being sued under Chapter 22 for an open records violation, or if it releases the Letter it risks being sued for releasing a confidential record," the city wrote in its filing. The city asked the court to determine whether Spiegel's letter is a confidential record under Iowa code Chapter 22 and if it is a confidential record, whether the city, as custodian of the record, has the right to release it. "The city is unable to determine if the letter must be released (meaning it is not a confidential record) or is a confidential record that may be released. The city requests that the court construe Chapter 22 and the letter and determine whether the City must release the Letter," the city wrote. The city added that it "expresses no opinion on the outcome of this case, and will comply with the court's determination." Randy Evans, the Iowa Freedom of Information Council executive director, said he's seen similar lawsuits very rarely. "As to the letter the city administrator gave to the city attorney that led to the settlement with her, I do, indeed, believe that weighing the public interest in her letter vs. her privacy interests, the letter should be made public," Evans wrote in an email. Sidran, in an email to the Quad-City Times, wrote: The city of Davenport had no qualms about twice providing me with (Tiffany) Thorndikes and (Samantha) Torress demand letters in response to my FOIA requests but has repeatedly refused giving me Spiegels demand letter which was requested in the same FOIA. Since I have not seen it, I can only assume that the contents of Spiegels demand letter must be explosive. Why else would they pay her $1.6 million to keep silent? A Clinton man awaiting trial on drug and gun charges was arrested Monday for allegedly shooting his girlfriend in the neck. Keegan James Hayes, 21, is charged in Clinton County District Court with one count of reckless use of a firearm causing serious injury. The charge is a Class C felony under Iowa law that carries a prison sentence of 10 years. According to the arrest affidavit filed by Clinton Police Officer Alice Cain, at 5:03 p.m. on Monday, Clinton police and firefighters were sent to 727 12th Ave. S. to investigate a report of a woman with a gunshot wound. Upon arrival, officers found Hayes holding a cloth on a womans neck. Hayes told officers he accidentally shot his girlfriend while trying to show her his new firearm. During a post-Miranda interview, Hayes admitted to pointing the gun in the womans direction and pulling the trigger. The woman sustained a serious injury and was airlifted to University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics, Iowa City. Hayes also admitted to using Xanax and marijuana. Under Iowa law, as a person who uses illegal substances, he is prohibited from possessing a firearm in Iowa. He was charged with being a person ineligible to carry dangerous weapons, a serious misdemeanor that carries a jail sentence of up to one year. During a first appearance on the charges Tuesday in Clinton County District Court, District Associate Judge Kimberly Shepherd scheduled a preliminary hearing in the case for Feb. 23. Hayes was being held Thursday morning in the Clinton County Jail on a cash-only bond of $15,000. Hayes is awaiting trial on charges of driving while barred, possession of a controlled substance-marijuana-third offense and person ineligible to carry dangerous weapons that stemmed from a traffic stop on Jan. 8. According to the arrest affidavits filed in that case by Clinton County Sheriffs Deputy Bradley Drews, Hayes was driving a 1998 Chevrolet Silverado K1500 when he was pulled over for a non-working brake light and a broken windshield. There was an odor of marijuana coming from the vehicle. Hayes told Drews that there might be marijuana in the vehicle and admitted that he might be barred from driving and that he had a firearm in the vehicle. Hayes was placed under arrest, and Drews secured the firearm, a Taurus 9mm handgun. During a search of the vehicle Drews seized 6 grams of marijuana that was in a plastic bag, three THC vape pens and two additional magazines for the gun that were each loaded with ammunition. A pretrial conference in that case is scheduled for Feb. 21 in Clinton County District Court. A Davenport teen awaiting trial on gun and theft charges is facing attempted murder charges in connection with a Jan. 26 shooting, Davenport police said. Davenport Police on Thursday arrested 18-year-old Willis Dickerson on five counts related to the shooting. Dickerson is charged in Scott County District Court with one count of attempted murder. The charge is a Class B felony under Iowa law that carries a prison sentence of 25 years. Dickerson also is charged with one count each of intimidation with a dangerous weapon and stalking while in possession of a dangerous weapon. Each of those charges is a Class C felony that carried a prison sentence of 10 years. He also is charged with going armed with intent and possession of a firearm by a felon. Each of those charges is a Class D felony that carried a prison sentence of five years. According to the arrest affidavits filed by Davenport Police Officer Joel Griffin, at 9 p.m. on Jan. 26, officers were sent to the 1800 block of West 17th Street to investigate a call of shots fired. Officers located a shooting scene at the intersection of West 17th Street and Wilkes Avenue where they recovered 15 spent 9mm shell casings. The victim was located nearby driving a Chevrolet Malibu. The car had been struck no fewer than three times, including one in the drivers-side rear door. According to the affidavits, Dickerson and multiple co-defendants had approached the victim with guns at Riverside Liquor 2, 1528 W. Locust St., about 15 minutes before the shooting. Surveillance video from the area of the store shows Dickerson and his co-defendants clearly waiting for the victim to exit the store. Dickerson and his co-defendants then went to the area of the victims home to await his return, the affidavits said. Dickerson was seated in the passenger-side back seat of a vehicle armed with a 9mm handgun. When the vehicles passed by each other, going in opposite directions, Dickerson opened fire on the victims Malibu. A warrant for Dickersons arrest was issued Feb. 7, and he was arrested Thursday and booked into the Scott County Jail at 2:02 p.m. Dickerson is prohibited from possessing a firearm because of a conviction as a juvenile for second-degree robbery. According to the arrest affidavit in that case filed by Davenport Police Officer Joshua Wehde, at 4:36 p.m. on Jan. 11, 2022, officers were sent to the area of 311 Paul Revere Place to investigate the report of a robbery. Dickerson, who was 16 at the time, had arranged to purchase an Xbox One X gaming system from the victim for $350, the affidavit said. When the victim arrived at the designated meeting place, Dickerson attacked the victim with pepper spray and assaulted him, causing the victim to drop the Xbox. Dickerson then grabbed the Xbox and ran out the back of the apartment complex. Officers executed a search warrant at Dickersons residence and seized the stolen Xbox and the clothes Dickerson was wearing at the time of the robbery. Dickerson was initially charged as an adult in that case, but District Court Judge Jeffrey Bert remanded the case to juvenile court. On Feb. 28, 2022, Dickerson pleaded guilty to the charge, and he was placed in the custody of the Department of Human Services. On June 25, 2022, Dickerson was shot while on a home visit. He was released to the custody of his mother while having surgery and recuperating. He was placed on GPS monitoring. During his time under the supervision of the juvenile court, Dickerson received new charges, including possession of a controlled substance - first offense and interference with official acts, assault causing injury for assaulting a staff member at school. He continued to receive new, more serious charges that have stayed in adult court. On June 25, 2023, during a traffic stop he was charged as an adult with being a felon in possession of a firearm. On Nov. 16, 2023, Dickerson was charged as an adult with first-degree theft. According to the arrest affidavit in that case filed by Griffin, at 5:22 p.m. on Sept. 17, 2023, Davenport police were sent to the 1700 block of Davie St. to investigate a call of shots fired. About 28 minutes later, Dickerson arrived at the emergency room of Genesis Medical Center East, Davenport, with a gunshot wound. Witnesses to the shooting had described a black Dodge Ram pickup fleeing the scene. On Sept. 18, 2023, the owner of the Dodge Ram called police to report the vehicle stolen. Using video from multiple surveillance cameras, police located the vehicle in a garage. Video showed Dickerson and other people getting out of the pickup before concealing it in the garage shortly after the shooting. When police recovered the pickup, it had multiple bullet holes in the passenger side of the vehicle and a small amount of blood was located on the front passenger seat. Because of the video surveillance evidence connected to that shooting, on Dec. 1, 2023, Davenport Police added a charge of felon in possession of a firearm against Dickerson. Those cases are working their way through the court system. Dickerson was discharged from the jurisdiction of the juvenile court on Jan. 4 of this year. He turned 18 on Jan. 1. On Jan. 26, Dickerson was charged in Scott County District Court with one count of felon in possession of a firearm. He was arrested on that charge when he was picked up on the attempted murder-related charges on Thursday. According to the arrest affidavit filed in that case by Griffin, in January of 2024, Davenport police served a search warrant on a Snapchat account belonging to Dickerson. In the Snapchat video, Dickerson can be seen firing a dark-colored handgun while at the Princeton Iowa Public Gun Range. The firearm is shown being fired no fewer than seven times, capturing the audio of the gun shots, with each shot ejecting a casing. A projectile can be seen striking the ground downrange. Analysis of the video shows it was captured between the dates of Jan. 9, 2024, and Jan. 11, 2024. During a first appearance on the charges Friday in Scott County District Court, Magistrate Christine Frederick scheduled a preliminary hearing for Feb. 23. Dickerson was being held Friday night in the Scott County Jail without bond on the five counts related to the attempted murder. He was being held on a cash-only bond of $5,000 for the new firearms charge, and a $15,000 cash-only bond for violating his pretrial release on the first-degree theft charge. CAMBRIDGE A Kewanee man has been charged in Henry County Circuit Court with one count of predatory criminal sexual assault of a child. The Class X felony charge against Shawn D. Hood, 54, was filed Feb. 9. Carmen Law Office entered its appearance on the case on Wednesday and a plea of not guilty was filed. According to the charge, Hood is alleged to have committed an act of sexual penetration with a girl under 13 years old in January 2016. If convicted, Hood faces a possible prison term of six to 30 years. At a detention hearing on Feb. 12, Judge James Cosby arraigned Hood as to the charge and possible penalties and ruled he could be released under certain conditions including that he have no contact with the victim or her mother. He was also admonished regarding possible federal criminal penalties in connection with the Federal Gun Control Act of 1968. A preliminary hearing on the case was set for Feb. 20. DES MOINES The Iowa State Capitol was abuzz with activity this week as lawmakers worked to advance bills regulating the state's area education agencies, altering elections and restricting immigration ahead of a key legislative deadline on Friday. The week marked the first legislative funnel, the last chance for bills to pass out of a committee in either the House or the Senate and remain eligible for consideration going forward. There are some exceptions, and budget and tax bills are not subject to the funnel. The bills that have passed out of committee will still need to pass full floor votes in the Legislature and receive a signature from Gov. Kim Reynolds to become law. Majority Republicans have lauded their agenda this year as a continuation of their record of cutting taxes, improving safety and broadening freedoms. House republicans have been delivering on the promises that Iowans have expected us to deliver on, House Majority Leader Matt Windschitl, R-Missouri Valley, said this month. We have done right, budgetary-wise, and the states got a great economy. Democrats, though, have blasted Republicans for passing politically charged legislation that they say fails to meet the needs of Iowans on issues like wages, housing, child care and health care. If I could summarize it in one sentence, it would be that the bills that came out of committee in the last few days is really an attack on Iowans rather than an attack on the problems that Iowans have asked us to solve, said Senate Minority Leader Pam Jochum, D-Dubuque, on Thursday. Reynolds, a Republican, praised the passage of a number of her legislative priorities in a statement on Thursday. She proposed bills on the area education agencies, child literacy, behavioral health care, maternal health care and merging and eliminating Iowas boards and commissions. As the legislative process continues, so will conversations on how we deliver results for Iowans, Reynolds said in a statement. Iowa has cemented itself as a national leader, and these priorities take us another step further. Education bills Both chambers passed different approaches to change the funding, oversight and structure of Iowas nine area education agencies. Reynolds proposed an overhaul of the agencies, which provide special education support, media services and other services to school districts around the state. The proposal met significant opposition from parents, administrators and House Republicans. The Senate Education Committee passed an amended version of Reynolds bill. The Senate version would allow schools to retain most of their funds for special education and they would have the option to use that money with the AEA or with another party. The bill would also bring some oversight and budget powers of the AEAs under the Department of Education. The House version of the bill, which passed out of committee on Thursday, would allow schools to keep their special education support dollars but require that they still spend them with one of the nine AEAs. We wanted to provide certainty for special education, Iowa House Speaker Pat Grassley of New Hartford told reporters this week. We took Iowans feedback that we've been having in our meetings and realized how important that was. And we feel our plan provides that certainty in the future when it comes to special education. Senate Democrats criticized the Senate bill and said it is not significantly different from Reynolds original proposal. House Democrats said they were concerned about how the House version would affect rural schools. Were still looking at the bill of course, but I will tell you that we disagree with the premise that AEAs needed wholesale change, said House Minority Leader Jennifer Konfrst, D-Windsor Heights. We dont believe that we should be making decisions about how kids get special ed services because an out-of-state consultant tells us. Republican lawmakers have also taken aim at diversity efforts in higher education and advanced legislation to teach a social studies curriculum developed by a conservative think tank. House File 2327, which passed out of the House Education Committee this week, would codify several restrictions on the states public universities diversity, equity and inclusion programs created by their governing board last year. The bill would also cap in-state tuition increases at Iowas public universities at 3% per year without providing additional state funding. Rep. Taylor Collins, R-Mediapolis said the bill was needed because higher education has become not only more expensive, but also more distracted by issues like DEI and others. Elections Changes to Iowas election laws from limiting challenges to Donald Trumps eligibility to banning ballot drop boxes will remain alive after this weeks funnel. The elections bill, which passed committee in both chambers, would block the type of eligibility challenges voters in other states have lodged to Donald Trumps place on the ballot on the grounds that he violated the Constitution by engaging in an insurrection. It would also redefine the states absentee voting rules and ban the use of ballot drop boxes. The bill would also ban ranked choice voting and create a pilot program for a third-party vendor to maintain Iowa's voter database. Republican lawmakers passing the bill said it would protect Iowas election integrity and ensure that Iowans have high trust in elections. Democrats said the bill was designed to empower Trump and would put confusions and hurdles in the way of voting. Immigration enforcement A slate of bills dealing with undocumented immigrants and enforcement will remain in consideration by lawmakers. Lawmakers advanced bills that would do the following: Allow state officials to arrest and deport undocumented immigrants Prevent undocumented immigrants from being eligible for in-state tuition Prevent undocumented immigrants from receiving public assistance Criminalize transporting or harboring undocumented immigrants with the intent to conceal them from police Create a system to verify the citizenship of registered voters in the state Immigrants and activists have rallied against the bills at the Capitol, arguing they hurt Iowas vulnerable immigrant communities. For years, legislators have been passing bills attacking vulnerable Iowans, restricting peoples rights and further marginalizing certain communities, Vanessa Marcano-Kelly said during a Migrant Movement for Justice rally last week. Republicans, meanwhile, have said the bills are necessary to address rising rates of unlawful border crossings and ensure taxpayer dollars only benefit legitimate residents. Gender identity bill A bill proposed by Reynolds adding new language around sex and gender into Iowa code passed out of committee last week, over the protests of transgender Iowans and civil rights activists who said it was dehumanizing and discriminatory. The bill defines man and woman and several other terms in Iowa code based on a persons sex assigned at birth. The bill would also allow transgender people to be excluded from sex-segregated spaces like bathrooms and womens shelters. It would also require transgender Iowans to list both their sex assigned at birth and their post-transition sex on certain documents. The bill originally required the identifiers on a drivers license, but that provision was removed. Reynolds and Republicans said the bill was necessary to protect the rights of women in spaces like domestic violence shelters. Organizations dealing with domestic abuse, like the Iowa Coalition Against Domestic Violence and the National Association of Social Workers are registered against the bill. It is the first effort by a state government to reinstitute separate but equal since the 1960s, said Aime Wichtendahl, a Hiawatha City Counselor who is Iowas first transgender elected official, during a public hearing this week. And it is the most brazen effort by our governor to erase trans and queer people from Iowa. Distracted driving Rules banning cell phone use while driving are again up for consideration this year, along with an effort to ban the use of traffic cameras for speeding enforcement in the state. The measures are tied under similar bills that advanced out of Senate and House committees this week. The House measure includes some exceptions, allowing drivers to hold a cell phone to their ear or briefly interact with a phone for navigation. Law enforcement officials have implored lawmakers for years to pass a stricter restriction on distracted driving. It is currently illegal to text while driving, but not to make a phone call or use navigation. Tom Barton and Erin Murphy of the Gazette Des Moines Bureau contributed to this report. Correction: A bill that was previously included in this round-up has been removed as it was largely amended in committee, which the section did not reflect. What's the impact of teacher experience on student success across the US? What's the impact of teacher experience on student success across the US? Teacher experience by subject A 21-year-old Rapid City man pleaded not guilty Thursday to charges alleging he assaulted and raped a woman three years ago. A Pennington County Grand Jury charged Louis James Swallow on March 29, 2023 with second-degree rape, aggravated assault domestic abuse, felony violation of a no contact order and simple assault domestic abuse. The alleged crimes occurred on Dec. 28, 2020. Law enforcement arrested Swallow on Jan. 12, 2021. The rape charge is a class 1 felony with a maximum penalty of 50 years in prison and a $50,000 fine. Aggravated assault is a class 3 felony with a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison and up to a $30,000 fine. Felony violation of a no contact order is a class 6 felony with a maximum of two years in prison and up to a $4,000 fine. Simple assault is a class 1 misdemeanor with a maximum of one year in the county jail and up to a $2,000 fine. Swallow's bond was set at $50,000 cash only when the court issued his warrant. His defense attorney, Martha Rossiter, asked the court Thursday to lower his bond. Rossiter said Swallow lived in the community without committing any crimes in the three years the state chose not to file charges against him. Deputy Pennington County State's Attorney Braedon Houdek said the state was "unable" to bring forth charges earlier, but he did not elaborate. In support of a lower bond, Rossiter also said her client has very little criminal history aside from a misdemeanor in 2020. The 2020 misdemeanor, which is still pending, charges Swallow with violating a no contact order. Houdek noted Swallow failed to appear in court three times in that case. He also referred to a few of the details of the case, including the allegation Swallow choked the woman until she passed out and that Swallow allegedly violated a no contact order when he assaulted the woman. Circuit Court Judge Jane Wipf Pfeifle lowered Swallow's bond to $25,000 cash or surety. She said she took into consideration his lack of criminal activity in the past three years, but also the fact he did not turn himself in on the March 2023 warrant. If Swallow does post bond, the court will require him to wear an ankle monitor. He is scheduled to appear in court at 2:30 p.m. Feb. 29, 2024 for a motions hearing. A man accused of drowning and killing a man on July 4, 2022 in the Memorial Park pond in Rapid City pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to first-degree murder on Thursday. The arraignment followed a determination that he is now competent to stand trial after a stint in the state mental hospital. Walter Mousseau Jr., 28, was arrested on the same day 48-year-old Sheldon Glenn drowned and died in the pond as people gathered nearby for an Independence Day concert at the bandshell. Mousseau was charged with first-degree murder on July 13, 2022, but he was not arraigned due to his inability to understand the charges. In April 2023, Circuit Court Judge Heidi Linngren ruled Mousseau was not competent to stand trial and ordered his transportation to the Human Services Center, a state hospital in Yankton, for up to four months. He was admitted to the hospital on Sept. 21, 2023. On Jan. 19, a clinical psychologist at the center filed a report concluding Mousseau appeared able to understand the nature and consequences of the proceedings against him. The report summarized Mousseau's history and a psychological assessment conducted with him two days earlier. It described Mousseau as a 28-year-old who was born in Chadron, Nebraska and raised in Pine Ridge by his father. He is one of eight children and has three children of his own. He dropped out of high school after ninth grade, but obtained his GED from Oglala Lakota College in 2016. He told the psychologist he had been in Rapid City for a few weeks when he was arrested, according to the report. He stayed with a woman he just met but described as a girlfriend. "He was essentially homeless," the report stated. In the months leading up to his arrest, he used meth "whenever he could get his hands on it ... a few times a month." He also told the psychologist he drank a pint of vodka a day. A report filed in his case shows he tested positive for methamphetamine the day Glenn died. Mousseau allegedly told the psychologist he had suffered auditory and visual hallucinations since he began to use drugs about four to six years ago. On Jan. 3, he reported he "no longer has movies playing behind his eyes" but did still hear voices at times. In his Jan. 19 interview, he said the hallucinations disappeared about two weeks earlier. The psychologist asked Mousseau questions about the nature of the charges against him, the consequences he could face, and his communication with his counsel. He expressed an understanding of the jury system, and the potential penalties he could face if convicted, the report said. He said he agreed with his attorney's handling of his case. At his arraignment Thursday before Judge Jane Wipf Pfeifle, Mousseau said he understood his rights, the charges against him and the potential penalties. First-degree murder is a class A felony with a minimum life sentence. The maximum penalty is death. A $50,000 fine can also be imposed. Wipf Pfeifle set a 30-day deadline for the state to determine if it intends to pursue the death penalty in the case. She said, however, that she could move the deadline if needed. Mousseau is scheduled to appear in court for a motions hearing at 2:30 p.m. March 28. Sturgis Mayor Mark Carstensen announced his immediate resignation Tuesday, ending a tenure in city government that began in 2009. I need more time for family and growth in my faith, Carstensen said. Carstensen's political career in Sturgis began with a term on the City Council before he was elected mayor. His tenure included leadership through several significant events, including Winter Storm Atlas, the 75th Sturgis Motorcycle Rally and the COVID-19 pandemic. Under South Dakota law, the City Council president assumes the mayoral duties in the event of a resignation. Beka Zerbst, the current City Council president, will temporarily fill the role. Zerbst convened a special meeting to discuss the mayoral vacancy and the process for appointing a successor, which was held Wednesday evening. The process for filling the mayoral vacancy is governed by SDCL 9-8-2, which requires the City Council to appoint a new mayor by majority vote. The law stipulates the appointment should occur as soon as practical after the vacancy occurs, with the appointee serving until the next municipal election. Due to timing constraints, a special election is not feasible, according to city attorney Mark Marshall. The city cannot hold a special election because the power to do that must be established by a resolution adopted prior to the vacancy. Since the mayor resigned [Tuesday], we do not have time to adopt a resolution that would allow us to hold a special election. Five votes are needed to fill the vacancy, and there is no requirement that the appointee be a current member of the City Council, Marshall said. In response, the City Council unanimously decided to accept public applications for the mayors position, setting a two-week period for submissions. The decision on the new mayor will be made at the Council meeting March 4. The open application process allows both current Council members and members of the public to apply for the position. Members of the public interesting in applying must be residents of Sturgis. Interested candidates will need to submit the Sturgis City Council Appointment Application along with a cover letter and resume. Application forms will be available on the city's website, sturgis-sd.gov. The approach aims to ensure transparency and accessibility in the recruitment process, reflecting the Council's commitment to an open and inclusive selection mechanism, city officials said. Malmstrom Air Force Base was under lockdown for a couple hours on Thursday, after receiving reports of an active shooter on base the same day a training exercise was held. A suspicious person was reported on base as an active shooter, Malmstrom posted at 12:43 p.m. on Facebook. There were no confirmed shots fired and there are no casualties or injuries reported. There is no threat to the public at this time. The investigation into the incident is still ongoing. Cascade County Sheriff Jesse Slaughter expressed frustration at a news conference later in the day, saying there were jurisdictional issues between his department and Malmstrom. He said that at one point his staff was prohibited from entering or leaving the base once the lockdown was in place. Cascade County Attorney Josh Racki said when the state gave the Air Force the property in the 1940s, it retained criminal jurisdiction and is in charge of law enforcement services, even though the base has its own law enforcement officers. Slaughter said deputies were on base and responding. He said about 10 minutes after the county received the call, the base was locked down and would not allow people in or out, which created several issues and made communication difficult. He said he relied on second- and third-hand information. I hope we can resolve it. The people of Cascade County deserve it," Slaughter said. "Its hard when a federal military installation tells you you are not going on that base, its very challenging." He said the issue could have been resolved at least an hour earlier. Malmstrom did not have a response to Slaughter's comments. Earlier in the day it referred to the alert as a "real world incident." An exercise was planned for 10 a.m. in a specific building on base. Malmstrom public affairs said shortly after the exercise began, reports started coming in of an active shooter in a different building, identified as building 219. Malmstrom went into Force Protection Condition Delta, which is the highest response level, at 10:29 a.m., according to public affairs. At 12:43 p.m. they said that they had returned to FPCON Bravo. The incident prompted several Great Falls public schools to go into Shelter In Place status. That was lifted for all but two schools at 12:30 p.m. and at 1:05 p.m. Great Falls police said it was resuming normal security. Earlier this week, Malmstrom said it scheduled base-wide training for Thursday. The exercise was described as "an opportunity for multiple agencies to practice contingency operations in response to a simulated incident on base" in a news release posted at hilinetoday.com. "Visitors should expect delays at the gates, facility lock-downs, and traffic detours on base. There may also be increased alarms, sirens, notifications, and security measures during the exercise." The 341st Missile Wing at Malmstrom Air Force Base is one of three U.S. Air Force Bases that operates, maintains and secures the Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), according to a Defense Department website. It is part of Air Force Global Strike Command, headquartered at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana. About 4,000 people, including more than 3,300 active-duty and 600 civilians, comprise the 341st Missile Wing. The U.S. Air Force recently held town hall meetings in Lewistown and Great Falls to discuss updating its ballistic missile network. The Sentinel Program will modernize the old Minuteman III nuclear defense system with new rockets, warheads and technology. The project is anticipated to involve around 3,000 temporary workers, operating out of two construction facilities near Great Falls and Lewistown. Work could start in 2026. Central Montana has 150 Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile launch facilities scattered across dozens of farms and ranches from the Rocky Mountain Front to the Little Snowy Mountains. Joey on SQL Server Does Broadcom's VMware Fit into Today's Enterprise? To analyze VMware's place is in the IT space, it's important to take a look back of where the company has been. To say that VMware revolutionized computing is a massive understatement. While virtualization originates in mainframes and UNIX, VMware made the practice of consolidating and virtualizing something that any IT admin could quickly deploy. It also provided high availability against hardware failures and began defining infrastructure as code. VMware, while not directly part of the early days of the public cloud, provided many important ideas that vendors like Microsoft and Amazon used early in the life of their cloud platforms. So why didn't VMware become the cloud juggernaut that Microsoft, Google and AWS have become? There are many reasons, but the first is that EMC (now Dell EMC) took a controlling interest in VMware in its early days. While that earlier version of VMware made some nascent efforts into cloud computing, it was always my observation that they hesitated to become a significant player in the public cloud for fear that the cloud business would cannibalize the on-premises storage market. In a 2013 meeting with VMware executives, when asked, "what is your cloud strategy?" by Denny Cherry and me, they responded, "We want to be everyone's cloud." This was a noble idea, but not a great cloud business strategy. VMware did make efforts in the space, launching vCloud Air that same year, but not with the significant capital investments that the other public cloud vendors made. Dell would later acquire EMC and, in turn, VMware, and from then on, several rounds of financial gymnastics culminated with VMware selling the company to Broadcom in December 2022 (more on that later). Despite VMware's lack of strategic success in the cloud space, VMware vSphere and its tooling are some of the best and most successful software I've seen used during my 20-plus years working in technology. Large enterprises and small businesses alike almost universally adopt VMware's core product ESX, and they take advantage of its vast feature set, which delivers high availability, server consolidation and automation to IT pros with a wide variety of skills. And VMware has finally made a legitimate, albeit expensive, offering on the major cloud platforms. Broadcom has a strong reputation around its playbook in buyouts. In the last decade, it acquired LSI Corp, Emulex and Brocade, and attempted to buy Qualcomm, Computer Associates (CA), Symantec and VMware. The focus of Broadcom's early acquisitions was on strengthening the network stack. However, the recent purchases of Symantec, CA and VMware are all substantial software firms that were well beyond their initial growth phase. Enterprise software companies (traditionally, this is changing as more or more software moves to subscription) made revenue in two ways. One was the initial sale of the "perpetual" license and the second was a recurring support cost that included software upgrades and technical support. The recurring cash flows of this recurring support model have made software companies a popular private equity takeover target. Much like those private equity firms, in recent years, Broadcom's approach to business has been to aggressively pull revenue out of the customers of its recent acquisitions. It does this by increasing the total cost of ownership, either through price increases or bundling unneeded services together at higher price points than the eliminated standalone components. It has also moved towards removing the concept of perpetual licensing and moving all licensing to a subscription-based model. Broadcom has executed this plan with CA and Symantec, and all early signs are that they are doing the same with VMware. That strategy is to focus on the top 600 customers who will need help moving to other platforms, reduce sales and marketing costs by focusing on that small pool of customers, and reduce R&D costs by ignoring the needs of the rest of their customer base. This strategy was highlighted in Broadcom's 2021 investor day. This strategy has played out for VMware customers as expected. Customers have seen 2-300 percent price increases on license renewals, have had to buy software bundles that were far more expensive than their previous offering and have seen the previously robust VMware partner network gutted. One of the changes that will be implemented by Broadcom in April is that many of the MSP partners that hosted customers on VMware can no longer sell their own hosted VMware-based cloud services. Reportedly, VMware has eliminated favorable pricing for educational institutions. Additionally, while I was writing this column, VMware eliminated the free tier of ESX. I spoke with Corey Quinn, Cloud Economist at The Duckbill Group, who described Broadcom's actions: "It's like they're frantically trying to get as much milk as possible out of a cow before their incredibly aggressive milking machine kills her." He described the VMware customer experience as "Customers are caught flatfooted and are accelerating migration timetables, third-party partners are left holding the bag, and the entire takeaway here is that a once trustworthy company can absolutely not be trusted anymore." If you have one or two VMware hosts, migrating to another virtualization platform is simple. However, most organizations that use VMware have more complex infrastructure than that and face many challenges migrating to another platform. Tools like the broadly used backup solution Veeam, and deployment automation APIs must be adapted to any new platforms. Those additional tools may have feature gaps on other platforms. The main options for moving off of VMware are as follows: Public Cloud (AWS/Azure/GCP) Nutanix (Hyperconverged Infrastructure) Microsoft Hyper-V Proxmox (Open-source) Each of these solutions has some issues -- mainly in the migration challenges. Nutanix uses hyper-converged infrastructure (HCI), which means you need to buy more compute nodes from Nutanix to scale storage, CPU or memory. The HCI model works well for some workloads (remote desktops) and worse for others (busy databases). Hyper-V is a robust solution, but it has challenges around tooling and its perception in the marketplace. Proxmox is an attractive open-source solution (Veeam is rumored to be building a backup solution), but support options are limited and are not a broadly adopted solution. In recent years, many smaller VMware customers have argued that managing their hardware was cheaper than moving to the public cloud. This discussion has nearly always revolved directly around cost -- a recent conversation with some VMware customers who have seen the new pricing has indicated that moving directly to the cloud may suddenly be financially more viable for those firms. While many experts suggest reengineering applications so they arent dependent on VMs (for example, containers or other cloud native services), a lot of the customers in question don't have development staff, and buy line-of-business software that has been subject to the same private equity playbook and doesnt see big development efforts. There are no easy decisions for customers, and the challenges around VMware will continue for several years. By Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury Before January 7 general elections in Bangladesh, key figures in Biden administration were making frantic bids in destabilizing the country by foiling the election with active collaboration of Al Qaeda-connected Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and its Islamist-jihadist conglomerate with the notorious agenda of turning Bangladesh into a neo-Taliban state. Such a disastrous possibility was successfully avoided as international allies of Dhaka, including New Delhi, Beijing and Moscow took firm stand in favor of the people of Bangladesh. Despite holding the election on January 7, conspirators including the members of Biden administration are not sitting tight. They are continuously experimenting numerous tactics with the ulterior agenda of unseating Sheikh Hasina from power through undemocratic ways. It turned crystal clear when US State Department spokesperson Mathhew Millar, replying to a question from covert BNP representative in White House press pool on ongoing legal proceedings of controversial Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus said: "Cases against Nobel Laureate Prof Muhammad Yunus may represent a misuse of the labour law to harass and intimidate him". Covert BNP representative asked Millar about his perspectives on the intrusion of at least 20 unidentified individuals who stormed two offices at the Grameen Telecom building. "So, I would say regarding the multiple criminal cases filed against Dr Muhammad Yunus, we note that the labour case was tried with unusual speed", said Miller. The Anti-corruption Commission has approved a charge sheet for additional cases. Those have drawn widespread condemnation from around the world, he said. "We share the concerns voiced by other international observers that these cases may represent a misuse of Bangladesh's labour laws to harass and intimidate Dr Yunus". "We worry the perceived misuse of labour and anti-corruption laws could raise questions about the rule of law and dissuade future foreign direct investment", Miller said. Mathhew Millar's statement on "perceived misuse of labour and anti-corruption laws" is not a good sign. It proves, Biden administration is depending on "perception" on numerous issues about Bangladesh. And we are aware who are injecting such perceptions into the minds of people in White House and State Department. Moreover, we are aware of Hunter Biden's connections with Al Qaeda-connected BNP, which appointed him as lobbyist couple of years ago. Hopefully, policymakers in Dhaka would realize the ultimate essence of Millar's statement, which bears a scary signal of the Biden administration's newer plot targeting Bangladesh. Meanwhile, according to media reports, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is set to hold a "bilateral meeting on the sideline of the Munich Security Conference in Germany" with Volodymyr Zelensky. Foreign Minister Hassan Mahmud told the media, "the Ukrainian president sought an appointment and our prime minister agreed to meet him". The meeting will not affect the friendly relations between Bangladesh and Russia, Bangladesh foreign minister added. In my opinion, Ukrainian president Zelensky's request of meeting Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina might have been made several weeks ago when Zelensky was feeling frustrated at not getting required aid approved by the US lawmakers. But things might have changed for him as on February 13, 2024, while Americans were in sleep, in the wee hours, the US Senate passed a US$61 billion foreign aid assistance to Ukraine. The vote was 70 to 29 with 22 Republicans voting in favor. Younger Senate Republicans ripped GOP leadership after the Senate passed a US$95 billion foreign aid bill without addressing the migrant crisis at the southern border. "Nearly every Republican Senator under the age of 55 voted NO on this America Last bill", 48-year-old Senator Eric Schmitt observed on X. "15 out of 17 elected since 2018 voted NO. Things are changing just not fast enough". On hearing this news about the prospect of receiving more cash from the US, Zelensky might be now feeling extremely delighted as he can swindle a significant part of it and secretly transfer it to his offshore accounts, although the process may take a few more weeks if not months. Still, under this new development, Zelensky might not show any sign of sitting with Moscow to find a peaceful solution. Former President Donald Trump slammed the Joe Biden-backed package and pointed to NATO's absence in the Ukraine cash bonanza: "I MADE NATO STRONG, and even the RINOS and Radical Left Democrats admit that. When I told the 20 Countries that weren't paying their fair share that they had to PAY UP, and said without doing that you will not have U.S. Military Protection, the money came rolling in. After so many years of the United States picking up the tab, it was a beautiful sight to see. But now, without me there to say YOU MUST PAY, they are at it again. We are into helping Ukraine for more than 100 Billion Dollars more than NATO. We have nobody that they respect, and they insist on paying far less than we do. Wrong, NATO HAS TO EQUALIZE, AND NOW. THEY WILL DO THAT IF PROPERLY ASKED. IF NOT, AMERICA FIRST! MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN". Meanwhile, it is important to note Volodymyr Zelensky won't accept any suggestions from anyone except from his bosses Joe Biden, members of Biden administration, NATO and warmonger European leaders and recently during his interview to Tucker Carlson - Russian President Vladimir Putin has explained the causes of Russia's Special Military Operation in Ukraine. He also categorically said, American Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is overthrowing his government. It is important to note as President Putin said, "He [Zelensky] came to power on the expectations of Ukrainian people that he would lead Ukraine to peace. He talked about this, it was thanks to this that he won the election overwhelmingly. But then, when he came to power, in my opinion, he realized two things: firstly, it is better not to clash with neo-Nazis and nationalists, because they are aggressive and very active, you can expect anything from them, and secondly, the US-led West supports them and will always support those who antagonize with Russia it is beneficial and safe. So he took the relevant position, despite promising his people to end the war in Ukraine. He deceived his voters". Meaning, things are not in the hands of Zelensky and he has no power to decide about ending Ukraine's ongoing conflict with Russia. On the other hand, US, NATO and the European leaders are indulged in a notorious agenda of pushing the world towards a real catastrophe World War Three where nations would use nuclear weapons thus making an end to the entire humanity. That is exactly what Western warmongers are plotting. Moreover, for Joe Biden, who already is projected to be heading towards the end of his presidency as Democrats are looking to replace him with another candidate which means, Biden has no chance of reelection. Even if he runs for reelection, he will be badly defeated by Donald Trump. My opinion here is Ukraine-Russia conflict may end only once Donald Trump wins on November 5 this year. He can force neo-Nazis in Kiev into reaching a peaceful solution to the crisis. Until then, talking about peace with Zelensky is useless. For Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina meeting Volodymyr Zelensky in Munich and asking him to resolve the conflict through dialogue would be just wastage of energy. UNITED NATIONS (AP) The Islamic State extremist group poses a rising threat amid political instability in West Africa and the Sahel and remains intent on carrying out attacks abroad, the U.N. counter-terrorism chief said Thursday. Vladimir Voronkov reiterated U.N. findings that IS continues to pose a significant threat to international peace and security, especially in conflict zones, despite significant progress by U.N. member nations in countering the threat. The group has also increased operations in its former strongholds in Iraq and Syria as well as Southeast Asia, Voronkov said. Voronkov told the U.N. Security Council that in West Africa and the Sahel, a broad region cutting across the continent, the situation has deteriorated and is becoming more complex, as local ethnic and regional disputes cross with the agenda and operations of the extremist group, which is also known by its Arabic name Daesh, and its affiliates. Daesh affiliates continued to operate with increasingly more autonomy from the Daesh core, he said, warning that if this trend persists there is a risk that a vast area of instability may emerge from Mali to the borders of Nigeria. Natalia Gherman, executive director of the U.N. Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate, said: They are exploiting the political instability and expanding their radius of influence, their operations and territorial control in the Sahel, with growing concerns for coastal West Africa. The African continent now accounts for almost half of terrorist acts worldwide, with central Sahel accounting for about 25% of such attacks, she told the council. Voronkov, who heads the U.N. Office of Counter-Terrorism, said countering the threat of terrorism in Africa remains a priority for his office. Gherman said that enduring challenges persist in the Middle East and Southeast and Central Asia, with indications that Daesh is attempting to resurge in those sub-regions as well. The Islamic State group broke away from al-Qaida over a decade ago and attracted supporters from around the world. Despite its defeat in Iraq in 2017 and in Syria two years later, U.N. experts said last month that there are still between 3,000 and 5,000 fighters. In Iraq, they are carrying out a low-intensity insurgency with covert terrorist cells while in Syria attacks have intensified since November, the experts said. In positive developments, he pointed to the groups prolonged delay in naming a new leader after the previous leader was killed, saying this is assessed to reflect internal challenges and difficulties in ensuring the new leaders security. In countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia, Egypt and Mozambique, he said, terrorist activity by Islamic State affiliates has been reduced by effective counter-terrorism efforts by member states. Government efforts to tackle IS financing are also continuing to produce results, Voronkov said. Daeshs financial reserves are currently estimated between $10 million and $25 million, down from hundreds of millions a few years ago, the U.N. undersecretary-general said. In Afghanistan, Voronkov said, efforts by the countrys Taliban rulers have reportedly had an impact on the ability of the Daesh affiliate to conduct attacks inside the country. But U.N. experts have described ongoing ties between the Taliban and al-Qaida. Gherman said a priority for her committee is working with the 193 U.N. member states to address the use of new technology for terrorist purposes, pointing as an example to IS's increasing use of drones for intelligence gathering and attacks. Interpol Secretary General Jurgen Stock said the international police organization is working closely with U.N. counter-terrorism officials on a project to help law enforcement identify and prevent the exploitation for terrorists purposes of enablers such as encryption services, video distribution tools and new propaganda platforms. He said Interpol also has a project to collect data on links between organized crime and terrorists, citing as an example the trafficking of cocaine through North and West Africa mostly by sea and along the Sahel route. Our findings show interactions between terrorist groups and criminal organizations, where their interests and areas of operation converge to benefit both sides, he said. The work Statue of a Young Boy was one of 44 pieces worth an estimated $2.7 million removed from the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts last year. Investigators came to ask the museum to repatriate the artworks after identifying they had been stolen. READ THE FULL STORY HERE.1987: Major grave-robber Mario Bruno sells an ancient Greek statue to Gianfranco Becchina. Statue of a Young Boy is photographed in the collection of Becchina, an antiquities trafficker in Basel, Switzerland. 1989: Statue of a Young Boy appears in the art gallery of Frieda Tchakos, an art dealer who was later convicted of art trafficking. 1989: VMFAs Board of Trustees authorizes the purchase of Statue of a Young Boy on the advice of former ancient art curator Margaret Mayo. Provenance research for the statue ultimately stops at an anonymous Swiss friend, selling the statue in 1966 to an associate of Tchakos. The friend likely never existed. 2002: Tchakos is convicted of art trafficking. 2008: The Association of Art Museum Directors adopts guidelines tightening rules around ancient art acquisition. Antiquities that were removed from their country of origin before 1970 now need to have detailed histories. Rules also require member museums to take steps to return stolen art. 2011: Italian authorities seize nearly 6,000 antiquities from Becchina. All come from clandestine excavations conducted in Italy, a judge wrote. 2013: An article in The Journal of Art Crime links Statue of a Young Boy to Becchina and Tchakos. The VMFA was made aware of the articles but said they did not provide enough evidence. The VMFA does not contact Italian authorities as the guidelines recommend. Luca Powell How $2.7 million in stolen art was found at the VMFA There were not one, but two cases," said Christos Tsirogiannis, a forensic archaeologist at the University of Cambridge. "For 11 years. There is no excuse. 9 photos of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts from The Times-Dispatch archives Federal prosecutors have asked a judge to reconsider a controversial ruling that said the Richmond Police Department makes discriminatory stops of Black drivers. The finding issued on Monday by Senior U.S. District Judge John A. Gibney Jr. led to the dismissal of charges against Keith Rodney Moore, a Black motorist pulled over in 2020. U.S. Attorney Jessica Aber wrote in a motion this week that the ruling might result in unintended consequences. The United States respectfully requests that the court reconsider the scope and outcome of its decision, wrote Aber, the top federal prosecutor for Eastern Virginia. There are no RPD policies, memoranda, or even text messages in the record to suggest that any member of RPD made any effort to discriminate against Black drivers. For 2 years, Gibney has presided over Moores case, which stems from a traffic stop in Richmonds North Side. Officers from the departments Focus Mission Team reported seeing the same license plate number three times in a four-hour period. Moores was the third different car spotted with the same number, according to court transcripts. He was pulled over, after which he fled on foot from police. Officers found a firearm in his car, an offense with a two-year mandatory minimum for Moore, who had a prior nonviolent felony conviction. In Moores defense, Assistant Federal Public Defender Laura Koenig submitted six months of traffic stop data that law enforcement had begun collecting in July 2020 under the Virginia Community Policing Act. The data showed that 77% of drivers stopped by police in Richmond were Black. On Monday, Gibney ruled in Koenigs favor, finding that the Richmond Police Department displays discriminatory intent in how it conducts traffic stops. It shows a disgraceful disparity in enforcement of traffic laws, with Black drivers getting the short end of the stick, Gibney wrote. One would think that Virginias citizens would cry out in protest over this situation, but they dont. Police Chief Rick Edwards offered an iron rebuttal. The Richmond Police Department does not stop motorists based on race, Edwards said in an emailed statement. I have a deep and long-lasting commitment to protecting the citizens of Richmond and doing so in a manner that is professional, fair, and impartial. Two sides to the coin Abers motion asked Gibney to reconsider on the basis that his ruling would rewind progress made in reducing violent crime in Richmond by diverting officers from high-crime neighborhoods, which overlap with predominantly Black neighborhoods. Edwards has leaned into a strategy called hotspot policing. It involves frequent police visits to high-crime micro-areas. Police have not released the locations of hotspots publicly. In 2023, Edwards first full year in charge, the city saw a 7% decrease in violent crime. Richmond has also weathered a slight uptick in homicides, rapes and domestic violence, as well as a swell of car thefts, Edwards said during a briefing in January. The Courts decision may well unravel the progress RPD has made in reducing violent crime in Richmond, Aber wrote. Violent crime disproportionately occurs in and affects the residents of the First, Second, and Fourth Precincts, which have a high percentage of Black residents and, in some instances, a majority. Moore was stopped in Richmonds Fourth Precinct. Across 2 years of litigation, Gibney openly pondered the strategy of focused policing on Black neighborhoods. There are two sides to the coin here. Side one is: I have been sitting here for 12 years and I have never had a young, white guy come in who has (got) stopped making an illegal left turn and they found drugs in his car. Never happened, Gibney said at a hearing for Moores case in November. But you know, side two is: You know people in those communities deserve to live in an area that is safe and to have the police try to find guns, Gibney said. Koenig encouraged Gibney that ruling in Moores favor would be a worthy interpretation of the 14th Amendment, which guarantees equal protection under the law to all American citizens. The City designed those places to be areas where you are going to stick Blacks, poor people who have been deprived of everything that they otherwise would have been entitled to, and now we are going to stop them over and over again for traffic stops, Koenig said in her closing arguments. We are asking the Court to find enough is enough. Aber and Koenig declined interview requests, citing public comment guidelines from their respective offices. Expert testimonies In her motion, Aber said Gibneys opinion ignored evidence presented by her prosecutors expert witness, Michael Smith, a criminology professor from the University of Texas at San Antonio. Smith argued that correlation is not causation and that Richmonds tactics are no different from those of departments across the country: to send police to high-crime areas. Smith also suggested the data was unreliable, in part because officers do not accurately identify a drivers race. Gibney called the explanation hogwash, court transcripts show. Dr. Smith was simply afraid to testify that the emperor has no clothes, Gibney said. I may have been born during the day, but it wasnt yesterday. In his opinion, Gibney did not mention Smiths testimony and instead weighed the findings of VCU professor Eli Coston, an activist-scholar who conducted statistical analyses using the six-month span of data. Coston testified that a mapping of police data showed Black drivers being pulled over all across Richmond, while white drivers were primarily being pulled over only in white neighborhoods. When stopped, Black drivers were more likely to be searched and arrested than white drivers, Coston found. Coston used what is known as a chi-square analysis to determine a statistically significant relationship between a stopped drivers race and whether that driver was ultimately arrested. There might not be a memo or a policy, but the data show bias, said Coston, a statistician and assistant professor in VCUs Department of Gender, Sexuality and Womens Studies. Abers motion allows a window for Gibney to reconsider his ruling. Policing today is a thankless and dangerous profession, Aber wrote. And while this court may have been well-intentioned, the practical effect of this opinion may well be to discourage RPD (and others) from actively policing the most violent areas of our City. PHOTOS: Recognize anyone? 30 photos from the Times-Dispatch archives Powell Agnes Westhampton School Air Raid YMCA Westhampton Tredegar Railroads Restaurants Armistice Day Restaurants Red Cross cantten class, 1942 JFK High Grace Street Civil Rights Ashe Sixth Street Market Richmond Home for Boys, 1965 Charter Change Arena Cigarettes Ginter Park Racing Spirit of '76 locomotive Fort Lee ScrapMetal WWII Sixth Street Market Virginia State Library reading room, 1977 Bellwood A Richmond Circuit Court jury returned guilty verdicts on four of the five charges against the person suspected of shooting two George Wythe High School students last April. David Gutierrez, 19, was found guilty of unlawful wounding, malicious wounding, possession of a firearm on school property and one count of using a firearm in the commission of a felony, the jury ruled Thursday night. The use of a firearm charge carries a mandatory three-year minimum sentence. Gutierrez was found not guilty of another count of using a firearm in the commission of a felony. A police statement said a student was found in the woods near the school with an apparent gunshot wound. The student had life-threatening injuries and was transported to a hospital. A second student who had been shot and had injuries not considered life-threatening transported himself to a hospital. The school went under a lock-and-teach the remainder of that day. Gutierrez, also a George Wythe student, was 18 at the time of the shooting. He was arrested on April 29 and was arraigned on May 1 on two counts of attempted murder and two counts of using a firearm in the commission of a felony. The attempted murder charges were dropped, but Gutierrez ended up with five total charges after being indicted by a grand jury on May 24. Those charges initially included an aggravated malicious wounding charge that was later reduced to unlawful wounding. Attorneys for Gutierrez argued the shooting was in defense of one of his friends who was allegedly being attacked. A sentencing hearing for Gutierrez is scheduled for May 10 at 11 a.m. 22 photos of Belle Isle from The Times-Dispatch archives A Richmond man who on Friday pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud used unique keys to access blue U.S. Postal Service boxes and obtain the personal and financial information he used in his schemes, authorities said. Olden Douglas Ellerbe III, 24, conspired with other individuals to steal mail from USPS mailboxes, according to a criminal complaint filed Feb. 1. Ellerbe then used letters, notices, credit cards and checks taken from the mailboxes to commit fraud on multiple occasions. In one case, Ellerbe used a victims Social Security number to withdraw at least $85,000 from the victims bank account, the complaint says. In other cases, Ellerbe targeted credit cards and used them to withdraw cash or stole checks and attempted to cash them. In the complaint, authorities linked Ellerbes crimes to multiple break-ins into the blue collection boxes at the Richmond Main Post Office at 1802 Brook Road. According to court records, Ellerbe was arrested on Nov. 15 outside a Virginia Credit Union branch in Scotts Addition, after a bank employee called police to report that two subjects were withdrawing thousands of dollars from an exterior ATM. At the time of his arrest, Ellerbe was found to be in possession of nearly $60,000 in cash, 83 checks, nine debit or credit cards, six savings bonds and a handgun. The other suspect, whom authorities did not identify, escaped officers on foot, the complaint says. A subsequent search of a car rented by Ellerbe also produced a fraudulent Washington, D.C., drivers license bearing the name of a victim alongside a photo of Ellerbe. A Virginia Credit Union debit card in the victims name also was found inside the vehicle. The victim later told investigators that he did not open a bank account with Virginia Credit Union. Authorities said Ellerbe accessed mail inside of USPS mail collection boxes by using stolen or misappropriated arrow keys. Arrow keys are unique keys that open all of the (mail) collection boxes in a geographic area, according to the complaint. The keys are sold for thousands of dollars on the black market as criminals seek to acquire them to facilitate mail theft in other schemes like credit card cracking, check fraud and identity theft. The transfer and possession of arrow keys is highly regulated, the complaint says, leading criminals to either steal the keys from USPS employees or enlist the employees in their schemes. Ellerbe last week was charged with nine counts of credit card theft, one count of receiving stolen goods and one count of grand larceny in the scheme. He pleaded guilty on Friday to federal charges and is scheduled for sentencing on Aug. 19. He faces up to 35 years in prison. The guilty plea comes as Richmond residents grapple with ongoing mail delivery issues in and around the city. USPS officials have twice refused to attend a public forum to discuss the problems, despite being requested to do so by Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, both Virginia Democrats; Congresswoman Jennifer McClellan, D-4th; and Richmond Commonwealths Attorney Colette McEachin. The USPS could not immediately be reached for comment. Cats and dogs that need homes in the Richmond area All remains on track for a fast-moving storm to impact Virginia on Friday night between midnight and dawn Saturday. There will be some snow in Virginia, but this is not a track that suggests a classically big snowstorm. Rather, it is approaching from the west, which makes a large amount of precipitation weather that be rain or snow very unlikely. However, because the center of the storm will pass through southern Virginia, that puts most of the state on the colder side of the circulation and turns our winds briefly from the east. Those two things are just enough to provide some snow. Specifically for Richmond, about four to five hours of precipitation are expected between midnight Friday and daybreak Saturday. It will start as rain and likely finish as snow for an hour or so before ending. Temperatures will remain in the 30s while the precipitation falls, holding just above the freezing mark through dawn. But because the precipitation will be falling at night, it will be a bit easier for any snow to accumulate even though the ground will be wet from the initial spell of rain. However, any accumulating snow will be confined to grassy and elevated surfaces. And without any substantial time below freezing, pavement will stay wet all night long. Those doing some early morning travel on Saturday should not have any problems other than some wet roads. The precise location of the storm track will go a long way in determining the precipitation type and the amount. The storm will be traveling west to east across southern Virginia, but a small deviation of 20 miles north or south of that the forecast track would have repercussions for Richmond. In addition to the most likely situation outlined above, a couple of extremes cannot be discounted for Richmond just yet. First, a slightly more southerly track allows more moisture and more cold air to come into Richmond, resulting in 2 to 3 inches of snow by daybreak Saturday. That is not a likely outcome, but is not one that could be ignored. Conversely, a slightly more northerly track keeps the air warmer, and it does not turn our winds more from the east. The result is only a few hours of very light rain showers between midnight and dawn, with no snow whatsoever. Like the other extreme, it is not especially likely, but it is probably more realistic than getting 2 to 3 inches of snow. But everything is gone by daybreak on Saturday. The clouds break for sun, and gusty breezes develop from the northwest, averaging 10 to 20 mph. As a result, both Saturday and Sunday will be cooler than normal, with afternoons in the 40s to near 50 and lows edging into the 20s. And once the Friday night system is gone, there is no chance of precipitation until at least the middle of next week. A couple of substantial systems remain in the pipeline for the rest of the month, but both look more wet than white. For snow lovers, we are beginning to run out of time. Top five weekend events: Stone Brewing Beer Fest, Black History Month Vendor Fair, Auto Show Virginia Auto Show Chocolate, Wine and Whiskey Fest Black History Month Vendor Fair Stone Brewing Beer Festival Richmond Ballet: 'Dracula' An Omaha man said adrenaline took over in the moment when he tackled one of the suspects in the shooting at the Chiefs Super Bowl celebration in downtown Kansas City Wednesday. Paul Contreras, a 46-year-old from South Omaha who lives in Bellevue, said he and his three daughters traveled to Kansas City Wednesday morning to attend the Super Bowl parade and rally. The Nebraskans arrived in Kansas City around 9 a.m. and were enjoying the days festivities until they were preparing to leave the event around 2 p.m., Contreras said. Thats when they began to hear what they thought were fireworks outside Union Station. Twenty-two people were injured in the shooting, Kansas City Police Chief Stacey Graves said, and one woman died. At least half of those injured were children, Graves told. Three people were taken into custody but, as of Thursday afternoon, no one had been charged in connected with the incident. We see this young gentleman running for his life and another one running for his life and then just police officers just chasing them, Contreras told the Omaha World-Herald Thursday. So we knew, OK, those were not fireworks, those were gunshots. Then Contreras said he saw someone running and heard people yelling stop him. Contreras said he tackled the man from the back and saw a gun fall. Im like, Oh, man. This is serious, he said. Im like, OK, I gotta keep him down because hes got one gun, he may have another gun. Someone else jumped in and helped hold the man down until police could take over, Contreras said. Once police got there, officers handcuffed the man. Contreras said once police took over, he figured his job was done and he and his family headed back to Omaha. He said everything that unfolded is still sinking in. It happens so fast that you really dont know until you take a step back and be like, OK, what just happened? he said. Contreras said he just relied on his instincts in the moment he decided to take action. It was just a reaction, he said. You dont think about it, you just do it. One of his Contreras daughters, 23-year-old Alyssa Marsh-Contreras, captured a video shortly after her father jumped in to help in which he can be seen telling police We tackled him. Marsh-Contreras said she had been taking photos and videos all day documenting the celebration and her instinct was to hit record when she realized something serious was happening. It was no question that my camera needed to be pulled out, she said. The video has been widely shared on social media and many have called Contreras a hero. Contreras said hes OK with all of the attention, but it isnt his focus. I did what I did, not thinking that this is gonna be taken by storm or anything like that, he said. Contreras, who works for a local gas and water company, said hes been a Chiefs fan for a long time. My daughters as they grew up seeing me wear Chiefs shirts and hats and whatnot, they became Chiefs fans, he said. So were a Chiefs family. His daughters were disappointed they didnt go to the parade after last years Super Bowl win, so Contreras promised they would this year. Contreras said he was already expecting the celebration to be a once in a lifetime moment for him and his daughters. We got up yesterday morning all in good spirits, and we knew it was gonna be a memorable day, he said. It turned tragic, but were not gonna let that deter us. Were gonna remember the good times, all our pictures and listening to good music. The weather was perfect. It was a good day up until that point. It was three feet tall and more than 1,900 years old. The statue was a must-buy for Margaret Mayo, the late expert in Mediterranean antiques at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. It depicted a young boy, probably Greek, with a rare hairstyle: an Isis braid indicative of royalty. Its purchase would bolster the museums small marble collection, Mayo wrote in private letters to the museums director in 1989. It would join three other marbles, including the museums treasured statue of much-hated Roman Emperor Caligula, and elevate the museums prestige. Only eight other standing draped statues of young boys are known from the Greek world, Mayo wrote. Building the sculpture collection is important to the museum because it is mainly through sculpture that the public identifies with the classical past. The only problem was that it was stolen. Statue of a Young Boy was among 44 pieces worth an estimated $2.7 million removed from the museum in November. Invoices, emails and interviews connect those pieces to convicted European black market dealers. The Richmond Times-Dispatch examined the history of pieces surrendered by the museum, tracing their path from Rome to Richmond, where the artworks found a home alongside Faberge eggs and Egyptian sarcophagi in one of Virginias most beloved cultural institutions: the VMFA. Although questions about their provenance were raised as early as 2009, the VMFA did not independently return the pieces until a collaboration between the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and investigators with the Manhattan District Attorneys Office presented irrefutable evidence that the works were stolen or looted. Related stories Timeline: Virginia Museum of Fine Arts returns art works deemed stolen The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts removed 44 artworks worth an estimated $2.7 million from its collection last year, after investigators identified them as stolen. The artworks included the Statue of a Young Boy, which had been sold to an antiquities trafficker. Those agencies said the museum was admirably cooperative in returning the works. When approached by law enforcement last year, Museum Director Alex Nyerges acted quickly, in contrast with museums around the world who fought for years to hold onto similar pieces of ancient art. And a spokesperson for the VMFA said curators never received enough evidence to call police in the countries with a claim to the works. Museum director told more than half of antiquities were suspect Curators at the VMFA first became aware of issues with their artifacts in 2009. An internal memo from Ancient Art Curator Peter Schertz identified 22 pieces with provenance issues. Provenance refers to the history of an artifact, starting from a findspot and ending with the artifacts placement in a private collection or museum. Schertz memo listed an ancient Greek cup, known as a kotyle, an ancient vase, and a set of twenty terracotta figurines, vases, mimes and masks. His memo was sent to Nyerges and Stephen Bonadies, then the VMFAs deputy curator for collections and facilities management. Schertz explained that Italian military police had published photos of stolen art found when they raided the trove of a black market art dealer named Giacomo Medici. Polaroids from his warehouse in Switzerland showed art that had passed through Medicis hands. Schertz identified the museums exquisite kotyle in the police photos. We were able to confirm that our kotyle is most likely pictured in the photographs, Schertz wrote in the memo, which was followed by a verbal report to Nyerges. Schertz said that the kotyle had been acquired in good faith. Schertz noted that the other 21 pieces came from Fritz Burki, whose name has since been linked with a number of objects that have been returned to various North American museums to Italy. Four years later, two more pieces came under scrutiny. A Greek expert in stolen art linked Statue of a Young Boy to a Swiss art gallery whose dealer was convicted of art trafficking in 2002. Christos Tsirogiannis, a forensic archaeologist at the University of Cambridge, published his investigation on the statues provenance in The Journal of Art Crime. Tsirogiannis has consulted with the Manhattan District Attorneys Office since 2017, the same agency that later issued a summons to the VMFA. Tsirogiannis article threaded the statues history to Italian art dealer Gianfranco Becchina, who had nearly 6,000 antiquities seized by Italian authorities. Becchina was the head of a criminal enterprise that used gangs of Italian tomb raiders to pillage carefully chosen and insufficiently guarded archaeological sites, according to documents from the Manhattan District Attorneys Office. Becchina and Medici were fierce competitors. A Polaroid from Becchinas stash showed the statue had passed through his collection. Scribbled on the photo was the name Frieda, a likely reference to Frieda Tchakos, the Swiss dealer who would sell it to Mayo in 1989. All the while, Mayo was told her new acquisition came from a Swiss friend who wanted to remain anonymous. Tsirogiannis emailed Bonadies, who replied that the museum did not have an identity for the anonymous Swiss dealer who had originally held Statue of a Young Boy. He also wrote and sent a similar article on an ancient Greek drinking vase at the VMFA. The vase, known in Greek as an askos, also came through Burki. For years, Tsirogiannis Journal of Art Crime article was included in a bibliography on the vase prepared by staff at the VMFA. Before publishing both articles, Tsirogiannis contacted the museum. I wanted to check if the museum could disprove what I had found, Tsirogiannis said in a recent interview. I was keeping half a percent of a chance they could disprove it. And they couldnt. As Tsirogiannis was preparing to publish his article, Schertz sent an internal email to Nyerges rehashing everything that he knew about Statue of a Young Boy and wondering if it was time to involve the Museums lawyer. Questions of provenance In both articles, Tsirogiannis wrote that the VMFA was obliged to contact the Italian authorities about the case, according to widely used ethical guidelines. He admonished the museum for not doing so. There were not one, but two cases. For 11 years, said Tsirogiannis. There is no excuse. In a statement, VMFA spokesperson Jan Hatchette said that the earlier evidence including its own internal memo was not compelling, nor was it proof that the museum should do additional investigating or contact Italian police. VMFA was approached by private individuals about antiquities in the collection that were thought to have been stolen based on photographic archives in the possession of the Italian authorities, Hatchette said. However, learning that VMFAs objects were most likely included in these photographs did not provide enough documentation to support their restitution. Schertz and Tsirogiannis conclusions raised more questions than answers, Hatchette said. The museum never received a claim for the works from police in Italy, and that there was not a clear enough path to clarify the status of these objects at that time. Questions of provenance and repatriation are highly complex and any decision to return an object requires an adequate level of evidence, Hatchette said. Museums worldwide have wrestled with questions of provenance for decades. After World War II, artwork looted by Nazis appeared in museums in San Diego, Chicago and New York. Looted antiquities came into the spotlight in the 1970s after the Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art paid $1 million for an ancient Greek vase later proven to be stolen, the now infamous Euphronios Krater. In the 90s, raids by police on Swiss warehouses turned up receipts for thousands of looted artifacts that had passed through black market dealers to auction houses like Sothebys in England, or directly to museums. The Louvre, the Met and the Getty Museum in Los Angeles all were implicated in unknowingly buying the pieces and supporting the illicit art market. That market relied upon low-level tomb raiders, known as tombaroli, who funneled stolen art to regional middle-men, or capos. The art was ultimately funneled upwards to dealers with pedigree, according to an account detailed in The Medici Conspiracy, a 2006 recounting of the antiquities trafficking trade. As that underworld was exposed, museums opposition to relinquishing art appeared to soften. The Met returned the Euphronios Krater, and museums across the world signed on to tighter regulations governing stolen antiquities. With few exceptions, new guidelines instated in 2008 told museums that they should not buy antiquities unless they were removed from their country of origin before 1970. The VMFA says it adheres to these guidelines. It has repatriated artworks of different kinds at least three times since 2004. Christine Anagnos, executive director of the American Association of Museum Directors, said the group does not comment on the merits of specific claims. The guidelines emphasize claims from countries of origin, rather than third-party scholars like Tsirogiannis. However, they also encourage that museums have voluntary discussions to identify looted art. Bonadies, the former deputy curator at VMFA who retired in 2021, said that officials want to make sure restitution is done right, and that standards have changed since 1989, when Mayo sought to track down the original owner of Statue of a Young Boy. At that point in time in provenance research, that was acceptable, said Bonadies. Bonadies also said that the VMFA probably took better care of Statue of a Young Boy than wherever else it might have been. The object is in the museums care all that time, and being cared for. And so, it wasnt deteriorating any further, it was being preserved, said Bonadies. And whatever the ultimate outcome, when its returned to its final home, itll be in the same shape that the museum acquired it in as well. We have taken the high road All 24 of the previously flagged pieces were repatriated last November after VMFA Registrar Karen Daly rush-delivered the artwork to an office in Lower Manhattan in order to comply with a timeline set by the Manhattan District Attorney. The list included an $175,000 statuette gifted to the museum by Virginia horse breeder Paul Mellon. The statue had been stolen from an Italian museum in 1963. Like other pieces, it had been purchased in good faith by Mellon, VMFA records indicate. Nyerges is still the museums director. Schertz still curates the museums ancient art acquisitions. Mayo retired from the VMFA in 2004. In internal emails from early in 2023, Nyerges said that there was nothing to do but return the art. Full compliance and a timely response is the only proper path, Nyerges wrote. We are merely guardians for our collection. If anything was illegally exported, excavated, or stolen, it needs to be returned to its rightful owners. - "We have taken the high road of cooperation by doing what is right and necessary." Alex Nyerges, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts director And on Dec. 6, one day after the repatriation was announced, Nyerges wrote to the VMFA board that he expected that the museums good deeds would be acknowledged in the press. Media response will likely be very positive since we have taken the high road of cooperation by doing what is right and necessary, Nyerges wrote to Aimee Guidera, Virginias secretary of education. The museum is a state entity overseen by the education department. The museum has put an indefinite hold on buying ancient artworks, according to an email from Schertz. It most recently purchased an ancient sarcophagus for $450,000 in 2020. Now, placeholder cards sit where the antiquities were once on display. And the glass case that once held Statue of a Young Boy has been entirely removed. No need to keep it on view, a museum curator wrote to employees. 9 photos of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts from The Times-Dispatch archives Two lawmakers gathered with reproductive health care advocates on Thursday to celebrate the advancement of proposals to establish in Virginias state code a right to obtain contraceptives. With the legislative session past its procedural midpoint, bills that have advanced through each chamber are subject to review in the other body. From there, the governor can choose to sign, veto or seek to amend measures that make it to his desk. While Hashmis bill passed the Senate on a 21-19 party-line vote, Prices bill passed 56-43 and picked up the votes of five Republicans, including Dels. Carrie Coyner, R-Chesterfield; David Owen, R-Goochland; and Kim Taylor, R-Dinwiddie. Price said the bills were in direct response to the clearly stated intent to come after the right to contraception. After the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, the ruling that had protected abortion federally, justices diverged on their opinions. Justice Clarence Thomas opined that the court could reconsider other settled cases that emanated from the due process clause of the 14th Amendment. Thomas asserted that the clause at most guarantees process and does not secure any substantive rights. Abortion and reproductive rights advocates have been concerned that could entail revisiting Griswold v. Connecticut. The 1965 case protects access to contraceptives without government restriction. While no federal action has been taken, some state legislatures have attempted to block state funding for birth control measures like intrauterine devices or emergency contraception that is usually sold as Plan B. Additionally, in some states, GOP governors or gubernatorial candidates have not ruled out seeking restrictions or prohibitions on contraceptives. The lawmakers say putting access into Virginias law would reaffirm peoples right to obtain contraceptives if they need or want them. Whether to use an IUD, an implant, condoms or pills is an individual decision, said Planned Parenthood Advocates of Virginia spokesperson Rae Ann Pickett. Planned Parenthood has drawn ire from opponents of abortion or contraception as the organization provides both, along with other medical care, to include prenatal care. Kenda Sutton-EL, director of Birth in Color RVA, was also in attendance on Thursday to support the bills. Her organization of doulas assists women with pregnancy and childbirth. Sutton-EL said lack of access to contraceptives can disproportionately impact women of color. Studies indicate there are already barriers for women of color when it comes to accessing contraceptive care. Price and Hashmi said contraceptives can be used for more than birth control. Hormonal contraceptives, such as pills, can be helpful when treating various medical conditions like endometriosis or polycystic ovary syndrome. They can also help to regulate irregular menstrual cycles or treat severe acne. Price said contraceptives help treat her own symptoms of polycystic ovary syndrome This is a deeply personal issue for me, she said. As the bills appear likely to reach Gov. Glenn Youngkins desk, Hashmi called them common sense measures. She and Price said they hope the governor will sign them into law. A spokesperson for Youngkin said the governor will review all legislation that comes to his desk. I would appeal to his sense of leadership and not to follow the pack of what other Republican governors have done, Price said, but to actually show leadership about this health care issue. This is not a partisan issue. Today in history: Feb. 15 1764: St. Louis 1933: Franklin D. Roosevelt 1965: Nat King Cole 1967: Chicago 1992: Jeffrey Dahmer 2005: Paul Shanley 2013: Russia Meteor 2020: Diamond Princess 2021:Johnny Pacheco 2022: Sandy Hook lawsuit 2023: Raquel Welch The 2023 makeover of the General Assembly could result in major changes to what happens in state courts when Virginians head there to seek justice. From opening state courts and class action suits to attacking insurer bad faith and giving tenants a break in district court, the new Democratic majorities are seeking to end some distinctively Virginia legal traditions. The new approach to courts is also bringing a different approach to some criminal matters, from the ways courts levy and collect fines and fees, to new proposed rules for plea bargains and handling of evidence from police interrogation of juveniles to preliminary breath tests. It feels like a new day in the General Assembly, said Del. Phil Hernandez, D-Norfolk. One example, he said, remembering his days advocating for criminal justice reforms before his election in 2023, is legislation, House Bill 857 and Senate Bill 514, that he and state Sen. Angelia Williams Graves, D-Norfolk, have successfully moved through the House of Delegates and state Senate. These bills would shorten the statute of limitations for paying court debts. In 2018, that period was increased from 20 years to 60 years for circuit court debt and from 10 years to 30 years for district court fines and fees. When as a delegate last year, Williams Graves tried to shorten these time periods, it didnt even get on the docket of what was then a GOP-led House Courts of Justice Committee, Hernandez said. Dems significant force There has been a significant change in legislative atmosphere of the General Assembly not just attributable to the Ds winning the House and thus controlling the legislative branch, said former Senate Minority Leader Tommy Norment, R-James City County, who was a member of the Senate Courts of Justice Committee for three decades. The Ds that have been elected are more ideologically progressive than a year ago. When you couple them with the frustrated incumbents, it is a significant force to advance their legislative agenda, he said. These are significant legislative changes that are going to alter the traditional landscape of Virginia that the average citizen may not fully appreciate until the laws are implemented, Norment said. Many of them are not business friendly, he said. The only R who can detour this legislative train is the Gov; and who can predict how far he is willing to exercise his veto and try to save the arena? said Norment, referring to the governors proposal for a $2 billion project to bring the NBAs Washington Wizards and the NHLs Washington Capitals to Alexandria. Youngkin is not commenting on bills until they reach his desk and he can review them in detail, said deputy communications director Macaulay Porter. Will class action suits come to states courts? The biggest prospective change is embodied in identical House and Senate measures, Senate Bill 259 and House Bill 418, that would let Virginians bring class action lawsuits to state courts. Virginia is one of only two states that do not permit these suits, which let people join together to pursue claims for damages. Mississippi is the other. This should reduce barriers to access, said Del. Marcus Simon, D-Fairfax, who introduced the House version. If you lost $1,000 to a payday lender, thats a lot of money to you, but it isnt always enough to bring in a lawyer and go to court, Simon said. This just allows Virginians with many smaller claims to come together to go to court. Class action lawsuits can expose businesses to large payouts. For plaintiffs, they offer a pathway around the usual case-by-case process that can leave individuals unable to stay with the often long and costly exercise of getting a court decision. Thisd be a field day for trial lawyers, said House Minority Leader Todd Gilbert, R-Shenandoah, who served on the House courts committee for 13 years. While Virginians have been able to pursue class action lawsuits if they have claims under federal law, what if you have an entity routinely violating just state law? You are out of luck and lawsuits have to be filed separately, said Jay Speer, executive director of the Virginia Poverty Law Center. The folks on the wrong side of this claim there will be a litigation apocalypse if this passes, Speer said. Apparently, that didnt happen in the other 48 states that already allow this. The real issue is accountability, he said. Class action suits are particularly important when individuals are seeking only relatively small damages, said Carl Tobias, a law professor at the University of Richmond. In such situations, the expense of hiring a lawyer is high compared with the amount sought, or the share of an award a lawyer could see as a contingent fee is low. It means more access to the courts for people, he said. I think it shows Democrats are living up to their promises to consumers. Proposed breaks for tenants advance The same small size of claims in most landlord-tenant disputes means tenants often do not have lawyers to argue over eviction cases. That has prompted the new Democratic majority in the House to greenlight several measures to give tenants a bit of a break. House Bill 740, from Del. Rae Cousins, D-Richmond, deals with cases in which a tenant who is facing eviction disputes the amount of back rent a landlord says the tenant owes. Under current law, the district court judge handling the eviction must set a separate trial over the disputed amount when the landlord asks for it. Under Cousins bill, courts would need to deal with the disputed amount at the same time they decide on the eviction. That gives tenants a fairer chance to make their case, she said. This is about tenants rights and access to justice, she said. That access is the same issue that is at the heart of the class action lawsuit bills, she said. Cousins also proposed House Bill 824 to cap the fees for court-appointed lawyers that indigent defendants must pay, and it also won House approval. Hassan Shabazz, a paralegal who focuses on prisoners rights, said he was assessed $650 of attorneys fees. That was part of more than $4,000 in fines and fees he worked off with a 5% withholding from a prison job that paid 45 cents an hour. It took more than two decades. A shot across insurers bows A bid by state Sen. Bill Stanley, R-Franklin, to exempt medical malpractice awards from Virginias unique cap on payments in cases where children under 10 faced huge lifetime bills for care, died in the Senate Finance Committee. But it got a lot further than similar efforts had, with support from senators whose legal practice has largely been defending insurers. That near-miss along with a bill from Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell, D-Fairfax, that would subject insurers to pay double damages if they deny, refuse or fail to pay a claim under an automobile insurance policy and are found to have done so in bad faith reflects a growing impatience among legislators over insurers claims practices, said state Sen. Ryan McDougle, R-Hanover. Its a shot across their bows, he said. But insurers say the bill would just make auto insurance more expensive. Nancy Egan, vice president for state government relations at the American Property Casualty Insurance Association, said a 2022 study estimated such legislation would boost auto insurance premiums by 19%. This bill benefits plaintiff lawyers by putting more money in their pockets at the expense of consumers, Egan said. The bill will encourage litigation, which drives up claims costs. Tobias, the UR law professor, says it makes sense to sanction insurers for actions in bad faith. I think everyone would see the sense in that, he said. Gun bills include liability Gun control measures moving through the Senate and House, Senate Bill 491 and House Bill 318, would mark another new departure for Virginia law, one that disturbs state Sen. Richard Stuart, R-King George. They would open a door to lawsuits against entities firearms industry firms in this case that are not immediately responsible for what others do with their products. The House and Senate also approved House Bill 896 and Senate Bill 625, under which Social Security benefits would be exempt from court debt collections which federal law already says but which state courts often do not do, Hernandez said. The Office of the Executive Secretary, which provides administrative support for Virginias courts and magistrate offices, says complying with federal law here should not have a material effect on the operating funds of Virginia courts. The Senate approved Senate Bill 334, under which plea agreements could not include any provision to waive a defendants rights under the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution which prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures or their right to ask for expungement or sealing of police and court records. The House approved House Bill 266, under which if a law enforcement officer does not let parents know a child is in custody before beginning to interrogate them, anything the child says would be inadmissible in any delinquency proceeding or criminal proceeding against him or her. State Sen. Mamie Locke, D-Hampton, convinced fellow senators that children under 11 are too young to be judged delinquent, but should instead be directed toward necessary behavioral or medical support when they violate Virginia delinquency laws. The House passed House Bill 267, sponsored by Del. Vivian Watts, D-Fairfax. Under this measure, someone arrested on a charge of assault on a police officer would be able to defend themselves against that felony charge if the officer was responding to a call for service sparked by the defendants mental health crisis or behavior caused by dementia or a developmental disability. House Bill 34, from Del. Nadarius Clark, D-Suffolk, would set a new three-year statute of limitations on actions to collect medical debt. Disputes with landlords would change Cases involving landlord tenant disputes would also have a different feel under several measures working their way through the General Assembly. House Bill 598, from Del. Cia Price, D-Newport News, would increase from five to 14 days the amount of time tenants have to pay late rent and late fees before a landlord can file an eviction case. Identical House and Senate bills, approved by each body, House Bill 597 and Senate Bill 479, would empower local governments to sue landlords to enforce health and safety laws. Under a bill the House approved, House Bill 73, sponsored by Del. Patrick Hope, D-Arlington, expunging and sealing courts records of eviction cases would be automatic when landlords fail to win their cases. Records of dismissed cases, or even cases where the tenant won, can often affect a persons credit record or ability to rent another place. The House also approved by a bipartisan vote a bill from Cousins, House Bill 1251, that would end the requirement that a renter be current in rent in order to seek a court order that the landlord keep an apartment or house safe and habitable. I think these are making things different, trying to make sure tenants and landlords have more equal access to justice, said Christie Marra, a lawyer who specializes in housing issues for the poverty law center. I do think people are looking more seriously at these bills ... theres more interest in sitting down together and working to try to get them right, she said. I think what Im seeing with the new class is a new energy. Today in history: Feb. 16 1923: King Tutankhamen 1945: Island of Corregidor 1959: Fidel Castro 1960: USS Triton 1998: Airbus A300 2011: Borders 2017: Donald Trump 2018: Trump Russia Probe 2019: Cardinal Theodore McCarrick Top Virginia Republican officials quickly rejected a social media post from a staffer at the state GOP that attacked House Speaker Don Scott Jr., D-Portsmouth, and referenced his eight-year prison term. The staffer has been fired, according to Rich Anderson, chairman of the Republican Party of Virginia. According to screenshots on social media, the since-deleted post said: Is it any surprise that @DonScott757 spent 8 years in federal prison for peddling drugs to college kids, and now hes obsessed with legislation to cut breaks for drug dealers? Anything for your buddies, right? Scott reportedly reacted angrily to the post on Thursday, telling reporters that political opponents would not make such assertions to his face. Sen. Louise Lucas, D-Portsmouth, head of the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee and an opponent of Gov. Glenn Youngkins proposed arena project in Alexandria, reposted the screenshot and added: Everyone knows the state party is always controlled by the Governor of their party. We will hold him accountable for every bit of trash like this we read. Everyone knows the state party is always controlled by the Governor of their party. We will hold him accountable for every bit of trash like this we read. pic.twitter.com/gOvjivbg0q L. Louise Lucas (@SenLouiseLucas) February 15, 2024 Youngkin took to X, formerly Twitter, to note: This comment is unforgivable. Today, Ive personally expressed to Speaker Scott my deep respect for him and his life journey, this kind of personal attack has no place in Virginia or anywhere. House Minority Leader Todd Gilbert, R-Shenandoah, posted: This kind of garbage comment has no place in our discourse. Speaker Don Scotts personal story of redemption is something to behold and admire. He and I have disagreed on policy and process and will continue to do so, but he has earned respect and he certainly has mine. Anderson, the state GOP chairman, said he did not approve the social media post attacking Scott and that he would make personnel changes removing the staffer who made the post. Today, I learned of a very personal attack on @DonScott757 that does not reflect my values or that of our party, Anderson wrote. I had neither seen nor approved the tweet but the buck stops with me. I directed its immediate removal and will be making personnel changes effective today. Anderson added that he has seen a story of redemption play out in my own family, so this is personal for me and compels me to express my sincere regret and apology. We will battle on the policy front, but in Virginia certain things are off limits. On Jan. 10, Scott was elected as Virginias first African American speaker of the House of Delegates. Some of yall know my story, said Scott, referring to his rise after a conviction on federal drug charges in 1994 for which he served eight years in prison. Scotts conviction was related to transporting drug-related money. Then-Gov. Bob McDonnell later restored Scotts rights. A lawyer, he has served in the House since 2020. Ive come through some adversity in life, and Ive been able to overcome it, and Ive done very well for myself, Scott said after House Democrats elected him as their leader in 2022. But I feel like you have a responsibility once youve done very well for yourself and you know the challenges other people are facing. You have a responsibility to look back and see if you can pay it forward. Today in history: Feb. 16 1923: King Tutankhamen 1945: Island of Corregidor 1959: Fidel Castro 1960: USS Triton 1998: Airbus A300 2011: Borders 2017: Donald Trump 2018: Trump Russia Probe 2019: Cardinal Theodore McCarrick Helicopter added to 9 vessels and 33 personnel in search of missing Holbox fishermen Holbox, Q.R. State officials have stepped up search efforts for two missing Holbox fishermen. A helicopter was added to efforts Thursday in search of the men while Marina personnel continue to search by sea. In a breif notice Thursday, the SSC of Quintana Roo (Secretaria de Seguridad Ciudadana de Q.Roo) said the State Coordination of Civil Protection of Quintana Roo in coordination with Municipal Civil Protection and the Secretariat of Citizen Security of Quintana Roo are in an intense search operation by air, where they are also accompanied by a fisherman. In this sense, the Secretary of the Navy (SEMAR) is reinforcing actions by sea. State Civil Protection (Coordinacion Estatal de Proteccion Civil QRoo) also posted information regarding the ongoing search. The search for fishermen in Chiquila intensifies. Civil Protection of Quintana Roo reports that the search and rescue work for lost fishermen in the community of Chiquila is intensifying in coordination with SEMAR, the SSC and Municipal Civil Protection. In addition to the aircraft used to search for them by sky, nine vessels with 33 elements from different state authorities join the operation and all the necessary technology is used to locate the fishermen on the high seas. The SSC launched a helicopter search for the lost men Thursday. Photo: February 15, 2024. The two lost Holbox fishermen left the Port of Chiquila February 9 aboard vessel Ruth Selene in search of sawfish with a scheduled return date for February 11. After days of failed private searches, their families requested help from the state. SAT begins operations of Financial Intelligence Unit to combat tax crimes Riviera Maya, Q.R. A Financial Intelligence Unit of the Tax Administration Service (SAT) of Quintana Roo began operating Thursday. Governor Mara Lezama Espinosa says it is a great step in the fight against corruption which provides progress in transparency and accountability. Governor Lezama presented Karina Martinez Jara as head of the Unit and signed a collaboration agreement for the development of objectives and exchange of information with the head of the Financial Intelligence Unit of the state of Tlaxcala and President of the National Commission of Anti-Money Laundering Units, Neri Toshiro Leon Souza. In this government of profound transformation we have a very clear objective, which is the fight against corruption. My hand does not shake. We are going to work efficiently and will only say that the mission is complete when there is true social justice, when tourism success translates into shared prosperity, she said. The signing was done in the presence of heads of the Patrimonial and Economic Intelligence Units of the Federal Entities, federal authorities and sibject specialists as well as the U.S. Embassy. Mara Lezama reiterated that this is a major joint challenge, but the sum of capabilities and the exchange of information will be essential to achieve the purposes saying it is up to us to recompose the path. Eugenio Segura Vazquez, the Secretary of Finance and Planning of the Government of Quintana Roo, explained that the purpose of the Financial Intelligence Unit of SAT (Servicio de Administracion Tributaria) is to prevent and inhibit tax crimes and acts of corruption. The new FIU will help identify those involved in tax crimes including money laundering. Photo: CGC February 15, 2024. He explained that the Quintana Roo FIU will establish strategies that allow identifying and investigating money laundering in addition to obtaining, concentrating and analyzing tax, financial, patrimonial, economic, civil and any other information that is considered essential to contribute to the prevention and combat of tax crimes. Tulum worker treated for burns after making contact with low cables Tulum, Q.R. A construction worker was rushed to hospital Thursday after being burned by an electrical shock. The 31-year-old man was on the second level of a home performing masonry work when he accidentally came into contact with a set of low lying cables. The set of low cables were hanging directly in front of the area where a second level addition was being added to a private home. Emergency personnel were called to an address on Jupiter Street when worker Ricardo Poot was electrocuted. Tulum firemen assisted in the removal of the man from the second level of the under construction home. The worker made contact with a set of low lying electric cables. Photo: Feb. 15, 2024. He was lowered from the roof on a stretcher by firemen and taken to hospital by ambulance with second and third degree burns to 20 percent of his body. In his latest book, Moral Vision: Leadership from George Washington to Joe Biden, Marvin Olasky, author of the highly influential Tragedy of American Compassion (and Acton affiliate scholar), examines American history in light of a Turkish saying, the fish stinks first at the head, meaning that moral decay at the highest echelons of society inevitably affects the whole. Toward this end, Moral Vision is composed of 18 portraits of influential Americans, mostly presidents, and describing how their private and inner lives affected their public leadership. Olasky, as he states in his introduction, writes out of the conviction that history is more than statistics, economics, and group identities. Human beings are more than paper boats riding the rainfall into gutters. In his crosshairs is the idea of historical determinism, Marxian or otherwisethat is, the view that societies and civilizations rise and fall, prosper and disintegrate, according to impersonal economic forces. Olasky may have been influenced directly or indirectly by Russell Kirk, who had a similar idea in writing The Conservative Mind as a series of sketches of individual leaders as opposed to a treatise on conservative principles per se, to emphasize the influence of persons over impersonal forces. One theme throughout the book is marital fidelity as a complement to such other virtues as sacrifice and selflessness. George Washington in particular, argues Olasky, made the revolution possible by his frequent displays of courageous and self-sacrificial behavior. One sixth of the American soldiers who wintered at Valley Forge over 177778 died, and those who did not desert must have seen something worth following in General Washington. But beyond his success on the battlefield, Washington was also consistently faithful to Martha for their entire marriage. Olasky makes the case throughout that there is an inseparable connection between marital fidelity and fidelity in other areas. In contrast to Washingtons faithfulness, Olasky emphasizes the infidelity of Redcoat generals Howe and Clinton, as well as of First Lord of the Admiralty Montagu, all of whom would have been more trustworthy and efficacious leaders had they upheld their marital vows. Olasky speaks with approbation about all his subjects who were, at least for the most part, committed to marital integrity. He applauds the uprightness of Grover Cleveland, Andrew Jackson, and Abraham Lincoln, who matched commitment to their wives with commitment to their ideals. As a corollary, presidents whom Olasky finds politically lacking are also invariably unfaithful in marriage. Woodrow Wilson and FDR both earn criticism here, but Olasky is especially hard on JFK, probably the most adulterous president ever. The decline in American public morality in the 20th century seems to begin with Wilson, who in 1908 decided that his private affairs didnt matter so long as he promoted social reintegration through government. From there it was not such a long slide to Kennedys believing he could commit adultery with reckless abandon, which in turn led Bill Clinton, for whom Kennedy was a personal hero, to believe his private actions would have no public consequences. Olaskys account of Kennedy is certainly the most negative of all the presidential profiles, save perhaps that of Jefferson, and maybe the most negative of Kennedy Ive ever read. Though the author highlights JFKs leadership during the Cuban Missile Crisis, hes oddly negative about his wartime experience. Blaming Kennedys poor maneuvering for his PT boats being rammed on a moonless night by a Japanese destroyer, Olasky claims it was JFKs fathers money that led the media to cover up the incompetence and instead spin Kennedy as a hero for saving his crew. Maybe the Japanese captain accomplished a deft maneuver by ramming the PT boat, but it doesnt diminish the heroism displayed by the future president thereafter. Suffice to say, this is not generally how the 35th presidents military service is remembered. Later, the author describes how Kennedy was wearing a back brace on the day of his assassination because he had hurt himself engaged in extramarital activities weeks before (as reported by Time magazines Hugh Sidey in 1987). Had he not worn it, the first bullet would have pushed him out of the way of the second, saving his life. This may be true, yet I wondered why Olasky didnt mention how chronic back problems had afflicted Kennedy for decades and were exacerbated by his service in WWII, through which Kennedy frequently wore a back brace, not just following infidelity. The paragraph about Kennedys cheating indirectly contributing to his death is meant as a kind of moral lesson, but you really have to squint to see the connection. Another theme pursued by Olasky is how statesmen of the early republicWashington, Jefferson, Jackson, and Henry Claydiffered on their views and actions regarding slavery. Thomas Jefferson, author of one of the most exquisite proclamations on human dignity ever, nevertheless ranks among Americas greatest hypocrites for his terrible (even for the time) racial views. While Washington was conflicted over owning slaves, and was a fanboy (Olaskys phrase) of Phillis Wheatley, a famed 18th-century African American poet, Jefferson was contemptuous of Benjamin Banneker, another black poet who challenged the third president to live up to his own words. Not believing Bennekers writing was his own, Jefferson said he must have used a white ghostwriter. While Washington saw slavery as a systematic evil from which he could not economically extricate himself, only freeing his slaves upon his death, Jefferson saw slavery as a necessary and fitting institution. Clay at one time was ardently anti-slavery, writing in 1798, Can any humane man be happy and contented when he sees his fellow beings deprived of all the rights which make life desirable, transferred like cattle from the possession of one another? Yet, once it became clear that supporting abolition would end his political career, Clay dropped the subject. He was not a particularly kind slave owner either, as his escaped slaves attested, and did not free his slaves upon death. Jackson, in contrast, had no qualms about slavery, yet was careful to look after his own slaves, as evidenced by dismissing an unduly cruel white overseer. He also wrote a number of letters demanding that his overseers treat my negroes with humanity by not working them too hard and tending to them when sick. While Jeffersons animosity toward black people seems to warrant the harshest criticism, judging the other three statesmen quickly mires the reader in difficult questions about reading back into the past our current more enlightened stances. Washington, while displaying admiration for at least some blacks, was no abolitionist. And while Jackson exhibited no idealism about changing the world, he at least tried to be the most moral person he could while working within the power structures he uncritically inherited and inhabited. Clay, though more morally aware than Jefferson and Jackson, was certainly hypocritical for acknowledging slavery as a great wrong but choosing power over privilege and basically setting the stage for the Civil War by constantly aiming for compromise between pro- and anti-slavery camps in Congress. Even so, Lincoln, in an oration about keeping Clays memory alive, called Clay his beau ideal of a statesman, so perhaps even those compromises counted for something positive. One other theme that Olasky traces across the centuries is the centralization of political and economic power. While it was unsurprising to read generally negative descriptions of Woodrow Wilson and FDR as hallmarks of 20th century progressivism, Olaskys views, which could be described as supportive of the subsidiarity principle, also influence his analysis of 19th-century politics. The Federalists and Whigs, who instituted tariffs to expand urbanization and manufacturing by protecting infant American industries from European competition, and who also supported chartering a Second Bank of the United States, are not cast favorably. The idea of building America into an industrialized, urban nation is basically equated with a desire for a few centralized institutions to dominate American society through patronage. Instead of a combination of the free market and local and state institutions steering things, Washington-directed tariffs on foreign imports would boost some industries, effectively government clients, at the expense of others. And the Second Bank of the United States, shuttered by Andrew Jackson (who is lauded for doing so), was an institution analogous to what are today called development banks at the federal level for the purpose of financing infrastructure and other major projects too large for private or state institutions to take on. Was the Second Bank really so bad simply because it aggregated money from around the country to fund otherwise impossible projects in particular areas? Olasky thinks so, but he doesnt so much argue this point as assume the readers agreement. The final sections on Clinton vs. Gingrich and Biden vs. Trump round out Olaskys tableau of principles in private and public, bringing Americas downward moral trajectory to the present. With the extramarital affairs of Clinton, Gingrich, and Trump, as well as the rhetorically confrontational styles of the latter two, all the necessary groundwork was laid for our present vulgarized era. Biden, though less coarse than the others, exhibits a hypocrisy similar to that of Clay, but with abortion his issue, going from a moderate to an arch-defender as power pulled him. And while Trumps presidency led to the overturning of Roe v. Wade, Olasky speculates that, because abortion is more a cultural than a legal debate, the 45th president and his pro-life supporters may have done more harm than good. Christian arguments in favor of Trump, especially from a pragmatic or realist standpoint, may prove not to have been realistic enough. All in all, Moral Vision is an enjoyable and necessary contribution to the study of leadership, and a unique one at that for taking seriously the innermost worlds of some of Americas most influential public figures. Olasky makes his own views plain, but they never obscure his primary purpose. Having been closely involved in national politics in the 1990s, Olaskys lament for what Clintons presidency could have achieved is particularly poignant. If there is to be a renewal of public morality in America, it will be led by writers like Olasky who illustrate the consequences of failing to define deviancy properly. WYTHEVILLE More allegations and counter allegations have surfaced about a Jan. 27 Log House Restaurant brawl that resulted in criminal charges against a Radford police officer and his brother. The siblings have now taken out criminal warrants against the man theyre accused of assaulting and against another man who was at the Wytheville eatery that night. Dakota Cook, 31, of Max Meadows, was arrested on Feb. 4 and charged with two counts of assault and battery based on warrants obtained by 43-year-old John E. Fuhrman of Wytheville and his brother, 45-year-old Michael W. Fuhrman of Bunnlevel, North Carolina. Police have already charged the brothers with assaulting Cook. In his criminal complaint, Michael Fuhrman accused 29-year-old Jaden Robert Uniek of Wytheville of pulling a knife on his brother at the restaurant. The brothers also obtained assault warrants against Uniek. Michael Fuhrman said Cook was yelling at his brother and he pushed him away. He got up and sucker punched Frank [a friend who was with the brothers], who was trying to break everything up, Michael Fuhrman wrote. While getting Dakota off of Frank, Dakota punched me in the face. Michael Fuhrman said he was taken to the ground by another man before leaving with his brother. John Fuhrman said Uniek accused him of being aggressive before pulling a knife on him. A fight broke out where I was struck in the face and punched to the ground by Dakota Cook as well as unnamed others, John Fuhrman wrote in a complaint against Cook. He said he got up and went after Cook before the fight was stopped. Uniek also obtained a cross warrant against John Fuhrman. In his criminal complaint, Uniek said he was outside on the patio when John Fuhrman shoved him out of the way with his shoulder or elbow. He asked if I was trying to start something and I said I was just letting him know it was rude, Uniek wrote. Uniek said John Fuhrman aggressively pulled him when he tried to shake his hand. After this was the point where I got scared and prepared to defend myself with my small pocketknife as I was backing away, Uniek wrote. Uniek said Cook told Fuhrman to sit down, and Cook and Fuhrman started fighting. The Wytheville Police Department said it responded to the 520 East Main Street business on Jan. 27 for a fight-in-progress call. Police said the Fuhrman brothers had driven away but were later stopped and arrested. The WPD also charged John Fuhrman, a Radford police officer, with driving while intoxicated. Police said Cook had visible injuries to his face but refused medical treatment. Free on bond, all four men have April 8 trial dates scheduled in Wythe County General District Court. In December 2023, John Fuhrman appeared in court for another assault charge related to the Log House. A man accused Fuhrman of nudging him with his forearm, but the charge was eventually dropped. In an emailed statement following Fuhrmans Jan. 27 arrest, Radfords police chief said Fuhrman had been suspended pending an internal investigation. He was moved to non-enforcement duties after the first arrest. The Roanoke County Public Schools is asking the public for help in naming its planned new career and technical education (CTE) school. Construction could begin as early as this summer and the new CTE will replace the existing Burton Center for Arts & Technology. A plan to spend $130 million on the new CTE and renovating two elementary schools has been approved. Parents, students, staff, and the community are asked to take a few moments to complete a survey, according to a school division news release. That input will be used to help develop a new name for the new CTE facility. The survey will close at the end of the day on Feb. 23. This new facility is the next step in helping to create the workforce of tomorrow. Were excited to get started and we appreciate the help of the community in determining a name, said Jason Suhr, director of CTE for RCPS. The survey can be found at: https://tejoin.com/scroll/634395457. Some may be wondering why were not continuing to use the BCAT name. The school board decided that, being a new facility in a new location, it was time for a new name. Well honor the Burton Center legacy as part of this new facility as we move into a new chapter of career and technical education for students in Roanoke County, Suhr added. MONETA The Tri-County Lakes Administrative Commission is taking a closer look at sedimentation that has slowly been encroaching into Smith Mountain Lake. The commission has formed a work group tasked with getting a better grasp of the issue. TLAC board members all voiced their support of the work group at the commissions regular meeting held Tuesday. The decision came following a presentation by John Cooper who has seen sedimentation slowly build up at his lakefront home near channel marker B49. Cooper said there was previously another channel marker beyond B49, but it was removed by Appalachian Power Co. due to the lake being difficult to navigate beyond that point due to shallow water caused by sedimentation buildup. He fears channel marker B49 may soon be removed as well. Sedimentation is a natural occurrence, especially in impoundments like Smith Mountain Lake, formed by two dams that generate electricity for the utility company. Efforts such as dredging, which Cooper had done around his dock in 2023, can remove large amounts sedimentation. Unfortunately, it is likely to continue filling in again. Bottom line: if we dont do anything, it is going to continue, Cooper said. TLAC Chairman Lorie Smith said sedimentation filling in portions of Smith Mountain Lake is not only a concern for lakefront residents, but the surrounding counties as well. She said the spread of sedimentation could fill in sections of the lake and lead to lakefront homes no longer being lakefront. The sedimentation could eventually cause a drop in home values in areas of the lake impacted which could impact overall county revenue. Smith said 63% of Franklin Countys real estate tax revenue comes from the Gills Creek District that includes the lake. I personally think we cant afford to do nothing, said TLAC board member and Pittsylvania County supervisor Darrell Dalton. Smith suggested forming a task force consisting of lake residents and business owners as well as representatives from Appalachian Power, the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The goal, she said, would be a deeper understanding of how sedimentation is impacting the lake as well as some possible ways to slow its spread. Cooper said he had reached out to Lure Lake in North Carolina and discovered they had been awarded a $950,000 grant from the state to handle sedimentation in that lake. He suggested similar state funding could be available for Smith Mountain Lake. With a consensus agreement from the TLAC board, Smith said work would begin on a proposal for the creation of a sedimentation task force with guidelines that would be presented at the next scheduled meeting in April. MARTINSVILLE Phoenix Investors announced the acquisition recently of the former Bassett-Walker textile plant at 1 Walker Road. The building, approximately 813,000 square feet, was previously owned by Resurgence Properties. The purchase price was not disclosed. The property was formerly the home of the Bassett-Walker textile plant, where knitted outerwear garments were manufactured. It closed in 2002 as the Martinsville region absorbed massive job losses following the off-shoring of textile work in the wake of the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement. The complex offers more than 700,000 square feet of available warehouse and office space while offering flexible configurations for a variety of different pursuits. The property is located in an enterprise zone and is fully fenced in with a guard shack for added security. Phoenix said in a news release that it plans to implement a capital improvement plan within short order that will transform the complex into a premier industrial hub. The facility is situated on 53 acres and features six dock doors and four grade-level drive-in doors. It has a parking area that can accommodate more than 200 automobiles and is located less than 12 miles from Blue Ridge Regional Airport and approximately 10 miles from the state line, offering convenient access to both southern Virginia and North Carolina. The property in Martinsville has great bones and has been exceptionally well-maintained since it was built in the 1970s, Phoenix Investors Founder & Chairman Frank P. Crivello said. Phoenix is ready and willing to demise the property into smaller suites or as needed to accommodate tenant needs. Phoenix also said in the release that the property will be available for lease immediately. Phoenix Investors, a limited liability company based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, describes itself as a leading expert in the acquisition, renovation, and releasing of former manufacturing facilities in the United States. Phoenix said in the release that the revitalization of facilities throughout the continental United States leads to positively transforming communities and restarting the economic engine in the communities they serve. Our reconstruction and selective deconstruction of facilities provides a green alternative versus the standard demolition and replacement of legacy buildings, the release states. Phoenixs affiliate companies hold equity interests in a portfolio of industrial properties totaling approximately 76 million square feet spanning 29 states, delivering corporations with a cost-effective national footprint to dynamically supply creative solutions to meet their leasing needs. For more information on Phoenix, visit phoenixinvestors.com. Americas oil and natural gas producers are innovating to produce more than ever. We're also easing emissions and bringing reliable, affordable energy to Americans and our global allies. In its latest short-term energy outlook, the Energy Information Administration estimated that U.S. crude oil production reached an all-time high in December of more than 13.3 million barrels per day. That production helps stabilize prices for consumers. Oil and natural gas are sold on global markets, and prices can be affected by events or decisions (often by bad actors) on the other side of the world. But having strong U.S. output helps reduce the shock of those actions for Americans. Our record energy production does face threats from the U.S. government, whose leaders have sought to shut down oil and gas producers. But the industry pushes forward. After becoming a net energy exporter in 2019, the United States has emerged as a behemoth in the global energy market, hitting prolific levels of oil and natural gas production and exports in the past year. U.S. liquified natural gas had a tremendous 2023, with the United States becoming the top LNG exporter in the world. The tremendous production has not come at the expense of Americans, as some claim. Our industry has been able to meet domestic and international demand, providing crucial energy security at home and abroad. The American oil and natural gas industry also continues to prioritize environmental progress. Data from the Environmental Protection Agency showed stunning drops in total methane emissions across in basins that produce oil and natural gas. The Arkoma Basin in Arkansas and Oklahoma had a 77% decrease over the last five years. Anadarko in Oklahoma, Texas and Kansas had a 44% decrease. The Permian in Texas and New Mexico had 32% less emissions. This shows U.S. operators continue to produce oil and gas responsibly. Voluntary initiatives such as the Environmental Partnership, which represents most U.S. onshore oil and gas operations, showcases the industrys commitment to responsible operations. In its 2023 report, the Environmental Partnership highlighted an additional 14% reduction in total flare volumes and a 2.4% reduction in flare intensity from the previous year building on the work to cut flaring intensity nearly in half in 2022 even as U.S. oil and gas production grew. These accomplishments are even more impressive when considering the Biden administrations actions against onshore and offshore leasing. In the Gulf of Mexico, offshore production provides the lowest-carbon barrels of oil. It generates millions of dollars in funding for parks and recreation programs. It supports hundreds of thousands of jobs across every state. Yet the administration released an offshore plan 450 days late that only offered three lease sales over the next five years. Onshore, its a similar story. The administrative is limiting access for development despite disagreement from local groups, including tribes. The president and leaders who control the Senate want to add new taxes and increase federal regulations. The exploration and production process including identifying sites and seismic testing and development can take up to 15 years. Many rounds of environmental analysis and permitting are required before a well starts producing. Policies that stall energy production through delayed permitting, infrastructure or regulatory barriers diminish producers ability to operate. A thriving American oil and gas industry means increased energy and economic security as well as progress toward reducing global emissions. While this administration's regulatory hurdles add challenges, U.S. oil and natural gas producers continue to lead the way in producing responsible oil and natural gas. Local businesses serve as the backbone of the Santa Maria Valley economy. Busy navigating challenges, managing employees and juggling priorities, it's easy for businesses to overlook the impact of local advocacy efforts on their bottom line and the broader community. But make no mistake, local advocacy is key to shaping our business environment and driving economic growth. The Santa Maria Valley Chamber is well positioned to lead these efforts. As a catalyst for business growth, convener of leaders and influencers, and champion for our local community, the Chamber remains a reliable advocate for the interests of business. Why is local advocacy so important? Policies set at the local, state and national levels greatly impact a businesses' day-to-day operations and long-term success. From zoning regulations to tax policies, local governments wield significant power in shaping the business landscape. By participating in advocacy efforts, businesses can ensure that their voices are heard and that policies are crafted with their interests in mind. Local advocacy is not just about individual businesses; it's about the collective well-being of the entire community. When businesses engage in advocacy, they contribute to the economic vitality and quality of life in the Santa Maria Valley. By advocating for initiatives such as infrastructure improvements, workforce development programs, and support for small businesses, businesses can help create a more prosperous and inclusive community for all. The Chamber helps local businesses address these challenges by serving as the collective voice in legislative and regulatory discussions. We seek to be a trusted source of information to help decision makers understand the impacts of their policies on our communitys competitiveness and economic vitality. We do that best when we engage a wide range of business representatives to identify issues and impacts, determine which initiatives to support or oppose, and craft clear and precise communication around those positions. With the relaunch of the Chambers Business & Government Roundtable, businesses have an opportunity to amplify their voices and make a meaningful impact on the policies and decisions that shape our community. Now more than ever, businesses must actively engage in local advocacy efforts to drive meaningful change. By joining the Business & Government Roundtable, businesses can play a pivotal role in shaping the future of the Santa Maria Valley and ensuring that it remains a vibrant and thriving place to live, work, and do business. The Chambers Business & Government Roundtable will hold its first meeting of 2024 in late February. Businesses looking to get involved can fill out our interest survey, available at https://bit.ly/SMVChamber-BGR. For questions or additional information on this program and the Chambers advocacy efforts, contact Molly Schiff, Director of Advocacy & Initiatives, at molly@santamaria.com. Thank you for reading! Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription to continue reading. Dennis Beaver Practices law in Bakersfield and welcomes comments and questions from readers, which may be faxed to (661) 323-7993, or e-mailed to Lagombeaver1@Gmail.com. Also, visit dennisbeaver.com. GREENVILLE, S.C. In recognition of Black History Month, the Duke Energy Foundation has provided $75,000 in grants to organizations in South Carolina that serve African American communities. For nearly 50 years, we have taken time in February to celebrate the immeasurable contributions Black people have made to our nation, our state and our neighborhoods, said Mike Callahan, Duke Energys South Carolina state president. This rich history continues to inspire organizations that support African American communities and build upon the legacy of those that came before. Through this funding, we are proud to help shine a light on that important work. Grants were awarded to the following Pee Dee organizations: Florence Boys & Girls Club $5,000 G-Lab: Gentlemen Learning & Building Legacies (Florence) $5,000 City of Hartsville Pride Park $5,000 The Urban League of The Upstate, an affiliate of the National Urban League, landed a $20,000 grant. Funding from Duke Energy has helped the Urban League develop a tour focused on historic African American neighborhoods and landmarks that were integral to the civil rights movement. The tour will include a visit to the historic McClaren Medical Building in downtown Greenville, which will house a cultural visitor center. This center will serve as a hub for learning, exploring, and celebrating African American history and achievements. Thanks to Duke Energy and the collaboration with Black History in Greenville, Black History Month will be a time to spotlight and celebrate the remarkable accomplishments that African Americans have made in the Upstate community, said Dr. Gail Wilson Awan, president and CEO of Urban League of The Upstate. As the Urban League continues its mission of advancing social and economic equality, the support of partners like Duke Energy is invaluable. Together, they are working towards creating a future where everyone has equal opportunities to succeed and thrive. ROCK HILL With just over a week to go until the 2024 South Carolina Republican presidential primary, 65% of likely voters in the state support the nomination of former President Donald Trump a 36% lead over his opponent, former South Carolina Governor and UN Ambassador Nikki Haley. According to the latest Winthrop Poll, Trump is the top pick for the Republican presidential nomination among all likely voters in S.C., though pure independents are more evenly split between the two candidates. Among independents who are likely to vote in the upcoming primary, 42.3% support Haley while 42.6% support Trump. Among GOP voters only, Trump maintains a stronghold at 72%. Scott Huffmon, director of the Winthrop Poll, offered some analysis. In the late January Monmouth University/Washington Post Poll of voters in South Carolina, Trump had a 26-point lead. That poll also showed that Trump supporters were more enthusiastic than Haley supporters. This enthusiasm appears to have come to fruition in our poll of LIKELY voters. On the heels of Trumps victories in Iowa and New Hampshire, and the culling of the field of candidates, Trumps lead among those likely to show up at the polls on Feb. 24 has increased to 36%. Haley shows strength among independent likely voters but will need to convince many more independents who are sitting on the fence regarding participation to show up on Feb. 24 in order to cut into Trumps lead. Trumps dominance among strong Republicans and self-identified evangelicals will be hard to overcome. Election 2024 Trump Republican presidential candidate and former President Donald Trump speaks at a Get Out The Vote rally Saturday, Feb. 10, at Coastal Carolina We did not ask Democrats or independents who lean Democratic if they intended to vote on Feb. 24, but to the degree that there is any crossover voting, it is likely to help Haley. However, not only is crossover voting less prevalent than many partisans make it out to be, it would take quite a few crossover votes to cut into Trumps lead. That said, Haley has several avenues left to motivate voters. These include motivating on-the-fence independents as well as potential, if unlikely, crossover voters in order to cut Trumps lead. Haley losing to 'None of these candidates' in the Nevada primary while our survey was in the field certainly couldnt have helped her cause in our poll of likely voters in South Carolina. One of the most notable findings was the drop in Haleys favorability ratings in her home state. With the exception of when she defied the Tea Party and endorsed Mitt Romney in the GOP primary, she has always enjoyed very high approval and favorability ratings among Republicans in her home state. However, as we look at her favorability ratings among Republicans in South Carolina between the November 2023 Winthrop Poll and now, we see a significant dip in favorability and a rise in unfavorability that seems to correspond with her increasing attacks on Trump. This would seem to indicate that in South Carolina, as apparently in the nation as a whole, that the Republican Party is very much Trumps party. Of the likely voters who support Haleys nomination, just over half have supported her campaign from the beginning of the race, even among a larger field of competitors. Among her current supporters, 14% originally favored Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. Twelve percent of her current supporters originally supported fellow S.C. Sen. Tim Scott. According to Huffmon, More than half of Haleys current 29% of supporters were with her earlier on, which tracks with our previous polling. As expected, the overwhelming majority of Trumps support was with him from the beginning. Despite Senator Tim Scotts endorsement of Trump, Haley culled a bit more support from former Scott supporters. "Of surprise to me was that Haley picked up a few more former DeSantis supporters. I had assumed that supporters of the candidate running as 'Trump-Lite' would migrate to Trump, but Haley showed a surprising pull for these voters who were apparently looking for a Trump alternative. That said, the sheer mathematics of winning over more of DeSantis declining number of supporters could do little to cut into Trumps lead. Seventy-two percent of likely voters who support Trumps nomination have supported his nomination from the very beginning. Like Haley, his support grew most from former DeSantis and Scott supporters. General election If the presidential election were held today, and the candidates were President Joe Biden and Trump, 50% of all registered voters in the state would vote for Trump, while 35% would vote for Biden. If the candidates were Biden and Haley, 47% would vote for Haley and 29% would vote for Biden. Huffmon notes, Among current registered voters in South Carolina from all parties, Trump would beat Biden in South Carolina by at least 15 points while Haley would beat Biden by at least 18 points. Neither of these numbers includes those who are undecided and cannot include those who will register to vote between now and the presidential election. Approval ratings Opinions regarding the way Biden is handling his job as president have not changed in the past three months for registered voters in the state. Fifty-eight percent disapprove. Among Republicans, 6% approve while 90% disapprove. Among Democrats, 71% approve while 17% disapprove. Just under half of registered voters approve of the way Henry McMaster is handling his job as Governor of South Carolina. When it comes to how U.S. senators for South Carolina are handling their jobs, 33% approve of Lindsey Graham and 46% approve of Tim Scott. Despite his recent presidential campaign, around 20% are still unsure of their opinions. Huffmon notes: Sen. Tim Scott is seen very favorably by his own party. However, his career-long efforts to often fly under the radar have resulted in many in his home state feeling unable to form an opinion. "While Sen. Lindsey Graham has a majority approval from South Carolina Republicans who are registered to vote, it is a slim majority. Graham has maintained influence in the House and the Senate for decades by understanding which way the winds of power were blowing. "However, it appears that current Republicans who are registered to vote in South Carolina are not finding the same culture warrior they once expected, such as the one who virulently fought in Senate hearings for Brett Kavanaughs appointment to the Supreme Court. Haleys favorability among Republican registered voters has decreased by 15% since November. While 71% viewed her as favorable in November, 56% now hold that same view. Thirty-three percent now view her as unfavorable compared to 16% three months ago. As Huffmon noted above, As we look at her favorability ratings among Republicans in South Carolina between the November 2023 Winthrop Poll and now, we see a significant dip in favorability, and rise in unfavorability, that seems to correspond with her increasing attacks on Trump. This would seem to indicate that in South Carolina, as apparently in the nation as a whole, that the Republican Party is very much Trumps party. Views of Trump have largely stayed the same since November, both among all registered voters and among members of either party. Opinions among all registered voters regarding the former president are evenly split with 48% viewing him as favorable and 47% viewing him as unfavorable. Compared to Haley, partisan views of Trump are much more polarizing. Are leaders ordained by God? When asked if they believe that leaders in America are ordained by God, a majority (60%) of registered voters in South Carolina say no. Republicans and likely Trump voters are more likely than Democrats to believe leaders are ordained by God. Should the US be declared a Christian nation? Most registered voters in South Carolina (46%) do not think the federal government should declare the United States a Christian nation. Republicans and Democrats differ on this issue with most Republicans though not a majority wanting the US declared as a Christian nation and most Democrats saying they do not. A majority (55%) of likely Trump voters would like the U.S. declared as a Christian nation. According to Huffmon, Republicans, Trump voters, evangelicals, and especially white evangelicals are much more likely to want the government to declare that the United States is a Christian nation. Israel and Palestine Most registered voters in South Carolina (48%) sympathize more with the Israelis than with the Palestinians regarding the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. Thirty percent are unsure of where their sympathies lie. Among Republicans, 69% sympathize with the Israelis while 6% sympathize with the Palestinians. Democrats are more divided on the issue. They are more likely to sympathize with the Palestinians (26%) than are Republicans, but most (36%) are unsure. Though less than in November, a majority (58%) of S.C. registered voters think supporting Israel is in the national interest of the United States. Republicans (73%) strongly believe supporting Israel is the correct decision. While most Democrats agree (49%), they are much more likely to be unsure than Republicans. Confederate monuments and flag When it comes to what to do with monuments or memorials to Confederate soldiers who died during the Civil War, most registered voters (38%) would like for them to be left just as they are. White respondents most often said the same to leave them just as they are. Black respondents would rather have them moved to a museum. When asked about the symbolism of the Confederate battle flag, 39% say its more a symbol of Southern pride while 34% say its more a symbol of racial conflict. Eighteen percent say its both. Black and white respondents differ on the issue. Half of white respondents view the flag as a symbol of Southern pride while over half of Black respondents say its more a symbol of racial conflict. According to Huffmon, We are frequently asked why we still ask questions about the Confederate battle flag and Confederate monuments. The answer should be clear with every poll: because there is still a deep racial divide over these issues. Methodology The survey gauged the opinions of 1,717 registered voters in South Carolina via landline, cell phone, and online panel between Feb. 2 and 10. Results that use all respondents have a margin of error of approximately +/- 2.36% at the 95% confidence level. Results that use only Likely Voters (n=749) have a margin of error of approximately +/- 3.58% at the 95% confidence level. Subgroups have higher margins of error. The Winthrop Poll is conducted and paid for by Winthrop University. Budget 2024 allocates one-time MediSave bonus of up to S$300 for 1.4 million adult Singaporeans. (PHOTO: MCI/YouTube) (MCI/YouTube) SINGAPORE Adult Singaporeans aged 21 to 50 (born in 1974 to 2003) will receive a one-time MediSave bonus payout of up to S$300. This was announced by Finance Minister Lawrence Wong on Friday (16 February) during his Budget 2024 speech, alongside various enhancements to healthcare benefits. Wong, who is also Deputy Prime Minister, said that this bonus aims to assist individuals, including those who are self-employed or not working, in building up medical savings in anticipation of rising healthcare costs. The bonus will be tiered based on each Singaporean's year of birth, the annual value of their residence, and whether they own more than one property as of 31 December 2023. ADVERTISEMENT It will be credited to their Central Provident Fund (CPF) MediSave account in December 2024, benefiting about 1.4 million Singaporeans, with the bonus estimated to cost the government S$0.3 billion in total. Meanwhile, Singaporeans in their 50s and early 60s, born in 1973 or earlier, will receive a one-time MediSave bonus as part of the Majulah Package. Overall, this means that about three million Singaporeans will receive support for their healthcare costs. Investing in preventive care and enhanced support for Singaporeans Wong stressed the significance of preventive care, especially for seniors, who need to stay active and socially connected. To support this, S$3.5 billion will be allocated over the next decade for the previously-announced Age Well SG initiative. This allocation includes several components, such as an expanded network of Active Ageing Centres with more programmes, more assisted living options like Community Care Apartments, more amenities and senior-friendly home fittings in residential estates, and improvements to commuter infrastructure for mobility and safety. Story continues Wong highlighted the inevitability of needing medical care as people age, stating, "Even with healthier lifestyles, all of us will need some form of medical care as we get older, and especially nearer to the end of the life". "We must expect healthcare costs, including medical insurance premiums, to rise, even after generous government subsidies," he added. The government will also provide more support for healthcare costs by updating the per capita household income thresholds for healthcare and associated social support subsidy schemes. These schemes include MediShield Life premium subsidies, Community Health Assist Scheme subsidies for primary care, and subsidies for outpatient and inpatient treatment at public hospitals. The monthly per capita household income threshold for each subsidy tier will be increased, ranging from S$100 to S$800. Wong said that these changes will result in additional government spending of around S$300 million per year and that more than one million Singaporeans can expect to benefit from higher subsidies. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Twitter. ABC Brickworks Market and Food Centre (Photo: Google Maps Screenshot) SINGAPORE Shop owners and hawkers in Bukit Merah whose businesses were impacted by tuberculosis (TB) cases and health screenings will be receiving $250 in cash assistance by the end of February. CNA reported on Friday (16 February) that the stalls at ABC Brickworks Market and Food Centre, as well as the shops at Blocks 1, 2 and 7 Jalan Bukit Merah will receive the assistance. The announcement was made by Eric Chua, the Member of Parliament (MP) for the area, and he said that he has also appealed for rental and conservancy rebates from the authorities, with details being finalised. The cash assistance is a collaborative effort between the Queenstown Citizens Consultative Committee and the Central Singapore Community Development Council, following a CNA report that hawkers and shop owners in the affected blocks had seen business plunge after news broke of the cluster of TB cases. An ABC Brickworks Market and Food Centre stall assistant had told CNA that business was "worse than during COVID", with patrons avoiding the popular food centre due to fear of infection. Health Minister Ong Ye Kung took to Facebook in mid-January to reassure the public that they can eat at the hawker centre without risk of TB transmission. Other ministers and MPs such as Grace Fu, Amy Khor and Baey Yam Keng also attempted to allay fears with social media posts of themselves dining at the food centre. While the situation has improved, stall owners told CNA that they had to cut down the amount of food prepared due to the reduced footfall. Mandatory screening exercise Mandatory screening for tuberculosis in the area ran from 11 to 15 January after 10 new TB cases were detected between February 2022 and July 2023. This was after initial detection of seven cases linked to Block 2 Jalan Bukit Merah in 2022. The screening was administered to some 3,000 residents and workers at Blocks 1 and 3 Jalan Bukit Merah, workers at ABC Brickworks Market and Food Centre, and clients and staff of Thong Kheng Seniors Activity Centre. From the 2,548 individuals who were screened, two infectious cases of TB were identified. Story continues Another 322 individuals were diagnosed with latent TB infection and 66 people underwent further evaluation. The other individuals tested negative. The Ministry of Health said that those with latent TB infection cannot spread the disease, which is endemic and curable if treated early. Furthermore, transmission of the tuberculosis bacteria from active cases usually requires prolonged exposure days to weeks of exposure. A person cannot get tuberculosis from sharing cups, utensils or food. 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. Marsiling-Yew Tee MP Zaqy Mohamed (right) inspecting one of the housing units affected by fire. (PHOTO: Facebook) SINGAPORE Two fires broke out at two different flats along Marsiling Road on Thursday (15 February), with one of them resulting in the death of a 72-year-old man who died after he was sent to Khoo Teck Puat Hospital. The first fire broke out at around 2.20am on the 10th floor of Block 4 Marsiling Road, reported Lianhe Zaobao. Black smoke was seen pouring out of the flat when the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) firefighters arrived, and they found the man lying unconscious in the toilet after they entered the flat to put out the fire that broke out in the living room. The rescuers proceeded to carry the elderly man out of the flat and performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation on him. The ambulance crew arrived shortly after and used an automated external defibrillator to try and revive him. The man was then taken to Khoo Teck Puat Hospital, where he eventually died. According to The Straits Times, 35 people were evacuated from the neighbouring units as a precautionary measure. A second fire broke out at the neighbouring block The SCDF were then called to the same area for a second time on Thursday, when a fire broke out on the ninth floor of Block 3. SCDF said the fire involved contents of a living room in a unit on the ninth floor, and the fire was extinguished before firefighters arrived. About 10 people were evacuated from the block by the police and the SCDF. Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC Member of Parliament Zaqy Mohamed shared about two fire outbreaks on his Facebook page. Tragically, lost a resident to injuries sustained from the fire and (he) passed away after being taken to the hospital. We extend our deepest condolences and promise to offer our full support to the family during this difficult time, he wrote. "The cause of the fires is currently under investigation. Marsiling has been partnering with the SCDF to boost fire safety awareness and prevention in our community. Certainly, more shall be done to ensure that our homes are safe." Story continues According to Zaqy, there was another resident who was affected by the fire but survived. He also shared that grassroots volunteers were helping those affected by the fire with financial assistance and aid offered through the North West Community Development Councils Emergency Relief Fund. Another fire had broken out at Bedok on Tuesday (13 February). Two people were sent to the hospital after they were assessed for smoke inhalation. 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. HOUSTON The former mother-in-law of the woman who opened fire at a Houston megachurch tried for years to alert authorities and others, including church staff, about her ex-daughter-in-law's mental health struggles, she said Wednesday. But Walli Carranza said nothing came of her actions. Carranza said she believes systemic failures as well as lax gun laws ultimately led to Sunday's shooting at celebrity pastor Joel Osteen's Lakewood Church. Genesse Moreno entered the church with her 7-year-old son and opened fire in a hallway. Two people were wounded in the shooting, including Moreno's son, who was shot in the head. Moreno was gunned down by security officers who exchanged gunfire with her. "You can't put responsibility on the mind, when the mind was so very ill. A healthy mother would never bring her child to a situation like this. That's not mental health. So sometimes we don't have to find a guilty party or place blame. We can just say there are systems that failed," Carranza told The Associated Press in an interview. Carranza said her grandson Samuel remained in critical condition but was doing better. Various questions about the shooting remained unanswered Wednesday, including Moreno's motive and details about how she obtained the AR-style rifle she used. Carranza said her son Enrique Carranza and Moreno met at the University of Houston and married in September 2015. They divorced in 2022. Carranza said her son, who is incarcerated in Florida, didn't want to divorce Moreno and only "wanted his wife to get healthy." Carranza said Child Protective Services was notified after nurses accused Moreno of putting adult medication in her son's feeding tube after his birth in 2016. Other concerns, including allegations that Moreno left guns unattended in her home, were also forwarded to CPS but no action was taken, Carranza said. "My great concern for Sam was that he was going to shoot himself, and that's what we warned against," Carranza said. She added that in January 2020, when Moreno and her grandson visited her in Colorado, Samuel pulled a handgun from his diaper bag and gave it to her. Melissa Landford, spokesperson for the state Department of Family and Protective Services, said CPS could not comment on the case for confidentiality reasons. Carranza also said that in 2020 and 2021, her attorney sent emails to Lakewood Church asking for assistance with intervening in Moreno's struggles, believing that Moreno's mother attended the church. Church spokesman Don Iloff said Wednesday that records show Moreno "sporadically" attended services at Lakewood for a couple years but there were no records of her being at the church after 2022. Iloff said they were still looking but had not found any records showing Moreno's mother attended the church. He added that church officials also had not found records of the emails sent by Carranza's attorney but they were still looking. Iloff said in situations where someone may reach out for help, what the church can offer them is spiritual and biblical counseling. "If we had reached out and (Moreno) had accepted counseling, then we definitely would have been more than happy to provide that," Iloff said. In a video message on Instagram, Osteen invited people to attend a special service at the church this coming Sunday to celebrate a "time of healing and restoration." "We are not people of fear. We are people of faith," Osteen said. "God has us in the palm of his hand, and this is not the time to shrink back. This is the time to turn to God, to rally together." Texas law generally bans someone convicted of a felony from owning a gun for several years after they are released from prison. Misdemeanors connected to domestic violence also will trigger a ban. Moreno's extensive list of misdemeanors, ranging from forging a $100 bill to shoplifting and assault, did not meet that threshold. Texas also lacks a so-called "red flag" law, which generally allows law enforcement or family members to ask a judge to order the seizure or surrender of guns from someone who is deemed dangerous, often because of mental health concerns or threats of violence. Carranza said she met for hours with FBI agents Tuesday, discussing the reports she filed over the years about Moreno. NEW YORK A major anti-abortion group is praising a published report that Donald Trump has privately told people he supports a national ban on abortion after 16 weeks of pregnancy, though his campaign denied the report and said the former president plans to "negotiate a deal" on abortion if elected to the White House again. Trump, the front-runner to be the 2024 Republican nominee, has repeatedly refused to back any specific limits on abortion as he campaigns, though he calls himself "the most pro-life president in American history." He also frequently takes credit for appointing three U.S. Supreme Court justices who helped overturn Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 decision that established a constitutional right to abortion. Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, which backs a national ban on abortions at 15 weeks of pregnancy and has said anything less restrictive "makes no sense," praised Trump after the New York Times reported Friday that he privately told people he likes the idea of a federal ban on abortion after 16 weeks, with some exceptions. "President Trump is leading on finding consensus, and this is where the nation is," SBA Pro-Life America President Marjorie Dannenfelser said. Trump's campaign called the report "Fake News" but did not offer details on his plans. "As President Trump has stated, he would sit down with both sides and negotiate a deal that everyone will be happy with," Karoline Leavitt, the national press secretary for Trump's campaign, said in a statement. Democrats and abortion-rights groups seized on the Times report, with President Joe Biden saying it showed abortion rights would be a central issue in the 2024 election. He said Trump was "running scared" by not publicly saying what he would do about abortion. "He's afraid the women of America are going to hold him responsible for taking away their rights and endangering their rights at the ballot box in November," Biden said in a statement. "Which is exactly what's going to happen." Polling has consistently shown that most Americans believe abortion should be legal through the initial stages of pregnancy. About half of U.S. adults said abortions should be permitted at the 15-week mark, according to an Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll conducted last June. Though Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America praised Trump on Friday, last year the group publicly clashed with the former president when he suggested abortion restrictions should be left to individual states. The group called that a "morally indefensible position for a self-proclaimed pro-life presidential candidate." On Friday, abortion-rights groups quickly jumped in to warn that if Trump wins in November, it will lead to restrictions nationwide. If Trump is elected, he will "wreak further havoc on our reproductive rights and personal freedoms," said Jenny Lawson, executive director of Planned Parenthood Votes. "We've long known where Donald Trump stands on abortion and it's at odds with the majority of Americans," Lawson said in a statement. "He is chiefly responsible for the ongoing public health crisis that has allowed 21 states to ban all or some abortions and yet, he claims to want to find a 'compromise' on this issue. To be clear, there is no compromising on the basic right to control our lives and bodies." The Supreme Court's 2022 decision tossing out Roe left the country with a checkerboard of state abortion laws. The former president previously said he supports exceptions on abortion restrictions in cases of rape, incest and to protect the life of the mother, but he has been vague beyond that about what he would support if reelected. He criticized a six-week ban signed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and said in an interview last fall that he does not care whether abortion is banned at the federal level or left to laws in each state. "I want to get something where people are happy," Trump said in a January town hall on Fox News. Trump's position on abortion shifted over the years. He once declared in a 1999 interview, "I am pro-choice in every respect." But in his 2016 presidential run, in which he sought to win crucial support of evangelical Republicans, he released a list of potential nominees to the Supreme Court who were considered likely to vote to overturn Roe v. Wade. His attempts to find a middle ground suggest how challenging the issue is for Trump and most other Republican candidates. Banning or severely restricting abortion is almost a non-negotiable position for many GOP primary voters, but it's proved to be a losing stance in general elections since the Supreme Court's decision nearly two years ago. Some of the immediate reaction from the right to the New York Times report showed the difficulty for Trump and other Republicans trying to navigate the issue. After a nationwide push to put abortion rights questions in front of voters since Roe v. Wade was overturned, the issue is expected to be on the ballot in several states this year, including Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Missouri and South Dakota. Many of the campaigns faced efforts by anti-abortion forces to block the questions from getting to the ballot, building on strategies seen in other states, such as Ohio last year. Voters in seven states California, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Montana, Ohio and Vermont previously sided with abortion rights supporters on ballot measures. Q&A: Abortion medication explained Medication abortion explained How does medication abortion work? Medication abortions became the preferred method for ending pregnancy in the U.S. even before the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. These involve taking two prescription medicines days apart at home or in a clinic. Abortion procedures are an invasive medical technique that empties the womb. They are sometimes called surgical abortions, although they dont involve surgery. Abortion by pills involves the drugs mifepristone and misoprostol. As more states seek abortion limits, demand for the pills is expected to grow. Two pills work in combination Mifepristone is taken first, swallowed by mouth. The drug dilates the cervix and blocks the effects of the hormone progesterone, which is needed to sustain a pregnancy. Misoprostol, a drug also used to treat stomach ulcers, is taken 24 to 48 hours later. The pill is designed to dissolve when placed between the gums and teeth or in the vagina. It causes the uterus to cramp and contract, causing bleeding and expelling pregnancy tissue. How late in pregnancy can the drugs be used? Abortion medication is approved for use up to the 10th week of pregnancy. The pills may be taken in a doctors office or clinic, where patients sometimes have an ultrasound or lab tests beforehand. Some providers also offer the pills through telehealth visits and then send patients the medication by mail. Use of the pills has been increasing in recent years. As of 2020, they accounted for 54% of all U.S. abortions, according to preliminary data from the Guttmacher Institute. The groups final estimate is due later this year. Are the drugs safe? What are the risks? Studies and real-use evidence show that when taken together, the pills are safe and up to 99% effective. Side effects may include nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. Bleeding is normal. Very heavy bleeding soaking more than two pads an hour for more than two hours is uncommon but requires medical attention. Dr. Stephanie Rand, a New York ob-gyn and abortion specialist with the advocacy group Physicians for Reproductive Health, says pregnancy tests should not be used right away to determine if a medication abortion was successful because the pregnancy hormone may linger in the body for several weeks. Bleeding, with blood clots that include lighter colored tissue, are signs of success, she said. Serious complications are very rare. The Food and Drug Administration says more than 3.7 million U.S. women have used mifepristone since it was approved more than 20 years ago. The agency has received 26 reports of deaths in women using the medication, including two involving ectopic pregnancies, which grow outside the womb. The medications are not recommended for certain patients, including those with suspected ectopic pregnancies or with implanted IUD birth control devices. What are the costs and rules for use? Costs vary by location but are similar to abortion procedures and may total more than $500. Health insurance coverage varies, with some plans making the pills free or low cost and others not covering them at all. Mifepristone is sold under the brand name Mifeprex and misoprostol under the brand name Cytotec, but both pills are available as generics. The FDA approved mifepristone to terminate pregnancy in 2000, when used with misoprostol. At the time, it imposed several limits on how the drug could be prescribed and dispensed. In December, the agency dropped the biggest restriction: a requirement that patients pick up the medication in person. The FDA said a scientific review of the drugs use including during the COVID-19 pandemic showed that women could safely receive the pills through the mail after an online consultation, without any increase in side effects or complications. The decision allowed mail delivery of the pills nationwide, a change long-sought by medical professional groups and abortion-rights supporters. Still, millions of women will have trouble accessing the pills due to a patchwork of state laws targeting abortion broadly and the pills specifically. About half of U.S. states are expected to ban or greatly restrict abortion. Will the pills be covered by state abortion bans? Legal experts foresee years of court battles over access to the pills, as abortion-rights proponents bring test cases to challenge state restrictions. There are strong arguments and precedents on both sides, experts note, though little certainty about which side might prevail. The Biden administrations Justice Department has already signaled plans to challenge state restrictions on medication abortion. And federal lawyers are likely to be joined by outside parties, including abortion rights groups like Planned Parenthood and even the companies that make the pills. The chief argument against pill restrictions is likely to be the longstanding principle that federal laws, including FDA decisions, preempts state laws. Indeed, few states have ever tried to fully ban an FDA-approved drug because of past rulings in the agencys favor. Still, states with blanket abortion bans are likely to interpret them as barring abortion pills. Many of the laws don't distinguish between abortion procedures and medication abortion. In the short term, those states that ban abortion are going to assume that their bans also include medication abortion and that will be prohibited, said Greer Donley, a professor specializing in reproductive health care at the University of Pittsburgh Law School. What is the current situation in the states? Even if blanket bans are successfully challenged, more than 30 states have laws specifically restricting access to abortion pills. For example, 19 states require that clinicians be physically present when the drug is administered. Those laws could withstand court challenges. States have long had authority over how physicians, pharmacists and other providers practice medicine. States also set the rules for telemedicine consultations used to prescribe medications. Generally that means health providers in states with restrictions on abortion pills could face penalties, such as fines or license suspension, for trying to send pills through the mail. Women have already been traveling across state lines to places where abortion pill access is easier. That trend is expected to increase. Meanwhile, some women will still get the medication via online pharmacies in Canada and overseas, often with telehealth consultations from foreign doctors. The practice is technically illegal but essentially unenforced, and advocates believe women will increasingly choose this method as more states move to ban abortions. Anti-abortion states are going to do everything they can to restrict medication abortion, but practically speaking people have been and will continue to access it through the mail from international pharmacies, Donley said. Donley expects lawsuits based on various legal theories to play out for a few years before any clear decisions emerge. One key question is how the nations top court might rule if and when it takes up those court cases. While the Supreme Court has rejected a constitutional right to abortion, conservative justices have also generally deferred to FDA's primacy over drug decisions. NEW YORK Donald Trump's hush-money trial will go ahead as scheduled with jury selection starting on March 25, a New York judge ruled Thursday, turning aside demands for delay from the former president's defense lawyers who argued it would interfere with his campaign to retake the White House. The decision means that the first of Trump's four criminal prosecutions to proceed to trial is a case centered on accusations that he sought to bury stories about extramarital affairs that arose during his 2016 presidential run. Other cases charge him with plotting to overturn the results of the 2020 election and illegally hoarding classified documents at his Florida estate. In leaving the trial date intact, Judge Juan Manuel Merchan pointed to the recent delay in the separate prosecution in Washington related to efforts to undo the election. That case, originally set for trial on March 4, is effectively frozen pending the outcome of Trump's appeal on the legally untested question of whether a former president enjoys immunity from prosecution for actions taken while in office. Merchan said he decided to stick with the trial date after speaking last week with the judge in the Washington trial, Tanya Chutkan. The hush-money trial is expected to last six weeks, Merchan said. Assuming the New York case remains on schedule, it will open just weeks after the Super Tuesday primaries, colliding on the political calendar with a time period in which Trump will be looking to sew up the Republican race and emerge as the presumptive nominee in this year's presidential contest. "We strenuously object to what is happening in this courtroom," said defense lawyer Todd Blanche, adding that "the fact that we are now going to spend, President Trump is now going to spend, the next two months working on this trial instead of out on the campaign trail running for president is something that should not happen in this country." Trump made a similar case after leaving the courtroom, telling reporters that "instead of being in South Carolina and other states campaigning, I'm stuck here." In fact, Trump has repeatedly attended court proceedings where his presence was not required and went to court Thursday voluntarily. Thursday marked Trump's first return visit to court in the New York case since that historic indictment made him the first ex-president charged with a crime. Since then, he was also indicted in Florida, Georgia and Washington, D.C. The hearing was held amid a busy overlapping stretch of legal activity for the Republican presidential front-runner, who has increasingly made his court involvement part of his political campaign. On Monday, for instance, he voluntarily attended a closed hearing in a Florida case charging him with hoarding classified records. A separate hearing unfolded in Atlanta on Thursday as a judge considered arguments on whether to toss Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis off of the state's election interference case because of a personal relationship with a special prosecutor she hired. The New York case has long been considered the least legally perilous of the four indictments filed against Trump last year, with the alleged misconduct generally known to the public for years seen by many as less grave than accusations of mishandling classified documents or plotting to subvert a presidential election. Chutkan officially delayed the Washington case last month, with the Supreme Court now weighing the immunity question. There's no new date. The classified documents case in Florida is set for trial on May 20, but that date could be moved. No trial date is scheduled in the Atlanta case. Over the past year, Trump lashed out at Merchan as a "Trump-hating judge," asked him to step down from the case and sought to move the case from state court to federal court, all to no avail. Merchan has acknowledged making several small donations to Democrats, including $15 to Trump's rival Biden, but said he's certain of his "ability to be fair and impartial." Trump is also awaiting a decision, possibly as early as Friday, in a New York civil fraud case that threatens to upend his real estate empire. If the judge rules against Trump, who is accused of inflating his wealth to defraud banks, insurers and others, he could be on the hook for millions of dollars in penalties among other sanctions. Trump is charged with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. While each count carries a potential punishment of up to four years in prison, there is no guarantee that a conviction would result in prison time. The case centers on payoffs to two women, porn actor Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal, as well as to a Trump Tower doorman who claimed to have a story about Trump having a child out of wedlock. Trump denies the alleged sexual encounters. Trump's lawyer at the time, Michael Cohen, paid Daniels $130,000 and arranged for the publisher of the National Enquirer supermarket tabloid to pay McDougal $150,000 in a practice known as "catch-and-kill." Trump's company then paid Cohen $420,000 and logged the payments as legal expenses, not reimbursements, prosecutors said. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, a Democrat, charged Trump last year with falsifying internal records kept by his company, the Trump Organization, to hide the true nature of payments. Trump's legal team argues no crime was committed. Today in history: Feb. 15 1764: St. Louis 1933: Franklin D. Roosevelt 1965: Nat King Cole 1967: Chicago 1992: Jeffrey Dahmer 2005: Paul Shanley 2013: Russia Meteor 2020: Diamond Princess 2021:Johnny Pacheco 2022: Sandy Hook lawsuit 2023: Raquel Welch UNITED NATIONS The United Nations chief warned this week that climate chaos and food crises are increasing threats to global peace, telling a high-level U.N. meeting that climate disasters imperil food production and empty bellies fuel unrest. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged the U.N. Security Council to address the impact of food shortages and rising temperatures on international peace and security a view echoed by many countries but not Russia. Climate and conflict are two leading drivers of (our) global food crisis, the secretary-general said. Where wars rage, hunger reigns whether due to displacement of people, destruction of agriculture, damage to infrastructure, or deliberate policies of denial. Meanwhile, climate chaos is imperiling food production the world over, he said. Guterres said the world is teeming with examples of the devastating relationship between hunger and conflict. In war-torn Gaza, he said, no one has enough to eat and the tiny strip accounts for 80% of the 700,000 hungriest people in the world. After more than a decade of war in Syria, he said, 13 million Syrians go to bed hungry every night. And in Myanmar, prospects of ending hunger have gone into reverse because of conflict and instability, he said. Simon Stiell, the United Nations climate chief, told the council that climate change is contributing to food insecurity and to conflict. He said one in 10 people on the planet today already suffers from chronic hunger and if climate change accelerates, it will become worse. Rapid, sustained action to cut greenhouse gas emissions and to increase resilience is needed now to help stop both from spiraling out of control, Stiell said. The executive secretary of the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change said the Security Council must acknowledge more can be done rather than hoping the problem will go away which it wont. The U.N.s most powerful body should be requesting regular updates on climate security risks, he said. Beth Bechdol, deputy director of the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization, said scientific evidence is clear: Climate change is compromising food security, and its impacts are a growing threat to international peace and security. She reiterated a longtime FAO warning: There is no food security without peace, and no peace without food security. Bechdol said 258 million people in 58 countries are facing high levels of food insecurity and over two-thirds of them 174 million people are at high hunger levels because of climate and conflict. While there may not be a direct causality between the two, there is clear evidence that climate change increases risks and drivers of conflict and instability, such as disputes over land and water, Bechdol said. And conflict contributes to climate change vulnerability, especially for people who are forced to leave their homes and migrate. As an example of the complex relationship between climate change and conflict, she pointed to West and Central Africa herders who had peacefully crossed borders with their livestock in search of water and pasture for years. But climate change, environmental and security pressures have led to increased tensions and competition between herders and farmers for scarce resources including water and land, she said. Bechdol stressed that climate change and conflict affect not only livestock but crop production, fishing and forestry which are intimately and inextricably linked to climate change. She urged the U.N. and others to focus on agriculture as a key solution to the growing threats from climate change, conflict and their impacts on food security. Guyanas President Mohamed Irfaan Ali, whose country holds the council presidency this month and chaired the meeting, said the impact of climate change and food insecurity on international peace and security was chosen as the topic for the meeting because of the increasing links. About 90 countries were expected to speak over two days. Conflict is the primary driver of acute food insecurity in Africa, and the same can be said about Haiti, Ali told the meeting, adding the war in Gaza is putting tons of carbon emissions into the atmosphere. The Security Council must take into account the consequential effects on food security and climate in addressing the issues of conflict and war," the president said, stressing that "these issues are intricately linked to the rule of law, democracy and governance. But Russias U.N. Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia, whose country holds veto power in the Security Council, reiterated Moscows longstanding position that there is no direct link between social and economic issues like climate and food supplies and the council's mandate to ensure international peace and security and therefore these issues should be discussed in other specialized U.N. bodies. Instead, Nebenzia blamed former Western colonial powers and the United States as the real root causes of the problems facing developing countries in Africa and elsewhere today. He said they continue to siphon resources from former colonies and take miliary action against problematic sovereign countries to destroy their statehood pointing to former Yugoslavia, Libya, Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria. Will grocery inflation cool in 2024? Here's what forecasts say Will grocery inflation cool in 2024? Here's what forecasts say Grocery inflation is expected to ease even more in 2024 Inflation is expected to slow across most aisles DES MOINES The Iowa State Capitol was abuzz with activity this week as lawmakers worked to advance bills regulating the state's area education agencies, altering elections and restricting immigration ahead of a key legislative deadline on Friday. The week marked the first legislative funnel, the last chance for bills to pass out of a committee in either the House or the Senate and remain eligible for consideration going forward. There are some exceptions, and budget and tax bills are not subject to the funnel. The bills that have passed out of committee will still need to pass full floor votes in the Legislature and receive a signature from Gov. Kim Reynolds to become law. Majority Republicans have lauded their agenda this year as a continuation of their record of cutting taxes, improving safety and broadening freedoms. House republicans have been delivering on the promises that Iowans have expected us to deliver on, House Majority Leader Matt Windschitl, R-Missouri Valley, said this month. We have done right, budgetary-wise, and the states got a great economy. Democrats, though, have blasted Republicans for passing politically charged legislation that they say fails to meet the needs of Iowans on issues like wages, housing, child care and health care. If I could summarize it in one sentence, it would be that the bills that came out of committee in the last few days is really an attack on Iowans rather than an attack on the problems that Iowans have asked us to solve, said Senate Minority Leader Pam Jochum, D-Dubuque, on Thursday. Reynolds, a Republican, praised the passage of a number of her legislative priorities in a statement on Thursday. She proposed bills on the area education agencies, child literacy, behavioral health care, maternal health care and merging and eliminating Iowas boards and commissions. As the legislative process continues, so will conversations on how we deliver results for Iowans, Reynolds said in a statement. Iowa has cemented itself as a national leader, and these priorities take us another step further. Education bills Both chambers passed different approaches to change the funding, oversight and structure of Iowas nine area education agencies. Reynolds proposed an overhaul of the agencies, which provide special education support, media services and other services to school districts around the state. The proposal met significant opposition from parents, administrators and House Republicans. The Senate Education Committee passed an amended version of Reynolds bill. The Senate version would allow schools to retain most of their funds for special education and they would have the option to use that money with the AEA or with another party. The bill would also bring some oversight and budget powers of the AEAs under the Department of Education. The House version of the bill, which passed out of committee on Thursday, would allow schools to keep their special education support dollars but require that they still spend them with one of the nine AEAs. We wanted to provide certainty for special education, Iowa House Speaker Pat Grassley of New Hartford told reporters this week. We took Iowans feedback that we've been having in our meetings and realized how important that was. And we feel our plan provides that certainty in the future when it comes to special education. Senate Democrats criticized the Senate bill and said it is not significantly different from Reynolds original proposal. House Democrats said they were concerned about how the House version would affect rural schools. Were still looking at the bill of course, but I will tell you that we disagree with the premise that AEAs needed wholesale change, said House Minority Leader Jennifer Konfrst, D-Windsor Heights. We dont believe that we should be making decisions about how kids get special ed services because an out-of-state consultant tells us. Republican lawmakers have also taken aim at diversity efforts in higher education and advanced legislation to teach a social studies curriculum developed by a conservative think tank. House File 2327, which passed out of the House Education Committee this week, would codify several restrictions on the states public universities diversity, equity and inclusion programs created by their governing board last year. The bill would also cap in-state tuition increases at Iowas public universities at 3% per year without providing additional state funding. Rep. Taylor Collins, R-Mediapolis said the bill was needed because higher education has become not only more expensive, but also more distracted by issues like DEI and others. Elections Changes to Iowas election laws from limiting challenges to Donald Trumps eligibility to banning ballot drop boxes will remain alive after this weeks funnel. The elections bill, which passed committee in both chambers, would block the type of eligibility challenges voters in other states have lodged to Donald Trumps place on the ballot on the grounds that he violated the Constitution by engaging in an insurrection. It would also redefine the states absentee voting rules and ban the use of ballot drop boxes. The bill would also ban ranked choice voting and create a pilot program for a third-party vendor to maintain Iowa's voter database. Republican lawmakers passing the bill said it would protect Iowas election integrity and ensure that Iowans have high trust in elections. Democrats said the bill was designed to empower Trump and would put confusions and hurdles in the way of voting. Immigration enforcement A slate of bills dealing with undocumented immigrants and enforcement will remain in consideration by lawmakers. Lawmakers advanced bills that would do the following: Allow state officials to arrest and deport undocumented immigrants Prevent undocumented immigrants from being eligible for in-state tuition Prevent undocumented immigrants from receiving public assistance Criminalize transporting or harboring undocumented immigrants with the intent to conceal them from police Create a system to verify the citizenship of registered voters in the state Immigrants and activists have rallied against the bills at the Capitol, arguing they hurt Iowas vulnerable immigrant communities. For years, legislators have been passing bills attacking vulnerable Iowans, restricting peoples rights and further marginalizing certain communities, Vanessa Marcano-Kelly said during a Migrant Movement for Justice rally last week. Republicans, meanwhile, have said the bills are necessary to address rising rates of unlawful border crossings and ensure taxpayer dollars only benefit legitimate residents. Gender identity bill A bill proposed by Reynolds adding new language around sex and gender into Iowa code passed out of committee last week, over the protests of transgender Iowans and civil rights activists who said it was dehumanizing and discriminatory. The bill defines man and woman and several other terms in Iowa code based on a persons sex assigned at birth. The bill would also allow transgender people to be excluded from sex-segregated spaces like bathrooms and womens shelters. It would also require transgender Iowans to list both their sex assigned at birth and their post-transition sex on certain documents. The bill originally required the identifiers on a drivers license, but that provision was removed. Reynolds and Republicans said the bill was necessary to protect the rights of women in spaces like domestic violence shelters. Organizations dealing with domestic abuse, like the Iowa Coalition Against Domestic Violence and the National Association of Social Workers are registered against the bill. It is the first effort by a state government to reinstitute separate but equal since the 1960s, said Aime Wichtendahl, a Hiawatha City Counselor who is Iowas first transgender elected official, during a public hearing this week. And it is the most brazen effort by our governor to erase trans and queer people from Iowa. Distracted driving Rules banning cell phone use while driving are again up for consideration this year, along with an effort to ban the use of traffic cameras for speeding enforcement in the state. The measures are tied under similar bills that advanced out of Senate and House committees this week. The House measure includes some exceptions, allowing drivers to hold a cell phone to their ear or briefly interact with a phone for navigation. Law enforcement officials have implored lawmakers for years to pass a stricter restriction on distracted driving. It is currently illegal to text while driving, but not to make a phone call or use navigation. A miniaturized surgical robot developed by a University of Nebraska-Lincoln professor and his colleagues has successfully accomplished its first mission in space. Piloted by six surgeons on the ground in Lincoln, the miniature robot successfully completed a remote surgical simulation Saturday aboard the International Space Station, which is orbiting 250 miles above Earth. The robot, known as MIRA, for Miniaturized In Vivo Robotic Assistant, was developed under the leadership of Shane Farritor, a UNL engineering professor and co-founder of Lincoln startup Virtual Incision. A space-going version of the robot, which can be pre-programmed or operated remotely, blasted off Jan. 30 from Floridas Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. On Saturday, six surgeons from across the United States took turns operating spaceMIRA using hand and foot controls in Virtual Incisions offices. SpaceMIRA is the first surgical robot aboard the space station, and Saturdays simulation marked one of the first times remote surgery tasks have been tested in space. It was fantastic, Farritor said. I couldnt imagine it being better. The device, he said, functioned flawlessly and communications were good. Each surgeon performed a specific task. The experiment was intended to help identify the next steps for creating surgical technologies suitable for long-distance space travel. But Farritors team, and the surgeons involved in the test, also are focused on the devices potential uses on Earth. Its a great leap for surgery Remote surgery, Farritor has said, has the potential to help patients get the care they need when no doctor is at hand. That could include small hospitals, rural roadsides, battlefields or space. On the battlefield, for instance, a surgeon might be able to remain in a safe place while remotely delivering care to an injured soldier in a forward location. The robot device is designed to be used inside the body to perform surgery, unlike the large robotic-assisted surgical systems now used in a growing list of minimally invasive abdominal and heart surgeries. Those systems sit outside the body and occupy a significant portion of an operating room. Its a great leap for surgery, Dr. Ted Voloyiannis of Texas Oncology in Houston, said in a statement. Voloyiannis has performed more than 2,000 robotic surgeries during the past 15 years. SpaceMIRA, which is about 30 inches long and weighs about 2 pounds, performed its maneuvers while inside a microwave-sized experiment locker allocated by NASA. For the test, the surgeons maneuvered the device equipped with a camera and two arms, with a grasper on the left and a pair of scissors on the right to manipulate simulated tissue, in this case, rubber bands. The surgeons used the grasper to pull the bands taut, creating tension, and dissecting them with the scissors. Because they were providing guidance from the ground, the team had to address signal latency, in this case the two-thirds to three-fourths of a second delay between action at the control center being executed by the robot aboard the space station. Dr. Michael Jobst, a Lincoln-based colorectal surgeon who participated in the test, said the surgeons had to wait a little bit for the movement to happen. Jobst has participated in 15 previous procedures with MIRA, including using it in a 2021 clinical study to remove part of a patients colon during procedures at Bryan Medical Center in Lincoln. Farritor, who with his colleagues began developing MIRA nearly 20 years ago, said the team hopes to hear soon about the results of its application to the Food and Drug Administration to use the device in more earthly pursuits. SpaceMIRAs success at a space station orbiting 250 miles above Earth indicates how useful it can be for health care facilities on the ground, he said in a statement. Our best Omaha staff photos & videos of February 2024 DES MOINES Democrats, parents and education officials applauded, but still expressed reservations Thursday over a new proposal advanced by Iowa House Republicans in how services are delivered by the states education agencies. Iowa House Republicans held the first legislative hearings on their newly filed bills on area education agencies, teacher salaries and state K-12 school funding. Advocates and lobbyists for education groups, including the AEAs, told lawmakers in a House subcommittee that the new plan represented significant progress compared with initial proposals by Gov. Kim Reynolds and a bill advancing in the Iowa Senate. The new House bill removes a key piece of Reynolds proposal that would allow school districts to contract with other parties, like a private company, to provide special education support services to students with disabilities. Iowas area education agencies would continue to be the sole provider of special education support to school districts but the funding structure and provision of other services would change under the House proposal. Cindy Yelick, chief administrator of Heartland AEA, and Heather Sievers, an Altoona mother of a student who has used AEA special education services and is the founder of Advocates for Iowa's Children, said the House plan was an improvement but could still create gaps in services across the state. "The fundamental, core issue with the bill still is that we're kind of backtracking in time, moving away from an integrated model," said Sievers. "Which I think is what people are worried about." House Study Bill 713 passed out of the House Education Committee on a 15-8 party-line vote, clearing a legislative deadline and keeping it eligible for debate on the House floor. Rep. Skyler Wheeler, R-Hull, chair of the committee, said the bill remains a work in progress and pledged it would see more changes as it moves forward. I think we have the opportunity to improve student outcomes with this, Wheeler said. We have the opportunity to improve the system. And we had the opportunity, I think, to get wins, not just for students, but for our schools in general as well. He noted he has a daughter with autism, and that the issue is very near and dear to me personally. He said the state has a chance to improve student outcomes if you can keep some of that money closer to the school district, the school of which is going to know the students a little bit better and know some of their needs a little bit better. House lawmakers last month declined to move Reynolds bill forward after hearing from parents and school administrators concerned that her proposed overhaul would lead to worsened outcomes for students with disabilities and less support and diminished services for students and teachers with a piecemeal, fee-for-service approach. Reynolds pitched the bill as a key piece of her agenda for this years session. She said the change is necessary as test scores of Iowa students with disabilities have lagged but the state spends a comparatively high amount of money on those students. The Senate late Wednesday advanced Reynolds original proposal, Senate Study Bill 3073, out of a committee but with an amendment. What does the House bill do? Under the House proposal, federal special education funding still would go directly to the AEAs. But beginning in the 2025-26 academic year, funds for special education support coming from state sources would be kept by the school districts. The districts still would have to spend that money with the AEAs for special education services, but could receive those services through any AEA in the state. Starting with the 2025-26 school year, school districts could choose where to spend their funding for media services. The same would happen the following year in how to use funding for education-related services, like teacher training and curriculum. The bill would move local AEA governing boards to an advisory capacity, and require state approval of AEA budgets. The salary for AEA administrators would be capped at the average salary of all superintendents in the district served by the AEA. The House proposal would still create a new division within the Iowa Department of Education to oversee special education, but with a smaller scope: 58 new employees five at each AEA and 13 in Des Moines. Reynolds proposal called for hiring 139 employees, funded through $20 million moved from the AEAs to the state. The House bill also calls for establishing a 10-member task force to study the AEAs. Democrats request public hearing Democrats echoed some parents and education groups who said more changes are needed to the House bill. They expressed concerns it would remove a districts ability to receive mental health therapy services from AEA social workers. Access to mental health therapy is desperately needed, particularly in rural areas, they said, noting that the Heartland AEA responded with a crisis team to meet with students, families and staff in the wake of last months deadly shooting at Perry High School. I do applaud House Republicans for bringing folks to the table. Thats what should have happened in the first place, House Minority Leader Jennifer Konfrst, D-Windsor Heights, told reporters. So just the fact that the House Republicans brought in some stakeholders doesnt mean that theyre listening to Iowans or that theyve done the homework on determining if this is even a necessary change. House Democrats disagree with the premise that AEAs need wholesale change. "I think it would be best if we scrapped this instead of trying to polish it, because it would still achieve the same dismantling of our AEA services around the state, Rep. Art Staed, D-Cedar Rapids, said during the committee meeting. House Democrats requested a public hearing be held on the bill. Wheeler said Republicans were working to schedule a hearing. Teacher pay increase advanced Increases in baseline pay for teachers and staff would be increased and phased in over two years under a plan that advanced Thursday in the Iowa House. House Study Bill 714 would increase the minimum salary for first-year teachers to $47,500 in the 2024-2025 school year and $50,000 in the 2025-2026 school year. Education advocates who spoke at a legislative hearing praised the phased-in approach, saying it would give districts time to plan and adjust their budgets. We were happy to have an opportunity to work with legislators on the most appropriate and best way to accomplish the goal set up by Gov. Reynolds to increase the minimum salary to $50,000 for all beginning Iowa teachers, said Melissa Petersen, with the Iowa State Education Association the statewide teachers union. The House Republican salary bill also would boost the minimum wage for school support staff to $15 per hour, another provision that was met with praise by education advocates. The bill also appropriates $22 million in supplemental funding for districts to use to increase the salaries of veteran teachers and support staff. The bill unanimously passed out of committee and is eligible for debate in the House. House Republicans also advanced a bill to give a 3 percent increase to state funding for K-12 education for the coming year. Caleb McCullough of The Gazette-Lee Des Moines Bureau contributed to this report DES MOINES The ability of the states taxpayer watchdog to access information from other state agencies during an audit and the limits of that watchdogs authority are being tested as Democratic Iowa Auditor Rob Sand tussles over state audits with Republican lawmakers and a state board whose members were appointed by Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds. The day after Republican state lawmakers advanced new legislation that would allow government agencies to bypass the state auditor and have their annual audits instead conducted by a private accountant, Sand on Thursday highlighted the Iowa Board of Paroles recent rejection of his offices request for some information during an audit, citing a new state law approved last year. Sand said the rejection by the Iowa Board of Parole is the first example of a government body declining to fully cooperate with an audit by citing the 2023 law, which placed guardrails on the kind of information that the state auditor can seek during an investigation. When it was passed last year, and again during a news conference on Thursday, Sand called it the most pro-corruption bill in Iowa history. Today we are issuing the first report telling the public that the truth remains hidden from them as a result of that law, Sand said Thursday during a news conference. Government corruption and secrecy are growing in the state of Iowa. The Parole Board said it refused Sands request because it fell outside the scope of the audit, and that Sands office needed to file a separate request known as an engagement letter for the information that he sought. Audit engagement letters set out the rights and responsibilities of the parties to the audit, for the benefit of both the auditor and the agency. As noted in the audit report, the Board of Parole requested an engagement letter as required in Iowa law. The auditor refused to provide one, said a statement sent by a spokeswoman for the Board of Parole. The audit report from Sands office noted that the parole board failed to have one regular member in attendance for some hearing panels that alternate board members, which was a violation of state law. In the audit report, the parole board said it learned of the improper action and reviewed the panels to bring them into compliance. When Sands office requested documentation to confirm those actions, the Board of Parole declined to respond, saying the information was related to ongoing litigation and not related to the audit. Sand said the report started from a whistleblowers tip. Can we tell you the board will fix this problem on their own? We cant. Can we tell you they fixed the problem at all? We cant, Sand said during his news conference. No one in the state knows other than a bunch of government insiders because of the bill that this building passed and the governor signed last year. That 2023 law was introduced by Iowa Rep. Michael Bousselot, a Republican from Ankeny. Earlier this week, Bousselot introduced another bill that would affect the auditors office: his 2024 proposal would, instead of having their annual audit conducted by the Iowa Auditors Office, allow government agencies and officials to hire a private accountant to conduct an audit. Critics of the proposal, including Sand, have said Senate File 2311 opens the door to political corruption by allowing government officials to bypass the state auditor for annual audits. Bousselot noted the hiring of a private accountant to conduct a required annual audit is already allowed for and widely employed by local governments and school districts. Only in politics could hiring a nonpartisan, independent, licensed certified public accountant be labeled as political, Bousselot said. It boggles the mind that it has worked so far, so well, and allowed for accountability and effectiveness at the local government level. Sand and Bousselot disagree over whether the state auditor would retain the authority to reinvestigate private audit reports under the proposed bill. Bousselot insists his proposal does nothing to restrict the auditors ability to conduct an audit if there appear to be weaknesses in an audit conducted by a private accountant. Sand insists his office would not have that authority under Bousselots bill. The bill was passed out of committee this week, surviving the legislatures funnel deadline. It is now eligible for flood debate in the Senate. More than 17,500 Iowa Democrats had requested mail-in caucus cards by Friday morning to participate in the partys 2024 presidential nominating contest. In 2012, the last time a Democratic incumbent was on the ballot when then-President Barack Obama ran for re-election, about 15,000 Democrats voted at their caucus sites, the Iowa Democratic Party said in a news release. The number, though, is a fraction less than 3 percent of the nearly 658,000 registered Democratic voters in the state. In comparison, more than 110,000 Iowa Republicans cast votes Jan. 15 in the first-in-the-nation, 2024 Iowa Republican presidential precinct caucuses or 15 percent of the more than 750,000 registered Republican voters in the state. Of the 17,510 requests for mail-in Democrat preference cards, more than 16,000 had been mailed to households and more than 6,000 cards have been returned, according to the Iowa Democratic Party. This is the final weekend for Iowa Democrats to request their 2024 presidential preference cards. The deadline to submit a request for a presidential preference card is 11:59 p.m. on Monday. Democrats can request a card through at iowademocrats.org/caucus. Iowa Democrats have until March 5 to return their preference card, and it must be postmarked by then to be accepted. Party officials strongly encourage cards to be returned through the mail and not dropped off at the Iowa Democratic Party headquarters or local county party offices. New batches of preference cards are mailed out every Monday and arrive within 24 hours. The Iowa Democratic Party has a team of staff providing assistance and answering questions about the new mail-in process. Those with last minute questions can call (515) 216-3893. A party spokesperson said returned preference cards are stored in a secure location, and will begin being tabulating around March 1. Results will be announced March 5 Super Tuesday when more than a half-dozen other states will hold presidential primaries. Details when results will be made available will be announces later, party officials said. The partys new cards will include the names of incumbent President Joe Biden and two long-shot challengers, U.S. Rep. Dean Phillips of Minnesota and author Marianne Williamson who last week suspended her campaign along with an option to remain uncommitted. While its clear that President Biden will be our nominee, its important Iowa Democrats participate in our mail-in caucus so that we can set ourselves up for success in 2028 and beyond, Iowa Democratic Party Chair Rita Hart said in a statement. National Democrats last year reshaped their presidential nominating calendar, booting Iowa from being first in the nation and removing Iowa from the group of early states all together. The decision followed a chaotic 2020 caucus night for Iowa Democrats when a smartphone app meant to make reporting results easier failed. As a result, the official Democratic caucus results were not reported for several weeks. State party leaders have been critical of the Democratic National Committee's involvement in delaying development of the app and then demanding additional technology that failed on caucus night. The debacle compounded existing concerns about Iowa's lack of racial diversity and barriers to participation. The Iowa Democratic put forward the mail-in proposal to make the caucuses more accessible which was one of the main criticisms. Following the 2020 presidential election, many national party leaders expressed a preference for primary elections over party-run caucuses. Republicans have roundly criticized the decision, saying Democrats have turned their back on Iowa and rural America. National Democratic Party leaders have said they would revisit the presidential nominating calendar for 2028. America is producing and exporting more oil and gas than any other nation. It's an accomplishment that fails to give U.S. families energy security or lower prices. It's enriching business executives while leaving families in the cold. At the end of last year, more than 13 million barrels of crude oil were pumped daily from American lands and offshore waters. Production of domestic methane gas similarly set a record of more than 105 billion cubic feet per day. Americas fossil fuel boom has resulted in massive profits for Big Oil giants, as companies pay huge sums to shareholders and export fossil fuels around the world. Meanwhile, American households, businesses and low-income communities are left in the lurch. In recent years, the United States has followed the economic development model of Qatar, latching our economy to finite natural resources with highly volatile prices. This move spells disaster for the global climate. The outbreak of war in Ukraine two years ago made clear the fossil fuel boom in the did nothing to remove Americans from the wild swings of energy markets. Jeff Eshelman: Record oil and gas production make America more secure Americas oil and natural gas producers are innovating to produce more than ever. We're also easing emissions and bringing reliable, affordable energy to Americans and our global allies. Historically, what has set the American economy apart is not our aptitude for exporting raw natural resources but the value provided by manufacturing and innovation the very sectors threatened by the higher fuel prices that will result from exports. Instead of centering our economy on the extraction of raw materials, we should build a clean energy economy that's sustainable and decarbonized for the 21st century. This requires swiftly phasing out the fuels of the 19th century. The U.S. economy is more tightly interlinked with global energy markets, so U.S. consumers are even more vulnerable to international supply shocks and punishing price swings. This volatility is partly a consequence of the oil and gas industrys push to make more money by exporting fuel. It includes an industry lobbying blitz that led to a 2015 decision by Congress to end a ban on crude oil exports that dated back to the energy crisis of the mid-1970s. At the time, television ads paid for by the American Petroleum Institute claimed that lifting the export ban would push down gasoline prices and diminish Russias and Irans influence over gasoline prices. These claims proved untrue. Today, fossil fuel industry talking points about exporting liquified methane, or LNG, are even more misleading. Exports of this fuel were nonexistent before 2016. In just a few short years, the United States has become the worlds largest LNG exporter. We should not make our residential and business gas customers compete with Berlin and Beijing for LNG produced in the United States. One energy model found that approving pending LNG terminals would increase spending on gas by $11 billion to $18 billion annually, with the most significant burden falling on low-income families. The trade group representing industrial businesses that are large consumers of gas and electricity is warning about the increased costs to its members. Thankfully, the Biden administration is starting to take these issues seriously. President Bidens wise decision to pause new approvals of LNG export terminals and establish a more robust evaluation of those projects is a welcome sign. Under federal law, the Department of Energy is required to determine if LNG export projects are in the public interest. Yet the agency has done a poor job of considering the negative effects on the climate, on vulnerable communities near LNG plants and on consumers. The deck has been stacked in favor of export terminal developers. Big Oil executives have pursued an America Last policy by gouging consumers and putting profit above everything else. In the long run, we must wean ourselves from our dangerous dependence on fossil fuels, which have sowed turmoil and chaos. Reconsidering the effect fossil fuel exports have on our economy and climate is a vital step toward protecting American households and businesses. Each week in the Tuesday column, Prudence asks readers for their thoughts on a question that has her stumped. Shell post her final thoughts on the matter on Fridays. Heres this weeks dilemma and answer; thanks to Youre Not Alone, Melanie, Pastor Steve, Donna, and Diane for their ideas! Dear Prudence, Im the only caregiver for my aging parent. I have one brother that does not help. How can I cope? I am with our mom daily. I moved back home during a divorce and it turned into a caregiver role now. Its 24/7. No breaks. Its leading to more depression and anxiety in me. How can I cope? Caregiver Trying to Cope Dear Caregiver, This was one of those letters that prompted some responses that were, as the kids are saying, delulu. Put your mom in assisted living! Make your brother help! Come on. Im fairly certain that if you had several extra thousand dollars a month to give to a nice facility, or if your brother took orders from you, you wouldnt have written to me. Unfortunately, yours is an all-too-common, universally really, really hard situation. The good news is that because its so common, many people and institutions have made efforts to address it and to offer some help to caregivers like you. The best responses I received urged you to search for these resources and ask for assistance. I have to warn you, youre not going to read any earth-shattering ideas that take your life from depression and anxiety-inducing to easy. They dont promise total relief to you. But these ideas might do what you asked, which is to help you cope. Read this and take notes on where you might find some relief or support: Medicare, your local agency on aging, churches, caregiver support groups. Every entity mentioned here should be getting a call from you: Youre Not Alone: Im both a caregiver myself for an aging parent and work in the aging field. I would recommend the LW avail themselves of all the local resources they have. If they havent already, finding their local Area Agency on Aging is a great start; there may be services that can help. Whatever the LW can outsource, whether its hiring an aide to relieve them a few hours a day, or respite care for when you need a break, or getting a care coordinator, may help relieve some of the burden. There are also many caregiver support groups that might be helpful. Id also see if the brother may be helpful with that kind of logistical stuff, or even trying to help pay for any support you need. Thats how my sister and I do it; she cant do the day to day work, but she helps pay for cleaning and an aide and has helped do some research. Many of us dont choose to be caregivers and dont realize how many resources are out there. Im rooting for them! Melanie: I was also a care-giver w/ little help or support from my siblings. It is very hard and very wearing on youand changes your relationship and attitude w/ your parent. I empathize with you. What I can say: there are Senior groupssome paid, some maybe non-profitsthat will spend time with your parent, to allow you time off/out. If you are able to pay, they will come whenever you need, up to what youre able to pay for. If unable to pay: there should still be options in your area. In fact, there will typically be someone (often associated w/ a local hospital) who can provide paperwork/help for how to finance/get eligibility for these programs. There are also programs where a Senior, but in better health, comes to sit with another senior. Recommend looking into Senior resources in your area. There are also senior centers and senior activities often through the city recreation center. There is often a publication of senior resources as well; check with local medical providers for input, they may know some resources if a Google search is failing you. In the end, you need to take care of you, your health, and your mental stateas you need to be in a good place to care for your parent. Dont forget yourself during this process. Best of luck. Pastor Steve: You describe yourself as a caregiver. Thats a nobleand taxingposition to assume. But having described yourself as such, you can and should make use of whatever caregiver support is available to you in your community. There may be respite care available to you through a local agency. There may be a support group for you at a local church or senior center. Check with the staff that supplies medical care to your mother or a local hospice facility, as they may be more familiar with the services available to you. And if such services just arent there in your community, perhaps you could even be the one to push for starting them, because you certainly arent the only one who needs them. Although its hard to do in the moment, treasure the time you have with your mother now. And dont feel guilty about taking care of yourself, because by doing so you are giving your mother the best caregiver you can. Donna: Please get outside help. You cannot take care of your Mom well if you are not taking care of yourself. Hire a home health aide for a few hours a week to start and leave the house while the aide is there. You can increase the amount of time someone comes in to relieve you as your Mom adjusts to this new approach. You can use an agency or private hire. There are companies that allow you to match with a caregiver in the community. You can also consider adult day care or respite care that would allow you to temporarily place your mom in a care facility while you take a much-needed vacation. Depending on your mothers finances, you may be able to get financial help for an aide through Medicaid or elder care organizations in your community. Although your brother should help, trying to get him to step up can lead to frustration and bitterness and still leave you with all the responsibility. If he is in a position to chip in for outside help that might be the best way to get him involved in Moms care. Diane: First, know that this is not a task that anyone can do alone. Also know that our society has not made it easy to find the help you and your parent need, and that is not your fault! One way to start finding help is to call 211, which is like 911 but for social services. They can connect you to your local Agency on Aging, medical assistance programs, caregiver support, and more. Ask them about in-home caregivers and/or facility placements, respite care, and other needs. Depending on your parents income and assets, they may be eligible for supports that you dont even know exist yet. As for your brother, if he wont help with the hands-on work, perhaps he can help financially so you can purchase services to lighten your load. Dont skim over the parts of these responses about how you have to take care of yourself. People who have been in your shoes, like many of these readers have, know youll fall apart if you dont. A big part of that will involve asking for help. If you have a friend or relative who has checked in on you or asked how they can support youor even if you just know someone who is good at this kind of thing and has time on their handsask them to do this research on your behalf. One thing that was clear from readers responses is that so many people have been in your shoes and you are very much not alone. But if you dont aggressively seek out every single resource available to you, youre going to feel like you are. This article was originally featured in Foreign Policy, the magazine of global politics and ideas. Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has reportedly died in a penal colony in the Arctic Circle, according to the Russian prison service. Navalny was serving a 19-year prison sentence in the penal colony on a range of charges that were widely regarded to be politically motivated. He was 47 years old. In a short statement, the Yamalo-Nenets prison service said that Navalny felt unwell after a walk at the Polar Wolf penal colony and almost immediately lost consciousness. The cause of his death was not immediately clear. Navalny survived a previous attempt on his life in 2020, when he was poisoned with the potent Novichok nerve agent by operatives from the Russian security services. His death is likely to be seen as a political assassination, coming as it does just a month before Russian presidential elections are set to take place. Navalnys colleagues have yet to confirm his death. In a statement on X, his press secretary, Kira Yarmysh, said that the opposition leaders lawyer was en route to the prison. Charismatic, controversial, and unquestionably brave, Navalny and his team doggedly exposed corruption among the countrys political elite, including by Russian President Vladimir Putin himself. Navalny had a unique ability to speak to the concerns of Russians across the country and to mobilize them to take to the streets. Advertisement Hours after news of his death broke, Navalnys wife, Yulia Navalnaya, took to the stage at the Munich Security Conference in Germany to offer brief, unscheduled remarks. Upon hearing the horrible news, I didnt know if I should have immediately flown to my family or speak out. But then I thoughtWhat would Alexei do? and Im sure he would be here, said a somber Navalnaya. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We cannot believe Putins government. They are lying constantly. But if this is the truth, I want Putin and all of those around him, his government, his friends, I want them to know that they will be punished for what they have done with our country, with my family and with my husband, they will be brought to justice, she said. Advertisement For many, Navalny presented the most credible alternative to Putin, with his hopes of turning Russia into a normal country, as he once put it in an interview with ABC News. It was a vision that the Kremlin worked to ensure could never become a reality by steadily extinguishing dissentand, it seems, eventually Navalny himself. By all accounts, Navalny had an ordinary Soviet childhood. He was born in 1976 in a small town outside of Moscow, though accounts diverge on where exactly. His mother, Lyudmila, was an economist, and his father, Anatoly, was an officer in the Red Army. His mother has described the young Navalny as a strong-willed child. It was impossible to discipline him, she said in an interview with the Russian news site the New Times in 2013. I remember once that his teacher scolded him for something, and the next day he refused to go to school. I dont want to be forced to study, she recalled him saying. Advertisement Advertisement Summers were spent with his paternal grandparents in the small village of Zalyssia, Ukraine. But his idyllic childhood summers of swimming in the nearby Uzh River came to an abrupt end in 1986, when the nearby Chernobyl nuclear plant melted down, rendering Zalyssia and the wider area uninhabitable and sickening countless of its residents in the process. The disasterwhich the Soviet authorities initially attempted to cover upwas a formative moment for the young Navalny and countless other Soviet citizens, serving as a wake-up call about the very real cost of corruption and incompetence bred by the Soviet regime. He later recalled in an HBO documentary that his family began to discuss politics much more frequently in the wake of the disaster. Advertisement Advertisement Navalny graduated high school in 1993 as the Soviet Union was rapidly collapsing in on itself. He studied law at the Peoples Friendship University of Russia in Moscow, before studying for a masters degree in finance, graduating in 2001. As the turbulence of the so-called wild 90s cleared, the rapid economic growth of the 2000s propelled millions of Russians into the middle class and helped cement the popularity of the new president, Vladimir Putin. Despite a long-standing interest in politics, Navalnys foray into the Russian stock market was what marked the beginning of his journey to becoming Putins most formidable foe. Advertisement Advertisement Navalny invested in some of the countrys largest banks and energy companies, but when his much-anticipated dividends failed to materialize, he began to realize that something was amiss, as he explained in an interview to the Russian newspaper Kommersant in 2009. Advertisement Fluent in law and finance, Navalny used his position as a minority shareholder to investigate and expose corruption in some of the countrys largest companiesoften embarrassing their executives in the process. Combating corruption was an easy point of consensus that bridged class and ideological divides among Russians, and the young and energetic Navalny quickly stood out among the countrys fragmented opposition. Well educated and intelligent, Navalny was nevertheless not part of the intelligentsia, a fact which only helped broaden his appeal. A skilled political strategist who had an unmatched ability to bring the public out onto the streets, he wasted no time on political philosophy. He could only disappoint those who expect from him a modicum of theoretical construction: he is a doer, not a thinker, wrote Russian nationalism expert Marlene Laurelle, as cited the academics Jan Matti Dollbaum, Morvan Lallouet, and Ben Nobles 2021 biography of Navalny. Advertisement Living in a three-bedroom apartment in southern Moscow with his photogenic wife, Yulia, and their two children, Dariya and Zakhar, he cut a familiar figure, indistinguishable from the millions of other middle-class Muscovites. Advertisement Advertisement In 2011, Navalny founded the Anti-Corruption Foundation, which would become the principal vehicle for his investigations until 2021, when the Russian authorities branded it an extremist organization and forced it to close. The foundations work borrowed from the tradition of investigative journalism as it exposed the staggering corruption of top Russian officials in slick video reports. But unconfined by the impartiality requirements sacred to journalists, Navany harnessed the outrage generated by his work to mobilize Russians to take to the streets. In the summer of 2017, tens of thousands of young Russians took to the streets after the foundation published a video investigation into the luxury property empire of then-Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev. The protests spread to almost 200 towns across the country and into the Russian heartlandlong thought to be a stronghold of Putins support. Advertisement Unsurprisingly for a figure as extremely online as he was, Navalny was most popular among young Russians, according to independent polling from early 2021, cited in Dolbaum, Lallouet, and Nobles biography. But to the envy of politicians worldwide, the research showed that Navalny enjoyed a similar degree of support from those with and without a college education, as well as from those living in both urban and rural areas. What population surveys clearly show, therefore, is that Navalny is not just a phenomenon of urban centres in Russia, Dolbuam and colleagues write. Advertisement Advertisement Cocky and sometimes crude with a puckish sense of humor, Navaly reveled in the absurdism inherent to authoritarian regimes. He regularly called on his fellow Russians to not be afraid. He revealed powerful Russian officials to be corrupt, but also fallible and therefore mortal. His foundations damning investigation into Medvedev began with the former presidents online shopping habit and a pair of garish Nike sneakers that he had delivered to one of his undeclared luxury properties. Advertisement Advertisement This investigation, which took us many months, began with an absurd trivial detaila pair of sneakers and shirt, Navalny said in a video report of the investigation. Having spent much of the 1990s in school, Navalny was untainted by the turbulent politics of the period, which is remembered as one of deep trauma by many Russians. While previous generations of Russian liberals embraced the West, neoliberalism, and the Washington consensus, said Michael McFaul, former U.S. ambassador to Russia, Navalny was very much a Russian patriot who once claimed he could never be sent into exile because he would miss Russian black bread. Amid Kremlin efforts to brand him as a supplicant of Washington, Navalny turned down invitations to meet with the U.S. ambassador, McFaul recalled, out of concern that it would only fuel speculation about his relationship with the United States. Advertisement Advertisement The question of whether his patriotism veered into harmful nationalism has been the subject of significant debate. In 2007, he was ejected from the liberal Yabloko party for attending the Russian March, an annual demonstration of far-right and ultranationalist groups. Briefly establishing his own party, Narod (people), Navalny released YouTube videos in which he likened Islamic militants to cockroaches, called for the deportation of immigrant workers, and vowed to defend the rights of ethnic Russians in Russia. While calls for greater immigration controls remained part of his platform, Navalnys use of more extreme rhetoric seems to have peaked in the late 2000s. More charitable interpretations have suggested that as liberal parties struggled to gain ground, Navalny looked to nationalism as a mobilizing force. As later noted by Al Jazeera, his remarks came as nationalist sentiment was surging in Russiaand so too were hate crimes, with more than 100 people killed in racially motivated attacks in 2008. Advertisement His overtures toward nationalism haunted him for the remainder of his careercausing Amnesty International to revoke his prisoner of conscience status in 2021. At the same time, Navalny did little to disavow his past remarks. My idea is that you have to communicate with nationalists and educate them, he told the Polish journalist Adam Michnik in 2015. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement One thing that can be said conclusively about Navalny is that he was astonishingly courageous. Mortality is no abstract concept for Russian journalists and opposition figures; dozens, if not hundreds, have been murdered since the end of the Cold War. As he rose to prominence, so too did the authorities efforts to silence him through spurious legal claims; the imprisonment of his brother, Oleg; an attempted poisoning; and finally, a lengthy sentence in a penal colony. Advertisement Before he was poisoned with the potentially lethal nerve agent Novichok in 2020, Navalny and many observers of the Russian system came to believe that his fame offered him some protection. Some years ago I was told that Navalnys murder was seen in the Kremlin as a kind of nightmare scenarioone that would be seen only as a dangerous kind of provocation that would spark protests, analysts Tatiyana Stanovaya wrote on the social messaging app Telegram shortly after Navalny was poisoned in August 2020. Related From Slate Tucker Carlsons Putin Interview Was Even Worse Than Expected Read More A tightly constrained opposition and occasional street protests were long seen as an important pressure valve for the Kremlin, through which its frustrated subjects could let off steam. Navalnys poisoning, which was traced back to the Russian security services by investigative journalists at Bellingcat, heralded the beginning of a terrifying new era as the country slid deeper into authoritarianism and international isolation. Advertisement Advertisement After collapsing on a flight to Moscow, writhing in pain, Navalny was airlifted from the Siberian city of Omsk to Berlin for treatment. He spent months in the small village of Ibach in Germanys Black Forest, regaining his strength and plotting his return to Russia. Navalny and his team also began working on an extensive investigation into the wealth of the Russian president himself, crossing Navalnys previous self-imposed red line. Alexei used to say that when we write about Putin, it will be our last investigation, one of Navalnys unnamed close associates is quoted as saying in his biography. Advertisement Navalny returned to Russia in January 2021 to the near-certain prospect of imprisonment. Surrounded by journalists and news crews, Navalny and his wife, Yulia, spent the flight watching the cartoon Rick and Morty on a laptop, sharing a set of earbuds. Advertisement Ive really missed you guys, he said as he arrived at passport control at Sheremetyevo International Airport, before a cluster of police officers arrived to detain him. Convicted on a range of charges widely regarded as politically motivated, including one for extremism, Navalny was sentenced to nearly two decades in the Russian penal system. He would never emerge. At the end of Daniel Rohers Oscar-winning documentary about Navalny, he asks what message Navalny has for the Russian people in the event that he is killed. You are not allowed to give up. If they decide to kill me, it means that we are incredibly strong, he said, looking directly into the camera. The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good people to do nothing. So dont be inactive, he added, before giving a wry smile. Is Tucker Carlson still in Moscow? I wonder if he was lounging in a cafe with his FSB handlers, laughing at their jokes while savoring a scrumptious pierogi, when the news broke that Alexei NavalnyRussias, perhaps the worlds, most famous political prisonerhad died in a Siberian prison at the age of 47. Carlson had spent the week following his dreadful interview with Vladimir Putin on a guided tour of Moscows most sparkling sights. In videos posted on his website, he marvels at the Kievskaya subway station (no graffiti, no filth, no rapists or people waiting to push you onto the tracks nicer than anything in our country), goes slack-jawed in a grocery store (where food prices are so low that he finds himself radicalized against American leaders), and admires the Russian capitals clean, safe streets. Until Friday, these videos seemed merely risible, the work of an ersatz journalist so naive that he appears startlingly unaware of the long history of gullible Westerners falling for such cherry-picked displays of Soviet majesty. Yes, the subway stations are magnificent. Does Carlson know they were dug by slave labor and designed by British engineers, some of whom Stalin jailed for espionage; that some of the gorgeous marble was taken from the Moscow Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, which Stalin had blown up in 1931? Yes, the platforms, like the streets, are safe and clean, as are most facilities in authoritarian countries, but does he know about their facial-recognition sensors, which have led to dozens of protesters being arrested on the platforms? The groceries at the store he visited are a quarter the price of American food, but even so, they are too expensive for the typical Russian, who earns one-sixth the money that the average American does. Even so, had Carlson ventured outside Moscows center, much less into the countrys heartland, he would have found little cause for awe. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But today, after Navalnys death, Carlsons paeans to Putins Moscow seem still more repellent. Navalnythe last serious opposition leader, the one Russian figure who could coax tens of thousands of anti-Putin protesters out to the streetswill be recorded in history books as the great martyr of modern Russian democracy. Carlson, to the extent hes remembered at all, will take his place alongside Walter Duranty, the New York Times reporter of the 1930s who covered up Stalins crimes, romanticizing the murderous dictator as a great leaderthough Durantys deeds were deliberate, stemming from ideology, whereas Carlson is simply a bumbler. (Duranty won the Pulitzer Prize in 1932, something Carlson couldnt even dream of; it was better late than never that the Times disowned the prize in 2003.) Advertisement At the end of his embarrassing interview with Putin (which even the Russian president later trashed, saying the questions were too soft), Carlson at least asked about the fate of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who has been in a Russian prison, on trumped-up charges of espionage, for almost a year. However, this seemed only prelude to Carlsons request to take Evan back home with hima favor that Putin brushed away. But did Carlson ask about Paul Whelan, another unjustly detained American? Did he ask about Navalny? (The interview, which seems unedited, contains no such questions.) It is not, and may never be, known whether Navalny was outright murdered, as were other critics of Putin, such as former Deputy Prime Minister Boris Nemtsov, journalist Anna Politkovskaya, double agent Sergei Skripal, human rights activist Natalya Estemirova, and Chechen-war critic Sergei Yushenkov. Either way, Navalny died in one of Putins most remote prisons, as a result of horrid conditions in other prisons, where he was placed as a result of challenging Putins rule. Advertisement Advertisement Related From Slate Tucker Carlsons Putin Interview Was Even Worse Than Expected Read More In other words, Navalny must be added to the list of Russian citizens who died because they ran afoul of the man who excites Tucker Carlsons most fervid admiration. Navalny began his rise as an opposition leader in 2011, with widely publicized broadsides against the corruption of Kremlin elites. In 2013, while running to be Moscows mayor, he was arrested on false charges of embezzlement; still, he came in second place. In 2018 he tried to run for president, but Putin banned his candidacy. In 2020 he was poisoned on a flight to Siberia, where he had planned to meet with other opposition politicians. (Later, through a string of prank phone calls, recorded in a riveting HBO documentary about his life, Navalny found proof that Putins goons had administered the near-deadly toxin.) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He moved to Germany for further medical treatment but flew back to Moscow in 2021. Some were startled by his return, finding it courageous but self-destructive. Surely he knew he would be arrestedand indeed he was, upon arrival at the airport. He may have thought his jail time would be short-lived, that his followers would rally, that Putin would succumb to international pressure. None of that turned out to be the case. Instead, he was charged with steadily more serious accusationsrenewed charges of embezzlement, then contempt of court, and finally extremism. He suffered from several ailments, some because of deliberate exposure to contagiously sick fellow inmates. In December, he was transferred to a penal colony in the Arctic Circle. He continued to meet with lawyers and to send customarily witty, uplifting messages to his followers. Just this week, he appeared healthy in a video, appealing his 19-year sentence. Friday morning, Russias Interfax news service announced that he died after collapsing during a walk. World leaders mourned his loss and said they would hold Putin responsible. Garry Kasparov, the Russian exile, former chess champion, and prominent human rights activist, tweeted Friday morning, Is Tucker still in Moscow? He will be amazed by the low price of human life in Putins Russia. A new whistleblower report first covered by NBC News alleges that the Customs and Border Protection agencys chief medical officer, whose name is Alexander Eastman, demanded that his staff find him fentanyl lollipops for a work trip of dubious necessity: Eastman spent copious hours of his and Office of the Chief Medical Officer staff time directing the OCMO staff to urgently help him procure fentanyl lollipops, a Schedule II narcotic, so that he could bring them on the CBP Air and Marine Operations helicopter on which he would be a passenger in New York City. Fentanyl lollipops are indeed fruit-flavored doses of fentanyl on sticks, which can be legally prescribed in medical settings. (Surprisingly, they dont appear to have featured in any urban-legend Halloween panics.) As to why a border patrol doctor had to be on a helicopter in New York City in the first place, Eastmans case was (allegedly) that he needed to be on hand in case anyone from CBPs Air and Marine Operations unit got hurt while helping provide security at a meeting of the United Nations General Assembly: Dr. Eastman claims that his possession of fentanyl lollipops was necessary in case a CBP operator might be injured, or in case the CBP Air and Marine Operations team encountered a patient in need. Related From Slate The True Crime Canon Read More The report, submitted to the chairs of several congressional oversight committees and the Department of Homeland Securitys inspector general by a nonprofit called the Government Accountability Project, notes that it strains credulity to believe that a fentanyl-equipped CBP helicopter would be necessary to treat a hypothetical patient at the U.N. given the concentration of medical trauma resources that are already otherwise available in midtown Manhattan. Advertisement Eastman and CBP have not responded to the report, which places his alleged misbehavior in the context of other allegations about mismanagement of medical services by CBP officials and a contractor employed by DHS to provide care. The quality of such services has been under internal and external scrutiny since May 2023, when an 8-year-old girl named Anadith Danay Reyes Alvarez died in Border Patrol custody after staffers at a holding facility repeatedly denied her familys requests for medical attention. While the smuggling of fentanyl into the United States is often cited by politicians as a reason to expel undocumented migrants attempting to claim asylum after crossing the U.S.Mexico border, records show that the large majority of fentanyl smuggling arrests and prosecutions involve American citizens attempting to surreptitiously bring the drug through official ports of entry. Earlier this month, Republican Speaker of the House Mike Johnson spoke on the Fox Business channel about Mazi Pilip, the partys nominee to replace George Santos in New Yorks 3rd Congressional District. Shes gonna get that job done, he said, predicting a victory that would reverberate across the country. Itll send a strong message to the Democrats that, coming into this election cycle, we have great candidates. Were feeling really bullish about the future. Two weeks later, Pilip lost her race to Democrat Tom Suozzi by a nearly 8-point margin. Johnson, speaking at the Capitol on Wednesday, now expressed a different view about whether the race had national implications. Pilips loss is in no way a bellwether of whats going to happen this fall, he said, and has nothing to do on the efforts going forward. Johnson argued that the races dynamics wouldnt pertain to other swing-district elections because Democrats spent so heavily on advertising and ran a candidate who agreed with Republicans that the influx of migrants at the southern border constitutes a national crisis. They spent about $15 million to win a seat that President Biden won by 8 points; they won it by less than 8 points, he said. (Technically correct: It was 7.8 points.) Their candidate ran like a Republicanhe sounded like a Republican, talking about border and immigration, because thats the top issue on the hearts and minds of everybody. There are two immediate problems with Johnsons argument. First: While its true that Democrats spent more on advertising in the race than Republicans did, this was not a matter of random bad luck. Immediately after Johnson was elected as speaker, Republicans in districts that could easily swing back to the Demsincluding those in New York and Californiahave been saying they are worried that Johnson isnt as good at raising money as his predecessor, Kevin McCarthy. McCarthy was a genial country-club backslapper whod been in leadership for years; Johnson is a right-wing evangelical conservative who was unknown nationally until he won the speakership in October because House Republicans couldnt figure out anyone else to give it to. Per Ballotpedia, Democratic congressional campaign committees have raised $315 million during this campaign cycle, while Republicans have raised $257 million. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Related From Slate Democrats Have Themselves a Victory in New York. But They Also Have a Problem. Read More Secondly, Suozzis statements and advertisements about immigration dont, like, not count because they co-opted Republican talking points. In fact, in the wake of his victory, the idea of doing such co-opting more broadly is the chief topic of discussion among Democrats and in the national political press. Any other Democrat running for Congress who wants to copy Suozzis rhetoric about the top issue on the hearts and minds of everybody can do it immediately! Drill down a bit and theres a bigger problem under both of these things. McCarthy got swapped for a weaker fundraiser in Johnson because Republicans have a tiny majority in the House and a small number of far-right representatives can depose the speaker anytime they want. They threaten to do thisand, last fall, did itwhen the speaker says he wants to cooperate in even the most limited way with Democrats to maintain an operating government or pass legislation. This premise, that bipartisan cooperation is betrayal, is also why Republicans killed the Senates Ukraine-immigration bill, which in turn is what gave Democrats like Tom Suozzi the opportunity to legitimately say they would do more than their opponents to fund border security and prevent undocumented immigrants from entering the country. Advertisement Pilip, while a little less of a wild card than George Santos, was also not what operatives would call a quality recruit. When she began the race, she was a registered Democrat. Her husband had been sued for allegedly failing to pay tens of thousands of dollars in a lease dispute. She told everyone that shed been a paratrooper in the Israel Defense Forces, only for reporting to reveal that shed merely done weapons maintenance for paratroopers and had never been in combat. In reality, Mike Johnson probably recognized a lot of what he saw in New Yorks 3rd: A new-to-politics candidate with red flags in their past who gets caught lying a lot; big donors staying on the sidelines because they dont trust the new generation of Republican leaders; the ceding of middle ground on basic issues to Democrats because of conspiratorial thinking and a collective insistence on valorizing partisan hostility and obstinacy. And both you and he likely know the reason why those are features, not bugs, for his party. (The reason is former President Donald Trump!) Its appropriate that the Pilip-Suozzi vote was held in February, really, because for the modern GOP, every election might as well be Groundhog Day. The massive fine announced Friday for the civil fraud trial against Donald Trump wasnt just a major financial blow for the former president. Two of his adult children were hit hard, too. In his ruling, Justice Arthur Engoron, who previously had found that the Trump organization committed fraud by inflating Trumps net worth, decided that Trump and his top associates at the Trump Organization owed an astounding $355 million in damages. On top of that, Trump was banned from serving as an officer or director of any New York corporation or other legal entity in New York for a period of three years. It was a devastating result for the former president in what was arguably the most personal of his legal challenges. The outcome fell only a little short of the $370 million penalty the prosecution had pushed for. For the Trump children, this was bad news, too. Both of Trumps adult sons, Eric and Don Jr., who are executive vice presidents of the Trump Organization, wound up owing more than $4 million each in damages. They, like their father, were also banned from doing business in New Yorkthough their ban is for two years, one year less than their father. One Trump child turned out fine: Ivanka Trump was not a defendant in the case, as she had left the Trump Organization in 2016. But that didnt mean this was a painless situation for her. Like her two other adult siblings who were active in the Trump business (the ever-forgotten Tiffany was blessed to escape getting involved in any of this), Ivanka was still forced to testify, an ordeal that threatened her composed image. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The three Trump children all testified in November. Ivanka Trump, who had the least to fear, took the stand on Nov. 8. She was polite and stuck to her talking points: Though she was an executive vice president of the Trump Organization from 2005 to 2016, she had not had any personal insights into the financial statements. She reiterated her fathers PR claims: The Trump Organization had taken dingy properties and turned them into works of art. She was calm, she smiled often, and she remained quiet on social media. Related From Slate Welp, It Looks Like Fani Willis Torched Her Case Against Trump Read More Donald Trump Jr. took a slightly different tack, going for a strange sort of bro-ish charm inside the courthouse, but acting as an outraged firebrand on the outside. In the courtroom, Don Jr. similarly testified that he had had nothing to do with the records and cracked a few jokes. On social media, he was more aggressive, accusing the prosecutors of being corrupt and having a brazen political mission. Still, he was more astute than his father, choosing not to antagonize the judge in the case (instead only going after New York Attorney General Letitia James). Advertisement Eric Trump mimicked his elder brother, to slightly less impressive effect. He similarly shared posts about James. But in his testimony about his personal culpability, he came off more bungling. Like his brother, Eric Trump said he never had anything to do with the financial statements. He then had to change his tune when the prosecution showed him an email in which Eric had clearly indicated he looked at a spreadsheet about them. Advertisement Ivanka came out the most unscathed. Even if she never works in politics or the Trump business again, her husband, Jared Kushner, has made a career of working out business deals with oligarchs in the Middle East. But its unclear how the two elder Trump sons will fare while theyre locked out of New Yorks business world for two years. Sure, theyll be involved in their fathers political career, but if he fails to win the 2024 election, that wont carry them. They can, for a while at least, keep going on podcasts. And Don Jr. has his hunting magazine. Trump Sr. is still facing four criminal trials: charges of falsified business statements over hush payments to Stormy Daniels; charges he mishandled classified records; charges in Georgia over his meddling in the 2020 presidential election there; and federal charges over his efforts to overturn the election. The first trial, over hush money payments, is currently set for March 25. A unique concert in an ice cathedral, observing the universe from the premises of a ruined castle. Here's what to do during the weekend of February 16-18. Font size: A - | A + Comments disabled Share ART An icy concert On Sunday at 15:00, the Tatra Ice Cathedral in the Hrebienok resort will present the next of its series of live concerts. This time the sibling duo CriSmi is going to showcase the combination of singing and guitar. Admission is free. For more information, click here. Some ice sculptures are on display in the Tatra Ice Cathedral. (Source: TASR) Rapping and folklore go together? Kolo Gana is a rapper and hip-hop producer from Nigeria who samples world music on his Instagram page. At the end of January, he sampled an old Slovak folk song by LH Samka Smetanu. "If you want to make a great rap beat, sample music from Slovakia. I'm telling you, watch," he said at the beginning of the video, which later garnered a very positive reaction among Slovaks. He sampled the music, created a beat and in the end, a completely new song that was released at the beginning of February. Check it out here. video //www.youtube.com/embed/px25MxxnhOk MISCELLANEOUS FUN Observe the universe On Friday, a spectacular event will take place on the premises of Devin castle near Bratislava. In cooperation with professionals from the Slovak Association of Astronomers, the public will have the opportunity to use professional equipment and observe the night sky and its celestial bodies, including the Moon and Jupiter, as well as nebulae and galaxies. It is necessary to bring your own lamp, flashlight or headlamp with a red light function to the event. Admission is 5, get the tickets here. Devin Castle. (Source: TASR) Owls in the night Owl watching will return once more. On Sunday, the event will take place at the Certova Pec (Devil's Kiln) rest stop near the town of Piestany, western Slovakia. All you need to take is a torch and warm clothes. The event is suitable for children aged 8 and over. For more information, click here. The best way to lose prejudices against reptiles On Saturday, the biggest reptile contact zoo and sanctuary in Slovakia, Tropical World, will open in a new spot. Located in the village of Sielnica, between the towns of Zvolen and Banska Bystrica in central Slovakia, the place offers a safe space for contact with the often feared group of animals. The gates will open at 10:00. For more information, including admission, click here. The beauty of dogs This one is for all lovers of man's best friend. From Friday to Saturday, the Agrokomplex exhibition hall in Nitra will house the international dog exhibition, Nitradog, showcasing the beauty, elegance and grace of various breeds of the beloved four-legged animal from around the world. The exhibition offers much for exhibitors and spectators alike. For more information, click here. TRAVEL A market to attend With carnival season nearing its end, the town of Skalica will wave it off with a dedicated farmer's market on Saturday. In addition to many tasty delicacies including sauerkraut soup, you can also expect to see artisans showing their handmade work, including clothes, pottery and more. Hiking in Janosikove Diery Located in the Mala Fatra mountain range, Zilina Region, the system of gorges and ravines called Janosikove Diery are absolutely worth visiting. Read a new travel guide what it is like to hike the winter. Spoiler alert: While the beginning is a pleasant walk, later it's more of an adrenaline rush. Platforms such as this offer an opportunity to have a very good and look at the scenery. (Source: Matus Beno) UPCOMING EVENTS February 25 - Music concert in the Tatra Ice Cathedral. BEFORE YOU GO WHAT TO DO FOR FREE: Do not miss these two concerts. WHAT TO EXPLORE IN BRATISLAVA: How about creating a working autonomous electric car? How about listening to a symphony orchestra? Find out what to do in this week's Top 10 events. WHAT TO READ: Slovak battles rains and drought to unearth Maya history. WHAT TO LEARN: How Pablo, a Jack Russel, helps me learn Slovak. WHAT TO TRY: How to make strapacky, halusky with sauerkraut and bacon. That's it for this week. Take care, and have a nice weekend! Ukrainian university students and their challenges, events in Bratislava, and fun poked at SNS leader Andrej Danko. Font size: A - | A + Comments disabled Share Good evening. Here is the Thursday, February 15 edition of Today in Slovakia - the main news of the day in less than five minutes. Smer intimidates journalists again Smer MP Erik Kalinak. (Source: TASR) Several days ahead of Slovakia marking six years since the murder of investigative journalist Jan Kuciak and his fiancee Martina Kusnirova, a group of journalists are being attacked by the ruling party Smer. On Thursday, the ruling party Smer filed a criminal complaint with the General Prosecutors Office against journalist and novelist Martin Simecka of the Dennik N daily for his remarks about Slovak people. According to the journalist, Smer continues its policy of intimidating journalists. Its not the first time, Im no exception. I think that it doesnt end with me, that others will come, Simecka said. More stories from The Slovak Spectator website Politics: People poke fun at SNS leader Andrej Danko via his bank account. People poke fun at SNS leader Andrej Danko via his bank account. Business: Slovak firms solution helps sign contracts cheaply and quickly. Slovak firms solution helps sign contracts cheaply and quickly. Travel: Enjoy a bit of music for free in Bratislava. Enjoy a bit of music for free in Bratislava. Recipe: How to make strapacky, halusky with sauerkraut and bacon. If you like what we are doing and want to support good journalism, buy our online subscription with no ads and a print copy of The Slovak Spectator sent to your home in Slovakia. Thank you. FEATURE STORY FOR THURSDAY The biggest barrier for Ukrainian university students? Slovak. The University of Economics in Bratislava. (Source: SME - Jozef Jakubco) Many of the Ukrainian university students coming to Slovakia are minors. How to make it easier for young Ukrainians to study at Slovak schools? TOP 10 BRATISLAVA EVENTS Konvergencie will return next week Memorial concert of Marian Varga 70 + 1. (Source: SME - Jozef Jakubco) The ninth winter edition of the Konvergencie festival will celebrate the great universe of Mozarts chamber music. The main guest of the festival will be the outstanding Finnish composer, conductor and pianist Olli Mustonen, whose works will be performed alongside Mozarts. The opening concert will take place on February 22. But there are other events that will take place in Bratislava. In other news Slovakias GDP growth amounted to 1.1 percent last year, and it should accelerate to 2.3 percent in 2024 and 2.6 percent in 2025, according to a winter economic forecast published by the European Commission. (TASR) amounted to 1.1 percent last year, and it should accelerate to 2.3 percent in 2024 and 2.6 percent in 2025, according to a published by the European Commission. (TASR) The right to assess the lawfulness of generally binding legal directives and their accord with the constitution rests exclusively with the Constitutional Court, the Public Health Office said on Thursday with respect to a proposal to introduce a general pardon for misdemeanours committed during the Covid-19 state of emergency . (TASR) . (TASR) The European Commission requests Slovakia to demonstrate that the level of protection of the EUs financial interests regarding the recovery plan wont be reduced with respect to the new Penal Code , but the Commission is asking only for additional explanations and has not raised any objections, Deputy PMs office for recovery plan and knowledge-based economy state secretary Alena Sabelova said. (TASR) requests Slovakia to demonstrate that the level of protection of the EUs financial interests regarding the recovery plan wont be reduced with respect to the , but the Commission is asking only for additional explanations and has not raised any objections, Deputy PMs office for recovery plan and knowledge-based economy state secretary Alena Sabelova said. (TASR) President Zuzana Caputova said on Thursday that she will announce what she intends to do regarding the amendment to the Penal Code on Friday, February 16. said on Thursday that she will announce what she intends to do regarding the amendment to the on Friday, February 16. The Polish company Blik wants to introduce an online payment system in Slovakia, enabling people to send small amounts among each other. As the hnonline.sk news website further writes, the service should be available in Slovakia within a few weeks. Firefighters have received a total of new 16 all-terrain vehicles and 35 cars to fight wildfires and floods. (Source: TASR) WEATHER FOR FRIDAY: The weather on Friday is going to be nice and warm. The highest daytime temperature will range from 7C to 12C. (SHMU) FEBRUARY 16 NAME DAY IN SLOVAKIA: Ida, Liana. Thank you for subscribing and reading. It means a lot to us. P.S. If you have suggestions on how our news overview can be improved, you can reach us at editorial@spectator.sk. Follow The Slovak Spectator on Facebook and Instagram (@slovakspectator). But the survey suggests Igor Matovic's last-minute bid may be diverting support from Ivan Korcok. Font size: A - | A + Comments disabled Share Ivan Korcok, who served as foreign minister under the last government, has almost closed the gap on Peter Pellegrini, the current speaker of parliament and leader of the Hlas party, in the race to become president, according to a pre-election survey by the AKO agency for private broadcaster TV Joj. The first round of the presidential election will take place on March 23. The opinion poll, conducted between February 5 and 12 among 1,000 participants, indicates that among first-round candidates Pellegrini leads with 39 percent, followed closely by Korcok on 37.2 percent. Igor Matovic's last-minute entry into the race seems likely to have dented Korcok's support: Matovic, who was prime minister for some of the time that Korcok was foreign minister, recorded 4.8-percent support. Jan Kubis, another former foreign minister, has 3-percent support, while other candidates range from 2.4 percent (Krisztian Forro) to 0.6 percent (Milan Nahlik). According to AKO's findings, Korcok gained new supporters, but lost some to Matovic and another candidate, Patrik Dubovsky, who is also being backed by the coalition of the Za Ludi, Krestanska Unia and Slovensko parties, which Matovic leads. Matovic's assurance upon launching his candidature "I won't harm Ivan Korcok in the campaign" does not, therefore, appear to be holding true. Matovic's candidacy shifts election dynamics "Igor Matovic likely erased a month of Ivan Korcok's campaign efforts," says AKO agency director Vaclav Hrich. Changes in support among Za Ludi-Krestanska Unia-Slovensko coalition voters show a shift from 64 percent supporting Korcok in January to only 35 percent in the current poll. Matovic's candidacy influenced this shift, with about 2.4 percent now supporting historian Patrik Dubovsky. Korcok lost approximately 4 percentage points in overall support due to this redirection. Matovic's ambition to attract conservative voters seems successful, but he still faces challenges in gaining support from other conservative parties' voters. He acknowledges that his chances of winning are low and suggests his post-first-round actions will depend on how much support he obtains. However, a potential endorsement of Korcok by Matovic may have limited impact, as only 53.8 percent of Matovic's first-round voters would follow such advice, according to AKO data. Pellegrini holds second-round lead; Harabin's voters are undecided When it comes to a likely second-round vote (in which only the top two candidates would remain), the AKO survey shows Pellegrini in the lead with 53.7 percent, ahead of Korcok on 46.3 percent. Supporters of third-place candidate Stefan Harabin, a controversial former justice minister, may impact the outcome. Despite Harabin's statement that he wouldn't advise supporting Pellegrini if he didn't make it to the second round, around 60 percent of his voters would still likely support Pellegrini, as per AKO data. Only 37 days remain until the presidential elections. Her move allows the Constitutional Court four weeks to decide whether to suspend the changes to the Criminal Code. President Caputova, speaking on February 16, announces her strategy for challenging the controversial changes to the Criminal Code. (Source: FB Zuzana Caputova) Font size: A - | A + Comments disabled Share President Zuzana Caputova has decided not to veto the government's contentious Criminal Code amendment, opting instead to sign it and allow time for a constitutional challenge. Her move aims to provide constitutional judges ample time to assess the law before it comes into effect on March 15. The more conventional approach by a dissenting president would be to veto the law, but that would allow the ruling coalition to time a vote to override her veto for which it has the numbers in parliament until the last minute, thus allowing no opportunity for meaningful appeal. Instead, Caputova has chosen to bet on a constitutional review. video //www.youtube.com/embed/eZZoiF9mI_k The governing coalition, comprising Smer, Hlas and the Slovak National Party (SNS), introduced the amendment, which has faced widespread criticism for abolishing the Special Prosecutor's Office, reducing penalties for financial crimes, and shortening the statute of limitations for offences including rape. Controversial legislation under review The president emphasised the importance of a proper legislative process for changes, such as shortening the statute of limitations in cases of rape, that result in serious consequences. The coalition's amendment was rushed through parliament without expert input or public consultation using what is known as a fast-tracked procedure. The changes, and the manner of their passing, garnered international criticism and massive public protests across Slovakia. Caputova's decision allows for a constitutional review, offering an opportunity to address concerns before the law becomes effective. If the legislation's numerous changes to statutes of limitations were to come into effect for even one day they would irrevocably affect and in many cases, effectively end a large number of ongoing criminal cases. The presidential office has already prepared submissions to the Constitutional Court challenging the law change. The submissions primarily address the rushed approach used by the government to pass the law, for which, the president argues, there was no legal reason. https://sputnikglobe.com/20240215/russia-iran-discuss-middle-east-central-asia-security-issues---russian-security-council-1116808924.html Russia, Iran Discuss Middle East, Central Asia Security Issues - Russian Security Council Russia, Iran Discuss Middle East, Central Asia Security Issues - Russian Security Council Sputnik International Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev discussed with his Iranian counterpart, Ali Akbar Ahmadian, security issues in the Middle East and Central Asia in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, the Russian Security Council said on Thursday. 2024-02-15T22:51+0000 2024-02-15T22:51+0000 2024-02-15T22:51+0000 world nikolai patrushev russia iran afghanistan russian security council https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e8/02/0f/1116808764_0:95:3156:1870_1920x0_80_0_0_946a3192f1a3401afdeca10f0a84a96b.jpg "There was an extensive exchange of views on issues of mutual interest, with an emphasis on the strategic priorities of Russia and the Islamic Republic of Iran. The parties focused on security issues in the Middle East and Central Asia, as well as prospects for Russia-Iran cooperation in countering challenges and threats to the security of both states," a statement said.The officials also discussed the practical implementation of the agreements at the highest level, the council highlighted.Nikolai Patrushev and Ali Akbar Ahmadian held talks on the eve of the multilateral meeting of the secretaries of security councils on the issues related to Afghanistan. https://sputnikglobe.com/20231207/closer-iran-russia-ties-better-for-both-amid-transition-to-new-world-order-1115451220.html russia iran afghanistan Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2024 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International russia-iran cooperation, security council, nikolai patrushev, russia-iran ties, russia-iran talks https://sputnikglobe.com/20240215/us-fabricated-claim-that-putin-preferred-trump-over-clinton-in-2016-election---reports-1116809707.html US Fabricated Claim That Putin Preferred Trump Over Clinton in 2016 Election - Reports US Fabricated Claim That Putin Preferred Trump Over Clinton in 2016 Election - Reports Sputnik International The US intelligence community fabricated claims that Russian President Vladimir Putin preferred Donald Trump over Hillary Clinton in the 2016 US presidential election, journalists Michael Shellenberger, Matt Taibbi and Alex Gutentag reported on Thursday. 2024-02-15T23:35+0000 2024-02-15T23:35+0000 2024-02-15T23:35+0000 americas donald trump us 2016 us presidential election 2016 us presidential elections 2016 us election russia gate mueller probe finds no trump-russia collusion russian collusion https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e8/02/0f/1116809889_0:73:2460:1457_1920x0_80_0_0_0cb68c6666f7b5071484a26d6ea9e6de.jpg An Intelligence Community Assessment (ICA) published by the US Director of National Intelligence in January 2017 purported that Putin wanted Trump to win the election. However, the assessments authors fabricated the intelligence on the claim, the report said, citing sources close to a House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI) investigation into the origins of the Trump-Russia scandal. The findings of the HPSCI investigation are being blocked from release, according to the report. Evidence indicates that Putin actually preferred Clinton, the report said. The House investigators found that US intelligence analysts had information about Russians calling Trump unreliable and unsteady, the report said. In contrast, intelligence indicates that Russians viewed Clinton as manageable and likely to continue existing US policies, the report said. Former CIA Director John Brennan led the attempt to frame Trump as Putins preferred candidate in the ICA, the report said. The HPSCI investigation determined that the intelligence community conducted the assessment for political purposes, the report said. On Wednesday, Putin said in an interview with Russian media that it would be better for Russia for current US President Joe Biden to remain in office because he is more predictable. Trump called Putins remarks a "great compliment" and said that Biden would give up everything to Russia. Russia will work with any president elected by US citizens, Putin added. In the wake of the 2016 election campaign, former President Trump was investigated by federal agencies for possible ties between his aides and Russia. Both Trump and Russia denied allegations of collusion. A four-year investigation by US Special Counsel Robert Mueller into the allegations found no evidence of a criminal conspiracy. A subsequent investigation by US Special Counsel John Durham concluded that the FBI should have never launched the probe into the collusion allegations. https://sputnikglobe.com/20220510/bidens-disinformation-czar-pushed-trump-russia-collusion-conspiracy-in-2016-old-tweets-show-1095410726.html https://sputnikglobe.com/20230517/tldr-too-long-didnt-russia-1110409612.html americas Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2024 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International russia collusion, trump russia collusion, clinton trump, trump clinton, donald trump, hillary clinton, putin for trump, putin for clinton, russia elected trump, russia elected clinton, us elections, 2016 us presidential elections, 2016 presidential elections, trump loves putin, putin loves trump, putin-trump ties, putin-trump relations https://sputnikglobe.com/20240215/us-house-breaks-until-february-28-without-advancing-ukraine-israel-aid-bill-1116808540.html US House Breaks Until February 28 Without Advancing Ukraine, Israel Aid Bill US House Breaks Until February 28 Without Advancing Ukraine, Israel Aid Bill Sputnik International The US House of Representatives will break from legislative business until February 28, without having advanced any legislation to provide assistance to Ukraine and Israel. 2024-02-15T22:19+0000 2024-02-15T22:19+0000 2024-02-15T22:19+0000 us americas ukraine crisis us arms for ukraine ukraine israel mike johnson us house of representatives us senate military aid https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e7/02/06/1107015825_0:160:3073:1888_1920x0_80_0_0_a9c22839c4b76c10ff888822768b6abc.jpg House lawmakers adjourned on Thursday for a Presidents Day break, before beginning consideration of legislation to provide aid to Ukraine and Israel, such as a $95 billion supplemental funding bill passed by the US Senate earlier this week. US Congressman Don Bacon reportedly said that he intends to introduce a new bipartisan bill with foreign aid and border security measures, which cut some economic and humanitarian assistance included in the US Senate bill. US House Speaker Mike Johnson has said that he has no plans to bring the Senate bill to the House floor for a vote. https://sputnikglobe.com/20240212/us-must-start-talks-to-end-ukraine-conflict-not-fund-it---senate-candidates-campaign-1116747248.html americas ukraine israel Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2024 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International us arms for ukraine, us assistance to ukraine, aid allocations for ukraine, ukraine aid, money for ukraine, us for ukraine, us weapons for ukraine, us aid to ukraine, us funding for ukraine, us funding to ukraine, us arms for israel, palestine-israel conflict, gaza war, war in gaza, genocide https://sputnikglobe.com/20240215/zelensky-signs-bill-legalizing-medical-cannabis-in-ukraine-1116809038.html Zelensky Signs Bill Legalizing Medical Cannabis in Ukraine Zelensky Signs Bill Legalizing Medical Cannabis in Ukraine Sputnik International Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has signed a bill legalizing the use of cannabis for medical purposes in Ukraine, the country's parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, said on Thursday. 2024-02-15T23:01+0000 2024-02-15T23:01+0000 2024-02-15T23:01+0000 world cannabis ukraine volodymyr zelensky verkhovna rada drug addiction drugs decriminalisation of drugs ukraine crisis https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e8/02/0f/1116809167_0:277:3000:1965_1920x0_80_0_0_4d69d2814bdb8229ff28cf99539157e3.jpg On December 21, 2023, Ukrainian lawmaker Yaroslav Zheleznyak said that the Verkhovna Rada had adopted a bill on the legalization of medical cannabis in the second reading. Later, a resolution to block the bill was registered in parliament. Subsequently, the majority of deputies refused to block it. The bill will go into effect six months after it is officially published. Zelensky pledged to legalize medical cannabis during his presidential campaign in 2019. However, the bill failed to pass the parliament in July 2021. The Ukrainian cabinet backed the president's bid to allow its cultivation and use for medical and scientific purposes in June 2022. https://sputnikglobe.com/20221113/west-tested-narcotic-analgesics-in-ukraine-source-says-1104069467.html ukraine Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2024 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International drugs, drug addiction, drug problem, narcotics, volodymyr zelensky, zelensky drugged, zelenskyy drugged, zelensky high, zelensky addicted, zelensky does drugs, zelenskyy does drugs, cannabis in ukraine, ukraine does cannabis https://sputnikglobe.com/20240216/blinken-to-meet-chinese-foreign-minister-at-munich-security-forum----state-dept-1116818494.html Blinken to Meet Chinese Foreign Minister at Munich Security Forum - State Dept. Blinken to Meet Chinese Foreign Minister at Munich Security Forum - State Dept. Sputnik International US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will meet with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi during the Munich Security Conference in Germany on Friday, according to a schedule on the US Department of State website. 2024-02-16T09:30+0000 2024-02-16T09:30+0000 2024-02-16T09:30+0000 world antony blinken wang yi germany munich china us https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e7/0a/0c/1114118752_0:0:3072:1728_1920x0_80_0_0_09df97fe3f291649de18135375690444.jpg "[At] 3:30 p.m. LOCAL [14:30 GMT] Secretary Blinken meets with People's Republic of China Director of the Office of Foreign Affairs Commission and Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Munich, Germany," the schedule read. The encounter comes after, in January, Wang held a meeting with US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan in Thailand's capital of Bangkok. Following the meeting, a senior US administration official announced that a phone call between US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping would be arranged in spring. This year, the Munich Security Conference takes place from February 16-18. Over 450 high-profile officials, including heads of state, ministers, leading personalities of international and non-governmental organizations, high-ranking representatives of industry, media, academia, and civil society are expected to attend the meeting to discuss international security issues. The forum was founded in 1963 and this year it celebrates its 60th anniversary. https://sputnikglobe.com/20240108/blinken-makes-fresh-shuttle-diplomacy-run-amid-gaza-spillover-fears-1116048380.html germany munich china Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2024 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International chinese foreign minister, us secretary of state antony blinken, us department of state https://sputnikglobe.com/20240216/bombshell-obama-cia-colluded-with-foreign-powers-in-massive-spy-op-against-trump-1116811156.html Bombshell: Obama CIA Colluded with Foreign Powers in Massive Spy Op Against Trump Bombshell: Obama CIA Colluded with Foreign Powers in Massive Spy Op Against Trump Sputnik International Since 2016, Democratic Party officials have accused former US President Donald Trump of illegally colluding with the Russian government as part of the discredited Russiagate narrative. Now, it appears such claims may represent a case of projection on the part of Trumps critics. 2024-02-16T01:48+0000 2024-02-16T01:48+0000 2024-02-16T03:57+0000 americas us donald trump russia gate mueller probe finds no trump-russia collusion russian collusion cia surveillance government surveillance spying https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e8/02/10/1116811547_0:158:3077:1889_1920x0_80_0_0_c9111baaadd2e2646b17b329ecdb17c1.jpg Since 2016, Democratic Party officials have accused former US President Donald Trump of illegally colluding with the Russian government as part of the discredited Russiagate narrative. Now, it appears such claims may represent a case of projection on the part of Trumps critics.Thats the takeaway from a bombshell report by Twitter Files journalists Matt Taibbi and Michael Shellenberger this week that suggests that CIA officials under former US President Barack Obama worked through English-speaking intelligence partners to spy on Trumps presidential campaign.The report alleges that the CIA under intelligence chief John Brennan worked with Five Eyes intelligence partners to circumvent legal restrictions against domestic spying by the agency. Five Eyes is an alliance of intelligence agencies in the United States, the UK, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand.Brennans CIA allegedly colluded with these foreign intelligence agencies to conduct surveillance on the Trump campaign. The spy agency also reportedly targeted prominent people associated with the campaign, operating from a list of 26 figures that intelligence assets could attempt to extract information from.Attorney Steve Gill and analyst Daniel McAdams joined Sputniks Fault Lines program on Thursday to discuss the shocking revelations.It is deplorable that we have a federal government that is spying on our citizens, not because of a legitimate national security interest, but because the deep state is trying to protect their interests rather than the interests of fair and free elections, he added. You know, they're targeting their political opponent. This is the stuff that you see in third-world countries and allegedly in Russia, and it is despicable that it's not getting the backlash from the public and the media that it deserves.Host Jamarl Thomas then cut to a clip of a 2020 appearance by Trump on the 60 Minutes television program.He was right, Thomas observed after playing the clip.Leslie Stahl should be fired by 60 Minutes today, said Gill. All these people that have collected their Emmys and their awards for their journalistic integrity and their successes, including those that denied that the Russia hoax was being pushed by Hillary Clinton at the very least they should be turning in their awards as they exit their positions of power in the media.Daniel McAdams, the executive director of the Ron Paul Institute for Peace and Prosperity, also commented on the bombshell report during the final hour of the program Thursday.Host Jamarl Thomas expressed skepticism towards certain elements of Tiabbi and Shellenbergers reporting, including the justification the FBI allegedly used to search Trumps Mar-a-Lago estate. But McAdams said the spying against Trump is typical of the abuses of the CIA during its long and sordid history.The US Central Intelligence Agency is responsible for a long list of crimes and abuses, including torture, assassinations, human experimentation, sexual abuse, infiltration of the US media, plane hijacking, drug trafficking, terrorism, domestic spying, foreign spying, spying on members of Congress, lying to Congress, human rights violations, recruitment of Nazis, illegal funding of death squads, and political interference and coups in Ukraine, Haiti, El Salvador, Afghanistan, Iraq, Bulgaria, Panama, Nicaragua, Libya, Morocco, Grenada, Angola, Australia, Guatemala, Bolivia, Greece, Chile, Uruguay, Ghana, Indonesia, the Dominican Republic, Peru, Brazil, the Congo, Ecuador, France, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Italy, Syria, Costa Rica, Iran, Albania, Korea, the Philippines, and China, among other countries, according to author William Blum who extensively documented such efforts in his acclaimed and eye-opening book Killing Hope. https://sputnikglobe.com/20220510/bidens-disinformation-czar-pushed-trump-russia-collusion-conspiracy-in-2016-old-tweets-show-1095410726.html https://sputnikglobe.com/20230517/tldr-too-long-didnt-russia-1110409612.html americas russia Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2024 John Miles https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e8/01/19/1116388787_0:0:1316:1316_100x100_80_0_0_77e70d36afd983012b1c5d38ddb84156.jpg John Miles https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e8/01/19/1116388787_0:0:1316:1316_100x100_80_0_0_77e70d36afd983012b1c5d38ddb84156.jpg News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 John Miles https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e8/01/19/1116388787_0:0:1316:1316_100x100_80_0_0_77e70d36afd983012b1c5d38ddb84156.jpg russia collusion, trump russia collusion, clinton trump, trump clinton, donald trump, hillary clinton, putin for trump, putin for clinton, russia elected trump, russia elected clinton, us elections, 2016 us presidential elections, 2016 presidential elections, trump loves putin, putin loves trump, putin-trump ties, putin-trump relations https://sputnikglobe.com/20240216/donald-trump-resonates-with-average-people-with-criticism-of-nato-ukraine-funding-1116813393.html Donald Trump Resonates With Average People With Criticism of NATO, Ukraine Funding Donald Trump Resonates With Average People With Criticism of NATO, Ukraine Funding Sputnik International Mainstream media Russophobia reached new heights this week as stories of alleged Russian space nukes dominated headlines. 2024-02-16T04:35+0000 2024-02-16T04:35+0000 2024-02-16T04:35+0000 donald trump us mike turner ukraine russia republicans nato 2024 us presidential election us presidential campaign presidential campaign https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e8/02/10/1116813700_0:0:3028:1703_1920x0_80_0_0_6f3d7f99f6fb2b792835d509089165d1.jpg Mainstream media Russophobia reached new heights this week as stories of alleged Russian space nukes dominated headlines.The claims, fueled by revelations from Ohio Representative Mike Turner (R-OH), center around an alleged Russian capability to detonate a nuclear device in space, generating an electromagnetic pulse that could disable US satellite communications.Turners warning rekindled anti-Russian sentiment on Capitol Hill just as Republicans seemed poised to sideline the latest aid package for Ukraine. Geopolitical consultant David Oualaalou claimed thats not a coincidence during a Thursday appearance on Sputniks The Critical Hour program.The timing of the release of this story seems interesting and I would say is no pun intended targeted like a laser to damaging Donald Trump, said the international security analyst and founder of Global Perspective Consulting.Trump critics have lambasted the former president in recent days after comments he made urging European countries to contribute more funding towards NATO. Trump has angered establishment figures by questioning the modern-day relevance of the Cold War military alliance.One of the things that I think would be humorous if it weren't so pathetic, over the last couple of days in response to Donald Trump's comments about the funding of NATO and all of that kind of thing is all of this outrage that we've been hearing from analysts and government officials 'how dare Donald Trump encourage Russia to attack NATO' which is not at all what he was doing, said host Wilmer Leon.But they don't talk about the fact that the United States attacked a NATO member when it blew up the Nord Stream pipeline, he noted. That was an act of war against Germany, and Article Five [of the NATO charter] would then require the other NATO countries to come to Germany's assistance in any manner that they saw fit.So the United States, just like violating the peace treaty about war in space by creating the Space Force, they have already violated Article Five, but none of the analysts want to point that out.Oualaalou expressed pessimism over the prospect of accountability for the massive act of terrorism and environmental destruction, noting that Sweden has officially closed their investigation into the matter.Host Garland Nixon speculated that Trumps criticism of the US foreign policy establishment actually endears him to average voters, who care little about Washington officials sacred cows.They don't understand that in a way, they're helping Donald Trump because the American people, the average working-class people, dont see NATO as something that we got to spend hundreds of billions of dollars on. Theyre like, 'man, I'm trying to handle my own business and I can't afford it.'They don't hear the applause that he receives at his rallies when he makes these outrageous statements, they don't hear that, added Leon.You're absolutely correct, agreed Oualaalou. It's spot on. It's because the establishment does not want the American people to sort of absorb what is Donald Trump.When it comes down to the issue of NATO, why are we carrying the burden at the expense of an average American person? Oualaalou asked.Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov weighed in on Turners claims of a serious threat to national security Thursday, calling the accusation an attempt to encourage the Congress to vote for a bill allocating money to Ukraine.What kind of tricks the White House will resort to, so to speak, well, we will see, the spokesman said. https://sputnikglobe.com/20240213/2024-munich-security-index-most-g7-nations-no-longer-see-russia-as-top-threat-1116761608.html https://sputnikglobe.com/20240214/no-reason-to-panic-about-purported-national-security-threat-us-lawmaker-says--1116784875.html ukraine russia Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2024 John Miles https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e8/01/19/1116388787_0:0:1316:1316_100x100_80_0_0_77e70d36afd983012b1c5d38ddb84156.jpg John Miles https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e8/01/19/1116388787_0:0:1316:1316_100x100_80_0_0_77e70d36afd983012b1c5d38ddb84156.jpg News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 John Miles https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e8/01/19/1116388787_0:0:1316:1316_100x100_80_0_0_77e70d36afd983012b1c5d38ddb84156.jpg russophobia, russia-nato showdown, us expansionism, nato expansion, leave nato, nato withdrawal, russia-us war, european army, european forces, russia-us conflict, donald trump, military alliance, war psychosis, russian forces, russia advances, russia attacks, russian threat, reciprocal deterrence, russia threat, russian threat https://sputnikglobe.com/20240216/egypt-building-wall-near-gaza-strips-city-of-rafah---reports-1116818118.html Egypt Building Wall Near Gaza Strip's City of Rafah - Reports Egypt Building Wall Near Gaza Strip's City of Rafah - Reports Sputnik International A wall commissioned by the Egyptian army is being constructed on the border between Egypt and the Gaza Strip near the latter's city of Rafah, which is the target of a planned Israeli ground offensive, the New York Times reported on Friday, having analyzed satellite images and videos and citing construction workers. 2024-02-16T09:24+0000 2024-02-16T09:24+0000 2024-02-16T09:24+0000 world palestine-israel conflict egypt gaza strip rafah middle east hamas https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e8/01/1d/1116478125_0:161:3071:1888_1920x0_80_0_0_a6da4b891b1d499d01ddb150c222ee22.jpg The images and videos show that a large area in the buffer zone between Egypt and Rafah, just south of the Rafah border crossing, is being cleared by bulldozers, the newspaper reported, adding that the work on the site had been launched on February 5. An unnamed contractor and a construction worker confirmed to the media outlet that the Egyptian army had commissioned them to build a 16-foot concrete wall to close off a patch of land of 1.93 square miles. Although the work in the area kicked off at the beginning of the month, construction of the wall was launched just a few days ago, the contractor and the worker told the newspaper. It is still not known whether the wall is designed to prevent an influx of refugees from the Gaza Strip in Egypt amid the upcoming Israeli offensive in Rafah. The Egyptian government declined to comment on the issue, the report said. Over the past week, many international leaders have raised concerns over the planned Israeli incursion into Rafah. On Monday, US President Joe Biden said that he opposes any military operation if it does not take into consideration the security of civilians. On October 7, 2023, Hamas launched a large-scale attack on Israel, killing 1,200 and abducting more than 200 others. The attack prompted a retaliatory military operation by Israel, leading to the deaths of more than 28,500 people in the Gaza Strip, according to local authorities. In November 2023, Qatar mediated a deal between Israel and Hamas on a temporary truce and the exchange of some of the prisoners and hostages, as well as the delivery of humanitarian aid into Gaza. The ceasefire expired on December 1, 2023, after several extensions. More than 100 hostages are still believed to be held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip. https://sputnikglobe.com/20240215/evacuation-of-refugees-in-rafah-to-supposed-safe-zone-is-illusion---un-1116800553.html egypt gaza strip rafah Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2024 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International egyptian army, israeli ground offensive, wall near gaza strip's city of rafah https://sputnikglobe.com/20240216/heres-why-zelensky-wants-separate-security-pacts-with-france-and-germany-1116826716.html Heres Why Zelensky Wants Separate Security Pacts With France and Germany Heres Why Zelensky Wants Separate Security Pacts With France and Germany Sputnik International Ukraines president traveled to Germany and France on Friday to sign security pacts with the pair of European powers amid fading US military and financial assistance to Kiev. Sputnik asked a leading Swedish geopolitics and defense affairs expert about Ukraines motivations on the one hand and those of the Europeans on the other. 2024-02-16T15:57+0000 2024-02-16T15:57+0000 2024-02-16T15:58+0000 volodymyr zelensky europe emmanuel macron olaf scholz ukraine kiev germany nato world https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e8/02/10/1116826418_0:160:3072:1888_1920x0_80_0_0_07ef7289b8096e1724b86f059f70e814.jpg Volodymyr Zelensky embarked on another of his globetrotting trips this week, traveling to Berlin Friday to sign a bilateral security pact with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz before continuing on to Paris for talks with his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, where a second bilateral security agreement is expected. The trip comes one day ahead of the start of the Munich Security Conference, which Zelensky is also expected to attend in person this year.The bilateral security pact idea, first floated at NATOs Vilnius Summit last July, is eventually expected to include other members of the alliance as well. Before Germany and France, the Zelensky regime had signed a similar agreement with the UK in January, committing London to timely and continuous military assistance to Kiev over the coming ten years.Zelenskys whirlwind tour of Europe comes amid faltering US support for Kiev, with a $61 billion US aid package stuck in the Congress amid accusations from House Republicans that the Biden administration is more interested in Ukraines border than the USs own southern frontier with Mexico.It also comes amid growing difficulties for Ukrainian troops trying to hold onto frontline positions amid increasingly powerful Russian assaults, including a reported partial withdrawal from the heavily fortified, Ukrainian-occupied Donbass city of Avdeyevka this week.The purpose of the bilateral pacts is to have some kind of interim support in place as Kievs quest to join NATO drags on, and to ensure that Ukraines leaders continue to feel that they will have long-term support from different NATO countries, says Mikael Valtersson, a former Swedish Armed Forces officer and chief of staff of the Sweden Democrats Party.In the meantime, Kiev hopes to use bilateral security deals with bloc members to prevent the collapse of its war effort.As for the pacts practical implications, Valtersson suggests they will basically continue whats happening today the delivery of more military and economic aid to Kiev, but now on a more formalized basis.They are going to do the same thing as theyre doing today that is, giving military and economic support if Ukraine is in some kind of trouble. This isnt coming out of the blue. At the NATO summit in Vilnius, we saw that they talked about this that they would have some kind of security agreements [with Kiev] before they became members.The Swedish observer also sees the latent rivalry between London and Brussels as another potential factor, with Berlin and Paris wanting to show that the EU remains just as committed to Kievs cause, especially amid flagging American economic support as $61 billion in funding remains stuck in Congress.Of course, Valtersson stressed, all of these bilateral agreements will be subject to the political will of the leaderships of countries implementing them, with their signatories vulnerable to opposition forces seeking a strategic realignment when it comes to the Ukrainian crisis and ties with Russia.In France, Marine Le Pen is ahead of Macron in the opinion polls. Macron cant be reelected. That doesnt say much, but another candidate from his party might be less popular than he is, Valtersson said.The same goes for Germany, where support for Chancellor Scholzs Traffic Light Coalition has reached historic lows as Berlins strategy of aid for Kiev and economic sanctions war against Russia continues to backfire.In any event, the Swedish defense expert said he doesnt exactly take much stock in the Western alliances commitments to Kiev, especially as far as defense assistance is concerned, citing the recent failed promise to deliver one million artillery shells. https://sputnikglobe.com/20240215/ukrainian-troops-reportedly-beginning-partial-withdrawal-from-avdeyevka-1116804994.html https://sputnikglobe.com/20240216/lavrov-eu-bets-on-long-range-missiles-to-ukraine-in-bid-to-strike-at-russias-heart-1116816972.html https://sputnikglobe.com/20240216/tucker-carlson-believes-ukraine-will-never-repay-60bln-to-us-if-aid-provided-in-loan-1116814343.html https://sputnikglobe.com/20240202/scholzs-ruling-coalition-braces-for-another-budget-crisis-in-2025-1116559788.html https://sputnikglobe.com/20240214/debunking-myths-us-60bln-handout-wont-save-zelenskys-dying-regime-1116775344.html ukraine kiev germany Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2024 Ilya Tsukanov Ilya Tsukanov News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Ilya Tsukanov why did ukraine sign security pact with germany and france, why did zelensky travel to germany and french before the munich security conference, volodymyr zelensky, olaf scholz, emmanuel macron https://sputnikglobe.com/20240216/hypocrisy-in-action-israel-allowed-to-participate-in-eurovision-while-russia-banned-1116807929.html Hypocrisy in Action: Israel Allowed to Participate in Eurovision While Russia Banned Hypocrisy in Action: Israel Allowed to Participate in Eurovision While Russia Banned Sputnik International On Thursday, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU)---which owns and operates Eurovision---announced that they had conducted a review and made the decision to allow Israel to participate. 2024-02-16T02:50+0000 2024-02-16T02:50+0000 2024-02-16T02:50+0000 eurovision russia israel-gaza conflict anti-russian bias european broadcasting union israel western sanctions western sanctions against russia racial discrimination discrimination https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e8/02/10/1116812281_0:0:3198:1799_1920x0_80_0_0_43695d52d4c006ed84a33c3c45e31cf1.jpg On Thursday, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU)---which owns and operates Eurovision---announced that they had conducted a review and made the decision to allow Israel to participate.The Eurovision song contest is a non-political music event and a competition between public service broadcasters who are members of the EBU. It is not a contest between governments, the EBU director general, Noel Curran, said in a statement.In 2022, Eurovision banned Russia from participating in the contest. In response, Russias national broadcasters suspended their memberships from the EBU. At the time, the contests executive supervisor, Martin Osterdahl, said the contests values stood for basic and ultimate values of democracy as well as solidarity, reaching out, and uniting through music.Noel Curran, the director general of the EBU, said that it was not the EBUs place to make comparisons between the two governments.In the case of Russia, the Russian broadcasters themselves were suspended from the EBU due to their persistent breaches of membership obligations and the violation of public service values, said Curran.Eden Golan, a 20-year-old who grew up in Russia, will represent Israel in this years Eurovision after winning a domestic contest. The event will be held in Malmo, Sweden, in May.In December, 2023, the Association of Composers and Lyricists of Iceland (FTT) called on the Icelandic National Broadcasting Service (RUV) not to participate in the 2024 Eurovision contest unless Israel is denied participation in the competition on the same grounds as Russia in the last competition.Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin announced that Moscow would stage its own singing contest with its partner countries as a replacement for Eurovision.Israels attack on Hamas, first triggered by their attack on October 7, has resulted in the killings of more than 28,000 people in Gaza which has included mostly women and children, according to the Health Ministry in Gaza. https://sputnikglobe.com/20240215/israel-rejects-hamas-ceasefire-offer-calls-movements-demands-delusional-1116787485.html russia israel Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2024 Mary Manley https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e6/01/0b/1092187887_0:0:2048:2049_100x100_80_0_0_0c2cc4c84f89aff034cc55bb01fb6697.jpg Mary Manley https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e6/01/0b/1092187887_0:0:2048:2049_100x100_80_0_0_0c2cc4c84f89aff034cc55bb01fb6697.jpg News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Mary Manley https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e6/01/0b/1092187887_0:0:2048:2049_100x100_80_0_0_0c2cc4c84f89aff034cc55bb01fb6697.jpg eurovision, israel, russia, song contest, european broadcasting union, sanctions against russia, anti-russian prejudice, us hegemony, western pressure, western world, western dominance, us dominance, anti-russian campaign, anti-russian bias, anti-russian sentiment, anti-russian campaign, sanctions, european sanctions, eu sanctions, western dominance, unipolar world, western arrogance, western rules, western arrogance, western influence, western interference, discrimination, racial discrimination, discrimination against russians https://sputnikglobe.com/20240216/if-you-want-to-get-radicalized-see-russia-scott-ritter-on-tuckers-eye-opening-moscow-trip-1116823001.html Want to Get 'Radicalized', See Russia: Scott Ritter Weighs in on Tuckers Eye-Opening Moscow Tour Want to Get 'Radicalized', See Russia: Scott Ritter Weighs in on Tuckers Eye-Opening Moscow Tour Sputnik International Fox News host-turned independent journalist Tucker Carlson said he felt radicalized and legitimately angry at Americas leaders after visiting a supermarket in the Russian capital. Former US Marine and UN weapons inspector Scott Ritter told Sputnik why Tucker could have experienced something similar in nearly any major Russian city. 2024-02-16T14:14+0000 2024-02-16T14:14+0000 2024-02-16T14:27+0000 analysis tucker carlson us russia moscow novosibirsk fox news gmo putins interview with tucker carlson https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e8/02/10/1116823776_4:0:1046:586_1920x0_80_0_0_fff382b127337466ae0ff2e806ce4805.jpg The knives are out for Tucker Carlson in the Washington establishment and the legacy media as he continues to debunk myths and stereotypes about Russia with a series of videos about life in the capital in the midst of the Wests sanctions total war.In the latest of a series of clips posted to his internet channel about his experiences from his eight-day stay in Russia, Carlson praised Moscows grocery prices. I went from amused to legitimately angry, Carlson said after purchasing a weeks worth of groceries for the equivalent of about $105 US.The independent conservative journalists comments sparked immediate outrage from detractors, with neocon Republican lawmaker Thom Tillis echoing Hillary Clinton, blasting Carlson as a useful idiot and mocking him for suggesting Russia is so much better than the US with all those cheap groceries and lavish subway stations.Another neocon group, Republicans Against Trump, blasted Carlson as a Kremlin propagandist and accused him of running a program called Russia is awesome, the US is crap.The hate was echoed by establishment media, with the USA Today publishing a column suggesting Tucker should do everything he can to get his followers to move to Russia. MSNBC host Chris Hayes immediately jumped in to suggest that the discrepancy in grocery prices is the result of America being a rich country and that if you are an american [sic] and go to a country that is poorer, things will be cheaper there. Others suggested Tuckers experiences were unique to Moscow, and that he would see something different if he went to real Russia outside the Potemkin village Russian capital.It's like a modern day equivalent of John Reed's classic 10 Days That Shook the World 8 Days That Radicalized Tucker Carlson, former UN weapons inspector Scott Ritter told Sputnik of Carlsons eye-opening experiences during his visit to Russia.Pointing to those dishing out of hate Carlsons way and claiming his experiences were somehow fake, Ritter, who has traveled to Russia extensively over the past year, Ritter assured that he has been to the rest of Russia, and could confirm that what the former Fox News host saw in Moscow could be observed in other Russian cities as well.In Novosibirsk, I saw a people who live their lives just like everybody else [with] a public transportation system that's clean, efficient, streets that are clean, efficient. Why? Because throughout Russia, the Russian people care about their cities as much as the residents of Moscow care about theirs. Russia is a nation, not a city. And the Russians love their country, he added.Novosibirsk is not unique, Ritter emphasized, saying similar things can be seen in Ekaterinburg, Russias fourth-largest city, and in Irkutsk another city in Siberia which he traveled to. https://sputnikglobe.com/20240216/tucker-carlson-dont-believe-your-lying-eyes--1116820122.html https://sputnikglobe.com/20240216/tucker-carlson-believes-ukraine-will-never-repay-60bln-to-us-if-aid-provided-in-loan-1116814343.html https://sputnikglobe.com/20240212/kremlin-calls-reaction-of-scholz-sunak-to-putins-interview-emotional-1116738271.html russia moscow novosibirsk Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2024 Ilya Tsukanov Ilya Tsukanov News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Scott Ritter on Tucker Carlson's visit in Moscow Sputnik International Scott Ritter on Tucker Carlson's visit in Moscow 2024-02-16T14:14+0000 true PT4M38S 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Ilya Tsukanov what is life really like in moscow, how is moscow doing under sanctions, has russia's economy been damaged by sanctions, tucker carlson, grocery store, scott ritter https://sputnikglobe.com/20240216/iran-saudi-arabia-inch-closer-to-military-cooperation-as-us-loses-grip-in-mideast---analyst-1116815201.html Iran, Saudi Arabia Inch Closer to Military Cooperation as US Loses Grip in Mideast - Analyst Iran, Saudi Arabia Inch Closer to Military Cooperation as US Loses Grip in Mideast - Analyst Sputnik International Iran and Saudi Arabia could forge some sort of agreements, if not specifically military ones, then political ones related also to security and defense aspects, Mehmet Rakipoglu told Sputnik. 2024-02-16T09:02+0000 2024-02-16T09:02+0000 2024-02-16T09:02+0000 analysis iran saudi arabia palestine-israel conflict yemen middle east palestine tehran riyadh hamas https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e7/04/06/1109187523_0:91:1195:763_1920x0_80_0_0_d1214f88fa108a12be1a72698cc40e6d.jpg Iran and Saudi Arabia could forge some sort of agreements, if not specifically military ones, then political ones related also to security and defense aspects, Mehmet Rakipoglu, a researcher on international affairs at Dimensions for Strategic Studies, a think tank based in the London, told Sputnik.While there is currently no military cooperation between both countries, he underscored, there could be limited collaboration linked to Yemen, as Saudi Arabia seeks a way out of its involvement in the civil war in that nation.Furthermore, if Saudi Arabia decided to be part of a solution in the Palestine -Israel conflict, Riyadh could offer a new political form to efforts to avoid a greater spillover of the violence.As part of the drive towards the restoration of diplomatic ties between the two Mideast rivals, launched last year, Iranian Defense Minister Mohammad Reza Ashtiani said on Tuesday that his country was ready to expand security and defense cooperation with Saudi Arabia. Ashtiani spoke during a meeting with Saudi Ambassador to Tehran Abdullah bin Saud al-Anzi, where he specified some of the areas in which the armed forces of the two countries could cooperate, including aspects such as the military, intelligence, and technology. He also voiced confidence that such cooperation would benefit both countries, while also boosting security and stability in the region.Ashtiani emphasized Iran's readiness for defense and security talks with Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries in the region, while also urging Muslim states to adopt a more coordinated stance towards Israel amid its war on Hamas in Gaza. For his part, the Saudi envoy emphasized the need to promote bilateral cooperation in different fields, including defense.As for the situation in Gaza, Saudi Arabia would restore diplomatic relations with Israel only if a Palestinian state is recognized within its 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital and the conflict in the Gaza Strip is ended, the Saudi Foreign Ministry said in February."The Kingdom has communicated its firm position to the U.S. administration that there will be no diplomatic relations with Israel unless an independent Palestinian state is recognized on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital, and that the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip stops and all Israeli occupation forces withdraw from the Gaza Strip," the ministry said in a statement.Military cooperation is critical for both countries, Mehmet Rakipoglu pointed out, adding that during the period before the normalization process started between Iran and Saudi Arabia, their problems were more related to security, especially for Riyadh.On March 10, 2023, Iran and Saudi Arabia announced that they had agreed to reestablish diplomatic ties after years of tensions. The two Middle Eastern powers signaled their intent to reopen their respective embassies and re-implement a 22-year-old security pact under which Tehran and Riyadh agreed to cooperate on issues related to terrorism, drug smuggling, and money laundering.I don't think that there is going to be a big or huge, concrete military cooperation between both countries because Iranian-backed militias are still active in Yemen, in Syria, in Iraq, and also even in Gulf countries, in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, East part of Saudi Arabia, said Mehmet Rakipoglu. But the recent statements show that there is a willingness to negotiate and collaborate.As American influence in the Middle East and elsewhere in the world is waning, Of course the US was bothered and was angry because the normalization process was held in China. So, it was obvious that the United States was not happy with that, said Mehmet Rakipoglu. He pointed out that "if there is no tension and no conflict between Saudis and Iranians, there is no need for US to support Gulf countries." https://sputnikglobe.com/20230905/iran-saudi-arabia-exchange-ambassadors-after-years-of-divisions-1113137947.html https://sputnikglobe.com/20230407/chinas-saudi-iran-deal-indicates-us-no-longer-pulling-mideast-strings-1109246891.html https://sputnikglobe.com/20240207/normalizing-saudi-israel-ties-requires-palestinian-state-recognition-1116634179.html iran saudi arabia yemen palestine tehran Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2024 Svetlana Ekimenko Svetlana Ekimenko News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Svetlana Ekimenko china mediated deal iran and saudi arabia, saudi arabia and iran signed agreement in beijing, china reconciliation, us losing influence in middle east, https://sputnikglobe.com/20240216/irgc-commander-hails-irans-missile-and-drone-power-teases-new-naval-drone-capabilities-1116824525.html IRGC Commander Hails Irans Missile and Drone Power, Teases New Naval Drone Capabilities IRGC Commander Hails Irans Missile and Drone Power, Teases New Naval Drone Capabilities Sputnik International Irans military and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps have spent months on high alert in anticipation of possible Israeli and US aggression to escalate the Gaza crisis into a regional crisis, with Tehran warning Washington and its top regional ally that any provocation would be met with a swift response. 2024-02-16T14:12+0000 2024-02-16T14:12+0000 2024-02-16T14:12+0000 military iran washington israel amir ali hajizadeh military & intelligence islamic revolutionary guard corps (irgc) navy hezbollah https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/101652/53/1016525397_0:11:1300:742_1920x0_80_0_0_5c27222a35e94ff219bed8d75bf00c24.jpg Iran is one of the worlds top missile and drone-manufacturing powers, and even the United States military recognizes the Islamic Republics defense capabilities, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Aerospace Force Commander Amir Ali Hajizadeh has said.We are among the top powers in the world in the fields of defense, missiles and now drones, Hajizadeh said at an exhibition of Iranian aerospace achievements this week.The Islamic Republics domestic defense capabilities are now beyond imagination compared to what they were in the 1980s, during the brutal Iran-Iraq War, Hajizadeh noted.Today, for example, Irans military can hit moving floating targets or carry out reconnaissance missions anywhere using advanced undetectable drones, Hajizadeh said.The commander did not elaborate on this new advanced unmanned naval system.The Islamic Republic showcased a new domestically created and produced naval remote-operated vehicle (ROV) in December. The underwater drone is said to be designed for minesweeping operations, and to be capable of operating up to 24 hours at a time at depths up to 200 meters. The vehicle is expected to prove an important addition to the Navys HR-53 electromagnetic signal-generating mine-sweeping helicopters and manned minesweepers like the Shahin.Hajizadeh warned late last week during celebrations of the 45th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution that the US should keep its distance from Iran, stressing that the Islamic Republi does not want war but would be ready to respond to any threat. He further urged Americans and Westerners in general to be aware of where their governments are spending their tax money.Irans military-industrial complex has undergone an unparalleled transformation over the past four-and-a-half decades from a US and European dependency to one of the few regional and world powers with the capability to develop, create and build an array of weapons completely from scratch. Taking advantage of its budding status as a global scientific and technological superpower, the Islamic Republics defense engineers have turned into masters of asymmetric warfare, showing a penchant for creating and fielding homegrown armaments to counter adversaries who are much-better funded, more numerous and more heavily armed.Ballistic and cruise missiles and a vast array of mostly naval drones are two of Irans top specialties, with the country seeing the former as its main strategic deterrent against large-scale foreign aggression, and the latter as a key tool in support of its conventional forces.Iranian officials and military commanders have spent months warning the US and its Israeli allies not to try to drag Tehran into a regional conflagration amid the ongoing crisis in Gaza, warning that any aggression would be met with an immediate and crushing response, up to and including missile strikes on Israel and against US military targets across the Persian Gulf.Seeking US assistance, Israeli officials have sought to pull Washington into a new Middle East misadventure, targeting Iranian advisors assisting the Syrian government in its fight against terrorism, and attacking Hezbollah, the powerful Lebanese political and militant movement with security links to Iran.Tel Aviv and Washington have in turn accused Iran of helping Yemens Houthi militiamen in their ongoing operation in the Red Sea against Israeli-affiliated shipping. Iran has denied helping the Houthis directly, but has widely praised their operations against the Zionist regime. https://sputnikglobe.com/20240216/iran-saudi-arabia-inch-closer-to-military-cooperation-as-us-loses-grip-in-mideast---analyst-1116815201.html https://sputnikglobe.com/20240211/islamic-revolution-at-45-how-khomeini-transformed-irans-relations-with-moscow-1116722798.html https://sputnikglobe.com/20240204/us-prepared-for-war-with-iran-will-take-more-action-says-official-as-us-strikes-kill-40-1116590108.html iran washington israel Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2024 Ilya Tsukanov Ilya Tsukanov News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Ilya Tsukanov why does iran have so many drones, does iran have naval drones, drone, naval drone, capabilities, power, irgc https://sputnikglobe.com/20240216/julian-assanges-wife-says-he-will-die-if-extradited-to-united-states-1116814151.html Julian Assange's Wife Says He 'Will Die' If Extradited to United States Julian Assange's Wife Says He 'Will Die' If Extradited to United States Sputnik International The extradition to the United States of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who is currently in prison in the United Kingdom, would result in his death, his wife Stella said on Thursday. 2024-02-16T04:32+0000 2024-02-16T04:32+0000 2024-02-16T04:32+0000 world london julian assange united kingdom (uk) wikileaks us extradition https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e4/09/17/1080549483_0:151:1600:1051_1920x0_80_0_0_7f5d9fe9150e45bfc14d91b9634220f9.jpg Assange is awaiting a potentially final appeal hearing, scheduled at the High Court in London from February 20-21, against a US order to extradite him on espionage charges. She pointed out the seriousness of the situation and added that Julian Assange could be on a plane to the US "within days." Stella added that her husband "should never have been put in prison in the first place" and called the case a "politically motivated" one, saying it violates the UK-US extradition treaty which prohibits extradition for political reasons. She also said the "bogus extradition request" would have been thrown out by London if it was made by any country other than the US. If the High Court in London rejects Assange's appeal, he would apply to the European Court of Human Rights for an order under Rule 39 to stop the extradition while it considers his case, she said. Assange, an Australian citizen, was transferred to London's high-security Belmarsh prison in April 2019 on bail breach charges. In the US, he faces prosecution under the Espionage Act for obtaining classified information and publishing it in the public domain. If convicted, the WikiLeaks founder could face 175 years in prison. Assange lost his previous appeal at the UK High Court last June. WikiLeaks was founded by Assange in 2006 but rose to prominence in 2010 when it began publishing large-scale leaks of classified government information, including from the US. https://sputnikglobe.com/20231110/us-congress-members-call-for-biden-to-drop-us-extradition-request-against-assange-1114857853.html london united kingdom (uk) Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2024 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International wikileaks founder julian assange, extradited to united states, prison in the united kingdom https://sputnikglobe.com/20240216/lavrov-eu-bets-on-long-range-missiles-to-ukraine-in-bid-to-strike-at-russias-heart-1116816972.html Lavrov: EU Bets on Long-Range Missiles to Ukraine in Bid to Strike at Russia's Heart Lavrov: EU Bets on Long-Range Missiles to Ukraine in Bid to Strike at Russia's Heart Sputnik International On Thursday, the Russian Defense Ministry said that Russian air defense systems had destroyed 14 RM-70 Vampire multiple launch rocket system (MLRS) missiles over the Belgorod region fired by Ukraine. As a result of the attack, seven people, including a child, were killed, while 18 were injured. 2024-02-16T09:30+0000 2024-02-16T09:30+0000 2024-02-17T11:26+0000 world russian defense ministry european union (eu) russia ukraine donbass viktor yanukovych sergey lavrov ukrainian constitutional court multiple-launch rocket systems (mlrs) https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e8/02/10/1116817450_0:0:3176:1787_1920x0_80_0_0_304d1eec95d829e2246905ec4c4ffd81.jpg Addressing a Moscow-hosted conference entitled 'Euromaidan: Ukraine's Lost Decade', Sergey Lavrov, the nations top diplomat, pointed out that the EU had advised Ukraine to use the Western-supplied long-range weapons to "reach the heart of Russia."UK Role in Ukraine ConflictLondon's stance when it comes to the situation in Ukraine is even more aggressive than Washington's position, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Friday.As for the possible restoration of a good level of relations, Lavrov repeated the words of Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying that they "will be restored one day," but the date when that would happen depended on the West's readiness to take mirror steps in this regard.In November 2023, David Arakhamia, the head of Ukraine's ruling Servant of the People party in parliament and former chief negotiator with Russia, said ex-UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson talked Kiev out of signing an agreement with Moscow to end the conflict in the spring of 2022. He also said Ukraine rejected the ceasefire deal due to it contradicting the constitution's clause on the country's Euro-Atlantic aspiration.Russia and Ukraine held several rounds of talks in the early phase of the conflict, but the negotiations eventually stalled.First Coup in UkraineRussia's top diplomat said that the first coup in Ukraine took place in 2004, after the West forced the Ukrainian Constitutional Court to rule on a third round of elections, something which was not provided for. This was because they didn't need Viktor Yanukovich, who was elected with votes from the south and southeast of the country, he added.Donbass ConflictSergey Lavrov said that the original agreement was to solve the problems in Ukraine by federalizing the country, but Kiev decided to abandon this. "Putin personally persuaded Donbass not to give up the possibility of negotiations. Thus, the Minsk talks became a possibility in principle. But, as we know, the West took advantage of this to arm Kiev. This is, in fact, an admission of guilt," the foreign minister noted.Zelensky's Peace FormulaAccording to the minister, Zelensky's peace formula is an empty and unwise initiative. "Zelensky's formula is empty and, at the very least, an unwise initiative that the West is trying to lure other countries into by demanding their support. They are trying to lure them with supposedly neutral points that can supposedly be supported unilaterally. What a fraud," Lavrov said. https://sputnikglobe.com/20240210/hungary-under-attack-for-advocating-peace-talks-in-ukraine-conflict--foreign-minister-1116707065.html russia ukraine donbass Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2024 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International eu made recommendations to ukraine, long-range missiles to attack russia https://sputnikglobe.com/20240216/moscow-urges-us-to-show-restraint-in-connection-with-navalnys-death-1116825800.html Moscow Urges US to Show Restraint in Connection With Navalny's Death Moscow Urges US to Show Restraint in Connection With Navalny's Death Sputnik International The United States needs to show restraint in connection with the death of Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny and wait for the results of the medical examination, the Russian Foreign ministry said on Friday. 2024-02-16T14:55+0000 2024-02-16T14:55+0000 2024-02-16T17:32+0000 russia alexei navalny kamala harris russia state department white house us antony blinken https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e8/01/15/1116300757_0:72:2777:1634_1920x0_80_0_0_0c546f989aa7cad69dbb5421fd80b154.jpg "It is interesting why, for the White House and the State Department, the death of a Russian citizen in a Russian penal colony turned out to be much more important and seemed more terrible than the death of a US citizen, journalist Gonzalo Lira, tortured in a Ukrainian prison? Instead of indiscriminate accusations, it would be better to show restraint and wait for the official results of the medical examination," the ministry said on Telegram.Fifteen minutes after the opposition leader's death was announced, a "stream of carbon-copy accusations started to pour in," the ministry said.Earlier in the day, the Russian prison service said that Navalny died in prison, adding that the causes of death are being established. Later, US Vice President Kamala Harris claimed that Russia is responsible for the death of opposition politician Alexei Navalny. "This is of course terrible news which we are working to confirm," Harris said at the Munich Security Conference. "If confirmed, this would be a further sign of Putin's brutality, whatever story they tell, let us be clear, Russia is responsible. And we will have more to say on this later." US Secretary of State Antony Blinken also blamed Russia for the death of Navalny and said the United States would consult with its allies about a possible response."Russia is responsible for this. We'll be talking to many other countries concerned about Alexei Navalny, especially if these reports bear out to be true," Blinken said in remarks at the Munich Security Conference in Germany.The paramedics attempted to resuscitate Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny for more than 30 minutes, Russia's Labytnangi city hospital told Sputnik on Friday."The doctors who arrived at the scene continued the resuscitation measures that the colony's doctors had already provided. And they tries for over 30 minutes. However, the patient died," a hospital representative said.The paramedics reached the prison in less than seven minutes, and the doctors got to the patient in two minutes, the representative added.Investigation Into Cause of Death LaunchedThe Russian Federal Penitentiary Service (FSIN) is inspecting everything related to the death of Navalny and there is no need for additional instructions, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. The causes of the death should be established by doctors, he said.FSIN has dispatched a commission to the prison in connection with Navalnys sudden death. The Russian Investigative Committees office in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Area has launched a procedural investigation.The immediate reaction of Western leaders to Navalnys death is "self-exposing," as they have made their conclusions before a forensic examination is completed, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.No Complaints From Navalny BeforeThe Public Monitoring Commission in Russias Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Area did not receive any complaints from opposition politician Alexei Navalny, Danila Gontar, the head of the commission's regional office, told Sputnik on Friday.The human rights ombudsman of the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Area, Andrey Nesteruk, also told Sputnik that Navalny and his representatives had not approached him with complaints about the conditions of detention in the colony.On Thursday, Navalny participated in three court hearings via videoconference in the Kovrovskiy court of the Vladimir Region and in two other court hearings in the Vladimir regional court, the courts told Sputnik."We had two court hearings yesterday. He [Navalny] did not complain about his well-being, he spoke actively, presented arguments in defense of his position," the Vladimir regional court said. https://sputnikglobe.com/20210609/moscow-court-recognizes-navalnys-coordinating-centers-as-extremist-organizations-1083111208.html russia Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2024 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International alexei navalny, navalny died, navalny death, russian foreign ministry comment on navalny death, what western leaders say about navalny death https://sputnikglobe.com/20240216/national-security-theater-trump-trials-colombia-lawfare-1116809378.html National Security Theater, Trump Trials, Colombia Lawfare National Security Theater, Trump Trials, Colombia Lawfare Sputnik International Both Congress and ICE engage in political theater and fearmongering in a hunt for more funding. 2024-02-16T04:19+0000 2024-02-16T04:19+0000 2024-02-16T08:39+0000 political misfits russia ukraine colombia national security ice migration donald trump fani willis https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e8/02/0f/1116809496_0:0:1920:1080_1920x0_80_0_0_70fb1240c98d9d47d95f641fe681dc58.png National Security Theater, Trump Trials, Colombia Lawfare Sputnik International Both Congress and ICE engage in political theater and fearmongering in a hunt for more funding. Writer and journalist Daniel Lazare joins Misfits hosts Michelle Witte and Ben Zinevich to discuss an eventful day for former President Donald Trump and his many court battles. They break down his felony accounting fraud case in Manhattan, the Atlanta hearing on the conduct of the prosecutorial team heading his election interference case there, and why the Supreme Court is being asked to intervene on the question of presidential immunity in his federal election interference case. They also discuss CBS firing correspondent Catherine Herridge, and New York City's lawsuit against major social media entities for their alleged role in the countrys youth mental health crisis.Journalist and co-editor of Peoples Dispatch Zoe Alexandra discusses efforts to thwart the will of President Gustavo Petro in Colombia, signs pointing to a lawfare campaign underway in the country, and how right-wing forces in Latin America have attempted to prevent progressive forces from taking power in ways more subtle than military interventions.Labor attorney, human rights activist and author Daniel Kovalik discusses the political theater ensuing over a purported national security threat from Russia amid failures to pass further aid to Ukraine, how the threat also relates to the FISA 702 reauthorization vote, the Russian president's public remarks about who he favors working with as US leader, a security agreement between Ukraine and France, more countries "warning" Israel against a Rafah ground offensive, and mounting efforts among progressives to withhold votes from Joe Biden in key battleground states.Community organizer and immigrant activist Maru Mora Villalpando discusses why Immigration and Customs Enforcement is saying it might have to release migrants over a cash crunch, what detention facilities for migrants in the US are like and who ends up in them, and how to understand the way profit drives immigration policy and narratives.The Misfits also discuss comic book characters, a Tesla crash fatality, and the love lives of Democratic politicians.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 russia ukraine colombia Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2024 Michelle Witte https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e5/02/11/1082103644_0:1:240:241_100x100_80_0_0_aa1e89cc3422c54bfdeb46decb112e73.jpg Michelle Witte https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e5/02/11/1082103644_0:1:240:241_100x100_80_0_0_aa1e89cc3422c54bfdeb46decb112e73.jpg News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Michelle Witte https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e5/02/11/1082103644_0:1:240:241_100x100_80_0_0_aa1e89cc3422c54bfdeb46decb112e73.jpg political misfits, us migration crisis, ice vs congress, case against donald trump, who eu countries support https://sputnikglobe.com/20240216/nato-draws-up-plan-to-deploy-forces-in-europe-in-event-of-conflict-with-russia---reports-1116824088.html NATO Draws Up Plan to Deploy Forces in Europe in Event of Conflict With Russia - Reports NATO Draws Up Plan to Deploy Forces in Europe in Event of Conflict With Russia - Reports Sputnik International NATO's Joint Support and Enabling Command center in Germany is drawing up a plan for the deployment of the alliance's forces across Europe, including their support and reinforcement in the event of a conflict with Russia, the Financial Times newspaper reported on Friday, citing unnamed officials. 2024-02-16T13:11+0000 2024-02-16T13:11+0000 2024-02-16T17:13+0000 military vladimir putin tucker carlson russia germany moscow nato https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/107957/10/1079571024_0:143:3135:1906_1920x0_80_0_0_7cca481c48c55c5af8c969d002be86c7.jpg The new plan, prepared at the NATO center located in Germany's southern city of Ulm, will reportedly build on the experience of NATO's Steadfast Defender military exercise launched in January. The drills are about "preparing for a conflict with Russia," NATO Military Committee Chair Adm. Rob Bauer was quoted as saying by the newspaper. The initiative comes as new estimates of Russia's military capabilities and a recent assessment of its arms production capacity have set off alarms among Western officials and prompted the West to invest more in defense, the report said.It also follows growing alarmism among Western officials and politicians in recent weeks about supposed Russian plans to attack NATO member countries, an idea Russian officials have dismissed out of hand.Meanwhile, in an interview with journalist Tucker Carlson last week, President Vladimir Putin said that NATO countries were trying to intimidate their own populations with an imaginary Russian threat. Russia has no interest in waging a war against NATO, Putin added. The Steadfast Defender military exercise is taking place in the Atlantic and Europe, involving some 90,000 troops from 31 allies and Sweden, and will last until the end of May. In recent years, Russia has witnessed unprecedented NATO activity near its western borders. Moscow has repeatedly expressed concern about the alliance's buildup of forces in Europe. The Russian Foreign Ministry has said that Moscow remains open to dialogue with NATO, but on an equal footing, while the West should abandon its policy of militarizing the continent. https://sputnikglobe.com/20240212/european-nato-members-know-russia-threat-rhetoric-is-a-lie---expert-1116744370.html russia germany moscow Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2024 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International nato draws up plan to deploy forces in europe, conflict with russia https://sputnikglobe.com/20240216/navalny-died-in-prison-cause-of-death-is-being-established-1116820649.html Alexei Navalny Dies in Prison, Cause of Death Being Established Alexei Navalny Dies in Prison, Cause of Death Being Established Sputnik International Alexey Navalny felt unwell in prison after a walk and lost consciousness. He received all necessary resuscitation measures, but they did not yield positive results, the Federal Ptnitentiary Service stated. 2024-02-16T11:26+0000 2024-02-16T11:26+0000 2024-02-16T12:40+0000 alexei navalny russia federal penitentiary service (fps) kremlin dmitry peskov https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e8/02/10/1116821693_0:0:3212:1807_1920x0_80_0_0_d820cee7dffa6527fdcf8a3390926f5c.jpg Alexei Navalny died in penal colony No. 3 in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, the regional department of the Federal Penitentiary Service reported on Friday.On February 16th of this year, in the colony No. 3, convict Navalny A.A. felt unwell after a walk, almost immediately losing consciousness. Medical workers from the institution immediately arrived and an emergency medical team was called, the release said. All necessary resuscitation measures were carried out, but did not yield positive results. Emergency doctors confirmed the death of the convict. The causes of death are being established, the release adds.Commenting on the development, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said it is up to medics to find out reasons behind Navalny's death.As far as we know, now, in accordance with all current rules, the Federal Penitentiary Service is engaged in all inspections, clarifications, and so on. That is, no instructions are required anymore, because there is a certain set of rules in this regard that the service is now guided by, Peskov told reporters, adding that the news about Navalnys death was reported from Moscow.Procedural Investigation Into Death of Navalny is LaunchedA procedural investigation into the death of Alexei Navalny has been organized, the investigation office of the Russian Investigative Committee in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Area said.The regional office of the Federal Penitentiary Service informed about the death of Navalny earlier in the day."The investigation office of the Russian Investigative Committee in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Area has launched a procedural investigation into the death of Navalny A.A. ... In accordance with the procedure established by law, a set of investigative and operational measures is being carried out aimed at establishing all the circumstances of the incident," the authority said in a statement.Wests Reaction to Navalnys Death Self-Exposing - Russian Foreign MinistryThe immediate reaction of Western leaders to the death of Alexei Navalny is self-exposing, as they made conclusions before any forensic examinations, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Friday.The immediate reaction of NATO leaders to Navalnys death in the form of direct accusations against Russia is self-exposing. There is no forensic examination yet, but the Wests already made conclusions, Zakharova wrote on her Telegram channel. https://sputnikglobe.com/20220322/moscow-court-sentences-navalny-to-9-years-in-prison-in-fraud-contempt-of-court-case-1094087729.html Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2024 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International alexei navalny, navalny died, navalny died in prison https://sputnikglobe.com/20240216/number-of-people-injured-in-ukrainian-shelling-of-russias-belgorod-up-to-19-1116813252.html Number of People Injured in Ukrainian Shelling of Russia's Belgorod Up to 19 Number of People Injured in Ukrainian Shelling of Russia's Belgorod Up to 19 Sputnik International The number of people injured in the shelling of the Russian city of Belgorod the day before has risen to 19, Belgorod Region Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said on Friday. 2024-02-16T04:16+0000 2024-02-16T04:16+0000 2024-02-16T09:40+0000 russia russia belgorod belgorod region russian defense ministry multiple-launch rocket systems (mlrs) alexander gladkov ukrainian attacks on belgorod region https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e7/0c/1e/1115900378_0:134:3167:1915_1920x0_80_0_0_607765f8609e81cc83182a1a441c8924.jpg On Thursday, the Russian Defense Ministry said that Russian air defense systems destroyed 14 shells of the RM-70 Vampire multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS) over the Belgorod Region fired by Ukraine. Gladkov later said that seven people, including a child, had been killed, while 18 had been injured in the attack. The governor also said five people have already been discharged from hospitals after receiving medical assistance. Out of ten people still remaining in hospitals, two are in serious condition in intensive care, and the vital signs of eight people are stable and within normal limits, Gladkov added. He added that a total of 57 vehicles had been damaged in the shelling. https://sputnikglobe.com/20240125/woman-killed-in-russias-belgorod-region-after-ukrainian-drone-attack---governor-1116389146.html russia belgorod belgorod region Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2024 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International russia's belgorod, vyacheslav gladkov, ukrainian shelling https://sputnikglobe.com/20240216/poland-asks-eu-to-increase-financial-aid-amid-ukrainian-grain-influx-1116824791.html Poland Asks EU to Increase Financial Aid Amid Ukrainian Grain Influx Poland Asks EU to Increase Financial Aid Amid Ukrainian Grain Influx Sputnik International Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk on Friday asked the European Union to increase its financial assistance to Poland and to protect the country's agricultural sector in light of the influx of Ukrainian agricultural products into the country. 2024-02-16T13:50+0000 2024-02-16T13:50+0000 2024-02-16T13:50+0000 world donald tusk poland ukraine european union (eu) warsaw world trade organization (wto) aid https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e7/0c/15/1115732069_0:280:3076:2010_1920x0_80_0_0_f1c5ab44498a4619f8abc24f3662d8d3.jpg Poland expects support from the EU in the current situation with Ukrainian goods, Tusk told reporters after a meeting with his Finnish counterpart, Petteri Orpo, in Warsaw. The conflict in Ukraine cannot be the reason for the "terrible losses" that the Polish agricultural industry is suffering at the moment, he added. Polish farmers began a month-long nationwide protest on February 9. They are blocking roads and access to checkpoints at the border with Ukraine. The protesters are demanding that the duty-free import of agricultural products from Ukraine be stopped and EU climate policies eased. Such protests have spread across several EU member states, including France, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Romania and the Netherlands. Polish-Ukrainian relations deteriorated significantly last year due to the influx of Ukrainian grain into the EU. Poland, along with Slovakia and Hungary, unilaterally extended a ban on duty-free Ukrainian grain imports after EU-imposed curbs lapsed on September 15, 2023. In response, Ukraine filed a complaint with the World Trade Organization. The three EU countries promised to boycott meetings of the coordination platform on Ukrainian grain. https://sputnikglobe.com/20240215/eu-requires-54bln-for-defense-spending-in-2024---polish-foreign-minister-1116798033.html poland ukraine warsaw Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2024 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International ukrainian grain influx, polish prime minister donald tusk, financial assistance https://sputnikglobe.com/20240216/russia-china-relations-in-wto-are-at-high-level---permanent-representative-1116813940.html Russia-China Relations in WTO Are at High Level, Permanent Representative Says Russia-China Relations in WTO Are at High Level, Permanent Representative Says Sputnik International Relations and cooperation between the Russian and Chinese delegations to the World Trade Organization (WTO) are at a high level, Li Chenggang, China's ambassador to the organization in Geneva, told Sputnik. 2024-02-16T04:29+0000 2024-02-16T04:29+0000 2024-02-16T04:30+0000 economy world trade organization (wto) russia china geneva trade https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/104455/07/1044550705_0:109:2049:1261_1920x0_80_0_0_dcd5a67b3f0a28ff19a02722eb27f9d8.jpg Earlier, the Kremlin said Russia-China trade topped the $200 billion mark ahead of the target date to reach a record $227.7 billion. Director of the Russian Foreign Ministry's First Asian Department Ivan Zhelokhovtsev earlier told Sputnik that Moscow expects higher levels of trade with China in 2024. He said that in 2023, Russia became the leader in terms of the growth rate of trade turnover among China's partners; China's trade dynamics with the United States and Japan dropped. https://sputnikglobe.com/20240211/russia-became-leader-in-growth-rate-of-trade-turnover-with-china-in-2023---foreign-ministry-1116720115.html russia china geneva Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2024 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International russia-china relations, world trade organization, russian and chinese delegations https://sputnikglobe.com/20240216/russia-expects-iaea-to-point-to-ukraine-as-only-threat-to-zaporozhye-nuclear-power-plant-1116818740.html Russia Expects IAEA to Point to Ukraine As Only Threat to Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant Russia Expects IAEA to Point to Ukraine As Only Threat to Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant Sputnik International Ukraine, with its recent attacks on the city of Energodar, has once again demonstrated its complete disregard for the safe functioning of nuclear facilities, and Russia expects the IAEA to point to Kiev as the only source of threat to the functioning of the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant, the Russian Foreign Ministry said. 2024-02-16T09:38+0000 2024-02-16T09:38+0000 2024-02-16T09:38+0000 world zaporozhye russia international atomic energy agency (iaea) nuclear power plant ukraine https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e7/08/19/1112882542_0:345:3028:2048_1920x0_80_0_0_5b1a56549822bba415543827fa7f5f91.jpg We hope the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) leadership will still take a responsible position and unequivocally point to Kiev as the only source of threat to the reliable functioning of the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant, the ministry said. Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant is located on the left bank of the Dnepr River and is the largest nuclear power plant in Europe. It came under the control of Russian forces in early March 2022 and has since been repeatedly shelled, raising international concerns over a possible nuclear accident. IAEA experts have been working at the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant since September 1, 2022, following IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi's first visit to the facility. zaporozhye russia ukraine Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2024 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International attacks on the city of energodar, zaporozhye nuclear power plant https://sputnikglobe.com/20240216/russian-air-defenses-destroy-5-drones-over-belgorod-region-black-sea---mod-1116813578.html Russian Air Defenses Destroy 5 Drones Over Belgorod Region, Black Sea - MoD Russian Air Defenses Destroy 5 Drones Over Belgorod Region, Black Sea - MoD Sputnik International Russian air defenses shot down five Ukrainian drones over the Belgorod Region and the Black Sea, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement. 2024-02-16T04:21+0000 2024-02-16T04:21+0000 2024-02-16T04:21+0000 russia belgorod region black sea russia russian defense ministry air defense https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e7/0c/1d/1115881337_0:140:2200:1378_1920x0_80_0_0_af7d8634ccd39d351e8f7a41c1c1fd68.jpg This night, an attempt by the Kiev regime to carry out a terrorist attack using aircraft-type UAVs on facilities on the territory of the Russian Federation was stopped. Air defense systems on duty intercepted and destroyed unmanned aerial vehicles over the territory of the Belgorod Region (1 UAV) and over the Black Sea (4 UAVs), the ministry said.Ukraine has been sending drones and missiles into the Russian territory almost daily since it launched a counteroffensive in early June 2023. The United Nations said in August, following a botched drone strike on Moscow, that it did not want to see any targeting of civilian infrastructure. https://sputnikglobe.com/20240215/ukraines-drone-attack-causes-fire-at-oil-depot-in-russias-kursk-region---governor-1116788103.html belgorod region black sea russia Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2024 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International russian air defenses, ukrainian drones, russian defense ministry, belgorod region and the black sea https://sputnikglobe.com/20240216/russian-deputy-foreign-minister-egyptian-ambassador-discuss-mideast-conflict-1116812025.html Russian Deputy Foreign Minister, Egyptian Ambassador Discuss Mideast Conflict Russian Deputy Foreign Minister, Egyptian Ambassador Discuss Mideast Conflict Sputnik International Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov and Egyptian Ambassador in Moscow Nazih el Nagari discussed the Palestine-Israel conflict and the possible tragic consequences of the implementation of Israel's plans to conduct a military operation in the city of Rafah, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement. 2024-02-16T02:07+0000 2024-02-16T02:07+0000 2024-02-16T02:07+0000 russian foreign ministry mikhail bogdanov palestinians israel rafah gaza strip humanitarian crisis humanitarian disaster humanitarian catastrophe world https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e8/01/15/1116301155_0:160:3072:1888_1920x0_80_0_0_d24dc0d1f4bdc7929a49ad0b5c5c2126.jpg During the conversation, the main attention was paid to the situation in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict zone. We expressed deep concern about the catastrophic humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip and the need for an immediate ceasefire was stressed," the ministry said. According to the statement, the countries pointed out the possible tragic consequences of the implementation of the Israeli army's plans to conduct a military operation in Rafah, including the displacement of a million Palestinians into Egypt and the destabilization of the situation throughout the entire Middle East region. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday Israel would take large-scale actions in Rafah after the evacuation of the civilian population. On October 7, 2023, Hamas launched a large-scale attack on Israel, killing 1,200 and abducting more than 200 others. The attack prompted a retaliatory military operation by Israel, leading to the deaths of more than 28,500 people in the Gaza Strip, according to local authorities. In November 2023, Qatar mediated a deal between Israel and Hamas on a temporary truce and the exchange of some of the prisoners and hostages, as well as the delivery of humanitarian aid into Gaza. The ceasefire expired on December 1, 2023, after several extensions. More than 100 hostages are still believed to be held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip. https://sputnikglobe.com/20240215/israel-rejects-hamas-ceasefire-offer-calls-movements-demands-delusional-1116787485.html israel rafah gaza strip Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2024 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International russia-egypt talks, russia-egypt ties, genocide, ethnic cleansing, humanitarian disaster, humanitarian catastrophe, humanitarian ceasefire, israel-hamas conflict, gaza strip crisis, shelling of gaza, gaza devastation, israel-palestine conflict, palestine-israel conflict, israeli-palestinian conflict, palestinian-israeli, zionist regime, zionists, hamas attack, israeli strikes, israeli forces, hostages, israeli military, hamas fighters, hamas soldiers, hamas military, killings of civilians, civilian infrastructure, civilians dead, civilians die, israel kills civilians, civilian casualties, civilian deaths, indiscriminate shelling, indiscriminate killing https://sputnikglobe.com/20240216/saxony-governor-urges-german-govt-to-urgently-investigate-nord-stream-blasts-1116823603.html Saxony Governor Urges German Gov't to Urgently Investigate Nord Stream Blasts Saxony Governor Urges German Gov't to Urgently Investigate Nord Stream Blasts Sputnik International Minister-President of Germany's Saxony Michael Kretschmer on Friday called on the federal government to urgently investigate the attacks on the Nord Stream gas pipelines and "not leave it to journalists," saying that a favorable time for its repair was running out. 2024-02-16T12:52+0000 2024-02-16T12:52+0000 2024-02-16T12:52+0000 nord stream sabotage seymour hersh germany saxony russia nord stream ag nord stream pulitzer prize https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e6/09/1c/1101300397_0:94:1800:1107_1920x0_80_0_0_c57b09b7699abd78e61ecd94a183ef53.jpg Last week, Swedish Public Prosecutor Mats Ljungqvist announced the termination of the national probe into the Nord Stream explosions, ruling that the case does not fall under the country's jurisdiction. Stockholm handed materials it had collected with regard to the incidents to Germany for further investigation, he added. The Nord Stream and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines, built to deliver gas under the Baltic Sea from Russia to Germany, were hit by explosions in September 2022. Nord Stream's operator, Nord Stream AG, said that the damage was unprecedented, and it was impossible to estimate the time repairs might take. Russia considers the explosions of the two pipelines an act of international terrorism. There are no official results of the investigation yet, but Pulitzer Prize-winning US investigative journalist Seymour Hersh published a report in February 2023, alleging that the explosions had been organized by the United States with the support of Norway. Washington has denied any involvement in the incident. In March 2023, German magazine Der Spiegel disclosed details regarding a yacht allegedly linked to the sabotage on the Nord Stream pipelines. A Bavaria Cruiser 50 sailing yacht named Andromeda was rented by unknown people, with the e-mail used to rent it hinting at connections to Ukraine, the report said. https://sputnikglobe.com/20240206/russia-looking-forward-to-sweden-announcing-verdicts-on-nord-stream-explosions---kremlin-1116623029.html germany saxony russia Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2024 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International saxony governor, nord stream gas pipelines, minister-president of germany's saxony michael kretschmer https://sputnikglobe.com/20240216/theres-a-cabal-mike-turner-part-of-shadowy-us-group-that-wants-to-destroy-russia-1116810546.html Ohio Congressman Part of Shadowy 'Cabal' Aiming to Destroy Russia, Says Scott Ritter Ohio Congressman Part of Shadowy 'Cabal' Aiming to Destroy Russia, Says Scott Ritter Sputnik International Ohio Representative Mike Turner (R-OH) made waves this week when he warned of an alleged serious national security threat to the United States. The supposed risk was soon revealed to be Russian in nature, with a media cycle quickly emerging over the danger of alleged space nukes the country could detonate to disable US satellite communications. 2024-02-16T00:54+0000 2024-02-16T00:54+0000 2024-02-16T09:04+0000 us analysis ukraine crisis ukrainian crisis ukrainian conflict us arms for ukraine ukraine russia special operation russia gate https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e8/02/10/1116810932_0:161:3071:1888_1920x0_80_0_0_462a3c2004111b08ca84747f8d1bf01f.jpg Ohio Representative Mike Turner (R-OH) made waves this week when he warned of an alleged serious national security threat to the United States. The supposed risk was soon revealed to be Russian in nature, with a media cycle quickly emerging over the danger of alleged space nukes the country could detonate to disable US satellite communications.The timing of the revelation raised eyebrows as Turner had visited Ukraine just days ago as part of a Congressional delegation in solidarity with the countrys embattled President Volodymyr Zelensky. Turners claims also come as the Biden administration struggles to continue funding the US-backed Ukrainian proxy war, with key Republicans blocking a compromise bill with aid for Kiev and Tel Aviv.Former UN weapons inspector and whistleblower Scott Ritter joined Sputniks Fault Lines program on Thursday to discuss the latest Russophobic hysteria, speculating Turner is part of a secret group of lawmakers and intelligence officials hellbent on undermining Russia at any cost.There's a cabal, claimed Ritter, who was shunned in Washington after defying intelligence claims of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction during the George W. Bush administration. Turner is part of the cabal of people that view this Ukrainian conflict [as] not about defense of democracy knock off this nonsense it's about defeating Russia, the strategic objective of the United States by using Ukraine as a proxy in a conflict against Russia.Ukraine has faced declining fortunes in the Donbass conflict since the spectacular failure of the countrys vaunted counteroffensive last year. In recent days Russian forces have achieved an advantage in the city of Avdeyevka, where for months theyve endured a stalemate with Ukrainian troops. Shortages in ammunition have undermined Ukrainian reinforcements in the past weeks, allowing Russia to break down Kievs foritifications.And he [Turner] knows he's looking at it, saying it's over, game set match Russia, they win, he added. Therefore, we need to make people understand the consequences of a Russian victory.Ritter speculated that lawmakers like Turner are worried a victorious Russian army could proceed to dominate Europe, even though President Putin has noted the country has no strategic or ideological interest in invading NATO countries. Despite decades of Cold War paranoia, Russia-aligned Warsaw Pact nations never militarily threatened the West. On the contrary, it was the West that invaded Russia when the United States sent troops to undermine the Russian Revolution in 1918.NATO also funded fascist groups throughout Europe in the decades to come as part of the secretive Operation Gladio program intended to counter the Soviet Union. More recently, NATO has played a part in Western military aggression in Libya, Afghanistan, and the former Yugoslavia.More recently, the so-called Russiagate narrative alleging Russian interference in US elections has reactivated dormant Russophobia in American society, with lawmakers like Turner representing the legislative wing of US anti-Russia diehards.Turner just fantasizes about a dominant Russian army, said Ritter. Now, you layer over that this emerging capability of taking out America's communications network, and suddenly you have this Russia that's out of control. We can't contain it.While officials in Washington and Langley stoke fear of an alleged Russian threat, Ritter noted that the United States already dominates the world, with the countrys vast satellite network demonstrating its projection of power around the globe.There's only one nation that projects power globally, that's America, said Ritter. https://sputnikglobe.com/20240208/ukraine-support-collapsing-what-are-bidens-options-to-fund-kiev-1116669518.html ukraine russia Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2024 John Miles https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e8/01/19/1116388787_0:0:1316:1316_100x100_80_0_0_77e70d36afd983012b1c5d38ddb84156.jpg John Miles https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e8/01/19/1116388787_0:0:1316:1316_100x100_80_0_0_77e70d36afd983012b1c5d38ddb84156.jpg News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 John Miles https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e8/01/19/1116388787_0:0:1316:1316_100x100_80_0_0_77e70d36afd983012b1c5d38ddb84156.jpg ukrainian troops, ukrainian losses, russian forces, russian troops, russia wins, ukraine loses, ukrainian crisis, failed counteroffensive, ukrainian counteroffensive, foiled counteroffensive, counteroffensive attempt, thwarted counteroffensive, counteroffensive effort, us arms for ukraine, us assistance to ukraine, aid allocations for ukraine, ukraine aid, money for ukraine, us for ukraine, us weapons for ukraine, us aid to ukraine, us funding for ukraine, us funding to ukraine, us hegemony https://sputnikglobe.com/20240216/tucker-carlson-believes-ukraine-will-never-repay-60bln-to-us-if-aid-provided-in-loan-1116814343.html Tucker Carlson Believes Ukraine 'Will Never Repay' $60Bln to US If Aid Provided in Loan Tucker Carlson Believes Ukraine 'Will Never Repay' $60Bln to US If Aid Provided in Loan Sputnik International WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - Ukraine will "never repay" $60 billion to the United States if the money is provided to Kiev in the form of a loan, US journalist Tucker... 16.02.2024, Sputnik International 2024-02-16T04:36+0000 2024-02-16T04:36+0000 2024-02-16T04:36+0000 world ukraine tucker carlson lindsey graham kiev israel us aid https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e8/02/08/1116657427_0:0:3072:1728_1920x0_80_0_0_1ae73b86095b358dc623a2c57f65169f.jpg Earlier this week, US Senator Lindsey Graham endorsed former US President Donald Trump's idea to provide Kiev with $60 billion in the form of a loan instead of giving the money in the form of foreign aid. On Tuesday, the US Senate passed a $95 billion foreign aid bill that includes $60 billion for Ukraine aid and $14 billion in security assistance for Israel. House Speaker Mike Johnson said that he has no plans to bring the bill to the House floor for a vote. Johnson was highly critical of the bill, saying that it was silent on border security, which he called "the most pressing issue" in the United States at the moment. However, US Congressman Pete Aguilar said on Wednesday that House Democrats are considering using a discharge petition to force a floor vote on the bill. US Congressman Don Bacon reportedly said on Thursday that he plans to introduce a new bipartisan bill with foreign aid and border security measures, which cut some economic and humanitarian assistance included in the US Senate bill. https://sputnikglobe.com/20240215/us-house-breaks-until-february-28-without-advancing-ukraine-israel-aid-bill-1116808540.html ukraine kiev israel Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2024 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International ukraine, tucker carlson, lindsey graham, kiev, israel, us, aid https://sputnikglobe.com/20240216/tucker-carlson-dont-believe-your-lying-eyes--1116820122.html Tucker Carlson, Dont Believe Your Lying Eyes Tucker Carlson, Dont Believe Your Lying Eyes Sputnik International The American political class fell into a bizarre rage over Tucker Carlsons seemingly innocuous trip to a Moscow metro station and supermarket. 2024-02-16T11:55+0000 2024-02-16T11:55+0000 2024-02-16T11:55+0000 tucker carlson world russia americans washington democratic party us moscow https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e8/02/10/1116819966_0:0:1258:708_1920x0_80_0_0_c0c1e2ce4a4c42e54d83c5f3725a8884.jpg Pro-regime pundits rushed to issue denunciations and rebuttals of Carlsons videos, while Senator Thom Tillis smeared him as a useful idiot. Their overarching message was clear: Ordinary Americans, dont believe your lying eyes. Theres nothing remarkable or surprising about the fact that Russia has nice metro stations and supermarkets its the largest economy in Europe and the fifth largest in the world in terms of purchasing power parity. Despite unprecedented Western sanctions, the Russian economy grew at a faster rate than all the G7 economies in 2023 and will probably do so again this year, according to the IMF. The crucial difference between Russia and the United States is not the price of groceries or even the quality of public transportation. The crucial difference is the effectiveness of their political systems. The reason why Moscow is a nicer city than Washington, DC is because the former is run by competent technocrats while the latter is run by incompetent Democratic Party apparatchiks. As someone who has lived in both cities, I know firsthand which one is cleaner, safer, and offers an overall better standard of living. https://sputnikglobe.com/20240215/us-sanctions-against-journalist-carlson-would-show-true-face-of-dictatorship-in-us---putin-1116789243.html russia washington moscow Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2024 Simes Dimitri Simes Dimitri News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Simes Dimitri tucker carlson, innocuous trip to a moscow metro station, american political class https://sputnikglobe.com/20240216/ukraine-germany-sign-agreement-on-security-guarantees---reports-1116821968.html Germany, Ukraine Agree Military Support Should Be Used in Compliance With UN Charter - Document Germany, Ukraine Agree Military Support Should Be Used in Compliance With UN Charter - Document Sputnik International Germany and Ukraine acknowledge that Berlins military support for Kiev will be used only in compliance with international norms and the UN Charter, according to a new security agreement between Berlin and Kiev signed on Friday 2024-02-16T11:59+0000 2024-02-16T11:59+0000 2024-02-16T13:17+0000 world europe volodymyr zelensky olaf scholz ukraine germany berlin european union (eu) https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e8/02/10/1116822189_0:177:3072:1905_1920x0_80_0_0_78e7aed3e6e2d824346d768b2900c8b7.jpg "The Participants acknowledge that the military support provided by Germany will only be used in compliance with the United Nations Charter and in strict accordance with all relevant obligations for both Participants under international law," the agreement on security cooperation and long-term support between Germany and Ukraine said.The agreement is valid for 10 years.Germany also vowed to support Ukraine in enhancing the resilience of its critical infrastructure, including energy infrastructure.In addition, Berlin pledged to help Kiev to claim compensation from Russia for "the damages inflicted on Ukrainian territory."Earlier, Ukrainian media reported that the two countries signed the agreement during Zelenskys visit to Berlin.German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is regularly lambasted by opposition for neglecting interested of national economy while bandwagoning US foreign policy, especially in case of Ukraine. Earlier In January German business executives declared a crisis of confidence in acting government, adding that it was failing on all fronts.Earlier Russian President Vladimir Putin outlined that the collective West is solely responsible for the Ukrainian crisis since the violent coup in Ukraine was staged by the US in order to disrupt relations between Moscow and Kiev. Besides, the US deliberately dragged Europe into the conflict in order to disrupt ties between Russian and the EU. https://sputnikglobe.com/20240213/zelensky-may-visit-western-europe-again-to-ask-for-more-aid-as-supplies-dwindle-1116750632.html https://sputnikglobe.com/20240214/debunking-myths-us-60bln-handout-wont-save-zelenskys-dying-regime-1116775344.html ukraine germany berlin Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2024 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International military aid for ukraine, is us giving more money to ukraine, why is us giving more money to kiev, whats happening to money given to kiev, will us give more money to kiev, how much money does ukraine get, how much money us gives to ukraine, how much money eu gives to ukraine, how much money europe gives to ukraine, what weapons does ukraine receive, does us give ukraine new weapons https://sputnikglobe.com/20240216/ukraine-loses-over-1820-soldiers-in-donetsk-direction-in-past-week---russian-mod-1116823184.html Ukraine Loses Over 1,820 Soldiers in Donetsk Direction in Past Week - Russian MoD Ukraine Loses Over 1,820 Soldiers in Donetsk Direction in Past Week - Russian MoD Sputnik International Ukraine has lost more than 1,820 soldiers both killed and injured in the Donetsk direction over the past week, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Friday. 2024-02-16T12:31+0000 2024-02-16T12:31+0000 2024-02-16T12:31+0000 russia's special operation in ukraine donetsk kherson ukraine russia russian armed forces https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e8/01/16/1116310588_0:109:3253:1939_1920x0_80_0_0_846c71bbd3fa9b76b7ee35f10b7ad51f.jpg Over the given period, the Russian armed forces have repelled 46 attacks by Ukrainian troops in the Donetsk direction, 18 attacks in the Kupyansk area, and three attacks in the South Donetsk direction. Ukraine has also lost more than 1,585 soldiers in the Krasny Liman area, up to 1,060 soldiers in the South Donetsk direction, over 775 soldiers in the Kupyansk area, more than 310 soldier in the Kherson direction, the ministry added. https://sputnikglobe.com/20240214/ukraine-loses-up-to-360-soldiers-near-donetsk-direction---mod-1116781844.html donetsk kherson ukraine russia Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2024 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International ukraine loses, russian defense ministry, donetsk direction https://sputnikglobe.com/20240216/us-lawmakers-unveil-66bln-foreign-aid-border-security-bill---statement-1116828178.html US Lawmakers Unveil $66Bln Foreign Aid, Border Security Bill - Statement US Lawmakers Unveil $66Bln Foreign Aid, Border Security Bill - Statement Sputnik International A bipartisan group of US House lawmakers on Friday unveiled a $66.32 billion spending bill with aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, as well as border security measures 2024-02-16T16:21+0000 2024-02-16T16:21+0000 2024-02-16T16:21+0000 americas us brian fitzpatrick mike johnson ukraine israel taiwan us house us senate https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e7/0b/07/1114776749_0:160:3072:1888_1920x0_80_0_0_e4f2e870c055caf89db6a193e3b75dd4.jpg US Congressmen Brian Fitzpatrick, Jared Golden, Don Bacon and others released a statement on the legislation dubbed the Defending Borders, Defending Democracies Act after US House Speaker Mike Johnson said that House lawmakers would not hold a vote on a $95 billion spending bill passed by the US Senate. The border security and national security appropriations would only be active for one year after enactment, the statement added. Moreover, the legislation provides $4.91 billion to support US and allied deterrence operations in the Indo-Pacific region, $2.44 billion for US Central Command operations and $542 million for US Indo-Pacific Command operations, the statement said. The bills border security provisions include requiring the US Secretary of Homeland Security to suspend the entry of inadmissible migrants if the secretary determines it necessary to achieve operational control of the border, the statement said. The bill also requires immigration officers to detain inadmissible migrants and expel them to Mexico or their home country without a hearing or review, the statement said. The legislation includes a so-called remain in Mexico policy as well, which requires migrants seeking admission to the United States to stay in the country from which they attempted to enter the US until a court adjudicates their status, the statement said. The US House of Representatives is not set to return to legislative business until February 28. https://sputnikglobe.com/20240214/debunking-myths-us-60bln-handout-wont-save-zelenskys-dying-regime-1116775344.html https://sputnikglobe.com/20240215/us-foreign-spending-bad-policy-lack-of-accountability-dangerous---election-candidate-1116796868.html americas ukraine israel taiwan Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2024 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International military aid for ukraine, is us giving more money to ukraine, why is us giving more money to kiev, whats happening to money given to kiev, will us give more money to kiev, how much money does ukraine get, how much money us gives to ukraine, how much money eu gives to ukraine, how much money europe gives to ukraine, what weapons does ukraine receive, does us give ukraine new weapons https://sputnikglobe.com/20240216/west-seeking-to-create-hotbed-of-instability-in-central-asia---russian-security-council-1116819826.html West Seeking to Create Hotbed of Instability in Central Asia - Russian Security Council West Seeking to Create Hotbed of Instability in Central Asia - Russian Security Council Sputnik International The West is seeking to create a major hotbed of instability in Central Asia and destabilize the situation in the South Caucasus, Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev said on Friday. 2024-02-16T11:11+0000 2024-02-16T11:11+0000 2024-02-16T11:11+0000 world kyrgyzstan armenia central asia nikolai patrushev russian security council russia https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/104864/75/1048647569_0:0:2879:1620_1920x0_80_0_0_99ae62362dd692f19db235c5a82290a1.jpg "[The West's] plans include the creation of a major hotbed of instability in Central Asia," Patrushev told a meeting of security council secretaries on Afghanistan in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. To save hegemony, Western countries are also attempting to increase tensions in the South Caucasus to hamper the Armenian-Azerbaijani settlement, the official added. The South Caucasus is considered one of the most conflict-ridden regions of the globe, primarily due to the long-standing conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region. In September 2023, Azerbaijan took control over the region, populated mainly by ethnic Armenians, prompting almost all local residents to flee to Armenia. The Nagorno-Karabakh authorities declared that the unrecognized state would cease to exist from January 1, 2024. On February 1, 2024, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said a peace treaty between the two countries could be signed only after amendments are made to the constitution of Armenia. Central Asia is also considered a turbulent region due to military confrontations that occasionally occur on the border between Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. In mid-August 2023, relations between Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan deteriorated as well, as Bishkek stopped supplying irrigation water to its neighbor, after which Astana blocked all border crossings. https://sputnikglobe.com/20230606/russias-lavrov-urges-central-asia-to-critically-assess-military-cooperation-with-west-1110946133.html kyrgyzstan armenia central asia russia Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2024 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International south caucasus, russian security council secretary nikolai patrushev, hotbed of instability Buffalo Raceway has announced that Carlee Comer will serve as the track's outrider for the 2024 racing season. Comer grew up riding horses and competed as a barrel racer. She first jumped into the harness racing industry in 2012 as a groom for the Burke Racing Stable and has since worked her way up into helping to manage the southern Ohio sector of the stable. Comer was the backup outrider at Hollywood Gaming at Dayton Raceway for the 2023 racing season working alongside Ashley Holliday and successfully completed the 2023 U.S. Trotting Outriding Clinic. Comer also worked alongside Holliday as an assistant outrider for the 2023 Little Brown Jug. We are excited to have Carlee join our team, said Jon Cramer, Buffalo Raceway's General Manager. She has track experience and demonstrated her abilities at the USTA clinic. We are confident that she will work well with both our staff and horsemen and provide a high level of safety for the horses and drivers at Buffalo Raceway. Buffalo Raceway management is excited to kick off the 57-day meet starting Saturday, March 2 with Comer joining the staff. Management asks that any horsemen with horses requiring outrider services to talk with Comer prior to the races. (Buffalo Raceway) Leaders of western Nebraskas two largest hospitals welcomed Thursdays 40-0 first-round approval of a legislative bill aimed at gaining Nebraska just over $1 billion in federal Medicaid help. State senators advanced Legislative Bill 1087, primarily sponsored by North Platte Sen. Mike Jacobson, after agreeing to rewrites that include a sunset at the end of 2026 unless health care is improving as a result. The bill still calls for Nebraskas hospitals to pay assessments of 6% of their gross income an estimated $440 million to unlock approximately $1.02 billion from a seven-year-old federal program that would largely offset the hospitals costs of treating low-income Medicaid patients. Current reimbursements are covering barely one-third of Medicaid costs statewide especially in Nebraskas rural areas while dealing with soaring costs since the COVID-19 pandemic, Jacobson told lawmakers. In recent months, he said. three rural hospitals have stopped delivering babies due to the shortages. Two that own nursing homes have closed them; others have dropped behavioral health, hospice and home health care; and still another this week closed its inpatient beds and now only does emergency care. All of these are needed community services that could no longer be sustained by our nonprofit hospitals with current reimbursement rates, Jacobson said. LB 1087 presents a lifeline to Nebraska hospitals and the Nebraskans they serve. If the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services approves the plan as expected, he said, Washington would provide $2.19 for every $1 Nebraska hospitals contribute in assessments. Forty-four states already receive such aid, and Nebraska and two others are working to gain it, Jacobson added. Health and Human Services Committee amendments say the assessments would end if the federal government stops providing the extra Medicaid assistance. Further changes sought by Gov. Jim Pillen added the year-end 2026 sunset and a 3% state administration fee to be retained from the new federal aid, up to $15 million a year. They also called for applying up to $17.5 million a year of the new federal funds toward Medicaid costs for non-hospital health providers, including doctors, dentists, nursing homes and behavioral health professionals. Up to $2.5 million a year would go to fund clinical nursing training sites. LB 1087, strongly backed by the Nebraska Hospital Association and statewide health care providers, advanced 7-0 Tuesday from the Legislatures Health and Human Services Committee. Two-thirds of the 49 senators cosponsor the bill, including Sens. Brian Hardin of Gering, Tom Brewer of Gordon and Teresa Ibach of Sumner. All three voted Thursday to advance LB 1087, as did Sen. Steve Erdman of Bayard. GPH, Regional West cheer Applause for Thursdays first-round vote came from Ivan Mitchell, CEO of Great Plains Health in North Platte; retired GPH CEO Mel McNea, now interim CEO of Regional West Medical Center in Scottsbluff; and Amanda Vick, Regional Wests chief operating officer. I think its going to be one of the most impactful pieces of legislation for Nebraska taxpayers, said Mitchell, who serves with Vick on the Nebraska Hospital Association board. We hope that (with) more independent providers and such, it will encourage them to see more Medicaid patients. McNea, who retired from GPH in December 2021 but took on Regional Wests interim leadership a year later, said the federal aid available through LB 1087 would play a large part not only for Regional West but all the hospitals across the state. The Scottsbluff hospital, which serves much of the Panhandle, has been restructuring its services since posting a $54 million loss in 2022. Regional Wests finances have improved greatly since then, McNea said. But weve just been operating at a loss with Medicaid through the years. A lot of (the deficit) falls on your third-party payers Blue Cross/Blue Shield, United Healthcare and so on that have to make up the difference for hospitals. Great Plains Health currently is recovering about 60% of its Medicaid costs through existing reimbursements, Mitchell said. Sen. Christy Armendariz of Omaha guaranteed early debate on LB 1087 by making it her 2024 priority bill. Jacobson used his own priority designation on LB 31, his bill to mandate at least two people on trains, which a filibuster stalled Feb. 2. Jacobson, himself a GPH board member, said later Thursday hes grateful that weve got Step 1 out of the way. The speaker seems to like the bill. I hope we can keep it moving before we hit any turbulence in the session. Sunsets and metrics The District 42 senator fielded questions about the 2026 sunset and the exchanges of money among hospitals, state government and Washington. To start the federal Medicaid dollars flowing, Jacobson said, the state will temporarily cover one-fourth of the hospitals assessments every quarter. The federal government then would add its $2.19-for-$1 match, and the state would divide the combined amount among hospitals according to the number of Medicaid patients they serve. Hospitals then would return the assessment money the state covered so the cycle could begin again. LB 1087 thus would cost the state no net money and would bring in some through the administrative fee, Jacobson told senators. Sens. Machaela Cavanaugh of Omaha and Myron Dorn of Adams, both bill cosponsors, were concerned about Pillens insistence that the program expire after less than three years unless senators reauthorized it. Approving LB 1087 doesnt mean tomorrow we turn a switch and now its going to be going, Dorn said. Its going to take time. We need to have enough data or information that we know the results of some of this. Jacobson told them Im not wild about the timing of the sunset. It perhaps could be extended on the floor without risking a veto, he told The Telegraph later, but when I negotiate, I like to negotiate in good faith. He hopes the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services will approve Nebraskas extra aid by July if LB 1087 can be enacted quickly. But that leaves only one year to analyze if its making a difference before senators would have to decide on extending it, he said. Mitchell said hes not concerned about the sunset. I think the governor just wanted to have an analysis done in two years just so its functioning like I think it will. McNea and Vick said Regional West would benefit even from a limited infusion of extra Medicaid funds. Vick also pointed to the bills metrics for improving health care that the federal government requires participating states to develop as a condition of the aid. Jacobson said Pillen agreed to standards calling on hospitals to increase postpartum screening of new mothers for depression and anxiety; reduce urinary tract infections through catheters; connect Medicaid patients with such needed community services as emotional health, food, housing, transportation and utilities; and work to establish more age-friendly communities that would help senior citizens age where they want to. Even if the federal government did pull this away, wed still have two years of focus on quality improvement, Vick said. Blair Sen. Ben Hansen, the Health and Human Services Committees chairman, declined to vote on advancing LB 1087. He said he fears the federal government will impose new metrics after a few years, forcing Nebraska to give up the extra funding or give in to the new rules. Everyone knows here that when we get government money, its very hard to stop doing that or to take it back, Hansen said. Id bet the farm that one of the decisions well make here is were not going to give up that money. We have no guarantees that that moneys going to continue to be here, Jacobson replied. But Nebraska has failed to claim more than $7 billion over seven years that could have gone to hospitals that are struggling across this state and provided better access to Medicaid patients. Whos the chump if we continue to stand on the sidelines and say, No, we dont want a billion dollars to come to our state? In a move that promises to revolutionize cross-border payments, the central banks of India and Nepal have signed terms of reference to link their respective fast payment systems the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and the National Payments Interface (NPI). This landmark collaboration aims to facilitate instant, low-cost fund transfers between the two countries, significantly streamlining remittance processes for individuals and businesses alike. Benefits of the Linkage: Faster and Cheaper Remittances: Currently, sending money across borders often involves hefty fees and processing delays. The UPI-NPI linkage will bypass traditional channels, enabling real-time transfers at minimal costs. This will prove especially beneficial for migrant workers, students, and businesses with cross-border transactions. Currently, sending money across borders often involves hefty fees and processing delays. The UPI-NPI linkage will bypass traditional channels, enabling real-time transfers at minimal costs. This will prove especially beneficial for migrant workers, students, and businesses with cross-border transactions. Financial Inclusion: By leveraging the widespread reach of UPI and NPI, the linkage will extend financial services to even remote areas, promoting financial inclusion in both countries. Individuals without access to traditional banking channels will be able to send and receive money seamlessly. By leveraging the widespread reach of UPI and NPI, the linkage will extend financial services to even remote areas, promoting financial inclusion in both countries. Individuals without access to traditional banking channels will be able to send and receive money seamlessly. Boosting Bilateral Trade: Simplified and affordable cross-border payments are expected to fuel trade activities between India and Nepal. This will benefit businesses of all sizes, ultimately contributing to economic growth in both nations. Understanding the Magic of UPI & NPI: Demystifying the Linkage Both UPI and NPI are real-time payment systems that rely on mobile phone technology to facilitate instant money transfers. Heres a simplified breakdown of their individual functionalities: UPI (India): Virtual Payment Address (VPA): Users link their bank accounts to unique identifiers like phone numbers or email addresses, acting as their VPAs. This eliminates the need to share account details for transactions. Users link their bank accounts to unique identifiers like phone numbers or email addresses, acting as their VPAs. This eliminates the need to share account details for transactions. Unified Payments Interface: UPI acts as a messaging system between banks, routing payment requests and confirmations instantaneously. UPI acts as a messaging system between banks, routing payment requests and confirmations instantaneously. PIN-based Security: Transactions are authorized by a Personal Identification Number (PIN) set by the user, ensuring secure authentication. NPI (Nepal): Similar to UPI: NPI shares many core functionalities with its Indian counterpart, including VPAs, real-time transfers, and PIN-based security. NPI shares many core functionalities with its Indian counterpart, including VPAs, real-time transfers, and PIN-based security. Key Differences: NPI may have variations in specific features and user interfaces compared to UPI. The Linkage Magic: The UPI-NPI linkage essentially creates a bridge between these two systems. When a user in India wants to send money to Nepal: 1. They enter the recipients NPI VPA in their UPI app. 2. The UPI system routes the request to the linked NPI infrastructure. 3. NPI verifies the VPA and beneficiary details. 4. Funds are deducted from the senders account in India and credited to the recipients account in Nepal, all in real-time. This linkage eliminates the need for intermediaries and complex currency conversions, leading to faster, cheaper, and more convenient cross-border transactions. Remember, this is a simplified explanation, and the actual technical processes involve secure communication protocols and interbank settlements. But hopefully, it gives you a basic understanding of how UPI and NPI work together to enable seamless financial flows between India and Nepal. The Way Forward: While the terms of reference have been finalized, the official launch date remains to be announced. Both central banks will now work together to establish the necessary infrastructure and regulations to ensure a smooth and secure integration. Positive Impact: The UPI-NPI linkage is a significant step forward in fostering financial cooperation between India and Nepal. It has the potential to not only simplify cross-border transactions but also strengthen the economic and cultural ties between the two countries. As the implementation progresses, it will be interesting to see how this initiative shapes the future of financial services in the region. ***** Reserve Bank of India Date : Feb 15, 2024 Terms of Reference signed between Reserve Bank of India and Nepal Rastra Bank on Integration of Unified Payments Interface (UPI) of India with National Payments Interface (NPI) of Nepal for cross-border remittances Reserve Bank of India and Nepal Rastra Bank today signed and exchanged Terms of Reference for integration of fast payment systems of India and Nepal, viz., Unified Payments Interface (UPI) of India and National Payments Interface (NPI) of Nepal, respectively. The integration is aimed at facilitating cross-border remittances between India and Nepal by enabling users of the two systems to make instant, low-cost fund transfers. 2. The collaboration between India and Nepal in linking their fast payment systems through the UPI-NPI linkage will further deepen financial connectivity and reinforce the enduring historical, cultural, and economic ties between the two countries. 3. Based on the Terms of Reference exchanged between RBI and NRB, the necessary systems will be put in place for interlinking of UPI and NPI. The formal launch of the linkage i.e., commencement of operations will be done at a later date. (Yogesh Dayal) Chief General Manager Press Release: 2023-2024/1882 An elderly driver crashed into the entrance of the Apple Family Dental office, causing significant damage. Shift Battalion Chief Eric Koreis of the Longview Fire Department told The Daily News that the incident was reported at about 2:13 p.m. Tuesday after an older driver operating a black Honda Accord smashed into the entrance of the dental office, next to the Taco Time on Ocean Beach Highway. Koreis said no one was injured inside the building, and the dental office remained structurally sound after the crash. The driver was taken to PeaceHealth St. John Medical Center for minor injuries, and the Longview Police Department is investigating the incident. Former Wishram School District Superintendent and Principal Chris Schumaker will serve as Toutle Lake School Districts superintendent beginning July 1, thanks to a unanimous decision by the school board. Our main concern was trying to get a match for our school district, board chairperson Sherry Schwinn said. Schumaker will replace current interim Superintendent Scott Fenter. His experience as a school administrator comes from other small school districts in Washington, which is what drew him to apply at Toutle, he said. Wishram, located in Klickitat County, had 99 students enrolled at the beginning of the 2023-24 school year, according to the Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction. White Pass School District in Lewis County, where he served as a building principal for eight years prior to moving to Wishram in July, had 371. Toutle Lake has 673 students. I know the passion and the dedication and the love that parents have for their kids, and how communities support their schools and how the school is the hub of the community, Schumaker said. Ive just always liked the tradition and the legacy that small schools have. I grew up that way, and I wanted to continue being part of that. He began his career as a teacher, but switched to working as an administrator after seven years because he felt he could have a greater positive impact that way, he said. As a teacher, you have a relatively small impact on the kids that you can reach, on the kids that you can help, he said. As a teacher, I saw that, and I saw that there is so much more that can be done with helping kids through improving systems, improving communication, bringing in more resources. Toutle Lake has already changed superintendents twice in the past two years, and this time the district is looking for someone who will stay for five years or more, Schwinn said. We need some consistency at Toutle, she said. 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: AI-generated image Unmanned aerial vehicles, or drones, have been central to the war in Ukraine. Some analysts claim that drones have reshaped war, yielding not just tactical-level effects, but shaping operational and strategic outcomes as well. It's important to distinguish between these different levels of war. The tactical level of war refers to battlefield actions, such as patrols or raids. The operational level of war characterizes a military's synchronization of tactical actions to achieve broader military objectives, such as destroying components of an adversary's army. The strategic level of war relates to the way these military objectives combine to secure political aims, especially ending a war. In the war in Ukraine, what have drones accomplished at these three levels? Mounting evidence, including my own research as a military scholar who studies drone warfare, suggests that drones have delivered some tactical and operational successes for both Ukraine and Russia. Yet they are strategically ineffective. Despite its increasing use of drones, Ukraine has not dislodged Russia from the Donbas region, and Russia has not broken Ukraine's will to resist. Drone warfare in Ukraine The drone war in Ukraine is evolving in ways that differ from how other countries, especially the United States, use UAVs. First, the U.S. uses drones globally, and often in conflict zones that are not recognized by the United Nations or do not have U.S. troops on the ground. Unlike this pattern of "over-the-horizon" strikes, Ukraine and Russia use drones during an internationally recognized conflict that is bounded by their borders. Second, the U.S. operates armed and networked drones, such as the Reaper, the world's most advanced drone. Ukraine and Russia have adopted a broader scope of low- and mid-tier drones. Ukrainian soldiers use first-person-view drones against Russian forces. Ukraine's "army of drones" consists of cheaper and easily weaponized drones, such as the Chinese-manufactured DJI. Ukraine has also operated Turkish-manufactured TB-2 Bayraktar dronesthe "Toyota Corolla" of drones. U.K.-based defense and security think tank Royal United Services Institute estimated that Ukraine loses 10,000 drones monthly and within a year will have more drones than soldiers, implying it will acquire over 2 million drones. To manage these capabilities, Ukraine recently established a new branch of the armed forces: the Unmanned Systems Forces. Russia has responded by importing Iranian-manufactured Shahed-136 attack drones. It has also expanded the domestic production of drones, such as the Orion-10, used for surveillance, and the Lancet, used for attacks. Russia intends by 2025 to manufacture at least 6,000 drones modeled after the Shahed-136 at a new factory that spans 14 football fields, or nearly a mile. This is on top of the 100,000 low-tier drones that Russia procures monthly. Third, the U.S. uses drones to strike what it designates as high-value targets, including senior-level personnel in terrorist organizations. Ukraine and Russia use their drones for a broader set of tactical, operational and strategic purposes. Analysts often conflate these three levels of war to justify their claims that drones are reshaping conflict, but the levels are distinct. Tactical effects Drones have had the biggest impact at the tactical level of war, which characterizes battles between Ukrainian and Russian forces. Famously, Ukraine's Aerorozvidka Air Reconnaissance Unit used drones to interdict and block a massive Russian convoy traveling from Chernobyl to Kyiv a month after Russia's Feb. 24, 2022 invasion of Ukraine. It did so by destroying slow-moving vehicles that stretched nearly 50 miles, causing Russia to abandon its advance. Both militaries have also adopted low-tier "first-person-view" drones, such as the U.S.-manufactured Switchblade or Russia's Lancet, to attack tanks, armored personnel carriers and soldiers. Russian and Ukrainian forces are increasingly using these first-personview drones, combined with other low-tier drones used for reconnaissance and targeting, to suppress opposing forces. Suppressiontemporarily preventing an opposing force or weapon from carrying out its missionis a role normally reserved for artillery. For example, suppressive fire can force ground troops to shelter in trenches or bunkers and prevent them from advancing across open ground. These gains have led Russia and Ukraine to develop ways of countering each other's drones. For example, Russia has capitalized on its advanced electronic warfare capabilities to effectively jam the digital link between Ukrainian operators and their drones. It also spoofs this link by creating a false signal that disorients Ukrainian drones, causing them to crash. Footage appearing to show the damaged Russian warship Moskva emerges. As a result, Ukrainian drone operators are experimenting with ways to overcome jamming and spoofing. This includes going "back to the future" by adopting terrain-based navigation, though this is less reliable than satellite-based navigation. Operational limitations Drones have been less successful at the operational level of war, which is designed to integrate battles into campaigns that achieve broader military objectives. In spring 2022, Ukraine used a TB-2, along with other capabilities, to sink Russia's flagship shipthe Moskvain the Black Sea. Since then, Ukrainian officials claim to have destroyed 15 additional Russian ships, as well as damaged 12 more. Ukraine also used sea dronesuncrewed water vesselsto damage the Kerch Bridge, connecting Crimea to mainland Russia, as well as attack fuel depots in the Baltic Sea and near St. Petersburg. Though impressive, these and other operations have momentarily disrupted Russia's use of the Black Sea to blockade Ukraine's grain shipments, launch missiles against Ukraine and resupply its soldiers. The problem is that Ukraine lacks air superiority, which has encouraged its use of an army of drones to execute missions typically reserved for bombers, jets, attack helicopters and high-end drones. Though Denmark and the Netherlands have promised to provide Ukraine with F-16 fighter jets, thus replacing the country's aging aircraft, they have not arrived. My research also suggests that the U.S. will likely not sell its advanced Reaper drones to Ukraine, fearing crisis escalation with Russia. Further, these drones are vulnerable to Russia's integrated air defenses. A series of drone attacks hits Moscow. Lack of air superiority exacerbates tactical challenges such as jamming and spoofing, while undermining Ukraine's ability to deny freedom of maneuver to Russia. Strategic myths Despite these tactical effects and limited operational gains, drones are strategically ineffective. Drones have not, and are not likely to, shape the outcome of the war in Ukraine. They have not allowed Ukraine to break its stalemate with Russia, nor have they encouraged Russia to end its occupation of Ukraine. To the extent drones have been strategically consequential, the implications have been psychological. Russia and Ukraine use drones to terrorize each other's citizens as well as generate propaganda to stiffen their own citizens' resolve. Russian and Ukrainian leaders also perceive drones as providing advantages, encouraging them to invest in these capabilities and perpetuate what I call the cult of the drone. The lesson from Ukraine is that while drones have some value at the tactical and operational levels of war, they are strategically inconsequential. They are not a magic bullet, offering a game-changing capability to decide the fate of nations. Instead, countries must rely on time-tested combined arms maneuver, wherein they integrate personnel and weapons systems at a particular time and place to achieve a particular goal against an adversary. When these effects are aggregated over the course of a war, they expose vulnerabilities that militaries exploit, and often with the assistance of allies and partners. Only then can countries achieve military objectives that secure political outcomes, such as a negotiated settlement. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: This photo shows the mobile phone app logos for, from left, Facebook and Instagram in New York, Oct. 5, 2021. The European Union is expanding its strict digital rulebook on Saturday, Feb. 17, 2024 to almost all online platforms in the bloc, in the next phase of its crackdown on toxic social media content and dodgy ecommerce products that began last year by targeting the most popular services. Credit: AP Photo/Richard Drew, file The European Union is expanding its strict digital rulebook on Saturday to almost all online platforms in the bloc, in the next phase of its crackdown on toxic social media content and dodgy ecommerce products that began last year by targeting the most popular services. The EU's trailblazing Digital Services Act has already kicked in for nearly two dozen of the biggest online platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Amazon and Wikipedia. The DSA imposes a set of strict requirements designed to keep internet users safe online, including making it easier to report counterfeit or unsafe goods or flag harmful or illegal content like hate speech as well as a ban on ads targeted at children. Now the rules will apply to nearly all online platforms, marketplaces and "intermediaries" with users in the 27-nation bloc. Only the smallest businesses, with fewer than 50 employees and annual revenue of less than 10 million euros ($11 million), are exempt. That means thousands more websites could potentially be covered by the regulations. It includes popular ones such as eBay and OnlyFans that escaped being classed as the biggest online platforms requiring extra scrutiny. "Users, Member States and platforms can now use the tools under the DSA to shape a safer and more transparent online world," European Commission Executive Vice President Margrethe Vestager said in a press release. "This is a big milestone that reflects our fundamental EU values and principles." European Union flags wave in the wind as pedestrians walk by EU headquarters in Brussels, on Sept. 20, 2023. The European Union is expanding its strict digital rulebook on Saturday, Feb. 17, 2024 to almost all online platforms in the bloc, in the next phase of its crackdown on toxic social media content and dodgy ecommerce products that began last year by targeting the most popular services. Credit: AP Photo/Virginia Mayo, File Under the DSA, platforms must also be transparent about digital ads, including informing users why they're being shown a specific advertisement and who paid for it. Ads can't target users based on "sensitive data" such as political or religious beliefs and sexual preferences. Platfoms must explain content moderation decisions, and will have to tell users why their post was taken down or account suspended. The EU has already started investigating Elon Musk's social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, over suspicions it infringed the DSA's provisions including not doing enough to curb the spread of illegal content. 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Ford Motor Co., President and CEO Jim Farley announces the automaker's new BlueOval Battery Park, Monday, Feb. 13, 2023, in Romulus, Mich. Ford's top executive says that last falls contentious United Auto Workers strike changed the company's relationship with the union to the point where it will think carefully about where it builds future vehicles. Credit: AP Photo/Carlos Osorio, File Last fall's contentious United Auto Workers' strike changed Ford's relationship with the union to the point where it will "think carefully" about where it builds future vehicles, Ford's top executive said Thursday. CEO Jim Farley told the Wolfe Research Global Auto Conference in New York that the company always took pride in its relationship with the UAW, having avoided strikes since the 1970s. But last year, Ford's highly profitable factory in Louisville, Kentucky, was the first truck plant that the UAW shut down with a strike. Farley said as the company looks at the transition from internal combustion to electric vehicles, "we have to think carefully about our (manufacturing) footprint." Ford, Farley said, decided to build all of its highly profitable big pickup trucks in the U.S., and by far has the most union members57,000of any Detroit automaker. This came at a higher cost than competitors, who went through bankruptcy and built truck plants in Mexico, he said. But Ford thought it was the "right kind of cost," Farley said. "Our reliance on the UAW turned out to be we were the first truck plant to be shut down," Farley told the conference. "Really our relationship has changed. It's been a watershed moment for the company. Does this have business impact? Yes." In a statement, union President Shawn Fain said Ford should stay focused on building the best auto industry, not on a race to lower wages. "Maybe Ford doesn't need to move factories to find the cheapest labor on Earth," he said. "Maybe it needs to recommit to American workers and find a CEO who's interested in the future of this country's auto industry," Fain said. Asked about Farley's comments, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said President Joe Biden believes in making goods and creating jobs in the U.S. "We're going to do everything we can to make sure that continues," she said. Biden, she said, believes that workers have the right to collective bargaining to get better wages and benefits like the UAW did. "That is something that the president is always going to speak for and is going to stand up for" she said. The UAW made strong wage gains after a six-week strike at selected plants run by Ford, General Motors and Jeep maker Stellantis. Top-scale factory workers won 33% raises in a contract that runs through April of 2028, taking their top wage to around $42 per hour. High manufacturing costs are among the reasons why Ford has a $7 billion annual cost disadvantage to competitors, Farley has said. He told the conference that Ford is making progress on cutting those costs with cultural and structural changes at the company. It expects to take out $2 billion worth of costs this year, and Farley said he thinks cuts in manufacturing costs will offset the cost of the UAW contract. Ford has said the contract would add $900 to the cost of a vehicle by the time it reaches full effect. United Auto Workers members walk the picket line at the Ford Michigan Assembly Plant in Wayne, Mich., Sept. 26, 2023. Ford's top executive says that last falls contentious United Auto Workers strike changed the company's relationship with the union to the point where it will think carefully about where it builds future vehicles. Credit: AP Photo/Paul Sancya, file Ford has shifted its electric vehicle strategy to concentrate on smaller, lower priced EVs and work vehicles such as pickup trucks and full-size vans, Farley said. Any EV larger than a Ford Escape small SUV "better be really functional or a work vehicle." A small team within the company is developing the underpinnings of a less costly smaller vehicle, which Farley said would be profitable because of U.S. federal tax credits as high as $7,500 per vehicle. He gave no time frame for the small EV to come out, but said Ford's next generation of electric vehicles would come in the 2025 through 2027 time frame. His comments about the union raise questions about whether the new small EV would be built in Mexico, which has lower labor costs. Vehicles built in North America are still eligible for the U.S. tax credit. Farley also sees EV battery prices coming down with more competition. The company, he said, may go with a common cylinder-shaped cell to leverage purchasing and get better prices. He also said Ford might do that with another automaker. Ford's Model e, the electric vehicle unit, lost nearly $5 billion before taxes last year. Farley wouldn't give a date for it to break even, but said any new EV built by the company has to make money within 12 months of its release. The company still posted net income of $4.3 billion due largely to big profits from its Pro commercial vehicle unit and Ford Blue, the internal combustion division. Farley said Ford and others will have trouble competing on EVs with Chinese automakers, who have gone from no EV market share in Europe two years ago to 10% of the market now. Chinese auto giant BYD 's Seagull small electric vehicle, he said, has about $9,000 in material costs, and it will probably cost the company another $2,000 to meet crash test standards, for a total of around $11,000. It has a range of about 150 miles in cold weather, "not a fantastic vehicle, but pretty damn good." Ford's lowest-priced U.S. EV is the Mustang Mach e, which starts around $43,000. Shares of Ford closed Thursday up 2.4%. 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: The rules for app workers in the gig economy, first proposed in 2021, have been a source of controversy. France and Germany on Friday refused to back a watered-down agreement on controversial EU rules covering app workers in the gig economy, European diplomats said. The European Union's objective was to bring in bloc-wide rules that supporters hoped would improve conditions for app workers in the gig economy by reclassifying some as employed. But the latest text scaled back those efforts, by scrapping any formal list of criteria and letting states decide how to classify workers. For any approval, there needed to be a qualified majority of 15 out of 27 EU nations, representing at least 65 percent of the bloc's population. During a meeting of member states' ambassadors in Brussels, the EU's two most populous countries, France and Germany, blocked the text with the support of Estonia and Greece, denying the qualified majority, diplomats told AFP. There were concerns that the text did not harmonize rules across Europe and would create legal uncertainties, a French diplomat said. "Unfortunately, the necessary qualified majority voting wasn't found," Belgium, which holds the rotating EU presidency, said on social media. "We'll now consider the next steps," it added. EU diplomats said the presidency would not give up. "Why would they? There are 23 countries supporting this deal," one said. Others were skeptical, saying time is running out to find a new compromise and complete the legislative process before June's European elections. Macron blamed The draft rules have been a source of controversy since the European Commission first proposed the text in 2021. Member states and the European Parliament struck a first agreement on the draft text in December 2023 but days later, a France-led blockade stopped the deal in its tracks. EU negotiators returned to the table and reached a new deal last week. The original text agreed in December said that if a worker met two out of five criteria, it will be presumed they are an employee, giving them access to benefits like sick pay. The idea was to end the practice of courts across Europe handing down decisions that varied wildly. Workers' groups slammed the failure to reach an an agreement on even the latest watered-down text. "Millions of precarious platform workers with little or no rights will remain at the mercy of unscrupulous platforms," the European Transport Workers' Federation said. Left-wing French MEP, Leila Chaibi, accused French President Emmanuel Macron of defending Uber's interests. "To the very end, Macron will have torpedoed this directive and prevented millions of workers from having any rights and until the end he will have defended the interests of Uber," she told AFP. 'Legal uncertainty' The industry welcomed the failure to back the text. The rejection "confirms that member states do not want to approve a deal that would have created more legal uncertainty for the hundreds of thousands of ride-hailing drivers in Europe," said Aurelien Pozzana, Move EU chair. Move EU is a European association of ride-hailing platforms representing companies including Uber and Bolt. "It is now high time to pause the discussions and assess after European elections if there is any support for this text for which no agreement has been found in three years," Pozzana said. "Today EU countries recognized that the proposed text directly contradicted what platform workers say they want," an Uber spokesperson said. The EU parliament believes at least 5.5 million people could be wrongly classified as self-employed. There are around 28 million gig workers dependent on online platforms in Europe, with the number expected to rise to 43 million in 2025. 2024 AFP This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Musk is furious at the Delaware court, seeing it has a haven for over-litigious lawyers and meddlesome judges that are getting in the way of his business decisions and vision. Elon Musk is on the warpath against Delaware and its powerful business court, moving his SpaceX company out of the eastern US state after a judge struck down his $56 billion compensation package at Tesla. For more than a century, the Delaware Chancery Court has been a pillar of US capitalism, the jurisdiction where roughly two thirds of American Fortune 500 companies register their company. And according to state data, nearly 80 percent of initial public offerings in 2022 were registered in Delaware, seeking the reliability and stability of its court and the expertise of its judges. But Musk is furious at the court, seeing it has a haven for over-litigious lawyers and meddlesome judges that are getting in the way of his business decisions and vision. "SpaceX has moved its state of incorporation from Delaware to Texas!" Musk said on X on Wednesday. "If your company is still incorporated in Delaware, I recommend moving to another state as soon as possible," he added. The move came just weeks after Judge Kathaleen McCormick voided his eye-watering compensation package at Tesla, taking sides with a shareholder who claimed the entrepreneur was overpaid. 'Good job' The very first state to join the union, Delaware and its courts have long played an integral role in American industry. The Chancery court "is almost like a de facto government agency in its own right" that sets the rules for corporate America, said Omari Scott Simmons, a law professor at George Washington University A pillar of business, it is the agreed upon institution that guides the internal running of US corporate behemoths and that is not, crucially, the federal government. "It's a very curious situation in the United States, where if you form a company, you can decide what laws will apply to it, and what courts will hear those laws," said Simon Lorne, Vice Chairman and Chief Legal Officer at Millennium Management LLC. "The only alternative could be federal law, which I think would be a big mistake for the system. Delaware has done a very good job for over 100 years," added, Lorne, who also teaches law at the University of Texas. On matters like conflict resolution and governance, US big business abides by the decisions of the court and its decades of jurisprudence. Also a selling point, Delaware judges are not nominated by elections or direct political appointment, but get picked by a non-partisan commission that values expertise above all else, said Simmons. And unlike a federal agency, Delaware courts are shielded from the whims of interest group pressure or shifting political winds and the judges are left to give their decisions impartially. Moreover, unlike many US states, there is no chance of facing a runaway jury in Delaware: decisions are reasoned and handed down by the judges alone. No exit Musk's wrath has brought him to Texas, one of a few states along with Nevada that are trying to build up a legal system that could eventually compete with Delaware. While unseating the East Coast state seems a longshot, some observers worry that the trend could instigate a race to the bottom, with companies shopping for jurisdictions with the lightest corporate oversight. Besides SpaceX, Musk is moving his brain chip startup, Neuralink, from Delaware to Nevada, where he moved X, formerly Twitter, after he bought the social platform. Those are private companies where Musk has complete control. But lifting stakes at the publicly traded Tesla could prove much trickier, with only the smallest of shareholders able to object and potentially block the move. This has been the fate of Trip Advisor, where the parent company's CEO has so far failed to move the business out of Delaware because of the objections of a few shareholders. The Delaware court is expected to give its decision on the matter this month. 2024 AFP This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: The exterior of the Pennsylvania Judicial Center, home to the Commonwealth Court in Harrisburg, Pa., Feb. 21, 2023. A weekend cyberattack on the website of Pennsylvania's state courts agency disabled some online systems but did not appear to compromise any data and didn't stop the courts from opening Monday, Feb. 5, 2024, officials said. Credit: AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File Pennsylvania's state courts agency said Thursday that it never received a ransom demand as part of a cyberattack that briefly shut down some of its online services earlier this month and prompted a federal investigation. The attack, called a "denial of services" attack, on the website of the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts disabled some online portals and systems that were all fully restored this week, officials said. The attack didn't compromise any data or stop the courts from operating on a normal schedule, officials said. A courts agency spokesperson said officials there never received a ransom demand from the attackers, never had any communication with the attackers and never paid anything to meet any sort of demand. The state Supreme Court's chief justice, Debra Todd, said a federal investigation was continuing. Neither the courts nor the FBI or the federal government's lead cybersecurity agency, the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, have identified the attacker. There have been no apparent claims of responsibility. In a statement, Todd said the "significant and serious" attack was "orchestrated by a faceless and nameless virtual opponent who was intent on attacking our infrastructure and orchestrating a shutdown of our state judicial system." "These anonymous actors attempted to undermine our mission to make justice accessible and to shutter the operation of the statewide court system," Todd said. A "denial of service" cyberattack is common and happens when attackers flood the targeted host website or network with traffic or requests until the site is overwhelmed or crashes. The attack comes after Kansas' judicial branch was the victim of what it called a " sophisticated cyberattack " late last year from which it took months and millions of dollars to recover. That attack was blamed on a Russia-based group. Major tech companies Google Cloud, Microsoft and Amazon Web Services have been hit by such attacks in recent years, as have financial institutions. In 2022, some U.S. airport sites were hit. Some of the biggest attacks have been attributed to Russian or Chinese hackers. Cybersecurity experts say denial-of-service hackers are often state-backed actors seeking money and can use tactics to try to hide their identity. Such attacks also can be used to mask an underlying attack, such as a ransomware attack, experts say. Networking experts can defuse the attacks by diverting the flood of internet traffic. 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain Deep down, Facebook is not entirely unlike many brilliant, high-potential 20-year-olds. Its appeal is clear. Its performance is generally very strong, if not outstanding. Yet it's still subject to occasional lapses in judgment and bouts of immaturity. But warts and all, Facebook is the world's undisputed social media giant. With some 3 billion daily userseven more if your count those of its sister companies Instagram, WhatsApp and ThreadsFacebook has changed the way people connect and communicate with one another. Love it or hate it, and like the aspiring 20-year-old, Facebook may just be getting started. The Daniels Newsroom recently sat down with Ana Babic Rosario, associate professor of marketing, to discuss Facebook's beginnings, its impact on society and what Facebook might look like in another 20 years. Tell us about Facebook's beginning. How did it all start? Facebook was started by Mark Zuckerberg, who continues to serve as its chairman and CEO, along with four co-foundersDustin Moskovitz, Chris Hughes, Andrew McCollum and Eduardo Saverinin 2004 when they were Harvard undergraduate students. It was designed to connect Harvard students online in a way that hadn't been done before. It was first called The Facebook before changing to just Facebook. Jumping ahead, in late 2021, the Facebook parent company rebranded to Meta Platforms Technologies, but the Facebook platform retained its name. How did Facebook expand and monetize in those early years? Zuckerberg's original intention was to connect Harvard students. But then he connected students at other Ivy League schools and then other university communities across the country. Facebook soon spread beyond the education environment to other users and around the world. It started monetizing its success by selling advertising space beginning in November 2007. Facebook, as Meta Platforms, went public in 2012. According to some reports, for the fiscal year of 2022, Meta earned about $320 million per day, which is an astounding amount of money. It is obviously highly successful, but not without faults and challenges. Is the business model begun in 2007 roughly the same business model Facebook has now? Initially, Facebook launched social ads, which allowed marketers to target potential customers in a much more targeted, personalized way compared to the traditional online advertising. Today's business model uses the same idea but is further refined thanks to algorithms that curate content in a more targeted way to maximize user attention. Nowadays, Facebook is using sponsored posts and curating people's newsfeeds with the kind of content they're most likely to engage with. More than ever before, we are living in what is called the attention economy and Meta cleverly utilizes its technologies to serve up content that is most likely going to be consumed and provoke a reaction, therefore translating those metrics into revenues for its own platformand its advertisers. Some people would view this as the big brother aspect of social media. But do Facebook users really care? There are some generational differences regarding personalization and privacy. I think my Millennial generation and some generations before mine are quite skeptical. But Gen Z and Gen Alpha, which are today's students and preschoolers, are growing up with this technology and learning to navigate touch-based devices before they can even speak. I've seen many studies indicating that when it comes to privacy concerns, these newer generations are going to be less concerned despite being tech savvy. But they still need to be protected. There's been considerable discussion about this in recent years. Most memorable might be the Congressional whistleblower testimony by Frances Haugen, a former Facebook data scientist, about the damaging impact of Instagram on teenagers and children. The platform is aware of these concerns and looking at ways it can be improved, but those concerns persist. What does this mean with respect to artificial intelligence? Artificial intelligence and deepfake content are very important challenges for Facebook and Meta as a company. These are convincing images, audio and video hoaxes that are being used to spread misinformation and financially defraud consumers. For example, there is an ongoing scam that uses deepfake, but very realistic, videos showing Selena Gomez participating in a cookware giveaway. The purpose is to obtain the financial information of users who click on a sponsored post on Facebook and sign them up to a $89 subscription that continues indefinitely, or until the user realizes what's going on. Facebook knows about the scam but continues to be flooded by sponsored posts perpetuating it. So, it's curious to think about their ability to react to deepfake content. Even more broadly, there are big concerns about misinformation and disinformation. These challenges are going to be particularly important in an election year, and not just in the U.S. There are about 50 elections taking place worldwide this year that have the potential to redefine the global political landscape. Considering that Facebook has 3 billion active users, it's imperative to tackle those challenges quickly. So Facebook and other social platforms clearly have their challenges. But what continues to be good about Facebook? Despite its challenges, the initial promise of Facebook is still there. From my own perspective, I started using Facebook early on, in 2006. I still use Facebook more than any other social media platform, simply because my tribe is there: my family, my friends from school, my coworkers. Generationally, most Millennials are there. So, it still has the incredible potential to connect you with people who are dear to you, people from your past, from your childhood, from your schools. That promise still exists. But the way that a lot of curation algorithms operate, where they place a lot of importance and attach money to the attention that users give on the platform, that connection is compromised. What does Facebook look like in another 20 years? I foresee their dedication to algorithmic capacity and ethics as well as sustainability and empathy. I think the content is going to be even more personalized. It's going to be even more captivating and engaging. I'm hoping that it's going to be more vetted, more factual and more real than it is today. I hope there are going to be better tools for assuring that what we are consuming is truthful. That doesn't necessarily mean it's generated by a humanmaybe it's generated by AIbut it's still credible and valuable, and not damaging and hurtful. I'm hopeful that the algorithms in place will offer successful business model and monetization opportunities while preserving the well-being of consumers and making sure there are clever content buffers to minimize any ill effects. For example, ensuring that users engaging with depressing content are not stuck in an echo chamber where they are only ever shown such content because the platform's revenues are based on engagement metrics. I trust that Meta will continue to be a leader in the Ad Net Zero network of global supporters who aim to reduce emissions from advertising business operations and media planning & buying. Developing lower carbon media plans will be important ways to contribute to global sustainability efforts. I also expect Meta to continue investing in the metaversethe three-dimensional virtual world in which users are represented by avatarswhich some say is the future of digital connection. This is why Meta acquired Oculus (rebranded to Quest), an immersive virtual reality (VR) company. The potential of VR, not just for entertainment and gaming, but also for accessibility, for education, for immersive experiences in arts and culture, and learning about the past, is revolutionary. This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: The OpenAI logo is displayed on a cell phone with an image on a computer monitor generated by ChatGPT's Dall-E text-to-image model, Friday, Dec. 8, 2023, in Boston. The maker of ChatGPT is now diving into the world of AI-generated video. Meet Sora OpenAIs new text-to-video generator. The tool, which the San Francisco-based company unveiled on Thursday, Feb. 16, 2024 uses generative artificial intelligence to instantly create short videos based on written commands. Credit: AP Photo/Michael Dwyer, File The maker of ChatGPT is now diving into AI-generated video. Meet SoraOpenAI's new text-to-video generator. The tool, which the San Francisco company unveiled Thursday, uses generative artificial intelligence to instantly create short videos based on written commands. Sora isn't the first to demonstrate this kind of technology. But industry analysts point to the high quality of the tool's videos displayed so far, and note that its introduction marks a significant leap for both OpenAI and the future of text-to-video generation overall. Still, as with all things in the rapidly-growing AI space today, such technology also raises fears about potential ethical and societal implications. Here's what you need to know. WHAT IS SORA? CAN I USE IT YET? Sora is a text-to-video generatorcreating videos up to 60 seconds long based on written prompts using generative AI. The model can also generate video from an existing still image. Generative AI is a branch of AI that can create something new. Examples include chatbots, like OpenAI's ChatGPT, and image-generators such as DALL-E and Midjourney. Getting an AI system to generate videos is newer and more challenging but relies on some of the same technology. Sora isn't available for public use yet (OpenAI says it's engaging with policymakers and artists before officially releasing the tool) and there's a lot we still don't know. But since Thursday's announcement, the company has shared a handful of examples of Sora-generated videos to show off what it can do. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman also took to X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, to ask social media users to send in prompt ideas. He later shared realistically-detailed videos that responded to prompts like "two golden retrievers podcasting on top of a mountain " and "a bicycle race on ocean with different animals as athletes riding the bicycles with drone camera view." While Sora-generated videos are able to depict complex, incredibly-detailed scenes, OpenAI notes that there are still some weaknessesincluding some spatial and cause-and-effect elements. For example, OpenAI adds on its website, "a person might take a bite out of a cookie, but afterward, the cookie may not have a bite mark." ARE THERE OTHER AI-GENERATED VIDEO TOOLS OUT THERE TODAY? OpenAI's Sora isn't the first of its kind. Google, Meta and the startup Runway ML are among the other companies to have demonstrated similar technology. Still, industry analysts stress the apparent quality and and impressive length of Sora videos shared so far. Fred Havemeyer, head of U.S. AI and software research at Macquarie, said that Sora's launch marks a big step forward for the industry. "Not only can you do longer videos, I understand up to 60 seconds, but also the videos being created look more normal and seem to actually respect physics and the real world more," Havemeyer said. "You're not getting as many 'uncanny valley' videos or fragments on the video feeds that look ... unnatural." While there has been "tremendous progress" in AI-generated video over the last yearincluding Stable Video Diffusion's introduction last NovemberForrester senior analyst Rowan Curran said such videos have required more "stitching together" for character and scene consistency. The consistency and length of Sora's videos, however, represents "new opportunities for creatives to incorporate elements of AI-generated video into more traditional content, and now even to generate full-blown narrative videos from one or a few prompts," Curran told The Associated Press via email Friday. WHAT ARE THE POTENTIAL RISKS? Although Sora's abilities have astounded observers since Thursday's launch, anxiety over ethical and societal implications of AI-generated video uses also remains. Havemeyer points to the substantial risks in 2024's potentially-fraught election cycle, for example. Having a "potentially magical" way to generate videos that may look and sound realistic presents a number of issues within politics and beyond, he addedpointing to fraud, propaganda and misinformation concerns. "The negative externalities of generative AI will be a critical topic for debate in 2024," Havemeyer said. "It's a substantial issue that every business and every person will need to face this year." Tech companies are still calling the shots when it comes to governing AI and its risks as governments around the world work to catch up. In December, the European Union reached a deal on the world's first comprehensive AI rules, but the act won't take effect until two years after final approval. On Thursday, OpenAI said it was taking important safety steps before making Sora widely available. "We are working with red teamersdomain experts in areas like misinformation, hateful content, and biaswho will be adversarialy testing the model," the company wrote. "We're also building tools to help detect misleading content such as a detection classifier that can tell when a video was generated by Sora." OpenAI's vice president of global affairs Anna Makanju reiterated this when speaking Friday at the Munich Security Conference, where OpenAI and 19 other technology companies pledged to voluntarily work together to combat AI-generated election deepfakes. She noted the company was releasing Sora "in a manner that is quite cautious." At the same time, OpenAI has revealed limited information about how Sora was built. OpenAI's technical report did not disclose what imagery and video sources were used to train Soraand the company did not immediately respond to The Associated Press' request for further comment Friday. The Sora release also arrives amid the backdrop of lawsuits against OpenAI and its business partner Microsoft by some authors and The New York Times over its use of copyrighted works of writing to train ChatGPT. OpenAI pays an undisclosed fee to The Associated Press to license its text news archive. 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. LEAGUE CITY Robert Ambrose recalled how rough it was when he ran the Rock Yard at NASAs Johnson Space Center, especially during August. The Rock Yard consisted of outdoor lunar and Martian testbeds that allowed simulations of the moon and Mars surfaces to be conducted, but the elements presented challenges and kept scientists, like Ambrose, a renowned space robotics expert, from being able to conduct better tests. In the coming years, Ambrose, now assistant director of Texas A&Ms Space Institute, will get a chance to test his robots in a more advanced environment thanks to a partnership between his former and current employers. Leaders from A&M, including Chancellor John Sharp and President Mark A. Welsh III, joined NASAs JSC Director Vanessa Wyche on Thursday to sign the ground lease for the first approved facility at Exploration Park, part of NASAs Johnson Space Center, at the ASCENDxTexas Conference inside the South Shore Harbour Conference Center. NASAs Artemis Program has relaunched the idea of people going to the moon for the first time in over 50 years to establish a permanent base with hopes of propelling the next generation to Mars. A&Ms facility will house the worlds largest indoor extraterrestrial testbeds that emulate the Martian and lunar surfaces. It can be a very dynamic place where all Texans get to come together and work on the moon and Mars, said Ambrose, who was in attendance for the signing. NASA conducted its Artemis 1 mission in 2022 when a non-crewed rocket and capsule were tested to reach the moon, perform an orbit and return to Earth. The Artemis 2 mission is expected to happen by September 2025 and will carry four American astronauts on a trip that will complete a lunar flyby. The Artemis 3 mission is expected to happen no earlier than September 2026 and will see two people lowered onto the moons south polar region. NASA officials expect the crew to stay on the lunar surface for several days. When we go to the moon this time, were going to go sustainably, so we need to have habitats, Wyche said. We need to have an area large enough for us to be able to lay out and test on the ground before going into space. Inside A&Ms new facility, Ambrose said researchers will be able to turn lights completely out at the moon site and set up a lamp that mimics sunlight on the lunar surface. He noted most places on Earth, including Houston, never get fully dark. You think of the south pole on the moon, its not going to look like some of the Apollo images that are really well lit, Ambrose said. The suns going to be down at a low angle. If youve ever tried driving west into the sun in the evening, thats what the astronauts are going to face, so we need to try that out first here at the ground facility and have them discover, oh, I need a visor, or other things they need in that harsh lighting. The 30-plus-acre parcel is outside of JSCs controlled access area, but adjacent to its main campus. NASAs lease with A&M is for 20 years, with options to re-sign the lease for two additional 20-year periods. Sharp said this facility is a game-changer because it focuses on surface missions, whereas all other facilities in the country center on orbital missions. Each of the lunar and Mars facilities will have around a 2.5-acre footprint, Sharp said, which is comparable to the area Kyle Field takes up on A&Ms campus. If youre going to colonize the moon, if youre going to colonize Mars, you better be able to test your equipment and robots before you get 200-something thousand miles away or further, Sharp said. It will be the place everybody in the nation comes to test their facilities on a replica of the moon surface and the Mars surface. In August 2023, A&Ms Board of Regents approved and created the A&M Space Institute and also approved the construction of a $200 million A&M facility to be built adjacent to JSC. Ambrose said A&M Regents approved the facilitys conceptual design last Friday. The next step is to bring in a contractor to build the facility. Ambrose said construction will take place over the next 2-3 years. A tight schedule is being kept to meet NASAs milestones and help with the first return to the moon. Texas lawmakers put a new emphasis on the space industry during last years legislative session. In June 2023, Gov. Greg Abbott signed HB 3447 into law, which created the Texas Space Commission (TSC) that will oversee planning for the states space industry. The bill included $350 million for the TSC with $150 million going to the Space Exploration and Aeronautics Research Fund and $200 million to A&M to build its new facility. The bill was primarily authored by Rep. Greg Bonnen, R-Friendswood, and A&M Class of 1988. Bonnens district borders the Johnson Space Center. Bonnen noted other states, such as Alabama and Florida, have been focused, intentional and strategic in their financial and regulatory investments in the space sector. Bonnen said this new initiative re-emphasizes the states commitment to remain a leader in the space industry. A&M and NASA formalizing their agreement to build the Space Institute facility is the first domino to fall for NASAs Exploration Park, Bonnen said. He believes it will lead to more investments from other higher education institutions and private industry groups. Wyche said NASAs goal is to leverage its Exploration Park to create a commercial center for public and private entities in the space industry to collaborate and develop ideas before crews are sent to space. We want to leverage our capital, Bonnen said. We want to see that translate into private dollars that are invested and federal dollars that are invested in Texas as opposed to other locations. This new facility is expected to be owned and operated by A&M and house the TSC, the Space Consortium, the Texas Space Aeronautics and Curation Exploratorium (T-Space), and the A&M Space Institute. The facility is expected to include labs, shops, classrooms, meeting rooms, control rooms and spaces for astromaterial curation for post-mission materials and sample research. The TSC will consist of nine appointed people that will develop plans for Texas to remain a space leader going forward and subsequent research goals. The commission will consist of people who come from different backgrounds, such as military, the private sector and higher education. Bonnen said the commissions finishing touches are being done and an announcement from the governors office should be made soon. Background work has been underway, so commissioners should be able to hit the ground running when appointed. Texas has a longstanding history in the space industry. NASAs Johnson Space Center has served as the command center of human spaceflight since 1965 and its Mission Control has been critical to all American human spaceflights since then, including the Apollo moon landing missions. More than 280 A&M faculty and investigators from over 12 colleges and schools and two A&M-related state agencies the A&M Engineering Experiment Station and A&M AgriLife Research are involved in space-related research with the majority of work focused on space exploration and space flight. A&M also has four astronauts on its faculty. There are over 400 Aggies working at JSC. Welsh said he remembers watching the moon landing race unfold in the 1960s. The whole race made the world exciting again, in Welshs opinion, and thats how he said he feels about this project. I dont think we can afford to lose that child-like enthusiasm excitement about a project like this because this is a big deal, Welsh said. This is just another small step for man, but a giant leap for Aggies. A College Station man was arrested early Friday for alleged drunk driving which resulted in a vehicle accident, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety. Anson Michael Sterling, 27, has been charged with driving while intoxicated for a third time or more, according to the Brazos County Jail records. Police said officers responded to a report of a two-vehicle crash on Texas 6 near F.M. 2154. Upon arriving on the scene, officers said they spoke to one of the vehicle owners involved in the crash, later identified as Sterling. Sterling told police that he had failed to control his speed and had rear-ended the vehicle in front of him, according to the incident report. According to police, Sterlings speech was allegedly slurred at the time and officers suspected that he might be intoxicated. Sterling told police that he had consumed alcohol before driving. Officers said Sterling refused a blood test and that police received a search warrant to obtain a blood sample. The police report does not specify what Sterling's blood-alcohol level was at the time of the incident. Sterling has two previous convictions for DWI, according to police, one which took place in 2014 and another in 2018. Driving while intoxicated for a third time or more is a third-degree felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a maximum fine of $10,000. Sterling is being held under a $10,000 bond, according to jail records. During Tuesdays Bryan City Council meeting, the consent, statutory and regular agenda was unanimously approved by councilors with the exception of councilor Marca Ewers-Shurtleff who was absent. The Texas A&M University System has an Interlocal Agreement with the city of College Station to provide aircraft rescue and firefighting services. The city of Bryan provides reimbursement for these services with 25% coming from the city of Bryan and 25% from Brazos County. Due to increased funding, the city of Bryan agreed to pay $124,764.33 for Fiscal Year 2024, while in 2023, it paid $102,022. The city of Bryan also approved offering aid to the city of College Station in removing lift stations from operations, including the Valley Park Lift Station. According to the city of Bryan, While the proposed Resolution suggests the City of Bryan make certain future wastewater improvements, the enhancements should benefit the entire community from residential and economic development perspectives. The John Sharp Parkway, also known as Texas 47, was approved for a temporarily reduced speed limit from 75 mph to 60 mph between mile point 3.41 to mile point 4.01 in the vicinity of Leonard Road. This ordinance may cause a minor inconvenience to motorists, but will improve safety of construction crews in the area as they work on providing left-turn lane improvements. The temporary speed limit will expire once TxDOT completes the construction project. A $1 million construction contract was approved to go toward Bayer Construction Electrical Contractors for the Briarcrest Drive Traffic Signals Project. This project involves the removal of existing traffic signals, installation of new traffic signals, installation of traffic striping, construction of sidewalk and roadway pavement, construction of storm drainage utilities, and all other appurtenances necessary to complete the project at the intersections of Briarcrest Drive at Broadmoor Drive and Briarcrest Drive at East Villa Maria Road, according to the city of Bryan. Three professional services contracts were approved for geotechnical engineering, materials testing and construction inspection services, costing a total of $350,000. The three firms approved for funding are Terracon Consultants, Gessner Engineering and CME Testing. According to the city of Bryan, demand for hangar space at Coulter Airfield continues to be high with all box hangars and t-hangars occupied and leased since July 2017. During the city council meeting, councilors adopted a resolution setting the Coulter Airfield hangar lease rates for hangars currently under construction. Former Texas Representative and business owner Fred Brown is one of two Republicans vying for Brazos County Precinct 3 Commissioner. Brown, 69, has lived in Brazos County since 1982, except for an eight-year gap five years ago. From 1982-2001, Brown was the owner of Fred Brown BMW, Mazda and Volkswagen. He sold the dealership in 2001. Brown also served on the College Station City Council from 1985-1994 and was mayor pro tempore from 1989-1994. In 1999, Brown was elected as representative for Texas House District 14, serving until he resigned in 2011 due to the personal financial cost of remaining in office, he said. He faces off against Nancy Berry for Precinct 3 in the GOP March primary. Brown said he originally became interested in politics to enact effective change and that former College Station Mayor Larry Ringer was his mentor during his time in city politics. He wasnt a politician; he was a statesman, Brown said. A politician looks forward to the next election, whereas a statesman looks forward to the next generation and thats the kind of person Larry Ringer was. He was my mentor for everything Ive ever done. I just thought I could make a difference. You want to leave the world a little bit better place. For five of Browns 12 years in office, he said he was on the appropriations committee where he learned the intricacies of funding a government. His background in appropriations is part of the reason he said he believes the county is collecting too many taxes, especially regarding property tax. Of course, the [commissioners] court doesnt have anything to do with the rising property values that come out, but they can control how much they spend, he said. What Im talking about is theres tremendous growth within the county. Your homestead is going to go up 10%. Thats the maximum that can go up by law. This yearly growth should be more than enough to fund the county government and the 2023 no-new-revenue rate proves that, Brown said. In 2022, Precinct 1 Commissioner Steve Aldrich and former Precinct 2 Commissioner Russ Ford broke the courts quorum to force a no-new-revenue rate, going against the original rate proposed by other members. The first [Commissioners Court] I went to was when they were setting their 2023 budget and thats when Steve Aldrich and Russ Ford couldnt come to a compromise with the rest of the court and they walked out and saved the county approximately 13 million dollars, he said. The other people on the Commissioners Court thought that was going to be the end of Brazos County, that theyd run out of money. Brown said the county has a $21 million surplus and doesnt need any more in reserves. For the last 10 years they have overestimated their budget and overestimated their expenses, Brown said. They just keep piling money on top of money that should be in the pockets of the voters, the people that pay the taxes. Thats why I decided to run. During his time as representative, Brown said he authored a senior tax freeze bill in 2001 and now he wants to bring that same kind of savings to all residents in Brazos County. That was a constitutional amendment and I know it has helped millions of seniors all over Texas save billions of dollars over all these years, he said. The county has like a $140 million in reserves right now and theres nothing wrong with that, thats for catastrophic events that could happen, but we dont need to be carrying that forward. As the county continues to grow, Brown, if elected, said he hopes to ensure prosperous growth. Its making sure that the areas that are established outside of the city limits are done properly, within code, so that the people that build, they know theyre going to have a quality of life where they build, he said. Thats the job of the county to make sure that thats taken care of. Pacific Ridge Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in DHI Group, Inc. (NYSE:DHX Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 152,991 shares of the technology companys stock, valued at approximately $468,000. Pacific Ridge Capital Partners LLC owned about 0.33% of DHI Group as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Royce & Associates LP raised its holdings in DHI Group by 9.7% in the second quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 1,830,739 shares of the technology companys stock valued at $7,012,000 after buying an additional 162,410 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of DHI Group in the third quarter worth $58,000. Bank of Montreal Can bought a new stake in shares of DHI Group in the second quarter worth $861,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp bought a new stake in shares of DHI Group in the third quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of DHI Group by 133.7% in the third quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 69,210 shares of the technology companys stock worth $212,000 after buying an additional 39,591 shares during the last quarter. 70.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. Get DHI Group alerts: Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth A number of research firms have commented on DHX. StockNews.com raised shares of DHI Group from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a report on Saturday, February 10th. Barrington Research reaffirmed an outperform rating and issued a $7.00 price objective on shares of DHI Group in a report on Thursday, February 8th. DHI Group Stock Performance Shares of DHX traded down $0.01 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $2.71. 41,338 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 141,331. DHI Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $1.97 and a 1-year high of $4.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $130.16 million, a PE ratio of 33.88 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.45. The businesss 50 day moving average price is $2.43 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $2.84. About DHI Group (Free Report) DHI Group, Inc provides data, insights, and employment connections through specialized services for technology professionals in the United States. The company operates Dice that offers job postings of technology and non-technology companies for industries, such as positions for software engineers, big data professionals, systems administrators, database specialists, project managers, and other technology and engineering professionals; and ClearanceJobs, an online career network, which matches security-cleared professionals with hiring companies searching for employees. Read More Receive News & Ratings for DHI Group Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for DHI Group and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. cut its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT Free Report) by 7.4% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 27,872 shares of the healthcare product makers stock after selling 2,216 shares during the quarter. Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C.s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $2,713,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fairfield Bush & CO. acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the 1st quarter worth approximately $131,000. United Bank lifted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 7.2% during the 1st quarter. United Bank now owns 27,280 shares of the healthcare product makers stock worth $3,229,000 after acquiring an additional 1,826 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.9% in the first quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 813,253 shares of the healthcare product makers stock worth $96,257,000 after purchasing an additional 15,521 shares during the period. Kinneret Advisory LLC lifted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Kinneret Advisory LLC now owns 19,467 shares of the healthcare product makers stock worth $2,304,000 after purchasing an additional 436 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lumature Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in Abbott Laboratories by 636.2% in the 1st quarter. Lumature Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,216 shares of the healthcare product makers stock worth $262,000 after buying an additional 1,915 shares during the period. 73.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors. Get Abbott Laboratories alerts: Analyst Ratings Changes ABT has been the topic of a number of research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an outperform rating and set a $128.00 target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Wednesday. TheStreet upgraded Abbott Laboratories from a c+ rating to a b- rating in a research note on Thursday, December 21st. Raymond James lifted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $124.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $116.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 13th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $118.00 in a report on Thursday, October 19th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $120.00. Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories In related news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 42,500 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.50, for a total transaction of $4,781,250.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 65,027 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $7,315,537.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.00, for a total transaction of $1,620,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 65,027 shares of the companys stock, valued at $7,022,916. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 42,500 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.50, for a total transaction of $4,781,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 65,027 shares of the companys stock, valued at $7,315,537.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.10% of the companys stock. Abbott Laboratories Trading Up 0.8 % Shares of ABT traded up $0.87 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $114.51. 913,586 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,198,667. The firm has a market capitalization of $198.80 billion, a PE ratio of 34.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.75. Abbott Laboratories has a 1-year low of $89.67 and a 1-year high of $115.83. The company has a current ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The business has a fifty day moving average of $111.24 and a 200-day moving average of $104.01. Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts consensus estimates of $1.19. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 14.27% and a return on equity of 20.84%. The business had revenue of $10.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.19 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.03 earnings per share. Abbott Laboratoriess revenue for the quarter was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.61 EPS for the current year. Abbott Laboratories Increases Dividend The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 15th. Investors of record on Friday, January 12th were paid a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 11th. This is a boost from Abbott Laboratoriess previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.92%. Abbott Laboratoriess payout ratio is 67.48%. About Abbott Laboratories (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. See Also Want to see what other hedge funds are holding ABT? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Abbott Laboratories Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Abbott Laboratories and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Albany International Corp. (NYSE:AIN Get Free Report) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 265,500 shares, a decrease of 15.2% from the January 15th total of 313,100 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 144,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.8 days. Albany International Stock Up 3.7 % NYSE:AIN opened at $93.60 on Friday. Albany International has a 1-year low of $78.20 and a 1-year high of $104.77. The company has a 50-day moving average of $92.08 and a 200 day moving average of $89.07. The firm has a market cap of $2.92 billion, a PE ratio of 29.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 3.53 and a quick ratio of 2.78. Get Albany International alerts: Albany International Increases Dividend The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 19th were issued a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 18th. This is an increase from Albany Internationals previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.11%. Albany Internationals payout ratio is currently 32.91%. Hedge Funds Weigh In On Albany International Analysts Set New Price Targets Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund purchased a new stake in Albany International in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,630,000. Schroder Investment Management Group increased its stake in shares of Albany International by 32.5% in the 2nd quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 363,417 shares of the textile makers stock worth $33,900,000 after acquiring an additional 89,049 shares during the last quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of Albany International by 234.6% in the 3rd quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,325 shares of the textile makers stock worth $124,000 after acquiring an additional 929 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Albany International by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 13,940 shares of the textile makers stock worth $1,203,000 after purchasing an additional 379 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp increased its position in shares of Albany International by 6.3% during the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 15,814 shares of the textile makers stock worth $1,364,000 after purchasing an additional 941 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.37% of the companys stock. AIN has been the topic of several recent research reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Albany International from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 19th. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Albany International from $105.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. Finally, TheStreet raised shares of Albany International from a c+ rating to a b- rating in a report on Tuesday, December 12th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Buy and an average price target of $115.67. Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on Albany International About Albany International (Get Free Report) Albany International Corp., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the textile and materials processing business. The company operates in two segments, Machine Clothing (MC) and Albany Engineered Composites (AEC). The MC segment designs, manufactures, and markets paper machine clothing for use in the manufacturing of papers, paperboards, tissues, towels, nonwovens, building products, tannery, and textiles. See Also Receive News & Ratings for Albany International Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Albany International and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of American Shared Hospital Services (NYSEAMERICAN:AMS Free Report) in a research note issued to investors on Monday. The firm issued a hold rating on the stock. American Shared Hospital Services Stock Performance Shares of NYSEAMERICAN:AMS opened at $2.70 on Monday. American Shared Hospital Services has a 52 week low of $2.16 and a 52 week high of $3.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 2.03 and a quick ratio of 2.03. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $2.60. The firm has a market cap of $17.01 million, a P/E ratio of 38.57 and a beta of 0.69. Get American Shared Hospital Services alerts: American Shared Hospital Services (NYSEAMERICAN:AMS Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, November 13th. The company reported $0.02 EPS for the quarter. American Shared Hospital Services had a net margin of 2.13% and a return on equity of 3.95%. The company had revenue of $5.13 million for the quarter. Institutional Inflows and Outflows American Shared Hospital Services Company Profile Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its position in American Shared Hospital Services by 26.3% during the 3rd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 19,321 shares of the companys stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 4,021 shares during the period. Citadel Advisors LLC lifted its position in American Shared Hospital Services by 28.9% during the 4th quarter. Citadel Advisors LLC now owns 24,072 shares of the companys stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 5,391 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in American Shared Hospital Services by 16.2% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 117,884 shares of the companys stock valued at $280,000 after purchasing an additional 16,475 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in American Shared Hospital Services by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 158,681 shares of the companys stock valued at $465,000 after purchasing an additional 5,899 shares during the period. Finally, CI Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in American Shared Hospital Services during the 4th quarter valued at about $470,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 17.54% of the companys stock. (Get Free Report) American Shared Hospital Services provides radiosurgery and radiation therapy equipment to health care providers. The company offers radiosurgery equipment for the Gamma Knife stereotactic radiosurgery, a non-invasive procedure to treat malignant and benign brain tumors, and arteriovenous malformations, as well as for trigeminal neuralgia. Further Reading Receive News & Ratings for American Shared Hospital Services Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for American Shared Hospital Services and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Arch Resources, Inc. (NYSE:ARCH Get Free Report) fell 5.8% during trading on Friday following a dissappointing earnings announcement. The company traded as low as $157.01 and last traded at $157.01. 88,139 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 70% from the average session volume of 297,482 shares. The stock had previously closed at $166.67. The energy company reported $6.07 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $6.90 by ($0.83). The company had revenue of $774.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $704.53 million. Arch Resources had a net margin of 25.36% and a return on equity of 58.01%. The businesss quarterly revenue was down 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $23.18 EPS. Get Arch Resources alerts: Arch Resources Announces Dividend The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 28th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.63%. Arch Resourcess payout ratio is currently 2.43%. Analyst Ratings Changes A number of research firms have weighed in on ARCH. StockNews.com lowered Arch Resources from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Arch Resources from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Friday, November 17th. Check Out Our Latest Report on ARCH Insider Activity at Arch Resources In related news, VP Rosemary L. Klein sold 158 shares of Arch Resources stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.00, for a total value of $26,070.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 8,157 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,345,905. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Arch Resources news, VP John A. Ziegler sold 148 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.33, for a total transaction of $25,504.84. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 23,232 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,003,570.56. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Rosemary L. Klein sold 158 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.00, for a total value of $26,070.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 8,157 shares of the companys stock, valued at $1,345,905. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 13,617 shares of company stock worth $2,410,809 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 5.40% of the companys stock. Institutional Investors Weigh In On Arch Resources Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Arch Resources by 11.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,061,209 shares of the energy companys stock worth $342,037,000 after buying an additional 219,094 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Arch Resources by 24.4% during the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 1,261,637 shares of the energy companys stock worth $142,262,000 after purchasing an additional 247,238 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Arch Resources by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,234,347 shares of the energy companys stock worth $169,575,000 after purchasing an additional 28,274 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Arch Resources by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 918,052 shares of the energy companys stock worth $152,343,000 after purchasing an additional 23,959 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gendell Jeffrey L boosted its holdings in shares of Arch Resources by 20.6% during the 2nd quarter. Gendell Jeffrey L now owns 502,298 shares of the energy companys stock worth $56,639,000 after purchasing an additional 85,792 shares during the last quarter. 85.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors. Arch Resources Trading Down 4.9 % The firm has a market capitalization of $2.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.82 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $170.12 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $156.34. The company has a current ratio of 2.27, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. About Arch Resources (Get Free Report) Arch Resources, Inc produces and sells metallurgical products. As of December 31, 2022, the company operated seven active mines. It also owned or controlled primarily through long-term leases approximately 28,292 acres of coal land in Ohio; 952 acres of coal land in Maryland; 10,095 acres of coal land in Virginia; 306,263 acres of coal land in West Virginia; 81,450 acres of coal land in Wyoming; 234,087 acres of coal land in Illinois; 33,047 acres of coal land in Kentucky; 362 acres of coal land in Montana; 248 acres of coal land in Pennsylvania; and 19,018 acres of coal land in Colorado, as well as smaller parcels of property in Alabama, Indiana, Washington, Arkansas, California, Utah, and Texas. Read More Receive News & Ratings for Arch Resources Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Arch Resources and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A. (NYSE:BBVA Free Report) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 13,141 shares of the banks stock, valued at approximately $106,000. Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria during the second quarter worth $25,000. Bessemer Group Inc. acquired a new position in Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria during the second quarter worth $30,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. boosted its stake in Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria by 124.8% during the first quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 6,859 shares of the banks stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 3,808 shares during the last quarter. Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC boosted its stake in Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria by 66.7% during the third quarter. Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC now owns 7,000 shares of the banks stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 2,800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC boosted its stake in Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria by 24.4% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 8,357 shares of the banks stock worth $64,000 after buying an additional 1,641 shares during the last quarter. 2.83% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors. Get Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria alerts: Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria Stock Performance Shares of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria stock opened at $9.72 on Friday. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A. has a 52 week low of $6.24 and a 52 week high of $10.01. The businesss fifty day simple moving average is $9.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $8.50. The firm has a market cap of $57.98 billion, a PE ratio of 6.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria ( NYSE:BBVA Get Free Report ) last posted its earnings results on Monday, January 29th. The bank reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.02. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria had a return on equity of 14.85% and a net margin of 27.15%. The firm had revenue of $8.01 billion for the quarter. Equities analysts forecast that Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A. will post 1.47 earnings per share for the current year. BBVA has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Barclays raised Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating in a research note on Thursday, October 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria from a market perform rating to an outperform rating in a research note on Monday, December 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy. Check Out Our Latest Analysis on BBVA Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria Profile (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. Read More Want to see what other hedge funds are holding BBVA? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A. (NYSE:BBVA Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Aviva PLC lessened its holdings in Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO Free Report) (TSE:BMO) by 6.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 360,227 shares of the banks stock after selling 23,705 shares during the quarter. Aviva PLCs holdings in Bank of Montreal were worth $30,491,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of BMO. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc boosted its holdings in Bank of Montreal by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc now owns 171,717 shares of the banks stock valued at $14,488,000 after purchasing an additional 6,901 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its position in Bank of Montreal by 0.5% during the third quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 13,757,010 shares of the banks stock worth $1,102,086,000 after buying an additional 69,009 shares in the last quarter. Goldstein Advisors LLC bought a new position in Bank of Montreal during the 3rd quarter worth $446,000. Capital International Investors acquired a new position in Bank of Montreal in the 2nd quarter valued at $58,266,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Bank of Montreal by 10.9% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,529,413 shares of the banks stock valued at $229,590,000 after acquiring an additional 249,185 shares during the period. 43.89% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. Get Bank of Montreal alerts: Bank of Montreal Trading Up 2.1 % Shares of BMO stock opened at $94.57 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $68.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.62, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.15. Bank of Montreal has a fifty-two week low of $73.98 and a fifty-two week high of $101.09. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $94.82 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $87.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 0.96. Bank of Montreal Increases Dividend Bank of Montreal ( NYSE:BMO Get Free Report ) (TSE:BMO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, December 1st. The bank reported $2.07 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.07. Bank of Montreal had a net margin of 6.41% and a return on equity of 12.55%. The company had revenue of $6.16 billion during the quarter. Research analysts forecast that Bank of Montreal will post 9.14 earnings per share for the current year. The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 30th will be issued a dividend of $1.1137 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, January 29th. This represents a $4.45 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.71%. This is a positive change from Bank of Montreals previous quarterly dividend of $1.11. Bank of Montreals dividend payout ratio is currently 103.59%. Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth BMO has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America upgraded Bank of Montreal from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research report on Monday, December 18th. National Bank Financial raised shares of Bank of Montreal from a sector perform rating to an outperform rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 20th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Bank of Montreal from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note on Thursday. View Our Latest Stock Analysis on Bank of Montreal Bank of Montreal Profile (Free Report) Bank of Montreal provides diversified financial services primarily in North America. It operates through Canadian P&C, U.S P&C, BMO Wealth Management, and BMO Capital Markets segments. The company's personal banking products and services include deposits, mortgages, home lending, consumer credit, small business lending, credit cards, cash management, financial and investment advice, and other banking services; and commercial banking products and services comprise various of financing options and treasury and payment solutions, as well as risk management products. Further Reading Receive News & Ratings for Bank of Montreal Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Bank of Montreal and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Baillie Gifford & Co. acquired a new stake in Howard Hughes Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HHH Free Report) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 2,548,106 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $188,891,000. Baillie Gifford & Co. owned approximately 5.09% of Howard Hughes at the end of the most recent reporting period. Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Citigroup Inc. acquired a new stake in Howard Hughes during the third quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Howard Hughes during the third quarter valued at approximately $73,000. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP acquired a new stake in Howard Hughes during the third quarter valued at approximately $128,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Howard Hughes during the third quarter valued at approximately $137,000. Finally, Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. acquired a new stake in Howard Hughes during the third quarter valued at approximately $139,000. 94.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. Get Howard Hughes alerts: Insiders Place Their Bets In other news, Director Anthony Williams sold 850 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.95, for a total transaction of $70,507.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 5,265 shares in the company, valued at approximately $436,731.75. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Director Anthony Williams sold 850 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.95, for a total value of $70,507.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,265 shares in the company, valued at approximately $436,731.75. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Douglas Johnstone sold 658 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.99, for a total transaction of $54,607.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 8,332 shares in the company, valued at $691,472.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders purchased 241,985 shares of company stock worth $17,793,478 and sold 2,608 shares worth $215,112. Insiders own 33.00% of the companys stock. Howard Hughes Trading Down 0.3 % Analysts Set New Price Targets HHH stock traded down $0.25 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $77.71. The company had a trading volume of 31,186 shares, compared to its average volume of 184,150. Howard Hughes Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $65.42 and a 1 year high of $89.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.72, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.89 billion, a P/E ratio of -7.21 and a beta of 1.51. The companys 50 day moving average price is $81.47. Separately, TheStreet upgraded shares of Howard Hughes from a d+ rating to a c- rating in a research report on Friday, December 22nd. View Our Latest Research Report on Howard Hughes About Howard Hughes (Free Report) Howard Hughes Holdings Inc owns, manages, and develops commercial, residential, and mixed-use properties in the United States. It operates through four segments: Operating Assets; Master Planned Communities (MPCs); Seaport; and Strategic Developments. The Operating Assets segment owns retail, office, multi-family, hospitality, and other operating properties and investments primarily located in Houston, Texas; Columbia, Maryland; Las Vegas, Nevada; and Honolulu, Hawaii. Recommended Stories Receive News & Ratings for Howard Hughes Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Howard Hughes and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Baillie Gifford & Co. lowered its stake in Snap Inc. (NYSE:SNAP Free Report) by 0.2% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 10,345,952 shares of the companys stock after selling 16,096 shares during the quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co.s holdings in Snap were worth $92,182,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in SNAP. Jump Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Snap by 565.4% during the 3rd quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 262,952 shares of the companys stock worth $2,343,000 after acquiring an additional 223,432 shares during the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund bought a new position in shares of Snap in the 3rd quarter worth $423,000. NVP Associates LLC purchased a new position in Snap during the 2nd quarter worth $41,000. Vontobel Holding Ltd. grew its stake in Snap by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 1,061,231 shares of the companys stock worth $9,456,000 after buying an additional 47,303 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. grew its stake in Snap by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 4,301,300 shares of the companys stock worth $38,325,000 after buying an additional 245,555 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 44.37% of the companys stock. Get Snap alerts: Analysts Set New Price Targets A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on SNAP. Jefferies Financial Group raised Snap from a hold rating to a buy rating and increased their price objective for the company from $12.00 to $16.00 in a report on Thursday, November 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Snap from $15.00 to $13.50 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Snap from $12.00 to $17.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Truist Financial raised their target price on Snap from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, China Renaissance raised Snap from a sell rating to a hold rating and set a $9.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, October 26th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Snap currently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $13.70. Insider Activity In other Snap news, General Counsel Michael J. Osullivan sold 13,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.83, for a total value of $179,790.00. Following the sale, the general counsel now owns 487,005 shares in the company, valued at $6,735,279.15. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, General Counsel Michael J. Osullivan sold 13,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.83, for a total value of $179,790.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel now owns 487,005 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $6,735,279.15. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Rebecca Morrow sold 1,792 shares of Snap stock in a transaction on Monday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.13, for a total transaction of $30,696.96. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 307,026 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $5,259,355.38. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 260,730 shares of company stock worth $3,486,809 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 22.68% of the companys stock. Snap Trading Down 4.7 % Shares of SNAP stock traded down $0.54 on Friday, reaching $11.06. 15,189,038 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 34,847,211. Snap Inc. has a 1-year low of $7.86 and a 1-year high of $17.90. The stock has a market cap of $18.21 billion, a P/E ratio of -13.77 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a quick ratio of 4.39, a current ratio of 4.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $15.82 and a two-hundred day moving average of $12.22. Snap Profile (Free Report) Snap Inc operates as a technology company in North America, Europe, and internationally. The company offers Snapchat, a visual messaging application with various tabs, such as camera, visual messaging, snap map, stories, and spotlight that enable people to communicate visually through short videos and images. Featured Stories Want to see what other hedge funds are holding SNAP? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Snap Inc. (NYSE:SNAP Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Snap Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Snap and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Barnwell Industries (NYSE:BRN Get Free Report) and Victory Oilfield Tech (OTCMKTS:VYEY Get Free Report) are both small-cap oils/energy companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, risk, valuation, dividends, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership and profitability. Analyst Ratings This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for Barnwell Industries and Victory Oilfield Tech, as reported by MarketBeat.com. Get Barnwell Industries alerts: Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score Barnwell Industries 0 0 0 0 N/A Victory Oilfield Tech 0 0 0 0 N/A Insider and Institutional Ownership Profitability 9.4% of Barnwell Industries shares are owned by institutional investors. 16.3% of Barnwell Industries shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 97.6% of Victory Oilfield Tech shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth. This table compares Barnwell Industries and Victory Oilfield Techs net margins, return on equity and return on assets. Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets Barnwell Industries -11.35% -14.70% -7.70% Victory Oilfield Tech -30.63% N/A -68.11% Risk and Volatility Barnwell Industries has a beta of 0.21, suggesting that its stock price is 79% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Victory Oilfield Tech has a beta of 0.08, suggesting that its stock price is 92% less volatile than the S&P 500. Valuation & Earnings This table compares Barnwell Industries and Victory Oilfield Techs revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation. Gross Revenue Price/Sales Ratio Net Income Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Ratio Barnwell Industries $25.27 million 0.85 -$960,000.00 ($0.27) -7.96 Victory Oilfield Tech $1.62 million 8.40 -$320,000.00 N/A N/A Victory Oilfield Tech has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Barnwell Industries. Summary Barnwell Industries beats Victory Oilfield Tech on 5 of the 9 factors compared between the two stocks. About Barnwell Industries (Get Free Report) Barnwell Industries, Inc. acquires, develops, produces, and sells oil and natural gas in Canada. The company operates through three segments: Oil and Natural Gas, Land Investment, and Contract Drilling. It also acquires and develops crude oil and natural gas assets in the province of Alberta, as well as invests in land interests in Hawaii. In addition, the company owns and operates threes water well drilling rigs, two pump rigs, and other ancillary drilling and pump equipment; and drills water and water monitoring wells of varying depths. Further, it installs and repairs water pumping systems; and distributes trillium flow technologies. Barnwell Industries, Inc. was incorporated in 1956 and is based in Honolulu, Hawaii. About Victory Oilfield Tech (Get Free Report) Victory Oilfield Tech, Inc. operates as an oilfield energy technology products company in the United States. The company offers patented oil and gas drilling products. It also provides various hardbanding solutions to the oilfield operators for drill and weight pipes, tubing, and drill collars, as well as grinding services. The company was formerly known as Victory Energy Corporation and changed its name to Victory Oilfield Tech, Inc. in May 2018. Victory Oilfield Tech, Inc. was incorporated in 1982 and is based in Austin, Texas. Receive News & Ratings for Barnwell Industries Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Barnwell Industries and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. BorgWarner Inc. (NYSE:BWA Get Free Report) CEO Frederic Lissalde sold 225,900 shares of BorgWarner stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.08, for a total value of $7,020,972.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 455,227 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,148,455.16. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. BorgWarner Stock Up 1.1 % BWA opened at $31.49 on Friday. The businesss fifty day moving average is $33.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $36.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 1.65. The company has a market cap of $7.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.79, a PEG ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.32. BorgWarner Inc. has a one year low of $30.77 and a one year high of $51.14. Get BorgWarner alerts: BorgWarner (NYSE:BWA Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The auto parts company reported $0.90 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $0.93 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $3.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $3.62 billion. BorgWarner had a return on equity of 14.69% and a net margin of 3.94%. The firms revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.26 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that BorgWarner Inc. will post 3.86 EPS for the current fiscal year. BorgWarner Announces Dividend Institutional Trading of BorgWarner The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st will be given a $0.11 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.40%. BorgWarners dividend payout ratio is currently 16.48%. Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BWA. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV lifted its position in BorgWarner by 2.8% during the second quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 8,231 shares of the auto parts companys stock worth $403,000 after buying an additional 221 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund grew its stake in shares of BorgWarner by 3.7% in the third quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund now owns 8,487 shares of the auto parts companys stock valued at $266,000 after buying an additional 302 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of BorgWarner by 7.5% in the first quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 4,440 shares of the auto parts companys stock valued at $218,000 after buying an additional 308 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of BorgWarner by 10.0% in the second quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 3,538 shares of the auto parts companys stock valued at $173,000 after buying an additional 323 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Trust N.A. grew its stake in shares of BorgWarner by 3.8% in the second quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 8,812 shares of the auto parts companys stock valued at $431,000 after buying an additional 324 shares in the last quarter. 92.35% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors. Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades Several research analysts have commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on BorgWarner from $47.00 to $43.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on BorgWarner from $38.00 to $34.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered BorgWarner from a buy rating to a hold rating and dropped their target price for the company from $47.00 to $36.00 in a report on Friday, November 3rd. StockNews.com lowered BorgWarner from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. Finally, TheStreet lowered BorgWarner from a b- rating to a c+ rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $44.77. Read Our Latest Stock Report on BorgWarner About BorgWarner (Get Free Report) BorgWarner Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides solutions for combustion, hybrid, and electric vehicles worldwide. It offers turbochargers, eBoosters, eTurbos, timing systems, emissions systems, thermal systems, gasoline ignition technology, smart remote actuators, powertrain sensors, cabin heaters, battery modules and systems, battery heaters, and battery charging. See Also Receive News & Ratings for BorgWarner Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for BorgWarner and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Brookdale Senior Living Inc. (NYSE:BKD Get Free Report)s share price reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $6.16 and last traded at $6.13, with a volume of 448676 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $5.79. Wall Street Analyst Weigh In A number of research firms have recently commented on BKD. TheStreet upgraded shares of Brookdale Senior Living from a d+ rating to a c- rating in a research report on Friday, December 29th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Brookdale Senior Living from an underperform rating to a neutral rating and raised their price objective for the company from $3.95 to $6.00 in a research report on Friday, December 15th. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Brookdale Senior Living from a sector perform rating to an outperform rating and lifted their target price for the company from $7.00 to $9.00 in a research report on Friday, November 17th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Brookdale Senior Living from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 24th. Get Brookdale Senior Living alerts: Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on Brookdale Senior Living Brookdale Senior Living Trading Up 1.6 % Insider Activity The stocks 50 day moving average is $5.70 and its 200-day moving average is $4.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.39, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.66. In related news, Director Marcus E. Bromley sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.38, for a total value of $53,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 160,996 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $866,158.48. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders sold 15,000 shares of company stock valued at $80,451 in the last quarter. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders. Institutional Inflows and Outflows Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Brookdale Senior Living by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 121,815 shares of the companys stock valued at $709,000 after acquiring an additional 2,395 shares during the last quarter. PDT Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Brookdale Senior Living by 3.6% during the 1st quarter. PDT Partners LLC now owns 99,572 shares of the companys stock valued at $702,000 after acquiring an additional 3,500 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its position in shares of Brookdale Senior Living by 5.8% during the 1st quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 69,107 shares of the companys stock valued at $491,000 after acquiring an additional 3,776 shares during the last quarter. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co NY boosted its position in shares of Brookdale Senior Living by 39.3% during the 4th quarter. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co NY now owns 13,647 shares of the companys stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 3,849 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its position in shares of Brookdale Senior Living by 73.9% during the 3rd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 9,169 shares of the companys stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 3,897 shares during the last quarter. About Brookdale Senior Living (Get Free Report) Brookdale Senior Living Inc owns, manages, and operates senior living communities in the United States. It operates in three segments: Independent Living, Assisted Living and Memory Care, and Continuing Care Retirement Communities (CCRCs). The Independent Living segment owns or leases communities comprising independent and assisted living units in a single community that are primarily designed for middle to upper income seniors. Recommended Stories Receive News & Ratings for Brookdale Senior Living Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Brookdale Senior Living and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Buckhead Capital Management LLC decreased its stake in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM Free Report) by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 28,369 shares of the financial services providers stock after selling 1,270 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. makes up about 1.7% of Buckhead Capital Management LLCs investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest holding. Buckhead Capital Management LLCs holdings in JPMorgan Chase & Co. were worth $4,114,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Valicenti Advisory Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Valicenti Advisory Services Inc. now owns 79,891 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $11,586,000 after acquiring an additional 2,220 shares in the last quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. boosted its stake in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 4.4% during the second quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 34,079 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $4,956,000 after purchasing an additional 1,439 shares during the period. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC boosted its stake in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 4.4% during the second quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 39,447 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $5,737,000 after purchasing an additional 1,652 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 14.0% in the second quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 50,991 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $7,416,000 after acquiring an additional 6,264 shares during the period. Finally, Joseph Group Capital Management lifted its position in JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 7.6% during the second quarter. Joseph Group Capital Management now owns 12,958 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $1,885,000 after buying an additional 916 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.94% of the companys stock. Get JPMorgan Chase & Co. alerts: Insider Transactions at JPMorgan Chase & Co. In other news, Vice Chairman Peter Scher sold 1,812 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.65, for a total transaction of $301,969.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 46,766 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $7,793,553.90. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, insider Ashley Bacon sold 3,368 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.73, for a total transaction of $561,546.64. Following the sale, the insider now owns 205,461 shares in the company, valued at $34,256,512.53. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Vice Chairman Peter Scher sold 1,812 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.65, for a total value of $301,969.80. Following the sale, the insider now owns 46,766 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,793,553.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 39,072 shares of company stock valued at $6,297,103. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders. Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on JPM shares. Odeon Capital Group downgraded JPMorgan Chase & Co. from a buy rating to a hold rating and set a $140.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, November 2nd. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $191.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a buy rating on shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $177.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $179.11. View Our Latest Report on JPM JPMorgan Chase & Co. Trading Down 0.3 % Shares of JPM stock traded down $0.56 on Friday, hitting $179.31. The stock had a trading volume of 1,786,487 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,622,853. The companys 50 day moving average price is $170.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $155.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.90. JPMorgan Chase & Co. has a 1 year low of $123.11 and a 1 year high of $180.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $515.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.14. JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 12th. The financial services provider reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.73 by ($0.69). The company had revenue of $38.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $39.73 billion. JPMorgan Chase & Co. had a return on equity of 17.80% and a net margin of 20.70%. JPMorgan Chase & Co.s revenue for the quarter was up 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.57 EPS. Analysts anticipate that JPMorgan Chase & Co. will post 15.87 earnings per share for the current year. JPMorgan Chase & Co. Announces Dividend The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 4th were given a dividend of $1.05 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 4th. This represents a $4.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.34%. JPMorgan Chase & Co.s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.89%. About JPMorgan Chase & Co. (Free Report) JPMorgan Chase & Co operates as a financial services company worldwide. It operates through four segments: Consumer & Community Banking (CCB), Corporate & Investment Bank (CIB), Commercial Banking (CB), and Asset & Wealth Management (AWM). The CCB segment offers deposit, investment and lending products, cash management, and payments and services to consumers and small businesses; mortgage origination and servicing activities; residential mortgages and home equity loans; and credit cards, auto loans, leases, and travel services. Featured Articles Receive News & Ratings for JPMorgan Chase & Co. Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for JPMorgan Chase & Co. and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Commonwealth Bank of Australia (OTCMKTS:CBAUF Get Free Report)s share price was down 6.3% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $72.29 and last traded at $72.29. Approximately 304 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 51% from the average daily volume of 617 shares. The stock had previously closed at $77.13. Commonwealth Bank of Australia Stock Performance The company has a 50 day moving average price of $74.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $68.08. About Commonwealth Bank of Australia (Get Free Report) Commonwealth Bank of Australia provides financial services in Australia, New Zealand, and internationally. It operates through Retail Banking Services, Business Banking, Institutional Banking and Markets, and New Zealand segments. The company offers transaction, savings, and foreign currency accounts; term deposits; personal and business loans; overdrafts; equipment finance; credit cards; international payment and trade; and private banking services, as well as home and car loans. Further Reading Receive News & Ratings for Commonwealth Bank of Australia Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Commonwealth Bank of Australia and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale cut its stake in shares of MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI Free Report) by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 73,332 shares of the technology companys stock after selling 4,303 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrales holdings in MSCI were worth $38,570,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in MSCI by 18.6% during the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 14,524 shares of the technology companys stock worth $7,452,000 after acquiring an additional 2,274 shares during the last quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in MSCI during the third quarter worth approximately $82,000. Cornerstone Advisors LLC lifted its position in MSCI by 5.7% during the third quarter. Cornerstone Advisors LLC now owns 7,400 shares of the technology companys stock worth $3,797,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in MSCI during the third quarter worth approximately $213,000. Finally, Navellier & Associates Inc. raised its position in shares of MSCI by 8.6% in the third quarter. Navellier & Associates Inc. now owns 1,430 shares of the technology companys stock valued at $734,000 after buying an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. 88.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. Get MSCI alerts: Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MSCI. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of MSCI from $544.00 to $617.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of MSCI from $588.00 to $638.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of MSCI from $615.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of MSCI from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 12th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of MSCI from $600.00 to $700.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, MSCI currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $584.21. MSCI Stock Performance NYSE MSCI opened at $575.72 on Friday. MSCI Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $451.55 and a fifty-two week high of $617.39. The stock has a market cap of $45.53 billion, a PE ratio of 39.98, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.10. The firms fifty day moving average price is $558.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $533.84. MSCI (NYSE:MSCI Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 30th. The technology company reported $3.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.29 by $0.39. MSCI had a net margin of 45.42% and a negative return on equity of 111.17%. The company had revenue of $690.11 million for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $662.64 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.84 earnings per share. MSCIs revenue for the quarter was up 19.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that MSCI Inc. will post 14.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. MSCI Increases Dividend The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 29th. Investors of record on Friday, February 16th will be paid a $1.60 dividend. This is a boost from MSCIs previous quarterly dividend of $1.38. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 15th. This represents a $6.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.11%. MSCIs payout ratio is currently 38.33%. About MSCI (Free Report) MSCI Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides critical decision support tools and solutions for the investment community to manage investment processes worldwide. The Index segment provides indexes for use in various areas of the investment process, including indexed financial product, such as ETFs, mutual funds, annuities, futures, options, structured products, and over-the-counter derivatives; performance benchmarking; portfolio construction and rebalancing; and asset allocation, as well as licenses GICS and GICS Direct. Further Reading Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MSCI? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for MSCI Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for MSCI and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators reduced its stake in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB Free Report) by 13.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,069 shares of the pipeline companys stock after selling 311 shares during the period. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators holdings in Williams Companies were worth $70,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A bought a new position in Williams Companies during the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Missouri Trust & Investment Co raised its position in Williams Companies by 300.0% in the second quarter. Missouri Trust & Investment Co now owns 800 shares of the pipeline companys stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares during the period. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Williams Companies in the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Steward Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Williams Companies in the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, HWG Holdings LP bought a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. 85.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors. Get Williams Companies alerts: Williams Companies Price Performance Shares of WMB opened at $34.20 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $34.72 and a 200-day moving average price of $34.78. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $27.80 and a fifty-two week high of $37.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.60 billion, a PE ratio of 13.05, a PEG ratio of 5.25 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.77. Williams Companies Increases Dividend Williams Companies ( NYSE:WMB Get Free Report ) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The pipeline company reported $0.48 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $0.47 by $0.01. Williams Companies had a net margin of 24.52% and a return on equity of 16.37%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.53 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 1.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th will be paid a $0.475 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.56%. This is a positive change from Williams Companiess previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Williams Companiess dividend payout ratio is presently 68.32%. Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades Several research firms recently weighed in on WMB. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, December 7th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $41.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Thursday. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have 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 $36.92. View Our Latest Stock Analysis on WMB Williams Companies Company Profile (Free Report) The Williams Companies, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an energy infrastructure company primarily in the United States. It operates through Transmission & Gulf of Mexico, Northeast G&P, West, and Gas & NGL Marketing Services segments. The Transmission & Gulf of Mexico segment comprises Transco and Northwest natural gas pipelines; and natural gas gathering and processing, and crude oil production handling and transportation assets in the Gulf Coast region, as well as various petrochemical and feedstock pipelines. Read More Receive News & Ratings for Williams Companies Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Williams Companies and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators cut its stake in Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA Free Report) by 38.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 545 shares of the auto parts companys stock after selling 341 shares during the quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators holdings in Lear were worth $73,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Lear by 14.0% during the third quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 30,498 shares of the auto parts companys stock valued at $4,093,000 after buying an additional 3,753 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System lifted its stake in Lear by 1.5% during the third quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 118,805 shares of the auto parts companys stock worth $15,944,000 after purchasing an additional 1,792 shares during the last quarter. CX Institutional bought a new stake in Lear during the third quarter worth about $3,139,000. Scout Investments Inc. lifted its stake in Lear by 48.8% during the third quarter. Scout Investments Inc. now owns 85,321 shares of the auto parts companys stock worth $11,326,000 after purchasing an additional 27,974 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its stake in Lear by 21.6% during the second quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 10,700 shares of the auto parts companys stock worth $1,536,000 after purchasing an additional 1,900 shares during the last quarter. 97.04% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors. Get Lear alerts: Lear Stock Up 2.1 % Shares of NYSE:LEA opened at $137.76 on Friday. Lear Co. has a 1 year low of $117.79 and a 1 year high of $157.90. The company has a market cap of $7.86 billion, a PE ratio of 14.23, a P/E/G ratio of 0.34 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The stocks 50-day moving average is $135.54 and its 200 day moving average is $136.82. Insiders Place Their Bets Lear ( NYSE:LEA Get Free Report ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The auto parts company reported $3.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $3.12 by ($0.09). Lear had a net margin of 2.44% and a return on equity of 14.09%. The business had revenue of $5.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $5.69 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.81 EPS. The firms revenue for the quarter was up 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Lear Co. will post 14.99 EPS for the current year. In other Lear news, CEO Raymond E. Scott sold 2,977 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.26, for a total transaction of $402,669.02. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,976 shares in the company, valued at approximately $402,533.76. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Lear news, CEO Raymond E. Scott sold 10,652 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.86, for a total transaction of $1,415,224.72. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 13,627 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,810,483.22. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Raymond E. Scott sold 2,977 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.26, for a total value of $402,669.02. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,976 shares in the company, valued at approximately $402,533.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.75% of the companys stock. Analysts Set New Price Targets LEA has been the subject of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com raised Lear from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Lear from $195.00 to $179.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Benchmark boosted their target price on Lear from $188.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Lear from $130.00 to $134.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on Lear from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Lear has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $160.22. Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on Lear About Lear (Free Report) Lear Corporation designs, develops, engineers, manufactures, assembles, and supplies automotive seating, and electrical distribution systems and related components for automotive original equipment manufacturers in North America, Europe, Africa, Asia, and South America. Its Seating segment offers seat systems, seat subsystems, keyseat components, seat trim covers, seat mechanisms, seat foams, and headrests, as well as surface materials, such as leather and fabric for automobiles and light trucks, compact cars, pick-up trucks, and sport utility vehicles. Featured Stories Want to see what other hedge funds are holding LEA? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Lear Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Lear and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Deutsche Bank AG reduced its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX Free Report) by 14.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 520,628 shares of the medical research companys stock after selling 89,783 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AGs holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $63,444,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in DGX. Park Place Capital Corp boosted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 73.4% in the second quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 189 shares of the medical research companys stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the first quarter valued at about $28,000. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Finally, Alaska Permanent Fund Corp acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter valued at about $37,000. 87.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. Get Quest Diagnostics alerts: Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth DGX has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $148.00 to $149.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Friday, November 17th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Monday, December 11th. Barclays started coverage on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. They set an equal weight rating and a $145.00 price target for the company. Truist Financial dropped their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a hold rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a neutral rating to a buy rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $140.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 12th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics presently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $146.91. Quest Diagnostics Stock Down 1.6 % Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $125.73 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.14 billion, a PE ratio of 16.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.92. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a twelve month low of $119.59 and a twelve month high of $148.91. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The company has a 50 day moving average of $133.68 and a 200-day moving average of $131.31. Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The medical research company reported $2.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.11 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 9.23% and a return on equity of 15.79%. The company had revenue of $2.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $2.25 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.98 earnings per share. The businesss quarterly revenue was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.78 EPS for the current fiscal year. Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 8th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 5th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.39%. This is a boost from Quest Diagnosticss previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. Quest Diagnosticss dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.92%. Quest Diagnostics Company Profile (Free Report) Quest Diagnostics Incorporated provides diagnostic testing, information, and services in the United States and internationally. The company develops and delivers diagnostic information services, such as routine testing, non-routine and advanced clinical testing, anatomic pathology testing, and other diagnostic information services. Further Reading Want to see what other hedge funds are holding DGX? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Quest Diagnostics Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Quest Diagnostics and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its position in Snowflake Inc. (NYSE:SNOW Free Report) by 16.1% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 369,893 shares of the companys stock after purchasing an additional 51,319 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AGs holdings in Snowflake were worth $56,509,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Cigna Investments Inc. New raised its position in Snowflake by 1.9% during the second quarter. Cigna Investments Inc. New now owns 3,244 shares of the companys stock valued at $571,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Visionary Wealth Advisors increased its holdings in shares of Snowflake by 4.8% during the 2nd quarter. Visionary Wealth Advisors now owns 1,540 shares of the companys stock valued at $271,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC lifted its stake in shares of Snowflake by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 2,484 shares of the companys stock valued at $437,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its holdings in Snowflake by 54.1% during the third quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 205 shares of the companys stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Edge Capital Group LLC increased its holdings in Snowflake by 1.5% in the second quarter. Edge Capital Group LLC now owns 5,098 shares of the companys stock valued at $897,000 after buying an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. 63.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. Get Snowflake alerts: Insiders Place Their Bets In related news, CEO Frank Slootman sold 112,500 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.90, for a total value of $19,788,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 182,913 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $32,174,396.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Christian Kleinerman sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.00, for a total value of $2,300,000.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 726,567 shares in the company, valued at $167,110,410. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Frank Slootman sold 112,500 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.90, for a total value of $19,788,750.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 182,913 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,174,396.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 640,172 shares of company stock worth $127,356,430. 8.30% of the stock is owned by insiders. Analysts Set New Price Targets A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Snowflake from $210.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. JMP Securities reiterated a market outperform rating and issued a $212.00 price objective on shares of Snowflake in a report on Monday, January 22nd. Capital One Financial raised Snowflake from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and set a $195.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 8th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Snowflake from $200.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, November 30th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a buy rating and set a $225.00 price objective on shares of Snowflake in a research note on Monday, January 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $199.19. Read Our Latest Research Report on Snowflake Snowflake Price Performance SNOW stock opened at $232.44 on Friday. The companys 50 day moving average is $202.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $173.84. Snowflake Inc. has a twelve month low of $128.56 and a twelve month high of $237.72. Snowflake (NYSE:SNOW Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 29th. The company reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $0.16 by $0.09. Snowflake had a negative net margin of 33.35% and a negative return on equity of 14.46%. The business had revenue of $734.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $713.75 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($0.60) earnings per share. The companys revenue for the quarter was up 31.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Snowflake Inc. will post -1.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. Snowflake Profile (Free Report) Snowflake Inc provides a cloud-based data platform for various organizations in the United States and internationally. Its platform offers Data Cloud, which enables customers to consolidate data into a single source of truth to drive meaningful business insights, build data-driven applications, and share data and data products. Featured Stories Want to see what other hedge funds are holding SNOW? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Snowflake Inc. (NYSE:SNOW Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Snowflake Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Snowflake and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW Get Free Report) VP Donald E. Bobo, Jr. sold 11,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.83, for a total value of $944,130.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 39,503 shares of the companys stock, valued at $3,390,542.49. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Edwards Lifesciences Stock Up 0.0 % EW stock opened at $86.06 on Friday. Edwards Lifesciences Co. has a twelve month low of $60.57 and a twelve month high of $94.87. The company has a market cap of $52.20 billion, a PE ratio of 37.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.38 and a beta of 1.04. The businesss 50-day simple moving average is $77.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $73.56. The company has a quick ratio of 2.40, a current ratio of 3.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. Get Edwards Lifesciences alerts: Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The medical research company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts consensus estimates of $0.64. Edwards Lifesciences had a return on equity of 23.56% and a net margin of 23.35%. The business had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.50 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.64 earnings per share. The firms revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Edwards Lifesciences Co. will post 2.76 earnings per share for the current year. Wall Street Analyst Weigh In Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Edwards Lifesciences from $70.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. StockNews.com raised shares of Edwards Lifesciences from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $78.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Friday, December 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $82.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $83.00 to $68.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $87.38. View Our Latest Stock Report on Edwards Lifesciences Institutional Investors Weigh In On Edwards Lifesciences Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Edwards Lifesciences by 11.4% during the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 9,181 shares of the medical research companys stock worth $1,081,000 after purchasing an additional 941 shares during the period. Zions Bancorporation N.A. lifted its stake in Edwards Lifesciences by 34.7% during the first quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 1,738 shares of the medical research companys stock worth $204,000 after purchasing an additional 448 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in Edwards Lifesciences by 18.2% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,223 shares of the medical research companys stock worth $144,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. lifted its stake in Edwards Lifesciences by 53.5% during the first quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 7,182 shares of the medical research companys stock worth $846,000 after purchasing an additional 2,503 shares during the period. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its stake in Edwards Lifesciences by 3.1% during the first quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 655,567 shares of the medical research companys stock worth $77,173,000 after purchasing an additional 19,798 shares during the period. 79.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. Edwards Lifesciences Company Profile (Get Free Report) Edwards Lifesciences Corporation provides products and technologies for structural heart disease and critical care monitoring in the United States, Europe, Japan, and internationally. It offers transcatheter heart valve replacement products for the minimally invasive replacement of aortic heart valves under the Edwards SAPIEN family of valves system; and transcatheter heart valve repair and replacement products to treat mitral and tricuspid valve diseases under the PASCAL PRECISION and Cardioband names. Read More Receive News & Ratings for Edwards Lifesciences Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Edwards Lifesciences and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Element Solutions Inc (NYSE:ESI Get Free Report) CFO Carey J. Dorman sold 14,774 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.20, for a total value of $342,756.80. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 171,551 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $3,979,983.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Element Solutions Stock Up 2.8 % Shares of NYSE:ESI opened at $23.84 on Friday. The businesss 50 day moving average is $22.58 and its 200 day moving average is $20.71. The stock has a market cap of $5.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 108.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.78 and a beta of 1.31. Element Solutions Inc has a 52-week low of $17.08 and a 52-week high of $23.86. The company has a quick ratio of 2.59, a current ratio of 3.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. Get Element Solutions alerts: Element Solutions Announces Dividend The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st will be given a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 29th. Element Solutionss payout ratio is 145.45%. Hedge Funds Weigh In On Element Solutions Wall Street Analyst Weigh In Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Element Solutions by 4.8% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,719,174 shares of the companys stock valued at $445,523,000 after buying an additional 1,035,756 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Element Solutions by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 19,232,761 shares of the companys stock valued at $377,154,000 after acquiring an additional 798,662 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Element Solutions by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 17,138,854 shares of the companys stock valued at $311,756,000 after acquiring an additional 163,426 shares during the period. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. raised its position in shares of Element Solutions by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 4,684,109 shares of the companys stock worth $108,390,000 after acquiring an additional 188,350 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Element Solutions by 47.2% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,403,980 shares of the companys stock worth $86,362,000 after purchasing an additional 1,412,706 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.05% of the companys stock. ESI has been the topic of several research analyst reports. UBS Group upped their price objective on Element Solutions from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. TheStreet lowered shares of Element Solutions from a b rating to a c rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Element Solutions has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $22.60. Get Our Latest Research Report on Element Solutions Element Solutions Company Profile (Get Free Report) Element Solutions Inc operates as a specialty chemicals company in the United States, China, and internationally. The company operates in two segments, Electronics, and Industrial & Specialty. The Electronics segment researches, formulates, and sells specialty chemicals and materials for various types of electronics hardware products. Recommended Stories Receive News & Ratings for Element Solutions Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Element Solutions and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lessened its holdings in iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF (NYSEARCA:AGG Free Report) by 20.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 38,572,791 shares of the companys stock after selling 10,210,143 shares during the quarter. iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF makes up approximately 1.7% of Envestnet Asset Management Inc.s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest position. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. owned 3.95% of iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF worth $3,627,385,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AGG. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management raised its position in shares of iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF by 145.5% during the first quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 6,590 shares of the companys stock worth $705,000 after acquiring an additional 3,906 shares during the last quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF by 36.2% during the first quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 52,003 shares of the companys stock worth $5,570,000 after acquiring an additional 13,829 shares during the last quarter. Worth Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF during the first quarter worth about $44,000. Baltimore Washington Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF during the first quarter worth about $241,000. Finally, West Michigan Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF by 2.0% during the first quarter. West Michigan Advisors LLC now owns 14,640 shares of the companys stock worth $1,568,000 after acquiring an additional 292 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.21% of the companys stock. Get iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF alerts: iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF Stock Performance Shares of AGG stock traded down $0.45 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $96.96. The companys stock had a trading volume of 3,826,008 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,899,803. The companys fifty day simple moving average is $98.36 and its 200-day simple moving average is $96.11. iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF has a 52 week low of $91.58 and a 52 week high of $100.98. iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF Company Profile 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. Featured Stories 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). Receive News & Ratings for iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR Get Free Report) CFO Robert Garechana sold 876 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.80, for a total transaction of $50,632.80. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 20,933 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $1,209,927.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Equity Residential Stock Performance Shares of NYSE:EQR opened at $60.35 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $22.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.44 and a beta of 0.84. Equity Residential has a 52 week low of $52.57 and a 52 week high of $69.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $60.39 and a 200 day moving average of $60.16. Get Equity Residential alerts: Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.00 by ($0.18). Equity Residential had a return on equity of 7.43% and a net margin of 29.07%. The firm had revenue of $727.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $725.07 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.94 earnings per share. Equity Residentials revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Equity Residential will post 3.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. Equity Residential Announces Dividend Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 2nd were issued a $0.6625 dividend. This represents a $2.65 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 29th. Equity Residentials dividend payout ratio is currently 120.45%. A number of research firms recently weighed in on EQR. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $71.00 to $57.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 10th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $60.00 to $59.50 and set a hold rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 17th. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $58.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of Equity Residential in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. They set a hold rating and a $64.00 price target for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $65.88. Check Out Our Latest Analysis on Equity Residential Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equity Residential Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 234.9% during the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 12,882 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $1,158,000 after buying an additional 9,035 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 45.5% during the first quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 4,761 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $428,000 after buying an additional 1,489 shares during the last quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 85.2% during the first quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 11,356 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $1,021,000 after buying an additional 5,224 shares during the last quarter. Prudential PLC purchased a new stake in shares of Equity Residential during the first quarter valued at $687,000. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 8.5% during the first quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 9,295 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $836,000 after buying an additional 730 shares during the last quarter. 84.79% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors. About Equity Residential (Get Free Report) Equity Residential is committed to creating communities where people thrive. The Company, a member of the S&P 500, is focused on the acquisition, development and management of residential properties located in and around dynamic cities that attract affluent long-term renters. Equity Residential owns or has investments in 305 properties consisting of 80,683 apartment units, with an established presence in Boston, New York, Washington, DC, Seattle, San Francisco and Southern California, and an expanding presence in Denver, Atlanta, Dallas/Ft. Read More Receive News & Ratings for Equity Residential Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Equity Residential and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. grew its position in Exxon Mobil Co. (NYSE:XOM Free Report) by 12.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,719 shares of the oil and gas companys stock after acquiring an additional 1,375 shares during the quarter. Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C.s holdings in Exxon Mobil were worth $1,495,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in shares of Exxon Mobil by 83.0% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,269,030 shares of the oil and gas companys stock valued at $149,213,000 after buying an additional 575,649 shares during the last quarter. Qsemble Capital Management LP raised its position in Exxon Mobil by 34.3% in the 3rd quarter. Qsemble Capital Management LP now owns 4,700 shares of the oil and gas companys stock worth $553,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200 shares during the last quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. lifted its holdings in Exxon Mobil by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. now owns 390,975 shares of the oil and gas companys stock worth $45,971,000 after buying an additional 21,895 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in Exxon Mobil by 23.5% in the 2nd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 229,416 shares of the oil and gas companys stock valued at $24,605,000 after buying an additional 43,654 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pinkerton Retirement Specialists LLC increased its stake in shares of Exxon Mobil by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. Pinkerton Retirement Specialists LLC now owns 40,900 shares of the oil and gas companys stock valued at $4,387,000 after buying an additional 453 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.53% of the companys stock. Get Exxon Mobil alerts: Insider Activity In other news, Director Jeffrey W. Ubben sold 2,077,000 shares of Exxon Mobil stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.06, for a total transaction of $216,132,620.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 13,000 shares of the companys stock, valued at $1,352,780. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, VP Leonard M. Fox sold 12,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.65, for a total value of $1,231,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 220,678 shares of the companys stock, valued at $22,652,596.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Jeffrey W. Ubben sold 2,077,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.06, for a total transaction of $216,132,620.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 13,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,352,780. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders. Analysts Set New Price Targets Several brokerages have weighed in on XOM. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a sector perform rating and set a $120.00 price objective on shares of Exxon Mobil in a report on Monday, February 5th. TD Cowen upgraded Exxon Mobil from a market perform rating to an outperform rating and set a $115.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Mizuho lowered shares of Exxon Mobil from a buy rating to a neutral rating and set a $117.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. Erste Group Bank reiterated a hold rating on shares of Exxon Mobil in a report on Friday, December 22nd. Finally, Redburn Atlantic raised shares of Exxon Mobil from a neutral rating to a buy rating and boosted their price target for the company from $116.00 to $119.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 9th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $127.53. Get Our Latest Analysis on Exxon Mobil Exxon Mobil Stock Down 0.0 % XOM traded down $0.01 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $103.72. 3,831,636 shares of the companys stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 18,775,412. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The stocks 50-day moving average is $100.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $106.27. The stock has a market cap of $411.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.70, a PEG ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.97. Exxon Mobil Co. has a 1-year low of $95.77 and a 1-year high of $120.70. Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 2nd. The oil and gas company reported $2.48 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.20 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $84.34 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $90.03 billion. Exxon Mobil had a net margin of 10.45% and a return on equity of 18.51%. The companys quarterly revenue was down 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.40 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Exxon Mobil Co. will post 9.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. Exxon Mobil Dividend Announcement The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.95 per share. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.66%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 13th. Exxon Mobils dividend payout ratio is presently 42.74%. Exxon Mobil Company Profile (Free Report) Exxon Mobil Corporation engages in the exploration and production of crude oil and natural gas in the United States and internationally. It operates through Upstream, Energy Products, Chemical Products, and Specialty Products segments. The Upstream segment explores for and produces crude oil and natural gas. See Also Want to see what other hedge funds are holding XOM? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Exxon Mobil Co. (NYSE:XOM Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Exxon Mobil Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Exxon Mobil and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA Get Free Report) SVP Todd P. Helms sold 37,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.15, for a total transaction of $560,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 41,181 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $623,892.15. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Mueller Water Products Trading Up 4.2 % Shares of NYSE MWA opened at $16.13 on Friday. The companys fifty day moving average is $14.19 and its 200-day moving average is $13.59. The stock has a market cap of $2.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.33. Mueller Water Products, Inc. has a twelve month low of $12.11 and a twelve month high of $16.62. The company has a quick ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 3.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. Get Mueller Water Products alerts: Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 9th. The industrial products company reported $0.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $0.09 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $256.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $250.64 million. Mueller Water Products had a net margin of 6.35% and a return on equity of 13.86%. The businesss quarterly revenue was down 18.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.13 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Mueller Water Products, Inc. will post 0.69 EPS for the current year. Mueller Water Products Dividend Announcement Wall Street Analyst Weigh In The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 20th. Investors of record on Friday, February 9th will be given a $0.064 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 8th. This represents a $0.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.59%. Mueller Water Productss dividend payout ratio is currently 52.00%. A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Mueller Water Products from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a report on Monday. StockNews.com raised shares of Mueller Water Products from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Mueller Water Products from $15.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Tuesday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $17.00. Check Out Our Latest Research Report on MWA Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mueller Water Products Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Pingora Partners LLC bought a new stake in Mueller Water Products in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its position in Mueller Water Products by 132.1% in the 1st quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 3,291 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 1,873 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Mueller Water Products by 1,340.0% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 4,752 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $68,000 after acquiring an additional 4,422 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its position in Mueller Water Products by 22.8% in the 1st quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 5,580 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $72,000 after acquiring an additional 1,036 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd lifted its position in Mueller Water Products by 18,866.7% in the 2nd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 4,552 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $74,000 after acquiring an additional 4,528 shares in the last quarter. About Mueller Water Products (Get Free Report) Mueller Water Products, Inc manufactures and markets products and services for the transmission, distribution, and measurement of water used by municipalities, and the residential and non-residential construction industries in the United States, Israel, and internationally. It operates in two segments, Water Flow Solutions and Water Management Solutions. Featured Stories Receive News & Ratings for Mueller Water Products Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Mueller Water Products and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Palantir Technologies Inc. (NYSE:PLTR Get Free Report) Director Lauren Elaina Friedman Stat sold 5,000 shares of Palantir Technologies stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.10, for a total value of $125,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 181,830 shares of the companys stock, valued at $4,563,933. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Palantir Technologies Stock Performance PLTR opened at $25.41 on Friday. Palantir Technologies Inc. has a one year low of $7.19 and a one year high of $25.52. The company has a market cap of $55.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 282.36, a PEG ratio of 6.18 and a beta of 2.66. The businesss 50-day simple moving average is $18.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $17.29. Get Palantir Technologies alerts: Analysts Set New Price Targets PLTR has been the subject of several research reports. Mizuho boosted their price target on Palantir Technologies from $16.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Palantir Technologies from an underperform rating to a hold rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $13.00 to $22.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Citigroup upgraded Palantir Technologies from a sell rating to a neutral rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $10.00 to $20.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. HSBC downgraded Palantir Technologies from a buy rating to a hold rating and set a $22.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Raymond James upped their price target on Palantir Technologies from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $16.71. Institutional Inflows and Outflows Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Truvestments Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Palantir Technologies by 74.9% in the 3rd quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 1,635 shares of the companys stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares during the period. First United Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Palantir Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Pacifica Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Palantir Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Palantir Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Palantir Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 34.21% of the companys stock. Palantir Technologies Company Profile (Get Free Report) Palantir Technologies Inc builds and deploys software platforms for the intelligence community in the United States to assist in counterterrorism investigations and operations. The company provides Palantir Gotham, a software platform which enables users to identify patterns hidden deep within datasets, ranging from signals intelligence sources to reports from confidential informants, as well as facilitates the handoff between analysts and operational users, helping operators plan and execute real-world responses to threats that have been identified within the platform. Featured Articles Receive News & Ratings for Palantir Technologies Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Palantir Technologies and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Trilogy Metals Inc. (TSE:TMQ Get Free Report) Senior Officer Elaine Sanders sold 56,885 shares of Trilogy Metals stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$0.46, for a total value of C$26,195.54. Elaine Sanders also recently made the following trade(s): Get Trilogy Metals alerts: On Monday, December 18th, Elaine Sanders sold 100,000 shares of Trilogy Metals stock. The shares were sold at an average price of C$0.42, for a total value of C$41,700.00. Trilogy Metals Price Performance Shares of TSE:TMQ opened at C$0.57 on Friday. The businesss 50 day simple moving average is C$0.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is C$0.63. The firm has a market capitalization of C$88.85 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.56 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 6.23 and a quick ratio of 5.25. Trilogy Metals Inc. has a 12 month low of C$0.52 and a 12 month high of C$0.93. Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades Separately, National Bankshares decreased their price target on Trilogy Metals from C$1.00 to C$0.75 and set a sector perform rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 8th. View Our Latest Stock Report on TMQ About Trilogy Metals (Get Free Report) Trilogy Metals Inc, a base metals exploration company, explores for and develops mineral properties in the United States. It principally holds interests in the Upper Kobuk mineral projects that include the Arctic, which contains polymetallic volcanogenic massive sulfide deposits; and Bornite that contains carbonate-hosted copper cobalt deposits covering an area of approximately 448,217 acres located in the Ambler mining district in Northwest Alaska. Featured Stories Receive News & Ratings for Trilogy Metals Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Trilogy Metals and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. grew its position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO Free Report) by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 31,974 shares of the utilities providers stock after purchasing an additional 1,714 shares during the period. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.s holdings in Southern were worth $2,069,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC. Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Prudential PLC raised its holdings in shares of Southern by 23.4% in the first quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 19,438 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $1,409,000 after buying an additional 3,689 shares during the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its holdings in shares of Southern by 33.5% in the first quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,727 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $126,000 after buying an additional 433 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Southern by 63.0% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,902 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $138,000 after buying an additional 735 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Southern by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 49,925 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $3,621,000 after purchasing an additional 221 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its holdings in Southern by 35.8% during the 1st quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 907,132 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $65,776,000 after purchasing an additional 239,325 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.85% of the companys stock. Get Southern alerts: Southern Trading Down 1.5 % NYSE:SO opened at $66.82 on Friday. The Southern Company has a twelve month low of $61.56 and a twelve month high of $75.80. The company has a quick ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $69.78 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $68.81. The company has a market cap of $72.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.23 and a beta of 0.50. Southern Dividend Announcement Southern ( NYSE:SO Get Free Report ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The utilities provider reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.05. Southern had a return on equity of 10.26% and a net margin of 11.60%. The company had revenue of $6.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $6.90 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.26 EPS. The businesss revenue was down 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that The Southern Company will post 3.59 EPS for the current fiscal year. The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.19%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 16th. Southerns dividend payout ratio is currently 101.08%. Analyst Ratings Changes Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Southern from $66.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Tuesday, November 21st. StockNews.com raised Southern from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report on Friday, November 3rd. Scotiabank cut Southern from a sector outperform rating to a sector perform rating and set a $78.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Friday, November 3rd. Barclays lowered their price target on Southern from $68.00 to $67.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Finally, Citigroup assumed coverage on Southern in a research note on Friday, December 8th. They issued a buy rating and a $82.00 price target for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $74.00. Check Out Our Latest Analysis on Southern Insider Transactions at Southern In related news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.06, for a total value of $60,286.94. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 22,502 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,508,984.12. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.06, for a total value of $60,286.94. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 22,502 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,508,984.12. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.99, for a total value of $359,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 101,284 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,291,435.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 25,998 shares of company stock worth $1,817,613 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.28% of the companys stock. Southern Profile (Free Report) The Southern Company, through its subsidiaries, engages in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity. It operates through three segments: Gas Distribution Operations, Gas Pipeline Investments, and Gas Marketing Services. The company also develops, constructs, acquires, owns, and manages power generation assets, including renewable energy projects and sells electricity in the wholesale market; and distributes natural gas in Illinois, Georgia, Virginia, and Tennessee, as well as provides gas marketing services, gas distribution operations, and gas pipeline investments operations. See Also Want to see what other hedge funds are holding SO? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for The Southern Company (NYSE:SO Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Southern Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Southern and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. TELUS International (Cda) (TSE:TIXT Free Report) had its price objective raised by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from C$8.00 to C$10.00 in a research note published on Monday, BayStreet.CA reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has a neutral rating on the stock. TELUS International (Cda) Stock Up 9.7 % Shares of TSE TIXT opened at C$15.33 on Monday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of C$11.73 and a 200 day simple moving average of C$10.91. The firm has a market cap of C$1.13 billion, a PE ratio of 58.96 and a beta of 0.85. TELUS International has a 1 year low of C$8.30 and a 1 year high of C$30.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 90.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 0.79. Get TELUS International (Cda) alerts: About TELUS International (Cda) (Get Free Report) Further Reading TELUS International (Cda) Inc design, builds, and delivers digital solutions for customer experience (CX) in the Asia-Pacific, the Central America, Europe, Africa, North America, and internationally. The company provides digital experience solutions, such as AI and bots, omnichannel CX, enterprise mobility solutions, cloud contact center, big data analytics, platform transformation, and UX/UI design; and customer experience solutions, including work anywhere/work from home, contact center outsourcing, technical support, sales growth and customer retention, healthcare/patient experience, and debt collection. Receive News & Ratings for TELUS International (Cda) Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for TELUS International (Cda) and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Korea Investment CORP lessened its position in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK Free Report) by 11.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 119,381 shares of the asset managers stock after selling 15,886 shares during the quarter. Korea Investment CORP owned about 0.08% of BlackRock worth $77,179,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock during the second quarter valued at about $26,000. West Tower Group LLC acquired a new position in BlackRock during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Archer Investment Corp purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock in the second quarter worth $29,000. WFA of San Diego LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the second quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Tyler Stone Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the second quarter valued at $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.01% of the companys stock. Get BlackRock alerts: Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades A number of analysts have commented on the company. BNP Paribas raised BlackRock from a neutral rating to an outperform rating and set a $885.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of BlackRock from an overweight rating to a neutral rating and set a $708.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Friday, December 15th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $720.00 to $818.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of BlackRock from $719.00 to $793.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Thursday, November 30th. Finally, TD Cowen raised shares of BlackRock from a market perform rating to an outperform rating and upped their price target for the company from $819.00 to $938.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $785.73. Insiders Place Their Bets In other BlackRock news, General Counsel Christopher J. Meade sold 18,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $282.54, for a total transaction of $5,085,660.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel now owns 11,914 shares of the companys stock, valued at $3,366,142.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 3,418 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $781.11, for a total transaction of $2,669,833.98. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 70,378 shares in the company, valued at $54,972,959.58. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Christopher J. Meade sold 18,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $282.54, for a total transaction of $5,085,660.60. Following the sale, the general counsel now directly owns 11,914 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $3,366,142.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 33,474 shares of company stock worth $17,275,900. Corporate insiders own 0.96% of the companys stock. BlackRock Price Performance Shares of BlackRock stock traded down $1.21 on Friday, reaching $796.84. The companys stock had a trading volume of 96,386 shares, compared to its average volume of 612,786. BlackRock, Inc. has a 52-week low of $596.18 and a 52-week high of $819.00. The company has a market capitalization of $118.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.71, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a quick ratio of 3.72, a current ratio of 3.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $791.73 and a 200-day moving average price of $717.60. BlackRock (NYSE:BLK Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 12th. The asset manager reported $9.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $8.84 by $0.82. BlackRock had a net margin of 30.81% and a return on equity of 14.85%. The company had revenue of $4.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $4.65 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $8.93 earnings per share. The firms revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that BlackRock, Inc. will post 39.64 EPS for the current year. BlackRock Increases Dividend The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 22nd. Investors of record on Thursday, March 7th will be issued a $5.10 dividend. This represents a $20.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.56%. This is a boost from BlackRocks previous quarterly dividend of $5.00. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 6th. BlackRocks payout ratio is presently 54.78%. About BlackRock (Free Report) BlackRock, Inc is a publicly owned investment manager. The firm primarily provides its services to institutional, intermediary, and individual investors including corporate, public, union, and industry pension plans, insurance companies, third-party mutual funds, endowments, public institutions, governments, foundations, charities, sovereign wealth funds, corporations, official institutions, and banks. Featured Stories Want to see what other hedge funds are holding BLK? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for BlackRock Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for BlackRock and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC Get Free Report) (TSE:MFC) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, February 14th, Zacks reports. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 28th will be given a dividend of 0.298 per share by the financial services provider on Tuesday, March 19th. This represents a $1.19 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 27th. This is a boost from Manulife Financials previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Manulife Financial has raised its dividend payment by an average of 8.8% annually over the last three years. Manulife Financial has a dividend payout ratio of 35.8% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Manulife Financial to earn $3.13 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.06 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 33.9%. Get Manulife Financial alerts: Manulife Financial Price Performance MFC stock opened at $24.79 on Friday. Manulife Financial has a one year low of $17.07 and a one year high of $24.81. The stock has a market cap of $44.79 billion, a PE ratio of 12.84, a P/E/G ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.07. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $21.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $19.73. Institutional Investors Weigh In On Manulife Financial Analyst Ratings Changes Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Advisory Services Network LLC increased its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 21,796 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $400,000 after acquiring an additional 543 shares in the last quarter. Brinker Capital Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 5.3% in the 1st quarter. Brinker Capital Investments LLC now owns 12,449 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $266,000 after acquiring an additional 624 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 30,485 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $560,000 after acquiring an additional 649 shares in the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 14,836 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $265,000 after acquiring an additional 744 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 7.7% in the 3rd quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 11,716 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $184,000 after acquiring an additional 836 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.02% of the companys stock. A number of research firms have commented on MFC. TheStreet raised shares of Manulife Financial from a c+ rating to a b rating in a research note on Thursday, December 21st. Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of Manulife Financial from a sector perform rating to an outperform rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Manulife Financial from a market perform rating to an outperform rating and upped their price objective for the company from $31.00 to $35.00 in a research note on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $31.17. View Our Latest Stock Report on Manulife Financial Manulife Financial Company Profile (Get Free Report) Manulife Financial Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides financial products and services in Asia, Canada, the United States, and internationally. The company operates through Wealth and Asset Management Businesses; Insurance and Annuity Products; and Corporate and Other segments. The Wealth and Asset Management Businesses segment offers investment advice and solutions to retirement, retail, and institutional clients through multiple distribution channels, including agents and brokers affiliated with the company, independent securities brokerage firms and financial advisors pension plan consultants, and banks. Featured Articles Receive News & Ratings for Manulife Financial Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Manulife Financial and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. reduced its holdings in Motorola Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:MSI Free Report) by 7.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,519 shares of the communications equipment providers stock after selling 120 shares during the quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd.s holdings in Motorola Solutions were worth $414,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MSI. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Motorola Solutions by 11.6% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,918 shares of the communications equipment providers stock worth $949,000 after acquiring an additional 406 shares during the last quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Motorola Solutions by 3.1% in the first quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 11,087 shares of the communications equipment providers stock worth $2,685,000 after acquiring an additional 329 shares during the last quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Motorola Solutions by 8.8% in the first quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 2,870 shares of the communications equipment providers stock worth $695,000 after acquiring an additional 231 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Motorola Solutions in the first quarter worth $225,000. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Motorola Solutions by 7.3% in the first quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 55,177 shares of the communications equipment providers stock worth $13,362,000 after acquiring an additional 3,741 shares during the last quarter. 82.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. Get Motorola Solutions alerts: Motorola Solutions Price Performance Shares of NYSE MSI opened at $323.90 on Friday. Motorola Solutions, Inc. has a 1-year low of $255.85 and a 1-year high of $333.00. The business has a 50-day moving average of $319.09 and a 200-day moving average of $300.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.37, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The company has a market capitalization of $53.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.62, a PEG ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.92. Analyst Ratings Changes Motorola Solutions ( NYSE:MSI Get Free Report ) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The communications equipment provider reported $3.90 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.63 by $0.27. Motorola Solutions had a return on equity of 441.65% and a net margin of 17.12%. The company had revenue of $2.85 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.82 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.38 earnings per share. The companys revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Motorola Solutions, Inc. will post 11.7 EPS for the current fiscal year. A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. William Blair reaffirmed an outperform rating on shares of Motorola Solutions in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Motorola Solutions from $333.00 to $352.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on Motorola Solutions in a research report on Friday, January 19th. They issued a buy rating and a $350.00 price objective for the company. Finally, StockNews.com raised Motorola Solutions from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $328.29. View Our Latest Report on MSI Motorola Solutions Profile (Free Report) Motorola Solutions, Inc provides public safety and enterprise security solutions in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and internationally. The company operates in two segments, Products and Systems Integration, and Software and Services. The Products and Systems Integration segment offers a portfolio of infrastructure, devices, accessories, and video security devices and infrastructure, as well as the implementation and integration of systems, devices, software, and applications for government, public safety, and commercial customers who operate private communications networks and video security solutions, as well as manage a mobile workforce. See Also Receive News & Ratings for Motorola Solutions Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Motorola Solutions and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Paramount Group (NYSE:PGRE Get Free Report) updated its FY24 earnings guidance on Wednesday. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of $0.73-0.79 for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of $0.65. Paramount Group also updated its FY 2024 guidance to 0.730-0.790 EPS. Paramount Group Stock Performance Shares of NYSE PGRE traded up $0.01 during trading on Friday, hitting $4.85. The company had a trading volume of 314,467 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,408,345. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $5.00 and a 200 day simple moving average of $4.83. The company has a quick ratio of 4.43, a current ratio of 4.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. Paramount Group has a 12 month low of $3.90 and a 12 month high of $5.92. Get Paramount Group alerts: Paramount Group Dividend Announcement The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 29th were paid a $0.035 dividend. This represents a $0.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.89%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 28th. Paramount Groups dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -11.67%. Analysts Set New Price Targets Several research analysts have recently commented on PGRE shares. StockNews.com raised Paramount Group from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note on Friday, November 3rd. Bank of America downgraded Paramount Group from a neutral rating to an underperform rating and decreased their target price for the company from $5.00 to $4.00 in a research note on Monday, November 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $4.40. Read Our Latest Report on Paramount Group Institutional Trading of Paramount Group A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PGRE. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in Paramount Group by 35.7% in the 2nd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 7,991 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 2,103 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its stake in Paramount Group by 142.1% in the 1st quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,909 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 4,642 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its stake in Paramount Group by 335.9% in the 1st quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 8,278 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 6,379 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. bought a new stake in Paramount Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $64,000. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Paramount Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $80,000. Institutional investors own 59.93% of the companys stock. Paramount Group Company Profile (Get Free Report) Headquartered in New York City, Paramount Group, Inc is a fully-integrated real estate investment trust that owns, operates, manages, acquires and redevelops high-quality, Class A office properties located in select central business district submarkets of New York City and San Francisco. Paramount is focused on maximizing the value of its portfolio by leveraging the sought-after locations of its assets and its proven property management capabilities to attract and retain high-quality tenants. Read More Receive News & Ratings for Paramount Group Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Paramount Group and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. PPL (NYSE:PPL Get Free Report) updated its FY 2024 earnings guidance on Friday. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of 1.630-1.750 for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of 1.750. The company issued revenue guidance of -. PPL also updated its FY24 guidance to $1.63-1.75 EPS. Analyst Ratings Changes Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an outperform rating and set a $52.00 target price on shares of PPL in a report on Wednesday, December 20th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on PPL from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 21st. StockNews.com lowered PPL from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report on Tuesday. Barclays increased their target price on PPL from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. Finally, TheStreet upgraded PPL from a c+ rating to a b- rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three 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 $32.63. Get PPL alerts: Get Our Latest Analysis on PPL PPL Stock Down 0.7 % NYSE PPL traded down $0.19 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $26.27. 815,597 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,116,050. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.96. The businesss 50-day moving average is $26.57 and its 200-day moving average is $25.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.82. PPL has a twelve month low of $22.20 and a twelve month high of $29.14. PPL (NYSE:PPL Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, February 16th. The utilities provider reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $2.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.56 billion. PPL had a return on equity of 7.82% and a net margin of 9.53%. The firms quarterly revenue was down 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.28 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that PPL will post 1.58 earnings per share for the current year. Institutional Investors Weigh In On PPL Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PPL. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can boosted its holdings in shares of PPL by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 350,807 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $10,501,000 after acquiring an additional 12,428 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of PPL by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,292,612 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $65,480,000 after buying an additional 50,658 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in shares of PPL by 9.4% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 341,996 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $9,779,000 after buying an additional 29,496 shares during the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its holdings in shares of PPL by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 409,552 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $11,697,000 after purchasing an additional 4,998 shares during the period. Finally, Mather Group LLC. raised its holdings in shares of PPL by 7.7% in the 1st quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 10,764 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $307,000 after purchasing an additional 766 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.09% of the companys stock. PPL Company Profile (Get Free Report) PPL Corporation, an energy company, focuses on providing electricity and natural gas to approximately 3.5 million customers in the United States. It operates through three segments: Kentucky Regulated, Pennsylvania Regulated, and Rhode Island Regulated. The company delivers electricity to customers in Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Virginia, and Rhode Island; delivers natural gas to customers in Kentucky and Rhode Island; and generates electricity from power plants in Kentucky. Read More Receive News & Ratings for PPL Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for PPL and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Hexcel Co. (NYSE:HXL Free Report) Equities research analysts at Zacks Research decreased their Q1 2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Hexcel in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, February 14th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now anticipates that the aerospace company will post earnings per share of $0.46 for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of $0.47. The consensus estimate for Hexcels current full-year earnings is $2.24 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Hexcels Q2 2024 earnings at $0.55 EPS, Q3 2024 earnings at $0.55 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $0.74 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $0.72 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $3.30 EPS. Get Hexcel alerts: Other research analysts have also issued reports about the company. StockNews.com lowered Hexcel from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Saturday, February 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus initiated coverage on Hexcel in a research note on Friday, December 1st. They issued a buy rating and a $83.00 target price for the company. UBS Group downgraded Hexcel from a buy rating to a neutral rating and reduced their target price for the company from $87.00 to $72.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Hexcel from $73.00 to $70.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an outperform rating and issued a $80.00 target price on shares of Hexcel in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hexcel presently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $76.77. Hexcel Stock Performance HXL stock opened at $74.38 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $71.39 and a 200-day moving average price of $68.92. Hexcel has a 1-year low of $58.81 and a 1-year high of $79.08. The company has a current ratio of 2.74, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The firm has a market cap of $6.28 billion, a PE ratio of 59.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.22. Hexcel (NYSE:HXL Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 25th. The aerospace company reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.49 by ($0.06). Hexcel had a return on equity of 9.31% and a net margin of 5.91%. The business had revenue of $457.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $474.01 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.40 earnings per share. The businesss revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. Hexcel Increases Dividend The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 8th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.81%. This is an increase from Hexcels previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. Hexcels payout ratio is 48.39%. Insider Buying and Selling at Hexcel In other Hexcel news, insider Gina Fitzsimons sold 864 shares of Hexcel stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.10, for a total transaction of $62,294.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 3,375 shares in the company, valued at approximately $243,337.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Hexcel news, insider Thierry Merlot sold 4,500 shares of Hexcel stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.63, for a total transaction of $322,335.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 50,371 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $3,608,074.73. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Gina Fitzsimons sold 864 shares of Hexcel stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.10, for a total transaction of $62,294.40. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,375 shares in the company, valued at approximately $243,337.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.39% of the companys stock. Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hexcel Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of HXL. Morgan Stanley lifted its position in shares of Hexcel by 838.6% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 6,810,199 shares of the aerospace companys stock worth $400,780,000 after buying an additional 6,084,592 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Hexcel in the 4th quarter worth approximately $56,738,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in shares of Hexcel by 143.6% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,466,380 shares of the aerospace companys stock worth $108,146,000 after purchasing an additional 864,405 shares during the period. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hexcel by 93.0% in the 4th quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC now owns 1,503,055 shares of the aerospace companys stock worth $110,850,000 after purchasing an additional 724,280 shares during the period. Finally, BlackRock Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Hexcel by 6.0% in the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 8,420,295 shares of the aerospace companys stock worth $500,755,000 after purchasing an additional 475,375 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.71% of the companys stock. Hexcel Company Profile (Get Free Report) Hexcel Corporation develops, manufactures, and markets carbon fibers, structural reinforcements, honeycomb structures, resins, and composite materials and parts for use in commercial aerospace, space and defense, and industrial applications. It operates through two segments, Composite Materials and Engineered Products. Featured Articles Receive News & Ratings for Hexcel Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Hexcel and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS Free Report) Investment analysts at Seaport Res Ptn raised their Q1 2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Watts Water Technologies in a report issued on Thursday, February 15th. Seaport Res Ptn analyst W. Liptak now expects that the technology company will post earnings of $2.09 per share for the quarter, up from their prior forecast of $2.07. The consensus estimate for Watts Water Technologies current full-year earnings is $8.48 per share. Seaport Res Ptn also issued estimates for Watts Water Technologies Q4 2024 earnings at $2.03 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $2.18 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $2.51 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $2.19 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $9.03 EPS. Get Watts Water Technologies alerts: A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Watts Water Technologies from $191.00 to $208.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Watts Water Technologies from $199.00 to $206.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price target on Watts Water Technologies from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 5th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $190.60. Watts Water Technologies Stock Up 0.4 % WTS stock opened at $201.49 on Friday. The stocks 50 day simple moving average is $202.93 and its 200 day simple moving average is $190.14. Watts Water Technologies has a fifty-two week low of $153.25 and a fifty-two week high of $219.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.72 and a current ratio of 2.61. The company has a market cap of $6.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.95. Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 12th. The technology company reported $1.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $1.78 by $0.19. Watts Water Technologies had a return on equity of 19.38% and a net margin of 12.75%. The company had revenue of $547.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $532.58 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.60 EPS. The firms revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Watts Water Technologies Announces Dividend The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st will be paid a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 29th. Watts Water Technologiess dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.41%. Insider Activity In other news, insider Elie Melhem sold 2,500 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.50, for a total value of $498,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,564 shares of the companys stock, valued at $2,706,018. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders. Hedge Funds Weigh In On Watts Water Technologies Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 13.0% in the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 4,321 shares of the technology companys stock valued at $794,000 after acquiring an additional 498 shares in the last quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 97.0% during the third quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 5,302 shares of the technology companys stock valued at $916,000 after purchasing an additional 2,611 shares during the period. Ledyard National Bank grew its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 7.4% during the second quarter. Ledyard National Bank now owns 4,934 shares of the technology companys stock valued at $907,000 after purchasing an additional 339 shares during the period. Granahan Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Watts Water Technologies during the second quarter valued at $301,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 4.9% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 582,383 shares of the technology companys stock valued at $107,001,000 after purchasing an additional 27,190 shares during the period. 75.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors. Watts Water Technologies Company Profile (Get Free Report) Watts Water Technologies, Inc supplies products and solutions that manage and conserve the flow of fluids and energy into, through, and out of buildings in the commercial, industrial, and residential markets in the Americas, Europe, the Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, and Africa. The company offers residential and commercial flow control and protection products, including backflow preventers, water pressure regulators, temperature and pressure relief valves, thermostatic mixing valves, and leak detection and protection products for plumbing and hot water applications. Featured Stories Receive News & Ratings for Watts Water Technologies Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Watts Water Technologies and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Rogers Communications (TSE:RCI.B Free Report) (NYSE:RCI) had its price objective lowered by Barclays from C$74.00 to C$70.00 in a report released on Monday, BayStreet.CA reports. Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on RCI.B. National Bankshares boosted their price target on Rogers Communications from C$75.00 to C$78.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Friday, December 8th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Rogers Communications from C$74.50 to C$75.50 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. TD Securities boosted their price objective on Rogers Communications from C$84.00 to C$88.00 and gave the company an action list buy rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Cormark lifted their price objective on shares of Rogers Communications from C$76.00 to C$86.00 in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, CIBC lifted their price objective on shares of Rogers Communications from C$78.00 to C$80.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Rogers Communications currently has a consensus rating of Buy and an average target price of C$77.81. Get Rogers Communications alerts: Check Out Our Latest Research Report on RCI.B Rogers Communications Trading Up 0.4 % About Rogers Communications TSE:RCI.B opened at C$61.27 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of C$25.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.06, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 432.93, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.89. Rogers Communications has a 52 week low of C$50.15 and a 52 week high of C$67.67. The firms fifty day moving average is C$62.42 and its 200-day moving average is C$57.65. (Get Free Report) Rogers Communications Inc operates as a communications and media company in Canada. It operates through three segments: Wireless, Cable, and Media. The Wireless segment offers wireless voice and data communication services to individual consumers, businesses, governments, and other telecommunications service providers; postpaid and prepaid wireless services under the Rogers, Fido, and chatr brands; and wireless devices, services, and applications to consumers and businesses. Featured Articles Receive News & Ratings for Rogers Communications Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Rogers Communications and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Scorpio Tankers (NYSE:STNG Get Free Report) released its earnings results on Wednesday. The shipping company reported $2.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $2.62 by $0.13, Briefing.com reports. Scorpio Tankers had a return on equity of 23.05% and a net margin of 40.78%. The company had revenue of $336.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $335.70 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $4.24 EPS. Scorpio Tankerss revenue for the quarter was down 31.9% on a year-over-year basis. Scorpio Tankers Stock Up 0.1 % Shares of Scorpio Tankers stock traded up $0.06 on Friday, reaching $70.44. The companys stock had a trading volume of 381,088 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,569,083. Scorpio Tankers has a 52 week low of $40.34 and a 52 week high of $72.89. The firms fifty day simple moving average is $64.06 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $57.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company has a market capitalization of $3.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.08 and a beta of 0.22. Get Scorpio Tankers alerts: Scorpio Tankers Increases Dividend The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.27%. This is an increase from Scorpio Tankerss previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 7th. Scorpio Tankerss dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.08%. Wall Street Analyst Weigh In STNG has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com raised Scorpio Tankers from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a buy rating and set a $90.00 price target on shares of Scorpio Tankers in a research report on Wednesday. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Scorpio Tankers from $89.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Scorpio Tankers from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $74.86. Read Our Latest Research Report on STNG Institutional Investors Weigh In On Scorpio Tankers Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of STNG. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System raised its position in Scorpio Tankers by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 14,972 shares of the shipping companys stock worth $707,000 after buying an additional 230 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Scorpio Tankers by 35.2% in the 1st quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 964 shares of the shipping companys stock worth $54,000 after buying an additional 251 shares during the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC raised its position in Scorpio Tankers by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 6,943 shares of the shipping companys stock worth $422,000 after buying an additional 349 shares during the last quarter. Ethic Inc. raised its position in Scorpio Tankers by 8.2% in the 4th quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 4,666 shares of the shipping companys stock worth $284,000 after buying an additional 353 shares during the last quarter. Finally, WINTON GROUP Ltd raised its position in Scorpio Tankers by 4.5% in the 1st quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 8,272 shares of the shipping companys stock worth $466,000 after buying an additional 356 shares during the last quarter. 66.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors. Scorpio Tankers Company Profile (Get Free Report) Scorpio Tankers Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the seaborne transportation of refined petroleum products in the shipping markets worldwide. As of March 23, 2023, its fleet consisted of 113 owned, finance leased, or bareboat chartered-in tankers, including 39 LR2, 60 MR, and 14 Handymax with a weighted average age of approximately 7.2 years. See Also Receive News & Ratings for Scorpio Tankers Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Scorpio Tankers and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Robert Half Inc. (NYSE:RHI Get Free Report) was the target of a large decline in short interest in January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 5,420,000 shares, a decline of 8.1% from the January 15th total of 5,900,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 849,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 6.4 days. Currently, 5.3% of the companys stock are short sold. Wall Street Analyst Weigh In A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of Robert Half from $85.00 to $80.00 and set a market perform rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Robert Half in a research note on Tuesday, November 7th. They issued a sell rating and a $60.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Robert Half from $66.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a sell rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Robert Half presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $68.57. Get Robert Half alerts: Check Out Our Latest Analysis on Robert Half Robert Half Stock Performance Shares of Robert Half stock opened at $82.25 on Friday. Robert Half has a one year low of $64.65 and a one year high of $88.39. The company has a market capitalization of $8.71 billion, a PE ratio of 21.25, a P/E/G ratio of 19.88 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $83.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $78.41. Robert Half (NYSE:RHI Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 30th. The business services provider reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.01. Robert Half had a net margin of 6.43% and a return on equity of 25.73%. The firm had revenue of $1.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.47 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.37 earnings per share. The companys revenue for the quarter was down 14.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Robert Half will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. Robert Half Increases Dividend The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 22nd. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.58%. This is an increase from Robert Halfs previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Robert Halfs dividend payout ratio is 49.61%. Hedge Funds Weigh In On Robert Half Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of RHI. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Robert Half in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. acquired a new position in Robert Half in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Nelson Van Denburg & Campbell Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in Robert Half in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Robert Half by 55.0% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 420 shares of the business services providers stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 149 shares during the period. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Robert Half in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.63% of the companys stock. About Robert Half (Get Free Report) Robert Half Inc provides talent solutions and business consulting services in North America, South America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. The company operates through three segments: Contract Talent Solutions, Permanent Placement Talent Solutions, and Protiviti. The Contract Talent Solutions segment provides contract engagement professionals in the fields of finance and accounting, technology, marketing and creative, legal and administrative, and customer support. See Also Receive News & Ratings for Robert Half Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Robert Half and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Wipro Limited (NYSE:WIT Get Free Report) saw a large increase in short interest during the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 14,100,000 shares, an increase of 13.5% from the January 15th total of 12,420,000 shares. Currently, 0.3% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,190,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 6.4 days. Wipro Stock Performance Shares of WIT opened at $6.18 on Friday. The firms 50 day moving average is $5.59 and its 200-day moving average is $5.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.72, a P/E/G ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 2.29 and a quick ratio of 2.28. Wipro has a 12-month low of $4.32 and a 12-month high of $6.39. Get Wipro alerts: Wipro (NYSE:WIT Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 12th. The information technology services provider reported $0.06 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.07 by ($0.01). Wipro had a return on equity of 15.68% and a net margin of 12.42%. The firm had revenue of $2.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.76 billion. Equities research analysts anticipate that Wipro will post 0.25 EPS for the current fiscal year. Wall Street Analyst Weigh In WIT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wedbush increased their price objective on shares of Wipro from $4.00 to $6.00 and gave the stock an underperform rating in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. TheStreet raised shares of Wipro from a c+ rating to a b- rating in a report on Friday, January 12th. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of Wipro in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. They issued an underperform rating and a $5.20 price objective on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Wipro from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Wipro presently has an average rating of Reduce and an average target price of $4.82. Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on WIT Hedge Funds Weigh In On Wipro Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Rhumbline Advisers bought a new position in shares of Wipro in the second quarter valued at approximately $8,705,000. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Wipro by 19.6% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 533,087 shares of the information technology services providers stock worth $2,580,000 after purchasing an additional 87,355 shares during the last quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC bought a new stake in Wipro during the 3rd quarter worth about $550,000. Advisor Partners II LLC grew its holdings in Wipro by 70.0% during the 3rd quarter. Advisor Partners II LLC now owns 223,913 shares of the information technology services providers stock worth $1,084,000 after acquiring an additional 92,194 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Xponance Inc. bought a new stake in Wipro during the 3rd quarter worth about $63,000. Institutional investors own 2.36% of the companys stock. About Wipro (Get Free Report) Wipro Limited operates as an information technology (IT), consulting, and business process services company worldwide. It operates through three segments: IT Services, IT Products, and India State Run Enterprise Services (ISRE). The IT Services segment offers IT and IT-enabled services, including digital strategy advisory, customer-centric design, technology and IT consulting, custom application design, development, re-engineering and maintenance, systems integration, package implementation, cloud and infrastructure, business process, cloud, mobility and analytics, research and development, and hardware and software design services to enterprises. Further Reading Receive News & Ratings for Wipro Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Wipro and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. StockNews.com cut shares of Teradata (NYSE:TDC Free Report) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report published on Tuesday. TDC has been the topic of a number of other reports. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Teradata from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $74.00 to $48.00 in a research note on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Teradata from $59.00 to $48.00 and set a sector perform rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. JMP Securities reissued a market outperform rating and issued a $72.00 price target on shares of Teradata in a research note on Tuesday. Bank of America downgraded shares of Teradata from a buy rating to a neutral rating and reduced their price target for the company from $58.00 to $48.00 in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Teradata from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $57.30. Get Teradata alerts: View Our Latest Analysis on Teradata Teradata Stock Performance TDC opened at $37.96 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.71 billion, a PE ratio of 62.23, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.01. Teradata has a twelve month low of $36.67 and a twelve month high of $57.73. The firms 50-day moving average price is $45.12 and its 200 day moving average price is $45.61. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.56. Teradata (NYSE:TDC Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, February 12th. The technology company reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.05. Teradata had a net margin of 3.38% and a return on equity of 54.03%. The company had revenue of $457.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $455.84 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.05 earnings per share. Teradatas quarterly revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Teradata will post 1.43 EPS for the current fiscal year. Insider Buying and Selling In other Teradata news, CRO Todd Cione sold 29,251 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.31, for a total transaction of $1,266,860.81. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive now owns 76,221 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,301,131.51. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.90% of the stock is owned by insiders. Institutional Inflows and Outflows Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Teradata by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,671,512 shares of the technology companys stock worth $525,451,000 after acquiring an additional 496,702 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. grew its holdings in Teradata by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 11,560,886 shares of the technology companys stock worth $617,467,000 after acquiring an additional 101,929 shares in the last quarter. Lynrock Lake LP grew its holdings in Teradata by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Lynrock Lake LP now owns 5,169,066 shares of the technology companys stock worth $173,991,000 after acquiring an additional 102,400 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in Teradata by 11.2% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 3,843,434 shares of the technology companys stock worth $189,443,000 after acquiring an additional 388,599 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp grew its holdings in Teradata by 3.2% during the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,953,041 shares of the technology companys stock worth $118,948,000 after acquiring an additional 92,045 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.02% of the companys stock. Teradata Company Profile (Get Free Report) Teradata Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides a connected multi-cloud data platform for enterprise analytics. The company offers Teradata Vantage, a data platform that allows companies to leverage their data across an enterprise, as well as connects various sources of data to drive ecosystem simplification and support customers on their journey to the cloud through an integrated migration. Further Reading Receive News & Ratings for Teradata Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Teradata and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Phoenix Holdings Ltd. trimmed its stake in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG Free Report) by 17.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,614 shares of the companys stock after selling 1,876 shares during the period. Phoenix Holdings Ltd.s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $1,267,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of PG. Your Advocates Ltd. LLP grew its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 632.0% during the second quarter. Your Advocates Ltd. LLP now owns 183 shares of the companys stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. Wunderlich Capital Managemnt purchased a new position in Procter & Gamble during the 2nd quarter valued at about $40,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble in the 2nd quarter valued at about $50,000. CGC Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the second quarter worth approximately $55,000. Finally, VitalStone Financial LLC purchased a new position in Procter & Gamble during the second quarter valued at approximately $60,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 63.43% of the companys stock. Get Procter & Gamble alerts: Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $156.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. DZ Bank upgraded Procter & Gamble from a sell rating to a hold rating and set a $155.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, October 20th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Procter & Gamble from $172.00 to $178.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, Raymond James increased their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Procter & Gamble presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $167.06. Procter & Gamble Stock Performance Shares of NYSE PG traded up $1.15 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $158.16. 3,282,778 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,756,362. The firm has a market capitalization of $372.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.49, a P/E/G ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.45. The Procter & Gamble Company has a one year low of $136.10 and a one year high of $159.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.44. The companys 50 day moving average is $150.72 and its 200 day moving average is $150.97. Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The company reported $1.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $1.70 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $21.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $21.48 billion. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 17.60% and a return on equity of 34.04%. The businesss quarterly revenue was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.59 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.45 EPS for the current year. Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 19th were given a $0.9407 dividend. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.38%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 18th. Procter & Gambles dividend payout ratio is currently 62.98%. Insider Transactions at Procter & Gamble In other Procter & Gamble news, CEO R. Alexandra Keith sold 6,575 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.47, for a total value of $1,009,065.25. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 5,620 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $862,501.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CEO R. Alexandra Keith sold 6,575 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.47, for a total transaction of $1,009,065.25. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 5,620 shares in the company, valued at $862,501.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Ma. Fatima Francisco sold 45,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.00, for a total value of $7,020,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 973 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $151,788. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 258,997 shares of company stock worth $39,904,358 over the last three months. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by insiders. Procter & Gamble Profile (Free Report) The Procter & Gamble Company provides branded consumer packaged goods worldwide. It operates through five segments: Beauty; Grooming; Health Care; Fabric & Home Care; and Baby, Feminine & Family Care. The Beauty segment offers conditioners, shampoos, styling aids, and treatments under the Head & Shoulders, Herbal Essences, Pantene, and Rejoice brands; and antiperspirants and deodorants, personal cleansing, and skin care products under the Olay, Old Spice, Safeguard, Secret, and SK-II brands. Featured Stories Want to see what other hedge funds are holding PG? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Procter & Gamble Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Procter & Gamble and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. TriNet Group, Inc. (NYSE:TNET Get Free Report) saw a large drop in short interest in January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,390,000 shares, a drop of 9.2% from the January 15th total of 1,530,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 239,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.8 days. Approximately 2.8% of the shares of the company are short sold. TriNet Group Stock Up 9.7 % Shares of TNET traded up $11.44 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $128.78. The companys stock had a trading volume of 337,164 shares, compared to its average volume of 229,033. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 109.10. TriNet Group has a 1-year low of $73.86 and a 1-year high of $130.72. The company has a 50 day moving average of $116.93 and a two-hundred day moving average of $113.21. The firm has a market cap of $6.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.10 and a beta of 1.11. Get TriNet Group alerts: Insider Buying and Selling In related news, SVP Alexander G. Warren sold 5,597 shares of TriNet Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.80, for a total value of $648,132.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 21,864 shares in the company, valued at $2,531,851.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Burton M. Goldfield sold 2,786 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.75, for a total transaction of $314,121.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 165,166 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $18,622,466.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Alexander G. Warren sold 5,597 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.80, for a total transaction of $648,132.60. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 21,864 shares in the company, valued at $2,531,851.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 13,952 shares of company stock worth $1,617,283. 37.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders. Hedge Funds Weigh In On TriNet Group Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in TriNet Group by 11.4% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,190,526 shares of the business services providers stock valued at $412,181,000 after buying an additional 430,430 shares during the last quarter. Cantillon Capital Management LLC raised its stake in TriNet Group by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Cantillon Capital Management LLC now owns 3,482,339 shares of the business services providers stock valued at $330,718,000 after purchasing an additional 66,864 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. grew its position in TriNet Group by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 2,607,681 shares of the business services providers stock worth $247,651,000 after purchasing an additional 61,569 shares during the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in TriNet Group in the 2nd quarter worth $105,758,000. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in TriNet Group by 11.1% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 897,009 shares of the business services providers stock worth $106,681,000 after purchasing an additional 89,797 shares during the last quarter. 93.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. Several brokerages recently issued reports on TNET. Wedbush restated an outperform rating on shares of TriNet Group in a research report on Thursday, October 26th. StockNews.com upgraded TriNet Group from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. TheStreet cut shares of TriNet Group from a b rating to a c+ rating in a research note on Thursday, October 26th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price objective on shares of TriNet Group from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on TriNet Group in a report on Tuesday, November 7th. They issued a neutral rating and a $110.00 price target for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $110.57. Check Out Our Latest Analysis on TNET About TriNet Group (Get Free Report) TriNet Group, Inc provides human resources (HR) consulting services, employee benefit options, payroll services, and employment risk mitigation services for small and medium size businesses in the United States. The company offers multi-state payroll processing and tax administration; employee benefits programs, including health insurance and retirement plans; workers compensation insurance and claims management; employment and benefits law compliance; and other HR related services. Featured Articles Receive News & Ratings for TriNet Group Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for TriNet Group and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Vishay Precision Group (NYSE:VPG Get Free Report) announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.25, MarketWatch Earnings reports. The firm had revenue of $89.53 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $79.69 million. Vishay Precision Group had a net margin of 7.24% and a return on equity of 9.26%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.76 earnings per share. Vishay Precision Group updated its Q1 2024 guidance to EPS. Vishay Precision Group Price Performance NYSE:VPG traded down $0.03 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $35.55. 8,326 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 59,761. The company has a current ratio of 4.35, a quick ratio of 2.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $32.17 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $32.69. Vishay Precision Group has a one year low of $27.93 and a one year high of $45.69. The company has a market capitalization of $480.99 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.90 and a beta of 1.25. Get Vishay Precision Group alerts: Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vishay Precision Group Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Vishay Precision Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $70,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its stake in Vishay Precision Group by 270.8% in the 3rd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,603 shares of the scientific and technical instruments companys stock valued at $87,000 after buying an additional 1,901 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Vishay Precision Group by 99.9% during the 4th quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 2,869 shares of the scientific and technical instruments companys stock worth $110,000 after purchasing an additional 1,434 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in shares of Vishay Precision Group by 500.9% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 3,335 shares of the scientific and technical instruments companys stock valued at $128,000 after purchasing an additional 2,780 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Wyoming lifted its holdings in Vishay Precision Group by 160.9% in the 2nd quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 3,661 shares of the scientific and technical instruments companys stock worth $136,000 after purchasing an additional 2,258 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.13% of the companys stock. Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades VPG has been the subject of several analyst reports. B. Riley cut their price target on Vishay Precision Group from $49.00 to $41.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 8th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Vishay Precision Group from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note on Friday, November 10th. Finally, TheStreet downgraded shares of Vishay Precision Group from a b- rating to a c+ rating in a report on Wednesday, December 6th. Check Out Our Latest Report on Vishay Precision Group About Vishay Precision Group (Get Free Report) Vishay Precision Group, Inc designs, manufactures, and markets specialized sensors, weighing solutions, and measurement systems in the United States, Israel, the United Kingdom, rest of Europe, Asia, and Canada. It operates through three segments: Sensors, Weighing Solutions, and Measurement Systems. See Also Receive News & Ratings for Vishay Precision Group Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Vishay Precision Group and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. WCG Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Evergy, Inc. (NYSE:EVRG Free Report) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 58,071 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $2,944,000. Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Kestra Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in Evergy by 11.9% in the third quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 15,164 shares of the companys stock valued at $769,000 after purchasing an additional 1,610 shares during the period. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its holdings in Evergy by 44.2% in the third quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 6,469 shares of the companys stock valued at $328,000 after purchasing an additional 1,983 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale boosted its holdings in Evergy by 10.4% in the third quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 38,096 shares of the companys stock valued at $1,920,000 after purchasing an additional 3,597 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Evergy by 3.9% in the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 21,401 shares of the companys stock valued at $1,085,000 after purchasing an additional 808 shares during the period. Finally, Truepoint Inc. purchased a new position in Evergy in the third quarter valued at $286,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.82% of the companys stock. Get Evergy alerts: Evergy Stock Performance Shares of EVRG traded down $0.18 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $49.76. 498,955 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,911,094. The businesss 50-day moving average price is $51.47 and its 200 day moving average price is $52.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.39 and a quick ratio of 0.24. Evergy, Inc. has a twelve month low of $46.92 and a twelve month high of $63.93. The company has a market capitalization of $11.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.74, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.57. Analysts Set New Price Targets EVRG has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Evergy from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and lifted their target price for the company from $54.00 to $60.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 9th. Barclays cut their price target on Evergy from $56.00 to $54.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. Bank of America raised their price target on Evergy from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Friday, January 19th. Finally, Guggenheim cut Evergy from a buy rating to a neutral rating and set a $52.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $54.25. Read Our Latest Research Report on EVRG Evergy Profile (Free Report) Evergy, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the generation, transmission, distribution, and sale of electricity in Kansas and Missouri, the United States. The company generates electricity through coal, hydroelectric, landfill gas, uranium, and natural gas and oil sources, as well as solar, wind, other renewable sources. See Also Want to see what other hedge funds are holding EVRG? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Evergy, Inc. (NYSE:EVRG Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Evergy Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Evergy and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Wealthsource Partners LLC lowered its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH Free Report) by 23.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,088 shares of the healthcare conglomerates stock after selling 930 shares during the period. Wealthsource Partners LLCs holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $1,557,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Robbins Farley acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. NewSquare Capital LLC raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 340.0% in the 3rd quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 66 shares of the healthcare conglomerates stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the 1st quarter worth about $35,000. Annapolis Financial Services LLC raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 38.6% in the 3rd quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC now owns 79 shares of the healthcare conglomerates stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Finally, WFA of San Diego LLC acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the 2nd quarter worth about $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.69% of the companys stock. Get UnitedHealth Group alerts: UnitedHealth Group Trading Down 0.0 % UNH stock traded down $0.19 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $520.69. The stock had a trading volume of 594,611 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,031,590. The firm has a market cap of $481.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1-year low of $445.68 and a 1-year high of $554.70. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $522.88 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $518.04. Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades UnitedHealth Group ( NYSE:UNH Get Free Report ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 12th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.98 by $0.18. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 6.02% and a return on equity of 26.39%. The firm had revenue of $94.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $92.13 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $5.34 earnings per share. The businesss revenue was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. UNH has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $565.00 to $503.00 and set a hold rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 20th. Oppenheimer reissued an outperform rating and issued a $610.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. StockNews.com lowered shares of UnitedHealth Group from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report on Saturday, October 21st. Truist Financial reaffirmed a buy rating and set a $610.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Thursday, November 30th. Finally, Stephens reissued an overweight rating and set a $605.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Thursday, February 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $575.79. Check Out Our Latest Research Report on UnitedHealth Group Insider Transactions at UnitedHealth Group In other news, Director Stephen J. Hemsley sold 66,081 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $550.39, for a total transaction of $36,370,321.59. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 635,528 shares of the companys stock, valued at $349,788,255.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by insiders. About UnitedHealth Group (Free Report) UnitedHealth Group Incorporated operates as a diversified health care company in the United States. It operates through four segments: UnitedHealthcare, Optum Health, Optum Insight, and Optum Rx. The UnitedHealthcare segment offers consumer-oriented health benefit plans and services for national employers, public sector employers, mid-sized employers, small businesses, and individuals; health care coverage, and health and well-being services to individuals age 50 and older addressing their needs; Medicaid plans, children's health insurance and health care programs; and health and dental benefits, and hospital and clinical services, as well as health care benefits products and services to state programs caring for the economically disadvantaged, medically underserved, and those without the benefit of employer-funded health care coverage. Featured Articles Want to see what other hedge funds are holding UNH? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for UnitedHealth Group Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for UnitedHealth Group and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM Get Free Report) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest in the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 5,370,000 shares, a decrease of 12.3% from the January 15th total of 6,120,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,570,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.4 days. Currently, 1.9% of the companys shares are sold short. Insider Activity In related news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 3,792 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.17, for a total value of $493,604.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 57,325 shares in the company, valued at $7,461,995.25. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 3,792 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.17, for a total value of $493,604.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 57,325 shares in the company, valued at $7,461,995.25. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP David Eric Russell sold 9,919 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.63, for a total value of $1,285,799.97. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 18,661 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $2,419,025.43. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 17,467 shares of company stock valued at $2,264,717 over the last 90 days. 0.31% of the stock is owned by company insiders. Get Yum! Brands alerts: Hedge Funds Weigh In On Yum! Brands Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of YUM. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 4.2% during the third quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 5,689 shares of the restaurant operators stock worth $711,000 after acquiring an additional 229 shares in the last quarter. Adviser Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 13.8% in the third quarter. Adviser Investments LLC now owns 1,710 shares of the restaurant operators stock worth $214,000 after purchasing an additional 207 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 34.6% in the second quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 110,261 shares of the restaurant operators stock worth $15,277,000 after purchasing an additional 28,336 shares during the period. Steward Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Yum! Brands in the second quarter worth $151,000. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Yum! Brands by 10.1% in the second quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 238,262 shares of the restaurant operators stock valued at $33,011,000 after acquiring an additional 21,860 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.17% of the companys stock. Yum! Brands Trading Up 1.0 % Shares of YUM opened at $135.41 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $37.96 billion, a PE ratio of 24.22, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.09. Yum! Brands has a 12 month low of $115.53 and a 12 month high of $143.24. The stocks 50-day moving average price is $129.80 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $127.61. Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 7th. The restaurant operator reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $1.39 by ($0.13). Yum! Brands had a net margin of 22.57% and a negative return on equity of 17.76%. The business had revenue of $2.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.11 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.31 earnings per share. The firms revenue for the quarter was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Yum! Brands will post 5.73 EPS for the current fiscal year. Yum! Brands Increases Dividend The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 21st will be paid a $0.67 dividend. This is an increase from Yum! Brandss previous quarterly dividend of $0.61. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 20th. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.98%. Yum! Brandss dividend payout ratio is presently 43.29%. Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth YUM has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Yum! Brands from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $150.00 to $135.00 in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on Yum! Brands in a research report on Thursday, October 19th. They issued a hold rating and a $131.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on Yum! Brands from $145.00 to $141.00 and set a sector perform rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Redburn Atlantic reiterated a neutral rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Friday, October 20th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on Yum! Brands from $164.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $144.75. Get Our Latest Research Report on Yum! Brands About Yum! Brands (Get Free Report) Yum! Brands, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, develops, operates, and franchises quick service restaurants worldwide. The company operates through four segments: the KFC Division, the Taco Bell Division, the Pizza Hut Division, and the Habit Burger Grill Division. It operates restaurants under the KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, and The Habit Burger Grill brands, which specialize in chicken, pizza, made-to-order chargrilled burgers, sandwiches, Mexican-style food categories, and other food products. See Also Receive News & Ratings for Yum! Brands Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Yum! Brands and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. WOOD RIVER The families of Captain Bob Heminger and Captain Kenny Woitalewicz will hold a sign dedication ceremony in Wood River on Friday, Feb. 16, 2024, at which they will rename a segment of US Highway 30 the Fallen Volunteer Firefighter Memorial Highway. The families will be conducting the formal unveiling of the new highway sign will be at 7 p.m. at Babels Barn in Wood River as part of the 20th Anniversary Gathering hosted by the Wood River Fire Department. Doors open at 6 p.m. for the public to attend tonight's gathering. This gathering is an opportunity to come together, remember the lives of Heminger and Woitalewicz and continue to honor their legacy. The Wood River Fire Department encourages everyone who knew the pair, or who has been touched by their story, to join them for a special evening as their memory is celebrated. The Memorial Highway designation will run from the corner of Burwick Road to 150th Road. Nebraska Department of Transportation crews will place the new sign following the unveiling ceremony that will memorialize this section of US Highway 30. The renaming of this section of US Highway 30 was approved as part of the State Highway Commission at the Nebraska Department of Transportation Headquarters. The Board of Commissioners all voted and approved the resolution unanimously. Heminger and Woitalewicz were called to a house fire on the early morning hours of Feb. 14, 2004. The volunteer captains never returned home. Together the duo entered the burning home in an attempt to rescue an elderly woman, who was still inside. A portion of the roof then collapsed, trapping all three of them. The 73-year-old resident was pronounced dead at the scene. Heminger, 39, succumbed to his injuries the following day and Woitalewicz, 38, passed away two days later on Feb. 17, 2004. The two Wood River firefighters have been honored at the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation Memorial on the grounds of the National Emergency Training Center in Emmitsburg, Maryland. In addition, they have been recognized as a National Firefighter Fatality through the United States Fire Administration. Research FutureEd Study Identifies 6 Factors of Successful High-Dosage Tutoring In the wake of at least 80% of school districts and charter schools starting post-pandemic tutoring, independent analysis organization FutureEd has released a study addressing the challenge of making such tutoring high-quality, or as they call it, "high dosage." The study identifies "high-dosage" tutoring as "programs with four or fewer students working with the same tutor for at least 30 minutes during the school day, three times a week for at least several months." The study report, "Learning Curve: Lessons from the Tutoring Revolution in Public Education," examines three school systems that met the challenge successfully. It also discusses the role of AI in tutoring and how to fund successful tutoring programs. The study was researched and written by FutureEd policy director Liz Cohen, in partnership with Stanford University's National Student Support Accelerator. The three school systems were: Five schools in the Baton Rouge region that used Teach for America's Ignite virtual tutoring model: In spring 2023, one school saw a 56% increase in primary school literacy assessment proficiency; West Texas' Ector County Independent School District, which contracted with tutoring vendors: Half the students who scored below grade level in the prior year scored at grade level or higher after 20 hours of tutoring; and New York City's Great Oaks Charter School, which utilized AmeriCorps volunteers to work full time in the school as tutors, mentors, and teacher assistants: Students who started at or below the 25th percentile in math ended in the 43rd percentile on average that same year, and those at or above grade level in math (13%) ended at 22% from one year to the next. The report also cited research showing that AI tutoring, alternating with human tutoring, can be successful if the computer-assisted tutoring is high quality and follows carefully designed policies and practices. According to Jens Ludwig, an economist at the University of Chicago, the tutoring design should also take into account student differences in how much human versus computer tutoring is beneficial, and the point at which "learning gains start to decline." The report's key findings note several success factors of high-dosage tutoring: Popularity and effectiveness in measuring student improvement; The ability to be somewhat flexible, but also have "non-negotiables" that make it work; Autonomy of educators to choose what works for their schools; Dedicated and supportive program leadership; Strong tutor-student relationships; and Increased federal funding streams beyond Title I and other existing programs. Visit FutureEd's report page to read and download a copy of the study's detailed examination and findings. Hardware Google Touts ChromeOS Flex as Free Solution to Extend Life of Old Hardware Google's ChromeOS Flex operating system can help organizations stave off trashing their old hardware, the company suggested in a recent blog post. ChromeOS Flex is a free OS that's capable of running on machines designed to run Windows, various Linux distros and macOS. Windows 10 will fall out of support on Oct. 14, 2025, and many of these Windows 10 machines won't be able to upgrade to Windows 11, due to that operating system's stringent processor requirements. Google pointed to research by Canalys indicating that hundreds of millions of Windows 10 PCs may become e-waste because they are unviable upgrade candidates. ChromeOS Flex can run on aging Apple macOS machines, as well. ChromeOS Flex Perks On the plus side, ChromeOS Flex promises the following perks for organizations: It's free to use and runs on "existing hardware" with some caveats. It requires less energy to run ("19% less energy on average than other comparable operating systems"). It works with "third-party solutions" from solution partners validated by Google. It works with "legacy Windows and productivity applications" via virtual app delivery. It can be tested using a USB thumb drive before installation. Google handles all of the updates in the background, and no antivirus software is needed. ChromeOS Flex "has never had a successful reported ransomware attack." Potential Drawbacks Google conducts a certification process with older hardware on running ChromeOS Flex. Organizations likely would be advised to follow the guidance in the ChromeOS Flex Certified Models List to see if they can successfully run ChromeOS Flex on their old machines. Moreover, the ChromeOS Flex OS has end-of-support dates on these machines, which some older devices may be approaching. As reported by a ZDNet article, not all devices are good candidates for ChromeOS Flex upgrades. Another possible drawback is that not all hardware functions will be supported after a ChromeOS Flex upgrade. For instance, things like CD and DVD drives, fingerprint readers and face recognition cameras, and digital pens aren't assured to be supported, according to this Google support document. A key drawback may be that OS "rollback is currently unsupported on ChromeOS Flex" should the OS get installed. Moreover, although ChromeOS Flex can run validated third-party solutions, there's no Google Play store or Android apps support. There doesn't seem to be a published list of apps that can run on ChromeOS Flex. If organizations need support for verified boot using a Google security chip, Trusted Platform Module encryption, and automated firmware updates, then they won't get it with ChromeOS Flex. They could instead get that support using ChromeOS, Google explained, in its support document. Management License Required ChromeOS Flex isn't new, as it first appeared as a stable release in July 2022, according to Peter Freudenberger, a customer engineer for Chrome Enterprise, in this Google video. He indicated that ChromeOS Flex is mostly free for organizations, but just requires having a management license. Google provides more than 500 management policies for the OS, which get managed using the Google Admin Console. ChromeOS Flex can have as much as 10 years of support from Google, depending on the device. Burley Kentucky tobacco, a crop steeped in tradition and innovation, has been a cornerstone of the American tobacco industry for centuries. Its unique flavor profile and versatile uses have made it a favorite among tobacco connoisseurs worldwide. But what makes this tobacco so special? How has it shaped the landscape of American tobacco farming? And what does the future hold for this iconic crop? Join us as we delve into the fascinating world of Burley Kentucky tobacco, exploring its rich history, its significant economic impact, and its promising future in the ever-evolving tobacco industry. The Historical Significance of Burley Tobacco Burley tobaccos journey began in the 19th century, quickly becoming a key crop for Kentucky farmers. Its resilience and adaptability to the local climate made it an economic boon, shaping the social and cultural landscape of the region. Burley Tobaccos Place in Kentuckys Agriculture Today, Kentucky remains a leading producer of Burley tobacco, with generations of farmers dedicated to its cultivation. This crop not only contributes significantly to the states economy but also to its identity. What is Burley Tobacco? Burley tobacco is a type of air-cured tobacco known for its light color and high nicotine content. It is primarily used for cigarette production, offering a smooth smoking experience. Characteristics of Burley Tobacco The leaves of Burley tobacco are thicker and more robust than other varieties, allowing them to withstand the air-curing process that defines their flavor and texture. The Cultivation Process Growing Burley tobacco is a year-round endeavor, starting with careful seed selection and ending with the meticulous air-curing process that brings out its unique characteristics. Burley Tobacco in the Global Market As a major export of Kentucky, Burley tobacco reaches markets worldwide, contributing to the global tobacco trade and reinforcing its importance in international commerce. The Role of Burley Tobacco in Kentuckys Economy The cultivation and sale of Burley tobacco provide substantial revenue and employment opportunities within Kentucky, supporting local communities and the states economy. Burley Tobacco in American Culture Burley tobacco has been immortalized in American culture, from the iconic imagery of Kentucky farms to its role in social rituals and traditions. Traditions and Practices The annual cycle of planting, tending, and harvesting Burley tobacco is steeped in tradition, with knowledge and practices passed down through generations of Kentucky farmers. From Seed to Leaf: The Lifecycle of Burley Tobacco The life of a Burley tobacco plant is a journey from seedling to mature leaf, each stage carefully managed to ensure the highest quality crop. Harvesting and Curing Techniques The art of harvesting and curing Burley tobacco is crucial to its final flavor profile, with farmers employing time-honored techniques to achieve the desired outcome. How Burley Tobacco is Processed After curing, Burley tobacco leaves undergo a series of processes, including fermentation and blending, to prepare them for use in tobacco products. Uses of Burley Tobacco in Products Burley tobaccos versatility makes it a key ingredient in various tobacco products, from cigarettes to pipe blends, valued for its rich flavor and smooth burn. What Makes Burley Tobacco Unique? The distinct taste of Burley tobacco, with its nutty and earthy notes, sets it apart from other tobacco varieties and makes it a favorite among aficionados. Tasting Notes and Blending with Other Varietals Burley tobaccos flavor profile allows it to blend harmoniously with other tobacco types, creating complex and satisfying smoking experiences. Technological Advances in Cultivation Advancements in agricultural technology have revolutionized Burley tobacco farming, increasing efficiency and crop quality. Sustainable Farming Practices In response to environmental concerns, many Burley tobacco farmers are adopting sustainable practices to ensure the longevity of their land and crop. Economic and Environmental Challenges Burley tobacco farmers face a range of challenges, from fluctuating market prices to climate change, requiring adaptability and resilience. Adapting to Market Changes The tobacco industry is ever-changing, and Burley tobacco farmers must navigate these shifts to maintain their crops relevance and profitability. Trends and Predictions Emerging trends in consumer preferences and industry regulations are shaping the future of Burley tobacco farming, with innovation at the forefront. The Next Generation of Tobacco Farming As a new generation of farmers takes the helm, they bring fresh perspectives and approaches to the cultivation of Burley tobacco, ensuring its place in Kentuckys future. what is the history of burley kentucky tobacco The history of Burley Kentucky tobacco is deeply intertwined with the agricultural and economic history of Kentucky and the United States. The origin of white burley tobacco is credited to George Webb and Joseph Fore in 1864, who grew it on the farm of Captain Frederick Kautz near Higginsport, Ohio, from seed from Bracken County, Kentucky. They noticed it yielded a different type of light leaf shaded from white to yellow, and cured differently. By 1866, they had harvested 20,000 pounds of burley tobacco and sold it in 1867 at the St. Louis Fair for $58 per hundred pounds . By 1883, Cincinnati had become the principal market for this tobacco, and it was grown throughout central Kentucky and Middle Tennessee. In 1880, Kentucky accounted for 36 percent of the total national tobacco production, and was first in the country, with nearly twice as much tobacco produced as by Virginia, then the second-place state . Burley tobacco a light, air-cured variety used in cigarette production has long been the Commonwealths largest cash crop. It has played an important role in economic development and prosperity in Kentucky . The crop was also an important ingredient in plug tobacco, which was the most popular tobacco product until World War I, when blended cigarettes took its place . The cultivation of burley tobacco has seen significant changes over the years. In 1998, the largest American tobacco manufacturers agreed to pay out hundreds of billions of dollars to fund anti-smoking initiatives, and provide money for farmers to transition from tobacco to other crops. In 2004, the federal government ended the federal tobacco program that had since the 1930s rewarded farmers. At the same time, the auction system of selling tobacco disappeared in favor of contracting directly with manufacturers . what are the different uses of burley kentucky tobacco Burley Kentucky tobacco is a versatile type of tobacco that is used in various tobacco products due to its unique characteristics. Here are some of the main uses of Burley Kentucky tobacco: Cigarette Production: Burley tobacco is primarily used for cigarette production. It is a light, air-cured tobacco that is produced in an eight-state belt in the United States, with approximately 70% produced in Kentucky . Chewing Tobacco: Burley tobacco is also used in chewing tobacco. It is air-cured and flavored for this purpose . Pipe Tobacco: Burley tobacco holds a prominent position among the different varieties of tobacco used for pipes. It is often used as a base for blends because of its high assimilation capacity. It is present in most aromatic blends and is known for its ability to eliminate any edginess from other types of tobacco . Cigar Filler: Unlike wrapper tobacco leaves, which must be free of blemishes, holes, and discoloration, burley tobacco is shredded and used for cigar filler . Roll-Your-Own (RYO) and Make-Your-Own (MYO) Products: Burley tobacco is commonly used in American blend cigarettes, RYO, and MYO products. Its light tan to reddish-brown leaf color and lower chlorophyll content make it suitable for these products . Fire-Cured Tobacco: After air-curing, some Burley tobacco is fire-cured. A fire giving off a thick smoke is built in the barn, and the aromatics in the smoke are absorbed by the leaves. This process is used for the famous Kentucky tobacco . Flavoring: Burley tobacco is known for having very low sugar content, which gives it a dry, developed aroma. It takes flavorings and casing especially well as it has very little taste of its own. This makes it a common base tobacco in many blends . Conclusion Burley Kentucky tobaccos legacy is one of resilience, adaptability, and significance. As it continues to evolve, it remains a testament to the enduring spirit of Kentuckys farmers and the rich soil that sustains them. Statistics: Production Statistics Kentucky is a leading producer of Burley tobacco. For example, in 2017, Breckinridge County was the leading Burley-producing county in Kentucky, with production totaling 5,120,000 pounds . Economic Impact Burley tobacco has a significant economic impact in Kentucky. It is a billion-dollar crop, and one in every 14 jobs in Kentucky, directly or indirectly, exists because of tobacco . FAQs: What is Burley Kentucky Tobacco? Burley Kentucky tobacco is a light, air-cured tobacco primarily used for cigarette production. It is produced in an eight-state belt in the United States, with approximately 70% produced in Kentucky . Where is Burley Kentucky Tobacco Grown? Burley Kentucky tobacco is predominantly grown in Kentucky, but it is also produced in other states like Tennessee, Indiana, North Carolina, Missouri, Ohio, Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia . How is Burley Kentucky Tobacco Different from Other Types of Tobacco? Burley Kentucky tobacco is unique due to its air-curing process and its distinct flavor profile, which is often described as strong and robust . Books: Recommended Books on Burley Kentucky Tobacco For those interested in learning more about Burley Kentucky tobacco, Burley: Kentucky Tobacco in a New Century by Ann K. Ferrell is a highly recommended book. It provides an in-depth look at the process of raising and selling tobacco and the changes this industry has undergone . Sources of Information: Online Resources Several online resources provide valuable information on Burley Kentucky tobacco, including the University of Kentuckys Burley and Dark Tobacco Production Guide https://www2.ca.uky.edu/agcomm/pubs/ID/ID160/ID160.pdf and the Burley Tobacco Extension https://burleytobaccoextension.ca.uky.edu. Academic Resources Academic resources like the book Burley: Kentucky Tobacco in a New Century and research papers on the subject offer detailed insights into the history, production, and impact of Burley Kentucky tobacco https://www.researchgate.net/publication/364914231_Burley_Kentucky_Tobacco_in_a_New_Century. Citations: Citing Authoritative Sources This article cites several authoritative sources, including academic publications, government reports, and resources from the University of Kentucky https://www2.ca.uky.edu/agcomm/pubs/ID/ID160/ID160.pdf https://www.kyagr.com/KY-AgNews/2018/Breckinridge-Was-Leading-Burley-Producing-County-in-Kentucky-in-2017.html https://burleytobaccoextension.ca.uky.edu https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burley_(tobacco) https://www2.ca.uky.edu/agcomm/pubs/agr/agr49/agr49.htm https://www.researchgate.net/publication/364914231_Burley_Kentucky_Tobacco_in_a_New_Century. Burley tobacco wrappers are a fascinating aspect of the tobacco industry, playing a significant role in the flavor and quality of cigars. These wrappers, cultivated with care and processed with precision, contribute to the rich, complex flavors that cigar enthusiasts worldwide appreciate. The journey of a Burley tobacco wrapper, from the field to the final product, is a captivating story of tradition, craftsmanship, and the pursuit of quality. As we delve into this world, well explore the unique characteristics of Burley tobacco wrappers, their cultivation, processing, and their significant role in crafting premium cigars. The Origin of Burley Tobacco Burley tobacco has its roots in the fertile soils of Kentucky, where it was first discovered in the 19th century. Its unique characteristics quickly made it a favorite among tobacco growers and enthusiasts alike. The Unique Characteristics of Burley Tobacco Burley tobacco is known for its light, airy leaves that are high in sugar content. This gives it a distinct, robust flavor that is highly sought after in the tobacco industry. Its light color and strong flavor make it an ideal choice for wrappers in premium cigars. The Cultivation of Burley Tobacco Growing Burley tobacco is a labor-intensive process that requires careful attention to detail. From planting to harvesting, each step is crucial in ensuring the quality of the final product. Planting and Growing Burley Tobacco Burley tobacco is typically planted in the spring and requires a specific set of conditions to thrive. It prefers well-drained, fertile soil and plenty of sunlight. The plants are carefully tended to ensure they grow healthy and strong. Harvesting Burley Tobacco Harvesting is a crucial step in the cultivation of Burley tobacco. The leaves are typically harvested by hand to ensure the highest quality. Once harvested, the leaves are sorted based on their size and quality. The Processing of Burley Tobacco After harvesting, the Burley tobacco leaves undergo a series of processing steps to prepare them for use as wrappers. Curing Burley Tobacco Curing is the first step in the processing of Burley tobacco. The leaves are hung in well-ventilated barns where they are air-cured. This process allows the leaves to dry slowly, enhancing their flavor and aroma. Fermentation and Aging After curing, the leaves undergo fermentation and aging. This process further enhances the flavor and aroma of the leaves, making them ideal for use as cigar wrappers. The Role of Burley Tobacco in Cigar Making Burley tobacco wrappers play a significant role in the cigar-making process. Their unique characteristics contribute to the overall flavor and quality of the cigars. The Art of Selecting Burley Tobacco Wrappers Selecting the right Burley tobacco wrapper is an art. The leaves must be of the highest quality, with a uniform color and texture. The best wrappers are those that enhance the flavor of the cigar without overpowering it. The Impact of Burley Tobacco Wrappers on Flavor The wrapper of a cigar plays a significant role in its flavor. Burley tobacco wrappers, with their robust flavor and aroma, contribute to the rich, complex flavors that cigar enthusiasts worldwide appreciate. The Appreciation of Burley Tobacco Wrappers Recognizing the quality of a Burley tobacco wrapper is an essential skill for any cigar enthusiast. Its not just about the flavor, but also the craftsmanship that goes into creating the perfect wrapper. Recognizing Quality in Burley Tobacco Wrappers A high-quality Burley tobacco wrapper has a uniform color, a smooth texture, and a rich aroma. It should enhance the flavor of the cigar without overpowering it. The Future of Burley Tobacco Wrappers With the increasing appreciation for premium cigars, the demand for high-quality Burley tobacco wrappers is expected to grow. As we look to the future, the role of Burley tobacco in the tobacco industry is set to become even more significant. how does burley tobacco wrapper compare to other types of tobacco wrapper Burley tobacco wrapper, like other types of tobacco wrappers, plays a crucial role in the overall experience of smoking a cigar or cigarette. However, it has distinct characteristics that set it apart from other wrappers. Characteristics of Burley Tobacco Wrapper Burley tobacco is air-cured and known for its light color and robust flavor . The leaves are lighter green during growth due to a lower chlorophyll content and are thinner compared to most other air-cured tobaccos and Flue-Cured tobacco types . The air-curing process takes between three to twelve weeks and results in a light tan to reddish-brown leaf . Comparison with Other Tobacco Wrappers Compared to other types of tobacco wrappers, Burley tobacco has a more robust flavor, making it a staple in cigarette mixes and pipe tobaccos . It is also used in American blend cigarettes, Roll-Your-Own (RYO), and Make-Your-Own (MYO) products . In contrast, Virginia or Flue-Cured leaves produce a more aromatic and less alkaline smoke with a slight acidic taste resulting from the high levels of natural sugars . Oriental leaves tend to have a low nitrogen content and moderate levels of carbohydrates, but fewer proteins, than the other varieties . Handling and Preparation The handling and preparation of Burley tobacco also differ from other types. For instance, a burley farmer typically stock cuts the entire burley plant at one time and hangs it upside down in a barn to air cure . This process requires careful handling of the leaf to avoid any blemishes or physical damage that could negatively impact the quality of the final product . what are the most popular burley tobacco wrapper varieties Burley tobacco is a popular variety known for its robust flavor and light air-cured finish. There are several varieties of Burley tobacco, each with its unique characteristics. Here are some of the most popular Burley tobacco wrapper varieties: Burley 21: This variety is suitable for light soils in East Godavari, Visakapatnam, Vijayanagaram districts of Andhra Pradesh, India . Banket A1: Also suitable for light soils in East Godavari, Visakapatnam, Vijayanagaram districts, this variety is resistant to Tobacco Mosaic Virus (TMV) . HDBRG (Dark burley): This variety is suitable for CBS, SBS, and Telangana areas of Andhra Pradesh, India . YB-22 (Vijetha): This variety is suitable for burley tobacco growing areas of Andhra Pradesh and is resistant to TMV . TN86 (Tennessee 86): This is an improved Burley-type smoking tobacco with good disease resistance. It is resistant to Tobacco Vein Mottling Virus (TVMV), Tobacco Etch Virus (TEV), and Potato Virus Y (PVY). It is also resistant to Black Shank (Race 0 and Race 1), Black Root Rot, and Wildfire bacteria . White Burley: This variety is the main component in chewing tobacco, American blend pipe tobacco, and American-style cigarettes . Conclusion Burley tobacco wrappers, with their unique characteristics and significant role in the tobacco industry, are truly a marvel. From their cultivation to their use in cigar making, each step in the journey of a Burley tobacco wrapper is a testament to the art and science of tobacco production. As we continue to appreciate the rich, complex flavors that these wrappers contribute to our favorite cigars, we also look forward to the future of Burley tobacco in the industry. Statistics: In 2021, Kentuckys burley tobacco production was estimated at 71.8 million pounds, with a yield estimated at 2,050 pounds per acre. The harvested acreage was estimated at 35,000 acres . FAQs: What is burley tobacco used for? How many leaves does a mature burley plant have? How is burley tobacco prepared for market? What is the yield of burley tobacco per acre? How much burley tobacco was produced in Kentucky in 2021? Can burley tobacco be used as a cigar wrapper? What are the physical characteristics of a burley tobacco leaf? How does the production of burley tobacco compare to other types of tobacco? What factors influence the quality of burley tobacco? How has the production of burley tobacco changed over the years? What are the challenges in growing burley tobacco? How does burley tobacco contribute to the flavor of a cigar? What is the process of stripping in burley tobacco production? How is the quality of burley tobacco assessed? What is the future outlook for burley tobacco production? Books: For a comprehensive understanding of burley tobacco, consider reading North Carolina Tobacco: A History by Billy Yeargin . Another recommended book is A History of Burley Tobacco in East Tennessee & Western North Carolina by Billy Yeargin and Christopher Bickers . Sources of information: Information about burley tobacco can be found from various sources such as academic articles, agricultural extension services, and books. Some of these sources include the University of Kentucky Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering Department https://burleytobaccoextension.ca.uky.edu/files/stripping_and_market_prep_id160_2019.pdf, KyFoodandFarm.info https://www.kyfoodandfarm.info/tobacco, and books by Billy Yeargin https://www.amazon.com/North-Carolina-Tobacco-Billy-Yeargin/dp/1540217965 https://www.everand.com/book/266085837/A-History-of-Burley-Tobacco-in-East-Tennessee-Western-North-Carolina. Citations: Authoritative sources on the subject of burley tobacco include academic research papers and publications from agricultural institutions. Some of these include the University of Kentucky Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering Department https://burleytobaccoextension.ca.uky.edu/files/stripping_and_market_prep_id160_2019.pdf, the National Agriculture Statistics Service and Economic Research Commission https://www.kyfoodandfarm.info/tobacco, and scholarly works by Billy Yeargin https://www.amazon.com/North-Carolina-Tobacco-Billy-Yeargin/dp/1540217965 https://www.everand.com/book/266085837/A-History-of-Burley-Tobacco-in-East-Tennessee-Western-North-Carolina. Tobacco cultivation in Vietnam is a fascinating journey from seed to smoke. This process, steeped in tradition and honed by modern techniques, is a testament to the resilience and ingenuity of Vietnamese farmers. Despite the challenges, these farmers have managed to sustain and grow an industry that has significant economic implications. As we delve into the world of tobacco cultivation in Vietnam, well explore the unique practices, the people behind the scenes, and the passion that fuels this industry. Join us as we unravel the complexities and celebrate the triumphs of growing tobacco in Vietnam. Modern Developments In recent years, the tobacco industry in Vietnam has seen significant growth and development. Modern farming techniques have been adopted, and the industry has expanded to meet both domestic and international demand. Understanding the Tobacco Plant The tobacco plant is a unique specimen. It requires specific conditions to thrive, including a particular type of soil and a certain amount of sunlight and rainfall. Understanding these requirements is crucial for successful cultivation. The Life Cycle of a Tobacco Plant From seed to mature plant, the life cycle of a tobacco plant is a fascinating process. Each stage requires careful attention and specific care to ensure a healthy and productive crop. Planting the Seeds The journey of tobacco cultivation begins with planting the seeds. This is a delicate process that requires precision and care. The seeds are sown in specially prepared beds and nurtured until they are ready to be transplanted to the field. Nurturing the Crop Once the seedlings are transplanted, the real work begins. The plants need to be watered, weeded, and protected from pests and diseases. This stage requires constant vigilance and hard work from the farmers. Harvesting the Leaves Harvesting is the final stage of the cultivation process. The leaves are carefully picked, sorted, and then dried. This process requires skill and experience to ensure the highest quality product. The Role of Farmers Farmers play a crucial role in the tobacco industry. Their knowledge, skills, and hard work are the backbone of the industry. They are the ones who ensure the quality and quantity of the tobacco crop. Community Involvement Tobacco cultivation is not just about the farmers; its about the entire community. From the people who work in the fields to those who work in the processing plants, everyone plays a part in the success of the industry. Contribution to the Economy The tobacco industry contributes significantly to Vietnams economy. It provides employment opportunities and generates revenue through the export of tobacco products. Future Prospects The future of the tobacco industry in Vietnam looks promising. With continued investment and development, the industry is set to continue its growth and contribute even more to the countrys economy. what is the history of tobacco farming in vietnam Tobacco cultivation in Vietnam has a rich history that spans centuries. The countrys tropical climate and hard-working labor force made it an ideal location for tobacco farming. The total area devoted to tobacco cultivation in Vietnam in 2002 was about 18,000 hectares, with approximately 136,000 full-time equivalent tobacco cultivators . Tobacco was introduced to Vietnam and other Asian countries in the 18th century . The rapid development of biotechnology, processing industry, and cultivation techniques over time have contributed to improving the quality of raw tobacco . There are three main types of tobacco grown in Vietnam: Flue-cured Virginia (FCV), air-cured, and sun-cured . FCV is the most common type, used almost entirely in cigarette blends . The tobacco industry in Vietnam has evolved over time, and today, the country is home to over 15 million smokers and a thriving tobacco farming sector . Despite the health risks associated with tobacco farming, the industry is expected to continue growing in Vietnam due to rising prices and increasing demand . However, the future of tobacco farming in the country will depend on the ability of farmers, industry stakeholders, and policymakers to adapt to changing market conditions and address health and environmental concerns . In recent years, there has been an increase in research on the health impact of the tobacco industry on cultivators in Vietnam . This research is crucial for enforcing policies on tobacco control in the country, especially the enactment of the tobacco control law . Conclusion Growing tobacco in Vietnam is a complex and fascinating process. Its a journey that involves not just the plant, but also the people who cultivate it and the community that supports it. As we look to the future, the industry continues to hold promise for economic growth and development. Statistics: Vietnams total area dedicated to tobacco cultivation was about 18,000 hectares in 2002, with approximately 136,000 full-time equivalent tobacco cultivators . The market size for tobacco products in Vietnam has remained stable with over 100 billion cigarettes per year since 2015 . The tobacco industry contributes significantly to Vietnams economy, providing employment opportunities and generating revenue through the export of tobacco products . FAQs: Who are the main tobacco cultivators in Vietnam? The main tobacco cultivators in Vietnam are smallholder farmers who grow tobacco as part of their crop rotation . What types of tobacco are grown in Vietnam? Vietnam grows flue-cured Virginia (FCV), air-cured, and sun-cured types of tobacco, with FCV being the predominant type . Where are the primary areas for tobacco cultivation in Vietnam? The primary areas for tobacco cultivation in Vietnam are in the North (Cao Bang, Lang Son, Bac Kan, Thai Nguyen), the Central (Gia Lai, Dak Lak, Ninh Thuan), and the South (Tay Ninh) . Why is tobacco cultivation significant in Vietnam? Tobacco cultivation is significant in Vietnam due to its contribution to the economy through employment and export revenues . How is tobacco cultivated in Vietnam? Tobacco in Vietnam is cultivated by planting seeds, nurturing the plants, and harvesting the leaves, which are then processed to ensure quality . Is tobacco a major crop in Vietnam? Yes, tobacco is a major crop in Vietnam and is considered the worlds most widely cultivated non-food crop . Can tobacco cultivation impact the health of farmers? Yes, tobacco cultivation can impact the health of farmers, with higher occurrences of certain health problems among tobacco growers compared to non-tobacco farmers . Does Vietnam have tobacco control legislation? Yes, Vietnam signed the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control in 2003 and ratified it in 2004, which includes tobacco control legislation . Will the economic impact of tobacco in Vietnam continue to grow? The economic impact of tobacco in Vietnam is projected to grow, with the market forecasted to increase by 4.28% from 2024 to 2028 . What is the life cycle of a tobacco plant in Vietnam? The life cycle of a tobacco plant in Vietnam involves seeding, growing, and harvesting, with each stage requiring specific care . What is the role of farmers in tobacco cultivation? Farmers are crucial in tobacco cultivation, providing the knowledge, skills, and labor necessary to grow and harvest the crop . How does tobacco tax influence output and employment in Vietnam? Higher tobacco tax can influence output and employment by potentially reducing production growth and affecting jobs in the tobacco industry . What is the economic impact of tobacco in Vietnam? The economic impact includes significant contributions to the economy through employment, revenue generation, and exports . How has tobacco cultivation area changed in Vietnam? From 2000 to 2020, the area of land dedicated to growing tobacco in Vietnam fell by nearly 49% . How does tobacco cultivation process work in Vietnam? The process involves planting tobacco seeds, nurturing the crop, and harvesting the leaves, followed by curing and processing . Books: For those interested in the broader implications of tobacco cultivation and control, Tobacco Control and Tobacco Farming: Separating Myth from Reality is a recommended book that includes research on Vietnam among other countries . Sources of information: The sources of information on tobacco cultivation in Vietnam include research articles, market forecasts, and publications from tobacco companies and health organizations https://www.batvietnam.com/group/sites/BAT_9VJH58.nsf/vwPagesWebLive/DO9VJEFR https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1471-2458-9-24 https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=6e9eff94-cf55-4893-bc86-551ebd7c339d https://www.statista.com/outlook/cmo/tobacco-products/vietnam https://www.researchgate.net/publication/26593161_Tobacco_farming_in_rural_Vietnam_Questionable_economic_gain_but_evident_health_risks Viet Nam Country Profile https://seatca.org/dmdocuments/2_impact_of_tobacco_growing_vietnam.pdf https://www.who.int/vietnam/news/commentaries/detail/women-and-tobacco-in-viet-namthe-hidden-threat https://www.batvietnam.com/group/sites/BAT_9VJH58.nsf/vwPagesWebLive/DO9VJEGB https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/JED-11-2019-0058/full/pdf?title=impacts-of-higher-tobacco-tax-on-output-and-employment-in-vietnam. Citations: Authoritative sources on the subject of tobacco cultivation in Vietnam include the Vietnam National Tobacco Corporation https://www.batvietnam.com/group/sites/BAT_9VJH58.nsf/vwPagesWebLive/DO9VJEFR https://www.vinataba.com.vn/business_areas/cigar/?lang=en https://www.vinataba.com.vn/2022/07/01/tobacco-leaf-realizing-a-basis-for-the-development-of-leaf-growing-areas/?lang=en, BMC Public Health studies https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1471-2458-9-24 https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12889-020-8169-z, Lexology legal insights https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=6e9eff94-cf55-4893-bc86-551ebd7c339d, Statista market forecasts https://www.statista.com/outlook/cmo/tobacco-products/vietnam, and the World Health Organization https://www.who.int/vietnam/news/commentaries/detail/women-and-tobacco-in-viet-namthe-hidden-threat. PMI, a leading international tobacco company, is disrupting the industry with its bold vision of a smoke-free future. But is this a genuine commitment to public health or a strategic marketing ploy? Join us as we delve into the intricacies of PMIs transformation, its innovative smoke-free products, and its impact on the global tobacco market. Company Background PMIs history is a testament to its enduring presence in the tobacco industry. Once a part of Altria, PMI was spun off in 2008 to focus on international markets, with operational headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland. Today, PMI is recognized as a major player in Big Tobacco, with a commitment to innovation and sustainability. Product Portfolio PMIs product portfolio has traditionally comprised cigarettes and other tobacco products. However, the company is now expanding its offerings to include smoke-free products such as heated tobacco, e-vapor, and oral smokeless products. Smoke-Free Vision The companys vision for a smoke-free future is not just aspirational but actionable. PMI has invested over USD 10.5 billion in the development and scientific substantiation of smoke-free products, signaling a paradigm shift in its business model. Leading Brands Marlboro remains the worlds best-selling international cigarette, with a significant share of PMIs total cigarette shipment volume. Other leading brands include Parliament, Bond Street, Chesterfield, L&M, and Lark, each holding strong market positions. Innovation in Tobacco Products PMIs innovation extends to Reduced Risk Products (RRPs), which are designed to present less risk of harm compared to traditional cigarettes. These products are central to PMIs transformation and are backed by rigorous scientific research. Marketing Strategies Marketing strategies at PMI are tailored to meet the evolving demands of consumers. The company leverages insights and predictive analytics to identify customer opportunities and refine its marketing approach. Sustainability Efforts PMIs sustainability report highlights its efforts in crop diversification in countries like Malawi, aiming to reduce the environmental impact of tobacco farming. Legal and Ethical Challenges PMI has faced legal and ethical challenges, including allegations of collaboration with the Foundation for a Smoke-Free World and litigation related to its marketing practices. Despite these controversies, PMI continues to navigate the complex regulatory landscape. Corporate Social Responsibility PMIs CSR initiatives demonstrate its commitment to social responsibility, with programs that extend beyond its core business to address broader societal issues. Financial Performance Financially, PMI remains robust, with a significant portion of its revenues coming from smoke-free products. The companys ambition is to increase this figure to over two-thirds by 2030, with the ultimate goal of phasing out cigarettes entirely. Consumer Perception and Brand Loyalty Consumer perception and brand loyalty are critical to PMIs success. The company employs various strategies to understand consumer behavior and maintain loyalty amidst changing market dynamics. Global Expansion and Partnerships PMIs global expansion is marked by strategic partnerships and acquisitions, such as the $16 billion deal with Swedish Match, which bolsters its position in the smokeless tobacco market. The Future of Tobacco Industry The future of the tobacco industry is in flux, with companies like PMI at the forefront of driving change. PMIs role in shaping this future is predicated on its ability to innovate and adapt to an increasingly health-conscious consumer base. what is the history of philip morris international Philip Morris International (PMI) traces its history back to 1847 when a British tobacconist named Philip Morris opened a single shop on Londons Bond Street, selling tobacco and ready-made cigarettes. In 1881, Philips son, Leopold Morris, partnered with Joseph Grunebaum to establish Philip Morris & Company and Grunebaum, Ltd. This partnership dissolved in 1885, and the company became known as Philip Morris & Co., Ltd. In 1894, William Curtis Thomson and his family took over the company. Under Thomsons leadership, the company was appointed tobacconist to King Edward VII and was incorporated in 1902. The company began manufacturing cigarettes in the United States in the early 20th century, and in 1919, the Philip Morris coronet logo was introduced. The company was acquired in the United States and incorporated in Virginia under the name Philip Morris & Co., Ltd, Inc. in 1919. By the end of the next decade, the company had begun to manufacture cigarettes. In 1924, Philip Morris & Co., Ltd, Inc. began producing Marlboro cigarettes, which went on to become the companys most famous brand. In 1954, Philip Morris & Co., Ltd, Inc. opened its first branch outside the United States in Australia. The company introduced the first hard pack of cigarettes in 1955. In 1972, Marlboro became the worlds best-selling cigarette brand. In 1987, Philip Morris Companies Inc. incorporated Philip Morris International as an operating company, manufacturing and distributing products internationally outside the United States. In 2003, Philip Morris Companies changed its name to Altria Group. In 2008, Philip Morris International separated from Altria Group, becoming an independent publicly traded company. what are the different products offered by philip morris international Philip Morris International (PMI) offers a diverse range of products that cater to the preferences of adult smokers and users of nicotine products. Their portfolio includes both traditional tobacco products and a growing array of smoke-free alternatives. Here is a detailed look at the different products offered by PMI: Traditional Tobacco Products Marlboro : The flagship brand of PMI and the worlds best-selling international cigarette, Marlboro accounts for a significant portion of the companys total cigarette shipment volume. : The flagship brand of PMI and the worlds best-selling international cigarette, Marlboro accounts for a significant portion of the companys total cigarette shipment volume. L&M : Recognized as the fourth best-selling international cigarette brand outside the United States and China. : Recognized as the fourth best-selling international cigarette brand outside the United States and China. Chesterfield : The third-largest international PMI brand, Chesterfield is sold in over 70 markets. : The third-largest international PMI brand, Chesterfield is sold in over 70 markets. Philip Morris : Another leading brand, Philip Morris is the company s fourth-largest international brand and is sold in over 40 markets. : Another leading brand, Philip Morris is the company s fourth-largest international brand and is sold in over 40 markets. Parliament : PMI s fifth-largest international brand and the 14th-largest cigarette brand in the world. : PMI s fifth-largest international brand and the 14th-largest cigarette brand in the world. Bond Street, Lark: These are also among PMIs leading international brands. Smoke-Free Products PMI has been focusing on developing and commercializing smoke-free products as part of its vision for a smoke-free future. These products are designed to reduce the risks associated with smoking by eliminating the combustion of tobacco. The smoke-free portfolio includes: Heated Tobacco Products (HTPs) : These products heat tobacco to generate a nicotine-containing aerosol without burning the tobacco. PMIs HTPs include a variety of systems, some of which use bladeless-heating technology and others that heat tobacco from the inside with a pin. : These products heat tobacco to generate a nicotine-containing aerosol without burning the tobacco. PMIs HTPs include a variety of systems, some of which use bladeless-heating technology and others that heat tobacco from the inside with a pin. IQOS ILUMA : A range of HTPs that includes the ILUMA Prime, ILUMA, ILUMA ONE, and ORIGINALS DUO. : A range of HTPs that includes the ILUMA Prime, ILUMA, ILUMA ONE, and ORIGINALS DUO. BONDS by IQOS : A compact, easy-to-use, and affordable bladeless-heating product. : A compact, easy-to-use, and affordable bladeless-heating product. lil SOLID Ez : An all-in-one tobacco heating device that heats real tobacco with a stainless-steel blade. : An all-in-one tobacco heating device that heats real tobacco with a stainless-steel blade. lil HYBRID : A product that combines heating tobacco and liquid for a combined experience. : A product that combines heating tobacco and liquid for a combined experience. E-Vapor Products : These products vaporize a nicotine-containing liquid to deliver nicotine in aerosol form. : These products vaporize a nicotine-containing liquid to deliver nicotine in aerosol form. VEEV ONE and VEEV NOW : Devices that are part of PMIs e-vapor product line. : Devices that are part of PMIs e-vapor product line. Oral Nicotine Products: These non-inhalable products include oral tobacco and nicotine products that are placed under the lip for nicotine absorption via the mouth. Conclusion PMIs journey from a traditional tobacco company to a pioneer of a smoke-free future is a narrative of transformation, innovation, and resilience. As PMI continues to evolve, it remains a subject of both admiration and scrutiny within the tobacco industry and beyond. Statistics on PMI Market Presence PMI products are sold in 180 markets, and in many of these, they hold the no. 1 or no. 2 positions by market share. Five of the top 15 international brands in the world are PMIs. As of September 30, 2023, PMI s smoke-free products are available for sale in 82 markets in key cities or nationwide. Smoke-Free Vision PMI has announced its ambition to become a more than two-thirds majority smoke-free company by 2030. As of September 30, 2023, 36.2 percent of PMIs total net revenues came from smoke-free products . FAQs on PMI Questions and Answers What is PMIs vision for the future? PMIs vision is to replace cigarettes with smoke-free alternatives as soon as possible https://www.pmi.com/our-business/smoke-free-products. What does PMIs product portfolio consist of? PMIs product portfolio primarily consists of cigarettes and smoke-free products, including heated tobacco, e-vapor, and oral smokeless products https://www.pmi.com/our-business. How many markets are PMIs products sold in? PMIs products are sold in 180 markets https://www.pmi.com/investor-relations/overview/building-leading-brands. What is PMIs market position in these markets? In many of these markets, PMI holds the no. 1 or no. 2 positions by market share https://www.pmi.com/investor-relations/overview/building-leading-brands. How many markets are PMIs smoke-free products available in? As of September 30, 2023, PMI s smoke-free products are available for sale in 82 markets in key cities or nationwide https://www.pmi.com/investor-relations/overview/building-leading-brands. What percentage of PMIs total net revenues came from smoke-free products as of September 30, 2023? As of that date, 36.2 percent of PMIs total net revenues came from smoke-free products https://www.pmi.com/our-business. What is PMIs ambition for 2030? PMI has announced its ambition to become a more than two-thirds majority smoke-free company by 2030 https://www.pmi.com/our-transformation/our-smoke-free-vision. What is PMIs strategy for achieving this ambition? PMI is leveraging its scientific expertise and technological capabilities to develop smoke-free products that provide nicotine without burning, making them a much better alternative to cigarettes https://www.pmi.com/our-business/smoke-free-products. What are some of PMIs leading international brands? PMIs portfolio of international and local brands is led by Marlboro, the world s best-selling international cigarette. Other leading international brands include Parliament, Bond Street, L&M, and Chesterfield https://www.pmi.com/investor-relations/overview/building-leading-brands. How much has PMI invested in the development of smoke-free products? PMI has invested over USD 10.5 billion in the development, scientific substantiation, manufacturing, commercialization, and continuous innovation of its smoke-free products https://www.pmi.com/our-business/smoke-free-products. Citations on PMI The tobacco industry in the USA is a fascinating world, filled with history, innovation, and controversy. Its an industry that has shaped the nations economy, influenced its politics, and sparked countless debates. From the sprawling tobacco plantations to the high-tech manufacturing plants, the industry is a complex web of players, policies, and practices. But what really goes on behind the scenes? How has the industry evolved over the years, and where is it headed in the future? Join us as we delve into the intriguing world of the USAs tobacco industry, exploring its past, examining its present, and speculating on its future. The Birth of Commercial Tobacco The history of commercial tobacco production in the United States dates back to the 17th century when the first commercial crop was planted. The first successful commercial crop was cultivated in Virginia in 1612 by Englishman John Rolfe, and within seven years, it became the colonys largest export. The Rise of the Cigarette Cigarettes, which have been around since the early 1600s, didnt become widely popular in the United States until after the Civil War. The spread of Bright tobacco, a uniquely cured yellow leaf grown in Virginia and North Carolina, and the invention of the first practical cigarette-making machine in the late 1880s, sponsored by tobacco baron James Buchanan Buck Duke, led to a surge in cigarette sales. Early Regulations The British government initially taxed tobacco, and the new United States government also regulated the growth and sale of tobacco and tobacco products from its founding. Over time, more stringent regulations were imposed, including prohibiting outdoor advertising of tobacco products near schools or playgrounds and imposing more stringent advertising regulations . The Role of the FDA The Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, enacted in 2009, gave the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) the authority to regulate the manufacturing, marketing, and distribution of tobacco products. This landmark law sought to end the special protection from comprehensive federal regulation that the tobacco industry had enjoyed. Current Regulations Today, the federal government requires states to set a minimum age of at least 21 years to purchase tobacco products. The FDA also has the authority to regulate nicotine and ingredient levels and ban cigarettes with characterizing flavors, except menthol and tobacco. The Dominance of Cigarettes Cigarettes continue to dominate the U.S. tobacco market, with four companies Philip Morris USA, Reynolds American Inc., ITG Brands, and Liggett accounting for about 92% of U.S. cigarette sales. The Rise of E-cigarettes From 2014 through 2020, e-cigarette sales in the United States generally increased as product prices decreased. This trend reflects changing consumer preferences and the industrys efforts to market novel products. Future Projections The U.S. tobacco market is projected to grow by 0.62% from 2024 to 2028, resulting in a market volume of US$110.2bn in 2028. This growth is driven by factors such as stress, anxiety, and boredom that are driving up the use of tobacco products and other related substances. Economic Impact The tobacco industry has been a significant economic driver in the United States. The U.S. is the fourth largest tobacco-producing country in the world, following China, India, and Brazil. what are the most popular tobacco brands in the us The most popular tobacco brands in the United States are largely dominated by a few key players. According to various sources, the top brands include: Marlboro: This brand is the most popular in the US, with a significant market share. It is known for its strong brand loyalty and effective marketing strategies. Newport: Newport is the second most popular brand, known for its menthol cigarettes. It has a strong presence in the menthol segment, Camel: Holding an 8% market share, Camel is notable for its rich history and variety of flavors. Pall Mall: Known for its value-for-money proposition, Pall Mall holds a 7% market share. American Spirit: This brand is also mentioned as one of the top US cigarette brands. Other brands with smaller market shares include Maverick, Winston, and Kool, each holding a 2% market share. Conclusion The tobacco industry in the USA has a complex and impactful history. From its early days as a major cash crop to its current status as a heavily regulated industry facing health concerns, it continues to shape the countrys economic and health landscapes. As we move forward, its crucial to balance the economic benefits of the industry with the need to protect public health. Statistics Current Smoking Rates In 2021, 11.5% of U.S. adults (an estimated 28.3 million people) currently smoked cigarettes: 13.1% of men, 10.1% of women. Economic Impact of the Tobacco Industry The tobacco industry spends billions of dollars each year on marketing cigarettes. Smoking costs the United States hundreds of billions of dollars each year. FAQs What is a Tobacco Product? A tobacco product is any product made or derived from or containing nicotine from any source, that is intended for human consumption, including any component, part, or accessory of a tobacco product. How is the Tobacco Industry Regulated? There are three pathways by which a manufacturer may legally market a new tobacco product in the United States. These include submitting a Premarket Tobacco Application (PMTA) under Section 910 (b) and obtaining a written order from the FDA. Recommended Books Merchants of Death: The American Tobacco Industry This book chronicles the largely successful efforts of the tobacco industry in consolidating political, corporate, economic, and public-relations power to counter attacks and increase profits. The Cigarette Century: The Rise, Fall, and Deadly Persistence of the Product That Defined America This book is a comprehensive history of the cigarette and its impact on American society. Sources of Information Government Agencies and NGOs Government agencies and relevant international NGOs provide a wealth of information on the tobacco industry https://guides.loc.gov/tobacco-industry/regulatory-industry-resources. Research and Studies Research papers and studies provide in-depth analysis and insights into the tobacco industry https://applications.emro.who.int/docs/FS-TFI-199-2019-EN.pdf?ua=1. Citations Authoritative Sources on the Tobacco Industry Authoritative sources on the tobacco industry include government reports, academic research, and industry analysis https://www.ucop.edu/research-policy-analysis-coordination/policies-guidance/tobacco-industry-funding/tobacco-entities.html. Research Papers and Reports Research papers and reports provide detailed information and analysis on the tobacco industry https://applications.emro.who.int/docs/FS-TFI-199-2019-EN.pdf?ua=1. The Virginia tobacco trade has a rich and complex history, deeply intertwined with the economic and cultural development of the state. From the early colonial period to the present day, the cultivation, processing, and trade of tobacco have played a pivotal role in shaping Virginias identity and prosperity. The intriguing story of this golden leaf is a testament to the resilience and entrepreneurial spirit of the people of Virginia, and a fascinating exploration of the intricate dynamics of global trade. History of Tobacco in Virginia Tobacco cultivation in Virginia dates back to 1611 when John Rolfe began experimenting with tobacco farming in Jamestown . The crop quickly became a cash crop, essential to the colonial economy. Cultivation and Processing Originally, tobacco cultivation was labor-intensive and soil-depleting . Today, technological advancements have streamlined these processes, though the crop remains demanding to grow. Economic Impact The tobacco industry contributes significantly to Virginias economy, with an annual impact of $82.3 billion and providing over 381,800 jobs . Challenges in the Tobacco Trade Virginias tobacco industry faces challenges such as global competition, changing market demands, and increasing health regulations . The Role of Slavery and Labor The labor-intensive nature of tobacco farming led to the reliance on enslaved Africans by the end of the 17th century . Regulation and Quality Control Regulations have been implemented to maintain the quality of Virginia tobacco, affecting the trade both positively and negatively . Global Market and Exports Virginia ranks third nationally for tobacco production, with significant exports to countries like China, Canada, and Venezuela . Technological Innovations Technological advancements have impacted the efficiency of tobacco cultivation and processing, though the industry remains labor-intensive . Tobacco and Public Health Virginia has a higher smoking rate than the national average, with significant health care costs associated with smoking . Marketing and Advertising The tobacco industry spends millions on marketing in Virginia, influencing consumption patterns, especially among youth . The Future of Tobacco in Virginia The future of tobacco in Virginia is uncertain, with a decline in the number of tobacco farms and shifts in consumer habits . Environmental Considerations Tobacco farming has environmental impacts, including soil depletion, prompting a need for sustainable practices . Cultural Significance Despite its challenges, tobacco continues to hold cultural significance in Virginia, shaping its identity and heritage . what were the main challenges faced by virginia tobacco farmers Virginia tobacco farmers face several challenges, both in the present and looming in the future. Global Competition: Large tobacco farming operations are developing in Southern hemisphere countries like Brazil, Zimbabwe, and India. These regions are investing in infrastructure to increase their market share. Its significantly less expensive to operate in these nations, making it difficult for American tobacco farmers to compete in the global market due to higher regulatory labor rates and other expenses . Labor Issues: Finding workers to plant, maintain, and harvest tobacco has been a long-standing problem. Many of the farms that grow tobacco in Virginia are smaller in size compared to those in other states, and automation plays a lesser role in these operations. Most of the workforce consists of seasonal workers . Tariffs and Trade Wars: Tariffs imposed by countries like China, Turkey, and Russia pose a significant challenge for Virginia tobacco farmers. These tariffs have led to a decrease in demand for American-grown tobacco, as these countries pivot to cheaper tobacco from other nations . Declining Demand: The demand for the two predominant kinds of tobacco leaf flue-cured and burley, both of which are used almost entirely in cigarette blends has declined sharply. This is due to a decrease in smoking and the rise of alternatives like e-cigarettes and legal cannabis. As a result, sales have declined as the world demand for American-grown cigarette tobacco has waned . Economic and Financial Issues: Overproduction of tobacco has driven down its value. Smaller farms with limited financial resources may struggle to adopt new technologies or meet the demands of cigarette companies for large sale lots of quality-segregated leaf . Geographical Shifts in Production: There is a potential for tobacco production to move to areas where larger, more efficient units could be assembled, leading to a decline in production in traditional tobacco-growing areas. This could result in tobacco farms growing bigger and the number of growers dropping . how did the tobacco industry in virginia impact the economy of the state The tobacco industry has had a significant impact on the economy of Virginia, both historically and in the present day. Historical Impact In the colonial era, tobacco was the major cash crop in Virginia. The seeds of a South American variety of tobacco were brought by John Rolfe, which thrived in Virginias soil and found a market in England . The tobacco industry influenced settlement patterns as cultivation required access to a ready source of water, leading to settlements along rivers and streams . Tobacco also played a crucial role in the economy as it was used as a form of currency. Fines, taxes, and even the salaries of the Anglican Church clergy were paid in pounds of tobacco . By 1700, the amount of tobacco being shipped from Virginia to England reached 22 million pounds . Modern Impact In the modern era, the tobacco industry continues to play a significant role in Virginias economy, although its impact has been decreasing due to factors such as declining tobacco use in the United States and increased use of foreign-grown tobacco . As of 2021, Virginia ranked third nationally for the production of tobacco . The state received an estimated $416.3 million in revenue from tobacco settlement payments and taxes in 2021 . However, the industry also incurs costs, with smoking-caused health care costs and losses in productivity amounting to over $3 billion per year . Despite the challenges, the tobacco industry remains a significant part of Virginias economy, contributing to employment, state revenue, and shaping the states history and culture. Conclusion The Virginia tobacco trade has a storied past and faces a complex future. Balancing economic benefits with health and environmental concerns will be crucial for its sustainability. Statistics: In the early years of the Virginia tobacco trade, exports increased from 2,300 pounds in 1616 to almost 50,000 pounds in 1618 . By 1700, the amount of tobacco being shipped from Virginia to England reached 22 million pounds . Today, Virginia ranks third nationally for the production of tobacco . In 2022, Virginias agricultural and forestry exports were valued at more than $5.1 billion dollars, with tobacco exports accounting for $215 million . FAQs: Who introduced tobacco to Virginia? John Rolfe introduced tobacco to Virginia in 1611 . What was the initial workforce for tobacco cultivation in Virginia? The initial workforce for tobacco cultivation in Virginia consisted of indentured servants, which later shifted to enslaved Africans . How did the Virginia tobacco trade operate in the early years? The Virginia tobacco trade operated by building personal relationships with English merchants, who would buy the tobacco and sell it in Britain . How much tobacco was being shipped from Virginia to England by 1700? By 1700, the amount of tobacco being shipped from Virginia to England reached 22 million pounds. How has the Virginia tobacco trade evolved over the years? The Virginia tobacco trade has evolved over the years, with production spreading from the Tidewater area to the Blue Ridge and the workforce shifting from indentured servants to enslaved Africans . What is the current rank of Virginia nationally for the production of tobacco? Virginia currently ranks third nationally for the production of tobacco . How much were Virginias agricultural and forestry exports valued at in 2022? In 2022, Virginias agricultural and forestry exports were valued at more than $5.1 billion dollars . How much did tobacco exports account for in Virginias agricultural and forestry exports in 2022? Tobacco exports accounted for $215 million in Virginias agricultural and forestry exports in 2022 . How has the location of tobacco cultivation in Virginia changed over time? The location of tobacco cultivation in Virginia has changed over time, with production migrating from the Tidewater area to the Blue Ridge and now being concentrated in Southside and Southwest Virginia . What types of tobacco are grown in Virginia? Virginia tobacco farmers grow bright tobacco and burley tobacco . How much was the value of the tobacco crop in Virginia in 2010? In 2010, the value of the tobacco crop in Virginia ranged from a low of $61 million to a high of $266 million . How did the Virginia tobacco trade impact the economy of the colony? The Virginia tobacco trade had a significant impact on the economy of the colony, providing a profitable cash crop that helped to drive economic growth . How did the cultivation methods for tobacco in Virginia evolve over time? The cultivation methods for tobacco in Virginia evolved over time, with the introduction of new varieties of tobacco and changes in the workforce . How did the Virginia tobacco trade interact with international markets? The Virginia tobacco trade interacted with international markets through the export of tobacco to countries like England, France, Holland, the Caribbean Islands, and South America . What were the main challenges faced by the Virginia tobacco trade? The main challenges faced by the Virginia tobacco trade included the labor-intensive nature of tobacco cultivation, fluctuations in the market price of tobacco, and the need to maintain the quality of the product . Books: The Story of Tobacco in America by Joseph C. Robert . Tobacco and Slaves: the Development of Southern Cultures in the Chesapeake 1680-1800 by Allan Kulikoff . The Production of Tobacco Along the Colonial Potomac by David O. Percy . Sources of information: Encyclopedia Virginia https://encyclopediavirginia.org/entries/tobacco-in-colonial-virginia/ Virginia Places https://www.virginiaplaces.org/agriculture/tobaccostaple.html https://www.virginiaplaces.org/agriculture/tobaccogrow.html https://www.virginiaplaces.org/agriculture/tobacco.html Historic Jamestowne, National Park Service https://www.nps.gov/jame/learn/historyculture/tobacco-colonial-cultivation-methods.htm U.S. Trade Representative https://ustr.gov/map/state-benefits/va Mount Vernon https://www.mountvernon.org/library/digitalhistory/digital-encyclopedia/article/tobacco/ Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services https://www.vdacs.virginia.gov/markets-and-finance-agriculture-facts-and-figures.shtml Real Tobacco Extract https://real-tobacco-extract.com/about-virginia-tobacco Office of the Governor of Virginia https://www.governor.virginia.gov/newsroom/news-releases/2023/april/name-999246-en.html Citations: A new farmers market with commercial kitchens, an affordable senior living community, a sheriffs office substation and more are on the way as part of a 23-acre project announced in south Columbia. A host of entities including the city of Columbia, Richland County, Eau Claire Cooperative Health Centers and others are partnering to help create the Station at Congaree Pointe, a multi-faceted project that will take shape along Bluff Road near Atlas Road. The plan was announced in a ceremony on the southeast corner of the property, with Mayor Daniel Rickenmann, Democratic state Sen. Darrell Jackson, Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott, Columbia City Manager Teresa Wilson and a host of others on hand for the announcement. Officials didnt offer a timeline for the Station at Congaree Pointe project but did list a number of amenities that are on the drawing board. It will feature what will be called the Market at Congaree Station, which officials said will have several commercial kitchens, space for a farmers market and event venue space. There will also be a Richland County facility on the property that will house a magistrate court and a Richland County Sheriffs Department substation. Eau Claire Cooperative plans to operate a health center on the property, and there is expected to be an affordable assisted-living facility on the grounds. The site is located just southeast of Interstate 77, on Bluff Road near Atlas. It is 3 miles southeast of Williams-Brice Stadium and about 11 miles northwest of Congaree National Park. There will be electric vehicle charging stations located at the coming Congaree Pointe site, according to officials at Thursdays gathering. The total cost of the project was not shared at Thursdays announcement. However, the state Legislature appropriated $4 million for the initiative, for the purchase of the property and to kickstart the project. The Columbia Empowerment Zone, a development arm that works under the umbrella of the city, is heading up the project and working with public and private partners. Empowerment Zone Executive Director Felicia Maloney said the marketplace portion of the project, which would include the commercial kitchens, farmers market space, event space and more, will likely come at a price tag of about $10 million. She said the Empowerment Zone will pursue grant funding for that portion of the project. Its transformational, Wilson, the city manager, said of the overall Station at Congaree Point plan. The people that are here, the community members that are here, it warms my heart because some of them truly have been waiting for a quite a while to see these types of services in this area, where they dont have to travel so far for them, particularly seniors. Rickenmann, who served on Columbia City Council for more than a decade before being elected to his first term as mayor in 2021, said the project on Bluff Road is in a key corridor for the city and has been a long time coming for nearby residents. This has been a project that really has been talked about for some time in this area, Rickenmann said. This, really, is a connector. It will connect folks to downtown. ... This will be a game changer because it fills a gap that we dont have. It could be a really revolutionary project. Even having the (electric vehicle) charging stations here, this close to I-77, is a way to bring people into part of our community. Jackson, the long-serving state senator who pastors nearby Bible Way Church of Atlas Road, shared a story about a constituent, the late Laura Jefferson, who for years spoke to him about wanting a health care facility in the Bluff Road corridor. She said, I pray that elderly people wont have to go to other peoples community to go see a doctor. I pray that one day they will have what I never had, and thats to buy groceries in their own community, Jackson said of the conversations he had with Jefferson. My goal is that that health care center and that pharmacy will be up, and a 90-year-old person who lived their entire life in this corridor will be able to get health care and buy food in their own community. South Carolina State University is exploring the possibility of boosting its research status to help it become more competitive in its efforts to receive federal grants. The university is seeking to become a Research-2 institution under the Carnegie Commission on Higher Educations ranking system. To reach that status, the university has to spend at least $5 million on research and award at least 20 doctoral degrees a year. Ten historically Black colleges and universities are Research-2 institutions. No HBCU is a Research-1 institution, according to S.C. State President Alexander Conyers. Conyers spoke on the issue during a recent South Carolina State University board meeting. When large corporations, especially the federal government, look for grants and specifically for HBCUs, that is 101 participants, Conyers said. Many times that scope is narrowed to an HBCU that is an R-2 institution. So now, if we can get to that status, we are now only competing with ten universities versus another 100. S.C. State is already spending more than $5 million annually in research and is close to awarding 20 doctoral degrees a year, Conyers said. Some years we get 20 and some we don't, Conyers said. The large problem with that is because we only have one doctoral program. The university will explore additional doctorial programs, he said. That could include the areas where the university already offers masters degrees, such as in speech pathology or transportation. Dr. Louis Whitesides has been named the interim vice president of research at the university. Whitesides will visit Tennessee State University, a land-grant institution with an R-2 designation. As part of the plan to become an R-2 institution, Conyers said faculty advisory groups and graduate students will be tapped to for more research opportunities. Revenue, enrollment growth S.C. State Chief Financial Officer Dr. Gerald Hubbard Smalls gave a glowing financial report, noting the university saw growth in its fall revenue and enrollment compared to the year before. Revenue increased 17 percent to $29.7 million for fall 2023, compared to $25.4 million in fall 2022. The university's cash position has also increased from $20.7 million in the fall of 2022 to $24.9 million in the current semester. We are moving up, Smalls said. Smalls says the university is projecting enrollment for the fall 2024 semester to increase to about 3,450 students with a full-time equivalent level of 3,297. In fall 2023, the university had an enrollment of about 3,041 students with a full-time equivalent level of 2,906. "We think we can hit it," Smalls said. "That is our challenge. We are being very aggressive. We think we can get there, but how can we get there? There is a desire out there for education right there at South Carolina State University." About 80 percent of S.C. States students are from South Carolina. "We have to meet that demand," Smalls said. There has been a 12 percent increase in tuition dollars from in-state undergraduates compared to the fall of 2022 and a 4 percent increase in tuition dollars from in-state graduate students, he said. Graduate programs are just not pulling in-state students right now, Smalls said. We need to develop a graduate program that we have talked about. There are a lot of competitors out there. On the other hand, he said tuition dollars from out-of-state graduate students have increased 75 percent compared to the fall of 2022. Another challenge facing the university is how to house the 90 percent of students who want to live on campus. Smalls said at most colleges, about 60 percent to 70 percent of students live on campus. Ninety percent is extremely high, he said. With a number like that, it is very difficult for us to hit that number. Smalls estimates the university will have between 2,500 and 2,700 beds, or about 70 percent to 80 percent on-campus capacity for fall 2024. It is going to be a challenge, Smalls said. The one thing we are not going to do is bring in more students than we have beds to accompany them. Adding to the increasing enrollment numbers is also student retention. Conyers said about 88 percent of the freshman class this year re-registered, while the national attrition rate is about 30 percent. The figure received applause from board members. Brenton Bailey (left) is presented with a plaque of recognition/appreciation by current Comptroller of Customs and Exercise Selwyn Da Silva. As part of its week of activities (Jan. 22 to Jan. 27) to mark International Customs Day 2004 (Jan. 26), the Customs and Excise Department paid tribute to past Comptrolle of Customs Brenton bailey, during a staff dinner held on Jan. 27. The following is a citation delivered at that dinner: Brenton Bailey Former Comptroller of Customs: Dedicated Leader, Visionary and Legacy Builder Mr. Brenton Bailey was born in St. Vincent and grew up in Sion Hill, a village on the outskirts of Kingstown. Bailey began his first duties at Customs on 16th April 1968. His first posting was in the long room, where he was oriented in cash collections, checking entries, etc. Over the years, Brenton worked in all areas of the Customs Department except in the Grenadines. During his tenure at Customs, he propelled his way to Comptroller, and served in that post from 1988 but was appointed officially in 1990. This years International Customs Day celebration was an opportunity for the department to show appreciation to Mr. Brenton Bailey, who performed a pivotal role in the development of the Customs Administration through his display of great organizational ability. From inception, he was instrumental in setting up a new records room. He would often represent the Customs & Excise Department at CARICOM meetings, negotiating on pertinent Customs and Trade matters. Mr. Bailey introduced the Valuation Branch and the Central Services Section to SVG Customs. He also introduced the short entry system at the post office and other customs areasall crucial landmarks in the Customs organization today. Mr. Baileys punctuality was exemplary. He also had a practice as Comptroller to work late at night but would habitually show up for work by 7:45 am the next day. Over and beyond that, his strong qualities are his loyalty, dedication, and commitment to his work, resulting in his outstanding department management during his tenure. He stated, "I have been an honest and conscientious worker, and these qualities have enabled me to manage the Customs and Excise in such a manner as to achieve the goal of maximum revenue collection. Mr Bailey took early retirement in 2003, ending the career of a man who was Comptroller of Customs, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Trade, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Health, General Manager of Housing & land Development Corporation and Music consultant for the Ministry of Education. Mr Bailey continues to be a vital and productive community member, dedicating his time and passions to various activities, including Church and music. The management and staff of the Customs and Excise Department are pleased to show our appreciation to Mr. Brenton Bailey, a dedicated leader, visionary and legacy builder in Customs Administration. Haydn Huggins has now to come to grips with a life-threatening experience. Journalist Haydn Huggins is counting himself lucky that the ordeal he endured on February 11 did not have a fatal ending. Huggins, freelance journalist for THE VINCENTIAN and a resident of Diamond, said that he was sitting on his porch on Sunday night listening to the Calypso finals from Trinidad. Around midnight, he decided to retire to bed since the next day was a work day. While getting himself ready for bed, Huggins said that he heard and saw the front doorknob turning. "I didnt know who it was, he said, but he questioned the individual as to why they were looking to enter his home. That was when, Huggins said, the individual raised his head and peeped through a pane of glass fixed in the door. The individual, identified as a male from his voice, demanded that Huggins open the door and said that he was looking for a place to sleep. He refused to open the door at which point the individual took a piece of concrete block from Huggins porch and smashed a window located next to the door. He then pushed his hand in and unlocked the front door. The intruder moved towards Huggins who was at this time standing in the living room area. The intruder, Huggins recalled that the intruder was wearing something on his head and was armed with what appeared to be a knife in one hand and a long object resembling a piece of steel in the other. Huggins said that he ran to his bedroom and locked the door, but the intruder forced open the door and demanded money. "So, I gave him the wallet with all the money I had, Huggins told THE VINCENTIAN. The individual removed the cash, threw the wallet on the floor and demanded more money. Huggins said that once he was in the bedroom, he started calling on his mobile phone for help, only to have the individual relieve him of the phone. Still not satisfied, the individual insisted that Huggins had more cash and that he wanted it and made his way into the bedroom. When he turned slightly with his back to him, Huggins said that he ran out of the house. "He shout out to me, Doh run, doh run, Huggins said but he had already made good his escape. Now safely out of the house, Huggins watched from a distance and saw the individual leave the house then return and remained there for some time. According to Huggins an attempt to solicit assistance from the Stubbs Police Station proved futile, with an officer responding that there was no available transportation at the station. Huggins was adamant that if the police had responded on time, the individual may have been apprehended given the length of time he spent in the house. While noting that his home was turned upside-down by the intruder, he confirmed that nothing else was taken. Luckily, Huggins said, he survived the ordeal, but admitted he was frightened for his life. "Normally when they go in your house, they go in to kill and the man came in close proximity to me, Huggins said. It is going to be difficult to sleep in the house he has called home for over 20 years, he said, and he fears that he may experience a similar ordeal in the future. Throughout the ordeal, Huggins said that he kept thinking of a way out. "I wasnt trying to save money, you know. I was trying to see how I could escape because I dont know what he was going to do to me, Huggins said. The area of Kick em Jenny that showed some activity beginning last Friday. After days of earthquake activities, the underwater volcano off the coast of Grenada, Kick em Jenny, has returned to normal. It was on Friday, 9th February that officials in Grenada informed of increased activities at the Kick em Jenny submarine volcano. The activities were said to have begun around 11:14pm. Whatever the degree to which the activities have subsided, The University of the West Indies Seismic Research Center (UWI SRC) said the alert level remains at YELLOW and the situation will be monitored continuously. The UWI SRC said it recorded 3,400 seismic activities/tremors since they began on Friday, with the largest measuring 3.3 on the Richter Scale on Saturday. "Since 3:00 a.m., on Sunday, 11th February, the activity subsided in magnitude and frequency and has returned to normal levels, it said in its latest advisory late Monday. "It should be noted that at this time, the level of activity at the Kick em Jenny Submarine Volcano may either increase, decrease, or remain at normal readings. Additionally, activity levels can fluctuate, the advisory added. The UWI SRC said it will continue to monitor the situation around the clock and assured that the latest heightened activity at Kick em Jenny did not constitute an eruption. "The four (4) fully functional seismic stations in the north of Grenada continue to provide data on the activities at Kick em Jenny on a twenty-four-hour basis, the UWI SRC said. The UWI SRC also advised, "The alert level for Kick em-Jenny remains at YELLOW. This means that all marine interests should continue to maintain the exclusion zone of 1.5 km. Kick em-Jenny is located about 8 km north of Grenada and is the only known live underwater volcano in the Eastern Caribbean. It was unknown until an eruption in 1939 produced an ash cloud that rose 900 feet above the ocean surface. The eruption also produced a series of small tsunamis. Since then, it has erupted 14 times with the last one taking place on April 29, 2017. The National Emergency Management Organisation (NEMO) here has assured that the activities associated with Kick em Jenny are in no way related to our La Soufriere volcano. Carona Jennings, this countrys latest homicide victim, with one of her sons. February 14th is considered the day of love (Valentines Day) but for one family, it is and will be from hereon in, a day of doom and gloom. On Wednesday 14th, the bloody body of Carona Jennings, a 27-year-old vendor and mother of seven (7), was found in the yard of her Campden Park residence that she shared with some of her children and her partner, who fathered four of her children. Carona, who gave birth to a twin about three (3) months ago, was discovered lying face down in a pool of blood sometime between 10am and 11am by her eldest son, who had just returned from Kingstown. Workers in the Campden Park Industrial area recalled seeing the son acting as if he was traumatized. "He was shaking and acting strange after he discovered his mother and he took the two babies to someone by the sugar place, across from Alans Bakery, one worker told THE VINCENTIAN after news spread about the discovery. When this reporter visited the crime scene, he noticed a large blood stain in the yard between two structures that appear to be the combined dwelling places of the family. Blood stains were also noticeable inside one of two houses that comprised the abode of the family. These stains led some of those on the scene to speculate that Carona possibly suffered her first attack inside the house. Tamisha Jennings, a sister of the deceased, said that she was saddened by sisters death but she has to stay strong for his sisters children. She said that she found out her sister was killed when her nephew (Caronas eldest son) telephoned her. "I was at work and he called me and tell me he has the two babies and his mother is in the yard lying down he say Carona get chop up, She related. Tamisha said that Carona would usually tell her family about the physical abuse she suffered at the hands of her partner. "He always beating her, always cussing, they always fighting, the sister disclosed, adding that she (Carona) did not express any concern recently. She said that she does not know who killed her sister but she wants justice. Carona, it was reported, sold snacks in Kingstown, particularly in front of Vee Jays Restaurant and Subway down town. Tanisha last saw her sister about two weeks ago when she visited her following a visit to the clinic. She described her sister as a hard worker. "My sister walk with a limp because she foot was damage, still she work hard. She dont deserve that, said the sister as she fought back tears. Tamisha said that she plans to take one of the twin babies while another sister will take responsibility for the other one. She also said that she will welcome support for the children. The police have now launched an investigation into what is the seventh homicide for 2024, committed during the seventh week of the year. At least 15 kilometers of coastline have been affected in Tobago as emergency workers scramble to clean up a massive oil spill after a mystery vessel ran aground near the Caribbean island, around 7:20am on Wednesday, 7th February. The official report stated a 300ft-long vessel Gulfstream was found overturned and leaking an oil-like substance. It is reported to have capsized some 200 metres off the coast of the Cove Eco Industrial Park, located in the islands south-western peninsula, and was dragged shoreward by currents. It carried an unidentified flag and made no emergency calls. When discovered, it had no sign of life on board and its cargo consisted of sand and wood. Authorities were poised to declare a national emergency, Farley Augustine, Chief Secretary of the Tobago House of Assembly, told reporters on Saturday, after Government officials had reported that the spill had damaged a reef and Atlantic beaches, boding ill for the islands resorts and hotels, the lifeline of the local economy during Carnival season. A massive clean-up exercise, involving various groups and agencies, is ongoing in an attempt to contain and eradicate the spill. Containment is as important as the eventual eradication since, according to a reliable/knowledgeable source, "the islands of the Southern Windwards need to be aware of and prepared for possible contamination of beaches and marine assets, especially on the windward side of the island. Chamber chides Coast Guard Meanwhile, Tobago Chamber of Industry and Commerce president Curtis Williams said the chambers members were disturbed by the extent of the spill. He lamented that, "Tobago was not in a position of readiness in terms of the Coast Guard, the national organisation being able to assist at a moments notice. He continued, "Weve seen that a private vessel had to come out there and lend assistance to TEMA (Tobago Emergency Management Agency) and other agencies, private divers. We not seeing the Coast Guard being able to respond in any timely manner and get certain things done. So, we were moved by that delay in response because this falls under national security in terms of the response of the services of the Coast Guard. Williams said chamber members were taken aback by this. "We further learnt that the Coast Guard was lacking resources in Tobago. No vessels, no vehicles. A national disaster. He echoed Tobago Hotel and Tourism Association Chief Secretary Farley Augustines view that the oil spill was a national disaster, saying Tobago needed the support of the national community to help rehabilitate the island. Tobago Hotel and Tourism Association president, Alpha Lorde, meanwhile, said the oil spill has far-reaching implications for both the environment and economy. "But largely, it will become an economic issue not just for the tourism stakeholders but anybody whose livelihood depends on the water, he said. "There are a lot of fisherfolk who, I think, will be affected and their economic loss also cannot go unnoticed. Lorde said many people were surprised by the magnitude of the spill. He is grateful, though, that none of the popular beaches, particularly in the western part of the island, have been affected or closed. "But again, we still have to look at the environmental impact largely and that is to be assessed. I think the important thing now is getting the clean up as quickly as possible and I think all of the agencies have to work together on that. Eyon Olando Browne was gunned down while reportedly on his way to work. The country was still into the challenge of coming to grips with the chilling news of an act of infanticide in Rose Hall on Saturday 10th February, when it was rocked with news of another shooting death. The Royal SVG Police Force confirmed in a news release on Monday 12th February, that its Major Crime Unit (MCU) was investigating a shooting incident that had killed Eyon Olando Browne aka "Dog, a 45-year-old mason of Old Montrose. The police release said that Browne was accosted and shot by an unknown assailant about 6:40 a.m. on Monday 12th February 2024, in the vicinity of Gregs Auto Rentals, Old Montrose. He lay some 200 feet from his home. Browne was reportedly on his way to work in Campden Park at the time of the tragic incident. His shooting death is the second to have occurred in the Old Montrose district dating back to December 31, 2023. Readers will recall that Kenroy Peters of Old Montrose was found dead in the Old Montrose public road, sometime after 11:40a.m on December 31st, 2023. His body showed signs of multiple bullet wounds. Peters death was the 55th homicide for the year, a record number. A party of police officers who were on patrol duties in the district were alerted and promptly responded to reports of Browne lying in the public road. The police transported Browne to the Milton Cato Memorial Hospital (MCMH) where he was pronounced dead by a medical practitioner. A postmortem examination was expected to be carried out on the body to ascertain the exact cause of death. The police have reached out to the citizens who might have information related to the incident, to come forward. Such information can assist with their investigations and they have assured that any and all information received would be treated with the strictest of confidentially. Brownes death lifted the homicide count for the year to six. You have reached a premium content area of Transitions. To read this entire article please login if you are already a Transitions subscriber. Not a subscriber? Subscribe today for access to: Full access to the website, including premium articles videos, country reports and searchable archives (containing over 25,000 articles). The Wyoming House of Representatives has pushed a handful of bills seeking to tackle rising property taxes in the state to a committee in hopes of providing tax relief as early as this year. State leaders in recent years have been searching for solutions to curb the rising rates. Statewide property taxes in 2023 went up an average of 20.3%. And thats on top of a 16% increase the previous year. The Legislature last year formed a property tax relief program and Gov. Mark Gordon during his State of the State speech on Monday said the program provided nearly 9,000 households with an average refund of more than $900. Gordon in his proposed budget is requesting $20 million for expanded property tax relief. The House Revenue Committee has been reviewing, amending and taking testimony on introduced property tax bills but no votes to advance the bills back to the house for approval have been taken. Committee Chairman Steve Harshman, R-Casper, said on Tuesday he would hold back on voting to look at all options to move the best product forward for our state and for our people. Among the bills discussed at the Tuesday committee meeting was House Bill 3, which would provide property tax exemptions for residential property owners over 65 years of age who have paid property taxes in Wyoming for at least 30 years. House Bill 4, also discussed on Tuesday, would expand eligibility for the existing property tax relief program. The current program caps eligibility for household incomes over 125% of the county or state median household income. House Bill 4 seeks to increase the cap to 175% of county or state median household income. The committee met again on Thursday to review House Bill 45, sponsored by Rep. Barry Crago, R-Buffalo, which would act as a 5% cap on yearly property tax increases for single family residential structures the bill does not affect land. The Wyoming constitution is allowed to provide tax exemptions but a cap on property taxes would require amending the constitution. (House Bill 45) is a tax cap structured as an exemption, Crago said at the Thursday meeting. Implementation of the bill could be seen as early as this year due to no major changes to the tax states software system. It can actually happen in 2024 because it does not require, as structured, anyone to apply for the exemption, Crago said. If we include land in this particular bill it would not be able to be implemented in 2024. The exemption would not be applicable if the structures value increases due to major changes such as new construction or additions and if ownership of the structure changed during the last calendar year. There was a unanimous agreement of all 23 counties that this was the best short term immediate relief we could give outside of the property tax relief program, Converse County Assessor Dixie Huxtable said. The Revenue Committee as of Thursday has nine bills on its docket with the newest addition, narrowly passed House Bill 203 sponsored by Harshman, creating a 2-cent sales tax to offset property tax exemptions for single family residential properties. The committee is set to meet again today. Over the last few years, Leon Coldero has arguably become just as renowned for his insatiable cuisine as he is as an entertainer. Having spent four decades in entertainment, giving soca parang lovers hits that never get old, opening his restaurant was just a natural progression for Coldero, who used the downtime during the Covid-19 pandemic, to delve full throttle into the restaurant business. A new camera system is being installed along this countrys roadways with the aim of tackling traffic congestion and reducing the countrys crime. This was said yesterday by Minister of Works and Transport Rohan Sinanan, who spoke with the media at the intersection of the Churchill-Roosevelt Highway and Golden Grove Road in Piarco. With ten people murdered between Thursday and Saturday, Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley took to Facebook yesterday to assure citizens that State agencies will not give up the fight to rid our streets and other places of the evil that is now widespread as a gun culture in Trinidad and Tobago. And in a voice note to the media, Commissioner of Police Erla Christopher said, We are determined to dismantle criminal gangs and make a difference in transforming impacted communities. The Making Black History Market returns to Tucson Hop Shop this weekend for its second year. The market runs from 1-6 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 17 at Tucson Hop Shop, 3230 N. Dodge Blvd. and features over two dozen local Black artists who create handmade goodies including clothing, baked goods, candles, jewelry and more. The theme for the market is youre invited to the cookout, said Sharly Scannell, the maker behind Clever Stitches, who is one of the co-founders of the market. We want to invite our community to something that is sacred to the Black community which is our get-togethers and reunions, Scannell said in an Instagram message. Its intimate, its fun, theres good food. Lots of laughs, lots of dancing and its also economically great for the small-business owners. We want the community to support us by giving monetary value, sharing posts and just showing up and dancing are ways the community can show their support and their solidarity for our efforts. The Making Black History Market was founded by Scannell and local artisans Cyn McManus, who owns Lilith and Daughters, and Hailey Dukart, who runs Lil' Desert Doodles. Scannell said she's excited that the market is returning for its second year. This market is definitely a passion project, Scannell said. It was a brainchild of mine that was implemented last year by my good friends and co-creators, Cyn and Hailey, who really helped me get this market off the ground. I feel very emotional about this market because its my way to give back to the beautiful Tucson community and create a platform showcasing Black businesses. The Making Black History Market focuses on sharing the Black experience, culture and resources, according to Scannell. Black Americans have been given lemons, but we historically have turned those lemons into lemonade and that product is unique, beautiful, sweet and authentic and is expressed through our art forms, she said. People can experience our culture from our food, our style and sound. Although the Making Black History Market currently happens annually, Scannell hopes the market will become a regular event throughout the year. I hope that were able to possibly have quarterly markets because we should not just recognize our history and celebrate our Black community once out of the month, she said. Because we are here making Black history every day! The Tucson Hop Shop is so generous by making it easy for us to make this market accessible for Black-owned businesses. For that, Im forever grateful and excited for our future markets together. If you go What: Making Black History Market. When: 1-6 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 17. Cost: Free to attend, but bring money for handmade goodies, food and drinks! For more information, visit the event's Instagram page. The McGuire Center for Entrepreneurship at the University of Arizona hosts the 8th annual McGuire Innovation Expo from 10 a.m.- 1 p.m. on Thursday. The event provides thirteen McGuire student teams to present their entrepreneurial projects. A former hotel near downtown Tucson is now home to dozens of residents. Presidio Palms Apartments, 475 N. Granada Ave., was previously the Hotel Tucson City Center and, originally, a Ramada Inn. Scottsdale developer Sterling Real Estate Partners got the zoning changed and remodeled the old hotel into 212 apartments with rents between $1,050 and $1,650 per month. The median rent across the Tucson area is $1,545 and upwards of $4,000 in the downtown area. The three-year project opened for leasing in the fall and more than 20 units are already occupied. If you want to live downtown, this is a great option, said David Zeff, president of Sterling and a graduate of the University of Arizona. The hotel was such a big part of the Tucson community, he said. So many people have memories of having been here to attend a wedding or a quinceanera. Zeffs goal in redeveloping the property was to create housing near downtown at an attainable price. In terms of contribution to the community, the empty hotel wasnt providing anything, he said. This is my first Tucson project, but I would consider another. The first phase of Presidio Palms, named for the presidio and the numerous palm trees on the property, has 100 studios and 112 one-bedroom units. Currently available studios are between 315 and 367 square feet and the one-bedrooms, created out of two adjoining hotel rooms, are between 680 and 740 square feet. All have full kitchens and stackable washers and dryers. Some of the units have balconies with views of downtown Tucson and A Mountain. The swimming pool is being renovated and an outdoor seating and grilling area will be added, as well as a game lawn and sand volleyball court. The former Downtown R bar is now a gym and there is a business center on site for tenants. More than 150 new units will be built on the outskirts of the property, on the southwest corner of Granada Avenue and St. Marys Road. The project received a 2022 Common Ground Award from the Metropolitan Pima Alliance for its engagement of the surrounding neighborhoods to address concerns about the proposed complex. The original Ramada Inn was built in the 1960s by prominent Tucson developer Donald Millstone. In 1992, Vice President Dan Quayle held a political rally at the hotel. A grand opening of the Presidio Palms was held Feb. 13 and tours are available. Visit presidiopalms.com for more information. Tucsonans sent a valentine to the giraffe calf born at Reid Park Zoo when they chose his name. Hes now Moyo in honor of two distinctive heart-shaped spots on his neck. Moyo is the Swahili word for heart, zoo officials said in a news release Thursday. The name was chosen by the community with 6,708 votes cast on the zoos website from a selection of options given by the zoos hoofstock team. Moyo, a reticulated giraffe, was one month old on Thursday, Feb. 15, and is the first giraffe born at Reid Park Zoo in almost 24 years. He is the first offspring born to mother Penelope and father Jasiri. In his first month, Moyo has grown about a foot and is currently measuring a little over 7 feet tall. He is mostly nursing, but has been interested in browse and pellets. He often copies Penny and attempts to browse and eat whatever she is currently eating, often mouthing at her chin, said animal care supervisor Julia Beres in the news release. Moyo and Penelope are sometimes visible to guests at the zoo for short periods throughout the day. He often gets the zoomies when out and is very interested in the peacocks that frequently spend time in the giraffe habitat. Reid Park Zoo supports the Giraffe Conservation Foundation and the Association of Zoos and Aquariums Giraffe SAFE (Saving Animals from Extinction) Program, providing fieldwork in Uganda to stabilize wild populations of the endangered reticulated giraffes. The following is the opinion and analysis of the writer: New years resolutions come and go. Whatever commitment you made to yourself, with the hope of self-improvement, the reality is that by this time of year, only about 5% of people are still holding to their resolutions. But when it comes to mental health, prioritizing it is imperative to overall emotional and physical well-being. Especially this time of year. At Solari Crisis and Human Services, we saw an uptick in calls to our 844-534-HOPE and 988 crisis lines last year in January from December to the tune of 22% and 10% respectively. We anticipate this trend to continue in 2024 and thats why were calling for proactive measures to support individuals in navigating their mental well-being. While seasonal depression is certainly a factor here, managing everyday stressors and lifes rigorous schedule and pressures weighs heavy when it comes to ones state of mind. And that is a year-round job for all of us. Our approach at Solari is built on the belief that creating a compassionate and supportive community is essential for mental well-being. With this in mind, we encourage everyone to consider setting attainable goals for better mental health, knowing that Solari is there if you ever need support. Here are a few goals for individuals to embrace this year: 1. Prioritize Self-Care: Establish daily routines that promote mindfulness, regular exercise, and sufficient sleep. 2. Cultivate Connections: Participate in social activities to build meaningful connections and alleviate feelings of loneliness or isolation. 3. Curate Online Well-being: Foster a positive digital space by unfollowing, or limiting usage of social accounts that contribute to negative self-perception and embracing content that uplifts and inspires. 4. Set Realistic Goals: Break down larger goals into manageable tasks to boost motivation and sense of accomplishment. 5. Seek Professional Support: When in need, seek help from mental health professionals through the national 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline or the Arizona statewide crisis line at 844-534-HOPE. Both offer free and confidential support and connections to resources. Our crisis lines at Solari, staffed 24/7 by professionally trained Crisis Specialists in Arizona, have proven to be invaluable resources. In 2023, we received an average of more than 43,000 calls per month, with an impressive average answer time of less than 10 seconds. Nearly 80% of the time, our crisis specialists were able to stabilize situations over the phone with a small percentage resulting in discreet mobile crisis teams being dispatched for face-to-face assistance. I want to emphasize that our crisis lines are not just for emergencies but are available 24/7/365 for anyone experiencing difficult times. Beyond crisis intervention, our services provide ongoing support and connections to numerous resources. As a nonprofit organization that provides a continuum of support and resources, we look to the community for support through key fundraising events like our annual Inspiring Hope Gala this month. The philanthropic support helps keep our vital programs available for those in crisis and we are thankful for those that can prioritize their time and monetary resources to help others. Lets make 2024 the year we dont just talk about mental wellness, but we prioritize it and celebrate the little wins we have each day. Set attainable goals and stick to them. But when and if the need arises, Solari is there to answer your call, or text, when you need that additional support. For additional mental health resources, please visit https://solari-inc.org. Curtis Killman Tulsa World Staff Writer Follow Curtis Killman 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 A Bartlesville woman embezzled nearly $300,000 from a now-closed domestic violence shelter to fund her gambling addiction and otherwise live beyond her means, the U.S. Attorneys Office in Tulsa alleges in a court filing. Deanna Rachel Long, 58, faces one count of bank fraud and one count of tax evasion in Tulsa federal court linked to when she worked at Family Crisis and Counseling Center in Bartlesville, according to court records filed Thursday in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma. The charge alleges that Long, while working as a bookkeeper for the center, prepared bank checks made out to herself from about 2014 to 2018, which had no legitimate business purpose. The purpose of the scheme was to enrich Long unlawfully so that she might pay for a lifestyle that cost more than her legitimate income could afford, as well as fund her gambling addiction, the U.S. Attorneys Office said in a court filing. Longs unauthorized acts caused the Family Crisis and Counseling Center to lose about $278,257, according to the charging document. The Oklahoma Attorney Generals Office served as a major funding source for the sexual assault and domestic violence shelter. The shelter, founded in 1982, also relied on state contracts, state grants and donations before its sudden closure in December 2018, according to Tulsa World archives. Long is also charged with not paying about $24,767 in federal income taxes for calendar year 2018, based on the funds she allegedly misappropriated to herself. Federal prosecutors are seeking a money judgment against Long equal to the amount allegedly embezzled. A state multi-county grand jury originally named Long in a multi-count indictment made public in May 2019. State prosecutors dropped charges against Long in July 2019 in order to clear the way for a federal prosecution, according to court records. Hired in about 2012, Long dealt with many aspects of the Family Crisis and Counseling Centers accounting and finance functions, including handling the financial books and records, paying bills and preparing checks for legitimate business purposes, according to the charge. Longs first court appearance is scheduled for Friday. The new Tulsa World app offers personalized features. Download it today. Kevin Canfield Tulsa World Staff Writer Follow Kevin Canfield 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 The woman charged with reorganizing and then leading the citys new economic development apparatus is leaving City Hall to pursue other opportunities. Kian Kamas, executive director of the Tulsa Authority for Economic Opportunity, commonly known as PartnerTulsa, made the announcement Friday. This is an opportunity for me to really be deliberative in thinking about what the next stage of my career looks like, Kamas said. I am incredibly proud of the work that I have had the opportunity to do to build PartnerTulsas organization to really reshape how the city does its economic development work. I am really, really proud of the team that I have built. And I want to work with them to manage through this transition. But ultimately, I am excited to see whats next for me. No date has been set for Kamas departure. Kamas, 38, went to work at City Hall in 2017 as Mayor G.T. Bynums deputy chief of economic development. She was named chief of economic development when former Mayor Kathy Taylor stepped down from that position in 2018. When Bynum announced in 2021 that the city was consolidating its numerous economic development authorities, boards and commissions into one entity focused on advancing policies and projects that ensure shared prosperity and reduce racial disparities, Kamas led the long and complicated effort. During her time leading Tulsas economic development efforts, I think Kian Kamas has been the best economic development leader in any city in America, Bynum said in a press release. When she joined our team at the City of Tulsa, we had a skeletal economic development staff and a streak of missed opportunities. Since then, Tulsa has enjoyed one of the strongest economic development runs in its history securing the single largest economic development investment (American Airlines) and recruiting the two largest new employers (Greenheck and Amazon) in city history. Today, thanks to Kians tireless efforts, we are a globally competitive city when it comes to economic development. Other major economic development successes under Kamas leadership include securing $700 million in announced investments at Tulsa International Airport; creating a community-led effort to redevelop 56 acres of the historic Greenwood District through the Kirkpatrick Heights-Greenwood Master Plan; and attracting national retailers such as Costco and Scheels. Kamas was also instrumental in capturing $39 million in federal funding and $50 million in state funding for wastewater infrastructure improvements and development of nearly 10,000 acres in east Tulsa. Kian Kamas has provided extraordinary leadership for the city of Tulsa and did an amazing job getting PartnerTulsa up and running, said Mike Neal, president and CEO of the Tulsa Regional Chamber. We have appreciated her collaboration in working with Tulsas Future, the Chamber-led regional economic development partnership, on many projects. The Tulsa Regional Chamber knows she will excel in any new role she decides to pursue. Before joining the city, Kamas worked six years in various roles at the Tulsa Regional Chamber. She obtained her undergraduate degree in political science from the University of Oklahoma, where she also graduated from the schools Economic Development Institute. She went on to earn a master of science degree in comparative public policy from the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. The new Tulsa World app offers personalized features. Download it today. Tim Stanley Tulsa World Staff Writer Follow Tim Stanley 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 Coming off a successful fundraising campaign in 2023, Tulsa Area United Way officials thanked their supporters Thursday for helping the organization surpass $28 million in total community impact for the year. Alison Anthony, Tulsa Area United Way president and CEO, revealed the figure Thursday during the annual Live United Awards and Luncheon at the Cox Business Convention Center. The total impact figure of $28,665,024 included $25,800,721 from the organizations annual fund drive. Almost $3 million of value was added to that by gifts outside of fundraising, in-kind gifts and volunteer hours. We focus on the success of our annual fundraising drive, and it continues to be one of the best in the country, Anthony said. But its also important to know that your United Way imports other dollars into this community beyond the annual fundraising drive. Volunteering with over 59,000 hours donated from more than 8,000 United Way volunteers, including almost 6,000 participating in Days of Caring added a value of almost $2 million. Additionally, through partnerships, leveraging national grant opportunities and 211 eastern Oklahoma contracts, we garnered more than $850,000 in gifts outside the fall fundraising drive and more than $117,000 in in-kind gifts, Anthony said. Karl Neumaier, who co-chaired the 2023 annual fundraiser with Kathy Taylor, said: One of the goals for United Way has been diversifying revenue, and Im pleased to see the progress weve made. Anthony also praised those who supported the annual fundraiser. Of cities that raise money for the United Way, Tulsa is 76th in size but 12th in the amount raised, she said. You are all so generous, and we are hitting above our weight on the fundraising front, Anthony said. The new Tulsa World app offers personalized features. Download it today. Haval Vietnam has affirmed the import of the GWM Haval Tank 300 into Vietnam this year without disclosing specific details regarding its arrival time and price. In an interview on February 10, Nguyen Van Dung, general director of Haval Vietnam, confirmed plans to introduce two new models in Vietnam this year, namely Haval Tank 300 and Jolion. While Jolion had been revealed by sales advisors before, this marks the first mention of the Tank 300 for the Vietnamese market. Unlike the H6 and Jolion models under the Haval brand, the GWM Tank 300 belongs to the parent company Great Wall Motor (GWM). However, specific details such as the official launch date or selling price have not been disclosed. GWM Tank 300 is set to be launched in the Vietnamese market this year. Photo: Autoinfo In Thailand, the GWM Tank 300 comes in two versions, Pro and Ultra, priced at 1.649 million baht and 1.799 million baht, equivalent to US$45,734 and $49,892, respectively. The Tank 300 stands out with its boxy C-class SUV/CUV design similar to the Ford Bronco or Suzuki Jimny, offering a length of 4,760 mm, width of 1,930 mm, and height of 1,903 mm, with a wheelbase of 2,750 mm. GWM Tank 300 boasts a ground clearance of 225 mm and a wading depth of 700 mm, complemented by 17-inch wheels. Photo: Autoinfo Designed for off-road capabilities, it boasts a ground clearance of 225 mm and a wading depth of 700 mm, complemented by 17-inch wheels. The engine is a hybrid type. Photo: Autoinfo Its hybrid engine combines a 2.0L turbocharged petrol engine generating 244 horsepower and 380 Nm of torque with an electric motor producing 106 horsepower and 268 Nm of torque. This is coupled with a nine-speed automatic transmission and AWD four-wheel drive. GWM Tank 300 is set to be launched in the Vietnamese market this year. Photo: Autoinfo The Tank 300 offers modern off-road features like steering assistance, automatic throttle control, and an electronic differential lock, along with four terrain modes -- snow, mud, sand, and 4Low, and three operating modes -- economy, normal, and sport. The interior compartment is reminiscent of the Mercedes-AMG G 63. Photo: Autoinfo Inside, its cabin resembles the Mercedes-AMG G 63, featuring a center screen and a steering wheel-mounted rear screen, both 12.3 inches in size, and a three-spoke steering wheel or a turbine-style air vent. The highest-end version in Thailand boasts an eight-speaker Infinity sound system with a subwoofer. The car only has five seats. Photo: Autoinfo The Tank 300 boasts additional amenities such as paddle shifters, electronic parking brakes, interior ambient lighting, a sunroof, wireless charging, air and fine dust filtration, and an electrically adjustable drivers seat with memory, cooling, and massage functions. The car only has five seats. The steering wheel-mounted rear screen. Photo: Autoinfo Safety features encompass six airbags, a panoramic camera, smart parking assist, automatic reverse assist, smart cruise control, smart curve assist, emergency brakes, collision and lane departure warnings, lane-keeping assist, tire pressure monitoring, and traffic sign recognition. * All photos in the article depict the GWM Tank 300 in Thailand. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! ATHENS -- Greece's parliament approved a bill allowing same-sex civil marriage on Thursday, a landmark victory for supporters of LGBT rights that was greeted with cheers by onlookers in parliament and dozens gathered on the streets of Athens. The law gives same-sex couples the right to wed and adopt children and comes after decades of campaigning by the LGBT community for marriage equality in the socially conservative country. Greece is one of the first Orthodox Christian countries to allow such unions. "This is a historic moment," Stella Belia, the head of same-sex parents group Rainbow Families, told Reuters. "This is a day of joy." The bill was approved by 176 lawmakers in the 300-seat parliament and will become law when its published in the official government gazette. Although members of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis' centre-right New Democracy party abstained or voted against the bill, it gained enough support from the leftist opposition in a rare show of cross-party unity despite a tense debate. "Its a very important step for human rights, a very important step for equality, and a very important step for Greek society," said 40-year-old Nikos Nikolaidis, a historian who joined a rally in favour of the bill ahead of the vote. Recent opinion polls show Greeks are split on the issue. The powerful Orthodox Church, which believes homosexuality is a sin, has strongly opposed same-sex marriage, while many in the LGBT community believe the bill does not go far enough. It does not overturn obstacles for LGBT couples in using assisted reproduction methods. Surrogate pregnancies will also not be extended to LGBT individuals, though the bill recognises children already born through that method abroad. Elliniki Lysi, one of the three far-right parties represented in parliament, called the bill "anti-Christian" and said it hurts national interests. Former Prime Minister Antonis Samaras, a New Democracy lawmaker, said: "Of course I will vote against it. The marriage of same-sex couples... is not a human right." Members of the LGBTQ+ community and supporters celebrate in front of the Greek parliament, after the vote in favour of a bill which approved allowing same-sex civil marriages, in Athens, Greece, February 15, 2024. Photo: Reuters Proud to be Greek LGBT groups rallied outside parliament. A banner read: "Not a step back from real equality." "I'm very proud as a Greek citizen because Greece is actually - now - one of the most progressive countries," said Ermina Papadima, a member of the Greek Transgender Support Association. "I think the mindset is going to change... We have to wait, but I think the laws are going to help with that." Campaigners have been pushing for change for decades, often against the tide of the Church and right wing politicians. In 2008, a lesbian and a gay couple defied the law and married on the tiny island of Tilos, but their weddings were later annulled by a top court. But there have been some steps in recent years. In 2015, Greece allowed civil partnership among same-sex couples, and in 2017 it gave legal recognition to gender identity. Two years ago it banned conversion therapy for minors aimed at suppressing a person's sexual orientation. Members of the LGBTQ+ community and supporters watch the end of debate in front of the Greek parliament, ahead of the vote on the bill which legalises same-sex civil marriage, in Athens, Greece, February 15, 2024. Photo: Reuters Members of the LGBTQ+ community and supporters celebrate in front of the Greek parliament, after the vote in favour of a bill which approved allowing same-sex civil marriages, in Athens, Greece, February 15, 2024. Photo: Reuters LGBTQ+ activists and supporters gather in front of the Greek parliament, ahead of the vote on the bill which legalises same-sex civil marriage, in Athens, Greece, February 15, 2024. Photo: Reuters Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis speaks at the Greek parliament, ahead of a vote on a bill which would legalise same-sex civil marriage, in Athens, Greece, February 15, 2024. Photo: Reuters Supporters of the bill which legalises same-sex civil marriage gather in front of the Greek parliament, ahead of the vote, in Athens, Greece, February 15, 2024. Photo: Reuters LGBTQ+ activists and supporters gather in front of the Greek parliament, ahead of the vote on the bill which legalises same-sex civil marriage, in Athens, Greece, February 15, 2024. Photo: Reuters A snake farm in Vietnams Mekong Delta region was crowded over the week-long Tet (Lunar New Year) break, which ended on Wednesday, welcoming up to 5,000 guests including foreigners every day, the management reported. Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper reporters observed a continuous influx of visitors at Dong Tam Snake Farm in Chau Thanh District, Tien Giang Province on Thursday. Covering an area of 12 hectares, the farm is the biggest snake-raising facility in the Mekong Delta region and one of the largest of its kind in Vietnam. Excited among the guests was 33-year-old Nguyen Thi Quyen, who, along with her husband, brought their two children from My Tho City in the province to visit the farm as part of their Tet celebrations. "As our family has explored various typical tourist destinations, we decided to bring our children to the farm today to provide them with an opportunity to learn more about snakes, specifically, and other animals being raised here in general. It's like an ecotourism experience," Quyen explained. Dam Huy Hoang, the farm's director, said that children made up 30 percent of the total number of visitors, both domestic and international, which is estimated at 4,000-5,000 arrivals per day during the Tet break. Currently, more than 1,000 snakes of some 40 species are raised and preserved at the farm, the director said, adding nearly 700 among the animals are cobras. Contrary to its common name, Hoang emphasized that the farm is not solely dedicated to snakes; it also houses various other rare and precious animals, including tigers, bears, crocodiles, pythons, and kangaroos. In addition to a zoo for snakes and other animals, the farm has a snake museum and an ecotourism park to serve local and foreign visitors. Notably, the farm operates a snakebite treatment facility, which is the largest of this kind in the Mekong Delta region, the director told Tuoi Tre. The official name of the farm is Center for Cultivation, Research, and Processing of Medicinal Materials, under the Logistics Department of the Military Region 9, Hoang said. A foreign visitor photographs snakes at a tree bush at Dong Tam Snake Farm in Tien Giang Province, located in Vietnams Mekong Delta region, during the 2024 Tet (Lunar New Year) holiday. This image shows visitors watching crocodiles at Dong Tam Snake Farm in Tien Giang Province, situated in Vietnams Mekong Delta region, during the 2024 Tet (Lunar New Year) holiday. Visitors enjoy posing for a photo with a python at Dong Tam Snake Farm in Tien Giang Province, situated in Vietnams Mekong Delta region, during the 2024 Tet (Lunar New Year) holiday. A bear-raising area at Dong Tam Snake Farm in Tien Giang Province, located in Vietnams Mekong Delta region, which attracted numerous visitors during the 2024 Tet (Lunar New Year) holiday. Visitors watch a sika deer at Dong Tam Snake Farm in Tien Giang Province, situated in Vietnams Mekong Delta region, during the 2024 Tet (Lunar New Year) holiday. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! A Vietnamese tour operator has defied local tourism authorities decision to fine them VND30 million (US$1,224) regarding a case in which nearly 300 Taiwanese tourists were left stranded on Phu Quoc Island off Kien Giang Province, located in southern Vietnam. Ha Tuan Minh, chairman and director of Winner International Travel Co. Ltd. in Phu Quoc, said that the firm plans to lodge a written complaint against this decision. Minh expressed complete dissatisfaction, stating that the incident had tarnished the companys reputation and the image of Phu Quoc tourism. He affirmed that Winner International Travel signed a contract with We Love Tour, a travel company in Taipei, Taiwan, to provide a tour to the Vietnamese island for the latters customers between Saturday last week and Wednesday this week. As the Taiwanese partner failed to make payments before January 31 as committed, Winner International Travel sent a notice to unilaterally terminate the contract. However, a group of nearly 300 Taiwanese tourists still arrived at Phu Quoc on Friday last week and found themselves stranded there. Minh clarified that his company still served this Taiwanese tourist group in a humanitarian assistance capacity, emphasizing that they were unrelated to the customers his firm had previously quoted prices to We Love Tour for. However, the Kien Giang Department of Tourism singled out Winner International Travel for violations in the travel service business. According to a Thursday night report by Bui Quoc Thai, director of the department, Winner International Travel unilaterally terminated the contract but retained the previous deposit of NT$700,000 (US$22,311) received on January 18. Upon the unexpected arrival of the nearly 300 Taiwanese tourists, Winner International Travel still provided services, including transportation and hotel bookings, and requested an additional payment of $720 per person. While 90 people agreed to the payment, the rest did not, although We Love Tour assured that they would refund the mentioned fee to the customers. The Kien Giang Department of Tourism cited Winner International Travel for providing services while not having a travel contract with a certain business, tourists, or tourist representatives. Minh from Winner International Travel argued, The Kien Giang Department of Tourism is imposing administrative sanctions for our humanitarian assistance to tourists, which was recognized by relevant units from Taiwan. The departments evaluation of the situation is incorrect. The Taiwanese tourist group in question returned to Taiwan on Wednesday, according to Central News Agency (CNA). On Thursday, Wang Kwo-tsai, head of the Ministry of Transportation and Communications, told reporters in Taipei that We Love Tour may be subjected to a business suspension of up to three months due to negligence, citing regulations related to tourism and consumer protection, CNA reported. ZIONTOUR, a Vietnamese travel agency that has worked with We Love Tour for 11 years, told CNA on Wednesday the Taiwanese travel agency repeatedly delayed payments to Vietnamese partners and owes money to at least four local operators. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! The Indian expert team participating in the restoration project of the ancient Dong Duong Buddhist Monastery in Quang Nam Province, central Vietnam has submitted proposals to the provincial Department of Culture, Sports, and Tourism for review and consideration. Nguyen Thanh Hong, director of the department, announced on Thursday that the agency is currently reviewing the suggestions made by the expert team. These proposals mark the initial steps in the restoration process of the Dong Duong Buddhist Monastery, which holds the status of a special national relic and is situated in Thang Binh District within the province. The Indian Embassy in Vietnam had previously urged provincial authorities to respond to the proposals put forth by the expert team involved in the recently launched project. This initiative was established in accordance with an agreement outlined in a joint statement issued by the prime ministers of India and Vietnam in December 2020. The team, affiliated with the Archaeological Survey of India under the Indian Ministry of Culture, arrived in the province in late 2023 to conduct a survey for the restoration of the Dong Duong Buddhist Monastery. The monastery, constructed nearly 1,150 years ago, endured significant damage during wartime periods in Vietnam. Indian Deputy Ambassador to Vietnam Subhash P Gupta stated that based on the survey results, the Buddhist monastery can be effectively restored and preserved through a meticulous plan. The Indian experts have recommended clearing the project area to precisely identify the boundaries of the site and determine which components need restoration and the appropriate methods to achieve it. This file photo shows the Dong Duong Buddhist Monastery during an excavation carried out by French archeologists in 1902. Photo: French School of the Far East The team also requested the Vietnamese authorities to provide records related to previous archeological excavations, serving as reference materials for the experts to create a detailed plan for the implementation of the project. It is essential to generate 3D and 4D models of the ancient structures using pertinent data and materials stored in France and other locations worldwide, Hong said. The director underscored the need for an archeological plan before formulating a comprehensive restoration and preservation plan. This approach will enable the restoration of each individual item based on the budgetary constraints. Given the large-scale nature of this project, which demands substantial investment beyond the capacity of the state budget, Hong highlighted the necessity for foreign investment in the restoration. International cooperation should be sought to meet the financial requirements for the project, he said. Constructed in 875 under the directive of King Indravarman II of the Champa Kingdom, the Dong Duong Buddhist Monastery was once the largest of its kind in Southeast Asia. In 2019, this religious facility earned recognition as a special national relic. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! The Australian International Documentary Conference, to be held March 3-6 in Melbourne, this week its nominees for the 2024 AIDC Awards. It also announced Karina Holden (pictured), Head of Factual at Northern Pictures as winner of the inaugural AIDC Southern Light Award for outstanding contribution to nonfiction screen, digital and / or audio media. Natasha Gadd, AIDC CEO / Creative Director, said, With a record number of entries to the 2024 AIDC Awards, our jurors found it particularly challenging to select this years nominees from such a bumper crop of projects. Congratulations to all nominees across each of the six categories and enormous gratitude to the Awards jurors for helping to select this incredible line-up. On behalf of the AIDC Board, we are extremely proud to present the inaugural AIDC Southern Light Award to Katrina Holden. Katrina is an absolute factual force who has been at the forefront of change; always championing new voices, testing new ground and shaping a more inclusive documentary sector. And of course, thank you to our AIDC Awards sponsors Film Finances, AFTRS and Deakin Motion Lab for their generous cash prizes. The 2024 AIDC Awards Presentation will be held at ACMI in Melbourne / Naarm on Wednesday 6 March 2024. Best Feature Documentary The Dark Emu Story 2023 | Blackfella Films Darren Dale, Belinda Mravicic, Jacob Hickey, Allan Clarke The Giants 2023 | General Strike & Matchbox Pictures Rachael Antony, Laurence Billiet This is Going to be Big 2023 | Truce Films & Fremantle Media Jim Wright, Josie Mason-Campbell, Catherine Bradbury, Thomas Hyland The Last Daughter 2022 | Gravity Films Brendon Skinner, Simon Williams, Brenda Matthews, Nathaniel Schmidt Best Documentary / Factual Series Folau 2023 | In Films Vanilla Tupu, Nel Minchin, Ivan OMahoney Never Let Him Go 2023 | Blackfella Films & Show of Force Darren Dale, Jacob Hickey, Jeff Dupre, Saralena Weinfield Queerstralia 2023 | Guesswork Television Jon Casimir, Kevin Whyte, Plum Stubbings, Zoe Coombs Marr, Stamatia Maroupas Who The Bloody Hell Are We? 2023 | Chemical Media Tony Jackson, David Collins, Nick McInerney Best Documentary / Factual Single Keeping Hope 2022 | Joined Up Films Jacqueline Willinge, Tyson Mowarin, Dan Brown, Mark Coles Smith Rebel wIth a Cause: Neville Bonner 2023 | Inkey Media Douglas Watkin, Citt Williams Rebel wIth a Cause: Oodgeroo Noonuccal 2023 | Inkey Media Sio F Tusa, Citt Williams The Platypus Guardian 2023 | WildBear & Tetrapod Fraser Johnston, Nick Hayward, Chadden Hunter Best Short-Form Documentary Compass Lottery of Life 2023 | ABC TV Compass Amanda Collinge, Kylie Grey Marungka tjalatjunu (Dipped in black) 2023 | Other Pictures & Switch Productions Matthew Thorne, Derik Lynch Patricia in the Dark 2023 | One Dark Horse Race Laura Hartley Tee Ken Ng 2023 | Kirri Media Shari Hutchison, Ella Wright 2024 AIDC Southern Light Award The winner of the inaugural AIDC Southern Light Award for outstanding contribution to nonfiction screen, digital and/or audio media, is producer Karina Holden, Head of Factual at Northern Pictures. Karina has been a trailblazer in the field of factual television for over two decades. She has overseen more than 20 factual series, including See What You Made Me Do (SBS), called one of the most important documentaries youll ever watch; Employable Me (ABC), which gave people with disabilities their first opportunity to participate in the workforce; and the globally successful Love on the Spectrum (ABC, Netflix), winner of four Emmy Awards. Along with series co-creator Cian OClery, Karina has been recognised by the Producers Guild of America for advancing the portrayal and employment of disabilities in media. In 2021, Karina was named the UNESCO Sydney City of Film, Filmmaker of the Year, and in 2023 her broad slate of programs was awarded the prestigious Human Rights Award for Media and Creative Industries. The crux of her work is to create change, truth-tell, and find unlikely heroes who challenge our perceptions. Karina Holden, said, It is a thrill to be recognised by AIDC with the inaugural Southern Light Award. I consider the most important work we do as documentary filmmakers is to shine a light into places where we reveal new truths and illuminate unheard stories. And so this award feels like a beacon. It reminds me that empathy, understanding, and ultimately, change,often begin with a single story seen, a single voice amplified. Thank you, AIDC, for recognising the power of that light in my work, and for encouraging us all to keep shining ever brighter. The AIDC Southern Light Award was established in 2024 to celebrate the luminaries of the Australian documentary and factual industry. It expands the scope of the preceding Stanley Hawes Award, presented from 1997-2023, to now include nonfiction screen, digital and/or audio media contributions. The winner receives a $5,000 cash prize from AIDC and is invited to speak at the AIDC Awards Presentation. Spoiler alert: This interview discusses Thursdays Season 2 premiere of So Help Me Todd. Havent watched yet? So help us Todd, we warned you. Theres a moment in the second season premiere of So Help Me Todd that star Skylar Astin has been anticipating ever since CBS comedic procedural premiered last year. And hes always known exactly how he wanted his character to react. More from TVLine The long-awaited moment goes down when Todd discovers that Harry (Mark Moses) has returned from Iceland. In the middle of an otherwise delightful family dinner, Todd smashes a bottle on the table and threatens to shank his mothers estranged second husband, with only his terrified family members preventing him from doing the unthinkable. I always knew that Harry was going to come back to some capacity, so I told [series creator] Scott Pendergast, When he comes back, Todd is looking for murder, and its not funny.' Astin tells TVLine. Theres nothing funny about this. Youre seeing the cub protect his mama. This person hurt her, and he will have to be held back. Fortunately, Todd wont need to seek legal counsel of his own, because Scott wrote the scene in a clever way where were able to kind of forget that Todd almost did that, Astin explains. Thankfully he had his family to save him from a dangerous situation. I dont know how I would have reacted, personally. Todds intense reaction adds some wild stakes to an already action-packed scene, he says. That scene is seven pages and seven minutes long. Its a full act of television. We go commercial-to-commercial, and its like a one-act play. Our director, Nancy Howard, had so much fun putting all the little pieces together. Story continues Other than almost murdering someone, Todd is pretty much on top of the world this season. For starters, hes got some sweet new digs (spoiler alert: Astin tells TVLine that a future episode reveals the apartment to be a former shoe factory), where his newly divorced sister is now crashing on his $17 couch. He even seems genuinely cool about Susan going through with her wedding to Peter, extending his best wishes with the gift of a gravy boat. Could he stop there? Sure. Should he? Absolutely. But does he? Oh, no. Todd decides to push this inherently uncomfortable exchange into full-on awkward territory by placing a delicate kiss on Susans forehead before shuffling out of the room. Despite Todds curious behavior, however, Astin doesnt believe his character is still hung up on Susan. Something I always wanted to make sure of was that Todd wasnt some sort of homewrecker, Astin says. Theres really nothing wrong with Peter, other than him being a great guy and devilishly good looking. Todd has respect for people in relationships. For right now, at least, that door is closed. Escaping romantic purgatory with Todd could actually be the best thing that ever happened to Susan, as it allows [Inga Schlingmanns] character to go in a bunch of different directions, not just how she relates to Todd. She has her own career aspirations, and its been really fun watching her pursue those. And when Todd and Susan are in scenes together, theyre able to actually just be friends. Astin is also excited about Todds new working dynamic with Margaret (Marcia Gay Harden), now that hes double dipping as a licensed detective at the firm. Theres a new level of respect between them, he says, though he assures us that everything fans have previously loved about the duo will remain unchanged. Theyll always bicker, and theyll always feel that their way of going about things is the correct way. Theyll always have that natural banter that you do with your family. Your thoughts on the return of So Help Me Todd? Grade the season premiere in our poll below, then drop a comment with your full review. Best of TVLine Welcome Guest! You are here: Home Views & Analysis Decolonisation for Hindu Nationalists: Towards an Authoritarian State The Hindu nationalists are not only invisiblizing the religion and cultural heritage of minorities in social space, they are also homogenizing Hindu culture by imposing cultural practices of Hindu upper caste elite on the entire community. Read More Friday February 16, 2024 8:19 PM , Irfan Engineer Hindu nationalists pin their partisan acts favouring the majority community on the decolonisation of ideas and culture hook. Decolonisation is often used interchangeably with de-Westernisation. Enactment of the three laws pertaining to criminal justice system in 2023 Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniya, and Bhartiya Nagarik Surakhsha Sanhita with more than 85% of the contents from the earlier legislations were also brought in with the plea of decolonisation. The 15% that is different from the colonial legislation, strengthens the hands of police by giving them longer custody of the accused with lesser accountability and stricter bail provisions. Construction of the Ram Janmabhoomi Temple , the Kashi Vishwanath Temple corridor and the construction of the Mahakali Temple in Ujjain were justified as the decolonisation process. Rakesh Sinha (the Rajya Sabha Member of the BJP) in his article Temple Bells in Abu Dhabi (The Indian Express, 15/2/2024) (Sinha, 2024) also lauds the inauguration of the Hindu temple, constructed by the Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS) at the hands of the Prime Minister Modi on the same grounds decolonisation and de-Westernisation. He states: Modi is the first statesman from a post-colonial society who has shown conviction to move towards the decolonisation and de-Westernisation of ideas and culture. While Samuel Huntington and Bernard Lewis came up with the idea of clash of civilisation between the West and Islam, Sinha seems to suggest that the clash is also between the West and Hindu civilisation, at least within the boundaries of India (or Bharat if you may). The Hindu nationalists were never clear as to what the contours of clash between Western and Hindu civilisation are and which values or culture of the Western civilisation are unworthy and must be negated. Sinha gives credit of being a statesman to Prime Minister Modi for Bharats ability to achieve the goal of the unity of opposites in a world that is rife with hostilities based on religion and culture. One fails to understand the Prime Ministers role in the whole mission. BAPS constructed the Temple, on 27 acre land granted by the Emir of the UAE. Modi only inaugurated the Temple and yet the credit, nay, statesmanship, according to Sinha, belongs to Modi. Sinha states in his article that the Hindu Temple in Abu Dhabi has the potential to redefine multiculturalism. Indeed he is right. However, multiculturalism looks good in foreign lands where Hindu residents are numerically inferior and therefore must have freedom to follow their culture and religion. However, within the country where Hindus are in majority, their plea is that the majority communitys religion, cultural practices and heritage must prevail and dot the social space. The BJP governed states are renaming the cities, streets, railway stations, etc that have Muslim sounding names to invisiblize their cultural heritage. Babri Masjid was demolished by the Hindu nationalist mobs and the act of demolition was held as illegal by the Supreme Court. State bulldozers are demolishing heritage Muslim religious structures that are centuries old, among them the Akhunji mosque, at least 800 years old, in Mehrauli, Delhi. New Delhi Municipal Corporation attempted to demolish a 150-year-old Sunheri Bagh Masjid on the pretext that it is causing traffic jam, even though it is within the roundabout. The BJP CM of UP Yogi Adityanath asked the Muslim community to surrender the Gyanvapi Mosque in Varanasi and Idgah Mosque in Mathura to the Hindus. The UP state made the arrangement for the worship of Hindu deity inside the tahkhana of the Gyanvapi mosque within hours of court orders even though it gave a weeks time. This was to ensure pre-emption of any challenge to the order. Many other Muslim religious places are being claimed by the Hindu nationalists. Recently, the Uttarakhand Assembly passed the Uniform Civil Code nullifying Muslim family law and practically imposing Hindu family laws on the people of the state, including the minorities. Hindu nationalist slogan has been one country, one culture, one law. Homogenisation and imposition of the culture of elite section of the majority community in India and advocacy of multiculturalism abroad to ensure that the elite section of Hindu community can practice and propagate their religion and culture seems to be the norm Sinha is prescribing. The Hindu community has a rich cultural diversity. The People of India Project enlisted 4,635 communities on the basis of language, cultural and religious practices. Scholars of Hinduism have put the number of gods and goddesses in Hinduism anywhere between 33 and 330 million. Which means that many religious practices, traditions, customs, religiosity and ways of life. There are many texts and epics to follow. This diversity is the strength of Hinduism. However, the Hindu nationalists find challenges in their mission to unite the community in the war against the Muslim and Christian community. Caste practices and internal oppression of Dalits and marginalisation of women poses its own challenges in uniting the community in its, what they think is 1500-year-old war with the Muslim community and Christians. The first step in this war is uniting the community by undermining the religious and cultural diversity within the Hindu community and constructing unified sacred symbols, texts, and rallying behind a leader or authority. The Hindu nationalists are not only invisiblizing the religion and cultural heritage of minorities in social space, they are also homogenizing Hindu culture by imposing cultural practices of Hindu upper caste elite on the entire community. Cow is being projected such a unifying symbol and seems to be working at least for a large section in Northern and Western India. Vegetarianism is being made a cultural marker of Hindu nationalism. Ram is being projected as a presiding deity of all Hindus with a refashioned and re-emphasised image as a warrior rather than his central attribute of Maryada Purushottam, who is conscious of his duties and responsibilities and who upholds dharma. Even while Sinha extols multiculturalism in Abu Dhabi, the Hindu nationalists project in India is to semitize Hindu religion with imposition of sacred symbols, cultural practices and way of life. They display extreme intolerance using violence and state power against anyone who expresses different beliefs. This also needs construction of a huge mesmerizing temples. Rather than decolonising, the Hindu nationalists are emulating the western concept of nation with homogenous religion and culture and inventing the outsiders. The colonisation referred to by the Hindu nationalists did not begin with the British imperialism. Prime Minister Modi in one of his speeches claimed that India had been colonised for 1,200 years. According to Mohan Bhagwat, the RSS Sarsanghchalak (RSS Chief), India had been colonised for 1,500 years (Times News Network, 2024). We are not sure which event they both were referring to as beginning of colonisation. Delhi Sultanate was established in early 13th Century, if that is the reference point for colonisation. Or, it is not clear if they include the period when the Arab Muslim commander under Umayyad Caliphate Muhammad ibn al-Qasim invaded Sindh in 711 A.D. and established his rule in that province. All Muslim rulers who established their empire, lived within the region, married local women, and their mortal remains are buried in this soil. There can be a debate about whether this can still be called as colonisation of Bharat whatever its boundaries then were. To a Hindu nationalist ideologue, their history is history of the continuous resistance to the slavery or colonisation of the Hindus. The principle of secularism that was adopted as a state policy after independence from the colonial rule stood between achievement of their objective of establishing a Hindu raj (state). Since the year 2014, when Prime Minister Modis party was elected with absolute majority, it is their time to restore the pristine pre-colonial Hindu culture, demolish the heritage and structures of the period built by Muslim rulers and remove foreign cultural influences with violence wherever necessary, and establishing a mighty authoritarian state to ensure predominance of Hindu culture and religion in social space. The pre-2014 history, according to the Hindu nationalists, was history of ongoing war between the two communities. The Hindu nationalists have no explanation to offer as to why Muslim rulers army had large number of Muslim soldiers and was in many cases, even commanded by Hindus, and vice versa Hindu kings army had large number of Muslim soldiers and posts in their army. Hindu religion, literature, art and culture prospered under the Muslim rule. However, to the credit of Bhagwat, one must say that, his speech on the occasion of Pran Pratishtha of Ram Janmabhoomi Temple, he called for end of all disputes (Pathak, 2024). Rather than emulating the West in its essence with notions of homogenous culture and superiority over other religions, decolonisation should mean having an inclusive approach, freedom of thoughts and expression, freedom to follow any religion or belief, upholding the dignity of all human beings and treating everyone with equality. India, and Hinduism in particular always believed in the doctrine of ekam Sat; vipra bahuda vadanti there is one truth, wise people have described it differently. Mahatma Gandhi accepted that there is truth in every religion. Maulana Abul Kalam Azad propounded that it is an inalienable part of Muslim faith to affirm all religions, prophets and texts that came before Islam to be true. These values are included in the preamble of our Constitution. Our Constitution is the document that emerged out of struggle against colonialism. The sooner we accept that as a unifying factor, the better. Hope this dawns upon the Hindu nationalist. Select Language To Read in Urdu, Hindi, Marathi or Arabic. Welcome Guest! You are here: Home Middle East Listen: Encircled by Israeli tanks, injured Hind Rajab (6) recites Holy Quran Hind and her five family members were traveling in a car through Gaza Citys southwest on January 29, 2024 when they encountered direct and continuous gunfire from the Israeli army at around 05 pm. Read More Saturday February 17, 2024 1:25 AM , ummid.com News Network Gaza City: In a touching and heart wrenching phone-call recoding released by the Red Crescent Thursday, 6-year-old Hind Rajab - injured and trapped in a car encircled by the Israeli tanks in Gaza City, is heard reciting the verses from the Holy Quran with the help of PRCS Staff in order to gain calm and overcome fear. Hind and her five family members were traveling in a car through Gaza Citys southwest on January 29, 2024 when they encountered direct and continuous gunfire from the Israeli army at around 05 pm, according to The Guardian. Gaza City has been devastated by round the clock Israeli bombing since Oct 7 and Hinds family had reportedly been hoping to seek shelter elsewhere. Hind, her uncle, aunt and cousins attempted to flee approaching Israeli forces and their car came under fire. Hinds mother and older siblings had reportedly set off on foot. Encircled by the Israeli tanks, badly injured Hind and her 15-year-old cousin, Layan Hamadeh, somehow contacted the Red Crescent on phone. They told the Red Crescent about the brutal murder of their family members and pleaded them for help. They are shooting at us. The tank is next to me", Layan Hamadeh is heard telling to the PRCS in the phone call. The call however was cut off by what sounded like gunfire. The PRCS released an audio recording of the call and some of Hinds subsequent three-hour phone conversation with dispatchers in which she pleaded for help, saying: Come take me. You will come and take me? The dispatcher, Rana al-Faqeh, said Hind told her she was afraid of the dark and asked for someone to come and rescue her. In an attempt to calm her fear, our Rana read the Quran to her and asked her to recite. Listen Here For over three hours, six-year-old Hind, still terrified, continuously pleaded with our teams for rescue. In an attempt to calm her fear, our colleague Rana read the Quran to her. RIP Hind and to colleagues Yousef and Ahmad, targeted by the occupation while attempting to rescue pic.twitter.com/ct9UT3Ttds PRCS (@PalestineRCS) February 15, 2024 The phone call was cut-off. Hind and her family members remained untraceble. They were found dead in the damaged vehicle twelve days later. On the same day as the discovery of Hind and her familys bodies, the PRCS also discovered the bodies of two paramedics, Yousef Zaino and Ahmed Al-Madhoun. They had been dispatched to rescue Hind following her distress call, after coordinating with the Israeli forces for the necessary clearance to undertake the mission. Planned, Deliberate Killing Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor found that Hind and her relatives were killed in a planned execution carried out by the Israeli army". According to Euro-Meds investigation, Hind, her uncle, aunt and three of her cousins were killed by gunfire and shrapnel from tanks shells while fleeing the neighbourhood, which Israel had instructed them to do. The car was found with numerous gunshot holes, broken glass, with strong evidence of bullets fired directly at it. Upon inspecting the victims bodies, it was clear they had suffered from severe gunfire and shrapnel wounds caused by artillery shelling. Nearby, the ambulance sent for Hinds rescue was found completely burned, its engine detached and lying on the ground. Israeli forces had targeted the rescue vehicle with a US-made shell, evidenced by remnants of the weapon found at the site. Most damningly, the incidents occurred in broad daylight, indicating that Israeli forces could clearly see that the car's occupants were civilians, including children. Euro-Med Monitor concludes that this sustained attack by Israel could only have been deliberate, according to The New Arab. Gaza Latest Update Israels attacks on Gaza have as on Friday Feb 16, 2024 killed at least 28,775 Palestinians and wounded 68,552 since October 7. Over 7,000 Palestinians are also missing or trapped under debris, and are presumed dead, according to the Palestine Health Ministry. The Health Ministry also said over 75% of those killed in Israeli airstrikes are women and children. On Friday, Israels incursion into Khan Younis Nasser Hospital has led to the deaths of at least five patients after electricity was severed and oxygen supplies cut, according to Al Jazeera. In a related development, Israel is preparing for a ground onslaught into Rafah even as US President Joe Biden is warning against the move. Israeli PM Netanyahu however is not ready to pay heed to Biden's repeated warnings. Select Language To Read in Urdu, Hindi, Marathi or Arabic. Welcome Guest! You are here: Home Views & Analysis National Conference and History of Alliances The National Conference has been well-known for its lust for power. Come what may, the NC leaders consider power as their inherited property. Read More Friday February 16, 2024 9:42 PM , Raqif Makhdoomi Jammu and Kashmir National Conference (NC) came into existence on 1931. Before being called National Conference, it was known as Muslim Conference. Why did it get divided into two is a separate matter which will be discussed at some point of time. National Conference President and Former CM Dr. Farooq Abdullah made a statement in which he categorically refused any alliance with INDIA. His statement evoked a strong opposition and his son and Former Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah, had to come out and clear the clouds around his fathers statement. His clarification to his fathers statement was that they will fight the 03 seats that are already with them alone and the other seats that are with the BJP will have alliance. This is what has been the stand of the National Conference since the beginning of the INDIA alliance. But this is not the question. The question is Will NC switch to NDA for an alliance? Well if someone asks me about it, I without giving it a second thought will say Yes. If you ask me why am I so confident about it, I have all the reasons to be very sure about it. Omar Abdullah, the former CM of Jammu and Kashmir has been a Union Minister in Vajpayee's NDA government. Saiffuddin Soz, who was the NC Parliamentarian then was thrown out of the party by Omar Abdullah because he didnt vote for Vajpayee government in the Parliament during floor test which led to the fall of the government in 1991 in which Omar Abdullah was a Minister. Not only this but if we go back to 2014 when the BJP gained seats in Jammu and the PDP in Kashmir , the NC was the first one to approach the BJP for an alliance. The NC even offered the BJP Chief Ministership and were ready with the post of Deputy Chief Minister for the party. Farooq Abdullah, who was in London back then laid enough stress on the party cadre to seal a deal with the BJP. The BJP however backed off. A very well-known incident is when the National Conference fought the first election under the guidance of Farooq Abdullah back in June 1983 after the death of Sheikh Mohammed Abdullah in September 1982. Farooq was called to Delhi on March 1983 by Indira Gandhi. Not to forget Farooq Abdullah used to call Indira Gandhi Mom. He was called for an alliance with the Congress, but he refused. The reason why Farooq Abdullah refused the alliance was that he felt if he entered into an alliance it will undermine his abilities. But in Kashmir, he entered an alliance with Mirwaiz Maulavi Farooq that helped him to sweep the Kashmir Valley and also helped him pick 08 seats from Jammu. On the other hand, the Congress could win just 24 seats. As the time passed, Indira Gandhi , the Mummy, become more eager for revenge and she finally took it when on July 02, 1984 the defectors reached Raj Bhavan before the sunrise and Farooq Abdullah was dismissed as CM and GM shah was made Chief Minister. Farooq Abdullah who couldnt have been out of power for long finally surrendered to the Congress and signed an accord on 2nd of November 1986, known as Farooq Rajiv Accord. Five days later, Farooq Abdullah took oath as CM once again on 7th of November 1986. While forming alliance with the Congress, Farooq Abdullah, didnt even gave a second thought about his alliance partner Mir Waiz Farooq who helped him take the Valley by storm. Back in 1994, when the government was in talks with separatists in jail for the restoration of election process, Farooq Abdullah who was in London, came back running and expressed his displeasure over engaging with them just because he feared his CM chair being in danger. The National Conference has been well-known for its lust for power. Come what may, the NC leaders consider power as their inherited property. They can do anything, like the BJP, for the sake of power. For them, Alliance with the NDA means nothing. They can ally with anyone who promises them POWER. [The writer, Raqif Makhdoomi, is student of law and Rights Activist. Views expressed are personal.] Select Language To Read in Urdu, Hindi, Marathi or Arabic. Welcome Guest! You are here: Home Education & Career SBI JA Mains Admit Card 2024 Released - Download Now The State Bank of India (SBI) has released on its official website, 'ibps.in' the Admit Card or Call Letter of the SBI Junior Associates (JA) Customer Supprt and Sales Mains Exam to be held in March 2024. Read More Friday February 16, 2024 11:27 AM , ummid.com News Network SBI Recruitment: The State Bank of India (SBI) has released on its official website, 'ibps.in' the Admit Card or Call Letter of the SBI Junior Associates (JA) Customer Supprt and Sales Mains Exam to be held in March 2024. SBI JA Mains Exam also known as SBI Clerk Mains will be held on March 04, 2024, according to SBI job exam notification. The candidates who have cleared the SBI Clerk JA Mains 2024 Prelims exam are eligible to appear for the SBI JA Mains Exams March 2024. Online registration for the SBI Clerk exam for appointment as Junior Associate (Customer Support & Sales) in clerical cadre in State Bank of India was done from 17.11.2023 TO 07.12.2023. Direct Link to Download SBI Mains JA Admit Card The candidates who have registered for the SBI recruitment exam (Phase - II of SBI Clerk Junior Associate recruitment exam 2024) can download their admit card, hall ticket or call letter till the day of the Main exam. They are however advised to download and take a printout as early as possible. Eligibility Graduation in any discipline from a recognised University or any equivalent qualification recognized as such by Central Government. Candidates having integrated dual degree (IDD) certificate should ensure that the date of passing the IDD is on or before 31.12.2023. Those who are in the final year/ semester of their graduation may also apply provisionally subject to the condition that, if provisionally selected, they will have to produce proof of having passed the graduation examination on or before 31.12.2023. SBI is the largest banking and financial services organization in India with an asset base of over Rs. 63,000,000 Crores with over 22,400 branches covering entire geography of India and 235 foreign branches and offices in different parts of the world. Select Language To Read in Urdu, Hindi, Marathi or Arabic. Thiruvananthapuram, Feb 16 (UNI) India and Italy share a similar vision on global affairs based on peace and the two countries can be leading players in the international soft power, Italys Ambassador to India Vincenzo de Luca said here on Friday. Prime Minister Narendra Modis message that Now is a time for peace against the backdrop of a difficult geopolitical situation was the cornerstone of the successful G20 summit, the Ambassador said while interacting with media during the two-day annual conference of the Soft Power Club at Technopark here. He pointed out that Italy and India are enjoying a period of the best relationship as illustrated by two summits between Modi and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni last year. The development of generative AI and LLM will play an important role in promoting digital transformation, and increasing labor productivity in many business fields. LLMs in Vietnamese can make interpretations, recognize voices, answer questions and summarize documents in Vietnamese language in an accurate way. Therefore, despite challenges, many LLMs are being developed by domestic technology firms. On AI Day 2023, VinAI announced a project on open source code for an LLM in the Vietnamese language, called PhoGPT. The project aims to develop models similar to ChatGPT, but target Vietnamese users, serving Vietnamese culture. PhoGPT can understand and write in the Vietnamese language. The model has been trained from the beginning with data in Vietnamese language, independent to other models in the world. The researchers also want to expand the model and make it active in other languages as well. In late December 2023, VinBigdata, an arm of Vingroup, officially put ViGPT app into operation. This is a version of ChatGPT based on an LLM developed by VinBigdata. ViGPT has more than 600GB of data in Vietnamese language fine-tuned from many different fields. The outstanding advantage of ViGPT in comparison with other apps is that the information focuses on specific fields of Vietnam, such as law, history, culture, famous men, beautiful landscapes, and typical characteristics of regions. Prof Vu Ha Van, scientist of VinBigdata, said the launch of the Vietnamese version shows Vietnams capability of mastering technology. By mastering technology, we can exploit and protect national data, as well as have an intellectual and ideological system with a Vietnamese identity, Van said. This direction will allow us not only to eliminate reliance on international products, but also to gradually improve the accuracy of information containing Vietnamese historical and cultural values, and minimize the outflow of Vietnamese data abroad," Van added. At the AI Forum, organized annually by the Zalo AI Summit, Zalo introduced an LLM in the Vietnamese language developed by Zalo AI. The LLM is developed by Zalo AI based on Transformer architecture, and trained with Flash Attention and Llama with high-quality guiding materials. Its model aims at multi-task operations, such as translating documents, creating and writing content, extracting information from documents, and answering questions. Prior to that, the Make in Vietnam LLM was used to write millions of poems on the occasion of International Womens Day March 8 and Vietnamese Womens Day October 20. Currently, Zalo is developing its LLM on different model sizes, from one billion to 30 billion parameters. The Kiki chatbot version shown at Zalo AI Summit was trained on the 7-billion parameter model. According to Zalos team of developers, Zalo will continue upgrading its LLM before introducing it to users and supplying fundamentals to utility apps such as chatbot, customer care and content generation. In Vietnam, AI-based virtual assistants have helped a lot in different fields. A representative of the Supreme Peoples Court said at the Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC) conference that virtual assistants support judges. According to Deputy Chief Justice Pham Quoc Hung, the AI application to support judges has gained impressive results. Previously, one judge needed two secretaries in administrative and professional work. With a virtual assistant, only one secretary is needed, and the secretary can give professional assistance to thousands of judges anywhere and at anytime. Thai Khang HA NOI Banking, construction, aquaculture and textile companies have announced cash dividends for investors immediately after the Lunar New Year. Many businesses will distribute cash dividends to shareholders at the highest rate of 15-20 per cent in cash. Shareholders of the Southern Battery Joint Stock Company - Pinaco (PAC) will soon receive an interim dividend for the first phase of 2023, with a cash rate of 5 per cent, equivalent to VN500 Vietnamese dong for each share. The payment date is February 28. With over 46 million shares in circulation, PAC is estimated to pay a total of over VN23 billion in this interim dividend to shareholders. Viet Nam Chemical Group (Vinachem) holding over 51 per cent of the company's capital, will receive nearly VN12 billion. Another company, Cat Loi Joint Stock Company (CLC), announced the preparation for an interim dividend for the first phase of 2023 in cash at a rate of 15 per cent, equivalent to VN1,500 for each share. The dividend distribution date is February 28. According to estimates, CLC will need to pay a total of about VN39.3 billion to shareholders during this phase. This company is a subsidiary of Viet Nam National Tobacco Corporation (Vinataba). Currently, Vinataba holds 51 per cent of the charter capital in CLC, estimated to receive about VN20 billion from this dividend distribution. Thua Thien Hue Construction Joint Stock Company (HUB), will also distribute the 2023 dividend in cash at a rate of 10 per cent, equivalent to VN1,000 for each share. The payment date is February 29. With nearly 26.3 million shares in circulation, the company plans to allocate over VN26 billion for this interim dividend. Viet Nam Disinfection Joint Stock Company (VFG) announced the interim dividend for the second phase of 2023 at a rate of 10 per cent in cash, meaning shareholders will receive 1,000 for each share. The company will make the payment on March 8. With almost 42 million shares in circulation, VFG is estimated to allocate VN42 billion for this interim dividend. Currently, PAN Group is the largest shareholder of VFG, holding nearly 42 per cent of the charter capital and expected to receive nearly VN1.8 billion from this dividend distribution. In the credit institution group, Viet Nam International Commercial Joint Stock Bank (VIB) finalised the shareholder list at the end of January for the 2023 interim dividend in cash at a rate of 6 per cent, meaning investors will receive VN600 for each share. VIB is also the first bank to distribute cash dividends in 2024. The dividend payment date is February 21. With a charter capital of over VN25 trillion, equivalent to over 2.5 billion shares, it is estimated that the bank will allocate over VN1.52 trillion for shareholders in this dividend distribution. VNS HA NOI Amendments to the Law on Credit Institutions, effective from July 1 this year, require banks to reduce the maximum ownership in them by institutions and individual shareholders. Following the recent Sai Gon Joint Stock Commercial Bank (SCB) scandal, the amendments to the Law on Credit Institutions reduce ownership by an institutional shareholder from 15 per cent to 10 per cent, and for individuals and their related parties from 20 per cent to 15 per cent. The ownership limit for individual shareholders remains unchanged at 5 per cent, but now banks must disclose information about shareholders holding stakes of 1 per cent or more instead of the previous 5 per cent. Annually credit institutions must disclose this information to the board of directors and shareholders. The definition of "related individuals" has been expanded to include parents, adoptive parents, stepfathers, stepmothers, fathers-in-law, mothers-in-law, adopted children, sons-in-law, siblings who share one parent, and other relatives. Legal entities and other individuals who pose potential risks to the credit institution's operations are also considered "related individuals" based on the bank's internal regulations or at the request of the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV). Many banks currently have ownership exceeding the new limits. For example, Saigonbank has the HCM City Party Committee Office owning 18.8 per cent, Phu Nhuan Construction and Trading One Member Company owning 16.6 per cent, Khoi Hoa Tourism and Trading One Member Company owning 16.3 per cent), and HCM City Oil and Gas One Member Company owning 14.1 per cent). In PGBank, Gia Linh Import-Export and Trading Development One Member Company owned 13.1 per cent as of September 30, 2023, Cuong Phat International Joint Stock Company owned 13.5 per cent and Vu Anh uc Trading One Member Company owned 13.3 per cent. Masan Group Corporation owns 14.88 per cent of Techcombank, and Nguyen ang Quang, its chairman, is the vice chairman of Techcombank and owns a 0.27 per cent stake. But the reduction in the ownership caps will not apply to foreign investors. To avoid disruption to the banking system, shareholders and related individuals holding shares exceeding the limits can continue to maintain their ownership, but are not allowed to increase their stakes except if they are paid dividends in the form of shares. The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) said, as of 2022, there were 17 institutional shareholders in 13 banks and one financial company with ownership exceeding 10 per cent. It is challenging to enforce comprehensive regulations to address cross-ownership issues, and requires an integrated approach, using national data on population and business registration and coordination between various governmental agencies. In the case of SCB, Truong My Lan controlled an 80 per cent stake through 74 proxies to circumvent the regulation that an individual cannot own more than 5 foreign investors of a bank's shares under the Law on Credit Institutions. Economist Le at Chi does not think ownership caps can completely prevent cross-ownership in banks and will merely enlarge the ecosystem of shell companies and individuals standing in as proxies and make it more sophisticated. Experts said there are still many ways to circumvent the law, and keep it under check requires coordination among various agencies and close monitoring by the SBV. VNS HA NOI The domestic cement industry expects to bounce back in 2024 thanks to the Government's tireless efforts to speed up public investment and implementation of key transport infrastructure projects, along with approving many industrial and urban infrastructure ones. At the same time, cement producers are also trying to expand their markets, shifting to several outlets such as the US, Australia, North America, South America and Africa, to reduce dependence on China and take full advantage of the industry which can provide up to 120 million tonnes of products per year. However, the Vietnam Cement Association said some importers of Vietnamese cement and clinker continue to implement policies and technical trade barriers to protect their local cement sectors. In particular, the Philippines, the largest importing country, would continue to impose temporary anti-dumping taxes on Vietnamese cement products. Meanwhile, strict markets such as Europe have implemented carbon emission reduction mechanisms. Thus, the association urged businesses to push trade promotion activities to access more export opportunities. It added that several businesses have won export orders to the US, a selective market with high standards. That is a positive signal for the industry this year. Trade experts said that cement businesses needed to focus on technological innovation, invest in in-depth renovation, efficient use of energy, and draw up sustainable development solutions to both reduce production costs and enhance competitiveness to meet increasingly high environmental protection standards in the international market. For their part, cement manufacturers petitioned authorities to have supportive policies for the development of the industry. SSI Securities Corporation said in its latest report on Viet Nam's cement sector outlook in 2024 that first quarter domestic cement consumption would be at the lowest level since Q3/2021 (COVID lockdown period) due to seasonal factors such as the Lunar New Year holiday and weak demand. However, from Q2, cement sales volume would likely see a minor recovery due to resumed construction activity. In addition, major public investments could offset weak demand during 2024. Exports decreased in 2023 Statistics from the General Department of Customs showed that the country exported over 2.53 million tonnes of cement and clinker in December for nearly US$98 million, up 0.9 per cent in volume but down 3 per cent in value compared to the previous month. The latest addition brought its clinker and cement export totals up to 31.3 million tonnes, with a turnover of over $1.32 billion, marking yearly declines of 1.2 per cent in volume and 4.1 per cent in value. Last year, the Philippines remained the largest importer of Vietnamese cement and clinker, accounting for 27 per cent of the country's export turnover. It was followed by Bangladesh with 17 per cent and Malaysia with 5.2 per cent. Manufacturers blamed the decrease in exports on the low imports from China (down 90 per cent year-on-year) as its real estate market had not shown signs of improvement. Furthermore, Viet Nam's cement and clinker exports also faced fierce competition from other rivals such as the Philippines and Bangladesh. Producers said they also encountered challenges in the domestic market as local cement consumption saw a year-on-year decrease of 7 per cent to nearly 90 million tonnes. Vicem Ha Tien JSC said its pre-tax profit reached VN54.3 billion in Q4/2023, down 6 per cent compared to the same period last year. In 2023, the company's revenue witnessed a sharp 21 per cent decline year-on-year to over VN7 trillion. Its profit also dropped 32 per cent to over VN604 billion, congthuong.vn reported. According to the online newspaper, this was the lowest profit level among leading enterprises in the cement manufacturing industry for the past 10 years. To help the cement industry overcome current difficulties, the Department of Building Materials under the Ministry of Construction, suggested ministries, agencies and localities continue to speed up public investment projects and infrastructure construction according to approved plans. This would strengthen consumption markets for building materials, including cement, it said. Cement producers themselves should innovate technology, use energy effectively, and use waste as fuel to replace coal, reducing production costs to become more competitive, it said. VNS HCM CITY Money sent from Asian countries made up 50.5 per cent of the total overseas remittances to HCM City last year, Viet Nams largest economic hub, a massive 143.8 per cent spike year-on-year, according to the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV)s branch in the city. Inward remittances to HCM City rose 43.3 per cent year-on-year to US$9.46 billion in 2023, a record high over the past decade and accounting for more than half of the national total. Nguyen uc Lenh, deputy director of the branch, said 2023 remittances were 2.7 times the volume of foreign direct investment (FDI) inflow into the city and equivalent to 14 per cent of its gross regional domestic product (GRDP) the same year. The flow of remittances is associated with the growing trend of working abroad, the branch said, adding that the post-pandemic recovery of the labour, service, and tourism markets in Asian countries, along with a stable economic and political environment, has positive effects on the remittances from the region. Besides, Viet Nams steady macro-economy, friendly business environment and bustling cultural, tourism and sporting events have encouraged remittances, Lenh said, adding that the development of remittance payment networks and services of commercial banks and businesses also helped attract remittances to the country in general and the city in particular in 2023. With approximately six million Vietnamese nationals living abroad, remittances sent to Viet Nam from 1993 to 2022 have amounted to $190 billion, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In 2023, the World Bank estimated that Viet Nam received approximately $14 billion in remittances, while this figure reached a record number of $19 billion in 2022. Viet Nam has been among the global top 10 recipients of remittances for many years, with overseas Vietnamese residing in more than 130 countries and territories, and around 600,000 of them with undergraduate or higher degrees. VNS JAKARTA Vietnamese electric vehicle (EV) maker VinFast signed the Letters of Intent with its first five dealers in Indonesia on February 16 while attending the Indonesia International Motor Show (IIMS) which is taking place from February 15 to 25. The signing is a step forward in VinFast's plan to expand its distribution network in Indonesia as well as strengthen brand recognition and competitive capacity in the global EV market. The dealers are the BAM, GNA and GSU with headquarters in Jakarta, the MCA based in Medan and Majesty in Batam, who will sell VF 5, VF e34, VF6 and VF7 models right after they are launched in the Indonesia market. Prices and sales details, including order time and aftersales policies will be announced in the first half of this year. VinFast Indonesia CEO Tran Quoc Huy said that VinFast is proud to cooperate with leading dealers in Indonesia so as to empower consumers with diverse choice for smart and environmentally-friendly transportation solutions. The cooperation will not only lay a solid development foundation for VinFast and its partners but also unleash boundless potential of the green transport sector in the locality and the region as a whole, he added. BAM director Hartono Kurniawan said he expects the strategic cooperation will bring the Indonesian market more international-standard vehicles with modern designs, competitive prices and sound aftersales policies, helping develop the local electric automobile industry. VinFast eyes expansion of EV distribution in major cities across Indonesia in 2024. The move demonstrates VinFast's determination to quickly become the preferred EV brand for Indonesian consumers, as well as illustrates its global vision, including the goal of promoting the zero-emission transportation revolution for a green future for everyone. The company will build an electric vehicle manufacturing plant in Indonesia with a projected capacity of 50,000 cars per year. The planned factory is expected to create thousands of jobs and contribute to the development of a robust domestic electric vehicle industry. Upon operational, the plant will also represent a key link in VinFast's global electric vehicle supply chain. VNS HA NOI The stock market extended rallies on Friday, lifted by gains in pillar stocks other than the banking group while liquidity hovering at a high level. On the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE), the VN-Index closed the week at 1,209.7 points, an increase of 7.2 points, or 0.6 per cent. The index rose for five consecutive days. The market's breadth was still positive as the number of gainers surpassed that of decliners by 198 to 123. Liquidity also remained at a high level of VN18.2 trillion (US$744.1 million). The 30 biggest stocks tracker, VN30-Index, inched up 7.42 points, or 0.61 per cent, to 1,224.54 points. In the VN30 basket, 17 stocks ticked higher with one hitting the ceiling price, while nine went down and four ticker symbols ended flat. The benchmark index broke over the short-term psychological resistance of 1,200 points on Thursday, the first trading day after the market closed for a week due to the Lunar New year holidays. Analysts at the Saigon-Hanoi Securities JSC expect the index will continue to move positively, but it is likely to fluctuate to retest the resistance level of 1,200 points. "In a positive view, we think that the market's trend is still positive even though there may be some corrections, the target of the short-term uptrend could be at around 1,250 points," SHS said. Instead of bank stocks, manufacturing and real estate group led the market's bullish trend today. In particular, Vietnam Rubber Group (GVR) was the biggest gainer, up 7 per cent. It was followed by Vingroup (VIC), Vinamilk (VNM) and Vinhomes (VHM), up in a range of 1.8-3.55 per cent. Also supporting the market, PV Gas (GAS), Masan Group (MSN), Asia Commercial Joint Stock Bank (ACB) and FPT Corporation (FPT) performed well. In contrast, lingering selling pressure continued to weigh on some ticker symbols. Of which, BIDV (BID) was the biggest loser with a drop of 0.82 per cent. On the Ha Noi Stock Exchange (HNX), the HNX-Index also finished higher at 233.04 points, up 0.29 points, or 0.12 per cent. A VN1.28 trillion worth of shares was traded on the northern bourse, equivalent to a trading volume of nearly 68 million shares. Foreign investors, however, continue to withdraw capital from the market as they net sold a total of VN433.54 billion on the two exchanges. VNS HA NOI Export activities bustled on the first workday after the Lunar New Year (Tet) holiday on February 15 with many batches of goods departing for foreign markets such as the US, the EU and Australia. In Long An international port, 15,000 tonnes of plastic beads left the port for Europe on the day. Meanwhile, two containers with about 18 tonnes of coffee branded Meet More each were sent to Australia. Data from the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) showed that import-export activities have been bustling since the beginning of 2024, with total revenue hit over US$64 billion in January, up nearly 38 per cent year on year, including $33,57 billion from exports, a rise of 42 per cent. The majority of export markets are recovering, it said, adding that the US continued to be the biggest market of Viet Nam in January with an export revenue of about $9.6 billion, up 55.8 per cent year-on-year. A strong rise was also seen in other major markets such as China with 57.8 per cent, the EU with 17.9 per cent, ASEAN 38.5 per cent, Japan 39.6 per cent, the Republic of Korea 22.4%, and the EU 18 per cent. MoIT Minister Nguyen Hong Dien said that in January, the country enjoyed a trade surplus of $2.92 billion, while industrial production also grew 18.3 per cent. However, he underlined the need for strong efforts right from the beginning of the year to realise the set target of 6 per cent growth in exports this year. In the first month of 2024, Viet Nam's Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) rebounded to 50.3 points compared to 48.9 points in December 2023. The index reveals that the health of the manufacturing industry improved for the first time in five months. The European Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam (EuroCham) commented that Vietnams economic recovery is on the right track. It advised the country to focus on building stronger trade relations with major export markets and increase export value through processing. Experts said that the fulcrum for export growth in 2024 is the system of 17 free trade agreements that have been implemented, giving businesses advantages in negotiating orders and opening up markets. VNA/VNS HA NOI The strong recovery of industrial production, the exponential rise in exports, abundant goods supply, and good revenue from services in January paint a rosy picture for the domestic industry and trade sector this year, heard an online conference held by the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) on February 16. Ngo Quang Trung, head of the MoITs Agency for Regional Industry and Trade, reported that industrial production experienced a robust recovery of 18.3%, and exports surged 42% last month. The ministry issued directives, asking stakeholders to put in place a market stabilisation programme, focusing on ensuring the supply of essential food items at stable prices during the Lunar New Year (Tet) festival, which lasted from February 8-14. Additionally, it brought made-in-Vietnam products to rural, mountainous and island areas, while intensifying market inspections and controls to prevent smuggling and trade fraud. Notably, the ministry held working sessions with the Departments of Industry and Trade of Ha Noi and Ho Chi Minh City over preparations for Tet in localities, he said. Trung stressed that the total value of Tet stockpiles by businesses increased by around 10-12% as compared to other months, adding the market stabilisation programme was rolled out in many localities and responded by various enterprises, including major retailers like Saigon Co.op, Central Retail, MM Mega Market, Lotte and BRG Mart. Market management forces worked round the clock during the festival, effectively materialising the directives of the National Steering Committee for Anti-smuggling, Counterfeit Goods and Trade Fraud (National Steering Committee 389) and the ministry. Most businesses suspended production during the holiday, except for some in steel, paper, cement, electronics, and automotive industries, which still maintained part of their production. The supply of electricity to the national power grid was ensured both before and during Tet, with no major incidents reported, the official said. VNA/VNS BUENOS AIRES The vibrant relations with Latin America contributed to the success of Viet Nams diplomacy last year, according to an article published by the El Popular (People) e-newspaper, the organ of the Communist Party of Uruguay. The article highlighted the friendship and multi-faceted cooperation between Viet Nam and Latin American nations, saying it made important, outstanding progress during the year. It commended the concerted and comprehensive implementation of the foreign policy by Viet Nam, which covers all the Party, State and people-to-people diplomacy, and demonstrates the countrys 'bamboo diplomacy'. The term 'bamboo diplomacy' was coined by General Secretary of the Communist Party of Viet Nam Nguyen Phu Trong at a diplomatic conference in 2016 and reiterated at the first national conference on foreign affairs in 2021. At these meetings, the leader likened Viet Nams foreign policy to bamboo, with strong roots, solid stems and flexible branches. The article said Viet Nam's high-ranking leaders made more than 40 visits to neighbouring countries, important partners and traditional friends; and welcomed nearly 50 leaders of foreign countries and international organisations last year. Such activities contributed to raising the quality of Viet Nams external affairs and international integration, as well as the countrys position and reputation in the international arena, it noted. It recalled the visits to Cuba, Argentina and Uruguay by National Assembly Chairman Vuong inh Hue from April 22-29, 2023, and another to Brazil by Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh from September 23-25 in the same year. Viet Nam also welcomed many high-ranking delegations from countries in the region, including those led by President of the National Assembly of People's Power of Cuba Esteban Lazo Hernandez; former Chilean President Michelle Bachelet; El Salvador's Foreign Minister Alexandra Hill Tinoco; and Minister of Policies for Regional Integration of the Dominican Republic Miguel Mejia; and Minister for Foreign Affairs, International Business, Trade and Energy of the Commonwealth of Dominica Vince Henderson, the article said. VNS HA NOI The Party Central Committee (PCC)s Secretariat met in Ha Noi on February 16 to review the implementation of its Directive No. 26-CT/TW, issued on November 23 last year, on the organisation of the Lunar New Year (Tet) 2024 celebrations and assign some focal tasks to all-level Party committees. A report delivered at the meeting noted that thanks to the early issuance of the directive, Party committees and administrations at all levels actively made preparations to ensure a merry, safe, and economical Tet for all people and create new momentum for socio-economic development, national defence, and security safeguarding. Tet goods were diverse and had ensured quality as well as stable prices, made-in-Vietnam goods held an increasing market share, traffic and communications were smooth, while improvements were seen in fire prevention and food safety. Party and State leaders paid Tet visits to all 63 provinces and centrally-run cities, presented gifts to social policy beneficiaries and workers not returning home for Tet, and extended greetings to residents in remote and disadvantaged areas along with the forces on duty during the holiday. Tet gifts and assistance worth nearly VN20 trillion (US$815 million) were presented to more than 13.9 million people of target groups, statistics showed. Communications on national and local achievements were enhanced, and a wide range of Tet celebrations and festivals were held; security, border sovereignty, territory, and social order and safety were firmly maintained; and the annual tree planting festival was organised practically and effectively, according to the report. The Secretariat praised all-level agencies, organisations, Party committees, and administrations' serious, creative, and fruitful implementation of the directive. During this years Tet, more national projects were sustained compared to last year. These include the North-South Expressway, Long Thanh International Airport, the 500kV circuit-3 power transmission line, Ring Road 3 of HCM City, Bien Hoa-Vung Tau Expressway, and the Terminal T3 project of the Tan Son Nhat International Airport. Regarding post-Tet duties, the Secretariat ordered agencies, units, and localities immediately get down to political tasks, quickly resume normal operations to serve people, promote industrial production and construction, properly tend to the winter - spring rice crop, actively prevent crop and livestock diseases, and continue assisting some important sectors directly hit by changes in the global market. The Secretariat also asked for implementing comprehensive measures to safeguard national security and social order and safety, fostering the combat against crimes and social evils, properly carrying out social security policies, and caring for laid-off and disadvantaged workers. In addition, it is also necessary to boost internal political security, increase communications to popularise economic, cultural, and social achievements, and effectively fight distortions and wrongful allegations of hostile forces, according to the Secretariat. VNA/VNS HA NOI Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has issued an appeal for nationwide support for the northwestern mountainous province of ien Bien on the occasion of the coming 70th anniversary of the ien Bien Phu victory. In his appeal, the PM emphasised that the ien Bien Phu victory that resounded across the five continents and shook the globe in early 1954 held greatly historic significance and was a triumph of patriotism, the undaunted spirit, and the strength of the great national solidarity of Viet Nam under the smart and clear-sighted leadership of the Party. It was also a demonstration of the maturity of the Viet Nam Peoples Army. The Party Central Committees Secretariat agreed in principle on the organisation of a national-level ceremony marking the 70th anniversary of the ien Bien Phu victory to keep bringing into play the revolutionary heroism across the entire Party, people, and army so as to create more momentum for national construction and defence and achieve the national development targets until the mid-21st century, he said. Seven decades since the victory, ien Bien has made development strides with many important achievements and become an increasingly attractive destination of culture, tourism, and investment, the Government leader highlighted. He attributed those results to the attention from the Party, State, ministries, and central agencies; assistance from other localities, the business community, and people nationwide; as well as the provinces efforts and spirit of solidarity. However, PM Chinh also noted that ien Bien remains a poor province with a number of difficulties due to modest socio-economic foundations, a geographical distance from economic hubs, unfavourable conditions, and limited resources. Given this, it needs continued assistance in terms of resources, experience, and cooperation models to maximise its potential, advantages, strategic location, and historical stature to develop more strongly, he said, asking for focus on boosting fast and sustainable economic development, building comprehensive and modern socio-economic infrastructure, building new-style rural areas, promoting culture, education and health care, and improving peoples life quality. The PM stressed the Secretariats policy on mobilising the engagement of all-level administrations, sectors, localities, and society in helping the province develop further and improve local people's living standards. Therefore, he called on ministries, sectors, all-level Party committees and administrations, associations, businesses, investors, and people nationwide to continue concrete and practical actions to support ien Bien on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the ien Bien Phu victory. VNA/VNS HA NOI Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha on February 16 held phone talks with his Russian counterpart Alexander Valentinovich Novak to review the bilateral cooperation in the past time and discuss measures to promote cooperative ties in various areas in the coming time. The two Deputy PMs held that the Vietnam-Russia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with a history of more than seven decades has kept developing and achieved important results, especially within the framework of the Inter-Governmental Committee for Economic-Commercial and Scientific-Technological Cooperation. They affirmed to continue coordinating closely to implement agreements reached during visits and meetings by senior leaders of the two countries, and promote the effectiveness of existing dialogue and cooperation mechanisms to serve the sustainable socio-economic development of each country. The two sides agreed to continue close coordination and take specific measures to step up trade - investment relations and further promote advantages brought by the Free Trade Agreement between Viet Nam and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), especially in fields that are strengths of cooperation between the two countries such as oil and gas, energy, tourism, education - training, and science - technology; and promptly remove obstacles in implementing cooperation projects between the two nations. VNA/VNS HA NOI The Ha Noi University of Science and Technology has issued regulations on academic integrity, requiring all officials, civil servants, lecturers and students not to buy or sell research results in any form. This is the first educational and research institution in the country to issue such regulations. Specifically, the university requires all officials, civil servants, lecturers, students and affiliated units to respect the ideas of others and not to copy or transform the ideas of others into their own ideas, according to Decision 12160/QD-DHBK. They must adhere to the principles of selection and assignment of scientific research tasks as prescribed by law and the university regulations. They will not be allowed to use approved topics or scientific and technological tasks to participate in selection or funding elsewhere. Related parties must not use power, relationships or material resources to influence selection, leading to unhealthy competition, or to benefit themselves or others improperly in the process of conducting scientific research not in accordance with management regulations and scientific norms, it said. Authors must not fabricate or falsify research objects, research data or scientific records. They are required to respect copyrights and author rights; comply with current laws on intellectual property ownership; accurately, clearly and transparently cite reference materials; and strictly adhere to the permitted citation ratios for each topic, task or field as prescribed. Furthermore, officials, civil servants, lecturers and students must not obstruct or intervene in presenting complete and objective research results or affect the credibility of research results in general scientific publications. Trading research results will not be allowed in any form. Officials of the university must list the institution as the Ha Noi University of Science and Technology in scientific publications. Officials who are master's students, doctoral students, or post-doctoral researchers at other domestic and international educational and training institutions can list both the Ha Noi University of Science and Technology and the institution where they are studying or conducting research. The university also sets academic integrity requirements in research collaboration and training collaboration. Specifically, it required officials, civil servants, lecturers and students to respect and promote the spirit of academic integrity in all academic cooperation and collaboration activities. They must comply with regulations on intellectual property rights for academic products created by collaborative research activities according to agreements or contracts previously established by the parties; and not transfer ideas or research tasks registered after participating in agreements or contracts to partners or third parties without the permission of the university. The university has established a scientific integrity advisory council, which advises the universitys director in assessing and evaluating the extent of violations of academic integrity. Depending on the nature and extent of the violation, individuals who violate the regulations will be disciplined or transferred to competent authorities for administrative or criminal handling as prescribed by law and university regulations. Individuals who violate academic integrity may also receive additional forms of punishment according to the specific regulations of each field. Academic products identified as violating academic integrity must be corrected or withdrawn according to the decision of the university. VNS HA NOI The Vietnam Union of Friendship Organisations (VUFO) on February 16 held a memorial service in Ha Noi for US peace activist Merle Evelyn Ratner, a close friend of Viet Nam, who was killed in a traffic accident earlier this month. The event was connected to the US and was attended by representatives from Vietnamese ministries, agencies and organisations, and the activists friends. Ratner was killed by a tow truck in the East Village while crossing the street near her house in New York on February 5. Born in 1956, she had a special love for Viet Nam. She took to the streets to protest against the war with the US when she was 13 years old and became famous for hanging anti-war slogans on the Statue of Liberty. She was a co-founder and coordinator of the Vietnam Agent Orange Relief & Responsibility Campaign (VAORRC) in the New York area. Ratner actively participated in protests against the US war in Viet Nam since the late 1960s, the anti-imperialism movement in the 1970s and 1980s, and anti-racism campaigns in America today. After 1975, with a deep love for Viet Nam, Ratner campaigned for the normalisation of the Viet Nam-US relations and supported Viet Nams international activities. She visited Viet Nam many times and engaged in joint work with mass organisations, the Vietnam Fatherland Front, and the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics. Ratner was awarded the "For the Development of Vietnamese Women" insignia in 2010 and the For Vietnam Agent Orange Victims insignia in 2013. VUFO President Phan Anh Son expressed his sadness over her death and recalled her activities in support of Viet Nam, saying she will be remembered forever by generations of Vietnamese. He called Ratner a symbol of international solidarity and support for Vietnamese people during movements against the US war in the Southeast Asian nation. Son said after the war ended, Ratner further supported Vietnamese people in national reconstruction, highlighting her efforts to push for the normalisation of Viet Nam-US relations and the removal of the US embargo on the country. As the VAORRC co-founder, she made tireless efforts to garner support for Vietnamese AO victims to ease their difficulties and seek justice for them, he continued. Son also stressed Ratners support for the VUFO and its member organisations in organising peace, solidarity and friendship activities with left-wing friends and the Communist Party of the US. VNS HA NOI Overseas Vietnamese (OVs) living, working and studying in Udon Thani province of Thailand gathered in a get-together on February 15 to celebrate the Lunar New Year (Tet) Festival. The event was held by the management board of the Ho Chi Minh Monument Site in Udon Thani as an annual activity to thank local authorities and people for their support for the site over the past two decades in organising important activities. Addressing the event, Director of the management board Pham uc Dau said the support has contributed to introducing Vietnamese culture to Thai people, and promoting the Vietnam - Thailand relationship. A project to expand the site on an area of 4,800 sq.m is underway, he added. Vietnamese Consul General in Khon Kaen Chu uc Dung said that activities organised by the Vietnamese community in Udon Thani have contributed to promoting and preserving the language and traditional culture of Viet Nam. He expressed his hope that OVs in the Thai locality will continue to unite and support each other in life, serving as a bridge for the relationship between the two countries. He took the occasion to thank local authorities and people for their assistance and facilitation to the Vietnamese community in the locality to have a stable life, contributing significantly to the development of Udon Thani in particular, and Thailand in general. VNS HA NOI Kien Giang Department of Tourism has announced a VN30 million (US$1,200) fine on a Vietnamese travel agency involved in the case of nearly 300 Taiwanese tourists being stranded on Phu Quoc Island, a decision which the company appeals. According to a report by Kien Giang tourism department, Phu Quoc-based Winner International Travel Company signed a contract acknowledgement with Taipei-based We Love Tour Company on September 12, 2023. On January 24 this year, Winner sent 10 quotations for 10 tourist groups to We Love Tour, but the companies failed to reach an agreement. Winners unilateral service termination notice was sent to We Love Tour on January 31. The provincial tourism department said that Winner violated regulations during tourism operations because although the contract was terminated, the company still kept the deposit of NT$700,000 ($22,300) that it received on January 18. It also provided services and collected fees from tourists during their stay in Phu Quoc. The department decided to impose an administrative fine of VN30 million on the company. Speaking to Nguoi lao ong (Labourer) newspaper, Winner International Travel Company Chairman Ha Tuan Minh said the agency disagrees with the decision and will appeal. According to Minh, the contract stated that if We Love Tour did not transfer the total contract value by January 31, the document would no longer be valid. Winner also sent a termination notice on this exact date, he said. Minh also added that the 292-person tour group, which Winner helped return home on February 14, were not part of the 10 tour quotations between Winner and We Love Tour. In total, nearly 800 Taiwanese tourists were left stranded on Phu Quoc Island in recent days, not just 292 as reported in the press, he said. Speaking to Tri thuc (Znews) magazine, Minh said that to maintain the image of Phu Quoc tourism, his agency has made an effort and provided assistance worth VN3 billion ($122,300) to send the tourists home. The penalty decision has an adverse impact on the companys reputation, he said, adding that Winner would send an appeal letter to Kien Giang tourism department on Friday afternoon. On February 9, 2024, We Love Tours 292-person tour group landed at Phu Quoc International Airport and was without a tour guide or tour bus. At this point, We Love Tour contacted Winner asking the Vietnamese company to serve the group, to which Winner agreed and provided transportation and accommodation services. Winner then asked the tourists to pay an additional $720 per person, as it did not receive the contract payment from We Love Tour. In response to Winner, We Love Tour said that it would notify the tour group members to pay the supplementary amount and keep the invoice for reimbursement. Winner received approximately NT$1.8 million ($57,400) in total from 90 tourists, while the rest of the group refused. Kien Giang authorities and the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in HCM City worked to help the tour be carried out as planned, and the group returned home on February 14. VNS Tech giant Apple is ramping up its efforts to improve the quality and accuracy of mapping data available on its Maps app in Vietnam. According to sources, Apple has begun deploying specially equipped camera cars throughout the country from February 16th as part of its global initiative to rebuild mapping systems and collect detailed street-level information. For several years, Apple has been redesigning its Maps platform from the ground up after early criticism over data deficiencies when the app was first launched in 2012 to replace Google Maps as the default mapping option on iPhones. Mapping data was initially sourced from third parties and lacked the quality users expected from Apple products. CEO Tim Cook was forced to publicly apologize due to the poor map data and user experience. Since 2018, a renewed focus has seen Apple committing significant resources to independently collect mapping data through fleets of camera cars equipped with advanced imaging technology. The LiDAR-equipped vehicles being used in Vietnam will photograph streets and record imagery with high resolution and precision to capture real-world geospatial details. LiDAR, which stands for Light Detection and Ranging, uses pulses of light with precise time measurements to create a 3D scan of the environment. This laser-based remote sensing system allows Apple to build comprehensive point clouds and high-definition mesh maps to display accurate representations of roads, buildings, signage, terrain and other geographical features. Mapping data gathered through the camera car deployments will enable enhanced navigation and more personalized location-based experiences for Apple device users in Vietnam. With up-to-date imagery and information, the Apple Maps app can provide improved routing, traffic conditions and destination guidance when traveling or searching for places across the country. Over time, as data collection continues, it will also support advanced augmented reality experiences through Anthropic's addition of a Look Around street view-like function. Look Around currently allows panoramic 360-degree gazing of streets in major cities around the world, replicating some of the core functionality of Google Street View. However, this immersive virtual touring capability has not yet extended to Vietnam or most parts of Southeast Asia due to lack of high-resolution image datasets. Until now, mapping details for the region have largely relied on outdated third-party sources or user-submitted geospatial data points of varying quality. Apple's camera cars aim to capture streetscapes and positional accuracy at large scales to enable precision-based AR/VR navigation aids and location overlays. While car-based imaging is extensively conducted in highly developed nations, challenges remain for data harvesting in complex urban environments like Vietnam with its dense roads and alleys not accessible by vehicle. To account for this, Apple deploys supplementary ground-based mobile mapping system backpacks for photogrammetry in hard-to-reach areas, such as narrow lanes or public squares. Workers equipped with these portable rigs can photographically document locales that cars cannot access to fill coverage gaps. In some remote regions without vehicular infrastructure, crowdsourced street imagery from iPhones and iPads may even directly supply mapping details. Beyond urban travel navigation, the improved location data from Apple's initiative will open up broader use cases. Enhanced positional accuracy down to individual addresses enables more contextual commerce and workplace experiences. Spatial awareness of physical environs augments indoor wayfinding, while precision mapping enables synergies between the virtual and real world through AR overlay of virtual objects onto real locations. The density and depth of mapping details captured could underpin immersive mixed reality applications spanning education, enterprise, healthcare and more. As with other mapping programs, Apple ensures strict privacy protections for data gathered in Vietnam. Facial recognition and license plate numbers are algorithmically blurred before inclusion to prevent individual identification from street imagery. Updates also undergo rigorous quality review before incorporation into live maps to maintain consistency, clarity and lack of sensitive personal information exposure. Though Google Maps remains more popular currently in Vietnam due to its longer presence and richer local feature set, Apple Maps usage is expected to grow as mapping upgrades take effect. With street-level data collection now underway nationwide led by its fleet of camera cars, Vietnam users can anticipate significant improvements to the app's functionality, accuracy and experiences in the coming months and years. As the immersive mapping datasets expand, it brings Vietnam one step closer to global parity in location-based experiences and Mixed Reality applications compared to developed regions already covered by Look Around. Only time will tell if Apple's commitment to independent data ownership translates to ultimately surpassing even Google in mapping and geospatial capabilities. The investment will go towards doubling the capacity of Microsoft's "AI and data centre infrastructure", vice chair Brad Smith said in Berlin at an event with Chancellor Olaf Scholz. Microsoft says to invest 3.2 bn euros in AI in Germany, source: freepik.com Germany is "constantly at the forefront" of technological change, Smith said, with the country second in Europe in terms of the number of AI-based applications being created. But Germany suffers from a relative shortage of AI skills, according to Smith, a problem seen across different sectors. Microsoft wants to "help build out infrastructure to help the Germany economy continue its use of AI and build out the skill base to fill the jobs required", Smith said. Microsoft is among the large tech companies to have moved fastest and furthest into the sector, investing in ChatGPT-maker OpenAI and pushing AI across products. The bet on AI has driven a surge in revenues at the US group and pushed it past Apple as the world's biggest company by market capitalisation. Other tech groups have also moved to expand their AI work in Europe, with Google also announcing Thursday that it would open a research hub in Paris. Homegrown AI firms to rival the US tech companies have however been slow to get off the ground in Germany. The head of Aleph Alpha, Germany's hope to challenge OpenAI, said at the end of last year the startup would struggle to compete with the financial backing received by US rivals. New York Times sues OpenAI, Microsoft in copyright clash The New York Times sued ChatGPT-maker OpenAI and Microsoft in a US court on Wednesday, alleging that the companies' powerful AI models used millions of articles for training without permission. EU examines Microsoft investment in OpenAI The EU, racing to regulate the fast-moving world of artificial intelligence, said Tuesday it has started a preliminary study of Microsoft's multi-billion-dollar investment in ChatGPT developer OpenAI to see if it could be a disguised merger. Microsoft CEO defends OpenAI partnership after EU, UK probes Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella on Tuesday defended his company's multi-billion-dollar investment in ChatGPT developer OpenAI after the EU and Britain launched probes into whether it resembles a merger. Microsoft joins Apple in $3 trillion club Microsoft joined Apple on Wednesday as a three trillion dollar company, as its big bet on artificial intelligence continued to impress Wall Street. Rescue work is underway. (Photo: Xinhua/VNA) Hanoi The death toll from a massive landslide that hit a gold mining village in Davao de Oro, the Philippines has climbed to 92 while rescue work is underway for tens of others, the local government reported on February 15. Provincial officials said 36 people were still unaccounted for after the disaster on February 6. Torrential rains have battered Davao de Oro in recent weeks, triggering floods and landslides, and forcing many families to flee their homes. The Philippines had the highest disaster risk among 193 countries and territories around the world, according to a global risk index in 2022. It suffers various storms that trigger floods and landslides, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions. Philippines bans poultry imports from Japan The Philippines has imposed a temporary ban on the importation of poultry and poultry products from Japan due to an outbreak of bird flu there, the Philippine Department of Agriculture said on January 18. PM Pham Minh Chinh operates a rice planting machine in Hai Duong (Photo: VNA) Hai Duong - Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh embarked on a tour of agricultural production models in the northern province of Hai Duong on February 15, the sixth day of the Lunar New Year. Last year, the total value of agro-forestry and aquatic production in Hai Duong surpassed 22.5 trillion VND (937 million USD), up 4.08% annually. The province is known for its strength in winter crops, with the production value of 223.5 million VND per ha, more than 2.2 times higher than that of northern provinces. Looking forward to 2024, the province aims to achieve a 2.5% growth rate in the agriculture sector. Visiting an area for production of rice seedlings in trays and a mechanically sown rice field in Hung Long commune, Ninh Giang district, PM Chinh pesonally operated a rice planting machine there. He wished that Hai Duong would continue stepping up mechanisation across all agricultural production stages, new rural development and national target programmes, toward transforming the province into a hub of ecological and modern rural areas, with a cultured farming community. Later in the afternoon, PM Chinh visited an export-oriented carrot farming area, a carrot processing and packaging facility and cut the ribbon to celebrate the first export shipment of carrots in the New Year in Duc Chinh commune, Cam Giang district. He suggested the province develop key crops with high economic value that meet VietGAP standards while also reducing carbon emissions and improving export efficiency on the same land areas. Alongside this, Hai Duong should also build brands, promote trade, proactively connect businesses together and assist them in forming production, processing and consumption linkages, he said. Waffer and Boway eye new investments in Hai Duong Waffer Group and Boway Group have expressed their intention to develop manufacturing facilities for vehicle parts and solar energy in the northern province of Hai Duong. Germany's Harting opens new production plant in Hai Duong German-based Harting, one of the world's leading manufacturers of industrial connection technologies, held a ceremony to celebrate the launch of its production plant in VSIP Industrial Park, Hai Duong province, on November 2. . , . , . , . . LOS ANGELES (AP) After a winter barrage of award shows the Emmys, the Golden Globes, the Grammys the grandaddy of them all, the Academy Awards, are around the corner. The 96th Oscars may be a coronation for Oppenheimer, which comes in with a leading 13 nominations, though other films, including Barbie, Killers of the Flower Moon and Poor Things are in the mix. Heres everything you need to know about this year's show: WHEN ARE THE OSCARS? The Oscars will be held Sunday, March 10, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. The ceremony is set to begin at 7 p.m. EDT one hour earlier than usual and will broadcast live on ABC. A preshow will begin at 6:30 p.m. EDT. This is your early reminder to set your clocks accordingly it's the first day of daylight saving time in the U.S. ARE THE OSCARS STREAMING? The show will be available to stream via ABC.com and the ABC app with a cable subscription. You can also watch through services including Hulu Live TV, YouTubeTV, AT&T TV and FuboTV. WHOS HOSTING THE OSCARS? Jimmy Kimmel, who hosted last years ceremony, will emcee for the fourth time. That ties him with fellow four-timers Whoopi Goldberg and Jack Lemmon, and leaves Kimmel trailing only Johnny Carson (five), Billy Crystal (nine) and Bob Hope (11) among repeat Oscar hosts. In an interview with The Associated Press, Kimmel said the upcoming presidential election could be a topic for him, he doesnt plan to a strike a very political tone. Its not really the focus of the Oscars, said Kimmel. It doesnt mean I wont have a joke or two about it. But its not really my goal to invoke the name of he-who-shall-not-be-named at the Oscars. WILL THERE BE ANY PERFORMANCES? Yes, all the original song nominees will be performed on the show. That means Ryan Gosling will serenade everyone with Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt's Barbie power ballad I'm Just Ken and Billie Eilish will soulfully sing What Was I Made For," which she co-wrote with Finneas O'Connell. The other nominated songs include Diane Warrens The Fire Inside, from Flamin Hot," to be performed by Becky G, Jon Batiste and Dan Wilsons It Never Went Away from American Symphony, and Scott Georges Wahzhazhe (A Song for My People) from Killers of the Flower Moon. WHOS PRESENTING AT THE OSCARS? Last years big acting winners are all coming back to present at the show (a tradition), including Brendan Fraser, Michelle Yeoh, Ke Huy Quan and Jamie Lee Curtis. Stars from all generations are expected to hand out awards, from Rita Moreno to Bad Bunny. Steven Spielberg, Emily Blunt, Cynthia Erivo, Sally Field, Ariana Grande, Ben Kingsley, Melissa McCarthy, Issa Rae, Tim Robbins, Mary Steenburgen, Anya Taylor-Joy, Charlize Theron, Christoph Waltz and Forest Whitaker were the last batch of presenters announced. Other celebrities set to grace the Dolby stage include Scarface co-stars Michelle Pfeiffer and Al Pacino (likely not together), as well as Gosling, Zendaya, Matthew McConaughey, Chris Hemsworth, Dwayne Johnson, Regina King, Jennifer Lawrence, John Mulaney, Octavia Spencer, Jessica Lange, Nicolas Cage, Mahershala Ali, Sam Rockwell, Lupita Nyongo and Ramy Youssef. There will be some fun cast reunions too: Barbie's" America Ferrera and Kate McKinnon will take the stage together for a funny bit, as will Beetlejuice stars Michael Keaton and Catherine OHara. WHAT'S NOMINATED FOR BEST PICTURE AT THE 2024 OSCARS? The 10 nominees for best picture are: American Fiction; Anatomy of a Fall; Barbie; The Holdovers; Killers of the Flower Moon; Maestro; Oppenheimer; Past Lives; Poor Things; and The Zone of Interest." HOW CAN I WATCH THE OSCAR-NOMINATED FILMS? Many of this year's Oscar nominees are streaming on various platforms. The AP has this handy guide to help with Oscar cramming. WHO ARE THE FAVORITES? WHAT'S UP WITH THE BARBIE SNUBS? While Barbie," 2023's biggest box-office hit, comes in with eight nominations, much discussion has revolved around the nominations the film didn't receive. Greta Gerwig was left out of the directing category and Margot Robbie missed out on best actress. In those omissions, some have seen reflections of the misogyny parodied in Barbie," while others have noted the tough reception comedies have historically had at the Oscars. The nominations for Barbie include best adapted screenplay (by Gerwig and Noah Baumbach), best supporting actress for America Ferrera and two best song nominees in What Was I Made For and I'm Just Ken. ARE THERE ANY CHANGES TO THE OSCARS THIS YEAR? WHAT ELSE IS THERE TO LOOK FOR? For more on this years Oscars, visit: https://apnews.com/hub/academy-awards Car dealers operating along Wacos Motor Mile may have suffered recurring nightmares about the mall-to-mall highway construction along West Loop 340 that began November 2021. Waco Hyundai general manager Matt Murrey remembers when a fully loaded cement truck overturned in the dealerships driveway. Its been a mess, Murrey said, adding that he also has seen diverted traffic breezing past his dealership, going too fast to navigate turns into his parking lot. Two or three fender-benders have occurred, fortunately without injuries, just frayed nerves. But soon awaits the day Murrey, his car-selling colleagues and other businesses can exhale. The Texas Department of Transportation on Thursday said April 20 remains the target date for completing the $54 million upgrade along State Highway 6/West Loop 340. The work zone lies between Richland Mall and Central Texas Marketplace, thus the mall-to-mall nickname. Crews have added frontage roads where none existed, improved or modified those needing attention, placed bridges over roadways and railways, and tweaked entrances and exits. The goal was creating smoother traffic flow in a thriving area where industrial and commercial land uses merge. Eastbound and westbound main lanes are now open, and frontage roads in each direction are getting close to completion, said TxDOT spokesman Jake Smith in a news release and email responses to questions. Mall-to-Mall is close to substantial completion, Smith stated. Currently, all main lanes, ramps and frontage road lanes are in their final configuration. There are some punch list items outstanding, such as U-turn work, overhead signage installation, and landscaping. All the work described is scheduled to to complete by the end of April, weather permitting. Smith said TxDOT has not scheduled a ceremony marking completion. TxDOT Waco Area Engineer Clayton Zacha presented a mall-to-mall update to the Metropolitan Planning Organization policy board on Thursday. He said during an interview most work remaining involves minor tie-ins on frontage roads and U-turns. He described the undertaking as right on schedule. Zacha said TxDOT began the project knowing it would produce stress for car dealerships and other businesses operating along Loop 340/Highway 6, between Bagby Avenue and U.S. Highway 84. He said the TxDOT mobility coordinator informed interested parties of progress and traffic switches. This has involved a lot of knocking on doors, said Zacha. A benefit of the finished product, he said, is traffic can travel between I-35 and Highway 84 without using State Highway 6s main lanes. Frontage roads, once sporadic, now will carry motorists all the way. Zacha said traffic merging onto westbound State Highway 6 from Bagby Avenue no longer will face speeding, weaving traffic while quickly exiting Highway 6 bound for Highway 84. Waco TxDOT District Engineer Stan Swiatek praised Zacha and his Waco team for meeting schedules despite obstacles. The biggest challenge involved the (Union Pacific) railroad, said Swiatek. We need its permission to use right-of-way, and it granted us the necessary permit. But a fiber-optic company that also secured right-of-way began work that crept into our right-of-way. We would be drilling right through it. We discovered the problem after the construction contract was signed. The railroad said the fiber-optic company was not encroaching on our right-of-way, and we had to show them that indeed it was. We had two to three weeks of intense negotiations, said Swiatek in an interview. It could have slowed us down, but it didnt, he added. A teen was sentenced Thursday to 20 years in prison after pleading guilty to murder in the shooting of another teen after a gun deal gone wrong last year near the Estella Maxey Place apartments. Ruben Villa Lee Dominguez, 18, pleaded guilty Thursday to a first-degree felony charge of murder for the May 2, 2023, shooting death of Tercquan Johnson, 17, in the 1900 block of J.J. Flewellen Road. Judge Susan Kelly of Waco's 54th State District Court accepted the the plea deal prosecutors negotiated with Dominguez's attorney and sentenced Dominguez to a 20-year prison term. In evaluating cases and making plea offers, prosecutors must consider the unique facts and circumstances of each specific crime, McLennan County First Assistant District Attorney Ryan Calvert said in a statement Thursday. "At the time of this offense, the victim himself was armed and was in the process of stealing a firearm from the Defendant during an illegal gun transaction," Calvert said. "While those circumstances in no way lessen the value of Mr. Johnsons life, they would absolutely have made obtaining a conviction at trial much more difficult. So the plea offer must reflect those difficulties." Dominguez will not be eligible for parole until he receives credit for half his sentence, 10 years, though he will receive credit for the nine months he has spent in pre-trial confinement. While investigating Johnson's death, detectives found evidence that Johnson met with Dominguez for a gun sale and attempted to steal the gun before he was shot to death, according to a Waco police affidavit. The affidavit says Texas Rangers obtained information that "supported" investigators' conclusion regarding the gun theft. Waco police officers found Johnsons body in the roadway near Estella Maxey after responding to a call of a shooting at about 8:45 p.m. May 2, the Tribune-Herald reported at the time. Autopsy results show Johnson was wounded by gunfire in his left leg as well as in his head and neck, an affidavit says. Surveillance video, physical evidence, social media posts and phone messages between Dominguez and Johnson about a gun sale led investigators to determine Johnson met with people, including Dominguez, in a black Cadillac CTS at the parking lot of a nearby convenience store for an illegal gun sale before Johnson's death, affidavits say. Video shows the meeting in the Cadillac, then Johnson running from the vehicle moments before the driver gets out, fires several shots at him, then drives away, an affidavit says. Fort Worth police found the Cadillac abandoned in Fort Worth and returned it to Waco police for processing under a warrant, according to the affidavit. We are a bitter, divided nation. The bickering, hatred, and putdowns have become too much. This week, all I've seen is division and squabbling and the ugliest sides of human nature in full display. Is it a fool's dream to think we can mend the fences, bridge the gap, and bring everyone closer in unity and harmony? Somehow, some way, we need to come together... and just accept this year's nominees for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. As arguments go, this is one I'm okay with perpetuating. Do I have opinions on politics, vaccinations, Russia, immigration and the current state of our economy? Sure I do. But, by and large, do I keep my yap shut? You betcha. For one, I don't want to alienate half my readership. For another, I'm fully self-aware of my lack of qualifications to talk about such things. You want political opinion? Turn to the opinion page. You want a bangin' mixtape? I'm your boy. Music is my life force. I was changing records on my mom's hi-fi before I could properly walk. I can't dance to save my life, but it turns out you can still belong in a dance club if you're the one standing in the DJ booth shaping the playlist. The only reason I bought a house was because my record collection was outgrowing my apartment. The other day, I overheard some co-workers talking about music and all I felt was pure seething rage that they had the audacity to not include me in the conversation. I am music nerd, hear me roar. And if there's one thing that pushes music nerds into overdrive, it's the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Every year, the closed-door nomination committee of the Rock Hall presents a shortlist of nominated artists, who are then voted on by an elite group of music industry experts. Artists qualify for induction once it's been 25 years since their first release. The winners are then inducted at a nationally televised ceremony. Following that, they're added to the ever-growing exhibit at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame & Museum in Cleveland. It's a fairly big deal. And every year, they invariably get it wrong. No self-respecting music nerd is ever happy with the nominees, the winners, or the ceremony. The entire process seems less about honoring the inductees and more about getting fans upset about who DIDN'T make the cut. Either that or maybe I need to make different friends on Twitter. The music geeks I know get REALLY mad. Cursing and swearing mad. There's two common themes to the outrage. The first, and most obvious, involves the rather loose application of "rock & roll." Most people hear the term and think guitar/bass/drums. The Rock Hall thinks otherwise. There are country, soul and pop artists in the Rock Hall. There are (gasp) rappers in the Rock Hall. This irks rock purists to no end. The other argument is something along the lines of "how dare they nominate [any popular artist] when [some influential band who only 4 people on your continent have ever heard of] hasn't made it in?!" The righteous music nerd in me agrees with these sentiments to a degree. You might not have heard of The MC5 they're certainly not in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. But in greasy Detroit clubs in 1968, The MC5 pretty much invented punk rock. Search the Rock Hall all you want, but you won't find the industrial clangs of Throbbing Gristle or Einsturzende Neubaten, a German band known for playing homemade instruments made from scrap metal and power tools. But you WILL find Nine Inch Nails in the Rock Hall, a band whose very existence was predicated on those noisemakers paving the way (often literally, with onstage sledgehammers). Two of the most influential bands of MY musical upbringing, The Smiths and My Bloody Valentine, have never made the cut. But I get it. The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame isn't just an honor-bestowing organization. It's a business. No one's gonna tune in to watch a band they've never heard of get inducted. The museum needs to draw more visitors than just pretentious record store clerks. Few people on Earth would make Cleveland a vacation destination in order to see a sledgehammer that Einsturzende Neubaten once dragged onstage. The Rock Hall needs Elton John's glasses. It needs Michael Jackson's glove. It needs Taylor Swift's catsuit. This year's nominees were just announced. It is perhaps the least rock & roll offering they've ever assembled. There is much outrage. Even I was initially like, "Whaaa?" But the more I thought about it, the more impressed I am by this year's nominees. You've got a handful of true rock artists in the mix: Ozzy Osbourne, Peter Frampton and Foreigner. Newly qualified artists like Jane's Addiction, Lenny Kravitz and the Dave Matthews Band have made the shortlist. The late Sinead O'Connor has been honored with a nomination. But let's focus for a second on the ones the rock snobs are mocking. I argue they have every right to be there. Mary J. Blige was the first artist to bridge the gap between R&B and hip-hop. Kool & the Gang have twenty-one Top 40 singles. When Liam Gallagher heard his band Oasis had been nominated, he said, "I don't need some wank award by some geriatric in a cowboy hat," which is pretty rock & roll if you ask me. Eric B. & Rakim wrote the blueprint for modern rap. A Tribe Called Quest made jazz cool again. Sade are far from rock & roll, but may have been the soundtrack to your conception. Mariah Carey has more No. 1 hits than I can count, and half of them are "All I Want for Christmas Is You" plus she secretly recorded a grunge album in the 90s just to see if she could do it, which is a seriously rock move. And let's face it, Cher belongs in EVERY Hall of Fame. There should just be a Cher Hall of Fame. So step off your high horse, my fellow nerds. Music is subjective, and that's what makes it such a powerful force. Last night on Facebook, I was greeted by a post from a friend IRATE about this year's nominees. The very next post was from a different friend saying, "The Rock Hall finally got it right this year! What a great list!" I don't need a museum in Cleveland to tell me what music's awesome. You don't need me to tell you what music's awesome (although I can if you want. In great detail. Just ask.). But if we've got to argue about SOMETHING on the internet, I'll take this over politics any day of the week. CEDAR FALLS Firefighters quickly doused flames coming from a church Thursday night. No one was inside when a passerby called in a report of the fire at 5:39 p.m. at the former Grace Community Church at the corner of Greenhill and Hudson roads, according to Fire Chief John Zolondek. Firefighters broke down a front wall and contained flames to the attic. The blaze spread in the upper portion of the building from the front, facing Hudson Road, to the rear, but didnt cause any significant damage to the sanctuary. The cause remains under investigation. The ministry has plans to eventually move back into the building with Sent Church as part of a merger and was in the midst of a renovation project, creating what will be an approximately 300 person congregation, said Daniel Quinby, lead pastor at Sent Church. Were hopeful and praying that the damage is minimal, he said. The structure at 4421 Hudson Road dates back to 1977. Photos: State Wrestling Quarterfinals at Wells Fargo Arena Thursday, Feb.15 State Thurs 20 State Thurs 16 State Thurs 3 State Thurs 4 State Thurs 14 State Thurs 5 State Thurs 10 State Thurs 18 State Thurs 15 State Thurs 2 State Thurs 9 State Thurs 12 State Thurs 13 State Thurs 7 State Thurs 19 State Thurs 21 State Thurs 11 State Thurs 1 State Thurs 8 State Thurs 6 State Thurs 17 State Thurs 3A 5 State Thurs 3A 3 State Thurs 3A 9 State Thurs 3A 4 State Thurs 3A 7 State Thurs 3A 6 State Thurs 3A 8 State Thurs 3A 10 State Thurs 3A 1 State Thurs 3A 2 State Thurs 1A 14 State Thurs 1A 16 State Thurs 1A 20 State Thurs 1A 17 State Thurs 1A 4 State Thurs 1A 1 State Thurs 1A 15 State Thurs 1A 13 State Thurs 1A 19 State Thurs 1A 2 State Thurs 1A 8 State Thurs 1A 11 State Thurs 1A 5 State Thurs 1A 12 State Thurs 1A 7 State Thurs 1A 3 CEDAR FALLS Public school enrollment remains nearly unchanged in Cedar Falls after a new state funded option allowed more students to attend private schools. The official count taken Oct. 2 shows 5,677 kindergarten through 12th-grade students in Cedar Falls Community Schools for the 2023-24 school year compared with 5,676 in the prior year. The Iowa Department of Education recently released enrollment figures for school districts across the state. The October count comes as some 50 students Superintendent Andy Pattee says weve seen in the past took advantage of taxpayer-funded educational savings accounts to attend private schools. Approximately 125 ESAs were opened by families whol live within Cedar Falls Schools boundaries, he said. The other 75 were not district students, having been previously educated in private schools or at home. Pattee attributed the steady enrollment to the continued growth of the community. Hes keeping an eye on the districts open enrollment figures and the families who pay tuition to send their children elsewhere. Of the 5,677 students, 343 became Cedar Falls students through open enrollment, while 141 former Cedar Falls students open enrolled elsewhere. The ratio remains around 3:1, but the numbers (overall) are slightly up, said Pattee, adding that he believes families are becoming more aware of the option. We actually had to close down our open enrollment at our junior highs and kindergarten because of class size and capacity, Pattee said. Seventeen students paid tuition to attend River Hills School and other institutions. Four elementary schools and Holmes Junior High saw enrollment drop. The high school, Peet Junior High and three elementary schools saw increases. The most dramatic change was at Cedar Heights Elementary School, declining 9.03% from 454 to 413 students. Notably, the high school saw an increase from 1,294 to 1,328 students, or 2.63%. Overall, the total elementary school enrollment dropped 0.39% from 3,043 to 3,031 students. At the secondary level, enrollment increased 0.49% from 2,633 to 2,646 students. The numbers were logged after the Board of Education terminated its virtual campus program, which 44 students took advantage of last year. The remote option had seen a drastic decline from the more than 900 students in the 2020-21 school year during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and close to 500 students in 2021-22. The district enrolled 222 preschool students, part of a multi-year increase because of new partnerships, said Pattee. The previous two years saw preschool numbers at 213 for 2022-23 and 201 for 2021-22. Cedar Falls budget enrollment of 5,525.21 was up 5.09 from 5,520. The number is used in a formula to determine per-pupil state funding levels. The decimal point accounts for students who live within the boundaries of the district but are home-schooled or enrolled in nonpublic schools while taking some Cedar Falls Schools or college classes. It also includes adjustments to the actual number of students in the schools, such as those who come into or leave the district through open enrollment and special education. Can you pay taxes with a credit card? Can you pay taxes with a credit card? WATERLOO The Board of Education met this week with Jamie Oberheu and Kristin Stanford, members of Moms Demand Action, a gun violence prevention advocacy group, to discuss a smart proposal for local schools. The pair urged the board to adopt Be SMART principles and include information on gun safety in its school registration packets. They want Waterloo Community Schools to ask parents to sign a form acknowledging any guns in their homes are secured. The Cedar Valley chapter of Be SMART was formed last year. A component of Moms Demand Action, it works to implement public safety measures to protect people from gun violence. Be SMART aims to educate people about ways to safely and securely store their firearms. Guns do not make us safer, but securing them does, said Oberheu, a second grade teacher at Orange Elementary School. If approved, Waterloo Schools would be one of many Iowa districts to adopt the Be SMART program, including the Cedar Rapids, Iowa City, and Waukee districts. If we include active-shooter drills in schools, then it just makes sense for us to have this policy as well, said board member Stacie Mills. The Be SMART program has been endorsed by the National PTA and in September President Joe Biden established the first-ever White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention, overseen by Vice President Kamala Harris. In January, Department of Education Secretary Miguel Cardona issued the letter to school officials nationwide urging them to encourage safe firearm storage in the home. The Waterloo board will discuss adopting the resolution at a future meeting. Photos: State Wrestling Quarterfinals at Wells Fargo Arena Thursday, Feb.15 State Thurs 20 State Thurs 16 State Thurs 3 State Thurs 4 State Thurs 14 State Thurs 5 State Thurs 10 State Thurs 18 State Thurs 15 State Thurs 2 State Thurs 9 State Thurs 12 State Thurs 13 State Thurs 7 State Thurs 19 State Thurs 21 State Thurs 11 State Thurs 1 State Thurs 8 State Thurs 6 State Thurs 17 State Thurs 3A 5 State Thurs 3A 3 State Thurs 3A 9 State Thurs 3A 4 State Thurs 3A 7 State Thurs 3A 6 State Thurs 3A 8 State Thurs 3A 10 State Thurs 3A 1 State Thurs 3A 2 State Thurs 1A 14 State Thurs 1A 16 State Thurs 1A 20 State Thurs 1A 17 State Thurs 1A 4 State Thurs 1A 1 State Thurs 1A 15 State Thurs 1A 13 State Thurs 1A 19 State Thurs 1A 2 State Thurs 1A 8 State Thurs 1A 11 State Thurs 1A 5 State Thurs 1A 12 State Thurs 1A 7 State Thurs 1A 3 The 10th European Biopolymer Summit, organized by ACI, is a leading platform for knowledge sharing and networking in the biopolymer industry. The event brings together experts, researchers, and stakeholders to discuss advancements, trends, and challenges in biopolymers. Topics include production, processing, applications, and environmental impact, with a focus on sustainability and the circular economy. The summit features presentations, panel discussions, networking sessions, and an exhibition area. Join this transformative gathering in Ghent on March 26-27, 2024, to shape the future of the biopolymer industry. DES MOINES Iowa voters would no longer be able to return absentee ballots in drop boxes under legislation that also would make it harder to challenge Donald Trumps eligibility to appear on the 2024 general election ballot. House Republicans on Thursday advanced out of committee House Study Bill 697 that makes changes to state elections law that would limit challenges to federal candidates placement on the ballot, create an earlier deadline for absentee ballots to be received by local elections officials, ban absentee ballot drop boxes, and ban ranked choice voting, among other changes. Democrats vehemently opposed the bill, arguing it would make it harder for certain Iowans to cast a ballot. Republicans said the bill aims to maintain the highest level of election integrity in Iowa. This will make it easier to vote, not harder. It gives you more time to vote, said Rep. Bobby Kaufmann, R-Wilton, who chaired the subcommittee on the bill. Representatives for county auditors, the League of Women Voters and AARP Iowa oppose the bill, saying it would make it more difficult for older Iowans and people with disabilities to return their ballots. They also said it has become a constant struggle to educate Iowans about new voting rules and deadlines. Lawmakers in recent years have shortened Iowa's early voting period and stripped auditors of much of their discretion in running elections in their counties, including restricting their ability to establish satellite in-person early voting sites and mail absentee ballot request forms. Under the bill, absentee ballots would have to be received by the county auditor by the close of business on the day before Election Day to be counted. Currently, ballots can be received until the end of the day on Election Day. Auditors would be able to begin mailing out absentee ballots two days earlier to compensate for the earlier deadline. That would give Iowa voters an additional day to mail back absentee ballots. In-person early voting still would begin 20 days in advance of an election. The bill also would require absentee voters to include their drivers license or voter identification numbers when returning their ballots. Current law only requires voters to provide those numbers when they submit a written request for a ballot. It would set new requirements for absentee ballot envelopes, which the Iowa State Association of County Auditors says would require counties to incur major costs by buying all new envelopes. A companion bill has also advanced in the Iowa Senate Kaufmann, speaking to reporters, said absentee ballot drop boxes are no longer needed with the end of the COVID-19 public health emergency. COVID-19 severely disrupted elections in 2020. State voting systems were overwhelmed by long lines, an influx of absentee ballot requests, leading to the use of drop boxes. We no longer are in a COVID atmosphere. And there are already blue drop boxes in every single city and every single county in the entire state, Kaufmann said, referring to U.S. Postal Service mailboxes. Voting rights activists and county election officials, however, note mail delivery may be delayed and take several days, whereas a drop box lets voters know for a fact their absentee ballot has been received. You have 21 days to vote, Kaufmann said. Thats plenty of time. Democrats counter Rep. Adam Zabner, D-Iowa City, said the new restrictions on absentee voting could prevent thousands of Iowans from having their ballots counted. He said 13,883 Iowans during the 2022 general election returned their ballots via an absentee ballot drop box that are secured and monitored 24/7. And 3,000 Iowans returned absentee ballots on Election Day. And about 150 ballots that would have been valid under previous Iowa law were not counted due to new restrictions on absentee voting enacted in 2021, he said. "It is a lie to say that elections have been stolen in this country in recent years, Zabner said during the committee meeting. And the truth is, we have plenty of integrity in our system. This bill is about keeping the right to vote away from certain Iowans. Democrats proposed amendments to make voting easier and more accessible including automatic voter registration, expanding early voting to 45 days, allowing county auditors to begin counting absentee ballots earlier, making it harder to remove people from voter rolls, expanding use of ballot drop boxes and allowing counties discretion to establish satellite voting locations which Republican members of the committee rejected. Democrats are legislating to put people over politics. We want as many Iowans involved in the voting process as possible, Zabner told reporters after the meeting. We want people to have access to their fundamental rights. And Republicans are legislating for one man, Donald Trump. They want to make it harder for Iowans to vote. Trump 'nonsense' Kaufmann, who worked as a senior adviser for Trump's presidential campaign in Iowa, dismissed the assertion, calling claims of suppression nonsense that have been proven wrong over and over and over again. The new law would allow candidates for Congress and the presidency to appear on Iowa's ballot even if they have been convicted of a felony. Candidates for federal offices could only be challenged on U.S. constitutional requirements on the candidate's age, residency, citizenship and whether their nominating papers meet all the legal requirements. That would prohibit Iowa-based ballot challenges like the one in Colorado, where that states Supreme Court decided Trump should not be on the Republican primary ballot. Trump faces 91 felony charges in four criminal cases around the country. And he has faced challenges to his candidacy under Section 3 of the U.S. Constitution's 14th Amendment that bars officials from holding office again if they "have engaged in insurrection or rebellion" against the United States. Iowans, however, could still challenge Trump's eligibility in court. Kaufmann, speaking to reporters after the committee meeting, said ballot access should be determined by the people, not activists on either side. These laws, in my opinion, make Iowa the strongest election integrity state in the country, he said. Election 2023: America heads to the polls Heading into 3rd year of Russia-Ukraine conflict, NATO reveals its true nature as an undertaker By Ai Jun The declaration the West does not seek war with Russia is as hypocritical as the US, which keeps bombing here and there while saying it does not seek conflict. What Stoltenberg said, in essence, is a call for war mobilization, an attempt to hype up a war-like atmosphere to further strengthen NATOs interests gained during the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Shen Yi, a professor at Fudan University, told the Global Times. Read More: https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202402/1307010.shtml Russian Defence Ministry report on the progress of the special military operation (14 February 2024) The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation continue the special military operation. In Kupyansk direction, units of the Zapad Group of Forces inflicted fire damage on enemy manpower and military hardware close to Tabayevka and Petropavlovka (Kharkov region) and repelled three attacks launched by assault groups of AFU 30th mechanised and 25th air assault brigades near Sinkovka (Kharkov region) and Terny (Donetsk Peoples Republic). The enemy losses in this direction amounted to up to 130 Ukrainian troops, one tank, three infantry fighting vehicles, two pick-up trucks, one D-30 howitzer, one Gvozdika self-propelled artillery system, one Grad MLRS vehicle. In Krasny Liman direction, units of the Tsentr Group of Forces have improved their positions along the front line and with support of artillery and aviation repelled two attacks launched by assault groups of the AFU 63rd Mechanised Brigade close to Chervonaya Dibrova (Lugansk Peoples Republic) and Torskoye (Donetsk Peoples Republic). Enemy losses amounted to up to 320 military personnel, two tanks, five infantry fighting vehicles, 10 armoured fighting vehicles, 22 motor vehicles, one Strela-10 anti-aircraft missile system, and one D-30 howitzer. In Donetsk direction, the Yug Group of Forces units have taken more advantageous lines and positions and inflicted fire defeat on AFU manpower and hardware of the 2nd, 3rd, 5th assault, 17th tank, 22nd, 24th, 28th, 42nd, and 93rd mechanised brigades of the Armed Forces of Ukraine close to Bogdanovka, Krasnoye, Kleshcheyevka, Kurdyumovka, and Andreyevka (Donetsk Peoples Republic). The enemy lost up to 360 troops killed and wounded, six tanks, five infantry fighting vehicles, 20 motor vehicles, one Strela-10 anti-aircraft missile system, three U.S.-made M777 artillery systems, one UK-made FH70 howitzer, two MSTA-B howitzers, two D-30 guns, one Gvozdika self-propelled artillery systems, two UAV command posts, as well as four ammunition depots. In South-Donetsk direction, the Vostok Group of Forces has improved the tactical position and inflicted fire defeat of manpower and military hardware of the Ukrainian Armed Forces close to Vodyanoye (Donetsk Peoples Republic) and Priyutnoye (Zaporozhye region). The enemys losses amounted to up to 160 troops, one tank, two infantry fighting vehicles, two armoured personnel carriers, two Strela-10 anti-aircraft missile systems, three motor vehicles, three UK-made FH70 howitzers, as well as one Polish-made Krab self-propelled artillery system. In Kherson direction, the Russian troops hit units of the 28th mechanised, 45th artillery brigades of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the 121st Territorial Defence Brigade close to Rabotino, Nesteryanka, Stepovoye (Zaporozhye region), Ilyinka (Dnepropetrovsk region) and Tyaginka (Kherson region). The losses of the Armed Forces of Ukraine were up to 40 military personnel, one tank, two infantry fighting vehicles, four motor vehicles, one D-20 gun, as well as three Gvozdika self-propelled artillery systems. Operational-Tactical Aviation, unmanned aerial vehicles, and Missile Troops and Artillery of the Russian Groups of Forces have neutrlaised one launcher of the S-300 SAM system, one Bukovel-AD electronic warfare station, and also engaged AFU manpower and hardware in 126 areas during the day. Russian air defence systems have shot down one Mi-24 helicopter of Ukrainian Air Force near Rabotino (Zaporozhye region). In addition, seven HIMARS and Olkha MLRS projectiles have been intercepted over the past 24 hours. Moreover, 98 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles were downed close to Zugres, Aleksandrovka, Andreyevka, Gorlovka, Orlinskoye (Donetsk Peoples Republic), Chervonopopovka, Kremennaya (Lugansk Peoples Republic), Tarasovka, Ocheretovatoye (Zaporozhye region), and Obryvka (Kherson region). In total, 570 airplanes and 266 helicopters, 12,390 unmanned aerial vehicles, 469 air defence missile systems, 15,034 tanks and other armoured combat vehicles, 1,220 combat vehicles equipped with MLRS, 8,041 field artillery cannons and mortars, as well as 18,655 units of special military equipment have been destroyed during the special military operation. Tags: WtR Russian Defence Ministry report on the progress of the special military operation (15 February 2024) This morning, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation have launched a group strike with long-range air- and sea-based precision weapons against enterprises of the Ukrainian military-industrial complex engaged in the production and repair of aircraft engines, radio-electronic and communications equipment and mortar ammunition, as well as against factories producing fuel for AFU military hardware. The purpose of the strike has been achieved. All the facilities have been destroyed. In Kupyansk direction, units of the Zapad Group of Forces have defeated enemy manpower and hardware close to Berestovoye and Peschanoye (Kharkov region) and Makeevka (Lugansk Peoples Republic) and repelled an attack by an assault group of the 30th Mechanised Brigade near Sinkovka (Kharkov region). The enemy losses were up to 105 servicemen, three motor vehicles, one Grad multiple-launch rocket system, French-manufactured Caezar and Gvozdika self-propelled artillery systems. In Krasny Liman direction, units of the Tsentr Group of Forces have improved their position along the front line and also repelled two attacks by assault groups of 60th and 63rd mechanised brigades of the AFU near Yampolovka (Donetsk Peoples Republic) and Chervonaya Dibrova (Lugansk Peoples Republic). The enemy losses were up to 305 troops, 15 armoured fighting vehicles, including one U.S.-manufactured Bradley IFV, 14 motor vehicles, one Polish-manufactured Krab self-propelled artillery system, and one D-30 howitzer. In Donetsk direction, units of the Yug Group of Forces have occupied more advantageous lines and positions, repelled 10 enemy attacks, and also defeated manpower and hardware of the 17th Tank Brigade, the 79th Air Assault Brigade, 24th and 72nd mechanised brigades of the AFU, and the 112th Territorial Defence Brigade near Krasnoye, Kleshcheevka, Kurdyumovka, Leninskoye, Konstantinovka, and Paraskovievka (Donetsk Peoples Republic). The enemy losses were up to 360 servicemen killed and wounded, one tank, three armoured fighting vehicles, including one U.S.-manufactured Bradley IFV, as well as 27 motor vehicles. In the course of counter-battery warfare, one Polish-manufactured Krab self-propelled artillery system, two U.S.-manufactured M777 artillery systems, UK-manufactured FH-70 and L119 howitzers, as well as Msta-B, D-30 howitzers, and three D-20 guns have been destroyed. In South Donetsk direction, units of the Vostok Group of Forces have struck manpower and hardware of the 58th Infantry Brigade, the 72nd Mechanised Brigade of the AFU, 128th and 127th brigades of the Territorial Defence of Ukraine close to Vodyanoye, Vladimirovka, Urozhaynoye (Donetsk Peoples Republic), and Priyutnoye (Zaporozhye region). The enemy losses were up to 200 servicemen, one tank, two infantry fighting vehicles, and eight motor vehicles. In the course of counter-battery warfare, one British-manufactured FH-70 howitzer, two U.S.-manufactured M198 howitzers, and one Gvozdika self-propelled artillery system. In Kherson direction, Russian troops, in cooperation with aviation and artillery, have hit the 35th Marine Brigade and the 126th Territorial Defence Brigade close to Tyaginka, Ivanovka, and Yantarnoye (Kherson region). The enemy losses were up to 20 soldiers, two motor vehicles, one U.S.-manufactured M777 artillery, as well as one D-30 howitzer. Operational-Tactical Aviation, unmanned aerial vehicles, Missile Troops and Artillery of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation have neutralised a control point of the 72nd Mechanised Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, as well as manpower and military hardware in 102 areas. Air defence facilities have shot down MiG-29 aircraft of the Ukrainian Air Force near Kramatorsk (Donetsk Peoples Republic). Eight HIMARS multiple-launch rocket systems have been intercepted, as well as one U.S.-manufactured JDAM guided aerial bomb. In addition, 95 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles have been destroyed close to Zhitlovka (Lugansk Peoples Republic), Soledar, Volnovakha, Elenovka (Donetsk Peoples Republic), Lyubimovka, Inzhenernoye, Pologi, Ocheretovatoye (Zaporozhye region) and Velikiye Kopani (Kherson region). In total, 571 airplanes and 266 helicopters, 12,485 unmanned aerial vehicles, 469 air defence missile systems, 15,056 tanks and other armoured combat vehicles, 1,221 combat vehicles equipped with MRLS, 8,061 field artillery cannons and mortars, as well as 18,729 units of special military equipment have been destroyed during the special military operation. Tags: WtR Movie Name : Ooru Peru Bhairavakona Release Date : February 16, 2024 123telugu.com Rating : 2.75/5 Starring: Sundeep Kishan, Varsha Bollamma, Kavya Thapar, Viva Harsha, Vennela Kishore, Ravi Shankar Director: VI Anand Producer: Razesh Danda Music Director: Shekar Chandra Cinematographers: Raj Thota Editor: Chota K Prasad Related Links : Trailer Ooru Peru Bhairavakona, headlined by Sundeep Kishan, created a good buzz among the audience thanks to its chartbuster songs and appealing trailer. The fantasy drama, directed by VI Anand, has Varsha Bollamma and Kavya Thapar as the female leads. With complete confidence in the output, the makers opted for early premieres. Lets see how the film is. Story: Basava (Sundeep Kishan) works as a stunt double in films. As he is in dire need of money, he steals the brides jewelry from a marriage. Basava is accompanied by his friend John (Viva Harsha). While trying to escape from the Police, Basava and John see Agraharam Geetha (Kavya Thapar), who has met with an accident. They decide to help Geetha and take her along in their car. Basava, John, and Geetha reach a mysterious place named Bhairavakona, where they experience strange things. What are they? What made Basava steal jewelry? Who is Bhoomi (Varsha Bollamma), and how is she related to Basava? What is the enigma behind Bhairavakona? This forms the crux of the story. Plus Points: Sundeep Kishan is one such actor who always tries his hand at multiple genre films, and with Ooru Peru Bhairavakona, he has once again chosen a different movie. Sundeep Kishan is sincere in his portrayal of Basava. The actors body language, dialogue delivery, and mannerisms are spot-on, and his efforts are neatly visible. Sundeeps scenes with Viva Harsha came out well. Kavya Thapar gets the majority of the screen time, and the actress does what is expected of her. She looked good on screen and made an impact in the comedy scenes. Varsha Bollamma gave a good performance, but it is the ineffective writing that has let her character down. During the promotions, Sundeep Kishan and the team kept saying that the film would have an ample dosage of humor. Rightly so, the film has a fair amount of comedy moments that evoke laughs. Viva Harsha and Vennela Kishore are neatly utilized, and their one-liners will tickle the funny bones. Especially Viva Harsha shines in a character that is a mix of innocence and vacuity. Minus Points: Ooru Peru Bhairavakona goes wrong in many aspects. The first and foremost thing is the love track upon which the entire movie revolves. There are not enough scenes between Sundeep Kishan and Varsha Bollamma, making it tough to connect to their emotion. The key scene/twist reveal in the second half featuring the lead pair should have been emotional and shocking, but the presentation here made it inconsequential. There are two chartbuster songs, but they dont add much value to the proceedings due to their placement. Multiple genres are incorporated into the film, but enough justice isnt done regarding execution. From the opening scene, the director tried to project that there was some mystery behind Bhairavakona, but the suspense was not built properly. The stakes were never high, so we would hardly be interested in knowing the enigma surrounding Bhairavakona. The fun moments in the first half are passable, but the actual story is brought in during the halfway mark. The interval episode is neat, but as the staging of scenes and world-building arent done well, the impact is minimal. There are no high moments or thrills in both the halves. There are some really good, fun moments, but the movie somewhat disappoints on the whole due to a lack of emotional depth and flat narration. Everything regarding the second half looks very rushed, and one would get a feeling that the movie ended abruptly. The heroines backstory is a beaten-to-death concept, and the makers tried to blend it with fantasy, comedy, horror, and suspense elements, but these elements look somewhat contrived. Technical Aspects: Shekar Chandras songs are lovely, but they seem out of place due to writing issues. The art direction team did a splendid job, and cinematographer Raj Thota neatly captured the village locations. The editing isnt up to the mark, as the second half looks rushed. The VFX works also could have been better. Director VI Anand once again chose a different concept, but he didnt succeed completely. The film has some engaging moments and fun scenes, but we will leave the hall half-hearted due to the weak second half and bad ending. The emotions, thrills, and suspense elements are not handled well. Verdict: On the whole, Ooru Peru Bhairavakona is an ambitious attempt at blending fantasy and love elements, but the end result is underwhelming. The first half is passable, while the second half is below-par. Sundeep Kishan, Viva Harsha, Varsha Bollamma, and Kavya Thapar are fine in their respective roles and the comedy scenes engage us. The makers tried to offer everything to the audience by mixing various genres, but the movie doesnt pack a punch ultimately due to the substandard execution. Had the emotional and thrilling portions been handled better, the movie could have been a satisfactory watch. Hence, it is advised to watch Ooru Peru Bhairavakona with low expectations. 123telugu.com Rating: 2.75/5 Reviewed by 123telugu Team Click Here For Telugu Review Articles that might interest you: 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. We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on! Go to form Energy major Shell (SHEL.L) is contemplating the possibility of withdrawing from the ongoing tender for Norway's inaugural commercial offshore wind farm, Reuters announced, citing concerns over the project's profitability, as stated by the company's country manager. Shell, in collaboration with two local Norwegian utilities, is part of a consortium that has applied for pre-qualification to construct Norway's first bottom-fixed offshore wind farm at Soerlige Nordsjoe II in the North Sea. Despite being in the pre-qualification phase, the business case for the project is currently "not looking great," according to Shell's Norway country manager, Marianne Olsnes. She expressed these reservations during a panel discussion at an energy conference in Oslo on Wednesday. While no final decision has been made, Olsnes highlighted that the tender conditions were "very challenging," particularly as energy companies were tasked with handling certain aspects traditionally managed by grid operators. Moreover, delivering power to a market uninterested in higher-cost electricity further compounds the challenges faced. "We might not bid," Olsnes asserted, emphasizing the uncertainties surrounding Shell's continued participation in the tender. The tender offers the opportunity to construct bottom-fixed wind turbines with a capacity of 1.5 GW, marking Norway's entry into large-scale offshore power developments anticipated to extend until 2040. Despite a subsidy offer of 23 billion Norwegian crowns ($2.17 billion), industry representatives and lobby groups continue to question its adequacy. Acknowledging the global offshore wind industry's struggles with inflation, interest rate hikes, and increased supply chain costs, Olsnes did not rule out the possibility that Shell might still express interest in a planned floating wind tender or future offshore wind auctions. ($1 = 10.5869 Norwegian crowns) It is noteworthy that Reuters is the original source of this announcement. For more information about offshore wind farm projects across the globe, click here . Eyeglasses are all about seeing better, but a diverse and emerging class of smart glasses goes well beyond conventional optics and broadens the vision of what ordinary-looking glasses can do. Some smart glasses sport digital displays that can reveal details about a landmark you come across or show you translated text. Some play music or podcasts through concealed speakers meant for you alone to hear, or they have cameras that let you snap pictures without having to pull a phone out of your pocket. And some promise to not only correct your vision but help you hear better. AARP Membership $12 for your first year when you sign up for Automatic Renewal Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of discounts, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP the Magazine. Join Now Prince Charles, Prince of Wales tries on 'Google Glass' spectacles as he visits 'Innovation Alley' on May 21, 2014 in Winnipeg, Canada. Chris Jackson Collection/Getty Images Smart glasses had blurry beginnings Various iterations of smart glasses have been around for a while. The debut of Google Glass dates back more than a decade, but the product never caught on in the consumer market. As a category, smart glasses havent gone mainstream, at least not yet. Theyre expensive. Some of the most promising devices are still prototypes. And face it, you never have to charge ordinary glasses. Techies partner with fashionistas Comfort and style matter, too. And frankly, some smart glasses have been dorky. The number one thing that you need to get right when youre creating a consumer product that goes on your face is that it needs to be a consumer product that youre willing to wear on your face, says tech analyst Avi Greengart of Techsponential in New Jersey. Its why partnerships between venerable tech companies and iconic eyeglass brands represent a great step forward, he says. Brand familiarity. For instance, Facebooks parent company, Meta, has teamed with Ray-Ban on stylish $299 to $379 glasses that users can wear to make calls, listen to music and capture 12-megapixel ultrawide photos and videos that can be livestreamed on Facebook and Instagram. While wearing the glasses, people can talk with a digital assistant, Meta AI, thats powered by artificial intelligence (AI). Amazon joined forces with Italian eyeglass brand Carrera on $329.99 Echo Frames. Unlike Meta Ray-Bans, Echo Frames lack a camera. You can ask the Alexa voice assistant to play music or Audible books and double-check from afar that you locked the front door or turned off other smart home devices. Device for your body. Anshel Sag, San Diego-based principal analyst at Moor Insights & Strategy, compares smart glasses to a smartwatch on your face. They can be very useful, especially to an older crowd, he says. Smart frames may augment a persons ability to see by displaying larger text closer to the eye, Sag says. Or your glasses could read text messages aloud and send off the reply you dictate. State Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington Washington D.C. West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming Puerto Rico US Virgin Islands Armed Forces Americas Armed Forces Pacific Armed Forces Europe Northern Mariana Islands Marshall Islands American Samoa Federated States of Micronesia Guam Palau Alberta, Canada British Columbia, Canada Manitoba, Canada New Brunswick, Canada Newfoundland, Canada Nova Scotia, Canada Northwest Territories, Canada Nunavut, Canada Ontario, Canada Prince Edward Island, Canada Quebec, Canada Saskatchewan, Canada Yukon Territory, Canada Zip Code Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting Anurag Thakur, while addressing the audience during the inaugural session at the 28th International Conference and Exhibition on Broadcast and Media Technology in New Delhi, said that the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) has been a steadfast guardian of India's broadcasting industry, steering it through the winds of change with wisdom and foresight. Its unwavering commitment in promoting public service broadcasting, designing and implementing inclusive policies, media literacy initiatives and encouraging private participation in broadcasting and media industry has laid the foundation for a vibrant, inclusive and resilient broadcasting and media ecosystem in India, which is diverse, informative, and responsible. The Minister called for strengthening of Public Service Broadcasting to provide quality content that caters to the diverse needs of our nation saying India must carve its unique path, recognizing the rich canvas of our cultural heritage. He further remarked that Prasar Bharati, has played a pivotal role in shaping the narrative of our nation. From the grainy black-and-white screens of Doordarshan to its HD and Now 4K digital transition, from analog Medium Wave to DRM and now FM of Akashvani, the diverse programming of Doordarshan and All India Radio has informed, educated, and entertained generations of Indians. From the analog era to the dynamic digital landscape of today, our broadcasters have traversed a path marked by resilience, innovation, and unwavering commitment to excellence, he said. Thakur added that technological advancements present both opportunities and challenges and the demand for high-quality, personalized content across multiple platforms is surging. To that end, developing the latest generation of broadcasting equipment has become an imperative. Stating that there was a need to encourage indigenous R&D, nurturing our scientific talent and fostering partnerships between industry and academia, he said that Our actions today will determine the success of our dream for self-reliant broadcasting. The Minister went on to state that New Direct to Mobile (D2M) technologies offer exciting content possibilities for terrestrial broadcasting not only to television but also on handheld devices Mobile phones, pads, etc., on anywhere, any time basis, and that too without the need of Internet. We must explore and embrace innovative options of broadcasting like Next Gen broadcasting which shall not only ensure wider reach to cater to all strata of our society but also serve as a catalyst for ever evolving user experience. He further delved into the importance of data security and said that in an increasingly interconnected world, safeguarding data privacy and security of sensitive information is of paramount importance. India's efforts in developing indigenous cyber-security solutions underscore our commitment to data security, aligning with global Data Protection regulations. As we harness the power of technology to drive innovation in the broadcasting eco-system, let us ensure that we prioritize the protection of sensitive information and also not forget steps required for the integrity of our digital infrastructure. The Minister reminded the audience of our responsibility towards the environment and said that embracing sustainable practices in broadcasting operations is not just a moral imperative but a strategic necessity also. By minimizing our carbon footprint and reducing waste, we can lead global initiatives like the ABU's "Green Broadcasting" project. India's research and development in solar-powered broadcast equipment and energy-efficient studios position us as leaders in sustainable broadcasting, reflecting our commitment to environmental stewardship, he added. Noting that the media landscape was undergoing a metamorphosis with audiences taste migrating to OTT platforms and demanding personalized content, Thakur said that we must acknowledge this shift and adapt accordingly. Our content creation strategies, latest technology adoption and regulatory frameworks need to evolve at a rapid pace to remain relevant in this dynamic environment. On the same note the Minister cautioned that content regulation also requires careful consideration. Striking a balance between freedom of expression and upholding societal values is paramount. We must foster an environment where creative expression thrives within reasonable boundaries, ensuring responsible and ethical content. Speaking about this edition of the Expo, Thakur said that the BES Expo serves as a perfect platform for this critical collaboration of sharing wisdom & knowledge, exchanging ideas, and forging partnerships that will shape the future of the broadcasting industry. Elizabeth Venkataraman has joined Shriram Finance Limited, a well-known financial institution in India, as its Executive Director (ED)- Marketing. Prior to joining Shriram, Elizabeth Venkataraman was heading the marketing function of the consumer banking, commercial banking and Wealth businesses at Kotak Mahindra Bank. She had joined the Kotak Mahindra Group in 2004. Over the last 15 years, she has worked with a number of businesses including Wealth Management, Securities, International, Life Insurance and General Insurance. As Executive Director of Marketing in Shriram, she will be overseeing the marketing strategies and initiatives for the company, possibly playing a key role in shaping its brand identity and market presence. Elizabeth is driven by her passion to empower women by becoming financially independent. Her love for innovation is represented by her pioneering initiative of taking art off the wall and into the customers wallet. Elizabeth is a graduate in Commerce from Jyoti Nivas College, Bengaluru and an MBA (Marketing) from Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies, Mumbai. Outside of work, she is a doting mother and homemaker. She is also a fitness, music, movie and travel buff. Your greatest treasure is your family. Your first focus should always be providing for the financial and medical requirements of your family. Health insurance, commonly called medical insurance, is a crucial financial tool that not only provides potential tax savings of up to INR 75,000, beginning at just INR 150/Day, but also pays for medical treatment costs for health conditions and accidents. ACKOs Health Insurance Plans for Family provide families with complete health insurance. With one of the greatest family insurance plans, we relieve the burden of having to get separate health insurances plan for family members. What are Family Medical Insurance Plans? Health insurance plans for family is a type of medical insurance that offers a single health policy that covers every member of your family. There are varied types of family insurance policies that you can choose from. However, make sure you pick one that has maximum coverage. Best Health Insurance Plans for Family We can list down the options and ensure our families with the following medical insurance plans: Health Insurance Plans for Family The ACKO Health Insurance Plan, also known as the ACKO Platinum Health Plan, is a family-floater plan that provides comprehensive coverage for your entire family. It covers you, your spouse, and your children under one plan. You can even include your parents and in-laws under the cover. The premium for the policy increases with the number of members you add. It all comes down to protecting your family and taking your premium into account. This plan's beginning price is about INR 150/month. This policy's "sum insured," or health insurance coverage, can be INR 1 crore or Unlimited. Comprehensive Health Insurance Plan A plan that offers greater coverage than a basic mediclaim plan is referred to as a comprehensive health insurance plan. You and your loved ones can be covered under the same plan and share the insured amount with this coverage. You can conveniently have all of these covered under one all-inclusive health plan, even though medically sophisticated procedures like organ donation, robotic surgery, etc. typically require you to acquire additional coverage. It covers all hospital expenses and provides 100% coverage. Health Insurance for Senior Citizens In India, senior citizen health insurance is a particular kind of health insurance meant for the elderly. It typically starts when an individual is around 60 to 65 years old and assists them in paying for hospital stays and medical care. When seniors require medical attention, this insurance acts as a safety net, ensuring that they may receive the best care possible without having to worry too much about the cost. It functions as a kind of helping hand to keep our elderly happy and healthy. It includes hospitalisation, surgeries, some pre-existing diseases, and fees of doctors and medicines. Thus, providing financial security. Health Insurance For Parents You can purchase a unique type of insurance for your parents or other senior family members parents' health insurance. It functions as their health's safety net. When they become sick, this insurance helps cover the expense of their treatment and medical expenditures. Buy ACKO Health's Best Health Insurance for Parents, which is specially crafted to provide extensive coverage for just INR 20 per day, an inexpensive premium. Receive up to INR 75k under income tax benefits. Individual Health Insurance Individual health insurance can provide a number of advantages and, depending on their unique needs and circumstances, may be the best option for different people and families. You can opt for this insurance plan based on its flexibility, choice of healthcare providers, employment status and portability, tailored benefits, control over coverage and gives access to specialised care. It sometimes covers family members as well. Individual health insurance is a coverage plan that provides medical benefits to an individual based on a specific insured amount for just INR 20/Day. Maternity Health Insurance Coverage Maternity health insurance is a type of insurance that offers financial support in the event of childbirth. It pays for hospital stays associated with normal (vaginal) or caesarean deliveries. The insurance covers the newborn up to a specified number of days following delivery, not just during childbirth. The insurance provides benefits of customised plans, unlimited doctor visits, no waiting period and paperless settlement. Health Insurance Plans for Self-Employed In India, you are in charge of securing your own health insurance as a self-employed person. You have to figure out the complicated world of health insurance on your own, in contrast to traditional employees, whose employers usually provide health benefits. The services provided by these particular insurance plans, which include wellness programs, immunizations, screenings and routine check-ups, are aimed at keeping people healthy and preventing the onset of chronic illnesses. Health insurance programs assist self-employed people in being proactive about their health and identifying possible health issues early on by encouraging preventative care. It guarantees self-employed people's well-being and peace of mind by offering them access to healthcare professionals, financial safety, and coverage for a variety of medical costs. Health Insurance Based on Gender? Gender has a significant impact on the cost of health insurance even though it is only one element that affects the price. Here's the rationale behind gender-based health insurance rates lifestyle, maternity, life expectancy, risk-profiling, etc. Plans for health insurance depending on gender are made to accommodate each person's unique health needs. In order to meet their specific demands, several insurers have begun to offer health insurance plans tailored specifically for women. Pregnancy, cervical cancer, breast cancer and other conditions are covered under a health insurance plan created especially for women. These coverages will either come standard or be available as an optional extra. Similarly, several insurances are designed specifically for males and cover things like diabetes, hypertension, and medical issues related to stress. ACKO's Corona Kavach Policy This policy came into action during the pandemic. It covers a variety of medical expenses, such as hospitalisation costs for Covid-19 therapy, doctor consultation fees, room rent, surgery costs, comorbid medical disorders, home care treatment, and more. Conclusion The reason ACKO Medical Insurance Plans are the best is that they have a large hospital network, favourable reviews, rapid claims processing, customisable coverage, low costs, and an easy-to-use online interface. It's budget-friendly health insurance that meets your demands. Choose from plans like ACKO Standard Insurance, ACKO Platinum Health Insurance, and ACKO Platinum Super Top-up Plans as per your needs and get abundant features and benefits. With a rich background spanning critical roles in diverse conglomerates and startups like Mahindra & Mahindra, Jubilant FoodWorks Ltd., and VLCC Healthcare Ltd., Divya Mohan brings a wealth of expertise to her current position. Since joining InsuranceDekho in August 2023, she has been instrumental in shaping HR processes to support the company's rapid growth trajectory. In an exclusive interview with Adgully, Divya Mohan, Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO), InsuranceDekho, shares insights into her experiences and strategies in the dynamic insurance industry, the companys approach talent acquisition and development, emphasis on collaborative decision-making, and much more... You started your journey with InsuranceDekho in August 2023. How is the experience, specifically of working in the insurance industry? Being in the insurance sector at this time is a defining moment for many, and I am no different. The industry is poised to grow like never before and with that comes a host of opportunities to build and problem-solve. At InsuranceDekho (ID), we say we dont just sell policies, but we sell trust which has become a defining factor in our business. Trust is not only a business foundation, but also a guiding principle in all HR practices. The synchronisation between business and people practices sets us apart, creating a workplace where transparency and trust are foundational. Being a complex and regulated industry, the insurance sector comes with exciting challenges and opportunities. Moreover, InsuranceDekho is currently in an exciting phase of growth, making it imperative for us to address human resources issues comprehensively from talent acquisition to preparing our workforce for future needs. Our focus on a tech-enabled employee experience underscores the importance of staying ahead in HR practices, implementing solutions, and ensuring set seamless integration for sustained growth. Having worked in critical roles across diversified conglomerates and startups like Mahindra & Mahindra, Jubilant FoodWorks, VLCC Healthcare, etc., what changes have you inculcated in the HR process of InsuranceDekho? How have your previous roles prepared you for the challenges of being the CHRO at InsuranceDekho? My diverse professional journey across conglomerates and startups has been instrumental in shaping my approach as the chief human resources officer (CHRO) at InsuranceDekho. Being industry-agnostic, I have tailored HR processes to meet the unique demands of each sector. Having primarily focused on recruitment, learning, and development in HR, direct management practice has been a differentiating factor in my career trajectory. What makes this experience more substantial and challenging is the diverse set of problems presented by different businesses. The nature of these challenges is intricately tied to macro- and micro-environments, including the specific sector in which the business operates. Throughout my career, I have had the opportunity to work across multiple sectors, encouraging agility and enabling me to adapt my overall experience to the unique needs and challenges of each industry. InsuranceDekho is currently in a pivotal position to scale up its business. In my role as CHRO, I am tasked with bringing stability to HR practices, infusing technology for efficiency, and enhancing our employer brand. Moreover, with InsuranceDekho preparing for extensive expansion, the role demands a forward-thinking approach. We are poised for growth, both organically and strategically, and my responsibility extends beyond immediate HR needs to fuel the talent demands for our future endeavours. InsuranceDekho is a total online platform. How different is it working here as compared to Jubilant FoodWorks, or VLCC? The most notable difference lies in the business model. InsuranceDekho operates in both B2B and B2C, with a predominant focus on being an agency-led business. This is distinct from my previous roles which were primarily B2C. The online nature of InsuranceDekho adds another layer of differentiation. In the highly regulated environment of InsuranceDekho, employees, including those onboarding agents and those working in the call center, are tasked with comprehending technical products such as insurance. There is a huge demand for a heightened level of intellect and technical expertise to grasp complex processes and then simplify them for agent partners and customers. I have experienced a similar trend where the requirement for a sophisticated understanding of the insurance industry and technical acumen is a consistent feature in the other organizations I have worked with. InsuranceDekho is undergoing a period of rapid growth as the company is expecting to grow to Rs 6,000 crore over the next year, as shared by Ankit Agrawal, Co-Founder and CEO of InsuranceDekho. Being the CHRO, how would you approach talent acquisition and development to ensure the organisation has the right people in place to support this expansion? Our strategy revolves around competency-based evaluations, transparent communication, internal talent development, and strategic external hiring. Firstly, we emphasise on competency-based evaluations during the recruitment process. This involves assessing candidates based on their technical expertise, sales skills, and, most importantly, their alignment with our cultural tenets. We understand that cultural fit is crucial for long-term commitment and engagement, so we have implemented extensive training programs for our interviewers. Transparency is the basis of our hiring process. We believe in a two-way assessment where candidates evaluate if our company is the right fit for them, just as we assess their suitability for our organization. Given our commitment to trust, we provide clear insights into the responsibilities and expectations, making sure we attract individuals who genuinely identify with our mission. Internal talent development is a key priority, facilitated by a talent framework that supports vertical and horizontal growth. Our goal is to nurture a culture where employees view their career progression within the company as a long-term commitment. Furthermore, we recognize the need for strategic external hiring, especially for critical roles essential to our expansion. As we aim to grow exponentially, we understand the importance of having the right talent at every level. We are actively training our internal employees to take on bigger roles, aligning with our priority of nurturing talent from within. Simultaneously, for roles where internal talent may be insufficient, we engage in market mapping to identify external candidates who possess the necessary skills and experience. Our talent acquisition and development strategy is designed to not only meet current needs but also to future-proof InsuranceDekho against the challenges of rapid growth. We want to build a team that not only excels professionally but also aligns with our values. Given the dynamic nature of the insurance sector, how do you plan to address the unique HR challenges, such as talent retention and skill development, within the industry? Addressing talent retention and skill development in the dynamic insurance sector involves a multi-faceted strategy. We are one of the few companies that offer comprehensive training programs to equip employees with industry-specific skills. We must emphasize cultural fit during recruitment to ensure alignment with the companys values. InsuranceDekho prioritizes a meticulous onboarding approach, investing in each team member's understanding of industry intricacies and company products. Talent retention goes beyond monetary incentives, encompassing a commitment to a supportive and collaborative work environment. Our strategy involves continuous learning, mentorship programs, and a focus on individual growth. Besides, transparent communication about industry challenges fosters mutual understanding. Internal talent development is prioritized, with a talent framework supporting growth from within. Market mapping for critical roles ensures readiness for strategic external talent acquisition. This holistic approach aims to navigate the unique challenges of talent retention and skill development within the insurance industry. In what ways do you see technology playing a role in HR practices at InsuranceDekho, especially in areas like talent management, employee engagement, and performance evaluation? Technology plays a significant role in shaping HR practices at InsuranceDekho, with a particular focus on talent management, employee engagement, and performance evaluation. Our investment in a learning management system (LMS) is a testament to our commitment to creating a seamless learning experience. This LMS enables employees to access diverse learning resources, including online certifications, fostering continuous learning from multiple sources beyond traditional classroom settings. This all-encompassing framework aligns with our tech-centric approach to talent development. InsuranceDekho values innovation and agility. How would you incorporate these principles into HR strategies to adapt to changes in the industry and market conditions? At InsuranceDekho, where innovation and agility are paramount, codifying the culture no longer remains a fuzzy term. We have codified our culture through a framework we named IMPACT: inclusive, meritocratic, prudent and frugal, action-oriented, customer centric and trust & transparency. This framework becomes the foundation for talent acquisition, learning and development, and feedback processes. By clearly defining our culture tenets, we ensure that our organizational culture is not a vague concept but a tangible and actionable set of principles. This provides clarity for existing employees and serves as a benchmark for evaluating the cultural fit of new hires, ensuring alignment with the dynamic and innovative ethos of InsuranceDekho. What is your approach to change management, especially when implementing new HR policies or procedures? How do you ensure smooth transitions and gain employee buy-in during such changes? Our approach to change management, particularly when introducing new HR policies or procedures, centers around effective communication and collaboration to build trust and transparency within the organization. We believe that collaborative decision-making is crucial for gaining buy-in from our stakeholders, ensuring that every significant change is thoroughly understood and supported. We adopt a staggered implementation plan, allowing for ample communication and providing avenues for employees to voice concerns. Trust and transparency remain paramount; employees need to comprehend the reasons behind organizational changes and understand how these changes will benefit them. Addressing the "what's in it for me" question is essential, reinforcing the importance of clear communication and promoting a culture of openness. Could you provide an example from your past experience where you successfully handled a challenging HR issue or implemented a strategic HR initiative that had a positive impact on the organization? In my past experience, I successfully navigated a challenging HR situation and implemented a strategic initiative during a period of hyper-growth. In a startup environment, creating a lean structure was pivotal. I focused on organization design, identifying the immediate talent needs, and implementing bench planning to prepare for future talent requirements. Motivating and retaining talent in a fiercely competitive landscape was a key aspect of this effort. Dealing with companies in hyper-growth, where HR structures needed simultaneous building and scaling, posed a significant challenge. I have successfully managed this dynamic growth while ensuring effective HR practices contributed to the positive impact on the organization's overall performance. In an era dominated by on-demand content platforms, traditional radio faces the challenge of staying relevant. Abe Thomas, CEO of BIG FM, shares insights on how radio can compete and thrive in a landscape saturated with podcasts and digital streaming services. From leveraging its strengths in local storytelling to embracing evolving technologies, Thomas outlines strategies for radios continued success and evolution. Edited excerpts: On-demand platforms like podcasts offer vast content diversity and personalised listening experiences. How can radio compete and sustain in this landscape? With the rise in on-demand content, podcasts have carved out a distinct niche, exploring a plethora of topics tailored to individual tastes. However, challenges of podcasts include discoverability and monetization. This is where radio scores by offering curated podcast selections. Radio is able to better drive discoverability, audiences and monetization, given its existing relationships. This symbiotic bond keeps radio relevant in a crowded space, offering listeners the convenience and familiarity they desire. Also, radio has been the pioneer of storytelling, and our properties like Yaadon Ka Idiot Box with Neelesh Mishra and Suhana Safar with Annu Kapoor enjoy a loyal fan base like no other. Radio's live nature, local focus, trusted personalities, and accessibility across demographics (including those with limited internet access) still hold value. How can radio leverage these strengths? True, these are definitely the mediums strengths. Radio continues to grow in reach and time spent listening in Tier 2 and Tier 3 markets, and advertisers are leveraging its strengths to create impact. Top markets being Nagpur, Jaipur, Surat and Indore. In this growing digital era, the attempt is to enhance radios reach and accessibility by adopting a multi-platform strategy. Regardless of the device constraints, the aim is to be more platform-agnostic in approach. Also radios local insights help in generating local content and local storytelling which other digital platforms are unable to do. With evolving technologies and audience preferences, what adaptations or innovations can keep Indian radio relevant and engaging in the future? Emphasising radio's ability to influence outcomes, the focus is on driving tangible results through meaningful content and delivery strategies. New distributions like digital audio broadcasts, FM receivers on mobile phones, etc. can keep radio relevant in the coming years. Its also worth noting that live web radio remains a prominent feature internationally, but it's currently non-existent in India. This presents a significant opportunity for growth. Going forward, investing in live broadcasting can be a pivotal step. Also, at BIG FM we have witnessed a substantial growth of our solutions business. Radio + Digital + Onground has become an integral part of our offerings for providing comprehensive solutions for our partners. Is the restriction on private FM news broadcasting unfair, hindering diversity of information and public discourse? Given ongoing discussions and TRAI recommendations, do you anticipate any policy changes allowing private FM news in the near future? The lifting of constraints in the radio industry presents an outstanding opportunity for growth by introducing new programming formats, attracting a new set of audiences and thereby drawing in new advertisers. Radio, by virtue of being extremely local by nature, will have to deliver at a more local and micro-local level; it cant be national or regional. We are optimistic that the constraints will be removed gradually, and a lot more news and current affairs programmes will be the start of a new genre on the medium. How can radio stations differentiate their advertising offerings to attract advertisers and capitalise on their unique strengths like live broadcasting and local reach? Radio stations can implement demographic segmentation and targeting, followed by psychographic targeting, to tailor advertisements to specific audience groups. Cohort marketing strategies can also be employed to further refine these targeting efforts. For instance, our offerings like Slay Nation and BIG Street are examples of targeting specific cohorts. Additionally, we are offering packages for trade marketing and providing a platform for different psychographic groups attracting advertisers seeking a more targeted approach. By capitalising on these strengths and customising advertising offerings, radio stations can efficiently attract clients and maximise their advertising revenue too. What trends are emerging in radio advertising formats and technologies, and how can they be leveraged to maximise ad revenue while improving the listener experience? Through its various IPS and campaigns, radio has been consistently ensuring interactivity and engagement across platforms. Our properties such as 'BIG Antakshari' focus on increasing engagement, looking at lead generation. 'Super Duper Dhamaka', and 'Suhana Safar with Annu Kapoor' exemplify digitization by adoption of artificial intelligence and gamification which is gaining remarkable momentum. Notably, our BIG World offerings focus on content and connections for a deeper audience engagement from on-ground to podcasts to social commerce, there is a wide spectrum of offerings to capitalize on, bringing in sponsors and revenue for us. By embracing tech advancements, radio can maximise ad revenue and enhance listener experience with innovative and interactive programming. Policybazaar for Business, a rapidly-growing brand dedicated to addressing the insurance needs of Indian businesses, is pleased to announce the addition of three distinguished members to its advisory board: Dinesh Waghela, AV Rao, and S. Nagaraj. Last year, the brand had revealed the first name Mr Ajit Kumar, former General Manager at Oriental Insurance Co Ltd, who brought over 37 years of invaluable experience in the general insurance industry to the board. These industry veterans bring with them a wealth of experience and expertise in various facets of insurance. They will further strengthen the position of Policybazaar for Business in the business insurance landscape. Dinesh Waghela assumes role of Associate Director & Mentor With over 35 years of experience under his belt, Mr. Waghela brings a breadth of expertise and insight to Policybazaar for Business. His journey includes pivotal roles in some of the most renowned organizations in the insurance industry, showcasing his deep-rooted expertise. Mr. Waghela's career features a remarkable 25-year tenure with the General Insurance Corporation (GIC Re), where he significantly contributed to the growth and development of the insurance sector. Following his tenure at GIC Re, he assumed the role of Chief Financial Officer (CFO) at New India Assurance. His final chapter before retirement included the position of Director and GM/CFO at Oriental Insurance. In his new role at Policybazaar for Business, he will serve as the Associate Director and Mentor in the Reinsurance space. AV Rao joins as Advisory Board Member A seasoned professional in the insurance industry, Mr. AV Rao's strategic insights are expected to contribute significantly to the brand's success. With a proven track record in navigating diverse sectors such as biotechnology, engineering, transportation, defense, and information technology, Mr. Rao's expertise in underwriting and claims management positions him as a valuable asset in managing high-value risks. Having amassed over 33 years of experience in various capacities in National Insurance, Mr. Rao has a deep understanding of the intricacies of the industry. His leadership roles, including heading the Bangalore region in Fire/Engineering/ Motor Technical Departments/Finance Department in 2017 and serving as the Head of Technical Department in Hyderabad in 2012, underscore his capability in steering complex operations to success. Nagaraj brings 38 Years of industry knowledge to the advisory board Mr. S. Nagaraj, retired Chief Regional Manager and Head of the Large Corporate & Brokers Cell at United India Insurance Co, joins Policybazaar for Business's advisory board. With a career spanning over 38 years, Mr. Nagaraj's multifaceted roles, including underwriting, claims management, and marketing, reflect a dedication to innovation and a profound impact on the insurance landscape. His forward-thinking approach, including pioneering health coverage for the LGBT segment population, exemplifies his commitment to shaping the future of the industry. Sajja Praveen Chowdary, Head of PB for Business, stated, "The power of Policybazaar for Business lies in its commitment to customer-centricity. This advisory board is a step in the same direction as it helps the brand employ ground-level wisdom in making the needle move for enriched and integrated solutions in the Business Insurance space in India." Policybazaar for Business continues to strengthen its team with industry leaders who bring invaluable knowledge and insights, ensuring the brand's continued success in meeting the evolving needs of Indian businesses. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday charged the Narendra Modi government with having brought the Agniveer scheme in order to spend the defence budget for the benefit of a big business house, instead of emoluments paid to the soldiers. Gandhi made the allegation at Mohania in Kaimur district of Bihar, bordering Uttar Pradesh, a region from where youngsters are known to enrol in the armed forces on a large scale. The region was a witness to large-scale protests against the Agniveer scheme two years ago. An Agniveer will not get a salary and pension on par with a regular army soldier nor will he get access to the canteen, alleged Gandhi. The government had launched the Agnipath scheme on June 15, 2022 to recruit aspirants in below the officers rank cadre of the three services for a period of four years as Agniveers. The former Congress president claimed, This is because the Modi government does not want to spend the defence budget on salary and other perks of soldiers. It wants to spend the amount for the benefit of a business house. Earlier in the day, Gandhi said his party will accept long-pending demands of farmers in the country and ensure a legal guarantee to minimum support price (MSP) of crops if the INDIA bloc comes to power after the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. Addressing the Kisan Nyay Panchayat, a gathering of farmers, in Bihars Rohtas, as part of his Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, he claimed that cultivators are not getting the remunerative prices for their crops. If the INDIA bloc comes to power after the general elections, we will give a legal guarantee to MSP. Whenever farmers have asked for something from the Congress, it has been given to them. Be it loan waiver or MSP, we have always protected the interests of cultivators and will do so in future, Gandhi said. His comment comes at a time when Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), a farmers body, called for Bharat Bandh on Friday to press the BJP-led central government to accept cultivators demands, including a legal guarantee of minimum support price for crops. Farmers from Punjab began their Delhi Chalo march on Tuesday but were stopped by security personnel at the Shambhu and Khanauri border points between Delhi and Haryana. The protesting farmers have been camping at the border points ever since. Their agitation entered the fourth day on Friday. Addressing the rally at Mohania in Kaimur, Gandhi also said, If you look at the coverage in the media, you find little mention of farmers and other people and opposition leaders like us. You will find Modi sharing space with his friends. The Congress leader also said, Sometimes, you may also find Nitish Kumar beside the Prime Minister. The remark, aimed at the Bihar chief minister who recently dumped the opposition bloc INDIA and returned to the BJP-led coalition, evoked peals of laughter from the crowds. A fresh round of crackdown has been launched allegedly by the Pakistan Army against jailed former prime minister Imran Khans party in a bid to put pressure on the winners in the elections to change their loyalties to parties backed by the powerful military. The confrontation between Khans Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and the military establishment comes after the party won the lions share in the general elections in Pakistan on February 8. Police arrested successful independent candidates backed by the PTI, and conducted raids on their properties across Punjab province, party sources said. Arrest warrants have been issued for the PTI-nominated candidates for the slot of chief minister in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP). Besides, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has summoned Imran Khans sister Aleema Khan for inciting the public against the state. PTIs Prime Minister candidate Omar Ayub on Friday secured a pre-arrest bail from a local court to anticipate his possible arrest in any unknown case to stop him from going to Parliament to compete against Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz-led six-party alliance candidate Shehbaz Sharif for the coveted slot of prime minister. Omar said that PTI-backed MNA (Member of the National Assembly) from Sialkot, Aslam Ghumman had been abducted by unknown people, referring towards intelligence agencies. Ghumman is being forced to leave PTI and join PML-N. Condemn this rigging process and enforced disappearances in the strongest words possible, Ayub said on X (formerly Twitter). In Lahore, police have arrested PTI-backed MPA-elect Ahmar Rasheed Bhatti from Raiwind in connection with the May 9 riots cases. The polices post-election action came when the PTI was celebrating his victory at his outhouse. 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 Khans arrest in an alleged corruption case on May 9 last year. Similarly, the Punjab police raided the factories, mills and godowns of PTI-backed MNAs-elect from Gujranwala Mobeen Arif Jutt and Ehsanullah Virk and sealed them. The authorities continue to use the May 9 violence as a weapon to pressure the PTI-backed winners of the February 8 polls to change loyalties. The Punjab police issued fresh warrants for PTI leader Aslam Iqbal in May 9 cases. Iqbal is the PTI candidate for Punjab chief minister against PML-Ns Maryam Nawaz who is the daughter of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif. Khan, the PTI founder, has been in jail since August last year and just before polls, he was sentenced to a 31-year jail term in three cases. In total, he is facing over 200 cases. Meanwhile, the PTI said that it had won 180 National Assembly seats out of a total of 266 in the elections while the mandate thieves PML-N has got only 17 National Assembly seats across Pakistan. Let the world know that according to original, signed, legally binding Form 45s, Imran Khans PTI has won 180 seats in the National Assembly while Nawaz Sharifs PMLN won only 17 seats, the PTI said and added half of PTIs won seats were stolen by the illegitimate regime in the late hours of the night of February 8 and following days, through unprecedented, massive and brazen rigging, in an attempt to cut down PTIs two-thirds majority. It further said neither PTI nor the people of Pakistan will accept this daylight robbery of their mandate. Make no mistake, the will of the people will reign supreme, Khans party said. Congress turncoat Milind Deora filed nomination as Shiv Senas (Eknath Shinde faction) Rajya Sabha candidate from Maharashtra on Thursday. Deora filed his nomination at the Vidhan Bhavan in Mumbai in the presence of Maharashtra Chief Minister and Shiv Sena chief Eknath Shinde, Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and other party leaders. Deora earlier this year switched from Congress severing decades-old family ties with the grand old party and joined Shiv Sena. He was elected to Lok Sabha in 2004 and 2009 but lost the consecutive general elections in 2014 and 2019. Deora, the son of late Congress veteran leader Murli Deora, quit the party on January 14, alleging that it had deviated from its ideological and organisational roots. Former CM and Congress defector Ashok Chavan also filed nomination as BJPs Rajya Candidate from Maharashtra on Thursday. Ashok Chavan joined the BJP earlier this week, a day after quitting the Congress. Speaking after his nomination to the Rajya Sabha Chavan thanked PM Modi for having faith in him I thank PM Modi, Union HM Amit Shah, party president JP Nadda, Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis and other leaders. I feel that the opportunity they have given me shows the faith BJP has in me Former CM Ashok Chavan quit the party and joined BJP earlier this month. With a series of exits from the grand old party, it has been a major blow to the Congress in Maharashtra. However, the Congress has said that the exit of leaders will not have any impact on the upcoming Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha elections and that the party will come back strongly. Meanwhile, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Praful Patel filed his nomination for Rajya Sabha polls on Thursday. Speaking after filing his nomination, Praful Patel hailed NCP leader and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar for his leadership and expressed confidence in the BJP-led NDA returning to power. On the instructions of Ajit Pawar, Sunil Tatkare, Dhananjay Munde, we have filed the nomination today. There is a doubt in peoples mind that my term is not over, yet people are arguing about why the nomination has been filed today. We are in politics, some things happen, you will understand the picture in the coming days. We are working under the leadership of Ajit Dada, he said. Under the leadership of PM Modi, once again NDA government will come in the country, it will cross 400 and Maharashtra will also get 45 seats and Maharashtra will have a big contribution in the victory of PM, Praful Patel said. Today is the last day for filing nomination papers for the RS polls. The Election Commission has scheduled the Rajya Sabha elections for 15 states, including Uttar Pradesh, for February 27. Voting will take place from 9 am to 4 pm on this date, with the deadline for nominations set for February 15. The results of the elections will be announced on the same day, February 27. The Election Commission announced the biennial Rajya Sabha polls for 56 seats, as the tenure of incumbents ends in April. A Slidell, La., man was arrested by federal agents Friday and charged in connection with the rioting at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, according to the U.S. Attorneys Office. Charles Tyler Himber, 30, became the eighth person from Louisiana and third from St. Tammany Parish charged for their roles in the Jan. 6 riot, according to NOLA.com. Henson is charged with a federal felony offense of civil disorder, as well as multiple misdemeanors, including knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority; disorderly or disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds; disorderly or disruptive conduct in a Capitol building; and parading, demonstrating, or picketing in a Capitol building. According to federal court documents, Himber attended the Stop the Steal rally, during which then-President Donald Trump urged attendees to march on the Capitol in demonstration of their opposition to the election of Joe Biden, Himber trespassed over a restricted perimeter and made his way to the east side of the Capitol, where he tried to enter the building through the East Rotunda Doors. Once there, he and other rioters tried to push past police and into the building. Initially, police were able to push the rioters back and close the doors, with Himber screaming Let us in! based on photos and videos taken at the scene. Several minutes later, Himber and other rioters managed to push past police and into the building. From there, Himber and others forced their way into the Rotunda before police were able to close the doors. At that point, Himber and others were surrounded by police and escorted out of the Capitol. Once outside, Himber climbed atop an armored law enforcement vehicle and also screamed at someone filming the scene Youre not f------ safe! The two other St. Tammany Parish residents arrested in the case also jumped on the armored vehicle, according to NOLA.com. Himber bragged of his actions on Jan. 6 in multiple media posts, both before, during and after the riots. In one post, he wrote Storm in Capitol Hill is a go... drain the swamp manually... Evacuating Capitol Hill push back. Posts during the riot included Himber writing Were in and Making history. Those posts to his Facebook page ultimately drew the attention of the FBI. They were still on Facebook as of Friday. Himber was taken into custody in Golden Meadow in southernmost Louisiana and is awaiting an initial appearance in U.S. District Court in the Eastern District for Louisiana. If convicted of the felony charge of civil disorder, he faces up to five years in prison. Since the Jan. 6 riot, more than 1,300 suspects from nearly all 50 states have been charged for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, the U.S. Attorneys Office said. Nearly 470 of those have been charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement, a federal felony. A woman who pleaded guilty in the beating death of her 4-year-old nephew will spend 20 years in state prison, Circuit Court Judge Brandy Hambright ruled Thursday. Yolanda Denise Coale, 55, pleaded guilty in December to reckless manslaughter for her role in the death of 4-year-old King Lyons. The boy was found unresponsive inside a home in early February 2022. Mobile Fire-Rescue personnel pronounced the child dead at the scene. Coale was arrested the following day, initially charged with aggravated child abuse. That charge was later upgraded to murder, but in December she entered a best-interest plea of guilty to reckless manslaughter. A best interest plea, or blind plea, allows a defendant to plead guilty while maintaining their innocence. The 20-year sentence handed down Thursday is the maximum allowed under state law. Coale was given credit for time served, which includes the nine days she spent in the Mobile Metro Jail before being released after posting $150,000 bond. Court records show investigators believe Coale allowed the boys 9-year-old sister to beat him with a broomstick in February 2022. However, the boy was also found to have signs of long-term child abuse. Directly equating loneliness to one-person households is an assumption with a hole big enough you can drive a bus filled with family, friends and pets through it. Still, a recent Loneliest Cities in America list based on that assumption is getting traction online, including coverage by cnbc.com. Washington D.C. tops the 30-city list. Rounding out the top 10, in descending order: Birmingham; St. Louis; Atlanta; Cleveland; Pittsburgh; Cincinnati; Alexandria, Virginia; Minneapolis, and Richmond, Virginia. In addition to Birmingham in the number two spot, Mobile at 28 gives Alabama two cities on the list. Ohio, Missouri and Florida set the pace among states, with three cities each. This list was released by chamberofcommerce.org, a website that self-identifies as the go-to digital resource for small business owners and entrepreneurs. Past analyses by the website have been cited by noteworthy media including New York Times and Forbes. Chamberofcommerce.org introduces their Loneliest Cities in America 2024 list with the assertion, Living alone is more common than ever in the United States. Nationwide, more than 37 million Americans live alone, representing 29 percent of all U.S. households, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Living alone has increased by nearly 5 million within a decade, a trend accelerated by the pandemic, according to chamberofcommerce.org. To determine their Loneliest Cities in America list, chamberofcommerce.org staff analyzed more than 170 census-defined places with a population of 150,000 or more via the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey. To determine the average year-over-year increase, they analyzed 2021-2022 one-person household data. Data from the American Community Survey was not available for 2020 due to the pandemic, according to chamberofcommerce.org. The Loneliest Cities blurb for Birmingham reads: Among Birminghams 88,889 households, nearly half (48 percent) are occupied by one person. During the pandemic, the city experienced a 11.4 percent increase in residents living alone and that trend seems to be continuing. Year-over-year, the number of people living alone in Birmingham spiked by more than 3,800, according to the Census Bureau. " In addition to an overall Loneliest Cities list, the website broke down by gender. St. Louis topped the loneliest cities for males, while Alexandria, Virginia, topped loneliest for females. Birmingham made the top five for both. These kinds of social-media-shares-friendly lists are thrown around like confetti though. Just last year, U.S. News & World Report ranked Bham number 80 in theirs Best Places to Live in the U.S. for 2023-2024 list, which was topped by Green Bay, Wisconsin. In that U.S. News blurb, writer Raymonda Rice described Birmingham as, the cultural epicenter of Alabama. And a city with, many of the allures of urban life with a more affordable price tag than youll find in many similarly-sized metro areas. James Beard Award-winning Nashville chef Sean Brock is ready to spread a little joy in Birmingham. Brock and his Nashville investor Paul Mishkin have partnered with Birmingham restaurateur Nick Pihakis and his Pihakis Restaurant Group to open the first Birmingham location of Brocks retro fast-food restaurant Joyland. Brock opened the original Joyland in East Nashville in 2020, and the Birmingham location will be the second. The Birmingham Joyland is expected to open in April in the former home of another Pihakis Restaurant Group property, Rodney Scotts BBQ, at 3719 Third Ave. South in Avondale, Pihakis told AL.com. The Joyland menu which is inspired by the original fast-food restaurants of yesteryear, according to a media release -- features Brocks creative takes on such American classics as cheeseburgers, buttermilk biscuits, fried chicken, milkshakes and hand pies. The star of the menu is Brocks signature CrustBurger, a griddled Bear Creek Farm beef patty served with melted American cheese on a crispy potato bun that is pressed flat as a pancake. Pihakis -- whose Pihakis Restaurant Group portfolio includes not only Rodney Scotts BBQ but also Hero Doughnuts & Buns, Little Donkey, Tasty Town Greek Restaurant and Lounge and the soon-to-open Italian restaurant Luca Lagotto -- got to know Brock through the FatBack Collective, an all-star group of Southern chefs, pitmasters and restaurateurs dedicated to reviving and preserving the dying practice of small, heritage-breed hog farming. Sean and I have known each other forever, and we really wanted to partner up and do something, Pihakis said. We feel like this is a wonderful concept. Seans just so creative, and whats hes built there (in Nashville) is phenomenal, Pihakis added. Im just happy to be a part of it. The Birmingham location is the first of several more Joyland restaurants that the partners plan to eventually open across the country, Pihakis said. I like to do this in Birmingham because Im here every day, and I can understand what were doing a lot better, he said. Were going to open the first one here, and then were just gonna try to grow because we all feel like its got potential. The "CrustBurger," served here with a side of curly fries, is the star of the menu at Nashville chef Sean Brock's retro fast-food restaurant Joyland. (Photo by Emily Dorio; used with permission from the Sprouthouse Agency) A Southern culinary visionary One of the Souths most innovative chefs, Brock, a Virginia native, won the James Beard Award for Best Chef: Southeast in 2010, when he was the executive chef at the Charleston, S.C., fine-dining restaurant McCradys. His first cookbook, Heritage, also won a James Beard Award in the American Cooking category in 2015. He is formerly the founding chef and culinary advisor at Husk, which he started in Charleston in 2010 and subsequently opened locations in Nashville, Savannah and Greenville, S.C. In addition to Joyland, Brocks other Nashville restaurants include Audrey, a Southern restaurant inspired by and named after his maternal grandmother; June, a modern, intimate, tasting-menu restaurant; and Bar Continental, a hi-fidelity record bar and cocktail lounge with a small-plate dinner menu. Mishkin -- a former stock options trader who founded the technology-driven, proprietary trading firm Simplex Trading -- has helped Brock develop all his Nashville restaurants, and in 2022, Mishkin opened Southall Farm & Inn, a luxury farm resort in Franklin, Tenn. From left, Nick Pihakis, Sean Brock and Paul Mishkin have partnered to open a Birmingham location of Brock's Joyland fast-food restaurant concept. The group plans to open more locations across the country.(Photo by Mick Jacob; used with permission from the Sprouthouse Agency) A much-needed boost for Avondale? The opening of Joyland in Avondale could provide a much-needed spark to that areas once-booming restaurant scene, Angie Mosier, the Pihakis Restaurant Groups creative director, said. While it continues to operate two other Birmingham-area locations of Rodney Scotts BBQ in Homewood and Trussville, the Pihakis Restaurant Group closed the Avondale location this past November. Meanwhile, two other prominent Avondale restaurants -- Post Office Pies and Avondale Common House -- have also closed or moved in recent months, and another, Melt, closed its original Avondale location in December 2022 and moved to Mountain Brooks Lane Parke development. Mosier is hoping Joyland will help reverse that trend. Were super-excited to add to the landscape there in Avondale -- especially right now, she said. I think its going to be an exciting addition to Avondale since so many things have moved on. A fourth suspect is in custody in the fatal 2023 shooting of a 16-year-old boy in Montgomery. Willie Cole, 18, of Millbrook, is charged with capital murder in the slaying of the teen. Cole was taken into custody in Prattville on Thursday by the U.S. Marshals Gulf Coast Regional Fugitive Task Force. He is being held without bond in the Montgomery County Detention Facility. Willie Cole(Montgomery Police) Earlier this week, authorities announced the arrest of 19-year-old Raymond Kemp in connection with the teens death. Kemp, who was already facing an attempted murder charge in unrelated case, was captured in Florida. Two other suspects, ages 16 and 17, were charged in December. According to charging documents, police were dispatched at 11:56 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2023, to a report of a suspicious person on Cloud Street. They arrived to find the victim unresponsive inside a Nissan Altima. He was pronounced dead from a gunshot wound minutes later. Investigators determined the group was trying to rob the teen. Records state the deadly shooting happened earlier that night about 6:15 p.m. Alabama legislation restricting what kind of flags are displayed on public property is on hold as lawmakers examine ways to clean up the language within the bill. Under SB4, sponsored by Sen. Gerald Allen, R-Tuscaloosa, flying unapproved flags on public grounds like schools and government buildings could lead to a Class C misdemeanor conviction and up to a $500 fine or three months in jail. Allen, on Wednesday before the Senate State Government Affairs Committee, recommended holding off on advancing the bill until the legislation could get amended. We have more work to do on this bill, he said. There are some adjustments, and we are reconsidering some things. He declined to say what kind of timeline the bill has before it resurfaces. It has come up twice in the past week before the committee but has not received a vote. State Sen. Chris Elliott, R-Josephine, said an amended version of the legislation will streamline the number of flags allowed to be displayed on public grounds. The initial bill included several exemptions, including one controversial one: the Confederate flag. I was hoping to have it cleaned up a bit so that (long) list of flags is not in there, Elliott said. It cleans it up significantly. An amended version of SB4 was not available Thursday on the Alabama Legislatures website. The original bill allows a list of flags to be flown on public property without prior approval from a government body that includes: the U.S. flag, Alabama state flag, the official flag of the Boy Scouts/Girls Scouts, American Red Cross, POW/MIA flags, and a city or county governments official flag. The other exception was an official flag or any nation or state that preceded the U.S. and Alabama, which could allow for the Confederate flag to be flown on public grounds. Some of the Black Democratic members of the committee, during a Feb. 7 committee raised concerns that the bills language could allow for the Confederate flag to fly on public property. Elliott said the legislations wording is confusing. (Allen) never had it listed as the Confederate flag and the language in the bill said something to the effect of a flag previously flown over Alabama, Elliott said. The language also said prior to the formation of the United States, so it could have been read to allow for the Stars and Bars, not the battle flag. Reading more closely, I dont think it permitted that either. Allen has pushed controversial bills before that preserve and protect Confederate imagery. He was the sponsor of the Alabama Memorial Preservation Act of 2017, which prohibits the removal of Confederate monuments or any structure over 40 years old unless authorized by a state committee. He has touted the legislation as a way to promote awareness to 9/11. The bills language suggests that public bodies considering flying the Freedom flag on the anniversary of Sept. 11, 2001. The legislation does not mandate the flag fly on Sept. 11 every year. None of the public hearings touched upon the penalties that could be imposed if the LGBTQ Pride flag is flown on public property. Similar bills are under consideration in Florida and Tennessee. Efforts to criminalize the flying of the LGBTQ Pride flag during Pride Month in June has also emerged in cities like Huntington Beach, Calif., and Hamtramck, Mich. An Alabama law enforcement officer took his own life Thursday while attending a training class in Fultondale, authorities said. Fultondale police Sgt. John Tanks said the class, which was on sex offender investigations, was taking place at the Fultondale Event Center on Hawkins Lane. The session broke for lunch and the officer, who worked outside of Jefferson County, went to lunch with three other people. When they returned to the event center shortly before 1 p.m., three of the officers got out of the vehicle to walk back inside the building. As they did so, they heard a gunshot. The officer was found dead inside the back seat of the vehicle with what authorities said was a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The 43-year-old man was an Elmore County sheriffs deputy. If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call or text 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org. An Alabama man is accused of embezzling more than $200,000 in Florida where he was hired to building a home in Walton County. Michael Scott Barnes, 59, of Dadeville, is now charged criminally. The investigation began in August 2023 when the Walton County Sheriffs Office was contacted by the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation regarding a complaint about Barnes. In March 2022, the victim hired Barnes as a general contractor to build a home for their family in Santa Rosa Beach. The victim paid Barnes close to $1 million but, after a few months of construction, hundreds of thousands of dollars went missing and construction nearly stopped. The victim was forced to hire a new contractor and reported Barnes to FDBPR. Investigators discovered Barnes misappropriated construction payments of $262,130 paid by the victim. The money was never returned, and Barnes could not properly account for where the money went. A warrant against Barnes was issued on Feb. 1. On Feb. 9th, after repeated attempts to allow Barnes to turn himself in, investigators reached out to Tallapoosa County Sheriffs Office requested they take him into custody. That same day, Barnes was arrested. Barnes was extradited to Florida on Thursday and remains held in the Walton County Jail on $15,000 bond. Recent reporting by AL.com on Alabama mothers criminalized for taking drugs while pregnant has been named a finalist for a national journalism award through the American Society of Magazine Editors. The project featured several stories and involved five newsrooms. AL.com reporter Amy Yurkanins 2023 story How One Alabama County Declared War on Pregnant Women Who Use Drugs focused on Etowah County. Yurkanin also helped with the national overview These States Are Using Fetal Personhood to Put Women Behind Bars in partnership with The Marshall Project, The Frontier in Oklahoma, Mississippi Today and the Post & Courier in South Caolina. The story also was published in The Guardian. The Alabama Supreme Court ruled in 2013 it is legal to criminally prosecute women whose babies are born with drugs in their bodies. Yurkanin found that while Alabama leads the nation in such arrests, no county does more to locate, jail and keep new mothers behind bars than Etowah County. An AL.com analysis of Alabama court records and interviews with local officials, lawyers, advocates and the women who have been arrested revealed that Etowah County officials specifically focus on pregnant women. The third stroy included in the entry was They Were Prosecuted for Using Drugs While Pregnant. But It May Not Have Been a Crime, by Anna Wolfe at Mississippi Today. The project is a finalist alongside work including the look at the seafood industry by the New Yorker and Outlaw Ocean Project, the examination of contaminated eyedrops by Bloomberg, and the reporting on large gifts to Supreme Court justices by ProPublica. Winners for the National Magazine Awards for magazine storytelling will be announced on Tuesday, April 2 The astonishing variety of this years National Magazine Award nominees demonstrates the vitality of magazine journalism, whether the outlet is a print magazine, a website, a podcast or even a newspaper, said Sidney Holt, the executive director of ASME in a press release on Friday. The awards are sponsored through the society and the Columbia School of Journalism. Other publications nominated for awards include The New Yorker, The New York Times Magazine, The Atlantic and ProPublica. Two mangers of a Mississippi coast motel where at least five people have overdosed -- including one who died -- are headed to federal prison for selling methamphetamine out of the motel. According to the U.S. Attorneys Office, 54-year-old Pernell Robert Galloway and 42-year-old Cassie Louise McKenzie were sentenced in U.S. District Court in Gulfport this week for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance. Galloway was sentenced to nearly 11 years in prison, while McKenzie was sentenced to nine years, seven months. Court documents indicate U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agents began investigating drug activity at the Economy Inn on U.S. 90 in Bay St. Louis, Miss., in 2023. Agents were provided with information that Galloway and McKenzie, the motel managers, were selling drug. Undercover agents subsequently made purchases of methamphetamine from the two suspects. On June 8 of last year, a search warrant was executed at the motel during which agents located methamphetamine, a firearm, digital scales and other paraphernalia. The Sun Herald reported five people overdosed at the motel, including one resulting in death. Galloway is a convicted felon and he and McKenzie were in a relationship, according to the report. Author and Pastor Charles Simpson, who co-founded Covenant Church of Mobile in 1973 and was a pioneer in the charismatic renewal movement, has died. Simpson, founder of Charles Simpson Ministries, died on Feb. 14, said his son, Stephen Simpson, president of CSM Ministries. He was 86. The charismatic renewal movement that swept across Protestantism in the 1960s and 1970s emphasized supernatural experiences such as prophecy, miracles, healings and speaking in tongues as evidence of baptism by the Holy Spirit. Simpson wrote numerous books including Courageous Living, The Challenge to Care and Straight Answers to 21 Honest Questions about Prayer. He was involved in the launch of New Wine magazine in 1969, served on the board of Integrity Media, and was senior editor of The Covenant and the Kingdom Bible study curriculum, which was translated into Chinese, Russian and other languages. He also contributed commentary for the Spirit-Filled Life Bible. Simpson was born in New Orleans in 1937 and had been in ministry since 1955 and in 1957 became pastor of a church in Mobile. He graduated from William Carey College in 1959 and attended New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. He had recently served as editor-in-chief and featured writer of One-to-One magazine and its related website and pastoral letters distributed worldwide. A Birmingham couple has been missing since Valentines Day, and police are asking for the publics help in locating them. Angeliyah ne-vaeh Jolie Webster and Christan Tyre Norris, both 20, were last seen about 5 p.m. Tuesday in the 1500 block of 20th Place in Ensley. Authorities said they were believed to be on their way to a movie at an unknown theater. They were in a white Ford Taurus with license plate number A17N1B. Webster was last known to be wearing black and white pants, a black shirt with a skeleton and flowers, and black and silver shoes. Family said Webster is pregnant. Norris was wearing a black sweater and army-green shoes. Anyone with information on their whereabouts is asked to call police at 205-328-9311. An ex-convict from Florida knew her son was dead and buried in a large wooden box in her Gulfport home for weeks but told Mississippi police she wanted to keep the ruse going about her sons demise as long as she could to avoid any trouble, Gulfport police Det. Justin Clifton said. The woman, who has used a series of aliases, but now goes by the name of Jeri Lynn Roby,kept up her lies and more after relatives in Florida repeatedly called Roby to find out the whereabouts of their loved one and Robys son, John Allen Gaither, 42. Gaithers relatives started getting worried after they didnt hear from Gaither after Dec. 10, Clifton said, because he usually checked in with family almost daily. They were concerned for him because it was unlike him, and he has never disappeared for any length of time, Clifton said. Over the next couple of weeks, the family grew more concerned after Roby dished out a series of lies about her sons whereabouts, forged her sons handwriting in a letter to his relative saying he was OK, sent bogus texts and pictures of him from his phone and more, Clifton said. The family also knew Roby had killed before, in Florida in 1993 when she shot Christina Racey in the back of the head and kept her body in a car for days before Robys capture. She later served time for manslaughter in that killing and was free and living in Gulfport with Gaither at the time of his disappearance. At the time of the Florida murder, Roby went by the name of Jerri Lynn Isreal. During a preliminary hearing in Gulfport in February, Clifton outlined a series of evidence in the case, including how police connected Roby to the killing of her son after finding Gaithers body inside a wooden Armour-style box behind a makeshift wall, boarded-up door, and a window sealed shut in a room at Robys home on 6th Street. Gaither died of a gunshot wound to the back of the head, the detective said. Inside his makeshift grave, Clifton said, police found Gaither covered in some of his clothes along with sand and mulch that police traced back to purchases Roby had made during two different trips caught on camera footage from Home Depot, including one trip to the store with her boyfriend, Robert Wayne Tannehill, 86. Tannehill has since been arrested on a charge of hindering prosecution, though more charges could follow. The detective said Roby likely used the sand and mulch and layers of polyurethane plastic wrapped around the box and other things she had purchased to try to conceal the smell of her sons decomposing body. Clifton said he and other investigators collected evidence during the investigation to show that Gaithers last known sighting was Dec. 10. Those sightings included camera footage and time stamps that showed Gaither spent some of that morning at the storage unit where he kept cars to work on and a second stop at Ollies on Pass Road, where he bought a red tote and some cleaning supplies for vehicles. A search of his bank accounts, Clifton said, showed Roby started making withdrawals from Gaithers account after he went missing, though she did have authorization to use the accounts. Those withdrawals included the maximum $500 limit for withdrawals from some ATMs and a $5,000 withdrawal Roby made after cashing a check that she had written to herself on the account. After hearing that evidence and more details about the investigation, Justice Court Judge Albert Fountain found enough evidence to bind the case to a grand jury for indictment. At the hearing, Harrison County prosecuting attorney Herman Cox successfully argued that Roby, now 67, should remain jailed without bond because she is a danger to the public and a proven flight risk, since she already jumped bail after her first arrest for murder in Florida in 1993. Camera footage, digital receipts, and missing money At the hearing, other evidence came out about what police learned during the weeks-long investigation that started with the Dec. 22 missing person report filed by Gaithers stepmother and other relatives. Because of Robys lack of cooperation, repeated lies meant to stall the investigation and steer police in other directions, and that his body was hidden, it wasnt until Jan. 18 that Clifton said he and other Gulfport police officers finally found Gaithers body lying face-down with his head on pillow in his makeshift grave. When police first went to her home, Clifton said Roby told them, just like she had told relatives, that Gaither had driven to Louisiana to sell or purchase a car and hadnt returned. When police asked for consent to search outside the home and in a garbage can that hadnt been emptied and more, he said Roby acted like she was going to cooperate at first, then asked the police officers to leave, saying she had to meet a friend and they would have to come back later. Before the police officers left, they looked in her outdoor garbage, Clifton said, and found one of the Home Depot receipts. Then, he said, Gulfport police went to a storage facility on Highway 49 in Gulfport, where relatives said Gaither often went to work on cars he stored there. Eventually, he said, police realized that the blue Ford Fusion that Gaither drove was still sitting in the yard at Robys home. They searched the car, and none of the tools were missing, and there was the receipt from Ollies inside. An Uber trip, a drug cartel and the Rio Grande As Gulfport police gathered more and more information contradicting information Roby had provided, Clifton said her stories kept changing. When Clifton confronted Roby about how her son didnt drive to Louisiana in his blue Ford Fusion because it was still parked at the home, Roby had a new story. This time, she told police he had taken an Uber instead of his car to Louisiana to sell a vehicle, but a police review of Gaithers ride-sharing records showed that he had not used Uber or any other ride-sharing service at the Gulfport home. Then came more stories. One was that Gaither had met an Asian woman on a dating website and left the country, he said. Another was that Gaither had gone to Mexico to try to save a girl from a drug cartel and his phone fell in Rio Grande during the escape. After that, he said, Gaithers relatives started getting strange text messages from Gaithers phone they knew had not come from him. As Clifton continued the investigation, he said other things started happening. Suddenly, he said, Gaithers relatives said they were receiving more bogus texts from Gaithers phone. As Gulfport police neared the day they would find Gaithers body, Robys actions became even more erratic. She called the Police Department and left a message saying her son had suddenly shown up at the 6th Street home in the middle of the night with a Hispanic female, grabbed some cash out of the freezer, and left in an unknown vehicle and that she didnt know how to contact him because he didnt have a phone. A trip to Florida, a bogus call and more After Gulfport police found Gaithers body, Roby said she hadnt told the truth about what happened because she thought she would be arrested for having been a convict in a home with a gun. Instead of admitting to any wrongdoing, Clifton said, Roby said her son was the one who shot himself in the back of the head, but that it was an accident. When the shooting happened, Clifton said, Roby said blood started pouring out of his head like a waterfall. Roby said she didnt call for help because she feared being arrested and wanted to keep the ruse going as long as she could. Eventually, he said, Roby gave police the .380-caliber semi-automatic handgun that was used to kill her son. She got it out from under the drivers seat of her car. She also admitted to some of her lies. She said she was the one who mailed the bogus letter to Gaithers stepmom and forged his handwriting. She said she had driven to Florida to send it because she thought police would believe it was her son. Clifton said police found hundreds of pages of letters at Robys home, where police could see she had been practicing how to forge her sons handwriting. In other admissions, Clifton said, Roby told him that at one point she had her boyfriend called Gaithers brother on Gaithers phone. She said he was supposed to act like he was Gaither. When the call was made, Clifton said, Gaithers brother knew it wasnt him, told the boyfriend he was calling the police, and hung up. Roby griped to police about her boyfriends call to the brother, Clifton said. She said she gave him one little task, and he messed it up, Clifton said, adding that Roby claims her boyfriend had also helped her seal up the window near her sons makeshift grave and went to Home Depot two or three times to buy the sand, mulch, and other items. She made other admissions, he said, but when he tried to get her to tell him what the motive was for Gaithers death, Roby said, Thats what a trial was for. ___ (c)2024 The Sun Herald (Biloxi, Miss.) Visit The Sun Herald (Biloxi, Miss.) at www.sunherald.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. A Jefferson County sheriffs deputy has been indicted on criminal charges in a second, and unrelated, on-duty shooting in 2023. Thomas Andrew Ernest Cleveland, 28, was booked into the Jefferson County Jail Wednesday at 3:20 p.m. He was released on $30,000 bond 29 minutes later. A grand jury last week issued the two-count indictment charging Cleveland with first-degree assault and discharging a firearm into an occupied vehicle. That indictment was made public Thursday. Details about the incident have not been released, but it is believed to have happened April 1, 2023. The victim was in a vehicle when he was shot, records state. Cleveland in December was indicted in an unrelated on-duty shooting that happened just weeks after the April 1 incident. That shooting happened about 3:18 a.m. on April 20. Few details have been released there as well, but there were two scenes linked to the incident one on Interstate 59/20 near Arkadelphia Road and another at the Pilot on Arkadelphia Road. The victims injuries were not life-threatening. After the December indictment, Sheriffs Lt. Joni Money said the deputy had been reassigned to administrative duty pending the outcome of the case. Money said Thursday he is still assigned to administrative, non-law enforcement duties. Officials at Redstone Arsenal are urging telework as a sewage line break has expanded and now impacts most of the North Alabama military installation. In a message on social media, officials said command leadership has requested that all organizations, and agencies on the installation implement maximum use of telework or liberal leave. In an earlier statement, the installation said every effort must be taken to limit adding additional sewage into the system. If not, sewage could eventually start backing up into some of the buildings, the notice said. The line break was first reported yesterday near Martin and Mills roads. Mills Road Child Development Center, Redstone Federal Credit Union on Mills Road, AAFES Express gas station and restaurants at the Martin/Mills intersection are all closed. The Goss Road Child Development Center is not affected and is open today. Redstone Arsenal has more than 50,000 employees and contractors and roughly 1,000 uniformed military personnel. Several arsenal operations have changed schedules for today: A counselor at a private school in Mobile is accused of knowingly failing to report sexual misconduct between a student and a now-former teacher at the school. In September, a Mobile County Grand Jury levied a two-count indictment against former Faith Academy teacher Jonathan Sauers, charging him with having sexual intercourse and sexual contact with a student under the age of 19. Sauers had been arrested last March after the 16-year-old girl told her parents about the relationship, which she said was consensual, according to court records. A police affidavit states Sauers admitted to the relationship, but he had pleaded not guilty in court. Thursday, the Mobile County District Attorneys Office said school counselor Carrie Meredith knew of the suspected sexual misconduct, but failed to report it to the Department of Human Resources, as required by state law. The mandatory reporting requirement applies to both private and public schools. The district attorneys office says the investigation into Sauers relationship with the student uncovered a witness who said Meredith was informed of an inappropriate act by then-Faith Academy teacher Jonathan Sauers to a student, according to the release issued by the DAs office. District Attorney Keith Blackwood noted the charge against Meredith is a misdemeanor, but called this type of case a priority for his office. Ms. Meredith is a mandatory reporter of the State of Alabama, Blackwood said. Under the Alabama statute, Ms. Meredith is required to report these types of allegations that come before her. Meredith, 33, was charged Jan. 31. She pleaded not guilty during her arraignment Feb. 1. A bench (non-jury) trial is set before Mobile County Circuit Court Judge Zack Moore on March 5. If found guilty, Meredith faces up to six months in prison and a fine of up to $500. A status hearing for Sauers case is set for March 7, after which Circuit Court Judge Ben Brooks is expected to set a trial date, according to court records. Lower-income families with school-age kids can get help from the federal government paying for groceries this summer, unless they live in one of the 14 states that have said no to joining the program this year. The reasons for the rejections, all from states with Republican governors, include philosophical objections to welfare programs, technical challenges due to aging computer systems and satisfaction with other summer nutrition programs reaching far fewer children. Alabama families will miss out on $65.4 million in federal aid designed to help feed children over the summer break. A spokesperson for Gov. Kay Ivey told AL.com it was a matter of timing and available funding. Unfortunately, the federal government has now cut funding for administering the program by 50% and issued guidance after our legislative session ended, Deputy Communications Director Mike Lewis wrote, thereby eliminating the potential for securing state funds to continue administering these limited additional benefits. The impact falls on people like Otibehia Allen, a single mom of five in Clarksdale, Mississippi, who makes too much to qualify for some public assistance programs. She could have received $480 in aid over three months this summer if her state participated. It would have helped us a whole lot, especially with the boys, Allen said. Theyre growing children. They eat a lot. Many states have rejected federal funds on principle or for technical reasons. In 2021, 26 states cut short the enhanced unemployment benefits people received during the coronavirus pandemic. Twenty-two states have turned down the mostly federally funded expansion of Medicaid eligibility to provide health insurance to more lower-income adults. A dozen of those states have reconsidered and expanded Medicaid. The Summer EBT program, a response to increased child hunger when school is out, involves much less money. The federal government launched pilot versions in 2011, expanded it nationally during the pandemic and then Congress made it permanent within a spending bill adopted in December 2022. States must split the administrative costs 50/50, and the federal government funds the benefits, which are expected to cost $2.5 billion this year and help feed 21 million children. Another 10 million eligible kids live in states that turned down the funding. For each of three summer months, families with children in free or reduced-price school lunch programs will get $40 per qualifying child on an electronic benefits transfer or EBT card. It can only cover groceries and food from farmers markets. Family size determines the income limits. A family of three making under about $46,000 would qualify in most of the country. States had until the end of 2023 to decide whether they would join this summer. They can enroll in future years even if they skip it in 2024. Vermont plans to do that after replacing a state computer system. The spending measure provided some broad outlines a year earlier and the U.S. Department of Agriculture shared details with the states throughout 2023. But the interim final rules were not published until Dec. 29, timing that some states said proved problematic for deciding whether to join. The Texas Health and Human Services Commission said late rulemaking factored into its opting out, along with needing lawmakers to approve funding for the states administrative cost share. Texas lawmakers arent scheduled to convene this year. Spokesperson Thomas Vazquez said via email that Texas would consider joining later. Its the other way around in Tennessee, which opted into the lunch program for 2024 but doesnt plan to continue in 2025. Like leaders in other states, Republican Gov. Bill Lees office said the initiative is a pandemic-era benefit and that other food programs already exist. But Food Research and Action Center, an advocacy group targeting hunger, has found that the main federally funded summer nutrition program doesnt reach most qualified children. During the summer of 2022, it fed only one of every nine children served by the free or reduced-price lunch program nationwide during the 2021-2022 school year. Wyoming Superintendent of Public Instruction Megan Degenfelder said she turned down the Summer EBT card funds because she wanted to prioritize the current summer meals programs, which require minimal state funding. I generally prefer those meals getting directly to kids, she told The Associated Press. At the feeding sites, we know thats happening. Still, she said the summer sites in her rural state need improvement. In 2022, they served about 9,400 summer lunches daily, which is only one-fifth of the daily average for free and reduced price lunches in the 2021-22 school year. Six of Wyomings 23 counties have no sites. And even though the federal government last year started letting families take home a weeks worth of meals for children, Wyoming sites offered only in-person meals. Wyomings share of administrative costs this year would have been about $1.1 million, and about $690,000 annually in the future, Defenfelder said. Republican governors currently lead all the rejecting states, but Louisiana had a Democrat with one week left in his term when the deadline hit. In some places, the rejections have had a partisan edge. In Mississippi, one of the states with the most food insecurity for children, some 324,000 children including four of Allens would have been eligible. Republican Gov. Tate Reeves office declared it an unnecessary big government program, saying that if Washington D.C. Democrats had their way, Americans would still be locked down, subjected to COVID vaccine and mask mandates, and welfare rolls wouldve exploded. Allen, who works as a transportation dispatcher and scheduler, thinks Reeves priorities are misplaced. She pointed to the states implementation of an abortion ban in 2022. Why do you care so much about my uterus and how many babies Im having or aborting? Allen said. Why is that a concern when I still have to feed this child, but youre not helping me do that? The rejections have drawn backlash. In Nebraska, Republican Gov. Jim Pillen sparked a firestorm of criticism when he justified rejecting the money by explaining, I dont believe in welfare. But he reversed course on Monday and said the state would join the program after a Democratic lawmaker introduced a bill to require participation. He said he was swayed by hearing stories about hunger from high school students. Lisa Davis, senior vice president of the No Kid Hungry Campaign for Share Our Strength, said she believes all the states can be persuaded to join in the coming years. Childhood hunger is one of the few issues that brings everyone together, she said. The remaining holdouts are Alaska, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Vermont and Wyoming. Officials in Iowas two most populous counties are requesting the state-rejected funds anyway, though the program offers no pathway to fund local governments instead of states. In Iowas rejection, Gov. Kim Reynolds said it was not a long-term solution. An EBT card does nothing to promote nutrition at a time when childhood obesity has become an epidemic, the Republican said in a statement. But Crystal FitzSimons, director of school programs at Food Research and Action Center, cited research that families buy more nutritional food when their grocery subsidies increase. Its a missed opportunity when kids are going hungry, she said. This is a guest opinion column With one of the lowest December unemployment rates in the country, Alabamas economic prospects are looking bright. We owe much of that progress to the states congressional delegation, who have long championed policies that support Alabamas emerging biotechnology sector. Last year, they pushed for a series of crucial earmarks in the federal governments final omnibus spending package -- including $76 million for the University of Alabama at Birmingham to build a new biomedical research facility. Now, we need them to take on a new mission. Because some officials in the Biden administration are considering a proposal that could undo all the progress weve been making and provide a gift to our global rivals, especially China. We need Alabamas leaders to lend their voices to the growing chorus of opposition to the proposal. During the height of the pandemic, several foreign governments argued at the World Trade Organization that we should eliminate all Covid-related patent protections. After deliberation, President Biden threw his support last year behind a WTO waiver of patent rights on Covid vaccines. But he deferred judgment on whether to extend the waiver to Covid treatments and tests. That decision is now due, and extending the waiver would be a huge mistake. The United States leads the world in pharmaceutical research and discovery because of our strong patent protections. Its time to remind the WTO that its job is to enforce patents globally, not to undermine them. The stakes are high. Alabama alone is home to 780 bioscience companies and counting. The sectors annual economic impact exceeds $7 billion, employing nearly 18,000 Alabamians. Across the United States, the biopharmaceutical industry supports over 4.7 million jobs. Many experts have warned that waiving Covid-related patents will dampen investment in pharmaceutical R&D. With the average cost for each new drug approval more than $2 billion, investors must have confidence that if theyre successful, they will have a chance to recoup their expenses, make a return, and have funds available for future projects. Thats what patent protection provides. This model is the reason America is home to so many top-tier pharmaceutical enterprises like Birminghams Southern Research Institute. If efforts to further erode intellectual property protection succeed, Alabamas biotech industry and its workers will pay the price. Less investment translates into fewer research projects and jobs-- and greater vulnerability to future public health threats. Our national security is also on the line. China has ambitions to overtake us in biotech and would jump at the chance for free access to patented technologies that American investors paid to develop. Meanwhile, there is scant evidence to suggest that intellectual property is keeping Covid treatments or tests, let alone vaccines, from reaching patients who need them. Today, supply greatly outstrips global demand. The bottom line is that an expanded patent waiver is bad for the United States, and especially for Alabamas emerging biotech sector. Our representatives in Congress should stand up for hard-working Alabamians by urging President Biden to defend intellectual property rights. Bill Reeves is a former fisheries biologist at the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources and served as President of the Alabama Fisheries Association. The Florence native and Gulf Shores resident holds a masters degree from Auburn University. The Reckon Report is a weekly newsletter that goes deeper in todays most-discussed headlines. Subscribe today and stay ready for the proverbial water cooler. The second year of the He Gets Us Super Bowl ads have brought growing criticism of how religious nonprofits use their moneyand where. The same pot of money funding the Jesus-themed, seeker-sensitive, super expensive ads has also funded legal efforts to completely change religious and reproductive freedoms in America. The campaign, run by He Gets Us LLC was previously financed by The Servant Foundation, which has deep financial ties to the Alliance Defending Freedom, a legal organization thats been involved in landmark Supreme Cases like Dobbs v. Jackson Womens Health Organization and Masterpiece cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission. He Gets Us ran two ads during the Super Bowl on Sunday. Those spots cost an estimated $7 million/30-second spot, up from 2023s price tag of a little over $6 million, according to pricing reported by Vivvix Ad Intelligence. The Servant Foundation plans to spend about a billion dollars toward the He Gets Us campaign to spread the story of Jesus through community programs and education about the Bible, according to Americans United for the Separation of Church and State. Theyve hired a PR firm to address, in the firms words, the problem of How did the worlds greatest love story in Jesus become known as a hate group? AU said in a report on the organization. If the funding and the way these organizations intersect seem convoluted, its because it is. Some of this intentional confusion is fueled by a desire to protect donor identities, as influential Christian philanthropist Bill High said in a 2020 op-ed for Forbes. Hobby Lobby, the infamous Christian craft store, also has ties to the ad campaign. Hobby Lobby founder David Green talked about his involvement in He Gets Us during a 2022 interview with Glenn Beck. Greens son Mart Green serves on the board of Come Near, a newly-formed nonprofit now operating He Gets Us. Two other board members serve as executives of OneHope, an evangelical Christian organization funded by the Greens and by Hobby Lobby directly. While information about the donations and funding received by Come Near werent available online, as the nonprofit was formed just a few months ago, the campaign said it was funded by people who support the evangelical Christian view of Jesus. It wouldnt be hard to guess that many of those backing the campaign believe that Jesus is who the Bible says he is. He Gets Us is an initiative of Come Near Inc., a nonprofit organization committed to sharing the life and love of Jesus, that believes Jesus was human and divine, he rose from the dead, and more, He Gets Us said on the company FAQ page. The Servant Foundation was one of the biggest backers of the Alliance Defending Freedom, currently one of the most powerful legal funds in the country affecting the rights of queer people, minorities and women. Its unclear how cutting ties with the Servant Foundation has made a difference to the goals of the He Gets Us campaign. Either way, its important to know what else the big funds behind these skeptic-safe commercials are driving. Heres five Supreme Court cases either the ADF or Hobby Lobby has participated in: Dobbs v. Jackson Womens Health Organization was the case that took down Roe v. Wade, and is one of ADFs biggest victories in the Supreme Court. What was the case about? The case addressed the legality of a Mississippi law banning most abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy. An abortion clinic challenged the law, arguing it violated existing Supreme Court precedents that established a right to abortion (Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey). What did the court decide? In a 6-3 decision, the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and Casey. The Court concluded that the Constitution does not protect a right to abortion, leaving the issue to individual states to decide. What were the consequences? This case dealt with the intersection of free speech and anti-discrimination laws in the context of same-sex marriage. What was the case about? Smith, the owner of 303 Creative, a web design company, objected to creating websites for same-sex weddings due to her religious beliefs. The state of Colorado argued that refusing such services violated its anti-discrimination laws. What did the Supreme Court decide? The case advanced to the Supreme Court, which ruled the state of Colorado could not use the Colorado Anti Discrimination Act to restrict her religious freedoms, which include choosing which types of weddings she will make websites for. In a 6-3 decision, the Court sided with Smith, ruling that Colorado could not compel her to create expressive content (wedding websites) that violated her own beliefs. The majority argued that forcing her to do so would violate her First Amendment right to free speech. What are the potential consequences? This case, filed after the fall of Roe, would ban the use of misoprostol and mifepristone, two drugs commonly used for medication abortions, for pregnant people through banning its approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). What is this case about? The Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine, a group opposed to abortion, is challenging the FDAs approval of mifepristone, a medication used for medication abortions. The Alliance argues that the FDAs approval process for mifepristone was flawed and that the drug is unsafe. The FDA defends its approval process and maintains that mifepristone is safe and effective when used as directed. What are the stakes? If the Alliance wins, it could lead to restrictions or even a ban on mifepristone in the United States. This could significantly impact access to medication abortion, which accounts for more than half of all abortions in the country, according to Guttmacher Institute. Additionally, the case could set a precedent for how the courts review FDA drug approvals in the future. Whats the current status of the case? The case is currently before the Supreme Court, which is considering whether to hear it. The case is still ongoing and hasnt reached a final decision. If the Court decides to hear the case, it could issue a decision in 2024. The case was a landmark Supreme Court decision with significant implications for religious freedom and employer mandates in healthcare. This case involved specific circumstances and doesnt apply to all corporations or religious objections. What was the case about? Conestoga Wood Specialties, a closely held corporation owned by a religious family, objected to providing contraceptive coverage in their employee health insurance plan due to their religious beliefs. They argued that the Affordable Care Acts (ACA) contraceptive mandate violated their religious freedom under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA). This case allows private businesses to make healthcare decisions for their employees related to contraception based on their religious views. ItThe case said a business owned by a religious family did not have to pay for health insurance coverage for contraceptives. What did the Supreme Court decide? In a 5-4 decision, the Court ruled in favor of Conestoga, finding that the contraceptive mandate substantially burdened their religious beliefs. However, the Court also created an accommodation mechanism, allowing the government to pursue its interest in ensuring contraceptive access through alternative means that did not directly burden the companys religious beliefs. What were the potential consequences? This was a landmark Supreme Court decision with significant implications for religious freedom, sexual orientation discrimination, and the limits of free speech. What was the case about? Jack Phillips, owner of Masterpiece Cakeshop, refused to create a custom wedding cake for a same-sex couple based on his religious beliefs against same-sex marriage. The couple filed a complaint with the Colorado Civil Rights Commission, alleging discrimination based on sexual orientation. The Commission ruled in favor of the couple, stating that the bakery violated the states anti-discrimination law. Phillips appealed, arguing that forcing him to create the cake violated his First Amendment right to free speech and free exercise of religion. What did the Supreme Court decide? In a 7-2 decision, the Court sided with Phillips on narrow grounds. The majority did not address the broader First Amendment questions but instead focused on the conduct of the Colorado Civil Rights Commission. They found that the Commission showed disrespect and hostility towards Phillips religious beliefs during the hearing, violating his free exercise rights. They sent the case back to the lower courts for reconsideration without the Commission members who displayed bias. What are the potential consequences? KINGFISHER, Okla. (AP) A man was sentenced to life in prison after pleading guilty to killing four workers at an Oklahoma marijuana farm in 2022. Chen Wu pleaded guilty at a court hearing Friday to four counts of first-degree murder and to one count of assault and battery with a deadly weapon in connection with the Nov. 20, 2022, killings, according to court records. Prosecutors say Wu, also known as Wu Chen in jail records, fatally shot three men and a woman in a garage at the farm west of Hennessey, a town about 55 miles (90 kilometers) northwest of Oklahoma City. As part of a plea agreement, Wu was sentenced to life in prison without parole for each of the murder counts and given a 20-year prison term for the assault charge. He will serve his sentences concurrently. Wu, 47, was arrested in Florida two days after the shooting and was later extradited to Oklahoma. In court records, prosecutors had alleged Wu had demanded the return of his $300,000 investment in the marijuana operation shortly before he shot the victims. Killed in the attack were Quirong Lin, Chen He Chun, Chen He Qiang and Fang Hui Lee, court documents show. A fifth person, Yi Fei Lin, was wounded. Authorities later charged Yi Fei Lin with a separate assault charge. That case remains pending. Authorities have said Wu and all of the victims were Chinese citizens and that the pot farm on a 10-acre (4-hectare) farm was operating under an illegally obtained license to grow marijuana for medical purposes. This case should serve as a reminder of the dangers surrounding illegal marijuana activity in Oklahoma, said Kingfisher County District Attorney Tommy Humphries, according to The Oklahoman. Jack Smith wants to put Donald Trump in jail because Trump aggressively interpreted aspects of the Electoral Count Act. However, other people (not connected to Trump) were far more aggressive. They decided to completely ignore a constitutional requirement that had been firmly settled by the U.S. Supreme Court. Who were those lawbreakers? They were revered justices of the Supreme Court of Hawaii. Will Jack Smith or Merrick Garland put those justices in jail? Will the Hawaii bar association suspend their licenses? Will anyone even comment on their defiance? Dont hold your breath. The Spirit of Aloha Legal Standard In Hawaii, a man named Christopher Wilson was charged with a felony for violating three gun laws, but the charges were dismissed by a Hawaii circuit court in 2022. The court reasoned that the charges against Wilson violated his right to bear arms, as guaranteed by the Second Amendment of the Constitution. Recently, however, the circuit courts ruling was reversed by the Hawaii Supreme Court. According to the Epoch Times, the high court of Hawaii decided the case based upon a new legal standard: Article I, section 17 of the Hawaii Constitution mirrors the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution. However, we read those words differently than the current United States Supreme Court. We hold that in Hawaii there is no state constitutional right to carry a firearm in public. The court explained its defiance by citing the Spirit of Aloha standard. Hawaiis historical tradition of firearm regulation rule out an individual right to keep and bear arms under the Hawaii Constitution The spirit of Aloha clashes with a federally-mandated lifestyle that lets citizens walk around with deadly weapons during day-to-day activities. I had never heard of the Spirit of Aloha doctrine because I am not an educated justice or attorney. Without a doubt, however, many other states will soon adopt the Aloha standard, and our law schools will incorporate the doctrine in their curricula, along with coursework on micro-aggressions, DEI transgender rights for toddlers, and climate-friendly cuisine. To me, these Hawaii justices are no more than thugs, and should be treated as such. Unfortunately, we see criminals in black robes every day and, were we to add in the many corrupt prosecutors who choose the cases heard by justices, we could probably fill a good-sized auditorium with them. Consider how many judges (and prosecutors) violate the Constitution with regard to the recusal requirement. Recusal is not just a matter of ethics: It is a constitutional requirement. According to the Cornell Law School. The Due Process clauses of the United States Constitution require judges to recuse themselves from cases in two situations: Where the judge has a financial interest in the case's outcome. Where there is otherwise a strong possibility that the judge's decision will be biased In either case, it does not matter whether or not the judge is actually biased. What matters is that even if the judge is not biased, the high probability of bias still damages the integrity of the judicial system. Any party in a lawsuit may request that a judge recuse him or herself. If a judge knowingly ignores these requirements, he or she is flagrantly depriving the defendant or litigant of his or her constitutional rights. To me, that makes the judge a criminal. Lets examine the recusal issue with respect to a few other judges and prosecutors. Tanya Chutkan Trumps attorneys formally asked Judge Tanya Chutkan to recuse herself in a September 2023 motion filed with the court. "Judge Chutkan has, in connection with other cases, suggested that President Trump should be prosecuted and imprisoned. Such statements, made before this case began and without due process, are inherently disqualifying. As an example, the attorneys cited Chutkans own words with regard to the January 6 riot: "This was nothing less than an attempt to violently overthrow the government, the legally, lawfully, peacefully elected government, by individuals who were mad that their guy lost... it's blind loyalty to one person who, by the way, remains free to this day." This case has not even gone to trial, yet Chutkan has expressed regret that Trump is not in jail! It does not take a legal scholar to understand that the judge has violated the Constitution with regard to the recusal requirement. Letitia James Attorney General James ran for office with this promise: We will use every area of the law to investigate President Trump and his business transactions and that of his family as well. She also called Trump an illegitimate president, and promised that Donald Trumps days of defrauding Americans are coming to an end. We can spot a carnival barker. Mind you, James said all of this prior to performing a single hour of investigation. This attorney general charged Trump with manipulating his property values to defraud his lenders. Then she took the case to the courtroom of Judge Arthur F. Engoron. Judge Engoron Engoron should have thrown out this case on day one -- just because of the stink of bias coming from Attorney General James and her associates. However, Engoron is equipped with his own, personal prejudices. I believe his biases started with politics, but are now centered on saving face and protecting Engorons ego. Engoron is an arrogant and hate-filled man, who is totally lacking financial, real estate, or accounting experience. Nevertheless, before hearing a single witness, or identifying a single victim, Engoron found Trump guilty of fraud, and fined him $350 million. Now, however, those early and precipitous decisions have led to problems. When an appeals court ruled that the statute of limitations barred the prosecution of Trump with regard to several early years, Engoron should have dismissed the case, but that would have been embarrassing. So the judge found a way to partially circumvent the appeals court decision. He authorized James to support her case with information from those pre-statute years. James was happy to comply. Then, Engoron was struck by disaster. A highly respected and qualified expert witness testified forcefully on behalf of Trump. New York University professor Eli Bartov, who has extensive accounting and financial experience, testified that the entire case was nonsense: Trump had done nothing wrong or unusual. In addition, bank officers testified that they had not been defrauded in any way. After hearing that testimony, a less biased judge would have dismissed the case. Instead, Engoron raged like a lunatic, and he attacked the expert witness! Bartov is a tenured professor, but all that his testimony proves is that for a million or so dollars, some experts will say whatever you want them to say. In point of fact, Bartov was paid $877,500, which is a great amount of money. However, it was for countless hours spent analyzing many years of financial information and appraisals for numerous properties and companies. Engoron is a disgraceful little man for attacking the integrity and ethics of Bartov -- without a shred of evidence to support his slander. Now, Engoron is in a quandary. He cant dismiss the case entirely: That would be too embarrassing. On the other hand, he doesnt want to get smacked by an appeals court. Four Justices on the Colorado Supreme Court By a vote of 4 to 3, Colorados highest court voted to remove Trump from the Colorado ballot. A junior high student would have known better. The U.S. Supreme Court will probably rule* 9 to 0 against the Colorado justices. To be fair and accurate, I am not sure this silly ruling had anything to do with bias: Perhaps it was just plain stupidity. Lewis A. Kaplan For hundreds of years there have been lawsuits in America, where one side wins and the other side loses. In the past, the loser retained his First Amendment right to express his disagreement with the ruling. It was taken for granted. That changed in the court of Judge Kaplan, who presided over the defamation lawsuit of E. Jean Carroll. A less biased judge would have thrown this case out immediately. We can only hope that the appeals process will result in a more reasonable decision. Numerous Others I am sure that we can all think of other disreputable, lawbreaking judges. It is going to take a new Justice Department and several other changes to get these criminals out of our courtrooms. To begin the process, we must start by electing a new U.S. president. Joe Fried is an Ohio-based CPA who has performed and reviewed hundreds of certified financial audits. He is the author of the book, Debunked? and a new book called, How Elections Are Stolen. It outlines 23 problems that must be fixed before the 2024 elections. More information can be found at https://joefriedcpa.substack.com/. Image: Gerard David *Correction: The sentence has been amended to "will probably." Americas declining Social Security program will be a contentious topic of debate for presidential candidates this year. Former president Donald Trump advocates leaving the program alone and has criticized Nikki Haleys proposal to save the program by raising the retirement age. Similarly, President Biden has vehemently opposed any solutions that involve tampering with the programs current structure. Despite all this political posturing, Social Security is going broke fast as Americans are saving less for retirement than ever before. Half of all Baby Boomers in the U.S. have no personal retirement savings. Endless promises from both Republican and Democratic administrations over the last twenty years have been unable to reverse the systems decline. Most objective estimates now suggest the program will likely be insolvent by the 2030s. This is a raw deal for my generation. Studies from 2020 show only 38% of Zoomers believe they will benefit from Social Security. It seems to me that older generations want to borrow against ours and our childrens futures, while offering us no guarantee of ever seeing a penny from the system our money sustains. Theres a better way to ensure the long-term maintenance of the social security system, and it starts with privatization. Though American policymakers balk at the word, especially within the context of Social Security, other nations that have successfully privatized retirement savings accounts could provide a model for how we might avert the imminent bankruptcy of our current system. For a clear picture of how such a scheme could operate, policymakers should look to Australia. The Australian retirement system, better known as the Superannuation Guarantee, relies primarily on personal retirement accounts and employer contributions for funding. Whereas in the U.S. automatic retirement withdrawals from employee paychecks go directly into a government-managed Social Security account, in Australia those funds are managed by a number of private providers. The way it works is simple: Rather than the government taking a percentage of each check to be contributed to the Trust Fund, employers are required to make these deductions, and the employee then chooses from one of hundreds of providers to manage the funds. This structure eliminates the problem of government mismanagement that has plagued the U.S. system. While the federal government claims allegations of raiding the Social Security Trust Fund are a myth, evidence suggests it has borrowed as much as $1.7 trillion from the fund in order to pay the tab for other efforts, everything from deficits to foreign adventurism. These borrowings have occurred over several presidential administrations and exceed the total value of the program. This disturbing habit is not present under a system managed by private actors. Not only do private retirement funds limit the governments access to personal retirement accounts, they also encourage citizens to take a more active role in planning for their retirement. Rather than collecting savings for retirees, the system provides incentives for people to take responsibility for their own savings. Australia has seen such an explosion in retirement savings as a result that the pension stash under this model dwarfs the Australian GDP. Australias retirement savings sum of $3.5 trillion is one of the largest in the world -- surpassed only by European countries such as Sweden and Norway -- and no other non-European country has a pension vitality level that rivals it. By replacing the current Social Security system with retirement savings accounts, the U.S. federal government could encourage personal responsibility and financial independence while simultaneously shedding a significant financial burden of its own. Not only has the federal government repeatedly mismanaged the Trust Fund, but annual Social Security expenditures are the largest single item in the budget, accounting for 23% of all federal spending in 2023. For reference, that figure amounts to more than the U.S. spends on defense. This kind of government spending is not sustainable. Adopting an Australian retirement model would not only benefit my generation, but seniors too, as they would be able to save more themselves once they are given back partial control over their own retirement. This approach would even benefit the government as it would avoid the swiftly approaching Social Security crisis by shifting the responsibility for retirement savings from the state to individual Americans and their employers. This approach works in Australia. It can work here. If Washington lacks the courage to make tough choices, Social Security will become insolvent, and when that happens, they will have only their own cowardice to thank for the inevitable crisis that will ensue. Ezra Wyrick is a writer and consultant from Rockwood, TN who is the Youth Outreach Administrator for The Liberty Whip and a contributor for Young Voices. Image: Social Security Administration My neighborhood is changing. In just the six years that we have lived in our suburb after fleeing St. Louis, Missouri for a more conservative area that supports our conservative values, towering apartment buildings are being built everywhere. There have been dozens of new car washes, chain restaurants, and big businesses put in or approved. During 2020, panhandlers started appearing in the area. This has grown so common that the local government had to recently pass a bill outlawing it for the safety of pedestrians and drivers because the panhandlers were obstructing traffic. While conservative Americans have continuously expressed outrage at political movements that seek to urbanize suburban areas, uni-party elitists in Washington have pressed to globalize every aspect of our lives. Now, I believe that these officials do deserve plenty of blame, but unfortunately, local officials are a driving force behind this modern crusade to turn every area into a city complete with liquor stores on every corner. I report for my local paper. It is run by a former writer for the St. Louis Post Dispatch. She left that prestigious paper when they went corporate years ago. Writing for a locally owned paper and reporting on my local beats was supposed to be a nice change of pace from my other political writing job, but after months of attending Board of Aldermen meetings, Ive learned that, just like everything else, all of this starts closer to home. I have three beats. One is my municipality, which I love. The mayor and board all get along and pass pretty much everything that is proposed with little to no opposition. It seems very kosher, but that is because virtually none of our 60,000 residents in my suburb attend the meetings. Everyone is too busy to come and see what their city government is actually doing with their land and their money. Most of the time, the only people who show up to these public meetings are individuals who are invited for awards. Recently our local library closed for renovations. It was moved to a failing mall as a temporary option, but our Mayor hinted at the last meeting that this may become a permanent location. He presented the situation as a positive endeavor, so my husband and I went to see the mall library room. It was so small it looked like it barely held a few dozen books. My husband is furious. Were both concerned with what is happening around us. We also want to know what the city is going to do with the old library location, should the temporary mall spot become permanent. Are they going to host illegal immigrants there? Will it be torn down to build yet another big gray apartment complex that looks like a prison? We dont know. And neither do any of the other residents. Meanwhile, in a neighboring municipality (that I report on), angry residents have banded together to oppose large multi-use developments that bring in towering apartment buildings and warehouse-style businesses. I have sat in a packed room while they vociferously decried the mayor and a police presence had to be maintained to keep the peace, via Mid Rivers Newsmagazine. The mayor of that city came to me just last week and attempted to convince me that I should pitch him my articles and send him my work before anyone else sees it. He wants to control the narrative because he knows that every time I write about what he is pushing to do, the people come to the city council meetings to oppose the urbanization of their suburb. I am not a person who backs down easily, but I have been snarkily addressed as the press during board meetings by the mayor and his city administrator when they wish to talk down to me, knowing that I am the only reporter in attendance. Now, I have been singled out by the leader of that area and told that I should involve him in my writing process. It challenged my confidence. This is my job. He is trying to manipulate me and his constituents, but there is no way I am going to let him dictate what I write. Unfortunately, as displayed by the mainstream media and the Missouri v Biden lawsuit (which I am involved in), there are reporters and news outlets that allow political officials to shape their stories. For example, the mainstream media has continuously padded all of Joe Bidens obvious blunders. According to The Hill, the mainstream has been playing party politics for the current administration since before it even took power. At this point, most of us know that the mainstream is propaganda. But even at the local level politicians are trying to turn reporters into their lap dogs, and I dont know how many of them refuse to back down. Ill admit that it takes a lot of strength for anyone to challenge people in power. Even so, as a journalist it is my job find the truth and write about it. At the local level, I am the only one amplifying the voice of the people who are so desperately fighting to preserve their beautiful area and its culture. The more I report on the urbanization of the suburbs the more I see it happening everywhere. Unfortunately my city is experiencing little to no pushback, so our leaders take developers money and do whatever big businesses want. Lately, when I hear people complaining about whats going on or globalization and urbanization, I ask, Are you going to your city council meetings? The answer is usually, No. I understand. The economy is garbage. Were all working more than ever and making less. Were exhausted. Often too exhausted to sit through lengthy Board of Aldermen meetings going over sidewalk repair budgets. Its mind-numbing. I also struggle because I feel like its hard for me to express my opposition because I report on the city I live in. Im there to tell the story, not be a part of it. But I am a resident too. It is up to me, and every other resident, to redirect city officials if they are destroying the beautiful suburbs that we live in. We cannot leave it up to anyone else. We have to show up, full force, and band together to prevent the destruction of our neighborhoods. Jessica is a homeschooling mother of 5 who reports for "Right Side Broadcasting Network," and Mid Rivers Newsmagazine. Image: Pixabay / Pixabay License Karma came for Fani Willis, and it did not disappoint. Yesterday, Willis took the stand to testify about alleged misconduct regarding her prosecution of President Trump and his co-defendants in the Georgia election lawsuit, and Ive been overwhelmed with schadenfreude; Williss behavior portrayed a belligerent, combative, and guilty criminal who misused campaign and tax funds to sleep with a subordinate employee. Remember a month or so ago, when Fani stood at the pulpit and swore shed never had sexual relations with Nathan Wade? Yeah, that was a lie. Language warning, but this was a concise articulation of the courtroom drama: Fani Willis literally fucked around and found out. Catturd (@catturd2) February 15, 2024 Now, if I were Fani Willis, there are many things I would have done differently, but in hindsight, taking the stand was a very bad idea and I would have avoided it at all costsbecause, perhaps more intimidating than hypothetically perjuring myself on the stand and blowing the entire get Trump case, would be the circling sharks (conservative memers) waiting for the feeding frenzy. Almost immediately, somebody dug up this sound bite from Fani about why the Fulton county voters should elect her to the district attorney position instead of incumbent Paul Howard Jr.: 2020. Fani Willis is asked why the people of Fulton County should support her for District Attorney. "Because they deserve a DA that won't have sex with his employees, because they deserve a DA that won't put money in their own pocket." pic.twitter.com/uo8wD1wnnR MAZE (@mazemoore) February 15, 2024 That didnt age well now did it? And this is the woman they picked to get Trump? I may have overestimated the strategy of the left and its puppet masters entirely. But wait, it gets worse; Fani apparently admitted to campaign finance violations, keeping money donated for her political run: #FaniWillis claimed to have $50k lying around the house, with a tax lien on her home, indicated she took some from the campaign, which is a MASSIVE indicator of campaign finance fraud, tax evasion, likely bribery, AND SHES BRINGING A RICO CASE AGAINST TRUMP pic.twitter.com/IqJdQmKxTX John Sweeney (@jsweeney10) February 16, 2024 Oh dear. And, it seems as though the curse of hiring incompetent saboteurs was visited upon Fani too. I mean, remember this girl? She was handpicked by Ms. Willis, so we really should have seen the writing on the wall for this case from the very beginning: Whatever happened to this Nitwit? She was the Foreman of the Grand Jury that Fani Willis picked pic.twitter.com/MXXdTGTbpi Juanita Broaddrick (@atensnut) February 16, 2024 Also, this is how she speaks: Fani Willis: He tells me how much it is and I give him the money back I dont do my friends like that. So if you tell me its a G then you gon get a thousand dollas This woman was tasked with putting a former president in prison pic.twitter.com/8vGmDxfJru johnny maga (@_johnnymaga) February 15, 2024 The entire episode was such a delightful gift to those of us so completely fed up by the corruption of the left and the Democrats, but the cherry on top was Fani unwittingly (her modus operandi) making a great case against the technocrats push for a cashless society; when asked where she got the cash to reimburse Wade, she launched into a lecture about the fungibility and usefulness of paper money, advising all others to carry cash in case they ever want to make purchases or payments away from prying eyes: Prosecutor: So, to be clear, you dont know where the money came from that you gave Mr. Wade for the cruise? Fani Willis: NAH LADY, I KEEP FAT STACKS IN MY MATTRESS OK THE SOURCE OF THE MONEY IS THE WORK, SWEAT, AND TEARS OF ME! This is such a shit show. pic.twitter.com/SEPY55cYYZ Meara (@MillennialOther) February 15, 2024 Magnificent! If you want an encore, youre in luck, because bruised and bloodied, Fani is set to take the stand again this morning at 0900 EST, so hurry up and grab the popcorn, because I promise, you wont want to miss it. Image from X. According to a report out at Breitbart News today, Sadiq Khan has just announced that the major rebrand of Londons overground railway system is now finalized; earlier today, he revealed that all six branches would be christened with names which had been derived from political ideas, social issues, and migration in a move that at this point, will cost taxpayers around 6.3 million. Reported by Ross Lydall of U.K. outlet The Standard, Khan said this of the announcement: In re-imagining Londons Tube map, we are also honouring [sic] and celebrating different parts of Londons unique local history and culture. The new names and colours [sic] have been chosen through engagement with passengers, historians and local communities, reflecting the heritage and diversity of our amazing city. So what does Khan mean by diversity? The migrant groomers of Rochdale who hailed from Pakistan and Afghanistan? The Islamic State soldier who murdered David Amess? The Nigerian men who hacked Lee Rigby to death? The Muslim suicide bomber of Manchester? The Pakistani who mowed down pedestrians on the London Bridge? Maybe this? London has lost its European identity. pic.twitter.com/4B91LYJXu1 RadioGenoa (@RadioGenoa) February 7, 2024 How about this guy here? Mohammed from Bangladesh wants to r@pe a 12 year old British girl but is stopped and caught by citizens. pic.twitter.com/bXmLNwRJZL RadioGenoa (@RadioGenoa) February 15, 2024 Or this gal? "Western women are harassed because they dress like hussy. With Hijab and Niqab they would have more dignity and respect", say Muslim women in UK. What do you think? pic.twitter.com/6Wwsdf3PUJ RadioGenoa (@RadioGenoa) February 14, 2024 All those part and parcel considerations (jihadi terrorism and Sharia culture) of which Khan reminded us when living in a big city? Well yes, thats exactly what he means, because Khan certainly isnt a pro-West kind of guy. In fact, I half-expected the lines to be named Jihadi John (the British man known for his videos decapitating prisoners held by ISIS) or Allahu Akbar but thankfully, were not (yet) there. One of the lines will be the Windrush Line, homage to the ship that dropped off a boatload of migrants from the West Indies in 1948; two others will be the Suffragette Line and the Lioness Line, tributes to womens interests although such gendered language in todays day and age leads me to believe those wont last too long; still another will be the Weaver Line, which is an ode to the third-worlders who live in a district that manufactures a lot of textiles. Charming. This is standard operating procedure for leftist officials and their armies of bureaucrats. They utterly destroy things, then take some superficial action and blow a stuffload of money in the processin this case, only a millionsonly to leave the public with a product/service/initiative they didnt want or need. While consultants, firms, and a publisher are going to score a big city contract to redo the graphics and run public relations and marketing campaigns, the people get higher taxes and the opportunity to test their navigational skills as they relearn the overground routes. The native and cultural English are not welcome in their own city, and Sadiq Khan wants to make sure they know it. Image: The Big Lunch, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons, unaltered. Less than a week after Russian President Vladimir Putin put on an intelligent, reasonable, face for visiting American journalist Tucker Carlson, the bloodsoaked visage of a Russian boyar or vozhd appeared, with a report from Russian officials that top dissident Alexei Navalny was dead in an Arctic prison. According to the Associated Press: Alexei Navalny, the fiercest foe of Russian President Vladimir Putin who crusaded against official corruption and staged massive anti-Kremlin protests, died in prison Friday, Russian authorities said. Dissidents said they didn't believe it because nothing the Russian government says is to be believed. But it doesn't help the Russian government any to report this, given the global condemnation that has followed. Joe Biden, for one, vowed "devastating consequences" for Putin in 2021 were Navalny to die in prison. For a lot of us, there was faint hope that Navalny's high profile would keep him alive, somehow, despite the terrible conditions he was enduring in the GULag-like prison camp 40 miles north of the Arctic Circle in the dreaded Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, which one of the world's coldest places. It didn't. That he did die is almost unprecedented. Not even the Soviets killed off Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn when he was the biggest thorn in their side, winning the Nobel prize for literature for his mighty GULag Archipelago as well as the rest of the body of his work. Up until now, modern dictators have always kept the "big" dissident alive if in horrific prison conditions. They killed the little dissidents, but not the really big ones. The South Africans, after all, never killed dissident Nelson Mandela. The Chicoms never killed Harry Wu. The Polish communist regime never killed Lech Walesa. The Czechs never killed Vaclav Havel. The Burmese tinpot junta never killed Daw Aung San Kyi. The Castroite Cubans never killed Huber Matos, although they did murder Oswaldo Paya. Perhaps they thought he was small. The broad pattern is that if a dissident is big enough, and visible enough, and important enough, they'll stuff him away in a box, but they won't kill. Putin, who recently appears to have blown away a disloyal mercenary ally, the Wagner Group's Yevgeny Prigozhin, from an airplane in the sky over Russia, is different. He's bold, he acts, and when he's asked questions, he just deflects and smiles. Everyone knows what he does and he seems pretty comfortable knowing that everyone knows. He is also believed to have assassinated top dissident political rival Boris Nemtsov right there in Red Square in a 2015 gunshot assassination. Nobody behind the act was caught, though a few Chechen triggermen were arrested. He will take out the Big Dissident. And that creates a different kind of terrain for the world's dissidents in the world's dictatorships. Tucker Carlson's interview with Putin was useful, so there's no need to criticize him for it, but it didn't give a complete picture of the Russian leader. Since Putin doesn't care if anyone is upset about the political killings that go on his country (and beyond), it's disturbing to think of other innocent people in his prisons, such as poor Evan Gershkovich of the Wall Street Journal, who has been unjustly detained by Putin's henchmen. According to the Journal: Evan has been in Russias notorious Lefortovo prison since March 2023, largely cut off from the world. He spends 90% of his day in a small cell. The State Department has declared Evan wrongfully detained and President Biden has promised his family he would bring Evan home. A Russian court on Nov. 28 extended his pre-trial detention for another two months. It is unclear when he will face trial. Is he safe? Does Putin fear Joe Biden after he just crapped out on his threat of "devastating consequences" for Putin if Navalny died in prison? Biden also said that he was "serious" about a prisoner swap and Putin told Tucker Carlson he was open to one. No sign of Biden on that one and Evan's still there. I think there's a lot of reason for concern for him. The other two I am worried about are in Venezuela, Russia's top ally, where Maria Corina Machado, the big dissident there, has just been disqualified from her presidential run and is subject to constant threats and government goon violence. There's also a top human rights activist named Rocio San Miguel, who was snatched off the street by the Maduro dictatorship's goons and has since "disappeared," and so has her family. This is terrible, scary, stuff in itself but now that Putin's act has lowered the bar on dictator behavior Maduro is perfectly capable of imitating him. I don't know how any of these democracy campaigners take it. For years, I read Navalny's blog on Russian corruption and was astonished at his courage in writing what he did. He was eccentric, humorous, and some of his views on things wrong. He also didn't seem particularly presidential, a lot of people called him 'crazy.' After that, he was poisoned, he ended up in Germany for recovery, and then he told 60 Minutes he was going back to Russia, again, a man of incredible courage. Now Putin has done his worst and yes, he's responsible -- he didn't have to have him arrested and he certainly didn't have to stick him in Russia's worst GULag if he wanted him alive. That he ended up there pretty well offered a suggestion of what he had in store for him. Navalny's legal team said he looked healthy enough two days ago for a court appearance, so his sudden death sounds like it may have been a homicide. Bill Browder, a former hedge fund manager who has crossed with Putin in the past and described his ordeal in his riveting book, Red Notice, watched his employee, named Sergei Magnitsky (of the Magnitsky Act) slowly get murdered in Putin's prisons. He now describes what is likely to follow after this: Navalny was fine yesterday. We should expect a full Magnitsky style cover-up from the Russian government in short order. I can almost predict the language they will use: natural causes, no sign of violence unexpected death etc https://t.co/m560kp49Qk Bill Browder (@Billbrowder) February 16, 2024 It's outrageous. And it's made possible by weak U.S. leadership against Putin's tyranny, which knows it has little to fear as had been when Donald Trump was president. A couple days ago, Vladimir Putin said it was "better" for Russia with Joe Biden in the U.S. presidency. Then the top dissident was eliminated. Now we know why. Image: Twitter screen shot The Obama and Biden administrations have continually used government bureaucrats to target political opponents. The media has known this for a long time, and hasnt cared. They pretend that Obama and Biden were clean, and that Trump was/is the greatest threat to democracy America has ever seen. The story below is one of pure election interference in the 2016 election: CIA and foreign intelligence agencies illegally targeted 26 Trump associates before 2016 Russia collusion claims: report The US Intelligence Community asked foreign spy agencies to surveil 26 associates of Donald Trump in the run-up to the 2016 election, which triggered the allegations that the former presidents campaign had been colluding with Russia, according to a report. Former CIA Director John Brennan identified and presented the targets to the USs intelligence-sharing partners in the so-called Five Eyes agencies the intelligence-gathering organizations in the US, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zealand according to a report published Monday on Michael Shellenbergers Public Substack. Maybe the reason the intelligence agencies miss things like Hamass years-long preparation to attack Israel is because theyre more consumed with destroying politicians they dont like. Of course this story will not make it onto channels like CNN or MSNBC because the legacy media is complicit in the continuing election interference, doing their part and burying the truth about how corrupt our government is from the public. Obama also used the IRS to target his political opponents who just wanted smaller government and lower taxes; the corrupt Justice Department tasked an Obama donor to conduct the pretend investigation of Lois Lerner who perjured herself and obstructed justice by destroying computers while violating the constitutional free speech and freedom of association rights of Tea Party members. Naturally, the corrupt DOJ let Lerner off because many Democrats in the Obama administration were above the law. A report about how the Obama administration illegally spied on ordinary Americans throughout his eight years in office came out after Obama left office: Report: Obama era NSA admits to years of illegal searches on Americans A bombshell report claims that the NSA, under then President Obama, conducted years of illegal searches of American's private data. The report appears in the online publication Circa and details how once-classified documents show how the spy agency failed to disclose the abuses. According to a previously classified report reviewed by Circa, one in 20 electronic communications by Americans were scooped up and kept by the NSA. The NSA admitted that the actions of the so-called 702 database potentially violated the fourth amendment protections of millions of Americans. This even after the spy agency's own supervisors agreed in 2011 to follow certain safeguards. The publication goes on to say the Obama administration self-disclosed the violations late last year just before President Donald Trump was elected. The admittance of wrongdoing was made before the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. Of course no one was charged for these constitutional abuses because the Justice department didnt care. Why didnt the media highlight this lawlessness while they campaigned for Biden and sought to destroy Trump in 2020? Obamas team used the Espionage Act to jail reporters sources, but instead of just reporting that, this article editorialized that Trump could be worse with no evidence to support the claim: Obama used the Espionage Act to put a record number of reporters sources in jail, and Trump could be even worse Under pressure from Congress and intelligence agencies, Attorney General Eric Holder directed the Department of Justice to aggressively prosecute government employees who discussed classified information with reporters. Obama continually spied on journalists: Obama Administration Secretly Obtains Phone Records of AP Journalists The Department of Justice secretly obtained phone records for reporters and editors who work for the Associated Press news agency, including records for the home phones and cell phones of individual journalists, apparently in an effort to uncover a leak. And here: The Obama administration has investigated a reporter with Fox News as a probable co-conspirator in a criminal spying case after a report based on a State Department leak. How dare Sharyl Attkisson tell the truth about Holder and Obama! Vendetta: How the Obama Administration Harassed Sharyl Attkisson for Her Reporting on Operation Fast and Furious And, what about this? Warrants to Spy on Trump Campaign Lacked Probable Cause, DOJ Admits Turns out the FBI and Justice Department did abuse the FISA process, omit material information, and subvert justice, and the DOJ now has admitted it. Yeah, we call that lying. So why didnt a slew of people go to jail for all these crimes? Because the corrupt Justice Department didnt care. In 2020, 51 former intelligence officials who wanted Biden to be president, penned a letter (without evidence) that said that the Hunter Biden Laptop from Hell looked like Russian disinformation. This gave the media cover to hide the truth from the public. The FBI knew by the fall of 2020 that this wasnt true, yet contacted social media outlets to mislead them into burying the truth from the public before the election. Mark Zuckerberg said Facebooks decision to restrict a story about Hunter during the 2020 election was based on FBI misinformation warnings. At this moment, Trump is fighting off how many felony charges? Close to one hundred. And, Biden officials have allegedly participated in decisions relating to these ongoing suits, as they continually claim that they are not involved. Heres this from a Breitbart report: Prosecutors Reportedly Met with Biden Admin Before 3 Trump Indictments In three cases, prosecutors reportedly met with the Biden administration before indicting Trump: Alvin Bragg: New York Stormy Daniels Case (state) Jack Smith: Miami Documents Case (federal) Fani Willis: Fulton County, Georgia (state) The media knows about all this illegal spying and constitutional abuse by Obama and Biden, yet supports them and targets Trump. They are as big a danger to our survival as a great and free country as the corrupt government swampers themselves. Image generated by AI. Apples foldable plans may have hit a roadblock. According to a tipster, the company has temporarily halted the development work due to display issues. Its early display tests have reportedly failed. It is unclear whether this will delay the launch of the first foldable iPhone. Apple faces a display setback in foldable iPhone development Foldable smartphones have existed since 2019, but Apple has not entered the scene. The Cupertino-based tech behemoth, which overtook Samsung to become the worlds largest smartphone vendor in 2023, isnt rumored to release a foldable iPhone before 2027. At the earliest, it might debut the first-gen model in 2026. To put that into perspective, Samsung will introduce its eighth-gen foldables in 2026. Advertisement Advertisement Apple is likely taking its time to perfect everything, from the design and specs to the build quality and durability. Perhaps eliminate the display crease too. A tipster on the Chinese microblogging site Weibo says the company has purchased a bunch of existing foldable phones from various brands and is thoroughly examining them. Its research and development team has dismantled the device to dive into the internal structure. The iPhone maker may be looking at how each company has done things differently and learning from them. All of this might eventually help Apple determine the areas where it can do better than the competition. Thats one way to go about a product that still needs a lot of refinement. However, the source adds that the firm has temporarily shelved its foldable project. Its display team allegedly failed to pass the screen test. Its worth mentioning here that the Weibo post is written in Chinese. We used Google Translate to translate it into English. Theres a possibility that something was lost in translation. However, from what we can see, Apples foldable project isnt progressing smoothly. Roadblocks arent uncommon when you are doing something new. It remains to be seen whether this temporary halt affects the launch timeline. Apple could first launch a folding iPad There is a lot of uncertainty around Apples first foldable product. Some industry experts believe the company will launch a folding iPad ahead of a folding iPhone. We should get a clearer picture as the development progresses. While Apple does a better job at plugging leaks than the likes of Google and Samsung, a few of them sneak out once in a while. We will keep you posted accordingly. In the meantime, Samsung is gearing up to launch its sixth-gen foldablesGalaxy Z Fold 6 and Galaxy Z Flip 6later this year. Another day, another batch of Samsung devices gets the February update. The company has released the latest security patch for the Galaxy Z Fold 4 and Galaxy Z Flip 4 globally, including in the US. The Galaxy Tab S9 series is also picking up the new SMR (Security Maintenance Release) stateside. Galaxy Z Fold 4 and Flip 4 grab Samsungs February update Earlier today, Samsung released the much-awaited first update for the Galaxy S24 series. It brought the February security patch, bug fixes, and performance improvements. While this update has yet to reach the US, we can confirm the availability of the latest SMR for the Galaxy Z Fold 4 and Galaxy Z Flip 4 here. Advertisement Advertisement As of this writing, the new security patch is rolling out to the factory-unlocked variants of the 2022 foldable duo. The new firmware build number for the Fold model is F936U1UES4EXAD, while that for the Flip is F721U1UES4EXAD. The update should soon be available for carrier-locked variants in the US. The Galaxy Z Fold 4 and Galaxy Z Flip 4 are also picking up the February security patch in other markets. The build numbers for Korean versions are F936NKSS2EXAF and F721NKSS2EXAF, respectively. For the rest of the world (excluding China and Canada), they are F936BXXS5EXAB and F721BXXS5EXAB, respectively. Regardless of the build number, the changelog for the update is the same globally. The security of your device has been improved, the only entry in Samsungs official release notes states. This means the devices arent getting anything more than this months security patch. The February SMR fixes 69 vulnerabilities across all Galaxy devices. Advertisement Note that Samsung has already pushed the February update to its third-gen and fifth-gen foldables globally. This leaves the original Flip and the Fold 2 as the only Galaxy foldables left to update. Since these devices are no longer eligible for monthly security patches, they may or may not pick up the latest release. The new security patch is available for the Galaxy Tab S9 series The Galaxy Tab S9 series joins the Galaxy Tab S6 Lite in Samsungs February update party, which already includes dozens of smartphones. Both the flagship lineup and the FE (Fan Edition) models are picking up the latest security patch in the US. The build numbers for the new tablets end with BXA8. A global rollout should be just around the corner. Like Galaxy phones, these tablets are also only getting this months security fixes with this update. Google One is the companys premium subscription service that offers additional cloud storage and a few other perks. Well, thanks to an APK deep-dive, we now know of another perk that could be coming to the service. According to the report, Google may add Nest Aware to Google One. This news comes shortly after Google announced the Google One AI Premium plan. This is a plan to get if you want to use Gemini Advanced, the most advanced chatbot provided by Google. The service costs $19.99/month. At the time of writing this article, you can get two months of the service for free. Advertisement Advertisement Nest Aware might be made available through Google One Most companies that offer subscription services throw in additional perks to entice more users. Subscription to YouTube Premium also includes a subscription to YouTube Music. Thats just one example. When it comes to Google One, the service offers additional perks along with more cloud storage. This can include perks like 10% back on Google Store purchases, VPN Services, better customer support, Etc. Well, according to 9To5Google, there are some strings sitting within the latest version of the Google Home app (version 3.13). These strings allude to Nest Aware being made available through a Google One subscription. One string includes the text, Nest Aware subscription included in your Google One Plan. You can add more video history through Google One. Another one has the text, Nest Aware Plus subscription added to your Google One plan. The typical Nest Aware subscription costs $8/month. With it, youre able to preserve and view 30 days worth of video history. With the Nest Aware Plus plan ($15/month), that gets boosted to 60 days. Advertisement This transition could come with some complications It appears that you might have to contact customer support when transitioning to the Google One Subscription. One string has to text Your old subscription was successfully replaced but it may still be active. Contact support to check if your cancellation and refund is successful. You may continue paying for your old subscription if it was not canceled. Thats a bit odd. Peoples subscriptions could be moved over to Google One, but they run the risk of continuing to pay for their old subscription along with the new subscription. So, to check and see if their old subscription was shut down, theyll have to contact support. That seems poorly handled on Googles part. Another string in the code points to an error message you receive if Google detects that youre paying for an old subscription thats not being used. A bit of good news is that Google will be handing out refunds for people who have an active Nest Aware subscription and move over to Google One. At this point, were still waiting for more details to come out. Since this is an APK deep-dive, you dont want to take this news 100% to heart. The company could change or shelf this whole thing altogether. New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced on Wednesday that the city filed a lawsuit against TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, and YouTube for their damaging influence on the mental health of children. The City of New York, the New York Department of Education, and the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation have jointly filed the lawsuit with the California Superior Court. The lawsuit alleges that social media companies intentionally design their apps to be as addictive as possible to teens. The city officials also blame social platforms for childrens poor school performance. Advertisement Advertisement Our city is built on innovation and technology, said Mayor Adams. But many social media platforms end up endangering our childrens mental health, promoting addiction, and encouraging unsafe behavior. The plaintiffs also demand that social platforms change their behavior and compensate for their damaging impact on public health. The state of New York claims it spends over $100 million on youth mental health programs and services a year. Social platforms respond to the New York City allegations Meanwhile, all social platforms in the New York City lawsuit responded to the allegations and emphasized their firm will to protect children. Meta spokesperson Andy Stone told Axios that the company has spent a decade working on these issues and hiring people who have dedicated their careers to keeping young people safe and supported online. Google spokesperson Jose Castaneda said the tech firm is working with youth, mental health, and parenting experts to provide its youth users with age-appropriate experiences. TikTok and Snapchat also alluded to their parental tools and procedures to keep children safe. Advertisement US might need federal laws to protect public mental health on social media The declining youth mental health and social medias impact on making it worse is a hot topic of debate among US lawmakers. Back in November, the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing to assess the impact of social media on teen mental health. The Senate also held a hearing for Meta, TikTok, Snap, Discord, and X (formerly Twitter) CEOs in January to discuss kids mental health on social media. There is no federal law yet to protect childrens mental health in online environments. As a result, filing lawsuits is the only remaining way for states to keep social media companies accountable. The World Government Summit just happened in Dubai. Speaking at the summit was OpenAI CEO Sam Alton. He dropped some news about the next-generation GPT model the company is working on. According to reports, Sam Altman talked about GPT-5, and how its going to be better at everything. Just recently, OpenAI announced Sora. This is the companys AI text-to-video generator. It was able to create some extremely realistic videos that could fool most people. Currently, it can produce up to 1-minute long clips based on text input. Right now, the company is only testing this internally, so people in the general public cannot use it. Advertisement Advertisement Sam Altman talks about GPT-5 The World Government Summit just happened, and we got a little bit of insight into what OpenAI is planning on doing next. The company already has GPT-4 and GPT-4 Turbo. These are the most powerful AI models that are available to the public. Under those, theres GPT 3.5, which users can access with a free ChatGPT account. Right now, all these models are extremely powerful and capable of deep understanding and reasoning. So, its hard to imagine that the company could push things even further. However, according to Sam Altman, its going to be better at everything across the board. Thats to be expected, but were all wondering how much better it will be. Obviously, every Leap forward makes AI more comparable to human intelligence. An AI thats as smart as a human is called AGI (artificial general intelligence). As for how much more powerful GPT-5 will be compared to GPT-4, when its coming out, where itll be available, and whether it will give human beings a run for their money is yet to be seen. Were certain that the company is doing some very early testing with this model. One bit of information that we have about its capabilities is that, via Microsoft, GPT-5 can decipher a 3,000-year-old language that no person in todays society can understand. Advertisement As for speculation, were pretty certain that will include image generation via DALL-E, video generation via Sora, and possibly audio generation. However, that remains to be seen. We know that its going to be multimodal, so its possible that its going to be true. And Gobi is its name-o Currently under the code name Gobi. We dont have an exact release date, but the company does plan on releasing it sometime this year. Seeing as chatGPT originally launched in November of 2022, maybe the company will stick to releases around that time frame. That, along with everything else about gp5 remains to be seen. A father has been sentenced to a minimum of 23 years in prison for murdering his two-year-old adopted daughter who died after he bashed her head against a wall. Zahra Ghulami suffered a skull fracture caused by significant impact at the hands of Jan Gholami, 33, at their home in Gravesend, Kent, in May 2020. The girl was taken to hospital on May 27 2020 and died two days later. Prosecutor Sally Howes KC had said the father of four took out his bad temper on Zahra and bashed her head against a wall. Jan Gholami was found guilty last month of murdering his two-year-old adopted daughter (Kent Police/PA) Jurors convicted Gholami of murder in a majority verdict of 10 to two after deliberating for nearly 20 hours at Maidstone Crown Court on January 9. Gholami, of Oak Road, Gravesend, was also unanimously found guilty of child cruelty. Gholamis wife, Roqia Ghulami, was cleared of murder during the trial but was also found guilty of child neglect unanimously by the jury. The 32-year-old, of Oak Road, Gravesend, was also sentenced to two years in prison at Maidstone Crown Court on Friday. During the trial, Zahra was described as a bright, intelligent child who was highly curious and wanted to find out about everything. Former farmer Gholami told jurors he went to Tesco that morning and when he got home his son said Zahra had fallen down the stairs and was vomiting. But the prosecution said he went to Tesco after he inflicted the injuries on Zahra. Ms Howes had said there was a rivalry between Zahra and Gholamis favourite son and suggested the children had squabbled before the Tesco trip about going for ice cream and Gholami lost his temper with the little girl. Ghulami did not give evidence in court but told police she thought Zahra fell down the stairs. The girls cause of death was given as a severe head injury and skull fracture by Professor Charles Mangham, an osteoarticular pathologist. Jurors were told Gholami, originally from Afghanistan, came to the UK in January 2016 while Ghulami was still in Afghanistan with their children. The couple adopted Zahra in 2017 after Gholamis friend, Zahras father, felt unable to look after her after his wife died in childbirth. This happened when Ghulami was in Afghanistan and the adoption was approved by village elders. In January 2019, Gholami applied for asylum for Ghulami from the UK, and she arrived with the children to join him. The court also heard evidence of alleged domestic abuse by Gholami against Ghulami, with a neighbour claiming she saw Gholami punch Ghulami in the face outside their home. Jurors heard how Ghulami told a police officer and social worker in June 2019 that he beat her, sometimes by slapping her or banging her head against a wall, and she was scared he would kill her. Gholami denied hurting his wife, and also denied allegations of inflicting older injuries on Zahra before her death. They included that he banged her head against the wall and fractured her skull on an earlier occasion. Prosecutor Ms Howes said: Because this is what you do. You bang peoples heads against walls. Because youve done this before and Zahra had survived, you just walked away and went to Tesco. Gholami will serve 23 years and six months before he is eligible to be considered for parole. Kent Polices senior investigating officer, Detective Inspector Ross Gurden, said after sentencing that Zahra was betrayed by people she trusted in the most brutal way. He added: Gholami inflicted catastrophic injuries on Zahra, and his partner failed to intervene to help her. This outcome can never bring Zahra back but does ensure those responsible for her death have been brought to justice. Alison Hammond and Dermot OLeary have welcomed Ben Shephard and Cat Deeley to the This Morning family. On Friday it was confirmed the duo will be taking over as the new regular hosts of the ITV daytime show from next month, following the departure of Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby from the roles last year. Shephard, 49, and Deeley, 47, will helm the show from Monday to Thursday, while Hammond and OLeary will present on Fridays. It's official! Say hello to our new #ThisMorning presenters! Welcome to the family. We cant wait to see you soon! pic.twitter.com/GU0RNd6hfF This Morning (@thismorning) February 16, 2024 Ahead of Fridays episode of This Morning, an announcement video was aired which Shephard walking down the production corridor of the ITV show and placing a new photo of Deeley on the wall, before turning to the camera to say: See you soon. Deeleys photo then became animated as she winked to viewers. Opening the show, OLeary said: Welcome to your Fridays This Morning, and Ben and Cat before Hammond joined him to say: Welcome to the family. Hammond, 49, added: Were so, so happy. The news is finally out. Ben Shephard (Dominic Lipinski/PA) OLeary, 50, said it was a lovely thing having Shephard and Deeley joining the team as they both know them well. He also recalled how he started out his career with Shephard on the former Channel 4 slot T4 and shared with viewers a picture of him, Shephard and fellow host Andi Peters from their younger days, joking: Thats actually from last week, thats quite embarrassing. Hammond also hailed Deeley as a dream as she explained they bonded over both growing up in Birmingham when they first met in Los Angeles around four years ago. We went to a party and it was the first time these two Brummies collided, weve never separated, she recalled. Cat Deeley (Ian West/PA) Hammond added: Were so, so happy that they are joining the family. Ben and Cat, this is going to be great isnt it? to which OLeary agreed, saying: Its going to be nice. Schofield left the popular ITV daytime show in May after he admitted to an unwise but not illegal past relationship with a younger male former colleague, with Willoughby leaving in October after 14 years. Since then the show has had a rotation of presenters, including Deeley and Shephard on separate occasions. Josie Gibson, Craig Doyle, Rylan Clark and Emma Willis have also all stepped in to front the show. Shephard has become a familiar face for ITV viewers as he has been co-hosting the breakfast show Good Morning Britain since 2014. Last year Deeley presented This Morning for three days alongside Clark and Doyle. She has previously hosted ITVs Stars In Their Eyes and the BBCs Fame Academy, and hosted American contest So You Think You Can Dance for more than a decade. BBC director-general Tim Davie has said the corporation has been alerted to antisemitic behaviour by people who worked with us in a note sent to staff. In an internal email, the BBC boss stated there was no place at the BBC for racist abuse of any kind including antisemitism, Islamophobia or racism. It comes after the broadcaster received a number of complaints about its reporting of the Israel-Hamas war and faced further scrutiny when it was discovered a contestant on the BBC series The Apprentice had made remarks on social media about the conflict. BBC Broadcasting House in London (Ian West/PA) In the letter, Mr Davie wrote: As an organisation, we must stand united against any form of abuse, prejudice or intolerance. As many of you may have seen, sadly in recent weeks we have been alerted to some antisemitic behaviour by people who worked with us. I want to be clear that there can be no place at the BBC for racist abuse of any kind, whether towards our Jewish colleagues or indeed colleagues from any background or belief. Any form of antisemitism, Islamophobia or racist abuse is abhorrent, and we will always act whenever it occurs. We must play our role to build understanding and tolerance. He also described the corporations diversity of views as critical to a creative organisation that serves the public. Mr Davie encouraged those who have concerns about any form of abuse to inform their manager or use their whistleblowing services, adding: The senior team and I are listening. In response to the email, former director of BBC Television, Danny Cohen, said in a statement: The director general has at last acknowledged that the BBC has a problem with antisemitism. The evidence is irrefutable. It has taken months too long for this acknowledgment to happen. He described it as a significant management failure on racism and claims it has had a damaging and distressing impact on British Jews. Im sure that the Jewish community wont find much comfort in this email. Actions are what matter, he added. A Jewish BBC member of staff, who wanted to remain anonymous, responded to the letter by saying Ill believe it when I see it. Heard him say the same stuff before but still the same behaviour and attitudes are being tolerated and explained away, they added. Of course its good to see this in writing from Tim but it actually makes me want to cry that its just in writing and not in practice. Meanwhile a spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism welcomed the note to staff from Mr Davie but described it as long-overdue. They added: We will have to judge the Corporation by its actions not its words. Until matters do improve, we are offering free legal representation to all BBC staff affected by anti-Jewish racism. Ministers and pressure groups were among those to raise concerns about the BBCs reporting of the Hamas invasion of Israel in October and the Israeli governments bombing of the Gaza Strip. A report on October 17 about a blast at the al Ahli hospital wrongly attributed it to the Israeli military, which blamed a rocket misfire by Palestinian militants, according to the Board of Deputies of British Jews and the Campaign Against Antisemitism. The BBC acknowledged that it was wrong to speculate on the causes of the blast and apologised. A contestant on the current series of BBCs The Apprentice also recently issued an apology after making remarks on social media about the Hamas invasion of Israel, Zionism, Islam and masculinity. Asif Munaf, a doctor from Sheffield who has also appeared on BBC One show Dragons Den, was spoken to by producers so he could understand why his posts may cause offence and was provided with specialist training after his posts were discovered. In a statement, Mr Munaf said he apologised for any offence caused by my online content/social media but denied allegations of antisemitism. A BBC Three employee who posted antisemitic comments on social media was also sacked by the corporation earlier this month, according to reports. Cillian Murphy has said that the Magdalene Laundries scandal has continued to be a collective trauma that is still being dealt with by the Irish public. The Oscar and Bafta nominee, 47, is starring in Small Things Like These, based on Irish writer Claire Keegans Booker-shortlisted novel of the same name, which explores a father finding out how mothers and babies are being treated by a convent in New Ross, County Wexford. Irish star Murphy, also known for crime period drama Peaky Blinders and epic Christopher Nolan-directed Oppenheimer, attended a press conference for the new film at the 74th Berlin International Film Festival on Thursday. Rami Malek, Matt Damon, Emily Blunt, Florence Pugh and Cillian Murphy (Ian West/PA) When asked how he thinks Ireland is still grappling with the shame of a time when women say they were detained by the Catholic Church against their will and forced to give up their children he said: I dont know if Im qualified enough to speak for the nation, really. But I do think that it was a collective trauma, particularly for people of a certain age, and I think that were still processing that. And I also think that art can be a really useful band for that wound and I think the book certainly was, and it was a huge seller in Ireland, it seemed like everybody read it. And I think, the sort of irony of the book is that its a Christian man trying to do a Christian act in a dysfunctional Christian society. And it asked a lot of questions about complicity and silence and shame and all of those things. But I really dont think the duty of art is to answer those questions (but) is to kind of provoke them, and maybe its kind of easier to absorb than an academic report, or a government report. Murphy, who plays Bill Furlong, a coal and timber merchant, who in December 1985 discovers the secrets of his local community, has been vocal in the past about womens issues in Ireland. The Cork-born actor has previously backed the repeal of the Irish constitutions eighth amendment ahead of the 2018 referendum, where the public voted yes to changes making abortion legal. Director Peter Mullan with the cast of The Magdalene Sisters (PA) He also narrated a podcast series about the survivors of the Tuam Mother and Baby homes in 2020 and is listed as a patron of the Unesco Child and Family Research Centre at the University of Galway, who have run projects on the issue. Producer and Hollywood star Matt Damon also told the press conference that it was a very easy decision for him and Ben Afflecks production company Artists Equity to make the Keegan adaptation. He said: Just to echo what Cillian said, that was one of the one of the things that attracted us to it, were these great artists grappling with this trauma. And so I mean, for us, just as you know, on on our side of it, it was a very easy proposition. It was about facilitating an environment where they could do this, work and explore these things, and really getting out of their way. Damon and Murphy previously starred together in 2023s Oppenheimer, which explores the rise and downfall of the so-called father of the atomic bomb, J Robert Oppenheimer. The cast of Small Things Like These reportedly also includes Belfast-born Ciaran Hinds, English actress and Angelas Ashes star Emily Watson, Northern Ireland actress and Game Of Thrones star Michelle Fairley, and The Magdalene Sisters star and Cork actress Eileen Walsh. Since the 18th Century, nuns operated laundries across Ireland until the final institution in Sean McDermott Street in Dublin closed in 1996. Originally aimed at fallen women, the laundries use was expanded during the 20th century to also include women who had not been pregnant or had entered from childrens homes. The Irish institutions became notorious for the abuse many women suffered there, with unmarked graves being discovered at one site in the 1990s. The issue prompted a formal state apology in 2013. The Good Shepherd Magdalene Laundry in New Ross closed its doors in 1967 and a memorial for the women has been placed near the area at St Stephens Cemetery, Irishtown, according to Justice for Magdalenes Research organisation. The subject was previously examined on the big screen in 2002, with Peter Mullans award-winning The Magdalene Sisters. More than 2,000 college support staff are to strike later this month amid a row over wages and job security, a union has said. Unison announced on Friday that librarians, IT specialists, administrators, cleaners, canteen workers and estate management staff at 21 Scottish colleges will walk out on Thursday February 29. The union claimed staff have not had a wage rise in 18 months, branding the lack of an increase in pay completely unacceptable. It said staff have still not received a wage increase that was due in September 2022. It also wants colleges to guarantee pay rises will not come at the cost of redundancies. Workers voted by 81% in December in favour of strike action to continue their fight for better pay and to protect jobs. The union has now called on college bosses at College Employers Scotland to approach workers with a better pay offer, and to guarantee there will be no mandatory redundancies as a result. Unison Scotlands further education branch secretary Chris Greenshields said: College support staff deserve a fair pay rise without the threat of compulsory redundancies. Nobody wants to be on strike, but staff have been left with little choice. The union submitted a revised proposal to try and move things along back in December and it took college bosses two months to reject it. Collette Bradley, chairperson of Unison Scotlands further education committee, added: Further education in Scotland is in chaos. Its time for ministers to step and get this dispute sorted. College staff have not had a pay rise for 18 months, which is completely unacceptable in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis. Employees are simply demanding fair pay and no compulsory redundancies. If colleges want to avoid further disruption, they need to start taking those demands seriously. A Scottish government spokesperson said: While operational decisions on pay and staffing matters are the responsibility of individual colleges, the Scottish government remains concerned by the impact this action will again have on students. We continue to urge employers and trade unions to make every effort to reach a settlement, that is both fair and affordable, with a view of bringing this industrial action to a close. A spokesperson for College Employers Scotland said it is regrettable that Unison decided to go ahead with the strike, stating it will only add to the disruption already experienced by students last year. They said: Unison has been offered a consolidated pay rise of 5,000 alongside other college support staff over three years. This is the employers full and final offer and remains on the table despite the exceptionally difficult financial circumstances facing colleges. If accepted, it would deliver an average pay rise of nearly 16% for support staff going back to September 2022, and 21.5% for support staff earning less than 25,000. Unite and GMB members have already voted overwhelmingly to accept the offer but Unison members need to do the same before any additional money can be paid to college support staff. The spokesperson added: Colleges are acutely aware of the financial pressures that staff are under. That is why they want to apply the proposed pay increase in the earliest possible pay period. We therefore urge Unison to cancel plans for another strike and ballot its members on the very substantial pay offer that is still on the table from employers. Here is a full breakdown of the Conservatives by-election scorecard so far this parliament, which now stands at 10 losses, one gain and three holds. Losses 1. Chesham & Amersham (June 17 2021) The first defeat came in the Buckinghamshire constituency of Chesham & Amersham, in a by-election triggered by the death of the sitting Conservative MP Dame Cheryl Gillan. The Liberal Democrats overturned Dame Cheryls 16,223 majority to win the seat on a huge swing of 25.2 percentage points, with party leader Sir Ed Davey celebrating by using a yellow hammer to demolish a blue wall of model bricks. Sir Ed Davey celebrates the Lib Dems victory in the Chesham & Amersham by-election with a stunt at Chesham Youth Centre, Buckinghamshire (Steve Parsons/PA) 2. North Shropshire (December 16 2021) Six months later the Liberal Democrats took North Shropshire from the Conservatives on an even bigger swing of 34.1 points, overturning a majority of 22,949. It remains the second largest by-election swing against any government since the Second World War, at contests where a seat had changed hands. The by-election was triggered when the sitting Tory MP Owen Paterson resigned, after he had been found to have breached House of Commons rules by engaging in paid lobbying. Newly-elected Lib Dem MP Helen Morgan celebrated by using a long yellow pin to burst a large blue balloon. Helen Morgan bursting Boris bubble held by colleague Tim Farron (Jacob King/PA) 3. Wakefield (June 23 2022) The Conservatives suffered two by-election losses on the same day in June 2022: the first time since 1991 that a government had endured two concurrent defeats. Labour took Wakefield in West Yorkshire on a swing of 12.7 percentage points and overturned a majority of 3,358, in what was the partys first by-election gain from the Conservatives in 10 years. The contest had been triggered by the resignation of sitting MP Imran Ahmad Khan, following a criminal conviction for child sexual assault. 4. Tiverton & Honiton (June 23 2022) The other defeat came in the Devon seat of Tiverton & Honiton, where the Tories were defending a huge majority of 24,239 but which the Liberal Democrats won on another enormous swing, this time of 29.9 points. The by-election was prompted by the resignation of sitting MP Neil Parish, after he admitted watching pornography on his mobile phone in the House of Commons. 5. Selby & Ainsty (July 20 2023) The Selby & Ainsty by-election in North Yorkshire was triggered by the resignation of sitting Tory MP Nigel Adams, who had a majority of 20,137, and saw Labour win the seat on a swing of 23.7 percentage points. At 25 years old, winning candidate Keir Mather became the youngest MP in the House of Commons. Newly-elected Labour MP Keir Mather (centre) is congratulated by Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer and deputy leader Angela Rayner at Selby football club in North Yorkshire (Stefan Rousseau/PA) 6. Somerton & Frome (July 20 2023) On the same day that Labour gained Selby & Ainsty, the Liberal Democrats clocked up another win in the Somerset seat of Somerton & Frome, taking it from the Conservatives on a swing of 29.0 points and overturning a majority of 19,213. The contest was triggered by the resignation of sitting MP David Warburton, after an investigation into allegations of sexual harassment and cocaine use. Sir Ed Davey celebrated his partys by-election success by firing a cloud of yellow confetti from a blue circus cannon. Liberal Democrat MP Sarah Dyke with Sir Ed Davey in Frome, Somerset, after winning the by-election (Ben Birchall/PA) 7. Mid Bedfordshire (October 19 2023) In the first of another double-bill of same-day defeats, the Conservatives lost Mid Bedfordshire on a swing to Labour of 20.5 percentage points. It remains the largest numerical Conservative majority (24,664) to be overturned by Labour at a by-election since 1945. The contest had been triggered by the resignation of sitting MP Nadine Dorries. 8. Tamworth (October 19 2023) Labours victory at Tamworth in Staffordshire saw a swing of 23.9 points: large enough to currently rank as the third biggest swing from Conservative to Labour at a by-election since 1945. This was yet another contest prompted by the resignation of the sitting MP, in this case Chris Pincher, who won a majority of 19,634 in 2019 but who stood down after a Commons inquiry upheld allegations of sexual assault. 9. Kingswood (February 15 2024) Labour overturned a majority of 11,220 to win this Gloucestershire seat, achieving a swing of 16.4 percentage points: lower than some of the huge swings it enjoyed in previous by-elections, but comfortably above the 11.4 percentage points it needed. 10. Wellingborough (February 15 2024) In another instance of a same-day twin defeat for the Conservatives, Labour took the Northamptonshire seat of Wellingborough on an enormous swing of 28.5 percentage points: the second biggest swing from Tory to Labour at a by-election since the Second World War. The Conservatives share of the vote slumped from 62% at the 2019 general election to just 25%, the largest drop recorded by the Tories at any by-election since 1945. (PA Graphics) Gains Hartlepool (May 6 2021) The Conservatives have made one by-election gain during this parliament: Hartlepool in County Durham, which the party took from Labour on a swing of 16.0 percentage points. Labour had held the seat since it was created in 1974. Prime Minister Boris Johnson hailed the result as support for his Governments levelling up agenda, which also came in the wake of the successful roll-out of the first Covid-19 vaccinations. Holds 1. Old Bexley & Sidcup (December 2 2021) The Conservatives held this London seat in a by-election triggered by the death of MP James Brokenshire. 2. Southend West (February 3 2022) The Tories held this Essex seat in a contest triggered by the murder of MP David Amess. 3. Uxbridge & South Ruislip (July 20 2023) This by-election for a seat in outer London took place on the same day as the Conservatives lost Selby & Ainsty to Labour and Somerton & Frome to the Lib Dems. In this instance the party held the seat, in a contest triggered by the resignation of its MP and former prime minister Boris Johnson. Labour needed a swing of 7.6 points to win, far smaller than the swing the party achieved in Selby & Ainsty, but managed only 6.7 points. Both parties suggested the expansion of Londons ultra-low emission zone (Ulez), which levies a charge on vehicles that do not meet certain emissions standards and is a key policy of Labour mayor Sadiq Khan, may have contributed to the result. A failure to extend suicide prevention funding across England could have life or death consequences for people, councils are warning ahead of the budget. The Local Government Association (LGA) is urging the Government to use the Spring Budget to extend funding for projects which it said provide vital support to those at-risk and the bereaved, as well as for awareness campaigns in local communities. Its call is backed by the Samaritans charity which said people cannot afford for local suicide prevention funding to dwindle away. The LGA, which represents councils, voiced concern at a lack of confirmation from the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) on whether funding will continue beyond the end of this financial year. It said the fund, which has been worth 57 million, is due to run only until April. The LGA urged the Government to use the spring statement to extend the funding, saying councils are growing concerned about having to stop projects entirely or scale them down significantly. Highlighting work different councils have undertaken with the money to date, the LGA gave examples such as regular wellbeing calls in areas of Essex for people facing long waits for treatment for depression; a bereavement service for those affected by suicide in Shropshire and Telford and Wrekin; and work in Bournemouth with train operators and the British Transport Police in light of a cluster of suicides linked to the railways. David Fothergill, chairman of the LGAs Community Wellbeing Board, said: This suicide prevention funding has been a lifeline for many people. Councils have used it to provide fantastic support to those in their communities who have needed help the most. Without a commitment by the Government to extend this funding, these vital local schemes face an uncertain future which could have life or death consequences for those who rely on them. Councils desperately want to be able to keep tackling this issue, update their local suicide prevention plans in line with the new national suicide prevention strategy, and improve the wellbeing of their areas. Julie Bentley, chief executive of Samaritans, said: People in serious distress cannot afford for local suicide prevention funding to dwindle away. Communities across the country rely on this money to help save lives and Samaritans stands shoulder to shoulder with the LGA in calling on the Government to urgently renew the funding in the spring budget. A DHSC spokesman did not comment on the specific call from the LGA, but said: Our national suicide prevention strategy is helping thousands of people approaching crisis to get the support they need. Were also investing 2.3 billion extra a year into mental health services to help an additional two million people access NHS-funded mental health support by 2024, and we recently launched a 10 million fund for the voluntary sector in England to carry out crucial work to save lives. The dental regulator could be given powers to cut red tape and register overseas dentists faster under new plans. However, experts accused ministers of trying to fill a leaky bucket and called on them to actually fix NHS dentistry. The Government has proposed new powers for the General Dental Council (GDC) to provisionally register dentists who qualified outside the UK in a bid to bolster NHS dentistry. At the moment, they are required to pass an exam before they can start working. It is hoped the move will speed up the process and attract more international talent to the UK dental workforce. Stefan Czerniawski, executive director of strategy at the GDC, welcomed the measures, which are subject to a three-month consultation. He said: Provisional registration is an exciting opportunity that will require commitment and collaboration from across dentistry on the design and delivery of the new approach. We need to move at pace, but we need to take the time to get this right and we will work with stakeholders across the dental sector and four nations to do so. However, Eddie Crouch, chairman of the British Dental Association (BDA), said: A broken contract is forcing dentists out of the NHS with every day it remains in force. Overseas dentists are no more likely to stick with a failed system than their UK colleagues. Ministers need to stop trying to fill a leaky bucket, and actually fix it. According to the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), about 30% of all dentists on the GDC register qualified outside the UK. In 2022, some 46% per cent of new additions trained overseas. The proposal forms part of the Governments 200 million NHS Dental Recovery Plan. The blueprint, unveiled earlier this month, also proposes 20,000 bonuses for dentists working in under-served communities in a bid to increase appointment capacity by 2.5 million next year. Dentists could also be paid more for NHS work, while an advice programme aimed at new parents, and so-called dental vans, would be rolled out. Primary care minister Andrea Leadsom said: Our dental recovery plan will create millions more dental appointments, improve access for patients and ease pressure on the sector. Our hard-working dentists deserve our gratitude and this is the start of our plan to put the sector on a sustainable footing. Strengthening the workforce is key to our ambitions and our proposals would abolish red tape that currently prevents fully qualified overseas dentists from working in this country, while ensuring the highest standards of care and patient safety. We have a long-term plan to make access to NHS dental care faster, simpler and fairer for all, and I want to make sure we hear views from across the sector as we drive this forward. The Duke of Sussex is set to discuss his father the Kings health in a television interview in the US. Harry has been interviewed for the first time since Charles postponed all public-facing duties because of his cancer diagnosis. He is also due to talk about his life with the Duchess of Sussex and the Invictus Games during the broadcast, to be aired on Good Morning America on Friday. Harry, who lives in California with his wife and their two children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, flew to the UK last week to see the King. TOMORROW: A @GMA Exclusive: The all-new interview with Prince Harry on his life with Meghan, how his father King Charles is doing and his passion supporting wounded warriors. pic.twitter.com/tyNtHnxxpB Good Morning America (@GMA) February 16, 2024 He visited without Meghan and their children, less than 24 hours after the announcement about Charles health. But there was no meeting with his brother, the Prince of Wales, after Harry spent around 45 minutes at Clarence House seeing their father. The interview comes after a week of announcements from Harry and his wife the Duchess of Sussex. Meghan signed a deal with Lemonada Media to record new podcast shows, and the company will distribute her previous series. Her Archetypes podcast about female stereotypes ran for just one series before a lucrative deal with Spotify ended in 2023. The couple also relaunched their Archewell website, the name of their foundation, rebranding it The Office of Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. Pro-Palestinian protesters will demonstrate near the Israeli embassy on Saturday for the second time since the October 7 attacks. Between 200,000 and 250,000 people are expected to gather for the demonstration in central London, a spokesman for the Palestine Solidarity Campaign said. Around 1,500 police officers from forces across the UK will be on public order duties during the demonstration. The march will begin south of Marble Arch at 1.30pm and set off along Park Lane, then Knightsbridge and Kensington Road ending at the junction with Kensington Court where speeches will take place. Speakers will address crowds near the Israeli embassy and they must stop by 5pm, while protesters must leave by 6pm, police said. People take part in a pro-Palestine march and rally at Belfast City Hall (David Young/PA) The Met said there will be some who ask why a decision to allow the protest so close to the embassy was allowed but that it is a common misconception that forces can allow or refuse permission for a protest to take place. A static rally was held near the embassy on October 9. A real risk of serious disorder sufficient for the Met to request that the Home Secretary ban the protest has not been seen at recent demonstrations and is not expected on Saturday, it added. Protesters will be kept more than 100m away from the embassy grounds, behind barriers controlled by officers and face arrest if they do not do so. Precautions have also been taken to ensure the presence of protesters does not unnecessarily disrupt other sensitive premises, including synagogues, either near the start or along the route. People take part in a Palestine Solidarity Campaign demonstration near the Israeli Embassy, in Kensington, London (Jordan Pettitt/PA) Conditions under Section 12 of the Public Order Act meaning that any person participating in the march must not deviate from the route. Police have also said no gazebos or other stalls can be erected in a specified area at Marble Arch. The use of further police powers will be kept under review. All officers will be briefed to be on the lookout for offensive placards and banners and police teams will monitor CCTV of the demonstration as it happens. Commander Kyle Gordon, who will lead the policing operation, said: We are there to ensure protests take place lawfully, minimising disruption to the life of the wider public and in a way that gives due consideration to the cumulative impact on Londons communities and those who feel most vulnerable in the current climate. The protests we have seen since October have thankfully been largely peaceful and we must take this into account in our policing approach. I hope the same will be true this Saturday. Unfortunately, despite this, we have regularly seen officers having to deal with offences related to placards and other hate speech. We do not underestimate the fear this causes, nor the impact of such criminal and unacceptable behaviour on wider community relations. I would appeal to all those attending the protest on Saturday to act within the law and to consider the impact of their actions on the safety and security of others. We will not hesitate to take action against those who fail to do so. Palestinians ride on donkey carts through destruction from the Israeli bombardment at the main road of Salah el Dein in the Maghazi refugee camp, central Gaza Strip (Adel Hana/AP) At least 28,663 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since Israel began its military operation in the strip in October in response to the October 7 attacks, where militants killed some 1,200 people and took another 250 hostage. Israel is being urged not to send ground forces into Rafah on the Egyptian border, where many of the strips citizens are now living after areas closer to their homes became engulfed by fighting. PSC director Ben Jamal said: At each stage of Israels genocidal attack on Gaza weve seen horrors that we never thought possible. The images this week from Israels bombardment of Rafah, of children with limbs torn apart, should be seared on the conscience of the world. Despite mounting pressure from world leaders, and in defiance of the ICJ ruling, the Israeli government has made clear that it is about to launch an attack on Rafah that will lead to unprecedented levels of carnage. The moral imperative is clear. An immediate ceasefire is a simple, absolute necessity. The legal imperative is also clear, the UK must abide by its responsibilities under the Genocide Convention to cease any activities that make it complicit. Our government and opposition are guilty of an historic failure of leadership and principle. They have chosen to take the side of those committing genocide over those who are its victims, and over the demands of international law. We, with the majority of people in the UK, will continue to hold them to account on our marches, protests, campaigns and in the voting booths. A Labour government under Sir Keir Starmer needs to fundamentally change the countrys economy for the benefit of working people, a senior trade unionist has claimed. Roz Foyer, the general secretary of the Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC) said kicking the Tories out of power and Downing Street is only the first step in the change required. She said the next step will be ensuring a future Labour government fundamentally alters the balance of power in our economy. She made the plea as she claimed brutal Tory austerity together with short sighted decisions by the Scottish Government had ripped the resources out of our communities. The STUC last year put forward a paper which set out how short and long-term changes to taxes in Scotland could raise more than 3.7 billion extra funding a year, and Ms Foyer urged Scottish Labour to back those proposals. We need the Scottish Government to step up for Scotland and properly invest in our public services. There's wealth in this country: let's redistribute it properly. Read our tax report in full here: https://t.co/aBqi7dkWnw pic.twitter.com/Wkt6P3wqBY STUC (@ScottishTUC) December 15, 2023 Speaking ahead of an address to the Scottish Labour Party conference in Glasgow on Friday, Ms Foyer said: Any party of Labour UK, Scottish or otherwise must be unequivocally on the side of working people and build our public services back to a level worthy of our public sector workers. Kicking the Tories out of power is the first step. The next is ensuring any incoming Labour government fundamentally alters the balance of power in our economy. Scottish Labour can help. They can back our tax proposals, hold the Scottish Government to account and ensure we build a progressive Scotland where wealth is shared. It shouldnt be radical to suggest those who earn the most should invest the most into the public services we all rely on. Working people deserve both UK and Scottish Labour, whether in government or not, to be on the side of our public services and on the side of progressive taxation to fund them. The Duke of Sussex has suggested the Kings illness could lead to a reconciliation with his father as he spoke about the monarchs cancer diagnosis. In an interview with a US breakfast show, Harry also said I love my family and that he was grateful to be able to spend time with his father last week. The dukes whirlwind visit to see Charles for around 45 minutes prompted speculation the two men, estranged since the duke stepped down as a working royal, may be on the point of rebuilding their relationship. In the interview, aired on Good Morning America, it was suggested a family illness could have a re-unifying effect, and when Harry was asked is that possible in this case? he replied: Yeah, Im sure. TOMORROW: A @GMA Exclusive: The all-new interview with Prince Harry on his life with Meghan, how his father King Charles is doing and his passion supporting wounded warriors. pic.twitter.com/tyNtHnxxpB Good Morning America (@GMA) February 16, 2024 The duke and his wife Meghan are in Canada staging a number of events with Invictus competitors to mark a year to go until Harrys Invictus Games, for wounded and sick veterans and military, is staged in the country. They are being followed by a film crew led by Will Reeve, the son of the late Superman star Christopher Reeve, who interviewed Harry in the winter sports town of Whistler, which is hosting the 2025 Invictus Games alongside Vancouver. Gesturing towards Invictus competitors Harry added: Throughout all these families I see it on a day-to-day basis, the strength of the family unit coming together. I think any illness, any sickness brings families together. The King after spending a week at Sandringham in Norfolk, following the announcement of his cancer diagnosis (Jordan Pettitt/PA) Buckingham Palace has not given details about Charless cancer and Harry declined to divulge any information when asked about his outlook on the Kings health, replying that stays between me and him. But he said he would be visiting his father in the future: Ive got other trips planned that would take me through the UK or back to the UK, so Ill stop in and see my family as much as I can. There was no meeting between the duke and his brother the Prince of Wales last Tuesday after Harry spent time with Charles at Clarence House. The breakdown in the bond between the royal brothers can be traced back to the early period of Harrys relationship with wife Meghan when his then fiancee had a falling out with the Princess of Wales in the run-up to their wedding. Since stepping down as working royals in 2020 and moving to California the Sussexes have aired allegations and grievances against the monarchy and members of the royal family which have also soured relations. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex with participant Rosa Sanchez Bermudez during their visit to Whistler. Jeremy Allen/Invictus Games Vancouver Whistler 2025 Speaking to Reeve, Harry said: Look, I love my family. The fact that I was able to get on a plane and go and see him and spend any time with him, Im grateful for that. The duke was asked about his life in America, something he described as amazing, and whether he had contemplated becoming a US citizen, with the royal saying he had considered it. Harry added: The American citizenship is a thought that has crossed my mind but certainly not something thats a high priority for me right now. Asked how he processed what was going on with his family in the UK, the royal replied: I have my own family, as we all do. My family, and my life in California is as it is. Harry tries his hand at the Skeleton (Jeremy Allen/Invictus Games Vancouver Whistler 2025) Meghan and Harry are bringing up their two children Prince Archie, aged four, and two-year-old Princess Lilibet in the celebrity enclave of Montecito in California. The duke said: The kids are doing great, the kids are growing like all kids do very, very fast. Theyve both got an incredible sense of humour make us laugh and keep us grounded every single day, as most kids do. Im just very grateful to be a dad. During the interview, footage was shown of Harry trying the skeleton bobsleigh, one of the winter sports being introduced at the Invictus Games next year for the first time. Harry said hosting the biennial Games, or the one year to go events, were his annual fix, to be amongst this community and have a laugh, have fun no matter which nation theyre from the banters the same. I get a lot of energy just from being around these guys. The ex-wife of a former Conservative minister who was found to have raped and physically abused her has said that a solicitor originally advised her not to go to the police with her allegations. Conservative MP Kate Kniveton has spoken out after a High Court judge ruled that Andrew Griffiths will have no direct contact with his child in the reasonably short term. Mr Griffiths, former MP for Burton, was previously found to have pressurised Ms Kniveton into engaging in sexual activity as well as raping her multiple times. In a 2021 ruling, Judge Elizabeth Williscroft also found Mr Griffiths had assaulted and used coercive and controlling behaviour against Ms Kniveton, who is now the MP for the same constituency. Mr Griffiths denies the rape allegations. Andrew Griffiths arriving at the Royal Courts of Justice (Aaron Chown/PA) What followed was a legal row over their child, with the judge ruling this month that Mr Griffiths will be permitted to send letters and cards four times a year, as well as for the childs birthday and Christmas, and will receive updates from his childs school and Ms Kniveton. Speaking to Channel 4 News about her experience, Ms Kniveton explained why she had not taken her allegations to the police or through the criminal courts. She said: I remember very clearly a solicitor right back at the beginning saying to me when I said I need to report this to the police they said to me, not my current solicitor, You must not do that Kate. I said But why not, hes done this to me. And they said Because we will lose control of the case. Id never had any dealings with solicitors or courts so I took that advice and I didnt do it. But its not something that Ive ruled out for the future. In a statement, Mr Griffith called the ruling a complete travesty and said the family court system had been used to run a political campaign. He had sought weekly supervised contact with their child, who he previously saw once per week via videolink for 30 minutes. In the interview, Ms Kniveton said: I remember very clearly the first time he physically attacked me was in 2011. Hed brought me down to London; wed gone to a St Patricks Day celebration at The Grosvenor. Hed had quite a lot to drink, wed had a lovely evening, and I remember going back up to the bedroom before he did. He came into the bedroom and he just flew at me. He pinned me against the wall by my throat and was ranting and raving at me and I was in absolute shock. Id never experienced anything like that in my life before. And I can remember the next day nothing was mentioned about it. She described another alleged incident: I remember the next incident was only a couple of months later at home. We were at home, watching television; wed had a meal. I cant remember what the discussion was but again I remember him suddenly getting up, getting on top of me on the sofa, and again pinning me by my throat onto the sofa. And I quite clearly remember at that point, all I could think about was my parents, because I thought that was it. I really thought My time was up hes going to finish me off. And then he suddenly stopped. I dont know what made him stop, but he stopped. And I jumped up and I ran to get my car keys and get out of the house. And he ran after me and after he ran towards me, he swung for me. And I remember very clearly because I had hoop earrings on and he caught one of them and ripped my earlobe and I think thats what stopped him in his tracks because I do remember him saying Oh, god. She said it was a huge relief to have the legal proceedings finished, in an interview alongside her lawyer Dr Charlotte Proudman. In a statement, Mr Griffiths said: Every other child in the country would be protected by the anonymity of the family court. At my ex-wifes request, the court chose to remove that protection and to put our child through the lifelong consequences of this being played out in the glare of the national media. He accused his ex-wife of employing a radical barrister and said she had forced the pair to spend more than 300,000 in court fees. He added: This is a complete travesty for our child who will be stopped from seeing a loving father they have a happy and strong relationship with. It only demonstrates how ridiculous this process is that the court believes all of this personal misery can be exposed in the television shows such as this but also thinks that banning the press from saying whether our child is a boy or a girl will somehow protect them from that publicity. The family court has been used to run a political campaign and to gain publicity rather than putting the best interests of our child first. The loser is our child, with whom I have a loving and meaningful relationship. The courts have badly let down our child and we will all have to live with the consequences. For my family this decision hurts like a bereavement we are losing a child that is loved more than anything in the world. Sinead McNamara says living with brain fog was 'monumentally frightening and stressful.' (Supplied/Yahoo Life UK) Sinead McNamara, 55, started experiencing frightening symptoms that led her to believe she was suffering from early onset dementia. Here, she shares her journey to discovering it was severe menopausal brain fog and how she found herself and passion again. Plus, a doctor living with MS explains brain fog symptoms, causes and treatments. "After a year or so in perimenopause, a particularly discombobulating and distressing menopausal symptom hit me like a steam train around April 2020," says Sinead, who works in events and now menopause advocacy. "And one that I had very little knowledge or awareness of." While Sinead had experienced some of the more known menopause symptoms like hot flushes (though not to the extent of others) and irregular periods, she admits, "I had not bargained for (nor was aware of) the paralysing effects of severe menopausal brain fog." With many of her friends around 10 years older, she'd occasionally heard of this symptom "in hushed tones" before, but as nothing had seemed as extreme as this, she didn't connect the two. All-encompassing brain fog "I had no idea about how many people are affected by menopausal brain fog but also the detrimental effect it can have on your quality of life, including how you see yourself as an individual and the severe toll on your mental health," Sinead explains. Prior to menopause, she had never suffered from brain fog which can also be linked to many other health conditions including long COVID or any kind of anxiety or depression. "I reached a point where I struggled to manage my own diary and self," Sinead recalls. "I was making school kid errors; inputting meeting times and dates in the wrong month or missing them. "I was completely forgetting things people told me. I was utterly overwhelmed and severely anxious about work stuff I would have taken in my stride previously. my self-confidence and belief in myself crumbled." For Sinead, it became something chronically bad in a very short time. My self-confidence and belief in myself crumbled Suspecting early onset dementia Sinead never thought she'd be able to do what she loved again. (Supplied) "Things got so unmanageable that I had myself convinced I was suffering from early onset dementia. I felt I was losing myself, totally losing my edge and was becoming increasingly of no value to our business [in festivals and events], or to anything much else for that matter," Sinead explains. "At the time, it was monumentally frightening and stressful. I was absolutely terrified about my future and what was going to become of me. "When you see yourself in the most part as organised, diligent, strong, confident and someone who thrives in fast-paced environments there are no words for how bad severe brain fog can make you feel. "I felt that the old me was evaporating. The me I knew was fading away into the ether and I believed my busy work life would be over." Meanwhile, she was still pretending nothing was wrong. There are no words for how bad severe brain fog can make you feel Uncovering menopausal brain fog In the summer of 2020, Sinead eventually organised a Zoom appointment with her doctor, who assured her it was not dementia, but menopause, that was behind her brain fog. Personally a big advocate of HRT, deciding with her sister years before they would try it when the time came, she says, "And so I did. And that was a game changer (albeit not an instant one)." While she found herself using things like "notes to remind herself of notes", Sinead says it was hard enough to get through the day, without having to incorporate a range of other coping strategies. When telling her colleague what was going on and that she wouldn't be able to work for a while, she recalls the reply being: "Jesus Christ, I thought there was something seriously wrong with you Sinead." Then, after adjusting to her HRT journey, her brain fog began to settle down towards the end of 2020. Finding purpose again Sinead's experience with menopausal brain fog has lit a fire in her belly to make positive change. (Supplied) "Ironically, Im now thankful for my experience as it afforded me the passion, interest and motivation to put a menopause event of huge calibre together which Im very proud of," says Sinead. The National Menopause Summit, a 'Masterclass in Menopause', returns to Dublin, Ireland in April 2024, but Sinead and fellow co-director Shell plan to bring it to the UK by the end of the year. Whether through events or any means possible, Sinead believes more awareness and fact-based information on things like menopause and brain fog is hugely important, for men and women. "Brain fog in menopause is not just a womans problem, its a relationships problem, it's a work problem. It's ultimately a problem for the economy," she says. "I'm not saying brain fog happens to everybody or to the severity it did for me, but people need to know more about it." Brain fog and symptoms Brain fog symptoms may be due to menopause, or other health conditions. (Getty Images) (fizkes via Getty Images) Dr Clara Doran, founder of Noggin The Brain People and former GP, says brain fog is a cluster of symptoms that includes: unclear thinking reduced ability to concentrate difficulty focusing memory changes tiredness irritability and frustration "There is no structural brain damage when you have brain fog that can be seen on MRI scans or in blood tests like in some brain affecting conditions like MS or Alzheimer's, a type of dementia," says Dr Doran, who has been affected by brain fog herself. "Your cognition is impacted, which can be harder to measure or quantify without formal psychological testing. "Whilst the cause and severity may be different, the symptoms are often similar." People's ability to 'just keep going" can vary depending on their situation and other health conditions they're dealing with. "Brain fog can impact many aspects of day to day performance at work and ability to complete tasks at pace. This can add to feelings of stress and anxiety and create a difficult cycle of symptoms which can impact on personal relationships," D Doran adds. Brain fog causes We have started to hear more about brain fog due to long covid. (Getty Images) (Mindful Media via Getty Images) "Chronic stress, autoimmune conditions and long COVID are some of the common reasons people experience brain fog. We think these conditions can trigger chronic inflammation which impacts brain cells and their efficiency of functioning," says Dr Doran. "Hormonal changes, specifically reduced oestrogen, associated with perimenopause and menopause are also triggering factors." Can we experience brain fog in isolation? "Brain fog is the result of other things going on within our brain. The difficulty is that it isnt always obvious what the underlying trigger/s are, therefore symptoms may feel like they're occurring alone." Managing brain fog There are ways to help manage ongoing brain fog. (Getty Images) (Halfpoint Images via Getty Images) While we might all experience brain fog-like symptoms at some point, it becomes a problem when they're ongoing or affecting your life. "Identifying possible causes for you is the most important place to start," says Dr Doran, who advises: De-busy yourself ask for help to share the load at work and home Rest screen-free down time will help ease symptoms regardless of cause Reduce distractions between our phones, kids and colleagues, hone down on the essentials Prioritise brain healthy habits sleep, exercise, hydration and nutrition Talk to your GP you may benefit from tests to exclude medical conditions like thyroid dysfunction and Vitamin B12 deficiency, referral for talk therapies, management tips, and/or discussion about HRT if menopause Get professional advice on nutritional supplements Dr Doran says people can fully recover when there is a specific cause and this is treated, while for some, symptoms may fluctuate. "Acceptance isn't giving in being kind to yourself will help you get the support you need. " Read more: Living with undiagnosed ADHD felt like I was always chasing my tail (Yahoo Life UK, 8-min read) Watch:NHS should offer women therapy for the menopause, new guidance says Rishi Sunak on Friday morning, following the two by-election defeats. (PA) (Dan Kitwood/PA Wire) The Conservatives have lost two more by-elections to Labour. In a dire night for Rishi Sunak, Sir Keir Starmers Labour overturned majorities of 18,540 in Wellingborough and 11,220 in Kingswood to inflict the governments ninth and 10th by-election defeats of the current Parliament. Gen Kitchen secured Wellingborough with 45.8% of the vote, while Damien Egan won Kingswood with 44.9% of the vote. Sunak, who is set to call a general election later this year, attempted to play down the defeats on Friday, saying midterm elections are always difficult for incumbent governments and citing low turnout, of just under 40%, in both constituencies. Starmer, on the other hand, claimed it showed people are crying out for change. The defeats mean the Tories have suffered the most by-election defeats of any government since the 1960s. The following map demonstrates the scale of losses since the party won the 2019 general election. Recommended reading Here, Yahoo News UK breaks down the previous by-elections the Tories have lost (and won) since 2019. Hartlepool, May 2021: Conservative gain from Labour It feels a long time ago now, but this by-election came when Boris Johnson's Tories were flying high in the polls: 43% to Labour's 33% (today, YouGov has Labour polling at 44% and the Tories on 22%). The party's relative popularity, pre-Partygate scandal and the disastrous "mini budget", came as the country was coming out of lockdown following the successful COVID vaccine rollout. It led to a by-election rarity: a government winning an opposition seat. It had been Labour-held since it was formed in 1974, with the defeat described as absolutely shattering for Starmer. The by-election was called after Labours Mike Hill stepped down over sexual harassment claims. By-election swings where seat has changed hands since 2019 general election. (PA Wire) An inflatable Boris Johnson with the then-prime minister himself following the Hartlepool by-election victory. (Getty Images) (Ian Forsyth via Getty Images) Chesham and Amersham, June 2021: Conservative loss to Liberal Democrats The Tories' first defeat of the current Parliament happened in Buckinghamshire in a by-election triggered by the death of sitting MP Dame Cheryl Gillan. In a campaign characterised by constituency-specific issues such as HS2 and planning reforms, the Lib Dems overturned her 16,223 majority to win the seat with a huge 25% swing. Lib Dem leader Ed Davey celebrates the Chesham and Amersham victory by using a yellow hammer to demolish a 'blue wall' of model bricks. (PA Images via Getty Images) (Steve Parsons - PA Images via Getty Images) Old Bexley and Sidcup, December 2021: Conservative hold The Conservatives held this London seat in a by-election triggered by the death of MP James Brokenshire. North Shropshire, December 2021: Conservative loss to Liberal Democrats In a by-election prompted by the resignation of Tory MP Owen Paterson after he breached House of Commons rules by engaging in paid lobbying, the Liberal Democrats achieved another stunning result: overturning a majority of 22,949 with an even bigger swing of 34%. It remains the second largest by-election swing against any government since the Second World War. Southend West, February 2022: Conservative hold The Tories held this Essex seat in a contest triggered by the murder of MP David Amess. Wakefield, June 2022: Conservative loss to Labour Labour took the west Yorkshire seat, overturning a majority of 3,358, in the partys first by-election gain from the Conservatives in 10 years. The contest had been triggered by the resignation of sitting MP Imran Ahmad Khan following a criminal conviction for child sexual assault. Sir Keir Starmer celebrates the Wakefield victory with new MP Simon Lightwood. (PA Images via Getty Images) (Danny Lawson - PA Images via Getty Images) Tiverton and Honiton, June 2022: Conservative loss to Liberal Democrats On the same day as the Wakefield by-election, the Tories were defending a huge majority of 24,239... which the Liberal Democrats overturned with another enormous swing of 30%. The by-election was prompted by the resignation of sitting MP Neil Parish after he admitted watching pornography on his phone in the House of Commons. Uxbridge and South Ruislip, July 2023: Conservative hold In a contest triggered by the resignation of sitting MP and former prime minister Boris Johnson, the Tory hold was considered a missed opportunity for Labour with the Tories flailing in the polls under Sunak. Both parties suggested the expansion of Londons ultra-low emission zone (ULEZ), which levies a charge on vehicles that do not meet certain emissions standards and is a key policy of Labour mayor Sadiq Khan, may have contributed to the result. Selby and Ainsty, July 2023: Conservative loss to Labour This by-election in north Yorkshire was triggered by Tory MP Nigel Adams resigning to pursue a private sector career. Adams had a big majority of 20,137, but Labour, whose popularity had surged since the disastrous administration of Liz Truss, won the seat on a huge 24% swing. At 25 years old, winning candidate Keir Mather became the youngest MP in the House of Commons. Newly-elected Labour MP Keir Mather waits for leader Sir Keir Starmer at Selby Town Football Club after the by-election. (PA) (Stefan Rousseau/PA Wire) Somerton and Frome, July 2023: Conservative loss to Liberal Democrats Another big gain for the Liberal Democrats on a 29% swing, overturning a majority of 19,213. The contest was triggered by the resignation of sitting MP David Warburton, after an investigation into allegations of sexual harassment and cocaine use. Mid Bedfordshire, October 2023: Conservative loss to Labour This defeat remains the largest numerical Conservative majority (24,664) to be overturned by Labour at a by-election since 1945. The by-election had been triggered by the resignation of sitting MP Nadine Dorries. Tamworth, October 2023: Conservative loss to Labour Another Labour victory, this one in Staffordshire, saw a 24% swing: large enough to currently rank as the third biggest swing from Conservative to Labour at a by-election since 1945. This was yet another contest prompted by the resignation of the sitting MP, in this case Chris Pincher, who had won a majority of 19,634 in 2019. He stood down after a Commons inquiry upheld allegations of sexual assault. Wellingborough, February 2024, Conservative loss to Labour Labour took the Northamptonshire seat on an enormous swing of 29%: the second biggest from Tory to Labour at a by-election since the Second World War. The Conservatives share of the vote slumped from 62% at the 2019 general election to just 25%, also the largest drop recorded by the Tories at any by-election since 1945. It was triggered by the six-week Commons suspension of former Tory MP Peter Bone after an inquiry found he had subjected a staff member to bullying and sexual misconduct. Gen Kitchen, the new Labour MP for Wellingborough, said she cut short her honeymoon to begin campaigning for the by-election. (PA) (Joe Giddens/PA Wire) Kingswood, February 2024, Conservative loss to Labour Labour overturned a majority of 11,220 to win this Gloucestershire seat, achieving a swing of 16%: lower than some of the huge swings it enjoyed in previous by-elections, but comfortably above the 11% it needed. The vote came after former Conservative MP Chris Skidmore resigned in protest at government legislation to boost North Sea oil and gas drilling. Around three in four young people have not ruled out pursuing a career in healthcare but perceptions of poor working conditions are putting many off, a survey has suggested. The NHS workforce plan could fall flat unless young people are given greater incentives and support to embark on healthcare education courses, university leaders have warned. A survey, of 5,259 young people aged between 16 and 26 across the UK shared with the PA news agency, found 73% are considering or have considered pursuing a career in healthcare. But the majority of respondents to the survey, commissioned by Universities UK (UUK), said they would be put off from embarking on a career in healthcare by perceptions of low pay (90%), poor work/life balance (82%), stress of the job (79%), and long working hours (75%). The poll, carried out by Censuswide, found that 23% of young people said their ability to manage costs while studying put them off from enrolling onto a university healthcare course. Nearly three in four young people said they would be more likely to choose to study on a healthcare course at university if they received more financial support like grants and loans while studying (72%), or if they were paid for their clinical placements (73%). UUK, which represents vice-chancellors at 142 universities, is calling for maintenance support to keep up with the increased cost of living to relieve financial pressures on healthcare students. During the Covid-19 years, the number of applicants choosing to study on healthcare courses like nursing surged, with many reporting that the pandemic had inspired them to apply. But the latest Ucas data shows that the number of people applying to undergraduate nursing courses in the UK has fallen this year and the figure is now below pre-pandemic levels. The Government unveiled the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan in June last year, hailing it as a once in a generation opportunity to employ 300,000 extra healthcare workers. But in October last year, the UUK warned that the ambitious plans to recruit more staff could only be achieved if significant changes were made to healthcare education and training. It called for a national recruitment campaign to be launched by the Government in partnership with universities, colleges, schools and the NHS to prevent the talent pipeline from drying up. The survey, which took place between December 13-21, found only a fifth of young people said they were very familiar with the variety of career options available within the NHS beyond becoming a doctor or nurse. Professor Alistair Fitt, health policy lead at UUK and vice-chancellor of Oxford Brookes University, said: The good news from this survey is the strong interest among young people for rewarding healthcare careers. With broad political support to significantly increase the number of healthcare staff, the challenge is how we make NHS careers attainable for many more potential students. The health service needs a pipeline of talent to be able to provide high-quality care. Universities have a vital role in training that talent and stand ready to deliver through innovative approaches to education and training. However, without bold and urgent change, ambitious plans for the future of the NHS in England are set to fall flat. Dr Billy Palmer, senior fellow at the Nuffield Trust, said: The survey is a reminder of how perceptions of poor working conditions in the NHS can throw our chances of achieving a sustainable, homegrown supply of clinical staff into jeopardy. It not only highlights the need for additional support and more positive perceptions of clinical careers but also brings into stark relief the factors behind the avoidably high leaver rates during degrees and early on in clinicians careers. The survey also points at solutions, with around three-quarters of young people more likely to choose to study a healthcare course at university if their tuition fees could be written off for working in the NHS. We have previously argued that a student loans forgiveness scheme is an instant and affordable way to increase the number of applications to clinical courses as well as reducing the numbers leaving during training or early in their career. Professor Mark Radford, deputy chief nurse for England, said: I am pleased to hear that so many young people are considering a career in healthcare and have a clear desire to make a difference to peoples lives, which is a core NHS value. A renewed focus on retaining our staff and improving flexible working options are at the heart of the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan, which offers a once-in-a-generation opportunity to put staffing on a sustainable footing and make healthcare careers more accessible and more appealing to young people, through world-class education and training and by offering a variety of routes including degree apprenticeships. The NHS will continue to work closely with Universities UK to ensure higher education remains central to implementation of the plan to help recruit and retain hundreds of thousands more staff over the next 15 years and improve patient care. A Department of Health and Social Care spokesman said: It is encouraging that three in four young people in the UK are considering a career in healthcare, and the first ever NHS long term workforce plan will help attract many more, with the number of applicants outstripping places on offer for nursing and midwifery courses. Backed by more than 2.4 billion in government funding, it will bring together universities, the NHS and government to train and retain a health workforce for the future, doubling the number of medical school places to 15,000 and adult nurse training places to 24,000. We are also working closely with NHS England to support students. This includes a training grant for eligible nursing, midwifery and allied health profession students of at least 5,000 a year, alongside support for childcare. It is likely Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was killed ahead of the countrys election next month to crush dissent, a Russia expert has said. The UK has joined other western countries in condemning the Kremlin after Russias federal prison service said in a statement that the 47-year-old politician and anti-corruption campaigner had died. According to the agency, he became unwell after a walk on Friday and lost consciousness. An ambulance arrived but he died despite attempts to resuscitate him, it said. Experts from Kings College London said Mr Navalny, who was one of the most outspoken critics of Russian President Vladimir Putin, symbolised hope and democratic change for many Russians. The entrance to the prison colony where Alexei Navalny was being detained (AP Photo/Antonina Favorskaya) Dr Maxim Alyukov, research fellow at the universitys Russia Institute, described Mr Navalnys death as a political killing. He added: It is likely that he has been killed ahead of the March election, to demotivate and crush any potential dissent. Given Putins recording of physically eliminating opponents, it would not be a surprise at all. Elections, even if tightly controlled, still can serve as focal points for discontent, and there have been alternative candidates successfully campaigning for registration demonstrating that there is a demand of peace and change of power. Given Navalnys significance and the fact that many associated democratic change in Russia with him, his death will be a signal that will shock and demotivate many, demonstrating that resistance is futile. He has been consistently tortured and denied medical treatment. Navalny was active in communicating with the public from prison via his lawyers, and his statements were giving hope to many dissidents both inside and outside Russia. Portraits of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, flowers and candles on the ground as people protest in front of the Russian embassy in Berlin, Germany (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi) Professor Gulnaz Sharafutdinova, professor of Russian politics and director of the universitys Russia Institute, said Mr Navalnys death could lead to protests on the streets of Russia. She added: The Kremlin tried to get rid of Navalny using different means. His death (if confirmed) will be heartbreaking for many thousands of Russians who believe and fight for different Russia. His role as a model of a politician who sacrificed his life for his beliefs and principles will stay on and inspire others. But this moment is a moment for grief. We will see how the grieving will unfold in Russia in the next few days probably. This news could interfere with the presidential elections in Russia. But that would depend on peoples actions on the ground. Dr Marc Berenson, senior lecturer at the universitys School of Politics and Economics said: Navalnys death, perhaps, constitutes the most prolonged murder in Russian history. Having survived multiple attempts on his life over the years, the conditions and treatment that Navalny endured while imprisoned by the Kremlin since his return to Russia in 2021 surely would have alone caused a slow death, absent any immediate deliberate actions. The manner in which the Kremlin has treated its own citizens, including its own soldiers on the front lines in Ukraine, should be yet another wake up call for the West, and particularly the US Congress, as to just how dangerous an enemy Russia has become. Russian President Vladimir Putin has held an iron grip over Russia for the last two decades (Alexander Ryumin/Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP) Mr Navalny, who campaigned against official corruption and organised major anti-government protests, has been behind bars since January 2021. He was arrested on his return from Germany, where he had been recuperating after a nerve agent poisoning that he blamed on the Kremlin, on charges he dismissed as part of a politically motivated vendetta. Since the start of his imprisonment, the opposition leader had remained a thorn in the side of Mr Putin via scathing attacks that his associates continued to post on social media. Mr Navalny had been moved in December from his former prison in the Vladimir region of central Russia to a special regime penal colony, the highest security level of prisons in Russia, above the Arctic Circle. His allies decried the transfer to the town of Kharp, in the remote Yamalo-Nenets region notorious for its long and severe winters, as yet another attempt to silence him. Money raised by a Labour UK government scrapping the non-dom tax loophole will be used to cut waiting lists in Scotland, Anas Sarwar will say. On the first day of the Scottish Labour conference in Glasgow, Scottish Labour leader Mr Sarwar will say the party will fund 160,000 new appointments each year. In October, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer set out a plan to fund more NHS appointments by using 1.5 billion from scrapping the non-dom tax status. Scottish Labour says this will result in 134 million of additional health spending in Scotland. Mr Sarwar will say he will spend every penny of this in Scotlands NHS, with a focus on tackling waiting lists, with the money projected to generate the equivalent of 160,000 appointments for diagnostics and procedures each year. Scottish Labours three-day conference begins in Glasgow on Friday. Mr Sarwar is expected to say: Every Scottish seat matters, every Scottish vote matters. Because by voting Scottish Labour, Scotland can be at the heart of the next UK Labour government. Scotlands got a choice, and the SNP wants Scotland to settle for sending a message. Anas Sarwar said the money will be spent on funding more NHS appointments (Peter Byrne/PA) Well I want Scotland to send a government. Mr Sarwar will say that every single public institution has been left weaker then when the SNP came to power 17 years ago, and there are now 830,000 Scots on waiting lists in the NHS. He will add: We will put fairness back at the heart of everything we do. That is why a UK Labour government will scrap the non-dom tax loophole. It means more money can be invested in nurses and consultants in our NHS. Right now, waiting times in Scotland are at a record level. Closing the non-dom tax loophole will deliver 134 million every year in Barnett funding for Scotland. Today I commit a future Scottish Labour government to investing every penny of that in our NHS to increase capacity and drive down waiting lists. That will deliver the equivalent of 160,000 more NHS appointments every single year. That is what change means. That is why change matters. Clare Haughey SNP MSP and convener of Holyroods Health Committee said: Scotlands NHS is a public asset to be incredibly proud of, which has stood firm against years of cuts to Scotlands budget from Westminster, a global pandemic and the effects of Brexit. Brexit workforce shortages have put considerable strain on services; the Chancellors Autumn Statement presented a worst-case scenario for NHS funding, with extra funding that would cover just five hours in Scotlands NHS, and the long-term recovery following Covid-19. Labour has absolutely no plans to address any of these issues; they are committed to Brexit, the continuation of devastating Tory cuts and holding the door wide open for the private sector. Its clear they cannot be trusted with Scotlands NHS. In stark contrast, the SNP Scottish Government has provided a real terms increase in funding for frontline health services, taking the total to 13.2 billion this year, while giving record pay increases to staff and making Scotland the only part of the UK to avoid strike action. The SNP will always protect our NHS and with the full powers of independence we can ensure it is safe from creeping privatisation and Westminster mismanagement once and for all. Oldest man to row Atlantic solo reunites with wife after beating own record A grandfather has reunited with his wife after beating his own Guinness World Record as the oldest person to row across the Atlantic solo following a special but treacherous 64-day voyage. Frank Rothwell, 73, completed the 3,000-mile challenge as part of the Worlds Toughest Row and he reunited with his wife of 53 years, Judith, in Antigua on Thursday after spending more than two months at sea. The chairman of Oldham Athletic AFC set off from La Gomera in the Canary Islands on December 13, enduring bad weather and winds which capsized his boat and set him off-course on several occasions. The challenge was in aid of Alzheimers Research UK and Mr Rothwell has raised more than 270,000 so far, on top of the 1.1 million he raised for the charity when he completed the voyage the first time in 2021. Its special isnt it, to break your own record, Mr Rothwell, from Oldham, told the PA news agency. It was really, really difficult and one day the currents moved me back eight miles overnight so I had to row over the same piece of ocean twice, which took four or five hours. To break a record is special but to break your own record is serious stuff and its brilliant. Frank Rothwell reunited with his wife Judith in Antigua on Thursday after spending 64 days at sea (Worlds Toughest Row/PA) He added that it was magic to be reunited with his childhood sweetheart Judith, who he described as my rock. To meet Judith again for the first time after being away is absolutely brilliant, Mr Rothwell said. Judith Rothwell said that the challenge had been harder on her and her family this time around, telling PA: The first time when he did it, it was a lot easier than this. This had been a hard one mentally and physically for us all. Its been hard obviously for Frank but for us, turning the boat over a few times and various things like that, its not been an easy trip. Frank Rothwell undertook the challenge with the aim of raising money and awareness for Alzheimers Research UK (Worlds Toughest Row/PA) It was nice to see him finished. Mr Rothwell said the hardest part of his voyage was around Christmas, when his boat capsized while he was in the cabin. You know the boat is going to capsize at some point but I wasnt as prepared for it, as devastating as it was, he said. All of a sudden the boat is full of peanuts, Id not put the lid on the peanut jar, the Mars bars are everywhere, its all mixed up. When the boat went on its side, the water came in and everything was wet through my clothes, my bed where I sleep, everything was wet. It was a tumble-dryer effect while youre inside this little cocoon, it was a bit of a shock. Mr Rothwell added that while he was putting his sea anchor down, a big wave smacked the boat on the side and sent me overboard. He said: I had a day off and tried to get myself together because it was very emotional, but after taking a day and speaking to Judith, I carried on. Frank Rothwell said it was special to beat his own Guinness World Record (Worlds Toughest Row/PA) Theres no get out of jail card once youre committed to rowing across the Atlantic and youre 500 miles off shore. With his latest voyage, Mr Rothwell has raised more than 270,000 for Alzheimers Research UK, the UKs leading dementia research charity. The cause is close to Mr Rothwells heart having lost his brother-in-law and best friend to the condition. Its great because Ive found an opportunity to actually make a difference to a really worthwhile charity, he said. Weve got to start addressing this condition and I feel as though Im doing something to help. He added that a song came to mind from the 1958 film Damn Yankees, saying: The song is called You Gotta Have Heart, and thats what this is all about. All you really need is heart, when the odds are saying youll never win, thats when the grin should start. Emma Whitcombe, deputy chief executive at Alzheimers Research UK, said: From everyone here at Alzheimers Research UK, we would like to congratulate Frank on his successful crossing of the Atlantic and new record. Over the course of the 3,000-mile race, Frank overcame the challenges of the ocean, and we are in awe of his determination to complete this adventure. We are incredibly moved by Franks efforts to raise vital awareness and support our search for a cure. To find out more, visit: justgiving.com/campaign/frankrothwell The Scottish Police Federation (SPF) has warned officer numbers may have plummeted to fewer than 16,000. David Kennedy, general secretary of the organisation which represents rank-and-file police officers, highlighted the decline during a fringe event at the Scottish Labour conference in Glasgow. Police numbers have reached their lowest level since 2008, with 16,363 full-time equivalent officers as of December 31, 2023. That was 250 down from the end of September last year, and was 282 fewer than at the end of 2022. Speaking at the SPFs fringe on the future of policing event, Mr Kennedy said: Morale is absolutely dreadful at the moment. We know its dreadful because police officers are leaving. They are leaving considerably in their droves compared to what they were in previous years. They have just had enough. However, Police Scotland have said claims officer numbers had fell beyond 16,000 were false. Mr Kennedy also said officers have been opting to retire from the force due to worsening conditions. Since 2013, weve lost over 1,000 police officers and we know that figure is going to rise even further, he said. David Kennedy is general secretary of the Scottish Police Federation (Andrew Milligan/PA) Referencing the December figures, he said: We now know that by the officers that have been retiring since then and leaving, we believe the figure will now be close to under 16,000 police officers in Scotland. Thats in the background of all of the extra jobs we have to do, all the extra legislation thats came into play over the last 10 years. He later said the mental health crisis within the police force is absolutely a timebomb. Earlier this month, figures obtained by Scottish Labour found mental health absences among officers increased nearly 70% in four years, with 59,073 officer working days and 22,828 police staff days lost to mental health absences in 2022/23. In 2018/19, 8,623 working days were lost for police staff due to mental health. A Police Scotland spokesperson said: Our funding settlement from the Scottish Government for the next financial year allows us to restart officer recruitment. The most up to date published figures show our officer numbers were 16,363 at the end of December and we will be welcoming an intake of 200 new probationers in March. Claims that our numbers will drop below 16,000 are wrong. Justice Secretary Angela Constance said: Despite deeply challenging financial circumstances due to the UK Government settlement, we are increasing the Scottish Police Authority resource budget by 5.6% in 2024-25 an additional 75.7 million. The Chief Constable has confirmed that this investment will enable Police Scotland to restart recruitment next month and increase police numbers this year. Scotland continues to have more police officers per capita than England and Wales, and our officers are the best paid at all levels. I also welcome the new Chief Constables commitment to workforce wellbeing and that police officers and staff can access a range of services to care for their psychological and physical needs through Police Scotlands Your Wellbeing Matters programme. Police Scotland has been asked for comment. Angry protesters have gathered outside the Russian Embassy in central London, calling for the Kremlin to be held accountable for the death of jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny. Images of the 47-year-old were left alongside a number of floral tributes. Those gathered chanted Putin is a killer, and held up signs with slogans including Putin will never stop killing, We are Navalny, and Dont give up. At one point, members of the crowd held up their phone lights towards the embassy in unison. People take part in a protest opposite the Russian Embassy in London (Jonathan Brady/PA) A man at the protest, who did not wish to be named, said he wanted to be able to love his country again. I want Russia to be a country that is respected all over the world, he continued, I want to love my flag. But today its not possible because the flag represents the war. Tearful speakers gave speeches in both Russian and English using a loudspeaker. Today we stand together to remember Alexei Navalny, one said. Navalny leaves behind a family. His death is another painful example of cruelty and injustice under Putins rule. Lets raise our voices and demand justice. Lets show Putin he wont make us silent. A protester holds a picture of Alexei Navalny (Jonathan Brady/PA) A British woman told the crowd: Youre not alone, Im British and I stand here with my Russian brothers and sisters. Alexei Navalny stood for the real Russians, we love the real Russians and we mourn him. Russias federal prison service said in a statement that Mr Navalny became unwell after a walk on Friday and lost consciousness. An ambulance arrived, but the politician and anti-corruption campaigner died despite attempts to resuscitate him, the agency said. Britain has joined other western countries in condemning Russian President Vladimir Putin. UK Foreign Secretary Lord David Cameron said there should be consequences for the Moscow leader. Mr Navalny, who campaigned against official corruption and organised major anti-government protests, has been behind bars since January 2021. A women touches a picture of Alexei Navalny at a protest opposite the Russian Embassy in London (Jonathan Brady/PA) He was arrested on his return from Germany, where he had been recuperating after a nerve agent poisoning that he blamed on the Kremlin. Since the start of his imprisonment, the opposition leader had remained a thorn in the side of Mr Putin via scathing attacks that his associates continued to post on social media. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Mr Putin was informed of Mr Navalnys death and the prison service was looking into the matter in line with standard procedures. When the Russian president has spoken about Mr Navalny previously, he has made it a point not to mention the activist by name, referring to him only as that person or similar in an apparent effort to diminish his importance. He recently launched a presidential campaign for his fifth term in office, and is already the longest-serving leader in Moscow since Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin. Mr Navalnys wife, Yulia Navalnaya, has called for the international community to unite and hold Mr Putins regime responsible in the wake of Fridays news. Putin must be held accountable for Navalnys death, UK Foreign Secretary says Russian President Vladimir Putin must be held accountable for the death of jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny, the UK Foreign Secretary has said. Lord David Cameron said there should be consequences for the Moscow leader, of whom Mr Navalny was one of the most prominent and persistent critics even while behind bars. Britain has joined other western countries in condemning the Kremlin after Russias federal prison service said in a statement that the 47-year-old politician and anti-corruption campaigner had died. According to the agency, he became unwell after a walk on Friday and lost consciousness. An ambulance arrived, but he died despite attempts to resuscitate him, it said. Speaking to broadcasters as he attends the Munich Security Conference on Friday, Lord Cameron said: We should hold Putin accountable for this, and no-one should be in any doubt about the dreadful nature of Putins regime in Russia after what has just happened. Asked whether there should be consequences, he said: There should be consequences because theres no doubt in my mind that this man was a brave fighter against corruption, for justice, for democracy, and look what Putins Russia did to him. They trumped up charges, they imprisoned him, they poisoned him, they sent him to an Arctic penal colony, and hes died, and that is because of the action that Putins Russia took. In an earlier post on X, formerly Twitter, Rishi Sunak described Mr Navalny as the fiercest advocate for Russian democracy who had demonstrated incredible courage throughout his life. My thoughts are with his wife and the people of Russia, for whom this is a huge tragedy, the Prime Minister said. Security minister Tom Tugendhat went a step further, accusing Mr Putins regime of having murdered Mr Navalny in order to silence him. His courage lives on in those who reject Moscows dictatorship, the minister said. Alexei Navalny with his wife Yulia after a rally in Moscow in 2013 (Evgeny Feldman/AP) Mr Navalny, who campaigned against official corruption and organised major anti-government protests, has been behind bars since January 2021. He was arrested on his return from Germany, where he had been recuperating after a nerve agent poisoning that he blamed on the Kremlin, on charges he dismissed as part of a politically motivated vendetta. Since the start of his imprisonment, the opposition leader had remained a thorn in the side of Mr Putin via scathing attacks that his associates continued to post on social media. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Mr Putin was informed of Mr Navalnys death and the prison service was looking into the matter in line with standard procedures. Mr Navalnys spokeswoman Kira Yarmysh said on X that the politicians team had no confirmation of his death so far and that his lawyer was travelling to the town where he was held. His widow, Yulia Navalnaya, has called on the international community to unite in holding the terrible and evil regime in Moscow responsible in the wake of the news. Several world leaders and Putin critics placed the blame squarely on the shoulders of the Russian president and his government on Friday. A man holds a poster with a portrait of opposition leader Alexei Navalny during a protest in front of the Russian embassy in Berlin (Markus Schreiber/AP) Speaking in Munich, US vice president Kamala Harris said: Russia is responsible and we will have more to say about this later. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said it is obvious that he was killed by Putin as he visited Germany. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Mr Navalnys death makes clear what kind of regime this is and that he had probably now paid for (his) courage with his life. Former prime minister Boris Johnson echoed those remarks: No one can be in any doubt that Alexei Navalny has been put to death by Vladimir Putin. People take part in a protest opposite the Russian Embassy in London (Jonathan Brady/PA) The widow of Alexander Litvinenko, the Russian defector to the UK who was poisoned and died in 2006, suggested on Friday that Mr Navalny should have remained in exile. Marina Litvinenko told Times Radio that he was a prominent and, very well-known opposition, but they locked him out of all people in this prison. Made him maybe less active. And what that means for me, he should not be not in prison. He should be alive. He should live maybe in the West, and he would be more effective. But it was his decision to go back to Russia. She added: His life, I think, would be more important than this death. Tributes came from across British politics in the UK on Friday, with Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer calling his death terrible news for the Russian people. Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said Mr Putin would never kill the light of freedom democracy which Navalny has stood for so courageously. Bill Browder, the staunch Putin critic who has lobbied for sanctions against Russia since his associate Sergei Magnitsky died after exposing tax fraud involving Russian officials, said it was demoralising Putin can feel untouchable. Mr Navalny had been moved in December from his former prison in the Vladimir region of central Russia to a special regime penal colony, the highest security level of prisons in Russia, above the Arctic Circle. His allies decried the transfer to the town of Kharp, in the remote Yamalo-Nenets region notorious for its long and severe winters, as yet another attempt to silence him. Mr Navalny had crusaded against official corruption and staged massive anti-Kremlin protests (Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP) The opposition leader was convicted in 2013 of embezzlement, but later the prosecutors office surprisingly demanded his release pending appeal, after which a higher court gave him a suspended sentence. Many observers attributed his release to a desire by authorities to add a tinge of legitimacy to the mayoral election in Moscow, in which he had registered as a candidate. Mr Navalny ultimately finished second in the contest, which was seen as an impressive outcome, as the incumbent had the backing of Mr Putins political machine. When the Russian president has spoken about Mr Navalny previously, he has made it a point not to mention the activist by name, referring to him only as that person or similar in an apparent effort to diminish his importance. Mr Putin recently launched a presidential campaign for his fifth term in office. He is already the longest-serving leader in Moscow since Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin. Sir Paul McCartney has been reunited with his bass guitar, which the Beatle used on famous tracks such as Twist And Shout and She Loves You, after it went missing more than 50 years ago. A spokesperson for the former Beatle said he is incredibly grateful for those who were involved in helping to locate the Hofner bass guitar, which went missing in 1972. The Lost Bass Project launched a search to find the missing German violin-shaped bass in 2018, but traction picked up last year after further media attention. An exact replica of Sir Paul McCartneys original Hofner bass guitar, which has been reunited with the former Beatle (Guncotton Guitars/PA) The team, which included Nick Wass from Hofner and husband and wife team Scott and Naomi Jones, received more than 100 leads which they used to help track down the missing guitar. Among the tip-offs, the project said they were given information that claimed the guitar had been stolen from the back of a van in 1972 in Notting Hill in London. They later discovered the bass was allegedly sold to a landlord in the area before it was passed on until it ended up in the attic of a terraced house in the south coast of England. The project said the owner realised they had the highly-sought-after item following the publicity last year. The bass is still complete and in its original case but will need some repairs to make it playable again, the project added in their statement. A post on Sir Pauls official website read: Following the launch of last years Lost Bass project, Pauls 1961 Hofner 500/1 bass guitar, which was stolen in 1972, has been returned. The guitar has been authenticated by Hofner and Paul is incredibly grateful to all those involved. The bass had been purchased for 30 in Hamburg, Germany, in 1961 by Sir Paul and was used during his time with The Beatles. His career-long use of the guitar led to it to being dubbed the Beatle bass. Sir Paul played the Hofner on the Fab Fours first two albums, Please Please Me and With The Beatles, as well as on a slew of hits including Love Me Do. The guitar has been dubbed the Beatle bass A statement from The Lost Bass project said: We are extremely proud that we played a major part in finding the Lost Bass. It has been a dream since 2018 that it could be done. Despite many telling us that it was lost forever or destroyed, we persisted until it was back where it belonged. We want to thank everyone who helped with the search, all those who sent us leads and ideas and many who just wanted to lend their support to us. Thank you all so very much. Very much indeed! We did it! Rishi Sunak has paid tribute to the fiercest advocate for Russian democracy after the countrys prison agency said jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny has died. The UK Prime Minister said the death of Mr Navalny, one of the most prominent and persistent critics of Vladimir Putin, was a huge tragedy for the people of Russia. Moscows federal prison service said in a statement that the politician, 47, felt unwell after a walk on Friday and lost consciousness. An ambulance arrived to try to rehabilitate him, but he died, the agency said. There was no immediate confirmation of Mr Navalnys death from his team. Alexei Navalny with his wife Yulia after a rally in Moscow in 2013 (Evgeny Feldman/AP) In a post on X, formerly Twitter, the Prime Minister said: This is terrible news. As the fiercest advocate for Russian democracy, Alexei Navalny demonstrated incredible courage throughout his life. My thoughts are with his wife and the people of Russia, for whom this is a huge tragedy. Tributes came from across the political spectrum in the UK, with Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer saying: Alexei Navalny showed incredible, impossible courage in his fight for Russian democracy. His death is terrible news for the Russian people. My thoughts are with his friends and family, as well as his supporters across the world. Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said: Putins despicable methods might be to kill his enemies, but he will never kill the light of freedom and democracy which Navalny has stood for so courageously. Mr Navalny, who campaigned against official corruption and organised major anti-government protests, has been behind bars since January 2021. He was arrested on his return from Germany where he had been recuperating after a nerve agent poisoning that he blamed on the Kremlin. Mr Navalny had rejected all charges against him as being part of a politically motivated vendetta. Since the start of his imprisonment, he remained a thorn in the side of Mr Putin via scathing attacks that his associates posted to social media. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov says Mr Putin was informed of Mr Navalnys death and the prison service was looking into the death in line with standard procedures. Mr Navalnys spokeswoman, Kira Yarmysh, said on X that the politicians team had no confirmation of his death so far and that his lawyer was travelling to the town where he was held. He had been moved in December from his former prison in the Vladimir region of central Russia to to a special regime penal colony, the highest security level of prisons in Russia, above the Arctic Circle. His allies decried the transfer to the town of Kharp, in the remote Yamalo-Nenets region notorious for its long and severe winters, as yet another attempt to silence Mr Navalny. Mr Navalny was convicted in 2013 of embezzlement, but later the prosecutors office surprisingly demanded his release pending appeal, after which a higher court gave him a suspended sentence. Many observers attributed his release to a desire by authorities to add a tinge of legitimacy to the mayoral election in Moscow, in which he had registered as a candidate. Mr Navalny ultimately finished second in the contest, which was seen as an impressive outcome as the incumbent had the backing of Mr Putins political machine. When the Russian President has spoken about Mr Navalny, he has made it a point not to mention the activist by name, referring to him only as that person or similar in an apparent effort to diminish his importance. Mr Putin recently launched a presidential campaign for his fifth term in office. He is already the longest-serving leader in Moscow since Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin. NEW YORK -- A 16-year-old is now charged with murder in Monday's deadly shooting on a Bronx subway platform. Police say the teen was also charged with five counts of attempted murder and one count of criminal possession of a weapon. He will be charged as an adult, but his name is not being released because he is a minor. We're told he didn't make any statements to police and asked for an attorney. Thirty-five-year-old Obed Beltran Sanchez, an innocent bystander and a father of two from Mexico, was killed in the shooting at the Mount Eden subway station in the Bronx. His wife said in Spanish that day was their 14-year anniversary. She says he was a great father and great husband, their love unconditional. Now charged with his murder, a 16-year-old alleged gang member taken into custody outside his Bronx home, where police could still be seen Thursday night. U.S. Marshals says he was previously arrested in April 2023 for attempted robbery. Police say the teen and two others opened fire during a gang dispute on the subway platform during Monday's rush hour. "It's ridiculous. I don't understand these kids nowadays. What are they doing? What are they thinking?" East Harlem resident John Melecio said. Five others were also hurt in the crossfire, including a 14-year-old who is in custody. Police say that teen was involved in a shooting in January that may have led to the subway gunfight. He was charged Wednesday with attempted murder, assault and reckless endangerment for last month's shooting, and he's now being questioned about Monday's subway shooting. Leo Mendez was nearby when it happened. "It's like normal ... Basically," he said. Police sources tell CBS New York cops are investigating five separate shootings and shots-fired incidents over the past few weeks involving this ongoing beef over disrespect and social media drill rap. Police are still searching for one other person believed to be the third gunman in Monday's shootout. "We need to definitely make people more aware of how the youth is thinking when it comes to quickly turning to violence," Mount Eden resident Daniel Del Moral said. "Gang violence such as this senseless shooting resulting in death and injury to innocent citizens of the City of New York waiting for their train to get home will not be tolerated. We will use all the resources at our disposal to find you and bring you to justice to make our streets safe again," U.S. Marshal Ralph Sozio said. Anyone with any information is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477), or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). You can also submit a tip via their website or via DM on Twitter, @NYPDTips. All calls are kept confidential. Shooting after Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl parade leaves one dead Hamas commander on why terror group attacks civilians Eyewitnesses describe scene at Kansas City Chiefs parade shooting UPDATE: On Monday afternoon police announced a suspect is in custody. Two people were found dead with gunshot wounds inside a dorm on the University of Colorado - Colorado Springs campus on Friday. The bodies were discovered by police just after 6 a.m. Classes were canceled for the day and lockdown and shelter-in-place orders that were put in place on the campus immediately afterwards were lifted. / Credit: CBS Colorado Springs Police Department said a homicide investigation is underway, and that it is being investigated as an isolated incident. CSPD said in a tweet that they "don't believe there is an ongoing threat to the community." In an update posted on social media Friday evening, police said "this incident does not appear to be a murder-suicide and both deaths are being investigated as homicides." "We are continuing to develop and follow investigative leads and will provide additional information when it becomes available," police added. The identities of the people who died in the shooting have not been released. "I was shocked honestly, I woke up to an email from one of my teachers saying these was a lock down and just to be safe lock the doors. And then I came out here to all these police cars and the news people and I was pretty shocked," said student Adam Trujillo. University police had ordered a lockdown in which they warned people to lock doors, turn out lights and be silent. The shelter in place order first was called for the entire campus, then it was only in place for a time in the Alpine Village area. "We do not want movement in and around these areas," they wrote. They revealed soon afterwards that the homicide investigation was underway and eventually everyone was told they were free to resume normal movement on the campus. / Credit: CBS "I am closely monitoring the situation at the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs campus and have spoken with our Department of Public Safety, and CU President Todd Saliman to offer state support where needed," said Gov. Jared Polis in a statement. The UCCS campus is located along Austin Bluffs Parkway in northeast Colorado Springs. It is one of four universities in the University of Colorado system. The others are in Boulder, Denver and Aurora (the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus). Alpine Village is described on the UCCS website as an area where there is on-campus housing. UCCS said that counselors from within the CU family will be available as a resource for those who are struggling. They can also call 211 for mental health resources. Cillian Murphy: The 60 Minutes Interview Redefining old age The authentic Ashley McBryde President Ilham Aliyev sent a congratulatory letter to Gitanas Naus?da, President of the Republic of Lithuania, Azernews reports. The letter reads: "Dear Mr. President, On my own behalf and on behalf of the people of Azerbaijan, I sincerely congratulate you and your people on the occasion of the national holiday of the Republic of Lithuania. Presently, there exist good opportunities and prospects for fruitful cooperation between our countries across economic, trade, transport, renewable energy, and other areas. By taking advantage of the present opportunities, we will be able to achieve the development of our relations and further deepen our cooperation through our joint efforts. I am confident that Azerbaijan-Lithuania relations will continue to develop consistently both bilaterally and within the European Union. On this remarkable day, I wish you good health, happiness, success in your endeavors, and the people of Lithuania everlasting peace and prosperity. Sincerely, Ilham Aliyev President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Baku, 13 February 2024" President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris are continuing to attack former President Donald Trump for saying he would "encourage" Russia to "do whatever the hell they want" to NATO member countries that are "delinquent" in defense spending. The Biden-Harris campaign released a new ad title "Walk Away" on Friday highlighting Trump's comments they call "traitorous," hours after the reported death of Alexei Navalny, the longtime Russian opposition politician and critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin. "Trump wants to walk away from NATO. He's even given Putin and Russia the green light to attack America's allies," the ad's narrator says, before quoting Trump at his rally last Saturday in South Carolina, saying, "I would encourage them to do whatever the hell they want." "No president has ever said anything like it," the narrator ads. "It's shameful. It's weak. It's dangerous. It's un-American." PHOTO: Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump gestures to supporters after speaking at a Get Out The Vote rally at the North Charleston Convention Center, Feb. 14, 2024, in North Charleston, S.C. (Win Mcnamee/Getty Images) The three-week, six-figure ad campaign will run through Super Tuesday and target voters in the battleground states of Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, the campaign said, places that are "home to more than 2.5 million Americans who identify as Polish, Finnish, Norwegian, Lithuanian, Latvian, or Estonian -- all NATO countries that border Russia and face the threat of an expansion of Putin's aggression in Ukraine." MORE: Biden blasts Trump for his 'shocking' and 'un-American' NATO comments Biden used similar language in blaming Navalny's death squarely on Putin in remarks at the White House on Friday, arguing Americans should "reject" what he called the "dangerous statements" from Trump. "This is an outrageous thing for a president to say. I can't fathom -- can't fathom, from Truman on, they're rolling over in their graves hearing this," he said. "Now is the time for even great unity among our NATO allies to stand up to the threat that Putin's Russia poses," he added. PHOTO: President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, Feb. 16, 2024, in Washington. (Evan Vucci/AP) Harris, speaking at the Munich Security Conference on Friday, also defended the Biden administration's approach to foreign policy and warned against those who, instead, "embrace dictators," in a thinly veiled attack against Trump. "They suggest it is in the best interest of the American people to isolate ourselves from the world, to flout common understandings among nations, to embrace dictators and adopt the repressive tactics and abandon commitments to our allies in favor of unilateral action," Harris said. "Let me be clear, that world view is dangerous, destabilizing and indeed shortsighted. That view would weaken American and undermine global stability and undermine global prosperity. President Biden and I therefore reject that view," she added. The rebuke from Harris comes after Biden on Tuesday blasted Trump's comments from the White House, calling them "shocking" and "un-American" -- and after Trump doubled down on his message to NATO in a social media post on Monday, saying, "YOU MUST PAY." PHOTO: Vice President Kamala Harris speaks on stage at the 2024 Munich Security Conference, Feb. 16, 2024, in Munich. (Johannes Simon/Getty Images) Trump again stood by the comments at a rally on Wednesday in North Charleston, South Carolina. "Look, if they're not going to pay, we're not going to protect. OK?" he said. MORE: After Trump's claims, here's what to know about NATO member defense spending Biden-Harris campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez echoed Biden's condemnation of the threats to the NATO alliance in announcing the campaign's new ad on Friday. "President Biden is right: Trump's attempts to appease dictators like Putin are 'dumb,' 'shameful,' 'dangerous,' and 'un-American,'" she said in a statement. "The bottom line is that the only person Donald Trump is loyal to is Donald Trump not to our allies and certainly not to the American people. And while he thinks that sucking up to Putin and other dictators will make him strong, the American people know him for who he truly is: a coward and a loser." ABC News' Justin Gomez and Sarah Beth Hensley contributed to this report. Biden campaign attacks Trump's comments threatening NATO in new ad originally appeared on abcnews.go.com Police in Ohio believe they found the body of a 5-year-old boy who had been taken by his foster mother earlier this week. The body was found in a sewage drain in Franklin County shortly after 1 a.m. Friday, Columbus Police Chief Elaine R. Bryant said at a news conference. "This is a tragic development and we certainly hoped for a different outcome," Bryant said. An Amber Alert was issued Wednesday for Darnell Taylor after his foster father called police and said his wife, Pammy Maye, woke him up and made statements that made him believe that their foster child, Darnell, had been hurt, according to a police notice. missing child amber alert (Columbus Division of Police) Darnell was missing from his bedroom, the man said in a 911 call played at a Thursday news conference. The man said his wife had taken his car and left. Authorities had pleaded with Maye, 48, to let them know that the child was safe, and said the pair may have been traveling in a Jeep. The vehicle was located hours after the 911 call was made in the Cleveland suburb of Brooklyn. Bryant said that at about 9:38 p.m. on Thursday, Brooklyn police officers were dispatched to a business after someone reported seeing "a woman walking suspiciously around the building." Responding officers identified the woman as Maye and contacted Columbus police. suspect mother mom (Columbus Division of Police) Maye was taken into custody and provided information to police indicating "that Darnells body may be in a sewage drain," Chief Bryant said. Maye is receiving medical treatment at a local hospital and will be returned to Franklin County. Police had charged Maye with third-degree child endangerment and first-degree kidnapping. Bryant said Friday that a murder charge would be added. Darnell had been fostered in the familys home since May, according to police. Authorities have been in contact with his biological family. Darnell's biological grandfather declined to speak with NBC News. The acting deputy chief of the US Border Patrol, Joel Martinez, is on administrative leave for alleged misconduct, according to a source familiar with the matter. The source did not provide any details about the alleged misconduct but said there is an ongoing investigation. We do not tolerate misconduct within our ranks, said Customs and Border Protection spokesperson Erin Waters. When we discover any alleged or potential misconduct, we immediately refer it for investigation and cooperate fully with any criminal or administrative investigations, Waters added. This is the case whether the alleged misconduct occurs on or off duty. Federal privacy laws prohibit discussion of individual cases. The Washington Post first reported Martinezs suspension. Martinez, a 31-year Border Patrol veteran, has also served as the chief patrol agent of the Laredo Sector and deputy chief patrol agent of the Rio Grande Valley Sector, according to the CBP. The US Border Patrol is a law enforcement entity under the umbrella of CBP, in the Department of Homeland Security. CNNs Piper Hudspeth Blackburn contributed to this report. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com And fans are anything but thrilled. Adobe Stock/Allrecipes Costco is known for its food court offerings. Many enjoy the cheese pizza, especially this hack that makes it even better, while others prefer the $1.50 hot dog topped with onions. However, not all items at Costcos food court are happily welcomed by customers, especially those controversial double chocolate chunk cookies that replaced the churros. Now, there is another possible addition to the food court line-up, and fans are not thrilled about this. Costco Food Court Might Be Getting a Turkey Sandwich There have been a lot of rumors circulating online that Costco may have a new food court turkey sandwich to offer customers soon. Instagram's costcoinsider posted an image of the alleged sandwich with a caption that said, "New Food Court item coming soon! Turkey & Swiss Sandwich for $6.99. Comes with a roll, brown turkey, swiss cheese, sun dried tomato spread, green leaf, and dijon." The caption also states that the sandwich will likely be available at Costco stores at the end of February. The comments were anything but positive, with one user saying, "It looks very plain." Others said it reminds them of Costco's former turkey sandwich and that they would prefer the original be brought back instead. Costco's original turkey sandwich was made with turkey, provolone cheese, and garlic-basil mayo, served hot. It was later discontinued during the pandemic and sadly never made a comeback. A recent Reddit thread also weighed in on the possibility of this new sandwich. Comments from fans flooded in, and none of these sounded enthusiastic either. One user said, "Just another cold and dry sandwich. Instant pass," while someone else added, "There's no way this is real. That picture is awful. That couldn't have been approved by the design team." Others were also not happy about the price of the sandwich, saying, "For the price of this you could get an entire value meal at a fast food joint," and, "Costco food court used to be deals for lunch, now it's just another crappy place to eat at." One other asked, "Why is it so hard to make a sandwich $4.99? Is it $6.99 to make up for some of the lost revenue from the hot dog? Just a sandwich by itself at Costco should be $4.99." Only time will tell if this sandwich makes its way to the food court and whether customers will try or bypass it altogether. Read the original article on All Recipes. Graham Denholm/TAS24/Getty Images for TAS Rights Management Taylor Swift needed to pour her thoughts and feelings into her upcoming album, The Tortured Poets Department. I needed to make it. It was really a lifeline for me, Swift, 34, said during her Friday, February 16, concert in Melbourne, Australia, per social media footage. It sort of reminded me of why songwriting is something that actually gets me through life and Ive never had an album where Ive needed songwriting more than I needed it on Tortured Poets. The Tortured Poets Department, Swifts 11th studio album, drops on April 19. During her Eras Tour concert on Friday, she revealed that there will be a special bonus version of the LP. I wanted to show you something tonight because weve got an alternate cover to The Tortured Poets Department that nobody has seen and theres an exclusive song on this vinyl called The Bolter, Swift said, leading up to her surprise song performance of Youre Losing Me, a vault track from 2022s Midnights. This is called The Bolter Edition. Look at that cover, its so tortured [and] so poetic. I wanted to show that to you here in Melbourne because youve just been the best that you could possibly be. Every Easter Egg Taylor Swift Teased for The Tortured Poets Department The Bolter version features a sepia-toned photo of Swift lying on a bed while looking off into the distance, once again taken by Beth Garrabrant. The new edition of The Tortured Poets Department is currently available for preorder on Swifts website. Graham Denholm/TAS24/Getty Images for TAS Rights Management Swift announced TTPD at the 2024 Grammys earlier this month when she won Best Pop Vocal Album. [The way I can celebrate] is by telling you a secret that Ive been keeping from you for the past two years, which is that my brand new album comes out April 19th, she said in her acceptance speech. Its called The Tortured Poets Department and Im going to go post the cover right now backstage. Swift, who went on to win Album of the Year for the fourth time on February 4, hadnt always planned to reveal TTPD at the Grammys. Everything to Know About Taylor Swifts The Tortured Poets Department I had told my friends, I told Jack [Antonoff], but I hadnt really told very many other people. I thought, OK, if Im lucky enough to win one thing tonight, Im just gonna do it. Im just gonna announce my album, she said during one of her Eras concerts in Japan days later. And luckily enough, that ended up happening. Graham Denholm/TAS24/Getty Images for TAS Rights Management Swift added: My backup plan was I was gonna do it tonight in Tokyo. But thanks to you and your support, I was lucky enough to win a Grammy and tell you about it on stage at the Grammys. We can debrief tonight and talk about it. Swift has since unveiled the tracklist for The Tortured Poets Department, with many fans speculating that it is a record inspired by a breakup. Song titles include So Long, London, But Daddy I Love Him, I Can Fix Him (No, Really, I Can) and Down Bad. An additional bonus track is called The Manuscript. Swifties have theorized that TTPD breaks down Swifts split from her boyfriend of six years, Joe Alwyn, which Us Weekly confirmed in April 2023. She later moved on with Travis Kelce, going public with their romance in September 2023. South Korea has the world's lowest fertility rate, at just 0.78 births per woman as of 2022. It's likely to get even worse, with Statistics Korea, the country's official statistics bureau, forecasting a rate of just 0.72 for 2023. That would be three times lower than the often-accepted replacement rate of 2.1, the number of births needed to keep a population at a stable level. It's even worse in Seoul, the nation's capital, where the fertility rate is just 0.59. The city's mayor has a solution: He wants the city's government to play matchmaker to link people together. In a Bloomberg TV interview aired on Friday, Seoul mayor Oh Se-hoon said he first proposed the idea last year, but the scheme was postponed due to concerns that a dating event wasn't an appropriate idea for public institutions. but Oh hasn't given up. Im thinking about trying it again," he said, continuing that some residents were disappointed that the matchmaking plan was on hold. Other Korean city governments have tried blind dating events, such as the local government in Seongnam City, just south of Seoul, which arranged an event at a hotel for 100 South Korean men and women to meet. South Korean officials are considering more than just matchmaking events to bolster the country's rapidly-declining birth rate. The government is increasing its incentives for families to have children. Since 2022, the government has paid 2 million Korean won ($1500) to parents for their first child, but starting this year, parents will get 3 million won ($2250) for their second child and thereafter. Parents will also receive a monthly payment of 1 million won monthly ($750) for the first 12 months and 500,000 won for the following 12 months. Parents with children younger than eight are also entitled to apply for a maximum of one year of parental leave. Oh acknowledged that matchmaking would be a secondary role compared to other policies meant to encourage childrearing, including increases to parental leave and financial support for couples seeking egg freezing services or infertility treatments. Seoul will mobilize all available policies, Oh said on Bloomberg. The Bank of Korea, in a recent report, suggested that easing population density in Seoul could help improve the country's low birth rate. About half of Korea's population lives in the Seoul metropolitan area. South Korea's government is the only one in Asia trying to reverse a trend of declining birth rates. Governments in Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore are all considering or have implemented new policies to encourage families to have children. Mainland China is also rolling back population control measures as new births in the country sink to record lows. This story was originally featured on Fortune.com Happy Friday. Fortunes tech correspondent Jason Del Rey here, and Im a tad bit ashamed. You see, recently, TikTok somehow discovered one of my greatest vices and then served it up to me on a digital platter: a 4.6-ounce bag of spicy Mexican chips, costing only $1.51 after a discount, shipped for free to my East Coast home all the way from a candy shop in Pasadena, Texas. Yes, thats an absurd deal that makes absolutely no financial sense. No, I didnt feel great about the environmental impact of my online impulse buy after clicking Buy Now. As a reporter who has covered e-commerce for the past decade, I had a lot of questions. So while I awaited the shipment of my guilty pleasure, I contacted the merchant behind the 4.6-ounce bag of Cruijtos Queso y Chile chips to try to work through the improbable math. Luckily for me, he was happy to chat. Manny Barba is the owner of Las Delicias Mexicanas, a small chain of Mexican candy shops with brick-and-mortar stores in Houston and nearby Pasadena. Barbas wife, Abigail, encouraged them to start selling through TikToks commerce platform, TikTok Shop, after it launched to U.S. app users in the fall. And since then, shes the one who has mostly been responsible for the growth of their presence on the shopping platform under their handle lasdeliciasmexicanas_2. There, theyve been selling single bags and variety packs of Mexican chips12 small bags for around $25as well as Mexican candies, jerky, and Chamoy pickle kits. In early December, a simple live video of a store employee showing off various chip varieties in Spanish went viral, attracting more than 1 million views and helping draw attention to their online storefront. A few deals with affiliatesTikTok users with decent-sized followings who would promote their shop for a cut of salesalso helped. Soon, the Barbas were overwhelmed, hiring extra staff to help field 300 to 400 TikTok Shop orders a day, and working around the clock just to stay above water. Over a two-month period, their TikTok store generated more than $100,000 in sales. The new sales channel had quickly become for them equal parts blessing and curse. Around the same time, massive issues at Houston area U.S. Postal Service facilities led to a large backlog of orders and delayed shipments. Negative reviews from TikTok customers began pouring in, and the Barbas found themselves on the hook for thousands of dollars in refunds. Those challenges, Manny Barba said, have been a nightmare. The Barbas then slowed down on posting new videos to the site and pulled back on their affiliate partnerships. They also switched from USPS to FedEx for their shipping. Now, finally feeling dug out from the holiday backlog, they are considering stepping on the gas once again. Going viral can change your life, Abigail Barba said. TikTok Shop is just one of a few online shopping experiences with roots in China that have taken the U.S. consumer by storm recently. TikTok, which is owned by China-based ByteDance, along with shopping apps Temu and Shein, are selling billions of dollars in goods to U.S. customers each year. While their business models and strategies vary, much of their appeal centers on the same thing: ridiculously low prices. As a result, U.S.-based retailers from Amazon and Walmart to dollar store chains, fast-fashion brands, and department stores, are now on high alert. So back to my $1.51 bag of chips: Who exactly is losing money on that? It sure isnt Barba. Both the 30% discount I received, as well as the free shipping offer I was presented with as a first-time customer of their shopping section, came courtesy of TikTok. Even on other orders, TikTok is subsidizing a large portion of the shipping costs too. Last week, for example, Barba said his TikTok store racked up more than $2,100 in shipping fees on $6,000 in sales. That said, TikTok only charged his business $396 for shipping, plus a tiny 2% commission on sales. If that sounds too good to be true, its because it is. Soon, TikToks cut will increase from 2% to 6%, and then to 8% by the summer. Manny Barba assumes that TikTok will reduce the shipping subsidies eventually too, but by then many sellers will feel locked in. Theyre going to get us used to the platform, and then sink their teeth in, he said. But by that time, youll be so used to it that youll just think, It is what it is. Jason Del Rey Want to send thoughts or suggestions to Data Sheet? Drop a line here. This story was originally featured on Fortune.com Thousands of fans flocked to Union Station for the 2024 Chiefs Super Bowl rally in Kansas City, ready to celebrate the teams victory. But the day turned bloody as shots rang out, killing a radio host and mother of two, and injuring at least 23 other parade goers. The victims of the shooting on Wednesday ranged in age from 8 to 47, police said. More than half were under the age of 16. Children fled with their parents from Union Station. Other families tuned in on TV. Even more lined the streets along the proceeding parade route. A tragedy like this is hard maybe impossible to understand as an adult. How do we talk to our kids about it? The Star spoke with child psychologist Erin Hambrick, an associate professor at the University of Missouri Kansas City, to gather advice for parents and caregivers after the deadly mass shooting. Heres what the disaster and crisis response specialist shared: How can I support the kids in my life? Talk to your child first and spend quality time with them. Hambrick modeled what an adult might say to a child about the shooting: There was a shooting yesterday at the Super Bowl parade and some people were injured and we know at least one person was killed. Immediately following that, the police and emergency services did everything they could to keep people safe and get people out of harms way, and theyre still doing that, Hambrick said. The goal is to share the basic facts, emphasize that the shooting is over and include how adults brought a sense of safety to the situation. While you might ask your child what they want to know during this initial conversation, Hambrick said that questions will probably pop up in the following days. To be there for your child after the parade shooting, Hambrick suggested: Returning to routines when ready, to bring back stability. Going outdoors and feeling the benefits of moving around and being in nature. Just being with your child, so you are there when questions come up. Remember: Each child will be affected by death differently, depending on his or her developmental level, cultural beliefs, personal characteristics, family situation, and previous experiences, according to the National Association of School Psychologists. How can I support older children and teens? When young people have access to the internet, they can find out information that is exaggerated or untrue. Start a conversation by asking, What have you heard? and listen to see if there are inaccuracies in their story. Another way to help your older kid is by encouraging them to step away from media about the event. That could mean doing something offline with your kid, like playing a game. I think some people like to engage with media a lot in these moments because it kind of makes them feel more in control ... But what it actually does is kind of makes us feel as if the event is still happening, Hambrick said. Is it normal for my child to react a certain way? Immediately after the event, almost any reaction is normal, including wanting to be alone or with people, guilt for choosing to go to the parade or staying home, Hambrick said. Stephen Lassen, a pediatric psychologist with the University of Kansas Health System, shared in a webinar Thursday some common reactions kids might have after a mass shooting: Difficulty sleeping Appetite changes Changes in school performance Withdrawing Most individuals will return to normal behavior within a month, Hambrick said. Those who were closely affected by the event or have experienced similar events in the past are more likely to experience lasting effects, like anxiety, depression and separation fears. What if I am struggling myself? If you as an adult are stressed, Hambrick said she encourages you to ask for support. See if a relative, friend, neighbor or congregation member could pick up groceries, watch the kids for a few hours or cook a meal. If you are making yourself available to your kids and if you are calling on your own social support to regulate you, then you are doing a good job right now, she said. Since children were likely with their parents at the parade, Hambrick said that a whole family might be stressed. Where can I learn more? These resources are available in the Kansas City area: You can contact a hotline for support. Call or text 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Hotline. Through the National Child Traumatic Stress Network, you can learn about psychological first aid to help people in a disaster without being a therapist. The organization also has multilingual tip sheets for caregivers. You can find mental health services, including low cost providers, at locations like ReDiscover in Lees Summit or UMKC Community Counseling and Assessment Services in Kansas City. Witnesses to Wednesdays shooting can call the Kansas City Police Departments dedicated hotline: 816-413-3477. Additionally, those with photo or video footage can submit it to the FBI on the bureaus website. We didn't see this mashup coming. Dotdash Meredith/Janet Maples Let us take you back to an ordinary summers day in July 2023, when we were stopped in our tracks over a bizarre Hostess launch. The beloved snack cake brand announced it would be mashing up two of its fan-favorite products to create a new, next-level Hostess treat. Even though nobody really asked for them, obviously the Ding Dongs x Twinkies Mashups were well received, because Hostess is back with yet another mashup. You might recall that when Ding Dongs x Twinkies Mashups were released, we suggested a few more fun mashups that we might like to see, like CupCakes x Donettes or HoHos x Snoballs. Unfortunately, Hostess didnt 100% take our suggestions, but we did get 50% of the mashup correct. This year, Hostess is introducing a brand-new mashup treat: HoneyBun Donettes. New Hostess HoneyBun Donettes Hostess The newest Hostess treat combines the sweet honey-glazed flavors of a sticky HoneyBun with the fluffy, bite-sized goodness of snackable Donettes. Hostess HoneyBun Donettes have a hint of cinnamon flavor in the actual doughnut and are coated with a sweet vanilla glaze. Unlike Hostess Ding Dongs x Twinkies Mashup, which is a Walmart-exclusive product, the HoneyBun Donettes will be available at both grocery and convenience stores nationwide. The mini doughnuts are set to arrive in stores in early March, where theyll be sold in the standard bagged packaging as well as a single-serve option. It sounds like Hostess wont stop at this mashupso maybe we can guess whats next. The first mashup featured two snacks, this one features two breakfast treats, so maybe the third will go back to cakes. Were still pulling for a HoHos x Snoballs treat, but we also wouldnt be mad about a CupCakes x Baby Bundts mashup. Lets make it happen, Hostess! While we patiently wait for HoneyBun Donettes to start appearing on shelves, theres still time to grab Hostess Valentines Day treats before they head to seasonal flavor purgatory for a year. If weve got you thinking about Donettes, the Frosted Strawberry mini donuts are definitely worth a try. Plus, if youre lucky, the pink, heart-shaped treats might be marked down on clearance, since were past the love-filled holiday and already on to spring and Easter. Who knows, maybe Hostess will even release some special seasonal mashups to go along with the fun lineonly time will tell. Read the original article on All Recipes. Noam Galai/Getty Images The pantsless trend is still a thing thanks to Kelly Rowland. Rowland, 43, attended the New York City premiere of her new film, Mea Culpa, in a leggy getup. Her ensemble included a floor-length checkered blazer by Area that featured figure-flattering tailoring at the waistline. Underneath the outerwear, Rowland opted for a caramel-colored collared bodysuit, which was complemented by a matching tie. She teamed the one-piece with only fishnet tights and rust-colored pointed heels. The pantsless trend dominated 2023, with stars including Jodie Turner-Smith, Hailey Bieber, Lori Harvey and Chrissy Teigen rocking the look on and off the red carpet. While the craze isnt necessarily a new phenomenon, brands like Christian Siriano, PatBO, Prabal Gurung and more showcased iterations of the look at New York Fashion Week in February of that year, creating a resurgence. For glam on Thursday, Rowland took inspiration from her outfit and rocked warm glam that included a golden highlight and a nude lip. She wore her hair in wet curls, parted to one side. Stars Who Can Actually Pull Off the No-Pants Trend: Olivia Culpo, More Noam Galai/Getty Images At the screening, Rowland posed with her husband, Tim Weatherspoon, and pal Michelle Williams as well as Tyler Perry, who directed the film. Rowlands bestie Beyonce and her husband, Jay-Z, also attended the viewing but did not walk the red carpet. Beyonce, 42, shared photos from Rowlands big night via Instagram, praising her with the caption, Dats my best friend! Dats my best friend!!!!! So proud of you Kelly . In the snaps, Rowland and Beyonce were photographed alongside Jay-Z, 54, and Beyonces mom, Tina Knowles. Style File: This Week in Looks In the film, which premieres on Netflix on Friday, February 23, Rowland stars as a criminal defense attorney who takes on the case of a seductive artist (Trevante Rhodes) accused of murdering his girlfriend. From the trailer, it appears Rowland and Rhodes characters indulge in a dangerous but steamy affair that presumably changes the course of the trial. ATLANTA Perjury accusations and reports of death threats highlighted a second day of courtroom drama in a Georgia hearing to determine if District Attorney Fani Willis will be disqualified from the election interference trial of Donald Trump. At issue are questions about whether Willis and Nathan Wade, the special prosecutor she hired for the case, should be removed because of their romantic relationship. The two days of hearings were filled with juicy details: talk of trips to Aruba and rented cabins and a Norwegian cruise. But underlying the salacious nature of the testimony is the future of one of the most important of the legal cases against Trump this year. Heres what we know about the case: Willis sought to remind everyone who really is on trial Willis and Wade each took the witness stand to describe their relationship, insisting it had nothing to do with the case against Trump. "These people are on trial for trying to steal an election in 2020, Willis said, gesturing to the defense table. Im not on trial no matter how hard you try to put me on trial. A side spotlight on racism Friday's courtroom action featured Willis' father, John Clifford Floyd III, testifying about death threats from the time Willis -- the first Black woman to serve as Fulton County District Attorney -- was sworn in to her job. There were people outside her house cursing and yelling calling her the B-word and the N-word, he said. It was bizarre. Floyd also said he hadn't met Wade until last year, and only found out about their relationship a few weeks ago. Attorneys for the defense had sought to show there was a romantic relationship before Willis hired Wade. His testimony spotlighted some of the conversation related to race that has underlined Willis' role in the Trump case. Floyd has a history in bringing attention to racism: He is a former Black Panther who renounced violence and then went to UCLA law school. On the witness stand, he talked about his past work for Nelson Mandela, and the fight to release him from prison. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis testifies during a hearing in the case of the State of Georgia v. Donald John Trump at the Fulton County Courthouse on Thursday in Atlanta. Judge Scott McAfee is hearing testimony as to whether Willis and Special Prosecutor Nathan Wade should be disqualified from the case for allegedly lying about a personal relationship. More: 'Lies,' drama, champagne and caviar: takeaways from Fani Willis fight in Trump Georgia case Defense lawyers accuse special prosecutor Nathan Wade of perjury Defense lawyers accused special prosecutor Nathan Wade of perjury for denying his romantic relationship with Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis began before he was hired in November 2021 to help prosecute Donald Trump and 14 remaining defendants on charges of election interference. Wade and Willis each testified under oath that their relationship began in spring 2022 and ended in summer 2023. But defense lawyers contend the relationship began as early as 2019 and that Willis profited from it, so they should be disqualified from the case. Terrence Bradley, a former law partner of Wade who represented him in his divorce, testified he didnt know when the relationship began. I have no personal knowledge of when it actually happened, Bradley said. More: Bombshell witness? A look at the man who may know all the secrets in the Fani Willis Trump drama Terrence Bradley, special prosecutor Nathan Wade's divorce lawyer, looks on from the witness stand during a hearing over whether DA Fani Willis and Wade should be disqualified from former President Donald Trump's Georgia election case for allegedly lying about a personal relationship. Merchant, who represents Mike Roman, and Steve Sadow, who represents Trump, say they have evidence Bradley knows more, which he refused to divulge, from the divorce case, citing attorney-client privilege. Merchant and Sadow argued Fulton County Superior Judge Scott McAfee should force Bradley to testify because the privilege cant be wielded to protect illegal acts like perjury. Were talking about perjury, lying to the court, Merchant said. The witness, Mr. Wade, has committed perjury on the witness stand, Sadow added later. Anna Cross, a prosecutor, argued there is simply a conflict of evidence from witnesses in the case. Andrew Evans, Wades personal lawyer, declined comment and referred questions to the district attorneys office. McAfee didnt force Bradley to testify about his communications with Wade. But McAfee said he might question Bradley confidentially with his lawyer present, to get answers about what more Bradley might know. --Bart Jansen So many death threats: DA Fani Williss father John Floyd III, father of Fulton District Attorney Fani Willis, speaks at the witness stand during a hearing over whether DA Fani Willis and Special Prosecutor Nathan Wade should be disqualified from the case for allegedly lying about a personal relationship. John Floyd, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Williss father, testified about the threats that forced her to move out of her new, four-bedroom house and why he remained to guard it. Somebody needed to protect the house, Floyd said. Willis was sworn in Jan. 1, 2021, and on Feb. 3 at 5 a.m. a crowd of protesters appeared. There were people outside her house cursing and yelling calling her the B-word and the N-word, Floyd, a retired criminal defense lawyer, said. It was bizarre. Willis has moved four times since then. Floyd said he remained until December 2022, as a police car parked outside the house permanently and authorities sent a man with a bomb-sniffing dog around the house daily. They had been so many death threats, Floyd said. They said they were going to blow up the house. They were going to kill her. They were going to kill me. They were going to kill my grandchildren. I was concerned for her safety. --Bart Jansen Williss father testifies he never met prosecutor boyfriend during key time 2019 to 2021 Fulton County District Attorney Fani Williss father, John Floyd, testified that she had a different boyfriend than prosecutor Nathan Wade during a period when defense lawyers in the election interference case against Donald Trump contend Willis and Wade were in a romantic relationship. Defense lawyers contend Willis and Wade were dating in 2019 and 2020 before she hired him for the case in November 2021 and that she should be disqualified because she profited from the relationship. Floyd said he moved from South Africa into her house in the spring or summer of 2019 and remained after she left because of threats in early 2021. Floyd said her boyfriend during that period was a disc jockey named Deuce, who was at the house nearly every day. I saw him often, Floyd said. Floyd said he didnt recall meeting Wade until 2023. Floyd said he and his daughter dont discuss their romantic relationships, and that he learned about her and Wade about seven weeks ago when it was publicized. I just found out when other folks found out, Floyd said. --Bart Jansen Former Georgia Gov. Roy Barnes testifies he turned down Trump special prosecutor job Popular former Georgia Gov. Roy Barnes testified Friday that he was approached by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis for the job of special prosecutor in the election fraud case against former President Donald Trump, but he declined for personal and professional reasons. I had mouths to feed at a law office and I could not, I would not do that, Barnes said under questioning by Adam Abbate of the DA's office. Barnes said he met with Willis and likely Wade, he couldnt recall in a conference room at the DAs office, and told them he wasnt interested. Besides his duties at his law firm, Barnes also cited unspecified threats as to why he didnt want the job. Barnes response: I lived with bodyguards for four years and I didnt like it and I didnt want to live with bodyguards for the rest of my life. Defense lawyers, including Ashleigh Merchant and Steve Sadow, also questioned Barnes in an effort to determine what Barnes knew about why Willis ultimately hired private lawyer Nathan Wade for the top prosecutor job. -- Josh Meyer Former Georgia Gov. Roy Barnes testifies during a hearing over misconduct allegations against Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis. He called Willis "a very qualified young woman." Hearing paused while waiting for witness McAfee recessed the hearing about whether to disqualify District Attorney Fani Willis from the case against Trump and 14 remaining co-defendants because a witness was at a doctors appointment. The witness, Terrence Bradley, was a former law partner of prosecutor Wade who represented Wade in his divorce. Bradley appeared Thursday, but refused to answer questions. I have a law license and I dont want to lose it, said Bradley, who acknowledged representing Wade starting in 2018. More: 'Lies': Fani Willis fights push to remove her from Donald Trump Georgia case Ashleigh Merchant, attorney for Donald Trump co-defendant Michael Roman speaks during a hearing to determine whether District Attorney Fani Willis should be disqualified from the Georgia election interference case over her relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade. Merchant was the first to publicly raise allegations of an affair between Willis and Merchant. McAfee ruled Friday that Bradley could refuse to answer questions based on attorney-client privilege. Defense lawyers contend they can ask Bradley about what he observed about the relationship between Willis and Wade, without discussing legal communications he had with Wade. Defense lawyers are trying to show Willis and Wade became romantic in 2019. Willis and Wade previously acknowledged the romance began in 2022. A representative for Bradley said he was at a doctors appointment and wasnt expected at the courtroom until 10:30 a.m. Bart Jansen Trump hits social media to bash Willis Trump has spent the morning bashing Willis on social media and claiming the proceedings in Georgia have tainted the case against him. "It was a FAKE CASE from the start," Trump said in one post on Truth Social, "now everybody sees it for what it is." David Jackson More: Fani Willis admits to relationship with prosecutor. What does that mean for the Trump case? Fani Willis doesnt testify again Prosecutors decided not to recall Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis because they had no other questions for her. The state has no further questions for Ms. Willis so no need to recall, said Anna Cross, a prosecutor on the case. Willis testified Thursday that she had a relationship with prosecutor Nathan Wade, which is why defense lawyers are trying to disqualify her from the case. She and Wade each said the relationship from April 2022 to summer 2023 was no reason for Fulton County Superior Judge Scott McAfee to remove them. Bart Jansen Prosecutors have 3 or 4 witnesses who could take 5 hours Anna Cross, one of the prosecutors, said she expects to call three or four witnesses whose testimony could take four to five hours. One witness will be John Floyd, the father of Willis. Other witnesses will challenge the testimony of Robin Yeartie, a former longtime friend and work colleague of Willis. Yeartie said the relationship between Willis and Wade began in 2019. But Willis and Wade each said it started in 2022. Willis said she felt Yeartie betrayed their friendship. Bart Jansen Prosecutors to question Willis Prosecutors initially sought to block a subpoena for Willis to testify, describing it as usual to call an opposing lawyer to testify. But Willis raced to the courtroom asking to give her side of the story. Willis described having a romantic relationship with Wade from April 2022 to summer 2023. This contrasted with defense allegations of a relationship that began years earlier before she hired Wade, and the county paid him hundreds of thousands of dollars in fees, and the two took international trips together. Willis and Wade said they split travel expenses, with her repaying him in cash. Defense lawyers questioned the lack of documentation for the reimbursement. Defense lawyers have completed their questioning of Willis, but prosecutors will take their turn Friday morning. Bart Jansen Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, followed by special prosecutor Nathan Wade, arrives for a news conference on Aug. 14, 2023, in Atlanta. They're prosecuting an election fraud case against former President Donald Trump and more than a dozen co-defendants. No decision about whether to remove Willis expected Friday McAfee told defense lawyers he didnt expect to get to final arguments about the evidence on Friday because of the length of expected testimony. He said he would play it by ear about when the issue would be resolved. Bart Jansen Defense lawyers have at least 2 more witnesses, dispute about 3rd Ashleigh Merchant, a lawyer representing co-defendant Mike Roman who has been leading the push to remove Willis said she expects to call two witnesses Friday. Another defense lawyer, Craig Gillen, who represents another co-defendant, Georgia Republican Party Chairman David Shafer, said he would like to call a witness. But prosecutors have objected. McAfee said the two sides would debate the matter Friday. Bart Jansen Craig Gillen, attorney for David Shafer, speaks during a hearing in the 2020 Georgia election interference case at the Fulton County Courthouse on Dec. 1, 2023 in Atlanta, Georgia. Former President Trump and several co-defendants have all filed multiple motions to quash some or all the indictments against them. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fani Willis hearing concludes in Trump election fraud case Rep. Matt Rosendale, R-Mont., has ended his Senate campaign less than a week after he launched it. As everyone knows, I have planned to run for the U.S. Senate and to win both the primary and the general election, Rosendale said in a statement. However, the day I announced, President Trump then announced that he was endorsing a different candidate. Politico first reported on Rosendales decision to drop out. Trump is backing political newcomer Tim Sheehy, a former Navy SEAL and aerospace entrepreneur who also has been endorsed by the National Republican Senatorial Committee. Rosendales decision is a win for the NRSC, which had been hoping to avoid a messy and expensive primary in a state where the party hopes to unseat longtime Democratic Sen. Jon Tester. Rosendale lost to Tester in 2018. In his statement, Rosendale said he had spoken with Montanas other senator, Steve Daines, who chairs the NRSC, and we both agree that this is the best path forward for Republicans to regain the majority in the U.S. Senate. This race was already going to be tough, as I was fighting against [Senate GOP Leader] Mitch McConnell and the rest of the Republican establishment in Washington, Rosendale said. But I felt like I could beat them, as the voters do not agree with them choosing who would be the next U.S. Senator from Montana. However, Rosendale added, by my calculations, with Trump endorsing my opponent and the lack of resources, the hill was just too steep. Asked earlier Thursday about Trump's endorsement of Sheehy, before he announced he was dropping out, Rosendale said, I can certainly say I would rather it go the other way. Rosendales candidacy had caused tensions in Trump world, NBC News reported last week. Advisers and allies close to Trump had found Rosendale insufficiently loyal and had been particularly frustrated that he had waited so long to endorse Trumps 2024 presidential bid. I appreciate Matts many years of service to Montana, Daines said in a statement Thursday night. It will take all Republicans working together to defeat Jon Tester in November. Sheehy offered kind words for Rosendale and struck a note of unity Thursday night in a post on X. Matt, Montana is grateful for your service and for showing Washington, D.C. what it means to hold the line on reckless spending, Sheehy wrote. I know working together well win this race and defeat Jon Tester. Democrats, who had been eager for a hostile GOP primary, continued to emphasize division. Rosendale spent months making the case that Tim Sheehy has no place representing Montana in the Senate and he was right, Sheila Hogan, the Montana Democratic Partys executive director, said in an emailed statement Thursday. Sheehy is an out-of-state tech millionaire completely out of touch with Montanas way of life. Members of Congress pressed the CEO of the nations largest credit union for answers about racial disparities in its mortgage lending during a Capitol Hill meeting Thursday but said they left unsatisfied with her responses. Mary McDuffie, the CEO of Navy Federal Credit Union, met with three members of the Congressional Black Caucus who have demanded answers in the wake of CNNs reporting on racial disparities in the lenders mortgage approvals. She told them that an external review the credit union commissioned had preliminarily found that the disparities were mostly explained by other factors, a spokesperson said. But members of Congress said they still had concerns about the mortgage practices of Navy Federal, which has more than 13 million members and lends to military servicemembers, defense personnel, veterans and their families. Were trying to achieve the goal of closing the racial wealth gap in America, said Rep. Steven Horsford, a Nevada Democrat, after meeting with McDuffie. You cannot do that with practices like this that deny equal opportunity to homeownership. A CNN investigation published in December found that Navy Federal approved more than 75% of the White borrowers who applied for a new conventional home purchase mortgage in 2022 while approving less than 50% of Black borrowers who applied for the same type of loan, according to the most recent federal data available. The nearly 29-percentage-point gap in Navy Federals approval rates was the widest of any of the 50 lenders that originated the most mortgage loans in 2022. The disparity remained even after accounting for variables available in public mortgage data such as applicants income, debt-to-income ratio and property value, CNNs review found. McDuffie met for about an hour Thursday with Horsford, the chair of the Congressional Black Caucus; Rep. Emanuel Cleaver of Missouri, the ranking Democrat on the House Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance; and Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove of California. McDuffie declined to answer CNNs questions as she entered and exited the closed-door meeting. A Navy Federal spokesperson said in a statement that McDuffie shared with the House members the results of a preliminary analysis from an external review the credit union initiated showing that the racial disparity in approval rates drops to around 1% when all other factors that we consider when approving home loans are incorporated, including credit score, verified income, and property information. The spokesperson did not provide additional details or data supporting the analysis. Navy Federal has previously argued that CNNs analysis is incomplete because it did not include applicants credit scores or information about their available cash deposits or relationship history with the lender none of which is publicly available in the public federal data. The credit union has declined to provide CNN any data that would make it possible to analyze those factors. The credit union is committed to engaging with policymakers on this important issue and we continue to work daily to help expand economic opportunity and access to credit for our diverse community of members, the spokesperson said. But Cleaver told CNN after the meeting that McDuffie and other Navy Federal representatives could not provide an answer explaining the racial disparities in mortgage approvals, and that he hoped to hear more from them in the future. Were expecting to have another meeting with them, were expecting to get facts this time, he said. Reps. Steven Horsford and Emanuel Cleaver speak to reporters after meeting with Navy Federal Credit Union CEO Mary McDuffie on Capitol Hill. - CNN Horsford said that the members asked very specific questions about the timeline of Navy Federals external review, and found the responses from Navy Federal inadequate. Time is of the essence, because every single day that they dont change or update their protocols is a servicemember, and particularly a Black or Latino servicemember, who is facing denials, he said. Navy Federal has also noted that a higher percentage of its mortgage loans go to Black borrowers than most other large lenders. But Horsford said Thursday that that excuse didnt address the issue of denials. More than 40% of our servicemembers, active duty, are people of color, he said. So yeah, they are one of the leading lenders and mortgage lenders for Black home loans because they have a higher percentage of servicemembers who are their membership. It should be higher. Several Democrats on the House Financial Services Committee, including Cleaver and ranking member Rep. Maxine Waters, a California Democrat, wrote a letter last week asking the committees Republican chair to hold a hearing on the racial disparities in Navy Federals mortgage lending. And ten Democratic senators have separately asked federal regulators to examine Navy Federals mortgage practices, citing both CNN and a separate analysis of public mortgage data by Senate banking committee staff that also found racial disparities in its lending. Navy Federal is also facing a federal class-action lawsuit from mortgage applicants who cite CNNs reporting and allege that the credit union discriminated against them. A judge approved a motion to consolidate three separate lawsuits against the credit union into a single case last month. Editors Note: This story was update to include a statement from Navy Federal. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) Israels defense minister on Friday said Israel is thoroughly planning a military offensive in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, signaling determination to move ahead despite growing international concerns about the safety of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians seeking refuge there. U.S. President Joe Biden has urged Israel not to carry out the operation without a credible plan to protect civilians and to instead focus on a cease-fire, while Egypt has said an operation could threaten diplomatic relations between the countries. Many other world leaders have issued similar messages of concern. An estimated 1.4 million Palestinians, more than half of Gazas population, have crammed into Rafah, most of them displaced by fighting elsewhere in the territory. Hundreds of thousands are living in sprawling tent camps. Speaking to reporters Friday, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said that Israel has inflicted heavy losses on Hamas during a war that is now in its fifth month and that Rafah is the next Hamas center of gravity Israel plans to target. We are thoroughly planning future operations in Rafah, which is a significant Hamas stronghold, he said. He declined to say say when the operation might begin, though Israel has previously said it will first develop a plan to evacuate civilians. Palestinians and international aid agencies say there is no safe place to go, with Israel also carrying out strikes in areas where it had told civilians to seek shelter, including Rafah. The Israeli military launched its war in response to a cross-border Hamas attack on Oct. 7 that killed some 1,200 people in Israel and took 250 others hostage. The air and ground offensive has killed over 28,000 Palestinians, according to health authorities in the Hamas-run enclave, caused widespread destruction, displaced some 80% of the population and sparked a humanitarian crisis. Egypt has repeatedly warned Israel not to push Palestinian civilians in Rafah across the border, saying a mass influx could lead to the end of the 1 979 peace agreement between Israel and Egypt. While some Israeli hard-liners have called for the expulsion of Palestinians from Gaza, Gallant said there were no plans to do so. The state of Israel has no intention of evacuating Palestinian civilians to Egypt, he said. We respect and value our peace agreement with Egypt, which is a cornerstone of stability in the region as well as an important partner. New satellite photos, however, indicate that Egypt is preparing for that very scenario. The images show Egypt building a wall and leveling land near its border with Gaza. Egyptian officials did not respond to requests for comment. The Israeli offensive has included months of airstrikes as well as a ground invasion that has steadily moved southward through most of Gaza. In recent weeks, it has focused on Khan Younis, Gazas second-largest city and a Hamas stronghold. On Friday, Palestinian health officials in Khan Younis said that five patients in intensive care died after their oxygen ran out following a raid by Israeli troops in southern Gazas largest hospital. The Israeli army has been searching the Nasser Hospital complex, arresting suspected Hamas militants and searching for evidence that the remains of Israeli hostages abducted by Hamas might be there. Israel says it does not target patients or doctors, but staff say the facility is struggling under heavy fire and dwindling supplies, including food and water. Gallant said 70 suspected militants have been arrested at the hospital, including 20 who allegedly participated in the Oct. 7 attack. Two Israeli airstrikes on Rafah overnight killed at least 13 people, including nine members of the same family, according to hospital officials. Also on Friday, a Palestinian assailant opened fire at a bus stop on a busy intersection in southern Israel, killing two people and wounding four before being shot dead by a bystander. There was no immediate claim of responsibility. CEASE-FIRE STALLING Negotiations over a cease-fire in Gaza, meanwhile, appear to have stalled, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday pushed back hard against the U.S. vision for after the war particularly its calls for the creation of a Palestinian state. After speaking overnight with Biden and reportedly meeting with visiting CIA chief William Burns, Netanyahu wrote on X that Israel will not accept international dictates regarding a permanent settlement with the Palestinians. He said that if other countries unilaterally recognize a Palestinian state, it would give a reward to terrorism. Netanyahu has repeatedly rejected creation of a Palestinian state and even boasted about having been instrumental in preventing it during his time in office. His governing coalition is dominated by hard-liners who oppose Palestinian independence and any diplomatic process would likely lead to the collapse of the government. Netanyahu has vowed to continue the offensive until Hamas is destroyed and the more than 100 hostages who remain in captivity are freed. Biden on Friday urged Netanyahu to put off a Rafah operation and instead pursue a cease-fire that could include the release of Israeli hostages. Im still hopeful that that can be done and, in the meantime, I dont anticipate, Im hoping that, that the Israelis will not make any massive land invasion," Biden said. My hope and expectation is that we'll get this hostage deal. UNRWA UNDER PRESSURE AGAIN Gallant released new Israeli allegations against the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, including a photo of what he said was a U.N. social worker participating in the kidnapping of an Israeli on Oct. 7. Israel has long accused UNRWA of collaborating with Hamas or turning a blind eye to the militant groups activities. Throughout the war, it has released images of tunnels built next to UNRWA facilities and last month it claimed that 12 UNRWA employees had actively participated in the Oct. 7 massacre. That prompted the United States and other donor countries to suspend funding to UNRWA, the main provider of humanitarian aid in Gaza. The agency says it will have to halt operations by the end of the month if funding isnt restored. UNRWA denies collaborating with Hamas. It already has dismissed the employees accused in the Oct. 7 attacks and launched a pair of investigations into its operations. In his presentation to reporters, Gallant said Israeli intelligence has significant indications that more than 30 additional UNRWA workers joined the Oct. 7 attack. He said nearly 1,500 workers, 12% of its work force, are members of Hamas or the Islamic Jihad militant group, and over 230 are in their armed wings. UNRWA has lost legitimacy and can no longer function as a U.N. body, he said. He said he has ordered Israeli authorities to begin working with alternative organizations that could replace UNRWA. UNRWAs commissioner, Philippe Lazzarini, says he takes the allegations seriously but has also pointed out that the 12 workers identified by Israel are a tiny fraction of UNRWAs overall work force. He has warned that a halt in operations could endanger the well-being of Gazans who depend on the agency. The agency did not comment on Gallants latest accusations, but has said it regularly provides the names of its workers to Israel and takes action against anyone found to be violating U.N. rules of neutrality. These shocking allegations come as more than 2 million people in Gaza depend on lifesaving assistance that the agency has been providing since the war began, Lazzarini said last month. Anyone who betrays the fundamental values of the United Nations also betrays those whom we serve in Gaza, across the region and elsewhere around the world, he added. ___ Shurafa reported from Rafah, Gaza Strip. Mroue reported from Beirut. Associated Press writer Darlene Superville contributed reporting from Washington. ___ Find more of APs coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war WASHINGTON President Joe Bidens re-election campaign is releasing a new ad Friday blasting former President Donald Trump for his embrace of Russian President Vladimir Putin and his traitorous comments attacking the NATO alliance. The 60-second spot, titled Walk Away, highlights the 2024 Republican presidential front-runner's comments last weekend that he would encourage Putin and Russia to do whatever the hell they want to NATO countries that didn't spend enough on defense. No president has ever said anything like it, the narrator says in the ad, shared first with NBC News. Its shameful. Its weak. Its dangerous. Its un-American, echoing what Biden said earlier this week from the White House about Trumps remarks. The ad comes as Russian state media announced Friday that opposition leader and Putin critic Alexei Navalny had died in prison, though the Biden campaigns plans were in the works before then. The ad's narrator says that every president since Harry Truman has honored the U.S.' commitment to NATO allies, except for Donald Trump, and goes on to say Trump wants to walk away from NATO, the cornerstone of Americas security. As recently as Wednesday, Trump doubled down on his promise not to defend NATO members who dont meet certain defense spending targets if elected. The NATO treaty requires that if one member nation is attacked, other members will aid in its defense. The only time the clause has been invoked was after the 9/11 attacks. The Biden campaign is launching a three-week, six-figure campaign for the ad through Super Tuesday (March 5), targeting voters in battleground Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania specifically. The campaign is aiming to reach the more than 2.5 million Americans who identify as Polish, Finnish, Norwegian, Lithuanian, Latvian and Estonian all NATO countries that share a border with Russia. The bottom line is that the only person Donald Trump is loyal to is Donald Trump not to our allies and certainly not to the American people, said Biden-Harris 2024 campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez. And while he thinks that sucking up to Putin and other dictators will make him strong, the American people know him for who he truly is: a coward and a loser. By Steve Holland and Trevor Hunnicutt WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Joe Biden on Friday blamed Russian President Vladimir Putin for Alexei Navalny's death and warned there could be consequences, saying he was "not surprised" but "outraged" by the opposition leader's passing. "We don't know exactly what happened, but there is no doubt that the death of Nalvany was a consequence of something that Putin and his thugs did," Biden said at the White House after Russian prison officials announced that Navalny had died. "Russian authorities are going to tell their own story," Biden said. "But make no mistake. Make no mistake: Putin is responsible for Navalny's death." He also said he was "contemplating" additional steps to punish Russia in the aftermath of Navalny's death, paying tribute to the opposition leader for "bravely" standing up to Putin's government's "corruption" and "violence." "We're contemplating what else can be done," Biden said in response to questions from reporters. "We're looking at a whole number of options, that's all I'll say right now." Biden also told reporters that there was "no nuclear threat to the people of America or anywhere else in the world with what Russia is doing at the moment," even as Russia considered deploying anti-satellite technology in space. Russia has previously denied the claim. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on what possible steps against Russia were being evaluated. U.S. officials were still seeking more information about Navalny's death at a Russian penal colony north of the Arctic Circle, where he was dispatched less than two months ago. But the development, and Biden's reaction, has put a further chill into already bitter U.S.-Russian relations. The 47-year-old Navalny had been a leading critic of Putin, and Biden had said after meeting Putin in Geneva in June 2021 that Nalvany's death would risk devastating consequences for Putin. Biden and Putin remain deeply at odds over Russia's invasion of Ukraine two years ago, over which Russia has been sanctioned by the United States and other Western nations, and Biden is urging Republican hardliners in the U.S. Congress to support additional funding to pay for more weaponry for Ukraine's military. Russia has figured prominently on the campaign trail as Biden seeks reelection in November. His expected Republican opponent, former President Donald Trump, triggered bipartisan outrage last week by saying he would do nothing to defend NATO allies from Russia unless they paid a greater share for the common defenses. The top Republican in Congress, House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson, has not put a Senate bill including $95.34 billion in security assistance for Ukraine and Israel, international humanitarian aid and resources to help allies in the Indo-Pacific up to a vote. After Navalny's death, Johnson said the U.S. and its allies should use "every means available to cut off Putin's ability to fund his unprovoked war in Ukraine and aggression against the Baltic states." "History's watching the House of Representatives. The failure to support Ukraine at this critical moment will never be forgotten," Biden said. In Munich for a major security conference, Vice President Kamala Harris vowed that the U.S. would never retreat from its NATO alliance obligations put in place after World War Two, contrasting Biden's approach to global engagement with presidential election hopeful Trump's isolationist views. She also met with Alexei Navalny's wife Yulia on the margins of the conference and "expressed her sorrow and outrage" over reports of her husband's death, a White House official said. Biden's presidential reelection campaign on Friday released a new minute-long advertisement blasting Trump for abandoning NATO. They planned to target the ad to 2.5 million American voters in the closely contested election states of Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania who trace their ancestry to the NATO states bordering Russia. (Reporting by Steve Holland and Trevor Hunnicutt; Additional reporting by Ismail Shakil, Gabriel Araujo and Doina Chiacu; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Jonathan Oatis) By Humeyra Pamuk and Jonathan Landay TIRANA and WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Thursday that a deal on the release of hostages held by Hamas remains possible but "very hard" issues remain to be resolved. Talks involving intelligence chiefs from the U.S., Egypt and Israel and the Qatari prime minister on a deal that would see a pause in Israel's four-month-old war in Gaza ended without a breakthrough on Tuesday. Asked whether an agreement could be reached on a break in hostilities before the Muslim holy month of Ramadan begins on March 10, Blinken said an earlier response from Hamas on a potential deal had included some "clear non-starters" but offered the possibility of working toward an agreement. "We're now in the process with our counterparts from Qatar, from Egypt, from Israel, in working on that and working very intensely on that with the goal of trying to find an agreement and I believe that it is possible," Blinken said at a news conference during a visit to Albania. "There are some very, very hard issues that have to be resolved. But we're committed to doing everything we can to move forward and to see if we can reach an agreement," Blinken said. The Israelis rejected Hamas proposals for the releases of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel in return for the freeing of hostages, said two sources familiar with the discussions. The Israelis did not like the ratio (of prisoners to hostages) they were proposing, said one of the sources. The timing for a pause in fighting was another source of disagreement, with Hamas wanting to implement a pause sooner and Israel wanting a later date, said the sources. CIA director Bill Burns was in Israel on Thursday for further talks, according to two sources familiar with the matter. The CIA declined to comment. Blinken also called for Israel to investigate reports that its forces killed a Palestinian American teenager in the occupied West Bank on Feb. 10, the second such death in recent weeks. Asked about the death of 17-year-old Mohammad Ahmed Mohammad Khdour, -- which came after the Jan. 19 killing of Tawfic Abdel Jabbar, also 17, that Israel has pledged to investigate -- Blinken offered his condolences, but said privacy laws limited what he could say about the cases. "We've made clear that... there needs to be an investigation. We need to get the facts and, if appropriate, there needs to be accountability," he said. Defense for Children International - Palestine, an NGO, said it had gathered evidence that Israeli forces opened fire on a car with Khdour inside. Reuters was unable to independently verify the report. An Israeli military spokesperson referred Reuters to the Shin Bet internal security service, which did not immediately respond. (Additional reporting by Dan Williams and Steve Holland; Writing by Simon Lewis; Editing by Don Durfee and Stephen Coates) Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis isnt happy with the implementation of the parental rights laws hes signed in the past two years. In a Thursday news conference, in which he vented about political theater, a big fraud and a big hoax about books being banned, he blamed everyone but himself. Fresh off his defeat on the presidential trail, the governor needs a new bone to pick. This time, its what he calls a fake narrative pushed by the media and school districts about the impacts of his signature laws that made it easier for people to challenge school materials and lessons. It is no hoax that schools are doing exactly what critics warned they would do: overreact and self-censor to comply with vaguely worded policies. As the Herald reported last week, Miami-Dade Countys school district has begun asking for parental consent slips used occasionally in the past for all sorts of activities, from club meetings and events to guest speakers. At iPrep Academy in Miami, parents had to allow their children to participate in Black History Month events. At Palmetto Middle School, students needed parental consent to watch a lecture by known Black historian Marvin Dunn, who spoke at the Pinecrest school two years ago without such red tape. DeSantis called the permission slips absurd nothing in state [law] requires that, he said. The Department of Education wrote a letter telling school officials to knock it off, he said. Such absurdity has only happened because DeSantis and Republican lawmakers instilled fear in principals and teachers that a parent may file a complaint that puts their jobs in jeopardy. While such complaints might turn out to be meritless, just their possibility creates a chilling effect. Thats why the governors public-relations effort to paint the consequences of his own policies as a hoax feels disingenuous. To make his case, DeSantis press conference included a presentation of books once allowed in schools that contained graphic images and descriptions of sex. Education Commissioner Manny Diaz Jr., a former state senator from Hialeah, mentioned an Associated Press fact check that found the state did not ban the classic To Kill a Mockingbird. Palm Beach Countys district temporarily pulled the book for a review but later reinstated it. Thats only part of the story. DeSantis conveniently leaves out several instances of books being removed, temporarily or permanently, or restricted simply because they cause discomfort with a small number of people responsible for challenging them. Last year, a Miami Lakes school prohibited elementary-aged students from accessing the poem recited at President Joe Bidens inauguration, along with three books, after a parent filed a complaint that referenced critical race theory, indoctrination and gender ideology terms that could have easily come out of DeSantis mouth. The school district in Escambia County, in the Panhandle, is facing a federal lawsuit that alleges book removals target certain viewpoints. Escambia schools pulled 1,600 books, including five dictionaries, in January to ensure they meet new state requirements. Last March, Martin County Public Schools on the Treasure Coast removed dozens of titles from its shelves. Florida leads the nation in the number of books pulled from public school shelves. The group PEN America found that 1,400 titles were removed between July 2022 and July 2023. The state might not have directly ordered their removal, but DeSantis is responsible for them. In an indirect way, DeSantis recognized his policies have gotten out hand. He touted a bill going through the 2024 legislative session to curb challenges from people who dont have children at the school where they are lodging their objections. Yet, after signing laws that left local school officials scrambling to figure out what they meant, DeSantis now wants to scapegoat them. He said hes directed the Florida Department of Education to craft rules to hold educators accountable if they go beyond what state law requires them to do. It is the state that should be held accountable, but dont expect that from the governor. Click here to send the letter. (Reuters) - Egypt is preparing an area at the Gaza border which could accommodate Palestinians in case an Israeli offensive into Rafah prompts an exodus across the frontier, four sources said, in what they described as a contingency move by Cairo. Egypt, which denied making any such preparations, has repeatedly raised the alarm over the possibility that Israel's devastating Gaza offensive could displace Palestinians into Sinai - something Cairo says would be completely unacceptable- echoing warnings from Arab states such as Jordan. The United States has repeatedly said it would oppose any displacement of Palestinians out of Gaza. One of the sources said Egypt was optimistic talks to clinch a ceasefire can avoid any such scenario, but is establishing the area at the border as a temporary and precautionary measure. Three security sources said Egypt had begun preparing a desert area with some basic facilities which could be used to shelter Palestinians, emphasising this was a contingency step. The sources Reuters spoke to for this story declined to be named because of the sensitivity of the matter. Israel has said it will mount an offensive to take out Hamas's "last bastion" in Rafah, where well over 1 million Palestinians have sought sanctuary from its devastating Gaza offensive. Israel has said its army is drawing up a plan to evacuate civilians from Rafah to other parts of the Gaza Strip. But U.N. aid chief Martin Griffiths said on Thursday it was an "illusion" to think people in Gaza could evacuate to a safe place and warned of the possibility of Palestinians spilling into Egypt if Israel launches a military operation in Rafah. He called this scenario "a sort of Egyptian nightmare". Egypt has framed its opposition to the displacement of Palestinians from Gaza as part of wider Arab rejection of any repeat of the "Nakba", or "catastrophe", when some 700,000 Palestinians fled or were forced from their homes in the war surrounding Israel's creation in 1948. The first source said construction of the camp began three or four days ago and it would offer temporary shelter in any scenario of people crossing the frontier "until a resolution is reached". Asked about the accounts by the sources, the head of Egypt's State Information Service said: "This has no basis in truth. Our Palestinian brothers have said and Egypt has said that there is no preparation for this possibility." Sinai Foundation for Human Rights, an activist organisation, published images on Monday it said showed construction trucks and cranes working in the area and images of concrete barriers. Citing an unidentified source, the Sinai Foundation said that the construction work was intended to create a secured area in case of a mass exodus of Palestinians. Reuters was able to confirm the location of part of the video as Rafah from the position of the buildings, trees and fences which match satellite imagery of the area. Reuters was not able to confirm the location of the whole of the video or the date on which it was filmed. ISRAEL TIES UNDER PRESSURE Some 1.5 million Palestinians are currently in Rafah, more than half of the Gaza Strip's population, according to the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees. Israel says it needs to expand its assault into Rafah to wipe out Hamas, the group behind the Oct. 7 attack in which 1,200 people were killed in Israel and another 250 abducted, according to Israeli tallies. With more than 28,000 people already killed in Israel's offensive in Gaza, according to health authorities in Hamas-run Gaza, the fate of people sheltering in Rafah has become a point of international concern, including for Israel's Western allies. U.S. President Joe Biden has told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Israel should not proceed with a Rafah operation without a plan to ensure the safety of the people sheltering there. A U.S. State Department spokesperson said: "The president has been clear that we do not support the forced displacement of Palestinians from Gaza. The U.S. is not funding camps in Egypt for displaced Palestinians." Netanyahu's office has ordered the army to draw up a plan to evacuate Rafah. But no plan has emerged yet. Netanyahu, in an interview with ABC News, said they could go to areas north of Rafah cleared by the army. Avi Dichter, Israel's minister of agriculture and rural development, said on Wednesday the evacuation was "a military issue" and the Israeli army knew how to do it. In comments to Israel's Army Radio, Dichter said there was "enough land west of Rafah", and mentioned Al Mawasi - an area on the shore to which the Israeli military said civilians should flee early in the offensive. The Gaza war has piled pressure on relations between Egypt and Israel, which signed a peace deal in 1979. Arab League Secretary General Ahmed Aboul Gheit, a former Egyptian foreign minister, said earlier this week Israeli actions threatened the continuity of agreements with Egypt and Jordan - a reference to peace treaties with both Arab states. Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said on Feb. 12 Egypt had maintained the agreement for 40 years and would continue to do so as long as both sides were committed to it. (Reporting by Reuters journalists; Editing by Tom Perry, Edmund Blair and Neil Fullick) An elementary school principal is accused of choking his wife at their east Kentucky home, police say. James Keith Isaac, 44, and his wife were arguing about feeding their dogs Monday, Feb. 12, when things turned violent, according to an arrest report from the Magoffin County Sheriffs Department. Isaac was charged with domestic violence and first-degree strangulation, authorities said. Hes listed as the principal at North Magoffin Elementary School, according to the schools website. Deputies were called to the couples Salyersville home just after 7:30 p.m., the report said. There they met Isaacs wife, who told them her husband had strangled her, so she locked herself in a room. Deputies said they noticed red marks on the womans neck. Isaacs wife said her husband slapped her cellphone from her hands during the argument and then wrapped both of his hands around her neck, choking her, deputies said. Deputies found Isaac in the basement with multiple weapons including a .45-caliber handgun and a hunting knife lying nearby, according to the report. Isaac denied putting his hands on his wife but told authorities their dispute had been brewing for a long time, according to the report. He was booked into jail on a $1,000 cash bond, Magoffin County court records show. An emergency order of protection was also requested Tuesday, Feb. 13. Magoffin County Schools Superintendent Chris Meadows confirmed in an emailed statement to McClatchy News that Isaac has been suspended pending an investigation. Salyersville is about 100 miles southeast of downtown Lexington. 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. Dad shot, killed during custody exchange of 4-year-old daughter, Colorado cops say Mom blames 1-year-olds injury on fall. But Ohio officials say he shot himself Daughter shoots intruder, but it was moms ex she was secretly seeing, AL cops say Federal financial regulators are exploring allegations by two whistleblowers that Cash App, the popular mobile payment platform, and entities providing transaction services to its users performed inadequate due diligence on customers, potentially opening the door to money laundering, terrorism financing and other illegal activities. While banks are required to know the true identity of every customer, the Cash App program had no effective procedure to establish the identity of its customers, the whistleblowers said. In their complaints, reviewed by NBC News, the whistleblowers detail an array of questionable Cash App transactions with entities under sanction by the Treasury Departments Office of Foreign Assets Control, operations known to sell personal information and credit card data for illegal purposes, and offshore gambling sites barred to U.S. citizens. Among the big-name companies partnering with Cash App are Visa Inc., the giant payment processor, and Wells Fargo. The whistleblowers filed their complaint with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, or FinCEN, a unit of the U.S. Treasury that administers the Bank Secrecy Act and analyzes financial transactions to combat money laundering, terrorist financing and other illicit activities. Early last month, FinCEN officials spoke at length with the whistleblowers, their lawyer told NBC News, and said they were referring the complaint to internal investigators as well as to other federal agencies. As is its custom, FinCEN declined to comment on the existence of the submission. Over three-quarters of U.S. adults have used a mobile payment app, such as Cash App, PayPal or Venmo, according to a 2023 study by the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau. But these services, also known as person-to-person payment platforms, pose risks to their users and to the financial system, regulators say. In recent years, for example, law enforcement officials have cited criminals use of payment apps to evade laws, such as laundering stolen Covid relief funds in 2020. Jack Dorsey in Miami on June 4, 2021. (Eva Marie Uzcategui / Bloomberg via Getty Images fiel) Customers of Cash App, introduced in 2013, can instantly send and receive money among themselves, and buy stocks and Bitcoin. They can also spend or withdraw funds using Cash Card, a prepaid Visa debit card. As of September 2023, Cash App had 55 million active transacting accounts and generated $239 billion of inflows during the prior four quarters, the company said. Cash App is so popular it has been referenced in hundreds of rap songs, sometimes in connection with illegal activities. In addition to FinCEN, the whistleblowers made submissions alleging due diligence flaws at Cash App to the Securities and Exchange Commission, the nations top securities cop, and the Commodities Futures Trading Commission, which combats fraud in the market for digital assets, their lawyer said. The SEC declined to comment on the existence of a whistleblower submission; the CFTC did not respond to a request for comment. There are obvious national security issues here and it would be foolhardy for the public to think that regulators and law enforcement are keeping pace with the financial innovators, said Edward Siedle, a former SEC enforcement lawyer who represents the whistleblowers. NBC News interviewed the whistleblowers, who are knowledgeable on financial services compliance issues, on the condition of anonymity. The whistleblowers filings arrive as regulators are increasing scrutiny on deficient anti-money laundering practices. On Monday, FinCEN proposed a rule that would require investment advisers to adopt systems to prevent money laundering and terrorism financing and report suspicious transactions to the agency. Such advisers oversee trillions of dollars but are not currently subject to these requirements, FinCEN said. And in December 2022, federal prosecutors and the SEC took action against Danske Bank, Denmarks largest, for lying about inadequate transaction monitoring systems that allowed tainted money to enter the U.S. financial system. The bank pleaded guilty to defrauding banks through its lax compliance and forfeited $2 billion. And Cash App is not a bank and uses an array of banking partners to conduct certain of its services. Wells Fargo, for example, holds Cash App users funds in a pooled deposit account, making them eligible for FDIC insurance. Until 2021, Lincoln Savings Bank of Iowa handled incoming deposits by Cash App customers. Sutton Bank, a nine-branch institution in Attica, Ohio, issues Cash Apps prepaid Visa debit cards. Former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers attends the official White House portrait unveiling ceremony for President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama in the East Room of the White House on Sept. 7, 2022. (Tom Williams / CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images file) Prepaid debit cards are a platform for potential illegality, according to a 2020 report from Standard & Poors Global Market Intelligence. It described how payment processors, banks and other issuers of prepaid debit cards are exposed to criminal activity that could lead to reputational damage and run-ins with regulators. The whistleblowers allegations cover 2016 through 2022 and describe a shadow financial system beyond the reach of regulators where due diligence on Cash Apps users was negligible and often did not adhere to sound banking practices and rules. In addition, Cash Apps use of different institutions providing services for users prevents bank regulators from seeing the full scope of the transactions at the institutions they monitor, the submissions say. The siloed structure of the Cash App machine, the whistleblowers say, misdirects the attention of regulators. 'Economic empowerment' Lax due diligence on Cash App customers poses risks for shareholders of its parent, Block Inc., the enormous fintech founded by Jack Dorsey, co-founder of Twitter, the whistleblowers said. Ditto for Marqeta Inc., a financial technology startup that acts as a middleman transferring funds for Cash App transactions, and Visa Inc., whose name is on the Cash Card. Shareholders of all three companies have not been fully advised of the risks associated with the Cash App business, the submissions contend. On Feb. 9, Larry Summers, a former Treasury secretary, resigned from the board of Block, effective immediately, after more than a decade of service. The company said his resignation was not a result of disagreements over its operations or practices and that he was departing to devote more time to his other commitments. Lincoln Savings Bank, with locations in central and northeastern Iowa, is also highlighted in the complaints. Lincoln began handling customer deposits into Cash App accounts in 2016, the complaints said, and was responsible for conducting due diligence required under banking laws to determine their identities and ensure their funds were not tainted by illegal activities. Lincolns vetting process was minimal and did not align with regulations, the complaints allege; Cash App pressed Lincoln to forgo traditional customer due diligence to ease the process of opening accounts and to generate revenues, the whistleblowers said. NBC News described the whistleblowers allegations to Cash App and asked it to comment on them. A spokesperson, who communicated with NBC News on the condition of anonymity, declined to respond on the record. Statements attributable to the company were provided on background via email. The bank partnership model allows Cash App to offer certain financial services products (such as the Cash App Card) that are a benefit to our customers and further our purpose of economic empowerment, the statement said. The company performs due diligence on customers, the statement continued, employing several hundred people who support Cash Apps Know Your Customer/due diligence, anti-money laundering and related compliance functions, and augment that workforce with supplemental staffing and resources. The spokesperson did not respond to allegations that the company pressured Lincoln Savings Bank to minimize due diligence and declined to say why Cash App stopped working with Lincoln in 2021. Cash Apps bank partnership model and fund-flows structure are standard in the industry, the statement said, and are known to regulators. A representative at Visa Inc. declined to comment on the whistleblowers allegations, and Lincoln Savings Bank did not respond to requests for comment. A Marqeta spokesman said in a statement: We take our obligations seriously and stand behind our disclosures regarding the risks associated with our business. Wells Fargo said it takes its obligations under anti-money laundering laws seriously and that it requires its payment services clients such as Cash App to do the same. We conduct ongoing due diligence, including account analysis and monitoring, and where we identify suspicious activity, we report it, the bank said in a statement. Sutton Bank, issuer of the Cash App prepaid debit card, confirmed it has no way of knowing the sources of funds transferred from Cash App accounts to the debit card for withdrawals. Those funds come into the bank in large commingled blocks from Marqeta when a customer uses the Cash Card at an ATM or store. Were an issuer to the card product to spend funds that you have with Block in your Cash App account, but thats it, said Mark T. Dabertin, Suttons general counsel and chief compliance officer. We track ongoing monitoring of the spending activity for the card; we dont get any visual into how the money gets in there. We report on unusual activity affecting the card usage. Suttons compliance staff is a very robust group, he said. Speed in banking Cash App is a money machine for Block, generating net revenue of $10.4 billion during the first 9 months of 2023, or 65% of Blocks net revenue, its regulatory filings show. Cash App produced $2.9 billion in gross profit for Block during the first 9 months of 2023, up 37% year over year, the company said. Block has a market value of $38 billion. In 2016, Cash App began working with Lincoln Savings Bank to handle customers deposits into their accounts. Lincoln, which opened in 1902 as a one-branch agricultural bank in Iowa, is now a fintech pioneer with $1.8 billion in assets. Its LSB Financial Technologies unit offers virtual cards, mobile wallets and payment processing and has created processes to allow for something unusual in banking speed. Working with Cash App, Lincoln Savings Bank opened a pooled account where Cash App participants money was deposited and held briefly until it was transferred by Marqeta to Sutton Bank for Cash Card use or to Wells Fargo. When Cash App customers want to spend funds or withdraw money at an ATM, their Cash Cards are loaded with money from their Cash App account. At all other times, the Cash Card has a zero balance, Sutton says. This setup meant that neither Lincoln Savings Bank nor Sutton Bank could monitor both the people sending the money and those withdrawing it, the whistleblowers explained. Lincoln only saw the incoming money while Sutton watched it exit. Cash App and Marqeta, neither of them banks, have views of the entire transactions, the whistleblowers said. In the rush to attract Cash App users, neither Cash App nor Lincoln performed extensive due diligence on customers, the whistleblowers contend. For example, Cash App allowed access to the Lincoln pooled bank account for customers presenting just an email address or a phone number, the complaint said, and Lincoln had no effective procedure to establish the identity of its customers. Under traditional due diligence programs, federal banking regulations require a bank to obtain a customers name, date of birth, home address, and full Social Security number or other identification number. To receive a Cash App Visa prepaid debit card, the complaint says, a user would provide a name, date of birth and only the last four digits of their Social Security number and a mailing address for the card. This is not the same as a home address and could include post office boxes, the complaint notes. Most of the Visa cards were virtual and sent to a customers email address, the whistleblowers said. In 2018, Cash App began offering transactions in bitcoin, opening the apps flawed customer due diligence to terrorist financing worldwide, the whistleblowers said. Marqeta, based in Oakland, California, creates digital payment technologies and provides issuer processor and card manager services. It launched its platform publicly in 2014, and Marqeta issued shares to the public in 2021 at $27 each. Today the companys stock trades around $6. Block is Marqetas largest customer, generating 72% of Marqetas net revenue during the first nine months of 2023, regulatory filings show. For the first nine months of 2023, 77% of Marqeta payment transactions went through Sutton Bank. Visas involvement in the Cash Card is problematic because of the potential for illegal activity, the complaints say. Visa has its own compliance requirements and tight limitations on the issuance and use of prepaid cards, the complaint alleges, but it waived standard anti-money laundering restrictions for Cash App. The whistleblowers speculated that this may have occurred because in 2017, Visa led a $25 million investment in Marqeta with some of the startups existing investors. The whistleblowers told NBC News that Cash App seemed to heighten its due diligence on customers in 2023 and a Cash App executive confirmed that the company currently requires new customers to provide a full nine-digit Social Security number. But, the whistleblowers say, Cash App appears not to have closed accounts that were opened with inadequate vetting. Evidence for this, they said, can be seen in the market for buying access to Cash App accounts set up in the earlier years of the program when due diligence was spotty and creating the accounts didnt require identifying information, which allows buyers to avoid the due diligence involved in setting up a new account. Existing Cash App accounts offered for sale on the internet, can go for above $150, up from $50 previously, the whistleblowers told NBC News. Scrutiny of digital payment systems like Cash App is rising at other agencies. In November, the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau proposed new federal oversight of companies offering digital payment apps. Big Tech and other companies operating in consumer finance markets blur the traditional lines that have separated banking and payments from commercial activities, the bureau said in the November announcement. That blurring can put consumers at risk, the bureau said. Angela Chao, the CEO of Foremost Group and the sister-in-law of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, died after her car went into a pond on a private ranch about 40 miles west of Austin, Texas, authorities said Friday. Chaos family on Wednesday announced she died in a car accident Sunday, but did not disclose details of the incident at that time. On Friday, the Blanco County Sheriffs Office said in a statement that on Saturday it responded to a possible water rescue on a private ranch located in Blanco County, TX. On arrival Blanco County deputies along with Blanco County EMS and Fire recovered the body of Angela Chao from a pond on the ranch, the statement said. EMS attempted emergency measures on Ms. Chao but she succumbed from being under the water, the statement said. Our preliminary investigation has determined this to be an unfortunate accident. The investigation is ongoing at this time, the statement said. The name of the ranch, which is located in Johnson City, was not disclosed by the sheriffs office. Chao, a double Harvard graduate who became CEO of the dry bulk shipping company Foremost in 2018, was married to Jim Breyer, a venture capitalist from Austin who is part owner of the Boston Celtics. Chao previously served on the board of the Bank of China and as a director of the China State Shipbuilding Corporation. She is a sister of Elaine Chao, who is married to McConnell, R-Ky. Chao served as Secretary of Transportation in former President Donald Trumps administration and as Secretary of Labor in the administration of former President George W. Bush. Blanco County County EMS Chief Ben Oakley told CNBC in a prior interview that emergency personnel were called just after midnight Sunday to respond to a water rescue at a private property in Johnson City. Oakley did not use the name of the victim of that rescue, citing privacy laws. An ambulance arrived at 12:12 a.m. at the scene, where a car containing one person was completely submerged in a pond, estimated to be between 12 and 15 feet deep, Oakley said. The woman in the car was extricated from the vehicle, and rescue workers tried to resuscitate her for 43 minutes without success, the chief said. Oakley said there was no indication of how the car ended up in the pond. He declined to identify who called rescue workers or who owned the property, saying that was information he could not release. Chaos father, James Chao, on Wednesday said her family was heartbroken over her death. The family did not give any information about her cause of death, other than saying it was the result of a car accident. James Chao founded Foremost Group in 1964. Angela Chao had held board positions on the American Bureau of Shipping Council, Harvard Business Schools Board of Deans Advisors, and the Metropolitan Opera in New York. Chao previously was married to investment banker Bruce Wasserstein, who died in 2009, the same year they wed. Content warning: This story contains accusations of child sexual assault. A former psychiatric technician at Atascadero State Hospital will face trial on charges he sexually assaulted a child, a judge ruled Thursday. Alfred Leroy Sweet, 62, is charged with three counts of aggravated sexual assault of a minor, three counts of sodomy by force to a minor and two counts of lewd acts with a minor. Sweet is accused of molesting the now 13-year-old child since they were 4 or 5 years old. The abuse allegedly escalated to rape when the child was 11 or 12. The sodomy and sexual assault charges stem from an incident in 2021 while the lewd act with a child charges are from two separate incidents in 2014 and 2020. Sweet began working at Atascadero State Hospital as a psych tech in 2008, with a yearlong gap in 2010, the Department of State Hospitals said. His last day employed was Dec. 3. The San Luis Obispo District Attorneys Office filed charges against Sweet on Nov. 15. In a filing asking the court to not bring Sweet to trial, Sweets attorney Pierre Blahnik argued that the child attended a brainstorming-type meeting to build a case against Sweet in hopes of helping his second wife win full custody of their infant child during their ongoing custody battle. Blahnik told the judge Thursday that the San Luis Obispo County District Attorneys Offices case was based on idiotic evidence and should not go to trial. He argued that the child reported a gang rape, but law enforcement failed to charge anyone else for the alleged rape because the allegations were not true. The rape allegations against his client cannot be separated from the gang rape allegations, Blahnik argued, adding that the child is not credible. What seems preposterous is that the defense would say idiotic evidence in reference to a 13-year-old (child) reporting a violent assault by (their) father, San Luis Obispo County Deputy District Attorney Kristin Barnard replied. San Luis Obispo Superior Court Judge Matthew Guerrero said because the pornographic searches align with the childs allegations, it gives strong suspicion that they could be true. He ruled the case will go to trial. After the judges ruling, Blahnik told Barnard that both she and the case were pathetic. When asked about receiving school records, Blahnik told Guerrero, Is there any physical evidence? I dont know what to say. I feel like Im in the Twilight Zone. The judge also approved an order from the California Attorney Generals Office that prevents Sweet from working as a psychiatric technician. Sweets formal arraignment is scheduled for Feb. 29. Defense attorney Pierre Blahnik stands during the preliminary hearing against his client, Alfred Leroy Sweet, in San Luis Obispo Superior Court on Feb. 1, 2024. Sweet is charged with sexually assaulting his child on multiple occasions. Investigation began after child reported alleged abuse to mental health hospital, deputy says In a preliminary hearing Feb. 1, San Luis Obispo County sheriffs Deputy Brandon Florentino said the investigation into Sweet began after the department received a report from a mental health hospital in August. In a phone call played for the court, the childs mother told Florentino that her child told Sweets then-wife about the allegations the day before the child went to the mental health hospital in August. The childs mother said she then learned about the allegations when the mental health hospital notified her. The mother told Florentino the only instant that she saw that made her uncomfortable was a moment at an eye doctor that occurred when her child was 7. She said she saw her child walk up to Sweet, put their head in Sweets groin area and Sweet stroked their hair. She quickly asked her child to sit next to her, the mother said. She thought it was weird Sweet didnt move the childs head away from his groin, the mother said, but she didnt suspect that he had been inappropriately touching the child. The mother said Sweets then-wife has two daughters who also reported inappropriate behavior. According to the childs mother, the younger daughter of his then-wife reported Sweet was drunk at a birthday party when the daughter turned 18 and stuck his tongue down her throat, while the older daughter reported Sweet had grabbed her buttocks while claiming he thought she was her mom. Florentino said the child reported in their initial interview that Sweet had inappropriately touched them twice, but added that his goal when interviewing the child was to only receive minimal facts so that the child could speak with a professional child interviewer without having to repeat traumatic details with multiple officers. San Luis Obispo County Deputy District Attorney Kristin Barnard questions Atascadero Police Department Det. Craig Martineau during the preliminary hearing against Alfred Leroy Sweet in San Luis Obispo Superior Court on Feb. 1, 2024. Sweet is charged with sexually assaulting a child on multiple occasions. Child reported being assaulted on regular basis, detective testifies Atascadero Police Department Det. Craig Martineau testified Feb. 1 that he observed the child forensic interview with the child when they were 12 years old. A child forensic interview is conducted by a professional who has expertise in interviewing children about traumatic subjects. In the interview, Martineau said, the child said Sweet began inappropriately touching them when they were 4 or 5 years old. Martineau said the child said Sweet was upstairs naked on the lower half of his body and asked the child to sit on his lap, put their head in his groin area and stroked their hair. When Sweet heard the childs mother coming upstairs, he placed the child in a playpen and put on his pants. Placing the childs head on Sweets lap was not an infrequent act, Martineau said, adding the child reported it would happen both when Sweet was clothed and unclothed. The child also reported Sweet would grab their crotch area often and act as if it was an unspoken accident, Martineau said. Sweet divorced the childs mother in 2016, court records show. From roughly 2021 to 2022, the child said in the interview that Sweet violently assaulted them when they were 11 to 12 years old, Martineau said. At the time, the child was living with Sweet for three weeks each month. Sweet removed the childs pants, pushed the child down on the couch, told them to stop fighting, called them slurs and sodomized the child, Martineau said. The child told the interviewer their body was bruised and hurt all over, and they missed the first half of school the next day because they were crying in the bathroom. Four to five weeks later, Martineau said the child said in the interview, Sweet assaulted the child again in a similar fashion. The child said that the assaults would continue twice a week for three to four months at his apartment in Atascadero. The child said the assaults stopped once Sweet got a girlfriend. Martineau said Sweet had visited several suspicious pornographic sites that he organized into four categories: Family relationships, anal sex, forced sex and young females. San Luis Obispo County Deputy District Attorney Kristin Barnard listens during the preliminary hearing against Alfred Leroy Sweet in Superior Court on Feb. 1, 2024. Sweet is charged with sexually assaulting a child on multiple occasions. Defendants friends were never alone with his child, they testify On cross-examination Feb. 1, Martineau said the child reported they had been inappropriately touched multiple times and gang raped at least once by Sweet and his friends. The child only knew the first name of one friend, who went by Billy. Martineau said Sweets devices did not reveal who those friends could be and he could not locate anyone by the name of Billy associated with Sweet, which is why the police decided to pursue Sweet for the alleged solo acts. Sweets attorney, Blahnik, called two of Sweets friends to testify on Feb. 8. One of the witnesses was named Billy Bowden, who met Sweet about 12 years ago while working as a registered nurse at Atascadero State Hospital, he said. Though they knew each other previously at Atascadero State Hospital, Bowden and Sweets friendship started about four years ago, Bowden said. Bowden saw the alleged victim once at Sweets wedding, but they didnt speak to each other. Bowden said he had never been alone with the victim and Sweet. Neither attorney asked Bowden about the assault allegations. The other witness was Larry Schreihans, a former Atascadero State Hospital employee. Schreihans originally met Sweet at the hospital, and the pair became friends after meeting again at Bowdens house about a year and a half ago, he said. Sweet, Bowden and Schreihans almost always hung out in a group with their wives, except for when Bowden and Schreihans went fishing, he said. Additionally, Schreihans once went to dinner with Sweet. The group often met for dinner and took a trip to Las Vegas together, according to Schreihans. Schreihans has been to Sweets Paso Robles home twice for dinner. He had never met the alleged victim, he said. After three preliminary hearings, Guerrero ultimately ruled in favor of the prosecution. He did not find the alleged inconsistencies regarding the alleged gang rape sufficient to exonerate Sweet from facing the charges. San Luis Obispo County Deputy District Attorney Kristin Barnard listens during the preliminary hearing against Alfred Leroy Sweet in Superior Court on Feb. 1, 2024. Sweet is charged with sexually assaulting a child on multiple occasions. How to get help If you or someone you know are a survivor of sexual assault, you can call the National Sexual Assault Telephone Hotline at 800-656-4673. The hotline offers a range of free services including confidential support from a trained staff member, help finding a local health facility, legal and medical advice and referrals for long-term support. If you or someone you know are a survivor of domestic violence, you can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 800-799-7233. The hotline offers a range of free services including confidential support from a trained staff member, help finding a local health facility, legal and medical advice and referrals for long-term support. Survivor support and resources are also available through Lumina Alliance at luminaalliance.org or their Crisis and Information Line at 805-545-8888. CONROE, Texas Amid a documented history of criminal activity and mental health struggles, the woman who opened fire at Joel Osteens Houston megachurch with her son in tow appeared to have no difficulties in one area: buying guns. In the attack Sunday, Genesse Moreno used an AR-15-style rifle that was purchased legally in December, officials said. She was also armed with a .22-caliber rifle. But court records suggest Moreno, 36, had owned at least four other firearms that had been confiscated over the past four years. Two weapons were taken in separate incidents in Colorado and Texas, according to Morenos ex-mother-in-law, and two more were seized and destroyed after an arrest in 2022 outside Houston, prosecutors said. Her gun ownership was also detailed by her neighbors in the Houston suburb of Conroe, who claimed she harassed and threatened them over the years. How exactly Moreno, 36, obtained the rifles she had Sunday and why she targeted the celebrity pastors Lakewood Church remain under investigation. She was killed in an exchange of gunfire with two off-duty law enforcement officers, while her 7-year-old son and a man were injured, Houston police said. Lakewood Church pastor Joel Osteen participate in a press conference at Lakewood Church on Feb. 11, 2024. (Kirk Sides / Houston Chronicle via Getty Images) The man was released from the hospital with a leg injury, investigators said. Morenos ex-mother-in-law, Walli Carranza, said Thursday on Facebook that her grandson, who remains in critical condition after he was shot in the head, has to fight for life again. The boy, who was born prematurely at about 24 weeks, had two operations in less than 24 hours, and his brain activity remains uncertain, she said. What is the excuse for those who knew and did nothing, Carranza wrote about Morenos ability to obtain weapons, and for legislators who refuse to allow red flag laws but do allow anyone to buy an assault weapon? The word Palestine was written on the assault-style rifle Moreno used, authorities said. She also made several statements during the incident, which unfolded between services at the sprawling church complex; officials declined to describe what she said. Documented history of mental illness Moreno was married to her sons father, Enrique Carranza, from 2015 to 2022. Their son was born in 2016, and the pair had a contentious divorce. The couples final divorce decree was issued in May 2022. In court documents, Enrique Carranza described Moreno as a diagnosed schizophrenic and violent and said their son was facing physical and developmental lags under her care. I am afraid of her having my address. She has guns and she brags about it while having my son in the car, he said in an affidavit, adding that because of my wifes schizophrenia, she does not have the capacity to discern reality from fiction. Violence is relatively uncommon among people with serious mental illnesses, such as schizophrenia, and while some studies show there may be a link, researchers caution that factors such as substance abuse, childhood trauma and the environment may be part of a persons case, according to the American Psychological Association. Walli Carranza described Morenos alleged deteriorating mental health in 2022 affidavits related to the couples divorce and custody filings. She said Moreno exhibited erratic behavior early on in the marriage and had gotten help from psychiatrists. Authorities had confiscated guns from Moreno several times. Walli Carranza said she was also concerned about Morenos firearms. She said that in 2020, while the couple stayed at her home in Colorado Springs, Colorado, she asked her grandson, then 3, to bring his diaper bag to her, and he reached into it and grabbed an unlocked and loaded handgun, according to her affidavit. Walli Carranza, a rabbi, said she later took the gun to the Colorado Springs Police Department, which she served as a chaplain, and asked that they confiscate it because she was concerned about Morenos having a gun following her psychiatric evaluation in 2016. But that wasnt the only gun Moreno had. According to Walli Carranza, when her son and Moreno left Colorado for Texas on an unspecified date, Moreno pulled another gun out from underneath the seat of her car while Enrique was driving and pointed it at his head while their son slept in the back seat. A sheriffs deputy pulled the car over after seeing Enrique Carranza driving slowly, and Carranza had the deputy call his mother. Walli Carranza said in her affidavit that the deputy confiscated Morenos gun. Moreno told that officer that this was the only gun in her car but that was a lie, according to Walli Carranza. Neither Carranza nor Morenos family replied to requests for comment. Moreno had access to at least two more weapons in the following years. In April 2022, she was arrested on a charge of unlawful carrying of a weapon in Fort Bend County, Texas, where, authorities said, she had a handgun in her car and was also found with drug paraphernalia, which makes possession of the firearm illegal. She pleaded guilty six months later to that charge, a misdemeanor. As a result of that case, two guns belonging to Moreno, described as a Smith & Wesson 9 mm handgun and an AR-15 rifle, were confiscated and destroyed, Fort Bend County prosecutors said. Moreno, who used multiple aliases over the years, was also found guilty in about a half-dozen misdemeanor cases dating to 2005, including for forgery and theft. Texas isnt among the 21 states with so-called red flag laws that generally allow law enforcement officers to seize firearms from people believed to be imminent threats to themselves or others. Federal law does require people to fill out a form when they purchase from federally licensed dealers indicating whether they have certain criminal convictions, but its unclear whether Moreno bought her guns through a retail outlet or a private seller, who wouldnt have been required to ask about her criminal history. In Texas, people convicted of misdemeanors can possess guns with limited exceptions, such as certain cases of domestic violence. Convicted felons can also own guns with limitations but must wait until five years after their sentences are completed, and the firearms must be kept in their homes. Scott Sweetow, a retired official with the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, said that in states without red flag laws, like Texas, theres a vulnerability posed by a person in a crisis who has easy access to guns. Absent that active threat that somebody is going right now to a location or theyve been making death threats and they have a gun and theyre going to act right now, absent something like that, you end up with the situation that we see, Sweetow said of shootings involving people with known mental health issues. Unfortunately, over and over and over again. Efforts to tighten Texas gun laws have been stymied in the Republican-controlled Legislature in recent years in the wake of deadly school shootings in Santa Fe, near Galveston, in 2018 and Uvalde in 2022. Regardless, Sweetow said, law enforcement doesnt have the authority to simply go over to somebodys house and ask them if they have a gun, then confiscate the weapon on the mere suspicion that a person may have mental health issues. Threatening behavior Some of Morenos neighbors in Conroe said they saw warning signs and tried to convey to local law enforcement their alarming interactions with her, alleging that she targeted, harassed and threatened them, displayed firearms and made them fear being outside their homes. Police records show at least 20 calls made to Morenos home from 2019 to 2023, some of them for allegations of harassment and threatening behavior. Some of the incidents involve accusations neighbors made against Moreno, as well as Morenos calling about suspicious behavior in her neighborhood. In June, a neighbors daughter filed a report alleging that Moreno was stalking her mother and said she was afraid that her mother will end up dead. Conroe police said Tuesday they reviewed calls involving Moreno in recent years and believe officers acted appropriately. The police records show officers routinely found that despite complaints made by neighbors, no actual crimes occurred. Nothing relayed to officers would give authority to arrest or require mental health emergency detention; nor would any of the information have been an indication that the suspect would commit such a heinous crime, the police department said in a statement. Outside her home Wednesday, neighbor Janet Fields conceded that guns are common: She carries one, another neighbor has a no trespassing sign with an assault rifle pictured on it, and Moreno would display pictures of guns in her homes windows. But Fields said something about Morenos behavior led her and husband to pray for her. While she said Moreno shouldnt have had a gun, she wondered what more could have been done after neighbors tried to speak up despite feeling intimidated by her and police decided there was no action to take. Its hard to catch somebody early, Fields said. If they are going off the rails, you dont want to push them off the rails. Suzanne Gamboa reported from Conroe and Erik Ortiz from New York. ROME (Reuters) - Italy's communications authority AGCOM on Friday said it had forced social media app TikTok to remove some videos showing young people performing a dangerous practice known as the "French scar". The "French scar" challenge involves pinching your cheek to leave a lasting bruise on your cheekbone. It became popular among young Italian users of the app last year, prompting an investigation by Italy's antitrust authority. AGCOM said its decision represented the first application of new rules approved in December, which enable the Italian watchdog to order the removal of "harmful content" on video-sharing platforms to protect minors and consumers. TikTok removed the videos identified as harmful within the five-day period envisaged by the rules, AGCOM said. "We had already taken measures, including preventing content from being recommended to users," a TikTok spokesperson told Reuters, adding that the app geoblocked the videos in Italy as requested by AGCOM. TikTok, owned by Chinese company ByteDance, and other social media companies including Facebook and Instagram parent Meta Platforms, are under pressure from regulators around the globe to protect children from harmful content on their platforms. On Wednesday, New York City Mayor Eric Adams said that his administration has filed a lawsuit against social media companies including Facebook and Instagram for fuelling mental health crises among the young. (Reporting by Alessandro Parodi and Elvira Pollina, editing by Alvise Armellini, Kirsten Donovan) Alexey Navalny, who has died aged 47, according to the Russian prison service, had long been a thorn in the side of President Vladimir Putin, exposing corruption in high places, campaigning against the ruling United Russia party, and orchestrating some of the biggest anti-government protests seen in recent years. His imprisonment in 2021 sparked scores of demonstrations across Russia, leading to thousands of detentions. From prison, Navalny denounced Russias invasion of Ukraine via social media and encouraged anti-war protests across the country. The Kremlin critic was quietly relocated to a penal colony in Siberia in December - a move which sparked a two-week search by his team who lost contact with him during the unannounced transfer. The death of Putins most high-profile critic is likely to send shockwaves through parts of Russian society, and punctuates a merciless crackdown on dissidence in Russia that has accelerated during its war with Ukraine. Navalny was detained and sent to a Russian prison in 2021 after he had returned to Russia from Germany, where he was recovering from Novichok poisoning he blamed on the Russian government. The Kremlin repeatedly denied any involvement. Alexei Navalny, center, addresses supporters and journalists in Moscow in 2013. - Dmitry Lovetsky/AP He held no illusions about the risks he faced in his native country, but refused to stay away. Just weeks before leaving Germany, he told CNN: I understand that Putin hates me, I understand that people in the Kremlin are ready to kill. Concerns mounted over Navalnys health in early April 2023, as his team reported that he was experiencing severe stomach issues and had lost weight. We do not rule out that all this time in prison he could have been poisoned with something to make his health deteriorate slowly but steadily, Navalnys spokesperson Kira Yarmysh said in a Twitter post on April 11. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said at the time that the Russian government does not have the capacity or authority to follow the situation when asked whether Navalny was being poisoned. CNN also reached out to Russias federal penitentiary service (FSIN) for comment. Putin has long refused to utter Navalnys name. He described the extensive media investigations into the 2020 Novichok poisoning as fabrications by Western intelligence and said in December 2020 that if Russian security services had wanted to kill the activist, they would have finished the job. But Navalnys death is bound to raise questions in Russia and abroad, in light of his past poisoning and the attacks on other Kremlin opponents before him. Former Russian agent Alexander Litvinenko died in Britain in 2006 after being poisoned with a rare radioactive isotope, polonium-210. The nerve agent Novichok nearly killed former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter in the English city of Salisbury in March 2018. Russia denied responsibility. In 2015, Russias former deputy prime minister Boris Nemtsov, then the most visible leader of the opposition, was gunned down on a Moscow bridge within sight of the Kremlin. Navalny took up Nemtsovs mantle, becoming Russias most prominent opposition figure. Novichok poisoning Navalny fell gravely ill in August 2020 while on a return flight to Moscow from the Siberian city of Tomsk. The pilot made an emergency landing in Omsk, where Navalny was taken to hospital for urgent treatment before being transferred to Germany, still critically ill. The German government said Navalny was poisoned with a chemical agent from the Novichok group, a conclusion supported by two other labs in France and Sweden. Novichok agents are highly unusual, so much so that very few scientists outside of Russia have any real experience in dealing with them. A subsequent Bellingcat-CNN investigation found that an elite team in Russias FSB security service, made up of about six to 10 agents, had trailed Navalny for more than three years. One of those agents revealed in a sting that the lethal nerve agent Novichok had been planted in the activists underpants. Despite these revelations, Navalny said he did not believe there would be an investigation in Russia. It has become so obvious that it was Putin personally who was behind this, he said. Nonetheless, once mostly recovered, the activist announced his plan to go back to Russia, saying: There was never a question for me whether to return or not, never. A photo shared on Navalny's instagram account shows the Russian opposition leader in a hospital bed surrounded by his wife and two children as his treatment continues following Novichok poisoning in 2020. - Alexey Navalny/Instagram/Anadolu/Getty Images Navalny slams Putin the poisoner Navalny was detained moments after his return and later jailed on February 2, 2021 after a court ruled he had violated the terms of his suspended sentence in a 2014 embezzlement case he says was politically motivated. In that case, Navalny was found guilty of fraud after he and his brother Oleg were accused of embezzling 30 million rubles ($540,000) from a Russian subsidiary of French cosmetics company Yves Rocher. Alexey Navalny was given a suspended sentence and his brother was sentenced to a prison term. Addressing the court in February 2021, Navalny ridiculed claims he broke his parole conditions while recovering from poisoning, pointing out that he was in a coma, then in ICU followed by rehabilitation, and that his lawyer had sent the Russian prison service a notice with details. He also denounced the Russian President as Putin the poisoner. While he was in custody ahead of the hearing, Navalny and his Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK) published an investigation detailing allegations of vast corruption schemes linked to a decadent Black Sea palace that Navalnys team said belonged to Putin. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov denied the Russian leader was linked to the estate. In the days ahead of his departure from Germany, Navalny said new criminal cases brought against him in Russia were demonstratively fabricated and an attempt to prevent him coming back to his home country. Russia launched a new fraud accusation and jail threat against Navalny at the end of 2020, increasing pressure on him. The countrys Investigative Committee has also accused Navalny and his Anti-Corruption Foundation of fraud on a large scale for allegedly misusing donations from supporters and spending them on private purposes. Navalny dismissed the charges against him in comments in January 2021. They are doing everything to scare me. But what they are doing there is not of much interest to me. Russia is my country, Moscow is my city, I miss them, he said. He was sent to a penal colony, a two-hour drive from Moscow, to spend the more than two-and-a-half years of his partially suspended prison sentence. In April 2021, Russian press reported that he had been moved to a medical unit with acute respiratory infections, and been tested for Covid-19. The war critic Even while behind bars, his Instagram and Twitter accounts kept up his attacks on Putin, denouncing Russias invasion of Ukraine and advocating anti-war protests across the country. But it came at a cost, says his allies. Navalny had to fight for even basic rights like boots and medication. His health suffered and he lost weight. His daughter, Dasha Navalnaya, told CNN he was systematically singled out for harsh treatment. In 2022, Navalny was given a further nine-year sentence on fraud charges he said were politically motivated. While Judge Margarita Kotova read out the accusations against him, footage showed Navalny as a gaunt figure standing beside his lawyers in a room filled with security officials. He appeared unmoved by the proceedings, looking through some court documents on a table in front of him. He was transferred from a penal colony where he was serving his term to a higher security prison facility in Melekhovo, in the Vladimir Region, in June 2022. Months later, he was moved to a solitary prison cell. His daughter told CNN that prison authorities repeatedly cycled him in and out of solitary confinement. They put him in for a week, then take him out for one day, to try to break him, she said. People are not allowed to communicate with him, and this kind of isolation is really purely psychological torture. His physical treatment, she said, was also torturous. Its a small cell, six (or) seven-by-eight feet a cage for someone who is of his six-foot-three height, she said. He only has one iron stool, which is sewed to the floor. And out of personal possessions he is allowed to have a mug, a toothbrush, and one book. Theyre doing it to shut me up, Navalny said on X, formerly known as Twitter, in November 2022. So whats my first duty? Thats right, to not be afraid and not shut up, he wrote, urging others to do the same. At every opportunity, campaign against the war, Putin and United Russia. Hugs to you all. An anti-corruption crusader Navalny was born in June 1976 in the village of Butyn near Moscow, the son of a military officer. After graduating in law from Moscows Friendship of the Peoples University in 1998, he became a corruption-fighting lawyer who famously branded the United Russia party founded by Putin the party of crooks and thieves. He first came to prominence in 2010, when he produced a blog that provided detailed reports on the corruption of Russian state-run companies, including the theft of $4 billion by executives from Transneft, the state-owned pipeline company. The activists investigative videos about the unexplained wealth of top Russian officials provoked the ire of the Kremlin. Navalny appears in a Moscow City Court via a video link from a prison colony during an appeal hearing against his nine-year prison sentence on May 24, 2022. - Alexander Nemenov/AFP/Getty Images Navalnys fierce commitment to his cause led to a rapid rise through the ranks of Russias depleted opposition. When anti-government demonstrations broke out in December 2011, he emerged as one of the movements leaders. He became a well-known organizer of street protests and vociferously criticized Putin through his blog and on social media. In 2013, he came second in Moscows mayoral election, taking about 27% of the vote. But as with many Kremlin critics, Navalny suffered as his profile rose. He was repeatedly jailed and spent long stretches in custody for organizing political protests. In July 2019, he was hospitalized with symptoms of an allergic reaction after being held in a special detention center. He expressed suspicion that his condition could have been caused by poisoning, although Russian state news agency TASS reported at the time that doctors found no signs of poisoning. He was also barred from running for political office over his criminal conviction in the 2014 fraud case a conviction the European Court of Human Rights ruled was politically motivated. The Putin regime is built on corruption, Navalny told CNN in 2018. According to official data, over 20% of our population lives below the poverty line. And people link the obvious. Why are we so poor? Because they steal so much, he said, referring to Russias ruling elite. Asked if he feared for his personal safety, Navalny replied that he had a clear understanding of the risks involved in taking on the government. But Im not afraid and Im not going to give up on what Im going to do. I wont give up on my country. I wont give up on my civil rights. I wont give up on uniting those around me who believe in the same ideals as me. And there are quite a lot of people like that in Russia, he said. Navalny is survived by his wife, Yulia Navalnaya, and their two children. CNNs Nathan Hodge, Frederik Pleitgen, Susannah Cullinane, Zahra Ullah, Anna Chernova, Tara John and Lauren Said-Moorhouse contributed to this report. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com As Colorado River Basin stakeholders scramble to formulate a long-term water conservation plan, the Centennial States main negotiator urged those at the table to be adaptable to change in an increasingly arid West. Some may like to continue the status quo or some version of it, Becky Mitchell, Colorados Upper Colorado River commissioner, said at a Thursday webinar. We cant do that, Mitchell said. The negotiations in question involve mandatory revisions to the Colorado Rivers 2007 Interim Guidelines for Lower Basin Shortages set to expire at the end of 2026 which detail the quantities of water that users must conserve and when they must do so. The states are expected to present consensus-based alternatives by next month to the Bureau of Reclamation, which has warned that it could otherwise proceed with its own proposals. The alternatives would serve to inform the development of a draft environmental impact statement, which the federal agency said it intends to make public in December. The crisis on the Colorado River was essentially facilitated somewhat by the current guidelines and also Mother Nature, Mitchell said. Since the Bureau of Reclamation and the seven basin states approved those guidelines in 2007, overuse coupled with drought conditions have jeopardized the levels of two key reservoirs: Lake Powell and Lake Mead. The Colorado River watershed which serves 40 million people is split into a Lower and an Upper basin, which respectively include California, Arizona and Nevada, and Colorado, Wyoming, Utah and New Mexico. Among the reasons why the 2007 guidelines have failed, according to Mitchell, is that this agreement tied the operations of Lake Mead and Lake Powell together if less water is in Lake Mead, then more water is released from Lake Powell. When there is overuse and drawdown in Lake Mead, Lake Powell gets drawn down as well, Mitchell said. This policy, she contended, eliminates a level of certainty and security that we have across the entire system. Describing these operations as out of touch with hydrological conditions, she instead pressed for Lake Powell releases that reflect real need and are not dependent on conditions at Lake Mead. This rebalance of water releases is one of Mitchells so-called Irrefutable Truths the principles that she believes parties in both the Lower and Upper basins can support. Among the other truths are an acknowledgment of climate variability, recognition that Lower Basin users are not more important than Upper Basin users and prevention of overuse in the Lower Basin which historically includes the most senior water rights holder, the State of California. This uniquely U.S. West water rights system a relic of the gold rush era enabled those who moved to the region to claim water in order of arrival, without considering their proximity to a given river. Other truths touted by Mitchell include the preservation of water rights for tribal nations, compliance with environmental laws and the promotion of collaborations between the U.S. and Mexico, which also relies on Colorado River water. Also critical from her perspective is the prevention of actions aimed at curtailing water allocations to the Upper Basin states. Our own water users do not have certainty in their supplies, and oftentimes get less than what they need, Mitchell said. This is how it goes when you rely on snowpack instead of massive reservoirs, she continued, referring to Lake Mead and Lake Powell, which serve the Lower Basin. Mitchell credited Lower Basin officials for acknowledging what she described as a structural deficit, referring to comments made by at a Colorado River Water Users Association conference in December. There is a supply-demand imbalance in the Lower Basin, JB Hamby, Californias lead negotiator, said at the time, as reported by The Colorado Sun. Hamby, who is also vice president of the Imperial Irrigation District, added that the Lower Basin has reached a point of recognition that we have to solve this situation, according to the Sun. Just last week, meanwhile, the Bureau of Reclamation revealed that 1.3 million-acre-feet of water are lost annually due to Lower Basin evaporation. For reference, the entire U.S. Colorado River allocation is 15 million acre-feet, while typical suburban households use 1 acre-foot each year. Environmental variabilities, induced by climate change, are requiring states to adapt to a dynamic and unpredictable water supply, according to Mitchell. The bottom line is we cant expect our water users to provide certainty to others when they do not have certainty themselves, she added. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. A bipartisan group of moderate House lawmakers unveiled an emergency funding bill Friday that includes aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan in addition to border security policy, as centrists seek another option for helping U.S. allies after Republicans threw cold water on the foreign aid package passed by the Senate earlier in the week. The proposal is designed to break the months-long impasse over military aid for Kyiv amid warnings that Ukrainian forces are running low on weapon supplies by marrying it to the tougher border security measures demanded by House conservatives and Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), who has refused to stage a vote on the Senate-passed bill. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.), who helped negotiate the package, said he would have voted for the $95 billion Senate bill, which won the support of 70 senators, including 22 Republicans. But he acknowledged that Johnson is facing difficult terrain in the House, and he offered his proposal as the compromise that could end the long stalemate. The Speakers got to manage the conference. Hes doing the best he can to do, Fitzpatrick said. But I also think its incumbent upon members that, if theres not successful progress on time-sensitive existential matters, that we do what we have to do to protect our country, he told reporters Thursday at the Capitol. Thats why were dropping this bill. Its the only bipartisan bill on the border and Ukraine in the House. The bill has virtually no chance of passing through either chamber. Not only are conservatives sure to balk at the absence of the many border security measures included in the House-passed GOP bill, known as H.R. 2, but Democrats are certain to oppose both the remain in Mexico provision and the exclusion of humanitarian aid for Gaza, Ukraine and other global hotspots. Even before the centrists alternative bill was introduced Friday, Democratic leaders were already indicating they would oppose it, urging Johnson instead to take up the bipartisan legislation that has already passed through the Senate. This is clear. Mike Johnson simply needs to put the bipartisan national security bill on the House floor for an up-or-down vote, and it will pass, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) said Wednesday. Thats it. Rep. Rosa DeLauro (Conn.), the senior Democrat on the Appropriations Committee, delivered a similar warning. Weve got a bill; its got bipartisan support in the Senate. It ought to be sent up here for a vote. And you know what? It would pass overwhelmingly, she said. But the introduction of the measure will, nonetheless, up the pressure on Johnson to move on assistance for Kyiv, especially as the two-year mark of Russias invasion of Ukraine approaches. The legislation dubbed the Defending Borders, Defending Democracies Act would allocate $66.32 billion to the Defense Department to support embattled nations, including roughly $47 billion for Ukraine, $10 billion for Israel, $5 billion for the Indo-Pacific and $2 billion to support operations in the U.S. Central Command. The border portion of the bill would resurrect the Remain in Mexico policy for one year, which requires that migrants looking to enter the U.S., including through asylum, are required to return to the country they left as proceedings are underway in the U.S. The bipartisan measure would also require that the secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, for one year, suspend entry of inadmissible migrants at the border if they determine that is necessary to achieve operational control of the border. And it calls for the detention and expulsion to Mexico without a hearing or review of migrants who arrive in the U.S. from the southern border and are deemed inadmissible. Fitzpatrick, one of the lead sponsors of the legislation and a co-chair of the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus, spoke to the interconnectedness of addressing the situation at the border and helping U.S. allies abroad. Securing ones borders is necessary to preserving ones democracy and, therefore, necessary to maintaining world order and world peace, Fitzpatrick said in a statement. As the worlds oldest and strongest democracy, the United States primary responsibility must be to secure its own borders. But we also have an obligation to assist our allies in securing their borders, especially when they come under assault by dictators, terrorists, and totalitarians. Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan are all freedom-loving democracies, they are our allies, and we must assist them in protecting their borders just as we must protect our own, he continued. We can, and must, achieve all of the above. Fitzpatrick sponsored the bill with Reps. Jared Golden (D-Maine), Don Bacon (R-Neb.), Ed Case (D-Hawaii), Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.), Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D-Wash.), Lori Chavez-DeRemer (R-Ore.) and Jim Costa (D-Calif.). The bipartisan foreign-aid-plus-border-security bill is the latest development in the saga over supplemental funding, which has bedeviled lawmakers for months. The White House unveiled a roughly $100 billion supplemental package in October that included funding for Ukraine, Israel, Indo-Pacific allies and the border. But Republicans balked at the ask, demanding that any aid for Kyiv be paired with substantive border security policy. That posture launched a bipartisan group of senators to engage in talks over border security which, after roughly four months, led to a deal that was endorsed by the National Border Patrol Council. But Republicans blocked that agreement from advancing, with conservatives arguing that it would not help solve problems at the southern border. The Senate then moved forward with the foreign aid provisions of the supplemental, minus the border security agreement, which cleared the chamber in a bipartisan 70-29 vote. Johnson, however, said the chamber failed to meet the moment with the legislation, harping on its exclusion of border security policy. The bipartisan group of House centrists is now making its own attempt at pairing border security with foreign aid. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. The announcement Friday that Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny had died in prison coincided with the 17th anniversary of a speech President Vladimir Putin delivered in Munich a lecture many Kremlin watchers see as a declaration of war on the West. Was Navalny's death in a Siberian prison timed to coincide with the pivotal address at a high-profile annual security conference? Not out of the realm of possibility, experts said. "It's possible," Daniel Fried, a former U.S. ambassador to Poland who is now a fellow at the Atlantic Council, a Washington think tank, told NBC News. "The premise that the announcement of Navalnys death, as world leaders gather in Munich, is a signal of Putins contempt of the West is a plausible one." Keir Giles, senior consulting fellow with the Russia and Eurasia program at Chatham House, a London-based think tank, echoed Fried. Vladimir Putin during the 2007 Conference on Security Policy in Munich, Germany. (Johannes Simon / Getty Images file) "If theres any symbolism at all to the timing, it is simply an indication that Russia does not care," Giles said. "Russia places no value on its international reputation. And this has been a distinguishing feature of Russian state behavior since the strategic change of gear in September 2021." That was when Putin, whose administration had already jailed Navalny, consolidated his power and neutralized the growing dissent in Russia by engineering an election victory that gave his United Russia Party total control of the Russian parliament. The experts weighed-in as President Joe Biden on Friday placed the blame for Navalny's death squarely on "Putin and this thugs." "Let's be crystal clear about this," former U.S. Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul told NBC News' Kristen Welker on Meet the Press NOW. "Putin killed Navalny. There should be consequences for Putin." Word of Navalnys death came as his wife, Yulia Navalnaya, was about the speak at the same Munich conference where Putin, in 2007, warned against NATO expansion to the east. In that 30-minute address, Putin also rejected the West's attempts to include Russia in a new post-Cold War security structure and accused the U.S. of trying to create a world in which there is one master, one sovereign. "And at the end of the day this is pernicious not only for all those within this system, but also for the sovereign itself because it destroys itself from within," Putin said. Putin, who was first elected in 2000 on the promise of making Russia great again, also refused to be lectured about democracy. "Incidentally, Russia we are constantly being taught about democracy," he said in 2007. "But for some reason those who teach us do not want to learn themselves." Putin's admonitions were met with stone faces and tepid applause. "I remember that speech and I remember that the reaction of the Bush administration, of which I was a part, was to downplay the speculation that this was a declaration of a new war against the West," Fried said. Subsequent administrations then also tried to keep Russia in the fold, even after Putin's forces seized Crimea from Ukraine in 2014. The final blow was when Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Fried said. Meanwhile, Putin's paranoia grew even as he tightened his grip on power in Russia. "The announcement of Navalnys death triggered another thought, and that was that the anti-war candidate Boris Nadezhdin has been doing better than expected in the polls ahead of the March election that Putin is expected to win," Fried said. Nadezhdin, who has not yet weighed in on Navalny's death, told NBC News in December he has no real chance of winning. It is a very strange election because there is no real choice, Nadezhdin, a veteran politician and commentator, said at the time. On Oct. 8, Russian authorities barred Nadezhdin from running. Warning: Spoilers from Love Is Blind Season Six below. "Love Is Blind" Season Six is stirring up debate about when, and how, a person should disclose they are a parent during the dating process. But Jessica Jess Vestal, a contestant on the Charlotte, North Carolina-based season, tells TODAY.com she has no regrets about how she handled being a single mom on "Love Is Blind." Vestal starts the season nervous to tell the men she has a daughter, she says on the show. The 29-year-old executive assistant tells hosts Nick and Vanessa Lachey her plan to let guys get to know her as an individual before learning she's a mom. Viewers watch that play out through her connection with Jimmy Presnell, 28. After their first chat, she returns to the womens lounge and gushes about their connection, referring to him as Jimmy with the juice. Their progression halts halfway through the episode when Jess opens up about having a 10-year-old daughter named Autumn. Jimmy, who is also getting to know contestant Chelsea Blackwell, reacts by asking why Jess didnt share that information with him earlier. Jimmy later says motherhood isn't a deal-breaker for him. Online, viewers sharer their suspicions that it was, in fact, a deal-breaker. Jimmy knew he wouldn't choose her when she told him she was a mother #LoveIsBlind pic.twitter.com/ZknXvTS9R2 sharleene (@pitch0un3) February 14, 2024 She falls for him, but Jimmy wavers in his feelings. Jess confronts him about his lack of directness in their relationship in Episode Four and he reveals he wants to pursue his connection with Chelsea. I know that youre already an incredible mother. Youre going to be an amazing wife for someone else, he says. At this point, I love someone else. Jessica (Courtesy Netflix) She tearfully calls him out for leading her on and ruining the opportunity for her. Even though the experiment didnt end in an engagement, Jess tells TODAY.com she wouldnt change the decisions she made. She says she stands by waiting to open up about being a mom. I have no regrets, she says. I really wanted to, like I said (on the show), give someone the opportunity to get to know me first and not lead with the fact that Im a mother. Because although that is the most important part of who I am, it doesnt define me. She adds, I felt like I needed to give the men time and space to get to know other things about me before bringing that into the conversation. After leaving the pods, Jess returned to Charlotte, North Carolina, and reunited with Autumn. In her chat with TODAY.com, she describes seeing her daughter for the time after filming Love Is Blind. It was amazing, she recalls. Like, Ive never been away from her for that long, even though I wasnt even on the show for as long as I had originally anticipated. Id never taken a vacation away from her. She says it was a moment of euphoria when they reunited and embraced. I think we hugged for like 10 minutes straight and then we were just attached at the hip for like the next couple of weeks. Actually, we still are. We havent recovered, she jokes, laughing. I was so happy to see her, she says. Love is Blind Season 6 (Courtesy Netflix) With the release of Season Six, Autumn will now have an opportunity to see what her mom was up to while she was away. Jess confirms that she will let her daughter watch some of the show within reason. As far as my story goes, I plan to share all of it with her, Jess says. Prior to going on Love Is Blind, the executive assistant says she showed Autumn clips of Lauren Speed-Hamilton and Cameron Hamiltons love story from Season One so that her daughter was familiar with the show. She says she wanted to give Autumn an idea of what I was going into because if she hadnt been comfortable with the experience, I wouldnt have gone. I hadnt really planned for an alternate reality outside of coming back engaged, Jess continues. So she was happy to see me, but disappointed that the story didnt unfold the way we had planned. But we both have complete peace of mind knowing it happened the way it was supposed to. A teaser halfway through the season confirmed that Jess would make an appearance in a future episode. Her much-anticipated return comes at the end of Episode 10 during the Season Six cast party. Jess and Jimmy sit by a lake and unpack their breakup and his engagement to Chelsea in a private conversation. The executive assistant also reveals to Jimmy that she wept in the pods after hearing that he was in love with Chelsea. I want you to be good to her, Jess tells him. The 29-year-old then accepts Jimmy's apology for how he handled the situation. Speaking to TODAY.com, Jess says she was glad she had the conversation with Jimmy, but she had already found closure before they reunited. "I felt like I had closure during our last conversation in the pods, kind of when I spoke my piece," she shares. She recalls being excited to catch up with some of her friends from the pods at the party, but says she didn't feel like she needed to say anything else to Jimmy. "It was more so for him, I guess. Time to speak his piece, because I don't know if I fully gave him that opportunity to (in the pods)," she continues. She reveals that she spoke to Chelsea at the party, too, in an unaired moment. "Oh gosh, I wish that would have been shown," Jess says. "I actually asked Chelsea beforehand if she was OK with he and I speaking because I wanted to do everything out of love and respect to her. I didn't want her to feel uncomfortable but surprisingly, as far as I know, it wasn't uncomfortable for any of us." It seems fans will not get to see Jess again on the show until her likely appearance at the reunion on March 13. Based on their social media reactions, it appears that there is now tension between her and Jimmy. When the official "Love Is Blind" Instagram account posted a clip of Jess calling Jimmy out in the pods and predicting he would need an EpiPen after seeing her in real life, he left a snarky reply. "EpiPen Engagement Ring ," he wrote in the comments. Jess responded, "My brother in Christ.. this is bold of you." Hopefully the two reveal what soured their relationship at the reunion. This article was originally published on TODAY.com Maricopa County (Ariz.) Supervisor Clint Hickman, who reportedly faced pressure from his party to potentially alter the results of the 2020 election, announced Thursday that he will not seek reelection. I will not seek another term as the county supervisor representing District 4, Hickman, a Republican representing cities including Goodyear and Avondale, said in a statement. I am choosing to give my undivided attention to my wife, children, family business, and friends. I couldnt be more excited, Hickman continued. To my constituents, thank you for trusting me to serve our West Valley. Never forget the power you have as voters to choose your representatives. Hickman was previously in the headlines in 2021, following reports that the then-chair of the Arizona GOP, Kelli Ward, contacted him about the accuracy of the 2020 election results. Ward reportedly sent a text to Hickman a few days after the election in which she asked him to at least get an independent computer expert to check if his county had problems with the ballot count, according to a report from the Arizona Republic. Hickman was the chair of the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors at the time, giving him the power to certify or delay the 2020 election results. Not someone who already works there, she reportedly wrote. These ballots can be counted manually, assuming nobody deleted the folder holding the ambiguous ballot scans. If the folder was deleted, federal data forensics teams could theoretically undelete it and perhaps track down the person who deleted it. What if election fraud was as easy as dragging votes from one folder to another? Ward reportedly called the claims BS. The White House switchboard also called Hickman twice in January 2021, and an operator asked him to call the president back. Hickman told the Arizona Republic he thought former President Trump was going to request he change the 2020 election results or push election conspiracy theories. I didnt want to walk into that space, Hickman told the outlet. Fellow Maricopa County Supervisor Bill Gates praised Hickman in a statement, saying it has been one of the greatest honors and privileges of my career to serve with Hickman for more than seven years. As Chairman in 2020, Clint Hickman faced intense pressure from leaders of our party to disregard his oath and to refuse to certify the results in the Presidential election, Gates said in a post on social media. Chairman Hickmans courage in standing up to this pressure and his commitment to doing the right thing have inspired my colleagues and I to do the same. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. The death of Alexei Navalny deals a severe blow to Russias opposition, which President Vladimir Putin has ruthlessly silenced. The circumstances surrounding the death of the outspoken critic while in jail remain unclear, but blame will undoubtedly center on the Kremlin, which has a long history of eliminating its adversaries. The death of the 47-year-old leaves a gaping hole in the opposition movement, with its remaining leaders either in prison or in exile as a result of a crackdown not seen since the Soviet era. Over the years, Navalny was poisoned, then jailed and has now died. He is just the latest high-profile example of the Kremlins approach. The question was really how long he would survive, rather than whether he would be allowed to live, said Keir Giles, senior consulting fellow with the Russia and Eurasia Programme at Chatham House, a London-based think tank. Russia has urged the United States and its allies not to rush to conclusions, criticizing the rabid response of those like President Joe Biden who pointed the finger at Putin. But anyone familiar with how the Kremlin operates will have been left with little doubt about who was to blame, Giles told NBC News. War in Ukraine and a crackdown at home Russia has been recast over the past two years, as the Kremlin waged war in neighboring Ukraine. The war was initially met with some protests inside Russia, but draconian legislation enacted within days of the invasion enabled the arrest of dissenters, many of whom ended up behind bars. Russian independent media fled the country, fearing persecution. The war continues to fuel some dissent at home, with wives of mobilized soldiers fighting to return their men from the front lines, and people lining up to support antiwar candidate Boris Nadezhdin, who was subsequently barred from running in next months presidential election. But in reality, most public critics still in Russia have been locked up. Until Friday, Navalny was the most high-profile of these figures, his stoic and humorous presence from an Arctic prison offering opposition supporters an occasional glimpse of the man they might still have hoped to rally around. Alexei Navalny speaks during an interview with AFP at the office of his Anti-corruption Foundation (FBK) in Moscow on Jan. 16, 2018. (Mladen Antonov / AFP via Getty Images file) The Kremlin has denied ever poisoning Navalny, and Russian authorities have said his death would be investigated. But his harsh treatment in prison was at best evidence of a deliberate indifference from Putin, said Tatiana Stanovaya, a nonresident scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and the founder and head of the political analysis firm R.Politik. Russian penal institutions inflict profound and lasting physical and psychological harm on inmates, effectively maiming their lives, she said in a post on X. Concern will now turn to some of the other high-profile opposition figures imprisoned in recent years. Ilya Yashin, a municipal politician and supporter of Navalny, was sentenced to 8 years in late 2022 accused of spreading fakes about Russias military in Ukraine, a charge increasingly being used to put Kremlin opponents behind bars. Yashin has been outspoken about the war and critical of Putins regime for years. Vladimir Kara-Murza Jr., a former journalist and prominent Putin critic who claims he was poisoned twice by the Kremlin, spoke out against the war in Ukraine and lobbied for tougher Western sanctions. He was sentenced to 25 years in jail last April the harshest sentence imposed on a political opponent since the invasion on charges including treason that he says are politically motivated. The case drew comparisons to a Stalin-era show trial. Shootings, poison and plane crashes Kara-Murza was a close associate of Boris Nemtsov, once considered the leader of Russias opposition and one of Putins fiercest critics. Nemtsov was shot dead in 2015, just a few feet away from the Kremlin. His murder sent shock waves through Russian society and the opposition scene, with an annual march held in Moscow to mark the killing. Several people were convicted in his murder, but his supporters say those who ordered his killing were never found. The site where late Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov was fatally shot on a bridge near the Kremlin in central Moscow. Nemtsov was one of President Vladimir Putin's loudest critics until he was shot and killed on Feb. 27, 2015. (Alexander Nemeno / AFP via Getty Images file) Years earlier, renowned journalist Anna Politkovskaya was gunned down outside her Moscow apartment. Politkovskaya made her name reporting on Russias war in Chechnya in the early years of Putins rule. Her murder in 2006 sounded an early alarm bell for reporters in Russia about the risks of challenging the Kremlins narrative. Putin has also earned a reputation for silencing people who were once loyal or even part of the regime, but have since gone rogue. Mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin died in a plane crash last year, just months after leading his Wagner Group forces in an aborted mutiny against the Kremlin. His short-lived rebellion, sparked by disagreements about the war in Ukraine, briefly shook Putins authority, and his death was widely viewed as revenge and a warning to other potential challengers. No investigative findings were released after the fiery crash, which also killed 9 other people. In 2018, former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were poisoned in the U.K. with a nerve agent believed to be the same Novichok poison later used on Navalny. Widely seen as a botched Kremlin assassination attempt, the operation saw Skripal survive and landed two alleged Russian intelligence agents in the global spotlight. Putin later called Skripal a scumbag who had betrayed his motherland. The Skripal incident came 12 years after another high-profile case of alleged Kremlin vengeance abroad. Two Russians allegedly poisoned former KGB agent Alexander Litvinenko, an outspoken critic of Putin who had fled to the U.K.. A public inquiry found that Putin probably approved the murder of the 44-year-old, who was poisoned with the radioactive isotope polonium-210 while drinking green tea at a hotel in London. Former Russian Agent Poisoned In London (Natasja Weitsz / Getty Images file) Surviving in exile Some high-profile Putin foes have long lived in exile. Mikhail Khodorkovsky, a former oil tycoon, served 10 years in jail after falling foul of the Kremlin. He was pardoned by Putin in 2013, but has since turned into a vocal critic of the regime. He has been in self-exile since then, and is often vilified by Russian propaganda. Khodorkovsky has been calling on Russians to stand up against the war and use the upcoming election as a form of protest. After news of Navalnys death Friday, he called for people to write Navalnys name on their ballots. But it remains unclear just how much space there is for such protests in Russia. Navalnys allies have been scattered across the world, most of them forced to leave Russia after organizations linked to the politician were banned as extremist. Independent media outlets are now operating from places like Latvia, Turkey and elsewhere across the region. People demonstrate and pay their respect for late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, at the monument for victims of political repressions in Vilnius, Lithuania, on Feb. 16, 2024. (Petras Malukus / AFP via Getty Images) On Russias exiled news channel TV Rain, Navalnys death was reported by a journalist with tears flowing from his eyes. And people laid flowers in tribute to Navalny at memorials set up across the country for the victims of political repression. But despite his singular fame, Navalny was not a lone figure of hope within Russias relatively tiny opposition, said Giles, from Chatham House. Nevertheless, the symbolism is important. And Navalny was certainly a figurehead for those who stood in opposition to Putin, Giles said. There are few now left. (Reuters) - Following are reactions in Russia and abroad to the death of jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, reported on Friday by the prison service of the Yamalo-Nenets region where he had been serving his sentence. RUSSIAN OFFICIALS KREMLIN SPOKESMAN DMITRY PESKOV Peskov said President Vladimir Putin has been told about Navalny's death. The reaction of Western leaders to the death was unacceptable and "absolutely rabid", Peskov said later. RUSSIA'S INVESTIGATIVE COMMITTEE The committee said it has launched a procedural probe into the death. NAVALNY FAMILY, AIDES, SUPPORTERS NAVALNY'S WIFE, YULIA NAVALNAYA, SPEAKING IN MUNICH "We cannot believe Putin and his government because they lie incessantly. But, if it is indeed true, then I would like to say the following: Putin and all those who work for him, his entire entourage, his friends, I want them to know that they will not go unpunished. They will be punished for what they have done to our country, for what they have done to my family, for what they have done to my husband." NAVALNY'S MOTHER, LYUDMILA NAVALNAYA, QUOTED BY RUSSIAN NEWSPAPER NOVAYA GAZETA AS SAYING ON FACEBOOK "I don't want to hear any condolences. We saw him in prison on the (Feb) 12, in a meeting. He was alive, healthy and happy." NAVALNY AIDE LEONID VOLKOV, ON X Volkov said Navalny's lawyer was travelling to the site of the prison where the opposition leader had been serving his sentence. NAVALNY'S DEPUTY, IVAN ZHDANOV, ON X Zhdanov said relatives of Navalny should be notified of his death within 24 hours, but no notifications have been made. RUSSIAN NEWSPAPER EDITOR AND NOBEL PEACE PRIZE LAUREATE DMITRY MURATOV Speaking to Reuters, Muratov called the death "murder" and said he believed prison conditions had led to Navalny's demise. FOREIGN LEADERS AND OFFICIALS U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE ANTONY BLINKEN, SPEAKING IN MUNICH "First and foremost, if these reports are accurate, our hearts go out to his wife and his family. Beyond that, his death in a Russian prison and the fixation and fear of one man only underscores the weakness and rot at the heart of the system that Putin has built. Russia is responsible for this." WHITE HOUSE NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER JAKE SULLIVAN, IN NPR INTERVIEW "If it's confirmed, it is a terrible tragedy. And given the Russian government's long and sordid history of doing harm to its opponents, it raises real and obvious questions about what happened here." FRENCH PRESIDENT EMMANUEL MACRON "In today's Russia, free spirits are put in the Gulag and sentenced to death." GERMAN CHANCELLOR OLAF SCHOLZ "I met Navalny here in Berlin when he was trying to recover in Germany from the poisoning attack and also talked to him about the great courage it takes to return to his country. And he has probably now paid for this courage with his life." GERMAN FOREIGN MINISTER ANNALENA BAERBOCK, ON X "Like no one else, Alexei Navalny was a symbol for a free and democratic Russia. That is precisely the reason he had to die." UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT VOLODYMYR ZELENSKIY, SPEAKING TO REPORTERS IN MUNICH "It is obvious: he was killed by Putin, as thousands of others were tortured and martyred by this one creature. Putin does not care who dies as long as he keeps his position. And that is why he should not keep anything. Putin should lose everything and answer for what he has done." UN SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTONIO GUTERRES Said he was shocked and urged a "full, credible and transparent investigation". UN SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR ON TORTURE ALICE EDWARDS Said she and several U.N. independent experts had urged the Russian government to end Navalny's punitive prison conditions, called for an investigation into "credible allegations of torture against Mr. Navalny", and urged authorities to ensure he got medical treatment. "That our appeals to the Kremlin were ignored so blatantly, and with such disregard for human life is a tragedy for Mr. Navalny, his family and supporters. It is also a bleak day for the rule of law, free expression and human rights." BRITISH PRIME MINISTER RISHI SUNAK, ON X "This is terrible news. As the fiercest advocate for Russian democracy, Alexei Navalny demonstrated incredible courage throughout his life." SWEDISH PRIME MINISTER ULF KRISTERSSON ON X: "The Russian authorities, and President Putin personally, are responsible for Alexei Navalny no longer being alive." EU COUNCIL PRESIDENT CHARLES MICHEL, ON X "Alexei Navalny fought for the values of freedom and democracy. For his ideals, he made the ultimate sacrifice. The EU holds the Russian regime solely responsible for this tragic death." EUROPEAN COMMISSION PRESIDENT URSULA VON DER LEYEN AND EU FOREIGN POLICY CHIEF JOSEP BORRELL "He was slowly murdered by President Putin and his regime, who fear nothing more than dissent from their own people. "We will spare no efforts to hold the Russian political leadership and authorities to account." NATO SECRETARY-GENERAL JENS STOLTENBERG "We need to establish all the facts, and Russia needs to answer all the serious questions about the circumstances of his death." DUTCH PRIME MINISTER MARK RUTTE, ON X "Navalny fought for democratic values and against corruption. He had to pay for his struggle with death while he was held under the harshest and most inhumane conditions." LATVIAN PRESIDENT EDGARS RINKEVICS, ON X "Whatever your thoughts about Alexei Navalny as the politician, he was just brutally murdered by the Kremlin. That's a fact and that is something one should know about the true nature of Russia's current regime." CZECH FOREIGN MINISTER JAN LIPAVSKY Russia "has turned into a violent state that kills people who dream of a better future, like Nemtsov or now Navalny - imprisoned and tortured to death for standing up to Putin. Rest in peace". REPUBLICAN U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CONTENDER NIKKI HALEY "Donald Trump continues to side with Vladimir Putin - a man who kills his political opponents, holds American journalists hostage, and has never hidden his desire to destroy America." (Reporting by Reuters bureaus; Compiled by Frances Kerry; Editing by Timothy Heritage, Andrew Heavens and Gareth Jones) By Samia Nakhoul, Dan Williams and Matt Spetalnick DUBAI (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia would be willing to accept a political commitment from Israel to create a Palestinian state, rather than anything more binding, in a bid to get a defence pact with Washington approved before the U.S. presidential election, three sources said. Months of U.S.-led diplomacy to get Saudi Arabia to normalise relations with Israel and recognise the country for the first time were shelved by Riyadh in October in the face of mounting Arab anger over the war in Gaza. But Saudi Arabia is increasingly keen to shore up its security and ward off threats from rival Iran so the kingdom can forge ahead with its ambitious plan to transform its economy and attract huge foreign investment, two regional sources said. To create some wiggle room in talks about recognising Israel and to get the U.S. pact back on track, Saudi officials have told their U.S. counterparts that Riyadh would not insist Israel take concrete steps to create a Palestinian state and would instead accept a political commitment to a two-state solution, two senior regional sources told Reuters. Such a major regional deal, widely seen as a long-shot even before the Israel-Hamas war, would still face numerous political and diplomatic obstacles, not least the uncertainty over how the Gaza conflict will unfold. A pact giving the world's biggest oil exporter U.S. military protection in exchange for normalisation with Israel would reshape the Middle East by uniting two long-time foes and binding Riyadh to Washington at a time when China is making inroads in the region. A normalisation deal would also bolster Israel's defences against arch-rival Iran and give U.S. President Joe Biden a diplomatic victory to vaunt ahead of the Nov. 5 presidential election. The Saudi officials have privately urged Washington to press Israel to end the Gaza war and commit to a "political horizon" for a Palestinian state, saying Riyadh would then normalise relations and help fund Gaza's reconstruction, one of the regional sources said. "The message from the kingdom to America has been: 'Stop the war first, allow humanitarian aid and commit to a just and lasting solution to give the Palestinians a state'," said Abdelaziz al-Sagher, head of the Gulf Research Center think-tank in Jeddah, who is familiar with the ongoing discussions. "Without it, Saudi Arabia can't do anything." The problem, though, is that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has spent much of his political career opposing Palestinian statehood, has rejected outright any U.S. and Arab aspirations for a Palestinian state once the Gaza war is over. "Normalisation does require really - if not legally, at least politically - a commitment from the Israelis that they are open to a two-state solution," said one of the senior regional sources familiar with Saudi thinking. "If Israel stopped its military offensive on Gaza - or at least declared a ceasefire - it would make it easier for Saudi Arabia to go ahead with the deal," the person said. The Saudi government's communication office did not respond to requests for comment. PATHWAY TO STATEHOOD The diplomatic push by Riyadh is driven by a desire to nail down a deal while the U.S. Democrats are still in the White House and control the Senate, as well as growing concern about the military reach of Iran, which has proxies in Saudi Arabia's neighbours Iraq and Yemen, besides Lebanon, Syria and Gaza. In the past, many Democratic lawmakers have resisted such pacts and denounced Riyadh for its military intervention in Yemen, propping up oil prices, and its role in the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018. But with Biden keen on a deal, now might be the best opportunity to get an agreement through Congress, the sources familiar with Saudi thinking said. The Saudi officials have not spelled out exactly what an acceptable "pathway" to a Palestinian state would involve, giving them leeway to strike a deal with Israel that does not involve any binding moves, the regional sources said. There has also been no attempt to revive the policy long advocated by Saudi Arabia that offered Israel normal ties with the entire Arab world in return for its withdrawal from territories occupied in the 1967 war. The Gulf Research Center's Sagher said, however, that Riyadh and other Arab diplomats have told U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and other visiting U.S. officials that without concrete and serious U.S. pressure on Israel, Palestinian statehood would not happen. A senior State Department official said Washington was continuing talks with Riyadh on the U.S.-Saudi elements of the normalisation deal - including nuclear cooperation and security guarantees - but everything rested on Israel coming into line on a pathway to Palestinian statehood and ending the war in Gaza. "U.S. diplomatic efforts are currently focused on the immediate crisis," a White House National Security Council spokesperson said when asked about the status of normalisation. "But we remain committed to the long-term goal of a more stable, prosperous, and integrated Middle East region, including through normalisation and advancement of a two-state solution." Blinken is due to return to the region in the coming days. A senior Israeli official, speaking to Reuters on condition of anonymity, said there was "zero chance" Netanyahu would talk about a Palestinian state. "But that doesn't mean the Saudis can't talk about it, or anyone else," the official said. "As Israel has made clear, the Palestinians will not have sovereignty in terms of being able to have an army or to enter treaties with Iran or to threaten Israel in any way." Netanyahu said in a statement last month that Israel must have security control over all the territory west of the Jordan River under any arrangement in the foreseeable future. In a possible sign of the sensitivity of the issue of statehood within the Israeli government, the official said the normalisation talks were being handled exclusively by Netanyahu and his top confident, Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer. TOUGH DECISIONS A U.S. source said Washington believed Riyadh's strong desire to secure U.S. defence guarantees meant the kingdom would be willing to show some flexibility on what would constitute an Israeli commitment to a pathway to Palestinian statehood. One step in this direction could be Netanyahu dropping his opposition to the Palestinian Authority playing a significant role in post-war Gaza, the source said. Establishing relations with the Arab world's Sunni Muslim heavyweight would be Netanyahu's biggest diplomatic success, while for Palestinians, normalisation would put aspirations for statehood back on the map with full Arab backing. "For the first time, I feel that there is a unified, unanimous, and sincere Arab agreement on the two-state solution to resolve the conflict," said Mohammed Dahlan, former security chief from the Palestinian Fatah faction, who is now based in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). "The question is whether the United States is serious and capable of weighing in on Netanyahu to achieve that goal." The Biden administration believes Netanyahu is willing to keep Israeli-Saudi normalization prospects alive but he has shown no sign of softening his resistance to Palestinian concessions, in part because of the potential for destabilising his far-right coalition, the U.S. source said. On his trip to the Middle East last month, Blinken used the demand for a pathway to statehood which was conveyed during meetings in Turkey, Jordan, Qatar, the UAE and Saudi Arabia - to present a united regional position to Israel. He told reporters Israel would have to make tough decisions to ensure its long-term security and integration in the region. With a new proposal for a three-stage ceasefire and release of hostages in Gaza under discussion, a pause in hostilities might give de facto Saudi ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman the opportunity to strike a deal. "Biden is extremely keen on the agreement. Saudi Arabia is extremely keen on the agreement," said one of the senior regional sources close to Saudi thinking. "These two parties recognise that time is very tight and they need to do it soon, but the Israelis are making it difficult." CLOCK TICKING If Washington met Riyadh's demands for the defence pact, assistance with Saudi's nuclear programme, and extracted an acceptable compromise formula on statehood from Netanyahu, the crown prince might grab the opportunity, the person said. He said there was no doubt the Gaza war had complicated and delayed the process, but Riyadh's main objective was the defence agreement and everything else, be it normalisation with Israel or any other issue, was basically to enable a deal. Although Saudi Arabia and Iran ended their diplomatic rift in a rapprochement sponsored by China last year, Riyadh is determined to avoid a repeat of the Sept. 14, 2019 strikes on its oil facilities, the two regional sources said. Riyadh and Washington blamed Tehran for the attack. Iran has denied having any role. Washington and Riyadh agreed to start discussions about a defence pact and Israeli normalisation during Biden's visit to the kingdom in 2022 to repair strained ties over Khashoggi and the U.S. decision to end military assistance to Riyadh in its war against the Houthis in Yemen. Biden blamed the crown prince for the killing. He has denied any involvement. Energy and security interests, however, prompted Biden and his aides to recalibrate the 80-year U.S.-Saudi strategic partnership, which was founded on a simple equation: American demand for Saudi oil and Saudi demand for American weapons. But the clock may be ticking down on achieving a mega-deal. The deeper the U.S. moves into the presidential election campaign, the U.S. source said, the harder it will be for the Biden administration to gain traction for any U.S.-Saudi security pact in Congress. U.S. officials hope that tying U.S. defence guarantees to normalisation could help gain congressional support. However, Netanyahu may prefer to wait for the outcome of the election, in which former President Donald Trump, who had warm ties with the Israeli leader and the Saudi crown prince, is favoured to be Biden's Republican opponent, some analysts say. A second Trump presidency would be widely expected to back Israeli-Saudi normalisation, though it is uncertain how it might stand on enhanced U.S.-Saudi defence ties, the analysts said. (Reporting by Samia Nakhoul in Dubai, Dan Williams in Jerusalem and Matt Spetalnick in Washington; Additional reporting by Simon Lewis in Washington and Maha El Dahan in Dubai; Writing by Samia Nakhoul; Editing by David Clarke) By Jonathan Saul LONDON (Reuters) - Seafarers have the right to refuse to sail on ships passing through the Red Sea in a new industry agreement as the situation escalates and further vessels are attacked by Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis, a labor union and industry groups said on Friday. The Houthis have targeted commercial ships with drones and missiles in the Red Sea since mid-November in what they describe as acts of solidarity with Palestinians against Israel in the Gaza war. Seafarers remain in the firing line, and have already signed agreements to receive double pay when entering the high-risk zones. In December, areas deemed warlike and high-risk were extended into the southern area of the Red Sea as part of negotiated arrangements between seafarers and commercial shipping companies, known as the International Bargaining Forum (IBF). In the latest IBF arrangement seafarers must give seven days notice prior to entering the area and have the right to be repatriated to another location at the shipping company's cost, the International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF) and the Joint Negotiating Group, said in a statement. It also includes compensation equal to two months basic wage. "The decision to include seafarers right to refuse to sail was not a step taken lightly as this could negatively impact global trade, but the safety of the seafarers is paramount," the statement added. "Sadly the conflict in the region has escalated, with further attacks on commercial vessels that are increasingly more sophisticated." The ITF, which is the leading union organisation for seafarers, has urged governments to secure the release of 25 mariners held by the Houthis after the militia hijacked their ship, the Galaxy Leader, on Nov. 19. The Houthis have vowed to continue their attacks as long as Israel continues to commit "crimes" against Palestinians. Some 12% of global trade is estimated to pass through the Red Sea. (Reporting by Jonathan Saul; editing by Jonathan Oatis) WASHINGTON An FBI informant has been indicted on two counts for allegedly feeding the bureau false information about President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden during the 2020 presidential campaign. Alexander Smirnov, 43, disliked Joe Biden and was arrested in Las Vegas after returning from a trip overseas, according to the Justice Department. The case grew out of the special counsel investigation being led by David Weiss, who is also leading the case against Hunter Biden. Weiss had been appointed by then-President Donald Trump as the top federal prosecutor in Delaware. The 37-page indictment alleges that Smirnov had been a confidential human source for the FBI since 2010 and "provided false derogatory information to the FBI" about both Bidens after Joe Biden became a candidate for president in 2020. He is facing one count of making a false statement to a government agent and falsification of records in a federal investigation. Smirnov allegedly told the FBI falsely that officials with Burisma, the Ukrainian energy company that Hunter Biden worked for, had told him they hired Hunter Biden because he would "protect us, through his dad, from all kinds of problems." Smirnov allegedly told the FBI again, falsely that Burisma officials had told him they paid Hunter Biden and Joe Biden $5 million and that it would take investigators 10 years to find the illicit payments to Joe Biden. A source familiar with the matter told NBC News that Hunter Biden does not know the individual who was charged and does not believe he ever met him. An attorney for Hunter Biden told NBC News that Republicans had been warned that they built their conspiracies about Hunter and his family on lies told by people with agendas, not facts. This is just another instance of Chairman [James] Comer and [Rep. Jim] Jordan peddling falsehoods based on dishonest, uncredible allegations and witnesses, Abbe Lowell, Hunter Bidens attorney, continued in the statement. House Oversight Committee Ranking Member Jamie Raskin called for an end to the impeachment inquiry following the announcement of the indictment against Smirnov. Smirnov's account was critical to Republicans' impeachment inquiry into the president. This is the biggest political corruption scandal, not only in my lifetime, but I would say the past 100 years, Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., chair of the House Republican Conference, told Fox & Friends in June of what Republicans had termed the Biden bribery scheme. But according to the indictment, Smirnov's claims to the FBI, which he first made in June 2020, "were fabrications," and, in truth, he only "had contact with executives from Burisma in 2017," when Joe Biden had left office as vice president and "had no ability" to influence U.S. policy. "In short, the Defendant transformed his routine and unextraordinary business contacts with Burisma in 2017 and later into bribery allegations against [Joe Biden], the presumptive nominee of one of the two major political parties for President, after expressing bias against [Joe Biden] and his candidacy," the indictment alleges. The indictment also states that Smirnov "repeated some of his false claims" after being interviewed by FBI special agents last September after Hunter Biden's plea deal fell apart that summer while Smirnov "changed his story as to other of his claims, and promoted a new false narrative after he said he met with Russian officials." Smirnov wrote in one May 2020 message to his FBI handler that Joe Biden was "going to jail" and suggested that he knew some of the allegations "should be soon in the news." Smirnov was told at least seven times he may have to testify about information he provided to FBI and was admonished by the handler at least 21 times to tell the truth to the bureau, the indictment says. The House Oversight Committee first learned of an issue with this confidential informant from the special counsel indictment being made public Thursday afternoon, a source familiar with the Biden family impeachment investigation told NBC News. DOJ, the FBI, and Weiss' office have not reached out to the committee, according to the source. FBI Director Christopher Wray and other bureau officials briefed members of Congress on this issue last year during multiple in-person meetings. During those meetings, questions about the credibility of this confidential human source were asked, and the FBI told lawmakers that the source was highly valued by the FBI, was considered the "go to" source in the region, and had been paid six figures for work to date. The FBI officials said at the time that they would not release the records being requested by Congress because the source was so highly valued and involved in multiple ongoing investigations. A judge on Thursday ordered Smirnov to be detained pending a detention hearing, which has been scheduled for a federal court in Las Vegas next Tuesday at 3 p.m., the special counsel's office confirmed to NBC News. WASHINGTON (AP) Seeking to keep a spotlight on President Joe Biden's age, House Republicans will hold a public hearing next month with the Justice Department special counsel who found evidence that the president had mishandled classified information when he was out of office but who also concluded that criminal charges were not warranted. The House Judiciary Committee, chaired by conservative firebrand Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, will hold a hearing with special counsel Robert Hur on March 12, according to two people familiar with the plans who spoke anonymously to discuss the yet-to-be-announced hearing. The White House declined to comment on the plans. The committee has spearheaded much of the House GOP's investigations into Biden, including the effort to impeach him. While that effort has floundered, Republicans want to hear from Hur after his report last week offered an unflattering assessment of Biden's competency and age. The report described the 81-year-old Democrats memory as poor and having significant limitations. The president has angrily pushed back on that account and said his memory is fine. The hearing is sure to spill into a political spectacle as House Republicans have consistently sought to use hearings to punch holes in Biden's political weaknesses. Voters are already worried about Biden's age and competency heading into an election where he is likely to face the 77-year-old Donald Trump, the former Republican president who is the clear front-runner for his party's nomination. Hur, who was appointed under Trump to be the U.S. attorney in Maryland, found some evidence suggesting that Biden had willfully retained classified information as a private citizen but said the evidence was not strong enough for a prosecution. In ruling out bringing a criminal case, he cited the possibility that Biden would present himself to a jury as a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory. Prior to the release of Hur's report, the White House and Biden's personal attorneys objected to the characterization by the special counsel in letters to Hur and Attorney General Merrick Garland, according to two people familiar with the letters, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe them. His report goes further to include allegations that the President has a failing memory in a general sense, an allegation that has no law enforcement purpose, the attorneys wrote to Garland, who appointed Hur to the role. "A global and pejorative judgment on the Presidents powers of recollection in general is uncalled for and unfounded." House Speaker Mike Johnson this week said at a news conference, A man too incapable of being held accountable for mishandling classified information is certainly unfit for the Oval Office. Trump is facing criminal charges that he mishandled classified documents. Trump has bragged about his own memory, but at certain times in legal proceedings said he does not recall certain events. AP writer Zeke Miller contributed One of Donald Trumps longstanding complaints will become a reality on March 25: His legal peril will force him off the campaign trail at least during the day. The trial date, set Thursday by a judge in New York, is just a week after Trumps campaign expects him to reach the delegate threshold to become the presumptive Republican nominee and roughly seven months before voters will head to ballot box to cast their votes in the 2024 presidential election. While Trump has spent the last year bouncing in and out of court houses in his various legal cases, almost all of these appearances have been voluntary other than his arraignments. The former president often opts to treat the courtroom as a campaign stop, speaking to cameras and ranting against what he has called political persecution. Come March, Trump will no longer have a choice he will be required to sit in the New York courtroom four days a week as he faces 34 criminal charges brought by District Attorney Alvin Bragg in an alleged hush-money scheme. The trial is expected to last for roughly six weeks, with court in session every weekday but Wednesdays, severely limiting Trumps ability to campaign for president during that time. And the New York trial may not be the last that keeps Trump off the campaign trail before the election, with two federal trials still possible this year, along with a case in Georgia that is still pending despite the trouble now facing Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis. While Trump may effectively bring an end to the GOP nominating fight before the criminal trial begins, the proceedings could disrupt the former presidents pivot to a general election matchup with President Joe Biden dividing his attention between his legal battles and his political campaign. During this primary season, the former president was far outpaced on the trail by his GOP rivals, often choosing to spend time at his Mar-a-Lago home or in a courtroom instead of visiting early voting states. Part of this, his advisers insist, was the enormous lead Trump held over his Republican opponents, a large lead that disappears in a potential rematch against Biden. Trump has painted the cases brought against him as election interference, linking the unrelated impending trials as one unfounded conspiracy brought by Democrats and Biden to keep Trump from another term in the White House. Trumps attorney Todd Blanche even echoed Trumps rhetoric about election interference Thursday as he objected to the start date, but the judge made clear he was not going to delay not just because of the election but because Trump has another three potential trials still looming in other jurisdictions. Campaigning during the night While this rhetoric has served as a rallying cry for Republicans in the primary season, Trumps team is grappling with how his criminal trials will play in a general election in which the former president will have to court independent voters to claim the White House, multiple people close to the former president told CNN. The big question mark that remains is, will seeing Trump in court and the witnesses who will be paraded in hurt him in the general (election), a person close to Trump told CNN. I think itll be less of a problem in the Bragg trial, but its still an issue theyve yet to figure out. Some of Trumps advisers, meanwhile, insist they remain confident that his legal troubles will continue to help his campaign not just with primary voters, but with general election voters as well. Despite having some concerns immediately following his four indictments that the boost his campaign saw in fundraising in polling would only be short-lived, Trump has continued to enjoy some positive effects from his legal battles. They also point to how many legal experts argue that the criminal hush money case is the weakest and believe having this trial go first will help solidify Trumps support with voters who think he is facing what they are argue are too many criminal charges. In private, however, Trumps team recognizes that the necessities of court will likely affect the campaign, and provide further ammunition for Bidens reelection efforts, people close to Trump said. Trump claimed Thursday that he would still be able to campaign while attending the trial by doing so in the evening. Ill be here during the day, and Ill be campaigning during the night, Trump said, suggesting Biden should do the same. One senior adviser, however, hesitated at that proposal, calling such a schedule unsustainable and exhausting for the former president. The New York criminal trial also presents another problem for Trumps ability to create a media circus cameras are not allowed in the courtroom. Thursdays hearing likely previewed how the spring months in the courthouse will play out, with Trump finding his way to the camera in the hallway outside before and after the hearing to argue his case in the court of public opinion. He has to be there Unlike Trumps past visits to courtrooms most of which were voluntary the former presidents team anticipates that his attendance will be mandatory at most, if not all, of his trial in Manhattan, his advisers said. I think he has to be there. Its a criminal trial, we expect it will be mandatory, a senior Trump adviser told CNN. At a pretrial hearing Thursday, Judge Juan Merchan said that he expected the trial to go on for six weeks. With Trump sitting at his side looking on, Blanche tried to object to Merchans decision to begin the trial on March 25, arguing both that Trump had other three other criminal trials his lawyers had to prepare for and that keeping Trump in the courtroom would impede his presidential campaign. Blanche said that the trial date was unconstitutional, pointing to the upcoming GOP primaries. President Trump says it all the time, and the media makes fun of him, but its election interference to make Trump sit here in this courtroom, Blanche argued. But the judge shut down the arguments, saying hed already heard them and had made his ruling. The judge responded saying Trump would not be required to sit for two criminal trials at the same time. Certainly, I dont want to violate his constitutional rights nor does anybody else, Merchan said. Blanche tried one more time at the very end of the hearing to make his case to the judge and perhaps to Trump. We strenuously object to what is happening in this courtroom, he said. The fact that President Trump is going to now spend the next two months working on this trial instead of out on the campaign trail running for president, is something that should not happen in this country, he said. Whats your legal argument? Merchan asked. Thats my legal argument, he responded. Thats not a legal argument, Merchan said, ending the hearing and telling the lawyers and the former president hed see them all on March 25. Trump team sees NY case as weakest While neither Trump nor his campaign want to face trial, many allies would rather see the New York hush money case go to trial than the other three criminal cases, with a belief that the case from Bragg, a Democrat, is the weakest and easiest to paint as politically motivated. The campaign plans to use the trial to set the stage for its core political argument that these trials are purely political and designed to hurt Trumps chances in a general election an argument it has and will continue to use in all of the former presidents criminal and civil cases. As Trump has demonstrated over the course of his campaign, he sees those fights as part of one larger conflict and has used his court challenges to rally support in the GOP primary. I think weve done a good job of managing the political schedule with the legal schedule, a senior Trump adviser told CNN. Hes been able to turn the legal stuff into a political positive. Trumps advisers expect the former president to have enough delegates by March 19, following primary contests in Arizona, Florida, Illinois, Kansas and Ohio, to be considered the presumptive Republican nominee. The general election could pose a different test for Trump, particularly if he is found guilty of a crime. Despite his dominant wins in Iowa and New Hampshire, 31% of Republican caucus-goers and 42% of GOP primary voters in the Granite State said Trump would not be fit for the presidency if convicted of a crime. Those findings underscore the importance of Trumps strategy of delaying the criminal cases he is facing for as long as possible. Before Trump entered the courtroom Thursday morning, he stopped at the camera in the hallway outside to speak. The former president complained that he was there and not in South Carolina campaigning. How can you run for election and be sitting in a courthouse in Manhattan all day long? Im supposed to be in South Carolina right now, where other people are, and where, again this is where I should be. I shouldnt be in a courthouse, Trump said. Of course, Trump did not have to be in the courtroom on Thursday. Merchan waived his appearance at his lawyers request for the pretrial hearing though that was because Trump was considering attending a hearing in Georgia instead, where Willis is facing scrutiny. In six weeks, however, Trump wont have the same luxury of choosing where he wants to be four days a week. CNNs Terence Burlij contributed to this report. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com WASHINGTON Lawmakers from both sides of the political divide united to condemn President Vladimir Putin for the death of Alexei Navalny on Friday and pay tribute to Russias most prominent opposition figure. Democratic and Republican lawmakers from both the Senate and the House were quick blame the Russian leader and his government for his death, although Navalnys own team has not confirmed his death. Image: (Evan Vucci / AP) Leading the condemnation was President Joe Biden, who said in a speech at the White House that Putin was to blame. We dont know exactly what happened, but there is no doubt that the death of Nalvany was a consequence of something that Putin and his thugs did, Biden said. Here are some of the other lawmakers who paid their respects. Senators Senate Intelligence Committee Chair Mark Warner, D-Va., said in a post on X: The death of Alexei Navalny is yet another heartbreaking reminder of who Vladimir Putin is: a bloodthirsty tyrant who thinks he can get away with anything. Its another reason why we must continue to stand with the cause of freedom in opposition to Putins brutality. Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., said on X: Putins regime is pure evil. Putins cronies murdered Alexei Navalny for having the courage to stand up for freedom. Senator Thom Tillis, R-N.C., said in a post on X: Navalny laid down his life fighting for the freedom of the country he loved. Putin is a murderous, paranoid dictator. History will not be kind to those in America who make apologies for Putin and praise Russian autocracy. Nor will history be kind to Americas leaders who stay silent because they fear backlash from online pundits. Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) speaks during a meeting on Capitol Hill May 18, 2023. (Francis Chung / Politico via AP file) In a post on X from the Munich Security Conference in Germany, Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said: More blood on Putins hands with the tragic death of Aleksei Navalny in prison, all for the crime of wanting a free Russia. Why do Trump and his congressional enablers want to further appease this Russian tyrant? Also attending the conference was Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., who said on X: The mood at the Munich Security Conference is somber as news spreads that Alexei Navalny died in Russian custody. Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, in a post on X, said: Russian opposition ldr Alexei Navalny has died behind Russian bars Says all U need to kno abt Putins Russia Im praying for his wife & kids & other political prisoners like Kara-Murza. Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, said in a post on X: Make no mistake Putin removes his opposition because he fears them. Alexei Navalny spoke up for freedom. In Navalnys death, Putin has immortalized one of his staunchest critics. Senate Armed Services Committee Chair Jack Reed, D-R.I., said in a post on X: Alexei Navalny stood up to tyranny. He died a hero of the Russian people & an enemy of the corrupt Kremlin kleptocrats he systematically exposed. Our thoughts are with Mr. Navalnys family & the Russian people. In a statement, Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., said: Im heartbroken to hear reports of the passing of Alexei Navalny. His death is not just a blow to those who care about the freedom of Russian citizens, but to those who care about freedom and democracy everywhere. His choice to go back to Russia even after an attempted assassination attempt was inspiring. Sen. Deb Fischer (R-NE) on Jan. 11, 2024. (Anna Rose Layden / Getty Images) Sen. Deb Fischer, R-Neb., said on X: Im saddened to see reports of Alexei Navalnys death. He was a tireless fighter for freedom and democracy in Russia. His death is a reminder of the true nature of the Putin regime. Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., said on X: House members blocking critical aid to Ukraine can revel in another high-five for Putin who just murdered his most vocal and visible critic. Sen. Todd Young, R-Ind., said in a post on X: Alexei Navalny stood up to Putin and his Russian cronies, and he dies a hero for freedoms cause. All Americans must be clear eyed about Putins ambitions. We should endeavor to make Putin a global outcast. House Representatives In a statement, House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Michael McCaul, R-Texas, said: If confirmed, the death of Alexei Navalny is a tragedy. He was a voice for a better Russia amid the corruption and brutality of Putins genocidal regime. The Kremlin must be held to account for this outrage. House Intelligence Committee Chair Mike Turner, R-Ohio, said in a statement: Alexei Navalny had the courage to stand up to Vladimir Putin. He was wrongfully imprisoned and died in captivity. My deepest condolences go out to Navalnys family. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said on X: Vladimir Putin has a long history of murdering political opponents and silencing dissent. He is an enemy of freedom and the American people. House Minority Whip Katherine Clark, D-Mass., said on X: My thoughts are with the family of Alexei Navalny. And my heart is with every patriot who dares to defend democracy. Now is not the time for us to waiver in our support of Ukraine. We must stand with our ally in its fight for freedom from Putins tyranny. The White House warned Thursday that Russian forces are close to taking over the eastern Ukrainian city of Avdiivka as Ukraines troops face resource shortages and U.S. aid remains on hold. The fighting is incredibly intense in the east, particularly in a city called Avdiivka. Thats a city that weve talked about several times before. Unfortunately, were getting reports from the Ukrainians that the situation is critical, White House national security communications adviser John Kirby said Thursday. With the Russians continuing to press Ukrainian positions every single day, [Avdiivka] is at risk of falling into Russian control, Kirby continued. In very large part, this is happening because Ukrainian forces on the ground are running out of artillery ammunition. Russias sending wave after wave of conscript forces to attack Ukrainian positions. The White Houses warning comes as Congress is in the middle of a heated battle over sending more aid to Ukraine. The Senate has approved a package that includes $60 billion for Ukraine, but House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) has indicated the legislation will not come up for a vote in that chamber. Former President Trump, the leading GOP candidate for president this year, and his allies have opposed providing more aid to Ukraine. The White House has mounted a public relations offensive against Johnson, criticizing the Speaker on Thursday for beginning a House recess and not bringing the Senates Ukraine aid package passed to the floor for a vote. Every day that Speaker Johnson causes our national security to deteriorate, America loses. And every day that he puts off a clean vote, congressional Republicans standing with the American people plunges, White House spokesperson Andrew Bates said. Running away for an early vacation only worsens both problems. Johnson hit back on Thursday, noting that the White House threw cold water on the Speakers request for a meeting with Biden. This criticism is unserious. The President who has spent over a calendar year on vacation since taking office continues to refuse to even meet with the Speaker, spokesperson Taylor Haulsee said in a statement. Russia started a major push on Avdiivka in October of last year, with the United Kingdom Ministry of Defence calling it the most significant offensive by Russia since the start of 2023 in an intelligence update. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. A Seattle woman was robbed of her hijab at knifepoint near the University of Washington campus Monday morning. Officers responded to a report that a woman was approached from behind and placed in a "chokehold" by a man displaying a "small knife" in the University District around 9 a.m. The suspect was "voicing disparaging remarks and general hatred for the victim's perceived religious beliefs and national origin," the Seattle Police said. He stole the woman's hijab before running off. The police reviewed video footage of the incident and searched the area for the suspect but could not locate him. The victim was not physically injured but was left emotionally shaken. The victim of this attack was at work when she was subjected to not only a hate assault but a form of sexual assault as her hijab was ripped off by the attacker, Imraan Siddiqi, Council on American-Islamic Relations Washington chapter executive director, said. We hope that the perpetrator will be swiftly brought to justice. The woman is not directly affiliated with the University of Washington, but the schools spokesperson said, "A crime like this anywhere let alone in a nearby neighborhood is disturbing." The Seattle Police Department's bias crimes detective is investigating the incident as a hate crime. The case remains open and ongoing. Since early October, reports of anti-Muslim attacks have sharply increased across the country in response to the Israel-Hamas war. Hijabi women and girls are particularly vulnerable to Islamophobia because they are easily identifiable as Muslims. The recent spike in hate incidents is reminiscent of post-9/11 Islamophobia, according to researchers. The Muslim American community has been left on edge and is taking more precautions while moving through the world. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a Class I recall, the agency's most serious, for the Medfusion syringe pump, the third major FDA recall for the line of devices made in Oakdale. Smiths Medical, formerly based in Plymouth before California-based ICU Medical Inc. acquired it in January 2022, has struggled for years with the software on these pumps being vulnerable to cyber-hacking and other malfunctions. The FDA also issued a Class I recall, for devices that could cause serious injury or death, for specific lot numbers of Smiths' Medfusion 3500 and 4000 infusion pumps in 2022. The 4000 model of the pumps designed to administer fluids and medication at controlled infusion rates is again at the center of this most recent recall because of earlier software versions potentially affecting the alarm system, pump and control screen among other parts, per the FDA. These could cause the device to fail to deliver the infusion at the right time, if at all. The FDA recalled 50,743 devices after learning of one injury the pumps caused. There have been no related deaths. Tom McCall, a spokesman for ICU Medical, said hospitals and clinicians can address the problems by installing the latest Medfusion software. ICU initiated the recall in December 2023. ICU which reported 2022 revenue of $2.3 billion and a net loss of $74.3 million purchased Smiths for $2.55 billion from the company's previous owner, London-based Smiths Group. Smiths had emerged from St. Paul-based Deltec Inc., incorporated in 1984. The 2022 recall soon after the ICU purchase affected more than 118,000 Medfusion devices after eight identified software malfunctions had caused seven injuries and one death. Smiths also issued a recall for Medfusion pumps in August 2020, while the FDA Class I recall for approximately 600 pediatric Medfusion pumps happened in 2019, both related to software problems. In 2017, Smiths had confirmed the Medfusion pumps were vulnerable to hacking. The device manufacturing plant in Oakdale has had other issues as well. In 2021, Smiths received a warning letter from the FDA for its Oakdale facility failing to comply with medical device reporting requirements. In its most recent annual financial filing, ICU said corrective actions to address the warning letter had cost $49.8 million through the end of 2022. That filing also indicated ICU had 100,000 square feet of corporate office space in Plymouth and about 94,000 square feet of space in Oakdale for a warehouse, manufacturing and a device service center. This past August, ICU Medical announced 81 layoffs and plans to close the Oakdale facility by the end of 2024, though it is currently producing devices there. "As of now," McCall said, "it's still open." WASHINGTON Congressional Republicans put a defiant face on Friday after the revelation that an FBI informant the man whose allegations were at the "heart" of their case against President Joe Biden, as one leading House Republican recently said had been indicted for lying to the bureau about the president and his son Hunter Biden for political purposes. Alexander Smirnov, a 43-year-old FBI informant who began working with the bureau in 2010, faces two felony counts: one for making a false statement to a government agent and another for falsification of records in a federal investigation. Republicans in Congress had repeatedly touted those same false statements as a key piece of their impeachment inquiry into the president. Smirnov, who has no lawyer listed on his court dockets, was arrested Thursday at the Las Vegas airport after disembarking from an international flight. The case against him will eventually proceed in a federal courthouse in California, but the initial proceedings will take place before federal Magistrate Judge Daniel J. Albregts in Nevada. Congressional Republicans were quick to downplay the impact that the indictment would have on their ongoing impeachment inquiry, even though numerous leading Republicans had repeatedly pointed to bribery allegations against the Bidens that originated from Smirnov as a major linchpin of their investigation. House Republicans even threatened to hold the director of the FBI in contempt last year to force the bureau to show them the underlying documents, which were eventually released, sparking breathless headlines in conservative media outlets about the false allegations that Biden and his son Hunter were paid $5 million in bribes. Just weeks ago, one of the leaders of the impeachment inquiry even pointed to Smirnov's alleged lies to the FBI as their strongest evidence. That to me is really the heart of this matter, Judiciary Committee Chairman Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio a staunch ally of former President Donald Trump and one of the architects of the impeachment push said in a Jan. 11 appearance on Fox News, referring to the FBI FD-1023 confidential human source form containing false allegations from the now-indicted former FBI informant. "The most corroborating evidence we have is the 1023 form from this highly credible confidential human source." Now, after the source of those allegations has been federally charged, House Republicans say that it wasn't the "heart" of their inquiry after all. In a statement, House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., claimed that the impeachment case "is not reliant on the FBIs FD-1023," which a federal prosecutor appointed by Trump, David Weiss, now says was filled with lies. The impeachment case is based on a large record of evidence, including bank records and witness testimony, revealing that Joe Biden knew of and participated in his familys business dealings, Comer claimed, though the committee has yet to show firm evidence that the president was involved in his sons business dealings. The saga all began last May, when Comer and Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, publicly declared that a "whistleblower" had come forward to allege that the FBI possessed an FD-1023 form documenting "an alleged criminal scheme involving then-Vice President Biden and a foreign national relating to the exchange of money for policy decisions. Chuck Grassley (Tom Williams / CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images) In May, the FBI rejected Comer's requests to see the document, saying that policy "strictly limits when and how confidential human source information can be provided outside of the FBI." The FBI cautioned at the time that reports like the one at issue simply document information given to the bureau and did "not validate it, establish its credibility, or weigh it against other information verified by the FBI, warning that such unsubstantiated information could "unfairly violate privacy or reputations." Then, in early June, the FBI said it would allow Comer and the ranking member of the Oversight Committee, Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland, to review a redacted version of the FBI form and briefed them on it. After that briefing, Comer threatened to start contempt proceedings against FBI Director Chris Wray because he hadn't turned the form over to the whole committee. The bureau caved and allowed all members of the Oversight Committee to view the document, and Republicans dropped the contempt proceedings. GOP members of the committee made unsubstantiated claims about the form, saying it proved that Biden had committed a crime. Grassley ended up releasing the document itself. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., said after viewing the FBI document that Biden was 100% guilty of bribery. New York Rep. Elise Stefanik, a member of House GOP leadership, in a "Fox & Friends" segment in June that centered on a clip of Biden calling a question about the FBI file dumb," spoke in sweeping terms about the allegations. This is the biggest political corruption scandal, not only in my lifetime, but I would say the past 100 years, she said, adding she would make sure House Republicans followed the facts. In September, Stefanik also pointed directly to the false allegations from a "highly credible FBI source" as a reason to open an inquiry into Biden. On Fox News, Sean Hannity dedicated at least 85 segments to the claim, according to research from Media Matters. But as the media reporter Brian Stelter noted, the indictment of the informant wasnt mentioned at all during Foxs prime-time shows Thursday after the case against Smirnov was unsealed, though the network posted a story online. While Republicans hailed the bribery allegations contained in the FBI form as a key piece of evidence in their inquiry, their investigation into Hunter Biden and the president has sprawled into several different areas: Hunter Bidens business dealings with foreign governments and whether his father was involved, allegations by two IRS whistleblowers that there was interference into their investigation of Hunter Bidens taxes, and a widely debunked theory that then-Vice President Biden had called for the firing of a Ukrainian prosecutor to end his investigation into Burisma, a company that Hunter Biden worked for. In a December briefing for reporters about the scope of the impeachment inquiry, Jordan specifically discussed the FD-1023 form as evidence that the Bidens may have been bribed and said it might be one example of a high crime or misdemeanor if Republicans were to bring articles of impeachment. Was it obstruction when Joe Biden said all the things he has said that turned out not to be accurate when we got the facts about him not knowing anything about his familys business deals, his sons business deals was that obstruction? Jordan said. A spokesman for Grassley, who released the FBI document containing what are now charged to be false allegations, said Friday that the indictment against Smirnov isnt enough and that the public has a right to see all the underlying evidence supporting the Biden Justice Departments case. The Biden administration must show its work. Jordan's House Judiciary Committee responded to the news of the indictment by posting a transcript of former U.S. Attorney Scott Brady's interview with the committee. Brady, who was found by a Justice Department watchdog to have displayed unbecoming behavior during a disagreement over the Justice Departments approach to election cases, refused to say during his interview whether he believed the Joe Biden was the legitimate president of the United States. The New Yorker Hotel. A New York City man was arrested for falsely claiming ownership of a famous Manhattan hotel after living in the hotel rent-free for five years by exploiting a local housing law. It all started in 2018, when Mickey Barreto, 48, stayed at the New Yorker Hotel for one night and attempted to exploit a loophole in New York's rent stabilization law, which allows occupants of single rooms in pre-1969 buildings to demand a six-month lease. When the hotel refused to lease the room, he left his stuff behind, but the hotel staff removed it. So he sued, saying he was unfairly kicked out, and won the room back thanks to that loophole, according to the Manhattan District Attorneys office. However, Barreto crossed a line when he filed fake property records in 2019 claiming he owned the hotel. He then demanded rent from tenants, registered the hotel in his name for utility payments, and even tried to take control of the hotel's bank accounts. He also contacted the hotel's franchise owner to transfer ownership to himself. The DAs office says that the actual owner of the hotel sued him, and a court ordered Barreto to stop claiming ownership of the hotel, but in 2023 he did it again and filed more fake documents in April and September. Barreto was arrested on Wednesday and now faces charges in the New York State Supreme Court for 14 counts of filing false documents and 10 counts of criminal contempt, the DA's office states. Israeli special forces raided Nasser Hospital in Gaza, the largest functioning hospital in the enclave, after laying siege to the facility for days. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it had detained a number of suspects in Thursdays raid, which it said was led by intelligence gathered in part from released hostages. Israel said it believed the bodies of dead hostages were being held inside the hospital. Hamas denied the claims, saying the group had no business at the hospital. Israeli forces shelled the hospital early Thursday, killing and injuring an undetermined number of people, according to Doctors Without Borders, also known as Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF). Since the attack, one of their colleagues remains unaccounted for. MSF staff were forced to flee the hospital through a checkpoint set up by the Israeli military, the agency said, adding that one employee was detained there. The news came after doctors and medical officials in southern Gaza said Israeli snipers had shot dead a number of people as they tried to flee the Nasser hospital. An eyewitness to the shootings, who is a trauma surgeon at the hospital, said at least two people were killed by snipers on Tuesday, with more shot and injured. Commenting on Thursdays raid, Israeli Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said, Hamas terrorists are likely hiding behind injured civilians inside Nasser hospital right now. One former hostage told CNN last month that she was held at Nasser Hospital a claim CNN could not independently verify, and which Hamas denied. Israeli military bulldozers dug up the mass graves inside the complex walls, Dr. Al-Qidra, spokesperson for the Ministry of Health, said earlier. On Thursday, the forces stormed the maternity building and conducted a search operation inside, he added. CNN has asked the IDF for its response to those allegations on Thursday. The IDF has not so far responded to any allegations levied by the Ministry. Later, Israeli forces forced hospital management staff to house nearly 200 patients, 95 medical workers, 11 of their families, and 165 companions and displaced people under harsh and terrifying conditions without food, without infant formula, and with severe water shortages, according to Dr. Al-Qidra. Palestinian patients arrive in Rafah after they were evacuated from Nasser hospital in Khan Younis, on Thursday, as Israeli forces entered the last remaining functioning medical facility in Gaza. - Mohammed Salem/Reuters Displaced patients and medical staff are afraid The raid comes after hundreds of civilians were forced by Israeli forces to leave the hospital, which they had been using as a shelter. Video filmed on Tuesday showed columns of smoke at its perimeter, an Israeli bulldozer destroying a hospital perimeter wall, and an armored vehicle entering the hospital grounds. The sound of gunfire can be heard throughout. At least eight people trying to escape along the route came under gunfire on Tuesday, the trauma surgeon at the hospital, who asked not to be named for security reasons, told CNN. Among those injured, according to the surgeon, was a 16-year-old boy shot with four bullets at the hospital gate. In a series of voice notes, the surgeon said medical teams at the hospital have been under intense bombardment for at least three days. His testimony was shared with CNN by his colleague. Israel has repeatedly said that its military forces do not target civilians. In a video seen by CNN, men, women and young children carrying rucksacks frantically gather their belongings before evacuating the hospital. The sound of Israeli drones overhead can also be heard. Israeli forces bombed a warehouse containing medical supplies, the surgeon said Wednesday. Early Thursday, after the shelling, the surgeon said he cannot leave Nasser because there are patients who need care. But he said those trapped are afraid. We could not imagine that at any time the Israeli army would bomb the hospital directly, and they would kill patients and medical personnel, said the surgeon. Alongside his colleagues, he tried to clarify (with the Israeli army) that we are doctors and this is a hospital facility that provides health to patients. The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza also said Israeli sniper fire had killed civilians on Tuesday and said a further seven people were shot dead by Israeli snipers on Monday. Early in the war, the Israeli military designated Khan Younis as a safer zone and told residents from northern Gaza to seek shelter there. But as the IDF pushed its ground offensive south, the city became its next focus. The IDF says Khan Younis is a Hamas stronghold, and that a tunnel network underneath civilian buildings in the city was likely where Hamas planned the October 7 attacks, in which more than 1,200 people were killed the deadliest such attacks in Israels history. The destruction of the city of Khan Younis due to Israels military campaign is widespread, with many buildings completely destroyed and the rubble bulldozed away, CNN witnessed. In the west of the city, where the hospital is located, the Israeli military said it was targeting Hamas outposts, infrastructure, and command and control centers. Hamas has denied hiding in hospitals and other civilian structures and CNN cannot independently verify either claim. Apocalyptic landscape Vital medical services at the hospital had collapsed in late January, according to MSF, and staff were left with very low supplies that are insufficient to handle mass casualty events. In late January, doctors at the hospital described a completely catastrophic with the hospital entirely besieged by Israeli forces. Video filmed on Tuesday at the hospital shows columns of smoke at its perimeter, an Israeli bulldozer destroying a hospital perimeter wall, and an armored vehicle entering the hospital grounds. The sound of gunfire can be heard throughout. Sewage water is flooding the emergency ward and electrical generators will stop within 72 hours if the Israeli bombardment persists, Dr. Al-Qidra, the spokesman for the Hamas-run Ministry of Health in Gaza said on Wednesday. With so much destruction in northern Gaza and the current offensive unfolding in the southern part of the besieged enclave, MSF said that many people have no safe place to flee. People ask us Where is it safe? Where should we go?, but there is no answer to that, and it really leads to a feeling of despair, said Lisa Macheiner, a MSF project coordinator in Gaza. MSF condemned the Israeli militarys order to evacuate patients, staff and displaced people from Nasser Hospital, saying people have been forced into an impossible situation. Stay at Nasser hospital against the Israeli militarys orders and become a potential target, or exit the compound into an apocalyptic landscape where bombings and evacuation orders are a part of daily life, Macheiner said. Hospitals should be considered as safe places and shouldnt even be evacuated in the first place. This is a developing story and will be updated. Kareem Khadder reported from Jerusalem, Lauren Izso reported from Tel Aviv and Sana Noor Haq wrote in London. Jonny Hallam, Ivana Kottasova, Ibrahim Dahman and Sharon Braithwaite contributed reporting. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com Paul McCartney has been reunited with the original Hofner bass guitar he bought in the early 1960s that was stolen in the '70s, the former Beatles member confirmed Wednesday. "Following the launch of last year's Lost Bass project, Paul's 1961 Hofner 500/1 bass guitar, which was stolen in 1972, has been returned," read a brief statement on McCartney's website. "The guitar has been authenticated by Hofner and Paul is incredibly grateful to all those involved." McCartney bought the guitar, a left-handed Hofner 500/1 Violin Bass, in Hamburg, Germany, in 1961. It was his primary instrument throughout the early years of The Beatles' runs at Hamburg's Top Ten Club and Liverpool's Cavern Club and on early Beatles recordings until it became his backup when he got a new Hofner in 1963. Paul McCartney on stage at the Cavern nightclub in Liverpool during the early days of The Beatles. / Credit: Keystone/Getty Images But the bass went missing years later, and in 2023, three lifelong Beatles fans set out to get it back (to where it once belonged). Nick Wass, a former marketing manager and electric guitar developer for Hofner, and husband and wife team Scott and Naomi Jones, both journalists, created the Lost Bass Project to seek out leads and share updates on their search for the missing instrument. The team discovered in October that the bass had been stolen off a truck in London's Notting Hill neighborhood in 1972. This was something of a breakthrough, they explained, as it was previously believed the Hofner had been stolen from The Beatles' Apple Corps headquarters on Savile Row in January 1969 during the "Get Back" sessions, which culminated in the band's final live performance, on the roof of the building, and eventually led to their final album "Let It Be." The Beatles performing their last live public concert on the rooftop of the Apple Corps building on Savile Row, London, England. / Credit: Express/Express/Getty Images Ian Horne, one of McCartney's former sound engineers, got in touch with the Lost Bass Project and told them about the 1972 theft. According to Horne, the bass was taken from the back of a padlocked truck that had been rented to help move some equipment as McCartney and his band Wings prepared for an upcoming tour and recorded the album "Red Rose Speedway." "I knew it was Paul's original Hofner bass that had been stolen, and I knew what it meant to him," Horne wrote in an email, according to the Lost Bass Project. "Trevor [Jones, McCartney's other sound engineer at the time] and I did all we could to find it, but it was gone. Eventually, we had to go to Paul's house in Cavendish Avenue and tell him that the gear had been stolen from the back of the truck. We went into the room and told Paul. He told us not to worry, and we kept our jobs. He's a good man, Paul. I worked for him for six years after the bass went missing. But I've carried the guilt all my life." The Lost Bass Project said it was then able to figure out exactly who stole it and learned it was sold to the owner of a pub in the area. While the project has not revealed any specifics, having promised anyone who comes forward confidentiality, it said it was able to track the bass' movements over the years. "As a result of the publicity someone living in a terraced house on the south coast of England remembered an old bass guitar that was in their attic," the Lost Bass Project wrote Thursday. "They got this out and realized just what they had. Within days it was back with Paul McCartney!" While the 1961 Hofner had been missing for decades, McCartney continued to use the bass he got in 1963 throughout the rest of the Beatles' career. He stopped using that model in the 1970s, but returned to it in 1987, according to Guitar World. "I had sort of parked it. I had thought I had outgrown it. I started playing it again and never really looked back," McCartney said, according to Guitar World. "It's great that Elvis [Costello] encouraged me to take it out." McCartney still plays the '63 Hofner live and on studio recordings to this day. Shooting after Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl parade leaves one dead Eyewitnesses describe scene at Kansas City Chiefs parade shooting Arrest in Hunter Biden case could derail Republican impeachment plans "The fact that I was able to get on a plane and go and see him and spend any time with him Im grateful for that," the Duke of Sussex said Taylor Hill/WireImage; Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images Prince Harry and King Charles Prince Harry is speaking out about his father King Charles for the first time since the monarch announced his cancer diagnosis and the Duke of Sussex flew to the U.K. to be by his side. Harry, who is in Canada for the Invictus Games Vancouver Whistler 2025's One Year to Go celebrations alongside wife Meghan Markle, spoke with Good Morning America's Will Reeve, the son of the late Superman star Christopher Reeve, about how his father is doing. When asked how he first learned about his father's cancer diagnosis, Harry replied, "I spoke to him. I jumped on a plane and went to go see him as soon as I could." "Look, I love my family. The fact that I was able to get on a plane and go and see him and spend any time with him, Im grateful for that," Harry said in the interview, which aired Friday morning. Taylor Hill/WireImage; Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images Prince Harry and King Charles When asked about his outlook on the state of his father's health, he said, "That stays between me and him." As for whether King Charles' diagnosis could have a "reunifying effect" on the royal family, Harry, who is connecting with Invictus Games competitors and their families this week, said: "Absolutely. Yeah, I'm sure. Throughout all these families, I see it on a day-to-day basis, the strength of the family unit coming together." Andrew Chin/Getty Prince Harry in Canada for the Invictus Games Winter Training Camp on Feb. 15, 2024 When asked about being physically far from his father during this time, Prince Harry said, "I have my own family, as we all do. My family and my life in California is as it is. I've got other trips planned that would take me through the U.K. or back to the U.K., so I'll stop in and see my family as much as I can." Andrew Chin/Getty Meghan, Duchess of Sussex and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex attend Invictus Games Vancouver Whistlers 2025's One Year To Go Winter Training Camp on February 14, 2024 in Whistler, British Columbia. Related: Prince Harry Says He's 'Considered' Becoming a U.S. Citizen: 'I Love Every Single Day' Prince Harry spent about a day in the U.K. last week. He flew to his home country to see his father after Buckingham Palace announced that the King, 75, was diagnosed with cancer. PEOPLE understands that King Charles personally informed his sons Prince William and Prince Harry, as well as other family members, about the diagnosis before the public announcement. While Charles has not revealed the type of cancer he has, the palace has said it is not prostate cancer (following his recent procedure for an enlarged prostate). The father and son are believed to have had a brief private meeting at Clarence House last Tuesday before the King and Queen Camilla left London for Sandringham. The reunion marked Prince Harry and King Charles first meeting since the coronation ceremony in May 2023, for which the Duke of Sussex also made a similarly quick solo trip to the U.K. "That is good," a source close to the royal household tells PEOPLE exclusively. Hopefully [Harry] will bring the grandchildren at some point too, as that would be lovely for all of them." Samir Hussein/Samir Hussein/WireImage King Charles and Prince Harry in 2019 Related: Prince Harry Was Cheerful on Flight Back from U.K. After Visiting Dad King Charles, Says Source The Duke and Duchess of Sussex relocated to Meghan's home state of California after they stepped back as working members of the royal family in 2020 and ultimately settled in Montecito. Although Prince Harry has returned to the U.K. on several occasions, he rarely reunites with King Charles or other family members. Prince Harry laid bare the painful rift between himself and his family in the pages of his memoir, Spare, released in Jan. 2022. A year later, absolutely nothing has changed, author Omid Scobie told PEOPLE in the fall. The hurt and anger between Prince William and Prince Harry, in particular, has now hardened into something colder and more immovable, said Scobie: indifference. Karwai Tang/WireImage Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex attend the Invictus Games One Year To Go Event on February 14, 2024 in Whistler, Canada. I saw Harrys release of Spare as his last attempt at telling his family how hes felt for years, said Scobie, who chronicles the breakdown of the royal family in his book Endgame. Because clearly theres never been an open enough forum to have these conversations or share these feelings." 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! In writing Endgame, I was talking to a source quite early on in the process, and they called Harry a defector and said that was Williams view, Scobie said. These were two men who once upon a time were firmly aligned in their outlook. One of them had to move on to also protect the crown." For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter! Read the original article on People. Like other cities, Sacramentos not immune to vandalism and graffiti. A Reddit user recently wrote about spotting vandalism at a local park, asking how to report it or clean it up. The city has various programs that can help. How to report graffiti in public places in Sacramento If you notice graffiti on any property, you should report it, according to the citys Graffiti Abatement Program. You can call the police departments non-emergency line at 916-264-5471. You can also report graffiti found across the county by calling 311 or online at 311.saccounty.net. How to get graffiti removed on private property According to Sacramento County, vandalism on private property is the property owners responsibility. Under the city of Sacramentos anti-graffiti ordinance, property owners must remove graffiti no more than 10 days after theyve been notified of it by the citys head of neighborhood services. If you find graffiti on your private property and it is within city limits, you can get free standardized paints to remove the vandalism. You can get paint in a custom color thats matched to your property, but only up to one gallon on a one-time basis. The city will remove graffiti on private buildings when property owners do not comply, but those owners will be subject to a service fee and a devalued property title. You can request paint materials by calling 916-808-2633 or emailing CL@cityofsacramento.org. Who removes graffiti on county property? Graffiti on Sacramento County property, such as bridges, fences and overpasses, is typically handled by county maintenance crews, according to the county. Whats the best way to get rid of graffiti? If you are removing graffiti yourself, the citys abatement program has a few tips on how to do so. This includes identifying what materials spray paint, grease pencils or felt-tip pens that were used so you can choose the best removal method. The city recommends using soap, water and a brush first and moving onto a removal product if that doesnt work. If the graffiti appears gang-related, the city advises you to work with another person and do the removal during early daylight hours. You can also report that graffiti to the police, if you feel your safety is at risk. If youre unsure of whether you should remove or paint over any graffiti, you can call the citys Code Compliance Division at 916-808-3951. What should you do if you see vandals in action? If you see someone committing vandalism, call the police department at 911 and have a complete description of the people and cars involved. You should also take photos of the graffiti to provide to officials. Do not approach the vandals, the city warned. Is graffiti illegal? What are the penalties? Under California law, vandalism is considered a misdemeanor crime if the damage is less than $400, according to Shouse Law. Penalties include about one year in county jail and a fine of up to $1,000. You can pay up to $5,000 you were previously convicted of vandalism. If damages cost $400 or more, its a felony. Those convicted can be subjected to county jail for up to a year or a fine up to $50,000, depending on how much the damage is. Those convicted of vandalism can also be subject to probation requirements such as counseling, community service and having their drivers license suspended for up to two years. There are special rules regarding vandalizing places of worship, vandalism using caustic chemicals and vandalism on or near a highway or freeway. 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. Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has died in prison, the country's prison service said Friday, following a yearslong struggle against official corruption and President Vladimir Putin's government that saw him survive several poisoning attempts. He was 47. Navalny was poisoned with a military nerve agent while on a business trip in Russia in 2020 an attempt on his life that he blamed directly on Putin and spent his final years behind bars as the Russian leader reshaped the country to rally behind his war in Ukraine. News of his death, which comes as the Kremlin is preparing to orchestrate another election victory for Putin in March, drew outrage from the West, where many leaders blamed Putin. President Joe Biden said he was "both not surprised and outraged." The Kremlin responded, decrying what it said were absolutely rabid statements. Navalny was serving a combined 30 -year jail sentence when he died. He went missing in Russia's penal system in December, eventually turning up at a high-security penal colony in a remote town above the Arctic Circle. Russia's Federal Penitentiary Service said in a statement that Navalny had died after feeling unwell following a walk Friday. On February 16, 2024, in penal colony No. 3, convict A.A. Navalny felt unwell after a walk, almost immediately losing consciousness, the prison service for the Yamalo-Nenets region, where Navalny was moved, said in a statement on its website. Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny in 2017, shortly after being released from jail. (Evgeny Feldman / This is Navalny Project via AFP - Getty Images) The facilitys medical workers immediately arrived at the scene and an emergency medical team was called in. All necessary resuscitation measures have been carried out, but they did not yield positive results. Emergency medics confirmed the death of the convict, the statement added. There was no immediate information about what exactly caused Navalny's death, with the region's investigative committee saying it has launched a "procedural investigation." Navalnys wife, Yulia, received a standing ovation at the Munich Security Conference, where Western officials gathered Friday. I dont know whether I should believe the news, she said, explaining it had come from state sources she said were known for lying. If its true, she said, she wants Putin and his allies to know that they will be punished for what they have done with our country, with my family and with my husband. They will be brought to justice, and this day will come soon. Alexei Navalny Wife Munich (Kai Pfaffenbach / AFP - Getty Images) Navalny's allies have long raised concerns about his health and poor conditions in jail, where they said he had to spend many days in crammed "punishment cells" for the most minor of conduct violations. But he appeared healthy as he addressed a court via video link from the penal colony Thursday, laughing and cracking jokes. Navalny's mother said that her son had also been healthy and happy when she last saw him on Monday, according to Russian media. I dont want to hear any condolences. We saw him in prison on the 12, in a meeting. He was alive, healthy and happy," Lyudmila Navalnaya wrote in a Facebook post on Friday according to the Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta. A spokesperson for the opposition leader said on X that they did not have any confirmation of his death and that Navalny's lawyer was traveling to the town where he was held. "Russian authorities publish a confession that they killed Alexey Navalny in prison," Leonid Volkov, a close ally of many years, said in a post on X. Reaction to Navalny's death was also swift in the West. The news "only underscores the weakness and rot at the heart of the system that Putin has built. Russia is responsible for this, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in Munich, where he met with Navalny's wife to express his condolences. Biden, addressing the nation later from The White House, paid tribute to Navalny's work as a "powerful voice" for truth. "Make no mistake, Putin is responsible for Navalny's death," Biden said. He said the U.S. did not know exactly what happened but that "there is no doubt that the death of Navalny was the consequence of something that Putin and his thugs did." NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said "Russia has serious questions to answer," while European Union Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on X that Navalny's death was a "grim reminder of what Putin and his regime are all about." Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who was also in Munich, said it was obvious that Putin was directly behind Navalny's death. "He doesnt care who dies to keep his position," Zelenskyy added. "Putin must lose everything and answer for what he has done." Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Putin was informed of Navalny's death. He later criticized the response from Western leaders. There is no information from medics. There is no information from forensic experts, no information from the Federal Prison Service. And then [we see] such statements," Peskov said. "These are absolutely rabid statements. We consider such statements absolutely unacceptable." A thorn in the Kremlin's side Navalny's death leaves Russias opposition, wounded by years of harassment and prosecution, without a clear leader. All of Putins most high-profile critics are now either dead, jailed or in exile. Navalny was, undoubtedly, the biggest thorn in the Kremlins side. For more than a decade, he led nationwide protests against the authorities, ran for office to challenge members of the Russian establishment and set up a network of campaign offices across the country that have since been dismantled. Born in 1976 in the tiny town of Bytyn, near Moscow, Navalny was educated as a lawyer and economist, but entered politics in 2008, starting his anti-corruption fund, FBK, three years later. He was known for his oratory skills, as well as his use of the online space to promote the results of his investigations and spread his ideal of what he called the wonderful Russia of tomorrow. His digital savvy made him particularly popular among Russias more democratically minded teenagers and youth. Navalny rose to prominence as Russias most outspoken Kremlin critic after leading a series of anti-corruption investigations into members of the Russian elite. Alexei Navalny has died (Kirill Kudryavtsev / AFP via Getty Images file) His 2017 exposure of the lavish lifestyle of Dmitry Medvedev, a former president and prime minister, led to mass protests. And an investigation into a luxurious secret palace on Russias Black Sea coast, purportedly owned by Putin, resulted in a wave of indignation across Russia in 2021. Navalny tried to run against Putin in the 2018 presidential election, but was barred from entering the race because of a 2014 embezzlement conviction, which he categorically denied as fabricated to keep him out of politics. Russian officials made a point of not referring to Navalny by name to avoid raising his profile in public. While on a business trip in Russia in August 2020, Navalny was poisoned with the military nerve agent in an attempt on his life that he blamed directly on Putin. Navalny survived his 2020 poisoning, thanks to the insistence of his family that he be airlifted to Germany, where he underwent treatment and a long rehabilitation process. The Kremlin denied any involvement in his poisoning, which was condemned by Western governments and led to a further straining of relations with Russia. Navalny nonetheless decided to return to Russia in early 2021 and was arrested upon landing on charges stemming from the 2014 embezzlement case. He was sentenced to 2 years in prison for a parole violation linked to that conviction. The decision came days after more than 5,000 people were detained across Russia in rallies supporting Navalny. His allies have also been persecuted, and his anti-corruption fund was declared an extremist organization a few months after his sentencing, forcing it to shut down and most of the top staff to flee abroad. He was tried on new charges of fraud and contempt of court and was sentenced to nine more years in jail. Then in August, he was sentenced to a further 19 years in a maximum security penal colony on charges of extremism, in what his allies and the international community called a Kremlin campaign to keep him incarcerated forever. Navalny has denied all charges against him as politically motivated. His supporters have raised concerns about his treatment in custody and detention conditions, including access to proper medical care and frequent isolation in a tiny punishment cell. In an interview with NBC News in 2021, Putin said he could not guarantee that Navalny would get out of prison alive. Alexei Navalny dies in Arctic Penal Colony (AP) But even in jail, Navalny continued to challenge Putin. In his signature defiant but sarcastic style, Navalny detailed the realities of the Russian penitentiary system and promoted new anti-corruption investigations his team had been working on in exile. He issued anti-Kremlin statements through his lawyers and spoke openly against the Russian governments actions in Ukraine. He was designated a prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International in 2021, with the U.S. and other governments calling for his release. A film about his life won an Oscar for best documentary feature last year. But the win caused controversy in Ukraine, where some critics painted Navalny as a Russian nationalist and pointed to comments in 2014 in which he said he sees no difference between Ukrainians and Russians a sentiment Putin used as one of the arguments behind his war eight years later. Navalny, however, criticized the Russian-backed insurgency in east Ukraine and later described the full-scale invasion as both unjust and self-defeating. Navalny leaves behind his wife, a daughter, Daria, and a son, Zahar. President Joe Biden expressed shock and outrage at the death of Alexei Navalny, blaming Vladimir Putin for the Russian opposition leader's passing in a Siberian prison on Friday and saying the incident showed the importance of funding for Ukraine. Make no mistake, Putin is responsible for Navalnys death, Biden said in a fiery speech at the White House. He said the U.S. did not know exactly what had happened to Navalny, but that there is no doubt" that his death "was the consequence of something that Putin and his thugs did. This tragedy reminds us of the stakes in this moment, lets provide the funding so Ukraine can keep defending itself against Putin's vicious onslaught and war crimes, he added, referring to billions in aid to help Ukraine fight Russia's invasion that has been held up in Congress for months. Throughout the day, global leaders and senior officials were swift to condemn Russia after Russias most prominent opposition figure died. "His death in a Russian prison and the fixation and fear of one man only underscores the weakness and rot at the heart of the system that Putin has built," Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters at a conference in Munich. While Navalny's own team has not confirmed his death, other leaders were quick to blame it on the Russian government and even Putin himself. Vice President Kamala Harris called the news of Navalny's death, "terrible," and "a further sign of Putins brutality." Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics likewise did not mince words. He was just brutally murdered by the Kremlin, he said on X. Navalny was poisoned with a nerve agent in 2020 an attempt on his life that he blamed directly on Putin and spent his final years behind bars as the Russian leader reshaped the country to rally behind his war in Ukraine. For now, a spokesperson for Navalny said on X that they did not have any confirmation or information about his death. Russias Federal Prison Service said in a statement that Navalny had died after feeling unwell following a walk Friday, "almost immediately losing consciousness. His mother, Lyudmila Navalnaya, was quoted by the Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta as saying that her son had been alive, healthy and happy when she last saw him on Monday. Alexei Navalny Dies in Prison (AFP - Getty Images) Many leaders said they were "disturbed" by the wider implications of Navalny's death, what it says about an ascendant Putin and the deteriorating conditions for Russia's already beleaguered opposition, as the Kremlin tightens control over his critics with increasingly stringent laws and crackdowns on freedom of speech. "Putin fears nothing more than dissent from his own people," E.U. Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said. French President Emmanuel Macron expressed "anger and indignation," and said: "In todays Russia, free spirits are sent to the gulag and condemned to death." "My thoughts go out to his family, loved ones, and to the Russian people," he added. Charles Michel, president of the European Council, added condolences to "those who fight for democracy around the world in the darkest conditions." "Fighters die. But the fight for #freedom never ends," Michel said. Also on X, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called Navalny's death "Terrible news. As the fiercest advocate for Russian democracy, Alexei Navalny demonstrated incredible courage throughout his life." German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said: "Like no other, Alexei #Navalny was a symbol of a free and democratic Russia. Thats exactly why he had to die." Even as condolences and expressions of shock pour in, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg laid out the task ahead for an international community that will have to grapple with an increasingly brazen and authoritarian Russia: We need to establish all the facts, and Russia needs to answer all the serious questions about the circumstances of his death." American soldiers could be next in line to combat the Russian military if the House does not approve a supplemental package that includes aid to Ukraine, Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) said Friday. In the next front against Russia, it will be Americans on the front lines, Coons told CNBCs Silvia Amaro on Friday in an interview from the Munich Security Conference. We are best off investing in the Ukrainians who are fighting bravely for their own freedom than allowing Putin the opportunity to spread further chaos and violence across Europe, Coons said. The Senate approved a $95 billion foreign aid package on Tuesday, but it faces opposition in the GOP-controlled House. Coons feels optimistic it will pass both chambers and get signed by President Biden. He warned that Putin could end up attacking NATO allies if he is not stopped in Ukraine. If we dont stop Putin in Ukraine, he will next be attacking NATO allies of the United States, he said. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. You wake up to a dark, dreary, glum-feeling, Monday-type of morning. For the 547th consecutive day. Just 18 months prior, you were a hard-working farmer gearing up for another bountiful crop season. But then the skies went dark. And they stayed dark -- day after day, month after month -- from early 536 to 537. Across much of eastern Europe and throughout Asia, spring turned into summer and fall gave way to winter without a day of sunshine. Like a blackout curtain over the sun, millions of people across the world's most populated countries squinted through dim conditions, breathing in chokingly thick air and losing nearly every crop they were relying on to harvest. This isn't the plot of a dystopian TV drama or a fantastical "docufiction" production. The moon passing in front of the sun during an annular solar eclipse on Jan. 4, 2011. (NASA/Hinode/XRT) This was a harsh reality for the millions of people who lived through that literally dark time or, as some historians have declared, the very worst year ever to be alive. "For the sun gave forth its light without brightness, like the moon, during this whole year, and it seemed exceedingly like the sun in eclipse, for the beams it shed were not clear nor such as it is accustomed to shed," was the grim account Procopius, a prominent scholar who became the principal Byzantine historian of the 6th century, gave in History of the Wars. "And from the time when this thing happened men were free neither from war nor pestilence nor any other thing leading to death." Some 1,500 years later, Harvard University medieval historian Michael McCormick has reached a similarly grim conclusion about not just 536, but the dreadful decade that followed that terrible year. For people living across Europe in 536, "It was the beginning of one of the worst periods to be alive, if not the worst year," McCormick said. As McCormick told AccuWeather, it was all set off by rapid, drastic climate change. In the spring of 536, a volcanic eruption triggered the Late Antique Little Ice Age (LALIA), he noted. And its ramifications, on top of ensuing eruptions in 540 and 547, were devastating. Jason Anderson, 42, takes pictures as the sun is visible through thick smoke generated by the Bobcat Fire in San Dimas, Calif., Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2020. Hazy clouds of smoke from dozens of wildfires darkened the sky to an eerie orange glow over much of the West Coast on Wednesday, keeping street lights illuminated during the day and putting residents on edge. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong) "Aerosols for the big volcanic eruptions blocked solar radiation, dropping the solar heating of the Earth's surface," he told AccuWeather, adding that climate analysis from Cambridge University in the U.K. done on tree rings show the average summer temperature "dropped by between 1.5 degrees and 2.5 degrees Celsius across Eurasia." That's up to 2.7 to 4.5 degrees Fahrenheit cooler due to the heavy smog left behind after the eruption. The skies remained dimmed for up to 18 months, multiple historical witnesses recounted, triggering the dark year of turmoil that earned 536 its dubious distinction. Weather patterns were severely affected by the blocked sunlight, leading to summer snowfall in China and the lowest temperature levels in more than 2,300 years, according to recorded historical accounts and climate reconstruction analysis. In the Middle East, China and Europe, a dense fog was an inescapable daily nightmare while widespread agricultural challenges in Ireland resulted in a "failure of bread from the years 536-539 AD," according to The Gaelic Irish Annals. CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP Much of scientists' understanding of the impacts from the Iceland volcano were found during the Historical Ice Core Project, a partnership between the University of Maine and Harvard University that McCormick co-led along with Professor Paul Mayewski of the Climate Change Institute. Using ice core samples from Iceland, the team mapped out an archeological timeline to pinpoint when and where the initial volcanic eruption must have occurred in Iceland. Its impacts were widespread and deadly. "Ancient eyewitnesses report that the sun stopped shining brightly for 14-18 months," McCormick said. "The result was several years of failed harvests, famines, causing migrations and turbulence across Eurasia." While the 6th century outbreak of the bubonic plague may be less remembered than the 14th-century reoccurrence of the disease (which came to be known as the Black Death), the 6th-century pandemic was still responsible for destroying at least one-third of the eastern Roman Empire population, leading to its collapse. Dubbed the Justinian Pandemic or the Plague of Justinian, the disease spread throughout Roman Egypt before infecting the rest of the world over the ensuing 200 years. McCormick said ancient DNA has shown the disease-causing pathogen to beYersinia pestis, bubonic plague, a disease of rats and other rodents that spilled over into human populations. In the wake of the climate-altering volcanic eruptions and darkened year of 536, McCormick said the situation was fatally ripe for the plague to wreak havoc. Lava flows from an eruption of a volcano on the Reykjanes Peninsula in southwestern Iceland on Monday, March 29, 2021. Iceland's latest volcano eruption is still attracting crowds of people hoping to get close to the gentle lava flows. (AP Photo/Marco Di Marco) Although he said there has yet to be a precise link established between the abrupt onset of the LALIA and the Justinian Pandemic, McCormick said that "it seems likely that, for instance, the food shortages caused by the sudden cooling in many parts of Eurasia weakened the populations and made them more susceptible to the pathogen." The famines almost certainly led to mass migrations of people as well, he said, likely carrying the disease with them. Compared to the modern-day hardships dealt by COVID-19, the differences are shocking. "You have to take the period as a whole," he said, adding that "536 was just the beginning of a very tough time. The plague pandemic on top of the abrupt cooling must have been very difficult. Today COVID-19 is terrible, but compare the death rate for bubonic plague." He pointed to the 1.8% case-fatality ratio in the United States compared to the 40% to 60% mortality rate for untreated bubonic plague. So just how massive must those volcanic eruptions have been? Mayewski, a glaciologist from the University of Maine, was also heavily involved in the Historical Ice Core Project and he told Science Magazine that his team was able to analyze 2,000 years worth of historic, natural disasters taken from a 72-meter drilling in Iceland that presented the researchers with a historical timeline of element levels. Using a laser to carve 120-micron slivers of ice from the core, scientists could analyze the element spikes and drops of different moments in history to line them up with disasters that helped better piece together our understanding of what shaped the world we live in today. In the ice sample from the spring of 536, graduate student Laura Hartman and volcanologist Andrei Kurbatov found microscopic particles of volcanic glass, which closely matched glass particles previously found in lakes around Europe and an ice core sample taken from Greenland. Kurbatov concluded that the perfectly disastrous mix of winds and weather in 536 must have guided the plume across Europe and into Asia, casting a chilly pall as the volcanic fog "rolled through." Other researchers also believe that the Icelandic 536 eruption emitted thick ash that spread across the Northern Hemisphere, pumping large quantities of sulfate into the atmosphere, according to a 2015 article in Smithsonian Magazine. On top of that eruption, other studies conducted recently have suggested that there could have been more than one volcano responsible for that time period's tragedies. Mount St. Helens eruption Mount St. Helens in Washington spews smoke, soot and ash into the sky in April, 1980 (Photo/AP/Jack Smith) The other notable blast, researchers say, is believed to have been one of the strongest eruptions of the last 10,000 years, likely only comparable to the 1815 eruption of Mount Tambora. That Mount Tambora eruption also led to a similarly bleak year, as much of 1816 was also shrouded in darkness, leading to unprecedented low temperatures and hundreds of thousands of deaths from the eruption and starvation due to that season's failed crops. That time period became known as "The Year Without a Summer." In the U.S., snow fell in June in New York and Maine while heavy frosts and ice storms occurred as late as July in the region. In the 6th century, the other history-altering volcano erupted about 5,000 miles away from Iceland in Central America, with a volcanic blast more than a hundred times stronger than the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens, Researcher Robert Dull told National Geographic. A team of researchers published a study in the Quaternary Science Reviews placing the location of the eruption in central El Salvador from the dormant Ilopango. Today, a lake the size of 28 square miles sits in the volcanic caldera left behind. "This is the largest eruption in Central America that human beings have ever witnessed," Dull, a geologist at California Lutheran University, told the publication. "The importance of the event is even greater, both how the Maya overcame it and how it impacted what happened next." The pair of cataclysmic eruptions are believed to have combined to trigger the following decade's years of disease, famine and tragedy. Using historical dating techniques such as tree ring analysis and stable carbon isotope records, the researchers presented a model to depict just how brutal life was for people alive at that time. The dust veil, they say, reduced normal levels of solar radiation and thus ruined years of crop harvests, and "contributed to remarkably simultaneous outbreaks of famine," leaving humans with a long-term lack of vitamin D, which diminished health and quality of life in those years of darkness. Smoke obscures the sun as fire approaches a ridge along Highway 36 as several wildfires burn in the state Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2020, south of Lyons, Colo. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski) McCormick said that as more natural climate records and LALIA reconstructions are better understood, scientists will be able to better understand how that dust veil drastically changed the weather in different parts of the Northern Hemisphere. "The Arabian peninsula, for instance, might have become a little less dry, while the effect seems more dramatic and negative north of the Mediterranean," he said. "So far, most of the natural climate records from which the LALIA has been reconstructed come from Eurasia and North America, so more northerly latitudes." Even if it may sound hard to believe given the past 100 years of multiple World Wars and numerous, devastating pandemics, McCormick told History.com that the horrifying period of history was not blown out of proportion by witness accounts. "It was a pretty drastic change; it happened overnight," he said. "The ancient witnesses really were on to something. They were not being hysterical or imagining the end of the world." CORRECTION: The smog caused by the volcano caused temperatures across Eurasia to cool by 2.7 to 4.5 degrees Fahrenheit, not 36 degrees Fahrenheit as a previous version of this story stated. The error was the result of a conversion mistake. For the latest weather news, check back on AccuWeather.com. Watch the AccuWeather Network on DIRECTV, Frontier, Spectrum, fuboTV, Philo, and Verizon Fios. AccuWeather Now is now available on your preferred streaming platform. Chun Ki-won denied the charges but was jailed for five years - Brad Washburn/FilmMagic A South Korean pastor once hailed as an Asian Schindler for helping hundreds of North Koreans escape the oppressive regime has been jailed for molesting teenage defectors. Chun Ki-won, 67, was sentenced to five years in prison and must undergo 80 hours of treatment for sexual assault offenders after being found guilty this week of abusing minors at his boarding school in Seoul, the South Korean capital. The pastor had long been viewed as a hero figure for running an underground railroad to smuggle North Koreans to safety. He was vilified by Pyongyang and was imprisoned in China in 2002 for seven months for his aid work. His widely recognised efforts prompted comparisons with Oskar Schindler, the German industrialist and member of the Nazi party, who was credited with saving the lives of 1,200 Jews during the Holocaust. But allegations against Mr Chun, who in 2009 founded the Durihana school to help North Koreans settle in the South, first surfaced in August last year and he was arrested over concerns that he was a flight risk. Police accused the pastor of molesting six North Korean teenagers, launching an investigation over suspicions he had touched the chests, stomachs and thighs of the students, reported Seoul-based NK News. Some of the victims had escaped alone and others with their families, and court documents revealed the abuse occurred between 2016 and 2023. Mr Chun had denied the charges but a court ruled the victims evidence as irrefutable and found him guilty in five of six cases The victims are making consistent statements and it includes content that cannot be stated without first-hand experience of the circumstances, Judge Seung-jeong Kim of the Seoul Central District Court said. Mr Chu with producer Jez Butterworth at the LA premiere of Seoul Train, about North Korea defectors, in 2004 - Brad Washburn/FilmMagic The judge added that Mr Chun had committed his crimes from a position where he had absolute influence, reported the BBC. As one of a group of high-profile Korean pastors who have made it their lifes mission to help North Koreans escape, Mr Chun has previously said his Christian aid organisation helped over 1,000 defectors reach Seoul since 1999. Many of them have been female defectors forced by violent trafficking gangs into sex work after fleeing North Korea into China. His work has been frequently profiled by the Korean and international news media. Shortly before his arrest, the New York Times documented his failed attempt to rescue a North Korean cybersex worker and a software engineer who had become trapped in China, in a story illustrating how difficult defection has become due to pandemic border closures and increased state-of-the-art surveillance. The job of aiding North Korean defectors in China has become all but impossible, Mr Chun said. Despite an elaborate plan to rescue the North Koreans using a smuggling route that passed through Laos and Thailand, where they could apply for asylum in South Korea, both would-be escapees were caught and remain at risk of deportation back to the North. In October, human rights groups reported Beijing had forcibly returned about 600 North Koreans, where they faced imprisonment, torture or even execution. Hundreds more are believed to be in danger of repatriation. I have been aiding North Koreans for 23 years, Mr Chun said after his own rescue bid collapsed. I have never felt this sad and helpless. His conviction has sent shock waves through groups who specialise in assisting North Koreans. Eric Foley of Voice of the Martyrs Korea, a group advocating for freedom of religion, told NK News the case highlighted the danger of glorifying individuals and showed the need for transparency. Books, movies and social media tend to glorify the lone rangers in North Korea work - guys working in the shadows to do seemingly miraculous rescues singlehandedly - but situations like this are a painful reminder that even the most important covert work requires real accountability relationships, he said. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 3 months with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. The Trump campaign is pushing back at a news story about former President Trumps stance on abortion, but it did not contradict its main contention that Trump has privately indicated he supports the idea of a ban on abortion after 16 weeks of pregnancy. The New York Times reported Trump has told advisers and allies that he favors a 16-week ban on abortion that includes exceptions for cases of rape, incest and the life of the mother. Democrats immediately seized on the report as evidence Trump would push for a national abortion ban if he wins reelection. In a subsequent statement, the Trump campaign did not directly address the former presidents reported comments, instead offering a vague statement saying Trump would sit down with both sides and negotiate a deal that everyone will be happy with. President Trump appointed strong Constitutionalist federal judges and Supreme Court justices who overturned Roe v. Wade and sent the decision back to the states, which others have tried to do for over 50 years, campaign spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said in a statement, which referred to the article as fake news. She went on to attack President Biden and Democrats for supporting radical on-demand abortion, though Biden has explicitly said he does not want abortion on demand. The Times reported that Trump has said in private he wants to wait until the end of the GOP primary to publicly share his views on an abortion ban in order to avoid alienating social conservatives who make up a healthy portion of the primary electorate. Trump won the Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada primary contests, and he is leading in the polls elsewhere as he appears on track to become the party nominee. Trump reportedly told one aide he likes the idea of a 16-week ban because Its even. Its four months, according to the report. Trump has over the past year repeatedly dodged when asked whether he would sign a national abortion ban if reelected, and he has said he supports exceptions that allow abortion in cases of rape, incest and for the life of the mother. When asked during a January Fox News town hall to reassure a voter that he would fully protect the rights of unborn children, Trump demurred and noted it was important to win elections. Trump has simultaneously said his appointment of three conservative Supreme Court justices paved the way for the end of Roe v. Wade and argued that he deserves credit for the overturning of the precedent that guaranteed abortion access for decades. During the 2016 campaign, Trump at one point suggested women who had abortions should be punished. Anti-abortion groups were quick to praise Trumps reported comments Friday. We strongly agree with President Trump on protecting babies from abortion violence at 16 weeks when they feel pain, SBA Pro-Life America President Marjorie Dannenfelser said. A majority of Americans support this compassionate position. Democrats have for months warned Trump would institute a national abortion ban if elected, and his reported comments are sure to provide additional fodder for that argument. Donald Trump is running to rip away your rights. Kamala and I are running to protect them, Biden said in a statement through his campaign on Friday. The choice is very simple. Kamala and I will restore Roe v. Wade and make it once again the law of the land. Donald Trump will ban abortion nationwide. That is what is at stake this November. Updated at 3 p.m. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. WASHINGTON Lawsuits seeking to hold Donald Trump personally accountable for his role in the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol can move forward after the former president chose not to take his broad immunity claim to the Supreme Court. Trump had a Thursday deadline to file a petition at the Supreme Court contesting an appeals court decision from December that rejected his immunity arguments, but he did not do so. The appeals court made it clear that Trump could still claim immunity later in the proceedings in three cases brought by Capitol Police officers and members of Congress. "President Trump will continue to fight for presidential immunity all across the spectrum," said Steven Cheung, a Trump spokesman. The civil lawsuits against Trump are separate from the criminal case against him that also arose from Jan. 6. On Monday, Trump asked the justices to put that case on hold on immunity grounds. Trump's lawyers argued that any actions he took on Jan. 6 fall under the scope of his responsibilities as president, thereby granting him immunity from civil liability. The U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia rejected that argument, ruling that Trump was acting in his role as a political candidate running for office, not as president. But the court added that when the cases move forward in district court, Trump "must be afforded the opportunity to develop his own facts on the immunity question" in order to show he was acting in his official capacity. He then could again seek to have the lawsuits dismissed, the court said. We look forward to moving on with proving our claims and getting justice for our Capitol Police officer clients who were injured defending our democracy from Defendant Trump, said Kristy Parker, a lawyer for plaintiffs in one of the cases. The lead plaintiff in the civil immunity case is James Blassingame, a Capitol Police officer who was injured in the Jan. 6 riot. Fellow plaintiffs in several lawsuits that were consolidated on appeal include lawmakers who were at the Capitol that day. The legal arguments being made by Trump are similar to those he is making in his criminal case as he seeks to prevent a trial from taking place before the November election. In rejecting Trump's immunity claim in the criminal case, a different panel of judges in the same appeals court did not directly address whether Trump's actions were official acts. The court instead assumed that they likely were official acts and found that, even then, Trump could not claim immunity. Conservative commentator Tucker Carlson said no decent person would defend what happened to Alexei Navalny after the Russian opposition leaders death in prison was announced Friday. Carlson, a former Fox News pundit who has faced backlash for his recent extended interview with Russian President Vladimir Putin, told the Daily Mail in a statement, Its horrifying what happened to Navalny. The whole thing is barbaric and awful. No decent person would defend it, he added. Carlson recently traveled to Russia to interview Putin in his first media appearance with a member of the Western press since Russia invaded Ukraine nearly two years ago. Carlson was immediately accused of allowing Putin to spread Moscow propaganda and not asking difficult questions. The former Fox News anchor, who has expressed skepticism of ongoing U.S. support for Ukraine, spent eight days in Moscow and said it was nicer than any city in the United States, praising Putins governing of it. The Daily Mail noted that on Monday, when asked about accusations of lobbing softballs at an autocrat like Putin who has been accused of countless deaths, Carlson replied, every leader kills people, leadership requires killing people. I didnt talk about the things that every other American media outlet talks about because those are covered, he said at the time. Navalny, who campaigned against official corruption and organized anti-Kremlin protests while running for public office, was the most prominent face of the opposition to Putins leadership in the past decade. He was poisoned in 2020 while outside of Russia and claimed Putin was behind the nerve agent poisoning. Putin denied the accusation. Navalny was serving a 19-year sentence on charges of extremism denounced by international observers. President Biden and other top U.S. officials promptly blamed the Russian leader for Navalnys death. Putin is responsible. What has happened to Navalny is yet more proof of Putins brutality. No one should be fooled, the president said in remarks from the White House. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. A New York judge ordered Donald Trump and his namesake company to pay $453.5 million, with additional penalties against two of his sons, and barred them from conducting business in the state after fraudulently over-valuing his real estate empire. "The frauds found here leap off the page and shock the conscience," Justice Arthur Engoron wrote in a decision released Friday. "In order to borrow more and at lower rates, defendants submitted blatantly false financial data to the accountants, resulting in fraudulent financial statements," Engoron said in a 92-page ruling. The judge called the refusal of Trump and the others to admit errors in the financial statements pathological. Engoron cited the tripling of the size of Trumps penthouse at Trump Tower as one example. Their complete lack of contrition and remorse borders on pathological, Engoron wrote. Defendants did not commit murder or arson. They did not rob a bank at gunpoint. Donald Trump is not Bernard Madoff. Yet, defendants are incapable of admitting the error of their ways. NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JANUARY 11: Former U.S. President Donald Trump sits in the courtroom during his civil fraud trial at New York Supreme Court on January 11, 2024 in New York City. Trump won't make his own closing arguments after his lawyers objected to Judge Arthur Engoron insistence that Trump stay within the bounds of "relevant, material facts that are in evidence" of the case. Trump faces a permanent ban from running a business in New York state and $370 million in penalties in the case brought by state Attorney General Letitia James. (Photo by Jefferson Siegel-Pool/Getty Images) Dig deeper: 'Cashflow crunch': How Donald Trump could feel the pinch of $536.8 million in legal losses Trump blasts 'crooked' judge and attorney general The civil case marks an enormous financial blow to the former president, whose namesake buildings dot the globe, and a major victory for state Attorney General Letitia James, who filed the lawsuit. Trump has now been hit with a stunning total of $536.8 million in court damages in the last three weeks after an $83.3 million judgement in a civil defamation case. The 2024 Republican presidential frontrunner railed against Friday's decision on his social media site, Truth Social. "A Crooked New York State Judge, working with a totally Corrupt Attorney General who ran on the basis of 'I will get Trump,' before knowing anything about me or my company, has just fined me $355 Million based on nothing other than having built a GREAT COMPANY," he wrote. "ELECTION INTERFERENCE. WITCH HUNT." "We will appeal," Trump told reporters Friday night at his private Florida club. "We'll be successful." Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump speaks at his Mar-a-Lago estate, Friday, Feb. 16, 2024, in Palm Beach, Fla. Trumps lawyer, Alina Habba, also assailed the ruling on social media. This verdict is a manifest injustice plain and simple, Habba said. It is the culmination of a multi-year, politically fueled witch hunt that was designed to take down Donald Trump, before Letitia James ever stepped foot into the Attorney Generals office. Habba added that if this decision stands, it will serve as a signal to every single American that New York is no longer open for business. Attorney Alina Habba, lawyer for former US President Donald Trump, speaks to members of the media outside the New York State Supreme Court during Trump's civil fraud trial New York City on November 8, 2023. A US judge ordered Trump on February 16, 2024 to pay nearly $355 million after finding him liable for fraud and banned him from running businesses in New York state for three years. A massive financial blow to Donald Trump Friday's decision penalizing Trump more than a third of a billion dollars comes three weeks after a federal jury ordered the former president to pay $83.3 million to writer E. Jean Carroll for civil defamation. Judge Engoron levied the financial death penalty on Trump, Neama Rahmani, a former federal prosecutor and president of West Coast Trial Lawyers, told USA TODAY. Even for someone with Trumps net worth, this decision inflicts a serious blow to Trumps financial health, especially when he has to spend more and more money on legal fees in his many criminal cases. Engoron had already ordered the business halted by ruling last year that the Republican presidential frontrunner committed fraud from 2011 through 2021 through "pure sophistry" and a "fantasy world" of real-estate valuations that "can only be considered fraud." But an appeals court put the order on hold while Engoron presided over a fall trial to determine damages. Ivanka Trump, daughter of former President Donald Trump, arrives to testify in the Trump Organization civil fraud trial, at the New York State Supreme Court in New York City on Nov. 8, 2023. The former president's daughter left the Trump Organization in 2017 to become a White House advisor and is not a codefendant in the case. Trump, his sons Don Jr and Eric, and other Trump Organization executives are accused of exaggerating the value of their real estate assets by billions of dollars to obtain more favorable bank loans and insurance terms. The judge found Trump and his Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust liable for $354.9 million, his sons Eric and Donald Trump Jr. liable for $4 million each and former chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg for $1 million for a total of $364 million in penalties. Engoron also barred Trump from doing business in New York State for three years. Engoron also ordered Trump and his trust to pay interest on the damages, which started from different times for different properties. The total with interest that Trump owes is $453.5 million and the total for all the defendants is $463.9, according to the attorney generals office. Trump still faces a plethora of cases while campaigning again for the White House. He has pleaded not guilty in an unprecedented four criminal cases: a federal election interference trial pending in Washington, a federal trial alleging he mishandled classified documents, an election racketeering trial in Georgia and a trial over falsifying business records in New York. Outbursts, gag orders, and a question of perjury The civil fraud trial in Engorons courtroom featured fiery testimony by Trump, attacks by the former president on the judge and his chief law clerk, and $15,000 in fines levied on the 2024 Republican frontrunner for violating gag orders. Trump complained during the trial and while testifying that Engoron wasnt listening to him. But the judge described in his decision how he weighed the testimony of Trump and Weisselberg, who is reportedly in plea negotiations with the Manhattan district attorney over possible perjury on the witness stand. This Court listened carefully to every witness, every question, every answer, Engoron wrote. Witnesses testified from the witness stand, approximately a yard from the Court, who was thus able to observe expressions, demeanor, and body language." Judge Arthur Engoron, sit on the bench inside New York Supreme Court, Tuesday, Oct. 10, 2023, in New York. "The Court," Engoron wrote, referring to himself, "has also considered the simple touchstones of self-interest and other motives, common sense, and overall veracity. Engoron said he found Trump an unreliable witness. "Overall, Donald Trump rarely responded to the questions asked, and he frequently interjected long, irrelevant speeches on issues far beyond the scope of the trial," Engoron wrote. "His refusal to answer the questions directly, or in some cases, at all, severely compromised his credibility." James celebrated the ruling. "Today we proved that no one is above the law no matter how rich, powerful, or politically connected you are," the state attorney general said. "Donald Trump may have authored 'The Art of the Deal', but he perfected the art of the steal." More: Lawyers on both sides in Donald Trump fraud case urge judge to ignore reported perjury inquiry Judge singles out Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr. Trumps sons, Eric and Donald Trump Jr., were also barred from doing business in New York State for two years. The sons testified several times that they would have relied on their accountants to find any errors in financial statements they signed. But Engoron found that Eric Trumps credibility was severely damaged when he repeatedly denied knowing about his fathers financial statements until this case came into fruition. When confronted with copious documentary evidence, Eric Trump conceded he knew about the paperwork, Engoron wrote. Donald Trump Jr., former President Donald Trump's son, enters New York State Supreme Court for his civil fraud trial on November 13, 2023 in New York City. Former President Trump has testified in the case that alleges he and his two sons Don Jr. and Eric Trump conspired to inflate his net worth on financial statements provided to banks and insurers to secure loans. New York Attorney General Letitia James has sued seeking $250 million in damages. Donald Trump Jr., who helped run the company with Eric when their father became president, was confronted in March 2017 by Forbes magazine about the size of Trumps penthouse being reported as three times too large. Donald Jr. testified he couldnt recall doing anything in response. At another point, he testified: I dont recall who I relied on, when certifying management documents. More: Who is Lara Trump? Trump's daughter-in-law and nominee for new RNC co-chair. Judge: Trump's valuations 'a fantasy world' Trump companies often valued properties far higher than appraisers or tax assessors, Engoron found. Trump testified that a disclaimer on property values given to lenders meant the banks knew the estimates were worthless." This is a fantasy world, not the real world, Engoron wrote in September. A security guard stands on the perimeter of former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago home, Monday, April 3, 2023, in Palm Beach, Fla. The judge outlined several glaring disputes over Trump property values: A 200-acre Westchester County property called Seven Springs LLC was appraised by Royal Bank of Pennsylvania in 2006 at $30 million if converted to residential homes. A Cushman & Wakefield appraiser estimated the value in 2014 at $30 million. Trump reported the value at $261 million to $291 million during that period. Trump Park Avenue, a residential building, had rent-controlled apartments that Engoron ruled had been overvalued by 700%. Trumps lawyers argued the units could eventually become market-rent units, but Engoron ruled the numbers are supposed to represent current" values, not someday, maybe values. A lease at 40 Wall St. in New York was appraised in 2010 by Cushman & Wakefield as worth $200 million. But the Trump Organization valued the property at $525 million in 2011 and at $735 million in 2015. Trump said the differences were irrelevant because his lender, Ladder Capital, made $40 million in interest on a loan for the property. Trump has maintained throughout the trial that James is persecuting him for a victimless crime. Mar-A-Lago, Trumps Florida resort, had a market value ranging from $18 million to $27.6 million during the decade ending 2021, according to the Palm Beach County assessor. Trump valued the property at up to $612 million during that period. Trumps own apartment in Trump Tower is 10,996 square feet, but he submitted claims it was 30,000 square feet, according to Engoron. The difference resulted in an overvaluation of between $114 million and $207 million, the judge wrote. A discrepancy of this order of magnitude by a real estate developer sizing up his own living space of decades, can only be considered fraud, Engoron wrote of the Trump Tower apartment. Contributing: David Jackson, USA TODAY This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Judge orders Donald Trump to pay $453.5 million in civil fraud lawsuit remaining of Thank you for reading! On your next view you will be asked to log in to your subscriber account or create an account and subscribepurchase a subscription to continue reading. Express your opinion! Fill out this form to submit a Letter to the Editor. Submit YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 16, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan had a meeting with the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Minister for Foreign and European Affairs and Trade of Malta Ian Borg within the framework of the Munich Security Conference, the PM's office said. Nikol Pashinyan and Ian Borg exchanged thoughts on the developments taking place in the South Caucasus. The Prime Minister referred to the principles of the Armenian side in the process of normalizing relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan. At the same time, the effective use of the tools of the organization in accordance with the OSCE mandate to contribute to regional stability and security was emphasized. Issues related to multi-sectoral cooperation and further development of ties between Armenia and Malta were discussed. The organization of bilateral high-level reciprocal visits was emphasized. A comprehensive analysis of CAA's legal, social, and political ramifications The long-overdue Citizenship (Amendment) Act of 2019 should have been spared the taint of vote-seeking opportunism which the humanitarian measure has acquired from the timing of Union home minister Amit Shahs announcement about its notification and implementation. Contrary to the furore by some Muslims and most Opposition parties, the CAA does not make any substantial difference on the ground. India has always been Hindustan in a larger philosophical sense, and Hindus in neighbouring countries are viewed differently from people of other faiths. That difference was obvious after the Bangladesh war, when the camps for mostly Hindu refugees around Kolkata were being closed, and inmates forced almost at bayonet point to board military trucks to take them back to the villages of Jessore and Khulna from which the Pakistan Army had brutally evicted them. Do you regard yourself as an Indian, a Pakistani or a Bangladeshi? I asked a wiry Hindu peasant who made no secret of his extreme reluctance to be repatriated. You should regard me as an Indian citizen residing in Bangladesh, he shot back. Bearing in mind the sad history of the Hindus of East Bengal, now Bangladesh, I could understand his dilemma. Most East Pakistan Hindus were cultivators and fishermen from the more depressed castes. They were also relatively poor. East Bengals big zamindars were also Hindu landowners, professional men, bureaucrats and academics who comprised the gentry in undivided Bengal. It was to oust them that the Muslim peasantry voted overwhelmingly for Pakistan. Significantly, while West Bengal in India did not abolish zamindari until 1954, in East Bengal, the system was done away with in 1950. Jogendranath Mandal, one of Pakistans 96 founding figures, epitomised the anguish of this contradiction. As a Bengali Hindu Dalit freedom fighter, he thought he would get a fairer deal in supposedly egalitarian Islamic Pakistan. Muhammad Ali Jinnah thought so too and made him Pakistans first minister for law, justice and labour. But Jinnahs death in September 1948 left Mandal vulnerable. He could not cope either with the West Pakistani bureaucracys bullying or the Muslim majority rioters in East Pakistan supported by the police and, ultimately, by the rich and aristocratic Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan. Helpless in the face of atrocities against Pakistans non-Muslim minorities and subject also to family pressures, Mandal eventually resigned his job and escaped to India. Other attempted solutions also failed. One was a proposal to exchange religious minorities, like Greece and Turkey. Another was for a new Hindu homeland in a strip of Bangladeshi territory to the west of the river Padma. The 1950 Nehru-Liaquat Ali pact was a third plan to recognise the rights of the Bengali Hindu peasantry to their ancestral fields. However, whatever the Pakistan government agreed to in formal discussions was often negated by local officials who were quick to list the Hindu owners as evacuees and their lands, after the 1965 war, as enemy property. Nor was there ever any question of replicating in the east the rehabilitation plans that accounted for the wests prosperity. Muslims in Punjab and Uttar Pradesh abandoned substantial properties that the Indian government took over to create a compensation pool for Hindus from West Pakistan. There was no such divisible property pool in the east. Nor did the Centres generosity extend to building an equivalent of Chandigarh city, setting up industrial townships for refugees such as the one at Faridabad, or developing areas like New Delhis fashionable Khan Market, established in 1951 by Indias new rehabilitation ministry to create economic opportunities for Partition victims, especially from the North-West Frontier Province and named after Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan, an icon of the Independence movement and NWFP chief minister from 1945 to 1947. Long before he became President of India, Pranab Mukherjee contrasted New Delhis generosity to West Pakistan refugees with its parsimony to Hindus from East Pakistan who were left to fend for themselves. The CAA belatedly attempts to correct that injustice. The result of the BJPs campaign promises in 2014 and 2019, the CAA provides a fast track for non-Muslim immigrants from Muslim-majority Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan to Indian citizenship. One objection is that selective access militates against the secular ideal and violates Article 14 (equality before the law) of the Constitution. Another is that it will be exploited to disenfranchise Muslims. The renewed call by Akhil Gogoi, an Assam Opposition MLA, to protest against what he calls the unconstitutional CAA, is a reminder of how deep-seated such fears can be. Sadly, the rhetoric of some Indian politicians only go to fan these fears. It's not forgotten that Mr Shah had referred derisively to illegal migrants from Bangladesh as termites. Uttar Pradeshs BJP chief minister, Yogi Adityanath, had promised to cleanse India of other religions, calling this the century of Hindutva. Another BJP MLA from the same state, Surendra Singh, warned in 2018 that India would be a Hindu Rashtra by this year and that only Muslims who accepted Indias Hindu culture could stay on. While the Kerala government challenged the CAA in court, several chief ministers refused to implement the law in their states. Actually, India has moved with circumspection on the question of migrants. The informal term in Bangladesh that migrants without proper papers travel on a jungle passport means that a Muslim pays less to the Bangladesh border police and more to the Indian guards, and vice versa if he is a Hindu. Far from turning away Hindus in need of asylum, India operates a tacit equivalent of Israels Law of Return. Similarly, when the Custodian of Enemy Property compensated Indians who were originally from East Bengal for lost property, he sought no proof. Asked about evidence, the outraged custodian snapped: A man has escaped with his life and you want me to ask him to produce title deeds? Under the CAA, no Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi or Christian from Afghanistan, Bangladesh or Pakistan who arrived in India on or before December 31, 2014, will be treated as an illegal migrant. He/she will be allowed time to apply for Indian citizenship, the qualifying length of residency being reduced from not less than eleven years to not less than five years. Reservations by some American and international organisations reflect the stand that favouring one group can only be at the expense of other groups. This is a charge that India must strongly rebut. The government can do so most effectively by being impeccably even-handed in its treatment of all communities and curbing the tendency to indulge in abuse, vituperation and majoritarian bullying. Expresses deep appreciation, invites him to India New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday thanked the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, at the Emiri Palace in Doha, expressing his deep appreciation for the Emirs decision earlier this week to release eight Indian nationals and former naval personnel who were sentenced to varying prison terms on reported charges of espionage. We are extremely gratified, foreign secretary Vinay Kwatra reiterated at an MEA briefing in Doha, on the release of these eight Indians who were initially sentenced to death in October last year, which was later commuted to prison terms two months later. Mr Modi also invited the Qatar Emir to visit India and conveyed Indias commitment to further expanding and deepening bilateral cooperation with Qatar. The Prime Minister, in whose honour a banquet lunch was hosted by the Emir, thanked him for taking care of the eight lakh-strong Indian community in Qatar. The two leaders held bilateral talks, with both nations set to expand their energy, trade and investment partnership with a strategic perspective beyond a buyer-seller relationship. Qatars leadership told Mr Modi both countries share an unwavering bond, epitomised by mutual trust and cooperation. Qatar is one of the biggest suppliers of natural gas to India. The foreign secretary reiterated that just last week the two nations had signed a deal for supply of 7.5 MMTPA (million metric tonnes per annum) of LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas) from Qatar to India for a period of 20 years from 2028, adding that this partnership goes back to (the year) 1999. He added while no specific pacts were signed on Wednesday, the visit was very successful and would lay the basis for deeper ties and consolidating the wide-ranging partnership between the two nations. The foreign secretary said both nations are also looking at strengthening ties in green energy, building supply chains and use of technology and innovation in the energy sector. Bilateral trade between the two nations currently stands at about $20 billion. India and Qatar ties are growing stronger and stronger. Had a wonderful meeting We reviewed the full range of India-Qatar relations and discussed ways to deepen cooperation across various sectors. Our nations also look forward to collaborating in futuristic sectors that will benefit our planet. My visit to Qatar has added new vigour to the India-Qatar friendship. India looks forward to scaling up cooperation in key sectors relating to trade, investment, technology and culture. I thank the government and people of Qatar for their hospitality, Mr Modi said, on his meeting with Qatars Emir. The Prime Minister was given a ceremonial welcome at the Emiri Palace on arrival. Thereafter, both sides held delegation-level and restricted talks. The discussions covered a wide array of topics including economic cooperation, investments, energy partnership, space collaboration, urban infrastructure, cultural bonds and people-to-people ties. The two leaders also exchanged views on regional and global issues. The Emir reciprocated the Prime Ministers sentiments and expressed appreciation for India's role as a valued partner in the Gulf region. The Emir also appreciated the contributions of the vibrant Indian community in Qatars development and their enthusiastic participation in various international events held in Qatar, New Delhi said. In addition, Mr Modi also met Father Emir Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani, the father of the current ruler. The Prime Minister congratulated the Father Emir on his visionary leadership that paved the way for Qatars development over the past decades. The two leaders held discussions on India-Qatar relations. The Prime Minister conveyed his appreciation for the insightful observations of the Father Emir on regional and global developments. The Father Emir affirmed that India and Qatar share an unwavering bond, epitomised by mutual trust and cooperation. He also appreciated the role of Indian community in Qatars development and in nourishing the bilateral partnership, New Delhi added. Mr Modi had earlier arrived in Doha from Abu Dhabi late on Wednesday evening (early Thursday morning IST) and was received by Qatars state minister for foreign affairs Soltan bin Saad Al-Muraikhi at the airport. He then immediately met Qatars PM Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, who is also the foreign minster, for talks during which the two leaders had exchanged views on expanding bilateral cooperation in sectors such as trade, investment, energy, finance, and technology. They had also discussed recent regional developments in West Asia and emphasised the importance of upholding peace and stability in the region and beyond. After these talks, Mr Modi had then attended a dinner hosted in his honour by the Qatari PM. Orders disclosure of donors, amount, recipients by March 13; petitioners say it is a big boost to democracy NEW DELHI: In a major setback to the Centre ahead of the parliamentary polls, the Supreme Court, in a landmark verdict on Thursday, declared the anonymous electoral bonds scheme unconstitutional, saying it is violative of the right to freedom of speech and expression as well as the right to information. A five-judge Constitution Bench of the apex court headed by CJI D.Y. Chandrachud struck down the scheme and directed the State Bank of India to disclose to the Election Commission the names of the contributors to the scheme launched in 2018. The bench further ordered the SBI to disclose to the Election Commission by March 6 the details of each electoral bond encashed by political parties. The poll panel, on its part, will publish these details on its official website by March 13. The bench ordered that the SBI must disclose to the Election Commission details of each electoral bond encashed by political parties, along with information like the date of encashment and the denomination of the bonds. The Election Commission should publish the information shared by the SBI on its official website by March 13, the bench said. The bench, also comprising Justices Sanjiv Khanna, B.R. Gavai, J.B. Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, delivered two separate and unanimous verdicts on the pleas challenging the electoral bond scheme. Justice Khanna delivered a separate concurring verdict on the issue. Pronouncing the verdict, the CJI said the scheme is violative of the right to freedom of speech and expression under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution. "The electoral bonds scheme and the impugned provisions, to the extent that they infringe upon the right to information of the voter by anonymising contributions through electoral bonds are violative of Article 19 (1)(a)," the CJI said while pronouncing the verdict. The top court said the fundamental right to privacy also includes the citizens' right to political privacy and affiliation. The CJI-led bench also held invalid the amendments made in various laws, including the Representation of Peoples Act, the RBI Act and the Income Tax laws, to facilitate the electoral bonds scheme. The apex court further ordered that the SBI must stop issuing electoral bonds and submit details of bonds purchased since April 12, 2019 till date to the Election Commission. The SBI should also submit details of political parties that have received contributions through electoral bonds since April 12, 2019 till date to the poll panel. In October last year, the bench began hearing arguments on the four petitions filed by Congress leader Jaya Thakur, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and the NGO Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR). On November 2, the top court had reserved the verdict after hearing the petitioners for three days. The bench said the reason for political contributions by companies was as "open as daylight" and even solicitor-general Tushar Mehta, who argued for the Centre in the matter, did not deny during the arguments that corporate donations are made to receive favours through quid pro quo arrangements. "The deletion of the proviso to Section 182(1) of the Companies Act permitting unlimited corporate contributions to political parties is arbitrary and violative of Article 14 (equality before law)," the bench said. The electoral bonds were issued in the nature of a promissory note, which is a bearer banking instrument and does not carry the name of the buyer. The scheme provided that the bonds may be purchased by a person who is a citizen of India or an entity incorporated or established in India. Person referred to (a) an individual (b) a Hindu undivided family (c) a company (c) a firm (d) an association of persons or a body of individuals, whether incorporated or not (e) every artificial juridical person, not falling within any of the above categories and (f) any agency, office or branch owned or controlled by such a person. An individual can buy bonds either singly or jointly with other individuals. The critics of the scheme have argued that the anonymity factor of the donors eliminated transparency in electoral funding and gave an edge to the ruling parties. In April 2019, the apex court declined to stay the scheme and made it clear that it will accord an in-depth hearing on the pleas as the Centre and the Election Commission had raised "weighty issues" that had "tremendous bearing on the sanctity of the electoral process in the country". Holding that companies and individuals cannot be equated for the purpose of political contributions, the CJI said that companies, before the amendment to Section 182, could only contribute a certain percentage of the net aggregate profits. The provision (Section 182) classified between loss-making companies and profit-making companies for the purpose of political contributions and for good reason. The underlying principle of this distinction was that it is more plausible that loss-making companies will contribute to political parties with a quid pro quo and not for the purpose of income tax benefits. The provision (as amended by the Finance Act 2017) does not recognise that the harm of contributions by loss making companies in the form of quid pro quo is much higher, reads the order. Thus, the amendment to Section 182 (of the Companies Act) is manifestly arbitrary for (a) treating political contributions by companies and individuals alike (b) permitting the unregulated influence of companies in the governance and political process, violating the principle of free and fair elections and (c) treating contributions made by profit-making and loss-making companies to political parties alike. The observations made above must not be construed to mean that the legislature cannot place a cap on the contributions made by individuals. The exposition is that the law must not treat companies and individual contributors alike because of the variance in the degree of harm on free and fair elections, the CJI wrote in the order. In view of the discussion above, the following are our conclusions: a. The Electoral Bond Scheme, the proviso to Section 29C(1) of the Representation of the People Act 1951 (as amended by Section 137 of Finance Act 2017), Section 182(3) of the Companies Act (as amended by Section 154 of the Finance Act 2017), and Section 13A(b) (as amended by Section 11 of Finance Act 2017) are violative of Article 19(1)(a) and unconstitutional; and b. The deletion of the proviso to Section 182(1) of the Companies Act permitting unlimited corporate contributions to political parties is arbitrary and violative of Article 14, reads the order. In his concurring judgment, Justice Khanna said, The scheme is unconstitutional and is accordingly struck down... deletion of proviso to Section 182(1) to the Companies Act of 2013, thereby permitting unlimited contributions to political parties is unconstitutional and is struck down, sub-section (3) to Section 31 of the RBI Act 1934 and the Explanation thereto introduced by the Finance Act 2017 are unconstitutional and are struck down. The Election Commission will ascertain the details from the political parties and the State Bank of India, which has issued the bonds and the bankers of the political parties and thereupon disclose the details and names of the donors and purchasers of the bonds and the amounts donated to the political party. The said exercise would be completed as per the timelines fixed by the CJI. Henceforth, as the scheme has been declared unconstitutional, the issuance of fresh bonds is prohibited and in case the bonds issued (within the validity period) are with the donor or purchaser, the donor or purchaser may return them to the authorised bank for a refund of the amount, Justice Khanna added. Reacting to the development, former Chief Election Commissioner S.Y. Quraishi, in a post on X, said, "Electoral bonds declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. Three cheers for the SC!" Advocate Prashant Bhushan, who represented ADR, said. "The Supreme Court has directed the SBI to furnish complete information about who purchased the bonds, who encashed the bonds... All this information will have to be submitted to the Election Commission, which will have to display it on its website so that people will know who purchased the bonds." The government notified the electoral bonds scheme on January 2, 2018. The government had touted the scheme as an alternative to political funding in cash and that it was intended to curb black money as well as bring transparency in donations to political parties. This was the third round of talks between the two sides Security personnel stand guard as brickbats and stones lie on the roads at the Punjab-Haryana Shambhu border during farmers' 'Delhi Chalo' march, near Patiala district, Thursday, Feb. 15, 2024. (PTI) New Delhi/Chandigarh: Three Union ministers held a third round of talks with the leaders of protesting farmer unions in Chandigarh on Thursday amid a standoff between the protesters and security personnel at two points on the Punjab-Haryana border. Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann also joined the meeting at the Mahatma Gandhi State Institute of Public Administration in Sector 26 in Chandigarh. Union agriculture and farmer welfare minister Arjun Munda, commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal and minister of state for home affairs Nityanand Rai represented the Centre at the meeting over the farmer unions' various demands, including a law guaranteeing a minimum support price (MSP) for crops. The talks were underway till late at night. This was the third round of talks between the two sides. The two previous rounds of dialogue on February 8 and 12 remained inconclusive. Among the farmer leaders taking part in the meeting are SKM (Non-Political) leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal and Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee general secretary Sarwan Singh Pandher. The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha have given a "Delhi Chalo" call to press the BJP-led Centre to accept their demands. Farmers from Punjab began their march to the national capital on Tuesday, but were stopped by security personnel at the Shambhu and Khanauri border points between Punjab and Haryana. The protesting farmers have been camping at the border points. Earlier, the farmer leaders had said they would not make any fresh attempt to move towards Delhi till the meeting with the ministers was held, asserting that the next course of action would be decided on the basis of the Centre's proposals. Amid the ongoing talks between the Centre and farmers union representatives, a political slugfest between the BJP and the Congress broke out over a video that went viral on social media, in which Mr Dallewal is purportedly heard talking about the need to bring Prime Minister Narendra Modi's graph down. The Congress, which has already extended support to the farmers agitation, said if any farmer displays his political leanings, he should not be considered an anti-national. Congress leader Pawan Khera said, Can't a farmer talk about his political leanings? In 2014, many used to say they wanted to defeat the Congress. We did not call them anti-national. In response, the BJP blamed the Congress for not implementing the Swaminathan Commission's recommendations. Former Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said, The erstwhile Congress-led UPA government had rejected the Swaminathan Commission's recommendations as not feasible by terming that its implementation would create havoc with the economy. The BJP did not directly attack the farmer leader for his comments but asserted that the PMs popularity has been high for a long time due to his honesty, hard work and people's blessings. Separately, farmers squatted on railway tracks at many places in Punjab over the Haryana Police's action against the "Delhi Chalo" protesters. The Bharatiya Kisan Union (Ekta Ugrahan) and the BKU Dakaunda (Dhaner) gave the "rail roko" call. The decision was taken in protest against the use of teargas shells and water cannons against the protesting farmers by the Haryana security personnel at the Shambhu and Khanauri border points. Meanwhile, on the call of the SKM, farmers also staged demonstrations at several toll plazas in Punjab to protest against the Haryana police's action. They also forced the toll authorities to let go of commuters without charging them a toll fee. On Tuesday, farmers, mainly from Punjab, had clashed with the Haryana police at two border points between the states, facing teargas and water cannons as they tried to break the barricades blocking their march to the national capital. On Thursday, no fresh face-off between farmers and the Haryana security personnel at the two Punjab and Haryana border points -- Shambhu and Khanauri -- was reported. The Haryana government, however, extended the ban on mobile internet and bulk SMS services in seven districts by two days till February 17. Condemning the "method" adopted by farmers, Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar said that they were attempting to march to Delhi like an army on the offensive. The Punjab government could have stopped farmers. If they did not stop, then there must be some understanding there and 'Delhi wale' say they are with the farmers' movement, Mr Khattar said, in an apparent reference to the Aam Aadmi Party. He said the farmers are moving with tractor-trolleys, earthmovers and ration for a year -- just like an army. We are not against them but have objections to their method," Mr Khattar said. In Delhi, strict vigil, heavy deployment of personnel and multi-layer barricades remained in place even as the two key border points between Delhi and Haryana remained closed for traffic. The security personnel in anti-riot gear conducted drills and mock exercises to ensure their foolproof preparation. To combat any untoward incident, the Delhi police has ordered more than 30,000 teargas shells from the Border Security Force's (BSF) tear smoke unit. The police and paramilitary personnel kept a tight vigil on the activities at the borders of the national capital. Due to the closure of the border points, the locals faced traffic congestion at several places. The Gautam Buddh Nagar police on Thursday imposed restrictions under CrPC Section 144, including a ban on unauthorised public assemblies, that would be enforced across the district in view of the "Gramin Bharat Bandh" called by farmers' unions on Friday. In his words: "I am just a professional writer, which means I don't do blogs and try and get money for whatever I write." Navigating the twists of democracy and local politics, the Rochdale by-election a tableau of shrewd maneuvers and evolving alliances They said that sleep was innocent Yet we find it full of guilt With fantasies and enmities From which our dreams are built. Yet sleep is always welcome As long its not eternal Which sleep will ultimately lead To heaven or to the infernal. From A Humble Kambal, by Bachchoo Dodgy are the uses of democracy. which can turn to resembling the toad -- ugly and venomous -- and yet hope springs eternal -- that it wears a precious jewel in its head. (Quite enough of Shakespearean parody -- Ed) Winston Churchill called it the best worst system, and added that the best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter. He didnt live long enough to have even a half-minute conversation with Donald Trump supporters in the United States. Some of these supporters are educated professionals, some are salt of the earth. What makes them supporters of a -- OK, I wont characterise Dump, everyone knows about his attitudes to race, to women, to immigrants, to other nations, to Nato, to the US Constitution -- and the word Trump is synonymous with ignorance and vulgarity -- but do the MAGAwallahs care? Oh democracy, our democracy! And so, move to those countries which dont support, through the one-person-one-vote system, a maniac such as Trump, but support leaders who appeal to voters through pre-democratic or atavistic allegiances: religion, a nostalgia for lost empire, a myth of national greatness, xenophobia, racism The vote in several nations of Europe is predominantly influenced today by a reaction against the mass migrations of populations in a globalised world. There is Giorgia Melonis post-fascist government in Italy, Viktor Orbans EU-dissenting party in Hungary, Vox in Spain, the Sweden Democrats, Portugals Islamophobic Chega One could go on! Then there are the democratic countries who fall for appeals to religious dogma and ideologies of political antagonism to other religions. Mother democracy gives power to these factions which then commit matricide -- killing the very things like freedom of expression and protection of minorities that democracy should stand for. But having said all those profound things, gentle reader, I give you now the current, if minor, travesty of the democratic process and appeal -- and that is the story of the coming byelection to the Westminster Parliament in the constituency of Rochdale. The byelection, owing to the death of Sir Tony Lloyd, the former Conservative MP, has a list of eight candidates. The Labour candidate, chosen before the closing date for nominations on February 2, is one Azhar Ali. This candidate asserted at a public meeting that Israel had allowed Hamas to carry out the attacks and the taking of hostages on October 7, 2023 in order to have a reason to attack Gaza and seize territory. This conspiratorial opinion displeased Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer, whose one big play for popularity is distancing himself and the Labour Party from the supposed (though I personally disagree) anti-Semitism embraced and/or allowed by his predecessor Jeremy Corbyn. The Israeli slaughter in Gaza has put the Labour Party in a bit of a quandary. It is no surprise that the Muslim population of the UK, whose decisive votes have contributed to the election of 31 Labour MPs in this Parliament, are avid supporters of the Palestinians and opposed to the Israeli genocide of civilians and demolishing of Gazas cities. Keir Starmer has apparently decided that his stance of coming down hard on any anti-Semitism will keep the red wall working class voters and the intellectual middle classes on Labours side and despite their sympathies with Gaza, the Muslim vote will, in substantial numbers, have nowhere else to go. Azhar Ali, very calculatedly, apologised unreservedly for his remarks and said he was completely mistaken -- and I say calculatedly because he didnt mean the apology. He had got his real opinions across to the Muslims of Rochdale and now offered his tongue-in cheek apology to stop Labour disowning him. Nevertheless, according to reliable newspaper reports, he continued to hold the opinions, or similar anti-Israeli opinions for which he had apologised. The Labour Party then said that it doesnt support him even though on February 29, when the byelection takes place, his name will appear on the ballot paper as the Labour candidate. His calculation is certainly that he will get a, possibly decisive, majority of the Muslim vote and enter Parliament as an Independent MP now that Labour has disowned him. There is, of course, the possibility that it may not happen. He is opposed by one George Galloway, a maverick politician who was once in Labour but was thrown out of the party for obsequiously supporting Sadaam Hussein during the UK-US war against him two decades ago. Galloway went on to win a parliamentary seat in the majority Muslim constituency of Tower Hamlets, defeating the Jewish Labour candidate. He is now campaigning in Rochdale wearing a Palestinian-colours scarf and may draw a substantial portion of the Muslim vote. The other candidates, from the Conservative, Lib-Dem and Green parties and Independents, are not campaigning on any Palestinian platform, but rather pushing their parties national and local policies. Except for Simon Danczuk, a former Labour MP for Rochdale who was dismissed in 2017 for sending sexual material to a 17-year-old. He is standing for the Reform UK party, a new extreme right-wing essentially anti-immigration group. No predictions. Today's news: Egypt on the Gaza border sets up camps for Palestinian refugees; South Korean trainee doctors resign from their hospital posts; Ukrainian drones hit one of Russia's largest and most modern landing ships; Thailand boosts tourism from abroad with anti-accident insurance policies. AFGHANISTAN The World Bank has approved a new type of support for Afghanistan. Around 300 million dollars will arrive in the country but will remain outside the control of the Taliban leadership and will complement the ongoing financing of the Afghanistan Resilience Trust Fund in supporting basic services such as food, water, healthcare, education and work. It is the first time the World Bank's own funds have been sent to Afghanistan since the Taliban took power in August 2021. ISRAEL-PALESTINE-EGYPT Egypt - unofficially - is preparing the area on the border with Gaza to accommodate Palestinian refugees in case an Israeli offensive in Rafah causes an exodus across the border. An operation against which the United States has once again expressed itself negatively. Meanwhile, Israeli forces raided the largest hospital still functioning in Gaza, Nasser's hospital in Khan Yunis. The NGO Doctors Without Borders which operated in the hospital said that following the Israeli attack and bombing "our medical staff had to flee leaving the patients there". INDIA Indian farmers are demanding higher prices for their crops and are staging a protest taking to the streets of New Delhi. A march "frozen" at least until Sunday, when the unions will finalize a new meeting with Agriculture Minister Arjun Munda, who already met with farmers' representatives on Thursday together with Trade Minister Piyush Goyal and Interior Minister Nityanand Rai. We believe we can all find a peaceful solution together, protest leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal said. RUSSIA-UKRAINE The Armed Forces of Ukraine, supported by intelligence services, completely destroyed with drones one of Russia's largest and most modern landing ships, the Tsezar Kunikov, which was in Ukrainian territorial waters near Alupka, and would not have survived none of the crew, version not confirmed by Moscow. CHINA Snow and ice storms continue to batter China: starting from the weekend, temperatures will drop to minus 20 degrees Celsius, while millions of people return from trips made for the Lunar New Year. Heavy snow will hit the provinces of Shaanxi and Shanxi in the north, the central province of Henan and the eastern province of Shandong but temperatures will also reach freezing in some parts of the south, affecting road, rail and air transport. SOUTH KOREA About 20% of trainee doctors serving at South Korea's hospitals said they would resign starting Tuesday to protest the government's new plan to admit more students to medical schools. This was communicated by representatives of the interns who work in the five largest hospitals in the country, all in Seoul. THAILAND Foreign tourists will receive medical coverage of up to 500,000 baht (18.6 thousand Singapore dollars) in case of accidents in Thailand and compensation of up to one million baht in case of death, under the government's new campaign to ensure tourists safety while staying in Thailand. The campaign aims to instill confidence in foreign tourists if they are unwell while visiting the country. The Ministry of Tourism has allocated a total of 50 million baht to finance the project. KAZAKHSTAN At Mazilis, the Astana parliament, the new law on migration was approved, which should encourage Kazakhs to move from the southern to the northern regions, and prohibits entry into Kazakhstan to those judged to be participants in terrorist organizations and those found guilty of sexual abuse, particularly against minors. Stephen Chen Yueli was arrested as he entered mainland China on charges of "illegal business operations" for his involvement in printing childrens Sunday school materials. According to China Aid, he is in solitary confinement and cannot even see his lawyers. With him, eight other Christians were also arrested. Hong Kong (AsiaNews/Agencies) An Evangelical Christian from Hong Kong, Stephen Chen Yueli, has been detained in China for almost two months on charges of "illegal business operations" in connection with his involvement in the printing of childrens Sunday school materials for a Christian community in Hubei. According to the international NGO China Aid, eight other Christians were also arrested with him, but their names are unknown. Police took Chen Yueli into custody on 19 December 2023, as he entered China at the Shenzhen-West Kowloon customs railway post. After his formal arrest, he has been held at a detention centre in Chibi City, Hubei province. His lawyer has been unable to meet him despite numerous attempts. His family is very worried about his health condition. For more than 20 years, Chen Yueli has been shuttling between Hong Kong and China to serve Christian communities in the mainland. When he was arrested, he was on his way to Yunnan to visit his wife, who was the victim of telecommunications fraud. The Chibi City Public Security Bureau has consistently obstructed regular lawyer visits, citing the involvement of "national security agents" as a reason for rejecting visitation requests. No further information is available about the other Christians arrested with Chen Yueli, nor of the consequences of the incident for the local church in Xianning, where Chen Yueli served for a long time. Accusations of "fraud" or "illegal business activities" are often used by the authorities of the People's Republic of China to target so-called house churches, i.e. Evangelical Christian communities that do not recognise themselves in the Three-Self Patriotic Movement. The latter is a government entity akin to the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association through which the Communist Party of China exercises control over the activities of the countrys Protestant communities. by Stefano Vecchia Jhed Tamano and Jonila Castro were seized last September by soldiers on charges of supporting communist guerrillas. For the countrys highest court, the two were victims of established violation to the life, liberty or security. Police threatened their life during detention. Charges of association with guerrillas are used to silence critical voices. Milan (AsiaNews) The Supreme Court of the Philippines (SCP) has issued a protection order for two young environmental activists, Jhed Tamano and Jonila Castro. As the two women and environmental groups have reported, both were detained by soldiers in September 2023 and subsequently included in a list of supporters of communist guerrillas. The SCP ruling, which refers to established violation to the life, liberty or security", was welcomed by the Kalikasan People's Network for the Environment of which the two are members. The court order sets a precedent for safeguarding environmental defenders and ensuring justice for those who threaten their well-being, the group said in a statement. The two environmentalists still face a charge of slander against a senior officer of the Armed Forces, whom they hold responsible for their abduction. Karapatan and other influential human rights organisations in the Philippines have asked the Department of Justice to scrap the "trumped up charge against the two. The request has not yet been granted. The case involving Jhed Tamano and Jonila Castro began on 2 September 2023 when they were grabbed by armed men in Bataan, north of Manila. Despite witness accounts of the kidnapping, an announcement was later made claiming that the two activists had surrendered to the military, while the National Task Force to end Local Communist Armed Conflict described them as former fighters for the communist rebellion. The truth is we were abducted by the military aboard a van. We were forced to surrender because they threatened to kill us, said Jonila Castro on 19 September in front of government officials, army officers, and the media. The International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines (ICHRP) praised the courage of the two young women, right after the press conference in which they refuted accusations and underlined the illegal treatment they received. For the ICHRP, "Their revelation exposes the convoluted narrative that often accompanies actions by the military or by agencies responsible for countering activities considered part of the communist rebellion. This affects different parts of the country and is often used a pretext for repressive steps against grassroots activists as well as people who criticise the president or the government. Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup. Roaring Fork Fire Rescue teams prevent a chimney and roof fire from spreading to a home in Snowmass Village early Thursday morning. The home sustained fire and water damage. It is not only Renault that is expanding its current vehicle lineup but Alpine, too, its performance-oriented brand. The company has several crossovers in the making, some of which might apply for a U.S. visa, and also a battery-electric hot hatch. EV kW Photo: Baldauf Previewed by the A290_B Concept almost one year ago, the upcoming Alpine A290 is basically a hot hatch version of the new Renault 5. It will build on the legacy of the legendary Renault 5 Alpine from the '70s and will take on the likes of other zero-emission front-wheel drive subcompact hot hatches, like MINI's Cooper SE.If it stays true to the study shown in 2023, then it will get the same motor that develops 268 horsepower (272 ps/200). If that's not enough for a modern-day sporty model, then we should note that reports also speak of a punchier variant with all-wheel drive. The lineup will probably include a third model as well, which might get 215 hp (218 ps/160 kW).Keep in mind that these are all speculations at this point. What we do know about it is that it uses the CMF-B EV platform, just like the upcoming Renault 5 . The next Nissan Micra is expected to use this construction, too, which is said to borrow some 70% of the parts used on the CMF-B, which is the foundation stone of the latest Clio, Captur, Nissan Juke, Mitsubishi Colt, and others.Set to dominate the next Renault 5 lineup in terms of power and performance, with the Renaultsport sub-brand being dead and buried, the Alpine 290 will feature a sportier appearance, with bigger front and rear bumpers, fender flares, and dedicated logos. It has a five-door body style, with the rear handles being integrated next to the C-pillars, exclusive wheels, and a few other bits and bobs.Uprated brakes with discs at all four corners will also be part of the package, and it will have a multi-link suspension at the rear. This, combined with the low center of gravity, should give it sporty credentials to the point where it might copy the MINI's go-kart feel. We are very excited about this model and think it will be one of the best in the class, even if it has some very big shoes to fill (ahem, Renault 5 Alpine !).No one knows exactly when the Alpine A290 is due, but it might make an official appearance in the next few months or early 2025. In the meantime, the French brand will continue testing various prototypes of the car, just like this tester that was spied doing its thing in the cold in Northern Europe. Would you want the Alliance to launch it in our market? A genre-defining automobile, the Bugatti Veyron was replaced by the Chiron at the 2016 Geneva Motor Show. Although the Volkswagen Group-owned French automaker promised to assemble no more than 500 units, the Profilee took the grand total to 501 examples of the breed. Of those 501 vehicles, precisely 156 have been recalled in the United States to address a minor compliance issue. Photo: Bugatti The vehicles in question were produced for the 2016 to 2023 model years at the Atelier in Molsheim, where the Chiron was and Chiron-derived cars are meticulously assembled to the tune of roughly 70 units per annum. Back in January 2024, the company was informed of a noncompliance condition affecting a development vehicle. With said vehicle turned on and the driver not buckled up, the seatbelt chime did not activate. Why, though?Considering how much software goes into a modern vehicle, you shouldn't be surprised that said chime is triggered by a few lines of code. Bugatti and Regensburg-based Continental Engineering Services determined that an audible warning commences at speeds over 15 miles per hour (24 kilometers per hour) if the car travels 500 meters (1,640 feet). Alternatively, said chime will be triggered 60 seconds after starting up the engine.There is, however, a problem with the described conditions. Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 states that the audible signal activates if the ignition switch is moved to the on or start positions and the driver isn't buckled up. That implies a stationary vehicle. Bugatti and the instrument cluster software supplier also determined that all 501 vehicles feature the same software version, which was designed around ECE R16 regulations.Given these circumstances, the 156 units delivered to US customers are recalled for a software update. The corrective software is currently under development. Be that as it may, dealers have already been informed about this recall. Owners will be notified by first-class mail no later than March 31.According to an email sent to dealers nationwide by director of aftersales & customer services Alexis Ploix, dealers are urged to reach out to the impacted customers as soon as technically possible. Otherwise put, owners should expect a call or an email today or in the near future. As if that wasn't Bugatti enough, dealers have also been instructed to arrange pick up from the customer and transportation to the dealership. Of course, owners won't be charged a single cent for these services.Being this nice with your customers can be explained in plenty of ways, beginning with the sticker price of a Chiron. We also have to remember the ridiculously high servicing costs, but more importantly, the Chiron-owning clients are extremely valuable to Bugatti. With the French automaker due to launch its next hypercar this coming summer, said clients will be the first to be contacted by their dealers in regard to a build slot.Bugatti-Rimac big kahuna Mate Rimac made it clear that it's a heavily electrified vehicle. Powered by a different engine from the Chiron's 8.0-liter W16 quad-turbo leviathan, the yet-to-be-named successor was revealed behind closed doors at the end of 2023. First deliveries are scheduled for early 2026, and hearsay suggests that Bugatti's next hypercar will be rarer than the 450-strong Veyron There are plenty of rumors in regard to what's under the hood of the new model, beginning with a twin-turbo V8 a la the Lamborghini Huracan-replacing LB63x. The wildest rumor yet suggests a Cosworth-developed V16, which sounds a bit impractical given that it would be longer than the current W16. On the other hand, anyone remember the Cizeta-Moroder V16T with its transverse-mounted V16? The company claims it now has the largest such hands-free semi-autonomous network in North America following the latest expansion that soared from around 400k (almost 644,000 km) to 750k miles (1,207,008 km) in the United States and Canada. EV FSD It was April 2013, more than a decade ago, when General Motors first announced the planned development of Super Cruise, an autonomous driving technology. It was known as a completely hands-free system, allowing drivers to take their hands off the wheel entirely and feet off the pedals (their attention level is monitored, though) since the summer of 2015, but it was another couple of years before the feature premiered on the 2018 Cadillac CT6.In 2019, the system had a first expansion worth some 70k miles (about 113,000 km), allowing drivers to take advantage of the Super Cruise on around 200k total miles (almost 322,000 km) of compatible highways in the United States and Canada. Since 2020, the company has also started expanding the system's reach to CT4 and CT5 plus Escalade models from Cadillac.Today, there are more and more models from GM brands with Super Cruise including GMC Hummer, Cadillac XT6 and Lyriq, Chevrolet Bolt EUV, Buick Envision, and the upcoming Caddy Escalade IQ , among others. The company also wants to be a leader in hands-free driving technology making it a direct competitor to Tesla's, focusing on expanding features (like introducing optional trailering) and adding more drivable roads.More precisely, the latest progress has jumped the network's tally of roads from around 400k to approximately 750k miles in the United States and Canada, with GM saying that's thrice the distance from Earth to the Moon or a coast-to-coast roundtrip from New York City to San Francisco about 130 times! More importantly, the new expansion covers a lot of smaller highways that usually connect minor cities and townships.This also means Super Cruise on models like the 2024 Chevrolet Traverse or 2024 GMC Acadia will take full advantage of the trailering mode when using their compatible trailers for camping, boating, or other recreational activities. To date, GM says that more than "160 million miles (257 million kilometers) have been driven accident-free with Super Cruise," thanks in part to the latest batch of new or enhanced features like Automatic Lane Change and Lane Change on Demand, Enhanced Navigation, industry-first Hands-Free Trailering, Collaborative Steering, Enhanced Driver Requested Offset, or Improved Curve Handling.The expansion is already rolling out to compatible vehicles as an over-the-air software update (free of charge) and will be available to every model until and through 2025. However, some minor exceptions exist the upgrade is not arriving on the Cadillac CT6, Chevrolet Bolt EUV, and Cadillac XT6. The United States is home to several top-tier eVTOL (electric vertical takeoff and landing) makers, yet each of them brings something different to the table. Beta Technologies isn't only the parent of the impressive Alia electric aircraft but also an important electric infrastructure developer. Its latest success brings Mississippi to the forefront. In just a few months, Beta has commissioned five chargers in five different states , and it's most likely the only eVTOL maker who can say that. Apart from developing its own electric aircraft, Beta is supporting the entire AAM (Advanced Air Mobility) industry by contributing to a nationwide electric charging network.Beta has now reached a total of 18 active chargers at locations from Vermont to Florida. More than 50 additional sites are already in development. Beta has successfully sold its versatile charging solution to the Department of Defense (marking the first-ever electric aviation charger installed at a USAF base), Atlantic Aviation, and Archer Aviation (the company that created the Midnight air taxi).The latest one to join this trailblazing club across the US is the state of Mississippi, through the Golden Triangle Regional Airport (GTR). It's the first of its kind in the state and will be able to power both aircraft and ground vehicles. The solution is comprised of a Level 3 fast charger that was installed inside the fence and a dual-port electric vehicle charger for the parking lot. This is the same formula that was implemented at the previous sites.Fixed-base operator Avflight, the 4-County Electric Power Association, and Mississippi State University were also partners in this pioneering endeavor. Another shared element for all the Beta charging stations installed so far was the impressive arrival of the Alia aircraft itself at the inauguration ceremonies. This time, the Alia electric aircraft arrived after two other impressive achievements a one-month deployment with the US Air Force at Duke Field, Florida, and a flight demonstration in Houma, Louisiana, together with Beta's partner Bristow.While continuing to expand this pioneering electric aircraft charging network, Beta is also gearing up to kick off aircraft production. By investing more than $40 million into its current facility in Plattsburgh, the eVTOL maker plans to transform into the final assembly line for the Alia aircraft. But that won't be all as an advanced Beta hub, the revamped facility will also act as a permanent flight test center and the company's flagship delivery center.Beta's Alia , known for its unique configuration that looks like a dragonfly but was actually inspired by a bird (the Arctic tern), was designed as a five-passenger (plus the pilot) air taxi. Performance-wise, it promises a fully electric medium range of up to 250 miles (463 km) and a 1,400 lbs (635 kg) payload. Red Bull Racing just unveiled its all-new Formula 1 car for the 2024 season, and to everyones shock and amazement, the so-called RB20 appears to feature a couple of design ideas that ended up being discarded by Mercedes-AMG last year. Photo: Red Bull Racing Were just as shocked as you are, frankly. Look at those long cooling gulleys that run backwards from the halo over the entire lengths of the engine cover. Its pretty much the same design used by Mercedes on the W14 last year the German outfit kept this look even after abandoning their zeropod sidepod design.This isnt the only similarity between the RB20 and one of the Mercedes cars, because the former also comes with a vertical sidepod radiator inlet, kind of like what we saw on the old W13 back when Mercedes first introduced their zeropod design. What on Earth should we make of this? This design philosophy clearly didnt work for Mercedes, so will it work for Red Bull? Are they that confident? Perhaps.To be fair, the RB20 does resemble its predecessor at the front, although I have a feeling that the nose section on this launch spec car will change between now and pre-season testing in Bahrain.Still, even Max Verstappen felt the need to comment on how different the RB20 looks compared to the RB19, stating: It does look a bit different. I think the team definitely pushed on quite a bit from last year and I think thats very positive. Im just looking forward to get to Bahrain, start testing and really see what the car is capable of.Just to put what Red Bull appears to have done here into perspective, its like if the Kansas City Chiefs, fresh off winning the Super Bowl, went into next season with 50% of the roster comprised of completely new players, borrowed from a team that didnt even make the Playoffs last month. Its just so weird.Even Sergio Perez chimed in with his opinion, saying that his team had done an incredible job, acknowledging that theyve gone very aggressive with the concept.I find it great from Red Bull that weve had such a dominant car last year, that we just changed completely our concept. Its something that I think requires a lot of hunger in the team, to keep pushing all the boundaries, added the Mexican driver.For the record, calling the RB19 dominant might even be somewhat of an understatement. Remember our feature story where we ranked the Best F1 Cars of the V6 Turbo Hybrid Era ? The RB19 came out on top with a Dominance Rating of 271.1, whereas the second-place Mercedes W07 had a DR of 193.7.The RB19 also won 21 of 23 races last year, amassing a total of 860 points in the Constructors Standings, to go with 30 podiums, 14 poles and 11 fastest laps. Its safe to say that the RB20 has some major shoes to fill. Scout Motors opened a new chapter in its storied history with the groundbreaking ceremony for its South Carolina factory. The all-electric brand in Volkswagen Group's portfolio wants to start production of the first Scout EVs in 2026 after unveiling the prototype later this year. According to the company's CEO, Scott Keogh, these will be robust off-roaders with a mechanical feel and "chunky buttons." EV Photo: Scout Motors Scout Motors broke ground of its new US factory in South Carolina SUV Photo: Scout Motors Two years ago, Volkswagen confirmed rumors that it would revive the Scout brand in the US. The German carmaker acquired the rights to use the legendary name with the acquisition of Navistar International in 2020. From the very beginning, Volkswagen made it clear that it wanted a new company with a startup strategy and almost no connection to Volkswagen's way of doing things. This was great, considering how bad Volkswagen was at understanding the American market.The initial plans were to establish a dedicated car factory in the US to produce all-electric SUVs and trucks that have nothing to do with existing Volkswagen models. Not that Volkswagen has any ruggedplatform in its portfolio. Still, after Volkswagen got into financial troubles, the German bosses reconsidered the strategy and hinted at manufacturing Scout EVs under contract with either Magna or Foxconn. Thankfully, things were settled, and Volkswagen followed the original plans. Soon after, Scout Motors got its CEO Scott Keogh, former Volkswagen of America boss, and unveiled plans to build a factory in South Carolina.As time passed, it was clear that Scout Motors had better chances to conquer a piece of the US market than Volkswagen. The company started from a clean sheet as a startup with no overhangs , and it has a great heritage to build upon, as Scout basically invented the SUVs in the 1960s. The only question that remained was whether Volkswagen would allow the young company to reinvent itself without micromanaging it in a pure German fashion.Judging by how quickly things have moved so far, it appears that Scout Motors has enough leeway to act like a true startup. A year ago, it announced its first production facility in South Carolina after securing over $1.3 billion in state incentives. The plant's capacity would reach 250,000 units per year with production in full swing, and the first vehicles would roll off the production line in 2026. Scout Motors wasted no time and has just broken ground on the new Blythewood, South Carolina factory.The groundbreaking ceremony differed from what we usually see at these events, almost like a ritual. Scout organized a cross-country rally of classic Scout off-roaders to transport a brick from the original Scout plant in Fort Wayne, Indiana, making it the new factory's foundation stone. A nice throwback to the great Scout history, although Scott Keogh assured us that he doesn't intend to offer retro EVs. "We didn't want to say to America, 'It's the '70s again,'" Keogh told media. "It's the 21st century and of course, it's a modern car."The first model to be unveiled later this year will be a rugged all-electric. The pickup truck based on the same platform will follow six months later. Talking about the design , Keogh said that Scout trucks will not care much about aerodynamics and instead will offer a trusted truck design with hard angles and corners. Scout trucks will also have "real door handles" instead of recessed self-presenting handles like other EVs. "The car will stand up right," he said, "It's not a jelly bean." Keogh revealed that the Scout trucks will keep the iconic fold-down windshield of the original Scout models.Scout electric trucks will be less of computers on wheels like other electric vehicles and more like classic off-roaders. "We do believe in mechanical," Keogh explained , "and we believe in chunky buttons." Considering the current trend of eliminating the buttons and hiding everything behind folding menus on the infotainment screen, this is refreshing. However, it's also a decision stemming from Volkswagen's failure with software controls in its EVs. Hopefully, the startup will get the balance right and give everyone the best combination of software and hardware.Keogh gave the Ford Bronco, Land Rover Defender, and Jeep Wrangler as examples. However, the design sketches and teaser images show that the real inspiration for Scout EVs was Rivian R1T and R1S. Since Keogh also says the final design of Scout's first two models is almost complete, we can say Rivian will have a powerful competitor in the next couple of years. With engineering not being far behind the design, it should be feasible to see production starting in 2026, as planned.Of course, there are still many things for Scout Motors to sort out by then. One of them is setting up the battery supply chain . Keogh told journalists that batteries used by the US-made Volkswagen ID.4 EVs won't work for Scout vehicles. Instead, Volkswagen Group intends to leverage its in-house battery subsidiary PowerCo, which is also building a North American factory in Ontario. Downsizing might be good for the environment, but it has to be good for whoever is doing it, first and foremost. Switching from a brick-and-mortar home to a tiny house is no fun if life inside the new tiny house isn't fun, too, right? Photo: Decathlon Tiny Homes Photo: Decathlon Tiny Homes Photo: Decathlon Tiny Homes Photo: Decathlon Tiny Homes The Lucille is all about fun, though perhaps in a different way than you'd imagine. It's a tiny house designed for two-person occupancy, with all the creature comforts of a standard home but working overtime to compensate for spatial constraints through playful touches.With tiny homes, it's standard procedure to find a "get" that would make potential customers or existing owners overlook the spatial constraints. That could be one or more unique features, or a surprise addition like a fold-down terrace or a bed that slides into a wall when you're not sleeping in it, or off-grid features, extended autonomy, or unique styling.As with every other niche product, tiny houses have to have something out of the ordinary to be truly appealing to potential new owners, especially in a context in which they still remain prohibitively priced. In the case of Lucille, that could be the extra playful touches inside, which add personality to the space.Lucille is a turn-key build from Texas-based builder Decathlon Tiny Homes. They offer a series of models to choose from, with a long list of options for each, which makes them semi-customizable. You can opt for the standard, base model that will require more work on your part to be fully livable, or you can go full out and get a unit that's ready to roll the moment you step inside.The Lucille is based on the company's very popular Zeus model, which also happens to be among the smallest available. It sits on a double-axle trailer with 24 feet (7.3 meters) of usable length, so the home offers a total footprint of 254 square feet (23.6 square meters), including the loft that doubles as the owner's bedroom, where you get no standing height.The layout of Lucille is a standard single-loft one, with the ground floor reserved for daily activities and the loft dedicated to sleeping. The kitchen is located centrally, with the living room and the bathroom on either end and a large, storage-integrating staircase leading up to the main bedroom.In short, there is little innovation here as far as the layout goes. Even the kitchen has the same layout as other, larger units we've covered previously from the same company. So what is it then that makes Lucille the belle of the ball?It's all in the details, as the saying goes. In this case, it's the combination of colors, both inside and out, and the use of playful touches like hand-painted hardware on the cabinets, matching the flowery pattern on the stairs. Whereas most tiny houses try to create the impression of airier, larger spaces with monochrome finishes that favor whites and nudes, Lucille goes all-in for color and the most surprising combinations, to boot.As anyone who's ever done any type of home deco project will tell you, playing with colors is fun, but it can end up looking very bad if you don't do it right. Lucille does it right, with neutral butcher countertops in the kitchen, sky-blue overhead cabinets, and bright red drawers below waist level. The red extends to the cabinets under the stairs, clashing beautifully with the pale blue of the Galanz vintage-looking fridge.Of course, there's more to Lucille than just beautiful colors: it's packed with creature comforts , as well. The kitchen comes equipped with a full range, a deep farm sink, and plenty of storage options. The bathroom is flanked by two very large wardrobes with hanging bars and equipped with a full-size shower, a standard flushing toilet, and the most beautiful custom sink with vanity.The living room is on the small side and left unfinished in the video tour below. Still, it's large enough to fit an extendable sofa, so it'd double as a guest room and a wall-mounted TV for Netflix & chill nights. The high ceiling with exposed beams makes this space feel less claustrophobic.Speaking of claustrophobic, the bedroom loft is prevented from being just that by means of expansive glazing. It's framed by windows on three sides and comes with an overhead skylight, so it's bathed in natural light and gets a nice cross-breeze, both of which should make you forget about being forced to crawl whenever you're there.The Zeus tiny on which Lucille is based starts at $89,570, which is the "but" you were probably anticipating. For all their pluses and surprises, and advantages, tiny houses are still far from accessible.This becomes even more obvious here once you consider that this price tag will get you a usable unit since it includes even some stuff like a microwave, refrigerator, and 30-gallon (113.5-liter) water heater, but not features like the skylight, ceiling fans, or other items you can't do without on the daily. Thank you for reading! Please purchase a subscription to read our premium content. If you have a subscription, please log in or sign up for an account on our website to continue. 16 February 2024 15:39 (UTC+04:00) Fatime Letifova Read more Under existing projects in Azerbaijan, it is planned to invest an additional 830 million manats in industrial zones and create more than 7,000 new workplaces, Seymur Adigozalov, Chairman of the Management Board of the Economic Zones Development Agency subordinated to the Economy Ministry, said at the press conference held today, Azernews reports. Access to paid information is limited Find the plan that suits you best. 16 February 2024 12:17 (UTC+04:00) Laman Ismayilova Read more The Azerbaijan National Art Museum has launched a new project, "Music in the Museum". The first concert within the project "Do you love Bach?" was dedicated to the work of the great German composer Johann Sebastian Bach, Azernews reports. Director of the National Art Museum, Honoured Cultural Worker Shirin Malikova, and Doctor of Philosophy in Art History Nigar Akhundova stressed the importance of the project in the cultural life of society. Next, the Baku Chamber Orchestra and laureate of international competitions, acclaimed pianist Saida Tagizade, delighted the audience with wonderful music. The concert took place with the support of PASHA Holding. Each project stage organised by the Culture Ministry and the National Art Museum is dedicated to a specific era in music and fine arts. Listeners will have a unique opportunity not only to listen to music but also to take part in a thematic excursion that will introduce them to works of art of that time. As a result, the culture of each era will be perceived by them in indissoluble unity. In collaboration with the leading musical institutions of our country The museum will present a new program to music enthusiasts every month, which includes classical music and Azerbaijani composers, as well as national, jazz, and ethnic music. Founded in 1937, the National Art Museum offers art connoisseurs some of the best examples of decorative-applied arts of Western Europe. Over 3,000 items in 60 rooms are on permanent display at the museum, and around 12,000 items are kept in storage. Here, you can see masterpieces of the Italian, French, German, and Polish masters of brush. The museum has successfully organised and hosted numerous high-level international exhibitions, showcasing the works of renowned artists. These exhibitions have not only attracted art enthusiasts but have also contributed to the cultural exchange between Azerbaijan and other countries. ---- Laman Ismayilova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @lmntypewriterrr Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 16 February 2024 10:01 (UTC+04:00) President of the Republic of Malta sends congratulatory letter to President Ilham Aliyev, Azernews reports. The letter reads: His Excellency Mr. Ilham Aliyev, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Excellency, Allow me to express my congratulations on your re-election as President of the Republic of Azerbaijan. The Republic of Malta and the Republic of Azerbaijan have developed excellent relations since diplomatic ties were launched in 1995. Our two nations have developed close cooperation and deep understanding, whilst furthering mutual respect and valued friendship. For the shared benefit of our countries Peoples, I am confident that the present longstanding relations between Malta and Azerbaijan can be consolidated through exploration of new areas intended for stronger bilateral cooperation. I also cherish the valuable development of our countries ties at multilateral level, notably through our common membership at the United Nations. Furthermore, the Republic of Malta remains a steadfast supporter of the close and strategic partnership between the European Union and the Republic of Azerbaijan, also by means of regional dialogue frameworks such as the Eastern Partnership (EaP). In wishing you success in your future endeavours, I avail myself of this opportunity to renew to you, your Excellency, the assurances of my highest consideration. George Vella, President of the Republic of Malta --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz Abdelmadjid Tebboune, President of the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria has sent a congratulatory letter to President Ilham Aliyev, Azernews reports. The letter reads: "His Excellency Mr. Ilham Aliyev, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Excellency and Dear Brother, I am pleased to extend to Your Excellency my heartfelt congratulations on your re-election as President for a new term, following your victory in the elections that recently took place in your friendly country. I seize this opportunity to express my wishes for success in your high office, thus continuing the march of progress and achievement for the benefit of the friendly people of Azerbaijan. Looking forward to meeting you in Algiers on the occasion of the 7th GECF Summit, please accept, Excellency and Dear Brother, the assurances of my highest and cordial consideration. Abdelmadjid Tebboune President of the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria" 16 February 2024 10:15 (UTC+04:00) Abbas Ganbay Read more The issue of consent to the appointment of Ali Asadov as Prime Minister of the Republic of Azerbaijan was included in the agenda of today's meeting of Milli Majlis, Azernews reports. The Cabinet of Ministers resigned in accordance with the law after the inauguration of re-elected Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on February 14. According to Article 118 of the Constitution, the Prime Minister is appointed by the President with the approval of the Milli Majlis. The proposal on the candidacy for the post of Prime Minister shall be submitted to Milli Majlis for discussion by the President within one month from the date of assumption of office or two weeks from the date of resignation of the Cabinet of Ministers. The Milli Majlis shall take a decision on the candidacy for the post of Prime Minister not later than one week from the date of submission of the candidacy. In case of violation of the mentioned rule or if the nominees submitted by the President are not approved three times for the post of Prime Minister, the President may appoint the Prime Minister without the consent of Milli Majlis. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 16 February 2024 10:20 (UTC+04:00) Abbas Ganbay Read more The regular plenary session of the spring session of Milli Majlis has started. The agenda of the meeting chaired by Sahiba Gafarova includes discussion of 7 issues, Azernews reports. These issues are as follows: 1. Draft law "On Amendments to the Law "On Water Supply and Drainage" (first reading) 2. Draft law on amendments to the "Consular Statute of the Republic of Azerbaijan" approved by the Law of the Republic of Azerbaijan No. 782 of February 8, 1994 (first reading). 3. Draft law on amendments to the Civil Procedure Code (first reading) 4. Draft law on amendments to the Law on Military Duty and Military Service (second reading). 5. Draft law amending the law "On Highways" (second reading) 6. Draft Law on Amendments to the Law "On Food Safety" (second reading) 7. 7. Draft Law on Amendments to the Urban Planning and Construction Code. Besides, "Approval of appointment of Ali Asadov as Prime Minister of the Republic of Azerbaijan" was included in the agenda of today's session of Milli Majlis. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 16 February 2024 11:04 (UTC+04:00) At today's meeting of the Milli Majlis, the issue of approving the re-appointment of Ali Asadov as Prime Minister was discussed, Azernews reports. He was nominated for this position by the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev. The nomination of Ali Asadov was announced by Speaker Sahiba Gafarova. In accordance with Article 118, Part 2 of the Constitution, the Milli Majlis agreed to the appointment of Ali Asadov as Prime Minister based on the presentation of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 16 February 2024 15:00 (UTC+04:00) Abbas Ganbay Read more Representatives of the Military Attache Office of the Republic of Azerbaijan in the Russian Federation took part in the meeting of the heads of governing bodies of military education of the member states of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) in Moscow, Azernews reports, citing the Ministry. The meeting was held under the chairmanship of the Secretary of the Council of CIS Defence Ministers, Major General Yuri Dashkin. It discussed the activities carried out in 2023 and the measures planned for 2024. Also, speeches of authorised persons were heard, and detailed views were exchanged on the opportunities for mutual integration of military education systems in the CIS within the context of modern challenges. At the end, a protocol was signed on the progress of the meeting and discussions were held. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 16 February 2024 11:01 (UTC+04:00) President Ilham Aliyev sent a congratulatory letter to Gitanas Nauseda, President of the Republic of Lithuania, Azernews reports. The letter reads: "Dear Mr. President, On my own behalf and on behalf of the people of Azerbaijan, I sincerely congratulate you and your people on the occasion of the national holiday of the Republic of Lithuania. Presently, there exist good opportunities and prospects for fruitful cooperation between our countries across economic, trade, transport, renewable energy, and other areas. By taking advantage of the present opportunities, we will be able to achieve the development of our relations and further deepen our cooperation through our joint efforts. I am confident that Azerbaijan-Lithuania relations will continue to develop consistently both bilaterally and within the European Union. On this remarkable day, I wish you good health, happiness, success in your endeavors, and the people of Lithuania everlasting peace and prosperity. Sincerely, Ilham Aliyev President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Baku, 13 February 2024" --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 16 February 2024 16:00 (UTC+04:00) Laman Ismayilova Read more Azerbaijan Technical University (ATU) has hosted an event called "Khojaly Genocide through the eyes of Reza Deghati" as part of the campaign "Justice for Khojaly!". The national anthem of Azerbaijan was played, and the memory of Azerbaijani martyrs was honoured with a minute of silence, Azernews reports. World-famous photojournalist Reza Deghati attended the event, which was co-organized by the Azerbaijan Youth Foundation and the Support for Youth Education Public Association. Speaking at the event, Vice-Rector of the Azerbaijan Technical University, Narmin Rzayeva, emphasised the importance of the annual commemoration of the victims of the Khojaly Genocide. Acting Executive Director of the Azerbaijan Youth Foundation, Gadir Khalilov, stressed that the Azerbaijani state is taking the necessary steps to convey the truth about the genocide to the international community. In his speech, Gadir Khalilov underlined that after the return of National Leader Heydar Aliyev to the country's leadership, the information blockade in which Azerbaijan found itself was broken, and the truth about what was happening in the country, including the Khojaly Genocide, was brought to the attention of the world community. Reza Deghati presented photographs he took during the Khojaly tragedy, the Patriotic War, and reconstruction work in Karabakh after its liberation and spoke about the events of which he was an eyewitness. Admitting that the difficult pictures of the past are still alive in his memory, Reza Deghati added that he strives to tell the world about the terrible tragedy and genocide against the Azerbaijani people in the photographs taken in Khojaly. "I have been a photojournalist for forty-three years. Over the years, I have visited hot spots in many parts of the world and captured many tragedies, but most of all I was shocked by the Khojaly Genocide," R. Deghati told journalists. Noting that he considers it his duty to bring the right voice of Khojaly to the world, Reza Deghati added: "I received the news of the Khojaly tragedy when I was in France and immediately went there. This terrible genocide occurred when a serious information war was being waged. The Armenian lobby presented this tragedy to the world in a distorted form." Reza Deghati, saying that the camera helped him capture the events of that time and tell the whole world about them, added that he considers this work of his life. "For two years, I created a website called "Witness of Khojaly", displaying photographs on it reflecting the Khojaly tragedy. Today, justice has triumphed, the almost 30-year longing of people for their native land has come to an end," he noted. ---- Laman Ismayilova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @lmntypewriterrr Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 16 February 2024 13:42 (UTC+04:00) Abdelmadjid Tebboune, President of the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria has sent a congratulatory letter to President Ilham Aliyev, Azernews reports. The letter reads: "His Excellency Mr. Ilham Aliyev, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Excellency and Dear Brother, I am pleased to extend to Your Excellency my heartfelt congratulations on your re-election as President for a new term, following your victory in the elections that recently took place in your friendly country. I seize this opportunity to express my wishes for success in your high office, thus continuing the march of progress and achievement for the benefit of the friendly people of Azerbaijan. Looking forward to meeting you in Algiers on the occasion of the 7th GECF Summit, please accept, Excellency and Dear Brother, the assurances of my highest and cordial consideration. Abdelmadjid Tebboune President of the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria" --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 16 February 2024 18:36 (UTC+04:00) Abbas Ganbay Read more Chairman of the Caucasus Muslims Board (CMB), Sheikhulislam Allahshukur Pashazadeh, said on February 16 at a meeting with Archbishop Theophylact, temporary head of the Azerbaijan and Baku Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church, Pyatigorsk and Cherkes, that clerics should make efforts to preserve peace and stability in the Caucasus, Azernews reports. Sheikhulislam noted that there is a high level of relations between CMB and the Russian Orthodox Church. Sheikhulislam emphasised the merits of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia in this field. During the 30-year Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict, A.Pashazade highly appreciated the mediation mission of the Patriarch and emphasized that as a result of the steps taken, the problem did not reach the religious level. Sheikhulislam Allahshukur Pashazade asked the guest to convey congratulations and greetings to His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia on the occasion of the 15th anniversary of his election as Patriarch. According to the CMB Chairman, from the first day on, our country has been trying to solve the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict in a peaceful way, and the other side also calls for it. Noting that due to the unity of the state and people of Azerbaijan, the ancient lands were liberated and the sovereignty of our country was fully restored, His Holiness Sheikhul Islam said that religious leaders should also make efforts to preserve peace and stability in the Caucasus. The acting head of the Azerbaijan and Baku Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church, Archbishop Theophylact of Pyatigorsk and Circassia, said he was pleased to convey the greetings of Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia to the SMM chairman. The guest congratulated the Azerbaijani people on the occasion of the February 7 presidential elections and wished success to President Ilham Aliyev, who took the oath of office. Theophylact expressed confidence that the head of state will continue to work tirelessly for the further strengthening of the Azerbaijani state and the welfare of all nations living here. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 16 February 2024 21:45 (UTC+04:00) Fatime Letifova Read more Under the burden of economic problems and sanctions, Iran has decided to close its land borders with neighbouring countries. The Commander of the Iranian Army's Ground Force, Brigadier General Kioumars Heydari, informed Iran's local media about this. In his statement, the Iranian general noted that Iran has expressed its intention not to interfere in the territories of neighbouring countries. He said that this decision is within the will of the Iranian authorities. It should be noted that some time ago there was a conflict between Iran and Pakistan in the border area called Bolochistan. Iran conducted a series of missile strikes in Pakistan, asserting that it had targeted militants of the Baloch group Jaish ul-Adl in the Pakistani province of Balochistan. This attack occurred one day after a similar series of Iranian missile strikes in Iraq and Syria, which the Iranian government had stated were in response to the Kerman bombings by the Islamic State on January 3. Pakistan's government condemned the strikes as an "unprovoked violation" of Pakistani airspace and stated that two children had been killed. However, the closing of Iran's borders with other states, for example, with Azerbaijan and Armenia in the South Caucasus, has aroused certain interests. While investigating the issue, political scientist Sadraddin Soltan told Azernews that the Iranian government intends to expand its military influence in the provinces. The expert added that Iran also aims to prevent any countermeasures against the government. "The Iranian authorities are expanding their military presence in the provinces. This will also be aimed at preventing protests and demonstrations against the authorities in the regions." S. Soltan added that Iran's closing of borders and the mobilisation of military forces are related to the elimination of the unstable situation inside. "Iran's preparation to close its land borders can be considered a security measure by the authorities because recently there have been a number of armed attacks and clashes inside Iran. For example, the incident that took place in the south of the country, in the province of Kerman, and the armed incidents in the border region of Iran with Pakistan and Afghanistan can be recalled." As mentioned earlier, Iran's closing of borders with neighbouring countries in the South Caucasus has attracted certain interests. The expert expressed a different attitude in his answer. Sadraddin Soltan said that closing Iran's borders has nothing to do with the region. "As for the relations between Armenia and Iran, Iran's activities on the border with this country will continue. Iran's exit from the South Caucasus is not on the agenda. However, Iran may strengthen control of military forces on the border with Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Turkiye," the expert added. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 16 February 2024 19:04 (UTC+04:00) Qabil Ashirov Read more The Commissioner for Human Rights (Ombudsman) of the Azerbaijan Republic, Sabina Aliyeva, received the Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of the United Mexican States to Azerbaijan, Maria Victoria Romero Caballero. During the meeting, the Ombudsman gave the guest extensive information about her activities in the field of protection of human rights and freedoms. The commissioner said that cooperation with international institutions is of great importance, there are close cooperation relations with the ombudsman and national human rights institutions of foreign countries, and memoranda of understanding have been signed with a number of institutions. Sabina Aliyeva spoke about the recent amendments to the Constitutional Law "On Human Rights Commissioner (Ombudsman) of the Republic of Azerbaijan" and drew attention to the expansion of her mandate in the field of protecting the rights of persons with disabilities and children, ensuring the right to equality, and preventing discrimination. At the meeting, the importance of promoting and ensuring gender equality and the protection of women's rights were emphasised, and positive experiences in this field and opportunities for future cooperation were exchanged. Providing information on a number of important international events hosted by Azerbaijan and achievements, the Ombudsman pointed out that the 29th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change - COP29 will be held in Azerbaijan in 2024. Ambassador Maria Victoria Romero Caballero expressed her gratitude to Ombudsman Sabina Aliyeva for her warm reception. At the meeting, prospects for strengthening cooperation between the ombudsman institutions of both countries and a number of other issues of mutual interest were discussed. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 16 February 2024 22:10 (UTC+04:00) President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has met with U.S. Special Presidential Coordinator for Global Infrastructure and Energy Security Amos Hochstein in Munich, as per the latters request, Azernews reports. Amos Hochstein conveyed his congratulations on Azerbaijans hosting the COP29. The head of state expressed gratitude for the congratulations. U.S. Special Presidential Coordinator for Global Infrastructure and Energy Security fondly recalled joint partnership with President Ilham Aliyev since 1990s in projects involving cooperation between Azerbaijan and USA and export of hydrocarbon resources from the Caspian Sea to the world markets. He noted that Azerbaijan is a strategically important country in the region. The meeting discussed development of the Middle Corridor and Azerbaijans role in this process as well as cooperation within the COP29 framework. They also shared their opinions on the US-Azerbaijan bilateral relations. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 16 February 2024 22:25 (UTC+04:00) President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has met with President of the State of Israel Isaac Herzog in Munich, as per the latters request, Azernews reports. President Isaac Herzog congratulated the head of state on his victory in the presidential election. President Ilham Aliyev expressed his gratitude for the congratulations and noted with pleasure that he had received congratulations from Isaac Herzog in the form of an official letter. During the conversation, they exchanged views on cooperation between Azerbaijan and Israel across various areas, highlighting the activity of the intergovernmental commission, and touching upon economic, trade, cultural, and humanitarian ties. The sides also noted that the opening of the Embassy of the Republic of Azerbaijan in the State of Israel gave an impetus to the development of bilateral bonds. They also discussed other issues of mutual concern. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 16 February 2024 22:30 (UTC+04:00) President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has met with Managing Director of the German Eastern Business Association Michael Harms in Munich, as per the latters request, Azernews reports. Michael Harms expressed German businessmen`s interest in expanding economic relations with Azerbaijan. He briefed President Ilham Aliyev on the upcoming visit of representatives from companies to Azerbaijan in February, particularly those interested in transportation, logistics, industry, renewable energy, and other sectors. He highlighted that this visit would involve the largest delegation in terms of representation and the number of participating businesspersons, a direct outcome of the Azerbaijani President's meeting with businessmen during his last years visit to Germany. During the meeting, they noted that Azerbaijans hosting the COP29 would contribute to enhancing the potential of implementing economic projects on a larger scale. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 16 February 2024 22:35 (UTC+04:00) President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has met with Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkiye Hakan Fidan in Munich, as per the latters request, Azernews reports. Hakan Fidan congratulated the head of state on the victory in the presidential election. President Ilham Aliyev thanked him for the congratulations. During the conversation, they reiterated that Turkiye-Azerbaijan friendly and brotherly relations are developing in all fields, expressing confidence in further expanding cooperation. The meeting discussed Azerbaijan-Armenia relations, peace treaty talks and regional security. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 16 February 2024 22:55 (UTC+04:00) President of the State of Israel Isaac Herzog has congratulated President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev on his resounding victory in the snap presidential election, Azernews reports. Under your leadership, Azerbaijan has built and sustained two decades of stability, economic development, and religious freedoms. I am certain that your re-election will continue to ensure a bright future of prosperity for your nation. The State of Israel deeply values its relationship with the Republic of Azerbaijan. Our bilateral ties provide vital economic, security, and political benefits, and we are committed to this robust and ongoing partnership, the President of the State of Israel said in his message. I am personally thankful for the opportunity to work with you to further build and enhance the bonds between Azerbaijan and Israel. I will remain ever grateful and humbled by warm and moving hospitality that you showed Michal and myself during our visit to your beautiful nation last year. I look forward to working with you to continue deepening the ties between our nations, as we strive to promote our mutual interests in the years to come, President Isaac Herzog emphasized. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 16 February 2024 13:57 (UTC+04:00) Fatime Letifova Read more Rachel Avraham, Dona Gracia Diplomacy Center's founder and general director, a well-known political commentator and journalist, delivered an extensive article, headlined "Why Israel should care about climate change?", on the COP29, Azernews reports. Article published in Israel's popular "Israel National News". The author mentioned that despite Israel's numerous innovations aimed at combating climate change, it is no coincidence that the COP29 conference will be held not in the aforementioned country, but in Azerbaijan, an oil-rich country proud of its significant environmental progress. The journalist emphasised that Azerbaijan, which has successfully hosted many international events so far, pays great attention to green energy and renewable energy sources, and the policy in question is one of the priority issues for the Azerbaijani government. Thus, it is obvious that Azerbaijan has made significant investments in the development of green energy and renewable energy sources recently. At the same time, it was pointed out that Azerbaijan always keeps in mind the goals of sustainable development. Azerbaijan is one of the countries that actively supports and promotes the aforementioned goals from various perspectives, and in this regard, hosting the COP29 conference can be considered as a logical continuation of the country's strategy of transitioning to a green economy. The Israeli journalist stressed that the 29th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29) will prove to the whole world how much Azerbaijan sees the green economy as a priority field, in addition to being an oil and gas country. Note that COP29 will be held in Azerbaijan in 2024. The decision was made at the plenary session of COP28 on December 11. Azerbaijan successfully participated in the COP28 held in Abu Dhabi last year. Besides, Azerbaijan confirmed its commitment to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases by 35 percent by 2030 and increase this target by 40 percent by 2050. Fulfilling the commitments under the Paris Agreement adopted in 2015 and actively working in this regard are priority issues for the government of Azerbaijan. The Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) has been held annually since 1995. The event aims to assess the progress made in combating climate change around the world. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 16 February 2024 20:40 (UTC+04:00) The Chairman of the Committee on National Defense of the Turkish Grand National Assembly, Hulusi Akar, met Thursday with the head of the Qatar-Turkiye Inter-Parliamentary Friendship Group, Ahmed bin Hitmi Al Hitmi, and his accompanying delegation in Ankara, Azernews reports, citing Anadolu Agency. During the meeting, Akar said that relations between Turkiye and Qatar continue to be extensive and multidimensional, expressing the hope for a further strengthening of relations through such high-level visits. Emphasizing that serious efforts are being made not only in defense and security relations but also in areas such as economy, education, health and tourism, he said "although the figures in our economic relations are not sufficient, we expect them to increase in the coming days." Akar also highlighted the significant steps taken in defense and security matters, emphasizing the importance of the relationship between Turkiye and Qatar. Al Hitmi noted that the Shura Council is the first elected parliament in Qatar. "It consists of 30 elected members, and 15 are appointed by His Highness the Emir. We have a total of 45 members," he said. Recalling that the first agreement between Qatar and Turkiye was reached when the Shura Council was established, Al Hitmi said: "Our bilateral relations started with a memorandum of understanding, and I am sure that these visits will have a positive impact on bilateral relations." "Even before these agreements were made, our brotherly relations were expressed in every aspect and on every platform. Moreover, there is a consensus between Qatar and Turkiye," he added. Al Hitmi noted that Turkiye has rich and vast experience in both legislation and the functioning of public institutions, expressing Qatar's desire to benefit from these experiences. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 16 February 2024 21:15 (UTC+04:00) Turkiye rescued 125 irregular migrants in the Aegean Sea after Greek authorities pushed them back into Turkish territorial waters, authorities said Thursday, Azernews reports, citing Anadolu Agency. Coast guard units rescued 47 migrants from a rubber boat off Bodrum district of western Mugla province, the Turkish Coast Guard said in a statement. Separately, 78 migrants on board a rubber boat were apprehended off the coast of Cesme district in Izmir province. The irregular migrants were taken to local immigration authorities for deportation. Turkiye and global rights groups have repeatedly condemned Greece's illegal practice of pushing back asylum seekers, saying it violates humanitarian values and international law by endangering the lives of vulnerable migrants, including women and children. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 16 February 2024 22:20 (UTC+04:00) The master plan of a high-speed railroad connecting Russias two largest cities, Moscow and St. Petersburg, has been agreed upon, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said after a meeting chaired by Russian President Vladimir Putin, Azernews reports, citing TASS. "The high-speed railroad will be built. The master plan has been agreed upon. Details of the future document will be adjusted in the process," the spokesman said. Russian President Vladimir Putin held a special meeting on the issue on Thursday. In his words, the country needs to build high-speed rail communication lines to boost the transport capacity of its railways, reduce airport traffic and spur domestic tourism. Currently, Russia has no railways designed specifically for high-speed trains, travelling faster than 250 kmph. The project has been on the table since late 1960s. In 1992, a joint-stock company was set up to build a high-speed railroad between Moscow and St. Petersburg, which planned to complete it in 2000. However, all decisions made in accordance with the project were de-facto cancelled in 1998. Are the Kooky Little Pyrosomes Coming Back to Oregon Coast? New Sightings Published 2/09/24 at 7:55 p.m. By Oregon Coast Beach Connection staff (Seaside, Oregon) With still a sizable amount of scientific mystery behind them, the kooky pyrosomes have made some appearances again on the Oregon coast. This may or may not herald the return of the oddball little glow-in-the-dark creature, which hasn't been seen in big numbers for a couple of years now. (Photos Seaside Aquarium. Above: recent pyrosome in Seaside) It was Seaside Aquarium's Tiffany Boothe that spotted some in Seaside recently just a handful, she tells Oregon Coast Beach Connection. However, she's received some reports of them in Newport as well. In 2016-2017 pyrosomes were washing ashore en masse along Oregon's beaches, Boothe said. So are they back? Will we see them in the numbers we saw in 2016-2017? Only time will tell. They are sometimes called sea pickles or sea squirts, and they're usually found in more tropical waters. Pyrosomes almost never appear this far north. Yet for those two years they were washing up like crazy, causing plenty of head-scratching for scientists. One pair of researchers were really digging into them at the time and came up with some interesting working theories. A lot of that centered around the fact pyrosomes are attracted to smaller prey: tinier versions of the phytoplankton we normally have on the Oregon coast and Washington coast. Appearances of Pyrosomes on Oregon Coast Still a Big Puzzle to Scientists Boothe said such ocean conditions especially storms can bring them as far north as Alaska. Pyrosoma atlanticum - the most observed species found along Oregon beaches - are a rigid, bumpy, pinkish-gray tube about the size of a finger, she said. Throughout the world pyrosomes can range in size from a few centimeters to over 30 feet long, but the common Pyrosoma atlanticum reaches a maximum length of two feet. The tricky part and big surprise is that pyrosomes are not actually just one creature. They are a mass of colonies all glommed together. These totally tubular critters are actually known as a colonial tunicate, a mass of thousands of smaller organisms with a rigid notochord (a simplistic backbone), Boothe said. Multi-celled critters called zooids are what comprise them: thousands of cloned versions of these create the cylindrical shape we see. These are all connected by tissue that allows each to communicate with each other and create coordinated behavior. To swim and feed, pyrosomes move their cilia (hair-like structures) together to draw in water and filter-feed on plankton, Boothe said. After the plankton is caught on mucus the zooids expel the water in coordination to propel their tube-body through the sea. Their scientific name roughly means fire body, which comes from the fact they are bioluminescent. Therein lies another cool fact about these critters: they glow. However, they only do so while still alive in the water. One former oceanography student from OSU told Oregon Coast Beach Connection back in 2020 how she was part of a research expedition off the U.S. coast and saw hordes of these glowing creatures moving past the viewing screen of the vessel. It was a rather unforgettable visual description. The expedition happened during the height of the pyrosome invasion of Oregon and Washington beaches back in 2017 or so. MORE PYROSOMES BELOW Oregon Coast Hotels for this event - South Coast Hotels - Where to eat - Maps - Virtual Tours MORE PHOTOS BELOW More About Oregon Coast hotels, lodging..... More About Oregon Coast Restaurants, Dining..... Coastal Spotlight Andre' GW Hagestedt is editor, owner and primary photographer / videographer of Oregon Coast Beach Connection, an online publication that sees over 1 million pageviews per month. He is also author of several books about the coast. LATEST Related Oregon Coast Articles Back to Oregon Coast Contact Advertise on Oregon Coast Beach Connection All Content, unless otherwise attributed, copyright Oregon Coast Beach Connection. Unauthorized use or publication is not permitted UPDATED: A Rare Stranding on Oregon Coast, Fin Whale Washes Up Near Seaside Published 2/13/24 at 7:35 p.m. By Oregon Coast Beach Connection staff (Gearhart, Oregon) SEE THE UPDATES: Oregon Coast Fin Whale Update: Sick, Weathered Orca Attack, Fishing Gear ---- A rare find, attacked by orcas, fishing gear, and very sick Exactly when it washed up is unclear. In fact, little to nothing is known at the moment about the gigantic Fin whale that stranded on the north Oregon coast, except that it is dead now. (Photos Seaside Aquarium) The whale somewhere about 40 feet long is currently sitting on the beach at Gearhart, apparently having landed there sometime on Monday. Aside from that, witness accounts differ whether it was alive or not at the beginning, with some initial reports claiming it was moving in the surf. However, at this time, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Pacific Fisheries is saying it was dead when it came ashore at Sunset Beach State Park. A necropsy will be done on it Tuesday and more will be known then. NOAA is adamant the public stay away, but regional TV media footage has shown not many heeding that plea. They're asking the public to stay 100 yards away from the deceased fin whale. Leave the carcass undisturbed and urge others to do the same, NOAA said in a social media post. Fin whales are the second largest whale in the world, after Blue whales, and they are protected by law. Our best chance of learning what happened to this endangered species is to examine the carcass, but any disturbance or interaction with the carcass compromises that opportunity. NOAA said it will share its findings following the necropsy. Whatever happened here, this stranding is extremely rare. In over 17 years of covering whale strandings, Oregon Coast Beach Connection has not come across one involving a fin whale. They are sometimes seen on whale charter boats, but it does not appear to be too often. Numbers of fin whales off the West Coast are nebulous, but scientists have a much better idea on the population off the East Coast. According to NOAA and Whale's Tail Charters in Depoe Bay, fin whales inhabit a wide range of oceans on the Earth, including off the Oregon coast, as well as Washington and California. They can get as long as 80 feet and their blow can get up to 20 feet into the air, seen as far away as several miles. It gets its name from an easy-to-spot fin on its back, near its tail, NOAA said in its documentation on fin whales. Fin whales of the North Pacific and North Atlantic are B. physalus physalus, but even so scientists think of the two populations as different species. Last year, several whales washed up all over the Oregon coast within a short period, including three right around the Wreck of the Peter Iredale within days of each other. Fourth Whale Carcass on Oregon Coast in Two Weeks, This Time Cannon Beach, Video. From the story and talk with Keith Chandler of Seaside Aquarium: It has to do with currents and wind, he said. The conditions were right to bring a lot of things onshore. These bodies float around out there for a real long time. Conditions often combine out there to bring in many things at once. He said discovering multiple sea lion or sea turtles on the beaches always happens in clumps. Hotels in Astoria - Where to eat - Astoria Maps and Virtual Tours Hotels in Seaside - Where to eat - Seaside Maps and Virtual Tours MORE PHOTOS BELOW More on Gearhart (photos Oregon Coast Beach Connection) More About Oregon Coast hotels, lodging..... More About Oregon Coast Restaurants, Dining..... Coastal Spotlight Andre' GW Hagestedt is editor, owner and primary photographer / videographer of Oregon Coast Beach Connection, an online publication that sees over 1 million pageviews per month. He is also author of several books about the coast. LATEST Related Oregon Coast Articles Back to Oregon Coast Contact Advertise on Oregon Coast Beach Connection All Content, unless otherwise attributed, copyright Oregon Coast Beach Connection. Unauthorized use or publication is not permitted Under the cover of Covid, and now in the shadow of the infamous Election Irregularities of that fated 2020 presidential election, with current emerging alleged election fraud in Nevada and Pennsylvania inconveniently slipping into the public discourse, there is proved a colluded ongoing Election Interference in the nomination of the Republican candidate, the likes of which has never occurred in our Constitutional Republic's history, albeit, the question remains: Do you support the plain-sight Election Interference of the Democratic Socialist party, employing its minions in their Propagandistic Media, and their Two Tiered Justice System? 98.25% No, I do not support Election Interference; I am a patriot unto our Constitution.1.75% Yes, I do support Election Interference; the alternative, Donald Trump, to this mentally diminished president is far worse.0% "What, me worry" if elections are rigged? Here are five anesthesiologists or anesthesia-related stories that have made headlines since Jan. 24: 1. Lubbock, Texas-based anesthesiologist Jeffrey Norman Colvin, MD, has been accused of violating a medical license restriction more than 60 times in two months and has been temporarily barred from practicing. The Texas Medical Board suspended Dr. Colvin's for writing more than 60 controlled substance prescriptions, mostly to women, between Dec. 7 and Feb. 2 despite having a restriction prohibiting him from treating female patients. 2. Surgeries at two Providence hospitals in Portland, Ore., were down by almost 50% in December and January amid an anesthesiologist shortageThe delay comes after the hospitals' anesthesia staffing was taken over by a private equity-backed physician staffing firm Sound Physicians, which did not have enough staffers to handle the volume of the hospitals. 3. Billings (Mont.) Clinic's contract with long-time anesthesia partner, Billings Anesthesiology, is set to expire on Feb. 9. After contracting with Billings Anesthesiology for several decades, the hospital has decided to form its own fully staffed anesthesia department. 4. The part-time and full-time anesthesiologists at Los Angeles-based Cedars-Sinai's Beverly Anesthesiology unionized. Of the 139 employees eligible to vote on the union, 103 voted, with 78 in favor of unionizing. 5. Army anesthesiologist Maj. Michael Stockin, MD, has been accused of sexual misconduct related to 42 alleged victims. Army prosecutors are moving forward in a case that accuses Dr. Stockin, who worked at Madigan Army Medical Center on Joint Base Lewis-McChord (Wash.), of 48 counts of abusive sexual contact and five counts of indecent viewing under the Uniform Code of Military Justice. New Jersey physician Mohammad Zubair, MD, is seeking approval for a three-story medical office building in Edison, N.J., according to a Feb. 16 report from My Central Jersey. The building will be located near Hackensack Meridian Health JFK University Medical Center. Dr. Zubair is seeking approval from the zoning board to demolish an existing building. The proposed building will be 7,500 square feet, and the application hearing is scheduled for Feb. 27. On an October day in 2022, Kelsay Irby, BSN, RN, then nurse at Silverdale, Wash.-based St. Michael Medical Center, called 911 for backup when the emergency department became overwhelmed with patient boarding. Now, after hospital leaders spent time crafting a plan for resilience, the hospital has shared the strategies that helped it turn things around. "We're drowning," Ms. Irby said multiple times during the call to emergency dispatchers, according to the Kitsap Sun. "We're in dire straits, we need the fire department's help, can somebody come up here and help us?" Ms. Irby, now employed by the Olympic Ambulance Service, has since stated that she "called 911 to ask for help in our overwhelmed ER during a cyberattack that took down all our electronic resources." "The initial story wasn't quite relayed correctly, but the resulting discussions were, I hope, valuable in ways that are still being played out," she wrote. "In that moment, I wasn't thinking about thinking outside the box, or creating new possibilities. I was literally grasping at straws and trying to address a circumstance in which I saw no known solutions or remedies." Following the incident, the interim emergency department head left his role at St. Michael's, the hospital faced recruitment challenges, received preliminary denial from The Joint Commission for accreditation before regaining it, and did not regain CMS compliance until May 2023. Responding, resilience, and reintegration The incident drew national attention to the hospital in the tiny 1,276 person town of Silverdale, but few stories following the aftermath recounted the detailed, behind-the-scenes work that teams at St. Michael's were doing to make sure something like this wouldn't happen again. "Resilience is fundamental to work in critical care" a team of subject matter experts who are closest to the hospital's response explained to Becker's via email. "Instilling and renewing resilience is a continual process, and we have found the best practices and activities come from the teams on the ground." To turn things around, the hospital worked with the community to create an EMS Task Force comprised of members from St. Michael Medical Center, Kitsap County Emergency Medical Services and Trauma Council to identify gaps, issues, and propose solutions. The additional communication and collaboration with the task force has helped it decrease emergency room wait times and expand access to care. The task force recommended three key things: Co-locating a triage nurse at the registration desk to be able to quickly evaluate patients based on their acuity. Streamlining processes and workflows to improve efficiency by creating a "moving waiting room" to provide care to lower acuity patients more quickly. Expanding data sharing across organizations, to provide transparency into pre-hospital and in-hospital processes. Not only did the task force implement these recommendations after they were proposed, they seemed to help tremendously, the St. Michael's experts told Becker's. "As a result of these efforts, the hospital decreased emergency department wait times and has maintained these improvements," they said. "Weekly median arrival-to-triage time has decreased from 15 minutes in December 2022, to two minutes or less as of June 2023. Patients who previously experienced a wait of two to three hours were seen and able to return home within 2530 minutes." It has also worked to expand care and properly refer lower acuity patients to various places for the care they need to keep them out of the emergency department, if possible. The team also now partners with the local fire department to identify when a patient may not need an ED visit, but just a primary care appointment or virtual visit instead. In those instances, EMS teams now call in a mobile advanced practice physician, who can see patients almost instantly using virtual urgent care or the patient can be scheduled for a same-day appointment. While ED boarding and capacity issues continue to strain hospitals nationwide, St. Michael's says it is still refining things itself amidst the growing demand for care during a shortage of nurses and physicians taking place across the U.S. But, in 2023 alone, St. Michael's hired more than 100 additional RNs and saw its nurse retention rate increase 10% year over year. "We have put emphasis on leadership development, improving communication and supporting rewards and recognition for the people on the frontline," they said. "We are committed to supporting our front lines while providing high-quality care to our community." Springfield, Mass.-based Baystate Health reached a deal to sell Health New England, its insurance subsidiary, to Point32Health. According to a Feb. 15 news release, Health New England has around 180,000 Medicare, Medicaid and commercial members in Western Massachusetts. Point32Health has 1.9 million members in Massachusetts and four other states. The deal was unanimously approved by the boards of both organizations and is subject to regulatory approval. "Preserving and enhancing strong, high-quality, not-for-profit health plans is critical for Massachusetts health care," Cain Hayes, president and CEO of Point32Health, said in a news release. "We are excited at the possibility of welcoming Health New England into the Point32Health family of companies." Point32Health is the parent company of two nonprofit health plans, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care and Tufts Health Plan. Ridgecrest (Calif.) Regional Hospital is laying off 31 more employees just two months after it announced plans to layoff 29 others and suspend its labor and delivery unit, Bakersfield.com reported Feb. 15. The most recent round of layoffs, beginning April 8, include seven licensed vocational nurses and four registered nurses, according to the report. Cutbacks will affect several key service lines, including surgery, respiratory therapy, physical therapy, environmental services, lab and various clinics. "It is expected that Ridgecrest Regional Hospital will not be closed in its entirety," CEO James Suver said in a Feb. 8 notice sent to Kern County's board of supervisors. The initial round of layoffs, which take effect Feb. 28, includes 23 registered nurses within the labor and delivery unit, according to NBC affiliate KGET. Inadequate obstetric providers and a nationwide shortage has contributed to recruitment challenges and forced the suspension of the service line, the hospital said. Ridgecrest Regional had subsidized labor and delivery services by about $4 million last year, but continuing to make that investment jeopardizes other services. Declining birth rates and reduced on-call expectations have made it more challenging to maintain a safe obstetric clinic in many rural areas. "Rural healthcare is facing challenges that were not created locally, and they cannot be fixed at the local level," Mr. Suver said in the release. "We will continue to work with our elected officials and policy makers at the higher levels of government to find solutions that restore access to healthcare in our remote regions of the country." Becker's has reached out to Ridgecrest Regional and will update this story as more information becomes available. Rochester, Minn.-based Mayo Clinic has added two Malaysia hospitals to its Mayo Clinic Care Network. The hospitals, KPJ Damansara Specialist Hospital and Damansara Specialist Hospital 2, are the first Malaysia healthcare facilities to join Mayo, according to a Feb. 16 news release from the health system. The facilities are a part of KPJ Healthcare, and under the affiliation, these hospitals will have access to Mayo's clinical tools and services. UChicago Medicine has unveiled a new center dedicated to combating inequities in cancer prevention and care delivery. The move comes as cancer incidence rates on Chicago's South Side, where the academic health system's flagship medical center is located, are expected to jump 12% in the next decade. The Center to Eliminate Cancer Inequity or CinEQUITY (pronounced "see inequity") will serve as a hub for researchers and providers to advance progress in eliminating cancer disparities, according to a Feb. 16 news release sent to Becker's. Leaders at the center will also work closely on engaging community partners to identify research priorities and measure progress. "The mission of CinEQUITY is to codesign solutions with our community that shatter disparities in cancer prevention and care," Jasmin Tiro, PhD, who will serve as the center's director, said in a news release. "Our guiding vision is of a future where every individual, regardless of background or circumstance, has equitable outcomes when preventing, treating and surviving cancer," said Dr. Tiro, who is also a professor of public health services at UChicago Medicine. In September, UChicago Medicine broke ground on an $815 million project that will mark the city's first freestanding facility dedicated to cancer care and research. The 575,000-square-foot facility is slated to open in 2027 and builds off the University of Chicago Medicine Comprehensive Cancer Center, one of two National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive centers in Illinois. UChicago Medicine has launched numerous initiatives focused on different areas of health equity in recent years. In November, it named Sarosh Rana, MD, to serve as its first chief obstetrical transformation officer a role that stands out as among the first C-level health system positions to address a distinct form of health equity. "We really need to create patient-centered processes and involve our community partners," Dr. Rana previously told Becker's. "Involve your community partners. Involve your federally qualified health centers. Involve your safety net hospitals and create systems which will benefit and will create a kind of safety net for all patients." Read more about UChicago Medicine's plan to close gaps in maternal care here. Scott Moran, MD, CEO of Clifton T. Perkins Hospital Center, a maximum-security forensic psychiatric hospital in Jessup, Md., is on leave amid allegations he bullied and threatened staff, The Washington Post reported Feb. 15. Chase Cook, a spokesperson for the Maryland Department of Health, which operates the facility through the department's healthcare system, confirmed to Becker's that Dr. Moran is on leave. "The department can confirm that Dr. Scott Moran is an employee of the department and is on leave. Dr. Moran's date of hire at Clifton T. Perkins Hospital was Oct. 19, 2019. His current title is chief executive officer," Mr. Cook said. He also said the hospital "is dedicated to treating its patients in a safe and therapeutic environment." However, he did not provide further information about the leave. Dr. Moran's leave comes amid allegations made in a petition for a restraining order filed by health department employees Dwain Shaw and Nisha Madhaven and obtained by the Post. In the petition, which was granted this month in Baltimore County Circuit Court, the employees alleged that Dr. Moran harassed and threatened his "employer and subordinates" using "electronic methods," according to the newspaper. The petition also alleges Dr. Moran sent "racially suggestive messages" to workers even after being told not to contact them, that he engaged in "yelling, public humiliation and intimidating," and that he previously was accused of bullying other workers, the Post reported. Dr. Moran did not immediately respond to the newspaper's requests for comment. The Post's attempts to reach his family also were unsuccessful. Mr. Cook said the Maryland Department of Health "does not comment on personnel matters, nor can it comment on patient health information. The department is fully dedicated to the safety and security of our employees as well as the patients that we serve at Clifton T. Perkins and throughout the department's healthcare system." The temporary restraining order against Dr. Moran, who previously worked as a physician in the Army, prohibits him from coming to Clifton as well as the state administrative offices for the Maryland Department of Health, according to the Post. Dr. Moran and the workers who petitioned for the restraining order will be able to address the allegations during a hearing scheduled for later this month, according to the newspaper. Read the Post's full report here. Healthcare is stuck in a rut, with many of the same daily events and problems stemming from long-standing systemic issues that are sorely in need of urgency, attention and insistence for improvement. Covering healthcare news on a daily basis can result in an interesting vantage point. Being a few feet removed helps one better see the shape of how local stories can build into national or industrywide trends. Being close enough helps one detect patterns, better noticing the moment when things tip the scales from rarity to recurring, or from inevitable to preventable. Go a mile wide and an inch deep for long enough and it quickly becomes clear how inaction, apathy and tyranny of the urgent leads history to repeat itself. The U.S. is also coming off of one of the most unproductive Congresses in modern history that seems to fancy theatrics with hope of social media virality versus meaningful, substantive healthcare lawmaking. To avoid excessive reliance on the government to solve every problem, there are growing opportunities for private-public coalitions in healthcare around issues that stand to affect a lot of people. Here are four cyclical things we at Becker's continue to run into in our newsroom and the healthcare news cycle that, if addressed further upstream by lawmakers, government officials, business and community leaders, stand to become less recurring or at least less futile. 1. Hospital closures. It seems lawmakers only start to take notice of hospital financial solvency when closure announcements are made. Lost in this 11th-hour dynamic is concern for patient safety and care quality. The closure of a hospital is one thing. But just as important and often neglected is scrutiny of the quality of care patients receive in the period leading up to the announcement of closure. Dallas-based Steward Healthcare is one of the most recent examples of this. The for-profit chain was on a buying spree in recent years. Four days into 2024, hospital landlord Medical Properties Trust reported Steward was $50 million behind on its rent. It wasn't until The Boston Globe published local reporting on the state of affairs at Steward's Massachusetts hospitals that lawmakers and officials started to pay attention. The Massachusetts governor is now calling this health systems' financial situation an urgent priority, U.S. lawmakers from Massachusetts are giving Steward two weeks to submit information in response to their inquiry, and states around the U.S. are seeing Steward curb services or acting in response to the risk of abrupt closures. Steward operates hospitals in 11 states. 2. Hospital staff safety. The Safety from Violence for Healthcare Employees Act was introduced in the House last April and in the Senate last September. The bipartisan legislation would make it a federal crime to knowingly assault hospital workers and enact federal protections for healthcare workers like those in effect for aircraft and airport workers. Since the legislation's introduction, individual acts of violence in hospitals continue to unfold and make headlines as more longitudinal data is released showing just how much more hostile healthcare settings have become. More than double the number of health workers reported harassment at work in 2022 than in 2018, including threats, bullying, verbal abuse, or other actions from patients and co-workers that create a hostile work environment, according to CDC data. More than 5,200 nursing personnel were assaulted in the second quarter of 2022, according to data from Press Ganey, amounting to about 57 assaults per day. The SAVE Act is one tool that would enhance protections for healthcare workers, which are long overdue. Assault and harassment of healthcare workers began to mount early on in the COVID-19 pandemic. The legislation will not eliminate violence against healthcare workers particularly that tied to behavioral or mental health crises but some level of deterrence is sorely needed for the healthcare workers we have today and those we hope to gain for the future. 3. Healthcare workforce shortages. Much attention is paid to technology solutions and AI support systems to augment the healthcare staff and workers who are in short supply. But look more closely, and the foundation of data about the U.S. workforce looks like Swiss cheese. There are more than 8,300 designated primary care shortage areas in the U.S., and nearly 200 of them have been federally designated as such for at least 40 years. This finding stems from an analysis that KFF Health News published last month. One area on the far south side of Chicago has been designated as a shortage area since 1978. Another area in the Baton Rouge metro area in Louisiana, has been named a shortage area since 1979, most recently with 22 full-time primary care physicians for nearly 140,000 people. The federal health professional shortage area program was established in 1965 its purpose is not to simply label pockets of the nation as shortage areas for decades at a time. Something is not working correctly with these designations; dig deeper, and you'll find other data points are missing and contributing to inaction. These data points are so straightforward, one might assume they are a given in our national conversation and problem-solving. There are no national estimates of annual physician turnover, for one. This basic, essential figure is not rigorously or systematically captured. Incomplete or missing data on where healthcare professional deficits are most critical make it unlikely for federal policy or interventions to realize their full potential. 4. Hospital cybersecurity. Becker's covered one of the earliest hospital ransomware attacks on a small hospital in Kentucky in 2016. Methodist Hospital in Henderson, Ky., operated in an internal state of emergency for five days and did not pay the ransom. Since, we've seen cybergangs and criminals grow more savvy, emboldened and nefarious in their targeting of hospitals. Health system ransomware attacks nearly doubled in 2023, with 141 U.S. hospitals affected last year and data stolen in 32 of 46 of the events. These attacks can wreak havoc and cause harm to entire healthcare infrastructures across state lines. Last November, the hack of 30-hospital Ardent Health Services, based in Nashville, Tenn., caused ambulances to be diverted across six states. The actors behind these attacks have also grown more cruel, hitting children's hospitals (most recently Lurie Children's, a level 1 pediatric trauma center in Chicago), demanding $900,000 from a safety-net hospital in 48 hours, publishing data about hospital staff, or activating other hospital equipment mid-attack. Unless government leaders do something more meaningful and significant to address the growing number of hospital cyberattacks certainly than they have done to date it's inevitable that these events and the rate of them will worsen. Most recently, a couple of lawmakers introduced legislation to beef up cybersecurity efforts within HHS. The bill basically requires the federal agency to perform routine cybersecurity checks and report findings to Congress, and doesn't contain any teeth for hospitals. HHS has released a "concept paper" on the topic. The need for stronger regulations, more resources, and better oversight to protect the stability and resilience of hospital infrastructure is immense, nonpartisan and met with complacency. Companies and organizations across the U.S., including hospitals and health systems, consistently focus on retaining their workers. There is no one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to workforce retention, and different approaches work for companies based on factors such as the organization's size and geography. However, Samantha Hammock, executive vice president and chief human resources officer at Verizon, recently spoke to Fortune about strategies she has found successful at the telecommunications company, which has around 110,000 employees and an average tenure of 12.9 years. "We call it the special sauce here because I do think it's quite magical to have employees that stay with you for so long," Ms. Hammock told the publication, specifically citing culture, professional growth opportunities and benefits as key to retaining employees. According to Fortune's interview with Ms. Hammock, Verizon's strategies/approaches include: 1. "Stay interviews" on workers' first and milestone work anniversaries. 2. Engagement surveys and exit interviews. 3. A culture focused on employee well-being as a key aspect to meeting company objectives. 4. "Raise the Bar," a new annual leadership training program where attendees learn about the expectations for them at the company, engage in peer-to-peer learning and discuss the takeaways with their team. 5. Journey Forward, an internal platform in which workers can learn new skills and grow in their positions. 6. Benefits such as tuition assistance, Stock Together, an employee stock equity program, and financial planning education. In healthcare, hospitals and health systems are taking their own approaches, too. A number of organizations have turned to sign-on and retention bonuses to reduce reliance on contract labor and improve retention. And New York City-based NYC Health + Hospitals scaled the system's nurse residency program, an effort that doubled its new-nurse retention over five years. Fallout from Operation Nightingale a coordinated scheme to sell more than 7,600 fake diplomas and transcripts to aspiring nurses continues to unfold more than a year after 25 people were charged for their roles in running the scheme. In January of 2023, 25 people were charged for their alleged participation in operating the scheme from three now-shuttered schools in South Florida. Officials have estimated that around 37% of individuals with phony documents passed the National Council Licensure Examination and went on to secure employment. Twenty defendants have been convicted for their role in running the sham, mostly through plea deals. At least four people have been sentenced. Here are three related updates Becker's has covered since December, starting with the most recent: 1. Four nurses are suing the state of New York to regain licenses they voluntarily gave up, claiming they are innocent and have submitted proof of attending classes and completing clinical hours. Last year, New York was among states that asked nurses who graduated from the schools involved in the scheme to hand over their licenses. New York has also requested more information for 50 remaining individuals who have refused to give up their licenses and continue to work. 2. Students of schools involved were encouraged to take their NCLEX in states with loose rules on the number of times a person can take, and fail, the exam, Iowa state officials previously told the Iowa Capital Dispatch. New York and Iowa are among the states that don't limit the number of retests. 3. In December, a federal jury in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., found three defendents guilty of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud charges after a three-week trial. The defendants Gail Russ, former director of student services and registrar at the now-closed Palm Beach School of Nursing; Cassandre Jean and Vilaire Duroseau, two healthcare operators were charged for their involvement in running the sham, including recruiting students to the school to purhcase the degrees, according to the Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida. The school's former president and owner, Johanah Napoleon, was the prosecution's main witness. Ms. Napoleon previously pleaded guilty to wire fraud conspiracy and was sentenced to 21 months in prison. New York state is being sued by 4 nurses and criticized by 50 more who received their license through a Florida school that has been accused of selling degrees, the Times Union reported Feb. 14. Last year, the state asked 900 nurses to voluntarily surrender their nursing licenses because they graduated from one of the schools accused of selling fake degrees. The scheme involved selling more than 7,600 fraudulent diplomas and transcripts from three now-shuttered nursing schools in Florida to aspiring nurses. About 37 percent of individuals who bought fake documents passed the NCLEX exam and presumably went on to secure employment at healthcare facilities. Four nurses have sued New York to regain the licenses they voluntarily surrendered and another 50 refuse to give up their licenses and continue to work. They are part of hundreds of nurses who have asserted their innocence in the national degree scheme and are still fighting to win back their licenses. The 54 nurses all passed the NCLEX and have worked in the state for three years without any complaints, their attorney Jesse Baldwin told the Times Union. Some have submitted proof of attending classes and completing clinical hours. Mr. Baldwin filed two lawsuits, representing the four nurses who want their licenses back, on Jan. 31 and Feb. 8 in the state Supreme Court. The state meanwhile has asked for more information from the remaining 50 who have not given up their licenses. "Anyone found not to possess proper education and training may face disciplinary action or rescission proceedings, which are confidential until completed," New York State Health Department spokesperson J.P. O'Hare told the Times Union. Information and credentials are currently being reviewed. In January 2023, 25 people were charged in connection with their alleged participation in running the scheme. Since then, a total of 20 defendants have been convicted or have pleaded guilty and three defendants will face a jury trial in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., for their role. Boston-based Mass General Brigham Cancer is promoting three of its leaders, according to a memo shared with Becker's. Gerard Doherty, MD, will assume the role of surgeon-in-chief for Mass General Brigham Cancer and continue to work as chair of the department of surgery at Brigham and Women's Hospital. He will also step down from his role as surgeon-in-chief at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. David Ryan, MD, was appointed physician-in-chief for Mass General Brigham Cancer and will also serve as chief of the division of medical oncology at Brigham and Women's. He also will continue to serve as chief of the division of hematology-oncology at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. Ben Ebert, MD, will take on the directorship for Dana-Farber's medical oncology unit. Senators are urging the FDA to update decade-old guidance and take action to rein in social media advertisements of prescription drugs from telehealth companies, requesting that the agency respond to their concerns by March 27, according to a Feb. 15 Wall Street Journal report. Sens. Dick Durban of Illinois and Mike Braun of Indiana in a letter to the FDA said the agency's guidance on prescription drug promotion on social media is outdated, according to WSJ, which obtained the letter. In their letter, the senators cited a 2022 investigative report from the WSJ surrounding a surge of misleading social media ads from telehealth companies during the pandemic. The news outlet previously reported that about 20 telehealth companies in a four-week period ran more than 2,100 Facebook and Instagram ads that marketed the benefits of drugs without mentioning risks or clarifying whether testimonials came from actors or employees. In March 2022, employees at Cerebral told the news outlet they felt controlled substances such as Adderall were overprescribed due to such practices. The company has since discontinued prescriptions for controlled substances. An FDA spokesperson told the publication it plans to respond directly to the senators, who in their letter also asked whether the agency would support legislation to close any potential gaps in its oversight of telehealth companies. Telehealth companies have previously taken the stance that FDA rules around advertising do not apply to them since they do not manufacture, pack or distribute drugs. The CDC may recommend an additional COVID-19 booster this spring, but likely only for those who are most vulnerable to the virus, NBC News reported Feb. 15. The injection would not be a new formula, but still the same as the update that was recommended in the fall. But, even with the fall guidance, few followed the agency's recommendation to get the updated immunization. The low uptake rate for the fall booster was just given to 21.9% of U.S. adults, which the CDC said in November was "lower than we'd like to see." Nationwide, as of the most recently reported data, updated by the agency Feb. 3, COVID-19 test positivity, emergency department visits, hospitalizations and deaths were all trending down. But a spring booster, particularly for individuals more at risk, could be important to get because waiting until next fall, might be too long and leave some more vulnerable to catching COVID, experts told NBC. "Waiting till the fall, I think, is a mistake," said Michael Osterholm, PhD, an infectious disease expert and director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, told NBC News. "We have clear evidence that either vaccine or previous infection probably gives four to six months of relative protection against serious illness, hospitalizations and deaths, but wanes substantially after that." Nearly one-fourth of the 100 most reputable academic medical centers in the world are located in the United States. Brand Finance, a London-based brand valuation consultancy, recently released its Global Top 250 Hospitals 2024 report. The ranking, in its second year, assessed more than 500 academic medical centers in more than 40 countries, ranking each across more than 30 metrics that aim to capture brand strength and reputation. "The objective of the study is to create a way to holistically understand what makes the world's top academic medical centres leaders in their field," David Haigh, chairman and CEO of Brand Finance, wrote in the report. "It was designed through intensive collaboration with stakeholders of AMCs around the world, and a one-of-a-kind market research study to understand the real perceptions of healthcare professionals globally." For the second year in a row, Mayo Clinic claimed the top spot and Massachusetts General Hospital took second place. U.S.-based hospitals composed seven of the top 10, accompanied by one hospital in India and two in Singapore. Mayo Clinic's first-place finish is attributable in part to its advancements in AI, telemedicine, digital imaging and robotics. The health system embraces new technology more than other regional leaders, contributing to its international renown, per the report. Each academic medical centers was assigned a Brand Strength Index based on survey responses from 2,500 healthcare professionals in 30 different countries. The number of respondents in each market was skewed toward healthcare spend, so the U.S. had more than other countries. The majority of respondents were general practitioners or specialists, though 1% of the pool was composed of practicing and non-practicing administrative staff. The ranking also considers qualitative interviews with stakeholders regarding several attributes driving reputation, including whether the academic medical center has international recognition; attracts top medical students; has specialists who are world leaders in their field; is known for scientific breakthroughs; and is a place where healthcare providers are proud to have trained or worked. The Brand Strength Index is split into three pillars: investment, which measures whether an academic medical center is attempting to improve facilities, services and accessibility (25% weight); equity, the degree to which stakeholders are aware of the brand and how they perceive it (50%); and performance, the center's ability to improve its reputation and attract top talent (25%). Each pillar is further separated into subcategories: overall (31%), care (18%), research (15%) and teaching (12%). The equity pillar also accounts for brand awareness and familiarity at a local, regional and international levels, with the highest consideration given to international familiarity. The following are the 24 most reputable academic medical centers in the U.S., according to Brand Finance's analysis. Each is listed alongside its international rank out of 100. 1. Mayo Clinic Health System (Rochester, Minn.) 2. Massachusetts General Hospital (Boston) 5. Brigham and Women's Hospital (Boston) 6. Stanford University Medical Center (Palo Alto, Calif.) 7. UCSF Medical Center (San Francisco) 8. Johns Hopkins Hospital (Baltimore) 10. Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (Boston) 11. Cleveland Clinic 18. NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital-Columbia and Cornell (New York City) 23. University of Pennsylvania Health System (Philadelphia) 25. University of California Health (Oakland) 26. MD Anderson Cancer Center (Houston) 27. Yale New Haven (Conn.) Health System 28. University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center 32. Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (Boston) 39. Mount Sinai Health System (New York City) 45. Washington University Medical Center (St. Louis) 48. The University of Chicago Medical Center 50. Duke University Hospital (Durham, N.C.) 65. University of Texas System (Austin) 75. Northwestern Medicine (Chicago) 79. Emory University School of Medicine (Atlanta) 87. NYU Langone Health System (New York City) 98. Michigan Medicine (Ann Arbor) The full report can be downloaded here. Benjamin "Kyle" Potter, MD, will become the chair of Philadelphia-based Penn Medicine's orthopedic department in July after spending more than 22 years in active duty service with the U.S. Army. Dr. Potter retired from the U.S. Army as a Colonel in 2023. He was accountable for surgery education, training and research for around 150 physicians and staff while with the U.S. Army. He is currently the director of the Department of Defense limb optimization and osseointegration program at Uniformed Services University and chief orthopedic surgeon for the amputee program at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Md. He also has experience as director for surgery at Walter Reed and has operated on more than 1,000 injured service personnel. He is a past president of the Society of Military Orthopaedic Surgeons and is credited with more than 200 peer-reviewed publications. In addition to his role at Penn Medicine, Dr. Potter will also join the Perelman School of Medicine. A popular Belfast city centre bar has been forced to change its name after it ruffled feathers in Italy. Santeria Belfast, based on Fountain Street, announced on Friday that it is being rebranded to Orisha. Staff at the bar, which sits in one of the heaviest footfall areas in the city, said they noticed some unwanted international recognition last year from Italy, and therefore had to change its name following a cease and desist notification. "Firstly - thank you to everyone that's come to visit and drink with us since we opened in 2019. We really appreciate it - and of course, never worry, we are going absolutely nowhere, the bar said on social media, alongside a video which shows an animation of a cease and desist letter. It appears last year our bar and cocktails ended up with a bit of international recognition. Unfortunately in Milan, Italy, Santeria Belfast appears to have ruffled a few feathers... they just couldn't have it. In turn, their charming lawyers sent us a polite Cease and Desist order (gave us a pizza their mind) on the use of our name. Can't lie... at first we laughed, then we drank a wee marg and got a bit angry (a bit sad maybe). Then eventually just decided to embrace it and celebrate - because that's what we do plus it was cheaper Sure it's a s**t name for a bar anyway. In all seriousness, we will miss it, but we are ready to move on. So let's go!! Orisha Belfast. It is unknown which Italian establishment took issue with the Belfast spot. But it is not the first time a Northern Ireland business has been forced to rebrand. In 2021, fashion and homeware brand Zara, which has a store in Belfast, took issue with Ballymoney-based artist Zara McLaughlins brand Zara Ceramics, claiming it was too closely associated with their homeware arm Zara Home. The Libertines set to play Belfast in September. The Libertines are Peter Doherty vocals/guitar, Carl Barat vocals/guitar, John Hassall bass guitar and Gary Powell drums. Noughties indie band The Libertines has announced a headline tour across the UK & Ireland later this year with a dates in Belfast and Dublin. The band, fronted by Pete Doherty, is set to play at the Belfast Telegraph Building on September 24 a day after taking to the stage in Dublins 3 Olympia. The gigs have been lined up in support of the groups hotly anticipated fourth studio album All Quiet on the Eastern Esplanade due to be released on March 15. Its their first new album in nine years. The Libertines set to play Belfast in September. According to the a glowing review in The Guardian: Theyre still able to channel an almost Dickensian parallel universe of lowlife, crime and violence into something poetic and romantic. The latest record was produced by Grammy-nominated producer Dimitri Tikovoi (The Horrors/Charli XCX/Becky Hill) and recorded at The Albion Rooms in Margate. It was mixed by Dan Grech-Marguerat who has teamed up with artists including Lana Del Rey, Liam Gallagher and Paul McCartney. The Libertines album has been named in tribute to the Margate hotel, studio, restaurant and bar and nods to their love of Erich Maria Remarques landmark 1928 anti-war novel, All Quiet on the Western Front. As previously announced The Libertines will headline On The Beach Festival in Brighton on Sunday, July 28. The band has so far lifted three singles from the new album including Run, Run, Run, Night Of The Hunter and Shiver. It can be pre-ordered online. Frontman Doherty moved to Northern Ireland when he was three years old when his father also called Peter was stationed here during the Troubles. Pete previously revealed: He was a sergeant major when we were in Belfast, but we never talked about his Army life at all. Being in Belfast with him when he was stationed there in the early 80s is the first strong memory I have of living anywhere. Belfast was one of the few times during my childhood when we didnt live on a barracks. I suppose living in a Protestant community, in Army-provided housing, in Belfast was the equivalent of being on a barracks. The kids at the primary school I went to would say, Hey, we love your daddy, he kills Catholics. We looked under the car every morning for car bombs. Tickets for the UK and Ireland shows will go on sale next Friday, February 23, at 9am via ticketmaster.ie. Cat Deeley and Ben Shephard will host This Morning on a regular basis from next month (PA) Ben Shephard and Cat Deeley have been confirmed as the regular hosts of ITVs popular daytime show This Morning. The duo take over in the wake of the exits of long-time sofa hosts Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby, who both left last year. Shephard and Deeley will begin hosting This Morning from Monday to Thursday next month, with Alison Hammond and Dermot OLeary presenting on Fridays. Good Morning Britain star Shephard said: This really feels like a very special moment for Cat and I to be part of the next chapter of This Morning. Its an honour to be trusted with the reins, join Alison and Dermot and all the team that work on and off screen and do such a great job. For the last 10 years Ive been waking up with our ITV daytime audience on GMB and I now look forward to spending time with Cat, welcoming the viewers home after the school run or from their early morning routines, with a cup of tea and a mix of everything that makes This Morning so loved. The 49-year-old fronts the ITV quiz show Tipping Point, has hosted Ninja Warrior UK, and has joined Willoughby on the sofa to replace Schofield during previous absences. Deeley, who rose to fame as a presenter of Saturday morning ITV childrens programme SM:TV Live alongside Ant and Dec, and its spin-off music programme CD:UK with Willoughby, called This Morning a national institution. She added: Whenever its on, its like having your friends over funny, smart, silly, heartfelt, informative and joyful like all the greatest friendships. Patrick Kielty and wife Cat Deeley pictured in 2017 (PA) This Morning is and always will be the viewers show. Ben and I both know how much people love it, and with the help of an amazing team of people, were going to do our best to take care of it. The 47-year-old has previously hosted ITVs Stars In Their Eyes and the BBCs Fame Academy, and presented American competition show So You Think You Can Dance for more than a decade. She and husband Patrick Kielty, who replaced Ryan Tubridy on the popular Irish chat show The Late Late Show, are now based in London after living in California. Both Deeley and Shephard have previously presented This Morning on separate occasions, with Deeley co-presenting the show alongside Rylan Clark in November last year. In recent months, stars including Emma Willis and Craig Doyle have all presented on This Morning. Ben Shephard and Kate Garraway have been a presenting duo on Good Morning Britain (PA) Hammond, who will replace the late Paul OGrady as host of ITVs For The Love Of Dogs, and OLeary were among the stars to congratulate Shephard and Deeley. Commenting on a This Morning Instagram video announcing the news, OLeary wrote: Huzzah! Welcome to the fam, while Hammond wrote: So excited about this. TV presenter and former Im A Celebrity contestant Josie Gibson, who often features on This Morning, wrote: I feel a work welcome party coming on!!!!! In May last year, Schofield resigned from ITV and was dropped by his talent agency after admitting to an unwise but not illegal relationship. In October, Willoughby left the show after 14 years on the sofa, saying she had made the decision for me and my family. She continues to present Dancing On Ice, where she has been joined by Deal Or No Deal host Stephen Mulhern as a replacement for Schofield. Cillian Murphy plays Bill Furlong, a coal and timber merchant, who discovers the secrets of his local community in a new film (James Manning/PA) Cillian Murphy has said that the Magdalene Laundries scandal has continued to be a collective trauma that is still being dealt with by the Irish public. The Oscar and Bafta nominee, 47, is starring in Small Things Like These, based on Irish writer Claire Keegans Booker-shortlisted novel of the same name, which explores a father finding out how mothers and babies are being treated by a convent in New Ross, County Wexford. Irish star Murphy, also known for crime period drama Peaky Blinders and epic Christopher Nolan-directed Oppenheimer, attended a press conference for the new film at the 74th Berlin International Film Festival on Thursday. Rami Malek, Matt Damon, Emily Blunt, Florence Pugh and Cillian Murphy (Ian West/PA) When asked how he thinks Ireland is still grappling with the shame of a time when women say they were detained by the Catholic Church against their will and forced to give up their children he said: I dont know if Im qualified enough to speak for the nation, really. But I do think that it was a collective trauma, particularly for people of a certain age, and I think that were still processing that. And I also think that art can be a really useful band for that wound and I think the book certainly was, and it was a huge seller in Ireland, it seemed like everybody read it. And I think, the sort of irony of the book is that its a Christian man trying to do a Christian act in a dysfunctional Christian society. And it asked a lot of questions about complicity and silence and shame and all of those things. But I really dont think the duty of art is to answer those questions (but) is to kind of provoke them, and maybe its kind of easier to absorb than an academic report, or a government report. Murphy, who plays Bill Furlong, a coal and timber merchant, who in December 1985 discovers the secrets of his local community, has been vocal in the past about womens issues in Ireland. The Cork-born actor has previously backed the repeal of the Irish constitutions eighth amendment ahead of the 2018 referendum, where the public voted yes to changes making abortion legal. Director Peter Mullan with the cast of The Magdalene Sisters (PA) He also narrated a podcast series about the survivors of the Tuam Mother and Baby homes in 2020 and is listed as a patron of the Unesco Child and Family Research Centre at the University of Galway, who have run projects on the issue. Producer and Hollywood star Matt Damon also told the press conference that it was a very easy decision for him and Ben Afflecks production company Artists Equity to make the Keegan adaptation. He said: Just to echo what Cillian said, that was one of the one of the things that attracted us to it, were these great artists grappling with this trauma. And so I mean, for us, just as you know, on on our side of it, it was a very easy proposition. It was about facilitating an environment where they could do this, work and explore these things, and really getting out of their way. Damon and Murphy previously starred together in 2023s Oppenheimer, which explores the rise and downfall of the so-called father of the atomic bomb, J Robert Oppenheimer. The cast of Small Things Like These reportedly also includes Belfast-born Ciaran Hinds, English actress and Angelas Ashes star Emily Watson, Northern Ireland actress and Game Of Thrones star Michelle Fairley, and The Magdalene Sisters star and Cork actress Eileen Walsh. Since the 18th Century, nuns operated laundries across Ireland until the final institution in Sean McDermott Street in Dublin closed in 1996. Originally aimed at fallen women, the laundries use was expanded during the 20th century to also include women who had not been pregnant or had entered from childrens homes. The Irish institutions became notorious for the abuse many women suffered there, with unmarked graves being discovered at one site in the 1990s. The issue prompted a formal state apology in 2013. The Good Shepherd Magdalene Laundry in New Ross closed its doors in 1967 and a memorial for the women has been placed near the area at St Stephens Cemetery, Irishtown, according to Justice for Magdalenes Research organisation. The subject was previously examined on the big screen in 2002, with Peter Mullans award-winning The Magdalene Sisters. Happy event has a Check Your Chest theme for guests as Derry woman (26) looks forward to future following health scare 'Megan rang the bell and Christopher put a ring on it!' 'Check Your Chest' - Megan had drinks to help raise breast cancer awareness Christopher Parke and Megan Waterworth are to get married in November When she was younger, Megan Waterworth had never given much thought to serious illness. That was until late 2022 when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. The Londonderry woman, now 26, told the Belfast Telegraph: Your life literally is on hold and youre watching other people live the life that you feel you should be living. She had to watch one of her best friends wed through FaceTime as the side-effects of her treatment made her so ill at the time. She was devastated, as she was to be one of the bridesmaids. Megan Waterworth during her treatment But, on November 3 last year, Megan was able to ring the bell to signal the end of her 10 months of chemotherapy, radiotherapy and surgery. Three weeks later her boyfriend Christopher Parke (27) proposed while they were on holiday in Tenerife. My family and I wanted to do something to really celebrate me beating cancer, and also something to fully close the chapter on it, Megan explained. We then ended up getting engaged typical Christopher, stealing my thunder! We just felt it appropriate to then combine the two events and have a bigger celebration. I didnt want to overload on the breast cancer theme, so I opted for the subtle hints of pink and the Check Your Chest cocktail toppers. We went for the tagline Megan rang the bell and Christopher put a ring on it! So, we made sure that both celebrations were firmly noted. While most brides-to-be opt for white engagement party outfits, Megan donned a pastel pink suit a colour synonymous with breast cancer awareness worldwide. According to the Cancer Focus NI, around 1,400 women here are diagnosed with breast cancer every year, and about 80% of these are over 50. But it can happen to younger women, and a small number of men. 'Check Your Chest' - Megan had drinks to help raise breast cancer awareness I definitely think my diagnosis has scared a few women, Megan added. Ive had a few girls tell me that they have been scared by my story, and have actually gone to their GPs to have lumps checked all have been fine, thank God. Ive had women tell me that they now check regularly, which is brilliant. My own sister didnt even check now she does. Its also worth noting that a lot of peoples normal is completely different, so being self-aware is so important in situations like these. Its really important to check at the right time of the month too. Megan and Christopher's engagement cake celebrated their engagement date Megan and Christophers wedding planning is under way and the couple are to walk down the aisle in November. The thrilled fiancee says a health scare can certainly change peoples perspectives. She explained: I have always said I didnt want a long engagement and couldnt wait to be married. But I do think after having a cancer diagnosis... you just think: Why wait? Also, who wants to be stressed for two years-plus if you can do it in one? I had the venue viewing booked before we even got home from Tenerife. Her cancer diagnosis and recovery has taught her a lot about herself. She knows now she is resilient and determined, and hates feeling tired. She added: Im so grateful for life, all the smaller things that life has to offer and all the everyday things that we take for granted. Please appreciate these more, as you never know when they can be taken from you without notice. A Co Antrim man who groomed and sexually abused his niece was today jailed for a year. The former kitchen porter, who cannot be named to protect the victims identity, had previously pleaded guilty to three counts of inciting a child under the age of 16 to engage in sexual activity and to three charges of an adult engaging in sexual activity with an underage girl. The 35-year-old also admitted two counts of sexually assaulting his niece. Belfast Crown Court heard the defendant had denied all the offences until the morning of his trial, as his niece was due to give evidence, when he entered guilty pleas to all eight charges which took place on dates between June 30 and August 1, 2018. It was the prosecutions case that at the time of the offending the victim was aged 13 and the defendant was 30 years old. The court was told that the victim was living with her grandparents at the time the sexual offending started. In one incident, the defendant bought her sweets and ice cream and took her up a hill in Co Antrim, overlooking Belfast Lough, where he sexually abused her on a secluded park bench. The offending was not disclosed immediately but it came to light in August 2019 when the victim told her boyfriend, as well as a school friend by text message, what had happened to her. The text messages described the victim being depressed, self-harming and having suicidal thoughts as a result of the abuse. A prosecution lawyer said the victims mother later found out about the abuse and her daughter broke down and starting crying. She told her mum that her abuser was her uncle. Police were contacted the next day by her mother and the victim made a statement about the abuse she had suffered, including how her uncle talked to her inappropriately about sexual matters. The defendant was subsequently interviewed in October 2020 but denied the offending. Defence barrister Paul Bacon said the defendant was a single man who worked as a head kitchen porter in a Co Antrim restaurant for a number of years. He also revealed that, due to the offences, the defendant is now estranged from most of his family and his life is in ruins. Mr Bacon said that the defendant wished to apologise to his victim for what he did. The barrister added: He feels utterly ashamed about his behaviour towards his young niece and he hopes she can put her life back together. Judge Gordon Kerr KC said the offending was a breach of trust in a family relationship, it took place in her grandparents house, where she had gone for safety, and, in addition, there was a clear element of grooming by buying treats for her. The defendant refused to co-operate with the Probation Service in completing a pre-sentence report for the court hearing. Judge Kerr said that the only mitigation in the defendants favour was his clear criminal record, adding that he had received a victim personal statement from the complainant, noting: It is absolutely clear from that statement that this behaviour has caused her extreme distress. Judge Kerr said, after completing 12 months in custody, the defendant will spend a similar period on supervised licence with the probation service. The defendant was placed on the sex offenders register for ten years and made the subject of a sexual offences prevention order for seven years. First Minister Michelle O'Neill appears on RTE's Late Late Show with host Patrick Kielty. Pic via Sinn Fein/X. First Minister Michelle ONeill has insisted power-sharing is compatible with pursuing a united Ireland after being asked if she will be the last leader at Stormont during her appearance on the Late Late Show. Sinn Feins vice president promised to give it my all to remain in the top job when asked by host Patrick Kielty if she thinks a unionist will ever hold the position again. "Im going to work to ensure that Im staying in this post for as long as I possibly can, she replied. "I know Im the Good Friday Agreement generation, I know I can do great things in this role. Ms ONeill pledged to work for a better future and pursue prosperity and hope for all during the interview on Friday nights show on RTE. We need your consent to load this Social Media content. We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review your details and accept them to load the content Asked if she thinks she will be the last First Minister, she claimed good power-sharing is possible while advocating for constitutional change. Ms ONeill called for the maturity needed to have difficult conversations and added: "Who knows where the next 10 years will take us? The first nationalist leader in NI said she believes unity is within touching distance and referred to a decade of opportunity and change. I dont think anyone thinks its going to happen tomorrow, but the prudent thing to do now is to plan, Ms ONeill said. Plan for what it [a united Ireland] would look like. We need your consent to load this Social Media content. We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review your details and accept them to load the content The Mid-Ulster MLA also told the NI-born presenter that she could never express enough gratitude to her mum Kathleen for the sacrifices she made which allowed her to rise to the top. Ms ONeill said mummy was just amazing, mummy and daddy both when she gave birth to her daughter Saoirse at the age of 16. Mummy quit work so she could stay at home, she explained, describing her as the centre piece of our family and a strong role model. "I could never thank her enough, she added. . Ms ONeill, who also paid tribute to her late father Brendan, reflected on a whirlwind two weeks since being sworn into office at Stormont. Its been an immense journey, she said. "Everybody is very proud, Im proud its just such a big moment in the history of our island. My family are proud. Ms ONeill said it has been strange to see TV crews roaming around her home village of Clonoe, Co Tyrone, asking [residents] what shes like?. Asked by the host if interviewees have been telling the truth, Ms ONeill replied absolutely. She then joked that theyve all been paid off. Ms ONeill has been popping up as a guest on numerous high-profile shows since being sworn into office at the beginning of this month, including Good Morning Britain and LBC radio. She previously appeared on the Late Late Show back 2021 when she opened up about her political history and ambitions with former host Ryan Tubridy. On that occasion Ms ONeill also spoke about her hopes for post-Brexit Ireland and discussing the controversy around her attendance at Bobby Storeys funeral during the pandemic. An online petition calling for Parkrun to reinstate statistics on its website amid a row over tans participants has attracted nearly 15,000 signatures. It comes after a Belfast runner accused the company of taking a sledgehammer to crack a nut following the removal of stats such as gender, age and finish times from its public records. The organisation denied claims that the move is linked to the row over transgender women athletes holding the fastest times in female categories. The petition has racked up 14,819 signatures from people demanding that course data including 'Age Category Records' 'Fastest 500' 'First Finishers' and 'Sub 17 and Sub 20' (5k parkrun) for every event is published. Mary Taylor, who started the campaign, said her son is among the many runners who has seen his course achievements vanish overnight. The removal of statistics from parkrun has left a void in the hearts of many participants, she wrote on Change.org. These stats are not just numbers; they represent personal milestones and progress that inspire runners of all abilities to push their limits. Statistics have always been an integral part of parkrun. "They provide a tangible measure of improvement and motivate participants to keep striving for better results. "For my son and countless others, these stats serve as a testament to their hard work and dedication. Ms Taylor branded the decision to remove the stats as disheartening and claimed the essence of friendly competition and self-improvement has been lost as a direct result. We understand that changes may be necessary at times but believe this particular change negatively impacts the community spirit inherent in Parkrun events, she continued. "We urge the management team at parkrun to reconsider this decision and reinstate these statistics for all participants. Please sign this petition if you believe in the importance of maintaining records that celebrate personal achievement and foster a sense of community among runners everywhere. Bring back the stats! The campaigner said it is humbling to see why the stats matter to so many different people in the running community. Ms Taylor said many people are concerned that the decision diminishes the joy of the event and makes parkrun less inclusive. She said many people want full transparency and for majority opinion within the parkrunning community to be taken into consideration. Earlier this week local runner Linda Harley Gillespie hit out at the lack of consultation with members. The fitness advocate, who is in her 60s, has been a participant since 2013 and runs her own blog dedicated to her Parkruns. Its been done without a lot of consultation of members. Im not convinced over the reasons for it either, so Im unhappy, she told the Belfast Telegraph. It was reported last year at least three female records were held by trans women across the UK. Despite the removal of the publicly listed statistics, each runner will continue to receive personalised emails with their own results. Organisers of the events, which take place in parks across the UK almost every single weekend, insist that the removal of the data is to prevent the run being off-putting to new entrants and to address the misperception that Parkrun is a race. In addition to age and gender, data for men who finish their races in under 17 minutes and women who finish in less than 20 will no longer be made public. A property has been damaged in Newtownards after petrol was used to set it alight on Thursday night. It happened in Weavers Grange in the town at around 10.30pm. Detective Sergeant McCartan said: "Officers attended, alongside colleagues from Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service, who extinguished the fire. Damage was caused to the rear door area of the property. We are appealing to anyone with information regarding this incident, or who may have been in the area at the time and witnessed anything suspicious, to contact police by calling 101, quoting reference 1812 of 15/02/24." You can also submit a report online using the non-emergency reporting form via http://www.psni.police.uk/makeareport/ or contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or online at http://crimestoppers-uk.org/. It had been speculated that there was a growing split within the loyalist camp Loyalist Communities Council chairman David Campbell denied there was a split within the Loyalist council when asked by reporter Hugh Jordon. Mr Campbell, went on to say that the Loyalist council meet earlier next week to discuss the DUP deal. The Loyalist Communities Council chairman has dismissed rumours of a loyalist split after the group gave its approval for the return to power-sharing at Stormont. Representatives of the three main paramilitary groups the UVF, UDA and Red Hand Commando met formally last week to discuss the issue. It had been speculated that there was a growing split within the loyalist camp. Last week, when speaking to the Sunday World, LCC chairman David Campbell maintained rumours of a loyalist split were wide of the mark. Speaking at his County Antrim farm, Mr Campbell told a reporter: There is no split. Its nonsense. Mr Campbell also said he expected a press release outlining the LCCs decision would be sent out, but at the time of going to print, nothing has been forthcoming. Insiders had expected at least one of the paramilitary groups represented on the LCC to hold out for the complete removal of the so-called Irish Sea border. The unusual trading arrangement which hardline unionists claimed left Northern Ireland outside the UK had been introduced as a result of Britains Brexit negotiations with the EU. But in the end, rumblings of support for any dissenting voices on the LCC disappeared. Calls for disruptive action on the streets during a cost-of-living crisis have failed to materialise. Eyebrows had been raised in political circles last week when DUP leader Sir Jeffrey opted to brief LCC representatives on his Safeguarding the Union document, even before meeting with members of his own party. But when the group met midweek to deliver a final verdict on the Donaldson deal, all of the loyalist paramilitary bosses supported the DUP leader. Irish Sea border protest posters reflect loyalist anxiety in Northern Ireland Defending his actions prior to the second anniversary of his decision to collapse the political institutions at Stormont, Sir Jeffrey insisted: Ive a lot to show for my actions. One loyalist observer with an insight into paramilitary thinking last night said: In the end, the LCC came to the conclusion that Sir Jeffrey had done his very best for the unionist people of Northern Ireland. It was his powerful speech in the House of Commons in the Mother of Parliaments which swung the pendulum in his favour and away from his detractors. People had listened to the opposition, but they offered very little in the way of viable alternatives. For two years unionists attended rallies and protests, but in the end they were beginning to turn on each other. He added: At least Sir Jeffrey offered a positive way forward and thats what the ordinary people were looking for. Historian Dr Aaron Edwards who lectures at the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst said he wasnt surprised to learn the LCC had opted to back the DUP leader. He said: Weve known for some time the vast majority of paramilitary leaders support stability. Yes, there was grassroots unease. But there is little point in bringing people onto the streets for a fight that is unwinnable, he added. The Duke of Sussex has suggested the Kings illness could lead to a reconciliation with his father as he spoke about the monarchs cancer diagnosis. In an interview with a US breakfast show, Harry also said I love my family and that he was grateful to be able to spend time with his father last week. The dukes whirlwind visit to see Charles for around 45 minutes prompted speculation the two men, estranged since the duke stepped down as a working royal, may be on the point of rebuilding their relationship. In the interview, aired on Good Morning America, it was suggested a family illness could have a re-unifying effect, and when Harry was asked is that possible in this case? he replied: Yeah, Im sure. We need your consent to load this Social Media content. We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review your details and accept them to load the content The duke and his wife Meghan are in Canada staging a number of events with Invictus competitors to mark a year to go until Harrys Invictus Games, for wounded and sick veterans and military, is staged in the country. They are being followed by a film crew led by Will Reeve, the son of the late Superman star Christopher Reeve, who interviewed Harry in the winter sports town of Whistler, which is hosting the 2025 Invictus Games alongside Vancouver. Gesturing towards Invictus competitors Harry added: Throughout all these families I see it on a day-to-day basis, the strength of the family unit coming together. I think any illness, any sickness brings families together. The King after spending a week at Sandringham in Norfolk, following the announcement of his cancer diagnosis (Jordan Pettitt/PA) Buckingham Palace has not given details about Charless cancer and Harry declined to divulge any information when asked about his outlook on the Kings health, replying that stays between me and him. But he said he would be visiting his father in the future: Ive got other trips planned that would take me through the UK or back to the UK, so Ill stop in and see my family as much as I can. There was no meeting between the duke and his brother the Prince of Wales last Tuesday after Harry spent time with Charles at Clarence House. The breakdown in the bond between the royal brothers can be traced back to the early period of Harrys relationship with wife Meghan when his then fiancee had a falling out with the Princess of Wales in the run-up to their wedding. Since stepping down as working royals in 2020 and moving to California the Sussexes have aired allegations and grievances against the monarchy and members of the royal family which have also soured relations. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex with participant Rosa Sanchez Bermudez during their visit to Whistler. Jeremy Allen/Invictus Games Vancouver Whistler 2025 Speaking to Reeve, Harry said: Look, I love my family. The fact that I was able to get on a plane and go and see him and spend any time with him, Im grateful for that. The duke was asked about his life in America, something he described as amazing, and whether he had contemplated becoming a US citizen, with the royal saying he had considered it. Harry added: The American citizenship is a thought that has crossed my mind but certainly not something thats a high priority for me right now. Asked how he processed what was going on with his family in the UK, the royal replied: I have my own family, as we all do. My family, and my life in California is as it is. Harry tries his hand at the Skeleton (Jeremy Allen/Invictus Games Vancouver Whistler 2025) Meghan and Harry are bringing up their two children Prince Archie, aged four, and two-year-old Princess Lilibet in the celebrity enclave of Montecito in California. The duke said: The kids are doing great, the kids are growing like all kids do very, very fast. Theyve both got an incredible sense of humour make us laugh and keep us grounded every single day, as most kids do. Im just very grateful to be a dad. During the interview, footage was shown of Harry trying the skeleton bobsleigh, one of the winter sports being introduced at the Invictus Games next year for the first time. Harry said hosting the biennial Games, or the one year to go events, were his annual fix, to be amongst this community and have a laugh, have fun no matter which nation theyre from the banters the same. I get a lot of energy just from being around these guys. A verdict is expected in Donald Trumps New York civil fraud trial (Shannon Stapleton/Pool Photo via AP, File) A verdict is expected on Friday in Donald Trumps New York civil fraud trial, adding to a consequential week on the former presidents legal calendar. Mr Trump could be hit with millions of dollars in penalties and other sanctions in the decision by Judge Arthur Engoron, who has already ruled that the former president inflated his wealth on financial statements that were given to banks, insurers and others to make deals and secure loans. New York Attorney General Letitia James is seeking 370 million US dollars (294 billion) and a ban on Mr Trump and other defendants from doing business in the state. A penalty like that could potentially wound the real estate empire that helped Mr Trump craft his image as a savvy billionaire businessman and vaulted him to fame and the White House. Judge Engoron is set to rule after two and a half months of testimony from 40 witnesses, including Mr Trump. Closing arguments were held on January 11. The judge is deciding the case because juries are not allowed in this type of lawsuit and neither Ms James office nor Mr Trumps lawyers asked for one. Judge Engoron is expected to release his decision on Friday, barring unforeseen circumstances that would necessitate a delay, court officials said. It has already been a big week in court for Mr Trump. Former president Donald Trump, centre, in the courtroom as closing arguments were heard in January (Michael Santiago/Pool Photo via AP) On Thursday, a different New York judge ruled that he will stand trial on March 25 on charges that he falsified his companys records as part of an effort to buy the silence of people with potentially embarrassing stories about alleged infidelity. Mr Trump says he is innocent. If the schedule holds, it will be the first of his four criminal cases to go to trial. Also on Thursday, a judge in Atlanta heard arguments on whether to remove Fulton County district attorney Fani Willis from Mr Trumps Georgia election interference case because she had a personal relationship with a special prosecutor she hired. Ms James office has estimated that Mr Trump exaggerated his wealth by as much as 3.6 billion dollars (2.86 billion). State lawyers contend the former president used the inflated numbers to get lower insurance premiums and favourable loan terms, saving at least 168 million dollars (133 million) on interest alone. Mr Trump has denied wrongdoing and his lawyers have said they will appeal if Judge Engoron rules against him. The Republican presidential front-runner testified on November 6 that his financial statements actually understated his net worth and that banks did their own research and were happy with his business. During closing arguments in January, he decried the case as a fraud on me. Judge Engoron is deciding six claims in Ms James lawsuit, including allegations of conspiracy, falsifying business records and insurance fraud. Before the trial, Judge Engoron ruled on Ms James top claim, finding that Mr Trumps financial statements were fraudulent. As punishment, the judge ordered some of his companies removed from his control and dissolved. An appeals court has put that on hold. Because it is a civil case, not a criminal one, there is no possibility of prison time. Alexei Navalny appears via a video link from the Arctic penal colony where he died (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, File) World leaders and Russian opposition activists wasted no time on Friday in blaming the reported death of imprisoned opposition leader Alexei Navalny on President Vladimir Putin and his government. It is obvious that he was killed by Putin, said Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, who was visiting Berlin as he sought aid for his country as it fights off an invasion by Russia. Putin doesnt care who dies only for him to hold his position. This is why he must hold onto nothing. Putin must lose everything and be held responsible for his deeds, Mr Zelensky said. US President Joe Biden said Washington does not know exactly what happened, but there is no doubt that the death of Navalny was a consequence of something Putin and his thugs did. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, whose country temporarily took in Navalny in 2020 after he was poisoned with a nerve agent, said the Kremlin critics death makes clear what kind of regime this is. He has probably now paid for this courage with his life, Mr Scholz said, standing next to Zelensky. The German leader said he met Mr Navalny in Berlin during his convalescence. Mr Navalny, 47, was serving a 19-year prison sentence on extremism charges in a remote penal colony above the Arctic Circle at the time of his death. He has been behind bars since he returned from Germany in January 2021, serving time on various charges that he rejected as a politically motivated effort to keep him imprisoned for life. A man holds a poster with the portrait of Alexei Navalny in front of the Russian embassy in Berlin, Germany, after hearing news of his death (Paul Zinken/dpa via AP) Mr Navalny was brutally murdered by the Kremlin, said Latvian president Edgars Rinkevics in a post on X, formerly Twitter. Thats a fact and that is something one should know about the true nature of Russias current regime. Mr Navalnys associates stressed they did not have independent confirmation of his death in the reports that came from Russias penitentiary officials. His close ally, Ivan Zhdanov, said authorities must notify the relatives within 24 hours if true. There hasnt been any notifications, he said on X, formerly Twitter. We have no other comments beyond that. Alexei Navalny, right, poses for press as he sits handcuffed in court in Moscow in 2017 (AP Photo, File) Mr Navalnys wife, Yulia Navalnaya, appearing at the Munich conference, said she did not know whether or not to believe it because we cannot trust Putin and the Putin government. They always lie. But if this is true, I want Putin and everyone around Putin, Putins friends, his government, to know that they will bear responsibility for what they did to our country, to my family and to my husband. And this day will come very soon, she said. Mr Navalnys death also led to an outpouring of grief among Russians living abroad. In the Serbian capital of Belgrade, hundreds of Russians and others lit candles and laid flowers outside the Russian embassy. Tens of thousands of Russians have moved to Serbia, a fellow Slavic country, since Russia invaded Ukraine two years ago. Hundreds also gathered in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi, which has also seen a huge influx of Russians since the invasion of Ukraine. A photo of Alexei Navalny and flowers are placed on a fence guarding the Russian Embassy in Buenos Aires, Argentina (AP Photo/Victor R Caivano) Some held banners saying Putin is the killer and We will not forgive. Up to 300 people attended a similar rally in Georgias third-largest city, Batumi. Protesters also assembled in the Armenian capital of Yerevan, another country that attracted a lot of Russians after the start of the war in Ukraine. In Israel, home to a large number of people who came from Russia, hundreds rallied outside the Russian Embassy in Tel Aviv, chanting Russia without Putin! and Russia will be free!. Protesters also rallied outside Russian embassies in Berlin and the Bulgarian capital of Sofia. A woman places flowers during protest in front of Russian embassy in Belgrade, Serbia (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic) The outpouring of sympathy for Mr Navalnys family and outrage at the Kremlin, which in recent years mounted an unprecedented crackdown on dissent, came from all over the world. If this is true, then no matter the formal cause, the responsibility for the premature death is Vladimir Putin personally, who first gave the green light to the poisoning of Alexei and then put him in prison, said Mikhail Khodorkovsky, an exiled Russia tycoon turned opposition figure in exile, speaking in an online statement. Other Russian opposition activists echoed him. Protesters stage a demonstration opposite the Russian Embassy in London (AP Photo/Kin Cheung) If it is confirmed, the death of Alexei is a murder. Organised by Putin, opposition politician Dmitry Gudkov said on social media. Even if Alexei died of natural causes, those were triggered by his poisoning and further torture in prison. Former world chess champion-turned-opposition activist Garry Kasparov said Putin tried and failed to murder Navalny quickly and secretly with poison, and now he has murdered him slowly and publicly in prison. He was killed for exposing Putin and his mafia as the crooks and thieves they are, Kasparov, who lives abroad, wrote on X. Nato secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg said Russia has questions to answer if the reports are true. People hold up their mobile phones with lights paying their last respect to Alexei Navalny in St. Petersburg (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky) What we have seen is that Russia has become a more and more authoritarian power, that they have used repression against the opposition for many years, Mr Stoltenberg said. White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan told NPR that if Navalnys death is confirmed, its a terrible tragedy and, given the Russian governments long and sordid history of doing harm to its opponents, it raises real and obvious questions about what happened here. Then-Indonesian presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto, a former general of the Indonesian Armys special forces, greets army chiefs during celebrations for the 67th anniversary of the Armys special forces in Jakarta, April 24, 2019. Prabowo Subianto has claimed a big win in Indonesias presidential race, garnering nearly 60% of votes in this weeks general election, as projected through quick counts at exit polls. Although the official tally wont be announced until March, Prabowos wide margin of victory against fellow contenders Anies Baswedan and Ganjar Pranowo, combined with his showing at regional polls across Indonesia, are enough to be confident in the results. Because Indonesia is Southeast Asias largest country by population and GDP, elections in this young democracy matter for the development of democracy throughout the region. Like national polls in Myanmar in 2020, Malaysia and the Philippines in 2022, and Thailand in 2023, the administration of the Indonesian election was excellent. Regional electoral officials have ensured the performative aspect of democracy, including the establishment of nationwide polling sites, the registration of parties and candidates, and quick ballot counts. All this has bolstered confidence in the voting process. In the case of Indonesia, some 5.7 million Indonesian election officials ran a smooth, violence-free election, across the archipelago made up of some 17,000 islands. But there are some reasons for concern. In Malaysia and Thailand, there was a period of post-electoral instability caused by the difficulty in forming a government. In the case of the former, there was nearly a hung parliament until the Agong (the King) stepped in. Thailand saw the biggest electoral winner, the Move Forward Party, blocked by the military-appointed Senate from being allowed to form a governing majority. And of course, in Myanmar, the National League of Democracy (NLD) was ousted in a coup detat before they could seat Parliament, in February 2021. In Indonesias case, Prabowo won convincingly in the Feb. 14 election, staving off a run-off round in June. But he will not be inaugurated until October, unless Parliament moves the date up. That means there will be an extended lame duck presidency and Prabowo not known for his patience will be champing at the bit. There is a lot of political horse-trading that will go on in Indonesia between now and October, especially as Prabowos coalition currently only has some 33% of the seats in the national legislature; his own Gerindra party came in third. He will try to co-opt centrist and conservative Islamic parties in his opponents coalitions to cobble together a working majority. Engineers hold posters with an image of deposed Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi as they hold an anti-coup protest march in Mandalay, Myanmar, Feb. 15, 2021. [AP file photo] Prabowos victory also speaks to the historical amnesia in the region. If there is one take away, its not from this election, but from the 2022 Philippine presidential election. In that contest, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. culminated a decades-long campaign to whitewash his familys history of dictatorship and kleptocracy. He avoided engagements with the mainstream media, but carried out effective messaging and micro-targeting on social media, and presented nostalgic family-commissioned documentaries and biopic films about the Marcoses to a young electorate. With 52% of the population under the age of 40, the majority of the population had no memory of the Marcos era, which ended in 1986. Prabowos campaign team followed Marcos playbook to a T. Prabowo, 72, completely rebranded himself. In 2014 and 2019, he campaigned in stadiums and appeared in uniform on a white stallion to project a martial and commanding image, as he promised a return to strongman rule. This time around, he campaigned as a cuddly grandfather-like figure in a hoody, with viral TikTok videos of him dancing awkwardly, and cat videos. The selection of Gibran Rakabuming Raka, the 36 year-old son of term-limited President Joko Jokowi Widodo, conveyed a father-and-son relationship and mentoring a far cry from Prabowos past as an alleged war criminal. The youth vote was key. Close to 60% of Indonesias electorate is under the age of 40, and has no memory of Prabowos time as Suhartos high-flying son-in-law, a special forces commander in East Timor, and as a former military leader who was exiled after fomenting mass riots in Jakartas Chinatown in May 1998. Indonesian presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto gestures after casting his vote during the election in Bojong Koneng, Indonesia, Feb. 14, 2024. [Vincent Thian/AP] For a region that says they want to see new faces, Indonesias election was a return to the old. Marcos grew up at the Malacanang palace during his fathers dictatorship. Paetongtarn, Thaksin Shinawatras daughter, now leads the Pheu Thai party, and the last generation of Malaysian politicians continues to dominate todays headlines in the country. The NLD continues to be dominated by politicians from the 88 Generation, while Cambodia just experienced their own dynastic transition to Hun Manet and other princelings. While Jokowis 2014 electoral victory ushered in post-New Order leadership, it also marked a break from Indonesias dynastic politics. The rise to power of Prabowo, Suhartos former son-in-law, represents a return to both. Even more discomforting to many in the electorate, Gibrans vice presidential candidacy transformed Jokowi into just another dynastic politician, a stain on the legacy of this popular president. In Malaysia, there was enormous concern about a green wave following the 2022 polls, when the conservative Muslim party PAS won the most number of parliamentary seats. The Perikatan Nasional coalition in the opposition has since stepped up its identity-based political discourse against the government of Anwar Ibrahim. PAS and Bersatu, the two Malaysian parties whose default mode is to play the race and religion card, are united. In Indonesia, the four Muslim parties have polled consistently in the past five elections, garnering an almost identical vote tally as they did in 2019, with 20.35%. But unlike Malaysia, they are not a unified voting bloc, let alone partners in the same coalition. Moreover, extremist attempts to spread disinformation largely failed to gain traction while the campaign itself was relatively free of polarizing religious rhetoric. Anies, who had relied on identity politics, only garnered around 22% of the vote. So while identity politics is still a vote winner in Malaysia, which has seen even Anwars multi-ethnic government pander to the conservative Muslim vote, it really caps out in Indonesia. Jokowi created a precedent for establishing a big tent by bringing in Prabowo as his Minister of Defense. So, too, could Prabowo reach out to his competitors in the spirit of national reconciliation. But Pita and Move Forward demonstrate just how effective and important it is for the functioning of democracy that there be a strong and active opposition in parliament. While Ganjar and Anies may be tempted to join the government, there is value in their acting as a strong opposition. U.S. President Joe Biden (right) and Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. walk on the West Colonnade to the Oval Office following a welcome ceremony for Marcos at the White House in Washington, May 1, 2023. [Leah Millis/Pool via AP] Obviously there is considerable concern about what a Prabowo presidency may mean for the future of Indonesias democracy, where press freedoms have already been set back. He was implicated in war crimes and thrown out of the military in connection with the abduction of pro-democracy activists, allegations which he denies. Prabowo was banned from entering the United States due to his human rights record, until he became minister of defense in 2019. In the general election earlier that year, he had threatened to unleash his supporters to overturn the results of the 2019 elections. As Minister of Defense, he continued to implement the Bela Negara program that saw a clawback of the militarys civil authorities, ceded in 1998-1999. His policies on internal security, especially in restive Papua, remain deeply troubling. While Prabowo may have authoritarian leanings, he may be curtailed by his limited popular support, high levels of public satisfaction with democracy, and limited parliamentary support. There are many in the military who distrust him as well, due to his record, temperament, and weak management of the Ministry of Defense. The military is now seen as a guarantor of democracy, in sharp contrast to Thailand. Myanmar junta chief Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, who ousted the elected government in a coup in February 2021, presides at an army parade on Armed Forces Day in Naypyidaw, Myanmar, March 27, 2021. [Stringer/Reuters file photo] And as Philippine analyst Richard Heydrian wrote in the Journal of Democracy, despite similar apprehensions about an illiberal democracy under Marcos, so far there have been no moves through legislation or the judicial process to chip away at democracy. There is far more concern about democracy in Thailand where political and military elites have continued to rely on un-elected bodies as a check on electoral politics. There should be concern about illiberal democracy emerging in Indonesia. For now, however, Indonesians should take satisfaction in how far theyve come. Since Prabowo incited riots in Jakartas Glodok district in 1998, the country has held six national elections, consolidating the rule of law at each step. And that matters for the region. Zachary Abuza is a professor at the National War College in Washington and an adjunct at Georgetown University. The views expressed here are his own and do not reflect the position of the U.S. Department of Defense, the National War College, Georgetown University or BenarNews. Indonesian Defense Minister and presidential frontrunner Prabowo Subianto greets supporters before visiting the grave of Habib Ali bin Abdurrahman Al-Habsyi at the Al Riyadh Mosque in Jakarta, Feb. 16, 2024 Prabowo Subianto, Indonesias defense minister and presumptive next president, may face difficulties implementing his government policies because parliament looks set to be controlled by the opposition parties, analysts said. Provided some or all these opposition parties don't end up throwing in their lot with Prabowo, they collectively won 46% of the legislatures 580 seats, while the alliance that backed the defense minister only won 42%, unofficial vote counts after Wednesdays elections showed. This means that Prabowo may have to rely on the support of some of his rivals to pass legislation after being sworn in as president Oct. 30, according to Devi Darmawan, a political analyst at the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN). Prabowo could have problems if he fails to secure more parliamentary support, as the opposition parties may have more seats than his supporters, Devi told BenarNews. If [the opposition parties] form a solid coalition, they could block Prabowos plans. Legislation includes the annual budget, and among Prabowos plans is his campaign promise to carry on with the relocation of the capital city from Jakarta, on Java island, to East Kalimantan, on Borneo island. Prabowo has pledged to build on the economic record of outgoing President Joko Jokowi Widodo and implement his programs, such as the U.S. $33 billion capital relocation project. The defense minister also promised the continuance of industrial downstreaming, a policy that aims to add value to Indonesias natural resources by processing them into finished or semi-finished products before exporting them. Devi said the opposition parties could also thwart a controversial bill that would allow the president to appoint the governor of Jakarta directly, instead of through a regional election. Indonesian President Joko Widodo (center) accompanied by Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto (back), and Yahya Cholil Staquf (right), chairman of the executive council of Nahdlatul Ulama, attends the commemoration of National Santri Day in Surabaya, East Java, Oct. 22, 2023. [Juni Kriswanto/AFP] Prabowo, an ex-army general with a questionable human rights record, declared himself the winner of the presidential election held Wednesday after several unofficial counts gave him about 58% of the vote. He will replace two-term incumbent Jokowi, who is constitutionally limited from contesting a third term. Prabowos rivals in the presidential contest, Anies Baswedan, a former Jakarta governor, and Ganjar Pranowo, the candidate nominated by the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), received 25% and 17%, respectively, of the votes, the unofficial counts showed. The coalition of parties that supported Anies received around 29% of the seats in the 580-member House of Representatives and the ruling PDI-P secured some 17%, according to the quick vote counts thus accounting for a total of 46% seats currently with the opposition. Of the parties backing Prabowo, his own Gerindra secured around 13%, Golkar some 15%, and PAN and Demokrat around 7% each totaling 42%. About 11% of the votes went to parties that are expected to fail to meet the parliamentary threshold of 4% each. Among the possible opposition parties, the PDI-P, led by former President Megawati Sukarnoputri, is the largest. Jokowi is also a member of this party. Megawati and Prabowo once contested for president and vice president, respectively, together in the 2009 election. But this time, Megawatis PDI-P, which backed Ganjar, is unlikely to join forces with her former running mate. Although they have denied it, relations between the PDI-P and Jokowi are strained amid talk of a rift between him and Megawati. Presidential candidate Megawati Sukarnoputri (left) and her running mate Prabowo Subianto make a number one sign during a campaign rally ahead of the 2009 presidential election in Jakarta, June 30, 2009. [Bay Ismoyo/AFP] Additionally, Jokowi all but backed another partys presidential candidate Prabowo and the running mate he picked, Gibran Rakabuming Raka, who is Jokowis eldest son. And while Gibran has left the PDI-P, Jokowi has not formally quit. The PDI-Ps decade-long experience as the opposition from 2004 to 2014 could trouble Prabowos government, said Arga Pribadi Imawan, a political analyst from Gadjah Mada University. The party had performed solidly as the opposition, keeping the government in check and strengthening its internal unity, until it became the dominant force in the government after the end of Susilo Bambang Yudhoyonos two-term presidency, he said. PDI-P will have an opportunity to embark on political regeneration, and consolidate internally if it becomes the opposition, Arga told BenarNews. Prabowo will align with Jokowis preference What, then, could be Prabowos options? He may seek support from former opponents, such as the National Awakening Party (PKB) and the National Democratic Party (Nasdem), which had previously supported Jokowi but this time backed presidential candidate Anies against Prabowo, analysts said. Nasdem and PKB could join the Prabowo coalition with a lower bargain, Arga said referring to what Prabowo would have to offer the two parties to gain their support. One analyst predicted Prabowo was unlikely to offer his other presidential opponent Anies a cabinet position because he and Jokowi have a strained relationship. When he first won the presidency in 2014, Jokowi appointed Anies his education and culture minister, but removed him two years later. Many say the two clashed over Anies personal political ambitions. Prabowos political strategy will likely align with Jokowis preferences, Dedi Kurnia Syah, executive director of polling agency Indonesia Political Opinion, told BenarNews. Dedi said there was an outside chance Prabowo could win over the PDI-P. Puan Maharani, Megawatis daughter who serves as the parliamentary speaker, is more sympathetic to Prabowo and Jokowi than her mother, he said. Puan often defended Prabowo and the government from the criticism of some PDI-P members, Dedi said. It is possible that Prabowo will try to reach out to Puan Maharanis faction, he told BenarNews. Prabowo Subiantos foreign and defense policies have come under the spotlight after the former army general and current defense minister claimed victory in Indonesias presidential election this week. Prabowo won almost 60% of the votes, according to several polling agencies drawing attention to his policies amid rising tensions in the South China Sea and the China-United States rivalry. Indonesia is not a party to the South China Sea dispute but it has a strategic and economic interest in maintaining peace and stability there as its exclusive economic zone overlaps with several neighboring countries, as well as with the so-called nine-dash line that Beijing uses to claim Chinas historic rights over most of the sea. The South China Sea dispute has become one of Indonesias most important security issues and it could also ignite a major conflict between the United States and China, according to Aristyo Rizka Darmawan, a senior researcher at the Center for Sustainable Ocean Policy at the University of Indonesia. Prabowos campaign documents state that Indonesia needs to prepare for future conflicts and plan how to reduce potential risks. Prabowo's narrative on the South China Sea has been more about how we [should] have a strong defense capacity, Darmawan told BenarNews. People protest outside the Chinese embassy following reports that China has encroached on Indonesias maritime area in the South China Sea, in Jakarta, Indonesia, Dec. 8, 2021. [Reuters] Muhammad Zulfikar Rakhmat, a researcher at the National University of Singapore (NUS), said that the former general has had a history of advocating for a more assertive and independent foreign policy for Indonesia. His victory in the election might lead to a recalibration of Indonesia's approach to the South China Sea issue and regional security, Zulfikar told RFA. Prabowo may prioritize strengthening Indonesias military capabilities in the disputed waters. Aristyo Rizka Darmawan said Prabowo would likely focus on building up the naval forces as a deterrent in the waters around the Natuna islands, where encroachments by Chinese fishing vessels and patrols have become regular. Defense and maritime capabilities of the Indonesian navy are important. With such a strategy, Prabowo would most likely implement a more assertive policy in the North Natuna Sea, the senior researcher from the University of Indonesia said. Strategic continuity Indonesia is a founding member of ASEAN and under its chairmanship in 2023, the bloc and China embarked on a new round of draft agreement discussion for a Code of Conduct (COC) in the South China Sea. However, Prabowo has not offered any new ideas for promoting dialogue or accelerating the COC negotiations, Darmawan said. Relying solely on military capabilities would not help much in maintaining peace and security in the contested waters. To show leadership in ASEAN, Indonesia should not only think of itself but also think of a bigger role in helping the region avoid escalation and conflict, he added. The new president will take a middle-of-the-road position on the South China Sea dispute without offering anything new, according to Muradi, a military analyst and professor of political and security studies at Padjadjaran University. It is clear that his politics will be more focused on domestic affairs. This is the characteristic of a soldier who was born and raised in the Cold War era, Muradi, who goes by one name, said. The analyst warned that the situation in the South China Sea is evolving and so is the threat from China to ASEAN. Chinas military modernization is expected to be completed by 2027 and many predict that by then Beijing would be confident enough to wage an open conflict in the region and the U.S. would have to intervene to support its allies. This requires more fundamental steps, not just saying we need this or that but concrete actions, he said. Zulfikar from the NUS, meanwhile, said Prabowo's stance on China and the U.S. Indo-Pacific strategy may not be straightforward. While he has expressed interest in cultivating closer ties with China, particularly in terms of economic cooperation, Prabowo has also emphasized the importance of maintaining Indonesias sovereignty and independence in its foreign policy, Zulfikar said. That may see Prabowo seeking to enhance regional cooperation with ASEAN countries and other regional powers to address security challenges. Prabowo may adopt a pragmatic approach, seeking to balance Indonesia's relations with both China and the United States to maximize its own interests. Regarding the U.S. Indo-Pacific strategy and AUKUS grouping [between Australia, the United Kingdom, and the U.S.], he may approach them cautiously, emphasizing Indonesia's non-alignment stance while exploring potential benefits and risks associated with increased engagement with these initiatives, the NUS researcher added. Huong Le Thu, Asia deputy director at the International Crisis Group, said that she doesnt expect major changes in foreign policy as Prabowo takes over, not in the early days, at least. The former general repeatedly promised to continue the domestic and foreign policies of his predecessor, the popular president Joko Widodo. After all, continuity was among the main aspects of his campaign, she said, If anything, I would expect more of the old - and old old - than of the new. Radio Free Asia is a news service affiliated with BenarNews. A China Coast Guard ship attempts to cross paths with the BRP Teresa Magbanua near the Scarborough Shoal in this photo released by the Philippine Coast Guard, Feb. 8, 2024. The Philippines this month launched coast guard patrols around Scarborough Shoal to safeguard its exclusive economic zone and challenge China, which for 12 years has dominated those waters vital to the Filipino fishing industry, the national security adviser said Friday. Eduardo Ano said the regular patrols, which began in early February, were in line with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.s goal of achieving food security and making it safe for local fishermen to access prime fishing grounds. The triangle-shaped shoal became the focus of a landmark international court case over disputed waters in the South China Sea after Beijing took control of Scarborough Shoal in 2012. The Philippine government has taken decisive action to protect the rights and safety of Filipino fishermen in the waters of Bajo De Masinloc, Ano said in a statement, using the local name for the shoal. The national government has directed the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) and Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) to deploy their vessels for rotational deployment in BDM starting this month, the security adviser said. Scarborough Shoal, a resource-rich rock claimed by the Philippines, China and Taiwan, lies about 120 nautical miles west of Zambales, a coastal province in the main Philippine island of Luzon. It has served as a traditional fishing ground and a natural shelter for Filipino fishermen against harsh weather at sea, and is considered a vital link to food security for many coastal communities in the Philippines. These efforts aim to ensure the safety and security of our Filipino fishermen in their traditional fishing grounds. Further, both PCG and BFAR were directed to distribute food packs, groceries and even fuel to support the fishermen in sustaining their activities, Ano said. Scarborough Shoal (also known as Bajo de Masinloc, Panatag Shoal and Huangyan Dao) is seen in a satellite photo, Nov. 18, 2015. [CSIS/AMTI Digital Globe] The announcement came amid Chinas intensified aggressiveness in the waters in and around the shoal, which has effectively remained under Beijings control since a tense standoff with Manila in 2012. China has kept a permanent presence there with two coast guard ships guarding the mouth of the shoal. Patrols launched From Feb. 1 to 9, the BRP Teresa Magbanua, a Philippine Coast Guard ship, patrolled around the shoal but was harassed and blocked by China Coast Guard and maritime militia ships, according to PCG spokesman Jay Tarriela. On Feb. 11, Tarriela said four Chinese ships shadowed the Philippine ship on more than 40 occasions. The official added that the Chinese ships performed dangerous maneuvers, even crossing the bow of the Philippine ship twice. Gan Yu, a China Coast Guard spokesman, responded by accusing the Philippine ship of intruding into Chinese waters. When the warnings issued by the Chinese Coast Guard were ineffective, the Chinese Coast Guard adopted route control and forced evacuation measures against the Philippine ship in accordance with the law and the on-site handling was professional and standardized, Gan said. Ano responded, saying there is no truth to the Chinese claim. Philippine National Security Adviser Eduardo Ano (center) answers questions from reporters on Thitu Island in the disputed South China Sea during the unveiling of a Philippine Coast Guard monitoring station, Dec. 1, 2023. [Jam Sta Rosa/AFP] In December 2023, Chinese ships fired water cannon against three BFAR ships, damaging equipment on the Philippine ships. Prior to that, China installed a 300-meter floating barrier at the southeast part of the shoal to block Philippine ships. The National Security Council, Ano said, reaffirms the Philippines sovereign rights and jurisdiction over Bajo de Masinloc and its surrounding waters, saying these are recognized under international law, including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). In 2016, an international tribunal in The Hague ruled in favor of Manila, which had filed an arbitration case, and against Beijings sweeping maritime claims in the South China Sea. In the landmark ruling, the Permanent Court of Arbitration said the shoal was a traditional fishing ground for many fishermen of different nationalities, including Filipino and Chinese, and that Chinese actions there were illegal. Bennington, VT (05201) Today Cloudy. A few flurries or snow showers possible. High around 40F. Winds W at 10 to 15 mph.. Tonight Occasional snow showers. Low 28F. Winds W at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of snow 50%. Snow accumulations less than one inch. Don't miss the big stories. Like us on Facebook. Editor's Note: This is a profile of another of the four candidates for two Bennington Select Board seats in the March town election. The top two vote-getters will be elected. BENNINGTON Bennington Select Board member Jim Carroll said two of his priorities if re-elected in March will be to focus on assisting local businesses and expanding after-school recreational opportunities for local youth. Carroll, who has served on the board since 2012, is one of four candidates seeking two open seats in the March 5 town election. Also serving as a member of the Vermont House, representing the Bennington-5 district, Carroll said one thing he is looking into is the availability of grant funding through a portion of state cannabis tax revenue earmarked to combat drug use and promote after-school alternatives. He said hed work with people in the area to create more programming with a goal of providing low-income youth with alternatives that could keep them away from illegal drug use and related crime. Lets give them a chance to redirect, he said. Carroll said a witness from a nonprofit group who testified recently before his House committee vividly traced how a shortage of after-school program options for low-income youth can lead to opioid use and criminal activity because of the lure of easy cash. Id like to involve people in the area and talk to them about their ideas, he said. Classic films Another proposal that Carroll, who serves on the House Committee on Commerce and Economic Development, plans to pursue is related to his new role as a member of the board that operates the Bennington Theater venue on Main Street. I spoke to the president of the Vermont Arts Council [about funding opportunities], he said. I would like to show old classic movies at the theater, but they need a new sound system, and he hopes to locate grant funding for that. I think Jaws could be the first one, he said, and movies like Casablanca. Carroll said he also is an advocate of proposed state regulation that would limit the amount motel owners could charge to house homeless people in the states emergency housing program and require that the units meet health and safety codes. Town native Carroll is a Bennington native who lived for a number of years in New York City, before returning to Vermont in 2003. He has operated several businesses in New York and locally, including the former Main Street fixture, Jimmy Joe's Curbside Grill. He graduated from Mount Anthony Union High School in 1980 and received a bachelors degree in criminal justice and English literature from Southern Vermont College. Carroll was elected to the Vermont House of Representatives in 2018 and served until 2020, when he lost a bid for another term. However, he came back to win a new House term in 2022. The other Bennington Select Board candidates for two board seats are Nancy White, Chad Gordon and Clark Adams. This is a subscriber exclusive story. Subscribe today to access this story and all of our stories with 24/7 unlimited access. Subscribe today. Cancel anytime. Subscribe now for 99 Subscriber Sign In | Return Home You are the owner of this article. President Joe Biden walks out of the White House Jan. 12 on his way to board Marine One on the South Lawn in Washington. That was a howler, for sure. The windstorm that shook the rafters, and likely awakened many of us prematurely around 3 a.m. Friday, followed another storm system that saved its snow guns for areas outside Berkshire County this time, to the north by northwest. Day by day . . . Saturday: Light snow shower possible, mostly cloudy, near 30. Partly cloudy overnight, mid-teens. Sunday: Cloudy, low 30s, down to around 20 at night. Monday (Washingtons Birthday): Mostly sunny, near 30. Some clouds at night, around 15. Tuesday: Mostly sunny, 35-40, clouds gather after dark, low 20-25. Wednesday: Partly sunny, near 40; cloudy at night, mid-20s. Thursday: Mostly cloudy, chance of rain showers, high 40-45, low at night in the upper 20s. Friday: Cloudy, high near 40, low overnight 20-25. Saturday (Feb. 24): Cloudy, light snow possible, low 30s. Sources: National Weather Service and AccuWeather.com Top sustained winds at Pittsfield Municipal Airport huffed and puffed at 26 mph, with gusts to 45 mph between 5 and 7 a.m., according to the National Weather Service. At Harriman-and-West Airport in North Adams, winds blew at 29 mph with gusts to 46 mph at 4 a.m. It was a preview with a punch of typical March weather, the breeziest month of the year. Why? With lengthening daylight and the higher sun angle, high-pressure fair weather systems are stronger in the late winter, but low-pressure storms from Canada still push into the region. The pressure gap fuels the fierce winds. The difference this season is that the heaviest snowfalls have blanketed far northern New England and upstate New Yorks Adirondacks, as well as the northern suburbs and exurbs of the New York metro area. On Tuesday, the predicted 6- to 12-inch snowstorm turned out to be just a coating here, a short-notice shift in the storm track that caught forecasters relying on their computer models by surprise. It was a close call West Hartford, Conn., just 60 miles southeast of Pittsfield, was buried by 15 inches of heavy, wet snow. Despite satellites and a dozen different high-tech models, weather prediction remains as much an art as a science. The reality is that forecasting back in the 1970s and 80s, prior to things like the European and American weather forecasting models, was statistically much worse than it is today, meteorologist Dave Epstein with GBH News told the Boston Globe. As forecasting accuracy has increased, so too has the pressure for meteorologists to be right all the time. As Eric Fisher, chief meteorologist for WBZ-TV in Boston put it, While most of the time things go according to plan, its worthwhile to remember nature is in charge. There is and always will be uncertainty, and I think we have gone a bit ahead of our skis canceling things so far in advance in the past few years. It sometimes leads to very frustrated workers, parents and forecasters. That said, with many school kids and some families on vacation next week, residents and visitors who enjoy winter recreation will find some of the more favorable downhill ski conditions of a difficult season. Although no significant snowfall is in the forecast currently, temperatures will be downright chilly, creating ideal overnight conditions for gonzo snowmaking. There may be another coating or two of light snow on Saturday to keep the landscape prettified. Daytime highs this weekend will be seasonable, around or just above 30, with overnight lows in the teens. During the week ahead, it should remain dry until Thursday, when rain showers are expected as daytime highs push above 40. Heading to Florida this weekend? Sorry to report that AccuWeather.com predicts a potential washout across the Sunshine State, with a risk of flooding and a possible delay or postponement of the Daytona 500. The Climate Prediction Center is signaling temperatures slightly above normal for Feb. 23-29 in western New England, while rain or snow amounts may be above normal. Day by day . . . Saturday: Light snow shower possible, mostly cloudy, near 30. Partly cloudy overnight, mid-teens. Sunday: Cloudy, low 30s, down to around 20 at night. Monday (Washingtons Birthday): Mostly sunny, near 30. Some clouds at night, around 15. Tuesday: Mostly sunny, 35-40, clouds gather after dark, low 20-25. Wednesday: Partly sunny, near 40; cloudy at night, mid-20s. Thursday: Mostly cloudy, chance of rain showers, high 40-45, low at night in the upper 20s. Friday: Cloudy, high near 40, low overnight 20-25. Saturday (Feb. 24): Cloudy, light snow possible, low 30s. Sources: National Weather Service and AccuWeather.com BillOReilly.com is not available in this country. We apologize for any inconvenience. To strengthen and elevate stroke care and outcomes Marengo Asia Hospitals and the Quality and Accreditation Institute (QAI) have joined forces to establish the state-of-the-art 'Center of Excellence (CoE) in Quality & Patient Safety in Stroke Care' at Marengo CIMS Hospital, Ahmedabad. This collaboration aims to enhance stroke care treatment, with the centre focusing on fortifying the healthcare system in the state and region. The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for this collaboration was initiated by Dr Raajiv Singhal, Managing Director & Group CEO of Marengo Asia Hospitals, and Dr B K Rana, Chief Executive Officer of Quality & Accreditation Institute (QAI). The primary goal of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) is to establish a network of primary stroke centres by connecting smaller hospitals. The initiative involves collaborating with and benefiting nursing homes and clinics, incorporating them into the programme to position themselves as local hubs for primary stroke care management, linked with Marengo CIMS Hospital and QAI. Both organisations aim to expand the comprehensive stroke programme to fellow clinics and nursing homes, enabling them to play a more significant role in the community and deliver timely and appropriate care to all stroke patients. The collaboration also focuses on training and implementing awareness protocols for stroke treatment., emphasising adherence to critical time frames for patient care. The overarching goal is to enhance the efficiency of the current stroke care system, making it more effective in both, hub and spoke locations. Funds will be utilised to ramp up R&D efforts, and develop new products Arcatron Mobility, a fast-growing consumer medical company based in Pune, has raised growth capital from OrbiMed, a global healthcare-focused investment firm. Existing investors BL Taparia Family Office, Chona Family Office, MGA Ventures and founders of Arcatron also participated in the round. The funds will be utilised to ramp up R&D efforts, develop new products and enhance branding and marketing. Arcatron under its flagship brand 'Frido' offers mobility assist devices like wheelchairs for patients with limited mobility, orthopaedic insoles and ergonomic cushions for pain relief and comfort enhancement. The startup offers its products across all leading E-commerce platforms, own website and 1,000+ stores across the country. Arcatron's founders Ganesh Sonawane and Arif Khan, view this investment as a catalyst for expanding product development and reaching more customers. They are excited about the opportunities that this partnership with OrbiMed opens up. Dr Sunny Sharma and Sumona Chakraborty of OrbiMed are joining the board of Arcatron. Dr Sunny Sharma, Partner and Senior Managing Director OrbiMed Asia, said, We are very impressed with the teams expertise in product development and marketing, and are excited to partner with Arcatron in building a leading consumer medical company. GM Modi Science Foundation partners with Galien Foundation to recognise scientific achievement The Galien Foundation, a premier global institution since 1970, heralds a rich legacy of recognising outstanding achievements that improve the global human condition through innovative drugs and other treatments. Created in honour of Galien (129 CE - c. 216), the father of medical science and modern pharmacology, the Prix Galien Award is regarded as the equivalent of the Nobel Prize in biopharmaceutical research. The first edition of this prestigious award is coming to India in partnership with the GM Modi Science Foundation and will be held on March 3rd, 2024, at the Taj Mahal Hotel in New Delhi. In the realm of honouring achievements, these awards ensure that our commitment to recognizing greatness resonates with clarity and integrity, says Padma Bhushan Dr Manju Sharma, Prix Galien India Awards Committee Chair and Former Secretary to the Govt. of India, Department of Biotechnology. The categories are spread across titles such as Best StartUp and Digital Health Solution; Best Medical Technology; Best Product for Rare/Orphan Diseases; Best Biotechnology Product; Best Academic/Public Sector. In the previous year in the USA, the awardee for the best biotechnology product was Bristol Myers Squibbs Camzyos, with Lillys Mounjaro and Novo Nordisks Ozempic sharing the honour for the best pharmaceutical product. Boehringer Ingelheims Spevigo and CSL/uniQures Hemgenix won in the rare/orphan disease category. The awards will be fundamental in recognising and promoting excellence, and through recognition, while enhancing and encouraging a cycle of scientific research excellence and innovation, fostering a culture of innovation that values creative thinking, risk-taking, and the development of solutions that address societal challenges and contribute to economic growth, and showcasing Indias scientific excellence and potential on the international stage. Laman Ismayilova Azerbaijan Technical University (ATU) has hosted an event called "Khojaly Genocide through the eyes of Reza Deghati" as part of the campaign "Justice for Khojaly!". The national anthem of Azerbaijan was played, and the memory of Azerbaijani martyrs was honoured with a minute of silence, Azernews reports. World-famous photojournalist Reza Deghati attended the event, which was co-organized by the Azerbaijan Youth Foundation and the Support for Youth Education Public Association. Speaking at the event, Vice-Rector of the Azerbaijan Technical University, Narmin Rzayeva, emphasised the importance of the annual commemoration of the victims of the Khojaly Genocide. Acting Executive Director of the Azerbaijan Youth Foundation, Gadir Khalilov, stressed that the Azerbaijani state is taking the necessary steps to convey the truth about the genocide to the international community. In his speech, Gadir Khalilov underlined that after the return of National Leader Heydar Aliyev to the country's leadership, the information blockade in which Azerbaijan found itself was broken, and the truth about what was happening in the country, including the Khojaly Genocide, was brought to the attention of the world community. Reza Deghati presented photographs he took during the Khojaly tragedy, the Patriotic War, and reconstruction work in Karabakh after its liberation and spoke about the events of which he was an eyewitness. Admitting that the difficult pictures of the past are still alive in his memory, Reza Deghati added that he strives to tell the world about the terrible tragedy and genocide against the Azerbaijani people in the photographs taken in Khojaly. "I have been a photojournalist for forty-three years. Over the years, I have visited hot spots in many parts of the world and captured many tragedies, but most of all I was shocked by the Khojaly Genocide," R. Deghati told journalists. Noting that he considers it his duty to bring the right voice of Khojaly to the world, Reza Deghati added: "I received the news of the Khojaly tragedy when I was in France and immediately went there. This terrible genocide occurred when a serious information war was being waged. The Armenian lobby presented this tragedy to the world in a distorted form." Reza Deghati, saying that the camera helped him capture the events of that time and tell the whole world about them, added that he considers this work of his life. "For two years, I created a website called "Witness of Khojaly", displaying photographs on it reflecting the Khojaly tragedy. Today, justice has triumphed, the almost 30-year longing of people for their native land has come to an end," he noted. Indian Army Chief General Manoj Pande with Chief of Staff of the United States Army General Randy George during a meeting in Florida. A PTI Photo WASHINGTON (PTI): Indian Army chief Gen Manoj Pande has held high-level professional discussions with his American counterpart Gen Randy George and other senior military officials on matters of bilateral importance and ways to enhance mutual commitment towards global peace and security. Pande, who is on a four-day official visit to the US beginning February 13, is the first Indian Army chief to visit the country in several years. "The discussions were aimed at aspects of bilateral importance and further enhancing mutual commitment towards global peace and security," according to an official post on X by the Additional Directorate General of Public Information of the Indian Army. During his ongoing official visit, Gen Pande reviewed the US Army Honour Guard on arrival at Fort Myers and thereafter, in a solemn ceremony, paid respect by laying a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the Arlington National Cemetery. Thereafter he engaged in "high-level professional discussions" with the Chief of Staff of the United States Army Gen Randy George and other senior military leaders, the official post said. Gen Pande visited the Army Geospatial Centre at Fort Belvoir and also interacted with the Vice President of the National Defense University at Fort McNair. Gen Pande also met General Daniel Hokanson, the chief of the National Guard Bureau (NGB). "I had the great pleasure to meet with Gen. Manoj Pande, India's Chief of Army Staff, in the Pentagon today. We discussed the organization, roles & missions of India's Territorial Army & the @USNationalGuard, & noted several areas for potential cooperation, including disaster response & cyber defence. I wished Gen. Pande a successful visit with the California National Guard for an introduction to their impressive cyber capabilities," General Hokanson posted on his X handle along with a photo of the duo. He also visited the Indian Embassy in Washington DC and interacted with Sripriya Ranganathan, Charge d'Affaires and discussed important ongoing and prospective initiatives. State Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington Washington D.C. West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming Puerto Rico US Virgin Islands Armed Forces Americas Armed Forces Pacific Armed Forces Europe Northern Mariana Islands Marshall Islands American Samoa Federated States of Micronesia Guam Palau Alberta, Canada British Columbia, Canada Manitoba, Canada New Brunswick, Canada Newfoundland, Canada Nova Scotia, Canada Northwest Territories, Canada Nunavut, Canada Ontario, Canada Prince Edward Island, Canada Quebec, Canada Saskatchewan, Canada Yukon Territory, Canada Postal Code Ben Shephard and Cat Deeley have been confirmed as presenters of This Morning by ITV. The duo take over in the wake of the exits of long-time sofa hosts Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby, who left last year. Advertisement Good Morning Britain star Shephard said: This really feels like a very special moment for Cat and I to be part of the next chapter of This Morning. Its an honour to be trusted with the reins, join Alison (Hammond) and Dermot (OLeary) and all the team that work on and off screen and do such a great job. For the last 10 years Ive been waking up with our ITV daytime audience on GMB and I now look forward to spending time with Cat, welcoming the viewers home after the school run or from their early morning routines, with a cup of tea and a mix of everything that makes This Morning so loved. Advertisement Advertisement The 49-year-old fronts the ITV quiz show Tipping Point, has hosted Ninja Warrior UK, and has joined Willoughby on the sofa to replace Schofield during previous absences. Deeley, who rose to fame as a presenter of Saturday morning ITV childrens programme SM:TV Live, alongside Ant and Dec, and its spin-off music programme CD:UK with Willoughby, called This Morning a national institution. She added: Whenever its on, its like having your friends over funny, smart, silly, heartfelt, informative and joyful like all the greatest friendships. This Morning is and always will be the viewers show. Ben and I both know how much people love it, and with the help of an amazing team of people, were going to do our best to take care of it. Advertisement Patrick Kielty and Cat Deeley. (Damien Eagers/PA) The 47-year-old has previously hosted ITVs Stars In Their Eyes and the BBCs Fame Academy, and presented American competition show So You Think You Can Dance for more than a decade. She and husband Patrick Kielty, who replaced Ryan Tubridy on The Late Late Show, are now based in London after living in California. Advertisement Shephard and Deeley, who have both previously presented the show on separate occasions, will begin hosting This Morning next month to front the Monday to Thursday programmes. Advertisement Hammond and OLeary will present on Fridays. They were among the stars congratulating Shephard and Deeley on their permanent appointment as hosts. Commenting on an This Morning Instagram video announcing the news, OLeary wrote: Huzzah! Welcome to the fam, while Hammond wrote: So excited about this. Advertisement TV presenter and former Im A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here! contestant Josie Gibson, who often features on This Morning, wrote: I feel a work welcome party coming on!!!!! Florence Pugh has said the sequel of sci-fi epic Dune explores themes which she feels society is constantly battling against. Based on Frank Herberts 1965 novel of the same name and set in the distant future, the story delves into ideas including groups battling for control, humanitys relationship with nature and the survival of society. Advertisement Denis Villeneuves highly-anticipated follow-up sees Paul Atreides, played by Timothee Chalamet, unite with Chani, portrayed by Zendaya, and the Fremen to take revenge on those who conspired to destroy his family. British actress Pugh, 28, makes her debut in Dune: Part Two as Princess Irulan, daughter of the supreme ruler of the galaxy. Timothee Chalamet and Zendaya arrive for the world premiere of Dune: Part Two at Leicester Square Gardens in central London (Jordan Pettitt/PA) Advertisement Asked how topical she feels the themes of the film are to a modern audience, she told the PA news agency on the red carpet of the world premiere in central London: Theres a reason why were retelling this story now. Advertisement Theres a reason why its lasted this long already. Theres a reason why the books tell the future thousands of years into the future. Its themes that we are constantly battling against and its something that clearly people are drawn to the story being retold. Advertisement The first film, released in 2021, followed Chalamets character, heir to the Atreides noble family, who becomes embroiled in a war for control over the galaxys most valuable asset while he battles visions of a dark future. It also featured Swedish actress Rebecca Ferguson, US actors Dave Bautista and Oscar Isaac, Avengers star Josh Brolin and Swedish actor Stellan Skarsgard among its star-studded cast. Dont Worry Darling star Pugh, who wore a sequinned chocolate brown gown with a plunging neckline and hood for the premiere, said joining the cast for the sequel film was an actual gift. I had the privilege of being able to watch the movie as the rest of the world did, she said. Advertisement The first movie I fell in love with. I watched (it) as an audience member, I got to meet the characters, the world, the sets, the directors vision. I fell in love with it, like everybody did. Advertisement And then I asked my team if I could be in the second and perchance it happened. And so I feel like I got to then walk into this unbelievable world and I got to basically work with all these actors that Ive admired for such a long time. Advertisement It truly was an actual gift, it landed on my lap. Cast members arrive for the world premiere of Dune: Part Two in central London (Jordan Pettitt/PA) Ferguson, who plays Lady Jessica, the mother of Chalamets character Paul, said: I think an intelligent audience will always question the relevant time that were living in, compared to what were doing. Whether its political, environmental or that they just really like a big headdress and fashion is tattoos on the face and chains, I dont judge. The follow-up also sees Elvis star Austin Butler join the cast as the bald and eyebrow-less villain, Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen. Ferguson said Butlers character was her favourite and as soon as he entered, s*** got real. Brolin, who returns to the franchise as the weapons master of the house Atreides, said he felt the film is very poignant in relation to the ecological issues the world is facing. Do we take care of the resources that we have, or do we not? he said. Advertisement And you can believe that we do but its kind of obvious that theres some things that are being depleted, and maybe we shouldnt do that so much. But then Im guilty of it, too. Director Denis Villeneuve also encouraged fans to watch the sequel in cinemas because he feels it is an experience that is unmatched. As humans, we are not meant to be alone in our bubble, we are meant to share things together, to be together, he added. Theres nothing more beautiful than to experience emotions in a group of humans together, thats part of our humanity to share. The sequel had been set for release on November 3rd, but was postponed following the Sag-Aftra US actors strike. Part One was nominated for 10 Academy Awards and won six, including for original score, visual effects, cinematography and editing. Dune: Part Two will arrive in cinemas on March 1st. Alexei Navalny, Russia's most prominent opposition leader, died on Friday after collapsing and losing consciousness at the penal colony north of the Arctic Circle where he was serving a long jail term, the Russian prison service has said. Here's some information on one of Russian president Vladimir Putin's most vocal critics, and how he ended up in one of the country's highest security prisons... Advertisement Opposition leader Navalny (47) became the leading figure among Russia's splintered opposition. Supporters cast him as a Russian version of South Africa's Nelson Mandela who would one day be freed from jail to lead the country. He earned admiration from many in Russian opposition circles for voluntarily returning to Russia in 2021 from Germany, where he underwent treatment for what Western laboratory tests showed was an attempt to poison him with a nerve agent in Siberia. Rise to prominence Advertisement A former lawyer, Navalny rose to prominence with blogs which exposed what he said was vast corruption across the Russian elite, describing Russia as ruled by "crooks and thieves". Advertisement He participated in Russian nationalist marches in the 2000s. Calls for restrictions on immigration and criticism over what some viewed as his overly nationalist views prompted his expulsion from the liberal Yabloko opposition party in 2007. Alexei Navalny being escorted out of a police station in January 2021. Photo: Getty Images He lampooned Putin's elite and exposed some of the opulence of the lifestyles of senior officials, using the internet and even drones to illustrate what he described as their vast holdings and luxury property. When demonstrations against Putin flared in December 2011, after an election tainted by fraud accusations, he was one of the first protest leaders arrested. Advertisement Navalny long forecast Russia could face seismic political turmoil, including revolution, because he said Putin had built a brittle system of personal rule reliant on sycophancy and corruption. What does the Kremlin say? On Friday, the Kremlin said Putin had been informed of his death. It dismissed Navalny's allegations of vast corruption and Putin's personal wealth. Navalny's movement is outlawed and most of his senior allies have fled Russia and now live in Europe. Russian officials cast Navalny as an extremist who was a puppet of the United State's Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), which they say is intent on trying to sow the seeds of revolution to weaken Russia and make it a client state of the West. Advertisement Navalny was detained countless times for organising public rallies, and prosecuted repeatedly on charges including corruption, embezzlement and fraud. He said the accusations and convictions were politically motivated. Navalny had an extra 19 years in a maximum security penal colony added to his jail term in 2023 in a criminal case that he said was designed to cow the Russian people into political submission. German army emergency personnel load a portable isolation unit into their ambulance which was used to transport Alexei Navalny in August 2020. Photo: Getty Images Poisoning In August 2020, Navalny fell ill on a flight from Tomsk, in Siberia, to Moscow. The pilot made an emergency landing, saving his life, and Navalny was flown to Berlin, where he was treated for the effects of a neurotoxin that German military tests showed to be Novichok, a poison developed in the Soviet Union. Putin dismissed a joint media investigation that said it had identified a team of assassins from Russia's FSB security service. "If someone had wanted to poison him, they would have finished him off," he said. Family Navalny's wife is Yulia. Their daughter is called Darya, and their son is called Zakhar. -Reuters The High Court has granted an injunction prohibiting the State from transferring an Algerian asylum seeker to Spain until his legal action here is resolved. Ms Justice Niamh Hyland acknowledged there is undoubtedly serious prejudice to the State in her granting of the injunction, as the six-month time period within which Spain is obliged to accept the man will elapse next week. Advertisement Therefore, the State will be prevented from transferring the man to Spain even if he ends up being ultimately unsuccessful in his full court challenge. However, she said, the Minister for Justice has failed to decide on the mans request, made 18 months ago under Article 17 of the Dublin III Regulation, for his international protection application to be determined in Ireland. To refuse the injunction would allow the Minister to benefit from her failure to make a decision and would be unfair to the applicant, the judge held. Advertisement The Dublin III Regulation provides that a person can, with exceptions, be returned to the EU member state they first enter. Advertisement Article 17 provides that an EU member state can opt to examine an international protection application even if it is not its responsibility to do so. Here, a search on a European database found the man had irregularly crossed the border into Spain from Algeria nearly a year before he applied for international protection in Ireland. The man says he did not claim international protection in Spain, which he left to travel to France, where he remained for several months before going to Belgium and then to Ireland by bus and ferry. Spain agreed in June 2022 to a request from the International Protection Office (IPO) to take the man back for processing. Advertisement The man, via his lawyers BKC Solicitors, made submissions to the Minister under Article 17 arguing he would be at risk of onward refoulement from Spain and at risk of destitution. In October 2022 he was informed the IPO had determined that Spain is responsible for his application. The International Protection Appeals Tribunal (IPAT) then affirmed this decision. His counsel, Eamon Dornan, told the High Court an Article 17 application should be determined before a person is transferred. Advertisement In her recent judgment, Ms Justice Hyland said the Supreme Court has determined that neither the IPO or the IPAT can decide upon Article 17 applications. Advertisement She said this means a transfer decision can be made by the IPO and upheld by the tribunal but an applicant can still assert that the process under the Dublin III Regulation is unfinished due to an awaited decision from the Minister in an Article 17 request or because there is an ongoing court challenge of the Ministers refusal to grant Article 17 relief. The bifurcation of the transfer and Article 17 decisions has given rise to some considerable difficulties and a large amount of litigation, the judge noted. As far back as 2017, she said, High Court judges have commented on the absence of a coherent system in Ireland on this issue, yet the position has not altered. It is surprising that the Minister has not identified how the two strands should operate in harmony to avoid undermining the aims of the Dublin III Regulation regarding transfers, the judge said. She was not persuaded by the mans claim that Spain would not respect the mans human rights. Advertisement However, she ruled he is entitled to a decision on his application before being transferred. The Ministers failure to decide on his Article 17 application promptly, given she knew the transfer process was moving along and the six-month clock was running, is unexplained, the judge said. The judge had no hesitation in permitting the man to seek a declaration, among other reliefs, that the Article 17 process remains unclear and contrary to the principle of certainty under European law. His case is against the Minister, Ireland, the Attorney General, the chief international protection officer and the IPAT. A convicted drug dealer who ran over a garda with an electric bike, leaving him with a disfigurement on his finger, has been jailed for seven months. Stephen Brazil (46), of Hampton Wood, Finglas, Dublin, pleaded guilty to assault causing harm and drug offences. Advertisement Judge Treasa Kelly heard at Dublin District Court that gardai were carrying out an operation on July 31st last year in Finglas and noticed the accused who failed to stop. The court heard he ran over one officer who provided a victim impact statement and a medical report update. He showed the court how the little finger on one hand remains disfigured due to the impact. The court heard that Brazil was in the throes of a drug relapse at the time. Advertisement The accused already had 39 prior criminal convictions. Advertisement He started using drugs when he was 14 but later got clean and had been working as a tiler and forklift driver. However, his courses stopped during Covid restrictions, and he relapsed. The defence submitted that Brazil began interacting with new people who were a bad influence on him. The injured officer, Garda Peter Elliot, gave a victim impact statement and showed the judge how he remained affected by the injury. Brazil also admitted possessing cocaine and heroin for sale or supply on a date in February 2023. The court also heard his previous convictions were recorded from 1999 until this year. They included five counts of possessing drugs for supply, vehicle theft, failing to appear in court, and larceny. Jailing him, Judge Kelly noted the garda had been left with a disfigurement on his finger and that the officer had to undergo months of treatment. She said it was a serious matter and that Brazil showed no respect for the gardai carrying out their work when you were on this electric bike. A senior Muslim cleric has said he was targeted in a hate crime attack in Dublin, which left him in hospital. Founder and chairperson of the Irish Muslim Council Shaykh Dr Umar Al-Qadri said the incident occurred in Tallaght on Thursday evening. Advertisement Shaykh Al-Qadri said he received a CT scan in hospital following the attack. Writing on X, formerly Twitter, Shaykh Al-Qadri said he believed the attack was planned. He had agreed to meet two people in Tallaght prior to the assault. "I have experienced a deliberate hate crime attack in Tallaght a few hours ago. I would like to express my gratitude to the kind Irish lady and two Irish gentlemen who assisted me when I collapsed and safely helped me into my car. I am currently receiving medical care at the hospital. Also, thank you my community members who have come immediately to my support," he wrote. Advertisement "I was hospitalised last night and underwent a CT scan. Thankfully, there is no brain injury or broken jaw, but the left side of my face is severely swollen and my front teeth are damaged. It appears that this was a planned attack, as I met two Irish individuals who had arranged a meeting in Tallaght. The next thing I remember is feeling disoriented in my car, surrounded by helpful Irish neighbours of the area I was visiting, as the Gardai and ambulance arrived." Advertisement He added: "I was injured and had lost consciousness, but my mobile phone was still with me, allowing me to contact my friends who arrived within 15 minutes. They took me to the hospital where I stayed overnight. Alhamdulillah, I am doing alright, considering the circumstances, and it could have been much worse. Thank You for your prayers and well wishers. Having lived in Ireland for 21 years, this has never happened to me. This incident doesnt change the fact that I deeply appreciate and cherish Ireland and its people. Is brea liom Eire." A married secondary school teacher who sexually exploited a 16-year-old girl through Instagram was treated with undue leniency when he was sentenced to one year in prison, a barrister has told the Court of Appeal. Appealing the leniency of the sentence given to John Murphy (43), Roisin Lacey SC, for the Director of Public Prosecutions, said the trial judge had failed to adequately take into account a number of aggravating factors. Advertisement Murphy (43), she said, carried on communicating with the vulnerable teenager for a whole year while he was a secondary school teacher and she was doing her junior certificate exams. There was an escalation in the graphic nature of the communication, she said, including "explicit descriptions of penetrating her and what he wanted to do to her". She cited a further concern that a probation report had stated that Murphy "tended to rationalise his behaviour" and is at a medium risk of reoffending. Advertisement The report also stated that Murphy had a limited understanding of the harm he caused, was emotionally disconnected, has limited insight, and displayed sexually compulsive behaviour over a long period. Advertisement Ms Lacey pointed out that the sentencing judge had set a headline sentence of six years but reduced that to three years and then suspended the final two years. In doing so, Ms Lacey said the sentencing judge had put too much weight on mitigating factors, such as Murphy's good career and lack of previous convictions, and not enough weight on the aggravating factors. The offending had a serious impact on the victim, she added. Murphy, a married father of one from Ferncourt Crescent, Ballycullen, Dublin, pleaded guilty last year to a charge of the sexual exploitation of the then 16-year-old victim on dates between June 2017 and June 2018. Advertisement The Galway native also pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography, relating to two videos of graphic content. Those offences occurred in 2008 and 2010, the Court of Appeal heard on Friday. Paul Murray SC, for Murphy, said the sentencing judge had identified and taken into account all the aggravating factors. Counsel said the judge had also clearly set out what was stated in the probation report and explained that he wanted to suspend part of the sentence to "incentivise and ensure rehabilitation". The three-judge court, comprising President Mr Justice George Birmingham, Ms Justice Isobel Kennedy and Ms Justice Tara Burns, reserved their judgment. The latest RTE controversy surrounding staff severance packages, the Israel-Hamas war, and abandoned plans for a new dental school building at UCC are among the stories on Friday's front pages. The Irish Times leads with a story on the mounting pressure on RTE over exit deals. Advertisement University College Cork (UCC) has dropped plans for Cork University Dental School and Hospital to move to a bigger site, the Irish Examiner reports. The RTE scandal also makes the front page of the Irish Independent. Advertisement The Echo leads with a story on 14,000 cancelled hospital appointments in Cork. The Irish Sun leads with controversy over a social media post involving a Galway United player who was involved in a fatal car crash in which a father-of-two was killed. Advertisement Today's front page of The Irish Sun pic.twitter.com/QYVNezg6Rh Advertisement The Irish Sun (@IrishSunOnline) February 16, 2024 The 450,000 severance package former RTE chief financial officer Breda O'Keeffe received is the subject of the lead story in the Irish Daily Mail. Advertisement Just when you thought you had heard it all in the RTE scandal... read the full story in today's Mail pic.twitter.com/Tr6a0EyhWs The Irish Daily Mail (@irishdailymail) February 16, 2024 RTE's 'golden handshakes' feature again on the front page of The Herald. Advertisement In the North, the Belfast Telegraph leads with a story on a man who killed four people in a Fermanagh fire. The Irish News leads with a story on a pay boost for Northern Ireland public sector workers. Good Morning. Today's front page : 688m pay boost for public sector workers DUP-headed department taking the lead on Casement build says GAA pic.twitter.com/v7OdBacmBc The Irish News (@irish_news) February 16, 2024 A majority of Fridays UK newspapers lead with the British economy falling into a recession. The Daily Mirror, The Independent and the Financial Times all report on the UK prime ministers general election headaches to come as Britain dips into a recession. INDEPENDENT: Sunak braced for double poll blow as recession bites #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/EWNVLeqg7K Advertisement Neil Henderson (@hendopolis) February 15, 2024 FT UK: Britains slide into recession creates another big election hurdle for Sunak #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/foiWkqJ1cs Neil Henderson (@hendopolis) February 15, 2024 The Guardian, the i, the Daily Mail, and The Daily Telegraph all lead with pieces about UK chancellor Jeremy Hunt and his reported upcoming tax cuts. THE GUARDIAN: PM warned against cuts as UK falls into recession #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/1F5CqC8RUj Neil Henderson (@hendopolis) February 15, 2024 Introducing #TomorrowsPapersToday from:#DailyMail Now go hold and go for big tax cuts Mr Hunt For a comprehensive collection of newspapers, explore: https://t.co/zvOl5CpDm7 Don't forget to support journalism #buyanewspaper or #buyapaper for the latest updates! pic.twitter.com/7gawfTW5eL #TomorrowsPapersToday - The Press Room (@channel_tsc) February 15, 2024 TELEGRAPH: Hunt to shelve 2p income tax cut #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/sRhTDXrkck Neil Henderson (@hendopolis) February 15, 2024 The Times writes that businesses are warning Labour against a full rewrite of employment laws, warning it may have dire consequences for the economy. THE TIMES: Dont rush to rewrite staff rights, Labour told #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/hCytn2PbQI Advertisement Neil Henderson (@hendopolis) February 15, 2024 Metro reports that blasting sluggish sperm with soundwaves may revive them, according to a recent study. The Daily Express runs a story on British Gas, with calls to slash customer bills after the energy company reported record profits. And the Daily Star splashes with a story on an amazing talking dog in Barnsley. Donald Trump's recent comments on Nato have added to shifting views of the US as a world leader, The New York Times reports. A story on an Israeli attack on a Gaza hospital that was serving as a refuge for civilians also makes the front page. President Joe Biden said that the apparent death of Russian anti-corruption activist Alexei Navalny brings new urgency to the need for Congress to approve tens of billions of dollars for Ukraine to stave off Moscows invasion. Speaking at the White House, Mr Biden said that no matter the cause, he holds Russian President Vladimir Putin responsible for Mr Navalnys death. Advertisement He added, I hope to God it helps push US officials to send more aid to Ukraine. The president said he hopes Alexei Navalnys death pushes officials to send more aid to Ukraine (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) Mr Biden said that history is watching lawmakers in the House, which hasnt moved to take up a Senate-passed bill that would send funds and armaments to Ukraine, whose troops US officials say are running out of critical munitions. Advertisement Advertisement The failure to support Ukraine at this critical moment will never be forgotten, Mr Biden said. And the clock is ticking. This has to happen. We have to help now. Mr Biden said the US had not confirmed Mr Navalnys death in a Russian prison above the Arctic Circle, but that he had no reason to doubt it either. The president sharply criticised House Republicans for letting the chamber enter a two-week recess without moving on the Ukraine funding. What are they thinking my God, Mr Biden said. This is bizarre and its just reinforcing all of the concern I wont say panic but real concern about the United States being a responsible ally. Advertisement Mr Biden added that the US has not confirmed Mr Navalnys death but that he had no reason to doubt Russian reports (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski) Republican Speaker Mike Johnson earlier this week said the House wont be rushed to pass the aid, but on Friday he said Mr Putin was a vicious dictator and the world knows he is likely directly responsible for the sudden death of his most prominent political opponent. Mr Johnson said in a statement: We must be clear that Putin will be met with united opposition. Advertisement Advertisement As Congress debates the best path forward to support Ukraine, the United States and our partners must be using every means available to cut off Putins ability to fund his unprovoked war in Ukraine and aggression against the Baltic states. Lawmakers who have pushed for the Ukraine aid blamed the Republicans, who have sided with former President Donald Trump as he has urged its defeat. Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said, Shame on the pro-Putin MAGA extremists who continue to block bipartisan national security legislation in the House, referencing Mr Trumps Make American Great Again slogan. Advertisement Navalny laid down his life fighting for the freedom of the country he loved. Putin is a murderous, paranoid dictator. History will not be kind to those in America who make apologies for Putin and praise Russian autocracy. Nor will history be kind to Americas leaders who stay https://t.co/wKnOIcrEi3 Senator Thom Tillis (@SenThomTillis) February 16, 2024 North Carolina Senator Thom Tillis, one of 22 Republicans who voted for the Senate-passed Ukraine aid package, said that Mr Navalny laid down his life fighting for a country he loved and that Putin is a murderous, paranoid dictator. Mr Tillis posted on X: History will not be kind to those in America who make apologies for Putin and praise Russian autocracy. Advertisement Nor will history be kind to Americas leaders who stay silent because they fear backlash from online pundits. Mr Biden, eyeing a likely general election rematch against Mr Trump this November, said American presidents from Harry Truman on are rolling over in their graves hearing Mr Trumps comments suggesting that the US might not defend its Nato allies who fail to meet their defence spending targets if attacked. As long as Im president, America stands by its sacred commitment to our allies, Mr Biden said. An FBI informant has been charged with fabricating a multimillion-dollar bribery scheme involving President Joe Biden, his son Hunter and a Ukrainian energy company, a claim that is central to the Republican impeachment inquiry in Congress. Alexander Smirnov falsely reported to the FBI in June 2020 that executives associated with the Ukrainian energy company Burisma paid Hunter and Joe Biden $5 million each in 2015 or 2016, prosecutors said in an indictment. Advertisement Smirnov told his handler that an executive claimed to have hired Hunter Biden to protect us, through his dad, from all kinds of problems, according to court documents. Prosecutors say Smirnov, in fact, had only routine business dealings with the company in 2017 and made the bribery allegations after he expressed bias against Joe Biden while he was a presidential candidate. President Joe Biden and his son Hunter were the targets of the alleged fabricated plot (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough) Advertisement Advertisement Smirnov, 43, appeared in court in Las Vegas briefly on Thursday after being charged with making a false statement and creating a false and fictitious record. He did not enter a plea. The judge ordered the courtroom cleared after federal public defender Margaret Wightman Lambrose requested a closed hearing for arguments about sealing court documents. She declined to comment on the case. The informants claims have been central to the Republican effort in Congress to investigate the president and his family, and helped spark what is now a House impeachment inquiry into Biden. Advertisement An attorney for Hunter Biden, who is expected to give a deposition later this month, said the charges show the probe is based on dishonest, uncredible allegations and witnesses. The top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, Jamie Raskin, of Maryland, called for an end to the Biden impeachment inquiry. A judge set a detention hearing for February 20 for Smirnov, who was arrested at the Las Vegas airport after arriving in the US from overseas. Britain's Prince Harry is set to discuss his father King Charles' health in a television interview in the US. Harry has been interviewed for the first time since Charles postponed all public-facing duties because of his cancer diagnosis. Advertisement He is also due to talk about his life with Meghan Markle and the Invictus Games during the broadcast, to be aired on Good Morning America on Friday. Harry, who lives in California with his wife and their two children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, flew to the UK last week to see Charles. TOMORROW: A @GMA Exclusive: The all-new interview with Prince Harry on his life with Meghan, how his father King Charles is doing and his passion supporting wounded warriors. pic.twitter.com/tyNtHnxxpB Advertisement Good Morning America (@GMA) February 16, 2024 He visited without Meghan and their children, less than 24 hours after the announcement about Charles health. Advertisement Advertisement But there was no meeting with his brother, Prince William, after Harry spent around 45 minutes at Clarence House seeing their father. The interview comes after a week of announcements from Harry and Meghan. Meghan signed a deal with Lemonada Media to record new podcast shows, and the company will distribute her previous series. Her Archetypes podcast about female stereotypes ran for just one series before a lucrative deal with Spotify ended in 2023. Advertisement The couple also relaunched their Archewell website, the name of their foundation, rebranding it The Office of Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. A man who is a suspect in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann goes on trial on Friday over several unrelated sexual offences he is alleged to have committed in Portugal between 2000 and 2017. The 47-year-old German faces trial at the Braunschweig state court in northern Germany on three counts of rape and two of sexual abuse of children. Advertisement The suspect, known as Christian B in Germany because of the countrys strict privacy laws, has been named in the media as Christian Brueckner. The start of the trial was delayed because of long queues to get into the courthouse, German news agency dpa reported. Gerry and Kate McCann with a picture of their missing daughter, Madeleine (AP Photo/Sven Kaestner, File) Advertisement The suspect has not been charged in the McCann case, in which he is under investigation on suspicion of murder. He spent many years in Portugal, including in the resort of Praia da Luz around the time of Madeleines disappearance there in 2007. He has denied any involvement in her disappearance. Advertisement He is currently serving a seven-year prison sentence in Germany for a rape he committed in Portugal in 2005. Prosecutors filed charges in the case going to trial on Friday in October 2022. Advertisement Christian Brueckner, centre, stands next to his lawyers at the start of his trial at Braunschweig district court (Julian Stratenschulte/dpa via AP) Defence lawyer Friedrich Fulscher has said the defence will seek the suspects acquittal on all counts, dpa reported. Prosecutors have said that, at an unspecified time between 2000 and 2006, the suspect allegedly tied up and raped an elderly woman in her vacation apartment in Portugal. He allegedly beat the victim several times with a whip and recorded the incident on video. Advertisement During the same time period, he is alleged to have tied a German-speaking girl aged at least 14 to a wooden post in the living room of his residence in Praia da Luz, allegedly beating her with a whip and forcing her to perform oral sex. In June 2004, the defendant allegedly gained access at night to the apartment of an Irish woman then aged 20 in Praia da Rocha before raping her, tying her to a table and whipping her. In separate cases in 2007 and 2017, he is accused of exposing himself to girls aged 10 and 11. The case is being heard in Braunschweig after a higher court ruled that judges in the city have jurisdiction, overturning an earlier decision that they did not. Advertisement That decision centred on questions over where the suspects last residence was in Germany before he went abroad and then to prison. The court has set 29 trial sessions through to late June. Alexei Navalnys words that his prison sentence would mean life in his case unless there was political change in Russia have been borne out by his death as an inmate. Mr Navalny was born in Butyn, about 25 miles outside Moscow. Advertisement He received a law degree from Peoples Friendship University in 1998 and did a fellowship at Yale in 2010. He gained attention by focusing on corruption in Russias murky mix of politicians and businesses; one of his early moves was to buy a stake in Russian oil and gas companies to become an activist shareholder and push for transparency. By concentrating on corruption, Mr Navalnys work had an appeal to Russians widespread sense of being cheated, and he carried stronger resonance than more abstract and philosophical concerns about democratic ideals and human rights. Advertisement Mr Navalny said his release would only occur with a change in regime at the Kremlin (Steve Parsons/PA) Advertisement He was convicted in 2013 of embezzlement on what he called a politically motivated prosecution and was sentenced to five years in prison, but the prosecutors office later surprisingly demanded his release pending appeal. A higher court later gave him a suspended sentence. The day before the sentence, Mr Navalny had registered as a candidate for Moscow mayor. Advertisement The opposition saw his release as the result of large protests in the capital of his sentence, but many observers attributed it to a desire by authorities to add a tinge of legitimacy to the mayoral election. Mr Navalny finished second, an impressive performance against the incumbent who had the backing of Vladimir Putins political machine and was popular for improving the capitals infrastructure and aesthetics. Mr Navalnys popularity increased after the leading charismatic politician, Boris Nemtsov, was shot and killed in 2015 on a bridge near the Kremlin. Russian President Vladimir Putin (Alexander Ryumin/PA) Advertisement Whenever Mr Putin spoke about Mr Navalny, he made it a point to never mention the activist by name, referring to him as that person or similar wording, in an apparent effort to diminish his importance. Advertisement Even in opposition circles, Mr Navalny was often viewed as having an overly nationalist streak for supporting the rights of ethnic Russians, he supported the annexation of the Crimean Peninsula by Moscow in 2014 although most nations viewed it as illegal, but he was able to mostly override those reservations with the power of investigations conducted by his Fund for Fighting Corruption. Although state-controlled TV channels ignored Mr Navalny, his investigations resonated with younger Russians via YouTube videos and posts on his website and social media accounts. Advertisement The strategy helped him reach into the hinterlands far from the political and cultural centres of Moscow and St Petersburg and establish a strong network of regional offices. His work broadened from focusing on corruption to wholescale criticism of the political system under Mr Putin. He was a central galvanising figure in protests of unprecedented size against dubious national election results and the exclusion of independent candidates. Mr Navalny understood that he could get attention with a pithy phrase and potent image. His description of Mr Putins power-base United Russia as the party of crooks and thieves gained instant popularity; a lengthy investigation into then-prime minister Dmitry Medvedevs lavish country getaway boiled down to the complexs well-appointed duck house. Advertisement Soon, comical yellow duck toys became a popular way to mock the premier. In 2017, after an assailant threw green-hued disinfectant in his face, seriously damaging one of his eyes, Mr Navalny joked in a video blog that people were comparing him to the comic book character The Hulk. Much worse was to come. While serving a jail sentence in 2019 for involvement in an election protest, he was taken to the hospital with an illness that authorities said was an allergic reaction, but some doctors said it appeared to be poisoning. A year later, on August 20 2020, he became severely ill on a flight to Moscow from the Siberian city of Tomsk. The plane made an emergency landing in the city of Omsk, where he spent two days in a hospital while supporters begged doctors to allow him to be taken to Germany for treatment. Once in Germany, doctors determined he had been poisoned with a strain of Novichok, similar to the nerve agent that nearly killed former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter in England in 2018 and resulted in the death of another woman. Mr Navalny was in a medically induced coma for about two weeks. His first communication while recovering showed his defiant wit an Instagram post saying that breathing on ones own is a remarkable process that is underestimated by many. Advertisement Strongly recommended. The Kremlin vehemently rejected it was behind the poisoning, but Mr Navalny challenged the denial with an audacious move, essentially a deadly serious prank phone call. He released the recording of a call he said he made to an alleged member of a group of officers of the Federal Security Service, or FSB, who purportedly carried out the poisoning and then tried to cover it up. The FSB dismissed the recording as fake. Mr Navalny appears on a TV screen during a live session with the court during a hearing of his appeal in a court in Moscow, Russia (Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP) Russian authorities then raised the stakes, announcing that during his time in Germany, Mr Navalny had violated the terms of a suspended sentence in one of his convictions and that he would be arrested if he returned home. Remaining abroad was not in his nature. Mr Navalny and his wife boarded a plane for Moscow on January 17 2021. On arrival, he told waiting journalists that he was pleased to be back, walked to passport control and into custody. In just over two weeks, he was tried, convicted and sentenced to 2 years in prison. The events sparked massive protests that reached to Russias farthest corners and saw more than 10,000 people detained by police. Advertisement As part of a massive crackdown against the opposition that followed, a Moscow court in 2021 outlawed Mr Navalnys Foundation for Fighting Corruption and about 40 regional offices as extremist, a verdict that exposed members of his team to prosecution. When Mr Putin sent troops to invade Ukraine on February 24 2022, Mr Navalny strongly condemned the war in social media posts from prison and during his court appearances. Alexei Navalny and his wife Yulia talk in a courtroom (Pavel Golovkin/AP) Less than a month after the start of the war, he was sentenced to an additional nine-year term for embezzlement and contempt of court in a case he and his supporters rejected as fabricated. The investigators immediately launched a new probe, and in August 2023 Mr Navalny was convicted on charges of extremism and sentenced to 19 years in prison. After the verdict, Mr Navalny said he understood that he was serving a life sentence, which is measured by the length of my life or the length of life of this regime. A documentary called Navalny about his story won an Academy Award for best documentary in March 2023. Mr Navalnys wife spoke at the award ceremony, saying: My husband is in prison just for telling the truth. My husband is in prison just for defending democracy. Alexei, I am dreaming of the day you will be free and our country will be free. Besides his widow, Mr Navalny is survived by a son and a daughter. Ukrainian troops in Avdiivka struggled on Friday with severe ammunition shortages as Russian forces tightened the noose around the strategic eastern city in an intense Kremlin push for a battlefield win. The timing is critical as Russia is looking for a morale boost ahead of the second anniversary on February 24 of Moscows full-scale invasion of Ukraine and the March presidential election in Russia. Advertisement The four-month battle in Avdiivka appeared to be coming to a head as Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky made another trip to Europe on Friday, hoping to press his countrys Western allies to keep providing military support. White House national security spokesman John Kirby said on Thursday that Russian forces are beginning to overwhelm Ukrainian defences in the eastern city. A Ukrainian marine of 35th brigade fires an automatic grenade launcher towards Russian positions on the outskirts of Avdiivka (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka, File) Advertisement Advertisement He said Avdiivka is at risk of falling to Russia, a development he blamed in very large part on the fact that Ukrainian forces are running out of artillery ammunition. The United States is Ukraines biggest single supporter but some 60 billion US dollars (47.6 billion) for Kyiv is being held up by political disagreements among American lawmakers. Street fighting was underway in the bombed-out city, where Ukrainian troops are outnumbered seven-to-one, according to Oleksandr Borodin, press officer of the 3rd Assault Brigade of the Ukraine Armed Forces. The 3rd Brigade said on its social media account on Friday that its soldiers are holding out at the huge Avdiivka coke plant. Advertisement Russian warplanes have been dropping about 60 bombs a day, relentlessly shelling the area and launching assaults with armour and infantry, the brigade said. Advertisement A video showed dense black smoke over the factory, said to be caused by burning fuel oil reservoirs. The post said: Poisonous smog spreads all over the plant. Russian troops conducted 33 assaults in Avdiivka over the previous 24 hours, Ukraines general staff said on Friday. The Russians have been trying to capture the city since last October but made only incremental progress before a recent push. Advertisement The Ukrainian defenders have prepared for any possible scenarios, according to Brigadier General Oleksandr Tarnavskyi, head of the Ukrainian forces in Avdiivka. Advertisement Ukrainian officials have not ruled out a withdrawal from the city. Heavily fortified with a web of tunnels and concrete fortifications, Avdiivka lies in the northern suburbs of Donetsk, a city in a region of the same name that Russian forces partially occupy. Capturing Avdiivka could be a timely boost for Moscow and serve as a possible springboard for Russia to drive deeper into the region. Fewer than 1,000 people remain in the city, according to the Donetsk regional governor, Vadym Filashkin. The city, with a prewar population of about 31,000, is today a bombed-out shell of what it once was. The Institute for the Study of War, a Washington think tank, said that taking Avdiivka would be more of a symbolic win for the Kremlin and would not bring significant changes to the 930-mile front line that has barely budged in recent months. The potential Russian capture of Avdiivka would not be operationally significant and would likely only offer the Kremlin immediate informational and political victories, the institute said in an assessment late Thursday. Missile fire apparently targeted a ship off Yemen in the Red Sea on Friday. It is the latest attack suspected to have been carried out by Yemens Houthi rebels amid Israels war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Advertisement The vessels captain reported an explosion near the ship in the Red Sea off the Yemeni city of Mocha, the British militarys United Kingdom Maritime Trade Organisation (UKMTO) centre said. The crew and the vessel are reported safe, the UKMTO said. It did not immediately identify the vessel targeted. Yemens Houthi rebels did not immediately acknowledge carrying out the attack. However, the rebels typically take several hours before claiming their assaults. Advertisement Since November, the rebels have repeatedly targeted ships in the Red Sea over Israels offensive in Gaza. Advertisement They have frequently targeted vessels with tenuous or no clear links to Israel, imperilling shipping in a key route for trade among Asia, the Mideast and Europe. The US and British militaries have conducted multiple rounds of airstrikes targeting the Houthis missile arsenals and launch sites in territory they hold. Meanwhile, the US militarys Central Command acknowledged carrying out new airstrikes targeting the Houthis on Thursday. Advertisement It described hitting three mobile anti-ship cruise missiles in Houthi-controlled territory that were prepared to launch against ships in the Red Sea. Two men have been arrested after six migrants were found in the back of a lorry at a ferry port in England and taken to hospital. Both the men are in custody, with one detained on suspicion of people smuggling and the other suspected of entering the UK illegally, police said. Advertisement The discovery at Newhaven ferry port on Friday morning sparked a major emergency services response, with ambulances, police and UK Border Force in attendance. The PA news agency understands no fatalities have been reported at this stage. The scene at Newhaven ferry port (Gareth Fuller/PA) Advertisement Police said: We are currently supporting Border Force, who are the lead agency, and other emergency services after a number of people were found on a lorry on a boat in Newhaven Port. A man has been arrested on suspicion of facilitating illegal entry to the UK, and a second man has been arrested for illegally entering the UK. Advertisement The ambulance service has taken six further people to hospital for treatment. A police spokesman confirmed the boat referred to in its statement was a ferry. Advertisement The UK Home Office confirmed Border Force was involved in responding to the incident but said that while it was ongoing it would be inappropriate to comment further. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy is expected to sign bilateral security agreements with Germany and France on Friday as Kyiv works to shore up Western support nearly two years after Russia launched its full-scale war. The Ukrainian leader is meeting German chancellor Olaf Scholz in Berlin and continuing to Paris to meet French president Emmanuel Macron. Advertisement The bilateral security and long-term support agreements follow a security agreement between Ukraine and the UK signed when British prime minister Rishi Sunak visited Kyiv last month. That accord covers the next 10 years. Advertisement Mr Zelenskiy will continue on Saturday to the Munich Security Conference, an annual gathering of high-ranking security and foreign policy officials, where he plans meetings with US vice president Kamala Harris among others. Ukraine has moved onto the defensive in the war, hindered by low ammunition supplies and a shortage of personnel, although it has kept up strikes behind the largely static 930-mile front line. Advertisement European allies have appealed to the US Congress in recent days to approve a package that includes aid for Ukraine, a 60 billion US dollar allotment that would go largely to US defence companies to manufacture missiles, munitions and other military hardware that are being sent to the battlefields in Ukraine. Advertisement Mr Scholz travelled to Washington a week ago to underscore the urgency of releasing US funding. After meeting president Joe Biden, he said: We shouldnt beat around the bush support from the United States is indispensable for the question of whether Ukraine will be in a position to defend itself. Germany is now the second-biggest supplier of military aid to Ukraine after the US, and Mr Scholz has called recently for other European countries to step up with more weapons deliveries. Mr Zelenskiy has made one previous visit to Berlin since the Russian invasion in February 2022, in May last year. Advertisement Fridays trip will be his third to Paris since the invasion, following visits in February and May 2023. Jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny is dead, the prison service of the Yamalo-Nenets region where he had been serving his sentence said on Friday. In a statement published on its website, the Federal Penitentiary Service of the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous District said the 47-year-old "felt unwell" after a walk on Friday, and "almost immediately lost consciousness". Advertisement It said that medical staff had been called, but that they were unable to resuscitate Mr Navalny. It said the reason of death was being established. After news of Mr Navalny's death broke on Friday morning, the Kremlin's spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said the country's penitentiary service was making all checks regarding the death, but added that he had no information about the matter. Russia's Investigative Committee has confirmed it has also launched a procedural probe into the death. Advertisement State news agency TASS has reported that Russian president Vladimir Putin has been informed of Mr Navalny's death. Advertisement Alexei Navalny appears on a screen set up at a courtroom of the Moscow City Court via a videolink. Photo: Getty Images Mr Navalny's press secretary, Kira Yarmysh, said on X that she was unable to confirm his death, adding that his lawyer is travelling to the prison. One of Mr Navalny's aides, Leonid Volkov, also posted: "Russian authorities publish a confession that they killed Alexei Navalny in prison. We do not have any way to confirm it or to prove this isn't true." Mr Navalny's wife, Yulia, said Mr Putin and his associates will not go unpunished if the death of her husband turns out to be true. Advertisement Speaking in Russian via an interpreter at the Munich Security Conference, at which Taoiseach Leo Varadkar is in attendance, Mrs Navalny called upon the international community to come together and fight against the "horrific regime" in Russia. A statement from the prison service of the Yamalo-Nenets region, translated from Russian by Reuters, read: "On February 16th, 2024, in penal colony number 3, convict Alexei Navalny felt unwell after a walk, almost immediately losing consciousness. "The medical staff of the institution arrived immediately, and an ambulance team was called. "All necessary resuscitation measures were carried out, which did not yield positive results. Doctors of the ambulance stated the death of the convict. Advertisement Advertisement "The causes of death are being established." The US said it is actively seeking confirmation of Mr Navalny's reported death, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said. "If it's confirmed, it is a terrible tragedy," Mr Sullivan added. Thorn in the side Mr Navalny was considered Mr Putin's fiercest foe, having crusaded against official corruption and staged massive anti-Kremlin protests. Advertisement The former lawyer rose to prominence more than a decade ago by lampooning Mr Putin's elite and voicing allegations of vast corruption. Russian authorities had cast Mr Navalny as a fraudulent Western-backed extremist out to up-end political stability and sew chaos across the world's largest country, claims which he denied. A worker paints over graffiti of Alexei Navalny in Saint Petersburg in April 2021. Photo: Getty Images Mr Navalny, who was serving a 19-year sentence on charges of extremism, was moved in December from his former prison in the Vladimir region in central Russia to a special regime penal colony the highest security level of prisons in Russia 60km above the Artic Circle. His allies decried the transfer to a colony in the town of Kharp, in the Yamalo-Nenets region about 1,200 miles north-east of Moscow, as yet another attempt to force Mr Navalny into silence. The remote region is notorious for long and severe winters. Kharp is almost 100km from Vorkuta, whose coal mines were part of the Soviet gulag prison-camp system. Advertisement Mr Navalny had been behind bars since January 2021, when he returned to Moscow after recuperating in Germany from nerve agent poisoning that he blamed on the Kremlin. Sentences He subsequently received three prison sentences, all of which he rejected as politically motivated. He was convicted in 2013 of embezzlement on what he called a politically motivated prosecution and was sentenced to five years in prison, but the prosecutors office later surprisingly demanded his release pending appeal. A higher court later gave him a suspended sentence. The day before the sentence, Mr Navalny had registered as a candidate for Moscow mayor. The opposition saw his release as the result of large protests in the capital over his sentence, but many observers attributed it to a desire by authorities to add a tinge of legitimacy to the mayoral election. Mr Navalny finished second, an impressive performance against the incumbent who had the backing of Mr Putins political machine and was popular for improving the capitals infrastructure and aesthetics. Deeply shocked by reports of Russian opposition politician & regime critic Alexei Navalnys death. His death underpins the lack of respect for the rule of law & protection of human rights in Russia, & is a reminder of the repressive nature of the regime against its own people 1/2 Advertisement Micheal Martin (@MichealMartinTD) February 16, 2024 Mr Navalnys popularity increased after the leading charismatic politician, Boris Nemtsov, was shot and killed in 2015 on a bridge near the Kremlin. Whenever Mr Putin spoke about Mr Navalny, he made it a point to never mention the activist by name, referring to him as that person or similar wording, in an apparent effort to diminish his importance. In a post on X shortly before 2pm on Friday, Tanaiste Micheal Martin said he is "deeply shocked" by reports of Mr Navalny's death. "His death underpins the lack of respect for the rule of law and protection of human rights in Russia, and is a reminder of the repressive nature of the regime against its own people." In a follow-up tweet, the Minister for Foreign Affairs added: "Ireland had consistently called for Mr Navalnys unconditional release before his death. We extend our deep condolences to his family." 'Brutally murdered' The news has been met with shock from around the world, with Russian newspaper editor and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Dmitry Muratov alleging Mr Navalny was "murder". Mr Muratov said he believed prison conditions had led to Mr Navalny's death. French foreign minister Stephane Sejourne was among the first politicians internationally to comment on Mr Navalny's death, stating the Russian opposition leader paid for his "resistance to a system of oppression" with his life. Advertisement "His death in a penal colony reminds us of the reality of Vladimir Putin's regime", Mr Sejourne added. Germany's foreign minister Annalena Baerbock issued an equally pointed statement, implying Mr Navalny had been deliberately killed, a sentiment echoed by the country's finance minister. "Like no one else, Alexei Navalny was a symbol for a free and democratic Russia," Ms Baerbock wrote on X. "That is precisely the reason he had to die." "Alexey Navalny fought for a democratic Russia," German finance minister Christian Lindner wrote. "For that, Putin tortured him to death." A protesters holds a banner reading 'FREE NAVALNY' in front of the Federal Chancellery in Berlin. Photo: Getty Images Latvian president Edgars Rinkevics also said on X that Mr Navalny was "brutally murdered by the Kremlin". "Whatever your thoughts about Alexei Navalny as the politician, he was just brutally murdered by the Kremlin. That's a fact and that is something one should know about the true nature of Russia's current regime. My condolences to the family and friends," Mr Rinkevics wrote. President of the European Council Charles Michel offered his condolences to Mr Navalny's family, describing him as someone who fought for the values of freedom and democracy. Explained Explained: Who was Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny,... Read More "For his ideals, he made the ultimate sacrifice. The EU holds the Russian regime solely responsible for this tragic death," Mr Michel added. In response to accusations concerning Mr Navalny's death, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said Western accusations were "self-revealing". In a statement posted on the messenger app Telegram, Mr Zakharova said forensic results on Mr Navalny's death were still unavailable, but added the West had already reached its own conclusions. However, she did not clarify to which accusations she was referring. -Reuters & Press Association King Charles' cancer diagnosis could bring the British royal family closer, his estranged son Prince Harry said in an interview with an American breakfast show. Buckingham Palace revealed 11 days ago that Charles had been diagnosed with a form of cancer and would postpone public engagements to undergo treatment. Advertisement When asked if illness can have a reunifying effect on a family, and if that was possible in the British royal family's case, Harry said: "Yeah, I'm sure." "Throughout all these families I see it on a day-to-day basis - the strength of the family unit coming together," he told Good Morning America in a snippet of the interview aired by the ABC network on Friday. "Any illness, any sickness, brings families together," Harry said in the interview recorded in Canada, where he was attending the Invictus Games for injured veterans. Advertisement Harry and his American wife Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, have fallen out with the rest of the royal family. In 2020, they quit royal duties and moved to California. But Harry flew from the US to see his 75-year old father in London last week, within days of the cancer revelation, and had a brief reunion with Charles according to newspaper reports. An Alaskan woman has been sentenced to 99 years in prison for orchestrating the death of a disabled woman in a murder-for-hire plot. Prosecutors said Denali Brehmer was hoping to cash in on a $9 million (8.3 million) offer from a man purporting to be a millionaire. Advertisement Brehmer, 23, was sentenced by Anchorage Superior Court Judge Andrew Peterson earlier this week in the 2019 death of her friend, Cynthia Hoffman, whose death was captured in photos and video near Thunderbird Falls, a popular trail area just north of Anchorage. Brehmer pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in February 2023. Advertisement She may not have pulled the trigger, but this never would have happened it if it werent for Denali Brehmer, Anchorage assistant district attorney Patrick McKay said during sentencing. Peterson said Hoffmans pre-mediated murder-for-hire was tragic and senseless, and that Brehmer showed no remorse. He said he hoped her sentence would serve as a deterrent to others. Advertisement Defence attorneys sought an 80-year sentence with 20 of those years suspended. Alaska does not have the death penalty. Advertisement Darin Schilmiller of New Salisbury, Indiana, was sentenced last month to 99 years in prison for his role in Hoffmans murder. Authorities in 2019 said that Schilmiller posed online as Tyler, a millionaire from Kansas when starting an online relationship with Brehmer. About three weeks before Hoffman was killed, Brehmer and Schilmiller discussed a plan to rape and murder someone in Alaska, according to court documents. The millionaires only demand for payment was either photos or video of the killing. Advertisement Brehmer agreed to the offer, and enlisted the help of four friends, Caleb Leyland and Kayden McIntosh, along with two unnamed juveniles, authorities said. Leyland will be sentenced in June. McIntosh, whom prosecutors have said was the gunman, will be tried as an adult in the case even though he was 16 when Hoffman was killed. His case is pending trial. An email seeking comment was sent to McIntoshs lawyer. According to court documents, the group took Hoffman to Thunderbird Falls. They went off trail and followed a path to the Eklutna River, where Hoffman was bound with duct tape, shot in the back of the head and thrown into the river. Advertisement Advertisement Officials said Brehmer then texted Hoffmans family to let them know they dropped her off at an Anchorage park. Brehmer was eventually arrested, and once she realised she had been catfished or tricked by Schilmiller, she told authorities that she had been solicited by him. Schilmiller admitted to federal agents and the Indiana State Police that he chose Hoffman as the victim and told Brehmer to kill her, court documents said. He said Brehmer communicated with him throughout Hoffmans killing and sent Snapchat photos and videos of Hoffman while bound and after she was killed. Prince Caspian world touring | Turning Point Media Relations WASHINGTON, D.C.Showcasing an array of breathtaking production elementsincluding life-size creatures, stunning costumes and flying treesthe world touring premier of C. S. Lewis Prince Caspian is set for 56 performances at Museum of the Bible's World Stage Theater in Washington, D.C. Beginning March 1, Narnia will come to life in the museum's state-of-the-art venue, presented and produced by The Logos Theatre, a division of the nationally acclaimed The Academy of Arts Ministries in Taylors, South Carolina. Prince Caspian continues the adventures of the four Pevensie children, who first discovered the land of Narnia in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobethe inaugural title in Lewis beloved The Chronicles of Narnia series. Returning to Narnia to help its rightful king and heir, Prince Caspian, reclaim the land and take his throne, the siblings are swept into an epic adventure sure to captivate all ages. From Caspians courage to lead despite feelings of insufficiency; to Peters willingness to face Miraz in battle; to Trumpkin's ultimate belief in Aslan and fight for Narnia, the heroic tale is depicted in a Broadway-caliber production faithful to Lewis original story. The theatrical adaptation was written by Nicole Chavers Stratton, artistic director of The Academy of Arts Ministries. As I began to look for a script, I quickly realized that no one had ever made a full adaptation for this book, so after talking with the C.S. Lewis Company, I decided to try my hand at my first Narnia adaptation, Stratton shares. I was fortunate to have my script vetted by Douglas Gresham, the stepson of C.S. Lewis, and enjoyed such a wonderful working relationship with him. One of the things I have always loved about this story is that Lewis gives us truly relatable people who face incredibly difficult circumstances and overcome them by using things that are available to us allfaith, hope, courage and self-sacrifice," Stratton continues. "Prince Caspian captures your heart on every level and lets you know that no matter what youre facing, you can overcome and choose to live a life of faith and courage." "Few places in the world have the resources or personnel to incorporate the level of excellence and grandeur through puppetry that we do in our Narnia productions, explains Justin Swain, puppet master, The Logos Theatre. From the Great Lion, Aslan, operated by a team of three puppeteers; to a full-scale galloping, rideable horse; to two life-size bears and a score of treessome spanning 12 feet tall and walking, flying, dancing and fighting across the stagethese elements are choreographed together to produce an experience that will rival the best of Broadway and the West End's most iconic productions." "There are so many amazing aspects to this production, but one thing that Ive especially enjoyed is the soundtrack, adds Sam Singleton, who portrays Prince Caspian. It truly captures the essence of the adventure, the danger, and the joy of this wonderful story. I also hope audiences will appreciate the quality of the show, as well as the power and application of the allegory. This story reminds us, most importantly, that we serve an excellent and mighty God!" Prince Caspian will be presented at Museum of the Bibles World Stage Theater March 1-April 27, with tickets ranging from $69-$94. For showtimes and tickets, visit Museum of the Bible. ABOUT THE LOGOS THEATRE The Logos Theatre was founded by The Academy of Arts Ministries in 2006 with the express purpose of impacting todays culture for Christ through the powerful medium of storytelling on stage. Its 300-seat auditorium featuring a revolving stage is housed in The Academy of Arts Ministries headquarters in Taylors, South Carolina, and has welcomed audiences from around the world. With the understanding that all truth comes from God, The Logos Theatre carries out The Academys mission of making the Bible come alive in minds and hearts in a unique and powerful way, by choosing to only tell stories of Truth and purpose. Through the years, The Logos Theatres artistic team has presented such original productions as C.S. Lewis The Chronicles of Narnia; God Meant It For Good (The true story of Joseph and his brothers in Egypt.); Esther; The Venture of 1620; The Scarlet Pimpernel; and Charles Dickens A Christmas Carol, among many others. ABOUT MUSEUM OF THE BIBLE Among the most technologically advanced museums in the world, Museum of the Bibles purpose is to invite all people to engage with the transformative power of the Bible. The museum showcases rare and fascinating artifacts spanning 4,000 years of history, offering visitors an immersive and personalized experience with the Bible and its ongoing impact on the world around us. Located just three blocks from the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., more than 2 million visitors have had the opportunity to access educational programs, events and family activities since the museum opened its doors in 2017. In addition to its permanent and temporary exhibits, Museum of the Bible boasts a 476-seat amphitheater-style venue, the World Stage Theater. For further information, visit Turning Point Media Relations, Museum of the Bible and The Academy of Arts. Who need rumours when you are pulling intercepts like that out of the ground? The company also has its Buccaneer and Old Pirate projects that have a combined resource of more than 470,000 gold ounces nearby. So ,while management probably felt the need to address the misinformation circulating around the traps, the company appears to be in a pretty good place with gold aplenty just waiting to be dug out. Perhaps it should take a leaf out of Fleetwood Macs songbook and simply go its own way. And it leads us to thinking that once rumours begin, sometimes you may never break the chain. But Prodigys share price fell by 37.5 per cent yesterday, suggesting some previous buyers had stopped listening to the scuttlebutt. American Rare Earths also saw its share price skyrocket this week, jumping more than 130 per cent to touch 37.5c after a previous close of 16c. The sharp move appears to be another case of the market reacting slowly to a major announcement, with the stock lifting the week after the company delivered an astounding 64 per cent hike to the in-situ resources at its Halleck Creek rare earths project in Wyoming. In fact, even the ASX may have even missed the announcement after it issued a Please Explain to start the week and the price continued to rise right up to todays trading. The resource at Halleck Creek is big. The latest update puts the figure at 2.34 billion tonnes grading 3196 parts per million total rare earth oxides (TREO), with an astronomical 1.81 million tonnes of magnetic rare earth oxides (MREO) Management believes the project has the potential to become the biggest rare earths deposit in the US. And a quote in the resource upgrade announcement from chief executive officer Donald Swartz explains the reasons why it is so bullish about the operations potential. Typically, youll see the resource decrease as infill drilling takes place instead were seeing the opposite, with only 25% of the project being drilled to this point, he said. Plus, apparently, the deposit remains open at depth and along strike, which puts Halleck Creek well on the path to fulfilling American Rare Earths claims. Watch this space. Dateline Resources took out third place this week with a 100 per cent jump from 1c up to 2c after delivering a majestic 70.1m section going 6.53g/t gold including 25.9m grading 15.31g/t at its Colosseum project in California. The figures come from a single diamond drill hole sunk to a depth of about 250m, with individual 1.5m assays showing a significant jump in grade from around the 117m mark. An outlying 1.5m section from 245.4m also returned solid results of 31.3g/t gold. Management says the latest assays are in-line with previous drilling that returned similarly impressive intercepts including 100m grading 4.16g/t gold. The Colosseum gold mine sits along the Walker Lane trend in Californian county of East San Bernardino. In 2022, Dateline announced that the operation holds a JORC 2012-compliant mineral resource estimate of 20.9 million tonnes at 1.2g/t for 813,000 gold ounces. Not satisfied with a significant gold resource, management says it is progressing discussions with local, State, and Federal agencies with regards to implementing a rare earths program at the site. The company has consistently pulled wide assays from diamond drilling at Colosseum going back to June last year when it announced a 63.2m hit grading 10.28g/t gold. Interestingly, Fleetwood Macs Rumours, which included the track Gold Dust Woman, was primarily recorded in California. Coincidence? Well let you decide. This weeks final runner goes to global fintech company Way2Vat, which enjoyed a price rise of more than 91 per cent to touch 2.3c from a previous close of 1.2c after it launched what it calls the worlds first AI-driven automated auditing project dubbed AI-AP Compliance. Wow AI and auditing in the same sentence. That strikes a very real fear into a journalists heart. Management says its new automated product is the first of its kind, building on the companys existing technology platform to perform a full audit of all accounts payable and VAT/GST invoices for clients across 80 countries. Importantly, the project creates a new revenue stream for Way2VAT based on a fixed fee per audited invoice and 20 per cent of unclaimed refunds. According to its latest announcement, the companys AI-AP Compliance operates at magnitudes quicker than manual auditing of spot invoices, reducing the time for processing from months to days. It says it significantly reduces risk by automatically ensuring all invoices are compliant with various VAT/GST rules and regulations and by verifying the correct amount of VAT/GST has been charged or paid. The program runs automated scans and enrichment of submission reports, invoice and receipt images and checks against taxation and governance protocols. It also generates audit and discrepancy reports that verify proper submission of AP expenses, identifies wrongly submitted expenses, unpaid invoices or redundant VAT recovery, pinpointing errors and rectifications needed. Good news for accountants, then! Way2VAT says it will charge a standard rate per invoice and 20 per cent of reclaims, working with enterprise clients with at least 10,000 invoices to be audited. So, to round out with the Fleetwood Mac Rumours theme of this weeks column, companies looking to streamline its auditing process could well be shouting, Oh Daddy, while those working in the financial sector might well be thinking, I Dont Want to Know. Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: mattbirney@bullsnbears.com.au 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 Around dinner time last Tuesday, Barbara Pocock retreated into her parliamentary office in Canberra for a critical meeting with her fellow Senate colleague, and kingmaker, David Pocock. The mood was tense. This phone call, which would last only 20 minutes, would either make or break her long-running push to protect employees from being penalised for ignoring work messages after-hours. Around dinner time last Tuesday, Greens senator Barbara Pocock clinched the final vote needed to enshrine employees right to disconnect in law. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen Hundreds of thousands of workers across 65 Australian employers, including the nations largest banks and the public sector, had already won right-to-disconnect provisions in their enterprise agreements, but the Greens wanted to extend the benefit to all workers across the nation. ANZ has enshrined the importance of maintaining work-life balance by employees being able to switch off from work, while the Commonwealth Bank committed in its enterprise agreement to develop guidelines that address contacting employees outside normal work hours. The impact of the industrial reforms are still too early to tell, and even CBA chief executive Matt Comyn has conceded the bank is still navigating the rights of employees and providing seamless service for customers. Advertisement When we think through the overall impact on the business, were also conscious of were a 24/7 business, Comyn said this week. Customers certainly expect our services, or many of them are available, at all times, and we expect to be able to think through some of the reasonableness of, and requirements on, different roles. So by way of example, if youre a customer service specialist thats working in our branch network, thatd be a very different expectation to say if youre a cybersecurity expert, or if youre a senior executive. Loading The Finance Sector Union has also secured the win for its members at NAB, Cbus Super, Bank of Queensland, AustralianSuper, Aware Super, Zurich Insurance Group and the Teachers Mutual Bank Limited in recent years as digital technology and the COVID-19 pandemic extended the working day. Putting clear boundaries in place recognises the importance of work-life balance and the need to protect the health and wellbeing of workers, said the unions national secretary, Julia Angrisano. In its enterprise agreement, ANZ stipulates both managers and employees have a role to play in seeking to foster work-life balance. ANZs general expectation is that employees covered by this agreement are not obliged to remain connected to the workplace outside their normal working hours, the EBA states. There will be situations when it is necessary for employees to be contacted and or to work outside of their normal hours. Advertisement The bank has carve-outs for after-hours contact if it considers the work that needs to be performed to be time-critical or an emergency; the nature of the employees position requires work at irregular hours; contacting staff about rosters; and if the staff member is being compensated for that work. The sky will not fall Independent senator David Pocock had only a few days to digest the Greens amendments to the governments Closing Loopholes legislation seeking to give workers the right to disconnect before it was introduced to the Senate last Wednesday. The amendments were voted on a day later. He wasnt entirely comfortable with what Greens senator Barbara Pocock (theyre not related) had proposed, nor with what he believed was the minor partys lack of transparency for refusing to release the draft amendment in advance but if they wanted his support, he was requesting three changes. Independent Senator David Pocock provided the final critical vote to enshrine the new reforms into law. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen Employers shouldnt be prohibited from contacting staff, he said, but employees should be given the right to not respond to calls and emails. He also wanted safeguards against vexatious complaints. Advertisement Barbara Pocock agreed. For outsiders, the significant changes to industrial relations laws had come left-field and have since dominated the national conversation, even making international headlines. But, with her staff, Barbara Pocock had been working with Industrial Relations Minister Tony Burkes office for more than six months, drafting and scrapping about 40 different versions of her amendment, according to a source close to the Greens senator. Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations Tony Burke. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen After negotiating with Burke over summer the introduction of a right to disconnect in return for voting in favour of the governments reforms to strengthen the rights of casuals and workers in the gig economy, and then securing the support of independent senator Lidia Thorpe, the final vote she needed to lock in hours before the bill was introduced to the Senate was that of David Pocock. Barbara Pocock managed to clinch his backing at the 11th hour for Australia to join the likes of France, Spain and Canada to protect workers from the increased blurring of lines between work and personal life. Lets be clear: the sky will not fall, Barbara Pocock said this week. The fact that we carry our workplace around in our pocket these days means that we have become available to be contacted any time of the day or night, and we need to protect those workers who are regularly suffering the burden of intrusive contact from work during their time off without being paid for it. Advertisement The haste at which the right to disconnect was legislated has alarmed business groups, the federal opposition and even David Pocock, who told the Senate he was concerned the draft amendment hadnt been publicly released for consultation or subject to the scrutiny of a parliamentary committee. I believe additional safeguards are warranted to guard against these provisions being used vexatiously, he said. I also believe additional resourcing is needed to develop guidance, particularly for small businesses, on this new right and its application. Burke had to introduce separate legislation to the House of Representatives this week to fix a quirk that had effectively introduced criminal penalties for employers who breach Fair Work orders an error that could have been avoided, critics argue, if the amendment had been released earlier to be digested. Loading Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has vowed to roll back the reform, standing with business groups that say the laws are unnecessarily prohibitive. Wesfarmers chief executive Rob Scott told investors on Thursday the legislation added additional complexity to an already very complex industrial relations system. This should be dealt in a common-sense way, and it should be dealt at an enterprise level, Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry chief executive Andrew McKellar says. If youre a large corporate, its something you can write into an EBA and if youre a small business, its something you can agree with your staff. Its not something that needs to be prescribed in legislation, and the risk is, by doing that it becomes heavy-handed. Advertisement MEMOIR Cold Crematorium: Reporting from the Land of Auschwitz Jozsef Debreczeni Jonathan Cape, $36.99 Every year brings more memoirs of the Holocaust, known to Jews as the Shoah. This is a good thing as we inhabit a culture of selective memory and pragmatic forgetting. There are people getting around in black uniforms who need to be sat down and made to listen. Jewish prisoners during their liberation from the Auschwitz concentration camp in January 1945. Credit: Jewish Holocaust Centre These books all bear witness to a profound historical trauma and, in so doing, encourage others to speak of other traumas. I have visited a large Jewish school in Melbourne for Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day). The living witness of survivors was bracing. So too was the way the service embraced survivors of other historical darkness: Indigenous Australian, refugees, climate casualties, Anzacs. A list was shared of all the places in need of peace. The sense of shared humanity is the bridge to the future. Survivor memoirs fall into several categories. Of recent times, books that use the experience to salvage something for the present have found a wide audience. The best known is Eddie Jakus The Happiest Man on Earth (2020), a title with only a tinge of irony. Adam Goldbergs The Strength of Hope: A Holocaust Survivors Guide to Love and Life (2022) is another. ONLINE COMMENTS Indian student Raghav found a place to rent. The catch? It was a garden shed Heartwarming to read this story [February 10] coming to Australia myself as an international student over 20 years ago and now calling this my country. Sad to see not much has changed in terms of assistance for international students, when we clearly pay a huge amount of fees and taxes once we settle in. Simple things like discounted public transport (which is available for most students) were all we cared for back in the day. As some have rightly said, unis should also support this, considering they are charging two to three times the course fees for international students. Good on you, Motani, for working through the hard times. I can only say from experience; the future is only bright for you from here on go well, mate! Draj07 The universities are chasing the higher-fee-paying international students for understandable reasons: their viability due to chronic long-term underfunding (bad) and price capping (good) for domestic students. But in this frantic pursuit, they take almost no responsibility for the complete non-academic needs of the student. No place should be offered without a matching housing solution. Period. The universities need to own the problem of housing these students. That is not to say that they have to build/lease/contract and operate student dormitories (though that may be part of the solution) but they must own the problem and ensure that no student is without acceptable accommodation. Before they arrive. Lazarus Universities should be required to provide custom, purpose-built housing for every international student. 56384 Within my home I have a self-contained unit. I cannot rent it out unless it is certified as a secondary dwelling through the Department of Planning. The cost and red tape involved makes it unviable. No wonder there is a shortage of rental accommodation. View from the ground Loading Landlords renting out sheds, garages and other unsavoury places, not just to international students but to desperate Australians, is now commonplace. And they are not cheap. But neither major political party has the will to tackle the housing/rental crisis, so things will only get worse. RobOz Many years ago, I bought a rundown property in inner Sydney. My first home. A friend told me about an American student program definitely not for poor students. The program itself set the rates for bed and board. Over six years I had five students. Some are still friends, 40 years on, and I have travelled to their homes and been treated like royalty. Maybe because I looked after them well. Yes, some of the money went on the mortgage, but much of it went on having fun and showing the students around. The experience enriched my life. Obviously, language wasnt an issue, but the cultural exchange was fabulous. We did a full-on Thanksgiving dinner every year! I encourage people who are able to take in a student to try to do so. It could be one of the best things you ever do, and not just because of the income. LizS Empty-nest pensioners should be doing this. Means their multi-bedroom houses are used to their potential, and they earn a good stream of income, as well as help around the house. My 90-year-old grand aunt has had boarders for years. forthrightone I had homestay students for 10 years. Most are great, some are not. Elderly people can be very vulnerable if they dont have family watching out for them. Swannies fan This has opened my eyes. Ive never thought about these types of arrangements before, and I can see the benefits all round. While I still need my spare bedroom while our kids are growing up, Ill consider this option down the track. GL Two of Us with radio presenter Thomas Oriti and reporter Nas Campanella Another instalment of why I love the Two of Us page [February 10]. Thanks Nas and Thomas for sharing your lives. News hound Really enjoy them both as journalists and didnt know they were together. Great surprise and go them! eMs I always love listening to Tom in the mornings calm, measured, intelligent, well-informed, personable and warm. Not surprised to hear he is wonderful at home too, well-matched by Nas. Beautiful story, beautiful people. Sending best wishes to both of them. Sarah Therese Nas is a wonderful journalist ... I think Thomas got lucky to have such partner in life. Bloo What a gorgeous story. Yes, Nas is disabled. Has she let that stop her? Not on your life. Why do we rarely consider how the disabled can do things in their own way, and not employ more of them in the workforce. They need not be so invisible in society. I hate lying politicians I listen to Thomas every morning and have always been impressed with his range and depth of knowledge, as well as style. Reading this just makes me think even more highly of him. And as for Nas, what can I say? What an incredible, strong, smart, professional and courageous woman she is. What she does as a journalist, as a parent and just as a person is so impressive. A wonderful couple, and so nice to read more about them here. Helen One of the most endearing stories I have read in a long time. Hope their marriage continues to go in good directions. Suzee Beautiful, and can I say, I love Nass reporting. Always thought she was rather mighty! Violet Oh man, Nas and Thomas sound like my favourite kinds of people I dont care about having rich or powerful friends, I want people of generous spirit and resilient joy. Im so glad they have each other, to make their journeys rich. Matt Loading Nas, I am so inspired by your determination, talent and sheer hard work. What a brilliant role model for all women and those living with a disability. Thank you for your work and for providing a positive example for so many. tuppence I cant think of a Two of Us feature more heart-warming than this one. Freddy Longbottom I had a visceral response to Nigel Gladstones opinion piece bemoaning the fact Sydney hates bikes and wondering why. So I thought I would help out. As a former cyclist, and being a person who drives occasionally, walks and uses trains more often than not, I would suggest we dont hate bikes; we are annoyed by some of the arrogant, aggressive and self-entitled people who ride them. The contest on Sydneys Broadway. Wollongong City Council, for one, wants to make it legal for cyclists to ride on pedestrian walkways. Credit: Dion Georgopoulos And while I hope Nigels collarbone is well and truly mended, for me and all the other people who have been scuttled by cyclists focused on their tech and phones as they power through shared spaces, its time for a pause on the poor us. My own scuttling occurred walking to work. I thought I was being mugged when a speeding cyclist hit me from behind. Neither of us fared well. I ended up with a torn calf muscle and some spectacular bruising from the handlebars. The male cyclist ended up on the grass, sobbing and rocking back and forth holding a very injured leg, his tech, phone and expensive bike just as damaged. I am not anti-cycling. It is great for the environment. It is great for health and wellbeing and its great getting cars off the road for all the obvious reasons. What we need to work out is how we share the space better and behave like better, thoughtful humans. And there is definitely a role for better planning. Police are reviewing recordings made on the phone of a Queensland man accused of murdering his wife, who died from critical injuries after an incident involving a tractor slasher. Yadwinder Singh, 44, has been charged with murder and interfering with a corpse, after the body of his wife, Amarjit Kaur Sardar, was found at their property in Woodhill, south of Brisbane, on Thursday morning. Police said Singh called emergency services to report the death of his 41-year-old wife. Paramedics rushed to the property on reports of an incident involving machinery. Her cause of death was yet to be determined by authorities, with forensic testing still ongoing. The three surviving Victorian Liberal premiers have combined to back the Opposition Leader John Pesutto in what could be a defamation battle worth more than $1.7 million with former Liberal backbencher Moira Deeming. In a crucial show of support the three party elders, Jeff Kennett, Ted Baillieu and Denis Napthine have privately donated to a fighting fund to help finance Pesuttos expenses. Opposition Leader John Pesutto. Credit: Penny Stephens Kennett criticised the Liberal Party, which is strapped for funds, for refusing to pay the leaders costs. Their involvement is already seen as a significant boost for Pesutto and is being used by supporters to encourage more donations. As Damon Henricksen returns to his family property, a gust of wind stirs the ashen ground. There is an acrid tinge to the air. The home that housed his parents and extended family members is a burnt-out wreck. While the small business owner moved out two years ago, many of his belongings were at the property when a fire tore through the tiny western Victorian town of Pomonal on Tuesday afternoon. All that remained on Friday was an undamaged motorbike, standing upright in the driveway, exactly where it was parked before the flames rolled in. Its pretty devastating, Henricksen said. A lot of memories and a lot of stuff thats gone that youll never replace. But everyone got out safe. Thats the most important thing. But the country has also been burnt by its experience in 2016 when tens of thousands of Chinese tourists were encouraged to visit it by Beijing, only for the tap to be turned off suddenly when Palau would not switch its diplomatic allegiance from Taiwan. People have tasted it. They know that theres economic opportunity out there with China, he said. But its economic coercion. Thats a way of beating up Palau. They hope that they will beat us into submission, and then we will change our stance. The warning follows Naurus switch from Taiwan to China and Papua New Guineas interest in a security deal with Beijing in January. The developments have heightened Australian officials concerns about the Chinese governments intentions in some of its closest neighbours. Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare, who switched Honiaras allegiance from Taipei to Beijing in 2019, said the region was in the midst of a geopolitical war between China and the West. On Wednesday, he vowed to adopt a look north foreign policy that will strengthen the countrys relations with China while nurturing ties with other traditional partners such as Australia. The switch has seen Beijing pour hundreds of millions of dollars into Solomon Islands and put Australia and the US on notice as other Pacific nations including Fiji weigh up the benefits of greater economic investment by China against the security implications for the region. In a letter to an unnamed US senator on February 9, Whipps warned that Congress failure to pass $US2.3 billion ($3.5 billion) in assistance under the Compacts of Free Association Act was pushing the Pacific further towards China. The legislation has languished in Congress since October along with bills for funding support for Ukraine. The COFA Act was designed to provide economic support for the Pacific in exchange for ongoing American military influence over an area larger than the US. Loading Every day it is not approved plays into the hands of the Chinese Communist Party and the leaders here (some of whom have done business with the PRC) who want to accept its seemingly attractive economic offers at the cost of shifting alliances, beginning with sacrificing Taiwan, he wrote. The letter was first published by Cleo Paskal at the Foundation for Defence of Democracies. The PRC [Peoples Republic of China] has already offered to fill every hotel room in our tourism-based private sector and more if more are built. The legislation is critical for both of our democracies and a free and open Indo-Pacific. Palau is one of Taiwans last dozen remaining diplomatic allies as Beijing intensifies its pursuit of its diplomatic partners by offering millions of dollars in economic investment. Hilda Heine, the President of the Marshall Islands, which also recognises Taiwan, said there had been carrot and stick efforts from China to shift its alliances, including discontinuing support of Taiwan. The Chinese Communist Party has never ruled Taiwan but claims its democratic neighbour as its own and has been on a decades-long campaign to eliminate its diplomatic allies. China and the United States have been engaged in geostrategic competition throughout the Pacific. Credit: AP In November, Chinas special envoy for the Pacific islands Qian Bo told Pacific leaders that co-operation with China would bring major economic opportunities for the region. China stands ready to promote the synergy of development strategies with Pacific Island countries and accelerate the building of an even closer community with a shared future between the two sides, he said. Heine said her rejection of a Chinese government proposal to develop an atoll created a domestic push to topple her government. Later, people from the PRC were convicted by a US court of bribing proposal supporters in our parliament who voted against me, she said. In December, this masthead and 60 Minutes revealed that Chinese officials followed, bribed and wrote entire statements on behalf of foreign-elected leaders in another Pacific country, the Federated States of Micronesia. In one email, the foreign secretary was urged by Chinas ambassador to Micronesia to sign documents committing the country to a new development deal with Beijing without the presidents knowledge. Legal actions and corporate bans ASIC seeks various court orders, including injunctions against the defendants and a ban on Hodgson from managing corporations for a determined period. This legal move follows Hodgsons previous two-year ban in 2015 for failing to comply with financial service obligations while serving as director of Exalt Global Funds. Property held by older investors contributes to supply challenges in capital cities, Raine said. One option to breaking the supply impasse is to provide older investors with an exemption for, say, 24 months on the payment of the CGT liability. This exemption should also come means test-free. We have been successful in hiring [a] young analyst new to the industry who helps our brokers with transactions, which is a very good way to learn commercial lending and transition to a broker when they are ready, Wilcox said. Drug major Novartis AG on Friday announced a strategic review of Novartis India Ltd, a public company listed on the BSE. The strategic review will include an assessment of the 70.68 per cent shareholding of Novartis AG in the company, the drug firm said in a statement. Novartis India Ltd is separate from Novartis Healthcare Pvt Ltd, the wholly owned subsidiary of Novartis group in India. Novartis Healthcare Pvt Ltd includes the Novartis Corporate Centre in Hyderabad, the commercial arm of Novartis in India, and R&D teams, which currently conduct clinical trials at more than 300 trial sites in the country. The strategic review will not impact Novartis Healthcare Pvt Ltd, Novartis AG stated. There can be no assurance that the strategic review of Novartis India Ltd will be completed in 2024, or that the outcome would result in the implementation of any transaction, it said. Novartis remains deeply committed to India with a footprint that has expanded significantly in recent years, it added. Novartis employs over 8,100 associates in India. Hundreds of workers at a manufacturing plant of Apple supplier Flex in India's Tamil Nadu state staged a one-day strike on Friday, demanding higher wages and the recognition of a union. Many electronics manufacturers in India, including Foxconn and Pegatron, lack a union, while automobile factories have higher levels of organising, according to labour welfare workers. At Flex, unhappy over wages and policies, including tour allowances and medical leaves, all permanent workers, about 750, joined the Centre of Indian Trade Union, said union secretary E. Muthukumar. He added Flex, which makes chargers for Apple, was unwilling to recognise the union at the plant, which employs roughly 4,000 people, including contractors, who did not join the strike. "As house rents, education fees and other expenses have increased, it is not possible to sustain a livelihood with the current salary," the union had informed Flex in a letter reviewed by Reuters. The workers requested wage raises for the next three years but could not reach an amicable resolution, according to the letter. Flex did not respond to requests for comment. Workers will return to the factory for the third and final shift, Muthukumar said, adding the union will decide on the next steps depending on the outcome of future negotiations. As of March, Flex, which also manufactures products for Apple in the U.S. and China, employed nearly 172,000 people globally, including contractors. It is unclear how much the strike affected production, even as Indian laws prohibit the employment of contractors in core activities in most circumstances. This is the latest unrest at an Apple supplier in India in recent years after food poisoning among workers triggered a strike at Foxconn and workers at a Wistron plant protested against alleged wage underpayment. Taiwan's current source countries for migrant workers are Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand India and Taiwan on Friday signed a migration and mobility agreement that will facilitate the employment of Indian workers in diverse sectors in the self-ruled island, a move that is seen as reflective of the renewed momentum in the cooperation between the two sides. The memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed at a virtual ceremony by Director General of the India-Taipei Association (ITA) Manharsinh Laxmanbhai Yadav and Baushuan Ger, the head of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Centre in New Delhi. In order to strengthen the bilateral labour cooperation relations, Taiwan and India have signed an MoU, Taiwan's labour ministry said. Both sides were engaged in discussions over the pact for the last several years. After all the preparatory work is completed, India will be announced as a "new source" country of migrant workers in accordance with the law, the Taiwanese labour ministry said. Taiwan's current source countries for migrant workers are Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand. The two sides will hold follow-up discussions to complete the procedures to implement the migration and mobility pact. In the follow-up discussions, the two sides will deliberate on issues such as industries in which Indians can be employed, the number of jobs, source regions in India for migrant workers, qualifications for employment, language skills and recruitment methods, a statement said. It said the Taiwanese side will decide the industries and number of Indian migrant workers to be allowed to work in Taiwan and the Indian side will recruit and train workers according to Taiwan's needs. The Taiwanese labour ministry said it will submit the MoU to the Legislative Yuan for a review in accordance with the laid down law and hold a working-level meeting with the Indian side as soon as possible to discuss details relating to the implementation of the pact. The ministry said Taiwan is affected by an ageing population and low birth rate, and that is why it is looking at the migrant labour force. Affected by the country's ageing population and low birth rate, the working-age population and grassroots labour force have shrunk sharply, it said, adding that the shortage of workers in manufacturing, construction, agriculture and other industries continues to expand. The demand for care-givers too is increasing, it said. The overall ties between India and Taiwan are on an upswing. The two countries had held preliminary rounds of talks on a free-trade agreement. The total investment of Taiwanese enterprises in India has exceeded USD 4 billion, covering areas from footwear, machinery, automobile components to petrochemical and ICT products. China considers Taiwan as its breakaway province and insists that it should be unified with the mainland, by force if necessary. Taiwan, however, sees itself as completely distinct from China. Though India and Taiwan do not have formal diplomatic ties, the bilateral trade relations have been on an upward trajectory. In 1995, New Delhi set up the ITA in Taipei to promote interactions between the two sides and facilitate business, tourism and cultural exchanges. The ITA has also been authorised to provide all consular and passport services. In the same year, Taiwan too established the Taipei Economic and Cultural Centre in Delhi. The Congress on Friday announced that the Income Tax (I-T) department had frozen the party's bank accounts , including those of the Youth Congress, weeks ahead of the announcement of dates for the general elections. However, just an hour after Congress's announcement, the accounts were unfrozen. Earlier in the day, party treasurer Ajay Maken called the move a "disturbing blow to the democratic process". The freeze reportedly stems from a tax demand of Rs 210 crore raised by the Income Tax department, which the Congress alleges is politically motivated and strategically timed to disrupt the party's poll preparations. "Democracy doesn't exist; this is like a one-rule party, and the principal opposition party has been subjugated. We seek justice from the judiciary, media, and the people," Maken said. #WATCH | Congress Treasurer Ajay Maken says "We got information yesterday that banks are not honouring the cheque we are issuing. On further investigation, we got to know that the Youth Congress bank accounts have been frozen. The accounts of the Congress party have also been pic.twitter.com/JsZL1FEy9d February 16, 2024 The Congress leader stated that the party has taken legal action in response to the freeze, which is currently before the income tax appellate tribunal. Maken also said that they chose not to disclose the information earlier as the hearing is pending. The party learned about the freezing of its accounts yesterday, and the party's lawyer, Vivek Tankha, said that a total of four accounts have been affected. Banks have been instructed not to accept or honour Congress' cheques, with the frozen funds to be submitted to the Income Tax department. Maken claimed that in the election year of 2018-19, the party submitted its accounts 45 days late, but freezing the accounts is an extreme measure. He also argued that there have been cases and precedents where such actions were not taken. "We have given the names of all MLAs and MPs who have contributed, based on the Manmohan Singh committee report," Maken stated. 'Deep blow to democracy' Slamming the Centre, Maken claimed that the timing of the freeze, coming just ahead of the crucial general elections, raises suspicions about the motives behind the Income Tax department's actions. "Right now, we have no money to spend. Electricity bills, staff salaries, our Nyay yatra , everything is impacted. Look at the timing; this is clear," he said. "We have only one PAN, and the four accounts are all linked," he added. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge also voiced his apprehension, stating, "Intoxicated with power, the Modi government has frozen the accounts of the country's largest opposition party - the Indian National Congress - just before the Lok Sabha elections. This is a deep blow to democracy." "The unconstitutional money that BJP has collected will be used in the elections, but the money we have collected through crowdfunding will be sealed. That is why we have said that there will be no elections in the future! We appeal to the judiciary to save the multi-party system in this country and secure India's democracy. We will take to the streets and fight strongly against this injustice and dictatorship," he wrote on X. Power drunk Modi Govt has frozen the accounts of the countrys largest Opposition party - the Indian National Congress - just before the Lok Sabha elections. This is a deep assault on India's Democracy ! The UNCONSTITUTIONAL money collected by the BJP would be utilised by them Click here to follow our WhatsApp channel February 16, 2024 Reacting to the development, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi accused the Narendra Modi government of being behind the I-T department's action. "Don't be afraid Modi ji, Congress is not about the power of money but of people. We have never bowed down before dictatorship, nor will we ever bow down. Every Congress worker will fight tooth and nail to protect India's democracy," he wrote on X. , , , , #DemocracyUnderAttack February 16, 2024 Congress leader Shashi Tharoor also termed the move by the I-T department as "shocking" and "utterly shameful". The freezing of the bank accounts also comes just hours after the Supreme Court, in a landmark judgment, struck down the electoral bonds scheme. The electoral bonds scheme, introduced by the government on January 2, 2018, was seen as a solution to replace cash donations and enhance transparency in political funding. Haryana Police on Friday fired tear gas shells to disperse protesting farmers when they moved towards the barricades at the Shambhu border near Ambala, a day after talks between Union ministers and farmer leaders remained inconclusive. The fresh confrontation comes on the fourth day of the farmers' 'Delhi Chalo' march, called by the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha, to press the government to accept their demands, including a legal guarantee of minimum support price (MSP) for crops. Amid the impasse, the Union ministers and farmer leaders will meet on February 18 for the fourth round of talks. The two sides met on February 8, 12 and 15 as well but those talks remained inconclusive. The farmers from Punjab began their march to the national capital on Tuesday but were stopped by security personnel at Shambhu and Khanauri points on Punjab's border with Haryana. The protesters have stayed put at the two border points since then. On the fourth day of the protest, a 63-year-old farmer, who was among the protesters at the Shambhu border, died of a heart attack on Friday. According to officials, Gian Singh, who hailed from Punjab's Gurdaspur district, complained of chest pain in the morning and was taken to the Civil Hospital in Punjab's Rajpura. From there, he was rushed to Rajindra Hospital in Patiala, where doctors declared him brought dead. Besides a legal guarantee of MSP, the farmers are demanding the implementation of the Swaminathan Commission's recommendations, pension for farmers and farm labourers, farm debt waiver, no hike in electricity tariff, withdrawal of police cases and "justice" for the victims of the 2021 Lakhimpur Kheri violence, reinstatement of the Land Acquisition Act, 2013, and compensation to the families of the farmers who died during a previous agitation in 2020-21. Union Agriculture and Farmer Welfare Minister Arjun Munda, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai represented the Centre at Thursday's meeting. Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema also joined the meeting. After the five-hour-long talks, Munda said, "We will find a solution by sitting together." Mann said he raised with the Centre the issue of suspension of internet services in certain areas in Sangrur, Patiala and Fatehgarh Sahib, and that of Haryana security personnel using a drone to drop tear gas shells on protesters inside Punjab's territory. Farmer leader Sarwan Singh Pandher said a detailed discussion was held on their demands, including a legal guarantee for MSP and a debt waiver. "They (Union ministers) said they need time," he said. "We want that there should be a positive result and any confrontation should be avoided. Otherwise, our programme to go to Delhi stands." Responding to a question on whether farmers will stay put at the Punjab-Haryana borders, Pandher said, "Yes". Pandher said they also raised the issue of tear gas shelling by the paramilitary forces on farmers at the Shambhu and Khanuri borders. He said they showed the shells to the ministers during the meeting. Paytm announced that it has shifted its nodal account to Axis Bank from Paytm Payments Bank to continue seamless merchant settlements as before, Reuters reported. The RBI has given 15 more days till March 15 to Paytm Payments Bank to stop deposits, credit transactions and top-ups in customer accounts. Also, the RBI has asked Paytm Payments Bank to facilitate seamless withdrawal of customer deposits parked with partner banks. News agency AFP reported today that Russian Opposition leader and Putin critic Alexei Navalny has died in prison. Akasa Air will start international operations on March 28. Its first international flight will connect Mumbai with Doha. Prime Minister Narendra Modi today laid the foundation stone of an All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Rewari. News agency AFP reported today that Russian Opposition leader and Putin critic Alexei Navalny has died in prison.Akasa Air will start international operations on March 28. Its first international flight will connect Mumbai with Doha.Prime Minister Narendra Modi today laid the foundation stone of an All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Rewari. PM Modi also laid the foundation stone of several development projects related to urban transport, health, rail and tourism sector worth over Rs 9,770 crore. Just an hour after the Congress announced the party's bank accounts were frozen by the Income Tax department, the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) in Delhi unfroze the accounts. Congress leader Ajay Maken claimed in a press conference today that the party's bank accounts are frozen weeks ahead of the announcement of the dates for Lok Sabha elections. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lay the foundation stone of various development projects worth Rs 17,000 crore in Rajasthan via video conference today. He will also address the 'Viksit Bharat Viksit Rajasthan' programme. Congress leader Ajay Maken claimed in a press conference today that the party's bank accounts are frozen weeks ahead of the announcement of the dates for Lok Sabha elections.Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lay the foundation stone of various development projects worth Rs 17,000 crore in Rajasthan via video conference today. He will also address the 'Viksit Bharat Viksit Rajasthan' programme. Police officials said a mob of approximately 300-400 people tried storming the office of the Superintendent of Police (SP) in Churachandpur, Manipur, on Thursday night. The mob threw stones and engaged in other violent activities in an attempt to breach the SP's office, the Manipur Police said on X. The security forces, including the Rapid Action Force (RAF), used tear gas shells to disperse the crowd. On the spate of attacks on Indian students in the US , the White House today said that there is no excuse for violence based on race, gender or any other factor and called it unacceptable in the US. John Kirby, coordinator for strategic communications at the National Security Council in the White House, said that US President Joe Biden and his administration have been working very hard to try to thwart and disrupt these kinds of attacks. Responding to a question about recent attacks on Indian students, Kirby said," There's no excuse for violence, certainly based on race or gender or religion or any other factor. That's just unacceptable here in the United States and the President and his administration has been working very, very hard to make sure we're doing everything we can to work with state and local authorities to try to thwart and disrupt those kinds of attacks and make it clear to anybody who might consider them that they'll be held properly accountable." A PIL was filed in the Supreme Court seeking a court-monitored CBI or SIT probe into the violence in West Bengal's Sandeshkhali village. The plea filed by lawyer Alakh Alok Srivastava also seeks compensation for victims of the Sandeshkhali violence and action against officials of the West Bengal Police for alleged dereliction of duty. The plea also seeks transfer of the probe and subsequent trial outside West Bengal. Besides it seeks an inquiry by a three-judge committee as done in the Manipur violence case. Sandeshkhali, a village in North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal, has been witnessing protests over allegations of sexual abuse of women by a local TMC leader. Several women in the region have accused the local Trinamool Congress strongman Shajahan Sheikh and his supporters of land-grab and sexually assaulting them under coercion. Shajahan has been absconding after a mob, allegedly affiliated to him, attacked Enforcement Directorate officials who has gone to search his premises in connection with a corruption case. More than 1,200 delegates from Madhya Pradesh will take part in the Bharatiya Janata Party's two-day national council meeting set to start from Saturday in New Delhi, state unit chief VD Sharma said. The meeting will discuss Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "mantra" of getting 370 extra votes in every booth when compared to the 2019 general elections to ensure the BJP crosses the 370 seat mark, Sharma told reporters on Friday. "A total of 1,226 delegates from MP will take part in the two-day national council meeting. Party president JP Nadda will address the opening session while PM Modi will speak to delegates in the concluding session," Sharma said. "The BJP has resolved to win 370 seats and cross the 400 mark along with (NDA) allies," he said. Candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls will be decided by the party's parliamentary board under the leadership of the PM, he added. Brushing aside Congress allegations that the BJP was using Central probe agencies to target the opposition, Sharma said the former was coming up with such statements since it had lost its identity. The ED, CBI and Income Tax work as per the Constitution, Sharma claimed. A delegation of the National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) which visited West Bengal's Sandeshkhali to probe alleged harassment of women by TMC supporters has submitted its report to President Droupadi Murmu, officials said on Friday. A large number of women in Sandeshkhali have claimed that TMC leader Shajahan Sheikh and his supporters captured swathes of land by force and also sexually harassed them. They are demanding the immediate arrest of Sheikh, who has been absconding since an Enforcement Directorate (ED) team that raided his house in connection with an alleged ration scam was attacked by a mob last month. The NCSC delegation visited Sandeshkhali on Thursday and submitted its report to the President after returning to Delhi, the officials said. Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) on Thursday affirmed that the country will continue to push for peace, prosperity and stability with Palau in the Indo-Pacific region, even though China has encouraged the Pacific ally to cut ties with Taipei, Central News Agency Taiwan reported. The Ministry said in a statement that Taiwan has long supported Palau in tourism development in a bid to strengthen the Pacific nation's "economic resilience and sustainability." The Taiwan Foreign Ministry said that Taipei has been keen to help Ngerulmud improve its tourism industry in the post-Covid era, maintaining stable direct flight links between the two countries while working with like-minded countries to support the Pacific island nation's development. "In the future, MOFA will continue to team up with Palau to facilitate peace, stability and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region," the statement read. This came after Cleo Paskal, a researcher at the US-based think tank 'Foundation for Defense of Democracies', posted a letter from Palau President Surangel Whipps Junior to a US senator on her X handle, Focus Taiwan reported. "The PRC has already offered to 'fill every hotel room' in our tourism-based private sector -- 'and more if more are built' -- and USD 20 million a year for two acres for a 'call centre,'" the letter stated. Whipps urged the US Congress to support the Compacts of Free Association (COFA), a financial aid agreement with Palau, that also includes Micronesia and the Marshall Islands. A renewal of the 20-year COFA was signed late last year, but USD 7 billion to fund it is still struggling to find a path forward in the US Congress, Central News Agency Taiwan reported citing international media. Whipps further said that as long as the US Congress fails to renew the COFA aid package, it will "play into the hands of the CCP and the leaders here (some of whom have done 'business' with the PRC) who want to accept its seemingly attractive economic offers -- at the cost of shifting alliances, beginning with sacrificing Taiwan." In response, the ministry said Whipps has repeatedly supported Taiwan's international organizations on many international occasions, including the UN General Assembly and the 28th Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP28) held last year. The Taiwan ministry also described Whipps as an "adamant ally" of Taiwan, as per CNA Taiwan. In addition, it said Whipps had a phone conversation with Taiwan's President-elect Lai Ching-te soon after the presidential election on January 13 and congratulated Taiwan for advancing 'democratic values', indicating the bilateral ties between the two countries are stable and continue to grow. Notably, Taiwan has long criticised China accusing it of "poaching" its diplomatic allies Nauru severed ties with Taiwan two days after the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) candidate was elected president. It was the 10th diplomatic ally Taipei lost to Beijing since President Tsai Ing-wen took office in May 2016 due to deteriorating cross-Taiwan Strait relations, Focus Taiwan reported. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Friday discussed issues related to bilateral cooperation as well as those of key global and regional concern with prominent leaders, including US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and his British counterpart David Cameron here in Germany. The meetings took place on the sidelines of the prestigious Munich Security Conference, in its 60th edition, which is the world's leading forum for debate on international security. The Indian minister is to participate in a panel discussion on Growing the Pie: Seizing Shared Opportunities,' which is also to be addressed by German foreign minister Annalena Baerbock, and US Secretary of State Blinken on Saturday. Taking to social media platform X, Jaishankar said his meeting with Blinken focussed on key bilateral issues as well as the situation in West Asia, Ukraine and the Indo-Pacific. Great to meet my friend US @SecBlinken this afternoon on #MSC2024 sidelines. Our talk centered on the situation in West Asia, Ukraine and the Indo-Pacific. Reviewed the continuing progress in our bilateral ties, his post on X said. Jaishankar and Blinken were learnt to have deliberated on various aspects of India-US strategic ties too. Earlier, the External Affairs Minister's bilateral meetings started with the UK's Cameraon and were followed by ministers from Peru and Bulgaria. Started my engagements at #MunichSecurityConference by meeting UK Foreign Secretary @David_Cameron. A good discussion on our bilateral cooperation as well as global and regional issues, Jaishankar posted on his official X handle along with a photo of the meeting. Also exchanged views on the cricket match underway, the minister said referring to the ongoing India versus England test match at Rajkot in Gujarat given the love both the countries share for what is known as Gentlemen's game. Another important meeting was with Josep Borrell Fontelles, the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/Vice-President of the EU Commission. In another post on X, Jaishankar said, he was delighted to catch up with Fontelles and exchanged perspectives on the current global situation. Jaishankar also welcomed him to India. Jaishankar spoke about UN reform and our economic cooperation with Peru's Foreign Minister Javier Gonzlez-Olaechea and discussed our growing bilateral relationship with Bulgaria's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Mariya Gabriel. He also exchanged views on the Ukraine conflict with Gabriel and welcomed Bulgaria's decision to join the International Solar Alliance, floated by India as part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of One World One Grid' to increase the use of solar energy in the global effort to combat climate change. The Singapore Police Force has reiterated its stance on not allowing events related to the Israel-Hamas war to be held, amid online calls for a weekend march at the Singapore Botanic Gardens, a sprawling park in the diplomatic conclave close to the British and the US embassies. Police said on Thursday that they are aware of calls on social media to gather for an event called Walk-Out Singapore' to demonstrate views related to the Israel-Hamas conflict". The SPF said that they contacted the organiser on Thursday and advised her on the matter. "A police permit is required for such activities," Channel News Asia reported, citing the SPF. Police said organising or participating in such an event is an offence. Earlier this week, the authorities also said that they were aware of calls to protest against Israel at the Singapore Airshow and have warned that organising or participating in a public assembly or procession without a permit is illegal. The Israeli defence contingent is participating in the six-day Air Show to be held from next Tuesday. Pointing to their statement on February 13, the SPF said there are "particular public safety and security concerns with assemblies and processions" related to the conflict. "They could lead to tensions and disharmony in our society, as different communities in Singapore hold different views on the matter. We will therefore not approve applications to hold events related to the Israel-Hamas conflict, regardless of which side the support is for," the Channel had the police as saying. In the statement, the SPF had said that they were investigating possible offences at two separate events on February 2 related to the war, including a public gathering along orchard road. The US will build up to five military bases for the Somali army in a project that seeks to bolster the Somalian national army's capabilities amid ongoing threats from an extremist group. Somalia's defense minister and the US charge d'affaires signed a memorandum of understanding Thursday in Mogadishu, the Somali capital. The agreement comes at a time when the African Union peacekeeping mission in Somalia, known as ATMIS, is scaling back its presence in Somalia. The new bases will be associated with the Somali military's Danab Brigade, established in 2017 following an agreement between the US and Somalia to recruit, train, equip and mentor 3,000 men and women from across Somalia to build a strong infantry capability within the Somali army. The brigade has been pivotal as a quick-reaction force in efforts to repel the extremist group al-Shabab. The UN Security Council has authorised the reduction of the peacekeeping force in Somalia, and the Somali government says it is achieving progress in improving security. But al-Shabab continues to carry out sporadic attacks across Somalia, including in public places. The group's latest attack, an incident inside a military base in Mogadishu, killed four Emirati troops and a Bahraini military officer. In 2023, 982 companies were subject to activist campaigns globally, a 4.6% rise compared to a year prior and the highest level since 2019. This is according to the new Diligent Market Intelligence: Shareholder Activism Annual Review 2024 report from Diligent. The findings were released live today at Diligents first annual Proxy Season Preview, a leading proxy season conference featuring panels and keynote speeches from the worlds most prominent stewardship specialists on topics including shareholder activism, environmental, social and governance (ESG), executive compensation and more. According to the report, more companies are identifying activism as a risk in their corporate disclosures. In 2023, 23.4% of Russell 3000 companies disclosed shareholder activism as a risk in their 10-K reporting, up from 21.4% a year prior. Financial resilience and the introduction of the universal proxy card are driving both traditional and nontraditional activists to launch campaigns aimed at remuneration and ESG oversight. Market conditions are playing a notable role in shaping activist demands and the companies which activists choose to target, said Josh Black, editor-in-chief of Diligent Market Intelligence, at Diligent. Now more than ever, boards need to demonstrate that they are financially resilient and have strong governance practices in place to stay one step ahead. Three themes emerge from the reports key findings that both boards and investors should have on their radar. These include: Activism goes global as shareholders look to maximize returns: In 2023, 550 U.S. companies were publicly subjected to activist demands, a 7.8% rise compared to a year prior, with many campaigns taking aim at costly M&A transactions. The U.S. saw a 20.8% increase in the number of companies subjected to oppose M&A demands, from 24 to 29. 220 Asia-based companies were subject to demands in 2023, marking the third consecutive year of increasing campaigns in the region while, in Canada, 69 companies were subjected to demands a 25.5% increase compared to 2022. Meanwhile, shareholder activism stagnated in Europe, with 123 European companies publicly subjected to campaigns in 2023, down from a high of 177 in 2021. However, the number of board seats activists secured held steady at 36 in 2023 compared to 38 in 2022, indicating that activists are continuing to push for board representation in Europe. Market volatility prompts increase in remuneration demands: Investors enhanced their focus on remuneration in 2023, keen to ensure companies have robust policies and practices in place to weather market risks. In the U.S., 81 companies faced remuneration-related demands, a 37.3% increase compared to the 59 seen in 2022 and the highest increase of any demand type. Shareholder proposals concerning pay are also winning increased backing. Three proposals seeking clawback policy amendments won 36.5% average support at U.S.-based companies, up from five winning 27.5% support a year prior. Universal proxy provides an avenue for non-traditional activists to launch ESG campaigns: The number of ESG demands publicly made by primary- and partial-focus activists increased in 2023 to 132 demands globally, up from 114 demands a year prior, and almost double the 79 seen in 2021. In the U.S., the newfound freedom universal proxy offers when casting votes is bringing forth non-traditional activists, seeking board composition changes to remedy ESG shortcomings. To download the full report, produced in association with Olshan Frome Wolosky, click here. About the report Data from Diligent Market Intelligences Activism, Voting and Shorts modules run from January 1, 2023, to December 31, 2023. Further data is available on request, although bespoke analysis may take 48 hours. For more information, please email [email protected] About Diligent Market Intelligence Diligent Market Intelligence (DMI) is a market-leading provider of shareholder activism, investor voting, and corporate governance data. Through its web application and data feeds, clients can access the most complete solution for listed company intelligence on the market, with broader and deeper insights than ever before. About Diligent Diligent is the leading GRC SaaS company, empowering more than 1 million users and 700,000 board members and leaders to make better decisions, faster. The Diligent One Platform helps organizations connect their entire GRC practice including governance, risk, compliance, audit and ESG to bring clarity to complex risk, stay ahead of regulatory changes and deliver impactful insights, in one consolidated view. Learn more at diligent.com. Follow Diligent on LinkedIn, X (Twitter) and Facebook. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240215609851/en/ ?? El @DiarioElPeruano recibio el Certificado de Registro Peruano Memoria del Mundo de la Unesco de las ediciones comprendidas entre los anos 1868, segundo semestre, hasta 1900. ?? https://t.co/btxGu6v0Sr Foto: ANDINA/Ricardo Cuba (@Rigorikardo5) pic.twitter.com/p84xKmQJvd After signing the accord by which contract negotiations between Peru and Canada for the implementation of said project begin, Mrs. Boluarte stated that "it will bring development, progress, and of course, the country's growth." This stage will foster the creation of an agro-exports hub in northern Peru. She added that it will entail a total investment of US$750 million. The top official said the execution of Chavimochic's third stage will incorporate 63,000 new hectares into local agriculture. "We will continue betting on the north," she expressed. The Head of State indicated that Chavimochic Project's reactivation is part of her government's policy of unblocking (public) works which had been "abandoned due to corruption." The signing of the above-mentioned document took place in the town of Palo Redondo, Chao district, Viru province. Citizen security Later, President Boluarte pointed out that concrete actions are being taken in Trujillo and Pataz, La Libertad region localities declared in emergency due to citizen insecurity. In the first case, the top official said special operations by specialized police groups have been arranged in those five districts most affected by crime. In Pataz, four police camps will be set up on the outskirts of the premises of the same number of companies dedicated to mining activities. In them, 50 police agents will monitor entrance to said facilities. The president also expressed gratitude to La Libertad Region Governor Cesar Acuna. Moreover, she said the Executive Branch plus local and regional governments carry out "honest, transparent, and articulated work" in this area of Peru. CHAVIMOCHIC VA! ?? ?????????? ? En un dia historico para el pais, y en especial para el norte peruano, la presidenta de la republica, Dina Boluarte Zegarra, lidero la firma del acta para el inicio de negociaciones del contrato de Gobierno a Gobierno entre Peru y Canada para iniciar, pic.twitter.com/PpYqaSPzZM Cement prices surge in Enugu, Nigeria 16 February 2024 The price of cement has hit NGN13,000/bag (US$8.57) in Enugu, Nigeria, compared to around NGN5000/bag in January this year. According to Blueprint Newspapers, while Dangote Cement is selling for approximately NGN10,500/bag, brands such as Supaset and BUA have increased their prices to NGN12,000/bag and NGN13,000/bag respectively. Some commentators have said the price increase is due to exchange rates with the US dollar, while fears have been raised throughout the construction industry as to what impact this will have on the Nigerian housebuilding market. Published under Hoffmann Green posts 78% YoY increase in sales volumes 16 February 2024 Hoffmann Green Cement Technologies has reported revenue of EUR6m in 2023, a 2.7 times increase on the previous year. According to the company, over the past three years, revenue has multiplied by 12, indicative of what it calls its "uninterrupted growth trajectory". Revenue for 2023 corresponds to EUR4m from the sales of cements, mainly H-UKR technology, and EUR2m from the licensing contract signed with the Saudi Shurfah Group. Sales volumes for the 12-month period came in at over 21,300t, up 78 per cent YoY but slightly below the target of 24,000t. This represents a 12-fold increase in volumes sold since 2021. Overall, the company has strengthened its order book to more than 260,000t by the end of 2023, an increase of 20,000t over the previous year. According to the company, 2023 was also shaped by the diversification of the its customer portfolio through the signing of several partnerships with key players such as Point P, SPIE Batignolles and, more recently, the group Les Mousquetaires. This latest agreement includes the distribution of low-carbon cements in more than 600 stores under the Bricomarche, Bricorama, Brico Cash and Tridome brands, targeting the significant individuals market for the first time, it said. The company has also signed an exclusive 22-year licensing agreement with Shurfah Group to build several Hoffmann Green units in Saudi Arabia to contribute to the decarbonisation of the country's construction sector. In exchange for the industrial and technological transfer, Hoffmann Green has received an entry fee of EUR2m from Shurfah. The agreement also includes fixed and variable annual royalties based on sales generated by the commercialisation of Hoffmann cements in Saudi Arabia. Published under ?? Hoy el ministro de Economia y Finanzas, Jose Arista Arbildo, se reunio con el presidente del @bcrpoficial, Julio Velarde, donde abordaron la agenda economica y fiscal para impulsar el crecimiento del pais. pic.twitter.com/8XM9KovrLz Mohammed Shahabuddin, President of the Peoples Republic of Bangladesh has sent a congratulatory letter to President Ilham Aliyev, Azernews reports. The letter reads: "His Excellency Mr. Ilham Aliyev, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Excellency, I am writing to congratulate you on behalf of the people of Bangladesh and on my personal behalf on your victory in the Presidential election of Azerbaijan. Your victory reflects the continued trust and confidence shown by the people of Azerbaijan in your able leadership. Azerbaijan and Bangladesh enjoy excellent bilateral relations, which are anchored in our shared values, mutual understanding and friendship. I look forward to continue working together to transform our bilateral relations into a multifaceted partnership for the mutual benefit of our two peoples. I avail of this opportunity to convey my best wishes for Your Excellencys good health, long life and happiness and for the continued peace, progress and prosperity of the friendly people of Azerbaijan. Please accept, Excellency, the assurances of my highest consideration. Mohammed Shahabuddin President of the Peoples Republic of Bangladesh" The love life of Lewis Grizzard (1947-1994) through three marriages prior to his death and his experiences of being without in-resident female companionship is reported in Won't You Come Home Billy Bob Bailey? (1980 Peachtree Publishers) in the appropriate titled on living alone, which unfortunately informs the readers therein a non-complete life history of LG with ladies. LG first gives his highly scientific analysis of why a red blooded American adult would prefer the solitary life: "I can think of at least three reasons for that: 1. People are waiting ting around longer before they get married. 2. Those who didn't wait around to get married are getting divorced in droves. 3. Maybe there are more nerdy-type people who can't find anybody who will live with them. I am sort of an expert on all this because I live alone. I could go into details as to why, but that isn't really necessary. Just check somewhere between aforementioned reasons-for-living-alone "2" and "3." He proceeds to convey from a male viewpoint why an individual would assume the life of a hermit and describe some advantages: 1. People who live alone can leave their underwear lying. around all over the floor. 2. There are never any arguments over what to watch on television. If you live alone, you can even watch "The Dating Game," and who will know? 3. The phone is always for you. 4. You never have to hear, "Honey, there's something I've been meaning to talk to you about," when Dallas is fourth-and- one on the Washington two-yard line. 5. If you find a hair in your soup, you know for certain whose it is. After a scholarly dissertation on the topic of underwear, he reaches the conclusion based on his non Gallup Poll findings on Fox News and CNN broadcast that people who live alone tend to die younger than others. (Bad news for divorced folks in their 80s.) LGs candid and forward thinking column was quick to point out other problems from lonely bachelors(ettes, etc.): 1. Toilet paper and fresh towels don't grow in the bathroom. Strange green things do if you don't clean it, however. 2. Light bulbs. Light bulbs will drive you crazy. They are always burning out. You have to take the time from your busy schedule to go out and BUY more light bulbs and then bring them home and screw them in. That alone can take years off your life. 3. Food. You live alone, you try cooking for yourself. You cook for yourself, you can get poisoned, and then there are the dishes. You don't cook, you eat a lot of heat-and-serve Mexican dinners, which annually kill thousands of men who live alone. 4. Beer cans. Who is going to throw his/her own beer cans in the garbage? Let me tell you something about beer cans. You leave a couple of empty beer cans around, and the next time you look there will be four beer cans, and then eight, and, pretty soon, you are up to your eyeballs in empty beer cans. If you are about to strike out alone, big boy (girl, etc.) , I don't mean to frighten you with this, so to soften the blow, maybe I should offer one more advantage to living by yourself: If you do happen to die young, maybe the end will come before you finally have to break down and change your sheets." (Said words of wisdom may equally apply to those who have never enjoyed marital bliss of one or several marriages/divorces like LG.) * * * You can reach Jerry Summers at jsummers@summersfirm.com Lee Universitys Faculty Brass Quintet and the Student Brass Ensemble will perform on Monday at 7:30 p.m. in Squires Recital Hall, in Lees Humanities Center. High school brass students (trumpet, horn, trombone, baritone/euphonium, and tuba) will be joining Lees brass faculty for an evening of music. Registration will begin at 4 p.m., followed by rehearsal time and instruction from the Faculty Brass Quintet members. There are no fees, and participation is free for the high school students. The Faculty Brass Quintet features Dr. Brian Reichenbach and Dr. Barkey Bryant, on trumpets; Gordon James, horn; Dr. Doug Warner, trombone; and Dr. Jesse McConnell, tuba. The program will feature selections such as Paul Dukas Fanfare from La Peri, Andre Lafosses Suite Impromptu, and Alexander Goedickes Concert Etude Op.49. We are very much looking forward to presenting a fun and varied program, said Dr. Warner, professor of music and director of applied study at Lee. Even more so, we are excited about the chance to work with area high school students, giving them a taste of what its like to perform in a brass ensemble. Dr. Reichenbach is an accomplished trumpet performer and an effective teacher based in Tennessee. He tours nationally with concert organist Rhonda Sider Edgington as Great Lakes Duo and regularly performs with the Chattanooga Symphony. Dr. Reichenbach most recently served as an assistant professor of trumpet at Lee. Prior to that, he held various roles as a teacher and conductor at Trinity International University, Olivet Nazarene University, Wheaton College, and College of DuPage, directing wind ensembles and teaching classes in music theory, aural skills, and brass techniques. Dr. Bryant currently serves as a professor of trumpet at Lee. He has performed classical, jazz, and rock music throughout the region with ensembles such as the Iron Post Jazz Orchestra, New Orleans Jazz Machine, Illinois Symphony Orchestra, Low Down Jazz Orchestra, and Big Easy Brass. While attending the University of Illinois in Champaign/Urbana for his doctorate degree, he played lead trumpet for the Concert Jazz Band and Latin Jazz Ensemble. He stays busy as a freelance trumpeter playing for big bands, pit orchestras, teaching his private studio, and a graduate assistant. As Principal Horn of the Chattanooga Symphony and Opera, Mr. James has been playing and teaching horn for over 30 years. He has performed with the Alabama Symphony, the Dallas Symphony, and the Baltimore Symphony, and he is currently an adjunct horn instructor at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, Southern Adventist University, and Lee. Mr. James has also attended the Roundtop Music and the Grand Teton music festivals. Dr. Warner has been Principal Trombonist of the Chattanooga Symphony and Opera since 1985 and was a member of the Kings Brass, a touring ensemble with which he recorded four albums from 1986 to 1997. He currently teaches trombone, low brass techniques, music history, symphonic literature, and Gateway for music majors. Dr. McConnell is currently the director of music events and adjunct professor of tuba and euphonium at Lee. He has also showcased his talent as a tubist on various professional and educational CDs recorded by the University of North Texas Wind Symphony under the direction of Eugene Migliaro Corporon. He has served as a tubist with the Lone Star Wind, Northwest Florida Symphony, and Lubbock Symphony orchestras. During his time at Florida State and North Texas, Dr. McConnell also worked as a teaching assistant, helping to direct tuba and euphonium ensembles while teaching lessons and brass area-specific classes. The concert is free, non-ticketed, and open to the public. Livestream viewing will also be available at https://leeu.live/. To register for this event, visit https://forms.gle/vwKBC8s8Arnw7oLE7. For more information about the concert, contact Lees School of Music at 614-8240. Southern Adventist Universitys School of Music welcomes Muen Vanessa Wei, guest piano soloist, to play with its Symphony Orchestra, directed by Laurie Redmer Cadwallader, in concert on Sunday, March 3, at 7:30 p.m. in Collegedale Church of Seventh-day Adventists. The evenings repertoire includes Rachmaninoffs Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor and Symphony No. 2 in E minor. A native of China, Dr. Wei has performed around the world as a soloist, chamber musician, and orchestral pianist. As a chamber musician, she has collaborated with musicians Lynn Harrell, Henry Gronnior, Henry Hutchinson, Peter Lloyd, Ko Iwasaki and Joel Smirnoff, among others. Dr. Wei joined the Astralis Ensemble in 2018 and performed with the group across the United States. Applauded by critics for her delicate playing and admirable virtuosic skills, she released her debut album in 2019, Im 3/4 Takt. Dr. Wei earned her doctorate in musical arts from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and joined the faculty at Lee University as an assistant professor in 2021. This free event is open to the public and will be livestreamed. To learn more, visit southern.edu/musicevents or call 236-2880. I emailed Chuck this week asking him to please do the right thing and support Ukraine with funding in the war against Russia. He responded in an email that we should strongly and quickly support Ukraine. In his second paragraph he said The brutal aggression Russia has undertaken against a sovereign and independent nation is deplorable and they must be held accountable. His email stated "Putins brutal behavior will not stop with Ukraine. Russias aggressive ambitions threaten the core interests of the United States, NATO, and our allies. Congress must act swiftly to provide aid and material support for Ukraines resistance, prioritize energy independence, and strengthen the security of our borders." "Thank you for contacting me regarding this critical issue, and do not hesitate to contact my office if I can be of further assistance." Sincerely, Chuck Fleischmann Member of Congress I received this on Tuesday. I was surprised and pleased that he responded to me and he wants to give crucial support thats badly needed. Gary Smith * * * These days are becoming ones of truth and enlightenment. I, just as you Gary, have contacted Congressmen Fleischmann to express my opinions on foreign policy concerning Ukraine. They already lost 500,000 of their citizens' lives and spent billions of our taxpayer money for what? Another NATO member country, we are overextended already. To support Ms. Nulands wrongful decision? Let Ukraine take care of themselves. They were offered a peace treaty but they said no. Israel is committing genocide on the citizens of Gaza. Neither of these countries have contributed to wellbeing of our citizens at home, only depleted our financial and military resources. We need to take care our country. Mark Link * * * On Dec. 28, 2022, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated that peace talks with Ukraine would only resume if Ukraine recognized Russia's sovereignty over the annexed and partially occupied regions. In other words, if Ukraine would agree to give up all the captured territory, then Russia would sit down in peace negotiations and maybe come up with an agreement. Mr. Link, you stated, they were offered a peace treaty but they said no. Im curious how fast you would agree to cede American territory to an invader under the premise that the invader would only sit down and talk about coming to a peace agreement, if we gave them everything east of the Mississippi? I seriously doubt you would rush to sign such a flaccid proposal. Russia has lost over 350,000 soldiers and sailors in this attempt to rebuild the borders of the old USSR. Over 22,000 Gaza civilians, and over 1,500 Israelis have been killed. China is beating the war drums to take Taiwan, claiming they intend to go to war by 2027. And instead of offering armament and humanitarian aid, Republicans in Congress have been playing politics. If Fleischmann really wants to help Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan, he needs to stand up in Congress and say so. Instead, he has proven himself to only be concerned with what Trump and the Freedom Caucus want. Rod Dagnan * * * Self destruction I hate to see people self-destruct in public. One person says Ukraine should survive on its own. The tiny state of Israel, fighting terrorist states, Iran (supporting Hamas), Gaza (Hamas) and Syria is committing genocide. I think not. Both are small, have been our allies, are free and would have severe repercussions if we sit on our hands and watch the horrors. Remember who persuaded Ukraine to give up its nuclear deterrence in 1994. Bill Clinton guaranteed Ukraine security (Budapest Memorandum). At this time Ukraine was briefly the third largest nuclear power in the world. Good old Bill, still coming back to haunt us, and Ukraine. I remember when against all joint chief opposition, Biden hastily pulled all troops out of Afghanistan, showing Russia what a spinless non-leader he is. On Jan. 19, 2022, Biden stated he expected Russia to invade Ukraine. Putin heard him and promptly attacked a month later. Weak president, wrong signals - we can expect war. I hope we can survive this, and that Chuck can get money for both Ukraine and Israel, but it wont come by people telling him to stand on the desk and scream. Joe Biden is proposing legislation with no chance of passing. Seriously, giving the president power to stop invasion if he feels it necessary. He doesnt think it necessary to get up. Simply letting Texas handle it, would solve the problem. Housing the illegals in just New York city is going to cost $2 billion this year and $1 trillion over the next 10 years for the country. It is an invasion. You will pay for it. Bidens talking bullets are exactly that, hot air. There is a better bill out there. Lets pray for our congressional leaders to get it. Jim Folkner Virgel L. Baldwin, 76, of Flintstone passed away on Thursday, February 15, 2024, at his residence. He was a lifelong resident of the Chattanooga and North Georgia area and a 1966 graduate of Chattanooga Valley High School. Virgel was a United States Army Veteran having served in Vietnam and he served with the Army National Guard. He was a 32nd degree Master Mason and a Shriner Scottish Rite. Virgel was a member of the American Legion Post 95 where he served on the Honor Guard, a member of the VVA 203, and the VFW Post 4848. He was the owner and operator of B&R Properties. Virgel loved his family and his five German Shepherds. He was an avid TN Vol fan and he loved playing Pac Man, Pool, and Cards with his friends on the Boulevard. He was preceded in death by his parents, James and Beulah Baldwin; and brother, Gene Baldwin. Survivors include his children, Sherry (Ron) Ingram, Michelle Reagan, Tim (Christy) Jarvis, and Hillary Cagle; sister, Linda Baldwin; his Running Mate, Butch OKelley; and several grandchildren, great grandchildren, nieces and nephews. Graveside services will be held on Wednesday, Feb. 21, at 2 p.m. at the Chattanooga National Cemetery with military honors provided by the U.S. Army and the American Legion Post 95. The family will receive friends on Wednesday from 11 a.m. until 1:30 p.m. at the South Crest Chapel of Lane Funeral Home and Crematory, Rossville. Lee Universitys School of Music will welcome tubist Dr. Ryan Sorenson for his performance on Friday, Feb. 23, at 6 p.m. in Squires Recital Hall. The performance will feature selections such as Elizabeth Raums Sweet Dances, Michael Daughertys Reflections on the Mississippi, and Barbara Yorks Elegy for an Angel. I am incredibly excited to welcome my good friend and musician, Dr. Ryan Sorenson, to Lee, said Dr. Jesse McConnell, director of music events and instructor of tuba and euphonium at Lee. He is a true virtuoso of his instrument, and this is a performance you do not want to miss. Dr. Sorenson is the newly appointed assistant professor of tuba and euphonium at Valdosta State University (VSU) and has recently accepted the position of director of operations and ensemble director with the Atlanta Low Brass Academy. Prior to joining the faculty at VSU, he taught on the faculty at Stetson University, Seminole State College, Bethune Cookman University, Rollins College, and Eastern Florida State College. Dr. Sorenson was recognized in several national and international solo competitions. He won the Artist Solo Competition at the Southeast Regional Tuba and Euphonium Conference in 2022 and was a semi-finalist at both the International Tuba and Euphonium Conferences Artist Tuba Competition and the Leonard Falcone International Tuba and Euphonium Artist Tuba Competition. Dr. Sorenson received his doctor of music from Florida State University, his master of music from Northwestern University, and his bachelor of music from the University of South Florida. The event is free, non-ticketed, and open to the public. Squires Recital Hall is in the Humanities Center on Lees campus. For more information, contact the School of Music at 614-8240. 12:11 | Trujillo (La Libertad region), Feb. 16. While in the northern region, the Head of State will participate in the signing of a document for the start of contract negotiations towards the execution of Chavimochic Irrigation Project's third stage. Upon arrival, the top official was welcomed by La Libertad Region Governor Cesar Acuna, as well as by Agrarian Development and Irrigation Minister Jennifer Contreras. The ceremony will see the participation of representatives from the Peruvian and Canadian governments. Both countries will execute the aforementioned project. The signing of the contract for technical assistance will take place after negotiations, under the government-to-government modality. Heading to Chao After her arrival in Trujillo, Mrs. Boluarte boarded a helicopter on route to Palo Redondo in Chao district, Viru province, where the ceremony will take place. The Duke of Sussex says 'I love my family' as he reveals personal details of his meeting with King Charles on the ABC Morning news series. Prince Harrys surprise Good Morning America interview will likely upset his father, King Charles. The Duke of Sussex speaks out about his brief visit with the monarch after learning of the kings cancer diagnosis. In turn, a group of royal commentators believe Charles will hate Harrys tell-all on the ABC morning news show. Prince Harry spoke to Good Morning America while visiting Canada for the Invictus Games Prince Harry is currently visiting Canada with his wife, Meghan Markle. Harry is spending a week at the Invictus Games Winter Training Camp, organized a year ahead of the event in Vancouver and Whistler in 2025. Although the Duke of Sussex is likely to appear on Good Morning America to drive attention toward the event, he was questioned about his visit with King Charles. Harry traveled to the United Kingdom on Feb. 6, 2024, and left less than 24 hours later. GBNews Andy Williams said the news made him kind of uncomfortable. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have had lots of bad press lately, and the vitriol they have been subjected to has been uncomfortable. But they dont help themselves. He continued, I think appearing on Americas biggest morning news show to talk about something very personal and private. I dont think the palace will be happy. I dont think his dad will be happy. Stephen Dixon said, I think the king is going to hate this. It is an incredibly private matter. Everyone is entitled to their privacy, particularly regarding health. It is not Harrys story to tell. Its the kings, Dixon said. He is the head of the monarchy, and he has every right if he wants to the public with any information that he wants to, to do it in his time in his way, with the support of the Queen and the rest of his family, he concluded. Prince Harry claims I love my family Prince Harry spoke to Good Morning America journalist Will Reeve, who visited Harry and his wife, Meghan Markle, at the Canada location of the training camp for the Invictus Games 2025. Reeve asked Harry, How was that visit for you, emotionally? Prince Harry responded, Look, I love my family. The fact that I was able to get on a plane and go and see him and spend any time with him, Im grateful for that. Harry was asked if he believed an illness in the family could have a reunifying effect. He added, Yeah, Im sure. Throughout all these [Invictus] families I see it on a day-to-day basis the strength of the family unit coming together. I think any illness, any sickness brings families together, Harry concluded. Ive got other trips planned for the UK so I will see my family when I can. Prince Harry visited King Charles for less than a half-hour King Charles and Prince Harry photographed at Queen Elizabeths funeral in 2022 | Hannah McKay/POOL/AFP via Getty Images Before Prince Harry visited the United Kingdom, he had not seen King Charles in one year. He did not participate in his fathers coronation ceremony. He did not interact publicly with either Charles or his older brother, Prince William, the heir to the throne, at the ceremony. Harry met with his father privately for less than an hour before Charles and Camilla, Queen Consort, left London to travel to Sandringham, the royal residence in Norfolk, England. In total, the Duke of Sussexs visit to London lasted less than 48 hours. He flew out of London just over 24 hours after arriving and stayed in a hotel overnight instead of a royal residence. Prince Harrys interview with Good Morning America airs between 7 and 9 a.m. EST on ABC. You have permission to edit this article. Edit Close These days, its more important than ever to be careful about what youre posting online. One small, seemingly insignificant detail can tell someone all they need to know about your whereabouts and your life. TikToker Daniella (@daniella.your.bestie) is talking about how her friend went on a bad date with a guy who stalked her social media page to find out where she lived and then picked her up for their date without her needing to provide her address. So, she had been talking to a guy on a dating app for about two weeks, and she was excited to finally meet up with him. They ended up going on a date to Nobu, a fancy Japanese restaurant. He was the prime example of a perfect gentleman. He picked her up for their date, and when they got to their seats at the restaurant, he pulled out her chair for her. Ten minutes into the date, she was struck by a chilling realization. She had never given the guy her address. She started racking her brain, trying to recall if she had told him where she lived at one point. However, she couldnt remember ever telling him her address and began to freak out. She did her best to ignore the feelings of panic welling up in her chest because she hadnt been on a nice date in a long time and wanted to enjoy the night. But as they continued chatting, he kept mentioning details about her life that she had never brought up to him before. He specifically referred to the college she went to, even though she hadnt talked about college at all during their brief time knowing each other. Sign up for Chip Chicks newsletter and get stories like this delivered to your inbox. Home News Detransitioners' 'horrifying' struggles, dark side of 'gender-affirming care' exposed "Generation Indoctrination," a groundbreaking new podcast, recently delved into the harrowing experiences of individuals who have undergone body-deforming trans procedures, only to regret their decisions and pursue detransitioning. The fifth episode of season 3, hosted by The Christian Post's Brandon Showalter and titled "In Their Own Words: Detransitioners, Advocates Decry Deceptions Of 'Gender-Affirming Care," shed light on the profoundly personal and societal challenges faced by detransitioners. Forrest Smith, a young man from Oregon, shared how, at the age of 20, he was prescribed cross-sex hormones and, over the next five years, underwent a series of irreversible body-mutilating surgeries, including breast implants and a double orchiectomy, which left him permanently sterilized. Get Our Latest News for FREE Subscribe to get daily/weekly email with the top stories (plus special offers!) from The Christian Post. Be the first to know. Subscribe "I lived for five years in my identity," he said of living as "Ramona." Living in subsidized housing in Portland, Smith was deeply embedded in a network of social services targeting the LGBT community. However, the promise of a new identity soon gave way to regret and a host of unintended consequences. "I suffered immensely in the ensuing months with alcoholism. I was living in poverty at the time. I quickly got COVID," he recounted, highlighting the turmoil that followed his surgeries. Smith realized that he needed to detransition during a particularly vulnerable period when COVID-19 forced him to move back in with his parents. "I had been going through multiple, bizarre, sort of gender crises at the end of my transition. I had made several attempts to detransition," he shared. The process of reintegrating with his natal sex was fraught with challenges, from finding a therapist who would accept him to facing the physical and emotional scars left by his transition. He reflected on the initial diagnosis of gender dysphoria at a gender clinic, highlighting the swift medicalization of his identity without addressing underlying issues such as pornography addiction and a lack of male guidance in his life. "I would say I was kind of pushed and pulled into the medicalization before I hadn't nailed down the identity," he said. Smith also reflected on the hurt he endured from the progressive church he attended that twisted Jesus' words to affirm his gender dysphoria. "I still deal with interactions with that former community, and I can tell that I'm judged; I feel pretty shunned. I've had visits from the community in the past where they make strange little comments where they're trying to correct me," he said. Despite the severity of his ordeal, Smith found solace and direction through the guidance of a Pentecostal pastor whose approach to healing was rooted in non-judgmental support and spiritual reflection. "I was really in a place where I wanted to turn around," he said, highlighting the importance of repentance and the pastor's ability to guide without casting judgment. The podcast also featured Laura Becker, a detransitioner from Wisconsin, who shared her journey through gender transition and subsequent detransition. Becker was also prescribed cross-sex hormones and underwent breast removal, decisions influenced by her personal history of abuse and the allure of liberation from gender norms promoted by feminist ideologies. Reflecting on her thought process, Becker said, "I had done a lot of thinking but not about Biomedical Ethics. ... And because of all the propaganda from the trans community online ... I was just happy and relieved to find providers that seemed to accept me." However, Becker's relief was short-lived as she later recognized the negligence of her healthcare providers. This realization propelled her into activism, where she and her fellow detransitioners advocate against the practices and institutions that enabled their medical transitions. Becker shared how she's faced backlash for her work, including protests at public events and personal attacks online. Despite this, Becker said she's undeterred in her mission, driven by the conviction that the narrative around gender medicalization for young people needs a critical reevaluation. "To me, these things I'm saying are very objective, but in a lot of people's minds, they're associated exclusively with right-wing, homophobic, kind of backward conservative values or ideas. And I feel like that's not an accurate assessment," she said. Bioethicist Jennifer Lahl and Center for American Liberty attorney Mark Trammell also discussed the legal and ethical dimensions of detransitioning, including medical negligence lawsuits and the broader implications for consent and standard of care in "gender-affirming" practices. "You can't rebuild genitalia that has been removed ... they're kind of left as is," Lahl said. "A lot of these people will just have to live forever with the harms to their body in real life, and they may have shortened their lifespan." Lahl drew parallels between the detransitioning issue and past medical ethics failures, such as the Nuremberg trials, the Tuskegee syphilis experiment, lobotomy scandals and forced sterilizations. However, she stressed that medicine can return to its ethical path due to public awareness, whistleblowers and legal actions. "I do believe it's evil, what's going on," Trammell said. "The financial motivations, I think of big pharma, of these hospital systems, these gender-affirming clinics, that the money is enormous. If big pharma gets a 12-year-old girl on puberty blockers and on testosterone, they have a client for the rest of that person's life. These gender-affirming clinics that are popping up all over the country are making huge amounts of money off of these procedures. It's horrifying; it's abuse." Home News ICE considers plan to release thousands of migrants, cut back on detention beds: report U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is reportedly considering the release of thousands of migrants and cutting down on its capacity to hold detainees to save money amid ongoing concerns about the situation at the U.S. southern border. As The Washington Post reported Wednesday, four unnamed officials with ICE and the Department of Homeland Security say that an internal proposal is being considered to save money after the failure of the border bill. The news comes after Republicans opposed a border bill earlier this month that wouldve provided $6 billion in supplemental funding to ICE. Republicans argued that the legislation would have worsened the border crisis by codifying the catch-and-release policy, among other issues with the bill. Get Our Latest News for FREE Subscribe to get daily/weekly email with the top stories (plus special offers!) from The Christian Post. Be the first to know. Subscribe The reported proposal would include releasing thousands of detainees and reducing the number of detention beds from 38,000 to 22,000, according to The Post. ICE did not immediately respond to The Christian Posts request for comment. In response to The Posts report, U.S. Sen Jon Tester, D-Mont., wrote to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, urging them to pass legislation to secure the border. The Democrat accused his colleagues of opposing the border bill for the purpose of political gain. I am calling on you both to stop playing politics and pass this bill as soon as possible. What is happening at the southern border is unacceptable, plain and simple, Tester wrote in a letter. Montanans from every corner of my state tell me they want a secure border and a solution to the fentanyl crisis. Congress had an opportunity to do both just last week. Unfortunately, both of you used your leadership positions to defeat this bipartisan proposal after months of negotiations between our Republican and Democratic colleagues, he continued. While those members that joined you in opposing the bill want to leave the border open for another year, Montanans are fed up and expect their representatives to take action now. Earlier this month, Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, listed 12 ways the proposed legislation would reportedly worsen the border crisis instead of securing it. Lee claimed the bill would allow up to 1.8 million illegal aliens to enter the country before the border could temporarily be closed. The Secretary of Homeland Security is only required to shut down the border if there are 5,000 average illegal crossings over a consecutive seven-day period or 8,500 in a single day, the senator argued. The Secretary may shut down the border if crossings are at 4,000 daily average over a consecutive seven-day period. Even during a border emergency, this bill requires the administration to process a minimum of 1,400 illegal immigrants a day. This is 400 more per day than Obamas DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson said constituted a crisis in 2019. Lee said the bill would allow the president of the United States to reopen the border any time it is in the national interest to temporarily suspend the border emergency authority for up to 45 days. Regarding funding for ICE, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters that the president was threatening to reduce funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in the coming weeks. The press secretary said that this meant ICE would be forced to reduce its removal operations, its total detention capacity, and more. When ICE cant conduct these operations, our national security and public safety will be harmed. In response, Republicans accused the Biden administration of threatening the American people. Rep. Austin Pfluger, R-Texas, tweeted, President Biden has now resorted to threatening the American people with an even worse border crisis. The President already has the tools and authority he needs to close the border. This crisis is intentional. Home News Over 8,000 Christians killed in Nigeria in 2023, watchdog estimates Over 8,000 Christians were reportedly killed in Nigeria in 2023 amid a rise in attacks, abductions and killings in recent years, according to estimates included in a report released this week by a civil society organization. The Anambra-based International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (Intersociety), an organization headed by Christian criminologist Emeka Umeagbalasi that has been very critical of the Nigerian government, reports that at least 8,222 Christians were killed across Nigeria from January 2023 to January 2024. The organization relies on what it deems to be credible media reports, government accounts, reports from international rights groups and eyewitness accounts to compile statistical data. Get Our Latest News for FREE Subscribe to get daily/weekly email with the top stories (plus special offers!) from The Christian Post. Be the first to know. Subscribe Intersociety attributes the deaths to various extremist groups, including radicalized Fulani herdsmen, Boko Haram and others, with a notable number of victims also resulting from actions by Nigerian security forces. States like Benue, Plateau, Kaduna and Niger bore the brunt of these attacks, with thousands of Christians abducted and hundreds of churches destroyed or attacked, Intersociety says. Through the deceitful and camouflaged internal military operations, the Fulani Jihadists were militarily protected to invade southern and middle belt farmlands, bushes and forests, the NGO charges. This is to the extent that, today, the highest concentration of the Fulani Herdsmens jihadist terror activities in the South and the Middle-Belt and other Christian-held areas in the North are found near military or other security formations. Intersociety reports that Benue state experienced the most Christian deaths, with 1,450 fatalities, followed closely by Plateau state with 1,400. Kaduna and Niger states also saw significant losses, with 822 and 730 Christians killed, respectively. In addition to the loss of life, the report highlights the abduction of over 8,400 Christians nationwide, with a distressing number of these individuals never returning alive. The violence has led to attacks on 500 churches in 2023 alone, contributing to a total of 18,500 churches attacked since 2009. The report also notes the abduction of 70 Christian clerics within the year, with at least 25 killed. These attacks have not only targeted individuals but have also devastated communities, with over 300 Christian communities reportedly sacked in 2023. The scale of displacement is alarming, with millions of internally displaced persons generated, particularly in states like Benue. The number of deaths provided by Intersociety is doubled the number suggested by other watchdogs also raising the warning flag about religious freedom conditions in Nigeria who use more conservative estimates. Still, the more conservative figures suggest an alarming rate of violence happening in Nigeria. In its World Watch List 2024 report, Open Doors says at least 4,998 Christians were killed for their faith in 2023 worldwide. Of that number, Open Doors reports that around 90% of those were in Nigeria, where more than 4,000 were killed. Open Doors ranks Nigeria as the sixth-worst country in the world when it comes to Christian persecution. "Violence by Islamic extremist groups such as Fulani militants, Boko Haram and ISWAP (Islamic State in West African Province) increased during the presidency of Muhammadu Buhari, putting Nigeria at the epicenter of targeted violence against the church," Open Doors states in a fact sheet. "The governments failure to protect Christians and punish perpetrators has only strengthened the militants influence." From Dec. 23 through Christmas, terrorists believed to be extremists among Fulani Muslim herdsmen killed nearly 200 people and injured 300 in a coordinated attack on multiple villages in predominantly Christian areas in the Plateau State, according to that report. Intersociety, in its report, calls for international attention and action, urging the appointment of a United Nations secretary-generals special emergency envoy on Nigeria and a UN Security Council resolution to authorize a comprehensive investigation into the systematic attacks against Christians. The report reveals that in January 2024 alone, at least 200 Christians were killed across Nigeria, including more than 50 deaths recorded in Plateau State. The group emphasizes the need for a global response to address what it describes as a Jihadist Genocide of Christians in Nigeria. The Nigerian government has long pushed back on claims that the violence occurring in the Middle Belt states between herders and farmers constitutes religious violence. Christian human rights advocates have accused the government of overlooking religious elements and not doing enough to protect Nigerian citizens. The U.S. State Department left Nigeria off its "countries of particular concern" list for 2024 despite the recommendation of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom to do so. Secretary of State Antony Blinken removed Nigeria from the CPC list in 2021 after Nigeria was added to the list by then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo under the Trump administration in December 2020. In January, USCRIRF Chair Abraham Cooper and Vice Chair Frederick Davie called for a congressional hearing on the State Department's failure to designate Nigeria and India as CPCs. The USCIRF leaders argue that "there is no justification as to why the State Department did not designate Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern, despite its own reporting and statements." Home News Pakistan's Supreme Court slams Punjab province's response to Jaranwala attacks on Christians LAHORE, Pakistan Pakistans Supreme Court on Tuesday reprimanded the Punjab province government over its progress report on anti-Christian attacks in Jaranwala, terming it worthy of being thrown into the dustbin. The court ordered officials to submit a new report within 10 days. Heading a three-judge bench hearing a suo motu case in Islamabad on the rights of minorities and the Aug. 16 attacks in Jaranwala, which left multiple churches and homes of Christians ransacked and burned after two Christians were falsely accused of desecrating the Quran, Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa said that he felt ashamed after seeing report. Get Our Latest News for FREE Subscribe to get daily/weekly email with the top stories (plus special offers!) from The Christian Post. Be the first to know. Subscribe I am feeling ashamed that only 18 challans [charge sheets] were submitted in the case in the last six months, Isa said to a Punjab law officer. We keep raising hue and cry over Islamophobia wherever we go in the world. But what are we doing here in Pakistan? Have we ever thought about that? Do we want to follow in the footsteps of India, where minorities are not safe? The Punjab additional advocate general had reported that 22 cases had been registered in which 304 people were arrested, and that charge sheets had been collected in 18 of the 22 First Information Reports. Isa noted that the report lacked relevant information such as the registration of FIRs in regard to offenses, the number of suspects named, the status of the cases, names of the relevant courts where cases were pending and the progress made so far. The manner in which the investigation was conducted and the apparent hesitation shown by the law enforcement agencies in identifying the culprits will only bring disrepute to the police force, he said, adding that it appeared that the investigation agencies were not interested in punishing the culprits. Instead, it seems that the functionaries of the state also become intimidated by the persons who take the law into their own hands, and at times, rather than protecting the life and properties of non-Muslims, advance the agenda of the perpetrators. Isa asked the Faisalabad Police Investigation Superintendent what action had been taken against the officers who failed to stop the rioters. The superintendent responded that an inquiry was still underway. He also conceded that the attack was led by activists of Muslim extremist political party Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP). Isa ordered the Punjab Police to conduct a thorough investigation afresh and ensure prosecution of the accused, warning that officials would be suspended if they failed to yield results. He also directed the Punjab government to submit a report on the progress of the reconstruction work on church buildings and compensation paid to victims. Calling for collective efforts to curb the extremist mindset, Isa said incidents like the Jaranwala attacks arise out of a lack of education, misinformation, hatred and suspicion where miscreants used religion as a pretext to launch attacks on non-Muslims. These matters should be attended to by the society as a whole and those who help make public opinion, Isa said. Considerable responsibility rests on the federal and provincial governments, as well as the media, to encourage interfaith harmony and to forthrightly denounce events where non-Muslim citizens come under attack. The court added that all citizens deserve to be treated equally and no one should be allowed to gain political capital by sowing religious discord. Christians laud justice Church and community leaders welcomed the chief justices order. Theres some hope now of justice for the poor Christians of Jaranwala, Church of Pakistan President Bishop Azad Marshall told Christian Daily International-Morning Star News. We are glad that the chief justice of Pakistan has taken note of our concerns regarding the investigation of the incident and accountability of the negligent officials. Marshall had filed a petition in the Lahore High Court seeking a judicial inquiry into the incident, but the Punjab government opposed it, citing the formation of joint investigation committees as sufficient action. The petition was repeatedly adjourned on various pretexts, but at the last hearing in December, the court directed the Punjab government to reconsider its decision. More than two months have passed since the court gave the order, but the government has yet to file its final response. The Rev. Khalid Mukhtar, a Catholic priest who is also a petitioner in the Jaranwala cases, said that the Supreme Courts directive to the Punjab government had reignited hope in the Christian community. We were disappointed by the polices handling of the investigation, but now we feel that the Punjab government will give due attention to the cases, Mukhtar said. Rights activist Samuel Makson said that the Supreme Courts intervention had breathed life into dying cases. Im glad that the Supreme Court admitted my plea for early hearing of the suo motu notice, otherwise the damage caused to the Jaranwala cases would have been irreparable, he said. Makson filed a fresh application in the Supreme Court on Feb. 7 after the court took no action on his earlier petition filed on Dec. 8. His latest petition had pointed to grant of bail to a majority of detained suspects due to defective police investigation. It also complained of the lax attitude of the Punjab government with regard to its promise of reconstructing the damaged churches and homes of Christians, as well as payment of compensation to some victims. Pakistan ranked seventh on Open Doors 2024 World Watch List of the most difficult places to be a Christian, as it was the previous year. This article was originally published by Christian Daily International. Home News Rabbi sues county for denying him permit to host services in his home A Jewish rabbi in Hawaii is suing his county after he was denied a special permit to host religious services at his home as he faces the potential of hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines. The First Liberty Institute filed the complaint Tuesday in federal court on behalf of Rabbi Levi Gerlitzky and his Chabad Jewish Center of the Big Island against Hawaii County and the county's Planning Director Zendo Kern. The filing contends that county code preventing him from hosting religious gatherings at home violates the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Get Our Latest News for FREE Subscribe to get daily/weekly email with the top stories (plus special offers!) from The Christian Post. Be the first to know. Subscribe "Rabbi Gerlitzky has a constitutional right to engage in religious activities in his home with family and friends in the Jewish community, free from government burden or interference," said First Liberty Senior Counsel Jeremy Dys. "By levying fines on religious practices while allowing similar secular in-home gatherings like Super Bowl parties and book clubs to continue without penalty, the County violates both the U.S. Constitution and federal law." The Christian Post reached out to the Hawaii County Planning Office for comment. A response was not received by press time. Noting that Hawaii County code permits "[m]eeting facilities" to operate in residential use districts, the lawsuit highlights how it does not extend the same courtesy to "[c]hurches, temples, and synagogues." Gerlitzky, whose home is located in a residential use district, has found himself subject to thousands of dollars in fines for hosting religious services there. Services hosted by Gerlitzky include "Shabbat meals, prayer gatherings, and holiday celebrations." "Meeting facilities are permissible as of right only if they are secular," the complaint stated. "Those provisions constitute a facial violation of the First Amendment's free-exercise clause, the [Hawaii] Constitution, and the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act ('RLUIPA')." Gerlitzky's legal challenges date back to last February, when Hawaii County's Planning Department sent a complaint notice to the rabbi, his wife and the Chabad Jewish Center of the Big Island. The notice stated that Gerlitzky's home, which serves as the Chabad Jewish Center of the Big Island, is located in a single-family residential district. Under county law, "churches, temples and synagogues" can only operate with a "use permit" in such districts. In March 2022, the Planning Department accused Gerlitzky of "operating an unpermitted 'Church, Temple, or Synagogue' (Chabad Jewish Center Big Island) on the above referenced property" and asked him to "cease and desist from operating the Chabad Jewish Center Big Island on the subject property." Additionally, he was ordered to pay a $1,000 fine by April 17. The county warned Gerlitzky that failure to pay the fine could result in daily fines of up to $100 per day. While Gerlitzky sought to assuage the county's concerns by applying for a use permit to use his property as a "synagogue" and "Jewish community center," his request was denied. The county insisted that it needed "more detailed information" before it could approve his use permit and suggested that letting him operate a "synagogue" and "Jewish community center" out of his home might require "upgrading the facility to commercial type standards." Examples of "commercial type standards" included upgrading the "wastewater" system, adding "water suppression to meet fire code," and making the house compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Gerlitzky believed these extensive improvements were unnecessary because "we just want to have our people over for meals and prayers." Last year, even after he stopped holding services at his home and merely "invited people as private individuals to his home," Gerlitzky incurred $6,400 in fines by July 24 of last year. The complaint predicted that Gerlitzky, who has tried to resolve the issue with the county numerous times over the past year, would face up to $207,000 in fines by the end of this year if his situation goes unresolved. Gerlitzky is seeking declaratory, injunctive and monetary relief as the complaint asserts that Hawaii County code violates the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and the Hawaii Constitution, which allows "[m]eeting facilities" to operate in residential districts without any restrictions. Noting that use permits are required not only for houses of worship but for "meeting facilities" of such religious buildings, the complaint concludes that "in residential use districts in [Hawaii] County, meeting facilities are permissible so long as they're secular." In addition to monetary damages and attorney fees, the lawsuit asks a federal judge to allow Gerlitzky to resume hosting religious meetings, prayers and celebrations in his home and issue an opinion declaring the county law unconstitutional. In addition to his home, Gerlitzky hosts gatherings in venues like schools, hotels and parks. The center also rents out event spaces for larger religious gatherings. Home News 2 teenagers charged in Kansas City parade shooting; terrorism not suspected Authorities have charged two teenagers for their alleged involvement in the mass shooting at the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl LVIII victory parade that killed one person and wounded 22 others. In an update Thursday, the Kansas City Missouri Police Department stated that we have two subjects detained and they are juveniles and that they are working to determine the involvement of others. Additionally, they have preliminarily concluded that there was no nexus to terrorism or violent extremism that inspired the shooting. Rather, it was a dispute between several people that ended in gunfire. Get Our Latest News for FREE Subscribe to get daily/weekly email with the top stories (plus special offers!) from The Christian Post. Be the first to know. Subscribe Authorities also identified the lone fatality as 43-year-old Elizabeth Galvan, also known as Lisa Lopez-Galvan, a mother of two and a radio station disc jockey at KKFI 90.1 FM. According to police, the 22 wounded individuals ranged in age from 8 years old to 47, with nearly half of the victims being younger than 16. Chief of Police Stacey Graves was quoted in the update as saying that law enforcements response to the shooting was exemplary, as was the response by private citizens. Those in attendance also responded, helped one another and even physically stopped a person believed to be involved in the incident, said Graves. I want to thank the people who acted bravely yesterday alongside law enforcement. Your selfless act did not go unnoticed. Thank you, Kansas City. I am angered by what occurred in our city yesterday, but I am thankful for the response. A third juvenile had been taken into custody in response to the shooting, according to ABC affiliate KMBC News, however, that individual was later released. On Wednesday, as a celebration of the Chiefs Super Bowl victory was winding down in Kansas City, shots were fired by at least one individual amid the crowd at Union Station. In a press conference held hours after the shooting, Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas said "many people have been touched by this incident" and called for prayers for the victims. "Today was tragic for everyone who was part of it," said Lucas. "We became part of a statistic of too many Americans: those who have experienced or been part of or connected to a mass shooting." "I continue to commend our police officers, our firefighters, and others who were there to respond instantly. But we also need to figure out a way to make sure that things like this stop happening in our country." Home Opinion Qatar: Indispensable or albatross for US diplomacy? In diplomacy, details send messages. So, the fact that Secretary of State Tony Blinken visited Egypt and Qatar before Israel recently in the Secretarys latest bid to hammer out a truce between Israel and Hamas should raise some eyebrows if not alarm bells, especially if Qatar is concerned. How did Qatar come to occupy such a central position indispensable according to Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin in Americas Middle East foreign policy? Answering that question provides a case study both in the ethical challenges of diplomacy in this corner of the world as well as the general incompetence of the Biden administration in working with those challenges. Qatar is a comparative newcomer to both the family of nations (independent in 1971) and to American strategic thinking, but its position at the mouth of the Persian Gulf makes it prime real estate for contested power politics. Being a small, thinly populated country sandwiched between the regional heavyweights of Saudi Arabia and Iran, Qatar quickly recognized that maintaining its independence meant balancing between rivals. To facilitate this balancing act, Qatar adopted a be all things to all people diplomacy that seeks to appeal to US concerns about terrorism and human rights; Iranian concerns about Israeli dominance; Saudi concerns about Iranian dominance; Islamic fundamentalist concerns about Western influence; and the royal familys concerns about maintaining its own legitimacy and security. No big deal. Get Our Latest News for FREE Subscribe to get daily/weekly email with the top stories (plus special offers!) from The Christian Post. Be the first to know. Subscribe To achieve these seemingly impossible, and certainly contradictory, objectives, Qatar operates an ongoing public diplomacy campaign in the U.S. Doha seeks to build an image of itself as a global humanitarian through generous financial grants to universities and think tanks, while public figures like Queen Mother Mozza bint Nasser are presented in carefully curated appeals to Western values related to empowering women, educational reform, and technological development to name a few. The results have been stunning. Qatar beat out a regional diplomatic and economic blockade imposed in 2017 by Saudi Arabia and the UAE; locked in US military bases and security aid for the long term; achieved Major Non-Nato Ally (MNNA) status last year; and is now apparently the indispensable man in negotiating with Hamas having facilitated a U.S-Iran prisoner swap and obtained the release of two US hostages held by Hamas last year. In terms of Return on Investment, Qatar has more than made back its investments. But at what cost to American interests? At best, Qatars seeming ability to balance between its competing interests has earned itself the reputation of being something like the Switzerland of the Middle East. However, common sense would dictate that when those interests come into conflict, Qatar likely makes decisions based on preferences it most closely aligns with. When it comes to the Israel-Hamas war and the Israel-Palestinian conflict more broadly, those preferences do not appear to align with American interests or values: In all fairness, Qatar is not being sneaky, or underhanded. It seems pretty clear where the al-Thani family locates its core interests. Indeed, it makes perfect sense. Like their Arab neighbors, and Islamic co-religionists, the Qataris fear to alienate the oft cited Arab street by appearing to be conciliatory to Israel. Unfortunately, this perfectly rational prioritization of regime legitimacy and security puts Qatar at odds with America's national security interests in the region both in terms of supporting Israel and in combating radical Islamist terrorism. This dynamic has two practical effects. First, it creates an apparent ethical dilemma for the Biden administration in terms of which allies to prioritize in the region: the terror-linked Qataris or the allegedly genocidal Israelis? Of course, you have to believe the genocide allegation to really make this a true ethical dilemma, but as indicated above the Biden administration appears to have chosen the former. Second, the Qataris alignment with Hamas combined with Americas prioritization of Qatari diplomacy, however cautious, necessarily skews any deal in favor of Hamas, ensuring a sense of Israeli isolation and Hamas entrenchment. The former thinks it has nothing to lose, the latter thinks it has further gains to make. The result is no viable off-ramp for the conflict, which lands Secretary Blinken back in DC with nothing to show for his troubles, but a stern and public rejection of his efforts by the Israeli government. Americas Qatar-first diplomacy may be motivated by humanitarian concerns related to alleviating civilian suffering in Gaza and obtaining the release of hostages. However, the Qataris are taking a tactically pragmatic, and strategically pro-Hamas position on this war suggesting that Dohas alignment with Washington is doing more harm than good in getting the warring parties to yes on a truce. The Biden administrations apparent inability to see these dynamics at play indicates an idealistic naivete that is foolish at best and dangerously prolongs the conflict at worst. Home News Actor Christian Bale launches project to build 12 homes to keep foster siblings together Oscar-winning actor Christian Bale, who played Batman in the Dark Knight movie trilogy, is involved in a new project building houses and a community center as part of an initiative to protect foster siblings from being separated from one another. The 50-year-old actor met with local officials last week in Palmdale, California, in honor of the new construction a project he envisioned 16 years ago. Bale, who was born in Britain, has lived most of his life in Southern California. The idea to build a community for foster siblings came to his mind when he discovered that there was a larger percentage of foster children in Los Angeles County, and many of them were being separated. Get Our Latest News for FREE Subscribe to get daily/weekly email with the top stories (plus special offers!) from The Christian Post. Be the first to know. Subscribe "I was stunned and mad to learn that we have more foster kids here than anywhere else in the country. I was also kicking myself for not knowing that before. So I thought, 'Well, this is it. Let's focus on this,'" Bale told The Hollywood Reporter (THR). "My wife and I decided that we were going to do everything we could in our power to change that." Arranging for a community to be built for foster children was no easy feat, according to Bale. I had a very naive idea about kind of getting a piece of land and then, bringing kids in and the brothers and sisters living together and sort of singing songs like the Von Trapp family in The Sound of Music," Bale said. "It's way more complex. These are peoples lives. And we need to be able to have them land on their feet when they age out. Theres so much involved in this. After taking a trip to Chicago and working for multiple days in meetings for children and family services, Bale said he recruited Tim McCormick, who had set up a similar program and they arranged for the organization that became known as Together California. Bale co-founded the group with UCLA Dr. Eric Esrailian. "He said we've got to do this in California," McCormick said of Bale. "To his credit, through all sorts of challenges, COVID and everything else, he never gave up." The men met with LA County Supervisor Kathryn Barger and other city officials to plan the community and related services for the foster siblings. Together, the group has begun work on 12 homes and a community center, which will be completed in April 2025. "With our Together California model, [the village] is something absolutely new, totally transformative, and something completely needed. Imagine the absolute pain and trauma of losing your parents or being torn from your parents, and then losing your brothers and sisters on top of that. That's no way to treat kids," Bale told THR. "And so, we will be the hub for that. I hope that this village will be the first of many, and I hope that people, Californians, and Angelenos, know to come join us in opening our eyes to what's happening right under our noses. These are our children, and we must help our children." Bale started his career from a young age starring in the films Steven Spielberg's "Empire of the Sun" and the Disney musical "Newsies." He won an Oscar for best supporting actor for the 2010 film "The Fighter." Roughly 391,000 children across the United States are in foster care, according to a 2021 report by usafacts.org. The website also states that the U.S. foster system serves more than 600,000 children annually. Home News Christian schools in India given ultimatum to remove religious symbols Christian institutions across the northeastern Indian state of Assam find themselves at the center of escalating religious tensions this week after a Hindu nationalist group issued a 15-day ultimatum demanding the removal of all Christian symbols and alleged missionary activities from school campuses. The rigid directives were put forward by the Kutumba Surakshya Parishad (Family Safety Council), a Hindu outfit operating in Assam, sparking fears of potential consequences if demands are not met by the rapidly approaching deadline. Specifically, the Hindu group called for the elimination of all icons, images and depictions of Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary on school grounds, along with the removal of church structures located on premises. Get Our Latest News for FREE Subscribe to get daily/weekly email with the top stories (plus special offers!) from The Christian Post. Be the first to know. Subscribe Adding to their directives, the outfit also insisted school staff including priests, nuns and brothers cease wearing religious attire like cassocks and habits that they accused of propagating Christianity. Christian Missionaries are converting schools and educational institutes into religious institutes. We will not allow it, asserted Satya Ranjan Borah, president of the Hindu nationalist group, during a combative press conference in Guwahati last week. In response, Archbishop John Moolachira of Guwahati strongly refuted the accusations as baseless but admitted that they were aware of the threat and will explore legal means to deal with them. As tensions escalated, Christian leaders recommended that school staff wear secular Indian clothing and stated plans to appeal to Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for assistance. The harsh ultimatum issued to Christian schools spotlights growing strife between Hindu nationalist groups and religious minorities in the state. While Christians account for 3.74% of Assam's population, higher than the national average, their presence has become a point of contention among Hindu activists pushing a narrative of cultural nationalism. The Hindu outfit's demand to demolish church buildings located in remote tribal areas where Christian schools have educated poor populations for decades further illustrates the divide. As the deadline nears, a sense of urgency grips the Christian community in Assam to protect their institutions from escalating vitriol. Their plea to authorities for intervention points to the fragile climate for religious minorities facing increased threats from Hindu nationalists. With no response yet from the state government, apprehension is growing among Christians bracing for potential backlash once the ultimatum expires. This article was originally published by Christian Today India. Home News Joel Osteen announces special Sunday services after Lakewood Church shooting Lakewood Churchs longtime Pastor Joel Osteen invited members of the public to join him Sunday for special services to heal from a tragedy he never dreamed wed have to deal with" a week after a deadly shooting at the megachurch. The announcement comes as Walli Carranza, the former mother-in-law of Lakewood Church shooter, Genesse Ivonne Moreno, alleged that long before her deadly confrontation with off-duty officers at the church last Sunday, her family reached out to pastors for help with the mentally troubled Moreno who publicly claimed she was a member of the congregation. Last Sundays shootout between Moreno, 36, and two off-duty police officers left Carranzas former daughter-in-law dead while her 7-year-old grandson, Samuel Moreno-Carranza, who was shot in the head, is fighting to stay alive at Texas Children's Hospital. Get Our Latest News for FREE Subscribe to get daily/weekly email with the top stories (plus special offers!) from The Christian Post. Be the first to know. Subscribe Lakewood Church did not immediately respond to questions from The Christian Post about Morenos affiliation with the church, but in a March 2020 Instagram post, which is no longer accessible online, Moreno defended Lakewood Church as my church along with evidence showing she had contributed to the church at least once. One may say my church is this and its that, I sit back and [facepalm] for they like to clown on the people of God, she wrote. Do they know what they are doing??? Persecute, I say indeed and proceed. Your reward is waiting, as for me and my householdI will honor and bless my church. #lakewoodchurch #lakewood ministries #joelosteen #godblessamerica. Carranza also stated that her former daughter-in-law worshiped at Lakewood Church and told The Associated Press in a report Thursday that during a custody battle between her son, Enrique Carranza, and Moreno over her grandson, her attorney sent emails to Lakewood Church in 2020 and 2021 asking for help. The request was made based on a belief that Morenos mother was a member of the church. Don Iloff, a spokesman for the megachurch, told the AP that their records show Moreno only attended the church sporadically for a couple of years and beyond 2022, they have no record of her attendance. He further noted that while they are still looking, they havent found any records showing Morenos mother attended services at the megachurch, or receipt of any emails from Carranzas attorney. Iloff added that the extent of the help they could have offered to Moreno would have been limited to spiritual and biblical counseling. If we had reached out and [Moreno] had accepted counseling, then we definitely would have been more than happy to provide that, Iloff said. Morenos ex-husband, who is incarcerated, told a judge that she would physically attack him and on multiple occasions, chased (him) out of the house with knives. The custody battle over their son started in Harris County, Texas, but ended in Montgomery County. Enrique Carranza was granted custody of his son in Harris County but a new trial in Montgomery County awarded custody to Moreno, even though the boys paternal grandmother had asked a judge to appoint her as temporary conservator, after pointing out that Moreno had schizophrenia and didnt always take her prescribed medication. In his testimony to a Harris County judge, Enrique Carranza said he wasn't told about the birth of his son until a month after he was born and Moreno had told the hospital that (he) was dead. In documents filed in Montgomery County, Walli Carranza said Moreno and her mother knowingly and intentionally harmed Samuel by lying to authorities for reasons hard to understand even by the pastoral staff of Joel Osteens church, which is where Morenos mother claimed to be a member. Walli Carranza wrote that she tried to understand what caused the womens behavior by seeking assistance from the church. When asked if their ongoing investigation into the shooting at Lakewood Church could provide and additional context to Morenos connection to the church, a spokesperson at the Houston Police Department referred CP to a statement they shared on X Tuesday. We continue to receive inquiries for more details and specifics in the investigation since yesterdays news briefing, the statement began. We understand the desire to receive more information in the case. At this time, no other details are being released as this complex investigation is ongoing and still in its early stages. Any updates in the case will be posted here or released in future news briefings. In a recounting of the shooting at Lakewood Church, Houston Police Department's Commander of Homicide Christopher Hassig said at a press conference Monday that Moreno pulled up to the west side of the church building in a white vehicle at 1:53 p.m. on Sunday with her son in tow. "She gets out of her white vehicle. She opens the door, pulls the 7-year-old child out of the backseat as well as a bag that is with her," he said. Moreno then "confronts a security guard who lets her in along the west side of the building" at 1:55 p.m. Moreno "immediately starts firing" after entering a hallway of the church. The off-duty officers, who were working approved security jobs for the church, engaged Moreno in a gunfight. Moreno and the child are then brought down in a hail of bullets. Hassig said the child was shot once in the head but did not say who shot the child. "Multiple rounds are fired by her at which point Officer Moreno of the Houston Police Department working an approved extra job at the location as well as TABC agent Herrera returned fire and the exchange is all there on the west side of the building," Hassig said. "In the hallway, multiple shots are exchanged by all three. She eventually falls to the ground. The 7-year-old child falls to the ground as well from gunfire one gunshot wound to the head." Moreno was pronounced dead by Houston Fire Department personnel at 2:07 p.m. Hassig said, her son remains hospitalized in "critical condition." Two weapons were recovered from the scene, including a .22 caliber rifle, which was not used in the shooting, and an AR-15 with a "Palestine" sticker, which Moreno fired at the officers. Police have since revealed a complete list of items taken from Morenos home in Conro, Texas, as evidence. The list includes nearly two dozen rounds of ammunition, two bullet-proof vests and a mask with Free Gaza Trump on it. As the investigation continues, Osteen appeared focused on assuring his members of their safety at his church in a video message Thursday inviting them to special services focused on healing and restoration on Sunday. Yes, its been a difficult week, something we never dreamed wed have to deal with, but we look back now, and we see the faithfulness of God. How he protected and watched over us, Osteen began. This Sunday, were gonna have special services, a time of healing and restoration. A time of praise and thanksgiving just thanking God for His angels watching after us and for his faithfulness. Where would we be without the favor and mercies of God? So we hope you and your family will come out, he said. You know there are forces that would like for us to shrink back and live in fear. Afraid of what might happen at the school, the grocery store, at work, or even at church. But we are not people of fear, we are people of faith, he added. God has us in the palm of his hand. This is not the time to shrink back. This is the time to turn to God, to rally together, really, we are stronger together. Dos pinturas religiosas del siglo 1800, parte del patrimonio cultural peruano, fueron devueltas al Consulado General de Peru en Nueva York por @HSINewYork & @ManhattanDA. Esta devolucion es parte de nuestros continuos esfuerzos para recuperar y devolver bienes culturales al ???? pic.twitter.com/6WfutOP0JZ Home News 'Some of you are going to Hell with clean feet': Mark Driscoll responds to Super Bowl 'He Gets Us' ad While the controversial He Gets Us ad that aired during the Super Bowl stirred up plenty of conversation, pastor and author Mark Driscoll offered his own unfiltered take. In response to the 60-second Foot Washing ad, Driscoll, 53, tweeted, Jesus washed Judass feet and still sent him to hell #HeGetsUs. Jesus washed Judass feet and still sent him to hell #HeGetsUs Get Our Latest News for FREE Subscribe to get daily/weekly email with the top stories (plus special offers!) from The Christian Post. Be the first to know. Subscribe February 13, 2024 In a second post on the topic shared Wednesday, Driscoll watched the ad before calling it soft, woke, garbage, nonsense, virtue signaling to those who don't like God. Jesus Christ got murdered, he said. It's because some people felt hated by what He was teaching. All of this is just soft, woke garbage nonsense virtue signaling to those who don't like God, that you should like them because they're willing to change God for you. Jesus did wash feet. He washed the feet of a guy named Judas Iscariot before He sent him to hell. Some of you are going to hell with clean feet. But that's not an upgrade." Driscoll was one of several high-profile Evangelicals who criticized the He Gets Us ad, which featured still photographs of people washing the feet of others in various settings, including outside a family planning clinic. In a statement posted on its website, "He Gets Us" elaborated on the intended message of the ad and even noted that Jesus did wash the feet of the same disciple He would call the son of destruction in John 17:12. "We recalled the story of Jesus washing his disciples' feet and realized this was the perfect example of how we should treat one another, even those people with whom we don't see eye to eye," the statement reads. "Jesus had washed Peter's feet, a loyal friend who would publicly deny that he knew Jesus later that very night. And even more astoundingly, Jesus washed Judas Iscariot's feet, the one who would betray him for 30 pieces of silver." Several commentators noted the striking commonalities of those whose feet were being washed, including Andrew Walker, an ethics and public theology professor at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, who said the commercial had a a leftward tinge, communicating the respectability of certain sins over others in our culture. "It is curious that Jesus never showed up washing feet at a [Make America Great Again] rally, a truck stop porn store in Alabama, to dilapidated and drugged-out factory workers in Ohio, or a white nationalist militia meeting in Michigan," Walker added. "If Jesus really is for all sinners, we should want right-wing racists converted as well, right? How would we respond to Jesus washing the feet of someone outside the Capitol on January 6?" Once named among America's "most prominent and celebrated pastors" by Forbes, Driscoll resigned in disgrace as senior pastor of Seattle-based Mars Hill in October 2014 after a series of controversies, including allegations of plagiarism and fostering an abusive work environment. Two weeks after Driscoll's resignation, Mars Hill Church announced that it would dissolve. He launched Trinity Church in 2016 and later started Real Faith, a digital Bible study ministry, with his wife, Grace, and their eldest daughter, Ashley. Home News National Geographic names drag queen 'Pattie Gonia' as 'Traveler of the Year' National Geographic awarded a drag queen named "Pattie Gonia" as one of its nine 2024 "Travelers of the Year" earlier this year. The publication mostly owned by Disney describes Pattie Gonia, whose real name is Wyn Wiley, as an "artist, environmentalist, and drag queen," praising him for his work as co-founder of the nonprofit Outdoorist Oath. The organization describes itself as an "action-based commitment for planet, inclusion, and adventure" and asks members to take an oath affirming the reality of climate change and systemic oppression. Get Our Latest News for FREE Subscribe to get daily/weekly email with the top stories (plus special offers!) from The Christian Post. Be the first to know. Subscribe As noted by National Review, Outdoorist Oath raises awareness about issues such as "microaggressions in the outdoors," holds workshops about white supremacy and has accused Israel of genocide against Palestinians. Wiley's alter ego, which has more than 600,000 followers on Instagram, has received media coverage for years, especially from outdoor-related outlets such as Outside magazine and the blog of retail company REI. REI's blog has promoted multiple videos Wiley made, including one that portrayed him hiking in six-inch heels and singing "Climb Every Mountain" while dressed as Julie Andrews' character in "The Sound of Music." In another video, he offers a spoken-word poem about plastic pollution while wearing dresses "that personify the plastics crisis." Wiley also made a music video about climate activism titled "Won't Give Up" in collaboration with cellist Yo-Yo Ma and Quinn Christopherson, a trans-identifying indigenous musician. Wiley described his drag style to National Geographic as "campy, witty, sustainable, and unapologetic," adding that Pattie Gonia is "a lady in the streets but a freak on the peaks." In a 2018 profile for Outside magazine, Wiley said while growing up in Lincoln, Nebraska, he was interested in both traditionally masculine and feminine activities and came out to his family the summer before college. "I had it said to my face, We'll accept you for being gay, but don't become one of those gays," Wiley told the outlet. "Don't become feminine, don't ever do drag, stay in your straight-passing gay lane." Wiley claimed he deliberately lowered his voice to a lower register in an attempt to pass as traditionally masculine. "When you change yourself to be who people want you to be, it's a tattoo and a scar," he said. Last year, Wiley co-hosted a pride march and festival at Yosemite National Park in California. Video from the event went viral, showing Wiley claiming "Mother Nature is a lesbian" and that "gay people are literally taking over the National Park system." Pride event at Yosemite National Park: "Mother Nature is a lesbian." pic.twitter.com/kdwdCERSQX The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) June 18, 2023 During an interview with TedXLondon, Wiley urged listeners to "advocate for our one true Queen, Mother Nature, with all of our creativity and intersectional identities." Outdoor clothing gear company North Face drew backlash last year when they made Wiley's drag persona the face of its ad campaign titled "Summer of Pride." "The North Face has always believed the outdoors should be a welcoming, equitable and safe place for all," the company said amid calls for boycotts. "We are honored and grateful to support partners like Pattie Gonia who help make this vision a reality." In response to the controversy, Wiley suggested capitalism is the real enemy and that the wealthy attempt to divide people. "I think that a lot of the world sees this fight as between the right or the left or [that] everything is politicized," Gonia told Grist, a nonprofit online magazine. "When really, I think that the actual forces we need to battle against are capitalism and people with wealth, who use this very time and tried-and-true tactic to divide people." "I just wish that we could stop fighting each other, so that we could fight the actual forces that are killing the planet," he added. Home News Navy Seals lawsuit against Defense Department over COVID-19 shot mandate can continue: court A lawsuit filed by several Navy Seals against the U.S. Department of Defense over its hesitancy to grant religious exemptions to the COVID-19 vaccine mandate can continue, according to an order from a federal court. U.S. District Judge Reed OConnor of the Northern District of Texas issued an order on Wednesday in the case of U.S. Navy Seals 1-26 et al. v. Lloyd J. Austin III, et al. OConnor argued that the plaintiffs no longer required injunctive relief from the COVID-19 vaccine mandate, as it had been rescinded by the Navy and was thus a moot issue. Get Our Latest News for FREE Subscribe to get daily/weekly email with the top stories (plus special offers!) from The Christian Post. Be the first to know. Subscribe However, OConnor did allow the complaint regarding the broader vaccine accommodations policy to continue, believing that there are still ongoing harms that need to be addressed. This includes present and future harms due to hesitance to use the accommodations process going forward for any religious accommodation, wrote OConnor. This alleged disparity between how the broader accommodations policy treats medical versus religious accommodation requests remains even in a post-Mandate world. Danielle Runyan, senior counsel at the First Liberty Institute, which is helping to represent the Navy personnel, said in a statement released Thursday that rescinding the mandate was only the beginning. This has been a long and difficult journey, but our Navy SEALs dont quit, stated Runyan. While some may believe the case ended after Congress forced the Navy to repeal the mandate, nothing could be further from the truth. Rescinding the mandate was just the first step, but the real harm to these brave warriors continues because there is still no valid process for religious accommodation. First Liberty has stood arm-in-arm with our nations sailors, and we will continue to do so for as long as it takes to win. In August 2021, the Pentagon announced that it would require U.S. military personnel to receive the COVID-19 injections, citing as justification the need for combat readiness. Now that the Pfizer vaccine has been approved, the department is prepared to issue updated guidance, requiring all service members to be vaccinated, stated Pentagon Press Secretary John F. Kirby at the time. These efforts ensure the safety of our service members and promote the readiness of our force, not to mention the health and safety of the communities around the country in which we live. While most armed forces personnel took the shot, thousands objected for religious reasons, noting that it had been developed through research that used aborted fetal cells. Lawsuits were filed over the mandate, with many arguing that the military had failed to provide an adequate exemption process for those opposed to taking the injection on religious grounds. In January of last year, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced that the COVID-19 vaccine mandate was being rescinded, with him reporting in a memorandum that around 96% of military personnel were fully vaccinated. Last October, the Defense Department agreed to pay $1.8 million in fees and other litigation costs by the cases of Navy Seal 1 v. Biden and Colonel Financial Management Officer v. Austin. Home News Rachel Levine claims climate change has 'disproportionate' impact on black people Assistant Secretary for Health Rachel (Richard) Levine marked Black History Month on Thursday by releasing a video claiming climate change disproportionately affects black people. Levine also suggested the new bureaucracies established under the Biden administration dedicated to "climate change and health equity" and "environmental justice" will help tackle the alleged inequality. This #BlackHistoryMonth I'm honored to join @MinorityHealth in Advancing Better Health Through Better Understanding for Black communities. Explore more at https://t.co/cVkHNKRu7i and don't miss next Thursday's clip to hear insights from another HHS leader. pic.twitter.com/a2QlM9bpdd Get Our Latest News for FREE Subscribe to get daily/weekly email with the top stories (plus special offers!) from The Christian Post. Be the first to know. Subscribe February 15, 2024 Decked out in military uniform, the admiral in the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, explained how pleased he was to partner with the Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) Office of Minority Health in "advancing better health through better understanding for black communities." "Climate change is having a disproportionate effect on the physical and mental health of black communities," Levine said. "Black Americans are more likely than white Americans to live in areas in housing that increase their susceptibility to climate-related health issues, and 65% of black Americans report feeling anxious about climate change's impact." "Through our Office of Climate Change and Health Equity and the Office of Environmental Justice, we're working with providers and community leaders to identify innovative approaches that empower communities to address to health consequences linked to climate change," Levine added. President Biden directed HHS to establish the Office of Climate Change and Health Equity (OCCHE) by executive order in 2021, and it rolled out under Levine's authority on Aug. 31 of that year, according to its website. Intended to "address the impact of climate change on the health of the American people," OCCHE claims to serve "as a department-wide hub for climate change and health policy, programming, and analysis, in pursuit of environmental justice and equitable health outcomes." The Office of Environmental Justice (OEJ) was established within the Department of Justice's Environment and Natural Resources Division in 2022, and its stated mission is "to protect overburdened and underserved communities from the harm caused by environmental crimes, pollution, and climate change." Levine's assertion regarding the disproportionate effect of climate change on minorities echoes that of an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) report in 2021 that found "the most severe harms from climate change fall disproportionately upon underserved communities who are least able to prepare for, and recover from, heat waves, poor air quality, flooding, and other impacts." The impacts of climate change that we are feeling today, from extreme heat to flooding to severe storms, are expected to get worse, and people least able to prepare and cope are disproportionately exposed, EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan said at the time. This report punctuates the urgency of equitable action on climate change. With this level of science and data, we can more effectively center EPAs mission on achieving environmental justice for all. The World Economic Forum (WEF) has used similar arguments on a global scale, arguing that "the impacts of climate change vary greatly between countries and population groups." "This climate crisis is a deeply unfair one, with the poor being disproportionately affected," WEF Mental Health Lead Ruma Bhargava wrote in 2023. "The countries with the fewest resources are likely to bear the greatest burden in terms of loss of life and relative effect on investment and the economy." Campaign launched to protect UK religious broadcasting A campaign has been launched to protect religious programmes from potential cuts in a new Media Bill going through Parliament. The Sandford St Martin Trust has published its #BeliefMatters petition timed to coincide with the passage of the government's Media Bill to the House of Lords and has encouraged anyone concerned about the threat to religious broadcasting to sign it. The petition raises the alarm about how proposed changes to existing broadcasting legislation threaten the future of religious broadcasting and will negatively affect religious literacy in the UK. Anna McNamee, Executive Director of the Sandford St Martin Trust, said: "Recent events around the world show how important religious literacy is. But in its current form, the Media Bill will put this core cultural and civic competency at risk. "If it's passed in its current form, public service broadcasters will no longer be obliged to provide audiences with a range of programming which includes 'education, sport, science, religion and other beliefs, social issues, matters of international significance or interest'. "Instead, they will only need to provide 'an appropriate range of genres' without saying what is 'appropriate' or what constitutes 'a range'." The long-established Trust that has made highly-prized awards for the best in religious broadcasting since 1978 believes that "broadcasting is a key tool for promoting the better understanding of how religion shapes and is shaped by politics, social movements and culture." It is calling for any new legislation to "clearly protect the future quantity and quality of religious programming." According to the broadcast regulator Ofcom there has been a steep decline in religious broadcasting in the UK over the past decade, as highlighted by the Religion Media Centre. Between 2013 and 2022 the total amount of 'Religion & Ethics' programming broadcast across the BBC, Channel 4, Channel 5 and ITV dropped dramatically from 254 hours to 140 hours per year. By 2022 Channel 4, ITV and Channel 5 were not broadcasting any Religion and Ethics programming at all. McNamee added: "The Sandford St Martin Trust has long argued that to ignore religion is to leave a gaping hole at the heart of public service broadcasting. We hope anyone who, like us, values religious literacy and believes broadcasters should support this through their programming, will sign and share the #BeliefMatters petition." The campaign comes as the BBC faces continued criticism for significantly reducing local radio broadcasting, including its weekly Sunday morning faith programmes. Rev Peter Crumpler is a Church of England minister in St Albans, Herts, UK, and a former communications director with the CofE. Over 8,000 Christians killed in Nigeria in 2023, watchdog estimates (CP) Over 8,000 Christians were reportedly killed in Nigeria in 2023 amid a rise in attacks, abductions and killings in recent years, according to estimates included in a report released this week by a civil society organization. The Anambra-based International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (Intersociety), an organization headed by Christian criminologist Emeka Umeagbalasi that has been very critical of the Nigerian government, reports that at least 8,222 Christians were killed across Nigeria from January 2023 to January 2024. The organization relies on what it deems to be credible media reports, government accounts, reports from international rights groups and eyewitness accounts to compile statistical data. Intersociety attributes the deaths to various extremist groups, including radicalized Fulani herdsmen, Boko Haram and others, with a notable number of victims also resulting from actions by Nigerian security forces. States like Benue, Plateau, Kaduna and Niger bore the brunt of these attacks, with thousands of Christians abducted and hundreds of churches destroyed or attacked, Intersociety says. "Through the deceitful and camouflaged 'internal military operations,' the Fulani Jihadists were militarily protected to invade southern and middle belt farmlands, bushes and forests," the NGO charges. "This is to the extent that, today, the highest concentration of the Fulani Herdsmen's jihadist terror activities in the South and the Middle-Belt and other Christian-held areas in the North are found near military or other security formations." Intersociety reports that Benue state experienced the most Christian deaths, with 1,450 fatalities, followed closely by Plateau state with 1,400. Kaduna and Niger states also saw significant losses, with 822 and 730 Christians killed, respectively. In addition to the loss of life, the report highlights the abduction of over 8,400 Christians nationwide, with a distressing number of these individuals never returning alive. The violence has led to attacks on 500 churches in 2023 alone, contributing to a total of 18,500 churches attacked since 2009. The report also notes the abduction of 70 Christian clerics within the year, with at least 25 killed. These attacks have not only targeted individuals but have also devastated communities, with over 300 Christian communities reportedly sacked in 2023. The scale of displacement is alarming, with millions of internally displaced persons generated, particularly in states like Benue. The number of deaths provided by Intersociety is doubled the number suggested by other watchdogs also raising the warning flag about religious freedom conditions in Nigeria who use more conservative estimates. Still, the more conservative figures suggest an alarming rate of violence happening in Nigeria. In its World Watch List 2024 report, Open Doors says at least 4,998 Christians were killed for their faith in 2023 worldwide. Of that number, Open Doors reports that around 90% of those were in Nigeria, where more than 4,000 were killed. Open Doors ranks Nigeria as the sixth-worst country in the world when it comes to Christian persecution. "Violence by Islamic extremist groups such as Fulani militants, Boko Haram and ISWAP (Islamic State in West African Province) increased during the presidency of Muhammadu Buhari, putting Nigeria at the epicenter of targeted violence against the church," Open Doors states in a fact sheet. "The government's failure to protect Christians and punish perpetrators has only strengthened the militants' influence." From Dec. 23 through Christmas, terrorists believed to be extremists among Fulani Muslim herdsmen killed nearly 200 people and injured 300 in a coordinated attack on multiple villages in predominantly Christian areas in the Plateau State, according to that report. Intersociety, in its report, calls for international attention and action, urging the appointment of a United Nations secretary-general's special emergency envoy on Nigeria and a UN Security Council resolution to authorize a comprehensive investigation into the systematic attacks against Christians. The report reveals that in January 2024 alone, at least 200 Christians were killed across Nigeria, including more than 50 deaths recorded in Plateau State. The group emphasizes the need for a global response to address what it describes as a "Jihadist Genocide of Christians" in Nigeria. The Nigerian government has long pushed back on claims that the violence occurring in the Middle Belt states between herders and farmers constitutes religious violence. Christian human rights advocates have accused the government of overlooking religious elements and not doing enough to protect Nigerian citizens. The U.S. State Department left Nigeria off its "countries of particular concern" list for 2024 despite the recommendation of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom to do so. Secretary of State Antony Blinken removed Nigeria from the CPC list in 2021 after Nigeria was added to the list by then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo under the Trump administration in December 2020. In January, USCRIRF Chair Abraham Cooper and Vice Chair Frederick Davie called for a congressional hearing on the State Department's failure to designate Nigeria and India as CPCs. The USCIRF leaders argue that "there is no justification as to why the State Department did not designate Nigeria ... as a Country of Particular Concern, despite its own reporting and statements." The Christian Post We are being harassed, says street preacher threatened with arrest A street preacher threatened with arrest in London has said he feels harassed and persecuted by the police. Pastor Dwayne Lopez, who is being supported by the Christian Legal Centre (CLC), was confronted by five police officers while preaching on Uxbridge High Street after a complaint by a member of the public. He was told that a possible "hate crime" relating to "homophobia" had been committed, and was asked if he was aware of the Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) in place on the high street. PSPOs are sets of regulations introduced by local councils usually covering anti-social behaviour. In the exchange, captured on video and uploaded to YouTube, Lopez was threatened with arrest unless he gave his personal details. "Currently there's allegations of a hate crime, a public order offence, section 4a [and] allegations of homophobia," an officer said. "I've not heard anything, I'm not saying I've heard anything. Someone's called us. It might be completely untrue or true. "[But] if I do walk away and I see offences, and the victim wants to press charges ... I could have failed a potential victim." Later, an officer tells him: "If you don't give me your name or address I have grounds to arrest you. It's code of practice." Lopez denied committing a hate crime and said that he had simply been preaching from the Bible. The exchange ends after Lopez gives his personal details to the officers. According to the CLC, under UK law, a street preacher does not have to provide their details to the police "but officers often ask for it, or even demand it". Speaking about his experience later, Lopez said that it was "not an isolated incident" and that "the police are persistently harassing us for preaching from the Bible in this area of London". He said his treatment at the hands of the police was "unjust". "The Bible is not a banned book. When King Charles was crowned last year, he swore an oath on the Bible, a book which we are now being repeatedly punished for preaching from. We preach the simple message that we are all sinners and that love, forgiveness and hope is found in Jesus," he said. "Our message is not a hateful message. People will always be offended by something, but being offended is not a crime. We want the police to support us now instead of using the PSPO to persecute us." He added, "The PSPO in Uxbridge is designed to intimidate us, shut us down and to prevent us from exercising our rights and freedoms. This is not about amplification, but the offence of the Cross." CLC chief executive Andrea Williams has called for a "re-think" of PSPOs to protect freedom of expression for street preachers. "The Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) in place in Uxbridge is being weaponised to shut down perfectly lawful activity," she said. "People are being taken off the streets for preaching from the Bible just because passers-by say they are offended. "This amounts to a heckler's veto and fundamentally undermines the freedoms we take for granted in this country. This should be a warning to us all. It is time to re-think the PSPOs." YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 16, ARMENPRESS. Speaker of Parliament of Armenia Alen Simonyan on February 15 in Sofia met with Bulgarian President Rumen Radev. During their meeting Speaker Simonyan and President Radev agreed that Armenia and Bulgaria have an excellent partnership, an active and constructive dialogue, and the potential to significantly build on bilateral economic and investment cooperation, BTA news agency reported citing President Radevs office. During their talks, Radev highlighted Bulgaria's interest in further boosting trade and investment in Armenia and the importance of expanding transport, energy, and digital connectivity in the region. He stressed the importance of the Armenian-Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Economy, which provides additional tools for cooperation between the businesses of the two countries. The sides also highlighted the centuries-old historical and cultural ties between Bulgarians and Armenians, which are a solid foundation for deepening cooperation in education through an increased exchange of students and researchers. Radev pointed to the outstanding contribution of the large Armenian community in Bulgaria to the development of bilateral ties and its active participation in the social, economic, and cultural life in Bulgaria. "Bulgaria will also continue to work to strengthen the European Union's partnership with Armenia," the Bulgarian President further noted. The sides also discussed topical issues related to the ways sought to achieve sustainable peace, security, and stability in the South Caucasus region. The generative AI revolution has the power to transform how banks operate. Banks are increasingly turning to AI to assist with a wide range of tasks, from customer onboarding to fraud detection and risk regulation. For generative AI to be truly effective it must have access to the right data, but banks are almost unique in their complexity when it comes to how their data is siloed on legacy systems. So, as they leap into AI, banks must first ensure that their data is AI-ready. This is a significant step and vital to success. Copilot: welcome to your virtual team Microsoft Copilot for Microsoft 365 helps banks get the most from generative AI. Copilot combines large language models (LLMs) with the banks data, providing staff access to a virtual PA, copywriter and analyst. Copilot is integrated into Microsoft 365 and automatically inherits the companys security, compliance, and privacy policies and processes. It allows employees to interact with familiar work tools, from Microsoft Word to PowerPoint, using everyday language prompts or inputs. Banks reported that harnessing Copilot for meeting summaries, email drafting and content generation was saving between half an hour and two hours a week per employee. Copilot can also help with security issues, setting up an early warning system to detect malware, trojans or phishing, as well as identify potential anti-money laundering issues and provide auto-healing for security loopholes. More human(s), not less The job of Copilot is not to replace human banking activity but to make bank staff more human. Not just to increase productivity, efficiency and innovation but to free up staff to create deeper customer relationships. According to Avanade research, almost two-thirds of banks (62%) will need more people to help with AI in 2024 not less. Over half (53%) think they will need significant support to train staff in the use of generative AI tools, such as Copilot. Avanade can help banking teams to work out how to get the most value from generative AI. Being a key Microsoft partner means we have access to the latest tools from the Microsoft portfolio, including the latest OpenAI technologies. Avanade can partner with banks to assess the readiness of employees and ecosystem partners. We can prioritise actions that enable banks to use AI at scale, including governance and new operating models. For more information visit our new Copilot Banking site. Anunt concurs pentru post vacant Institutia Publica Centrul de Consiliere Agricola si Rurala (CCAR) este in cautare de un profesionist dinamic si dedicat, pentru pozitia de Sef/a de Sectie la sectia Inovare si transfer de cunostinte in cadrul institutie Primeste notificari pe email Nota bene: Adresele email cu extensia .ru nu sunt acceptate. Contractare si Achizitie Bunuri Anunturi de Angajare Granturi - Finantari Burse de studiu Stagii Profesionale Oportunitati de voluntariat Toate Articolele YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 16, ARMENPRESS. The White House publicly confirmed on Thursday that Russia has obtained a troubling emerging anti-satellite weapon but said it cannot directly cause physical destruction on Earth, AP reported citing the Biden administrations national security spokesman. White House national security spokesman John Kirby said U.S. intelligence officials have information that Russia has obtained the capability but that such a weapon is not currently operational. First this is not an active capability thats been deployed and though Russias pursuit of this particular capability is troubling, there is no immediate threat to anyones safety, Kirby said. Were not talking about a weapon that can be used to attack human beings or cause physical destruction here on Earth. The White House confirmed its intelligence after a vague warning Wednesday from the Republican head of the House Intelligence Committee, Ohio Rep. Mike Turner, who urged the Biden administration to declassify information about what he called a serious national security threat. Kirby said that the process of reviewing and declassifying aspects of the Russian capability was underway when Turner regrettably released his statement. We have been very careful and deliberate about what we decide to declassify downgrade and share with the public, he added. Russia has downplayed the U.S. concern about the capability. In Moscow, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov described the claims about a new Russian military capability as a ruse intended to make the U.S. Congress support aid for Ukraine. Its obvious that Washington is trying to force Congress to vote on the aid bill by hook or by crook, Peskov said in remarks carried by Russian news agencies. Lets see what ruse the White House will use. Kirby said the capability is space based and would violate the international Outer Space Treaty, which more than 130 countries have signed onto, including Russia. Salariul lunar net: 34000 MDL - 42000 MDL +8,33% (fond de pensii pe luna) Asigurarea medicala internationala 100% acoperire To apply please follow the link/Pentru a aplica, va rugam sa adresati link-ul: Apply Background Diversity, Equity and Inclusion are core principles at UNDP: we value diversity as an expression of the multiplicity of nations and cultures where we operate, we foster inclusion as a way of ensuring all personnel are empowered to contribute to our mission, and we ensure equity and fairness in all our actions. Taking a leave no one behind approach to our diversity efforts means increasing representation of underserved populations. People who identify as belonging to marginalized or excluded populations are strongly encouraged to apply. Learn more about working at UNDP including our values and inspiring stories. UNDP does not tolerate sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment, and discrimination. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks. Moldova is part of the EUs European Neighborhood Policy (ENP) and in the Eastern Partnership framework, which aims at strengthening individual and regional relationships between the EU and countries in its neighborhood. Moldova is also part of the Energy Community Treaty since 2010 and has signed the Association Agreement with EU in June 2014, including the DCFTA which entered into force in 2016. As a follow-up, Moldova is required to ensure transposition of the EU acquis Communautaire, which underpins the EU energy legislation on electricity, gas, oil, renewables, energy efficiency and environment. The country has synchronized its electricity network with the ENTSO-E to connect to European electricity market. Considering the ongoing energy crisis, the energy sector is one of the top priorities for the Government and it is addressed in Governments Plans and a number of policy documents, laws and regulations which outlined the need to undertake more actions towards a green and just energy transition of the Republic of Moldova. In accordance to the existing strategic planning documents, one of main priorities of the Government is to diversify the energy mix with more renewable energy, which is also fully in line with commitments under the EU Clean Energy for all Europeans package. Achieving this goal will require significant investment in the medium and long term, but also the countrys ability to attract and absorb the funds. The development of renewables, such as wind and solar, will also depend on improving the balancing capabilities of the Moldovan power system and its integration with neighboring countries. In this regard the EU and Moldova stressed the importance of resilience against any potential efforts by third parties to use energy as a geopolitical lever. The EU has urged Moldova to ensure that the energy sector reform demonstrates full respect of the Energy Community acquis and is in line with the EU Third Energy Package. The EU side confirmed its support to the objective of Moldova for integration into the EU energy system and market, an important step being the recent synchronization of its electricity network with the Continental European Network (CEN). Recognizing the importance of a just and green energy transition in addressing the root causes of the ongoing crisis, the Accelerating a Just Energy Transition in the Republic of Moldova portfolio of interventions has emerged - co-designed with the Government and other representatives of the energy system to ensure its relevance and effectiveness. Through this Programme, the Government of Moldova will be further assisted to tackle the current energy crisis and energy poverty, and addressing prioritized systemic elements in the energy sector to cope with potential future energy crisis. The Programme has the following five key components: Accelerate Energy Diversification and Efficiency: By supporting the modernization of infrastructure, buildings, and the grid, the Programme aims to increase access to renewable energy sources, promote energy efficiency, and encourage investment in renewable energy and innovative technologies. Decarbonizing Industries and Economic Sectors: The Programme seeks to drive the decarbonization of various economic sectors such as construction, transportation, agriculture, and the private sector. It aims to promote sustainable practices, share green business models, and develop vocational skills for the green energy sector to create equitable employment opportunities and support the transition to a low-carbon economy. Foster Sustainable Consumption Patterns: Through comprehensive public awareness campaigns and educational materials, the Programme aims to deepen understanding of energy efficiency and renewable energy among community members, business leaders, and government agencies. It strives to promote behavior change towards sustainable energy practices, particularly among vulnerable populations. Strengthen Inclusive Energy Governance: The Programme recognizes the importance of inclusive energy governance at both the national and local levels. It aims to strengthen the capacity of relevant institutions and stakeholders to effectively govern and manage the energy sector. By promoting transparency, accountability, and participation, the Programme seeks to ensure that decision-making processes related to energy transition are inclusive, empowering all segments of society, including marginalized groups. Addressing Energy Vulnerability and Promoting Resilience: One of the Programme 's primary focus is to address energy vulnerability and promote resilience among households and businesses. It will provide further support to the Government in improving and implementing compensation mechanisms, including the established an on-bill compensation mechanism targeting the households by level of vulnerability. This intervention aims to provide immediate relief to energy-poor households and the private sector, while also fostering long-term energy resilience and efficiency. The Programme places a strong emphasis on meeting the energy needs of vulnerable groups, prioritizing affordability, reliability, and sustainability. To this end, it will explore conceptualization of decentralized energy solutions, off-grid options, and harness the role of energy access in conflict and disaster recovery efforts, livelihoods, and social inclusion. Implementation period: 2023-2027. Duties and Responsibilities Under the guidance and direct supervision of the Project Manager, the Communication Analyst shall contribute to an effective and efficient implementation of the projects communication and outreach plan, contributing to an increased visibility of the project. The Communications Analyst will apply and promote the principles of results-based management (RBM), as well as a client-oriented approach consistent with UNDP rules and regulations. The Communication Analyst will work in close collaboration with the Project Manager and the project staff for the effective achievement of results, anticipating and resolving complex project-related issues and information delivery. The Communication Analyst shall exercise full compliance with UNDP programming, financial, procurement and administrative rules, regulations, policies, and strategies, as well as implementation of the effective internal control systems. The Communication Analyst will coordinate the implementation of the Projects communication and public outreach portfolio, particularly focusing on: Effective communication plan management: Contribute to the timely and efficient delivery of outputs and products leading to the achievement of expected Project results and ensure full compliance of all the actions with UNDP policies and procedures; Coordinate the activity of the projects national consultant(s) in the field of communication and public outreach; Review, implement and continuously monitor the projects communication, using appropriate feedback mechanisms and monitoring tools; Establish meaningful partnerships with mass-media, at the local and national levels; Ensure synergies with other programmatic partners on joint outreach, communication, and capacity building activities; Identify appropriate suppliers for the provision of services required for the implementation of the communication plan; Ensure compliance with all corporate rules and regulations of UNDP and the Donor organizations in the field of communication and visibility promotion, efficiently cooperate with the UNDP and the Donor organizations communication analysts; Provide solid inputs to projects analytical products, work plans and progress reports, etc.; Support the Project Manager and the UNDP CO in general project implementation and related strategic processes. Visibility of project results: Support the communication capacities of projects partners (including representatives of ministries, LPAs and private sector); Document best practices (via articles, success stories, interviews, press releases, etc.) and ensure wide dissemination and visibility of project achievements in the national media as well as in the local and regional media/websites; Design concepts for communication products and oversee their implementation; Organize press trips and ensure media coverage; Provide support to the project team on the conceptualization of new initiatives in line with the projects objectives. Competencies Core Competencies Achieve Results: LEVEL 1: Plans and monitors own work, pays attention to details, delivers quality work by deadline LEVEL 1: Plans and monitors own work, pays attention to details, delivers quality work by deadline Think Innovatively: LEVEL 1: Open to creative ideas/known risks, is pragmatic problem solver, makes improvements LEVEL 1: Open to creative ideas/known risks, is pragmatic problem solver, makes improvements Learn Continuously: LEVEL 1: Open minded and curious, shares knowledge, learns from mistakes, asks for feedback LEVEL 1: Open minded and curious, shares knowledge, learns from mistakes, asks for feedback Adapt with Agility: LEVEL 1: Adapts to change, constructively handles ambiguity/uncertainty, is flexible LEVEL 1: Adapts to change, constructively handles ambiguity/uncertainty, is flexible Act with Determination: LEVEL 1: Shows drive and motivation, able to deliver calmly in face of adversity, confident LEVEL 1: Shows drive and motivation, able to deliver calmly in face of adversity, confident Engage and Partner: LEVEL 1: Demonstrates compassion/understanding towards others, forms positive relationships LEVEL 1: Demonstrates compassion/understanding towards others, forms positive relationships Enable Diversity and Inclusion: LEVEL 1: Appreciate/respect differences, aware of unconscious bias, confront discrimination Cross-Functional & Technical Competencies Entrepreneurial Thinking Ability to create clarity around UNDP value proposition to beneficiaries and partners and to develop service offers responding to client needs based on UNDPs organizational priorities and mandate Communication Ability to communicate in a clear, concise and ambiguous manner both through written and verbal communication; to tailor messages and choose communication methods depending on the audience Ability to manage communications internally and externally, through media, social media and other appropriate channels Data storytelling and communications Skilled in building a narrative around a set of data and its accompanying visualizations to help convey the meaning of that data in a powerful and compelling fashion Social Media Knowledge of social media and ability to advise the use of social media for development outcomes Campaign management Ability to produce and implement communications and advocacy campaigns which lead to impactful change Knowledge Facilitation Ability to animate individuals and communities of contributors to participate and share, particularly externally Digital Awareness and Literacy Ability and inclination to rapidly adopt new technologies, either through skillfully grasping their usage or through understanding their impact and empowering others to use them as needed Required Skills and Experience Education: Masters degree or equivalent in journalism, communication, public relations, sociology, international relations, or another relevant field. Bachelors degree in the above field of studies in combination with additional 2 years of qualifying experience will be given due consideration in lieu of Masters degree. Experience: Up to 2 years (with Masters degree) or minimum 2 years (with Bachelors degree) of progressive experience in communication, mass-media, public relations, and/or other substantive area. Required Skills: Experience in development and implementation of media/ communication strategies and plans. Experience in conceptualizing and implementing national and local public outreach/communication campaigns. Desired Skills: Proven experience in similar positions in UN Agencies will be considered an advantage. Experience in event management is an asset. Additional training and/or certification in communication and/or new media would be an advantage. Languages: Fluency in English and Romanian is required (written and spoken). Working knowledge of one or more minority languages relevant for Moldova, including Russian, Romani, Gagauzian, Bulgarian, Ukrainian and sign language, is an asset. Institutional Arrangement Supervisor: Project Manager Disclaimer Applicant information about UNDP rosters Note: UNDP reserves the right to select one or more candidates from this vacancy announcement. We may also retain applications and consider candidates applying to this post for other similar positions with UNDP at the same grade level and with similar job description, experience and educational requirements. Non-discrimination UNDP has a zero-tolerance policy towards sexual exploitation and misconduct, sexual harassment, and abuse of authority. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks, and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles. UNDP is an equal opportunity and inclusive employer that does not discriminate based on race, sex, gender identity, religion, nationality, ethnic origin, sexual orientation, disability, pregnancy, age, language, social origin or other status. Scam warning The United Nations does not charge any application, processing, training, interviewing, testing or other fee in connection with the application or recruitment process. Should you receive a solicitation for the payment of a fee, please disregard it. Furthermore, please note that emblems, logos, names and addresses are easily copied and reproduced. Therefore, you are advised to apply particular care when submitting personal information on the web. Climate change is inherently a political story, in that only policy can enact some of the changes at scale that are needed to quickly reduce carbon emissions. Yet, often, political reporting doesnt make the climate connection. For Akielly Hu, the news politics reporter at Grist, that connection is a full-time job. Last year, Hu left a job in policy research to become a journalist, and from her vantage point the climate-politics beat is brimming with opportunities for dramatic storytelling. Whats more, she says, its a great opportunity to connect with audiences, who will all, one way or another, feel the impacts of climate policy in their daily lives. Covering Climate Now spoke recently with Hu about the stories on her mind this election year, the dynamism of state and local climate policy, and the importance of making the climate-politics connection, particularly when leaders and candidates do not. The conversation, with CCNow deputy director Andrew McCormick, has been edited for length and clarity. Check out Hus coverage at Grist here. Tell us a bit about your background. I started my career in environmental policy research. I worked at a nonprofit in DC called the Environmental Law Institute on, for example, wetlands protection programs and city-level food waste reduction efforts. I transitioned to the Institutes magazine, the Environmental Forum, which is geared toward environmental professionals. Thats where I got my first experiences as a writer and editor, and I found I really enjoyed the challenge of communicating complex, sometimes technical, subjects in a way thats accessible and engaging to audiences. I wanted to learn more and work on the news side, as opposed to the research side, of policyand so, since last March, Ive been at Grist. Sign up for CJR 's daily email After a year of reporting on this intersection of climate change and policy, whats on your mind heading into this election year? Every year, Grist does a limited-run summer newsletter about extreme weather. This past years, which I had the opportunity to work on, was called Record High and focused on heat. We looked at extreme heat from every angle: labor, housing, health, you name it. Last summer was the hottest ever on record, and the impacts were alarming. You just couldnt deny that heat waves [which have become more frequent and severe due to climate change] are hurting and killing people. This prompted a lot of policy discussions. President Biden, for example, was urged to declare a climate emergency; although he said that practically he had, he didnt declare a formal national emergency. And even in states where governments arent known for prioritizing climate, leaders were outspoken and expressed a lot of concern about the need for more heat protections. Some research is suggesting that this summer could get even hotter, and Im curious to see how the discussions play out differently in the context of campaign season. Something else on my mind is following the money, which is a skill Ive learned at Grist that Id like to build on more this year. In US politics especially, money is very much at the heart of campaigns and policy. Early in my time here, I was covering a wave of lawsuits and protests against offshore wind, particularly on the East Coast. These were being led by ostensibly grassroots local groups, but if you looked into the money funding their efforts, a lot of it went back to organizations associated with the fossil fuel industry. There was a lot of impressive reporting on this at the timebut, unfortunately, I also saw coverage that didnt make the connection between these groups and fossil fuels. I think its important to always ask: Whats beneath some of this political messaging? Whose interests are being represented that might not be apparent? If we dont tell this part of the story, audiences get a distorted picture. Youve done a lot of work on state and local policy efforts. How do you see climate policy playing out differently at this level than, say, in national politics? My high school social studies teacher used to say that the federal government is like a soap opera, where the characters stay the same and the same things happen over and over. The more I follow national news, the more this feels trueand the lack of progress can be frustrating! At the local level, though, there are a lot of exciting efforts to address climate change. Its cool to see how local people and governments are adapting and trying out innovative solutions. Last fall, I had the opportunity to report in Maine on a statewide referendum that ultimately failed but would have essentially eliminated Maines investor-owned utilities and created instead a nonprofit, public-owned power companypart of a nationwide trend of public-power activism and increasing scrutiny on utilities as institutions that can stifle climate progress. I spent time at a state fair, and I was heartened to see how engaged people were with the issue. Maine is a pretty politically divided state, but regardless of where people I met stood, they were knowledgeable and approached the issue in good faith. And that makes sense, because power affects everyones daily life. Its a matter of monthly expenses and an issue of energy justice, with huge groups of people who are behind on their billsincluding, sometimes, for services they didnt receivehaving the power that they need to survive shut off. That said, utilities infrastructure probably isnt something the average person is used to thinking about deeply, questions about transmission lines and distribution grids and who owns what parts of the system. But utilities are one of the main players in a transition to clean energy, and they can be helpful or not. So, as a journalist, I felt a lot of responsibility to soak in all the information I could. I found that there was so much local context and history factoring into peoples thinking. There was all the TV advertising, flyers, and door-to-door canvassers. It was fascinating to see how quickly information was being disseminated and the role money was playing in shaping public perceptions. These local efforts sound like a great way to make climate change tangible to audiences. What other policy trends might have this potential? Another interesting dynamic playing outin this case partly in response to national politics, because briefly this was a huge controversy in Washingtonis this subject of gas bans as a means of reducing carbon emissions. In Berkeley, California, for example, a ban on new gas hookups, the first such ban in the country, was struck down last April by the Ninth US Circuit Court of Appeals, which, this January, declined to revisit its ruling. Ive been interested to see how this ruling will affect similar efforts elsewhere. Cities seem to be adapting their policies and approaches to avoid similar legal hurdles. Also in January, a fellow Grist reporter looked at how Chicago is seeking to implement an electrification ordinance that doesnt ban gas outright but imposes new emissions standards that effectively preclude the use of gas in new-construction homes; the ordinance frames this in part as a matter of public health. Seattle passed a similar law recently, raising emissions standards, with an eye toward many of the citys buildings reaching net-zero by 2050. Stories like this could get wonky fast. Do you have thoughts on how to connect with audiences on these subjects? Its a challenge not to get too in the weeds citing laws and regulations. But Ive learned this year that even policy stories can be great stories. You dont need to have a single person to focus on, because a local government can also be a great character and the obstacle theyre trying to overcome, for example, might be how to achieve electrification without hitting legal roadblocks. To me, thats so compelling! This is what appealed to me about journalism, what makes it different from writing a research paper or something. Youre always thinking about the reader and why anyone should care about this or that subject. Theres always a way to explain something more clearlyand thats an opportunity, because thats how we can get people talking about these issues and help create a kind of shared knowledge base among the public. What would you like to see more of in political news coverage this year? Something I think about a lot is how to cover issues or ideas that are new or might seem radical. A lot of climate policies feel sometimes written off in the press as politically unrealistic or impractical. But what we consider politically feasible can change very quickly. A lot of it just has to do with public perceptions and priorities, and thats why activism and local efforts are so important in how we think about politics; these are ways people communicate their priorities to leaders. As for whether somethings practical, a better question to ask might be, How could this policy idea work? Ill add that I always like stories with more than one byline, written by reporters on different beats. Id like to see more work with the bylines of both climate and politics reporters. Sure, when were on deadline or under pressure to meet a story quota, its probably quicker to go it alone. But as a reader, I find I get a lot more out of stories informed by multiple reporters viewpointsI think a lot of rich reporting comes from this. So far, climate isnt being treated as a major factor in this election by either the candidates or much of the political press. Based on your reporting, whats the potential for climate to factor in? It makes sense why there are a lot of other issues on voters minds. But working at a climate-centric publication, you learn to identify the climate angle even when a story might not seem climate-related or when people arent yet framing it that way. Many of the issues front-of-mind in the national conversation that are expected to hurt or help Bidens chances at reelectionlabor, housing, foreign policyare connected to climate change. As climate journalists, we think about these connections all the time. But I dont think that broader understanding of climate change is super mainstream. Drawing attention to the climate aspects of these other stories is a great opportunity for journalists to engage new audienceseven when the candidates arent talking about it themselves. A new study that examines the circumstances behind who is found at fault when cars hit pedestrians in an urban area shows that the environment where the crash took place especially the types of roads and the amount of access to marked crosswalks played a key role in whether the pedestrian or the driver was blamed for the collision. In the study, done in Columbus, pedestrians were more likely to be blamed when they were crossing roads with a high volume of cars traveling at faster speeds, and where crosswalks were few and far between. In areas of the city such as downtown where there were more marked intersections with pedestrian crossings, drivers were more likely to be found at fault. Our findings suggest that while the tendency is to blame individuals, the built environment where the crash occurs plays an important role, said Jonathan Stiles, who led the study as a postdoctoral researcher in geography at The Ohio State University. This was evident in areas of the city where there was an average of a quarter-mile between crosswalks with signals. In neighborhoods where there is less pedestrian infrastructure, pedestrians tend to be blamed more for crashes, said co-author Harvey Miller, professor of geography at Ohio State. There needs to be more attention to road design and the built environment that contributes to crashes. The study was published recently in the Journal of Transport and Land Use. Miller and Stiles, who is now a visiting assistant professor at Columbia University, analyzed five years of data on pedestrian crashes in Franklin County, Ohio, the home of Columbus. There were 2,757 pedestrian crashes in the county between 2015 and 2019. In slightly more than half the crashes (54%), the driver was found at fault, and in 36%, the pedestrian was blamed. No fault was found in the remaining crashes. As expected, the pedestrian being in the middle of a block or in a travel lane (outside of a crosswalk) increased the likelihood of them being found at fault. Aspects of the built environment had a strong impact on who was found at fault. Pedestrians were more likely to be found at fault on arterial roads high-capacity thoroughfares that have heavier traffic and higher speed limits than local roads. The presence of bus stops in the area also increased the odds of the pedestrian being found at fault probably because most bus stops are dropping off pedestrians on the busy arterial roads with fewer crosswalks, researchers said, meaning many people may be crossing between blocks. To get a better handle on how the built environment affected who was found at fault, Miller and Stiles did case studies of various neighborhoods in Columbus. They found that downtown Columbus which has pedestrian-friendly street design and infrastructure, with automatic pedestrian traffic controls at most intersections was the area where drivers were most likely to be found at fault for crashes. Here, drivers were found at fault in 3 out of 4 crashes, and pedestrians were faulted only 17% of the time. The situation was much different in the Hilltop and South Linden, both of which are lower-income neighborhoods in the city. Unlike in downtown, crosswalks with signals were much less common in these neighborhoods, making it more difficult for pedestrians to cross busy streets safely. In the Hilltop, pedestrians and drivers were equally likely to be found at fault (46% of the crashes). The researchers described Broad Street, a five-lane arterial road, as a daunting road to cross with or without a signal in Hilltop, and distances to signalized crossing areas can be several blocks. On one part of Sullivant Avenue in the Hilltop, there was an average of 418 meters between signalized intersections one-fourth of a mile. The situation for pedestrians was even more difficult in South Linden, a predominantly Black neighborhood to the northwest of downtown, where pedestrians were found at fault in 55% of crashes. Here, the average distance between pedestrian crossings with signals was 429 meters in some locations. Some busy areas were well above this average, including one that lacked a crossing for more than 640 meters about 0.4 miles. That stretch included a mix of residences, retail, day care, religious facilities, a library and bus stops. This makes it very difficult for pedestrians who may be carrying bags from a store to find a crosswalk to get across the street, Stiles said. It makes it more understandable why pedestrians may try to cross a street between crosswalks. It is also understandable why police officers mark pedestrians at fault on official reports when people get hit while trying to cross in the middle of blocks, said Miller, who is director of the Center for Urban and Regional Analysis at Ohio State. Police officers are concerned about the safety of people, so theyre trying to do the right thing when they find pedestrians at fault in these situations, Miller said. But what were seeing in this research is that the built environment is a key factor. People make errors in judgment, but no one deserves to die or get injured for such errors. And they would be less likely to make these choices if there were more pedestrian infrastructure, he said. One recommendation from the researchers is to redesign the crash forms completed by police to include information on the built environment around the crash site, such as distance to the nearest pedestrian crossing, to give more context on why pedestrians make certain choices. The built environment for pedestrians isnt just a problem in Columbus, according to the researchers. Many cities have similar issues. And the situation in Columbus is improving because of Vision Zero Columbus, a government effort focused on reducing crash-related fatalities and injuries in the city. But this study shows the importance of a Safe System Approach to designing roadways to minimize the effects of human errors and allow pedestrians, as well as cars, to move safely through the city. We dont have to design the streets the way we do. We can make fundamental design choices that could prioritize safety over the speed of traffic, Miller said. This article first appeared in Newswise. JPMorgan Chase & Co. defeated for now a bid by Charlie Javice, who the bank claims defrauded it in a $175 million acquisition, to get it to pay for her countersuit. Delaware Chancery Court Judge Kathaleen St. J. McCormick on Wednesday ruled that JPMorgans obligation to cover the costs of Javices defense in its fraud suit against her, as well as a separate criminal prosecution, didnt extend to her claims that the bank wrongly terminated her roughly a year after it bought Frank, her college financial planning startup Charlie Javice arrives at federal court in New York on July 13. McCormick ruled in May that JPMorgan was required to cover Javices defense costs under the 2021 merger agreement, which made her a managing director and head of student solutions at the bank. But the judge said Wednesday that Javice couldnt shoehorn the legal bills for her six counterclaims into the earlier decision. She similarly denied Javices request that JPMorgan cover her legal bills in seeking insurance coverage, finding it also wasnt a natural extension of the May order. The judge said Javice could revise her complaint to specifically seek coverage for the other costs, and that JPMorgan could then renew its objections. The judge did grant Javices request for an order requiring JPMorgan to cover bills the bank had questioned as possibly inflated. McCormick said it was premature for JPMorgan to be seeking a detailed analytical review of the bills. Javice had claimed in an October filing that JPMorgan had improperly rejected about $830,000 of her lawyers bills, or about 20% of her total to that date. More than half of the amount she sought, about $457,000, was attributed to her counterclaims, while nearly $100,000 was apportioned to the insurance work. Alex Spiro, Javices lawyer, declined to comment on McCormicks ruling. JPMorgan also declined to comment. JPMorgan sued Javice in 2022, alleging she and another Frank executive, Olivier Amar, vastly inflated the size of Franks customer base to convince the bank to acquire it, hiring a data science professor to falsify millions of email sign-ups. Manhattan federal prosecutors charged Javice and Amar with fraud last year, saying she was set to make $45 million from the deal. Both have pleaded not guilty in the criminal case. Javice, who is free on a $2 million bond, has claimed JPMorgan raised the fraud allegation in an attempt to retrade the deal. JPMorgan shut down Frank early last year. The case is Javice v. JPMorgan Chase Bank N.A., 2022-1179, Delaware Chancery Court (Wilmington). Top photo: Charlie Javice arrives at federal court in New York on July 13. Copyright 2024 Bloomberg. When a Philadelphia jury awarded $2.25 billion in damages this year in a case that linked Roundup to a cable technicians blood cancer, the verdict became the largest yet in the long-running litigation over the popular Monsanto weed killer. Corporate parent Bayer had set aside more than $10 billion in 2020 to settle about 125,000 cases, many consolidated in California. And it won a string of nine individual lawsuits that started going to trial in 2021. But the tide changed last year when juries began handing down nine- and 10-figure awards to plaintiffs who had developed non-Hodgkin lymphoma. They try to show that non-Hodgkin lymphoma is just something that happens randomly, said lawyer Tom Kline, who represented the Philadelphia plaintiff with co-counsel Jason Itkin. (But) the arc of the scientific literature has turned against Monsanto in the past seven years. Thousands of cases remain, including one under way in Delaware over a South Carolina groundskeepers cancer death. Bayer insists the weed killer is safe, but has reformulated the version sold to consumers to remove the pesticide known as glyphosate. Bayer will continue to try cases based on the overwhelming weight of science and the assessments of leading health and scientific regulators worldwide, including E.P.A., that support the safety and non-carcinogenicity of Roundup, the Berlin-based company said in a statement, referring to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Kline argued that Bayer ignored known health risks from glyphosate to keep Roundup on the market, failing to even warn consumers to wear gloves and protective clothing when they used it. He and Itkin obtained a $175 million verdict in another Roundup case in Philadelphia last fall. Their latest client, John McKivison, told jurors in January that he used the product for 20 years at a former warehouse job, on a deer food patch he tended at his home near Williamsport, Pennsylvania, and at the church and Little League where he volunteered. He said he mixed the concentrated version of Roundup into a spray bottle, which sometimes led to spills that soaked his skin. McKivisons cancer is in remission but he said he fears a relapse and at 49 spends his days worrying, wondering and waiting. The jury awarded him $250 million in actual damages, then penciled in an additional 2 billion dollars for punitive damages, the verdict slip shows. The jury foreman, a college librarian, declined to comment while other Roundup cases are still playing out. Bayer, in a 174-page post-trial motion filed this month, called the jury award excessive and the ground rules in Philadelphia courts unfair. The company, for instance, said there was no evidence McKivison had suffered hundreds of millions of dollars in actual losses. And the company continues to challenge the central claim that glyphosate causes non-Hodgkin lymphoma, pointing to studies that say it occurs at the same rate in Roundup users as the general population. The Roundup lawsuits took off after a branch of the World Health Organization raised concerns about glyphosate in 2015, calling it probably carcinogenic to humans. The EPA meanwhile says it does not pose an unreasonable risk. A U.S. appeals court in California has ordered the agency to review that 2020 finding, while Bayer hopes to persuade the U.S. Supreme Court that the EPAs stamp of approval should invalidate the state court claims. Bayer meanwhile hopes to reduce the McKivison award, noting that judges have slashed three other large verdicts. A $2 billion verdict awarded to a California couple who both got cancer was reduced to about $87 million. A $289 million verdict in the first Roundup trial was cut to $78 million and then about $20 million. Bayer, in the post-trial motion, said the McKivison judge allowed improper and abusive cross-examinations and let their opponents make the gruesome and false statement that the plaintiff is under a death sentence.' Large jury awards in Philadelphia are nothing new and the city has the dubious distinction of often topping a list of udicial hellholes by the ATR Foundation, a tort reform group. However, Kline said the city jury pool is changing along with its demographics as more young professionals settle there. He said half of the 12 jurors had attended college and a few, including the foreman, had graduate degrees. Ten of them had to agree Roundup was more likely than not a cause of McKivisons cancer to find Bayer liable. Were confident that the verdict is sound, Kline said. Bayer bought St. Louis-based Monsanto for $63 billion in 2018, only to see its share price tumble in the years since. Copyright 2024 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 16, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has congratulated his Lithuanian counterpart Ingrida Simonyte on the occasion of the countrys national holiday. "On behalf of the Government of the Republic of Armenia and myself, I cordially congratulate you and the friendly people of Lithuania on the occasion of the National Day of the Republic of Lithuania, wishing prosperity, progress and peace, Pashinyan said in a letter sent to Prime Minister Simonyte. Armenia attaches great importance to the high-level political dialogue between our two countries based on democratic values. Armenia values Lithuania's commitment to contribute to the deepening of the Armenia-EU partnership, as well as your country's constant support to the ongoing democratic reform process in Armenia. I sincerely hope that by making joint efforts, we will be able to implement the agreements reached in the framework of your visit to Armenia last October for further expanding the relations between our countries in both bilateral and multilateral formats." YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 16, ARMENPRESS. The international community must acknowledge Azerbaijan's lack of legitimacy for military aggression and demand the withdrawal of its troops from occupied territories of Armenia, Ambassador-at-large Edmon Marukyan has said. I am often asked whether Azerbaijan will attack Armenia again, Marukyan said in a post on X. My answer is that Azerbaijan lacks any legitimate grounds for attacking Armenia. All actions since 2021 constitute aggression and are deemed crimes under international criminal law. Azerbaijan's occupation of Armenian territories remains unpunished. The international community must acknowledge Azerbaijan's lack of legitimacy for military aggression and demand the withdrawal of its troops from occupied territories, urging a return to negotiations. YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 16, ARMENPRESS. Armenpress News Agency on February 15 signed a memorandum of understanding with Israels Tazpit Press Service (TPS) news agency on exchange of English-language news and video content. Armenpress Director Narine Nazaryan highlighted the MoU especially in terms of swift exchange of verified news amid constant, active developments taking place around the world. The latest developments once again proved how important information security has become, Nazaryan said. In this context, the document weve signed with our new Israeli colleague will allow us to activate the swift exchange of verified and reliable news between the two countries. We hope that this memorandum of understanding will be the first step on our path of effective and lasting cooperation with Tazpit Press Service. Tazpit Press Service (TPS) is an international Israeli news agency that provides in real time, accurate and reliable news on Israel and the Middle East. Established in 2010, the agency cooperates with leading news agencies of Spain, Bulgaria, Romania, North Macedonia, Albania, Kazakhstan, the Philippines and other countries. Armenpress State News Agency, founded in 1918, is the only Armenian media outlet to have news exchange agreements with news agencies of 30 countries, including Italy, Spain, Greece, Cyprus, Bulgaria, Romania, Albania, Latvia, Lithuania, Argentina, Cuba, Russia, Georgia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, the UAE, Qatar, Egypt, South Korea, China, Vietnam and Iran. Aside from Armenian, the news content of Armenpress is also available in nine languages: Russian, English, French, Spanish, Arabic, Turkish, Georgian, Persian and Chinese. Armenpress covers domestic and international events with its local team of journalists, as well as foreign correspondents stationed in the worlds leading centers. YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 16, ARMENPRESS. The Azerbaijani Ministry of Defense has released fake news accusing the Armenian military of opening fire across the border, the Ministry of Defense of Armenia said. The statement of the Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan alleging that on February 16, at 12:50 p.m., units of the Armenian Armed Forces opened fire towards Azerbaijani combat positions in the eastern part of the border, is disinformation, the Ministry of Defense of Armenia said. U.S. President Joe Biden and son Hunter Biden disembark from Air Force One at Hancock Field Air National Guard Base in Syracuse, New York, U.S., February 4, 2023. WASHINGTON An FBI confidential human source has been indicted on two counts of allegedly feeding the bureau false information about President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden during the 2020 presidential campaign. Alexander Smirnov, 43, who disliked President Joe Biden, was arrested in Las Vegas after returning from a trip overseas, according to the Justice Department. The case grew out of the special counsel investigation being led by David Weiss, who is also leading the case against Hunter Biden. Weiss had been appointed by former President Donald Trump as the top federal prosecutor in Delaware. The 37-page indictment alleges that Smirnov had been an informant for the FBI since 2010 and "provided false derogatory information to the FBI" about both Bidens after Joe Biden became a candidate for president in 2020. Smirnov allegedly told the FBI falsely that officials with Burisma, the Ukrainian energy company that Hunter Biden worked for, had told him they hired Hunter Biden because he would "protect us, through his dad, from all kinds of problems." Smirnov allegedly told the FBI again, falsely that Burisma officials had told him they paid Hunter Biden and Joe Biden $5 million and that it would take investigators 10 years to find the illicit payments to Joe Biden. "As alleged herein, the events the Defendant first reported to the Handler in June 2020 were fabrications. In truth and fact, the Defendant had contact with executives from Burisma in 2017, after the end of the Obama-Biden Administration and after the then-Ukrainian Prosecutor General had been fired in February 2016, in other words, when [Joe Biden] had no ability to influence U.S. policy and when the Prosecutor General was no longer in office. In short, the Defendant transformed his routine and unextraordinary business contacts with Burisma in 2017 and later into bribery allegations against [Joe Biden], the presumptive nominee of one of the two major political parties for President, after expressing bias against [Joe Biden] and his candidacy." The indictment states that Smirnov "repeated some of his false claims" after being interviewed by FBI special agents in September 2023, while he "changed his story as to other of his claims, and promoted a new false narrative after he said he met with Russian officials." Smirnov wrote in one May 2020 message to his FBI handler that Joe Biden was "going to jail" and suggested that he knew some of the allegations "should be soon in the news." A source familiar told NBC News that Hunter Biden does not know this individual who was charged and does not believe he ever met him. More than a year after a fiery train derailment spilled toxic chemicals in East Palestine, Ohio, and turned the area into an environmental flashpoint, President Joe Biden is scheduled to visit residents Friday amid criticism that he should have done so much sooner. The official visit comes as the 2024 campaign ramps up and Biden draws renewed taunts from Republican front-runner Donald Trump, who traveled to the community less than three weeks after the derailment. The former president slammed Biden, his likely Democratic opponent, over the issue this week on his social media platform, Truth Social. "Biden should have gone there a long time ago," Trump wrote Wednesday. "For him to go now is an insult to those who live and work in East Palestine." A day after Trump's visit last year, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg went to East Palestine. Last March, Biden told reporters that he'd visit "at some point," but the trip didn't materialize. His trip was announced late last month, but an exact date wasn't specified. The White House plans to use the visit to urge lawmakers to pass federal railway safety legislation that stalled in Congress after the Norfolk Southern train derailed Feb. 3, 2023, spilling dangerous chemicals, including vinyl chloride, and raising health concerns throughout the area. The entire freight rail industry drew heavy scrutiny, and the spotlight prompted a group of lawmakers to sponsor the bipartisan Railway Safety Act, which aimed to strengthen safety requirements, improve train inspections and increase penalties on rail companies for wrongdoing. In May, the bill sailed through the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, but it has gone nowhere since. With any disaster affecting a reeling community especially a rural one with fewer resources security for a presidential visit in an incident's immediate aftermath is challenging, so the White House will sometimes delay a trip depending on the conditions on the ground. But soon after the East Palestine derailment, some local officials began to criticize the Biden administration for the lack of a presidential visit. Months later, the village's mayor, Trent Conaway, whose position is nonpartisan, endorsed Trump in the 2024 election. The White House has repeatedly highlighted that the Environmental Protection Agency and other federal agencies were on the ground in hours after the derailment and that teams went door to door in the community to check on residents. Biden issued an executive order requiring Norfolk Southern to pay for any long-term cleanup efforts. In September, he issued another executive order calling for the appointment of a coordinator for long-term recovery efforts. At a White House briefing this week, press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Biden was traveling to East Palestine at the mayor's invitation. Conaway didn't respond to requests for comment. "The president has always said when the time is right and when it made sense for him to go, he would go," Jean-Pierre said. "This administration is continuing to make sure that Norfolk Southern is held accountable, and we want to make sure that we support the community as it moves forward." In a recent interview, Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw said the rail company was investing tens of millions of dollars in the community, though some residents said that wasn't enough. Timothea Deeter, 27, lives with her parents, her sister and her sister's boyfriend in a home about 1 miles from the site. In the derailment's immediate aftermath, they moved to her brother's home but came back once the evacuation orders were lifted. The family continues to drink bottled water but gave up on using it for showering and brushing their teeth because they couldn't keep up with the cost. Deeter, a member of a local advocacy group, River Valley Organizing, hopes Biden's visit is more than a photo-op. "I'm glad he's coming," she said. "But if he's going to come here, he needs to do something. You can't just come and take a picture when we've needed aid for a year. He's been aware of it. He needs to come and address our concerns." Pipelines run to Enbridge Inc.'s crude oil storage tanks at their tank farm in Cushing, Oklahoma, March 24, 2016. Nick Oxford | Reuters Crude oil futures Friday posted a weekly gain as simmering tensions in the Middle East overshadowed stubborn inflation in the U.S. and a murky demand outlook for the year. The West Texas Intermediate contract for March gained $1.16, or 1.49%, to settle at $79.19 a barrel. April Brent futures added 61 cents a barrel to settle at $83.47. U.S. crude gained about 3% for the week, settling at its highest price since Nov. 6. The global benchmark rose 1.5% for the week, settling at the highest level since Jan. 26. "This is geopolitics with flashing lights, it points right to specs taking advantage of the situation," Bob Yawger, managing director and energy futures strategist of Mizuho America, said of speculative traders. "They're rolling the dice expecting something will happen." Tensions are rising on the border between Israel and Lebanon, once again raising fears that the war in Gaza could spread elsewhere in the Middle East. Israel bombed southern Lebanon Wednesday in retaliation for rocket attacks in northern Israel. Hezbollah, the powerful militia allied with Iran, has vowed to strike back against Israel. Israel is also vowing to press on with its offensive in Gaza to the southern city of Rafah, raising tensions with Egypt, which shares a border with the city. The oil market this week largely shrugged off stubborn inflation in the U.S. as well as a murky demand outlook for the year. Wholesale prices rose more than expected in January, according to a Labor Department report Friday. Consumer prices were also higher than anticipated last month, according to data released Tuesday. Stubborn inflation is reducing expectations that the Federal Reserve will slash interest rates soon. Lower rates typically stimulate economic growth, which in turn fuels crude demand. Manish Raj, managing director at Velandera Energy Partners, said traders were taking Friday's wholesale price data with a grain of salt after those who traded off hot consumer prices earlier in the week got burnt. "Oil is just waddling up since nobody wants to be short into the weekend when the tailwinds favor oil prices," Raj said. Children stand outside their tents at a camp set up for people displaced from Khan Yunis and areas north of Rafah, in the southern Gaza border city with Egypt on Feb. 15, 2024, amid continuing battles between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement. Israel has said its army is drawing up a plan to evacuate civilians from Rafah to other parts of the Gaza Strip. Israel has said it will mount an offensive to take out Hamas's "last bastion" in Rafah, where well over 1 million Palestinians have sought sanctuary from its devastating Gaza offensive. The sources Reuters spoke to for this story declined to be named because of the sensitivity of the matter. Three security sources said Egypt had begun preparing a desert area with some basic facilities which could be used to shelter Palestinians, emphasizing this was a contingency step. One of the sources said Egypt was optimistic talks to clinch a ceasefire can avoid any such scenario, but is establishing the area at the border as a temporary and precautionary measure. The United States has repeatedly said it would oppose any displacement of Palestinians out of Gaza. Egypt, which denied making any such preparations, has repeatedly raised the alarm over the possibility that Israel's devastating Gaza offensive could displace Palestinians into Sinai something Cairo says would be completely unacceptable- echoing warnings from Arab states such as Jordan. Egypt is preparing an area at the Gaza border which could accommodate Palestinians in case an Israeli offensive into Rafah prompts an exodus across the frontier, four sources said, in what they described as a contingency move by Cairo. But U.N. aid chief Martin Griffiths said on Thursday it was an "illusion" to think people in Gaza could evacuate to a safe place and warned of the possibility of Palestinians spilling into Egypt if Israel launches a military operation in Rafah. He called this scenario "a sort of Egyptian nightmare." Egypt has framed its opposition to the displacement of Palestinians from Gaza as part of wider Arab rejection of any repeat of the "Nakba," or "catastrophe," when some 700,000 Palestinians fled or were forced from their homes in the war surrounding Israel's creation in 1948. The first source said construction of the camp began three or four days ago and it would offer temporary shelter in any scenario of people crossing the frontier "until a resolution is reached." Asked about the accounts by the sources, the head of Egypt's State Information Service said: "This has no basis in truth. Our Palestinian brothers have said and Egypt has said that there is no preparation for this possibility." Sinai Foundation for Human Rights, an activist organization, published images on Monday it said showed construction trucks and cranes working in the area and images of concrete barriers. Citing an unidentified source, the Sinai Foundation said that the construction work was intended to create a secured area in case of a mass exodus of Palestinians. Reuters was able to confirm the location of part of the video as Rafah from the position of the buildings, trees and fences which match satellite imagery of the area. Reuters was not able to confirm the location of the whole of the video or the date on which it was filmed. Some 1.5 million Palestinians are currently in Rafah, more than half of the Gaza Strip's population, according to the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees. Israel says it needs to expand its assault into Rafah to wipe out Hamas, the group behind the Oct. 7 attack in which 1,200 people were killed in Israel and another 250 abducted, according to Israeli tallies. With more than 28,000 people already killed in Israel's offensive in Gaza, according to health authorities in Hamas-run Gaza, the fate of people sheltering in Rafah has become a point of international concern, including for Israel's Western allies. U.S. President Joe Biden has told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Israel should not proceed with a Rafah operation without a plan to ensure the safety of the people sheltering there. A U.S. State Department spokesperson said: "The president has been clear that we do not support the forced displacement of Palestinians from Gaza. The U.S. is not funding camps in Egypt for displaced Palestinians." Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon was awarded $31 million in compensation for 2023, up 24% from $25 million in 2022, the company said in a filing on Friday. Solomon's pay comprises a $2 million base salary, unchanged from the previous year, and a bonus of $8.7 million in cash and $20.3 million in performance-linked stock, the bank said. The pay bump comes after the bank's profit fell 24% to $8.52 billion in 2023. "The Compensation Committee believes that the actions of senior management were critical to reorienting the firm with a much stronger platform for 2024 and beyond," Goldman disclosed in its regulatory filing, in reference to the pay hike. Among peers on Wall Street, JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon's compensation climbed 4.3% in 2023, while Morgan Stanley's former CEO James Gorman earned 17% higher in the same period. Jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny died on Friday, Russian state media reported, citing the prison service of the Yamalo-Nenets region where he had been serving his sentence. No details are yet available as to the cause of death, and Navalny's press secretary said in a post on X that she had yet to receive any confirmation of his demise. CNBC could not independently verify the report. Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will visit Germany and France on Friday in a bid to secure crucial military assistance and bilateral security commitments to help repel the Russian invasion. Berlin and Paris could become the second and third Ukrainian allies to sign bilateral security pledges with Kyiv, after the U.K.'s January deal. The commitments aim to shore up military support until Ukraine can achieve its long-coveted NATO membership. The S & P 500 closed above 5,000 for the first time last week. But as the index rose, so did concerns about its valuation. The S & P 500's forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio now stands just over 20, a level last seen in February 2022 and far above the historic average of about 16, according to FactSet data. A high P/E ratio indicates that investors are paying more to buy shares now than in the past, without an increase in profits. However, investors need not fear as the rally could still have plenty of room to run, according to Capital Economics. The London-based research firm forecasted that the S & P 500 could close this year at 5,500 slightly above consensus before charging ahead to hit 6,500 by the end of 2025, citing the valuation trajectory during the dot-com bubble in the late 1990s. .SPX 1Y line "The bubble in the S & P 500 that is forming now resembles the bubble that formed in the second half of the 1990s in many aspects, not least the way in which it is an attempt to capture the future benefits of a transformative technology," said John Higgins, chief markets economist at Capital Economics in a note to clients on Feb. 12 titled "This bubble may be far from bursting." Higgins suggested that artificial intelligence is the transformative technology gripping markets today, just as the explosion of the internet was in the late 1990s. However, Higgins continued: "valuation remains far short of what it reached then, suggesting that it has plenty more room to inflate." Higgins pointed out that the S & P 500's current forward P/E ratio of just over 20 falls well short of the highs of 25 seen during the tech bubble. Capital Economics also noted the index's current rally is highly concentrated in mega-cap tech stocks like Apple and Microsoft . However, the research firm said the combined valuation of these companies' sectors information technology, communication, and consumer discretionary is still lower than during the dot-com bubble. Further, if the so-called "Magnificent 7" stocks were stripped out, "the rest of the market is also lower, which points to the possibility of the rally broadening out," Higgins added. While acknowledging that it's impossible to predict bubbles, Capital Economics suggested that sustained modest earnings growth could see the rally continue through 2025. Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, attends the 54th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum, in Davos, Switzerland, on Jan. 18, 2024. A group of 20 leading tech companies on Friday announced a joint commitment to combat AI misinformation in this year's elections. The industry is specifically targeting deepfakes, which can use deceptive audio, video and images to mimic key stakeholders in democratic elections or to provide false voting information. Microsoft , Meta , Google , Amazon , IBM , Adobe and chip designer Arm all signed the accord. Artificial intelligence startups OpenAI, Anthropic and Stability AI also joined the group, alongside social media companies such as Snap , TikTok and X. Tech platforms are preparing for a huge year of elections around the world that affect upward of four billion people in more than 40 countries. The rise of AI-generated content has led to serious election-related misinformation concerns, with the number of deepfakes that have been created increasing 900% year over year, according to data from Clarity, a machine learning firm. Misinformation in elections has been a major problem dating back to the 2016 presidential campaign, when Russian actors found cheap and easy ways to spread inaccurate content across social platforms. Lawmakers are even more concerned today with the rapid rise of AI. "There is reason for serious concern about how AI could be used to mislead voters in campaigns," said Josh Becker, a Democratic state senator in California, in an interview. "It's encouraging to see some companies coming to the table but right now I don't see enough specifics, so we will likely need legislation that sets clear standards." Meanwhile, the detection and watermarking technologies used for identifying deepfakes haven't advanced quickly enough to keep up. For now, the companies are just agreeing on what amounts to a set of technical standards and detection mechanisms. They have a long way to go to effectively combat the problem, which has many layers. Services that claim to identify AI-generated text, such as essays, for instance, have been shown to exhibit bias against non-native English speakers. And it's not much easier for images and videos. Even if platforms behind AI-generated images and videos agree to bake in things like invisible watermarks and certain types of metadata, there are ways around those protective measures. Screenshotting can even sometimes dupe a detector. Additionally, the invisible signals that some companies include in AI-generated images haven't yet made it to many audio and video generators. News of the accord comes a day after ChatGPT creator OpenAI announced Sora, its new model for AI-generated video. Sora works similarly to OpenAI's image-generation AI tool, DALL-E. A user types out a desired scene and Sora will return a high-definition video clip. Sora can also generate video clips inspired by still images, and extend existing videos or fill in missing frames. Participating companies in the accord agreed to eight high-level commitments, including assessing model risks, "seeking to detect" and address the distribution of such content on their platforms and providing transparency on those processes to the public. As with most voluntary commitments in the tech industry and beyond, the release specified that the commitments apply only "where they are relevant for services each company provides." "Democracy rests on safe and secure elections," Kent Walker, Google's president of global affairs, said in a release. The accord reflects the industry's effort to take on "AI-generated election misinformation that erodes trust," he said. Christina Montgomery, IBM's chief privacy and trust officer, said in the release that in this key election year, "concrete, cooperative measures are needed to protect people and societies from the amplified risks of AI-generated deceptive content." WATCH: OpenAI unveils Sora After nearly four years, the Eastern & Oriental Express is back on the rails. The train, which is operated by the luxury travel company Belmond, this week welcomed its first set of passengers since it stopped running as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. The luxury train has been operating in Southeast Asia since 1993, when it first began shuttling travelers between Singapore and Bangkok. What's new Several key elements about the train have changed, however, including its route. Now Thailand is out, replaced with two new journeys, which start and end in Singapore and explore different sides of Malaysia. Arnaud Champenois, Belmond's senior vice president of marketing and brand, told CNBC this is because travelers have changed in the past four years, with more preferring to explore destinations on a deeper level. watch now "The idea was to focus on one country here and to offer two different routes. So on the West Coast, we go through Singapore to Penang, and then Langkawi. And then on the other one, we go on the national park of Malaysia to really kind of get the jungle and the natural feel." The new routes are seasonal, with the "Essence of Malaysia" running from November to February, and "Wild Malaysia" from March to October. The E&O's new routes "Essence of Malaysia" passes through Kuala Lumpur, before reaching the islands of Langkawi and Penang "Wild Malaysia" explores Taman Negara National Park before heading to Penang As a result of the new route, the train has received a Malay-inspired revamp, from the cabin interiors to the food. Dinner and afternoon tea service were created by Andre Chiang, the celebrated Taiwanese chef behind Singapore's two-Michelin-starred Restaurant Andre, which closed in 2018. The cost Rates for four-day, three-night journeys start from $3,410 per person, which includes meals, beverages and scheduled activities. This is less expensive than other trains that use versions of the "Orient Express" name, including the Belmond's Venice Simplon-Orient-Express, which has run routes through Europe since 1982. Prices start from 3,530 ($4,430) per person for a one-night trip in a historic cabin, according to its website. European farmers stage new wave of protests Xinhua) 08:38, February 16, 2024 Farmers participate in a protest in Valletta, Malta, on Feb. 15, 2024. Maltese farmers staged a new wave of protest on Thursday, demanding more economic support from their government and reiterating opposition to some European Union (EU) policies related to agriculture and environment protection. (Photo by Jonathan Borg/Xinhua) ROME/VALLETTA, Feb. 15 (Xinhua) -- Farmers in at least two European countries staged a new wave of protests on Thursday, demanding more economic support from their governments and reiterating opposition to some European Union (EU) policies related to agriculture and environment protection. About 1,000 Italian farmers rallied in Rome's busy areas, around the Colosseum and outside the city hall on Campidoglio Square. Ten tractors were seen at the Circus Maximus, the ancient Roman stadium for mass events and races. Maltese farmers also drove their tractors towards the capital city Valletta, carrying national flags and placards reading "Take care of us or you'll go hungry" and "Farmers gone? Eat your money." The protests followed similar demonstrations of the past weeks in several European countries including Germany, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Poland, Bulgaria, Greece and Romania. The farmers in protest are largely against strict EU regulations on climate change mitigation and environment protection in agriculture, which, they said, would put their livelihood at risk. They said such rules would increase the costs for European farmers and make their produce more expensive -- and therefore less competitive -- compared to products imported from non-EU markets where such limits were not in place. After the wave of protests, the European Commission made some partial concessions to the farmers last week, including withdrawing a plan to halve the use of pesticides in the EU by 2030. UNFAIR COMPETITION Most of the protesters' complaints are common, focusing on low prices for their produce, rising costs and unfair price competition from non-EU imports. Maltese farmers told Xinhua that under EU rules there is an unfair playing field for local products, which due to limited space for production on the small island, face stiff competition from imported foods. They are calling for more protection from their government. Farmer Joseph Bajada said Maltese produce could not compete with that from nearby Sicily. Supermarkets are also buying from cheaper producers such as farmers in Morocco, at a fraction of the local price. The protest in Malta was organized by the Active Farmers Association and was supported by other sectors in the local food chain, including poultry and rabbit farms. Association President Malcolm Borg listed several proposals which he said the government should take on board if it wants to help cushion the impact of EU regulations. They include identifying the non-EU countries, whose food products are in large quantity and direct competition with Maltese farmers, and finding ways to protect local producers, for example banning some imports and putting stricter rules on imported products from non-EU regions. The proposals were handed to Maltese Agriculture Minister Anton Refalo and Opposition leader Bernard Grech, who were both present at the farmers' protest. MADE-IN-ITALY'S NEEDS The protesting Italian farmers complained that it is increasingly hard to produce and promote "made in Italy" food and sometimes even too difficult to sustain financially. After meeting with major farmers' groups, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's cabinet on Tuesday submitted a draft amendment to the parliament proposing to exempt personal income taxes for farms with up to 10,000 euros (10,770 U.S. dollars) in annual income and to allow a 50-percent tax break to those earning between 10,000 and 15,000 euros. If passed by parliament, nine out of 10 farms -- or 387,000 in total -- would benefit from total tax exemption, while another 20,000 would see their taxes halved, according to an estimate by Italy's largest farmers' association Coldiretti. After the proposal, some associations held back from protests, while others still demanded more alleviating measures. According to the latest agriculture census by the Italian National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT), almost two out of three farms quit agricultural production in Italy between 1982 and 2020. The size of the farming population has shrunk more drastically since 2000 when the country still counted almost 2.4 million farming companies. Overall, Italian agriculture is made up of some 1.1 million producing companies as of 2020, most of which are small enterprises, according to ISTAT. (1 euro = 1.08 U.S. dollar) Photo taken on Feb. 15, 2024 shows tractors driving on a road during a farmers' protest in Valletta, Malta. Maltese farmers staged a new wave of protest on Thursday, demanding more economic support from their government and reiterating opposition to some European Union (EU) policies related to agriculture and environment protection. (Photo by Jonathan Borg/Xinhua) Photo taken on Feb. 15, 2024 shows tractors driving on a road during a farmers' protest in Valletta, Malta. Maltese farmers staged a new wave of protest on Thursday, demanding more economic support from their government and reiterating opposition to some European Union (EU) policies related to agriculture and environment protection. (Photo by Jonathan Borg/Xinhua) Farmers participate in a protest in Ta'Qali, Malta, on Feb. 15, 2024. Maltese farmers staged a new wave of protest on Thursday, demanding more economic support from their government and reiterating opposition to some European Union (EU) policies related to agriculture and environment protection. (Photo by Jonathan Borg/Xinhua) Photo taken on Feb. 15, 2024 shows tractors driving on a road during a farmers' protest in Valletta, Malta. Maltese farmers staged a new wave of protest on Thursday, demanding more economic support from their government and reiterating opposition to some European Union (EU) policies related to agriculture and environment protection. (Photo by Jonathan Borg/Xinhua) Photo taken on Feb. 15, 2024 shows tractors driving on a road during a farmers' protest in Valletta, Malta. Maltese farmers staged a new wave of protest on Thursday, demanding more economic support from their government and reiterating opposition to some European Union (EU) policies related to agriculture and environment protection. (Photo by Jonathan Borg/Xinhua) Photo taken on Feb. 15, 2024 shows tractors driving on a road during a farmers' protest in Valletta, Malta. Maltese farmers staged a new wave of protest on Thursday, demanding more economic support from their government and reiterating opposition to some European Union (EU) policies related to agriculture and environment protection. (Photo by Jonathan Borg/Xinhua) (Web editor: Peng Yukai, Liu Ning) By Azernews Abbas Ganbay Strengthening mutual trust between the parties, establishing peace in the region and the world, promoting a common approach to foreign policy issues, and many other assets are what make up the core of the organisation of the Turkic states. During his speech at the swearing-in ceremony, President Ilham Aliyev tried to emphasise the importance of the above-mentioned advantages for the reliable and healthy future of the country by saying, Our family is the Turkic world. "If someone thinks that we should look for a family elsewhere, I can say that there is no place waiting for us and they do not hide it anymore. If in previous years, particularly during the occupation period, they tried to lure us with certain promises to mislead us, i.e. to let dust in our eyes, then today these masks have been torn off and the dividing lines are clearly seen here. We did not draw these dividing lines, we are against them. Today we clearly see these dividing lines even in the South Caucasus, where there are only three countries. In that case, should we bow down to those who do not want to accept us somewhere? Not at all, it will not happen! Our family is the Turkic world. We feel ourselves perfectly. We have brotherly relations with all member countries of the Organization of Turkic States, and our policy is to strengthen the Organization of Turkic States. It is a big geography, big territory, big military force, big economy, natural resources, transportation routes, young population, growing population, and we are peoples of the same family, of the same roots. Can there be a unity stronger than that? Of course not."- President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev. The world institutions, as well as organisations like the UN, EU, PACE, etc., have so far played into the hands of the ideology of Western elites, "order out of chaos". We witness that the policy carried out on a regional and global scale is carried out with the help of certain circles, certain centres of power, and serves their own interests. In such conditions, uniting the capacities and efforts of Turkic states means ensuring the national interests of each of them individually and all of them as a whole. At present, there are many factors contributing to the rapprochement of Turkic-speaking states, and first of all, it is the strong political will of the leaders of all the states that are members of the Organisation of Turkic States. The formation of such an optimal environment is conditioned at the same time by the identity of language, religion, traditions, similarity of cultures, and, of course, the will of the nations in the world. The Turkic world covers a considerable territory, starting in Eastern Europe and extending to Central and Eastern Asia. It includes such states as Turkiye, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, and others. Azerbaijan, together with brotherly Turkiye, is a leader in the rapprochement of Turkic states. The Cooperation Council of Turkic Speaking States was established on October 3, 2009, in Nakhchivan, thanks to the efforts of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev. At the VIII summit of the Cooperation Council of Turkic Speaking States held in Istanbul on November 12, 2021, a decision was signed to rename the organisation the Organisation of Turkic States. The future of the Turkic World can be determined by many factors, including political stability, economic development, cultural ties, and international relations. Several key areas that may influence its development can be identified, including: 1. Economic cooperation: Strengthening economic ties among the Turkic countries can contribute to their common prosperity. The development of trade, investment, and infrastructure projects can drive the region's growth. 2. Political Integration: Turkic countries can seek to strengthen political integration through the creation of alliances or alliances to address common problems and protect common interests. 3. Cultural Exchanges: Continued and increased cultural exchanges among the Turkic World countries can help build mutual understanding and trust among the peoples of the region. Azerbaijan plays an important role in the Turkic World as a country with a rich history, cultural heritage, and modern economy. The country has the potential to become a key player in regional cooperation, especially in the fields of energy, transportation, and trade. However, it is important to note that the future of the Turkic World depends on many variables, including geopolitical shifts, economic conditions, and internal political processes in each of the countries in the region. Stability, mutual understanding, and cooperation will be key to achieving prosperity and well-being in the Turkic world and realising Azerbaijan's potential in this context. Overall, Azerbaijan's cooperation with other Turkic countries in the fields of energy, transportation, and trade has great potential to enhance regional stability, economic growth, and prosperity. These efforts can also contribute to the creation of a common platform for cooperation to address contemporary challenges and problems facing the Turkic world. 1. Energy: Azerbaijan has huge reserves of oil and natural gas, especially in the Azerbaijan sector of the Caspian Sea. This allows it to be a major energy exporter. Turkic countries such as Turkiye and Georgia are Azerbaijan's key energy partners. Projects such as long-distance gas pipelines (e.g., the Trans-Anatolian Pipeline) contribute to the region's energy security and export opportunities. With the smooth transition to green-clean-renewable energy, Azerbaijan is positioning itself to become a favourite and major exporter of green energy. 2- Transportation: Azerbaijan has a strategic location at the intersection of many international transportation corridors. It plays an important role in transit, providing access to sea and rail routes for other countries in the region. Projects such as the Southeast Europe-Western China Railway Corridor and maritime transportation routes across the Caspian Sea contribute to the development of transportation infrastructure and strengthen ties between Turkic countries. 3. Trade: Cooperation in the field of trade is a key element in strengthening economic ties between the Turkic countries. Azerbaijan is actively developing trade relations with other Turkic countries, particularly with Turkiye and Kazakhstan. The signing of various trade agreements and participation in international exhibitions and fairs contribute to the expansion of trade exchange and economic prospects. Azerbaijan is a major producer of oil and gas. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), Azerbaijan produced about 790 thousand barrels of oil per day and 21 billion cubic metres of natural gas per year in 2020. Most of this production is exported, mainly to European and Asian countries. In January of the current year, Azerbaijan exported about 523,553.89 tons of oil worth $ 296,946.74 thousand to Israel. Thus, Israel took first place in Azerbaijan's total oil exports. Thailand took second place in Azerbaijan's total oil exports. During the reporting period, 189,175.53 tons of oil worth $115,322.09 thousand were exported to this country. Azerbaijan also plays a key role in transit transport communication between the East and West. For example, the railroad route of the Southeast Europe-West China Railway Corridor through Azerbaijan provides an alternative route for trade between China and European countries. Azerbaijan Railways transported more than 6 million tons of cargo in 2020. Trade turnover between Azerbaijan and other Turkic countries is also significant. For example, in 2020, trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Turkiye amounted to about $ 3.5 billion, and with Kazakhstan, about $ 145 million. These figures reflect the significant potential for further expansion of trade and economic cooperation between Turkic countries. Overall, the statistics confirm the importance of Azerbaijan's cooperation with other Turkic countries in the fields of energy, transportation, and trade. This potential can be maximised to contribute to the development of the region and strengthen its economic integration. Compared to the corresponding period of 2022, Azerbaijan's trade turnover with Turkic states increased by 40 percent in January-September 2023 The Turkic countries, located at the crossroads of Europe and Asia, have a unique geopolitical position that provides them with access to a variety of markets and opportunities for trade and transit of goods and services between different regions. Many Turkic countries possess significant natural resources such as oil, natural gas, minerals, and agricultural land. This allows them to develop their own economies and play an important role in world energy markets. Turkic countries have a rich cultural and historical identity, which can be an attractive factor for tourists and investors. The diversity of cultures, languages, and traditions in the Turkic world creates a unique atmosphere for tourism and cultural exchange. Some Turkic countries, such as Turkiye, Kazakhstan, and Azerbaijan, have achieved significant success in economic development over the past decades. Their high rate of economic growth, innovation, and infrastructure development make them attractive for investment and business. Compared to the more bureaucratic systems of Western and European countries, Turkic countries can be more flexible and fast in decision-making, especially in business and investment. This can contribute to faster project implementation and economic development. Republic of Artsakh Human Rights Defender Gegham Stepanyan insists on the displaced Artsakh peoples right to collective repatriation. February 16, 2024, 13:16 Ombudsman insists on Artsakh people's right to collective repatriation FEBRUARY 16, ARTSAKHPRESS: "Some international actors are interested in the return of individuals to their homes in an effort to save their face. The Artsakh peoples demand isn't about providing for the return of individuals because it would amount to giving up our rights to Artsakh. According to my information, there are currently some 20-21 Armenians living in Artsakh who have lost their identity. Their living conditions are well known and we cannot say that they live in dignity as Armenians, he told a news conference in Yerevan on Thursday, Panorama.am reports. Stepanyan reiterated that the people of Artsakh demand efforts to ensure the exercise of their right to collective repatriation. He blamed the international community for failure to stop the ethnic cleaning in Artsakh carried out by Azerbaijan in September 2023. "Russia, the U.S. and the UN Security Council have all failed. Face-saving refers to all those actors who have their share of responsibility," the ombudsman said. U.S. Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., speaks to reporters during a break from a Senate Armed Services and Foreign Relations joint briefing on the U.S. policy on Afghanistan, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 2, 2022. MUNICH, Germany The U.S. faces the prospect of direct combat with Russia if it fails to provide continued financial and military support for forces on the ground in Ukraine, U.S. Democratic Sen. Chris Coons said Friday. Calling for bipartisan support from the U.S. House of Representatives for a new $95 billion aid package that includes funds for Ukraine, Coons said that investment in Europe was the U.S.' best defense against Moscow. "In the next front against Russia, it will be Americans on the front lines," Coons told CNBC's Silvia Amaro at the Munich Security Conference. "We are best off investing in the Ukrainians who are fighting bravely for their own freedom than allowing [Russian President Vladimir] Putin the opportunity to spread further chaos and violence across Europe." The U.S. Senate on Tuesday approved the new funding package, but it faces tough opposition from House lawmakers. Both houses of Congress need to approve the legislation before U.S. President Joe Biden can sign it into law. Coons said he was "optimistic" the bill would be approved, albeit with "some back and forth." Without doing so, Coons said Putin was likely to target a NATO ally next. "If we don't stop Putin in Ukraine, he will next be attacking NATO allies of the United States," he said. Asked whether he agreed with recent assertions, including from Denmark's defense minister, that such an attack could occur within the next three to five years, Coons concurred. "That strikes me as reasonable, he said. MUNICH, Germany Security forces descended on Munich, Germany on Friday as global leaders gathered for the city's annual security conference, which this year looks likely to be among the most consequential in its 60-year history. Dubbed the "Davos of Defense," the Munich Security Conference will see an estimated 60 heads of state and over 85 government officials meet for three days in the Bavarian city to discuss current and future global security issues. Front and center this weekend will be the ongoing wars in Europe and the Middle East and the potential paths to resolution. Rising tensions in the Indo-Pacific, NATO expansion, and the potential return of Donald Trump to the White House are also expected to be high on the agenda. The specter of a second Trump presidency looms large over the event after he said last weekend that he would encourage Russia to do "whatever the hell they want" to NATO members that fail to meet their 2% defense spending target. Still, Trump's support for the Kremlin was seemingly rebuffed Wednesday when Russian President Vladimir Putin said he would prefer a "more predictable" President Joe Biden to win the 2024 U.S. election. Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny attends a rally in support of political prisoners in Prospekt Sakharova Street in Moscow, Russia on September 29, 2019. Sefa Karacan | Anadolu | Getty Images World leaders and the wife of prominent Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny reacted with dismay and suspicion to reports of the Kremlin critic's death in a Siberian penal colony. Yulia Navalnaya, Navalny's wife, was greeted on Friday with a standing ovation as she addressed the Munich Security Conference. Composed but with tears in her eyes, Navalnaya told the room that Russian claims that her husband had collapsed and died were yet to be independently confirmed. She said that Russian President Vladimir Putin and his cronies in the Kremlin should be held accountable for the crimes committed against her family and the country at large. "If it is the true, I would like Putin and all his staff I want them to know that they will be punished for what they have done with our country, with my family, and with my husband," she said. "This regime and Vladimir Putin should be held personally responsible for all the atrocities they have committed in our country these past years," she said. President Joe Biden said "Putin is responsible" for Navalny's reported death. "Make no mistake: Putin is responsible for Navalny's death... What has happened to Navalny is yet more proof of Putin's brutality," Biden said. Yulia Navalnaya, wife of late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, attends the Munich Security Conference (MSC), on the day it was announced that Alexei Navalny is dead, by the prison service of the Yamalo-Nenets region where he had been serving his sentence, in Munich, Germany February 16, 2024. Kai Pfaffenbach | Reuters Reports of Navalny's death less than six months after the demise of former Putin ally and Wagner mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin sent reverberations around the high-level defense conference, and prompted reactions from political leaders around the world. Russia's Foreign Ministry said the response to Navalny's reported death from Western leaders is "self-exposing" at a time when no forensic medical examination is yet available. World leaders react Russian media said, citing the prison service of the Yamalo-Nenets region where Navalny had been serving a lengthy sentence on what were widely considered to be politically motivated charges, that he had fallen ill and collapsed after a walk. Navalny's team said they had yet to receive confirmation of the death and questioned the veracity of the announcement. U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris told the Munich Security Conference on Friday that Washington was working to confirm the "terrible" news. U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris speaks, during the Munich Security Conference (MSC) in Munich, Germany February 18, 2023. Wolfgang Rattay | Reuters "Whatever story they tell, let us be clear, Russia is responsible, and we will have more to say on this later," she added. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said he was "deeply saddened and concerned" about the reports of Navalny's demise. "All the facts have to be established and Russia has serious questions to answer," he told reporters. "Alexei Navalny has been a strong voice for freedom, for democracy, for many years, and NATO and NATO allies have called for his immediate release for a long time." The Kremlin critic appeared in court via video link earlier in the week, seemingly in good health and spirits despite the notoriously brutal conditions of the penal colony in which the 47-year-old was being held on a 19-year sentence. Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny appears on a screen via video link from the IK-6 penal colony in the Vladimir region, during a court hearing to consider an appeal against his sentence in the criminal case on numerous charges, including the creation of an extremist organization, in Moscow, Russia September 26, 2023. Yulia Morozova | Reuters Yet Russian news agency Interfax reported on Friday that he "felt unwell after a walk, almost immediately losing consciousness." European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said she was "deeply disturbed and saddened" by news of his death. "Putin fears nothing more than dissent from his own people. A grim reminder of what Putin and his regime are all about. Let's unite in our fight to safeguard the freedom and safety of those who dare to stand up against autocracy," von der Leyen said. watch now U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said if confirmed, Navalny's death underscores the "weakness and rot" of the Russian political system built by Putin, and laid the blame squarely at the door of the Kremlin. "We'll be talking to the many other countries concerned about Alexei Navalny, especially if these reports bear out to be true." British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said in a post on social media platform X that "as the fiercest advocate for Russian democracy, Alexei Navalny demonstrated incredible courage throughout his life." "My thoughts are with his wife and the people of Russia, for whom this is a huge tragedy," he added. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said he was "deeply saddened" by the news and that if confirmed, Navalny's death was a "terrible" sign of how Russia had changed as a country in recent years. Navalny "stood up for democracy and freedom in Russia - and apparently paid for his courage with his life. This terrible news shows once again how Russia has changed and what kind of regime is in power in Moscow," he said in a post on X. watch now Banks are dialing back the yields they pay on certificates of deposit, but a notable name is still commanding one of the highest rates available. New York Community Bank offers the highest CD rate for maturities under 36 months among the banks in Morgan Stanley's coverage, coming in at 5.5%. Webster Financial followed in second place, with a rate of 5.4%, and Bank OZK rounded out the top three with a rate of 5.3%. New York Community Bank is offering a sweetened annual percentage yield at a time when the institution itself is going through a period of tumult. Even as the company is willing to pay an annual percentage yield of 5.5% on a seven-month CD, its shares are down more than 50% this year. In February alone, the stock is off by 24%. NYCB YTD line YTD performance of NYCB shares In late January, the Hicksville, New York-based bank took a higher-than-anticipated charge against expected loan losses . The bank also slashed its quarterly dividend by about 71% to 5 cents a share. Earlier this month, Moody's Investors Service downgraded the bank's long-term ratings to junk, citing "multi-faceted financial, risk-management and governance challenges facing NYCB." Nevertheless, savers should be aware that their deposits, be they in bank accounts or in CDs, are subject to protection by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. Generally, the FDIC covers $250,000 per depositor, per FDIC-insured bank, for each account ownership category. Expect CD rates across the board to continue falling, with longer-dated offers likely to decline faster than short-dated instruments, wrote Morgan Stanley analyst Betsy Graseck in a Thursday report. "Once the Fed eventually begins to cut, the path for net interest income will depend heavily on how quickly banks can bring down their overall deposit costs," she said. Kali9 | E+ | Getty Images Banks are dialing back the yields they pay on certificates of deposit, but a notable name is still commanding one of the highest rates available. New York Community Bank offers the highest CD rate for maturities under 36 months among the banks in Morgan Stanley's coverage, coming in at 5.5%. Webster Financial followed in second place, with a rate of 5.4%, and Bank OZK rounded out the top three with a rate of 5.3%. New York Community Bank is offering a sweetened annual percentage yield at a time when the institution itself is going through a period of tumult. Even as the company is willing to pay an annual percentage yield of 5.5% on a seven-month CD, its shares are down more than 50% this year. In February alone, the stock is off by 24%. Stock Chart Icon Stock chart icon YTD performance of NYCB shares In late January, the Hicksville, New York-based bank took a higher-than-anticipated charge against expected loan losses. The bank also slashed its quarterly dividend by about 71% to 5 cents a share. Earlier this month, Moody's Investors Service downgraded the bank's long-term ratings to junk, citing "multi-faceted financial, risk-management and governance challenges facing NYCB." Nevertheless, savers should be aware that their deposits, be they in bank accounts or in CDs, are subject to protection by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. Generally, the FDIC covers $250,000 per depositor, per FDIC-insured bank, for each account ownership category. Top CD rates at banks under Morgan Stanley's coverage Ticker Name 1-12 month CD rate 13-36 month CD rate Highest Rate < 36 months NYCB New York Community Bank 5.50% 5.15% 5.50% WBS Webster Financial Corporation 5.40% 3.60% 5.40% OZK Bank OZK 5.30% 5.00% 5.30% BKU BankUnited 5.25% 0.10% 5.25% CMA Comerica 5.25% 0.15% 5.25% Source: Morgan Stanley January 31, 2024 11:15 Armenia and Azerbaijan border demarcation commissions to hold meeting today The sixth meeting of the Commission on Delimitation and Border Security of the State Border between the Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Azerbaijan and the State Commission on the Delimitation of the State Border between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Armenia will be held on January 31 on the border between the Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Azerbaijan. It'd be near impossible to summarize Howard Hughes, the inventor, director, business mogul, ace pilot, etc., in a single sentence. Oh, wait, no, it's not: Howard Hughes was a colossally compulsive creep who coerced college coeds into consenting to cash cow contracts to control their careers and condemn them to become call girl concubines. In other words: he was a real c-word, and no one knew that better than Jane Greer. Jane Greer could have been the biggest film noir femme fatale of her generation -- if she hadn't met Howard Hughes. The tycoon and movie mogul had spotted a teenage Greer in a magazine and decided to put the aspiring actor under a "personal contract" because those are easier to lug around L.A. than a casting couch. When Greer signed her so-called studio contract, Hughes immediately let her know that he didn't want her to ever get married. Or ever act, for that matter, as the asshole aviator didn't cast her in a single movie or even let her do a screen test. But you don't trap a future femme fatale and except her not to strike back. The feisty Greer quickly sussed Hughes out, whom she called "like a child" in his pursuit of women. First, she defied him by marrying middle-aged crooner Rudy Vallee, then she sued Hughes for breach of contract. To avoid a drawn-out scandal, the jealous and embittered billionaire had no choice but to let Greer buy out her contract -- for the lump sum of $7,572. That was a steep amount for someone who had been technically unemployed for her short adult life. So Hughes allowed her to pay him back in installments of $25 a week, keeping his financial hooks in her for six grueling years. Advertisement Advertisement That level of control clearly wasn't enough for Hughes, a man who couldn't bear to be turned down or outsmarted. Greer quickly managed to find a new studio to act for at RKO Pictures (the studio that gave us King Kong and Citizen Kane), and her film career was finally getting on track when she found out the studio had been bought by Howard Hughes. When Greer met with her new boss, the exact same controlling megalomaniac as the old one, she later recounted: William Hare Greer did go on to have one big breakthrough performance despite Hughes' meddling. When an actress dropped out of The Big Steal, one of the greatest film noirs of the decade, because her co-star Robert Mitchum was a dangerous reefer-head, Hughes needed a bankable RKO name last-minute -- and the only one whose schedule was wide open was, surprise, Jane Greer's. Advertisement Advertisement That didn't mean Hughes wouldn't find other ways to tank her career. Since Greer was hiding a pregnancy at the time (a sad tradition for women in Hollywood), Hughes refused to pay for a new wardrobe, forcing her to get really creative with hiding her baby bump in crop tops originally meant for an 80-pound waif. But the talented Greer succeeded in keeping her pregnancy a secret even from her The Big Steal co-stars (who she got hooked on her pregnancy pills by pretending they helped against the diarrhea-inducing Mexican water) and delivered a career-defining performance. Despite her obvious talent, a few key noir roles in movies like Out Of The Past, and a wonderful late-in-life career revival, Hughes' revenge stalking did cost Greer the best and most lucrative acting years of her life. After six years of barely any work at RKO, she did manage to pay off her original contract. And in a final show of bravado, to somewhat make up for all the hurt he put her through, Greer asked Hughes to let her off the hook for the last $50. The billionaire refused. For more weird Hollywood stories, do follow Cedric on Twitter. Top image: RKO Radio Pictures / Time Magazine In the quest to replace traditional seafood with alternatives, Berlin-based Pacifico Biolabs believes it has a unique approach to making whole muscle structures using fermentation. While fermentation, the process of growing cells in bioreactors, is already used to make a number of alternative proteins, like cultivated meat, Zac Austin, co-founder and CEO, calls the process a complete game-changer. Prior to Pacifico Biolabs, Austin was at McKinsey in London as a strategy consultant. Following work on the British governments COVID taskforce, he met co-founder Washington Logrono, who migrated to Europe from Ecuador for graduate studies in biotechnology. The fermentation we often hear about is better at making raw products, Austin told TechCrunch. Seafood is such that it is so fragmented that you need different technology approaches to cover different types of products. We produce a highly nutritious biomass, and our formulation works well for white fish filet products. The company's fermentation process involves the cultivation of multiple microorganisms, including mycelium (mushroom root), to provide nutrition, flavor and texture. Pacifico Biolabs is also using side streams from other food productions to reduce food waste. In addition, infrastructure is a big capital expenditure for fermentation, so the company is building a new production process. Pacifico Biolabs launched out of stealth today with $3.3 million in pre-seed funding. The round was co-led by Simon Capital and FoodLabs and included Exceptional Ventures and Sprout & About Ventures. The startup is the latest to attract venture capital investment for alternative seafood. Its an area that saw a lot of movement in early 2023 from companies like ISH Company, New School Foods, Aqua Cultured Foods and Bluu Seafood. Investors also called that year one where notable strides would be made in alternative seafood. Story continues Aquablurb, a Fish Site newsletter following investment into aquaculture and alternative seafood, reported $808 million of venture capital across 56 rounds were publicly announced in 2023. As the pre-seed round would suggest, Pacifico Biolabs is still in the very early stages. As such, the new capital will be used to scale the fermentation process and launch the first products in the European market following regulatory approval. For now, the company will work on optimization and tweaks that Austin said can only be realized at a higher scale. When the company gets ramped up, it will have the potential to develop its alternative seafood at a cost potential below the cheapest farmed fish, Austin said. Its about creating a practical model that is easy to scale, he said. It can be made at a low cost which means it will be economically viable for everything from chicken all the way through to, for example, mayonnaise. Beyond seafood is definitely part of what I would say is our 10-year plan. Tech giant Google launched the AI Cyber Defense Initiative to leverage artificial intelligence (AI) to boost cybersecurity and to reverse the Defenders Dilemma, the company said in a blog post. A key initiative in this is the open-sourcing of Magika, an AI-powered tool for file type identification to detect malware. It is already being used to safeguard several Google products. Magika outperforms conventional file identification methods providing an overall 30% accuracy boost and up to 95% higher precision on traditionally hard to identify, but potentially problematic content such as VBA, JavaScript and Powershell, said Googles blog post. Open-sourcing Googles own AI-powered cyberdefense tool Magika is pivotal to this new initiative. As it is already being used effectively to help secure Gmail, Google Drive, and Safe Browsing, the developer community will see value in embracing it for creating more targeted defense tools, said Deepak Kumar, founder analyst at BMNxt Business and Market Advisory. Google also announced a new AI for Cybersecurity group of 17 startups from the UK, the US, and the EU. This will help strengthen the transatlantic cybersecurity ecosystem with internationalization strategies, AI tools and the skills to use them, the company said in the blog. The company also announced $2 million in research grants and strategic partnerships to support research at several institutes, including The University of Chicago, Carnegie Mellon, and Stanford. Google would also be expanding its $15-million Google.org Cybersecurity Seminars Program to cover the entirety of Europe. The program supports universities to train the next generation of cybersecurity experts from underserved communities. The AI Cyber Defense Initiative builds on Googles Secure AI Framework (SAIF), which Google launched last year to mitigate the risks associated with AI systems, such as stealing the model, data poisoning of the training data, injecting malicious inputs through prompt injection and extracting confidential information in the training data. One of the things with batteries is they catch on fire, Patrick Miller, CEO of Ampere Industrial Security, tells CSO. So, if I had the ability to put the battery into a physical state or make it more prone to catch on fire, thats a problem because in some cases, depending upon the size of the installation of these batteries, that would be a really big fire. Get a foam truck kind of fire. Power systems operate based on what are known as frequency and voltage conditions, Miller explains. Youre spending all your efforts trying to balance a power system; power coming in and going out have to match. It doesnt take a lot to destabilize the system. There are ways to take batteries and use just enough subtle condition changes to upset that delicate balance in the power system, and you can destabilize the power system by modifying these conditions in subtle ways, he says. Its not the batteries themselves that are the inherent source of risk. Its that for any battery management system, you can manipulate what it is putting into or pulling off the system, Miller says. Manipulation of the battery system doesnt have to cause a fire or explosion to do real damage, according to Miller. Once the system starts to get destabilized, in order to protect the system, it starts either turning off generation it sends a signal that says youre pushing too much generation, youre going to harm the system or trip generation offline or trip load offline, which is effectively a blackout. For its part, CATL says, CATLs energy storage products sold to the US contain passive devices only, which are not equipped with communication interfaces that may enable CATL to control the sold products. Additionally, CATLs US products do not have the capability to collect, transfer or send data and therefore do not pose any security threats. Regarding grid integration, the company says, CATL products cannot interact directly with or affect the US electrical grid. CATL provides energy storage batteries to US integrators, and because it is the integrators that manage connections to the grid and the grid operators set up an additional layer of security measures, CATL products can in no way interact with it. Miller thinks that CATLs defense is misleading. Theres a control system that sits on top and its also Chinese-made. So, it may not be made by CATL, but its likely made by a partner company or another Chinese company. The Communist party can effectively manipulate all companies in China. So CATLs defense of providing only passive products is not an exonerating factor, he says. Coping with a Chinese-dominated battery market Dukes use of CATL projects is not an isolated instance. The company has also deployed CATL batteries in three Florida County BESS projects. Dominion Energy has deployed CATL batteries in a Virginia project. Primergy Solar, which builds, owns, and operates energy storage and solar projects used by utilities across North America, is working with CATL on a storage project in Nevada. Countless other utilities in the US have no doubt deployed CATL batteries. CATL is by far the largest storage battery provider in the world, boasting a nearly 40% market share. Dukes desire to work with an American manufacturer of batteries is ambitious, given that none of the current top ten manufacturers of storage batteries are American, and eight of them are Chinese rivals to CATL. At least in the short term, most utilities will be forced to depend on likely cheaper Chinese battery suppliers. Miller says that the top of the US energy sectors dependence on Chinese batteries was much-discussed at the Department of Energys Grid Modernization Summit in early February. Everybody was talking about how to operate knowing that is the case, Miller says, citing several precautionary measures companies are taking to limit any damage China could cause. There are even companies that are looking at doing physical state changes and detections of those. So thats how far were already thinking in front of this. We know that China has pwned all of this stuff. We have that as an expectation. The bottom line is that most utilities dont have a choice right now except to use Chinese hardware and technology, but they can develop strategies to defend against the worst-case scenarios. We dont have the choice because, first of all, no one else makes the stuff, and no one else makes it at that price at that scale, Miller says. If were being pushed to modernize and do all these things, meet these goals, were stuck between a rock and a hard place. The only other option is to go ahead, buy it, put it in service knowing that at some point it may need to be defended and disconnected. The last car going through the Washington Square arch before closing the park to traffic. Photo: Bettmann Archive/Getty Images In this excerpt from her new book, The Freaks Came Out to Write: The Definitive History of the Village Voice, the Radical Paper That Changed American Culture, Tricia Romano details the rise of Mary Perot Nichols, who became one of Robert Mosess most formidable antagonists through her work at the Voice. She was a housewife and a neighbor of mine, Ed Fancher, co-founder and publisher, said of Perot Nicholss unlikely start at the paper. She had a great deal to do with destroying the career of Robert Moses because of the highway through the park, but the copy she would bring in to Dan, he said, was unreadable. CLARK WHELTON (freelance writer, 19681971; staff writer, 19711975 and 19771978): Do you know the story of Mary Nichols? ELIZA NICHOLS (daughter of Mary Perot Nichols): My mother was involved in the fight against Robert Moses, and in particular Washington Square Park, and to have it closed from traffic. She kept going into the Village Voice: Youve got to write about this. Dan Wolf finally got sick of this mother coming to him and saying, You got to write about this, and he said, You write about it. One of her good friends was the author of The Death and Life of Great American Cities, Jane Jacobs. My mother and Grace Paley and Jane Jacobs would take the kids to the park, and they became friends that way. ED FANCHER (Voice co-founder and publisher, 19551974): She was a housewife and a neighbor of mine. She had a great deal to do with destroying the career of Robert Moses because of the highway through the park, but the copy she would bring in to Dan, he said, was unreadable. ELIZA NICHOLS: My mother had no formal training. She did have a college education in political science. That was a very important formation for her, to be on the ground and doing this reporting. That was definitely Wolfs brilliance. He hired people who cared about stuff. Dan was warm and kind and funny and loving, and smart, and he was capable of thinking of how to not only hire a woman in those days and give her authority, but also retain her. She didnt have her own office. I had to come to her office after school, because there was no after-school program in those days, and I was the youngest. I had nowhere to go, and she was working. So, he rented an apartment next door to the original Village Voice building, so that she would have an office where I could just sit and draw and play while she was working. My mother wrote a lot. She wrote under deadline, and she hated every minute of it. She loved her job. She was much more excited about the scent than the kill. DIANE FISHER (receptionist, 19621963; editorial assistant, 19631965; associate editor, 19651974): Mary may be the only layman in the whole world who read the capital budget from the first item to the last. ELIZA NICHOLS: The famous follow the money that was something my mother did way early on. Her finally figuring out what the financial interests of the various constituencies were led her and Jane Jacobs to ask for a meeting with the Mafia boss, because they understood that he controlled all of the South Village and what is now Soho and Tribeca. He said something like, Why should I care? And my mother said, If that freeway is built, your entire neighborhoods going to be destroyed. And all those small businessmen who pay tribute to you and who you control are no longer going to exist. Im pretty sure it was the Gambino family that was in business then. MARY PEROT NICHOLS: City planning issues like Moses that was my bete noire until he got out of office. ED FANCHER: Every week, she would be pounding away at Moses. He wanted to put a highway through Washington Square, and we stopped it by pounding away week after week. We made it clear that politically it would be suicide for Carmine DeSapio. Carmine DeSapio had to make the final decision because he was a very powerful figure, and if he didnt stand up to Moses and stop it, he wouldve been out of power. Its thats simple. And he finally did it after weeks and weeks of work. JANE JACOBS (journalist, activist, and author of The Death and Life of Great American Cities): I saw Moses only once, at a hearing about the road through Washington Square; he stood up there gripping the railing, and he was furious at the effrontery of this, and I guess he could already see that his plan was in danger. Because he was saying, There is nobody against this NOBODY, NOBODY, NOBODY but a bunch of, a bunch of MOTHERS! And then he stomped out. CLARK WHELTON: Then came the Bath Mat Solution. Moses said, All right, so I wont build a highway through the park, but we will just simply take the traffic around both sides of the park, turning the rectangle into an oval, and she beat him on that, too. Robert Caro gives her credit for being the first person to actually wrestle Moses to the ground and stop him. ROBIN REISIG (freelance news writer, 19701975): There was going to be a cross- town, elevated highway with exit and entrance ramps that would have destroyed Soho and parts of Chinatown and everything else crossing lower Manhattan. There would have been no Soho in the way we know Soho. It would have been a disaster. CLARK WHELTON: She stopped that too! ALAN WEITZ (courier/mailroom clerk, 19651968; editorial assistant, 19691972; assistant city editor, 1973; assistant news editor, January 1974April 1974; associate editor, 19741975; managing editor, 19771979): Can you imagine an expressway across Canal Street? And they stopped him from building these tremendous West Village apartments and got the West Village declared a historical landmark. CLARK WHELTON: She went through every line of a document to find out who was swindling who, and which landlords were getting away with murder. Through the Village Voice, she warned New York that landlords had in mind towers along the Hudson River. They want to block off our view of the Hudson. She said, If we dont stop them, theyre going to control through the Lower Manhattan Expressway and the various other techniques they have, theyre going to end up wanting all that land. ELIZA NICHOLS: Ed Fancher said my mothers writing saved the Village Voice from going under in about 1958. CLARK WHELTON: The Voice was her weapon. The Voice saved the Village for years and years. An excerpt from The Freaks Came Out to Write: The Definitive History of the Village Voice, the Radical Paper That Changed American Culture by Tricia Romano, which will be published by PublicAffairs on February 27. ASUC officials discuss agenda items Jan. 31, 2024. While nearly all 10 ASUC Senators support the Graduate Assemblys move to split from the ASUC, senator Briana Mullen notes a possible alternative to the split. ASUC is also working with UCPD to improve emergency communications in light of Fridays shooting. While no one was directly harmed by campuss decision to fence off the park, the universitys exclusion of students from the deliberation process appears as an act of bad faith, according to an ASUC official. An Australian man with a disability living in public housing said he's humiliated from having to shower outside his own home, due to his termite-ridden bathroom being ripped out months ago but never replaced. South Australian man Harold Kinross, from Nailsworth in Adelaide, has been showering outside in a portable shower supplied to him by SA Housing for over four months. He said despite workers stripping out his toilet, sink, shower and walls, no remedial work has been done to complete the job and to make matters worse, the termites remain. Kinross, who lives with an intellectual disability, said bathing outside has caused him mental stress, and he's been forced to shower early in the morning to avoid embarrassment. Adelaide man Harold Kinross has been forced to shower outside for four months. Source: 7 News "I have to come out here about 5.30 in the morning because I get embarrassed neighbours might see me having a shower," Kinross told 7 News. The 62-year-old said he "has to check for passers-by" before turning on the water and the ordeal has significantly disrupted his routine. Aussie slams 'disgusting' treatment "Its disgusting. Minister, do something about it. I vote you in to do your job," Kinross said, adding that the shower leaks onto the footpath and makes him feel imprisoned "like youre in a jail cell". The Adelaide man has been living at the same address for almost 30 years and said he's been an ideal tenant during that time. Harold Kinross said he has no idea when his termite-infested bathroom will be repaired, four months on. Source: 7 News He's now calling on the government to step in and finish the job that was started, though there's no indication of when that might occur. Human Services Minister Nat Cook told 7 News it was "hard to predict when a property will become available. "I understand how challenging its been for this tenant and his family," she said. Story continues Yahoo News has contacted SA Housing Authority for comment. Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com. You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube. Owner Kevin Willett said he is proud of all the different services and merchandise he sells out of his store, which he opened in August last year. Aussies love their Tim Tams and, as it turns out, so do rodents. Most people probably agree that when it comes to a crunchy, chocolatey snack, you can't beat a Tim Tam, and it appears at least one rodent that visited Coles' Burwood store in Sydney's west agrees, nibbling its way through a couple of coconut creams. Although the $1.80 clearance price would appeal to many, these nibble marks that can be seen having torn through the plastic wrapping and into at least two of the biscuits is enough to turn anyone off the treat. A Coles shopper was grossed out to find a packet of Tim Tams with apparent rodent bites in it. Source: Reddit Hundreds respond to picture of rodent's Tim Tam snack at Coles Posting the photo to social media, one concerned Sydneysider joked: "Welcomed to Burwood Coles' latest attraction". A single packet of Tim Tams can then be seen with a very noticeable chunk bitten out of it, seemingly the work of hungry mice or rats. The upload attracted almost 2,000 interactions online, with hundreds of people flocking to the comments to respond. "I like how the rat took a few bites and wasnt satisfied enough to keep going," one person said. "Even vermin have discerning taste," wrote another. "This is terrifying. I hand my babies yoghurt pouches all the time. Seems like they'd be boxed before placed on the shelves, but I'm definitely going to be wiping them with a disinfectant wipe from now on," another person said. "Can't beat that price these days tho," a user, apparently undeterred by the nibbles, wrote. Supermarket giant responds Speaking to Yahoo News Australia, a Coles spokesperson said the supermarket takes the cleanliness of stores very seriously and is looking into the matter. "Coles takes food safety seriously and we work hard to keep a clean environment in our stores and distribution centres," a spokesperson told Yahoo. "We have an integrated pest management system, which primarily focuses on keeping pests out, and then controlling pests should they find their way in. Story continues Coles worker claims 'infestation' at distribution centres Late last year, a Coles worker said there's a chance rat excrement is seeping into products due to a "complete" infestation at one of the supermarket's major distribution centres. After six years at the facility, a picker and packer revealed to Yahoo News Australia what he claims really goes on inside the warehouse after sneaking his banned mobile phone into the centre to capture photos and video of the pest problem. The Coles warehouse employee, who snuck his phone into the distribution centre, said two rats appeared to be fighting over territory. Source: Supplied "I just think the public has a right to know how these sorts of companies pursue profit at all costs, and screw them," said the disgruntled employee, who asked not to be named. In response however, Coles says it takes food safety seriously. Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com. You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube. Four students from Broadalbin-Perth Junior/Senior High School were invited to participate in the Future Business Leaders of America Spring District Meeting at Bryant & Stratton College on Feb. 9. Three students from BPHS placed at the meeting and will compete at the State Leadership Conference in Rochester April 10-12. Morgan Romano, a Johnstown graduate, Miss USA 2022, looks at a video on the phone of high school classmate Jack Fitzgerald, a science teacher at Johnstown High School, center, and former math teacher Melissa Miles, inside the Johnstown High School Media Center, Thursday, Feb. 15, 2024. Romano was invited to talk about opportunities in the STEM field at her alma mater. A young woman out for a run was left with injuries to her neck after running straight into fishing line strung up between two trees across the track at the "neckline". Social media influencer Leesh Cunningham was on her morning run in Killarney Vale, on the NSW Central Coast, at 5.30am on Thursday when the light coming from her running light strapped to her leg bounced off something strange ahead. Realising it looked like some sort of "trap" and she needed to stop, Cunningham tried to slow down while putting her hand up in front of her. "I saw it, but because I was running I didn't have enough time to stop," she told Yahoo News Australia. "So it still hit me, but if I hadn't seen it at all that would have done so much more damage". Leesh Cunningham sports a bruise across her neck after running into fishing wire strung between two trees. Source: Supplied As it happened, Cunningham revealed she was terrified someone was waiting to jump out. "I was like frantically looking and yelling just in case there was someone there," she said. Following the incident, Cunningham sustained a bruise across her neck. She then ran into someone she knew on the path who helped her to remove the "thick" line, which she says was crossed around the trees three times. "There were so many people that I had passed before, so whether somebody else had seen it and avoided it?" Cunningham questioned. "Imagine if that was a cyclist that's what kept going through my head." Cunningham has reported the incident to police through Crime Stoppers NSW. Yahoo has reached out to NSW Police and the Central Coast Council for comment. Leesh Cunningham was running along Lucinda Avenue in Killarney Vale on NSW's Central Coast. Source: Supplied Shocking stories of similar incidents in the area Of the hundreds of comments Leesh received since sharing her terrifying ordeal online, many people have shared how "often" this is done along the Central Coast, NSW and across the country Story continues "This happens way too often around here, I think I know the spot," one person said. "They do barb wire here on the Gold Coast," another responded. "It's crazy the number of stories people are sharing, not only in the comments but people that I know, that it's actually happened to in the area as well," Cunningham said of the responses. Central Coast Council told Yahoo community members should contact the police immediately they see anyone conducting illegal activity like this or if they receive injury from the result of such activity. "If Council is made aware of a safety issue like this incident on Council land, we will make it safe as soon as possible," they said. Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com. You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube. No doubt there are good reasons for Harry and Meghan to take Sussex as a surname. Perhaps, as Meghan has suggested, it will unify her family, although Im not sure quite how. Unify is not a word I much associate with Montecito. Maybe it keeps things clean and simple in brand-aware America, where the niceties of aristocratic titles are little-known or understood. But back in the world of British royalty where dukedoms have their origin it is all a little different. There are rules for those who inherit these privileges, or are given them. (The Duke of Sussex title had been a gift from the princes grandmother, Queen Elizabeth, on Harrys wedding day in 2018.) Prince Harry and Meghan attend the Invictus Games One Year To Go Event yesterday Harry slid down a track on a skeleton sled while attending the event Harry professed to respect and love the Duke of Edinburgh and I am sure he did and always will, but this latest debacle would make Philip turn in his grave, says Ingrid Seward Prince Harry and Meghan Markle with ABC presenter Will Reeve in Whistler And Im afraid this is a move that will only serve to further distance the prince and his children from the Royal Family, from their British roots, and from a father and grandfather, the King, now diagnosed with cancer. There is a distinction to be made here. I dont all object to Harry using Sussex as a surname. There is a history to that sort of thing, after all. Think, for example, of Princess Margarets husband, who was given the title Earl of Snowdon following his marriage to the Queens sister. He quite legitimately used the name Tony Snowdon, both socially and professionally. As the wife of a royal duke, its perfectly acceptable for Meghan to style herself Meghan Sussex. Why not? But it is different for the children, four-year-old Archie and Lilibet, two. Their family name is Mountbatten Windsor and should remain so. Sussex is not correct. It is not even a surname. Few Americans will be much troubled by all this and it is hard to avoid the suspicion that the US is the only place that registers with Meghan. Yet the Royal family does care about these things and so does the British public. Moreover, the Mountbatten-Windsor family name has a particular significance. Philip had been dismayed to find that when his wife Princess Elizabeth became Queen in 1952, their children - and their childrens children would not bear his surname, Mountbatten. Prince Harry speaks to ABC's Will Reeve at an Invictus Games 2025 event in Whistler yesterday The Duke of Sussex during an interview in Whistler with ABC correspondent Will Reeve Rather, they would be Windsors, named after the family of the Queen. Philip was both furious and wounded. The decision was felt to be emasculating and cruel. I am the only man in the country not allowed to give his name to his children, he protested. It hurts him, recalled Countess Mountbatten, the wife of Philips uncle and mentor, Lord Mountbatten of Burma, at the time. He had given up everything for his wife and how this, the final insult. It was a terrible blow. It was elder statesman Winston Churchill who found a solution, one encouraged by the young Queens private secretary, Tommy Lascelles a wise head some 40 years her senior. Together, Churchill and Lascelles forced Elizabeths hand she lacked the confidence to do it by herself - and it was agreed that all descendants of the royal couple down the male line would be named Mountbatten-Windsor, aside from those who were princes and princesses. A tactful compromise. How sad, therefore, that only three generations later, Harry should so blatantly disregard his grandfathers wishes and effectively abandon the family name for which Philip had fought. Harry professed to respect and love the Duke of Edinburgh and I am sure he did and always will, but this latest debacle would make Philip turn in his grave. Do Harry and Meghan think theyre being clever? Maybe this is an attempt to entrench the Sussex name so firmly that, whatever the political atmosphere in Great Britain, the title could never be effectively removed. Perhaps theyre just badly advised. But it is hard to avoid the suspicion as it has been from the outset that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex want to have all things all ends up. To be royal but in a style of their choosing. To have the status while retaining a free hand to pick and choose the obligations that go with that status. Switching their surname can only be a provocation to Harrys father at a time when he has more pressing things to think about. There is little the King can do without seeming churlish, of course. He will feel there is no choice but to turn the other cheek as he has long done, even if forbearance often comes at quite a mental cost. The saddest thing of all is that Im sure Prince Harry still loves his family and, in his heart, hopes for a reconciliation. Yet, once again, he is pushing them away. Well, folks, it looks as though we have cracked it at last. With the help of British technology and Artificial Intelligence , we have found a way of deciphering the scrolls of Herculaneum. If the scientists are right, we are on the verge of an epoch-making discovery. It appears that we now have the technology to negate the catastrophic damage done to these frail papyri almost 2,000 years ago by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. And if we can read these 1,800 badly barbecued scrolls, we may be about to reveal some of the greatest missing masterpieces of literature. We therefore stand trembling on the threshold of a treasury that may turn out to be more golden than that of Tutankhamen or any other pharaoh. We may be about to uncork some truly mind-expanding vintages, works of poetry, drama, philosophy and mathematics that have been lost for thousands of years. I dont believe there is a single reader of this great, cultivated and civilised newspaper who can conceivably remain indifferent to what is at stake. A fragment of a Herculaneum scroll shows the markings on the fragile material A fragile Herculanuem scroll - part of a 2,000-year-old pair carbonised and preserved into crumpled, blackened cylinders by the eruption of Vesuvius They made us, my friends. It was Greece and Rome the classical world that laid the foundations of our modern world. You are reading these words in a semi-Latinate language; you are living in a democracy, whose founding idea was born in Greece. Your home, large or small, will be full of cornicing and pediments and architraves and other barely noticed inheritances from the classical canon of architecture. You watch multi-episode TV revenge plots and family psychodramas that have their origins in the works of Aeschylus and Sophocles and Euripides. Wherever you live in the West in Europe or the Americas or Australasia you are the cultural and intellectual descendant of Greece and Rome, whether you acknowledge the fact or not; and that is because it was those great cultures that inspired the Renaissance literally the rebirth of the ancient world. It was the Renaissance that led to the Enlightenment and the political, commercial and technological rise of the modern West, whether you speak of the G7 or the OECD countries that still account for the vast bulk of humanitys wealth and innovative power. That sequence was in itself something of a miracle, because there was a terrible interruption between the ancient world and the Renaissance. They called it the Dark Ages, which followed the Fall of Rome; and in those Dark Ages, the legacy of the Greek and Roman cultures was very nearly lost. The Renaissance only happened because there was a sudden revival of interest, beginning in Italy, in the thought and writings of the ancient world. They began to dig out the texts mouldy and moth-eaten that had been all but lost to European memory. They rootled around in monastery libraries. The Crusaders brought them back from Byzantium, where they had been conserved by monks. Slowly, they translated and spread them, and in England those texts became the foundation of our early modern or Elizabethan culture. Shakespeare himself feasts on the great banquet of Plutarch and Ovid and others, and without his knowledge of the classics he might have been great, but he would not have been the Shakespeare we know. And even Shakespeare, relatively learned though he was, had access to only a tiny fraction of the corpus of Greek and Latin literature, because so much had already been destroyed. From time to time, in the last few hundred years, we have recovered a few fragments such as the scraps of poetry on the backs of laundry lists, preserved in the dry sands of Egypt. But the gaps remain, and they are achingly vast. Take Sappho, the lovelorn lesbian of Lesbos. She was so famous in the ancient world, and so revered, that they called her the tenth Muse; and what we have is indeed very beautiful. But we have only one complete poem by Sappho; and as for those more recent fragments from Oxyrhynchus in Egypt, they are so full of square brackets where there are words missing that it is sometimes hard to tell if she is lusting after a boy or a girl (its generally a girl). Or take Aeschylus. Only a handful of his 90 plays survive but the influence of what we have has been colossal. Seven Against Thebes has inspired everything from the Seven Samurai to the Magnificent Seven to the music of The Clash. What if we find his other 80-odd plays, or Homers allegedly obscene Margites, or Aristotle on Comedy? So much has just vanished, so much that could change our view of the ancient world. So when we hear of a vast library of texts, just waiting to be unlocked, the excitement is enormous because it is astonishing that we have this library at all. A conservator shows a Papyrus Herculaneum, carbonised by the eruption of Vesuvius in the National Library of Naples In late August 79 AD the pyroclastic* surge from the erupting Vesuvius engulfed the swish resorts of Pompeii and Herculaneum, and as the superheated volcanic matter roared down the slope it vitrified the brains of people in its path, and froze them in their death agony. And yet, when it came to a huge villa on the sea at Herculaneum which may have belonged to Julius Caesars father-in-law Calpurnius Piso something extraordinary happened. The library had been packed up, in the hope that it could escape the lava, but it was too late. The scrolls were not incinerated, because there was no oxygen to burn them. Instead they were flash-fried into crumpled, blackened cylinders. In the centuries since their discovery there have been disastrous attempts to open them and always the carbonised remains have crumpled illegibly away. In the last few months, though, we had a breakthrough. Using the particle accelerator at Harwell in Oxford to locate the minerals in the ink, and using AI to work out what letters these ink blobs must form, researchers were able to read 5 per cent of a scroll that is not only unopened, but unopenable. They have struck gold. It is plainly a work of Epicurean philosophy, and of great potential interest. But we need to read more of it, and the process is currently laborious and expensive. These scrolls may be only ten to 20cm wide, but they can be up to 15m long. It costs a fortune to take them to Harwell, and at the present rate it will cost more than 1million for every one of the 1,800 scrolls to say nothing of others that may yet be found in the villa. Well, there is nothing for it, and no finer investment for the world. Now that we can read them, we must read them. When we look at these carbonised bits of crud, we are looking at the literary foundations of our whole society. Have we become so ignorant of our history, so apathetic, that we can just pass this up? The technology is getting better the whole time, and the cost will start to come down. But it is still a bagatelle** for Western governments or a tech tycoon. We can now discover not just lost glories, but glories we never knew existed. We owe it to our posterity to decipher those scrolls. Dictionary Corner *Pyroclastic: Relating to, consisting of, or denoting fragments of rock erupted by a volcano **Bagatelle: A thing regarded as too unimportant or easy to be worth much consideration Anita Birges shares how to get rid of mould, spiders, mice, and more An Australian cleaning and organising guru has shared her simple hack for preventing mould and deterring pests in your wardrobe. Anita Birges, who heads Mise en Place Professional Organising, recommended using jumbo pieces of chalk along with clove, lavender, and peppermint essential oils to solve all your problems. The expert simply adds a few drops of clove oil onto a jumbo chalk stick and puts it in her drawer to absorb moisture and kill mould spores. You can find the chalk at various Aussie retailers including Kmart - where you can buy a pack of 20 for just $3.25. Anita recommends placing the DIY deterrents down the side of your drawers and on the very top shelf of your wardrobe without a container. Anita Birges recommended using jumbo pieces of chalk along with clove, lavender, and peppermint essential oils to solve all your problems The professional also revealed that it was best to stick to white-coloured chalk so that pigment doesn't bleed onto your clothes. You'll need some drops of lavender oil on another piece of chalk to get rid of moths and silver fish. Lastly, peppermint oil does wonders to leave your drawers smelling fresh and discourages spiders, mice, and other creepy crawlies. Anita recommends putting two to three drops of essential oil per jumbo piece of chalk. She purchases all her oils at her local chemist. How do I get rid of mould and pests in my closet? Clove oil - Prevents mould! The chalk absorbs moisture, while the clove oil is known to kill mould spores Lavender oil - Gets rid of moths and sliver fish Peppermint oil - Leaves your drawers smelling fresh and discourages spiders, mice and other creepy crawlies Simply place three drops of each essential oil onto a jumbo piece of chalk and store them in your drawers and wardrobe. Advertisement You can find the chalk at various Aussie retailers including Kmart - where you can buy a pack of 20 for just $3.25 Many thanked Anita for her advice and shared their own tips and tricks in the comments. 'Clove oil keeps those tiny ants out of my kitchen!' one revealed. A woman asked, 'Any ideas on what works for pantry bugs? Those small black grain weevils keep coming back. I've cleaned so many times!' Anita suggested peppermint oil to keep weevils out of your home. Another woman also revealed an alternate budget hack to get rid of small pests in your pantry. 'I use dried basil leaves in flour,' a woman said. 'Pest control companies recommend it as a natural deterrent. 'Some people also suggest putting dried bay leaves in pantry shelves or stuck to the cupboard wall. Since bay leaves give a strong tangy smell, it is able to repel small pests and other tiny organisms such as weevils.' Meghan's luxurious reversible jacket is a new addition to her wardrobe Meghan Markle looked stylishly cosy as she watched Prince Harry hurtle down a bobsled track in Whistler, Canada, yesterday. The Duchess of Sussex - who has joined her husband on a multi-day trip to Canada in honor of the one-year countdown to the 2025 Invictus Games - wrapped up against the chill in a 3,000 Hermes quilted jacket, teamed with her favourite 'Valerie' skinny jeans from La Ligne, costing 135. A new addition to her wardrobe, Meghan's luxurious reversible jacket features a pure goose down filling, ribbed funnel neckline, Clou de Selle engraved snap closures and a printed lining. The mother-of-two added Kamik 'Sienna' boots (100), Blenders 'Grove' sunglasses (58) and an Aritzia 'Babaton' cashmere beanie (43.66) - as well as lashings of Birks jewellery, totalling 9,840. Meghan, 42, and Prince Harry, 38, have come under fire in recent days over their new Sussex.com website - in particular Meghan's coat of arms, which critics claim is a breach of their promise to the late Queen Elizabeth when they acrimoniously quit front-line royal duties. Meghan Markle looked stylishly cosy as she watched Prince Harry hurtle down a bobsled track in Whistler, Canada Nonetheless, the Duchess was seen beaming and taking pictures as she watched Prince Harry hurtle down a bobsled track yesterday, days after the Sussexes vowed they 'wouldn't be broken', after their royal rebrand. She looked the part in a black Hermes puffer coat, La Ligne jeans, Kamik boots and Blenders sunglasses as she watched on with a huge smile on her face, in awe of her husband's skills. A new addition to her wardrobe, Meghan's 3,000 jacket features a pure goose down filling, ribbed funnel neckline, Clou de Selle engraved snap closures and a printed lining. Meghan wrapped up against the chill in a 3,000 Hermes quilted jacket, teamed with her favourite 'Valerie' skinny jeans from La Ligne, costing 135 The royal expertly accessorised with a pair of 135 black skinny jeans by La Ligne, which she debuted last year, 100 Kamik 'Sienna' boots and 58 Blenders 'Grove' sunglasses. She added plenty of jewellery including three diamond rings from Birks costing almost 10,000 - plus her 140,000 engagement ring. The mother-of-two added a cashmere beanie (43.66) and scarf (38.15) by Aritzia. Meghan's winter chic appearance comes as the couple spend time in British Columbia for Invictus Games events amid an ongoing row over their Sussex.com website rebrand. In particular, their decision to change their children Archie and Lilibet's surnames to Sussex has raised eyebrows among royal watchers. Meghan, 42, watched on with a huge smile on her face, in awe of her husband's skills When asked by an onlooker whether she planned to join her husband in trying out the daring sport, Meghan laughingly yelled back, 'I can't!' Meghan Markle was seen beaming and taking pictures as she watched Prince Harry The 38-year-old Duke of Sussex achieved an impressive top speed of 61 miles-per-hour during his daring adventure - a feat that left even his wife Meghan, 42, voicing her awe The pair have also been followed closely by a camera crew from Good Morning America, who are thought to be working on a segment all about the pair's Invictus Games countdown Meghan was wrapped up in a 3,000 Hermes padded jacket and a cashmere hat and scarf The moves have sparked a fresh round of criticism of the Duke and Duchess and renewed calls for the duo to have their titles removed. But a representative told the Mirror that the couple 'will not be broken'. But Prince Harry found a thrilling way to put some distance between himself and the scandal surrounding his and Meghan Markle's Sussex family rebrand, when he enjoyed a thrill-filled ride around a skeleton bobsled track in Whistler, Canada. The Duke of Sussex achieved an impressive top speed of 61 miles-per-hour during his daring adventure - a feat that left even his wife Meghan voicing her awe, telling fellow onlookers that she was 'impressed' with her husband's skills. While Meghan did not take part in the bobsledding fun at the Whistler Sliding Center in British Columbia, she was able to enjoy every aspect of her husband's ride when he got off the sled - before enthusiastically re-enacting his thrill ride to his wife and Invictus volunteers after getting off. The Duchess of Sussex - who has joined her husband on a multi-day trip to Canada in honor of the one-year countdown to the 2025 Invictus Games - also served as her husband's personal photographer, beaming with pride as she held up her phone to snap images and clips as he whizzed to the end of the track. But Meghan, who accessorised her phone with a 198.68 case from Bottega Veneta, was not the only videographer on hand to capture every moment of the Duke's whistle-top trip around the bobsled track. As well as a team of photographers and onlookers who have captured the couple's every move, they have also been followed closely by a camera crew from Good Morning America, who are thought to be working on a segment all about the pair's Invictus Games countdown. When asked by an onlooker whether she planned to join her husband in trying out the daring sport, Meghan laughingly yelled back, 'I can't!' As Prince Harry speaks up for the welfare of veterans across the pond for the Invictus Games, his stepmother Queen Camilla is championing the very same cause in the UK. Camilla, 76, continued a very busy week of engagements on Thursday as she met with Poppy makers at Clarence House - while Harry and Meghan attend Invictus Games events in Whistler, B.C. Harry has long been known to champion the cause of caring for veterans since the first Invictus Games tournament in 2014 in London. However, Camilla may be coming for his crown as she marked the centenary of the The Poppy Factory, which was founded in the aftermath of the First World War. The charity is known for helping veterans with mental and physical health issues return to work following service - in a cause that mirrors the Invictus Games, which strives to give injured veterans purpose and celebrate their achievements. The reception, which also marked 100 years since the charity began the move to its historic home in Richmond upon Thames, was just one in a series of engagements in which the Queen has participated this week as she steps up while King Charles continues his cancer treatment. The Queen, 76, met with The Poppy Factory at Clarence House to celebrate the charity's 100th year Camilla, 76, dressed in a navy blue shirt dress marked the centenary of The Poppy Factory, which was founded in the aftermath of the First World War The reception also marks 100 years since the charity began the move to its historic home in Richmond upon Thames, south west London Camilla pets a service dog during the outing Her Majesty met with the President of The Poppy Factory Surgeon Rear Admiral Lionel Jarvis, who gifted her a wreath of poppies for the occasion. Later, Her Majesty cut a cake with a sword - like her late mother-in-law once did. The Queen has also today met with those who have seen their lives changed by civilian employment with help from The Poppy Factory. Last night, the Queen witnessed performances by Dame Judi Dench, Gary Oldman and Robert Lindsay at a star-studded event celebrating the work of William Shakespeare. Camilla was greeted on her arrival at London's Grosvenor House Hotel by a host of actors who have played Hamlet including Brian Cox, Jeremy Irons and David Mitchell. She was then received by a dozen dames, including Dame Twiggy Lawson, Dame Vanessa Redgrave and Baroness Floella Benjamin. On Valentine's Day, Camilla was given two matching jumpers with a heart on them as a gift by event host Gyles Brandreth, who said he hoped they would keep the King and Queen 'warm on those cold winter nights'. Before his performance of Cole Porter's Brush Up Your Shakespeare, Lindsay said Valentine's Day was the 'perfect day to celebrate the King's love of Shakespeare, and indeed to celebrate the love between the King and the Queen'. Her Majesty, who has kept busy as her husband King Charles is treated for cancer , today met with the President of The Poppy Factory Surgeon Rear Admiral Lionel Jarvis The Queen has also today met with those who have seen their lives changed by civilian employment with help from The Poppy Factory Camilla has kept busy this week amid her husband's cancer battle Other attendees at the celebrity-filled event included Charles Dance, Stephen Fry and Sir David Suchet. His Majesty is currently receiving more cancer treatment after his first public appearance at Sandringham on Sunday. The 75-year-old monarch landed at Clarendon House in the royal helicopter yesterday after spending a week in Norfolk resting following the shock announcement. Camilla during a celebration at Clarence House, central London, marking the centenary of The Poppy Factory, which was founded in the aftermath of the First World War Camilla holds a '10' made out of popppies It is understood the reception was due to be a joint event for the King and his wife, but since his cancer diagnosis Charles has postponed all public-facing duties, however he is continuing with behind-the-scenes work on his red boxes of state papers. Many of the guests signed a card and left messages of well-wishes to Charles. The event formed part of ongoing celebrations marking the passing of 400 years since Shakespeare's first folio and featured themed 'To beet, or not to beet' beetroot canapes. Camilla, who wore a green velvet dress, met actors, authors, directors, and representatives of the National Theatre and the Royal Shakespeare Company at the celebration, joining guests for a group photograph. Camilla smiles as she holds gifts of Valentine's Day jumpers with red hearts displayed on them Camilla looked gorgeous in green as she was joined by her sister Annabel Elliot at Grosvenor House Judi Dench performs on stage in front of Queen Camilla The King and Queen hosted a reception at Windsor Castle in July 2023 to celebrate the work of Shakespeare in the 400th year of the first folio. Shakespeare's first folio, published in 1623, contains 36 of his plays. Buckingham Palace said: 'As an avid reader, The Queen has a strong interest in highlighting the importance of literacy and has long been recognised as a supporter of literacy in the UK and internationally. 'As a grandmother, Her Majesty understands the joy of reading, but also, how literacy can create life opportunities.' As Duchess of Cornwall, Camilla became patron of several organisations that promote and support literacy - including the National Literacy Trust, First Story, Coram Beanstalk, and Booktrust. The Queen's Reading Room charity, initially launched as an online book club in January 2021, works to celebrate and promote the power and benefits of reading. Dame Judi said it was 'lovely' to attend the event and gave a performance of Shakespeare's Sonnet 116, describing the Bard as 'the person in our family who is called the man who pays the rent'. Oldman then performed a skit by Ronnie Barker about an actor who jumbles up the lines to Hamlet. Before giving his performance, the Academy Award winner joked: 'Gyles said it's just going to be a few people. He also didn't tell me I'd have to follow Dame Judi Dench.' It comes as Queen Camilla admired a painting of Princess Charlotte today as she attended an art gallery in London today. Camilla,, centre, speaks with host Gyles Brandreth, at the 'Celebration Of Shakespeare' at Grosvenor House, in London Giles Walker opted for a Valentine's Day jumper Gary Oldman performs on stage as Britain Queen Camilla attends the 'Celebration Of Shakespeare' Camilla shakes hands with Martin Jarvis as Peter Egan (L) smiles at the 'Celebration Of Shakespeare' at Grosvenor House Camilla smiles as she shakes hands with Samuel Wes The Queen visited artist collective in Shepherd's Bush after her art curator daughter, Laura Lopes, told her about the talent on show. Dressed in a navy A-line dress and black heeled boots, the royal braved the rainy weather as she chatted to artists and curators. Camilla marvelled at the installations, including taxidermy mice, intricate embroidered textiles. Chatting to the artists after looking around the exhibit, Camilla praised the talent saying she was 'very envious' of their talent, before one artist cheekily gave the Queen her card in case she 'wanted private lessons'. It comes amid reports that her husband King Charles is currently receiving more cancer treatment after his first public appearance at Sandringham on Sunday. The 75-year-old monarch landed at Clarendon House in the royal helicopter yesterday after spending a week in Norfolk resting following the shock announcement. Keeping calm and carrying on, Camilla today admired an intricate drawing of Princess Charlotte. The Queen was drawn to a painting of her step-granddaughter Princess Charlotte by Mercedes Carbonell, who had created her version of a photograph released to mark the young royal's second birthday in 2017. The artist said: 'The Queen liked it very much, I think Charlotte looks like Queen Elizabeth in the photograph.' Queen Camilla admired a painting of Princess Charlotte today as she attended an art gallery in London today The daughter of the Prince and Princess of Wales ' daughter, is now eight, but the painting appears to be taken from a photo released for her second birthday. A new kind of crown jewels! Camilla posed with with costume designer Syban Velardi-Laufer Camilla was pictured admiring the installations, including taxidermy mice and intricate embroidered textiles Camilla poses with artist Babag as she views works of art during a visit to Kindred Studios' Shepherds Bush pop-up hub Camilla meets Jon Rees as she visits Kindred Studios' Shepherds Bush Pop-up hub In the portrait, the princess wore a blue and white checked print blouse beneath a cream wool cardigan, while her hair was decorated with navy blue ribbon. On arrival, Camilla was met by a glowing chorus sung by a female-only choir. The group of women sang gleefully to the Queen from atop a balcony at nearby flats. She opted for a stylish navy blue frock while carrying a transparent umbrella, and added a black cropped jacket with open zipped sides, that allowed her free use of her arms. She teamed the ensemble with a pair of black suede knee-high boots and a chic emerald green Van Cleef and Arpels Alhambra bracelet. London Fashion Week has become a staple in the arts scene dominated by the rich and famous, and as it approaches its 40th birthday, FEMAIL documents its biggest scandals to date. Beyond the glitz and glamour, the show has been tarred with scandal over the years - ranging from nude models, lingerie-clad PETA activists to dead fish. While the fashionistas and socialites of the world religiously attend the coveted event, it seems the London elite have glossed over some of the show's most shocking moments. London Fashion Week 2024 will include shows from designers like Isabel Manns, AADNEVIK, Kazna Asker, Paolo Carzana and several more. This year the show is scheduled to take place from February 16 - 20. John Galliano's dead fish spectacle John Galliano, pictured arriving at The Fashion Awards 2021 at Royal Albert Hall was responsible for putting Kate Moss on the map, but he also oddly chucked dead dish at the crowd at LFW 1984 Legendary fashion designer John Galliano stunned his London Fashion Week audience at his French Revolution-themed show back in 1984. John had only graduated from Central Saint Martin's months earlier when he decided to chuck dead fish into the crowd during his own show. It was a bizarre and headline-grabbing stunt as audiences reeled from the shock of having a dead mackerel hurled into their faces - however it appeared to cement his status as a fashion great. Just five years later in 1989, the Gibraltar-born designer's LFW show was the hottest ticket in town as a 15-year-old Kate Moss stepped onto the catwalk for the first time. The same year as her LFW debut, she featured on the cover of popular arts publication The Face magazine and became Britain's most famous model. Alexander McQueen's debut show - Highland Rape Alexander McQueen was known for his wacky experimental designs, above is a model sporting them at London Fashion Week (not sporting the Highland Rape collection) Alexander McQueen was the centre of controversy in 1995 when his controversially-named Highland Rape collection hit the catwalk. The late designer created the collection with his family in mind, using the McQueen tartan for the designs to pay tribute to his Scottish heritage. He used models draped in ripped garments to symbolise the Jacobite risings and the Highland Clearances in Scotland. McQueen claimed the designs symbolised the 'rape' of Scottish land by the British. The controversial name of the show went down in history for all the wrong reasons - however it certainly put McQueen's name on people's lips. Skinny models A model walks the runway during the Miu Miu Ready to Wear Spring/Summer 2023 fashion show as part of the Paris Fashion Week In 2006, Madrid Fashion Week made the momentous decision to ban models taking to the runway who had a BMI of less than 18.5. The decision came following increasing pressure from campaign groups about the frighteningly thin frames of models appearing on catwalks at fashion shows. However, London Fashion Week came under fire in 2008 when it announced that it was scrapping plans to make similar changes. Compulsory health checks for underweight models were abandoned in the face of massive opposition from the fashion industry, as other cities failed to follow suit. The measures were aimed at deterring the use of size zero models - equivalent to a British size four - but an inquiry concluded they were unworkable. The planned requirement for models to obtain a doctor's certificate proving they were in good health had government support. But an inquiry found that making them mandatory in London would lead to models flocking to rival fashion capitals such as New York, Paris and Milan instead. Charlie Le Mindu's naked fashion show Charlie Le Mindu certainly turned heads at London Fashion Week in 2008, sending the audience into a frenzy by dressing his models with nothing but accessories French hairstylist Charlie Le Mindu turned heads as he broke the last taboo in the fashion world in 2008 by sending models down the catwalk stark naked. The then 24-year-old, whose creations have been worn by Lady Gaga - caused a stir with a show featuring models clad in hot pink high-heeled boots, hats, bags, wigs...and little else. In a scene reminiscent of the Emperors New Clothes, many of the assembled fashionistas did not know where to look. At London Fashion week 2007, he unveiled a full face headdress made of real mice and rat carcasses, outraging animal rights activists. Topless PETA activists Topless vegan protesters storm London Fashion Week in furious flash mob staged by PETA in 2018 Activists from PETA protest against the use of Crocodile skins in fashion PETA protest use of Crocodile Skin in Fashion Topless PETA activists staged a flash mob protest as London Fashion Week kicked off in 2018. With the slogan 'Wear Your Own Skin' painted across their bodies, the activists encouraged passers-by to shun fur, leather, shearling, and other animal-derived materials as they stood outside The Store Studios, London. The group of female PETA supporters braved the winter weather and bared their skin for a vegan protest at the start of London Fashion Week on The Strand. PETA Director Elisa Allen commented: 'Whether it's the fur of a frightened fox or angora rabbit or the skin of a gentle calf, it's not fabric and it's not ours for the taking'. She added: 'With so many innovative, high-quality vegan fabrics available, there's simply no excuse for wearing an animal's skin or hair'. Extinction Rebellion protests Extinction Rebellion targeting London Fashion Week with smoke bombs in 2023 Five members of Extinction Rebellion laid down on the 'blood'-soaked pavement in front of press photographers in 2019 In the same year, the eco-protesters glued themselves to a London Fashion Week entrance Back in 2019, Extinction Rebellion eco-activists covered in fake blood glued themselves to an entrance to London Fashion Week on its first day. Pictures posted by Extinction Rebellion on Friday morning show activists blocking doors to the trade show venue in The Strand, while others poured buckets of fake blood around the entrance to create a 'bleeding red carpet'. Protesters were led away by police shouting: 'You choose profit over planet, profit over people, profit over our future.' The environmental campaign movement said it was staging the so-called 'die-in' to urge the fashion industry to 'tell the truth about its contribution to the climate and ecological crisis'. The protesters, wearing white clothes with red blood stains, were photographed holding hands and carrying flags. And last year, the eco-protesters set off smoke bombs and covered the floor in black paint as they targeted London Fashion Week. As part of the stunt, about 30 eco-zealots stormed 180 The Strand - where the fashion show is being staged - in a protest against the 'world's biggest polluter', Coca-Cola. Climate change agitators in white overalls paraded up and down a red catwalk before drenching it in fake oil from two giant Coca-Cola bottles, as others set off black smoke grenades around them. Royal fans have been left in hysterics after a photo of Queen Victoria 'photobombing' her son's wedding portrait resurfaced. The photo, from the wedding day of Prince Edward Albert (later King Edward VII), shows the late monarch in the forefront of the photo in a black outfit to signal she is in mourning for her husband Prince Albert. Queen Victoria famously wore black from the age of 72 for the remainder of her life when she was grief-stricken by the death of her husband from Russian flu. In the wedding photo, dated 10 March 1863, Prince Edward and his bride, Alexandra of Denmark, pose solemnly for the portrait, while Edward's mother Queen Victoria is sat in front of them wearing her crepe silk black mourning dress, facing a bust of Prince Albert on a pillar. After the photo was posed on X/Twitter by journalist Madeleine Grant, people couldn't contain their amusement at the image, with many joking Queen Victoria would have been a difficult mother-in-law for Alexandra to live with. A photo has resurfaced on X/Twitter of Queen Victoria 'photobombing' her son Prince Edward on his wedding day The journalist posted the portrait on the social media platform with the caption: 'As wedding pictures go it doesn't get much better than Queen Victoria insisting on photobombing her son and his wife, by sitting between them wearing full mourning dress and staring at a bust of her dead husband.' In response, people were overwhelmingly amused by the snap and thought the late Queen's behaviour was hilarious. One person said the photo had made them 'guffaw' while another said they were 'laughing out loud' at it. The late monarch was in mourning for the rest of her life after her husband Prince Albert died from Russian flu X users joked the late monarch was a 'mother-in-law from hell' after the portrait resurfaced Others joked she was the 'mother-in-law from hell' with one X user writing: 'You might think you have difficult family members.. But if your mother in law hasnt dragged her dead husbands corpse to your wedding do you REALLY have difficult family members?' Queen Victoria was also branded a 'diva' and a goth for her scene-stealing moment. After Prince Albert died in 1861, Queen Victoria went into mourning for the rest of her life and became known for wearing a black mourning dress. In 2018, the crepe silk gown went on display for the first time at the Museum of London. Speaking about the display, curator Roz Sherris revealed that visitors may be surprised at the 4ft 8in queen's petite stature. 'She was very small. I think that is going to surprise a lot of people,' she said. In 2011, a letter emerged in which the Queen wrote about yearning for her own death so she could be reunited with her husband. Victoria wrote the astonishing letter in March 1863, the same month as her son's wedding and some 15 months after Alberts death, to 82-year-old Viscount Gough, one of the most decorated military figures of the 19th century. Sending her condolences on the death of his wife, she wrote: The Queen has heard with much concern of the sad affliction that has befallen Lord Gough and is anxious to express personally her sincere sympathy to him. Irreparable as his loss is how blessed to have lived together until the evening of their lives with the comfort and hope of the separation being a short one. To the poor Queen this blessing so needful to her has been denied and she can only hope never to live to old age but be allowed to rejoin her beloved great and loyal husband before many years elapse. The letter was written on Windsor Castle mourning paper. It is edged with thick black borders, as is the envelope. Princess Anne was photographed undertaking one of her many engagements today as she visited an organisation in Northamptonshire today. The 73-year-old royal was shown a knife amnesty bin as she visited a group that works to combat stabbings in Wellingborough, called Off The Streets knife crime community group. During the engagement, King Charles' sister met volunteers from Off the Streets North Northamptonshire (NN) and heard from those affected by knife crime during the visit at the market town's Hind Hotel. Off the Streets NN co-founder Ravaun Jones gave Anne a demonstration of a bleed control kit and a knife amnesty bin. Anne wore her hair in her typical up do, was dressed in a tweed jacket and brown skirt. Princess Anne (pictured) is welcomed by Ravaun Jones, Director and Co-Founder of Off The Streets (pictured) during her engagement today) The Princess Royal is pictured smiling during the visit today, during which she praised the availability of bleed kits She it was 'nice' to see the bleed control kits 'become more available'. Off the Streets NN has placed 203 bleed kits across Northamptonshire, with four of these having been used to save lives in emergency situations. Anne unveiled a plaque to commemorate her visit to the hotel - which is used by Off the Streets NN for meetings. The plaque will remain in the hotel until the organisation gets its own premises, and before the unveiling Anne joked: 'The trouble is finding somewhere to put it.' Mr Jones said he started Off the Streets NN because of the 'tragic' death of 16-year-old Dylan Holliday, who was fatally stabbed in August 2021. He added: 'Previously before that, there was quite a lot of stabbings going on throughout our community. 'However, we just felt like if we could act as a community, and help the authorities as well, then maybe there can be a massive amount of change.' The 13 amnesty bins placed across the county by Off the Streets NN have resulted in 3,000 knives being discarded. During her visit, the royal (right), spoke to Directors and Co-Founders Jane Capps (left) and Ravaun Jones (centre) about their work Anne wore her hair in her standard up to, opting for a tweed blazer and brown past knee skirt for the outing The Princess Royal spoke to school children during a visit to the Off The Streets knife crime community group Anne presented certificates to individuals who had supported the organisation and listened to two local schoolchildren read out pieces they had written on knife crime. In his piece, Taylan Jones, 13, said: 'I can't even go out to the park or any public place for that matter without my parents fearing that I may not make it back home. 'It's getting worse. And if we don't act upon it now, we will have a dangerous society.' He added: 'We need to bring back youth centres as it gives children a reason to stay off the streets and focus rather than wreak havoc.' Tiffany Pettit, 14, said in her piece: 'We need people to be educated so they can be more thoughtful, sympathetic and smart.' She added that she wished children growing up in Wellingborough could 'feel safe in their environment'. The royal is greeted as she arrives at the community group called Off The Streets in Wellington today Despite her busy schedule, the royal appeared happy to be at the engagement, and seemed interested in the work the group does The royal visit comes after it was announced that the King would be undergoing regular treatment for an unspecified cancer, which was found during his recent hospital stay for a procedure on an enlarged prostate. The King's slimmed-down monarchy has been put under pressure, as Charles postpones all public-facing duties because of his cancer diagnosis and the Princess of Wales is out of action for the immediate future after abdominal surgery. Anne met volunteers from Off the Streets North Northamptonshire (NN) and heard from those affected by knife crime during the visit at the market town's Hind Hotel. Off the Streets NN co-founder Ravaun Jones gave Anne a demonstration of a bleed control kit and a knife amnesty bin. Anne, dressed in a tweed jacket, said it was 'nice' to see the bleed control kits 'become more available'. Off the Streets NN has placed 203 bleed kits across Northamptonshire, with four of these having been used to save lives in emergency situations. Anne unveiled a plaque to commemorate her visit to the hotel - which is used by Off the Streets NN for meetings. Ravaun Jones, Director and Co-Founder of the community group (pictured, left) showed Princess Anne (pictured, right) a bleed kit during her visit The plaque will remain in the hotel until the organisation gets its own premises, and before the unveiling Anne joked: 'The trouble is finding somewhere to put it.' Mr Jones said he started Off the Streets NN because of the 'tragic' death of 16-year-old Dylan Holliday, who was fatally stabbed in August 2021. He added: 'Previously before that, there was quite a lot of stabbings going on throughout our community. 'However, we just felt like if we could act as a community, and help the authorities as well, then maybe there can be a massive amount of change.' The 13 amnesty bins placed across the county by Off the Streets NN have resulted in 3,000 knives being discarded. Anne presented certificates to individuals who had supported the organisation and listened to two local schoolchildren read out pieces they had written on knife crime. In his piece, Taylan Jones, 13, said: 'I can't even go out to the park or any public place for that matter without my parents fearing that I may not make it back home. 'It's getting worse. And if we don't act upon it now, we will have a dangerous society.' As a consequence of illnesses in the Royal Family, the small number of senior royals, including Princess Anne (pictured) are taking on more engagements He added: 'We need to bring back youth centres as it gives children a reason to stay off the streets and focus rather than wreak havoc.' Tiffany Pettit, 14, said in her piece: 'We need people to be educated so they can be more thoughtful, sympathetic and smart.' She added that she wished children growing up in Wellingborough could 'feel safe in their environment'. The royal visit comes after it was announced that the King would be undergoing regular treatment for an unspecified cancer, which was found during his recent hospital stay for a procedure on an enlarged prostate. The King's slimmed-down monarchy has been put under pressure, as Charles postpones all public-facing duties because of his cancer diagnosis and the Princess of Wales is out of action for the immediate future after abdominal surgery. New calls to ban fireworks in one Aussie state has divided residents, with those for the plan claiming it would benefit animals and those with certain health conditions, while those against it saying it's just another example of "banning something that gives people joy". Leading the push in Victoria is disability advocate Shannon Meilak, who launched a petition to parliament, which on its first day attracted almost 600 signatures. Meilak says fireworks are harmful to people who live with sensory conditions, including PTSD and autism, and "entertainment should never come at the expense of another". Fireworks harm vulnerable people in the community, advocate says In addition to those harmful effects, she said, fireworks can also traumatise our pets and wildlife, with animals having no way to understand what the displays are. She argued it could lead to "shock and disorientation", which could "often end in serious injury or death." Calls are mounting to ban fireworks in Victoria. Source: Getty "Fireworks may be pretty to look at and entertaining for some, but for many others they are frightening and a risk to their health and even their lives," Meilak said. "People with PTSD or sensory conditions, such as autism, may suffer sensory overload, panic attacks and anxiety which may potentially lead to self-harm or suicide. There are also other health concerns, particularly for asthma sufferers and those with bronchial conditions." Animals also suffer during displays Companion animals are known to "tremble in fear and worse" during fireworks, often escaping their homes in the confusion, the advocate said, leading to "permanent separation from their loving families" and in some instances, being hit by a car. "Fireworks have negative impacts to our environment by polluting river systems and drinking water reserves with toxic chemicals, and on occasion have even started grass fires, putting people's homes at risk," she said. Story continues The petition has caught the attention of Victorian Animal Rights Party MP Georgie Purcell, who on Friday backed the proposal. "New Year's Eve is the worst night of the year for many shelters around the state with so many cats and dogs becoming missing or displaced due to fireworks and running away from home," Purcell said on 3AW, adding she's firmly behind "a push to replace fireworks with a different alternative". "I constantly have members of the community wanting change for a range of different reasons, not because of just animals, they're also really triggering for people with PTSD, particularly veterans, with the loud bangs, and of course neurodivergent people being triggered by the loud nosies." Advocates for the ban say people with sensory conditions suffer during fireworks, in addition to animals. Source: Getty Safer alternatives flagged Purcell said around the world firework displays are being replaced with alternatives. "Replacing them with something else that is equally fun but not as loud and disruptive to wildlife and animals and triggering to people, I think is a good outcome," she said. She said drone shows "are becoming increasingly popular" and could be one safer alternative. Online, some people agreed with the proposal. "100 per cent agreed it's a waste of money, it's overrated and the amount of dogs they cause harm to," one person wrote. "No brainer. It causes PTSD," said another. There were some people however who were firmly against the idea. "Why do these socialists want everything banned? Jeez, every day that goes by they want to make life bleaker and bleaker for everyone," a man said. "Just another day in Victoria where another thing that gives some kind of joy might be banned," another person wrote. Love Australia's weird and wonderful environment? Get our new newsletter showcasing the weeks best stories. However, all eyes were on her dress, which people claimed was backwards Fani took the stand yesterday after being accused of misconduct allegations Fani Willis has been furiously mocked on social media over accusations that she accidentally put on her dress backwards before taking the stand in court this week. The 53-year-old Fulton County District Attorney - who has been testifying at a hearing over misconduct allegations - was brutally savaged on social media after eagle-eyed users pointed out that she had a zipper running up the front of her pink frock. Fani, who has been accused of lying about the timeline of her 'romantic' relationship with the special prosecutor she appointed to Donald Trump's election interference case, sparked a frenzy of sartorial speculation with the look as the internet tried to figure out whether the quirky design was accidental or intentional. Although her staggering testimony, which saw her firing back against the 'extremely offensive' claims, left people stunned, many eyes were on her 'embarrassing' ensemble error, which prompted viewers to ridicule the attorney's capabilities, with some joking that 'she can't even dress herself.' Fani Willis has been furiously mocked on social media as people on the web accused her of wearing her dress backwards after they spotted a zipper on the front of her outfit The 53-year-old Fulton County District Attorney - who is facing a hearing for misconduct allegations - was savaged on social media for appearing to don her pink frock backwards Fani seemed to commit a 'mind-blowing' fashion faux pas that saw her zipper hanging at the front of her neckline After Fani took the stand, people took to Twitter and TikTok to tease the attorney for her apparent error. While sharing zoomed-in snaps of her ensemble, one person tweeted: 'Fani Willis wore her dress backwards and her American flag pin sideways.' People then flooded the comments section to fire off at Fani as they questioned how she could have made such a 'humiliating' mistake. One user added: 'Simply no way she's law school graduate.' Another person said: 'Maybe it was the Grey Goose. Fani Willis wore her dress backward yesterday. Did anyone notice?' 'That is absolutely bananas and means she did not think she was going to testify. Someone told her she had to,' commented another user. 'Ok, apparently Fani Willis went to this court appearance with her dress on backwards. Millions of people watched this. For many women, this humiliation would be worse than disbarment,' added someone else. 'As an attorney myself, it is mind-blowing that this woman is a District Attorney. Her lack of courtroom decorum is astounding. She's an absolute embarrassment to the profession,' another person wrote. After Fani took the stand, people took to Twitter and TikTok to tease the attorney for her apparent error People then flooded the comments section to fire off at Frani as they questioned how she could have made such a 'humiliating' mistake Someone else said: 'You can't be serious.' 'Hmm where are the fashion police at?' another person said. Someone else commented: 'That's absolutely ridiculous.' Others flooded to TikTok to share videos of Fani's dress as they continued their firestorm of outrage. One user zoomed in on the zipper on the front of her pink outfit and said: 'Fani, is that dress on backwards? Yep, yep.' Another said: 'Everything about District Attorney Fani is backwards, just like her dress.' Others ran to the comments section to mock the fashion error and joked she 'can't even dress herself.' One user added: 'Hilarious.' Many social media users speculated that the dress Fani was wearing was the Adrianna Papell Knit Crepe Bow Sheath Dress with 3/4 Sleeves (left). But others insisted she was wearing a $42.99 VFShow dress which does indeed have a zipper in the front (right) 'I thought the same thing in another video like why is the zipper in the front,' commented another person. 'I was wondering why the zipper was in front like that,' said another user. Someone else commented: 'I thought her dress looked weird on her.' Many social media users claimed the dress Fani was wearing was the Adrianna Papell Knit Crepe Bow Sheath Dress with 3/4 Sleeves, which retails for $129. However, others insisted she was wearing a $42.99 VFShow dress, which has a zipper in the front - meaning that she would've have been wearing the dress the correct way. However, it has not been confirmed which frock Fani was wearing. Fani was accused in a stunning court filing of having an affair with Nathan Wade, who was paid more than $600,000 as a special prosecutor assisting her office. Fani was accused in a stunning court filing of having an affair with Nathan Wade, who was paid more than $600,000 as a special prosecutor assisting her office Fani is facing calls to be disqualified from the Trump case over her affair with Nathan (seen) and whether they were in a relationship when she hired him to help prosecute the ex-president Former president Trump pointed to the allegations on Tuesday and said it meant the Georgia prosecutor was 'totally compromised' and that the case against him 'has to be dropped.' Fani is facing calls to be disqualified from the Trump case over her affair with Nathan and whether they were in a relationship when she hired him to help prosecute the ex-president. She took the stand after Nathan was also grilled about their sex life, asked for intimate details about their relationship and told to explain the lavish trips they took together to exotic destinations such as Belize and Aruba. It was a remarkable moment in Trump's mountain of legal battles and threatens to upend the Georgia election interference case. Number of British women taking ADHD drugs has soared within the past year Trendy apps, social media influencers and private clinics are contributing to a huge surge of ADHD in middle-aged women, an expert fears. World-renowned University College London psychiatrist Professor Joanna Moncrieff fears the mental disorder is being over diagnosed. As a result, thousands are needlessly getting powerful drugs designed to calm them down, she said. Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a condition which affects people's behaviour. It usually makes patients restless and causes them trouble concentrating and act on impulse. Although typically diagnosed during childhood, clinicians have been taken aback by a wave of adults seeking help, and drugs, to help them with suspected ADHD. Actress Sheridan Smith is the latest in a string of celebrities to share their diagnosis with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Sheridan Smith, 42, has revealed she has been diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (pictured in 2023) Fascinating graphs show how ADHD prescriptions have risen over time, with the patient demographic shifting from children to adults with women in particular now driving the increase The 42-year-old, who shot to fame on The Royle Family as Antony's girlfriend Emma, told Vogue that it has helped her 'make sense of a lot of things' in her life and better understand her 'brain's background noise'. Other celebs to have been diagnosed with ADHD include Olivia Atwood, Sue Perkins, Johnny Vegas and Ben Fogle. Influential figures coming forward have fuelled accusations that the condition has become 'trendy', suggesting it is being over diagnosed. Asked about such claims, Professor Moncrieff said: 'There are many doctors who're extremely uneasy about this. 'There is such demand for it from patients that doctors feel pressurised to give these diagnoses. 'It's now become so common I feel it's actually become about peer pressure, people know other people with a diagnosis and almost feel that if they don't get one they're letting themselves down.' Professor Moncrieff said older women were particularly vulnerable to some of these pressures. She said: 'It's to do with a lack of confidence and therefore feeling a diagnosis might explain things and boost their confidence because it gives them something tangible to pin their anxieties about their inadequacies onto.' NHS data, for the 2022/23 financial year, shows a massive surge in year-on-year ADHD drug prescriptions in women between their late 20s and early 30s, with rises of almost 60 per cent. NHS statistics showed more than 230,000 people in England were now taking meds to combat their inattentiveness and hyperactivity. Prescription rates jumped by a fifth in a year, in the biggest annual rise since modern records began in 2015. Younger women saw the biggest annual increases, with rates jumping 50 per cent among those aged 25-39. But older women, those between 40 and 60, aren't immune to the trend either, with over 13,000 women in thus age group now taking ADHD medication, up from 9,000 the year prior. In terms of what was driving the diagnoses, Professor Moncrieff told MailOnline that there were likely multiple factors at play. Former Bake Off host Sue Perkins (left) last year shared that she had been diagnosed and that 'suddenly everything made sense - to me and those who love me'. Love Island's Olivia Atwood (right) said ADHD made her 'constantly overwhelmed' Last year, Johnny Vegas (left) admitted he was in the 'early stages' of working through medication, after he was diagnosed with ADHD. Ben Fogle (right), who has previously spoken about being dyslexic, revealed this week that he was recently diagnosed with ADHD after a 'recent mental health storm' She said private clinics, where people pay hundreds for an ADHD assessment, likely had a role. Professor Moncrieff said a number of NHS mental health clinicians suspected these assessments, which can include questionnaires and a diagnostic interview, are less than thorough. But one of the consequences was a number of these patients then sought out NHS care for their newly diagnosed condition. 'People are going to these private outfits getting a diagnosis and then coming to the NHS wanting the health service to continue with the treatment so they don't have to keep going privately,' she said. 'It is taking NHS clinicians by surprise and they're not quite sure what to do about it.' What are NOT always signs of ADHD? Videos detailing how your common habits may be actually ADHD symptoms have amassed billions of views on TikTok. Experts worry the flood of content from influencers is reinforcing stereotypes and encouraging inaccurate self-diagnoses. Dr Punit Shah, a psychologist and expert in neurodiversity from the University of Bath, explains which symptoms are not always a sign of ADHD. Repetitive skin picking, lip biting or nail picking is sometimes seen among people with ADHD. But Dr Shah warns that these habits cannot be used to diagnose ADHD and they may instead be a sign of another condition or just a bad habit. Having trouble concentrating and focusing on tasks is a common ADHD symptom recognised by the NHS. Dr Shah said inattention and mind wondering are classically ADHD like symptoms and traits. However, daydreaming and mind wondering are 'natural phenomenon' experienced by everyone so not always a sign of ADHD, Dr Shah said. Impatience and irritability are also not always caused by ADHD. Dr Shah said: 'You will have people who are just highly irritable and impatient people that may not have ADHD and ADHD might just slightly increase your tendency to be irritable and have difficulty regulating your emotions.' Advertisement She added this extra case load was adding an extra burden on the already stretched NHS mental health services. A damning BBC investigation earlier this year found patients could get diagnosed with ADHD and offered powerful drugs through unreliable video call assessments with private clinics. Social media influencers promoting everyday problems as potential symptoms and trendy apps promising to help manage the condition have been blamed for sowing the idea among Brits that they may have ADHD, too. Professor Moncrieff said social media platforms like TikTok had 'a huge part' to play in promoting ADHD to the masses. Some accounts on the platform, with thousands of followers and millions of views, list common problems such as 'not wanting to do dishes', 'procrastinating' or being 'messy' as potential ADHD signs. Other accounts feature stranger symptoms. One seen by this website, a TikTok account run by American Katie Sue who says she was diagnosed with ADHD at 29, lists signs of the condition as including 'mystery bruises', 'coming across as a flirt', 'having low esteem' or 'forgetting about food until it goes bad'. None of these are listed as potential ADHD symptoms in adults by the NHS, although experts note that the condition can affect people in different ways. Professor Moncrieff said everyday problems are unlikely to indicate someone has ADHD. 'The diagnosis as it is set out is so woolly that anything can potentially fit into it,' she said. 'But no, on its own not wanting to do dishes or other repetitive tasks is not ADHD it's completely normal, we all feel it.' In fact, she said it was her opinion ADHD in adults was very rare and clinical signs requiring treatment were when aspects like inattentiveness and impulsiveness were having a massive impact on a patient's life. 'It's not managing to work, or not being able to maintain relationships,' she said. Another potential source for the explosion in ADHD diagnoses is management apps, experts have suggested. Some are advertised online, like the ADHD management app Effecto, which charges users just under $60 (47.70) for a year's access. Effecto claims it allows users a 'revolutionary way' to manage their ADHD and doing so will 'improve focus, manage disorganization and create your ultimate routine'. But the app is also open to people who have self-diagnosed themselves with ADHD or even just suspect they might have the condition. ADHD apps like this example, Effecto, could be driving people to seek drugs for their potential condition, experts warn The app, available on multiple platforms, allows users who have 'self-diagnosed' or suspected ADHD to create a plan to help manage their condition Professor Moncrieff said apps like this can act as a potential 'gateway' for people seeking more formal, and medicalised, help for their supposed ADHD diagnosis. 'If you're sucking more people into this idea that they have a medical condition you're probably going to end up with more people on medication,' she said. Both Katie Sue and Effecto were contacted for comment. Professor Moncrieff said it was crucial people remember that starting medication for ADHD was not a risk-free decision. ADHD drugs take the form of various stimulants which, like any medical intervention, carry risks of side effects that vary in intensity. Professor Moncrieff said we still knew precious little about the long-term effects of taking these drugs. Commonly taken ADHD drugs include methylphenidate (Ritalin), lisdexamfetamine (Elvanse) and dexamfetamine (Amfexa). 'The widespread prescription of stimulants in adults is relatively new and they haven't been widely tested for long periods of time, so we have very little good data on the long-term implications of stimulant use,' she said. 'We know that they can cause cardiac complicationsand there is some evidence out there that adults who take prescription stimulants are more at risk of Parkinson's or Parkinson-like disorders. 'No one has any idea what the implications are for taking stimulants for life are.' Smith is just one of several celebrities who have celebrated their ADHD diagnosis later in life. Others include former Love Island star, Olivia Attwood who previously explained how the condition 'caused myself and people around me a lot of stress' during her teens and early 20s 'when it wasn't managed'. TV personality Katie Price has also discussed how her adult ADHD diagnosis explains why she has never felt there would be 'consequences' for her actions. Ben Fogle, who has previously spoken about being dyslexic, revealed this week that he was recently diagnosed with ADHD after a 'recent mental health storm'. TikTok creator Katie Sue lists some signs of ADHD as including 'mystery bruises', 'coming across as a flirt', 'having low esteem' or 'forgetting about food until it goes bad' Former Bake Off host Sue Perkins last year shared that she had been diagnosed and that 'suddenly everything made sense - to me and those who love me'. Academics are still attempting to piece together how ADHD affects older people. ADHD affects around 5 per cent of children in the US with rates in the UK about 3.6 per cent in boys and 0.9 per cent of girls. But as many as one in 20 adults in Britain could have the condition, according to the ADHD Foundation charity. Despite the sudden explosion of diagnoses among adults, ADHD is still more common in kids. ADHD was only officially listed in the UK as a disorder that affects adults in 2008. Before then, it was only recognised as a childhood problem that kids grew out of. As a result, rather than being over diagnosed, some experts argue that many adults now being told they have ADHD have gone years having their symptoms dismissed. Others say that ADHD is on a spectrum, similar to autism, so it is arbitrary where to draw the line at what is ADHD and what isn't. What exactly causes ADHD is unclear, but it's thought to involve genetic mutations that affect a person's brain function and structure. Premature babies and those with epilepsy or brain damage are thought to be more at risk. ADHD is also linked to other conditions like anxiety, depression, insomnia, Tourette's and epilepsy. There is no cure, but a combination of drugs and therapy is usually recommended to relieve symptoms and make day-to-day life easier. Between 50 and 80 percent of US adults are thought to have the cold sore virus People who are prone to cold sores may have double the risk of dementia later in life, a study has suggested. Researchers from Uppsala University in Sweden found that people who have been infected with the herpes simplex virus (HSV) - which causes cold sores - at some point in their lives were twice as likely to develop all forms of dementia, compared to those who were never infected. It is thought that the virus could increase the risk of Alzheimer's because fragments of the virus stay in your body for life and there is some evidence they travel to the brain where they trigger the creation of amyloid-beta plaques and tau, which are hallmarks of dementia. Between 50 and 80 percent of US adults are thought to have the HSV virus. It stays dormant in the body but during times when the immune system is low, exposure to hot sun, cold wind, a cold or other illness or even stress can cause breakouts. Researchers found that people who have been infected with the herpes simplex virus - which causes cold sores - at some point in their lives were twice as likely to develop dementia, compared to those who were never infected Alzheimer's is becoming more prevalent in America. The rate of deaths from the disease has increased since 2000 While the study was observational and cannot prove the link, it aligns with previous findings. For the latest research, published in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, researchers studied more than 1,000 70-year-old Swedes for 15 years. 'What's special about this particular study is that the participants are roughly the same age, which makes the results even more reliable since age differences, which are otherwise linked to the development of dementia, cannot confuse the results,' Erika Vestin, a medical student from Uppsala University, told Medical Xpress. Blood samples were collected and analyzed to detect if they had the herpes simplex virus. The researchers also collected information on dementia diagnoses and indications of cognitive impairment from participants' medical records. Researchers at the Memory Clinic of Uppsala University Hospital reviewed the diagnoses and classified cases as established or probable dementia. Some 71 participants (seven percent) developed dementia and 36 (four percent) developed Alzheimer's. Some 89 percent of participants who developed Alzheimer's or dementia had the herpes simplex virus, while 82 percent of those without cognitive impairment had the virus. Through statistical analysis, the researchers determined that having the virus doubled the risk of dementia. Dementia is the general term for a group of conditions associated with loss of memory, language and judgement. Alzheimer's is the most common form of the disease, affecting more than six million Americans, while Lewy body dementia is the second most common type, with roughly one million living with the condition. A couple of years ago I started losing weight very rapidly, for no apparent reason. The pounds were falling off me, even as I waited for an appointment to see my GP. My clothes no longer fitted: the waist of my trousers suddenly sat on my hips. I thought, 'This is it, not only has some disease invaded my brain, but now my body, too.' I was convinced I had cancer. 'You know I don't want treatment?' I told my GP. 'Yes,' she said, 'but let's cross that bridge if we come to it'. I pictured having to break the news to my two daughters and talking through my options for palliative care. The GP sent me for tests and when they all came back clear she was delighted. How did I feel? Disappointed. Deflated. I know most people find a cancer scare terrifying, but for that brief, blissful time between test and result I had imagined myself making choices about my future. I would become the lady with cancer. I would no longer be the lady with dementia. In the ten years since I was diagnosed, aged 58, with young-onset vascular dementia and Alzheimer's, I have done everything I can to stay positive and demonstrate that there is life a good life to be had while living with this progressive disease, Wendy Mitchell writes It might sound hard to hear that, but it is true. In the ten years since I was diagnosed, aged 58, with young-onset vascular dementia and Alzheimer's, I have done everything I can to stay positive and demonstrate that there is life a good life to be had while living with this progressive disease. I am a glass half-full person. I have given practical advice to tens of thousands (possibly hundreds of thousands) of people all over the world, wherever my books are sold, and campaigned to increase awareness of the disease. I have shared my tips for how to live with dementia as a companion albeit an unwelcome one not an enemy. I could even go so far as to say I have enjoyed finding solutions to some of the challenges dementia has presented me for instance, the bright red notebook I was carrying in my pocket on that first doctor's visit, in which I had written 'weight loss' to remind myself why I was there. I have often felt a sense of achievement in managing to outwit this opponent inside my brain. I have given people hope, yet I do not have a magic wand. Dementia is a progressive illness; there will come a time when its moves on the chessboard of life outmanoeuvre mine. If I'm honest, I can feel it happening now. I saw cancer as my way out, my escape from dementia. I felt guilty for feeling that, but it's true. I understand how much some people long to receive the all-clear like I did, and I tried to arrange my face into something that resembled relief in front of the GP, but I didn't feel relief, I felt sadness. Sadness that I had to continue living or perhaps, rather, dying with dementia without a way out. So, I have to begin thinking about the end and thinking about assisted dying. This is controversial, I know, but it is a debate that has been drawing in some well-known voices. Actress Diana Rigg's daughter, Rachael Stirling, wrote recently, very movingly, of recordings made by her 82-year-old mother as she lay dying, painfully, in the last stages of cancer. Rigg was made furious by her feeling of impotence as she struggled toward the end ('It's gone on too long. Push me over the edge,' she said at one point) and insisted on voicing her support for assisted dying. Broadcaster Dame Esther Rantzen, who has lung cancer and is nearing the end of life's journey, said recently that she had joined Dignitas and had considered travelling to its clinic in Switzerland to end her life. She has since started a petition for a parliamentary vote, which now has more than 120,000 signatures. As things stand, even if the law were to change in the near future, it would not include people like me. Those who are lobbying for assisted dying to be legalised in Britain are asking only that those with terminal illnesses and with less than six months to live be able to end their lives with dignity. That could never apply to me because the time it will take me to die with dementia is unknowable it could take years. So I write this with no hope of personal gain, but with a desire to make people understand that this debate means much to people in many different situations. Last autumn, I appeared at the Cheltenham Literature Festival alongside Henry Marsh, retired neurosurgeon and acclaimed author of Do No Harm, who'd been diagnosed with, and treated for, advanced prostate cancer. We were there to discuss our books and, particularly, end of life and assisted dying. On stage, in front of hundreds of people, Henry described how he thought of his cancer as a vaccination against dementia implying that one of the advantages of his situation was that the cancer would kill him before he might be diagnosed with dementia. I understood what he was trying to say and his dread of losing his faculties. If assisted dying were legal in this country, I would choose it in a heartbeat. At the moment, I retain my independence, but my partner-in-writing, Anna Wharton (who has co-authored all three of my books), once described me as a swan gliding on the top of the water, or appearing so to other people. She could see my legs frantically pedalling under the water and saw just what that took out of me. Broadcaster Dame Esther Rantzen, who has lung cancer and is nearing the end of life's journey, said recently that she had joined Dignitas and had considered travelling to its clinic in Switzerland to end her life . Those who know me well, like my wonderful daughters, now in their 40s, understand that's how it works and they also know how exhausting it is becoming. These legs are peddling more frantically now, and more and more often I am unable to give that impression of a swan gliding on the water's surface. Dementia is winning. That is why I would take the option of ending my life if I could, while I still have some dignity, while I can still make that decision for myself, before I go over the edge and into the fog of the disease altogether. Because once I have entered that fog for good, I will no longer be the Wendy you, or even I, know. I don't want dementia to take me to the point where I'm reliant on others for my daily needs, where others will decide for me when I shower or may insist that I have a bath which I hate. I don't want someone else to tell me when I eat, or what I eat, or decide by the look on my face whether I am happy or sad. That is no life for me. That is no Wendy for me. And I don't want my daughters to see the husk of a person I will inevitably become. But, sadly, assisted dying is not an option in Britain, so I have to face the fact that this course for me, unless another intervention is made by nature or my own decision-making is inevitable. As my latest book, One Last Thing: How To Live With The End In Mind, is about to be published in paperback, I will be writing to a number of leading lights in the assisted dying debate, hoping they will see that any change in the law needs to extend beyond the terminally ill with less than six months to live. It seems incredible to me that we pay so little attention to death when it is something that affects 100 per cent of the population, regardless of wealth, intelligence, ethnicity or religion. It is something I thought long and hard about as I researched One Last Thing. The book contains much about planning for the end, but I have also used it as an opportunity to explore my belief that people should be allowed to die with dignity, free of pain. The only legal choice we don't have in life is when we're born. For everything else, we, as humans, should have a choice a choice of how we live and a choice of how we die. The daughter of actress Diana Rigg (pictured), Rachael Stirling, wrote recently of recordings made by her 82-year-old mother as she lay dying , painfully, in the last stages of cancer Facts, figures and experience show that, in those countries where assisted dying is legal, many people actually choose to go on living. Having that 'magic potion' or 'poison' (however you want to look at it) within reach enables them to choose life for much longer. Refusing to legalise assisted dying does not prolong life, as people like to think. It prolongs death, and often pain. Why would anyone choose that option for themselves or for someone they love? I believe that having a choice within your grasp enables you to stop worrying and live life. If it were available to me I could relax, knowing I would not have to suffer. As I was writing One Last Thing, I spoke to many amazing people, both in favour of assisted dying and against. I was particularly interested to meet Jane, who happens to be Anna's best friend. Jane, 50, has secondary progressive multiple sclerosis which has left her paraplegic and using a wheelchair. She suffers from double incontinence, pain and total exhaustion. We made quite a pair, she with her body letting her down but her brain as sharp as ever, me with my brain failing but my body intact. We had such an open and positive conversation about the end of life something that many of us find hard to discuss with loved ones or our children. Jane and I had both got to the point where we found adapting to our two very different diseases exhausting, however positively we have accepted the challenge. 'I would like to get to a point when it's OK for me to sit down with the people I love and say: 'OK, guys, I'm done adapting. Like, I know I could keep adapting, but I don't want to adapt any more, so can you give me your blessing and can we all just be OK with the fact that my level of adaption stops here?' ' she told me. I couldn't agree more. We should be the ones who are able to decide when we've done enough adapting to accommodate these burdens we have to live with. Why do others get to decide for us by blocking assisted dying and insisting we must just keep on going when we find it so tiring? By being able to choose not to, I would not be waving the white flag at dementia. Instead I'd be saying: 'I'm done with you and your games; no longer am I going to risk the chance of you winning.' I have also met people who had to watch their loved ones die slowly and painfully and wished they had been able to help them. I had a conversation with MP Paul Blomfield, whose father sadly took his own life alone, without being able to say goodbye because he didn't want to go through the end stages of his own cancer diagnosis. Losing his father cemented Paul's belief that there must be a better way. 'It's about people choosing the quality of their life and choosing the right moment when they feel there is insufficient quality in their life,' he said. Of course, I absolutely appreciate the other side of the argument and have had long discussions with those championing palliative care. Many specialists believe we should concentrate on providing gold standard end-of-life care but, to me, it shouldn't be a case of one or the other. Yes, of course great palliative care should exist for all, but so should the choice to die with dignity. The most wonderful palliative care imaginable could not stem the incoming tide of my dementia. I'm afraid palliative care doctors don't have magic wands either. When I talked to Catherine Forest, a doctor in California who administers 'medical aid in dying', she told me she felt she was fulfilling her medical promise to her patients, which is to end suffering as they define it for themselves. Shouldn't all of us with terminal or progressive illnesses be able to define what suffering means to us individually? It has always been my aim to bring hope to those living with or caring for people with dementia. I don't think that's at odds with talking of assisted dying. Hope is having choice. Anyone who disagrees with me is free to do so but, please, don't deny it as an option to the rest of us. I ask you, whatever your beliefs, to consider what I have to say with an open mind. None of us knows what life has in store for us. Public opinion has already shifted in favour of assisted dying. Should the law do the same and also make provision for those of us with dementia it might just be something for which you, or someone in your family, will eventually be grateful. The USDA is spending more than $1million to fund the risky experiments The US government is spending $1million of American taxpayer money to fund experiments on dangerous bird flu viruses in collaboration with Chinese scientists. The research involves infecting ducks and geese with different strains of viruses to make them more infectious, and study the viruses' potential to 'jump into mammalian hosts,' according to research documents. It is being funded through the US Department of Agriculture and collaborating studies will take place at sites in Georgia, Beijing and Edinburgh in Scotland. It comes despite similar research being restricted in 2022 and growing concerns that dubious Chinese studies may have started the Covid pandemic. The White Coat Waste Project obtained the above photo and claims it shows animal experimenters inside the USDA lab that is working with Chinese scientists on bird flu research The above shows a caged chicken that the The White Coat Waste Project claims is from inside the USDA lab that is working with Chinese government scientists on bird flu research The above shows a caged chicken that the The White Coat Waste Project claims is from inside the USDA lab that is working with Chinese government scientists on bird flu research The documents were obtained by the campaign group, The White Coat Waste Project, and shared with DailyMail.com. The papers show funding for the avian virus research began in April 2021 and it is slated to continue through March 2026. The USDA told this website the project was applied for in 2019 and approved in 2020. The specific viruses the researchers will work with include H5NX, H7N9 and H9N2, WCW reported. A 2023 study described H5NX viruses as 'highly pathogenic' with the ability to cause neurological complications in humans. The H7N9 strain first infected humans and animals in China in March 2013 and the World Health Organization said it is of concern 'because most patients have become severely ill.' The H9N2 strain has been found in dove in China and while it has a lower pathogenicity than the other strains, it can still infect humans. The main collaborators on the project are USDA Southeast Poultry Research Laboratory, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and the University of Edinburghs Roslin Institute - a Wuhan lab partner. Additionally, one of the researchers collaborating on the project is Wenju Liu, who is affiliated with the WIV - which is believed to have sparked the Covid pandemic - and a member of the board of a scientific journal, working with Zheng-Li Shi, who is known as the 'bat lady' for her extensive work on bat coronaviruses. Different aspects of the research are slated to take place in multiple locations, including poultry research centers in Athens, Georgia, at the Roslin Institute in Edinburgh and at the Chinese academy in Beijing. Allan Rodriguez, a spokesperson with the USDA, told DailyMail.com the $100million funding awarded to the research 'is only being committed to the specific components carried out by our own team located in Athens, Georgia, and is not any way contributing to research taking place in the UK or China.' Republican Sen Joni Ernst of Iowa wrote a letter Thursday to Tom Vilsack, secretary of the US Department of Agriculture, seeking more information about the department's ongoing funding of the research One of the researchers collaborating on the project is Wenju Liu, who is affiliated with the WIV and a member of the board of a scientific journal, working with Zheng-Li Shi, who is known as the 'bat lady' for her extensive work on bat coronaviruses Sen Ernst's letter stated the USDA research will involve infecting ducks and geese with bird flu viruses in gain-of-function experiments to make the diseases more transmissible and infectious The specific viruses the researchers will work with include H5NX, H7N9 and H9N2, WCW reported Between 2015 and 2023, at least seven US entities supplied NIH grant money to labs in China performing animal experiments, totaling $3,306,061 Shi Zhengli - dubbed the 'Bat Lady' or 'Bat Woman' for her work on bat coronaviruses - is pictured in a Wuhan Institute of Virology lab. She hunted down dozens of deadly Covid-like viruses in bat caves and studied them at the WIV Justin Goodman, senior vice president of the WCW, said in a statement to DailyMail.com: 'It's reckless and indefensible for... bureaucrats to bankroll dangerous avian flu gain-of-function studies involving virus experimenters from the notorious Wuhan animal lab that likely caused COVID and its CCP-run parent organization, the Chinese Academy of Sciences. 'Taxpayers shouldnt be forced to foot the bill for animal experiments with foreign adversaries that soup up viruses and can cause pandemics or create bioweapons.' Following the publication of the documents by WCW, Republican Sen Joni Ernst of Iowa wrote a letter Thursday to Tom Vilsack, secretary of the USDA, seeking more information about the department's ongoing funding of the research. The letter read: 'I was troubled to learn from the non-profit group White Coat Waste Project that USDA is supporting experiments involving a "highly pathogenic avian influenza virus" that poses a "risk to both animals and humans."' Sen Ernst wrote a letter to the USDA stating she was 'troubled' by the agency's research Sen Ernst said in a statement to DailyMail.com: 'The health and safety of Americans are too important to just wing it, and Bidens USDA should have had more apprehension before sending any taxpayer dollars to collaborate with [China] on risky avian flu research. 'They should know by now to suspect "fowl" play when it comes to researchers who have ties to the dangerous Wuhan Lab, and simply switching from bats to birds causes concern that they are creating more pathogens of pandemic potential. 'Heres my warning: the Biden administration should be walking on eggshells until they cut off every cent going to our adversaries. We cannot allow what happened in Wuhan to happen again.' Despite the senators concerns, the USDA spokesperson told this website it is 'common for international researchers to conduct independent research that's connected to the same end goal' and that the research does not qualify as gain-of-function. He added: 'Any time Senator Ernst has a question for USDA about our research or our commitment to helping Americas farmers mitigate animal diseases like highly pathogenic avian influenza, she should reach out to us directly before putting misinformation in a press release or public letter... and despite the senator's assertions, this is not gain-of-function research. 'Because animal diseases present a global threat, it is common for international researchers to conduct independent research thats connected to the same end goal but what Senator Ernst lays out in her letter is far off base from whats actually transpiring, and on top of that is based on approval decisions that predate this Administration.' Sluggish sperm could swim faster when blasted by ultrasound, a new study has found potentially increasing mobility by up to 266 per cent. The groundbreaking research from Monash University in Melbourne may hold the key to improving IVF success rates as male fertility across the world continues to decline. The research tested the theory by grouping 50 semen samples by the speed of their swimmers rapid, slow and not moving, or immotile. The samples were then blasted with 800 megawatt ultrasound waves at a frequency of 40 megahertz. After 20 seconds of ultrasound wave stimulation, 59 per cent of the previously unmoving sperm began to swim at varying speeds. The groundbreaking research from Monash University in Melbourne may hold the key to improving IVF success rates as male fertility across the world continues to decline (stock image) Originally making up 36 per cent of the samples tested, immotile sperm fell to just 10 per cent by the end of the study. Experts believe that the miraculous burst of energy may have to do with the sperm's mitochondria the tiny organelles within them that act as a 'battery pack' of sorts. When ultrasound waves are applied, the mitochondria may be being kickstarted. During IVF, slow swimmers can make or break a successful artificial insemination. When a sperm sample and egg are incubated in a dish during a conventional IVF procedure, the 'best' swimmer will reach the egg first and fertilise it. However, when sperm are immotile or have an abnormality, a more expensive procedure is required during which a single sperm is selected and injected directly into the egg. While researchers have yet to use sperm that has been exposed to ultrasound to fertilise an egg, they hope that their breakthrough will one day help to boost the success of IVF procedures and make it cheaper. 'Our motility boost results are promising for the application of this mechanotherapy method in assisted reproduction,' the researchers said, writing in the journal Science Advances. 'The motility of the sperm in a patient's sample determines the selection of the most appropriate therapy and considerably influences the success rate of the selected treatment cycle. 'Hence, being able to alter motility can potentially alter the selection of therapy type and the resulting outcomes toward the application of less invasive, more affordable options.' Brits including Love Island star Faye Winter have spoken of their fears that beauty 'tweakments' have permanently scarred them. Figures show complaints about botched lip fillers and Botox have soared almost 14 per cent in a year, with more than 3,000 made in 2023 alone. Reality TV star Faye, 28, said she was left with 'pretty horrendous' lips after having too much filler injected, which has left them stretched and wrinkled and forced her to continue getting the treatment to hide the side effect. Lisa Kelly, from Essex, was left with painful purple lumps across her nose and cheeks that left her insecure and obscured her vision. She feared they would last forever. Under current rules, anyone can administer aesthetic treatments, even if they have no training or qualifications. The British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons warned patients are suffering from skin loss and blindness as a result of botched procedures. Brits including Love Island star Faye Winter have spoken of their fears that beauty 'tweakments' have permanently scarred them Reality TV star Faye, 28, said she was left with 'pretty horrendous' lips after having too much filler injected (left), which has left them stretched and wrinkled and forced her to continue getting the treatment (right) to hide this side effect Data from Save Face, an online register for accredited practitioners, says complaints hit 3,211 in 2023. This was up from 13.7 per cent from 2022 (2,824) and 24.7 per cent compared to 2021 (2,576). Nine in 10 (91 per cent) of those who complained to the register found their injector on social media, which is littered with adverts promising instant results for as little as 60 . There are also concerns about counterfeit products being used, with 31 per cent of complainants who thought they were receiving Botox claiming they were instead injected with something else. Botulinum toxin (of which Botox is the most widely recognised brand) costs 100 to 350. WHAT IS BOTOX? Botox injections relax the muscles in the face to smooth out lines and wrinkles. It's not permanent it usually lasts for around 3 months. In the UK, the cost of Botox injections can vary from about 100 to 350 for each treatment, depending on the clinic and the area being treated. Botox injections for cosmetic reasons are not available on the NHS. The procedure, which usually only lasts 10 minutes, involves having botulinum toxin injected into the face muscles using a very fine needle. It then takes around two to three days to start working and up to three weeks to see the full effect. Side effects include, headaches, a frozen look, weakness in the face and bruising, swelling and redness where the needles went into the skin. However, Botox can also be used to treat medical conditions. These include abnormal contractions of the eye, conditions that cause muscle pain and stiffness such as cerebral palsy and excessive sweating. Source: NHS Advertisement It is typically injected directly in the forehead, reducing the appearance of wrinkles for up to six months. Other popular procedures include lip fillers, where collagen or hyaluronic acid are injected to add volume. Effects of the procedure, which costs around 200, last for up to 18 months. Ms Kelly, a business development manager, was left worried she would be scarred for life after having anti-wrinkle jabs. The 34-year-old went to a clinic for a Botox procedure but suffered complications not linked to that product, leading experts to believe that she was injected with a fake product. The botched procedure left her with painful, purple lumps across her face for months, with one on her nose partially blocking her vision. She told Good Morning Britain (GMB): 'It really made me insecure. For work, I go to client meetings and I just felt really like I didn't want to go.' Ashton Collins, director of Save Face, told GMB: 'Because they are so trivialised on social media, people assume that they are risk-free beauty treatments but they are not. They are medical interventions.' Dr Davina Wilson, founder of clinic Look Lovely London, told the programme she is reversing five to 10 procedures a week. She warned an increasing number of women, particularly young ones who are seeking out procedures, are suffering serious complications, including nerve damage and a risk of blindness. 'If you don't have an intricate understanding of facial anatomy, you're really going in blind, using sharp needles in areas that can cause irreversible damage,' she said. In rare cases, dermal filler can enter a small blood vessel in the face which connects to the retinal artery, which supplies blood to the retina at the back of the eye. This can lead to permanent blindness. Tissue death can also occur if filler is accidentally injected into a blood vessel, which can cut of blood supply and causes the tissue to die and eventually fall away. Love Island's Faye, who appeared on the show in 2021, said she started having beauty 'tweakments' aged 21. Lisa Kelly, from Essex, was left with painful purple lumps across her nose and cheeks that left her insecure and obscured her vision. She feared they would last forever but they eventually disappeared months later Ms Kelly went to a clinic for a Botox procedure but suffered complications not linked to that product, leading experts to believe that she was injected with a fake product. The botched procedure left her with painful, purple lumps across her face for months (right), with one on her nose partially blocking her vision (left) Dr Nora Nugent (right), vice-president of British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons, said: 'We have seen skin loss from fillers . If filler is a gel, and it can be thicker or thinner depending on where it is put, but if it gets into a blood vessel it can block that blood vessel' She found practitioners on social media, with no knowledge of their background or training. She told GMB: 'I've always naturally had quite big teeth and one of my insecurities was the fact that my lips did not frame my teeth the right way for me. 'And I do believe if you've got insecurities and you can be a more confident version of yourself, you should absolutely be able to go out and get those "tweakments" done but get them done safely. 'But I didn't have the knowledge or the resources to do it safe.' This resulted in Faye having 4ml of filler injected into her lips, which left them looking 'pretty horrendous'. The recommended starting dose is 0.5ml. She had the filler dissolved before going on the ITV2 dating show but the skin had been left 'so wrinkly' that it had left her with an 'aged lip'. 'I had to get filler put back into my lips but only a small amount, 0.5ml, because the skin had been stretched so much. 'I had to have something put back in them as I'd had a very aged lip and I was even more insecure about it.' Her feature on ITV's GMB also saw shocking pictures of other women who had allegedly received botched cosmetic treatments that left them with lumps and swellings on their face. Faye's feature on ITV's GMB also saw shocking pictures of other women who had received botched cosmetic treatments that left them with lumps and swellings on their face Faye's feature on ITV's GMB also saw shocking pictures of other women who had allegedly received botched cosmetic treatments that left them with lumps and swellings on their face Dr Nora Nugent, vice-president of British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons, said: 'We have seen skin loss from fillers. 'If filler is a gel, and it can be thicker or thinner depending on where it is put, but if it gets into a blood vessel it can block that blood vessel. 'You have a blood vessel running along each side of your lip. 'If the filler gets into that, it can damage the skin over the entire lip. Liquid rhinoplasty, or liquid nose job, are notorious.' Liquid nose jobs use filler to disguise and imperfection or bump in someone's nose, creating illusion of a straighter or more lifted nose. Dr Nugent added: 'Legally, there are no sound regulations for derma fillers. 'There are very large numbers of non-medical people doing medical treatments, invasive medical treatments with side effects such as skin loss and blindness.' She urged people to 'go to a medical practitioner who is trained in aesthetic procedures' and 'check that it is actually a registered medical practitioner'. Ministers last year pledged to 'crackdown on unregulated cosmetic procedures' with plans to introduce a licence for cosmetic procedures like 'Botox' and fillers. This could see age limits and restrictions introduced to protect patients from being harmed. However, campaigners have said that the Government is not acting quickly enough. His family said he had received acupuncture previously to treat migraines A patient who thought he was suffering from an aneurysm was found to have an acupuncture needle embedded inside his brain. Scans revealed the half-inch long 'gold-colored' and 'slightly pointed' needle lodged within an artery inside the 74-year-old man's brain. It was causing internal bleed that was leaving him with memory problems, prompting him to be rushed to the hospital. His family said the needle had likely been there for two decades because they could only recall him having acupuncture in the early 2000s for a persistent migraine. The needle was removed via surgery that involved cutting open the skull. The man, from Sichuan, China, survived but died three weeks later after suffering from a lung infection. The 74-year-old man from Sichuan, China, went to doctors with an acupuncture needle embedded in his brain behind his right eye (pictured). This view shows the underside of the crania that has been flipped, to make the needle appear on the left side Pictured above is the part of the acupuncture needle that was extracted during surgery. The family said it had been lodged in his brain for two decades Acupuncture is a traditional Chinese medical practice that involves inserting hundreds of tiny needles into specific points in the body to stimulate energy, known as qi pronounced "chee". Acupuncturists say the method can help to relieve pain, reduce stress and even aid the recovery of joints by helping to stimulate nerves and blood flow in areas receiving the treatment. But scientific evidence on the method is not conclusive, with only some studies suggesting acupuncture benefits patients. The tiny needle inside the man was found in an artery that runs through the brain behind the right eye called the right middle cerebral artery. It was suggested that the needle may have broken off during an acupuncture treatment and then been carried to the artery behind the eye. It was not clear what led to the rupture, but this could be linked to a fall, sharp impact to the head or due to the needle's position shifting in the skull. The man was rushed to doctors an hour after his memory problems emerged, with family initially fearing he was suffering from an aneurysm. But scans revealed the needle in his brain as well as a bleed. To remove the needle, doctors first had to cut out a portion of his skull in a procedure called a craniotomy to access his brain. They then cut through the dura mater, or thick outer coating of the brain, and used a surgical microscope to navigate through the brain to the needle avoiding vital arteries and structures. The needle was then removed, and the ruptured blood vessel was closed using a very small metallic clip to close the ruptured part of the vessel. After the surgery, the man initially recovered well and was taken off his ventilator ten days later. But he then developed a lung infection while in hospital and died three weeks after surgery. Doctors said the infection may have been linked to him being made unconscious for the operation, which disables the body's natural defenses to infections of the lungs such as a cough or gag reflex. Doctors diagnosed the man with an intracranial pseudoaneurysm which is when blood leaks out of a vessel in the brain but is held in place by surrounding tissue. They differ from a true aneurysm, which is when a vessel wall weakens and balloons out as blood collects within it. Pseudoaneurysms are extremely rare and are behind less than five percent of all arterial punctures. Doctors said this case was the first recorded in the medical literature of a man having a pseudoaneurysm caused by an acupuncture needle. Previous cases have been caused by infections damaging arteries in the brain as well as head trauma or sharp impacts to the head. The case was revealed in the Journal of Medical Case Reports. Writing in the paper led by Dr Qiang Li, a neurosurgeon at the Hospital of Southwest Medical University in China, the authors said: 'Intracranial pseudoaneurysms induced by foreign bodies represent a challenging and rare... entity, necessitating prompt diagnosis and intervention. 'The rarity of such occurrences underscores the critical importance of maintaining a high index of suspicion, particularly in cases involving recent medical trauma or craniocerebral injuries.' A Virginia couple have sued a scandal-hit IVF company, claiming its faulty freezing liquid destroyed their embryos and ruined their dreams of becoming biological parents. Kearsten and Zachary Walden, both 39, filed a lawsuit against CooperSurgical on Thursday, making them the eighth US family to do so in two months. Exactly how many patients have been affected is not clear, but experts estimate it to be thousands. The Connecticut-based company is also facing scandal in the UK over claims its freezing liquid was missing a key ingredient which meant embryos did not develop. The Waldens underwent a decade of desperately trying to conceive before starting IVF in the fall of 2023. They were given the devastating news on Thanksgiving morning that all six of their healthy embryos had suddenly stopped growing, rendering them unusable. Kearsten and Zachary Walden underwent a decade of desperately trying to conceive before starting IVF in the fall of 2023 Thousands of women are thought to be affected, with a significant portion in the US. The Waldens, from Norfolk, Virginia, adopted their son six years ago but were over the moon to see that Mr Walden's health insurance plan had started to offer fertility coverage. The couple had an initial round of treatment which gave them six fertilized eggs. They were feeling hopeful, they told the New York Times, until they received a call on Thanksgiving morning informing them that all the embryos had stopped developing. Mrs Walden, 39, said: 'I very much blamed myself, being older.' In January, the clinic told her that they had used the defective CooperSurgical solution on her embryos. The liquid is thought to be missing magnesium, which is necessary for the growth of the embryo. The mineral plays a vital role in nerve and muscle function and helps a baby build strong teeth and bones. 'It was a roller coaster of emotions,' Mrs Walden said. 'It was, wait a minute, so were not at fault, and not to blame. Then it was, how does something like this happen?' Sarah London, partner at Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, who represents the Waldens, said: 'The combination of lax regulations and huge potential for profit off hopeful parents makes fertility a perfect space for corporations to cut corners and prioritize their shareholders. 'Unfortunately, the Waldens and too many others are paying the price for CooperSurgical's focus on profit over safety. 'Our firm has held fertility corporations accountable before, and we look forward to shining a light on CooperSurgical for the irreparable harm and pain they have caused.' CooperSurgical, a US pharma giant based in Connecticut, is at the center of the fertility scandal CooperSurgical, which has previously worked with model and TV personality Chrissy Teigen, is facing lawsuits over a type of solution that is used to help embryos grow. The company, one of largest of its kind worldwide, supplies liquid used by fertility clinics across the world to freeze eggs and embryos as part of IVF treatment. Federal regulators this week publicized CooperSurgical's recall of three lots of the liquid, known as culture media, which had been used by clinics in November and December. Grieving would-be parents undergoing fertility treatment claimed embryos they hoped would become their children failed to grow because the liquid they were placed in lacked a key nutritional ingredient. The Waldens' lawsuit claims that the three batches of the media were without a key ingredient - magnesium - which meant that the liquid prevented the embryos from developing and ultimately made them unviable. Another lawsuit involved a Los Angeles couple who lost 34 embryos due to the contaminated liquid. The couple dreamed of becoming parents for years and even sold their car to pay for fertility treatments. Their 34 embryos had been developing perfectly, only for the clinic to tell them they had all inexplicably stalled. In total, the couples have lost over 100 embryos that were kept in the defunct liquid. On Wednesday, the FDA posted a recall notice for almost 1,000 bottles of culture media, roughly half of which were bought by clinics in America. The company has notified clinics on December 13, it said, warning them that 'performance issues may lead to impaired embryo development' and directing customers to stop using the product. CooperSurgical, whose parent company raked in almost $1billion in revenue last year in America, with more than 40 percent coming from its fertility services. IVF is one of several fertility treatments available to conceive a baby. During the process, an egg is removed from the ovaries and fertilized with sperm in a lab. This embryo is then implanted into the woman's uterus to grow and develop. The odds of successful IVF rapidly diminish as women age, from 32 percent for women under 35, to just four percent for women over 44, declining by about six or seven percent for every couple of years of age. The procedure costs between $12,000 and $14,000 for one cycle in the US. Using antidepressants during pregnancy or while breastfeeding can damage a babys brain and increase their risk of suffering mental health problems in the future, a study found. Prozac, also known as fluoxetine, increases levels of mood-boosting serotonin in the brain - but scientists discovered this can affect a childs developing prefrontal cortex. They also found the drug can pass into the breast milk of new mothers who take it and end up being fed to newborns. Research suggest that between 300,000 and 400,000 kids are being exposed to Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor (SSRI) drugs each year in the US during pregnancy. Professor Won Chan Oh, of the University of Colorado, said: We are the first to provide experimental evidence of the direct impact of serotonin on the developing prefrontal cortex when fluoxetine is taken during pregnancy. Research suggests that using antidepressants during pregnancy or while breastfeeding can damage a babys brain (stock image) While it is known that serotonin plays a role in brain development, the mechanisms responsible for this influence, specifically in the prefrontal cortex, have been unclear. Understanding this has the potential to help with early intervention and the development of new therapeutics. The researchers said doctors should consider non-pharmaceutical treatments for pregnant women and those suffering from postnatal depression. Serotonin is involved in overall brain function but also influences how connections between neurons change and adapt, contributing to the brain's ability to learn and adjust. The prefrontal cortex is the most evolved brain region and plays a central role in various high-level functions, including planning, decision-making, problem-solving and personality expression. The new study, published in Nature Communications, looked at the impact of deficiency and surplus of serotonin on brain development in mice. The researchers now plan to examine the impact of Prozac on a developing teenage brain. Prozac is one of the worlds most prescribed antidepressants. It is available on the NHS and is often used because it has fewer side effects than other drugs. Antidepressants are on the rise in the UK, with 86million prescribed in 2022/23 to an estimated 8.6million patients - 200,000 more than the year before. Earlier this week, a separate study found that exercise and yoga may be just as effective as pills to alleviate depression. As storms have raged across some parts of the country, locals in one area went outside to find their streets covered in mounds of white stuff only it was not snow or hail. Victoria was smashed with devastating storms on Tuesday causing power outages, and damage to property and infrastructure. Residents in Keysborough, in Melbourne's south were shocked to find that instead of fallen trees, there were giant bits of polystyrene strewn across the whole street and surrounding areas following the wild weather. "[It's] from a construction site close by," Mira shared alongside a video of the foam debris which had landed in almost every front yard and had filled up the local park nearby. The recent storm in Victoria sent debris flying across one neighbourhood. Source: TikTok The Greater Dandenong Council received "over 400 reports and requests for assistance" since the storm came on Tuesday, though most reports had to do with trees. It told Yahoo News Australia that one of the reports sent through was regarding the debris from the video. "Council was made aware of the debris on the afternoon of Tuesday 13 February," it said. After seeing the carnage online, hundreds could not believe it. "Jesus! It's like something out of a movie," one person said. "Someone buy a new TV?" another joked. What is the white debris? These large white bocks appear to be what are known as "waffle pods", which are polystyrene blocks used in construction and are held under steel reinforcements before concrete is poured over them. According to Bunnings online, where you can purchase these pods, this type of flooring provides additional strength and insulation to a concrete slab. The white debris blown across the streets from the storm looks to be 'waffle pods' from a construction site. Source: Getty Who cleans up a mess like this? Many who saw the video questioned who was going to be responsible for the clean-up the council or the construction site. On this occasion, construction workers dealt with the problem swiftly before council workers arrived. "[We] attended the site the following morning and found the construction workers already cleaning up and tying loose items down with netting," the council said. Story continues The Greater Dandenong Council follows the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) guidelines when it comes to dealing with construction site waste, which includes the legal requirement for sites to "ensure all substances are handled, stored, used and/or transported in a way that minimises risks." Despite this, it shared they would not be issuing any fines this time. "Council has not received any previous complaints about this particular site, so coupled with the unforeseen circumstances and quick response to the issue we will not take any action against the company." Polystyrene 'horrendous stuff' according to experts Dr Michelle Blewitt from the Australian Microplastic Assessment Project (AUSMAP) is one of the countrys leading authorities on the damaging impact plastics like polystyrene have on our environment. Blewitt has long advocated for a more widespread ban on polystyrene, which she describes as horrendous stuff. Its extremely damaging to the environment because you cant recycle it and it has a high hazard rating as well," she previously told Yahoo Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com. You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube. Vauxhall is offering a year's free EV charging credit at Tesco stores for buyers of its new electric vehicles. The carmaker says its supermarket partnership using PodPoint chargers will provide drivers with access to charge points across 619 stores. Free: Vauxhall says its supermarket partnership - using PodPoint chargers - will provide drivers with access to charge points across 619 Tesco stores It comes as part of Vauxhall's innovative 'Electric Streets of Britain' (electricstreets.co.uk) initiative. This is designed to increase accessible charging to support the 40 per cent of UK households without a driveway as the slow roll-out of charging points is seen as a brake on sales. It also coincides with Vauxhall and other carmakers introducing new discounts and finance deals for private buyers on sluggish-selling EVs. Vauxhall noted: 'With 22 million visitors per month and over 1 million charging sessions, Tesco stores are found within a 10-minute drive for over 70 per cent of the UK population, allowing greater ease and convenience for EV drivers across the country.' Vauxhall managing director James Taylor said: 'As electric vehicle sales continue to grow, access to practical charging continues to be a hot topic to ensure the UK can continue along its electrification journey, whether at home, on-street or at a required destination.' Tesco supermarket forecourts have with a mix of 7kW, 22kW, 50kW and 75kW charging stations. Jaguar EV was personally purchased by the King in a one-off 'Loire Blue' paint In a once in a lifetime opportunity to own a royal eco first, a Jaguar I-Pace personally purchased by King Charles III will go up for auction at Ascot Racecourse next month. Forever a champion of environmental causes and a known car-enthusiast, King Charles personally purchased this electric car from Jaguar in 2018. That made it the first all-electric car in the royal household. King Charles III's former Jaguar I-Pace is up for auction March 2nd at Ascot Racecourse. It's estimated to reach between 55,000 and 70,000 The I-Pace was personally purchased by the King in this one-off 'Loire Blue' and was used by His Majesty to drive members of the royal family With only two owners from new (the King being one of them) it has just 35,000 miles on the clock and is pristine condition The range-topping Jaguar I-Pace EV400 HSE, finished in Loire Blue at the Kings request, is to be sold by Historics Auctioneers on Saturday 2 March. The winning bidder will not only get their hands on the first green royal car, they will also own the only I-Pace in this colour in the world. The interior is also finished in a sumptuous, contrasting leather fittingly called Light Oyster Windsor. His Majesty originally paid 60,000 for the luxury all-wheel drive EV, which is now estimated to reach 55,000-70,000 at the open-to-public auction. Almost as decorated as its former royal owner, the I-Pace has a rich heritage: Its won 62 international awards including UK Car of the Year, European Car of the Year and World Car of the Year. With a keen eye of motors, its not surprising that the King was one of the first people in Britain to snap up an I-Pace. He also has a 1965 Aston Martin DB6 Volante that runs on leftover wine bioethanol. The I-Pace electric SUV has an electric range of between 252-and 273 miles. Seen on public engagements, this I-Pace was used between 2018 and 2020 by the then Prince of Wales and was the first all-electric car in the royal household His Majesty has long been an eco champion and a trailblazer for adopting modern environmentally friendly methods of transport Seen on 2018 with his I-Pace, the car joins King Charles's impressive car collection that includes a 1965 Aston Martin DB6 Volante that runs on recycled wine bioethanol Before the car was delivered, King Charles had a fast charger installed at his official London residence, Clarence House, and then proceeded to drive Queen Camilla and other members of the royal family around in this high spec model. In December 2020, it was sold by Jaguar North Oxford with just 3,000 miles on the clock to current owner Karen French of Bampton, Oxfordshire. Kept in pristine condition, she explained how serendipitous her purchase was: 'This I-Pace was exactly what I was looking for and pretty much on my doorstep. 'It was only when I agreed to buy it that I discovered its extraordinary history - I was absolutely thrilled. Having driven it over 30,000 miles, I decided in the New Year that it was time for a change.' The star lot amongst 180 fine classic and collector cars, the I-Pace is a brilliant piece of electric and royal history, and expected to garner much attention. This sale comes after the news that the UK used car market is thriving, thanks in part to the influx of second-hand EVs. The car has a rich royal provenance, having been used to ferry around members of the royal family on public appearances Historics Head of Auctions, Mathew Priddy, emphasised the cars enduring collector car value, stating: 'We are thrilled to bring this royal icon to auction. It's an unrepeatable piece of electric motoring history. 'With the Jaguar I-Pace being discontinued ahead of Jaguars re-launch in 2025, this will remain surely the most significant example, which will be reflected in its increasing value.' With the King frequently photographed at royal engagements getting out of this I-Pace, the next owner will have quite the ownership history to pass on to the grandkids one day. Jailed: Mohammed Zina received a 22-month sentence A former Goldman Sachs analyst has been jailed for almost two years after using a Tesco Bank loan to fund insider trading. Mohammed Zina, 35, received a 22-month sentence after being convicted earlier this week on six counts of insider trading and three counts of fraud. His trading was part funded by three loans he had fraudulently obtained from Tesco Bank, which amounted to 95,000 in total. Zina had applied for the loans by claiming he wanted to use the money for home improvements. At the sentencing at Southwark Crown Court yesterday, Judge Tony Baumgartner said Zina's crime had 'struck at the heart of financial markets' and was a betrayal of his employer's trust. The judge said that otherwise it appeared Zina was of a good, 'one might even say exemplary', character. But he said the defendant had engaged in 'deliberate' misconduct which had taken 'planning and sophistication' and involved deception. Zina was convicted on all counts on Thursday. City watchdog, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), said the verdict sent a 'clear message' to fraudsters. As part of the Goldman Sachs conflicts resolution group, Zina had inside information over possible mergers and acquisitions that the bank was advising on. He traded in stocks using this information between July 2016 and December 2017, making a profit of 140,486. Among stocks he traded were chip firm Arm Holdings, pub group Punch Taverns, specialist bank Shawbrook and US snack maker Snyder's-Lance. The defendant's brother, Suhail Zina, 36, a former Clifford Chance lawyer, was acquitted after fraud charges were dropped and there was insufficient evidence on the insider dealing charges. Steve Smart, of the FCA, said earlier in the week: 'Mohammed Zina tried to cheat the market for his own personal gain by cynically trading on inside information. 'This conviction sends a clear message that economic crime is on our radar and we will take action to uphold the integrity of UK markets.' Some job applicants are not letting a little thing like the truth get in the way of them landing the role of a lifetime. Four recruiters have revealed the worst lies a job applicant can tell during an interview. Al Polson, who is the founder of The Colonial Group, told a story about an engineer applicant who wasn't what he said he was. According to Polson, the vice president of the company that the engineer worked for got a call from the man's wife, who said that her husband 'doesn't have an engineering degree.' Another recruiter revealed in a February 15 Wall Street Journal feature that he once had a candidate who used the social security number of a man who had died. The stories that these recruiters and corporate employees have revealed have proved that it is easy for a candidate or worker to fool them in an interview. Four recruiters have revealed the worst lies a job applicant can tell during an interview Al Polson, who is the founder of The Colonial Group, told a story about an engineer applicant who wasn't what he said he was Polson admitted that a man who he had placed as an engineer at a manufacturing company had no experience in that profession. A man lied about his education and job experience - for two years! Polson admitted that a man who he had placed as an engineer at a manufacturing company had no experience in that profession. The North Carolina manufacturing company asked Polson to 'do some digging' and find out the truth about their employee. 'I come to find out he never went to that school, or any school,' said Polson. The former employee was caught by Polson's recruiting company after they assigned him to a 'highly technical job' that he kept postponing. 'He was helping in the design of high-speed equipmentand you can fake a lot of things in the business world but Im not sure how you pull that off!,' he said. Polson credited the man's wife for helping the company find out that their employee was lying and said that the pair 'ended up getting a divorce.' Polson credited the man's wife for helping the company find out that their employee was lying and said that the pair 'ended up getting a divorce A candidate who did 'really well' used the social security number of a dead man Anthony Fanzo, who is the president of The Bachrach Group, revealed that their recruiting company had a candidate for a tech position who did 'really well' in his interviews. However, after running his background check, the company found out that he used a social security number of a man who died five years before. Members of The Bachrach Group reached out to the applicant to ask if it was a mistake and he allegedly told the company that 'he'd call right back.' Fanzo admitted that the applicant later disconnected his phone and that his company could not get in touch with him after that. A vice president of sales lost two jobs in one day Tony Beshara, who is the president Babich & Associates, placed a candidate into a vice president (VP) of sales position at a company 10 years ago. Beshara's recruitment company later got a call from the executive vice president of the VP's workplace six months later, and told him that there was 'a real problem.' The executive vice president told Beshara that the VP already had a private office in an executive suite in Texas and even had his own receptionist. The VP, who was referred to as John Doe at his other workplace, supposedly worked for both the ABC Company and the XYZ company. The executive vice president caught the two-job employee, and the lying vice president was then fired by the company's CEOs. The company's executive vice president called Beshara and told him that the vice president of the company had more than one job One candidate had four resumes Director of Talent Excellence Sunny Larkin-Newman of the Hospitality Ventures Management Group revealed to the Wall Street Journal that she had a candidate who applied for several jobs. That candidate had used four different resumes while applying for various positions at a hospitality company. 'One resume might say they worked as a general manager at one hotel during a certain time, then another will say they worked for a different hotel during that time,' she said. 'At one point, I started looking up some of the company names that I didnt recognize to discover they didnt exist.' Newman revealed that she and other employees spoke with the individual about his many resumes he used. 'We have point-blank told that individual, like, Hey, I have multiple resumes on file for you, Im not sure where youre working right now, and its very difficult for me to trust your skills when I have this on file,' she said. Despite this conversation, Newman said that the 'applications from this person haven't stopped' and they have continued to make changes in their resume. The boyfriend of a wealthy Eastern Suburbs socialite who is charged with assaulting him was working as a male escort prior to their relationship. BondiBoost founder turned restaurateur Alexandra Jakob was charged with common assault following an alleged incident with her new partner Michael Burn on January 17. Daily Mail Australia can reveal Mr Burn was previously known by his stage name 'Mr Jake Ryan' and was one of Australia's 'top male escorts', charging up to $5,000-a-night. The UK-born escort, who used to work in sales, told Daily Mail Australia he traded his $500-a-week salary for $500-an-hour as a sex worker back in 2021. 'As soon as I had tried it out and saw the money I was like - yeah I am switching to the escort life,' he said. Police allege Ms Jakob (right) assaulted her partner Michael Burn (left) and destroyed a door at a Point Piper address at 2.10am, according to court documents Michael Burn AKA Mr Jake Ryan was one of Australia's top male escorts before retiring late last year While it's unknown whether Ms Jakobs was aware of his sex worker past when they began dating in September last year, it's understood he stepped away from the industry months later in November. In a poignant post shared on social media, Jake claimed that after 10 years in the adult industry he was retiring effective immediately. 'I am embarking on a new and brighter future,' the post read. 'From winning multiple awards to being on live TV twice, its been fun' 'All profiles/ social accounts will be deactivated 11th November 2023,' he added. Police allege Ms Jakob assaulted Mr Burn, and destroyed a door at a Point Piper address at 2.10am, according to court documents. Ms Jakob and Mr Burn did not respond to requests from Daily Mail Australia for comment. The pair have continued to post cosy pictures on social media since the alleged incident, with Mr Burn posting gushing posts on Instagram for Valentine's Day Michael Burn's alter ego 'Mr Jake' retired in in November 2023 The pair own three waterfront properties on Wolseley Street in Point Piper, one of the most exclusive suburbs in Sydney's eastern suburbs Ms Jakob has pleaded not guilty to the charges and is next scheduled to appear in Downing Centre Court on August 28, the Daily Telegraph reported. She was granted bail on the condition she did not stalk, harass, threaten, assault or intimidate Mr Burn, or damage any property or animal he owns. Ms Jakob is forbidden from being in Mr Burn's company within 12 hours of drinking alcohol or taking illicit drugs. Police have issued an interim apprehended violence order for Mr Burn's protection. However, the pair have continued to post cosy pictures on social media since the alleged incident, with Mr Burn posting gushing posts on Instagram for Valentine's Day. 'Happy Valentines (sic) Day to be (sic) my best friend, soul mate (sic) and my future,' Mr Burn wrote in a series of images reposted by Ms Jakob. 'Here's to many, many more.' Ms Jakob skyrocketed to success through her brand Bondi Boost, which sells haircare products like oils, brushes, treatments and vitamins. However, she quietly sold off the brand to US-based private equity firm Gauge Capital for an undisclosed sum in April 2022. Male escort who makes up to $5,000-per-session reveals women's fantasies, their VERY X-rated requests - and his five 'rules' in the bedroom Michael Burn AKA 'Jake Ryan' is a retired escort Advertisement She is now a business partner in Bondi Spanish restaurant Iberica. Ms Jakob was previously married to multi-millionaire tech investor Gabriel Jakob (whose surname was previously Yakob). In 2022, ASIC banned Mr Jakob from providing financial services for a period of five years. ASIC also banned Trading Life Services from providing financial services for five years, finding that the company engaged in misleading or deceptive conduct, or conduct that was likely to mislead or deceive, by publishing and distributing promotional materials, and that under the supervision of Mr Jakob it is not adequately trained, or not competent to participate in the financial services industry. The former couple own three waterfront properties on Wolseley Street in Point Piper, one of the most exclusive suburbs in Sydney's eastern suburbs. In 2020, The Australian reported Hyper Capital had $550million in assets and that the couple required zero finance to purchase their second and third home. In late 2022, the Jakobs purchased a vacant lot overlooking Sydney Harbour for $27million in September 2022 from the son of Chinese billionaire Wu Li. The couple were previously rumoured to have plans to combine the three waterfront properties into a mega-mansion on the harbour that include Sydney's largest home-gy and a 'love room'. All traces of their marriage have been wiped from Ms Jakob's social media, save for a handful of tagged photos from the pair's New Zealand wedding in 2017. It has been discovered that it is actually no more than black paint on a carving What was thought to be incredibly preserved skin tissue on the oldest fossil reptile from the Alps is actually paint, reveals new research. The 280-million-year-old Tridentinosaurus Antiquus was discovered in the Italian Alps in 1931 and was thought to be an important specimen for understanding early reptile evolution. However, new analysis has revealed that the animal's dark body outline - initially thought to be preserved soft tissues - is actually just paint. When it was first studied, the fossil was classified as a member of the reptile group Protorosauria. But many experts were uncertain about this and the fossil's history, due to the somewhat strange preservation of skin. This prompted a team with researchers from Ireland's University College Cork (UCC) and Italy's University of Padua, Museum of Nature South Tyrol, and the Museo delle Scienze in Trento to investigate. The skin tissue on the 280-million-year-old fossil which was deemed to be 'important' has been found to be fake UV photography first revealed that the specimen was treated with some sort of coating material, and microscopic analysis later showed that the texture and composition of the material did not match that of genuine fossilised soft tissues. Palaeontologists eventually established that the fossil, once renowned for its remarkable preservation, is mostly black paint on a carved, lizard-shaped rock surface. Dr Valentina Rossi, from UCC's School of Biological, Earth, and Environmental Sciences, explained: 'Fossil soft tissues are rare, but when found in a fossil they can reveal important biological information, for instance, the external colouration, internal anatomy, and physiology. 'However, our findings indicate that the body outline of Tridentinosaurus Antiquus was artificially created, likely to enhance the appearance of the fossil.' Dr Rossi explained that coating fossils with varnishes and/or lacquers was the norm in the past and is sometimes still necessary to preserve a fossil specimen in museums - so the team thought the original soft tissues might lie underneath the coating layer. 'This deception misled previous researchers,' she explained. Co-author Professor Evelyn Kustatscher, a curator at the Museum of Nature South Tyrol, added: 'The peculiar preservation of Tridentinosaurus had puzzled experts for decades. 'Now, it all makes sense. What was described as carbonised skin, is just paint. 'This is an example of how modern analytical palaeontology and rigorous scientific methods can resolve an almost century-old enigma.' The study, published in the journal Palaeontology, urges researchers to demonstrate caution when using the specimen in future studies. It has now been discovered that the 'important' find is no more than black paint on a carving But it also says that the fossil is perhaps not entirely fake. The bones of the hindlimbs, in particular the femurs, seem genuine - even if poorly preserved. And new analyses have shown the presence of tiny bony scales called osteoderms - similar to the scales of crocodiles - on what may have been the back of the animal. Further research is needed to confirm these findings. Residents in one of London's most historic neighbourhoods have said their homes are being ruined 'by relentless developers trying to box them in with skyscrapers'. The Old Oak Lane conservation area in Ealing is the home of around 220 cottages which were built in the 1880s to house railway workers. The historic location has been used as a period location for dozens of films since the 1930s, including The Ipcress File (1965), Foyle's War (2019), Eddie the Eagle (2016), Wild Bill (2019), Rise & Fall of the Krays (2016) and the Common People music video by Pulp (1996). But residents of the traditional homes have been under pressure over the past few years from constant construction due to the nearby HS2 building site, along with the looming threat of several high-rise proposals. They fear they soon won't be able to see the sun if plans for nearby skyscrapers go ahead. The Old Oak Lane conservation area in Ealing is the home of around 220 cottages which were built in the 1880s to house railway workers The cottages starred in the music Pulp's iconic hit Common People -with frontman Jarvis Cocker improvising a dance routine as residents were seen going about their everyday life behind him The road has also been a common feature on film - and can be seen here in the 1965 thriller The Ipcress File They warn that if the plans were to go ahead the historic site would be ruined as more and more buildings block out the nearby skyline. Residents say if the high-rises were to go ahead the traditional community spirit of the area will eventually disappear. Over the past few decades, the price of houses in the area has risen from around 58,000 in 1995 to a staggering 632,000 in 2022. Alessia Stevani first moved into the area in 1995 and raised a daughter in the tight-knit neighbourhood, which includes Old Oak Lane, Goodhall Street Stephenson Street, Crewe, Stoke and Webb Place. The business affairs executive said: 'It was a working-class area that has now become gentrified. People from all nationalities and walks of life live here, with a common purpose to keep this area going the way it is. 'When we see new people coming in it is easy enough when it is a family, they soon learn our rules, when they don't that is when we become really upset because we have a really strong community spirit.' But Ms Stevani is worried the community spirit and historic location will disappear if the construction of the surrounding high rises which includes one just down from her house go ahead. Residents worry that if the plans were to go ahead the historic site would be ruined as more and more buildings are planned in the Ealing and North Acton areas which could block out the nearby skyline Alessia Stevani first moved into the area in 1995 and raised a daughter in the tight-knit neighbourhood but said the community spirit is being damaged by the new high-rises Residents James Trew and daughter Isobel, eight, Alessia Stevani and Rebecca Johnson pictured on the street 'There are 220 homes here and the council just wants to turn them into a slum. I think it is because there are too many of us to compulsory purchase so they are making our life hell,' she said. She said the views from Goodhall Street have already been ruined by the 'hideous' Kensal View apartment block which was completed last year. The view was used for an iconic scene in the 2016 Eddie the Eagle film but Ms Stevani said it is now 'ruined' and could not be used for filming anymore. Built in 1889 to house railway workers the cottages became Old Oak Lane conservation area in 1982 because it is an example of a Victorian-era enterprise. They were built by a railway company to provide its workers with healthier living conditions, and there are very few surviving worker estates like it left in London. John Dalton, 79, said the history behind the street was very important to him, so much so that he has kept his home in the original condition. 'It is pretty just a time capsule for me. It is authentic working class. I used to live up in Primrose Hill but then I got sick of the celebrities and moved here in 1997,' he said. John Dalton, 79, said the history behind the street was very important to him and that he has kept his home in the original condition John Dalton (his house is pictured) said he got 'sick of the celebrities' in Primrose Hill and moved to the area in the late nineties John Dalton has kept his house house in the original condition The historic location has been used as a period location for dozens of films since the 1930s Rebecca Johnson and Alessia Stevani are pictured on the historic street But Ms Stevani is worried the community spirit and historic location will disappear if the construction of the surrounding high rises, which includes one just down from her house, go ahead A vintage photograph of what the street used to look like from the 80s Stephenson Street was named after the 'father of the railways' and industrial revelation era engineer George Stephenson. But the location has been changing since the railway workers moved out. The clubhouse building at the top of the streets which was once used by the workers and their families to socialise has now been renovated as a set of flats. Rebecca Johnson is another resident of the area, who only moved in three years ago, but said she has already begun to notice the place change. She said: 'It has more of a sense of community than anywhere I have lived before. It is a special place. 'They get the developments through on the basis that there is social housing but only a fraction of it is actually social most of it is bought up by developers.' She said despite residents of the area having to send their kids to other boroughs for school, and there being no libraries or other amenities the council 'keeps bringing in more people'. 'It is relentless. It is intimidation. There is a lack of thought that these are our homes' she said. A Vintage postcard of the street from 1983 HS2 lumberyard next to the street which is expected to be turned into a tower block once work on the railway has completed Residents also mention that since construction on HS2 began next door six years ago there has been a 'constant screeching' around the streets Stephenson Street was named after the 'father of the railways' and industrial revelation era engineer George Stephenson The Old Oak Lane conservation area in Ealing is the home of around 220 cottages which were built in the 1880s to house railway workers Alessia Stevani said the views from Goodhall Street have already been ruined by the 'hideous' Kensal View apartment block which was completed last year EXCLUSIVE READ MORE: The neighbours fighting to preserve one of London's most historic streets and prevent it from becoming another high-rise complex...but are losing the battle to green schemes, cowboy builders and wealthy outsiders Roupell Street, near Waterloo station Advertisement 'Why is it listed as a conservation area if they are just going to let all of these inappropriate developments through?' Residents also mention that since construction on HS2 began next door six years ago there has been a 'constant screeching' around the streets, but it is set to continue for another decade as the works rumble on. 'The dust and noise has been terrible', one resident said. 'The drains get all blocked and people get flooded from the runoff from the construction site.' Residents have also raised concerns regarding landlords buying up the historic cottages and converting them into illegal properties for multiple households. But the residents have begun to fight back and have contributed to the nearby Stop the Towers campaign in Ealing. Resident Bernie Timmins, said: 'People have started waking up to what is going on. 'There is a development around the corner that is 660 apartments and only a small part of it is social housing. 'They keep building them it is horror upon horror. 'They are planning on building a high rise on the nearby builder's yard. We will come out and will not be able to see the sun soon.' Ms Timmins, added: 'The council should consider construction that is sympathetic to the area. The clubhouse building at the top of the streets. It was once used by the workers and their families to socialise has now been renovated into a set of flats Coal lane, the alleyway between Stephenson Street and Goodwill Street, which was used to transport coal to every house Residents James Trew and daughter Isobel, eight, Alessia Stevani and Rebecca Johnson pictured on the historic street John Dalton's house which he describes as a 'time capsule' 79-year-old John Dalton's vintage house which he has kept in the original condition 'We want low rises built. It is a well-known fact that high rises cause depression. People don't see their neighbours only when they see them in the lift. 'They are not treating us as a community and we are a community. We all know each other and we are all supportive of each other. You can knock on anyone's door and they will help you. 'I just think they are putting money before people. 'We are right on the edge of the borough and we are the forgotten part of Ealing.' A spokesman for Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation (OPDC), the body which manages planning in the conservation area, said it was 'committed' to ensuring new developments are designed to a high quality. He said: 'We do appreciate that residents are experiencing an increase in construction locally, particularly given the construction activities related to the new station. 'We work with contractors operating in the area to mitigate disruption and keep communities informed and supported, ensuring that any complaints are promptly responded to and addressed wherever possible. Responding to claims that a highrise will be built on the nearby industrial yard, the spokesman said: 'Plans for the industrial yard are on hold and OPDC has not received a planning application for this site. 'The site is not in an area where tall buildings would be acceptable. When and if an application is submitted to OPDC, impacts on the existing homes will be assessed against planning policy and we will carefully consult with the local community. 'When determining existing and future planning applications, OPDC carefully considers any impact on residents caused by buildings and would only ever approve a tall building in the Conservation Area if we received clear and convincing justification that the proposals delivered significant public benefits.' Krissy Ferguson has not lived in the only home she has ever known for more than a year, ever since a train derailed less than a mile away, releasing toxic chemicals into the creek that runs beneath her basement. When President Joe Biden visits East Palestine, Ohio, on Friday she has a simple message for him: 'If I get to meet President Biden, what I want to ask is, please help those that need out to get out.' Norfolk Southern, the rail company whose train was responsible, insists that it is safe for families to go home after it spent more than $1 billion on clean-up operations. But Ferguson, 49, said no one knows what the long-term health implications might be nor can anything erase the nightmares that wake her with images of her aging mother and step-father dying from toxic exposure. She wants the train company to buy her house so that she can put the whole episode behind her. Krissy Ferguson's East Palestine home stands right above Sulphur Run Creek, which was contaminated when a train carrying toxic chemicals derailed less than a mile away Ferguson has been repeatedly told her home is safe enough to return to, yet the Environmental Protection Agency has put signs around the creek warning people to stay away And she said she was grateful for the president's visit, so long as he used it to listen to residents and not just hijack the disaster as a backdrop for his campaign. 'I'm saying we have screamed at the top of our lungs,' she said. 'Seems we have cried to anyone that would listen. We need help.' A year on and she and her parents and daughter are living in a rented house to avoid the watering eyes and burning throat they experienced at home. Norfolk Southern is footing the bill. The derailment forced thousands of people from their homes close to the Ohio-Pennsylvania border. Almost all have moved back. But a year on and residents still have worries about the lingering effect of toxic chemicals that were spilled and the way emergency workers treated hundreds of thousands of pounds of vinyl chloride, a carcinogen. Responders used a controlled burn to incinerate much of the dangerous load and avert the risk of a deadly explosion. But that has raised more questions about the unknown compounds left behind beneath the plumes of thick black smoke. In a village that was already being hollowed out by economic stagnation, where its main street seems to have as many empty storefronts as stores, it only increased the sense of a community being left behind. Adding to frustrations was the absence of Biden, a president who long saw himself as 'working class Joe' and has embraced the idea of being 'consoler-in-chief.' President Joe Biden is due to visit East Palestine, Ohio, on Friday to see for himself the clean-up efforts. Residents say they are still suffering the ill effects and need more federal help Their lives changed on Feb. 3, 2023. A photograph taken from a drone shows portions of a Norfolk and Southern freight train that derailed outside the village of East Palestine last year Sulphur Run Creek flows through a culvert beneath three houses on the edge of East Palestine Ferguson's parents moved into the home in 1970. Today it is empty like the neighboring houses Instead, it was former President Donald Trump who highlighted the plight of the blue-collar village. He visited three weeks after the derailment arriving before Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. As well as buying Big Macs for first responders and delivering his branded water, Trump said: 'What this community needs now are not excuses and all of the other things youve been hearing but answers and results.' In contrast, Biden delayed. Officials insisted he would visit but never set a date. Until now. Nor did he declare a 'major disaster declaration' that would have freed up more federal resources for the effort to get the community back on its feet. On Friday, Trump supporters plan to greet Biden's visit with a demonstration. A day earlier, a truck drove up and down Main Street with two 'F*** Joe Biden' flags fluttering in the breeze. Jess Conard, whose house backs on to the rail tracks, sees things differently. She has no time for the cynicism of some locals who say Biden is only coming because it is an election year. Her four-year-old son was diagnosed with asthma after the controlled burn sent its black cloud into the sky. 'This is not a political issue. This is a people issue,' she said. 'And we need to recognise that there are serious medical concerns for the people in this community and surrounding areas that have been impacted.' 'East Palestine Strong' are dotted around the village, this week joined by Valentine's greetings She switched her career from being a medical speech language pathologist to campaign for reductions in the use of plastics. In a letter to Biden sent Thursday, she and dozens of other campaigners demanded more federal help, conducting indoor air testing of homes, providing long-term medical help, and stumping financial resources so that families like the Fergusons could afford to move away. She said she wanted the disaster in East Palestine to be a catalyst for change, reducing the amount of hazardous materials that were transported on rickety lines. For its part, Norfolk and Southern said it had met its obligations with a program that seeks to make up the difference if residents find they are unable to command market value when selling their homes. 'The air and water have been monitored since the derailment in and around the community continuously and it remains safe to return home,' said a spokesman. That is not good enough, said Conard. 'I think I think Norfolk Southern is doing what they have been told to do,' she said. 'I don't in any way think that they are making it right, which is what they vowed to do.' Conard and other campaigners sent a letter to Biden Thursday outlining what the federal government could do to ensure the safety and security of people in East Palestine A large plume of smoke rises over East Palestine, Ohio, last year after a controlled detonation of a portion of a derailed Norfolk Southern train to burn off hazardous chemicals Ferguson had always known her house was built above Sulphur Run Creek, named for the way sewers would run into it. She would play in the culvert as a child and as a mother with her own child. Occasionally the basement would flood when water levels rose. 'We dealt with it. We knew not to set stuff on the ground, set it up high,' she said. 'But the water wasn't contaminated then. It didn't make us sick.' Since the disaster, she cannot bear to be inside the cosy two-story building. 'I would get a tingling in my lips and tongue. I would stumble and stagger staggered, like I was drunk for you weren't drinking anything. And your eyes would water,' she said. The toughest part of staying away, she said, was the impact on her mother, who has Parkinson's disease, and her 90-year-old stepfather, who was confused by the rented accommodation. She just wants to get them settled somewhere permanent, somewhere far away from the scene of the derailment and its aftermath. 'I can't live here anymore,' she said, her eyes welling with tears. 'It's not safe.' From the laughing crying face emoji to a raised eyebrow, emojis turn a rather bland text message into a meaningful one. But scientists at the University of Nottingham found that older texters were less successful than younger people when trying to match emojis to the emotion they are supposed to represent. This could mean older people are more likely to send an inappropriate emoticon, such as a smiley face, or an angry face, at the wrong time. They found that British people had more difficulty recognizing the 'disgusted' face, possibly because the infamously reserved Brits are less likely to express that emotion, holding their distaste closer to the vest. Even the royals are not adverse to popping in an emoji or two when they text each other - with Prince William admitting he is partial to using the cheeky aubergine symbol every once in a while. 'I've been told not to say the aubergine, so I've got to pick someone else. It would've been the aubergine, but I'm saying now, because I've got to be a bit grown up, it's the one where the eyes go up and down, the crazy one,' he said speaking to the BBC. His wife the Princess of Wales added: 'Mine has got to be the heart with the crying emoji, the hysterical laughing [one] when things have gone wrong.' As the number of emojis continues to grow as technology advances, others find that they simply do not need words and can effectively communicate through a series of symbols. But are you using your emoticons wrong? Here, MailOnline hit the streets of London and put everyday Brits to the test - with varying degrees of confusion, hilarity and innuendo. A recent study found that older generations of texters are less successful than youngsters when it comes to identifying the colourful symbols. Pictured: Steve holds up a photo of the smiling emoji Rachael Tidball from Newcastle reacts to the 'nerd' emoji Data showed that in a survey of 500 participants from the UK and China , women generally performed better than men when it came to correctly identifying the icons. Pictured: Lauren reacting to the peach emoji Answar was pictured reacting to the confounded face in Newcastle Jess does an impression of the raised eyebrow emoticon face Abbey does an impression of the grimacing face, which is used to symbolise pain or strong dislike The different types of emojis across different platforms Researchers asked 500 men and women from the UK and China to identify the emotions portrayed in a series of emojis, those little yellow icons popular in text messages. Women edged out men as more perceptive in reading the icons' meaning Data showed that in a survey of 500 participants from the UK and China , women generally performed better than men when it came to correctly identifying the icons. MailOnline put Brits to the test by asking how many of the faces they were familiar with. We showed them the basic emojis, such as the smiley, disgusted, fearful, sad, surprised and angry faces. But others included slightly more complicated emoticons, such as the nerd, awkward, and sceptical faces. Older generations showed they were less familiar with some cheeky emojis, such as the aubergine and peach. Other emojis that tricky were the nerd, unimpressed and awkward faces. When quizzed with the list, 79-year-old Sandra Wilson, from Newcastle, was left bemused when shown the aubergine. The retired chemist did however identify five out of the 14 and said she regularly uses them to send to her family members. She said: 'I didn't have a clue which ones the peach and the aubergine were supposed to be and I don't think I've ever seen them before. 'They did surprise me slightly. But I have seen quite a few of those before because my grandchildren live in America and they are often sending me messages with emojis. 'I like sending them back and one of my favorites is the one with the tongue sticking out. 'But other than that I don't really tend to use them very often. 'I think they're used more now because it's so easy to keep in touch with people via social media. Lauren reacts to the sad face emoji in Newcastle A recent study found that older generations of texters are less successful than youngsters when it comes to identifying the colourful symbols. Pictured: Roger reacts to the side eye emoji Ruby reacts to the fearful face emoji in Newcastle Lauren does an impression of the raised eyebrow emoji 'The other day I was messaging someone in America and someone else in New Zealand so I think it's common for all ages to use them.' Matt Johnson, 29, from Newcastle, confessed that he was not familiar with many on the list but still managed to correctly identify half. The part-time worker said: 'There are a few emojis there I didn't recognise but I know all of the common ones. 'I think everyone knows what the aubergine emoji means and I know it is quite rude although I wasn't sure about the peach. 'I thought that might have meant fruitful. 'The main ones I use are the laughing faces but it's only every so often. I don't put them on every message. 'I like using the one with laughing tears coming out and I use them when I'm speaking to friends on group chats I wouldn't use them in every conversation, it depends who I'm talking to.' He added: 'I think it's more of the younger generation who use emojis. I would be surprised if people over the age of 50 knew all of them. 'It's students and the kids who use them on text and social media. I don't know many old people in my life who use them.' However, one pensioner did know what the aubergine emoji stood for, retired glass blower Robert Taylor, from Newcastle. The 66-year-old said he also had an inkling of what the peach meant but was left puzzled by some of the more standard ones. He said: 'I don't use them myself but I do recognise some of them. 'I think that's because my grandchildren use them a lot so therefore I see them otherwise I probably wouldn't know many. 'But you also see them used all the time on Facebook, it's not just text messaging. The aubergine and peach emojis, often used in rude and cheeky text messages Sarah Hodges smiles when she is asked about the hot and sweaty face emoji MailOnline put the people of Newcastle to the test by asking how many of the faces they were familiar with. Pictured: Kevin looks at an image of the side eye emoji Rachael Tidball smiles as she is asked about the hot and sweaty symbol Ruby looks bemused when she is asked about the cheeky aubergine emoji Moira smiles as looks at a picture of the smiling face emoticon Jess looks slightly shocked as she is asked about the infamous aubergine emoji 'Sometimes you're left looking at your phone trying to work some of them out. 'The power of social media means you see them used all of the time now.' Ann Mulley, a retired carer from Newcastle, admitted she was not familiar with the rude emojis, but despite not sending them herself, she did correctly identify some of the more common faces. The 67-year-old said: 'The peach and overheating ones definitely surprised me, I didn't know that's what they were supposed to mean. 'I personally tend to go through my messages as quickly as I can so I tend to skip using the emojis. 'My daughters uses them a lot but I don't tend to bother. 'I'm not sure if many older people use them as often as younger people.' MailOnline also asked Londoners about the peach emoji, to which one woman said: 'A peachy bottom,' whereas a man answered and said: 'A piece of fruit.' When showed a picture of the tongue emoji, a family asked: 'Is that like a sexual reference?' To which their younger daughter responded and said: 'I can't say.' When we asked those living in the capital about the aubergine emoticon, several men laughed, with one saying: 'Men's genitalia,' whereas another said: 'Well I would think of a penis.' Young couple Elliot Guthrie, 20, and Lily Rea, 19, from Newcastle were familiar with them all. Lily, who studies law at university, joked: 'I do use them a lot by its generally an angry face to Elliot if he's in the bad books. Shahan smirks as he looks at a picture of the cheeky peach emoji Abbey does an impression of the side eye emoji in Newcastle We showed Brits the basic emojis, such as the smiley, disgusted, fearful, sad, surprised and angry faces. Pictured: Lauren reacting to a shocked emoji 'I wasn't surprised by many of those and I think a lot of young people use them. Me and my mother use them but I wouldn't use them with my dad. 'Having said that both of my grandads like them. They use the laughing faces.' Elliot, who works in aviation, said: 'I do use quite a range of emojis. I don't really think much about it, it's just common to use them now in general conversation on text. 'The laughing emoji is probably the most used and I've just been to Poland so I've got that flag on my list of recently used too. 'My grandma wouldn't know the rude ones because that sort of stuff never comes in conversation between us but I think she would know quite a few. 'It's also standard for dads to use the thumbs up. 'But I would be surprised if the older generation were familiar with many of those.' A former Coronation Street actress has been placed on the sex offenders' register after stripping naked in a bar during a late-night drunken rampage. Imogen Boorman, who also featured in Casualty, took off her clothes in front of horrified staff and customers at a gastro pub in Montrose. The intoxicated 52-year-old mother of three clambered onto the bar, drank from the beer taps and sexually assaulted a male customer. She also lashed out at police officers who were called to the Picture House bar and restaurant when they tried to help her get dressed. Now Boorman, who has previous convictions for alcohol-related offences, has admitted seven charges and been placed on the sex offenders' register ahead of a sentencing hearing next month. Imogen Boorman, who featured in Coronation Street and Casualty, took off her clothes in front of horrified staff and customers at a gastro pub in Montrose Boorman pictured as a young actress in her Coronation Street days in 1992 She first found fame as a teenager, in the 1980s horror film Hellbound: Hellraiser II, and went on to have high-profile television roles in Coronation Street and Casualty. But she has amassed a string of convictions and was arrested again last May after causing havoc at the Picture House when she turned up drunk at 10pm. Boorman, of Montrose, Angus, appeared at Forfar Sheriff Court this week where fiscal depute Stuart Hamilton described how she arrived at the bar but 'simply smiled' and did not speak when she was asked for her order. When the staff member on duty went to get assistance, Boorman sneaked behind the bar and began drinking from a whisky bottle. She started spitting out mouthfuls on the pub floor and struck a customer in the face four times when he tried to intervene. Mr Hamilton said: 'The accused then removed all of her clothing, leaving her completely naked.' Boorman lay on the bar in the nude, used a whisky bottle to simulate a sex act and drank directly from the beer taps. She grabbed the hands of the man she had struck and placed them on her breasts before seizing a draught gun used to dispense soft drinks and spraying him in the face. He was sexually assaulted by her when she tried to pull down his trousers 'in a sexual manner'. Boorman (pictured on her Facebook page), of Montrose, Angus, appeared at Forfar Sheriff Court this week The mother-of-three lashed out at police officers who were called to the Picture House bar and restaurant when they tried to help her get dressed Boorman pictured on the set of the Film Hellbound: Hellraiser II in 1988 Police were called and four officers arrived at the pub to find Boorman in a state of undress. Two female officers attempted to get her clothes back on but she resisted them by violently flailing her arms. A constable was also assaulted by her after she grabbed her arm at West Bell Street police station in Dundee. Boorman admitted stealing alcohol and the value of the drinks she consumed, spilled or spat out came to 321.86. She also admitted public indecency, behaving in a threatening or abusive manner, assault, sexual assault, resisting police and assaulting a PC. Defence solicitor Nick Markowski said Boorman has now not drunk alcohol for 'a number of months' and is 'doing well' on a community payback order. She has a 'diagnosis of complex PTSD' and is working with a rehabilitation service and a women's criminal justice group. Sheriff Krista Johnston deferred sentencing to April 2 for reports. Boorman has convictions dating back 20 years, including for drink- driving and breach of the peace. In an interview in 2018, she admitted having 'a few scrapes with the law when my addiction to alcohol was getting the better of me'. Days after the sudden death of their eight-year old daughter a "heartbroken" family have been forced to issue a warning after a fake Facebook account posing as the young girl surfaced online, with scammers appearing to attempt to swindle money from vulnerable loved ones. Year 4 student Zali June Breitkreutz unexpectedly passed away in her sleep last week after suffering a brain bleed, known as a intracerebral haemorrhage, and her family are lost without her "shining light". "Zali was a ray of sunshine in our life, always singing, cartwheeling and making us laugh," her dad Sean Breitkreutz wrote online. "Driving us crazy, setting us off and pushing our buttons were a daily routine." "The past days have been a little darker (and a lot quieter)." Townsville schoolgirl Zali June Breitkreutz, 8, died in her sleep after suffering a brain haemorrhage last week. Source: Facebook Sean shared that "everyone" was welcome to her funeral in Townsville and encouraged attendees to wear "something bright" even those who intended to follow via the live stream. Fake profile sent scam live stream to loved ones After an outpouring of condolences the family were quickly notified that a Facebook profile under Zali's name was interacting with loved ones and sending friend requests, with an illegitimate memorial group created and a fake live stream link sent to people who planned to virtually attend the funeral. The family were forced to respond. "Anyone who has received a friend request from 'Zali June Breitkreutz' this is not a profile that Courtney [Zali's mum] or I have set up nor have we set up a funeral group, or will we be setting up any such group," Sean wrote. "Please DO NOT click on the live link for the funeral." There has been a rise in the number of scammers taking advantage of funeral live streams across the country. Scammers issue a fake link and those attempting to view the live stream are told they can only access it once bank details are entered with MP Peta Murphy's funeral targeted with a similar scam in December. Story continues Zali's funeral took place on Thursday and it is unknown if any friends or family faced issues with the live stream. Yahoo News has contacted Queensland Police for further information. Scammers taking advantage of grieving families and friends This is not the first time a grieving Aussie family has contended with scammers attempting to capitalise from the death of a loved one, with a similar high-profile situation occurring in 2020. Olympic swimmer Lisa Curry was forced to denounce a fundraising page which was illegitimately set up in her partner's name after their 33-year old daughter passed away suddenly. In 2019 a Western Australian mum also had to warn others that a fundraising page had been created after her 11-year old died in a vehicle collision. "In this tragic time someone has hacked me and started a GoFund Me," mum Jessie Forrest wrote online. Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com. You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube. For much of my early life I battled the Scottish cringe. I was probably well into my thirties before I felt I had it licked. But lately a virulent new strain of it has been unleashed, and resistance, for this Scot, appears futile. In my youth, my father was a significant influence in my struggle to overcome the cultural inferiority complex which afflicts many of us on this side of the Border. He gave me perspective, for example, on the plummy-vowelled English students on my university degree course who were a year older, several years worldlier and vastly more confident than I was. The Redcoat Cafe in the castle courtyard faces being renamed after a nationalist backlash Just as he predicted, many of them fell by the wayside long before graduation day. He often gave me the roll call of Scotlands high achievers international industrialists such as Thomas Blake Glover and Andrew Carnegie; engineers like James Watt; inventors like John Logie Baird and Alexander Graham Bell; writers such as Robert Burns and Robert Louis Stevenson. His point? Scotland had punched well above its weight for centuries. Nobody had any business nursing a cringe around these parts. I hear my father today and suspect the poor guys suffering from the same strain of the Scottish cringe as I am. There are many of us out there. Our psyches are shot. My latest attack of it came this week when I learned the Redcoat Cafe at Edinburgh Castle is likely going to need a new name. Seething The reason for this is the castle was injudicious enough to announce on social media at the weekend that the cafe had reopened after refurbishment. Pop in for a warm beverage or even a tasty slice of cake, it suggested, innocently enough, to the seething mass of grievance seekers on X, formerly Twitter. My fellow countryfolk of the nationalist persuasion promptly went bananas. SNP MP Douglas Chapman was one of the ringleaders. Redcoat, really? said he. I dont think many will be popping in for anything. I cannot speak to that. But there was certainly plenty of piling on. MSP Kevin Stewart of the SNP opined: This cant be for real, surely. If so, this is a huge misjudgment. See for yourself the 2,000-plus comments under the Edinburgh Castle post, many of them pure raging about the name which evokes the uniform worn by British Army infantrymen between the 16th and 19th centuries. Shame on whoever thought of this terrible and highly offence [sic] renaming of the cafe, spits one. Others speculate that it may be a spoof even that the castles X account may have been hacked. They couldnt seriously consider naming a cafe after a British uniform, could they? The point lost on almost all of them is that the castle did indeed consider such a thing and went right ahead with it back in 1992. No one complained. For three decades it traded under the name without a single raised nationalist voice. Now it is so offensive, I have no words. Now it is a slap in the face and an insult to Scotland. And here is where my cringe maxes out. These numbskulls make me embarrassed to be Scottish all over again. They make me worry that the world outside may justifiably conclude this is what Scottish people are like. It was PG Wodehouse who wrote in 1935 that it was never difficult to distinguish between a Scotsman with a grievance and a ray of sunshine. In 2024 I fear that the grievance part is factored into foreign nations perception of the modern Scot. Are we as a people now simply viewed as moaning purveyors of negative vibes cantankerous, inward-looking bores ranting like the lone drunk in the pub whose gaze you avoid? How do we recover from all the small-mindedness oozing from our shores? Confected One way to try is to bring perspective to bear on confected outrages such as that surrounding the Redcoat Cafe. Indeed, this is exactly what Historic Environment Scotland (HES), which manages Edinburgh Castle, should have done. It should have reflected that the whole point of X for politicians like Mr Chapman and Mr Stewart is to stir up nationalist pile-ons. Dont ask me why engaging with this froth matters so much to them when every major area of devolved governmental responsibility in the land is mired in crisis on an unprecedented scale. You will have to ask them. But understand that froth is what it is. Social media is not the real world. More often it is a tool for cynics to misrepresent it. Yet and here comes the cringe again HES has caved in and decided Scotland really does have a problem with Edinburgh Castles cafe. Lamentably, it plans to review both its name and that of the Jacobite function room. The way we interpret history is constantly evolving, it whimpers. Rather, it is backbones around these parts that are constantly disintegrating. It took mettle not huge amounts, but some to overcome the first wave of the Scottish cringe. How do we battle the new strain when even our national institutions are giving up the ghost? If we are seriously to talk about insults to Scotland, how do we hold our heads high when authority insults us all by bending the knee to a here-today, gone-tomorrow social media storm whose only purpose was to find offence in what was, for 30 years, demonstrably inoffensive? I cringed last week when I wrote on this page about Scottish Government plans to have school lessons delivered in the Scots language (as if current attainment levels were not disastrous enough) and I cringe this week about a furore over a cafe which, according to one non-ray of sunshine deserves to be firebombed. I cringe further at MP Mr Chapmans other contribution to national debate this week which is the claim that nationalist voters who switch to Labour are supporting English colonial rule. The cringe is in overdrive because, by dint of my Scottishness, I am associated with tripe like this. It is rather like the predicament faced by Italian Americans who worry that everyone they meet thinks they are in the mafia. Shame Here we venture forth into the world beetroot with shame over the new depths plumbed by the movement whose drive to break up the Union has succeeded only in breaking the country whose interests they claim to serve. Under the SNP, we cannot run an economy or build ferries or manage a health service or stop falling down the international education league tables. The roll call of dishonourable failures now eclipses my fathers one of high achievers. What we can offer the world is pathetic grievance and parochial piffle to which the only appropriate response is a shake of the head and a turn of the heel. There is, of course, a way out of this at the ballot box. For swifter relief from the humiliation wrought upon us we can but hope that moments of clarity descend on taxpayer- funded politicians such as Mr Chapman. Seriously, mate? Happy with the weeks work? Or, re-reading your words, do more valuable uses of your time and our money spring to mind? May the cringe be with you. Youve earned it. A police officer on his way to the scene of a horror crash in which two people died was told by colleagues that his wife was one of the victims. Emergency services were called early on Tuesday morning to the three-vehicle crash, in which two cars and a van collided on the A75 in Dumfriesshire. Police confirmed yesterday that Nissan driver Melissa Delaney, 41, and a 35-year-old man driving the van were both pronounced dead at the scene. Mrs Delaney's traffic police officer husband was on his way to the incident before finding out his wife was involved, it is understood. Police confirmed yesterday that Nissan driver Melissa Delaney, 41, (pictured) and a 35-year-old man driving the van were both pronounced dead at the scene The families of both victims have been informed, Police Scotland said yesterday. Tributes have poured in for nurse Mrs Delaney, who lived in Dumfries. She had been involved with the Dumfries Baton Twirlers (DBT) club for almost 15 years, and was an active member of its fundraising committee. The club sent out its 'heartfelt condolences' to her family, saying the mother was 'one of the best supporters to all our members and she was so proud of her two girls'. The message continued: 'Every single athlete, parent and supporter of our club is hurting today. We can't imagine any competition or trip ever being the same again.' Club member Abbie Davidson said: 'At DBT we are one big family, and it's not until something tragic like this happens you realise how lucky you are to be surrounded by such a strong and supportive group of people. 'Our family will never be the same without you Mel. 'You have raised such strong, beautiful and talented girls who will continue to be an absolute credit to you.' Others on social media have also paid tribute to Mrs Delaney. One post said she would be 'truly missed by everyone' and was a 'beautiful person inside and out'. Others described their heartbreak at the death. One post said she would be 'truly missed by everyone' and was a 'beautiful person inside and out' Sarah Wilson, who said Mrs Delaney was her childhood neighbour, called the death 'horrific'. She said: 'This news has shattered the lives of so many and goes to show how loved she really was. I am left with nothing but happy memories of her and will never forget that neverending smile on her face.' The identity of the 35-year-old man who died has not been revealed. The 49-year-old driver of the other car was uninjured. Road Policing Inspector Adnan Alam said: 'Our thoughts are with the family and friends of the people who died, and all those involved in the collision. 'We continue to offer them support as our inquiries continue.' Emergency services were called at around 6.20am to the horrific crash scene on the A75, near the B721, at Annan. The crash involved a Peugeot Boxer van, a Nissan Qashqai and a Renault Clio, police said. Mr Alam said: 'I'd be keen to speak to anyone who saw what happened or anyone with dashcam footage of the A75 around that time. Please review your footage and bring anything of significance to our attention.' Republicans have indicated there is no appetite for another short-term spending bill while Democrats welcome the idea If Congress doesn't pass funding before March the government will shutdown The House of Representatives broke for a two week recess Thursday without passing a government funding bill, leaving them only three days upon their return to avoid yet another potential government shutdown. Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., was able to pass a short-term funding bill called a continuing resolution - or CR - in mid-January to stave off a government shutdown. The measure passed 314-108 with Democrats joining Republicans to get it across the finish line. But that funding expires March 1 and the House will not reconvene until February 28. Many conservatives, however, were opposed to the January CR, but Johnson placated their dissent by claiming that the government would get funded with 12 separate bills for each agency of government rather than one large omnibus. But the House only has three days upon their return from recess to pass those 12 separate bills, raising questions for some as to how Johnson's mission can be accomplished. 'I think a CR will not be well received by the Republican Conference,' Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., told DailyMail.com. Rep. Byron Donalds said Republicans would be upset if they have to pass yet another short-term spending bill before the March 1 government shutdown Speaker Mike Johnson repeatedly indicated he would use the time after passing the January CR to hash out 12 individual spending bills 'When it comes to the Speaker, I think what needs to happen is they got to start thinking strategically over the long-term, not just what's in front of us from one week to the next.' Donalds also said that the 12 individual funding bills would not happen before the March 1 funding deadline. 'I already know it's not gonna happen before the first,' he said, adding the bills could not get passed since the Senate is already on recess. Republican Mike Garcia of California agreed: 'I don't know that the individual standalone bills are doable.' Chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee Mark Green told DailyMail.com he is hoping to get border security funding attached to any upcoming spending measures. 'Well, what I have been working on is how we can get some border security and inserted on some of this stuff,' Green said. Democrat Rep. Jamie Raskin said he hopes that the House passes a CR to avoid a government shutdown at the beginning of March Asked if he believes the House is poised to pass another CR the Chairman replied,' God I hope not. I hate voting no.' Republican Rep. Tim Burchett of Tennessee also said he would 'probably' vote no on another CR unless it included serious funding for borer security. 'I've never voted for a CR since I've been up here,' he said. Democrats, on the other hand, welcome another short term spending bill. 'I suppose and I hope we'll get another CR rather than shutting the government down,' Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., said. 'I think that speaker Johnson and the GOP understand that they've already provided enough of a spectacle of chaos and dysfunction that they don't need to sink themselves any more deeply into it.' The House has already passed two CRs since Johnson took the Speaker's gavel in October. A real estate agent accused of breaching cultural heritage laws by building a concrete bridge on his rural property could face jail time and a $20,000 fine after he allegedly disrupted the area's 'Rainbow Serpent'. Tony Maddox allegedly broke cultural heritage laws when he hired contractors to concrete a gravel creek crossing on his sprawling property in Toodyay, 85km northwest of Perth. The Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage claims the concrete bridge disturbed Waugul a rainbow serpent central to the mythology of the Noongar people - after Mr Maddox removed a large amount of silt from the creek. The department charged Mr Maddox with breaching Western Australia's Aboriginal Heritage Act, last February. The act prohibits the the excavation, destruction, concealment or alteration of Aboriginal heritage sites. Mr Maddox has pleaded not guilty in the Northam Magistrates Court and is set to face a two-day trial in Perth starting on Thursday. Mr Maddox has spent a year off work to fight the charge, arguing he had no prior knowledge that cultural heritage laws applied to the creek. He said the legal battle had 'knocked the hell out of me as a human being'. 'I literally haven't worked all year, I've been fighting this for a year. This just destroys your heart. Destroys your head, destroys your soul,' he told Sky News. 'And what is the outcome? The outcome is going to be an awful lot of money piling up. For what? 'Even if I am found guilty, there is nothing in the Act that tells them they have the power to ask me to remove the crossing.' Tony Maddox (pictured) allegedly broke a cultural heritage law when he built a creek crossing at his sprawling property in Toodyay, about 85km northwest of Perth, Western Australia The Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage claims the concrete bridge (pictured) disrupted Waugul a rainbow serpent central to the mythology of the Noongar people - as Mr Maddox removed a large amount of silt from the nearby creek to build it The creek crossing is the only point of entry to his property, with the work carried out to prevent erosion caused by recent heavy rain and flooding. Mr Maddox said he had discussed the concrete bridge with local Aboriginal elders since it was built, and they had made no complaints. 'It's quite unbelievable,' he said. 'I don't understand the heavy-handedness of the Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage. 'Why wouldn't they instead just say, "You've broken our Act, we're aware you didn't know anything about it, let's educate you and tell you about it". WHAT IS THE RAINBOW SERPANT? In Aboriginal culture the Rainbow Serpent is the protector of the land, its people, and the source of all life. However, the Rainbow Serpent can also be a destructive force if it is not properly respected. In times of anger or rage it causes storms and floods to act as punishment against those who disobey the laws. Source: Rainbow Serpent in Aboriginal Art & Culture Advertisement 'I've had more education from our local elders than I have from the department.' Mr Maddox has been running his own business for the last 33 years and could lose his real estate licence if he is convicted. 'The other outcome is a huge amount of expenditure on my part to get to this stage with a lawyer and a barrister working for me now,' he said. He faces the prospect of a $20,000 fine, nine months in jail and paying expensive legal fees. The prosecution's statement of facts claim the creek holds significant value for the traditional owners of the region and Noongar mythology. Prosectors claim the rainbow serpent Waugul lives in the creek and that any work on it could cause the spirit to leave and the water to dry up. The prominent real estate agent (pictured) faces the prospect of nine months in jail and a $20,000 fine after his bridge crossing allegedly breached a cultural heritage law Mr Maddox said he had 'no idea' a cultural heritage law applied to the creek in his property The prosecution's statement of facts claim the rainbow serpent Waugul lives in the creek and that any work on it could cause the creature to leave and the water to dry up The prosecution alleges the site has been 'significantly altered and damaged' after silt was removed, bore water pumped into the brook and a lake and fountain built. Mr Maddox also did not seek approval from Aboriginal Affairs Minister Tony Buti or the Registrar of Aboriginal Sites, according to the prosecution. Daily Mail Australia has contacted Mr Maddox for comment. A paramedic who claims she was locked inside a rundown home with a dead body in a scene reminiscent of a horror movie is suing the state government. Naomi O'Callaghan, 43, was called to a remote property at Giru, near Townsville in north Queensland, on May 29, 2011 following reports a man had died. The paramedic was called to attend to an 80-year-old man but claims she was met by a younger man with a shovel who was surrounded by dogs. The younger man led her into the house where she discovered the corpse before the door was allegedly locked behind her. The older man appeared to have been dead for some time, she claims. Ms O'Callaghan claims she feared for her safety after the man who greeted her allegedly told her if she made any sudden movements, the dogs would attack her. Naomi O'Callaghan (pictured) is suing the state government after she allegedly endured a horror ordeal at a rundown rural property where she discovered an elderly man who had been dead for some time Ms O'Callaghan has filed a claim in the Supreme Court in Townsville seeking $1.3million in damages from the state government on the basis she endured a traumatic ordeal while she was on duty. She alleges she was scared by the presence of the aggressive dogs and feared there would be other animals and people on the farm who could have posed a threat to her safety, The Courier-Mail reported. Ms O'Callaghan's claim also states that she could have suffered injuries from several hazards that were inside the home. She claims the 'life-threatening situation' caused her to suffer post traumatic stress disorder and has also alleged that the Queensland Ambulance Service (QAS) did not send back-up paramedics. In her claim, Ms O'Callaghan said she ran to her ambulance to hit a duress alarm and told a radio operator: 'This has got a B-grade horror movie written all over it.' She says she drove from the remote property to the Bruce Highway to alert police. Two months later she attended to a late-night call at another remote property near Giru following reports a 36-year-old man had committed suicide. Ms O'Callaghan found the man in a shed surrounded by several items including two gas bottles and a bowl of white powder. She claims she tried to leave the property but that her vehicle's engine wouldn't start. During a separate incident, Ms O'Callaghan tried to leave another remote property after discovering a dead man but the engine in the ambulance (stock image) wouldn't start She claims a QAS radio control room staffer told her 'if you hear banjo music, get the hell out of Dodge' in reference to a scene from the American horror film 'Deliverance'. Ms O'Callaghan has worked for the QAS since 2007 as a 'single ambulance officer' in rural parts of North Queensland. She claims the QAS should have advised her to wait for police to arrive at the properties and deem the homes safe before she could confirm the deaths of the men. Ms O'Callaghan also claims she was terminated from her employment in June 2019. A date is yet to be set for the hearing of the case in court and a defence has not as yet been filed. Special counsel David Weiss charged Alexander Smirnov with lying about Biden after he became a presidential candidate Special Counsel David Weiss has charged a former FBI informant with lying about President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden taking $5million bribes from the Ukrainian energy company Burisma. Alexander Smirnov, 43, is accused of making a false statement and creating a false record for statements he made to the FBI in 2020 and, if convicted, faces a maximum of 25 years in prison. Smirnov was arrested on Thursday afternoon at Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas after arriving the United States from overseas and appeared in federal court in Nevada on Thursday afternoon. The charges against Smirnov could undercut Republican accusations of bribery and claims Biden was benefitting financial from his son's business dealings in Ukraine. Special Counsel David Weiss has charged a former FBI informant with lying about President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden taking a $5million bribe from the Ukrainian energy company Burisma According to court documents, Smirnov told the FBI in March 2017 he had a phone call with the owner of Burisma about the energy companies interest in acquiring a business in the United States. In his telling of the conversation, Smirnov told the FBI that someone referred to as 'Businessperson 1' was on the board of Burisma and was also the son of an individual referred to as 'Public Official 1.' While the individuals are not named in the indictment, they are reported to be Hunter Biden and President Biden. Three years later in June 2020, the indictment alleges Smirnov provided false information about Biden and Hunter after Biden became a presidential candidate. At that time, Smirnov reported two meetings around 2015 and/or 2016. It alleges Smirnov falsely claimed that during the meetings, executives associated with Burisma admitted to him that they hired Hunter to 'protect us, through his dad, from all kinds of problems,' and later they had specifically paid $5 million each to Biden and Hunter while Biden was still in office so that Hunter would 'take care of all those issues through his dad,' referring to a criminal investigation being conducted by the then-Ukrainian prosecutor general into Burisma. According to the indictment, the events Smirnov reported in 2020 were a fabrication. The charges against Smirnov undercut the Republicans' accusations of bribery and claims Biden was benefitting financial from his son's business dealings in Ukraine The indictment states in fact, Smirnov had contact with executives from Burisma in 2017 after the end of the Obama-Biden Administration and after the then Ukrainian Prosecutor General had been fired in February 2016 when Biden had 'no ability to influence U.S. policy and after the Ukrainian Prosecutor General had been fired in February 2016.' The indictment alleges Smirnov transformed his routine business contacts with Burisma in 2017 and later into bribery allegations against Biden after expressing bias against Biden and his presidential candidacy. When Smirnov was interviewed by the FBI in September 2023, the indictment alleges he repeated some of his false claims, changed his story with other claims, and 'promoted a new false narrative after he said he met with Russian officials.' House Republicans had seized on the FBI document alleging the $5 million bribe as part of their investigation into the president. The indictment undermines that key component in their case. Following the indictment, House Oversight Committee Ranking Member Jamie Raskin, D-MD, called on House Republicans to end their impeachment inquiry. 'In a detailed indictment, Special Counsel David Weisswho was appointed by former President Donald Trumphas demonstrated how key evidence at the heart of House Republicans impeachment inquiry is based on a lie,' Rankin said in a statement. But House Oversight Republicans vowed to move forward with their investigation saying in a post on X they have reasons to do so that do not rely on the 'corrupt FBI or an informant.' The widow of a young father-of-three who died after a shift working on Brisbane's major Cross River Rail project has spoken out, claiming his death 'could have been prevented'. Thousands of workers gathered outside Queensland Parliament on Thursday calling for safer working conditions following the death of 29-year-old Daniel Sa'u. He was found dead by police just hours after leaving the construction site at Salisbury in Brisbane's south on December 28. The widow of Daniel Sa'u (pictured) who died after a shift working on Brisbane 's Cross River Rail project has spoken out, claiming his death 'could have been prevented' Thousands of workers gathered outside Queensland Parliament on Thursday calling for safer working conditions following the death of the 29-year-old father-of-three (pictured) According to Mr Sa'u's wife, Jeraldine, and the Construction, Forestry and Maritime Employees Union (CFMEU), he showed 'signs of heat stress' before his death, however his official cause of death is still being investigated. At the rally Mrs Sa'u addressed the crowd, saying she has suffered unimaginable grief and loss and was speaking out to prevent this from happening to another family. 'My darling Daniel didn't come home safely from work,' she said. 'He is my soulmate, a wonderful father to our beautiful three girls, a loving son, a brother and uncle. 'He is so loved and missed by his family and friends. 'He was a hard worker wanting to provide for his family to set up the future of his children.' Mr Sa'u (pictured) was a hard worker wanting to provide for his family and set up the future of his children Mrs Sa'u (pictured with Daniel) also expressed her sadness at the lack of action taken on workplace safety Mrs Sa'u also expressed her sadness at the lack of action taken on workplace safety. 'What happened to him is not right,' she said. 'Those in power who could have prevented his death need to be held accountable. There has been no acknowledgement of his loss, no closure received from any of these organisations. 'No words, no nothing.' At the rally, State secretary Michael Ravbar accused Workplace Health and Safety Queensland of leaving workers to fend for themselves Mrs Sa'u (pictured) addressed the crowd, saying she has suffered unimaginable grief and loss The CFMEU was set to meet with Queensland Premier Steven Miles, saying it would be a test of his leadership. At the rally, State secretary Michael Ravbar accused Workplace Health and Safety Queensland of 'leaving workers to fend for themselves in a taxpayer-funded death trap'. 'Queensland workers condemn the government for selling out on worker safety,' he said. 'Workers further censure the Minister for Industrial Relations Grace Grace, for overseeing the dysfunction within the state regulator.' The Cross River Rail Delivery Authority told 7NEWS that 18 workers have been taken to hospital after complaining of, or displaying, 'suspected heat-related symptoms' but declined to comment on the possible cause of Mr Sa'u's death. 'Police have advised their investigations are continuing, including into the cause of his death after leaving site earlier in the day,' the body said. 'Therefore, it would be inappropriate to comment further.' A GoFundMe has been set up to raise funds for the Sa'u family. EXCLUSIVE The family of missing mother-of-three Samantha Murphy have revealed how her husband tried to find her on the morning she went missing. Ms Murphy's uncle and aunt, Allan and Janice Robson, told Daily Mail Australia their niece's husband, Mick Murphy, made the call to police himself two hours after she failed to return home at 9am on February 4. 'She was reported missing at about 11am. Mick reported her missing. He said she was supposed to be back to go to some sort of meeting that morning,' Allan said. 'She wasn't home. Didn't go to it... he rang up and reported it and after that they started looking out the other side of Buninyong, which is 20-30km away.' Allan obtained the information directly from his brother John Robson, who he maintains regular contact with. 'She was reported missing at about 11am. Mick reported her missing. He said she was supposed to be back to go to some sort of meeting that morning,' Samantha's uncle Allan Robson said (pictured Mick and Samantha Murphy) '(Mick) (pictured above) has shut the gate and locked (reporters) out,' Allan said. 'He's had a gutful of the reporters' 'She was only going to run 10km and she was going to be home by 9am. She said she'd be back then to go to the meeting. Something in Ballarat,' Allan said. It remains unclear if any of the Murphy's three children, whose ages range between the early teens to early 20s, were at the family home at the time their mum went missing. 'The young bloke would have been home. He's only 12 or 13,' Allan said. Ms Murphy's father phoned Allan and Janice just as they were about to sit down for dinner the night that she went missing. 'He said "Oh Janice, Sam's gone. Samantha's gone missing",' Janice said. 'I said "what do you mean gone missing?" He said "She's gone missing. She went out". He didn't say she'd gone jogging, but she'd gone missing. "She hasn't turned up. Never came back".' Allan said his niece routinely ran 20km on a weekend, but this time she planned to run a shorter distance so she could attend her appointment. Police have confirmed Ms Murphy had was meant to attend a brunch that morning. 'She was going to be back by 9am because it was also stinking hot,' Allan said. On Thursday, a woman who identified herself as Ms Murphy's sister refused to allow Daily Mail Australia to speak to her parents, who reside in Gordon - about 22km from their daughter's home. 'People just don't vanish into thin air. Someone's got to know something,' Mick Murphy (pictured above) said at a press conference The rugged terrain where police and community members have searched for Samantha Murphy Ms Murphy's relatives spoke to Daily Mail Australia in the hope the wider public would not forget she had gone missing. 'That's the only way they're going to find her,' Janice said. '(Mick) has shut the gate and locked (reporters) out,' Allan said. 'He's had a gutful of the reporters.' Allan said Mr Murphy had never courted public attention. Daily Mail Australia is also not suggesting Mr Murphy has anything to do with his wife's disappearance. Janice said Mr Murphy likely felt the media attention was an intrusion on his family's privacy. 'Then on the other hand they've got to stop and think. Nothing else is working. The more people talking about it, something might pop up,' Janice said. 'We've got to keep jogging people's memory,' Allan added. Mr Murphy made his one and only public statement to the media on February 8 in a press conference that was memorable for his daughter Jessica's emotional words rather than his own. 'People just don't vanish into thin air. Someone's got to know something,' Mr Murphy said then. 'Whether it be any little thing that you might think is relevant, just call the police and let them know. It'll give us a bit of peace of mind, some hope'. Janice said she had been bombarded with theories and opinions about Mr Murphy's behaviour in the week since he made that plea for help. Some of the theories Janice mentioned have been rolled-out repeatedly in Facebook pages that claim to be 'helping' police find Ms Murphy. 'She was the boss. Mick's different. He's quiet. He stays in the background. He doesn't say much. 'He's too easy-going Mick. Nothing would worry him.' The pair said Ms Murphy's father told them his daughter hadn't had any arguments with her husband leading up to her disappearance. 'It's the first thing I thought (when she vanished) that they might of had a blue or something, but (John) seemed to think not,' Allan said. 'He reckons there are no money worries or anything. He knows of no trouble at all.' Mick and Samantha Murphy's house 'is worth big money', her aunt and uncle said Ms Murphy had maintained regular contact with her parents, regularly catching up with them on weekends when she wasn't working. Allan and Janice insist someone sinister is responsible for Ms Murphy's disappearance. 'I reckon someone has been watching them since they bought that house. Because it's worth big money,' Allan suggested. But with no demands for cash and Ms Murphy's bank accounts presumably untouched, it's a long shot. 'If she was going to p*** off somewhere she would have taken some money wouldn't she,' Allan said. On the morning Ms Murphy vanished, she was captured on her own CCTV system wearing a maroon/brown singlet and black half-length leggings. Allan and Janice dismissed suggestions Ms Murphy may have staged her own disappearance. 'She would have taken some clothes or something... the cars were still home too (on the CCTV image). She would have got one of them,' Janice said. 'She just vanishes after leaving the front door. Just gone like that.' The pair reiterated Ms Murphy would never have switched off her mobile phone, which police believe went dead in thick scrub some 20km from her home. 'That phone hasn't been switched off since she had the thing. Then all of a sudden it's switched off,' Allan said. Samantha Murphy vanished without a trace on February 4 Last week, Missing Persons Unit Superintendent Mark Hatt said police were still working to ascertain who may have been in the area where Ms Murphy's phone lost communication with mobile phone towers. Her mobile phone had pinged in the nearby suburb of before going dark. Allan claimed that task may have been made harder due to several phone towers in the area going offline. 'That day half the repeaters were out of action - everything was going through Buninyong,' he said. As time drags on, the family are now coming to grips with the fact may Ms Murphy may not be found alive. 'She's not laying around somewhere hurt. You'd be looking for a body,' Allan said. Anyone with information on Ms Murphy's disappearance is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000. A cellist was bludgeoned over the head by a stranger wielding a water bottle as he performed in the New York City subway the day before Valentine's Day. Iain Forrest, 27, a medical student and musician, was playing his electric cello at the 34th Street Herald Square Station on the evening of February 13. In a shocking moment caught on video, an unidentified woman strode over, picked up the metal water bottle he'd set on the ground and smashed it over his head. The bottle clattered to the ground as Forrest clutched his head in pain. Forrest wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that the woman fled the station and escaped into a nearby Macy's, where she evaded city police. Iain Forrest, 27, was playing electric cello in a Manhattan subway station when an unidentified woman bludgeoned him over the head with a metal water bottle The medical student and performer was attacked on the evening of February 13 at the 34th Street Herald Square Station. Forrest said the woman fled the station and escaped into a nearby Macy's, evading NYPD officers Forrest is wrapping up his MD-PHD studies at Mount Sinai's Icahn School of Medicine 'This marks the second attack Ive endured in less than a year while performing for New Yorkers in subway stations,' the performer wrote on social media. 'I dont think I can do this anymore. Im suspending subway performances indefinitely.' The first incident came in June, when Forrest was punched and choked by another man in Times Square. He was coincidentally treated at Mount Sinai, the same hospital where he attends medical school. Police say they are searching for a woman in relation to the latest attack last seen wearing a mustard yellow jacket, black beanie and red scarf. 'No one in the transit system, including the musicians, should be subjected to violence, and when the NYPD catches up to the person who committed this senseless attack they will be held accountable,' the Metropolitan Transit Authority wrote in a statement. Forrest is a member of the MTA's Music Under New York program, which schedules musical performances in transit hubs throughout the city. The 27-year-old performs under the moniker 'Eyeglasses,' playing electric cello covers in addition to writing his own music. The 27-year-old was punched and choked by a stranger as he performed in Times Square last June Police say they are searching for the perpetrator of the latest attack, who was last seen wearing a mustard jacket, black beanie and red scarf In addition to his studies, Forrest is a member of the MTA's Music Under New York program He got his start playing in the subway before giving a breakout performance at Radio City Music Hall in 2020 and playing during the New York Yankees' opening game in 2022 He was discovered playing in the subway and gave a debut performance at Radio City Music Hall with singer-songwriter Josh Groban in 2020. Two years later, the 27-year-old performed during the New York Yankees' opening game at Yankee Stadium. In addition to his musical pursuits, Forrest is finishing an MD-PhD at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai after earning his PhD in May. Forrest did not respond immediately to DailyMail.com's request for comment. A pilot who battered his estranged wife to death could kill again if he is released from jail, a court heard yesterday. Former British Airways pilot Robert Brown has shown no remorse and officials fear he is a risk to any future wife or girlfriend, and to the family and friends of his victim Joanna Simpson, including the couple's two children. Joanna's mother Diana Parkes and her best friend Hetti Barkworth-Nanton led a high-profile campaign to block his automatic release from prison, after he served 13 years of a 26-year sentence. Mrs Parkes has said she fears for her family's safety if Brown is released on licence. Brown has launched legal action against Justice Secretary Alex Chalk and claims the minister's decision to stop his early release was unlawful. Former British Airways pilot Robert Brown has shown no remorse and officials fear he is a risk to any future wife or girlfriend Brown bludgeoned his estranged wife Joanna Simpson (above) to death in their former marital home in Ascot in 2010 Lawyers for the Ministry of Justice said Mr Chalk had referred the case to the Parole Board because of 'reasonable' fears that Brown, 60, could offend again. They included fears he could commit murder, manslaughter or make threats to kill, the High Court heard. Lawyer Iain Steele, for the Justice Secretary, said: 'The Secretary of State can decide not to release a prisoner on licence if he has reasons to believe he will be dangerous if released.' He added: 'His [Brown's] risk is not manageable We are dealing with a very dangerous individual.' Brown bludgeoned his estranged wife Joanna, 46, to death in their former marital home in Ascot in 2010. He was acquitted of murder but admitted manslaughter by diminished responsibility, because of a stress-related 'adjustment disorder'. Since he was jailed in 2011 he has refused to cooperate with prison psychiatrists and psychologists, the High Court heard, and officials warned of his 'arrogance and narcissism'. Lawyers for Brown said Mr Chalk's decision to block his release was unlawful and appeared to have been politically motivated, because of the campaign to keep him behind bars. A ruling is expected later this year. We are partway through February, and its been fairly mild, with warm days but cold nights. Grape growers dont want unseasonably warm weather to persist in the dead of winter, so the 20-degree nights are OK. The dormant grapevines need to stay that way for a few more months. The weather forecast says next week will be seasonably cold I hope so. We havent had much snow, maybe 12 inches overall at our Fosterville vineyard, but the snowfall doesnt really impact grapevines. Fortunately, we have not seen any subzero episodes, but then again, we are entering what is typically the coldest time of the year in mid-February. I remember the St. Valentine's Day massacre of 2016, when the mercury hit minus 22 degrees Fahrenheit in our vineyard on Feb. 14, and even the best vineyards right on the Finger Lakes experienced temperatures around 15 to 18 below! Most of the vinifera crop was wiped out that year, with some vine damage as well. Lets see how it all plays out this year. Time will tell. I mentioned last month that the Business, Enology and Viticulture of New York Conference (BEVNY2024) will be held in Canandaigua on March 5-6. This conference attracts many New York and Northeast winemakers and grape growers. The two-day schedule is now available at bevny.org/schedule. We will see sessions on business strategies and methods to increase New York wine sales, as well as both viticulture (grape growing) and enology (winemaking) segments each day. There is also a trade show highlighting equipment used in the vineyard and the winery. Ive signed up to attend both days to see and hear new ideas that can help improve grape growing and winemaking right here in the Finger Lakes. It is important to keep producing high-quality, world-class wines here in New York state, as the wine business is very competitive, with lots of wines from all over the world available to consumers. Then, on March 12-14, the Eastern Winery Exhibition will be in Syracuse, the biggest wine and grape show east of the Rockies! This trade show and conference is focused on the eastern U.S. and Canada vineyards and wineries, with 40 workshop and conference sessions. The schedule can be found at easternwineryexposition.com. So, anyone interested in the wine and grape business has a lot of opportunities in March to attend either one of these conferences and see the future. As a winemaker Im often asked in the tasting room what my favorite wine is. Its interesting, as I dont have one favorite wine, and I think thats true for many folks. The wine I enjoy the most depends on the food pairing is it dinner, lunch or desert? Also, what is the occasion? Maybe a bigger, bolder cabernet franc would be great with steak, at a celebration dinner! How about a semi-sweet riesling with some spicy Thai Asian cuisine for dinner or possibly a lunch for a birthday or anniversary. A dry rose with shrimp, scallops, lobster, cod or haddock. Finger Lakes rieslings are terrific with just about any food; their crisp acidity is great with hors doeuvres, white fish, oysters, scallops and vegetarian dishes. One of my favorites is sharp-aged cheddar with a semi-dry riesling. After dinner, a sweeter red wine is tasty with chocolate cake, torte or dark chocolates. So many choices! Longer nights and shorter days in mid-winter are great for experimenting with wine and food pairings. I also have favorite wines that are aged for several years in small oak barrels, then further aged in the bottle before drinking. In the Finger Lakes, we see vinifera pinot noir, cab franc, cab sauvignon, Lemberger and hybrids like chambourcin, baco noir, marechal foch and noiret that all can be cellared for many years to smooth the tannins and become super red wines for your special occasion! February is a really good time to visit local wineries and pick up some world-class wines. Advertisement A modest brick bungalow that has stood untouched on Sydney's most iconic headland for more than a century has been reduced to rubble as it is demolished to make way for a billionaire's new home. The home named Lang Syne, meaning 'times gone by', has long been the envy of passers-by doing the famous Bronte to Bondi walk in the city's upmarket eastern suburbs. Billionaire advertising guru David Droga, 54, and his film producer wife, Marisa, purchased the property for $45million last May. Demolition began at the site on Thursday, with a crane making easy work of the one-storey 1920s brick bungalow, which was torn down in just hours. Waverley Council approved demolition of the iconic home in January, but many locals were not impressed. BEFORE: The iconic house stood proudly over the Tamarama headland for over a century AFTER: The home was torn down in just hours on Thursday - and now all that remains is a pile of rubble The section has long been the envy of passers-by walking the Bronte to Bondi walk 'Very sad to notice this landmark gone the other day. But that's what Sydney does,' one said. Another added: 'I can smell a McMansion on the way.' But others argued that just because the home was old, it does not mean it deserved protection. 'Everyone complaining needs to get a life. Individual paid for said property and land. They can do what they want with it. Just because something is old and people got used to seeing it around is not reason enough to heritage list it,' one person wrote. The Drogas said the property slated for construction on the 1,100 square-metre lot will be built with 'restraint' and 'respect'. New owners reveal why they bought the property After the property is constructed, its new owners who reside in New York City along with their four children, intend to visit it every Christmas. Mr Droga, chief executive and creative chairman of Accenture Song, revealed he had been 'obsessed' with the block of land for years, before finally purchasing it last year. 'I always remember thinking: "That's got to be the best piece of land in Australia",' he told The Australian Financial Review soon after the sale. 'I was so obsessed with it growing up.' Mr Droga, who refers to himself as 'The Dingo of Wall Street', is considered one of the most powerful players in global advertising. Throughout his 30-plus-year career, he has worked with people including Barack Obama and Beyonce. He grew up in the Perisher Valley in the NSW Snowy Mountains before moving to Sydney, Singapore, London, and then New York in 2003 to run a billion-dollar advertising agency. Mr Droga founded his own agency, Droga5, in 2006, which is credited with creating some of the most studied and successful marketing campaigns of the last 20 years. Advertising guru David Droga, 54, and his film producer wife Marisa, purchased the property for $45million last May What makes the property so special? The bungalow is built on a huge 1,100 square-metre block, with incredible 180-degree views up and down the coastline. It sits directly over the headland between Tamarama Beach and Mackenzies Bay, and offers ultimate privacy with no neighbours or even high-rise apartments to interrupt the ocean views. It was listed with a price guide of between $47million and $52million which is unusual in Sydney, where such prices are usually reserved for harbourside mansions, rather than properties exposed to the elements coming directly from the ocean. The sale smashed records in the area with Tamarama's previously most expensive block changing owners for $29.2million. Award-winning architect Bruce Stafford described the home as 'one of the greatest sites in Sydney' for its privacy and position on the headland. 'We're actually in an urban setting, but it feels like you're in the country. This is gold. It has every potential to become the most iconic house in Australia,' he said. Lang Syne was previously owned by radio legend Harry Griffiths and his wife Dimity who bought the property for just 9750 in 1959, the equivalent of $18,000. Mrs Griffiths said Lang Syne had been 'party central' over the decades and played host to 21st birthdays, barbecues and family gatherings. 'I just think back over the years that we've been here, and it's always been happy times,' she told the Australian Financial Review in November 2022. A property manager has urged renters to 'clean up' their social media and provide a cover letter to boost their chances of getting a lease on a rental home. Jessica Melling, a property manager with real estate agency LJ Hooker at Robina on Queensland's Gold Coast warned first-time renters that landlords and agents often check a prospective tenant's social media accounts. Ms Melling told Daily Mail Australia a tenant can be looked upon favorably by landlords and property managers by having a social media profile that makes a good first impression. 'Property managers will often use social media as a tool to show the owners a little bit more about the tenants,' she said. 'If your social media is not on private, have a look and think of it as if you're dating someone and their parents are going to jump on and have a look.' Ms Melling said pictures of a renter on Facebook or Instagram is likely to tell a landlord whether a tenant should be given the keys to the home. 'If it's [social media] on private, clean it up,' A property manager has urged firsttime renters to 'clean up' their social media profiles if they want to boost their chances of owning a rental home Ms Melling, who has 15 years of experience as a property manager, said property managers use social media to identify a tenant particularly if they haven't provided a cover letter. 'We're looking for a picture of that person to give the owner a better understanding of who they are.' Ms Melling said landlords are often looking to enter into a long-term agreement with a tenant and said the more information landlords and property managers have - including pictures of a tenant - the better. The advice to renters comes as Australia's rental vacancy rate remain persistently low at1.1 per cent in January, down from 1.3 per cent in December 2023. There were 32,108 properties for rent around Australia, down from 39,797 in December. Jessica Melling (pictured) a property manager with LJ Hooker Robina on the Gold Coast, told Daily Mail Australia property managers often turn to social media in a bid to get a better understanding of prospective tenants Ms Melling said the competitive rental market means would-be tenants need to find ways to stand out from the crowd. She urged tenants to provide a cover letter in their applications and bring a copy of the letter with them during open-home inspections. 'The point of it [cover letter] is to present yourself as best as you can and to be memorable to the property manger,' Ms Melling said. 'If we get 30 applications but we've had someone who shows how eager they are by bringing a cover letter with them, the chances are that application is going to be easy to process.' First-time renter and apprentice plumber Jarrod Pienaar struggled to find a rental home before eventually moving into a property at Varsity Lakes on the Gold Coast. Australia's national vacancy rate remain stubbornly low as renters struggle to find places to live (pictured, renters inspecting a property) The 22-year-old said he was able to get his foot into the rental market once he began to include cover letters in his property applications 'I was ready to move out and starting to look for a place of my own. I wanted to find a property within the $500-700 a week mark but there wasn't a ton on the market at the time,' he told realestate.com.au Some tenants' advocates, however, have slammed property managers checking the social media profiles of prospective tenants saying it's an infringement on their privacy. Executive Director of Better Renting Joel Dignam said checking on prospective tenants via social media is another example of the power imbalance between landlords and renters. 'The bottom line is this isn't relevant for the tenancy and it's an abuse of the power that agents have because they have so many tenants to choose from in a tight market,' he told the Brisbane Times. 'We don't need to be tone-policing renters who are otherwise suitable.' Ms Melling encouraged tenants not to lose faith and have their applications ready to submit online, ensuring they provide reliable references. 'The best thing you can do is even if you don't think you've got a chance, apply because everyone else is often to scared to apply.' A Tennessee woman was discovered dead in the backseat of a submerged police patrol, shortly before the body of the missing deputy was recovered from the river. Robert 'RJ' Leonard, a deputy with the Meigs County Sheriff's Office, made a final call to his dispatch on Wednesday evening, saying 'water,' before losing all communication with the office. Prior to Leonard's disappearance, he responded to a report of a man and a woman fighting on a bridge at around 10 pm local time and took a woman into custody. On Thursday, his patrol car was extracted from the Tennessee River, and a body believed to be that of the arrestee was recovered. Leonard's body was found hours later near the location where the cruiser was removed, as reported by the sheriff's office. A Tennessee woman was discovered dead in the backseat of a submerged police patrol, shortly before the body of the missing deputy was recovered from the river On Thursday, a patrol car was extracted from the Tennessee River, and a body believed to be that of the arrestee was recovered. Robert 'RJ' Leonard (pictured left with wife), a deputy with the Meigs County Sheriff's Office, made a chilling call to dispatch on Wednesday evening, saying 'water,' and subsequently lost communication with the office Although authorities are still working to confirm the identity of the woman recovered from the patrol, they believe it to be the woman arrested, Meigs County District Attorney Russell Johnson said. 'There was a whole lot of mud. There is a body in the backseat of the car covered by a lot of mud. A lot of mud on the front seat, but [there's] no body in the front seat,' he added. Due to a strong current and murky water, it took search parties a couple of hours to confirm whether the other body belongs to Leonard. The deputy graduated from the training academy in December last year and joined the force since then. 'Deputy Leonard had only been here for a couple of months, but he had become a part our family,' Chief Deputy Brian Malone said in tears. 'It's a hard time for us here. It's something that we don't ever deal with here in Meigs County,' he added. Although authorities are still working to confirm the identity of the woman recovered from the patrol, they believe it to be the woman arrested, Meigs County District Attorney Russell Johnson said On Thursday morning, a vehicle filled with mud was located in the Tennessee River. It was upside down with wheels up, and the driver-side window was down Leonard's body was found hours later near the location where the cruiser was removed, as reported by the sheriff's office 'Deputy Leonard had only been here for a couple of months but he had become a part our family,' Chief Deputy Brian Malone said in tears Shortly after 10 pm on Wednesday, Leonard made a radio communication to dispatch, telling them he was driving to the county jail with a suspect. Ten minutes later, communication with the deputy became broken, and he didn't respond to a status check. Almost at the same time, Leonard texted his wife saying, 'arrest,' and his wife responded, 'that's great.' 'We know that his phone did not evidently receive that text,' Johnson said. In his final radio call, Leonard said 'water,' a word that authorities had to use 'special techniques' to decipher later. 'Dispatch couldn't tell what he was saying,' Johnson said. 'We think he was saying, 'Water.'' A satellite tracking of his vehicle and a location sharing app on his photo led the officers to Blythe Ferry Road near the Tennessee River. 'They triangulated the last position of his phone and the Life360 that his wife has attached to his phone, and it appears that they're almost in the same location,' Johnson said. On Thursday morning, a vehicle filled with mud was located in the Tennessee River. It was upside down with wheels up, and the driver-side window was down. The deputy graduated from the training academy in December last year and joined the force since then The devastating incident has left Leonard's wife and children in anguish, as his wife shared in a social media post Agencies across the state are still investigating the incident, but Johnson said the deputy appeared to be texting and talking on the radio while driving in a treacherous road. 'They are not well lit. They are not well marked. They are narrow. If he's not paying attention, he could hit that water pretty quick,' Johnson said. 'We're operating under the theory that it was an accident - he missed his turn, he wasn't familiar, and he was doing other things that may have caused him to go into the water,' Johnson said. Chief Deputy Malone stated that this isn't the first crash in the area, noting a previous incident in December where a woman survived after driving her car into the water. The devastating incident has left Leonard's wife and children in anguish, as his wife shared in a social media post. 'Our lives are forever changed. Please just keep praying. Pray harder than you ever have before. My heart is breaking for my kids, and I am just an absolute wreck. I will start reaching out when I can pull it together. 'For now, all I can do is cry. We love you forever RJ. 17 years isn't long enough with you,' she wrote. Do YOU live on the estate? Plans to transform an abandoned housing estate, intended to house NHS staff, into 135 new council homes has been approved amid growing pressure over homelessness and the asylum backlog. The 'ghost town' in Evington, Leicester was originally built for NHS staff but was 'left to rot' for four years. Hospital Close became a crime-ridden hotspot for fly-tippers, vandals and drug dealers after it was left abandoned in 2019. But amid a soaring rise in the number of people facing homelessness in the city, plans to bring the street back into use have now been rubber-stamped. The first phase of the project will see 11 two-bed semi-detached houses for three people, and 24 three-bed houses for four people. Hospital Close, Leicester, a derelict NHS housing estate, which has now fallen into disrepair since NHS workers and their families left in 2019 Locals accused the local authority of 'neglecting' the remaining residents living there - and allowing the neighbourhood to descend into 'a warzone The site, which sits in the shadow of Leicester General Hospital, was earmarked for a 17m redevelopment after being purchased by Leicester City Council in 2021 The buildings will transform into 14 two-bed flats for three people, 18 two-bed flats for up to four people, and 68 three-bed flats for up to four people. But people still living on the estate have questioned why it has taken so long to address the problem which made their lives 'hell'. Nearby resident Ashley Lewis, 33, said: 'I'm glad the plans have taken a step forward but its taken far too long. 'The council have dragged their heels over it and in the meantime, the area has just turned into a warzone. It's been hell living here. 'When they bought it, surely it becomes their responsibility, but they've just neglected the needs of the remaining residents there.' Four years ago University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust decided it could not afford to maintain the homes or upgrade them to modern standards. The Trust issued eviction notices to hospital staff and health workers, including many nurses, living in the properties were forced to move out. Since then, the remaining residents say they have been 'forgotten about' as the estate has also now become a hotspot for fly-tipping and other antisocial behaviour. Leicester City Council, which faces a financial burden of 54m, previously declared a housing crisis in 2022. Since August of that year, it has reported an 87 per cent increase in the numbers of people facing homelessness. It also comes amid reports that 1,000 people in Leicester will receive a decision on their asylum claim over the next few months as part of government efforts to clear backlogs. 'It is estimated that the impact of the streamlined asylum process (SAP) on Leicester City Council could be in the region of 30m over the next two years if the council does not do anything,' a report seen by Inside Housing said. Leicester became a designated dispersal city for the National Asylum Seeker Service - responsible for supporting and accommodating people seeking asylum while their cases are being dealt with - in 2016. The estate, which locals say has fallen to wrack and ruin, will be transformed into council housing The site was formerly used to house NHS workers as well as hospital administrative offices Metal boards placed in the windows of the abandoned estate have been smashed in, as locals complain vandalism in running rife in the area Locals living on the estate have questioned why it has taken so long to address the problem which made their lives a 'living hell' The council also said last month that while it 'successfully helps' around two thirds of people at risk of homelessness, a shortage of properties means even the most urgent cases are spending longer and longer in temporary accommodation. 'The combined effects of the cost of living crisis, escalating private sector rents and other increased costs means the council is facing a huge rise in people asking for help,' a spokesperson added. 'Currently over 300 families are housed in temporary accommodation and bed and breakfast.' The council did not specify the circumstances leading to the rise in huge use of temporary accommodation. When asked why it had taken more than two years for the plans to be approved, a council spokesperson told the BBC the scheme was 'ambitious and complex'. The council told the BBC: 'A lot of preparatory work has already been done, including new roofs, drainage surveys and asbestos removal. 'With planning permission now in place, a contractor will be appointed in the coming weeks with major work expected to get under way in the summer. 'We expect the first new homes to be ready to welcome tenants by the end of the year.' Progressive Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker appear to be feuding over tens of millions of dollars both will need to fund a solution to the city's migrant crisis. The Windy City is struggling to care for more than 34,000 asylum-seekers bussed in from the border by Texas Governor Greg Abbott over the past 18 months. It has spent $156 million on the crisis and still has 14,200 migrants in its 28 shelters, and is fighting with the state of Illinois about where to build more. Pritzker, alongside Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, pledged to find another $250 million to fund their response. However, that's $71 million shy of what officials say will be needed in 2024 alone. However, no mention was made of Johnson - who snubbed the meeting - or the city's potential to contribute funds, and Johnson was in denial mode of a rift between himself and Pritzker when pressed on it at a news conference Thursday. 'There are a number of matters that need to be worked through,' Johnson said about the city's lack of funding. Progressive Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker appear to be feuding over tens of millions of dollars both will need to fund a solution to the city's migrant crisis While he claimed to still be talking to both Pritzker and Preckwinkle, he did say that there were differences between the three levels of government. 'It's not just about financial resources,' Johnson said. 'As I've said before, right now the city of Chicago is solely responsible for providing emergency temporary shelter.' Johnson then referred to a $65 million pledge Pritzker had made late last year to winterize an encampment which the state never came through on. He asked reporters: 'Remember the state, they've committed to 2,000 beds back in November? Do you remember that?' The mayor also admitted that there was no guarantee the city would be able to keep shelters open and claimed the quarter of a billion dollars pledged from Pritzker might not be enough. Many in the city believe Texas Governor Greg Abbott will 'ramp up' the buses of migrants being sent to the city when it hosts the Democratic convention in August, according to the Chicago Tribune. Johnson boldly claimed that he's the man to solve this problem. 'No one in this city - let's make it broader. No one in the state of Illinois, in this country, is questioning Mayor Brandon Johnson's commitment to this mission. No one is.' Pritzker pledged to find another $250million to fund their response. However, that's $71million shy of what officials say will be needed in 2024 alone The mayor also admitted that there was no guarantee the city would be able to keep shelters open and claimed the quarter of a billion dollars pledged from Pritzker might not be enough Many in the city believe Texas Governor Greg Abbott will 'ramp up' the buses of migrants being sent to the city when it hosts the Democratic convention in August Pritzker, alongside Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, appeared to snub Johnson in their funding announcement A spokesperson for Pritzker, however, seemed to indicate that there are indeed questions. 'The governor agreed to step up and cover more than half of this cost at $182 million,' Pritzker spokesperson Jordan Abudayyeh said. 'The county president also stepped up to cover an additional $70 million. You will have to ask the city what their plans are for the remaining $70 million that all parties have agreed is needed to fund this humanitarian response.' Shelters in converted warehouses in Chicago have been filled to the brim with new arrivals living in poor conditions, leading to the city commandeering other venues. Johnson has insisted the city would not open any more migrant shelters, and called on Illinois Governor JB Pritzker to make good on promises to build its own ones. Mayor Johnson himself says the huge influx of migrants is unsustainable, but he can't turn them away because Chicago is a 'sanctuary city'. He blamed both the Biden Administration and Texas for his city struggling to care for the about 15,000 asylum-seekers crammed into 28 shelters across the city. Governor Abbott has sent more than 25,300 migrants to Chicago since August 2022, on buses. A homeless persons tent is seen across the Montrose beach in Chicago Migrants, without a place to stay upon arrival in the city, seek safe shelter inside the District 12 station of the Chicago Police Department Chicago tried to have them arrive at designated locations during business hours and impounding buses that didn't follow these rules. However, bus companies responded by dropping off migrants as far as 60 miles from Chicago, and Abbott started sending them on charter flights. Conditions in Chicago's migrant shelters have been under a microscope since five-year-old boy Jean Carlo Martinez Rivero died on December 17. Johnson maintained there was 'no evidence the condition of the shelter caused the death of this young boy'. Volunteers who try to help the asylum-seekers as best they can argue differently, submitting lists of concerns to city officials months before Jean's death. Photos and videos inside the shelter where he died showed 2,300 migrants huddled together in freezing temperatures under a leaking roof. One video showed a young boy with what appeared to be a bandage on his head lying on a thin fold-out bed, distracting himself with a tablet. Another shows a different child coughing and crying as they had their temperature taken and were examined by volunteers. A third video showed water leaking from the roof and pooling on one of the beds. A Just Stop Oil protester from Cambridge University delayed 4,000 British Airways passengers by scaling a gantry above the M25 near Heathrow, a court heard. Music student Cressida Gethin, 22, staged the protest on July 20, 2022 - a day after the UK recorded a temperature of above 40C for the first time. In a statement read out to Isleworth Crown Court on Thursday, senior manager at British Airways, Edwin Hall, said 3,923 customers were affected by delays and cancellations due to the protest. Broadcaster and environmentalist Chris Packham, 62, said he had been stuck in the traffic for four to five hours during a trip from Hampshire to Surrey, where he was working on a BBC programme. He told jurors he came to 'sympathise' with the fact he was forced to think about climate change while he waited. A Just Stop Oil protester from Cambridge University delayed 4,000 British Airways passengers by scaling a gantry above the M25 near Heathrow, a court heard Broadcaster and environmentalist Chris Packham, 62, said he had been stuck in the traffic for four to five hours during a trip from Hampshire to Surrey Specialist police climbers prepare to remove a protester after they climbed an overhead motorway gantry on the M25 causing both carriageways to be closed by police The protest was staged on July 20, 2022 - a day after the UK recorded a temperature of above 40C for the first time Gethin, who has taken two years out of her university studies, said during the trial that she aimed to 'interrupt business as usual' and draw media attention to the 'dire situation' represented by the temperature in Britain. That day, news of the protest aired on Good Morning Britain before she had scaled the gantry, she said. The defendant added that she did not realise she was so close to Heathrow and did not choose the location. Reading her closing statement, Gethin told the jury: 'You must use your judgement as human beings, who are aware of the context in which this action was taken - the deadly 40C heatwave, thousands of people dying of heatstroke. 'If your house had just burnt down, would four hours in traffic feel serious in comparison? In a statement read out to Isleworth Crown Court, senior manager at British Airways, Edwin Hall, said 3,923 customers were affected by delays and cancellations due to the protest The defendant added that she did not realise she was so close to Heathrow and did not choose the location 'If you were a climate refugee, forced out of your home country by heat, drought and social conflict, would missing a flight feel serious in comparison? 'In a vacuum, you could reasonably assume that someone stuck in a four hour traffic jam would be feeling very annoyed. 'But we are not in a vacuum - no one here can disagree that the climate crisis we're in is dire; billions of refugees, starvation, mass suffering and death - this is coming to us all. 'There may well have been more people in the traffic jams who felt like Chris Packham - we heard from Mr Packham that he did not feel seriously annoyed when stuck in the traffic.' Prosecutor Neil Griffin told the court that Gethin refused to come down despite police requests to do so and warnings she was causing disruption. He said: 'What she did prevented thousands of people from being able to freely use the M25 and the surrounding roads. 'It's not for one individual to say I believe in this so I'm going to stop you from using this motorway, I'm going to make your life miserable for hours and hours and hours.' Gethin has been accused of one count of causing a public nuisance contrary to the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022. She does not dispute scaling the gantry but denies that it amounts to the charge. The trial continues. A woman has died after her car became submerged in floodwaters as rain lashed large parts of Queensland - while the state braces for another cyclone. Emergency services responded to reports of a car spotted in the flooded Malbon River at Duchess in Queensland's north-west near Mt Isa after 1pm on Thursday. A 28-year-old woman was located inside the vehicle and declared dead. The north-west is still reeling from flooding caused by the remnants of ex-Tropical Cyclone Kirrily as the region braces for more wild weather. A tropical low is set to move south-west towards the Northern Territory-Queensland border, cross the Gulf of Carpentaria coast and move onshore on Friday afternoon. It has a 40 per cent chance of becoming a cyclone on Friday, the Bureau of Meteorology said. A 28-year-old woman has died after her car was submerged in the flooded Malbon River at Duchess in Queensland's north-west about 1pm on Thursday (pictured, car stuck in Brisbane floods) A cyclone warning has been issued for Gulf coastal areas from Port Roper in the NT to Burketown in Queensland's north-west. The cyclone will be named Lincoln if it forms, the Bureau of Meteorology said. Winds up to 100km/h and isolated falls beyond 200mm may impact the cyclone warning area, prompting vulnerable residents to be evacuated. In the NT people have been relocated from the Beswick community south of Katherine while more than 60 residents have been evacuated from Burketown. Communities across Borroloola, Groote Eylandt and Mornington Island in the NT are set to be affected by the tropical low even if a cyclone does not develop. 'It's now getting within that closer proximity of land, and probably not quite enough time (to develop into a cyclone),' the bureau's Patch Clapp said. 'We are seeing severe weather effects regardless of whether it's called a cyclone or not, right along that Gulf coast.' Winds of 75km/h are already being felt in the coastal areas of the NT's McArthur River region. Burketown has already recorded 135mm of rain in the last 24 hours but the bureau said totals of up to 250mm are possible. The region is bracing for what would be the third cyclone in as many months this season. Queensland's north-west is still reeling from widespread flooding caused by ex-cyclone Kirrily which crossed the coast just weeks ago. And Tropical Cyclone Jasper caused record flooding in Queensland's far north in mid-December. 'Many of these areas have had major flooding in the past couple of weeks associated with ex-Tropical Cyclone Kirrily,' meteorologist Angus Hines said of the cyclone warning region. Queensland's south-east has also been lashed with heavy rain on Friday, bringing flash flooding. There were widespread falls in excess of 100mm overnight (pictured, flash flooding in Nundah, Brisbane) The Bureau of Meteorology predicted a 40 per cent chance of the tropical low pressure system evolving into Cyclone Lincoln and crossing land over Port McArthur (pictured) 'In a number of these spots particularly in north Queensland the floodwaters are still easing from the last round of flooding. 'Of particular concern are the Doomadgee and Burketown regions where many roads are closed and communities are still isolated - further flooding is a possibility in those hard-hit regions.' Flood watches are current for Queensland's north-west and for the NT's Daly and Katherine Rivers. Queensland's south-east has also been lashed with heavy rain on Friday, bringing flash flooding. There were widespread falls in excess of 100mm overnight, with Rosalie recording 197mm in the last 24 hours. Brisbane and Bowen Hills have recorded 135mm in the same period, plus 148mm fell at Mount Cootha. The SES has already received about 60 calls for help across the state from midnight on Friday, with almost 50 in the south-east region alone. The BBC's handling of a row about a contestant on The Apprentice shows it needs to get its 'house in order' over antisemitism, the head of the UK's largest Jewish community organisation has said. It was revealed last month that Dr Asif Munaf, who has been on appearing on the current series of the BBC1 show, had made antisemitic posts on social media. But it took until this week for Dr Munaf to be edited out of last night's You're Fired! companion show, amid huge pressure from Jewish groups and its own staff. The former NHS doctor who now owns a wellness brand had previously described Zionists as a 'satanic cult' following the October 7 terrorist attack. Yesterday, appearing on Radio 4's Today programme the president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, Marie van der Zyl, criticised the BBC over the way it had dealt with the situation and how it handles antisemitism. It was revealed last month that Dr Asif Munaf, who has been on appearing on the current series of the BBC1 show, had made antisemitic posts on social media The President of the Board of Deputies, Marie van der Zyl, criticised the BBC over the way it had dealt with the situation on The Apprentice on Radio 4 She said if these type of comments had been made about another racial group the BBC 'would have acted much quicker', adding 'they've only acted because they've had to act'. Ms van der Zyl said the way antisemitism was treated by the BBC 'just isn't right', adding 'people just don't take action', as she questioned 'do Jews count?'. This comes as Dr Munaf hit back at the broadcaster's decision to axe him from the You're Fired spin-off show, saying 'they did me dirty'. BBC staff are said to have been shocked that the corporation had gone ahead filming the scenes for You're Fired, said to have been recorded at the weekend, given what had come to light about him. Speaking on Today, Ms van der Zyl said: 'The BBC has a huge influence. People switch on their televisions and their radios. 'This man has been making vile antisemitic comments. The BBC only took action yesterday when there was a huge complaint.' 'I wrote myself to Tim Davie [BBC director-general] and to the chairman. 'And all they've done actually is to edit him out of BBC You're Fired, BBC Two, which I think is due on tonight.' She questioned how deeply the BBC had looked into Dr Munaf's remarks, adding: 'If the BBC isn't going to get its own house in order and look at some of these people on our screens, then you have to wonder what's going on.' The president of the Board of Deputies, saying it was a question of how Jews are seen by those in authority, said: 'It's across society. It's across campus and how Jews are dealt with, even I'm afraid by the BBC. It just isn't right. 'It's enough and they need to really look at how hatred is dealt with across our screens, and on our radio.' Dr Munaf, who had also called Zionists 'odiously ogre-like', went on social media yesterday to criticise the BBC's decision to drop him from You're Fired. It took until this week for Dr Munaf to be edited out of last night's You're Fired! companion show, amid huge pressure from Jewish groups and its own staff He wrote on X: 'They did me dirty. The lobby pressured the broadcaster and they relented. This will only ignite a bigger flame in my belly.' He added: 'Today me journey on the show ended. But my journey with Him is still ongoing. 'Never sell your faith for fame. Always keep speaking the truth. Especially in the midst of genocide.' The broadcaster has been through a tense period in terms of its relations with the Jewish community, notably over its recent coverage of the Gaza war. Dr Munaf is not expected to be edited out of the previously aired shows, but the BBC has said he will not appear in future shows related to The Apprentice. A BBC spokesman said: 'We can confirm that the individual concerned will not feature as a guest on any additional upcoming BBC content relating to The Apprentice.' Brehmer and her friend took Hoffman to a remote hiking trail before shooting her in the head Indiana man Darin Schilmiller offered a multimillion dollar reward in exchange for photos and videos of the killing Brehmer, 23, was sentenced Monday over her role in the death of Cynthia Hoffman An Alaska woman who orchestrated her best friend's murder after being offered $9 million to do so has been sentenced to 99 years in prison. Denali Dakota Skye Brehmer, 23, covered her face as the verdict was read in Anchorage Superior Court on Monday. She pleaded guilty last year to one count of first-degree murder in the death of her friend, 19-year-old Cynthia Hoffman, who was fatally shot on a riverbank in 2019. Brehmer enlisted four friends to help carry out the murder after she was promised a multimillion dollar reward by a man she met online. 'She may not have pulled the trigger, but this never would have happened it if it werent for Denali Brehmer,' Assistant District Attorney Patrick McKay said during Monday's sentencing. Denali Dakota Skye Brehmer, 23, covered her face as she was sentenced to 99 years' imprisonment over the murder of Cynthia Hoffman Brehmer pleaded guilty last year (pictured) to one count of first-degree murder Hoffman was only 19 at the time of her death. She met Brehmer in high school and told her parents the other girl was her 'best friend' According to court documents, Brehmer, then 18, met a man online whom she believed to be a Kansas millionaire named Tyler. The man offered Brehmer at least $9 million to indiscriminately kill someone in exchange for photos and video of the murder. However, she was being 'catfished,' according to the indictment. In reality, the man was 25-year-old Darin Schilmiller of Indiana. Brehmer only realized that she had been deceived after her arrest. She enlisted the help of four friends, including two unnamed minors, to assist in the killing. The indictment identified Caleb Leyland and Kayden McIntosh, then 19 and 16 respectively. Despite his age, McIntosh was waived into adult court. The group chose Hoffman, a developmentally disabled woman with the mental capacity of a seventh-grader, as their target. Hoffman's family said she met Brehmer when they were both students at Service High School and described her as her 'best friend.' Darin Schilmiller, 25, posing as a millionaire named Tyler, offered Brehmer $9 million to carry out the killing in exchange for photos and videos Brehmer, then 19, conspired with four others to take the victim to a hiking trail and bind her hands and feet with duct tape Hoffman, a developmentally disabled woman with the mental capacity of a seventh-grader, was shot once in the back of the head and dumped in the Eklutna River On June 2, 2019, Brehmer and McIntosh borrowed Leyland's car and drove Huffman to Thunderbird Falls for a supposed hike. Along the Eklutna River, the duo bound Hoffmans hands and feet with duct tape before McIntosh fired one bullet into the back of her head. Her body was then dumped in the river. Officials said Brehmer texted Hoffmans family to tell them they had dropped her off at a park. They burned the teen's purse and other items including the gun. Leyland and McIntosh later confessed to their roles in planning and carrying out the murder. They told police they were each supposed to get a cut of Schilmiller's reward. The Indiana man later admitted to selecting Hoffman as the victim and telling Brehmer to kill her, according to court documents. He said Brehmer sent him photos and videos of Hoffman before and after her death over the messaging app Snapchat. 'The Court should find that Ms. Brehmer engaged in one of the most serious crimes that we have in Alaska,' McKay said on Monday. 'She executed Cynthia Hoffman in a murder-for-hire plot. She conspired with numerous other individuals in and outside of Alaska, including juveniles, forever altering everybodys life. 'She may not have pulled the trigger, but this never would have happened it if it werent for Denali Brehmer.' Kayden McIntosh, then 19, admitted to shooting Hoffman and was sentenced to 99 years with none suspended in January Caleb Leyland, then 16, admitted to lending Brehmer his car and helping plan the murder. His sentencing is scheduled for June 10 Anchorage Superior Court Judge Andrew Peterson Hoffman called Brehmers conduct 'cold, calculated, and carried out to a T,' adding that she showed no remorse. He described watching a video of Hoffmans last moments, calling it 'one of the most difficult pieces of evidence Ive had to watch in this position.' Despite her young age at the time of the murder, Peterson said Brehmer knew what she was doing and that this was not simply 'youthful indiscretion.' The state originally requested a sentence of 99 years with none suspended and a 'worst offender' finding. Brehmer requested a sentence of 80 years with 20 years suspended. She was handed the 99-year prison term following a three-day hearing. Schilmiller pleaded guilty to one count of first-degree murder and was sentenced to 99 years in January with none suspended. The 25-year-old also solicited Brehmer to obtain child pornography, pleading guilty last year. Sentencing in that case is scheduled for March 4. Leyland pleaded guilty to first degree murder in November. His sentencing is scheduled for June 10, while McIntoshs case is pending trial. Julian Assange's wife has warned that the WikiLeaks founder 'will die' if he is extradited to the US ahead of his High Court appeal next week. At a media briefing in central London on Thursday morning, Stella Assange said her husband could be on a plane to the US 'within days'. Assange is awaiting the results of his final appeal against being extradited to the US, where he faces espionage charges and up to 175 years in jail. Ms Assange, who met her husband while working as part of his legal team, said: 'The situation is extremely grave. He could be on a plane within days. 'His health is in decline, mentally and physically. His life is at risk every single day he stays in prison, and if he's extradited, he will die. Julian Assange, who faces espionage charges and up to 175 years in jail, pictured with his wife Stella 'But it's not just about being extradited. Julian should never have been put in prison in the first place.' The briefing came ahead of the 52-year-old's final appeal to be heard in the High Court on February 20 and 21. Ms Assange said the case was 'politically motivated' and violates the UK-US extradition treaty which prohibits extradition for political reasons. She said the 'bogus extradition request' would have been thrown out by the UK authorities if it was made by any country other than the US, adding she had learnt 'not to be optimistic' over his case. The couple have two children together and married in March 2022 in Belmarsh. Ms Assange, who cried during the briefing, said her husband was 'isolated' in prison and spends more than 22 hours a day in confinement. 'I am very concerned about how he's doing. Physically, he's aged prematurely,' she added. 'Julian will be put in a hole if he is extradited, there is no doubt about that. He will be put in a hole so far and deep in the ground that I don't think I'll ever see him again.' Ms Assange said: 'The situation is extremely grave. He could be on a plane within days' Julian Assange speaks from the balcony of the Ecuadorian embassy in 2017 If his appeal is unsuccessful, Ms Assange said her husband would apply to the European Court of Human Rights for a Rule 39 order to stop extradition while it considers his case. Assange's campaign against extradition is supported by human rights and journalistic organisations across the world. Julian Assange loses his appeal against extradition to the US on espionage charges Advertisement At the briefing at the Royal Over-Seas League, WikiLeaks editor-in-chief Kristinn Hrafnsson said the extradition would set a precedent that has 'dark and serious implications for press freedom all around the world'. The Icelandic investigative journalist said: 'We are seeing a critical attack on press freedom worldwide. It is like a disease an anti-press pandemic creeping up on us that has been incrementally taking shape over the years. 'And in that sense Julian Assange has been canary in the coal mine.' Rebecca Vincent, director of campaigns at Reporters Without Borders, said there had been a lot of 'unhelpful noise' and 'misconceptions' surrounding the case. She said: 'We defend Julian Assange because of his contributions to journalism. 'We believe this case has a lot of implications for journalism and press freedom around the world.' Ms Vincent said the US espionage act lacks a 'public interest defence' and could be applied to 'anyone publishing stories based on leaked documents'. Supporters of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange protest outside Westminster Magistrates Court Stella Assange with Wikileaks editor-in-chief Kristinn Hrafnsson Assange is wanted in the US over an alleged conspiracy to obtain and disclose national defence information following the publication of hundreds of thousands of leaked documents relating to the Afghanistan and Iraq wars. He denies any wrongdoing. In a January 2021 ruling, then-district judge Vanessa Baraitser said he should not be sent to the US, citing a real and 'oppressive' risk of suicide, while ruling against him on all other issues. US authorities brought a successful High Court challenge against this decision, paving the way for extradition. In June last year, Assange lost his appeal against a judge's ruling over whether he should be extradited but make his final appeal in the High Court next week. The Chairman of the Committee on National Defense of the Turkish Grand National Assembly, Hulusi Akar, met Thursday with the head of the Qatar-Turkiye Inter-Parliamentary Friendship Group, Ahmed bin Hitmi Al Hitmi, and his accompanying delegation in Ankara, Azernews reports, citing Anadolu Agency. During the meeting, Akar said that relations between Turkiye and Qatar continue to be extensive and multidimensional, expressing the hope for a further strengthening of relations through such high-level visits. Emphasizing that serious efforts are being made not only in defense and security relations but also in areas such as economy, education, health and tourism, he said "although the figures in our economic relations are not sufficient, we expect them to increase in the coming days." Akar also highlighted the significant steps taken in defense and security matters, emphasizing the importance of the relationship between Turkiye and Qatar. Al Hitmi noted that the Shura Council is the first elected parliament in Qatar. "It consists of 30 elected members, and 15 are appointed by His Highness the Emir. We have a total of 45 members," he said. Recalling that the first agreement between Qatar and Turkiye was reached when the Shura Council was established, Al Hitmi said: "Our bilateral relations started with a memorandum of understanding, and I am sure that these visits will have a positive impact on bilateral relations." "Even before these agreements were made, our brotherly relations were expressed in every aspect and on every platform. Moreover, there is a consensus between Qatar and Turkiye," he added. Al Hitmi noted that Turkiye has rich and vast experience in both legislation and the functioning of public institutions, expressing Qatar's desire to benefit from these experiences. A convicted sex offender being held at the Cayuga County Jail on additional charges of child sex crimes was charged this week with contacting minors from the jail. The Cayuga County Sheriffs Office Criminal Investigations Division arrested Brien Fredendall, 45, of Mentz, on Wednesday on three counts of second-degree criminal contempt, two counts of endangering the welfare of a child, and one count of criminal solicitation. The sheriff's office said in a news release on Thursday that Fredendall was continuing to contact protected parties in violation of a full stay-away order of protection, as well as soliciting minors to engage in criminal activity, all while incarcerated at the jail. He has been in custody since August 2023 on charges of exchanging sexual pictures with a minor using internet accounts he failed to register with the New York State Department of Criminal Justice, which is required due to his status as a registered sex offender. Fredendall was convicted in Cayuga County more than a decade ago of possessing a sexual performance of a child for downloading almost 500 images of child pornography onto his computer. For his most recent charges, Fredendall was arraigned at the Centralized Arraignment Court and remains held at the jail. Stephen King has hit out at Tesla and Twitter boss Elon Musk for 'putting his brand on everything' after he renamed Twitter to X Writer Stephen King has hit back at Elon Musk for 'putting his personal brand on everything', after the billionaire said King was 'dead-naming X.' The 76-year-old writer had refused to call the social media site previously known as Twitter by its new name X, causing Musk to respond to him. On Wednesday, King posted: 'According to the New York Times, terrorists may be paying for blue check marks on Twitter (I refuse to call it X).' In response, Musk appeared to make anti-transgender joke and replied: 'Stop deadnaming X. Respect our transition.' Deadnaming is when someone uses a former name of a transgender person without their consent. The 76-year-old writer had refused to call the social media site previously known as Twitter by its new name X, causing Musk to respond to him The spat between the two on Wednesday was not the first time to two had clashed heads on the platform In response, Musk appeared to make anti-transgender joke and replied: 'Stop deadnaming X. Respect our transition' King had been referring to a story by the Times concerning a report from the Tech Transparency Project that found X was 'potentially violating US sanctions.' The report highlighted that they had been accepting payments from 'accounts that include Hezbollah leaders and Houthi groups.' In a statement to Variety, X said: 'Our teams have reviewed the report and will take action if necessary. 'Were always committed to ensuring that we maintain a safe, secure and compliant platform.' King then posted again on X, saying: 'Dear Elon: Twitter. Twitter, Twitter. Twitter, Twitter, Twitter. Twitter, Twitter, Twitter, Twitter. And so on. F*** your need to put your personal brand on everything.' The author then added: 'Just because you bought it doesn't mean you own it.' The spat between the two on Wednesday was not the first time to two had clashed heads on the platform. In 2022, the two sparred after King responded to a report that highlighted how Musk was going to charge for blue check-marks. The King of Horror also hit out at Musk for 'putting his brand on everything' In 2022, the two sparred after King responded to a report that highlighted how Musk was going to charge for blue check-marks The bestselling author, named the King of Horror, has sold over 350 million book copies worldwide King tweeted: 'F*** that, they should pay me. If that gets instituted, Im gone like Enron. He added, It aint the money, its the principle of the thing. Musk at the time replied to King, saying: 'We need to pay the bills somehow! Twitter cannot rely entirely on advertisers. How about $8 [per month]?' King notes on his website that he is a Democrat and is open about his political views on the platform. The bestselling author has sold more than 350 million book copies worldwide, with books like IT, Carrie, The Shining and the Green Mile all being turned into blockbuster movies. On Wednesday, Musk announced he had moved the state of incorporation for his company SpaceX from Delaware to Texas. The move followed Delaware judge Kathaleen McCormick voiding Musk's compensation package from Tesla, which helped make him the richest person in the world. The ruling stemmed from a lawsuit brought by a shareholder, who said Musk's ties with directors who negotiated the $56 billion package weren't disclosed. The plan had a $55.8 billion maximum value, and $2.6 billion fair value at the grant date, making it by far the largest CEO pay package in corporate history. McCormick in her ruling found that the process leading to the boards approval of his 2018 compensation package was 'deeply flawed' because of how close Musk was to some of its members. Heba Alhayek came to the UK as an asylum seeker claiming to be fleeing Hamas The refugee who wore a paraglider image at a pro-Palestine protest will reportedly have her immigration status reviewed. Heba Alhayek, 29, came to the UK claiming to be fleeing from Hamas and previously claimed her life would be at risk if she went back to Gaza after her family's criticism of the terror group. Now the Home Office is reportedly looking into her immigration status after she was convicted under the Terrorism Act 2000. The Home Office told the Telegraph that 'supporting banned terrorist groups will not be tolerated'. Alhayek, Pauline Ankunda, 26, and Noimutu Olayinka Taiwo, 27, displayed paraglider stickers on a London march on October 14 last year - just seven days after Hamas terrorists used paragliders to enter Israel before randomly slaughtering 1,200 people. They were found guilty this week following a two-day trial, but judge Tan Ikram said he had 'decided not to punish' the women and gave them a 12-month conditional discharge instead on the basis that he did not believe they were true Hamas supporters and 'emotions' had 'run very high' at the time of their offence. This caused the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) to consider seeking a judicial review, a decision former Home Secretary Suella Braverman praised as she told the Times: 'It's clear that something has gone very wrong here.' Heba Alhayek, 29, one of three protesters seen with images of paragliders at a pro-Palestinian march, is a Palestinian author who was given asylum in Britain because her family were critical of Hamas Defence lawyers had argued parachutes were a general symbol of liberation in Palestinian art, but the judge rejected this, saying he was 'sure' the reference had been to the Hamas attack Tan Ikram, who is a deputy senior district judge, says he accidentally liked a video on LinkedIn claiming 'justice will be coming' to Israelis It comes following calls by MPs and campaigners for his decision to be revisited after he 'accidentally' liked an anti-Israeli post online. Ikram, who is a deputy senior district judge, says he accidentally liked a video on LinkedIn claiming 'justice will be coming' to Israelis. It came to light a day after he let the women walk free from Westminster Magistrates' Court. MPs said their 12-month conditional discharge sentence should be revisited in light of the social media 'like'. The offence, convicted under the Terrorism Act 2000, carries a maximum jail term of six months. Downing Street said it had referred the case to the Attorney General. A source said: 'Serious questions are being raised in Government on how a judge who liked this post was able to preside over this landmark case and what this means for the sentencing decision. It's deeply troubling.' And former attorney general and home secretary Suella Braverman said: 'With anti-Semitism at an all-time high, judges must be impartial and beyond reproach.' Claudia Mendoza, chief executive of the Jewish Leadership Council, described the sentence as 'woefully inadequate' and the judge's remarks as 'extremely surprising'. There were no complaints made during the trial over the judge's handling of the case. Defence lawyers had argued parachutes were a general symbol of liberation in Palestinian art, but the judge rejected this, saying he was 'sure' the reference had been to the Hamas attack. Judge Ikram said in his sentencing remarks: 'Seven days earlier, Hamas went into Israel with what was described by the media as paragliders. A reasonable person would have seen and read that.' The Home Office is reportedly looking into Heba Alhayek's immigration status after she was convicted under the Terrorism Act 2000 Noimutu Olayinka Taiwo, 27, had an image of a terrorist paraglider attached to the handle of a placard. Pauline Ankunda, 26, attached one to her jacket Alhayek is visible on the left of this image - one of several CCTV grabs circulated by the Met The post was by barrister Sham Uddin who had previously promoted conspiracy theories claiming that Israel allowed the October 7 attack He handed the three women conditional discharges, which means they will be treated more harshly if convicted of another offence in the next 12 months. The video he 'liked' was captioned: 'Free free Palestine. To the Israeli terrorist both in the United Kingdom, the United States, and of course Israel you can run, you can bomb but you cannot hide justice will be coming for you.' A judiciary spokesman said on behalf of the judge: 'He didn't know he had liked the post. If he did, it was a genuine mistake.' He could face disciplinary action if found to have ignored the Guide to Judicial Conduct, stating judges 'should be aware of the risk of undermining trust and confidence in the judiciary by expressing, or appearing to endorse, views which could cast doubt on their objectivity'. A spokesman for the Attorney General's Office said the sentence was not eligible for review as it was not made in a crown court. A CPS spokesman said: 'We are carefully considering any future actions in relation to this case.' Rishi Sunak is facing mounting Tory calls for tax cuts today after another catastrophic set of by-elections. Labour have seized the previously safe seats of Wellingborough and Kingswood in the latest pummelling for the PM. Gen Kitchen won Wellingborough by turning a Conservative majority of more than 18,500 into a Labour one of 6,436. The vote share swing was 28.5 percentage points - the second largest swing from Tory to Labour at a by-election since the Second World War. Damien Egan, the former mayor of Lewisham in London, overturned a Conservative majority of 11,220 in Kingswood, securing 11,176 votes and a majority of 2,501. It means the Tories have now lost more by-elections since 2019 than any other government in a single term since the 1960s. And in another blow that will cause alarm bells to ring in Conservative Party headquarters, the Reform Party's Rupert Lowe took 10 per cent of the vote in Kingswood, while Ben Habib landed 13 per cent in Wellingborough. It is the first time they have polled this high in a by-election. If all the Reform voters had backed the Tories in Kingswood it would have held onto the seat, repeating a situation seen in the by-elections last year in Tamworth and Mid Bedfordshire. And in Wellingborough the party's total was more than 50 per cent of the Tory vote - though it would not have ben enough to hang onto the seat. The Tory vote share in the seat collapsed from 62.2 per cent in 2019 to just 24.6 per cent. Tories immediately stepped up demands for tax cuts in the Budget next month to 'win back' voters - already heightened by news yesterday that the economy has lurched into recession. Ms Kitchen won Wellingborough by overturning a Conservative majority of more than 18,500, winning by 6,436. Mr Egan, the former mayor of Lewisham in London , overturned a Conservative majority of 11,220 in Kingswood, securing 11,176 votes and a majority of 2,501. Alarm bells will be ringing at CCHQ after the showing by Reform UK in Wellingborough overnight The Tory collapse was repeated in Kingswood, where Labour also emerged triumphant If all the Reform voters had backed the Tories in Kingswood it would have held onto the seat. And in Wellingborough the party's total was more than 50 per cent of the Tory vote - though it would not have ben enough to hang onto the seat. Wellingborough in Northamptonshire is the former seat of Peter Bone, who was forced out by a recall petition after a Parliamentary probe ruled he bullied and sexually mistreated a former aide. Mr Bone's partner, Helen Harrison, was the Tory candidate. Immediately after the result Ms Harrison insisted she would be standing again at the general election Keir Starmer said the results of Thursday's by-elections show the public 'want change'. The Labour leader said: 'These are fantastic results in Kingswood and Wellingborough that show people want change and are ready to put their faith in a changed Labour Party to deliver it. 'By winning in these Tory strongholds, we can confidently say that Labour is back in the service of working people and we will work tirelessly to deliver for them. Wellingborough result Gen Kitchen (Lab) 13,844 Helen Harrison (Con) 7,408 Ben Habib (Reform) 3,919 Ana Savage Gunn (Lib Dem) 1,422 Marion Turner-Hawes (ND) 1,115 Will Morris (Green) 1,020 Kev Watts (Ind) 533 Alex Merola (Britain 1st) 477 Nick The Flying Brick (Loony) 217 Andre Pyne-Bailey (Ind) 172 Ankit Love Jay Mala (ND) 18 Advertisement 'The Tories have failed. Rishi's recession proves that. That's why we've seen so many former Conservative voters switching directly to this changed Labour Party. 'Those who gave us their trust in Kingswood and Wellingborough, and those considering doing so, can be safe in the knowledge that we will spend every day working to get Britain's future back.' Ms Kitchen said she was 'ecstatic' at the result, adding that the double by-election win for Labour shows that people are 'fed up' and want change. She said: 'I hope Damien is as ecstatic as I am, and I'm sure the Labour leadership will be as well. 'This shows that people are fed up, they want change, they want competency, they want pragmatism and they want politicians to under-promise and over-deliver, which is what I am hoping to do. 'It shows how much hard work we put in and the real positive message we were putting out. There is a real appetite for a fresh start and change.' Labour's wins mean the Conservatives have now lost 10 by-elections in the course of this parliament - two more than the eight defeats suffered by the 1992-97 Conservative administration led by John Major. Both seats were won by the Tories with healthy five-digit majorities in 2019. But turnout in both votes was below 40 per cent, with senior figures expecting disaffected Conservatives to stay away from the ballot boxes. Speaking from the Kingswood election count, Conservative MP and former minister Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg said the Conservative Party needed to 'learn from the result'. He said: 'I think we should learn from this result and look at what happened with the Reform Party vote. Conservative Party votes are most likely to come from people who stay at home or who voted Reform. Kingswood result Damien Egan (Lab) 11,176 Sam Bromiley (Con) 8,675 Rupert Lowe (Reform) 2,578 Lorraine Francis (Green) 1,450 Andrew Brown (Lib Dem) 861 Nicholas Wood (UKIP) 129 Advertisement 'How do we win them back to the Tory family? People who share many views and values with us. By delivering things they believe in and that means lower taxation, taking more of the advantages of Brexit, with more of the removal of EU retained law, it means doing less on the green issue that is making people cold and poor, and helping revitalise our economy. 'I think those issues will have a great appeal.' Wellingborough in Northamptonshire is the former seat of Peter Bone, who was forced out by a recall petition after a Parliamentary probe ruled he bullied and sexually mistreated a former aide. To make things worse, Mr Bone's partner, Helen Harrison, was the controversial choice for Wellingborough candidate for the party. Immediately after the result she insisted she would be standing again at the general election. Party sources said Tory voters appeared to have stayed at home in large numbers, denying there had been a big switch to Labour. It comes against a backdrop of the UK falling into recession today, a month before the next Budget, and months before the whole country is due to go to the polls. However, the result will also be watched closely by Labour, which has also had a torrid week of negative headlines over green policy and Gaza, to see if they have affected the party's popularity. Meanwhile few MPs have campaigned for Sam Bromiley in Kingswood, a seat in the Bristol suburbs that will disappear later this year at the general election. Previous MP Chris Skidmore quit in protest in Kingswood at the government backing off Net Zero plans. There were 24,905 votes cast in Kingswood, a turnout of 37.11 per cent. In Wellingborough turnout was 38 per cent. The Tories do not expect to win the Kingswood and Wellingborough (pictured) contests despite them taking place in what should be very safe seats. A Tory defeat in either constituency in the early hours of the morning would mean the Government has clocked up more by-election losses in a single parliament than any administration since the 1960s. The votes were triggered by the recall of Peter Bone (pictured, with his partner, the Tory Wellingborough candidate Helen Harrison) in Wellingborough over bullying allegations, and Chris Skidmore (below) quitting in protest in Kingswood at the government backing off Net Zero plans. Both seats were won with healthy five-digit majorities in 2019. But senior figures expect a low turnout as disaffected Conservatives stay away from the ballot boxes. Ballot boxes arrive as polls close and counting begins for the Wellingborough by-election at the Kettering Leisure Village Ballots are counted in the Kingswood by-election. Kingswood will only exist as a constituency until the next election when it will disappear due to boundary changes Keir Starmer has been derided for his weak response to comments by his candidate in the upcoming Rochdale by-election. Azhar Ali apologised after he was recorded during a meeting of Lancashire Labour members suggesting that Israel had taken Hamas' October 7 attack as a pretext to invade Gaza. The party leadership initially stood by him, but withdrew its backing after allegations emerged that he had also blamed 'people in the media from certain Jewish quarters' for the suspension of Labour MP Andy McDonald. A second parliamentary candidate, Graham Jones, was suspended on Tuesday after audio obtained by website Guido Fawkes appeared to show the former Labour MP using abusive language at the same meeting Mr Ali attended. Both votes are seen as two-horse races between Labour and the Conservatives. Kingswood's vote was triggered by Mr Skidmore's resignation as an MP in protest at Government legislation to boost North Sea oil and gas drilling. He won the South Gloucestershire constituency for the Tories at the past four general elections, before which Labour held it at every general election since 1992. The Opposition needs a much smaller swing to overturn the Conservative majority of 23 per cent than the ones it recently secured in Tamworth, Selby and Ainsty and Mid Bedfordshire. The by-election in Wellingborough came after former Tory MP Mr Bone received a six-week suspension from the Commons when an inquiry found he had subjected a staff member to bullying and sexual misconduct. He won the Northamptonshire constituency at every general election from 2005 to 2019, with Labour coming second in four of the five contests and Ukip in 2015. His majority in 2019 was 36 per cent. The swing needed by Labour to win the seat is at 17.9 percentage points in other words, the equivalent of a net change of 18 in every 100 people who voted Tory in 2019 switching sides. A Savanta poll conducted over the weekend showed Labour 12 points ahead, but the advantage had dropped dramatically The outcomes in Kingswood and Wellingborough will be closely watched for evidence of any hit to Sir Keir's (pictured this morning) support from the party's meltdown over the Middle East This is still a smaller swing than the ones managed by Labour in 2023 at the by-elections in Tamworth, Selby & Ainsty and Mid Bedfordshire. Before the polls closed one senior Tory who has been on doorsteps in the seats over the past week told MailOnline: 'Kingswood and Wellingborough are going to be lost. But the narrative is that Keir is expected to win them, and the turnout is going to be very low again. 'He is not convincing people, it's the Tories not showing up.' According to the latest voting intention poll from Savanta, the lead enjoyed by Labour over the Conservatives has dropped by seven points after a turbulent couple of weeks for the party. Sir Keir Starmer's party has held a sustained double-digit advantage over the Tories in national opinion polls, but the past week has been overshadowed by criticism of remarks made by Rochdale candidate Polls open at 7am and close at 10pm on Thursday, with the results expected to be declared in both constituencies some time after 4am. The Rochdale by-election will take place separately on February 29. Due to new laws brought in by the Government, voters will need to bring photo ID such as a passport or driving licence in order to cast their ballots. An alleged war chest of drugs and cryptocurrency has been found at homes linked to a man alleged to be the ring leader of a drug syndicate. Michael Adam Kustic, 39, was arrested at his home in Googong, NSW, near Canberra on December 8 and slapped with 40 charges related to participating in what is believed to be the largest drug ring in the Australian Capital Territory's history. He was extradited to the ACT alongside two other men, Thomas Kelleher, 38, and James Martens, 27, who were arrested at a home in Gordon, west of Melbourne, during the sting. Kustic was refused bail for the second time while facing ACT Magistrates Court on Thursday and is yet to enter a plea for dozens of charges. Police revealed in court that among the alleged 68,000 items seized during the raids was about $5.5million in drugs and about $2.3million in cryptocurrencies. A man alleged to be part of a massive illegal prescription drug ring has been arrested at a home in Googong, near Canberra, and slapped with 40 charges (pictured, pills found at the home) The charges Kustic is yet to enter a plea for include trafficking of a commercial quantity of a controlled drug, participating in a criminal group, multiple counts of fraud, and supplying anabolic steroids. More charges could be laid on Kustic and the other two men after all of the drugs allegedly found at the homes are fully tested. However the process could take between 12-18 months due to the large amount of substances allegedly seized. An acting sergeant told the court on Thursday that ACT Police's drugs and organised crime team had 'never had a seizure of this quantity', the Canberra Times reports. Police allege that Anabolic steroids, human growth hormones, cannabis oil, Xanax and psilocybin - the active chemical in magic mushrooms - were found at the homes. The group is alleged to have used the moniker 'OzPharmLabs' online to sell the drugs nationwide through Australia Post. The sergeant also told the court that an image on Kustic's phone showed a Trezor cryptocurrency wallet which showed a balance of $2.8million when police plugged the device into a laptop. A house, five vehicles, three motorcycles and a number of designer goods and electronic devices were also seized during the raids. Michael Adam Kustic, 39, was extradited to the ACT alongside two other men after anabolic steroids, Xanax and human growth hormones were allegedly found at the home Police also seized five vehicles - one of which was a luxury BMW - as well as a number of designer goods and electronic devices However, police are still yet to gain access to the password-protected electronic devices and multiple cryptocurrency wallets. Kustic's defence barrister, James Maher, told the court that police concerns that his client would access the wallets if released on bail were purely speculative. Prosecutor Morgan Howe rebutted Mr Maher's comments, saying Kustic was yet to grant police access to certain devices. 'It demonstrates non-compliance with what is a very important court order,' Mr Howe said. While refusing Kustic's bail application, Magistrate James Lawton warned police to pick up the pace of investigations. 'At some point the court has to say you've been given enough time,' Mr Lawton said. Three motorcycles were also seized (pictured, a seized Harley Davidson) Kustic was remanded in custody and is expected to face ACT Magistrates Court again on March 28. Kelleher and James have both been hit with 20 charges and are expected to appear in ACT Magistrates Court on February 29 and March 28, respectively. Detective Inspector Mark Steel told the media the day after the raids that the group were likely responsible for a significant portion of Australia's illegal prescription drug market. 'These three men were allegedly running a sophisticated, coordinated and deliberate illegal business with the sole goal of illicit profit,' Detective Inspector Steel said. 'ACT Policing and Victoria Police have coordinated their investigation and resolution activity and this should serve as a warning to anyone seeking to profit from illegal activities. 'If you are operating across borders you will face the combined efforts of multiple law enforcement agencies. We will arrest you, seize your assets and put you before courts to face significant criminal charges.' Patrick Fagan was just 17 months old when his mother was murdered in their family home, and has spent the last 46 years wondering what happened to her. No one has ever been arrested for Mary Anne Fagan's death but there are hopes a $1 million reward on offer could finally provide some clues to her five children. Mary Anne Fagan was found bound and stabbed to death at her home in 1978, with the killing unsolved Her youngest son, Patrick, feels they are the cusp of understanding what happened and has pleaded for anyone with any information to finally come forward. 'Please, understand that what difference it would make to me and my family to to give us this justice,' Mr Fagan told reporters on Friday. 'If you know something, it doesn't mean anything to you now, so please just give us the information.' Ms Fagan was last seen alive at her home in Armadale, in Melbourne's south east, at 10.30am February 17, 1978, after driving four of her children to school. She had a brief phone conversation with her husband, who was away at a work function, at 11am. Later that day the children, aged 15, 13, 12 and six, realised something was wrong when they came home to find the side gate open, her car in the driveway and the house locked. They broke a window to get in, finding Patrick crying inside and their mother dead in the front bedroom. She had been bound, gagged and stabbed several times. Investigators have never established a motive for her death but are confident someone knows what happened, Victoria Police Homicide Squad Detective Inspector Dean Thomas said. 'I've no doubt that the person or persons responsible have confided in other people, and there will be people out there that know what has happened,' he said. 'So I implore anybody out there, now is the time to come forward and share that information with us.' Police have launched a fresh appeal for clues over the murder of Mary Anne Fagan, who was found dead by her children at their Melbourne home in 1978. On Friday, Victoria Police announced a $1 million reward for information to catch and convict those responsible. Indemnification from prosecution will also be considered for anyone who provides information about the main offender or group of offenders. Mr Fagan said his father shielded his five children from the search for the killer or killers but died without knowing what happened to his wife. He has no memories of his mother's death and has instead been forced to stitch together an idea of what she was like from stories and her clothing. 'Obviously it's horrendous,' he said. 'There's multiple facets of how horrible it is from the point of view of what mum had to go through to what somebody could be thinking to do an act like that.' Inspector Dean Thomas said detectives are keeping an open mind about what happened, noting she lived on Dandenong Road which is very busy. Many people were interviewed, including a construction crew doing repairs to the road outside her house, but no weapon was ever found or suspect identified. Friends drove over 1500km from Queensland to Victoria Taylor Swift fans slammed for asking for petrol money A pair of Taylor Swift fans have been called out for asking strangers to chip in money for fuel during their 1,500km trip to attend her concert. Superfans Emily and Gemma drove from Lismore, NSW, drove through two states and the ACT, to see the 14-time Grammy winner at Melbourne's MCG. On their vehicle's back windscreen they provided a PayID number for donations with the message: '1500 KMs to Taylor Swift. #2brokegirls.' However, some Australians criticised the fans for essentially begging for money when a photo of the car's back window was shared on Facebook. One woman called it 'embarrassing and shameless'. 'I'm not here to start fights or s*** on Taylor Swift or her fans,' she explained. 'I'm just making a point about how embarrassing and shameless it is to ask others for money to go to a concert because they can't afford it. 'No, you don't have to donate to them, but it's wild to ask for donations when everyone is struggling right now.' 'If she can afford Taylor Swift, she can afford god damn fuel,' a second agreed. The Taylor Swift superfans provided a PayID number for strangers to donate for their fuel Emily (pictured) and her friend Gemma embarked on a 1500km journey down the east coast to catch Taylor Swift's first Australian concert in Melbourne on Friday night However, others were more sympathetic to the fans. 'Work smarter, not harder,' one person wrote. 'I should've done this, we just drove to Melbs from Brisbane,' another said. A third shared: 'I love how y'all are acting like they're robbing people when y'all actually have free choice.' One woman said she had donated money to the pair. 'This is hilarious. I have adult money so I sent them some. Hope they have fun,' another said. Daily Mail Australia has contacted Emily and Gemma for comment. The fans shared photos of their luggage and concert outfits in the backseat of the car Meanwhile, thousands of excited Swifties decked out in cowboy boots, glittery clothing and friendship bracelets have converged at the MCG for the show. Crowds at the MCG are tipped to reach 260,000 for Swift's Friday, Saturday and Sunday night concerts. The Melbourne shows will be followed by four sold-out concerts at Accor Stadium in Sydney from next Friday. The lines were long at merchandise stores from early on Friday and fans have the green light to queue at gates for the ticketed event from 2.30pm. Stadium operators previously pleaded with fans who don't have tickets to stay away from parkland around the venue, over concerns people would gather and cause safety issues. The Eras tour takes in every phase of Swift's career in concerts that run more than three hours, from her Speak Now album to Reputation and the more recent Midnights. Eras Tour excitement has arrived in Melbourne as fans of pop megastar Taylor Swift flocked to the MCG for the first concert of her Australia tour Fans, pictured here at merchandise tents, have the green light to queue at gates for the concert from 2.30pm Fans spent hours queuing and waiting on websites to secure coveted tickets to the show, with a second last-minute release on Thursday and the promise of further tickets being released on show days. The concerts are expected to provide an economic boost for Victoria and NSW, with Swifties from interstate and overseas booking flights and hotels. Melbourne's free tram zone has been extended to the MCG while extra train, tram and bus services will be running on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Concertgoers from regional Victoria were urged to make alternative arrangements as some V/Line rail staff staged another round of strikes on Friday, but services returned to normal by late morning. The area around the MCG is expected to be busy on concert nights with surrounding roads closed off in addition to A-League Men matches at nearby AAMI Park on two nights and NBL at John Cain Arena on Saturday. Investigators say he was carrying a USB device with instructions on how to make explosives at the time of his arrest In the video, Mohn offered a $1 million bounty to anyone who could kill top officials like AG Merrick Garland The 32-year-old is accused of beheading his father before filming a 14-minute rant against the federal government The Pennsylvania man accused of decapitating his father and holding up his severed head in a YouTube video while railing against the Biden administration has been hit with new terrorism charges. Justin Mohn, 32, was initially charged with first-degree murder, possession of an instrument of crime and abuse of a corpse in connection to the grisly death of his father, 68-year-old Michael Mohn. The Bucks County District Attorneys office announced Thursday that additional charges had been filed. These included three counts of terrorism, two additional counts of possession of an instrument of crime, one count of robbery and several theft and theft-related offenses. Investigators say Mohn had a USB device in his possession at the time of his arrest containing photos of federal buildings and instructions on how to make explosives. Accused murderer Justin Mohn, 32, was hit with new charges Thursday including three counts of terrorism, two additional counts of possession of an instrument of crime, one count of robbery and several theft- and threat-related offenses The Pennsylvania man is accused of beheading his father in the family's Levittown home before going on a bizarre rant against the federal government in a YouTube video Mohn's father, 68-year-old Michael, worked as an engineer for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Philadelphia District. His wife, Denice, called police after she found his body The 32-year-old stands accused of beheading his father while the two of them were alone in the family's Levittown home on January 30. Mohn's father worked for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Philadelphia District and was branded a 'traitor to the country' in his son's rambling manifesto, which was posted online shortly after the murder. In the video, Mohn offered a $1 million bounty to anyone who could kill top officials including FBI Director Christopher Wray, Attorney General Merrick Garland and former Attorney General Bill Barr. The 14-minute clip was viewed more than 5,000 times before being taken down. Among Mohn's grievances with the Biden administration was the belief that 'woke mobs' were 'destroying the country.' His talking points echoed beliefs associated with QAnon, a far-right conspiracy theory that hinges on fabricated claims made by anonymous individuals called 'Q.' Mohn's mother, Denice, discovered her husband's headless body when she returned home and called police. Police found the severed head inside a plastic bag that had been placed in a cooking pot in a bedroom. In the bathroom next door, investigators recovered a large kitchen knife and a machete from the tub. Bloody rubber gloves were also found in a first-floor bedroom. The 32-year-old offered a $1 million bounty to anyone who could kill top U.S. government officials in a rambling manifesto video that was viewed 5,000 times before being taken down Police discovered Michael's severed head inside a cooking pot in a bedroom and recovered a large knife as well as a machete from a bathroom next door Mohn claimed 'woke mobs' were destroying the country and blamed the federal government Angela Watson, communications director for the Pennsylvania Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, told DailyMail.com that Mohn's cellphone was pinged as he traveled upstate. As Middletown police hurried to apprehend him by the military base, they warned nearby businesses to lock their doors. 'He was then tracked down outside of the facility, where officers discovered his vehicle but he was not inside of it,' Watson said. 'There was another ping inside the installation and at that point State Police were informed. Mohn was found walking the installation on one of the main roads and was taken into custody without incident.' Watson added that he was carrying a firearm. Fort Indiantown police were notified of his presence in the area at 9 pm. The 32-year-old was arrested soon after and held in a cell overnight before he was transferred back to Middletown Police Department. In the gruesome YouTube clip, Mohn briefly discussed his motivations behind murdering his father before going on a long-winded rant against the government. With the camera rolling, he held up father's severed head, encased in plastic. 'This is the head of Mike Mohn, a federal employee of over 20 years... and my father,' Mohn said. 'He is now in Hell for eternity as a traitor to his country.' Mohn displayed his father's severed head in a plastic bag before going on a rant against the federal government The 32-year-old claimed he could have been 'the first unanimously-elected president since George Washington' Investigators say he was carrying a USB drive at the time of his arrest containing photos of government buildings and instructions on how to make explosives The University of Colorado graduate referred to himself as 'the commander of America's national network of militias, which you may know as Mohn's Militia.' He made frequent references to God and Satan and called for people to follow him. 'Prior to the 2020 presidential election, some electors and campaign contributors in both the Republican and Democratic parties saw me as the best candidate for president of America, despite my age,' Mohn said. He claimed he 'could've been the first unanimously elected president since George Washington.' The Pennsylvania man previously filed a lawsuit against the United States after he failed to secure a job. According to court documents from 2023, Mohn argued that he deserved more than $10 million from the United States because his degree 'did not lead to better jobs or higher pay, but rather disadvantaged him because he was perceived as an "overeducated, white male" and "affirmative action" policies hurt his career chances.' They tried to find a rental but there was nothing available A family with three kids has been forced out of the country A family has been forced to leave their life in Australia because they could not find a home amid the nation's chronic rental crisis. Dominique Tetreault and her husband Scott Kennedy left Queensland for Quebec, Canada, on Thursday with their three children aged seven, 12 and 13. Ms Tetreault arrived in Australia 20 years ago as a backpacker but Mr Kennedy and the children were all born in Australia. They left in 2019 to travel the world in the hopes of returning to the Gold Coast to find a new house. The family sold their Currumbin Waters home that year before the Covid pandemic struck - and before the ensuing rental crisis emerged. Since returning in October they have come to the 'horrendous' realisation that they can't find another house in the city they call home. Dominique Tetreault, her husband Scott Kennedy and their three children (pictured) are moving to Canada because they cannot find a rental in Australia Ms Tetreault told the Gold Coast Bulletin that she had 'tried everything' to find another house but the only option left was to leave. 'After months of looking, thinking outside the box even, everything was so difficult and complicated that I was really stressed. School was starting in a few days for my children. I needed a roof for them in a safe place,' she said. 'I knew I was under too much stress and the situation needed to change drastically, because it was unbearable with the three children. You need to find a place for your family. So I spoke to my husband and we decided on Canada.' The couple enrolled their children at a school in the Gold Coast suburb of Elanora in anticipation of returning to the country but only recently realised rental prices had gone 'through the roof'. Their plan was to switch from owning a home to renting one but looking back, Ms Tetreault estimates that the property she sold in 2019 has doubled in price. She has concluded that it is 'impossible' to consider buying another one. Ms Tetreault said that she had 'tried everything' to find a home but was unsuccessful Now the family is giving Canada 'a trial' since rent is half the price, even with electricity and furnishings included. Mr Kennedy is leaving behind his sister, mother and 24-year-old son who all live on the Gold Coast. His struggle to find a home came as no surprise to a property manager in the area. Anne Crarey, executive general manager of Property Services at Little Real Estate, told the publication she has never seen such a crisis during her 25-year career. Ms Crarey said that renters are being pushed out from Broadbeach to Pimpama, a 35km difference, as the rental prices go up. Her solution is that the government needs to incentivise investment in rentals in order to increase their availability. 'They've done a great job at selling [the Gold Coast] as a place to live, and obviously we're seeing the great migration, but now we need some incentive for investors,' Ms Crarey said. The family of the female DJ killed during Wednesday's mass shooting in Kansas City has claimed she died at the scene rather than a hospital as previously reported. Two suspects are currently in custody, as cops in Missouri continue to vet what happened at the stricken Super Bowl celebration. Beto Lopez on Thursday claimed his 44-year-old sister Lisa Lopez-Galvan, a beloved figure in the local community, was mowed down by at least one of them. A respected figure in the city's Hispanic sect himself, Lopez went on to reveal Lopez-Galvan's son, Marc, and her daughter, Adrianna, were both present at the parade, and witnessed their mom's merciless killing. Only in his early 20s, Marc was also shot, Lopez said - claiming it was his nephew who was rushed to a hospital and not his sister, despite early reports. He added how two other relatives, two grade school girls, were also struck by bullets, as cops said nine kids were hospitalized. Their investigation remains ongoing, as another 13 adults were injured. Scroll down for video: Lisa Lopez-Galvan, seen her with her two kids, 19-year-old Adrianna and 20-something Marc, died at the scene of Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl parade shooting, cops and family members have revealed. Her two kids were also present, with Marc shot in the leg, relatives said Their young cousins - identified only as the elementary school aged daughters of fellow Kansas City resident Erika Reyes - were also present when the initial shots rang out, and were both hit by gunshots, though Lopez said their wounds are 'non-life threatening' 'She never made it to the hospital,' said Lopez of his younger sister's fate - a statement further substantiated by cops Thursday who confirmed she died at the scene contrary to previous reports. Aside from that, the CEO of a local youth center said the rest is still hazy - and that it was was unclear if Lopez Galvan's husband, 66-year-old Mike Galvan, was with the party. From what Lopez knows so far, Galvan said his sister was with Marc and Adriana. Their young cousins - identified only as the elementary school aged daughters of relative Erika Reyes - were also there on the west side of Union Station when the initial shots rang out. Sadly, all except Adriana were struck, Lopez said - with his little sister hit fatally. 'They were enjoying the day and getting ready to go home. Everybody was,' Lopez lamented, offering the crucial insight to the local Kansas City star. 'They were all kind of together. They were caught in whatever crossfire was going on.' He went on to reveal the extent of the youngster's injuries, stating that his 20-something nephew was hit once in the leg, and has since been released. Adriana, while not hurt physically, is struggling mentally, he said - before airing concern for both as they 'witnessed their mother get shot.' 'She never made it to the hospital,' said Lopez of his younger sister's fate - a statement further substantiated by cops Thursday who confirmed she died at the scene contrary to prior reports 'They were enjoying the day and getting ready to go home. Everybody was,' Lopez lamented of the moment disaster struck Lopez-Galvan, who worked as a DJ at a community radio station, leaves behind her two kids, Marc and Adriana Lisa Lopez-Galvan, pictured here with her husband, Mike Galvan, died from her gunshot wounds at the scene of the crime Although Marc has been released from the hospital, Lopez said the family is 'just going to have to really help him mentally to get through this.' He went on: 'Besides the shock, the initial shock, [Marc] was there, with his mother, when all this happened.' Lopez further revealed how his sister - a disc jockey of a Hispanic music program on community radio station KKFI - was the youngest of four siblings, including himself. 'Of the four of us siblings, she was the life of the party,' he said. 'Bubbly person, never met a stranger. She was highly loved in the community, had a big heart.' He added that the mom-of-two had also been a die-hard Kansas City fan, and was over the moon when they won the big game. No funeral plans have been made, he said - before revealing the current condition of the Marc and Adriana's cousins who were hit by the hail of bullets. '[Their wounds are] non-life threatening,' Lopez told The Star. He added that the family has yet to see his sister's body, due to the fact that it is part of an active homicide investigation. 'When you have a Its a murder,' he said, before trailing off. 'Even for me to say that, "My sister got killed," [it]s] absurd even to say that.' Images circulating on social media show a group of people being taken into custody following the shooting, some of whom appear to be juveniles. It is not clear if those pictured are suspects A man in a red tracksuit was quickly taken into custody after the shooting, although it is unclear if he was involved in the tragedy Terrified parade-goers fled for their lives after gunmen opened fire shortly after the Super Bowl winners stepped off stage He went to explain how '[w]hen theres an investigation thats still active, not until the investigation is over will they give us any details on how we can get her body back to do a respectful burial,' before stating how they plan to honor her memory. Were going to try to make sure she is not forgotten,' he said, as cops have confirmed they have taken two juvenile suspects into custody. 'If we have to use this as an example to finally get the right attention in Congress, to really address gun violence,' he continued. 'That is something that will be part of my mission for the rest of my life. 'She was [just] trying to go, like everyone else, to celebrate.' The important count came shortly after staff at Childrens Mercy hospital also confirmed they had treated nine children for gunshot wounds from the incident. All, including Reyes's young daughters, are expected to recover, they said - with cops adding that of the 22 injured victims, some of whom were trampled in the fray, half were children under age 16. Police Chief Stacey Graves added that while her department still needs to sort through evidence, the victims ranged between eight and 47 years old. Lopez on Sunday did not specify the two girls' age, aside from that they were in elementary school. Officials at University Health added that of the adult gunshot wound victims rushed to their hospital, two remain in critical condition and in the ICU. However, medical staff there said both are showing signs of improvement - while Graves revealed that of the three people detained after the incident Wednesday, two are still being detained. Both are teenage juveniles, with a third youngster released at some point before her Thursday statement. She added that the 24-hour investigative hold rule does not apply to juveniles, meaning officials can keep them detained for a great deal longer before cutting them lose. Their investigation, as Friday, remains ongoing. The man suspected of killing a mother with an iron inside a New York City hotel room was caught on camera fleeing the scene wearing her blood splattered leggings. Police say that a pair of blood-splattered men's pants were found alongside Denisse Oleas-Arancibia's body that was discovered by staff at SoHo 54 hotel last week. When staff discovered her body on the morning of February 8, the 38-year-old was lying beneath a blanket and beside a broken iron, having checked in the day before. Police confirmed on Thursday to the New York Post that they had surveillance footage of the suspect of a man leaving the hotel in 'a distinct pair of leggings.' NYPD Chief of Detective Joseph Kenny said, 'We have video of the woman arriving at the location, wearing a distinct pair of leggings and later on we have a male leaving the hotel wearing the same leggings and we also have a pair of male pants in the hotel room. There was blood all over the pants.' Denisse Oleas-Arancibia, 38, was found dead in a room at SoHo 45 Hotel last Thursday morning Her death has formally been ruled a homicide (pictured: interior of the room where Oleas-Arancibia was found) Oleas-Arancibia died of compression to her neck and blunt head trauma, according to a spokesperson for the city medical examiner When pushed further by The Post about what made the leggings so distinctive, Kenny added: 'It's a guy wearing women's leggings.' Wellness calls were made to the front desk throughout the evening for Oleas-Arancibia. The Post reported that one employee did walk into her room, despite a 'Do Not Disturb' sign on the handle, and left after seeing her on the floor under the blanket. Kenny added: 'Didnt think anything of it and went back downstairs thinking that the woman was lying asleep on the floor.' Investigators have yet to identify the man in the leggings but are using 'extensive video' to track down the person of interest, who they are following through transactions in the subway system. Kenny told the outlet that the person has been using his own credit card to buy meals and MetroCards. DailyMail.com revealed earlier this week that detectives believe Oleas-Arancibia, a mother-of-two, was a sex worker. Sources said that she had been seen days before her death on the streets of Roosevelt Avenue in Queens. The 38-year-old mother was unresponsive and unconscious when authorities arrived on scene. She was pronounced dead by EMS DailyMail.com revealed earlier this week that detectives believe Oleas-Arancibia, a mother-of-two, was a sex worker Wellness calls were made to the front desk throughout the evening for Oleas-Arancibia A spokesman for the city medical examiner said Oleas-Arancibia died of compression to her neck and blunt head trauma. She was unconscious and unresponsive when authorities arrived on scene. She sustained significant head trauma and was pronounced dead by EMS. The woman's son, 18-year-old Edwin Cevallos, spoke to his mother one day before her death. Cevallos had been living with Oleas-Arancibia and her nephew in an apartment in Queens. But he said he saw changes in her demeanor a week before the tragedy. 'She was so nervous and she was worried,' Cevallos told the Daily News. The teen said he was 'in shock,' adding: 'Everything here in New York reminds me of her. Everything.' Oleas-Arancibia (pictured left) came to the United States five years ago, leaving behind family including one of her sons The Ecuadorian native came to the United States five years ago, leaving behind family including one of her other sons. 'My mom, she worked very hard,' said Cevallos, who joined her in the country two years ago. While the teen conceded that he didn't know his mother's occupation, he said she was 'always working for us to give us the best life in this country.' The 18-year-old was waiting to meet her Thursday morning and phoned the police when he still didn't see her at 1 pm. Cevallos described his mother as 'a very good person' who was 'always helping people' and 'never hurt anybody.' 'She was always paying for everything. She never owed money to anybody. She was always looking to help them move forward,' the teen said. A bloody iron was found lying by her body. Police also recovered a pair of bloody pants with a receipt in them from the hotel room SoHo 45, formerly known as the Hampton Inn, advertises rooms for around $110 a night on its website He explained that his mother had worked tirelessly to achieve the American Dream and provide a better life for her children. 'She gave us the life that we always wanted,' Cevallos said. The last time he saw her was Wednesday morning, when she cooked him breakfast and paid a barber for his haircut. Oleas-Arancibia told her son that she loved him as he left for school that day. 'She was always happy and having fun,' Cevallos said. 'I can't believe this happened.' Detectives filed into the Manhattan hotel Thursday morning, startling guests who were staying there for New York Fashion Week. SoHo 45, formerly known as the Hampton Inn, advertises rooms for around $110 a night on its website. There are plenty of things that can be written about the redistricting process, but one thing is clear: It has produced a better map for Cayuga County. The state Independent Redistricting Commission on Thursday released its proposed congressional map that splits Cayuga County into two districts. The city of Auburn and towns in the southern half of the county would join the Syracuse area in the 22nd Congressional District, while the northern half of the county would remain part of the 24th district. One of the puzzling decisions made by the court-appointed special master in 2022 was recognizing that Cayuga County should be in a state Senate district with Onondaga County, but not doing the same with congressional lines. Cayuga was placed in a sprawling congressional district that stretches from western New York to the North Country. It isn't the first time Cayuga has been in a district that covers a large part of upstate New York. But in the past, the county has been split into two or three districts. At least one of those districts has maintained the county's central New York ties. The 2022 map drawn by the special master failed to continue that tradition. The redistricting commission's proposal does not keep Cayuga County whole and a portion of the county would remain in the massive 24th district. But the city of Auburn and neighboring towns would join Syracuse, Onondaga County and other central New York communities in the 22nd district. It's a reasonable compromise. The state Legislature will have the final say and it's possible that this map could change before the 2024 election. But if past maps drawn by the legislature are any indication, they agree with the redistricting commission that at least a portion of Cayuga County should be in a central New York district. Around 30 asylum seekers have been found on the side of a road in a remote part of Western Australia after arriving illegally in the country by boat. Residents of the indigenous community Beagle Bay, about 128km north of Broome, told ABC News about 30 men, who were believed to be from Pakistan and Bangladesh, were spotted seeking shade under bushes on Cape Leveque Road at about 10am on Friday. The men, dressed in T-shirts and trousers, were reportedly in good health. They were given water at the local Beagle Bay store as temperatures reached 37C. No boat has been found in the area, with authorities investigating the possibility the group was dropped off by Indonesian fishermen. One of the asylum seekers told the ABC that they had spent five days at sea, travelling from Indonesia to Australia. After being dropped off on the beach, the group walked for about 35km, he said, before they were picked up by locals. The man said he previously lived in Australia but when his visa was declined, he was deported back to Pakistan where he was arrested and tortured. Some of the men are pictured in a park Beagle Bay is a small community about 128km north of Broome in Western Australia 'In Pakistan the situation is very bad. They tortured me they captured my property, many things they did with me,' one of the men told the ABC. 'I don't want to go back to Pakistan, I can't go back to Pakistan. 'They're not treating us like human beings in our country.' He said he had paid $8,000 to travel to Australia from Indonesia and hoped to claim asylum so his family could join him. The group were taken to a primary school, where pillows were later seen arriving. Australian Border Force authorities arrived at the remote town at about 12pm and have launched an investigation. 'The ABF is undertaking an operation in the north west of Western Australia. As this operation is ongoing, no further information will be provided,' a spokesperson said. 'Australia's tough border protection policies means no one who travels unauthorised by boat will ever be allowed to settle permanently in Australia. 'The only way to travel to Australia is legally, with an Australian visa.' Anthony Albanese told reporters he had no information about it. 'I've been travelling in the car, so I haven't been advised about that,' he said. 'But our policies are clear, which is that boats that arrive in that fashion... we have policies in place that ensure they are dealt with.' Authorities are investigating whether the group were dropped off by Indonesian fishermen after no boats were discovered in the area It comes after 12 asylum seekers were found at Truscott-Mungalalu Airbase in the Kimberley region in November. The group, who were from Pakistan, were swiftly picked up and flown to Nauru by Australian Border Force. They had reportedly paid $15,250 each for the journey from Indonesia, with authorities believing they had been dropped off by fisherman after no boats were found in the area. Opposition Leader Peter Dutton said the government was not taking border protection seriously. 'The Prime Minister has never believed in border protection. Along with (Immigration Minister) Andrew Giles... (they) have lost control of our borders. 'The people smugglers will sense our weakness... they have found a weak minister and the Labor Party does not believe in sovereign borders.' A spokesperson insisted that the slips were required for all school events in accordance with state law The slip required students to get permission to 'listen to a book written by an African American' Parents took to social media to express their fury over a parental permission form from Miami's Coral Way K-8 Center Parents took to social media to express their fury over a Florida permission slip requiring students to get parental consent before participating in a Black author's book reading. Tech entrepreneur Chuck Walter drew impassioned reactions over a photo of a Miami-Dade County Public Schools permission slip he shared to X, formerly Twitter. 'I had to give permission for this or else my child would not participate???' Walter wrote. The form given to his daughter, a student at Coral Way K-8 Center in Miami, asked parents to consent to their children's attendance in a 'read aloud' event with a Black author. 'Students will participate and listen to a book written by an African American,' the slip read. While it noted that permission was required for 'participation in any and all school-sponsored activities, events, or supplemental programs,' parents were nevertheless outraged. Parents and netizens took issue with a permission slip requiring students to get permission before attending a reading by a black author Tech entrepreneur Chuck Walter voiced his frustration on social media after his daughter was handed the parental permission form at Coral Way K-8 Center in Miami 'This boiled my blood,' remarked another Miami-based parent who experienced similar circumstances 'This boiled my blood. My 8th grade son also brought home a permission form for #BlackHistoryMonth where I was sure to write "Black History is American History,"' commented JennyLee Molina, a Miami-based mother. 'This is beyond ridiculous.' Other commenters noted the seemingly awkward wording in the slip. 'Also by an African-American is the strangest choice of phrasing that could possibly be used here,' one X user wrote. 'Why not use the authors/readers name or the books title or give context on the books the subject matter?' Another commenter remarked that the phrasing appeared to be a deliberate attempt to 'stoke division.' Some users took the opportunity to criticize the Florida public education system in a broader scope. 'Not children needing permission to READ,' one woman remarked. 'No wonder the literacy rates are in the toilet. And it being an issue to have a book by a Black author during Black History Month in 2024.' Yet others pointed out that the school was simply following procedure. 'Dont get too bent on this,' one man wrote. 'It is a standard activity form for a non-school activity. It would be the same for a visit to the local petting zoo.' Coral Way K-8 Center is part of Miami-Dade County Public Schools and required under state law to send permission slips home for any 'school-authorized education-related activity' Other commenters took issue with the wording on the permission slip, particularly the phrase 'by an African American' One X user claimed that the phrasing appeared to be a deliberate attempt to 'stoke division,' wondering why the author's name wasn't used instead This line of thinking was echoed by a spokesperson for the school district. 'In compliance with State Law, permission slips were sent home because guest speakers would participate during a school-authorized education-related activity,' the spokesperson wrote in a statement. The state law in question was the Parental Rights in Education Act, which introduced sweeping restrictions on topics that could be discussed at certain grade levels, including sexual orientation and gender identity. The piece of legislation, known as House Bill 1557, 'reinforces parents fundamental rights to make decisions regarding the upbringing of their children,' according to a 2022 release from Governor Ron DeSantis' office. The state Commissioner of Education, Manny Diaz Jr., appeared to hit back at the viral tweet. 'This is a hoax,' he wrote on X. 'Florida does not require a permission slip to teach African American history or to celebrate Black History Month. Any school that does this is completely in the wrong.' Other netizens pointed out failings of the Florida public education system as a whole. 'Not children needing permission to READ,' one woman remarked. 'No wonder the literacy rates are in the toilet' Florida Commissioner of Education, Manny Diaz Jr., responded to the viral tweet, calling it a 'hoax' Diaz Jr. stated that Florida 'does not require a permission slip to celebrate Black History Month,' adding that any schools that did so were 'completely in the wrong' Florida's public education system has come under fire after a series of bills were passed restricting the discussion of certain topics in classrooms. The Parental Rights in Education Act, for one, took effect in 2022 but saw an expansion signed last year. It prohibits instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in prekindergarten through eighth grade and limits reproductive health education to sixth through 12th grade. Discussions about reproductive health must also be age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate 'in accordance with state standards.' The bill applies to both public and charter schools. A similarly controversial piece of legislation is the Individual Freedom Act, commonly known as the Stop WOKE Act, which places checks on the way race is taught in schools. Under that law, students may not be subjected to instruction that compels them to think 'specified concepts constitutes discrimination based on race, color, sex, or national origin.' DeSantis praised the act in a 2021 press release, calling it 'the strongest legislation of its kind in the nation' that would 'take on both corporate wokeness and Critical Race Theory.' Alina Habba has revealed she doesn't have high hopes ahead of the $370 million New York fraud trial verdict Donald Trump's lawyer Alina Habba has said she 'doesn't have high hopes' ahead of the verdict in his $370 million New York fraud trial. Trump could be hit with millions of dollars in penalties and other sanctions in the decision by Judge Arthur Engoron. New York Attorney General Letitia James is seeking $370 million and a ban on Trump and other defendants from doing business in the state. James' office has estimated that Trump exaggerated his wealth by as much as $3.6 billion, using the figures to get lower insurance premiums and favorable loan terms. Speaking to Newsmax ahead of the verdict, Habba told the outlet: 'If I could file the appeal now I would, there's no surprises coming here. It's much of the same that we've seen in New York.' Pictured: Former President Donald J. Trump, flanked by lawyers Christopher Kise (L) and Alina Habba (R), sits in court during closing arguments in the Trump Organization civil fraud trial Trump could be hit with millions of dollars in penalties and other sanctions in the decision by Judge Arthur Engoron Habba continued: 'I'll be loud and booming right after we get the decision, I don't have high hopes. I do believe there is some ethics left. 'I hope Judge Engoron sees through this, quite honestly I've seen it time and time again. 'I've been on weeks and weeks of trial in New York, the corruption runs deep. The Trump derangement syndrome frankly runs even deeper. 'They can't see straight, they can't apply law to fact. There was absolutely no laws broken.' Judge Engoron has already ruled that the former president did inflate his wealth on financial statements that were given to banks and insurers. The judge is set to rule after listening to two and a half months of testimony from 40 witnesses, which included the former President. Trump's lawyers have said they'll appeal if Engoron rules against him. The Republican presidential front-runner testified Nov. 6 that his financial statements actually understated his net worth and that banks did their own research and were happy with his business. Judge Engoron, seen here, has already ruled that the former president did inflate his wealth on financial statements that were given to banks and insurers New York Attorney General Letitia James is seeking $370 million and a ban on Trump and other defendants from doing business in the state During closing arguments last month, he decried the case as a 'fraud on me' and told Engoron he had done nothing wrong. During that closing speech, Engoron interrupted his outburst and urged lawyer Christopher Kise to 'control his client' before Trump walked out the court. Trump then laid out all the problems with the case, claiming the trial was unprecedented and being used against him as part of a ploy by President Biden. He also said that presidents who don't have total immunity will be 'ineffective' when asked about his lawyers arguing that he could avoid prosecution for assassinating a political rival. 'My legal issues, every one of them, every one civil and the criminal onesare all set up by Joe Biden. Crooked Joe Biden. This is something that has never happened in this country. 'It's a shame. It's a witch-hunt in the truest sense of the word. It's election interference.' 'It's all a conspiracy to get Biden into office,' he added before then sharing a report that AG James had visited the president in the White House 'numerous times'. The decision will come three weeks after a federal jury in Manhattan ordered Trump pay writer E. Jean Carroll $83.3 million in a defamation case. E. Jean Carroll leaves Federal court, Friday, Jan 26, 2024, in New York. The federal judge who presided over the jury trial that resulted in an $83 million award to Carrol It will also come one day after a judge ruled that Trump will face a criminal trial in a separate New York case where is charged with falsifying business records. It is alleged that Trump hide hush money payments totaling $130,000 to adult film actress Stormy Daniels over their alleged affair. The 77-year-old will be the first former president to stand in a criminal trial when he faces the jury on March 25. On Thursday, Trump insisted 'there is no case' and said New York should be focusing on violent crimes and the surge of migrants rather than 'made up crimes'. If Trump is convicted is it uncertain if he will spend any time in jail as the charges are Class E felonies, the lowest possible under New York state law. There are also questions over where Trump could even serve his sentence as a conventional prison poses major security risks. Trump is facing a third trial in Washington for trying to subvert the results of the election but the date has been postponed indefinitely while the Supreme Court considers whether he had Presidential immunity. The fourth criminal trial is due to take place in Florida in May and relates to Trump's illegal retention of classified material after he left office in 2021. Trump has denied wrongdoing in all the cases. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has stared down protesters who tried to interrupt a press conference by coolly telling them to wait their turn. Mr Albanese was talking to the media after touring the Lake Haven Urgent Care Clinic on the NSW Central Coast and spruiking his government's revamped Stage 3 tax cuts along with other cost of living measures. As the Prime Minister was speaking a female voice started to yell over the top of him. 'Why is your government continuing to approve new coal and gas projects during a climate crisis?' the protester shouted. Mr Albanese shot the heckler a quick glance and continued with his address, but this didn't stop her. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's press conference was gatecrashed by protesters on the NSW Central Coast but he seemed unfazed However, the woman kept interjecting shouting that climate change 'was an emergency'. Another white haired man standing near the Prime Minister's contingent produced a protest sign that read: 'No new coal or gas'. He accused the Prime Minister of being a 'Zionist', which means someone who backs Israel in its war against Hamas in Gaza. While members of the Prime Minister's security detail moved the protester off to the side Mr Albanese kept calm. 'How about we talk to the journalists and then I am happy to have a discussion with you as well,' he said. The Prime Minister's events are becoming increasingly dogged by protests. In Decemer pro-Palestinian protester holding a baby almost stole Mr Albanese's thunder when police moved in to remove her while he gave a speech in his inner west Sydney electorate of Marrickville. The Prime Minister calmly raised a hand and told the protesters he would hear their concerns after taking media questions At that event, Mr Albanese was opening a new $1.3 million 'dementia friendly' reserve in the inner west Sydney suburb of Ashfield, which is part of his federal electorate, when the struggle broke out in the small crowd. A woman clutching a baby to her side had stood silently among the small crowd of while holding aloft a sign that said 'Shame Albo' with a drawing of a watermelon slice, which is a protest symbol used to substitute for the Palestinian flag. In November the Prime Minister's security detail scuffled with a group of about 20 protesters, one a woman carrying two small children in her arms, in the ritzy Rydges Palmerston hotel Labor was holding a fundraising dinner. Plain clothes officers and hotel staff barricaded the room with the Prime Minister inside and the doors were hurriedly shut on the room where Mr Albanese was meeting with Northern Territory government and business leaders. With their progress blocked the protesters chanted loudly while holding aloft Palestinian flags and other signs demanding Israel stop is Gaza military action. Rishi Sunak is facing mounting Tory calls for tax cuts today after another catastrophic set of by-elections. Labour seized the previously safe seats of Wellingborough and Kingswood in the latest pummelling for the PM overnight. Gen Kitchen turned a Conservative majority of more than 18,500 in Wellingborough into a Labour one of 6,436. The vote share swing of 28.5 percentage points was the second largest from Tory to Labour at a by-election since the Second World War. In Kingswood, Damien Egan, the former mayor of Lewisham in London, secured a majority of 2,501 after overturning the 11,220 Conservative majority. But senior Conservatives highlighted the scale of the collapse in the party's support - bigger than the swing to Labour - and sounded alarm at surges by Reform UK as they called for immediate action from Mr Sunak. The Tories have now lost more by-elections since 2019 than any other government in a single term since the 1960s. The Reform Party's Rupert Lowe took 10 per cent of the vote in Kingswood, while Ben Habib landed 13 per cent in Wellingborough. It is the first time the party has polled this high in a by-election. If all the Reform voters had backed the Tories in Kingswood it would have held onto the seat, repeating a situation seen in the by-elections last year in Tamworth and Mid Bedfordshire. And in Wellingborough the party's total was more than 50 per cent of the Tory vote - though it would not have ben enough to hang onto the seat. The Tory vote share in the seat collapsed from 62.2 per cent in 2019 to just 24.6 per cent. Gen Kitchen won Wellingborough by overturning a Conservative majority of more than 18,500, winning by 6,436. Damien Egan, the former mayor of Lewisham in London, overturned a Conservative majority of 11,220 in Kingswood, securing 11,176 votes and a majority of 2,501. Mr Egan is congratulated by his husband after emerging victorious last night Wellingborough in Northamptonshire is the former seat of Peter Bone, who was forced out by a recall petition after a Parliamentary probe ruled he bullied and sexually mistreated a former aide. Mr Bone's partner, Helen Harrison, was the Tory candidate. Immediately after the result Ms Harrison insisted she would be standing again at the general election Keir Starmer said the results of Thursday's by-elections show the public 'want change'. The Labour leader said: 'These are fantastic results in Kingswood and Wellingborough that show people want change and are ready to put their faith in a changed Labour Party to deliver it. 'By winning in these Tory strongholds, we can confidently say that Labour is back in the service of working people and we will work tirelessly to deliver for them. Wellingborough result Gen Kitchen (Lab) 13,844 Helen Harrison (Con) 7,408 Ben Habib (Reform) 3,919 Ana Savage Gunn (Lib Dem) 1,422 Marion Turner-Hawes (ND) 1,115 Will Morris (Green) 1,020 Kev Watts (Ind) 533 Alex Merola (Britain 1st) 477 Nick The Flying Brick (Loony) 217 Andre Pyne-Bailey (Ind) 172 Ankit Love Jay Mala (ND) 18 Advertisement 'The Tories have failed. Rishi's recession proves that. That's why we've seen so many former Conservative voters switching directly to this changed Labour Party. 'Those who gave us their trust in Kingswood and Wellingborough, and those considering doing so, can be safe in the knowledge that we will spend every day working to get Britain's future back.' Ms Kitchen said she was 'ecstatic' at the result, adding that the double by-election win for Labour shows that people are 'fed up' and want change. She said: 'I hope Damien is as ecstatic as I am, and I'm sure the Labour leadership will be as well. 'This shows that people are fed up, they want change, they want competency, they want pragmatism and they want politicians to under-promise and over-deliver, which is what I am hoping to do. 'It shows how much hard work we put in and the real positive message we were putting out. There is a real appetite for a fresh start and change.' Labour's success means the Conservatives have now lost 10 by-elections in the course of this parliament - two more than the eight defeats suffered by the 1992-97 Conservative administration led by John Major. Both seats were won by the Tories with healthy five-digit majorities in 2019. But turnout in both votes was below 40 per cent, with senior figures blaming the defeat on disaffected Conservatives staying away from ballot boxes. Speaking from the Kingswood election count, former minister Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg said the Conservative Party needed to 'learn from the result'. He said: 'I think we should learn from this result and look at what happened with the Reform Party vote. Conservative Party votes are most likely to come from people who stay at home or who voted Reform. Kingswood result Damien Egan (Lab) 11,176 Sam Bromiley (Con) 8,675 Rupert Lowe (Reform) 2,578 Lorraine Francis (Green) 1,450 Andrew Brown (Lib Dem) 861 Nicholas Wood (UKIP) 129 Advertisement 'How do we win them back to the Tory family? People who share many views and values with us. By delivering things they believe in and that means lower taxation, taking more of the advantages of Brexit, with more of the removal of EU retained law, it means doing less on the green issue that is making people cold and poor, and helping revitalise our economy. 'I think those issues will have a great appeal.' Wellingborough in Northamptonshire is the former seat of Peter Bone, who was forced out by a recall petition after a Parliamentary probe ruled he bullied and sexually mistreated a former aide. To make things worse, Mr Bone's partner, Helen Harrison, was the controversial choice for Wellingborough candidate for the party. Immediately after the result she insisted she would be standing again at the general election. Insiders said the furore over Mr Bone had 'weighed heavily' on the Tory campaign. It comes against a backdrop of confirmation yesterday that the UK has fallen into recession, just weeks before the next Budget, and months before the whole country is due to go to the polls. However, Labour has also had a torrid week of negative headlines over green policy and Gaza. Meanwhile few MPs have campaigned for Sam Bromiley in Kingswood, a seat in the Bristol suburbs that will disappear later this year at the general election. Previous MP Chris Skidmore quit in protest at the government backing off Net Zero plans. There were 24,905 votes cast in Kingswood, a turnout of 37.11 per cent. In Wellingborough turnout was 38 per cent - both relatively low, even for by-elections. Conservative Party chairman Richard Holden said both by-election results were 'very disappointing'. 'I think one of the most disappointing things for me though is the turnout in the by-elections was so significantly down compared to the previous general elections in both seats. I want to see people actively participating in democracy,' he told Sky News. 'I think that shows we've got a lot to do to get people out there and enthused to vote again, and probably the Opposition have a similar challenge.' Mr Holden also appealed for the right to unite against Labour, accusing Reform of having the 'ambition' to put Sir Keir into No10. 'Their ambition is to block Conservatives winning seats and therefore put Keir Starmer into Downing Street,' he told the BBC. 'They've made it very clear, you've read out that statement from them, that's what Reform UK want to do, they want to see Keir Starmer in Downing Street and not have a Conservative government.' He added: 'Reform aren't challenging realistically for seats. This general elections is going to be a battle between the Conservatives and the Labour Party. 'All Reform are going to do, as they've said themselves, is help put Keir Starmer and Labour into Downing Street.' Asked if Prime Minister Rishi Sunak needs to appease the right of the Conservative Party, Mr Holden said: 'If the right of the British politics and the centre and centre-right that broad church which is the Conservative Party doesn't unite, then we will see a Labour victory.' The Tory defeats meant the Government has clocked up more by-election losses in a single parliament than any administration since the 1960s The votes were triggered by the recall of Peter Bone (pictured, with his partner, the Tory Wellingborough candidate Helen Harrison) in Wellingborough over bullying allegations, and Chris Skidmore (below) quitting in protest in Kingswood at the government backing off Net Zero plans. Elections analyst Professor Michael Thrasher said it was impossible to say how many Tories had switched to Labour because the presence of Reform UK 'muddies the water'. He predicted the party, founded by Nigel Farage and headed by Richard Tice, would be a 'significant player' at the general election. 'Any support that Reform gets is bound to hurt Conservatives and will be the difference between some Conservatives holding on to their seats or losing them,' he told Sky News. 'They are a critical player at the next election.' Prof Thrasher highlighted that in Kingswood the Reform vote was slightly larger than the majority Labour secured. He said: 'You can be certain that sitting Conservative MPs are doing precisely those kind of numbers to see how much damage they can do it's not quite as successful as Ukip was in 2015, but they are going to be significant players. 'Whether and how the Conservative party as a whole begins to have a conversation with Reform I will be interested to see that.' Prof Thrasher also suggested that the Rochdale by-election in a fortnight would be the 'critical test' for Sir Keir. 'There will be a critical test for Labour in Rochdale. We know the background to that event,' he said. 'And how Labour if they should lose that seat, which seems likely as far as I can see how Labour handles that and how its opponents exploit that there may well yet be another twist in the narrative of this general election year.' Sir Keir has been derided for his weak response to comments by his candidate in the upcoming Rochdale by-election. Azhar Ali apologised after he was recorded during a meeting of Lancashire Labour members suggesting that Israel had taken Hamas' October 7 attack as a pretext to invade Gaza. The party leadership initially stood by him, but withdrew its backing after allegations emerged that he had also blamed 'people in the media from certain Jewish quarters' for the suspension of Labour MP Andy McDonald. A second parliamentary candidate, Graham Jones, was suspended on Tuesday after audio obtained by website Guido Fawkes appeared to show the former Labour MP using abusive language at the same meeting Mr Ali attended. Both votes are seen as two-horse races between Labour and the Conservatives. Kingswood's vote was triggered by Mr Skidmore's resignation as an MP in protest at Government legislation to boost North Sea oil and gas drilling. He won the South Gloucestershire constituency for the Tories at the past four general elections, before which Labour held it at every general election since 1992. The Opposition needs a much smaller swing to overturn the Conservative majority of 23 per cent than the ones it recently secured in Tamworth, Selby and Ainsty and Mid Bedfordshire. The by-election in Wellingborough came after former Tory MP Mr Bone received a six-week suspension from the Commons when an inquiry found he had subjected a staff member to bullying and sexual misconduct. He won the Northamptonshire constituency at every general election from 2005 to 2019, with Labour coming second in four of the five contests and Ukip in 2015. His majority in 2019 was 36 per cent. The swing needed by Labour to win the seat is at 17.9 percentage points in other words, the equivalent of a net change of 18 in every 100 people who voted Tory in 2019 switching sides. The Tory collapse was repeated in Kingswood, where Labour also emerged triumphant Alarm bells will be ringing at CCHQ after the showing by Reform UK in Wellingborough overnight The outcomes in Kingswood and Wellingborough will be closely watched for evidence of any hit to Sir Keir's (pictured this morning) support from the party's meltdown over the Middle East This is still a smaller swing than the ones managed by Labour in 2023 at the by-elections in Tamworth, Selby & Ainsty and Mid Bedfordshire. Before the polls closed one senior Tory who has been on doorsteps in the seats over the past week told MailOnline: 'Kingswood and Wellingborough are going to be lost. But the narrative is that Keir is expected to win them, and the turnout is going to be very low again. 'He is not convincing people, it's the Tories not showing up.' According to the latest voting intention poll from Savanta, the lead enjoyed by Labour over the Conservatives has dropped by seven points after a turbulent couple of weeks for the party. Sir Keir Starmer's party has held a sustained double-digit advantage over the Tories in national opinion polls, but the past week has been overshadowed by criticism of remarks made by Rochdale candidate Polls open at 7am and close at 10pm on Thursday, with the results expected to be declared in both constituencies some time after 4am. The Rochdale by-election will take place separately on February 29. Due to new laws brought in by the Government, voters will need to bring photo ID such as a passport or driving licence in order to cast their ballots. Former ABC radio presenter Antoinette Lattouf has failed in her bid to have the public broadcaster hand over a tranche of emails connected to her dismissal. Ms Lattouf was let go from her casual hosting role with the station last year and took the ABC to the Fair Work Commission in December claiming the decision was political over her stance on Palestine and her Lebanese heritage. On Friday the commission knocked back Ms Lattouf's request that the ABC be ordered to hand over emails sent to chair Ita Buttrose and managing director David Anderson calling for her removal from station, reports the ABC. It was earlier revealed a coordinated campaign from Jewish lawyers had attempted to have Ms Lattouf her sacked. Secret WhatsApp messages from a 156-strong Australian group called Lawyers for Israel revealed how they bombarded ABC chair Ita Buttrose with emails threatening legal action unless the presenter was fired. Antoinette Lattouf is seen leaving a Fair Work Commission hearing in Sydney in January The ABC is argued, however, her claim is 'without merit' in legal documents filed by the broadcaster to the Fair Work Commission. The broadcaster claimed 'any 'political opinion' held by (Ms Lattouf) was entirely irrelevant to (and played no part in) the decision by the ABC'. The ABC claims Ms Lattouf breached the broadcaster's policies on bias when she shared a link a report by Human Rights Watch about the war in Gaza. 'The ABC decided not to require (Ms Lattouf) to perform the last two of her five shifts as a casual Presenter because (she) had failed or refused to comply with directions that she not post on social media about matters of controversy during the short period she was presenting a radio program on the 'ABC Sydney' radio station,' the filed legal defence stated. In January around 80 ABC employees in the organisation's Ultimo headquarters in Sydney reportedly threatened to stage a walkout over concerns of 'outside interference' and how it handled complaints against staff. Antoinette Lattouf previously thanked the 'millions' of Australians standing by her in her unlawful termination case against the ABC after she was sacked three days into the job 'MEAA media members at the ABC today called on managing director David Anderson to urgently meet with staff and address growing concerns about outside interference, culturally unsafe management practices and to stand up for journalism without fear or favour,' the union posted on X. That same day, Ms Lattouf shared - and later deleted - a post on her Instagram account from comedian Dan Ilic who wrote: 'This saga will end up with Ita (Buttrose) and David Anderson resigning because they forgot what their job was.' Ms Lattouf, who is described in her Fair Work claim as a 'multiawardwinning journalist, with many years' experience in television, radio and podcast news and current affairs', has so far raised almost $54,000 for her legal fight. The case will be heard by Gerard Boyce, the Deputy President of the Fair Work Commission. The trial of Madeleine McCann suspect Christian Brueckner was halted almost before it had even begun this morning after the judge adjourned the court following the defence team's successful attempt to discredit a lay judge. Brueckner, 47, arrived in court in Brunswick, Germany, earlier today to stand trial on a slew of sex abuse charges - his first public appearance in four years. He was pictured pulling up in a prison van outside the courtroom wearing a dark green hooded sweater concealing a drab grey jacket and shirt, and his beady blue eyes could be seen peering out between the bars crisscrossing the vehicle's windows. He was then hauled out and marched past a clamouring crowd of some 40 journalists toward the courthouse in handcuffs by three burly security guards, and was pictured wearing a sombre expression as he arrived in the courtroom. But the trial got off to an explosive start when his lawyer, Dr Sebastian Fuelscher, began proceedings by immediately attempting to discredit one of the lay judges - Ms Britta Thielen-Donckel - revealing she had repeatedly called for the assassination of the Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro on social media. Lay judges collaborate with regular judges in trials, participating in deliberations and assisting in rendering verdicts and deciding sentences. He read out some of the social media posts, which included 'Kill the b******!' and 'Kill the devil', declaring the 'radical' comments made her unsuitable to carry out her role as a lay judge. The judge adjourned the court after just nine minutes to consider the request, before returning 40 minutes later and duly removed Ms Thielen-Donckel from the panel, scoring an early win for Brueckner's defence team. Court was immediately adjourned until next Friday as authorities search for a replacement lay judge, with Brueckner returned to his cell. Speaking to press as he left court, Fuelscher cryptically smirked: 'I have many aces up my sleeve.' Christian Brueckner in court today The ageing convict was led into the courtroom, where he was pictured standing wearing a sombre expression as the trial got underway Brueckner is seen in handcuffs as he sits beside his legal counsel Brueckner and his lawyer stand to hear opening statements from the court Friedrich Fuelscher, a lawyer representing Brueckner, is seen arriving into court Christian Brueckner was pictured pulling up in prison van outside the courtroom in Brunswick, Lower Saxony Christian Brueckner was pictured pulling up in prison van outside the courtroom in Brunswick, Lower Saxony Lay judge Britta Donckel was removed from the panel after Brueckner's lawyer revealed social media posts calling for the death of former Brazilian president Bolsonaro Brueckner, 47, was sensationally named in June 2020 by German police as the man responsible for Madeleine's abduction and murder while on holiday with her parents Kate and Gerry McCann Police officers stand guard as people queue at the entrance of the court where a man, who is a suspect in the disappearance of British toddler Madeleine McCann in Portugal, stands trial in Germany on unrelated sexual assault charges, in Braunschweig, Germany, February 16, 2024 Convicted rapist and paedophile Christian Brueckner was last seen in public in 2020 when he was loaded into an ambulance by paramedics after being assaulted in prison Phillip Marquort, one of Brueckner's legal team, said: 'We got the names of the lay judges two weeks ago and researched them. 'We found the comments from one of them and told our client and he was as very happy to hear what he had found out. 'He told us to make an argument for it and the judge accepted it. Our client was delighted with the outcome. 'She... should not be a judge.' When asked how Brueckner was he said: 'It's been very stressful for him. He's been in solitary confinement for two years so it's a physically and mentally tough. 'He is in isolation on his own. No company so it is hard. He is not in good health.' The 47-year-old Brueckner stands accused of three rapes and two indecent assaults in cases relating to five women and girls aged between 10 and 80 years old - charges the convicted sex offender shamelessly told MailOnline were 'ridiculous'. A total of 29 days are scheduled for the trial that will see more than 40 witnesses take the stand, with a verdict expected to be reached in June. If he is found guilty of all charges Brueckner will likely spend the rest of his life in jail. But officials hope that by securing a conviction, Brueckner will crack and offer information on Madeleine in exchange for a more lenient sentence - though sources close to him say he will remain silent and offer no testimony. Brueckner is already serving a seven year sentence for raping an elderly US woman on the Algarve in 2005 and was jailed in 2019 after evidence from two former pals who will also testify at his new trial. His appearance in court today was the first time the convicted sex offender has been seen in public since 2020, when he was snapped clambering into an ambulance to receive treatment after being assaulted in prison. The start of the trial was delayed by 40 minutes because of the chaotic scenes outside the courthouse. Media and public had to go through two security scanners and were checked again by guards wielding hand wands before being allowed into the first-floor courtroom. Prosecutors have filed a 100 page indictment against Brueckner and the judge Christina Engelmann will try the case alongside three other judges. But first the court must find a replacement lay judge following the defence's successful request to have Ms Thielen-Donckel removed. Brueckner was sensationally named in June 2020 by German police as the man responsible for Madeleine's abduction and murder while on holiday with her parents Kate and Gerry McCann. The then three year old from Rothley, Leicestershire, was snatched from a holiday apartment in Praia da Luz on Portugal's Algarve coast in May 2007 and since then has not been seen or heard of since. Brueckner - who was living in the area at the time - has previously denied to MailOnline any involvement in her abduction and killing. The charges he is facing in court today are unrelated to the Madeleine case. He insists DNA and electronic evidence against him is wrong and witnesses are lying about him. Prosecutors also face a dilemma as two of the rape victims are unidentified but the third victim is known - Irish tour guide Hazel Behan who says she was attacked in 2004 while working in the Algarve. She says she was threatened with a knife, tied up and subjected to a hours long attack by a man who she later recognised as Brueckner after his picture was released by German police in 2020. At the time she was a 20-year-old rep and the now married mother of three will be among several key witnesses who will give evidence at the trial which is due to last until June. The other two rapes involve an unidentified woman aged between 70 and 80 years old and an unknown girl of around 14. The fourth charge is an indecent assault against a 10 year old girl on a beach close to where Madeleine vanished from a month later, and the last is also indecent assault against another child in the Algarve in a playground in 2017. Commenting on the case prior to the trial, Brueckner, who denies the charges, said in a mocking tone:' I hope (they) will find some answers to (their) questions soon.' The 47-year-old stands accused of three rapes and two indecent assaults in cases relating to five women and girls aged between 10 and 80 years old Madeleine McCann suspect and convicted rapist Christian Brueckner has shamelessly told MailOnline his upcoming sex crimes trial is 'ridiculous' Undated handout file photo of Madeleine McCann Christian Brueckner pictured outside a battered VW campervan just weeks before kidnap of Madeleine McCann Madeleine McCann's parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, said they welcomed Portuguese authorities declaring Brueckner a formal suspect in her disappearance Prosecutors also face a dilemma as two of the rape victims are unidentified but the third victim is known - Irish tour guide Hazel Behan who says she was attacked in 2004 while working in the Algarve MailOnline learned Brueckner was moved from Oldenburg prison in northern Germany, where he was serving his seven-year sentence, to Schnedebruch near Hannover for the duration of the trial. He was also moved after complaining of ill treatment from guards at Oldenburg where he was in a secure isolated unit. Bruecker told MailOnline:' My situation didn't change at all. I just moved prison. I'm still totally isolated. Since (sic) more than two years now. 'I'm still not allowed to talk with anybody else then to my lawyer sand to my punishers (guards).' Brueckner's lawyer Fuelscher said he was 'aiming for a full acquittal' on all of the charges. He said:' The hope is for fair trial but my client has been attacked in the media. He will not speak to the hearing other than to say his name but nothing should be drawn from that. 'What needs to be made clear is that these charges have nothing to do with Madeleine McCann and that now, almost four years since he was named, as the suspect there has been no update from the prosecutors. 'He has not been charged with anything in relation to the McCann investigation and I haven't even been given access to the files in that case and I have no idea what the evidence is against him. 'It is only the public prosecutor's office that believes they have the right person.' As part of his defence team, Mr Fuelscher has enlisted three other exports including Philipp Marquort, who is an expert in IT forensics and will be used to help Brueckner with mobile and computer data. Others in his team include Atilla Aykac, who is an expert in cross examination, and who recently filed for a case to be thrown out after revealing a judge in a trial was having an affair. Mr Fuelscher warned:' Some of the prosecution witnesses will have to be prepared for some unpleasant questions.' The final member of the team is law professor Dennis Bock, who Mr Fuelscher described as 'simply legally brilliant.' Among the witnesses will be former pals of Brueckner and ex girlfriends and Hazel's ex boyfriend is also due to give evidence. John Lewis is facing calls for a boycott after it gave advice in a staff magazine on the use of breast binders for trans children. The partnership, which also owns Waitrose, published the first issue of 'Identity' a 32-page internal magazine sent to all 70,000 of its employees to coincide with 'the beginning of LGBTQ+ history month'. It has been accused of 'contemptuous dismissal of staff', after launching the in-house magazine offering tips from a controversial transgender charity. The partnership Articles also signposted parents to controversial charities including Mermaids UK and Stonewall and gave advice to parents on 'chest binders'. The article 'Raising trans and non-binary children' made heavy reference to Mermaids, which is currently subject to investigation by the Charity Commission. Experiences of anonymised staff members were interwoven with advice to parents. It focuses on the experiences of a mother, who said that it was not unexpected that her child wanted to transition to be a boy as 'he hadn't worn anything girly since he was eight', The Telegraph reports. It read: 'The Mermaids parents forum offers a safe and supportive space for parents to ask questions and learn from other parents of trans children. 'Mermaids offers a number of YouTube videos and tips for both parents and trans children on their website. 'Social media has also helped spread the word, with influencers sharing their own personal experiences with transitioning. 'Some also share tips on how to safely use clothing and equipment to achieve a person's desired gender identity, for example, chest binders.' Other items included in the magazine were wordsearches for LGBTQ+ terms and a calendar recognising the likes of 'pansexual and panromantic visibility day'. The magazine's publication has been criticised as being 'packed with hyperbole, scaremongering and ideologically driven content' by women's rights groups. Helen Joyce of Sex Matters, said: 'We've known for some time that many big retailers have embraced trans ideology, but this newsletter really demonstrates how far brands are willing to go to placate the vocal minority of activists on their staff. 'Packed with hyperbole, scaremongering and ideologically driven content, it's a complete departure from the culture and values people associate with the John Lewis brand. 'It's a contemptuous dismissal of staff members who like most people in this country believe that sex is binary and more important than identity, and value sex-based rights.' Coordinator of the Declaration for Biological Reality, James Esses, told the Telegraph that he was concerned that an employer was 'pushing a divisive and dangerous ideology on to its staff members'. He said it was 'alarming' that the magazine suggests to parents who could be vulnerable that answers to their daughters being in distress is to get them a breast binder. Claire Loneragan, from Women's Rights Network, said: 'Ordinary people know this belief that everyone has a 'gender identity' is very much a fringe belief, but it is being used by employers to justify the removal of single sex facilities and opportunities for women. 'This is incredibly dismissive of their [John Lewis'] core shoppers women.' Calls for the boycott of John Lewis come after the company threatened its staff with disciplinary action over 'unacceptable comments' left on its internal intranet after it emerged the retailer was considering cutting 11,000 jobs in a bid to recover 230million losses. The Charity Commission opened a statutory inquiry into Mermaids, in November 2022, to establish if there had been any misconduct or mismanagement by trustees. John Lewis has been accused of 'contemptuous dismissal of staff', after launching an in-house magazine offering tips from a controversial transgender charity (file image) It was moved to act following safeguarding allegations. Mermaids had been accused of giving chest binder devices to individuals it believed were trans children, without their parents knowledge. Dr Hilary Cass, the former president of the Royal College of Paediatrics, who has published an interim report of trans-children's services in the NHS has described them as 'painful and potentially harmful'. Stephanie Davies-Arai, of Transgender Trend, added: 'John Lewis are promoting really dangerous information to parents without any qualification. 'They are promoting an organisation that [...]. uses an ideological line. 'It is totally irresponsible to promote an approach towards children with no experience in this area at all.' JLP has previously boasted of its links to Stonewall, having joined the charity's Workplace Equality Index in 2021. References to the charity have been quietly dropped from later annual inclusion reports. Stonewall's index has previously been seen a means to push public bodies into lobbying for changes to sex and gender laws. The magazine was created in addition to the JLP's official partnership magazine 'The Gazette', which is published weekly. A JLP spokesperson said: 'The John Lewis Partnership is a welcoming place for people to work or shop irrespective of their background or beliefs. 'The Identity magazine was created by members of our LGBTQIA+ network in which our Partners (as we call our employees) share their experiences. 'The magazine was not edited or funded by the management of the John Lewis Partnership. It is wrong to suggest the magazine provides advice from the Partnership. This comes after they said yesterday: 'We want the Partnership to be a place where people can work or shop with confidence, irrespective of their backgrounds. 'Multiple studies - including those from the government show that trans people are at higher risk of hate crimes and discrimination, and this magazine was created by our LGBTQIA+ network to champion understanding and support. It has been positively received by the huge majority of our Partners. 'We've a number of networks across our business, which encourage open conversations. Partners can share their own questions and experiences - even on topics where people have different views.' A Mermaids spokesperson said: 'Mermaids has provided important support, information and signposting to trans children, young people and families for almost 30 years support which we know has a positive impact on emotional and mental wellbeing. 'In December 2022, the Charity Commission announced it would be opening a statutory inquiry into the charity, noting at the time that opening an inquiry is not a finding of wrongdoing. We have cooperated fully, openly and with complete transparency with the Commission throughout the inquiry and are continuing to do so.' Stonewall was contacted for comment. A paedophile pastor in South Korea has been jailed for five years after sexually abusing runaway children at the boarding school he founded to protect them. Chun Ki-won, 67, who is a considered a national hero in the country for his work smuggling children out of North Korea, ran his boarding school in Seoul. Ki-won set it up especially to give the escaped children somewhere to stay as part of the refugee-smuggling mission he has led for the last 25 years - the Underground Railroad. The pastor has made international headlines over the years - being known as the Asian Oskar Schindler. Ki-won is said to have helped over 1,000 people escape the North, many of which have been children, hence setting up his own school for them. He was arrested in September. Paedophile pastor Chun Ki-won sexually abused five young people between 2016 and 2023 America's North Korean-focused newspaper, NK News, reported that the allegations began in August. According to the police in South Korea, between 2016 and 2023, the pastor molested six children and adolescents between the ages of 13 and 16 - although one of the charges ended up being dropped. He was expected to be sentenced for 13 years but this was dropped to just five after the shorter term was recommended by prosecutors. It is said to be common in South Korea for children of defectors to attend boarding schools as their parents do not have the finances to look after them at home. There is potentially a very good reason Ki-won was able to get away with his crimes for so long. Some believe that due to the autocratic nature of North Korea, where strict rules are followed and freewill seems a distant dream - and the few people sitting at the top of the towers have complete control, the real society on street level secretly route for the pariahs. Similarly to how in every dictatorship throughout history, large swathes of citizens have listened to their leader, but behind closed doors, admired the rule-breakers far more. This has caused some to believe these rule-breakers are able to somewhat openly hide in the shadows and therefore, get away with what they want - such as paedophilia. Eric Foley from Martyrs Korea, an Non-Government-Organisation that promotes freedom of religion in North Korea, told NK News: 'Books, movies and social media tend to glorify the lone rangers in North Korea work - guys working in the shadows to do seemingly miraculous rescues singlehandedly - but situations like this are a painful reminder that even the most important covert work requires real accountability relationships.' Those who have wanted to escape the tyrannical nation over the years have done so with the help of people like Ki-won, using underground tunnels in operations like the Underground Railroad. He was hit by a car while crossing the road A boy has been airlifted to hospital in critical condition after being hit by a car while crossing the street. The 10-year-old was hit by the car on a pedestrian crossing on Police Road and Hansworth Street in Mulgrave, Melbourne, at 4.30pm on Friday. Paramedics were called to the location before an air ambulance flew him to Melbourne's Royal Children's Hospital. A 10-year-old was hit by a car on a pedestrian crossing in Mulgrave at 4:30pm on Friday He was airlifted to Melbourne's Royal Children's Hospital in a critical condition Multiple eastbound and westbound lanes on Police Road were closed on Friday evening and Victorian police are urging all drivers to avoid the area. Traffic is detouring through the car park, according to a VicTraffic alert. Police have commenced an investigation into how the boy was hit. City Yolanda Y. Brown, 55, of Auburn, was charged Feb. 10 with third-degree assault, endangering the welfare of a child and petit larceny. Joseph E. Nichols, 30, of Auburn, was charged Feb. 11 with two counts of second-degree aggravated harassment. Alexander B. Rooker, 20, of Auburn, was charged Feb. 11 with third-degree falsely reporting an incident. Songtha K. Williams, 52, of Syracuse, was charged Feb. 11 with second-degree menacing and third-degree criminal possession of a weapon. Joseph E. Nichols, 30, of Auburn, was charged Feb. 12 with second-degree criminal contempt and aggravated family offense. Thomas F. Poirier II, 22, of Mentz, was charged Feb. 12 with two counts of petit larceny. Jennifer B. Wahl, 31, of Aurelius, was charged Feb. 12 with fourth-degree criminal mischief. Amanda D. Hull, 32, of Auburn, was charged Feb. 13 with seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance and possession of a mislabeled dangerous drug Sherry S. Overstreet, 54, of Auburn, was charged Feb. 13 with imitation controlled substances first violation. County Harold W. Rumpff, 39, of Genoa, was charged Feb. 13 with possession of a loaded firearm in a motor vehicle. Edward D. Babiarz, 33, of Cato, was charged Feb. 13 with second-degree unauthorized use of a vehicle. Brien P. Fredendall, 45, of Sennett, was charged Feb. 14 with three counts of second-degree criminal contempt, two counts of endangering the welfare of a child and fourth-degree criminal solicitation. Jerome D. Hightower, 24, of Rochester, was charged Feb. 14 with first-degree identity theft, fourth-degree grand larceny and fugitive from justice. John D. Knox, 76, of Cato, was charged Feb. 14 with driving while intoxicated first offense. State Michael M. Stevens, 34, of Jordan, was charged Feb. 10 with petit larceny. Elissa A. Redden, 39, of Auburn, was charged Feb. 11 with second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, operation of a motor vehicle impaired by drugs first offense and five counts of fourth-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance. Robert D. Chambers, 19, of Moravia, was charged Feb. 11 with third-degree assault. Larry Jedik, 50, of Brutus, was charged Feb. 11 with aggravated driving while intoxicated with a child in the vehicle, driving while intoxicated and driving while intoxicated driving whole intoxicated .Timothy R Ely, 36, of Moravia, was charged Feb. 11 with second-degree obstructing governmental administration. Moises Cordova De La Cruz, 23, of Auburn, was charged Feb. 11 with driving while intoxicated first offense and operating a motor vehicle impaired by drugs first offense. Christopher W. Gray, 34, of Auburn, was charged Feb. 11 with operating a motor vehicle impaired by drugs first offense. Christopher W. Snyder, 33, of Weedsport, was charged Feb. 12 with second-degree strangulation. Thorne P. Dupont, 26, of Rochester, was charged Feb. 12 with second-degree criminal contempt. Michael Z. Kaplan, 26, of Auburn, was charged Feb. 13 with second-degree menacing, fourth-degree stalking, second-degree unlawful imprisonment and fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon. Steven M. Tomlin, 46, of Moravia, was charged Feb. 13 with seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance. The records page: Police blotter, restaurant inspections and more Visit the records page of auburnpub.com to see The Citizen's latest police blotter, restaurant inspections, property transfers and building permits. The British grandmother fighting deportation from Australia on the grounds that she hasnt set foot out of the country since 1981 actually flew to the UK five years later, her own daughter claims. The bombshell revelation following a MailOnline investigation confirms the Australian governments claim that Mary Ellis, 74, is not entitled to absorbed citizenship because she re-entered Australia after 1984. Ms Ellis claimed she doesnt know a soul in her native UK and insisted that she had never left Australia since her arrival. Her lawyer has urged immigration officials to recognise his client as an absorbed person, which under Australian law would allow her to obtain citizenship despite having apparently been illegal for so many years. The crucial qualification for absorbed citizenship is that she would only be eligible if she was in Australia from April 2, 1984, and had not left the country since. British grandmother Mary Ellis, 74, pictured with her husband Martin, is battling deportation from Australia. Mrs Ellis claims to have 'absorbed citizenship' and says she last set foot in the UK in 1981 Mary Ellis, 74, left London for Australia at the age of 31 in 1981. She has since created a life for herself in Tweed Heads, on the NSW-Queensland border, but fears she'll be sent back to the UK Mrs Ellis's claims have been challenged by her daughter Angela Potter, 54, who states her mother did visit the UK in 1986. It supports the Australian government's position that Mrs Ellis is not entitled to absorbed citizenship because she re-entered Australia after 1984 Speaking exclusively to MailOnline from her home in Daventry, Northants, Angela, 54, said: 'The last time I saw my mum was when I was 17 years old so this would have been 1986' Ms Ellis has carved out a life in Australia and claims she has never left since 1981. But Home Affairs assert that she had secret aliases and that her partner had another name But her estranged daughter Angela Potter has effectively torpedoed her mothers case, because she says Ms Ellis came back to Britain in 1986. Her daughter also confirmed that far from knowing no one in the UK, Ms Ellis is one of 11 siblings, the majority of whom all live in England. Speaking exclusively to MailOnline from her home in Daventry, Northants, Angela, 54, said: 'The last time I saw my mum was when I was 17 years old so this would have been 1986. Mum had come back to Croydon to sell the house and gather a few last bits to move to Australia. 'We met at my Nan's house. It was really to say our goodbyes. 'Mum and I are estranged, I haven't seen her since that day. We don't really get on. 'As far as I know that's the last time she came back to Britain. She didn't come to my wedding, my brother's wedding or even nan's funeral. MailOnline has identified ten of Ms Elliss siblings using genealogical research. Despite claiming to have lost contact with everyone in England, Ms Ellis Facebook profile shows she is friends with no fewer than eight of her siblings or in-laws based in the UK or Ireland on the social media site. Her case has attracted much support because the mother-of-two, who first arrived in Australia in 1981, became a model citizen, receiving a Volunteer of the Year award in New South Wales for providing meals for the homeless, and even won a competition to appear on an Australian stamp. Recalling the circumstances in which her mother left the UK with her two children and partner Trevor Warren who later changed his name to Martin Ellis, Angela said: 'I havent seen my mum since I was 17. She and Trevor, her partner at the time, had always wanted to go to Australia. Trevor had at least one sister living there, perhaps two. 'They used to run a sweet shop in Catford in London and lived in Croydon. 'Mum and Trevor went over to Australia first as a test-run. Then we all went out as a family. Mrs Ellis's first husband Sean McHugo, pictured on his wedding day to his second wife June in 1988 Mr McHugo, a former soldier, married Ms Ellis in Lambeth, south London in 1967 and fathered her first two children Angela and David. He died in 2008 Mary Ellis has worked in Australia, paid taxes, has a licence, a Medicare card and even voted - but now bureaucrats have warned her to 'depart Australia as soon as possible' or 'face serious consequences' Mr Shneider provided a job reference written for Mary in 1987, which he claims prove she was in Australia between 1983 and 1986, not out of the country as Home Affairs claimed 'But my brother and I hated it out there. Absolutely hated it. I was only there for about eight months. 'I was about 15 years old at the time and I came home to the UK and lived with an aunt. My brother came back and joined the British Army. 'The first I knew of the fact she may be being kicked out of Australia was when my brother - who now lives in Australia despite hating it first time - sent me a Whatsapp with a link to the story. 'We haven't spoken but my brother keeps in touch still. ' In every respect, Mary Ellis did indeed seem to be an Australian, with a drivers licence, ID card, Medicare and Pension card everything Australians have, as she puts it. Born Mary Philomena Walker in Croydon, Surrey in 1949, she was the eldest of her 11 siblings, our researchers have established. She was only 19 when she married soldier Sean McHugo in Lambeth, south London in 1968, and the following year their daughter Angela was born in the same area. It is believed that Angelas brother David McHugo was born in 1971, though no record of his birth could be found in England and Wales. According to her own account to MailOnline, the marriage broke down and Ms Ellis began a relationship with Martin Ellis a name which the Australian government now say was actually an alias. His real name was Trevor Warren, say the Australians, which daughter Angela appeared to confirm. Mary is friends on Facebook with her brother, Roman Catholic Deacon Mike Walker, 67, from Caversham, Reading. Mary 'loves Australia' and has a soon and granddaughters here and says if she went back to England she would know no-one Part of the Home Affairs letter that claims Mary lied about never leaving Australia and telling her to 'depart Australia as soon as possible' or 'face serious consequences' During those dates, her daughter Angela would have been aged between 14 and 17. Angela was born in London and in September 1994, at the age of 25, got married in Croydon. She remains in the UK. Her brother David meanwhile married in Canterbury, Kent, in July 1995. He spent the first part of his career in the UK and only emigrated to Australia in later years. David, 53, is now a company director and provides project management to the rail sector around Sydney. Marys ex-husband Sean McHugo remarried in 1988, but he died 20 years later in Medway, Kent. Ms Ellis told MailOnline that on arrival in Australia in 1981, her partner told her he acquired permanent residency visas for them both - which she discovered to her shock was not true decades later. In an interview with Australias Nine Network, she said: I have a Driver's Licence, ID card, Medicare Card, Pension card. Everything Australians have. I thought well, I'm a permanent resident. You know, I carry on doing my daily - what I do every day. Nobody said anything. The discovery came when the pensioner was asked to visit the Brisbane office of the Home Affairs department, where she was told she had been living in Australia illegally. The grandmother worked in hospitality and then for the New South Wales government for 30 years. Ms Ellis is being represented pro bono by Gold Coast migration agent Stanley Shneider who initially described the Home Affairs claims that she had left the country under an alias three times since her arrival in 1981 as 'nonsense'. However, when asked about Angelas claims that Ms Ellis returned to the UK in 1986, Mr Shneider said: I have accepted Marys instructions in good faith and until it is established otherwise I will maintain those instructions. He had provided documents to the Daily Mail which he said proves Ms Ellis was in the country between 1983 and 1986, including a job reference saying she worked for a restaurant and catering company in Tasmania. The document said she worked as waitress for Images International Cuisine with duties including preparing salads and handling cash and credit card transactions. It made no reference to her travelling overseas during that time and said: 'I am pleased to report that she is punctual, industrious and of a sober nature and (I) recommend her as an employee in a similar situation'. Mary also produced a successful Medicare enrolment letter signed by the then-Minister of Health to argue her case. After her time in Tasmania, she moved to New South Wales, and created a life in Tweed Heads, a beachside town south off the Gold Coast and popular with retirees. Mary was awarded the prestigious NSW Volunteer of the Year in 2023 for her work for Agape Outreach, who provide hot meals to those in need Australia's Home Affairs department claims Mary did leave Australia under different aliases in February of 1983 and did not return until November of 1986 Mary is a popular figure in her community due to the time she spends volunteering and raising money for The Salvation Army - a charity that supports the needy. She has worked with Aboriginal people in home care and takes a deep interest in Australian politics, culture and current affairs. 'This is my home; I want an Australian passport. Even then I wouldn't go back and visit the UK, I love it here. 'I'm a good person, I've paid my taxes. I believe the minister is a good person but... yes, I am anxious.' Daily Mail Australia has asked the countrys Federal Immigration Minister whether Ms Ellis could be granted the absorbed person visa on compassionate grounds, given her age and her background as a model citizen. Ms Ellis' case is the latest controversy for the department, after it was caught unprepared for a High Court decision to release more than 140 asylum seekers from detention, even though many had done jail time for crimes as serious as murder and child sex offences. Mr Shneider said a reconsideration by the department would be welcome because a legal challenge could cost as much as $100,000. 'She's a pensioner,' Mr Shneider said. 'She lives modestly in a rented home. She works in volunteer positions. 'She's always paid her taxes, she hasn't even had a speeding ticket, she's never infringed anything, she's never offended anyone.' Mr Shneider said Ms Ellis was so much a part of Australia that her face even figured on a stamp, having won a competition to be honoured in that manner. A spokesman for the Federal immigration office said that they understood that 'the idea of deportation is terrifying' that authorities 'didn't just rock up and handcuff you, it's less black and white'. However, Mr Shneider said 'that's all very well, but given what Home Affairs have said she has a right to feel fearful.' Republican hopeful and accused criminal Donald Trump has lambasted Fulton County DA Fani Willis and said her affair with prosecutor Nathan Wade was a 'major league scandal.' The former president, 77, took to Truth Social this morning and called on her and the others leading what he describes as 'this witch hunt' to be 'immediately terminated and permanently erased from everyone's memory.' Fani Willis has been accused of misconduct that could see her removed from the election interference case against Trump, after allegations that she had an affair with Nathan Wade, a married man, who has been described as 'an old friend' of the DA. She hired his firm, Wade & Campbell, to help run the prosecution for the election subversion case that was filed in Georgia in August 2023. The pair were accused, in a claim filed by Michael Roman, a former Trump campaign official who is a co-defendant in the election subversion case, of having 'an improper, clandestine personal relationship', and of using taxpayer money that was paid to Wade for his legal services to fund holidays to the Bahamas. Fani Willis (pictured) has been accused of misconduct that could see her removed from the election interference case against Trump Donald Trump is currently involved in four major legal cases as he runs for president 'I cant believe the Georgia State Judiciary, or the Governor, can be happy about this humiliating embarrassment,' Trump told his Truth Social followers. 'The stench of what has happened should shame Georgia no longer. It should get back to GREATNESS, and FAST!!!' His comments came the day after Willis testified at a Fulton County courthouse on Thursday, indicating that her 'physical' affair with Wade ended before Donald Trump and 18 of his associates were charged with a racketeering conspiracy. But whether the relationship itself had ended completely before the bombshell indictment was not entirely clear. Deep into her testimony about the 'romantic' relationship that she did not disclose to colleagues and when it began, Wills got pressed when the pair split, after revelations they were an item blew open the Trump prosecutions in Georgia. 'The romantic relationship ended before the indictment was returned - yes or no?' asked Trump lawyer Steven Sadow inside a Fulton County courthouse Friday. 'To a man, yes,' she said indicating that the 'physical' relationship with Special Prosecutor Nathan Wade had ended by that time. 'To a man yes, to you no?' Sadow followed up. 'Did the forthcoming indictment have anything to do with that?' he pressed. Wade was asked by a Donald Trump attorney whether about the source of cash he said Willis gave him, and whether Willis simply took cash out of her pocketbook. 'I didnt ask her,' he said Willis had ventured her views on male-female differences that were crucial to her answer. It was one of many times the DA offered attention-grabbing and sometimes extraneous information in the blockbuster hearing including her preference for Grey Goose vodka, her keeping a stash of up to $15,000 cash in her home, and not venturing a guess as to what continent Belize was on after travelling there with her flame. 'Let's go on and have a conversation,' Willis said. 'Mr. Wade is used to women, as he told me one time, the only thing a woman can do for him is make him a sandwich. ... I don't need anything from a man. A man is not a plan. A man is a companion,' Willis said. 'I don't need anybody to foot my bills. The only man who's ever foot my bills completely is my daddy.' 'So it's clear, the physical relationship ended pre-indictment,' Sadow asked her. 'I'm not sure that the tough conversation didn't happen until after, but the physical relationship I'm sure if you asked Mr. Wade, because he's a male, he would say we ended June or July, because physical contact ended then,' she explained. 'In my mind, being a woman, it's over when you have that like hard conversation. I just think women and men think differently.' In either scenario, DA and the prosecutor who signed a contract to help lead her team were jointly committed to the task even while engaged in a relationship. Fulton County DA Attorney Fani Willis made a dramatic appearance in court where she said her 'physical' relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade ended before the Donald Trump indictment in her state Attorney Steve Sadow and attorney Chris Anulewicz, who represents defendant Robert Cheeley, speak amongst themselves during a break in a hearing in the case of the State of Georgia v. Donald John Trump at the Fulton County Courthouse on February 15, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia. Sadow pressed Willis on when the relationship with Wade ended Wade and Willis each testified that the romantic relationship began in 2022, after she had brought him on. They also both said they met at a judicial conference in 2019, although Willis emphatically denied hooking up with Wade at the time. 'Im not on trial, no matter how hard you try to put me on trial,' she told Merchant. Sadow also questioned Wade on the end of the relationship, asking if he had 'any personal relationship at all' at that point. 'Are you asking me have I had intercourse with the district attorney?' Wade shot back. 'The answer would be no.' 'You say personal. Were very good friends,' he told Sadow. 'Probably closer than ever because of these attacks. But if youre asking me about specific intercourse, the answer is no.' Conservative critics piled in on the DA almost immediately. Marjorie Taylor Greene, the controversial far-right congresswoman who represents Georgia's 14th district, took to X and said: 'This is EXACTLY why I filed my ethics complaint against Fani Willis and Nathan Wade. 'Fani Willis admits she has no proof that she reimbursed Nathan Wade for their lavish vacations, but paid rent via an app! She must be criminally investigated!' Homeless rough sleepers and hard-up families on the housing list have hit back at government plans to provide a stock of 16,000 rental properties for asylum seekers. Yesterday, it was reported that landlords were offered five years of guaranteed full rental payments by contractors working for the Home Office who will manage the properties as the government rushes to move asylum seekers from hotels. But officials have warned that the move could create 'ghettos' as these properties have been concentrated in areas where properties are cheaper in Hull, Bradford and Teesside. A Shelter report in 2022 showed on any given night there are 345 people homeless in Bradford, with several tents and homeless people curled up in shop doorways throughout the city centre. Aaron Duree, 32, is a father-of-two with another child on the way. He is currently living with his sister and has been on the waiting list for a council house for six years. Homeless Andrew Campey, 43, has been living on the streets of Bradford for 12 months. He pulls his belongings - including his tent - around with him in a supermarket trolley A Shelter report in 2022 showed on any given night there are 345 people homeless in Bradford There are tents and homeless people curled up in shop doorways throughout Bradford city centre Aaron Duree, 32, is a father-of-two with another child on the way. He is currently living with his sister and has been on the waiting list for a council house for six years He said: 'I am Band 3, which means I am far down on the pecking order. As a single male there is no way I am going to be successfully selected for a property. 'When I look at the properties that would be suitable for me, even a flat miles away, you are in line with another 700 people interested in the property so there is no way I'm going to get it. 'Ideally I would like a home where I could have my kids over but I know it's not going to be possible. They said unless I have the kids full-time or 50/50 custody then I won't stand a cat in hell's chance. 'My only option is to try get on on the private rental market but you need 1500 to pay a deposit and a month's rent before you even start, and I don't have that. Sadly there is no help for me to do that. 'Adding more people who need housing into Bradford is going to make my situation far worse. There are going to be more people fighting for the houses. 'I'm wondering where these houses are supposed to be coming from? There aren't enough now.' Retired couple Michael and Sylvia Holmes, both aged 75, have recently moved back to Bradford to be near family after moving away for 16 years, and can see a big difference. Retired couple Michael and Sylvia Holmes, both aged 75, have recently moved back to Bradford to be near family after moving away for 16 years, and can see a big difference There are concerns areas such as Bradford could become 'ghettos' is they are used to house asylum seekers Bradford is one of three northern cities that is set to home 16,000 asylum seekers in rental properties to cut the cost of hotel bills Michael used to work for BT, which used to have a big telephone exchange in the city centre years ago. He said: 'This is our first visit back to the centre and I can see my office has gone and the Santander where Sylvia used to work has gone. 'It's looking very run down and you can see the problem with homelessness. There looks to be a high number of immigrants and adding asylum seekers into the mix will only add to the lack of community and pride in the area. 'Asylum seekers need to be housed somewhere but I'm not sure Bradford is the answer. It doesn't seem stable enough to be able to handle the extra burden.' Homeless Andrew Campey, 43, has been living on the street for 12 months. He pulls his belongings - including his tent - around with him in a supermarket trolley. Most nights he will shack up in the corner of a city centre car park but he is vulnerable to thefts and abuse. He said: 'I have mental health problems, suffering with anxiety and depression, and there is no help for me. 'I am on a lot of medication but this gets stolen from me quite a lot so I'm having to do without a lot of the time, which is no good for me. 'I am in desperate need of help. Living on the streets only makes my condition worse, but nobody wants to help me. 'I get pushed from pillar to post with no real support. I am angry that asylum seekers get so much given to them when I have such a big need. Nobody seems to be able to see how much help I need and I get left behind. 'At one point I was moved to Accrington and another time I was told to go to a day hostel for the homeless but it didn't even have a toilet - how is that looking after people, being left like dogs? 'The priority for care is all wrong.' The Home Office is using more rented accommodation so that Rishi Sunak's target of reducing the number of hotels used for asylum seekers - costing as much as 8million each day - can be met, insiders told The Telegraph. Approximately 50,000 asylum seekers were housed in 400 taxpayer funded hotels, up until the end of last year. But 50 were due to close by the end of January, and another 50 should be shut by spring this year. Retired miner Mason George, 85, from Middlesbrough, said: 'This country is not Great Britain anymore and people can do whatever they like. Our town's people can't find affordable housing, but yet asylum seekers can get them much easier' Residents of Middlesbrough have labelled plans to accommodate thousands of asylum seekers while locals are left homeless on the street as 'disgusting' Research in 2022 also revealed Middlesbrough, where terraced properties sell for an average of 90k last year, had a 41 per cent child poverty rate Housing asylum seekers in dispersed accommodation can reportedly cost as little as 30 every day, five times less than the 150 to put them up in hotels. But families and young adults could face losing out on cheaper rented housing, experts advising the Home Office have advised. A Home Office insider told The Telegraph that the department prefers dispersal accommodation as it is less expensive and 'more discreet than hotels'. They said that contractors were using properties in 'pretty normal streets', adding that someone could buy a 300,000 house and then find that next door is 'full of asylum seekers'. The insider said that MPs were starting to hear reports of problems because of this. They said the properties have been 'heavily clustered' in areas with cheap housing, Hull, Bradford and Teesside. Locals in Middlesbrough, where a high concentration are expected to move to, say the country is 'no longer Great Britain.' The town, known for its industrial routes, was the fifth most deprived area in England in 2019 according to national data. Research in 2022 also revealed Middlesbrough, where terraced properties sold for an average of 90k last year, had a 41 per cent child poverty rate. Retired miner Mason George, 85, said: 'This country is not Great Britain anymore and people can do whatever they like. 'Our town's people can't find affordable housing, but yet asylum seekers can get them much easier. 'This country is upside down and we are not spending wisely in my opinion. We should be focusing our money elsewhere. 'Instead, private landlords are throwing people out because of rising rent and locals around here end up in tents on the street. 'Of course if asylum seekers work then fair enough and nothing against them, but it feels like they are moving to the front of the queue in front of others.' Billy James, a welder, believes locals in the town are being pushed aside due to 'pathetic' plans laid out by Downing Street. The 29-year-old said: 'We have loads of homeless people who have been in the Army and worked in the Forces who are left behind. 'They used to pay tax and contribute but the Government doesn't want to know about them. 'Now we have asylum seekers coming in and they are looked after better. 'I guarantee they will receive more money than some locals who work around here so I don't think the incentive will be there for all of them to work. 'The Government has probably decided to put them here because Boro is really rough so maybe they're putting them in the worst places.' The North East has the highest rate of homelessness in the country with over 2,000 left without a registered address. A Home Office spokesperson said: 'We have always been upfront about the unprecedented pressure being put on our asylum system, brought about by a significant increase in dangerous and illegal journeys into the country over recent years. 'We continue to work across government and with local authorities to identify a range of accommodation options to reduce the unacceptable use of hotels which cost 8 million a day. The government remains committed to engaging with local authorities and key stakeholders as part of this process.' The Tory chairman today warned that Reform UK splitting the right-wing vote will hand Labour the election. Ric Holden delivered the stark message after the Conservatives suffered fresh by-election ignominy in previously-safe Wellingborough and Kingswood. Touring broadcast studios, the MP admitted the results were 'very disappointing', but blamed the slump in turnout - arguing that no-one had managed to 'enthuse' voters. And Mr Holden raised fears about the strong showing from Reform UK, swiping that Nigel Farage and Richard Tice 'want' Keir Starmer to get the keys to No10. Rishi Sunak is under renewed pressure to bring forward tax cuts and more traditional right-wing policies in the wake of the latest meltdown. Gen Kitchen turned a Conservative majority of more than 18,500 in Wellingborough into a Labour one of 6,436. The vote share swing of 28.5 percentage points was the second largest from Tory to Labour at a by-election since the Second World War. Ric Holden delivered the stark message after the Conservatives suffered fresh by-election ignominy in previously-safe Wellingborough and Kingswood Mr Holden raised fears about the strong showing from Reform UK, swiping that Nigel Farage (left) and Richard Tice (right) 'want' Keir Starmer to get the keys to No10 Keir Starmer was jubilant today after securing two more by-election victories In Kingswood, Damien Egan, the former mayor of Lewisham in London , secured a majority of 2,501 after overturning the 11,220 Conservative majority. The Tories have now lost more by-elections since 2019 than any other government in a single term since the 1960s. The Reform Party's Rupert Lowe took 10 per cent of the vote in Kingswood, while Ben Habib landed 13 per cent in Wellingborough. It is the first time the party has polled that high in a by-election. If all the Reform voters had backed the Tories in Kingswood it would have held onto the seat, repeating a situation seen in the by-elections last year in Tamworth and Mid Bedfordshire. And in Wellingborough the party's total was more than 50 per cent of the Tory vote - though it would not have ben enough to hang onto the seat. The Tory vote share in the seat collapsed from 62.2 per cent in 2019 to just 24.6 per cent. Mr Holden said: 'I think one of the most disappointing things for me is the turnout in the by-elections was so significantly down compared to the previous general elections in both seats. I want to see people actively participating in democracy,' he told Sky News. 'I think that shows we've got a lot to do to get people out there and enthused to vote again, and probably the Opposition have a similar challenge.' Mr Holden also appealed for the right to unite against Labour, accusing Reform of having the 'ambition' to put Sir Keir into No10. 'Their ambition is to block Conservatives winning seats and therefore put Keir Starmer into Downing Street,' he told the BBC. 'They've made it very clear, you've read out that statement from them, that's what Reform UK want to do, they want to see Keir Starmer in Downing Street and not have a Conservative government.' He added: 'Reform aren't challenging realistically for seats. This general elections is going to be a battle between the Conservatives and the Labour Party. 'All Reform are going to do, as they've said themselves, is help put Keir Starmer and Labour into Downing Street.' Asked if Prime Minister Rishi Sunak needs to appease the right of the Conservative Party, Mr Holden said: 'If the right of the British politics and the centre and centre-right that broad church which is the Conservative Party doesn't unite, then we will see a Labour victory.' Speaking from the Kingswood election count, former minister Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg said the Conservative Party needed to 'learn from the result'. He said: 'I think we should learn from this result and look at what happened with the Reform Party vote. Conservative Party votes are most likely to come from people who stay at home or who voted Reform. 'How do we win them back to the Tory family? People who share many views and values with us. By delivering things they believe in and that means lower taxation, taking more of the advantages of Brexit, with more of the removal of EU retained law, it means doing less on the green issue that is making people cold and poor, and helping revitalise our economy. Damien Egan was congratulated by his husband after emerging victorious in Kingswood last night The Tory defeats meant the Government has clocked up more by-election losses in a single parliament than any administration since the 1960s 'I think those issues will have a great appeal.' Elections analyst Professor Michael Thrasher said it was impossible to say how many Tories had switched to Labour because the presence of Reform UK 'muddies the water'. He predicted the party, founded by Nigel Farage and headed by Richard Tice, would be a 'significant player' at the general election. 'Any support that Reform gets is bound to hurt Conservatives and will be the difference between some Conservatives holding on to their seats or losing them,' he told Sky News. 'They are a critical player at the next election.' Prof Thrasher highlighted that in Kingswood the Reform vote was slightly larger than the majority Labour secured. He said: 'You can be certain that sitting Conservative MPs are doing precisely those kind of numbers to see how much damage they can do it's not quite as successful as Ukip was in 2015, but they are going to be significant players. 'Whether and how the Conservative party as a whole begins to have a conversation with Reform I will be interested to see that.' The speed limit on a ring road where a baby boy was killed in a head-on collision had been lowered just months earlier, it emerged today. The four-month-old was fatally injured in the crash between a Vauxhall Vivaro van and a Toyota Auris on the A1620 near Rodley in Leeds just before 5pm on Monday. He was rushed to hospital and died two days later. Two women in the Toyota, which was described as a taxi, and a man from the Vivaro were also taken to hospital for treatment. A 54-year-old man, who was driving the van, has been arrested by police on dangerous driving offences. The speed limit on the ring road had been reduced from 60mph to 50mph in September last year. Pictures from the scene show smoke billowing from crashed vehicles on the three-lane ring road. The van's driver door was wide open as bystanders rushed to help those trapped in the cars. The scene of the horror crash on the A1620 Horsforth Road near Rodley, Leeds Pictured: The road was closed while emergency services dealt with the incident. The 54-year-old driver of the Vivaro was arrested on suspicion of causing serious injury by dangerous driving, before being released on bail The Vivaro was travelling northbound and collided head-on with the Toyota which was going in the opposite direction. Emergency services, including fire, police and an air ambulance, rushed to the scene after the crash caused a huge fireball in the middle of the busy road. The road was immediately closed by highway workers whilst the incident was dealt with. The 54-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of causing serious injury by dangerous driving and later bailed by police. At the time of the crash, thick black smoke was spotted by nearby local residents. Danielle Dumpling, 41, was with son Dex, 14, told The Yorkshire Evening Post: 'We heard an explosion and the smoke billowed up. 'I just hope whoever was involved is ok, it really didn't look good at all.' Another local said: 'My heart goes out to this boy's family. West Yorkshire Police said the child died following the crash on the A1620 Horsforth Road 'I live near here and bad driving and busting red lights is a daily occurrence. When will you patrol as we never see police patrolling.' West Yorkshire Police have now launched an appeal for witnesses to the incident. A spokesperson for the force said: 'Police are appealing for witnesses following a serious collision on Horsforth New Road near Rodley. 'Roads policing officers would like to speak with anyone who witnessed the collision between a Vauxhall Vivaro van and a Toyota Auris on the A6120 Ring Road between Calverley and Rodley at about 4.55pm on Monday, February 12. 'It took place after the Vivaro, which was travelling northbound, was in a head on collision with the Toyota travelling in the opposite direction. A full road closure was put in place at the location while emergency services managed the incident.' Anyone with footage of the collision is asked to contact the Major Collision Enquiry Team on 101, or by using the livechat on the West Yorkshire Police website, quoting reference 13240081077. Salisbury's first ever Muslim mayor has been expelled from the Tory party after allegedly suggesting 'Jews were responsible for Jesus' death'. Atiqul Hoque, who leads Salisbury city council in Wiltshire is alleged to have made the anti-Semetic comments on WhatsApp and other social media platforms. The Salisbury Conservative Association said had expelled the councillor following an investigation after it received a formal complaint about 'offensive and inappropriate comments'. Mr Hoque, who became the cathedral city's first ever Muslim mayor when he was elected in May last year, is appealing the sanction and vowed to continue 'representing the people of Salisbury' as an independent. In messages, which have been leaked to the Salisbury Journal, Mr Hoque's WhatsApp account is seen writing condemnation of 'Zionist paymaster[s]' and making reference to Jews being Christ-killers. Atiqul Hoque, who leads Salisbury city council in Wiltshire is alleged to have made the anti-Semetic comments on WhatsApp and other social media platforms The Salisbury Conservative Association said had expelled the councillor (pictured) following an investigation after it received a formal complaint about 'offensive and inappropriate comments' He wrote: 'Finally, I'll tell you what the Quran says... this will happen oppressed and opression you might call me crazy ask any muslim they will tell you end of time or the sign won't come unitl Israel becomes a complete esate, resistance will come when they touch Al Asqa mosque. Later in the message he writes: 'Dont forget who planted the crucifixion of our beloved Jesus Christ peace be upon him, they are good at that do you think in the second coming JC will agree the blame of blasphemy NO! What does that mean his not god hes a messenger a prophet.' In a statement to MailOnline Mr Hoque said he was disappointed the story has been sent to the media when I was told to keep the matter confidential. He said: 'There is no truth whatsoever in the allegations that I am antisemitic. 'I will be fighting to clear my name as I am entirely innocent of these allegations. 'My track record speaks for itself; over many years I have worked for all the people of Salisbury, regardless of their religion or ethnic background. 'I am proud of having Jewish friends and supporters, and those I have heard from have sent me messages of support. 'As someone who has experienced occasional racism and discrimination myself, I believe there is no place for either at all. 'In due course I will be happy to share all the communication with everyone was involved as I have nothing to hide.' Mr Hoque has been a Conservative city councillor for St Edmunds ward in Salisbury (pictured) since 2015 A spokesman for the Salisbury Conservative Association told the BBC: 'Following a careful examination of the evidence, it has been determined that councillor Hoque's comments are in clear breach of the standards expected from individuals holding public office. 'We take such matters seriously and prioritise the maintenance of high ethical standards and values within our party.' The association added it was 'committed to upholding the values of tolerance, diversity, and respect.' 'We take such matters seriously and prioritise the maintenance of high ethical standards and values within our party' he said. Mr Hoque's comments, came from a WhatsApp group of Salisbury city councillors on Nov 28 last year, according to The Telegraph. The remarks have been seen by some to be a reference to Jewish deicide, a historic conspiracy theory that Jews of all generations are collectively responsible for Jesuss death. Over the centuries the belief has led to pogroms and massacres of Jews during the Crusades, the Spanish and Portuguese Inquisitions. Mr Hoque has been a Conservative city councillor for St Edmunds ward in the city since 2015. Azhar Ali (left), claimed Israel 'deliberately allowed' Hamas 's October 7 massacre of its own people Ex-MP Graham Jones, who is standing for re-election to his old Hyndburn seat at the general election, has had Labour's backing removed The Tory anti-Semitism row comes after Labour has been emroiled in a series of issues with its own party members. The party withdrew support for its Rochdale by-election candidate, Azhar Ali, after the Mail revealed he had made anti-Semitic remarks at a meeting last year. But Labour was criticised for being slow to act after The Mail on Sunday reported Mr Ali said Israel 'deliberately allowed' the October 7 massacre to get the 'green light' to invade Gaza. The party also later removed its backing for former MP Graham Jones, its candidate for Hyndburn, after it was reported he had used the words 'f****** Israel' at the same meeting. Sir Keir is under pressure to come clean over who attended the Rochdale meeting where the vile remarks went seemingly unchallenged. Yesterday a poll found just 3 per cent of voters think Keir Starmer has successfully tackled anti-Semitism within Labour. A 14-year-old boy shot and killed a would-be burglar who tried breaking into his Texas home while he was alone. Harris County sheriffs were called to the home on the western outskirts of Houston, on the 14400 block of Brownsville Street, at 7am on Thursday morning. Police found the body of a man, described as a Hispanic man in his late 20s or early 30s, wearing a heavy coat, a backpack and a pair of gloves, outside the property, which had a sign that eerily read: 'I'd rather have a gun in my hand than a cop on the phone.' Police said they believe he was a homeless man, and that they had been in contact with him in the past. Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said that the man, who has not yet been identified, was seen fiddling with the front door of the home, and that the 14-year-old boy who was inside 'became alarmed.' Harris County sheriffs were called to the home on the western outskirts of Houston, on the 14400 block of Brownsville Street, at 7am on Thursday morning The property had a sign that eerily read: 'I'd rather have a gun in my hand than a cop on the phone' '[He] grabbed a pistol, and walked to the doorway. He saw a man he didn't recognize and reportedly fired five or six shots from inside the home, striking the man,' Gonzalez said. A neighbour told local media: 'Right as I looked back up in the window, the boy opens up the door and shoots the guy. 'He did one shot and then there was like a one or two second pause and did three more shots.' Gonzalez added that the teenager, who has also not been identified, was home alone because a woman had just left the house to drop off other kids, and the father was possibly at work. Police are said to be working to determine whether the man had opened the door, or if he was 'just pulling back and forth on the doorknob.' The shooting came after three neighbours made calls to police about someone who matched the now-dead man's description trying to break into several properties between 6:15am and 6:20am. 'If we go with the possibility that the male was trying to break into the home, then it's possible that he may have spotted people leaving the home and was trying to make entry into the home,' Gonzalez said. One neighbour told local media: 'There was this guy in the ditch, and then he got out of the ditch, and he walked around the ditch, and he's like, super weird behaviour. 'With this super weird behaviour and a man I never saw, I figured I need to call my neighbour and let her know there is a man going to your property.' Local cops said the teenager and his family are cooperating with the investigation. Gonzalez added: 'They have a right to protect their home. They have a right to feel safe in their home. 'Ironically, there is a sign on the gate that basically says that, something to the effect that, "Intruders will be met with force".' No charges have yet been filed, and the Sheriff's office said the investigation will be presented to a grand jury who will decided whether the shooting was justified or not. A leaked report into train drivers union Aslef has revealed allegations by female members of rape, sexual harassment and male colleagues displaying porn. The shocking findings include at least four allegations of rape or sexual assault in the previous five years. A quarter of female members who contributed to the findings claimed they have experienced sexual harassment at work, branch meetings or socials. Dozens said they had been groped or touched sexually while others said they had been told unwelcome sexual jokes or gestures. Twelve female members reported having had their breasts, bottom or genitals groped either at work or a union event and 26 said they'd been touched in a sexual nature - including male colleagues touching their back, knee or trying to kiss them. The report was leaked to The Sun who reported its findings as train drivers announced more strike action. Tory MP Greg Smith told the newspaper: 'This is a deeply disturbing set of revelations about Aslef which need full investigation and perpetrators brought to justice.' A leaked report into train drivers union Aslef has revealed shocking allegations (stock image) Only 16 per cent of the alleged harassment victims reported their claims to Aslef and almost two thirds said they had not because they did not believe actions would be taken. Four said they did not come forward because the alleged perpetrator was in a powerful position and there were no reports made to the police. It comes after it was announced that train drivers on LNER and Northern will stage a one-day strike and ban overtime for three days in the latest industrial action to hit Britain's beleaguered rail passengers. Members of Aslef at the operators will walk out on March 1 and ban overtime from February 29 until March 2 in a separate row to the long-running national pay dispute. The union claimed its action was linked to unspecified 'agreements' being broken both by LNER, which runs services between London King's Cross and Scotland via York; and Northern, which operates across 500 stations in the North of England. Aslef members at rail operator Northern will also go on strike on March 1, the union announced Train drivers on LNER will stage a one-day strike on March 1 and ban overtime for three days Aslef also revealed train drivers at five train operators - c2c, Chiltern Railways, East Midlands Railway, Northern and TransPennine Express had voted to continue taking strike action for six months in the pay and conditions dispute. Unions involved in disputes have to reballot their members every six months on continuing with industrial action - and the deadlock has still not yet been broken. The leaked report, whose findings were revealed by the Sun, came after Aslef approached 1,483 women. They received 467 responses reporting on personal experiences. Of those, 106 made sexual harassment claims. In total 91 per cent reportedly said the alleged sexual harassment took place at work while the remainder claimed it was at a branch meeting or union social. Findings were given to the executive committee in October 2022. MailOnline has contacted Aslef for comment on the leaked report. Gangster Ronnie Kray says he regrets his life of crime in never heard before audio recorded while the 'reformed' hardman was locked up in HMP Broadmoor. The East End crime boss warns children not to follow in his and his brother Reggie's footsteps because it will only bring them a 'life of misery' in audio recorded in the 1980s. Veteran broadcaster Fred Dinenage taped the interview with Ronnie as part of his official biography of the Kray twins called Our Story. The recordings were unearthed in the TV journalist's attic - where they had been since Fred's visit to Broadmoor four decades ago. His tapes were almost lost forever as Dinenage's two daughters - one of whom is MP Caroline Dinenage - nearly taped over them. A mugshot of Ronnie Kray dated 4/7/69 which was uncovered 40 years after he was jailed Veteran broadcaster Fred Dinenage shared a video of himself explaining the tape The small tape recorder Fred was allowed to bring into HMP Broadmoor to record Ronnie Kray's interview Fearsome Ronnie and Reggie ran organised crime in London's East End during the 1950s and 60s before they were jailed separately in 1969 and then both moved to Parkhurst maximum security prison in the early 1970s. Ronnie's deteriorating mental health meant he was later transferred to Broadmoor Prison, where Dinenage frequently met him throughout the 1980s as the notorious pair's official biographer. Ronnie's instantly recognisable voice can be heard telling youngsters not to turn to a life of crime, pointing at how it turned out for him and his brother. In it, Ronnie said: 'Many people who have read our books, may think we've had a glamorous life, but I advise any young people today not to get into any trouble because it will only bring them a life of misery. 'I hope people will look again at Broadmoor and the people who are here. 'I have also made the governor look again at my brother Reg who has been like this for more than 25 years, it's time he had justice. 'Good luck to you and thank you for your support, I wish I could be with you. 'One day with any luck I will be, all the best* Ron Kray.' Kray twins Reginald 'Reggie' (left) and Ronald 'Ronnie' (right) who became synonymous with London organised crime in the 1950s and 60s Footage of TV journalist Fred Dinenage from the 1960s Ronnie on the left, pictured at a East London Flat, after they had finished trying to help Scotland Yard's inquiries into the shooting dead of George Cornell 38, was killed The Kray twins Ronnie Kray & Reggie Kray at their mum's home in Bethnal Green, London, April 1965 Dinenage, a retired presenter for ITV who enjoyed a 60-year career on TV, says as the twins' official biographer he is the only person they trusted to tell their story. After getting unrivalled access to the twins, he published Our Story in 1988 and then published My Story - about Ronnie - five years later. Dinenage is now going on tour at theatres in the UK with his show 'Ronnie, Reggie and me with Fred Dinenage', talking about his time with the nefarious duo. Dinenage recalled the moment he dug the tape of Ronnie speaking to him out of his attic and listened back. 'It was like a voice from the dead', Dinenage said. 'It was quite an emotional moment for me, really. Hearing Ronnie after all these years, it was amazing to listen to.' Dinenage explained how he eventually found his old tape. He said: 'After many attempts at trying, I was allowed by Broadmoor to record conversation with Ronnie. 'I put the recording away in the attic and to be honest, I completely forgot about it and then lost it. 'Eventually I found the tape in the attic. I came down with tapes that were blank or empty handed. 'Then I had the dictaphone but I couldn't get it to work, so we had to power it up.' Despite being 'thrilled' at the find, their joy was almost short-lived after his two daughters were heard on the recording, having stumbled across the equipment in his office back in the 1980s. 'Very luckily they hadn't recorded over it', he said. 'If we had had half the message it wouldn't be half as useful. Reggie and Ronnie Kray handcuffed to their escort arriving to their mother's funeral service at Chingford Old Church Notorious London gangsters Ronnie and Reggie Kray walking the streets of London 'It is a huge find because Ronnie didn't do interviews with other people. 'It's a very important message for the times we live in now with all the knife crime.' Further recordings of Ronnie and his views on the world and crime, will be heard on Dinenage's upcoming tour 'Ronnie, Reggie and me with Fred Dinenage'. Starting on March 1 at Portsmouth Guildhall, Hants, Dinenage will take his show to 10 venues across the south coast until April 24. The shows will be hosted by radio DJ Alex Dyke. Ronnie eventually died at Broadmoor in 1995, aged 62. In August 2000, Reggie was diagnosed with inoperable cancer of the bladder, and given just weeks to live. He died age 66 shortly after being freed from prison on compassionate grounds. Russia has lost more than 400,000 soldiers to death or injury in its continuing war against Ukraine, according to Kyiv's approximations. The figure, released by Ukraine's Ministry of Defence in its daily update this morning, suggests a staggering number of Russian casualties in the two years since Vladimir Putin launched the invasion on February 24, 2022. By comparison, around 15,000 Soviet troops were killed and 53,000 injured in Afghanistan during the Soviet-Afghan war, which lasted from nine years - from 1979 to 1989. This therefore suggests that Russian casualties in Ukraine are around six times greater than those suffered by the Soviets in less than a quarter of the time. The figure also represents the Ukrainian army's fierce defence on its homeland against an invading force that many expected would sweep to a swift victory. Instead, Ukraine's forces were able to repel Moscow's armies from the gates of Kyiv and push them back east, where the war is now in a stalemate and being fought along hundreds of miles of frontlines fortified by trenches and minefields. Russia has lost more than 400,000 soldiers to death or injury in its continuing war against Ukraine, according to Kyiv 's approximations. Pictured: The corpse of a Russian soldier is seeing lying on the streets of Kharkiv on February 27, 2022 - days after Putin's invasion began Pictured: Ukraine's Ministry of Defence released this update this morning that estimates Russian personnel losses have now ticked over 400,000 If Ukraine's estimate is correct, it also means that the number of Russian casualties is more than twice that of Putin's initial invading force of around 190,000 soldiers. Ukraine's Minister of Defence also reported that between February 24 2022 and February 16 2024, Russia has lost approximately 6,465 tanks, 12,129 armoured combat vehicles, 9,641 artillery units, and 984 multiple launch rocket systems. The update also estimates Russia has lost 671 air defence systems, 332 warplanes, 325 helicopters, 7,408 drones, 1,895 cruise missiles, 25 warships, 1 submarine, 12,716 motor vehicles and fuel tankers, and 1,528 units of special equipment. While MailOnline and other outlets are unable to verify Ukraine's figures, heavy Russian losses have been well documented. Even a US estimate declassified in December 2023 put Russian casualties at around 315,000 after 22 months of war. What's more, according to the Oryx military blog, which has been tracking Russian losses since the war broke out, Russia has seen more than 14,000 vehicles destroyed, damaged, abandoned or captured. While this figure is lower than Ukraine's overall estimate, the blog bases its numbers on visual confirmations. In other words, every loss is confirmed by a photo or video from the battlefield confirming the loss of a piece of Russian military hardware. This, therefore, can be viewed as a minimum figure. Military analysts have put Russian losses down to a number of factors, including the tactics used by Russian commanders. A number of key battles have seen Moscow's commanders use 'human wave' tactics, in which Russian soldiers are sent forward in vast numbers to crash against Ukrainian defences in an effort to establish weak points. The figure, released by the Ukraine's Ministry of Defence in its daily update this morning, suggests Vladimir Putin 's forces have suffered stunning losses in the two years since he ordered the invasion on February 24, 2022 Ukraine's Minister of Defence also reported that between February 24 2022 and February 16 2024, Russia has lost approximately 6,465 tanks, 12,129 armoured combat vehicles, 9,641 artillery units, and 984 multiple launch rocket systems The Battle of Bakhmut, for example, was likened to a 'First World War meat grinder' in which wave after wave of Russian soldiers were gunned down. While Russia did eventually succeed in seizing the city - suffering staggering losses in the process - analysts questioned the tactical importance of Bakhmut. Similar scenes have been described in Russia's assault on Avdiivka, another industrial city in the Ukraine's Donetsk Oblast. Despite Russia's intense effort to capture the city at the expense of thousands of its soldiers, Ukraine continues to hold out, although Kyiv, too, has suffered heavy losses. Questions have also been raised about the quality of Russia's forces and equipment. Particularly in the early stages of the war, Russia deployed large Brigades and used tactics that were likened to those used by the Soviets in a bygone era. Lumbering Russian columns of armoured vehicles were picked off by Ukraine's more mobile units armed with western anti-tank launchers and drones. Much of the equipment Russia has been using is also Soviet in origin. And there is evidence of Russia's most elite spetsnaz units being sent into direct combat - rather than carrying out the clandestine, secretive special missions they were trained for - resulting in a decimation of their ranks. Ukraine, meanwhile, employed more modern tactics imparted on Kyiv's military by the West, allowing its smaller units to be more mobile. Kyiv deployed more modern equipment and pioneered the use of small drones to both scout out Russian positions and drop small explosives on enemy soldiers and vehicles - something Putin's forces struggled to defence against. It is believed that Russia in some sectors has since caught up with such tactics, and are now also using drones to target Ukrainian trenches and vehicles. A Ukrainian tank fires in the direction of Bakhmut, where clashes between Russia and Ukraine continue to take place, in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine February 11 Smoke rises near the Avdiivka Coke and Chemical Plant in the town of Avdiivka, as seen from Yasynuvata in the Donetsk region, Russian-controlled Ukraine, February 15 However, if Ukraine's estimates are correct, then Russia continues to suffer heavy losses without making significant territorial gains. While the Kremlin has never acknowledged the true scale of its losses, Putin has been forced to take drastic measures to recruit new soldiers to his war. In September 2022, after Ukraine's sweeping counteroffensive liberated vast swathes of Russian-held territory in the north, Russia declared a partial mobilisation of its military reserves - calling up 300,000 more troops. There have been talks of a second mobilisation push for months now, and although this has yet to materialise, it was reported this week that the Kremlin is preparing legislation that would raise the maximum military age by around 20 years. 'Russia is proposing a draft legislation to raise the age of military contract personnel, including those that were recruited before June 2023, to age 65 and age 70 for officers,' a statement released by Britain's Ministry of Defence said on Tuesday. 'This would substantially raise the current age limit of 51 for non officers and would likely extend the contract length,' it added. Ukraine, meanwhile, has never disclosed its own losses. After two years, they are also believed to be in the tens of thousands, if not higher. Kyiv is understood to also be looking for ways to grow its forces as it struggles to hold out against Putin's armies in the east. While Ukraine has so far clocked far more victories against Russia, Putin's forces still control around a fifth of the country. What's more, Moscow is believed to have secured significant supplies of munitions from its allies in Iran and North Korea and has shifted its economy onto a war footing. Ukrainian service members check a destroyed Russian a BMP-2 infantry fighting vehicle, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, near the front line in the newly liberated village Storozheve in Donetsk region, Ukraine June 14, 2023 The body of a Russian soldier is seen lying in a field in the liberated village Storozheve in Donetsk region, Ukraine, June 14 Kyiv's stockpiles, meanwhile, are running low. The EU recently agreed a 50 billion aid package for Ukraine, and a further $60 billion aid package is currently being held up in the United States. But even if the aid packages did make their way to Kyiv, questions remain over its supplies of ammo and equipment - and where more could come from. Analysts fear that without increased support from the West, Russia's overwhelming numbers - and Putin's willingness to send so many of his soldiers to their deaths - could soon change the tide of the war in Putin's favour. AUBURN A woman previously convicted of animal cruelty was sentenced in Cayuga County Court on Thursday for wiping a soiled diaper across a home health care patient's face. Linda M. Edersheim, 58, of Elbridge, was sentenced by Judge Thomas Leone to five years of probation for first-degree endangering the welfare of an incompetent or physically disabled person. The act continued what Cayuga County Chief Assistant District Attorney Chris Valdina called "a pattern of sadism" for Edersheim, whose previous home in Fleming was raided by the Finger Lakes SPCA of CNY in 2002 and again in 2013. Dozens of dogs, cats and birds were discovered living in squalid conditions and seized, leading to her conviction for animal cruelty. Edersheim was arrested by state police on the endangerment charge in August. She wiped the diaper across the patient's face, and yelled at them, while working as a home health care aide. Valdina called it "a very disturbing case," noting Edersheim had worked as an aide for a private agency for years. He also said he felt she hadn't accepted responsibility for her actions. When asked if there was anything she wanted to say in court on Thursday, Edersheim said that she did accept responsibility. "I really care for this person," she said. Before sentencing her, Leone said he didn't feel Edersheim was being sincere. "If you really cared for this person, you wouldn't have wiped that soiled diaper across her face," he said. As a part of her sentencing, Edersheim agreed to not work in the health care industry for at least the next five years. Also in court Daniel P. Miller, 39, of Liverpool, was sentenced to 10 years of probation starting with a shock component of four months at the Cayuga County Jail on weekends for second-degree attempted rape (a class D felony). Brian Neilson, of Seneca Falls, received the same sentence from Cayuga County Court Judge Jon Budelmann on Tuesday, as he was charged with the same crime following the same sting operation as Miller. A third person arrested in the sting, Anthony T. Bartolotta, of Auburn, pleaded guilty to the same crime in December and is set to receive the same sentence on March 15. The men were arrested for pursuing sex with what they thought were underage girls, but were actually undercover police officers posing as them online. James N. Casbarro, 95, of Auburn, was scheduled to be sentenced on sexual conduct against a child 13 or younger (a class B felony). De Stefano said after court that Casbarro died at his nursing home the day after he pleaded guilty to the charge in court Nov. 16, so the charge against him was formally dismissed on Thursday. Justin Gervais, 28, of Auburn, was sentenced to two to four years in state prison for third-degree burglary (a class D felony). Tyrone T. Mathews, 47, of Auburn, was sentenced to 1.5-3 years in prison for second-degree attempted assault (a class E felony), which satisfied a count of third-degree criminal possession of a weapon (a class E felony). Michael Zirbel, 47, of Locke, was sentenced to five years of probation for fourth-degree grand larceny (a class E felony), satisfying a count of second-degree attempted robbery (a class D felony). Earlier this week Randall Blaisdell was sentenced by Cayuga County Court Judge Jon Budelmann on Tuesday to one to three years in state prison for third-degree criminal possession of a weapon. Sean Curtis was sentenced to 2.5 years in prison followed by three years of post-release supervision for second-degree assault. John Moulton was sentenced to two to four years in state prison for fourth-degree criminal possession of stolen property. Ryan Kelsey was sentenced to three years in state prison followed by five years of post-release supervision, running concurrently with a sentence of 1.5 to 3 years in prison for aggravated family offense. Drew Strong was sentenced to one to three years for third-degree robbery, running concurrently with a sentence of three years in prison followed by two years of post-release supervision for third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance. Isaiah Yanik was sentenced to one to five years in state prison for three counts of third-degree burglary, with the sentences set to run concurrently. The Prince of Wales will be attending the Bafta film awards in London alone as Princess Kate continues to recover from abdominal surgery. William, who is president of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (Bafta), is attending his first high-profile royal engagement since his wife's operation last month. Initially, it was thought he would miss the event on Sunday at the Southbank Centre's Royal Festival Hall. Last year, he attended the ceremony along with the Princess of Wales, where they met award-winners Cate Blanchett, Austin Butler and Emma Mackey. Kate had surgery on January 16 at the London Clinic and has since returned to Adelaide Cottage in Windsor to be with their three children. Prince William and Kate Middleton pictured at the Bafta awards in 2023 The couple have made their appearance at the award show an annual night-out (Pictured in 2023) Since the royal health announcements, which have also included his father the King's unspecified cancer diagnosis and separate prostate treatment, William has attended few events. He gave a speech at a London charity engagement raising funds for London's Air Ambulance Charity's new fleet of helicopters earlier this month. Christopher Nolan's epic biopic about atomic bomb creator J Robert Oppenheimer is expected to be a big winner at the Baftas after Oppenheimer received 13 nominations. William has been the president of Bafta since 2010 and Kate first attended the event with her husband in 2017. At last years event, Kate Middleton opted for an Alexander McQueen one shoulder gown for the occasion, which she first wore to the event in 2019. The Prince of Wales was grinning as he waved to royal fans who had lined the red carpet waiting for the couple (Pictured: The ceremony in 2023) The Prince and Princess of Wales, who regularly attend the BAFTA awards, chatted with Krishnendu Majumdar, Chair of BAFTA at the event For his outfit, William kept things classic and simple in a double-breasted black velvet tuxedo jacket. After the award ceremony, the couple chatted animatedly with the stars, including Austin and Sex Education's Emma Mackey, as well as the host of the event, Alison Hammond. It comes as King Charles returned to London for a short period for further cancer treatment following his diagnosis earlier this month. Charles has postponed all public-facing duties, but is continuing with behind-the-scenes work on his red boxes of state papers. The Queen has been carrying out her royal diary of engagements and last week said her husband was doing 'extremely well under the circumstances'. King Charles has been seen returning to London this week for more cancer treatment after his first public appearance at Sandringham Charles seemed in high sprits on Sunday morning as he attended a church service on the Sandringham estate almost a week after his cancer diagnosis She said the King, who underwent his first bout of cancer treatment last week, had been 'very touched' by all the messages of support he has received from the public. The King and Queen arrived as downpours swept across London and Charles was photographed waving to well-wishers. Charles's diagnosis followed three nights in a private London hospital where he was treated for an enlarged prostate. The Prince of Wales may step in to represent his father at events and it has been reported William and his family are spending half-term at their Norfolk home Anmer Hall, which is on the King's Sandringham estate. Christopher Nolan's epic biopic about atomic bomb creator J Robert Oppenheimer is expected to be a big winner at the Baftas after Oppenheimer received 13 nominations. Cillian Murphy, who played the titular role of physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer in Oppenheimer Cillian Murphy, who played the titular role in Oppenheimer, will go up against fellow Irish star Barry Keoghan, who is nominated for his leading role in Emerald Fennell's viral black comedy Saltburn, in the best actor category. Also expected to attend are Bradley Cooper and Carey Mulligan, who are both nominated for their roles in Cooper's Leonard Bernstein biopic Maestro, and Colman Domingo, who is nominated for Rustin, where he plays the man who helped Martin Luther King Jr and others organise the 1963 March On Washington. Mulligan's best actress rivals Margot Robbie, who is nominated for Barbie; Emma Stone, for Poor Things; Sandra Huller, for Anatomy Of A Fall; Fantasia Barrino, for The Color Purple and Vivian Oparah, recognised for British romantic comedy Rye Lane, will also be at the awards. The ceremony will also feature a live musical performance by Ted Lasso star Hannah Waddingham while Sophie Ellis-Bextor will sing her 2001 hit Murder On The Dancefloor, which experienced a surge in popularity after it featured in the closing moments of Saltburn. The EE Bafta film awards will be hosted by Doctor Who star David Tennant at the Royal Festival Hall on Sunday February 18. The ceremony will be broadcast on BBC One and iPlayer from 7pm. Christian Brueckner, the prime suspect in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann, has appeared in a German court to face five unrelated charges of rape and indecent assault. The convicted sex offender is already serving a seven-year sentence for raping an elderly American woman on the Algarve in 2005 and was jailed in 2019 after evidence against him was presented by two of his former pals horrified at his actions. His latest charges stem from cases relating to five women and girls aged between 10 and 80 years old, and he is expected to spend the rest of his life languishing in a jail cell if he's found guilty. Prosecutors who tied him to the disappearance of three-year-old Madeleine in the Portuguese resort of Praia del Luz in 2007 hope the prospect of life in prison could compel the 47-year-old to open up about his suspected involvement in the case. But sources close to him say the ruthless rapist will remain silent and offer no testimony. Now, with Brueckner back in the dock, MailOnline delves into the twisted sex offender's dark past, explores how he became the monster he is today, and reveals how he allegedly let slip his involvement in Madeleine McCann's mysterious disappearance. Christian Brueckner in court today Christian Brueckner as an 11-year-old. He has been described by a former classmate as a twisted loner who tormented fellow pupils and teachers Brueckner was adopted by a kindly German couple named Brigitte and Fritz Brueckner, who took them into their home alongside two other adopted children (Brigitte Brueckner pictured) Madeleine McCann, the three-year-old British girl who vanished from her hotel room in Praia de Lug in May 2007. Christian Brueckner (left) is the prime suspect in her case Brueckner is seen in handcuffs in court on February 16 2024 Brueckner was born in 1976 and his mother, whose identity is unknown, was unable to care for him and handed her infant child over to youth authorities. But he was quickly adopted by a kindly German couple named Brigitte and Fritz Brueckner, who took them into their home alongside two other adopted children that became his brothers. Brigitte once said that there were no signs Brueckner would grow up to become the monster vilified worldwide today. But by the time he arrived in primary school, it became obvious he had little interest in socialising with other kids and marked himself out as a pupil strongly disliked by teachers. A former classmate of Brueckner, who wishes to remain anonymous, described the sex offender as a 'twisted loner', and said he knew the boy 'would turn out bad'. He would often get into fights with other kids and make a point of annoying them, his classmate said, adding that he was despised by staff. The former pupil said: 'I've only ever had one fight in my life and that was with Christian Brueckner. 'He spent a year talking about me behind my back. He would not stop making nasty comments. One day I exploded and told him to go back to the orphanage where he had come from. 'We all knew he was adopted, so I shouldn't have said that but I lost my temper with him. He jumped on me and we traded punches until a teacher pulled us apart. 'Everyone hated him in class and they all kept their distance, but it wasn't just the children it was the teachers as well.' By the time he reached adolescence, Brueckner was causing havoc at home too, and his adoptive parents were struggling to care for him. When Fritz Brueckner was badly injured in a car accident in 1992, Brigitte could no longer shoulder the burden alone and sent her son to live in a reform home for delinquent teenagers in his hometown of Wurzburg, Bavaria. It was there Brueckner began his life of crime, and started to explore his twisted sexual proclivities, committing his first burglary before molesting a six-year-old girl. He is also said to have 'dropped his trousers' at a nine-year-old boy before fleeing the scene, according to German tabloid Bild. Christian Brueckner was pictured pulling up in prison van outside the courtroom in Brunswick, Lower Saxony Detectives believe Christian Brueckner, the latest main suspect in the McCann case, was living out of a German campervan in 2007 Christian Brueckner pictured outside a battered VW campervan just weeks before kidnap of Madeleine McCann Brueckner walks into court flanked by burly security guards Brueckner, 47, was sensationally named in June 2020 by German police as the man responsible for Madeleine's abduction and murder while on holiday with her parents Kate and Gerry McCann Brueckner packed up and left Germany for sunnier climes at age 18 to flee the youth sentence for the aforementioned crimes. Throwing his possessions into a beaten-up VW campervan, he headed for Portugal - specifically Praia del Luz in the Western Algarve. Picking up odd jobs as a car mechanic and food service worker, Brueckner is believed to have resided in Portugal from 1995 until 2007, save for a period of a a few years in 1999 when he returned to Germany to serve his youth sentence. Back in Portugal in the early 2000s, Brueckner spent most of his money attending festivals and slinging drugs - all while committing a string of heinous sexual offences as well as burglaries of upmarket holiday villas. One of these offences included the 2005 rape and torture of an elderly American woman on a waterfront villa less than a mile from the Ocean Club hotel where Madeleine went missing two years later, shortly before Brueckner left Portugal. He was jailed for seven years for this offence after friends with whom he partied in Portugal were horrified by his crimes and chose to share evidence with the court. One former friend and roommate sensationally claimed in 2020 that he knew Brueckner was responsible for Madeleine's disappearance. Michael Tatschl, who lived with Brueckner in a ramshackle farmhouse near the Praia da Luz, described him as a pervert who was 'more than capable of snatching a child'. The pair spent eight months in the same prison after they were caught stealing 320 litres of diesel from lorries in Portugal. Both were released in December 2006 five months before three-year-old Madeleine, from Rothley, Leicestershire, disappeared from her family's holiday apartment in Praia da Luz. Mr Tatschl became convinced of his friend's involvement after watching an eight-part Netflix documentary on the case. 'He was definitely a pervert and more than capable of snatching a child, for sexual kicks or money. 'When I saw the Netflix documentary I knew immediately that he was guilty,' he said. 'It was when the female tourist talked about the man turning up at her door where her child was playing, that I knew it was Christian for sure. 'She described him as a creepy guy with acne and blond hair, which fits his description.' Michael Tatschl (pictured), who lived with Brueckner in a ramshackle farmhouse near the Portuguese resort of Praia da Luz, described him as a pervert Taschl believes Brueckner may have sold Madeleine (pictured), who was snatched from Praia da Luiz in Portugal in 2007, to another individual or a sex ring Brueckner stands alongside his legal team as the court gives opening statements Another former friend, Helge Busching, told investigators that Brueckner had accidentally revealed his involvement in the Madeleine McCann case to him a year after the three-year-old disappeared, allegedly revealing that 'she didn't scream'. Busching was a close associate of Brueckner in the early 2000s and carried out several illegal acts including burglaries and drug dealing, until they fell out over a drug deal gone wrong. They later crossed paths again in 2008 at a festival in Spain, one year on from the three-year-old's disappearance, and recounted to German media how Brueckner allegedly let slip his involvement. '(Brueckner asked me, ''don't you go to Portugal anymore and do business there?'' 'I said, ''no, since the girl disappeared there, there have been too many police checks for me and I don't need that at all.'' '[The topic of Madeleine's disappearance] came up and I said: ''Anyway, I don't understand how the little one could have disappeared without a trace.'' 'Christian had drunk two or three beers, and he said: ''She didn't scream.'' 'I thought: He knows that. He has something to do with it... At 3 or 4 o'clock in the morning he left a packed festival with his mobile home. I looked for him the next morning, but his neighbours said he had left.' Helge also told how he witnessed a video recording Brueckner had taken of his sexual abuse of the American woman in Portugal, for which he was sentenced to a seven-year term, as well as a teenage victim. He recounted: 'You could see how someone whipped the woman. She was tied up, lying on the bed, wearing painted ski goggles... must have been 70 or 80 years old. She shouted: You fucking b******!... then I saw it was Brueckner.' Christian Brueckner allegedly let slip his involvement in Madeleine's disappearance to a former friend Brueckner is the prime suspect in the Madeleine McCann case Convicted rapist and paedophile Christian Brueckner is loaded into an ambulance after being assaulted in prison in 2020 Gerry and Kate McCann, the parents of Madeleine McCann Now, Brueckner is back on trial, facing three counts of rape. Two of the rape victims, an elderly woman and a girl of 14, are unidentified, but the third is Irishwoman Hazel Behan. The now-married mother-of-three claims she was raped by Brueckner when she was working on the Algarve as a tour guide aged 20. Brueckner is also facing two charges of indecent assault - one against a 10-year-old girl on a beach close to where Madeleine vanished, and another against a child in the Algarve in a playground in 2017. Prosecutors have filed a 100-page indictment against Brueckner and the judge Christina Engelmann will try the case alongside three other judges. But the first day of the trial got off to an explosive start when his lawyer, Dr Sebastian Fuelscher, began proceedings by immediately attempting to discredit one of the lay judges - Ms Britta Thielen-Donckel - revealing she had repeatedly called for the assassination of the Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro on social media. Lay judges collaborate with regular judges in trials, participating in deliberations and assisting in rendering verdicts and deciding sentences. He read out some of the social media posts, which included 'Kill the b******!' and 'Kill the devil', declaring the 'radical' comments made her unsuitable to carry out her role as a lay judge. The judge adjourned the court to consider the request, before returning 40 minutes later and duly removed Ms Thielen-Donckel from the panel, scoring an early win for Brueckner's defence team. Court was immediately adjourned until next Friday as authorities search for a replacement lay judge, with Brueckner returned to his cell. Speaking to press as he left court, Fuelscher cryptically smirked: 'I have many aces up my sleeve.' Brueckner is expected to face his verdict in June, at which point investigators working the Madeleine McCann case will hope to leverage a confession out of him. Russia's forces launched a costly bid to seize Avdiivka last fall, resulting in massive damage to the town and heavy casualties - reminiscent of Bakhmut Ukraine's forces today are rallying to save a key eastern city from Russia's onslaught amid shortages of ammo and manpower. Ahead of the second anniversary of the Russian invasion, Kyiv said on Friday that it was sending reinforcements to Avdiivka - a main target for Moscow on the front lines where fighting has been bloody and intense for months. Facing a concerning shortage of ammunition and outnumbered on the battlefield, Ukraine may be forced to withdraw from the eastern town, which has become a symbol of Ukrainian resistance against the Russian attack. Russia's forces launched a costly bid to seize Avdiivka last fall, resulting in massive damage to the town and heavy casualties, reminiscent of the battle for Bakhmut. The Ukrainian army said it was reinforcing units, with troops 'manoeuvring on threatened axes,' adding: 'Ukrainian defenders continue to hold back the enemy who keeps trying to encircle Avdiivka. The Ukrainian soldiers are standing their ground.' Ukraine's forces today are rallying to save a key eastern city from Russia's onslaught amid shortages of ammo and manpower. Pictured: Ukrainian soldiers stand on top of an armoured vehicle near Avdiivka on February 14, as fighting rages for the city Russia has been trying to capture Avdiivka for months, and has managed to surround the industrial hub on three sides - at the cost of thousands of lives. Its fall would be a significant symbolic victory for Russia ahead of the February 24 anniversary of the start of the invasion. One official said the situation was even more challenging than Bakhmut. 'It was difficult there (in Bakhmut) but now it is extremely difficult,' said the spokesman of the 3rd Assault Brigade, Oleksandr Borodin, adding the Avdiivka fight was comparatively 'more difficult' because Russian forces are now better equipped. A Ukrainian army unit said Thursday it had piled yet more troops in to defend Avdiivka, describing the situation there as 'extremely critical'. There are concerns that Russian could surround the city entirely in the coming days and weeks, thus cutting off the Ukrainian escape route. A Russian victory in Avdiivka would be the most significant territorial gain for Moscow since it seized Bakhmut last May after months of bloody fighting. 'Fierce battles are taking place within the city,' Oleksandr Tarnavskiy, a Ukrainian general in the east, said on social media on Friday. Online maps of troop movements prepared by military bloggers close to both the Ukrainian and Russian armies showed Russian forces closing in on Avdiivka, taking over positions held by Ukrainian forces the day before. 'New positions have been prepared and powerful fortifications continue to be prepared, taking into account all possible scenarios,' Tarnavskiy said. He called the situation in Avdiivka 'difficult but controlled' and said commanders have been tasked to 'stabilise the situation.' An aerial view of Avdiivka's destroyed buildings on February 15, 2023. Almost every building in the city has been damaged or destroyed, according to the Centre for Information Resilience Facing a concerning shortage of ammunition and outnumbered on the battlefield, Ukraine may be forced to withdraw from the eastern town (pictured), which has become a symbol of Ukrainian resistance against the Russian attack The fighting raged as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in Berlin to rally Western support. He will later travel to Paris and address the Munich Security Conference on Saturday. Speaking on Thursday night, Zelensky vowed that his government would do 'everything' to save lives in the town. The battle for the industrial hub, less than six miles north of the Russian-controlled city of Donetsk, has been one of the bloodiest of the two-year war. Ukraine's top commander admitted Wednesday that Ukraine was outnumbered on the battlefield. 'The objective situation in Avdiivka remains threatening and unstable. The enemy continues the active rotation of troops and is throwing new forces and resources into the city,' Ukraine's Third Separate Assault Brigade said. The general staff of Ukraine's army said separately that troops 'continue to hold back the enemy, who keeps trying to surround Avdiivka', adding that Russia launched 34 attacks in the area on Wednesday. Almost every building has been damaged or destroyed, according to the Centre for Information Resilience. Despite daily shelling, almost 1,000 residents have remained in the town, once home to over 30,000 people, its mayor Vitaly Barabash said in early February. A Ukrainian army spokesman said bringing in resupplies to the town and evacuating those who want to leave had become 'complicated'. A Ukrainian serviceman of the 82nd Separate Air Assault Brigade drives a Challenger 2 tank in an undisclosed location near frontline in Zaporizhzhia region, on February 12, 2024 The fate of Avdiivka has also drawn concern in Washington, Ukraine's key backer. 'Avdiivka is at risk of falling into Russian control,' US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters on Thursday. Democratic President Joe Biden and the Republican-led House are at an impasse over a White House request for $60 billion in military aid to help Ukraine's defence as the Russian invasion enters its third year. NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg had warned Thursday that the delay was already limiting Ukraine's battlefield capacity. During Friday's talks with Chancellor Olaf Scholz and President Emmanuel Macron, Zelensky will seek to lock down security guarantees for his country when the war is over. The German government said Scholz would sign a bilateral security pact that covered Ukraine's 'long-term security commitments and support'. The French presidency also confirmed that a security agreement would be signed with Ukraine, but did not provide any specifics on its content. This handout photograph taken and released by Ukrainian Presidential Press Service on December 29, 2023, shows Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky recording a video address in front of a sign reading 'Avdiivka is Ukraine'. Fighting raged in the town today as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in Berlin to rally Western support On top of the US aid hold-up, the European Union has admitted that it will only be able to send half of the one million artillery shells it had originally promised would be despatched by March. The EU recently agreed a 50 billion aid package for Ukraine, and a further $60 billion aid package is currently being held up in the United States. But even if the aid packages did make their way to Kyiv, questions remain over its supplies of ammo and equipment - and where more could come from. Analysts fear that without increased support from the West, Russia's overwhelming numbers - and Putin's willingness to send so many of his soldiers to their deaths - could soon change the tide of the war in Putin's favour. Michelangelo's masterpiece, The Creation Of Man, on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel is a symbol of white supremacy, according to one woke writer. The world-renowned piece of art which features a white-skinned Adam reaching out his hand to God, has come under fire. It has been called 'the perfect convergence' of Caucasian dominion. American Author, Robin DiAngelo, who is known for her strong woke views hit out at the legendry Italian artist on Jalon Johnson's 'Not Your Ordinary Parts' podcast. The offended author said: 'The single image I use to capture the concept of white supremacy is Michelangelos Sistine Chapel God creating man.' 'You know, where God is in a cloud and theres all these angels and hes reaching out and hes touching - I dont know who that is, David or something - and God is white and Davids white and the angels are white.' 'That is the perfect convergence of white supremacy, patriarchy, right?'. Woke author, Robbin DiAngelo believes that Michelangelo's masterpiece is a 'symbol of white supremacy' The world-famous Sistine Chapel took Michelangelo four years to paint and was finished in 1512 DiAngelo believes that white people ensure they maintain their patriarchy by reproducing whiteness in 'everyday narratives' in order to spread a common notion that being white is the norm. She doesn't only believe that white people are a patriarchy keeping other races subdued, she is also convinced that white people are innate scared. In her 2018 book 'White Fragility', she wrote: 'White people in the US and other white settler colonialist societies live in a racially insular social environment. 'This insulation builds our expectations for racial comfort while at the same time lowering our stamina for enduring racial stress. 'I term this lack of racial stamina White Fragility. 'White Fragility is a state in which even a minimal challenge to the white position becomes intolerable, triggering a range of defensive moves including: argumentation, invalidation, silence, withdrawal and claims of being attacked and misunderstood. 'These moves function to reinstate white racial equilibrium and maintain control.' 'White Fragility' shot to number one on the New York Times bestseller list in the aftermath of the George Floyd murder. On top of her royalties from the book, which is reported to have at one stage been selling 20,000 copies every week, she is also reported to have made over half-a-million pounds the year after Floyds death from speaking events. DiAngelo's book 'White Fragility' shot to number one on the New York Times bestseller list in the aftermath of the George Floyd murder The world-famous Sistine Chapel took Michelangelo four years to paint and was finished in 1512. It was created right in the middle of the Italian High Renaissance and is consistently ranked in the top 10 most famous paintings of all time. In modern times, the chapel is visited by around 5m tourists every year. Prince Harry today said he was 'grateful' to have visited his father King Charles and hopes the cancer diagnosis can heal his rift with the royals, saying: 'I love my family.' The Duke of Sussex discussed the King's health as he spoke publicly for the first time since Charles postponed all public-facing duties last week following the diagnosis. He told ABC's Good Morning America about his visit to London without Meghan and their children, less than 24 hours after the announcement about Charles's health. Asked by GMA presenter Will Reeve how the short trip back home was for him 'emotionally', Harry replied: 'Um, look, I love my family. The fact that I was able to get on a plane and go and see him and spend any time with him, I'm grateful for that.' Reeve, the son of late Superman actor Christopher Reeve who was paralysed in 1995, said: 'I've also found in my own life that sort of an illness in the family can have a galvanising or a sort of reunifying effect for a family. Is that possible in this case?' Speaking in Whistler, Canada, Harry replied: 'Absolutely. Yeah, I'm sure. Throughout all these families I see it on a day-to-day basis, again, the strength of the family unit coming together. I think any illness, any sickness brings families together.' At the end of a week that has seen a series of announcements by the Sussexes: Harry is also due to talk about the possibility of becoming a US citizen, his life with the Duchess of Sussex in California and the Invictus Games during the broadcast. The interview will be aired in full later today from 12.30pm UK time (7.30am Eastern). At the start of the show, GMA said the chat would be a 'one on one with Prince Harry on his father King Charles's cancer diagnosis, his relationship with the Royal Family now, how he is as a dad, and giving us access to the first ever Invictus winter games'. It later added: 'Ahead, Prince Harry. What he says about his father's health and their relationship now as he gives us a first look at the first ever Invictus winter games.' Prince Harry speaks to ABC's Good Morning America presenter Will Reeve in Canada this week The Duke of Sussex during the interview in Whistler with ABC correspondent Will Reeve The Duke, who lives in Montecito with his wife and their two children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, flew to the UK last week to see the King. But there was no meeting with his brother, the Prince of Wales, after Harry spent around 45 minutes at Clarence House seeing their father. The interview comes after a week of announcements from Harry and his wife the Duchess of Sussex. Meghan signed a deal with Lemonada Media to record new podcast shows, and the company will distribute her previous series. Her Archetypes podcast about female stereotypes ran for just one series before a lucrative deal with Spotify ended in 2023. The couple also relaunched their Archewell website, the name of their foundation, rebranding it The Office of Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. A film crew led by Mr Reeve has been following Harry and his wife Meghan Markle since they arrived in Canada on Tuesday for a countdown event to the Invictus Games in Whistler and Vancouver. In a tweet posted at 1.49am UK time (9pm Eastern Time last night), the GMA account wrote: 'Exclusive: The all-new interview with Prince Harry on his life with Meghan, how his father King Charles is doing and his passion supporting wounded warriors.' An interview with Prince Harry is being broadcast on ABC's Good Morning America today The interview was shot as the couple enjoyed a spot of winter activities in Whistler, Canada Helming the GMA crew is host Will Reeve (left), son of the Superman actor Christopher Reeve The trailer includes a photo of King Charles waving as he left The London Clinic on January 29 Meghan Markle, Prince Harry and Will Reeve are seen in a trailer for the GMA interview today Prince Harry speaks to Will Reeve in the interview which is being aired on GMA in the US today Prince Harry and Meghan Markle both appear in the trailer for the interview on GMA today This was accompanied by a clip showing Harry speaking to Mr Reeve in Whistler and a photo of the King waving as he left The London Clinic on January 29. Will Reeve: ABC TV presenter with striking resemblance to his late Superman father Will Reeve is an American TV presenter for ABC who is also known for being the youngest son of the late Superman actor Christopher Reeve - to whom he bears a striking resemblance. Reeve suffered a double trauma in childhood when his father was paralysed in 1995 when he was aged just three. At the age of 11, his father died in 2004. Two years later in 2006, his mother Dana Reeve died of lung cancer aged 44. Having lost both parents in just 17 months, he went to live with a close friend following her death. Reeve did some acting as a child, appearing in the 1997 TV movie In the Gloaming, which starred Glenn Close and was directed by his father as was The Brooke Ellison Story, in which he appeared in 2004. Reeve, who lives in New York, began his broadcasting career that same year after spending two summers as a Good Morning America (GMA) intern, but initially worked as a sports journalist for ESPN focusing on hockey. He joined ABC as a correspondent in 2018, and has since Reeve reported from 39 states and eight countries. He was nominated for an Emmy for his work during the 2019 California fires. Much of his other work for GMA has focused on the royals including reports from Windsor and outside Buckingham Palace - and in 2021 he interviewed Sussex cheerleader Omid Scobie. Advertisement A voiceover said: 'Tomorrow morning, a GMA exclusive, Prince Harry, the all-new interview on his life today with Meghan, how his father the King is doing and on his passion - supporting wounded warriors. Tomorrow on Good Morning America.' The trip comes as they unveiled a rebrand on Monday with a glossy new Sussex.com website, which saw critics claim they were trying to cash in on royal connections. But last night, the Sussexes defiantly hit back by insisting: 'We will not be broken'. And the visit comes just over a week after Harry returned from a flying visit to London, where he met with his father for 45 minutes following his cancer diagnosis. He was seen two days later at an NFL awards ceremony in Las Vegas but was absent from the Super Bowl last Sunday, before he and Meghan relaunched their website. Meanwhile, Kensington Palace confirmed today that Harry's brother Prince William will attend the Bafta Film Awards at London's Royal Albert Hall this Sunday evening. The Prince of Wales is the Bafta president and will watch the ceremony before meeting winners - and it comes ahead of a wider return to public duties as his wife Kate Middleton continues to recuperate following her abdominal surgery last month. Harry and Meghan have come under fire in recent days over their new Sussex.com website, in particular Meghan's coat of arms - which critics claim is a breach of their promise to the late Queen Elizabeth II when they quit front-line royal duties. Their decision to change their children Archie and Lilibet's surnames to Sussex has also raised eyebrows among royal watchers. The moves have sparked a fresh round of criticism of the Duke and Duchess and renewed calls for the duo to have their titles removed. But a representative told the Mirror that the couple 'will not be broken'. They added: 'We've heard time and time again that certain opportunities are make or break for the couple. They're still here. 'They're still working and pursuing what they believe in, despite being constantly challenged and criticised. This couple will not be broken.' Prince Harry speaks to Will Reeve at the Invictus Games 2025 event in Whistler yesterday Prince Harry and Meghan Markle with ABC presenter Will Reeve in Whistler on Wednesday Prince Harry is spotted alongside American TV presenter Will Reeve in Whistler on Wednesday Camers follow Harry, Meghan and Will Reeve at the event in Whistler, Canada, on Wednesday Will Reeve posted a photo on Instagram on Wednesday at the Invictus Games One Year To Go event on the Whistler Blackcomb ski resort, with the teasing caption: 'Bluebird Assignment' Will Reeve is the son of the late Superman actor Christopher Reeve, who died in 2004 Will Reeve with his parents Christopher and Dana Reeve at the unveiling of his father's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1997. Christopher Reeve died in 2004, and Dana in 2006 Now, Harry has been interviewed for the first time since Charles postponed all public-facing duties because of his cancer diagnosis. Yesterday, the Sussexes did not look phased as they took part in activities at the Invictus Games Vancouver Whistlers One Year To Go Winter Training Camp, while being followed around by a camera crew. While Meghan did not take part in the bobsledding fun at the Whistler Sliding Center in British Columbia, she was able to enjoy every aspect of her husband's ride when he got off the sled - before he enthusiastically re-enacted it to his wife and Invictus volunteers after getting off. The Duchess - who has joined her husband on a multi-day trip to Canada in honor of the one-year countdown to the 2025 Invictus Games - also served as her husband's personal photographer. Meghan Markle is seen beaming and looking at her phone in Whistler yesterday Meghan did not take part herself but appeared to enjoy the sight of Harry racing yesterday Prince Harry enjoyed a thrill-filled ride around a skeleton bobsled track in Whistler yesterday Meghan, 42, watched on with a huge smile on her face in awe of her husband Harry yesterday Harry proved himself the thrill-seeker in Whistler yesterday on the skeleton bobsled track While Meghan did not take part in the bobsledding yesterday, she was able to enjoy watching Meghan smiles as she steps out in a black puffer coat, black jeans, ski boots and sunglasses Meghan was wrapped up warm yesterday, sporting a navy beanie as she smiled at Harry When asked by an onlooker whether she planned to join Harry on the sled, she said: 'I can't!' Prince Harry reacts after sliding down the track on a skeleton sled in Whistler yesterday The Duchess of Sussex opted to wear her hair down during the event in Whistler yesterday She was beaming with pride as she held up her phone to snap images and clips as he whizzed to the end of the track. But Meghan - who accessorized her phone with a $250 case from Bottega Veneta - was not the only videographer on hand to capture every moment of the Duke's whistle-top trip around the bobsled track. The ABC crew was closely following the Sussexes, interviewing Harry for ten minutes after his first bobsledding adventure, before he set off for a second go around the track. When asked by an onlooker whether she planned to join her husband in trying out the daring sport, Meghan laughingly yelled back: 'I can't!' However, she watched on with pride as her husband completed his two runs - although she took some time to warm up in the back of the couple's Ford Expedition SUV while Harry took some time out from the track to chat with the GMA crew. But before long, he was back at it, drawing his wife out of the car to watch on as he enjoyed a second race on the sled. After whizzing round for a second time, a beaming Harry made his way down the hill arm-in-arm with Meghan, posing for pictures as they went. Meghan held onto Harry's arm as the pair walked through the resort of Whistler yesterday The Duke of Sussex laughed as he held his helmet and walked down the path yesterday The Duke of Sussex achieved an impressive top speed of 61mph in Whistler yesterday The Duchess clutched onto her husband's arm as she strolled through the resort yesterday Meghan opted for natural makeup, as she donned a navy blue beanie in Whistler yesterday After going round for a second time yesterday, Harry made his way down the hill with Meghan The Duke of Sussex laughed as he held his crash helmet after taking a skeleton run yesterday Meghan and Harry pose with a woman holding a flag during their trip to Whistler yesterday Meghan beamed as she chatted to people at the event in Whistler yesterday The pair have also been followed closely by a camera crew from Good Morning America Meghan watched on as Harry tried his hand at skeleton bobsled yesterday Meghan dressed for the cold weather, wrapped up warm in a scarf yesterday The bobsled track, which is billed as the fastest in the world, includes a 485ft vertical drop The Duke came in at a bit of an angle as he brought his run to an end in Whistler yesterday Harry and Meghan kicked off day two of their Invictus Games One Year to Go tour shortly after 1pm local time yesterday (9pm UK time) - although their appearance at the venue was delayed by over 30 minutes while the Duke was given a safety briefing. The couple, fresh from a romantic Valentine's Day dinner date, were both on chipper form as they made their entrance to the venue, with a beaming Harry whizzing past on his bobsled and Meghan quipping 'I can hear him' as his sled set off and filming him on her phone as he flashed past. Meghan was wrapped up against the -4C (25F) temperatures in a black padded jacket and leggings and a navy hat and scarf while her husband kept things casual in gray pants and a black insulated Invictus Games-branded jacket - topped off with a white crash helmet. After the high-speed arrival, to the sound of Invictus branded cowbells waved by onlookers, came a meet and greet with athletes preparing to perform at the event next year on a platform overlooking the track. Among the athletes waiting to be introduced were Canadian veteran and mental health advocate Mark Beare, Estonian former soldier and amputee Rasmus Penno and Nigerian powerlifter and ex-soldier Peacemaker Azuegbulam. Meghan watched on and took videos and photos of Harry as he whizzed down the track The mother-of-two wore a black puffer jacket, black jeans, and a navy beanie yesterday Meghan waves while attending the Invictus Games event in Whistler yesterday Meghan beamed with pride as her husband recounted his trip around the track yesterday Harry slides down the track on a skeleton sled during the Invictus Games event yesterday The couple had a chat as film crews followed them around in Whistler yesterday Meghan was wrapped up in a black padded jacket and leggings and a navy hat yesterday Prince Harry was photographed dressed in thermals and holding his crash helmet yesterday Peacemaker, a 27-year-old double amputee from Imo, Nigeria, made his skeleton debut immediately after Harry - despite never having seen snow or been on a bobsled before. READ MORE I was told to address Harry and Meghan as sir and ma'am: New Invictus boss reveals he had to brush up on his royal protocol ahead of Sussex arrival at Whistler Advertisement Speaking to DailyMail.com, Peacemaker said he was thrilled to be reunited with the couple after being introduced to them at Invictus Games in Dusseldorf, Germany, last year where he won a gold medal in powerlifting. Now preparing to take part in the skeleton competition at the 2025 Games, despite only making his debut today, the double amputee said the sport had helped him come to terms with the injuries he sustained during a firefight with Boko Haram terrorists in November 2020. He said: 'At first I felt ashamed because of my injuries but then I was introduced to the Games and began with playing volleyball. Now I feel good, now I feel recovered. 'I am proud to be the first Invictus champion from Africa and I feel recharged. It totally changed my mindset.' Certainly there could be no better place to try out the sport than at the track, which is part of the Whistler Blackcomb resort, a venue built specifically for the 2010 Winter Olympics which were also held in the town, and which boasts a bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton track. Harry achieved an impressive top speed of 61mph during his daring adventure yesterday Meghan was wrapped up against the chill in a black padded jacket and a navy hat yesterday Harry kept things casual in a black insulated Invictus Games-branded jacket yesterday Harry looked in high spirits as he tried his hand at the sport, with wife Meghan yesterday Harry visits the Whistler Sliding Centre during the event for the Invictus Games yesterday The appearance comes after Harry hit back at criticism over the new Sussex.com website After whizzing round the track for a second time, a beaming Harry made his way down the hill Harry appeared in great spirits after completing his attempt at the skeleton race yesterday However, the track - which is billed as the fastest in the world - is not for the faint of heart, featuring a staggering 485ft (148m) vertical drop and 16 curves, while the surrounding stadium has space for 12,000 spectators. EXCLUSIVE READ MORE Prince Harry and Meghan Markle share romantic Valentine's Day dinner at upscale Italian restaurant Il Caminetto after a day on the slopes in Whistler, Canada Advertisement Described by the International Bobsleigh & Skeleton Federation (IBSF) as an 'adrenaline sport', skeleton racing was developed more than 100 years ago in Switzerland when amateur daredevils began racing down icy slopes on toboggan sleds. Ultimately, the hobby grew so popular that it was added to the Winter Olympics line-up - and the daring athletes who now take part in the sport now reach a staggering top speed of more than 93 miles-per-hour - more than 30 miles faster than Harry managed during his attempts. While the row over Sussex.com remains ongoing, it has failed to detract from their enjoyment of the Invictus Games training camp with both seen laughing and joking with competitors on day one which took place on Wednesday in sub-zero conditions on the slopes of Blackcomb Mountain. There, Harry tried his hand at sit-ski an adapted version of the sport designed for amputees while Meghan smiled broadly as she met visually impaired athletes who were nonetheless prepared to take to the slopes in next year's competition. Meghan and Harry were joined at the track by a camera crew from Good Morning America Meghan was bundled up in a chic black coat during the event in Whistler yesterday The Duke of Sussex enjoyed not one but two goes around the skeleton track yesterday The trip to the bobsled track comes after the pair kicked off their trip to Whistler yesterday Harry and Meghan visited an Italian restaurant in Whistler for a Valentine's Day dinner Later, the couple met First Nations youth ambassadors representing the native Canadian tribes on whose land the Games are taking place. The duo privately toured the Squamish Lil'wat Cultural Center in Whistler where they were shown around by Chief Nelson and Wilson Williams and met artists who created the new Invictus Games logo for the event. In a statement, Harry and Meghan said: 'The evening and presentation were extremely meaningful. 'IG2025 and the couple could not be more proud to share the artists' piece with the world. The couple recognizes the significance of the First Nation communities welcoming the Invictus Games onto their sacred land and are thankful for their warmth and hospitality.' The pair, who have been staying in Whistler, are due to head back to Vancouver ahead of an event in the City of Glass today where Harry is due to make a speech. After that, the couple are expected to head home to Montecito, California, where they will be reunited with their children Archie, four, and Lilibet, two. Todays Wellingborough and Kingswood by-election results are more than merely worrying for the Tory party. They presage an apocalypse. Not just because Labour won the former seat with a whopping 29 per cent swing the second-largest Tory-to-Labour by-election gain since 1945 and took the latter with a 16 per cent swing. But also because the Conservatives restive nemesis, the Reform Party, managed for the first time since its transformation from the Brexit Party to replicate its opinion-poll ratings in a real vote. Leader Richard Tice crowed with some justification: Its a defining moment weve had our best two results without question. It shows we are a significant force now in British politics and that people have got to take us seriously. Labour Party candidate Gen Kitchen shakes hands with Conservative Party candidate Helen Harrison after being declared the winner in the Wellingborough by-election If, across the country, Reform starts to win a similar share of the vote to the 13 and 10 per cent share it took respectively in Wellingborough and Kingswood, then the result will be a Tory wipeout. So youd think that the dolt-headed Conservatives would have started to realise this. Wellingboroughs outgoing MP, Peter Bone, enjoyed a majority of 18,000 - and Labour won the constituency by more than 6,000 votes. The message is clear: Tory voters are deserting their party. Why? Well, its obvious. The economy is now in recession, migration is soaring and voters are wincing under the highest tax burden since World War Two. The electorate are not fools. Every opinion poll and every by-election defeat sends the same message: too many of us feel let down, even betrayed, by this Government. And yet, as if trying to embody the proverbial definition of insanity, ministers keep doing the same thing and expecting a different result. That was demonstrated again this morning in a bizarre round of interviews with Conservative chairman Richard Holden. I waited for him to recognise that the Government was listening to voters, that it understood things have to change and that far too many in the country feel utterly disillusioned. No such epiphanies came. Labour Party candidate, Damien Egan, makes a speech after being declared the winner in the Kingswood by-election The message is clear: Tory voters are deserting their party, says Stephen Pollard Instead, Mr Holden seemed almost to blame former Tory voters for not bothering to come out and support the party. The real cause of the by-election defeats, he insisted, was turnout - a mere 37 per cent in Kingswood and 38 per cent in Wellingborough. The arrogance and stupidity of this claim is beyond bewildering. Does he actually think for a moment that, come the next election, those former Tory voters who stayed at home yesterday will sheepishly return to the fold? It may now be too late for the Tories. But there is, just about, a glimmer of hope for them. Voters are fed up. It is time to galvanise them. Slash taxes, cut the endless expansion of the state and tackle the scandal of millions languishing on out-of-work benefits while mass migration explodes. If they are to escape annihilation at the next election, the government must pursue this path - and give voters a reason for hope. If they fail to, they will only deserve whats coming to them. Tributes have been paid to a 'little firecracker' schoolgirl who has died suddenly at the age of just 14. Charley Pointon died at Royal Stoke University Hospital last Friday, February 9 after paramedics attended a medical emergency at her home in Bucknall. Her teachers at The Discovery Academy in Bentilee, Stoke-on-Trent, said the Year Nine pupil would be remembered for her 'kindness and beautiful nature'. Assistant principal Becky Luby said: 'Charley navigated high school in the same way she faced anything new, with determination and a smile. 'Her personality shone through in the first week, helping others who were finding high school a little daunting, with friendliness and compassion. Charley Pointon, 14, died suddenly in hospital after paramedics attended a medical emergency at her home 'Charley was a popular girl, always willing to help others and had a large circle of friends, not only within her peer group but across the school. 'She always kept us laughing with her quick wit and was affectionately known as our 'little firecracker', not because she was hot-headed but because she would always speak up for the things she believed in. 'It is said that school leaves an impression on students. Charley will leave a lasting impression on us for the smiles she put on our faces. 'Charley will always be remembered for her kindness, beautiful nature and the smiles she put on our faces.' The Discovery Academy, part of the Alpha Trust, opened from 11am to 1pm on Friday for students and families wanting to talk or spend time together. The Dove Service will also have trained bereavement counsellors on site. In a statement, school principal Jayne Schofield said: 'It is with great sadness, that Charley Pointon, a year 9 pupil at the Discovery Academy, died suddenly on Friday. 'I have been working with the family at this harrowing time to ensure their privacy is upheld and that we as a school can do everything we can, not only to support them but the staff, pupils, and the wider community. Teachers at The Discovery Academy in Bentilee, Stoke-on-Trent (pictured) paid tribute to Charley's 'kindness, beautiful nature and the smiles she put on our faces' 'I would like to take this opportunity of thanking all my team for their support, not only for me but for Charley's family as we all come to terms with this heart-wrenching news.' A spokesperson for the West Midlands Ambulance Service said: 'We were called to reports of a medical emergency at a private address on Willeton Street at 10:34pm on Friday, three ambulances and a paramedic officer attended the scene. On arrival we discovered one female patient. 'Following treatment at the scene the patient was taken to hospital. Unfortunately, shortly after arrival at hospital it became apparent nothing could be done to save the patient and she was confirmed deceased.' Staffordshire Police are not treating Charley's death as suspicious. The force declined to comment further when approached by MailOnline. Viewers of The Apprentice: You're Fired! have spotted an 'awkward' BBC edit of axed contestant Dr Asif Munaf on the spin-off-show. Dr Munaf - who owns his own wellness brand - became the latest candidate to be fired by Lord Sugar on Thursday. Last month, it emerged he made a series of 'anti-Jewish' online posts, including calling Zionism a 'satanic cult' in the aftermath of Hamas ' murderous October 7 attacks and calling Zionists 'odiously ogre-like'. Munaf has been on appearing on the current series of the BBC1 show but the BBC edited him out of last night's You're Fired! companion show amid huge pressure from Jewish community groups over the posts. The fired candidate normally joins the show to give their thoughts on the process. The Apprentice star Dr Asif Munaf (pictured) was fired by Lord Sugar on Thursday Tom Allen (pictured) appeared to awkwardly explain twice that Dr Munaf would not be joining the show Many fans took to social media to identify an edit made by the BBC of axed contestant Dr Asif Munaf (Pictured: Tom Allen and You're Fired Panel) Users branded the edit of the spin-off show 'awkward' following Dr Munaf being axed But host Tom Allen appeared to awkwardly explain that Dr Munaf would not be joining the show. He stated: 'Now, fired candidate Asif Munaf won't be joining us tonight. Here's the moment he left the process.' A clip then showed the doctor being fired by Sir Alan Sugar. Allen also mentioned Dr Munaf towards the end of the show, adding: 'Now of course, Asif wasn't able to join us tonight on You're Fired but Lord Sugar has made his decision.' Fans took to social media to identify the edit. Jonathan Mruczek posted on X/Twitter: 'Awkward edit on you're fired #TheApprentice.' A second person wrote: '@bbcapprentice why bother even broadcasting tonight's You're Fired? The whole point of the show is to talk to the fired candidate @tomallencomedy #TheApprentice #YoureFired' James O'Donnell wrote: 'That was a dodgy edit about Asif not being on You're Fired. #TheApprentice.' A final person said: 'The Apprentice: You're Fired is indeed going to be awkward for the BBC now .' Dr Munaf was sent on an equalities training course after the BBC was alerted to his tweets once filming had concluded. Dr Munaf was sent on an equalities training course after the BBC was alerted to his tweets once filming had concluded Dr Munaf - who now owns his own wellness brand - described Zionism as a 'satanic cult' in the aftermath of the October 7 terror attack The corporation said had the posts been there before filming, he would not have been included in the show. Two weeks ago, he also wrote that the 'Zionist mask is falling' and accused Israel of weaponizing the Holocaust to 'push another fascist ideology'. A spokesman for The Apprentice said earlier this month: 'After filming had taken place, we were made aware of concerns over social media posts that Asif had made after he had left the process. 'As soon as we were alerted, we took immediate action and spoke to Asif in detail on this. Asif took part in specialised training to understand why his posts may cause offence.' Television executives had succumbed to pressure from a Jewish group and edited former NHS doctor Asif Munaf out of Thursday's episode of The Apprentice: You're Fired! on BBC2 The Apprentice Star wrote that the 'Zionist mask is falling' and accused Israel of weaponizing the Holocaust to 'push another fascist ideology' The contestant attacked the BBC in a series of posts this week Dr Munaf insisted 'it was not my intention to offend anyone', and added: 'The beliefs I hold and have shared are based on the values that I was brought up with.' The Apprentice star also hit out at the BBC, claiming 'they did me dirty' after the broadcaster dropped him from the spin-off show. His now defunct University of Masculinity was also criticised for its controversial postings and retweeting posts by controversial influencer Andrew Tate. In one post about women, he reportedly asked: 'Have you ever met a beautiful feminist?' Migrants stuck in shelters on the southern border say they are worried about the prospect of Donald Trump becoming president in November, fearing a second term would make it impossible to reach the United States. Jose Maria Garcia Lara, director of the Juventud 2000 shelter in Tijuana, told KSWB the community thinks 'the moment he wins the presidency, the doors will close', citing Trump's efforts to return migrants to countries they were trying to flee from. '[Biden] has helped more than 50,000 migrants who were originally rejected under Trump,' the shelter operator said, claiming the 45th president had 'cancelled everything' with policies including the contentious Title 42 expulsions, which saw many migrants automatically returned during Covid. 'Migrants are now using the CBP One app to gain appointments and a pathway to asylum in the U.S., but they worry this program will go away with him in charge.' Migrant movement into the United States has increased since the ending of Title 42 restrictions in May 2023, with border agents warning the southern border faces catastrophe if staffing and infrastructure issues are not urgently addressed to meet demand. This week it was reported the White House had denied multiple requests from Speaker Mike Johnson to meet with President Biden over border security, officials saying the House should take up the new national security supplemental instead of meeting to renegotiate another package. Meanwhile, Trump has escalated strong rhetoric on the subject. At an NRA event last Friday, Trump complained about money spent on legal representation for migrants and claimed he recently saw a migrant shoplifting a refrigerator - as he admitted Senate Republicans had 'killed' a bipartisan border security deal offering $118bn to tighten the country's asylum system. Migrants remain outside the Movimiento Juventud 2000 shelter, waiting for a place to stay, at the Tijuana border, Baja California, Mexico, 26 September 2022 Migrants cross the border to the USA through Gate 36 to be received by elements of the Border Patrol for processing, near Ciudad Juarez, Mexico on February 6, 2024 Former U.S. President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during the NRA Presidential Forum in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, U.S., February 9, 2024 Speaker Mike Johnson has reportedly issued 'multiple' requests to the White House to meet over provisions for border security, but Biden maintains the House should instead take up the national security supplemental passed earlier this week. The Senate took the bill after Republicans rejected a previous version that included funds and policy aimed at tackling the enduring border crisis. The revised version has taken out border provisions, issuing funds for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, as well as provisions for the Fentanyl Eradication and Narcotics Deterrence (FEND) Off Fentanyl Act. Taking out border provisions garnered the supplemental enough support to pass the chamber, opening it up to House consideration. Johnson maintains the package lacks 'real border security provisions' and has suggested the bill is unlikely to reach the floor as it stands. 'In the absence of having received any single border policy change from the Senate, the House will have to continue to work its own will on these important matters,' he said. 'America deserves better than the Senate's status quo.' Senators have also raised concerns about sending 'offensive' munitions to Israel as criticism mounts against its devastating bombing campaign in Gaza. Earlier this week, the Hamas-run Palestinian Health Ministry reported 28,064 Palestinians had been killed in the conflict so far. Third-parties have previously claimed the tally has been recorded in good faith. Pressure is mounting on President Biden to address Israel's actions in Gaza and to better manage the movement of migrants along the southern border. Despite stricter asylum rules and efforts to bring 'tougher consequences' for migrants crossing illegally at the southern border, ports of entry have struggled to manage rising numbers. Honduran migrant Irma Yolani Cruz (right), 31, weeps as she nears the river bank holding her daughter Ariany, one, and her 11 year old son, alongside her husband Jaimie Ariel Rapalo, 32, and their eight year old son, as migrants cross the Rio Grande river Members of Texas National Guard sit inside the fence at Shelby Park on February 3, 2024 in Eagle Pass, Texas Migrants are seen grouped together while waiting to be processed on the Ciudad Juarez side of the border on September 21, 2023 in El Paso, Texas Crossings in Texas were temporarily suspended last year as they proved incapable of managing traffic north. On September 18 2023, the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) suspended cargo processing at the port of entry between Ciudad Juarez and El Paso, directing migrants to other inlets and assuring the agency would work to 'return normal operations as quickly as feasible'. Four days later, the agency suspended vehicle processing at the crossing between Rio Grande and Eagle Pass, citing the need to 'redirect personnel to assist the US Border Patrol with taking migrants into custody'. US border authorities encountered more than 142,000 migrants in the first half of September, according to data shared by Mexico's president. Under Title 42, migrants were denied asylum more than 2.8m times starting in March 2020 on the grounds of preventing the spread of Covid. Data nonetheless suggests 'Title 42 didn't deter migration' - and encounters reported on the border reached new highs between 2021 and 2023. When it expired, the Biden administration launched a new policy to deny asylum to those travelling through another country, with few exceptions. The Asylum Ban placed new restrictions on claims by people who had crossed through another country on the way to the southern US border, unless they had previously applied and been denied asylum elsewhere - or managed to receive an appointment at a US port of entry. 'What we have seen is that since the implementation of the Asylum Ban in May is that ... people who are trying to get asylum are being forced to wait for really extended periods of time,' Amy Fischer, Advocacy Director for the Americas at Amnesty International, told the Daily Mail late last year. 'There are people who are waiting for months at a time. It is a bit of a lottery system.' Rights groups called the move 'unfeasible and impractical' for many fleeing violence in the native country. On July 25 2023, a federal judge blocked the asylum ban, calling it 'arbitrary and capricious'. Human Rights First this week claimed Black asylum seekers face 'significant discrimination and barriers' within the US asylum system as the Asylum Ban and related restrictions 'punish those who cross between ports of entry to seek safety'. Ms Fischer added: 'The Biden administration must undo the asylum ban and not force people to wait for months... so that people are not forced into the hands of traffickers because the ports of entry are becoming so impractical.' 'When someone is trying to seek safety, the policy of deterrence ... is not successful. It just causes more cruelty and more human rights violations.' She said there was a need to spend wisely on 'further investment to support the housing and the ... social services and worker support that asylum seekers need in their first few months ... to successfully [settle]. 'There are people who are waiting for months at a time. It is a bit of a lottery system,' said Ms Fischer Migrants in the Movimiento Juventud 2000 shelter in Tijuana, Mexico, 16 November 2022 Asylum-seeking migrants wait to be processed in a makeshift, mountainous campsite after crossing the border with Mexico, Friday, Feb. 2, 2024, near Jacumba Hot Springs, California The Trump administration made overtures to working more closely with the Mexican government, offering support and aid to slow the flow of migrants across the border while clamping down on illegal drug and human trafficking operations. Critics of the policy have observed that Mexican President Lopez Obrador enthusiastically sent the military to Mexico's southern border to intercept impoverished refugee families fleeing abuse in Central America. Human Rights Watch warned that the Remain in Mexico program 'force[d] asylum seekers to wait for their hearings in dangerous, unsanitary, makeshift camps on the Mexico side of the border, where they face kidnapping, extortion and violence at the hands of cartels and Mexican officials.' Controversially, Trump said at a campaign rally in Durham in December that migrants were 'poisoning the blood of our country' - a line copied in his interview with The National Pulse in September which drew criticism from the Anti Defamation League for being 'racist, xenophobic and despicable'. The comments echoed the rhetoric of Adolf Hitler, according to Yale professor Jason Stanley. 'This is very concerning talk for the safety of immigrants in the US.' A Las Vegas judge, who was violently attacked by a serial felon in court, has revealed that she was 'absolutely terrified' as she curled into the fetal position in a bid to protect herself. Deobra Redden, 30, launched himself at Judge Mary Kay Holthus yelling the words 'nah f*** that b**ch' as she rejected his pleas for more probation January 3. The bloody brawl saw Holthus fall back from her seat against a marble wall when Redden landed atop her and grabbed her hair, toppling an American flag onto them. Now Redden is standing trail facing several charges, including attempted murder for the incident involving Judge Holthus. Holthus, who still has a head injury that is 'lumpy and bruised' shared that she 'would not be here' if it was not for the help of her colleagues. Judge Mary Kay Holthus, who was violently attacked by a serial felon in court, has revealed that she was 'absolutely terrified' as she curled into the fetal position in a bid to protect herself In testimony obtained by FOX5 from February 7, the judge recounted how Redden told of all the positive steps he had been taking, describing himself as 'a changed person'. Hothus denied the defendant parole for previous convictions of attempted battery with substantial bodily harm. 'I think it's time he got a taste of something else because I just can't with that history,' she quipped before the now-viral assault occurred. As she told Redden the outcome, courtroom employees began to position themselves near the door in case the defendant darted for freedom. 'The next thing I know, he literally jumped that defense table and flew before I could even, and just slammed me into the wall,' Holthus said. 'I don't know what hit me where.' Describing the attack as 'incredibly fast', the judge was slammed against a wall resulting in a head injury that remains 'lumpy and bruised'. Serial felon, Deobra Redden, launched himself at Judge Mary Kay Holthus yelling the words 'nah f*** that b**ch' after she rejected his pleas for more probation in a clip that went viral She said she was 'absolutely terrified' as she lay curled in the fetal position during the attack before colleagues intervened She added that the defendant was 'very strong' and 'bunny hopped the defendant's table like it was nothing.' Holthus remembered being 'absolutely terrified' as she lay on the ground curled up into the fetal position as court staff attempted to intervene. She thanked her colleagues, as the judge believes she would not have survived the assault had they not been present. 'If they hadn't been there, I would not be here. I was no match. He was absolutely taking me out,' she said. 'If it was just me, I wouldn't have survived multiple blows to the head which is clearly where we were going with it. So I'm very thankful.' During her testimony, Holthus stated that continued to deal with the injuries inflicted during the attack a month later. Judge Holthus said she still has a head injury that is 'lumpy and bruised' a month after the incident She sentenced Redden only a week after the incident to four years behind bars for a 2023 attempted battery charge He now stands on trial for additional charges relating to the attack of the judge. His arraignment will take place on February 29 The County Clark judge returned to work just one day after the assault and sentenced Redden, who was secured with shackles, a spit mask and two officers, a week later. He was sentenced to four years behind bars for the attempted battery charge in 2023. Redden now stands trail for the attempted murder of an older person, battery, extortion, disregarding the safety of a person resulting in substantial bodily harm and intimidating a public officer with threat of force, according to court documents. His arraignment in the grand jury has been scheduled for February 29, 2024. AUBURN A former Throop town supervisor was sentenced on Thursday after previously admitting to stealing almost $11,000 from the municipality. William Tarby, 59, was sentenced by Judge Thomas Leone on charges of fourth-degree grand larceny and official misconduct in Cayuga County Court. As per the terms of his plea agreement in January, Tarby was required to pay full restitution to the town, and he can't run for office again. Michael Spano, Tarby's attorney, said in court Thursday that he had a check of $10,873 Tarby's restitution to Throop and that he would send it to the town later that day. Spano said after court that Tarby didn't have any additional requirements or penalties as a part of his sentencing, so long as he isn't charged with anything else in the future. Noting Tarby's age and the fact that he had never been charged with anything prior, Spano said that he did not think that would be a problem for his client. Tarby was first elected Throop town supervisor in 2003, and served eight terms. Current Supervisor Eric Ridley, who beat Tarby in a 2019 election, notified state Comptroller Tom DiNapoli's office about the misuse of town funds during Tarby's time as supervisor. An audit by DiNapoli's office found that Tarby pocketed town funds from 2017 to 2019. The audit also found that Tarby withdrew money from town bank accounts, took cash back on checks written to the town, and kept money paid to the town for equipment sales, fines and scrap metal. The case was prosecuted by the New York State Attorney General's Office. "He took advantage of a lot of people and it's sad that it happened," Ridley told The Citizen in January. "We've taken every step that we possibly can to ensure that it can't happen again here." Former Throop town supervisor admits to stealing $11K A former town supervisor in Cayuga County has pleaded guilty to stealing nearly $11,000 during his time in office. Teenager Alex Batty who was allegedly kidnapped by his mother six years ago has revealed he has got a girlfriend and is studying programming at college after being found and returning to the UK. The now 18-year-old, from Oldham, Greater Manchester, was only 11 years old when he did not come back to British shores after a holiday with his mother Melanie, 43, and his grandfather David, 64, in 2017. On December 13, Alex was discovered by medical student Fabien Accidini following his escape from the 'spiritual commune' in the mountainous region of Ariege in the foothills of the French Pyrenees. Today he has said that 'life is good' as he spoke about having new found friends at college - a change from the commune where he said there was nobody his own age. Asked how his new friends have responded to his story as he appeared on Good Morning Britain, Alex said: 'We don't really talk about it.' 'I get made fun of for it, a lot,' he laughed. 'One of my friends just made fun of the fact that I went on a really long vacation.' Alex Batty is studying programming at college after being found and returning to the UK Alex agreed with presenter Kate Garraway that programming was a very useful thing to study nowadays Alex who was found in France after he was believed to have been abducted by his mother six years ago Gite de la Bastide in the part of the Pyrenees where teenager Alex was living He also revealed he is studying programming, agreeing with presenter Kate Garraway that it was a very useful thing to study nowadays. 'Life is good,' he added, revealing he also has a girlfriend and saying 'I've got a lot to make up for'. The British teenager revealed earlier this week that he had already been on several dates after making his surprise return to the UK in December following six years on the run with his mother and grandfather, first in Spain and later in France. 'I'm talking to someone at the moment,' Alex told the Mirror and said he hopes to get a good job to buy a house before getting married. 'I want to get a decent job so that when I get a wife and kids, they won't have to worry about money like I did,' he added. Alex turned 18 on Tuesday and said he would be celebrating with his grandmother and legal guardian Susan Caruana, 68, her new husband, his uncle and his cousin over a pub meal. 'Life is good,' Alex said, revealing he also has a girlfriend and saying 'I've got a lot to make up for' Alex Batty, from Oldham, Lancashire, was just 11 when he did not return from a holiday to Spain with his mother Melanie (left), then 37, and grandfather David (right), then 58, in 2017 Alex is pictured with his mother and grandfather after allegedly being abducted when he was 11 Alex flew into Malaga airport in Spain on a pre-agreed trip with his mother Melanie - who does not have legal parental guardianship - and grandfather David for a week-long stay in the Benahavis area, near Marbella on September 30, 2017. But Alex, his mother and grandfather did not come back home as expected on October 8, 2017, sparking a massive police enquiry into the boy's apparent abduction. Alex's heartbroken grandmother Susan Caruana, who is Alex's legal guardian, said in 2018 that Melanie and David had previously lived on a commune in Morocco with Alex in 2014 as part of an 'alternative lifestyle'. Greater Manchester Police led extensive inquiries to try to find Alex following his suspected abduction. Alex flew to Malaga in September 2017 before being taken to a 'spiritual community' in the foothills of the Pyrenees. Investigators believe Alex escaped the rural community in southern France and spent days trekking across the French Pyrenees before being picked up by a trucker who took him to a police station in Revel, near Toulouse Alex's cousin Stephen Devine said: 'Alex's mum was involved in a cult. His grandma became his guardian but then his mum Melissa and grandfather offered to take him on holiday for a week and they were never seen again.' Days before he was found, Alex fled the 'spiritual community' located in the foothills of the French Pyrenees and spent four days walking across the mountains trying to reach his grandmother in England. By some stroke of luck, Fabien Accidini, a chiropractic student from Toulouse, was driving along a road while delivering medicines in the mountainous region of Aude when he spotted Alex walking along in pouring rain at around 2am on December 13. Rochdale voters are being urged to 'teach Keir Starmer a lesson' by backing the by-election candidate the Labour leader junked in an anti-Semitism row. Pro-Palestinian supporters of Azhar Ali, who was suspended by Labour this week, are said to be sharing anti-Starmer posters on WhatsApp in a bid to drum up votes. It is the latest sign of how bitter divisions over the Gaza conflict between Israel and Hamas have caused a deep rupture within Labour ranks. One expert warned the Rochdale by-election, on February 29, will be a 'critical test' for Labour in dealing with issues over the Gaza crisis ahead of the general election. Sir Keir withdrew Labour's backing for Mr Ali as their official by-election candidate following an anti-Semitism storm over the councillor's comments at a local meeting. He was recorded suggesting Israel 'deliberately' allowed the Hamas terror attacks on October 7 to happen as a pretext to invade Gaza. Mr Ali also blamed 'people in the media from certain Jewish quarters' for the suspension of a pro-Palestinian MP. Pro-Palestinian supporters of Azhar Ali, who was suspended by Labour this week, are said to be sharing anti-Starmer posters on WhatsApp in a bid to drum up votes One poster depicts Sir Keir Starmer as a clown and dubs the Labour leader as 'anti Palestine Starmer', in comparison to Mr Ali as 'a stong voice for Palestine' Sir Keir withdrew Labour's backing for Mr Ali as their official by-election candidate following an anti-Semitism storm over the councillor's comments at a local meeting Although Mr Ali is no longer Labour's official by-election candidate, his suspension came after the deadline to remove him from the ballot paper had already passed. This has led to the highly unusual situation where Labour cannot replace him as the party's Rochdale candidate on paper. But, if Mr Ali wins, he would sit in the House of Commons as an independent MP and without the Labour whip. According to LBC radio, Mr Ali remains determined to win in Rochdale with a source saying he is continuing his campaign 'from his car as a quasi-independent, with three or four people'. Posters in support of Mr Ali, said to be circulating on WhatsApp, have been shared on social media - including by journalist Michael Crick and a pro-Palestinian group known as the Newham Independents. Alongside an image of Mr Ali, one reads: 'Sacked by Starmer for speaking on Palestine. It's time to teach Starmer a lesson in Rochdale. Vote Azhar Ali.' Another depicts Sir Keir as a clown and dubs the Labour leader as 'anti Palestine Starmer', in comparison to Mr Ali as 'a stong voice for Palestine'. Alongside the image, the Newham Independents posted on Twitter: 'The WhatsApp groups of Rochdale are buzzing with political campaigning. 'This image was sent to us, it would seem that Team Ali are not quite ready to be counted out of the running just yet?' Labour's withdrawal of its support for Mr Ali means Sir Keir has effectively conceded defeat in the Greater Manchester seat, which was left vacant following the death of veteran Labour MP Sir Tony Lloyd. Election expert Professor Michael Thrasher suggested Labour's handling of a loss in the Rochdale by-election would be a 'critical test' for Sir Keir. 'There will be a critical test for Labour in Rochdale,' he told Sky News. 'We know the background to that event. And if they should lose that seat, which seems likely as far as I can see how Labour handles that and how its opponents exploit that there may well yet be another twist in the narrative of this general election year.' Labour and Sir Tony won Rochdale at the 2019 general election with a majority of more than 9,000 votes. Ex-Labour MP George Galloway is standing at the by-election for his Workers Party of Britain and campaigning on a pro-Palestine ticket. Another former Labour MP Simon Danczuk, who quit the party in 2017 amid a 'sexting' scandal, is standing as Reform UK's candidate in Rochdale. Speaking this morning, Sir Keir declined to say whether he acted quickly enough over Mr Ali's comments But insisted he was prepared to make 'ruthless' decisions as he seeks to show Labour is a changed party from when it was led by Jeremy Corbyn. 'I did something that no leader of the Labour party has ever done before, which is to remove a candidate in a by-election where they cannot be replaced, because I was so determined to take decisive action in relation to anti-Semitism,' he told BBC Breakfast. Asked whether Mr Ali's removal as Labour candidate happened quickly enough, Sir Keir said: 'It was done within days.' 'We are giving up a Labour seat. That's the right thing to do,' he added. 'But what it shows is, when there's tough decisions to be made, I take those decisions. That's what I've been doing for four years. 'Taking tough and ruthless decisions to change this party. I've taken two tough and ruthless decisions in the last 10 days. 'Has it been bumpy? Yes, of course it's been bumpy, but: 'Were they the right decisions?' is the question I asked myself. They were the right decisions.' Sir Keir later insisted he was 'satisfied' with Labour's 'robust due process' when pressed on whether he could be confident there are no other candidates who share Mr Ali's views. The Labour leader told reporters: 'I've put in place in the Labour Party a robust due process exercised for every single candidate. 'In this particular case there was a private conversation that couldn;t be picked up by due process. 'So I'm satisfied with our processes, but we must continue to fight anti-Semitism wherever we are in organisations, in political parties.' Mr Ali apologised for his remarks at a meeting of local party members and councillors. He said: 'I apologise unreservedly to the Jewish community for my comments which were deeply offensive, ignorant, and false. 'Hamas's horrific terror attack was the responsibility of Hamas alone, and they are still holding hostages who must be released.' Children's Mercy Hospital said it treated 11 children - nine of them had been shot and three remain at the hospital on Thursday The juvenile suspects of the Kansas City parade shooting will be charged as adults, according to the Jackson County Prosecutor's Office. No charges have been filed against the suspects as of Friday morning - days after Wednesday's mass shooting where beloved DJ and mother, Lisa Lopez-Galvan, was killed at the scene, in front of her children. Two suspects who are yet to be named are currently in custody, as cops in Missouri continue to vet what happened at the stricken Super Bowl celebration. A third juvenile initially believed to be involved has since been determined to not been connected to the shooting and was released. Eighth grader Cash Adams, whose left leg was grazed by a stray bullet, was already back in school on Thursday. 'Went left, and I got hit. I heard, "pop, pop, pop," and then I knew I'd been hit, so I just ran, the 13-year-old told Good Morning America. 'It stung, but I knew I needed to get to safety.' Images circulating on social media show a group of people being taken into custody following the shooting, some of whom appear to be juveniles. It is not clear if those pictured are suspects Eighth grader Cash Adams, whose left leg was grazed by a stray bullet, was already back in school on Thursday Lisa Lopez-Galvan, seen her with her two kids, 19-year-old Adrianna and 20-something Marc, died at the scene of Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl parade shooting, cops and family members have revealed. Her two kids were also present, with Marc shot in the leg, relatives said Adams added hat he doesn't think he will ever go to a Chiefs or Royals parade again. Police Chief Stacey Graves said investigators believe the shooting was triggered by a personal dispute between a small group, and the parade was not the target. Graves added that preliminary findings show no connection to terrorism or homegrown extremism. The 22 people injured ranged between 8 and 47 years old, with half under 16. Children's Mercy Hospital said it treated 11 children - nine of them had been shot and three remain at the hospital on Thursday. All victims are expected to recover, per officials. Lopez-Galvan's brother Beto Lopez went on to reveal Lopez-Galvan's son, Marc, and her daughter, Adrianna, were both present at the parade, and witnessed their mom's merciless killing. Only in his early 20s, Marc was also shot, Lopez said - claiming it was his nephew who was rushed to a hospital and not his sister, despite early reports. He added how two other relatives, two grade school girls, were also struck by bullets, as cops said nine kids were hospitalized. Their investigation remains ongoing, as another 13 adults were injured. 'She never made it to the hospital,' said Lopez of his younger sister's fate - a statement further substantiated by cops Thursday who confirmed she died at the scene contrary to previous reports. 'She never made it to the hospital,' said Lopez of his younger sister's fate - a statement further substantiated by cops Thursday who confirmed she died at the scene contrary to prior reports Lopez-Galvan, who worked as a DJ at a community radio station, leaves behind her two kids, Marc and Adriana Their young cousins - identified only as the elementary school aged daughters of relative Erika Reyes - were also there on the west side of Union Station when the initial shots rang out. Sadly, all except Adriana were struck, Lopez said - with his little sister hit fatally. 'They were enjoying the day and getting ready to go home. Everybody was,' Lopez lamented, offering the crucial insight to the local Kansas City star. 'They were all kind of together. They were caught in whatever crossfire was going on.' He went on to reveal the extent of the youngster's injuries, stating that his 20-something nephew was hit once in the leg, and has since been released. Adriana, while not hurt physically, is struggling mentally, he said - before airing concern for both as they 'witnessed their mother get shot.' Lisa Lopez-Galvan, pictured here with her husband, Mike Galvan, died from her gunshot wounds at the scene of the crime Although Marc has been released from the hospital, Lopez said the family is 'just going to have to really help him mentally to get through this.' He went on: 'Besides the shock, the initial shock, [Marc] was there, with his mother, when all this happened.' Lopez further revealed how his sister - a disc jockey of a Hispanic music program on community radio station KKFI - was the youngest of four siblings, including himself. 'Of the four of us siblings, she was the life of the party,' he said. 'Bubbly person, never met a stranger. She was highly loved in the community, had a big heart.' He added that the mom-of-two had also been a die-hard Kansas City fan, and was over the moon when they won the big game. No funeral plans have been made, he said - before revealing the current condition of the Marc and Adriana's cousins who were hit by the hail of bullets. '[Their wounds are] non-life threatening,' Lopez told The Star. He added that the family has yet to see his sister's body, due to the fact that it is part of an active homicide investigation. 'When you have a Its a murder,' he said, before trailing off. 'Even for me to say that, "My sister got killed," [it]s] absurd even to say that.' Terrified parade-goers fled for their lives after gunmen opened fire shortly after the Super Bowl winners stepped off stage He went to explain how '[w]hen theres an investigation thats still active, not until the investigation is over will they give us any details on how we can get her body back to do a respectful burial,' before stating how they plan to honor her memory. 'Were going to try to make sure she is not forgotten,' he said, as cops have confirmed they have taken two juvenile suspects into custody. 'If we have to use this as an example to finally get the right attention in Congress, to really address gun violence,' he continued. 'That is something that will be part of my mission for the rest of my life. 'She was [just] trying to go, like everyone else, to celebrate.' The important count came shortly after staff at Childrens Mercy hospital also confirmed they had treated nine children for gunshot wounds from the incident. All, including Reyes's young daughters, are expected to recover, they said - with cops adding that of the 22 injured victims, some of whom were trampled in the fray, half were children under age 16. Police Chief Stacey Graves added that while her department still needs to sort through evidence, the victims ranged between eight and 47 years old. Lopez on Sunday did not specify the two girls' age, aside from that they were in elementary school. Officials at University Health added that of the adult gunshot wound victims rushed to their hospital, two remain in critical condition and in the ICU. However, medical staff there said both are showing signs of improvement - while Graves revealed that of the three people detained after the incident Wednesday, two are still being detained. Both are teenage juveniles, with a third youngster released at some point before her Thursday statement. She added that the 24-hour investigative hold rule does not apply to juveniles, meaning officials can keep them detained for a great deal longer before cutting them lose. Their investigation, as Friday, remains ongoing. Keir Starmer and Gordon Brown were among senior Labour figures paying respects at the funeral of former Rochdale MP Tony Lloyd today. Sir Keir shunned celebrations of his double by-election success to attend the service for his colleague in Manchester. Former PM Mr Brown, deputy leader Angela Rayner, shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper, and Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham were also there. Sir Tony died on January 17 aged 73, just days after announcing that he was suffering from an incurable form of leukaemia. Keir Starmer shunned celebrations of his double by-election success to attend the service for Tony Lloyd in Manchester Sir Tony died on January 17 aged 73, just days after announcing that he was suffering from an incurable form of leukaemia Former PM Mr Brown was also there to pay respects to Sir Tony Deputy Labour leader Angela Rayner attended the service for her colleague today MPs paid emotional tributes in the Commons last month, describing the ex-minister as a 'great man' and 'enormously decent'. Sir Tony was an MP for 36 years in total, representing Stretford and Manchester Central and rising to chair the Parliamentary Labour Party. He stepped down to become police and crime commissioner in 2012 and then interim Manchester mayor. He returned to Parliament by winning Rochdale in 2017, having lost out on the mayoral candidacy to Mr Burnham. In the House last month, Rishi Sunak said Sir Tony was an 'enormously decent man who gave his life to public service'. 'He was a great family man, a great man of Manchester and a great man of the House of Commons. 'He will be missed but he and the change he fought for and achieved will never be forgotten.' Sir Keir told Sir Tony's family: 'I hope they see just how much Tony was loved and respected here in this House and how much he managed to achieve in his decades of public service.' The by-election for a new MP in Rochdale is due to take place on February 26, with Labour having disowned its candidate Azhar Ali in a row over allegedly anti-Semitic comments. Alexei Navalny, the fiercest foe of Russian President Vladimir Putin who for years defiantly crusaded against state corruption and staged massive anti-Kremlin protests, died in prison on Friday, according to Russia's prison agency. The Federal Prison Service said in a statement that Navalny, 47, felt unwell after a walk and 'almost immediately lost consciousness'. Paramedics reportedly came to try to rehabilitate him without success. There was no immediate confirmation of Navalny's death from his team, his lawyer Leonid Solovyov telling Russian media he would not be commenting yet. Navalny, who was serving a 19-year sentence on charges of 'extremism', had only recently been moved from his former prison in the Vladimir region of central Russia to a grisly 'special regime' penal colony above the Arctic Circle. His allies, a brave minority in Russia fighting corruption, said at the time they feared for his life after he 'disappeared' in December to travel to the remote region notorious for its long and severe winters - just months before the closely-watched Russian presidential elections next month. Alexei Navalny stands inside a glass cell during a court hearing in Moscow on February 12 2021 The entrance of the IK-3 penal colony, where Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny had been held since December 2023 Jailed Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny is seen on a screen via a video link from his penal colony during court hearings in Moscow on June 22, 2023 Russian President Vladimir Putin smiles today as he visits a forge in Chelyabinsk, Russia August 20, 2020 Alexei Anatolievich Navalny, a former lawyer turned leader of the reformist Russia of the Future party, is hospitalised and put into a coma after falling sick on an internal flight from Tomsk to Moscow. Footage from the plane showed a sudden and violent change in his condition, Navalny crying out in pain. His friends said they believed he had fallen sick after stopping at a cafe in the airport. It was later noted that Navalny, a fervent critic of Russian corruption, had recently published videos on YouTube voicing support for pro-democracy demonstrations in allied Belarus, claiming it was only a matter of time before similar mass action reached Russia. For years, the politician of Russian and Ukrainian descent has challenged the Russian state with damning investigations and led a progressive party calling for decentralisation, reduction of presidential powers and an end to censorship. His poisoning begins the start of a turbulent four-year journey through the worst of Russia's prison systems. August 22, 2020 Navalny is promptly moved from Omsk in Russia to the Charite hospital in Berlin, Germany, where specialists from the intergovernmental Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) confirm his poisoning by a new Novichok nerve agent. Novichok chemical agents were developed at a state research institute in the Soviet Union between 1971 and 1993, claimed to be the deadliest ever made. They were also used on British nationals Charlie Rowley and Dawn Sturgess in Salisbury in 2018. The agent was designed to be undetectable by NATO equipment, potentially causing seizures, loss of consciousness, wheezing, shortness of breath, nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, high followed by low blood pressure and profuse sweating. Russia promptly denied any involvement in Navalny's poisoning - and claimed in 2018 it had destroyed its stockpile. Medical specialists carry Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny on a stretcher into an ambulance on their way to an airport before his medical evacuation to Germany in Omsk, Russia Navalny fell ill on a plane following a trip to an airport cafe (pictured) where his friends said at the time they suspected he could have been poisoned Pictures show the grim conditions at Omsk hospital. Navalny was removed and flown to Germany even after Russian medics insisted they were capable of treating him His wife, in a letter to Putin, said it is vital Navalny is flown out of the country to be treated by specialists - as pictures revealed the filthy interior of the hospital where he was being treated Navalny arrives at Berlin's Tegel Airport on August 22, 2020, after he was airlifted from Russia August 31, 2020 Navalny's team publishes a video of his latest investigation, suggesting he was poisoned as he returned from filming an expose on corruption in Siberia. Ally Lyubov Sobol said at the time: 'I can't reveal all the details, but Navalny was on a work trip. He wasn't relaxing in the regions.' A day prior, Yegor Zhukov, a libertarian blogger and Putin critic, is beaten by two unidentified men outside his Moscow home. September 7, 2020 The Charite hospital says in a press release that against the odds, Navalny's condition has improved. Navalny is removed from his medically induced coma and is steadily weaned off mechanical ventilation. By September 10, the hospital says he is able to speak again. Within a week, he is taken off the ventilator and able to get out of bed. September 15, 2020 Navalny declares he will return to Russia. September 22, 2020 Exactly a month after being moved to Germany, the Charite hospital in Berlin declares Navalny is fit enough to be discharged from in-patient care. Navalny blames Putin for the poisoning. October 15, 2020 The European Union sanctions Russian officials over the suspected assassination of Navalny, citing the use of forbidden chemical weapons. 'The use of chemical weapons constitutes a serious breach of international law,' the European Council said. The State Scientific Research Institute for Organic Chemistry and Technology is also sanctioned, deemed responsible for the 'destruction of chemical weapons stocks inherited from the Soviet Union'. December 14, 2020 An investigation by Bellingcat and The Insider, in cooperation with Der Spiegel and CNN, found data 'that implicates Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) in the poisoning of... Navalny'. The plot, they say, happened 'after years of surveillance, which began in 2017 shortly after Navalny first announced his intentions to run for president of Russia'. The investigation concluded that through 2017, in 2019 and in 2020, FSB operatives from a 'clandestine unit specialised in working with poisonous substances' trailed Navalny across Russia, shadowing him on more than 30 overlapping flights. They say it is possible there were earlier attempts to poison Navalny, including one in Kaliningrad only a month before the alleged attempt in Siberia. On December 21, CNN reports a Russian agent sent to tail Navalny had planted Novichok in his underwear. Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny poses with his wife Yulia and their children at the German hospital where he is being treated after being poisoned with Novichok Navalny shared a photo and an update about his recovery in September 2020 The opposition leader updated supporters on his condition on Instagram in September 2020 Members of staff handle an isolation capsule outside the emergency department of the Charite hospital where Navalny was transferred An ambulance that was carrying Navalny leaves the Berlin Charite Hospital on August 22, 2020 More accusations were directed at Putin (pictured in August 2020) for the poisoning of Navalny Navalny, pictured with his wife Yulia in happier times, crusaded against official corruption and staged massive anti-Kremlin protests - drawing the ire of the Kremlin January 17, 2021 Navalny brazenly returns to Russia from Germany after recovering from the near-fatal poisoning. After his flight is diverted from Sheremetyevo International Airport to Vnukovo Airport, he is immediately detained on accusations of violating parole conditions while in hospital in Germany, where he was comatose. The opposition leader had previously received a suspended sentence for the embezzlement of $500,000 from two companies in July 2013 and December 2014 - cases both considered to be politically motivated. The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) said both violated his right to a fair trial, and that the case was 'arbitrary and manifestly unreasonable', but both rulings were upheld. February 2, 2021 Mass protests break out in more than 100 cities across the country as Navalny is sentenced to two years and eight months in a penal colony for violating the terms of his conviction. In Moscow alone, more than 300 people are arrested in an outburst of support for the opposition leader, demonstrators seen clashing with riot police in the streets. 'The main thing about this process is not how it ends for me,' Navalny said at the beginning of his hearing. 'Will they convict me or not? It's not difficult to imprison me, for this or another matter. The main reason this is happening is to intimidate a large number of people. This is how it works: One person is imprisoned to frighten millions.' Navalny is detained in the Pokrov jail east of Moscow for more than a year. In prison, he files a report claiming the authorities are torturing him with sleep deprivation and claims to be suffering from loss of sensation in his spine and legs. On March 31, he announces a hunger strike to demand proper medical treatment. In April, his attorneys claim he has herniated two discs in his spine and lost sensation in his hands while in prison. Navalny ends his hunger strike on April 23 on advice of his doctors. April 16, 2021 With Navalny in prison, officials look to delegitimise his affiliated organisations. The Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK) is soon ordered to cease its activities and activists designated 'extremists'. 'The objective is clear: to raze Alexei Navalny's movement to the ground while he languishes in prison,' said Amnesty International at the time. March 22, 2022 A month after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Navalny is hit with a nine year sentence in a 'strict regime penal colony' after being found guilty of fraud and contempt of court during a trial in February. Prosecutors accused him of stealing $4.7m (3.5m) of donations given to clandestine organisations, including his anti-corruption foundation. The ruling was to replace his previous term, meaning he would have to spend another seven years in a remote maximum-security prison, facing even harsher conditions than in Moscow. Having the last word, Navalny said he would continue in his plight to 'bring the truth to the people of Russia' in his final Tweet before being moved to the IK-6 prison in Melekhovo, Vladimir Oblast. Despite serious charges against him, Navalny announced in July the FBK will relaunch with an advisory board including his wife and historians Francis Fukuyama and Anne Applebaum. Police officers detain a protester as he comes to support Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny in front of the building of the Federal Security Service in Moscow, August 20, 2020 A protester stands in front of a police officer holding a poster reading 'Putin stop poisoning people!' during a picket in support of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny A worker paints over a graffiti depicting jailed Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny in Saint Petersburg, Russia April 28, 2021. The graffiti reads: 'The hero of the new age' Navalny inside a glass cell during a court hearing in Moscow, February 16, 2021 November 17, 2022 Navalny claims from IK-6 that he has been placed in permanent solitary confinment. He claims his Attorney-Client privilege has been revoked, Russia claiming he continues to commit crimes from prison. In January, Navalny falls ill with flu in solitary confinement. His lawyers are prevented from giving him basic medication, sparking outrage and a signed letter from 400 doctors. August 4, 2023 Navalny is sentenced to another 19 years in a 'special regime' colony on various charges including financing extremist activity and 'rehabilitating Nazi ideology'. He was found guilty on all charges in a closed-door trial. December 11, 2023 Navalny's lawyers say they have not had any contact with him in six days after 'disappearing' from IK-6. Prison authorities did not initially say where he was being transfered to - though a Russian media outlet claimed Navalny had been taken to a correctional facility outside of the region. Maria Pevchikh, the head of the FBK, said in December: 'We are worried for his life. He's in the hands of the very same people who tried to kill him before. 'If they once got an authorisation to murder Navalny, do they have another one now or is the last one still valid? Navalny's life is constantly at a high risk.' December 26, 2023 After weeks of silence, Navalny finally tweets to say that he is in the IK-3 penal colony in the town of Kharp, in the Yamalo-Nenets region about 1,900 kilometers (1,200 miles) northeast of Moscow. The remote region is notorious for long and severe winters. Kharp is about 100 kilometers (60 miles) from Vorkuta, whose coal mines were part of the Soviet gulag prison-camp system. He said he was 'fine' after journeying a 'strange route' to the village of Kharp on Yamal, north of the Arctic Circle, from his colony near Moscow. 'Don't worry about me. I'm fine. I'm totally relieved that I've finally made it,' Navalny wrote on X. 'I'm still in a good mood, as befits a Santa Claus,' referring to his winter clothing and beard, grown out after nearly three weeks in transit. Navalny's lawyer managed to see him earlier in the week, confirming his arrival and condition. The IK-3 penal colony in the settlement of Kharp in the Yamal-Nenets Region, December 29 Navalny took to Twitter to confirm he was safe and had provisions in the dire prison The Putin critic said he'd spoken to his lawyer and was 'totally relieved' to have arrived safely Navalny's final message: The Kremlin critic posted Valentine's message to his wife, Yulia, on Wednesday (pictured). 'Baby, everything is like in a song with you: between us there are cities, the take-off lights of airfields, blue snowstorms and thousands of kilometers,' it read. 'But I feel that you are near every second, and I love you more and more' January 10, 2024 Navalny is seen for the first time since being moved to the Arctic prison, pictured smiling and laughing while in court via video-link on Wednesday. Russian news outlets released images of Navalny, in black prison garb and with a buzz cut, on a live TV feed from IK-3. In video footage and media reports from the hearing, Navalny, 47, joked about how much he had missed officials at his old prison and the Kovrov court officials, and about the harsh prison in Russia's far north. 'Conditions here (at the penal colony in Kharp) - and that's a dig at you, esteemed defendants - are better than at IK-6 in Vladimir,' Mr Navalny deadpanned, using the penal colony's acronym. 'There is one problem, though, and I don't know which court to file a suit about it, the weather is bad here,' he added with a chuckle. February 16, 2024 Navalny is reported to have collapsed and died in the IK-3 prison The Federal Prison Service said in a statement today that Navalny felt unwell after a walk and lost consciousness. An ambulance arrived to try to save him, to no avail. 'On February 16, 2024, in correctional colony No. 3, convict Navalny A.A. felt unwell after a walk, almost immediately losing consciousness,' said a statement from prison officials. 'Emergency doctors confirmed the death of the convict,' it added. Russian news agency Interfax reported that it was told the ambulance team reached the colony where Navalny was serving his sentence in seven minutes. It took another two minutes to reach the patient, it claimed. Reports said his time of death was recorded as 2.17pm local time (7.17am GMT). Christo Grozev, the lead Russia investigator with Bellingcat, noted that the statement announcing Navalny's death was posted just two minutes later - at 2.19pm. Horrified tourists told today how migrants were pulled unconscious from the back of white van that had been driven on board a ferry by suspected people traffickers. Seven migrants, who appeared to be of Asian origin, were freed after the ferrys security staff broke down a false wall in the back of the van that had been concealing them. Workers on board The Seven Sisters ferry heard banging coming from the van as they were preparing to dock at Newhaven port in Sussex after crossing the Channel from Dieppe. Video footage shows scores of police cars and ambulances at the scene, as well as a helicopter, with several people on stretchers being given critical care. Two men have been arrested in connection with the incident. It is understood there were no fatalities. A major incident is underway at Newhaven Ferry Harbour in East Sussex The lorry arrived at the East Sussex port of Newhaven on a passenger ferry from Dieppe this morning and is still being examined on board the ship A family from France, who provided MailOnline with this footage, watched the incident unfold. One man, who declined to be named, said: The migrants appeared to have been lying down in a small section of the van. They were hidden by a false wall that had been built into the back of the van. It was only a small space so they must have been practically lying on top of each other. It would have been very cramped and hard to breathe. The reason they were found was that staff working on the ferry heard the migrants banging on the wall and the back of the van during a routine check of vehicles as we were about to dock. They summoned some other workers, who looked like security personnel and who then physically broke down the wall and let the migrants out. Some were unconscious and some were able to climb out the van with help. The police and fire teams arrived soon after the ferry had docked and they took the seven or so migrants to an ambulance. They were put on stretchers and taken off the ferry one by one in oxygen masks. The driver of the van and another man who I think was in the passenger seat were then arrested and taken away. Another eyewitness, who was driving to work, said: It looked pretty horrendous. Three of the men were totally unconscious. They were on ambulance gurneys and paramedics were giving them oxygen. They looked in a bad way. Paramedics were particularly concentrating on treating one individual - I couldnt see if it was a man, woman or child. Paramedics had wrapped them all in foil blankets. It looked really serious. 'Initially we thought loads of people had been found dead but thankfully they are alive. The emergency services responded really quickly and it was all brought to a close very rapidly.' A Sussex Police spokesman said: 'We are currently supporting Border Force, who are the leading agency, and other emergency services after a boat carrying a number of people arrived on Newhaven beach. 'A man has been arrested on suspicion of facilitating illegal entry to the UK, and a second man has been arrested for illegally entering the UK. The lorry arrived at the East Sussex port on passenger ferry 'The Seven Sisters' Authorities in the UK were alerted before the ship arrived from France and emergency services were waiting on the dockside Paul from the Fort Road Cafe in Newhaven said he saw the ferry dock and the emergency services board. 'The ferry pulled up, the police, fire, ambulances and border force all turned up. They took four artics off first, then all the police and ambulances started going on. 'Then the helicopter took somebody away. I saw ambulances trolleys coming off the ferry. 'We see the ferry coming in every day. I saw three ambulance trolleys going up ... Forensics are in there now.' 'The ambulance service has taken six further people to hospital for treatment.' Authorities in the UK were alerted before the ship arrived from France and emergency services were waiting on the dockside. The drive on Ro-Ro ferry makes trips between Newhaven and Dieppe daily and takes around four hours on average. The Home Office confirmed Border Force was involved in responding to the incident but said that while it was ongoing 'it would be inappropriate to comment further'. Responding to media reports about the incident, Lewes MP Maria Caulfield, whose constituency includes Newhaven, said in a post on X: 'Very concerned about these reports. 'From my office in Newhaven we can see lots of activity opposite at the port and thanks to the emergency services responding.' A South East Coast Ambulance spokesman said: 'We were called at 9.40am this morning to an incident at Newhaven Ferry Port. 'A range of ambulance resources have attended, including our HART (Hazardous Area Response Teams), alongside other emergency service partners.' People trafficking into the UK has become a hot political topic in recent years. Besides soaring numbers crossing the English Channel in small boats, smugglers have also used HGVs to hide migrants - at times with tragic results. Christopher Gormley, 26, of Co Tyrone, was jailed for seven years in November last year for his role in a people-smuggling ring that led to the deaths of 39 Vietnamese migrants. The Old Bailey heard Gormley was driven by 'greed' when he plotted to bring foreign families into the UK from mainland Europe three times in October 2019. One of the trips was scuppered by French border officials, with some migrants from that trip believed to have died days later in a fatal lorry run overnight on October 22-23 2019. The victims suffocated due to a lack of oxygen on the trip from Zeebrugge in Belgium to Purfleet, Essex, after the temperature inside reached a sweltering 38.5 degrees during their crossing. Their bodies were discovered in a refrigerated lorry trailer in Grays, Essex, on October 23 2019. The victims suffocated due to a lack of oxygen on the journey after the temperature inside reached a sweltering 38.5 degrees during their crossing. Their bodies were discovered in a refrigerated lorry trailer in Grays, Essex, on October 23 2019. Last month, a five-year-old girl was among migrants caught being smuggled out of Britain in the back of a HGV by a Russian lorry driver. Nikolai Kuznetsov, 39, was found by UK Border Force officers to be carrying 22 migrants in his trailer, including the girl and her parents. All of the migrants, who were of North African origin, were attempting to avoid French border controls. Kuznetsov was arrested after his vehicle was stopped at Dover Docks on August 17 2023. He was sentenced to four years and four months imprisonment after pleading guilty at the first opportunity to facilitating illegal entry to an EU member state. Prince Harry said he has 'considered' becoming a US citizen, but admits it is not at the top of his priority list. The royal told ABC's Good Morning America that he is 'loving' his new life in America so much he may take the citizenship test - even though doing so would force him to relinquish his royal titles. 'It's amazing, I love every single day,' he said of his life in California. When asked what would prevent him from becoming a US citizen, he added: 'I have no idea. I'm here standing here with these guys. American citizenship is a thought that has crossed my mind but not a high priority for me.' Prince Harry said he has 'considered' becoming a US citizen, and said he is 'loving every single day' of his life in California with Meghan Markle The Duke of Sussex during the interview in Whistler with ABC correspondent Will Reeve According to US immigration policy, Harry would be forced to relinquish his royal titles if he applied for American citizenship The Duke of Sussex gave the interview in Whistler, Canada, following a week where he faced backlash for launching his Sussex.com website. Poll Do you think Harry should be a US citizen? Yes No Do you think Harry should be a US citizen? Yes 1391 votes No 602 votes Now share your opinion However, the process of becoming a US citizen would be different for Harry than most, as he would be subject to stipulations on his royal titles. According to US immigration policy, 'any applicant who has any titles of heredity or positions of nobility in any foreign state must renounce the title or the position.' The policy also mandates that Harry would have to 'expressly renounce the title in a public ceremony and USCIS must record the renunciation as part of the proceedings.' Harry also previously faced scrutiny over his US Visa after admitting to 'multiple' occasions of drug use in his memoir, Spare. In Spare and the TV blitz that followed, Harry admitted taking cocaine, cannabis and magic mushrooms. He said marijuana and psychedelics 'really helped' with his 'trauma' while cocaine was more a 'social thing'. The admission led to calls from some campaigners to clarify whether he told US officials about his drug use when applying for residency. It was later claimed that he was 'truthful' on his visa application and confessed to the drug use, which also included taking the hallucinogenic Amazonian plant ayahuasca, which he described as 'the cleaning of the windshield, the removal of life's filters.' The Duke of Sussex gave the interview in Whistler, Canada, following a week where he and Meghan Markle faced backlash for launching their Sussex.com website. The two are pictured with ABC presenter Will Reeve in Whistler on Wednesday The Duke has been trailed by TV crews as he prepares for the Invictus Games' One Year to Go event Meghan smiles as she steps out in a black puffer coat, black jeans, ski boots and sunglasses The Duke previously flirted with US citizenship three years ago, although his plans were put on hold due to Covid-19. At the time, a royal source told The Times: 'Prince Harry will not apply for a green card or US citizenship in the foreseeable future. 'Although his status as the husband of a US citizen would smooth his path to permanent residence, the Sussexes plans to launch themselves in America are thought to be on hold because of the virus.' Harry also discussed the King's health as he spoke publicly for the first time since Charles postponed all public-facing duties last week following the diagnosis. Asked by GMA presenter Will Reeve how the short trip back home was for him 'emotionally', Harry replied: 'Um, look, I love my family. The fact that I was able to get on a plane and go and see him and spend any time with him, I'm grateful for that.' Reeve, the son of late Superman actor Christopher Reeve who was paralyzed in 1995, said: 'I've also found in my own life that sort of an illness in the family can have a galvanizing or a sort of reunifying effect for a family. Is that possible in this case?' Speaking in Whistler, Canada, Harry replied: 'Absolutely. Yeah, I'm sure. Throughout all these families I see it on a day-to-day basis, again, the strength of the family unit coming together. I think any illness, any sickness brings families together.' Before his bombshell interview where he said he was considering relinquishing his royal titles for a US citizenship, Harry found time to try his hand at the skeleton bobsled Prince Harry reacts after sliding down the track on a skeleton sled in Whistler yesterday When asked by an onlooker whether she planned to join Harry on the sled, Meghan said: 'I can't!' The interview comes after a week of announcements from Harry and his wife the Duchess of Sussex. Meghan signed a deal with Lemonada Media to record new podcast shows, and the company will distribute her previous series. Her Archetypes podcast about female stereotypes ran for just one series before a lucrative deal with Spotify ended in 2023. The couple also relaunched their Archewell website, the name of their foundation, rebranding it The Office of Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. A film crew led by Mr Reeve has been following Harry and his wife Meghan Markle since they arrived in Canada on Tuesday for a countdown event to the Invictus Games in Whistler and Vancouver Yesterday, the Sussexes did not look phased as they took part in activities at the Invictus Games Vancouver Whistlers One Year To Go Winter Training Camp, while being followed around by a camera crew. The festivities saw Harry try his hand at the skeleton bobsled, although Meghan opted not to strap into her winter sport kit. While Meghan did not take part in the bobsledding fun at the Whistler Sliding Center in British Columbia, she was able to enjoy every aspect of her husband's ride when he got off the sled - before he enthusiastically re-enacted it to his wife and Invictus volunteers after getting off. Harry appeared in good spirits at the event on Wednesday Meghan was wrapped up in a black padded jacket and leggings and a navy hat yesterday The couple had a chat as film crews followed them around in Whistler Meghan was beaming with pride as she held up her phone to snap images and clips as Harry whizzed to the end of the track. She was wrapped up against the -4C (25F) temperatures in a black padded jacket and leggings and a navy hat and scarf while her husband kept things casual in gray pants and a black insulated Invictus Games-branded jacket - topped off with a white crash helmet. When asked by an onlooker whether she planned to join her husband in trying out the daring sport, Meghan laughingly yelled back: 'I can't!' The couple, fresh from a romantic Valentine's Day dinner date, were both in high spirits as they made their entrance to their Invictus Games One Year to Go tour venue. As a beaming Harry whizzing past on his bobsled, Meghan quipped 'I can hear him' as his sled set off and filming him on her phone as he flashed past. After the high-speed arrival, to the sound of Invictus branded cowbells waved by onlookers, came a meet and greet with athletes preparing to perform at the event next year on a platform overlooking the track. Among the athletes waiting to be introduced were Canadian veteran and mental health advocate Mark Beare, Estonian former soldier and amputee Rasmus Penno and Nigerian powerlifter and ex-soldier Peacemaker Azuegbulam. The police officer who rushed to the scene of a car crash in which two people died only to discover his wife was one of the victims has been pictured. Stuart Delaney was on duty when he was called to the scene of a three-vehicle crash on Tuesday morning. While en route to the incident Mr Delaney was told by colleagues that his wife Melissa Delaney was involved in the crash, it is understood. The crash involved two cars and a van on the A75 in Dumfriesshire. Mrs Delaney, 41, and a 35-year-old man driving the van were both pronounced dead at the scene. Stuart Delaney (right) was scrambled to the scene of a fatal crash before he was told his wife Melissa (left) was among the victims Nissan driver Melissa Delaney, 41, (pictured) and a 35-year-old man driving the van were both pronounced dead at the scene The families of both victims have been informed, Police Scotland said yesterday. Tributes have poured in for nurse Mrs Delaney, who lived in Dumfries. She had been involved with the Dumfries Baton Twirlers (DBT) club for almost 15 years, and was an active member of its fundraising committee. The club sent out its 'heartfelt condolences' to her family, saying the mother was 'one of the best supporters to all our members and she was so proud of her two girls'. The message continued: 'Every single athlete, parent and supporter of our club is hurting today. We can't imagine any competition or trip ever being the same again.' Club member Abbie Davidson said: 'At DBT we are one big family, and it's not until something tragic like this happens you realise how lucky you are to be surrounded by such a strong and supportive group of people. 'Our family will never be the same without you Mel. 'You have raised such strong, beautiful and talented girls who will continue to be an absolute credit to you.' One post said she would be 'truly missed by everyone' and was a 'beautiful person inside and out' Others on social media have also paid tribute to Mrs Delaney. One post said she would be 'truly missed by everyone' and was a 'beautiful person inside and out'. Others described their heartbreak at the death. Sarah Wilson, who said Mrs Delaney was her childhood neighbour, called the death 'horrific'. She said: 'This news has shattered the lives of so many and goes to show how loved she really was. I am left with nothing but happy memories of her and will never forget that neverending smile on her face.' The identity of the 35-year-old man who died has not been revealed. The 49-year-old driver of the other car was uninjured. Road Policing Inspector Adnan Alam said: 'Our thoughts are with the family and friends of the people who died, and all those involved in the collision. 'We continue to offer them support as our inquiries continue.' Emergency services were called at around 6.20am to the horrific crash scene on the A75, near the B721, at Annan. The crash involved a Peugeot Boxer van, a Nissan Qashqai and a Renault Clio, police said. Mr Alam said: 'I'd be keen to speak to anyone who saw what happened or anyone with dashcam footage of the A75 around that time. Please review your footage and bring anything of significance to our attention.' President Joe Biden remains defiant that his decision to end the war in Afghanistan was the right one, despite the loss of 13 American service members in a suicide bombing near the Kabul airport. Biden publicly defended the operation to exit Afghanistan despite the messy withdrawal, but a new book from Politico reporter Alexander Ward demonstrates that the president 'didn't believe anyone had made a mistake.' Ending the war was always going to be messy,' Ward wrote, revealing some of the behind the scenes details from the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan in his book 'The Internationalists: The Fight to Restore Foreign Policy After Trump.' Details of the book were first reported in Axios. Despite the Pentagon's efforts to keep some level of troops to facilitate an orderly withdrawal, Biden and the State Department focused on getting out as soon as possible. Afghans gather on a roadside near the military part of the airport in Kabul, hoping to flee from the country after the Taliban's military takeover of Afghanistan. Evacuation at Hamid Karzai International Airport At the same time, Biden vowed he would reman in Afghanistan until every American citizen who wanted to leave could leave. 'If there's American citizens left, we're gonna stay to get them all out,' Biden said in an interview with ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos. 'There's no one here who thinks we can meet that promise,' a White House senior official told Ward at the time. The administration's hasty exit led to a great deal of chaos, including Afghan refugees falling off of cargo planes leaving the country and women handing their babies over the airport fence to American troops. The chaos at the airport ultimately led to the horrific suicide bombing at the airport that killed 13 American service members. Ultimately more than 800 American citizens were left behind in Afghanistan as well as tens of thousands of Afghans who supported American troops. Publicly, Biden was never contrite for the messy exit in Afghanistan, defending himself in remarks at the White House on August 18. 'The bottom line is, there is no evacuation from the end of a war that you can run without the kinds of complexities, challenges, threats we faced. None,' he said. US President Joe Biden(R) attends the dignified transfer of the remains of a fallen service member at Dover Air Force Base in Dover, Delaware, August, 29, 2021 President Joe Biden checks his watch caught on tv pics Biden apparently disrespectfully checking his watch during the dignified transfer procedure honoring the 13 U.S. service members who died in Kabul from suicide bomber Ward wrote that Biden believed his team had done their best, and did not expect anyone in his administration to resign. 'Biden told his top aides, [National Security Advisor Jake] Sullivan included, that he stood by them and they had done their best during a tough situation,' he wrote. The president received further criticism for looking at his watch during the dignified transfer ceremony for the 13 American service members who died as a result of his decision. The president's approval ratings faded after the chaotic exit and never recovered. President Joe Biden previously said Russian President Vladimir Putin would face 'devastating' consequences if opposition leader Alexei Navalny perished in prison. On Friday Russian news outlets announced that Navalny, 47, had died while serving a sentence in a Siberian prison - something that hasn't been unilaterally confirmed by the U.S. government. The president didn't immediately react to the news but members of his administration and Democratic members of Congress went after Russian President Vladimir Putin as they spoke about Navalny's death. Vice President Kamala Harris addressed Navalny's death at the top of her appearance Friday at the Munich Security Conerence. 'If confirmed this would be a further sign of Putin's brutality,' the vice president said. 'Whatever story they tell, let us be clear: Russia is responsible.' Vice President Kamala Harris reacted to Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny's death during an appearance Friday at the Munich Security Conference A picture of Alexei Navalny from 2021. Navalny's death has yet to be verified by the U.S. government but already White House officials and Democratic members of Congress are reacting President Joe Biden (right) said that he told Russian President Vladimir (left) during their meeting in June 2021 that there would be 'devastating' consequences if Navalny died in prison "Fear of one man, only underscores the weakness and rot at the heart of the system that Putin has built. Russia's responsible for this." Secretary of State Antony Blinken reacts to reports that jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has died https://t.co/Q7ts8yVSw0 pic.twitter.com/A5pS9wR4eg Morning Joe (@Morning_Joe) February 16, 2024 Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Navalny's 'death in a Russian prison and the fixation and fear of one man only underscores the weakness and rot at the heart of the system that Putin has built.' 'Russia is responsible for this,' Blinken said. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan was being interviewed on NPR Friday morning as the news broke. 'If it's confirmed, it is a terrible tragedy. And given the Russian government's long and sordid history of doing harm to its opponents it raises real and obvious questions about what happened here,' Sullivan said. Virginia Sen. Mark Warner posted on X Firiday that, 'The death of Alexei Navalny is yet another heartbreaking reminder of who Vladimir Putin is: a bloodthirsty tyrant who thinks he can get away with anything.' 'It's another reason why we must continue to stand with the cause of freedom in opposition to Putin's brutality,' the Virginia Democrat said. Several Congressional Democrats reacted by hammering Republicans too. 'Putin murders Navalny the same week Donald Trump invites Russia to invade Europe and MAGA Mike Johnson blocks aid to Ukraine,' said Rep. Eric Swalwell, a Califoria Democrat. 'This isn't a coincidence, it's the green light Putin has been given.' Former President Donald Trump, the likely Republican nominee, raised eyebrows when he said at a rally Saturday that he told NATO leaders during his presidency he would 'encourage' Russia 'to do whatever the h*** they want' to members who didn't pay enough money into the alliance. Congressional Democrats reacted to the news by lashing out at Russian President Vladimir Putin - but also pointing out recent comments made by former Republican President Donald Trump and encouraging House Republicans to take up a bill to fund Ukraine's war effort Additionally, the Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson has so far refused to bring a Senate-passed supplemental spending bill to the House floor that would give additional funding to Ukraine's war effort against Russia. 'More blood on Putin's hand with the tragic death of Aleksei Navalny in prison, all for the "crime" of wanting a free Russia,' Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin posted to X. 'Why do Trump and his congressional enablers want to futher appease this Russian tyrant?' Durbin asked. Rep. Bill Pascrell, a New Jersey Democrat, echoed his fellow Democrats' comments about Trump in an X post about Navalny. 'Mass murdering war criminal vladimir putin has murdered one of his most courageous critics,' Pascrell wrote Friday morning. 'Reminder that donald trump has openly encouraged putin to attack America's allies and republicans are blocking aid to Ukraine.' Rep. David Trone, a Maryland Democrat, posted to X that Navalny's death should motivate Congress to pass the Ukraine funding bill. 'Reports of the death of Alexei Navalny in a Russian prison are a stark reminder of the brutal oppression that Vladimir Putin is willing to use to stifle political opposition and treat millions of innocent people as pawns in his own game of chess,' Trone said. 'Americans and our allies must immediately provide vital military and humanitarian aid to allow Ukraine to successfully fight Russia's invasion, protect its citizens, and defend its democracy,' he added. In a statement released Friday, Johnson, who became House speaker in October, called Putin a 'vicious dictator.' 'As Congress debates the best path forward to support Ukraine, the United States, and our partners, must be using every means available to cut off Putin's ability to fund his unprovoked war in Ukraine and aggression against the Baltic states,' Johnson said. Former U.N. Amb. Nikki Haley, former President Donald Trump's final rival in the 2024 Republican primary, used the opportunity to point out statements the ex-president has made praising Putin Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton posted to X that President Joe Biden must act after the president told Putin there would be 'devastating' consequendes if Navalny died in prison Trump's final rival in the 2024 GOP primary race, former U.N. Amb. Nikki Haley, also lashed out at the ex-president after hearing of Navalny's death. 'Putin did this. The same Putin who Donald Trump praises and defends. The same Trump who said: "In all fairness to Putin, you're saying he killed people. I haven't seen that,"' Haley posted to X on Friday. Former Vice President Mike Pence reacted to the news by saying, 'There is no room in the Republican Party for apologists for Putin.' Sen. Tom Cotton, an Arkansas Republican, praised Navalny and encouraged Biden to respond. 'Alexei Navalny died as he lived: a champion of the Russian people and a brave voice of dissent in Vladimir Putins Russia. President Biden pledged "devastating" consequences should Navalny die in prison; now he must follow through,' Cotton posted to X. 'America can't afford another erased red line.' At a press conference in June 2021 after Biden met Putin at a summit in Geneva, the president was asked what he told Putin would happen if Navalny died in prison. The 47-year-old opposition leader was serving a 19-year sentence on charges of extremism. 'I made it clear to him that I believe the consequences of that would be devastating for Russia,' Biden said at the time. Cayuga County legislators on Wednesday approved using an additional $200,000 from federal COVID-19 relief funds to complete the construction of a new interpretive building at the Sterling Nature Center. Cayuga County Legislature Chairwoman Aileen McNabb-Coleman called a special legislative meeting to consider the request. According to Doug Dello Stritto, the county's parks maintenance supervisor, the county received change orders from the contractor installing the plumbing and heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems. A separate change order was for the type of finish being used on the new building's floor. Dello Stritto said there have been eight change orders since the Sterling Nature Center project began in 2022. The changes were necessary due to delays in securing materials needed for the construction of the building, particularly the timber framing. The question for legislators, though, was whether to cover the additional costs associated with the project. The Lake Ontario Resiliency and Economic Development Initiative, a state program created to help lakeshore communities affected by flooding, awarded $3.8 million for improvements to the county-owned Sterling Nature Center. The project includes the construction of a 5,000-square-foot interpretive center and trail repairs. With a total cost approaching $5 million, the state grant funded most of the upgrades. In 2021, county legislators approved using nearly $900,000 from federal COVID-19 relief funds to support the project. Friends of the Sterling Nature Center, a nonprofit organization, provided a $140,000 grant. But with the change orders to the contracts over time, more money is needed to ensure the project's completion. "There were delays that all of the contractors were able to absorb with their contingencies, but they have run through all of those contingencies absorbing those delays," Dello Stritto said. "Now we're at the point where as we were going along and using those contingencies, we knew we would get close to the end of the project and be very close to the budget number." The funding will come from federal aid the county received through the American Rescue Plan Act the same source used for the county's initial investment in the Sterling Nature Center project. Although the county has committed most of the $14.8 million in American Rescue Plan Act funding it received, McNabb-Coleman explained there is enough money to cover the additional costs of the improvements. "We are able to use that comfortably from what's remaining," she said. The reason a special meeting was held instead of waiting for the county Legislature's regular meeting on Feb. 29 is, according to Dello Stritto, the commission tasked with overseeing the Lake Ontario Resiliency and Economic Development Initiative wants the center to be open "as soon as possible." Because the program funded most of the project, McNabb-Coleman said it's important for the county to honor that request. "This will sew up the project and then we're able to get it open and open for use," she added. Manhattan's iconic cathedral welcomed a diverse crowd to celebrate the life of an Argentinian transgender activist, former sex worker and self-proclaimed atheist. St. Patrick's Cathedral on Fifth Avenue hosted the funeral of Cecilia Gentili, an immigrant known for her vibrant personality and pursuit of social justice. Gentili died on February 6 at the age of 52 from unknown causes at her home in Brooklyn. The cathedral's pews were crammed with friends and fans of Gentili, who was an iconic presence in the LGBTQ+ community for her strong position on transgender rights and outspoken position on AIDS. Gentili's funeral doubled as a celebration of life and a piece of 'political theater,' as The New York Times described it. Manhattan's iconic cathedral welcomed a diverse crowd to celebrate the life of an Argentinian transgender activist, former sex worker and self-proclaimed atheist St. Patrick's Cathedral on Fifth Avenue hosted the funeral of Cecilia Gentili, an immigrant known for her vibrant personality and pursuit of social justice Despite Gentili being a self-proclaimed atheist, the funeral's organizer - Ceyenne Doroshow - chose St. Patrick's Cathedral as the site for her funeral Over 1,000 mourners showed up at the cathedral, many of whom were clad in daring outfits with plenty of glitter, bold colors and even a feather boa made of $100 bills. A picture near the altar showed a haloed Ms. Gentili surrounded by the Spanish words for 'transvestite,' 'whore,' 'blessed' and 'mother' above the text of Psalm 25. A mourner upstaged the priest at one point by singing 'Ave Maria' - but changing the lyrics to 'Ave Cecilia' before dancing through the aisles. Hundreds of the funeral-goers, like Gentili, were transgender people who were rocked by her death - which came at a politically bustling time for the community. Despite Gentili being a self-proclaimed atheist, the funeral's organizer - Ceyenne Doroshow - chose St. Patrick's Cathedral as the site for her funeral. New York City hosts at least 10 gay-friendly Catholic parishes - but St. Patrick's Cathedral isn't one of them. When planning the ceremony, Doroshow didn't mention Gentili's lack of religious affiliation to the church. 'I kind of kept it under wraps,' she said. Doroshow had wanted the service on February 15 to be held at St Patrick's Cathedral because 'it is an icon, just like her.' Despite Gentili being a self-proclaimed atheist, the funeral's organizer - Ceyenne Doroshow - chose St. Patrick's Cathedral (pictured) as the site for her funeral New York City hosts at least 10 gay-friendly Catholic parishes - but St. Patrick's Cathedral isn't one of them Gentili was born in Argentina to Italian and Argentinian parents and was sexually abused by a neighbor throughout her childhood. She came out as gay at the age of 12-years-old and her father and brother struggled to accept her sexuality Gentili died on February 6 at the age of 52 from unknown causes at her home in Brooklyn Gentili was born in Argentina to Italian and Argentinian parents and was sexually abused by a neighbor throughout her childhood. She came out as gay at the age of 12, and her father and brother struggled to accept her sexuality. The activist later moved to the United States, where she lived in Miami and then New York City. She struggled to find a job because she didn't have legal status and turned to sex work in NYC. In 2009, Gentili was arrested on drug possession charges and imprisoned at Rikers, but was let out with an ankle bracelet after it was determined that she could not live safely with men or women. She became a U.S. citizen in September 2022 and released a book called Faltas: Letters to Everyone in My Hometown Who Isn't My Rapist the same year. A notorious white supremacist has been arrested in connection with two murders and the shooting of a family's horse as a 'sacrifice' for his dead friend. Brandon Gerner, 41, from Snohomish, Washington, was charged with animal cruelty as well as first and second degree murder on Wednesday. Delanie Greer discovered her beloved horse LeMon had been shot dead outside his stall in Tacoma on December 17. Gerner killed LeMon as a sacrifice to his friend Kody Olsen, who died after a shooting involving Pierce County police, prosecutors alleged. Court documents revealed how Gerner and Olsen were involved in multiple white supremacist groups and are linked to another case in Maple Valley where two bodies were found in a bush on the side of the road in November, KIRO 7 News reported. Brandon Gerner, 41, was charged with animal cruelty as well as with first and second degree murder on Wednesday Delanie Greer discovered her beloved horse LeMon had been shot dead outside his stall in Tacoma on December 17 'Every morning I have to walk up and remind myself that you're gone' LeMon's heartbroken owner wrote Gerner was charged alongside another white supremacist and Joshua Jones in connection with the murders of 57-year-old Robert Riley and 34-year-old Ashley Williams. Jones was taken into custody on February 7 in Seattle, and Gerner was detained on Friday in Tacoma, police said. Olsen was also a suspect in the murders but died as a result of his injuries on December 12. 'My horse was shot three weeks ago on my parent's property' LeMon's heartbroken owner Delanie Greer wrote on Facebook. 'Every morning I have to walk up and remind myself that you're gone' Greer wrote in a heartfelt tribute to her beloved pet. 'People say you didn't deserve this, but no living thing deserves what happened to you' she added. Writing after Gerner's arrest, Greer added: 'He says he did it as a sacrifice but in your death you linked him to another murder even in death your helping people.' The arrest provided some relief Greer told KIRO 7 News, adding: 'There were a lot of people on edge because they thought it was going to be something that was going to start going around the county'. 'We have a neighbor up the street who has a bunch of horses. She was worried,' she explained. Greer and LeMon spent a decade travelling across the country together, competing in major competitions, including a recent win at a world contest LeMon was gifted to Greer by a friend when she moved to Montana at one point a decade ago The arrest provided some relief for Greer as she mourns the loss of her beloved pet Gerner was charged alongside another white supremacist and Joshua Jones (pictured) in connection with the murders of 57-year-old Robert Riley and 34-year-old Ashley Williams Gerner killed LeMon as a sacrifice to his fellow white supremacist friend Kody Olsen (pictured) who was killed during a shooting involving Pierce County police She added: 'Just finding the circumstances and why it happened in the first place, as bizarre as it is, we don't feel quite as bad now, knowing that it was a weird, just a weird nightmare of a situation.' Greer and LeMon spent a decade travelling across the country together, competing in major competitions, including a recent win at a world contest. Gerner previously served 22 years in prison for a long rap sheet including robbery, burglary, assault, unlawful possession of firearms. 'Despite his supervision conditions and the six felony convictions that prevent him from possessing firearms, the defendant was found in possession of a semi-automatic handgun when taken into custody,' prosecutors said. 'Based on his incredibly violent conduct in this case, his history of possessing and recent possession of firearms, his criminal history, and his failure to comply with DOC conditions, the Defendant should continue to be held without bail.' A trial date has not yet been set. An Alabama woman facing capital murder charges for abducting a woman and throwing her to her death of a cliff has submitted a character reference to the judge stating she is a 'child of God'. Jessie Eden Kelly, 22, is accused of kidnapping Mary Elizabeth Isbell, 37, and shoving her off a cliff at the Little River Canyon nature preserve near Fort Payne. Isbell's remains were found in June almost two years after she had been reported missing by her ex-husband. Prosecutors say she was pushed to her death by Kelly with help from her mom Loretta Kay Carr, 45, who is also facing a capital murder charge. It is thought the three women were connected through a 'boyfriend'. In a character reference submitted on Kelly's behalf to a Dekalb County judge, a former inmate locked up with her praised Kelly as a 'kind-hearted child of God', Decatur Daily reports. Jessie Eden Kelly, 22, is accused of kidnapping Mary Elizabeth Isbell, 37, and throwing her to her death off a cliff Isbell's remains were discovered almost two years after she was first reported missing by her ex-husband Kelly's mom Loretta Kay Carr, 45, is also a facing capital murder charge for allegedly helping to kill Isbell At the time of her mother's arrest in June, Kelly was incarcerated in Pennsylvania awaiting extradition to Missouri on a felony theft charge. She was extradited to Alabama in July. Eight letters in support of her character from fellow jail mates were filed with Dekalb County District Court on Tuesday. 'She is really a bright, well-meaning and intelligent young woman who I feel could be easily taken advantage of due to her sweet nature and trusting spirit,' one cellmate wrote. Others describe Kelly as 'naive' and 'innocent', while one person said she doesn't believe Kelly, 'completely grasps how serious her situation is'. Isbell's remains were discovered on what would have been her 39th birthday. Immediately after receiving the report she had vanished, police obtained a warrant to search her home which showed signs of a struggle including a bloody hand print. Investigators managed to link to the blood to Isbell using DNA from an old rape kit the victim had filed with Hartselle Police Department, WAAY31 reports. The hand print was matched to Kelly based on previous arrests and fingerprinting. The women were connected to each other through a 'boyfriend', prosecutors say who branded the accused's conduct as 'inhuman'. Kelly has since submitted character references to a judge in her case which claim she is a 'Child of God' Isbell's remains were found at the bottom of a cliff at the Little River Canyon nature preserve near Fort Payne, Alabama Court records state that Kelly and Carr showed up at Isbell's trailer in 2021 and fought with her. Carr is accused of repeatedly hitting the victim over the head with a pistol. They then transported Isbell to Carr's home, forcing her to shower off the blood before taking her to the nature preserve, according to the filings. Once there, Kelly watched her mother walk Isbell to the edge before shoving her off. 'It's very inhuman. Brutal what these ladies did to Mary,' Nick Brown, chief investigator with the DeKalb County Sheriff's Office said. 'They are all acquaintances, mainly to a boyfriend. They all do come back to one specific person.' Tucker Carlson has turned on Vladimir Putin in the wake of the shocking death of Alexei Navalny, just days after releasing a softball interview with the Russian president and a series of 'tourism board style' videos about the country's clean train stations and cheap groceries. In an exclusive statement to DailyMail.com, Carlson said: 'It's horrifying what happened to Navalny. The whole thing is barbaric and awful. No decent person would defend it.' The former Fox News host told DailyMail.com that he was on a plane traveling from Dubai when Navalny's death was announced. 'I didn't even know it happened till I saw the Daily Mail story,' Carlson explained. The conservative pundit has faced backlash over his bizarre sit-down with Putin last week after critics say he failed to challenge the Russian president. When quizzed about the limitations of his interview at the World Government Summit on Monday, days before Navalny's tragic death, Carlson made the comment: 'every leader kills people, leadership requires killing people.' He told DailyMail.com Friday: 'It had zero to do with Navalny. I wasnt referring to him, which is obvious in context, and I certainly wasnt making excuses for killing people. Im totally opposed to killing as I said.' Tucker Carlson released a bizarre interview with Putin in which the Russian president controlled the narrative The Russian Prison Service announced Alexei Navalny's death on Friday morning In another bizarre video Carlson praised Russia for its low grocery store prices 'I didn't talk about the things that every other American media outlet talks about because those are covered,' he told Egyptian journalist Emad El Din Adeeb. 'I have spent my life speaking to people who run countries, in various countries, and have concluded the following: That every leader kills people, including my leader. 'Every leader kills people, some kill more than others. Leadership requires killing people, sorry. That's why I wouldn't want to be a leader.' Russian news outlets announced Navalny's death on Friday morning, citing the Siberian prison service where he was serving a nineteen-year sentence for 'extremism', sparking fury across the globe. 'On February 16, 2024, in correctional colony No. 3, convict Navalny A.A. felt unwell after a walk, almost immediately losing consciousness,' said a statement from prison officials. 'Emergency doctors confirmed the death of the convict,' it added. Global leaders, including the Latvian president, have laid blame for Navalny's death at Putin's feet. During his interview with Putin, Carlson also heaped praise on Russia throughout, calling Moscow 'so much nicer than any city in my country.' 'I had no idea. It is so much cleaner, and safer and prettier, aesthetically. Its architecture, food, and services than in any city in the United States. And this is not ideological' he effused. In another bizarre video Carlson praised Russia for its low grocery store prices and fresh produce. The media firebrand wheeled a grocery cart around a Russian superstore while marveling at the stock as he continued his Putin PR tour earlier this week. Navalny was last seen via video link during a court hearing on Thursday Navalny with his wife Yulia Navalnya, 47, with whom he has two children In a video uploaded to his social media accounts Carlson 54, exclaims, 'Look at that!' while sniffing a loaf of bread as jovial music plays. Carlson reaches the checkout and notices the equivalent $400 price-tag for a weeks-worth of groceries for him and his team. The former presenter says the revelation moved him from feeling 'amused to legitimately angry' that his home country apparently charges much more for basics like food. The video drew widespread ridicule from people online, as many pointed out the disparity between the average wage in Russia - which is the equivalent of $9,072 - or 6.5 times less than the average US salary of $59,428. Navalny was last seen via video link during a court hearing on Thursday. Dressed in black prison uniform, he appeared to be in good spirits - his trademark humor back on show. 'Your Honor, I will send you my personal account number so that you can use your huge salary as a federal judge to 'warm up' my personal account, because I am running out of money,' he said. Navalny's mother Lyudmila said she had seen her son in the prison colony on Monday. At the time, she said: 'He was alive, healthy, cheerful.' Navalny's spokesperson said on the X social media platform that she was unable to confirm his death. Kira Yarmysh said that Navalny's lawyer was travelling to the site of the prison where he had been serving his sentence. Putin seen at the Chelyabinsk Forge-and-Press Plant in Chelyabinsk, Russia on Friday The Kremlin has not yet made an official statement on Navalny's death Leonid Volkov, a Navalny aide, said: 'The Federal Penitentiary Service in the Yamalo-Nenets District is disseminating news about the death of Alexei Navalny in IK-3. 'We don't have any confirmation of this yet. Alexey's lawyer is now flying to Kharp. As soon as we have any information, we will report it.' Alexei Navalny, the long-time foe of Russian President Vladimir Putin who defiantly crusaded against state corruption and organised massive anti-Kremlin protests, died in prison today in what many speculate was a staged murder. The death of the outspoken and fearless dissident came just weeks after he was moved to a strict Arctic penal colony, where he was set to serve a 19 years on trumped-up charges of 'extremism'. That sentence came after he'd already cheated death once, having defiantly returned to Russia to continue working against the Kremlin after being poisoned by Novichok nerve agent in 2020. The former lawyer spent a week languishing in a medically induced coma as doctors battled to save his life, before making a miraculous recovery and returning to his native land months later - in spite of warnings he would almost certainly be killed. The final months of his life were spent in misery, as an ever-more thin and gaunt-looking Navalny was shuttled back and forth from jail cell to predetermined trial hearings as Moscow's courts toyed with his fate. Yet through it all, the man never lost his resolve - an impressive and valiant exhibition of bravery and strength that can be attributed in no small part to the enduring support of his wife Yulia Navalnaya. For years, Yulia, an economist by training and the so-called 'First Lady' of Russia's opposition, stood by her husband in his efforts to expose the Kremlin's corruption, appearing on his behalf at countless public engagements - including the Oscars - and urging his supporters never to give up, even as Navalny withered away in prison. Now, MailOnline tells her story. Yulia Navalnaya, wife of late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, attends the Munich Security Conference (MSC), on the day it was announced that Alexei Navalny is dead, by the prison service of the Yamalo-Nenets region where he had been serving his sentence, in Munich, southern Germany on February 16, 2024 Alexei Navalny's (pictured, left) perseverance in the face of mounting threats to his life can be attributed in no small part to the enduring support of his wife Yulia Navalnaya (pictured, right) The couple met while both holidaying in Turkey in 1998 The pair tied the knot just a few years after meeting Yulia spent years supporting her husband's campaign to free Russia from Putin's clutches From an early age, Yulia Navalnaya was destined for lofty heights. She was born in 1976 to a mother who worked in the USSR's 'Minlegprom' - the ministry for the production of consumer goods - and a Soviet scientist. Her mother later remarried to a government worker in the USSR's State Planning Committee, and it seemed evident Yulia would herself go on to enter politics. But instead, a keen aptitude for mathematics saw her score a place at the Russia's Plekhanov Academy of Economics, and Yulia set about building a career as a banker and economist. She met Alexei, a budding lawyer, in 1998 while on holiday in Turkey and the pair got married just two years later. Yulia then gave birth to their two children, Dasha and Zakhar, in 2001 and 2008 respectively. She was known for speaking out herself and becoming more and more involved in her husband's political career Though she had to contend with the occasional threat from a high-level figure, her life was, for the most part, happy, until 2020, when she was thrust into the political spotlight following her husband's poisoning at the hands of the Russian state As her husband's career in law and politics began to blossom, Yulia set aside her own professional aspirations and became dedicated to helping Navalny's cause. She previously revealed she helped Alexei's parents with their basket weaving company, and since 2007 has been 'in charge of everyday life and raising children'. But Yulia is not a mere homemaker. She quickly earned a reputation for being just as outspoken and defiant as her husband and throughout the 2010s became more closely integrated in his daily work, particularly after he founded the Anti-Corruption Foundation which has published all kinds of investigations exposing the nefarious dealings of the Russian government and state bodies. And though she never sought to develop her own political career, she was more than happy to roll up her sleeves and get her hands dirty. In 2018, Navalny had published an investigation that revealed widespread corruption in the government's procurement of food for the National Guard, massively embarrassing the force and sparking widespread protests across Russia. After the head of the Russian national guard Viktor Zolotov challenged her husband to a duel following the scandal - while Alexei was under administrative arrest on protest-related charges - she took it upon herself to bite back at the military man. 'This is a threat from an arrogant bandit who revels in his impunity. The only feeling I have for Zolotov is contempt. I despise him as a thief and a coward. 'He is a coward because he has never responded to any of the accusations of corruption brought forward by the FBK and supported by iron-clad evidence,' she declared. Yulia met Alexei in 1998 while on holiday in Turkey, and the pair got married just two years later, giving birth to their two children, Dasha (pictured, left) and Zakhar (pictured, bottom) Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny died on February 16, 2024 at the Arctic prison colony where he was serving a 19-year-term Navalny seen addressing his supporters after arriving from Kirov, with his wife Yulia standing nearby, at a railway station in Moscow, Russia, July 20, 2013 Though she had to contend with the occasional threat from a high-level figure, her life was, for the most part, happy, until 2020, when she was thrust into the political spotlight following her husband's poisoning at the hands of the Russian state. On a flight from Tomsk to Moscow, he fell gravely ill and was taken to a hospital in Omsk, after the plane he was on made an emergency landing in the small city. Yulia immediately assumed a leading role, jugging duties as a de-facto spokeswoman and dedicated spouse. She took to the world stage and lobbied Germany into agreeing to take care of him, and even confronted Vladimir Putin himself, asking for permission to take her husband out of the country for treatment. After arriving at the Omsk hospital from Moscow, bringing Alexei's personal doctor with her, she demanded to see her husband's comatose body. While authorities initially refused - at one point demanding to see a marriage certificate to prove she was his wife - she nevertheless succeeding in getting him out of the hospital and onto a chartered plane paid for via donations that flew Navalny to the Charite, one of Europe's biggest and most advanced university hospitals, for treatment. Several independent Russian media outlets named her Hero of the Year for 2020 for her swift decision making and refusal to bow to the will of the Russian authorities. Alexei himself, who was taken out of his coma some months later, said of his wife: 'Yulia, you saved me.' Navalny and his wife Yulia attend a rally against pension age increase in Moscow, Russia, 29 July 2018 Navalny and his wife Yulia attend his last election campaign event during heavy rain in Moscow, Russia on 6 September 2013 Yulia raised her family and helped her husband's political work at the same time for years Russian opposition activist Alexei Navalny and his wife Yulia talk in a courtroom before the hearing in Moscow, Russia on April 23, 2015 Though the couple's lives may have seen filled with strife and struggle, today especially, they weren't afraid to show their love for each other. Just a few months later, after she and her husband decided to return to Russia after a period of self-imposed exile to allow him to properly rest, Navalny was detained at a border checkpoint. Despite her husband's near-death experience at the hands of the Russian state, she accused authorities of trying to silence him out of fear. She said at the time: 'The most important thing is that Alexei said that he is not afraid. And I'm not afraid either. 'I urge you all not to be afraid.' Yulia herself was subsequently arrested for attending protests across the country that demanded the release of her husband. Upon learning of her husband's death today, she said in a defiant and emotional speech at the Munich Security Conference: '[Navalny] would have been here, in this hall. 'I don't know whether you believe the awful news that we received - just from Russian state sources. Because for many years we have not been able to believe Putin and his government, they always lie. 'But if it's true I want Putin, his whole crew and all of his friends to know that will answer for what they have done to our country, my family and my husband. That day will come very soon. 'And I call on the international community, the people in this room, and people everywhere that we fight and beat this evil, this terrible regime in Russia led by Vladimir Putin. They are to be personally held responsible for all the horrible things they have done to us.' For his part, Navalny, communicating through his lawyers and representatives, made one final declaration of love to his wife on Valentine's Day just two days ago. In an emotional, heartfelt post, he wrote: 'Baby, everything is like a song with you: between us there are cities, the take-off lights of airfields, blue snowstorms and thousands of kilometres. 'But I feel that you are near every second, and I love you more and more.' Alexei was destined to live out his final days in isolation, separated from his supporters, his colleagues, and his family. But it is clear that, in spite of such a dark fate, he benefitted from the love and support of Yulia until his dying breath. Locals living along a crumbling coastline that is under threat of being washed away by the tide say the government has 'betrayed' their community. Works to build rock defences at Cromer and Mundesley, in Norfolk, got underway last week as part of a 25million government-funded scheme. However, Happisburgh will not benefit from the initiative - despite erosion progressing at twice the projected rate. Happisburgh's famous lighthouse, 15th century church and village pub could all soon be claimed by the North Sea if things don't change. Bryony Nierop-Reading, 78, whose Beach Road home is next in line to be lost to the sea, said locals are 'livid' that the village has not received any funding. Bryony Nierop-Reading, 78, watches her street being demolished in December last year Slide me In just 10 years, large parts of the coast have been eroded. Picture on the left was taken in 2012 while the right was taken last year The cliff's edge is inching its way towards the homes of locals in Happisburgh An aerial view of the coastal erosion at Happisburgh in Norfolk in November 2023 She said: 'We feel betrayed by the government and that it's totally unpatriotic to let chunks of the country, like Happisburgh, be lost to the sea. 'I don't think there's anybody in Happisburgh who's not upset by this. We're in as much need as Mundesley is.' The Save Happisburgh campaigner was forced to move into a caravan and then into a semi-detached home known as The Old Coastguard further inland in 2017. She now fears she has just months left in her three bedroom home as once again it is being threatened by the cliffs which are just 80 feet away. Clive Stockton, who has owned the Hill House Inn for more than 30 years, said thousands of years of heritage is set to be lost. He said: 'The vast majority of people have no idea what's at risk of being lost. 'All that we own, our only asset the pub and our home, is now worthless. 'The government has stolen our retirement, which is no longer an option.' Hundreds of homes, businesses and the village's clifftop car park is at serious risk of falling into the sea. Bryony Nierop-Reading at Happisburgh beach last month Slide me The coast has been severely eroded over the last two decades. Picture on the left is from 1998 and the right is from last month The villagers homes have been rendered valuless by the threat the sea poses Some homes are only a few years away from being consumed by the ocean Coastal erosion on the East Anglian coast has hit the headlines in recent years with more homes destroyed in the seaside village of Hemsby, Norfolk. Liz Howard, who lives on the front line in Beach Road in Happisburgh, added: 'Every morning we look out of our windows to see how much closer it's getting. 'I look at Happisburgh as a place of medieval history - a settlement for thousands of years which people still call home today. 'In the long term, what are they doing to Norfolk if Happisburgh is washed away?We'll lose all that history.' Family members of an 80-year-old grandmother with Alzheimer's are speaking out about her nightmare sexual assault ordeal in the Bahamas as they seek justice in the case. The victim, who is from Canada, was traveling with her daughter when she was allegedly abducted and raped by another guest at the Warwick Hotel Paradise Island Bahamas on January 28. Another Canadian, 61-year-old Gordon Wilkie of New Waterford, Nova Scotia, was arrested and charged with rape in the case. 'We are dealing with the shock and are horrified at this incident,' said the victim's son, David Ahrens, in a post on LinkedIn, sharing his mother's smiling photo but asking that her name be withheld. It follows a US State Department travel advisory warning of a spike in murders in the Bahamas, and recent allegations from two Kentucky mothers who say they were raped by staff at Pirate's Cove beach resort on Grand Bahama. 'We have gone public to warn other travelers abroad to be so very careful with their vulnerable loved ones and to caution that your hotel may not act in an emergency like this,' wrote Ahrens. Canadian realtor David Arhens is speaking out to reveal his 80-year-old mother (with him above) was abducted and raped at the Warwick resort on Paradise Island, Bahamas The victim was traveling with her daughter when she was allegedly abducted and raped by another guest at the Warwick Hotel Paradise Island Bahamas (above) on January 28 Wilkie is being held without bail in the Bahamas, and his attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment from DailyMail.com on Friday morning. According to Ahrens, who has launched a GoFundMe campaign to help cover medical and legal expenses, his mother and sister were on a short vacation in the Bahamas when the attack unfolded. Ahrens said that his sister and mother briefly met Wilkie during dinner at the Warwick, but did not otherwise know him, and that the man got on the same elevator as them when they went to return to their rooms. His sister then became separated from her mother when she stepped off the elevator, and the doors closed before her mother could step out. 'My Mother was always in contact with my sister who was traveling with her and the assailant was very brazen in a literal second and stole her from an elevator after my sister stepped off,' Ahrens wrote on LinkedIn. Ahrens says his sister and other guests at the Warwick immediately launched a search, but claims that hotel staff were unresponsive to their pleas for help. 'They pleaded with the hotel to call the police, to check the security cameras, and check the guest registry as they knew the suspect was from Nova Scotia but the hotel refused repeatedly for 30 minutes.' Ahrens told local news site Kawartha 411. 'The hotel is really in the crosshairs and we will probably take legal action against them,' he added. According to Ahrens his mother (above) and sister were on a short vacation in the Bahamas when the attack unfolded Ahrens says his sister and other guests at the Warwick immediately launched a search, but claims that hotel staff were unresponsive to their pleas for help The Warwick Paradise Islands Bahamas did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Ultimately, a US Homeland Security Investigations agent who was in the Bahamas on an assignment helped local police make an arrest. Special Agent Tom Justice, normally based in Charlotte, joined the search for Ahrens' mother, going floor by floor shouting her name. After nearly 40 minutes, Justice learned Bahamian police were in the lobby, so went to the elevator to meet them, Ahrens told WSOC-TV. 'The doors open up and there is my mother with this assailant,' Ahrens told the outlet. 'He pinned the guy in the elevator.... Down the elevator they went to the lobby. He pulled him out, the police took over,' he added. 'My mother was holding her underwear.' A hospital evaluation confirmed that the 80-year-old woman had been raped. Ultimately, a US Homeland Security Investigations agent who was in the Bahamas on an assignment helped local police make an arrest 'My mother understood what happened. She gave a very detailed statement,' Ahrens told Kawartha 411. 'They took her to the hospital and did a rape kit which of course came back positive. The Bahamian Police have been exceptional at making sure this guy was prosecuted very very quickly,' he added. Wilkie was arrested and charged with raping the vulnerable woman in his hotel room. The Homeland Security Investigations field office in Charlotte issued a statement confirming the incident and praising Agent Justice. 'HSI management is aware of the actions SA Justice undertook while on temporary duty and are proud of the way he went above and beyond to protect the welfare of others,' the statement said. 'His actions are in keeping with the highest standards of this agency.' Wilkie made his first court appearance in the case on February 2, but was not required to enter a plea, according to the Nassau Guardian. He was denied bail, but can apply to the Supreme Court for bail consideration. He is set to appear on May 29 for the presentation of a voluntary bill of indictment, which will fast-track the case to the Supreme Court for trial. Two people have been found dead in a dorm room following a shooting at a Colorado college. The University of Colorado Colorado Springs was shutdown on Friday morning after gunshots were heard on campus. Cops raced to the scene at around 6am and discovered two people 'with at least one gun shot wound', according to a statement from police, which stated the deaths are being treated as homicides. 'We are in the very early stages of piecing together what happened,' the statement read. 'We are in the process of notifying family members of the deceased individuals. 'We don't believe there is an ongoing threat to the community and we are investigating this as an isolated incident.' Two people have been found dead in a dorm room following a shooting at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs campus A shelter in place order was issued in the early hours of Friday as police worked to identify if there was an active shooter On arrival cops discovered two people 'with at least one gun shot wound' at the college's Alpine Village dorms Students were left fearing for their lives after a shelter in place order was issued in the early hours of Friday. Campus police urged students to lock their doors, turn out lights and move away from sight. At around 9.15am cops confirmed there was no active shooter, but the shelter in place order remained. It was lifted for most of the school a short while later, but residents at Alpine Village dorms remained. All other staff and students were then allowed to leave the campus. The school grounds will remain closed for the rest of the day. No further details were released by police who said they are 'working diligently and looking at every possibility'. State governor Jared Polis pledged to offer support to the police investigation. 'I am closely monitoring the situation at the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs campus and have spoken with our Department of Public Safety, and CU President Todd Saliman to offer state support where needed,' he said in a statement. A mother was brutally killed by her mentally ill son before he told police 'it's a body bag job' in a shocking 999 call, a court has heard. Helen Harrison, 59, was so concerned about Rick Parkers behaviour that she called for an ambulance so that he could be given a mental health assessment. Prosecutor Geraldine Kelly told Hull Crown Court that Parker, 40, answered the door and said he didnt need their help and the paramedics decided he had the capacity to refuse. Ms Kelly added: 'They said they were sorry, there wasnt anything they could do and they left.' Moments later Parker launched a ferocious assault in the hallway of the family home in Market Weighton, East Yorkshire on March 5 last year. Helen Harrison (pictured) was strangled, struck on the head and stabbed in the chest with a 20-inch kitchen knife by son Rick Parker He strangled his mother, struck her on the head and stabbed her in the chest with a 20-inch kitchen knife. Parker then rang the ambulance service and told an operator it was definitely a body-bag job.' About 20 minutes after they left, the same two paramedics were sent back to the house. They arrived with police and when asked if his mother was okay Parker replied, she is now. There was a gruesome scene in the hallway and the knife was still in her shoulder, the court heard. Ms Kelly said Parker also beat up his stepfather Roy Thompson, 72, two weeks earlier in an unprovoked attack. He was punched and headbutted and moved in with a friend because he feared for his own safety, said Ms Kelly. Parker was charged with the murder of his mother and assaulting Mr Thompson. But he was deemed unfit to stand trial by a judge due to his mental state. After a three-day finding-of-fact hearing a jury decided he did the acts. The court heard Parkers problems stemmed from a road accident in December 2021 when he was knocked off his bike and suffered spinal injuries. He stopped working and it seemed his mental health went into decline, said Ms Kelly. Helen, 59, was discovered fatally injured in Aspen Close, Market Weighton, on March 5 last year He began pacing up and down, talking to himself and laughing. Parker wouldnt accept help from his mother and following the attack on Mr Thompson she told him she wanted him to leave their home. On the day of the killing, Mr Thompson and mother-of-two Mrs Harrison were at the friends house. She said she was going to go home to see if she could persuade him to get help for his mental health issues. Mrs Harrison told the ambulance service that her son had been whispering to himselfand didnt seem to be in touch with reality. Mr Thompson drove his wife to Market Weighton but dropped her off near the house and stayed in the car because he was too afraid to go inside following the attack. She returned with his work clothes, gave him a kiss and said she would ring him later to tell him how she got on with her son, but they were the last words he would hear from her. The two paramedics arrived at 4pm but Parker refused their help. He seemed calm, but when his mother came to the door she appeared slightly agitated and wanted to tell them what had been going on. One of the paramedics told her that her son appeared to have full capacity and that they couldnt force him to do anything he didnt want to do without consent. Soon after they left two neighbours heard loud screams before it went quiet. Parker dialled 999 and calmly said there was a woman lying dead in the hallway and that it must have been an accident. He said it wasnt a desperate hurry but I suppose someone will have to come down. James Horne, KC, for Parker, said he had never been able to give his own account of events in court due to his mental condition and had only ever said that there had been a household accident. He said that Parker had never before even shown a glimpse of physical hostility to his mum. Judge John Thackray KC adjourned the case but Parker is likely to be given a hospital order at a future hearing. The drone pilot used his DJI Matrice 30T thermal device to track the dog down Her worried owner was able to find her within an hour thanks to Jamie Donaldson This is the heartwarming moment a drone pilot reunited a distraught owner with their missing dog thanks to high tech thermal imaging. Izzy, a 20-month-old cocker spaniel, disappeared into the undergrowth while out on a walk with her owners near their home in Doune, Perthshire. What would have been a 'needle in a haystack' search on the ground in the darkness only took 52-year-old Jamie Donaldson an hour. The drone pilot used his DJI Matrice 30T thermal device to track the dog's movements from above, and used its spotlight as a guide to direct the owner to their stranded pet. While the expensive piece of equipment is something many people might associate with the military, the kit is being utilised more often on pet rescue missions. This is the heartwarming moment a drone pilot reunited a distraught owner with their missing dog thanks to high tech thermal imaging What would have been a 'needle in a haystack' search on the ground in the darkness only took 52-year-old Jamie Donaldson (pictured) an hour, using his DJI Matrice 30T thermal device Mr Donaldson, from Auchterarder, in the Perth and Kinross area of Scotland, initially purchased his drone to support a hobby, but now uses it regularly to help search for missing pets. The IT manager, who works for a computer company, said: 'I started flying drones as a hobby, my job is not related to drones, and it has grown from there. Now I probably spend more time flying looking for missing animals than I do as a hobby. 'It's an absolutely phenomenal tool for searching for lost animals. Searching open areas of countryside can be tricky and some dogs can really blend into the undergrowth so the thermal imaging is amazing.' He added: 'From 400ft altitude I can see a rabbit 1,500ft away - it can save a huge amount of time. 'Also living in Scotland the weather can be questionable, I have an all-weather drone which is more robust and I can fly in higher winds, rain and even snow.' After an appeal post had been uploaded to a local Facebook group, bringing Izzy's disappearance to the attention of nearby residents, Mr Donaldson immediately set out to help find the pooch. The cocker spaniel's owners had become panicked as darkness drew, and called for extra help. Without thermal imaging, they would most likely have been searching throughout the night with limited resources, or may have not found her at all. The cocker spaniel's owners had become panicked as darkness drew over woodland in Perthshire, and called for extra help by submitting a post on Facebook While the expensive piece of equipment is something many people might associate with the military, the kit is being utilised more often on pet rescue missions Mr Donaldson methodically scanned the 200-acre search area with his all-weather drone, checking any heat signal he came across. The dog had caught her harness on branches in the undergrowth and was too scared to respond when her owners called to her. Mr Donaldson continued: 'With Izzy, it was late afternoon when I got the call. The owners had been walking her on a familiar route they walk on a regular basis. 'She ran off into the undergrowth, as dogs do, but then didn't come back. They continued walking round the route several times hoping she would come out, they tried calling and whistles but she wasnt responding so they put a post on Facebook.' The drone pilot drove out and began a search of the area 'from the furthest point,' working his way back towards where the pooch had disappeared from - and found Izzy just an hour later. Mr Donaldson said: 'She actually wasn't far from where she went missing, but she had got her harness caught and was hidden by the undergrowth. 'Once I identified it was her I put on the spotlight so the owner could follow it to Izzy. She was obviously delighted to see them. It's a fabulous feeling when you get to reunite a dog with its owner. He added: 'I have a lot of great stories and happy endings, but even when I dont directly find the dog, the drone can still be helpful to rule out areas that the ground team then dont need to search.' Mr Donaldson methodically scanned the 200-acre search area with his all-weather drone, checking any heat signal he came across The drone pilot used his DJI Matrice 30T thermal device to track the dog's movements from above, and used its spotlight as a guide to direct the owner to their stranded pet Mr Donaldson is a volunteer for Facebook group Drone SAR for Lost Dogs UK, which now has a staggering 90,000 members. Graham Burton set up the group over six years ago and now has over 3,500 volunteer drone pilots and over 3,000 volunteer ground searchers across Britain. The group has helped reunite thousands of dogs with their owners and received the International Fund for Animal Welfare award in 2022. It comes another dog, who ran away from home, was found after 12 days in a nearby woodland after family used a thermal drone to locate him. Ulysse went missing on 20 December during a walk, in Houghton Conquest, Bedfordshire, and his owner Sam Boyle never gave up hope of finding him. Speaking on Good Morning Britain she explained that she saw a thermal drone in use on Facebook which gave her the idea to contact Nottinghamshire-based charity Drone to Home to help with the search. The city of Auburn and 13 towns in Cayuga County would rejoin a competitive central New York congressional district under a map proposed by the New York State Independent Redistricting Commission. The 10-member panel voted Thursday to send the new map to the state Legislature. Lawmakers will have the final say on whether to adopt the plan or make changes. If the map is approved, it would make changes to the existing 22nd Congressional District represented by Congressman Brandon Williams, a Republican. The current 22nd district is comprised of Onondaga, Madison and Oneida counties, along with a sliver of Oswego County. But the new district map would drop the portion of Oswego County and split Oneida County. Part of Oneida, including the city of Utica, would remain in the 22nd district. Parts of Cayuga and Cortland counties would join all of Onondaga and Madison counties in the newly drawn 22nd district. For the last two years, all of Cayuga County has been part of the 24th Congressional District that extends from western New York to the North Country. The district is represented by U.S. Rep. Claudia Tenney, a Republican. The commission's proposal would keep part of the county the towns of Aurelius, Brutus, Cato, Conquest, Ira, Mentz, Montezuma, Sterling, Throop and Victory in the 24th district. But towns in the southern half of the county Fleming, Genoa, Ledyard, Locke, Moravia, Niles, Owasco, Scipio, Sempronius, Sennett, Springport, Summerhill and Venice would join Auburn in the new 22nd district. The changes to the 22nd would not affect its status as a battleground district. Democrats have identified Williams, R-Sennett, as a top 2024 target. Four Democratic candidates are vying for the nomination to challenge Williams. The leading contenders are state Sen. John Mannion, who represented Auburn and a portion of Cayuga County during his first Senate term, and Sarah Klee Hood, a DeWitt town councilor and Air Force veteran. Clemmie Harris, a Utica University professor, and Jake Addington, an Oneida County farmer, are also seeking the nod. The redistricting commission reconvened after the state Court of Appeals, New York's highest court, ordered new maps to be drawn. The court determined the commission violated the state Constitution when it failed to submit a second congressional redistricting proposal to the state Legislature in 2022. That year, the commission could not reach a consensus on congressional maps. Competiting proposals were submitted to the state Legislature for review. When lawmakers rejected those plans, the commission did not transmit any other proposed congressional district maps to the state Legislature. Legislators took over the process and drew lines that were widely viewed as favorable for Democrats. A Republican-led lawsuit was successful and led to a court-appointed special master redrawing the congressional district maps for 2022. Meanwhile, a separate lawsuit was filed regarding the redistricting commission's process a challenge that resulted in the commission gathering again to submit another congressional map. Ken Jenkins, a Democrat who chairs the state Independent Redistricting Commission, acknowledged it was challenging to reach a consensus on a proposed congressional map. "We approached this process with the goal of seeking compromise and fulfilling our constitutional mandate," Jenkins said. "This vote is ultimately a victory for the commission's process and democratic participation in the state of New York." Charles Nesbitt, the Republican vice chair of the commission, noted that members "often disagreed" while developing the proposed congressional map. But he lauded Jenkins and the entire commission for being committed to the process. "We came into existence to solve these kinds of problems," Nesbitt said. The commission voted 9-1 to approve the congressional map proposal and passed a second motion, again by a 9-1 vote, to submit the plan to the state Legislature. Yovan Collado cast the lone no votes. Holding back tears she called on the world to hasten Vladimir Putin's downfall The wife of outspoken Putin opponent Alexei Navalny has declared Vladimir Putin 'will answer' for the death of her husband in custody and vowed that the Russian President's 'evil regime' will soon meet its downfall. In a defiant and emotional speech at the Munich Security Conference today, Yuliya Navalnaya held back her tears to declare: '(Navalny) would have been here, in this hall. 'I don't know whether you believe the awful news that we received - just from Russian state sources. Because for many years we have not been able to believe Putin and his government, they always lie. 'But if it's true I want Putin, his whole crew and all of his friends to know that will answer for what they have done to our country, my family and my husband. That day will come very soon. 'And I call on the international community, the people in this room, and people everywhere that we fight and beat this evil, this terrible regime in Russia led by Vladimir Putin. They are to be personally held responsible for all the horrible things they have done to us.' Russian news outlets this afternoon announced Navalny's death - citing the Siberian prison service where he was serving his sentence - but gave no cause of death or further information. The news sparked shock and anger around the globe, with world leaders and commentators quickly pointing the finger at the Kremlin. Navalny was 'brutally murdered by the Kremlin,' Latvia's president declared, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said it was 'obvious' Putin had ordered the dissident's killing. 'Obviously he was killed by Putin. Like thousands of others who have been tortured,' Zelensky declared, citing Navalny's passing as yet more evidence of why Putin must be made to 'lose everything and held accountable for his actions'. Yuliya Navalnaya, wife of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, reacts as she speaks during the Munich Security Conference, in Munich, Germany, Friday, Feb. 16, 2024. In a defiant and emotional speech at the Munich Security Conference today, Yuliya Navalnaya struggled to hold back tears as she denounced Putin's regime FILE - Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny gestures as he stands in a cage in the Babuskinsky District Court in Moscow, Russia, Saturday, Feb. 20, 2021 This photo taken from video released by Russian Federal Penitentiary Service shows Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny via a video link from the Arctic penal colony in Kharp, Kovrov, Russia, on Feb. 15, 2024 Yuliya Navalnaya, wife of late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, attends the Munich Security Conference (MSC), on the day it was announced that Alexei Navalny is dead, by the prison service of the Yamalo-Nenets region where he had been serving his sentence, in Munich, Germany February 16, 202 Navalny's final message: The Kremlin critic posted Valentine's message to his wife, Yuliya, on Wednesday (pictured). 'Baby, everything is like in a song with you: between us there are cities, the take-off lights of airfields, blue snowstorms and thousands of kilometers,' it read. 'But I feel that you are near every second, and I love you more and more' As Putin's fiercest foe, Navalny crusaded against official corruption and staged massive anti-Kremlin protests - drawing the merciless retribution of the Kremlin. He once survived an assassination attempt involving the Novichok nerve agent, but returned to his homeland upon his recovery, despite knowing he would be arrested. Ever since, he has been serving time on extremism charges after being sentenced to 19 years behind bars, and in December was moved from a prison in central Russia to a 'special regime' penal colony known as 'Polar Wolf' above the Arctic Circle. The 47-year-old was last seen via video link during a court hearing on Thursday. Dressed in black prison uniform, he appeared to be in good spirits - his trademark humour back on show. 'Your Honour, I will send you my personal account number so that you can use your huge salary as a federal judge to ''warm up'' my personal account, because I am running out of money,' he said. Navalny's mother Lyudmila said she had seen her son in the prison colony on Monday. At the time, she said: 'He was alive, healthy, cheerful.' But the Federal Prison Service said in a statement today that Navalny felt unwell after a walk and lost consciousness. An ambulance arrived to try to save him, to no avail. Bellingcat journalist Christo Grozev - an ally of Navalany who has followed his trial closely, said: 'I have no doubt that the death of Alexei Navalny is not natural. 'Even propagandist Russian channels, linked to the special services, called this a political assassination. Who are we to doubt their own words?' Reports of his death prompted shock and anger across Europe. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak paid tribute to the 'fiercest advocate for Russian democracy', saying Navalny was a prominent and persistent critic of Putin who had 'demonstrated incredible courage throughout his life'. The Prime Minister said: 'This is terrible news. As the fiercest advocate for Russian democracy, Alexei Navalny demonstrated incredible courage throughout his life. My thoughts are with his wife and the people of Russia, for whom this is a huge tragedy.' Foreign Secretary David Cameron said 'Putin should be accountable' for his death. Lord Cameron said: 'Navalny fought bravely against corruption. Putin's Russia fabricated charges against him, poisoned him, sent him to an arctic penal colony & now he has tragically died. 'Putin should be accountable for what has happened - no one should doubt the dreadful nature of his regime.' France's President Emmanuel Macron accused Russia of sentencing 'free spirits to the gulag' and 'condemning them to death,' expressing his 'anger and indignation' and hailing Navalny's 'courage'. The White House said if confirmed, Navalny's death would be 'a terrible tragedy.' Speaking on NPR, White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan also added the Kremlin's 'long and sordid' history of harming its opponents 'raises real and obvious questions about what happened here.' Vice President Kamala Harris said the US was working to confirm the death of Navalny, adding that it would be a further sign of Putin's brutality. US president Joe Biden had warned in June 2021 that Putin would face consequences if Navalny died in prison. But the Kremlin bit back, declaring that the US must not make 'sweeping accusations' about Navalny's passing. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Navalny's death was a 'tragedy' and exposed Putin as 'a monster'. 'It really shows the extent to which Putin has (or) will crack down on anyone who is fighting for freedom for the Russian people,' Trudeau told public broadcaster CBC. Jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny is dead, the prison service of the Yamalo-Nenets region where he had been serving his sentence said on Friday Russian news outlets announced Navalny's death - citing the Siberian prison service where he was serving his sentence - sparking shock and anger around the globe, with world leaders quickly pointing the finger at Russian president Vladimir Putin (pictured in Russia today) Navalny, pictured with his wife Yuliya in happier times, crusaded against official corruption and staged massive anti-Kremlin protests - drawing the ire of the Kremlin 'On February 16, 2024, in correctional colony No. 3, convict Navalny A.A. felt unwell after a walk, almost immediately losing consciousness,' said a statement from prison officials. 'Emergency doctors confirmed the death of the convict,' it added. Russian news agency Interfax reported that it was told the ambulance team reached the colony where Navalny was serving his sentence in seven minutes. It took another two minutes to reach the patient, it claimed. 'The doctors who arrived at the scene continued the resuscitation measures that were already being provided by the penal colony's doctors. And they spent more than half an hour. However, the patient died,' said the local hospital. Reports said his time of death was recorded as 2.17pm local time (7.17am GMT). Bellingcat's Grozev noted that the statement announcing Navalny's death was posted just two minutes later - at 2.19pm. Russian Nobel Peace Laureate and newspaper editor Dmitry Muratov, speaking to Reuters, called the death a 'murder' and said he believed Navalny's prison conditions caused his death. Navalny's spokesperson said on the X social media platform that she was unable to confirm his death. Kira Yarmysh said that Navalny's lawyer was travelling to the site of the prison where he had been serving his sentence. Leonid Volkov, a Navalny aide, said: 'The Federal Penitentiary Service in the Yamalo-Nenets District is disseminating news about the death of Alexei Navalny in IK-3. 'We don't have any confirmation of this yet. Alexey's lawyer is now flying to Kharp. As soon as we have any information, we will report it.' Russia's TASS news agency reported that Navalny did not complain about health problems before his death. Putin has been informed about his rival's death, his spokesman confirmed. Dmitry Peskov said: 'As far as we know, in line with all the existing rules, the FSIN [prison service] are running all the checks and establishing... all of that. No orders are needed for that because there is a certain set of rules for these occasions.' Asked if it was true there was a blood clot, he said: 'I don't know, I don't know. The medics should establish [cause of death].' In Putin's Russia, political opponents often faded amid factional disputes or went into exile after imprisonment, suspected poisonings or other heavy repression. But Navalny grew consistently stronger and reached the apex of the opposition through grit, bravado and an acute understanding of how social media could circumvent the Kremlin's suffocation of independent news outlets. He faced each setback - whether it was a physical assault or imprisonment - with an intense devotion, confronting dangers with a sardonic wit. When Putin sent troops to invade Ukraine in 2022, Navalny strongly condemned the war in social media posts from prison and during his court appearances. Meanwhile, whenever Putin spoke about Navalny, he made it a point to never mention the activist by name, referring to him as 'that person' or similar wording, in an apparent effort to diminish his importance. Navalny is seen on a screen via video link from a penal colony in the Vladimir Region during a hearing at the Basmanny district court in Moscow, Russia April 26, 2023 A view of the entrance of the prison colony in the town of Kharp, in the Yamalo-Nenetsk region about 1,200 miles northeast of Moscow, Tuesday, January 23, 2024 France said the opposition leader had paid with his life for resisting 'oppression', while German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Navalny 'paid for his courage with his life.' The EU said it held President Putin's Russia solely responsible for the death. 'Alexei Navalny fought for the values of freedom and democracy. For his ideals, he made the ultimate sacrifice,' European Council President Charles Michel posted on X. 'The EU holds the Russian regime for sole responsible for this tragic death.' Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said it was 'obvious' Navalny had been killed by Putin. 'Putin does not care who dies as long as he keeps his position,' he said. 'And that is why he should not keep anything. Putin should lose everything and answer for what he has done.' Exiled Belarus leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya said: 'This death is further proof that for dictators, human life has no value. 'The Putin regime, like the Lukashenko regime, in an effort to maintain power, gets rid of opponents by any means. Alexei, like many Belarusian political prisoners, was repeatedly sent to a punishment cell. This was done for the 27th time in February. 'We all saw in the photo how such conditions of detention affected his condition. That is why I have no doubt that Navalny was purposefully killed by the Putin regime.' Anti-Putin campaigner Bill Browder said in a statement: 'Let's make no mistake, Putin assassinated Alexei Navalny. He did so because Alexei Navalny was brave enough to stand up to Putin. He did so because Navalny offered the Russian people an alternative to kleptocracy and repression. This is a tragic day for Navalny and his family, but also for Russia and the hope for a better future.' Browder also expressed his shock and sorrow for Navalny's family - his wife Yuliya Navalnaya, 47, and their two children - a son and a daughter. 'I feel terrible for his family and I feel terrible for all the people of Russia that were hoping there could be a brighter future through someone like him,' he said. Russians also hit out at the Kremlin following the news. Garry Kasparov, a Russian chess grand master, said Putin 'murdered' Navalny 'slowly and publicly in prison' while Russian Nobel Peace winner Muratov also described Navalny's death as 'murder'. Russian writer Akunin Navalny said with his death, Navalny 'has become immortal'. Evgenia Kara-Murza, wife of British-Russian dissident Vladimir Kara-Murza who is currently jailed in Siberia, said: 'During a recent court hearing, Alexei looked well and was, as always, in good spirits. 'Having witnessed two assassination attacks on my husband, I respect his team's decision to abstain from comments until they've been able to see Alexei.' But Putin's apologists were quick to hit back at the international reaction. Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said: 'The immediate reaction of NATO leaders to Navalny's death in the form of direct accusations against Russia is self-exposing. 'There is no forensic examination yet, but the West's conclusions are already ready.' Top Putin propagandist Margarita Simonya, head of the RT state media empire, said: 'I was waiting to see who would be the first to say 'political assassination'. 'The Guardian seems to be the first,' she said, adding: 'but the Oscar is still going to Latvia - their [president] declared as much as 'brutally murdered.' 'I won't even begin to explain to them that everyone has long forgotten [Navalny], that there was no point in killing him, especially before the elections, that it would be beneficial to completely opposite forces. 'Why explain something when they already know it all perfectly well.' Navalny (pictured with his wife Yuliya Navalnaya) miraculously survived a suspected assassination attempt with a nerve agent in August 2020 during a flight. He was evacuated to a hospital in Germany, and the use of a Novichok nerve agent was later confirmed. Navalny and his wife Yuliya (left) seen on a monitor screen during an offsite court session in the penal colony N2 (IK-2) in Pokrov, Vladimir region, Russia, February 15, 2022 Navalny stands inside a glass cell during a court hearing at the Babushkinsky district court in Moscow in January 17, 2022 Navalny was also seen in January when he was moved to a Russian penal colony in the Arctic Circle, smiling and laughing while in court via video-link. The hearing was for one of many lawsuits he filed against the penal colony - this particular one challenged one of his stints in a 'punishment cell'. At the hearing, Navalny cracked jokes about the Arctic weather and asked if officials at his former prison threw a party when he was transferred. His allies decried the transfer to a colony in the town of Kharp, in the Yamalo-Nenets region about 1,200 miles northeast of Moscow, as yet another attempt to force Navalny into silence. The remote region is notorious for long and severe winters. Kharp is about 60 miles from Vorkuta, whose coal mines were part of the Soviet gulag prison-camp system. Since August 2022, Navalny had been ordered to a punishment cell 27 times, the last occasion on February 14. In total, he spent 308 days in the punishment cell. There were claims Putin demanded to see reports of Navalny undergoing punishment, and being humiliated by guards. Navalny had been on the Kremlin's radar for over a decade. In 2013, he was convicted of embezzlement on what he called a politically motivated prosecution and was sentenced to five years in prison, but the prosecutor's office later surprisingly demanded his release pending appeal. A higher court later gave him a suspended sentence. The day before the sentence, Navalny had registered as a candidate for Moscow mayor. The opposition saw his release as the result of large protests in the capital of his sentence, but many observers attributed it to a desire by authorities to add a tinge of legitimacy to the mayoral election. Navalny finished second, an impressive performance against the incumbent who had the backing of Mr Putin's political machine and was popular for improving the capital's infrastructure and aesthetics. His popularity increased after the leading charismatic politician, Boris Nemtsov, was shot and killed in 2015 on a bridge near the Kremlin. Navalny miraculously survived a suspected assassination attempt with a nerve agent in August 2020 during a flight to Moscow from the Siberian city of Tomsk, where he was organising opposition candidates. He collapsed in the aisle while returning from the bathroom, and the plane made an emergency landing in the city of Omsk, where he spent two days in a hospital while supporters begged doctors to allow him to be taken to Germany for treatment. Once in Germany, doctors determined he had been poisoned with a strain of Novichok - similar to the nerve agent that nearly killed former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter in England in 2018. The attack also resulted in the death of another woman. After being poisoned, Navalny was evacuated to a hospital in Germany. The use of a Novichok nerve agent was later confirmed in a lab Navalny walks to take his seat in a Pobeda airlines plane heading to Moscow before take-off from Berlin Brandenburg Airport (BER) in Schoenefeld, on January 17, 2021 Opposition leader Alexei Navalny is escorted out of a police station on January 18, 2021 Navalny's arrest in 2021 sparked massive protests that reached to Russia's farthest corners and saw more than 10,000 people detained by police Navalny was in a medically induced coma for about two weeks, then labored to recover speech and movement for several more weeks. His first communication while recovering showed his defiant wit - an Instagram post saying that breathing on one's own is 'a remarkable process that is underestimated by many. Strongly recommended.' The Kremlin rejected it was behind the poisoning, but Navalny challenged the denial with an audacious move - essentially a deadly serious prank phone call. He released the recording of a call he said he made to an alleged member of a group of officers of the Federal Security Service, or FSB, who purportedly carried out the poisoning and then tried to cover it up. The FSB dismissed the recording as fake. Russian authorities then raised the stakes, announcing that during his time in Germany, Navalny had violated the terms of a suspended sentence in one of his embezzlement convictions and that he would be arrested if he returned home. But remaining abroad wasn't in his nature. Despite knowing he would be detained, the father of two returned to Russia in January 2021. In just over two weeks, he was tried, convicted and sentenced to two years in prison. The events sparked massive protests that reached to Russia's farthest corners and saw more than 10,000 people detained by police. As part of a massive crackdown against the opposition that followed. A Moscow court in 2021 outlawed Navalny's Foundation for Fighting Corruption and about 40 regional offices as extremist. The verdict that exposed members of his team to prosecution. Despite the outcry, Navalny was behind bars ever since, and received three prison sentences, all of which he rejected as politically motivated. Less than a month after the start of the war in Ukraine, Navalny was sentenced to an additional nine-year term for embezzlement and contempt of court in a case he and his supporters rejected as fabricated. The investigators immediately launched a new probe, and in August 2023 Navalny was convicted on charges of extremism and sentenced to 19 years in prison. After the verdict, Navalny said he understands that he's 'serving a life sentence, which is measured by the length of my life or the length of life of this regime.' Since then, he had spent months in isolation at Prison Colony No. 6 before his transfer to IK-6. He was repeatedly placed in a tiny punishment cell over alleged minor infractions, like buttoning his prison uniform wrong. They also refused to give him his mail, deprived him of writing supplies, denied him food he had ordered and paid for in addition to regular meals, and would not allow visits from relatives, Navalny argued in his lawsuits, challenging his treatment. A documentary called 'Navalny' that detailed his career, his near-fatal poisoning and his return to Moscow won an Academy Award for best documentary in March 2023. Navalny was asked for a documentary: 'Alexei what if you're arrested and thrown in prison, or the unthinkable happens and you're killed? What message would you leave behind for Russian people?' He said in English: 'My message for the situation when I am killed is very simple, not give up.' Then he said in Russian: 'I have an obvious thing [to say] don't give up, you shouldn't and must not give up. If it happened, it means that we are extraordinarily strong at this moment if they decided to kill me. This force has to be used. Don't give up! 'Remember that we are a huge force which is under pressure of these bad guys only because we can not realise how strong we really are. All that is needed for the evil to succeed is good people not acting. That's why you should not not act.' Director David Roher said in accepting the Oscar: 'Alexei, the world has not forgotten your vital message to us all: We must not be afraid to oppose dictators and authoritarianism wherever it rears its head.' Navalny's wife also spoke at the award ceremony, saying: 'My husband is in prison just for telling the truth. 'My husband is in prison just for defending democracy. Alexei, I am dreaming of the day you will be free and our country will be free. Stay strong, my love.' Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, his wife Yuliya, daughter Daria and son Zakhar pose for a picture outside a polling station during the Moscow city parliament election in Moscow, Russia September 8, 2019 Navalny addresses supporters and journalists after arriving from Kirov at a railway station in Moscow, Russia July 20, 2013 Policemen detain Navalny during a rally in support of investigative journalist Ivan Golunov, who was detained by police, in Moscow, Russia June 12, 2019 In his last post Navalny had sent a Valentine's message to his wife. It read: 'Baby, everything is like in a song with you: between us there are cities, the take-off lights of airfields, blue snowstorms and thousands of kilometers. But I feel that you are near every second, and I love you more and more.' Navalny's reported death comes a month before Russia's presidential elections, which will run from March 15 to March 17. Putin is widely expected to win, keeping him in power until at least 2030. Nigel Farage today urged unity on the right of British politics as he admitted he and Tory MPs such as Sir Jacob Rees Mogg will some day 'have to be in the same party'. The Brexit architect, the former leader of UKIP, predicted a coming together of right-wing politicians in the wake of two more by-election defeats for the Tories. He declared Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's Conservatives were 'sunk below the waterline' ahead of the upcoming general election. Mr Farage also hailed how last night's results in Wellingborough and Kingswood were a 'coming of age' for Reform UK, the party he founded after UKIP. He refused to rule out a return to frontline politics as Reform leader ahead of the general election - and was also coy about a possible future bid to lead the Tories. Mr Farage made clear that, for the time being, his focus was on Reform - but he speculated about a realignment on the political right after the general election. Nigel Farage today urged unity on the right of British politics as he admitted he and Tory MPs such as Sir Jacob Rees Mogg will some day 'have to be in the same party' Sir Jacob, the former business secretary, recently spoke at the launch of a new Tory faction known as 'Popular Conservatism' - an event that was also attended by Mr Farage There has been fresh guesswork about Mr Farage's political future in recent weeks after he attended the launch of a new Tory faction known as 'Popular Conservatism'. The event was addressed by senior Tory figures such as Sir Jacob, ex-PM Liz Truss and leading 'Red Wall' MP Lee Anderson. Speaking to BBC Radio 4's World At One this afternoon, Mr Farage - who is Reform's honorary president - conceded he and Tory right-wingers such as Sir Jacob should be in the same party. 'At some point in time people like myself and Jacob Rees-Mogg have to be in the same party,' he said. 'Whether that's Reform, whether that's the Conservatives, whether it's something new, I don't know. 'But, logically, that wing of the Conservative Party and Reform have to be in the same team.' Last night's by-election results in both Wellingborough and Kingswood saw the Conservative Party chairman raise fears about the strong showing from Reform. Richard Holden warned that Reform splitting the right-wing vote would hand Labour the general election. He swiped that Mr Farage and Reform leader Richard Tice 'want' Labour's Sir Keir Starmer to get the keys to No10. But Mr Farage pushed back at the Tory attacks, saying: 'Labour are going to win anyway. 'I think with or without Reform, the Tories are sunk below the waterline, so why not try and build a genuine political movement for change?' He added: 'What we do need in this country is a centre-right government - at the election after this - that believes in a small state, encourages entrepreneurship, controls its borders and actually believes in the country.' Mr Farage said voters would 'have to see' whether he plays an active role in the upcoming general election for Reform UK. He was also pressed on whether he might contemplate a bid for the Tory leadership should the party suffer defeat when voters next go to polls across the country. 'I have no idea what's going to happen,' he said. Conservative Party chairman Richard Holden warned that Reform splitting the right-wing vote would hand Labour the general election Mr Holden raised fears about the strong showing from Reform UK, swiping that Mr Farage (left) and Richard Tice (right) 'want' Keir Starmer to get the keys to No10 Sir Keir Starmer was jubilant today after securing two more by-election victories Mr Sunak is under renewed pressure to bring forward tax cuts and more traditional right-wing policies in the wake of the Tories' latest meltdown in Wellingborough and Kingswood. Winning candidate Gen Kitchen turned a Conservative majority of more than 18,500 in Wellingborough into a Labour one of 6,436. The vote share swing of 28.5 percentage points was the second largest from Tory to Labour at a by-election since the Second World War. In Kingswood, Damien Egan, the former mayor of Lewisham in London , secured a majority of 2,501 after overturning the 11,220 Conservative majority. If all the Reform voters had backed the Tories in Kingswood it would have held onto the seat, repeating a situation seen in the by-elections last year in Tamworth and Mid Bedfordshire. The Tories have now lost more by-elections since 2019 than any other Government in a single term since the 1960s. Reform candidate Rupert Lowe took 10 per cent of the vote in Kingswood, while Ben Habib landed 13 per cent in Wellingborough. It is the first time the party has polled that high in a by-election. And in Wellingborough the party's total was more than 50 per cent of the Tory vote - though it would not have ben enough to hang onto the seat. The Tory vote share in the seat collapsed from 62.2 per cent in 2019 to just 24.6 per cent. Mr Holden said: 'I think one of the most disappointing things for me is the turnout in the by-elections was so significantly down compared to the previous general elections in both seats. I want to see people actively participating in democracy,' he told Sky News. 'I think that shows we've got a lot to do to get people out there and enthused to vote again, and probably the Opposition have a similar challenge.' Mr Holden also appealed for the right to unite against Labour, accusing Reform of having the 'ambition' to put Sir Keir into No10. 'Their ambition is to block Conservatives winning seats and therefore put Keir Starmer into Downing Street,' he told the BBC. 'They've made it very clear, you've read out that statement from them, that's what Reform UK want to do, they want to see Keir Starmer in Downing Street and not have a Conservative government.' He added: 'Reform aren't challenging realistically for seats. This general elections is going to be a battle between the Conservatives and the Labour Party. 'All Reform are going to do, as they've said themselves, is help put Keir Starmer and Labour into Downing Street.' Asked if Mr Sunak needs to appease the right of the Conservative Party, Mr Holden said: 'If the right of the British politics and the centre and centre-right that broad church which is the Conservative Party doesn't unite, then we will see a Labour victory.' Speaking from the Kingswood election count, former minister Sir Jacob said the Conservative Party needed to 'learn from the result'. He said: 'I think we should learn from this result and look at what happened with the Reform Party vote. Conservative Party votes are most likely to come from people who stay at home or who voted Reform. 'How do we win them back to the Tory family? People who share many views and values with us. 'By delivering things they believe in and that means lower taxation, taking more of the advantages of Brexit, with more of the removal of EU retained law, it means doing less on the green issue that is making people cold and poor, and helping revitalise our economy. 'I think those issues will have a great appeal.' Damien Egan was congratulated by his husband after emerging victorious in Kingswood last night The Tory defeats meant the Government has clocked up more by-election losses in a single parliament than any administration since the 1960s Elections analyst Professor Michael Thrasher said it was impossible to say how many Tories had switched to Labour because the presence of Reform 'muddies the water'. He predicted the party, founded by Mr Farage and headed by Mr Tice, would be a 'significant player' at the general election. 'Any support that Reform gets is bound to hurt Conservatives and will be the difference between some Conservatives holding on to their seats or losing them,' he told Sky News. 'They are a critical player at the next election.' Prof Thrasher highlighted that in Kingswood the Reform vote was slightly larger than the majority Labour secured. He said: 'You can be certain that sitting Conservative MPs are doing precisely those kind of numbers to see how much damage they can do it's not quite as successful as Ukip was in 2015, but they are going to be significant players. 'Whether and how the Conservative party as a whole begins to have a conversation with Reform I will be interested to see that.' Help is available from Samaritans by calling 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org Help is available from Samaritans by calling 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org The parents of two teenagers who viewed harmful material on social media before their deaths have called on youngsters to have better protection when using digital platforms. Ian Russell, the father of Molly Russell and Esther Ghey, mother of Brianna Ghey made the calls while discussing their children's tragic deaths. Speaking during a live conversation with Ms Grey on the BBC, Mr Russell said big tech firms were 'heading in the wrong direction', adding that he thought it was their bosses who were 'resistant to change'. Mr Russell lost his daughter Molly, 14, after she took her own life six years ago, and Ms Grey's daughter Brianna, who was transgender, was murdered 12 months ago. He added: 'The world is waking up and realising that unless it starts to regulate big tech, nothing is going to change. Ian Russell, the father of Molly Russell, and Esther Ghey, the mother of Brianna Ghey, appearing on BBC Breakfast as they met for the first time Molly Russell who took her own life in November 2017 after viewing material on social media linked to anxiety, depression, self-harm and suicide Brianna Ghey, 16, was found with fatal wounds in a park near Warrington, Cheshire, in February 2023 'What we need in the UK at the moment is for Ofcom , who is the regulator appointed by the Government to take the powers of the Online Safety Act, to put them in place - we need Ofcom to be far bolder.' He said: 'If Ofcom aren't bolder and don't take stronger measures to try to control these online harms then tech will race away in front of us and we'll have this problem for far longer, and young people will be in danger for far longer.' During their conversation, Ms Ghey said: 'I didn't have a clue what Brianna was looking at online. It was only after she was taken from us that I found out that she was accessing self-harm sites and eating disorder sites.' Ian Russell, who set up the Molly Rose Foundation, following the loss of his daughter, Molly Russell, in 2017, and has since been awarded an MBE for his services to child safety online Mr Russell replied: 'I'm over six years down the road from Molly's death and I still have bad days and hearing your story has reminded me how raw the emotions are when you're closer to the death.' He showed Ms Ghey a book of handwritten notes by Molly in which she alluded to her depression, writing: 'Sometimes my mind is like a little boat out in the middle of the sea in a big storm. I'm alone and all the waves are closing down on me, drowning me.' Mr Russell added: 'Since Molly's death, which is over six years ago now, I've met far too many families in similar situations and there's a tremendous bond that exists between all of us. 'Every loss of a child is unique and different. But there's a connection and I think maybe we think we can understand each other a little bit better because we've been through something similar.' Meanwhile, in a separate interview, Ms Ghey said social media companies have a 'moral responsibility' to protect young people from harm online. She also said 'nothing is in the diary yet' regarding a potential meeting with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, but added: 'I am hoping to arrange something soon after I've had a short break.' Ms Ghey said she would like to 'get his views' on online safety for young people and to discuss her Peace in Mind campaign to train more teachers in mindfulness. Citing one post on X/Twitter, Ms Ghey said: 'I've done a few interviews now and once the articles are posted on Twitter, the comments are absolutely horrendous, and there's a lot of trans hate that's directed to Brianna. Sir Keir Starmer met Esther Ghey later in the Commons 'Now, I'm all for free speech but I actually reported one of these comments and they came back to say that there was nothing wrong with what was being said. 'It's just complete hate and I don't think that there's a place online for that.' Ms Ghey expressed concern for children and young people seeing 'this hateful way of speaking' and she would 'like to sit down and speak to the regulators and social media companies'. '[Social media companies] have got us into this mess now and it is their responsibility to get us out of it, and it's something that we can all work on together,' she said. 'Social media companies and mobile phone companies have both got a moral responsibility to not think about profit so much and actually think about how their product is impacting the people who are using it.' Scarlett Jenkinson will serve a minimum of 22 years, while Eddie Ratcliffe will serve a minimum of 20 years Jenkinson, who was obsessed with serial killers, began watching videos of real-life torture and killing on the dark web. She plotted to kill Brianna with Ratcliffe Ms Ghey's comments came as she announced 75,000 had been raised by Peace in Mind to train more teachers in mindfulness, a cognitive skill focused on being in the present moment. The campaign has raised enough money for a teacher in every school in her town of Warrington, Cheshire, to be trained in mindfulness, with ambitions to spread the campaign around the country. 'I feel that if we did have mindfulness in schools from a young age then that may have made [Brianna] more resilient, and she would have been less at risk of the things that she was going through when she was a teenager,' Ms Ghey said. Ms Ghey recently discussed her campaign to get mindfulness taught in schools with Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer, which she said was 'a really positive meeting', although Sir Keir did not commit to banning smartphones for young people if Labour won the general election. Scarlett Jenkinson and Eddie Ratcliffe were both 15 when they lured Brianna to Linear park in Culcheth, near Warrington, Cheshire, and stabbed her to death on February 11 last year. Jenkinson was jailed for a minimum of 22 years while Ratcliffe will serve a minimum of 20 years. 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, or visit to find your nearest branch. A bipartisan group of lawmakers has released a new foreign aid package that strips out humanitarian provisions and offers the tightest border security provisions yet agreed to by both parties. The bill offers $66 billion in defense-only aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan and fresh border security provisions that would last a year. It also includes a Remain in Mexico provision which would resurrect the Trump-era policy requiring migrants who claim asylum to wait in Mexico until their claim is processed. Another provision requires the Homeland Security secretary to suspend all entry of inadmissible aliens if at any point the department loses operational control of the border. The bill also gives immigration officers the authority to immediately expel those who they determine to be inadmissible without further hearing or review. The package includes $47 billion for Ukraine, $10 billion for Israel, $5 billion for Taiwan and the Indo-Pacific, $2.5 billion for U.S. Central Command and its fight against Iran in the Red Sea and $500 million for U.S. Indo-Pacific Command. A bipartisan group of lawmakers has released a new foreign aid package that strips out humanitarian provisions and offers the tightest border security provisions yet agreed to by both parties It is an alternative to the Senate-passed $95 billion aid package that stripped out immigration provisions that conservatives said did not go far enough. House Speaker Mike Johnson has deemed that package dead on arrival but the release of this House-led bipartisan deal ups the ante for him to bring some sort of aid package to the floor. Led by Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., Don Bacon, R-Neb., Mike Lawler, R-N.Y. Lori, Chavez-DeRemer, R-Wash., Doug Lamborn, R-Colo., Jared Golden, D-Maine, Ed Case, D-Hawaii, Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Wash., Don Davis, D-N.C., and Jim Costa, D-Calif., the deal is expected to draw opposition from progressives who oppose Israel funding due to the war in Gaza and will balk at the bills lack of humanitarian aid for Palestinians. The legislation shows that even moderate Democrats are ready to get on board with some of the Trump-era border restrictions Republicans have been demanding - as border crossings reach further record highs. It comes just as Vladimir Putin opposition leader Alexei Navalny died in a Siberian prison - prompting lawmakers to demand further aid to stand up to Russia. 'Putin murders Navalny the same week Donald Trump invites Russia to invade Europe and MAGA Mike Johnson blocks aid to Ukraine,' said Rep. Eric Swalwell, a Califoria Democrat, on X. 'This isn't a coincidence, it's the green light Putin has been given.' Ukrainian soldiers prepare a D20 artillery in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine on February 14 Flowers and candles left after the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny It also comes after Intel Chairman Mike Turner warned of a pressing national security threat that the White House later confirmed involves Russian anti-satellite capabilities in space. Congress has spent months at an impasse over further aid for U.S. allies - as the rightward flank of the House has even begun to threaten to motion to vacate Johnson from the speakership if he puts further Ukraine aid on the House floor. The U.S. has already given $75 billion, both in humanitarian assistance and arms, to Ukraine since Putin invaded two years ago, and support has steadily dwindled among Republicans who see no clear off ramp in the conflict. Seattle residents have expressed fury over a 'pallet village' for homeless people which is being proposed near a Catholic school. Parents and staff at Kennedy Catholic High School voiced concern about the impact of the 35 home complex, citing fears of an increase in crime. The $1 million initiative is designed to provide emergency temporary housing to homeless people in suburb of Burien for two years. But opponents say the proposal threatens the, 'safety, security, equity, and economic well-being' of the community, with homeless encampments on the west coast synonymous with open drug taking, violence and other crimes. 'A temporary emergency housing encampment should not be placed right next to a school, it is completely irresponsible of the city council and I question their moral compass,' Kennedy parent Amy McDonna told a planning meeting Thursday. Parents and staff at Kennedy Catholic High School in Burien, WA have expressed concern over plans to erect a 'pallet village' for homeless people near campus The $1 million project is designed to be emergency temporary accommodation for unhoused people in the area over the next two years But opponents including parents Amy McDonna (pictured) spoke out against the plans at a city planning meeting, citing safety concerns 'My two daughters attend Kennedy Catholic High School and I would be remiss if I did not speak up for them against the placement of this homeless encampment that the city council is trying to push through.' She questioned city leaders over what screening procedures would be in place for ' drugs, guns, mental health and registered sex offenders' amid criticism the plans lack clarity. 'This whole debate has been a mess from the beginning. Don't exacerbate it. Recommend to the city council to go back to the drawing board,' Vice Principal Katie Burns told the meeting. She said that while the school had sympathy for the need for the village, the proposal has been badly thought out. A petition created by concerned parents also branded the plans 'ill-advised'. 'A thriving learning environment starts with safety, yet the proposed tiny home village raises concerns about drug use and crime, endangering our children's well-being,' the petition states. 'Our dedicated teachers and administrators deserve a secure work environment. A nearby tiny home village threatens their safety and property, which is unacceptable.' It goes on to claim there could be a detrimental economic impact to the community by deterring parents from sending their students to the school and weakening Buriens' 'economic vitality'. The meeting attracted several concerned members of the community who questioned what safeguards would be in place Concerned parents of students at Kennedy Catholic High School set up a petition to block the plans from going ahead But proponents of the scheme said they are relatively crime free and provide a chance for people to get back on their feet Burien currently has two shelters: a family shelter that can serve up to 219 family members and a women-only shelter that can serve up to nine single women. The Highline United Methodist Church also operates a Severe Weather Shelter during times of extreme cold and can sleep up to 50 people. Supporters of the measures argue it is necessary to deal with the unhoused population in the area. 'If you want the situation to improve, we have to act boldly. Inaction and hostility is not a solution,' one man said. Another woman, a volunteer who has worked at pallet villages, told the board that crime at the facilities is minimal and that they help people get back on their feet. 'If people don't want to see homeless in the street, they belong to our community. So, they need to be offered another place to live,' she said. In order for the proposal to go ahead the city's planning board needs to vote through amendments to zoning laws. The vote on the change to the planning rules is set for February 28. Vladimir Putin would ask for updates about the brutal punishments dished out to Alexei Navalny at the penal colony where he collapsed and died yesterday, it has been claimed. The Russian president is accused of the 'murder' of his most vocal critic, who died while serving a 19-year prison sentence in an Arctic penal colony. Reports have previously claimed Putin 'wants to know everything that happens to Navalny. All the details, the punishments'. It has even been claimed he demanded footage of Navalny inside the grim colony where he was held. Prison guards have also been accused of trying to 'destroy Navalny's health by all forces and means', according to the opposition leader's lawyer Vadim Kobzev. Navalny was last seen at a court appearance on Thursday. Footage of the hearing showed the 47-year-old smiling and cracking jokes about the judge's salary - remaining brave in the face of his deadly plight. A view of the entrance of the prison colony in the town of Kharp, in the Yamalo-Nenetsk region about 1,200 miles northeast of Moscow, Tuesday, January 23, 2024 Vladimir Putin, pictured in Russia on Friday, reportedly demanded updates about Navalny in prison, where guards have been accused of trying to 'destroy [the opposition leader's] health by all forces and means' 'Your Honor, I will send you my personal account number so that you can use your huge salary as a federal judge to 'warm up' my personal account, because I am running out of money,' Navalny said, triggering grins from others in the courtroom. He appeared in a black prison uniform and spoke from behind a barred window. Hours later, Navalny was dead. Russia's prison service said he had collapsed and lost consciousness following a walk at the penal colony. Medics were unable to revive him, according to the announcement. His lawyer said recently that Navalny had lost 7kg in weight and was 'deliberately infected' with an unknown acute viral respiratory disease while in a hell-hole punishment cell. Navalny 'was not given proper medicines, but 'was treated with huge doses of antibiotics which should not have been used', Kobzev said. The lawyer said: 'Navalny was told that he was being transferred to a cell for the maximum possible period of six months. 'These actions cannot be regarded otherwise than as an open strategy to destroy Navalny's health by all forces and means.' Along with reports that Putin showed a sadistic interest in Navalny's treatment, it has even been claimed previously that he requested video footage and live streams of the opposition leader in prison. The stunning news of Navalny's death less than a month before an election that will give Putin another six years in power brought renewed criticism and outrage directed at the Kremlin leader who has cracked down on all opposition at home. The online news outlet SOTA reported that the court session on Thursday was convened after an 'argument' with a prison officer who tried to confiscate Navalny's pen. Navalny wrote later on Thursday that he had been given 15 days in solitary confinement. Since first being jailed in Jan. 2021, Navalny had been in and out of solitary confinement, which is often used to punish rulebreakers in the Russian prison system. After the hearing, Navalny took to social media. 'The Yamal prison decided to break Vladimir's record of fawning and pleasing the Moscow authorities. They just gave me 15 days in solitary confinement,' he wrote on X. 'This is the fourth solitary confinement spell in less than 2 months that I have been with them,' he added. It was the last such message he wrote. Russian news outlets announced Navalny's death - citing the Siberian prison service where he was serving his sentence - sparking shock and anger around the globe, with world leaders quickly pointing the finger at Russian president Vladimir Putin (pictured in Russia today) Opposition leader Alexei Navalny is escorted out of a police station on January 18, 2021 Navalny, pictured with his wife Yulia in happier times, crusaded against official corruption and staged massive anti-Kremlin protests - drawing the ire of the Kremlin Praise for Navalny's bravery poured in from Western leaders and others who have opposed Putin's rule. The opposition leader's health has deteriorated recently and the cause of death may never be known, but many world leaders said they held Russian authorities ultimately responsible for his death. If confirmed, 'his death in a Russian prison and the fixation and fear of one man only underscores the weakness and rot at the heart of the system that Putin has built. Russia is responsible for this,' U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said while at a conference in Germany. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Navalny 'has probably now paid for this courage with his life.' Standing at Scholz's side, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy whose country is fending off Russian invasion said: 'Putin doesn't care who dies in order for him to hold onto his position.' Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Putin was informed of Navalny's death. The opposition leader's spokeswoman Kira Yarmysh said on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, that the team had no confirmation yet. Shortly after the death was reported, the Russian SOTA social media channel shared images of the opposition politician reportedly in court yesterday. In the footage, Navalny can be seen standing up laughing and joking with the judge via video link. Navalny was moved in December from a prison in central Russia to a 'special regime' penal colony the highest security level of prisons in the country above the Artic Circle. His allies decried the transfer to a colony in the town of Kharp, in a region about 1,900 kilometers (1,200 miles) northeast of Moscow, as yet another attempt to force Navalny into silence. Before his arrest, Navalny campaigned against official corruption, organized major anti-Kremlin protests and ran for public office. In Putin's Russia, political opponents often faded amid factional disputes or went into exile after imprisonment, suspected poisonings or other heavy repression. But Navalny grew consistently stronger and reached the apex of the opposition through grit, bravado and an acute understanding of how social media could circumvent the Kremlin's suffocation of independent news outlets. He faced each setback whether it was a physical assault or imprisonment with an intense devotion, confronting dangers with a sardonic wit. That drove him to the bold and fateful move of returning from Germany to Russia and certain arrest. Prison authorities repeatedly put Navalny in a tiny cell to punish him for minor infractions. Last month, he said that he was placed in such a cell after officials accused him of refusing to 'introduce himself in line with protocol.' Placement in the small cell means that prisoners are only allowed to walk outside in a narrow concrete prison yard in the early morning. 'Few things are as refreshing as a walk in Yamal at 6:30 in the morning,' he wrote. Navalny was born in Butyn, about 40 kilometers (25 miles) outside Moscow. He received a law degree from People's Friendship University in 1998 and did a fellowship at Yale in 2010. He gained attention by focusing on corruption in Russia's murky mix of politicians and businesses; one of his early moves was to buy a stake in Russian oil and gas companies to become an activist shareholder and push for transparency. By concentrating on corruption, Navalny's work had a pocketbook appeal to Russians' widespread sense of being cheated, and he carried stronger resonance than more abstract and philosophical concerns about democratic ideals and human rights. He was convicted in 2013 of embezzlement on what he called a politically motivated prosecution and was sentenced to five years in prison, but the prosecutor's office later surprisingly demanded his release pending appeal. A higher court later gave him a suspended sentence. The day before the sentence, Navalny had registered as a candidate for Moscow mayor. The opposition saw his release as the result of large protests in the capital of his sentence, but many observers attributed it to a desire by authorities to add a tinge of legitimacy to the mayoral election. Navalny finished second, an impressive performance against the incumbent who had the backing of Putin's political machine and was popular for improving the capital's infrastructure and aesthetics. Navalny's popularity increased after the leading charismatic politician, Boris Nemtsov, was shot and killed in 2015 on a bridge near the Kremlin. Whenever Putin spoke about Navalny, he made it a point to never mention the activist by name, referring to him as 'that person' or similar wording, in an apparent effort to diminish his importance. Three years ago I said President Putin was carrying out a slow motion assassination of Russias leading dissident Alexei Navalny. Today, my worst fears were realised. Navalny was principled and fearless but in the end he tragically underestimated the malice and brutality of Putin and his cronies. Like everyone who has worked with him over the years to expose the appalling corruption of Russias ruling class, I am devastated by the news of his death. The only positive we can take from it is that Alexeis legacy will live on in the campaigning of his many supporters around the world. And I will be one of them. We first met at the turn of the millennium when I was a fund manager in Moscow and campaigning for shareholder rights at a time when corruption was rife in the Russian corporate world. Officers detain Alexei Navalny in Moscow in 2013 'Navalny was motivated by a deep sense of patriotism and furious outrage over the way Putins mafia state was stealing from the Russian people,' says Bill Browder After I was kicked out of the country in 2005, we continued to work together to expose the naked greed of the men at the top. I redoubled my efforts in 2009 after the murder of my lawyer and friend Sergei Magnitsky, a man with the courage of a lion, who died in a Moscow prison after being hideously tortured. Navalny was motivated by a deep sense of patriotism and furious outrage over the way Putins mafia state was stealing from the Russian people. And despite being arrested repeatedly for speaking out, he carried on fighting. By August 2020, the authorities had had enough and agents of the FSB the successor to the KGB attempted to kill him using a nerve agent. He only survived thanks to the fact his supporters managed to fly him to Germany for cutting-edge medical treatment. Despite the obvious dangers he faced in his homeland, after spending a month in hospital, he returned to Russia against the advice of friends because he believed he couldnt be an effective politician unless he was on the ground. Alexei was arrested the moment he touched down in Moscow. But he was never a man to back down and within two days he had authorised his team to release a highly embarrassing video investigation into the gaudy $1.5billion palace that Putin had built for himself on the Black Sea. At the last count, it had attracted more than 100million views on YouTube. More recently, in an almost suicidally courageous move, he had them compile a dossier on the governor of the very prison in which he was incarcerated. The resulting investigation not only named Colonel Dmitry Nozhkins mistress but revealed he and his wifes penchant for threesomes. His punishment was a transfer to an even more inhospitable penal colony deep in the Arctic Circle, where the temperature can fall as low as minus 30C at this time of year. Im currently at the Munich Security Conference where I am campaigning for the release of Vladimir Kara-Murza, a Russian dissident who was sentenced to 25 years for treason a year ago after denouncing the invasion of Ukraine. We can only hope the global outcry over the death of my friend Alexei will offer Vladimir and so many other heroic activists a degree of protection against the murderous death cult in the Kremlin. Bill Browder is the author of Freezing Order: Vladimir Putin, Russian Money Laundering And Murder - A True Story Three years ago, the crazed killer was rescued after he jumped into a lion's cage His victim, Phulrani's body was found by police as they searched his home A man in India has beheaded his wife and is reported to have taken the severed head to the park to dance with it. Gautam Guchhait, 40, from Chistipur village near Calcutta believed his wife Phulrani, 27, had been unfaithful and brutally murdered her in an act of revenge. This comes three years after he made headlines around the world for jumping in to a lion enclosure at a zoo and being rescued by staff. The killer who appears in the video soaked in his wife's blood, used a knife to cut her head off. He then took the head, which was still dripping with blood, around the village, showing off what he had done. The video shows the man holding the head by the hair, raising it up - and warning locals to stay away. Gautam Guchhait, 40, from Chistipur village near Calcutta believed his wife Phulrani, 27, had been unfaithful and brutally murdered her in an act of revenge Guchhait was seen by locals taking the head to the park, where he proceeded to dance with it. When he was finished, he carried it to a bench, put it down next to him and sat down. It was there that he was arrested. Guchhait claimed that his wife had been having an affair behind his back and that was his reasoning behind the beheading. He was taken into custody and police officers searched his house where they found the rest of the body. Soumyadwip Bhattacharya of the district police said: 'The motive for the murder will only become clear to us after a thorough inquiry. 'Based on the evidence, we believe that the murder may have been caused by a family quarrel.' This isn't the first time Guchhait has made headlines. In 2021, he decided to buy a ticket for a zoo, walked around for the morning - and then jumped into a lion's cage. Police officers searched his house where they found the rest of the body, seen here covered At the time, he was said to be dressed like a holy man and was drunk. After being mauled and suffering wounds to his shoulder and neck, he was rescued by zoo staff and taken to the West Bengal citys SSKM Hospital for emergency care. The cage was home to an endangered Asiatic lion, native to the Gir Forest in the Junagadh district of Gujarat. Hamas today claimed that 'many' Israeli hostages have died in four months of bloody warfare as the conflict in the southern Levant shows no signs of ending. Abu Obeida, the spokesperson of the group's armed wing, said in an audio message that the remaining hostages are living in extremely difficult conditions as Israeli forces continue devastating attacks on the Gaza Strip. It comes as Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu prepares to push on with a 'powerful' operation in the southern city of Rafah to achieve 'complete victory' over Hamas. Despite overtures to a peace deal in recent weeks, Netanyahu roundly rejected Hamas' new terms for a ceasefire last week and today brushed off international pressure to help create an independent Palestinian state. But concern mounts for the welfare of some 1.4mn Palestinians currently sheltering in Gaza's southernmost city as Israeli troops prepare to sweep through the city ostensibly towards the objectives of routing Hamas and returning hostages taken into Gaza on October 7. A mask with a picture of a hostage partially covers the face of a woman as she takes part in a protest in Tel Aviv, Israel, February 15, 2024 Relatives and supporters of Israeli hostages light flares and block a road during a demonstration calling for their release in Tel Aviv, on February 15, 2024 A demonstrator holds up a flare during a protest held by relatives of hostages and supporters calling for their release, in Tel Aviv, Israel, February 15, 2024 Benjamin Netanyahu speaks at a press conference at the Prime Minister's office in Jerusalem, on February 7, 2024 The relentless conflict in Gaza has seen critics and the families of hostages from Israel turn out to pressure the Israeli government into agree terms for their release. Masses of protestors demanded a ceasefire during the latest march in Tel Aviv on Thursday evening, pictured wielding signs that read 'I'm still alive: S.O.S.' and 'Hostage deal now!' Elsewhere, supporters lit flares and waved flags to draw attention to their calls for peace. Roughly 130 hostages are still believed to be in Gaza after Hamas's October 7 attack on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of about 1,160 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on figures shared by Israel. While a minority of voters in Israel believe the IDF is using too much force in Gaza, the stories of dire conditions shared by Israeli hostages returning from captivity in the November ceasefire has given force to the movement. Some returning said Israel's siege had made conditions worse for hostages, suggesting food and water supplies were slashed by a siege of Gaza City in the first few days of the conflict. One former hostage warned her husband had been taken to a tunnel just as the IDF began to explore the possibility of flooding them - a tactic still employed by Israeli forces wading through Gaza. Hamas also last month said that multiple hostages had been killed in repeat Israeli bombing over the Gaza Strip, filming hostages before their deaths apparently under duress as they urged Israel to relent. And the IDF has been accused of shooting dead three hostages in December, found waving a makeshift white flag and crying 'help' in Hebrew. The deaths have exposed the difficulty in operating within dense urban environments, where Hamas have used asymmetrical tactics to undermine Israel's attacks. Still, Israel has maintained pressure. Yesterday, Israeli special forces stormed the main hospital in southern Gaza just hours after killing a patient and wounding six others inside the complex. The army said it was a limited operation seeking the remains of hostages taken by Hamas, but did not immediately reveal who they were looking for. Four patients were later found to have died after their oxygen supply was cut off when Israeli troops stormed the hospital building, according to the doctors. The military said it was operating on 'credible evidence' that Hamas had held hostages at the hospital - without sharing its source. Al Jazeera reported that those in the hospital were given until 7am local time to evacuate before heavy tank and machine gun fire could be heard nearby. The outlet reported that the hospital's maternity ward, orthopaedics unit and emergency room were targeted by IDF soldiers, and that medical staff were rounded up and had 'their hands tied behind their backs.' Dr. Khaled Alserr, one of the remaining surgeons at Nasser Hospital, told the AP that the seven patients who were hit early on Thursday morning were already being treated for past wounds. On Wednesday, a doctor was lightly wounded when a drone opened fire on the upper stories of the hospital, he said. Hawkers are seen selling food on the streets as Palestinians struggle with the rising cost of living due to Israeli attacks in Gaza City, Gaza on February 14, 2024 Photo from Rafah shows smoke billowing in Khan Younis on February 15, 2024 Smoke from bombardment billows in the background as displaced Palestinians flee from Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on January 30, 2024 The raid at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis came a day after the army sought to evacuate thousands of displaced people who had taken shelter there. The southern city has been the main target of Israel's offensive against Hamas in recent weeks. Having evacuated Gaza City and Khan Younis in the south, some 1.4mn people are now sheltering in the small city of Rafah near the border with Egypt. With Israel now threatening to press in and scour the city for traces of Hamas, international onlookers have asked where civilians are supposed to go. Evacuation orders and the bombing of major cities had displaced some 90 per cent of the population by January this year, and more than 28,000 Palestinians are reported to have been killed in clashes since the conflict began. Figures are collated by the Palestinian Health Ministry, which is run by Hamas. The figures do not distinguish between civilians and soldiers. The UN says casualty figures provided by the ministry have proved reliable during previous conflicts with Israel. Mercy Corps, a humanitarian aid group operating in Gaza, has shared rare insight into the conditions experienced by Palestinians and hostages alike trapped in the beleaguered enclave. Lena, a member of staff, said: 'Every day, bombings are happening around us. The sound of warplanes is constantly loud. The military presence has become more apparent on the borders and the outskirts of Rafah. 'So far, there haven't been any instructions on where to go. Should we leave Rafah? And if so, where should we go next? Honestly, my family and I are unsure what to do. We don't have alternative plans or another place to go' Confusion was apparent days after Netanyahu gave the order for the IDF to prepare Rafah for evacuation. Hamza, a Mercy Corps Air Worker in Rafah, said: 'People are afraid, people are talking about evacuating Rafah but no one knows where so there is a status of fear. 'People just walk and you see their faces and eyes that there is something inside their heads they cannot make sense of. So we just live each moment and we from inside ourselves know that it could be the last moment we live here.' Palestinian people are seen among tents as they struggle with strong winds, downpours and floods while Israeli attacks continue in Rafah of Gaza on February 15, 2024 Displaced Palestinians camp near the border fence between Gaza and Egypt, on February 16 Palestinians line up for a free meal in Rafah, Gaza Strip, Friday, February 16, 2024 Palestinian children wait in line to get food for their families, distributed by charitable organizations in Rafah, Gaza on February 16, 2024 To the north, Iran-backed Hezbollah signalled today it would escalate attacks on Israel in response to the deaths of ten Lebanese civilians killed in Israeli attacks this week. In a televised speech, Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said Israel would pay a price 'in blood', indicating the risk of an intensification of the conflict that has been rumbling across the Lebanese-Israeli border since the Gaza war erupted in October. Nasrallah accused Israel of deliberately targeting civilians, saying Israel could have avoided killing them. The dead included five children. 'The response to the massacre should be continuing resistance work at the front and escalating resistance work at the front,' Nasrallah said. 'Our women and our children who were killed in these days, the enemy will pay the price of spilling their blood in blood,' he said. Israel said that it would remove Hezbollah from the border altogether if diplomatic routes failed. 'If a diplomatic solution is not found, Israel will be forced to act in order to remove Hezbollah from the border and return our residents to their homes,' he said, referring to some 70,000 displaced Israelis. 'In such a case, Lebanon will also pay a heavy price.' BBC boss Tim Davie has issued a warning to staff about antisemitism in the corporation. In an internal email sent to all staff, the Director-General says the BBC has been 'alerted to some antisemitic behaviour by people who worked with us'. It is the first time bosses have acknowledged they have an issue with antisemitic staff since the October 7 terror attacks in Israel. Mr Davie's remarks are thought to have been sparked in part by the behaviour of Dawn Queva, a BBC3 scheduling coordinator who posted a string of antisemitic comments on Facebook. She was subsequently sacked by the BBC. BBC Boss Tim Davie (pictured) has admonished staff over their 'antisemitic behaviour' according to a leaked internal email seen by The Daily Mail Tim Davie's internal memo to BBC staff about anti-antisemitism within the corporation In internal email sent to all staff, the Director-General says the BBC has been 'alerted to some antisemitic behaviour by people who worked with us' Mr Davie's remarks are thought to have been sparked in part by the behaviour of Dawn Queva (pictured), a BBC3 scheduling coordinator who posted a string of antisemitic comments on Facebook Among the messages posted by Queva was one where she described the Holocaust as the 'holohoax' and she also branded Jewish people an 'invader coloniser species'. In the email Mr Davie references the 'difficult and demanding' period for staff as they 'cover events in the Middle East and their repercussions around the world', and writes: 'As an organisation, we must stand united against any form of abuse, prejudice or intolerance. 'As many of you may have seen, sadly in recent weeks we have been alerted to some antisemitic behaviour by people who worked with us. 'I want to be clear that there can be no place at the BBC for racist abuse of any kind whether towards our Jewish colleagues or indeed colleagues from any background or belief. 'Any form of antisemitism, Islamophobia or racist abuse is abhorrent, and we will always act whenever it occurs.' Since October 7 the BBC has faced repeated criticism about its handling of the Gaza war and its attitude towards the Jewish community, both in its coverage and among individual staff members. In October the corporation had 'reminded' the head of its Asian Network radio service of his 'responsibilities' to impartiality after he reposted tweets which described Israel's response to the Hamas attacks as 'genocide'. Ahmed Hussain, who has been in charge of the station since 2020, was also said to have reposted messages calling into question allegations that the terror group beheaded babies. Also in October, six reporters and a freelance journalist who work for its Arabic news service were said to have shared comments comparing the terrorist group to freedom fighters. All of the journalists had been taken off air while the BBC investigated. Last month, a group of at least 22 Jewish BBC staff members submitted formal complains about the cooperation's workplace culture, social media practices and coverage of the Middle East. And this week the BBC was criticised for broadcasting episodes of The Apprentice starring former NHS doctor Asif Munaf who had been accused of making 'a stream of anti-Jewish' comments on social media. His comments included calling Zionism a 'satanic cult' and boasting about compiling a 'list of sadistic doctors' who were 'supporting the Zionist genocide'. Responding to Mr Davie's email, a Jewish BBC staff member who asked to remain anonymous accused the Director-General of paying lip service to the BBC's antisemitism problem without taking meaningful action. They said: 'I don't believe him. I guess it's good to see it in writing but it makes me want to cry that it's just in writing and not in practice.' Earlier this week the BBC was criticised for broadcasting episodes of The Apprentice starring former NHS doctor Asif Munaf (pictured) who had been accused of making 'a stream of anti-Jewish' comments on social media A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: 'After years of denial and gaslighting of the Jewish community, this is a welcome admission from the BBC's Director-General that the Corporation has an antisemitism problem. 'This admission is long-overdue, and comes in the wake of continuing reports of Jewish BBC staff feeling frightened at work. 'Tim Davie promises that the BBC will 'always act whenever [antisemitism] occurs' but given the BBC's abject failures in the past, we will have to judge the Corporation by its actions not its words. Until matters do improve, we are offering free legal representation to all BBC staff affected by anti-Jewish racism. 'Additionally, we will continue to monitor the BBC's output, which has been so extremely inaccurate and inflammatory at times that we fear that it has fuelled antisemitism in our country.' Former director of BBC television Danny Cohen, who in November slammed the national broadcaster for being 'institutionally antisemitic', said he was relieved that Davie had 'at last acknowledged that the BBC has a problem with antisemitism'. He added: 'The evidence is irrefutable. It has taken months too long for this acknowledgement to happen. 'It's a significant management failure on racism which has had a damaging and distressing impact on British Jews. 'I'm sure that the Jewish community won't find much comfort in this email. Actions are what matter.' The BBC declined to comment on the email but confirmed it was sent. In 2023, FAW Group's wholly-owned vehicle brand sector embarked on a pivotal phase of transition towards new energy. Since January 2023, nearly all announcements from FAW Gorup's wholly-owned brands have revolved around new energy vehicle initiatives. From the signature brand Hongqi's declaration of going "All in" on new energy vehicle to collaborative efforts between the group and various enterprises, each development underscores the automakers determination and vigor in embracing the transition towards electrification. Photo credit: FAW Group Recently, Gasgoo conducted a year-end review, focusing on key automotive enterprises and component manufacturers. This piece offers a retrospective look at FAW Groups journey in 2023. FAW Group unveils Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area R&D Institute On December 18, 2023, the inauguration ceremony of FAW Group's Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area R&D Institute took place in Shenzhen. FAW-Volkswagens ID.7 VIZZION hits market, starting at 227,777 yuan On December 15, FAW-Volkswagen officially put the ID.7 VIZZION onto the market at its Foshan MEB Smart Factory. This latest release encompasses four distinct variants with the AIR edition priced at 227,777 yuan, the PRO edition at 237,777 yuan, the PRIME edition at 262,777 yuan, and the inaugural edition at 230,777 yuan. FAW Jiefang, Gotion Indonesia Materials to step up cooperation on heavy-duty truck project in Indonesia On December 4, FAW Jiefang, the commercial vehicle arm of FAW Group, signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with PT. Gotion Indonesia Materials to cement their cooperation on a heavy-duty truck project, according to a post on FAW Jiefang's WeChat account. FAW Jiefang, Faurecia Hydrogen, Air Liquide intend to co-boost hydrogen applications in transport domain On November 28, Chinese commercial vehicle maker FAW Jiefang, Faurecia (Shanghai) Hydrogen Investment Co., Ltd. ("Faurecia Hydrogen"), and Air Liquide (China) Investment Co., Ltd. ("Air Liquide") inked a comprehensive hydrogen energy strategic cooperation framework in Changchun city, signifying their crucial step toward exploring the vast potential of liquid hydrogen technology. FAW Jiefang, Huawei cement cooperation in AI, intelligent driving, intelligent cockpit On October 24, FAW Jiefang Automotive Co., Ltd. ("FAW Jiefang"), the truck manufacturing company under FAW Group, and Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. ("Huawei") stepped up their strategic partnership by signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) that involves the cooperation in such fields as AI, intelligent driving, and intelligent cockpit. Alibaba, SAIC-backed Banma sees capital injection from FAW Group Banma Network Technology Co., Ltd. (Banma Network Technology), an Alibaba-affiliated intelligent connected car solution provider, recently introduced a new shareholder, FAW Group's Nanjing FAW Innovation Fund Investment Management Center (Limited Partnership), according to the Chinese corporate database Tianyancha. FAW Group enhances Hongqi brand's marketing management On September 19, FAW Group announced a strengthening of its marketing management system for the premium vehicle brand Hongqi, consolidating various departments and functions of the marketing innovation institute, marketing center, and new energy marketing center into an all-new marketing center. FAW Group, Mobileye sign MoU for cooperation in intelligent driving field On September 13th, a momentous event unfolded in Changchun city, Jilin province, as FAW Group and Mobileye signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). This ceremony marked the commencement of a fresh, collaborative chapter, where both entities will unite their strengths in software, hardware, and technological prowess to seamlessly merge technology and products, delivering a seamless and delightful travel experience to users. FAW Group, Volkswagen, Audi deepen collaboration in Chinese market China's FAW Group, Volkswagen Group, and Audi AG cemented their strategic cooperation by signing a memorandum of understanding. As FAW Group celebrates its 70th anniversary, the collaboration between FAW, Volkswagen, and Audi also reaches a notable milestone, marking 35 years of partnership. The ceremony symbolizes the deepening ties between the Chinese and German automakers, with both parties engaging in comprehensive planning for future cooperation. FAW Group celebrates 70th anniversary with 55.77 millionth vehicle rolling off line Chinese legacy automaker FAW Group (FAW) celebrated its 70th anniversary with on July 15, 2023. Coinciding with this momentous occasion, FAW also reached a significant milestone as the 55.77 millionth vehicle rolled off the production line. This achievement represents another important milestone in the brand's history, signifying FAW's transition from industrialization and marketization to a new phase of larger-scale and more globalized high-quality development. FAW Bestune to raise funds through capital increase for new energy vehicle development According to the announcement from the China Beijing Equity Exchange, FAW Bestune Car Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of FAW Group, intends to introduce external investment through a capital increase, with a minimum fundraising target of 165 million yuan. FAW's Hongqi introduces HMP hybrid electric vehicle platform On April 8, FAW Groups wholly-owned premium auto brand Hongqi launched the hybrid HQ Modular Platform (HMP) under the "Flagship" superstructure, showcasing the latest and cutting-edge achievements of the brand in the new energy vehicle field. FAW Bestune ships 117 NAT electric vehicles to Mexico Chinese major auto group FAW Group announced that a ship carrying 117 units of the Bestune NAT electric vehicles (EVs) set sail to Mexico from Lianyungang city, Jiangsu Province. ECARX, FAW Group to build smart cockpit based on SE1000 SoC from SiEngine On February 7, Geely-backed mobility technology provider ECARX announced with its affiliated automotive chip company, SiEngine, the strategic collaboration with FAW Group to build a smart cockpit platform based on SiEngines SE1000 SoC. FAW Groups Hongqi launches global new energy vehicle strategy On Jan. 8, 2023, Hongqi, the premium auto brand of FAW Group, held a grand ceremony to launch its global new energy vehicle (NEV) strategy, unveiling the NEV sub-brand's architecture, logo, design language, technology platform, and product planning. A paedophile teacher has been jailed after raping 12-year-old schoolgirl in a hotel and spending 500 on her in a toy shop. Simon Murch, from Sheffield, met his victim online after she told him she was aged 18, when in fact she was aged 12, a court heard. The 55-year-old asked her to send explicit photos and they arranged to meet at The Tollgate Hotel in Blurton, Stoke-on-Trent. Prosecutors say he would have known instantly that the girl was underage when he picked her up in his car a short distance from her home. Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court heard she stayed in the car while he booked the room before they went inside and engaged in sexual activity. He then indulged her with 500 worth of toys at Smyths. Murch was arrested after the girl reported his actions to another schoolteacher. He has been jailed for seven-and-a-half years with an extended licence period of one year. Simon Murch was jailed for seven and a half years after he raped a schoolgirl at a hotel Prosecutor Tim Harrington told the court the defendant contacted his victim on WhatsApp last year after their communication began on a website. He said: 'He asked if she wanted him to be her sugar daddy. She told him she was 18 and doing her A-levels. He asked her to send pictures of her private area. She sent videos of herself performing a sex act. 'They arranged to meet in Stoke-on-Trent. He booked a room at The Tollgate Hotel. At that stage he may not have known her true age.' Mr Harrington continued: 'He asked if she was on the pill. He picked her up in his car a short distance from her house. 'As soon as they met he would have known she was underage. He went in to book the room on his own. She stayed in the car. He did not want to cause alarm to anybody. It would have been plain to anybody she would have been underage. There is an element of significant planning. 'They went into the hotel. He took off her clothes. They had full intercourse. After they had full sex he took her to Smyths toy shop where he spent 500 on her.' The court heard the victim told a teacher that she had a sugar daddy. Her parents and the police were then informed. Murch, of Parkside Road, Hillsborough, Sheffield, pleaded guilty to rape of a child under 13. Murch then proceeded to take his victim to Smyth's toy store, where he spent 500 on her Alisdair Williamson KC, mitigating, said Murch's mum had died shortly before his offending and his sister had taken her own life. Mr Williamson said: 'He was in a state of emotional turmoil.' He said the victim represented herself to be aged 18 at all times. Mr Williamson added: 'She continued to represent herself as 18 after the hotel and he believed her to be 18. 'When he went to the toy shop after with the victim he was told that was to buy presents for the victim's younger sister. 'It is devastating for the victim. It has ruined his life as well. He has learned a salutary lesson and will respond properly to the courses that may be available to him in custody. 'His life is in ashes. He must rebuild himself. He apologises to the victim and her family, through me.' Judge Graeme Smith said: 'Because of problems in your relationship with your partner you began communicating with adult females over the internet, exchanging photos and images and meeting some for sex. One was this victim. 'You asked if she wanted you to be her sugar daddy. You sent her money and you exchanged pornographic images with her. 'It would have been plain when you met her that she was significantly younger than 18. You simply carried on. As a teacher you should have been alert to the risks. When you met her it was plain she was not an adult.' Pictured: Stoke-on-Trent crown court Murch must serve two-thirds of the custodial sentence before he can be considered for release by the parole board. He was placed on the sex offenders' register for life and was made the subject of an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO). Speaking after the case, Detective Constable Jordan Kirkland, from Staffordshire Police's Child Protection and Exploitation Team (CPET), said: 'I'd like to commend the survivor in this case and her family for their immense bravery in coming forward and telling us what Murch did. 'We are committed to working with our partners to robustly target those engaged in child sexual abuse and supporting survivors as much as possible. 'I want this case to serve as a reminder to anyone who may be a victim of sexual abuse, no matter how recent, that getting in touch with us is the first step to securing justice. Specialist officers can speak to you in confidence and stop those responsible.' More than a year after a train carrying toxic chemicals derailed in rural Ohio, forcing thousands of residents to flee, Joe Biden finally arrived in the village of East Palestine on Friday afternoon. He stayed for barely two hours, before leaving to spend the holiday weekend at his beachside home. Locals made their feelings clear about the delayed visit. His motorcade ran a gauntlet of banners proclaiming, 'Too Little, Too Late,' and the streets were lined with people shouting, 'F*** you.' They were furious that the president waited a year to see the impact of the crash, and believe he is only coming now because of November's election. Some were Trump supporters. Some had travelled from out of town. Protesters expressed their anger as Biden's motorcade rolled into East Palestine President Joe Biden visited East Palestine on Friday afternoon to see for himself the site of last years derailment that sent toxic chemicals spilling through the Ohio village But others were families whose homes back on to the railroad and the scene of the disaster. They held signs saying: 'Help. Our kids are still sick.' They want financial help from his administration to help them move away, rebuilding their lives far from any lingering risk. Life turned upside down when the 150-car freight train carrying toxic chemicals derailed. Among its load were 700,000 pounds of vinyl chloride, a carcinogen used to produce pipes, furniture and other plastic goods. Emergency workers took the decision to use a 'controlled burn' to avert the danger of a huge explosion. Instead it sent up a thick, black plume of smoke. Biden arrived after meeting first responders across the state line in Pennsylvania. In East Palestine he was shown the site of the disaster and then delivered a speech promising that help would stay for as long as it was needed. He reserved particular anger for Norfolk Southern, whose train derailed. 'There are acts of God,' he said. 'This was an act of greed that was 100 percent preventable.' The visit took him deep into Trump country, a county won by the former president with more than 70 percent of the votes cast in 2020. Biden said none of that mattered. 'What matters is we're all Americans, everyone, everyone, we look out for one another,' he said. 'We leave no-one behind.' He spoke for seven minutes. And his whole visit to the village, including a visit to a candle shop, lasted barely two hours before his motorcade started the return journey to Pittsburgh airport, where Air Force One was waiting to take him for a weekend at his beach home in Delaware. Before arriving in East Palestine, Biden met with first responders who tackled the disaster at Darlington Municipal Complex, just across the state line in Pennsylvania After delivering his speech, Biden visited 1820 Candle Co. in the center of the village He sipped coffee made from the local tap water in a show of confidence for cleanup efforts Trump supporters began assembling before 9am to wait for the president's visit Jess Conard, a mother-of-three who has become an activist during the past year, was one of four locals who had a private meeting with the president. We can't continue to dwell on he should have been here sooner,' she said. 'We can't dwell on, you know, why hasn't this already happened? 'What we can do is learn from it and move forward.' And she said she was hugely encouraged by the way the president promised to use federal support to fill in the 'He recognized there was unmet need, and one of those things is the medical help,'s he said. Chris Solis, 58, who drove the hour from Pittsburgh to make take part in the protest, accused Biden of making a 'token' appearance. 'East Palestine has been neglected and that been a trademark of his administration,' he said. 'He speaks in demeaning and patronizing tones to ordinary people.' The White House defended the timing. 'The president has always said when the time is right and when it made sense for him to go, he would go,' his Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said. 'And so, that's what he's doing.' Mike Young, rally organizer, said Trump supporters travelled from all around to join the protest ' East Palestine has been neglected and that been a trademark of his administration,' said Chris Solis, who was on Main Street as part of the protest against Biden's visit Federal authorities insist they have taken action to ensure that the environment and homes are safe. The Environmental Protection Agency says it removed more than 176,000 tons of hazardous waste. More than 49 million gallons of water, rainfall and snowmelt were removed or treated. Norfolk Southern, the railroad operating the freight train which derailed on Feb. 3 last year, said it has spent roughly $1.1 billion in its response. That wasn't enough to stop Trump supporters rallying on Main Street, just across from the mayor's office, accusing the Biden's administration of letting down the people of East Palestine. They flew flags saying, 'Even my dogs hate Biden,' and held banners demanding that the president be jailed. Mike Young, who organized the protest, said: 'It's not enough. These people are hurting down here. They're scared. I think they're afraid. 'They don't want to move into their homes.' Ferguson's parents moved into the home in 1970. Today it is empty like the neighboring houses A large plume of smoke rises over East Palestine, Ohio, last year after a controlled detonation of a portion of a derailed Norfolk Southern train to burn off hazardous chemicals And they lined Biden's route into the village. One man raised his middle fingers in salute as the president passed, and others chanted: 'F*** Joe Biden.' Trump supporters pointed to the former president's visit last year, less than three weeks after the derailment, as evidence of his support for economically marginalized communities. And plenty of residents agree that more has to be done to get their community back on their feet. But the protest irked many who said they were tired of being a political backdrop. A customer at Sprinklz diner next door to the protest said: 'A lot of them aren't even from East Palestine.' Staff fought a running battle to keep expletive filled signs from the front of their store. Krissy Ferguson, a 49-year-old mother, said she hoped for a chance to meet biden. And she told DailyMail.com on Thursday that she could never return to her home and needed help to move away. 'I can't live here anymore,' she said, her eyes welling with tears. 'It's not safe.' Residents have been repeatedly told their homes are safe, yet the Environmental Protection Agency has put signs around creeks and water sources warning people to stay away Community activists sent a letter to Biden demanding he issue a major disaster declaration, provide long-term health monitoring and care, and offer relocation funding for those like Ferguson who want to leave. One of the authors, Jess Conard, said it was time to set politics aside and work with Biden to help the community. 'We are Americans, and he is our leader,' she said. 'And I think that that's a really important distinction, no matter which side of the line you're on. 'President Biden is coming to my community, because he recognises that there is a need to do that.' A thug who shook a baby boy so hard he was left completely paralysed, blind and suffering up to 40 seizures a day has been jailed for three years. Adam Andrews, 37, had shown 'absolutely no remorse' since inflicting the injuries on the 21-day-old baby on June 28, 2018, Ipswich Crown Court heard. In a moving victim impact statement, the mother of the boy, who is now aged five, said he was blind and paralysed, and would never be able to walk or talk. She added: 'His bedroom is not filled with toys but with feed machines and medical equipment. 'He will never be able to have food or water and has to be fed by a button attached to his bowel.' Adam Andrews' mugshot after he was arrested The mother added her son required 24-hour care, and suffered between 30 and 40 seizures a day. READ MORE: Parents of baby shaken so hard in lockdown that he suffered a bleed on the brain face jail after being found guilty of causing or allowing serious physical harm Advertisement She said: 'I have to watch my child deteriorate for what this man has done in a burst of outrage of anger. 'He should not be allowed to walk the streets while I care for my child around the clock. 'I have to accept it's very likely I'm going to outlive my child. When I fall asleep every night my biggest fear is [he] will not wake up with me.' Andrews of Raynsford Road, Great Whelnetham, near Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, was previously found not guilty of inflicting grievous bodily harm with intent against the child at a trial in 2022. But he was convicted of a lesser charge of grievous bodily harm without intent. Prosecutor Steven Perian KC said Andrews had shown 'absolutely no remorse' since the incident more than four years ago. William Carter, defending, said the shaking likely happened over just a few seconds and that 'this was a spontaneous loss of control'. Judge David Pugh said it was clear that the boy's injuries were inflicted by Andrews' 'violent shaking' of him. Ipswich Court heard Andrews showed 'absolutely no remorse' since the incident in 2018 The judge told him: 'Precisely what happened later that night and why, only you will know.' There were claps from the public gallery as the mother finished reading her statement, but Andrews did not react to the speech or his sentence. He is believed to have worked for a housing association at the time of the assault. The court heard how the baby was initially taken to West Suffolk Hospital, Bury St Edmunds, with a serious head injury before being transferred to Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge. A woman who took a British girl to Kenya to have female genital mutilation has been jailed in the first UK case of its kind. Amina Noor, 40, who was born in Somalia but moved to Britain when she was 16, took the three-year-old to a 'clinic' where she waited outside a private house while the child was mutilated in a horrific procedure. Noor, from Harrow, North London, had claimed that she thought the girl would only be injected or pierced in a procedure known as 'Gudniin' - the Arabic word for circumcision. But medical experts who examined the child found she had suffered severe mutilation of her genitals, which would have caused significant bleeding and extreme pain. The horror only came to light years later when the girl turned 16 and confided in a teacher. Noor was convicted in October last year. In the first conviction of its kind, Amina Noor, 40, has been jailed for seven years for assisting in the female genital mutilation on a three-year-old British girl during a trip to Kenya in 2006 Detective Superintendent Andy Furphy speaks to the media outside the Old Bailey, central London, after Amina Noor, 39, was jailed for seven years When confronted by police, Noor pretended to be 'shocked and upset' and claimed she was unaware the victim had been mutilated. The mother-of-seven has now been jailed for seven years after being found guilty of assisting a non-UK person to carry out the procedure overseas. Mr Justice Bryan, sentencing her at the Old Bailey, described the crime as 'truly horrific and abhorrent'. He told her: 'You have been found guilty of encouraging and assisting an act of genital mutilation performed upon a very young and vulnerable child. The law on FGM Female genital mutilation has been a specific offence in the UK since the Prohibition of Female Circumcision Act 1985. The 1985 Act was replaced by the Female Genital Mutilation Act 2003. It now includes assisting and taking children abroad to be cut. Carrying out FGM currently carries a maximum prison sentence of 14 years. In 2019, the mother of a three-year-old girl became the first person to be found guilty of FGM in the UK. The 37-year-old woman was jailed for 11 years in the landmark case. In statute Fornah v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2007], Baroness Hale found: 'The underlying purposes of [FGM] are to lessen the woman's sexual desire, maintain her chastity and virginity before marriage and her fidelity within it, and possibly to increase male sexual pleasure. 'It is a human rights issue, not only because of the unequal treatment of men and women, but also because the procedure will almost inevitably amount either to torture or to other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.' Advertisement 'The long-term consequences of FGM are well known and life changing. 'Such a procedure is irreversible and the effects last a lifetime - effects the victim may be reluctant to speak out about or even acknowledge... [it] will have an inevitable long term impact on her ability to experience sexual pleasure.' Noor is also only the second in the UK to be convicted under the FGM Act of 2003. The other successful prosecution was in 2019 when a Ugandan woman from Walthamstow, east London, was jailed for 11 years for cutting a three-year-old girl. The judge said he hoped the victim's 'bravery' would encourage others to come forward to report incidents. Prosecutor Deanna Heer, KC, earlier told jurors Noor flew the victim to Kenya in 2006. 'Whilst they were there, she took [the victim] to the house of a Kenyan woman, where she was subjected to female genital mutilation. That involved the complete removal of her clitoris. 'At the time, she was just three years of age.' The victim later formed a close relationship with her English teacher at school and in November 2018 she told her she was had been subjected to FGM. 'On 11 January 2019 [the victim] was medically examined by doctors at University College Hospital here in London. 'It was found that her clitoris had been completely removed.' When spoken to by investigators, the defendant said she thought the procedure was just an injection and afterwards the girl was 'happy and able to run around and play', the court heard. Noor appeared 'shocked and upset' and said that was not what she thought was going to happen. According to an initial account, Noor described going with another woman to a 'clinic' where the girl was called into a room for a procedure. The defendant said she was invited in but refused because she was 'scared and worried'. Noor was born in Somalia but moved to Mombasa in Kenya when she was eight after the outbreak of civil war in Somalia and has since suffered from PTSD, the court heard. She was aged 16 when she came to the UK and was later granted British citizenship. A psychiatric report said her PTSD could be managed in prison. The defendant described what had been done to the girl as 'Sunnah', meaning 'tradition' or 'way' in Arabic, and said it was a practice that had gone on for cultural reasons for many years. The court was told that 94 per cent of females of Somali origin living in Kenya undergo the procedure, according to United Nations figures. Noor was born in Somalia but moved to Mombasa in Kenya when she was eight after the outbreak of civil war in Somalia Senior crown prosecutor Patricia Strobino hailed Noor's conviction, saying: 'This kind of case will hopefully encourage potential victims and survivors of FGM to come forward, safe in the knowledge that they are supported' Giving evidence in her trial, Noor said she was threatened with being 'cursed' and 'disowned' within her community if she did not take part. She told jurors the threat gave her 'pain', adding: 'That was a pressure I had no power to do anything about.' The victim, who is now aged 21, cannot be identified for legal reasons. The case saw the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) working alongside the police and National Crime Agency to prove that during her visit to Kenya, Noor knew some form of FGM was being committed against the victim. More than 3,000 new FGM cases a year in UK, stats suggest Figures produced by the NHS in 2022 suggested there may be more than 3,000 newly identified victims of FGM in the UK each year. NHS Digital produced stats of cases which were spotted by nurses or doctors around the country. It is thought the majority of cases involved mutilation abroad. The up-to-date figures released last month state that there were 1590 newly identified victims of FGM in the UK between January and June this year. Advertisement Investigators were able to find that she intentionally assisted with the commission of the offence. Noor was born in Somalia but moved to Mombasa in Kenya when she was eight after the outbreak of civil war. In 2003 she was granted refugee status in the UK before she became a British citizen in 2005. Prosecutor Deanna Heer, KC, had previously told jurors that Noor flew the victim to Kenya in 2006. 'Whilst they were there, she took [the victim] to the house of a Kenyan woman, where she was subjected to female genital mutilation. That involved the complete removal of her clitoris. At the time, she was just three years of age.' Giving evidence, Noor had said she feared being 'cursed' if she did not allow the young British girl to have the procedure. When probed, Noor said the procedure was called 'Sunnah' - an Arabic word meaning 'tradition' or 'way' - and 'Gudniin' - the Somali word for circumcision. 'You will hear expert evidence that 'Sunnah Gudniin' is a particular term which means removal of the clitoris,' Ms Heer said. Giving evidence Noor, assisted by a Somali interpreter, said she did not know what the words meant at the time. She claimed she did not know the toddler's clitoris had been removed and that she had been told she only had an injection to withdraw blood. Noor said she took the child to a 'clinic' via tuk-tuk, arriving at a private house where she did not know if the people were doctors. She told police she had to wait outside while the procedure was performed. Noor said that while the child had cried while it was being carried out she was 'happy and able to run around and play afterwards'. Noor at the Old Bailey in London during her trial in October last year Detective Superintendent Andy Furphy speaking to the press following the conviction She claimed it had only taken five minutes and did not pay for it and denied arranging the procedure. She described the clinic as being like a 'living room' with three doors leading to where the girls would have the procedure. Noor told the court: 'I was told it would take only five minutes, nothing's going to happen just stay out and she will come back out. What is female genital mutilation (FGM)? Female genital mutilation (FGM) is a procedure where the female genitals are deliberately cut, injured or changed, but there's no medical reason for this to be done. It's also known as female circumcision or cutting, and by other terms, such as Sunna, gudniin, halalays, tahur, megrez and khitan, among others. FGM is usually carried out on young girls between infancy and the age of 15, most commonly before puberty starts. It's illegal in the UK and is child abuse. It's very painful and can seriously harm the health of women and girls. It can also cause long-term problems with sex, childbirth and mental health. Source: NHS Advertisement 'She said something is going to be done, a drop of blood, it's nothing, nothing wrong is going to happen. Noor claimed she was told that during the procedure 'nothing much is going to happen to the person, it's just making sure a bit of blood is coming out.' Afterwards the child was in pain while urinating. Years later when the police told Noor the victim's clitoris had been removed she acted shocked. 'I was lied to. When that lady had told me what was going to be done I was not told the truth,' she said. The only other successful prosecution under the FGM Act of 2003 was in 2019 when a Ugandan woman from Walthamstow, east London, was jailed for 11 years for cutting a three-year-old girl. The 37-year-old woman, who cannot be named, had arranged for the little girl to be pinned down and mutilated in a filthy flat in east London in August 2017. She was jailed for 13 years at the Old Bailey. In a statement outside the Old Bailey Detective Superintendent Andy Furphy, whose team led the investigation, said: 'I hope today's sentence acts as a real deterrent to those who choose to harm children in this way. 'More importantly, I hope that we can use this result as an opportunity to continue to raise awareness of this topic, ensuring victims know that there is support and help out there. 'This is the first time in the Met's history where officers have secured justice for female genital mutilation occurring abroad. 'It is only the second time in UK history that somebody has been convicted of FGM. 'I'd like to thank my team of dedicated Met officers whose work has been pivotal in bringing this landmark case to justice. 'Our top priority is to encourage victims to come forward, and to get help from police or our partners. 'We understand that this is a taboo subject and have heard from victims about the extreme fear and pressure to stay quiet but we want to reassure them that officers will treat any reports with confidentiality, empathy and compassion.' An astonishing 30-hour standoff ended with Wyoming police ripping apart an innocent woman's $200,000 home in an attempt to lure a murder suspect out. Officials say William Lowery, 46, shot dead Sheridan Police sergeant Nevada Krinkee on Tuesday morning as the cop served a trespassing notice on a rental house the alleged killer had been squatting in for five months. An armed Lowery then ran to the home Karo Hamilton, where he barricaded himself. During the standoff police brought in a track hoe excavator, a pressure hose and at least one Bearcat armored vehicle, as reported by Sheridan Media. The standoff lasted throughout Tuesday night, with police using water canons, gas grenades and projectiles throughout the day. On Wednesday morning, Chief Travis Koltiska called in an excavator, which he said was his 'last option.' Chief Travis Koltiska called in an excavator, which he said was his 'last option' after a suspect barricated himself in a Wyoming home for over a day Officials say William Lowery, 46, shot dead Sheridan Police sergeant Nevada Krinkee on Tuesday morning as the cop served a trespassing notice An armed Lowery then ran to the home Karo Hamilton, where he barricaded himself That afternoon Lowery was shot dead as he tried to escape from the house, which was left looking like a tornado ripped through it. 'It will have to be bulldozed and rebuilt from the ground up,' Hamilton's niece Rachael Trueblood told KTVQ. 'Shes going to have to relocate for the time being.' Trueblood said Hamilton was not at home when the suspect broke in, but her live-in-mother was and managed to escape after Lowery broke in and barricaded himself in the basement. The community has rallied around homeowner Hamilton and are working towards a plan to rebuilt the home at no cost. Contractor Jeremiah Morley has offered to help rebuild the home and is recruiting local contractors to help out, he told Cowboy State Daily. The community has rallied around homeowner Hamilton and are working towards a plan to rebuilt the home at no cost That afternoon Lowery was shot dead as he tried to escape from the house 'My job is to orchestrate the subcontractors, plumbers, electrical and HVAC guys. From the looks of it, its going to be a complete loss,' he said of the destroyed house. Morley estimated rebuilding the home will cost at least $200,000, but the cost depends on whether the house's foundation can be salvaged. A spokesperson for the Sheridan Police Department said they are working with 'the homeowner's lawyers on a resolution.' As the world reacted with anger to the news today that Alexei Navalny had died in a Russian prison, shameless Vladimir Putin was seen grinning from ear to ear. Pictures showed the 71-year-old President and former KGB spy animated and merrily meeting workers at a factory in Chelyabinsk, in the Ural mountains. Despite the shocking news, the Russian despot - who is on a two-day visit to the region - toured the facility before taking the microphone and addressing a crowd, seemingly unfazed by the mounting international outcry. Kremlin spokesperson Dimitry Peskov had earlier confirmed that Putin had been informed about the death of his fierce critic, but in footage of the meeting published after the announcement, the Russian leader made no mention of Navalny. Whenever Putin did rarely speak about Navalny, he made it a point to never mention the activist by name, referring to him as 'that person' or similar wording, in an apparent effort to diminish his importance. Peskov told reporters he did not know any further details about the cause of death. As the world reacted with anger to the news today that Alexei Navalny had died in a Russian prison, shameless Vladimir Putin (pictured today) was seen grinning from ear to ear Pictures showed the 71-year-old President and former KGB spy animated and merrily meeting workers at a factory in Chelyabinsk, in the Ural mountains It was announced that jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny (pictured for the last time during a virtual court appearance on Wednesday) had died in prison. He was a staunch critic of Putin and one of Russia's few opposition figures Russian authorities said Navalny - who crusaded against official corruption and staged massive anti-Kremlin protests - died on Friday in the Arctic prison colony where he was serving a 19-year sentence. The Federal Prison Service said in a statement today Navalny felt unwell after a walk and lost consciousness. An ambulance arrived to try to save him, to no avail. The death of Navalny, a 47-year-old former lawyer, robs the disparate Russian opposition of its most courageous leader as Putin prepares for an election which will keep the former KGB spy in power until at least 2030. There are now no opposition leaders of such prominence left in Russia. For some young urban Russians, Navalny also offered hope of an alternative future to Putin, who has served as Russia's paramount leader longer than anyone since Josef Stalin. As Putin toured the factory, condemnation was flooding in from world leaders. Dissidents and Western officials blamed Moscow for the 47-year-old's death, which followed months of deteriorating health in harsh detention conditions. Latvia's president accused his Russian counterpart of 'murdering' Navalny, a sentiment that was shared by several other senior politicians and commentators. Former British prime minister Boris Johnson said there was 'no doubt' that Navalny had been 'put to death' by Putin 'simply because he had the courage to oppose the Russian tyrant.' 'With this murder Putin plunges new depths of depravity and drags his country further into the darkness,' he said. 'Alexei Navalny was tortured and tormented for three years... Murder was added to Alexei Navalny's sentence,' Russian Nobel Peace Prize winner Dmitry Muratov was quoted as saying by the Novaya Gazeta newspaper. Despite the shocking news, the Russian despot - who is on a two-day visit to the region - toured the facility before taking the microphone and addressing a crowd, seemingly unfazed by the mounting international outcry Putin speaks during a tour of a factory on Friday - minutes after his spokesman Dmitry Peskov said to journalists that the Russian president had been informed of Navalny's death Kremlin spokesperson Dimitry Peskov had earlier confirmed that Putin (right) had been informed about the death of his fierce critic, but in footage of the meeting published after the announcement, the Russian leader made no mention of Navalny Garry Kasparov, a Russian chess grand master, said Putin 'murdered' Navalny 'slowly and publicly in prison', while Nobel Peace winner Muratov also described Navalny's death as 'murder'. Russian writer Akunin Navalny said with his death, Navalny 'has become immortal'. Meanwhile, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak paid tribute to the 'fiercest advocate for Russian democracy', saying Navalny was a prominent and persistent critic of Putin who had 'demonstrated incredible courage throughout his life'. France said the opposition leader had paid with his life for resisting 'oppression', while German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Navalny 'paid for his courage with his life.' The EU said it held President Putin's Russia solely responsible for the death. Navalny's wife Yulia Navalnaya, meanwhile, called for the international community to unite and hold Putin's regime responsible for her husband's death. Speaking in Russian at the Munich Security Conference, she said: 'Thank you for the conference organisers that gave me the main stage. You have all probably seen the terrible news that came in today. 'I thought for a long time: 'Is it worth me to come here or to fly to my children straight away?' But then I thought: 'What would Alexei do in my place?' And I'm confident that he would be here, he would be on this stage,' she said. 'I don't know whether to believe the news, the terrible news that we are receiving only from the state sources in Russia,' she said, adding that Putin and his government are 'always lying'. 'But if this is true, I would like that Putin and all his coterie, Putin's friends, his government to know that they will be accountable for what they've done to our country, to my family, and to my husband. 'They will be liable for that. That day will come very soon. 'I would like to call upon the global community, everyone in this room, people around the world, that we would unite together and overcome that evil, overcome that terrible regime that is currently in Russia. That regime and Vladimir Putin have to be personally liable for all the horrible things they are doing to my country, to our country Russia in the last years.' Navalny's wife Yulia Navalnaya (pictured today), meanwhile, called for the international community to unite and hold Putin's regime responsible for her husband's death Navalny, pictured with his wife Yulia in happier times, crusaded against official corruption and staged massive anti-Kremlin protests - drawing the ire of the Kremlin The Kremlin later slammed the Western statements on Navalny's death as 'absolutely unacceptable', according to Russian state media. There were some claims tonight that Navalny had died hours before the official time of death announced by the Russian authorities. Journalist Sergei Dobrynin, of the Moscow bureau of Radio Liberty, told Nemalevich Telegram channel: 'Navalny wrote from Kharp [where his jail was located] that walks in the punishment cell begin at 6:30am.' Official accounts said he felt ill after his walk - at around 1pm, and that he was confirmed dead at 2.21pm local time in his Siberian jail. 'I think he died much earlier - that's why they managed to prepare a release and send an ambulance to confirm his death,' said the reporter. The suggestion is that his death was actually soon after an early morning walk, and the authorities waited hours to announce it as they prepared a news management strategy. Meanwhile, Moscow warned people against taking to the streets to protest. Images on social media showed people laying flowers at memorials to victims of political repression in honour of Navalny. The prosecutor's office in the Russian capital said that it was aware of calls online 'to take part in a mass rally in the centre of Moscow' and said it was 'necessary to warn against violating the law'. Protests are illegal in Russia under strict anti-dissent laws, with authorities having clamped down particularly harshly on rallies in support of Navalny. In Moscow, dozens laid red and white roses at the Solovetsky Stone, a monument to victims of Soviet era repression opposite the headquarters of Russia's FSB security services - the former home of the feared Soviet secret police. At least one person was detained for holding up a placard that appeared to say 'murderers' on it, according to a video posted by the independent Sota Telegram channel. A handful of people were also pictured gathering to lay flowers at a bridge next to the Kremlin where Putin critic Boris Nemtsov was killed in 2015. And Police were filmed dispersing people who had gathered in the snow at a memorial in the central city of Kazan. Some larger demonstrations also took place in Tbilisi, Yerevan and Belgrade - home to significant populations of Russians who fled the country following Moscow's military offensive on Ukraine. People lineup to lay flowers paying their last respect to Alexei Navalny at the monument, a large boulder from the Solovetsky islands, where the first camp of the Gulag political prison system was established, on Friday, February 16, 2024 Women lay flowers paying their last respect to Alexei Navalny on Friday A view of the entrance of the prison colony in the town of Kharp, in the Yamalo-Nenetsk region about 1,200 miles northeast of Moscow, Tuesday, January 23, 2024 Navalny had been in prison in Russia since January 2021 when he was sentenced to a prison colony for 'extremism'. That term was extended to 19 years in August last year. That was just the latest in a string of jail terms for charges that included embezzlement. He had spent most of his detention at the IK-6 penal colony in the Vladimir region, some 155 miles east of Moscow. In December he disappeared for more than two weeks. At the end of that month it was revealed that he had been moved to the notorious IK-3 colony at Kharp in the Arctic. Navalny said on social media on December 26 that he was 'fine' after a 'pretty exhausting' 20-day transfer to the remote prison inside the Arctic Circle. IK-3 is more than 1,200 miles northeast of Moscow. Its name means Northern Lights, but its nickname is 'Polar Wolf'. It was built in the 1960s on the site of a camp that was part of the Stalin-era labour camp network, known as the Gulag. It can house up to 1,020 prisoners. Inmates are put to work treating reindeer skins. Navalny mobilised huge anti-government protests before being jailed in 2021, after surviving an attempt to assassinate him by poisoning. Starting out as an anti-corruption campaigner in 2007, Navalny led huge protests in 2011-12 and received his first conviction in 2013 for embezzlement. Navalny addresses supporters and journalists after arriving from Kirov at a railway station in Moscow, Russia July 20, 2013 He denied the charges. After being barred from the 2018 presidential election, Navalny was hospitalised in Siberia in August 2020 after losing consciousness during a flight. He was transferred to a Berlin hospital where tests showed he was poisoned with Novichok, a Soviet-era nerve agent. Navalny blamed Putin for the poisoning, but the Kremlin denied the claim. Alexei Navalny spent his final days in a hellish penal colony inside the arctic circle where prisoners are tortured with beatings and electric shocks. The opposition leader died while serving a 19-year sentence at the FKU IK-3 facility, known as Polar Wolf, which houses more than 1,000 of the Russia's worst criminals - along with a handful of political prisoners who dared to challenge the Putin regime. Polar Wolf is a Soviet-era prison and considered to be one of the toughest in Russia. Aside from the brutal treatment of inmates inside, the penal colony is located in the Arctic, 1,200 miles north east of Moscow, where temperatures plunge below -25F. Navalny was transferred there in December from Penal Colony 6, which is 150 miles outside Moscow. He said that it took 20 days to reach FKU IK-3. A view of the entrance of the prison colony in the town of Kharp, in the Yamalo-Nenetsk region about 1,200 miles northeast of Moscow, Tuesday, January 23, 2024 Alexei Navalny (pictured) died at the brutal FKU IK-3 penal colony, a Soviet-era prison camp A woman walks towards the entrance of the IK-3 penal colony, where Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny died while serving his jail term. The prison is in the settlement of Kharp in the Yamal-Nenets Region The penal colony is located inside the arctic circle and temperatures in the region can plunge to -25F. Prisoners are forced to stand outside for extended periods of time as a torture method Former inmates have described how FKU IK-3 is designed to make prisoners feel 'completely hopeless' and crush 'any rebellious spirit'. The facility in Kharp, part of Russia's Federal Penitentiary Service, can hold up to 1,085 people. Lawyers for Navalny recently claimed that guards at the penal colony had tried to 'destroy Navalny's health by all forces and means'. Vadim Kobzev, a lawyer for Navalny, said he had lost 7kg in weight and was 'deliberately infected' with an unknown acute viral respiratory disease while in a hell-hole punishment cell. Navalny 'was not given proper medicines' and was instead 'treated with huge doses of antibiotics which should not have been used', Kobzev said. 'These actions cannot be regarded otherwise than as an open strategy to destroy Navalny's health by all forces and means,' the lawyer said. Other forms of punishment and torture are said to include lining up prisoners in the freezing outdoors then blasting them with a powerful water cannon. Prisoners' rights activist Olga Romanova recounted one inmate's claim that during the height of winter, they were forced to line up outside in 'light clothing' for up to 40 minutes. They are ordered not to move and if a single person so much as rubs their hands together for warmth, 'the whole group was doused with water'. 'In the spring, there was a new torture. Mosquitoes and biting flies. If you moved a hand, the water came. They would just douse the whole group with a water cannon,' Romanova said, according to Radio Free Europe. About 60 km (40 miles) north of the Arctic Circle, Polar Wolf was founded in the 1960s as part of what was once the Gulag system of forced Soviet labor camps, according to the Moskovsky Komsomolets newspaper. A group of officers visit the prison colony in the town of Kharp where the temperature is due to drop to minus 28C over the next week A group of officers walk inside a prison colony in the town of Kharp, in the Yamalo-Nenetsk region about 1,900 kilometers (1,200 miles) northeast of Moscow Harsh rules dating back to Soviet times dictate that prisoners' families and lawyers are only informed about their whereabouts after they have reached their destination A group of prisoners sit during classes inside the prison colony where associates of Alexei Navalny say he has been located Little has been reported about the general living arrangements for prisoners who are not held in solitary confinement. Conditions in other facilities suggest they sleep in cramped rooms filled with cot beds. It's also unlikely that prisoners are given clothing which is substantial enough to deal with the freezing temperatures. In January, Navalny cracked jokes on the Telegram messaging app about the polar conditions as he quipped sarcastically: 'Nothing quite invigorates you like a walk in Yamal at 6:30 in the morning.' 'Even at this temperature, you can walk for more than half an hour only if you manage to grow a new nose, new ears and new fingers,' he wrote of the -25F conditions. Navalny mentioned a scene in the 2015 film, The Revenant, in which Leonardo DiCaprio shelters in the carcass of a horse. 'I don't think that would have worked here. A dead horse would freeze in 15 minutes,' Navalny said. 'We need an elephant here, a hot elephant, a fried one.' The dark jokes were typical of Navalny's refusal to break in the face of unimaginable adversity. He once described one of the colonies he was held in as like 'a friendly concentration camp'. The punishment cells where inmates are held in solitary confinement are said to be tiny - with only a hole in the ground for a toilet. And the concrete-walled walking yards used by prisoners are about 11 steps long, three steps wide and topped with metal bars. Former inmates at similar facilities have also recounted how electric shocks and beatings are frequently doled out by guards. Ukrainian filmmaker Oleh Sentsov, who was jailed at the IK-8 'Polar Bear' prison for five years, said: 'As soon as you cross the threshold, they let you know that you are in purgatory where you have no rights and there is no one to complain to. Navalny, pictured with his wife Yulia in happier times, crusaded against official corruption and staged massive anti-Kremlin protests - drawing the ire of the Kremlin 'Beatings, humiliation, electric shocks, being kept in a cold cell naked or in wet clothes -- but that is still not the worst. You can be sealed in the fetal position in an iron box where you can hardly breathe and have to urinate on yourself. They routinely threaten to rape you when they are bullying you.' At Penal Colony No 6, where Navalny was previously held, rape and violence involving inmates are commonplace, while the guards were remorseless in their sadism. While Navalny was held there, authorities punished him for tiny infractions. He was once punished for washing his hands six minutes earlier than scheduled and, on another occasion, for undoing the top button of his shirt. Since first being jailed in January 2021, Navalny had been in and out of solitary confinement, which is often used to punish rulebreakers in the Russian prison system, at both Penal Colony No 6 and the Polar Wolf facility. Following his most recent court appearance on Thursday - hours before his death - a post by Navalny's X account said he was again ordered into solitary confinement. Jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny is dead, the prison service of the Yamalo-Nenets region where he had been serving his sentence said on Friday Russian news outlets announced Navalny's death - citing the Siberian prison service where he was serving his sentence - sparking shock and anger around the globe, with world leaders quickly pointing the finger at Russian president Vladimir Putin (pictured in Russia today) The online news outlet SOTA reported that the court session on Thursday was convened after an 'argument' with a prison officer who tried to confiscate Navalny's pen. Navalny wrote later on Thursday that he had been given 15 days in solitary confinement. 'The Yamal prison decided to break Vladimir's record of fawning and pleasing the Moscow authorities. They just gave me 15 days in solitary confinement,' he wrote on X. 'This is the fourth solitary confinement spell in less than 2 months that I have been with them,' he added. On one of the last occasions he was seen earlier in 2023, Navalny had just emerged from his 11th separate period of incarceration in a 10ft by 7ft 'concrete kennel', with only a hole in the ground for a toilet. He looked even more gaunt and unwell than usual and was suffering from a severe lung infection contracted after prison officers forced him to share a cell with a tramp suffering from a contagious respiratory condition and then refused to treat him when he got sick. Sen. Joe Manchin announced Friday he will not run an independent campaign for president. 'I will not be seeking a third-party run,' he said during a speech at West Virginia University. 'I will not be involved in a presidential run.' Details of the announcement was first reported by the Washington Post. The West Virginia Democrat is one of a few moderate United States senators who continued weighing a challenge versus the aging President Joe Biden and the bombastic former President Donald Trump. Manchin repeatedly cited the need to offer voters a more centrist sensible option in the 2024 presidential election. He announced in November he would retire from the Senate and not run for re-election in 2024 while kicking off a 'listening tour' across the country before making a decision about his political future. Americans Together founder and U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) speaks at The New Hampshire Institute of Politics Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) is surrounded by reporters as he heads to a vote in the Senate On Thursday, Manchin teased reporters about a possible presidential announcement, during an appearance at the City Club of Cleveland breakfast. 'Third party run, everything is on the table,' Manchin said in response to a question from NBC News. 'Nothing's off the table. I'm still evaluating all that.' He also teased a possible pick for a running mate if he ran for president. 'Hypothetically, if I was picking my running mate, really who I would ask right now is Mitt Romney,' Manchin said. Romney joked with reporters in response to Manchin's comment. 'Well, that's really presumptuous,' Romney said. 'I would be the president. He would be my running mate.' U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) (R) speaks with U.S. Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.V., and Vice President Joe Biden Romney and Manchin, both who are retiring from the Senate, frequently chatter about creating a new political party, both frustrated with the direction of the Republican and Democratic party. Democrats were incensed by the idea of Manchin launching a third-party run, arguing it would only siphon off votes from Biden to help Trump. The 'working slogan' for the party, Romney explained to his biographer, was 'stop the stupid' but the idea never turned into a reality. Jewish students at Stanford University say they have been left fearing for their lives after the campus became dominated by anti-Semitic protestors. A number of hostile clashes have been marked across the prestigious university since the Middle East crisis erupted after Hamas' October 7 terrorist attack. Officials have come under fire for failing to clamp down on the discrimination, with shocking footage shared by the Free Beacon including a teaching assistant calling for the assassination of Joe Biden over his support for Israel. Other incidents include a teacher allegedly ordering Jewish students to stand in the corner 'like Israel does to the Palestinians', and extremist students warning people 'we will find out where you live.' Stanford teaching assistant Hamza El Boudali was filmed protesting a pro-Israel display on campus by holding a sign reading 'Ask Me About Jihad' - he also allegedly supported assassinating President Biden over his support for Israel Pro-Palestine protests have swept Stanford University's campus following the October 7 Hamas terrorist attacks, with one pictured on February 12, 2024 Jewish students at Stanford say they have been left fearing for their lives after anti-Semitism swept the campus In perhaps the most shocking of the exchanges that have rocked Stanford's campus in recent months, teaching assistant Hamza El Boudali allegedly erupted into threats as he protested a pro-Israel display. He was seen in footage standing in front of Stanford's Blue and White tent, an education tent about Israel manned by Jewish students, holding a sign that read: 'Ask Me About Jihad.' When confronted over the sign, El Boudali allegedly responded that he would welcome Biden's assassination, and would prefer Hamas to take over the federal government. The teaching assistant added that Jews under Hamas-occupied America would do 'very well... just like the hostages.' El Boudali, a computer science teaching assistant, was reported to the university, which declined to punish him or strip him of his grading duties, and only moved his office hours with students to Zoom. A university spokesperson told the Free Beacon, 'Stanford takes accusations about potential discriminatory behavior by instructors very seriously', and added students can get their work re-graded by another instructor if they choose to. He reportedly didn't deny the encounter, but defended it as 'the Blue and White Tent has been presenting Islamophobic rhetoric and misinformation to the campus community. 'As a Muslim student who has been here for over 5 years, I took it upon myself to combat their Islamophobia through education.' In another unsavory exchange on January 24, a forum on combatting anti-Semitism was overran by pro-Palestine protestors. The activists were seen in footage harassing and taunting Jewish students, after they descended on the venue and warned staff they would 'find out where you live.' At the event, Stanford president Richard Saller tried to reassure students that the university was behind them, saying: 'We really do want to make sure that all of the communities on campus get the respect that they deserve. 'Were committed to equal treatment and equal protection.' At an event intended to address antisemitism, protestors erupted into ugly scenes as they chanted at Jewish students to 'go back to Brooklyn' and declared 'Israel will fall' WATCH: Last night, during a forum with Stanford University's leadership meant to address the rise of antisemitism on campus, demonstrators outside shouted "go back to Brooklyn!," "Zionists you can't hide!" and "Israel will fall!" Jewish students on campus are already pic.twitter.com/MaNC4RpuAH JCRC Bay Area (@SFJCRC) January 25, 2024 But just outside the event, protestors gathered to demonstrate against the war in the Middle East, targeting a rabbi and berating a Jewish student. The student, David Schuller, 24, approached the group outside the event, before footage showed them surround and heckle him in response. As the students scream at him that the 'IDF killed your hostages' in Gaza bombings, police stood by and did nothing. At one point a protestor appeared to whisper something in his ear, which Schuller claimed was them making a violent threat against him. 'He told me, Watch it man, were watching you. You better know what youre getting into,'' Schuller told the 'I had to take a couple steps back and tell the cops he threatened physical violence.' Numerous other protests and demonstrations against Jewish students have erupted across the campus, including one where they warned Jewish students to 'go back to Brooklyn.' The chant is referencing the large Jewish population in the New York City borough, which is hosts the most Jews of anywhere in the world. Video of the moment also saw the pro-Palestine protestors brand white people 'terrorists' and call for the destruction of Israel and America. 'Stanford employees, we know your names and we know where you work,' another said as staff tried to calm the tensions. 'And we will soon find out where you live.' Further incidents included the apparent targeting of Stanford's Chabad Rabbi Dov Greenberg, who was seeing being followed by a mob as he led students away from the clashes. In another incidence of anti-Semitism on the campus, Stanford's Chabad Rabbi Dov Greenberg was followed by a mob that chanted at him: 'There is only one solution - intifada revolution' Protestors chanted at him, 'There is only one solution - intifada revolution', and, 'Zionist, Zionist, you can't hide, we charge you with genocide.' The chilling encounters are a stark reminder of the scenes that have erupted on college campuses as a result of the Middle East crisis, with experts reportedly saying they could constitute grounds for a discrimination lawsuit. Nadine Strossen, the former president of the American Civil Liberties Union who has argued for free speech, said the January 24 protests 'clearly crossed the line into unprotected harassment and threats.' She added that it 'makes it impossible for everyone on campus to have true free speech.' In the case of El Boudali's antics, Ilya Shapiro, the director of constitutional studies at the Manhattan Institute, felt the 'grading responsibility strengthens the case that El Boudalis comments contributed to a hostile educational environment.' Former President Donald Trump criticized the questioning of Fulton County DA Fani Willis after she took the stand in a dramatic hearing over whether she should be disqualified in Trump's Georgia election interference case. Trump took to Truth Social on Friday and slammed Willis' defensive response to allegations she improperly hired her boyfriend Nathan Wade to help prosecute the former president. 'Does anybody really believe that Fani Willis paid cash to her lover whenever they took expensive trips together. Really? Where did she get the CASH?' Trump posted on social media Friday. He went on 'Pretty weak questioning yesterday!!! I guess they dont want to insult her. No way she can explain any of this corruption away!!!' 'Pretty weak questioning yesterday!!! I guess they dont want to insult her,' former President Donald Trump posted in response to the decision not to call Willis, although his own lawyer did some of the questioning Thursday Fulton County DA Attorney Fani Willis made a dramatic appearance in court on Thursday where she spoke about her 'physical' relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade and testified about providing him cash reimbursements when traveling together. Her lawyer decided not to call her back for additional testimony on Friday Former President Trump has been furiously posting on Truth Social about the hearing in the Georgia election interference case. He slammed the 'weak questioning' and called for the case against him to be 'immediately terminated' A frustrated Willis took the stand on Thursday where she furiously blasted the bombshell allegations against her and defended paying Wade in cash for their vacations together. Willis said she had piles of money in her house because her father told her to keep six months of savings available at all times. Lawyer Ashleigh Merchant, who is representing Trump co-defendant Michael Roman, peppered Willis with questions about trips she took with Wade and the method of reimbursements. In one combative moment, Willis told Merchant that she was 'not a hostile witness' and she 'wanted' to testify.' She also said at a point 'I don't need anybody to foot my bills. The only man who's ever foot my bills completely is my daddy.' Willis also slammed her former friend was 'dishonest' after she alleged Willis' relationship with Wade started three years earlier than they had claimed. Lawyer Ashleigh Merchant, who represents Trump's co-defendant, questioning Willis over her relationship with Nathan Wade during hearing on Thursday It would mean the relationship began before Wade was hired in the Georgia election interference case Willis is pursuing against Donald Trump and could provide a reason for a judge to disqualify them from the case. Disqualification could derail the entire election interference case. Trump has not been in the courtroom for the dramatic hearing, but his Truth Social account has been closely following along online. 'I cant believe the Georgia State Judiciary, or the Governor, can be happy about this humiliating embarrassment,' Trump wrote in another post. 'It was a FAKE CASE from the start, and now everybody sees it for what it is, a MAJOR LEAGUE SCANDAL!' He has called the election interference case against him a 'witch hunt' and called for it to be 'immediately terminated.' Willis' surprise appearance on Thursday came after her ex-boyfriend Wade also was grilled over their relationship. He testified it began in 2022 shortly after she brought him in as a contract special prosecutor. Read the full article on Motorious Do you think this is right? YouTuber HelloooimJensen has accumulated over 44,000 subscribers with his crazy car videos. One of the main stars is his Dodge Charger Hellcat, which the guy likes to drift both on private property and on public roads. If you look at his channel, hes had run-ins with the law in the past, but this time instead of just getting a warning or citation, the mans Hellcat was impounded. See a Hellcat outrun patrol cars and helicopters, until he ran out of gas! image credit: YouTube We dont endorse what this guy does at all. In fact, we think he gives car enthusiasts a bad name. His videos show him drifting the Hellcat around other cars on public roads, and from the looks of things these arent people who are in on the stunt, so hes putting innocent people in danger. The guy also likes to do smokey donuts in public intersections, similar to those street takeovers weve covered in the past. Something bad is going to happen one day and it could seriously injure or kill this kid or even worse someone who has nothing to do with his stupid decisions. ADVERTISEMENT Some people have pointed out that this guy lives in California, where supposedly its really easy to apply to block off a section of a public road so you can race, drift, and do all kinds of other things that normally are illegal. Were not sure if its really all that easy to do or if its economical since we dont live there and have never investigated doing anything like that in the Golden State. image credit: YouTube This kid got pulled over the day before for reckless driving while doing donuts on a public road. The cop was nice and didnt take the car then, because he said that would mean the guy wouldve been arrested. With that evidence, the police got a search warrant and showed up and the Hellcat owners house early the next morning, then took the car away on a flatbed tow truck. What really gets us is this guy doesnt seem to have learned a lesson. He shows off a bunch of traffic citations in the video, so hes obviously been in a lot of trouble. Everyone makes stupid decisions and you should learn from them. Instead of realizing he should find a legal way to have fun with his car, hes whining and acting like a victim. Then he asks people to contribute to a fund to pay for his impound fees and many tickets. Story continues If you want to skip to the police serving their warrant and impounding the car, go to 3:25 in the video and start watching from there. Otherwise, you can hear him whining about his problems he caused himself and justifying his actions, then see the cops take his Hellcat. Sign up for the Motorious Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Two missing schoolgirls 'may be together' according to police. Klaudia Biala, 14, and Ellie Whelan, 13, were last seen in the Oak Road area of Sittingbourne in Kent last night, February 15, between 9pm and 9.40pm. The teenage girls are now the subject of a police appeal to help locate them. In a statement, Kent Police said: 'Kent Police is appealing for assistance to locate two teenage girls missing from Sittingbourne. Klaudia Biala, aged 14, and Ellie Whelan, aged 13, were last seen in the Oak Road area between 9pm and 9.40pm on Thursday 15 February 2024.' Klaudia Biala (left) and Elle Whelan (right). The two teenage girls were last seen between 9pm and 9.40pm last night. Kent Police believe the girls might be together The statement continues: 'Officers believe the girls may be together. Klaudia is described as white and around five feet and two inches tall, with a slim build. She has dark-blonde hair and blue eyes and was last seen wearing black leggings, a black top, and a black puffer-style jacket. 'Ellie is described as white and around five feet and three inches tall, with a slim build. She was last seen wearing black Nike Air Pro trousers, a navy Puma top, a black fur coat, and white trainers, with a black Gucci bag. 'Klaudia also has connections to London. Anyone who sees either or both girls, or knows of their whereabouts, is urged to call 999, quoting reference 15-1472.' Prince Harry has said that he has 'other trips' planned to the UK, after telling US television that he hopes his father's cancer diagnosis has a 'reunifying effect'. The Duke of Sussex, 39, has spent the last couple of days in Whistler, Canada, with his wife Meghan to attend the Invictus Games Vancouver Whistlers One Year To Go Winter Training Camp. The couple were followed around by cameras and a Good Morning America television crew. Harry told them that he 'loved his family' and that he 'jumped on a plane' to visit the King 'as soon as I could' after speaking on the phone about his cancer diagnosis. The Prince added he will try and to 'stop and see family as much as I can' and said that he had other trips and plans that will take him to the UK. The royal is expected to return to Britain in May for a service at St Paul's Cathedral to mark the tenth anniversary of the Invictus Games. Harry, 39, added that he will ty and to 'stop and see family as much as I can' and said that he had other trips and plans that will take him to the UK The Duke of Sussex, 39, has spent the last couple of days in Whistler, Canada , with his wife Meghan to attend the Invictus Games Vancouver Whistlers One Year To Go Winter Training Camp Harry told them that he 'loved his family and that he 'jumped on a plane' to visit the King 'as soon as I could' after speaking on the phone about his cancer diagnosis He was in the UK last Tuesday, after it was announced that his father, King Charles, 75, had cancer. It was discovered by doctors when the monarch was being treated for an enlarged prostate, but his specific diagnosis is unknown. The Duke, 39, flew into London on a 10-hour commercial British Airways flight from Los Angeles to Heathrow on Tuesday and arrived at the royal residence at 2.42pm. He then spent around 45 minutes chatting with his father, which is thought to be their first proper contact in 15 months. Asked by GMA presenter Will Reeve how the Duke's trip for the meeting was for him 'emotionally', Harry replied: 'Look, I love my family. The fact that I was able to get on a plane and go and see him and spend any time with him, I'm grateful for that.' During his time in Whistler, the Prince enjoyed a thrill-filled ride around a skeleton bobsled track, where he reached speeds of 61mph. Reeve, the son of late Superman actor Christopher Reeve who was paralysed in 1995, said: 'I've also found in my own life that sort of an illness in the family can have a galvanising or a sort of reunifying effect for a family. Is that possible in this case?' Speaking exclusively to Reeve from the ski resort in Whistler, Canada, Harry replied: 'Absolutely. Yeah, I'm sure. 'Throughout all these families I see it on a day-to-day basis, again, the strength of the family unit coming together. I think any illness, any sickness brings families together. I see it time and time again, and that makes me very happy.' He also said he had 'considered' becoming a US citizen since moving to California - but added that his outlook on his father's health 'stays between me and him'. While Meghan did not take part in the bobsledding fun at the Whistler Sliding Center in British Columbia, she was able to enjoy every aspect of her husband's ride when he got off the sled - before enthusiastically re-enacting his thrill ride to his wife and Invictus volunteers after getting off. During his time in Whistler, the Prince enjoyed a thrill-filled ride around a skeleton bobsled track, where he reached speeds of 61mph Meghan beamed as she watched her husband in Whistler yesterday A representative told the Mirror that the couple 'will not be broken' The couple's decision to change their children Archie and Lilibet's surnames to Sussex has also raised eyebrows among royal watchers After the high-speed arrival, the couple came to a meet and greet with athletes preparing to perform at the event next year on a platform overlooking the track. Among the athletes waiting to be introduced were Canadian veteran and mental health advocate Mark Beare, Estonian former soldier and amputee Rasmus Penno and Nigerian powerlifter and ex-soldier Peacemaker Azuegbulam. This comes as Meghan and Harry have come under fire in recent days over their new Sussex.com website, in particular Meghan's coat of arms - which critics claim is a breach of their promise to the late Queen Elizabeth when they acrimoniously quit front-line royal duties. Their decision to change their children Archie and Lilibet's surnames to Sussex has also raised eyebrows among royal watchers. The moves have sparked a fresh round of criticism of the Duke and Duchess and renewed calls for the duo to have their titles removed. But a representative told the Mirror that the couple 'will not be broken'. They added: 'We've heard time and time again that certain opportunities are make or break for the couple. They're still here. They're still working and pursuing what they believe in, despite being constantly challenged and criticized. This couple will not be broken.' The conman's antics have been turned into a film starring Martin Kemp John Eric Wells fleeced victims out of their life savings before fleeing to Asia Police have stepped up the hunt for an Ian Beale lookalike who has been on the run for nearly five years after conning lonely women out of 400,000. South Yorkshire Police first launched an appeal for 'Casanova Conman' John Eric Wells in September 2019. Despite resembling one of British television's most iconic characters - played by Adam Woodyatt on Eastenders for decades - he's managed to evade arrest for more than four years. Wells, who is in his 60s, is also believed to go by the names Howard Walmsley and Howard Hemmings and is wanted in connection with three romance frauds. It is claimed he fleeced his victims out of their entire life savings by sweeping them off their feet and going on a spending spree with their money. Police are searching for the 'Casanova conman' who robbed lonely women out f their life savings Despite John Eric Wells resembling one of British tv's most iconic characters - played by Adam Woodyatt on Eastenders for decades - he's managed to evade arrest for more than four years Victim Hazel Wilkins appeared on This Morning in 2019 to tell how she met Wells online Victim Hazel Wilkins appeared on This Morning in 2019 to tell how she met Wells online. He starting asking her for money when they entered a relationship in 2014 and later took out loans in her name before fleeing, leaving her in a mountain of debt. The conman promised Ms Wilkins he would buy her and her two daughters homes only to back out at the las minute leaving one of them homeless shortly after she gave birth. Ms Wilkins then sold her own house to get a new place where her daughter and grandchild could live with her. She also told the paper she has paid back 17,000 in loans he took out in her name since he disappeared, which has cut her pension in half. Wells also 'cancelled their wedding plans five times', told her he 'owned dozens of hotels around the world' and claimed he had cancer, according to the grandmother. But she believes whenever he went 'overseas' he was actually back in his hometown of Doncaster. Ms Wilkins said she has since been in touch with another woman who told her Wells carried out an 'identical scam' on her. Wells was jailed for three years after faking an 8.9million lottery win in 1996. He later claimed it was an attempt to save his marriage to wife Kathy, pictured with him in 2001 outside court Kemp starred alongside ex-EastEnders actress Michelle Collins as Wells' wife Kathy Wells had previously been jailed for three years after faking an 8.9million lottery win, later claiming the scam was an attempt to save his marriage. He conned banks, a solicitor, an architect, a car firm and two women friends out of 53,000 in total. The plot was turned into the film Can't Buy Me Love, penned by EastEnders' writer Tony Jordan and starring Martin Kemp. The 64-year-old was tracked down to a bar in Vietnam by The Mirror in 2019 after it was believed he fled the country to be with his wealthy lover in Asia. His crime was later turned into an ITV movie called Can't Buy Me Love in 2004 starring Martin Kemp as the painter/decorator Wells is said to be running a bar bought for him by a wealthy hotelier. But a former friend of 'the natural born liar' says she could be his next victim. 'He's still in Asia and is supported by her. She's a rich lady from Vietnam. She paid about 23,000 cash to buy him that bar,' the unnamed friend told The Mirror. The bar's owner said Wells left three months ago when she took over and renovated the property. She claimed he returned to England after the bar got in to difficulty. But friends say he is helping his lover renovate the bar while entertaining revellers with karaoke, and his Facebook page lists his location as Dubai. Judge Jane Shipley, who jailed him at Sheffield Crown Court in 2001, told him he lived in a 'fantasy world'. She added: 'You wanted to aspire to the high life and appear successful, but you seem to lack what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur.' A spokesman for South Yorkshire Police confirmed Wells was still wanted, saying: 'Police would like to hear from anyone who has seen or spoken to Wells recently, or has information which may help officers with their enquiries. 'It is possible Wells is currently living outside the UK. If you see him, or you have any information which may help, please call South Yorkshire Police on 101.' A killer who murdered a sex worker near the home of Sherlock Holmes 30 years ago has been jailed for life after police linked him to bloody footprints at the scene and a hair found in his victim's ring. Sandip Patel, who helped at his father's newsagent Sherlock Holmes News on Baker Street in London, stabbed 39-year-old Marina Koppel more than 140 times in her rented flat in nearby Chiltern Street on August 8, 1994. The then 21-year-old student's finger marks were found on a carrier bag in Colombian-born Mrs Koppel's kitchen but he was not treated as a suspect at the time. Patel, 51, was charged with her murder last year after his DNA was matched to hair on the victim's ring and he was linked by a bloody footprint on a skirting board. During the attack, he had allegedly extracted Mrs Koppel's bank card pin and used the number to withdraw money near his home. Sandip Patel (pictured), now 51, who helped at his father's newsagent Sherlock Holmes News on Baker Street in London , stabbed 39-year-old Marina Koppel more than 140 times in her rented flat in nearby Chiltern Street on August 8, 1994 Marina Koppel (pictured), who was born in Colombia, was found covered in blood in her apartment by her husband, the late David Koppel, on the evening of her death The bloody footprint found at Mrs Koppel's apartment in London, which helped implicate Mr Patel in the murder Patel, of Finchley Road, north London, had denied murder but declined to give evidence in his defence. Mr Justice Cavanagh, sentencing at the Old Bailey on Friday, said: 'The terror and pain that you inflicted on Mrs Koppel is difficult to imagine. 'You deprived Ms Koppel of many more years of life. No sentence that I pass can compensate the family of Mrs Koppel for their loss.' Mr Justice Cavanagh sentenced Patel to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 19 years, using guidelines that were in place when the murder occurred in 1994. He said aggravating factors included the use of and attempted disposal of a knife, the gratuitous and sustained violence, the vulnerability of Mrs Koppel and a lack of remorse. Patel did not appear in court for the sentencing, but weeping could be heard in the public gallery once it was passed. Mrs Koppel, who had two children in Colombia, rented the flat in London because she worked as a masseuse and a sex worker, the court heard. Her husband, who lived in Northampton, 'did not necessarily approve' of her work but 'accepted it', jurors were told. While the fingerprints of the then 21-year-old were found on a plastic bag in her kitchen, he was not treated as a suspect because he would have handled bags from his father's store Marina Koppel had worked as a masseuse and sex worker, and her clients had included successful people, businessmen, a doctor, and even a politician, according to her late husband Even though Patel's finger marks were found on an unbranded plastic bag (pictured) in the kitchen, he was not treated as a suspect because he would have handled bags from nearby Sherlock Holmes News, as it was run by his father at the time Prosecutor William Emlyn Jones KC said little was known of Mrs Koppel's last movements. On the evening of August 7, 1994, she had entered a poker tournament at the Victoria Sporting Club casino and met a client at a Heathrow hotel before returning to London. The mother-of-two's last known sighting was a visit to Midland Bank on Baker Street at 1.42pm on August 8. That evening, Mr Koppel returned to her flat near Baker Street Tube station to find she had been murdered. 'We have all suffered these many, many years,' say family Marina Koppel's family paid tribute to her in a statement made to the media: 'Marina Koppel, our sister-in-law, was an extremely bright, highly intelligent and charismatic person, who saw good in her family and all people she met. 'She wanted to give them everything they needed, especially her two children and nephew who grew up in Colombia. 'Her family and friends would have been in a much better place because of her abundance of energy for life had she not died. 'Marina was a daughter, a sister, a mother, a loving aunt, a daughter-in-law and a sister-in-law who was much loved by all of us as she loved all of us. 'Had Marina lived, all of the lives of her family and friends would have been enriched and further evolved. We have all suffered these many, many years because we lost Marina so early in life'. Advertisement Mr Koppel drove to the capital because his wife was not answering her phone, finding her body shortly before 11.30pm on the floor of a bedroom where she took clients. She was covered in blood and wearing only black lacy lingerie that she might wear if she was expecting one of her clients, jurors were told. Mr Emlyn Jones said she had been stabbed more than 140 times during the 'sustained and savage' attack. In a victim impact statement read out in court, Ms Koppel's son Javier Rios said: 'It is not easy for me to re-live the saddest moment of my life after 29 years. 'I am convinced that my mum had a lot of life to live still, it was not her time and this is very painful - it tears my very soul. 'I hope to be able to close this chapter and to remember my mother how she was - the best mother in the world.' Martin Koppel, the brother-in-law of Mrs Koppel, described her in his statement as 'a dynamic and vivacious personality' and said that Mr Koppel had suffered 'an increasingly rapid decline' following his wife's death. He added: 'He (Mr Koppel) actually really wanted his life to be over as there was no drive in him. The day Marina was murdered, I lost my brother.' Even though Patel's finger marks were found on an unbranded plastic bag in the kitchen, he was not treated as a suspect because he would have handled bags from nearby Sherlock Holmes News, as it was run by his father at the time. Patel only became a confirmed suspect in 2022 after his DNA was matched to a hair found by a scientist on the ring in 2008. Although technology was still not advanced enough then for scientists to get a DNA profile, it was preserved until 2022 and re-examined. The bloody footprint was found at the scene in 1994 and matched to Patel after he was made a suspect, the prosecutor said. Mr Koppel died in 2005, never discovering who murdered his wife. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's fictional detective Sherlock Holmes lived at 221B Baker Street. A father who killed his two-year-old adopted daughter by bashing her head against the wall has been jailed for 23 years. Zahra Ghulami suffered a skull fracture caused by 'significant impact' at the hands of Jan Gholami, 33, at their home in Gravesend, Kent, in May 2020. The girl, who Gholami adopted from Afghanistan, was taken to hospital on May 27, 2020 and died two days later. Prosecutor Sally Howes KC had said the father of four took out his 'bad temper' on Zahra and bashed her head against a wall. Gholami told jurors that she had fallen down the stairs while he was at Tesco and was vomiting when he got home. A disturbing image showed Gholami carrying Zahra to hospital. Zahra Ghulami suffered a skull fracture caused by 'significant impact' at the hands of Jan Gholami, 33, at their home in Gravesend, Kent, in May 2020. The girl, who Gholami adopted from Afghanistan, was taken to hospital on May 27, 2020 and died two days later Jurors convicted Gholami of murder in a majority verdict of 10 to two after deliberating for nearly 20 hours at Maidstone Crown Court on January 9 Jurors convicted Gholami of murder in a majority verdict of 10 to two after deliberating for nearly 20 hours at Maidstone Crown Court on January 9. Gholami, of Oak Road, Gravesend, was also unanimously found guilty of child cruelty and was sentenced to a minimum of 23 years in prison. His wife, Roqia Ghulami, was cleared of murder during the trial but was also found guilty of child neglect unanimously by the jury. The 32-year-old, of Oak Road, Gravesend, was also sentenced to two years in prison at Maidstone Crown Court on Friday. During the trial, Zahra was described as a 'bright, intelligent' child who was 'highly curious' and wanted to find out about everything. Former farmer Gholami told jurors he went to Tesco that morning and when he got home his son said Zahra had fallen down the stairs and was vomiting. But the prosecution said he went to Tesco after he inflicted the injuries on Zahra. Ms Howes had said there was a 'rivalry' between Zahra and Gholami's 'favourite son' and suggested the children had squabbled before the Tesco trip about going for ice cream and Gholami lost his temper with the little girl. Ghulami did not give evidence in court but told police she thought Zahra fell down the stairs. Zahra was admitted to the A&E department at Darent Valley Hospital in Dartford on May 27, 2020, during the first coronavirus lockdown. She was later transferred to a hospital in London, but tragically died two days later. The girl's cause of death was given as a severe head injury and skull fracture by Professor Charles Mangham, an osteoarticular pathologist. Jurors were told Gholami, originally from Afghanistan, came to the UK in January 2016 while Ghulami was still in Afghanistan with their children. The couple adopted Zahra in 2017 after Gholami's friend, Zahra's father, felt unable to look after her after his wife died in childbirth. This happened when Ghulami was in Afghanistan and the adoption was approved by village elders. Zahra being taken to Darent Valley Hospital in Dartford by Gholami In January 2019, Gholami applied for asylum for Ghulami from the UK, and she arrived with the children to join him. The court also heard evidence of alleged domestic abuse by Gholami against Ghulami, with a neighbour claiming she saw Gholami punch Ghulami in the face outside their home. Jurors heard how Ghulami told a police officer and social worker in June 2019 that he beat her, sometimes by slapping her or banging her head against a wall, and she was scared he would kill her. Gholami denied hurting his wife, and also denied allegations of inflicting older injuries on Zahra before her death. They included that he banged her head against the wall and fractured her skull on an earlier occasion. Prosecutor Ms Howes said: 'Because this is what you do. You bang people's heads against walls. 'Because you've done this before and Zahra had survived, you just walked away and went to Tesco.' Gholami will serve 23 years and six months before he is eligible to be considered for parole. Kent Police's senior investigating officer, Detective Inspector Ross Gurden, said after sentencing that Zahra was betrayed by people she trusted in the 'most brutal way'. He added: 'Gholami inflicted catastrophic injuries on Zahra, and his partner failed to intervene to help her. 'This outcome can never bring Zahra back but does ensure those responsible for her death have been brought to justice.' Tourists have described the 'horrendous' scenes after migrants were pulled unconscious from the back of a white van that had been driven on board a ferry by suspected people traffickers. Seven migrants, who appeared to be of Asian origin, were freed after the ferry's security staff broke down a false wall in the back of the van that had been concealing them. Workers on board 'The Seven Sisters' ferry heard banging coming from the van as they were preparing to dock at Newhaven port in Sussex after crossing the Channel from Dieppe. It is understood there were no fatalities. Now, eyewitnesses have shared their reaction to the horrifying scenes as two men have been arrested in connection with the incident. 'It looked pretty horrendous,' one person said who was driving to work. 'Three of the men were totally unconscious They were on ambulance gurneys and paramedics were giving them oxygen. A major incident is underway at Newhaven Ferry Harbour in East Sussex 'They looked in a bad way. Paramedics were particularly concentrating on treating one individual - I couldn't see if it was a man, woman or child. 'Paramedics had wrapped them all in foil blankets. It looked really serious. I stopped because I saw a load of ambulances across the river at the port. 'There was a huge commotion. Police were trying to cordon off the area but people were waiting to board the ferry sitting in their cars. It was crazy.' He added that he saw five 'walking wounded' with foil blankets who were taken off by police and Border Force while three others were taken to hospital. He said: 'There were helicopters circling overhead and it seems the ferry was held at the port and not allowed to leave.' By 2pm the incident had been cleared, passengers disembarked and all emergency services had left. One rail worker said: 'From where I work you couldn't see a huge amount but it was clear there was something major happening. 'Initially we thought loads of people had been found dead but thankfully they are alive. The emergency services responded really quickly and it was all brought to a close very rapidly.' Video footage shows scores of police cars and ambulances at the scene, as well as a helicopter, with several people on stretchers being given critical care. A family from France, who provided MailOnline with this footage, watched the incident unfold. One man, who declined to be named, said: 'The migrants appeared to have been lying down in a small section of the van. 'They were hidden by a false wall that had been built into the back of the van. It was only a small space so they must have been practically lying on top of each other. It would have been very cramped and hard to breathe. 'The reason they were found was that staff working on the ferry heard the migrants banging on the wall and the back of the van during a routine check of vehicles as we were about to dock. The lorry arrived at the East Sussex port of Newhaven on a passenger ferry from Dieppe this morning and is still being examined on board the ship The lorry arrived at the East Sussex port on passenger ferry 'The Seven Sisters' 'They summoned some other workers, who looked like security personnel and who then physically broke down the wall and let the migrants out. Some were unconscious and some were able to climb out the van with help. 'The police and fire teams arrived soon after the ferry had docked and they took the seven or so migrants to an ambulance. They were put on stretchers and taken off the ferry one by one in oxygen masks. 'The driver of the van and another man who I think was in the passenger seat were then arrested and taken away.' Another eyewitness, who was driving to work, said: 'It looked pretty horrendous. Three of the men were totally unconscious. They were on ambulance gurneys and paramedics were giving them oxygen. 'They looked in a bad way. Paramedics were particularly concentrating on treating one individual - I couldn't see if it was a man, woman or child. 'Paramedics had wrapped them all in foil blankets. It looked really serious.' 'Initially we thought loads of people had been found dead but thankfully they are alive. The emergency services responded really quickly and it was all brought to a close very rapidly.' A Sussex Police spokesman said: 'We are currently supporting Border Force, who are the leading agency, and other emergency services after a boat carrying a number of people arrived on Newhaven beach. 'A man has been arrested on suspicion of facilitating illegal entry to the UK, and a second man has been arrested for illegally entering the UK. Paul from the Fort Road Cafe in Newhaven said he saw the ferry dock and the emergency services board. 'The ferry pulled up, the police, fire, ambulances and border force all turned up. They took four artics off first, then all the police and ambulances started going on. 'Then the helicopter took somebody away. I saw ambulances trolleys coming off the ferry. 'We see the ferry coming in every day. I saw three ambulance trolleys going up ... Forensics are in there now.' 'The ambulance service has taken six further people to hospital for treatment.' Authorities in the UK were alerted before the ship arrived from France and emergency services were waiting on the dockside. The drive on Ro-Ro ferry makes trips between Newhaven and Dieppe daily and takes around four hours on average. The Home Office confirmed Border Force was involved in responding to the incident but said that while it was ongoing 'it would be inappropriate to comment further'. Responding to media reports about the incident, Lewes MP Maria Caulfield, whose constituency includes Newhaven, said in a post on X: 'Very concerned about these reports. Authorities in the UK were alerted before the ship arrived from France and emergency services were waiting on the dockside 'From my office in Newhaven we can see lots of activity opposite at the port and thanks to the emergency services responding.' A South East Coast Ambulance spokesman said: 'We were called at 9.40am this morning to an incident at Newhaven Ferry Port. 'A range of ambulance resources have attended, including our HART (Hazardous Area Response Teams), alongside other emergency service partners.' People trafficking into the UK has become a hot political topic in recent years. Besides soaring numbers crossing the English Channel in small boats, smugglers have also used HGVs to hide migrants - at times with tragic results. Christopher Gormley, 26, of Co Tyrone, was jailed for seven years in November last year for his role in a people-smuggling ring that led to the deaths of 39 Vietnamese migrants. The Old Bailey heard Gormley was driven by 'greed' when he plotted to bring foreign families into the UK from mainland Europe three times in October 2019. One of the trips was scuppered by French border officials, with some migrants from that trip believed to have died days later in a fatal lorry run overnight on October 22-23 2019. The victims suffocated due to a lack of oxygen on the trip from Zeebrugge in Belgium to Purfleet, Essex, after the temperature inside reached a sweltering 38.5 degrees during their crossing. Their bodies were discovered in a refrigerated lorry trailer in Grays, Essex, on October 23 2019. The victims suffocated due to a lack of oxygen on the journey after the temperature inside reached a sweltering 38.5 degrees during their crossing. Their bodies were discovered in a refrigerated lorry trailer in Grays, Essex, on October 23 2019. Last month, a five-year-old girl was among migrants caught being smuggled out of Britain in the back of a HGV by a Russian lorry driver. Nikolai Kuznetsov, 39, was found by UK Border Force officers to be carrying 22 migrants in his trailer, including the girl and her parents. All of the migrants, who were of North African origin, were attempting to avoid French border controls. Kuznetsov was arrested after his vehicle was stopped at Dover Docks on August 17 2023. He was sentenced to four years and four months imprisonment after pleading guilty at the first opportunity to facilitating illegal entry to an EU member state. A Goldman Sachs analyst who made around 142,000 by using a 90,000 Tesco home improvements loan to fund his insider trading has been jailed for a year and eight months. Mohammed Zina, 35, was employed as an analyst in the Conflict Resolution Group of Goldman Sachs at their London office at the time of the insider trading offences. Zina took a loan of over 90,000 from Tesco Bank, claiming that the money would be used for home improvements, but instead used it to gamble on stocks and shares with insider information. The offences took place between July 2016 and December 2017 and involved trading in Arm Holdings, Alternative Networks, Punch Taverns, Shawbrook, HSN and Snyders-Lance. Mohammed Zina, 35, was an analyst in the Conflict Resolution Group of Goldman Sachs at their London office Zina took a loan of over 90,000 from Tesco Bank, claiming that the money would be used for home improvements, but instead used it to gamble on stocks and shares with insider information Zina, of Stoke Newington, east London, denied the charges but was convicted by a jury of six counts of insider trading and three counts of fraud. He held his head in his hands as the jury gave its verdicts after 20 hours and 38 minutes at the end of a 10 week trial at Southwark Crown Court. Judge Michael Baumgartner sentenced Zina to 22 months in prison this morning and said: You betrayed the trust of your employer as well as cheated honest investors in the shares you traded using insider information used for at work. What you did strikes at the very heart of financial markets and the trust and confidence the public places in them. Zina, of Stoke Newington, east London, denied the charges but was convicted by a jury of six counts of insider trading and three counts of fraud He held his head in his hands as the jury gave its verdicts after 20 hours and 38 minutes at the end of a 10 week trial at Southwark Crown Court He must serve at least half of his sentence in prison before he can be released and serve the remainder on licence. Peter Carter KC, prosecuting, earlier said Zina used information that should not have been used, as it was private, confidential, price sensitive information to effectively gamble, invest on the stock exchange, That is not allowed. As far as Mohammed Zina is concerned, did he buy and sell shares through brokers because at the time he had information because of his employment at Goldman Sachs not available to anyone else? If he did then he is guilty. Zina, of Stoke Newington, north London, denied but was convicted of six counts of insider trading and three counts of fraud. Earlier the judge had directed the jury to acquit Zinas brother, 36-year-old Suhail Zina, a solicitor at Clifford Chance, on each of the charges after finding that there was no case to answer. A group of lawmakers is sounding the alarm to the State Department about arms transfers between North Korea and Russia. The letter, led by Republican Reps. Young Kim, Calif., Tom Kean, N.J., Joe Wilson, S.C., and Nathaniel Moran, Texas, is asking the Biden administration for answers on whether North Korea's sale of arms to Russia could mean Moscow is assisting Pyongyang in its quest for nuclear and advanced ballistic weapons. It comes after Democratic Republic of North Korea (DPRK) agreed to sell arms to Russia, which has since used Korean ballistic missiles to bomb Ukraine. The DPRK has since offered ammunition and artillery shells too. The United Nations has warned that North Korea is seeking military assistance from nuclear-armed Russia in response. Russia has been a part of the UN National Security Councils imposing of an arms embargo on Pyongyang for its missile test since 2006, but is now violating the embargo. North Korea has recently tested nuclear capable strategic cruise missiles and advanced ballistic missiles that could put U.S. military bases in the region at risk. In September North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and President Vladimir Putin held a meeting in Russias far east, and Russian officials have visited Pyongyang multiple times North Korea has been providing weapons to Russia that it uses to bomb Ukraine Russia has fired at least 24 ballistic missiles of North Korean origin at Ukraine since late December, according to Ukrainian Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin. North Korea has recently tested nuclear capable strategic cruise missiles and advanced ballistic missiles that could put U.S. military bases in the region at risk. In September North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and President Vladimir Putin held a meeting in Russias far east, and Russian officials have visited Pyongyang multiple times. The letter asked the State Department to reveal whether it was concerned Russia will provide advanced ballistic missile and cruise missile technology to the DPRK, or whether they were aware of Russia doing so already. The lawmakers requested a briefing on the matter and a written response to their questions by March 1. Russian dissident Alexei Navalny died in Russian prison, reports revealed Friday. It comes after earlier this week Intelligence Chairman Mike Turner revealed a pressing national security threat that was later confirmed to be related to Russian anti-satellite capabilities. A U.S. intelligence official told the New York Times the U.S. does not have the capability to defend its satellites from such a Russian, nuclear-capable weapon. It also asked: 'Is your Department aware of any Russian plans or past activity to provide technology, materials, design data, and/or technical knowledge to advance the DPRKs nuclear weapons program? What actions is the State Department taking to block the DPRK Russian trade of advanced weapons? Is your Department engaging with allies and partners with a shared interest in nonproliferation of this technology about these concerns?' The House is now locked in a contentious debate over how and whether to move forward with Ukraine aid. After House Speaker Mike Johnson declared a $95 billion foreign aid package 'dead on arrival,' a bipartisan group of lawmakers on Friday released their own $66 billion, defense-only aid package with border security provisions. Meanwhile, Moscow has already shown how it can be lethal from space by testing a hit-to-kill anti-satellite missile in 2021. Russia blew up one of its own satellites in 2021 using a missile. Cosmos 1408, a defunct spy satellite launched in 1982, was the destroyed target, which resulted in a field of 1,500 pieces of debris endangering the crew of the ISS Russia smashed a defunct spy satellite launched in 1982 into 1,500 pieces of debris in the strike and sparked fury around the world. In 2020, Moscow fired an anti-satellite weapon from its Cosmos 2543 satellite while in orbit. Vladimir Putin has also threatened the West with his deadliest hypersonic missile yet that could speed into space and hit multiple targets on the ground. The nuclear-capable Avangard missile, which is reported to be able hit targets at 27 times the speed of sound, is seen in new footage installed in an underground launch silo in Russia's Orenburg region. The 20,000mph missile with a hypersonic glide vehicle will be able to leave the earth's atmosphere before striking any target in the world in less than 30 minutes, according to Moscow. One of the Kansas City Chiefs parade shooting suspects was missing part of his jaw as he tried to flee from police after being shot, according to a witness. Navy veteran Tony Janssens told Fox News Digital how he bumped into some of the suspects as he was fleeing to safety after shots rang out at the event on Wednesday. '[One of the suspects] turns around and his jaw's been shot. He's basically missing his jaw, and he's freaking out,' Janssen said. 'He doesn't know what to do. He doesnt know what to do. And then his buddies are kind of scrambling. Theyre all like, dont know if they should keep running or help his buddy, since hes bleeding now.' Janssens was not sure if the suspect was a victim or one of the shooters, but he followed his military training and kept his eyes on the injured man. Navy veteran Tony Janssens told how he bumped into some of the suspects as he was fleeing to safety after shots rang out at the event on Wednesday A mother in the burst of gunfire Wednesday as the parade and rally were concluding, and 22 others more than half of them children - were injured Two unnamed juveniles have been charged with crimes connected to the mass shooting at the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl rally. It's not clear if they were the young men detained in the picture above taken after the shooting 'I saw him hand over a bag to the other two individuals that he was with. And I see them kind of run trying to take off and try to escape. And theyre running towards these two semi-trucks, and they get in between these two semi-trucks,' he said. That's when the veteran led police to the group, and the men began running, with Janssens and the officer following. Four other good Samaritans heard Janssens and they tackled the suspect, but another suspect got away. A mother and popular disc jockey died in the burst of gunfire Wednesday as the parade and rally were concluding, and 22 others more than half of them children were injured. By Friday, two people remained in critical condition and one was in serious condition. Most of the injured children were out of the hospital and expected to recover. Two unnamed juveniles have been charged with crimes connected to the mass shooting at the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl rally, authorities said Friday, as the city tries to recover in the aftermath of the violence. A news release from the Jackson County Family Court said the juveniles were charged Thursday and are being detained in the countys Juvenile Detention Center 'on gun-related and resisting arrest charges.' The slain woman was identified by radio station KKFI-FM as Lisa Lopez-Galvan, host of 'Taste of Tejano' The release said it is 'anticipated that additional charges are expected in the future as the investigation by the Kansas City Police Department continues.' Juvenile court cases are largely kept private under Missouri law, and hearings are not open to the public. It's possible the suspects could be charged as adults if and when they are charged with a felony. Police initially detained three juveniles but released one who they determined wasnt involved in the shooting. Police are looking for others who may have been involved and are calling for witnesses, victims and people with cellphone video of the violence to call a dedicated hotline. Police Chief Stacey Chief Graves said on Friday: 'Our investigators have poured themselves into this investigation, and it continues. We will not relent until everyone who may have played a part in these crimes is apprehended so that they will be punished to the fullest extent of the law.' The shooting outside Union Station occurred despite the presence of more than 800 police officers who were in the building and surrounding area, including on top of nearby structures, said Mayor Quinton Lucas. The slain woman was identified by radio station KKFI-FM as Lisa Lopez-Galvan, host of 'Taste of Tejano.' Lopez-Galvan, whose DJ name was 'Lisa G,' was an extrovert and devoted mother from a prominent Latino family in the area, said Rosa Izurieta and Martha Ramirez, two childhood friends who worked with her at a staffing company. Taylor Swift, who is dating Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, donated $100,000 to Lopez-Galvans family through GoFundMe campaigns. Kansas City has long struggled with gun violence, and in 2020 it was among nine cities targeted by the U.S. Justice Department in an effort to crack down on violent crime. In 2023, the city matched a record with 182 homicides, most of which involved guns. Police Chief Stacey Graves said investigators believe the shooting was triggered by a personal dispute between a small group, and the parade was not the target. Graves added that preliminary findings show no connection to terrorism or homegrown extremism. Joe Biden on Friday demanded that impeachment proceedings against him be dropped after a key witness was charged with fabricating a multimillion-dollar bribery scheme involving the president, his son Hunter and a Ukrainian energy company. Republicans insist that Biden and his family corruptly used his foreign connections to enrich themselves but have struggled to produce evidence. This week it emerged that an FBI informant had been accused of lying about payments from Burisma, a Ukrainian energy company. 'He is lying,' said Biden when he was asked for his response Friday. 'It should be dropped and it's just been an outrageous effort from the beginning.' Joe Biden on Friday demanded that impeachment proceedings against him be dropped after a key witness was charged with fabricating a multimillion-dollar bribery scheme involving the president, his son Hunter and a Ukrainian energy company Special Counsel David Weiss has charged a former FBI informant with lying about President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden taking a $5million bribe from the Ukrainian energy company Burisma Alexander Smirnov, 43, is accused of making a false statement and creating a false record for statements he made to the FBI in 2020 and, if convicted, faces a maximum of 25 years in prison. He was arrested on Thursday at Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas after arriving in the United States and appeared in federal court later that day. Court filings show Smirnov told the FBI that in March 2017 that he had a conversation with the owner of Burisma about acquiring a business in the U.S. He alleged that executives associated with Burisma paid Hunter and his father $5 million in 2015 and 2016, and that an executive claimed to have hired the younger Biden to the board to 'protect us, through his dad, from all kinds of problems.' But prosecutors say Smirnov had routine contact with Burisma executives in 2017, after Biden was no longer vice president and had no ability to influence policy. Smirnov 'transformed his routine and unextraordinary business contacts with Burisma in 2017 and later into bribery allegations against Public Official 1, the presumptive nominee of one of the two major political parties for President, after expressing bias against Public Official 1 and his candidacy,' the indictment said. Democrats seized on the development as evidence that Republicans were operating in bad faith. Rep. Jamie Raskin, the top Democrat on the House oversight committee, said: 'It is an undeniable fact that Republicans' allegations against President Biden have always been a tissue of lies built on conspiracy theories, and I formally call on Speaker Johnson, Chairman Comer, and House Republicans to stop promoting this nonsense and end their doomed impeachment inquiry.' Rep. James Comer, chairman of the committee, who has led the impeachment push played down the significance of Smirnov. 'To be clear, the impeachment inquiry is not reliant on the FBI's FD-1023,' he said in a statement, referring to the form that documented Smirnov's allegations. The charges against Smirnov were filed by Special Counsel David Weiss. Biden delivered his response after a speech on the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. 'We don't know exactly what happened, but there is no doubt that the death of Nalvany was a consequence of something that Putin and his thugs did,' he said at the White House. He added that he was contemplating further steps to punish Russia and Vladimir Putin's regime. WASHINGTONThe Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA), a controversial internet safety bill at the federal level, is expected to pass the U.S. Senate as it has officially acquired 60 co-sponsors. Momentum for the legislation is due to an amended version of the act and the national LGBTQ+ rights organizations removing their opposition to the legislation due to changes that address censorship concerns. KOSA, introduced by Sens. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., has reached the current point in its life cycle after years of strong opposition from civil society groups, including the Electronic Frontier Foundation and Fight for the Future. "The authors of the dangerous ... [KOSA] ... unveiled an amended version this week, but its still an unconstitutional censorship bill that continues to empower state officials to target services and online content they do not like," argue Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) senior staffers Jason Kelley, Aaron Mackey and Joe Mullin in a legislative position statement published to the EFF website. Kelley is EFF's activism director, Mackey is the litigation director, and Mullin is the foundation's senior policy analyst. "KOSA remains a dangerous bill that would allow the government to decide what types of information can be shared and read online by everyone," the statement added. AVN has reported on KOSA in the Senate extensively. An older version of the bill would have enabled state attorneys general to block and censor forms of speech and expression that they can arbitrarily define as "harmful to minors." Those forms of speech are overwhelmingly protected by the First Amendment, say critics of the bill. Blackburn is on record for indicating that KOSA could be used to censor content about transgender rights and health material. Sen. Blumenthal has worked overtime in the past nine months to walk back his co-sponsor's anti-LGBTQ+ statements to curry support from bipartisan senators. With 60 sponsors and an endorsement from Democratic President Joe Biden, KOSA is expected to pass through the Senate with very little challenge. Once the bill is received by the House of Representatives, that is a different story. The hard right in the House GOP could tank the legislation by inserting even more extreme anti-LGBTQ+ measures, especially against transgender youth. "Based on our initial read, we are glad to see the attorney general enforcement narrowed," said Evan Greer, the director of Fight for the Future, in a press statement responding to the release of the amended overall text of the bill. "We agree that this will somewhat reduce the immediate likelihood of KOSA being weaponized by politically motivated AGs to target content that they dont like." Greer alleges that Fight for the Future and the coalition of organizations backing the opposition through her group weren't included in the stakeholder processes to address a variety of concerns, particularly the duty of care structured into the bill. If KOSA becomes law, the Federal Trade Commission in the future could pressure tech platforms to censor speech that is otherwise legal but is by all standards controversial because the duty of care requirement lacks a content neutrality provision. In simpler terms, this structure would lead to platforms blocking and censoring material at the behest of the government, which violates the First Amendment. "As we have said for months, the fundamental problem with KOSA is that its duty of care covers content-specific aspects of content recommendation systems, and the new changes fail to address that," argues Greer. "In fact, personalized recommendation systems are explicitly listed under the definition of a design feature covered by the duty of care." Other LGBTQ rights groups don't feel that way with the new text. GLAAD, The Trevor Project, the Human Rights Campaign, the National Center for Lesbian Rights, and the National Center for Transgender Equality, among other major groups, sent a letter to Sen. Blumenthal indicating that they have removed their opposition. No avowal of open support was stated in the letter, though. Two teenagers have been charged as juveniles in the Kansas City Chiefs parade shooting, despite a prosecutor previously saying they would be accused as adults. The suspects, who remain unidentified by authorities, are charged with gun-related offenses and resisting arrest, said The Jackson County Family Court division. 'It is anticipated that additional charges are expected in the future as the investigation by the Kansas City Police Department continues,' the Office of the Juvenile Officer said in a statement. Missouri law dictates that juvenile hearings are not open to the public. It's possible the suspects could be charged as adults if and when they are charged with a felony. A third juvenile initially believed to be involved has since been determined to not been connected to the shooting and was released. As Kansas City tries to recover after the mass shooting that turned a Super Bowl celebration into chaos, police are working with juvenile prosecutors to determine what happens next with the two young people in custody. Two minors have been charged in the Kansas City Chiefs parade shooting. Images circulating on social media show a group of people being taken into custody following the shooting, some of whom appear to be juveniles. It is not clear if those pictured are suspects A mother of two was killed and 22 people were injured by gunfire Wednesday afternoon, when shots erupted amid the throng of fans gathered at a rally outside Union Station after a parade through the city. Police Chief Stacey Graves said Thursday that victims ranged from ages 8 to 47, with half under 16. Police spokesperson Alayna Gonzalez said in an email that police are working with juvenile prosecutors 'to review investigative findings and determine applicable charges. The juvenile court system determines the custody status of all juvenile arrests.' Chief Graves said on Friday: 'Our investigators have poured themselves into this investigation, and it continues. We will not relent until everyone who may have played a part in these crimes is apprehended so that they will be punished to the fullest extent of the law,' The shooting outside Union Station occurred despite the presence of more than 800 police officers who were in the building and surrounding area, including on top of nearby structures, said Mayor Quinton Lucas. The slain woman was identified by radio station KKFI-FM as Lisa Lopez-Galvan, host of 'Taste of Tejano.' Lopez-Galvan, whose DJ name was 'Lisa G,' was an extrovert and devoted mother from a prominent Latino family in the area, said Rosa Izurieta and Martha Ramirez, two childhood friends who worked with her at a staffing company. Taylor Swift, who is dating Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, donated $100,000 to Lopez-Galvans family through GoFundMe campaigns. Kansas City has long struggled with gun violence, and in 2020 it was among nine cities targeted by the U.S. Justice Department in an effort to crack down on violent crime. In 2023, the city matched a record with 182 homicides, most of which involved guns. Police Chief Stacey Graves said investigators believe the shooting was triggered by a personal dispute between a small group, and the parade was not the target. Graves added that preliminary findings show no connection to terrorism or homegrown extremism. The slain woman was identified by radio station KKFI-FM as Lisa Lopez-Galvan, host of 'Taste of Tejano' The 22 people injured ranged between 8 and 47 years old, with half under 16. Children's Mercy Hospital said it treated 11 children - nine of them had been shot and three remain at the hospital on Thursday. All victims are expected to recover, per officials. Lopez-Galvan's brother Beto Lopez went on to reveal Lopez-Galvan's son, Marc, and her daughter, Adrianna, were both present at the parade, and witnessed their mom's merciless killing. Only in his early 20s, Marc was also shot, Lopez said - claiming it was his nephew who was rushed to a hospital and not his sister, despite early reports. Eleven children were taken to a childrens hospital, nine of them with gunshot wounds, an official said. All but one child had been released by Friday, and that last person being treated was expected to recover. Eight gunshot victims were taken to another hospital Wednesday. Officials there said two were in critical condition Thursday and five had been discharged. Three of four people injured in the chaos after the shooting had been discharged. At a third hospital, a gunshot victim who was in critical condition was upgraded to serious condition, an official said Thursday afternoon. Four people injured after the shooting were treated there and released. A Pennsylvania judge has been charged with attempted murder after she allegedly shot her estranged boyfriend in the head, then claimed he shot himself. Harrisburg Magisterial District Judge Sonya M. McKnight, 57, was found with gunshot residue on her hands an hour after her boyfriend Michael McCoy sustained a shot to the head early Saturday, according to her arrest affidavit. In 2019, McKnight was cleared of charges after shooting her estranged husband in the groin, which investigators ruled was self-defense. She has been suspended from the bench since November amid misconduct allegations, and is currently being held in Dauphin County Prison Friday on a $300,000 bail on attempted murder and aggravated assault charges. Her estranged boyfriend astonishingly survived being shot in the head, but authorities say he is now blind in his right eye. Pennsylvania Judge Sonya M. McKnight, 57, is facing attempted murder and aggravated assault charges after allegedly shooting her boyfriend in the head She is seen leaving the Susquehanna Township Police department Thursday McKnight (seen in her mugshot) allegedly told investigators her boyfriend shot himself in the head, which he denied Police wrote that the shooting came after a tumultuous end to the couple's relationship, and McCoy, 54, had tried 'numerous times' to get McKnight to move out after he ended their one-year relationship. On Friday, February 9, McCoy came home to find McKnight in pajamas on the couch. When he returned from a restaurant, he told her he planned to get McKnight's mother's help to get her out of the home, cops said. 'Michael McCoy stated that it was like she finally understood that it was over,' police said. He went to bed at about 11 pm, before awaking to a 'massive head pain' and was unable to see. When he began to scream, McKnight allegedly told him, 'Mike what did you do to yourself?' He had suffered a gunshot wound to the right temple that exited his left temple, police said. McCoy insisted to police at the scene and later at the hospital that he did not shoot himself. When McKnight called 911 shortly before 1 a.m. Saturday, she 'could not explain what happened and stated that she was sleeping and heard him screaming,' police said in the affidavit. However, investigators found doorbell videos from neighboring homes that contradicted McKnight's claim that she did not leave the home the night of the shooting. Detectives also wrote in the affidavit that the gun was registered to McKnight and both of them said no one else was in the home at the time of the shooting. McKnight, an elected judge in Dauphin County since 2016, was previously cleared of shooting her ex-husband in the groin when investigators ruled she acted in self-defense The shooting unfolded inside McCoy's home in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania (pictured) Her arrest this week comes after she was previously cleared of charges after shooting her ex-husband Enoch McKnight in 2019. The couple married in 2014 but had filed for divorce two years later. While their divorce was still pending three years later, Enoch visited her home the morning of May 10 to help move furniture. After moving a chair to a neighbor's house, he returned to grab another before being shot in the hand and groin, and was accused of being a 'cheater', reports PennLive. Investigators ruled that the judge acted in self-defense, and it reportedly came after a string of domestic disputes between the pair. McKnight, an elected judge in Dauphin County since 2016, was suspended without pay in mid-November by the Court of Judicial Discipline, which handles misconduct allegations against judges. The Judicial Conduct Board, which investigates and charges misconduct cases against Pennsylvania judges, claimed in a September filing that McKnight had violated judicial probation from a previous misconduct case centered on her actions regarding a 2020 traffic stop involving her son. She was acquitted of criminal charges in that matter in July 2021. The judge's ex-husband Enoch McKnight (pictured) was shot in the groin in 2019 amid a bitter breakup where she accused him of being a 'cheater.' She was cleared of charges McKnight pictured celebrating after she was acquitted on charges of interfering with a police investigation into a traffic stop involving her son in July 2021 The case also saw the Pennsylvania Judicial Conduct Board accuse her of failing to recuse herself in cases where she should have that involved a former attorney who represented her, and one involving an officer connected to her previous arrest, reports WGAL. Among the pending civil misconduct allegations, the Judicial Conduct Board alleges that she violated a number of rules, including giving excess vacation time to members of her court staff. She was also accused of directing an aide to ignore a woman's civil complaint that claimed McKnight owed her for a $2,100 loan, and used a Facebook profile with her photo in judicial robes to promote sales of a consumer product. The attempted murder case was transferred from the Dauphin County district attorneys office, which cited a conflict of interest, to a neighboring prosecutor, Cumberland County District Attorney Sean McCormack. Former President Donald Trump's campaign dismissed a report Friday as 'fake news' that he was privately considering backing a federal 16-week abortion ban. The New York Times reported that Trump told his advisors that a federal 16-week abortion ban would be suitable, as long as it included exceptions for rape, incest, or preserving the life of a mother. 'As President Trump has stated, he would sit down with both sides and negotiate a deal that everyone will be happy with,' National Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement to reporters. Former US President and 2024 Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally President Donald Trump remains hesitant to publicly endorse a federal abortion ban Republicans have suffered repeated political losses on the abortion issue since Roe v. Wade was overturned. Since then, Trump remains reluctant to publicly state his opinion on a federal abortion ban, choosing instead to float the idea of a deal between pro-life and pro-choice activists. 'I would sit down with both sides and I'd negotiate something and we'll end up with peace on that issue for the first time in 52 years,' he said in an interview with NBC in September, when asked about the issue. In the same interview, Trump criticized Florida Governor Ron DeSantis for signing a six-week ban on abortion, as he was then running against the former president for the Republican nomination. 'I think what he did is a terrible thing and a terrible mistake,' Trump said at the time. Trump frequently trumpets the fact that thanks to his appointees to the Supreme Court, Roe v. Wade was overturned, a long-time goal for pro-life activists, turning the issue of abortion back to the states. President Donald Trump and Justice Amy Coney Barrett U.S. Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch and Associate Justice Brett Kavanaugh (R) Republican governors like DeSantis have used the opportunity to sign more restrictive abortion laws, while Democrats continue notching pro-choice victories across the country. During the Republican primaries, anti-abortion group Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America urged Republican candidates to support a federal 15-week abortion ban, but Trump was hesitant to detail his position on abortion. The group responded to the New York Times report by endorsing the idea of a 16-week ban. 'We strongly agree with President Donald Trump on protecting babies from abortion violence at 16 weeks when they feel pain,' they wrote in a statement. 'A majority of Americans support this compassionate position.' Trump appointed three Supreme Court justices to the bench during his first term as president, swinging the balance of justices against Roe v. Wade. Trump was also the first American president to personally and publicly address the national March for Life, taking the stage at the annual rally in 2020 against the Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade decision in Washington, DC. In January, he said he was 'proud' that he helped overturn the decision. '[T]hey were trying to get Roe v. Wade terminated, and I did it, and I'm proud to have done it,' he said in an interview on Fox News in January. 'Nobody else was going to get that done but me, and we did it, and we did something that was a miracle.' The Biden campaign issued a statement from the president condemning Trump's position. 'The choice is very simple. Kamala and I will restore Roe v. Wade and make it once again the law of the land. Donald Trump will ban abortion nationwide,' Biden said. 'That is what is at stake this November.' Vladimir Putin has reportedly found a new love in a London-educated woman who censors internet criticism of the Russian leader, according to Ukrainian media. Ekaterina 'Katya' Mizulina, 39, is the dictator's 'morality guardian' as the head of Russia's Safe Internet League. The daughter of a fanatically pro-Putin and anti-Ukrainian senator, she is seen as a web censor, seeking to blot out criticism of the dictator, especially on the war against Ukraine. Putin is the long time partner of Olympic gold-medal winning rhythmic gymnast Alina Kabaeva, 40. They are believed to share two or three children, and to reside in a network of palaces and official residences owned or used by the Russian president. Ekaterina 'Katya' Mizulina (pictured), 39, is the dictator's 'morality guardian' as the head of Russia 's Safe Internet League Putin (left) is the long time partner of Olympic gold-medal winning rhythmic gymnast Alina Kabaeva (right), 40 Romanov likened her to an earlier Putin lover - Svetlana Krivonogikh (front centre), a striptease club owner and multimillionaire in St Petersburg, mother of Putin love child Luiza, 20 But social media outlets in Russia and Ukraine have seized on claims he has found a new confidante in the hardline Mizulina, daughter of Senator Elena Mizulina, 69, two years younger than Putin. The media say they have 'become close'. Russian human rights campaigner Olga Romanova told Ukraine's Channel 24: 'Katya Mizulina is completely to Putin's taste. This Barbie ***** [type] has always suited him very well.' Romanov likened her to an earlier Putin lover - Svetlana Krivonogikh, a striptease club owner and multimillionaire in St Petersburg, mother of Putin love child Luiza, 20. '[Putin is] 71 years old, let's not be ageist,' she said. 'In general, the man is in full bloom, why not? Russian human rights campaigner Olga Romanova told Ukraine's Channel 24: 'Katya Mizulina (pictured) is completely to Putin's taste. This Barbie ***** [type] has always suited him very well' Mizulina graduated from the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London in 2004. She has a degree in art history and Indonesian language 'And, in fact, Katya Mizulina, after all, she is 39 Let's also not forget she is for traditional values. 'Just like, in fact, [Putin's long time partner] Alina Kabaeva. '[It looks like he told his press secretary] another harem [member] met me and fell in love with me.' Ukrainian Focus media said: 'Russian insiders claim that Ekaterina Mizulina has the type of appearance that particularly attracts Vladimir Putin.' Mizulina graduated from the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London in 2004. She has a degree in art history and Indonesian language. She has worked as a translator in official Russian delegations visiting China. Her philosopher father Professor Mikhail Mizulin, 69, is a leading academic in Moscow. Mizulina advocates censorship on the Internet, fines and other sanctions against the media and social networks. At a meeting with students this month, she demanded - and received - an apology from a student who had questioned the need for compulsory military service. She threatened him with Putin's draconian laws on discrediting the Russian army. The Las Vegas office workers that led cutthroat journalist Jeff German to write the story that got him murdered by their 'monster boss' spoke out in an emotional interview. In September 2022, Las Vegas Review-Journal investigative journalist Jeff German was found dead with seven stab wounds in his neck and torso after a neighbor discovered him lying behind the shrubs in his yard. German, 69, had written an article exposing Democrat lawmaker Robert Telles, 46, for bullying behavior and having an affair with a woman who worked for him, and proof was set to be released just hours before the murder. The story was based on testimony from whistleblowers who worked under Telles during his time in office as the elected public administrator of Clark County. 'If I was to talk to him today, I think the first thing I would say is "I'm sorry,"' whistleblower Aleisha Goodwin said in tears as she spoke of German in an interview with CBS. German was found stabbed to death outside his home on September 3 after he extensively reported on Telles' public office and allegedly inappropriate relationship with a staffer German, 69, had written an article exposing Democrat lawmaker Robert Telles, 46, for bullying behavior and having an affair with a woman who worked for him, and proof was set to be released just hours before the murder 'If I was to talk to him today, I think the first thing I would say is "I'm sorry,"' whistleblower Aleisha Goodwin said in tears as she spoke of German in an interview 'We couldn't believe he would even take a call from us, but he did.' Goodwin described feeling 'desperate' when they decided to call German to report Telles' behavior. Jessica Coleman added that they were 'in fear every day,' and said German was 'the only person that tried to do something that concretely put their name on the line to try to do something.' 'It was just survival, one step in front of the other,' Rita Reid described. 'He did something for us and he fought for us and he is 100 per cent our hero,' Coleman, another of the whistleblowers, said in the interview. 'Jeff German was guided by an innate sense of right and wrong,' 'If he knew someone was engaging in criminal activity, unethical activity, inappropriate behavior... he wanted to do that story.' Reid previously described the immense sense of guilt she felt in an interview with Inside Edition. 'He listened to our story and felt that it had merit, but he didn't promise any stories' Reid said of German - adding that he told her he would 'take a look at everything.' 'It was just a heartbreak,' Reid said. Aleisha Goodwin had originally reached out to German in March 2022 to describe the issues that she and her coworkers were facing with their nightmare boss. According to prosecutors, Telles allegedly walked into German's sideyard at 11:18am on September 3 and waited five minutes before the reporter emerged from his home. Surveillance footage showed a suspect wearing gray shoes and a straw hat, which were later found at Telles' home. Telles claims all the evidence was planted The Las Vegas Democrat claims he was being set up just as he was working to expose a scam that was being investigated in the county When German walked out, he was immediately attacked and stabbed to death. Metro police have since said they uncovered Telles' DNA from German's fingernails, they spotted his car near the victim's home near Tenaya Way and Vegas Drive, and they collected the clothing of the suspect spotted a street camera in Telles' home. Telles, however, claims all the evidence is either coincidental or has been purposefully planted in a plot against him. 'As far as the vehicle goes, there is a vehicle that looks like mine,' he told 8NewsNow. 'As far as any other evidence goes, as far as when it may have been planted, I couldnt say. 'Again, I know its an incredible story. But that is the story,' he insisted. Telles was booked into the Clark County Detention Center and pleaded not guilty to the murder charges six weeks later. The ex-lawmaker is now awaiting trial, which is scheduled for March 18, 2024. If you choose to believe the Russian prison service not something I would necessarily advise Alexei Navalny fell ill yesterday morning after a walk at his Arctic penal colony and lost consciousness almost immediately. A medical team supposedly failed to resuscitate him. The authorities claimed that the cause of death was being established but no one should be in any doubt what or rather who killed the worlds most famous dissident. Navalny, who devoted his life to fighting the endemic corruption of his countrys kleptocratic elite, is merely the latest of the many hundreds of thousands whose deaths have come at the hands of Vladimir Putin. Persecuted, hounded through the courts, poisoned, tortured and jailed in savage conditions its clear that, whatever the immediate trigger may have been, he was ultimately a victim of the unyielding cruelties the state and its dictator visited on him. Let me put it clearly: This was murder. The former lawyer, who was 47, was last seen on Thursday in video footage from a court hearing at the IK-3 colony, nicknamed Polar Wolf, that he called home: a purgatorial death-trap in the remote town of Kharp, about 1,200 miles north-east of Moscow. After three years in a succession of ever-bleaker gulags, Navalny should have been a broken man. Yet he was, as ever, in good spirits. Jokingly, he even asked the judge for help paying the fines he had accrued for supposed misbehaviour in prison. In another video in January, his hands were thrust nonchalantly through the bars of his courtroom cage as he joked about his prison clothes and observed that as he was quite far away from home, he still hadnt received any Christmas cards. Navalny who was 47, was last seen on Thursday in video footage from a court hearing at the hellish IK-3 colony In another video in January, his hands were thrust nonchalantly through the bars of his courtroom cage as he joked about his prison clothes and observed that as he was quite far away from home Opposition leader Alexei Navalny is escorted out of a police station on January 18, 2021 Polar Wolf, from which no one has ever escaped, lies in an icy wasteland, hemmed by hundreds of miles of tundra on one side and the mountains of the Urals on the other. Wardens deliberately offer prisoners insufficient clothes for the biting sub-zero temperatures. Inmates have reported being marched to the showers and forced to strip, before masked guards rush in and beat them. Navalny was serving a trumped-up 19-year sentence for a baroque list of supposed offences, including extremism, the rehabilitation of Nazism and inciting children to dangerous acts. Indeed, his 2021 trial had been held inside another modern-day concentration camp, Penal Colony No 6: a characteristically Putinite parody of justice. His prison life had been a torment. Once, Navalny was punished for washing his hands minutes before he was allowed to do so; on another occasion, his mistake was to have left the top button of his shirt undone. Guards put away his bed each morning so he was unable to lie down. He spent most of his time in solitary confinement, often in a 10ft by 7ft concrete kennel, with a hole in the ground for a toilet. When he was diagnosed with lung problems, his jailors had a brainwave: deliberately put a tramp with a contagious respiratory disease in his cell, and then refuse to treat him when he inevitably fell ill. Through it all, his powers of endurance were astonishing. The lifelong campaigner, who built a social media following in the many millions first through a blog and then an influential YouTube channel and anti-corruption foundation was by far the Putin regimes most effective opponent. Chisel-faced, charismatic and articulate, with intelligent blue eyes brimming with zeal, his succession of revelations over many years drew street protests at home as well as the admiration of much of the democratic world. In 2017, for example, he exposed the $1 billion property empire of then-prime minister Dmitry Medvedev, including a lavish duck house that enraged ordinary Russians, who languish on an average annual salary of less than 12,000. In 2021, already incarcerated, Navalny narrated and scripted a two-hour documentary, Putins Palace: The History of the Worlds Largest Bribe. More than 100 million people watched as he revealed the 1 billion modern Xanadu the dictator had built himself on the Black Sea: a grotesque pastiche of a French chateau. From almost the outset of his career, he represented a vision of a different kind of Russia. Navalny's final message: The Kremlin critic posted Valentine's message to his wife, Yulia, on Wednesday (pictured) Navalny takes his seat in a Pobeda airlines plane heading to Moscow where he was arrested on January 17, 2021 After being poisoned, Navalny was evacuated to a hospital in Germany. The use of a Novichok nerve agent was later confirmed in a lab Navalny, pictured with his wife Yulia, crusaded against official corruption and staged massive anti-Kremlin protests - drawing the ire of the Kremlin Born in 1974 to an officer in the Red Army with Ukrainian ancestry and his devoutly Communist wife, the young Alexei was said to have been deeply affected by the Chernobyl disaster in 1986 and what he saw as the Soviet Unions grotesque attempts to cover up the scale of the accident. In 1993, he went to university in Moscow to study law, graduating five years later and witnessing how corruption had even infested academia. (Students who slipped a $50 note in their exam papers would secure a pass.) He gained work experience at a property company, later saying: Working there taught me how things are done on the inside, how intermediary companies are built, how money is shuttled around. He was laying the foundations of his ideology. A complex man, he started out as an ultra-nationalist, making racist statements against many of Russias non-Slavic minorities. Despite his own ancestry, his position on aspects of Ukraine angered many Ukrainians though he was always clear in his overall opinion of the war. Putins invasion, he said, was unleashed by a maniac possessed by some nonsense about geopolitics, history and the structure of the world. In 2008, he began his blog, launching his Anti-Corruption Foundation three years later and infamously describing Putins United Russia Party as crooks and thieves. This galvanised the Kremlin into pursuing him, and he was first convicted in 2012 of embezzlement, receiving a five-year prison sentence, although he was quickly released. (The European Court of Human Rights later ruled his trial had been unfair.) Despite being denied access to television cameras, in 2013 he stood to be mayor of Moscow and came second: many suspected the vote was rigged and he would have won a fair election. During his 2018 presidential campaign, thugs broke into his Moscow office and sprayed green antiseptic dye in his face. The attack cost Navalny 80 per cent of the sight in his right eye. But he stayed in the race, eventually forcing the exasperated authorities to ban him from standing, so afraid were they of the potential result. His response was to urge Russians to boycott the election. Soon the violence against him became even more overt. In 2019, while detained in prison, he was treated for apparent poisoning. And in August 2020, the state finally snapped and tried to kill him. FSB agents sneaked into his hotel room in the Siberian city of Tomsk and smeared the nerve agent novichok used to such devastating effect in Salisbury two years earlier inside his boxer shorts. He fell ill on a flight back to Moscow, forcing the plane to land in Siberia before it was allowed to travel to Berlin, where he could be treated. So Putin has decided to kill me after all, Navalny remarked on waking from his coma. Ive mortally offended him by surviving, he later said. He is addicted to death, war and lies like a drug: he needs them to maintain his power. Predictably, the Russian president denied any role in the assassination attempt. Had the security services wished to poison Navalny, Putin smirked, we would probably have finished the job. As ever, Navalny greeted the horror with humour: We had [Russian tsars] Yaroslav the Wise and Alexander the Liberator, he observed. Now we will have Vladimir the Poisoner of Underpants. Perhaps the most fateful decision of his life was to return to Russia in early 2021 to continue campaigning, rather than remaining a political exile in Europe. He knew he faced certain arrest, but he seems to have calculated that the authorities would not kill him, as to do so would risk turning him into a martyr. Sure enough, he was seized on arrival and thrown into a correctional colony. Amnesty International accused Russia of slowly torturing him to death and yesterday the organisation was sadly proved right. Navalny is survived by his indefatigable wife, Yulia, 47, who yesterday called on the world to come together and defeat this evil regime, and their children, Daria, 22, and Zahar, 14. On Valentines Day this week, Navalny wrote to Yulia on social media: Baby, I know that everything with you is like in the song there are cities between us, airport landing lights, blue snowstorms and thousands of kilometres. But I feel you by my side every second and I love you all the more. She has vowed to continue the work to which he devoted his extraordinary life. Rudy Giuliani has vowed to fight a sexual harassment case brought by a former aide who claims he wanted to own her and told her 'your t*ts are mine'. The former New York City mayor is being sued by Noelle Dunphy, who alleges he coerced her into sex while she worked for him between 2019 and 2021 and owes her nearly $2 million in unpaid wages. New filings lodged on Thursday show how Giuliani, 79, is seeking to litigate the case and have it dismissed. In response to Dunphy's claims, Giuliani's political adviser Ted Goodman told DailyMail.com: 'Ms. Dunphy has a documented history of making harassment claims against men for the purpose of making money, which has been reported in-part by the New York Post. 'Ms. Dunphy's history of this sort of behavior is well documented and available through public records, and I look forward to the Independent including Ms. Dunphy's documented history of this sort of behavior.' Rudy Giuliani plans to fight against a sexual harassment case brought by former aide Noelle Dunphy Noelle Dunphy in May filed a lawsuit against Giuliani, alleging he coerced her into sex while she worked for him between 2019 and 2021 and owes her nearly $2 million in unpaid wages Giuliani has denied Dunphy's claims and said the two were in a consensual relationship Dunphy's attorney, Justin T. Kelton, said in response: 'The assertions by Mr. Giuliani and his representatives sound like more like wishful thinking than sober analysis. 'Unlike Mr. Giuliani, no court has ever found that Ms. Dunphy made any misrepresentation. Furthermore, Ms. Dunphy has already come forward with substantial evidence in support of her allegations, and her sworn complaint speaks volumes. 'Mr. Giuliani's attacks on Ms. Dunphy are both inappropriate and extremely ironic coming from someone with his track record.' Dunphy was previously accused of extortion by her ex-partner. Documents obtained by DailyMail.com reveal a letter from his lawyer to the court, claiming there is 'no basis' for the allegation. The once-lauded mayor filed for bankruptcy in New York in December, with staggering debts of $153 million owed to creditors including two Georgia election workers he defamed over the 2020 election result, lawyers, the IRS, and Hunter Biden. Meanwhile, Dunphy has already filed graphic transcripts allegedly describing recordings of his unwanted advances, including the vulgar remark 'Your t*ts belong to me.' Giuliani denies the claims and says the two were in a consensual relationship and said the suit is filled with exaggerations and salacious details 'to create a media frenzy.' The transcript describing Giuliani's crude remarks was one of several filed as exhibits in connection with a legal memo from Dunphy's attorneys opposing his motion to toss out their claims. The audio recording was allegedly made on March 12, 2019, and the transcript describes Giuliani telling Dunphy, 'These are my t*ts,' to which she replies: 'Oh, yeah.' Dunphy's attorneys also filed other transcripts, including one describing Giuliani making anti-Jewish remarks. 'Jews... Get over the Passover. It was like 3,000 years ago. Okay, the Red Sea parted. Big deal. Not the first time that happened,' he allegedly said in one April 1, 2019 recording. Noelle Dunphy's attorneys filed a transcript audio recording in Manhattan court as part of her case, allegedly depicting Giuliani telling Dunphy: 'Come here, big t*ts' Another transcript dated simply in the year 2019 describes Giuliani speculating about 'natural selection' and the impact on male genitalia size. 'Jewish men have small c**ks because they can't use them after they get married. Whereas the Italian men use them all their lives so they get bigger,' he allegedly said. Giuliani previously said in court papers that he had a consensual relationship with Dunphy 'for a few months' in 2019, during his time as Trump's personal lawyer, but denied she ever worked for him or that he pressured her into sex. Dunphy's lawsuit, filed in state court in New York, 'contains a blunderbuss of contradictory allegations,' Giuliani said in a court response in June. Her 'singular objective' is to defame him, he said. Abdi was arrested abroad and later confessed his involvement with the designated terror organization to the FBI A Minnesota man has been charged with supporting ISIS after receiving military training at a terror camp in Somalia. U.S citizen Harafa Hussein Abdi, 41, from Minneapolis was taken into custody overseas and transported to the United States on Thursday, the Justice Department announced. 'Mr. Abdi left his country to join ISIS, trained as a fighter and actively aided the group's propaganda efforts to spread its vile ideology,' Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department's National Security Division said. While training with ISIS fighters in Somalia, Abdi allegedly carried an AK-47 and threatened to attack civilians in New York City, U.S. Attorney Damian Williams for the Southern District of New York said in a statement. Messages from Abdi discovered by security services revealed a photograph of him holding the assault rifle. Messages from Abdi discovered by security services revealed a photograph of him holding an AK-47 assault rifle A picture taken from Abdi's social media shows a hand with the index finger extended, a gesture commonly used by ISIS supporters Abdi reportedly worked in ISIS' 'media' wing, where he filmed footage for distribution by a pro-ISIS media outlet. He also encouraged others to carry out such attacks by sending audio clips of him rapping about shooting and bombing individuals in New York, the unsealed criminal complaint alleges. 'Hollow tips put a hole in your Catholic vest, and chop his head off let it rest on his Catholic chest' Abdi allegedly said in an audio clip about attacking New York City in January 2017. 'We going to carry on jihad, fly through America on our way to shoot New York up. 'They trying to shut this thing. We ain't going. We going to come blow New York up' he reportedly added. Abdi allegedly sent messages on social media, encouraging others to carry out acts of terror against the US. In other social media communications he described how he had made 'hijra,' an Arabic term used by ISIS supporters to refer to traveling overseas to join ISIS and engage in jihad, criminal complaint states. In one image on his social media page Abdi allegedly used a picture of flames rising from ab explosion, forming the shape of a hand with the index finger extended, a gesture commonly used by ISIS supporters. Abdi is believed to have fled the ISIS camp in 2017 after his relationship with the groups leadership deteriorated. He was initially jailed by the group, but escaped and traveled to East Africa, where he was arrested by law enforcement authorities, the complaint against him states. Once in US custody Abdi admitted in an FBI interview that he had joined the training camp in Somalia, it added. He also allegedly identified himself in a propaganda video that he helped to film at the training camp while carrying an AK-47 assault rifle, promoting ISIS and urging others to join and fight on its behalf. Abdi is charged with conspiring to provide and providing material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization; conspiring to receive and receiving military-type training from a designated foreign terrorist organization. He faces up to fifty five years in prison. President Biden brutally mocked the House for skipping town for two weeks without doing anything to advance a foreign aid package. 'Two weeks they're walking away!' he said, referring to the congressional recess that falls over President's Day. 'What are they thinking? My God! This is bizarre!' 'What are these guys doing?' he said Friday of the gridlock in Congress that has left aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan in limbo. The Senate voted 70-29 to pass the $95 billion aid deal that Speaker Mike Johnson has said is 'dead on arrival' in the House. Congress has spent months at an impasse over further aid for U.S. allies - as the rightward flank of the House has even begun to threaten to motion to vacate Mike Johnson from the speakership if he puts further Ukraine aid on the House floor. President Biden brutally mocked the House for skipping town for two weeks without doing anything to advance a foreign aid package And after last week a vote on a stand-alone Israel aid bill failed, Johnson declined to bring it up again this week. He also yanked a vote on a bill to reauthorize Section 702 of FISA, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, amid in-fighting over whether intelligence officials should have to get a warrant when American citizens are caught up in their surveillance of foreign threats. When Congress returns from recess there will be just three days upon their return to avoid yet another potential government shutdown. The House has already passed three continuing resolutions, bills that fund the government at 2023 levels set under Speaker Nancy Pelosi, to punt the deadline and buy themselves more time to hash out a longer-term spending plan. Congress has spent months at an impasse over further aid for U.S. allies - as the rightward flank of the House has even begun to threaten to motion to vacate Mike Johnson from the speakership if he puts further Ukraine aid on the House floor Even conservatives who ousted Speaker Kevin McCarthy over failing to get 12 separate spending bills to fund the government in fiscal year 2024 signed into law on time now admit that another stopgap funding deal will likely be needed. The House returns on February 28 and funding for four agencies of government expires March 1 and funding for the other eight expires March 8. Biden himself spent around 142 full or partial days on vacation in 2023, or nearly 40% of the year, according to a tracker at the Republican National Committee. It has tracked Biden spending 424 days from January 2021 to January 2024 away from the White House - more than President Donald Trump's 381 over a full term and President Barack Obama's 328 over two terms and about on par with President George W. Bush's 1,020 vacation days over two terms. The lead actors from the 1968 Romeo and Juliet have once again launched a lawsuit against studios, claiming they never agreed to redistribution of their nude scenes. Olivia Hussey, 72, and Leonard Whiting, 73, have filed a new lawsuit against Paramount pictures and home-distribution company Criterion Collections yesterday. The British actors have accused the studios of unlawful distribution of nude images of them - featured in Criterion's digital release of director Franco Zeffirelli's 1968 version of Shakespeare's play. The pair said that they had never agreed to the redistribution of their nude scenes in any format. Olivia Hussey, 72, and Leonard Whiting, 73, have filed a new lawsuit against Paramount pictures and home-distribution company Criterion Collections yesterday (pictured in 2018) The British actors have accused the studios of unlawful distribution of nude images of them - featured in Criterion's digital release of director Franco Zeffirelli's 1968 version of Shakespeare's play The pair had previously filed a lawsuit in Santa Monica Superior Court in California accusing Paramount Pictures of sexual harassment, fraud, sexual abuse, and intentional infliction of emotional distress in January 2023. The 2024 lawsuit states that Hussey and Whiting are suing for 'unlawful distribution of intimate photographs, unlawful use of likeness and violation of performers' rights'. The photographs cited in this suit are from the scene featuring Hussey, then 15, and Whiting, then 16, naked in a bedroom as the titular star-crossed lovers. The duo claims that after high-definition rendering of the film by the Criterion for digital release, Hussey's naked breasts and Whiting's naked backside have now become completely visible in the film, something that was not as evident in the original version of the film. Hussey and Whiting have claimed that the scenes in the digital release are 'lewd, lascivious and demeaning to them.' The photographs cited in this suit are from the scene featuring Hussey, then 15, and Whiting, then 16, naked in a bedroom as the titular star-crossed lovers The court documents read: 'The Digital Release contained computer created, among other things, digitally enhanced photographs of Whiting and Hussey lying together in the nude in a bed simulating a newly married couple luxuriating after a session of marital coitus. It also contained computer created, digitally enhanced photographs of the aureoles and nipples on Husseys naked breasts. 'Among other things, the Digital Photos rendered, in extremely high definition detail, the contents of several analog color photographs taken in the private studio in the presence only of key photography personnel while Hussey and Whiting were minors during the production of the Original Project, depicting Husseys complete naked breasts and Whitings complete naked buttocks.' 'Upon their first time viewing the Digital Release, subsequent to the dismissal of the Litigation and entry of judgment upon that dismissal, both Whiting and Hussey were made aware thereby that the obscured depiction of their naked buttocks and breasts in the publicly distributed copies of the Original Work had been digitally enhanced such that, unlike the Original Work, the Digital Release depicted their private areas in such high detail that the gratuitous display was lewd and lascivious and demeaning to them. 'Neither Hussey, nor Whiting have ever consented to, nor acquiesced in the creation, publication, or distribution of the Digital Photos in the Digital Release.' The duo claims that after high-definition rendering of the film by the Criterion for digital release, Hussey's naked breasts and Whiting's naked backside have now become completely visible in the film, something that was not as evident in the original version of the film Hussey and Whiting have claimed that the scenes in the digital release are 'lewd, lascivious and demeaning to them' Hussey and Whiting are seeking damages in 'sum according to proof that is adequate to compensate Hussey and Whiting for their economic and general injuries' as well as a permanent block on the distribution of the Digital Release Hussey and Whiting had claimed in last year's lawsuit that Zeffirelli originally told them there would not be any nudity in the film. However, on the last day of filming, they said that Zeffirelli claimed the film 'would fail' unless they performed a scene nude while wearing body makeup. In May 2023, their initial lawsuit was dismissed by Superior Court Judge Alison Mackenzie. In a newly released joint statement, both of the actors said: 'We and our new lawyers extended the olive branch to Paramount in hopes that they would settle this legal matter, but unfortunately, it appears that they do not want to take responsibility for their participation in the digital enhancement, production, and distribution of the 1968 film nor for the photos included in that reproduction that were fraudulently and surreptitiously taken.' Hussey and Whiting are seeking damages in 'sum according to proof that is adequate to compensate Hussey and Whiting for their economic and general injuries' as well as a permanent block on the distribution of the Digital Release. A court date for the new lawsuit has not been set yet. Abbas Ganbay Chairman of the Caucasus Muslims Board (CMB), Sheikhulislam Allahshukur Pashazadeh, said on February 16 at a meeting with Archbishop Theophylact, temporary head of the Azerbaijan and Baku Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church, Pyatigorsk and Cherkes, that clerics should make efforts to preserve peace and stability in the Caucasus, Azernews reports. Sheikhulislam noted that there is a high level of relations between CMB and the Russian Orthodox Church. Sheikhulislam emphasised the merits of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia in this field. During the 30-year Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict, A.Pashazade highly appreciated the mediation mission of the Patriarch and emphasized that as a result of the steps taken, the problem did not reach the religious level. Sheikhulislam Allahshukur Pashazade asked the guest to convey congratulations and greetings to His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia on the occasion of the 15th anniversary of his election as Patriarch. According to the CMB Chairman, from the first day on, our country has been trying to solve the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict in a peaceful way, and the other side also calls for it. Noting that due to the unity of the state and people of Azerbaijan, the ancient lands were liberated and the sovereignty of our country was fully restored, His Holiness Sheikhul Islam said that religious leaders should also make efforts to preserve peace and stability in the Caucasus. The acting head of the Azerbaijan and Baku Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church, Archbishop Theophylact of Pyatigorsk and Circassia, said he was pleased to convey the greetings of Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia to the SMM chairman. The guest congratulated the Azerbaijani people on the occasion of the February 7 presidential elections and wished success to President Ilham Aliyev, who took the oath of office. Theophylact expressed confidence that the head of state will continue to work tirelessly for the further strengthening of the Azerbaijani state and the welfare of all nations living here. Oh boy, it was worse than expected. As President Biden limped out to address the nation 37 minutes late and over five hours after news broke that Russian pro-democracy dissident Alexei Navalny had died in his squalid prison cell my expectations were already low. He began his remarks Friday in typically anemic fashion platitudes about Vladimir Putin and his 'thugs' being 'responsible' and how this is yet 'more evidence of his brutality'. Perhaps the Leader of the Free World hadn't wanted to upstage the Latvian president, who earlier savaged Putin, stating firmly that Navalny had been 'brutally murdered by the Kremlin'. The icing on the stale cake however was not what Biden said but what he didn't or rather, what he apparently couldn't. Cue a Mitch McConnell-esque brain freeze, a blubbering 10-second blank in the middle of one of Biden's most important addresses to date. As President Biden limped out to address the nation - 37 minutes late and over five hours after news broke that Russian pro-democracy dissident Alexei Navalny had died in his squalid prison cell - my expectations were already low. He began his remarks Friday in typically anemic fashion - platitudes about Vladimir Putin and his 'thugs' being 'responsible' and how this is yet 'more evidence of his brutality'. The icing on the stale cake however was not what Biden said but what he didn't - or rather, what he apparently couldn't. Cue a Mitch McConnell-esque brain freeze, a blubbering 10-second blank in the middle of one of Biden's most important addresses to date. My God, Vlad must be laughing into his blood-soaked Borscht and celebratory vodka. In 2021, Biden made a bold promise. He said he had personally told Putin, in no uncertain terms, that should Navalny die in prison, there would 'devastating consequences' for Russia. Yet when pressed by journalists on Friday after his stuttering speech, this was Biden's gobsmacking response: 'That was three years ago. In the meantime [Russia] has faced a hell of a lot of consequences.' In all fairness to Old Sleepy, perhaps he's confused. He has been incredibly busy with presidents Sisi and Mitterrand, after all. Perhaps he's thinking of Ukraine, where nearly 400,000 innocents have lost their lives in recent years thanks Putin's illegal war. What a demented horror show this administration is. Putin more grotesque and emboldened than ever is calling our bluff, daring us to throw down the promised cards of retaliation. But of course, Biden's deck has long been depleted. Is it any surprise that Joe saved the last spittle of fury in his rusty corvette tank not for the murderous Kremlin, but for House Republicans and, you guessed it, Donald Trump? The exact details of Navalny's death are largely irrelevant. I doubt we will ever learn the truth from Russia. But we all know that a fit 47-year-old seen laughing and cracking jokes just 24 hours ago, whose own mother reported him to be 'healthy' and 'cheerful' on Monday doesn't just drop dead. We also know that Putin had tried to assassinate Navalny before. In 2020, a Novichok nerve agent attack left Navalny fighting for his life. In 2017, he was hospitalized after being soaked in a noxious green liquid. Make no mistake, Putin is a modern-day Stalin, a veritable Hitler with his pudgy fingers hovering over the nuclear button. A monster who shows no signs of stopping his depraved war against Ukraine. Who has happily seen at least 360,000 of his own countrymen slaughtered in the process. At home, he rounds up and often kills gay people, Muslims, any and all political dissenters. In America, he has launched botched assassination attempts. In Britain, he has succeeded. In space, he's planning a devastating nuclear attack. In December, Navalny held on fabricated charges disappeared for three weeks as he was transferred to a penal colony 40 miles north of the Arctic Circle. In 2021, Biden made a bold promise. He said he had personally told Putin, in no uncertain terms, that should Navalny die in prison, there would 'devastating consequences' for Russia. What a demented horror show this administration is. (Pictured: Navalny with his wife in Germany following the Novichok assassination attempt). Rape and torture of prisoners are reportedly commonplace. They are often left outside in freezing conditions, blasted with water canons, and have their meals withheld. Navalny would have been confined to a tiny concrete cell, with a hole in the floor for a toilet, as guards regularly submitted him to electric shocks. He was taken to a so-called 'punishment cell' 27 times, with Putin demanding live footage of what unfolded. So, yes, I can think of more words than 'brutality' and a brain freeze to describe such rank inhumanity, Mr President. Earlier this week, Putin appeared to 'endorse' Biden over Trump, saying he was 'more experienced, more predictable a politician of the old formation.' Of course he did! None of the world's bullies liked life under crazy, unpredictable Trump. But thanks to America's protracted nursing-home stay, the baddies have come out to play. Putin, Xi, the Taliban and Ayatollahs of Iran they've been green-lighted to do as they please. And as bird-brained Biden continues fumble one international crisis after another from Afghanistan to October 7 things will only get worse. So at what point do we say enough? The invasion of NATO land? The fall of Taiwan? The bar should must be higher. Biden warned on Friday that 'history is watching.' Indeed it is. Time to go, Joe. Otherwise, who knows whose scalp will be next. Police have apologised to a Jewish man asked to hide his Star of David during a pro-Palestinian rally. An officer requested that Itamar Nitzan, 48, put away the religious symbol amid fears it could trigger protesters as they marched through Edinburgh earlier this month. Now he says he has received an apology from Police Scotland, with the force admitting it should not have asked him to hide a necklace with the small symbol behind his jumper. Mr Nitzan said the apology came as he spoke to a police inspector for events and licensing after video footage of the incident went viral this week. Filmed protest: Itamar Nitzan received an apology from Police Scotland Yesterday he said: [The inspector] did offer the apology. He said it wasnt right for the police officer to ask me to put away my Star of David. Apology accepted. Mr Nitzan has called for police to review the marches which have become regular events across the country since Israel was attacked by Hamas terrorists in October and retaliated in Gaza, saying the force must decide if they posed a danger. Scottish Conservative justice spokesman Russell Findlay said: Scotland cannot be allowed to become a place where Jewish people dont feel safe and are asked or expected to hide their faith due to the intolerance of others. The Campaign Against Antisemitism accused police forces of appeasing the mob. A spokesman said: The police are right to apologise, but the apology somewhat misses the point. If the officer believed that there was a potential threat to this Jewish individual, he should have focused on the threat. Mr Nitzan was filming a march in the capital on February 3 when he was approached by an officer. He said while Mr Nitzan was not doing anything wrong, the symbol could trigger protesters, and added: Theres only three of us here, it might be difficult to manage the situation. The officer then asked: Would you mind tucking your star behind your jumper? Mr Nitzan refused and told the officer: If someone is triggered I think they need to learn how to control their emotions. The officer said he appreciated Mr Nitzans position, but warned him: Because theres a large group, there is over 1,000 people, Im guessing there will be a lot of them walking around the city later on. Just bear that in mind from your own point of view. For your own safety, bear that in mind. Mr Nitzan, who has lived in Edinburgh for 12 years, yesterday said if police were understaffed it meant there was something wrong with the march risk assessments. He said he felt sorry for the very polite police officer. A Police Scotland spokesman said: The officer made a well-intentioned request to ensure safety. However, this is being reviewed for any further learning. A proportionate policing plan was in place to protect the rights of people who wish to peacefully protest while balancing the rights of the wider community. President Joe Biden froze at the podium Friday as he tried to think of a way to insult former President Donald Trump for inviting Russia to invade NATO allies. Biden was in the Roosevelt Room talking to reporters about the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, 47, who was imprisoned in a penal colony in Siberia. After blaming Russian President Vladimir Putin for Navalny's death, he turned his attention to Trump, the likely 2024 Republican nominee. 'All of us should reject the dangerous statements made by the previous president, that invited Russia to invade our NATO allies if they weren't paying up. He said if an ally did not pay their dues, he'd encourage Russia to "do whatever the h*** they want,"' Biden said. He then stopped talking briefly as the composed his thoughts. 'I guess I should clear my mind here a little bit and not say what I'm really thinking,' he continued after the break. 'But let me be clear. This is an outrageous thing for a president to say.' 'I can't fathom, can't fathom - from Truman on they're rolling over in their graves hearing this,' Biden added. President Joe Biden took a long pause to collect his thoughts before he insulted former President Donald Trump from the Roosevelt Room Friday. Trump said he had told a NATO ally to pay up of he 'would encourage' Russia 'to do whatever the h*** they want' The ex-president's controversial comments were made at a rally in South Carolina Saturday. Trump said that while serving as president he told a NATO leader to pay up or he 'would encourage' Russia to 'to do whatever the h*** they want.' 'As long as I'm president, America stands by our sacred commitment to our NATO allies - as they have stood by their commitments to us repeatedly,' Biden said Friday. 'Putin and the whole world should know that if any adversary were to attack us, our NATO allies would back us.' 'And if Putin were to attack a NATO ally, the United States will defend every inch of NATO territory,' the president continued. 'Now's the time for even greater unity among our NATO allies.' At the top of Biden's remarks, the president spoke of Navalny's bravery standing up to 'corruption' and 'violence' of Putin's government. 'In response, Putin had him poisonied, he had him arrested, he had him prosecuted for fabricated crimes, he sends him to prison, he's held in isolation, even all that didn't stop him from calling out Putin's lies,' Biden said. 'Even in prison he was a powerful voice for the truth, which is kind of amazing when you think about it.' Biden pointed out that Navalny could have lived out his life safely in exile after the 2020 assassination attempt but decided to go home to Russia 'knowing he'd likely be imprisoned or even killed.' A photo taken of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny on Thursday. Russian media reported Friday that Navalny was dead at age 47. He was imprisoned in a penal colony in Siberia Russian President Vladimir Putin is photographed in Chelyabinsk, Russia on Friday. Biden said during his remarks Friday in the Roosevelt Room that 'Putin is responsible' for Navalny's death 'Reports of his death if they're true, and I have no reason to believe they're not, Russian authorities are going to tell their own story,' Biden said. 'Make no mistake, make no mistake, Putin is responsible for Navalny's death. Putin is responsible.' 'What has happened to Navalny is yet more proof of Putin's brutality,' the president added. Biden said that Navalny was 'so many things that Putin was not.' 'He was brave, he was principled, he was dedicated to building a Russia where the rule of law existed and where it applied to everybody,' Biden said. 'Navalny believed in that Russia, that Russia, he knew it was a cause worth fighting for, and obviously even dying for.' In June 2021, Biden promised there would be ramifications if Navalny died in prison. 'I made it clear to him that I believe the consequences of that would be devastating for Russia,' the president said at the time, directly after meeting with Putin in Geneva. Asked about that threat on Friday, Biden said Russia was already suffering that fate. 'That was three years ago,' he said. 'In the meantime they faced a h*** of a lot of consequences.' Biden pointed to the 350,000 dead or wounded Russian soldiers, from Putin's invasion of Ukraine, and the heavy sanctions on Russia the U.S. has deployed. 'And we're contemplating what else could be done,' Biden said. 'But what we were talking about at the time there were no actions being taken against Russia. And look at all that's transpired since then.' 'We're looking at a whole number of options, that's all I'll say right now,' Biden added. The president also stated that there was no way for the U.S. to give additional ammunition to the Ukrainians without the supplemental funding bill being passed by Congress. 'It's about time they step up don't you think? Instead of going on a two-week vacation,' Biden said in a whisper before raising his voice. 'Two weeks. They're walking away. Two weeks! What are they thinking? My God.' 'This is bizarre. And it's just reinforcing all the concern and almost, I won't say panic, but real concern about the United States being a reliable ally,' Biden continued. 'This is outrageous.' He told reporters 'I hope to God' Navalny's death sparks action on Capitol Hill to get the funding bill through the Republican-controlled House of Representatives. 'Come on. What are these guys doing? What are they doing?' Biden urged. A former Scotland youth player who killed a teenager in a drunken hit and run was jailed for six years yesterday. Ciaran Dickson struck Aidan Pilkington, 18, in Glasgows Anniesland on September 11, 2021. Drunk: Dickson fled scene then abandoned his rented Mercedes The 22-year-old got behind the wheel after consuming a number of beers and cocktails with a friend. The ex-Celtic B player later careered down Crow Road where Mr Pilkington was crossing and dragged him along the ground. Collision investigators believe he was travelling between 64mph and 71mph. Dickson, who is also a former Rangers youth star and represented Scotland at age group level, fled the scene and abandoned his rented Mercedes. His victim, who was due to start a university course, suffered catastrophic head injuries and died in hospital. Dickson pleaded guilty at the High Court in Glasgow to causing death by dangerous driving. Caring: Aidan Pilkington, 18, was due to start a university course Judge Lord Colbeck said at yesterdays sentencing hearing: After the sentence has been served, you can move on with your life while there is an appalling loss which his family and friends will have to endure. The measured and dignified victim impact statements describe movingly how Aidan was a much loved friend, son and grandson. Dickson was also disqualified from driving for nine years. The court earlier heard that Dickson, of Erskine, Renfrewshire, was employed by Celtics B team at the time of the offence. He went to the Duck Bay Marina in Loch Lomond in the evening where he drank a pint of lager and a bottle of Corona before he drove to Q Club in Glasgow city centre. Dickson drank two pints of lager there before driving to a bar in Summerston where he continued drinking cocktails. A statement on behalf of the victims family read: Nothing can bring back Aidan or fill the tremendous void his death has left us with. Aidan was a very kind and caring young man, and he was recognised and respected for this. He was looking forward to a bright future at Dundee University. The loss of his life has been devastating. The driver who killed Aidan behaved very dangerously over several hours. The damage he has done to our lives is utterly devastating and immeasurable. Gender-critical activists in Scotland have gathered to demand that transgender women are not locked up in female prisons. Feminist group Women Won't Wheest held the demonstration outside the Scottish Government building in Edinburgh today. Protesters held signs, banners and placards emblazoned with slogans such as 'rapists have more rights than women' and 'trans units for trans prisoners'. It comes after the group wrote to Justice Secretary Angela Constance yesterday calling on her to intervene and overturn the Scottish Prison Services (SPS) Transgender Management Policy (TMP). The policy states that from February 24 an 'individualised approach' will be taken towards trans inmates. Gender-critical activists in Scotland have gathered to demand that transgender women are not locked up in female prisons Feminist group Women Won't Wheest held the demonstration outside the Scottish Government building in Edinburgh today Prisoners will be initially placed in the male estate until sufficient information is known on whether they can be accommodated in accordance with their chosen gender. Inmates will not be placed in the female estate if it 'gives rise to unacceptable risks' which cannot be mitigated. Back in December it emerged that one aim of the policy was to help transgender criminals to prepare for life as women on release. High-risk offenders who cannot be offered a permanent place in a female jail due to the threat they pose could instead be offered visitation rights to allow them to mix with female inmates. The report stated: While it may be necessary to accommodate transgender individuals in a prison which does not align with their affirmed gender, there may be other ways of supporting their gender identity. 'For example, through access to work parties, activities or programmes with others of their gender identity. The group's letter said that the policy 'fails vulnerable women and places them at an unnecessary risk of male violence including psychological coercive control'. They referenced the Angiolini Commission Report - which they say 'highlighted the vulnerable and complex needs of women prisoners'. Isla Bryson, known as Adam Graham until 2020, was convicted of raping two women before her transition. He was initially sent to an all-female prison but was moved to a male wing of another prison after it sparked an uproar The report states that around 80 per cent of incarcerated women have brain injuries as a result of domestic violence. They told Ms Constance that the best way for women to recover from male violence is in an all-female environment, and that the TMP rule does not take into consideration 'the needs of vulnerable women'. Women Won't Wheest added: 'This completely undermines the positive steps taken in Scotland to address the issues raised in the report. 'The policy speaks of 'unacceptable risk', the implication being the SPS believes there is an acceptable level of risk for female prisoners. 'There is never an acceptable risk and we cannot predict with any certainty which males are a risk. We know male violence is under-reported. READ MORE: Transgender women held in female jails are being moved to male prisons under new retrospective ban following Isla Bryson scandal Advertisement 'We know very few cases see the inside of a police station let alone a court room so how do the SPS plan to risk assess that which they don't know?' The protesters have said that public trust has been 'sorely tested following the Isla Bryson scandal'. A political storm erupted last year when transgender double rapist Isla Bryson - originally known as Adam Graham - was placed at HMP Cornton Vale, Scotland's only all-female prison, before the prisoner was eventually moved to the male estate at HMP Edinburgh. The protesters wrote: 'Ms Teresa Medhurst, Scottish Prison Service CEO, stated at the Criminal Justice Committee that the SPS are a trauma informed service. 'How can this be when the policy states that males will still be placed in the female estate despite the detrimental impact it'll have on women living with trauma?' They said women in prison have the right to be free from torture, inhumane and degrading treatment. READ MORE: Trans prisoners are being moved out of women's jails after Ministry of Justice tightened rules to protect female inmates following Isla Bryson scandal Advertisement An SPS spokesperson said its new policy considers the wellbeing of all prisoners due to its individual approach. They said: 'Our new policy supports the health, safety, and wellbeing of all people living and working in Scotland's prisons, by taking an individualised approach to the admission, placement, and management of transgender people. 'We will carefully consider a range of factors, including offending history, with a particular focus on violence against women and girls, when assessing risk. 'No transgender women, with a history of violence against women and girls, who presents a risk to women, will be placed in the female estate. 'The policy has been developed by SPS following extensive engagement including input from expert in violence against women, various interviews with men and women in custody, those that are transgender and those who are not.' The Scottish Government has been contacted for comment. A man has appeared in court charged with firearms and explosives offences after residents had to be evacuated from their homes in Glasgow. Shazad Khan, 50, was arrested after items were found by police carrying out a pre-planned search at a property in Broomhill Drive in the citys West End on Thursday. The street was sealed off and residents had to leave their homes, with a number of people having to find somewhere else to stay on Thursday night. Glasgow City Council set up a rest centre at Partick Burgh Hall, which was visited by 26 residents, and three people were provided with emergency accommodation. On alert: Police maintained a presence at Broomhill Drive after the arrest Yesterday, Khan faced charges under the Explosive Substances Act, the Firearms Act and Misuse of Drugs Act when he appeared at Glasgow Sheriff Court. He did not enter a plea and was remanded in custody. Most people who had been evacuated from their homes were allowed to return by yesterday morning but the council was continuing to provide a rest centre for displaced residents. A police cordon also remained in place on the street. Residents had been asked to leave on Thursday after suspicious items were found during the police search. A Royal Navy ordnance disposal team also attended the scene and the street was closed to traffic. Yesterday, Police Scotland said in a statement: Broomhill Drive has been reopened after suspicious items were found within a property following a pre-planned search on Thursday. The majority of residents have been allowed back into their homes, however, a small number of properties remain evacuated and a cordon is in place as a precaution. A 50-year-old man has been arrested and charged in connection with the incident. A Royal Navy spokesman said: We can confirm that a Royal Navy ordnance disposal team from the Diving Threat and Exploitation Group, Charlie Squadron, were at Broomhill Drive in Glasgow at the request of Police Scotland. A council spokesman said: Twenty-six residents visited our rest centre on Thursday night. Three were provided with emergency accommodation whilst the others made alternative arrangements. We will continue to liaise with Police Scotland and the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service and will respond to any developments appropriately. The Duke of Sussex spoke to Good Morning America reporter Will Reeve about King Charles's shock cancer diagnosis, his life with his family in California as well as his thoughts on becoming an American citizen. Harry spoke exclusively to Reeve from a ski resort in Whistler, Canada, where he and his wife Meghan Markle celebrated an Invictus Games One Year To Go event, which saw Prince Harry enjoy a thrill-filled ride around a skeleton bobsled track. These are all the revelations from Prince Harry's conversation with ABC's Good Morning America today. The Duke of Sussex during the interview in Whistler with ABC correspondent Will Reeve Prince Harry is spotted alongside American TV presenter Will Reeve in Whistler on Wednesday Harry's outlook on the King's health 'stays between me and him' Prince Harry said he 'jumped on a plane' to visit the King 'as soon as I could' after speaking on the phone about his shock cancer diagnosis.Asked by GMA presenter Will Reeve how the Duke's trip for the meeting was for him 'emotionally', Harry replied: 'Um, look, I love my family. 'The fact that I was able to get on a plane and go and see him and spend any time with him, I'm grateful for that.' Reese then asked what Harry's outlook on the King's health was and the Duke of Sussex replied: 'That stays between me and him.' Royal family reunion is on the cards The Duke of Sussex also revealed he was 'grateful' to have seen his father Charles III in person and hopes the diagnosis can have a 'reunifying effect' on the Royal Family. Reeve, the son of late Superman actor Christopher Reeve who was paralysed in 1995, said: 'I've also found in my own life that sort of an illness in the family can have a galvanising or a sort of reunifying effect for a family. Is that possible in this case?' Harry replied: 'Absolutely. Yeah, I'm sure. Throughout all these families I see it on a day-to-day basis, again, the strength of the family unit coming together. 'I think any illness, any sickness brings families together. I see it time and time again, and that makes me very happy.' Prince Harry speaks to ABC's Good Morning America presenter Will Reeve in Canada this week While Meghan did not take part in the bobsledding yesterday, she was able to enjoy watching Harry is coming back to the UK soon Asked how he had 'processed the fact that there's so much happening back with your family and where you come from', Harry said: 'I have my own family, as we all do, right? My family and my life in California is as it is. 'I have got other trips planned that would take me through the UK or back to the UK. I will stop in and see my family as much as I can.' His children have an 'incredible sense of humour' On being a father, Harry joked: 'I can't tell you, that's classified. It's top secret.' He added: 'The kids are doing great. The kids are growing up like all kids do, very very fast. 'They have both got an incredible sense of humour and make us laugh and keep us grounded every single day, like most kids do. So I'm just very grateful to be a dad.' Harry has considered getting American citizenship Harry said living in the US was 'amazing - I love every single day.' Asked 'do you feel American', the Duke said: 'Do I feel American? No. I don't know how I feel.' But questioned over whether he would think about becoming a US citizen, Harry added: 'I have considered it, yeah.' Asked what would stop him doing it, the Duke said: 'I have no idea. I'm here standing here next to this with these guys. American citizenship is a thought that has crossed my mind but certainly not something that's a high priority for me right now.' Prince Harry and Meghan Markle with ABC presenter Will Reeve in Whistler on Wednesday Meghan was wrapped up warm yesterday, sporting a navy beanie as she smiled at Harry When asked by an onlooker whether she planned to join Harry on the sled, she said: 'I can't!' Harry said he 'always had a life of service' Quizzed over where he gets the desire to be so involved in helping other people, Harry said: 'I have always had a life of service. I get my fix with these guys. There's no version of me coming here watching them and not getting involved myself. 'To see the smiles on their faces and then to hear the stories at the end and the excitement and just the happiness, that's what this is all about. 'This is what it's all about and as long as it's safe, we will continue to facilitate these kinds of opportunities for them.' The Duke said 'everything' is keeping him busy Reeve asked him: 'Aside from Invictus, what's keeping you busy when you're out of the house?' Harry replied: 'Everything. Everything in the house, everything outside the house. The mission continues. Every element of the work continues. 'Before you know it, February next year, this time of the year, this time we're gonna be right here doing all this again. Hopefully you'll be here. 'And we're going to have the whole of Whistler and hopefully the whole of Canada screaming these guys on for an epic games.' Two 18th Century paintings stolen from a Peruvian church have been returned twelve years after they were first snatched. The religious works were taken from the Nuestra Senora de la Asuncion church in Chicuito, Peru along with several other artefacts. They were trafficked into Manhattan where they were consigned for sale a Doyle Auction house prior to the DA Office's seizure. On Friday, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg, Jr. announced the paintings' return to the people of Peru. 'It does not matter whether an antiquity or painting was stolen ten years ago or ten thousand years ago a stolen object is a stolen object,' said District Attorney Bragg. Two 18th Century paintings stolen from a church have been returned to the people of Peru thanks to work by the New York Antiquities Trafficking Unit The religious works were taken from the Nuestra Senora de la Asuncion church in Chicuito, Peru along with several other artefacts 'This investigation makes clear that looting and trafficking is far from a thing of the past, and we will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to aggressively root out and dismantle these schemes.' Both paintings are characteristic of the Cuzco school, a distinctive artistic tradition that flourished from the city of Cuzco, Peru, during the Spanish colonial period. One painting, The Pilgrim Virgin, depicts the Virgin Mary enthroned and surrounded by angels. A second painting, Flight to Egypt, depicts the Child Jesus, the Virgin Mary and Saint Joseph on the flight to Egypt guided by an angel. The paintings were snatched in February 2012 by looters who also pilfered other valuable relics from the church, including silver and bronze objects and additional colonial paintings. 'The protection, recovery, and return of our cultural heritage is a permanent policy of the Republic of Peru. ' This means it is a policy that is maintained over time through various democratic governments and has the full support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, through its embassies and Consulates General around the world,' said Ambassador Marita Landaveri, Consul General of Peru in New York. 'We are deeply grateful for the cooperation of New York authorities in the successful recovery of two significant colonial paintings, which will soon be returned to the people of Peru. Both paintings are characteristic of the Cuzco school, a distinctive artistic tradition that flourished from the city of Cuzco, Peru, during the Spanish colonial period They were due to be sold at an auction after being trafficked into Manhattan until investigators stepped in, DA Alvin Bragg said 'This collaboration underscores our ongoing commitment to combating the trafficking of cultural heritage, and we anticipate continued partnership in these vital efforts.' In the last two years, New York's Antiquities Trafficking Unit has recovered almost 1,200 antiquities stolen from more than 25 countries and valued at nearly $225 million. Since its creation, the ATU has recovered almost 4,900 antiquities valued at nearly $450 million and returned more than 4,500 of them so far to over 25 countries. 'We are proud to begin the process of turning an atrocious act of stolen religious artwork taken from a sacred place to a parable with a peaceable ending. Whether here in New York or a continent away,' said HSI New York Acting Special Agent in Charge Erin Keegan. A man whos been having trouble holding in his liquids created a Reddit post on February 15 that described a restroom requirement at his place of work. The original poster (OP), who works at 7-Eleven, received a text from his boss yesterday that said he needed to provide a doctors note for his bladder problems. The young 7-Eleven employee claimed that he does not have bladder problems despite going to the bathroom more than once while hes working. His boss later told him that he needed to get the doctor's note because he uses the restroom too much during his three-hour shifts. The OP admitted in his post that he drinks 2 big gulps worth of water just about every time he works at the store. A man who's been having trouble holding in his liquids has created a Reddit post on February 15 that described a restroom requirement at his place of work The OP admitted in his post that he drinks 2 big gulps worth of water just about every time he works at the store According to the OP, the amount of water he drinks causes him to frequent the bathroom about 1-4 times a shift. His boss texted him again that day and asked the employee to tell him how many times he used the restroom that day. The employee wrote in the Reddit post that he responded to his boss message and wrote that he went to the bathroom twice during his shift yesterday. I asked if I was required to disclose that information to him and he said I was required due to the fact that it's a paid bathroom break and that I have confirmed that I have no medical problems, the employee wrote. I'm just curious if this is true and wondering how I should handle the situation forward from this point. Nearly 700 Reddit users have given their opinions on what he should do, and some of their ideas involve the OP's feces. Reddit users have suggested that the 7-Eleven employee make bathroom charts and take pictures of his feces after he uses the restroom Several Reddit users have suggested in the comment section that the employee starts a log or spreadsheet. 'Start a log chart ad report it to him daily,' on user wrote. 'Make sure you put the size of the log you pushed out and the color and smell of it.' Other users have suggested the 7-Eleven worker 'take pictures' after he goes to the bathroom during his shifts. His captors had demanded a $200,000 ransom but have yet to be identified An American man who was kidnapped in Mexico has been found in the jungle with his eyes taped shut and hands bound together. Joseph Constantine Buonincontri, 35, was violently abducted from his home in Limones on February 4. He was discovered alive three days later after several men demanded a $200,000 ransom. The New York native was dramatically rescued by the Mexican army following a tip by locals who saw armed men driving a taxi from Tulum into the remote area. Jaw-dropping footage shows the moment he was found tied up under a makeshift shelter in the wilderness in Mexico's Quintana Roo province. In the video, a terrified Buonincontri is seen sat on the ground with his wrists and ankles bound together. Jaw-dropping footage shows the moment he was found tied up under a makeshift shelter in the wilderness in Mexico's Quintana Roo province As the military approach, they ask if he is doing okay and if he would like some water. But Buonincontri only begs for a cigarette and for his restraints to be loosened. The clip was posted on bordelandbeat.com which translated the entire conversation where a soldier tells the captive they have been sent from the Mexican army 7th Motorized Cavalry Regiment to help him. The operative can be seen motioning to his comrades not to come any closer as he converses with Buonincontri. The captive tells him he is originally from New York but lives in Quintana Roo. 'Do you remember the day that you were kidnapped?' the solider asks. 'No, I cant recall the day. I dont even know what day this is,' Buonincontri replies. As the military approach, they ask if he is doing okay and if he would like some water Authorities said they also recovered a backpack with marijuana, a tactical vest and loaded magazines for an AR-15 from the scene. The captive told investigators he had been snatched by 'unknown people', Mexican Daily News reported. The Attorney General's Office of the State of Quintana Roo said in a statement that Buonincontri had been located thanks to a joint effort between the Mexican National Guard, state police and the army. The Lancaster County Sheriff's Office helped track down a Burchard Volunteer Fire Department pickup Tuesday that was stolen on June 23, Chief Deputy Ben Houchin said. On Monday, the Pawnee County Sheriff's Office contacted the Lancaster County Sheriff's Office about the possibility that the stolen fire department pickup was located at a residence near the 14000 block of south 148th Street, Houchin said. The Lancaster County Sheriff's Office asked the Nebraska State Patrol to fly over the property on Tuesday and locate the pickup, which they did. Deputies and investigators from the Sheriff's Office contacted the property owner, who granted them access to search the premises. They verified the vehicle was the stolen fire department pickup with the vehicle identification number, Houchin said. Shelby Watkins, 25, of Omaha, was arrested by the Pawnee County Sheriff's Office for stealing the fire department pickup. Top Journal Star photos for February 2024 Tucker Carlson has responded to challenges for not grilling Vladimir Putin enough in his controversial interview by saying 'leadership requires killing people'. The former Fox News presenter interviewed the Russian president on February 6. But the interview has been blasted as 'soft' with even Vladimir Putin saying he was disappointed by Mr Carlson's questions. Just a few days before it was announced that Russian opposition leader Aleksey Navalny was dead, Mr Carlson defended his interview. Appearing at the World Government Summit in Dubai on Monday, February 12, he was interviewed by Egyptian journalist Emad El Din Adeeb. The former Fox News presenter interviewed the Russian president on February 6 Egyptian journalist Emad El Din Adeeb (left) interviewing Mr Carlson at the World Government Summit in Dubai on Monday, February 12 Mr Adeeb said: 'You should challenge in the roles of an interview, and you're a master in your business. 'It's not for me to give you a lecture about that, but you should challenge some ideas. 'For instance, you didn't talk about freedom of speech in Russia, you did not talk about Alexei Navalny, about assassinations, about restrictions on opposition in the coming elections.' Mr Carlson replied: 'I didn't talk about the things that every other American media outlet talks about. 'Because those are covered and because I have spent my life talking to people who run countries in various countries and have concluded the following: that every leader kills people, including my leader. 'Every leader kills people, some kill more than others. 'Leadership requires killing people, sorry, that's why I wouldn't want to be a leader. 'That press restriction is universal in the United States, I know because I've lived it. Ask my former I've had a lot of jobs. 'And I've done this for 34 years and I know how it works and there's more censorship in Russia than there is in the United States but there is a great deal in the United States. 'And so at a certain point, it's like people can decide whether they think, what countries they think are better, what systems they think are better. I just want to know what he thinks, that was the whole point.' 'Leadership requires killing people, sorry, that's why I wouldn't want to be a leader,' said Mr Carlson Tucker Carlson during his 'soft' interview with Vladimir Putin Tucker Carlson in a Russian supermarket as he fawned over the low price for 'fresh groceries' In another bizarre video, Mr Carlson praised Russia for its low grocery store prices and fresh produce. The media firebrand wheeled a grocery cart around a Russian superstore while marvelling at the stock as he continued his Putin PR tour earlier this week. In a video uploaded to his social media accounts Carlson, 54, exclaimed, 'Look at that!' while sniffing a loaf of bread as jovial music plays. The former presenter said the revelation moved him from feeling 'amused to legitimately angry' that his home country apparently charges much more for basics like food. The video drew widespread ridicule from people online, as many pointed out the disparity between the average wage in Russia - which is the equivalent of $9,072 - or 6.5 times less than the average US salary of $59,428. During his interview with Putin, Mr Carlson also heaped praise on Russia throughout, calling Moscow 'so much nicer than any city in my country.' 'I had no idea. It is so much cleaner, and safer and prettier, aesthetically, he said. 'Its architecture, food, and services than in any city in the United States. And this is not ideological.' Even Putin said he was disappointed by Mr Carlson's 'soft' interview questions Mr Carlson has since received a backlash over his interview, especially in the wake of opposition leader Alexei Navalny Navalny (pictured with his wife Yulia Navalnaya) miraculously survived a suspected assassination attempt with a nerve agent in August 2020 during a flight. He was evacuated to a hospital in Germany, and the use of a Novichok nerve agent was later confirmed. But since the announcement of Russian opposition leader Mr Navalny's death in a Russian prison, Mr Carlson has become more critical of Putin. The former Fox News host told DailyMail.com that he was on a plane travelling from Dubai when Navalny's death was announced. 'I didn't even know it happened till I saw the Daily Mail story,' Carlson explained. In an exclusive statement to DailyMail.com, Carlson said: 'It's horrifying what happened to Navalny. 'The whole thing is barbaric and awful. No decent person would defend it.' Russian news outlets announced Navalny's death on Friday morning, citing the Siberian prison service where he was serving a 19-year sentence for 'extremism', sparking fury across the globe. 'On February 16, 2024, in correctional colony No. 3, convict Navalny A.A. felt unwell after a walk, almost immediately losing consciousness,' said a statement from prison officials. 'Emergency doctors confirmed the death of the convict.'. Global leaders, including the Latvian president, have laid the blame for Navalny's death at Putin's feet. Mr Carlson faced a backlash following his 'soft' Putin interview, especially since the death of Alexei Navalny was announced. Meghan McCain, a former co-host of The View, said: 'Don't forget that Putin's favourite useful idiot Kremlin propagandist Tucker Carlson didn't give a s*** about Navalny's life when asked about him a few days ago.' Former Republican strategist Stuart Stevens said: 'As Tucker Carlson makes clear, Trump supporters look at Russia and ask, 'Why can't America be Russia?' 'They hate the America we love. They must be defeated.' The son the of the Hollywood executive who was accused of killing his wife Mei , her parents and dismembering their bodies has again appeared in court bare-chested. Sam Haskell IV was once again shirtless at his latest appearance in a downtown Los Angeles court, just as he was during his last appearance January 12. The heavily tattooed 35-year-old is on suicide watch in the LAPDs Valley Jail in Van Nuys. He is the son of Hollywood talent agent Samuel Haskell III, whose tenure at WME included overseeing The Fresh Prince of Bel Air and Everybody Loves Raymond. At his last court visit, Haskell had pleaded not guilty to murdering his 37-year-old wife and her parents, Goashan Li, 72, and Yanxiang Wang, 64. Sam Haskell IV was once again shirtless at his latest appearance in a downtown Los Angeles court, just as he was during his last appearance January 12 At his last court visit, Haskell had pleaded not guilty to murdering his 37-year-old wife and her parents, Goashan Li, 72, and Yanxiang Wang, 64 The heavily tattooed 35-year-old is on suicide watch in the LAPDs Valley Jail in Van Nuys Haskell's attorney, Joseph Weimortz, has previously objected to his client's half-naked appearance in court, calling it 'dehumanizing' and asking Judge Kimberley Baker Guillemet for him to be covered. Having the top half of his heavily-tattooed body unclothed was 'no fault of Mr. Haskell,' said Weimortz, adding that 'he has given no indication that he intends to harm himself.' The judge had ordered media photographers in court only to film Haskell 'from the neck up' during the January hearing. This order continued to remain in effect during today's session too. No visible signs of self-harm were seen on the accused today. The judge had ordered media photographers in court only to film Haskell 'from the neck up' during the January hearing This order continued to remain in effect during today's session too. No visible signs of self-harm were seen on the accused today Body parts found in an Encino dumpster are confirmed as the remains of 37-year-old Mei Haskell (pictured) Haskell, 35, is charged with the murder of his wife Mei, as well as her mother Yanking Wang, 64 and father, Gaoshan Li, 72, who are still missing Haskell, who could face the death penalty if convicted, was arrested after the headless torso of a woman later identified as his Chinese-born wife Mei, 37 was found in a dumpster near his office in Encino, northwest of LA, last month. He was charged with murdering Mei and also killing her mother Yanking Wang, 64 and father, Gaoshan Li, 72, who are both still missing. Mei's friends have told DailyMail.com she had wanted to divorce Haskell for at least four years, but feared his powerful agent father would persuade courts to give him custody of their three sons, aged six, eight and 12. Prosecutors allege that on the day following the murders, Haskell hired four day laborers to remove black trash bags from his LA area home. One worker revealed that he was paid $500 to remove three large trash bags adding that Haskell claimed they were filled with rocks before later pretending the body parts were 'Halloween props'. The judge remanded him without bail back to downtown Men's Central Jail and scheduled a preliminary hearing on February 16 A bag with a headless torso was found stuffed into a duffel bag and tossed into this dumpster behind Ventura Boulevard and Rubio Avenue, near a family-style restaurant, a hair salon and two banks Haskell is the son of former top Hollywood agent Samuel Haskell III 'When we picked up the bags, we could tell they weren't rocks,' he said, noting that the bags were soft and soggy.' He and his co-workers looked inside the bags and inside they saw 'body parts, a belly button.' 'I was astonished. Of course, I felt bad. We had been tricked,' he said. The men then returned the bags and the money to Haskell's home, telling him they did not 'want to be involved.' The workers went straight to law enforcement and informed the California Highway Patrol and the police. Prosecutors said that later that day, Haskell 'was allegedly observed and photographed a short distance from his home disposing [of] a large trash bag into a dumpster in the 16000 block of Ventura Boulevard.' Haskell is the son of Samuel Haskell III, a former executive vice-president and worldwide head of television for the talent agency William Morris Endeavor. His clients included Dolly Parton, George Clooney, Kathie Lee Gifford, Whoopi Goldberg and King Charles's brother, Prince Edward. He quit in 2004, and went on to found Magnolia Hill Productions. Haskell senior was also CEO of the Miss America organization from 2015-17, but resigned after he was found to have criticized some of the contestants in private emails, ridiculing one for gaining weight and describing another as promiscuous. Donald Trump said the justice system and America 'as a whole' is 'under assault' after his family business was fined $364million for fraud in New York. The former president called Attorney General Letitia James 'racist' and tore into the city where has $690 million in real estate for trying to 'kick him out'. The 77-year-old said he helped New York in 'the worst of times' with his business deals and now it is 'overrun with Violent Biden Migrant Crime'. Donald Trump said the justice system and America 'as a whole' is under assault after his family business was fined $364million for fraud in New York. He took to his Truth Social account after Judge Arthur Engoron released the devastating ruling banning him from being a director of officer in a New York firm for three years. His sons Don. Jr and Eric were also fined more than $1million each and hit with bans of two years. Trump, who Forbes estimates is worth $2.5billion, now has 30 days to come up with the money or come up with a bond of $35million. He will likely appeal the verdict which would have devastating consequences for his real estate empire not just in the Big Apple but around the world. His sons Don. Jr and Eric were also fined more than $1million each and hit with bans of two years Trump, who Forbes estimates is worth $2.5billion, now has 30 days to come up with the money or come up with a bond of $35million 'The Justice System in New York State, and America as a whole, is under assault by partisan, deluded, biased Judges and Prosecutors. 'Racist, Corrupt A.G. Tish James has been obsessed with Getting Trump for years, and used Crooked New York State Judge Engoron to get an illegal, unAmerican judgment against me, my family, and my tremendous business. 'I helped New York City during its worst of times, and now, while it is overrun with Violent Biden Migrant Crime, the Radicals are doing all they can to kick me out. 'A Crooked New York State Judge, working with a totally Corrupt Attorney General who ran on the basis of I will get Trump, before knowing anything about me or my company, has just fined me $355 Million based on nothing other than having built a GREAT COMPANY. ELECTION INTERFERENCE. WITCH HUNT (more to follow!).' Trump has up to 30 days to come up with the money, which with interest could top more than $400million, or secure a bond of around $35 million. The staggering decision follows an explosive three-month court case where Trump took the stand and his children, including Ivanka, testified. Trump now owns more than $454 million for judgements in New York after a jury ordered him to pay up for defaming his rape accuser E. Jean Carroll. His net worth is believed to be around $2.6 billion, according to a Forbes estimate in September 2023, and most of his assets are tied up in his sprawling real estate and golf empire. Former President Donald Trump sent out a series of Truth Social posts Friday afternoon railing against the judgment The Republican presidential frontrunner, according to Forbes, has $640 million in cash and assets and $870 million in golf clubs ands resorts. His New York real estate is worth $690 million and his social media and brand businesses are worth $160 million. The Trump Organization called the ruling a 'gross miscarriage of justice', accused New York Attorney General Letitia James of 'overreach' and said Deutsche Bank made 'hundreds of millions' doing business with them. 'Every member of the New York business community, no matter the industry, should be gravely concerned with this gross overreach and brazen attempt by the Attorney General to exert limitless power where no private or public harm has been established. 'If allowed to stand, this ruling will only further expedite the continuing exodus of companies from New York.' Engoron had already found Trump, and his sons Don Jr. and Eric, liable for fraud and the trial was to determine how much they should pay. James had demanded over $370 million from Trump and that he be barred from doing business in the state of New York. James accused Trump and his family businesses of overstating his net worth by billions of dollars. An aerial view of former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate is seen Aug. 10, 2022, in Palm Beach, Fla. How much is Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago worth? That's been a point of contention after a New York judge ruled that the former president exaggerated the Florida property's value when he said it's worth at least $420 million and perhaps $1.5 billion. Trump has been represented by his firebrand lawyer Alina Habba. On Thursday she admitted she didn't have 'high hopes' for the verdict She sought to permanently ban Trump from New York's real estate industry and sharply limit his ability to do business in the state. During the case Trump lambasted James, an elected Democrat, as partisan, 'racist' and 'corrupt'. He also conducted an ongoing feud with Judge Engoron and his clerk, which led to the former president being subjected to a gag order. In closing arguments on January 11 Trump defied the judge and gave a six-minute diatribe after his lawyers spoke. 'I am an innocent man,' Trump protested. 'I'm being persecuted by someone (James) running for office. What's happened here, sir, is a fraud on me.' Trump said he was being targeted by officials who 'want to make sure I don't win again.' Judge Engoron told Trump's lawyer Chris Kise to 'control your client'. James Bulger's mother is 'over the moon' after MPs will debate holding a public inquiry into her two-year-old son's death. Denise Fergus has long called for the inquiry into how her child's murderers, Jon Venables and Robert Thompson, were sentenced. The pair abducted James in 1993 from a shopping centre in Bootle, Merseyside, by Venables and Thompson, both aged ten. The toddler's body was found two miles away on a railway line in Liverpool. The pair served eight years before being released on licence in 2001, aged 18, and they were given new identities. Almost six years ago, she started an online petition which was backed by more than 200,000 people. Denise Fergus has long called for the inquiry into how her child's murderers, Jon Venables (left) and Robert Thompson (right), were sentenced The mother said the family had lived with 'injustices for more than 30 years' and that this inquiry was 'huge' for them The murder of James Bulger (pictured above), who was kidnapped from a shopping centre and tortured to death by two 10-year-old boys, shocked the nation Now, it has been granted a 90-minute House of Commons debate. Ms Fergus, 56, told the Mirror: 'This is a momentous move forward for us. We are over the moon. 'For years we have needed answers around what happened in the handling of James case and the decision to only give the killers sentences where they served less than eight years in youth offenders institutes not an adult jail.' The mother said the family had lived with 'injustices for more than 30 years' and that this inquiry was 'huge' for them. Ms Fergus is expected to attend the debate and it will be opened by Labours George Howarth, the MP for Knowsley. She urged MPs to take the inquiry 'seriously' and said it would 'not bring James back,' but could help save other families from 'going through what I have.' Venables has since been returned to prison twice for possessing indecent images of children, most recently in 2017. The Parole Board said it was concerned Venables has 'continuing issues of sexual preoccupation' and were 'not satisfied' he was safe to be back on the streets. A source told The Sun in December that Venables 'lost the plot' when told his bid for freedom had been rejected, adding: 'He went mad, shouting and screaming.' Jailed Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny has died while in prison Vladimir Putin has cracked down on 'more than 100' mourners protesting against the death of Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny. Russian news outlets announced the death of Navalny today - citing the Siberian prison service where he was serving his sentence - but gave no cause of death or further information. Protestors have gathered outside the London embassy chanting critical slogans against Putin, such as 'Putin in is a murderer', 'the war must stop' and 'love is stronger than the war'. Now, pictures have shown protestors in St Petersburg being detained after vigils were set up for the 47-year-old outspoken critic of President Putin. Shocking images show police dragging mourners by their feet away from vigil services. Police officers detain a woman who laid flowers for Alexei Navalny at a memorial in St Petersburg It has been reported more than 100 mourners who attended the vigil have been detained Russian opposition politician Navalny pictured alongside his wife Yulia Navalnaya People can also be seen waving their mobile phones in snowy conditions with flashlights on to pay their respects. Navalny has been in a Russian jail since 2021 on charges widely viewed as politically motivated. The news sparked shock and anger around the globe, with world leaders and commentators quickly pointing the finger at the Kremlin. Both President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have said Putin is 'responsible' for the politician's death. Navalny was 'brutally murdered by the Kremlin,' Latvia's president declared. Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said it was 'obvious' Putin had ordered the dissident's killing. Yulia Navalnaya, Navalny's wife, has claimed she doesn't know whether the news of his death. This came after his spokeswoman Kira Yarmysh said his team had yet to receive confirmation of the death. It comes after Russian news outlets announced the death of Navalny today People wave their mobile phone with flashing lights paying their respect to Navalny in St Petersburg Mourners in snowy conditions commemorate the death of the outspoken Russian critic But, it has been reported his lawyer is heading to Siberia to the prison where he is being held. As Putin's fiercest foe, Navalny crusaded against official corruption and staged massive anti-Kremlin protests - drawing the merciless retribution of the Kremlin. He once survived an assassination attempt involving the Novichok nerve agent, but returned to his homeland upon his recovery, despite knowing he would be arrested. Ever since, he has been serving time on extremism charges after being sentenced to 19 years behind bars, and in December was moved from a prison in central Russia to a 'special regime' penal colony known as 'Polar Wolf' above the Arctic Circle. The 47-year-old was last seen via video link during a court hearing on Thursday. People attend a vigil in memory of Navalny in Munich, Germany A man charged with murdering his wife on their farm is accused of having tried to make it look like her death was an accident by running her over with a tractor. Yadwinder Singh, 44, is alleged to have killed his wife Amarjit Kaur Sardar, 41, at their property in Woodhill, south of Brisbane, at 9am on Thursday. First responders were called to the scene where they allegedly found Ms Sardar mutilated after being run over by a sugar cane slasher. They were unable to save her. Police will allege that Singh had murdered his wife before interfering with her corpse in order to make the death seem like an accident. Singh appeared before Beenleigh Magistrates Court and has been charged with murder and 'misconduct with corpse by interfering' on Friday. Yadwinder Singh, 44, is charged with murdering his wife Amarjit Kaur Sardar, 41, at their property in Woodhill, south of Brisbane , at 9am on Thursday Police will allege that Singh had murdered his wife before interfering with her corpse in order to make the death seem like an accident Detective Inspector Chris Knight told the media: 'He [Singh] reported that his wife had passed away and there were some limited follow-up questions fed to him by the [ambulance] operators.' Inspector Knight added that detectives had confiscated both Singh's and Ms Sardar's phones and that Singh's triple-0 call were 'part of our investigations'. Videos found on the phones are also being analysed by detectives. Police have seized a tractor slasher and sedan from the rural property. The married couple have two teenage children and owned the 55-hectare property. The children were not home at the time of their mother's death and interstate relatives have travelled to Queensland to care for them. Court documents say Singh is a truck driver who was born in India. Police have seized a tractor slasher and sedan from the rural property Singh is believed to have called emergency services to report his wife's death. Paramedics were unable to save her The married couple have two teenage children and owned the 55-hectare property where they keep animals and grow sugar cane Police prosecutor Karine Evans said a pathology report would take three months. 'There is also going to be a lengthy delay in relation to the forensic and mechanical [evidence of the alleged] tractor involved,' she said. 'There were quite a number of recordings on both the defendant's and victim's phones which require translation, so those are probably going to be the lengthiest delays.' Forensic investigators are currently combing over the property and searching nearby lakes for additional evidence. A full brief of evidence will be ordered by May 17. Singh is represented by defence lawyer Corey Cook and the matter is now adjourned to June 5 in Beenleigh Magistrates Court for a committal mention. A SpaceX worker suffered a 'near amputation' of his foot while working at billionaire owner Elon Musk's factory in Washington. The incident which began when a roll of material fell and crushed a worker's foot and resulted in a $3,600 fine from regulators joins no less than 600 previously unreported injuries unearthed late last year, including over one hundred cases with severe damage and at least one death. That investigative report by Reuters tallied four concussions, 17 cases where hands or fingers were 'crushed,' eight that required amputations, five electrocutions, 29 cases with broken or dislocated bones, and many more. But, despite SpaceX's far-above-average rate of worker injuries, Musk's firm has faced less than $51,000 in government penalties, a drop in the bucket alongside the $11.8 billion in NASA contracts it has enjoyed since its founding in 2002. One disaffected former employee, Travis Carson, has described 'SpaceX's idea of safety is: "We'll let you decide what's safe for you," which really means there was no accountability.' An accident that led to a 'near amputation' at Elon Musk 's SpaceX facility in Redmond, Washington has resulted in a $3,600 fine from regulators this month. The incident joins no less than 600 previously unreported injuries unearthed by Reuters, including least one death But, despite SpaceX's far above-average rate for worker injuries, Musk (right) and his firm have faced less than $51,000 in government penalties - a drop in the bucket alongside the reported $11.8 billion in NASA contracts that SpaceX has enjoyed since its founding in 2002 Carson, a former welder and production supervisor at SpaceX's factory and launch facility in Brownsville, Texas, told Reuters reporters that several of the accidents he witnessed would be 'a firing offense at other places.' 'But not at SpaceX,' Carson said. 'They needed bodies, and Elon needed stuff done.' Another SpaceX worker attributed this latest known on-site injury the 'near amputation' at the Redmond site to safety officials who do not 'have the reading comprehension nor the overall competency to implement a safety plan.' The worker, quoted anonymously in the government investigation that led to the $3,600 fine, told inspectors that the hazardous condition in question had not been a mere accident. One SpaceX worker attributed this latest known on-site injury the 'near amputation' at the Redmond site to safety officials who do not 'have the reading comprehension nor the overall competency to implement a safety plan' First, the machine which held the heavy rolls of material, which caused the injury, 'had been deliberately set up incorrectly for the purpose of increasing the production rate during the material loading phase.' Second, the weight of each roll that SpaceX employees were tasked with loading into the machine had been increased from 80 pounds to 300 pounds each. READ MORE: Tesla robot ATTACKS an engineer at company's Texas factory during violent malfunction - leaving 'trail of blood' and forcing workers to hit emergency shutdown button An attorney aiding contract laborers at the factory now tells DailyMail.com that there's evidence Tesla appears to have under-reported accidents and deaths to govt. authorities Advertisement Third, as government inspectors soon discovered, SpaceX's Redmond employees were not required to wear protective steel-toed shoes an oversight that the agency's spokesperson described to Reuters as a serious violation. Less than 24 hours after the roll had crushed the employee's foot, another accident occurred: an unidentified employee broke their ankle during a fire alarm. Inspectors determined that SpaceX was not liable for the broken ankle incident and was not fined as a result. Musk is well known for running his companies with a high level of intensity, expecting workers go 'extremely hardcore' in honor of his companies' lofty sense of purpose. 'Elon's concept that SpaceX is on this mission to go to Mars as fast as possible and save humanity permeates every part of the company,' Tom Moline, a former SpaceX senior avionics engineer, told Reuters. Moline was one of several employees fired after raising workplace safety complaints. 'The company justifies casting aside anything that could stand in the way of accomplishing that goal,' Moline said, 'including worker safety.' At one incident at Musk's SpaceX facility in McGregor, Texas, Lonnie LeBlanc and his co-workers realized they had a problem. They needed to transport foam insulation to the rocket company's main hangar but had no straps to secure the cargo. SpaceX technicians work on the Crew Dragon Demo-2 craft at SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne, California. There's virtually nothing painted 'warning yellow' in sight, due to Musk's distaste for the color for reasons of personal style LeBlanc, a relatively new employee, offered a solution to hold down the load: He sat on it. After the truck drove away, a gust of wind blew LeBlanc and the insulation off the trailer, slamming him headfirst into the pavement. LeBlanc, 38, who had retired nine months earlier from the U.S. Marine Corps. He was pronounced dead from head trauma at the scene. Federal inspectors with the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) later determined that SpaceX had failed to protect LeBlanc from a clear hazard, noting the gravity and severity of the violation. LeBlanc's co-workers told OSHA that SpaceX had no convenient access to tie-downs and no process or oversight for handling such loads. SpaceX acknowledged the problems, and the agency instructed the company to make seven specific safety improvements, including more training and equipment, according to the inspection report. Musk himself at times appeared cavalier about safety on visits to SpaceX sites: Four employees said he sometimes played with a novelty flamethrower Videos posted online show it can shoot a thick flame more than five feet long. Musk played with the device in close-quarters office settings, said the engineer, who at one point feared Musk would set someones hair on fire Musk himself at times appeared cavalier about safety on visits to SpaceX sites: Four employees said he sometimes played with a novelty flamethrower. For years, Musk and his deputies found it 'hilarious' to wave the flamethrower around, firing it near other people and giggling 'like they were in middle school,' one engineer said. Musk tweeted in 2018 that the flamethrower was 'guaranteed to liven up any party!' At SpaceX, Musk played with the device in close-quarters office settings, said the engineer, who at one point feared Musk would set someone's hair on fire. Last year, an open letter penned by some SpaceX employees criticized Musk's behavior as a 'source of distraction and embarrassment.' But some at SpaceX have spoken highly of the efficiency that comes with less bureaucracy under Musk's leadership. 'There's a certain amount of red tape that SpaceX avoids, which allows it to move faster' said former company engineer Chris Cunnington, who worked at the McGregor, Texas site. Despite its integral role in funding SpaceX, to the tune of $11.8 billion in contracts, the NASA has not commented on Musk's company's safety record. But the US space agency said that retains the power to enforce contract provisions requiring SpaceX to implement 'a robust and effective safety program and culture.' A top cancer surgeon at Columbia University is under fire for publishing numerous studies with 'suspicious data.' Dr. Sam S. Yoon recycled images of tumor-stricken mice in a 2021 study from his 2020 research - and the paper was 'quietly' withdrawn this month. The paper in question claimed to describe a new drug that reduced stomach cancer growth, and the images of the mice were only rotated to seem slightly different. However, reports claim the 2021 study was just the tip of the iceberg - Yoon has reprocessed work in 26 studies since 2008. Dr. Sam S. Yoon, who works at the medical center, recycled images of tumor-stricken mice in a 2021 study from his 2020 research - and the paper was 'quietly' withdrawn this month DailyMail.com has contacted Yoon for comment. Yoon graduated from Harvard University and went on to the University of California at San Diego to obtain his medical degree. He currently serves as the chief of the division of surgical oncology at Columbia University in New York City. According to Columbia University's website, Yoon's laboratory 'has been funded by the National Institutes of Health/National Cancer Institute for 18 years.' The latest cancer study was withdrawn a few months after being published due to an investigation by the New York Times. The study, 'PI3K/Akt pathway and Nanog maintain cancer stem cells in sarcomas,' was co-authored with researchers from the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, University of Pennsylvania and Fujian Medical University Union Hospital. The paper in question (left) claimed to describe a new drug that reduced stomach cancer growth and the images of the mice were only rotated to seem slightly different. The images of the cancer riddled mice used in the 2021 paper first appeared in the 2020 study (pictured) The images of the cancer riddled mice used in the 2021 paper first appeared in the study, 'ERK1/2-Nanog signaling pathway enhances CD44(+) cancer stem-like cell phenotypes and epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition in head and neck squamous cell carcinomas' - published one year prior. Both papers discuss potential treatments for stomach cancer and using the same subject images suggests the work is faulty. The 2021 paper, co-authored by Changhwan Yoon, was published by Elsevier, which did not share an explanation for withdrawing the article. However, the publisher said: 'The editors determined that the article violated journal publishing ethics guidelines.' The decision could have been to not draw attention to the surgeon who is well-respected in his field. Elsevier claimed editors had notified the researchers about the removal, but the authors failed to share the news with Memorial Sloan Kettering. Molecular biologist Sholto David first sounded the alarm on Yoon's work last year after finding the surgeon collaborated with a Rolodex of researchers on the 26 papers that featured the repeating cancer cell and tumor images. David analyzed each of the papers with the help of AI-powered detection tools to uncover misleading data in the documents. Harvard Medical Center, University of California - Los Angeles, Howard University and Penn Medicine, are among the top universities in the US and are where many of the researchers involved in Yoon's study are affiliated. Also on the list are experts from the Mount Sinai Health System, Memorial Sloan Kettering, Georgetown and Duke University. It is unclear if the other researchers named on the papers were aware of the recycled information. Other images used different color intensities to appear different from previous publications. The right image was used in a 2021 and the left in 2018. According to David's investigation, many of the repeated cell images match by the papers provide different treatment conditions David published a blog in November 2023 on For Better Science about his findings and contacted Memorial Sloan Kettering, Columbia and Memorial Sloan Kettering. However, none of the publications were retracted until this month. 'In total, I have found ten papers published between 2013 and 2021 where these invasion and migration images appear and are labeled as showing a variety of contradicting cell lines and experimental conditions, there are many more overlapping examples between these papers that I have not annotated,' David wrote in his blog. The articles focused on why certain stomach and soft-tissue cancers reject treatments, and how potential solutions to fight the resistance. According to David's investigation, many of the repeated cell images match ones from other papers about treatments for different conditions. A photograph of a tumor first appeared in a 2017 (bottom image) article with a measuring tool along the left side. Then it showed up again three years later, but was rotated to show the ruler underneath the tumor (top image) Other images used different color intensities to appear different from previous publications. 'There's no reason to have done that unless you weren't doing the work,' David told the New York Times. A photograph of a tumor first appeared in a 2017 article with a measuring tool along the left side. Then it showed up again three years later, but was rotated to show the ruler underneath the tumor. Elisabeth Bik, a microbiologist and image expert, said: 'This is another example where this looks intentionally done.' Approximately nine articles David found to have repeated data had appeared in Springer Nature, which said it was investigating concerns. The American Association for Cancer Research claimed the same response after being notified it featured 10 articles under question from Dr. Yoon's lab across four journals. The delayed responses have sparked fury among the scientific community, with researchers saying the system of policing scientific is 'broken,' according to the New York Times. 'This is typical, sweeping-things-under-the-rug kind of nonsense,' said Dr. Ivan Oransky, co-founder of Retraction Watch, which keeps a database of 47,000-plus retracted papers. 'This is not good for the scientific record, to put it mildly. What do you add to your tea? Email jonathan.chadwick@mailonline.co.uk Controversial US scientist says grapefruit in your tea can keep you awake longer An American scientist continues to threaten diplomatic relations with Britain due to her controversial suggestions of what to put in your tea. Michelle Francl, a professor of chemistry at Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania, says the addition of grapefruit can keep caffeine in the body for longer. The expert who already suggested adding salt to tea claims grapefruit can prolong the effect of caffeine and keep you feeling awake for longer. While this sounds sacrilegious to the majority of Brits, strange combinations in Britain's national drink are not as unusual as we may think. From butter to maple syrup and even pepper, these are the weird and wonderful additions people make to their cuppas. From butter to maple syrup and even pepper, here's weird and wonderful additions people make to their cuppas READ MORE: US expert now suggests adding GRAPEFRUIT to tea Grapefruit in tea? A scientist says it can slow the clearance of caffeine in the body and keep you feeling awake for longer Advertisement SUGAR Brits tend to be divided on whether to add sugar to tea, with some arguing that it destroys tea's subtle flavour and others claiming it masks the bitter taste. But experts are in agreement that it's an unnecessary source of sugar intake that can be avoided and can slow the onset of the likes of diabetes and tooth decay. And according to a 2019 study, removing sugar does not make one less fond of the drink. Scientists at University College London and the University of Leeds asked participants to remove sugar from their cuppa and found that their likeness for the drink didn't change. In their study, they wrote: 'Reducing sugar in tea doesn't affect liking, suggesting long-term behaviour change is possible. 'Excess sugar intake is a public health problem and sugar in beverages contributes substantially to total intake.' However, a 2023 study found no link between sweetening tea or coffee and a heightened risk of diabetes and early death. MAPLE SYRUP Aside from adding a kick of sweetness, the nutty, almost woody notes of maple syrup are said to complement the flavour of tea. Maple syrup is of course made from the sap of the maple tree, which is not a world away from the leaves of the tea plant (Camellia sinensis). Aside from adding a kick of sweetness, the nutty, almost woody notes of maple syrup are said to complement the flavour of tea (file photo) Michelle Francl, a professor of chemistry at Bryn Mawr College, sent British tempers rising by suggesting the perfect cup of tea contains a pinch of salt READ MORE: American scientist suggests adding salt to tea Her recipe includes adding hot milk and a pinch of salt to your brew Advertisement Taking to Reddit, one person said: 'I recently bought a jar of Maple sugar to use in my tea. It flavors the tea in a very mild way.' Another posted: 'I have tried maple syrup as a sweetener in both black tea and in masala chai. 'It rather overwhelms black teas, but it's an interesting note when added to a masala chai.' BUTTER Believe it or not, butter in tea is a thing and it hasn't caught on recently either. This version of the drink, which is luxurious and rich in fat, originates from the Himalayan region between Greater Tibet and the Indian subcontinent. Historically, drinkers used yak butter, but cow's butter has become a common alternative due to its availability, especially in the western world. Tibetan restaurants in the UK serve butter tea, often at the end of the meal, but the practice occurs in British homes too, especially to increase calories in the cold months. Unfortunately it can turn the drink an unappetizing pale colour, not unlike baby vomit. A tendency to add butter to tea may stem from Asia. 'Butter tea' (pictured) likely originated in the Himalayan region between Greater Tibet and the Indian subcontinent Pepper in tea has been shown to offer a whole host of healthy benefits, unlike sugar and salt READ MORE Forget milk and sugar! Tiny BUGS are the key to a good cuppa The secret to brewing a delicious pot of tea may lie in a collection of microbes found on the roots of tea plants (stock image) Advertisement PEPPER Others admit they have been adding pepper to their tea to give it a spicy tang. Unlike the pointless addition of salt, pepper has been shown to offer a whole host of healthy benefits. The spice is known to help with weight loss and colds and has an invigorating taste to it that allegedly imbibes each sip with a cool buzz. One nutritionist posting on Quora said: 'You can add black pepper, preferably in powdered form, to tea, it gives a peppery taste to your tea. 'We use black pepper powder/fresh ginger crushed in tea mostly during rainy and winter season.' A blogger for Food Hacks also admitted to his love of peppery tea, especially with the peppercorns added whole. 'Brewing black peppercorn tea is a delicious way to drink some of your daily value of Vitamin K, iron, and manganese,' he said. JAM It seems daring foodies are combining the best elements of a classic afternoon tea in one cup. On Reddit, one user said: 'I usually drink British tea with milk and I tried tea with some strawberry jam and it wasn't bad.' In Britain, jam and tea are two elements of a classic afternoon tea, but not eaten while combined The perfect cuppa, according to Professor Francl Add a pinch of salt to reduce bitterness Use warm milk to reduce the chance of curdling Use a short and stout mug to keep your tea hotter Use tea leaves over teabags Heat up your cup (or pot) Only use your tea leaves or teabag once Never microwave your tea Don't steep for too long Advertisement Apparently the tradition stems from Russia, where drinkers are also prone to putting a blob of jam in their mouths first before sipping the liquid through it. About a decade ago, the craze of adding jam to hot tea swept the US, according to Today. It reported: 'Jam brings out the natural flavors of tea, without overwhelming it with sweetness, making it a nice alternative to sugar or even honey.' According to another user on Reddit, jam mixed with tea makes a good summer drink when served cold. They posted: 'Strawberry perseveres with black tea (cooled before hand), thoroughly blend, and then ice. Its my hot summer go to.' ORANGE JUICE Some have admitted adding orange juice to tea combining two elements of breakfast in one. However, this one you have to be careful with because milk curdles when you mix it with orange juice, due a reaction between the acidic juice and the proteins in milk. One Reddit user said: 'You don't need to add sugar to your tea, because the orange has that sweetness, combined with the tartness and acidity of lemon. Some people claim that the perfect cup of Rosie Lee involves a healthy dash of orange juice READ MORE How the British Empire shaped the nation's favourite drink Indian villagers are seen picking tea on a plantation in India in 1900. By then, British imports of tea from India vastly outweighed shipments from China Advertisement 'It's honestly delicious, but whenever I bring it up everyone thinks I'm insane.' Another said: 'Milk or no milk, it's still tea. Even with orange juice.' LEMON Lemon has long been added to tea it's thought for hundreds of years but many still make the mistake of adding milk as well which can also cause it to curdle. As long as there's no milk in the mix, lemon seems to be the most socially-acceptable addition to tea in Britain, other than milk and sugar. Lemons are rich in vitamins, minerals and antioxidants and also give a boost of vitamin C, although the sourness and the bitterness make it a totally different drink. EGG Egg in tea as an alternative to milk dates back to at least the 19th century, when it was drank by Lord Byron prior to his famous duels. The English poet, who suffered from bulimia and anorexia, allegedly believed it would fortify him prior to the fight. In a 2008 episode of the BBC series 'Supersizers Go...', food critic Giles Coren tried the concoction and described it as 'quite strange'. While it successfully whitened the tea, it left the liquid with eggy strands that caused Coren to gag. Even today, recipes for egg tea without milk are found on the internet, although it seems to be an acquired taste. RUM Perhaps unsurprisingly given the country's relationship with alcohol, some Brits say they enjoy adding a dash of rum to their cuppa although this is more of a cocktail and doesn't seem to be served with milk. Rum has always been a popular addition to tea as part of a cocktail, although it doesn't seem to include milk Falling into the maple syrup category of senseless indulgence, there are next to no health benefits from adding rum to tea. Practitioners of the method, which is known as jagertee in Europe, report feeling warm and somewhat sluggish after taking the potent mixture. GARLIC BREAD Yes, you read that correctly someone has admitted that they've been adding garlic bread to their tea. On another Reddit thread, a user wrote: 'My friends say dipping stuff in tea is a poor move usually because it crumbles and you get a strange mix of crumbs and debris and tea. 'They tend to draw the line at biscuits but I tend to go a bit further. 'Garlic bread and tea is great, I also make grilled cheese and tuna sandwiches with ketchup and mayo and dip that into tea as well, doughnuts, pizza crusts, croissants, pain au chocolates. 'So redditors, is this weird?' SALT It was last month that Professor Francl caused widespread British outrage when she suggested the ideal cup of tea contains a pinch of salt. The sodium ion in salt blocks the chemical mechanism that makes tea taste bitter, she said. It is woven deeply into the fabric of British culture. But now a scientist from the US claims to have found the secrets to a perfect cuppa Dr Frankl's recipe for a 'perfect' cup of tea has proven so shocking that the US embassy in London even made a joking post on X (formerly Twitter) about the recipe MailOnline put the professor's recipe to the test and found that it produced a very hot and unpleasantly salty brew. Professor Francl's tea recipe namely the suggestion of adding salt caused such an uproar on social media that it was even addressed by the US Embassy in London. It said adding salt to Britain's national drink 'is not official United States policy' and 'never will be'. In response, Typhoo Tea said tea would be 'better off dumped in Boston Harbour than a microwave', in reference to the Boston Tea Party of 1773. At the time, American patriots sank barrels of tea into Boston harbor in protest of King George's taxation. GRAPEFRUIT Professor Francl said grapefruit makes caffeine last longer in the body and so is a good addition to tea for those who need keeping awake. 'Grapefruit blocks an enzyme that breaks down caffeine (and other drugs, like some cholesterol-lowering drugs) in the liver,' she told MailOnline. 'It can do the same for other drugs which is why some people are told not to eat grapefruit when they are taking those medications.' However, she doesn't suggest adding grapefruit to your tea if you have milk, which will lead to curdling. Human doctors stepped in to perform a rare emergency C-section on a gorilla after she went into labour five weeks early. Pregnant mum Sekani showed signs of pre-eclampsia identical to human mothers - holding her head as if she had an extreme headache. Zookeepers at Fort Worth Zoo, Texas, called in a team of gynecologists who usually spend their time looking after pregnant women, to assist with the urgent delivery. Alongside vets, they performed a rare emergency c-section birth, five weeks early - saving the life of the mum and baby gorilla - now called Jameela - on January 5. Doctors used to caring for premature babies were on hard to resuscitate the little one - just like the would for babies born early. Human doctors stepped in to perform a rare emergency C-section on a gorilla after she went into labour five weeks early Doctors used to caring for premature babies were on hard to resuscitate the little one - just like the would for babies born early READ MORE: Western lowland gorilla is born at London Zoo for the first time in nine years - raising fresh hopes for the critically endangered species London Zoo has a new resident, in the form of an adorable infant Western lowland gorilla. The tiny infant was born to mum Mjukuu at 09:34am yesterday, following a speedy labour that lasted just 17 minutes Advertisement And photos show the little gorilla being looked after in settings near identical to a human baby. Following the birth, Sekani has struggled to bond and care for the female newborn, which is being given round the clock care by zookeepers. Experts hope another female gorilla, Gracie, may be a possible surrogate for the baby. It is the third gorilla birth in the zoo's 115-year history but the first gorilla to be born via cesarean section. Dr Jamie Walker Erwin led the surgery with neonatologist Dr Robert Ursprung and Dr Dennis Occkiogrosso - all more used to human patients than animal ones. The baby was named Jameela - in part after Jamie. Dr Erwin said: 'Taking part in delivering Sekani's infant via cesarean section was one of the highlights of my entire career as an OB-GYN. 'It is an honour and privilege to assist with care for this endangered species and to share my expertise with the veterinary staff at the Fort Worth Zoo. 'I was amazed at how Sekani's anatomy matched that of my human patients.' The infant required immediate intervention and Dr Ursprung assisted the Fort Worth Zoo team with resuscitation and stabilisation, respiratory support and radiographs. The infant required immediate intervention and Dr Ursprung assisted the Fort Worth Zoo team with resuscitation and stabilisation, respiratory support and radiographs Fort Worth Zoo primate keepers, along with veterinary and nutrition staff, began around-the-clock care and feeding of the little gorilla while Sekani recovered It is the third gorilla birth in the zoo's 115-year history but the first gorilla to be born via cesarean section READ MORE: Orangutans can BEATBOX: Incredible video reveals how apes can make two separate sounds simultaneously Advertisement 'It was incredible how similar this mother-infant pair was compared to what I see in the hospital for babies born under similar circumstances,' said Dr. Ursprung. 'The baby needed critical respiratory support for a few hours post-delivery, but as she transitioned to life outside the womb, she stabilised quite nicely. 'She had so many features typical of a slightly premature human baby. 'The zoo's care team was incredible. Their ability to adapt to the care needs of a medically fragile infant was amazing to watch.' Fort Worth Zoo primate keepers, along with veterinary and nutrition staff, began around-the-clock care and feeding of the little gorilla while Sekani recovered. Despite repeated attempts to reunite the mother and baby, Sekani showed little interest in caring for her baby, they said. Zoo experts suspect Sekani never experienced the necessary hormonal cues that come during natural and full-term birth. After two weeks and several unsuccessful reunification attempts, staff started to train 24-year-old female gorilla Gracie to become a surrogate mother. Gracie has two offspring of her own, including one-year-old Bruno and is already trained to 'present' her baby up to keepers for a visual examination. Adorable photos show the researchers bottle training Jameela, who was born five weeks early via C-section Zookeepers at Fort Worth Zoo, Texas , called in a team of gynecologists who usually spend their time looking after pregnant women, to assist with the urgent delivery Jameela's birth has delighted animal lovers across social media, with many flocking to the zoo's Instagram this week. Replying to a post about her birth, one user wrote: 'Thank you so much for the amazing job everyone at the Fort Worth Zoo does!! It brings tears of joy to see this beautiful baby girl' Another added: 'Look at that little face! Grow strong baby.' And one commented: 'My daughter was premature, emergency c-section too, because I had pre-eclampsia! 'Absolutely mind-blowing that the same procedures and complications can be done/found in gorillas!' Sure, Pearl Jam announced a concert in Missoula this week, but in Billings we've got things to do, too (and they generally feature less warbling). Treasure theft and Timothee at the Babcock and Art House Have you ever wanted to steal the Declaration of Independence? We've all been there. Just ask the extremely normally named Benjamin Franklin Gates (a shockingly low key Nicolas Cage). Yes, he wants to steal America's founding document, and yes he wants to put it in an oven owned by his extremely normally named father Patrick Henry Gates (Jon Voight, always normal on screen and off). But in his defense, he's doing it for a good reason: To find a big treasure. Find out more on Friday, Feb. 16 at 7 p.m., as the Babcock is screening the seminal classic "National Treasure," which somehow turns 20 this year. A fun throwback to those days when your teachers were too tired to put together a message plan and just threw this bad boy on, since it's technically sorta educational. On Saturday, Feb. 17 at 6:30 p.m. the theater is showing "Lady Bird," which is simply one of the best movies of he 21st century. Greta Gerwig's 2017 breakthrough both reinvigorated and reinvented the coming-of-age story, and it gave early roles to future superstars like Lucas Hedges, Beanie Feldstein, Kathryn Newton and, of course, Timothee Chalamet. But they all dwarf in comparison to the films dueling leads: Saoirse Ronan and Laurie Metcalf as a mother-daughter duo so lived in you swear you've known them all your life. No other filmmaker has had the courage to make Sacramento look beautiful. Stick around Saturday night for a very different cinematic experience. At 9 p.m. that night they'll show "Cemetery Man," a 1994 horror classic directed by Michele Soavi, and starring Rupert Everett as a poor guy who just wants to find some human connection while he labors away the graveyard he works at. On Wednesday, Feb. 21 at 7 p.m. we'll close out the Hanks/Ryan trilogy with "You've Got Mail." This round is again directed by Nora Ephron, and it's a loose adaptation of the Hungarian play "Parfumerie," which was also turned into two movies: 1940's "The Shop Around Corner" (the other Jimmy Stewart Christmas classic) and 1949's "In the Good Old Summertime" (where it was turned into a Judy Garland vehicle). All of those are about business enemies who fall in love via being matched up as anonymous pen pals, but "You've Got Mail" adds the extremely 1998 twist of making them correspond via email. And since it's still February, the Babcock is still celebrating the works of William (Freakin') Friedkin. On Thursday, Feb. 22 at 7 p.m. they're showing "Cruising." Friedkin's 1980 movie is number one on the "you couldn't make that today" power rankings, since it stars Al Pacino as an NYPD officer who goes deep (deep) undercover to catch a serial killer targeting gay men. Meanwhile down the street at Art House Cinema and Pub it's complete turnover, with the new German drama "The Teachers' Lounge," along with regular screenings of the Oscar nominees for the three short film categories: live-action, documentary and animated. Get showtimes at arthousebillings.com/films. The Soul Funk Collective at Craft Local Since Valentine's Day fell on a Wednesday this year, you get to just choose when to celebrate. And what better time than on Friday, Feb. 16 from 7-11 p.m. That's when The Soul Funk Collective will take over the Craft Local stage, and they're bringing along Chae Clearwood and Ryan Riley as openers. $10 cover at the door. The Lucky Valentines at Thirsty Street Love is also in the air at Thirsty Street, as the Lucky Valentines are playing on Saturday, Feb. 17 from 6-8 p.m. In addition to having a great name, the Lucky Valenintes are a charming two-piece Americana duo, and they're from Fort Benton, as picturesque a Western town as exists anywhere. No cover. 'Hairspray' at the Alberta Bair Theater On Saturday, Feb. 17, the Alberta Bair is hosting its second big touring musical of the year (and there's still "Mean Girls" up later this month). This time around it's "Hairspray," the romp about dancing and 1960s television that is somehow based on the 1988 film of the same name, which was written, produced and directed by king of exploitative schlock John Waters. Waters' most (only?) family friendly work was turned into a Broadway musical in 2002. Said musical swept the Tonys and then was turned into a 2007 movie starring John Travlota, Christopher Walken and Zac Efron who curses in the movie, something that was extremely controversial if you happened to be a Christian middle schooler in or around 2007. Anyways, the ABT's got two performances on Saturday, at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $80 - $103 at albertabairtheater.org. Shane de Leon artist talk at the YAM If you've ever wanted to get into Shane de Leon's head, you've finally got your chance. The artist, musician and owner of Kirks' Grocery is giving a talk at the Yellowstone Art Museum on Thursday, Feb. 22 at 5:30 p.m. Just think of all you could ask him about What's it like owning and operating an art gallery / DIY music venue / popup restaurant? How does being in a punk band change your life? How does it feel moving back to the town you grew up in? Can you find time to be creative when you're so busy? The Q and A sessions are usually the worst part of these, but this one should be good. Honorable mentions We've got one more week of NOVA's "The Most Epic Birthday Party Ever," a new musical for kids 7-14. They're performing on Feb. 16, 17, 18. Friday and Saturday performances are at 7:30 p.m., Sunday matinees are 2 p.m. Tickets ($10-$21) are at novabillings.org. Billings Studio Theatre's "Beer for Breakfast" is also in its last week, with performances on Feb. 16 and 17. Both of those start at 7:30 p.m., and $15 tickets are at billingsstudiotheatre.com. On Friday, Feb. 16 at 7 p.m., Sacred Grounds Healing and Art Studio (2950 King Ave. W.) is hosting The Power of Womxn Music, featuring musician Katie Harrison. All tips will go to Over the Hill Equine Rescue. Emo band Gray Joy are playing Thirsty Street on Friday at 8 p.m., with support from Hate The Way I Am and The Life After. $10 tickets are at thirstystreet.com/gray-joy. On Friday at Kirks' Grocery there's a lineup of Rip Sickly, Grief Thief and Meetinghouse. Music starts at 7 p.m., tickets are $10 in advance and $12 at the door. In that same spirit, keep the party going at Emo Night Prom Night dance party at the Pub Station on Saturday, Feb. 17 at 8 p.m. Tunes will be provided by DJ artxdamage. $15 tickets are at thepubstation.com. Cimarron Band are playing at the Moose Lodge on Saturday from 6-10 p.m., for a sweetheart dance, and to celebrate Ed Webb's 70th birthday. The always entertaining Scuba Steve and the Sharks are at Kirks' Grocery on Saturday at 7 p.m., along with the punk rockers Carrion Crawlers, who are from the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. $10 in advance, $12 at the door. Cover band Repeat Offenders are playing Craft Local on Saturday at 7 p.m., with support from Holland Dotson. $15 tickets are at eventbrite.com. DRUMLine Live, the popular touring showing that grew put of the success of the 2002 film of the same name, is at the Alberta Bair on Thursday, Feb. 22 at 7:30 p.m. $63 - $83 tickets are at albertabairtheater.org. Scientists are baffled by a fungi-growing amphibian spotted in the foothills of the Kudremukha Ranges in Mala, India. Chinmay Maliye and Lohit Y.T. set out looking for reptilian creatures last summer when they noticed something unusual and possibly unique a mushroom growing on the side of a Raos intermediate golden-backed frog. The area was heavily populated with the golden-backed frog, but Lohit, a river and wet life specialist at World Wildlife Fund-India said he noticed one of them perched on a twig, sprouting a thin white mushroom about the length of a thumb. Mycologists later identified the mushroom as the Bonnet Mushroom which typically grows on rotting wood but might have been taking advantage of the nutrients on the frog's moist skin. Scientists discovered a frog sprouting a mushroom on its side in what is a possibly unique phenomenon Scientists said they were astounded that the frog was alive, healthy, and moving. To the best of our knowledge, never has a mushroom sprouting from the flank of a live frog been documented, Lohit and Maliye said in the journal Reptiles and Amphibians. They added: The frog was not collected, so no prognosis is possible. Mycologists believe it is a bonnet mushroom which is growing off the Rao's intermediate golden-backed frog Lohit posted photos of the frog online which instantly garnered attention from mycologists who identified the Bonnet Mushroom, also known as Mycena galericulata which stems from the Latin word galer which means with a small hat. Bonnet mushrooms start as a fungal spore and grow in clusters on non-living matter, primarily on rotting wood, However, new research from the University of Copenhagens Department of Biology revealed that the tiny fungi have evolved to grow in the roots of living plants, suggesting they can now survive off both living and dead matter. Using DNA studies, we found that Mycena fungi are consistently found in the roots of living plant hosts. This suggests that bonnets are in the process of an evolutionary development, from uniquely being decomposers of nonliving plant material to being invaders of living plants, under favorable conditions," explained Christoffer Bugge Harder, lead author of the study. Experts believe human intervention has caused the bonnet mushroom to adapt and evolve so it can survive off living things instead of just on rotting logs The researchers said the Mycenas development could partially be the result of human involvement and population growth that encroaches on the habitat of plants, animals, and fungi. This has created optimal conditions for the Mycena to adapt and latch on to living things to survive. It is reasonable to believe that we humans have played a role in this adaptation, because our monocultural plantations, stands of forest for example, have provided fungi with optimal conditions for adapting. The fungi seem to have seized upon this opportunity, Bugge Harder said. The reason why mushrooms grow in a perfect 'fairy circle' - after woman noticed the strange formation in her backyard 'Fairy rings' are caused by the mycelium fungus in the ground spreading outwards in a circle and sprouting mushrooms at the edges. Advertisement Once having penetrated a living plant, fungi can choose three strategies. They can be harmful parasites and suck the life out of their new hosts; they can lurk like vultures, waiting harmlessly for the plant to die, and be the first to feast upon the carrion; or, they can begin working together, he added. Some Mycena species are gradually developing the ability to collaborate, though it has yet to be finely tuned. It appears the Mycena has done just that as it latched onto the golden-backed frog, although experts stress they would need more than a photo to officially identify the mushroom. Sydney Glassman, a fungal ecologist at the University of California, Riverside, told The New York Times that the growth might not even be a mushroom, adding that she would need a genetic sample or an inspection of the gills and spore color to make an identification. Without further inspection, scientists cant determine if the fungi is pathogenic, meaning it would thrive while gradually infecting, and ultimately killing its host. EASTENDERS Lifes never been much fun for Denise. But even scrabbling around in litter bins for food when she was hard up beats what shes going through at the moment. When she starts talking to Stacey about what shes seeing and hearing, Stacey recognises it as psychosis and tries to convince her to see a doctor (lets hope its not one who trained at the same medical school as Corries Dr Gaddas). When Stacey confides in Suki about her affair with detective Jack, Suki insists she must end it for all their sakes. Hang on, Suki. You were a closet lesbian your entire married life, and your current lover has no idea youve been involved in covering up a murder. Stacey nevertheless ends things with Jack but theyre interrupted by a call from Lucas, whos in jail, expressing his fears about Denise. When a serial killer expresses fear, you know you have to listen big time. Denise, meanwhile, is driving at high speed through woodland, with Jacks daughter Amy in tow. Hansel and Gretel it aint. When Stacey (pictured) confides in Suki about her affair with detective Jack, Suki insists it must end With Denise (pictured) in the grips of psychosis, Suki thinks the women need to look after her in shifts if thats what it takes to protect their secret With the locals having got wind of Denises disappearance, Suki thinks the women need to rally round and look after her in shifts if thats what it takes to protect their secret. A spectre with style Denises hallucinations show Keanu much better dressed as a ghost than he was while alive. She actually believes what shes seeing, says Diane Parish (Denise). Good. Get the name of his tailor. Advertisement And hows that going to work out? Sharon, on Zoom from Australia? Linda in an alcoholic stupor; Stacey bedding Jack or tending to her brood; Kaffy trying to find a forff usband; and Suki herself, who couldnt organise shifts in a family bathroom. My prediction that George and Cindy would get it together looks ever more likely when, following Georges conversation with Gloria, he leaves a voicemail for Cindy, who rushes home to see him. Reminding him that shell always be there for him, my guess is that shell have her feet behind the Vic bar by Christmas. God knows they need a decent landlady. Elaine spends most of her time the other side of it, puffing herself up like a figurehead at the bow of a ship. I swear shell explode if she fills herself with any more hot air. Move on, George. CORONATION STREET Dr Gaddas strikes again with more unhelpful advice, this time for Liam, who tells her that he wanted to kill himself. That makes him a danger to himself, so he could be detained under the Mental Health Act, but Dr G tells Maria shes referring Liam to a mental health unit, warning her that theres a long waiting list and she should keep an eye on him. Marias eye failed to notice that her husband was a murderer, so unless shes been to Specsavers since then, Im not optimistic. When Mason goads Gary, telling him that Liam needs to watch his back, Gary sees red and throws him to the ground The situation escalates when Mason goads Gary, warning him that Liam needs to watch his back. And Garys response? The usual. Goes into major attack mode. Joel is forced to admit that he has a wife and daughter when Alya shows Dee-Dee footage from the Bistro, where Joel and his ex have been discussing divorce. Alya keep your beak out! And why do people go to the Bistro to discuss sensitive business, in full view of the locals? Youre a solicitor, Joel theres a thing called your office. Why Joel kept his secret to himself Why does no one in soapland meet anyone who is not harbouring a secret? Everything looked rosy for Corries Dee-Dee when she met Joel (Callum Gill), but now it turns out he has a wife. Yes, theyre divorcing, but why didnt he come clean? He probably thought if he told her too soon about his baggage, she wouldnt look twice at him, says Callum. Shes so intelligent and he admires that. You need to get out more, mate. EMMERDALE Dead Harry turns into a nightmare for Charity Charity oozes sex appeal, even at her lowest. Unkempt hair, minimal make-up, a jumble sale of a wardrobe. Still, every man and several women wants to sleep with her. Shes been in a bad way since accidentally killing evil Harry on Christmas Day, but in a mood of defiance trashes his grave and feels shes starting to get her power back. Alas, her relief is short-lived when she starts having nightmares about her victim. Charity (pictured) has been in a bad way since accidentally killing Harry on Christmas Day Maybe Charity needs to stop watching EastEnders and getting under the influence of Denises hallucinations. How adorable was the connection between Rhona and Ivy last week? Ive never seen such a happy, smiling baby. Next time Im depressed, I want Zoe Henry (Rhona) to come round, sit me on her lap in a bonnet and tell me about all the adventures were going to have. With Rhona making plans to apply for parental rights of Ivy, the family are unhappy that Ivy is yet again taking priority. Leo plays up in school and then April gives her both barrels for abandoning them. Im with Rhona, who shared more smiles with Ivy in a minute than her family have delivered in a lifetime. Married At First Sight groom Tim Calwell called out bride Sara Mesa out for failing to make an effort after she bailed on three consecutive dates. Now bombshell photos taken by Daily Mail Australia reveal exactly what the 29-year-old nutritionist was really up to when she wasn't spending time with her husband. Photos taken on September 9 show Sara, all smiles, enjoying a night on the town with co-star Lauren Dunn. The duo were spotted leaving Bar Patron in Sydney's CBD after spending several hours dining and drinking. Sara was stylishly attired in a white top paired with blue trousers and a chic black jacket. Married At First Sight groom Tim Calwell called out bride Sara Mesa out for failing to make an effort after she bailed on three consecutive dates. Both pictured Now bombshell photos taken by Daily Mail Australia reveal exactly what the 29-year-old nutritionist was really up to when she wasn't spending time with her husband Lauren exuded charm in a long-sleeve black crop top complemented by high-waisted jeans. During another outing, the pair had their eyebrows done ahead of a dinner party. On another occasion, Sara was spotted dining with fellow bride Eden Harper. Photos taken on September 9 show Sara, all smiles, enjoying a night on the town with co-star Lauren Dunn The duo were spotted leaving Bar Patron in Sydney's CBD after spending several hours dining and drinking The pair were spotted buying charcoal chicken from a restaurant before heading to a park to enjoy it away from Skye Suites, where the show's producers could easily spot them. Such clandestine meet-ups are against the show's regulations, which prohibit cast members from interacting off-camera to prevent untelevised drama. On the flip side, Tim spent breaks from filming doing routine tasks such as gym visits and grocery shopping. On another occasion Mesa was spotted dining with fellow bride Eden Harper The pair were spotted buying charcoal chicken from a restaurant before heading to a park to enjoy it away from the Skye Suites, where the show's producers could easily spot them As previously reported by Daily Mail Australia, Lauren and Sara's friendship blossomed off-screen, an aspect that will be unveiled as the series progresses. Sara opened up about their connection: 'It was at the first dinner party where we bonded over discussing Jack and what happened with Jack. Our personalities clicked instantly. Lauren's wit complements our outspoken natures.' 'You'll see a lot of what happens throughout the series is me and Lauren tag teaming other people and pulling out their bad behaviour, but hopefully you start to see our friendship unfold soon because Lauren and I are still very much besties.' On the flip side, Tim spent breaks from filming doing routine tasks such as gym visits and grocery shopping During the dinner party on Wednesday's show, Sara repeatedly interrupted Tim's attempt to voice his disappointment over her cancelling dates, leading to other contestants pleading with Sara to let Tim speak. Sara ignored them all, continuing to get defensive until she called into question the dates Tim claimed she had cancelled on. Tim was visibly frustrated by this and quickly amended: 'Nah, I was like, "You're booked out from 2pm onwards, wear something nice".' Former Married At First Sight participant Nasser Sultan has crashed a radio segment featuring new groom Collins Christian. On Friday morning, the serial pest dialled in to the Kyle & Jackie O show on KIIS FM as while the radio station tried to help Collins look for love after he sensationally quit the show. Unleashing a foul-mouthed tirade against the 28-year-old executive assistant, Nasser shocked co-hosts Kyle Sandilands and Jackie 'O' Henderson when he rang in pretending to be a potential match for Collins. 'Let me tell you, right? I'm the only celebrity in Australia. And number two, you're a raving homosexual,' he began. 'Let's stop all these girls ringing in, wasting their time. How dare you say you don't want any fat chicks. Mate, listen to your voice... Word out on the street is that you're a raging homosexual.' Former Married At First Sight participant Nasser Sultan (pictured) has crashed a radio segment featuring new groom Collins Christian Nasser continued: 'You've wasted your time on MAFS. And you should get off the radio now because you're boring Australia. 'I've dated 100 girls, you've dated nothing. So get off the radio, stop boring us and go back to your normal job. You should be at the Mardi Gras on the 26th of February...' Collins, who said he didn't remember Nasser or his MAFS stint from season five, issued an epic comeback after Nasser said he'd 'put $10' on him for 'being gay'. '10 bucks? Is that your whole net worth, hey?' he responded. 'Settle down big boy. Jeez, I don't want you to break the bank.' Unleashing a foul-mouthed tirade against the 28-year-old, Nasser shocked co-hosts Kyle Sandilands and Jackie 'O' Henderson when he rang in pretending to be a potential match for Collins, who sensationally quit this year's season. Pictured with bride Natalie Parham Nasser continued his rant before Kyle appeared to cut the phone line. 'That's how you stay relevant nine seasons after your appearance on MAFS,' Kyle said. Rising to fame on season five of MAFS Australia in 2018, Nasser returned to reality TV in 2020 with a brief appearance on Channel Seven's First Dates. The pint-sized personal trainer has been trying to return to reality television ever since, but is more known as a serial offender when it comes to gate-crashing celebrity events. At the end of 2019, he applied for the Big Brother reboot, before claiming he was asked to apply to go on the UK version last year. Collins, who said he doesn't remember Nasser from season five, issued an epic comeback after Nasser said he'd 'put $10' on him for 'being gay' The pint-sized personal trainer has been trying to return to reality television ever since, but is more notoriously known as a serial offender when it comes to gate-crashing celebrity events The former MAFS star has also dabbled in a music career, releasing a dance called Blue Tick about his struggle to get verified on Instagram. Meanwhile, Collins and his bride Natalie Parham swiftly exited MAFS after she accused him of faking his emotions toward her so he could stay on the show. Collins told Nat he wanted to fight for their relationship because he enjoyed their wedding day - and was stunned by her response. 'Can you tell me the times we have been together apart from the wedding day that's made you happy?' she asked. 'Oh, every moment I see you I am happy and that's why I put "stay",' Collins responded. Rising to fame on season five of MAFS Australia in 2018, Nasser returned to reality TV in 2020 with a brief appearance on Channel Seven's First Dates The former MAFS star has also dabbled in a music career, releasing a dance called Blue Tick about his struggle to get verified on Instagram However, Natalie was having none of it and accused him of faking his affection towards her so he could remain in the dating experiment. 'This feels like an Oscars performance. I'm sorry, I can't listen to you without hearing an orchestra,' she shot back. 'I cannot communicate with someone who talks to me like we're on the set of Neighbours or Home and Away.' She then told Christian she was walking out on the experiment because she had finally decided they would never be compatible. A devastated Collins was then seen wishing Natalie all the best before leaving their hotel room for a final time. Collins and Natalie swiftly left the program, returning home less than two days after the latest commitment ceremony was filmed. According to a spy, the pair ended on 'bad terms' and things don't get much better at the reunion when they argue on camera. Jett Kenny and Lily Brown have been given a surprise getaway after their romantic Byron Bay escape ended in disappointment. The son of former swimming champion Lisa Curry, 29, and his model girlfriend, 26, took to Instagram on Thursday to share that they had been gifted a holiday to a mystery destination. Lily, whose birthday coincided with the announcement, shared a video which revealed that travel company Luxury Escapes would either send the couple to Fiji or Vanuatu, and asked her followers to guess which destination they thought it would be. The influencer then shared where her and her boyfriend were going in a video taken while the couple enjoyed dinner in their Brisbane hotel. In the reveal video, the pair opened two boxes with travel wallets, with Lily excitedly announcing 'Oh it's Fiji! I'm so excited!' Jett Kenny and Lily Brown have been given a surprise getaway after their romantic Byron Bay escape ended in disappointment. The son of former swimming champion Lisa Curry, 29, and his model girlfriend, 26, took to Instagram on Thursday to share that they would be taken on a holiday to a mystery destination. Pictured: Lily Brown Lily, whose birthday coincided with the announcement, shared a video which revealed that the travel company Luxury Escapes would either send the couple to Fiji or Vanuatu, and she polled her followers as to which destination they thought it would be She then shared a picture of her gourmet dinner, and wrote over the top 'and then we got to feast.' In another Instagram story, Lily posted a selfie with Jett and wrote that she was 'very very excited' and was 'grateful for the birthday wishes. Brb celebrating for 5 days in FIJI.' It comes after the lovebirds experienced major mishap on their first anniversary as a couple. Before releasing the poll's results, Lily shared where her and her boyfriend were going in a video while at dinner at their hotel. The pair opened two boxes with travel wallets, with Lily excitedly announcing 'Oh it's Fiji! I'm so excited!' Pictured: Lily Brown and boyfriend Jett Kenny She then shared a picture of her gourmet dinner, and wrote over the top 'and then we got to feast' In another Instagram story, Lily posted a selfie with Jett and wrote that she was 'very very excited' and was 'grateful for the birthday wishes. Brb celebrating for 5 days in FIJI' The pair had planned a romantic and expensive trip to a bathhouse in Byron Bay, New South Wales, about an hour's drive from their home on the Gold Coast in Queensland. But they forgot the two states have an hour time difference due to NSW's daylight savings, meaning Queensland is an hour behind. The mixup caused Jett and Lily to miss their relaxing experience altogether. Taking to Instagram in December, Lily shared her disappointment and explained they won't be getting their money back for missing the appointment. 'Booked the nicest day in Byron at a bathhouse that was so expensive and missed it because of daylight savings,' she wrote alongside her video. 'Happy anno to us!!!! And no refund or reschedule! Epic.' 'Disgustingly pi**ed off. We're off to get drunk instead,' she added. Julie Goodwin appears to be participating on the upcoming season of Dancing with the Stars Australia. The 53-year-old cook, who rose to fame following her winning appearance on Masterchef in 2009, was seen heading to dance rehearsals on Tuesday. She was joined alongside her professional dance partner, Andrey Gorbunov, as they headed to a dance studio. Julie stepped out in all-black activewear which included a black tank top and capri tights. The cookbook author wore a pair of black running shoes while carrying a navy and white striped bag. Julie Goodwin appears to be participating on the upcoming season of Dancing with the Stars Australia Wearing her signature round glasses, the television personality opted for very light makeup coverage and had her curly locks styled out. It is still yet to be officially confirmed if Julie is to appear on the Channel Seven dance show, while little information is been released on the anticipated series. However, audience tickets are currently on sale as episode one's dance-off begins filming on Thursday, February 22. The 53-year-old cook, who rose to fame following her winning appearance on Masterchef in 2009, was seen heading to dance rehearsals on Tuesday She was joined alongside her professional dance partner, Andrey Gorbunov, as they headed to a dance studio Earlier this month, it was revealed that AFL legend Ben Cousins will be one of the stars taking to the dancefloor. The 45-year-old footy star, who has been rebuilding his life in recent years after a fall from grace, explained that part of his redemption arc will include reality TV. Ben refused shows like SAS Australia, but agreed to do Dancing With The Stars this year, explaining that focusing on a new challenge will aid him in rebuilding his life. Julie stepped out in all-black activewear which included a black tank top and capri tights The cookbook author wore a pair of black running shoes while carrying a navy and white striped bag The athlete told the Herald Sun that actually agreed to do the dance competition before, back in 2008, before changing his mind. 'I'm just in a pretty good space at the moment and am in a position to take on some new challenges and this has come along and probably for the first time in quite a while I am in a position to give it a go' he said. 'This worked for where I was at mentally and wanting to throw myself into something.' Dr Chris Brown will be joining Sonia Kruger at the helm of the dancing competition, hosting its 2024 season after replacing long-serving host Daryl Somers. Oscar winner Cate Blanchett looked incredibly chic as she attended the opening night of the theatre production The Picture of Dorian Gray in London on Thursday. Cate, 54, wore a simple black jumpsuit with coordinating glasses. The acclaimed actress was joined by Sydney Theatre Company Director Kip Williams, who wore a stylish cardigan with matching black trousers. The play is Kip's critically acclaimed one-woman production adaption of the Oscar Wilde novel which has commenced its 14-week season at the Theatre Royal Haymarket. The West End show stars Adelaide born actress Sarah Snook, 36, who has recently had a hugely successful awards season. Her role in Succession saw her triumph at the Critics Choice, Golden Globes and Emmy Awards. Oscar winner Cate Blanchett looked incredibly chic as she attended the opening night of The Picture of Dorian Gray in London on Thursday Snook plays a total of 26 characters in the production. The red carpet appearance comes days after Blanchett hit the stage at the AACTA Awards in an outlandish pink dress, which she topped with a giant polka-dot bow on her head. The outfit drew gasps of shock from the audience as Cate took to the microphone to present the Trailblazer Award to Margot Robbie, 33. Cate, 54, wore a simple black jumpsuit with coordinating glasses. The acclaimed actress was joined by Sydney Theatre Company Director Kip Williams, who wore a stylish cardigan with matching black trousers The play is Kip's acclaimed one-woman production adaption of the Oscar Wilde novel The West End show stars Adelaide born actress Sarah Snook, 36, (pictured) who has recently had a hugely successful awards season 'Middle-aged Barbie,' the star said, as she struggled to keep a straight face. She then comically winked at the audience, who responded with laughter and applause. Meanwhile Margot could hardly control her own laughter as she took to the stage to accept her prize. 'If you asked me growing up who my favour actor was, my answer was always, and will always be, Cate Blanchett,' Robbie told her idol. It comes days after Blanchett hit the stage at the AACTA Awards in an outlandish pink dress, which she topped with a giant polka-dot bow on her head The outfit drew gasps of shock from the audience as Cate (left) took to the microphone to present the Trailblazer Award to Margot Robbie, 33 (right) Cardi B and her estranged husband Offset sparked reconciliation rumors as they rang in Valentine's Day together, just months after confirming they split. Despite unfollowing each other in December and announcing they were going their separate ways late last year, the Grammy-winning rapper and father-of-five were spotted on a dinner date at Carbone in Miami Beach. The duo arrived to the Italian eatery together, but an eyewitness told TMZ that they 'went inside a few minutes after Cardi' in an attempt to seemingly try to 'stagger themselves.' Offset, best known as a member of the hip-hop trio Migos, was friendly to fans as they approached him, and reportedly gave one a hug. Cardi B and her estranged husband Offset sparked reconciliation rumors as they rang in Valentine's Day together, just months after confirming they split; seen in 2019 As they left the restaurant around midnight, the onlooker reported 'they emerged together' before heading home into the same vehicle. Neither Cardi or Offset posted anything from their night out or tributes to each other on social media. In December, Cardi confirmed that she had separated from Offset during another Instagram Live session. According to E! News, the Grammy winner told her fans that she had 'been single for a minute now' and admitted that her hesitation to reveal the news was because she did not 'know how to tell the world.' The performer - whose estranged husband was alleged to have cheated on her with Chrisean Rock - remained optimistic about her future, however, and told her fans that she was 'curious for a new life, for a new beginning.' The Bodak Yellow rapper then stated that she was 'excited' about her new stage in life. Last week, eagle-eyed fans noticed that Cardi (born Belcalis Marlenis Almanzar) and Offset (born Kiari Kendrell Cephus) both unfollowed each other. Despite unfollowing each other in November and announcing they were going their separate ways, the Grammy-winning rapper and father-of-five were spotted on a dinner date at Carbone in Miami Beach (pictured in 2019) Neither Cardi or Offset posted anything from their night out or tributes to each other on social media (Cardi pictured last Valentine's Day in 2023) The rapper also recently shared a cryptic Instagram story post where she revealed, 'You know sometimes you just outgrow relationships.' She added in the next story post, 'I'm tired of protecting people's feelings... I GOTTA PUT MYSELF FIRST.' This certainly wouldn't be the first time the couple has been on the outs throughout their tumultuous relationship. The couple reportedly met at an 'industry event' in 2016, with Cardi B recalling in a November 2017 Twitter video, 'He was very consistent. He really wanted to talk to me.' They reportedly started dating in January 2017, the same month they released a song together called Lick. Cardi shared a photo of them on her Instagram during the Super Bowl, referring to the Migos rapper as, 'my friend you know what Im saying?' Offset later revealed that the Super Bowl was their first real date, with the couple sharing a kissing Instagram snap on Valentine's Day 2017. The duo arrived to the Italian eatery together, but an eyewitness told TMZ that 'went inside a few minutes after Cardi' in an attempt to went inside a few minutes after Cardi' to seemingly try to 'stagger themselves' (pictured in 2020) While Cardi refused to confirm she was even dating Offset that summer, she dropped some not-so-subtle marriage hints at the VMAs in late August 2017. Less than a month later, the couple secretly married in Fulton County, Georgia, though it was not publicly revealed until June 2018. Offset proposed to Cardi on stage in October 2017 - despite already being legally married - though in January 2018, rumors surfaced that not only had Offset cheated on Cardi, but he had made a sex tape with another woman. Cardi defended her decision to stay with Offset in February 2018, stating, 'Its not right, what he f***ing didbut people dont know what I did, cause I aint no angel.' Pregnancy rumors swirled just weeks later, with Cardi confirming she's expecting while performing on Saturday Night Live, with the couple welcoming their first child Kulture in June 2018. After months of cheating rumors, Cardi revealed in December 2018 that she had split with Offset, even denying rumors their entire relationship was 'fake.' Later that month, while Cardi was performing at Rolling Loud, Offset took over her set in an effort to win her back, with signs reading, 'Take Me Back Cardi.' A month later they had reconciled, with the couple in attendance at the Grammy's where Cardi became the first solo female artist to win Best Rap Album. Offset, best known as a member of the hip-hop trio Migos, was friendly to fans as they approached him, and reportedly gave on a hug; seen in Cardi confirmed Offset had cheated on her in December 2019, though the couple seemed to be going strong into 2020, before Cardi surprisingly filed for divorce in September 2020. They seemingly got back together just months later, with each giving each other expensive cars for their respective birthdays, before welcoming their second child Wave Set in September 2021. While the couple has seemingly been going strong since, she admitted in September that she didn't think they'd actually get married. They celebrated their six-year wedding anniversary this past September as well. Paul Walkers daughter Meadow has officially filed for divorce from Louis Thornton-Allan. The only child of the late Fast & Furious star, 25, requested the marriage dissolution less than two months after announcing the split from her husband, according to court papers obtained by The Blast. The model married Louis, 26, in October 2021, hosting a beachside wedding in the Dominican Republic where Paul's Fast & Furious co-stars, including Vin Diesel and Jordana Brewster, were present, with Diesel walking Meadow down the aisle. The nuptials came nearly 8 years after the tragic death of Paul, who passed at age 40 in a car crash. Meadow and Louis announced their separation after three years of marriage with a joint statement on December 28, saying, 'We have come to the agreement to amicably separate.' Paul Walker s daughter Meadow has officially filed for divorce from Louis Thornton-Allan; pictured in 2022 'This is truly a united decision,' they continued. 'And we sincerely hope everyone can respect our wishes for privacy. We maintain mutual love and respect for one another, and will continue to support each other.' Meadow - whose mother is Paul's former girlfriend Rebecca Soteros, 49 - and Louis kicked off 2023 with a trip to Lech am Arlberg, Austria, before flying to Rome in May for the Fast X: Road To Rome premiere, held at The Colosseum in Rome, Italy. The year prior, they spent their first year of marriage traveling the country, including getaways to Miami and New York. Meadow had shared a heartfelt tribute to her then-husband on their one-year anniversary. 'Happy anniversary my love! One year married to you,' she wrote on a fairly dark image that shows the loving couple hugging amid the backdrop of what appears to be an outdoor horse stable. On her Instagram stories, the beauty posted a picture of her husband smiling in a grey and white jacket with his hair messed up, captioned, 'ONE YEAR' with a red heart. While speaking about their wedding to Vogue in 2021, Meadow gushed: 'We couldnt have imagined it to be any more perfect and personal and honestly it was easy and simple.' On Christmas Day, Meadow shared a black and white throwback photos with her father, which showed them goofing around in a hotel. The only child of the late Fast & Furious star, 25, requested the marriage dissolution less than two months after announcing the split from her husband , according to court papers obtained by The Blast; pictured in 2022 'After three wonderful years of marriage, we have come to the agreement to amicably separate. This is truly a united decision and we sincerely hope that everyone can respect our wishes for privacy,' the 25-year-old model shared in a statement, uploaded to Instagram 'Happy anniversary my love! One year married to you,' she captioned one of the images Meadow and Thornton-Allan kicked off 2023 with a trip to Lech am Arlberg, Austria, before spending the next few months traveling to Miami in April and Rome later that spring for the Fast X: Road To Rome premiere, held at The Colosseum in Rome, Italy; pictured May 2023 'Sending my love to everyone! This is a difficult time of year for so many. Talk to your loved ones and tell them you love them. Tomorrow isnt promised,' she captioned the image. The Fast X actress is the president and founder of the Paul Walker Foundation, which carries on the Fast and Furious franchise star's passion for helping others. The organization provides scholarships to teens aged 16 to 19 who are making an impact for good in their communities. On Christmas Day, Meadow shared a black and white throwback photos with her father, which showed them goofing around in a hotel Paul had died as a passenger in a single-car crash with friend and driver Roger Rodas in Valencia, California; Meadow was 15 at the time of her father's tragic accident Meadow began modeling at age 17 after signing with DNA Models, according to her Instagram bio. She has since walked the runway for big brands such as Balenciaga, Proenza Schouler, Vivienne Westwood and Alexander McQueen. Paul had died as a passenger in a single-car crash with friend and driver Roger Rodas in Valencia, California. Meadow was 15 at the time of her father's tragic accident. Naomi Watts and her four-legged co-star were back out on the bustling streets of Manhattan for another day of work on the set of The Friend. But first up on Thursday, the leading lady was spotted shooting scenes for the drama film by herself decked out in a dark green overcoat over an all-black ensemble that includes black shoes and leather gloves. With the temperature hovering just over the freezing mark in the upper 30s Fahrenheit, the costume department also had her wear a black-patterned scarf and a matching beret over her shoulder-length blonde locks. It appears the director duo of Scott McGehee and David Siegel were filming simple scenes of Watts walking along the streets in character. Eventually, the actress would reappear for a second round of the day's shoot dressed in a new ensemble and with her furry co-star, Bing the Great Dane, by her side. Naomi Watts, 55, wore two different ensembles when she hit the bustling streets of Manhattan on Thursday to shoot more scenes for the new drama film The Friend For round two, Watts' costume included a gray-patterned overcoat, black sweatpants, a brown beanie cap, a multi-colored scarf and brown ankle boots. She would be spotted shooting a scene with her massive sidekick as they were coming out a what appeared to be an apartment building The gentle giant is actually a well trained canine who's playing the role of Apollo in The Friend, which has been filming on the streets of New York City the last few weeks. Bing looked cool, calm and collected as he waited for each command from his on-screen owner, who has been taking time outs during each working day to work on proper training techniques with the help from an expert on set. Watts first teased her relationship with Bing in an Instagram post on January 13, when she and huge dog laid on the floor and sprawled out for a couple of photos. 'Meet my new friend. More on this soon,' she initially wrote in the caption to her social media fans and followers. In her most recent post, just two days ago, where she celebrated her relationship with her four-legged co-star, Watts was photographed giving Bing a sweet kiss during one of their walks during a work day. In this picture, the Shoreham, Kent, England native, who also grew up in North Wales and Sydney, Australia, was decked out in the very same dark green overcoat, beret, scarf and gloves. 'Bing my scene partner who stole my heart on day,' she said of her beloved scene partner. The actress wore an all-black ensemble underneath her dark green overcoat Part of the day was used to shoot simple walk around scenes in the ensemble For the second part of the day's shoot Watts worked on her upcoming scene with co-director David Siegel after a wardrobe change into a gray overcoat with black sweatpants, brown beanie cap and boots The British-Australian actress proceeded to shoot an on-the-phone scene with Bing, as Apollo, after making her wardrobe change Written, produced and directed by Scott McGehee and David Siegel, The Friend is a film adaption of Sigrid Nunez's 2018 novel of the same name, which won the U.S.'s National Book Award For Fiction, about a woman's bond with her Great Dane. This is the eighth time the long-standing filmmaking partnership of McGehee and Siegel have teamed up for a feature movie. The story follows a writer who adopts a heartbroken Great Dane that had belonged to a now deceased friend and mentor, according to Deadline. Both the book and the drama film tackle elements of love and friendship, along with the grief and ultimate healing they share while establishing their relationship. Just two days earlier, Watts revealed how Bing stole her heart on day #1 of the new film shoot The two-time Oscar nominee works on training techniques with an expert on the set each day Watts first teased her 1.9 million Instagram fans and followers about Bing on January 13 The Friend is a film adaption of Sigrid Nunez's 2018 novel of the same name, which won the U.S.'s National Book Award For Fiction, about a woman's bond with her adopted Great Dane Nunez was inspired to write the novel in part due to acquaintances and friends convinced their lives would end by suicide, according to Wikipedia. In fact, a friend of author's died by suicide as she was writing the novel. During an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, the actress opened up about their work day and how she's had to work with a trainer throughout each day. 'I have to have all kinds of doggy trainings,' she explained. 'You know, every 20 minutes, we have to go through all of these these tricks. He can do a lot of things.' So far, there hasn't been an official word on when The Friend will premiere. Robert A. Schallas new book Black Diamonds from the Treasure State owes its existence to a pig race. The year was 1990. Schalla, who grew up in California, had spent most of his life, as he tells it, bouncing around. He got his undergrad from the University of California and a masters from Oregon State, and had lived in Colorado, Oklahoma and Nevada. But he came to Montana in 1989, and he stuck there. He was exploring his new state when he came across the hogs. He was in Bearcreek, a small town just east of Red Lodge. In 2020, Bearcreek only had 91 residents. Back in 1990, it boasted only 37. But Bearcreek does have pigs. Every weekend in the summer, the hogs compete at the cheekily named Bearcreek Downs, a racetrack set up behind the Bearcreek Saloon and Steakhouse. Today, like in 1990, thats about all there is in Bearcreek. But you get the feeling it wasnt always like that. The streets are laid out in a grid, like youd do with a town that housed a lot more people. Theres a sizable graveyard overlooking town. And just down the road, theres a large, abandoned coal mine. Schalla got that feeling in Bearcreek, too. But he wasnt focused on the mine. I found out there was a railroad that ran through there, he remembered. Ive always been interested in railroads. He was particularly struck by the why of it all. What would a tiny community like this, out in the middle of nowhere, need with a railroad? Thats the question that Black Diamonds from the Treasure State answers. The book uncovers and examines the history of the railroad spur that ran south from Bridger, pivoted sharply west at Belfry, and wound up in the mines at Bearcreek and nearby Washoe. It was built in 1906, and started running coal shortly after. The railroad, which went by the names Yellowstone Park Railroad and Montana, Wyoming and Southern Railroad, was short. Today, you can drive its length in less than a half hour. But its impact was long and far reaching. It transported untold amounts of coal from the mines at Bearcreek and Washoe the latter of which was a company town owned by the Anaconda Copper Mining Company. In fact, those two communities, along with Belfry, also on the railroad line, owe their existence to the Montana, Wyoming and Southern Railroad. None of the railroad still exists today, but you cant miss all the things it built. Schallas interest in the railroad may have started at the Bearcreek pig race, but when he returned home to Billings after that, he didnt have time to start researching. He spent his career as a geologist, mostly working in the oil business. He started his own consultancy in 1997. It was only upon his retirement that Schalla finally had the opportunity to really dig into the history of the Montana, Wyoming and Southern Railroad. At first, he just wondered if he could find any photographs of the old railroad. He found some by contacting the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania, and more in the archives of Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas. He also perused the California Railroad Museum. The story of the railroad in Bearcreek was out there, but it was scattered across the country. Schalla has written a few papers and articles before, but he never thought this would make a full length book. Once he had the photos, he figured hed turn them into a sort of photo album and sell it as a large coffee table book. But then he started researching Frank Hall, the man who built the Montana, Wyoming and Southern Railroad. He ended up being a real character, said Schalla. I started chasing him down, and thats where the story developed. Hall was the type of person who thrived on the American frontier, back when it still existed. He was a visionary and a speculator, with big eyes for big plans that often didnt pan out. And he was easy to research, Schalla said, because Hall loved getting his name in the newspaper. He left a paper trail, but only one photo of Hall is known to exist. And of course, Schalla found a copy of it. Black Diamonds from the Treasure State is the first book length examination of the Montana, Wyoming and Southern Railroad, but the topic has been written about before, most notably by Montana historian Jon Axline, who wrote an article called Something of a Nuisance Value: The Montana, Wyoming and Southern Railroad, 1905-1953 in the Winter 1999 issue of Montana The Magazine of Western History. Early on in his research process, Schalla reached out to Axline. The pair met up in Helena, and Axline handed Schalla all the files hed gathered about the railroad, much of which hed acquired by pouring through the archives of the Minnesota Historical Society, where Northern Pacific Railroads records are kept. Axline and Schalla are the two big experts on the Montana, Wyoming and Southern Railroad, but they disagree on one point. In Axlines article, he alleged that Hall had built the railroad in hopes of being able to sell it to Northern Pacific. Schalla doesnt see it that way. Frank had a dream, Schalla explained. He wasnt building it just to sell it. That dream was to connect the Northern Pacific line, which already ran through much of Montana, including a prominent depot in Billings, to Cooke City. Thats why he initially named the railroad the Yellowstone Park Railroad. The plan was never to stay in Bearcreek, it was to shoot for the top of the mountain. Hall figured hed make good money hauling coal, and then use that to finance the rest of his railroad. He wanted to follow the Clarks Fork of the Yellowstone some of the most rugged country in all of the West all the way up to Cooke City. Not only would a railroad like that be able to easily transport tourists to Yellowstone National Park, Cooke City is the main town in the New World Mining District. You could haul people up and ore back down. Belfry had open space and water, and Hall wanted to build a smelter there, and dam the Clarks Fork to generate electricity. It was an audacious idea. And not the first time Hall had planned such a project. With some other men, hed looked into building a railroad up the Gallatin Canyon to Yellowstone. He also looked at going up the Boulder River valley south of Big Timber. Hall never had a shortage of ideas, but he did have a shortage of money, and none of those plans ever panned out. No railroad ever connected Cooke City to the outside world. But it did build the town of Belfry, which was named after an early investor in the railroad. For years coal was trucked out of Bearcreek on the railroad. They used a distinctive looking railcar called a McKeen, a big oblong thing with porthole windows, like a boat. The McKeen ran people and mail between Bearcreek and Bridger. Through its history, the Montana, Wyoming and Southern Railroad always remained independent. That led to conflict with Northern Pacific, and Hall was eventually forced out. During World War I, coal became a vital part of the war effort, and the federal government stepped in to make sure Montana, Wyoming and Southern and Northern Pacific played nice. Then disaster struck. On Feb. 27, 1943, the Smith Mine exploded, killing 74 people. That, coupled with the end of World War II, effectively ended mining at Bearcreek. The railroad began hemorrhaging money, and the tracks were torn up in 1955. All thats left now is the occasional bridge and the railroad grade, which is hard to spot unless you know where it is. The Belfry depot is now a private house. If you want to learn this history, you have to look pretty hard for it. But not anymore. Black Diamonds from the Treasure State is fixing that. Schalla had a hard time finding a publisher, and was rejected more times than he can count. But he finally found a partner in the Indiana University Press, something he called a "miracle." The book is for sale on their website at iupress.org, and its also available locally at thishouseofbooks.com. I wrote the book because I thought it was interesting to me, because I like railroads, Schalla said. But theres a lot of ancillary stories and history that go along with this. All of this happened in Carbon County around the turn of the century, and most people have no idea. Lupita Nyong'o and Cillian Murphy lead the stars attending the premiere of Small Things Like These at the Berlin International Film Festival on Thursday. Actress Lupita, 40, cut a glamorous figure as she arrived to the event in a white sleevleess dress with a flowing train. The Black Panther star also wore a pair of silver drop earrings as she posed on the red carpet. Cillian Murphy, who takes on the lead role in the film, sported a black suit with a matching shirt and brown coat. The actor, 47, posed on the red carpet alongside Matt Damon who serves as a producer on the film which is based on Claire Keegan's novel of the same name. Lupita Nyong'o and Cillian Murphy lead the stars attending the premiere of Small Things Like These at the Berlin International Film Festival on Thursday Actress Lupita, 40, cut a glamorous figure as she arrived to the event in a white sleevleess dress with a flowing train Vicky Kripes cut a stylish figure in a black patterned midi dress which she wore with a pair of black boots. Cillian is nominated for Best Actor at this year's Academy Awards for his lead role in Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer. The actor recently revealed Christopher personally delivers all of his film scripts on special paper that can't be photocopied. It was the fifth time Cillian and Christopher have worked together with the film star revealing the director's personal approach to giving out his screenplays. He flew to Ireland to hand the actor the script personally, with Cillian reading all 197 pages immediately. Speaking to GQ Magazine, he said: 'So, like, it's been his mum who's delivered the script to me before. Or his brother; he'll go away and come back in three hours. 'Part of it has to do with keeping the story secret before it goes out. But part of it has to do with tradition. 'They've always done it this way, so why stop now? It does add a ritual to it, which I really appreciate. It suits me.' The Black Panther star also wore a pair of silver drop earrings as she took to the stage during the opening ceremony of the film festival Cillian posed on the red carpet alongside Matt Damon who serves as a producer on the film Vicky Kripes cut a stylish figure in a black patterned midi dress which she wore with a pair of black boots The film is based on Claire Keegan's novel of the same name (L-R Alan Moloney, Cillian Murphy, Eileen Walsh and Tim Mielants at the premiere) Cillian also told how Christopher had already called him about playing J. Robert Oppenheimer in the film and he'd said yes before reading the script. The actor also described what it's like working with the acclaimed director, describing his sets as like an 'intimate laboratory'. He said: 'Even though he works at a tremendous pace, there's always room for curiosity and finding things out, and that's what making art should be about, you know? There's no phonesbut also no announcement: everybody just knows. 'And there's no chairs. Because he doesn't sit down. Sometimes a film set can be like a picnic. 'Everyone's got their chairs and their snacks and everyone's texting and showing each other f*****g, you know, emojis or whatever, memes which I do know, but why?' Barry Keoghan looked to be in great spirits as he messed around with his co-star Anthony Boyle on Thursday evening. The pair were amongst a series of stars attending an exclusive dinner hosted by British GQ and Paul Smith to celebrate Excellence in Film with Barry Keoghan at Mount Street Restaurant in London. Looking stylish for the evening, the Satlburn star, 31, opted for a pale blue matching suit jacket and trousers which were adorned with white stitching. Keeping it casual with a navy T-shirt underneath, the actor completed the look with some navy leather trainers. Inside the event Barry and his Masters Of The Air co-star Anthony looked to be getting on well as they messed around with their phones while relaxing on the couch. Barry Keoghan cut a stylish figure in pale blue suit as he attended an exclusive dinner hosted by British GQ and Paul Smith to celebrate Excellence in Film with Barry Keoghan at Mount Street Restaurant in London Barry looked to be in great spirits as he messed around with his co-star Anthony Boyle, who affectionately put his arm around the Irishman As he sat with his arm around Barry, Anthony opted for a black suit and white shirt which he paired with a deep wine coloured tie. Barry ensured he mingled with all the guests throughout the evening as he was also snapped with Tom Hiddleston. The Night Manager star, 43, opted for a light brown tweed style suit as he beamed beside the Irishman. Elsewhere Barry's Saltburn co-star Archie Madekwe smartened up in a suit and shiny blue tie. Martin Freeman looked unrecognisable as he unveiled a new look for the event in a navy beret and tinted pink shades. The actor, 52, looked to have entered a new era in the quirky get up as he opted for a dark tweed jacket and navy T-shirt, while his spotted handkerchief poked out his pocket. The event comes after Barry set pulses racing after he stripped down to his underwear for steamy Valentine's day shoot with Bumble on Wednesday. The star sent fans wild with the post as he flaunted his toned abs and muscular arms in the snaps. Inside the event Barry and his Masters Of The Air co-star Anthony looked to be getting on well as they messed around with their phones while relaxing on the couch Looking stylish for the evening, the Satlburn star opted for a pale blue matching suit jacket and trousers which were adorned with white stitching Anthony opted for a black suit and white shirt which he paired with a deep wine coloured tie Barry ensured he mingled with all the guests throughout the evening as he was also snapped with Tom Hiddleston Elsewhere Barry's Saltburn co-star Archie Madekwe smartened up in a suit and shiny blue tie Barry, Sir Paul Smith and Deputy Global Editorial Director of GQ Magazine Adam Baidawi Martin Freeman looked unrecognisable as he unveiled a new look for the event in a navy beret and tinted pink shades The actor, 52, looked to have entered a new era in the quirky get up as he opted for a dark tweed jacket and navy T-shirt, while his spotted handkerchief poked out his pocket Barry, actor Alex Wolff and Sir Paul Smith beamed for snaps together Netflix's Sex Education star Asa Butterfield was also in attendance Donning only a tiny pair of white underwear, the post simply read 'Happy Valentine's Day' as he captioned the snap: 'From us to you @bumble'. In another snap the star donned an open blue linen shirt and jeans as he leant against a pool table with a sultry look on his face. Fans went wild for the sexy snaps as they took to the comment section to share their excitement. One wrote: 'I physically lost my breathe for a second' while a second added: 'I JUST OPENED INSTAGRAM GODDAMMIT'. Referencing the star's nude scenes in Saltburn, one joked: 'take em off its nothing we havent seen before'. Another hinted to the famous improvised scene where his character Oliver has sex with Felix's grave, as they wrote: 'texted you the address to my grave, check DMs!!!!' The Frogs (The Kiln, London) Verdict: A hop, skip and a miss Rating: Ranidaphobics that's anyone with a dread fear of frogs or toads, FYI can rest assured: there are no (real) amphibians in this show at Kilburn's community theatre. The setup: Spymonkey, the legendary physical comedy theatre group, have been approached by a wealthy philanthropist (and huge Spymonkey fan) to stage an adaptation of Aristophanes' The Frogs...for $1 million each. It's an offer they can't refuse. Not least because, after a pandemic, a bereavement and one member's flit to Las Vegas, the four-man troupe has dwindled to just Toby Park and Aitor Basauri, who must now reinvent themselves as a double act. Aristophanes' play, lamenting the state of theatre (albeit theatre in 405BC) seems to fit the bill for this reduced production. The resulting ultra-meta adaptation, offering insight into the trials and tribulations of a small theatre company working in an industry in crisis, seems tailor made for fans of homespun community drama. Aristophanes' play, lamenting the state of theatre (albeit theatre in 405BC) seems to fit the bill for this reduced production This adaptation offers insight into the trials and tribulations of a small theatre company working in an industry in crisis After a vibrant and energetic opening, the play quite literally loses the plot There are slapstick gags galore: a contract that drops down from the sky on a string, umpteen donkey jokes and, inevitably, a giant man-eating frog. But after a vibrant and energetic opening, the play quite literally loses the plot. A tumble into the 'scene between scenes' leaves the actors hopping between classic Spymonkey stunts, without ever fully returning to the Greek classic. Aristophanes' play begins to feel sidelined, and in the end, barely relevant. What remains is a funny and well-meaning but directionless production. Even for Spymonkey, the play is chaotic. Comedy fans will surely be relieved the gang are up to their old shenanigans, but anyone hoping to see a contemporary version of Aristophanes' classic may feel a tad aggrieved. Georgia May Jagger looked stylish in a red mini dress as she attended the Bleach London VIP launch dinner at the NoMad Hotel in London on Thursday. The daughter of Mick Jagger, 32, was all smiles as she struck a pose in her glamorous ensemble. The model put on a very leggy display in the strappy mini dress and elevated her height with stylish black court heels. Alexa Chung, 40, opted for a casual attire as she arrived in a long-sleeve black pleated dress. The TV presenter and model looked happy and relaxed at the star-studded dinner as she sweetly posed for a photo. Georgia May Jagger, 32, looked stylish in a red mini dress as she attended the Bleach London VIP launch dinner at the NoMad Hotel in London on Thursday Meanwhile, Alexa Chung, 40, opted for a casual attire as she arrived in a long-sleeve black pleated dress The daughter of Mick Jagger was all smiles as she struck a pose in her glamorous ensemble at the dinner Georgia posed arm-in-arm with the creative director and founder of BLEACH, Alex Brownsell. Others attending the event included the glamorous Pixie Geldof, who arrived in a gorgeous floral black dress. The model and daughter of Bob Geldof oozed elegance in the long-sleeve maxi dress and accessorised with a black handbag. Georgia spoke recently of her jet-set lifestyle, zipping between the Venice Film Festival, Cote DAzur and New York on fashion assignments. Yet the daughter of Sir Mick and Jerry Hall, may have to switch her focus to her skincare range which has amassed losses of almost 500,000, according to Daily Mail's Richard Eden. It comes after Sir Mick, 80, hinted that his share of the Rolling Stones' back catalogue will be given to charity instead of his children. Newly filed accounts for her business, Catfish Soup Ltd, show the company founded six years ago is still leaking cash. Creditors are owed almost 1.5 million. If it wasnt for 866,000 owed by debtors, the losses would be much bigger. The TV presenter and model looked happy and relaxed at the star-studded dinner as she sweetly posed for a photo Alexa put on a leggy display in the black pleated dress and teamed her look with open-heel sandals Georgia posed arm-in-arm with the creative director and founder of BLEACH, Alex Brownsell (left) Others attending the event included the glamorous Pixie Geldof, who arrived in a gorgeous floral black dress The model and daughter of Bob Geldof oozed elegance in the long-sleeve maxi dress and accessorised with a black handbag Rio Viera-Newton, Pixie Geldof, Alex Brownsell, Georgia May Jagger, Josephine de La Baume, Alexa Chung and Aimee Phillips posed for a photo together (L-R) Paperwork says Georgia, the companys sole director, is satisfied she can continue to support the company. Rocker Mick said his eight children 'don't need $500million (400m) to live on', so he has seemingly come up with another way to donate his fortune. In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, he said leaving the money to charity might 'do some good in the world'. Martin Freeman looked almost unrecognisable as he debuted a new look on Thursday evening. The actor joined a series of stars attending an exclusive dinner hosted by British GQ and Paul Smith to celebrate Excellence in Film with Barry Keoghan at Mount Street Restaurant in London. And the 52-year-old decided the occasion would be the opportune moment to switch up his look as he opted for a quirky style for the event. Beaming in snaps, the Hobbit star looked to have entered a new era in the quirky get up as he donned a dark tweed jacket and navy T-shirt, while his spotted handkerchief poked out his pocket. Accessorising the look he added a navy beret and light pink tinted glasses to his ensemble. Martin Freeman, 52, looked almost unrecognisable as he debuted a quirky new look at an exclusive dinner hosted by British GQ and Paul Smith to celebrate Excellence in Film with Barry Keoghan at Mount Street Restaurant in London on Thursday Beaming in snaps, the Hobbit star looked to have entered a new era in the quirky get up as he opted for a dark tweed jacket and navy T-shirt, while his spotted handkerchief poked out his pocket On his feet the star wore some shiny burgundy loafers which he paired with some bold red socks. Martin recently showcased his new chiselled look as he showed off his macho physique in Miller's Girl. The star, who plays alongside Wednesday actress Jenna Ortega in the new comedy-drama, has transformed into a tenacious hunk for his latest role. However the star chose to cover up his buff biceps for his latest event as he kept his jacket on in snaps. Meanwhile Barry Keoghan looked stylish in a pale blue matching suit jacket and trousers which were adorned with white stitching. Keeping it casual with a navy T-shirt underneath, the actor completed the look with some navy leather trainers. Inside the event Barry and his Masters Of The Air co-star Anthony looked to be getting on well as they messed around with their phones while relaxing on the couch. Martin's appearance comes after it was revealed Jenna Ortega was 'sure of what she wanted to do' for her X-rated sex scene with Martin in Miller's Girl and was completely supported during filming, according to the movie's intimacy coordinator, who has clapped back at claims the raunchy on-screen moment was 'gross.' Accessorising the look he added a navy beret and light pink tinted glasses to his ensemble Martin was pictured with Himesh Patel and a guest at the event Barry Keoghan cut a stylish figure in pale blue suit as he enjoyed the evening Barry looked to be in great spirits as he messed around with his co-star Anthony Boyle, who affectionately put his arm around the Irishman Martin recently showcased his new chiselled look as he showed off his macho physique in Miller's Girl An X-rated sex scene between Jenna Ortega and Martin in new film Miller's Girl has been branded 'gross' by viewers due to their 31-year age gap Jenna, 21, plays 18-year-old student Cairo Sweet in the age-gap drama, while Martin, 52, takes on the role of her teacher Jonathan Miller. Viewers were quick to express their unease at watching the Wednesday actress engaging in 'uncomfortable' sexual scenes with the Sherlock star who is 31 years her senior. But intimacy coordinator Kristina Arjona has exclusively revealed to DailyMail.com that Jenna was involved in decisions about the curation of the racy moments, as she insisted that at no point were any 'boundaries surpassed.' 'There was many, many people throughout this process, engaging with [Jenna] to make sure that it was consistent with what she was comfortable with, and she was very determined and very sure of what she wanted to do,' Kristina said. 'Part of my job too is supporting her decisions. I adapt to whatever is the comfort level of my actors, especially on a production like this where there is a large age gap between the actors. 'I'm hyper aware of both of my talent and making sure that we're consistently checking in and that at no point are any of their boundaries being surpassed. And again, making sure - especially with someone who's significantly younger - that they are giving continuous consent.' It star Bill Skarsgard was fined Wednesday around $3,825 in connection with a possession of marijuana arrest at Stockholm, Sweden's Arlanda Airport that occurred back in October. Authorities said the 33-year-old actor, who plays the role of Pennywise in the horror franchise, had been detained with 2.43 grams of marijuana at the time of his arrest at the travel hub, TMZ reported on Thursday. The Stockholm, Sweden native entered a guilty plea to the allegations and was fined a total of 40,000 Swedish krona, which translates to $3,825 in U.S. dollars, in connection with the offense. Skarsgard will not have to serve any time in custody or submit to conditions of parole or probation in connection with the guilty plea, according to the outlet. Marijuana is illegal in Sweden on both medical and recreational levels, according to NordAN, the Nordic Alcohol and Drug Policy Network (NordAN), which is a non-governmental group that has aimed 'to reduce the consumption of alcohol and other drugs' since its inception in September 2000. It star Bill Skarsgard, 33, was fined Wednesday around $3,825 in connection with a possession of marijuana arrest at Stockholm, Sweden 's Arlanda Airport that occurred back in October. Pictured at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah in January of 2020 The organization said that Swedish law regarding Cannabis is divided into four penalties: consumption, possession, manufacturing and distribution. NordAN said that 'as individual substances are not regulated separately, penalties depend on such factors as the amount of possession of certain substances and their perceived dangerousness.' Drug offenses deemed minor in Sweden can be punished by fines, or up to six months in custody, while standard drug offenses are punished by a minimum of 14 days and as many as three years in custody. An aggravated drug offense is punishable by imprisonment for at least two years and up to seven years, the organization said, while a particularly aggravated drug offence is punished by a minimum of six years and as many as 10 years in custody. Bill has been steadily working in recent years, with roles in films such as 2023's John Wick: Chapter 4, 2021's Eternals and 2018's Deadpool 2, as well as on the shows Clark (2022) and Castle Rock (20182019). According to iMDb, he has a number of film roles on tap, in projects including The Crow, Nosferatu, Emperor, Locked and Lords of War. Bill is a member of the famed Skarsgard acting family, as his father is veteran actor Stellan Skarsgard, 72, best known for his appearances in Good Will Hunting, Mamma Mia!, Dune and Amistad. Bill's brothers are all actors: Succession star Alexander Skarsgard, 47; Oppenheimer actor Gustaf Skarsgard, 43; Valter Skarsgard, 28; Ossian Skarsgard, 14; and Kolbjorn Skarsgard, 11. His sister Eija Skarsgard, 31, is a model. Skarsgard will not have to serve any time in custody or submit to conditions of parole or probation in connection with the guilty plea. Pictured in Utah in 2020 Skarsgard was pictured playing the role of Pennywise in the 2017 movie It Bill was pictured in between brothers Alexander Skarsgard and Gustaf Skarsgard in London in 2019 Bill's father is actor Stellan Skarsgard, best known for his appearances in Good Will Hunting, Mamma Mia! and Dune. Pictured in Paris this past Monday at the Dune 2 premiere Speaking with People in March of 2016, Bill said that he 'wanted to be an actor ever since I was a little kid.' Bill added: 'As I got into my teenage years I thought, is it really me wanting this or because I want to follow in my dad's footsteps?' He said that after exploring potential alternate careers involving science, Bill set his focus toward a career in front of the camera. Bill said he sought to fight off claims of nepotism by taking an independent approach to his career, as he had 'felt a very strong need' to make it on his own. 'The association with my brothers and my father is already so big, I didn't want them to have anything to do with what I did,' Bill said. 'I needed them to feel that I am completely responsible for what I do.' Tori Spelling was spotted out at a celebrity hotspot in Beverly Hills this week. The actress, 50, enjoyed lunch at Cipriani restaurant on Thursday in celebration of a friend's birthday. For the afternoon hangout, Tori showed off her fit frame in a casual look that included a baggy T-shirt that read: 'Be Kind.' She styled the top with jeans, wedge heels and her favorite DYLANLEX gold chain choker necklace. The TV star who is a doting mother of five wore her bleach blonde hair down and sported minimal makeup. Tori Spelling enjoyed lunch at Cipriani restaurant on Thursday in celebration of a friend's birthday She was photographed leaving her car at the valet before heading inside the pricey Italian spot. Tori was celebrating her longtime friend Jennifer Raines, who she's known for 30 years. She honored Jennifer's special day on Instagram by sharing a recent photo of them 'twinning.' 'Weve been twinning for 30 years why stop now? Happy Birthday @jenrainespeltz I love you LouAnne xo,' Tori wrote. The Beverly Hills, 90210 star included a cute photo of herself and Jennifer posing together in blue jeans and black tank tops. Thursday's sighting comes nearly a month after DailyMail.com obtained photos of Tori's ex Dean McDermott seemingly moving in with his new girlfriend Lily Calo, a 32-year-old senior account executive at Conscious Community Global in LA. He was seen moving his possessions into her home on January 18 just three months after their romance was revealed. For the afternoon hangout, Tori showed off her fit frame in a casual look that included a baggy T-shirt that read: 'Be Kind' Tori was celebrating her longtime friend Jennifer Raines, who she's known for 30 years DailyMail.com exclusively broke the news of the relationship in October, when the new lovebirds were pictured holding hands on a trip to a welfare office in Los Angeles. Tori and Dean split last year after 17 years of marriage. The Canadian actor shares five children with his estranged wife Liam, 16; Stella, 15; Hattie, 12; Finn, 11; and Beau, six. Tori became functionally homeless when she moved out of the family home into an RV last summer which she said was due to a dangerous mold infestation before she evacuated a subsequent house. She and her children quickly moved out of the new home after an armed neighbor barricaded himself in a nearby house and took a hostage. Tori and the kids were forced to quickly evacuate the house by a SWAT team responding to the frightening standoff. Dean detailed the end of his and Tori's tumultuous marriage in an exclusive interview with DailyMail.com last year. He admitted that his relationship with his ex Tori Spelling had reduced them to living like 'roommates' by the time they called it quits. Tori split from her husband Dean McDermott last year after 17 years of marriage They share five children Liam, 16; Stella, 15; Hattie, 12; Finn, 11; and Beau, six Dean said that he had been treating his stress from the failing marriage and their money woes by drinking and using drugs alone every night, sometimes to the point of passing out. And when he was conscious he could fly into an alcohol-fueled rage at Tori that left their family frightened. Dean subsequently spent much of the summer of 2023 in rehab, and he even stayed apart from his family over the Thanksgiving holiday to stay at a sober living facility. The television actor described a final drunken fight with Tori in which he also raged against the children, and she recounted seeing the 'final flicker of the flame go out in her eyes,' signaling that their marriage was beyond repair. Afterward, he announced the end of the marriage on social media, a post that shocked Tori when she saw it with no advance warning. In his shame, he said he took 'six or seven Ambien' after consuming a considerable amount of alcohol, and he went to sleep hoping that he 'would not wake up.' Since moving on, he says he only speaks with Tori via text message now. Advertisement Beyonce caused a fan frenzy on Thursday night as she arrived at the New York City premiere of Tyler Perry's new Netflix film Mea Culpa. The superstar, 42, was photographed exiting her chauffeured SUV outside of the Paris Theater with her longtime husband Jay-Z in tow. The Halo hitmaker showed a lot of leg while wearing a hooded black and white striped minidress and stylish mules. She layered up with a glamorous black fur coat and shielded her eyes with futuristic shades. Beyonce who looked red hot on Valentine's Day kept her platinum blonde hair mostly hidden under her dress' hood. Beyonce caused a fan frenzy on Thursday night as she arrived at the New York City premiere of Tyler Perry's new Netflix film Mea Culpa The superstar, 42, was photographed exiting her chauffeured SUV outside of the Paris Theater The Halo hitmaker showed a lot of leg while wearing a hooded black and white striped minidress She carried a black Balmain purse as she and her security team made their way to the event's entry. As for makeup, Beyonce rocked a glossy lip, vibrant peach blush and luminous bronzing powder to give herself a radiant glow. Jay-Z cut a stylish figure in a gray tweed suit worn with a classic white button-up shirt and a skinny black tie. The music mogul, 54, gave his look a casual touch by accessorizing with a black beanie hat. The couple was there to support not only director Tyler Perry but the film's star and producer Kelly Rowland. Beyonce and Kelly were both part of the girl group Destiny's Child with Michelle Williams, who also showed up at Thursday night's NYC premiere. Destiny's Child split up in 2006 after Beyonce launched her highly-successful solo career but recently reunited for the Renaissance World Tour. Rowland looked sensational as she hit the red carpet in a racy tan bodysuit that showed off her legs. She was joined by her longtime husband Jay-Z She carried a black Balmain purse as she and her security team made their way to the event's entry She strolled the sidewalk in stylish mules She beamed while waving at passersby during the night out She gave a nod to her new country music with her cowboy-inspired mules The star could not stop beaming as she stepped out for the glam night on the town She was fondly greeting fans while glamming it up for the night on the town She layered up with a glamorous black fur coat Beyonce shielded her eyes with futuristic shades Beyonce kept her platinum blonde hair mostly hidden under her dress' hood Beyonce kept her platinum blonde hair mostly hidden under her dress' hood The music mogul, 54, gave his look a casual touch by accessorizing with a black beanie hat She wore the leggy one-piece under a vintage-inspired plaid trench coat with exaggerated shoulder pads. The mother-of-two slipped on shiny patent leather heels and semi-sheer tights to complete her camera-ready look. Rowland stars as criminal defense attorney Mea Harper in the upcoming Netflix crime thriller written and directed by Perry. The film follows Mea as she decides to represent a young male artist (played by Trevante Rhodes) who has been accused of murdering his girlfriend. Rowland and Perry are also listed as producers on the project, which was picked up last February and wrapped filming in March. Mea Culpa will be available to stream on Netflix starting February 23. Rowland looked thrilled to have the support of Destiny's Child's Michelle Williams as they shared the spotlight for photos. The night served as a mini Destiny's Child reunion as Beyonce joined the film's star Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams on the red carpet Kelly Rowland looked sensational as she hit the red carpet in a racy tan bodysuit that showed off her legs She wore the leggy one-piece under a vintage-inspired plaid trench coat with exaggerated shoulder pads Rowland looked thrilled to have the support of Williams The duo happily shared the spotlight Williams looked ravishing while teasing her toned tummy in a glamorous all-red outfit The unique coord featured a cropped top with dramatic batwing sleeves and wide-legged pants Rowland co-produced Mea Culpa with Tyler Perry, who served as director and screenwriter The duo had a warm interaction on the red carpet They also posed with the film's lead male star Trevante Rhodes (left) Sherri Shepherd was also on hand for the star-studded occasion in New York City The talk show host put on a busty display by going topless under a brown suit jacket She wore matching slacks and brown stiletto heels The duo smiled for the cameras Tyler Perry turned heads in a Matrix-inspired look consisting of a black vinyl jacket and faux leather pants Williams looked ravishing while teasing her toned tummy in a glamorous all-red outfit. The unique coord featured a cropped top with dramatic batwing sleeves and wide-legged pants. Sherri Shepherd was also on hand for the star-studded occasion in New York City. The talk show host put on a busty display by going topless under a brown suit jacket. She wore matching slacks and brown stiletto heels. Tyler Perry turned heads in a Matrix-inspired look consisting of a black vinyl jacket and faux leather pants. The multi-hyphenate completed his look with black boots and chic glasses. Shannon Thornton who stars as Charlise in the new crime flick wowed in a skintight gold chrome gown from Bronx and Banco, which highlighted her killer curves. Shannon Thornton who stars as Charlise in the new crime flick wowed in a skintight gold chrome gown from Bronx and Banco, which highlighted her killer curves Tyler Perry's House of Payne star Lance Gross oozed confidence as he arrived at the big premiere with his stunning wife Rebecca Jefferson Jefferson put on a racy display in a sheer off-the-shoulder frock Tyler Perrys Sistas star Crystal Hayslett looked edgy chic in a black faux leather jacket with matching boots Pageant queen Taryn Delanie stunned in a classic black halter dress styled with slingback heels and sparkly stud earrings Mea Culpa will be available to stream on Netflix starting February 23 Tyler Perry's House of Payne star Lance Gross oozed confidence as he arrived at the big premiere with his stunning wife Rebecca Jefferson. Tyler Perrys Sistas star Crystal Hayslett looked edgy chic in a black faux leather jacket with matching boots. Pageant queen Taryn Delanie stunned in a classic black halter dress styled with slingback heels and sparkly stud earrings. Jacob Elordi appeared worse for wear as the actor was spotted out and about for the first time since an alleged pub altercation. The Saltburn star, 26, looked weary as he strolled Sydney's streets, wearing tracksuit pants, a T-shirt and scuffed Onitsuka Tiger sneakers. The shirt bore an amusing graphic of William Shakespeare apparently smoking a joint. It featured the words, 'Doobie or not doobie? That is the question'. The Priscilla actor added a touch of class to his low-key outfit by carrying a Christian Dior book tote, valued at around $4800. Jacob Elordi (pictured) appeared worse for wear as the actor was spotted out and about for the first time since an alleged assault The Saltburn star, 26, looked weary as he strolled Sydney's streets, wearing tracksuit pants, a T-shirt and scuffed Onitsuka Tiger sneakers Jacob's hair was tousled for the outing which came just days after he was accused of getting rough with an Australian radio employee. Elordi was accused of assaulting radio producer Joshua Fox, 32, outside the Clovelly Hotel in Sydney's eastern suburbs at 3.30pm on Saturday, February 3. Fox was sent to the Clovelly Hotel by KIIS FM to film a video of Elordi, who was there with two men and a woman. The shirt bore an amusing graphic of William Shakespeare apparently smoking a joint Jacob's hair was tousled for the outing which came just days after he was accused of getting rough with an Australian radio employee Elordi was accused of assaulting radio producer Joshua Fox, 32, outside the Clovelly Hotel in Sydney's eastern suburbs at 3.30pm on Saturday, February 3 He said he waited for The Kissing Booth actor to leave the venue before approaching him. Fox playfully asked the actor for a sample of his bathwater as a gift for radio host Jackie 'O' Henderson. The request is a reference to an infamous scene in Elordi's runaway hit film, in which another character drinks Elordi's character's bathwater. Fox was sent to the Clovelly Hotel by KIIS FM to film a video of Elordi, who was there with two men and a woman The Priscilla actor added a touch of class to his low-key outfit by carrying a Christian Dior book tote, valued at around $4800 Fox claims Elordi realised he was filming and demanded he delete the footage. He said he initially obliged and deleted the file, but when Elordi then asked him to delete it from his recently deleted files folder, Fox refused. 'I'm thinking if I delete this footage, there's no evidence that this encounter happened,' Fox said. He then alleged Elordi, who stands at 1.96m, 'got up in his face' and 'backed him against a wall' and 'grabbed his throat', as his two male friends surrounded him on either side, preventing Fox from stepping away. Fox broke his silence over the shock confrontation on the Kyle & Jackie O show on Monday morning, with NSW Police since confirming that an investigation has been launched after a 32-year-old was allegedly assaulted by a 26-year-old. Daily Mail Australia has contacted Elordi for comment on the allegations. They recently went public with their romance when they attended a Grammys party together earlier this month. And it appears Saltburn actor Barry Keoghan, 31, and popstar Sabrina Carpenter's relationship is heating up. The American songstress, 24, appeared to be wearing the Irish star's Harvard hoodie as she touched down in Melbourne on Friday to open for Taylor Swift during her Australian leg of her Eras tour. As she arrived at Melbourne Airport, she was greeted by fans, including Tiktokker Tornadothingss who filmed her arrival. Online sleuths in the comments of the clip made the connection to Barry's grey university jumper, which he has shared on Instagram previously in a selfie. Sabrina Carpenter appeared to be wearing Saltburn star Barry Keoghan's Harvard hoodie as she touched down in Melbourne on Friday 'That's Barry Keoghan's Harvard sweatshirt omg,' wrote one, while another advised 'yesss Google: Barry Keoghan Harvard sweatshirt and you'll see a pic of him.' 'Omg it really is,' wrote another follower, while another expressed disbelief: 'No way!' 'She's wearing his sweatshirt so random,' said another fan. Sabrina is in town to open for Taylor Swift on the Australian leg of her Eras tour Taylor is performing in Melbourne on Friday, Saturday and Sunday Earlier this month, the pair attended their first public event together after confirming their new romance. The duo were pictured cosying up at W Magazine's star-studded Grammys after party. Sabrina posed on the red carpet solo in a racy sheer top and skirt, but was later spotted partying with Barry inside Bar Marmont in Los Angeles. The new couple were first romantically linked late last year in December when they were seen enjoying a dinner date in the Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles. Last month in January, the two were spotted on a sweet date at an art gallery. A fan had seen the pair at the museum and captured a few images which were later shared on TMZ. An eyewitness told People at the time that 'It definitely seemed like a date' and noted that the pair looked 'cute' together and also 'shared a little kiss'. Earlier this month, the pair attended their first public event together after confirming their new romance The pair reportedly first met during Paris Fashion Week last year in September while at the Givenchy fashion show. Barry split from his long-term girlfriend, dentist Alyson Kierans, last year amid reports they were rowing about his late night partying. The two welcomed their first child together - son Brando - in August 2022. The actor confirmed his split from Alyson while talking to GQ last month. Nearly one in five Americans believe pop star Taylor Swift is tied to a supposed liberal deep state plot to reelect President Joe Biden, a new poll revealed. About 18% of those surveyed answered in the affirmative when asked: Do you think that a covert government effort for Taylor Swift to help Joe Biden win the presidential election actually exists? Welcome to the 2024 election, said Patrick Murray, director of the independent Monmouth University Polling Institute, which carried out the survey. The Swift conspiracy theory posits that the pop icon is being promoted by dark liberal forces to brainwash American youth into supporting Biden and Democrats over former President Donald Trump. For whatever reason, adherents of the unproven idea believe its suspicious that Swift is dating Kelce, who is a vocal proponent of vaccinations and appears in ads for drug-maker Pfizer. Swift hasnt endorsed anyone in the 2024 election although she did back a losing Democratic Senate candidate in her home state of Tennessee in 2018. The claims are mostly being spread by Trump supporters, with 83% of those who believe the claims backing the former president, the poll found. About 73% of them believe Trumps false claims that Biden didnt really win the 2020 election. The poll did have some optimistic findings. More than two-thirds of the American public approve of Swift encouraging her fans to vote in the upcoming election, although Republicans were more suspicious of those efforts than Democrats. Taylor Swift's 'Eras Tour' has defined 2023's zeitgeisthere are some staggering stats behind the most successful tour/film combo in music history Taylor Swift's 'Eras Tour' has defined 2023's zeitgeisthere are some staggering stats behind the most successful tour/film combo in music history Between her tour and now a concert film highlighting some of its biggest hits, 2023 has truly been the Year of Taylor Taylor Swift has become one of the most successful recording artists in music history It was another day and another boho outfit for Elsa Pataky on Thursday. The Spanish actress, 47, showed off her incredibly toned legs in a cute floral mini dress from her favourite fashion brand Spell as she ran errands with her children in Byron Bay. The mother-of-three also flaunted her muscular biceps in a vintage frock from the label, which retails for $260. Barefoot, Elsa accessorised with a pair of Ray-Ban sunglasses and appeared to be makeup free. During the outing, the Interceptor star spent some quality time with her daughter India Rose, 11, and one of her nine-year-old twin sons after purchasing some healthy smoothies, laughing with her clan at a local cafe. Elsa Pataky showed off her incredibly toned legs in a cute floral mini dress from her favourite label Spell as she ran errands with her children in Byron Bay She later visited the post office, where she picked up a telescope for her $30million mansion she shares with husband Chris Hemsworth. The Thor star left fans blushing on Wednesday after sharing a Valentine's Day post like no other. He took to Instagram with a very racy video of himself grabbing Elsa as they swam underwater together. The mother-of-three also flaunted her muscular biceps in a vintage frock from the label, which retails for $260 Barefoot, Elsa accessorised with a pair of Ray-Ban sunglasses and appeared to be makeup free During the outing, the Interceptor star spent some quality time with her kids after purchasing some healthy smoothies She was seen laughing with her clan at a local cafe Bikini-clad Elsa appeared surprised as her hunky husband swam up and wrapped his arms around her waist. Chris cheekily looked at the underwater camera as Elsa attempted to keep swimming with her husband latched onto her back. 'Happy Valentine's Day. This year I thought I'd share with you how babies are made in Australia,' Chris joked in the caption. 'It's both a game of passion, love and intense sportsmanship where everyone's a winner,' he concluded, adding a love heart and kiss emoji as well as tagging his wife's Instagram account. She later visited the post office, where she picked up a telescope for her $38million mansion she shares with husband Chris Hemsworth The star did the heavy lifting and carried the package herself to her car Elsa also took a light-hearted approach to Valentine's Day this year, sharing a hilarious throwback photo of herself enjoying a date with Chris while filming an episode of his Disney+ docuseries, Limitless with Chris Hemsworth. In the image, Elsa wore elaborate prosthetic makeup to make her look like an elderly woman, while Chris looked his own age. During the episode, Elsa said she wanted to surprise Chris with her surprise makeover to help alleviate his fears about ageing, after he learned that he is at an increased risk of developing Alzheimer's disease. The Thor star left fans blushing on Wednesday after sharing a Valentine's Day post like no other He took to Instagram with a very racy video of himself grabbing Elsa, 47, as they swam underwater together 'Happy Valentine's Day my love. So many years together and we are still the same,' Elsa joked in her caption. Chris and Elsa tied the knot during the Christmas holidays in 2010 and share three children - daughter India Rose and twin boys Sasha and Tristan. The couple live in a $30million mansion in Broken Head near Byron Bay after relocating from Los Angeles to Australia nine years ago. Kaia Gerber joined boyfriend Austin Butler in a rare public outing on Thursday, as she accompanied him to the Dune Two premiere afterparty in London. The 22-year-old model held hands with the Elvis actor, 32, as they made their way inside the star-studded soiree. Kaia stunned in a sparkling brown maxi dress that clung to her supermodel physique. She added height to her frame with silver heels, and accessorized with a gold clutch. The beauty carried a fur coat under her arm in case the evening got chilly. Meanwhile Austin looked cool as ever in a low-cut white shirt under a black blazer and pants. Earlier at the premiere Austin gushed about Kaia's recent British Vogue cover, calling it 'legendary.' Kaia Gerber joined boyfriend Austin Butler in a rare public outing on Thursday, as she accompanied him to the Dune Two premiere afterparty in London The 22-year-old model held hands with the Elvis actor, 32, as they made their way inside the star-studded soiree The model appeared on the magazine cover alongside her superstar mom, Cindy Crawford, 57, and 30 other inspiring women, including Serena Williams, Gigi Hadid, Oprah Winfrey and Dua Lipa. 'It was legendary,' Butler told ET. 'It was amazing. I loved getting to see that. What an exciting cover. I loved it.' The pair first sparked romance rumors in December 2021, before going public with their relationship in March 2022. Austin also spoke about his new film, explaining: 'I was a fan of the book from the time I was 15. I was an enormous fan of the first film, so I feel very fortunate to be a part of this. It's really exciting.' Butler is a newcomer and will play Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen, Baron Harkonnens young nephew, and planned successor as ruler of Arrakis. He stars alongside A-listers including Zendaya, Timothee Chalamet and Florence Pugh, in the project. 'It's such a fun group of people in general that we have a lot of fun together. They're inspiring to me in many ways, so we all have fun together.' Zendaya, 27, arrived to the bash in a slinky black dress, and her tresses slicked down in a wet look. Austin looked cool as ever in a low-cut white shirt under a black blazer and pants Kaia stunned in a sparkling brown maxi dress that clung to her supermodel physique She added height to her frame with silver heels, and accessorized with a gold clutch The pair first sparked romance rumors in December 2021, before going public with their relationship in March 2022 Earlier at the premiere Austin gushed about Kaia's recent British Vogue cover, calling it 'legendary' 'It was legendary,' Butler told ET. 'It was amazing. I loved getting to see that. What an exciting cover. I loved it' Inside the event Kaia showed off her outfit in front of the shutterbugs Her brunette tresses were styled in light waves The actor was seen signing autographs on his way in He happily interacted with fans Butler is a newcomer to Dine 2, and will play Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen, Baron Harkonnens young nephew, and planned successor as ruler of Arrakis Zendaya, 27, arrived to the bash in a slinky black dress, and her tresses slicked down in a wet look The beauty paired her outfit with flower shaped diamond earrings and delicate glam She posed for snaps on her way to the bash Supporting her inside was boyfriend Tom Holland, 27, though the private pair didn't pose for snaps together Timothee Chalamet, 28, showed off his trendy style in an oversized short-sleeve top and beaded silver pants, which he paired with black boots Kylie Jenner's boyfriend accessorized with a number of silver rings and wore his tresses in bouncy curls Florence Pugh, 28, dazzled in a hooded dark sequin gown, which she teamed with silver jewelry Anya Taylor-Joy, 27, took the plunge in a low-cut white gown, which she sparkled up with a long silver necklace She accessorized with a number of rings She posed with Edgar Wright at the event Zoe Zimmer, 36, was chic in a black gown with a sultry midriff mesh panel She was pictured posing with her dad, iconic German film score composer and music producer Hans Zimmer, 66 (L-R) Dina de Luca, Hans, Zoe and Ryan Rubin Tanya Lapointe wowed in a baby blue gown with a fringe, while Barbie filmmaker Greta Gerwig, 40, looked chic in a black coat and brown gown Marc Jacques-Burton and Ella Mapes made a stylish duo at the party (L-R) Jason McNab, Magdalena Sverlander, Marc and Ella Producer Cale Boyter was accompanied by a stylish Cassandra Wilson Swedish actor Stellan Skarsgard, 72, who plays Baron Harkonnen in the film, and director Denis Villeneuve, 56, both looked sharp in suits Lea Seydoux, 38, was spotted arriving to the bash in a plaid jacket The beauty paired her outfit with flower shaped diamond earrings and delicate glam. She completed the look with black heels and a large green ring on her finger. Supporting her inside was boyfriend Tom Holland, 27, though the private pair didn't pose for snaps together. The Spider-Man: No Way Home star rocked a black vest over a black tee and pants. Timothee Chalamet, 28, showed off his trendy style in an oversized short-sleeve top and beaded silver pants, which he paired with black boots. Kylie Jenner's boyfriend accessorized with a number of silver rings and wore his tresses in bouncy curls. Anya Taylor-Joy, 27, took the plunge in a low-cut white gown, which she sparkled up with a long silver necklace. The beauty wore her platinum strands in a straight style, and added a pop of color to her look with red lipstick. Earlier at the premiere Zendaya commanded attention in a silver Thierry Mugler robot suit from his fall/winter 1995 Couture Collection She was seen posing with Chalamet Florence wowed in her gown Austin looked dapper as ever Florence Pugh, 28, dazzled in a hooded dark sequin gown, which she teamed with silver jewelry. The star also wore her signature silver nose ring. Zoe Zimmer, 36, was chic in a black gown with a sultry midriff mesh panel. She wore her tresses in a high black bun and accessorized with gold earrings. She was pictured posing with her dad, iconic German film score composer and music producer Hans Zimmer, 66. Tanya Lapointe wowed in a baby blue gown with a fringe, while Barbie filmmaker Greta Gerwig, 40, looked chic in a black coat and brown gown. Swedish actor Stellan Skarsgard, 72, who plays Baron Harkonnen in the film, and director Denis Villeneuve, 56, both looked sharp in suits. Lea Seydoux, 38, was spotted arriving to the bash in a plaid jacket. Others present at the party included, Cale Boyter, Cassandra Wilson, Marc Jacques-Burton, Ella Mapes, Jason McNab, and Magdalena Sverlander. Chalamet will be reprising his role as Paul Atreides, the heir to the now-decimated House Atreides, who has been abandoned with his mother on the desert world of Arakis while the members of House Harkonnen who are responsible for his family's slaughter take over the planet's lucrative natural resources. Zendaya was introduced briefly in the first film as Chani, a member of the desert-dwelling Fremen tribe who will teach Paul how to survive in the punishing environment so that he can lead her people to rise up against the galactic forces colonizing their planet. After multiple delays, Dune: Part Two is now set to hit theaters on March 1, 2024 Pugh is a newcomer to Dune and will play Princess Irulan, the daughter of the Emperor. Dune: Part Two was originally meant to be released on October 20, 2023 before being pushed back to November 17, and later to March 15, 2024, due to the SAG-AFTRA actors' strike. After multiple delays, the film is now set to hit theaters on March 1, 2024. Dune: Part One and Part Two are based on Frank Herbert's novel of the same name, which was originally published in 1965. Gwyneth Paltrow proved she is going from strength to strength with her husband Brad Falchuk on Valentine's Day. The 51-year-old Oscar winner - who recently pulled off a denim mini skirt look - took to her Instagram on Wednesday to share a very rare selfie with her handsome partner of nearly a decade. The stunning star twinned with the American Horror Story creator, as both of them sported chic navy zip-up sweaters for the adorable snap. Gwyneth captioned the post, 'My one and only valentine,' with a heart emoji. The sweet social media share comes after the actress revealed how her second husband opened her heart to the possibility of falling in love again. Gwyneth Paltrow proved she is going from strength to strength with her husband Brad Falchuk on Valentine's Day Speaking at the Besties event in Sydney in October, Gwyneth told the audience she was 'petrified' of starting a new relationship after her 'uncoupling' from Chris Martin in 2016. 'Some of the boyfriends that I had chosen in my life were people that weren't fully capable of intimacy and that way you can be like, "Oh [they're the ones with the problem]. I'm ready to do this and they're not,"' she said. 'Which is just a clever way not to admit you're the one you know. And I'm still scared sometimes.' Despite being half a decade into her marriage, Gwyn said these are issues she still struggles with. 'We've been married for five years and sometimes I'm like, "this is hard being so vulnerable". He demands total intimacy, and openness, so it's like a practice for me all the time' she said. 'Generally you are reenacting the relationship you had with the most complicated parent.' She added: 'I've been very lucky with Brad because I have chemistry with him and he's my best friend. He cares so much about the quality of our relationship. 'Second marriages can be really special.' The 51-year-old Oscar winner took to her Instagram on Wednesday to share a very rare selfie with her handsome partner of nearly a decade; pictured 2019 The sweet social media share comes after the actress revealed how her second husband opened her heart to the possibility of falling in love again Gwyneth amicably co-parents her two kids Apple and Moses with her ex-husband Chris Martin, from whom she divorced in 2016 after 13 years of marriage Having first met in 2014 on the set of Glee where Paltrow portrayed Holly Holliday and Falchuk served as a co-creator of the series the couple's initial professional connection soon blossomed into a romantic one. Their emerging relationship unfolded several months following the separation of the Shakespeare in Love actress from her husband, Martin, marking the end of their 10-year marriage. Simultaneously, Falchuk had recently concluded a nearly two-decade-long marriage with producer Suzanne Bulnik a year earlier. Gwyneth shares two kids with ex-husband Chris Martin, Apple, 19, and Moses, 17, and is a step-mom to Brad's two children, Brody, 17, and Isabella, 19, She still amicably co-parents her two kids with her Cold Play rocker ex-husband, from whom she divorced in 2016 after 13 years of marriage. Jennifer Lawrence showed off her effortless street style on Thursday, as she stepped out for lunch with her parents, Karen and Gary Lawrence, in Beverly Hills. The Hunger Games actress, 33, rocked a stylish green trench coat with a white t-shirt and baggy dark blue jeans while grabbing a bite to eat at the Grill on the Alley, known for its steaks and seafood. Her jeans were held up with a black belt, and she completed her look with a pair of matching ballet flats. The star who was recently seen house-hunting with husband Cooke Maroney, 39 shielded her eyes from the sun with brown-tinted sunglasses, and held a burgundy bag in her hand. Her long blonde tresses were styled straight for the occasion, flowing down her back. Jennifer Lawrence showed off her effortless street style on Thursday, as she stepped out for lunch with her parents, Karen and Gary Lawrence, in Beverly Hills The Hunger Games actress, 33, rocked a stylish green trench coat with a white t-shirt and baggy dark blue jeans while grabbing a bite to eat at the Grill on the Alley Jennifer's mom, 68, looked as stylish as her daughter, wearing a navy pullover and a white shirt with white jeans. She finalized her outfit with black sandals and a green purse. Meanwhile her father Gary opted for a comfortable look, sporting a grey sweatshirt, blue jeans and green sneakers. The Academy Award winner was born in Louisville, Kentucky, where her mom ran a day camp, and her dad owned a construction company. She also has two older brothers, Blaine and Ben Lawrence. Her supportive parents have appeared on several red carpets with her. Most recently they joined her at the premiere of comedy No Hard Feelings. Previously they also supported her at The Hunger Games movie premieres. They were also there when Jennifer won Best Actress at the 2013 Oscars. Despite being a tight knit family, in 2022 Jennifer opened up about having to 'forgive' her father and family members due to their political differences. Amid the reversal of Roe v. Wade she was reflecting on the 2016 election, which saw Donald J. Trump become the 45th president of the United States, and shared that she had to mend fences with her loved ones over their differing views. In 2022 Jennifer opened up about having to 'forgive' her father and family members due to their political differences during the Trump era in a Vogue interview; The trio seen in 2023 'I just worked so hard in the last five years to forgive my dad and my family and try to understand: It's different. The information they are getting is different. Their life is different,' she told Vogue; Jennifer seen with brothers Ben (L) and Blaine (R) and parents in 2013 'How could you raise a daughter from birth and believe that she doesn't deserve equality? How?' she asked following the reversal of Roe v. Wade; Seen in 2023 The star is happily married to art gallerist Cooke Maroney, with whom she shares son Cy; They are pictured in 2023 'I just worked so hard in the last five years to forgive my dad and my family and try to understand: It's different. The information they are getting is different. Their life is different,' she told Vogue. 'I don't want to disparage my family, but I know that a lot of people are in a similar position with their families. How could you raise a daughter from birth and believe that she doesn't deserve equality? How?' She shared she periodically broaches the subject of abortion access with her family, but realistically isn't convincing anyone. 'I broach the subject in the sense that I unleash text messages. Just: Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom. They dont respond. And then Ill feel bad and send a picture of the baby,' she said in reference to her son. Despite their political differences, Jennifer and her family appear to be on good terms nowadays, and have been pictured together on multiple occasions. The star is currently happily married to art gallerist Cooke Maroney, with whom she shares son Cy. The pair, who tied the knot in 2019, welcomed Cy in February 2022. Kourtney Kardashian and her son Reign had an up close and personal encounter with a giraffe during a fun trip to the Taronga Zoo in Sydney, Australia, on Thursday. The 44-year-old reality star was spotted rocking an edgy casual look while accompanying her nine-year-old son, whom she shares with her ex Scott Disick. She was also seen at the zoo with her husband Travis Barker, who held her hand sweetly. Kourtney has been touring Australia with the 48-year-old drummer as he and his Blink-182 bandmates Mark Hoppus and Tom DeLonge tour the continent. The older sister of Kim Kardashian looked casual-cool in a gray cropped bomber jacket with puffy sleeves. Kourtney Kardashian and her son Reign had an up close and personal encounter with a giraffe during a fun trip to the Taronga Zoo in Sydney, Australia, on Thursday The 44-year-old reality star was spotted rocking an edgy casual look while accompanying her nine-year-old son, whom she shares with her ex Scott Disick She wore the jacket open to reveal a hint of her charcoal T-shirt repping the classic heavy metal band Motorhead. She stayed on theme with a pair of black Dickies X Estevan Oriol pants that had 'Laugh Now Cry Never' stitched over one of the thighs. The Poosh founder accessorized with a small black handbag and a stylish pair of slim black sunglasses to beat back the piercing daylight. She rocked a set of Vans Vault UA Old Skool LX sneakers by Mastermind World which Travis was also seen wearing that retail for around $125. Kourtney perfectly matched her punk rock ensemble with her raven hair, which was parted down the middle and styled into a sleek long bob. She was pictured holding hands with Reign as they walked down a set of stairs to the pen where a giraffe came to greet them. The celebrity son wore a gray graphic hoodie contrasting a pair of brown leopard-print pants. He had his hair cut short after years of sporting long hair, and he had on a large hip bag. She was also seen at the zoo with her husband Travis Barker, who held her hand sweetly, though he wasn't seen during the animal encounter Kourtney has been touring Australia with the 48-year-old drummer as he and his Blink-182 bandmates Mark Hoppus and Tom DeLonge tour the continent The older sister of Kim Kardashian looked casual-cool in a gray cropped bomber jacket with puffy sleeves. She wore it open to reveal a Motorhead T-shirt She stayed on theme with a pair of black Dickies X Estevan Oriol pants that had 'Laugh Now Cry Never' stitched over one of the thighs Reign appeared to get some one-on-one time with the zoo keepers before his giraffe encounter Reign appeared to get some one-on-one time with the zoo keepers before his giraffe encounter. Kourtney stood off to the side, but she rejoined him as soon as the majestic creature strolled up to the railing, which was raised slightly so that its head was nearly level with the humans. The motherson duo appeared to have long carrots to offer the giraffe as a treat, and it was seen craning its neck to nibble on Reign's veggie. Kourtney appeared to be filming the interaction, possibly for her family's Hulu series The Kardashians, as a camera crew was pictured flanking her. Earlier, the social media star and her husband Travis shocked locals when they dropped into a local cafe in Mosman to pick up some iced coffees before they were chauffeured to the zoo. The brunette beauty was spoiled rotten on Valentine's Day in Sydney after the rocker sent a hundred red roses to the mansion the couple and their children are residing in for part of their trip Down Under. Kourtney shared a photo of the impressive bouquet on her Instagram page on Thursday. Earlier this week, she shared new details about where her baby son Rocky was conceived. The motherson duo appeared to have long carrots to offer the giraffe as a treat, and it was seen craning its neck to nibble on Reign's veggie Kourtney appeared to be filming the interaction, possibly for her family's Hulu series The Kardashians, as a camera crew was pictured flanking her The reality star shared a photo of the impressive bouquet Travis gave her for Valentine's Day on Instagram Kourtney revealed on Tuesday, February 13, that she conceived her baby son Rocky, three months, on a trip 'one year ago today' at the Amangiri resort in Utah In Instagram snaps on Tuesday from 'one year ago today,' she showed that she and Travis conceived the three-month-old boy during a wintry trip to the swanky Amangiri resort in Utah. The drummer made it even more explicit with his comment on the post: 'We made baby Rocky .' Kourtney previously said that Rocky, who was born in November of last year, had been conceived on Valentine's Day of 2023. Although Travis likely meant his comment 'We made baby Rocky' to be a loving clarification to Kourtney's vague caption, several Instagram users found it to be a major case of too much information. Bow Wow opened up about his battle with drug addiction that once landed him in the hospital. The 36-year-old rapper was asked about his 2007 collaborative album with Omarion earlier this week on The Art of Dialogue podcast. 'I was on lean. I was sipping so much syrup,' Bow Wow said referencing the combination of promethazine and codeine cough syrup mixed with soda. 'I was drinking that s*** like crazy,' he added. Bow Wow, real name Shad Gregory Moss, said the BET documentary series Road To Platinum showed many Styrofoam cups and Hawaiian Punch bottles in the studio. Bow Wow, shown earlier this month in Atlanta, opened up about his battle with drug addiction that once landed him in the hospital 'I was losing my f***ing mind. That lean s*** had me f***ed up,' Bow Wow said. 'I was just always irritated.' Bow Wow said his addiction worsened to the point that he collapsed after performing with Chris Brown on opening night in Cincinnati. 'I went straight to Cincinnati University Hospital. My stomach was so f***ed up that I ended up going back home to Atlanta after the first show,' Bow Wow said. He misssed concerts in Baltimore, Detroit and Chicago because he was hospitalized. Bow Wow said when he got home, 'the s*** gets worse.' 'Im throwing up, Im shivering in the bed, Im sweating, Im going through it,' he added. The rapper said he suffered withdrawals from taking lean, but the hospitalization served as a wake-up call. 'My stomach was so f***ed up. I felt like someone just had a knife [in me]... I never felt this type of pain in my life,' Bow Wow said. The 36-year-old rapper, shown in December 2007 in New York City, was asked about his 2007 collaborative album with Omarion earlier this week on The Art of Dialogue podcast 'I was on lean. I was sipping so much syrup,' said Bow Wow, shown in January 2021 in Houston, referencing the combination of promethazine and codeine cough syrup mixed with soda The rapper, shown in February 2007 in Los Angeles, said he suffered withdrawals from taking lean, but the hospitalization served as a wake-up call Bow Wow gave credit to his late publicist Patti Webster, who died in 2013 at age 49, for keeping his drug addiction out of the public. She released a statement about his collapse blaming it on dehydration. '[There] wasnt no dehydration. I was f***ed up off lean. We didn't want the world to know,' Bow Wow said. Bow Wow said he beat his addiction to hard drugs and has since learned his 'boundaries'. Florence Pugh suffered an awkward wardrobe mishap as she left the Dune Two afterparty at The Old Sessions House in London on Thursday night. The actress, 28, accidentally had a nip slip in her custom backless Valentino sequin dress due to its perilous plunging neckline. Anya Taylor-Joy, 27, also put on a daring display in her Christian Dior gown as she ditched the hooded sheer cape she wore to the premiere to reveal her racy dress underneath. Both stars opted to go braless in the risque dresses but it was Florence who struggled with her gown. Florence plays Princess Irulan in the sci-fi film, while Anya has kept her role a secret as she said at the premiere: 'You'll have to see the film'. Florence Pugh suffered an awkward wardrobe mishap as she left the Dune Two afterparty at The Old Sessions House in London on Thursday night The actress, 28, accidentally had a nip slip in her custom backless Valentino sequin dress due to its perilous plunging neckline The actresses were joined by Timothee Chalamet, 28, who plays the film's lead Paul Atreides, the duke of House Atreides. Dressed in shiny fringed trousers and a simple black T-shirt, Timothee appeared in high spirits as he departed the bash. Anya was joined by her husband Malcolm McRae, 29, who looked exhausted as they clambered into the back of their chauffeur driven car after partying the night away. Kaia Gerber, meanwhile, joined her boyfriend Austin Butler in a rare public outing. The 22-year-old model held hands with the Elvis actor, 32, as they made their way inside the star-studded soiree. Kaia stunned in a sparkling brown maxi dress that clung to her supermodel physique. She added height to her frame with silver heels, and accessorized with a gold clutch. Kaia carried a fur coat under her arm in case the evening got chilly. Meanwhile Austin looked cool as ever in a low-cut white shirt under a black blazer and pants. Earlier at the premiere, Austin gushed about Kaia's recent British Vogue cover, calling it 'legendary.' Anya Taylor-Joy , 27, also put on a daring display in her Christian Dior gown as she ditched the hooded sheer cape she wore to the premiere to reveal her racy dress underneath Despite the wardrobe mishap, Florence looked incredible in the dark brown shimmering gown that featured a plunging neckline and matching hood Florence was pictured heading to the bash in the glittering gown Both stars opted to go braless in the risque dresses but it was Florence who struggled with her gown Florence held onto her sequin dress as she struggled with it staying in place Florence dazzled in the hooded dark sequin gown, which she teamed with silver jewellery Taylor's bespoke number had a plunging neckline and a full, pleated skirt Anya was joined by her husband Malcolm McRae, 29, who looked exhausted as they clambered into the back of their chauffeur driven car after partying the night away Anya Taylor-Joy took the plunge in the low-cut white gown as she posed for a photo inside The Old Sessions House She accessorized with a number of rings Austin is a newcomer and will play Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen, Baron Harkonnens young nephew, and planned successor as ruler of Arrakis. He stars alongside A-listers including Zendaya, Timothee Chalamet and Florence Pugh, in the project. 'It's such a fun group of people in general that we have a lot of fun together. They're inspiring to me in many ways, so we all have fun together.' Zendaya, 27, arrived to the bash in a slinky black dress, and her tresses slicked down in a wet look. The actresses were joined by Timothee Chalamet, 28, who plays the film's lead Dressed in shiny fringed trousers and a simple black T-shirt, Timothee appeared in high spirits as he departed the bash Timothee flashed a smile as he left the party in the early hours The actor posed for a photo inside the venue Timothee plays the film's lead Paul Atreides, the duke of House Atreides Kaia Gerber joined her boyfriend Austin Butler in a rare public outing The 22-year-old model held hands with the Elvis actor, 32, as they made their way inside the star-studded soiree Austin looked cool as ever in a low-cut white shirt under a black blazer and pants Kaia stunned in a sparkling brown maxi dress that clung to her supermodel physique The pair first sparked romance rumours in December 2021, before going public with their relationship in March 2022 Earlier at the premiere, Austin gushed about Kaia's recent British Vogue cover, calling it 'legendary' 'It was legendary,' Butler told ET. 'It was amazing. I loved getting to see that. What an exciting cover. I loved it' Inside the event, Kaia showed off her outfit in front of the camera Her brunette tresses were styled in light waves and she sported a bronzed tan The actor was seen signing autographs on his way in He happily interacted with fans Butler is a newcomer to Dine 2, and will play Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen, Baron Harkonnens young nephew, and planned successor as ruler of Arrakis Zendaya, 27, arrived to the bash in a slinky black dress, and her tresses slicked down in a wet look She posed for snaps on her way to the bash Supporting her inside was boyfriend Tom Holland, 27, though the private pair didn't pose for snaps together Anya posed with Edgar Wright at the event Zoe Zimmer, 36, was chic in a black gown with a sultry midriff mesh panel She was pictured posing with her dad, iconic German film score composer and music producer Hans Zimmer, 66 (L-R) Dina de Luca, Hans, Zoe and Ryan Rubin Tanya Lapointe wowed in a baby blue gown with a fringe, while Barbie filmmaker Greta Gerwig, 40, looked chic in a black coat and brown gown Marc Jacques-Burton and Ella Mapes made a stylish duo at the party (L-R) Jason McNab, Magdalena Sverlander, Marc and Ella Producer Cale Boyter was accompanied by a stylish Cassandra Wilson Swedish actor Stellan Skarsgard, 72, who plays Baron Harkonnen in the film, and director Denis Villeneuve, 56, both looked sharp in suits Lea Seydoux, 38, was spotted arriving to the bash in a plaid jacket The beauty paired her outfit with flower shaped diamond earrings and delicate glam. She completed the look with black heels and a large green ring on her finger. Supporting her inside was boyfriend Tom Holland, 27, though the private pair didn't pose for snaps together. The Spider-Man: No Way Home star rocked a black vest over a black T-shirt and trousers. Chalamet will be reprising his role as Paul Atreides, the heir to the now-decimated House Atreides, who has been abandoned with his mother on the desert world of Arakis while the members of House Harkonnen who are responsible for his family's slaughter take over the planet's lucrative natural resources. Zendaya was introduced briefly in the first film as Chani, a member of the desert-dwelling Fremen tribe who will teach Paul how to survive in the punishing environment so that he can lead her people to rise up against the galactic forces colonizing their planet. Dune: Part Two was originally meant to be released on October 20, 2023 before being pushed back to November 17, and later to March 15, 2024, due to the SAG-AFTRA actors' strike. After multiple delays, the film is now set to hit theaters on March 1, 2024. Dune: Part One and Part Two are based on Frank Herbert's novel of the same name, which was originally published in 1965. Earlier at the premiere Zendaya commanded attention in a silver Thierry Mugler robot suit from his fall/winter 1995 Couture Collection She was seen posing with Chalamet Florence wowed in her gown Austin looked dapper as ever He recently split from his girlfriend Ekin-Su Culculoglu for the second time. And newly-single Davide Sanclimenti didn't seem to have a care in the world as he partied with a slew of bikini-clad bombshells on Thursday. The Italian hunk, 29, seemed to be putting his bitter split behind him while enjoying a lavish holiday in Dubai. It comes after the Love Island star and his ex-girlfriend Ekin-Su, 29, revealed they parted ways for a second time earlier last month - as she blamed a 'rollercoaster of ups and downs' in their romance. The shock split comes amid claims Ekin-Su was suspicious about Davide's friendship with OnlyFans model Sylvija Vasilevska, causing rows between the former couple. Davide Sanclimenti didn't seem to have a care in the world as he partied it all with a slew of bikini-clad bombshells on Thursday during a lavish holiday in Dubai It comes after the Love Island star, 27, and his ex-girlfriend Ekin-Su, 29, revealed they parted ways for a second time earlier last month But the businessman seems to be making most of his time, as he shared a clip on his Instagram Stories where he is captured dancing and giggling with a multitude of stunning girls in bikini. Davide flashed two piece signs as the girls kept dancing and signing to the tunes around him, with some bringing their glasses up. He showed off his sculpted abs and fit physique while beaming happily, showing off a jaw-dropping yacht view behind. Later on in the day, Davide continued to party till late night as he shared a clip while on a luxurious rooftop in the city, captioning: 'The vibe'. Davide and Ekin-Su first met on the eight season of Love Island in 2022, where they were crowned winners after a turbulent romance. The former pair first split in June 2023 but reconciled just two months later, enjoying a romantic getaway to Turkey, where Ekin-Su's parents hail. Yet now the pair have gone their separate ways for good, with Ekin-Su confirming on Instagram: 'The last 18-months have been a rollercoaster of ups and downs, just like every relationship. Davide and I both wanted to make this work as we cared deeply for each other. She continued: 'Unfortunately I have recently made the decision to end our relationship and to go our separate ways.. The newly-single businessman seems to be making most of his time, as he shared a clip on his Instagram stories where he is captured dancing and giggling with a multitude of stunning girls in bikini Later in the day, Davide continued to party till late night as he shared a clip while on a luxurious rooftop in the city, captioning: 'The vibe' It comes after the Love Island star and his ex-girlfriend Ekin-Su , 29, revealed they parted ways for a second time earlier last month 'Breakups are never easy. For any couple. And we hope that our privacy will be respected. I enjoyed our time together and the memories we made. 'Thank you for your continued support. It's been so lovely to have you follow our Love Island journeys together since the villa and we hope you'll continue to follow our careers as we go off in our own directions. Love always, Ekin-Su.' Davide released his own statement later that same day also on his Instagram story, and used the same font and colours as Ekin-Su. He wrote: 'Life sometimes reserves surprises and suddenly wakes you up... Ekin and I, just after the ski holidays, decided to go different ways. It was a joint decision, but I was waiting to make it public to respect her time in the show.' Hinting at foul play from Ekin-Su, he said: 'I don't know why the agreed statement changed last minute, but continued: 'I agree, it was a beautiful story even with its ups and downs like all couples. 'I loved every moment, from the first time I knew her in the Villa until the life outside. I really believed in us and saw a future for us. 'But sometimes in life people need to grow apart. Is just the direction of life. I will treasure our moments forever.' He signed off by saying: 'Now it's time to focus on myself. I love you all always, thank you for the unconditional support everyone showed me from the beginning. Davide.' The news comes following reports that Ekin-Su was upset at Davide's friendship with the OnlyFans model. She was said to be upset by the fact Davide and model Sylvija Vasilevska were 'liking' each other's social media content and suspects there was more to their platonic relationship. A source told The Sun: 'They're on the brink of a split and Ekin-Su has been going to events without Davide. 'Theyre having rows over this friend of Davides who Ekin suspects more might be going on with. Shes an OnlyFans model and longterm friend of his in Manchester.' MailOnline has contacted Ekin-Su and Davide's representatives for comment. Sylvija, who has since been branded a 'home wrecker' by Ekin-Su's fans, has now shed light on what really happened between her and Davide, 29. The OnlyFans star denied any relationship with Davide, but revealed he had 'liked a few of her stories' on social media. Branding Ekin-Su, 29, a 'victim', Sylvija told The Sun that she has been made out to be 'this evil porn star who has stolen her man'. She said: 'Im in shock, he's liked a few of my stories. Im so confused as to where this has come from. Shes convinced Im the girl [that broke them up], but I am not. 'All I've done is liked his picture. It was completely innocent. Of course Ekin is upset but its got nothing to do with me.' 'She's liking tweets about me which indicates to her fans that he did cheat with me, which prompted messages [from fans] calling me trash and a homewrecker. Im so angry to have been dragged into this. No offence to them but I couldnt care less about their relationship.' MailOnline have contacted Sylvija's representatives for a comment. Just five months after winning Love Island, the Turkish beauty competed on Dancing On Ice and revealed how her short stint on the skating show impacted their relationship. The reality star competed on the 15th series of the ITV skating competition with professional Brendyn Hatfieldin 2023 and was the third star to leave the show. Despite only being on the programme for four weeks, Ekin-Su made headlines for her racy outfits and routines. The news comes following reports that Ekin-Su was upset at Davide's friendship with the OnlyFans model Sylvija Vasilevska - as they were 'liking' each other's social media content and suspects there was more to their platonic relationship She recently opened up to Spin Genie about how hard it was to juggle training and a new relationship, saying: 'I was working seven days a week and had no time for me or my relationship. I was overworked and exhausted. 'If I hadnt had so much on during that time, my experience on the show would have been different. I also wouldnt have let the bad comments get to me.' She added: 'Im stronger now. I was in the habit of Googling myself and Id let the comments really upset me. Negative comments about my personality or my performance.' Ekin-Su recalled crying when she got voted off, which she put down to exhaustion as she insisted she wouldn't break down now. After exiting Dancing On Ice, Ekin-Su headed to the Maldives with Davide but she admitted she didn't enjoy it as she felt burnt out. The pair then split in June but after reconciling two months later, Davide insisted that the two 'never properly' broke up. Previously Davide revealed his relationship with Ekin-Su broke down after they failed to see eye-to-eye on various issues and that a temporary separation was 'needed'. 'It's a lovely feeling being with Ekin, we probably broke up more publicly but never privately because we have always been in touch and the love between me and Ekin has always been there', he told The Sun. 'Breaking up may happen to people but it never actually happened to us, we never properly privately broke up, it was more to do with the public pressure and we were having some tough months.' After a string of appearances where comedian Amy Schumer's face seemed puffy or swollen, the actor has insisted she's 'okay'. She said she still feels 'strong and beautiful' while struggling with endometriosis and autoimmune disease. A clip from the Life & Beth star's appearance on the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon - but a clip quickly went viral on social media with doctors posing the question to the public: 'What happened to Amy's face?' But Amy responded on Instagram, saying: 'Thank you so much for everyone's input about my face! I've enjoyed feedback and deliberation about my appearance as all women do for almost 20 years. And you're right it is puffier than normal right now.' Read on for more details on the actress' health struggles over the years... After a string of appearances, including an interview with Jimmy Fallon (pictured), where comedian Amy Schumer 's face seemed puffy or swollen the actress has insisted she's' okay' She said she still feels 'strong and beautiful' while struggling with endometriosis and autoimmune disease Amy responded on Instagram, saying: 'Thank you so much for everyone's input about my face! I've enjoyed feedback and deliberation about my appearance as all women do for almost 20 years. And you're right it is puffier than normal right now' Endometriosis In 2022, Amy opened up about her battle with endometriosis, which occurs when tissue grows around the uterus and gets trapped, causing debilitating pain and heavy bleeding, especially during menstrual cycles. In a CBS News interview, Amy called it a 'lonely, lonely disease.' Many patients with endometriosis take medications to regulate their reproductive hormones known as progestins. According to Mount Sinai, taking these medications can lead to water retention, which can cause the face to swell. In the aforementioned interview, Amy added that one struggle with endometriosis was how so many people would write off her symptoms. 'You tell someone you get really bad cramps, and they're like, 'Oh, it's being a woman,' and you're like, 'No, it's irregular.' I've been in so much pain, you know, my whole life. It's not just the week of my period. It's during ovulation,' she explained. However, after years of discomfort, she said she felt like a 'new person' after she had her uterus and appendix removed in September 2021. WHAT IS ENDOMETRIOSIS? Endometriosis occurs when cells in the lining of the uterus are found elsewhere in the body. Each month, these cells react in the same way as those in the uterus; building up, breaking down and bleeding. Yet, the blood has no way to escape the body. Symptoms include pain, heavy periods and fatigue, as well as a higher risk of infertility, and bowel and bladder problems. Its cause is unknown but may be genetic, related to problems with the immune system or exposure to chemicals. Treatment focuses on pain relief and improving quality of life, which may include surgery or hormone treatment. Source: Endometriosis UK Advertisement Trichotillomania In August 2022, Amy revealed that she was diagnosed with Trichotillomania - a disorder which compels its sufferers to pull out their own hair. She told The Hollywood Reporter that she was worried her son Gene, who she shares with her chef husband Chris Fischer, may inherit the condition as there are genetic factors to the disorder. She said: 'Every time he touches his head I'm having a heart attack.' Discussing her own experience, Amy said: 'I think everybody has a big secret and that's mine. And I'm proud that my big secret only hurts me but it's been what I've carried so much shame about for so long.' She developed trichotillomania during her turbulent childhood and at one point had to wear a wig to school - though she said the hairpiece fooled no one. 'And it's not that I used to have this problem and now I don't, it's still something that I struggle with,' the Trainwreck star shared. Amy has said she fears her son Gene could inherit her hair pulling disorder Trichotillomania Trichotillomania is a disorder which compels its sufferers to pull out their own hair which the comic developed during her turbulent childhood Lyme Disease In 2020, the actress also revealed that she had been diagnosed with Lyme disease, adding that she 'maybe had it for years'. Common signs of Lyme disease, according to the Mayo Clinic, include a bullseye-shaped rash, fever, headache, extreme tiredness, joint stiffness, and muscle aches and pains. Additionally, the condition can cause swollen lymph nodes - which can make cheeks look puffy. It is transmitted by black-legged ticks carrying either the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi or, more rarely, Borrelia mayonii. The disease can typically be treated by several weeks of oral antibiotics but if left untreated, the infection can spread to the joints, heart and nervous symptoms and be fatal. Later symptoms of Lyme disease include severe headaches and neck stiffness, further rashes, arthritis with joint pain and swelling, facial or Bell's palsy, heart palpitations, problems with short-term memory and nerve pain. Amy took to Instagram to reveal her Lyme disease diagnosis in 2020, but said she may have had it for many years Schumer has also opened up about her extreme experiences with morning sickness when she was pregnant with her son Gene in 2018 and 2019 Things became so serious at one stage that Amy was hospitalized and had to postpone tour dates in Texas Morning sickness Schumer has also opened up about her extreme experiences with morning sickness when she was pregnant with her son Gene. Gene was born in 2019 and in the year prior his mother shared a video of herself having to pull over on the side of the road to vomit. To be precise, the Snatched and I Feel Pretty actress suffered from hyperemesis gravidarum, an acute form of pregnancy-related nausea also suffered by the Duchess Of Cambridge during all three of her pregnancies. Things became so serious at one stage in 2018 that Amy was hospitalized and had to postpone tour dates in Texas. The BRIT Awards 2024 have revealed a surprise collaboration set to join the star-studded lineup as the prestigious event fast approaches. Becky Hill and Chase and Status will bring a 'celebration of drum and bass' at the upcoming ceremony on March 2 at London's The O2 arena. The Disconnect hit maker is nominated for the third consecutive year for Dance Act, which she won in 2022 and 2023. The drum and bass duo are shortlisted for Group of the Year for the second time, having first been nominated in this category in 2012. They join the already-announced Dua Lipa, Kylie Minogue and RAYE for what is the UK's biggest night in music. The BRIT Awards 2024 have confirmed that Becky Hill and Chase and Status will perform at the upcoming ceremony on March 2 at London's The O2 arena The trio will bring a 'celebration of drum and bass' at the upcoming ceremony on March 2 at London's The O2 arena The Disconnect hit maker is nominated for the third consecutive year for Dance Act, which she won in 2022 and 2023 Meanwhile, hosts Yinka Bokinni and Jack Saunders have also been confirmed to present The BRITs' Red Carpet from 7.30pm on ITV2 and The BRITs' Aftershow. Becky is no stranger to the bash, having previously performed at The BRITs in 2023 alongside David Guetta. She said: 'I can't wait to perform again on the BRITs and it's been difficult trying to top flying from the ceiling of the O2 last year, but I'm excited about what we have planned for this year's performance. 'I've been a fan of Chase and Status my whole life, so to have them on stage performing with me is going to be really special. It's a real celebration of drum and bass - my favourite genre of music!' Chase and Status said: 'For us as producers and artists, being nominated for a BRIT is a special thing. 'It is a representation of where British music is at, at the highest level, so to be in that category is an honour. Also, performing with Becky, a fellow BRIT nominee, is pretty special too.' The latest addition to the lineup follows Nigerian Afrowave superstar Rema and Jungle being confirmed to take to the stage. Nominations were announced last month, and nominees include Arlo Parks, Blur, Calvin Harris, Central Cee, Dave, Dua Lipa, Fred again.., Jessie Ware, J Hus, Little Simz, Olivia Dean, Mahalia, PinkPantheress, Miley Cyrus, Olivia Rodrigo, RAYE, The Rolling Stones, SZA, Taylor Swift, and Young Fathers. The drum and bass duo are shortlisted for Group of the Year for the second time, having first been nominated in this category in 2012 Jungle and Rema join already announced performers RAYE and Kylie Minogue Yinka and Jack will front the new live switchover show, The BRITs' Aftershow, which is a brand new live switchover show for ITVX premiering immediately after the main show on ITV1 - a first for ITVX. The show will bring backstage and unseen exclusives from the awards show, behind-the-scenes action from and around the awards, and exclusive interviews with artists and award winners. Speaking about the opportunity, Yinka said: 'Hosting the nominations show, Bring on the BRITs, earlier this year was so amazing. It's an honour to be back so soon and host the Red Carpet show for ITV2. A dream! 'Super excited to do this alongside my mate Jack Saunders too. I honestly can't wait to catch up with the nominees and to be part of such an iconic evening celebrating the world's biggest talent. Here we go!' Jack added: 'Being a presenter for The BRIT Awards on the night has been a lifelong dream of mine. I can't wait to rock the red carpet with Yinka and bring a bit of fun and chaos to the night.' Nominations for the 2024 BRIT Awards were announced last month, and nominees include RAYE, Arlo Parks, Blur, Calvin Harris, Central Cee, Dave, Dua Lipa and Fred again... Also nominated are Jessie Ware, J Hus, Little Simz, Olivia Dean, Mahalia, PinkPantheress, Miley Cyrus, Olivia Rodrigo, The Rolling Stones, SZA, Taylor Swift, Young Fathers. The winners of the genre awards will be determined by a public vote exclusively through Instagram, which opened midday Thursday 1st February and closes Thursday 15th February at 6pm. Maya Jama will be joined by seasoned presenters Roman Kemp and Clara Amfo as the threesome host the iconic night of music. The BRIT Awards 2024 with Mastercard will take place on Saturday 2nd March - once again in a primetime weekend slot - broadcast live on ITV1, STV, ITVX and STV Player - from The O2 arena. A Billings man who admitted to coercing a minor girl in New York to make and send him sexually explicit images of herself was sentenced Thursday to 20 years in prison, to be followed by a lifetime of supervised release. Jeffrey Eugene Herbert, 35, pleaded guilty in March to production of child pornography and possession of child pornography. U.S. District Judge Dana L. Christensen presided. The court also ordered restitution of $842, said U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich. Herbert possessed and distributed child sexual abuse material prior to using minor victims to produce the material for his personal enjoyment, according to court documents. In June 2022, the parents of a 13-year-old girl, identified as Jane Doe 1, in New York reported to law enforcement that their daughter was coerced to self-produce child sexual abuse material online through a social media application. An investigation and review of Jane Doe 1s phone determined that the girl and a user, amberbaby 14141, had exchanged nearly 900 communications in June 2022. The user, amberbaby 14141, who was later identified as Herbert, was posing as a 14-year-old girl and was actively soliciting sexually explicit content from Jane Doe 1. In an attempt to solicit more material from Jane Doe 1, Herbert became increasingly coercive and threatening. He threatened to send the videos that she had sent him to others and said he would mess ur life up. Law enforcement executed a search warrant on Herberts residence in October 2022 and collected electronic media. In an interview with law enforcement, Herbert admitted to using the amberbaby 14141 account to coerce underage girls to produce sexually explicit content. Herbert told law enforcement where child sexual abuse material would be located on his cellular phone, and investigators found a hidden application where folders were organized by names of victims. Law enforcement identified potentially 22 minor victims. The content included hundreds of videos and images and reflected minors around the country self-producing child sexual abuse material at Herberts instruction. Assistant U.S. Attorney Zeno B. Baucus prosecuted the case, which was investigated by the FBI and Montana Division of Criminal Investigation. This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorneys Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc. Jordan North has quit Radio One's legendary Going Home show after a decade on on the BBC show. Following his huge announcement, it was revealed that Jamie Laing, 35, will take his place - Monday to Thursday, 3.30pm to 6pm - next to radio co-host Vick Hope. Starting on March, 4, the former Made In Chelsea star will permanently replace the 34-year-old host, who has recently become an avid podcaster. In the original announcement post, bosses penned: 'Radio 1 will be saying goodbye to Jordan North. Jordan has been behind some of the most hilarious and entertaining moments on air over the years, and has been a constant source of inspiration'. Fans were left dismayed over the news, with one fuming listener writing on Twitter: 'Ffs radio 1 has turned into the posh boys club'. Jordan North has quit Radio One's legendary Going Home after a decade starring on the BBC show Following his huge announcement, it was revealed that Jamie Laing , 35, will take his place - Monday to Thursday, 3.30pm to 6pm - next to radio co-host Vick Hope Fans were left dismayed over the news, with one fuming listener writing on Twitter : 'Ffs radio 1 has turned into the posh boys club' Further devastation came, with fans writing: 'Oh yes the famous expert in music... why dont you have people who actually know about music, absolutely ridiculous' Further devastation came, with fans writing: 'Oh yes the famous expert in music... why dont you have people who actually know about music, absolutely ridiculous... 'Won't be listening to that anymore then another pointless celebrity on either radio or tv why is there such an obsession with all these talentless made in people'. Jamie is a broadcaster and producer who currently co-hosts the hugely successful Radio 1 podcast '6 Degrees from Jamie and Spencer'. He can also be heard on the popular podcast 'NewlyWeds' which he presents alongside his wife Sophie Habboo. The personality tied the knot on April, 14, 2023 in London before they headed to Marbella for a second wedding in front of friends and family on May, 20, 2023. On the appointment, Jamie said: 'I've loved every minute that I've been on air with Radio 1 in recent years, so to be joining Vick on Drivetime is just incredible. 'To be working with Vick is an absolute dream so I'm beyond excited to get started and keep listeners company on their journeys home.' The Burnley FC mega fan was announced as a co-host on the BBC Radio 1 daily drivetime show in 2021, alongside Vick. In the original announcement post, bosses penned: 'Radio 1 will be saying goodbye to Jordan North. Jordan has been behind some of the most hilarious and entertaining moments on air over the years, and has been a constant source of inspiration' Jordan is pictured with his co-star Vick in October In 2020, the presenter finished second in the 20th series of ITV's Im a CelebrityGet Me Out of Here, before he completed an epic 100-mile rowing challenge from London to Burnley for Comic Relief in March 2022. Head of Radio 1, Aled Haydn Jones said: 'I'm so excited to officially welcome Jamie to the Radio 1 family. From his hugely popular BBC podcast to his appearances on the network, our young audiences have loved him. 'His infectious energy and love for music and culture will bring an exciting new element to Drivetime, I can't wait for people to hear all of the exciting new ideas Vick and Jamie have lined up.' Radio 1 will also be saying goodbye to Jordan, who has been heard on Radio 1 for the last 10 years with his first major show being Radio 1's Greatest Hits on Sundays. 'He has enjoyed huge support from the station and listeners, developing his talent to host multiple shows across the network', Aled added. 'He has been behind some of the most hilarious and entertaining moments on air over the years, and has been a constant source of inspiration for younger presenters. 'Jordan has been an amazing presenter and a valued colleague at Radio 1, and I'm so proud of his journey with us. 'He has always connected with the Radio 1 audience through his shows and projects, as witnessed by the huge amount of money raised for Comic Relief during his rowing trip from London to Burnley.' Cat Deeley was confirmed as the new host of This Morning on Friday - marking her return to UK screens after years in the US. The showbiz veteran, 47, will join Ben Shephard, 49, in stepping into Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield's shoes as the permanent hosts of the magazine after months of speculation over who will fill the vacancy. After whispers began last month, many questioned how she would sustain her long-standing role as host of US show So You Think You Can Dance, which she has presented since the second season in 2006. Sources claimed she would not receive any special treatment regarding leave to jet to the US to continue her 43k-per-episode job - meaning Friday's announcement appears to confirm she has chosen the UK over her US stardom. Cat's husband Patrick, with whom she shares two children, is the host of Ireland's The Late Late Show and her role on This Morning would bring her closer geographically to her husband rather than her US job. Cat Deeley was confirmed as the new host of This Morning on Friday - marking her return to UK screens after years in the US (pictured on the show in November) Cat isn't short of cash as she currently earns at least 344,000 a season hosting So You Think You Can Dance in the States, where she is said to be paid 43,000 an episode. Cat and Ben were unveiled as the new hosts of This Morning, ITV revealed on Friday It's possible the reason for the sudden U-turn was financial, with Cat set to nab a bumper payday as the new host. When reports of her joining the show first emerged last year it was claimed she and Ben would receive an annual salary of 555,000. While hefty, the salary still paled in comparison to former hosts Holly and Phil, who were said to have been paid 700,000 annually for their role. However, Cat isn't short of cash as she currently earns at least 344,000 a season hosting So You Think You Can Dance in the States, where she is said to be paid 43,000 an episode. The new series is set to air in March and Cat has been dividing her time between the States and the UK for filming. Tongues were wagging over what she would do about her This Morning contract - and how it would either allow her to continue juggling her LA gig. If she does decide to keep both jobs it won't be for financial reasons, however, as brand and culture expert Nick Ede revealed she could double her This Morning salary with brand deals online. Nick told MailOnline: 'Cat is popular in the style stakes and I can see her making a lot of money partnering with brands like John Lewis and M&S who will be vying for her to wear their items. The showbiz veteran, 47, will join Ben, 49, in stepping into Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield 's shoes as the permanent hosts of the magazine after months of speculation over who will fill the vacancy 'She could earn over 200,000 from fashion collabs and she also has her own fragrance which I am sure will fly off the shelves. 'I can also see her potentially collaborating with a brand like Charlotte Tilbury or L'Oreal and for these she could earn a cool 250,000. 'Cat is the perfect presenter for This Morning. She has a big fanbase of people who grew up with her on a Saturday morning and she's always been a safe pair of hands. 'She has a great reputation for being lots of fun but she can also balance difficult discussion points too which is why she will make a winning pairing with Ben. 'What's also really great for a brand about Cat is that she has a big appeal in the USA as the host of the hit show So You Think You Dance so if they are looking to expand or create brand deals in the UK and US she's the perfect person to do it.' Dermot O'Leary and Alison Hammond look set to continue as the show's regular Friday and school holiday presenters. It comes after Holly left the show last October 'for the sake of her family' after discovering she was the target of a foiled kidnap and murder plot and has since not been replaced permanently. Cat and Ben have scooped the coveted role on the show It came five months after Phillip's departure after his affair with a young male showrunner was made public, followed by claims of an increasingly strained relationship with his co-host. Phillip has bowed out of the spotlight in recent months since his affair scandal in May, which led to his departure from This Morning after over 20 years on the show. After much speculation about his private life, his affair finally went public and he admitted he had been left 'broken and ashamed' but insisted he was not a groomer. He said the affair 'never came across' as an abuse of power because he and his lover were 'mates'. He told The Sun: 'I was unprofessional, one time, in a 41-year career. There is no excuse. No one did anything wrong apart from me.' In his first interview since leaving the broadcaster and This Morning, the 61-year-old presenter said: 'I did not, I did not [groom him]. 'There are accusations of all sorts of things. It never came across that way because we'd become mates. I don't know about that. But of course I understand that there will be a massive judgment, but bearing in mind, I have never exercised that.' At the time, Phillip offered a number of apologies, including to his co-presenter of 14 years Holly and his wife of 30 years, Stephanie Lowe. Tasha Ghouri showed off her chic sense of style in a beige co-ord as she stepped out to Paul Costelloe's autumn/winter 2024 launch catwalk on Friday. For the London Fashion Week event, the Love Island star, 25, put on a leggy display as she attended the glitzy event wearing a beige mini skirt. She paired the short garment with a matching blazer, which featured five large buttons fastened at the centre. Keeping her look trendy, the blonde beauty, who was born deaf, paired her two-piece with a pair of black socks. She donned a pair of maroon kitten heels to accessorise, featuring a very pointed toe and a cherry red handbag. Tasha Ghouri cut a chic figure in a beige co-ord as she joined a slew of stars in attendance for Paul Costelloe's autumn/winter 2024 show on Friday For the London Fashion Week event, the Love Island star put on a leggy display as she attended the glitzy event wearing a beige mini skirt Tasha wore her long golden tresses to flow naturally past her shoulders. She looked incredible with minimal makeup. She was spotted sitting in the front row with pal Tyreece Nye who turned heads at the star-studded event as they put on a very leggy display in leather shorts and skin-tight leather platform boots. London Fashion Week kicked off with the Irish designer's classic looks as he brought nostalgia to the catwalk as the showcase event celebrated its 40th birthday. The designer, 78, who could not attend the show due to illness, presented a mix of whites, dark greys and plenty of tweeds in his 'Once Upon a Time' autumn/winter 2024 collection. As models in white jackets and floaty skirts opened the show, he described it as 'Where Limerick meets Downtown New York'. A selection of plaid looks followed, with the colour palette then turning darker for tailored tweed skirt suits, belted coats and short feminine dresses. For the evening, there were patterned dresses with puffy sleeves. 'This collection expresses my view that classic design still has its place in high fashion', Paul said in show notes. 'I have added a personal moment of nostalgia by adding a print based on the street where I once lived. It was a glorious moment to dream and live.' She was spotted sitting in the front row with pal Tyreece Nye (left) who turned heads at the star-studded event in leather shorts and skin-tight leather platform boots London Fashion Week kicked off with the Irish designer's classic looks as he brought nostalgia to the catwalk as the showcase event celebrated its 40th birthday The 78-year-old designer, who could not attend the show due to illness, presented a mix of whites, dark greys and plenty of tweeds in his 'Once Upon a Time' autumn/winter 2024 collection As models in white jackets and floaty skirts opened the show, he described it as 'Where Limerick meets Downtown New York' A selection of plaid looks followed, with the colour palette then turning darker for tailored tweed skirt suits, belted coats and short feminine dresses. For the evening, there were patterned dresses with puffy sleeves Paul's team also shared a note from the designer explaining his absence due to a virus and wishing London Fashion Week a 'happy 40th birthday'. Other stars were also spotted at the glitzy event as Olivia Cox was also spotted at the launch show. The TV and radio presenter looked effortlessly chic in a white blazer which was tied with a blue and white stripy belt. Commanding attention at the star-studded affair, Precious Muir looked ethereal as she posed in a floor-length floral halter-neck maxi dress. The 34-year-old finished off her look with a pair of gold pointed-toe heels and gold love heart earrings. Opting for a much different look, Rosalind Lipsett sent pulses racing in a black leather jacket and matching knee-high boots. Other stars were also spotted at the glitzy event, including Olivia Cox, who looked effortlessly chic in a white blazer which was tied with a blue and white stripy belt Commanding attention at the star-studded affair, Precious Muir looked ethereal as she posed in a floor-length floral halter-neck maxi dress Opting for a much different look, Rosalind Lipsett sent pulses racing in a black leather jacket and matching knee-high boots Adding a splash of colour to the audience, Ellis Ranson turned up to the fashion event in a bright orange cropped jacket that featured a large pink rose on the shoulder Sitting in the front row, Lady Paris Smith (pictured with Hugo MacKenzie-Wood) showcased her unique sense of style as she wore a pink fluffy hat and a salmon pink jacket with black detailing Bringing street fashion to the event, Teddy Soares rocked double denim as he looked suave in a graffiti-printed jacket Channelling her inner mob-wife aesthetic, Eloise Smyth looked gorgeous as she posed confidently in leather print knee-high boots and some bold statement sunglasses Showcasing her golden tan, the Made In Dublin star paired her leather garments with a gold and black pleated mini skirt. Adding a splash of colour to the audience, Ellis Ranson turned up to the fashion event in a bright orange cropped jacket that featured a large pink rose on the shoulder. The fashionista paired her bold garment with a pair of silver flared trousers and a gale green Valentino bag. Sitting in the front row, Lady Paris Smith showcased her unique sense of style as she wore a pink fluffy hat and a salmon pink jacket with black detailing. She accessorised her neutral outfit with a shiny green bag and a pair of polka-dot heels. Bringing street fashion to the event, Teddy Soares rocked double denim as he looked suave in a graffiti-printed jacket. The former Love Island star paired his casual look with a pair of chunky black loafers and a black t-shirt. Channelling her inner mob-wife aesthetic, Eloise Smyth looked gorgeous as she posed confidently in leather print knee-high boots and some bold statement sunglasses. This year marks 40 years since the British Fashion Council (BFC) held its first London Fashion Week, which is one of the four big catwalk fixtures alongside New York, Milan and Paris and is best known for its emerging talent and avant-garde trends. Tracey Ullman has apologised for using blackface and doing impressions of African American and Asian characters on TV in the past. The actress, 64, has amassed a fortune in the States specialising in sketch shows, including her Tracey Takes On series which aired from 1996 to 1999. Among the alter-egos she played was an Asian doughnut shop owner called Mrs Noh Nang Ning, black airport security worker Sheneesha Turner and a New York cab driver called Chic. Tracey was asked by journalist and television presenter Louis Theroux on the new edition of his podcast about how she viewed those characters now. When he raised Noh Nang Ning, Tracey said: 'Yeah, now you look back and you think, if somebody saw that and was hurt, you feel terrible about it.' Tracey Ullman, 64, has apologised for using blackface and doing impressions of African American and Asian characters on TV in the past The actress has amassed a fortune in the States specialising in sketch shows, including her Tracey Takes On series which aired from 1996 to 1999 (pictured left on the show) Probing further, Louis claimed he discovered there was pushback about that particular impression at the time, including protests, which Tracey said she wasn't aware of, before admitting she was sorry. She said: 'Well, they probably were right. It was the wrong thing to do and I apologise and it was in the past now and I feel bad about it and what can you do? 'It's like, then it seemed fun and you know, people do all the things, now it's like we're living through this culture and everyone just has to be awash with shame for what they ever did or thought. 'And I think we're going through a big, big questioning period, as we should, but no, it's not something I would do today.' Before tackling the topic, Louis had warned Tracey: 'We're going to wade into the culture wars now, so strap in! 'So some of the sketches looking back are clearly sailing close to the wind in a way that certainly nowadays probably would be questioned... and in there as well, how do I put this, occasionally you take on what would be called I suppose trans-racial...' Tracey cut in to say she 'wanted to be everybody' and initially seemed to justify the skits. She said: 'Chic, an indeterminate Middle-Eastern cab driver. I got into a cab in New York once and this Middle-Eastern guy said to me, "Hey, you like sex?" Just straight up there!' Among the alter-egos she played was an Asian doughnut shop owner called Mrs Noh Nang Ning, black airport security worker Sheneesha Turner and a New York cab driver called Chic. She said: 'Well, they probably were right. It was the wrong thing to do and I apologise and it was in the past now and I feel bad about it and what can you do?' (pictured in 2015) The comedian continued: 'And he pointed and said, "This is my love cabinet." You now, the compartment in the car. 'I thought, "Oh God, I want to be that guy." So I could do anything, I had this amazing make-up department, I'd dress up, I'd put all this hair over my arms. 'For Chic, it was like the itchiest craziest character I've ever done and I would be at four in the morning in a gas station in downtown LA shooting this stuff and I thought I was somebody else. 'I used to get a high from becoming other people and enveloping myself in these make-ups and stuff and it was fascinating, it's what everybody was doing, this was 30 years ago. It's just I wanted to be everybody. It was really interesting.' When Louis mentioned playing black character Sheneesha Turner, Tracey conceded: 'No, you wouldn't do it now.' And in response to being asked if it felt like 'a dangerous or a big step' she replied: 'No, I just felt fun and I was with other black actors and I think I did it because Eddie Murphy had just been a white woman and there was so much going on and you could just do it and it was done with energy and interest and love and a love of people - and you wouldn't do it now. It's historical nuance, it was a time... it didn't feel like a livewire at that time, no.' Tracey then raised shamed paedophile Jimmy Savile, who Louis famously interviewed in 2000 years before his sick sex offending crimes became known. She was responding to Louis stating 'these things are constantly being revisited and rethought and tastes change and it's very easy to look back and poke holes, whether it's wise after the event or to apply cultural standards that perhaps are of now'. Tracey said: 'It's really hard, you perceive things differently in different eras. Watching you do the two Jimmy Saviles is fascinating because you saw him as somebody totally different. When you first did it, you were taken in by that "Now then, now then!" guy. 'I remember showing a clip of him to my writing friend in America and they went, "God, that guy's weird." They thought he was so strange and that England would like somebody like that. 'But look how your perception of him changed, that shifted didn't it? 'Because everybody's got their s*** from their past that their dealing with, Louis! 'It's like s*** from your past, it's things that you thought were different back then, that you just look at now and go, "Argh!" You know, we all have this.' Tracey made her comedy breakthrough in the early 1980s in Britain, including alongside Lenny Henry and David Copperfield in BBC sketch series Three of a Kind. But it was when she emigrated to the United States that her career really took off thanks to The Tracey Ullman Show from 1987 until 1990, which also featured the first appearances of The Simpsons. By 2017 she was said to be the wealthiest British comedian with an estimated 80million fortune, according to the Sunday Times Rich List. In an interview the previous year with Vulture she said she 'never got any complaints' for doing blackface and complained that in the modern era 'everyone's so damn sensitive' but added at the time: 'It wouldn't stop me.' She also bemoaned political correctness impacting comedy and said: 'It's very inhibiting. That's why I did it then. Everyone is being so PC, it's exhausting. 'If it's done with the right spirit and energy and people like that exist, speak like that, have lives like that, and you're doing it in the right way, I think there should be no objection to anyone trying anything.' Lorraine Kelly has spoken out for the first time after she discovered a Twitter account criticising her work ethic. Called Where Is Lorraine?, with the handle @LorraineKWatch, the account updates followers on whether or not the Scottish star has hosted the show that day. Viewers were left baffled earlier this week, as they found the TV host was missing from her own show, but then later appeared on This Morning. While Ranvir Singh has covered Lorraine's role on her self-titled show this week, the 64-year-old Scotswoman has now set the record straight as she addressed the Twitter account committed to tracking her days off. Speaking on Woman's Hour on Friday with host Anita Rani, Lorraine admitted she was aware of the account, which now has over 12,000 followers, as she admitted: 'I know, the amount of space that I occupy in people's heads is quite bizarre.' Lorraine Kelly, 64, has broken her silence on the satire Twitter account committed to criticising her work ethic as she appeared on Woman's Hour on Friday to defend her days off Speaking with host Anita Rani, Lorraine admitted she was aware of the account, which now has over 12,000 followers, as she admitted: 'I know, the amount of space that I occupy in people's heads is quite bizarre' Insisting the account doesn't bother her, she explained: 'Its fine. I don't mind, I don't care. I probably would have cared before but I really don't now it's absolutely fine.' The star went on to explain the real reason she had been missing from a number of shows lately as she is taking some time off to care for her mother who is unwell. Lorraine continued: 'But you should never comment on things like that if you don't know what is going on in people's lives but I am having to take quite a few Fridays off because my mum is really not well. 'So I can go home now and spend some more time with her and help her a bit more than I have been able to. So that is happening just now but that will change. 'I have been doing five days a week for 40 years so I am just taking a wee bit of time off and obviously this week is half term which is why I am able to talk to you!' Earlier in the day, the Where Is Lorraine? account revealed Lorraine has hosted 24 episodes out of 34 this year, equivalent to 70.5 percent. Issuing a statement in response to Lorraine's explanation, Where Is Lorraine? wrote: 'It feels apt to say now that of course we respect that Lorraine may need more time away to look after her mother. 'There is, and never has been, any malice behind this account. It is all for fun and we are happy that @reallorraine seems to understand that.' Yet not all fans were convinced by Lorraine's explanation for her time off as they took to Twitter to voice their opinions. Called Where Is Lorraine?, with the handle @LorraineKWatch, the account updates followers on whether or not the Scottish star has hosted the show that day Issuing a statement in response to Lorraine's explanation, Where Is Lorraine? wrote: 'It feels apt to say now that of course we respect that Lorraine may need more time away to look after her mother' Yet not all fans were convinced by Lorraine's explanation for her time off as they took to Twitter to voice their opinions. Others offered words of support, as they wrote: 'Thoughts and prayers are with Lorraine' One asked: 'Her Mums not well but she still manages to appear on Radio 4?' A second joked: 'She totally cares' while another teased: 'Lorraines just showing us that we should all be advocating for a four day work week and I respect her for that'. A third pointed out: 'Today is Friday, shes on the radio not spending time with her mum'. Referring to her explanation that she is off this week due to half term, one asked: 'But... Why do you need half term off lorraine. You are not a child'. Another added: 'It was going so well, she had the sympathy in the bag until she gleefully declared that it's half term! Oh Lozza'. Others offered words of support, as they wrote: 'Thoughts and prayers are with Lorraine.' Another added: 'She's asking you kindly to stop because her Mum is ill. Have you no compassion?' While Lorraine has appeared on both This Morning and Woman's Hour this week, she will also join this weeks celebrity line up on The Graham Norton Show on Friday evening. Lorraine is very close to her mother Anne - pictured on the show in 2020 While Lorraine has appeared on both This Morning and Woman's Hour this week, she will also join this weeks celebrity line up on The Graham Norton Show on Friday evening Last July Lorraine rushed up to Scotland to be by her elderly mother's bedside after Anne, 81, was admitted into University Hospital Monklands, in Lanarkshire, Scotland. Taking to Twitter at the time, Lorraine wrote: 'Having spent a lot of time over the past few days with my mum in @UHMonklands hospital Ive seen again just how kind, caring, hard working, funny and downright fabulous our NHS workers are. 'Thank you doesnt begin to cover it.' While she did not go into further detail about her mum's condition Anne was diagnosed with nephrotic syndrome in February 2023, a condition that stops the kidneys functioning properly which also saw her hospitalised. Lorraine moved to London to be close to work, but her parents and her husband Steve live in her hometown of Glasgow. Lucy Boynton looked chic as she attended Bora Aksu's AW24 show during London Fashion Week on Friday. The actress, 30, wore an elegant lace collared dress from the designer's collection while posing for photos at The Hellenic Centre. Fashioned from a double breasted blazer and a long black skirt, her ensemble featured a white peplum waistband. Lucy teamed the whimsical look with a pair of two-toned brogues and pulled her hair back into a low bun. She was joined at the event by Lady Amelia Windsor, Amber Le Bon and Sophie Cookson. Lucy Boynton, 30, looked chic as she attended Bora Aksu's AW24 show during London Fashion Week on Friday The actress wore an elegant lace collared dress from the designer's collection while posing for photos at The Hellenic Centre Lady Amelia opted for a baby pink satin dress with multiple layers and frills, plus diamante detailing and bows. She accessorised with gold chain bracelets and gold rings, which she showed off as she held out the skirt of her dress for all to see. Amelia, who is 43rd in line to the throne, is something of a fashionista and has worked as a model - while also venturing into the fashion world by designing some jewellery lines. Lucy's outing comes after she was spotted cosying up to her musician boyfriend Murdo Mitchell to watch the Chanel Haute Couture fashion show in Paris two weeks ago. The couple's romance was revealed in September 2023 after they were seen kissing and cuddling during a stroll in London's Soho. Lucy and her new love Murdo appeared very much into one another as they walked through Soho after attending Helen Murdo, who shot to fame after an X Factor appearance in 2014, has since been spotted attending other star-studded events as Lucy's plus one. The two were spotted getting close at the Chanel and Dazed celebration of the new Coco Crush campaign at Dazed Space. She was joined at the event by Olivia Cooke Sophie looked sensational in a black and gold dress Lady Amelia Windsor opted for a baby pink satin dress with multiple layers and frills, plus diamante detailing and bows Natalie Salmon caught the eye in a floral fur-trimmed trench coat as she joined Lady Amelia Paris Paloma wore a voluminous red gown Tuba Buyukustun also opted for a baby pink dress Amber Le Bon stunned in a plunging floral gown EO of the British Fashion Council Caroline Rush was in attendance Frida Wannerberger, Barbara Ayozie Fu Safira, Allie Buckley, Karen Binns, Joanna Vanderham, Paris, Lucy and Sophie (L-R) took their seats on the front row Their relationship came after Lucy split from Rami Malek earlier last year after over five years together, reportedly due to 'growing apart.' Her Bohemian Rhapsody co-star and ex-boyfriend Rami has also confirmed a new romance after he was seen kissing The Crown's Emma Corrin in public last summer. Glasgow-based artist Murdo released his debut album Aztec Jewel last year and has signed with Sony Music Norway/Drabantand, with new music and shows planned in the coming months. The Apprentice star Dr Asif Munaf has said he isn't shaken by the call to have him struck off the medical register over 'anti-Semitic remarks'. The Wellness brand owner, who was fired on Thursday's show, faced furious backlash after he made a series of 'anti-Jewish' online posts, including calling Zionism a 'satanic cult' in the aftermath of Hamas' murderous October 7 attacks and calling Zionists 'odiously ogre-like'. In a series of Tweets on Friday, Dr Asif wrote: 'They have tried to get me struck off by referring me to the General Medical Council. 'They think this will shake me. It only strengthens me. Don't they know that the exact amount of money I will make before I die was written before I was even conceived? I have absolute conviction in my Lords Decree.' The candidate also said the show 'isn't the biggest thing I've ever done in my life' after he was dropped from the spin-off You're Fired. Apprentice star Dr Asif Munaf has said he isn't shaken by the call to have him struck off the medical register over 'anti-Semitic remarks' The Wellness brand owner, who was fired on Thursday's show, faced furious backlash after he made a series of 'anti-Jewish' online posts, He wrote: 'Unlike most other candidates, the show is just one small chapter in my life. It's not my entire personality. Nor is it the biggest thing I've done in my life. This is why they are beholden to the broadcaster and I am free. Alhamdulillah for Islam.' In another Tweet, Dr Asif added: 'Staying silent is the epitome of cowardice.' Corporation bosses edited the former NHS doctor out of this week's episode of The Apprentice: You're Fired! on BBC2 amid a backlash over the remarks he made online. Dr Asif described Zionism as a 'satanic cult' in the aftermath of the October 7 terror attack. He also wrote on social media that he was compiling a 'list of sadistic doctors' who were 'supporting the Zionist genocide' and described Zionists as 'odiously ogre-like', also labelling the 'Zionist PR machine' as 'slimy'. And speaking out, the contestant made his feelings clear in a series of tweets, warning it would only ignite a 'bigger flame'. He wrote on X: 'They did me dirty. The lobby pressured the broadcaster and they relented. This will only ignite a bigger flame in my belly. We have Him'. In a series of Tweets on Friday, Dr Asif wrote: 'They have tried to get me struck off by referring me to the General Medical Council. 'They think this will shake me. It only strengthens me; Dr Asif- who now owns his own wellness brand - described Zionism as a 'satanic cult' in the aftermath of the October 7 terror attack The contestant made his feelings clear in a series of tweets, warning it would only ignite a 'bigger flame' He added in a post a few minutes later: 'They called for me to be cut out the broadcaster and suspended my the regulator. 'Today me journey on the show ended. But my journey with Him is still ongoing. 'Never sell your faith for fame. Always keep speaking the truth. Especially in the midst of genocide.' The doctor went on to argue against 'the Zionists' saying that ever since his announcement on the show, they have tried to 'demonise' him. The comments caused outrage across the Jewish community, with the Board of Deputies of British Jews complaining to Tim Davie, the BBC director-general and Samir Shah, its chairman, about having Dr Munaf on the show. The Board of Deputies of British Jews also issued a statement, saying they believed the Jewish community were owed an apology from the BBC. They wrote: 'Following the Board of Deputies President's urgent letter to the BBC Director-General Tim Davie and the BBC Chairman this morning, we have been notified that the BBC has significantly edited all content relating to BBC 2's You're Fired concerning Asif Munaf. 'We hope that the BBC will apologise publicly to the Jewish community for their handling of this sorry situation and send the people responsible for antisemitism awareness training.' Earlier this week, the BBC came under fire for broadcasting episodes of The Apprentice starring Dr Asif. Executives refused to take the programme off-air after the former NHS doctor continued to make 'grotesquely anti-Semitic' remarks after a BBC-organised diversity and inclusion training course. The Board of Deputies of British Jews' statement after Dr Munaf was edited from the show Dr Asif was sent on an equalities training course after the BBC was alerted to his tweets once filming had concluded Dr Asif was sent on an equalities training course after the BBC was alerted to his tweets once filming had concluded. The BBC said the posts had been there before filming, he would not have been included in the show. At the time a spokesman for The Apprentice said: 'After filming had taken place, we were made aware of concerns over social media posts that Asif had made after he had left the process. 'As soon as we were alerted, we took immediate action and spoke to Asif in detail on this. Asif took part in specialised training to understand why his posts may cause offence.' Dr Asif insisted 'it was not my intention to offend anyone'. But since then he has continued to make controversial remarks about the conflict in Israel and Gaza. Two weeks ago he wrote that the 'Zionist mask is falling' and accused Israel of weaponizing the Holocaust to 'push another fascist ideology'. On Monday, Danny Cohen - former director of BBC Television - claimed the training 'clearly did not work' citing further offensive remarks by Dr Munaf. Writing in The Telegraph Mr Cohen said: 'The BBC's inaction sends a message. 'You can be racist towards Jews and there are no consequences. You can enjoy fame on the BBC even if you are the kind of person whose views painfully remind Jewish viewers of Nazi propaganda. 'Once again, the Jewish community has been failed by the BBC.' Cardi B and her estranged husband Offset were pictured heading home after they enjoyed a Valentine's Day dinner together. The on-off couple spent a romantic evening at upscale Italian restaurant Carbone in Miami Beach on Wednesday, leaving at 12.45am. Sparking reconciliation rumours, the appearance comes just months after the pair confirmed they had split. Despite unfollowing each other in December and announcing they were going their separate ways late last year, the pair looked to be enjoying each other's company again as they spent the romantic evening together. The WAP hitmaker, 31, who is known for her experimental looks, showed off a new cropped hairdo as she quickly signed an autograph for waiting fans. Cardi B, 31, and her estranged husband Offset, 32, were pictured leaving Italian restaurant Carbone in Miami Beach after a romantic Valentine's Day dinner on Wednesday Sparking reconciliation rumours, the appearance comes just months after the pair confirmed they had split Attempting to shade her appearance with her mobile phone held up to shield her face, the rapper made a stylish exit in a vintage 2001 Nascar jacket and black jeans. Meanwhile former Migos member Offset - real name Kiari Cephus - opted for a preppy look as he donned a knitted tank top. The musician, 32, kept a protective arm behind Cardi as they hopped into a waiting limo, attempting to not draw too much attention to themselves. The duo arrived to the Italian eatery together, but an eyewitness told TMZ that Offset 'went inside a few minutes after Cardi' in an attempt to seemingly try to 'stagger themselves.' Offset was friendly to fans as they approached him, and reportedly gave one a hug. As they left the restaurant around midnight, the onlooker reported 'they emerged together' before heading home into the same vehicle. Neither Cardi or Offset posted anything from their night out or tributes to each other on social media. In December, Cardi confirmed that she had separated from Offset during another Instagram Live session. The WAP hitmaker, who is known for her experimental looks, showed off a new cropped hairdo as she quickly signed an autograph for waiting fans Attempting to shade her appearance with her mobile phone held up to shield her face, the rapper made a stylish exit in a vintage 2001 Nascar jacket and black jeans The musician kept a protective arm behind Cardi as attempted to not draw too much attention to themselves Cardi was seen getting into a waiting limo, followed by Offset The duo arrived to the Italian eatery together, but an eyewitness told TMZ that Offset 'went inside a few minutes after Cardi' in an attempt to seemingly try to 'stagger themselves' Offset, best known as a member of the hip-hop trio Migos, was friendly to fans as they approached him, and reportedly gave one a hug According to E! News, the Grammy winner told her fans that she had 'been single for a minute now' and admitted that her hesitation to reveal the news was because she did not 'know how to tell the world.' The performer - whose estranged husband was alleged to have cheated on her with Chrisean Rock - remained optimistic about her future, however, and told her fans that she was 'curious for a new life, for a new beginning.' The Bodak Yellow rapper then stated that she was 'excited' about her new stage in life. Eagle-eyed fans noticed recently that Cardi and Offset both unfollowed each other. The rapper also recently shared a cryptic Instagram story post where she revealed, 'You know sometimes you just outgrow relationships.' She added in the next story post, 'I'm tired of protecting people's feelings... I GOTTA PUT MYSELF FIRST.' This certainly wouldn't be the first time the couple has been on the outs throughout their tumultuous relationship. The couple reportedly met at an 'industry event' in 2016, with Cardi B recalling in a November 2017 Twitter video, 'He was very consistent. He really wanted to talk to me.' They reportedly started dating in January 2017, the same month they released a song together called Lick. Cardi shared a photo of them on her Instagram during the Super Bowl, referring to the Migos rapper as, 'my friend you know what Im saying?' Despite unfollowing each other in November and announcing they were going their separate ways, the Grammy-winning rapper and father-of-five were spotted on a dinner date at Carbone in Miami Beach (pictured in 2019) Neither Cardi or Offset posted anything from their night out or tributes to each other on social media (Cardi pictured last Valentine's Day in 2023) Offset later revealed that the Super Bowl was their first real date, with the couple sharing a kissing Instagram snap on Valentine's Day 2017. While Cardi refused to confirm she was even dating Offset that summer, she dropped some not-so-subtle marriage hints at the VMAs in late August 2017. Less than a month later, the couple secretly married in Fulton County, Georgia, though it was not publicly revealed until June 2018. Offset proposed to Cardi on stage in October 2017 - despite already being legally married - though in January 2018, rumours surfaced that not only had Offset cheated on Cardi, but he had made a sex tape with another woman. Cardi defended her decision to stay with Offset in February 2018, stating, 'Its not right, what he f***ing didbut people dont know what I did, cause I aint no angel.' Pregnancy rumours swirled just weeks later, with Cardi confirming she's expecting while performing on Saturday Night Live, with the couple welcoming their first child Kulture in June 2018. After months of cheating rumours, Cardi revealed in December 2018 that she had split with Offset, even denying rumours their entire relationship was 'fake.' Later that month, while Cardi was performing at Rolling Loud, Offset took over her set in an effort to win her back, with signs reading, 'Take Me Back Cardi.' A month later they had reconciled, with the couple in attendance at the Grammy's where Cardi became the first solo female artist to win Best Rap Album. Offset proposed to Cardi on stage in October 2017 - despite already being legally married - though in January 2018, rumours surfaced that not only had Offset cheated on Cardi, but he had made a sex tape with another woman Cardi confirmed Offset had cheated on her in December 2019, though the couple seemed to be going strong into 2020, before Cardi surprisingly filed for divorce in September 2020. They seemingly got back together just months later, with each giving each other expensive cars for their respective birthdays, before welcoming their second child Wave Set in September 2021. While the couple has seemingly been going strong since, she admitted in September that she didn't think they'd actually get married. They celebrated their six-year wedding anniversary last September. She is known for setting pulses racing on OnlyFans. Yet Lottie Moss took her sexy looks from the tripod to the catwalk on Friday as she attended the Sinead O'Dwyer AW24 show during London Fashion Week. The half-sister of Kate Moss put on a jaw-dropping display as she wowed at the event, held at The BFC NEWGEN Show Space, in a bondage-inspired getup. She wore a black lace-up ensemble comprising a wraparound detail on the legs and a skin-tight bustier with a cleavage boosting detail. Lottie pulled her best pout for the cameras before sauntering down the runway in front of the great and good of the UK fashion scene. Lottie Moss took her sexy looks from the tripod to the catwalk on Friday as she attended the Sinead O'Dwyer AW24 show during London Fashion Week The half-sister of Kate Moss put on a jaw-dropping display as she wowed at the event, held at The BFC NEWGEN Show Space, in a bondage-inspired getup She wore a black lace-up ensemble comprising a wraparound detail on the legs and a skin-tight bustier with a cleavage boosting detail Lottie's sizzling lace-up tights coordinated with the intricate top to the look while she dressed things down in a pair of low heels. She went for barely-there make-up with her icy blonde hair slicked back behind her ears, while her face tattoo stood out on her alabaster complexion. The Irish designer was showcasing her daring designs at the event, with a number of models showing off their skin in scanty looks. Strictly star Bobby Brazier was also in attendance looking dashing in a tight black tee while model and TikToker Delphi Primrose showed off her taut abs. Aside from her modelling work, last week Lottie was seen on the set of her debut movie April X in Romania The thriller is about twins Bax (Connor Storrie) and Lottie's character April. When April goes missing, Bax searches every dark corner of the post Soviet cityscape trying to find her, ultimately descending into madness. Lottie, whose exes include Love Island's Adam Collard and Made In Chelsea's Alex Mytton, landed in Romania late last month to start filming. This film marks Lottie's movie debut, a significant step in her evolving career, especially as she takes a hiatus from OnlyFans to focus on acting. Lottie pulled her best pout for the cameras before sauntering down the runway in front of the great and good of the UK fashion scene Lottie's sizzling lace-up tights coordinated with the intricate top to the look while she dressed things down in a pair of low heels Her transition into the film industry follows a period of personal challenges, including addressing mental health issues, signaling a new chapter in her journey of personal and professional growth. Lottie recently broke down in tears as she candidly spoke to her fans about her anxiety struggles in a TikTok video. The Celebs Go Dating star, who started modelling at age 16 for Teen Vogue, discussed how being a model in her teens made her succumb to drugs and alcohol because of the industry she worked in. The model admitted the reason she got a face tattoo and started an OnlyFans page was to 'rebel so hard away from an industry that made her sad all the time'. The Irish designer was showcasing her daring designs at the event, with a number of models showing off their skin in scanty looks She looked incredible in her sexy ensemble Aside from her modelling work, last week Lottie was seen on the set of her debut movie April X in Romania The thriller is about twins Bax (Connor Storrie) and Lottie's character April. When April goes missing, Bax searches every dark corner of the post Soviet cityscape trying to find her, ultimately descending into madness Strictly star Bobby Brazier was also in attendance looking dashing in a tight black tee Bobby - the son of Jeff Brazier and the late Jade Goody - wore tight jeans with his look Victoria Brown looked chic in a pale blue midi dress and cropped jacket The fashion model's look featured silver embellishments Model and TikToker Delphi Primrose showed off her taut abs Ryan Phillippe is fighting to stay alive in the new trailer for his upcoming survival thriller feature Prey, which was released on Thursday. In the clip, the 49-year-old actor stars as a Christian missionary who tries to stay alive after his plane crashes into a remote part of the world. The Cruel Intentions star - who recently shared a rare photo featuring his daughter Kai - costars alongside Emile Hirsch, Mena Suvari and Dylan Flashner in the upcoming film. The trailer for the film, which is set in the Kalahari Desert in southern Africa, begins with Phillippe's character informing his girlfriend, played by Suvari, that they have to abandon their work and flee to safety. When asked about the reasoning for the sudden departure, he replies that a militant group is 'coming for us. They want American hostages.' Ryan Phillippe fought to stay alive in the new trailer for the upcoming survival thriller feature Prey, which was released on Thursday In the clip, the 49-year-old actor starred as a Christian missionary who tried to stay alive after his charitable work was disrupted after his plane crashed in a particularly inhospitable part of the world The performer - who recently shared a rare photo featuring his daughter Kai - costarred alongside Emile Hirsch, Mena Suvari and Dylan Flashner in the upcoming film The pair then make their way to a remote airstrip where they are met by a smuggler, played by Hirsch, who informs them: 'You've all paid for a seat on the plane. Those coming with me, let's go.' Midway through the flight, the plane unexpectedly begins to plummet out of the sky and crash-lands in the middle of the Kalahari, which Hirsch's character ominously refers to as 'someplace you don't want to be.' He then reveals that they had crashed over a big game reserve, populated by various dangerous species of animals, and remarks: 'Every second we're exposed out here is life-threatening.' The group then takes refuge in the plane's wreckage for the night, although they are then stalked by a group of hungry lions. After the smuggler acknowledges that they are being 'hunted' by both man and beast, Phillippe's character begins to choke him and exclaims that people are 'dead because of you.' The missionary then stares down a pair of hyenas and expresses: 'Everything out here is trying to kill us.' After a member of the group is attacked by a snake, they encounter several militants, who fire rounds into the plane's wreckage. The smuggler then states that he is 'not going to die like this' before being attacked by a blood-drenched lion, after which the trailer ends. The trailer for the film, which is set in the Kalahari Desert in southern Africa, begins with Phillippe's character informing his girlfriend, played by Suvari, that they have to abandon their work and flee to safety When asked about the reasoning for the sudden departure, he replies that a militant group is 'coming for us. They want American hostages' The pair then makes their way to a remote airstrip where they are met by a smuggler, played by Hirsch, who informs them 'You've all paid for a seat on the plane. Those coming with me, let's go' Midway through the flight, the plane unexpectedly begins to plummet out of the sky and crash-lands in the middle of the Kalahari, which Hirsch's character ominously refers to as 'someplace you don't want to be' He then reveals that they had crashed over a big game reserve, populated by various dangerous species of animals, and remarks 'Every second we're exposed out here is life-threatening' The missionary then stares down a pair of hyenas and expresses 'Everything out here is trying to kill us' The smuggler then states that he is 'not going to die like this' before being attacked by a blood-drenched lion, after which the trailer ends Prey was written and directed by Mukunda Michael Dewil, who worked with Phillippe on the 2022 action film Collide. Performers such as Dylan Flashner, Jeremy Tardy and Michaela Sasner round out the cast of the feature Producer Robert Ogden Barnum recently gave a statement to Collider to praise the filmmaker's work on the upcoming film, which he described as a 'visceral experience for moviegoers.' Prey is currently scheduled to be released both in cinemas and on demand on March 15. J. P. Gallagher fired up his keyboard Thursday in response to two separate stimuli this week. Both involved the EPA and Butte. On Monday, EPA announced they had reassigned two key employees who have been involved in shepherding the Butte Priority Soils Operable Unit. One was Nikia Greene, the sites remedial project manager. Then came an ABC News broadcast spotlighting Anacondas ongoing economic and environmental recovery from smelting-related pollution while characterizing Buttes recovery as stalled partly because of EPAs intransigence on lead action levels in soil. Gallagher, chief executive for Butte-Silver Bow County, wrote a similar letter in October, addressing it to Charles Van Otten, an EPA community involvement coordinator based in Colorado. This time, Gallaghers letter was addressed to the top administrator at EPA, Michael Regan. I am writing to bring your attention [to] a matter of great concern regarding the recent news report on ABC News, which highlighted the unequal cleanup efforts in Anaconda and Butte, Montana, Gallagher wrote. He noted that the cleanup standards for the two communities for lead in soils differ dramatically, with the action level being three times higher in Butte than in nearby Anaconda. Yet the cleanup efforts in our community have not received the same attention and resources as Anaconda, Gallagher wrote. His letter cited a recent national announcement by EPA that the agency is lowering lead screening levels but noted we have not received assurance regarding the action level that will be set for lead contamination. Gallagher added, As the lead government official in Butte-Silver Bow Government, I want to make it clear that I will not accept any action level any higher than that of Anaconda. It is crucial that the action level is set at a level that reflects the severity of lead contamination in our community. EPA has justified the higher action level in Butte, which has been 1,200 parts per million compared to Anacondas 400 ppm, by saying the lead from the Anaconda copper smelter is more easily absorbed by the body. Butte-Silver Bow has a long and storied history of mining and smelting which has left a legacy of environmental contamination, Gallagher wrote. The health and well-being of our residents are of utmost importance, and it is crucial that we address the lead levels in our community promptly and comprehensively. EPA said it is replacing Greene with two EPA employees who have been involved in other Superfund sites but not Buttes. People in Greenes camp contend losing his institutional knowledge will be a setback. Others in Butte support the change. Meanwhile, Dana Barnicoat, a community involvement coordinator, also was reassigned. He said he will miss working with people in Butte, where he has family ties. Gallaghers letter to Regan seeks immediate attention and action to the disparities between Butte and Anaconda that were highlighted in the ABC News broadcast. It is essential that the cleanup efforts in Butte-Silver Bow receive equitable consideration and resources, commensurate with the severity of the lead contamination, he wrote. Gallagher proposed a meeting with EPA and officials from Butte-Silver Bow to discuss concerns about lead levels and to get conversations started with the two new remedial project managers, Emma Rott and Molly Roby. The EPAs Taylor Gillespie responded Thursday afternoon to Gallaghers letter. We are reviewing and will work to respond quickly to J.P. and schedule time for a meeting, she said. Jordan North has quit BBC Radio 1's legendary Going Home show after a decade behind the microphone. He is reportedly off to fill the boots of Roman Kemp on Capital Radio's breakfast show, while Jamie Laing is in line to take over at the BBC in the Monday to Thursday, 3.30pm to 6pm slot, next to co-host Vick Hope. Many will also know Jordan as the I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! contestant who went viral for saying that his 'happy place' was Burnley FC's stadium - Turf Moor. The Yorkshire native enjoyed a rapid rise to the prestigious programme, so what has been behind his success? Read on for more about how Jordan went from being a 'supply teacher' of the airwaves to one of the country's best-known voices. Jordan North has quit BBC Radio 1 's legendary Going Home show after a decade behind the microphone He is reportedly off to fill the boots of Roman Kemp on Capital Radio's breakfast show, while Jamie Laing is in line to take over at the BBC in the Monday to Thursday, 3.30pm to 6pm slot, next to co-host Vick Hope Jordan was born in York on Valentine's Day of 1990 and grew up in Burnley, Lancashire, in a military family. His father served in the Queen's Lancashire Regiment until 2006 and his brother Ryan has also been in the armed forces. He began his radio career while studying at the University of Sunderland, appearing on the student radio station before he graduated in 2011 with a first class honours in Media Production. Before finishing uni, Jordan entered a Bauer Radio competition for fresh talent, and managed to win a regular Sunday show on The Hits Radio - based in Manchester. While in that role he continued to do work for a number of other Lancastrian stations. After a few years, he landed ta job at the BBC as a researcher for 5 Live, and also began working as a presenter for Capital Manchester and Rock FM. That 5 Live job got Jordan in the frame for cover presenting shifts on Radio 1 from 2014, and by From 2014 Jordan began working as a cover presenter for Radio 1, filling in for other presenters, including Matt Edmundson in the following few years. He landed his first permanent slot - Radio 1's Sunday mornings Greatest Hits show - in 2018 and he moved to the 11am to 1pm weekend slot in September 2020. Also in 2018, Jordan launched the Help I Sexted My Boss podcast with his friend William Hanson. But he became a much more prominent household name on his run to becoming runner-up on series 20 of I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! a few months after his Radio 1 promotion. In 2018, Jordan launched the Help I Sexted My Boss podcast with his friend William Hanson (right) Many Brits will know Jordan for his endearing 2020 appearance on I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here Jordan was not in the original roster of celebs, filling in for a late dropout, but ended up charming viewers. Since then, Jordan became much more prominent on Radio 1, covering more for the likes of Scott Mills and Nick Grimshaw, leading to him proudly naming himself the station's 'supply teacher'. He eventually took over from Grimshaw as the drive time presenter with fellow new co-host Vick Hope in September 2021. When the news was made public, Jordan said in a statement: 'I am absolutely chuffed to be making the move over to Radio 1 daytime and even happier to be working alongside Vick. 'Grimmy is a Radio 1 legend so we definitely have big shoes to fill but will work extremely hard to make sure afternoons on Radio 1 still sound superb. 'I am super excited to get started and look forward to this next chapter with Vick and the rest of my Radio 1 family.' Two and a half years of success later, Jordan looks to be bringing his decade-long association with the BBC to an end. In the original announcement post, bosses penned: 'Radio 1 will be saying goodbye to Jordan North. Jordan has been behind some of the most hilarious and entertaining moments on air over the years, and has been a constant source of inspiration'. Lily Collins did her best to stay warm while filming on a chilly day in Paris. The Emily in Paris star was spotted shooting a scene with co-star Ashley Park, 32, who has recovered following an near fatal sepsis infection. Lily, 34, was costumed Friday in a bright yellow ensemble featuring a black and yellow striped mini-skirt, a yellow top and oversized leather jacket. She carried a bright yellow handbag with long, dangling fringe. The Emmy nominee's long, dark hair was styled in a twisted ponytail held together with a gold clasp and wore camera-ready natural looking makeup with bright red lip. Lily Collins, 34, tried to stay warm while shooting Emily in Paris Friday Ashley, 32, was decked out in a purple mini-dress with long sleeves. The frock was complemented with a elastic belt featuring a turquoise and purple buckle. The Mean Girls actress was accessorized with a butterfly necklace and dangling earrings. She carried a beaded purple, blue and black purse. Ashley's long dark hair was styled in loose waves, and she too wore natural looking camera-ready makeup. When the scene called for full-body shots, the pair wore stylish footwear. Lily stepped out in yellow and black knee socks with yellow high heel sandals. Ashley wore shiny purple over-the-knee high heel boots. When they were shooting scenes that did not involve the full ensemble, both women quickly switched to more comfortable insulated boots to keep their feet warm. Crew members worked to keep Lily and co-star Ashley Park warm between takes. Temperatures in Paris Friday were in the low 50s The scene called for Lily to wear yellow and black knee socks with yellow high heel sandals while Ashley wore shiny purple over-the-knee high heel boots. When the shot angle changed, both women quickly switched to more comfortable insulated boots to keep their feet warm Lily, 34, was costumed Friday in a bright yellow ensemble featuring a black and yellow striped mini-skirt, a yellow top and oversized leather jacket. Lily carried a bright yellow handbag with long, dangling fringe Ashley, 32, was decked out in a purple mini-dress with long sleeves. The frock was complemented with a elastic belt featuring a turquoise and purple buckle. The actress carried a beaded purple, blue and black purse Temperatures in the City of Lights hovered in the low fifties. Crew members could be seen using big coats to keep the two shivering stars warm between takes. Ashley returned to the set after being given the all-clear by her doctors. 'First day back to work,' she wrote on social media Monday. 'Takin it slow, steady, and stylin in Mindys shoes again.' The two actresses appear to be close friends on and off the camera. On Valentine's Day, Lily not only sent her love to her husband of two years, Charlie McDowell, 40, but a sweet missive to Ashley as well, posting a photo and video montage for her bon ami. 'Love you and SO truly grateful for you @ashleyparklady and our countless adventures and laughs' she wrote. Production on the popular Netflix romantic comedy which features tons of enviable fashions began in January. The streamer has yet to announce when Season Four will be released, but Lily gave a few hints about what will happen in a teaser released on YouTube. Ashley, returned to the set after being given the all-clear from her doctors following a near-fatal sepsis infection 'First day back to work,' she wrote on social media Monday. 'Takin it slow, steady, and stylin in Mindys shoes again' Season Three of Emily In Paris ended on a cliffhanger in which Lucas Bravo's Gabriel was left at the alter by Camille Razat's Camille, only to discover Gabriel will soon become a dad. Emily and Gabriel have been locked in a 'will they or won't they' tug of war since Season one Lily hinted in a teaser video that some changes were coming for her character. 'While Emily's heart will always remain true to Paris,' she explained, 'her life takes some unexpected twists this season. Don't be surprised to find her on a Roman Holiday' 'It's safe to say we ended on a dramatic note last season,' she said referring to the cliffhanger ending in which Lucas Bravo's Gabriel was left at the alter by Camille Razat's Camille, only to discover Gabriel will soon become a dad. Emily and Gabriel have been locked in a 'will they or won't they' tug of war since Season one. The star gave a few hints at what the future holds for the American marketing executive living in Paris. 'We have more fun, more fashion, and of course, more drama in store for you all,' she said. 'Emily is gonna have to decide if everything she's ever wanted is really what she needs.' 'And while Emily's heart will always remain true to Paris,' she explained, 'her life takes some unexpected twists this season. Don't be surprised to find her on a Roman Holiday.' Katie Price has been accused of secretly texting ex Carl Woods just hours before jetting off on a romantic Bulgarian ski trip with MAFS UK's JJ Slater on Friday. The former glamour model, 45, who 'confirmed' her romance with the 31-year-old earlier this month and hit the sloped in in a colourful snow suit. Meanwhile John Joe, 31 - known as JJ - opted for a grey padded jacket and trousers for the couple's first trip together. However Carl, 35, who had been in an on/off relationship with Katie since 2021, shared a screenshot of a text he claimed was from Katie, sent shortly before her trip. The single X appeared to be a kiss, with a confused Carl replying: 'A kiss, you fry my brain'. Katie Price, 45, has been accused of secretly texting ex Carl Woods just hours before jetting off on a romantic Bulgarian ski trip with MAFS UK 's JJ Slater, 31, on Friday The former glamour model who 'confirmed' her romance with the 31-year-old earlier this month and hit the sloped in in a colourful snow suit Carl, 35, who had been in an on/off relationship with Katie since 2021, shared a screenshot of a text he claimed was from Katie, sent shortly before her trip Before adding: 'Why send me an X last night, knowing you're going to the airport with him on my birthday?'. Carl tagged JJ in the post and wrote: 'She used to do this behind my back to. Enjoy the skiing bro'. He later shared another post claiming he had returned Katie's Range Rover to her mucky mansion after 'she asked him to hide it from the bailiffs'. MailOnline have contacted Katie's reps for comment. Bankrupt Katie is due in court next month due to 760,000 in unpaid taxes as well as 250,000 compensation owed to ex Alex Reid - resulting in bailiffs visiting her home. In 2019, the former cage fighter, 48, who was married to Katie for two years between 2010 and 2012, won a legal case and 250,000 after the former Loose Woman allegedly leaked an explicit sex tape and photos of him. Taking to Instagram Carl wrote: '@Katieprice I delivered your pink range rover today that you hide from bankruptcy and you owe me money on. 'By the way it's a gift from me while you mug bankruptcy off. Don't text me no more please.' Katie was all smiles as she made her way along the trail and despite being so far away from home was spotted by a fan and stopped for a selfie Katie and Carl have been in a turbulent relationship since July 2020, they were last seen together on December 21 He later shared another post claiming he had returned Katie's Range Rover to her mucky mansion after 'she asked him to hide it from the bailiffs' Carl then wrote that Katie should be 'taken down' Before adding: 'Let @johnjoeslater pay your bills, It's on her drive. Maybe her family hide it. Who knows? Bird paid for it in cash.......' Earlier this month Katie made a dig at her 'underserving' exes amid her recent confirmed split from Carl. Katie had spoken of marrying and starting a family with Carl many times in recent years but she announced she had split from him as she took to social media while seeing the New Year in with her pal Kerry Katona. Taking to her Instagram story, the post read: 'Girl, look at you. Everything that's happened in your life, you've handled it like a boss. 'You work hard, you are strong, you are ambitious, you are resilient. You are genuine and loyal. Anyone who doesn't value what you bring to the table, doesn't deserve you. You are a Queen.' As well as her recent split from Carl after the pair's on-off relationship, Katie also has three ex-husbands, Peter Andre, Alex Reid and Kieran Hayler. The mother-of-five shares her eldest son Harvey, 21, with Dwight Yorke, Junior, 18, and Princess, 16, with Peter, and Jett, nine, and Bunny, eight, with Kieran. HMRC claim Katie owes thousands in unpaid tax, VAT and late payment penalties Earlier this month Katie made a dig at her 'underserving' exes amid her recent confirmed split from Carl (pictured with JJ earlier this month) Katie had spoken of marrying and starting a family with Carl (pictured) many times in recent years but she announced she had split from him as she took to social media while seeing the New Year in with her pal Kerry Katona Yet despite her post, Katie seems to be moving on with new flame JJ as they got up close and personal while heading for a meal at IRMAS Restaurant in Southend on Sea on the beachfront. The duo looked every inch the happy couple as they walked arm in arm, with Katie flashing her tattooed stomach in a crop top and combat trousers. JJ could not stop beaming as he strutted along with the showbiz veteran, following the shocking news that his co-star ex Ella Morgan blasted Katie for 'breaking girl code' by hooking up with the star. After pictures emerged of the Katie and JJ looking close, sources close to Ella, 29, say the reality star, who is transgender, is furious and feels 'betrayed' as she had become good friends with Katie. Insiders told The Sun: 'Ella is fuming and feels really betrayed by Katie for talking to her ex JJ. Ella and Katie have become friends over recent months... Taking to her Instagram story, the post read: ' Girl, look at you. Everything that's happened in your life, you've handled it like a boss JJ's co-star ex Ella Morgan blasted Katie for 'breaking girl code' by hooking up with the star as sources close to Ella, 29, say the reality star, who is transgender , is furious and feels 'betrayed' as she had become good friends with Katie 'So it surprised her that Katie would do that. She doesnt have any feelings for JJ, shes just livid that Katie went behind her back and broke girl code.' John, also known as JJ, is said to have caught Katie's eye when they met following his appearance on the most recent series of MAFS UK last year. A source previously told The Sun: 'They've met a few times and are texting each other constantly. She's really into him - this is the first man she's actually been interested in since Carl.' Katie made the surprise announcement she was single in a New Year's video. She was last spotted with Carl on December 21 last year as they stepped out arm in arm together after her pantomime performance of Sleeping Beauty in Liverpool. Katie and Carl previously split towards the end of November and unfollowed each other on Instagram but appeared to have reconciled for the Liverpool outing before going their separate ways once again. Days later, Carl took a swipe at his ex-fiancee Katie Price as he posed while embracing a mystery woman's legs, adorned with a tattoo reading 'Game Over'. Naomi Campbell has unveiled plans to launch a talent management firm in Dubai with PrettyLittleThing boss Umar Kamani. The supermodel, 53, and the businessman, 35, will draw on their unparalleled access to A-list talent to build a firm that will reach from the Middle East and throughout the rest of the world. While the name of the agency is yet to be revealed, they hope to nurture the relationships with their clients into long-standing professional partnerships. Umar told Arabian Business: 'Myself and Naomi are in the process now of starting a talent management company. 'We feel there is an opportunity to bridge some gaps in the current talent management world. Naomi Campbell has unveiled plans to launch a talent management firm in Dubai with PrettyLittleThing boss Umar Kamani (pictured) It comes after it emerged Naomi has designed a clothing line based on her 'germaphobic' reputation 'Countries in the Middle East are aggressively pursuing talent and signing them to big deals, but sometimes it feels very transactional. 'The talent comes in just for the money and leaves without truly experiencing the culture.' It comes after it emerged Naomi has designed a clothing line based on her 'germaphobic' reputation. The fashionista has made the collection with German label Boss and said it features 'anti-bacterial properties' and is also 'anti-stress'. The line also features a compression suit to prevent blood clots while flying - which comes after Naomi famously wore a hazmat suit on a plane near the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic. Speaking about the collection, she said: 'This collection is designed to empower women to embrace every moment with style and grace. It's about creating fashion that complements her dynamic lifestyle, making her feel like she can take on the world, one stylish step at a time. 'Today's woman has a million things on her plate, and the last thing she needs to worry about is her outfit, especially when on the go. We've incorporated technology into the fabric to make life a bit easier. 'Everyone knows I'm a bit of a germaphobe, so of course we've added antibacterial properties to ensure freshness and cleanliness.' The model has long had a fear of germs and previously shared her plane hygiene routine with fans in a YouTube video The star also said the collection has an 'anti-crease' feature to prevent wrinkles forming in the fabric. In addition, Naomi claims her tracksuit set features a 'special print' that promotes 'zen and balance' for those who wear it. Naomi said the compression suit is her favourite garment. Despite insisting it helps prevent blood clots, Boss clarified 'it is not medical compression'. The model has long had a fear of germs and previously shared her plane hygiene routine with fans in a YouTube video. 'I love traveling. I was born traveling,' Naomi told the camera in the clip. 'I love being everywhere but yet nowhere at the same time.' After boarding a plane, she busted out a pair of gloves and cleansed the area around her seat everything from the table and TV screen to the headrest, seatbelt, and the back of the seat in front. Naomi has made the collection with German label Boss and said it features 'anti-bacterial properties' and is also 'anti-stress' 'Clean everything you touch,' she advised. 'Anything you could possibly touch. 'This is what I do on every plane I get on. I do not care what people think of me. It's my health and it makes me feel better.' She also brought her own seat cover, which she gets hand-washed at her hotel, and masks up to 'protect' herself. 'No matter what plane you take, private or commercial, people start coughing and sneezing and it makes me . . . I just can't.' Sir David Jason has signed up to appear on National Geographic motoring show Car SOS. The actor, 84, will appear alongside hosts Tim Shaw and Fuzz Townshend for a special episode of the programme as he has a hand in repairing an old vehicle. Only Fools and Horses star David will be seen fixing up a Datsun 240k Skyline as a surprise for someone, with the episode set to air on March 7. A source told the Daily Star: 'David is going to be a special guest on the new series. It's a big deal to have him on the show because he's such a legend. 'Producers were absolutely thrilled when he agreed to take part.' Sir David Jason has signed up to appear on National Geographic motoring show Car SOS (Sir David pictured in January last year) The actor, 84, will appear alongside hosts Tim Shaw and Fuzz Townshend (pictured) for a special episode of the programme as he has a hand in repairing an old vehicle Only Fools and Horses star David will be seen fixing up a Datsun 240k Skyline as a surprise for someone, with the episode set to air on March 7 (Tim Shaw and Fuzz Townshend pictured) The insider added: 'David is one of the nation's most popular stars, so getting him involved is bound to boost viewing figures.' Sir David said Only Fools and Horses producers were left 'quaking in their boots' after co-star Nicholas Lyndhurst claimed he could no longer work with him. The British actor played street-savvy market trader Derek 'Del Boy' Trotter alongside Lyndhurst as his slow-witted younger brother Rodney for 22-years before the legendary sitcom aired its final episode in 2003. And Sir David has since given loyal fans an insight into life on set by revealing an offscreen row with close friend Lyndhurst, 62, staged to pass the time as they whiled away the hours between takes. He told The Mirror: 'One day, Nick and I were in our very small caravan on location. We were all fed up because nothing was happening so Nick and I said "Why don't we stage a huge row and you can storm out and say you're leaving and I can shout at you saying don't you ever come back again?" 'The whole crew went stiff. Five minutes went by and the producer and director came to see me and they were quaking in their boots. 'They asked what's going on and I told them to go see Nick. When they got to him, I couldn't contain myself any longer and roared with laughter.' He added: 'They went from white to purple in their faces. I don't think the producer was much impressed.' Sir David Jason says Only Fools And Horses producers were left 'quaking in their boots' after co-star Nicholas Lyndhurst claimed he could no longer work with him The British actor played street-savvy market trader Derek 'Del Boy' Trotter alongside Lyndhurst as his slow-witted younger brother Rodney for 22-years (pictured with Buster Merryfield) Sir David recently admitted he would love to see the sitcom return to screens and said he would take on the role of Derek Trotter once again. But despite his enthusiasm, he admitted a reboot would be unlikely after the main writer of the hit TV series, John Sullivan, tragically passed away in 2011. He told The Sun: 'Well, to be honest with you, we would like that to happen very much because not only did we enjoy it so much, but so did most of the British public. Because of that, we would love to do it. 'I dont think we could do another episode of Only Fools And Horses because the brains behind it, Mr. John Sullivan, is unfortunately no longer with us.' Beloved actor Roger Lloyd Pack, who played Trigger, also sadly passed away in January 2014, while John Challis who played Boycie, died in September 2021. It comes after Sir David sent fans wild when he attended a recent Only Fools And Horses convention following a recent hip surgery. The convention had been scheduled to take place in October last year but was postponed so the actor could have what he described as a 'bionic body part fitted'. He joked he didn't want to specify exactly what surgery he was heading for as it might make his fans 'all want one'. Confirming its postponement in a social media message at the time, he wrote : 'I am so very sorry for the disappointment and all the inconvenience it may cause but we are having to change the date of the forthcoming Only Fools and Horses Convention. 'Unfortunately, I have just been advised I need a new bionic body part fitted. I won't tell you which part it is, or you will all want one! Sir David has since given loyal fans an insight into life on set by revealing an offscreen row with close friend Lyndhurst, staged to pass the time as they whiled away the hours between takes The actor recently admitted he would love to see the sitcom return to screens and said he would take on the role of Derek Trotter once again 'And don't worry it's not being supplied by Monkey Harris, it'll be the pukka gear.' He: 'I really hope everyone will be able to make the new date January 13th and 14th. We can all have something cushty to look forward to! 'These events are such an enjoyable celebration for myself and the rest of the 'Only Fools' cast, and it is such a privilege to meet so many of you, but I want to do it with the smile on my face I always have had.' Sir David signed off his statement: 'Once again, please accept my sincere apologies as it was not a decision I took at all lightly and I hope that you understand my situation. All cushty wishes until then.' Cat Deeley and Ben Shephard have broken their silencer after being unveiled as the new hosts of This Morning. The pair, aged 47 and 49 respectively, have been locked in talks for some months following the exit of Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield and are now set to make their debut next month following the news. The news was confirmed via a bespoke promo on This Morning's Twitter on Friday, showing Ben walking down the familiar This Morning production corridor and placing a new photo of Cat on the wall, before turning to the camera as the photo came to life. Cat's This Morning job will see the star reportedly lose her long-time role on So You Think You Can Dance in the US, where she was reportedly paid 43k an episode - instead opting for the role on This Morning with a reported 550k annual salary. Now the pair have spoken out about their new roles on the show, with the pair revealing what they are looking forward to most. Cat Deeley and Ben Shephard have broken their silencer after being unveiled as the new hosts of This Morning (Cat pictured on This Morning in November last year) The news was confirmed on This Morning's Twitter on Friday, showing Ben walking down the familiar This Morning production corridor and placing a new photo of Cat on the wall (pictured) Cat said: 'This Morning is a national institution. Whenever its on its like having your friends over, funny, smart, silly, heartfelt, informative and joyful - like all the greatest friendships! While Ben, who is a regular on Good Morning Britain which airs each day before This Morning, said: 'There is so much! Not having to get up so early and to be able to have a lie in is quite high up there. 'But seriously it has to be the people. From the team to the guests to, of course, Cat - its all about the people. 'Ive worked with many of the team on and off but to work with them full time is very exciting.' However, Ben admits it will be tough to leave Good Morning Britain, and he will miss working alongside Kate Garraway, who recently returned to work after the devastating death of her husband Derek Draper. 'Ive loved hosting Good Morning Britain over the past 10 years since it launched,' he said. 'When I left GMTV, I always swore Id never go back because of the early mornings and it goes to show how wrong I was. 'Im grateful that my extended GMB family is only next door so that whenever I get nostalgic, I know Im not going to being far away. Although Ill miss being on screen with them, my later starts mean I may be able to hang out with them all a bit more! 'One of the hardest decisions of course is knowing that my mornings with Kate, my on-screen wife of nearly 20 years, is coming to an end. Cat Deeley and Ben Shephard have been unveiled as the new hosts of This Morning, ITV revealed on Friday, with a teaser clip showing their images been erected in the ITV corridors Cat and Ben have been the subject of whispers for some time The presenters, 42 and 61, both left the ITV daytime show last year and since there has been a rotating group of stars at the helm 'Her journey has been well documented, and I think we would all agree how remarkable she has been over the last four years. 'I wont miss the mess but Ive learned so much from her, as I have from all of the people Ive been lucky enough to work alongside.' On what This Morning means to him, Ben went on: 'Like so many people, This Morning is the programme I grew up watching when Richard and Judy used to host it two icons on the daytime sofa. 'I first got to host the show with the lovely Fern Britton. I was a last-minute call up and I remember sitting on the bus on the way home, daydreaming about the fact Id just hosted it and what a moment that was for me. 'I vividly remember driving over Blackfriars Bridge, being on the top of the 63 bus and looking down at the river, daydreaming, and thinking, "Crikey I just hosted This Morning". 'Now, here I am 20 years later and Im going to be doing it every day. 'That means a lot. I understand how important it is as a show to our viewers they are an integral part. Every time Ive stepped in to host the show, something extraordinary happens. The engagement from the viewers is like nothing else. 'Viewers watch the show in a very different way they sit down with a cup of tea and enjoy every bit of it. They are engaged with debates, they love the cooking items, they really enjoy the human interest stories, which is a really important part of the show its a very present audience.' Ben admits it will be tough to leave Good Morning Britain, and he will miss working alongside Kate Garraway (pictured) Former lobbyist Derek Draper, 56, faced devastating health complications after his body was ravaged by coronavirus three years ago - pictured here with his wife Kate Garraway in 2019 Cat said: 'I cant wait to be a part of the team, from the crew and producers, to the brilliant presenters. Ive been hosting solo for the past few years and Ive really missed that sense of camaraderie, it will be great to be a part of such an incredible team.' Ben is looking forward to working with Cat who he will quiz on her time hosting in America. 'Its always really exciting when you start working with somebody new.' he explained. 'Cat has extraordinary experience from working in America on some incredible shows so Ill be getting all the inside info on how things work on the other side of the Atlantic.' Cat said: 'Ben is a true gentleman, an incredible presenter and a great journalist. No one handles live TV better; he makes it look effortless. Hes funny and whip smart, I cant wait to go to work every day and do a job I love.' It had been claimed that Cat was finally won round for This Morning after bosses offered her a more lucrative deal, but insiders at ITV denied the claims - insisting it was the ability to spend more time family, over a big money payday, that finally led to her decision. Alison Hammond and Dermot O'Leary discussed the news on Friday, showing a throwback snap of Dermot, Andi Peters and Ben. Dermot joked: 'Ben at T4 that's actually from last week!', while Alison replied: 'Look at Andi Peters!' Moving on to Cat, Dermot said: I've known Cat for so long', while Alison revealed she first met Cat at a party in Los Angeles about four years ago and they bonded over both being from Birmingham. Alison Hammond and Dermot O'Leary (pictured) discussed the news of the news hosts on Friday She told Dermot: 'I met her in LA. We're both Brummies. I met her about four years ago, we met in LA at a party. We are so so happy they are joining the family Ben and Cat. This is going to be so, so nice.' Dermot said: 'The secret is out!', while Alison revealed: 'They are joining us in March.' This Morning's Editor, Martin Frizell said: 'The team and I have relished the opportunity to try new things these past few months and remind viewers what a massively talented team both on and off screen we have here at This Morning... 'We can't wait to welcome Ben and Cat fully into the fold next month and witness the start of another exciting chapter in the show's 35 year journey.' Managing Director, ITV Studios Daytime, Emma Gormley added: 'I feel immensely proud of everyone working on This Morning - for a programme that has evolved many times over the last 35 years, it remains just as relevant and exciting as ever... 'We are thrilled to have Ben and Cat as our new This Morning hosts and cannot wait to see them on that famous sofa together soon.' Sources at the channel say that they are 'thrilled' at the signing of the pair after 'so many obstacles had to be negotiated to get there,' according to one source. Their appointment will be discussed on Friday's episode of This Morning. The Mail first revealed that the duo were top of the list but in December Cat turned down the role because she wasn't able to commit the time to the programme. This Morning's new permanent host Cat was said to be in a stand-off with ITV bosses over her new post and her long-time role on So You Think You Can Dance (pictured on the show in November last year) On Thursday, insiders revealed Cat and Ben had scooped the coveted roles of permanent hosts in the wake of stalwart stars Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield 's departure last year (Ben pictured on the show in September last year) However, after further negotiations and the offer of more money, she agreed. One source said: 'Cat was the one they wanted all along and finally they have her. It is incredible news for them.' After whispers began last month, many questioned how she would sustain her long-standing role as host of US show So You Think You Can Dance, which she has presented since the second season in 2006. Sources claimed she would not receive any special treatment regarding leave to jet to the US to continue her 43k-per-episode job - meaning Friday's announcement appears to confirm she has chosen the UK over her US stardom. Cat's husband Patrick, with whom she shares two children, is the host of Ireland's The Late Late Show and her role on This Morning would bring her closer geographically to her husband rather than her US job. It's possible the reason for the sudden U-turn was financial, with Cat set to nab a bumper payday as the new host. When reports of her joining the show first emerged last year it was claimed she and Ben would receive an annual salary of 555,000. While hefty, the salary still paled in comparison to former hosts Holly and Phil, who were said to have been paid 700,000 annually for their role. However, Cat isn't short of cash as she currently earns at least 344,000 a season hosting So You Think You Can Dance in the States, where she is said to be paid 43,000 an episode. Cat isn't short of cash as she currently earns at least 344,000 a season hosting So You Think You Can Dance in the States, where she is said to be paid 43,000 an episode. The new series is set to air in March and Cat has been dividing her time between the States and the UK for filming. Tongues were wagging over what she would do about her This Morning contract - and how it would either allow her to continue juggling her LA gig. If she does decide to keep both jobs it won't be for financial reasons, however, as brand and culture expert Nick Ede revealed she could double her This Morning salary with brand deals online. Nick told MailOnline: 'Cat is popular in the style stakes and I can see her making a lot of money partnering with brands like John Lewis and M&S who will be vying for her to wear their items. 'She could earn over 200,000 from fashion collabs and she also has her own fragrance which I am sure will fly off the shelves. 'I can also see her potentially collaborating with a brand like Charlotte Tilbury or L'Oreal and for these she could earn a cool 250,000. 'Cat is the perfect presenter for This Morning. She has a big fanbase of people who grew up with her on a Saturday morning and she's always been a safe pair of hands. 'She has a great reputation for being lots of fun but she can also balance difficult discussion points too which is why she will make a winning pairing with Ben. 'What's also really great for a brand about Cat is that she has a big appeal in the USA as the host of the hit show So You Think You Dance so if they are looking to expand or create brand deals in the UK and US she's the perfect person to do it.' It comes after it was revealed that Cat was in a stand-off with ITV bosses over her new post and her long-time role on So You Think You Can Dance. Last month, insiders revealed Cat and Ben had scooped the coveted roles of permanent hosts in the wake of stalwart stars Holly and Phil leaving. It was claimed that Cat wanted Rylan Clark as a co-host rather than Ben and will 'not receive special treatment' to permit her Monday to Thursday role on This Morning and continue her 344k-a season role on the American dance show It was alleged that Cat wanted Rylan Clark as a co-host rather than Ben and will 'not receive special treatment' to permit her Monday to Thursday role on This Morning and continue her 344k-a season role on the American dance show. Sources revealed: 'Cat will not get any special treatment... She will absolutely not be given time off to film the next series of So You Think You Can Dance. So she has to make that decision, it's one or the other, end of.' Cat is said to have 'really wanted the job' but had concerns over her husband Patrick Kielty's commitments in Ireland and how they would juggle the jobs. The insider continued: 'Cat told friends that she wanted the job, if 'she could make it work.' However, she also feared that Patrick's commitments in Ireland made things very tricky for her to take the job. She also really, really wanted to do it with Rylan.' It comes after Holly left the show last October 'for the sake of her family' after discovering she was the target of a foiled kidnap and murder plot and has since not been replaced permanently. It came five months after Phillip's departure after his affair with a younger showrunner was made public, followed by claims of an increasingly strained relationship with his co-host. Phillip has bowed out of the spotlight in recent months since his affair scandal in May, which led to his departure from This Morning after over 20 years on the show. After much speculation about his private life, his affair finally went public and he admitted he had been left 'broken and ashamed' but insisted he was not a groomer. He said the affair 'never came across' as an abuse of power because he and his lover were 'mates'. He told The Sun: 'I was unprofessional, one time, in a 41-year career. There is no excuse. No one did anything wrong apart from me.' In his first interview since leaving the broadcaster and This Morning, the 61-year-old presenter said: 'I did not, I did not [groom him]. 'There are accusations of all sorts of things. It never came across that way because we'd become mates. I don't know about that. But of course I understand that there will be a massive judgment, but bearing in mind, I have never exercised that.' At the time, Phillip offered a number of apologies, including to his co-presenter of 14 years Holly and his wife of 30 years, Stephanie Lowe. Maya Jama made the most of a fleeting trip back home as she attended London Fashion Week ahead of the Love Island: All Stars final in South Africa on Monday. The presenter, 29, stunned on the first day of LFW on Friday, having made the long haul flight just days before the current series of Love Island ends. Maya stunned at the Chet Lo show, and was completely covered up in a long-sleeved, floor length black dress. The dress was covered in soft spikes and fitted the star perfectly, showcasing her famous hourglass figure. Her look was complete with a pair of pointy black heels and the red scrunchie Maya held made a stark contrast to her outfit. Maya Jama, 29, made a fleeting trip back home for London Fashion Week as she attended the Chet Lo show on Friday The presenter stunned at the first day, making the long haul flight just days before the current series of Love Island ends Maya stunned at the Chet Lo show, completely covered up in a long-sleeved, floor length black dress Her Charles & Keith shoes and bag were finally visible when Maya sat down with drag queen Bimini who stunned in a semi-sheer black body suit and blonde bouffant hair. The man of the hour Chet Lo ran down the runway to the crowd's delight - wearing a jumper in the same material as Maya's dress. Chet is an Asian American designer, gradating from Central Saint Martins BA Knitwear course only in 2020. Also in attendance was filmmaker and model Betty Bachz who posed with Bee Beardsworth, an editorial director. Maya has been seizing the opportunity to catch up with boyfriend Stormzy with the two enjoying a romantic date earlier in the week. It was a brief trip home amid claims Love Island bosses banned her from leaving South Africa during filming. Last year, Maya and her 'glam squad' made a 12,000-mile round trip to host just ten minutes of Love Island despite ITV lecturing its viewers about cutting their carbon footprint. This year the channel was said to have changed its format so Maya was banned from returning to the UK from the Cape Town set in between episodes. However, a source denied that this was the case for Maya, telling MailOnline that Maya was free to travel and had told production of her plans. The dress was covered in soft spikes and fitted the star perfectly, showcasing her famous hourglass figure Her look was complete with a pair of pointy black heels and the red scrunchie Maya held made a stark contrast to her outfit Her Charles & Keith shoes and bag were finally visible when Maya sat down with drag queen Bimini who stunned in a semi-sheer black body suit and blonde bouffant hair (L to R) Maya Jama, Bimini Bon Boulash, Sim0ne Murphy and Rahi Chadda all sitting in the front row A source told The Daily Mail: 'ITV was mortified when it became apparent Maya had been jetting across the globe with her hairdresser, make-up artist and stylist. 'This year there is absolutely no chance of her being able to go anywhere.' Maya is due back in South Africa on Monday night for the first-ever Love Island: All Stars finale. Love Island kicked off on January 15 and now only six couples remain to battle it out for the 50,000 prize. The man of the hour Chet Lo ran down the runway to the crowd's delight - wearing a jumper of the same material as Maya's dress Also there was filmmaker and model Betty Bachz who posed with Bee Beardsworth, an editorial director Lok Adalat on Power theft settlement on Sunday Pioneer News Service: A Lok Adalat of TPDDL discom for mutually agreed settlement of power theft cases will be held at Venkateshwar Global School in Rohini Sector 13 on February 18 from 10 am to 4 pm, a spokesperson of the company said on Friday. The Tata Power Delhi Distribution Limited (TPDDL), which supplies electricity in North Delhi, is holding the Lok Adalat in association with Delhi State Legal Services Authority. The litigant consumers can take part in the court proceedings by dialling the number 19124 or the official mail of the discom- eac.Care@tatapower-ddl.Com. They need to carry their photo IDs and a copy of their theft bill for the settlement of cases, he said. Hi tech refrigeration solutions Pioneer News Service: Aligning with the Make in India initiative, WIKA India, a leading global measurement technology company, showcased its technologically advanced HVAC and refrigeration solutions, from intelligent monitoring systems to energy-efficient controls addressing the pressing need of efficient and sustainable solutions during the three-day ACREX India 2024 held at Greater Noida. These solutions have been designed to cater to the global and national demands for a wide range of industries seamlessly. WIPPA celebrates Foundation Day New Delhi: New Delhi: The Wind Independent Power Producers Association (WIPPA) celebrated its 11th Foundation Day Conference on Friday in New Delhi. As WIPPA continues to play a pivotal role in fostering collaboration between wind energy developers, Independent Power Producers, and Government stakeholders to fortify Indias wind sector, the event brought together distinguished RE industry stakeholders, including BS Bhalla, Secretary of Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, senior government officials, and leaders from the wind industry. A Broadwater County judge ruled this week in favor of a small coalition of landowners and water rights holders who challenged a subdivision proposed for an area already grappling with water supply and quality issues. In a sprawling, 85-page order, Broadwater County District Court Judge Michael McMahon chastised the Broadwater County Commission for authorizing preliminary plat approval of the Horse Creek Hills subdivision near Canyon Ferry, despite an abjectly deficient environmental assessment that failed to take into account impacts to water quantity, water quality, public safety and wildlife. McMahon offered similarly sharp language for another defendant, the Department of Natural Resources, accusing the state agency of demonstrating hostility toward a 2009 Montana Supreme Court decision that narrowed a 51-year-old loophole that allows a landowner to develop groundwater without demonstrating there will be no adverse impacts to those who hold existing water rights. Developers have been using that loophole with increasing frequency to facilitate low-density development in areas of Montana lacking unallocated surface water rights. McMahon wrote in the order that by issuing four letters to the project developers preemptively authorizing four exempt wells instead of a single one, DNRC had relied on departmental guidance that was wrong and contrary to the states highest courts 2009 ruling in the case Clark Fork Coalition v. Tubbs. He accused the agency of torturously misreading its own rules. DNRC blatantly ignores a recent Supreme Court holding, which the letter demonstrates that DNRC understands, to conclude that each of the four phases of one larger project are entitled to exempt wells. This is contrary to the administrative rule, statute, the rulings of this and the Montana Supreme Court, and perhaps most troubling, DNRCs own restatement of law in the letters [to the project developer], McMahon wrote. It should give DNRC pause that citizens with seemingly no legal training appear to have a better grasp of the exempt well limits than DNRC, the agency charged with administering the Water Use Act. A spokesperson for the DNRC told Montana Free Press Thursday that the agency is still reviewing the ruling and wont advise its employees of revised guidance until its had an opportunity to further study it. Broadwater County Attorney Cory Swanson said in an email to MTFP that the county is reviewing Judge McMahons ruling and considering our appropriate next steps. MTFP did not receive a response Thursday from 71 Ranch the owner of the Horse Creek Hills property or its attorney, Colleen Coyle. If Horse Creek Hills is eventually developed as imagined, it would include 41 lots, 39 residential and two commercial, spread across a 442-acre parcel of land near where Confederate Creek runs into Canyon Ferry. In a written statement following the ruling Thursday, Vicki Sullivan, one of the Broadwater County residents opposed to the project, accused the county of engaging in a deeply flawed subdivision approval process and condemned DNRC for its dogmatic rubber-stamping of multiple exempt wells. The court order is not only a victory for rural residents on the eastern shore of Canyon Ferry, but it is also a victory for citizens across the state confronted by rampant sprawl development proposals exploiting our water resources, Sullivan said. Montana citizens now have a clear roadmap for holding their local decision-makers and state agencies accountable [by ensuring] they consider public and community comments, proactively identify negative impacts related to new sprawl development, and deny subdivisions that do not have adequate water supplies. Upper Missouri Waterkeeper Executive Director Guy Alsentzer, an attorney who represented the plaintiffs in the lawsuit, described McMahons decision as a landmark ruling that unequivocally establishes local governments duty to take citizen concerns into account when considering new subdivisions. You cant use exempt wells to circumvent sound, science-based planning, Alsentzer told MTFP, adding that Judge McMahon was rightfully frustrated. You shouldnt have to go to court. The county should be doing its job, DNRC should be doing its job and [the Montana Department of Environmental Quality] should be doing its job, he said. Without everyone playing their role, we get gaps. A hearing on the case on Feb. 9 drew considerable interest, with about 40 people crowding into the Broadwater County Courthouse to hear an hour of oral arguments. During the hearing, attorneys for the county and 71 Ranch argued that everything required under the Montana Subdivision and Platting Act had been furnished to and evaluated by the county. The DNRCs attorney argued that any finding against the agency would be premature since it had not and could not issue the exempt well certificates at this stage in the development. DNRC attorney Molly Kennedy also argued that DNRC would have treated the application differently had it been presented as a subdivision planned for a single stage. When the Montana Legislature convenes in Helena every other year, exempt wells are frequently targeted for changes. In 2023, Rep. Casey Knudsen, R-Malta, introduced a bill seeking to widen the exempt well loophole. Like other proposals before it, it hit a headwind of opposition from agricultural producers concerned about impacts on senior water rights holders and conservationists anxious about unchecked groundwater development wreaking havoc on aquatic ecosystems. Since then, a DNRC-convened stakeholder group has met regularly to explore issues related to water rights and groundwater development and to develop proposals to put before state lawmakers ahead of the 2025 legislative session. In a display of interfaith unity, Islam embraced Hinduism as a grand Hindu temple was inaugurated in Abu Dhabi, symbolising a momentous shift in religious dynamics On the Vasant Panchami of the year 2024, on the desert plane of Abu Dhabi, history performed what can arguably be called its first dance in the realm of faith, religion and God. Never before has Islam shaken hands with the idol-worshipping Hindus. The religion of Prophet Mohammad has accepted the Jews and Christians as Ahl-e-Qitab, meaning, People of the Book, whether of the Torah or Bible. Muslims have also obeyed and strictly adhered to the third of Prophet Moses Commandments: Thee shall not make any gravel image of thy Lord the God. That is why idols or statues of any kind were abandoned by all three religions originating from the credo of Prophet Abraham, whose inspiration Prophet Moses followed. No act by their followers to even attempt to have a glimpse of God can ever be countenanced by these faiths. The synagogue, church and mosque have been limited to being only prayer halls, unlike the Hindu temple, which is looked upon as a residence of the divine where the worshipper or follower is free to seek or meet the divine. Ramakrishna Paramahansa, Swami Vivekananda and Maharshi Aurobindo, for example, confessed to having seen the divine. Until now, this has been a fundamental difference between the Hindu and Abrahamic faiths; the latter have preferred to destroy idols rather than allow them to distract the devotion of their adherents. This fundamental gulf of faith explains the catalogue of iconoclasms that litters Indian medieval history. That is why it appears incredible to believe that any human being can achieve two victories in the course of only two yearsthe first at Ayodhya and the other now at Abu Dhabi. Ayodhya represents the correction of the history of iconoclasm while the event at Abu Dhabi reveals the nobility of King Zayed, the monarch of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), in wiping off some of the tears of blood dripping from Hindu eyes, who, over the course of a millennium, lost thousands of their temples to iconoclasm. King Zayed has shown the courage that perhaps no monarch in history has. There have been many kings who have made history, have invented systems and legislated path-breaking laws. It is, however, difficult to think of a monarch who has reversed history and turned his back on the past with such ease. For a thousand years now, Islam has chosen the path of taqlid (orthodoxy)minimal changeand has done its best to avoid ijtihad (reinterpretation)embracing new ways when necessary. The objective was to conserve the strength and unity of Islam and not allow it to dissipate. When it came to numbers, therefore, Islam has been an expanding torrent. What King Zayed has done is to pick up a hitherto untouchable aspect, reinterpretation, and in doing so, has touched the hearts of 140 crore Indians, as Prime Minister Modi has said. How many Muslim hearts might have been irritated by this remains to be seen. But the notes emanating from this seminal event are likely to be less than pleasant to a lot of ears, around the Islamic world. Pockets are easier to open; hearts are far more difficult to persuade, which is what King Zayed has done. He can, however, be sure that most Hindus will pray for his happiness as long as history is written. The opening of the grand Hindu temple in Abu Dhabi also has the potential to trigger schisms in the Abrahamic faith world, particularly Islam. However, this need not be necessarily an unwelcome development. Not only will millions of Hindus flock there, but their inflow will also bring in billions of dollars as revenue from tourism and the business that flows from it. The Muslim world, which has been negligent towards commerce, as Prof. Timur Koran of Duke University has explained, will have a chance to rectify this lacuna. This marvel of sculpture, which is also a live and functioning museum of the most exquisite carvings consecrated by the confluence of the holy waters of the Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswati (represented by white light) specially brought from India is precisely the edifice, platform and opportunity for that. Prime Minister Modis inauguration and worship of this sprawling and breathtaking Hindu temple at Abu Dhabi is in a sense, not only the rise of Sanatana Dharma in the desert but also a reversal of centuries of crusades and Ghaznavism. The temple, which of course has the icons of deities, is also rich with carvings, sculpted images and bass reliefs, including those of animals and birds; one could also liken it to a veritable museum-cum-zoo of stone. Most important though, is our Prime Ministers centrality in the act of worship through his performance of the main aarti in the temples sanctum sanctorum. Modi is a practising and worshipping Hindu, something that comes through clearly, whether at Kathmandu, Varanasi, Ayodhya, Rameshwaram or Abu Dhabi. Bhakti is visible and convincing only when it emanates from the heart; otherwise, it is nothing but the enactment of a ritual without devotion. In Modis case, it is a phenomenon that needs no evidence or convincing, a fact I have been fortunate to witness first-hand in my own humble dwelling when a much younger Modi had graced an occasion where holy figures were present. (The writer is a well-known columnist, an author and a former member of the Rajya Sabha. The views expressed are personal) The Agriculture Infrastructure Fund aims to improve Indias agricultural infrastructure by providing incentives and financial support for medium to long-erm debt financing India's agriculture sector, a cornerstone of its economy, affects the livelihoods of over 55% of its population, making it pivotal for national socio-economic development. Despite being the world's second-largest agricultural producer after China, the sector has faced challenges, particularly in post-harvest management and market accessibility. Recognizing these challenges, the Indian government, under the leadership of Hon. Prime Minister Modi, launched the Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF) in July 2020, aiming to revolutionize the sector by enhancing infrastructure, reducing losses, and promoting innovation. The objectives of the AIF scheme were clear and compelling: to mobilize medium to long-term debt financing, to enhance farm gate infrastructure, to diminish post-harvest losses, and to drive investment and innovation in the agriculture and allied sectors. The AIF was not just an investment; it was a commitment to change. With a targeted sanction and disbursement spanning from FY 2020-21 to FY 2025-26, the scheme was designed to offer a blend of financial support mechanisms, including a 3% interest subvention and credit guarantee coverage, thereby laying a fertile ground for growth and development. With an ambitious financial outlay of Rs. One Lakh Crore, the scheme offered interest subvention, credit guarantees, and the convergence of benefits, opening new horizons for farmers, cooperatives, and agricultural entrepreneurs. As the wheels of the AIF began to turn, the agricultural landscape of India started to witness a remarkable transformation. The fund sanctioned Rs.37,653 Crore for 52,671 projects till February 15th, 2024, while disbursing Rs.23,000 Crores mobilizing an investment of Rs 63,580 Crore in the sector. From the lush fields of Punjab to the vibrant farms of Tamil Nadu, a myriad of projects sprouted, including custom hiring centers, warehouses, and cold storage facilities, each a testament to the country's commitment to agricultural revitalization. The AIF facilitated the creation of 51,248 post-harvest and community farming assets, including 11,434 Custom Hiring Centres, 11,284 Warehouses, and 1,549 Cold Store projects. This infrastructure development was instrumental in reducing post-harvest losses and improving market accessibility for farmers, contributing to an estimated annual savings of 11 LMT of food grains and a reduction of 2.7 LMT in post-harvest losses of horticulture produce. Further, it is estimated that farmers can get 11-14% more price for their produce due to infrastructure created by AIF. The impact of the AIF has been profound. In the villages, where the granaries began to fill and the cold storages preserved the fruits of labor, post-harvest losses dwindled. Farmers, armed with better infrastructure, found their produce fetching higher prices, their incomes swelling like the monsoon rivers. The creation of over 5.1 lakh employment opportunities heralded a season of prosperity, sowing the seeds of over 24,000 agri-entrepreneurs. Behind the scenes, a symphony of strategies played out. The AIF's online portal became the digital soil where applications germinated and flourished. Awareness campaigns blossomed across social media, while conclaves and exhibitions spread the word far and wide. Each initiative, like a carefully tended crop, contributed to the scheme's burgeoning success. The AIF portal led to the integration of approximately 0.99 lakh bank branches and has 1.27 lakh registered applicants, the portal stands as a unified platform for beneficiaries, lending institutions, and other vital stakeholders involved in the scheme. It fosters transparency and streamlines the loan application process, ensuring that all parties have access to a smooth, efficient mechanism for their financial interactions.As the story of the AIF unfolds across India's agricultural tapestry, it weaves a narrative of hope and progress. The scheme's legacy, marked by enhanced infrastructure, reduced losses, and empowered farmers, promises a future where agriculture in India is not just a means of survival but a thriving, vibrant sector. And in this future, as the sun rises over the fields, it illuminates a land transformed, a testament to the enduring spirit of India and its farmers, nurtured by the waters of the Agriculture Infrastructure Fund. (The writer is an agriculture economist a serial entrepreneur and investor; views are personal) Farmers' standoff with the Centre persists; it is time for a meaningful dialogue to thrash out a solution The ongoing standoff between protesting farmers and the Union Government continues to rivet the nation's attention, highlighting deep-rooted issues concerning agricultural reforms, livelihood and the role of the State. This year has witnessed a resurgence of farmer protests, reminiscent of the 2020-2021 protests. Referred to as Farmer Protest 2.0, this agitation was ignited on the morning of February 13 as farmers across the country mobilised to demand the Government's assurance on assured floor prices or Minimum Support Price (MSP) for crop production. The farmers, undeterred by past challenges and experience, converged on Delhi's borders and set their sights on marching into the Capital. The preceding negotiations between farmers' leaders and the Government on February 12 failed to yield any tangible results, thus fuelling the resolve of the protesting farmers. As the protest gained momentum, with hundreds of thousands of farmers making their way towards the Capital, the authorities responded by sealing the borders and erecting barricades to prevent their entry. Teargas canisters and water cannons were deployed at some border points to disperse the gathering crowds, comprising farmers arriving on tractors, trucks and on foot. Formidable barriers, including huge cement boulders with spikes, barbed wire and metal blocks, were set up to block access. Additionally, Section 144 was imposed for a month, prohibiting the assembly of four or more persons. The backdrop of this protest is rooted in the aftermath of the 2021 agitation, which prompted the Government to repeal all three controversial farm Acts. These Acts, namely the Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act 2020, the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act 2020, and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act 2020, had been passed by Parliament in September 2020. Despite this concession, the farmers claimed that their grievances remained unaddressed, leading to the resurgence of protests in 2024. As the standoff between the farmers and the Government persists, it underscores the urgent need for meaningful dialogue and concrete solutions that address the concerns of the farming community while upholding the principles of democracy and social justice. The Government would do well to talk to the farmers rather than blocking their way. Any highhandedness on the Government's part can be counterproductive at this juncture as it would only invite farmers wrath. Moreover, there is a need for greater empathy, understanding and solidarity from all stakeholders, including the broader society and the media. The voices of protesting farmers must be heard and their demands for justice, dignity and empowerment respected. Only through dialogue, cooperation and mutual respect can we pave the way for a more prosperous future for Indian agriculture and its farmers. Farmers with genuine grievances need to be heard, like anyone else. On a day when a high-powered all-women fact-finding team branded Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee as a mischievous person who is providing shelter to the rapists of Hindu women, the National Commission for Scheduled Castes recommended on Thursday the imposition of Article 356 in Bengal. Days after visiting the disturbed areas of Sandeshkhali, the empowered NCSC team submitted a report to President Droupadi Murmu recommending the imposition of Presidents Rule, said panels president Arun Haldar. The NCSC has found large-scale atrocities on the Dalit and downtrodden people of Sandeshkhali in the context of the grave situation prevailing there, it makes a perfect case for the imposition of Presidents Rule, Haldar said, adding, there are provisions in Article 338 of the Constitution according to which Presidents Rule can safely be imposed here as there has been a blatant violation of the rights of the SCs and the downtrodden people, we have submitted our recommendation to the President. The NCSC recommendation came on a day when the Bengal Police prevented a high-powered delegation of the BJP led by two Union Ministers Pratima Bhoumik and Annapurna Devi at Rampur village a few kilometre ahead of Sandeshkhali. The all-women team, sent by BJP president JP Nadda and including four other MPs, staged a sit-in for two hours before returning to Kolkata, where they submitted a report to Governor CV Ananda Bose. Referring to how the poor peoples land was grabbed and their women raped by the henchmen of local Trinamool Congress toughies Sheikh Shahjahan, Shibu Hajra, and Uttam Sardar Bhowmik, she wondered as to why the representatives of other political parties were being stopped from entering Sandeshkhali what does Mamata have to hide by her action, it is clear that she is a mischievous person who, despite being a woman, is giving shelter to people like Shahjahan and allowing the Hindu women to be tortured selectively it is clear that she is unleashing a reign of terror by organising the selective rape of Hindu women and sending the protesters to jail for no fault of theirs we were going to the village to stand by these hapless women, but their police have stopped us. Her ministerial colleague Annapurna Devi alleged that the torture on women is taking place with the help of police, wondering, why Shahjahan is not being arrested Mamata claims to be running a Maa Maati Manush Government but in reality, she is tormenting the Mothers, and the Manush or the people of the place had she arrested Shahjahan before, then this situation had not arisen. A Congress team led by its Lok Sabha Leader Adhir Chowdhury was also stopped from entering Sandeshkhali. He demanded the area to be declared a disturbed area. Referring to the NCSC reports, he said, the BJP Government will never impose Presidents Rule in Bengal as they want to remain politically correct they have no concern for the peoples woes like in 2019 and 2021, they threatened imposition of NRC and CAA in order to polarise the votes so that only the BJP and the TMC can benefit. This time they are giving false cries of Presidents Rule which they will never impose I will appeal to the Centre to at least declare Sandeshkhali as a disturbed area. Chowdhury also called Mamata the queen of cruelty, warning her against playing with fire. The Trinamool Congress promptly reacted to the alleged drama being scripted in Delhi at the behest of the Bengal BJP leaders, saying it is the habit of the BJP to bring in tourists from outside the State during the elections and return empty-handed after it. Reacting to the statements issued by Haldar and the BJP delegation, TMC MP Shantanu Sen said, These are all dramas being scripted in Delhi at the instance of their Bengal leaders and enacted by the visitors they are sending now and then from outside this is their regular habit during the elections, adding why if the BJP and the NCSC are so concerned about the scheduled castes they would not go to Manipur where every day members of SC communities are being killed why dont they send fact-finding teams there and impose Presidents Rule in that State. Meanwhile, Bengal Opposition Leader --- who was on Wednesday stopped from entering Sandeshkhali --- moved the Calcutta High Court, drawing its attention to how despite a previous court order quashing the police action imposing prohibited areas in the area the administration was stopping the politicians from entering the region. Sandeshkhali burst into national media headlines firstly after the men of Sahjahan on January 5 attacked and injured an Enforcement Directorate team that had gone to raid his house in connection to a ration scam and money-smuggling, and secondly when hundreds of women came out on the streets and gheraoed the local police station in protest against land-grab, forced labor, extortion, and not least sexual exploitation of women. Farmers in Punjab began their four-hour rail roko stir by squatting on rail tracks at some locations, causing inconvenience to passengers on Thursday even as the third round of meeting between the Centre and farmers organisations in Chandigarh went on till late at night. There were no reports of clashes between farmers and Haryana security personnel at the two Punjab and Haryana border points Shambhu and Khanauri on the third day of the protest. Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar criticised the method adopted by Punjab farmers to press their demands, suggesting that they were attempting to march to Delhi like an army on the offensive. Amid a standoff between protesters and security personnel at two border points of Punjab and Haryana, three Union Ministers and representatives of the farmers unions held a discussion in Chandigarh on Thursday night. Union Agriculture and Farmer Welfare Minister Arjun Munda, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal, and Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai represented the Centre in the meeting over farmer unions demands, including a law guaranteeing Minimum Support Price (MSP) for crops. At the meeting, farmers leaders were adamant about the legal guarantees of the MSP. Before the Central Ministers arrived, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann reached the venue to be part of the meeting. The previous two rounds of dialogue on February 8 and 12 remained inconclusive. The Punjab Government could have stopped farmers. If they did not stop, then there must be some understanding there and Delhi wale say they are with the farmers movement, Khattar said, in an apparent reference to the Aam Aadmi Party. It is not right to comment but their (farmers) behaviour suggests that they have some kind of support, he added while responding to a question on AAPs involvement in the farmers Delhi Chalo call. Supporting farmers demand is one thing, but favouring this kind of agitation sends the wrong message, the Chief Minister said. The Haryana Government has extended the ban on mobile internet and bulk SMS services in seven districts by two days until February 17 in view of the farmers Delhi Chalo agitation. These districts include Ambala, Kurukshetra, Kaithal, Jind, Hisar, Fatehabad, and Sirsa, as stated in the Governments order. Amid the ongoing Delhi Chalo protest march called by over 200 farmer unions, the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (non-political), along with Central trade unions, has called for a nationwide strike on Friday. The SKM has urged all like-minded farmer organisations to participate in the nationwide Gramin Bharat Bandh. According to media reports, the day-long protest will begin from 6 am to 4 pm. Disruption is expected in transportation, agricultural activities, MNREGA rural works, private offices, village shops, and rural industrial and service sector institutions owing to the February 16 strike. Ahead of the meeting with a panel of the Centre, farmer leader Sarwan Singh Pandher said on Thursday that the Prime Minister should speak to the three Union Ministers visiting Chandigarh for talks for the resolution of the farmers issues. Two key border points between Delhi and Haryana remain closed for traffic, while security personnel in anti-riot gear were deployed at strategic locations in the national Capital as the farmers Delhi Chalo agitation entered its third day on Thursday. While the two borders - Tikri and Singhu -- with Haryana remain closed, movement was allowed through the Ghazipur border with Uttar Pradesh under the watch of security personnel. Several commuters faced difficulties as the Singhu border remained closed for traffic for the third consecutive day on Thursday in view of the farmers protest. Carrying luggage and accompanying their little children, some people also had to cross the Delhi-Haryana border on foot while carrying their children in their arms. The restrictions in areas around the Delhi-Haryana border points, fortified with metal barricades and concrete blocks to stop farmers from entering the city, came into effect on Tuesday, the day the march began. According to a senior police officer, the Delhi Police are on extra vigilance, though the protesting farmers have been stopped by the Haryana Police at the Shambhu border between Punjab and Haryana near Ambala. In the central part of Delhi as well, the police have put up barricades on several roads leading to Parliament and other sensitive locations. National Conference president and sitting Member of Parliament from Srinagar, Farooq Abdullah, stirred controversy on Thursday by declaring that his party would go solo in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in the Union Territory, thereby abandoning the Opposition INDIA bloc. Thus far, the TMC, the AAP, and the JD(U) have distanced themselves from the INDIA bloc before engaging in conclusive seat-sharing talks. Farooqs announcement has severely weakened the Peoples Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD) in Jammu and Kashmir, leaving the Peoples Democratic Party, CPI, CPI(M), and Awami National Conference in a difficult position. Earlier, in response to a specific question about the status of seat-sharing talks, Dr Farooq Abdullah unequivocally said that the National Conference would contest the polls based on its own merits without forming alliances with other political parties. As for seat-sharing, I want to clarify that the National Conference will contest the elections based on its own strength. There is no room for debate on this matter, Dr Abdullah asserted. However, shortly after Farooqs announcement, his son and party vice president, Omar Abdullah, issued a strong clarification, asserting that the National Conference remained a member of the INDIA bloc. He said, We continue to remain a member of the INDIA bloc. At the same time, Omar firmly clarified that no formal talks have occurred with the Congress party regarding the seat-sharing formula. However, there have been informal dialogues, and there is potential for further discussion. He stressed, Our commitment to the INDIA alliance remains intact, despite the recent departure of founding members. He added, We are not among those leaving. We will continue our discussions with the Congress party and hope to reach a seat-sharing understanding. Omar mentioned that out of the six Lok Sabha seats in the former state of Jammu and Kashmir, three are already held by the INDIA Alliance. Talks are underway with the Congress regarding the three seats currently held by the BJP. Omar stated that if the primary goal is to reclaim seats from the BJP, then the National Conference is willing to engage in seat-sharing with the Congress. He emphasised that their doors are open. Omar clarified that Dr Abdullahs remarks during the media interaction reflected the sentiment of the party cadre, who have long advocated for contesting elections independently in all constituencies. Omar said, Regarding the NDA, we are not a party that has our feet in multiple boats. Once we establish friendships, we remain loyal to those allies. Im not sure why journalists are assuming our doors are open for the NDA, because theyre not. To rectify the damage, we cannot align with the NDA. Our entire campaign during that time will be directed towards holding the BJP accountable for their actions in Jammu and Kashmir. Earlier, in a telephone interview with a news channel, Dr. Farooq Abdullah also hinted at the possibility of rejoining the BJP-led NDA in the future. When asked directly if his party was considering joining the NDA, Dr. Abdullah remained non-committal. He said, This is just the beginning. Lets wait and see what happens next. I cannot comment at this time. However, he didnt rule out the possibility of returning to the NDA fold. Before concluding, Dr. Abdullah cryptically remarked, We are a political party. We always keep windows and doors open. We must strengthen the nation, all sections of society, and all religions. During his conversation, Farooq also welcomed Prime Minister Narendra Modis upcoming visit to Jammu and Kashmir next week. The Prime Ministers visit is a positive development. He is expected to announce some projects. Soon after the Congress alleged that the main bank accounts of the party were frozen over an income tax demand of `210 crore, the I-T appellate tribunal allowed it to operate them pending a further hearing next week. The grand old party alleged that the move by the authorities just before the Lok Sabha polls was intended to impact all the partys ongoing political activities. Congress treasurer Ajay Maken, who alleged at a Press conference that Income Tax authorities had frozen its accounts, informed that the tribunal has put a lien of `115 crore on its accounts, and the party has been allowed to spend over and above that, which, however, came as a huge relief for the party. Party leader Vivek Tankha, who appeared before the tribunal against the order, said he told the tribunal that the Congress would not be able to participate in the festival of elections if its accounts remain frozen. The tribunal will hear the matter next Wednesday before a final decision is taken. Several party leaders, including party president Mallikarjun Kharge and former party chief Rahul Gandhi, expressed their outrage and alleged that the Governments move was an attack on democracy. Maken, who said democracy was in danger in the country, detailed the tribunals order. The Indian Youth Congress staged a protest against the Centre over the freezing of bank accounts of the Indian National Congress and its youth wing, alleging that the move was political vendetta. Scores of Youth Congress leaders and workers gathered on Central Delhis Rajendra Prasad road with banners and raised slogans against the BJP-led Centre. Security was beefed up around the area, and barricades were deployed. Srinivas BV, national president of the Indian Youth Congress, alleged that the partys accounts were sealed just before the elections on purpose in an attempt to bring a one-party system. On our petition, the Income Tax Department and the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) have said we have to ensure that Rs 115 crore have to be kept in the banks. This 115 crore is the lien marked in the bank accounts. We can spend an amount over and above that, Maken said. This means that Rs 115 crore has been frozen. This Rs 115 crore is much more than we have in our Current Accounts, he explained. Congress treasurer had earlier said the freezing of its accounts on flimsy grounds had affected all political activity of the party barely two weeks before general elections are announced. The accounts, including that of the Indian Youth Congress, were frozen on an Income Tax demand of Rs 210 crore for 2018-19, an election year, Maken said. According to him, the party filed its Income Tax returns for the concerned year a few days late, and that is why this action was taken. The matter, he said, also pertains to a discrepancy in cash receipts of Rs 14.4 lakh given to the party by its MLAs and MPs as donations made from their salaries. He said the IT authorities orders freezing the accounts had come on Wednesday. While Maken said four main bank accounts were frozen, sources later put the number at nine. The party was unable to use even the funds received under its crowdfunding scheme, Maken said at the Press conference. Dont be afraid of Modi, the Congress is not the name of power of money, but of the power of people... We have never bowed before dictatorship, nor will we ever bow down, said Rahul. Terming the Government power-drunk for freezing the accounts of Indias largest opposition party just before the Lok Sabha elections, Kharge said it is a deep assault on democracy. The unconstitutional money collected by the BJP would be utilised by them for elections, but the money collected by the Congress through crowdfunding shall be sealed, the party president said. Pointing out that the Governments dictatorial attitude came barely a month before the 2024 elections, Venugopal made a reference to the Supreme Court scrapping the electoral bond scheme for political funding on Thursday. When one avenue to tilt the balance was struck down by the courts yesterday, the Government has chosen a new route now. The BJP has hoarded over Rs 6,500 crore through the illegal electoral bond scandal, which remains untouched - but the earnest donations of ordinary INC workers and supporters are frozen, the Congress said. On Thursday, the Supreme Court said the Centres electoral bonds scheme was unconstitutional and ordered the disclosure of the bonds donors, amount, and recipients by March 13. Giving a major boost to the Indian industry with the aim of achieving self-reliance, the Government here approved proposals for various weapon systems worth `84,560 crore on Friday. This includes 15 maritime reconnaissance aircraft for the navy and coast guard, alongside radars and anti-tank mines. The nod for these proposed deals was given in the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) meeting chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. Officials emphasised that the approvals, in the true spirit of aatmanirbharta, lay special emphasis on procurement of equipment from Indian vendors. The DAC, as the apex body in the Defence Ministry, is responsible for giving the go-ahead to proposals of the three Armed forces, with the final decision resting with the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS). Detailing the approved deals, officials highlighted that the DAC granted Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) for procurement of Medium Range Maritime Reconnaissance and Multi-Mission Maritime Aircraft through the Buy and Make category. This is aimed at strengthening the surveillance and interdiction capabilities of the Indian Navy and the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) over the countrys vast maritime area. The Indian Navy is set to receive nine aircraft, while the Coast Guard will procure six aircraft, with the total cost of this deal estimated at `29,000 crore. Sources indicated that all 15 aircraft will be built upon C-295 transport aircraft, with the project valued at around Rs 29,000 crore. Tata Advanced Systems and Airbus are jointly manufacturing C-295 planes in India. This move aligns with the Governments Make in India initiative, aiming to enhance indigenous defence production capabilities while meeting the countrys security needs. The Indian Air Force (IAF) recently inducted the first C-295 transport aircraft manufactured in Spain. While the first 16 will come from Spain in fly-away condition, the remaining 40 will be produced in India at a Tata facility in Vadodara, Gujarat. The latest approval to enhance the Navy and Coast Guard surveillance capabilities will take the Tata Airbus order book to 71 from the existing 56. As for other approved deals on Friday, officials said the DAC gave the go-ahead under the Buy [Indian-Indigenously Designed Developed and Manufactured (IDDM)] category for the procurement of a new generation of anti-tank mines having seismic sensor and provision of remote deactivation with additional safety features. To enhance operational efficiency and domination in the Tactical Battle Area for engaging targets that are Beyond Visual Line of Sight by the mechanised forces, the nod under the Buy (Indian-IDDM) category was given for procurement of Canister Launched Anti-Armour Loiter Munition System. Further, to strengthen the Air Defence Systems, especially the capabilities to detect slow, small, and low-flying targets as well as surveillance, detection, and tracking of different targets, the DAC approved procurement of Air Defence Tactical Control Radar under Buy (Indian-IDDM) category. To keep the Indian Naval Ships one step ahead of the threats posed by adversaries, the AoN under Buy (Indian) category was accorded for procurement of Active Towed Array Sonar having capabilities to operate at low frequencies and various depths for long-range detections of adversary submarines. The DAC also approved procurement of Heavy Weight Torpedoes for enhancing the attacking capabilities of Kalvari Class submarines. The AoN for sustainment support through Follow On Support (FOS) and Repair Replenishment support through Follow On Supply Support (FOSS) for 24 MH60R aircraft under Foreign Military Sale route with the US Government was given. Approval was also given for the procurement of Flight Refueller Aircraft for enhancing the operational capabilities and reach of the Indian Air Force. The AoN under Buy (Indian-IDDM) category for procurement of Software Defined Radios for the ICG has also been granted. This will fulfill the requirement of the ICG for having high-speed communication with secure networking capability for seamless information exchange between the ICG and the Indian Navy units. To create a friendly defence start-up ecosystem and promote procurement of Advanced technologies from start-ups and MSMEs developed under the Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX) and Technology Development Fund schemes, the DAC also approved amendments in the Defence Acquisition Procedure (DAP). This will provide the much-needed incentive along with a supportive business environment for the start-ups and MSMEs under iDEX and TDF schemes, truly in the spirit of Ease of Doing Business, officials said. Amid the farmers protest for the fourth consecutive day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Friday that his Government at the Centre has been actively working on various schemes for the benefit of farmers. Addressing a public gathering after laying the foundation stone for AIIMS at Rewari in Haryana, the PM said his BJP-led NDA Government has provided farmers with the guarantee to seek loans from banks, a privilege previously denied to them. We provided farmers with the Modi guarantee... banks did not grant them loans, but we assured farmers, the PM said. He made these assertions at a public rally where he recalled that his first address after the party named him the Prime Ministerial candidate in 2013 was at Rewari. Modi inaugurated several development projects worth several crores for Rajasthan and Haryana, including the Rewari AIIMS, a new rail line, and a metro line. Modi noted that the journey began there, securing over 273 Lok Sabha seats, and expressed hope for the NDA Government to claim more than 400 Lok Sabha seats in the upcoming elections. This holds significance as another round of meetings between farmer representatives and Union Ministers is scheduled for February 18, following positive discussions in the meeting concluded on the night of Thursday-Friday. Meanwhile, the situation at sensitive Delhi-Haryana and Haryana-Punjab borders remained peaceful, with continued talks between agitating farmers organisations and Central Government representatives. Haryana Police fired tear gas shells to disperse protesting farmers at the Shambhu border near Ambala. There was a mixed response to the Gramin Bharat Bandh called by the Samyukta Kisan Morcha on Friday, with markets and bazaars in Delhi and NCR opening. Amid the impasse, Union Ministers and farmer leaders will meet on Sunday for the fourth round of talks. Despite inconclusive talks on February 8, 12, and 15, the third round of discussions between protesting farmers in Punjab and three central ministers concluded positively in the wee hours of Friday. Union Agriculture Minister Arjun Munda described the meeting as cordial, with a positive discussion. He confirmed that talks will continue on Sunday at 6 pm, expressing optimism in finding a solution through dialogue. Among the farmer leaders present were SKM (non-political) leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal and Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee general secretary Sarwan Singh Pandher. Pandher highlighted the detailed discussion on demands, including a legal guarantee for MSP and debt waiver. He acknowledged the ministers request for time. Meanwhile, protesting farmers vowed to continue their presence at the Punjab and Haryana borders over various demands, as the deadlock persisted despite the third round of talks with Union Ministers. During the Gramin Bharat Bandh on Friday, protests occurred in parts of western Uttar Pradesh in response to the Bharat Bandh call given by the SKM. Commuters in Punjab faced inconvenience as buses stayed off the roads in support of the SKMs call for a Bharat Bandh to press the Government to accept farmers demands, including a legal guarantee of MSP. Markets and commercial establishments at several places in the State also remained shut while farmers held demonstrations and blocked national highways in Pathankot, Tarn Taran, Bathinda, and Jalandhar. They raised slogans against the Centre for not accepting their demands. Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Union Agriculture Minister Arjun Munda said the meeting between the Government and the farmer leaders took place in a cordial atmosphere. He said there was a positive discussion, and the talks will continue, scheduled for Sunday at 6 pm. We will find a solution by sitting together, he added. Among the farmer leaders who participated in the meeting were SKM (non-political) leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal and Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee General Secretary Sarwan Singh Pandher. Pandher stated that a detailed discussion was held on their demands, including a legal guarantee for MSP and a debt waiver. They (Union ministers) said they need time, said Pandher. Meanwhile, protesting farmers will remain at the two borders of Punjab and Haryana over their various demands as the deadlock persists despite the third round of talks with a panel of Union Ministers. Besides a legal guarantee on MSP, the farmers are demanding the implementation of the Swaminathan Commissions recommendations, pension for farmers and farm laborers, farm debt waiver, withdrawal of police cases, justice for the victims of the Lakhimpur Kheri violence, reinstatement of the Land Acquisition Act, 2013, and compensation to the families of the farmers who died during a previous agitation in 2020-21. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday thanked Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani for the release of eight Indians, previously on death row, even as the two leaders held extensive talks that set the stage for taking the bilateral ties to a higher level, especially in the spheres of investment, energy and new technology. After the talks at the majestic Amiri Palace in this Qatari capital city, Modi described his meeting with the Emir as wonderful and said the bilateral ties are growing stronger and stronger and both the nations are looking forward to collaborating in futuristic sectors that will benefit the planet. Modi arrived here last night from the United Arab Emirates in his second visit to Qatar which came days after Doha released the Indians in a major relief to New Delhi. Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra said at a media briefing that the talks focused on expanding cooperation in key areas, increasing convergence on regional issues, examining partnership in third countries, and viewing the overall ties from a strategic perspective rather than a transactional one. The two leaders also spoke about the need for strategic investments and strategic partnerships in the domain of energy and to proceed beyond the buyer-seller relationship in this field. Prime Minister Modi also thanked the Emir for his support for the welfare of the Indian community in the Gulf nation, he said. The Prime Minister thanked the Emir for his support for the welfare of the Indian community, and in this regard, expressed his deep appreciation to the Emir for the release of eight Indian nationals of Al-Dahra company. We are extremely gratified to see them back in India, Kwatra said. Seven out of eight Indians had returned to India on Monday after Qatar freed them. The Navy veterans were on October 26 given death sentences by Qatars Court of First Instance. The Court of Appeal in the Gulf nation on December 28 commuted the capital punishment and sentenced them to jail terms for varying durations. The former Indian Navy personnel apparently faced charges of espionage, but neither the Qatari authorities nor New Delhi made the charges against them public. Kwatra said Modis very successful visit has set the stage for taking ties to a much higher level in a range of areas and exploring engagement in new areas such as space, technology and innovation. Had a wonderful meeting with HH Sheikh @TamimBinHamad. We reviewed the full range of India-Qatar relations and discussed ways to deepen cooperation across various sectors. Our nations also look forward to collaborating in futuristic sectors which will benefit our planet, Modi said on X. My visit to Qatar has added new vigour to the India-Qatar friendship. India looks forward to scaling up cooperation in key sectors relating to trade, investment, technology and culture. I thank the Government and people of Qatar for their hospitality, he said. India and Qatar ties are growing stronger and stronger!, Modi said in another post along with photographs of the ceremonial welcome accorded to him in Doha. Modi was accorded a ceremonial welcome at the Amiri Palace on his arrival this morning. Thereafter, both sides held delegation-level and restricted talks. The MEA said the Modi-Hamad discussions covered a wide array of topics including economic cooperation, energy partnership, space collaboration, urban infrastructure, cultural bonds and people-to-people ties. The Prime Minister thanked the Amir for taking care of the over eight lakh strong Indian community in Qatar and conveyed Indias commitment to further expanding and deepening bilateral cooperation with Qatar. He invited Amir to pay an early visit to India, it said. It said the Emir reciprocated Modis sentiments and expressed appreciation for Indias role as a valued partner in the Gulf region. The MEA said the Emir also appreciated the contributions of the vibrant Indian community in Qatars development and their enthusiastic participation in various international events held in Qatar. The talks were followed by a banquet lunch at the Amiri Palace hosted in honour of Modi. In his remarks, Kwatra said the prime ministers visit to Qatar was focused on consolidating the wide-ranging partnership in different fields of economic cooperation and build on the gains of his 2016 visit to the country with an overarching emphasis on what the two countries can achieve in future. He said both sides have strong energy security and partnership but the endeavour now would be to look at the cooperation from a strategic point of view that would include renewables, green energy, supply chains in clean energy, technology and innovations in energy space, not just pure energy trade. Kwatra said the aim would be to broaden the trade basket and to build new trade markets considering regional trade. Modi also met with Qatars father Emir and congratulated him on his visionary leadership that paved the way for Qatars development in past decades and laid a strong foundation for the India-Qatar partnership, Kwatra said. Father Emir affirmed India and Qatar share an unwavering bond epitomised by mutual trust and cooperation, Kwatra said. The father Emir also appreciated the Indian communitys role in the development and nourishing of bilateral partnership. Shortly after he arrived in Doha last night, Modi met Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani. Abdulrahman is Qatars foreign minister as well. The trade and energy ties between India and Qatar are on an upswing. Qatar is the largest supplier of LNG to India, accounting for over 48 per cent of Indias global LNG imports. Indias Petronet has renewed a contract to buy 7.5 million tonnes of LNG from Qatar annually from 2029 for 20 years and it is being billed as the largest-ever extension of super-chilled fuel in the world. The original 25-year deal was signed in 1999 and supplies started in 2004. India-Qatar cooperation has been steadily growing in diverse sectors over the last few years. Prime Minister Modi paid his first visit to Doha in June, 2016. The visit provided an opportunity for both sides to engage at the highest level, and impart fresh momentum to the bilateral ties. It was the highest-level visit from India to Qatar since the visit of then prime minister Manmohan Singh in November 2008. Montana State University set a record for the highest spring enrollment in its history. There are 16,110 students taking MSU classes this semester, according to a university press release. Of that number, MSU set three more spring records with 14,127 undergraduates, 644 Gallatin College students and 689 dual-enrolled high school students. There are 1,983 graduate students, an increase of 29 from the Spring 2023 count. Last spring, MSU reported it had 15,717 students, which was also a record at the time. The universitys all-time high enrollment was 16,978, a record set this fall. There are less students now than the fall semester partly because of students who graduated, MSUs release said. Over 1,100 students graduated in the December ceremony. Around 90% of first-time students who started in the fall stayed enrolled for this semester, which is about the same rate as last year. We are immensely proud of this spring enrollment because it shows how hard students are working to pursue higher education, stay enrolled and make progress toward their college degree from Montana State University, President Waded Cruzado said in the release. About half the total number of students are Montana residents, the release said. The College of Letters and Science is the largest college at 3,286 students, the release said, followed by the Norm Asbjornson College of Engineering and the Jake Jabs College of Business and Entrepreneurship. MSU News Director Mike Becker wrote in an email that the university is considering expanding housing to keep up with enrollment. MSUs housing has been at or near capacity for quite a while, and so we have looked at options for expanding campus housing, but plans are very early, Becker wrote. Its something thats being explored, but nothing is in development quite yet. There are 4,616 students living in university housing right now and there are 5,602 total beds, Becker wrote. In the fall, there were 5,171 students living on campus, he said We are working with a consultant to evaluate MSUs housing needs, Beckers email said. That process is being funded with up to $6 million in spending approved by the Board of Regents in November 2022 (funding from housing revenue no state-appropriated funds or tuition is used for that). The evaluation is in progress. In a tragic incident, at least 11 workers were charred to death, and four were injured in a massive fire that broke out inside a paint factory in Outer Delhis Dayalpur market in Alipur on Thursday evening. The victims are yet to be identified. The charred bodies of the 11 victims, 10 men and one woman, were recovered from the factory, which also houses chemical godowns. The fire was preceded by a blast, and soon it spread to nearby buildings, including a drug rehabilitation centre and eight shops. According to Delhi Fire Services (DFS) chief Atul Garg, the blaze broke out at the single-storey factory before engulfing the entire premises. We received a phone call about the fire at 5:30 pm from Bhorgarh at Dayalpur market in Alipur, he said. Meanwhile, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced an ex-gratia of Rs 10 lakh each for the kin of those killed in the fire in a paints factory. The Chief Minister also visited the site to take stock of the situation in the aftermath of the blaze. We have full sympathy for the families of the deceased. We will provide compensation of Rs 10 lakh each for the kin of the deceased. Two people have sustained minor injuries, and they will be awarded compensation of Rs 20,000 each, and those with major injuries will be awarded compensation of Rs two lakh each, he told reporters. The Chief Minister said there are allegations that there was a delay in the arrival of fire tenders to the spot. I will issue instructions for an enquiry into the alleged delay in the arrival of fire engines and how the factory was operating in this area, he said. He also said those whose nearby shops and houses were affected due to the fire would be awarded compensation in line with the Governments policy. Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva also visited the site and announced a monetary help of Rs 50,000 for the kin of those killed. Police said the factory was being operated by Akhil Jain of Sonipat, Haryana. A case under sections 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) and 308 (attempt to commit culpable homicide) of the IPC has been registered against the owner of the factory. The DFS official said a call about the fire was received around 5:30 pm on Thursday, and 22 fire tenders were dispatched to the site. The blaze was brought under control by 9 pm, the DFS official said, adding that 11 charred bodies were recovered from the factory premises. The bodies have been preserved at the Babu Jagjivan Ram Hospital, and the process of identifying them is underway, police said. In a post on X, DFS chief Atul Garg said, Despite the best efforts by DFS, 11 labourers died in a paint factory fire in the Alipur area of Delhi. A fire call was received at 5:30 pm, and 22 tenders were dispatched to the site. However, due to an explosion, the building collapsed, and workers trapped inside the factory could not be saved. A very unfortunate day. A police officer said it is suspected that the blast was caused by chemicals stored in the godowns. The four injured have been identified as Jyoti (42), Divya (20), Mohit Solanki (34), and police constable Karambir (35). Deputy Commissioner of Police (outer-north) Ravi Kumar Singh said a police team at the spot saw that the fire had spread to a number of other buildings, including the neighbouring Nasha Mukti Kendra, where four-five people were trapped. Our constable Karambir posted at Alipur Police Station rushed to the terrace of the Nasha Mukti Kendra putting his own life in danger and managed to rescue the trapped people. He sustained injuries, including burns and is now admitted to the Safdarjung Hospital, Singh said. The injured were first taken to Raja Harish Chandra Hospital from where three of them have been shifted to the LNJP Hospital. Two of the admitted patients, both women, were having smoke inhalation-related breathing issues. However, no surface burn injuries.Their condition is stable, LNJP Medical Director, Suresh Kumar said. The women live in a house near the factory and had inhaled the billowing smoke, doctors said. In May 2022, 27 people were killed and a dozen injured in a massive fire at a four-storey commercial building near Mundka Metro station. More than 20 charred bodies were recovered. In January 2018, a fire at an illegal firecracker packaging unit in Northwest Delhis Bawana Industrial Area left 17 workers dead. As India prepares for intense heat waves ahead, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has, for the first time, begun crafting heat mitigation solutions tailored to the needs of vulnerable groups such as street vendors, slum dwellers, traffic policemen, and construction workers. This initiative comes amid concerns that the existing Heat Action Plans have failed to prioritise these marginalised populations, who bear the brunt of the heat, as highlighted by the Centre for Policy Research, a think tank. With February 2023 recorded as the warmest month since 1901 and the situation likely to worsen this year and beyond, Heat Action Plans have become a significant tool to prepare for the onslaught of global warming. The world also experienced extreme heatwaves the previous year, with reports indicating that the number of hot days lasted for 280 days between March and May in India. Indeed, the impact of heatwaves on traffic cops, construction workers, and vendors is significant, as they are often among the most exposed to scorching temperatures and harsh working conditions. To ensure these vulnerable groups are not overlooked, the National Disaster Management Authority recently held a two-day national workshop on Management Interventions and Mitigation Strategies for Heat Wave. For the first time, representatives from these segments were invited, allowing their lived experiences to be noted to help design heat mitigation solutions that address their concerns. Additionally, district collectors from selected districts also shared their experiences in implementing HAPs. By actively involving these frontline workers in the planning process, we are ensuring that their voices are heard and their experiences are taken into account. This collaborative approach not only enhances the effectiveness of heatwave preparedness efforts but also fosters a sense of ownership and empowerment among those most directly affected, said an official from the NDMA. As they perform physical labour during the hottest hours of the day, these workers can provide firsthand accounts of the difficulties they encounter, including heat-related illnesses, dehydration, and fatigue. Their input is crucial for developing comprehensive heatwave preparedness plans that address their specific needs and concerns, added the official. For instance, consider the case of traffic cop Harish Chaudhary (name changed). Last year, as the sun beat down relentlessly, he was stationed at one of the citys busiest intersections, where traffic congestion was a daily occurrence. Throughout the day, he endured the harsh conditions, with the heat intensifying with each passing hour. Insights from individuals like him can inform strategies for ensuring their safety and well-being, such as providing adequate shade, hydration facilities, and scheduling breaks during the hottest parts of the day, in addition to offering training on recognising and managing heat-related illnesses. Kiren Rijiju, Union Minister of Earth Sciences, highlighted the escalating frequency and intensity of heatwaves in recent years, exacerbated by climate change, in his inaugural address. He commended the timing of the workshop, being conducted in February, well ahead of the summer season, allowing for a thorough review of Heat Wave preparedness for Summer 2024. Dr. M Ravichandran, Union Secretary of the Ministry, emphasized the importance of the workshop in addressing various critical aspects of heatwave management, such as early warning systems, health impacts, infrastructure resilience, and the phenomenon of urban heat islands. He stressed the value of experience sharing among states to enhance preparedness for the upcoming heatwave season. Kamal Kishore, Member and Head of NDMA, reiterated the significance of continuously improving Heat Action Plans (HAPs) developed by states, districts, and cities based on lessons learned from previous seasons. He emphasized the need to not only focus on saving lives but also on safeguarding livelihoods from the adverse effects of heatwaves, requiring collaboration across different sectors. The workshop was structured into six thematic sessions, including early warning systems, health impacts, infrastructure resilience, field experiences, urban heat islands, and Heat Action Plans. According to the report How Is India Adapting to Heatwaves?: An Assessment of Heat Action Plans With Insights for Transformative Climate Action by the CPR, the majority of HAPs use thresholds for national heatwaves, which may not be appropriate for the dangers experienced by local communities. It noted that only two HAPs conduct and report vulnerability analyses, systematic studies to locate where the people most likely to be affected are in a city, district, or state. Between 2003 and 2022, approximately 10,000 people have died in India due to exposure to heatwaves, according to IMD records. The IMD also reports that there has been a rise of 34 percent in deaths due to heat waves between 2003-2012 and 2013-2022. BJP MLA and former Leader of Opposition Vijender Gupta, has vehemently criticized the Lieutenant Governor's address in the Delhi Assembly, calling it deeply entrenched in falsehoods. Gupta accused the AAP government of constructing a facade of governance on a foundation of deception and broken promises. Highlighting the disparity between the AAP's tall promises and the reality on the ground, Gupta underscored the failure to fulfill the promise of opening 500 new schools within five years. In reality, only 63 new schools have been opened during their nearly decade-long tenure. The promise of establishing 20 new colleges has similarly fallen flat, with not a single new institution coming to fruition, starkly contrasting with the AAP's prolonged period in power. This era has also seen the unfortunate closure of 12 colleges due to financial neglect, leaving faculty salaries unpaid for extended periods. Gupta brought attention to a 2020 Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) report that unveiled significant financial mismanagement and procedural flaws in the construction of new classrooms. The report detailed a cost overrun of Rs 326.25 crores and a shortfall in the actual number of classrooms built versus the initial plans. Gupta criticized the dubious classification of toilets and special rooms as classrooms. In terms of academic achievement, Gupta contested the AAP government's self-proclaimed education model. He pointed out that the pass percentages for 10th and 12th grades in government schools have not only declined but also lag behind national averages. He highlighted the alarming statistic that of the 219,377 students enrolled in 9th grade in 2013-14, a staggering 44 percent failed to advance to 12th grade by 2016-17, contradicting the government's claims about the efficacy of its education model.Further extending his critique, Gupta shed light on the inadequate execution of the EWS scheme, marked by a significant shortfall in admissions for economically weaker sections, and underscored the limited access to science education in government schools. He also pointed to the below-average learning outcomes in crucial subjects as indicated by the National Achievement Survey (NAS) 2017, signalling a systemic inability to meet educational standards.Vijender Gupta stated, The compiled evidence and reports unmistakably reveal a pattern of scams and gross mismanagement within the AAP government. It operates as a government of scams, existing to loot Delhi and its people. Delhi Assembly Speaker Ram Niwas Goel on Thursday asked marshals to escort the BJP MLAs out of the House after they repeatedly interrupted Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena's address in the Budget session highlighting achievements of the AAP government. Seven out of the eight BJP MLAs in the House, barring Leader of Opposition Ramvir Singh Bidhuri, were marshalled out by the Speaker for interrupting the LG's address on the first day of the session, Assembly officials said. As soon as Saxena started reading out his speech and cited achievements of the government in the field of education, BJP MLA and former leader of opposition Vijender Gupta interrupted him raising the issue of funding of 12 colleges of the Delhi University. The Speaker tried to restrain Gupta but he continued to speak, forcing Lieutenant Governor Saxena to pause his address briefly. Ultimately, the Speaker asked the House marshals to take Gupta out. Saxena continued with his address, while the BJP MLAs interrupted him one-by-one as he highlighted various achievements of the government in different fields including health, water supply, transport, and waste management. As the opposition legislators defied Speaker's instructions to sit down and refrain from interrupting Saxena's address, the Speaker asked marshals to escort them out. Despite heightened security measures at the Tikri border in view of the farmers' protest, board exams were held hassle-free and no delay was reported in the conduct of examination. Vehicles were arranged by the police and paramilitary officials to help students reach their respective centres near the Tikri border. "There are two schools close to the Tikri border metro station. As they were walking towards their examination centres, we arranged vehicles for them so that they can reach on time," a senior police officer said. Parents who were on two-wheelers with their children were also allowed by the police to cross the area, he said. On the first day, Class 10 students appeared for Painting, Rai, Gurung, Tamang and Sherpa papers while Class 12 students took Entrepreneurship, Kokborok, Capital Market Operation and Physical Activity Trainer papers on the first day. Both Class 10 and Class 12 exams started at 10:30 am. Over 5.80 lakh students are appearing for Central Board of Secondary Examination (CBSE) board this year in Delhi. The board has issued a special advisory for them in view of the farmers march towards the city. Due to the prevailing situation in Delhi, it is expected that there will be traffic-related issues which may cause a delay in reaching the examination centre... Therefore, all students are advised to leave their homes early so that they can arrive on time as per the instructions issued by CBSE. It is advisable to use metro services to reach the examination centres, which are running smoothly, the board said. The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) has called a 'Bharat Bandh' on Friday in support of the 'Delhi Chalo' agitation - a march by the farmers of Punjab to the national capital to press the Centre to accept their demands, including the enactment of a law guaranteing minimum support price (MSP) for crops. As board examinations are underway, SKM's decision to extend support to the the 'Delhi Chalo' march has concerned several students and their parents. "Even though the farmers are not here yet, but what if they march towards Delhi on a day when our children need to reach the examination centres. The government must talk to the protesters and must find an amicable solution to the problem," said a parent, on the request of anonymity. "With the board exams underway, our children's future will be at stake if the protest reaches Delhi," she added. Several students from Bahadurgarh area, Chotu Ram Colony, Tikri Kalan and other adjoining areas reached school safely, said some of the parents who were seen waiting at a tea stall outside one of the schools. "I came from Bahadurgarh and we did not face any difficulties due to metro services. I took metro from Bahadurgarh bus stand to Tikri border metro station and reached my centre without any delay," a class 12 student, Kartikey Sharma, told PTI. However, a section of the students faced difficulty reaching their centres as several connecting roads from Bahadurgarh to Delhi via Tikri were closed. "I am from Chhotu Ram colony. The main road which we usually use to reach school has been closed by the police. Thus I had to take another route which is two kilometres extra from my home," Riddhi, a class 10 student said. The students who were coming from a distance had to plan their journey and start as early as 6 am to reach their examination centres on time. Meanwhile, the police and paramilitary forces deployed in the area were stationed at petrol pumps and the tents that were set up for them. "We have installed multi-layer security arrangements. We got to know that a meeting is going on in Chandigarh. Those who were on night duties are now taking rest for sometime. They well be deployed immediately if need be," a senior police official at the spot said. "Rest everything is peaceful here so far. The roads are blocked from both entry and exit points of Delhi to Bahadurgarh and vice versa," he added. The restrictions in areas around the Delhi-Haryana border points, which have been fortified with metal barricades and concrete blocks to stop farmers from entering the city, came into effect on Tuesday, the day the march began. Besides a legal guarantee for MSP, the farmers are also demanding the implementation of the Swaminathan Commission's recommendations, pensions to farmers and farm labourers, farm debt waiver, withdrawal of police cases and "justice" for victims of the Lakhimpur Kheri violence, reinstatement of the Land Acquisition Act 2013, withdrawal from the World Trade Organisation and compensation for families of the farmers who died during the previous agitation, among others. Delhi Government is likely to present its annual Budget 2024-25 in the first week of March as it has not been finalised. This is the second time in history, Delhi Budget has been delayed. Announcing a delay in presenting the Delhi Budget, Atishi on Thursday requested an extension of the ongoing Budget session till the first week of March. Terming it a mockery of democracy, the opposition BJP said the Kejriwal government is using budget to avoid investigation in the excise policy scam case and demanded the Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena to sack this government. The Delhi budget was deliberately delayed by this government in the wake of the summons by the Enforcement Directorate and the Court, Leader of Opposition in Delhi Assembly Ramvir Singh Bidhuri said. Earlier, explaining the delay of presentation of budget 2024-25 in the House of the Delhi Assembly, Atishi said there have been some delays in budget finalisation due to some reasons. We received approval for the budget from Delhi Lt Governor on February 14. Earlier the budget was passed by the cabinet on 11th February, and on 13th February it was sent to Lieutenant Governor for his assent. There has been no delay from LG's side. Today the budget will be sent to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) The approval from the MHA and the presidential assent will take at least 10-15 days. It is not possible for us to present the budget before February 25. I request that the budget session be extended till first week of March. I estimate that the budget won't be presented before the 25th of February, it is possible that the budget will be presented after February 25th," she explained in the House. Meanwhile, BJP MLAs questioned the delay, in response to which Atishi said, "It is a delay on our part. We are not putting allegations against anyone." The House accepted the Finance Ministers proposal and passed it by a voice vote. With these developments, the timeline for Delhi's budget presentation remains with possibilities stretching into late February or early March. Lambasting the AAP government, Bidhuri has alleged that the AAP government has made even an important document like the budget a victim of mockery and politics. He alleged that Kejriwal has tried to use a sacred document like the Budget as his weapon to escape the investigation of the liquor scam, but no matter how hard he tries, he cannot escape this investigation. This is a clear administrative failure of the government. Therefore, BJP MLAs will meet the Lieutenant Governor and demand that the AAP government be dismissed immediately, he said. Bidhuri and all other BJP MLAs, including Mohan Singh Bisht, Vijendra Gupta, Omprakash Sharma, Jitendra Mahajan, Anil Vajpayee, Ajay Mahawar and Abhay Verma, expressed their anger in the press conference over the failure of the AAP government in not presenting the budget in the Delhi Assembly. Bidhuri said that the government itself admitted in the Assembly that there was a delay in making the budget but no reason was given. We want to know the clear reason and also who is responsible for it. The budget was sent to the LG for approval on 14th February and he approved it on the same day. Finance Minister Atishi admitted in the House that the budget has been sent to the Home Ministry today itself. After all, how was the date of the budget session approved without the budget being made, he said. In the Delhi Legislative Assembly, the budget session started on Thursday. During this time, chief minister Arvind Kejriwal proposed the election of financial committees with the permission of the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly, SRam Niwas Goel. It was passed by a voice vote. However, the date for presenting Delhi's budget in the House has not been decided yet. Carrying luggage, while accompanying their little children, several commuters faced difficulties as the Singhu border remained closed for traffic for the third consecutive day on Thursday in view of the farmers' protest. Some people also had to cross the Delhi-Haryana border on foot while carrying their little children in arms. Sagar Singh, who was coming from Panipat and going towards Bawana, said, "I am going to see my ailing mother-in-law in Bawana. I am planning to stay back so that I can be available for help if she needs me. The current situation is not conducive to travelling at night or even otherwise." Rohit Kumar was returning from Ambala to Delhi after attending a wedding. He said the authorities should provide a proper alternative so that the commuters do not face such kind of inconvenience. "I went to attend my nephew's wedding near Ambala on Tuesday. The border was closed that day also. I am travelling with my wife and daughter. I can manage to cross the border with such kind of hurdles, but it is difficult for my wife and daughter. The authorities should give a proper alternative way to reduce the inconvenience for the commuters," Kumar said. Vishwash Kumar, who works at a warehouse near Bawana, said if this is going to continue for several days like the earlier agitation, they won't be able to go to their office daily. "Due to the road closure, it takes double the time to reach our workplace. We hope that this would end early since we have suffered last time as well," he said. The restrictions in areas around the Delhi-Haryana border points, which have been fortified with metal barricades and concrete blocks to stop farmers from entering the city, came into effect on Tuesday, the day the march began. Besides a legal guarantee for MSP, the farmers are also demanding the implementation of the Swaminathan Commission's recommendations, pensions to farmers and farm labourers, farm debt waiver, withdrawal of police cases and "justice" for victims of the Lakhimpur Kheri violence, reinstatement of the Land Acquisition Act 2013, withdrawal from the World Trade Organisation and compensation for families of the farmers who died during the previous agitation, among others. Uttarakhand Congress has criticised the State government for consistently ignoring Gairsain the summer capital of Uttarakhand. The PCC president Karan Mahara said that the decision of the State government to organise the upcoming budget session of the State assembly in Dehradun exposes the anti Gairsain mindset of the State government. He said that it is a pity that both the State government and the Vidhan Sabha speaker are taking shield in a letter ostensibly signed by some MLAs in which they had requested that the session should not be held in Gairsain. Mahara said that the Congress party is in favour of organising the budget session in Gairsain. He said that explanation will be sought from the Congress party MLAs who have put their signatures on the letter requesting the session to be held in Dehradun. The PCC president said that the BJP is only interested in playing politics over Gairsain. He said that it was during the rule of the Congress party that the assembly session was first of all held in a tent in Gairsain. The Congress government was instrumental in constructing the assembly building in Gairsain and organising sessions. He said that the BJP government made Gairsain the summer capital but no one from the government ever visited the place for even a couple of days. The PCC president said that Uttarakhand was created with an objective of fulfilling aspirations of the people residing in the mountainous parts of the State and Gairsain is the symbol of the aspirations of the people of the State but the State government is continuing to ignore the Gairsain which will not be tolerated. He said that during the chief ministerial tenure of Harish Rawat, a resolution that every year the budget session of the assembly will be held in Gairsain. Mahara questioned when the government intends to hold the session in Gairsain when it is avoiding holding the session in February- March. wo key border points between Delhi and Haryana remain Closed for traffic while security personnel in anti-riot gears were deployed at strategic locations in the national capital as farmers' 'Delhi Chalo' agitation entered the third day on Thursday. While the two borders - Tikri and Singhu -- with Haryana remain closed, movement was allowed through the Ghazipur border with Uttar Pradesh under the watch of security personnel. According to senior police officer, the Delhi Police is on extra vigil though the protesting farmers have been stopped by the Haryana Police at the Shambhu border between Punjab and Haryana near Ambala. In the central part of Delhi as well, the police have put up barricades on several roads leading to Parliament and other sensitive locations. Farmer leaders have said a meeting will be held with three Union ministers in Chandigarh on Thursday after which the protesters will decide the next course of action. At Tikri and Singhu borders, the Delhi Police has put in place multiple layers of barricades, barbed wires and concrete blocks to stop farmers from entering the capital. This is the third day of the agitation by the farmers to press the Centre to accept their demands including a legal guarantee on Minimum Support Price for their crops and loan waiver. Traffic movement at the Ghazipur border remained hit due to the barricades kept on the highway but the passage from both the side remained opened. ESL Steel Limited, a leading global innovator and digitalization pioneer within the Vedanta Group, hosted a remarkable event, TechUtsav, at its Siyaljori Plant premises. Organized by the Digital Team as a part of their ongoing Digital Month 2.0 initiative, the event aimed to foster innovation, collaboration, and knowledge-sharing within the technology community. With a resounding turnout of over 200 attendees, predominantly ESL Steel employees, the event commenced with great enthusiasm. Amitesh Sinha, Vice President & Head Corporate Venture Capital and Spark at Vedanta Limited, graced the occasion as the inaugural ceremony's chief guest. Addressing the audience, Mr. Sinha emphasized the importance of innovation and collaboration in today's rapidly evolving digital era. He commended ESL Steel Limited for its proactive approach towards embracing digitalization and encouraged employees to leverage technology to drive efficiency, enhance productivity, and unlock new opportunities. As a part of bridging the gap between digital transformation and industrial learning, ESL Steel Limited invited 10 of its Business Partners to showcase their ground-breaking technological ideas. The participating Business Partners showcased their high-end technological breakthroughs which were all creative yet practical. Skylark Drones, Jarsh Safety, Adroitec, Perceptron Software Labs Pvt Ltd, Oxbow Intellect, Geo Climate, Sentra Solutions, XYMA Analytics, NG Nexttech and CHRP were the business partners who came from various cities like Hyderabad, Bangalore, Noida and Kolkata. In the backdrop of ESL Steel Limited's TechUtsav event, Ashish Gupta, the CEO of ESL Steel Limited, delivered a compelling message highlighting the significance of digital transformation and sustainability in shaping the organization's future trajectory. Mr. Gupta emphasized the transformative power of digitalization, where every click and challenge presents an opportunity for innovation, connectivity, and empowerment within the organization. He underscored the pivotal role that technology plays in driving organizational growth and fostering a culture of continuous improvement. Winter weather alerts remain in effect for much of western and southern Montana until Thursday night. Meteorologist Joe Martucci says avalanches will be a threat as well in some areas. Get the full snow forecast and a look at how cold it'll get in this video. In a fresh tussle with bureaucracy, the AAP on Thursday alleged the urban development secretary refused to present the proposal of one-time settlement scheme for redressing faulty water bills before the council of Ministers. This comes as Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal accompanied by Saurabh Bharadwaj and Finance Minister Atishi met Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kuma Saxena to address their concerns in this regard. The AAP government plans to bring a one-time settlement scheme for redressing faulty water bills, which will help in unlocking Rs 1,400 crore revenue for the DJB. Addressing a press conference here, Bharadwaj alleged that the proposal was passed in the DJB's board meeting and that written directions were given to the department secretary to present it before the council of ministers. "The proposal was passed in our board meeting and we prepared to take it to the cabinet. Since Jal Board's administrative department is urban development, we gave written directions to the department secretary and asked him to present it to the council of ministers. Surprisingly, he refused to present it," he alleged. "After his refusal, we mentioned that the scheme also got clearance from Finance Minister Atishi, but we were told by the secretary that they do not recognize Finance as a department," he added. The problem of faulty water bills was raised at two events where Kejriwal was present. He had assured people that the government was working to address the issue and come up with a scheme to settle the bills. Speaking about why the government has been planning to bring the scheme, Bharadwaj said that more than 10.5 lakh consumers have been receiving exaggerated water bills for the last few years. "Most of the consumers believe that the bills they received from DJB were way beyond the amount of water they consumed. This problem increased especially during COVID times. There were instances when people were not there at their residences for months and yet they received hefty bills from the Jal board," Bharadwaj said. "Hence, the DJB brought this one-time settlement scheme as a solution," he added. Atishi on her part said that the lieutenant governor agreed to direct the secretary to present the proposal before the council of ministers in a week. "We raised this matter with the lieutenant governor today. The LG said that the proposal must be presented before the council of ministers and we expect it to be presented early next week," she said. The first look of the Meerut Metro train set was unveiled on Friday and the first Meerut Metro trainset was handed over to the National Capital Region Transport Corporation ( NCRTC )at Savli, Gujarat. With this unveiling, the delivery of the Meerut Metro trainsets has commenced, and the first trainsets will soon arrive at the NCRTC Depot at Duhai. Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Singh Puri shared his best wishes and compliments for this occasion through video. Since 2014, the government has laid emphasis on improving the quality of services offered to urban dwellers. Establishing a robust public transportation system in metropolitan cities is a fundamental aspect of our vision for Indias urban rejuvenation. From a meagre 248 km of operational Metro lines in 2014, we have increased Indias state-of-the-art Metro network to 905 km today. RRTS & MRTS are vital components of this ongoing transformation. The tremendous progress made so far has incentivized us to achieve the target of making India the second largest Metro network in the world, even more quickly. It has also spurred many innovations in the industry and propelled us to become self- reliant. Today, as we roll out the indigenously designed and manufactured MRTS trainset for the Meerut section of the Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut corridor, we once again demonstrate our capabilities of building world-class infrastructure. This is a matter of great pride and a symbol of the new-age innovation that India is embarking upon. I congratulate NCRTC & Alstom on this marvelous accomplishment, he said. M/s Alstom (erstwhile M/s Bombardier) was awarded the manufacturing contract, under which they will deliver 10 three-car trainsets for the Meerut Metro, bundled with rolling stock maintenance for 15 years. The trainsets, with their sleek and modern design, will be energy efficient, lightweight and equipped with a regenerative braking system, compatible with Automatic Train Protection (ATP), Automatic Train Control (ATC), and Automatic Train Operations (ATO). The Metro train has a maximum operational speed of 120 kmph. Meerut Metro project aims to provide a safe, fast, and modern transportation solution for the residents of Meerut, Uttar Pradesh. With the commencement of Meerut Metro trainset delivery, the trial runs will be started soon. Meerut Metro design encapsulates a modern aesthetic approach, prioritizing optimized passenger comfort, safety, and security. The trains are air-conditioned, featuring comfortable seating, luggage racks, grab handles, USB device charging facility, and many other new-age facilities required for the convenience of modern-day commuters. The Meerut Metro will comprise of three (3) Car Train sets. It will have ergonomically designed 2x2 transverse as well as longitudinal seating arrangement. More than 700 passengers can travel in a train. The Metro corridor spans a length of 23 km with 13 stations including 18 km of elevated and 5 km underground section. 9 stations are elevated, 3 stations are underground, while one station (depot station) will be at grade. Construction of the Meerut Metro is progressing rapidly, and all stations are taking shape. Underground tunnel construction has been completed and finishing works are being done at all the underground stations. Track laying activities are currently in progress on already completed tunnels and viaducts. Out of the 18 km long elevated section, viaduct construction has been completed in about 12 km. More than 10 launching gantries (Tarini) are installed to expedite viaduct construction in the rest of the section. On October 20, 2023, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated Indias first Regional Rapid Transit System and flagged off the first Namo Bharat train. With this, the 17-kilometer-long priority section between Sahibabad and Duhai Depot was operationalized for the public. The Bharatiya Janata Party has accused the Congress of attempting to spread confusion on the subject of single use plastic due to its ignorance of facts. The BJP State media in-charge Manveer Singh Chauhan said that the allegations levelled by the Congress are baseless. Responding to allegations levelled by PCC president Karan Mahara, he said that as per the policy of the Central Pollution Control Board, the Union government has banned a total of 19 single use plastic items. The thickness of the plastic carry bags has been regulated in the State under the notification of the Uttarakhand State Environment Protection and Climate Change section. The PCC chief is just guessing that the Excise department is violating the ban whereas the polyester hologram published in the tender is not prohibited by any government order. There is no mention in any notification or court order about 36 microns thick polyester film hologram being prohibited. The complainant has also mixed up facts to misguide government agencies and undertakings. The polyester hologram is being used on liquor bottles in various States including Himachal Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Tripura and Sikkim, among others. The Congress is levelling baseless allegations in its frustration and desperation The governments disaster policy is also employment oriented but the Congress has objection to this too. The policies under the Congress government were made on the suggestions of the liquor mafia while the Dhami governments policies are transparent, Chauhan said. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, on Thursday, said that owing to the relentless efforts of the double-engine government, the scourge of encephalitis had been effectively curtailed and eradicated from eastern Uttar Pradesh within a span of six to seven years. While the formal declaration of this remarkable achievement is yet to be made, the chief minister asserted that the successful containment of encephalitis has emerged as a beacon of hope and a potential model for replication across the nation and beyond. Addressing a gathering convened to mark the foundation stone-laying ceremony for the new administrative building dedicated to MBBS students at BRD Medical College, to be built at the cost of Rs 60 crore, along with the inauguration of a cutting-edge solar rooftop plant on the medical college premises, the chief minister lauded the pivotal role of BRD Medical College in Gorakhpur as the epicenter of this triumph against encephalitis, with the Health department serving as the linchpin in this endeavour. Highlighting the profound impact of this milestone in saving the lives of innocent children, the chief minister said that previously encephalitis claimed 1.200 to 1,500 lives annually. Moreover, the chief minister underscored the efficient reallocation of manpower and resources, previously dedicated to combating encephalitis, towards delivering high quality healthcare services to all segments of society. Reflecting on the journey, he remarked, From 1977-78 until 2017, the issue of encephalitis was tragically overlooked by successive administrations. However, upon assuming office in 2017, I resolved to confront this crisis head-on and charted out a course for its eradication. Underlining the multifaceted approach adopted, the chief minister highlighted the pivotal role of community engagement, citing the impactful cleanliness campaign conducted among the Kushinagar Musahars. This comprehensive initiative encompassed educational endeavours on hygiene practices and the provision of essential resources like soap, underscoring the holistic approach adopted towards disease prevention and public health promotion, he pointed out, adding that he even had to face media trial for encouraging people to use soap. However, the chief minister said, during the coronavirus pandemic, people realised the importance of soap and sanitation. Chief Minister Yogi said that cleanliness was the solution to many diseases, stressing that when attention was focused on cleanliness in mission mode, encephalitis was eradicated from the state. Chief Minister Yogi also talked about the struggle of the BRD Medical College in the past, which despite serving as the sole healthcare centre of eastern Uttar Pradesh, struggled with lack of resources and staff, including doctors, paramedics, nursing staff and manpower required for other tasks. In 1998-99, the Medical Council of India (MCI) once again revoked accreditation to the BRD Medical College. Thereafter, I, along with the then health minister, went to Delhi, submitted an affidavit, and pledged to fulfill the necessary requirements, Yogi said, underscoring the importance of the medical college for people of eastern Uttar Pradesh. Discussing the changes that have taken place in UP after 2017, he stated that now a paediatrics institute has been started at the medical college. The paediatric ward is well-equipped and has undergone infrastructure development. Regional Medical Research Centre has also become functional on the same campus, and a super-specialty block has been constructed. Initially, there was a shortage of seats, and accreditation was in crisis. However, now the government is providing infrastructure for increased seats, he informed. Chief Minister Yogi exhorted doctors and medical students to embrace diligence and fortitude, particularly in the face of escalating workloads and challenging circumstances. Each patient, he noted, arrives with a unique tapestry of personal history, familial background and socio-economic context. By meticulously understanding and documenting these intricacies, one can catalyze revolutionary breakthroughs in the medical realm, he added. Encouraging doctors to embrace innovation and research, the chief minister championed Uttar Pradeshs transition towards clean and sustainable energy. He reminisced on the visionary mantra articulated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2017, which galvanised the state government to install 16 lakh streetlights at zero cost, thus heralding significant strides in energy conservation and emission reduction. Chief Minister Yogi further elaborated on the states policy of incentivising surplus electricity generated through solar panels, a testament to its commitment to renewable energy. Commending BRD Medical College for spearheading the installation of rooftop solar plants, he echoed Prime Minister Modis ambitious vision to propel the nation towards a future powered entirely by clean and green energy by 2070. The Delhi Government has informed the National Green Tribunal (NGT) that ground water samples collected from 58 tubewells in the national Capial exceed permissible fluoride limits. In a report submitted to the NGT, the Delhi government said the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) collected groundwater samples from 1,256 tubewells across the national capital following directions from the NGT. Union Minister of State for Jal Shakti, Bishweswar Tudu, informed the Rajya Sabha on December 4 last year that arsenic had been detected in groundwater in parts of 230 districts in 25 states, and fluoride in 469 districts in 27 states. Observing that the Central Ground Water Authority (CGWA) acknowledged the presence of high concentrations of arsenic and fluoride in groundwater, but no effective measures have been taken, the NGT issued notices to 28 states, Union territories, CGWA, and the environment ministry in December. According to the report, groundwater samples were collected from 56 tubewells in Narela and Bawana in northwest Delhi, of which 33 exceeded permissible fluoride limits. Groundwater samples from 11 out of the 70 tubewells tested in Najafgarh Zone and Nangloi contained higher-than-permitted fluoride levels. Fluoride concentration was also found to be high in samples collected from four tubewells in North Delhi and Northeast Delhi, five tubewells in West Delhi, and four in Southwest Delhi. None of the samples collected from Central Delhi and South Delhi had fluoride content beyond permissible limits. The Delhi government informed the tribunal that the DJB has taken precautions and issued directions to its maintenance divisions to either stop the supply from such tubewells or utilise the water for purposes other than drinking. The city government has also requested additional time from the NGT to assess arsenic concentration in the samples collected from tubewells in the capital. Fluoride found in groundwater occurs naturally due to the breakdown of rocks and soils, weathering, and deposition of atmospheric particles. Most fluorides are sparingly soluble and present in groundwater in small amounts. Small amounts of fluoride (less than 1.0 mg/l) have proven beneficial in reducing tooth decay. However, concentrations exceeding 1.5 mg/l may lead to staining of tooth enamel, while higher levels between 5.0 and 10 mg/l could cause pathological changes, such as stiffness of the back and difficulty in performing natural movements. Groundwater samples with fluoride concentrations exceeding 1.5 mg/l have been collected from various locations in Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Orissa, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Telangana, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Bihar, Delhi, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, and Assam West Bengal. Arsenic contamination is prevalent in several states in India, particularly in the Ganges-Brahmaputra delta region, such as West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, and Assam. According to the Bureau of Indian Standards, the acceptable limit of arsenic is 0.01 mg/l and the permissible limit in the absence of an alternate source is 0.05 mg/l. Long-term intake of arsenic-contaminated water can lead to arsenic poisoning or arsenicosis, resulting in skin, bladder, kidney, or lung cancer, as well as skin diseases (colour changes, and hard patches on palms and soles) or blood vessel issues in the legs and feet. In a show of strength amid speculation of his arrest, which has ramped up following the sixth summons issued to him on Wednesday in connection with the alleged liquor policy scam, Delhi Chief Minister and AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal moved a trust vote in the Assembly on Friday. Speaker Ram Niwas Goel admitted the motion and it will come up for discussion in the Assembly starting 11 am on Saturday. This is the third time that Kejriwal has sought trust vote from the assembly in the past eight years. Moving the vote of confidence motion in the Assembly, Kejriwal said two AAP MLAs told him that BJP operatives recently approached 7 of their MLAs, proposing, in a few days, we will apprehend your Chief Minister. Join BJP, and in exchange, receive Rs 25 crores and election tickets. The MLAs were told that 21 AAP legislators have agreed to leave the party and more are in touch with the BJP. They offered the MLAs Rs 25 crore to join the BJP. The MLAs told me they did not accept. When we spoke to other MLAs, we found that they had not contacted 21, but seven. They were trying to carry out another Operation Lotus. I want to demonstrate through this motion of confidence that once again, the BJPs Operation Lotus has faltered in Delhi. None of our MLAs defected, and all remain steadfastly aligned with us, Kejriwal said. So it is clear that the alleged liquor policy scam is not a scam at all but an attempt to break our party and topple the government by filing false cases like they have in other states. Their aim is not to carry out an investigation but to arrest our leaders - and they have already arrested some - in the guise of the liquor policy case. Their aim is to topple the government because they know they can never win elections in Delhi, the AAP chief claimed. However, the Chief Minister affirmed that their MLAs unequivocally rejected the enticement. Furthermore, Kejriwal emphasised that the BJPs agenda extends beyond investigating the alleged liquor scam; rather, it seeks to detain AAP leaders and dismantle the elected government, akin to strategies deployed in other states. Last month, Kejriwal had alleged that he was on the brink of being arrested in the liquor policy case as part of a BJP conspiracy to topple the AAP government in Delhi and that the BJP was also attempting to contact AAP MLAs, urging them to switch sides in lieu of cash of up to Rs 25 crore.Leader of Opposition in the Delhi Assembly Ramvir Singh Bidhuri claimed that Kejriwal, despite having the support of 62 MLAs, was bringing the trust vote motion that showed his confidence was shaken. Not only this. Even before the trust vote is presented, they are so afraid of just eight BJP MLAs that they got seven of them suspended, he alleged. Bidhuri said it was surprising that Kejriwal was tabling a confidence motion alleging BJP of trying to poach AAP MLAs, but was not presenting evidence of it to the police that has already given him a notice in this regard. The motion in Assembly came days after the Enforcement Directorate once again summoned the Aam Aadami Party (AAP) chief for the sixth time, in connection with an ongoing investigation into the now-scrapped liquor policy. The sixth summons follows a Delhi courts response to an ED-filed complaint, instructing Kejriwal to appear, asserting that prima facie, the AAP chief is legally bound to comply. Earlier, the ED had moved the court after Kejriwal skipped the fifth summons by the probe agency for questioning in a Delhi liquor policy-linked money laundering case. The agency has also issued sixth summons, asking him to appear on February 19. Kejriwal, who has denied any wrongdoing, alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party tried to poach AAP MLAs and topple his government using law enforcement agencies. Kejriwal has been asked to appear before the central probe agency on February 19. Previously, he was summoned on February 2, January 18 and January 3 this year, and on December 21 and November 2 in 2023. Besides, the Delhi police crime branch has also planning to issue a second show cause notice to Kejriwal as he and his minister Atishi has not replied to them. Amid pandemonium, Delhi Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena in his address to the Assembly on Thursday highlighted the AAP Government's achievements, saying the economy of Delhi witnessed real GSDP expansion of 9.18 per cent in 2022-23 as compared to a growth of 7.2 per cent in GDP at national level. Per Capita Income of Delhi has been around 2.6 times higher when compared to national average and the revenue is consistently surplus. Saxena, in his address, said Delhi wonderfully hosted the 18th 'G20 Leaders Summit' last year which was the first time India hosted the summit. Out of the budget of Rs.78,800 Crore of 2023-24, an amount of Rs.43,700 Crore has been allocated for implementation of various developmental schemes, programmes and capital projects. The share of the Services Sector in Delhi's economy is about 85% which also shows the inherent strengths of the economy, he said. During his address on the first day of the budget session Saxena was interrupted on multiple occasions by BJP MLAs as he highlighted the AAP government's achievements. The BJP wanted to attack the AAP dispensation as Saxena talked about its work in the field of education and health. In his address, the Lt Governor listing out the achievements of the government in the field of water and sanitation, said the installed capacity of drinking water has been augmented by 13 per cent in the last 10 years. He also highlighted installation of more than one lakh CCTV cameras, five lakh citizens availing free treatment under the 'Delhi Arogya Kosh' scheme and the addition of 1,650 electric buses to the fleet. "Electricity rates have not been increased in the last eight years and the tariff remains the lowest among all the neighbouring states," he said. BJP MLAs interrupted him multiple times during his address as they sought to attack the Arvind Kejriwal government. Talking about the various social welfare initiatives of the government, he said pensions ranging from Rs 2,000 to Rs 2,500 per month is being given to around nine lakh beneficiaries. "More than 72 lakh beneficiaries have been provided subsidised rations through fair price shops. Delhi also has the highest number of One Nation One Ration Card beneficiaries," he said, while underlining that the minimum wage in Delhi is the highest among all the states and Union Territories in the country. Through its 17 welfare schemes, the government is also working for the welfare of the construction workers, he said. Saxena, who has been at loggerheads with the AAP dispensation over a range of issues, said more than five lakh citizens have availed themselves of free treatment, surgery, and diagnostic services through identified private hospitals under the 'Delhi Arogya Kosh' scheme. "Proposals for five new hospitals at Bindapur, Baprola, Deendarpur, Keshavpuram and Sangam Vihar are also underway. More than 12,000 beds will be added after completion of new hospitals and remodelling of the hospitals," he said. He also underlined that the Infant Mortality Rate has shown a 63 per cent decline from 2010 to 2020. In a recent development, Uttar Pradesh Minister Dinesh Pratap Singh has issued a robust response to Sonia Gandhis letter, accusing her of misleading the public and emphasising that it is his duty to unveil the truth when someone attempts to deceive people through letters. Should Sonia Gandhi decide to pen misleading letters, I will ensure the residents of Rae Bareli know the truth, Singh said, highlighting the importance of transparency in communication. Singh criticised Sonia Gandhis decision, stating it prioritised personal interests over the welfare of the nation. He speculated that Gandhis avoidance of contesting elections from Rae Bareli stemmed from a fear of defeat, rather than genuine concern for her constituents. Not once in the past decade has Sonia Gandhi visited Rae Bareli, Singh remarked, questioning her commitment to the constituency. Singh further commented on Priyanka Gandhi Vadras extensive campaigning efforts, suggesting a desperation to secure a victory, even venturing to other states without health-related hindrances. With no voice raised for Rae Bareli in the countrys parliament over the past 10 years, it is evident that Congress is not in a position to contest from any seat in Uttar Pradesh, said Singh, underscoring the partys dwindling influence in the state. Singh also addressed the diminishing impact of the Gandhi familys political legacy, remarking on the shift of focus from Rae Bareli to Rajasthan, hinting at concerns over a potential electoral defeat. Service and glamour alone cannot secure a parliamentary seat, Singh said, implying that substantive contributions are essential for political success. Reflecting on the changing dynamics within the Gandhi family, Singh questioned the efficacy of Rahul Gandhis leadership, citing instances where Rae Bareli and Amethi were allegedly neglected. When Rae Bareli and Amethi were deprived of justice, how can Rahul Gandhi assure justice for the entire nation? Singh questioned, challenging the Gandhis credibility as custodians of justice. Singh concluded by suggesting that Rahul Gandhis visit to Rae Bareli would prompt the electorate to raise pertinent questions, underscoring the need for accountability within the political hierarchy. In fleeing from Rae Bareli, Sonia and Indira Gandhi betrayed the trust of the people, Singh remarked, highlighting a perceived lack of commitment to the welfare of the constituency. As political tensions escalate in Uttar Pradesh, Dinesh Pratap Singhs outspoken critique adds another layer to the ongoing political discourse, shedding light on the complexities of familial legacies and electoral dynamics in the state. Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami took out a massive road-show in the Gauchar town of Chamoli district on Thursday. After the road show the CM participated in the Nanda Gaura Mahotsav organised at the Mela ground in Gauchar. Addressing the programme the CM said that Nanda Devi is worshipped in both Garhwal and Kumaon regions of the State. He said that Nanda is considered as a Dhyann (daughter) by the people and the Nanda Raj Jat Yatra is organised every 12 years from Kurud in Chamoli to Kailash. The CM said that the State government is committed to women empowerment. He said that the State government has fulfilled the promise made to the people of the State by getting the bill on Uniform Civil Code (UCC) passed in the State assembly. The CM said that the UCC is in the interest of all the people of the State. He said that no society or country can develop without cooperation of women. The women are providing momentum to the cottage industry by making self help groups (SHGs) in remote areas of the State. He said that the women are highly skilled and these skills are now helping them in becoming economically stronger. The CM said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has opened bank accounts of 23 crore women in the country and now every type of subsidy is directly getting transferred into their bank accounts. The State government has provided 30 per cent reservation to the women of the state in government jobs and has undertaken many welfare schemes for the women. The CM said that the State government has adopted the mantra of Sabka Sath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas and Sabka Prayas. He said that Uttarakhand became the first State in the country to implement a stringent anti-copying law. Similarly a law to prevent religious conversions was made and for the first time firm and effective action against Land Jihad was taken. In the programme the CM inaugurated and laid the foundation stone of the development projects worth Rs 400 crore for the Chamoli district. The CM viewed the stalls showcasing local products and said that the traditional handicraft items, carpets, Daukha, caps and shawls should be publicised. He said that more and more outlets on Yatra routes should be opened for the purpose. He also distributed cheques to the beneficiaries of various schemes and felicitated many women doing exceptional work in their field. Speaking on the occasion the minister in charge of Chamoli district Dhan Singh Rawat said that the health services are being strengthened in the State. He said that the task of filling vacant posts of doctors in the hospitals was achieved during the term of the Dhami government. The Garhwal MP Tirath Singh Rawat said that historic works under the leadership of PM Modi and CM Dhami are being undertaken in Uttarakhand. Karnprayag MLA Anil Nautiyal, Tharali MLA BR Tamta, position holder Ramesh Gadia, Garhwal commissioner Vinay Shankar Pandey and others were present on the occasion. Sai Nursing Home was formally inaugurated with new and improved facilities near Maneka Cinema Hall, Ganpati Nagar, Lohardaga urban area, Lohardaga. On Wednesday, the chief guest was Dr. Waghmare Prasad Krishna, Deputy Commissioner of Lohardaga, SP Haris Bin Zaman, former Legislative Councilor Praveen Kumar Singh, It was done jointly by Civil Surgeon Dr. Rammohan Khalkho by cutting the ribbon and lighting the lamp. On the occasion, the DC said that a nursing home is a house of service, there is a need to serve selflessly. He said that Lohardaga district is continuously making better achievements in the field of health. With new hospitals and nursing homes opening day by day, patients are getting better health benefits. He asked the nursing home management to provide better services to the poor people here. Superintendent of Police Haris Bin Zaman said that nursing homes should not be allowed to become the center of business under any circumstances. Because this area is a very economically backward area. People here go to big cities like Ranchi for treatment. If we provide better health facilities to the people here at low cost, then this nursing home will definitely prove to be a milestone for this area. Civil Surgeon Dr Khalkho said that best possible efforts need to be made to ensure maximum services to the public. Sai Nursing Home Director Ashish Kumar Singh alias Pintu Singh welcomed the guests by giving them bouquets and covering them with shawls. He said that our Sai Nursing Home has a team of experienced doctors available 24 hours a day, who are always ready to provide the best medical care to the patients. All types of medical facilities are available including operation arrangements with state-of-the-art technology, laboratory, medical store, Cray, ultrasound etc. He said that free treatment is provided here under Ayushman Card, in which treatment up to Rs 5 lakh is available. Samsung Electronics Co, Ltd announced that the sleep apnea feature on the Samsung Health Monitor app has received De Novo authorisation from the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA). This feature, which detects signs of sleep apnea using a compatible Samsung Galaxy Watch and Phone, was the first of its kind to be authorised by FDA following previous approval by South Koreas Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS), announced last October in South Korea. The sleep apnea feature enables users over the age of 22 who have not been diagnosed with sleep apnea to detect signs of moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) over a two-night monitoring period, a common and chronic sleep condition that often goes undiagnosed and untreated. To utilise the feature, users can simply track their sleep twice for more than four hours within a 10-day period. OSA causes a person to stop breathing while sleeping and can often result in disruptions in oxygen supply, lower sleep quality and daytime fatigue. Untreated sleep apnea can compound the risk of cardiovascular diseases such as hypertension, coronary artery disease, heart failure, cardiac arrhythmias and stroke. According to the National Sleep Foundation (NSF), roughly 25% of men and 10% of women in the US experience OSA. The new feature on the Samsung Health Monitor app is expected to help more people proactively detect moderate or severe forms of OSA, and as a result of the detection seek medical care to reduce the possibility of health-related complications. Good health is strongly linked to good sleep. Sleep helps our bodies and minds recover and empowers us to wake up refreshed and ready for the day ahead. The quality of sleep we get every night has a significant impact on our physical and mental well-being, our relationships, our performance and much more. Samsung recognises the foundational role that sleep serves in our health and well-being by focusing on three key elements for better sleep: understanding sleep patterns, building better habits and creating a sleep-friendly environment. With the sleep apnea feature, Samsung is taking the next step in its ongoing commitment to provide Galaxy users with the best possible sleep tools to improve their sleep health habits. The feature will be available on the Galaxy Watch series in the US via Samsung Health Monitor app in the third quarter. TradeArabia News Service The Wyoming Legislature is considering a bill that would allocate $50 million for the purpose of litigating federal land-use policy The Senate Agriculture, State & Public Lands & Water Resources Committee on Tuesday moved the bill forward. Citing constitutional principles of co-equal government, Senate File 13 would authorize the Legislature to sue feds for acts and administrative rules, with specific reference to the Environmental Policy Act, National Historic Preservation Act, Endangered Species Act, amongst other federal laws. The bill would allow the Legislature to tap the funds with a simple majority vote in both houses or a two-thirds majority vote from the Management Council. The efforts are the latest in the states growing frustration with federal policy, inflamed in recent years by stalled mineral leases and a contentious resource management plan in the states southwest. And they serve as an indication that federal land-use squabbles are not likely to subside. We find that the playing field is often very unequal, and I think it would be very helpful if the state had an opportunity to weigh in on some of these important issues for our members and other industry uses on federal lands, said said Wyoming Farm Bureau Association Vice President Ken Hamilton, who spoke in support of the bill Tuesday. The bill parallels another effort HB 36 that aims to increase state discretion over compliance with federal policy, and deny the use of state monies in federal policies deemed unconstitutional by state representatives. The moves fit with a growing atmosphere of litigiousness around the U.S, where state coalitions have brought suits against feds on policies from wetland protection and Medicaid expansion to concerns over so-called environmental and social governance. The Gurugram Police as well as Delhi Police have been put on high alert in view of the farmer's protest. On the third day of farmers' agitation, tightened security arrangements were witnessed on the Delhi-Gurugram border near the Ambience Mall on the Delhi-Jaipur Expressway also known as NH-48 on Thursday. Three-layer security arrangements made by Delhi Police and tyre killer speed breakers were also installed at the Delhi-Gurugram border area. Although the situation at the Gurugram-Delhi border is normal, despite the security on the border, the problem of traffic jams persist. During rush hours, vehicles moved bumper to bumper on the expressway due to security checks by the police. Senior officials of the Gurugram Police said they have intensified their security arrangements and special instructions have been given to the police force to keep a vigil on suspicious elements. "Multiple police checkpoints have been erected across the district and along with border areas. Police personnel along with the anti-riot squad have been deployed at the key locations. Also, the duty of Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) rank officers has been ensured on a rotation basis," said a senior police official. Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCPs) rank officials will also continue patrolling in their respective areas on a rotational basis, the officer said. At the sensitive points, Gurugram police personnel have been stationed. Also, officials from the intelligence and crime branch units have been placed in civies to keep an eye on anti-social elements. The police strength has been increased around border areas. "The Gurugram police are on high alert at every level in view of the farmers' protest. The suspects are being specially monitored," said Subhash Boken, spokesperson of the Gurugram police. Amidst escalating farmer protests, two trains have been cancelled and six others have been diverted in the Ambala railway division as farmers stage rail roko demonstrations across Punjab. Ambala railway divisions senior divisional commercial manager Naveen Kumar confirmed the cancellations and diversions, stating that no Shatabdi or Vande Bharat trains were affected. The Shatabdi and Shan-e-Punjab Express trains, scheduled for Thursday, departed for Delhi from Ludhiana Junction instead of their usual departure point, Amritsar. The Sachkhand Express has been rerouted via Chandigarh instead of Ambala, while the Pathankot-Delhi Express will now pass through Dhuri instead. Bhartiya Kisan Union (Ekta Ugrahan) and BKU Dakunda (Dhaner) had given the call for a four-hour 'rail roko' protest at several places in Punjab to protest against the action against protesting farmers at Haryana-Punjab borders as a part of their Delhi Chalo call. Farmers began their stir around 12 pm by squatting on rail tracks at several places till 4 pm. The disruption in train services comes as farmers block railway tracks at various locations in Punjab, forcing authorities to divert trains through alternate routes. Demonstrations were also held at several toll plazas, including one at Dhareri Jattan toll plaza on the Bathinda-Chandigarh national highway, demanding toll plaza exemptions. Simultaneously, the Samyukta Kisan Morcha and other farmers unions have called for a nationwide strike, or Bharat Bandh, on February 16. The call comes as hundreds of farmers from Punjab, marching towards Delhi, face resistance at the state border near Ambala, with Haryana security forces resorting to tear gas to deter them. The Bharat Bandh is expected to impact transportation, agricultural activities, MNREGA rural works, private offices, village shops, and rural industrial and service sector institutions. Emergency services such as ambulance operations, medical shops, and students going for board exams are likely to remain unaffected. The farmers demands include a legal guarantee of Minimum Support Price (MSP) for crops, strengthening of the MGNREGS, reinstatement of the old pension scheme, and pension and social security for workers in both formal and informal sectors. They also seek free power for farming and domestic use, comprehensive crop insurance, and a hike in pensions among others. The joint call for the Bharat Bandh has garnered support from public intellectuals and artists, who have issued a statement urging people to extend support to the farmers and workers' cause. This united struggle, they assert, challenges the government's pro-corporate, anti-people policies and communal propaganda. Internet shutdown in Punjabs 3 districts; CM Writes to Centre In the wake of farmers Dilli Chalo campaign and the Bharat Bandh call for February 16, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has ordered the shutdown of internet services in three districts of Punjab. Patiala, Sangrur, and Fatehgarh Sahib have witnessed internet suspension in certain areas a move that has sparked outrage from the Punjab Government, led by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). Unhappy, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has written a stern letter to the Central Government expressing strong disapproval and demanding the immediate restoration of the internet services in the three districts. AAP spokesperson Malvinder Singh Kang denounced the decision by the Central Government to impose such restrictions in Punjab's districts. As per the Ministrys order, internet services will be suspended in regions falling under these specific police stations: Shutrana, Samana, Ghanaur, Devigarh, and Balbhera in Patiala; Khanauri, Moonak, Lehra, Sunam and Chajli in Sangrur; and Fatehgarh Sahib police station area. On the other hand, the MHA has justified the internet shutdown citing the Public Emergency and Public Safety Rules 2017. The decision has caused inconvenience to the residents in affected areas of Fatehgarh Sahib, Patiala, and Sangrur. Upon investigation, Member of Parliament Dr Amar Singh discovered the Central Government's role in the internet suspension, prompting further action from the state government. The move comes amidst heightened tensions between farmers and the Central Government, with the Delhi Chalo movement gaining momentum. Hry Govt extends mobile Internet curbs in 7 districts till February 17 Haryana Government on Thursday extended the ban on mobile internet and bulk SMS services in seven districts by two days till February 17 in view of the farmers Delhi Chalo agitation. These districts are Ambala, Kurukshetra, Kaithal, Jind, Hisar, Fatehabad and Sirsa, the government said in an order. On February 13, the state government had extended the suspension of these services for two days. On Tuesday, farmers from Punjab faced tear gas shells at two border points as protesters tried to break past barricades set up by the Haryana Police to stop them from heading to the national capital. In the order, additional chief secretary of Haryana T V S N Prasad said, After assessment of the current prevailing law & order situation in the state, the conditions are still critical and tense in the districts of Ambala, Kurukshetra, Kaithal, Jind, Hisar, Fatehabad and Sirsa. There is a clear potential of disruption of public utilities, damage to public assets and amenities and disturbance of public law and order in above-mentioned districts on account of misuse of internet services by way of spread of inflammatory material and false rumours, Prasad said. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, on Thursday, emphasised the pivotal role of womens self-reliance in fostering a strong society. He pointed out that in societies where women are empowered, progress becomes inevitable. Addressing the Nari Shakti Vandan Sammelan at Yogiraj Baba Gambhirnath Auditorium in Gorakhpur, the chief minister said, In the year 2047, when the country completes its 100th year of independence, we will get a Viksit Bharat with half of the population experiencing empowerment. The government will make efforts at every level for womens empowerment so that their safety, respect and self-reliance are ensured. During the event, the chief minister engaged with beneficiary women associated with the National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM) and disbursed part-time loans amounting to Rs 54.25 crore to 3,617 self-help groups. The chief minister emphasised that by empowering half of the population, the government could propel the nation to new heights of development. The government assures all women of its unwavering commitment to protecting their interests and taking the benefits of government schemes to all the needy people diligently and with utmost responsibility, he affirmed. Highlighting Prime Minister Narendra Modis vision for respect and safety of women, he pointed out that women in Gorakhpur are leading self-reliant lives through self-help groups, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and the National Rural Livelihood Mission. Chief Minister Yogi underscored the significance of the Nari Shakti Vandan Act passed recently by the Lok Sabha. This act aims to enhance womens representation in Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabhas, providing them with 33 per cent reservation without discrimination. Previously, the representation of women in Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabhas was disproportionately low, but now, with this reservation, they will have a fairer representation, he stated. Highlighting Prime Minister Modis initiatives for empowerment of women, the chief minister emphasised, Women have been at the forefront of initiatives like Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao, and Matru Vandana Yojana. Following the prime ministers vision, every woman and farmer now receives benefits of the government schemes without discrimination. He highlighted, Those without housing face significant challenges, with women often bearing a greater burden. Through the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Rural), the government has extended housing benefits to 61,556 beneficiaries in Gorakhpur alone. Additionally, under Mukhyamantri Awas Yojana, housing benefits have been provided to 38,866 people in Gorakhpur. Furthermore, the chief minister noted the significant impact of the National Rural Livelihood Mission, with 20,847 self-help groups formed in Gorakhpur, involving over 3.05 lakh women. Various pension schemes have also been instrumental in supporting women, with 63,563 benefiting from the Destitute Women Pension Scheme, 54,062 from Old Age Pension Scheme and 6,094 from the Divyangjan Pension Scheme, he added. Under the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana, 2.91 lakh women have received free cooking gas connections whereas 56 self-help groups, involving 438 women, run ration shops, he pointed out. Additionally, the chief minister highlighted the Kanya Sumangala Yojana, which provides financial assistance for education of girls from birth to graduation, with the amount set to be increased to Rs 25,000 from April onwards, benefiting over 17 lakh daughters. On this occasion, MP Ravi Kishan Shukla and Bharatiya Janata Party mahanagar president Rajesh Gupta also addressed the people. District Panchayat Chairperson Sadhna Singh, Mayor Dr Manglesh Srivastava, MLC Dr Dharmendra Singh, MLA Pradeep Shukla, Vipin Singh, BJP regional president Sahajanand Rai, district president Yudhishthir Singh and others participated in the programme. The Uttar Pradesh government headed by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath will engage with CSR (corporate social responsibility) heads of industries during the upcoming Groundbreaking Ceremony@4 and encourage them to fulfill their responsibilities towards society. The conversation between the Yogi governments officials and the industrialists will take place on the second day of the three-day GBC@4 on February 20. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has always emphasised the need for the industrial sector to move forward and fulfill its responsibility towards society apart from addressing its business concerns. The GBC@4 will be the largest so far and see implementation of 14,000 projects worth Rs 10 lakh crore in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. These projects will create employment opportunities for 33.50 lakh youth. The Companies (Corporate Social Responsibility Policy) Amendment Rules, 2022 in India links companies to their social responsibilities. Under these rules, companies have to spend at least two per cent of their average net profit for three financial years preceding the current financial year on initiatives related to social concerns. Most of the reputed companies spend crores of rupees, addressing social concerns under the initiative. The entire framework of the conference has been designed to establish collaboration between various departments of the Yogi government and CSR heads of reputed national and international companies taking part in GBC@4. During the conference, direct interaction will be established with the CSR heads of corporations. This will give them the opportunity to gain insight into the impactful work done by relevant departments and consider providing funds to support charitable work. Along with this, six departments of the government, including Women and Child Development, Basic and Secondary Education, Vocational Education and Skill Development, State Rural Livelihood Mission, Dairy Development and Sports, will inform about various projects related to CSR in Uttar Pradesh. Besides, the corporate will also be made aware of the steps being taken by the government as per CSR objectives. Notably, more than 3,000 participants, including eminent industrialists, representatives of Fortune Global/India 500 companies, foreign investor partners, foreign ambassadors/high commissioners and other distinguished guests will attend the GBC@4. A three-day exhibition will also be organised from February 19 to 21 on the sidelines of the event. The defence ministry on Friday cleared procurement of military hardware worth Rs 84,560 crore including multi-mission maritime aircraft to boost overall combat capabilities of the armed forces. The procurement proposals were cleared by the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), headed by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. The proposals cleared by the DAC include new generation anti-tank mines, air defence tactical control radar, heavy weight torpedoes, medium range maritime reconnaissance and multi-mission maritime aircraft, flight refueller aircraft and software defined radios. The DAC approved procurement of medium range maritime reconnaissance and multi-mission maritime aircraft for strengthening the surveillance and interdiction capabilities of the Indian Navy and the Indian Coast Guard, the defence ministry said. A proposal to procure air defence tactical control radar was also approved with an aim to strengthen the air defence systems, especially the capabilities to detect slow, small and low-flying targets, it said. "In order to enhance the operational efficiency and domination in the tactical battle area for engaging targets that are beyond visual line of sight by the mechanised forces, the AoN (approval of necessity) under Buy (Indian-IDDM) category has been accorded for procurement of canister launched anti-armour loiter munition system," the defence ministry said. It said the DAC accorded AoN for procurement of Flight Refueller Aircraft for enhancing the operational capabilities and reach of the Indian Air Force. Haryana Police on Friday fired tear gas shells to disperse protesting farmers when they moved towards the barricades at the Shambhu border near Ambala. The fresh confrontation comes on the fourth day of the farmers' 'Delhi Chalo' march to demand a legal guarantee for minimum support price (MSP) for crops. Protesting farmers from Punjab have stayed put at the Shambhu and Khanauri -- two points on the state's border with Haryana. There were clashes between the farmers and Haryana Police personnel on the first two days of the protest as well. The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha had given the call for the 'Delhi Chalo' march to press the BJP-led central government to accept their demands. The farmers from Punjab began their march to the national capital on Tuesday but were stopped by security personnel at the Shambhu and Khanauri border points. Besides a legal guarantee of MSP, the farmers are demanding the implementation of the Swaminathan Commission's recommendations, pension for farmers and farm labourers, farm debt waiver, no hike in electricity tariff, withdrawal of police cases and "justice" for the victims of the 2021 Lakhimpur Kheri violence, reinstatement of the Land Acquisition Act, 2013, and compensation to the families of the farmers who died during a previous agitation in 2020-21. Jailed former prime minister Imran Khans party on Thursday nominated as its prime ministerial candidate the party secretary general Umar Ayub Khan, grandson of former military dictator Ayub Khan. Umar Ayub Khan, 54, joined Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) before the 2018 general elections after losing the 2013 polls as a candidate of the Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) from Haripur in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. Due to the fractured mandate with none of the parties getting a clear majority, Pakistan is yet to get a new government. Even when more than 100 independents backed by Khans PTI party won the February 8 polls, it has alleged that its mandate was stolen. If those troubles were any less, over the last three days, some of the independents have joined the possible coalition to be formed by PTIs rival parties. Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has announced that its President Shehbaz Sharif, 72, will be its prime ministerial candidate. The former prime minister is supported by the Pakistan Peoples Party and four other smaller parties. I am hopeful that Umar Ayub Khan will be elected as Prime Minister, former PTI speaker Asad Qaiser said while talking to media persons after meeting Khan in the Adiala Jail at Rawalpindi, where he has been lodged since September last year. Separately, PTI top leader Gohar Khan also confirmed that Umar Ayub Khan was nominated as PM by Imran Khan himself. We will try our best that our candidate wins, he said talking to the media. Umar Ayub Khan belongs to the Haripur district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and is a grandson of former military dictator Ayub Khan. He won from National Assembly Constituency NA-18 and also served thrice as a member of the National Assembly. He was elected as a member of the National Assembly for the first time on the ticket of Pakistan Muslim League-Q in 2002 and was the Minister of State for Finance from 2004 to 2007 during the regime of former military dictator Pervez Musharraf. He was the candidate of Pakistan Muslim League-N from Haripur in the year 2013 but was defeated by a PTI candidate. He alleged rigging and re-voting was held in seven polling stations of this constituency and Umar Ayub Khan won after re-polling. He joined the PTI before the 2018 general elections and won on the party ticket. Later he served as Minister for Economic Affairs in the PTI government. Meanwhile, Gohar Khan also said that the party founder nominated Mian Aslam Iqbal as the candidate for the chief minister of Punjab while Salar Saheb was nominated as the chief minister candidate for the Balochistan assembly. Qaiser further said that his party would join the parliament and fight a legal battle regarding rigging in the elections because PTIs mandate was stolen. He also said that Khan tasked him to contact different parties. I have been given the task of talking to all political parties. Various parties including Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazl (JUI-F) would be contacted, Qaiser said. Our mandate was stolen in the election, the worst election in the history of Pakistan. In todays meeting, the political situation was put before the founder of PTI, he said. PTI leader Mohammad Ali Saif speaking along with Qaisar said that another PTI leader Aqibullah Khan had been nominated by the party for the speaker of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly. The surprise nomination of Shehbaz Sharif as Pakistans next prime minister is being seen here as a likely end of his elder brother Nawaz Sharifs political career after he failed to secure the coveted post for a record fourth time. Shehbaz Sharif, 72, is expected to become prime minister after a post-poll alliance of leading political parties led by the two brothers struck a deal with other parties to form a coalition government after last weeks elections resulted in a hung Parliament. If everything goes as planned, the six-party coalition government is likely to take the reins early next month in the coup-prone country. None of the three major parties, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, the Pakistan Peoples Party, or the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf have won the necessary seats in the February 8 general elections to secure a majority in the National Assembly and, therefore, will be unable to form a government on their own. Shehbaz Sharif has prevailed over 74-year-old Nawaz Sharif in the race to grab the coveted post apparently with the blessings of the powerful military establishment, sources said. Pakistani media has been reporting that the powerful stakeholders are more comfortable working with Shehbaz than Nawaz though they facilitated his return from London in October last year, ending a four-year self-imposed exile. However, Nawaz Sharifs daughter Maryam Nawaz was quick to dismiss speculation about her fathers political career. Nawaz Sharif wanted to become PM for a fourth time but after the split mandate, he withdrew from the top slot, Maryam, the frontrunner for the post of Punjab chief minister, posted on X on Wednesday. Rejecting reports that her fathers political career is over, the 50-year-old, considered to be the political heir of Nawaz Sharif, said: My fathers political career is not over yet. There is also no truth in the inference that Nawaz has decided to quit politics. He will supervise the federal and Punjab governments and play his due role. She said when Nawaz Sharif was in power on the three previous occasions, he had the majority in the National Assembly, but now the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) did not get a simple majority. Those who know Nawaz are also aware that he is not interested in leading a coalition government, Maryam, also senior vice president of the PML-N, said. Shehbaz and I are his soldiers, bound to follow his command. We will work under his leadership and supervision, Maryam added. Differences within the PML-N ranks have also come to the fore following the announcement of Shehbaz Sharif as prime minister hopeful as some senior leaders insisted that Nawaz Sharif should have become the premier of the coalition government. For years, the PML-N and its leaders have been shouting slogans of Wazeer-e-Azam, Nawaz Sharif PM [would be] Nawaz Sharif. Even, when Shehbaz Sharif was the prime minister and during the election campaign, the party projected Nawaz Sharif as the next prime minister if PML-N came to power. However, it seems, the split mandate and the last-minute adjustments left the elder Sharif with no other option but to nominate his younger brother and daughter and assume a new role for himself: the person who nominates people in key positions, The Express Tribune newspaper commented. We are utterly disappointed that Nawaz Sharif is not becoming PM, PML-N Senator Asif Karmani said. He said during the whole campaign, the people and the party workers were told that Nawaz Sharif would be the partys prime ministerial candidate. But the last-minute change disappointed the party workers, he said. It seems jailed Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder and former prime minister Imran Khan has ended Nawazs political career by forcing him to withdraw himself for the coveted post seeing the split mandate, another party leader said. On Wednesday, social media was abuzz if Nawaz Sharifs political career was over. There were more than 91,000 tweets seemingly by PML-N supporters under the hashtag Pakistan Ko Nawaz Dou (Give Pakistan Nawaz) showing that the Nawaz group in the PML-N is not happy over Shehbazs surprise nomination on Tuesday night. Meanwhile, Maryam is set to become the first woman chief minister of Punjab, a crucial province of over 120 million people. The PTI has alleged that Maryam would become the Chief Minister on its stolen mandate thus having no credibility of her selection. According to the Election Commission of Pakistans tally, the total number of general seats won by these six parties comes to 152, which shows they can easily achieve the minimum required number of 169 to form the government at the Centre after the addition of 60 women and 10 minority seats in their tally. Pakistan recorded 47.6 per cent voter turnout in the February 8 election, which was lower than the previous one in 2018 when 52.1 per cent of voters cast the ballot. (): Pakistans Supreme Court has come down hard on the powerful militarys commercial activities and sought a commitment from the government to ensure the armed forces exclusively focus on defence-related matters rather than business ventures. The assurance was sought by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa, who was heading a three-judge bench in a case scrutinising the use of military lands for business purposes. The top court emphasised that all institutions of the country must stay within their constitutional boundaries, the Dawn newspaper reported on Thursday. The matter was initiated by former CJP Gulzar Ahmed in 2021 when the courts attention was drawn to the alleged illegal use of cantonment board lands in Karachi, which were acquired for strategic purposes but used for commercial gains. On Wednesday, Justice Isa regretted that the army had set up marriage halls on military lands and then sought assurance from Attorney General for Pakistan Mansoor Usman Awan that the military would not engage in running business. Can you get this assurance? Justice Isa asked Usman, adding that every institution should remain within its domain and work according to its mandate. The attorney general conceded that the principle demanded that everyone should do their own job. At the hearing, the counsel for the Evacuees Trust Property Board (ETPB) told the court the building from which the dispute erupted belonged to the board since the individual to whom the land was allotted sold it on fake papers after which a five-storey building was built on the land. Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar wondered if the ETPB was a bystander when the building was being constructed. Russia and China on Wednesday accused the United States and Britain of illegally attacking military sites used by Yemens Houthi rebels to launch missiles at commercial vessels in the Red Sea, disrupting global shipping. US deputy ambassador Robert Wood and UK Ambassador Barbara Woodward countered that the Houthi attacks are illegal, and their proportionate and legal action against the Yemen rebels are being taken in self-defense.Woodward said the Houthi attacks are driving up the costs of global shipping, including the costs of food supplies and humanitarian aid in the region. But Russias deputy U.N. ambassador Dmitry Polyansky and Chinas UN envoy Zhang Jun argued that the U.N. Security Council never authorized military action against Yemen.The clashes came at a council meeting where UN special envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg said promising efforts to restore peace to Yemen have been slowed by rising regional tensions linked to the war in Gaza and in particular the military escalation in the Red Sea. Since November, the Houthi rebels have targeted ships in the Red Sea to demand a cease-fire in Israels offensive in Gaza. They have frequently attacked vessels with tenuous or no clear links to Israel, imperiling shipping in a key route for trade among Asia, the Mideast and Europe. In recent weeks, the United States and the United Kingdom, backed by other allies, have launched airstrikes targeting Houthi missile arsenals and launch sites for its attacks. Wood, the . envoy, said American strikes in response to attacks on US naval US vessels, aim to disrupt and degrade the Houthis ability to continue their reckless attacks against vessels and commercial shipping in the Red Sea, the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, and the Gulf of Aden. Since 2014, he said, Iran has provided the Houthis with a growing arsenal of advanced weapons that they have used to target commercial ships, and Iran cannot deny its role in enabling and supporting the attacks carried out by the Houthis. Wood accused the Houthis of trying to apply a chokehold on global shipping through the Red Sea and urged all countries, especially those with direct channels to Iran, to press Irans leaders to rein in the Houthis and stop these lawless attacks. Russias Polyansky stressed that Moscow categorically condemns attacks and seizures of commercial vessels and (...) any attacks which impede freedom of navigation. He said Russia has conveyed messages to the Houthi leaders to focus on Yemens domestic agenda and pursue peace. The North Dakota Supreme Court on Feb. 8 dealt a blow to local efforts to save the Bismarck-Mandan Rail Bridge over the Missouri River, while handing a victory to BNSF Railway as it continues work on replacing the aging historic structure. Justices unanimously ruled that the Friends of the Rail Bridge citizen group did not follow the proper process in challenging two state permits that cleared the way for construction of a new bridge. The court upheld South Central District Judge Jackson Lofgren's dismissal of the nonprofit's lawsuit last June. Lofgren's ruling upheld a decision by the state Department of Water Resources in April 2023 to grant BNSF Railway two sovereign lands permits -- the final hurdle the railroad needed to clear to launch construction of a modern bridge it says is needed for safety and commerce, and raze the current structure once the project is done. "Were pleased with the courts decision affirming the previous dismissal of FORBs challenge," railroad spokeswoman Amy McBeth said Feb. 8 in a statement to the Tribune. "Construction of the new railroad bridge is underway. When the project is complete, our new railroad bridge will safely and efficiently serve our customers in the state and throughout the country for another 100 years. This is a massive infrastructure project privately funded and maintained that the states energy, agriculture and construction industries rely on, and were pleased with this outcome." FORB has said it does not oppose a new bridge, but the group has been fighting for years to save the existing structure in the hopes it could be turned into a pedestrian bridge tourist attraction. FORB attorney Bill Delmore told the Tribune on Feb. 8 that "naturally we're disappointed" with the ruling, and that the group would be meeting in coming days to decide on a path forward. One option would be to ask the Supreme Court for reconsideration, he said. The bridge was built in 1883, with the spans replaced in 1905. BNSF last year began building a new $100 million bridge just to the north of it, with plans to have it operating in late summer 2026. The current bridge will then be dismantled, a process expected to take about a year. The appeal Sovereign lands of North Dakota are defined as areas lying within the ordinary high-water marks of navigable lakes and streams. The two permits approved by the state Department of Water Resources last April OK'd construction of a new bridge and removal of the old. They marked the end of a yearslong effort by BNSF to obtain all of the necessary state and federal permits for its project, and the railroad launched construction two months later. FORB in May appealed the permit decision to state district court, citing several reasons, including the group's allegation that the department didn't adequately consider the possible impacts of the bridge project. The group has long touted the 141-year-old bridges historical, cultural and aesthetic attributes and listed what it believes are legal reasons for keeping the structure, including its contention that the state -- not the railroad -- owns the bridge. Water Resources and BNSF sought dismissal of the case, arguing in part that FORB had not exhausted its administrative remedies. Lofgren ultimately ruled in their favor, saying that under state law someone "aggrieved by an action or decision" of Water Resources must request a hearing before the department within 30 days. The law says that only after a hearing is held or denied can the matter be appealed to district court. FORB maintained that a December 2022 letter it sent the department requesting a hearing on the then-proposed permits, along with public gatherings that Water Resources held in February and March, fulfilled that requirement. Lofgren disagreed, noting that the letter and gatherings occurred before the department's decision to grant the permits -- not after the alleged aggrieving action or decision. The Supreme Court concurred with that decision, stating "It is undisputed that appellants did not request a hearing within 30 days (or at any time) after DWR's April 24, 2023 issuance of the permits." Delmore on Thursday said he understood the justices' reasoning but worries about the impact of the ruling. "When you have a major permit and ... it cannot be appealed directly to district court -- that they would have to seek a specialized adjudicative hearing with witnesses and attorneys -- I think that's somewhat of a dangerous precedent," he said. Bridge ownership Logren's dismissal of the appeal on technical grounds did not address FORB's main claim -- that the state owns not just the riverbed but also any permanent fixtures that were attached at the time of statehood, which would include the rail bridge. The group cites the Public Trust and Equal Footing doctrines, which include in part the principle that the government owns and protects certain natural resources for public use. The group argues that under North Dakota law, state property deemed significant by the State Historical Society director can't be destroyed without approval of the State Historical Board. FORB attorneys have maintained that then-Society Director Claudia Berg in 2017 stated the bridge was an important historical structure "eligible for the National Register of Historic Places," and that current Society Director Bill Peterson in February 2023 determined the bridge is a "significant" historical resource. The State Historical Board during a March 2023 meeting discussed whether it had the authority to block destruction of the bridge under state law. Attorney General Drew Wrigley informed the group that it did not have that authority since the bridge is privately owned. The board then passed a resolution expressing support for preserving the bridge but noting that it did not have authority or expertise to determine ownership. BNSF maintains it hold clears title to the bridge and has called FORBs state-ownership argument legally absurd. FORB last July in a separate action asked the Supreme Court to take "original jurisdiction" in the matter, meaning the justices would decide ownership of the bridge. The court in September declined to do so. That meant the matter before the high court came down to just the issue of whether Lofgren was correct in dismissing the appeal. "Appellants failed to perfect their appeal because they did not request a hearing under (state law), and therefore the court lacked subject matter jurisdiction to hear the appeal," justices wrote in affirming Lofgren's decision. Preserving the legacy A 2019 feasibility study conducted by North Dakota State University estimated the cost of turning the existing rail bridge into a pedestrian bridge at just under $7 million. FORB said the unsettled question of bridge ownership prevented it from raising money for that purpose. BNSF last year provided $500,000 for a grant program to help document the history and legacy of the rail bridge. The State Historical Society oversaw the Bis-Man Rail Bridge Fund and accepted applications for salvage, exhibits, special projects and educational activities directly related to the history of the bridge. The North Dakota Railroad Museum is getting $5,000 to create an exhibit about the bridge; the Mandan Historical Society will receive $69,250 to create four videos about the current bridge and the new bridge project, and the city of Mandan will receive $196,750 to build a plaza area and welcome sign incorporating salvaged pieces of the existing bridge on the east end of Memorial Highway. The $229,000 not directly awarded will be used for salvaging pieces of the rail bridge that will then be used by the city of Mandan. BNSF will give the funds directly to a construction company to do the work. The structure cannot be removed using explosives under the terms of a water quality certification for the project from the state Department of Environmental Quality. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of iShares U.S. Treasury Bond ETF (BATS:GOVT Free Report) by 52.0% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 62,210,893 shares of the companys stock after selling 67,264,403 shares during the period. iShares U.S. Treasury Bond ETF makes up 0.6% of Envestnet Asset Management Inc.s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest position. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. owned 0.06% of iShares U.S. Treasury Bond ETF worth $1,371,128,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. acquired a new position in iShares U.S. Treasury Bond ETF during the 3rd quarter worth $53,727,000. Phoenix Holdings Ltd. lifted its holdings in iShares U.S. Treasury Bond ETF by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Phoenix Holdings Ltd. now owns 357,921 shares of the companys stock worth $7,883,000 after buying an additional 1,455 shares during the last quarter. Prudential PLC purchased a new stake in iShares U.S. Treasury Bond ETF during the 3rd quarter worth about $2,683,000. WCG Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in iShares U.S. Treasury Bond ETF by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. WCG Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 158,934 shares of the companys stock worth $3,503,000 after buying an additional 877 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kestra Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in iShares U.S. Treasury Bond ETF by 10.6% during the 3rd quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 512,515 shares of the companys stock worth $11,296,000 after buying an additional 49,223 shares during the last quarter. Get iShares U.S. Treasury Bond ETF alerts: iShares U.S. Treasury Bond ETF Price Performance BATS GOVT traded up $0.05 during trading on Friday, reaching $22.62. 11,015,321 shares of the companys stock were exchanged. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $22.85 and a 200 day simple moving average of $22.43. About iShares U.S. Treasury Bond ETF The iShares U.S. Treasury Bond ETF (GOVT) is an exchange-traded fund that is based on the ICE U.S. Treasury Core Bond index. The fund tracks a market-weighted index of fixed-rate nonconvertible U.S. Treasury securities with a remaining maturity of one year or more. GOVT was launched on Feb 14, 2012 and is managed by BlackRock. See Also Want to see what other hedge funds are holding GOVT? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for iShares U.S. Treasury Bond ETF (BATS:GOVT Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for iShares U.S. Treasury Bond ETF Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for iShares U.S. Treasury Bond ETF and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Fiera Capital Corp boosted its holdings in shares of BlackRock MuniVest Fund II, Inc. (NYSE:MVT Free Report) by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 335,425 shares of the financial services providers stock after buying an additional 6,708 shares during the quarter. Fiera Capital Corp owned approximately 1.58% of BlackRock MuniVest Fund II worth $3,116,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Raymond James & Associates lifted its holdings in BlackRock MuniVest Fund II by 24.9% during the first quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 48,376 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $625,000 after purchasing an additional 9,656 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in BlackRock MuniVest Fund II by 19.4% during the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 14,081 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $182,000 after purchasing an additional 2,283 shares in the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in BlackRock MuniVest Fund II by 71.2% during the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 35,370 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $457,000 after purchasing an additional 14,715 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC purchased a new position in BlackRock MuniVest Fund II during the first quarter valued at approximately $316,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in BlackRock MuniVest Fund II by 19.3% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 205,239 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $2,650,000 after purchasing an additional 33,272 shares in the last quarter. 24.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors. Get BlackRock MuniVest Fund II alerts: BlackRock MuniVest Fund II Stock Up 0.8 % Shares of NYSE:MVT opened at $10.85 on Friday. BlackRock MuniVest Fund II, Inc. has a 1-year low of $8.96 and a 1-year high of $10.96. The firms 50 day simple moving average is $10.74 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $10.18. BlackRock MuniVest Fund II Dividend Announcement About BlackRock MuniVest Fund II The business also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 15th were issued a $0.0505 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 5.72%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 14th. (Free Report) BlackRock MuniVest Fund II, Inc is a closed ended fixed income mutual fund launched by BlackRock, Inc It is managed by BlackRock Advisors, LLC. The fund invests in fixed income markets. It invests primarily in long-term municipal bonds exempt from federal income taxes. BlackRock MuniVest Fund II, Inc was formed on March 29, 1993 and is domiciled in United States. See Also Receive News & Ratings for BlackRock MuniVest Fund II Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for BlackRock MuniVest Fund II and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. decreased its holdings in shares of iShares Russell 2000 ETF (NYSEARCA:IWM Free Report) by 5.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,232 shares of the exchange traded funds stock after selling 1,099 shares during the quarter. Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C.s holdings in iShares Russell 2000 ETF were worth $3,236,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in IWM. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich raised its holdings in shares of iShares Russell 2000 ETF by 19.7% in the third quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 4,567 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $807,000 after buying an additional 753 shares during the period. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its position in iShares Russell 2000 ETF by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 175,717 shares of the exchange traded funds stock valued at $31,056,000 after buying an additional 2,122 shares during the period. FCA Corp TX raised its stake in shares of iShares Russell 2000 ETF by 3.6% during the third quarter. FCA Corp TX now owns 7,984 shares of the exchange traded funds stock valued at $1,411,000 after acquiring an additional 274 shares in the last quarter. Maven Securities LTD grew its stake in iShares Russell 2000 ETF by 57.4% in the third quarter. Maven Securities LTD now owns 41,838 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $7,394,000 after purchasing an additional 15,257 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Truepoint Inc. raised its position in iShares Russell 2000 ETF by 65.6% during the 3rd quarter. Truepoint Inc. now owns 3,034 shares of the exchange traded funds stock valued at $536,000 after purchasing an additional 1,202 shares in the last quarter. Get iShares Russell 2000 ETF alerts: iShares Russell 2000 ETF Price Performance Shares of IWM traded down $1.44 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $203.00. 13,730,400 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 42,859,563. iShares Russell 2000 ETF has a 52 week low of $161.67 and a 52 week high of $205.49. The companys 50 day moving average is $196.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is $185.29. iShares Russell 2000 ETF Profile iShares Russell 2000 ETF (the Fund) is an exchange-traded fund. The Fund seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance of the Russell 2000 Index (the Index). The Index is a float-adjusted capitalization weighted index that measures the performance of the small-capitalization sector of the United States equity market and includes securities issued by the approximately 2,000 smallest issuers in the Russell 3000 Index. Recommended Stories Receive News & Ratings for iShares Russell 2000 ETF Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for iShares Russell 2000 ETF and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Fiera Capital Corp lowered its stake in shares of Mohawk Industries, Inc. (NYSE:MHK Free Report) by 95.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,934 shares of the companys stock after selling 422,932 shares during the period. Fiera Capital Corps holdings in Mohawk Industries were worth $1,625,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in Mohawk Industries by 4.7% in the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 4,953 shares of the companys stock worth $615,000 after acquiring an additional 224 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund acquired a new stake in shares of Mohawk Industries during the first quarter worth $1,043,000. MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Mohawk Industries by 23.2% in the first quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 14,929 shares of the companys stock valued at $1,854,000 after purchasing an additional 2,809 shares during the period. Panagora Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Mohawk Industries by 98.7% in the first quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 10,628 shares of the companys stock valued at $1,320,000 after purchasing an additional 5,280 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS increased its stake in Mohawk Industries by 6.6% in the first quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 7,341 shares of the companys stock valued at $912,000 after purchasing an additional 455 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.04% of the companys stock. Get Mohawk Industries alerts: Insider Buying and Selling In other news, insider Suzanne L. Helen sold 5,500 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.09, for a total transaction of $517,495.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 8,953 shares of the companys stock, valued at $842,387.77. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 17.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders. Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades Several research firms have commented on MHK. StockNews.com cut Mohawk Industries from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Mohawk Industries from $101.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a research report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Mohawk Industries from $105.00 to $100.00 and set an underweight rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Mohawk Industries from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Mohawk Industries from $100.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Monday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $116.10. Check Out Our Latest Research Report on MHK Mohawk Industries Stock Performance NYSE:MHK opened at $116.45 on Friday. The firms fifty day simple moving average is $103.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $94.72. The company has a current ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. Mohawk Industries, Inc. has a twelve month low of $76.02 and a twelve month high of $118.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -16.83 and a beta of 1.31. Mohawk Industries (NYSE:MHK Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 9th. The company reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.10. Mohawk Industries had a positive return on equity of 7.52% and a negative net margin of 3.95%. The company had revenue of $2.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.56 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.32 earnings per share. The firms revenue was down 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Mohawk Industries, Inc. will post 9.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. Mohawk Industries Profile (Free Report) Mohawk Industries, Inc designs, manufactures, sources, distributes, and markets flooring products for residential and commercial remodeling, and new construction channels in the United States, Europe, Russia, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Global Ceramic, Flooring North America (Flooring NA), and Flooring Rest of the World (Flooring ROW). Featured Articles Receive News & Ratings for Mohawk Industries Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Mohawk Industries and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. QRG Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Accenture plc (NYSE:ACN Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 127,581 shares of the information technology services providers stock, valued at approximately $39,182,000. Accenture makes up about 0.7% of QRG Capital Management Inc.s portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ACN. Phoenix Holdings Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Accenture during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,182,000. Kestra Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Accenture by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 43,631 shares of the information technology services providers stock valued at $13,400,000 after buying an additional 2,064 shares in the last quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich bought a new stake in shares of Accenture during the 3rd quarter valued at $891,000. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Accenture by 11.2% during the 3rd quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 533,505 shares of the information technology services providers stock valued at $163,845,000 after buying an additional 53,626 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aviva PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Accenture by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 355,627 shares of the information technology services providers stock valued at $109,217,000 after buying an additional 8,193 shares in the last quarter. 70.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors. Get Accenture alerts: Accenture Price Performance Shares of NYSE ACN traded up $1.55 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $373.06. 1,064,440 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,010,604. The stock has a market capitalization of $234.02 billion, a PE ratio of 34.42, a P/E/G ratio of 3.41 and a beta of 1.21. Accenture plc has a one year low of $242.80 and a one year high of $375.73. The companys 50 day moving average is $355.78 and its 200 day moving average is $329.55. Insider Activity Accenture ( NYSE:ACN Get Free Report ) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, December 19th. The information technology services provider reported $3.27 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $3.14 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $16.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.17 billion. Accenture had a return on equity of 29.08% and a net margin of 10.65%. The companys quarterly revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.08 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Accenture plc will post 12.22 EPS for the current year. In related news, General Counsel Joel Unruch sold 4,333 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $371.83, for a total transaction of $1,611,139.39. Following the sale, the general counsel now owns 34,795 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,937,824.85. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Accenture news, CEO Manish Sharma sold 1,486 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $370.39, for a total value of $550,399.54. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 4,503 shares in the company, valued at $1,667,866.17. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Joel Unruch sold 4,333 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $371.83, for a total value of $1,611,139.39. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel now owns 34,795 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,937,824.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 26,551 shares of company stock worth $9,739,791. 0.07% of the stock is currently owned by insiders. Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades ACN has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Accenture from $350.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 20th. Wedbush lifted their price target on Accenture from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Thursday, December 14th. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on Accenture in a research report on Thursday, November 16th. They issued a buy rating and a $410.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Accenture from $369.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Mizuho started coverage on Accenture in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. They issued a buy rating and a $426.00 target price for the company. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $363.84. Get Our Latest Research Report on ACN Accenture Company Profile (Free Report) Accenture plc, a professional services company, provides strategy and consulting, 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 comprising 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 comprising turnkey analytics and artificial intelligence (AI) solutions; metaverse; and sustainability services. Featured Stories Receive News & Ratings for Accenture Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Accenture and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. KILLDEER, N.D. Tom Murphy said the money he expects to lose from his investments in the Agridime cattle company is substantial but its not gonna break me. Still, he worries about neighbors, especially younger ranchers who put money into what federal investigators have now labeled a Ponzi scheme taking money from investors to pay off earlier investors, until the scheme collapses. The young guys are the ones that are going to be in trouble, he told the North Dakota Monitor. Murphy said he knows of others in North Dakotas Dunn County who borrowed against their property to invest in Agridime literally betting the farm. Most, but not all, are ranchers like Murphy, who has about 250 head of cattle north of Killdeer. Texas-based Agridime owes North Dakota investors about $40 million, according to one state official. Killdeer-based sales representative Taylor Bang is accused by the North Dakota Securities Department of making $6 million in commissions from illegal contracts. Federal investigators shut down Agridime in December and are trying to figure out what the company has for assets, including about 8,000 head of cattle in 18 states, and processed meat, according to an update posted on Agridime.com, which was taken over by the Securities and Exchange Commission. With regard to the cattle and meat, we have found Agridimes records to be, at a minimum, outdated and inaccurate, the update said. North Dakota Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring said there have been 149 investors identified in North Dakota. Carl Karpinski of the North Dakota Securities Commission said they are owed about $40 million, more than any other state where Agridime operated until federal authorities took over. North Dakota is kind of the epicenter, Karpinski said. The full impact of the North Dakota losses is unclear. On top of the $40 million from people who invested in cattle on paper, with the promise of large returns, there are ranchers who sold cattle to Agridime but have yet to get paid. In December, the Securities and Exchange Commission said there was $191 million owed to 2,100 investors in 15 states. The North Dakota agencies are still working with the Securities and Exchange Commission on the investigation that also involves the FBI. Bold claims One Agridime advertisement promised a 15% to 20% return on investment and said, Have you ever wanted to make money raising cattle without having to do all the work? A complaint from the SEC said Agridime sometimes promised as much as a 32% return on investment. An Agridime video describes how for $2,000 per beef calf, the money would be used to pay for feed and expenses until it could be processed. Agridime would ultimately sell the beef. But an SEC complaint against the company said Agridime diverted at least $58 million in investor funds to make Ponzi payments to prior investors. Agridime was incorporated in 2017. The Agridime website lists Josh Link, Tia Link and Jed Wood as owners. Bang later joined as a sales agent, which is how Murphy got involved. Bang is not named in the SEC complaint. Murphy said his first investments in Agridime went well money was wired into his bank account at the promised time. The success of Agridime lured in other investors. His next investment was not due to pay a return until May, but he doesnt see that happening. North Dakotas Securities Department issued cease-and-desist orders against Agridime and sales rep Bang in December. The order against Bang accuses him of earning $6 million in illegal sales commissions and selling unregistered securities without a license. That number is way high, Bang told the North Dakota Monitor in December. He said at the time he became involved with Agridime when company representatives were in his sales territory. I said, Hey, lets try to work together instead of against each other and make it better for everybody. Murphy and other ranchers had worked with Bang as a cattle broker for years before Bang became involved with Agridime. He had a fantastic reputation, Murphy said of Bang, who grew up in Killdeer. Even years when the cattle prices fell and he may have lost money, Bang honored those contracts, Murphy said. He said he doesnt think Bang intended to swindle anyone, but eventually Agridime could not make good on its promises. Bang did not return messages left on his cellphone on Jan. 31. Flagged by a banker The tip that led to the investigation came from a North Dakota banker who was working with a client who had invested in Agridime, Goehring said. The banker was questioning if Agridime was legitimate. Because Agridime was selling shares in cattle investments, Goehring said it wasnt an Agriculture Department issue but a Securities Department one. Karpinski said North Dakota was the second state to issue a cease-and-desist order against Agridime after Arizona, where part-owner Josh Link lives. He said those state orders helped launch the federal investigation. Karpinski said that after such an order is given, the parties subject to the order can request a hearing and make their case to continue to do business in the state. Agridime requested a hearing and kept taking investments another $9 million before federal authorities shut it down. But North Dakota investors still placed orders with Agridime, including Murphy. Thats how dumb I was, Murphy said. Murphy said he asked Bang about the May cease-and-desist order. He said Bang told him business as usual, for Agridime. He said the contract he signed was pretty simple too simple, with no indication of where the calves were being fed or would be processed, or brand or ear tag information to identify a specific animal. He said it was Josh Link, not Bang, who signed the contract. If you took it in to a lawyer, theyd laugh you out of the office, he said. Bang and his attorney, Brent Edison of Vogel Law Firm in Fargo, have requested a hearing on the cease-and-desist order. Edison said one purpose of the hearing would be to determine whether the cattle investment contracts fit the definition of a security. When asked if Bang also was owed money by Agridime, Edison told the North Dakota Monitor that Bang was similarly situated to other Agridime investors. Karpinski said It is certainly a possibility that he was at least partially a victim, but noted that Bang did receive millions in commissions. The cease-and-desist order requested that Bang give money from those commissions to the state to establish a fund that would help pay back investors part of what they are owed. Karpinski said that hasnt happened yet. He said federal authorities may want the money for their own fund. Were not going to be able to double recover, he said. He added that the amount paid back could be subject to negotiation but hes going to need to pay that money back at some point, Karpinski said. Karpinski said the hearing is on hold while the federal investigation continues. On the investigation, Edison said, We would cooperate to the extent that we could do so. Sold cattle, didnt get paid Larry Sorenson, of Watford City, said he didnt become aware of the cease-and-desist order against Agridime until after he had agreed to sell cattle to the company. He said Agridime still owes him money for cattle that were processed last year. He had sold cattle to Agridime the two previous years, he said, and had gotten paid on time. I felt comfortable that they were a reputable company, he said. He contracted a price with Agridime. The cows were sent to a feedlot in Kansas. Sorenson retained ownership of the cattle while Agridime picked up the feed bills. He said the cattle should have grown to market weight by September or October, and he would get paid in November. As far as he knows, the last of the cows was slaughtered on Nov. 26, but he hasnt gotten paid and is not sure he will be. Its going to be late in the year before we see anything, if we do see anything, Sorenson said. Without that revenue, he may have to take out an operating loan for the coming year. Sorenson has filed a claim through the Packers and Stockyards Act, which would require that Agridime establish a bond fund that could be tapped to cover claims from beef producers who didnt get paid. There also is a bond fund in North Dakota, but only for $140,000, Goehring said. He said he was working with Agridime last spring to increase the bond, but the company never complied. The North Dakota Department of Agriculture did not renew Agridimes license when it expired in June. Goehring said the lesson for producers is to understand who youre dealing with. The Windsors are now viewed as weak, cancer ridden and from a bygone era; the Sussexes on the other hand are now viewed as strong, defiant and youthful. The reason that Harry immediately rushed to see King Charles when he announced he had cancer was one example of how the Sussexes utilise their PR power. Immediately, the focus was on Harry returning to the UK by the press, it was not on poor old Charles who has a horrid illness. It is this shift in press attention the new Sussexes crave and utilise to great effect to damage their enemies further. Most royal lineages would have immediately taken away the titles of non-working grifters like Harry and Meghan but in the case of King Charles, a very weak individual who does not like to confront problems head on, instead choosing to be the target of a barrage of constant attack by the Sussexes, the Windsors have now suffered another bitter blow. The attacks on the weak Windsors will continue from now on, simply because with every attack, there is little or no response and they are easy targets. Furthermore, each PR attack or theft of limelight action is a victory for the Sussexes. Royal houses must act when attacked, even when the attacks are from within, and if they do not act swiftly, and decisively they are doomed. The pallid impotence of King Charles III is an obvious hindrance to the monarchy, and if this were 400 years ago, it is most certain his reign would have been very short-lived. It is lucky for him that we live in times of relative peace. The late Queen Elizabeth II knew towards the end that Harry and Meghan were no friends, and consequently their actions sped her to the grave. It is now possible that the same will happen to poor old King Charles unless he acts NOW. Jason Tomanek has accepted the Bismarck City Commission's offer to become the next city administrator. Tomanek has been acting city administrator since the beginning of the year, when his predecessor Keith Hunke retired. He comes to the role after serving as the assistant city administrator since 2016, when he became the second-ever person to hold the job. City commissioners interviewed three finalists for the city administrator role on Thursday, selected Tomanek as their top choice and extended a job offer soon after. The city announced Friday that Tomanek had accepted. His starting salary will be $195,000 annually with city benefits; his predecessor's salary upon retirement was $215,000. "There are so many things that I truly appreciate and love about Bismarck and I cant wait to continue to be that ambassador for the community," Tomanek said in a statement. "But Im always looking for ways we can do better." Tomanek, a Bismarck native, was selected after a search yielded around 30 applicants. Eleven applicants were disqualified, and three withdrew from consideration over the course of the selection process. The top seven applicants were asked to complete an accomplishment survey that was then scored and ranked by a committee of industry professionals, which recommended five candidates for the interview process. Two of those candidates dropped out before the interview process after receiving other job offers, leading the city to interview Tomanek alongside Bismarck City Engineer and Engineering Department Director Gabe Schell and Robert Falcon, city administrator in Lewiston, Minnesota, a community of about 1,500 residents southeast of the Twin Cities. Commissioners voted 4-1 on Thursday to offer Tomanek the job, with Commissioner Michael Connelly the only no vote. Jason has proven time and time again to be someone who can balance the sheer volume of work this position demands but is always approachable and thrives on being a valuable resource for anyone with questions or various ideas, Mayor Mike Schmitz said in a statement. The city administrator is one of three appointed positions within city government, along with assistant city administrator and city attorney. The position's primary function is "to provide leadership and guidance for the day-to-day operations of the city department directors and 650 full-time and 250 part-time staff," according to the city. With Tomanek's promotion, the city will now look to fill the vacancy in his former role. That search process is expected to begin in the coming weeks. Gov. Doug Burgum this week plans to visit 125 North Dakota National Guard soldiers serving at the U.S.-Mexico border. The Jamestown-based 817th Engineer Company deployed to the southern border in support of U.S. Customs and Border Protection in early November. The soldiers are expected to serve for a year. We look forward to learning more about how their mission is helping to protect our country, state and communities from unlawful crossings and the illegal flow of drugs and other contraband across the border, Burgum said. Specific details of his trip were not released. Ad Advantage Gold URGENT: Is the IRS Spying On Your Money? A digital dollar is picking up momentum in Washington DC, even with the dangers it could present to everyday Americans. Its great for them but what about us? What about for your savings? Your portfolio? A digital dollar would be a MASSIVE financial shift, and anyone who doesnt take steps to prepare for a digital dollar could fall victim to it instead. Click here to get your free Digital Dollar Guide Ad Paradigm Press 8,788% Return Predicted For THIS Crypto (already up 40% in 6 months) THIS cryptocurrency has gained 40% in 6 months. A crypto millionaire who has researched the space for a decade says it will go up 8,788% in 5 years. The name of this cryptocurrency is revealed right here: Click to get the name of the cryptocurrency Military budgets across the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) are witnessing a dramatic surge. Eighteen member states are expected to meet the alliances target of spending 2% of their GDP on defense in 2024. This significant rise starkly contrasts a figure from ten years ago, when only three countries reached the benchmark. Whats driving this shift, and what are the potential implications for global security and economic well-being? Get alerts: A long road to the 2% goal Established in 1949 as a bulwark against Soviet expansion, NATO has long grappled with burden-sharing within its alliance. In 2014, amidst concerns about Russias growing assertiveness, member states pledged to invest at least 2% of their GDP in defense by 2024. However, progress has been slow, with many countries falling short of the target. The spark that ignited the flame The turning point came in February 2022. That was the month that Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. This act of aggression sent shockwaves through NATO and the international community, raising alarm bells about potential threats to European security. In response, NATO members rallied, significantly increasing their defense spending commitments. Numbers dont lie Divergent views fuel the debate The figures presented in the most recent report paint a clear picture. Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg recently announced that European Allies and Canada have added a staggering $600 billion to their defense budgets since 2014. This translates to an 11% real increase in spending in 2023 alone. More importantly, 18 countries are projected to hit the 2% target in 2024, representing a six-fold increase from 2014. While many see this spending hike as essential for deterrence and collective security, concerns are also being voiced. Critics argue that increased militarization could exacerbate tensions and divert resources away from pressing social and economic needs. Additionally, some member states still lag behind the 2% target, raising questions about burden-sharing within the alliance. Former President Donald Trump recently reignited debate on NATO and military spending by suggesting that allies failing to meet the 2% GDP target should not expect full support in the event of conflict. This statement, made during a February 2024 interview, echoes his previous criticisms of burden-sharing within the alliance. While some view it as a necessary push for increased responsibility, others express concern it could undermine collective security and fracture already strained relationships within NATO. Critics argue it incentivizes unilateralism and disregards historical contributions made by certain allies. The comments impact remains to be seen, but it highlights the ongoing tension between burden-sharing, national priorities, and collective defense within the alliance. Looking ahead: A cloudy forecast: The long-term sustainability of this spending surge remains uncertain. Economic constraints, coupled with potential shifts in political priorities, could impact future allocations. Furthermore, the evolving geopolitical landscape, with its complex challenges and potential flashpoints, adds another layer of uncertainty. NATOs recent military spending hike reflects a changing security landscape and renewed commitment to collective defense. While this increased investment may bolster deterrence and capabilities, it is crucial to consider its potential ramifications and foster dialogue on responsible budgeting and burden-sharing within the alliance. Ultimately, navigating this complex path requires balancing security concerns with broader economic and social well-being, ensuring a sustainable and peaceful future for all. Ad Crypto 101 Media Like Tiny Crypto Retirement Funds The crypto bull market is about to blast off. Bitcoin and Ethereum are surging. But so are tiny altcoins that could be so profitable They're like tiny crypto retirement funds. Click here and see how to get a copy. Ryder System, Inc., commonly known as Ryder, is a leading provider of transportation, logistics, and supply chain management solutions. Based in Miami, Florida, the company operates in North America, Europe, and Asia and has been in business for over 85 years. Ryder offers many services, including fleet management, dedicated transportation, supply chain optimization, and last-mile delivery solutions. With a fleet of over 230,000 vehicles, Ryder serves customers across various industries, including healthcare, food and beverage, retail, and e-commerce. Robert Sanchez has been Ryder's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer since 2013. Before he was appointed CEO, Sanchez served in various executive roles at the company, including President of Global Fleet Management Solutions and Chief Financial Officer. The rest of the company's senior leadership team includes Karen Jones, Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer and John Diez, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. In recent years Ryder has reported total revenue increases. Net income is also moving in a positive direction. The company's debt levels have remained relatively stable over the past few years, with total debt of around $11 billion. Ryder's price-to-earnings ratio and price-to-book ratio are both below the industry average. Over the past few years, Ryder's stock price has increased, outperforming the broader market. The company's stock has also experienced decreased trading volume, with an average daily volume of 309,000 shares. The transportation and logistics industry has experienced significant growth in recent years, driven by the rise of e-commerce and the increasing importance of supply chain management. The COVID-19 pandemic has further accelerated this trend, as companies have had to adapt rapidly to changing consumer behavior and supply chain disruptions. However, the industry also faces rising fuel costs, driver shortages, and increasing regulatory scrutiny. Ryder competes with many large companies in the transportation and logistics space, including XPO Logistics, Inc., J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc., and United Parcel Service, Inc. The company differentiates itself by offering a wide range of services, from fleet management to last-mile delivery, and investing in technology and innovation to improve efficiency and reduce costs. Ryder sees significant growth opportunities in several areas, including e-commerce fulfillment, autonomous trucking, and electric vehicles. The company recently announced a partnership with Embark Trucks to develop and deploy autonomous trucks for long-haul routes, which could significantly reduce costs and improve efficiency. Ryder is also investing in electric vehicles, with plans to add 1,000 electric trucks to its fleet by 2023. In addition, Ryder is focused on expanding its presence in the e-commerce fulfillment space, where demand has surged in recent years. The company offers a range of solutions to help retailers and e-commerce companies manage their supply chains, including warehouse management, transportation management, and last-mile delivery. Like all companies in the transportation and logistics industry, Ryder faces many risks and challenges. These include rising fuel costs, regulatory scrutiny, and supply chain disruptions. In addition, the company faces increasing competition from new entrants, such as Amazon and Uber Freight, which could put pressure on pricing and margins. Another challenge Ryder faces is the ongoing driver shortage, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. This has led to higher driver wages and increased competition among companies for a limited pool of qualified drivers. Ryder is working to address this challenge by offering competitive salaries and benefits, investing in driver training programs, and exploring the use of autonomous and electric vehicles. Ryder is subject to various regulatory and legal risks, including potential changes to environmental regulations and labor laws. The company has committed to reducing its carbon emissions and improving sustainability across its operations, which could help mitigate some of these risks. The following companies are subsidiares of Crane: "CPI-Kiev" LLC, ARDAC Inc., AeroHose, AeroHose, Alfa Laval - The Industrial Flow Group, Alfa Laval - The Industrial Flow Group, Armature d.o.o., Automatic Products (UK) Ltd., Automatic Products international - Assets, Barksdale GmbH, Barksdale Inc., CA-MC Acquisition UK Ltd., CR Holdings C.V., CashCode Co, CashCode Co - Assets, Coin Controls International Ltd., Coin Holdings Ltd., Coin Industries Ltd., Coin Overseas Holdings Ltd., Coin Pension Trustees Ltd., Consolidated Lumber Co, Consolidated Lumber Co, Corva Corp, Corva Corp, Crane & Co. Inc., Crane (Asia Pacific) Pte. Ltd., Crane AB, Crane Aerospace Inc., Crane Australia Pty. Ltd., Crane Canada Co., Crane Composites Inc., Crane Composites Ltd., Crane Controls Inc., Crane Currency, Crane Currency Malta Holding Ltd., Crane Currency Malta Ltd., Crane Currency Malta Property Ltd., Crane Currency Netherlands Holdings B.V., Crane Currency US LLC, Crane Dutch Holdings B.V., Crane Electronics Corporation, Crane Electronics Inc., Crane Environmental Inc., Crane European Financing LLC, Crane Fluid & Gas Systems (Suzhou) Co. Ltd., Crane Global Holdings S.L., Crane Holding AB, Crane Holdings (Germany) GmbH, Crane Instrumentation & Sampling Inc., Crane International Capital S.a.r.l., Crane International Holdings Inc., Crane International Trading (Beijing) Co. Ltd., Crane Ltd., Crane Merchandising Systems Inc., Crane Merchandising Systems Ltd., Crane Merger Co. LLC, Crane Middle East & Africa FZE, Crane Netherlands Holdings B.V., Crane Ningjin Valve Co. Ltd., Crane Nuclear Inc., Crane Overseas LLC, Crane Payment Innovations AG, Crane Payment Innovations GmbH, Crane Payment Innovations Inc., Crane Payment Innovations International Ltd., Crane Payment Innovations Ltd., Crane Payment Innovations Pty Ltd., Crane Payment Innovations S.a.r.l., Crane Payment Innovations S.r.l., Crane Pension Trustee Company (UK) Limited, Crane Process Flow Technologies (India) Pvt. Ltd., Crane Process Flow Technologies GmbH, Crane Process Flow Technologies Ltd., Crane Process Flow Technologies S.P.R.L., Crane Process Flow Technologies S.r.l., Crane Pumps and Systems Inc., Crane Resistoflex GmbH, Crane SC Holdings Ltd., Crane Saudi Limited Liability Company, Crane Security Technologies Inc., Crane Stockham Valve Ltd., Crane Supply Co., Croning Livarna d.o.o., Cummins Illinois Inc., Cummins-Allison Corp., Cummins-Allison GmbH, Cummins-Allison Investment Co., Cummins-Allison Ireland Ltd., Cummins-Allison Limited, Cummins-Allison Pty Ltd., Cummins-Allison SAS, Cummins-Allison ULC, Cummis-Allison Corp, Cummis-Allison Corp, Delta Fluid Products, Delta Fluid Products Ltd., Dixie Narco, Dixie Narco, Dopak Inc., Dovianus B.V., ELDEC Corporation, ELDEC France S.A.R.L, Edlon - PSI division, Edlon - PSI division, Environmental Products USA, Environmental Products USA, Etex Group - Business, Etex Group - Business, Exbrownall Ltd., Exrhodes Ltd., Flow Technology Inc., Friedrich Krombach GmbH Armaturenwerke, General Technology Corp., General Technology Corp., Hattersley Newman Hender - Assets, Hattersley Newman Hender - Assets, Hattersly Newman Hender Ltd., Hydro-Aire Inc., Inta-Lok Ltd., Interpoint U.K. Limited, Kontron America - Mobile Rugged Business, Kontron America - Mobile Rugged Business, Laminated Profiles - Assets, Laminated Profiles - Assets, Lasco Composites, Lasco Composites, Liberty Technologies, Liberty Technologies, MCC Holdings Inc., MEI Australia LLC, MEI Conlux, MEI Conlux Holdings (Japan) Inc., MEI Conlux Holdings (US) Inc., MEI Queretaro S. de R.L. de CV, MEI de Mexico LLC, MOVATS - Nuclear Valve Division, MOVATS - Nuclear Valve Division, Merrimac Industries, Merrimac Industries Inc., Micro-Optic Films LLP, Money Controls, Money Controls Argentina SA, Money Controls Holdings Ltd., Multi-Mix Microtechnology SRL, NABIC Valve Safety Products Ltd., Nippon Conlux Co. Ltd., Noble Composites, Noble Composites Inc., Number One Supply, Number One Supply, Owens Corning - FRP Panel Business, Owens Corning - FRP Panel Business, P.L. Porter, P.L. Porter, P.T. Crane Indonesia, Pegler Hattersly Ltd., Resistoflex, Resistoflex, Sequentia Holdings, Sequentia Holdings, Signal Technology, Signal Technology, Sperryn & Company Ltd., Stentorfield, Stentorfield, Streamware, Streamware, Telequip, Telequip, Terminal Manufacturing Co., The Dow Chemical - Plastic-Lined Piping Products division, The Krombach Group, The Krombach Group, Unidynamics / Phoenix Inc., Ventech Controls, Ventech Controls, Viking Johnson Ltd., Visual Physics LLC, W.T. Armatur GmbH, W.T. Armatur GmbH, Wade Couplings Ltd., Wask Ltd., Westlock Controls, Westlock Controls Corporation, Xomox, Xomox Chihuahua S.A. de C.V., Xomox Corporation, Xomox Corporation de Venezuela C.A., Xomox France S.A.S., Xomox Hungary Manufacturing Limited Liability Company, Xomox International GmbH & Co. OHG, Xomox Japan Ltd., and Xomox Korea Ltd.. Read More SiteOne Landscape Supply, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the wholesale distribution of landscape supplies in the United States and Canada. The company provides irrigation products, including controllers, valves, sprinkler heads, irrigation pipes, micro irrigation, and drip products; fertilizer, grass seed, and ice melt products; control products, such as herbicides, fungicides, rodenticides, and other pesticides; landscape accessories that include mulches, soil amendments, drainage pipes, tools, and sods; nursery goods, which consist of deciduous and evergreen shrubs, ornamental, shade, evergreen trees, field grown and container-grown nursery stock, roses, perennials, annuals, bulbs, and plant species and cultivars; hardscapes, such as pavers, natural stones, blocks, and other durable materials; and outdoor lighting products that include lighting fixtures, LED lamps, wires, transformers, and accessories. It also offers consultative services consisting of assistance with irrigation project take-offs, commercial project planning, generation of sales leads, business operations, and product support services, as well as a series of technical and business management seminars; and distributes branded products of third parties. The company offers its products under the LESCO, SiteOne Green Tech, and Pro-Trade brand names. It markets its products primarily to residential and commercial landscape professionals who specializes in the design, installation, and maintenance of lawns, gardens, golf courses, and other outdoor spaces through branch network and direct distribution. SiteOne Landscape Supply, Inc. was incorporated in 2013 and is headquartered in Roswell, Georgia. Nearly a decade after major protests in opposition to construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline drew international attention to North Dakota, a judge will soon rule on who should cover the protest's policing costs. Opening statements were presented in U.S. District Court in Bismarck on Thursday in a North Dakota lawsuit against the federal government seeking to recoup $38 million. Thousands of people gathered near the $3.8 billion pipeline's Missouri River crossing in south central North Dakota for months in 2016 and 2017. The crossing is just a mile north of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe's reservation. The tribe has consistently opposed the pipeline due to concerns about a potential spill into the river which serves as its water supply. Police and protestors clashed during that time, leading to over 760 arrests in a six-month span. Some protestors have claimed that officers used excessive force. Some of those lawsuits have been dismissed while others are ongoing. North Dakota filed suit in 2019, claiming the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers -- the agency managing the land in the area of the river crossing -- effectively encouraged the protests and failed to properly assist the state in its response. The feds argue their actions did little to sway the decisions of passionate protestors. The case is being heard by U.S. District Judge Daniel Traynor. It's expected to take a few weeks. Dozens of witnesses will be called including former Gov. Jack Dalrymple and Gov. Doug Burgum, who succeeded Dalrymple while protests were ongoing -- both led the state's response. Federal, state and local officials will be called as well. Both sides will also bring expert witnesses to the stand. North Dakota has had mixed success in recouping policing costs for the protests through other means. Former President Donald Trump turned down a request to cover the costs. The U.S. Department of Justice gave the state a $10 million grant for reimbursement, and Energy Transfer, the company that operates the pipeline, donated $15 million to the state. Then-Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem in 2018 said, If the Corps thinks they are entitled to some sort of offset for the $10 million grant from the Department of Justice, I look forward to their reasoning." He also said he did not think a private donation should offset Corps responsibility. An attorney for the federal government pointed out those reimbursements on Thursday. Two notices North Dakota's claims center around two statements made by the Corps in 2016 which the state argues encouraged more people to join the protests. Protests began in the spring of 2016 and built up during the summer. In August of that year, then-Gov. Dalrymple declared a state of emergency when the protests escalated. The Corps on Sep. 16 announced it was granting a special use permit for a spiritual gathering for the Standing Rock Tribe on Corps land but the agency never actually issued a permit. Protests continued to grow over that period, and some major clashes took place. The Corps on Nov. 25 that year issued a letter to Standing Rock's chairman which said protestors needed to evacuate Corps' land north of the Cannonball River and a "free speech zone" would be set up on federal land to the south where protestors could gather. Protestors at that time did not abandon the main north camp, which had morphed into a small city. The federal government has sought to have the case dismissed numerous times. Most recently in December, Traynor denied the fed's motion, citing the Corps' failure to enforce its permitting process on its land, along with other reasons. The purpose of this trial is to determine whether the federal government is liable for the policing costs and if so, the amount it needs to pay out. Paul Seby, the attorney who made opening arguments for the state, said the Corps issuing the statements and not redacting them left the state mostly on its own to deal with what he said the Corps knew would be heated protests. Seby highlighted numerous high-profile incidents that led to significant police response, such as protestors spilling onto private land and setting a fire at the nearby Backwater Bridge, and also occurrences of vandalism and property destruction. He said the state has accounted for these as well as cleanup and repair costs. Some of the money came from a loan from the state-owned Bank of North Dakota. Seby went on to argue that federal officials did not share enough knowledge with the state, including intelligence gathered by the FBI at the protest camps, and that the lack of sharing was detrimental to the state's ability to respond. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jane Bobet Rejko, who spoke on behalf of the federal government, argued the statements made by the Corps had little impact on what she called "unique, unpredictable and oftentimes uncontrollable" protests. She said the Corps has few law enforcement capabilities itself, but state and local police had jurisdiction and the capabilities to enforce the law on Corps land. She added that federal efforts to block protests would likely have increased tensions due to the tribe maintaining that the land where the pipeline crosses is rightfully theirs. The tribe alleges the pipeline breaks treaties that the U.S. government signed with Standing Rock in the 1800s. Bobet Rejko claimed that actions made by the state and private security officials for Energy Transfer were mostly responsible for the increased attention and protest attendance. She said tribal officials spurred on the protests as well. Bobet Rejko said social media was where most of the details around the protests spread. She presented activity logs of discussions regarding DAPL on X, formerly known as Twitter, and Facebook, that showed activity stayed steady or declined following the Corps' two statements, but spiked following major clashes that caused injury to protestors, such as police spraying protestors with water in subfreezing weather. She also argued that the state had no desire to forcibly clear out those protesting peacefully on Corps land, drawing on public comments made by then-Cass County Sherriff Paul Laney as well as Burgum. The Corps declined the pipeline's river crossing easement in favor of more environmental study in the waning days of the Obama Administration. But that was quickly reversed in January 2017 when Trump took office. The Corps granted the easement that February, and also served an eviction notice to protestors on federal land. The camps were cleared out that month. The pipeline began moving oil four months later. Seby highlighted the swiftness by which the protest grounds were cleared once an eviction notice was served as evidence that earlier action by the Corps could have tempered the protests. Bobet Rejko said the protests had died down to a much more manageable level by that time. Environmental concerns over waste and other material at the camp mixing with water from an expected spring flood also drove the closure. More decisions The future of the pipeline itself is still up in the air. A federal judge revoked the Missouri River crossing permit in 2020 and ordered another environmental study. The pipeline has been allowed to continue running while that process plays out. The study was released last September and a public comment period ended in December. Thousands of statements were gathered, including 200 pages of testimony from multiple North Dakota state offices. A final decision by the Corps isn't expected until late this year. In January, Reuters reported that Energy Transfer Executive Chair Kelcy Warren said he did not believe the Corps would shut the pipeline down. Meanwhile, pipeline opponents have said in statements that they will continue to fight it even if the easement is granted. Loughs Agency is set to lead a major marine tracking project after 1.6m of EU funding was secured by the European Tracking Network (ETN). The successful bid came following an open call for funding by the EUs Biodiversa+ scheme, which is designed to support research proposals relating to biodiversity projects. At the national level, funding has been provided by the Irish Environmental Protection Agency to enable Loughs Agency to participate in the programme. The three-year project, titled North East Atlantic Marine Tracking Network (NorTrack), aims to monitor the movements of aquatic species critical to the North East Atlantic (NEA). This collaborative initiative will also address pressing questions related to major ecological challenges facing this vital marine region. The remote tracking of animals, which is known in research circles as telemetry, has already provided vital information about the biology and ecology of aquatic species. In addition to Atlantic salmon and sea trout, the project will enable the Agency to study the movements of European eel as well as predator-prey interactions. NorTrack will work closely with the Horizon Europe-funded STRAITS Project (Strategic Infrastructure for Improved Animal Tracking in Europeans Seas), which has distributed acoustic telemetry infrastructure throughout Europe so that the movements of various aquatic species can be studied. Sharon McMahon, Loughs Agency CEO, said: We are delighted to once again be playing a leading role in a major pan-European biodiversity project, supported by our brilliant colleagues at ETN. These types of collaborative research initiatives are crucial in gathering data which can inform policy and decision-making for matters within our remit. The funding obtained ensures that Loughs Agency can continue the exemplary work carried out in recent years on projects such as SeaMonitor and STRAITS, and the team looks forward to making a difference. Salmon jumping on the River Finn Commenting on the announcement, Dr Tara Higgins, EPA Programme Manager said: The EPA is committed to supporting Irelands participation and leadership in important transnational research partnerships like Biodiversa+. "We are delighted to fund the Loughs Agency in leading the NorTrack research project, which will advance marine biodiversity monitoring in the North East Atlantic and in turn contribute to international marine management, conservation, and policy. "The EPA also acknowledges the important role of our co-funding partners, the Marine Institute and the National Parks & Wildlife Service, in supporting the NorTrack project. More information on this project can be found at www.europeantrackingnetwork.org/nortrack. HIGHLIGHTS Google Gemini and Microsoft Copilot AI chatbots have been designed to assist users in various tasks, from composing emails to generating images. In this article, you will see how Google Gemini and Microsoft Copilot perform in five distinct scenarios. We asked these chatbots to create a social media post, book cover, birthday invitation, logo, and campaign banner. In the realm of artificial intelligence, Google Gemini and Microsoft Copilot stand at the forefront as powerful chatbots capable of generating content. These AI chatbots have been designed to assist users in various tasks, from composing emails to generating images. In this article, we will show you how Google Gemini and Microsoft Copilot perform in five distinct scenarios. We asked these chatbots to create a social media post, book cover, birthday invitation, logo, and campaign banner. Also read: Google Bard vs Microsoft Copilot, who generates better AI images? Here are the results Social Media Post Prompt: Create an image for a social media post for a new restaurant opening. The post should highlight the restaurants name FoodHut, its unique cuisine, beautiful interior, and any special promotions or events happening during the grand opening week. Aim to engage potential customers and encourage them to visit the restaurant. Google Gemini I like how the restaurants name looks in the image. Apart from this, nothing is clear enough to read. So, I am not very impressed with the result. Microsoft Copilot Microsoft Copilot used its creative side and created a picture showing someone posting the restaurants image on social media. The image shows the aesthetic ambience of the restaurant. Book Cover Prompt: Design a captivating book cover for a fantasy novel titled Magic Kingdom. The cover should convey a sense of wonder and enchantment, drawing readers into a world filled with magic and adventure. Consider incorporating elements such as a mystical castle, and fantastical creatures. Ensure the design is eye-catching. Google Gemini I love the font that Gemini used to write Magic Kingdom. The image does have a mystical castle that I wanted. However, it didnt show the other details that I asked for. Microsoft Copilot Microsoft Copilot created exactly what I asked for. The image has a mystical castle and fantastical creatures. Also, it shows a world filled with magic and adventure. Birthday Invitation Prompt: Create a vibrant birthday invitation card for a themed birthday party of a girl named Riya. The party theme is Bollywood and it will be hosted in Mumbai. The invitation should reflect the chosen theme. Include essential details such as the date 25th March, time 7:30PM and location of the party. Google Gemini Apart from Riya, nothing is readable in the image. I am not even impressed with the girl dancing in the centre. In short, I am disappointed with the invitation card that Google Gemini created. Microsoft Copilot I like how the invitation card looks. The colours are vibrant, and anyone can tell at a glance that the theme is Bollywood. However, the date, time and location of the party are not clear. In fact, he does not clearly state that it is a birthday party. Logo Prompt: Create a distinctive logo for a tech company named TechMedium. Make it impactful. Google Gemini If compared, Google Gemini did a very decent job. The companys name is clear and readable in the logo. Microsoft Copilot On the other hand, in the logo that Copilot created, the companys name is spelt wrong. Campaign Banner Prompt: Create a campaign banner for a No Smoking campaign aimed at promoting a smoke-free environment. The banner should feature something to discourage smoking and encourage healthier lifestyles. Consider using bold visuals, striking colours, and clear text to grab attention and convey the campaigns message effectively. Google Gemini Personally, I would not use this campaign banner that Gemini created for the No Smoking campaign. The image lacks the motive and message to promote a smoke-free environment. Microsoft Copilot The image that Copilot created clearly shows the consequences of smoking, encouraging people to quit smoking. A discovery by a cybersecurity firm suggests the emergence of a potentially groundbreaking iOS Trojan, purportedly crafted to pilfer facial recognition data from users.Identified as GoldPickaxe, the iOS malware has been honing in on individuals primarily in Thailand, with potential implications extending to Vietnam, as disclosed by Group-IB , a cybersecurity entity headquartered in Singapore.The motive behind this malware appears to be the acquisition of biometric data, a strategy possibly prompted by the increasing adoption of facial recognition protocols by financial institutions and governmental bodies across Southeast Asia.According to Group-IB's findings, the malevolent actors behind GoldPickaxe leverage AI-driven face-swapping technologies to fabricate deepfakes, seamlessly substituting victims' faces with their own. This tactic, previously unbeknownst to Group-IB researchers, could facilitate unauthorized access to victims' financial accounts, introducing a novel fraudulent maneuver into the cybersecurity landscape.GoldPickaxe has been observed masquerading as authentic Thai government service applications, coercing users into submitting photos of their identification cards and undergoing facial scans.An Android variant of the malware has also been unearthed, exhibiting even more sophisticated functionalities. However, it is noteworthy that GoldPickaxe does not propagate through official app repositories nor does it exploit vulnerabilities within the iOS framework. Instead, the perpetrators rely on social engineering tactics to induce victims into installing the malicious application, subsequently granting it extensive permissions, facilitated through Apple's TestFlight or Mobile Device Management profiles.Group-IB recounts an incident in Vietnam, potentially linked to the malware, wherein a user fell victim to a fraudulent facial scan after being deceived by an individual posing as a government official, who instructed them to install a counterfeit public service application.Attribution of GoldPickaxe's origins points towards a Chinese hacking collective known as GoldFactory, notorious for disseminating numerous Trojans disguised as Vietnamese banking applications. Group-IB underscores this connection, citing the presence of debugging strings in Chinese across all malware variants and the Chinese language utilization in their command and control infrastructure.Photo: DIW - AIgenRead next: CPJ's Report Exposes Gaza Conflict as Deadliest for Journalists, With Palestinians Bearing Brunt, Amid Global Peril for Media US think tank urges India to bolster semiconductor investment appeal A recent report from a US-based think tank suggested ways the Indian government can enhance regulatory stability and business conditions to attract more semiconductor investments. Commissioned by the joint initiative of the US-India government, the published paper evaluated India's position in the international semiconductor value chain. It also calls for increased collaboration between India and the US to bolster supply chain resilience amid global diversification efforts. In May 2022, India and the United States announced the Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET) to enhance strategic technology partnerships and defense industrial cooperation. As part of this initiative, the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) in the US and the India Electronics and Semiconductor Association (IESA) agreed to conduct a "readiness assessment". The Washington-based think tank, the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF), was tasked with evaluating India's semiconductor ecosystem and policy frameworks to provide recommendations to the US Department of Commerce and India's Semiconductor Mission (ISM). John Neuffer, president and CEO of SIA, expressed optimism about India's role in the global semiconductor supply chain and the potential for expansion in the sector through collaborative efforts between the two nations. Ashok Chandak, president of IESA, acknowledged the current timing and factors influencing the ongoing establishment of semiconductor manufacturing in India and emphasized the report's recognition of India's progress in becoming a prime destination for electronics and semiconductor manufacturing. The commissioned report titled "Assessing India's Readiness to Assume a Greater Role in Global Semiconductor Value Chains" examines India's semiconductor policy environment, India's current industry state, and the regulatory and business landscape, including talent, infrastructure, taxes, and tariffs. It also explores strategies implemented by various Indian states to attract semiconductor investments and draws lessons from US states' experiences. India's semiconductor prospects Regarding its growth potential, the report found India has the potential to significantly expand its presence in global semiconductor value chains, leveraging its large and growing consumer and business marketplace, strengths in electronics production, and global supply chain rebalancing. The country's strengths in semiconductor design, accounting for 20% of the world's chip design talent, and recent successes in attracting semiconductor manufacturing investments, such as Micron's announcement of an ATP facility in Gujarat, indicate a strong potential for India to play a more significant role in the semiconductor industry. The report also highlights India's strengths in market opportunity and a large, skilled workforce, although ITIF noted the infrastructure quality of the nation remains an ongoing challenge. To create a conducive regulatory and business environment, the report states stability, certainty, predictability, and transparency would be required to provide a favorable climate for domestic and foreign investors. Lessons from US states Furthermore, the report draws lessons from leading US semiconductor states, such as Arizona, New York, and Texas, in attracting semiconductor investments. It recommends that Indian states consider strategies such as investing in low-cost energy and water accessibility, establishing cross-sector partnerships with higher-education institutions to grow the skilled workforce, and developing local value chains to support semiconductor manufacturing. It also provides insights into the strategies and policies adopted by leading Indian states, such as Gujarat and Tamil Nadu, to attract semiconductor and electronics production investments. Other key actions to enhance US-India cooperation in the semiconductor sector were also suggested in the report. These include establishing a partnership with the CHIPS for the International Technology Security and Innovation (ITSI) Fund and implementing a pilot visa program to facilitate the movement of skilled workers between the two nations under the iCET initiative. Additionally, policy reforms are advised to reduce the cost of doing business for semiconductor companies in India, such as providing tax incentives, streamlining customs administration processes, and expediting goods clearance times. Applied Materials reiterates commitment to developing chipmaking ecosystem in India Amid India's ambition to build a semiconductor manufacturing ecosystem, particularly with the support of the US government, US-based chipmaking tool provider Applied Materials reiterated its commitment to accelerate the commercialization process in India. According to the Economic Times and ElectronicsB2B, Suraj Rengarajan, managing director of Applied Materials India, said the company will partner with semiconductor suppliers and organizations to shorten the time to commercialization and establish a sustainable semiconductor ecosystem in India. Applied Materials announced in June 2023 that it would invest US$400 million in four years to establish a new engineering center in India over the next four years to serve as a hub for engineers, local and international suppliers, and research and academic institutions to fast-track the development of semiconductor equipment subsystems and components. Rengarajan told the Economic Times that in the first five years of operation, the center could create at least 500 new advanced engineering jobs along with 2,500 jobs in the manufacturing ecosystem. In December 2021, the Indian government announced a US$10 billion package to incentivize the manufacturing of semiconductors, including chips and displays, in India. Over the course of time, India has received support from the US government, US-based industrial organizations, and semiconductor firms, such as the Semiconductor Industry Association, Micron, and Applied Materials. During the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the US in March 2023, US President Biden and Modi signed a MoU on Semiconductor Supply Chain and Innovation Partnership to coordinate semiconductor incentive programs of the two countries. The MoU was followed by Micron's US$8.25 billion OSAT facility project and Applied Materials' US$400 million engineering center plan. In August, Foxconn said it had tied up with Applied Materials in a US$250 million project to make semiconductor equipment in the southern state of Karnataka. Save my User ID and Password Some subscribers prefer to save their log-in information so they do not have to enter their User ID and Password each time they visit the site. To activate this function, check the 'Save my User ID and Password' box in the log-in section. This will save the password on the computer you're using to access the site. Note: If you choose to use the log-out feature, you will lose your saved information. This means you will be required to log-in the next time you visit our site. Subscriber content preview PORTLAND (AP) Management issues at Oregon's Crater Lake have prompted the federal government to consider terminating its contract with the national park's concessionaire. Crater Lake Hospitality is a subsidiary of Philadelphia-based Aramark and is contracted through 2030 to run concessions such as food and lodging. . . . Subscriber content preview The first single of the same title has been released. LOS ANGELES Pearl Jam s forthcoming album is called Dark Matter, and the band will start a world tour in May. Dark Matter, their 12th studio album and first since 2020's Gigaton, will be released April 19. A tour is scheduled to begin in Vancouver, B.C., with shows May 4 and 6. The tour will visit Climate Pledge Arena May 28 and 30. . . . Subscriber content preview SEATTLE Tractor Tavern will celebrate its 30th anniversary on Feb. 25, at 8 p.m., with a special performance by A super secret mystery band, with The Sons of Rainier opening. Virtually every hip indie, pop or country act of the last 30 years has graced Tractor Taverns stage, so whoever it is, it should be a fun evening. . . . The U.S. Postal Service inspector general has agreed to expand a postal audit of the Minnesota-North Dakota District to include Dickinson, Grand Forks and Fargo, amid widespread complaints about service, according to North Dakota's congressional delegation. There's already an ongoing audit of facilities in Bismarck, Mandan and Minot. The Postal Service is considering modernizing its Bismarck Processing and Distribution Center and possibly shifting some processing to Fargo. The agency held a meeting in Bismarck last December to gather public comments on the proposal. USPS is investing $40 billion as part of a 10-year plan to modernize the nations aging postal network and achieve a goal of 95% on-time delivery nationwide, according to agency documents. Timely mail service has been an issue in parts of North Dakota. Other concerns cited by U.S. Sens. John Hoeven and Kevin Cramer and U.S. Rep. Kelly Armstrong, all R-N.D., include delays of mailed newspapers, broken and unavailable cluster box units, and the shifting of some processing from Grand Forks to Fargo. This expansion of (the) USPS audit is welcome news, considering the wide range of challenges facing mail delivery in North Dakota, the delegation said in a statement. Our states residents rely on timely delivery of mail, medication and newspapers, and it is imperative that USPS identify the causes of these issues and resolve them as soon as possible." The delegation said it recently secured a commitment from USPS that local newspapers including The Bismarck Tribune will not be sent to Fargo for processing but rather remain within their respective communities for prompt delivery. The full audit report of the Minnesota-North Dakota District is expected to be released in late March or early April, according to the delegation. The Postal Service will meet with local stakeholders in Bismarck and Grand Forks once the process has concluded to discuss proposed changes and answer questions, the delegation said. Subscriber content preview SEATTLE An office complex at 1000-1100 Dexter Ave. N. has sold for $47.5 million, according to King County records. The seller was 1000-1100 Dexter Avenue Inc., associated with Stockbridge Capital Group, which acquired the property in 2004 for almost $64 million. . . . At the beginning of the month, Europa Verde, PD, and Sinistra Italiana parties filed a complaint with the Prosecutors Office asking the judiciary to investigate the project, complaining about its lack of transparency: before approval, Stretto di Messina Spa denied any type of documentation and updates about the project, both to environmental associations and to deputies who had requested it. Minister of Infrastructure Matteo Salvini hopes to start construction sites by the end of the year and to open the bridge to road and rail traffic in 2032, but the procedure to obtain the final authorizations and start the works is still lengthy: in addition to discussing expropriations (one of the most delicate points, and one where it is difficult to see the horizon of an agreement), an environmental impact assessment will be required, and then the executive project will need to be prepared and approved. An Irish-Palestinian man who was blocked from leaving the Gaza Strip has described his fear of never seeing his family again and how life in Rafah has become critical. Zak Hania said he feels abandoned by the Irish authorities after appeals for help to leave Gaza went unanswered. Mr Hanias wife, Batoul, and their four sons were among the Irish citizens who left Gaza via the Rafah border last November and are now living in Dublin. However, Mr Hania was not accepted on to the list of evacuees and was left in the besieged territory, where he fears for his life. Mrs Hania and her four Irish-born sons, Mazen, Ismael, Ahmed and Nour, have spent months pleading for help from the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), but have unable to get him clearance to leave. I think I am abandoned. Im happy my kids left this terror and genocide and I urge everyone to help me and reunite me with my family, Mr Hania told the PA news agency. Mr Hania said life in Rafah is very hard. Last night we had the worst night since I have been here, he said. We woke up at 1am to the sounds of missiles and bombardment and we were not sure what was happening. We thought the Israelis were invading Rafah. Its so dark and theres no electric. We dont know where all the bombs are. We cant go outside to see. It is very horrible and very hard at night. All people thought they were going to die because of the attacks. Around 100 people were killed last night and lots of people injured. They attacked houses and they attacked mosques. I see people moving from Rafah on cars and donkeys. They take their blankets and things. Rafah is so crowded. Its full of people and it has become a tent city. Every empty space is filled with tents. Around 1.5 million people in Rafah. If they attack Rafah it will be terrible. The situation is very grim. We are exhausted. We have no energy and we are close to collapsing and dont want to think that we have to move to another place because we have no energy to go anywhere. We dont know where to go. We were told to go to Rafah as it is safe and now lots of people are here and we dont know where to go. Its very difficult and we are not sure what to do. Mr Hania said he does not know why he was blocked from leaving the Gaza Strip. The DFA said the relevant (Israeli) authorities refused me to leave but didnt give a reason. I dont know why but I know that travelling is a human right and I am held against my will and I consider myself to be a hostage in Gaza, he added. I want to join my kids. Things are becoming critical here. I dont know if I will be able to see my children again and be able to hug them. I want to join my family and dont want to be separated from them. They are worried about me in Dublin. I was told by DFA to go to Rafah to leave and now I am stuck here. I have no place to go. His son, Mazen, described his familys harrowing journey from their home in Beach Camp in northern Gaza through the Rafah border crossing and on to Dublin. The 19-year-old, who was born in Dublin and moved to Gaza in 2012, was studying engineering at a local university when his home town was attacked by Israeli strikes. Around 20 of his family members, including a three-month-old baby, left their home and travelled to a cousins house near the al-Shifa hospital. The bombardment became very intense. You have no idea what is happening all you hear are the bombs, he said. We were hoping the war would end and that we could get home again. It is very hard to survive there. During the day, we would go outside looking for food or flour to make bread or anything that we could eat to survive. Before we left we had three bags of flour each weighing 25kgs which were provided by UNRWA (The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees). It was so difficult carrying all the flour, as well as pillows and blankets. It was hell of a journey. Whoever was well enough in the morning looked for food. My role was to go and look for water. We had gallon-sized barrels and had to stand in long queues for three hours to get to the taps of water. Days later, the family were told to evacuate the building following a warning from the Israel Defence Forces (IDF). Mazen found a cart and loaded it with all their belongings. We moved on to somewhere new. We tried to follow routines every day to keep us going. If we felt good and healthy in the morning we would fast during the day and eat only small things like one piece of bread, he said. We only had one meal a day. There were 11 children in total with us. We sometimes had chicken but very rarely, sometimes we had cheese and olive oil and thyme. There was so much rubbish in the streets and we saw bodies too. Sometimes you couldnt tell the difference between rubbish and bodies. Mazens most treasured items were his laptop, toothbrush and toothpaste, which he carried close to him for weeks. The family walked for hours, despite his mother suffering from issues with her pelvic bones, while his father suffers from spinal issues. We went to another cousins house, who lives in Hamad City. We were lucky to have different houses to go to as there are so many people who sleep in the street. We found a car and used it to carry our belongings and people, Mazen added. The worst journey we made was to the south of Gaza. I cant believe it when I think about it. We got to a point where we saw the IDF and tanks and snipers. The IDF tank blocked the street and stopped us from going any further. We waited. The streets are not easy to walk. Roads are cracked up. A lot electric cables are in the way. It was the most intense hour of my life. We were all waiting for the tanks to move so we could get through. The IDF soldiers were calling and shouting at us. They would take some people away and we wouldnt see them again. The Irish embassy contacted the family and told them to travel to Rafah. They were all on the clearance list, except Mr Hania. My dad was so angry and asked why this happened. He spoke to the Department of Foreign Affairs and we were told that the Israeli authorities had him on the red list, Mazen said. My dad did his masters in journalism in DCU (Dublin City University), and he worked as a lecturer at the University of Palestine but his salary was not good. He resigned and worked as a translator and translates essays and reports. I dont know why he is on the blacklist. Since October, he contacted press in Ireland, including RTE as well as Al Jazeera. He filmed himself talking about the situation and recorded some videos. They dont want pictures in Gaza to go international. The last moments with him was so hard. We didnt want to leave him. I didnt know what to say or do. Describing the moment he left his father behind, Mazen wiped away tears as he recalled the difficult decision to leave. We all sat crying. My dad told us to go as it was the only chance to get our family out. He forced us to go. My dad told us to go to Ireland and do all we can to get him out and back with us. It didnt seem real and I was 90% sure we would be back to him again but also thinking we might get out. After arriving in Rafah, the family headed to the border and boarded a bus to Cairo in Egypt. When we got to Cairo we stayed at a hotel for two nights. It was so weird. They put us in a five-star hotel. I remember walking into the room we couldnt believe there was water coming out of taps and electricity the transition to looking for water for hours to a five star hotel. Mazen, who is studying at University College Dublin, said he has not received updates from the DFA. We spoke to (Tanaiste) Micheal Martin and the DFA but we have had no updates. I feel they are not dealing with the issue, he said. We have emailed and called for updates but nothing. We told him that he has full responsibility for my dads safety and God forbid if anything happens to him he will be held responsible. A spokesperson for the Department of Foreign Affairs: A small number of Irish citizens remain in Gaza. The Government, through our embassies in the region, has consistently sought clearance for all Irish citizens who wish to exit Gaza to do so. We continue to advocate with the authorities in relation to those who have not yet been permitted to leave. We are also ready to assist in instances where other Irish citizens and accompanying dependants wish to exit Gaza. As with all consular cases, the department does not comment on the detail of individual cases. The chairman of the Irish Muslim Council has said he was hospitalised after being targeted in what he described as a deliberate hate crime attack. Shaykh Dr Umar Al-Qadri outlined details of the incident in Tallaght on Thursday evening in a series of posts on X, formerly Twitter. Gardai said they were investigating what they described as a robbery and assault that left one man requiring medical attention. Dr Al-Qadri said it appeared to be a planned attack after he agreed to meet two people in Tallaght. I have experienced a deliberate hate crime attack in Tallaght a few hours ago. I would like to express my gratitude to the kind Irish lady and two Irish gentlemen who assisted me when I collapsed and safely helped me into my car. I am currently receiving medical care at the Shaykh Dr Umar Al-Qadri (@DrUmarAlQadri) February 15, 2024 The next thing I remember is feeling disoriented in my car, surrounded by helpful Irish neighbours of the area I was visiting, as the Gardai and ambulance arrived, he said. I was injured and had lost consciousness, but my mobile phone was still with me, allowing me to contact my friends who arrived within 15 minutes. They took me to the hospital where I stayed overnight. The senior cleric said he had a CT scan in hospital. Thankfully, there is no brain injury or broken jaw, but the left side of my face is severely swollen and my front teeth are damaged, he posted. Dr Al-Qadri, who said he was having difficulty speaking and eating because of pain in his face and mouth, thanked people who assisted him in the wake of the incident and also expressed his gratitude to all those who had sent well wishes. Having lived in Ireland for 21 years, this has never happened to me, he said. This incident doesnt change the fact that I deeply appreciate and cherish Ireland and its people. He insisted it was not a planned robbery. I want to reiterate that the attackers did not want to rob me. It was a pre-planned attack intended to cause harm. My mobile phone, car and watch was not taken, he said. A Garda spokeswoman said: Gardai are investigating a robbery and assault that occurred in Tallaght, Dublin 24 on Thursday evening, February 15 2024. One man required medical attention following the incident. Investigations are ongoing at this time. The British holiday firm Pontin's has issued an apology after a list of 40 Irish surnames which were deemed undesirable to take bookings from has been spotlighted once again. The news came in 2020 when a whistleblower in the company revealed the blacklisted names and that staff were told to listen out for Irish accents when taking bookings. Pontin's has hit headlines again as they have now issued a public apology for their discriminatory practices. The firm, which is now in the process of reviewing and investigating unlawful act notices from previous years, was revealed to have a ban on certain groups of Irish people - including that of the Traveller Community. A spokesperson for Pontin's issued an apology, saying: "The specific incidents are historic issues, pre-dating 2018. "The call centre where the incidents took place has now closed and the majority of the staff involved have now left Pontins. "We apologise to all who may have been affected." A report by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) uncovered detailed lists of banned names which amounted to multiple breaches of the Equality Act 2010, including multiple instances of race discrimination against Irish Travellers. The full list of 'undesirable guests' is as follows: *Boylan *Boyle *Carney *Carr *Cash *Connors *Corcoran *Delaney *Doherty *Dorran *Gallagher *Horan *Keefe *Kell *Leahy *Lee *MacLaughlin *McAlwick *McCully *McDonagh *McGinley *McGinn *McGuiness *McHarg *McLaughan *McMahon *Millighan *Mongans *Murphy *Nolan *O'Brien *O'Connell *O'Donnell *O'Donoghue *O'Mahoney *O'Reilly *Sheridan *Stokes *Walch *Ward Pontin's previously had six sites located across the UK, but has since closed sites in Prestatyn, North Wales and Camber Sands in East Sussex, after being rated the UK's worst holiday camp in 2022. "Everyone deserves to live free from hate and prejudice, said Chris McDonagh, campaigns officer for charity Friends, Families and Travellers. "It is deeply saddening that Irish Traveller people have become so used to hate and prejudice that the Pontins 'blacklist' did not come as a surprise. "Whilst we are certain that Pontins are not the only ones operating such discriminatory policies, we welcome the EHRC's investigation and commend the whistleblower's principled stance. Saudi Ports Authority (Mawani) has announced the completion of development work on the Red Sea Gateway Terminal in Jeddah Islamic Port at a total investment of over SAR1 billion ($266 million). Following the completion of this project, the terminals area has more than doubled from 700,000 sq m to 1,500,000 sq m, and the terminal handling capacity has increased from 2.5 million TEUs to 6.2 million TEUs. It included the renovation of all buildings at the terminal, the inauguration of an advanced control room equipped with the latest technologies, the establishment of automated main gates for trucks entering and exiting the terminal, with a larger capacity and equipped with Optical Character Recognition (OCR) feature, in addition to supporting operational performance with 146 different equipment, during the period from 2020 to 2023. The work, which was completed in cooperation with the Red Sea Gateway Terminal (RSGT), is expected to enhance the operational capabilities of the port, increase its capacity, and boost the efficiency of logistics services. According to Mawani, the development of Jeddah Islamic Ports North Container Terminal comes as part of the Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) contract signed with the Red Sea Gateway Terminal, aligning with the National Transport and Logistics Strategy (NTLS) to make Jeddah Islamic Port a world-class leader. The scope of work included rehabilitation of the infrastructure, covering more than 1.5 million sq m and 11 berths of 2,600 m equipped with 24 shore-to-ship cranes (STS), along with the completion of the deepening project. It has also expanded the northern channel of the Red Sea Gateway Terminal to welcome giant ships with a draft of up to 17m. On the successful work completion, Engineer Saleh bin Nasser Al Jasser, Minister of Transport and Logistic Services and Chairman of the Saudi Ports Authority, said this will contribute to enhancing operational capabilities and increasing the ports capacity in trade movements, exports and supporting maritime transport, supply chains as well as logistics services. Emphasising the importance of the timely completion of infrastructure rehabilitation and the deepening project, Al Jasser said: "It will enable the Jeddah port to receive giant ships and achieve added value, which in turn will create promising investment opportunities that support the significant maritime capabilities of Saudi ports." Mawani President Omar Hariri lauded the efforts of the private sector and national and international investors in the success of its initiatives. "The continuous development of the infrastructure at Jeddah Islamic Port is part of our efforts to raise the kingdoms position in international rankings in the maritime sector besides maximising its ability to stimulate the transportation and logistics industry and strengthen its economic and developmental role," he added. Red Sea Gateway Terminal CEO Jens Floe said this achievement reflects the strategic partnership between Mawani and RSGT. "The integration work on the terminal was completed within a period not exceeding three years, thus contributing to increasing the terminals area from 700,000 sq m to 1,500,000 sq m, and increasing the terminal handling capacity from 2.5 million TEUs to 6.2 million TEUs," he added.-TradeArabia News Service WHEN Eamon de Valera died in 1975, the editor of the Irish Press, Tim Pat Coogan, sent me down to Glounthaune to interview Martin Corry on his farm. At the front porch of Corrys house, I noticed the door was wedged open by what looked like a 56lb weight. Inside, Corry explained that it was in fact half a mould for grenades. We made them in a forge out the back, he said. Corry was close to Dev, and when Fianna Fail won the 1932 election, there were fears in some quarters that there might not be a peaceful transfer of power. So, when Dev and a group of his deputies arrived at Leinster House, some of them, most notably Corry and Dan Breen of Tipperary, carried revolvers in their overcoat pockets. During the War of Independence (1919-21), Corry earned a reputation as a ruthless enforcer. When I asked him about this, he waved his hand nonchalantly towards the field at the back of the house and said: Theres a few Tans buried out there. However, as Padraig Og O Ruairc, the author of a new book called The Disappeared, explained, some of Corrys claims may have been made by way of self-aggrandisement. He revelled in his reputation as an executioner, and the author tells us Corry (who died in 1979) once boasted to a local meeting of the Fianna Fail party in Cork: I planted oats on British soldiers - and twas good oats! The Disappeared by Padraig Og O Ruairc. But his boasting was not always well-founded. Throughout his political career Corry availed of every opportunity to boast about his exploits, but many of his claims were self-promoting fantasies, according to O Ruairc. For example, he claimed credit for the execution of an alleged British spy named Edward Parsons, a teenager who had actually been abducted and killed by a completely different IRA unit. Rumours were also spread that another British informer, Mrs Lindsay, who had been killed on the opposite side of Cork, had been executed by Corrys company. Corry garnished his grandiose claims with supernatural tales involving ghosts and hellhounds appearing at the scene of IRA executions. As the OC of the E Company (Knockraha), Corry claimed that 35 spies were killed and buried, of whom only three had ever been identified. Although there is a possibility that other victims of forced disappearances executed in Knockraha may be identified in the future, it is doubtful that these would amount to no more than one or two individuals, says Padraig Og O Ruairc Claims that dozens more unidentified IRA victims were secretly executed in Knockraha, or that close to a hundred people were disappeared and buried in the locality, have no basis in fact and undoubtedly stem from Martin Corrys self-aggrandising fantasies. Corrys story is just a small facet of the War of Independence which saw the burning of Cork city in 1920, but it illustrates the difficulty of getting to the truth about the disappeared, which today is part of the ongoing debate about the legacy of the Troubles in Northern Ireland. Woven into that debate is the attempt by apologists for the Provisional IRA to use the atrocities committed by the Good Old IRA of 1919-21 to justify the atrocities committed by the Provos. The ethical futility of citing one set of atrocities to justify an even much larger and more devastating set of atrocities is evident in Gaza today. It is a lesson apologists for the Provos are still slow to learn. The sub-title of this well-researched book (the author holds a PhD in history from the University of Limerick) is Forced Disappearances in Ireland 1798-1998, and it makes grim reading. Wars of independence are always particularly brutal (we saw this later on in the 20th century in the independence struggles in Kenya in the 1950s, in Algeria in the 1960s and in Vietnam (1963-1975). And the Tan war here, as it came to be known, was no exception. Terrible things were done by both sides. This book is essentially a catalogue of kidnappings, executions, and forced disappearances, and vicious reprisals. And the authors research stretches from the United Irishmen of Wolfe Tones time in 1798 up to the Good Friday Agreement of 1998. It is a work that provides some important answers, even though, given the nature of dirty wars, much remains - and sadly will remain - hidden. The author notes, in particular, the inconsistencies in the ways official Ireland views and portrays the violent activities of the Good Old IRA of the 1920s with the violent activities of the Provisional IRA from 1971 up to the 1990s. Two wrongs - as we are witnessing from the terrible death toll in Gaza - never make a right. Every murder and forced disappearance, whether of an IRA man or a Black and Tan, leaves a family searching for answers. That we must never forget. The Disappeared, by Padraig Og O Ruairc, is published by Merrion Press, 19.99. MICHAEL J Chaplin is recalling how he was frightened of his famous father, the great comedy actor Charlie Chaplin, who could be explosive, he says. He was a loving father but he could get very angry, he could be explosive. I was a little bit frightened of him. I was nothing like him. I identified much more with my mother. She was a very important force in making me read books. As the second of eight children from the late silent movie stars fourth (and last) marriage, to British actress Oona ONeill, Michael grew up in a country pile called Manoir de Ban in Switzerland - Chaplin Snr had been exiled from the U.S in 1952, a victim of McCarthyism, suspected of communism (an allegation he consistently denied). Michael - who himself has been married twice and has seven children and 12 grandchildren - says his relationship with his father was at times difficult. He looked up to him, but the sheer power and success of the man left him trying for many years to find purpose. It has taken him decades to bring his debut novel, A Fallen God, to fruition - and at 77, he says its brought him by far the biggest sense of achievement professionally. The novel is a retelling of the medieval mythical romance of Tristan and Isolde set in 13th century France, told from the perspective of cuckolded King Mark. The love triangle involves passion, anger and loss - emotions the author has experienced at different parts of his life. He can relate to narrator Mark, who he describes as a dreamer. Charlie Chaplin's son Michael J, who has just published a novel. I have never felt very dynamic in acting and doing things, and I think Ive lacked that kind of energy my father had, he reflects. Writing the book was therapeutic, he adds. I had to come to terms with my anger. It was a great shot of energy to put my own life into it. Growing up, he recalls how his father would drum into him the importance of education, which to a youngster with undiagnosed dyslexia who didnt excel at school was a challenge. The great difficulty between him and me was that I couldnt absorb anything at school. Id just look out of the window and dream. I couldnt spell, he thought this was laziness, until in the 1950s they discovered dyslexia. He would tell me how important an education is, how your only defence against poverty is having an education. He hadnt had an education, but didnt do too badly. His education was in the streets and in music halls. I would have loved that kind of education, not sitting in the classroom. Charlie Chaplin was the son of music hall performers, who separated when he was a boy. He hardly knew his father, who was frequently away performing. He didnt see much of his father, he never mentioned him, Michael recalls. He talked about his mother a lot, recalling anecdotes about her at the table while we were eating. As a boy, Michael was aware of his fathers success, he recalls. He took us to Japan, where the overwhelming crowds gathered around him. As a young boy, I went to the opening of Limelight in London. It was overwhelming, with people rushing (forward). I hadnt seen that in America - I was six when we left - because he worked in the studios and didnt really involve us in his work. He gave Michael a part in a scene in Limelight and then cast him in A King In New York a few years later. It was a great experience, because at last I could do something for him and not be the guy whos last in class. It was wonderful. He gave me all his attention because he needed me. It was a wonderful moment. But it didnt last. At home in Switzerland, his father was a powerful presence. When television arrived, he was dead against it. I think he thought it was a terrible thing. But in his old age, he spent all of his time in front of the television, he chuckles. What would Chaplin Snr have made of the digital world today? I dont think he would have got excited about it. He worked with his body, his physicality, it was a very good language. He was probably for a while the most famous man on the planet, because he could speak every language just by mime. Michael gave up on traditional education and left home for London at 16 to pursue a girl he had met on holiday in Ireland, telling his mother he was going camping. The girls mother put him up and Michael didnt contact his parents for some time. To make ends meet, he did a variety of jobs, from selling fruit and veg to decorating parties for debutantes. For a while, he became a pot-smoking hippy living a bohemian lifestyle. When he returned to Switzerland for Christmas two years later, he says his father refused to speak to him. It was my mother that forced him to accept me back. If he wanted to know something, he would tell my mother, Ask him... He wouldnt directly ask me. How did being the son of such a famous father affect him? Im sure its affected me more than I would admit to, but I try not to let that come into my relationships. Anyway, the kind of people I was moving around with in London were all slightly counter-culture. Wed talk about William S Burroughs Naked Lunch, we wouldnt talk about my fathers films. He had a brief acting and producing period, and later ran a goat farm for 14 years in rural south-west France. When Chaplin Snr died in 1977, Michael went through a big crisis, big depression. He lost all ambition and entered a vacuum, he recalls. My wife and daughters and my son had to put up with that. I was smoking a lot of dope, drinking, doing all those things self-destructively. Luckily, my wife didnt walk out on me and I was able to come back down on earth - writing the book helped bring me there. It was a very difficult moment. But maybe you have to go through these moments to be stronger. The depression lasted until the death of his mother in 1991, who had struggled since Chaplins death. She tried to have a new life. She painted and redecorated the Manoir in Switzerland, she had friends in New York and Hollywood but ended up back in Switzerland alone in the house, but she couldnt cope. It was difficult to see. When she died, Michael moved back to the house in Switzerland with his brother and his family - there were children running around constantly yet, despite the hubbub, he started writing there. The house has since been turned into a museum. Michael and his wife Patricia, to whom he has been married for more than 50 years, moved to Malaga five years ago, where they stay in winter. They also have an apartment in Lausanne, Switzerland. Ive never felt belonging to a particular place, he reflects. A Fallen God, by Michael J Chaplin is published by The Book Guild Ltd, priced 10.99. Available now. Cork City Council has voted to write to the European Commissions environment watchdog requesting that Uisce Eireann be investigated under the Drinking Water Directive 2020. The decision followed a motion proposed by An Rabharta Glas councillor Lorna Bogue at a council meeting this week. Councillor Bogue moved that the Council write to the European Commission Directorate General (ECDG) for Environment requesting that Uisce Eireann be investigated with regard to quality monitoring, contamination and risk management strategy, and other relevant aspects in respect of unacceptable provision of drinking water in Cork city. It follows months of reports of discoloured water in parts of the city, with large areas of the citys northside, and parts of the southside, suffering ongoing issues. Councillor Lorna Bogue Addressing the council meeting, Cllr Bogue said, given its previous vote calling for the abolition of Uisce Eireann, she was asking that the council show consistency and agree to write to the ECDG for Environment, so the Government can be compelled to intervene. People Before Profit-Solidarity councillor Brian McCarthy said an investigation of Uisce Eireann was long overdue, and he added that, for the past 18 months, all across the northside, he was regularly shown by constituents the muck thats coming out of their taps and the damaging effects of discoloured water on kettles, showers and clothes. Fianna Fail councillor Terry Shannon disagreed, saying that while he would acknowledge that there were issues with Uisce Eireann, including in his own area, his own experience with the utility had always been positive. Uisce Eireann to set up taskforce in Cork city dedicated to improving water quality https://t.co/l6EYeOQuX1 EchoLive.ie (@echolivecork) February 9, 2024 I have to say that when I ring Irish Water, [as I have] on a number of occasions I get a really good response and they get work done, Cllr Shannon said. Green Party councillor Dan Boyle pointed out that, technically, the issue could not be addressed on a European level before all avenues had been addressed on a national level, and his party colleague Cllr Oliver Moran had recently lodged a complaint against Uisce Eireann with the utilities commissioner. VOTE The motion was passed by 14 votes to six, with three abstentions. Afterwards, Fine Gael councillor Damian Boylan said any communication with Europe would be referred back to the national government and he denounced the motion and vote as a complete waste of our time, honest to God. A subsequent motion by Councillor Bogue that the council write to Local Government Minister Darragh OBrien to demand that Uisce Eireann be instructed to urgently implement testing for manganese and other harmful substances in drinking water for residents of the Boreenmanna Road was agreed without a vote. Last week, Uisce Eireann announced it had established a taskforce in Cork City, dedicated to improving water quality. Acknowledging that water services in Cork City are not meeting the standards that customers rightly expect, Uisce Eireann is assuring the public that it continues to treat the matter with the utmost urgency, including following up with proactive callbacks to customers who have raised concerns over discoloured water, the company said in a statement. A WOMAN, 30s, arrested in connection with the murder of Michael Foley in Macroom has been released with out the charge. A man also arrested as part of the investigation remains detained. A Garda spokesperson told The Echo this morning: "Gardai in Macroom continue to investigate the murder of Michael Foley (61 years) who was found deceased at his home in Macroom, Co. Cork on Tuesday, 6th February 2024. "The woman (aged in her 30s) who was arrested on Wednesday 14th February 2024 has been released without charge. A file will be prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions. "The male (aged in his 30s) who was also arrested on Wednesday 14th February 2024, remains detained under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act, 1984, at a Garda Station in County Cork." Michael Foley was found dead at his home in Macroom, Co. Cork on Tuesday, February 6. A young man who confessed to having possession of thousands of euro worth of stolen power tools at an address in Fair Hill in Cork in October 2020 has been jailed for 18 months. Hughie Nevin, with an address at Hillview Drive, Portlaoise, County Laois, appeared at Cork Circuit Criminal Court by video link from prison. He was represented in court by defence barrister Brendan Kelly who said that the defendants plea of guilty has spared various injured parties the time and trouble of coming to court to give evidence in a contested case. Mr Nevin pleaded guilty to 13 counts of possessing stolen power tools on October 13 2020 at Bridevalley View, Fair Hill, Cork. Judge Helen Boyle imposed a sentence of two years but suspended the last six months of that sentence. The 25-year-old married man said, Thank you, Judge, as the sentence was imposed. The judge agreed that the plea of guilty had spared the injured parties coming to court. Prosecution barrister, Katherine McGillycuddy, acknowledged that sentencing in the case should be backdated to January 18 2024 to allow for time already spend in custody in relation to the case. TANAISTE Micheal Martin has said that 136 of 198 people employed at the Cork headquarters of a gaming company recently acquired by Microsoft are to be made redundant. It was reported last month that Microsoft was cutting 1,900 jobs in its gaming division, including within its Xbox team. The cuts will primarily impact recently acquired games developer Activision Blizzard, which has offices in Cork and Dublin, but some Xbox staff at Microsoft-owned games publisher ZeniMax will also be affected. Mick Barry, a People Before Profit-Solidarity TD, raised the issue in the Dail, saying to the Tanaiste: More than 100 workers at Activation Blizzard, in Blackpool, face redundancy within the next couple of weeks. Mr Barry said: Their company was purchased late last year by Microsoft for $75bn, the largest video-game acquisition transaction in history. Microsoft is arguably the largest company in the world, with gross annual profits last year of 146bn, and they plan to gut nearly 2,000 Blizzard jobs worldwide. The Cork North Central representative added: Blackpool workers have many issues they would like to discuss with the company: These include a reduction in the number of job losses, a fair redundancy package, and making any, and all, redundancies voluntary. But the company refuse to talk to their trade union, Game Workers Unite Ireland, which is part of the Financial Services Union. How can the Government defend the situation where a huge American corporation can buy up a company with a base in Ireland, announce life-changing changes for its workforce, and refuse to talk to the union chosen by longstanding workers in that company to represent them? The Tanaiste said: Our thoughts are with the workers, thats our foremost concern, and he said that the Government would help them with training and development opportunities and income supports. One-hundred-and-ninety-eight people are employed, and the number of redundancies is expected to be 136, which is very serious for those people and their families, he said. Microsoft is a very large organisation in Ireland, so, hopefully, there might be opportunities for re-employment, but we also have to do everything we can to seek alternative employment for the workers. I have no doubt that the minister will work with the company to ensure that their rights, as enshrined in legislation, are followed through. A MAN has appeared before Bandon District Court in Co Cork charged in connection with the murder of a 61-year-old father of four found dead in a sheltered living apartment complex in Macroom on February 6 last. Daniel Hourigan, care of Cork Simon Community, was charged with the murder of Michael Foley at a date unknown between January 31 and February 1 of this year in the town of Macroom. Det Sgt Danielle Hegarty gave evidence of arrest charge and caution. The court heard that Mr Hourigan made no reply when the charge was put to him under caution at Bandon Garda Station at 11.18am today. Sgt Trish OSullivan told Judge James McNulty that the State application was for a remand in custody until a sitting of Clonakilty District Court next week. Judge James McNulty remanded Mr Hourigan in custody to appear before Clonakilty District Court on February 20th. Mr Hourigan (31) will appear by video link when he is next before the court. Free legal aid was assigned as Mr Hourigan is in receipt of job seekers allowance. Judge McNulty ruled that the accused receive medical attention in custody. Defence solicitor Eddie Burke said that his client needed the doctor on two occasions when he was in custody arising out of his various addictions. The deceased Michael Foley. Mr Hourigan also complained of having nerve pain in his arm when he was in the body of the court. Judge McNulty said that the Governor would be made aware of the addiction issue and the possible need for medication to ease the anxiety of Mr Hourigan. There were angry scenes outside the courtroom as the accused was driven away from the courthouse by gardai. Meanwhile, a woman in her thirties who was arrested in connection with the death of Mr Foley was released without charge in the early hours of this morning. A file will be prepared for the DPP. Meanwhile, Mr Foley was a native of Scartagh, in Clonakilty in Co Cork. He was laid to rest at St Marys cemetery in the town following noon requiem mass in the Church of the Immaculate Conception last Monday. He was predeceased by his mother Kitty and his brother Timmy. He is survived by his father Mickie, his daughters, grandchildren, siblings, nephews, nieces, relatives and friends. Mr Foley had lived in the sheltered accommodation in Macroom for about a year. He was found dead by a care worker who went to check on his welfare when he hadnt been seen for a few days. A murder investigation was launched following the completion of a postmortem at Cork University Hospital by Assistant State Pathologist Dr Margaret Bolster. The results were not released for operational reasons. However it is understood Mr Foley suffered a violent death. CORK City Councils Local Enterprise Office has teamed up with the Crann Centre to raise awareness of self-employment for people with disabilities. The partnership is part of Local Enterprise Week, from March 4 to 8. Among the events is a talk at the Crann Centre on self-employment for people with disabilities, where attendees will hear from several people with disabilities who have been successful in setting up their own business. They will also hear about the different supports available from the Local Enterprise Office. This event takes place on March 5. A host of other in-person and online events aimed at small/micro businesses in Cork will take place during the week. These events are free to attend, but people need to book online in advance. Dr Niall OKeeffe, head of Enterprise at the Local Enterprise Office, Cork City, said the event is always enjoyable. Its a very exciting week, we run as many events as possible to cater for as many types of businesses as possible, in various stages of development. We have everything from export to digital to resilience in business and we have a focus on women and also people with disabilities in some of our events, so theres a broad range of activities. Local Enterprise Office focuses on small/micro enterprises from pre-start-up to start-ups and growing, so we have to cater for the needs and demands of the changing market for businesses of that size. Lord Mayor of Cork Kieran McCarthy said hes looking forward to the week. There are so many different events on the programme, which are very helpful to anyone developing small and micro enterprises, he said. Such businesses make up the fabric of our city and Local Enterprise Week is a great opportunity to gain advice on any supports and to share challenges and opportunities with peers, he added. AFTER UK Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak announced a plan to ban disposable vapes, Tanaiste Micheal Martin said he would like to see it in Ireland. A new law banning the sale of vapes to under-18s came into effect last month, but Minister Martin wants to go further. The old trick of the tobacco industry was that kids went to buy sweets and you had the cigarettes next to them - now you have the vapes with different flavours. Clearly, the objective is to get young people hooked and you have an industry for the next 50 years, without any proper due diligence on what goes into these products, the Tanaiste said. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has urged governments to treat vapes similar to tobacco and ban all flavours. The industry will find this problematic - British American Tobacco has set a target of half its revenues from non-combustible products by 2035. What are other countries doing? By July, 2023, vapes were banned in 34 countries, according to the WHO, including Brazil, India, Thailand and Iran. But enforcing a ban is challenging as they frequently become available on the black market. Other countries, including the U.S, allow vapes but regulate their use. In Australia, vapes are available on prescription only. From March, it will be illegal to import any type of vape not approved as therapeutic by the Australian medical regulator. It also plans to introduce a bill in 2025 banning domestic manufacturing or supply of non-therapeutic v apes. New Zealand has had an effective ban in place since August, with new rules to protect young people, including a lower level of nicotine, duller flavour names and a ban on opening vape shops in the vicinity of schools. China, the worlds biggest producer of vapes, introduced a slew of laws in 2021 controlling their use, including banning the flavoured products that many of its manufacturers continue to send overseas. Not good enough for Chinese citizens but okay to bolster economic growth. Vape manufacturers in the US must get authorisation from Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to sell their products. The FDA considers several factors like the potential benefits to help smokers quit. It has yet to approve a vape flavour other than tobacco. However, the laws are poorly enforced, with disposable products being widely available. The UK is the latest country to announce a ban on disposable vapes. The new regulations will limit the variety of flavours, implement plain packaging, and alter the way vapes are presented in stores to minimise their appeal to children, according to the UK government. Ireland is seeking peoples views ahead of further regulation. VOICE Ireland has been advocating strongly for this, promoting the campaign #BanDisposableVapes to make Ireland the first country in Europe to ban disposable vapes. A bill to ban the use of disposable vapes has been approved in France and could come into effect by September next year. Germany also intends to take action, while some ecologists, including Steffi Lemke, the Green federal Minister for the Environment - have gone one step further, calling on the EU to ban them altogether. How bad are disposable vapes for health? The Royal College of Physicians of Ireland (RCPI) Faculty of Paediatrics, in a position paper last October, strongly supported laws to ban them to protect the health and wellbeing of children and young people, who are using them in alarming numbers. The environmental damage of vapes is also a concern. Consultant in Paediatric Respiratory Medicine, Prof Des Cox, said vaping is harmful and has significant long-term risks for children and young people, whose brains and bodies are still developing. Exposure of children and adolescents to nicotine can lead to long-term negative impacts on brain development as well as addiction. Aerosols in most vapes contain toxic substances, associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease and lung disorders, he warned. Potential negative health impacts of vapes include chest symptoms such as cough, wheezing, asthma exacerbations, but there is also significant risk of dependence and neurotoxic effects on the not fully matured brain. Doctors need to be equipped to speak to their patients about these ill effects and provide clear guidance. A key concern of paediatricians is the targeting of young people. Clever campaigns on TikTok and Instagram, and the array of flavours and colours, are making disposable vapes more desirable for young people, said Prof Cox. We must adopt stronger legislation on the advertising and marketing of vapes and ban the use of flavours other than tobacco. A review by the Health Research Board supports this conclusion, finding that young people who had ever used a vape were three to five times more likely to start smoking compared to those who never used vapes. Effectively, what we are doing is creating the next generation of smokers, said Prof Cox. The argument is sometimes made that some people quit smoking using disposable vapes, but vapes are not licensed stop smoking medicines in Ireland and health claims that they are effective smoking cessation aids are not supported by the evidence. If something is causing environmental damage and has serious health impacts for our young people, it seems an obvious solution to ban disposable vapes entirely. There are proven smoking cessation aids that are more effective and have a lesser environmental impact. The Tanaiste is right. Ireland has provided a global template for legislation around sale of tobacco and more recently alcohol, with significant benefits to public health. Robust legislation around the sale of disposable vapes is overdue, aligned with legislation to limit vape flavours, and implement plain packaging, to minimise both environmental impacts as well as immediate and long-term health impacts to children. By Cate McCurry, PA An Irish-Palestinian man who was blocked from leaving the Gaza Strip has described his fear of never seeing his family again and how life in Rafah has become critical. Zak Hania said he feels abandoned by the Irish authorities after appeals for help to leave Gaza went unanswered. Mr Hanias wife, Batoul, and their four sons were among the Irish citizens who left Gaza via the Rafah border last November and are now living in Dublin. However, Mr Hania was not accepted on to the list of evacuees and was left in the besieged territory, where he fears for his life. Mrs Hania and her four Irish-born sons, Mazen, Ismael, Ahmed and Nour, have spent months pleading for help from the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), but have unable to get him clearance to leave. I think I am abandoned. Im happy my kids left this terror and genocide and I urge everyone to help me and reunite me with my family, Mr Hania told the PA news agency. Mr Hania said life in Rafah is very hard. Last night we had the worst night since I have been here, he said. We woke up at 1am to the sounds of missiles and bombardment and we were not sure what was happening. We thought the Israelis were invading Rafah. Its so dark and theres no electric. We dont know where all the bombs are. We cant go outside to see. It is very horrible and very hard at night. All people thought they were going to die because of the attacks. Around 100 people were killed last night and lots of people injured. They attacked houses and they attacked mosques. Palestinians survey the destruction after an Israeli strike on a residential building in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip on Friday. Photo: Hatem Ali/PA. I see people moving from Rafah on cars and donkeys. They take their blankets and things. Rafah is so crowded. Its full of people and it has become a tent city. Every empty space is filled with tents. Around 1.5 million people in Rafah. If they attack Rafah it will be terrible. The situation is very grim. We are exhausted. We have no energy and we are close to collapsing and dont want to think that we have to move to another place because we have no energy to go anywhere. We dont know where to go. We were told to go to Rafah as it is safe and now lots of people are here and we dont know where to go. Its very difficult and we are not sure what to do. Mr Hania said he does not know why he was blocked from leaving the Gaza Strip. The DFA said the relevant (Israeli) authorities refused me to leave but didnt give a reason. I dont know why but I know that travelling is a human right and I am held against my will and I consider myself to be a hostage in Gaza, he added. I want to join my kids. Things are becoming critical here. I dont know if I will be able to see my children again and be able to hug them. I want to join my family and dont want to be separated from them. They are worried about me in Dublin. I was told by DFA to go to Rafah to leave and now I am stuck here. I have no place to go. His son, Mazen, described his familys harrowing journey from their home in Beach Camp in northern Gaza through the Rafah border crossing and on to Dublin. The 19-year-old, who was born in Dublin and moved to Gaza in 2012, was studying engineering at a local university when his home town was attacked by Israeli strikes. Palestinians fleeing the Israeli offensive on Khan Younis arrive in Rafah. Photo: Hatem Ali/PA. Around 20 of his family members, including a three-month-old baby, left their home and travelled to a cousins house near the al-Shifa hospital. The bombardment became very intense. You have no idea what is happening all you hear are the bombs, he said. We were hoping the war would end and that we could get home again. It is very hard to survive there. During the day, we would go outside looking for food or flour to make bread or anything that we could eat to survive. Before we left we had three bags of flour each weighing 25kgs which were provided by UNRWA (The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees). It was so difficult carrying all the flour, as well as pillows and blankets. It was hell of a journey. Whoever was well enough in the morning looked for food. My role was to go and look for water. We had gallon-sized barrels and had to stand in long queues for three hours to get to the taps of water. Days later, the family were told to evacuate the building following a warning from the Israel Defence Forces (IDF). Mazen found a cart and loaded it with all their belongings. We moved on to somewhere new. We tried to follow routines every day to keep us going. If we felt good and healthy in the morning we would fast during the day and eat only small things like one piece of bread, he said. We only had one meal a day. There were 11 children in total with us. We sometimes had chicken but very rarely, sometimes we had cheese and olive oil and thyme. There was so much rubbish in the streets and we saw bodies too. Sometimes you couldnt tell the difference between rubbish and bodies. Mazens most treasured items were his laptop, toothbrush and toothpaste, which he carried close to him for weeks. The family walked for hours, despite his mother suffering from issues with her pelvic bones, while his father suffers from spinal issues. We went to another cousins house, who lives in Hamad City. We were lucky to have different houses to go to as there are so many people who sleep in the street. We found a car and used it to carry our belongings and people, Mazen added. The worst journey we made was to the south of Gaza. I cant believe it when I think about it. We got to a point where we saw the IDF and tanks and snipers. The IDF tank blocked the street and stopped us from going any further. We waited. The streets are not easy to walk. Roads are cracked up. A lot electric cables are in the way. It was the most intense hour of my life. We were all waiting for the tanks to move so we could get through. The IDF soldiers were calling and shouting at us. They would take some people away and we wouldnt see them again. The Irish embassy contacted the family and told them to travel to Rafah. They were all on the clearance list, except Mr Hania. My dad was so angry and asked why this happened. He spoke to the Department of Foreign Affairs and we were told that the Israeli authorities had him on the red list, Mazen said. My dad did his masters in journalism in DCU (Dublin City University), and he worked as a lecturer at the University of Palestine, but his salary was not good. He resigned and worked as a translator and translates essays and reports. I dont know why he is on the blacklist. Since October, he contacted press in Ireland, including RTE as well as Al Jazeera. He filmed himself talking about the situation and recorded some videos. They dont want pictures in Gaza to go international. The last moments with him was so hard. We didnt want to leave him. I didnt know what to say or do. Describing the moment he left his father behind, Mazen wiped away tears as he recalled the difficult decision to leave. We all sat crying. My dad told us to go as it was the only chance to get our family out. He forced us to go. My dad told us to go to Ireland and do all we can to get him out and back with us. It didnt seem real and I was 90% sure we would be back to him again but also thinking we might get out. After arriving in Rafah, the family headed to the border and boarded a bus to Cairo in Egypt. When we got to Cairo we stayed at a hotel for two nights. It was so weird. They put us in a five-star hotel. I remember walking into the room we couldnt believe there was water coming out of taps and electricity the transition to looking for water for hours to a five-star hotel. Mazen, who is studying at University College Dublin, said he has not received updates from the DFA. We spoke to (Tanaiste) Micheal Martin and the DFA but we have had no updates. I feel they are not dealing with the issue, he said. We have emailed and called for updates but nothing. We told him that he has full responsibility for my dads safety and God forbid, if anything happens to him he will be held responsible. Mazen Hania said the family have spoken to Tanaiste Micheal Martin. Photo: Niall Carson/PA. A spokesperson for the Department of Foreign Affairs: A small number of Irish citizens remain in Gaza. The Government, through our embassies in the region, has consistently sought clearance for all Irish citizens who wish to exit Gaza to do so. We continue to advocate with the authorities in relation to those who have not yet been permitted to leave. We are also ready to assist in instances where other Irish citizens and accompanying dependants wish to exit Gaza. As with all consular cases, the department does not comment on the detail of individual cases. Olivia Kelleher A man has appeared before Bandon District Court charged in connection with the murder of Michael Foley (61), who found dead in sheltered accommodation in Macroom, Co Cork on February 6th. Daniel Hourigan (31) was charged with the murder of Mr Foley on a date unknown between January 31st and February 1st, 2024. Det Sgt Danielle Hegarty gave evidence of arrest charge and caution. The court heard that Mr Hourigan made no reply when the charge was put to him under caution at Bandon Garda station at 11.18am on Friday. Sgt Trish OSullivan told Judge James McNulty that the State's application was for the accused to be remanded in custody until a sitting of Clonakilty District Court next week. Judge McNulty approved the request, and remanded Mr Hourigan in custody to appear before the court in Clonakilty on February 20th, when he will appear via videolink. Legal aid was granted after the court heard the accused is in receipt of jobseekers' allowance. Judge McNulty also ruled that the accused receives medical attention while in custody. Defence solicitor Eddie Burke said his client required a doctor on two occasions during his time in custody due to his various addictions. Mr Hourigan also complained of having nerve pain in his arm when he was in the court. Judge McNulty said the governor of the prison would be made aware of the addiction issue and the possible need for medication to ease Mr Hourigan's anxiety. There were angry scenes outside the courtroom as the accused was driven away from the courthouse by gardai. Paul Neilan A Rathkeale man who was jailed for 10 years for causing serious harm to an elderly man with a machete has had his conviction overturned due to the failure by gardai to seek out CCTV footage of the attack. At Limerick Circuit Criminal Court in November 2021, John O'Donoghue was convicted of assault causing serious harm to Willie O'Driscoll Snr, then aged 74, in Bothar Bui, Rathkeale, Co Limerick, on December 17th, 2017. Mr ODonoghue (54), of Lower Main Street, Rathkeale, was also convicted of violent disorder on the same date and location during an incident between two families. A jury unanimously convicted ODonoghue of assault causing serious harm and of violent disorder, but found him not guilty of a charge of the production of an article a machete during the course of a dispute and of making threats to kill. Mr ODonoghue had pleaded not guilty on all counts. He was sentenced to 10 years' imprisonment for assault causing serious harm and to a concurrent eight-year term for the violent disorder offence. Mr ODonoghue subsequently appealed the conviction on the grounds that vital CCTV had not been harvested by gardai and that a garda notebook had not been disclosed until the trial, when the relevant garda was already giving evidence in the witness box. Duty At the appeal hearing, Michael Bowman SC, for Mr ODonoghue, said the prosecution failed in their duty to seek out crucial and paramount CCTV evidence in the case. Mr Bowman said no CCTV had been retrieved by gardai, even though there were 30 cameras in the area, according to an engineer hired by the defence. Mr Bowman submitted that a woman who lived in a house in the area with CCTV cameras covering the location of the incident, which involved multiple individuals and vehicles at a nearby yard area, said the equipment was operational at the time and told canvassing gardai they could view it. However, the Court of Appeal heard that gardai never returned to do so. At the Court of Appeal on Friday, Ms Justice Tara Burns said the three-judge court would uphold Mr O'Donoghue's complaint regarding the failure of the trial judge to direct an acquittal. She said this was on the basis of an unfairness arising in the investigation which deprived him of a reasonable prospect of a defence. Ms Justice Burns said it was an established duty of gardai to seek out and preserve CCTV. Ms Justice Burns said no evidence was submitted by the State to rebut the womans statement that she had operational CCTV fixed at a height to her house on the day and that gardai had called to her house and had been granted permission to view the footage. 'Significant failings' It seems to us that there were significant failings regarding the investigation into CCTV in this case and that a realistic prospect of a defence existed in relation to this missing CCTV, Ms Justice Burns said, adding that the court would quash the convictions. Ms Justice Burns said that highly relevant CCTV had been available to gardai, which the investigating guards were aware of, yet had not harvested. The judge said there had been conflicting allegations by the respective parties in the case and therefore there had been an onus on gardai to acquire the CCTV from the outset. It is axiomatic that CCTV footage of the incident, if it existed, would have been vitally important in light of the completely opposed positions adopted by the parties in relation to what occurred on the morning in question, Ms Justice Burns said. There was no evidence adduced by the State as to what CCTV enquiries took place as no notes were kept of any investigation steps in this regard, to include not even keeping a basic record of the persons who were spoken to regarding CCTV, Ms Justice Burns said. At the appeal hearing, Mr Bowman also submitted that the disclosure of a garda notebook to the defence had been requested before the November 2021 trial, but to no avail. However, a Garda notebook had been brought into the case by the prosecution, concerning the description of the scene after the incident. Mr Bowman said he had no knowledge of the contents of the notebook in advance and had acted in good faith, but had not received an additional evidence notice from the prosecution. Mr Bowman said that while the garda was giving his evidence in court, a four-page copy of the relevant section of the notebook was slid across the table by the prosecution to the defence solicitor a situation Ms Justice Isobel Kennedy described as most unsatisfactory. 'Utterly exposed' Mr Bowman said the production of a garda notebook during the trial of which the defence had no prior knowledge left Mr ODonoghue prejudiced and the defence became utterly exposed, as they had already cross-examined witnesses in the case. Responding, Lily Buckley BL, for the State, said she had to accept there was an issue with the timing of the service notice of the additional evidence, to which Ms Justice Burns interjected: There was no service. The document was left on a table. That is the extent of it. Ms Justice Kennedy said that not on any reckoning was this disclosure. It is unsatisfactory, and I dont contend otherwise, but I would say it was not enough to stop the trial, Ms Buckley said. In her judgement on Friday, Ms Justice Burns said the manner in which the guards notebook entry was disclosed was completely inappropriate. However, the information in the notebook which had not been disclosed until the trial, a situation which left a lot to be desired, did not add significantly to the evidence already before the jury, she added. Ms Justice Burns said this ground did not persuade the court that the trial judge erred in failing to discharge the jury, or that unfairness arose from the incident that rendered the conviction unsafe. In upholding the ground of appeal on the CCTV argument, Ms Justice Burns quashed the conviction and adjourned the matter for discussion over a possible retrial to March 22nd. Founded in 2005 as an Ohio-based environmental newspaper, EcoWatch is a digital platform dedicated to publishing quality, science-based content on environmental issues, causes, and solutions. The downtown area of Bangkok, Thailand blanketed in a thick PM2.5 fog during sunrise on April 19, 2023. Matt Hunt / Anadolu Agency via Getty Images Government employees in Bangkok have been ordered to work from home for the next two days in order to avoid a thick layer of noxious smog covering the city. On Thursday, authorities warned that air pollution levels in Thailands capital and neighboring provinces had reached unhealthy levels, reported Reuters. Non-government employees have been urged to stay home as well. Governor of Bangkok Chadchart Sittipunt said the mandatory work-from-home days would affect more than 60,000 people on Thursday and Friday, according to AFP. Authorities asked for employers cooperation in helping workers avoid the toxic pollution until it improves on Friday. I would like to ask for cooperation from the [Bangkok Metropolitan Administration] network of about 151 companies and organizations, both government offices and the private sector, Sittipunt said in a statement, as AFP reported. On Thursday morning, Bangkok was ranked in the top 10 most polluted cities globally by Swiss air quality tracker IQAir. According to the IQAir website, levels of PM2.5 particles considered the most dangerous and small enough to enter the bloodstream were 15 times higher than the recommended guidelines set by the World Health Organization. Bangkoks air quality issues come from industrial pollution, agricultural burning and busy traffic. Prime Minister of Thailand Srettha Thavisin said crop burning was the biggest factor in the jump in pollution, adding that about 25 percent of it came from vehicles, reported Reuters. Last month, the Department of Pollution Control said Bangkoks annual smog season had officially begun, according to The Associated Press. Air quality in the region has been getting worse since late 2023. In northern provinces like Chiang Mai, a period of high microscopic dust levels typically starts in late February, when airborne particles build up due to a combination of an inversion layer in the atmosphere and dry weather. Many residents of Bangkok are not able to work from home, however. If I stay home, then I will starve, 57-year-old motorcycle taxi driver Jarukit Singkomron, who is allergic to the pollution, told AFP. People like me have to go out to make ends meet. Subsidies have been offered to farmers by the Thai government to stop burning, as well as less expensive electric vehicle (EV) packages, Reuters reported. A clean air act is under consideration by lawmakers to reduce pollution from transportation, agriculture and industry. The prime minister recommended that the government consider limiting fossil fuel-powered vehicles in Bangkok and pointed out that Thailands EV policy was an important component of efforts to reduce pollution now and in the future. We have a lot of problems with pollution at the moment, so we have to act immediately to reduce the effects on people, Srettha said, as reported by AFP. Founded in 2005 as an Ohio-based environmental newspaper, EcoWatch is a digital platform dedicated to publishing quality, science-based content on environmental issues, causes, and solutions. February's severe weather flooded San Diego County's Tijuana River Valley at Dairy Mart Road near the international border. Researchers from SDSU found that the contaminated runoff can become airborne and linger in soils, further impacting public health. Photo courtesy of Prebys Foundation Runoff and raw sewage in the Tijuana River at the Mexico-United States border is exposing communities to a noxious mixture of toxic chemicals and microbes, a new report by researchers with the School of Public Health at San Diego State University (SDSU) said. The contaminated river flows from Mexico into South San Diego, bringing industrial waste, untreated sewage and urban run-off that can linger in soils and become airborne, potentially creating widespread environmental health impacts, according to a press release from SDSU. Congressperson Scott Peters requested the report be commissioned by the Conrad Prebys Foundation. This environmental catastrophe has hurt the region for many years, resulting in decades of adverse health consequences, Peters said in the press release. We must approach it as a health and national security concern, which is why I asked the Prebys Foundation to help me build the case that this crisis goes far beyond beach closures; the people of South Bay now endure constant toxic air pollution that damages their health and well-being. The U.S. Clean Water Act has classified the Tijuana River and Estuary (TJRE) as an impaired water body, the study said. The researchers looked at more than 60 studies and reports that examined public health and environmental concerns related to the TJRE, the press release said. More than 100 billion gallons of industrial waste, untreated sewage and urban runoff have been discharged into the Tijuana Estuary by way of the Tijuana River and tributaries eventually making their way to the Pacific Ocean over the past five years, according to the International Boundary and Water Commission. The contamination has caused beaches to be closed for more than 700 consecutive days, greatly affecting visitors, local residents and economies. Additionally, U.S. Navy personnel, lifeguards, first responders and border patrol agents are faced with hazardous occupational health exposures. This is not a trickle of contamination, said Paula Stigler Granados, lead author of the paper and an associate professor with the School of Public Health at SDSU, as The Guardian reported. This is a large amount of contamination over a long period of time. The report said the pollution poses threats to the health of vulnerable groups like seniors, children, outdoor workers, pregnant women and other special populations. The polluted waters have been found to contain serious pathogens like antibiotic-resistant bacteria, which were believed to have been eradicated in California. The findings prompted further investigations by SDSU researchers to gain a better understanding of the impacted communities public health exposure risk. The report pointed out that area infrastructure could be further degraded and issues exacerbated by climate change and the resulting increased intensity of storms. There needs to be more research done to fully understand the extent of the risks posed by exposure to these dangerous contaminants, Granados said in the press release. Urgent interventions are needed to help reduce and address both the immediate and long-term potential health repercussions to those living near this hazardous environment. Paloma Aguirre, mayor of Imperial Beach, has called for the California Department of Public Health, San Diego County and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to get involved and actively monitor the situation, as well as any public health concerns related to the sewage. Imperial Beach is unfortunately the poster child of what an environmental injustice looks like, Aguirre said, as reported by The Guardian. Aguirre has collaborated with the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and SDSUs School of Public Health to create a task force in recent months. The persistent health impacts greatly reduce the quality of life for the community, Aguirre said. Its a challenging task, but now is the moment to ensure that our elderly, our children, and water enthusiasts are not exposed to heightened health hazards while simply trying to enjoy a sunny day. Tackling this problem promptly and effectively is essential, as it is closely linked to the health and well-being of South Bay communities. The residents of Imperial Beach are worthy of far more than what they have been handed down. It is also an environmental justice issue, the researchers said, since the often economically limited border communities are already dealing with an increased threat of chronic disease, potentially placing them at higher risk of having complications from the environmental hazards posed by the contamination. These same border communities are also facing increases in pollution from other sources like idling vehicles at border crossings. Additionally, they are no longer able to access healthy outdoor spaces, since the beach and ocean are contaminated. This study confirms what should be obvious, which is that San Diegos health and community well-being are being seriously and actively harmed by years of inaction on this issue, said Grant Oliphant, CEO of the Prebys Foundation, in the press release. The good news is that it is fixable, and that leaders like Representative Peters and Mayor Aguirre and organizations like SDSUs School of Public Health are working to make that happen. Their efforts deserve broad support, because public health in our region depends on a robust shared commitment to protecting everyone in every one of our communities from these sorts of preventable harms. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Feb. 15, 2024 Contact: Leha Byrd ECSU Communications and Marketing Email or 252-335-8745 ELIZABETH CITY, N.C. (Feb. 15, 2024) For Winter Homecoming, Elizabeth City State University (ECSU) will feature United States Air Force Heritage of America Band Rhythm in Blue in the Community Connections Performance and Lecture Series. The event is Saturday, Feb. 17 at 2 p.m. in the R. L. Vaughan Center. The event also includes performances from the ECSU Sound of Class, the universitys cheerleading team, the DLytes, and various Greek-letter organizations. Attendees can secure tickets at www.ecsu.edu/community-connections. The Concert Band is comprised of 45 professional Airmen who have performed at thousands of high-profile community outreach and military events. The group has produced more than 55 highly-acclaimed recordings and collaborated with many world-renowned artists, according to its website. This is an amazing way to show those who are interested in music they can have a secure, lucrative career serving their country through their gift. That is the level of exposure we are pleased to offer through Community Connections, said Nichole Lewis, ECSU interim associate vice chancellor of Student, Alumni, and Constituent Engagement. Community Connections events are sponsored and supported by a combination of ECSU student fees, a private donation from Trustee Phyllis Bosomworth, Microsoft, First Citizens Wealth Management, Duke Energy Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Arts. For more information about the event, email ecsucommunityconnections@ecsu.edu. For accessible seating options, email ada504-coordinator@ecsu.edu. Who: United States Air Force Heritage of America Band Rhythm in Blue What: Community Connections Performance and Lecture Series ECSU Winter Homecoming When: Saturday, Feb. 17, 2024, 7 p.m. Where: R. L. Vaughan Center ___ 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. Philippines' urges foreign suppliers of ASF vaccines to secure local FDA approval The Philippines' Department of Agriculture (DA) is urging foreign suppliers of African swine fever (ASF) vaccines to secure approval from the country's Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as part of the necessary government processes, Philippine News Agency reported. DA Undersecretary Roger Navarro said that discussions were held with ASF vaccine suppliers during President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.'s recent visit to Vietnam, encouraging them to apply and coordinate with authorities for approvals. Despite the expressed intent of suppliers to provide vaccines to the Philippines, challenges persist. Navarro stated that DA Secretary Francisco Tiu-Laurel Jr aims to assist suppliers in navigating these processes, hoping to expedite approvals for the supply of ASF vaccines. To commercially distribute vaccines made in Vietnam, suppliers must obtain a certificate of product registration (CPR) from the FDA after accreditation, testing, and approval procedures. Navarro highlighted the meticulous government processes involved, including FDA regulations and permits such as the license to operate (LTO), emphasising the need to respect these procedures. In June 2023, the DA-Bureau of Animal Industry recommended the AVAC vaccine from Vietnam for CPR issuance following successful trial results in Luzon. Trials conducted from March to May 2023 across six areas in Luzon demonstrated a 100% production of antibodies with no reported side effects among four- to 10-week-old swine. - Philippine News Agency A patient receives care at the cholera treatment centre, Gadarif, in October 2023. The centre admits 46 cases a day on average and has a laboratory and pharmacy to support its operations. Photo credit: WHO/A. Kheir 8 February 2024 Almost 10 months since conflict escalated in Sudan in April 2023, the ever-deteriorating humanitarian situation has led to the worlds largest displacement crisis. About 8 million people in Sudan have been displaced by the conflict, with 6 million people internally displaced and 1.8 million people displaced to neighbouring countries. A displacement crisis of this magnitude has significant impacts on the health needs of displaced and host populations. As well as being at higher risk of disease due to overcrowded settings, people have limited access to safe drinking water, food and essential life-saving health services. Sudans health crisis is made worse by food insecurity. The latest reports on the deteriorating situation indicate that nearly 18 million people 37% of the population are food insecure, including 4.9 million people who already face emergency levels of food insecurity. Acute hunger and malnutrition will have a lasting generational impact on the health of the population. They also increase vulnerable groups risk of medical complications and death from disease outbreaks such as cholera and measles. Access to critical health services is severely limited, with 7080% of health facilities in conflict-affected areas either inaccessible or nonfunctional. This places significant strain on and risks overwhelming the remaining facilities due to the influx of people seeking care. People are dying from lack of access to basic and essential health care and medicines, including to manage severe acute malnutrition and to treat chronic conditions such as hypertension, diabetes, kidney failure and cancer. Pregnant women and children are also at increased risk of illness and death given the disruptions to maternal and child health care services, including access to life-saving childhood vaccinations. Conflict, population movements, and access constraints for implementing partners have left the disease surveillance system fragmented. This has created serious gaps in health partners shared understanding of infectious disease outbreaks and in their ability to respond rapidly to such outbreaks. Since the ongoing cholera outbreak was declared in September 2023, 11 of Sudans 18 states have reported cholera, with 10 500 cases and 300 deaths recorded by 31 January 2024. While cases appear to show a decreasing trend overall, the actual number of cases and deaths may be much higher, since surveillance system accuracy is affected by access limitations. Under the Sudan Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan 2024, close to 15 million people need urgent health assistance. Due to challenges with security, access, and resource availability, only one third of those in need 4.9 million of the most vulnerable individuals have been targeted by the Health Cluster. The Health Cluster, led by WHO, will require financial partners to meet 100% of the US$ 178 million funding request for 2024 to meet the health needs of the highly vulnerable target population. WHO is calling on the international community to advocate for unhindered access for partners and to rapidly scale up and sustain support to address the urgent needs of the most vulnerable populations in Sudan. Alongside this, WHO is working on a no-regrets basis to implement an agile and adaptable response given the fluid security situation. WHO is also expanding capacity for cross-border operations to deliver critical support to implementing partners working in inaccessible and hard-to-reach areas. A coalition of 20 tech companies signed an agreement Friday to help prevent AI deepfakes in the critical 2024 elections taking place in more than 40 countries. OpenAI, Google, Meta, Amazon, Adobe and X are among the businesses joining the pact to prevent and combat AI-generated content that could influence voters. However, the agreements vague language and lack of binding enforcement call into question whether it goes far enough. The list of companies signing the Tech Accord to Combat Deceptive Use of AI in 2024 Elections includes those that create and distribute AI models, as well as social platforms where the deepfakes are most likely to pop up. The signees are Adobe, Amazon, Anthropic, Arm, ElevenLabs, Google, IBM, Inflection AI, LinkedIn, McAfee, Meta, Microsoft, Nota, OpenAI, Snap Inc., Stability AI, TikTok, Trend Micro, Truepic and X (formerly Twitter). The group describes the agreement as a set of commitments to deploy technology countering harmful AI-generated content meant to deceive voters. The signees have agreed to the following eight commitments: Developing and implementing technology to mitigate risks related to Deceptive AI Election content, including open-source tools where appropriate Assessing models in scope of this accord to understand the risks they may present regarding Deceptive AI Election Content Seeking to detect the distribution of this content on their platforms Seeking to appropriately address this content detected on their platforms Fostering cross-industry resilience to deceptive AI election content Providing transparency to the public regarding how the company addresses it Continuing to engage with a diverse set of global civil society organizations, academics Supporting efforts to foster public awareness, media literacy, and all-of-society resilience The accord will apply to AI-generated audio, video and images. It addresses content that deceptively fake or alter the appearance, voice, or actions of political candidates, election officials, and other key stakeholders in a democratic election, or that provide false information to voters about when, where, and how they can vote. The signees say they will work together to create and share tools to detect and address the online distribution of deepfakes. In addition, they plan to drive educational campaigns and provide transparency to users. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman (FABRICE COFFRINI via Getty Images) OpenAI, one of the signees, already said last month it plans to suppress election-related misinformation worldwide. Images generated with the companys DALL-E 3 tool will be encoded with a classifier providing a digital watermark to clarify their origin as AI-generated pictures. The ChatGPT maker said it would also work with journalists, researchers and platforms for feedback on its provenance classifier. It also plans to prevent chatbots from impersonating candidates. Were committed to protecting the integrity of elections by enforcing policies that prevent abuse and improving transparency around AI-generated content, Anna Makanju, Vice President of Global Affairs at OpenAI, wrote in the groups joint press release. We look forward to working with industry partners, civil society leaders and governments around the world to help safeguard elections from deceptive AI use. Notably absent from the list is Midjourney, the company with an AI image generator (of the same name) that currently produces some of the most convincing fake photos. However, the company said earlier this month it would consider banning political generations altogether during election season. Last year, Midjourney was used to create a viral fake image of Pope Benedict unexpectedly strutting down the street with a puffy white jacket. One of Midjourneys closest competitors, Stability AI (makers of the open-source Stable Diffusion), did participate. Engadget contacted Midjourney for comment about its absence, and well update this article if we hear back. Only Apple is absent among Silicon Valleys Big Five. However, that may be explained by the fact that the iPhone maker hasnt yet launched any generative AI products, nor does it host a social media platform where deepfakes could be distributed. Regardless, we contacted Apple PR for clarification but hadnt heard back at the time of publication. Although the general principles the 20 companies agreed to sound like a promising start, it remains to be seen whether a loose set of agreements without binding enforcement will be enough to combat a nightmare scenario where the worlds bad actors use generative AI to sway public opinion and elect aggressively anti-democratic candidates in the US and elsewhere. The language isnt quite as strong as one might have expected, Rachel Orey, senior associate director of the Elections Project at the Bipartisan Policy Center, told The Associated Press on Friday. I think we should give credit where credit is due, and acknowledge that the companies do have a vested interest in their tools not being used to undermine free and fair elections. That said, it is voluntary, and well be keeping an eye on whether they follow through. AI-generated deepfakes have already been used in the US Presidential Election. As early as April 2023, the Republican National Committee (RNC) ran an ad using AI-generated images of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. The campaign for Ron DeSantis, who has since dropped out of the GOP primary, followed with AI-generated images of rival and likely nominee Donald Trump in June 2023. Both included easy-to-miss disclaimers that the images were AI-generated. In January, New Hampshire voters were greeted with a robocall of an AI-generated impersonation of President Bidens voice urging them not to vote. (Anadolu via Getty Images) In January, an AI-generated deepfake of President Bidens voice was used by two Texas-based companies to robocall New Hampshire voters, urging them not to vote in the states primary on January 23. The clip, generated using ElevenLabs voice cloning tool, reached up to 25,000 NH voters, according to the states attorney general. ElevenLabs is among the pacts signees. The Federal Communication Commission (FCC) acted quickly to prevent further abuses of voice-cloning tech in fake campaign calls. Earlier this month, it voted unanimously to ban AI-generated robocalls. The (seemingly eternally deadlocked) US Congress hasnt passed any AI legislation. In December, the European Union (EU) agreed on an expansive AI Act safety development bill that could influence other nations regulatory efforts. As society embraces the benefits of AI, we have a responsibility to help ensure these tools dont become weaponized in elections, Microsoft Vice Chair and President Brad Smith wrote in a press release. AI didnt create election deception, but we must ensure it doesnt help deception flourish. Two male passengers engaged in a fist fight mid-air on a Southwest Airlines flight from Oakland, California, to Hawaii on Monday. Footage taken by a fellow passenger, obtained by NBC News, shows the two men quite disgruntled as if a heated discussion had occurred prior to cameras rolling. It's unclear how the altercation began. After the man wearing what looks like a light blue sweatshirt takes a swipe at a man in a navy blue baseball cap, the two immediately start to scuffle. The man in the blue cap responded with a punch to the face, followed by several more punches, appearing to exchange words with the man after. The fight happened about an hour into the plane ride. RELATED: Passenger Booted Off Of Flight For Using The Bathroom Too Much Passengers became noticeably disgruntled by the altercation, shocked at the physical exchange between the two, with one shouting, "No way! No way!" The cabin crew tried their best to relax the angry passenger, with bystanders intervening by escorting him toward the back of the plane. NBC News obtained a statement from Southwest Airlines acknowledging the problem, thanking the passengers and crew, and confirming a safe landing. "Our reports indicate that two Customers became disruptive onboard flight 1288 from Oakland to Lihue," the statement began. "We commend our Crew and Customers for their professionalism in diffusing this situation. Our number one priority is the Safety and well-being of our Customers and Employees," the statement read. "The flight landed safely at its scheduled destination, and local authorities met the aircraft upon arrival." RELATED: United Airlines Provides 'Amicable Settlement' For Dao Incident "Imagine being a grown adult and punching another adult thinking that's the correct procedure to fix a problem... on a flight too... wow. #WhatsHisName," a social media user wrote. "How could someone get mad on a flight to hawaiiiiii?!?," another user asked. The identities of the men has not been released and it's unclear whether they were placed on the No Fly List. The U.S. Department of Transportation weighed in as well via X, formerly known as Twitter, on Tuesday, reminding passengers of their strict policy and the consequences of bad behavior on board. Reminder: Our department has zero tolerance for violent or unruly behavior aboard an aircraft. If you act out on an airplane, you can face criminal prosecution and fines up to $37,000. https://t.co/OWrtUYcHr4 U.S. Department of Transportation (@USDOT) February 13, 2024 "Reminder: Our department has zero tolerance for violent or unruly behavior aboard an aircraft," the tweet warned. "If you act out on an airplane, you can face criminal prosecution and fines up to $37,000." Queen Camilla sliced a poppy-decorated cake using a long, silver sword at a recent event. On Thursday, the wife of King Charles III attended the Poppy Factory's 100th anniversary celebration. The organization is known for supporting "veterans with health conditions on their journey into employment, helping them overcome any barriers." To mark the milestone, the Queen Consort held a long, silver sword with two hands to cut the cake. "A beautifully polished sword, not sure which way I'm going to attack this, dig in there, it's quite soft," Queen Camilla quipped while slicing the cake, per GB News. After the hilarious cake-cutting ceremony, the Queen, in her navy dress accessorized with a poppy pin, talked about being with the organization for 10 years. She told the guests, "I can't believe it's so long, and I can't believe that I've been part of it for 10 years. I'm very proud to be part of the Poppy Factory because I've seen the wonderful work you do." Queen Camilla also talked about the organization's efforts and thanked its supporters. "It's so important nowadays to look after these veterans because sometimes they don't get as much attention as they need. If it wasn't for you and all the other wonderful charities that are supporting you, I don't know what they'd do," she said. Meanwhile, the Poppy Factory CEO Amanda Shepard thanked the Queen for celebrating the organization's anniversary with them. "It is such a privilege for us all to be with Her Majesty to celebrate all that veterans and their families have achieved, personally and collectively, with a little support behind them," Shepard said. She continued, "We look forward to helping many more people overcome barriers to take positive steps towards employment this year and in the years to come." Cutting cakes using a sword is not uncommon among the royals. In 2021, Queen Elizabeth used a ceremonial sword to slice a large cake while marking the Big Lunch at the Eden Project. While there was a conventional knife available at the gathering, the monarch insisted on using the sword, saying, "I know there is, this is more unusual." So she was handed a sword by Edward Bolitho, the Lord-Lieutenant of Cornwall, to realize the task of cutting the large cake. Getting into Harvard University and getting a degree from the Ivy League school are achievements to be immensely proud of because it's one of the top educational institutions in the world. Its alumni list includes distinguished public leaders, presidents and renowned personalities, as well as celebrities. Here are 10 famous celebrities with a degree from one of the most prestigious universities in the world. 1. Natalie Portman On top of the muti-awarded actress' acting achievements, Portman holds a psychology degree from Harvard. She graduated from the Ivy League university in 2003. A few years later, she took graduate courses at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, where she was credited with two papers published in scientific journals. 2. Ashley Judd After completing a major in French at the University of Kentucky in 2007, the "Double Jeopardy" actress attended Harvard's Kennedy School of Government and earned her master's degree in public administration (M.P.A.) in 2010. 3. Conan O'Brien The popular late-night talk show host graduated with a degree in history and literature from Harvard in 1985. He even graduated magna cum laude. O'Brien is featured on Harvard University's website, as well as his thesis, titled "Literary Progeria in the Works of William Faulkner and Flannery O'Connor." 4. Mark Zuckerberg The Meta CEO may have dropped out from Harvard University in 2004 to devote himself to Facebook, but he was awarded an honorary doctor of laws degree during the university's 366th graduation ceremony in 2017. Aside from accepting his honorary degree, Zuckerberg delivered a graduation speech at the time. 5. Rashida Jones The "Parks and Recreation" and "The Office" actress graduated from Harvard with a degree in religion and philosophy in 1997. In 2016, Jones went back to her university as the Harvard Class Day speaker and addressed the graduating class. 6. Barack Obama The 44th U.S. president belongs to Harvard's class of 1991 graduates. Before obtaining a law degree and graduating magna cum laude from the Ivy League school, Obama was elected the first African-American president of the Harvard Law Review. 7. Tommy Lee Jones The "Men in Black" star isn't only an excellent actor, he was also a smart Harvard student. In 1969, Jones graduated cum laude from Harvard with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in English. In April 2012, the Oscar-winning actor was awarded by then-Harvard President Drew Faust the 2012 Harvard Arts Medal for achieving excellence in the arts. 8. B.J. Novak The "The Book With No Pictures" author and "The Office" star graduated from Harvard with a degree in English and Spanish literature in 2001. However, Novak talked about his Harvard degree in a 2022 interview, saying, "It's the worst thing to have on a comedy resume, the worst." 9. Mindy Kaling The multi-Emmy nominated actress-writer-producer graduated from Dartmouth College in 2001 with a bachelor's degree in playwriting. She was also awarded an honorary legal degree at Harvard Law School's commencement ceremony in 2014. 10. Darren Aronofsky Before getting his Master of Fine Arts (M.F.A.) degree in directing from AFI Conservatory, the Jewish-American filmmaker entered Harvard University in 1987 to study anthropology, live-action film and animation. Even before his prominent works such as "Black Swan" and "The Wrestler," Aronofsky has always excelled in the arts, even as a student. His senior thesis film, "Supermarket Sweep," became a finalist in the 1991 Student Academy Awards. This letter is with reference to the protest staged by Congress leaders from Karnataka at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on 7 February 2024, led by the Karnataka chief minister against the alleged injustice to the state in the devolution of tax revenues. Congress legislators took part in the protest. They clarified that there was no intention of creating a northsouth divide in the country, but stressed that there should be no discrimination against the southern states. Of the placards displayed on the occasion, a larger number asserted: My Tax, My Money! There seems to be a strong feeling among the Congress leaders of the state that a substantial portion of the tax revenues raised from Karnataka should be devolved back to the state. There is one more presumption, which is that the injustice caused by not following this principle is particularly against the southern states in the country. If the chief minister had instead stated that the injustice was against the states ruled by the non- National Democratic Alliance (NDA) political parties, especially the Congress, there would have been much less scope for a misunderstanding and unsavoury controversy. Even while denying any intention of creating a northsouth divide, the Karnataka chief minister has contributed to the misunderstanding unwittingly! Essex Junction resident Marlon Verasamy observes weather across Vermont and upstate New York. When looking at our assessments, the prognosis was that we're going to continue to see more extreme events, he said. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is traveling to gather support with broad security agreements with European nations, amid intense needs by his country's military - AP journalist Angela Charlton explains. Erie County Democrats on Thursday endorsed County Legislature Chairwoman April N.M. Baskin for the 63rd District State Senate seat currently held by Timothy M. Kennedy. That puts Baskin, of Buffalo, on a solid path to becoming the first Black woman in the region to serve in the State Senate. She would become just the third woman in Western New York after former Sens. Mary Lou Rath and Catherine Young elected to the upper chamber. I am honored to have earned the endorsement for State Senator from the Erie County Democratic Committee, Baskin said in a statement. I want to bring my energy and determination to Albany. With your support, I will fight for every community in the 63rd District and for the values we all share. Erie County Democratic Committee Chairman Jeremy Zellner said in a statement, In a year when the face of local politics is changing dramatically, our party is fortunate to have outstanding leaders at every level of government, ready to step up and continue their service to the people of Western New York ... April Baskin is always a fighter for Western New York and always at the forefront of the fight. Baskin edged out Buffalo Common Council Member Mitchell P. Nowakowski of the Fillmore District for the endorsement for the 63rd District, which includes parts of Buffalo, Cheektowaga and Lackawanna. Nowakowski, 32, previously was campaigning for the Common Council presidency and has been mentioned as a future mayoral candidate. The first openly gay man to be elected to the Common Council, he had hoped his Polish last name might appeal to voters in Cheektowaga. In the interest of what he called Democratic Party cohesion, Nowakowski said he would not challenge Baskin in a primary. I fully respect their decision, Nowakowski said of the Democratic committee. I know there will be other opportunities to serve this region at a higher level. I remain extremely lucky to continue to serve the residents of the Fillmore District on the Buffalo Common Council. More Democratic committee members voted for Baskin, 40, who has had a meteoric political rise since taking office in 2018. Upon taking office that year, she was immediately selected to serve as majority leader of the Legislature. She has been chair of the Legislature since 2019 and has worked to reform the countys jail system and to secure a Community Benefits Agreement for the new Buffalo Bills stadium. I recently negotiated Erie Countys largest business deal in history, and thats the recent Bills lease, Baskin said in December. And from that negotiation, I learned a lot about the residents of Erie County and the value of pushing larger corporations to make community investments into residents needs. I intend to maximize the talents and the network that I built in that arena at the state level. The Erie County Democratic Committee would have been making an endorsement for the State Senate seat this month regardless, because Kennedy was up for re-election for another two-year term. Kennedy in November announced that he was running for Congress to succeed outgoing Rep. Brian Higgins, who stepped down to lead Sheas Performing Arts Center. Kennedy is running as the endorsed Democrat against Nate McMurray, a Democrat who has yet to secure a place on the ballot. Two years ago, Erie County Republicans did not run a candidate against Kennedy in the heavily Democratic State Senate district. They have not yet said whether they will endorse a candidate to face Baskin later this year. Baskin is expected to remain in her County Legislature seat through years end. (The Center Square) A New York judge fined Donald Trump more than $350 million in the civil business fraud trial and barred the former president from serving as an officer on any New York corporation or applying for a loan within New York for three years. Judge Arthur Engoron made his decision Friday after a trial that began Oct. 2 and ended Dec. 13. More than 40 witnesses testified at trial. Trump said he plans to appeal the verdict. The ruling also stipulates that the former president's sons, Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr., can't serve as an officer or director of any New York corporation for two years. The judge also fined each of Trump's sons $4 million. Trump called Engoron "crooked" and said the latest verdict an example of election interference. "The Justice System in New York State, and America as a whole, is under assault by partisan, deluded, biased Judges and Prosecutors. Racist, Corrupt A.G. Tish James has been obsessed with Getting Trump for years, and used Crooked New York State Judge Engoron to get an illegal, unAmerican judgment against me, my family, and my tremendous business," Trump posted on his social media platform. "I helped New York City during its worst of times, and now, while it is overrun with Violent Biden Migrant Crime, the Radicals are doing all they can to kick me out." He continued: "A Crooked New York State Judge, working with a totally Corrupt Attorney General who ran on the basis of 'I will get Trump,' before knowing anything about me or my company, has just fined me $355 Million based on nothing other than having built a GREAT COMPANY. ELECTION INTERFERENCE. WITCH HUNT." The New York Attorney General's office claimed that Trump and his top managers fraudulently misrepresented the financial condition of some of his companies from 2011 through 2021. Trump inflated his personal net worth by billions of dollars and Trump and his companies used the inflated net worth to get banks to lend him money on better terms than he should have been given, the AG claimed. In one instance, the AG claimed a bank appraised a Trump property at 40 Wall Street at $220 million in 2012 but Trumps team listed that propertys worth at $527 million. In September, Judge Engoron found the Trump and his companies had engaged in years of financial fraud. Even in the world of high finance, this Court cannot endorse a proposition that finds a misstatement of at least $812 million dollars to be immaterial, the judge wrote in September. Defendants have failed to identify any authority for the notion that discrepancies of the magnitude demonstrated here could be considered immaterial. The New York Times reported that Trump will appeal the financial penalty. UPDATE: February 15, 2024, 6:00 PM Colonel Barry E. Little, 341st Missile Wing Commander from Malmstrom Air Force Base has released a statement to social media regarding the active shooter alert. In it, Colonel Little applauded the quick action of all those who responded to the emergency and clarified some information about this morning's events. "I would like to thank our Airmen, the emergency responders and local community partners for their quick response and support during this mornings incident," said Colonel Little. "I am thankful everyone is safe. This morning, our scheduled active shooter exercise was stopped when a report was made of a real-world active shooter on base. First responders appropriately reoriented to reports of a real-world event." According to the statement 911 was called and an emergency was reported by Airmen who became aware of the active shooter exercise, but believed an actual active shooter situation was taking place. The Malmstrom Air Force Base and emergency responders then shifted to treating the incident with seriousness until it was determined there was no threat to the community. Colonel Little again expressed his pride and thanks to the emergency response the base received. "My number one priority is the safety and welfare of our service members, their families and our local community," Little said. "We take every threat to the base seriously and I am proud of the swift response by all agencies and partnership with local emergency services. Again, I am thankful that everyone involved is safe." UPDATE: February 15, 2024, 1:45 PM Malmstrom Air Force Base sent out their official press release at 1:41 PM confirming the information posted to their Facebook earlier. "A suspicious person was reported on base as an active shooter. There were no confirmed shots fired and there are no casualties or injuries reported," the official release said. "Malmstrom Air Force Base extends their gratitude to all local emergency responders, agencies and the local community for their quick response and support during the incident." If you have any additional questions, you are able to contact the 341st Missile Wing Public Affairs Office at 406-731-4050 or 341mwpa@us.af.mil. UPDATE: February 15, 2024, 12:50 PM MAFB has lifted the lockdown and has returned to FPCON Bravo as of 12:39 PM, MAFB posted to their Facebook page. According to MAFB, a suspicious person was reported on base as an active shooter, but there are still no confirmed shots fired, and there are are no casualties or injuries reported at this time. MAFB says there is no threat to the public at this time. The investigation into the incident is still ongoing. UPDATE: February 15, 2024, 12:34 PM Great Falls Public Schools sent an "urgent" alert saying the Shelter in Place has been lifted for all east side schools other than Chief Jo and Loy. Chief Jo and Loy will remain in SIP until further notice. "All students are safe," the alert said. "We continue to monitor the situation and will update you when we have more information." UPDATE: February 15, 2024, 12:19 PM We have a video showing ambulances are standing by the 2nd Avenue gate as of 12:19 PM. Malmstrom Air Force Base sent a press release at 12:07 PM, saying the active shooter alert, which has been in place since 10:36 AM for MAFB, was initiated because of a suspected real world threat located on the base at building 219, a building on the north end of the flight line, at approximately 10:30 AM. The Air Force and emergency personnel are working on securing the area, according to the release. Visitors and spectators are being told to stay away from the building. "Public cooperation will help protect against possible injuries and enable base agencies to more effectively deal with the situation," the release said. At 11:42 AM, Senator Jon Tester posted to social media, "I have spoken with base leadership about reports of an active shooter at Malmstrom Air Force Base and will continue to track this developing situation closely." At11:47 AM, Senator Steve Daines posted, "my staff and I are closely monitoring the active shooter alert and lockdown at @malmstromafb and stand ready to assist local authorities in any way possible." UPDATE: February 15, 2024, 12:00 PM Montana Governor Greg Gianforte posted to social media that his office has been in contact with General Hronek on the MAFB regarding the reports of an active shooter alert. Gianforte said he will continue to monitor the situation with the general. UPDATE: February 15, 2024, 11:39 AM Our Joee Taylor reports the Great Falls Sheriff's Office Incident Command vehicle has arrived on scene. UPDATE: February 15, 2024, 11:29 AM Great Falls Police Department posted a correction to their prior statement. All school east and south of the river are sheltering in place, according to the most recent Facebook update. UPDATE: February 15, 2024, 11:08 AM Great Falls Police Department posted to Facebook confirming there is an incident in progress on Malmstrom Air Force Base and announcing that all Great Falls Public Schools are in shelter in place (SIP). Great Falls PD also recommends that all private schools and day care facilities also go into a SIP immediately out of caution. Great Falls residents may see a large police presence on the far east end of town, according to the post. "We are responding, with Cascade County Sheriff/Coroner's Office , to reports of an incident that may be occurring on Malmstrom Air Force Base ," Great Falls PD said. Great Falls Public Schools sent an alert to parents, saying "students are safe." You are reminded to not call 911 unless you are reporting an emergency. February 15, 2024, 10:45 AM GREAT FALLS, Mont. - Malmstrom Air Force Base has entered a lockdown status as of 10:29 A.M., on February 15. This is in response to an active shooter alert on base. Malmstrom says in a Facebook post, "the safety of our personnel is of the utmost priority and updates will continue to come from official channels." Everyone on base is advised to shelter in place at this time. We will continue to update this article as we get more information. Arable farmers are being told to rethink their herbicide strategies following a wet start to the year, with some fields still under water after torrential rain. Corteva Agriscience is calling on farmers to put in place a robust herbicide as they battle to catch up this spring. A wet autumn delayed drilling of many winter cereals, causing a backlog of fieldwork that will need to be fulfilled as quickly as possible. Those who did manage to drill their wheat will also need to review their herbicide strategy following the bad weather, the firm says. Weve had a number of difficult seasons in a row, and each poses a new challenge for arable farmers, explains cereal herbicides manager, Alister McRobbie. The past couple of years have been very cold and dry, but were facing the opposite in 2024. Parts of the major wheat-growing areas of the UK are either under water or suffering from saturated soils, so it will be a while before there is any on-farm activity in badly-affected areas. Those with a compressed fieldwork schedule should plan ahead, decide on their herbicide programme in advance, and make sure its in store ready to go. Farmers who managed to drill wheat last autumn will also need to rethink their strategy, he says, as it is unlikely they will be able to rely on the activity of their pre-emergence applications. A lot of the wheat drilled would have received a pre-emergence herbicide, but there has been so much water it is likely this will have been washed through the soil profile. Mr McRobbie adds: "It wont have worked very well, so there will be a need to control grassweeds such as brome, ryegrass and wild oats relatively early. Corteva says the performance of autumn residuals will undoubtedly be impeded by the wet conditions, making a spring clean of weeds even more essential than usual. Broadway Star is a mainstay of spring grassweed control programmes and will be among the first products applied as soon as the opportunity to get sprayers working presents itself. It gives control of brome species, ryegrass, wild oats and a range of broad-leaved weeds in winter wheat and also has approval for use in spring wheat. Generally, we dont recommend applying a residual alongside Broadway Star, but this season we would advise it," Mr McRobbie says. "Broadway Star is contact only, so it will kill the weeds there at the time of application and a residual will remain in the soil and eradicate grassweed seeds as they are germinating, before they get too big." Broadway Star also controls a range of difficult broad-leaved weeds, including cleavers, charlock and cranesbill, so there is usually no need for a broad-leaved weed follow up spray. If you just need to target broad-leaved weeds, its better to take them out early with Arylex-based products such as Zypar or Pixxaro, Mr McRobbie explains. Get this on in a timely manner and take weed competition out early to avoid them competing with the crop and negatively impacting yield. There will be a lot of demands on farmers time this spring but cutting corners and overlooking weed control wont help in the long run. Tank mixing with plant growth regulators, fungicides and trace elements will help reduce the number of sprays applied to crops in the busy spring period, he says. "This will be especially helpful with the expected increase in spring drilling work. However, farmers should ensure they dont neglect sprayer hygiene in order to avoid contaminating subsequent loads." The Bird Island Wastewater Treatment Plant will be modernized and updated with the help of a $13 million grant announced Thursday, and another $10 million will be used to transform an underground storage tunnel that will help contain stormwater and prevent flooding. State Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner Basil Seggos was present Thursday afternoon at the Buffalo & Erie County Public Library to announce funding for 295 water projects across the state, including a $32.4 million grant to various Western New York communities to improve and protect drinking water by updating dilapidated infrastructure and controlling algal bloom. The Niagara County Water District will receive a nearly $1.25 million grant to replace the 1-million-gallon wash water tank in its water treatment plant and improve water quality. Other grants also include $400,000 to Western New York Stormwater Coalition. The $10 million grant will be used to construct an underground storage tunnel along East Delavan Avenue to provide a minimum of 1.5 million gallons of offline storage. This project is expected to reduce the discharge entering Scajaquada Creek from combined sewer overflows during periods of heavy rain and snow melt. The funds are, obviously, for water, but every dollar that we spend on our water infrastructure also helps us become more resilient in the face of climate change, Seggos said. We are experiencing more frequent, more severe weather. So those investments, in fact, are investments in the adaptation of New York State for the very severe weather future that we expect. Rebuilding the infrastructure to account for the severe weather puts the state in a better position to keep people here and build an environmentally sustainable state, he added. Our major sewage treatment facilities in this region are all on our clean water supply. We need to keep it as clean as possible, Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz said. The advantage that we have as a region over anywhere else in the United States is we have an abundance of fresh water. So, we need to do everything possible to ensure that that fresh, clean water supply stays that way, clean. Seggos also highlighted the states focus on reducing the impacts on disadvantaged communities that have borne the brunt of pollution for years and suffered the ill-effects of disinvestment in water quality. Additionally, Seggos also announced that the library will receive $3 million to transform an acre of its roof into green space, marking the first-ever green roof in downtown Buffalo. Green roofs help improve air quality and retain rainwater, and also help reduce the costs of heating and cooling by providing a layer of insulation, Seggos added. Just 3 percent of farmers say they trust the Welsh government as tensions continue to rise between Cardiff and rural areas over future funding schemes. The 'damning evidence' is included in a new poll commissioned by the Country Land and Business Association in Wales (CLA Cymru). It comes as Welsh farmers are increasingly concerned over the proposed Sustainable Farming Scheme (SFS), which will replace direct farm payments. Now with the power to determine its own agriculture policy, the Welsh government has been developing the funding scheme to pay farmers for delivering environmental improvements. The CLA's poll, released on Friday (16 February), found that 87% of farmers believed that SFS would neither support their business nor deliver positive environmental outcomes. And just 6% said they would opt into the schemes in their current form, which many consider to be unnecessarily prescriptive and complex. CLA Cymru director Victoria Bond said the poll's findings were 'damning evidence' which should lead the new First Minister to hit the reset button. "It only proves what we already know rural communities feel ignored and let down by the Welsh government," she said. As farmers, we work tirelessly to produce high quality food, and we are on the front line in the fight against climate change and nature decline. "It is perfectly reasonable to expect the government to work with us constructively in the national interest. While similar schemes have already been rolled out in England, slowly securing the support of farmers there, the SFS is only at formal consultation stage. Ms Bond pointed to schemes in England, which she said had been improved by constant collaboration between Defra and rural organisations. She added: We know that schemes to support environmentally friendly land management practices can work when developed in a spirit of mutual respect. It comes after Welsh farmers protested outside the office of the Rural Affairs Minister earlier this week as anger brews over the future direction of the industry. Dozens of tractors and other farm vehicles drove up to the constituency office of Lesley Griffiths in Wrexham, North Wales on Monday (12 February). This followed a meeting of over 3,000 farmers at Carmarthen market where the Sustainable Farming Scheme proposals were discussed, with many believing the industry will be hit hard. Plans to omit designated sites from Wales' proposed Sustainable Farming Scheme (SFS) has been branded 'illogical' by NFU Cymru. Under Welsh government proposals, farmland designated in Sites of Special Specific Interest (SSSIs) will be excluded from the habitat maintenance element of the SFS's universal baseline payment. Instead, support for these sites will be prioritised for inclusion in the schemes optional action layer, but this will be subject to the development of a management plan with Natural Resources Wales (NRW). The optional action layer of the scheme is to be introduced later and subject to further engagement and budget availability, Welsh government proposed. There are some 1,070 SSSIs in Wales currently, many of which are located on farms. Responding, NFU Cymru rural affairs board chair Hedd Pugh said farmers would be 'perplexed' by the latest proposal. He said: It is incomprehensible that these sites are to be excluded from the universal layer of the SFS. "We know that it is going to take time to get the Management Plans with NRW in place and a lot more work is going to be needed to get the optional action layer of the scheme operational. Some farms support extensive SSSI designations and Welsh governments proposals will feel especially punitive to these farmers. "These sites are supposed to be the best examples of our natural environment reflecting positive management practices by farmers over generations." Mr Pugh added: "You would hope that there will be widespread agreement that Welsh governments current policy position in relation to SSSIs is untenable. In a separate issue, NFU Cymru recently warned that the Welsh governments proposals do not provide equal access to tenant farmers. It comes after Welsh farmers protested outside the office of the Rural Affairs Minister earlier this week as anger brews over the future direction of the industry. Dozens of tractors and other farm vehicles drove up to the constituency office of Lesley Griffiths in Wrexham, North Wales on Monday (12 February). This followed a meeting of over 3,000 farmers at Carmarthen market where the Sustainable Farming Scheme proposals were discussed, with many believing the industry will be hit hard. Bringing in imports of pork products from African swine fever (ASF) affected areas is 'of high concern', the Animal and Plant Health Agency has warned. In its latest update, the agency highlighted the potential for the risk posed by non-commercial imports of pork products from ASF stricken countries in Europe. Last year saw a resurgence in the spread of the virus in Europe, after the number of outbreaks in domestic pigs and in wild boar decreased considerably in 2022. There was a 'marked increase' in domestic pig outbreaks across Europe last year, with 1,000 recorded over the summer, the highest figure in recent year, driven by rapid spread in the Balkans. ASF was reported in domestic pigs in 13 European countries between May 2023 and January 2024, with 2,920 reports of the virus over the period, led by Bosnia and Herzegovina, with more than 1,500 cases. It was one of four Balkans countries affected last year Serbia reported 482 domestic cases, Croatia reported 293 and North Macedonia, 15. Elsewhere, Romania reported 468 cases in domestic pigs, Russia, 48, Ukraine, 37 and Poland, 30, while Bulgaria, Greece, Italy, Latvia and Moldova each reported fewer than 20 cases. APHA said the expansion of ASF into new areas in northern Italy 'remains a concern', with outbreaks on pig farms in Lombardy and Sardinia and growing numbers of cases in wild boar recorded across the country in autumn. "We will monitor the situation closely, the agency said in its latest update, adding that while the number of outbreaks in the Balkans is unprecedented, trade between these countries and the UK is minimal. It, therefore, considers that the risk of entry of ASF virus in live animals and products of animal origin (POAO) from affected countries, remains at medium. However, it added: The potential high risk for non-commercial imports of pork products from ASF affected areas remains of high concern. The agency highlighted evidence from inspections at GB ports, notably Dover, which suggest that there are several vehicles illegally bringing pork meat from regions of the EU affected by ASF. APHA said: Some of these instances involved large quantities of porcine POAO, some of which appear to be home-slaughtered and arrive in GB from an undisclosed origin, as a non-commercial import, with poor levels of biosecurity and food hygiene. Therefore, the risk of ASF entering, from the human-mediated pathway and moving porcine POAO, is considered to remain at 'high' (occurs very often). "Though there is considerable uncertainty around this until data is fully collated and analysed, and we will reassess as further information becomes available. It remains a critical time for the spread of the virus throughout Europe as well as into other regions through human-mediated routes such as introduction from non-commercial imports (including illegal imports) or fomites. The agency highlighted controls introduced in September 2022, restricting the movement of pork and pork products into GB from the EU. It is no longer legal to personally bring in pork or pork products weighing over 2kg unless they are produced to the EUs commercial standards. Although this legislation does not currently apply to non-commercial imports of pork products less than 2 kg from the EU, APHA strongly advises all travellers to avoid bringing any pork products back to the UK from affected parts of Europe. It remains illegal for travellers to import meat or dairy products from Asia and other non-EU country areas. Harrogate hosted the 2024 Northern Broiler Conference on Tuesday 13 February, with over 300 farmers attending to hear about concerns surrounding the rise in salmonella. Doris Mueller-Doblies, global food safety consultant for Elanco, presented a statistical analysis of salmonella prevalence in UK and EU broiler flocks, which should be cause for concern to all. Although the long-term picture is of falling reported cases of human infection in the last 20 years, the rate of improvement has plateaued since 2013. The incident rate of salmonella in broiler flocks is now rising alarmingly, with over 4% of flocks testing positive in 2022, a rise of 56% over the prior year, the highest since 2009, and double the rate of the EU. Mueller-Doblies also highlighted that the truth might be worse if official sampling replaced operator sampling; the statistics indicate that official tests appear ten times more likely to yield a positive detection than operator swabs. Whereas regulated salmonella serotypes Enteritidis and Typhimurium have been the most prevalent previously, now Infantis represents more than 50% of all detections. So, what has changed? The removal of formaldehyde, historically used to inhibit salmonella in feeds during feed processing, is one theory, but this came into effect in 2018, and its only in the past three years that Infantis has become so prominent. According to the published official statistics, in the three years leading up to 2020, there was a single detection of Infantis in National Control Program testing. In 2021 there were 24 isolations, and in 2022, there were 81. Infantis is an unregulated serovar - or variation - but that doesnt mean its not a significant issue. Human cases are relatively low, and it doesnt pose the same serious threat to health as SE/ST. Nonetheless, once established, Mueller-Doblies warns that removing it is incredibly difficult, and no vaccine is available. Mueller-Doblies explained that new strains of Infantis were being detected with multi-drug resistance and bringing considerable costs to the infected premises, be that farm, factory or feed mill. Spread appears via horizontal rather than vertical transmission, with vectors including feed and catching equipment and personnel. Farmers on the continent are being penalised, with factories refusing to process birds or paying reduced rates. Repeated detections are resulting in lost contracts for growers. Eradication is not cheap either, with Mueller-Doblies quoting one large farm having spent more than 1m in C&D, or over 2 per bird. Scottish farmers upgrading slurry storage to meet new requirements or building irrigation lagoons are being urged to apply before 19 April deadline. The latest funding round has opened for farmers in Scotland hoping to erect or upgrade their slurry storage to meet new regulations. It also includes support for irrigation lagoons, a new measure that the industry has been calling for given recent water shortages in some areas. Scottish government confirmed that the funding for slurry storage and irrigation lagoons, delivered through the Agri-Environment Climate Scheme (AECS), will consist of 4m worth available. It has indicated that this will be the final year that support for slurry storage will be available. Under new rules, farms where slurry from cattle is produced are required to have 22 weeks slurry storage capacity by 1 January 2026. Slurry stores constructed before September 1991 have until 2026 to comply with the new storage requirements, but those constructed after this date must comply by 2024. The Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) has committed to working with those farmers who have less than 22 weeks storage after 1 January 2026 with the aim of reaching compliance as quickly as possible. Around 60 Scottish farms applied for slurry storage funding in the 2023 AECS round, largely due to the short application window, but the expectation is that many more will apply in 2024. Since early December 2023, NFU Scotland has been encouraging those likely to be applying to the current round of funding for slurry storage to undertake planning ahead of the schemes opening. The union's director of policy, Jonnie Hall said that on supporting slurry storage, this was a step in the right direction. "There is an increased payment rate of up to 20 per cubic metre (up to 2,000 cubic metres). Previous recipients can apply although first time applicants will be prioritised. To improve industry resilience in light of recent significant water shortages in some areas, having irrigation lagoons included for the first time shows that Scottish government has listened to us and accepted the proposals we submitted." He added that for those looking to either erect a slurry store or construct an irrigation lagoon, the application window closure on 19 April remained very tight. "We recognise that this is set to ensure works can be completed and claims made within the constraints of a financial (scheme) year," Mr Hall said. It's not ideal, but we urge members to use what's on offer - not least as the clock is ticking on the four-year phase in of the new slurry storage regulations. Tributes have been paid to a young farmer, aged 23, who was shot and killed in a Derbyshire field. Charles Kinston was a 'highly thought of member' of Netherseal Young Farmers Club for over twelve years. The young farmer, who was a father, was shot dead on land off Brizlincote Lane, located near Bretby, on Monday 29 January. Derbyshire Police said a man in his 30s was arrested at the scene on suspicion of murder. It added that the man has since been released on bail whilst inquiries continue. In a social media post, Leicestershire and Rutland Young Farmers Club paid tribute to Mr Kinston's "enthusiasm and passion". The YFC said: "We are devastated and saddened to announce [Mr Kinston's] life was tragically taken from him on Monday 29 January. "The source of laughter for a strong club, Charles prided himself on enthusiasm and passion for everything he put his mind to! "A man with a comeback for any witty comment, who devoted his love to everyone around him especially his beloved side kick Beth and son, Albert." DCI Matt Croome, from the East Midlands Major Crime Team, said the incident has had a significant impact on Mr Kinstons family, friends and the wider community. Due to the ongoing investigation, we are limited about the information that can be passed to the public at this time," he said. "However, I want to be clear that the two individuals involved in this incident are known to one another, and officers have mitigated any risk to the wider public at this time. Any further updates will be passed as soon as the investigation allows. When Bon-Ton declared bankruptcy and closed in 2018, it left the Southgate Plaza with a big enough hole that some were worried about its future. And with the popular Walden Galleria just 15 minutes away, outdoor plazas like Southgate in West Seneca had fallen out of favor. Plus, it was located in the heart of West Seneca, not on a heavily traveled street like Transit Road or Niagara Falls Boulevard, where much of the region's shopping hubs are found. But consumer trends can shift quickly and that's been good news for Southgate. Outdoor plazas are back in vogue now and Southgate is full and bustling. It has found a niche with local retailers such as Paula's Donuts, Federal Meats and Market in the Square; and caters to loyal local traffic, including the office workers that come to work daily in the plaza. At a time when the Apple Tree Mall is gone and the Thruway Mall is a shadow of its former self, Southgate Plaza has rebounded into an unlikely success story. Bon-Ton's closure left the plaza without a major anchor and 100,000 square feet of empty space over two floors. "We undertook a pretty significant repurposing project," said Andrew DeVincentis, leasing director with Walden Development Group, which owns the plaza. Walden added windows on all four sides of the second floor and subdivided it for professional office use. Tenants include Person Centered Services, technology firm ACP, TRC Engineers and Precision Resolution, which does legal and financial work. On the ground floor is now a FedEx office and the Department of Motor Vehicles Southtowns Auto Bureau. Just this month, OP Progressive Physical Therapy opened next to the Auto Bureau and another medical-related tenant is in the works. All bring a steady flow of potential shoppers to the plaza, even if their primary reason for going there isn't to shop. Customer loyalty is key But DeVincentis says Southgate had something else going for it, even when a quarter of its space was out of commission with Bon-Ton's closure: the loyalty of its customer base. "The people that live within a few short miles of that shopping center are there on a consistent basis and have been for decades in some cases," DeVincentis said. "It's a place that people went when they were kids with their parents and now they go there with their kids. It truly is a generational plaza in terms of its longevity and its adaptability over the years." Those customers have supported many of the plaza's tenants for decades, he said. Burns Barber Shop has been in the plaza for 50 years, Annie's Hallmark Store has been there for 44 years, and Christes Restaurant has been there for roughly two decades. "It's the long-standing nature of our tenants," DeVincentis said. "These folks have been there for decades in some cases, and they've built family businesses through the support of the community over all those years. It just makes it very unique." The West Seneca plaza pulls customers from all over the Southtowns, including Lackawanna, South Buffalo, Orchard Park, Elma, Cheektowaga and Depew. "It's the center of that very vibrant, active West Seneca community and Southtowns community," DeVincentis said. Built in 1954, the Southtowns mall currently has about 100 tenants, including retailers, offices and medical firms, with 550,000 square feet of total space. Of that, 390,910 square feet is on the first floor, with only three areas having a second level. "Southgate's done a good job stabilizing," said Burt Flickinger III, a retail expert and owner of Strategic Resource Group in New York City. "They've done a phenomenal job with what's called medtail, or medical with retail. It's one of the best developed in New York State for health care and wellness." The center has a lot going for it, Flickinger said. "While it's certainly gone through a lot of evolutions in its 70-year history, it's got population growth, it's got income growth, it's got high levels of education, it's got the borders reopened between the U.S. and Canada," Flickinger said. It also has "highly regarded" ownership in Walden Development, he said. Walden Development, a privately held and family-owned real estate development and management firm, bought the Southgate Plaza for $17.48 million in 2012 from longtime former owner Carl Lambein. "While the future looks grim for a lot of shopping malls and shopping centers, Southgate Plaza could be like Rocky Balboa and generate one of the great retail comebacks in retail and commercial properties," he said. It helps that open-air centers are having a moment. For decades, outdoor centers had fallen out of favor with consumers, whose heads were turned by the more glamorous shopping malls that became the center of retail action in the 1980s. Families and groups of friends would park at the mall and travel inside, away from the elements, from store to store, stopping for meals and treats. Shoppers often made a day of it, and made malls the centerpiece of their weekend or leisure time. But consumer habits have changed again. Rather than trek through a mall and its maze of stores, they prefer to park in front of the retailer they want, then get in and get out. "Ultimately the shoppers and the retailers figured out the same thing: Galleria, unlike Southgate, was built with too few striped parking spaces," Flickinger said. "So that time spent trying to find a spot at Galleria, and the congestion, parking way in the out parcel of a parking lot and getting to and from stores became more of a hassle." Consumers have started to prefer the convenience and accessibility that open-air centers offer, and tenants have followed them there. Even die-hard mall staples like Claire's Boutique and Bath and Body Works have left the mall corridors in favor of the greater visibility and convenience of open-air centers. Southgate has a popular Bath and Body Works store. "You really need a nucleus of very popular establishments that get at least monthly but ideally weekly customer counts, and the customers go from one establishment to the other," Flickinger said. "Southgate Plaza has that." 'One of a kind' Steve Cichon, a local retail historian, said the plaza has held some of Western New York's most favorite retailers over the years Bells, Pleasures and Pastimes, Brand Names. "It's the nicest looking 1950s plaza still around, so someone is taking care of the place and working hard to keep it relevant over and over," he said. Brian Kusmierski, owner of Market in the Square grocery store in the plaza, called the plaza "strong and vibrant" and said it's "one of a kind." The community is so supportive of the businesses in the plaza, including ours, and it is so nice to see loyal customers every week and sometimes every day," he said. "The shopping experience at Southgate Plaza is unlike any other in Western New York and we are lucky to call it home since 1999." Annie's Hallmark store is getting ready to celebrate its 45th year in business at the plaza. "My radius of customers now, they're coming from all over: Boston, Eden, Rochester," said Jackie Falsetti, the store's owner. "Because Hallmark stores have been closing a lot around me." The plaza used to have more clothing available, with Sears, Woolworths and AM&A's then Bon-Ton, so she is expanding into more clothing to fill that need. "The plaza has been very good to me. And I've been very good to them," she said. "I've got a good customer base." She formerly had stores at the Transitown Plaza in Clarence and the Rainbow Centre in Niagara Falls but closed them to grow with the plaza going from 2,000 square feet to 6,500. "I've been here and seen all the different transitions of that plaza," she said. "It's been very successful for me." Kimberley Walsh rushed her son to hospital after he suffered a dislocated elbow falling off a chair. Kimberley Walsh's son Nate hurt himself falling off a chair The Girls Aloud star has revealed her two-year-old boy Nate took a nasty tumble during the half-term holiday and she rushed him to the accident and emergency department because he was in so much pain, however the nurse who checked him over said he was "fine" and sent them home. In a post on Instagram, she explained: "Not exactly how I hoped half term would go. My little climbing monkey fell off the chair and landed funny on his arm. "I knew something wasnt right so we went to A and E to get him checked over. The nurse thought he was fine so sent us home but he really wasnt happy." However, Nate was still in agony the next day so Kimberley took him back to hospital where an X-ray revealed he had dislocated his elbow. She went on: "After a very unsettled night and him really not wanting to use his arm at all we took him back the next day and asked for an X-ray. Turned out he had dislocated his elbow. Poor little thing was so brave it kills me." Kimberley, 41, went on to urge other parents to "trust your instincts" and always seek a second opinion if things don't feel right. She added: "Moral of the story is trust your instincts. I knew something was wrong thank God we went back. "Hes back to his normal self again but unfortunately the climbing hasnt stopped." Kimberley is also mum to Bobby, seven, and Cole, four with her husband Justin Scott. The news comes amid reports Kimberley is set to play Glastonbury 2024 with her Girls Aloud bandmates. The girl group are reuniting this year for a tour and it's been suggested they might also rock up at Worth Farm this summer. A source told The Sun on Sunday's Bizarre column: "Girls Aloud have been at the top of the wishlist to play after rumours of a reunion emerged. The festival needs some girl power after last years all-male line-up and the girls fit the bill. "They also have a huge back catalogue of pop anthems, so all ages will be singing along exactly what the Legends slot is all about." Matthew Morrison was preparing to leave 'Glee' before Cory Monteith's death. Matthew Morrison had confirmed his exit from Glee before Cory Monteith's death The 45-year-old actor played teacher Will Schuester in the hit musical series and he has revealed he asked to be written out during season five because he was keen to branch out into movie roles, but TV bosses asked him to stay on after his co-star Cory - who played Finn Hudson - died of a drug overdose in 2013. During an appearance on the 'And Thats What You REALLY Missed' podcast, Matthew explained: "I actually was trying to get off the show. In season five, I asked to be off the show, cause I was just like, Im no longer being used in the way I wanted to. No disrespect to the show. We are at a high, I was like, Maybe if I get off the show, I could go do something else, go do a movie, and they agreed to let me off the show." Matthew added that everything changed in the aftermath of the tragedy, saying: "Cory passed, and then they said they couldnt do it, Because you cant have the two main guys on the show [leave]. So yeah, it was an interesting time." He insisted he understood the decision and agreed to put his plans to one side and continue with 'Glee'. Matthew said: "I was like, Yeah, I get it' "You know, trying to reconcile my own wants and selfish needs with the grief of losing an amazing friend, you know, theres a lot of just mixed emotions. But Im a professional, I showed up, I did my job. And there was a good pay increase, so that worked too." 'Glee' from from 2009 until 2015 and Matthew ended up staying with the show until it finished its run with the sixth season. Cory was just 31 when he was found dead in a hotel room in Vancouver, Canada on July 13 2013 after suffering a drug overdose, and his former co-star and real life girlfriend Lea Michele marked the 10th anniversary of the tragedy last year by writing him a sweet note on Instagram. She wrote: "Hey you. 10 years. It feels like only yesterday that you were here and yet a million years ago all at the same time. I hold all of our memories in my heart where they will stay safe and never forgotten. We miss you every day and will never forget the light you to brought to us all. " To read the full story, become a PRIME member today. PRIME Unlimited Access to Insightful Industry Information All Corporate Members and TexPro Subscribers are eligible to access F2F PRIME CONTENT using the same login credentials. Eminent Minister of Road Transport and Highways of India, Nitin Gadkari unveiled the poster and launched a film on Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj supporting filmmaker Sandeep Singh's mega-budget venture on the supreme Maratha warrior that will recreate the life of the fearless king on the big screen. On the eve marking 394th birth anniversary of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, February 19, 2024, this cinematic masterpiece, titled The Pride of Bharat Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj will encapsulate the king's dynamism in its truest form. The film also marks Sandeep Singh's foray into his first high budget commercial cinema as a director. The makers are leaving no stone unturned to make this film on a grand scale with the sets authentically reflecting the gloriousness and the charm of the Maratha era and the state of the art technology capturing the essence of the larger-than-life command of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and his battle with the Mughals and the British. Interestingly, this is for the first time that a film on Shivaji Maharaj will be made in several languages viz; Hindi, English, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Marathi. Sandeep Singh said, "It's taken me 23 years of hard struggle to build and create a position to debut as a director for my first mega budget film - The Pride of Bharat - Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.There could be nothing better than this. I have been working on the script since 2019, five years of labour and love. I hope our audience will appreciate our film and the efforts invested in it." While the lead actors will be locked soon, the other team members comprise of director of photography Aseem Bajaj, director of choreography Ganesh Hegde, costume designer Sheetal Sharma, production designer Sandeep Sharad Ravade, and Kavish Sinha is the casting director of the film. Well-known composer Devi Sri Prasad has been roped in to score the music of The Pride of Bharat - Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. To pay respect and honour a tribute to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, the film will hit the theatres on January 23, 2026, when India will celebrate its 77th Republic Day - 26th January 2026. The Pride of Bharat - Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, helmed by Sandeep Singh as a director, is being presented by Immerso Studios and Legend Studios. Rakul Preet Singh-Jackky Bhagnani Wedding: A couple of years ago, Rakul Preet Singh and Jackky Bhagnani made their relationship official on social media. Well, it was a surprise for everyone as before they made it official there were no reports of them dating. However, after revealing that they are in a relationship, many times there were reports of them getting married. But now, finally, the couple is all set to tie the knot this year. The wedding will take place on 21st February 2024 in Goa, and reportedly, the pre-wedding festivities will kickstart from 19th February 2024. Well, of course, every couple is very excited for their wedding, and Rakul and Jackky are sharing their excitement on social media with their fans. This morning, Rakul shared a few pictures on Instagram, in which she is seen wearing a beautiful bridal dress. She captioned the pictures as, "Mai koi aisa geet gaun?" Just a few hours later, Jackky shared a picture dressed in a kurta and captioned it as, "Best things are about to happen." Check out their posts below... Rakul Preet Singh-Jackky Bhagnani Pre-Wedding Festivities Well, some reports suggest that the above pictures are from a pre-wedding ceremony that took place in Mumbai recently. It is not yet known whether which actors will be attending the wedding. But, reportedly, after their marriage in Goa, the couple will host a grand reception in Mumbai. Talking about their films, Rakul will be seen in Meri Patni Ka Remake and Indian 2. Meanwhile, Jackky has taken a back seat as an actor, but as producer he is gearing up for the release of Bade Miyan Chote Miyan which stars Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff, Sonakshi Sinha, Alaya F, and Manushi Chhillar in the lead roles. The movie is slated to release on Eid this year, and the teaser of the film was released a few weeks ago. Aadhya Anand is known for her performance in web series like Bombay Begums, Crushed, and more. She has been a part of Crushed since season 1 and recently, and recently, the finale season of the series, season 4 started streaming on Amazon mini tv. The series is about youth and how they manage their love life. Filmibeat recently interacted with the actors of Crushed and spoke to them about their first crush. When we asked Aadhya about her first crush, she said, "My first crush as such will always be Sidharth Malhotra. Not anymore right now because I have let him go (laughs). It's celebrity crush, no other crush." Further talking about her show getting four seasons, the actress said, "From season 1 we never expected anything because our main motive was that we wanted to create a wholesome show for everyone to enjoy, be it any generation. We felt so much love and support that we were getting for people, and I think that's what pushed us to make 2, 3, and 4 seasons for the audience who was giving us so much love and we thought we need to give it back to them." Crushed season 1 had started streaming on Amazon mini tv in January 2022, and in two years, the makers came with four seasons of the show. In fact, the first two seasons were released in 2022 itself. Season 2 had started streaming in December 2022. Apart from Aadhya, the series also stars Rudhraksh Jaiswal, Naman Jain, and Urvi Singh. While talking about their first crush, Rudhraksh revealed that his first crush was Margot Robbie, and Urvi's first crush was Justin Bieber. Naman revealed that he had a crush on a girl in second standard and when he told her about it, she went and told her mom, and her mom called his mother. So, it was surely not a great crush! Siren X Review: 'Siren' features Jayam Ravi and Keerthy Suresh in the lead roles, with Anthony Bhagyaraj serving as both the writer and director. The film hit theatres on February 16, 2024. #Siren - First half Superb Movie revolves around the crime & Mystery with superb screenplay. #JayamRavi's Aged character was fully established in the First half Clash is well setup between JayamRavi & #KeerthySuresh#YogiBabu comedies worked welll #SirenFromFeb16 pic.twitter.com/mUln8QXvE5 Movie Tamil (@MovieTamil4) February 16, 2024 In November of last year, 'Siren' released its teaser, providing a 1-minute and 38-second preview of the storyline. The film stars Jayam Ravi as a convict serving time for murder, with Keerthy Suresh portraying the leading lady. Anupama Parameshwaran, Samuthirakani, Yogi Babu, and Tulasi also play significant roles in the movie. Siren Review[ #MVTamilRating] 4/5 #Siren - A Good commerically well Packed movie Emotional scenes between Father & Daughter worked very well A Viswasam & Kadaikutty singam type of movie for JayamRavi Extraordinary climax portion Overall a pakka Family Entertainer pic.twitter.com/x2aoe5dJQo Movie Tamil (@MovieTamil4) February 16, 2024 While the teaser doesn't explicitly disclose the mission, it offers a glimpse into the action-packed adventure following Jayam Ravi's character's release on parole. Yogi Babu joins the cast as a cop, expected to inject humour into the storyline, delighting the audience. #Siren [3.75/5]@antonybhagyaraj neatly delivered a emotional action drama@actor_jayamravi lived as a Thilaga Varman Never seen before this type of @KeerthyOfficial @iYogiBabu scenes are really enjoyable@gvprakash's songs are suberb@SamCSmusic's BGM is so well Tracker Ramya (@IamRamyaJR) February 16, 2024 Siren Synopsis A former ambulance driver turned criminal eagerly anticipates his release from prison. After 14 years, he finally gets the chance to step out of jail on parole. 'Siren' Trailer The makers released the trailer of "Siren" on February 7, featuring Jayam Ravi and Keerthy Suresh. The trailer unveils Jayam Ravi as an ambulance driver accused of murder, leading to his imprisonment. Upon parole, he faces a tumultuous journey as hidden mysteries surface, compelling him to vindicate himself. Adding to the complexity, he encounters Keerthy Suresh's character, a determined cop who believes in his guilt and challenges him relentlessly. 'Siren' Cast And Crew The movie boasts a stellar cast, featuring Jayam Ravi, Keerthy Suresh, Anupama Parameshwaran, Samuthirakani, Yogi Babu, and Tulasi. GV Prakash Kumar is the music composer, Selva Kumar SK serves as the cinematographer, and Ruben is the editor. Dhilip Subbarayan manages the stunt choreography. Produced by Sujatha Vijayakumar. The release of "Siren" is highly anticipated, promising an extraordinary cinematic experience for all film enthusiasts. Stay tuned for insightful X (formerly twitter) reviews as audiences share their thoughts on this action film. Fahmaan Khan is one of the most talked about actors in the telly world and he has proved his mettle time and again on screen. The actor has won hearts with his versatility and while fans have been yearning to see him back onscreen after Pyar Ke Saat Vachan Dharampatnii, there were reports about Fahmaan participating in Bigg Boss 17. Interestingly, his name always makes it to the list of rumoured contestants. And while Bigg Boss 17 has turned out to be a massive hit, Fahmaan was recently quizzed about the reason for not doing the popular reality show. This happened during his recent interview with Bollywood Bubble and said, he doesn't want people to judge him on his personal life. "Mujhe nahi chahiye aisa platform jahan meri personal zindagi ki dhajjiyaan ud jayengi," Fahmaan was quoted saying. Furthermore, Fahmaan stated, "Main acting karna chahta hu. i am a performing arts person. main apni personal zindagi private rkhna chahta hu. I don't want anyone to judge me on my personal life. Main wahan kaisa behave karunga uspe mujhe acha ya bura judge kia jayega. Kya yaar... meri zindagi hai, mera private time hai, maine apne private time me kaisa bhi rahi, main aapko takleef jab tak nahi de raha hu theek hai na. And being on that stage, I think given the opportunity to others to judge you on your personal level is not something I want to do at this point of my life. I want you to see me as an actor and as a person who is working as an actor, doing different roles, isme maza aata hai, khushi milti hai. Main is waqt na keh rha hu, mujhe pata nahi future kya hold karta hai. Main iss waqt us space me nahi hu ki main kisi ko apni personal zindagi ko judge krne ka mauka du. It is mine and I want it to be like this for sometime". Meanwhile, Fahmaan has dropped hints about his upcoming project and said that something is on the cards right now. The actor stated that he will be sharing the screen with Debattama Saha and they are likely to begin shooting for the same soon. "I think the best way to tell you right now is that, yes, it's on the cards. Hopefully, it does work out and we can make the most out of it," he was quoted saying Yellow Corp.s shutdown has opened the door for two other trucking companies to make greater inroads in the Buffalo Niagara region. Estes Express bought two facilities in the Buffalo area formerly affiliated with Yellow, and Pitt Ohio acquired one facility. Both companies already had a presence here and see potential to grow. Last year, Tennessee-based Yellow filed for bankruptcy and ceased operations, affecting about 300 workers in the Buffalo Niagara region, including drivers and dock workers, and 30,000 employees companywide. Over 100 Yellow properties were auctioned off, including the three Buffalo-area locations, which sold for a total of $23 million. Estes Express, based in Richmond, Va., bought a location at 66 Milens Road in the Town of Tonawanda for $8.3 million, and another at 6650 Transit Road in Cheektowaga for $5.5 million. Pitt Ohio, based in Pittsburgh, bought a facility at 6640 Transit Road in Cheektowaga for $9.1 million. Both Estes and Pitt Ohio are significant players in the less-than-truckload industry, which refers to trucks carrying shipments for more than one customer in a trailer. Estes was ranked the No. 5 less-than-truckload carrier by Transport Topics in its 2023 rankings, based on annual revenues. Pitt Ohio was No. 14. (Yellow was No. 3 before its shutdown.) The Milens Road location gives Estes a much larger property to work with. The company hopes to move into that facility within two or three months, said Bob OConnor, Northeast regional vice president. The company is still deciding what to do with the other location it bought, a former USF Holland facility next to the Thruway exit for Transit Road, as well as its current facility in Hamburg. The Milens Road location, which operated under the YRC banner before Yellows shutdown, is quadruple the size of Estes current facility in Hamburg. The Tonawanda location is near the Youngmann Memorial Highway, on 31 acres. In the short term, were obviously not going to need the entire facility were going into, OConnor said. We think that has tremendous potential, a tremendous upside and will accommodate our growth for years to come. Estes has about 90 employees at its local operations. The company expanded to the Buffalo area in 1996 with a location on River Road in the Town of Tonawanda, but outgrew it and later moved to Hamburg. Now, Estes once again needs more space to serve its customers. From its Hamburg location, Estes serves a territory from Lake Ontario to the Pennsylvania state line, and east to Batavia, said Jim Doyle, district operations manager in the Northeast. The location also handles cross-border traffic, with service to the Toronto market. Obviously, we would like to grow as much as we can in that [Buffalo] market, OConnor said. Now well have a facility to accommodate that growth. Anything we can do, were going to try to increase that cross-border traffic. Through two phases of the Yellow auction, Estes was one of the most active buyers, acquiring 29 facilities that Yellow had either owned or leased, for about $283 million. Pitt Ohio operates from a facility at 3365 Broadway, east of Union Road in Cheektowaga. Its a smaller facility, and weve outgrown it, said Geoff Muessig, executive vice president. Pitt Ohio plans to update the former New Penn Motor Express facility it acquired on Transit Road and move in there after the companys communications equipment is installed, possibly in the third quarter, Muessig said. The company has more than 40 employees at its current location and expects to grow its local workforce, he said. We are adding jobs because we are fast growing, he said. Companywide, Pitt Ohio has 3,500 employees. Muessing declined to comment on the companys plans for its facility on Broadway. The shutdown of Yellows local operations not only created vacant facilities, but eliminated the jobs of about 300 workers represented by the Teamsters and another 11 workers represented by the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers. The regions trucking industry has gone through shakeups before. Consolidated Freightways abruptly shut down in 2002. YRC Worldwide in 2009 closed a Roadway Express terminal in West Seneca, and New England Motor Freight ceased operations in 2019. Khatron Ke Khiladi 14 Contestants List: Concluding its three-month run, the seventeenth season of India's popular reality show, Bigg Boss, hosted by Salman Khan, came to an end last month with its longest grand finale to date. Following a difficult journey, Munawar Faruqui emerged as the winner, with Abhishek Kumar securing the first runner-up position in the Bigg Boss 17 grand finale. KHATRON KE KHILADI 14: LIST OF CELEBS APPROACHED BY MAKERS Since then, there have been constant rumours about the new season of Khatron Ke Khiladi, to be hosted by Rohit Shetty. In a recent interview, the Golmaal filmmaker revealed that Khatron Ke Khiladi 14 will go on the floor in April this year. Soon after, several reports suggested that the makers have reached out to several Bigg Boss 17 contestants for the stunt-based reality show. While Munawar Faruqui, Mannara Chopra, Abhishek Kumar, and Isha Malviya are said to be approached for the fourteenth season of Khatron Ke Khiladi, the latest reports suggest that the creative team has approached a popular TV actor. Well, we're talking about Manisha Rani and Shiv Thakare's Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa 11 co-contestant Shoaib Ibrahim. Yes, you read that right! Zee Rishtey Awards 2024 Nomination Party Telecast Date And Time: Here's When & Where To Watch Krushal Ahuja On Jhanak Beating Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai On TRP Charts This Week: I'm Genuinely... SHOAIB IBRAHIM TO PARTICIPATE IN KHATRON KE KHILADI 13? According to a Tellychakkar report, Shoaib Ibrahim has been in discussions with the makers of Khatron Ke Khiladi 14 regarding his potential participation, although there hasn't been any confirmation yet. If the news turns out to be true, Khatron Ke Khiladi 14 would mark his third reality show following his appearance on Nach Baliye 8 and and the ongoing Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa 11. Interestingly, JDJ 11 is currently in its last phase and the finale will be held after two weeks. For those who are unaware, rapper Dino James walked away with the winner's trophy of Khatron Ke Khiladi 13 while Arjita Taneja got the runner-up's title. Since then, fans are waiting for the next season of the adventure-based show. Are you excited to see Shoaib Ibrahim perfoming daredevil stunts of Khatron Ke Khiladi? Share your views in the comments section below. Amritsar, Feb 16 (PTI) Kavita Chaudhary, star of the popular Doordarshan serial "Udaan", died at a hospital here following cardiac arrest on Thursday night. She was 67. The actor, also popular as the homemaker Lalita ji in the Surf detergent commercials in India in the late 1980s, was admitted to the hospital a few days ago. "She passed away following cardiac arrest last night around 8.30 pm in Amritsar at the hospital. She was admitted to the hospital a few days ago due to low blood pressure. Her condition became critical later," Ajay Sayal, Chaudhary's nephew, told PTI. The last rites were held here on Thursday morning. The actor is survived by Sayal and her niece. Chaudhary was best known for her portrayal of IPS officer Kalyani Singh in "Udaan" a progressive show about women empowerment, which ran on Doordarshan between 1989 and 1991. Besides starring, she wrote and directed the serial, which was inspired by the life of her elder sister and police officer Kanchan Chaudhary Bhattacharya. "Udaan", which also starred Shekhar Kapur, revolved around the struggle of a woman aspiring to be an IPS officer. The critically-acclaimed show, which inspired a generation of women to pursue public service, was brought back on Doordarshan for a re-run during the pandemic. Actor Amit Behl was one of the colleagues who paid condolences on Chaudhary's demise. "RIP Kavita Chaudhary, is baar aapne lambi udaan bhar li,Naman @CintaaOfficial @nsd_india," he wrote on X. Later, Chaudhary produced Doordarshan shows "Your Honour" and "IPS Diaries". KANAZAWA, Japan, Feb. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- In a study recently published in Nature Genetics, researchers from Nano Life Science Institute (WPI-NanoLSI), Kanazawa University explore chromatin accessibility, i.e., endogenous access pathways to the genomic DNA, and its use as a tool for gene editing. Our DNA is protected from unwanted external modifications by forming structures called nucleosomes that consist of threads of DNA wound around chunks of special proteins known as histones. This unique coiled shape prevents the access of undesirable molecules to a cell's DNA. However, for vital genetic functions-such as DNA repair-the right set of proteins require access to these DNA fragments. This phenomenon known as 'chromatin accessibility' involves a privileged set of protein molecules, many of which are still unknown. Now, researchers from Nano Life Science Institute (WPI-NanoLSI), Kanazawa University, led by Yusuke Miyanari, have used advanced genetic screening methods to unravel chromatin accessibility and its pathways. For the investigation the team used a combination of two technologies-CRISPR screening and ATAC-see. While the former is a method to suppress the function of a desired set of genes, the latter is a means to identify which ones are essential for chromatin accessibility. Thus, using this method all genes playing a crucial role in chromatin accessibility could be pinned down. With the help of these assays, novel pathways and individual players involved in chromatin accessibility were uncovered-some playing a positive role and some negative. Of these, one particular protein, TFDP1, showed a negative effect on chromatin accessibility. When it was suppressed, a significant increase in chromatin accessibility was observed, accompanied by nucleosome reduction. A deeper dive into the mechanism of TFDP1 revealed that it functions by regulating the genes responsible for production of certain histone proteins. The team then focused their study towards exploring biotechnological applications of their findings. After suppressing TFDP1, two different approaches were tried. The first approach involved gene editing using the CRISPR/Cas9 tool. This revealed that deletion of TFDP1 made the gene editing process easier. Now, most chromatin accessibility occurs in nucleosome-depleted regions or NDRs. However, by suppressing TFDP1 chromatin accessibility occurred not only in NDRs but across other regions as well. Secondly, the depletion of TFDP1 aided the process of converting regular cells into stem cells, a massive step forward in cellular transformation. This study identified new chromatin accessibility pathways and channels for exploring its potential even further. "Our study shows the significant potential to manipulate chromatin accessibility as a novel strategy to enhance DNA-templated biological applications, including genome editing and cellular reprogramming," conclude the researchers. Background CRISPR screening: CRISPR screening is a large-scale tool used to find genes involved in a particular function. In this method, genes from the entire genome can be deleted one at a time to investigate which ones play a role in any target pathway. The mechanisms and roles of the genes narrowed down are then understood further using biological assays. In this study the genes identified by CRISPR screening were subjected to ATAC-see to confirm their involvement with chromatin accessibility. ATAC-see: Transposase-Accessible Chromatin with visualization (ATAC-see) is a technique whereby accessible DNA locations can be visualized and quantified. ATAC-see involves using an enzyme to insert fluorescent proteins into the DNA at accessible sites. This technique works within nucleosome-depleted regions but also beyond these regions. Hence, when such sites were visualized after running CRISPR screening, the researchers could understand which genes were affecting chromatin accessibility directly. Reference Satoko Ishii, Taishi Kakizuka, Sung-Joon Park, Ayako Tagawa, Chiaki Sanbo, Hideyuki Tanabe, Yasuyuki Ohkawa, Mahito Nakanishi, Kenta Nakai, Yusuke Miyanari. Genome-wide ATAC-see screening identifies TFDP1 as a modulator of global chromatin accessibility. Nature Genetics, 2024. Published Feb 15, 2024 DOI :10.1038/s41588-024-01658-1 https://www.nature.com/articles/s41588-024-01658-1 Related figures https://nanolsi.kanazawa-u.ac.jp/wp/wp-content/uploads/Fig.-1-1.png Figure 1. a. Screening results of the players involved in chromatin accessibility analyzed by ATAC-see. b. Successful reprogramming to stem cells (indicated by presence of TRA-1-60) after depletion of TFDP1 (right). 2024 Ishii, et al., Nature Genetics Contact Hiroe Yoneda Senior Specialist in Project Planning and Outreach NanoLSI Administration OfficeNano Life Science Institute (WPI-NanoLSI) Kanazawa University Kakuma-machi, Kanazawa 920-1192, Japan Email: nanolsi-office@adm.kanazawa-u.ac.jp Tel: +81 (76) 234-4555 About Nano Life Science Institute (WPI-NanoLSI), Kanazawa University Understanding nanoscale mechanisms of life phenomena by exploring "uncharted nano-realms." Cells are the basic units of almost all life forms. We are developing nanoprobe technologies that allow direct imaging, analysis, and manipulation of the behavior and dynamics of important macromolecules in living organisms, such as proteins and nucleic acids, at the surface and interior of cells. We aim at acquiring a fundamental understanding of the various life phenomena at the nanoscale. https://nanolsi.kanazawa-u.ac.jp/en/ About the World Premier International Research Center Initiative (WPI) The WPI program was launched in 2007 by Japan's Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) to foster globally visible research centers boasting the highest standards and outstanding research environments. Numbering more than a dozen and operating at institutions throughout the country, these centers are given a high degree of autonomy, allowing them to engage in innovative modes of management and research. The program is administered by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS). See the latest research news from the centers at the WPI News Portal: https://www.eurekalert.org/newsportal/WPI Main WPI program site: www.jsps.go.jp/english/e-toplevel About Kanazawa University As the leading comprehensive university on the Sea of Japan coast, Kanazawa University has contributed greatly to higher education and academic research in Japan since it was founded in 1949. The University has three colleges and 17 schools offering courses in subjects that include medicine, computer engineering, and humanities. The University is located on the coast of the Sea of Japan in Kanazawa - a city rich in history and culture. The city of Kanazawa has a highly respected intellectual profile since the time of the fiefdom (1598-1867). Kanazawa University is divided into two main campuses: Kakuma and Takaramachi for its approximately 10,200 students including 600 from overseas. http://www.kanazawa-u.ac.jp/e/ View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/kanazawa-university-research-chromatin-accessibility-a-new-avenue-for-gene-editing-302063811.html Regulatory News: Etablissements Maurel Prom S.A. (Paris:MAU) ("M&P") notes the signing on 15 February 2024 of a share purchase agreement ("SPA") between the Gabonese national oil company Gabon Oil Company ("GOC") and Assala Energy Investments Ltd. ("Carlyle") regarding GOC's acquisition of Assala Energy Holdings Ltd and all of its subsidiaries ("Assala"). This signing has occurred in the context of GOC's sovereign right of pre-emption and supersedes the SPA signed by M&P and Carlyle on 15 August 2023. M&P confirms and reiterates its wish to remain a trusted partner of the Republic of Gabon, as evidenced by its presence and its projects in the country for nearly 20 years now. The M&P Group is in a very healthy financial position, with an expected net cash position at the end of March 2024 (approximately $270 million in cash and cash available, versus $266 million in gross debt), and significant borrowing capacity. M&P is currently in an important development phase, marked in particular by the ongoing restart of its activities in Venezuela. For more information, please visit www.maureletprom.fr/en/ This document may contain forecasts regarding the financial position, results, business and industrial strategy of Maurel Prom. By nature, forecasts contain risks and uncertainties to the extent that they are based on events or circumstances that may or may not happen in the future. These forecasts are based on assumptions we believe to be reasonable, but which may prove to be incorrect and which depend on a number of risk factors, such as fluctuations in crude oil prices, changes in exchange rates, uncertainties related to the valuation of our oil reserves, actual rates of oil production and the related costs, operational problems, political stability, legislative or regulatory reforms, or even wars, terrorism and sabotage. Maurel Prom is listed for trading on Euronext Paris SBF 120 CAC All-Tradable CAC Small CAC Mid Small Eligible PEA-PME and SRD Isin FR0000051070 Bloomberg MAU.FP Reuters MAUP.PA View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240215576075/en/ Contacts: Maurel Prom Press, shareholder and investor relations Tel: +33 (0)1 53 83 16 45 ir@maureletprom.fr NewCap Financial communications and investor relations/Media relations Louis-Victor Delouvrier/Nicolas Merigeau Tel: +33 (0)1 44 71 98 53/+33 (0)1 44 71 94 98 maureletprom@newcap.eu CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - The Japanese weakened against other major currencies in the Asian session on Friday. The yen fell to nearly a 1-month low of 161.79 against the euro, from yesterday's closing value of 161.47. Against the Canada and the Australian dollars, the yen slid to a 16-year low of 111.50 and a 2-1/2-month low of 98.00 from yesterday's closing quotes of 111.32 and 97.80, respectively. The yen slipped to 189.16 against the pound and 170.60 against the Swiss franc, from Thursday's closing quotes of 188.89 and 170.35, respectively. Against the U.S. and New Zealand dollars, the yen dropped to 150.37 and 91.69 from yesterday's closing quotes of 149.91 and 91.54, respectively. If the yen extends its downtrend, it is likely to find support around 162.00 against the euro, 112.00 against the loonie, 99.00 against the aussie, 191.00 against the pound, 172.00 against the franc, 152.00 against the greenback and 92.00 against the kiwi. Copyright(c) 2024 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. Regulatory News: Following numerous calls received since the press release of February 15, 2024, ABIONYX Pharma (FR0012616852 ABNX eligible for PEA PME) (Paris:ABNX), intends to clarify that the Phase 3 clinical results for CSL112 are extremely positive for the company's development and future. They confirm: the company's successful strategic repositioning 4 years ago outside the field of cardiovascular diseases the safety and tolerability of a treatment with apoA-1 in an unprecedented clinical trial involving 18,000 patients the clarification of the regulatory horizon for the selected development of ABIONYX Pharma's only recombinant human apoA-I outside the field of cardiovascular diseases. Over the past 4 years, the company has filed numerous patents in renal and ophthalmological diseases, extending the exclusivity of apoA-I until 2043. ABIONYX Pharma warmly thanks its loyal shareholders over the past 4 years for their support since the company's successful repositioning outside cardiovascular diseases, and for their keen interest and requests for clarification of the company's scientific and strategic communication. About ABIONYX Pharma ABIONYX Pharma is a next-generation biotech company focused on developing innovative medicines in diseases where there is no effective or existing treatment, even the rarest ones. The company expedites the development of novel therapeutics through an extensive expertise in lipid science and a differentiated apoA-I -based technology platform. ABIONYX Pharma is committed to radically improving treatment outcomes in sepsis and critical care. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240215270551/en/ Contacts: NewCap Investor relations Nicolas Fossiez Louis-Victor Delouvrier abionyx@newcap.eu +33 (0)1 44 71 98 53 NewCap Media relations Arthur Rouille abionyx@newcap.eu +33 (0)1 44 71 00 15 Miami, Florida--(Newsfile Corp. - February 16, 2024) - The latest announcement from LinkDaddy emphasizes the need for optimized schema markup to help search engines better understand the content on a business website. One of the key advantages, the agency says, is to create rich display results in search - including images, review score, and pricing details - which can drive more clicks than generic listings. More information can be found at https://linkdaddy.com/advanced-schema-markup/. Advanced Schema Markup For SEO: LinkDaddy Ranking Improvement Service Announced To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/8814/198173_58c2921c74d0796b_002full.jpg As part of its new service, after gaining an in-depth understanding of the client's business, including its location, industry niche, and current marketing goals, the agency creates a unique schema code. This tailored schema markup is then inserted into the client's homepage without needing any manual work by the site owner. According to a recent Forbes report, organic clicks accounted for 45.1% of all search result clicks in 2022. LinkDaddy notes the importance of organic traffic for business growth and offers a cost-effective solution that offers faster results. By implementing schema markup properly, companies can enhance their chances of ranking higher and getting more qualified leads, the agency says. The package provides organization schema, local business schema, FAQ schema, video schema, and review schema, all tailored to the client's specific business and industry, so LinkDaddy can enable companies to stand out in the search results for keywords and entities relevant to their operations. Throughout the service, clients have a high level of customization and control, especially regarding targeted keywords. The agency explains that this helps to ensure that the schema implemented is optimized for the search terms and items most important for driving traffic to their site, so they connect with their target customers and establish authority in their field. Tony Peacock, the founder of LinkDaddy, has years of experience in the SEO space and continues to offer innovative solutions for brands across sectors. "Schema markup is a powerful way to enhance your website's visibility and ranking on search engines," he explains. "It helps you provide more information and context about your content, products, services, or business to the users and the search engines." Interested parties can learn more at https://linkdaddy.com/advanced-schema-markup/. Contact Info: Name: Tony Peacock Email: tony@linkdaddy.com Organization: LinkDaddy Address: 1065 SW 8th St PMB 622, Miami, Florida 33130, United States Website: https://linkdaddy.shop To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/198173 SOURCE: Plentisoft This marks the inaugural listing on ARTEX Stock Exchange, introducing the first ever Art Listing, providing a multilateral trading facility for investment and trading in this new asset class. Luxembourg, 16 February 2024 Art Share 002 S.A. (the "Issuer"), a public limited liability company incorporated in Luxembourg, today announces the launch of the initial offering based on its underlying asset - the triptych 'Three Studies for Portrait of George Dyer' by Francis Bacon (the "Artwork"), ahead of the intended admission of its Class B redeemable shares (EUR), having the ISIN: LU2583605592 (the "Class B Shares") to trading on the regulated market ARTEX MTF AG (the "ARTEX Stock Exchange"). The Issuer qualifies as a securitisation vehicle governed by the Luxembourg law of 22 March 2004 on securitisation, as amended, offering its Class B Shares to certain investors, shares which will subsequently be traded in the regulated ARTEX Stock Exchange under the symbol "BAC1EU". The initial offering (the "Offering") is being made by way of a placement to qualified and/or institutional investors, as defined in the Issuer's offering memorandum (the "Offering Memorandum"). The Offering consists of a minimum of 412,500 Class B Shares corresponding to 75% of all Class B Shares, and a maximum of up to 550,000 Class B Shares, at a fixed price in EUR equivalent to USD 100 per Class B Share. The Class B Shares will be offered at an aggregate valuation in EUR equivalent of USD 55 million. The Artwork was previously purchased at auction at Christie's in May 2017 for USD 51.7 million. Closing of the Offering and the fixing of the EUR price per Class B Share is expected to take place on 29 February 2024. Trading of the Class B Shares on the ARTEX Stock Exchange is expected to start on 8 March 2024. This transaction has received strong early interest from investors and will take place in a very dynamic art market environment. H.S.H. Prince Wenceslas of Liechtenstein, co-founder and Chairman of ARTEX Stock Exchange, commented: "Today marks an important milestone as we plan to admit our first art initial offering on the ARTEX Stock Exchange, featuring a distinguished masterpiece by the great British artist Francis Bacon. Our ambition is to create the world's leading fully transparent, universally accessible, and secure trading venue for art. This first offering paves the way for many more to come." Yassir Benjelloun-Touimi, co-founder and CEO of ARTEX Stock Exchange, added: "We are very proud to finally announce the launch of the world's first art listing, with this amazing triptych from Francis Bacon "Three Studies for Portrait of George Dyer." It is another step on the long journey we embarked upon 3 years ago and the relentless pursuit of democratising investment in art, in pursuit of our goal of making it accessible to all. Francis Bacon, Three Studies for Portrait of George Dyer, 1963 The Estate of Francis Bacon. All rights reserved, DACS 2024 / Photo by The Makers Photography The Offering Memorandum in relation to Art Share 002 S.A.'s Class B Shares is available for qualified investors on its website www.artshare002.com. It relates to the admission to trading and listing on the ARTEX Stock Exchange, a multilateral trading facility ("MTF", as defined within the MiFID II legislation) regulated by the Liechtenstein Financial Market Authority, of Class B Shares (EUR) of the Issuer. Offering highlight The Issuer's aim is to democratise access to a great masterpiece, Francis Bacon's iconic triptych Three Studies for Portrait of George Dyer, 1963. Qualified investors (as defined in the Offering Memorandum) are provided the opportunity to subscribe for Class B Shares in the Offering, thereby investing (indirectly) in the Artwork. The Artwork offers these qualified investors an opportunity to preserve their capital and diversify their portfolios by investing in a newly liquid asset class. Following the listing on ARTEX Stock Exchange, the Class B Shares will also be accessible for secondary market trading to the public. It is intended that the Artwork to be displayed, on loan. To cultural institutions such as museums to enhance accessibility to the public. This will add a unique social impact dimension to the investment and contribute to the goal of the democratisation of iconic artwork. Lock-up arrangements The Remaining Shares to be held by the Seller are subject to the following placement restrictions: During the first 3 months from the offering, the Seller shall not be able to place any of the Remaining Shares; following the period of 3 months from the offering, the Seller shall have the option to direct the Company to place on ARTEX MTF one third of the Remaining Shares. following the period of 4 months and 15 calendar days from the offering, the Seller shall have the option to direct the Company to further place on ARTEX MTF one third of the Remaining Shares; and following the period of 6 months from the offering, the Seller shall have the option to direct the Company to further place on ARTEX MTF any balance of Remaining Shares then held. The Seller has empowered the Company to have the option to place at all times any of the Remaining Shares at a price in excess of the Offer Price, subject to such Remaining Shares being issued at a maximum discount of 3% to the average closing market price for the previous 5 Business Days, unless otherwise agreed between the Company and the Seller. Dividend policy The Company does not otherwise anticipate generating net profits and thus does not expect to pay any dividends on the Offered Shares in the foreseeable future. Any future determination to pay dividends will be made in accordance with applicable laws and the Company's Articles. Indicative timetable of the Offering The Start of the offering period was 16 February 2024. was 16 February 2024. The end of the offering period and allocation is expected to take place on 29 February 2024. is expected to take place on 29 February 2024. Settlement is expected to take place on 7 March 2024. is expected to take place on 7 March 2024. Admission and trading of the Class B Shares on ARTEX Stock Exchange is planned to start on 8 March 2024 with the following: Ticker Symbol : BAC1EU ISIN: LU2583605592 WKN: A3D7ZH CFI Code: ESXXXR of the Class B Shares on ARTEX Stock Exchange is planned to start on 8 March 2024 with the following: Orders and subscriptions Zeus Capital Limited ("Zeus"), a UK Investment Bank regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority in the UK, is acting as the Bookrunner for the Offering. The initial offer shall be settled through Zeus's settlement agent, Pershing Securities a subsidiary of BNY Mellon. For questions, subscriptions and requests for assistance in connection with the initial offer we direct you to: Zeus Capital Limited Ben Robertson 125 Old Broad Street, 12th Floor, London, EC2N 1AR www.zeuscapital.co.uk Additional placement agents may be appointed in connection with the Offering and will be communicated on the website of the Issuer). Information available to qualified investors The Offering Memorandum may be obtained in electronic or printed form, free of charge, upon request at Art Share 002 S.A., during regular business hours, at the registered office of the Issuer located at 16, rue E. Ruppert, L-2453 Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. The Offering Memorandum is also available in electronic form on the website of ARTEX Stock Exchange), and on the website of the Issuer). The Issuer draws the investors' attention to the Offering Memorandum and especially to the risk factors described in the Offering Memorandum. The occurrence of one or more of these risks may have a material adverse effect on the Issuer's business, reputation, financial position, results or outlook, as well as the market price of its Class B Shares. Partnerships of ARTEX Stock Exchange The ARTEX Stock Exchange offers a continuous trading model in connection with auctions. It starts with an opening auction, followed by continuous trading via a central limit order book. The trading ends with a closing auction. The Artex Stock Exchange participants consist of members and market makers which facilitate the trading of the Class B Shares by the Issuer to trade with a certain liquidity. ARTEX Stock Exchange has secured partnerships with SIX AG ("SIX"), a well-established infrastructure service provider. SIX will provide clearing services via SIX x-clear AG and real market data feed via SIX Exfeed AG. The settlement of Class B Shares on the secondary market will happen through the bridge offered via Euroclear and Clearstream. UnaVista, an LSEG business, will support ARTEX Stock Exchange in fulfilling its information exchange and reporting to the relevant supervisory bodies. * * * About Art Share 002 S.A. Art Share 002 is a public limited liability company (societe anonyme) incorporated under the laws of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg existing as a securitisation undertaking (organisme de titrisation) within the meaning of the Securitisation Law. It has been set-up to issue shares, tracking the economic risk associated with the Artwork and any other associated risk within the meaning of article 53 of the Luxembourg law of 22 March 2004 on securitisation, as amended, financed inter alia by the issuance of the Class B Shares. Art Share 002 was established to facilitate fractional investment in the Artwork through the issuance of the Class B Shares (i.e., undertaking a securitisation transaction of the Artwork). The principal activity of Art Share 002 is to hold and securitise the Artwork, as well as assuming risks, existing or future, relating to the holding of the Artwork. Its principal activities to date have been limited to organisational activities, including entering into certain agreements (i) for the acquisition of the Artwork and (ii) those necessary for the preparation and execution of the Offering, it's admission and listing on the ARTEX Stock Exchange. Art Share 002 is managed by a board of directors who are Mrs Ursula Schmidt, Mr Edouard de Burlet and Mr Ronan Le Bouc. Art Share 002 does not expect to generate revenues or cashflows from lending, for free, the Artwork to cultural institutions such as museums. It will not conduct any business activities except for activities relating to the ownership, maintenance and promotion of the Artwork and, as such, these activities shall be limited to a passive administration of the ownership of the Artwork. The strategy will be to display and promote the Artwork in a manner designed to improve public understanding of it. About ARTEX ARTEX Stock Exchange operates a secure and liquid art focused traditional stock exchange, regulated and supervised by the Financial Markets Authority of Liechtenstein within the European MiFID II legislative framework. Providing easy access to a traditionally exclusive fine art market, ARTEX Stock Exchange aims to democratise investing in artworks from the world's greatest masters, spanning a period from the Renaissance to the twentieth century. ARTEX Stock Exchange-listed masterpieces will be on public display, in museums and exhibitions around the world. ARTEX Stock Exchange will strive to empower investors by offering the latest news, market insights and educational content to allow wider participation in art investing. ARTEX Stock Exchange was co-founded in 2020 by art enthusiasts and financial markets experts H.S.H. Prince Wenceslas of Liechtenstein and Yassir Benjelloun-Touimi. ARTEX Stock Exchange" is a multilateral trading facility operated by ARTEX MTF AG, a company incorporated in the Principality of Liechtenstein under company number FL-0002.682.571-2 with registered offices at Wuhrstrasse 6, 9490 Vaduz, Liechtenstein. ARTEX Stock Exchange is regulated by the Financial Markets Authority under reference number 307407. For more information about ARTEX, please visit www.artex-stockexchange.com Press contacts France and Global Alienor Miens | Alienor.miens@margie.fr| +33| +33 (0)6 11 84 34 92 DISCLAIMER This document is an announcement and not a prospectus for the purposes of Regulation (EU) 2017/1129 (the "Prospectus Regulation"), and as such does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to purchase securities of Art Share 002 S.A. (the "Issuer"). These materials do not constitute or form a part of any offer or solicitation to purchase or subscribe for, or otherwise invest in, securities in the United States. The securities mentioned herein have not been, and will not be, registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933 (the "Securities Act"). The securities may not be offered or sold in the United States (as such term is defined in Regulation S under the Securities Act) except pursuant to an exemption from, or in a transaction not subject to, the registration requirements of the Securities Act. There will be no public offer of securities in the United States. In any member state of the European Economic Area, this communication is only addressed to and is only directed at qualified investors in such member state within the meaning of the Prospectus Regulation, and no person that is not a qualified investor may act or rely on this communication or any of its contents. In so far as forecasts or expectations are expressed in this investor relations news or where our statements concern the future, these forecasts, expectations, or statements may involve known or unknown risks and uncertainties. Actual results or developments may vary, depending on changes in the operating environment. The Company does not assume an obligation to update the forecasts, expectations or statements contained in this release. The information contained in this announcement is for background purposes only and does not purport to be full or complete. No reliance may be placed by any person for any purpose on the information contained in this announcement or its accuracy, fairness, or completeness. This announcement is not for publication or distribution, directly or indirectly, in or into Australia, South Africa, Canada, Japan, New Zealand or the United States (including its territories and possessions, any State of the United States) or any other jurisdiction where to do so would constitute a violation of the relevant laws of such jurisdiction. The distribution of this announcement may be restricted by law in certain jurisdictions and persons into whose possession any document or other information referred to herein comes should inform themselves about and observe any such restriction. Any failure to comply with these restrictions may constitute a violation of the securities laws of any such jurisdiction. Offered Shares may not be offered or sold in the United States unless registered under the Securities Act except pursuant to a transaction exempt from, or not subject to, the registration requirements of the Securities Act. The Offer and sale of the Offered Shares has not been and will not be registered under the Securities Act or under the applicable securities laws of Australia, South Africa, Canada or Japan and New Zealand. Subject to certain exceptions, the Offered Shares may not be offered or sold in Australia, Canada or Japan, New Zealand or to, or for the account or benefit of, any national, resident or citizen of Australia, Canada, or Japan. There will be no public offer of the Offered Shares in Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, the United States. In the United Kingdom, this announcement is being distributed only to, and is directed only at, persons who: (A) (i) are "investment professionals" specified in Article 19(5) of the Financial Services and Markets Act (Financial Promotion) Order 2005 (the "Order") and/or (ii) fall within Article 49(2)(a) to (d) of the Order (and only where the conditions contained in those Articles have been, or will at the relevant time be, satisfied); and (B) are "qualified investors" within the meaning of Article 2 of the Prospectus Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2017/1129) as it forms part of retained EU law as defined in the EU (Withdrawal) Act 2018 (all such persons together being referred to as "Relevant Persons"). In the European Economic Area (the "EEA"), this announcement is addressed only to and directed only at, persons in member states who are "qualified investors" within the meaning of Article 2(e) of the Prospectus Regulation (Regulation ((EU) 2017/1129) ("Qualified Investors"). This announcement must not be acted on or relied on (i) in the United Kingdom, by persons who are not Relevant Persons, and (ii) in any member state of the EEA, by persons who are not Qualified Investors. Any investment or investment activity to which this announcement relates is available only to: (i) in the United Kingdom, Relevant Persons; and (ii) in any member state of the EEA, Qualified Investors, and will be engaged in only with such persons. For the avoidance of doubt, no offer to the public will made in the United Kingdom and no application will be made for the Offered Shares to be traded on a regulated market in the United Kingdom. This announcement may include statements that are, or may be deemed to be, "forward-looking statements". These forward-looking statements may be identified by using forward-looking terminology, including the terms "believes", "estimates", "plans", "projects", "anticipates", "expects", "intends", "may", "will" or "should" or, in each case, their negative or other variations or comparable terminology, or by discussions of strategy, plans, objectives, goals, future events or intentions. Forward-looking statements may and often do differ materially from actual results. Any forward-looking statements reflect the Company's current view with respect to future events and are subject to risks relating to future events and other risks, uncertainties and assumptions relating to the Company's business, results of operations, financial position, liquidity, prospects, growth, and strategies. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made. Each of the Company and Zeus Capital Limited, expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to update, review or revise any forward-looking statement contained in this announcement whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise. Any subscription or purchase of Offered Shares in the possible Offer should be made solely on the basis of information contained in the Offering Memorandum which may be issued by the Company in connection with the possible Offer. The information in this announcement is subject to change. Before subscribing for or purchasing any Offered Shares, persons viewing this announcement should ensure that they fully understand and accept the risks which will be set out in the Offering Memorandum if published. No reliance may be placed for any purpose on the information contained in this announcement or its accuracy or completeness. Neither this announcement, nor the references herein to the Offering Memorandum, shall form the basis of or constitute any offer, or any solicitation of any offer to purchase or subscribe for any Offered Shares nor shall it (or any part of it) or the fact of its distribution, form the basis of, or be relied on in connection with, any contract thereof. The Company may decide not to go ahead with the initial offer and there is therefore no guarantee that the admission will occur. You should not base any financial decision on this announcement. Acquiring investments to which this announcement relates may expose an investor to a significant risk of losing all of the amount invested. Persons considering making investments should consult an authorised person specialising in advising on such investments. Neither this announcement, nor the Offering Memorandum referred to herein, constitutes a recommendation concerning the Offer. The value of the Offered Shares can decrease as well as increase. Potential investors should consult a professional advisor as to the suitability of the Offer for the person concerned. None of Zeus Capital Limited or any of its affiliate or any of its or their affiliates' directors, officers, employees, advisers or agents accepts any responsibility or liability whatsoever for/or makes any representation or warranty, express or implied, as to the truth, accuracy or completeness of the information in this announcement (or whether any information has been omitted from the announcement) or any other information relating to the Company, its subsidiaries or associated companies, whether written, oral or in a visual or electronic form, and howsoever transmitted or made available or for any loss howsoever arising from any use of the announcement or its contents or otherwise arising in connection therewith. Information to distributors in the EEA Solely for the purposes of the product governance requirements contained within: (i) EU Directive 2014/65/EU on markets in financial instruments, as amended ("MiFID II"); (ii) Articles 9 and 10 of Commission Delegated Directive (EU) 2017/593 supplementing MiFID II; and (iii) local implementing measures (together the "MiFID II Product Governance Requirements"), and disclaiming all and any liability, whether arising in tort, delict, contract or otherwise, which the Company, in its capacity as "manufacturer" for the purposes of the MiFID II Product Governance Requirements may otherwise have with respect thereto, the Offered Shares have been subject to a product approval process, which has determined that such Offered Shares are: (a) compatible with an end target market of retail investors and investors who meet the criteria of professional clients and eligible counterparties, each as defined in MiFID II; and (b) eligible for distribution through all distribution channels as are permitted by MiFID II (the "Target Market Assessment"). Notwithstanding the Target Market Assessment, "distributors" (for purposes of the MiFID II Product Governance Requirements) should note that the price of the Offered Shares may decline and investors could lose all or part of their investment; the Offered Shares offer no guaranteed income and no capital protection, and an investment in the Offered Shares is compatible only with investors who do not need a guaranteed income or capital protection, who (either alone or in conjunction with an appropriate financial or other adviser) are capable of evaluating the merits and risks of such an investment and who have sufficient resources to be able to bear any losses that may result therefrom. The Target Market Assessment is without prejudice to the requirements of any contractual, legal or regulatory selling restrictions in relation to the Offer, including the selling restrictions described in "Notice to Investors (Selling Restrictions)". Furthermore, it is noted that, notwithstanding the Target Market Assessment, the Placement Agents will only procure investors who meet the criteria of professional clients and eligible counterparties. For the avoidance of doubt, the Target Market Assessment does not constitute: (i) an assessment of suitability or appropriateness for the purposes of MiFID II; or (ii) a recommendation to any investor or group of investors to invest in, purchase, subscribe for, or take any other action whatsoever with respect to the Offered Shares. Each distributor is responsible for undertaking its own target market assessment in respect of the Offered Shares and determining appropriate distribution channels. Information to Distributors in the UK Solely for the purposes of the product governance requirements of Chapter 3 of the FCA Handbook Product Intervention and Product Governance Sourcebook (the "UK Product Governance Requirements"), and/or any equivalent requirements elsewhere to the extent determined to be applicable, and disclaiming all and any liability, whether arising in tort, contract or otherwise, the Company, in its capacity as "manufacturer" (for the purposes of the UK Product Governance Requirements) may otherwise have with respect thereto, the Offered Shares have been subject to a product approval process, which has determined that the Offered Shares are: (a) compatible with an end target market of retail investors and investors who meet the criteria of professional clients and eligible counterparties, each as defined in Chapter 3 of the FCA Handbook Conduct of Business Sourcebook; and (b) eligible for distribution through all distribution channels (the "U.K. Target Market Assessment"). Notwithstanding the U.K. Target Market Assessment, "distributors" (for the purposes of the UK Product Governance Requirements) should note that: the price of the Offered Shares may decline and investors could lose all or part of their investment; the Offered Shares offer no guaranteed income and no capital protection; and an investment in the Offered Shares is compatible only with investors who do not need a guaranteed income or capital protection, who (either alone or in conjunction with an appropriate financial or other adviser) are capable of evaluating the merits and risks of such an investment and who have sufficient resources to be able to bear any losses that may result therefrom. The U.K. Target Market Assessment is without prejudice to the requirements of any contractual, legal or regulatory selling restrictions in relation to the Offering. Furthermore, it is noted that, notwithstanding the U.K. Target Market Assessment, the Placement Agents will only procure investors who meet the criteria of professional clients and eligible counterparties for the purposes of the U.K. MiFIR Product Governance Rules. For the avoidance of doubt, the U.K. Target Market Assessment does not constitute: (i) an assessment of suitability or appropriateness for the purposes of Chapter 9A or 10A respectively of the FCA Handbook Conduct of Business Sourcebook; or (ii) a recommendation to any investor or group of investors to invest in, or purchase, or take any other action whatsoever with respect to the Offered Shares. Each distributor is responsible for undertaking its own target market assessment in respect of the Offered Shares and determining appropriate distribution channels. 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. STOCKHOLM, Feb. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- IFPA Forum Asia 2023, held in Singapore, brought together a diverse group of stakeholders, including patient advocates, their associations, family members, policymakers, healthcare professionals, and the private sector. Held in Singapore, the forum served as a crucial platform for discussions, inspiration, and collaboration to address the challenges faced by those affected by psoriatic disease. The foundation of the strategic roadmap presented at the forum is rooted in the briefing book Asia, which summarizes insights from regional experts and the comprehensive discussions that unfolded during the IFPA Forum in Singapore. This roadmap represents a significant milestone, offering a comprehensive set of advocacy demands and practical strategies aimed at enhancing psoriatic care throughout Asia. The IFPA Forum Roadmap for Asia is a strategic guide featuring advocacy demands and practical strategies that aim to elevate psoriatic care across the continent. Patient associations are encouraged to raise awareness about the burden of psoriatic disease and advocate for its higher prioritization within national and regional policies. By following this roadmap, stakeholders hope to pave the way for enhanced health and well-being for those living with psoriatic disease. The roadmap addresses four crucial themes that emerged from the IFPA Forum Asia 2023: 1.Access to Care for People with Psoriatic Disease 2.Addressing and Managing Comorbidities 3.Mental Health and Psoriatic Disease 4.Social and Familial Impact of Psoriatic Disease Alongside the roadmap, IFPA is delighted to launch the "Playbook for Action," a practical guide designed to connect the roadmap's recommendations with tangible tools and resources for each theme. The playbook is a valuable resource, equipping advocates with the necessary tools and advocacy tips to effectively implement the roadmap suggestions and enhance engagement when planning advocacy initiatives. IFPA remains committed to fostering collaboration and driving positive change for those affected by psoriatic disease. The roadmap and playbook collectively represent a powerful toolset, empowering advocates to navigate the path towards improved overall health and well-being for individuals living with psoriatic disease in Asia. Get the IFPA Psoriatic Care Roadmap here! And the Action Playbook, here! Take Action and Drive Positive Transformation for Psoriatic Health in Asia. Contact: Annika Sjoberg +46 (0) 70 749 58 20 Infographic - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2338565/IFPA_Forum_Infographic.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/ifpa-releases-an-innovative-psoriatic-care-roadmap-and-action-playbook-302059671.html Two charter schools once in danger of extinction took a significant step to remain in operation Wednesday, when the Buffalo Board of Education unanimously passed resolutions to recommend five-year renewals after each met academic and administrative goals. The recommendations came almost three years after the board voted to close Westminster and Enterprise schools. Quite frankly, this was survival, said Constance Moss, the charter school adviser appointed by the School Board to oversee Westminster and Enterprise, which enroll students in kindergarten through eighth grade. The turnaround came after Westminster and Enterprise in 2021 unwilling to accept their fate took legal action against the city School Board for not following proper procedure in determining their closure. Those proceedings resulted in a preliminary injunction, two-year renewal in 2022 and settlement that laid out 12 academic and administrative goals of which each school needed to meet at least eight. Terms of the 2022 agreement dictated an automatic five-year renewal recommendation if the schools met these goals, School Board members stressed Wednesday. Buffalo Public Schools sponsored Enterprise and Westminster two decades ago, in the early days of the charter movement, and works with the state Board of Regents in renewal decisions. The arrangement is essentially grandfathered in, as local school boards have not been allowed to authorize new charters for more than a decade. The Buffalo School Board has for several years asked for a moratorium on opening new charters. At renewal hearings in December, leaders of both charter schools Denise Terrell at Enterprise and Teresa Gerchman at Westminster triumphantly presented their turnarounds to the School Board, easily exceeding the eight-goal threshold with 10 apiece. Gerchman issued a statement Thursday praising school leaders and educators for their vision and care. They have inspired tremendous progress through innovation, compassion and resilient partnerships with parents and the community, the Westminster principal said. The final hurdle for the two schools is for the Board of Regents to sign off on the decision. That board has been less kind to the pair in the past. In 2019, the School Board recommended three-year renewals for each, but the Board of Regents advised one year less, due to insufficient evidence of academic success leading to an eventual two-year renewal. In a 45-minute report to the School Board on Feb. 7, Moss said her responsibilities were to not only review Westminsters and Enterprises comprehensive improvement plan, but to visit classrooms, critique overall operations and advise their boards. Moss, who worked as an associate superintendent in Buffalo Public Schools before focusing on school turnarounds, emphasized that Westminster and Enterprise were required to meet goals focused on growth, not standard achievement. State assessment scores for third- through eighth-graders did not factor into the agreements goals, which sparked concern in evaluating Enterprise. Because the state canceled its 2020 assessments due to Covid-19 and just a small portion of students took the tests in 2021, there was minimal recent state data available to gauge the two charters during their last renewal period. The degree to which state assessments now matter to the Board of Regents will be worth watching. The state Education Department has cautioned against comparing this years scores to prior years and has said more than just assessment data should be used to evaluate a school. Should state assessment data matter significantly, Enterprise might be in trouble. At 12% proficiency in English language arts and 6% in math in the 2023 state assessments, the charter severely lags behind the vast majority of Buffalo public schools. Westminsters state scores, however, were roughly average compared to district schools. School Board members on Wednesday passed an amendment to their resolution relating to Enterprise only, changing the wording to explain that their agreement to a five-year term for Enterprise was based solely upon meeting the conditions set forth in the settlement agreement. We are required by legal agreement to recommend, so thats what were doing here, Board President Sharon Belton-Cottman said. Given precedent, the Board of Regents would be more likely to suggest shortening the length of Enterprises contract than advising the Buffalo School Board to close the school. Moss reflections were overwhelmingly positive, particularly in regard to the rate of academic growth in 2022-23 by the charters students compared to a subset from Buffalo Schools. While the data through diagnostic tool i-Ready represent grades 3-8 populations of vastly different sizes between 6,300 and 6,600 Buffalo Schools students and about 175 at Enterprise and 293 at Westminster the charters trounced Buffalo. A rate of 100% growth in i-Ready is the national median. In reading, Westminster showed 169% growth and Enterprise showed 146%. Buffalo grew at 67%. The metrics were similar in math. Westminster grew at 143%, while Enterprise grew at 113%. Buffalos growth was 70%. In other words, both schools excelled at helping students who were behind. The efforts of teachers and the growth of students at Enterprise and Westminster is to be commended, Moss said. BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - German stocks traded higher on Friday amid expectations of interest-rate cuts in the second quarter. ECB member and Bank of France head Francois Villeroy de Galhau said the central bank should favor gradual rate cuts rather than waiting too long to cut rates this year. The risk of moving too late exists 'at least' as much as that of moving too soon, he said in an interview with Belgian newspaper L'Echo. The benchmark DAX was up 92 points, or half a percent, at 17,139 after gaining 0.6 percent in the previous session. Automotive supplier Hella fell over 2 percent despite posting improved full-year portfolio-adjusted sales and operating income. Volkswagen gained 1 percent after signing a supply agreement with India's Mahindra & Mahindra on the use of key electric components of the German carmaker's open platform for electric vehicles (EVs). Copyright(c) 2024 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - U.K. stocks rose notably on Friday after retail sales rebounded by much more than expected in January. Retail sales surged by 3.4 percent in the month after sliding by 3.3 percent in December. Economists had forecast retail sales to increase by 1.5 percent in January. The benchmark FTSE 100 was up 49 points, or 0.7 percent, at 7,647 after edging up 0.4 percent on Thursday. Dialight, the global leader in LED lighting for heavy industrial applications, fell nearly 2 percent on news that Fariyal Khanbabi has decided to step down as Chief Executive Officer and as a director of the company with immediate effect. NatWest Group rose over 2 percent as the bank announced its biggest annual profit last year since the 2007 financial crisis. Warehousing group Segro added 1.3 percent after narrowing its FY23 loss before tax on rent growth and strong occupier demand. Copyright(c) 2024 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. AMSTERDAM, Feb. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Bybit , one of the world's top three crypto exchanges by volume, today reaffirms its commitment to providing exceptional services to the Netherlands' crypto community by deepening its partnership with SATOS, a Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASP) license holder accredited by De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB). Despite recent regulatory developments, Bybit Powered by SATOS continues to offer its diverse range of services to Dutch users and discloses its plan to establish a local office in Amsterdam to provide more localized support and crypto expertise to the country. Bybit Powered by SATOS prioritizes trust, safety, and security by protecting our users' assets, offering the most extensive range of trading pairs, engaging with communities, and delivering innovative products to Dutch users. Through the strategic partnership, users in the Netherlands can continue to enjoy: Effortless Fiat Deposits and Withdrawals: Seamless transitions between EUR and cryptocurrencies remain a breeze. Robust Trading Opportunities: Dive into a diverse trading ecosystem with 300+ trading pairs featuring the trendiest coins in the market. Enhanced Security: At the heart of our alliance lies a commitment to ensuring the utmost protection of users' crypto assets, bolstered by security and safety custody with Fireblocks. "We are committed to providing a safe trading environment for all our users and understand the importance of complying with local regulations," said Ben Zhou, co-founder, and CEO of Bybit. "Our partnership with SATOS allows us to continue offering our services to Dutch users by meeting all regulatory requirements." Fueled by the partnership, Bybit Powered by SATOS has witnessed remarkable growth in revenue, experiencing a consistent doubling month by month since last June. This substantial growth underscores the success of our collaborative efforts and our unwavering dedication to serving the Dutch market. Establishment of Amsterdam Office Bybit Powered by SATOS recognizes the potential of the regulated market in the Netherlands. With a conducive regulatory environment and a growing interest in crypto assets, we see promising opportunities for expansion. The company plans to establish a permanent office in Amsterdam in the coming few months. This initiative will not only ensure adherence to local regulations but also enable us to better serve the Dutch crypto community. This open culture has always been our ethos, and supporting builders alike has consistently been our mission. In addition to providing support and expertise, this office will also open its doors to all crypto enthusiasts who are seeking a co-working space. This collaborative environment will foster creativity, networking, and knowledge-sharing among members of the crypto community, further strengthening the bonds within the industry. Bybit TheCryptoArk About Bybit Powered by SATOS In June 2023, Bybit formed a strategic alliance with SATOS, one of the oldest crypto service providers operating in the Netherlands and Belgium since 2013. This partnership is a testament to our commitment to providing the best services to our users in line with regulatory guidelines, and ensuring the delivery of high-quality services to our users. Bybit is one of the world's top three cryptocurrency exchanges by volume with 20 million users. Established in 2018, it offers a professional platform where crypto investors and traders can find an ultra-fast matching engine, 24/7 customer service, and multilingual community support. Bybit is a proud partner of Formula One's reigning Constructors' and Drivers' champions: the Oracle Red Bull Racing team. About Bybit Bybit is one of the world's top three cryptocurrency exchanges by volume with 20 million users. Established in 2018, it offers a professional platform where crypto investors and traders can find an ultra-fast matching engine, 24/7 customer service, and multilingual community support. Bybit is a proud partner of Formula One's reigning Constructors' and Drivers' champions: the Oracle Red Bull Racing team. For more details about Bybit, please visit Bybit Press . For media inquiries, please contact: media@bybit.com For more information, please visit: https://www.bybit.com For updates, please follow: Bybit's Communities and Social Media Discord | Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn | Reddit | Telegram | TikTok | X | Youtube Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2311704/Bybit_Satos_Logo.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/bybit-deepens-partnership-with-satos-a-vasp-license-holder-establishing-local-office-with-open-door-policy-for-crypto-enthusiasts-302063071.html EQS-News: PlusPlus Capital Financial S.a.r.l. / Key word(s): Bond/Conference PlusPlus Capital reports unaudited Q4 2023 results - Invitation to earnings call on 20 February 2024 16.02.2024 / 11:45 CET/CEST The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. PlusPlus Capital reports unaudited Q4 2023 results Invitation to earnings call on 20 February 2024 Tallinn, Estonia, 16 February 2024. PlusPlus Capital ("PPC"), a leading pan-Baltic and Finnish technology-driven receivables management group, yesterday published its unaudited Q4 2023 results. The full Q4 report is available on the Company's website at: https://pluspluscapital.eu/investor-relations/reports-and-presentations/ Earnings Call: PlusPlus Capital cordially invites investors and analysts to an earnings call with the Management on 20 February 2024, 10.00 CET. The Management Board will comment on the Q4 2023 results and the reorganization proceedings by means of a webcast presentation. The earnings call will be held in English and will be recorded. Please register in time to participate in the earnings call at: PlusPlus Capital - Earnings Call Q4 2023 . Contact: PlusPlus Capital Kaarel Raik, Member of the Management Board Email: kaarel.raik@plusplus.ee Phone: +372 56 606 148 About PlusPlus Capital: PlusPlus is a pan-Baltic and Finnish technology-driven receivables management company with offices in Tallinn, Riga, Vilnius, and Helsinki. The Company acquires overdue loans and other non-performing exposures from financial institutions and non-financial sector merchants. With its core competence in handling claims against private individuals, PlusPlus prefers diversified portfolios balanced by geography, portfolio type, and other metrics. Since its inception in 2010, PlusPlus has bought over 120 thousand claims with nominal value of approximately EUR 270 million. The Company offers its clients affordable recovery solutions and aims to avoid litigious scenarios. In doing so, PlusPlus pursues win-win solutions that allow sellers to focus on their core business, provide affordable solutions for borrowers, and ensure adequate returns for investors. PlusPlus is a transparent and socially responsible company set to assist people in resolving problems connected with their insufficient solvency. The ambition of PlusPlus is to increase its market share and further strengthen its position as a leading player in its regional market. pluspluscapital.eu 16.02.2024 CET/CEST Dissemination of a Corporate News, transmitted by EQS News - a service of EQS Group AG. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. The EQS Distribution Services include Regulatory Announcements, Financial/Corporate News and Press Releases. Archive at www.eqs-news.com CHICAGO, Feb. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The report "Reticulated Foam Market by Type (Reticulated Polyether Foam and Reticulated Polyester Foam), Porosity (High, Moderate, Less), Application (Filtration, Sound Absorption, Fluid Management, Cleaning Products, Others), and Region - Global Forecast to 2028", size is projected to grow from USD 506 million in 2023 and reach USD 683 million by 2028, at a CAGR of 6.2% from 2023 to 2028. The growing focus on air quality in various industries, including automotive, healthcare, and electronics, is a key driver for the reticulated foam market. Browse in-depth TOC on "Reticulated Foam Market" 249 - Tables 36 - Figures 186 - Pages Download PDF Brochure: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/pdfdownloadNew.asp?id=255030385 By type, reticulated polyether is estimated to hold the most significant share of the global reticulated foam market. By type, polyether reticulated foam is estimated to dominate the reticulated foam market globally. Polyether foam's open-cell structure can be tuned to achieve specific properties like varying degrees of density, airflow, and flame retardancy. This versatility allows manufacturers to cater to a diverse range of requirements across different industries. Polyether foam, compared to its counterparts, has a lower environmental footprint during production and can be readily recycled. This aligns with the growing emphasis on sustainability in various sectors, giving polyether foam an edge in eco-conscious markets. Polyether foam boasts a significant price advantage compared to other reticulated foam options like polyurethane. This makes it the preferred choice for budget-conscious applications in various sectors like construction, filtration, and packaging. Despite its affordability, polyether foam delivers excellent performance in terms of filtration efficiency, sound absorption, and thermal insulation. This makes it a valuable material for applications where both cost and performance matter. By application, the filtration segment is to lead the reticulated foam market during the forecast period. In terms of application, the filtration segment is anticipated to hold the leading position in the reticulated foam industry. This segment's growth is credited to its open-cell structure makes it an ideal filtration medium. Its interconnected pores trap dust, pollen, allergens, and even harmful airborne particles with remarkable efficiency, making it a superior choice for air purifiers, HVAC systems, and industrial filtration applications. Furthermore, governments worldwide are implementing stricter air quality regulations, mandating the use of efficient filtration technologies. This creates a favorable environment for reticulated foam, propelling its growth in the filtration segment. Request Sample Pages: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/requestsampleNew.asp?id=255030385 Asia Pacific will lead the global reticulated foam market during the forecast period. In 2022, the Asia Pacific region held the dominant share in the global reticulated foam industry. Forecasts suggest that this region will experience the highest Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) between 2023 and 2028. The Asia Pacific market for reticulated foam is emerging as a lucrative sector due to demographic shifts, rising healthcare expenditure, industrial advancements, and improving economic circumstances. With approximately 60% of the world's population residing in this region, there is extensive utilization of furniture, filters, and cleaning products. Key Players Some of the leading manufacturers of reticulated foam profiled in this report are Rogers Foam Corporation (US), Sheela Foam (India), WinFun Foam (China), Woodbridge Foam Corporation (Canada), Carpenter Co. (US), Neveon (Austria), Polymer Technologies, Inc. (US), and FXI (US). Browse Adjacent Market: Foam and Insulation Market Research & Consulting Related Reports: Polymer Foam Market - Global Forecast to 2025 Polyurethane Foam Market - Global Forecast to 2028 About MarketsandMarkets MarketsandMarkets has been recognized as one of America's best management consulting firms by Forbes, as per their recent report. MarketsandMarkets is a blue ocean alternative in growth consulting and program management, leveraging a man-machine offering to drive supernormal growth for progressive organizations in the B2B space. We have the widest lens on emerging technologies, making us proficient in co-creating supernormal growth for clients. Earlier this year, we made a formal transformation into one of America's best management consulting firms as per a survey conducted by Forbes. The B2B economy is witnessing the emergence of $25 trillion of new revenue streams that are substituting existing revenue streams in this decade alone. We work with clients on growth programs, helping them monetize this $25 trillion opportunity through our service lines - TAM Expansion, Go-to-Market (GTM) Strategy to Execution, Market Share Gain, Account Enablement, and Thought Leadership Marketing. Built on the 'GIVE Growth' principle, we work with several Forbes Global 2000 B2B companies - helping them stay relevant in a disruptive ecosystem. Our insights and strategies are molded by our industry experts, cutting-edge AI-powered Market Intelligence Cloud, and years of research. The KnowledgeStore (our Market Intelligence Cloud) integrates our research, facilitates an analysis of interconnections through a set of applications, helping clients look at the entire ecosystem and understand the revenue shifts happening in their industry. To find out more, visit www.MarketsandMarkets.com or follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook. Contact: Mr. Aashish Mehra MarketsandMarkets INC. 630 Dundee Road Suite 430 Northbrook, IL 60062 USA: +1-888-600-6441 Email: sales@marketsandmarkets.com Research Insights: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/ResearchInsight/reticulated-foam-market.asp Visit Our Website: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/ Content Source: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/PressReleases/reticulated-foam.asp Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2297424/MarketsandMarkets_Logo.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/reticulated-foam-market-worth-683-million-by-2028--exclusive-report-by-marketsandmarkets-302063910.html JERUSALEM (dpa-AFX) - President Joe Biden has raised the current situation in Rafah in a phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Thursday, and reiterated his view that a military operation should not proceed without a credible and executable plan for ensuring the safety of and support for the civilians in Rafah. The two leaders also discussed the urgency of ensuring that humanitarian assistance is able to get to Palestinian civilians in desperate need. The President and the Prime Minister discussed ongoing hostage negotiations, according to the White House. 'The President reaffirmed his commitment to working tirelessly to support the release of all hostages as soon as possible, recognizing their appalling situation after 132 days in Hamas captivity.' Israeli special forces raided Nasser Hospital, Gaza's largest functioning medical facility, in search of Hamas militants. A dozen people, mostly women and children, were reportedly killed in an Israeli airstrike on Nuseirat refugee camp. Meanwhile, the leaders of Australia, Canada, and New Zealand issued a statement warning Israel against any offensive in Rafah, saying it would be 'devastating' and 'catastrophic.' These are some of the closest U.S. allies and part of the Five Eyes group. The humanitarian situation in Rafah is dire, according to UN agencies. Nearly 1.5 million people are now crammed into the southern city on the border with Egypt and with nowhere further to flee. More than 28,000 people - mostly women and children - have been killed across Gaza in Israel's retaliatory strikes since October 7, according to Gaza's Ministry of Health. Copyright(c) 2024 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Video-Workshop: Das kleine Einmaleins der Charttechnik In diesem kostenlosen Video-Workshop von Stefan Klotter lernen Sie alles uber Charttechnik. Lassen Sie sich diesen kostenfreien Workshop nicht entgehen! Hier klicken CHICAGO, Feb. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- CV depot charging market size for chargers of new vehicles was USD 4.7 billion in 2023 and is projected to reach USD 30.7 billion in 2030, witnessing a CAGR of 28.2%, according to a new report by MarketsandMarkets. The report also includes the analysis of number of chargers for new vehicles in depot setting, number of chargers for ECV parc in depot setting, cost of chargers (including installation cost) for new vehicles in depot setting, energy demands and cost of energy. Download PDF Brochure: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/pdfdownloadNew.asp?id=251320576 Browse in-depth TOC on "Future of CV Depot Charging Market". 90 - Tables 90 - Figures 90 - Pages Future of CV Depot Charging Market Scope: Report Coverage Details Market Size USD 30.7 billion in 2030 Growth Rate CAGR of 28.2% Largest Market Asia Pacific Market Dynamics Drivers, Restraints, Opportunities & Challenges Forecast Period 2024-2030 Forecast Units Value (USD Million/Billion) Report Coverage Revenue Forecast, Competitive Landscape, Growth Factors, and Trends Segments Covered Vehicle Type (eLCV, eMCV, eHCV and eBuses), Charger Type (AC and DC), and Region (Asia Pacific, North America, Europe) Geographies Covered North America, Europe and Asia Pacific Report Highlights Updated financial information / product portfolio of players Key Market Opportunities Growing adoption of fast chargers Key Market Drivers Rapid adoption of commercial electric vehicles for public transportation The growth of the CV depot charging market is influenced by various factors such as adoption of electric commercial vehicles, development and manufacturing of of fast and ultra-fast charging points, monetization of depot charging business models and trends related to used cars. Countries such as China, US, Germany and India have increased their investments in the development of CV depot charging industry due to the growing urban population and economy in these countries. Due to such investment demand for CV depot charging market will be more during the forecast period. "eLCV segment is estimated to account for the largest market during the forecast period" The eLCV segment share contributes over 75% of the share in the ECV under depot setting market. The eMCV and eHCV will have a significant growth and increase its share in the vehicle type segment. However, eBuses share will decline as compared to that held in 2023. Further, the combined market of eMCV and eHCV will grow by 6% from 2023 to 2030. This growth is expected owing to rise adoption depot charging infrastructure as well as its affordability over tradition ICE commercial vehicles. "Asia Pacific is expected to be the largest market in 2024." Asia Pacific region hold the major share in the new ECV sales, contributing over 50% in the market. The major factor for this is the intensive manufacturing and export of vehicles in China. The Chinese market is the worlds largest market in terms of vehicle sales as well as production. Moreover, the Chinese market has significantly grown post COVID halt. The recovery effect of the economy in China has led to intensifying of the manufacturing sector. One of the key trends/strategies followed by the Chinese EV makers is expansion to the European market for EV sales expansion. Moreover, countries such as India, Singapore and South Korea significantly contribute to the growth of the ECV sector in the Asian region. In addition, the depot charging trends is rapidly developing in the Indian market with adoption of different types of business models. Inquire Before Buying: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Enquiry_Before_BuyingNew.asp?id=251320576 Key Market Players: The major players in Future of CV Depot Charging Companies include ABB (Switzerland), Blink (US), Bosch (Germany), bp pulse (UK), ChargePoint (US), EVgo (US), Heliox (Netherlands), Kempower (Finland), Shell Recharge (US), Siemens (Germany), Wallbox (Spain) Recent Developments In 2023, Ford partnered with Xcel Energy to provide 30,000 for home, public & depot charging points by 2030 in the US. In 2023, Total Energies launched an in-depot electric truck charging service at the SOLUTRANS road and urban transportation trade show. The new solution will help in installation and supervising charging infrastructure adapted to fulfil transporters' needs. In 2023, Siemens acquired Heliox, a specialist in e-Bus and e-Truck fast charging solutions and for depot and fleet solutions. In 2022, EV Connects, a subsidiary of Schneider Electric, launched an API platform the includes features like an API Sandbox, a virtual station simulator and payment gateway to speed up the development and integration of charging infrastructure. In 2022, ChargePoint raised $640 million in an initial public offering (IPO). Targeting to expand its service offerings, enhance operating models, acquire new customers and depot charging business in North America and Europe. In 2022, Tritium raised $150 million in a Series D funding round. The company plans to use the funds to expand its global footprint and increase its investment on R&D to develop new products for the depot charging market. In 2022, Siemens partnered with Electrify America to provide depot charging solutions for electric buses in North America. In 2022, ABB partnered with New Flyer to develop and deliver zero-emission bus charging solutions for cities across North America In 2021, BP Pulse acquired Amply power an EV fleet charging & Energy management solution company, to expand its global footprint. Get 10% Free Customization on this Report: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/requestCustomizationNew.asp?id=251320576 Browse Adjacent Market: Automotive and Transportation Market Research Reports & Consulting Related Reports: EV Charging Cable Market - Global Forecast to 2030 EV Charging Station Market - Global Forecast to 2027 EV Cables Market - Global Forecast to 2028 EV Connector Market - Global Forecast to 2030 About MarketsandMarkets: MarketsandMarkets has been recognized as one of America's best management consulting firms by Forbes, as per their recent report. MarketsandMarkets is a blue ocean alternative in growth consulting and program management, leveraging a man-machine offering to drive supernormal growth for progressive organizations in the B2B space. We have the widest lens on emerging technologies, making us proficient in co-creating supernormal growth for clients. Earlier this year, we made a formal transformation into one of America's best management consulting firms as per a survey conducted by Forbes. The B2B economy is witnessing the emergence of $25 trillion of new revenue streams that are substituting existing revenue streams in this decade alone. We work with clients on growth programs, helping them monetize this $25 trillion opportunity through our service lines - TAM Expansion, Go-to-Market (GTM) Strategy to Execution, Market Share Gain, Account Enablement, and Thought Leadership Marketing. Built on the 'GIVE Growth' principle, we work with several Forbes Global 2000 B2B companies - helping them stay relevant in a disruptive ecosystem. Our insights and strategies are molded by our industry experts, cutting-edge AI-powered Market Intelligence Cloud, and years of research. The KnowledgeStore (our Market Intelligence Cloud) integrates our research, facilitates an analysis of interconnections through a set of applications, helping clients look at the entire ecosystem and understand the revenue shifts happening in their industry. To find out more, visit www.MarketsandMarkets.com or follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook. Contact: Mr. Aashish Mehra MarketsandMarkets INC. 630 Dundee Road Suite 430 Northbrook, IL 60062 USA: +1-888-600-6441 Email: sales@marketsandmarkets.com Research Insight: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/ResearchInsight/cv-depot-charging-market.asp Visit Our Website: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/ Content Source: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/PressReleases/cv-depot-charging.asp Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2297424/MarketsandMarkets_Logo.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/future-of-cv-depot-charging-market-worth-30-7-billion-in-2030---exclusive-report-by-marketsandmarkets-302063959.html JUMP expects to announce over a 30% year-over-year increase in revenue for its wholly owned subsidiary, Canadian Teleradiology Services ("CTS"). 1 In 2023, JUMP became a nation-wide Company with operations spanning three different provinces in Canada. Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - February 16, 2024) - LevelJump Healthcare Corp. (TSXV: JUMP) (OTC Pink: JMPHF) (FSE: 75J) ("LevelJump" or the "Company"), a Canadian leader in B2B telehealth solutions, is pleased to announce an update of its 2023 accomplishments and upcoming 2024 developments. Doubling of JUMP's IHF Footprint On October 6, 2023, JUMP completed the acquisition of four Alberta-based Diagnostic Imaging Clinics offering multi-modality imaging to local communities in Calgary. Since the acquisition, the Company has been working vigorously to streamline operations, increase revenues at all locations and elevate the overall patient experience. "In 2023, JUMP strategically focused on acquisitions and modernizing operations in existing and newly acquired clinics," said CEO, Mitch Geisler. "With a commitment to boosting revenue and increasing shareholder value, the Company is forging ahead, establishing an efficient operational framework for sustained growth and success in the evolving market landscape." JUMP's Yonge-Sheppard Flagship Clinic Located at the central, high-foot-traffic location of the Yonge Sheppard Centre, JUMP's highly anticipated flagship clinic is expected to open Q2 2024. Following the acquisition of the license in December of 2022, the Company has spent 2023 developing the multi-modality clinic, ensuring its readiness to it to provide patients with high-quality x-ray and ultrasound services. Beyond the initial focus on diagnostic imaging, JUMP has plans to expand the Yonge Sheppard location, establishing it as the first location for in-person Telehospital care, providing primary physician care. The clinic's central location, accessible via two subway lines, guarantees not only high visibility but also ensures convenience for Toronto residents seeking accessible healthcare. Telehospital Web Development In 2023, the Company began the development of teleHospital Canada in partnership with 247 Labs Inc, an award-winning team of experienced web and mobile app developers. The digital health platform will provide remote urgent care and emergency room consultation services to Canadians, in hopes of marking a significant step towards revolutionizing healthcare accessibility and convenience. Scheduled for launch in the coming year, this innovative platform aligns with the Company's vision of leveraging technology to enhance and extend vital healthcare services to a broader population. The Company is expecting to launch the BETA site in Q2 2024. To sign up for on-going updates, click here. Expansion of Teleradiology Services Beyond Ontario In September of 2023, the Company achieved a significant milestone by extending its Teleradiology services beyond Ontario, into Saskatchewan. The expansion reflects the strategic vision of CTS (JUMP's wholly owned operating subsidiary) which not only added on more client hospitals in 2023, but is actively pursuing new client acquisitions for the ongoing year. As part of this growth strategy, CTS aims to further solidify its presence in the healthcare sector, enhancing its network of client hospitals beyond the current scope through its commitment to innovation and efficiency. CTS presently serves as the largest Teleradiology company in Canada, reflecting a substantial footprint that positions the Company as an upcoming key player in providing essential healthcare services across the region. Looking ahead, the Company remains dedicated to expanding its reach, creating new partnerships, and providing healthcare solutions to hospitals and clinics across Canada. Update on Settlement with Real Time Medical ("RTM") Further to its news release of August 30, 2023, the Company wishes to announce that it has entered into a revised settlement agreement with RTM whereby RTM has agreed to purchase the Company's interest in RTM in exchange for forgiveness of a shareholder loan and the discontinuance of an oppression claim brought by the Company against RTM and its directors in Ontario Superior Court (CV-22-683214-00CL). The settlement agreement originally provided that RTM would pay the Company $1,084,000 in cash by January 15, 2024. Under the revised settlement agreement, the Company will now receive total cash of $1,184,000 of which $200,0000 has been received, $100,000 is due on February 28, 2024 and the balance of $884,000 is due on April 30, 2024. In the event of default by RTM, the Company shall be entitled to obtain default judgement. Update on Non-Brokered Private Placement The Company also wishes to announce that, following receipt of Exchange approval, and further to its news releases dated November 28, 2023, and January 17, 2024, there have been no further closings under the Company's now closed private placement. Footnotes: Based on preliminary financial information and subject to LevelJump's year end audit which is expected to be completed in April 2024. About LevelJump Healthcare LevelJump Healthcare Corp., (TSXV: JUMP) provides telehealth solutions to client hospitals and imaging centers through its Teleradiology division, as well as in person radiology services through its Diagnostic Centres. JUMP focuses primarily on critical care for urgent and emergency patients, establishing integral relationships in the communities we serve. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF LEVELJUMP HEALTHCARE CORP. Mitchell Geisler Chief Executive Officer Caitlin-Robyn Densmore Investor Relations Manager Caitlin.Densmore@leveljumphealthcare.com (437) 214-1568 CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION This news release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws relating to the Company's business plans and the outlook of the Company's industry. Although the Company believes, in light of the experience of its officers and directors, current conditions and expected future developments and other factors that have been considered appropriate, that the expectations reflected in this forward-looking information are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on them because the Company can give no assurance that they will prove to be correct. Actual results and developments may differ materially from those contemplated by these statements. The statements in this press release are made as of the date of this release and the Company assumes no responsibility to update them or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances other than as required by applicable securities laws. The Company undertakes no obligation to comment on analyses, expectations or statements made by third-parties in respect of the Company, Canadian Teleradiology Services, Inc., their securities, or their respective financial or operating results (as applicable). Neither the Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. The securities being offered have not been, and will not be, registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act") or any U.S. state securities laws, and may not be offered or sold in the United States or to, or for the account or benefit of, United States persons absent registration or an applicable exemption from the registration requirements of the U.S. Securities Act and applicable U.S. state securities laws. This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy securities in the United States, nor in any other jurisdiction. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/198068 SOURCE: LevelJump Healthcare Corp. CALGARY, AB / ACCESSWIRE / February 16, 2024 / FLYHT Aerospace Solutions Ltd. ("FLYHT" or the "Company") (TSX-V:FLY)(OTCQX:FLYLF) today announced that Transport Canada has issued FLYHT a Supplemental Type Certificate ("STC") for the flange version of the AFIRS EdgeTM, the Company's 5G wireless data communication device, for Airbus A320 aircraft. The achievement of this STC enables FLYHT to ship the Edge units to Canadian A320 customers while at the same time familiarizing the Canadian STC into other jurisdictions to enable worldwide distribution. "Today marks a milestone achievement for FLYHT as we announce Transport Canada's issuance of an STC for the Edge," said Kent Jacobs, President and Interim CEO of FLYHT. "This represents the culmination of our collective vision, hard work, and perseverance over a number of years. I am proud of our entire team and grateful to our airline partner and Transport Canada for their tireless effort to complete a comprehensive and robust certification process." Jacobs added, "This achievement not only establishes FLYHT as having the aviation industry's first wireless data and communications device with 5G capability, but it also puts us in a leadership position to provide this advanced technology to airlines operating Airbus A320 aircraft. The value proposition of the Edge is clear. With legacy 2G/3G connectivity sunsetting soon, airlines with the Edge will be able to ensure network availability long into the future and also be able to leverage the powerful onboard analytics capability of the Edge computing to enable predictive and proactive operations in real-time." The AFIRS Edge is an aircraft interface device (AID), connecting aircraft data with electronic flight bag (EFB) applications and providing airlines with Wireless Quick Access (WQAR) capabilities, all while serving as a gateway on the aircraft for critical real-time information and onboard data storage. The Edge also serves as a data port for FLYHT's actionable intelligence services, such as fuel management, aircraft health monitoring, real-time engine data reporting and airport gate performance monitoring. Further, when coupled with a real-time IP satellite connection, the Edge enables weather data customers to work with airlines to implement FLYHT's weather solutions for enabling enhanced weather forecasting capabilities, providing more accurate and timely warnings of extreme weather, and in the detection and avoidance of contrail generation. Find out more about AFIRS Edge here: https://flyht.com/airborne-hardware/afirs-edge/ About FLYHT Aerospace Solutions Ltd. FLYHT provides airlines with Actionable Intelligence to transform operational insight into immediate, quantifiable action, and delivers industry leading solutions to improve aviation safety, efficiency, and profitability. This unique capability is driven by a suite of patented aircraft certified hardware products, AFIRS. Solutions include an aircraft satcom/interface device that enables cockpit voice communications, transmission of aircraft data both while inflight via satellite and post-flight via 5G, real-time aircraft state and fleet status analysis, and preventative maintenance solutions. FLYHT's hardware products can also be interfaced with FLYHT's proprietary relative humidity sensors to deliver airborne weather and humidity data in real-time. FLYHT is headquartered in Calgary, Canada, and is an AS9100 Quality registered company. For more information, visit www.flyht.com. Contact Information: FLYHT Aerospace Solutions Ltd. FNK IR LLC Alana Forbes Matt Chesler, CFA Chief Financial Officer Investor Relations 403.291.7437 646.809.2183 investors@flyht.com mchesler@flyht.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. SOURCE: FLYHT Aerospace Solutions Ltd. View the original press release on accesswire.com Marula Mining Plc - Posting of Circular and Notice of General Meeting PR Newswire LONDON, United Kingdom, February 16 THIS ANNOUNCEMENT AND THE INFORMATION CONTAINED HEREIN IS RESTRICTED AND IS NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLCATION OR DISTRIBUTION, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY IN, INTO OR FROM ANY MEMBER STATE OF THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AREA, THE UNITED STATE (OR ANY U.S. PERSON), CANADA, JAPAN, AUSTRALIA, THE REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA, OR ANY OTHER JURISDICTION WHERE TO DO SO WOULD CONSTITUTE A VIOLATION OF THE RELEVANT LAWS OR REGULATIONS OF THAT JURISDICTION. THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONTAINS INSIDE INFORMATION FOR THE PURPOSES OF ARTICLE 7 OF THE EU REGULATION 596/2014 ("MAR") AND ARTICLE 7 OF MAR AS INCORPORATED INTO UK DOMESTIC LAW PURSUANT TO THE EUROPEAN UNION (WITHDRAWAL) ACT 2018. UPON THE PUBLICATION OF THIS ANNOUNCEMENT, THIS INSIDE INFORMATION IS NOW CONSIDERED TO BE IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN AND SUCH PERSONS SHALL THEREFORE CEASE TO BE IN POSSESSION OF INSIDE INFORMATION. Marula Mining PLC ("Marula'' or the "Company") 16 February 2024 Posting of Circular and Notice of General Meeting Marula Mining (AQSE: MARU) an African focused mining and development company, is pleased to confirm that, further to the announcement of 8 February 2024, the shareholder circular (the "Circular") providing further details of the Subscriptions (defined below) by AUO Commercial Brokerage LLC, a Dubai incorporated affiliate of Q Global, and notice of General Meeting will be posted to shareholders today. The Company announced on 31 January 2023 that it had signed a conditional Subscription of Shares Agreement with K2, a wholly owned subsidiary of Q Global, which was first amended on 28 February 2023. On 8 February 2024 the Company announced that it had signed a further amendment to the Subscription of Shares Agreement, in which K2 irrevocably and unconditionally consented to the novation of the entirety of its rights and obligations under the Subscription of Shares Agreement to the Subscriber. The Subscriber is AUO Commercial Brokerage LLC, a Dubai incorporated affiliate of Q Global, one of South Africa's leading independent commodity, mining, logistics and investment funds. Under the terms of the Subscription of Shares Agreement, as amended, the Subscriber has conditionally agreed to subscribe for 147,800,000 New Ordinary Shares up to a value of 8,530,000. The Subscriptions are conditional on the Rule 9 Waiver being granted by the Takeover Panel and certain Conditions Precedent (as defined in the Circular). The First Subscription is to be subscribed for at a price of 3.75 pence per Subscription Share and the Further Subscription(s) can be subscribed for at a price of 10 pence per Subscription Share at the option of the Subscriber, in whole or in part. The First Subscription and Further Subscription(s) are conditional on the Rule 9 Waiver being granted and the Conditions Precedents being met or (where applicable) waived. Further details of the proposed Subscriptions are detailed in the Circular. The Circular contains a Notice of General Meeting to be held at the office of Memery Crystal, 165 Fleet Street, London EC4A on 8 March 2024 at 2.00 p.m. (the "General Meeting"). An extract of the Circular is set out below and a copy of the Circular, along with the Form of Proxy, will shortly be available from the Company's website ( https://marulamining.com/ ). Capitalised and defined terms used in this announcement have the meanings given to them in the Circular which are set out in Appendix 1 below. Admission and Fundraising Statistics First Subscription Issue Price per New Ordinary Share pursuant to the First Subscription 3.75 pence Number of Ordinary Shares in issue prior to First Subscription* 171,130,403 Number of New Ordinary Shares being issued pursuant to First Subscription 100,000,000 Number of Ordinary Shares in issue on First Admission* 271,130,403 Estimated gross proceeds of First Subscription 3,750,000 Expected market capitalisation on First Admission*# 29,146,518 Further Subscription(s) Issue price per New Ordinary Share pursuant to any Further Subscription(s) 10 pence Number of Ordinary Shares in issue prior to any Further Subscription* 271,130,403 Maximum number of New Ordinary Shares being issued pursuant to the Further Subscription(s)* 47,800,000 Number of Ordinary Shares in issue if the maximum number of New Ordinary Shares are issued pursuant to the Further Subscription(s)* 318,930,403 Maximum percentage of the Enlarged Share Capital subject to the Further Subscription(s)* 14.99% Estimated gross proceeds of the Further Subscription(s) (if all subscribed for)* 4,780,000 Expected market capitalisation if the maximum number of New Ordinary Shares are issued pursuant to the Further Subscription(s)* # 34,285,018 AQSE Symbol MARU SEDOL BNBS4S9 ISIN GB00BNBS4S95 LEI 2138002UCKAEBPYVT15 * Assumes that no other Ordinary Shares are allotted between the date of this Announcement and the date of First Subscription or between the date of the First Subscription and any Further Subscription(s) (as applicable). The Subscriptions are conditional on various matters, including certain Conditions Precedent being met or (where applicable) waived. # Calculated using the price per ordinary share as at the close of business on 14 February 2024, being the latest practicable date prior to the publication of this Announcement. Expected Timetable of Principal Events 2024 Publication and despatch of the Circular and Form of Proxy 15 February Latest date to return Forms of Proxy 2.00 p.m. on 6 March General Meeting 2.00 p.m. on 8 March First Admission 8.00 a.m. on 15 March Crest accounts (where relevant) expected to be credited for First Admission 8.00 a.m. on 15 March Share certificates (where relevant) expected to be despatched no later than within 10 business days of Admission All of the above timings refer to London time unless otherwise stated. All future times and/or dates referred to in this Announcement are subject to change at the discretion of the Company and Cairn and if any of the above times or dates should change, the revised times and/or dates will be notified by an announcement on RIS. Introduction Marula Mining plc is a Southern and Eastern African focused mining and exploration investment company registered in England and Wales, with company registration number 04228788, and the Company's shares are admitted to trading on the Apex segment of the Aquis Stock Exchange Growth Market. The Company's strategy is to identify and invest in advanced and high-value mining projects throughout East, Central and Southern Africa that can deliver rapidly for its shareholders and can be taken through to production and generate positive returns for all stakeholders. The Company announced on 31 January 2023 that it had signed a conditional Subscription of Shares Agreement with K2, a wholly owned subsidiary of Q Global, which was first amended on 28 February 2023. On 8 February 2024 the Company announced that it had signed a further amendment to the Subscription of Shares Agreement, in which K2 irrevocably and unconditionally consented to the novation of the entirety of its rights and obligations under the Subscription of Shares Agreement to the Subscriber. The Subscriber is AUO Commercial Brokerage LLC, a Dubai incorporated affiliate of Q Global, one of South Africa's leading independent commodity, mining, logistics and investment funds. Under the terms of the Subscription of Shares Agreement, as amended, the Subscriber has conditionally agreed to subscribe for 147,800,000 New Ordinary Shares up to a value of 8,530,000. The Subscriptions are conditional on the Rule 9 Waiver being granted by the Takeover Panel and certain Conditions Precedent (as defined in the Circular). The First Subscription is to be subscribed for at a price of 3.75 pence per Subscription Share and the Further Subscription(s) can be subscribed for at a price of 10 pence per Subscription Share at the option of the Subscriber, in whole or in part. The First Subscription and Further Subscription(s) are conditional on the Rule 9 Waiver being granted and the Conditions Precedents being met or (where applicable) waived. Further details of the proposed Subscriptions are detailed in the Circular. Subject to the Rule 9 Waiver being granted, following the First Subscription and on First Admission, the Subscriber will be interested in 100,000,000 Ordinary Shares, representing approximately 36.9% of the so-enlarged issued share capital of the Company. Subject to all of the Subscription Conditions being satisfied or (where applicable) waived and the Rule 9 Waiver being granted, following completion of any Further Subscription(s) and their corresponding Further Admission(s), the Subscriber would, if it subscribed for the maximum number of New Ordinary Shares pursuant to the Further Subscription(s), be interested in 147,800,000 Ordinary Shares, representing approximately 46.3% of the Enlarged Share Capital of the Company (assuming that no other new Ordinary Shares are issued by the Company in the interim). Shareholder approval for the Subscriptions and the Rule 9 Waiver will therefore be sought at the General Meeting which is convened for 2:00 p.m. on 8 March 2024 at the offices of Memery Crystal, 165 Fleet Street, London EC4A. Under Rule 9 of the Code, the issuance of all of the Subscription Shares (which would increase the interest of the Subscriber beyond 30% of the Enlarged Share Capital of the Company) the Subscriber would normally be required to make a mandatory offer to all Shareholders to acquire all of the Ordinary Shares not owned by the Subscriber. The Panel has agreed to waive this obligation subject to approval of Shareholders of the Rule 9 Waiver Resolution. Should Shareholder approval for the Resolutions not be obtained at the General Meeting, all of the Subscriptions will not proceed. Background to the Company Marula Mining plc is a Southern and Eastern African focused mining and exploration investment company registered in England and Wales, with company registration number 04228788, and the Company's shares are admitted to trading on the Apex segment of the Aquis Stock Exchange Growth Market. The Company's strategy is to identify and invest in advanced and high-value mining projects throughout East, Central and Southern Africa that can deliver rapidly for its shareholders and can be taken through to production and generate positive returns for all stakeholders. The Company intends to capitalise on its knowledge and relationships in the advanced battery business and rare earths sectors principally in Africa to create long term investments with near term production. The Board and management team aims to establish Marula as a socially and environmentally responsible, sustainable, and profitable producer of critical metals and commodities that are of increasingly strategic importance to modern technologies and the global economy. The Company is exploring opportunities to admit its shares to trading on the Official List of the FCA and to trading on the standard segment of the Main Market, a market operated by the London Stock Exchange, as well as Kenya's Nairobi Securities Exchange and South Africa's Johannesburg Stock Exchange. As at the date of this Announcement, the Company has interests and investments in the following Projects: 1) Blesberg Project (South Africa) (100% owned, subject to regulatory approval) The Blesberg Project is located near the town of Springbok in the Northern Cape Province, South Africa. It is one of the largest known economically mineralised pegmatite deposits and has historically been the largest single source of tantalum in South Africa. The Blesberg Project has operated as a small-scale mining operation intermittently between 1925 and 2003, and while the orebody contains a significant amount of lithium (spodumene), the main minerals extracted and sold at the time were feldspar, mica, and tantalum, with the lithium mineralization either placed in stockpiles or discarded in the surface waste dumps where it remains today. On 21 April 2022, the Company announced that it could acquire a 5% interest in the mine after having conducted major bulk sampling program, metallurgical test work and process plant design in 2022. As announced on 25 November 2022, the Company has conditionally increased its stake to 100%, subject to receipt of regulatory approvals in South Africa, through a US$1.5 million cash payment to the shareholders of SALT in exchange for outstanding 95% of the share capital of SALT. As at the date of this Announcement, the Company has not yet received regulatory approval for the transaction. On 7 September 2022 the Company announced the results from the initial sampling and metallurgical test work on material collected from existing stockpiles at the Blesberg Project, demonstrating preliminary assay results with an average grade of between 5.6% and 6.53% Li2O from a one tonne sample. On 7 August 2023, the Company announced that independent sampling and assaying of processed spodumene material at the Blesberg Project had been completed and the results confirmed a high-grade spodumene product with an average grade of between 5.6% and 6.53% Li2O. Following this, further announcements in August 2023 confirmed that the Board had approved an approx. ZAR 26 million (approx. US$1.35M) resource drilling exploration and mine planning program for the Blesberg Project, funded by Q Global Mining (Pty) Ltd, a subsidiary of Q Global, with the cost of the program to be repaid from the funds expected to be received from the Subscriber pursuant to the First Subscription. On 15 August 2023 the Company announced the appointment of a drilling contractor, PDS Africa Pty Limited, to commence phase one of the planned 2,900 metre resource drilling program at the Blesberg Project, with phase two comprising a further 1,400m diamond drilling of 18 holes on a 25m x 25m drill spacing aimed at increasing the confidence level of a planned maiden JORC Code 2012 compliant Mineral Resource Estimate and further expand and confirm the area of mineralisation to support broader mine development plans. On 6 December 2023, the Company announced that phase one and phase two of the drilling program had been completed and the Company was awaiting the assay results. As announced on 6 April 2023, 8 August 2023 and 29 August 2023, the Company acquired new mining equipment that will allow it to double its production at the Blesberg Project. A portion of the equipment, specifically the two sensor-based, XRF ore sorting plants, are in the process of being acquired for total consideration of approximately ZAR 40.6 million (1.7 million) from Q Global Mining (Pty) Ltd ("Q Mining"), a subsidiary of Q Global. The Rados SRF100-8 ore sorter is to be acquired through a series of 36 monthly payments, after which ownership will be transferred to Marula. The Tomra COM XRT 1200 ore sorter acquisition cost of 750,000 is to be repaid from the funds expected to be received from the Subscriber pursuant to the First Subscription. On 12 December 2023, the Company confirmed the early arrival and full installation of the Rados SRF100-8 XRF ore sorter, conveyors, and supporting equipment to the Blesberg Proejct. On 27 October 2022, the Company announced that it had entered into an agreement with a South African based subsidiary (Southern Jade Resources Pty Limited) of global commodity group Traxys SARL, under which the first US$2.5 million of a US$5 million lithium pre-payment facility had been advanced to the Company for the purchase of two shipments of high-grade 'run-of-mine' lithium ore produced from the Blesberg Project. On 31 August 2023, the Company announced that it had signed an agreement for an initial 27.5 tonnes of high-grade spodumene ore to China at a sales price of US$3,000 per tonne, with the material supplied from the existing stockpiles of processed material at the Blesberg Project. On 22 September 2023, the Company announced that the 27.5 tonne shipment was delayed due to a transaction restructure and the termination of the offtake agreement with Southern Jade Resources Pty Limited was confirmed. Traxys Projects LP received 15,714,279 new ordinary shares in the Company at an issue price of 14 pence per share in satisfaction of US$2.5 million prepayment, enabling the Company to proceed with finalising negotiations with global trading groups in Europe and other interested parties for a long-term offtake agreement covering spodumene and lithium products from both the stockpiles and the broader development plans for the proposed open pit mining operations at the Blesberg Project. On 22 December 2023, the Company announced that it anticipates finalising an exclusive marketing and offtake agreement with a major European-based global commodity trading group, securing the sale of 100% of lithium products from the Blesberg Project in early Q1 2024. As announced on 3 October 2023, the Company entered into binding heads of agreement to acquire a 70% interest in Future Gems Pty Ltd ("FGL"), the holder of the Korridor Lithium Project. The Korridor Lithium Project is located approximately 30km immediately to the west of the Blesberg Project. The Korridor Lithium Project is located on Prospecting Right NC30/5/1/1/2/13112PR, which is valid through to 2028 and extends over 912.65km2. 2) Nkombwa Hill Niobium, Tantalum, Rare Earth Elements ("REE") and Phosphate Project (Zambia) (through 25% owned African Prospects) The Nkombwa Hill Project is a major mineralised carbonate complex located in North-East Zambia. The Company announced on 21 April 2022 that it had entered into heads of agreement with Gathoni Muchai Investments Limited for, amongst other things, an option to acquire an initial 25% interest in the Nkombwa Hill Project in exchange for US$150,000. The Nkombwa Hill Project lies on granted Large Scale Exploration License 27977-HQ-LEL (valid until 27 December 2024), which is held by X-Ram Traws Mining Limited through which the Company holds an indirect interest. On 13 June 2022, the Company announced that it had made the initial payment of US$25,000 as part of the agreement to acquire a 25% legal and beneficial interest in the Nkombwa Hill Project through a staged cash investment of US$150,000 into African Prospects. X-Ram Traws, an 80% owned subsidiary of African Prospects is the holder of the Nkombwa Hill Project licences. As part of its planned exploration and planned development work, the Company and other Nkombwa Hill Project shareholders will look to convert this licence to a large-scale mining licence to permit mining and processing activities to proceed. As part of this process, an Environmental Impact Assessment and other key technical and economic studies will be undertaken. The Board believes that there is potential for the Nkombwa Hill Project to deliver near term cash flow, with low initial capital costs, through the phased development of the near surface Rare Earth Element ("REE") ore bodies and, subject to further exploration, tantalum and niobium mineralisation into a small-scale mining operation if consent is obtained. As announced on 27 July 2022, a comprehensive site visit was completed in July 2022 at the Nkombwa Hill Project which was undertaken to allow the Company and its technical consultants to better plan and prepare the proposed exploration and development programs at the Nkombwa Hill Project. During the site visit, the majority of the diamond drill boreholes, completed as part of the previous resource definition program, were located and the differing styles of niobium and tantalum mineralisation were observed along with the phosphate and rare earth element mineralisation identified during previous drill works. The Company intends to carry out a systematic exploration program to fully assess the phosphate, rare earth elements and tantalum and niobium mineralisation and report Mineral Resources in accordance with the JORC 2012 Code. Marula would then seek to conduct preliminary metallurgical extractive test work to identify the most efficient package to successfully extract the phosphate and REE resources and identify the size and composition of the additional phosphate and rare earth resources. 3) Kinusi Project (Tanzania) (75% commercial interest) On 4 October 2022, the Company announced that it had secured a 49% commercial interest in 10 primary licenses (valid until 30 September 2029) located in Kinusi in Mpwapwa District in the Dodoma Region of central Tanzania which extend over a combined area of approximately 91 hectares with eight of the licenses contiguous, through a binding heads of agreement with Takela Mining Limited ("Takela") in consideration for US$50,000 for costs incurred by Takela and issue of 4,507,500 Ordinary Shares in the Company at a price of 2 pence. Subsequently, on 20 February 2023, the Company announced that it had increased its interest in the Kinusi Project to 75% for total consideration of up to $550,000 through cash and staged equity payments and subject to certain milestones being achieved. On 20 January 2023, the Company announced the appointment of Geofields Tanzania Limited ("Geofields") to commence copper exploration work at the Kinusi Project, focusing on small-scale shallow copper mining activities that demonstrated potentially high grade copper mineralisation, as well as over 30 additional surface exposures of copper mineralisation identified from previous work. The work included mapping, sampling, trenching and establishing a comprehensive geological database to advance project development across 10 mining licenses. On 20 February 2023, the Company increased its interest in the Kinusi Project to 75% following its recent site visits which confirmed the high-grade copper mineralisation and potential believed to exist there, particularly with the identification of 30 additional surface exposures of copper mineralisation by Geofields. On 4 April 2023, the Company reported on its plans to install a copper processing plant at the Kinusi Project. Initial design and capital and operating costs work are underway and to advance the Kinusi Project to production. The Company subsequently announced on 12 April 2023 that the binding heads of agreements with Takela first announced on 4 October 2022 and 20 February 2023 in respect of the 75% commercial interest in the Kinusi Project and on 17 February 2023 in respect of the 75% commercial interest in the Nyorinyori Graphite Project and the binding heads of agreement with KGIP announced on 30 November 2022 in respect of the 73% interest in the Bagamoyo Graphite Project, had been replaced by formal documentation termed "Commercial Agreements" which set out the terms and obligations of Marula's investment in each of these projects, including inter alia timelines and milestones to advance the projects through to development and the consideration that is due on each key technical milestone being achieved. The Commercial Agreements were entered into on the same commercial terms and conditions and obligations as those previously agreed to in the binding terms sheets previously signed between the parties and as disclosed in previous announcements by the Company. On 23 May 2023, the Company provided an update on the Kinusi Project operations which included successful site visits by the Company's management and Takela representatives, progress in setting up processing plant facilities, ongoing metallurgical testing, and equipment sourcing in South Africa. Geological exploration activities were also reported to be underway, with discussions ongoing with global trading commodity groups and community stakeholders regarding project implementation and community programs. The Company reported another update on 29 June 2023 in relation to the Kinusi Project, stating that initial findings from the exploration work conducted by its geological consultants, Geofields, were promising and Geofields' phase one program confirmed the presence of a copper mineralized corridor extending over 1 kilometer in strike length and 300 meters wide, with high-grade narrow veins estimated to contain approximately 20% to 30% copper-bearing minerals like malachite and azurite. On 18 August 2023, the Company reported that based on the above phase one exploration activities, Geofields' estimated an initial exploration target at Kinusi of a 10-15 million tonnes deposit of high-grade copper, gold, and other base metals, with the potential to increase to in excess of 50 million tonnes on completion of definitive resource drilling programs. Following completion of the phase one program at the Kinusi Project, the Company issued 613,876 Ordinary Shares at an issue price of approximately 12.82 pence per new Ordinary Share (based on the 30-day VWAP of the Company's Ordinary Shares) to Takela in lieu of the US $100,000 in shares owed to Takela on 31 August 2023. On 24 July 2023 the Company announced a delay to the receipt of assay results for the copper samples taken during the phase one program at the Kinusi Project, due to over 60% of the samples exceeding the upper testing limit of 10,000mg/kg (>1.00% copper) during standard ICP-AES testing. On 5 October 2023, the Company announced the assay results of the copper samples which included an average grade (excluding reference material samples) of 2.68%. A comprehensive geological database incorporating all the mapping and assay results from the phase one program at the Kinusi Project has been prepared by Geofields and is being used by the Company's Board and management team to finalise the next phase two program of activities at the Kinusi Project. On 24 August 2023, the Company announced that its processing consultants in South Africa, Amoref Pty Limited completed the construction of an initial modular processing plant for transportation, installation and commissioning on site in Tanzania. As announced on 22 December 2023, transportation of the plant had been delayed due to additional work required. The processing plant will be transported to Tanzania and installed and commissioned on a 28 hectare site that benefits from access to both an existing power and water supply and has direct road access through to port facilities in Dar es Salaam. It is proposed that upon successful commissioning and operation of the processing plant, the Company will look to expand processing capacity based upon the phase 2 program of exploration activities and resource definition drilling work that is to be completed. 4) Bagamoyo Graphite Project (Tanzania) (73% commercial interest) On 17 November 2022, the Company entered into binding heads of agreement with Tanzanian mining company, KGIP to secure a 73% commercial interest in the Bagamoyo Graphite Project. The licenses are close to existing graphite mining and exploration activities and provide the opportunity for Marula to secure a major strategic position in Tanzania's growing graphite exploration and mine sector. The Company will fund all exploration and development costs through to commencement of commercial graphite mining and processing operations. Upon signing of the agreement, the Company commenced an initial exploration program which was followed by the commencement of exploration activities (mapping, sampling and trenching) launched and announced on 20 January 2023 and on 5 April 2023, the Company announced completion across 18 of the 22 licenses, targeting high-grade, jumbo and large flake graphite mineralisation ("Phase 1 Program"). Upon completion of the Phase 1 Program, Marula will have the option to proceed with further exploration activities and feasibility studies on up to 10 of the licenses ("Phase 2 Program") subject to completing a payment to KGIP of US$50,000 per license, 50% in cash and 50% through the issue of new Ordinary Shares in the Company. The Phase 2 Program requires minimum expenditure of US$500,000 over a 10-month period and completion of an economic study for the establishment of a commercial graphite mining and processing operation. On completion of the Phase 2 Program, and the Company proceeding with a decision to mine, Marula will make a final payment to KGIP of US$100,000, 50% in cash and 50% through the issue of new Ordinary Shares in the Company. On 5 April 2023, the Company announced that Geofields had completed the Phase 1 Program of exploration activities and preliminary results observed two graphite trends at the Mihuga and Saadan South Graphite Prospects within the Bagamoyo Graphite Project area, which extend over two kilometres and where several outcrops of graphitic schist and graphitic gneiss occur with large flake sizes visibly observed and were sent to be quantified by accredited laboratory testing in Tanzania. The Company subsequently announced on 12 April 2023 that the binding heads of agreements with Takela first announced on 4 October 2022 and 20 February 2023 in respect of the 75% commercial interest in the Kinusi Project and on 17 February 2023 in respect of the 75% commercial interest in the Nyorinyori Graphite Project and the binding heads of agreement with KGIP announced on 30 November 2022 in respect of the 73% commercial interest in the Bagamoyo Graphite Project, had been replaced by formal documentation termed "Commercial Agreements" which set out the terms and obligations of Marula's investment in each of these projects, including inter alia timelines and milestones to advance the projects through to development and the consideration that is due on each key technical milestone being achieved. The Commercial Agreements were entered into on the same commercial terms and conditions and obligations as those previously agreed to in the binding terms sheets previously signed between the parties and as disclosed in previous announcements by the Company. On 10 August 2023, the Company announced that assay results on the samples taken from the Bagamoyo Graphite Project as part of the Geofields' Phase 1 Program had been received. The assay results confirmed the high-grade nature of the graphite mineralisation at the Bagamoyo Graphite Project and in particular at the Mihuga Prospect where results of up to 19.71% total graphite content were recorded on the previously identified east-west trending graphite mineralised envelop that extends for approx. 500 metres in strike length and 50 metres in width at surface and is interpreted to extend for two kilometres in strike length and 200 metres in width over six of the granted mining licenses. The Company is working with Geofields on finalising plans for the phase 2 program of exploration activities which will include magnetics, induced polarization, electromagnetic, soil geochemistry and drilling in order to delineate a maiden JORC Code 2021 compliant resource upon which mine planning and feasibility study work will commence. Planning has also commenced with Marula's partner at the Bagamoyo Graphite Project, KGIP to determine the key areas of focus for the phase 2 program which will focus on a sub-set of the 22 granted mining licenses that currently make up the Bagamoyo Graphite Project, ahead of the planned commencement. 5) Nyorinyori Graphite Project (Tanzania) (75% commercial interest) On 16 February 2023, the Company entered into binding heads of agreement with Takela to secure a 75% interest in 10 granted graphite licences (valid until 2 February 2030) that make up the Nyorinyori Graphite Project, located in the Simanjiro District, in the Manyara Region of Tanzania, for a total consideration of up to 400,000 through staged equity payments and subject to certain milestones being achieved. The Nyorinyori Graphite Project is considered highly prospective for graphite, with shallow graphite mineralisation observed on the license areas, which are contiguous and extend over a combined area of approximately 81 hectares. Initial consideration of 100,000 for the interest in the Nyorinyori Graphite Project completed through the issue of 1,333,333 Ordinary Shares in the Company to Takela at a price of 7.5 pence. Three further share-based payments, each of 100,000, will be issued to Takela based on a 30-day volume weighted average price per Ordinary Share at the time of issue and subject to the achievement of key technical milestones including; completion of initial exploration program, resource definition drilling and release of a JORC Compliant Resource statement and a decision to mine being reached by the Company. The Company will be responsible to fund the first US$100,000 of exploration activities and is focused on advancing the Nyorinyori Graphite Project through to completion of a feasibility study and a decision to mine being reached by the Company. On 4 April 2023, the Company announced that representatives of the Company and Takela completed a technical site visit to the Nyorinyori Graphite Project during which high-grade graphite mineralisation and the presence of jumbo graphite flakes were observed on the granted mining licenses. Several samples were taken for analysis and assay to determine total graphite content grade and flake size with results expected by the end of January 2024. The Company subsequently announced on 12 April 2023 that the binding heads of agreements with Takela first announced on 4 October 2022 and 20 February 2023 in respect of the 75% commercial interest in the Kinusi Project and on 17 February 2023 in respect of the 75% commercial interest in the Nyorinyori Graphite Project and the binding heads of agreement with KGIP announced on 30 November 2022 in respect of the 73% interest in the Bagamoyo Graphite Project, had been replaced by formal documentation termed "Commercial Agreements" which set out the terms and obligations of Marula's investment in each of these projects, including inter alia timelines and milestones to advance the projects through to development and the consideration that is due on each key technical milestone being achieved. The Commercial Agreements were entered into on the same commercial terms and conditions and obligations as those previously agreed to in the binding terms sheets previously signed between the parties and as disclosed in previous announcements by the Company. On 8 August 2023, the Company announced that Geofields had been appointed as its independent geological consultants to commence exploration work at the Nyorinyori Graphite Project following visits in Q2 2023 by representatives of the Company to the 10 granted graphite mining licenses during which time high-grade graphite mineralisation and the presence of jumbo graphite flakes were observed on the granted mining licenses. On 1 December 2023, the Company announced that Geofields commenced phase 1 exploration work at the Nyorinyori Graphite Project. On 27 December 2023, the Company announced that the phase 1 exploration work had been completed at the Nyorinyori Graphite Project. On 15 January 2024, the Company announced that three new mining licenses had been granted at the Nyorinyori Graphite Project and the Company has issued 450,000 new Ordinary Shares at a price of 13.5 pence per new Ordinary Share to Takela in lieu of consideration for the new mining licenses. 6) NyoriGreen Graphite Project (75% commercial interest) On 28 September 2023, the Company announced that its Tanzanian wholly-owned subsidiary, Marula Mining Tanzania Limited ("MMT"), entered into a binding heads of agreement with Tanzanian mining company, NyoriGreen Mining, to secure a 75% commercial interest in 10 granted graphite primary mining licenses that make up the NyoriGreen Graphite Project, located in the Simanjiro District, in the Manyara Region of Tanzania. The NyoriGreen Graphite Project is less than 100 metres from the Nyorinyori Graphite Project. Initial 125,000 project acquisition costs were completed through the issue of 1,000,000 new ordinary shares at a price of 12.5 pence per new ordinary share. Four further share-based payments, each of 250,000, are to be made to NyoriGreen Mining based on the 30-day VWAP share price of the Company upon achievement of key technical milestones including (i) completion of initial exploration program, (ii) resource definition drilling and release of a JORC Compliant Resource statement, (iii) a decision to mine and (iv) completion of first commercial graphite sales in excess of US$1,000,000. The Company is also responsible to fund US$250,000 of exploration activities which are to be completed to advance the NyoriGreen Graphite Project through to completion of a feasibility study and a decision to mine. On 1 December 2023, the Company announced that Geofields commenced phase 1 exploration work at the NyoriGreen Graphite Project. On 27 December 2023, the Company announced that the phase 1 exploration work had been completed at the NyoriGreen Graphite Project. On 15 January 2024, the Company announced that four new mining licenses had been granted at the NyoriGreen Graphite Project and the Company has issued 600,000 new Ordinary Shares at a price of 13.5 pence per new Ordinary Share to NyoriGreen Mining in lieu of consideration for the new mining licenses. Subscriber's Group The Company announced on 31 January 2023 that it had signed a conditional Subscription of Shares Agreement with K2, a wholly owned subsidiary of Q Global, which was first amended on 28 February 2023. On 8 February 2024 the Company announced that it had signed a further amendment to the Subscription of Shares Agreement, in which K2 irrevocably and unconditionally consented to the novation of the entirety of its rights and obligations under the Subscription of Shares Agreement to the Subscriber, an affiliate of Q Global. Further details of the Subscription of Shares Agreement, as amended, are set out in the Circular. The Subscriber is AUO Commercial Brokerage LLC, a Dubai incorporated affiliate of Q Global, being one of South Africa's leading independent commodity, mining, logistics and investment funds and a company which is ultimately controlled and owned by Mr Quinton Van der Burgh. Company'sGroup Structure As at the date of this Announcement, the Company's Group structure is as follows: The Subscription, Use of Proceeds and Admission The Subscription As set out under the Subscription of Shares Agreement, as amended, subject to certain conditions including the Rule 9 Waiver being granted by the Panel and the relevant Subscription Shares being admitted to AQSE or such other exchange to which Ordinary Shares may from time to time be admitted to trading in the UK ("Conditions Precedent"): the Subscriber shall subscribe for 100,000,000 New Ordinary Shares at 3.75 pence per New Ordinary Share in consideration for the payment of 3,750,000 to the Company; and the Subscriber has the option to subscribe for up to a further 47,800,000 New Ordinary Shares at 10 pence per New Ordinary Share in consideration for the payment of up to 4,780,000 to the Company. In the event that the Subscriber performs services for the Company and, as a result, the Company owes a debt to the Subscriber for services rendered, the Subscriber has, subject to applicable law and the Company's articles of association, reserved the right to waive any such debt in part payment for New Ordinary Shares allotted pursuant to any Further Subscription(s) by way of a capitalisation of the debt, up to 6.25 pence per New Ordinary Share, with the balance to be paid in cash. Any Further Subscription may be made in whole or in part at any time until 31 December 2026. Should the maximum number of New Ordinary Shares be subscribed for pursuant to any Further Subscriptions: the aggregate consideration payable by the Subscriber to the Company would be 8,530,000; and the maximum number of New Ordinary Shares to be issued to the Subscriber by the Company would be 147,800,000 New Ordinary Shares. Aside from the Rule 9 Waiver being granted by the Panel and approved by Shareholders, the Conditions Precedent are capable of being waived and the date by which any of the Conditions Precedent must be satisfied may be extended, where agreed in writing between the Subscriber and the Company. Use of Proceeds The proceeds of the Subscriptions will be used to advance the exploration, geological understanding, resources and reserves as well as the commercial development of, inter alia, theBlesberg Project, the Korridor Lithium Project, the Kinusi Project, the Bagamoyo Graphite Project, the Nkombwa Hill Project, the Nyorinyori Graphite Project and the NyoriGreen Graphite Project as well as general corporate expenses. Certain proceeds of the Subscription will be used to repay loans used to fund the following workstreams and assets announced by the Company: Workstream/Assets Amount () Announcement Date Blesberg drilling exploration and mining program 1.1 million 11 August 2023 XRF ore sorting plants 750,000 29 August 2023 Tanzania exploration budget 2.0 million 19 January 2024 Total amount to be repaid 3.85 million The Company intends to use the remaining balance of up to 4.68 million proceeds of the Subscription to accelerate development of the Company's portfolio of advanced battery metals mining projects in Africa. Admission Application will be made for the New Ordinary Shares to be admitted to trading on the AQSE Growth Market or such other exchange to which Ordinary Shares may from time to time be admitted to trading in the UK following allotment of any New Ordinary Shares pursuant to the Subscription of Shares Agreement, as amended. It is expected that First Admission will become effective and dealings in the New Ordinary Shares allotted pursuant to the First Subscription will commence at 8.00 a.m. on 15 March 2024. It is expected that each Admission of New Ordinary Shares pursuant to any Further Subscription(s) will become effective and dealings in New Ordinary Shares on the AQSE Growth Market or such other exchange to which Ordinary Shares may from time to time be admitted to trading in the UK will commence as soon as practicable following completion of any such Further Subscription(s). Should Shareholder approval of the Resolutions not be obtained at the General Meeting, the Subscriptions, andtherefore First Admission and any Further Admission(s), will not proceed. Co-Development Agreement On 15 February 2023, the Company and K2 entered into the Co-Development Agreement to govern their ongoing relationship in relation to the Projects. The Co-Development Agreement was novated by K2 to the Subscriber on 8 February 2024. The Co-Development agreement outlines the technical and strategic support to be provided by the Subscriber and its associated persons or the accelerated development of Marula's mining projects in Africa and allow the Subscriber and its associated persons to participate directly in the co-development of Marula's current and future projects. Relationship Agreement On 15 February 2023, the Company, Cairn and K2 entered into a relationship agreement to regulate the Company's relationship with the Subscriber's Group. The Co-Development Agreement was novated by K2 to the Subscriber on 8 February 2024. Nominated Director As announced on 31 January 2023, in recognition of the Subscriptions and substantial shareholding that Q Global will hold in the Company, Q Global shall have the right, effective from the time at which Q Global controls a minimum of 20% of the Ordinary Shares in the Company, to nominate two persons for appointment to the Board, who are expected to serve as Non-executive Chairman and as non-executive Director, respectively. This right shall continue for so long as Q Global holds 20% or more interest in the voting rights in the share capital of the Company, and the appointment of any such nominee is subject only to approval by Cairn, in accordance with its obligations under the AQSE Apex Rulebook. In accordance with this, Mr Quinton van der Burgh, Q Global's Chief Executive Officer, is proposed to be appointed as Non-executive Chairman of the Board of Directors from admission of the Company's Ordinary Shares to the Official List of the FCA and to trading on the standard segment of the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange. Upon Mr Quinton van der Burgh's appointment to the Board, Richard Lloyd will transition from Executive Chairman to Executive Director. Right of first refusal granted to the Subscriber In the event that the entirety of the Subscription Shares are allotted to the Subscriber and where Subscriber holds 51% or more of the Ordinary Shares, the Company shall take reasonable steps to offer the Subscriber a right of first refusal in respect of any proposed new issue of Ordinary Shares that if issued to any other person, corporation or other entity would dilute the Subscriber below its holding of 51% of the Ordinary Shares. Notwithstanding the above, the Company may make issuances to directors and employees under option plans or other incentivisation plans. Interests in Ordinary Shares The Subscriber does not hold any Ordinary Shares in the Company. The Subscriber's shareholding in the Company following completion of each of the Subscriptions is detailed below: Subscriptions Consideration Number of New Ordinary Shares Resultant shareholding following Subscription Percentage of so-enlarged share capital * So-enlarged share capital*# First Subscription 3,750,000 100,000,000 100,000,000 36.9% 271,130,403 Further Subscription(s) # 4,780,000 47,800,000 147,800,000 46.3% 318,930,403 * Assumes that no other Ordinary Shares are allotted between the date of this Announcement and the date of First Admission, or between the date of First Admission and the date of any Further Admission (as applicable). # Assumes that the Subscriber has subscribed for the maximum number of New Ordinary Shares capable of subscription pursuant to the Further Subscription(s). Takeover Code and Rule 9 Waiver The Takeover Code (the "Code") applies to Marula Mining plc (the "Company"). Under Rule 9 of the Code, any person who acquires an interest in shares which, taken together with shares in which that person or any person acting in concert with that person is interested, carry 30% or more of the voting rights of a company which is subject to the Code is normally required to make an offer to all the remaining shareholders to acquire their shares. Similarly, when any person, together with persons acting in concert with that person, is interested in shares which in the aggregate carry not less than 30% of the voting rights of such a company but does not hold shares carrying more than 50% of the voting rights of the company, an offer will normally be required if such person or any person acting in concert with that person acquires a further interest in shares which increases the percentage of shares carrying voting rights in which that person is interested. An offer under Rule 9 must be made in cash at the highest price paid by the person required to make the offer, or any person acting in concert with such person, for any interest in shares of the company during the 12 months prior to the announcement of the offer. Immediately following First Admission, the Subscriber will be interested in 100,000,000 shares, representing 36.9% of the voting rights of the Company, assuming that no further Ordinary Shares have been allotted between the date of this Announcement and the date of First Admission. In the event that the Subscriber subscribes for the maximum number of New Ordinary Shares capable of subscription pursuant to the Further Subscription(s), the Subscriber will be interested in 147,800,000 shares, representing 46.3% of the voting rights of the Company, assuming that no further Ordinary Shares have been allotted between the date of First Admission and the date of any Further Admission. A table showing the interest in shares of the Subscriber following completion of each of the Subscriptions is set out below. Subscriptions Consideration Number of New Ordinary Shares Resultant shareholding following Subscription Percentage of so-enlarged share capital * So-enlarged share capital* First Subscription 3,750,000 100,000,000 100,000,000 36.9% 271,130,403 Further Subscription(s) # 4,780,000 47,800,000 147,800,000 46.3% 318,930,403 * Assumes that no other Ordinary Shares are allotted between the date of this Announcement and the date of First Admission, or between the date of First Admission and the date of any Further Admission (as applicable). # Assumes that the Subscriber has subscribed for the maximum number of New Ordinary Shares capable of subscription pursuant to the Further Subscription(s). Following First Admission, the Subscriber will be interested in shares carrying more than 30% of the voting rights of the Company but will not hold shares carrying more than 50% of the voting rights of the Company. Any increase in the Subscriber's interest in shares will be subject to the provisions of Rule 9. Whether or not the Rule 9 Waiver is approved, the Subscriber will not be restricted from making an offer for the Company. The Panel has agreed to waive the obligation to make an offer that would otherwise arise on the Subscriber under Rule 9 as a result of the Subscriptions, subject to the approval of Shareholders. Accordingly, Resolution 1 is being proposed at a general meeting of the Company and will be taken on a poll. All Shareholders are considered independent in respect of Resolution 1. Information on and intentions of the Subscriber Information on the Subscriber is set out in the Circular. The Subscriber has confirmed that it has no intention of making any changes in relation to: a) the business of the Company (including its research and development functions); b) the continued employment of employees and management of the Company (including any material changes in conditions of employment or in the balance of the skills and functions of the employees and management); c) the strategic plans, including repercussions on employment, the locations of the Company's places of business including any headquarters; d) the deployment of the Company's fixed assets; e) the maintenance of the Company's existing trading facility on AQSE; and f) employer contributions into the Company's pension schemes, the accrual of benefits for existing members and the admission of new members. The Directors and the Subscriber are of the view that the Subscriptions will assist the Company in developing its long-term commercial and strategic plan of accelerating development of the Company's portfolio of advanced battery metals mining projects in Africa. In providing their recommendation, the Directors have taken into account the above statements of intention of the Subscriber with respect to the future operations of the business and the fact that no changes are proposed. Resolutions proposed for consideration at the General Meeting A notice convening a General Meeting of the Company to be held at the offices of Memery Crystal at 165 Fleet Street, London EC4A 2DY on 8 March 2024 at 2.00 p.m. is set out in the Circular. The purpose of the General Meeting is to seek Shareholders' approval for the following resolutions: Resolution 1 - Rule 9 Waiver approval Resolution 1 relates to the Rule 9 Waiver. The Rule 9 Waiver will not proceed if Resolution 1 is not passed by Shareholders. Resolution 1 will be proposed as an ordinary resolution and seeks the approval of the Shareholders to waive the obligation on the Subscriber to make an offer to the Shareholders pursuant to Rule 9 of the Takeover Code as a result of the allotment to the Subscriber of up to 147,800,000 Ordinary Shares under the Subscription of Shares Agreement, as amended, as described above. Resolution 2 - Authority to allot Ordinary Shares Resolution 2 will be proposed as an ordinary resolution to generally and unconditionally authorise the Directors for the purposes of section 551 of the Act to exercise all the powers of the Company to allot Ordinary Shares and grant rights to subscribe for or to convert any security into Ordinary Shares pursuant to the Subscription of Shares Agreement up to a maximum nominal amount of 14,780 and that, unless previously revoked, varied or extended, this authority shall expire on the fifth anniversary of the date of the passing of this resolution. This authorisation shall be in addition and supplemental to all existing and unexercised authorities and powers granted to the Directors prior to the date of this resolution in accordance with section 551 of the Act. Resolution 2 shall be subject to and conditional on the passing of Resolution 1 and Resolution 3. Resolution 3 - Authority to allot Ordinary Shares for cash Resolution 3 will be proposed as a special resolution to authorise the Directors to allot Ordinary Shares (as defined in section 560(1) of the Act) for cash, pursuant to the authority of the Directors under section 551 of the Act conferred by Resolution 2, as if section 561(1) of the Company Act 2006 did not apply to such allotment, provided that this power shall be limited to the allotment of Ordinary Shares up to a maximum nominal amount of 14,780 and that, unless previously revoked, varied or extended, this power shall expire on the fifth anniversary of the date of the passing of this resolution. This authorisation shall be in addition and supplemental to all existing and unexercised authorities and powers granted to the Directors prior to the date of this resolution in accordance with section 570(1) of the Act. Resolution 3 shall be subject to and conditional on the passing of Resolution 1 and Resolution 2. Action to be taken The Notice of General Meeting is set out in the Circular. A Form of Proxy for use at the General Meeting is enclosed with the Circular. If you wish to validly appoint a proxy, the Form of Proxy should be completed and signed in accordance with the instructions printed thereon, and returned by post so as to be received by the Registrar not later than 2.00 p.m. on 6 March 2024. Recommendation The Directors, having been so advised by Cairn Financial Advisers LLP on the Proposals, consider the terms of the Rule 9 waiver and the maximum controlling position that the Proposals will create and the effect that the Proposals will have on Shareholders generally, to be fair and reasonable and in the best interests of the Company and the Shareholders as a whole. In providing its advice to the Directors, Cairn has taken account of the Directors' commercial assessments. Accordingly, the Directors unanimously recommend that Shareholders vote in favour of the Resolutions to be proposed at the General Meeting, as they intend to do so in respect of their own beneficial shareholdings being 20,061,250 Ordinary Shares representing approximately 11.7 per cent. of the Company's current issued share capital. The Subscriber does not currently hold an interest in the Ordinary Shares in the Company. The Subscriber's interest in shares would (assuming no other allotments of Ordinary Shares) increase to 147,800,000 New Ordinary Shares in the Company, representing 46.3% of the issued share capital and voting rights of the Company as a consequence of the issue of all of the Subscriptions. Any increase in the Subscriber's aggregate interest in Ordinary Shares will be subject to the provisions of Rule 9 of the Takeover Code. The Subscriber will not be precluded from making an offer for the entire issued share capital of the Company. Yours faithfully, Jason Brewer Chief Executive Officer The Directors of Marula are responsible for the contents of this announcement. This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of UK Market Abuse Regulation. About Marula Mining Marula Mining (AQSE: MARU) is an African focused battery metals investment and exploration company and has interests in several high value mine projects in Africa; the Blesberg Lithium and Tantalum Mine and Korridor Lithium Project in South Africa, the Kinusi Copper Mine, the Nyorinyori Graphite Project, the NyoriGreen Graphite Project and the Bagamoyo Graphite Project all in Tanzania and the Nkombwa Hill Project in Zambia. As we advance operations at these battery metals focused projects, Marula will continue to build and expand its interests in other high-quality projects in Africa. Marula's strategy is to identify and invest in advanced and high-value mining projects throughout East, Central and Southern Africa that the Directors believe would deliver returns for its shareholders. The Board and management team aims to establish Marula as a socially and environmentally responsible, sustainable, and profitable producer of critical metals and commodities that are of increasingly strategic importance to modern technologies and the global economy. Marula's shares are traded on the AQUIS Stock Exchange (AQSE), Marula is exploring opportunities to admit its shares to trading on the London Stock Exchange plc's Standard List, Kenya's Nairobi Securities Exchange and South Africa's Johannesburg Stock Exchange. For enquiries contact: Marula Mining PLC Jason Brewer, Chief Executive Officer Faith Kinyanjui Mumbi Investor Relations Email: jason@marulamining.com Email: info@marulamining.com AQSE Corporate Adviser Cairn Financial Advisers LLP, Liam Murray / Ludovico Lazzaretti +44 (0)20 7213 0880 Broker Peterhouse Capital Limited, Charles Goodfellow / Duncan Vasey +44 (0)20 7469 0930 Financial PR and IR BlytheRay Tim Blythe / Megan Ray / Said Izagaren +44 (0)20 7138 3204 Caution Certain statements in this announcement, are, or may be deemed to be, forward looking statements. Forward looking statements are identi?ed by their use of terms and phrases such as 'believe', 'could', "should" 'envisage', 'estimate', 'intend', 'may', 'plan', 'potentially', "expect", 'will' or the negative of those, variations or comparable expressions, including references to assumptions. These forward-looking statements are not based on historical facts but rather on the Directors' current expectations and assumptions regarding the Company's future growth, results of operations, performance, future capital and other expenditures (including the amount, nature and sources of funding thereof), competitive advantages, business prospects and opportunities. Such forward looking statements re?ect the Directors' current beliefs and assumptions and are based on information currently available to the Directors. Appendix I Definitions The following definitions shall apply throughout this Announcement unless the context requires otherwise: The Federal Highway Administration has given the green light for the Kensington Expressway reconstruction project to move forward, The Buffalo News has learned. The agency of the U.S. Department of Transportation reached a "finding of no significant impact" after reviewing the environmental assessment conducted over the past two years by the State Department of Transportation. Gov. Kathy Hochul, who announced a commitment of up to $1 billion in January 2022 for the project, is expected to make the announcement Friday in Buffalo. "Governor Hochul has been supportive of this transformational, community-driven project to reconnect East Buffalo's neighborhoods for more than two years, and we'll have more to share on Friday," spokesman Matt Janiszewski said Thursday afternoon. The decision allows the project to go to final design and then on to construction, which the governor has said she wants to see begin as early as later this year. The Kensington project calls for a tunnel between Dodge and Sidney streets. Trees and grass would be planted above to reconstruct a portion of Humboldt Parkway designed by Frederick Law Olmsted and later bulldozed to make way for Route 33 during the highway boom of the 1950s and '60s. The decision marks the culmination of efforts made by residents on the East Side who formed Restore Our Community Coalition, also known as ROCC, to address the harm done by the expressway dating back to the early 2000s. The group has sought to reconnect neighborhoods long divided by the sunken six-lane highway. Stephanie Barber Geter, who was ROCC's chairman and face of the organization in recent years, died in January, weeks before the announcement. ROCC members hope there will be one or two future phases for the project, though the current project does not call for them. Assembly Majority Leader Crystal Peoples-Stokes, D-Buffalo, pushed for the project and has worked with the governor to make it a reality. The decision comes amid mounting opposition to the project. Henry Louis Taylor Jr., who directs the University at Buffalo's Center for Urban Studies, is among those who call for filling in the highway and addressing longstanding health concerns for residents who live on either side. The East Side Parkways Coalition, which has led the call for the restoration of the parkway between Delaware and Martin Luther King Jr. parks a distance of about 2 miles has indicated it will continue to advocate for changes to the project. A lawsuit by a couple that live on Humboldt Parkway could slow or upend the project. The lawsuit claims the DOT's decision to use an environmental assessment, rather than the more comprehensive environmental impact statement, was inadequate for a project of this scale and violated the state Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act. KELOWNA, BC / ACCESSWIRE / February 16, 2024 / Avant Brands Inc. (TSX:AVNT)(OTCQX:AVTBF)(FRA:1BU0) ("Avant" or the "Company"), a leading producer of innovative, premium handcrafted cannabis products, is pleased to announce that it intends to release its financial and operating results for the year ended November 30, 2023, after the close of the Toronto Stock Exchange on Wednesday, February 28, 2024. A conference call with management will be held on Thursday, February 29th, 2024, at 1 PM PT (4 PM ET). Conference Call Dial Details: Canada/USA TF: +1-800-319-4610 International Toll: +1-604-638-5340 Callers are encouraged to dial in 5 minutes in advance to ensure a timely connection to the call. A transcript of the call will be posted on the Company's website at www.avantbrands.ca within 48 hours of the call. About Avant Brands Inc. Avant is an innovative, market-leading premium cannabis company. Avant has multiple operational production facilities across Canada, which produce high-quality, handcrafted cannabis products, based on unique and exceptional cultivars. Avant's products are distributed via three complementary sales channels: recreational, medical and export. Avant's recreational consumer brands include: BLK MKT, Tenzo, Cognoscente and Treehugger, which are sold in British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Atlantic Canada, Quebec and the territories. The Company's medical cannabis brand, GreenTec, is distributed nationwide, directly to qualified patients through its GreenTec Medical portal and through various medical cannabis partners. Avant is a publicly traded corporation listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: AVNT), and cross-trades on the OTCQX Best Market (OTCQX: AVTBF) and Frankfurt Stock Exchange (FRA: 1BU0). The Company is headquartered in Kelowna, British Columbia and has operations in British Columbia, Alberta and Ontario. To learn more about Avant, access the investor presentation, or learn more about its consumer brands, please visit www.avantbrands.ca. For additional information, please contact: Investor Relations at Avant Brands Inc. 1-800-351-6358 ir@avantbrands.ca SOURCE: Avant Brands, Inc. View the original press release on accesswire.com VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / February 16, 2024 / Infinitum Copper Corp. (TSXV:INFI)(OTCQB:INUMF) ("Infinitum" or the "Company") is pleased to report that it has applied for a mining permit to the environmental authority ("SEMARNAT") in Mexico following receipt of successful metallurgical test work. Mining Permits A Mining Impact Assessment ("MIA") was recently completed and has now been submitted to the Secretaria de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales ("SEMARNAT"). SEMARNAT is the Mexican government department responsible for the issue of mining permits. La Adelita has seen historic artisanal mining focused around the adit on the eastern flank of the Cerro Grande anticline. As mining has traditionally taken place in the Cerro Grande area and the Company expects to access the mineralised body through the existing adit the permitting process is not expected to be overly complex. Metallurgical Test Work The Company has also recently received the results of metallurgical tests from Servicio Geologico Mexicano ("SGM"). Approximately 20 kilograms of material with a head grade of 1.88% Cu, 1.05 g/t Au and 74 g/t Ag was delivered to SGM in Chihuahua in Late 2023. Flotation tests demonstrated that the material is amenable to standard flotation process with 77% Au recovered, 86.14% Ag and 85.21% Cu. The material has a high specific gravity of 3.485. "We are very pleased with the results of the metallurgical test work. With these results in hand we will look to find an offtake partner among the many operating mines in the surrounding area. Using historic drilling in the Cerro Grande area we will look to follow the mineralised body from the adit back towards known mineralised zones. Approaching the mineralised body from underground will further develop our understanding of the La Adelita mineralization" says Matt Hudson, President and CEO of Infinitum Copper. Qualified Person Steve Robertson, Chairman of the Company, has acted as the Qualified Person as defined in National Instrument 43-101 for this disclosure and supervised the preparation of the technical information in this release. Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation. The forward-looking information contained in this press release represents the expectations of the Company as of the date of this press release and, accordingly, is subject to change after such date. Forward-looking information is based on, among other things, opinions, assumptions, estimates and analyses that, while considered reasonable by the Company at the date the forward-looking information is provided, are inherently subject to significant risks, uncertainties, contingencies and other factors that may cause actual results and events to be materially different from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking information. The risks, uncertainties, contingencies, and other factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking information may include, but are not limited to, risks generally associated with the Company's business, as described in the Company's Filing Statement dated February 11, 2022. Readers should not place undue importance on forward-looking information and should not rely upon this information as of any other date. While the Company may elect to, it does not undertake to update this information at any particular time except as required in accordance with applicable laws. INFINITUM COPPER CORP. Matt Hudson Chief Executive Officer matt@infinitumcopper.com SOURCE: Infinitum Copper View the original press release on accesswire.com HelloPrenup and Proof (formerly known as Notarize) are pleased to announce they have entered into a strategic partnership, combining HelloPrenup's industry-leading online prenup platform with Proof's next-gen online e-sign & notarization services. HelloPrenup & Proof have joined forces to bring convenient, accessible solutions to everyday couples across the country. Their new premier, exclusive offering includes an unprecedented prenup package, including e-signing & notarizing their HelloPrenup prenuptial agreements online. "We are thrilled to announce our partnership with Proof. This collaboration marks a significant milestone for HelloPrenup as we continue to innovate and provide our users with the best tools and resources to navigate prenuptial agreements. Proof's expertise in identity verification aligns perfectly with our mission to simplify and modernize the prenup process, ensuring that our users have a secure and efficient experience," said Julia Rodgers, HelloPrenups's CEO & co-founder. By virtually connecting Proof's online e-sign & notarization capability with HelloPrenup's online prenup platform, engaged couples can now complete their prenup process quickly and securely, all without leaving their couch. The HelloPrenup & Proof partnership is live as of today, Feb. 16, 2024, for all HelloPrenup customers. About HelloPrenup Julia Rodgers, a family law attorney, saw the struggle of couples seeking prenuptial agreements. The high cost, time-consuming process, and difficulty in getting on the same page created a need for a solution. Meanwhile, Sarabeth Jaffe, a software developer, was experiencing the same pains after getting engaged and trying to get a prenup herself. She knew there had to be an easier way. The two women met and realized they were working towards the same goal-to create a platform that would make prenuptial agreements affordable, approachable, and accessible to all couples. With their unique skills and experiences HelloPrenup was born. HelloPrenup is the premier online prenup platform. Couples can get state-specific prenups online - without overspending on money or time! Rodgers & Jaffe created HelloPrenup to help every couple, regardless of background, access important information and protection. HelloPrenup is the first online platform that allows couples to create a valid prenuptial agreement in hours while also offering couples big savings! HelloPrenup has been featured on Shark Tank, CNN Business, Forbes, The Boston Globe, GeekWire, The New Yorker among others. Want more information? Contact Hello@helloprenup.com or visit HelloPrenup.com to learn more. About Proof Proof is helping to secure the digital economy. As more critical commerce shifts from in-person to online, companies need to be able to trust who is behind every digital interaction. As a pioneer of remote online notarization, Proof has built the largest network of professional notaries. The average wait time for a notary is less than a second. Every year, millions of customers in all 50 states trust the Notarize Network to notarize important documents or to verify their identity. For more information, visit proof.com. Contact Information Lauren Lavender Chief Marketing Officer lauren@helloprenup.com 408 476 0719 SOURCE: HelloPrenup View the original press release on newswire.com. WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is awarding $970 million from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to improve 114 airports across the U.S. This was announced by Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg when he visited Charlotte, North Carolina, kicking off the Biden Administration's Investing in America tour. The funding will be used to modernize airport terminals nationwide, equipping them with faster baggage systems and larger security checkpoints to meet growing air travel demand. These investments will also increase gate capacity, and improve accessibility for individuals with disabilities. Nine grants will address the needs of aging air traffic control towers. 'Under this administration, we are doing more to improve the travel experience than ever before, from expanding consumer protections to modernizing the physical infrastructure,' said Buttigieg. An amount of $35 million has been earmarked for Washington Dulles International Airport in Virginia, where a 14-gate, 400,000 sq. ft. terminal building, including connections to the Aerotrain and Metrorail, will be constructed. Kahului Airport in Hawaii has been granted $8.6 million. This project funds the construction of a new two-story security screening checkpoint facility at the south end of the ticket lobby (South TSA Checkpoint). For the Terminal A security screening expansion project, $7.5 million will go to Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport in Kentucky. A grant of $31 million to Los Angeles International Airport in California will be invested for a combination of new, extending, widening, and utility improvements of surrounding roadways. This also includes underground Low Impact Development (LID) storm water containment systems. Nine grants are awarded to airports to refurbish their airport owned airport traffic control towers. Copyright(c) 2024 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. Habanos, S.A. presents Cohiba Tributo, a limited series of 128 humidors with 55 Cohiba Lanceros (38 x 192 mm). The exclusive humidors have been crafted by prestigious French artisan workshop Elie Bleu. HAVANA, Feb. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- To commemorate the arrival of the Year of the Dragon, according to the Chinese lunar calendar, Habanos, S.A. is launching the exclusive and limited series of Cohiba Tributo humidors for the Asian market. For this event, Corporacion Habanos, S.A. has chosen the most prestigious brand in the world of premium cigars, Cohiba, and its original and most iconic vitola, Lanceros. Only 128 humidors will go on sale, all of them numbered, making it a unique and exclusive launch. Each humidor contains 55 Cohiba Lanceros (38 ring gauge x 192 mm length) - "Totally Handmade with Long Filler" after a careful selection of wrapper, filler and binder leaves from the plantations of the most prestigious zone, Vuelta Abajo* in Pinar del Rio* region, Cuba*. These Habanos, rolled in El Laguito factory, are presented with the brand's original cigar band and an additional foot band designed exclusively for this launch, featuring the vitola's name in gold over the iconic Cohiba grid, adorned with elegant dragons. The humidors have been crafted in the prestigious French artisan workshop Elie Bleu -a leading producer of high-end humidors, recognized worldwide for its expertise and the quality craftsmanship of its luxury items. The exclusive design is made of high-quality hardwoods and features two magnificent golden dragons on a white ebony cover. In the words of Jose Maria Lopez Inchaurbe and Jorge Perez Martel, Vice President of Development and Commercial Vice President of Habanos, S.A. respectively: "China is one of the most important markets for our business, along with the entire Asia Pacific region. For such a special occasion, we wanted to count on Cohiba, the most renowned Habanos brand worldwide, and its most iconic vitola, Lanceros, but we have also collaborated with Elie Bleu, an added value that guarantees the exclusivity, tradition and beauty of these humidors". Habanos, S.A. invites Habano lovers to ignite their passion for Cohiba Tributo and celebrate the "Year of the Dragon". Cohiba Tributo Humidor Humidor dimensions: height: 129 mm; width: 390 mm; length: 256 mm. Market name: Lanceros. Factory name: Laguito No. 1. Format: Parejo with pigtail. Size: 38 ring gauge x 192 mm length. Tasting notes: Fine vitola with character, correct combustibility, exuding the distinctive aromas inherent to the identity of Cuban dark tobacco. Draw: excellent. Combustion: perfect. Strength: medium to strong. Ash: light gray and compact. Smoke: ample and aromatic puff. Excellent Habano to enjoy for about 80 minutes. The complexity of its aroma and flavor develops towards roasted expressions, black pepper and wood. A balanced and delicate Habano typical of the Linea Clasica of Cohiba. Suggested pairing to be enjoyed with high-end spirits such as Cuban rums or whisky. (P.A.O.)* Protected Appellations of Origin To download high resolution images of the product, click here. Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2341804/COHIBA_TRIBUTO.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/habanos-sa-presents-cohiba-tributo-128-exclusive-humidors-in-commemoration-of-the-chinese-new-year-of-the-dragon-302064116.html CHICAGO, Feb. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Motorola Solutions (NYSE: MSI) has acquired Silent Sentinel, a provider of specialized, long-range cameras based in Ware, United Kingdom. Designed to operate in the harshest conditions, Silent Sentinel's rugged, thermal cameras offer clear visibility in the complex and extreme environments associated with military, aviation, maritime and critical infrastructure. Equipped with highly accurate detection capabilities, Silent Sentinel's cameras can identify anomalies from up to 20 miles away (30 km) to extend the perimeter of security and support a faster, more informed response. "Long-range cameras enable advanced insights that can protect individuals and infrastructure," said Mahesh Saptharishi, executive vice president and chief technology officer. "With Silent Sentinel, we're broadening our video security portfolio to help secure and support essential operations and industries around the world." This acquisition complements Motorola Solutions' portfolio of fixed video cameras, expanding its footprint with government and critical infrastructure customers and strengthening its position as a global leader in end-to-end video security solutions. "On behalf of the Silent Sentinel team, we're excited to join Motorola Solutions," said Paul Elsey, managing director, Silent Sentinel. "We look forward to building upon Motorola Solutions' industry-leading portfolio, offering advanced video security solutions that support our customers in the most challenging environments." Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. About Motorola Solutions Motorola Solutions is solving for safer. We build and connect technologies to help protect people, property and places. Our solutions enable the collaboration between public safety agencies and enterprises that's critical for a proactive approach to safety and security. Learn more about how we're solving for safer communities, safer schools, safer hospitals, safer businesses - safer everywhere - at www.motorolasolutions.com. Motorola Solutions Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable federal securities law. These statements are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and generally include words such as "believes," "expects," "intends," "anticipates," "estimates" and similar expressions. The company can give no assurance that any actual or future results or events discussed in these statements will be achieved. Any forward-looking statements represent the company's views only as of today and should not be relied upon as representing the company's views as of any subsequent date. Readers are cautioned that such forward-looking statements are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties that could cause the company's actual results or events discussed in these statements to differ materially from the statements contained in this release. Such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, Motorola Solutions' ability to integrate the products and services into its portfolio and offerings to customers. Motorola Solutions cautions the reader that the risks and uncertainties below, as well as those in Part I Item 1A of Motorola Solutions' 2022 Annual Report on Form 10-K, Part II Item 1A of Motorola Solutions' 2023 Third Quarter Report on Form 10-Q and in its other SEC filings available for free on the SEC's website at www.sec.gov and on Motorola Solutions' website at www.motorolasolutions.com, could cause Motorola Solutions' actual results or events discussed in these statements to differ materially from those estimated or predicted in the forward-looking statements. Many of these risks and uncertainties cannot be controlled by Motorola Solutions and factors that may impact forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, Motorola Solutions' ability to successfully integrate and operate Silent Sentinel. Motorola Solutions undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement or risk factor, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2341813/Motorola_Solutions.jpg Media contact: Elvan Lindberg elvan.lindberg@motorolasolutions.com +46 (0) 707448893 View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/motorola-solutions-acquires-silent-sentinel-a-provider-of-specialized-long-range-cameras-302064122.html Jeff W. - Global Director of Cybersecurity Yum! Brands Taco Bell blog February in the U.S. is dedicated to acknowledging and honoring the history of Black Americans and celebrating their contributions to the economy, culture, arts and society. At Yum!, we are committed to making room for all people and voices at our tables, because we are most relevant when our people - at all levels - represent the customers and communities we serve. Black History Month started off as a one-week celebration founded by Carter G. Woodson in February 1926. Fifty years later, the week was extended into a month dedicated to honoring Black American history. This year's nationwide Black History Month's focus is African Americans and the Arts, detailing African American artistic and cultural movements. To celebrate our Black team members and these communities, we will share some of their stories. Get ready to be inspired, get involved and continue learning and celebrating the culture and achievements of the Black community. Jeff W. (He/Him) - Global Director of Cybersecurity Jeff W. was born and raised in Greenville, Mississippi, one of the most economically disadvantaged states in the country. Growing up being one of 12 kids to a single parent, he faced many hardships early on. "We had a lack of electricity, water, food and proper clothing. In addition, I was pitted against unfair societal biases as a Black child. As early as 8 years old, I experienced blatant name calling and neighborhood segregation." Jeff worked in the cotton fields of a plantation to help his family, and at the same time, he attended school where he excelled in academics. "I was a skinny "undercover" nerd who didn't want to be beat-up by the cool kids. I secretly made the National Honor Society, doing homework in study hall to avoid being seen taking books home to do homework." Just 3 weeks after graduating high school with honors, Jeff joined the U.S. Marine Corps. This was his steppingstone and badge of honor. "I joined the U.S Marine Corps for a better life. I was deployed overseas multiple times and even shattered my left forearm due to an explosion. But through it all, I was chosen for several advance communication schools until I finally found my calling in Information Assurance (Cybersecurity). I left the Marines after 8 years to pursue a career in this field." Jeff was the first in his family to go to college and complete multiple degrees. Over the course of six years, he received his Associate's, Bachelor's and two Master's in Networking Management and Information Security. At the same time, Jeff navigated parenthood as a single father to his now 23-year-old daughter and co-parenting his now 27-year-old Marine son. After finishing his degrees, Jeff ended up in California where he took on the first-ever Cybersecurity role for L.A. Fitness. Not too long after, Jeff found his way to The Bell. "When I first came to Taco Bell, my role was in Cybersecurity Architecture where I was responsible for the protection of our infrastructure and collaborating with business stakeholders to lessen the risk of vendors and technology implementations. After two years in that role, I was promoted to Global Director of Cybersecurity." Since coming to Taco Bell, Jeff has been able to re-ignite his passion for education and giving back which he had since high school. Besides his involvement in the Business Employee Resource Group Live Mas T.A.A.C.O.S, Jeff is a mentor to two amazing individuals through the Cybersecurity Mentorship Program that he started in collaboration with the Taco Bell Service Desk. Outside of Taco Bell, Jeff takes pride in giving back to his community, especially during Black History Month. "During this time, I celebrate by giving back to the younger generation in my family and friend circle and attending community events in the Long Beach and Los Angeles area. Black history is a story of strength, resilience, and perseverance. It's a celebration of the struggles and triumphs of my community, a reminder of the ongoing fight for equality, and a recognition of the rich contributions Black people have made to the world despite facing numerous adversities." Looking to the future, Jeff hopes to leave a positive impact on the Black community. "I have "Learning" as one of my top 5 strengths, so I hope my legacy reflects a positive impact in the Black community, one that is based on empowering through knowledge, understanding, and continuing to help others achieve their goals." View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from Yum! Brands on 3blmedia.com. Contact Info: Spokesperson: Yum! Brands Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/yum-brands Email: info@3blmedia.com SOURCE: Yum! Brands View the original press release on accesswire.com WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - A suite of NASA science instruments and technology demonstrations is on the way to the Moon to provide insights into the lunar surface environment and test technologies for future landers and Artemis astronauts. NASA said that at 1:05 a.m. ET on Thursday, Intuitive Machines' Nova-C lander launched on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The lander made communications contact with the company's mission operations center in Houston. The spacecraft is stable and receiving solar power. These deliveries are part of NASA's CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative and Artemis campaign, which includes new solar system science to better understand planetary processes and evolution, search for evidence of water and other resources, and support long-term human exploration. 'NASA scientific instruments are on their way to the Moon - a giant leap for humanity as we prepare to return to the lunar surface for the first time in more than half a century,' said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. 'We have so much to learn through CLPS flights that will help us shape the future of human exploration for the Artemis Generation.' NASA said that while on its way to the Moon, the science instruments will measure the quantity of cryogenic engine fuel as it is used, and during descent toward the lunar surface, they will collect data on plume-surface interactions and test precision landing technologies. Once on the Moon, the instruments will focus on investigating space weather/lunar surface interactions and radio astronomy. The Nova-C lander also will carry retroreflectors contributing to a network of location markers on the Moon for communication and navigation for future autonomous navigation technologies. Copyright(c) 2024 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Video-Workshop: Das kleine Einmaleins der Charttechnik In diesem kostenlosen Video-Workshop von Stefan Klotter lernen Sie alles uber Charttechnik. Lassen Sie sich diesen kostenfreien Workshop nicht entgehen! Hier klicken CUPERTINO (dpa-AFX) - Apple Inc. plans to launch a new software tool in artificial intelligence or AI for app developers to automate coding work, Bloomberg reported citing people with knowledge of the matter. The new tool is expected to help developers create software coding more quickly with a simplified coding process. Apple has been working on the new AI tool for the last year as part of the next major version of its flagship programming software Xcode. The firm has expanded testing of the features internally, ramped up development and plans to release it to third-party software makers as early as this year. The new tool is said to be similar to Microsoft's Copilot. It can complete lines and blocks of code based on the first parts of the code typed in by a developer. As early as this year, the company may include the feature in its Xcode software, which is being given for free to software developers. The tech major is also working on several generative AI-based features, as per the report. These include the ability to automatically create Apple Music playlists and slide decks in its business presentation software. In latest AI developments, Alphabet Inc.'s Google has launched its 'AI Cyber Defense Initiative' as part of its bid to use AI's security potential. It is expected to help transform cybersecurity and use AI to reverse the dynamic known as the 'Defender's Dilemma.' Copyright(c) 2024 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - The U.S. Department of State has announced reward offers of up to $10 million for information leading to the identification or location of anyone who holds a key leadership position in the Transnational Organized Crime (TOC) group behind the ALPHV/Blackcat Ransomware variant. The State Department also offered up to $5 million for information leading to the arrest or conviction of anyone participating in or conspiring or attempting to participate in a ransomware attack using the ALPHV/Blackcat variant. More than 1,000 victim entities globally have been compromised by ALPHV/Blackcat actors. In December, the Federal Bureau of Investigation disrupted ALPHV/Blackcat's operations, through distributing a decryption tool developed by the FBI that assisted dozens of victims with restoring affected computer systems and saving victims from ransom demands totaling approximately $99 million. Recently, the Department of Justice and the FBI announced cooperation with law enforcement agency groups from the UK, Australia, Germany, Spain, and Denmark, to launch a disruption campaign against the notorious ransomware gang. This reward is offered under the Department of State's Transnational Organized Crime Rewards Program (TOCRP), which supports law enforcement efforts to disrupt transnational crime globally and bring fugitives to justice. Copyright(c) 2024 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. Design Space AlUla, a focal point for showcasing the ancient Saudi towns wide-ranging design initiatives, kicked off on February 15 with its inaugural exhibition that introduced the thinking process behind 10 recent AlUla-inspired works across design, architecture and urban planning. Mawrid: Celebrating Inspired Design will be the first of a series of exhibitions that will run until June 1. Located in the AlJadidah Arts District, Design Space AlUla provides exhibition, workshop and archive space, and is designed to foster collaboration among design professionals, students, and design enthusiasts. It aims at strengthening AlUlas legacy across the cultural sphere as a catalyst for creative inspiration and design through its series of exhibitions, workshops and archive. Under the direction of Sara Ghani, who also curated the gallerys inaugural exhibition, Design Space AlUla promises to engage with emerging and established design professionals, regionally and internationally; and to explore design principles and creative design processes through the lens of AlUlas natural and cultural landscape. The space will be inclusive of all design disciplines from architecture and urban planning, to product and graphic design. It will support and engage with the design community, while highlighting the wider role of design in the regions character, quality of life and wider economy. Design Space AlUla is a contemporary building made of corten steel, glass and polished concrete. The architecture, designed by Gio Forma Studio, is a homage to the breezeblock used widely across buildings in the surrounding AlJadidah Arts District. Shaped around a plaza, the luminous courtyard design is complemented by the exposed geometrical brickwork, taking the form of an intricate lattice facade, bringing further light and natural ventilation throughout the building. Projects explored in Mawrid: Celebrating Inspired Design include: Gio Forma Studio/Black Engineerings Maraya, a 9,740 sq m mirror-clad venue that blends with its awe-inspiring surroundings, echoing the natural textures and colours of AlUla Plans for the renovation of Madrasat Addeera, AlUlas first arts and design centre, by UK based Hopkins Architects Roth Architectures Azulik Eco Resort which draws inspiration from the stories of wind and erosion, ensuring the project seamlessly integrates with its natural surroundings SAL Architects renovation of the historic Ammar Bin Yasser Mosque, which collaborated closely with the community to ensure a respectful and harmonious transformation AlUlas Cultural Oasis District Masterplan, guided by Prior + Partners in collaboration with Allies and Morrison, each driven by the mission to cherish and protect the cultural and natural landscape that has made AlUla a place where communities, travellers, traders and pilgrims have, for millennia, wanted to live, pass through, rest, and exchange cultural traditions. Other exhibitors include finalists from the second edition of AlUla Design Award Imane Mellah, Teeb, Sara Kanoo and Shaddah Studio, and representation from the first edition of the AlUla Design Residency. The residency is a five-month programme in AlUla that brings together designers and experts on-site to work across multiple disciplines such as infrastructure development and architectural design, exploring public realm interventions and urban furniture, sustainability and local building materials. The five design practices engaged in the residency are: Bahraini Danish from Bahrain and Denmark, Hall Haus from France, Studio Leo Orta from France, Studio Raw Material from India, and Leen Ajlan from Saudi Arabia. The exhibition also explores the visual identity for Design Space AlUla created by Clara Sancho Studio and design agency 29Letters from Madrid. The logo draws on a wide range of inspiration from across AlUla, from ancient inscriptions at Jabal Ikmah to the distinctive breezeblocks in AlJadidah and other architectural elements of AlUlas more recent visual terrain. The exhibition design by Atelier Bruckner takes visitors on a multi-sensory journey through AlUla-inspired design, weaving together the diverse works of selected designers into a captivating spatial narrative. Sara Ghani said: "Design Space AlUla commits to celebrating AlUlas natural history, its cultural heritage, and vernacular materials inspiring sustainable futures that are rooted in place. Our ambition is to fuel the design economy, provide resources to designers to explore and experiment, and be a place for visitors to research, explore and connect with the processes behind AlUlas design journey." The launch programme, which runs until tomorrow (February 17), will include keynote presentations by Sabine Marcelis on Pushing Boundaries, and Paul Cocksedge on Design and Human Interaction; in conversation with Roth Architecture and SAL Architects on Who is this building for?. A panel discussion with Prior and Partners on Creating the Cultural District; a workshop with Sara Kanoo on AlUla at Play; and several other sessions and design tours. TradeArabia News Service The New York State Independent Redistricting Commission on Thursday approved a new proposed map that looks similar to the current map that helped multiple Republicans gain seats in Congress in 2022. That appears to have disappointed Democrats downstate, who were hoping the new map might help them flip those seats and possibly win control of the House of Representatives in November. But if the latest version of the map is approved by the State Legislature and its unclear if that will happen congressional seats in Western New York will see only minor changes. Ken Kruly, a former Democratic official and political blogger, said the proposal makes Rep. Nick Langworthys district 1% more Republican than it currently is; makes the vacant seat formerly held by Rep. Brian Higgins 2% more Democratic; and makes Rep. Claudia Tenneys district the most Republican in the state. 26th District The 26th Congressional District, which was formerly held by Higgins and which is being sought by State Sen. Tim Kennedy and fellow Democrat Nate McMurray, would get slightly more Democratic, with Lackawanna and West Seneca folded into that district. Erie County Democratic Chairman Jeremy J. Zellner said Lackawanna was part of that district until two years ago, when it was moved to the 23rd District. It really fits in that (26th) district, Zellner said. A spokesperson for Kennedy did not respond to a message seeking comment. McMurray derided what he called gerrymandering and the manipulation of district boundaries. Its frustrating to watch politicians adjust these lines to secure their positions, McMurray said. However, keeping Niagara Falls, Grand Island and Buffalo within a single political district is logical. It allows us to harness the collective strength of the entire region for the good of Western New York. 23rd District The 23rd Congressional District, which is currently held by Langworthy, would gain parts of Niagara County. That would mean Langworthy, who lives in Niagara County, would not have to move to reside in the district. Both Langworthy and Erie County Republican Chairman Michael Kracker declined to comment on the new map. 24th District The 24th Congressional District, which is held by Tenney, would gain the Lewiston-Youngstown area. The district would now stretch from Youngstown to the Thousand Islands. The latest decision came about two years after the independent panel failed to agree on a congressional map, throwing the decision to the State Legislature which then produced a Democratic gerrymander that eventually got upended in court after Republicans sued. That 2022 court decision resulted in the hiring of a special master an independent redistricting expert to redraw the lines. The special master produced a map that created an unusual number of competitive seats, prompting Republicans to pick up several seats in the 2022 election. But then a group of citizens backed by the Democratic Party sued, arguing that a 2014 state constitutional amendment calls on the independent panel, not a special master, to redraw the congressional map after every census. In a 4-3 ruling, the Court of Appeals agreed, thereby sending the commission and then the Legislature, which must ultimately approve any redistricting plan, back to the drawing board. The court gave the redistricting commission until Feb. 28 to come up with a new map. The commission and its staff did its work largely in private, with no public hearings. Statewide implications The New York Times wrote that the commissions 9-to-1 vote now thrusts a politically and legally thorny choice on the states Democratic-led Legislature. It can rubber-stamp the compromise, dashing the hopes of Representative Hakeem Jeffries and other Democrats in Washington, or reject it and risk ending up back in court by pushing for more favorable lines. The commissions map would help Democrats flip one seat in Syracuse but would not do much to alter the districts of four first-term Republican representatives Mike Lawler of New York Citys suburbs; Anthony DEsposito and Nick LaLota of Long Island; and Marc Molinaro in the Hudson Valley who would have faced stiffer re-election challenges later this year if the demographics of their districts shifted left in the new map. The Long Island district where Democrat Tom Suozzi won a special election Tuesday would not change. New York State Democratic Chairman Jay Jacobs said in a statement, We owe it to the public to carefully review these maps, especially in light of serious concerns being raised by various communities of interest. Former GOP gubernatorial candidate Lee Zeldin said in a statement that the Legislature should simply adopt the current NY House map as is. Problem solved. All of the chaos and confusion would instantly end. Zeldins support led Jacobs to state, The fact that Lee Zeldin ... endorsed this map should give us all pause and require a thorough examination, which the Legislature will now do. State Republican Chairman Ed Cox said in a statement that the current congressional districts are the most competitive districts in the nation and resulted because New York Republicans brought action against the illegal gerrymander attempted in 2022 by Democrats in Albany and Washington. Cox urged the Legislature to adopt the district lines without change. Lawmakers are not expected to return to Albany until Feb. 26. Click here to view an interactive map of the new district lines from the commissions website. Eaton to add 300 skilled manufacturing jobs in Santiago Recent Eaton investments in North American manufacturing total almost $750 million SANTIAGO, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC / ACCESSWIRE / February 16, 2024 / Intelligent power management company Eaton is opening a new assembly plant in Santiago de los Caballeros, the company's fifth manufacturing site in the Dominican Republic, to meet growing customer demand for its fuses. The project will increase supplies of Eaton's Bussmann series fuses, which provide critical safety functionality in electric vehicles (EVs), renewable and energy storage projects, data center as well as other industrial applications. Production at the new facility is expected to begin in 2024. Demand for Eaton's electrical solutions is growing amid the biggest changes to energy systems in over a century as the world shifts to more sustainable energy supplies, transportation electrifies and the growth of cloud-based technologies booms. To increase supplies of its fuses, Eaton is building a new 65,000 square-foot, state-of-the-art assembly plant in the Santiago province and creating approximately 300 manufacturing jobs. "This is the latest expansion of Eaton's manufacturing capacity to help provide the products that are at the center of the energy transformation that is happening across the globe," said Rob Griffin, vice president and general manager, Eaton's Bussmann Division. "Eaton's Bussmann fuses are critical to provide safe and reliable power in electric vehicles, renewable energy, energy storage systems and data centers across the globe. The Eaton Santiago facility will assemble and package fuses and fuse accessories that are used in these applications." Eaton has operated in the Dominican Republic for more than 35 years and is one of the country's largest manufacturers. Recently, the company opened the first industry design center in the Dominican Republic, creating a hub for technical innovation and advancing industry education and training in the country. "We value and appreciate the strong commitment that Eaton has with the Dominican Republic," said Minister Victor Bisono - Industry, Commerce and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). "We welcome their expansion and continued promotion of productive research and innovation. Eaton contributes to the strengthening of our human talent and has a lasting social impact in our communities." Eaton's new location in Santiago is part of the company's investment in North American manufacturing. In 2023, Eaton announced nearly $750M in investments to increase manufacturing capacity for electrical assemblies including switchgear, switchboards and circuit breakers; EV charging technology, transformers, voltage regulators and more; as well as underground protective connectors for the electric grid. Eaton is an intelligent power management company dedicated to protecting the environment and improving the quality of life for people everywhere. We make products for the data center, utility, industrial, commercial, machine building, residential, aerospace and mobility markets. We are guided by our commitment to do business right, to operate sustainably and to help our customers manage power - today and well into the future. By capitalizing on the global growth trends of electrification and digitalization, we're accelerating the planet's transition to renewable energy sources, helping to solve the world's most urgent power management challenges, and building a more sustainable society for people today and generations to come. Eaton was founded in 1911 and has been listed on the New York Stock Exchange for more than a century. We reported revenues of $23.2 billion in 2023 and serve customers in more than 160 countries. For more information, visit Eaton.com. Follow us on LinkedIn. Contact: Kristin Somers +1.919.345.3714 Kristincsomers@eaton.com View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from Eaton on 3blmedia.com. Contact Info: Spokesperson: Eaton Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/eaton Email: info@3blmedia.com SOURCE: Eaton View the original press release on accesswire.com Birmingham DEI Network hosts training, book discussion and author interview. NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / February 16, 2024 / Regions Bank By Jan Hofman Regions is dedicated to continuous learning in a variety of areas, including how we the bank can support individuals with disabilities. A great example is a recent program executed by the Birmingham DEI Network honoring National Disability Employment Awareness Month. The Alabama Department of Rehabilitation Services (ADRS) provided virtual training on how to make workplaces more inclusive for individuals with neurodiversity. In addition, Kathy Lovell, Regions Disability Outreach and Services manager, interviewed John Kemp, CEO of the Lakeshore Foundation. The Lakeshore Foundation is a nonprofit whose mission is to provide opportunities for individuals with disability to live a healthy lifestyle through physical activity, research, advocacy and health promotion. The audience learned that in addition to being instrumental in the creation of the American with Disabilities Act and writing a book, "Disability Friendly: How to Go From Clueless to Inclusive," Mr. Kemp had a near-space experience as part of a NASA program to make space more inclusive. Hinton Taylor, Strategic Planning Business Partner and a member of the Birmingham DEI Network, attended the discussion with John Kemp. "I very much appreciated John Kemp's comments about being disabled versus being handicapped," said Hinton. "We speak a lot internally about 'focus on what you can control,' and John has created an amazing platform focusing on those items he can control and not being distracted by those he can't." Regions' DEI Networks are associate-led groups established to help build deeper connections, greater understanding and a stronger sense of belonging among associates. Regions DEI Areas of Impact DEI activities at Regions are focused on three areas of impact: workforce, workplace and marketplace. Workforce: View inclusion as a competitive advantage, with the goal of attracting, developing, and retaining talent. Workplace: Create and maintain a work environment that is inclusive, and where associates are encouraged to collaborate across differences. Marketplace: Leverage our DEI and social responsibility focus to strengthen our relationships with communities, clients, customers, and external stakeholders. About the Author: Jan Hofman is a member of the Birmingham DEI Network Leadership Team and a Community Engagement Analyst. Bring Your Whole Self to Work We have a passion for creating an inclusive environment that promotes and values diversity of race, color, national origin, religion, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, veteran status, genetic information, sex, pregnancy, and many other primary and secondary dimensions that make each of us unique as individuals and provide valuable perspective that makes us a better company and employer. More importantly, we recognize that creating a workplace where everyone, regardless of background, can do their best work is the right thing to do. OFCCP Disclosure: Equal Opportunity Employer/Disabled/Veterans Left: John Kemp | Right: Kathy Lovell kathy.lovell@regions.com View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from Regions Bank on 3blmedia.com. Contact Info: Spokesperson: Regions Bank Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/regions-bank Email: info@3blmedia.com SOURCE: Regions Bank View the original press release on accesswire.com WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Friday, Brown-Forman Co. (BF-A) announced that it has sold its cooperage in Trinity, Alabama to Independent Stave Company also known as ISCO. The company said that the cooperage will keep manufacturing barrels for the Jack Daniel Distillery as part of the strategic collaboration between the two companies. Furthermore, ISCO intends to rename the cooperage as the Alabama Cooperage after the anticipated closing on May 1, 2024 and will extend job offers to the current employees of the cooperage. Furthermore, ISCO intends to rename the cooperage as the Alabama Cooperage after the anticipated closing on May 1, 2024. Copyright(c) 2024 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. HBM Healthcare Investments AG / Key word(s): Monthly Figures Key Figures 15.02.2024 16.02.2024 / 17:47 CET/CEST in CHF Performance in % 15.02.2024 MTD FYTD CYTD NAV 243.93 6.3 -1.3 8.4 Share Price 165.00 -9.4 -19.4 -9.6 Total Net Assets (in million) 1'683 HBM Healthcare Investments AG Bundesplatz 1 CH-6300 Zug - Switzerland Tel. +41 41 710 75 77 Fax +41 41 710 75 78 E-Mail: hbm@hbmhealthcare.com Web: www.hbmhealthcare.com Wenn Sie keine Mitteilungen von HBM Healthcare Investments mehr wunschen, konnen Sie diese hier a bbestellen . Should you wish to unsubscribe from all HBM Healthcare Investments news, please unsubscribe here. Disclaimer: This message may contain confidential or privileged Information and is intended only for the use of the addressee named above. If you are not the intended recipient of this message, you are hereby notified that you must not use, copy, disclose or take any action based on this message or information herein. If you have received this message by error, please advise the sender immediately and delete this message. The publication is for information purposes only and does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation to buy securities. Statements regarding the past performance may not be understood as indication for the current or future performance. The value of investments and the income therefrom may fluctuate. A good past performance may possibly not be repeated in the future. It is possible that the investor will not be paid back the full amount invested. Performance data does not take into account any commissions and costs charged when units of the Fund are issued and redeemed. An investment entails risks, which are fully described in the individual offering documents. Some information quoted was obtained from external sources HBM considers to be reliable. HBM cannot guarantee the adequacy, accuracy, timeliness or completeness of or be held responsible or liable for errors of fact regarding such data and information obtained from third parties, and this data may change with market conditions. 06/2023 If the email looks unformatted, please use this alternative link . End of Media Release SOUTHLAKE, TX / ACCESSWIRE / February 16, 2024 / Synerion, a Malam Team company, has successfully acquired the global business operations of Rosslare, a company renowned for providing advanced technological solutions in the field of access control security. Operating worldwide, including in the United States, Canada, Australia, Europe, Latin America, Israel, and India, Rosslare boasts annual sales in the tens of millions of dollars. Synerion will also absorb Rosslare's Southlake, Texas, operations which will become the new U.S. home for Synerion USA Inc. Rosslare offers its clients a diverse range of controllers, smart readers, biometric terminals, accessories, and security patrol systems, supported by sophisticated and flexible software systems. Synerion, has been a long-time partner of Rosslare products, establishing full integration between Synerion's attendance software and Rosslare's access control security products. Paolo Gilfillan, CEO of Synerion, emphasized, "The acquisition of Rosslare's business increases our footprint in the North American market for our software products and brings new products and solutions to our existing customer base and partners. Rosslare has world-class access control and security solutions and an established brand with over 100 distributor agreements servicing almost every state and province in North America. Together with Synerion's global reach and technology expertise, we are confident we can bring a lot of value to the market." Ilan Toker, CEO of the Malam Team, expressed, "The acquisition of Rosslare's business aligns with the ongoing growth and development strategy of Malam globally. Malam can now provide its clients worldwide with a solution that integrates workforce management with access control, leveraging our advanced development capabilities, especially in the cloud, and expanding and deepening Rosslare's global presence." ABOUT SYNERION Synerion is global leader in cloud workforce management software with over 40 years of experience, 1.25 million active users, and 1,600 customers globally. Synerion offers a full suite of workforce management software and hardware, creating the ultimate package in customer satisfaction. ABOUT ROSSLARE For over 40 years, Rosslare has been delivering access control solutions you can trust drawn on rich global presence and implementation experience. Rosslare offers one of the broadest off-the-shelf product portfolios on the market together with tailored solutions that play a key role in leading organizations' productivity, profitability and growth. Contact Information: Shane Snary Marketing Manager, Synerion ssnary@synerion.com 647-202-1930 SOURCE: Synerion North America Inc. View the original press release on newswire.com. Finsbury Growth & Income Trust Plc - Transaction in Own Shares PR Newswire LONDON, United Kingdom, February 16 For immediate release 16 February 2024 FINSBURY GROWTH & INCOME TRUST PLC (the "Company") MARKET PURCHASE OF COMPANY'S OWN SHARES The Company announces that it has today purchased 201,709 of its own shares ("Ordinary Shares") at a price of 856.58 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 23 January 2024. Following this transaction, the total number of Ordinary Shares held by the Company in treasury is 32,459,079; 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 192,532,224. The figure of 192,532,224 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 BURLINGAME, Calif., Feb. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- CoherentMI published a report, titled, Singapore Carbon Credit Market was valued at US$ 14.5 Million in the year 2023 and is anticipated to reach US$ 55.14 Million by 2030, at a CAGR of 21% during forecast period 2023-2030. Market Dynamics: The Singapore government has taken significant initiatives to reduce carbon emissions in the country, which is expected to drive the growth of the carbon credit market in the region. The government has implemented the Carbon Pricing Act, which imposes a price on carbon emissions from industries. This act encourages companies to reduce their carbon footprint and adopt cleaner technologies. Additionally, the government has also launched the National Climate Change Strategy, which aims to reduce Singapore's greenhouse gas emissions by 36% by 2030. These initiatives create a favorable environment for companies to invest in carbon credits, thereby driving the growth of the market. Furthermore, the increasing awareness among businesses about the environmental impacts of their operations and the growing need to align with sustainable practices are also fueling the demand for carbon credits. By purchasing carbon credits, companies can offset their carbon emissions and contribute to environmental sustainability. Singapore Carbon Credit Market Report Snapshot: Report Coverage Details Study Period 2023 - 2030 Base Year of Estimation 2022 CAGR 21.0 % Largest Market Singapore Market Concentration High Major Players Climate Impact X, Carbon Credit Capital, Carbonbay, Southpole, Triple Oxygen and Among Others. Segments Covered By Project Type, By Trading Type, By End User Report Coverage Revenue Forecast, Competitive Landscape, Growth Factors, and Trends Trends Mainstreaming of Carbon Credits and Trading Live Streaming Taking Off Key Market Takeaways: The Singapore Carbon Credit Market Size is anticipated to witness a CAGR of 21% during the forecast period 2023-2030, owing to the growing demand for renewable energy projects. during the forecast period 2023-2030, owing to the growing demand for renewable energy projects. On the basis of project type, the renewable energy segment is expected to hold a dominant position, owing to the increasing focus on clean energy generation and reducing carbon emissions. Additionally, over the counter trading is expected to dominate the market in terms of trading type, due to its flexibility and ease of use. On the basis of region, Singapore is expected to hold a dominant position over the forecast period. Singapore's commitment to environmental sustainability and its efforts to promote carbon neutrality make it an ideal market for carbon credit trading. Key players operating in the Singapore Carbon Credit Market include Climate Impact X, Carbon Credit Capital, Carbonbay, Southpole, and Triple Oxygen. These players contribute to the market's growth through their expertise and services in carbon credit trading. Their presence in the market strengthens the overall trading ecosystem and provides market participants with a variety of options for carbon credit trading. Market Trends: One of the key trends in the Singapore Carbon Credit Market is the growing adoption of carbon offset projects by businesses. Companies are investing in projects that aim to reduce carbon emissions or remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, such as renewable energy projects, afforestation programs, and energy efficiency initiatives. This trend is driven by the desire of businesses to demonstrate their commitment to sustainability and meet their corporate social responsibility goals. Another trend in the market is the emergence of blockchain technology in the carbon credit market. Blockchain can provide a transparent and secure system for tracking and trading carbon credits. It enables verification of carbon emissions reductions and ensures the integrity and authenticity of carbon credits. This technology has the potential to streamline the carbon credit market and increase trust among participants. Recent Developments In September 2022, Carbonbay announced the launch of its carbon trading and offsetting platform tailored for Asia Pacific markets. The platform enables organizations to buy carbon credits and helps develop regional offset projects. In November 2020, Carbon Credit Capital launched the world's first regulated tokenized carbon credits called Carbon Tokens. Each token represents one carbon credit and can be traded on digital exchanges. Read complete market research report, "Singapore Carbon Credit Market Size And Share Analysis - Growth Trends And Forecasts (2023 - 2030)", Published by CoherentMI. Market Opportunities: Growing Demand for Renewable Energy Projects The Singapore Carbon Credit Market is anticipated to witness a CAGR of 21% during the forecast period 2023-2030, owing to the growing demand for renewable energy projects. Renewable energy is expected to be the dominating segment in terms of project type, holding a dominant position. This can be attributed to the increasing awareness about climate change and the need to transition to cleaner energy sources. As Singapore aims to reduce its carbon footprint and promote renewable energy generation, there is a significant opportunity for carbon credit trading in this sector. Rapid Development of Over the Counter Trading Another market opportunity in the Singapore Carbon Credit Market is the rapid development of over the counter trading. Over the counter trading is expected to be the dominating trading type in the market. This can be attributed to its flexibility and ease of use, allowing participants to directly negotiate and trade carbon credits without the need for a centralized exchange. As a result, over the counter trading provides a more efficient and customized approach to carbon credit trading, leading to its growing popularity in the market. In conclusion, the Singapore Carbon Credit Market presents significant market opportunities in the form of growing demand for renewable energy projects and the rapid development of over the counter trading. With Singapore's commitment to environmental sustainability, the market is poised for growth in the coming years. Key players in the market play a crucial role in facilitating carbon credit trading and contributing to the market's overall growth. Singapore Carbon Credit Market Segmentation: By Project Type Renewable energy Energy efficiency Waste management Forestry and land use Household devices Fuel switching Others By Trading Type Over the counter Exchange Traded Merchandise Project Based Others (futures, options etc) By End User Corporations Governments Broker & Exchange Project Developers Individuals Others (NGOs, public sector agencies etc.) Purchase this Exclusive report here: https://www.coherentmi.com/industry-reports/singapore-carbon-credit-market/buyNow Top Questions Answered in this Report: 1. What factors are impeding the growth of the Singapore Carbon Credit Market? 2. What are the primary drivers fueling the growth of the Singapore Carbon Credit Market? 3. Which segment dominates as the leading component in the Singapore Carbon Credit Market? 4. Who are the key players actively participating in the Singapore Carbon Credit Market? 5. Which region is expected to take the lead in the Singapore Carbon Credit Market? 6. What is the projected CAGR of the Singapore Carbon Credit Market? Find More Trending Reports Below: Carbon Strips Market is Segmented By Product Type (Carbon Strip 10.0mm x 0.4mm x 1000mm, Carbon Strip 15.0mm x 4.0mm x 1000mm, and Carbon Strip 25.4mm x 0.8mm x 1000mm), By Application (Radio-Controlled (RC) Planes/Helicopters, Unmanned Air Vehicles (UAVs), Stunt/Power Kites, Robots, and Mechanical Control Mechanisms), By Geography (North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa). The report offers the value (in USD billion) for the above-mentioned segments. Magnesium Rod Market is Segmented By Type (Purity 99%, Purity 99.9%, and Purity 99.99%), By Application (Heater, Gas Pipeline, Water Tank, and Others), By Geography (North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, Middle East, and Africa). The report offers the value (in USD billion) for the above-mentioned segments. Specality Cement Market is Segmented By Product (Single Axis, Dual Axis, and Azimuth-altitude dual axis), By Application (Utility, Commercial, and Residential), By Geography (North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa). The report offers the value (in USD billion) for the above-mentioned segments. About Us: At CoherentMI, we are a leading global market intelligence company dedicated to providing comprehensive insights, analysis, and strategic solutions to empower businesses and organizations worldwide. Moreover, CoherentMI is a subsidiary of Coherent Market Insights Pvt Ltd., which is a market intelligence and consulting organization that helps businesses in critical business decisions. With our cutting-edge technology and experienced team of industry experts, we deliver actionable intelligence that helps our clients make informed decisions and stay ahead in today's rapidly changing business landscape. Contact Us: Mr. Shah Senior Client Partner - Business Development CoherentMI Phone: U.S.: +1-206-701-6702 U.K: +44-020-8133-4027 JAPAN: +81-50-5539-1737 INDIA: +91-848-285-0837 Email: sales@coherentmi.com Website: https://www.coherentmi.com Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/902389/Coherent_Market_Insights_Logo.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/singapore-carbon-credit-market-to-reach-us-55-14-million-by-2030--rising-at-a-cagr-of-21--report-by-coherentmi-302064012.html ROTTERDAM, The Netherlands (February 16, 2024) - IMCD N.V. ("IMCD" or "Company"), a global leading distribution partner, formulator of speciality chemicals and ingredients, today announces that IMCD has signed an agreement to acquire the business of the speciality distribution company ResChem Technologies Pty Ltd and ResChem Trust in Australia and New Zealand ("ResChem"). Established in 2007, ResChem specialises in resins, additives and pigments for use in inks, coatings, adhesives and construction applications. ResChem represents leading global suppliers which are complementary to IMCD's portfolio. ResChem is headquartered in Sydney, Australia, generated a revenue of approximately AUD 25 million (ca. EUR 15 million) in 2023 with 15 employees and strengthens IMCD's technical expertise with an application laboratory based in Sydney. "We see steady growth in the coatings industry in Australia and New Zealand with the advancement of innovative and sustainable solutions," remarked Frank Schneider, Global Business Group Director, Coatings & Construction. "With the joining of ResChem, we can leverage their complementary portfolio and technical capabilities to further develop our footprint in the local markets," concluded Schneider. "This is a wonderful opportunity for our employees to join a leading multinational company and the opportunities for advancement it provides. For our customers and suppliers, we will continue to provide and further improve the high level of service they are used to from ResChem," said Bruce Forder, Managing Director of ResChem Technologies. The closing of the transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to take place in the second quarter of 2024. Attached, the full press release in PDF format, the main visual and the photo caption. Attachments NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / February 16, 2024 / Logitech's Women Who Master series celebrates the achievements of women leaders in STEM. This installment tells the story of Aisha Bowe, former aerospace engineer and current CEO of two tech companies, who has unique insights into guiding the next generation of STEM women. If you could go back in time and tell young Aisha Bowe that she would run not one but two tech companies in the future, she probably wouldn't believe you. Despite showing no inclinations toward tech growing up, Aisha is the founder and CEO of STEMBoard, an engineering consulting firm, and the creator of LINGO, a project-based STEM coding kit that is used by thousands of students and now available on major retailers. Recently we had an opportunity to ask Aisha about her life, her career, her thoughts on mentorship, and her vision for the future of her field. Q: What was your childhood like? What did you like to do, and how did you get into engineering? I was a late comer to the field of engineering. In fact, I had no idea I was even interested in engineering until I ended up in community college. I was a competitive gymnast growing up. So I spent most of my time from age five to 15 in a gymnasium somewhere because I was on a club team. Then high school let's just say I was not a very focused or deliberate student. After that, I found myself at a two-year college in Michigan called Washtenaw Community College. I thought I was going to major in international business and travel to exotic locations for work-that's what I thought I wanted for my life then. At my dad's suggestion, I took a pre-algebra class at Washtenaw. The class was taught by a woman who was an electrical engineer at Ford at the time. That was the spark. That class led to Calculus 1, 2, and 3, and then I transitioned to the University of Michigan, where, by the time it was all over, I had earned two degrees in engineering. My first degree is in aerospace engineering. My second degree is a master's in space systems engineering with a focus on nanosatellite technology development. After graduation, I worked at NASA Ames Research Center for six years as an aerospace engineer in Silicon Valley, where I focused on satellites the size of a shoebox and optimizing the National Airspace System. Q: Amazing. And what made you shift from NASA to looking to start your own company, STEMBoard? I was speaking at the Hiller Aviation Museum as part of NASA's public outreach, and I vividly remember seeing this young girl in the crowd. Her name was Claire, and she was 13. Claire came up to me after my presentation and she said, "I want to be an aerospace engineer." And I said, "Well, OK, here. I'll give you my card. After you get home and you talk to your parents, if they're okay with it, contact me and we'll have a conversation." A week later I get an email from a cute username like "Puggydog7." It was Claire! She ended up coming to NASA to spend a day with me, touring the arc jet and the wind tunnel - and everything. By the end of that day, I was convinced that I didn't want to live a life where what I did that day wasn't part of it. I realized that you are a role model and you are a mentor the moment you think you are. And STEMBoard grew out of that. I wanted to create a company that did two things: provide engineering solutions and work on exciting and challenging problems AND, my core priority, inspire the emerging workforce. Today, Claire is an aerospace engineering graduate from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo and she works at Blue Origin. I wanted to inspire other people out there like me, like Claire - all those people who don't yet know that they're the future of technology. Q: Practically speaking, how are you inspiring other young people out there, like Claire and yourself, on a grand scale? When I started STEMBoard, we were really focused on being an engineering company. And, in creating LINGO, our project-based STEM coding kit, I feel like we've really been able to demonstrate that profit and social benefit are not mutually exclusive. You can do both. And you can do both incredibly well. With LINGO, we give kids a series of real-world STEM lessons, where we teach kids how hardware and software talk to each other. In one kit, students can learn how to build and code a back-up sensor for a driverless car. The same type sensor can be found in a Tesla. It's now sold through major retailers and used by schools, universities and Fortune 500 education programs in the US and around the world. It's amazing to be part of a movement that has this kind of reach and momentum. I love that we can bring an industry perspective to STEM education, but this work also makes my organization a better place. And I hope that's something I can communicate to other companies and people who may not see themselves as mentors. We all have a role to play, and it's called mentorship. Q: That brings up an interesting question about mentoring. With STEM spreading into other fields through the technology that is everywhere in our modern lives, what skills do you think are most important for us to teach the next generation? *Laughs* I hope I don't get too many angry emails from people who disagree, but in my opinion data is king. So anything around the ability to gather, understand, and visualize data is key. I'm finding that more and more organizations want to make data-driven decisions, regardless of what metrics they're actually measuring. So that is a foundational element. Also just being proficient in commonly used tools - Zoom, Google Docs, Outlook, whatever - would be a way for us to get people off to a good start. And learning how to learn. If you can help people learn more effectively, it's going to benefit every other part of their academic and professional experience. Q: You're obviously not afraid to go in new directions or to use your, or your team's, diverse interests and skills as launch pads for business endeavors. How do you bring your whole self to work? That's how I've always run my organizations. I love for people to do what they were hired for, absolutely, but I want them to feel like if they've got something else they can add that they weren't hired for and that they have the freedom to express it. And even if they don't have that additional piece, I just want them to be in agreement that we are going to do something here as a company that benefits not only ourselves and our families, but that benefits our communities and can hopefully make the world a better place. Q: Women have made incredible progress over the course of history. How do you see yourself carrying this work forward and shaping the narrative for future women in STEM? I think a theme of my life is challenging what the norms are. I want to challenge how people see women. I want to challenge how people see women in technology. I want to challenge how people see black women in STEM or how CEOs run companies. There are so many limitations put on people that are based on nothing other than convention. When I was in community college saying I wanted to work for NASA, everyone was like, "Yeah, sure." And when I decided that I wanted to create an education business inside a service company, everyone thought I was bonkers again. But just because something's not commonly done, or you haven't seen it done, doesn't mean that it can't be a viable option for someone in the future. I hope my work helps young women and girls somewhere to expand what they think is possible. And I hope it helps society expand what they think is possible of us. To learn more about Aisha or STEMBoard's services, go here. To get a LINGO coding kit of your very own, go here. Women Who Master puts a spotlight on women who have made outstanding contributions to STEM fields. The goal of the series is to celebrate those contributions, inspire future leaders, and help close the gender gap in technology. Social Media Handles Aisha Bowe Twitter: @arbowe Instagram: @aishabowe Facebook: @aishabowe LinkedIn: @aishabowe LINGO Twitter: @STEMLingoCo Instagram: @stemlingoco Facebook: @STEMLingoCo LinkedIn: @STEMLingoCo Link to In Her Element Photo Credit: Wesley Hicks. View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from Logitech on 3blmedia.com. Contact Info: Spokesperson: Logitech Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/logitech Email: info@3blmedia.com SOURCE: Logitech View the original press release on accesswire.com The Federal Highway Administration has given the greenlight for the Kensington Expressway project to move forward, The Buffalo News has learned. The agency of the U.S. Department of Transportation reached a finding of no significant impact after reviewing the environmental assessment conducted over the past two years by the New York State Department of Transportation. Gov. Kathy Hochul, who announced a commitment of up to $1 billion in January 2022 for the project, is expected to make the announcement today in Buffalo. Gov. Hochul has been supportive of this transformational, community-driven project to reconnect East Buffalos neighborhoods for more than two years, and well have more to share tomorrow, spokesman Matt Janiszewski said Thursday afternoon. The decision allows the project to go to final design and then on to construction, which the governor has said she wanted to see begin as early as late 2024. It comes amid mounting opposition to the project and few signs of community support at state and community meetings, as well as among public comments received for the project a state Department of Transportation-led effort that calls for a tunnel between Dodge and Sidney streets. Trees and grass would be planted atop the tunnel as a way to reconstruct a portion of the Frederick Law Olmsted-designed two-lane street, bridle path and rows of trees that existed before the highway was bulldozed to make way for Route 33 during the highway boom of the 1950s and 60s. The decision marks the culmination of efforts dating to the early 2000s by residents on the East Side who formed Restore Our Community Coalition, also known as ROCC, to address the harm done by the expressway. The group has sought to reconnect neighborhoods long divided by the sunken six-lane highway. Stephanie Barber Geter, who was ROCCs chairman and face of the organization in recent years, died from an illness in January, weeks before the governors expected announcement. ROCC members hope there will be one or two future phases to remake the entire expressway, though the project does not call for them. Assembly Majority Leader Crystal Peoples-Stokes, D-Buffalo, strongly pushed for the project and has worked with the governor to make it a reality. Grassroots groups have a different vision, including the East Side Parkways Coalition, which aims to continue advocating for changes to the project. The group has led the call for the restoration of the parkway between Delaware and Martin Luther King Jr. parks a distance of about 2 miles and to address longstanding health concerns that have beset East Side residents living on both sides of Route 33 for decades. This decision represents a failure of leadership by our state officials, and strengthens our resolve to pursue every strategy at our disposal to ensure a community-supported plan emerges, and East Side parks and neighborhoods are truly reconnected, the group said in a statement. A lawsuit by Terrence Robinson and Marcia Ladiana, a couple who live on Humboldt Parkway, is now in State Supreme Court and could slow or upend the project. The lawsuit claims the DOTs decision to use an environmental assessment, rather than the more comprehensive environmental impact statement, was inadequate for a project of its scale and violated the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act. Former State Sen. Antoine Thompson, who championed the Kensington Expressway in the first half of the 2000s, also has new reservations. Thompson said the decision to put a deck over a portion of the highway was the right decision when he served in Albany from 2007 to 2011 but it is the wrong decision now. I strongly support the full restoration of the parkway, said Thompson, the CEO of Greater Washington Clean Cities Coalition, based in Washington, D.C. Buffalo is well positioned to be a success story, and it would be a travesty to go halfway when you could go all the way. Collection: Restoring Humboldt Parkway Earlier this year Gov. Kathy Hochul endorsed a proposal for decking the portion of Route 33 that runs through the East Side between Best and E Peoples-Stokes has criticized those seeking changes for not participating in community meetings held 15 years ago, when the plan to put a deck over a portion of the highway, rather than filling it in, was being decided. Thompson was there at the time, attending the advisory committee meetings beginning in August 2009 with representatives of the Black Chamber of Commerce, the Hamlin Park Community & Taxpayers Association, the Buffalo Olmsted Parks Conservancy and other groups, politicians and state Department of Transportation engineers. The advisory committee was persuaded not to restore the parkway because the DOT said it would be prohibitively expensive to do so, he said. We had to lower our expectations, and thats how we got the idea of a phased approach, Thompson said. But we are 20 years later, and with President Biden and the movement for environmental justice and transportation justice, we are in a different place. Thompson travels around the United States touting Bidens Reconnecting Communities initiative, part of the bipartisan infrastructure legislation that gave the Kensington project $55 million, the largest of 45 grants announced in last year. The federal program was created to address the harm done when highways were constructed through mostly Black neighborhoods in the 1950s and 60s. ROCC member Richard A. Cummings said Thompson overlooks the impact the cars would have on city streets. Hes not aware that filling it in is actually more detrimental to our community than it is positive, said Cummings, who served alongside Thompson on the advisory committee. Where do you think those 75,000 cars will go? They will go through the community and create more pollution from idling at stop signs and lights, and youre then also eliminating emergency routes to the hospitals. Thompson drew an analogy to one of the biggest issues he was confronted with on the Common Council whether to put a fishing pond where a dormant wading pool stood in Martin Luther King Jr. Park. The wading pool hadnt been used in years because of mechanical issues and a widespread belief, proved wrong, that several lifeguards would be needed on duty. When Thompson met with Mayor Anthony Masiello, he said he was told there was too much momentum to stop the pond. Thompson said he told the mayor that the community was so often let down by things that never happened, or werent done the way they would like them to happen, and they shouldnt make that mistake again. Lets let the community know we are listening to them and get it right this time, Thompson said he told Masiello. The wading pool was restored and reopened. It was hard and we did it, and we did it right, Thompson said. Thats what community empowerment looks like, and I think this is another situation where there needs to be some tweaking. In the end it will be worth it for all parties involved. SHANGHAI, Feb. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Against the backdrop of record growth in trade turnover between CIS countries and China, an increasing number of Chinese brands and marketplaces are seeking to enter this market and strengthen their positions there. Success in the market is based on effective marketing - here companies face a number of challenges: the difficulty of transferring funds for advertising, the unique features of local ad platforms, and the nuances of advertising legislation. One of the leaders of the CIS AdTech industry, Qbigtech, has launched AdRu , an agency that removes all obstacles for marketing of Chinese companies. In 2023, trade turnover between CIS countries and China exceeded hundreds of billion dollars - and it was the demand of CIS buyers for Chinese goods that grew most actively. Over the year, it increased by as much as 50-60%. Ecommerce industry accounted for a significant share of this growth - it is no coincidence that China took more than 50% of the global volume of it last year, surpassing the United States. Online advertising for Ecommerce brands and online marketplaces is a key source of customer influx. The daily Internet audience in CIS countries exceeds 250 million people, most of them active online shoppers. But foreign brands have to overcome a number of challenges before these users see their advertising. The very first challenge is the quick and easy replenishment of budgets in the main advertising networks: VKontakte, Yandex, MyTarget, Telegram and many others. Through AdRu you can fund all these accounts from many countries using a wide range of payment methods and quickly launch advertising campaigns, saving on commissions. Another important aspect is the new advertising law introduced in 2022, which requires all advertisers to label their ads and send data about them to the regulator - advertising data operator. AdRu takes care of all bureaucratic issues, eliminates the risk of mistakes and fines for the Chinese brand, and saves the resources of the brand's marketing team. After solving the issues of finance and legal, Chinese brands face the test of knowing the nuances of the CIS market. For example, Telegram plays a big role in the CIS Ecommerce industry in addition to its globally recognised communication functions. According to Qbigtech, its audience makes over 5% of all online purchases in CIS region. In order not to waste budgets and immediately launch advertising on platforms with the best conversion, you need the help of specialists with local experience and knowledge of such details. AdRu consultants have a huge amount of data accumulated over 10+ years of Qbigtech advertising services working with over 3000 brands and marketplaces. Among the group's clients are such well-known brands as Alibaba, SHEIN, Banggood, DHgate, Logitech and many others. The experience of working with them will help AdRu experts to give effective and accurate advice to hundreds of Chinese brands wishing to replicate the success of these giants in the CIS market. Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2341990/AdRu_Logo.jpg View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/cis-adtech-giant-qbigtech-rolls-out-the-adru-agency-to-assist-chinese-brands-entering-the-cis-market-302064360.html WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Oil price climbed higher on Friday, lifting the most active WTI Crude futures to a 11-week high, as concerns about potential supply disruptions amid rising tensions in the Middle East outweighed a weak demand outlook for oil. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for March ended higher by $1.16 at $79.19 a barrel. Brent crude futures for April were up $0.51 or 0.63% at $83.87 a barrel a little while ago. Supply disruptions amid an escalation in Middle East tensions contributed to the rally in oil prices. According to reports, Gaza's largest functioning hospital was under siege on Friday in Israel's war with Islamist group Hamas, as warplanes struck Rafah, the last refuge for Palestinians in the enclave. In its montly oil market report released on Thursday, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said global demand growth is losing momentum, with annual gains easing from 2.8 million barrels-a-day in Q3 of 2023 to 1.8 million barrels-a-day in Q4 of 2023. The IEA report cited a significant decline in Chinese demand as the reason for its demand outlook. Meanwhile, data from the Labor Department showed producer prices in the U.S. increased more than expected in January. Copyright(c) 2024 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. Indian laboratories are hotbeds of innovations, but not many of them find their way to the market Agriculture has been the mainstay of economic activities, nutritional and human sustenance since man first learned to till the land. However, with the changing climatic, economic and anthropogenic conditions, agriculture is under tremendous pressure to provide nutritious food and sustain the ever-increasing mouths to feed. Indian agriculture is not untouched by this pressure. Yes, we became a food surplus country because our food grain production, which was merely 51 Mt in 1950/51 increased over six times to over 314 Mt in 2022, but is it sustainable growth? Advertisement Are our crops achieving their maximum yield? Are our crops and soil really responding to the current fertilization practices? Do Indian farmers understand the importance of nourishing the crop and not solely the soil? Are Indian farmers prepared to embrace precision agriculture? These are just some of the questions that pose a threat towards the goal of achieving sustainable agriculture. Indias progress in developing a sustainable linkage between farming and food security is slow. Its time to establish a comprehensive strategy for 2024 and beyond that not only addresses the immediate concerns but also fosters long-term sustainability. First and foremost, let us make our farmer, a smart farmer by addressing their lack of knowledge about soil and crop needs. Its time we dive into accurate soil testing and leaf analysis and educate farmers about the importance of secondary and micronutrients (beyond NPK). We must also focus on educating them about improving micronutrient use efficiency by using coated fertilizers. Advertisement Additionally, both broad acreage and horticulture farmers should be equipped to adapt foliar nutrition to supplement soil-applied nutrients, especially at critical stages of the life cycle to boost productivity and quality. The Government of India has distributed more than 23 crore soil health cards and thus, it should be made sure that all essential nutrient input is in line with these. Farmers should be made aware of how to build an immune and resilient agriculture. Advertisement Indian laboratories are hotbeds of innovations, but not many of them find their way to the market. Lab-to-land and agriculture extension programmes should be strengthened to promote sustainability and link traditional agriculture with modern technology. Further, encouraging private sector contributions through a matching grant fund can motivate researchers and scientists to participate in this field. Advertisement Services like digital infrastructure for agri-stack, in collaboration with the private sector, pave the way for swift implementation of technology to improve sustainable agricultural practices. Going ahead, the government must consider establishing a Centre for Excellence (CoE) for data science applications in agriculture. Providing Agtech companies tax breaks would also accelerate the adoption of precision farming solutions, technology-enabled aggregation and distribution of farm produce. Advertisement In steering the journey of Indian agriculture in 2024, sustainability must be at the forefront of our strategies. By embracing advanced technology, digital agriculture initiatives, and targeted measures to address each challenge, India can secure a resilient and prosperous future for its farmers and contribute significantly to global agricultural sustainability. This will certainly position India as a global leader in responsible agricultural practices and help build a climate-smart and resilient agriculture. Advertisement The author is Business Development Manager (YaraVita), Yara India. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely that of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstposts views. Read all the Latest News , Trending News , Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook , Twitter and Instagram . Experts believe that Sussex rebrand can be a backfire and that it is an attempt to capitalise on their former royal status. According to reports, the Duchess of Sussex has defended the rebranding of her and Harrys website as sussex.com after critics claimed the couple were cashing in on their royal links despite having quit as working royals. As per report published in the Independent, the revamped site declares itself The Office of Prince Harry and Meghan, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, and it also links to their former sussexroyal.com website even though they agreed to stop using the Sussex Royal title in 2020 when they stepped down. Advertisement Some said the new sussex.com site and the earlier sussexroyal.com domain names were attempts to capitalise on their former royal status. Harry and Meghan hits back Even Harry and Meghans decision to change their children Archie and Lilibets surnames to Sussex has also raised eyebrows among royal watchers. This has lead to fresh criticism of the Duke and Duchess and renewed calls for the duo to have their titles removed. However according to Daily Mail report, Prince Harry and Meghan hit back after criticism of Sussex.com launch and family rebrand, defiantly insisting they will not be broken. Meghan too defends new Sussex.com website as critics claim she and Harry cashing in on royal links About the site Firstpost had earlier reported on the look of the website which is minimalistic. Harry and Meghan will use the site to share their personal and official updates, keeping people informed through the News section. The About page reads: The Office of Prince Harry and Meghan, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex is shaping the future through business and philanthropy. Advertisement Meghans bio is titled as The Duchess of Sussex, in the letter, the rebranding signifies their commitment to sharing more personal updates with fans. Our lifelong advocacy for women and girls remains a constant thread in our humanitarian and business ventures, she stated, underscoring her dedication to feminist ideals and gender equity. Advertisement Prince Harrys biography mentions about his 10-years served in the British Armed Forces and as a New York Times bestselling author of Spare, a memoir of his life told with compassion, vulnerability and unflinching honesty. (With added inputs from agencies) Director: Antony Bhagyaraj Cast: Jayam Ravi, Keerthy Suresh, Anupama Parameswaran In a fictional criminal world, in a murder investigation, when the pieces of the puzzle fit too easily, the investigator instinctually begins to doubt the case. They begin to wonder, has all of this been framed? Am I being handed the case on a silver platter, only to become a tool in someone elses plan? However, the same instinct also helps investigators hone in on the criminal. They claim that this is a gut feeling, but what it really is in majority of the cases is in depth psychological and behavioural analysis. In the latest Jayam Ravi-starrer Siren 108, Keerthy Suresh plays the role of Nandini, an officer who seems to be one such investigator. However, she has been suspended from the force allegedly for killing a convict during investigation because of violent questioning methods. She claims otherwise, and the autopsy reports support her claim. However, the stain of being an alleged murderer doesnt disappear overnight. Advertisement Now, what happens when such a cop come in contact with Thilakan Varman, a prisoner on parole who was imprisoned for allegedly murdering his wife and another man? Of course, as audience, we are aware that he is the protagonist in the film, and hence there will be a backstory that justifies his crime, or proves his innocence. However, that is what one must pay attention to. In fact, even the filmmaker is aware of the conclusion that we, as audience, would come to. Instead, what draws our attention in the film is a series of murders that takes place in the town where Thilakan lives right after he gets parole. The highlight of the plot, at least in the first half of the film remains, how these murders are committed. Not why. The tension is built in a steady manner before Thilakans past is unravelled in the latter half of the film. The unravelling is where the film falls flat, because the proceedings are easy to guess and the films depends on melodrama to keep the tension of the first half intact. The film flails in this portion, because by this time, we are not really interested in the why either. At least, I wasnt. I wanted to know if the murderer manages to commit the perfect crime. Advertisement It is this indifference that the film evokes for the reason behind the crime that fails the film. The narrative technique that the director has opted for, unfortunately, doesnt get us invested or rooting for the killer at all. So, in the end, what is supposed to be a victorious moment, becomes a laborious task that we have to sit through. The best crime novels, or crime films depend on how strong the push and pull effect between the predator and the prey is. However much one tries to inject this genre with a gut-wrenching back story; the crux of the plot shouldnt have veered away from the cat-and-mouse chase. Siren 108, in this aspect, fails to strike a balance and so, it falls flat. Advertisement I wonder how the film would have looked had we learned about Jenny in bits and pieces throughout the investigation. Alas, it is something for the director to think about. What I would like to say is the interesting approach that the vigilante has towards the actor of committing crime. He tells one of his allies that intelligent serial killers get caught because of their ego the belief that there is no chance of them getting caught. So he plans everything with the thought that he will get caught. Wouldnt such a scary notion force him to be extra careful and ruthless in his actions? Advertisement One of the most impressive lines in the film is Nallavanaye, Nallavana nadika vechiteengale. Which translates to You have made a good man, act and perform like a good man. Initially, it seems strange, but towards the end it makes sense. If the film had focussed on this aspect of the film, maybe, it could have been an intriguing crime story. Advertisement Rating: 2 (out of 5 stars) Siren 108 is playing in cinemas Priyanka Sundar is a film journalist who covers films and series of different languages with a special focus on identity and gender politics. Indias defence exports saw a 23-fold jump between 2013-14 and 2022-23 from Rs 686 crore to Rs 15,918 crore. As the country aims to become self-reliant, heres the defence equipment and systems it supplies to the world India is on a path to make its defence sector self-reliant. To achieve this goal, New Delhi has cut back on arms imports in the last few years, besides taking steps to boost its defence exports. India has set a target to more than triple its annual defence exports to Rs 35,000 crores by 2024-25. The countrys defence exports broke records in the financial year 2022-23, touching nearly Rs 16,000 crore mark, according to the Ministry of Defence. Advertisement With a 23-fold increase in exports, Indian design and development capabilities are reaching over 85 countries, the ministry said last year. Lets take a look at how India has increased its defence exports. Indias defence exports Indias military exports have seen a significant surge in the last few years. These exports include missiles, artillery guns, rockets, armoured vehicles, offshore patrol vessels, personal protective gear, different radars, surveillance systems and ammunition, according to a Hindustan Times (HT) report. As per the defence ministry data, India has exported bullet-proof jackets to 34 countries including Australia, Japan, Israel and Brazil. About 10 countries, including the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Egypt, Indonesia and Thailand, have purchased ammunition (ranging between 5.56mm to 155mm) from India. Defence electronics have been acquired by the United States, the United Kingdom and France, while India has exported fast interceptor boats to Mauritius, Seychelles and the Maldives, HT reported citing the defence ministry data. Advertisement Last December, Indias state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) said it was in talks with at least three countries to sell its indigenous Tejas multirole combat jets. While the talks with Nigeria were at an early stage, the plan was to sell 15 light-combat aircraft to Argentina and 20 to Egypt, HAL Chief Managing Director CB Ananthkrishnan said at the time, as per Deccan Herald. Advertisement The Philippines, the US, Australia and Indonesia have also expressed interest in Tejas LCA, a single-engine multi-role fighter jet. Armenia is one of Indias top weapons importer of Akash Surface-to-Air Missile (SAM). As per Sputnik News, India started supplying defence equipment to the Asian country in 2022 amid Armenias protracted conflict with Azerbaijan. Advertisement New Delhi will also export the indigenous Akash anti-air system to Armenia, Economic Times (ET) reported last December. The delivery, which was a part of a Rs 6,000-crore deal, of the Bharat Dynamics Limited-manufactured system was to start soon. In September 2022, India signed a deal to export several weapons, including Pinaka multi-barrel rocket launchers (MBRL), anti-tank missiles, rockets and ammunition, to Armenia. Last August, Armenia received its initial shipment of Indias Advanced Towed Artillery Gun Systems (ATAGS). Advertisement Indian defence firm Kalyani Strategic Systems Limited will supply artillery guns to Armenia for the 155mm weapon system by 2025. India has also offered the Defence Research and Development Organisation-developed Akash missile air defence system for export to Vietnam and the Philippines, while Egypt has also shown interest. BrahMos cruise missiles, Varunastra (Water Weapon) anti-submarine torpedoes, and coastal radars have also been offered by New Delhi to Vietnam, as per The EurAsian Times. Advertisement In January, Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) chief Samir V Kamat said India would supply the BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles to the Philippines by March. This is the first export order for the missile jointly developed by India and Russia. ALSO READ: From LCH Prachand to INS Vikrant, how Make in India defence is transforming the nation Advertisement Indias defence export and import Indias defence exports have witnessed a sharp rise in recent years, with a 23-fold jump between 2013-14 and 2022-23 from Rs 686 crore to Rs 15,918 crore, HT reported citing the defence ministry data. During this period, India has also reduced spending on imported weapons and systems, from 46 per cent in 2018-19 to 36.7 per cent in December 2022. Advertisement In fact, Indias defence exports rose tenfold in the last six years, Mint reported in April 2023. However, New Delhi is still far from its goal of achieving annual export target of Rs 35,000 crore by next year. Moreover, India remains the top importer of defence supplies globally. According to a report released last year by Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), a Sweden-based research institute on global security, Russia is Indias largest arms supplier, accounting for 45 per cent of its shipments. Advertisement From 2018 and 2022, France emerged as Indias second largest arms importers, replacing the US. Indias share in arms exports was not much significant during the period with the country not even in the top 25 nations of defence suppliers, as per the SIPRI report. India has taken measures to become self-reliant in defence, including phased bans on the import of weapons. Its aim is to achieve a turnover of Rs 1.75 lakh crore in defence manufacturing by 2025. Advertisement While New Delhi is still far from its defence export target, experts believe the country can reach the milestone, reported HT. With inputs from agencies The Congress was allowed to operate its bank accounts by the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal mere hours after the party alleged on Friday that its multiple accounts were frozen by the IT department. The Grand Old Party earlier called the move an assault on Indias democracy Mere hours after the Congress said that four of its bank accounts were frozen by the income tax (IT) department, the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal on Friday (16 February) allowed the Grand Old Party to operate its accounts. The bank accounts have been de-freezed till the next hearing on 21 February. The Congress also confirmed that the tribunal has granted it relief for now. Advertisement What happened? What has the Congress said? Lets take a closer look. Congress bank accounts frozen Earlier in the day, Congress treasurer Ajay Maken told the media that four bank accounts of the party, including that of the Indian Youth Congress, had been frozen by the IT department. According to PTI sources, the freeze affected nine bank accounts of the Congress. The income tax department had raised a demand of Rs 210 crore from the Congress, as per The Hindu report. Maken said that the Grand Old Party had to file IT returns for 2018-19 by 31 December 2019, but got late by 40-45 days. The Congress leader alleged the IT departments action was due to this delay in filing the IT return. He said the bank accounts were frozen on flimsy grounds. Advertisement We dont have any money to spend, to pay electricity bills, to pay salaries to our employees, Maken said, adding that all political activities of the Congress will be impacted. #WATCH | Congress Treasurer Ajay Maken says "We got information yesterday that banks are not honouring the cheque we are issuing. On further investigation, we got to know that the Youth Congress bank accounts have been frozen. The accounts of the Congress party have also been pic.twitter.com/JsZL1FEy9d ANI (@ANI) February 16, 2024 Advertisement He told reporters that the party received information two days ago that the cheques it was issuing were not being honoured by banks. Advertisement The Congress leader said that the money in the partys accounts had come from online crowdfunding and membership drives. He dubbed the freezing of accounts a disturbing blow to the democratic process. For the first time in the countrys history, accounts of the principal Opposition party have been frozen by the tax authorities on flimsy grounds, barely two weeks before the announcement of general elections, Maken told reporters. Advertisement Congress leaders react Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge lambasted the Central government over the partys bank accounts freeze. He wrote on X, Power drunk Modi Govt has frozen the accounts of the countrys largest Opposition party - the Indian National Congress - just before the Lok Sabha elections. This is a deep assault on Indias Democracy! Advertisement The UNCONSTITUTIONAL money collected by the BJP would be utilised by them for elections, but the money collected by us through CROWDFUNDING shall be sealed! That is why, I have said that there wont be any elections in the future, the Congress president alleged. He implored the judiciary to save the multi-party system in this country and protect Indias Democracy. Advertisement Power drunk Modi Govt has frozen the accounts of the countrys largest Opposition party - the Indian National Congress - just before the Lok Sabha elections. This is a deep assault on India's Democracy ! The UNCONSTITUTIONAL money collected by the BJP would be utilised by them Mallikarjun Kharge (@kharge) February 16, 2024 Advertisement Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, who is currently leading the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, said that the party will never bow down before dictatorship. Advertisement Congress MP Shashi Tharoor described the IT departments move as shocking & utterly shameful. Congress bank accounts de-freezed After Makens press conference, Congress Rajya Sabha MP and senior Advocate Vivek Tankha, who appeared before the tribunal against the IT department order, said the party was now permitted to use its bank accounts. According to him, he told the tribunal that the Congress would be unable to take part in the festival of elections if its bank accounts remain frozen, reported PTI. Advertisement VIDEO | "Very graciously, the ITAT has said that there will be only a lien on the bank account. There is no restriction on the bank account," says Congress MP and lawyer Vivek Tankha (@VTankha). (Source: Third Party) pic.twitter.com/UJyDhCZprk Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) February 16, 2024 Advertisement He said the tribunal will hear the Congress appeal for interim relief from the IT departments action next Wednesday. However, there seems to be a catch. In a post on X, Maken said that the IT department and the tribunal have asked the Congress to keep an amount of Rs 115 crore in lien (akin to collateral) in its bank accounts. This amount will remain untouched and the party can spend above this sum. #DemocracyFrozen On our petition, Income Tax Department and the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) has said that we have to ensure that Rs 115 crores have to be kept in the Banks. This 115 crore is the lien marked in the Bank Accounts. We can spend an amount over and above Ajay Maken (@ajaymaken) February 16, 2024 This means that Rs 115 crore have been frozen. This Rs 115 crore is much more than we have in our current accounts, the Congress leader said. With inputs from agencies A man in England reportedly mixed his sperm with his fathers to help his partner get pregnant. The couple was struggling with infertility and could not afford IVF treatment. Dismissing a petition, a judge has ruled that the man will not face a paternity test A man who lives in South Yorkshires Barnsley town, England, reportedly mixed his sperm with his fathers to help get his partner pregnant. The reason? The couple could not afford IVF treatment, as per The Guardian. The man, identified as PQ as he cannot be named for legal reasons, was taken to court by Barnsley council who demanded a paternity test. Advertisement However, a High Court judge ruled that PQ would not be forced to take a paternity test. Heres all we know about the case. Also read: Baby in a Pod: What is EctoLife, the worlds first artificial womb facility? The sperm mix-up In court last month, the court heard that PQ and his partner, JK, had struggled with infertility and could not afford IVF treatment, the report said. He therefore agreed to combine his sperm with his fathers (RS), which was then injected into the woman. A boy (D), who is now five years old, was born as a result of the arrangement. Also read: A Viagra for Birth Control: How a pill that can stop sperm from swimming could revolutionise male contraception Advertisement The legal action Following a separate proceeding that revealed the boys conception circumstances, Barnsley Council launched a legal action to determine the boys parentage. According to Sky News, the arrangement had been always intended to remain secret, Justice Poole was informed. The authorities requested that the HC in Sheffield order DNA testing to be done to establish if the man was Ds father. Advertisement No paternity test, the court rules In a ruling on Thursday, Justice Poole dismissed the petition, concluding that the council had no stake in the outcome. He said, It may wish to know is Ds biological father, but it has no stake in the outcome of its application. A wish to uphold the public interest in maintaining accurate records of births does not confer a personal interest in the determination of such an application. Advertisement The judge concluded that the family may wish to undergo a paternity test to tell the child at a later date but that is a matter for them. Also read: How scientists grew the worlds first synthetic embryo without eggs or sperm Unique child The judge says the family had created a welfare minifield. According to Sky News, the judge said that the family had created a welfare minefield, adding, I cannot believe that JK, PQ, and RS properly thought through the ramifications of their scheme for JK to become pregnant, otherwise it is unlikely that they would have embarked upon it. Advertisement He said that the boy is a unique child who would not exist but for the unusual arrangements made for his conception, but those arrangements have also created the potential for him to suffer emotional harm were he to learn of them. Poole said the man had an established father-and-son relationship with the child, and it was up to him and the boys mother to manage the latent risks to his welfare. Advertisement It must be acknowledged that the circumstances of Ds conception cannot now be undone. Without testing, his biological paternity remains uncertain, but there is a strong chance, to say the least, that the person he thinks is his grandfather is his biological father, and that the person he thinks is his father is his biological half-brother. Advertisement Also read: Sperm cells have fooled scientists for centuries: They dont swim, they move as their tails spin Cases of sperm mix-up While the latest case was a deliberate sperm mix-up, there have been cases where fertility clinics have been sued for a similar procedural error. Last year, a hospital in West Delhi was slapped with a Rs 1.5 crore fine in a 15-year-old case when an in-vitro fertilisation process was performed on a woman using sperm that did belong to her husband. According to India Today, the husband approached the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) after learning about the negligence. Advertisement In 2022, an Ohio couple filed a lawsuit against Akron City Hospital fertility clinic and a doctor after they alleged that a sperm mix-up in 1991 resulted in their daughter not being biologically related to the man who raised her, as per CBS News. A Dutch medical institution, in 2016, launched an investigation after discovering that about 26 womens eggs were fertilised by the wrong sperm at its IVF lab. Advertisement According to The Guardian, a procedural error between April 2015 and November 2016 during the in-vitro fertilisation was to blame, the University Medical Centre, which is located in Utrecht, said. With inputs from agencies Shocking details have emerged as the investigation continues in the suspected murder-suicide case of the Indian-origin family in California. The police allege that former Meta software engineer, Anand Henry, was responsible for killing his wife and four-year-old twin sons before turning a gun on him In the past few months, the deaths of Indian-origin people have continued to grab headlines in the United States. Earlier this week, an Indian-origin family from Kerala was found dead at their $2.1 million California mansion, with the police investigating the case as a murder-suicide. Shocking details have emerged as the investigation continues into the motive of the tragedy. Advertisement The person suspected In the latest development in the case, Anand Henry, a 37-year-old former Meta software engineer, is suspected of killing his wife Alice Benziger, 36, and their four-year-old twin sons before turning a gun on himself. Henry, 37, and his wife, Benziger were found dead in the bathroom of their home in Alameda de las Pulgas on Monday morning, according to the San Mateo Police Department. A nine-millimetre handgun registered to Henry was lying on the bathroom floor with their bodies. The police said in a statement on Thursday, Our investigation shows Benziger succumbed to multiple gunshot wounds, while Henry suffered from a single shot. The twin boys, Noah and Neithan, did not die from gunfire. They showed no signs of trauma, and authorities have not yet determined their cause of death, Advertisement The police allege that Henry was responsible for all four deaths. No history of violence at home The police said there was no history of violence at the home. They said the only time they came to the house was when the family reported seeing a mountain lion in the backyard. San Mateo Police Department representative Jerami Surratt told on Facebook that they received a call seeking a welfare check on the family. Advertisement San Mateo Police officers were dispatched to the 4100 block of Alameda de las Pulgas on the report of a welfare check. After arriving officers were met with no response, they searched the perimeter of the home and did not see any signs of forced entry into the house. Finding an unlocked window, officers entered the home and located the four people dead, police said. Advertisement There was no suicide note found at the scene. The suspected murder-suicide is believed to have occurred Saturday afternoon, the police said. Our investigation into the motive for this tragedy continues. While we cant undo this horrific incident, we would like to share with our community both domestic violence and mental health resources, because there is help and/or assistance out there, and something like this does not need to happen again, the department said. Advertisement About Anand Henry Anand Henry, originally from Keralas Kollam district, had been living in the US for the past nine years with his family. A senior analyst in the IT field was a TKM Engineering College alumni. He graduated with a degree in mechanical engineering, according to The New Indian Express. According to Henrys LinkedIn profile, he also attended Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh and Singapore Management University. Advertisement His bio says he founded his own artificial intelligence company, Logits, after leaving his position at Meta in June last year. In the IT industry, Logits has drawn notice for its expertise in giving businesses the ability to privately train and use Generative AI models for particular business requirements. He was formerly employed at Google, Saleforce, and CMU. According to Hindustan Times, he was the son of Henry George, the former principal of Kollam Fathima Mata National College. Advertisement According to court documents, Henry filed for divorce in December 2016, years before their twins were born, but the divorce was not finalised. With inputs from PTI The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) has called for a Gramin Bharat Bandh or nationwide strike today. While transportation, rural industrial, private and service sector businesses will remain closed, emergency services will not be impacted The farmers union, Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) has called for a Gramin Bharat Bandh or nationwide strike on Friday, 16 February. The SKM has also urged all like-minded farmer organisations to unite and take part in the day-long protest to press for their demands before the Centre. Notably, the latest Bandh call comes amid the ongoing Delhi Chalo march organised by a breakaway faction of the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (non-political) and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha (KMM). Advertisement Thousands of farmers are marching from Punjab have been stopped at the state border with Haryana near Ambala, which is about 200 kilometres away from Delhi. Several media reports claim that the nationwide strike may have an impact on many services. Heres a look at what will remain open and closed. What will remain closed? The Bandh will run from 6 am to 4 pm. Farmers will participate in a massive chakka jam on major roads across the country from 12 pm to 4 pm, reported Business Standard. The majority of state and national highways in Punjab will be closed for four hours. Dr Darshan Pal, SKM member of National Coordination Committee (NCC), was quoted by Indian Express as saying, The Gramin Bharat Bandh call had been planned in December. On this day, villages will remain closed for all agricultural activities and MNREGA and rural works. No farmer, agricultural worker or rural worker will work that day. Advertisement Vegetable and other crop sales will continue to be suspended, he stated. Village shops, grain and vegetable markets, government and non-government offices, rural industrial and service sector businesses, and private-sector companies are likely to remain closed. Pal added that during the strike hours, establishments in the towns close to the villages are probably going to stay closed as well. Advertisement Jagmohan Singh Patiala, NCC member, SKM, told the newspaper that public transport will remain off the roads as the roadways employees unions are also a part of the protest. As per India.com, train services may also be impacted. What will be open? According to Pal, emergency services like ambulances, death, marriage, medical shops, newspaper supply, students travelling for board exams, and passengers to the airport will not be impacted during the Bharat Bandh today. Advertisement The Times of India report suggests banks will remain open today and operate as usual. Notably, the Reserve Bank of Indias holiday matric also confirms that banks will maintain regular hours. What are their demands? The Gramin Bharat Bandh has been planned by SKM, the umbrella group of more than 500 farmer unions under which the agitation was staged in 2021 against the farm laws. Advertisement It is not, however, participating in the current Delhi Chalo march. Although SKM (non-political) is a branch of SKM, which was established in July 2022 as a result of disagreements, the majority of KMMs unions are also SKM factions. The demands made by the SKM are similar to those made by two farmer union groups that have issued the Delhi Chalo call. Advertisement According to Indian Express, along with the minimum support price (MSP) for crops, farmer pensions, and other farm demands, their concerns include the implementation of OPS, the withdrawal of labour legislation revisions, and numerous other requests. They want to push for their demands, which include eliminating fixed-term employment, eliminating four labour laws, guaranteeing employment as a fundamental right, prohibiting the privatisation of public sector enterprises, and eliminating contracting of labour. Advertisement Additionally, they want a minimum pay of Rs 26,000 per month for workers. They also want the MGNREGS strengthened to include 200 workdays a year and a daily wage of Rs 600. They additionally seek the former pension scheme to be reinstated and social security benefits to be available to everyone in the formal and informal sectors. Advertisement With inputs from agencies A Buffalo man arrested Wednesday on narcotics charges had seven dogs removed from his residence, and three of the dogs had been left outside without shelter, according to the Erie County Sheriffs Office. Amos Dean, 67, was charged with four felonies three drug charges and a weapons possession charge and three misdemeanors. The charge of appropriate shelter for dogs left outdoors is considered a violation. This followed a lengthy investigation led by the Sheriffs Narcotics and Intelligence Unit. Over a half-kilogram of cocaine, packaging materials and digital scales were recovered during a search of Deans residence, the Sheriffs Office said. The search of a vehicle parked in Deans driveway uncovered a large amount of crack cocaine, cutting agents and a loaded handgun, the Sheriffs Office added. Dean was reportedly taken into custody a short distance away after leaving his residence in another vehicle. Buffalo Animal Control Officers assisted with the removal of seven pit bulls from Deans residence, including the three found outside on the 30-degree day, the Sheriffs Office said. Dean was arraigned Thursday morning in Buffalo City Court on three counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance and second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, all felonies, three counts of criminally using drug paraphernalia, all misdemeanors, and the appropriate shelter for dogs left outdoors charge. He was remanded to the Erie County Holding Center. - Mike Petro Civil unions may become more common among Orthodox countries gravitating toward the European Union. They remain off the table in Russia, which has cracked down on LGBTQ+ expression, and countries in its orbit The recent legalisation of same-sex marriage in Greece is significant, especially for LGBTQ+ people in Orthodox communities. Traditionally, the Orthodox Church usually opposes same-sex relationships. However, Greeces decision shows that attitudes are changing in some Orthodox countries. However, Greece is almost certainly going to be the only one for the time being, as theres still a lot of pushbacks. Advertisement Even in the absence of a single doctrinal authority such as a pope, the leadership of Eastern Orthodoxy has united against the acceptance of same-sex relationships in both the civil sphere and its own rituals. The majority view in Orthodox majority nations has also been largely negative. Still, there are hints of growth. In recent times, two small majority-Orthodox nationsMontenegro and Cyprushave permitted same-sex unions. Greece also approved such unions in 2015, but this week it upgraded to full marital status. Civil unions may become more common among Orthodox countries gravitating toward the European Union. They remain off the table in Russia, which has cracked down on LGBTQ+ expression, and countries in its orbit. Following is a summary of church positions and public opinion in the Orthodox world, followed by the situation in individual majority-Orthodox lands. Advertisement The Orthodox world Eastern Orthodoxy is a socially conservative, ancient church with elaborate rituals and a strict hierarchy. Churches are mostly organised along national lines, with multiple independent churches that share ancient doctrine and practices and that both cooperate and squabble. Roughly 200 million Eastern Orthodox live primarily in Eastern Europe and neighbouring Asian lands, with about half that total in Russia, while smaller numbers live across the world. Like other international church bodies, Orthodoxy has confronted calls for LGBTQ+ inclusion. Advertisement A 2016 statement by a council of most Orthodox churches called marriage between a man and a woman the oldest institution of divine law and said members were forbidden from entering same-sex unions. In countries where they are a majority, Orthodox believers overwhelmingly said society should not accept homosexuality or approve same-sex marriage, according to surveys conducted in 2015 and 2016 by the Pew Research Centre, a Washington-based think tank. Advertisement Greek Orthodox showed relative tolerance, with half of Orthodox saying homosexuality should be accepted and a quarter favouring same-sex marriage. In more recent polls, Greeks overall narrowly supported the marriage law. The Greek law validates marriage in the civil realm but doesnt require any church to perform such rites. Nevertheless, Greeces Orthodox leadership unanimously opposed the law in January, saying the duality of genders and their complementarity are not social inventions but originate from God. Advertisement Greek prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis acknowledged the churchs position but said, We are discussing the decisions of the Greek state, unrelated to theological beliefs. Civil unions may be in some Orthodox countries near future, said George Demacopoulos, director of the Orthodox Christian Studies Centre at Fordham University in New York. In terms of civil marriage, I think the countries that are in the European Union will eventually all do it, Demacopoulos said. My guess is the assemblies of bishops in those countries will offer some resistance to the measure, and depending on where you are, that may or may not delay it. Advertisement Ukraine In Ukraine, same-sex couples cannot register their status legally. In 2023, the issue became acute as many LGBTQ+ people joined Ukraines armed forces. That year, a bill was introduced in Parliament to establish civil partnerships for same-sex couples, providing basic rights such as compensation if one of the partners is killed in action. Advertisement The All-Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organisations which includes Ukraines two rival Orthodox churches opposed the draft law, contending that some international entities are using the countrys current vulnerability to force unwanted changes. The legislation remains pending. The European Court of Human Rights ruled in 2023 that Ukraine violated the rights of a same-sex couple who sought legal protections provided to married heterosexual couples. Advertisement Ukraine is majority Orthodox, with various religious minorities. Russia In increasingly conservative Russia, President Vladimir Putin has forged a powerful alliance with the Russian Orthodox Church and has made traditional family values a cornerstone of his rule, juxtaposing them with perversions of the West. Putin effectively outlawed same-sex marriages in the 2020 constitutional revision that added a clause stipulating that marriage is a union of a man and a woman. Advertisement In 2013, the Kremlin adopted whats known as the gay propaganda law, banning any public endorsement of nontraditional sexual relations among minors. After sending troops into Ukraine in 2022, Russian authorities ramped up a campaign against what it called the Wests degrading moral influence, in what rights advocates saw as an attempt to legitimise the war. Advertisement Patriarch Kirill of Moscow has assailed LGBTQ+ rights. As head of the Russian Orthodox Church, he oversees the worlds largest Orthodox flock. He depicted his countrys invasion of Ukraine as part of a metaphysical struggle against a liberal agenda that included gay parades. In November, Russias Supreme Court effectively outlawed LGBTQ+ activism, labelling what the government called the LGBTQ+ international movement as an extremist group and banning it in Russia. Advertisement In 2021, a survey by Russias top independent pollster, the Levada Centre, showed that only 33 per cent of Russians completely or somewhat agree that gay men and women should enjoy the same rights as heterosexuals, a decrease from earlier years. Belarus The Belarus Family Code defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman. There is also no legislation prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Homosexuality was decriminalised in Belarus in 1994, but the LGBTQ+ community faces heavy stigma and high suicide rates, advocates say. Human rights groups report hundreds of cases of the KGB the countrys main domestic security agency trying to recruit gay people and threatening to out them. Serbia and Montenegro Serbia and Montenegro, two conservative Balkan nations where the Serbian Orthodox Church holds huge influence, have had mixed results addressing LGBTQ+ rights as part of efforts to join the European Union. Tiny Montenegro passed a bill in 2020 allowing same-sex partnerships not marriage and with fewer rights. In Serbia, a similar draft law never made it to a parliamentary vote. The Serbian Orthodox Church, which maintains close relations with the Russian church, has opposed the idea of same-sex marriages. Serbias president Aleksandar Vucic has said he would not sign off a bill on same-sex marriages, although Serbia has had an openly lesbian prime minister for years. Activists have been campaigning for legal partnerships. Pride marches in Serbia are routinely banned or held under tight security. In Montenegro, though same-sex partnerships are allowed, the highly male-oriented society of 620,000 people remains divided over the issue. Romania and Moldova Romania is one of the few European Union members that allows neither same-sex marriage nor civil unions, despite a growing social acceptance of LGBTQ+ people. In 2023, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that Romania had failed to enforce same-sex couples rights by not legally recognising their relationships. In early February in Romania, LGBTQ+ activists were allegedly assaulted while holding a peaceful protest outside the Bucharest headquarters of the countrys far-right AUR party. In 2018, Romania held a referendum backed by the Orthodox Church on whether to narrow the constitutional definition of marriage from a union of spouses to a union between one man and one woman. Rights campaigners urged Romanians to boycott the vote, which failed due to low turnout. In neighbouring Moldova, which isnt an EU member but has official candidate status, neither same-sex marriages nor unions are allowed. Large majorities in both countries are Orthodox. Bulgaria Public opinion in Bulgaria is mostly hostile to gay people and more so to same-sex marriages. In the Balkan country, patriarchal family traditions still predominate. The European Court of Human Rights last year found that Bulgarias government was violating European human rights law in failing to legally recognise same-sex couples. The court also ruled that Bulgaria is obliged to adopt legal recognition for same-sex couples, but Bulgaria shows no signs of implementing the decision. Leaders of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, which includes about 80 per cent of Bulgarians, condemned the ECHR ruling and called on the government not to give in. Bulgarias constitution explicitly prohibits the recognition of same-sex marriage. Amending the constitution requires a two-thirds majority in parliament on three consecutive votes. Such a scenario seems remote. With inputs from AP The United States has informed Congress and its European allies about new intelligence on Russian nuclear capabilities that could pose an international threat. The exact nature of the weapon remains uncertain, but its threat to satellites could lead to various disruptions The White House announced on Thursday that Russia is in the process of developing a space-based anti-satellite weapon, which worries the United States. But they said its not an immediate danger to people on Earth. This news comes after US lawmakers warned about a serious threat to national security without giving details. Advertisement Moscow has refuted these claims, labelling them as malicious and unfounded, and suggesting they are a tactic by the White House to push through a stalled multi-billion-dollar Ukrainian war aid package in Congress. Thought the exact nature of the weapon and whether it actually exists is unclear, the potential threat it poses to satellites could have a variety of disruptive consequences, including compromising communication systems, surveillance capabilities, intelligence gathering, and command and control operations worldwide, including those in the nuclear domain. It is unclear why Russia would need to use nuclear weapons to destroy a satellite. The New York Times said the United States does not have the ability to counter such a weapon. Following is what is known and not known. What does the US say and should we be worried? The United States has told Congress and allies in Europe about new intelligence related to Russian nuclear capabilities that could pose an international threat, a source briefed on the matter told Reuters on Wednesday. Advertisement During a White House briefing, National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby confirmed that the threat is linked to Russias development of anti-satellite capability. He clarified that, while this capability is concerning, it has not yet been deployed, and thus poses no immediate safety risk to anyone, reports AFP. Kirby confirmed that the Russian weapon was space-based but declined to comment on reports in US media that it was nuclear-capable or nuclear-powered. Advertisement The weapon could endanger astronauts in low orbit while also disrupting critical military and civilian satellites, he said, reports AFP. However, he stated that it would violate the 1967 Outer Space Treaty, to which both Russia and the United States are parties, and which prohibits the deployment of nuclear weapons in space. Advertisement US president Joe Biden had been kept informed and had directed officials to contact Moscow about the weapon, though it had not yet responded. Citing a current and a former US official, the New York Times reported earlier that the new intelligence was related to Russias attempts to develop a space-based anti-satellite nuclear weapon. ABC News also reported that the intelligence had to do with such a capability. Current and former officials said the nuclear weapon was not in orbit. Advertisement How did it come to light? The intelligence came to light after Representative Mike Turner, Republican chair of the US House of Representatives intelligence committee, issued an unusual and cryptic statement on Wednesday warning of a serious national security threat. White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan held a closed-door meeting with congressional leaders on Thursday to brief them on the latest developments. Advertisement The early disclosure by lawmakers, however, irritated the White House, with Kirby stating that they were investigating whether US intelligence sources and methods had been compromised. Are there nukes in space? Russia and the United States are by far the biggest nuclear powers: together their arsenals hold about 90 per cent of the worlds nuclear weapons, and both have advanced military satellites orbiting the Earth. Advertisement In the early years of the Cold War, after Russia leaped ahead in the space race and both sides developed intercontinental ballistic missiles, the West proposed a treaty to outlaw nuclear weapons in space. The eventual result was the 1967 Outer Space Treaty which bans putting any weapons of mass destruction into orbit or outer space. Advertisement The United States casts Russia and China as its biggest nation-state competitors and says both are developing a range of new weapons systems, including nuclear, cyber and space capabilities. Russia says the post-Cold War dominance of the United States is crumbling and that Washington has for years sown chaos across the planet while ignoring the interests of other powers. Moscow says the United States too is developing a host of new weapons. Advertisement What did Russia say? Russia has neither confirmed nor denied the existence of such a weapon but it has dismissed the US warning as a malicious fabrication and a trick by the White House aimed at getting US lawmakers to approve more Ukraine aid to counter Moscow. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said he would not comment on the substance of the reports until the details were unveiled by the White House. But he said Washingtons warning was clearly an attempt to get Congress to approve more money. Advertisement It is obvious that the White House is trying, by hook or by crook, to encourage Congress to vote on a bill to allocate money, this is obvious, Peskov said. Well see what tricks the White House will use. Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, Moscows point man on arms control, accused the United States of malicious fabrication, the TASS news agency reported. Advertisement With inputs from Reuters and AFP Two staff attendants at a pet grooming clinic in Maharashtras Thane have been arrested for raining down punches on a dog. The incident has put the focus on Indias laws on animal cruelty, which many argue is too lenient and without any bite. But what do the existing laws state? The saying goes as dogs are mans best friend. But a recent case in Maharashtras Thane proves otherwise. A video showing two staffers at a pet clinic mercilessly punching and kicking a dog has gone viral on various social media platforms, prompting even Chief Minister Eknath Shinde to take serious note of the incident. Advertisement Many people, including several Bollywood actors, such as Varun Dhawan, Bhumi Pednekar, Malaika Arora, have also expressed their outrage over the viral video, demanding justice for the canine. Additionally, it has also put the spotlight on laws on animal cruelty in the country, with many saying that in the existing form they are toothless and without any bite. We take a closer look at what exactly happened in this horrific case and what do our current laws say on animal cruelty. Punches rain down on Chow Chow A few days ago, a video went viral in which two men are seen punching and kicking a dog at a pet clinic in Maharashtras Thane. The horrific abuse took place at the Vetic Pet Clinic located in R Mall in Thane. The clinic specialises in grooming and care of pet animals. Advertisement The video shows two of the clinics staffers repeatedly punching a Chow Chow, named Tofu, on its face and back. After that, the dog was seen getting down from the stretcher and walking out of the room even as the man kicked it. A shocking video has gone viral on social media platforms showing a man thrashing a pet dog mercilessly in #Thane district of #Maharashtra. The incident reportedly took place at a pet clinic on #GBRoad in the city. Two people have been arrested in connection with the case. In pic.twitter.com/nRmDsmQkCI Hate Detector (@HateDetectors) February 14, 2024 Advertisement Shortly after the video went viral, Nilesh Bhange, an office-bearer of animal rights organisation PAWS, and a few others approached the Kasarwadavli police station and a non-cognisable complaint was registered. Social media users also condemned the act, calling for action against the staffers as well as the clinic where the incident took place. Advertisement Later, Street Dogs of Bombay, an animal rights group, stated that the accused Mayur Michael Aadhav, 19, and Prashant Sanjay Gaikwad, 20 were arrested. The dogs owner, the NGO said, has also taken legal action against the accused. Call for action against the accused Many big names, political and from Bollywood, have decried the incident. Maharashtra MLA MLA Pratap Sarnaik, from the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena faction, urged the police to take stringent measures. Sarnaik was quoted as telling MiD Day, The video went viral across the country raising concern about cruelty to animals. Even the Chief Minister, Eknath Shinde, received a related complaint. I request the Thane Police Commissioner Ashutosh Dumbre to file an FIR, in the matter even if a non-cognisable case has been booked. Advertisement Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray also voiced his disgust at the incident. He wrote on Instagram, Just came across this video. This man deserves nothing less than double of how he treats these voiceless creatures. Celebs also expressed their concern over the abuse to the four-legged animal. Malaika Arora wrote on Instagram, I am in shock this disgusting human needs to be punished and beat mercilessly. How the hell does violence like this get away. Advertisement She further wrote, I just hope that poor helpless doggie is ok. Am just so angry I believe they have got him. Now authorities time for action and severe punishment. Others like Bhumi Pednekar, Riteish Deshmukh, Amruta Arora, Sonu Sood, Varun Dhawan all raised their voice on the matter. Advertisement Rising instances of animal cruelty in India In the last few years, there has been an alarming rise in the number of cases where puppies, dogs, and cats have been burned alive, thrown from tall buildings, or beaten mercilessly. In fact, the Federation of Indian Animal Protection Organisations (FIAPO) in a 2023 report wrote that there have been 20,000 intentional and brutal crimes against animals in the last 10 years in India. This mean an average of five stray animals are killed per day in a violent act. Advertisement What is even more shocking is that the report states that the actual number could be at least 10 times higher, which means 50 animal deaths per day and an average of two animals being senselessly killed every hour in the country. And if one looks back at the newspapers in the past two-three years, there have been some horrific cases that have been reported. For instance, a dog was hanged to death by two youths in Ghaziabad in November 2022. In September of the same year, a doctor in Rajasthans Jodhpur tied a dog to his car and dragged it across the city. And in March of 2016, a woman in Bengaluru flung eight puppies against a rock to kill them because she didnt want them in her street. Advertisement Theres also the appalling incident from Lucknow in April last year. An entire dog family was subjected to unspoken brutalities within the Lucknow University campus. Several of the puppies were poisoned while the mother was burnt so badly that she hardly had any skin left. And even just last week, a puppy was thrown from a high-rise building in Greater Noida onto the road, resulting in the death of the animal. Advertisement Video 14 -2 - pic.twitter.com/iU7PCTTwuZ Sachin Gupta (@SachinGuptaUP) February 2, 2024 The toothless laws dealing with animal cruelty The Thane incident and other such episodes have got many asking what are Indias laws on animal cruelty and if they are effective. In fact, people who are found to have committed such heinous crimes are charged under The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (PCA) Act, 1960. This law came about thanks to the efforts of Rukmini Devi Arundale, the first woman in India to be appointed to Rajya Sabha, who introduced a private members Bill on the matter. The Act defines cruelty to animals including acts of overburdening or overworking it, not providing the animal food, water and shelter, mutilating or killing an animal, etc. As per the legislation, first-time offenders can be fined not less than Rs 50 but not exceeding Rs 100. In the case of a second or subsequent offence committed within three years of the previous offence, the fine shall not be less than Rs 25 but could extend to Rs 100 or with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three months, or with both. A call to change the law Animal welfare activists along with the Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI), a body established under the 1960 Act, have, however, been calling for a change in the legislation, terming it to be without any bite. In 2016, a group of animal welfare organisations and activists came together and started the #NoMore50 campaign, urging the government of India to amend the 1960 Act to update the penalties such that they serve as a deterrent. The number 50 is a reference to the ridiculously low fine that is imposed as punishment under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960. Several known names have joined this campaign, including actor Nagarjuna as well as former Union Minister Maneka Gandhi. Even the Supreme Court in Animal Welfare Board of India vs A Nagaraja & Others stated that the 1960 Act needs to be amended to provide an effective deterrent in the form of adequate penalties and punishment. In Parliament too, there have been private member bills proposing an amendment to the 1960 Act. In September 2020, Kishanganj MP Mohammad Jawed introduced a Bill saying the punishment for cruelty towards animals should be a Rs 25,000 fine or imprisonment for a term which may extend up to one year or both, and in the case of a second or subsequent offence, the fine should be between Rs 50,000 and 1 lakh and imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than one year but which may extend to two years. And in 2022, the Centre drew up the Draft Prevention of Cruelty against Animals (Amendment) Bill, 2022 following discussions and deliberations with stakeholders. The amended legislation included bestiality as a crime under the new category of gruesome cruelty and defined gruesome cruelty as an act that leads to extreme pain and suffering to the animals which may cause lifelong disability or death. The proposed law stated, Gruesome cruelty shall be punishable with a minimum fine of Rs 50,000 which may be extended up to Rs 75,000 or the cost may be decided by judicial magistrate in consultation with the jurisdictional veterinarians whichever is more or with the imprisonment of one year which may extend up to three years or with both. It further proposed a maximum five-year imprisonment, along with a fine, for killing an animal. However, it is yet to be tabled in the Parliament, with activists increasing the pressure on the Centre to table it and pass it. May be when the law is passed and stricter punishments are put in place, will we not see and report such heinous and horrific crimes against animals in society. With inputs from agencies Striking down the unconstitutional electoral bonds scheme, the Supreme Court directed the State Bank of India to furnish details of the electoral bonds purchased since 12 April 2019 to the Election Commission of India. Heres what the poll body would do with the information The Supreme Court of India has struck down the Central governments electoral bonds scheme that allowed anonymous political funding, deeming it unconstitutional. In the landmark judgement on Thursday (15 February), the top court ruled that the scheme violated citizens right to information and Article 19 (1)(a) of the Constitution which guarantees the right to freedom of speech and expression. Advertisement A five-judge Constitution bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud also directed the State Bank of India (SBI) to stop issuing electoral bonds immediately. The government-owned bank is the sole entity to issue electoral bonds through its 29 authorised branches across different states. What has the Supreme Court told SBI? What to expect next? Lets take a closer look. What is electoral bond scheme? An electoral bond is a bearer instrument like a promissory note that can be purchased by citizens or entities to donate funds to political parties. The Centre finalised the electoral bonds scheme in January 2018 to enhance transparency and stop the flow of black money into political funding. Advertisement However, the scheme was criticised by several quarters over the anonymous donations. Critics of the scheme pointed out that the Centre removed the limit on the amount companies could donate to political parties 7.5 per cent of their average net profits in the previous three years through amendments to the Companies Act, 2013, paving the way for unlimited funding from firms, according to Indian Express. Advertisement Now, the apex court has scrapped the controversial scheme, calling it arbitrary. The bench said the scheme could lead to quid pro quo arrangements between political parties and companies. Electoral bonds scheme has to be struck down as unconstitutional. It violates the right to information of citizens, about possible quid pro quo, the court said in its verdict. Advertisement Financial contributions to political parties are made for two parties - for support to a political party, or contribution may be way of quid pro quo, the five-judge bench noted, as per NDTV. The top courts important verdict comes just months ahead of the crucial Lok Sabha elections. SBI to furnish elector bond donors details Advertisement The apex court in its verdict ordered Indias largest lender to submit details of electoral bonds purchased since 12 April 2019 to the Election Commission of India (ECI). These details, including the date of purchase of the bonds, name of the buyer, denomination, and information of political parties that have received donations through the scheme, have to be submitted to the poll body by 6 March 2024, reported NDTV. Advertisement The bank will also have to provide details of each encashed bond, the dates of encashment and the amount. Electoral Bonds which are within the validity period of 15 days but which have not been encashed by the political parties yet shall be returned by the political party to the purchaser. The issuing bank shall then refund the amount to the purchasers account, Economic Times cited the court order as saying. Advertisement Speaking to Business Standard, a top official of the SBI said the bank will adhere to the Supreme Courts ruling and share details with the election commission. The process has been laid out that we will disclose the details to the election commission and they will host it on their site. We will have to follow the process that has been laid out by the SC. Advertisement We have all the informationjust that it is very confidential, only the respective branches have the data, the official said requesting anonymity. The SBI official also said refunding the amount of the uncashed bonds by political parties is not an issue as the bank has the information of the buyers, Business Standard reported. Advertisement According to Indian Express, the SBI possesses the names, Aadhaar, and PAN card details of those who bought the electoral bonds. What will the ECI do? After the ECI gets the details from the SBI, the poll body has to publish the information on its website by 13 March 2024 to make it available to the public. Advertisement This means the public could know the names of electoral bond donors next month. We havent yet had the opportunity to read the order in detail but its abundantly clear to us that SBI will have to share the names of those who purchased electoral bonds. So theres no doubt about it, an EC official told Indian Express. Advertisement It is not yet known whether the SBI data would be presented in a way that helps immediately match the bond buyer to the political party they donated to. Irrespective of whether the format is reader-friendly or not, finding out the identity of the donor and recipient will not be impossible. It may just mean a lot of work for people interested in finding out the same, the poll body official was quoted as saying by the newspaper. The government told Parliament recently that Rs 16,518 crore worth of electoral bonds were sold between 2018 to January 2024. About 94 per cent of these bonds were in Rs 1 crore denomination, indicating that corporates and high net-worth individuals could have been the donors, reported Indian Express. As per a report published by the Association of Democratic Reforms (ADR), which was one of the petitioners in the electoral bonds case before the Supreme Court, over 52 per cent of the Bharatiya Janata Party s (BJP) total donations between 2018 and 2023 came from electoral bonds worth Rs 5,271.97 crore. The saffron party is also the biggest receiver of electoral bond donations. It got nearly Rs 1,300 crore in 2022-23 through electoral bonds, seven times more than what the Congress, Indias main Opposition party, received during that period. With inputs from agencies Navy Chief Rear Commander Admiral Shahram Irani said Tehran has property rights in the South Pole where it is planning to build a naval base. The Antarctic Treaty, signed in 1959, prohibits nations from constructing military bases, testing weapons and disposing radioactive waste in the region Iran has declared that it owns Antarctica. The countrys naval chief Commander Rear Admiral Shahram Irani in September announced that Tehran has property rights in the South Pole. We have plan to raise our flag there and carry out military and scientific work, Irani said. Iranis comments were translated by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) a think-tank based in Washington, DC. Advertisement Iran has also said it is planning to build a naval base at the South Pole. But why is Tehran claiming Antarctica? Is it a reason to worry? Lets take a closer look: A brief look at Antarctica First, lets take a brief look at Antarctica the worlds southernmost and fifth largest continent. Over time, numerous countries made expeditions to Antarctica and even made territorial claims. However, on 1 December, 1959, a dozen nations signed the Antarctic Treaty, as per Britannica. The treaty, hammered out at a conference in Washington, was signed by Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Britain, Chile, France, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, South Africa, the United States, and the Soviet Union. While the treaty did not deal with claims of territorial sovereignty, it did prohibit nations from constructing military bases, testing weapons and disposing radioactive waste. Advertisement The treaty did not have an expiry date, but called for a possible review of its terms in 30 years. Advertisement The nations in 1991 signed a protocol to the treaty prohibiting mineral and oil exploration for five decades. It also spelled out rules to safeguard the continents delicate environment. What did Iran say? Our plan in the future is to raise the proud flag of Iran in Antarctica, Irani, addressing the 86th flotilla, had said, according to The National. Irani made the comments during sacred defence week. The Diplomat quoted Irani as saying a research team would have to head to Antarctica first. Advertisement Moreover, in order to build a base, certain things that are necessary for construction must be taken into account, and the most important thing is that we must have constant contact with this base. We are trying to send a group to that region for environmental studies. Today, there is this self-belief, and in our opinion, this capability exists in the country. Advertisement Iran in September had also said it plans to expand its naval presence in international waters as part of efforts to boost its military and extend its reach as far as Antarctica. The comments reflect Irans aspirations to transform its navy into a force capable of sustained operations in the open ocean. They also are seen as a response to Americas beefed-up naval deployment near the Islamic Republics coasts in the Persian Gulf. Advertisement We have the capability to hoist Irans flag in different regions from the North Poles to the South Pole and we are preparing plans for a presence near the South Pole, state Press TV quoted then Rear Commander Habibollah Sayyari as saying. However, we will never enter the maritime borders of others and we will not allow anybody to enter even a centimeter into our territorial waters. Advertisement Those comments came after Sayyari said Iran aims to put warships in international waters off the US coast within the next few years. He also said Irans navy would be present anywhere in international waters in order to safeguard the Islamic Republics interests. The Iranian navy has steadily expanded its international presence since 2008 when it began patrolling in the Gulf of Aden to protect commercial vessels owned or leased by Iran against piracy. Advertisement Two Iranian warships for the first time in decades traveled through the Suez Canal, extending Irans naval reach to the Mediterranean Sea. Now, some Iranian ships also operate in the northern Indian Ocean. What do experts say? Experts are concerned. Yonah Jeremy Bob, author of Target Tehran and a senior Jerusalem Post military and intelligence analyst, told Fox News Digital, Irans future plans to try to expand its military presence and influence into the Antarctic would not only violate multilateral conventions on the issue, but continues the regimes trend of aggression across the globe. Advertisement Whether through terrorism on basically every continent or its rampant piracy in the maritime arena, the Islamic Republic continues to show why it is a danger to world stability and why Israel and the Mossads role in holding it back from nuclear weapons remains critical. Every time Tehran expands its tentacles into a new area to disrupt the rules-based order promoted by the West, the U.S. and its allies are given an additional opportunity to take the nuclear threat more seriously. Antarctica might seem a distant threat, but if the West acts as meekly as it did when Iran recently kicked out nuclear weapons inspectors, the Islamic Republic will only become further emboldened on other track, he added. Advertisement Potkin Azarmehr, an expert on Iran, added_,_ Everything in Iran is reminiscent of the USSR in its last days before collapse. Ambitious but pointless plans by a state with completely wrong priorities. Unable to provide basic services to its people, bankrupt institutions but full of grandiose talks. The state department reacted tersely to a query whether the unfreezing of $6 billion in Iranian funds held in Qatar could be used by Iran to set up a base in Antarctica. Advertisement A state department spokesperson told Fox News Digital: No. Irans funds held in Qatar may not be used for any activities in Antarctica. Those funds can only be used to purchase humanitarian goods, meaning food, medicine, medical devices and agricultural products. The United States in February killed senior commander Abu Baqir al-Saadi of Kataib Hezbollah, an Iran-backed armed group in Iraq in a drone strike. The Pentagon linked al-Saadi to an attack that killed three US troops in a drone attack near the Jordan-Syria border in January. Iraq and Syria have witnessed near-daily tit-for-tat attacks between hardline Iran-backed armed groups and U.S. forces stationed in the region since the Gaza war began in October. The US has also hit Iran-backed Iraqi groups in Iraq and Syria. With inputs from agencies To boost the capabilities of the Indian Armed Forces and the Indian Coast Guard, the Defence Acquisition Council, or DAC, under the chairmanship of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh Thursday cleared capital acquisition proposals worth Rs 84,560 crore . In the true spirit of Aatmanirbharta, the approvals accorded on February 16, 2024 lay special emphasis on procurement of various equipment from Indian vendors, the Ministry of Defence said. Advertisement The proposals include new generation anti-tank mines, Air Defence Tactical Control Radar, Heavy Weight Torpedoes, Medium Range Maritime Reconnaissance and Multi-Mission Maritime Aircraft, Flight Refueller Aircraft and Software Defined Radios. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Defence Minister Rajnath Singh also informed that the amendments in Defence Acquisition Procedure 2020 were also cleared by DAC to promote procurement of advanced technologies from Start-Ups and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). These steps will provide the much-needed incentive to the start-ups and MSMEs and promote Ease of Doing Business in India, the Defence Minister said. The DAC meeting today cleared capital acquisition proposals worth Rs 84,560 crore to boost the capabilities of the Armed Forces & Indian Coast Guard. The Amendments in Defence Acquisition Procedure 2020 were also cleared to promote procurement of advanced technologies from Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) February 16, 2024 Advertisement Boosting capabilities of Indian Armed Forces The DAC Thursday accorded approval for Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) under the category of Buy (Indian-Indigenously Designed Developed and Manufactured, or IDDM) for procurement of a new generation of anti-tank mines having seismic sensor and provision of remote deactivation with additional safety features. Advertisement The AoN under Buy (Indian-IDDM) category has been accorded for procurement of Canister Launched Anti-Armour Loiter Munition System. This will help enhance the operational efficiency and domination in the Tactical Battle Area for engaging targets that are Beyond Visual Line of Sight by the Mechanised Forces. Strengthening Air Defence Systems The AoN has been accorded for procurement of Air Defence Tactical Control Radar under Buy (Indian-IDDM) category. This has been done to strengthen the Air Defence Systems, especially the capabilities to detect slow, small and low-flying targets as well as surveillance, detection and tracking of different targets. Advertisement AoN granted for Indian Navy & Indian Coast Guard Also, the DAC has granted the AoN for procurement of Medium Range Maritime Reconnaissance and Multi-Mission Maritime Aircraft, through Buy and Make category. This has been done to strengthen the surveillance and interdiction capabilities of the Indian Navy and the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) over the countrys vast maritime area. Advertisement To keep the Indian Naval Ships one step ahead of the threats posed by the adversaries, the AoN under Buy (Indian) category has been accorded for procurement of Active Towed Array Sonar having capabilities to operate at low frequencies and various depths for long range detections of adversary submarines. AoN for procurement of heavy weight torpedoes Advertisement The AoN has also been accorded for procurement of Heavy Weight Torpedoes for enhancing the attacking capabilities of Kalvari Class submarines. The AoN for sustainment support through Follow On Support (FOS) and Repair Replenishment support through Follow On Supply Support (FOSS) for 24 MH60R aircraft under Foreign Military Sale route with the US Government has also been accorded. Advertisement The DAC has also accorded AoN for procurement of Flight Refueller Aircraft for enhancing the operational capabilities and reach of the Indian Air Force. The AoN under Buy (Indian-IDDM) category for procurement of Software Defined Radios for the ICG has also been granted. This will fulfill the requirement of the ICG for having a high-speed communication with secure networking capability for seamless information exchange between the ICG and the Indian Navy units, the Ministry of Defence said. Advertisement DAC Approves Amendments in Defence Acquisition Procedure The DAC has also approved amendments in the Defence Acquisition Procedure (DAP) 2020 with respect to benchmarking and cost computation, payment schedule, procurement quantity etc. Thie will help create a friendly defence start-up ecosystem and promote procurement of Advanced technologies from start-ups and MSMEs developed under the Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX) and Technology Development Fund schemes. Advertisement The Defence Minister said, This will provide the much-needed incentive along with a supportive business environment for the start-ups and MSMEs under iDEX and TDF schemes, truly in the spirit of Ease of Doing Business. Defence Push in Budget 2024 In the recently announced Interim Budget 2024, the Government of India, Rs 6.21 lakh crore have been allocated to Ministry of Defence in, 4.72 per cent more than FY 2023-24 allocation of Rs 5.94 lakh crore. Advertisement The amount allocated to the Defence Ministry accounted for 13.04 per cent of total Union Budget, which was presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in Parliament on 1 February, 2024. Describing as worrisome trend the rising cases of fraudulent marriages between NRIs and Indian citizens, the Law Commission has proposed a thorough law to address the issue and mandatory registration of such unions Describing as worrisome trend the rising cases of fraudulent marriages between NRIs and Indian citizens, the Law Commission has proposed a thorough law to address the issue and mandatory registration of such unions. In presenting the report titled Legislation on Matrimonial Matters Concerning Non-Resident Indians and Overseas Citizens of India to the Ministry of Law, Justice (Retd) Ritu Raj Awasthi, the chairperson of the panel, emphasised that the Commission advocates for a centralised law that comprehensively addresses all aspects related to the marriages of NRIs and foreign citizens of Indian origin with Indian citizens. Advertisement The rising occurrence of fraudulent marriages involving Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) marrying Indian partners is a worrisome trend. Several reports highlight an increasing pattern where these marriages turn out to be deceptive, putting Indian spouses, especially women, in precarious situations, PTI quoted Justice Awasthi as saying in his covering letter to Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal on Thursday. The committee recommended that such legislation should extend its applicability not only to Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) but also to individuals falling under the definition of Overseas Citizens of India (OCIs) as outlined in the Citizenship Act of 1955. It is further recommended that all marriages between the NRIs/OCIs and Indian citizens should be made compulsorily registered in India, added Justice Awasthi . Advertisement He said the comprehensive central legislation should also include provisions on divorce, maintenance of spouse, custody and maintenance of children, serving of summons, warrants, or judicial documents on the NRIs and OCIs. Further, it is recommended that requisite amendments need to be introduced in the Passports Act, 1967 in order to mandate the declaration of marital status, the linking of a spouses passport with the other and mentioning of the marriage registration number on the passports of both the spouses, he told the government. Advertisement The commission recalled that in order to deal with the emerging situation, the Registration of Marriage of Non-Resident Indians Bill, 2019, was introduced in the Rajya Sabha on February 11, 2019. Initially, the 16th (previous) Lok Sabha referred the bill to the Committee on External Affairs. Subsequently, the same bill was again referred to the Committee on External Affairs after the 17th (present) Lok Sabha was constituted, for further examination. Advertisement As deliberations continued, the Law Commission received a reference on the NRI Bill, 2019 from the Ministry of External Affairs, conveyed through the Law Ministry in April last. With inputs from agencies Prime Minister Narendra Modi was on an official visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) from 13-14 February and to Qatar from 14-15 February Prime Minister Narendra Modi returned to Delhi on Thursday night after wrapping up his visit to UAE and Qatar. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) shared a video post on X, summing up the PMs three-day two-nation tour. PM Modi was on an official visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) from 13-14 February and to Qatar from 14-15 February. Advertisement The recent visit was PM Modis seventh to the UAE and second to Qatar since 2014. The video begins with PM Modis arrival in Abu Dhabi on 13 February and him hugged UAE president Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and thanked him for the warm welcome as well as for his support for the first Hindu stone temple in the country. As PM @narendramodi successfully concludes his visit to the UAE & Qatar, here is a recap! pic.twitter.com/HNtTt4aqIR Randhir Jaiswal (@MEAIndia) February 16, 2024 Advertisement Source: @MEAIndia In the background, portion of PM Modis address at UAEs largest Indian community event - Ahlan Modi is being played where he is heard saying, The relationship between Bharat and the UAE is reaching unprecedented heights in this third decade of the 21st century. We are partners in each others progress. Advertisement The video also shows PM Modi being accorded ceremonial welcome and Guard of Honour upon his arrival in UAE. PM Modi also held bilateral talks with the UAE president after which MoUs and agreements were exchanged between the officials of the two countries. Agreements signed between India & UAE The agreements and MoUs inked between India and the UAE include: Advertisement - Bilateral investment treaty - MoU on cooperation in the field of electricity interconnection and trade - Inter-governmental Framework Agreement concerning cooperation for the empowerment and operation of the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor - MoU on Cooperation in Digital Infrastructure projects - Cooperation protocol between the National Library and Archives of the UAE and the National Archives of India Advertisement - MoU of Development of National Maritime Heritage Complex (NMHC) - Agreement on interlinking of the instant payment platforms - UPI (India) and AANI (UAE) - Agreement on inter-linking domestic debit/ credit cards - RuPay (India) with JAYWAN (UAE) The video further shows both the Indian and UAE leaders witnessing a transaction using the JAYWAN card based on Indias RuPay card. Advertisement It also shows the warm welcome the Indian Prime Minister received by the Indian community in Abu Dhabi. Every heartbeat in this historic stadium is saying: Long live Bharat-UAE friendship, said PM in his address at Alhan Modi event in Abu Dhabi. The video further shows PM Modi holding bilateral meeting with Vice President, Prime Minister and ruler of Dubai. Advertisement The Indian Prime Minister also met with President of Madagascar Andry Rajoelina in Dubai. During his visit to the UAE in 2024, Prime Minister Modi also launched Bharat Mart in Jebel Ali. Addressing at the World Governments Summit 2024 in Dubai as Guest of Honour, PM Modi said: I believe that the world today needs governments that are inclusive and that move forward together with all. Advertisement The video shows PM Modi inaugurating the BAPS Hindu Mandir in Abu Dhabi. This temple will be a symbol of unity and harmony for the world, he is heard saying. The Indian Prime Minister also inscribed the words Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam after inaugurating the Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS) temple on 14 February, 2024. Advertisement The temple is built on a 27-acre plot of land, donated by the UAE government, in Abu Mureikhah, near Al Rahba off the Dubai-Abu Dhabi Sheikh Zayed Highway. The stone-laying ceremony took place in 2019. PM Modi in Qatar In the second leg of his two-nation visit, PM Modi arrived at Hamad International Airpirt in Doha on 14 February. Advertisement The video shows how the Indian diaspora with excitement and enthusiasm welcomed PM Modi in Doha. In Qatar, PM Modi met with the Amir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and was also accorded ceremonial welcome as well as Guard of Honour at Amiri Diwan. The Indian Prime Minister held a bilateral meeting with the Amir of Qatar and also met with PM and FM of the country Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani. The Prime Minister just concluded a very successful visit to the UAE. This was his seventh trip to the country since 2015. A key highlight of prime ministers visit was the inauguration of the grand BAPS Temple in Abu Dhabi on 14 February, the UAEs first traditional Hindu stone temple. This was evidence of solid cultural ties between the two countries. At the same time, it also highlights the UAEs commitment to multiculturalism and religious tolerance. Advertisement There were two other highlights of this visit. First was the prime ministers address at the World Government Summit. At the Summit, the prime minister emphasised the significance of governance that prioritises inclusivity, technological advancement, transparency, and environmental sustainability. He expressed appreciation for the UAEs leadership in creating a platform that brings together global thought leaders to discuss the pressing challenges of the 21st century. These include issues related to food, health, water, energy security, and the imperative of fostering an inclusive society. The prime minister highlighted technologys role as both a disruptor and an enabler, and the need for concerted efforts to tackle terrorism and climate change. He advocated for governments to adopt approaches that ensure minimal interference in peoples lives while maximizing governance efficiency. The prime minister shared insights from his extensive experience in governance, advocating for policies that promote digital identity, financial inclusion, womens empowerment, and the development of a vibrant startup ecosystem. He called for global cooperation to address challenges in the digital age, such as artificial intelligence, cryptocurrency, and cybercrime, stressing the need for a balance between national sovereignty and international law. The prime ministers vision for the future of governance is one of learning and collaboration, where solutions emerging from summits like these shape a better global future, embodying the principles of One Earth, One Family, One Future. Advertisement Second was the signing of the Bilateral Investment Treaty between the two countries. This BIT is designed as a mechanism to further bolster the investment flows between the two nations, ensuring a robust framework for investor protection and dispute resolution. This treaty will be instrumental in elevating the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. By establishing clear legal parameters for investments, the BIT aims to significantly enhance investor confidence, facilitating a surge in Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs) and Overseas Direct Investments (ODIs). The technical provisions within the treaty are expected to streamline investment processes, reduce risks associated with cross-border investments, and foster an environment conducive to increased capital flows, thereby contributing to economic growth and job creation in both countries. Advertisement Apart from this, the PM and President of the UAE oversaw the exchange of several significant agreements, including a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on electrical interconnection and energy trade. The two countries signed an Intergovernmental Framework Agreement on the India-Middle East Economic Corridor to boost regional connectivity and cooperation. An MoU on cooperation in Digital Infrastructure Projects aims to create a framework for investment cooperation and knowledge sharing in the digital sector. Additionally, a cooperation protocol between the National Archives of both countries and an MoU for cooperation in heritage and museums were established, the latter to support the Maritime Heritage Complex at Lothal, Gujarat. Advertisement Agreements to interlink the instant payment platforms UPI (India) and AANI (UAE), and to connect domestic debit/credit cards RuPay (India) with JAYWAN (UAE), were also signed, enhancing financial sector cooperation and facilitating seamless cross-border transactions. The Prime Minister congratulated the President on the launch of UAEs domestic card JAYWAN, which will work in tandem with Indias digital RuPay credit and debit card stack, and they witnessed a transaction using the JAYWAN card. The discussions also highlighted the strengthening of the energy partnership, with India entering into long-term contracts for LNG, building on the UAEs status as a significant source of crude and LPG for India. Advertisement But what is the reason behind this pivot to UAE? Again, there are two reasons. First, the economic ties between the two countries have seen remarkable progress, making the UAE Indias third-largest trading partner for the year 2022-23 and Indias second-largest export destination. The second reason is that the UAE hosts a large Indian expatriate community, which is a significant aspect of Indias extended socio-economic ties abroad. Advertisement The economic ties between India and the UAE have seen remarkable growth in recent years, highlighted by key milestones and ambitious trade targets that have further strengthened their partnership. The Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreements (CEPA) programme has accelerated the progress in their relations. From 2020 to 2022, the volume of non-oil trade between the two nations surged by 84 per cent, showcasing the rapid expansion of their economic and trade relations. The UAE-India CEPA, effective from 1 May, 2022, has been particularly transformative, reducing tariffs on a vast majority of UAE goods exported to India and enhancing market access across numerous sectors. This agreement has not only facilitated trade by eliminating technical barriers but also provided UAE businesses with access to Indian government procurement opportunities, thereby significantly boosting bilateral non-oil trade. Advertisement According to Ministry of Commerces System on Foreign Trade Performance Analysis (FTPA ), exports from India to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have shown a positive growth of 5.98% in the period from April to December 2023 compared to the same period in 2022, with provisional figures indicating an increase from $23,333.67 million to $24,728.48 million. Given that these numbers are provisional, the final export figures for 2023 are likely to be even higher, underscoring a strengthening trade relationship between India and the UAE. Advertisement Between April and November 2023, Indias export portfolio to the UAE showcased a diverse range of commodities, highlighting the strong trade relations between the two nations. Leading the export list was rice, a staple of Indian agriculture, with significant exports valued at $262.11 million. Frozen meat followed, with a demand in the UAE leading to exports worth $144.36 million, reflecting the UAEs appetite for Indian meat products. The export of nuts, particularly coconuts, Brazil nuts, and cashews, contributed significantly, amounting to $70.32 million. Indian tea, renowned globally, also made a substantial contribution to the exports, valued at $74.20 million. Other notable exports included a variety of dried nuts, crustaceans, molluscs, and other aquatic invertebrates, dried leguminous vegetables, and fresh or chilled alliaceous vegetables like onions and garlic, along with other fresh or chilled vegetables, and meat of sheep or goats, highlighting the diversity of Indias export capabilities. Advertisement In a strategic move to strengthen economic relations further, India and the UAE have started to settle bilateral trade in their respective currencies, a development that aims to reduce transaction costs and shield businesses from currency fluctuation risks. This agreement is expected to make Indian exports more competitive by removing hedging costs and is a testament to the deep-rooted trust and strategic partnership between the two nations. It symbolizes a shift towards a multipolar economic world, reducing dependency on dominant reserve currencies. Bilateral trade between India and the UAE increased by 16 per cent to $84.5 billion from April 2022 to March 2023, indicating a robust trading relationship. The introduction of local currency trading is anticipated to further enhance this relationship by simplifying trade processes and potentially increasing export volumes. Advertisement The people-to-people connect between the UAE and India has played a crucial role in strengthening the bilateral relations between the two countries, notably influencing their economic ties. The foundation of this connection lies in the extensive Indian expatriate community in the UAE, which is the largest ethnic group in the country, constituting approximately 30 per cent of the nations population. In 2021, the number of resident Indian Nationals in the UAE was estimated to be around 3.5 million. Advertisement Theories such as Joseph Nyes Soft Power concept suggest that the ability of a country to co-opt rather than coerce can be a significant factor in international relations. The Indian communitys contribution to the UAEs labor market, ranging from blue-collar workers to high-skilled professionals, exemplifies a form of soft power, fostering a positive image of India in the UAE and facilitating smoother diplomatic and economic interactions. Moreover, scholars like Robert Putnam have highlighted the role of social networks in facilitating economic transactions by reducing transaction costs and promoting trust and reciprocity among community members. The dense network of the Indian diaspora in the UAE serves as a bridge between the two countries, enhancing mutual understanding and cooperation. This, in turn, positively impacts bilateral trade, investment flows, and collaborative ventures across various sectors. The prime minister also acknowledged this. At the Ahlan Modi event in Abu Dhabi, the prime minister highlighted the deepening bonds between India and the UAE, expressing gratitude for the warm reception and acknowledging the contributions of the Indian community to the UAEs development. He underscored the significance of the Indian diaspora as a bridge between the two nations, emphasizing their role in the UAEs progress and the mutual respect and affection that underpin this relationship. The PM also lauded the UAE for granting Indians a place in their hearts and for their cooperation during challenging times, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. The future of India-UAE relations shines bright, with potential for growth across various sectors, including trade, energy, technology and cultural exchange. Initiatives like the India-Middle East Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) and the I2U2 Group, comprising India, Israel, the UAE, and the United States, are just the beginning of a new era of cooperation that promises to bring mutual benefits and foster stronger ties. The recent visit of Prime Minister Modi to the UAE is a harbinger of the boundless possibilities that lie ahead. In the words of Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, History is a continuum of events, the present only a fleeting instant between a past and a future, and in this spirit, India and the UAE stand on the brink of a future bright with promise, their partnership a beacon of what can be achieved when two nations share a vision of progress and prosperity. The author is OSD, Research, EAC-PM. He tweets adityasinha004. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the writer. They do not necessarily reflect Firstposts views. Read all the Latest News , Trending News , Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook , Twitter and Instagram . Now that Gov. Kathy Hochul has formed a new state artificial intelligence consortium with the University at Buffalo as its hub, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer wants the new Empire AI to play a leading role in a new federal AI research pilot program that launched last month. Buffalo-Rochester-Syracuse region chosen as federal 'tech hub' in bid for funding The stretch of upstate including Buffalo, Rochester and Syracuse has been chosen as a federally designated "tech hub," giving the region a chance at upwards of $75 million in funding aimed at transforming its economy into the Silicon Valley of the microchip industry. Schumer has invited the heads of the Biden administrations National AI Research Resource pilot to visit New York and strongly consider Empire AI for their two-year project to create a national shared infrastructure for AI innovation. I write in light of the establishment of a pilot project for the National AI Research Resource, Schumer wrote in a letter he shared with The Buffalo News, and to urge you to strongly consider a consortium formed out of leading New York research institutions as a potential home for this pilot. I would like to invite the Biden administration to send senior officials to visit New York and meet with key stakeholders to discuss this further. The letter to the directors of the National Science Foundation and the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy is dated Jan. 4, and the NSF launched the new national pilot on Jan. 24. Schumers office said he has not heard back but hopes to arrange a visit within the year. The state and national AI consortiums are forming at a time when AI is rapidly advancing and upstate New York is seeking federal funding as a designated Tech Hub that will unite the Buffalo, Rochester and Syracuse areas in building an I-90 semiconductor corridor, with Micron Technology anchoring the eastern end, near Syracuse. Micron plans to invest up to $100 billion in a chip-making complex that officials hope will fuel growth across the regional semiconductor and AI industries. Just as Schumer fought for the regions Tech Hub designation, he is going after federal inclusion of Empire AI in the new national program, which aims to share AI resources among government-funded, industry, education and research entities to collaborate on AI innovation and policy. NSF has announced 10 other federal agencies and 25 nongovernmental partners for the pilot, which will focus on supporting research and education across the nationwide research community, while gaining insights that will refine the design of a full NAIRR in two years, according to the NSF website. Federal partners in the national pilot include NASA, the National Institutes of Health, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the U.S. departments of agriculture, defense, energy and veterans affairs, among others. The 25 private partners include IBM, Google, Meta, Microsoft, OpenAI, EleutherAI, Amazon Web Services and other tech companies. The NSF is inviting other interested institutions to submit proposals for partnership in the pilot, and Schumer wants Empire AI to be first in line for consideration. Hochul announced the formation of Empire AI at her State of the State address on Jan. 9, to give New York a lead in promoting responsible research and development, creating jobs and unlocking AI opportunities focused on public good, she said. Two weeks later, she visited UB to announce it will be Empire AIs hub. The consortium will tap UBs AI resources and allocate $400 million more in public and private funding for an advanced AI computing center to be shared among seven founding institutions: SUNY, CUNY, Columbia University, Cornell University, New York University, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and the Simons Foundation. Schumer noted UB is already home to a supercomputing center and multimillion-dollar AI research centers, including the National AI Institute for Exceptional Education, which it founded last year with a $20 million, five-year NSF grant to develop AI systems to screen and assist young children with speech and language challenges. The NSF award recognized UBs well-established work in AI research, including its Institute for Artificial Intelligence and Data Science and the Center for Information Integrity, Schumers office said in a news release. With New York State already taking the initiative to establish the University at Buffalo-based Empire AI consortium, partnering with the feds is a natural fit. UB and the broader Empire AI consortium will collaborate with industry to provide free access to key technology and support, like advanced computing, datasets, and powerful AI models to support AI research, training, and entrepreneurship, Schumer said in a statement. UB President Satish K. Tripathi said UB would be honored to welcome the Biden administration to campus to see how we are harnessing our multidisciplinary AI expertise in service of societal good. Senator Schumer has been instrumental in supporting federally funded research, including transformative research in artificial intelligence, Tripathi said. UB has been at the forefront of responsible AI research and application for nearly 50 years, and our depth of expertise positions us to lead the AI movement well into the future. UBs pioneering role in AI research goes back to the 1990s, when UB computer scientist Venu Govindaraju, now UB vice president for research and development, used machine learning to devise a handwriting recognition system that saves the U.S. Postal Service hundreds of millions of dollars by processing and barcoding 25 billion hand-addressed letters a year. UB now has some 200 faculty researchers working on AI-related projects, such as using AI to diagnose and treat brain aneurysms, help first responders during natural disasters, modernize manufacturing and develop new materials for space applications, from satellite sensors to cosmic radiation shields. At her State of the State and the Empire AI designation at UB, Hochul has pointed to research by a UB computer science student who has used AI to reveal racial bias in how academic services are allocated to children in foster care and devise ways to improve outcomes for young people in the national child welfare system. article> As Delhi turns into a fortress with the farmer protests, one is reminded of the anarchy that disguised itself as dissent in 2021. Khalistani infiltration and banned organisations like Sikhs For Justice were found to be involved in the 2021 farmer agitation. Khalistani slogans were raised and the protestors held up posters of Khalistani terrorist Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale. Advertisement At the time, farmer organisations also included in their charter of demands the release of certain prisoners, which included Sharjeel Imam and Umar Khalid. They were at the forefront of organising protests against CAA and NRC and had been booked under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA). Imam had gone to the extent of exhorting people to cut off Assam permanently from the rest of the country. Their charter had also called for the release of terrorist sympathisers such as Varvara Rao and Sudha Bhardwaj amongst many others. The farmer protests that ended with the government repealing the farm laws, gave the impression that the protests were engineered by vested secessionist groups with an agenda of taking the Modi-led government on while reviving Khalistani sentiments. Today, as we step into 2024, the farmers are once again trying to make their way to Delhi via Haryana armed with a new set of demands. These demands, some seemingly innocuous and some inconceivable, include pensions for farmers and Indias withdrawal from the WTO amongst others. Ironically, some of these protesting farmers have been seen arriving at the protest sites in ultra-luxury vehicles. Advertisement So far, it has been a wait-and-watch game for most to see if these protests have been hijacked, like in 2021, by the intersectionality of separatist and political grievances. But the signs of a resurrection are becoming difficult to ignore. Farmer organisations started their journey on 12 February, arriving in modified tractors and SUVs with trucks full of food grains and other necessary goods sufficient for the next six months, at the least. This is a glaring indicator for even the layman to realise that they are here for the long run. Irrespective of the pressures that security forces across the country will have to bear, especially with the 2024 general elections around the corner or the inconvenience caused to residents of the National Capital Region (NCR), the farmers want what they have demanded, at any cost. But critically, without plans to ensure that secessionist, anti-national and politically vested interests dont hijack their protests this time round, no rationale can legitimise the genuineness of the new protests. There is no assurance that these protests will not deteriorate into anarchy. Advertisement Additionally, the preparation of the security forces, with a 12-layer defence barricading at the Shambhu border in the state of Haryana has been suggestive of how the centre is ready to push back if need be. The RCC boulders, concrete slabs and trenches fixed on National Highway 44 were meant to restrain the farmers from entering, instead, the farmers destroyed the first two layers, throwing the slabs in the river. The farmers were well prepared with wet jute bags to counter the tear gas shells dropped through drones with some visuals showing farmers with gas masks on. Advertisement It must be pointed out that blocking highways and destruction of public property is a criminal offence under Section 431 of the, which deals with mischief by injury to the public road, bridge, river or channel making it impassable or less safe for travel. In addition, Section 427 of the IPC also deals with mischief causing damage which carries a grand fine of fifty rupees and upwards. Advertisement However, it seems that the residents of NCR have submitted to the will of the protestors even though they are ultimately at the receiving end of these protests. They are quietly dealing with check posts doubling their daily travel time, anxieties of small businesses which are likely to suffer not to mention the fear that the NCR will have to face another riot-like situation. In addition to residents of the NCR, news channels, media reporting and debaters too seem to have taken the illegal aspects of the protests in their stride almost like it is the norm. They have vociferously argued for or against the new farmer demands depending on their political affiliation but have not discussed the sheer criminality of the actions and reactions of the protestors. Actions which are against the rule of law and risk becoming platforms for anti-India elements. Advertisement The idea of the protests being hijacked once again is not far-fetched considering images encouraging a secessionist agenda have begun to appear. Recently an AI-generated image showed the Nishan Sahib on the Red Fort, in a stark reminder of what took place on the Red Fort in 2021. An act that put shivers through the spine of India. In another incident, a Hindi YouTube channel called Satya Khabar put up a video of Khalistanis saying we are standing at the Sindhu border where you have put barricades. We suggest that you put a permanent border and we will then open a border with Pakistan. Another Khalistani then clearly says that we want an Azad Punjab, Khalistani Punjab. Designated terrorist US-based Gurpatwant Singh Pannun also has released a video urging pro-Khalistani elements to infiltrate the protests. Advertisement Politically too, Rahul Gandhi has supported the protests. Leaders of the 2021 agitation like Ramandeep Singh Mann have again resurfaced. His proximity to Congress leaders is well known. Kejriwal-led AAP is at both ends of the protests, in Delhi and Haryana refusing once again to allow Delhi Police to use nearly nine stadiums as temporary jails. He did nothing to stop the farmers in Punjab itself, allowing them to reach Haryana. But, nothing spells the political agenda of these protests clearer than farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewals statement. During the protests he pointed out that The popularity of Modi is at its peak, his graph has gone up because of Ram Mandir. We have less time (2024 LS elections). We have to bring the graph of Modi down. Advertisement Unfortunately, irrespective of the actions of secessionist leaders or political leaders, the truth is that India, and especially the NCR has effectively become political fodder for the opposition. NCR has borne the brunt of this new-age politics with riots and protests culminating in Delhi, public property and taxpayer-funded infrastructure being torn down inconveniencing residents for months on end. Yet, dialogues are still circling the veracity of farmer demands and not the incontestable fact that this dissent can spiral into anarchy, just the way it did in 2021. Residents of NCR then must brace themselves for the future and ask, will every demand that is rejected by the Centre be turned into an exercise to hold the NCR to ransom? Advertisement The writer is an anthropologist, author and scholar specialising in the northeast region of India. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely that of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstposts views. Read all the Latest News , Trending News , Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook , Twitter and Instagram . Russian President Vladimir Putin gave a rare and exclusive interview to former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, which premiered on 8 February 2024. In the two-hour-long conversation, Putin engaged candidly, touching upon critical themes that shape Russias foreign policy. Lets dissect key excerpts from the interview and explore the historical context behind them: Advertisement NATOs eastward expansion We were told that NATO would not expand eastward **. This was a lie. Five waves of NATO expansion followed. We did not respond to any of them. We were trying to persuade them, Please dont do it; we are a market economy now, we have no Communist Party in power, lets negotiate. But no, they did not listen to us.** Declassified documents from the National Security Archive shed light on the assurances provided by the United States to Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev regarding NATO expansion. During a 1990 conversation between Gorbachev and Secretary of State James Baker, Baker emphasized that the US had no plans for NATOs eastward expansion. Despite these assurances, historical developmentsincluding German reunification and shifts in Gorbachevs influenceultimately led to NATOs eastward expansion, rendering the earlier promises ineffective. As NATO expanded eastward, it not only included former Soviet satellites but also former Soviet republics. While US policymakers supported the aspirations of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, they seemed to overlook Russian security interests. However, the Western account tells a different story. As per the NATOs website - In 1989, the notion of NATO enlargement beyond a united Germany was not a priority, especially given the continued existence of the Warsaw Pact until 1991. Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev confirmed in a 2014 interview that the topic of NATO expansion was never raised during those years. Individual NATO members lack the authority to make binding agreements on behalf of the alliance. President Bill Clinton consistently rejected Boris Yeltsins proposal that no former Soviet republics should join NATO. Clinton emphasized that NATO operates by consensus, and he would not personally veto any countrys accession to the alliance. Advertisement NATOs bombing of Yugoslavia They bombed Belgrade in violation of international law and the UN Charter. And when we protested and expressed our indignation, they said that the UN Charter and international law were outdated. Now they are invoking international law all the time, but back then they said that everything had changed and needed to be revised. The NATO bombing of Yugoslavia took place in 1999 as part of the Kosovo War. The conflict arose between the ethnic Albanian majority in Kosovo seeking independence and the Yugoslav government led by president Slobodan Milosevic, which opposed such aspirations. The NATO intervention aimed to stop the alleged ethnic cleansing and human rights abuses committed by Yugoslav forces in Kosovo. NATOs new Strategic Concept justifies Alliance intervention anywhere in Europe to uphold stability and human rights. Advertisement However, Russia has strong historical and cultural ties with Yugoslavia, particularly as a Slavic and Orthodox Christian ally. Russia was a member of the Balkans Contact Group, working diplomatically to de-escalate the conflict. When the UN Security Council failed to provide a mandate for NATOs intervention due to Russias veto, NATO proceeded with the bombings without explicit international approval. Russia strongly opposed the military action, viewing it as a violation of Yugoslavias sovereignty. Advertisement Rejecting Russias integration into NATO At a meeting here in the Kremlin with the outgoing President Bill Clinton, right here in the next room, I said to him, I asked him, Bill, do you think if Russia asked to join NATO, do you think it would happen? Suddenly he said: You know, its interesting, I think yes. But in the evening, when we had dinner, he said, You know, Ive talked to my team, no-no, its not possible now. Contrary to the Putins views, the Western narrative on the issue is quite different. According to a report by The Guardian , former Labour defence secretary George Robertson, who led NATO from 1999 to 2003, shared details of his initial encounter with Russian President Vladimir Putin. At that pivotal meeting, Putin expressed a clear desire for Russia to be integrated into Western Europea secure, stable, and prosperous realm from which Russia felt excluded. When Putin inquired about NATO membership, Robertson clarified that NATO doesnt extend invitations; countries must apply. Putin responded, Well, were not standing in line with a lot of countries that dont matter. Advertisement Alleged Western support for unrest in the North Caucasus I repeatedly raised the issue that the United States should not support separatism or terrorism in the North Caucasus, but they continued to do it anyway. And political support, information support, financial support, even military support came from the United States and its satellites for terrorist groups in the Caucasus. The North Caucasus region, situated in the southwestern part of the Russian Federation, has a long history of instability. As the smallest federal district in Russia, it is home to a population of ten million people. Unlike other districts, ethnic Russians do not constitute a majority there. The North Caucasus serves as a boundary between the Muslim and Christian worlds, with a predominantly Muslim population. Advertisement Over time, Russia has repeatedly accused Western powers of exacerbating the unrest in the North Caucasus region. In a documentary commemorating fifteen years of Putins presidency (2015), the Russian leader asserted that the United States supported separatist movements in the North Caucasus during the 2000s. According to him, Russian intelligence agencies monitored direct communications between fighters from the North Caucasus and US Special Forces in Azerbaijan, revealing alleged assistance provided by Washington to the insurgents, including transportation support. However, these claims have been dismissed by Western powers, who consider them part of Russian rhetoric. Advertisement Attributing blame for the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war It was they who started the war in 2014. Our goal is to stop this war. And we did not start this war in 2022. This is an attempt to stop it. The Ukrainian government under Viktor Yanukovych, halted signing an Association Agreement with the European Union in 2014. This decision sparked widespread protests in Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital. Masses gathered in Independence Square, also called the Maidan. Amidst these demonstrations, president Viktor Yanukovych, who had close ties to Moscow, faced mounting pressure. The situation escalated into a political crisis, what became known as the Euromaidan Crisis. Eventually, Yanukovych was ousted from power, and Ukraine returned to its 2004 Constitution. Russia, however, views this as a West-backed coup detat. Advertisement Reason for the launch of Special Military Operations Firstly **, the current Ukrainian leadership declared that it would not implement the Minsk agreements, which had been signed, as you know, after the events of 2014 in Minsk, where the plan of peaceful settlement in Donbas was set forth. But no, the current Ukrainian leadership, foreign minister, all other officials, and then president himself said that they dont like anything about the Minsk agreements. In other words, they were not going to implement it. A year or a year and a half ago, former leaders of Germany and France said openly to the whole world that they indeed signed the Minsk agreements, but they never intended to implement them. They simply led us by the nose****.** The Minsk agreements were meant to stop the war in the Donbas region in Ukraine. This area had been witnessing conflict between Ukrainian forces and Russian-backed separatists. The Minsk agreements , signed in the aftermath of Russias actions in Crimea in 2014, were designed to establish a ceasefire and create conditions for negotiating a lasting peaceful resolution between the neighbours. However, theres a problem of difference in interpretations by Ukraine and Russia. The Ukrainian government perceives the Minsk agreements as a pathway to reunite Ukraine, while the Kremlin contends that these accords outline a process that would establish Russia-aligned administrations in Luhansk and Donetsk. Additionally, a special status be granted to these regions before their eventual reunification with the rest of Ukraine. So, its a bit of a puzzle, referred to as the Minsk conundrum. Advertisement De-Nazification of Ukraine We havent achieved our aims yet because one of them is denazification _. This means the prohibition of all kinds of neo-Nazi movements._ According to Putin, Ukraines quest for a national identity has led them to embrace controversial figures. While the country has taken legal measures to combat antisemitism, there has been an unfortunate rise in swastika-laden vandalism targeting synagogues and Jewish memorials. Simultaneously, Ukraine has erected statues honouring nationalist figures, some of whom collaborated with the Nazis during World War II. Stepan Bandera, leader of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists, remains a contentious figure despite his wartime actions as a local militia member for the SS and German army. The issue of Nazification intertwines memory, politics, and societal debates, shaping Ukraines trajectory. Advertisement Final take away This interview provides an insight into the complex dynamics shaping Russias relations with the West and its stance on key geopolitical issues. From historical assurances on NATO expansion to the controversial NATO bombing of Yugoslavia and the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, Putin articulates grievances that underscore deep-seated tensions. The interview not only highlights the clash of narratives between Russia and the West but also reveals the intricacies of historical memory, particularly concerning Ukraines national identity and the issue of de-Nazification. As the world grapples with the unfolding events in Eastern Europe, this interview serves as a critical lens through which to understand Russias perspective and the geopolitical puzzle that defines its relationship with the international community. Advertisement The author is a PhD (CRCAS) from School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely that of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstposts views. Read all the Latest News , Trending News , Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook , Twitter and Instagram . In the West, even joking about hijacking an aircraft or being a member of the Taliban is considered a crime. But this not the case with similar crimes committed against India The latest example of nations adopting double standards emerged post a drone strike launched by the Islamic Resistance, a pro-Iran group based in Iraq, on a US base in Jordan, killing three US service personnel and wounding 40 more. In retaliation, US air force struck multiple targets in Iraq killing at least 16 civilians and wounding dozens more. The Iraqi government spokesperson responded by accusing the US of violating international law and lying about the circumstances surrounding its retaliatory strikes. Advertisement Subsequently another US drone strike killed the commander of the Iraqi militia group Kataib Hezbollah, who was an Iranian, on Iraqi soil. Similar strikes also took place in Syria. Both Iraq and Syria objected to the US unilaterally conducting air strikes on their soil. In the UN Security Council, Russia and China accused the US of violating the territorial integrity of these nations. They also accused the US of escalating the ongoing conflicts. But the US was least concerned. This is not the first time that the US has conducted strikes in Iraq. Iraq is not an enemy of the US but an ally whose armed forces are being trained by them. Since when is unilaterally launching air strikes and killing scores of civilians as a counter to three soldier deaths by a militant group legally justified, especially when the nation involved is an ally. The US ignored the criticism of Iraq and did not even bother to respond or address its concerns, treating it as a non-entity, solely because Baghdad lacks military power. Advertisement At the same time, it continues to demand that India investigate who is behind the attempted assassination of a known anti-India terrorist, Gurpatwant Singh Pannun. Why double standards? In the West, even joking about hijacking an aircraft or being a member of the Taliban is considered a crime. People are arrested and face jail terms. However, Pannun, who threatened to hijack Indian airlines flights is permitted to do so without even a whimper from the US and Canadian governments. If this is not adopting double standards, wonder what would be. Advertisement Canada accused India of interfering in their elections. A declassified Canadian government document stated, India engages in foreign interference activities. On the accusation the Indian spokesperson mentioned, We strongly reject such baseless allegations of Indian interference in Canadian elections, it is not govt of Indias policy to interfere in the democratic process of other countries, in fact, quite on the reverse it is Canada, which has been interfering in our internal affairs. Advertisement Earlier Justin Trudeau had claimed that India was behind the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a declared terrorist by India. India refuted the accusation and sought evidence, which New Delhi claims is yet to be received. On the subject of interference, during the height of the farmers agitation in 2020-21, Trudeau had mentioned, The situation (farmers protest) is concerning and were all very worried. Let me remind you, Canada will always be there to defend the rights of peaceful protest. Advertisement When Amritpal Singh, the radical Sikh preacher, was arrested in March last year, Canadas foreign minister, Melanie Joly stated, We are aware of the evolving situation in Punjab, and we are following it very closely. We look forward to a return to a more stable situation. Justin Trudeau stated, We are looking forward to a swift return to a more stable situation. Advertisement On Canadas truckers agitation over which Ottawa applied illegal laws, Indias only comments were, We have noted that the government of Canada has actually invoked the Emergency Act. Let us leave it at that on that issue. When comments from leaders of both states are compared, it is evidently Ottawa which is commenting on Indias internal affairs, rather than New Delhi, though it accuses India of interference in its internal affairs. Advertisement Globally, India was criticised over its handling of the farmers strike, which remained largely peaceful, while Ottawa was backed and supported when it applied emergency laws to forcibly quell the truckers agitation. Why double standards? Post Tucker Carlsons recent interview of Vladimir Putin, the European Union began considering imposing sanctions on him. A member of the European Parliament mentioned, As Putin is a war criminal and the EU sanctions all who assist him in that effort, it seems logical that the External Action Service examine his case as well. The sanction would prevent Carlson from entering the European Union. Advertisement Simultaneously, European nations have adversely commented on freedom of press in India. Post the detention of Mohammed Zubair in August 2022, the German foreign ministry mentioned, Free reporting is beneficial to any society and restrictions are a cause for concern. After raids on the BBC offices for tax evasion, India came in for western criticism on grounds of curbing press freedom. Not a word was mentioned when the BBC acknowledged in June last year that it has been paying lower taxes in India. Another example of double standards. Advertisement Globally, India is ranked 161 in the press freedom index while European nations, seeking to impose sanctions on Tucker Carlson just for an interview are considered far more liberal. Simultaneously, those who interview Zelenskyy are praised. What a paradox. When a Surat court sentenced Rahul Gandhi to two years in a defamation case in July last year, leading to his suspension from the Lok Sabha, there were negative comments from the west. The US state department spokesperson mentioned, We are watching Mr Gandhis case in Indian courts and we engage with the Government of India on our shared commitment to democratic values, including freedom of expression. Advertisement The German foreign office spokesperson stated, fundamental democratic principles should apply in the case of the Congress leaders disqualification. When the Supreme Court suspended his conviction, there was silence. Surprisingly, when Trump was disqualified from the Maine and Colorado primaries, compelling him to approach the Supreme Court for justice, there were no comments from any nation, though everyone knew that this was an outright subversion of democracy. The silence was solely because a western nation was involved. Advertisement External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar defined Western hypocrisy excellently. He mentioned, It is because the West has a bad habit of commenting on others. The West thinks it has a God-given right to comment on internal matters of other countries. It is time that critics of India look at themselves in front of a mirror prior to issuing negative statements about New Delhi. There is also no doubt that as Indian elections draw close the anti-India lobby would rally together, criticising every action of the government with the intent to push for a regime change in New Delhi. The author is a former Indian Army officer, strategic analyst and columnist. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstpost_s views._ Read all the Latest News , Trending News , Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook , Twitter and Instagram . Apple is preparing a host of AI tools that will help it to take on Microsofts Copilot and OpenAI and their software writing capabilities. The upcoming AI tool is part of the next major version of Xcode, Apples premier programming software, and has undergone extensive development over the past year AApple is almost ready to launch a new software tool designed to enhance artificial intelligence capabilities on its platform, as per a report by Blomberg. With this, Apple intensifies its rivalry with Microsoft and OpenAI The upcoming AI tool is part of the next major version of Xcode, Apples premier programming software, and has undergone extensive development over the past year. Recent reports suggest that Apple has expanded internal testing of the features and accelerated development efforts, aiming for a release to third-party developers as early as this year. Advertisement Sources familiar with the matter reveal that the new system will function akin to Microsofts GitHub Copilot, utilizing artificial intelligence to predict and complete segments of code. By simplifying the programming process, the tool holds the potential to save significant time and resources for software developers. In addition to aiding in code generation, Apple is exploring AI applications for testing purposes, aiming to streamline the often laborious process of application testing. Engineers within the company are currently testing these AI features internally, aligning with Apples practice of dogfooding to ensure product efficacy before external release. These developments signify Apples broader venture into generative AI and large language models, positioning the company to compete with industry peers in this burgeoning field. While playing catch-up, Apple has pledged to unveil its AI strategy later this year, potentially during its annual developers conference scheduled for June. The news has sparked investor interest, with Apple shares briefly turning positive following the announcement. Meanwhile, Microsofts stock saw a marginal decline. Apple declined to comment on its plans. Advertisement The urgency at Apple surrounding AI development at Apple is evident, with Craig Federighi, Senior Vice President of Software Engineering, spearheading efforts to introduce as many new AI features as possible in upcoming operating system updates. Key figures within Apple, including top deputy Sebastien Marineau-Mes, are heavily involved in driving AI initiatives forward. Advertisement The companys next iPhone and iPad software updates, iOS and iPadOS 18, are expected to feature a plethora of new AI capabilities, with the software internally codenamed Crystal. Apple aims to position these updates as among the most significant in the history of its flagship products. Furthermore, Apple plans to integrate AI features into the next version of macOS, codenamed Glow, although the company intends to adopt a gradual approach to AI implementation, with certain enhancements expected to materialize over the course of several years. Advertisement Beyond code generation, Apple is exploring various AI applications, including automating tasks such as playlist creation in Apple Music and enhancing search capabilities within its ecosystem. As competition in the AI space intensifies, Apple remains committed to refining its own large language models to enhance services like Siri and AppleCare support. With ongoing investments in AI-driven health features, Apple aims to solidify its position as a leader in leveraging artificial intelligence across its product ecosystem. The Odysseus Moon lander, owned and operated by the startup Intuitive Machines, was successfully launched atop one of SpaceXs Falcon 9 rockets in the early hours of the morning Elon Musks SpaceX has achieved a significant milestone in space exploration by launching a privately-owned Moon lander, potentially setting a historic precedent for the United States. The Odysseus lander, owned and operated by the startup Intuitive Machines, was successfully launched atop one of SpaceXs Falcon 9 rockets in the early hours of the morning, according to reports from Space.com. Advertisement If the mission proves successful, the Odysseus lander will become the first private lunar lander in history to safely touch down on the surface of the Moon. Additionally, it will mark the first American craft to achieve this feat since the Apollo 17 mission in late 1972 a pivotal moment in space exploration history. However, the success of the mission is not guaranteed, as evidenced by recent setbacks in lunar exploration efforts. Last month, the Pittsburgh-based startup Astrobotic attempted to land its own Moon lander with NASA funding but encountered a critical failure, resulting in the crafts destruction in low-Earth orbit. The challenges of lunar exploration are further highlighted by the fact that only two out of five landers, both private and public, successfully reached their intended destinations last year. One notable failure included a Japanese lander that landed upside down. Advertisement Against the backdrop of delays in NASAs Artemis lunar mission, which aims to return humans to the Moon for the first time in over 50 years, the success of private lunar missions has become increasingly significant. With 11 payloads aboard the Odysseus lander six from NASA and five from commercial clients the mission holds considerable importance. Advertisement Intuitive Machines has expressed optimism about the missions prospects, with Trent Martin, the companys vice president of space systems, emphasizing the teams dedication to exploration. However, the harsh realities of lunar landing endeavours underscore the necessity for resilience and preparedness for potential setbacks. The launch of the Odysseus lander represents a pivotal moment in space exploration, showcasing the capabilities of private companies in advancing lunar exploration and paving the way for future endeavours beyond Earths orbit. In light of the recent AI-based cyberattacks that have befallen a number of government organisations and businesses, Google has announced a hoard of free AI tools to help organisations improve their digital security Google has unveiled a comprehensive initiative aimed at bolstering online security through the provision of artificial intelligence (AI) tools and investments. With the increasing use of emerging technology in both defending against and perpetrating cybercrime, Google aims to empower organisations to enhance their defence mechanisms. In a statement released on Friday, Google revealed plans to introduce a new open-source resource driven by AI, specifically designed to improve malware detection through file type identification. Already deployed to safeguard products like Gmail and Google Drive, this tool will be accessible to users free of charge, marking a significant advancement in cybersecurity measures. Advertisement Furthermore, Google will present a white paper at the Munich Security Conference in Germany, detailing its utilisation of AI for cyber defence. The document will advocate for advanced AI research and propose a policy agenda advocating for guidelines on autonomous cyber defences, addressing the challenges faced by defenders in cyberspace. Kent Walker, President for Global Affairs at Alphabet, highlighted the importance of Googles AI Cyber Defense Initiative in addressing the defenders dilemma, where defenders must continuously outmatch adversaries who only need to exploit a single vulnerability. Walker emphasised the need for policies that not only mitigate risks but also harness the potential of AI in cybersecurity endeavours. In addition to these efforts, Google announced increased investments in research grants and partnerships dedicated to advancing cybersecurity research initiatives leveraging AI. The company also intends to expand cybersecurity seminars, incorporating AI-focused modules to equip professionals with the skills and knowledge needed to counter evolving cyber threats. This announcement comes at a time when hackers are increasingly incorporating AI into their cyber operations. State-sponsored criminal groups are reported to be using large language models such as OpenAIs ChatGPT to enhance their strategies and tackle technical challenges, as highlighted in a recent report by Microsoft Corp. Advertisement Googles initiative represents a proactive approach to leveraging the potential of AI to bolster cybersecurity measures, reaffirming the companys commitment to creating a safer online environment for users globally. Alphabet may soon face a massive challenge from OpenAI, in Googles core business. OpenAI, in partnership with Microsoft is planning to launch an AI bot that would act as an alternative to Google Search OpenAI, the studio behind ChatGPT, is reportedly planning to get into the web search arena, a move that could potentially disrupt the dominance of industry giants like Google. According to sources cited in a report by The Information, OpenAI is in the process of developing a web search product, potentially in collaboration with Microsofts Bing, to directly compete with Google. Advertisement This development follows Microsofts infusion of its Bing search engine with Copilot AI tools, as announced by Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, signalling a clear intent to challenge Googles stronghold in the search market. The emergence of OpenAIs search tool speculated to leverage Bings search capabilities, suggests a close partnership between Microsoft and OpenAI. While the specifics of OpenAIs search tool remain unclear, including whether it will be a standalone product or integrated into ChatGPT, its development underscores OpenAIs ambition to revolutionize search with a more conversational and context-aware approach. Microsofts significant investment in OpenAI over the years provides the latter with a strong foundation for competing against established search engines, which primarily rely on keywords and links. However, whether OpenAIs entry into the search arena will prompt users to shift away from traditional options like Google remains uncertain, as users often exhibit a tendency to stick with familiar tools. Advertisement (With inputs from agencies) The White Houses statement comes just hours after Russia refuted early reports which claimed that they had developed and deployed a nuclear weapon in space to take down US satellites In a recent statement, the United States has expressed concern over Russias ongoing development of a new anti-satellite weapon, describing it as troubling. Despite this, the US clarified that the weapon has not yet been deployed. White House spokesperson John Kirby addressed the issue following ambiguous warnings from a senior House Republican about a potential serious national security threat. While reports from CBS News suggested that the weapon is space-based and potentially armed with a nuclear payload, Kirby refrained from confirming such details, citing the sensitive nature of the matter. Advertisement Moscow has dismissed these allegations, accusing the US of leveraging claims about Russian weaponry to push for additional aid to Ukraine. Kirby emphasized that there is currently no immediate threat to the safety of the American public from this weapon, stating that it is not designed for use against individuals or for causing physical harm on Earth. President Joe Biden has been briefed on the intelligence regarding this development, with Kirby affirming that the administration is taking the situation very seriously. Diplomatic efforts have already been initiated with Russia in response to the perceived threat. The House Intelligence Committee, led by Chairman Mike Turner, convened discussions with National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan to delve further into the matter. Turner later reassured the public of the administrations proactive approach to addressing the potential threat. Advertisement While details remain sparse, various media outlets have reported on the weapons capabilities, suggesting its potential to target US satellites in space. However, US officials have yet to publicly disclose specific information regarding the threat, citing the need to safeguard intelligence sources and methods. Experts have long warned of the increasing militarization of space, with concerns over Russia and Chinas advancements in this domain. A report from the Center for Strategic and International Studies highlighted Russias ongoing development of anti-satellite weapons, noting their potential use in conflicts such as the war in Ukraine. Advertisement Despite reassurances from lawmakers, including House Speaker Mike Johnson, about the publics safety, former officials and experts caution against underestimating the significance of any threat to US satellites. The militarys heavy reliance on satellite communications underscores the potential ramifications of an attack on these systems, which are integral to both military operations and civilian activities worldwide. Advertisement While international treaties theoretically prohibit the deployment of nuclear weapons in space, concerns persist over Russias adherence to such agreements, particularly given its track record of disregarding international norms. As space increasingly becomes a focal point for strategic competition, experts emphasize the importance of safeguarding this domain to ensure its continued accessibility for peaceful purposes. Efforts to secure space against potential threats are seen as crucial for maintaining stability and facilitating continued exploration and commercial activities beyond Earths atmosphere. Advertisement (With inputs from agencies) Following over a week of intense firing and running out of food and water, staff, patients, and other residents of Nasser Hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis were forced to flee the attack Hundreds of employees and patients were left in disarray after Israeli military stormed the major hospital in southern Gaza, where four critically ill patients died when their oxygen supply was cut off, according to health authorities on Friday. The military was conducting searches at the location, claiming to be in possession of the corpses of captives kidnapped by Hamas. Advertisement Following over a week of intense firing and running out of food and water, staff, patients, and other residents of Nasser Hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis were forced to flee the attack. Israeli fire inside the hospital complex killed one patient and injured six others, according to workers, hours before forces took control of the facility on Thursday. Meanwhile, negotiations on a cease-fire in Gaza appear to have stagnated, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pushed back hard on Friday against the US vision for the wars aftermath, notably its calls for the establishment of a Palestinian state. After speaking overnight with President Joe Biden, Netanyahu wrote on X that Israel will not accept international dictates regarding a permanent settlement with the Palestinians. Advertisement He said that if other countries unilaterally recognize a Palestinian state, it would give a reward to terrorism. Netanyahu has repeatedly rejected creation of a Palestinian state. Netanyahu has vowed to continue the offensive and expand it to the Gaza city of Rafah, near Egypt, until Hamas is destroyed and scores of hostages taken during the militants Oct. 7 attack are freed. In their phone call, Biden again cautioned Netanyahu against moving forward with a military operation in Rafah before coming up with a credible and executable plan to ensure the safety of Palestinian civilians, the White House said. Advertisement With the war showing no sign of ending, the risk of a broader conflict grew as Israel and Lebanons Hezbollah militant group had deadliest exchange of fire along the border since the start of the Israel-Hamas war. Israel launched airstrikes into southern Lebanon for a second day on Thursday after killing 10 civilians and three Hezbollah fighters on Wednesday in response to a rocket attack that killed an Israeli soldier and wounded several others. Advertisement Scenes of panic in hospital Nasser Hospital was the latest in a series of hospitals Israeli forces have besieged and stormed during the war, claiming Hamas was using them for military purposes. The assaults have gutted Gazas health sector as it struggles to treat a constant stream of people wounded in daily bombardments. Advertisement Israeli troops, tanks and snipers have surrounded Nasser Hospital for at least a week, with food, water and supplies inside dwindling and fire from outside killing several people inside, according to health officials. Troops moved into the hospital Thursday after the military said it had credible intelligence that Hamas had held hostages there and that the hostages remains might still be inside. Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, the chief military spokesperson, said forces were conducting a precise and limited operation there and would not forcibly evacuate medics or patients. Advertisement Later Thursday, Hagari said troops were still searching the hospital. He said dozens of militants were arrested from the hospital grounds, including three who participated in the Oct. 7 attack. He also said troops found grenades and mortar shells, and that Israeli radar determined that militants fired mortars from the hospital grounds a month ago. The claims could not be independently confirmed. Advertisement A released hostage told The Associated Press last month that she and over two dozen other captives had been held in Nasser Hospital. International law prohibits the targeting of medical facilities, though they can lose those protections if they are used for military purposes. Even then, Israel must take precautions and follow principles of proportionality, the U.N. Human Rights Office said, adding that as the occupying power Israel has the duty to maintain medical facilities. Advertisement As they searched, troops ordered the more than 460 staff, patients and their relatives to move into an older building in the compound that isnt equipped to treat patients, the Gaza Health Ministry said. They were in harsh conditions with no food or baby formula and severe water shortages, it said. Advertisement Four patients in the intensive care unit died early Friday because electricity was cut, stopping oxygen supplies for them, the ministry said. It had earlier warned that six patients in the ICU and three infants in incubators were in danger because fuel for generators was on the verge of running out. The Israeli occupation is responsible for the lives of patients and staff as the compound now is under its full control, the ministry said. Advertisement Raed Abed, a wounded patient who was among those who left the hospital Wednesday, said days of siege had left the facility with no water or food, Garbage is everywhere. Sewage has flooded the emergency ward. Still suffering from a severe stomach wound, Abed said he and others waited outside for hours as troops made those leaving pass by five at a time, arresting some and making them strip to their underwear, he said. Finally, he walked for kilometers (miles) until he reached the border town of Rafah, where he was put in a hospital. Lying in a bed there, he wheezed in pain from his wound as he spoke. Advertisement No end in sight to the war The war began when Hamas militants on Oct. 7 burst out of Gaza and attacked several Israeli communities, killing some 1,200 people and taking another 250 hostage. More than 100 captives were freed during a cease-fire in November in exchange for 240 Palestinian prisoners. Around 130 hostages remain in Gaza, a fourth of whom are believed to be dead. Israel responded to the Hamas attack with one of the deadliest and most destructive military campaigns in recent history. At least 28,663 Palestinians have been killed, mostly women and children, and more than 68,000 wounded, according to Gazas Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants. Some 80% of the population has been driven from their homes, and a quarter are starving amid a worsening humanitarian catastrophe. Large areas in northern Gaza, the first target of the offensive, have been completely destroyed. Israeli media reported that CIA Director William Burns flew to Israel to meet with Netanyahu to discuss efforts for a cease-fire. Hamas says it will not release all the remaining captives until Israel ends its offensive, withdraws and frees Palestinian prisoners, including top militants. Netanyahu has rejected those demands and says Israel will soon expand its offensive into Rafah, Gazas southernmost city. Over half of Gazas population of 2.3 million has sought refuge in Rafah after fleeing fighting elsewhere. Multiple airstrikes hit Rafah overnight, destroying homes where families were sheltering and killing at least 11 people, according to health officials. The delay in Senegal caused widespread protests and sparked the worst chaos the country witnessed in years with opposition parties leaders saying it amounted to an institutional coup Senegals Constitutional Council overturned the governments postponement of presidential election scheduled for 25 February and rescheduling it for 15 December. The National Assemblys decision on 5 February announced to reschedule the vote for December. The delay caused widespread protests and sparked the worst chaos Senegal has seen in years with opposition parties leaders saying it amounted to an institutional coup. Advertisement At least three people were killed during clashes with security forces during the protests over the postponement of polls that turned deadly over the weekend. The proposal for delay of polls was made by President Macky Sall and was backed by 105 out of the 165 MPs. A six-month postponement was originally proposed, but a last-minute amendment extended it to 10 months, or 15 December. Contrary to the Constitution The judgement said the National Assemblys decision to reschedule the vote was contrary to the constitution." The constitutional council, noting the impossibility of organising the presidential election on the date initially planned, invites the competent authorities to hold it as soon as possible, it added. Will Senegal vote on 25 February? Advertisement Earlier the announcement of postponement of election had thrown Senegal into political turmoil and now the court said it was impossible for the polling to be held on the originally intended date 25 February with merely 10 days in hand for all the preparations. The court has, however, urged authorities to organise Senegal election 2024 as soon as possible. Advertisement President Sall has been in power since 2012, with his second term in office due to end this April. Why were elections in Senegal postponed? President Sall pushed the elections for 15 December citing time needed to resolve controversies over the disqualification of some candidates and a conflict between the governments legislative and judicial branches. Advertisement However, critics have accused Mall of clinging on to power, even though he has vowed not to stay in office past the constitutionally bound two terms. With inputs from agencies St. Andrew Church and its affiliated grammar school in the Town of Tonawanda will close by the end of the school year, diocesan officials announced Friday afternoon. The diocese said the decision to close the church and the St. Andrew Country Day School, at Sheridan Drive and Elmwood Avenue, was made because they "have been plagued by financial challenges over the last few years" and the situation reached a point of no return in recent months, according to a statement from the diocese. Clerical and lay leadership at the parish made this decision in close consultation with the diocese, the statement said. The decision was very difficult but necessary to continue to provide for the pastoral and educational needs of the faithful and our elementary school students, Bishop Michael Fisher said in the statement. We will rally together with the family of parishes in Tonawanda, Kenmore and Grand Island to both welcome and satisfy those needs within our other parishes." St. Andrew parish opened in 1944 to serve the growing Catholic population in the Town of Tonawanda, which had seen a boom during World War II, according to an online history. The original, combined St. Andrews church and school building opened in 1949 but the parish community soon outgrew the structure. The current church was dedicated in 1962 and the St. Andrew Country Day School opened soon after. The school, as with many Catholic elementary schools in Western New York, saw a general decline in enrollment since the 1970s. This is only the latest Catholic elementary school in the Town of Tonawanda to close. Blessed Sacrament and St. Edmund closed in 2007 and St. Paul closed in 2009. St. Andrew saw a recent peak of more than 200 students from prekindergarten through eighth grade during the Covid-19 pandemic, according to Joseph Martone, a Diocese spokesman. That was a period when many Catholic schools saw a boost in enrollment because they returned to in-person instruction more quickly than public schools. However, for the 2023-24 school year, the grammar school has just 25 prekindergarteners and 54 students enrolled in kindergarten through eighth grade, Martone said. School officials hope that enough families continue to pay tuition that St. Andrews can operate through the end of June, he said. Our goal is to complete the school year, Martone said. But either way, the school and the church will close by June 30, he said. Martone declined to provide specifics on the financial deficits facing the school or the parish. The diocese said the announcement of the planned parish and school closings began today and will continue through Sundays Masses. At a time of declining membership and shrinking numbers in the ranks of priests, the Catholic Diocese of Buffalo has grouped parishes into what it calls families. St. Andrew, which has 1,390 registered families, is a member of Family No. 17, which includes St. Paul in Kenmore; Blessed Sacrament, St. John the Baptist and St. Timothy, all in the Town of Tonawanda; and St. Stephen on Grand Island. Diocesan officials hope that parish families will find a new home at another nearby Catholic church. Martone said the St. Andrew church and school properties are likely to go up for sale at some point but the parish trustees and the Diocese ultimately will make that decision. Egypt is making arrangements along the Gaza border to potentially accommodate Palestinians in the event of an Israeli offensive into Rafah prompts an exodus across the frontier, according to a report, citing four sources Egypt is making arrangements along the Gaza border to potentially accommodate Palestinians in the event of an Israeli offensive into Rafah prompts an exodus across the frontier, according to a Reuters report, citing four sources. This action, described as a precautionary measure by Cairo, underscores concerns over possible displacement due to Israels Gaza offensive. Advertisement Egypt, despite denying any active preparations, has consistently expressed alarm over the prospect of Palestinians seeking refuge in Sinai, a scenario it deems unacceptable. The stance echoes sentiments voiced by Arab nations like Jordan. The United States has iterated its opposition to any forced displacement of Gazans. While optimistic about ceasefire negotiations averting such a crisis, Egypt is establishing a border area with basic amenities as a temporary safeguard, according to one of the sources. Three security sources corroborated this effort, emphasising its contingency nature. Due to the sensitivity of the issue, the sources declined to be named when speaking to Reuters. Israel has announced its intention to launch an offensive aimed at eliminating Hamass last bastion in Rafah, where more than 1 million Palestinians have sought refuge from the devastating Gaza offensive. Advertisement The Israeli military is devising a plan to relocate civilians from Rafah to other areas within the Gaza Strip, according to Israeli authorities. However, Martin Griffiths, the UN aid chief, cautioned on Thursday that the idea of evacuating people from Gaza to safety is unrealistic and described it as an illusion. He also warned of the potential for Palestinians to overflow into Egypt should Israel proceed with a military operation in Rafah. Advertisement He called this scenario a sort of Egyptian nightmare. Egypt has framed its opposition to the displacement of Palestinians from Gaza as part of wider Arab rejection of any repeat of the Nakba, or catastrophe, when some 700,000 Palestinians fled or were forced from their homes in the war surrounding Israels creation in 1948. Advertisement The first source said construction of the camp began three or four days ago and it would offer temporary shelter in any scenario of people crossing the frontier until a resolution is reached. Asked about the accounts by the sources, the head of Egypts State Information Service said: This has no basis in truth. Our Palestinian brothers have said and Egypt has said that there is no preparation for this possibility. Advertisement Sinai Foundation for Human Rights, an activist organisation, published images on Monday it said showed construction trucks and cranes working in the area and images of concrete barriers. Citing an unidentified source, the Sinai Foundation said that the construction work was intended to create a secured area in case of a mass exodus of Palestinians. Advertisement Reuters was able to confirm the location of part of the video as Rafah from the position of the buildings, trees and fences which match satellite imagery of the area. Reuters was not able to confirm the location of the whole of the video or the date on which it was filmed. Advertisement Israel ties under pressure Some 1.5 million Palestinians are currently in Rafah, more than half of the Gaza Strips population, according to the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees. Israel says it needs to expand its assault into Rafah to wipe out Hamas, the group behind the Oct. 7 attack in which 1,200 people were killed in Israel and another 250 abducted, according to Israeli tallies. Advertisement With more than 28,000 people already killed in Israels offensive in Gaza, according to health authorities in Hamas-run Gaza, the fate of people sheltering in Rafah has become a point of international concern, including for Israels Western allies. U.S. President Joe Biden has told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Israel should not proceed with a Rafah operation without a plan to ensure the safety of the people sheltering there. Advertisement A US State Department spokesperson said: The president has been clear that we do not support the forced displacement of Palestinians from Gaza. The U.S. is not funding camps in Egypt for displaced Palestinians. Netanyahus office has ordered the army to draw up a plan to evacuate Rafah. But no plan has emerged yet. Advertisement Netanyahu, in an interview with ABC News, said they could go to areas north of Rafah cleared by the army. Avi Dichter, Israels minister of agriculture and rural development, said on Wednesday the evacuation was a military issue and the Israeli army knew how to do it. In comments to Israels Army Radio, Dichter said there was enough land west of Rafah, and mentioned Al Mawasi - an area on the shore to which the Israeli military said civilians should flee early in the offensive. Advertisement The Gaza war has piled pressure on relations between Egypt and Israel, which signed a peace deal in 1979. Arab League Secretary General Ahmed Aboul Gheit, a former Egyptian foreign minister, said earlier this week Israeli actions threatened the continuity of agreements with Egypt and Jordan - a reference to peace treaties with both Arab states. Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said on Feb. 12 Egypt had maintained the agreement for 40 years and would continue to do so as long as both sides were committed to it. With inputs from agencies Since the beginning of the conflict, the European Union and its 27 members have promised 49.7 billion euros in military aid; however, only 35.2 billion euros have been provided or allocated The European Union will have to increase its military assistance to Ukraine to fill a vacuum created by the United States after Congress blocked additional help for months, according to a research group that monitors aid. With existing funds exhausted, Republicans in the United States House of Representatives are rejecting $60 billion in fresh military aid, despite the fact that Ukrainian commanders and Western officials have just said that Ukrainian forces are running low on ammunition. Advertisement It is highly uncertain whether the US will send further military aid in 2024, the Germany-based Kiel Institute said in report on the state of play of military, financial and humanitarian aid to the war-battered country since the Russian invasion on February 24, 2022. Data as of January 15, 2024, indicates that between February 2022 and December 2023, the US contributed 42.2 billion euros ($45.4 billion) in military aid to Ukraine, or around two billion euros per month. Since the beginning of the conflict, the European Union and its 27 members have promised 49.7 billion euros in military aid; however, only 35.2 billion euros have been provided or allocated. Europe will have to at least double its current military support efforts in case there is no further support from the United States, said Christoph Trebesch, head of the Ukraine Support Tracker and Research Director at the Kiel Institute. Advertisement This is a challenge, but just a question of political will. The EU countries are among the richest in the world and so far they have spent not even one percent of their 2021 GDP to support Ukraine. A total of 265.1 billion euros have been pledged to Ukraine since February 2022, of which 141.3 billion in financial aid, 107.5 billion in military aid and 16.3 billion in humanitarian aid. Advertisement The EU and its member states are the biggest donors with 144.1 billion euros, the United States with 67.7 billion and the United Kingdom 15.7 billion. But there is a big gap between pledges and money shelled out, especially in the case of the EU, which has so far only allocated 77.2 billion. This is because the blocs pledges are spread over several years. Advertisement The halt in US military aid to Ukraine comes as the 2024 presidential election gears up as Donald Trump appears set to cruise to the Republican party nomination. Trump opposes helping Ukraines fight against Russia and recently used his sway to kill a US border reform bill that would have also authorised additional aid to Ukraine. Advertisement A return Trump to power in 2025 would sound the death knell for US aid to Ukraine, experts say. Europe has also been plagued by divisions over Ukraine. Hungarian leader Viktor Orban blocked for months authorising an additional 50 billion euros of aid for Ukraine over four years, relenting only earlier this month. Advertisement In Slovakia new populist Prime Minister Robert Fico in November fulfilled promises made during his election campaign and blocked a major arms delivery planned by his predecessor. The Wests weapons contributions have evolved along with the situation on the battlefield, morphing from tens of thousands of light weapons after the invasion to helicopters and howitzers, and then to sophisticated western tanks including American Abrams, British Challengers and German Leopards. Advertisement After getting the green light from Washington, the Netherlands and Denmark agreed in August 2023 to deliver 61 American F-16 fighter jets. Norway followed suit and training of the pilots has started. Smirnov expressed bias against Joe Biden during his presidential campaign, according to the prosecution, and he made the bribery accusations after he merely had ordinary commercial interactions with the company in 2017 An FBI informant has been charged with creating a multimillion-dollar bribery conspiracy involving President Joe Biden, his son Hunter, and a Ukrainian energy business, an allegation essential to the GOP impeachment investigation in Congress. Alexander Smirnov allegedly stated to the FBI in June 2020 that officials from the Ukrainian energy business Burisma paid Hunter and Joe Biden $5 million each in 2015 or 2016, according to an indictment. According to court filings, Smirnov informed his handler that an executive claimed to have recruited Hunter Biden to protect us, through his father, from all kinds of problems. Advertisement Smirnov expressed bias against Joe Biden during his presidential campaign, according to the prosecution, and he made the bribery accusations after he merely had ordinary commercial interactions with the company in 2017. Smirnov, 43, made a brief court appearance in Las Vegas on Thursday after being accused of fabricating a record and making a false statement. He did not make a request. Margaret Wightman Lambrose, the federal public defender, asked for a closed session to present arguments regarding the sealing of court papers, and the judge granted her request. Regarding the matter, she declined to comment. The informants allegations played a pivotal role in the Republican drive in Congress to look into the president and his family, and they also served as the impetus for the current House investigation into Bidens impeachment. An attorney for Hunter Biden, who is expected to give a deposition later this month, said the charges show the probe is based on dishonest, uncredible allegations and witnesses. Advertisement The top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland, called for an end to the Biden impeachment inquiry. Raskin said the allegations from the Republicans against Biden have always been a tissue of lies built on conspiracy theories. He called on Speaker Mike Johnson, Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer and House Republicans to stop promoting this nonsense and end their doomed impeachment inquiry. Advertisement Comer, R-Ky., downplayed the importance of the informant, who had figured centrally to the start of the probe. To be clear, the impeachment inquiry is not reliant on the FBIs FD-1023, Comer said in a statement, referring to the form documenting Smirnovs allegations. The chairman said the inquiry is based on a large record of evidence, including bank records and witness testimony, including interviews this week. He said the committee will continue to follow the facts and determine whether to proceed with articles of impeachment against Biden. Advertisement In the indictment, prosecutors say that Smirnov had contact with Burisma executives, but it was routine and actually took place took place in 2017, after President Barack Obama and Biden, his vice president, had left office when Biden would have had no ability to influence US policy. Smirnov transformed his routine and unextraordinary business contacts with Burisma in 2017 and later into bribery allegations against Public Official 1, the presumptive nominee of one of the two major political parties for President, after expressing bias against Public Official 1 and his candidacy, the indictment said. Advertisement He repeated some of the false claims when he was interviewed by FBI agents in September 2023 and changed his story about others and promoted a new false narrative after he said he met with Russian officials, prosecutors said. If convicted, Smirnov faces a maximum penalty of 25 years in prison. The charges were filed by Justice Department special counsel David Weiss, who has separately charged Hunter Biden with firearm and tax violations. Advertisement The Burisma allegations became a flashpoint in Congress as Republicans pursing investigations of President Joe Biden and his family demanded the FBI release the unredacted form documenting the allegations. They acknowledged they couldnt confirm if the allegations were true. Comer had subpoenaed the FBI last year for the so-called FD-1023 document as Republicans deepened their probe of Biden and his son Hunter ahead of the 2024 presidential election. Advertisement Working alongside Comer, Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa released an unclassified document that Republicans at the time claimed was significant in their investigation of Hunter Biden. It added to information that had been widely aired during Donald Trumps first impeachment trial involving Trump attorney Rudy Giulianis efforts to dig up dirt on the Bidens ahead of the 2020 election. The White House said at the time that the claims had been debunked for years. Advertisement The impeachment inquiry into Biden over his sons business dealings has lagged in the House, but the panel is pushing ahead with its work. Hunter Biden is expected to appear before the committee later this month. His attorney, Abbe Lowell, said he had long warned the probe was based on lies told by people with political agendas, not facts. We were right and the air is out of their balloon. Advertisement A judge set a detention hearing for Feb. 20 for Smirnov, who was arrested at the Las Vegas airport after arriving in the US from overseas. There are some very, very hard issues that have to be resolved. But were committed to doing everything we can to move forward and to see if we can reach an agreement, Blinken said at a news conference during a visit to Albania US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday said that deal for the release of hostages held by Hamas remains possible but very hard issues remain to be resolved. The hostage talks, which included intelligence chiefs from the US, Egypt, and Israel, along with the Qatari prime minister, aimed at achieving a ceasefire in Israels four-month-old conflict in Gaza, concluded without a breakthrough on Tuesday. Advertisement When asked if an agreement for a pause in hostilities could be reached before the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan on 10 March, Blinken noted that Hamass initial response to a potential deal contained some clear non-starters. However, he also indicated the possibility of progressing towards an agreement through ongoing negotiations. Were now in the process with our counterparts from Qatar, from Egypt, from Israel, in working on that and working very intensely on that with the goal of trying to find an agreement and I believe that it is possible, Reuters quoted Blinken as saying at a news conference during a visit to Albania. Advertisement There are some very, very hard issues that have to be resolved. But were committed to doing everything we can to move forward and to see if we can reach an agreement, Blinken added. Israeli officials turned down proposals from Hamas regarding the exchange of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel for the release of hostages, Reuters quoted two sources as saying. One source mentioned that the Israelis were displeased with the proposed ratio of prisoners to hostages. Advertisement Additionally, there was a disagreement over the timing of a ceasefire, with Hamas advocating for an earlier pause while Israel preferred a later date, according to the sources. CIA director Bill Burns engaged in further discussions in Israel on Thursday, as confirmed by two knowledgeable sources. The CIA chose not to provide any comments on the matter, added the Reuters report. Advertisement Blinken also called for Israel to investigate reports that its forces killed a Palestinian American teenager in the occupied West Bank on 10 February, the second such death in recent weeks. Asked about the death of 17-year-old Mohammad Ahmed Mohammad Khdour, which came after the Jan. 19 killing of Tawfic Abdel Jabbar, also 17, that Israel has pledged to investigate - Blinken offered his condolences, but said privacy laws limited what he could say about the cases. Advertisement Weve made clear that there needs to be an investigation. We need to get the facts and, if appropriate, there needs to be accountability, he said. Defense for Children International - Palestine, an NGO, said it had gathered evidence that Israeli forces opened fire on a car with Khdour inside. Reuters was unable to independently verify the report. Advertisement An Israeli military spokesperson referred Reuters to the Shin Bet internal security service, which did not immediately respond. With inputs from agencies This week marks the implementation of Europes Digital Services Act, which will oblige major search engines and internet platforms to take more proactive measures in addressing unlawful information and threats to public safety Google informed Reuters that it is getting ready to roll out an anti-misinformation campaign in five EU member states ahead of the blocs legislative elections and the implementation of stricter new regulations over online material. Legislators are concerned that the dissemination of false material online may influence voters in the June elections for the European Parliament, which will establish policies and legislation for the EU. Advertisement On Monday, France, Poland, and Germany charged Russia of using a complex web network to disseminate misinformation in favour of Russia. This week marks the implementation of Europes Digital Services Act, which will oblige major search engines and internet platforms to take more proactive measures in addressing unlawful information and threats to public safety. From this spring, Googles internal Jigsaw unit which operates to tackle threats to societies, will run a series of animated ads across platforms such as TikTok and YouTube in five EU countries: Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, and Poland. Building on previous campaigns the company has tested in Germany and central Europe, Jigsaw said the new project was an opportunity to reach citizens in countries with some of the largest number of voters in the EU, utilising the companys local expertise in these regions. Advertisement The ads will feature so-called prebunking techniques, developed in partnership with researchers at the Universities of Cambridge and Bristol, aimed at helping viewers identify manipulative content before encountering it. Viewers watching the ads on YouTube will be asked to fill in a short multiple-choice questionnaire, designed to gauge what they have learned about misinformation. Advertisement Weve spent so much time having these really polarised debates. Our democracy is at stake, and the temperature just keeps getting higher and higher, said Beth Goldberg, head of research at Jigsaw. Prebunking is the only technique, at least that Ive seen, that works equally effectively across the political spectrum, Goldberg said. Advertisement Other measures to control misinformation like fact checking can add to polarisation because they come after the information has already spread, she added. Last month, an investigation conducted by the EEAS (European Union External Action Service) uncovered 750 incidents of misleading information being deliberately spread by foreign actors, many voicing support for Russias invasion of Ukraine. Advertisement Jigsaws ads will be translated into all 24 official EU languages, the company said. The campaign will run for at least one month, with a view to extend it based on reach and performance. Results from the campaign, including survey responses and the number of people reached, are expected to be published in summer 2024. Greece has now joined a growing number of European countries that have legalised same-sex marriage In a landmark decision, Greece has become the first Christian Orthodox-majority country to legalise same-sex marriage, marking a significant step forward for LGBTQ+ rights in the nation. Following Thursdays decisive 176-76 vote in parliament, same-sex couples will now have the legal right to marry and adopt children, overturning a long-standing inequality in Greek law. Advertisement PM Mitsotakis Leads Bold Reform Effort Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis spearheaded the legislative push, stressing on the importance of abolishing systemic inequalities. Despite facing opposition, including dissent within his own centre-right governing party, Mitsotakis rallied support from across the political spectrum to ensure the bills passage. In a passionate address to parliament, he underscored the importance of visibility and equality for all citizens, heralding the reform as a step towards a more inclusive society. Orthodox Church Resistance & Public Divisions The legalisation of same-sex marriage has not been without controversy, particularly within the Orthodox Church, which has historically held significant influence in Greek society. Archbishop Ieronymos, the head of the Orthodox Church, condemned the measure, expressing concerns about its potential impact on social cohesion. Opposition to the bill was also evident in public demonstrations, with protesters gathering in Athens to voice their dissent, citing religious beliefs and traditional values. Advertisement Milestone for LGBTQ+ Rights in Greece Despite the opposition, the passage of the bill marks a historic moment for LGBTQ+ rights in Greece. LGBTQ+ organisations, including Rainbow Families, have hailed the decision as a victory for equality and inclusion. Stella Belia, the head of Rainbow Families, described the occasion as a day of joy and emphasized the significance of the reform in recognizing the rights of same-sex couples and their families. Advertisement Greece Joins European Peers in Marriage Equality With this legislative milestone, Greece joins a growing number of European countries that have legalised same-sex marriage. Mitsotakis highlighted Greeces position as the 16th European Union member state to enact marriage equality, underscoring the nations commitment to progressive values and human rights. While Greece has historically lagged behind its European neighbors in LGBTQ+ rights, this development signals a significant shift towards greater equality and acceptance. The document, drawn up by the research division of IDF Military Intelligence, reportedly also states that authentic support remains for Hamas among Gazans, according to a report, citing a Channel 12 show aired on Thursday evening A document from Israels military intelligence, shared with Israeli leaders this week, cautioned that even if the IDF manages to dismantle Hamas as an organised military entity in Gaza, it would persist as both a terror group and a guerrilla group, according to a report. According to a Times of Israel report, citing a Channel 12 report aired on Thursday evening, the document, drawn up by the research division of IDF Military Intelligence, reportedly also states that authentic support remains for Hamas among Gazans. Advertisement As there is presently no active initiative to develop a post-war plan for Gaza, the document additionally cautions that without such preparation Gaza will become an area in deep crisis. According to the report, Channel 12 investigative journalist Ilana Dayan said that the document was presented on Monday to Israels political echelon, after it was discussed last weekend by senior IDF officers, Shin Bet officials and members of the National Security Council. Dayan said the bottom line is that the document constitutes a warning from those in military intelligence who carry out such assessments that Hamas will survive this [IDF> campaign as a terror group and a guerrilla group. In this regard, at least, she suggested, there wont be absolute victory as predicted and demanded by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu since the start of the war. Advertisement The IDF Spokesmans Office declined to comment on the TV report, added the report. Israeli authorities have consistently voiced their objective in the conflict as the eradication of Hamas from the Strip. However, numerous countries and officials worldwide caution against the feasibility of such a goal. In November, US National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby acknowledged that while Israel could significantly diminish the threat posed by Hamas, completely eliminating the group and its ideology seemed improbable. Advertisement Kirby emphasised that military and other measures could curtail the groups resources, training, recruitment, and planning of attacks, yet eradicating its ideology remained a formidable challenge. A December poll, conducted during a weeklong truce in late November, revealed that 57 per cent of respondents in Gaza deemed Hamass October 7 actions justified, with 42 per cent expressing overall support for the group. Advertisement Throughout the conflict, IDF chief Herzi Halevi has primarily discussed dismantling Hamas rather than outright elimination, acknowledging implicitly that even prolonged warfare might not eliminate every military and terror threat emanating from the Strip. The belief that Hamas will endure Israels efforts aimed at its destruction is echoed by regional Arab stakeholders. They convened recently to strategise Gazas reconstruction post-conflict. Saudi Arabia, hosting the meeting, included Qatar, recognising Dohas sway over Hamas, whose political leaders it hosts. Advertisement While the Arab nations participating in the meeting prefer Hamas not to be part of Gazas political leadership after the war, they anticipate the group will endure in some capacity. They suggest a degree of Hamass cooperation will be necessary to advance Gazas rehabilitation successfully, a senior diplomat told The Times of Israel. Advertisement With inputs from agencies An Indian student hailing from Hyderabad tragically died of cardiac arrest while studying in Canada, informed Telangana-based Majlis Bachao Tehreek (MBT) party leader Amjad Ullah Khan on social media on Friday, adding, the students family has reached out to EAM S Jaishankar for help An Indian student hailing from Hyderabad tragically died of cardiac arrest while studying in Canada, informed Telangana-based Majlis Bachao Tehreek (MBT) party leader Amjad Ullah Khan on social media on Friday. The student, identified as Shaik Muzammil Ahmed (25), was pursuing a Masters degree in IT at Conestoga College, Waterloo Campus in Kitchener City, Ontario. Advertisement Taking to X, Khan said that Ahmeds family has reached out to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, urging assistance in repatriating his mortal remains to Hyderabad. According to Khan, Ahmed had been battling fever for the past week. However, his family received the shocking news of his demise through a call from Ahmeds friend, citing cardiac arrest as the cause. The MBT leader also posted the familys letter addressed to EAM Jaishankar, seeking assistance during this difficult time. One Shaik Muzammil Ahmed-25 years from Hyderabad, Telangana State pursuing Masters in IT from Conestoga College, Waterloo Campus in Kitchener City in Ontario, Canada since Dec 2022 was suffering from fever since last one week, but his family received a call from his friend that he died due to cardiac arrest today, Khan wrote on X. Advertisement .@DrSJaishankar Sir, One Shaik Muzammil Ahmed-25 years from Hyderabad, Telangana State persuing Masters in IT from Conestoga College, Waterloo Campus in Kitchener City in Ontario, Canada since Dec 2022 was suffering from fever since last one week, but his family received a call pic.twitter.com/hvA1munXaX Amjed Ullah Khan MBT (@amjedmbt) February 15, 2024 Advertisement On hearing this news his parents and the entire family is in a state of shock and has request you to kindly ask @HCI_Ottawa & @TorontoCGI to send his mortal remains back to Hyderabad as soon as possible, for more details please contact Waliuddin on +1 (647) (786) 5940 or his uncle Mohammed Amjad on 9618160740, he added. Advertisement Earlier, MBT leader Khan had also highlighted the case where another Indian student Syed Mazahir Ali was brutally attacked in Chicago. Videos on social media showed Ali bleeding heavily as he described the horrific incident. The Indian Consulate in Chicago had then assured of being in touch with the victims wife in India and also assured of all possible assistance. Advertisement With inputs from agencies Israel will continue to oppose unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state, Netanyahu said in a post in Hebrew on social media platform X Rejecting a plan for international recognition of a Palestinian state, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared late Thursday that such a move would offer an enormous reward to terrorism. Following similar denials from prominent far-right ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich in response to The Washington Post stories about the plot, comes Netanyahus remarks. Advertisement According to the newspaper article, which quoted a number of US and Arab officials, the US, Israels principal ally, is collaborating with a number of Arab nations on a comprehensive plan for enduring peace between Israel and the Palestinians. According to the publication, the plan contained a specific schedule for the creation of a Palestinian state. Israel will continue to oppose unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state, Netanyahu said in a post in Hebrew on social media platform X. Such recognition, in the wake of the October 7 massacre, would offer an enormous reward to unprecedented terrorism and would prevent any future peace agreement, he said. Israel categorically rejects international diktats concerning a permanent settlement with the Palestinians, he added, saying that a peace agreement could only result from direct negotiations without preconditions. Advertisement The Washington Post reported that the plan would begin with a ceasefire expected to last at least six weeks, with officials hoping that an agreement could be reached before the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan on March 10. The agreement would include a pause in the fighting, the release of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza since the October 7 attack, and a timetable for the eventual establishment of a Palestinian state. Advertisement We will never agree to such a plan, which in reality says that the Palestinians deserve a reward for the terrible massacre they have committed, Smotrich wrote on X, describing a Palestinian state as an existential threat to the State of Israel. There are no signs that the war will stop, and as Israel and the militant organisation Hezbollah in Lebanon increased their strikes during a particularly deadly battle on Wednesday, the likelihood of a wider fight increased The primary hospital in southern Gaza was stormed by Israeli forces on Thursday, following hours of Israeli gunfire that left one patient dead and six others injured within the facility. The Israeli army declared that it was looking for the bodies of captives that Hamas had stolen. After forces had surrounded Nasser Hospital for about a week, hundreds of employees, patients, and other people were inside fighting under intense fire and running out of food and water. This led to the raid on the hospital. The hospital in the city of Khan Younis, which has been the centre of Israels onslaught against Hamas in recent weeks, was ordered to be evacuated by the army a day earlier by hundreds of displaced civilians who had sought sanctuary there. Advertisement There are no signs that the war will stop, and as Israel and the militant organisation Hezbollah in Lebanon increased their strikes during a particularly deadly battle on Wednesday, the likelihood of a wider fight increased. The military claimed to possess credible intelligence indicating that Hamas had taken hostages at Nasser Hospital and that there was a chance the captives corpses were still there. The main military spokesperson, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, stated that soldiers were conducting a precise and limited operation there and that they would not compel patients or medics to leave. Israel charges that Hamas hides its fighters in hospitals and other non-military buildings. A freed hostage revealed to The Associated Press last month that Nasser Hospital was the holding facility for her and more than twenty other detainees. International law prohibits the targeting of medical facilities; they can lose those protections if they are used for military purposes, though operations against them still must be proportional to any threat. Advertisement As troops searched hospital buildings, they ordered the more than 460 staff, patients and their relatives to move into an older building in the compound that isnt equipped to treat patients, the Gaza Health Ministry said. They were in harsh conditions with no food or baby formula and severe water shortages, it said. Advertisement Six patients were left in intensive care, along with three infants in incubators with no staff to attend to them. The ministry said fuel for generators would soon run out, endangering their lives. Separately, Israel launched airstrikes into southern Lebanon for a second day after killing 10 civilians and three Hezbollah fighters on Wednesday in response to a rocket attack that killed an Israeli soldier and wounded several others. Advertisement It was the deadliest exchange of fire along the border since the start of the Israel-Hamas war. Israel and Hezbollah an ally of Hamas have traded fire daily, raising the risks of a broader conflict. Hezbollah has not claimed responsibility for Wednesdays rocket attack. Sheikh Nabil Kaouk, a senior member of the group, said it is prepared for the possibility of expanding the war and would meet escalation with escalation, displacement with displacement, and destruction with destruction. Advertisement Negotiations over a cease-fire in Gaza, meanwhile, appear to have stalled, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to continue the offensive and expand it to the Gaza city of Rafah, near Egypt, until Hamas is destroyed and scores of hostages taken during the militants Oct. 7 attack are freed. Advertisement In a phone call Thursday, President Joe Biden again cautioned Netanyahu against moving forward with a military operation in Rafah before coming up with a credible and executable plan to ensure the safety of Palestinian civilians, the White House said Thursday, Scenes of panic in hospital Nasser Hospital has been the latest focus of Israeli military operations that have gutted Gazas health sector as it struggles to treat a constant stream of people wounded in daily bombardments. Advertisement Israeli troops, tanks and snipers have surrounded the hospital for at least a week, and fire from outside has recently killed several people inside, according to health officials. Theres no water, no food. Garbage is everywhere. Sewage has flooded the emergency ward, said Raed Abed, a wounded patient who was among those who left Nasser Hospital on Israeli orders Wednesday. Advertisement Still suffering from a severe stomach wound, Abed said he initially collapsed as he got out of his hospital bed and tried to leave. He then waited outside for hours as troops made those leaving pass by five at a time, arresting some and making them strip to their underwear, he said. Finally, he walked for miles until he reached the border town of Rafah, where he was put in a hospital. Lying in a bed there, he wheezed in pain from his wound as he spoke. Advertisement Overnight, a strike slammed into one of Nasser Hospitals wards, killing one patient and wounding six others, Dr. Khaled Alserr, one of the remaining surgeons there, told the AP. Video showed medics scrambling to move patients down a corridor filled with smoke or dust, while in a dark room a wounded man screamed in pain as gunfire echoed outside. Advertisement The situation is escalating every hour and every minute, Alserr said. The international aid group Doctors Without Borders said its staff had to flee the hospital Thursday, leaving patients behind, and that one staffer was detained at an Israeli checkpoint. Troops were still searching the hospital hours after the entered, military spokesman Hagari said. He said dozens of militants were arrested from the hospital grounds, including three who participated in the Oct. 7 attack. He also said troops found grenades and mortar shells, and that Israeli radar determined that militants fired mortars from the hospital grounds a month ago. Advertisement No end in sight to the war The war began when Hamas militants on Oct. 7 burst out of Gaza and attacked several Israeli communities, killing some 1,200 people and taking another 250 hostage. More than 100 captives were freed during a cease-fire in November in exchange for 240 Palestinian prisoners. Around 130 hostages remain in Gaza, a fourth of whom are believed to be dead. Netanyahu has come under intense pressure from hostages families and the wider public to make a deal to secure their freedom, but his far-right coalition partners could bring down his government if he is seen as being too soft on Hamas. Dozens of hostages relatives protested and blocked traffic Thursday outside the militarys headquarters, where the War Cabinet also meets. Israel responded to the Hamas attack with one of the deadliest and most destructive military campaigns in recent history. At least 28,663 Palestinians have been killed, mostly women and children, and more than 68,000 wounded, according to Gazas Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants. Some 80% of the population has been driven from their homes, and a quarter are starving amid a worsening humanitarian catastrophe. Large areas in northern Gaza, the first target of the offensive, have been completely destroyed. Israeli media reported that CIA Director William Burns flew to Israel to meet with Netanyahu to discuss efforts for a cease-fire. Hamas says it will not release all the remaining captives until Israel ends its offensive, withdraws and frees Palestinian prisoners, including top militants. Netanyahu has rejected those demands and says Israel will soon expand its offensive into Rafah, Gazas southernmost city. Over half of Gazas population of 2.3 million has sought refuge in Rafah after fleeing fighting elsewhere. Airstrikes late Wednesday in central Gaza killed at least 11 people, including four children and five women, according to hospital records. Relatives gathered around bodies wrapped in white shrouds outside Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in the central town of Deir al-Balah before the remains were placed in a truck to be taken for burial. One man struggled to let go, lying down and holding one of the bodies on the truck as he wept. Jaishankar also met other world leaders including the High Representative of the EU Josep Borrell, United Kingdom Foreign Secretary David Cameron, Peru Foreign Minister Javier Gonzalez-Olaechea, among others External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Friday met US State Secretary Antony Blinken on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference where the two leaders discussed a wide range of topics. Great to meet my friend US Secretary Blinken this afternoon on the Munich Security Conference 2024 sidelines. Our talk centered on the situation in West Asia, Ukraine and Indo-Pacific. Reviewed the continuing progress in our bilateral ties, Jaishankar said on X, formerly Twitter. Advertisement Great to meet my friend US @SecBlinken this afternoon on #MSC2024 sidelines. Our talk centered on the situation in West Asia, Ukraine and Indo-Pacific. Reviewed the continuing progress in our bilateral ties. pic.twitter.com/adZSFKw5By Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) February 16, 2024 In the same event, the Indian foreign minister met other world leaders including the High Representative of the EU Josep Borrell, United Kingdom Foreign Secretary David Cameron, Peru Foreign Minister Javier Gonzalez-Olaechea, among others. Advertisement Delighted to catch-up with EU HRVP @JosepBorrellF in Munich. Exchanged perspectives on the current global situation. Looking forward to welcoming him to India. #MSC2024 pic.twitter.com/PYOfWwl62q Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) February 16, 2024 Advertisement The meetings come as EAM Jaishankar reached Germany for the 60th Munich Security Conference (MSC) taking place from February 16 to 18, 2024, at its traditional venue, the Hotel Bayerischer Hof in Munich, an official statement said. Advertisement This years conference is being held under the chairmanship of the German Ambassador to the US, Christoph Heusgen. As per the statement, The MSC will once again welcome a series of high-ranking international decision-makers and experts, including heads of state and government, ministers, and diverse voices from international organizations, civil society, the private sector and the media. Advertisement With inputs from agencies The report also voiced member nations concern that terrorist groups enjoy greater freedom in Taliban-ruled Afghanistan than at any time in recent history A recent report by UN chief Antonio Guterres indicates that the Taliban, who assumed power in Afghanistan in 2021, has not shown signs of curbing the activities of foreign terrorist fighters in the conflict-ridden nation. The report expresses concerns from member nations that terrorist groups now have more freedom in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan than ever before. Particularly alarming is the surge in the strength of ISIL-K, which has nearly doubled from previous estimates of 2,200 fighters following the release of numerous individuals from prison. Advertisement The security landscape in Afghanistan underwent a significant transformation on 15 August, when the Taliban swiftly captured 33 out of 34 provincial capitals, including Kabul, according to the 14th report of the Secretary-General on the threat posed by ISIL (Daesh) to international peace and security and the range of United Nations efforts in support of Member States in countering the threat. Member States have observed that the strength of the ISIL affiliate in Afghanistan, ISIL-K, has escalated from earlier approximations of 2,200 fighters to nearly 4,000, largely due to the Talibans release of thousands of individuals from detention. According to the Secretary Generals report, one Member State assessed that up to half the individuals are foreign terrorist fighters. While Daesh controls limited territory in eastern Afghanistan, it is capable of conducting high-profile, complex attacks such as the August 27, 2021 bombing at Kabul airport, which killed over 180 people, and several subsequent attacks, in particular against the Taliban and members of the Shia community. Advertisement The report further said that Daesh in Afghanistan continues to be led by Sanaullah Ghafari, an Afghan national. The group is taking advantage of the turmoil in the country, including by recruiting fighters from the Eastern Turkistan Islamic Movement and the Turkistan Islamic Party, among other foreign terrorist groups. Daesh in Afghanistan aims to position itself as the chief rejectionist force in Afghanistan and to expand into neighbouring Central and South Asian countries and is viewed by the Taliban as its primary armed threat. Member States are concerned that, if Afghanistan descends into further chaos, some Afghan and foreign violent extremists may shift allegiances to Daesh, the report said. Advertisement The report was prepared by the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team, the Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate and the Office of Counter-Terrorism, in close collaboration with other United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Coordination Compact entities. Member States also remain concerned about the glut of weapons, especially small arms, that exists in the Middle East, Africa and Afghanistan, to which Daesh, its affiliates and other terrorist groups could gain access. Advertisement Such concerns have been exacerbated by the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan, given the large quantities of weaponry and other military equipment in the country, the report said. With Afghanistan facing a severe economic, financial and humanitarian crisis, there is a risk that tradable commodities such as arms and related materials could be acquired by organised criminals and terrorists inside Afghanistan and even that they could find their way into neighbouring countries, it said. Advertisement On February 29, 2020, the United States and the Taliban signed the Doha Agreement, which led to the August 30, 2021, withdrawal of US and Allied forces from Afghanistan. Since the forcible takeover by the Taliban in August 2021, culminating in the fall of Kabul on August 15, the US has shifted to a position of pragmatic engagement in Afghanistan. Advertisement With inputs from agencies On Friday, PTI leaders claimed that it was deprived of at least 85 seats in the National Assembly, the lower house, due to alleged rigging of the election held on February 8. Jailed former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khans Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) said that at least 85 parliamentary seats it had won were seized in what they described as the largest voter fraud in the nations history. They announced to stage peaceful nationwide protests on Saturday to protest against the alleged rigging. In the February 8 election, independent candidates, the majority of whom were supported by Khans PTI, secured 93 out of the 265 National Assembly seats that were contested. Advertisement However, PTIs two main rivals appear on course to form a coalition government after former prime minister Nawaz Sharifs Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) and Bilawal Bhutto-Zardaris Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) formed a post-poll alliance on Tuesday. The PML-N won 75 seats while the PPP came third with 54 seats. The Muttahida Qaumi Movement Pakistan (MQM-P) has also agreed to support them with their 17 seats. To form a government, a party must win 133 seats out of 265 contested seats in the 266-member National Assembly. On Friday, PTI leaders claimed that it was deprived of at least 85 seats in the National Assembly, the lower house, due to alleged rigging of the election held on February 8. PTIs Information Secretary Raoof Hasan and other leaders including Sher Afzal Marwat, Rehana Dar, Shoaib Shaheen and Salman Akram Raja, who challenged their election results before various forums, addressed a press conference here. Hasan said that 2024 would be remembered due to the biggest voter fraud in Pakistans history against the party and its candidates. Advertisement According to our estimates, out of 177 [National Assembly> seats which were supposed to be ours, only 92 have been given to us. And 85 seats have been taken away from us fraudulently, he said. He said that the party was taking constitutional and legal steps to counter the rigging and get its right. Advertisement We have verified data about 46 seats and it is being compiled for 39 seats, he said. Hassan also highlighted the discrepancies between Form 45 and Form 47, which respectively deal with counting in each polling station in a constituency and the overall count of all polling stations. Hassan claimed there was a huge difference in the numbers of votes polled for National Assembly and provincial assembly seats. He said that the number of rejected votes, in certain cases, exceeded the margin of victory. PTI leader Shandana Gulzar said that the party bagged 1.25 million votes from Karachi but strangely couldnt win a single seat. Advertisement Party leader and senior lawyer Salman Akram Raja claimed that rigging took place when results were being shifted from the polling station to the offices of returning officers. The results which should have been announced based on Form 45 were completely changed. They rigged the elections on the night of February 8 as much as possible, he said. Separately, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) spokesperson Marriyum Aurangzeb said at a press conference in Lahore that TV channels started showing partially counted results, which began to change as more results were announced after completion of counting on other polling stations. Form 45 was floated on the media and social media beforehand when results were still being compiled, she said. Advertisement She said PTI was questioning the result in Punjab where it lost but it was not talking about the results in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa since it won the province. It is part of PTI culture to reject elections when it loses, she said. Meanwhile, the PTI already declared to hold protests in the country on Saturday and it was also trying to win the support of other parties. The PTI has called for countrywide protests tomorrow (Saturday) against the unprecedented, massive [and> brazen rigging in the elections. Advertisement In a post on X, the PTI claimed that its win of 180 National Assembly seats and a two-thirds majority in Parliament was cut down to half. In a related development, Pakistans Supreme Court will hear on Monday a petition seeking to declare the recently held general elections null and void, amidst allegations by several parties of poll rigging and deliberate delay in announcing the results. Advertisement The petition, which would be heard by a three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa, seeks the apex court to declare the results of the February 8 polls null and void and get elections re-conducted within 30 days under the supervision and oversight of the judiciary, The Express Tribune newspaper reported. Advertisement According to the report, the petitioner, a private citizen, also has made the Election Commission of Pakistan and the federal government as respondents in the case. In the meantime, a meeting between the PML-N and the PPP coordination committees, which was expected to take place on Friday for finalising government formation in the Centre, has been postponed, according to a media report. Advertisement The meeting was reportedly postponed as the PML-Ns committee has yet to consult on the matter with the partys senior leadership, Geo News reported. The second round of talks between the two parties to decide on the power-sharing formula between them for the formation of a coalition government will be held on Saturday, it said. Advertisement With inputs from PTI. The Da Vinci Wolves, a volunteer force that has fought across much of the front, is running its own recruitment as it reforms under the 59th Motorized Brigade and hopes to attract new members through its reputation as an experienced and motivated fighting unit A year after the original leader of the Da Vinci Wolves Battalion from Ukraine was killed in combat with Russian forces, his picture looks over prospective recruits from an airy new recruitment office in Kyiv. As the second anniversary of Russias full-scale invasion draws near, Ukraine is finding it difficult to revamp mobilisation and expand recruiting due to a shortage of personnel in its military. Advertisement For the Da Vinci Wolves, who were commanded by the late war hero Dmytro Da Vinci Kotsiubailo until his passing in March of last year, it meant depending on a polished public persona to draw in new members. Were looking particularly for people who want to fight, want to join our unit (and) understand what theyre headed for, said the units new commander, Serhii Filimonov, while unveiling the office recently. They also want to show draft-eligible Ukrainians that it is possible to choose where and with whom they serve, part of a broader official effort to improve military enlistment. Ukraine failed to make significant gains in a counteroffensive launched last June and faces Russian assaults along much of the front line. Its mobilisation drive has been complicated by corruption allegations and frequent media reports of heavy-handed draft officers barging into homes or pulling men off buses. Advertisement Parliament is considering a bill that would lower the draft age to 25 from 27 and toughen punishment for evasion. The defence ministry has also turned to private recruiters for help. The Da Vinci Wolves, a volunteer force that has fought across much of the front, is running its own recruitment as it reforms under the 59th Motorized Brigade and hopes to attract new members through its reputation as an experienced and motivated fighting unit. Advertisement Kotsiubailo had fought Russian forces since 2014 as part of a nationalist unit and was named a Hero of Ukraine in 2021 by President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who attended his funeral. His call sign was a nod to his art education. Filimonov, who is also well-known in Ukraine as a nationalist leader and activist, said the battalion contained other public figures - from actors to politicians - with large followings who carry weight in society. Advertisement Thanks to this, were able to communicate what we want through the internet, Filimonov told Reuters, adding that Kotsiubailos legacy is central to attracting recruits. Some other high-profile units, such as the 3rd Separate Assault Brigade, have invested similarly in recruitment, producing sleek media content and hosting events to popularise army service. Advertisement The best The Da Vinci Wolves have received more than 1,000 applications and are seeking around 500 new members, Filimonov said. Service members in other units have also shown interest in transferring, he added. Candidates include Anatoliy Kvasha, 48, who said he wanted a greater say over where he ended up after facing bureaucratic headaches at his local draft office. Advertisement I just dont trust draft officials, however good or bad they might be, said Kvasha, who has expertise as a mechanic. Recruiters said they would be mindful of how they communicate with newcomers who arrive at their office in central Kyiv, just steps away from European embassies. If you see a person is tense and its uncomfortable for them then of course you need to draw them in a bit so they relax - so that I understand them and they understand me, said private first class Maksym Kyrychenko. Advertisement Candidates must pass an interview and medical exam before they are sent for training. The battalion has also opened an office in the western city of Lviv. Another potential recruit, who asked to be identified only as Andriy, said he was drawn to the battalion because he respected the peacetime activism of some of its current members. Advertisement I want to be with those who are motivated, the best, he said. Lyudmila Navalnaya, Navalnys mother, said that she had met her son on February 12 in prison and found him to be alive and happy The untimely death of Alexei Navalny, Russian President Vladimir Putins most vocal critic, has shocked the entire world with many not believing the cause of his demise. His wife Yulia Navalny said on Friday that Putin and his associates would not go unpunished if the death of her husband turned out to be true. Advertisement Yulia Navalny appealed to the international community to come together and fight against Russias horrific regime. A statement released by Russias federal penitentiary service claims that the Kremlin critic died after he felt bad after a walk, almost immediately losing consciousness following which medical teams were called to carry out resuscitation measures. Still, they did not yield any positive results. Id like Putin and all his staff to know that they will be punished for what they have done with our country, with my family and with my husband, Yulia Navalnaya told the Munich Security Conference. She added, We should fight this horrific regime in Russia today. Vladimir Putin should be personally held for all the atrocities they have committed in our country in the last years. Advertisement World leaders from across the world have come together to condemn Putins regime, blaming the administration for Navalnys death . Was healthy and happy Soon after learning about his death, Lyudmila Navalnaya, the mother of Navalny, wrote on Facebook, I dont want to hear any condolences. We saw him in prison on the (Feb) 12, in a meeting. He was alive, healthy and happy. Advertisement Navalnaya was quoted by the Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta saying that she had met her son on February 12 in prison and found him to be alive and happy. No health complaints Navalnys death has raised eyebrows in Russia with many questioning whether it was his health that led to the unfortunate incident. A regional court in Moscow told the RIA news agency that the politician did not complain about his health and spoke actively, presenting arguments in defence of his position. Advertisement Separately a German lawyer for Navalny said he seemed fit and strong during the hearing one day before his death on Friday in an Arctic prison colony. With inputs from agencies So far this year, Brazil has recorded 512,000 cases nationwide, including both confirmed and likely cases nearly four times more than those registered in the same period a year ago Slithering amongst vehicle parts scattered over a Rio de Janeiro junkyard, the tiny group of state public health officials searched for any standing water where mosquitoes may have placed their eggs. They were a part of a national campaign to stop the spread of dengue fever, a mosquito-borne sickness that is now rife in Brazil during the peak travel season, which runs until the end of February. Advertisement Inside a car bumper, 56-year-old entomologist Paulo Cesar Gomes discovered several mosquito larvae floating in shallow puddles. We call this type of location a strategic point because of the high turnover in items converging from all over, he said. Its difficult not to have mosquitoes here. Earlier in the month, just days before Rio kicked of its world-famous Carnival festivities, the city joined several states and the countrys capital in declaring a public health epidemic over this years greater-than-normal number of cases of dengue. We had more cases in January than any other January, Ethel Maciel, head of health surveillance at Brazils Health Ministry, said in an interview with The Associated Press. So far this year, Brazil has recorded 512,000 cases nationwide, including both confirmed and likely cases nearly four times more than those registered in the same period a year ago. Advertisement There have been 425 deaths under investigation for dengue so far this year, with 75 confirmed, as compared with just over 1,000 for all of 2023. Dengue is a viral infection transmitted to humans through the bite of infected mosquitoes. Frequent rains and high temperatures, which accelerate the hatching of mosquito eggs and the development of larvae, make the famously hot city of Rio especially susceptible to outbreaks. Advertisement Many who are infected never develop symptoms, but dengue can cause high fever, headache, body aches, nausea and a rash, according to the World Health Organization. While most get better after a week or so, some develop a severe form that requires hospitalization and can be fatal. Health workers like Gomes, equipped with masks and plastic gloves, meticulously combed the junkyard on a hot morning, gently kicking and shaking piled up auto parts looking for any trace of the Aedes aegypti mosquito that can spread dengue. Advertisement Whenever he saw standing water Gomes grabbed a hand pipette out of his bag and looked for larvae, which he collected in a white plastic container. Captured mosquitos and larvae are kept alive and brought to a city laboratory to be tested for dengue. At locations with positive tests, health agents spray the walls with a product that kills mosquitos and then monitor the location for weeks. Advertisement Maciel, from the Health Ministry, said the first warning about a possible epidemic came in September. Brazils leading research institute, the state-funded Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, or Fiocruz, came up with several scenarios indicating that Brazil could have as many as 4.2 million cases this year, up from 1.6 million in 2023. Maciel said the surge is due to excessive heat and intense rain, both possible effects of climate change or El Nino, a natural, temporary and occasional warming of part of the Pacific that shifts weather patterns across the globe. Advertisement Maciel also cited the circulation of four dengue virus serotypes at the same time, one of which authorities had not seen in 15 years. In Rio, more than 80% of mosquito breeding sites are located in residential properties, health officials say. So, efforts to combat dengue must start in homes, and raising awareness is key, said Mario Sergio Ribeiro, a health surveillance official for Rio de Janeiro state. Advertisement State officials launched a 10 minutes that save lives initiative to encourage residents to inspect their homes, offices and places of worship for any standing water. Health workers and volunteers went door to door, pacing up and down the narrow streets of Rios Tabajara working-class neighborhood, or favela, to spread the word. They distributed leaflets and climbed on rooftops, looking for containers with rainwater. Advertisement One elderly woman, Vilza da Costa, told the AP she believes she contracted the disease. It started with a fever, then my body was itching all over, weakness, and a lot of pain. I was in a very bad way, she said. There are a lot of mosquitoes here. During Carnival, which ended Wednesday, health employees welcomed visitors with free repellent. A van with a giant crossed off mosquito and the words Against Dengue Everyday opened and closed the parades several nights, for millions of TV viewers to see. Advertisement Maciel said the effect of Carnival will not be known for another week. Even though dengue is not transmissible from person to person, increased tourism can boost the spread of the disease to locations that had not been affected. Its not clear if the cases have reached a peak and now are going to start going down, or if the worst-case scenario is indeed happening, Maciel said. Labours Dan Egan won the House of Commons seat of Kingswood, south-west England, and the partys Gen Kitchen won Wellingborough, in the East Midlands region of England. The outcomes mark a significant reversal for Sunak, as both seats were previously held by Conservatives during Johnsons tenure British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak faced significant setbacks to his leadership as the Opposition Labour Party secured victories in two key English by-elections, setting the stage for a challenging general election later this year. Labours Dan Egan clinched the House of Commons seat of Kingswood in south-west England, while Gen Kitchen secured victory in Wellingborough, located in the East Midlands region. Advertisement These outcomes mark a significant reversal for the British Indian leader, as both seats were previously held by Conservatives with considerable margins during Boris Johnsons tenure in December 2019. Adding to the pressure, the far-right Reform UK (formerly the Brexit Party) surpassed the Liberal Democrats and Green Party to secure third place, underscoring contentious issues such as immigration. With these results, the Tory-led government has suffered its ninth and tenth by-election defeats since the 2019 general election. The by-poll in Kingswood was held after Tory leader Chris Skidmore resigned as an MP in protest over Sunaks green policies. Labours Egan managed to overturn his majority of more than 11,000 in the seat. In Wellingborough, the voter followed Tory MP Peter Bone being recalled by his constituency over claims of bullying and sexually inappropriate behaviour, which he denies. Labours Kitchen overturned his majority of more than 18,000 to win the seat with a swing of 28.5 per cent the second highest of all time. Advertisement The Kingswood and Wellingborough results show that people want change and are ready to put their faith in a changed Labour Party to deliver it, PTI quoted Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer as saying. The Tories have failed, Rishis recession proves that. Labour is back in the service of working people, he added. Advertisement The twin defeats will come as a major blow for the governing Tories as they prepare for a general election, which Sunak, 43, has indicated will be held in the second half of the year. The party, which has already been trailing Labour in opinion polls, sought to downplay the significance of the by-election result as a vote of discontent against the Tories. Advertisement Conservative MP and former minister in Boris Johnsons Cabinet Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg told the BBC the Kingswood result was not as bad as Id expected as Tory voters appeared to have stayed at home. He suggested more could turn out at a general election, which he said focuses peoples minds in a different way to a by-election. He insisted that support for Sunaks leadership was solid and by-elections dont change that. Advertisement However, news of the economy falling into recession earlier this week and this double poll blow will rattle the Sunak-led Tories as the scale of anti-incumbency becomes clear. The party will be concerned not only by having lost these seats, but also by the scale and manner of its defeats. Its share of the vote fell by a whopping 37.6 points in Wellingborough, the biggest drop the party has ever suffered in a by-election it was defending, writes pollster Sir John Curtice, Professor of Politics at Strathclyde University. Advertisement However, these were by-elections where voters discontent with the Conservatives was seemingly not matched in equal measure by its enthusiasm for Labour, he said. The results also provide some relief for Keir Starmer after a challenging week for the Labour leader, having scaled back his partys green investment plan and been embroiled in an antisemitism crisis. Advertisement With inputs from agencies Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the president of Ukraine, had declared the previous day that Kyiv will do everything to rescue life in the iconic city, which is encircled by Russian soldiers on three sides As Russia intensifies its attacks, Ukraine claimed on Friday that there was heavy fighting in the besieged frontline city of Avdiivka and that it was setting up new positions around the industrial powerhouse. Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the president of Ukraine, had declared the previous day that Kyiv will do everything to rescue life in the iconic city, which is encircled by Russian soldiers on three sides. Advertisement Fierce battles are taking place within the city, Oleksandr Tarnavskiy, a Ukrainian general in the east, said on social media. Our troops are using all available forces and means to restrain the enemy, he added. New positions have been prepared and powerful fortifications continue to be prepared, taking into account all possible scenarios, said Oleksandr Tarnavskiy, a senior Ukrainian commander responsible for forces in the east of the country. He said that Kyiv wanted protect its troops: We value every piece of Ukrainian land, but the highest value and priority for us is the preservation of the life of a Ukrainian soldier. Tarnavskiy called the situation in Avdiivka difficult but controlled and said commanders have been tasked to stabilise the situation. Advertisement Russia has been trying to capture Avdiivka for months. The fall of Avdiivka would be a significant symbolic victory for Russia. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived in Germany on Friday as part of a diplomatic tour aimed at securing crucial military assistance and solidifying bilateral security commitments as the conflict with Russia approaches its third year Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived in Germany on Friday as part of a diplomatic tour aimed at securing crucial military assistance and solidifying bilateral security commitments as the conflict with Russia approaches its third year. Taking to X, Zelenskyy said, I am starting two important days. Meetings with partners in Germany and France, new agreements, and the Munich Security Conference. Advertisement A new security architecture for Ukraine, as well as new opportunities. We are making every effort to end the war as soon as possible on fair Ukrainian terms and ensure a lasting peace, he added. I am starting two important days. Meetings with partners in Germany and France, new agreements, and the Munich Security Conference. A new security architecture for Ukraine, as well as new opportunities. We are making every effort to end the war as soon as possible on fair pic.twitter.com/YNbdIffPK5 Volodymyr Zelenskyy / (@ZelenskyyUa) February 16, 2024 Zelenskyys visit coincides with intense efforts by Kyivs forces to repel advancing Russian troops near the eastern town of Avdiivka. Amid shortages in manpower and ammunition, the awaited US military aid has been delayed for months. Advertisement This journey marks Zelenskyys inaugural foreign excursion since his recent decision to replace his esteemed army chief and reorganise military command structures. This strategic move, undertaken during a pivotal phase of the conflict, reflects Zelenskyys recognition of the evolving challenges on the battlefield. Germany and France stand ready to join as the second and third allies of Ukraine in signing bilateral security agreements. These agreements are pivotal in defining terms for sustained support until Ukraine achieves its objective of NATO membership. Advertisement The details of the agreements to be signed with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz are not yet known, but Kyiv has said it wants to use the first deal signed with Britain in January as a framework. London said that agreement formalised a range of support it has given and will continue to provide for Ukraines security. Advertisement It also created a commitment to hold consultations with Kyiv within 24 hours in the event Ukraine faces a future Russian armed attack, and to provide swift and sustained security assistance. Kyiv says the security arrangements with allies would in no way replace its strategic goal of joining NATO, which regards any attack launched on one of its 31 members as an attack on all under its Article Five provision. Advertisement Scholzs chancellery said a bilateral agreement about security assurances and long-term support will be signed, without providing more details ahead of the meeting. French officials gave little detail about the bilateral agreement between Paris and Kyiv ahead of the signing ceremony expected at the Elysee palace in Paris on Friday evening. They said the deal included economic and financial elements and was not restricted to military ones. Advertisement The logic behind it is support for Ukraine over the long term, in order to make Russian aggression fail, one French official said. Some figures will be mentioned in the deal, they said, but added that France refused to take part in any beauty contest and that the quality of material provided to Ukraine was at least as important as the quantity. Advertisement Germany has been pressing both European and U.S. partners for more rigorous commitments on military supplies for Ukraine, with Chancellor Scholz travelling to Washington to shore up aid for Kyivs needs. German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said his country envisaged 3.5 billion euro for ammunition supplies this year and would deliver three to four times more in 2024 compared to 2023. Advertisement Zelenskyy was also expected to give a speech at the Munich security conference on Saturday. Several bilateral meetings on the sidelines are planned, including with US Vice President Kamala Harris. With inputs from agencies Big national banks like Wells Fargo are regulated by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, which on Thursday ended a consent order that had been in effect since September 2016 After years of scandals, the Biden administration determined that Wells Fargo had sufficiently changed its poisonous culture and loosened some of the limitations placed on the bank. Investors believed that Wells Fargo, which has been operating under strict regulatory supervision for years, could be able to restore its image and resume growth in response to the news, which caused the companys shares to rise substantially on Thursday. In incredibly lively trading, the banks shares finished up 7.2% to $52.04, their highest level since March 2022. Advertisement Big national banks like Wells Fargo are regulated by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, which on Thursday ended a consent order that had been in effect since September 2016. The bank was forced by the order to change the way it offered financial products to consumers and to include more safeguards for consumers and whistleblowers. That consent decree was implemented following a slew of government and media reports in 2016 that revealed Wells Fargo to have a toxic sales culture that drove staff members to upsell consumers on unnecessary items. Millions of unauthorised accounts were opened by employees, who worked in stores rather than bank offices. Consumers credit scores were affected and their identities were taken. Americans who did not understand English made up a disproportionate fraction of the millions of consumers affected. Advertisement The scandal severely tarnished the reputation of San Francisco-based Wells Fargo, which eight years ago was considered one of the best-run banks in the country by investors and analysts. Since the scandal broke, Wells Fargo overhauled its board of directors and management, paid more than a billion dollars in fines and penalties, and has spent eight years trying to show the public that the bad practices are a thing of the past. The scandal led to unionization efforts at some branches as employees protested how managers pushed unreasonable sales goals. Advertisement In a brief statement Thursday, the Comptroller of the Currency said that Wells Fargos safety and soundness and compliance with laws and regulations does not require the continued existence of the Order. The decision is a major victory for Wells Fargos management and Charles Scharf, who took over as CEO in 2019. Advertisement Confirmation from the OCC that we have effectively implemented what was required is a result of the hard work of so many of our employees, and Id like to thank everyone at Wells Fargo involved for their dedication to transforming how we do business, Scharf said in a prepared statement. Citigroup banking analyst Keith Horwitz said in a note that the OCCs decision was positive proof that Wells Fargos management was making the right decisions to fix the companys culture. Advertisement There remains in place a Federal Reserve consent order against Wells Fargo as well as a requirement by the Fed that bank grow no bigger than its current size until it fixes its sales culture. The Fed declined to comment, but the OCCs decision is likely to pressure the Fed to make its own decision regarding its restrictions on Wells Fargo. Advertisement Including the Feds order, Wells Fargo still has eight consent orders that govern its operations. Thats down from 14 when Scharf took over the bank. Management says they still have work to do. Weve changed the company across a number of dimensions, said Scott Powell, Well Fargos chief operating officer, in an interview. Powell joined the bank roughly around the same time as Scharf. Advertisement Were doing better for customers and employees and we keep working to address the risk issues that are still outstanding." The law, according to Congressman Young Kim, guarantees Tibetans a voice in their destiny. It emphasises that the CCP and Tibets democratically elected leaders must have a direct conversation and that any conclusion must be peaceful and incorporate the opinions of the Tibetan people A law that would bolster US attempts to pressure China to engage in talks with Tibetan authorities in order to end the long-running Tibet-China conflict was passed by the House of Representatives. The bipartisan Promoting a Resolution to the Tibet-China Dispute Act, sometimes referred to as the Resolve Tibet Act, seeks to put pressure on the Chinese government to pick up the talks that have been on hold since 2010 with the envoys of the Dalai Lama or the democratically elected leaders of the Tibetan people. Advertisement It was introduced by Congressmen Jim McGovern and Michael McCaul, and it gives the State Department the authority to vigorously combat Chinas misinformation regarding Tibetan institutions, history, and people. It also rejects as false the Chinese assertion that Tibet has been a part of China from ancient times. Senators Todd Young and Jeff Merkley presented a bill that was comparable. Supporting this law entails endorsing the rights of the Tibetan people. It is also a vote in favour of pressing for a peaceful, legally-based, non-preconditional resolution of the conflict between Tibet and the Peoples Republic of China through discussion. This is still something that can be done. But as McGovern said, time is running short. Advertisement The law, according to Congressman Young Kim, guarantees Tibetans a voice in their destiny. It emphasises that the CCP and Tibets democratically elected leaders must have a direct conversation and that any conclusion must be peaceful and incorporate the opinions of the Tibetan people. Congressman Kathy Manning said since 2010 Beijing has also refused to meet its international obligations to engage the Dalai Lama and his representatives to resolve the Tibet issue through dialogue. Advertisement At the same time Beijing has unleashed a disinformation campaign to mislead the world about Tibet and its history, he said. Congressman Chris Smith said amid threats to Tibetans in Tibet, the Chinese Communist Party also seeks to extend its repressive reach abroad, targeting surveillance and harassment of the Tibetan diaspora in the United States, India, and Nepal. The Chinese Communist Party has long engaged in crimes against humanity in Tibet and against Tibetans, plain and simple, he alleged. Advertisement In a statement, the Central Tibetan Administration to North America said the Tibetan people will always cherish the bipartisan support for Tibet in the US Congress. Tibetan people, despite seven decades of brutal and paralysing oppression by the CCP, have never abandoned hope. The H.R.533 passage by the US House will boost the determination of the Tibetan people and their resilience, Representative Namgyal Choedup said. Advertisement It also sends a clear message to the current regime under Xi Jinping that if they truly desire social harmony and stability, the only way is to come to the negotiating table in good faith to resolve the Tibet-China dispute, Choedup said. International Campaign for Tibet president Tencho Gyatso said the vote shows that US support for Tibet is only growing stronger even after 65 years of Chinas control and occupation. Advertisement China has been playing a waiting game, hoping that the international community would eventually abandon Tibet, he said. Clearly that is not the case. The Chinese government should take the hint and restart the dialogue process with Tibetan leaders. We thank Congressman McGovern and Chairman McCaul and all the representatives who helped pass the Resolve Tibet Act today, and we look forward to working with Sens. Merkley and Young, as well as our supporters across the country, to make this bill the law of the land, he said. Donald Trump is facing serious allegations, totalling 91 felony countshe is accused to orchestrating a plot to overturn a lost election along with a related racketeering charge Former US President Donald Trump, who is also vying to reclaim the White House from Joe Biden, is saddled with legal troubles, though the maverick politician remains unfazed. Trump is facing serious allegations, totalling 91 felony countshe is accused to orchestrating a plot to overturn a lost election along with a related racketeering charge; hiding classified and highly sensitive documents at his Florida estate, asking for surveillance footage at his Mar-a-Lago estate to be deleted after FBI and Justice Department investigators visited in June 2022; and hush money payments made during the 2016 presidential campaign to bury allegations of extramarital sexual encounters. Advertisement Traversing the slowly grinding wheels of the justice system, some might not even reach trial this year. One case is set to begin in a few weeks. Lets take a look at each case and the stage it has reached in the legal system of America. 1 - Classified Documents Case: Special counsel Jack Smith has been leading two federal probes related to Trump, both of which have resulted in charges against the former president. The first charges to result from those investigations came in June when Trump was indicted for mishandling top secret documents at his Florida estate. The indictment alleges that Trump repeatedly enlisted aides and lawyers to help him hide records demanded by investigators and cavalierly showed off a Pentagon plan of attack and classified map. Advertisement 2 - Classified Documents Case: A superseding indictment issued in July added charges accusing Trump of asking for surveillance footage at his Mar-a-Lago estate to be deleted after FBI and Justice Department investigators visited in June 2022 to collect classified documents he took with him after leaving the White House. The new indictment also charges him with illegally holding onto a document hes alleged to have shown off to visitors in New Jersey. Advertisement In all, Trump faces 40 felony charges in the classified documents case. The most serious charge carries a penalty of up to 20 years in prison. Walt Nauta, a valet for Trump, and Carlos De Oliveira, the property manager at Trumps Florida estate, have been charged in the case with scheming to conceal surveillance footage from federal investigators and lying about it. Advertisement Trump, Nauta and De Oliveira have pleaded not guilty. US District Judge Aileen Cannon set a trial date of May 20, 2024, though she has signaled that it may be pushed back. 3 - Election Interference Case: Smiths second case against Trump was unveiled in August when the former president was indicted in Washington on felony charges for working to overturn the results of the 2020 election in the run-up to the violent riot by his supporters at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Advertisement The four-count indictment includes charges of conspiracy to defraud the United States government and conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding: the congressional certification of Joe Bidens victory. It says that Trump repeatedly told supporters and others that he had won the election, despite knowing that was false, and how he tried to persuade state officials, then-Vice President Mike Pence and finally Congress to overturn the legitimate results. Advertisement After a weekslong campaign of lies about the election results, prosecutors allege, Trump sought to exploit the violence at the Capitol by pointing to it as a reason to further delay the counting of votes that sealed his defeat. In their charging documents, prosecutors referenced a half-dozen unindicted co-conspirators, including lawyers inside and outside of government who they said had worked with Trump to undo the election results and advanced legally dubious schemes to enlist slates of fake electors in battleground states won by Biden. The Trump campaign called the charges fake and asked why it took two and a half years to bring them. He has pleaded not guilty. Advertisement The case had been set for trial on March 4 in federal court in Washington. But that date was canceled amid an appeal by Trump on the legally untested question of whether a former president is immune from prosecution for official acts taken in the White House. Trumps lawyers have asked the Supreme Court to intervene, but its not clear if the justices will. Advertisement 4 - Hush Money Scheme: Trump became the first former US president in history to face criminal charges when he was indicted in New York in March on state charges stemming from hush money payments made during the 2016 presidential campaign to bury allegations of extramarital sexual encounters. That case is set to be first to proceed to trial, with a judge setting jury selection for March 25. Advertisement Trump has already pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. Each count is punishable by up to four years in prison, though its not clear if a judge would impose any prison time if Trump were convicted. The counts are linked to a series of checks that were written to his lawyer Michael Cohen to reimburse him for his role in paying off porn actor Stormy Daniels, who alleged a sexual encounter with Trump in 2006, not long after Melania Trump gave birth to son Barron. Those payments were recorded in various internal company documents as being for a legal retainer that prosecutors say didnt exist. Advertisement 5 - Georgia Case: Trump is charged alongside 18 other people including former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani and former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows with violating the states anti-racketeering law by scheming to illegally overturn his 2020 election loss. The indictment, handed up in August, accuses Trump or his allies of suggesting Georgias Republican secretary of state could find enough votes for him to win the battleground state; of harassing an election worker who faced false claims of fraud; an, attempting to persuade Georgia lawmakers to ignore the will of voters and appoint a new slate of Electoral College electors favorable to Trump. Advertisement In the months since, several of the defendants, including lawyers Sidney Powell and Kenneth Chesebro, have pleaded guilty. A trial date for Trump and the others has not yet been set, and the case in recent weeks has been consumed by revelations of a personal relationship between Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, whose office brought the case, and an outside prosecutor she hired. John Kirby said US President Joe Biden and his administration have been working very hard to try to thwart and disrupt any kind of attacks on people based on race or gender or religion There is no excuse for violence, certainly based on race or gender or religion or any other factor, the United States said, condemning the recent increase in attacks and deaths of Indians and Indian-American students in the country. Biden administration working hard to thwart attacks Addressing a press briefing late on Thursday, Coordinator for Strategic Communications at the National Security Council in the White House, John Kirby, said US President Joe Biden and his administration have been working very hard to try to thwart and disrupt these kinds of attacks. Advertisement Thats just unacceptable here in the United States and the President and his administration has been working very, very hard to make sure were doing everything we can to work with state and local authorities to try to thwart and disrupt those kinds of attacks and make it clear to anybody who might consider them that theyll be held properly accountable, Kirby said, responding to a question on the recent attacks on Indian students and concerns among parents to send their children to the US. White house spox John Kirby on recent death incidences of Indian Students in USA: "Theres no excuse for violence, certainly based on on race or or gender or religion or any other factor. Thats just unacceptable here in the United States." pic.twitter.com/VdB3sNYca2 Abhishek Jha (@abhishekjha157) February 16, 2024 Advertisement Source: X/@abhishekjha157 Attacks on Indian students in US On 7 February, a 41-year-old Indian-origin man, identified as Vivek Taneja of Alexandria, Virginia, died in the US, days after suffering life-threatening injuries as a result of an assault in downtown Washington, police said. Advertisement According to the police, Taneja was attacked on 2 February approximately 2:00 am (local time). He was rushed to the hospital for treatment. In a release, the Metropolitan Police Department said when the officers located him, he was suffering from life-threatening injuries as a result of an assault. However, due to critical injuries, he succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead on 7 February. The Metropolitan Police in Washington, DC, has been seeking public assistance in identifying and locating the suspect. Advertisement On 4 February, an Indian student faced a brutal attack in Chicago. Following the attack, the Indian Consulate in Chicago stated that it was in touch with the victim, Syed Mazahir Ali, as well as his wife in India. Videos which surfaced on social media showed Ali bleeding heavily as he described the horrific incident. Meanwhile, another video circulating on social media, which appears to be CCTV footage of the incident, showed Ali being chased by three attackers on the streets of Chicago. Advertisement Earlier this month, an Indian student in the US named Shreyas Reddy was found dead in Cincinnati, Ohio. The cause of his death, however, remains unknown as of now. As per reports, he was a student at the Linder School of Business. On 30 January, Neel Acharya, a student at Purdue University, was found dead after being missing for days. Advertisement Earlier, another Indian student, identified as Vivek Saini, was brutally killed with repeated blows from a hammer by a homeless man inside a store in Lithonia, Georgia, US. A video of the incident went viral on social media, but the date of the incident cant be confirmed. With inputs from agencies The new plan sets out a 15-year vision for Green Gables Heritage Place, including three key strategies described as 'The scope of visitation,' 'The pleasant ache of nature' and 'Working with kindred spirits.' (Parks Canada - image credit) For the first time, the Cavendish National Historic Site tied to author L.M. Montgomery has its own 10-year management plan, separate from the one for nearby Prince Edward Island National Park. The plan sets out a vision for Green Gables Heritage Place, including three key strategies described as "The scope of visitation," "The pleasant ache of nature" and "Working with kindred spirits." Linda Lowther lives in Cavendish and has been involved in various committees with both the local municipality and the tourism association connected to Montgomery's work and legacy. They include the establishment of the Inspiring Places of L.M. Montgomery Literary Tour, a bronze statue of the author, and Montgomery Park in Cavendish. "I'm happy that they separated it out of the management plan for the entire National Park. I think it makes perfect sense to have its own management plan. The mandate is different and the audience is different," Lowther said. Linda Lowther says she started with loving Lucy Maud Montgomery when she worked at Green Gables in 1972, and helped to establish the P.E.I. Lucy Montgomery Literary Tour and the Montgomery Park in Cavendish, P.E.I. Linda Lowther says she started loving Lucy Maud Montgomery when she worked at Green Gables in 1972. She later helped to establish The Inspiring Places of L.M. Montgomery Literary Tour and the Montgomery Park in Cavendish. (Shane Hennessey/CBC ) "There are certain things that I kind of chuckle [about] for example, when it takes four years to accomplish something that should take a year or two. But that's pretty typical of how big organizations work." Lowther said it's important to put effort into promoting the site, which the management plan calls for. "If you stay the same and you stay stagnant, then people won't come and visit again and see what's going on," she said. "I think we need to educate people about Montgomery, and what she did for our province, and what she did for literature." Costumes interpreter Allyson Ford as Anne Shirley at Green Gables Heritage Place. Costumed interpreter Allyson Ford as Anne Shirley at Green Gables Heritage Place. (Jane Robertson/CBC) Story continues 'Woke Anne'? It's the third priority of the plan the one they call "Working with kindred spirits" that is causing some controversy. Parks Canada says it wants to engage with Indigenous and marginalized communities and share their stories. Commentators across Canada are describing that intention as a "woke Anne" agenda. Some of the headlines include: "Woke-Canada sets sights on making Anne of Green Gables more diverse," "Green Gables getting fresh coat of 'woke' paint," and "The Kidnapping of Anne of Green Gables." Asked for an interview about the plan and the controversy, Parks Canada was not able to provide a spokesperson but did provide a statement to CBC News. "Parks Canada will not in any way be editing or retelling any of L.M. Montgomery's literary works, including Anne of Green Gables. Both the novel and the character Anne Shirley are timeless, iconic and will never be changed by Parks Canada," the statement said. Commentators across Canada are describing the new approach as "woke Anne". Some of the headlines include: "Woke-Canada sets sights on making Anne of Green Gables more diverse", "Green Gables getting fresh coat of 'woke' paint", and "The Kidnapping of Anne of Green Gables". Even before any details are released, commentators across Canada are describing the new approach as 'woke Anne,' and headlines include 'Woke-Canada sets sights on making Anne of Green Gables more diverse' and 'Green Gables getting fresh coat of "woke" paint.' (CBC ) "Parks Canada is committed to engaging with Indigenous and marginalized communities to tell their stories. Partnerships will establish linkages between the site and new communities, yielding new visitor experiences that share more inclusive histories and seek to advance reconciliation." The agency noted that 2024 will mark the 150th birthday of Montgomery, who was born in New London on Nov. 30, 1874, and Green Gables Heritage Place will be commemorating the historic milestone throughout the year. Icon 'will never be changed' The final draft of Parks Canada's 10-year management plan for the site was reviewed by L'nuey, a Charlottetown-based group that "works for the advancement, implementation, and protection of the constitutionally entrenched rights of the Epekwitnewaq Mi'kmaq." CBC News sought an interview before receiving a statement from executive director Jenene Wooldridge. "The inclusion of Mi'kmaq perspectives is vital in the stewardship of such historical sites, and we are pleased to see several new objectives and targets added to the final draft as a result of our input," the statement said. See various pictures of the Green Gables Heritage Place, and the Parks Canada site. Taken July 14, 2020. A view of the room at Green Gables Heritage Place that recreates Montgomery's description of Anne Shirley's bedroom, complete with the girl's longed-for dress with puffed sleeves. (Jane Robertson/CBC) "Adding opportunities to teach visitors about Mi'kmaq culture does not mean Parks Canada is changing the story of Anne of Green Gables. Rather, it enriches the visitor experience by providing a more comprehensive understanding of the historic and cultural context surrounding the site." Wait and see Lowther is waiting to hear more about what Parks Canada is planning. "The devil's always in the details. We have to remember what people are coming to Green Gables Heritage Place for," she said. "They're coming to learn about Montgomery, and they're coming to learn about Prince Edward Island, and they're coming to learn about the things that she loved, the environment, nature and all her works that she wrote, about her poetry and so on." There is also an exhibit that focuses on Montgomery's determination and perseverance in her writing career. An exhibit focusing on Montgomery's determination and perseverance during her ground-breaking writing career. (Randy McAndrew/CBC) "We don't know exactly what that's going to look like," Lowther added of the plan's engagement section. "I think it's always a good idea to consult As long as it's in the context of remembering what the mandate of the location is, then I'm fine with that." The devil's always in the details. We have to remember what people are coming to Green Gables Heritage Place for. Linda Lowther Lowther said she is pleased to see increasing visitation to the site as a target, both from Islanders and from visitors to the Island. "As a former teacher, that's really important to me. I would like people to be able to know how important Montgomery is to P.E.I.," Lowther said. Parks Canada added Mikmaw interpretive panels at the Green Gables Heritage Place visitor centre that opened in 2019. Parks Canada added Mikmaw interpretive panels at the Green Gables Heritage Place visitor centre that opened in 2019. (Submitted by Parks Canada ) "I think Islanders generally think of Anne, but they don't think of Montgomery. And I could say that's the same for a lot of people. But I think it would be important for Islanders to understand what a great person she was, and she was way ahead of her time." Lowther would like to see the number of off-season visitors rise as well. "If we increase visitations in the spring, and then the fall, then it helps everybody. It helps economically, and it helps people have jobs for a longer period of time." The sexual assault trial of the prime suspect in the Madeleine McCann case has been suspended after one of the judges allegedly called for the killing of Jair Bolsonaro in a tweet. Christian Brueckner was due to stand trial on Friday at the Braunschweig state court in northern Germany over multiple sexual offences he is alleged to have committed in Portugal between 2000 and 2017, which are unrelated to the British girls disappearance. The convicted rapist who has been named in the media but is known as Christian B in Germany because of the countrys strict privacy laws is accused of three counts of rape and two of sexual abuse of children. Christian Brueckner arrives in court for his sexual assault trial (DPA via AP) The start of the trial was delayed because of long queues to get into the courthouse, German news agency DPA reported. Then the trial was adjourned within moments of opening after the defence cited social media posts indicating a lay judge might be biased. The court postponed the trial by a week to rule on whether the lay judge should be removed over tweets in which she allegedly called for the killing of the former Brazilian president and of an animal torturer. Brueckner has called the trial ridiculous, mockingly telling Mail Online: I hope [they] will find some answers to [their] questions soon. Brueckner is facing multiple charges but the case is unrelated to Madeleines disappearance (DPA via AP) The trial was quickly adjourned on Friday (via Reuters) The 47-year-old Germans appearance at the trial on Friday marked the first time he had been pictured in public since being connected to missing Madeleine in 2020. However, Brueckner has not been charged in her case. He spent many years in Portugal, including in the resort of Praia da Luz around the time when Madeleine, who was three at the time, vanished from her bedroom during a family holiday there in 2007. He has denied any involvement in her disappearance. He is currently serving a seven-year prison sentence in Germany for a rape he committed in Portugal in 2005. Madeleine vanished from her bedroom while on a family holiday in the resort of Praia da Luz in 2007 (PA) In October 2022, prosecutors filed charges in the case that has now been suspended. Defence lawyer Friedrich Fulscher has said the defence will seek the suspects acquittal on all counts. Story continues Speaking outside court on Friday about the accusations that led to the adjournment, Mr Fulscher said: Such a lay judge has no business participating in a fair criminal trial. German media reported that lawyers had also cited the lay judges work as a child psychologist as a potential source of bias in a case involving the sexual abuse of several children. Prosecutors have said that, at an unspecified time between 2000 and 2006, the suspect allegedly tied up and raped an elderly woman in her holiday apartment in Portugal. He is accused of beating the victim several times with a whip and recording the incident on video. During the same period, it is claimed that he tied a German-speaking girl aged at least 14 to a wooden post in the living room of his residence in Praia da Luz, allegedly beating her with a whip and forcing her to perform oral sex. The defendant also stands accused of gaining access at night to the apartment of an Irish woman, then aged 20, in Praia da Rocha in 2004, before raping her, tying her to a table and whipping her. Gerry and Kate McCann, Madeleines parents, are still looking for answers (AP2007) In separate cases in 2007 and 2017, it is claimed that he exposed himself to girls aged 10 and 11. The case is being heard in Braunschweig after a higher court ruled that judges in the city have jurisdiction, overturning an earlier decision that they did not. That ruling centred on questions about where the suspects last residence was in Germany before he went abroad and then to prison. The court has set 29 trial sessions through to late June. The 11th edition of World Government Summit (WGS) will explore future opportunities and challenges, and aim at addressing the world's most pressing issues, when it takes place between February 12-14, 2024 in Dubai, a report said. To be held under the theme, Shaping Future Governments, the summit will discuss a common approach to improve governmental work and strengthen cooperation among governments worldwide, Emirates News Agency, WAM, said. Additionally, it will focus on sharing knowledge and expertise and highlighting inspiring stories and models in governmental work. It has featured a stellar line-up of speakers who are set to address future trends and shifts on the global level, as well as ways to foster collaboration regionally and globally. Among heads of state speaking and attending the event the President of Turkiye, Recep Tayyip Erdogan; Prime Minister of the Republic of India Narendra Modi; President of Rwanda, Paul Kagame; William Ruto, President of the Republic of Kenya; and the President of the Kyrgyz Republic Sadyr Japarov, as well as President of Madagascar Andry Rajoelina, Maldives President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu, Mauritius President Prithvirajsing Roopun and Seychelles President Wavel Ramkalawan, who speak at one of the plenary sessions. Mohammed Abdullah Al Gergawi, Minister of Cabinet Affairs and Chairman of the World Governments Summit Organisation, said that the summit reflects the vision of UAE President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and directives of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai in shaping the future and fostering positive change. Al Gergawi added that the 11th edition of the summit will witness the participation of more than 25 Heads of state and governments, 120 governmental delegations, over 85 international and regional organisations and institutions, along with distinguished participation of thought leaders, experts and more than 4,000 attendees. WGS covers six main themes, through 15 global forums and over 110 interactive dialogues and sessions. Over 200 prominent speakers, including presidents, ministers, and visionaries, share their insights alongside 23 ministerial meetings and executive sessions welcoming over 300 ministers. The summit is set to launch around 25 strategic reports, covering crucial practices and trends across key sectors. These reports encompass forums, ministerial meetings, and knowledge-sharing sessions. Additionally, the WGS 2024 will launch the Global Ministers Survey. Ministers from across the globe are invited to share their ideas on crucial global issues and collaborate in enhancing solutions together. The Arab Fiscal Forum, on Day Zero, will address macroeconomic developments and prospects, energy subsidiary reforms and social safety nets, as well as generating value from public assets among other relevant topics. Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund will be speaking at the opening session. Other key events on Day Zero include the Arab Meeting for Young Leaders, the World Bank Group Ministerial Experience Exchange and the Ministerial Roundtable with Arab Youth Ministers. Day One will see various sessions under the Future of Work Forum and the Future of Mobility Forum, as well as a ministerial roundtable on Climate Action through Fostering Sustainable Finance, a Family Business Roundtable, and a roundtable addressing Scientific Discovery and Applications which will host a group of Nobel laureates. Day two will host the Geotechnology and Policy Forum, the Artificial Intelligence Forum, the Government Experience Exchange Forum, the SDGs in Action Forum, Government Services Forum, the Arab Public Administration Forum and the Industry and Advanced Technology Forum. Topics to be discussed vary from AI challenges and opportunities through the space economy to decarbonization. HH Lt General Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior, will address a key session during the summit. HH Sheikha Latifa bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairperson of Dubai Culture and Arts Authority, will also participate in a session on the new governmental vision for creative industries. Strategies for sustainable investments in emerging markets will be among the areas of focus on the final day of the Summit during the Emerging Economies Forum. Other events include the Future of Space Forum, the Global Health Forum, the Future of Education Forum, and several roundtables addressing responsible AI and digital transformation among other topics. The World Governments Summit will present several global awards including the Best Minister in the World award, the Dubai International for Best Sustainable Development Practices, the Creative Government Innovations Award, the Global Award for the Best Government Applications and the Global Government Excellence Award. wild picked cloudberries - romikatarina/Shutterstock Some countries' cuisines are known across the globe. For instance, if you were to picture Italian food, you'd instantly think of pizza and pasta. Yet the food of other nations isn't quite as widely familiar to those outside a country's borders. Of course, that doesn't mean that cuisine is not worth exploring. In that spirit, head to Scandinavia with this list of some of the best Norwegian foods you should try before you die. Norwegian cuisine has a lot to offer, from brunost which is known as brown cheese, but isn't really cheese at all to elusive cloudberries, to cinnamon buns known as kanelsnurrer. Some foods are likely different from anything you're likely to have encountered in the U.S., while others may be surprisingly familiar. Most of these dishes are hard to find outside of Norway or Scandinavia (or Norwegian enclaves), while some are gaining worldwide popularity. Still, if you want to try these foods in their most authentic form, you'll likely have to pay for a trip to Norway or make them yourself. Whether you're planning an adventure or simply interested in another culture's cuisine, these are some of the Norwegian foods you need to try in this lifetime. Read more: 16 Little-Known Facts About Salt Brunost brunost brown cheese on cutting board - Olga Miltsova/Shutterstock One hugely popular food in Norway that's virtually unheard of further afield is brunost. It's sometimes referred to as brown cheese and, while it is somewhat brown in color, it isn't truly cheese. So, what is it? Brunost is actually made from whey, a byproduct of cheese production. Making it involves boiling the whey to reduce it and caramelize the sugars, which gives brunost its characteristic brown color, distinctive flavor, and smooth, dense texture. While it's softer than regular blocks of cheese, it can be sliced or grated. It's often enjoyed on bread or crackers as a popular breakfast and lunch food all over Norway. People also use it as an ingredient in recipes. Story continues Its taste is tricky to explain without trying it yourself, but you can expect savory notes from the whey (typically derived from goat or cow's milk) as well as a sweet, caramel-like flavor. You've probably never tasted anything like it. Some consider it an acquired taste, but we think that millions of Norwegians can't be wrong. Brunost is easy to find while visiting Norway, as you'll be able to pick it up in virtually any grocery store. Outside of Scandinavia, however, you'll have to look for brunost in specialty stores stocking imports, if you can find it at all. Rmmegrt cinnamon porridge - Irina Rostokina/Shutterstock Rmmegrt literally translates to sour cream porridge. Armed with that information, you've already got some idea of what it is. Although the porridge you're used to might be oat-based, rmmegrt is made from a mixture of sour cream, flour, and milk. It has a distinctive flavor thanks to the tangy sour cream, which also contributes to its rich, creamy consistency. That said, families may have their own unique recipes, while some people use heavy cream instead of sour cream. This dish is often served during celebrations or holidays. Strangely for porridge, at least to many outside of Norway, it's often considered a summer food and can have associations with midsummer festivities. It's certainly not seen as an everyday dish due to its richness. The process of making rmmegrt is fairly simple, as ingredients are mixed and cooked together until the porridge reaches the desired thickness, then typically seasoned with a little sugar and salt. It can be served with a variety of toppings like melted butter, cinnamon, and brown sugar. If you're making it and want some hints, if something is good with oatmeal, then it'll probably be good with rmmegrt. Bolle Norwegian boller - AS Foodstudio/Shutterstock A bolle is a type of sweet bun enriched with butter, milk, and sugar that has woven itself into the fabric of Norwegian culinary traditions. There are many types of bolle that you'll find all over the country, from artisan bakeries to grocery stores. Hveteboller are often known as plain sweet buns, but they're actually lightly flavored with cardamom. They can be eaten plain, served with butter and preserves, or regularly enjoyed with brunost. Venturing beyond the realm of plain buns, we encounter rosinboller or raisin buns. Imagine the same pillowy dough, now adorned with plump, juicy raisins that add a delightful burst of sweetness to each bite. For those with a penchant for nuts and spices, ntteboller are a must-try. This variant often features a luscious mixture of chopped nuts, sugar, and perhaps a hint of cardamom. There are also sjokoladeboller, which are filled with chocolate. Whether you find yourself in the vibrant streets of Oslo, the picturesque landscapes of Bergen, or the quaint villages nestled in the fjords, you can rest assured that a delightful bolle is never far away, as Norwegian boller have become a beloved treat. Kanelsnurrer Kanelsnurrer cinnamon buns - anna.q/Shutterstock Bolle are generally fluffy, round buns, but kanelsnurrer are different. They might be described by people in the U.S. as a type of cinnamon bun, but kanelsnurrer are more like cinnamon twists, with thinner, intricately knotted dough filled with a generous layer of cinnamon and sugar. The dough itself is cardamom-flavored, so you get a mix of sweet, fragrant spices. The result is a tasty knot that is reminiscent of a cinnamon roll but with a unique twist literally. The dough itself is a crucial component, boasting a perfect balance of softness and elasticity. Shaping kanelsnurrer takes some finesse, which is why they're more commonly bought in bakeries than made at home. They're hugely popular in Norway, making regular appearances at breakfast tables, afternoon coffee gatherings, and anywhere else you might enjoy a sweet snack. While typically Scandinavian, we're starting to see this kind of sweet bun in artisan bakeries in other parts of the world, so you might not have to go all the way to Norway to try one. Although they're still only found now and then in the U.S., we wouldn't be surprised if they're about to take off. Skolebrd Skolebrd - Nico H/Shutterstock Skolebrd which translates to "school bread" is a tasty sweet treat that's often enjoyed by kids, although people of all ages can partake. The enriched dough that makes up skolebrd is similar to that of a bolle. However, it's filled with vibrant vanilla custard in the center, then sprinkled with shredded coconut. What's great about skolebrd is its array of textures and flavors. As you take a bite, the interplay of the soft bun, creamy custard, and shredded coconut is a textural delight and it tastes amazing, too. This treat has become a staple in Norwegian bakeries, cafes, and even large supermarkets. It's also popular as a snack in school lunchboxes (hence the name), making it a nostalgic treat for many. While skolebrd can be enjoyed at any time of the day, it is particularly associated with fikapause, the traditional Norwegian coffee break. It's hard to find outside of Norway, although there are plenty of recipes to be found online if you want to try making them for yourself. Lefse lefse flatbreads - SMarina/Shutterstock Lefse is a traditional Norwegian flatbread. This thin, soft bread has a rich history. In fact, it may be one of Norway's oldest traditional foods that are still enjoyed today. Lefse is typically made from a simple dough comprising flour, water, and sometimes potatoes or milk, depending on what region you're in. The dough is rolled out into a thin, flat, round disc and then cooked on a griddle or griddle pan until it develops a golden-brown hue. The result is a soft, pliable flatbread that works well in many dishes. The versatility of lefse is one of its defining features. Traditionally, it was a staple during festive occasions and holidays, where it is often served with butter, sugar, and cinnamon for a sweet treat. Alternatively, it can be filled with savory ingredients like meats, cheeses, or spreads, in much the same way you might make a wrap out of a tortilla. Since it's Norway, many people eat lefse with brown cheese, too. The preparation of lefse is often a familial affair, with generations coming together to roll out the dough, cook it, and share the final product. This communal aspect is part of the magic of lefse though of course, you can also buy it in shops or cafes. Rakfisk rakfisk on plate - Natalia Hanin/Shutterstock Thanks in part to its estimated 63,000 miles of dramatic coastline, Norway is widely known for its fish-centric dishes. Rakfisk is a traditional Norwegian dish that consists of fermented fish, typically trout or char. All true rakfisk must be produced in Valdres in southern Norway. Its preparation involves a process where the fish is salted and then left to ferment for several weeks to months. This imparts a strong, distinct flavor to the fish and contributes to its characteristic pungent aroma. The resulting product is often served raw, commonly with lefse, potatoes, sour cream, red onions, and sometimes mustard, allowing diners to customize the experience and balance the intense flavors. It's often accompanied by aquavit, a traditional Scandinavian spirit that is believed to complement the strong flavors of the fermented fish. While rakfisk might not be everyone's cup of tea due to its intense taste and aroma (it's been likened to old cheese and dirty socks) it remains a symbol of Norway's cultural heritage and culinary tradition. For those with real culinary curiosity, trying rakfisk can be a memorable adventure into traditional Nordic cuisine. You're likely to find it in any restaurant that specializes in typical Norwegian food. Trrfisk Trrfisk hanging to dry - Minoandriani/Getty Images Trrfisk, translating to "stockfish," is a traditional Norwegian food that's linked to a particular method of preserving fish, primarily cod. This ancient technique involves drying fish in the open air without using salt, making it an important element in the culinary history of Nordic countries. The process of making trrfisk is straightforward yet requires careful attention to detail. Fresh fish is cleaned and split before being left to dry on wooden racks, typically outdoors. The cold, dry Nordic air plays a crucial role in this preservation method, as the fish slowly dehydrates while retaining its nutritional value. The result is a firm, lightweight product that can be stored for an extended period without refrigeration. Trrfisk has been a staple in Norwegian cuisine for centuries, serving as a reliable source of protein when fresh fish grew scarce, especially during the winter months. Trrfisk is versatile, but the best way to enjoy it is rehydrated and cooked in various dishes when its flavor is considered better. One popular preparation involves soaking the stockfish in water, and then incorporating it into stews, soups, or casseroles. The reconstituted fish maintains a mild, delicate taste while absorbing the flavors of the surrounding ingredients. Eplepai Norwegian eplepai on plate - Lyudmila Zavyalova/Shutterstock As you might guess if you try to say it out loud, eplepai means apple pie in Norwegian. But, in this delightful dessert, chunks of apples are stirred into a stiff batter, creating a delectable treat that leans towards the cake rather than a classic American-style pie. To prepare eplepai, you simply cut apples into chunks although some recipes call for thinner slices before stirring them into a batter. The batter in question is typically made from a blend of flour, butter, sugar, and other ingredients typical to cake. It's also flavored with spices such as cinnamon and cardamom. Many cooks also reach for sliced almonds, which they stir into the batter alongside the apples or arrange on top. Unlike pies that come with a flaky crust, eplepai embraces a thicker, more cake-like consistency. The result is a rich and moist dessert that encapsulates the sweet and spiced essence of baked apples. The apples become tender during the baking process, infusing the cake with their natural flavors. While you might find eplepai in some Norwegian bakeries year-round, it's especially popular in the fall when apples are in season. Trollkrem berry swirled cream - Spalnic/Shutterstock Trollkrem translates to troll cream in English, but don't be put off by the name. Despite its playful moniker, trollkrem is not really a cream but a lingonberry mousse. It is extremely light and can be eaten alone or as a topping for other desserts. This traditional Norwegian dessert is as whimsical in name as it is delightful in taste. To make trollkrem, whip egg whites to stiff peaks before stirring in lingonberry jam. Some recipes call for sugar to join the egg whites, while others leave out the sugar and rely on jam for sweetness. You can also use aquafaba -- the liquid that surrounds cooked chickpeas -- to make a vegan version. Sometimes, vanilla extract or vanilla sugar is added to enhance the flavor of trollkrem, imparting a subtle sweetness and fragrance to the airy creation. While its ingredients may make it seem simple, the key to crafting a successful trollkrem lies in achieving the perfect texture -- a delicate balance between lightness and stability. Trollkrem pairs wonderfully with fresh berries, fruit compotes, and simple cakes. Of course, you can always eat it on its own as a sweet, cloud-like treat. Cloudberries cloudberries - Aleksey Korchemkin/Shutterstock Cloudberries, often known as multe in Norwegian, are small, golden-orange berries that grow in the Arctic and subarctic regions of the Northern Hemisphere. These berries belong to the rose family and are prized for their distinctive sweet and tart taste. Cloudberries are particularly popular in Norway, where they hold cultural significance and are celebrated for their versatility. Cloudberries thrive in very specific regions, including the high-altitude marshes found in Norway. The limited growing conditions contribute to their rarity and desirability. Harvesting cloudberries is a cherished tradition in Norway, and many families take part in foraging for them during the short summer season. The act of picking cloudberries has become a social activity, and the berries are often shared among friends and family. You can also buy them at markets, but they can be expensive. Cloudberries are used in a variety of culinary preparations in Norway. They can be enjoyed fresh, made into jams, preserves, or sauces, and are often used as a topping for desserts like cakes and puddings. The versatility of cloudberries allows them to be incorporated into both sweet and savory dishes. Due to their limited availability, cloudberries are considered a delicacy in Norway. Whether enjoyed fresh in the wild or incorporated into a dish, these golden berries hold a special place in the hearts of Norwegians and are a symbol of the country's natural bounty. Julebrd iced julebrd - MShev/Shutterstock If you're looking for something delicious and festive, you need to check out julebrd (known as Christmas bread in English). This traditional bread is enjoyed in Norway during the Christmas season and is enriched with a variety of ingredients that give it a rich and flavorful profile. It's sometimes also called julekake because its texture lands somewhere between bread and cake. It's often studded with a mix of dried fruits, such as raisins, currants, and candied citrus peels. These add sweetness and a burst of fruity flavor to the bread. Warm spices like cinnamon and cardamom are frequently used in julebrd, infusing the bread with a festive aroma and flavor. It also typically contains butter and milk, both of which contribute to its rich taste, as well as its soft and moist texture. Some variations of julebrd may be adorned with a glaze made from powdered sugar and citrus juice, adding a sweet and tangy finish. Julebrd is often shaped into a loaf, but it can also be formed into wreaths or braided for a more decorative presentation. The bread is enjoyed throughout the holiday season when it's often served sliced with butter or brunost. Raspeball milk soup with dumplings - Fanfo/Shutterstock A raspeball also known as klubb, komle, or raspeboller in different regions of Norway is a hearty potato dumpling. Though the specifics can vary from region to region, the main ingredients in raspeball are potatoes alongside barley or oat flour, both of which come together to create a dense and filling dumpling. The potatoes are typically grated or ground to a fine consistency, which are then combined with flour to form a dough. The dough is then shaped into round dumplings which are boiled until they are cooked through. Raspeball is often served with a variety of accompaniments that enhance its flavor and texture. These include a rich meat-based sauce, as well as kjttkaker (Norwegian meatballs), cured meats, or bacon. People also serve these dumplings with melted butter, lingonberry sauce, or a drizzle of syrup, again depending on regional differences and personal preference. The dish has deep roots in Norwegian culinary traditions and is particularly associated with rural and coastal areas of the country. Despite their simplicity, raspeball dumplings are an important and notable part of Norway's food heritage. Read the original article on Mashed. Valeriu Iordatii, 24, denied knowing the compartment was crammed with people (Home Office) A people smuggler who crammed seven migrants into his vans one-man sleeping compartment in an attempt to enter Britain has been jailed for three years. Shocking videos show how Valeriu Iordatii, 24, squeezed six Vietnamese people and one Syrian into the Citroens 8ft x 4ft space before boarding a ferry from the Hook of Holland to Harwich, Essex. However, Border Force officers searched the vehicle and discovered the illegal migrants in a horrendously overcrowded hide directly above his head. At Chelmsford Crown Court on Thursday, Romanian Iordatii was sentenced for facilitation and illegal entry into the UK. He claimed to have no idea the compartment was crammed full of people, despite its location. Iordatii said hed been commissioned to deliver furniture to the UK after a chance encounter with an old friend under the Eiffel Tower in Paris. He collected the vehicle from a petrol station before heading for the port. Two of the migrants claimed asylum upon entry. The remaining five who did not claim asylum were deemed illegal migrants, and were immediately returned to the Netherlands. Iordatii faces deportation from the UK as a foreign national offender after he completes his sentence. Valeriu Iordatii squeezed six Vietnamese people and one Syrian into the Citroens 8ft x 4ft space (Home Office) Chris Foster, deputy director of criminal and financial investigations at the Home Office said: This shocking case shows that people smugglers are going to increasingly extreme lengths to make their money. If anything had happened on that ferry, seven people would have been unaccounted for and trapped. The sentence shows that those who abuse our borders and our laws will be caught and will face justice and then, where possible, be removed from the country. More Eastern England stories - click above Michael Tomlinson, minister for countering illegal migration, said: People smugglers dont care if their passengers live or die, as long as they pay. Our message is clear if you put lives at risk, you will face the full weight of the law and we will ensure you leave the UK as soon as possible. Earlier this month, a man was jailed for two years and eight months after attempting to smuggle 12 people into the UK on a dangerously overcrowded yacht. It was carrying three times its capacity and was fitted with a faulty engine, Ipswich Crown Court heard. In another case last month a people smuggler was jailed for two-and-a-half years at Canterbury Crown Court for cramming a Vietnamese woman behind the 4ft x 2ft dashboard of his car. "I had about ten days off in New Zealand - a nice little holiday - but everywhere we drove we listened to George FM, she said. And I have to say, I think you guys are the coolest radio station Ive ever had the pleasure of listening to. Society of the Snow, J. A. Bayonas survival thriller about the real-life 1972 plane crash in the Andes with the Uruguayan rugby team, required painstaking SFX makeup for corpses, wounds, and severe physical deterioration. For prosthetic makeup artists David Marti and Montse Ribe, it was a far cry from their Oscar-winning creature work on Guillermo del Toros Pans Labyrinth 17 years ago. That was fantastical; this was based on reality. It was complicated, grueling, and performed under the most difficult conditions, including the cramped fuselage interior set and on location in the snowy mountains of Sierra Nevada, Spain. Yet Netflixs Spanish international Oscar nominee was much gorier until Bayona cut the most gruesome shots from the final edit (including severed heads and eating flesh from corpses) after realizing that it was too unsettling. We worked like crazy doing the dummy [corpses] all around with ounces and ounces of silicone, Ribe told IndieWire. If you have a pile of dead people, the actors need to see it, but the audience doesnt. You just see the actors reaction to it. The close-ups were cut. So, I think, finally, its a good balance between what you see and what you dont, how horrifying the reality is, but youre not gonna freak people out. Because people are not going to see a horror movie. More from IndieWire Marti cited a pile of bones from an actual photograph that ended up not being included. Bayona kind of hid it, the food, he told IndieWire. It was a matter of respect to the people that died there, and to the survivors that they had to do what they have to do to survive. Theres a lot of stuff that we did. But I hope sometime we can see that version that you have all the dummies that we did. Whats onscreen is sufficiently impactful in depicting the 16 men who survived the crash for 72 days, with the primary focus on Numa (Enzo Vogrincic), Nando (Agustin Pardella), and Roberto (Matias Recalt). The nominated makeup and hair team, which included makeup/hair artist Ana Lopez-Puigcerver, who applied textures such as the appearance of frostbit faces and chapped lips, utilized a combination of practical, prosthetic, and digital techniques. However, the prosthetic duos primary work involved the progressive deterioration of the survivors, who were young men affected in different ways by fear, cold, hunger, fatigue, and sickness. Helping them was the fact that Bayona filmed the movie chronologically, and the cast lost weight over the course of the shoot. Story continues At the beginning, we thought we would have to do prosthetics for almost everybody, Ribe said. This consisted of chins, cheekbones, and teeth. In fact, we tried the forehead and the chin and we were removing prosthetics because we realized that it wasnt necessary. They were really thin already. But we didnt know how far they would get thin, she continued. And the audience doesnt realize how thin they look until you get to the showers at the end. That was a lot of visual effects, but just seeing the characters with the cheekbones and the teeth and all the work that Anna did on the migration of the skin, is [startling]. And the legs in the hospital. That was a powerful image to see just how thin it was [the actual legs were under the sheets and the prosthetic legs were on top]. Another challenge was how the extreme temperature impacted the makeup in unexpected ways. For example, the color pigment might look unreal, so they applied a filter. Sometimes reality is completely unbelievable, said Ribe. And, even if you want to be super close to the reality, you have to change it a little bit. Behind the scenes of Society of the Snow Netflix During the plane crash, Nando damaged his face, which caused severe swelling. This, too, looked fake because of the symmetrical shape, so they intentionally made it more asymmetrical. Conversely, his eyes are so dark that they were called panda or raccoon eyes. The blue wasnt black enough, so they touched it up with a pen. Then there was a more humorous problem: Gustavo (played by Tomas Wolf) was known as The Ears because of their size. But they didnt want him to look funny, so they applied silicone every day to lessen the extremity. Sometimes he was going on the mountain, and you lost him because he is up there and you cant do touch-ups, Marti said, You always say to him to keep the ears in place. But sometimes during the action he cant, because they arent glued. And he comes back with an ear in his hand, and you tell him, We got this, and we have to put it on again. Best of IndieWire Sign up for Indiewire's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Dennis received bachelor's degrees in communication and political science with a TAG degree in Spanish from The University of Akron in Ohio. He grew up in Ohio with 2 sisters and two brothers, one being his fraternal twin. He and his wife have 3 dogs: Duke, Bacio, and Cal. Dennis currently covers natural resource and environmental issues for The Daily Sentinel Amid national Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) processing delays, Colorado Mesa University announced Thursday that it is launching The Wait is Over, an initiative designed to ease the financial aid uncertainty many students are facing. The federal FAFSA system has been plagued by technical difficulties and a backlog only becoming more crowded because of recent simplification efforts. CMU recognized this delay in students financial aid packages as a potential barrier for the universitys low-income and first-generation students, and as a result, created the Wait is Over initiative. The Wait is Over is based on an early award process determined by the schools financial aid calculator, which allows students to not only estimate their grant and scholarship awards but also receive an early offer of a financial aid package based on their family income information. This financial aid calculator tool was crafted to provide clarity and peace for students during what is often an anxious process, and in this case, that anxiety has been exacerbated by FAFSA delays. Were laser-focused on our student population who are predominantly first-generation and low and middle-income families, so we dont have the luxury of waiting and hoping for a path forward, said CMU President John Marshall in a university statement. With The Wait Is Over, we are ensuring that students who are most in need of a college education can plan their futures with the confidence that their financial aid will not be hampered by further delays. The Wait is Over does not replace the need for students to complete their FAFSA or CASFA (Colorado Application for State Financial Aid) applications, but it does serve as a bridge for students to navigate their financial planning. The school encourages all students to use this new school tool and continue with the federal aid application process as they normally would. Its our hope that with this early award process, families can rest assured they now have the information needed to move forward with college planning, Marshall said. Together, we can overcome the barriers to higher education access and ensure a brighter future for all students, especially those relying upon need-based aid. CMU Board of Trustees Chairman Tim Fry praised the initiative in the schools press release. At a time when the value of higher education is increasingly scrutinized, CMU is reinforcing its commitment to radical accessibility and disruptive affordability, Fry said. The Wait Is Over is more than an initiative; its a promise to our students that we are here to support them, every step of the way as they become Mavericks. Thursday at Fruita Monument High School, 20 new American citizens from at least seven different countries give the oath of allegiance to the United States during a naturalization ceremony. Youre citizens. You have rights and responsibilities now. ... Theyre good neighbors, they vote, they work hard, and honestly, sometimes, theyre heroes, Chief Magistrate Judge Michael Hegarty of the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado told the new citizens. Saturday Night Partly cloudy in the evening. Increasing clouds with periods of showers after midnight. Low 43F. Winds S at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 50%. FAO proposes five key actions to address climate-conflict nexus at the United Nations Security Council Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Deputy Director-General Beth Bechdol urges game-changing solutions to break the vicious loop between climate crisis, conflict and hunger 14/02/2024 New York - Climate crisis and conflicts are becoming increasingly intertwined, feeding into one another to perpetuate hunger and poverty. Urgent action and innovative solutions are required to address global food insecurity, said Deputy Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Beth Bechdol on Tuesday at the United Nations Security Council High-Level Open Debate. The event entitled "The Impact of Climate Change and Food Insecurity on the Maintenance of International Peace and Security", the signature event of Guyana's presidency, was chaired by President Mohamed Irfaan Ali of Guyana bringing together over 80 Member States. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres delivered his opening remarks stressing that climate disasters and conflict both inflame inequalities, imperil livelihoods, and force people from their homes. The other briefers included Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Simon Stiell; and Jimena Leiva Roesch, the Director of Global Initiatives and Head of Peace, Climate, and Sustainable Development at the International Peace Institute. Farmers bear the brunt of climate impacts In her address, Bechdol pointed out that increasing temperatures, changing precipitation patterns and greater frequency of climate extremes were becoming more intense, compromising food security and stability. "The climate crisis spares no one, but it does not affect everyone equally or in the same way," she said. "We know that the populations at greatest risk are those that depend on agriculture and natural resources - they live in rural areas and they are farmers themselves." The Deputy Director-General added that such populations were also prone to disputes arising from the scarcity of natural resources. According to the 2023 Global Report on Food Crises, 258 million people in 58 countries are facing high levels of acute food insecurity (IPC Phase 3 or above), with over two-thirds or 174 million people falling under this category because of climate and conflict. "Climate change will undo progress made in alleviating hunger, but as it intensifies it will create further disruptions and continue to be a driver of conflict", she said, noting that according to some projections, 10 percent of the currently suitable area for major crops and livestock could be climatically unsuitable by mid-century under high emission scenarios. To this end, Bechdol highlighted the need for equipping farmers and communities with tools to prepare for, and respond to, these crises and to recover quickly from them. "We are seeing the results of our efforts in building resilience of rural communities in places like Afghanistan", she said, pointing to the decline of the population facing acute food insecurity in the country. Addressing the interlinked threats Bechdol underscored the importance of the Secretary-General's Peacebuilding Fund which has been responding to the need to address the intersection of climate change and conflict, and the effects of heightened competition over natural resources, and reiterated FAO's commitment to support these types of projects and strengthen collaboration with partners. She also spoke about the complexity of the relationship between climate change and conflict, citing as an example the conflicts between herders and pastoralists in West and Central Africa due to altered migratory routes causing growing competition for already scarce natural resources. In Yemen, FAO has implemented a water for peace project which has helped to mitigate water-based conflicts - with women as conflict-resolution agents. Through cash for work, participating communities have protected areas where water flows during rainfall and rehabilitated irrigation canals. Farming communities engaged, under the project, to resolve local conflicts over water allocation. Since climate change and the security risks it presents know no geographical boundaries, cooperation is needed at all levels to ensure the peaceful and sustainable management of shared resources, Bechdol noted. Five critical actions The Deputy Director-General outlined five critical actions to address climate-conflict nexus: Prioritize investments to build climate-resilient agrifood systems, drawing on climate change adaptation, disaster risk reduction and community-based approaches. to build climate-resilient agrifood systems, drawing on climate change adaptation, disaster risk reduction and community-based approaches. Request UN entities to regularly analyse, and report on, risks and links associated with climate change. Data and information are key for targeted interventions. Data and information are key for targeted interventions. Improve strategic coordination at all levels and leverage existing mechanisms - such as, the UN Climate Security Mechanism and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development's (IGAD) Climate Security Coordination Mechanism. - such as, the UN Climate Security Mechanism and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development's (IGAD) Climate Security Coordination Mechanism. Source specialised climate, peace and security advisor roles in more UN missions , especially those susceptible to climate change. , especially those susceptible to climate change. Establish regional climate, peace and security hubs, such as done by the Office of the Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa. Bechdol concluded by stressing that agriculture cannot be neglected. It is a key solution to the growing threats from climate change, conflict and their impacts on food security. "It is time to focus on farmers, on pastoralists, on fisherfolk, on foresters - we cannot afford to leave anyone behind," she said. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Germany Federal Foreign Office 14.02.2024 - Press release Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock issued the following statement today (14 February) prior to her departure for Israel: More than four months after Hamas' barbaric attack, Israel continues to defend itself against terrorism. Those have been four months of suffering and pain for the more than 120 hostages who are still being held in Hamas' tunnels. Four months of agonising uncertainty for their families. Hamas' terror has not only brought immeasurable suffering upon Israel, but also upon the people in Gaza. The humanitarian situation in Gaza is growing more dramatic by the hour. If the Hamas terrorists had even an ounce of sympathy with the Palestinian women, men and children who are suffering as a result of the fighting, they would lay down their arms without delay. Instead, the terrorists are continuing to use the civilian population as a human shield. Gaza is on the brink of collapse. In Rafah, 1.3 million people are crammed into a small area in the most appalling conditions. Many of them obeyed Israel's calls to evacuate and have fled from the fighting in northern Gaza - often with little more than their children in their arms and the clothes on their back. Under these circumstances, an offensive by the Israeli forces on Rafah would send the humanitarian situation spiralling completely out of control. For the people in Rafah cannot simply disappear into thin air. They need safe places and secure corridors so that they do not end up being caught in the crossfire once again. They need more humanitarian assistance. And they need a humanitarian pause. During my talks in Israel I will discuss how the humanitarian suffering could be alleviated and how at the same time the release of the hostages could be brought about. Much more humanitarian assistance urgently needs to get through to Gaza so that the people there do not starve or die of thirst. To achieve this, guarantees of protection for the UN organisations are also needed. At the same time, ways must be found to increase the international pressure on Hamas to such an extent that the terrorists finally lay down their arms. The fate of the Israelis and the fate of the Palestinians are closely intertwined. The security of one means the security of the other. That can only work with a two-state solution. We must restore the hope of two states living side by side in peace and security - in spite of the horrific experiences of destruction and death at the moment. That is another issue I will raise with my Israeli interlocutors. Political talks in the midst of a conflict that knows nothing but dilemmas - Foreign Minister Baerbock travels to Israel again Germany Federal Foreign Office 14.02.2024 - Article Foreign Minister Baerbock is to visit Israel again from 14 to 15 February. It is her fifth trip there since Hamas' despicable terrorist attack. Over four months have already passed since 7 October, and the families of the more than 120 hostages still do not know what has happened to their loved ones. Meanwhile, Israel continues to be subjected to rocket attacks - in the south by Hamas and in the north by Hezbollah - and 7 October and its consequences continue to endanger the peace and security of an entire region. Hamas' terror has not only brought immeasurable suffering upon Israel, but also upon the people in Gaza. The humanitarian situation in Gaza is growing more dramatic by the hour. If the Hamas terrorists had even an ounce of sympathy with the Palestinian women, men and children who are suffering as a result of the fighting, they would lay down their arms without delay. Instead, the terrorists are continuing to use the civilian population as a human shield. - Foreign Minister Baerbock prior to her departure for Israel The security of one means the security of the other While in Israel, Foreign Minister Baerbock will hold political talks with her Israeli counterpart Israel Katz, Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Herzog, among others. The idea that Israel must defend the security of its people against the Hamas terror is an unquestionable premise for Germany. Such defence must be conducted within the parameters of international humanitarian law and must not ignore the protection of the civilian population. With a view to her upcoming political talks, Foreign Minister Baerbock thus made the following comments prior to her departure: In Rafah, 1.3 million people are crammed into a small area in the most appalling conditions. Many of them obeyed Israel's calls to evacuate and have fled from the fighting in northern Gaza - often with little more than their children in their arms and the clothes on their back. Under these circumstances, an offensive by the Israeli forces on Rafah would send the humanitarian situation spiralling completely out of control. For the people in Rafah cannot simply disappear into thin air. They need safe places and secure corridors so that they do not end up being caught in the crossfire once again. They need more humanitarian assistance. And they need a humanitarian pause. Promoting a lasting ceasefire and a political process Another key issue on the Foreign Minister's trip will be the fate of the more than 120 remaining hostages - including several German nationals. During her trip, Foreign Minister Baerbock will make the case for a political process leading to another humanitarian pause, in order both to create a window for hostages to be released and to lay down the groundwork for negotiations on a permanent ceasefire. She considers it self-evident that a two-state solution is the only way for Israelis and Palestinians to live in lasting security. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address WEST 2024: Naval Special Warfare a Force Multiplier for the Fleet, Joint Force US Navy 14 February 2024 From By MC1 Felicito Rustique, Naval Special Warfare Command Public Affairs Rear Adm. Keith Davids, commander, Naval Special Warfare Command (NSWC), attended and participated in AFCEA-USNI WEST (WEST) 2024 conference, Feb. 13-15. WEST, the premier naval conference and exposition on the West Coast, brings military and industry leaders together to discuss new technologies and capabilities. The theme of the 34th iteration of the event was, "Are Acquisition and Readiness on Pace to Meet Global Security Demands?" Davids participated in a panel discussion alongside six leaders from sea service warfare communities to discuss acquisition and readiness and address the question, "What Changes are Community Leaders Making to Meet Global Security Demands?" "Over the past two decades, the focus of Naval Special Warfare (NSW) has been primarily on counterterrorism," said Davids. "Now, we are prioritizing integration with the Fleet and Joint Force. We can operate forward in contested areas that enhances warfighting lethality in unique ways. " Davids emphasized that conventional response methods have grown ineffective in addressing contemporary conflicts and diverse threats across the globe. To counter the instability and distinct challenges to U.S. warfare capabilities, Davids called on industry to support NSW's value proposition. "We're interested in leveraging our maritime access and placement to deliver asymmetric effects for the Fleet. Therefore, we need industry's help to enhance our stealth, precision, scale, and decision advantage," said Davids. "We are eager to collaborate with many of you on new ideas and concepts." Joining Davids on the panel was Rear Adm. Brad Andros, commander, Navy Expeditionary Command, Lt. Gen. Karsten Heckl, commanding general, Marine Corps Combat Development Command, Vice Adm. Brendan McLane, commander, Naval Surface Forces, Vice Adm. Daniel Cheever, commander, Naval Air Forces and Elizabeth Nashold, deputy commander, Naval Information Forces. Retired Vice Adm. Peter H. Daly, former CEO and Publisher, U.S. Naval Institute, moderated the discussion. AFCEA, which stands for the Armed Forces Communications & Electronics Association, and the U.S. Naval Institute (USNI), sponsor WEST each year. The conference is organized into a main program and three engagement theaters - Marine, General, and Information Warfare. Along with exhibits, keynote speakers and panel discussions, WEST also gives attendees a chance to hear from the Secretary of the Navy, the Chief of Naval Operations, the Commandants of the Marine Corps and Coast Guard, the Sea Service Chiefs, and various industry leaders. WEST 2024 also featured a Department of the Navy (DON) Information Technology (IT) conference, an Innovation Showcase, and awards announcements recognizing individual and group winners in categories such as Emerging Leaders, a USNI essay contest, and women's appreciation. Naval Special Warfare is the nation's elite maritime special operations force, uniquely positioned to extend the Fleet's reach and gain and maintain access for the Joint Force in competition and conflict. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Navy SEALs Forge Alliance with Cypriot Navy Underwater Demolition Team in Eastern Mediterranean US Navy 14 February 2024 From Lt.j.g. Martin Carey LIMASSOL, Cyprus -- In a constant demonstration of partnership in the Eastern Mediterranean, U.S. East Coast-based Naval Special Warfare Operators (SEALs) and Special Warfare Combatant-Craft Crewmen (SWCC) collaborated with Cypriot Navy Underwater Demolition Team (MYK) partners Jan. 22 - Feb. 14, 2024, refining their operational expertise in the maritime domain throughout waters surrounding Cyprus. This relationship serves as a powerful deterrent, showcasing a united front against potential threats to regional and maritime security in the area. "Our partnership with the Cypriot Underwater Demolition Team sends a clear message to our adversaries. Together, we stand as a resolute force, ready to respond to any challenge and defend the shared interests of our nations," said Capt. Bill Gallagher, Naval Special Warfare Group TWO Commodore. "This is not just a collaboration; it's a crucible of excellence. Through joint endeavors, we fortify our capabilities and make clear that any aggression will be met with a swift, unyielding response." One of the marquee iterations involved the special operations forces deploying from the expeditionary fast transport ship USNS Yuma (T-EPF 8) at night in the technologically advanced Combatant Craft Medium boats, navigating to a vessel of interest, climbing aboard, conducting close quarters clearance and site exploitation. Naval Special Warfare's integration with Fleet assets like Yuma extends their tactical reach and provides multi-domain response options to counter national security threats and deter aggression from potential adversaries. The on-site SEAL commander stated, "The interoperability and camaraderie displayed here transcend conventional military cooperation. These face-to-face iterations of training not only bolster our combat capabilities but ensures the U.S. and Cypriot relationship remains steadfast." Navigating persistent waves, the SEALs and their Cypriot partners engaged in synchronized drills, honing their skills in covert operations, maritime operations, and Visit, Board, Search, and Seizure (VBSS) at sea. The intensity of these exercises reflects the unwavering commitment Naval Special Warfare has to training their personnel to ensure readiness and the ability to operate in dynamic maritime environments. Yuma is one of 14 Spearhead-class expeditionary fast transport ships that provide a high-speed, shallow draft vessel for rapid intra-theater transport of medium-sized cargo payloads. These ships have a flight deck and a load ramp which allows the rapid transit and deployment of conventional or special operations forces, equipment and supplies. The MYK special operations forces are highly skilled operators of the Cypriot Navy who conduct special reconnaissance, direct action, military assistance, combat search and rescue, and maritime operations to safeguard the interests of Cyprus and promote regional security. Naval Special Warfare Group TWO produces, supports, and deploys the world's premier maritime special operations forces to conduct full-spectrum operations and integrated deterrence in support of U.S. national objectives. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Joint statement by the Prime Ministers of Australia, Canada and New Zealand Joint statement Thursday 15 February 2024 Prime Minister Anthony Albanese The Hon Anthony Albanese MP Prime Minister of Australia Rt Hon Justin Trudeau MP Prime Minister of Canada Rt Hon Christopher Luxon MP Prime Minister of New Zealand The Prime Ministers of Australia, Canada and New Zealand today issued the following statement on reports of Israel's planned military operation in Rafah. We are gravely concerned by indications that Israel is planning a ground offensive into Rafah. A military operation into Rafah would be catastrophic. About 1.5 million Palestinians are taking refuge in the area, including many of our citizens and their families. With the humanitarian situation in Gaza already dire, the impacts on Palestinian civilians from an expanded military operation would be devastating. We urge the Israeli government not to go down this path. There is simply nowhere else for civilians to go. There is growing international consensus. Israel must listen to its friends and it must listen to the international community. The protection of civilians is paramount and a requirement under international humanitarian law. Palestinian civilians cannot be made to pay the price of defeating Hamas. An immediate humanitarian ceasefire is urgently needed. Hostages must be released. The need for humanitarian assistance in Gaza has never been greater. Rapid, safe and unimpeded humanitarian relief must be provided to civilians. The International Court of Justice has been clear: Israel must ensure the delivery of basic services and essential humanitarian assistance and must protect civilians. The Court's decisions on provisional measures are binding. We are clear that a sustainable ceasefire is necessary to finding a path towards securing lasting peace for Israelis and Palestinians. Any ceasefire cannot be one sided. Hamas must lay down its arms and release all hostages immediately. We again unequivocally condemn Hamas for its terror attacks on Israel on October 7. Ultimately, a negotiated political solution is needed to achieve lasting peace and security. Australia, Canada, and New Zealand remain steadfast in their commitment to a two-state solution, including the creation of a Palestinian state alongside Israel, where Palestinians and Israelis live side by side in peace, security, and dignity. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address February 15, 2024 Release Statement From Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III on Today's NATO Defense Ministerial in Brussels Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III provided the following statement on today's NATO Defense Ministerial in Brussels: I am pleased by the progress that the United States and its allies made at today's meeting of NATO defense ministers in Brussels. Almost two years after Putin's unprovoked invasion of Ukrainethe most serious threat to transatlantic security in decadesNATO has grown stronger and more united than ever. NATO is the strongest military alliance in history, and it is crucial for America's continued security. As President Biden has noted, "NATO is built on the fundamental principles of freedom, security, and national sovereignty." A secure America is impossible without a strong NATO. The blunt military reality is that America's allies are a profoundly powerful force multiplier. Those who wish America harm have long sought to rupture NATO. This mighty alliance's continued unity is vital to meet the strategic dangers posed by Putin's unprovoked aggression and imperial dreams. NATO became even more capable last year when Finland joined our proud alliance. I again urge Hungary to support immediate NATO accession for Sweden, which is both a stalwart democracy and a hugely capable defense partner. The United States looks forward to welcoming Sweden as an ally to NATO's 75th-anniversary Washington Summit in July. At the Vilnius Summit last year, our leaders made historic decisions that will strengthen NATO's deterrence and defense. Today, my fellow ministers of defense continued our work to fulfill our leaders' commitments and to provide the full resources necessary for our new regional plans. These plans will improve our ability to deter and defend against any threat, well into the future. But to do so, we need all of our allies to provide resources for the plans and allocate the necessary troops and capabilities. Allies also must continue to invest in their defense industrial bases, which is crucial to the future strength of the alliance. I welcome what Secretary General Stoltenberg yesterday called an "unprecedented rise" in defense spending across our European and Canadian allies, who have added more than $600 billion for defense since the Defense Investment Pledge was made in 2014, including a real increase of 11 percent in defense spending in 2023 alone. The Secretary General projects that in 2024, 18 allies will spend at least two percent of their GDP on defensea major improvement over 2014, when only three hit that target. Any ally not spending at least two percent of GDP on defense this year should have plans to swiftly meet that target. The allies also reaffirmed our enduring commitment to a free and sovereign Ukraine, including a productive meeting among our allies, the European Union, and Ukraine in the recently established NATO-Ukraine Council. We stand behind NATO's continued support of Ukraine through the Comprehensive Assistance PackageNATO's multi-year program for critical, non-lethal aid. That effort complements the more than $87 billion in bilateral security assistance that the United States and countries around the world have committed over the past two years to help Ukraine defend itself from Putin's unprovoked aggression. We are coming up on the two-year mark since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The United States and our allies and partners will stand by Ukraine for the long haul. The United States will continue to stand with our NATO allies and to defend the sovereignty and the territory of every alliance memberevery inch of it, as President Biden has repeatedly made clear. Our commitment to Article Five remains ironclad. Our allies magnify our strength and expand our security. America's network of allies and partners worldwidebuilt and sustained by wise administrations of both parties in the decades since the nightmare of World War IIremains a core strategic strength that no rival can match and that none should doubt. U.S. leadership on the world stage will not diminish, and we will continue to strengthen our bonds with our deeply valued allies as we look toward NATO's historic 75th-anniversary summit in Washington. NATO remains the greatest alliance in historyand as President Biden said at the Vilnius Summit, NATO today is stronger, more united, and "more vital to our shared future" than ever. https://www.defense.gov/News/Releases/Release/Article/3678405/ NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address February 15, 2024 Release DOD Releases Resilient and Healthy Defense Communities Strategy The Department of Defense today released its Resilient and Healthy Defense Communities (RHDC) Strategy, which will guide the Department's actions in the coming years to improve the built and natural environment on defense installations. Directly supporting the Secretary of Defense's priority to take care of our people, the strategy focuses on improving the quality of life for Service members, their families, and the DoD civilian workforce. "It is both a national security imperative and our moral obligation to ensure the spaces where our people live, work, and train are healthy, functional, and resilient," said Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks. "This strategy focusing on improving our defense installations reflects the Department's ongoing commitment to take care of our people and improve the quality of life of our Service members and their families. It ensures we put our people's experiences at the very center of our recruit and retain approach." 280,000 buildings across 538 installations and approximately 26 million acres of land support the Department's more than two million military and civilian personnel and their families. These built and natural spaces are central to their military experience, affecting their physical and mental health, ability to carry out their missions, and the overall recruitment and retention of the force. "Our military and civilian workforce rightfully expects a place to live and work that enhances their quality of life," said Dr. William LaPlante, Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment. "We owe it to our Service members and their families to honor the sacrifices they are voluntarily making by creating environments that help our total force bring their best self to the missionand this strategy will help ensure we are aligning our resources to outcomes which do exactly that." While the strategy acknowledges that improving the Department's vast infrastructure footprint is a significant undertaking, it recognizes the opportunity to reduce the gap that persists between installation conditions today and the quality standards Service members and their families deserve. To do so, the strategy aims to focus efforts on three ways: Adopting human-centered requirements to help create environments that do not just meet utilitarian needs and compliance standards, but promote purpose, productivity, and camaraderie. Optimizing the Department's footprint to ensure the scale and scope of its infrastructure is aligned with the needs of DoD's people and their mission. Transforming how the Department manages its portfolio by adopting a sustainment management strategy to help target investments that have the greatest impact on the condition of DoD facilities. "This strategy represents an important step forward for the Department and our people, but it is a starting point rather than a finish line," Assistant Secretary of Defense for Energy, Installations, and Environment Brendan Owens added. "We have a lot of hard work ahead of us and I look forward to continued partnership across each of the Military Services to finalize the RHDC implementation plan and subsequently execute it relentlessly." Read the full Resilient and Healthy Defense Communities Strategy. https://www.defense.gov/News/Releases/Release/Article/3677999/ NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address February 15, 2024 By David Vergun , DOD News NATO Military Spending Has Steadily Increased Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III said in a statement that NATO has projected 18 allies will spend at least 2% of their gross domestic product on defense this year, and those not spending at least 2% should have plans to swiftly meet that target. "I welcome what [NATO] Secretary General Stoltenberg yesterday called an 'unprecedented rise' in defense spending across our European and Canadian allies, who have added more than $600 billion for defense since the Defense Investment Pledge was made in 2014, including a real increase of 11% in defense spending in 2023 alone," Austin said in today's statement. "The secretary general projects that in 2024, 18 allies will spend at least 2% of their GDP on defense a major improvement over 2014, when only three hit that target. Any ally not spending at least 2% of GDP on defense this year should have plans to swiftly meet that target." Austin said he was pleased by the progress the U.S. and allies made at today's meeting of NATO defense ministers in Brussels and underscored the importance of the alliance to U.S. security. "NATO is the strongest military alliance in history, and it is crucial for America's continued security," he said in the statement. Austin said NATO became even more capable last year when Finland joined the alliance, and he again urged Hungary to support Sweden's entrance into the alliance. "I again urge Hungary to support immediate NATO accession for Sweden, which is both a stalwart democracy and a hugely capable defense partner," he said. Austin also said the United States and its allies and partners will stand by Ukraine for the long haul. "The United States will continue to stand with our NATO allies and to defend the sovereignty and the territory of every alliance member every inch of it," Austin said. "Our commitment to Article Five remains ironclad." Austin's statement also mentioned a productive meeting among allies, the European Union and Ukraine in the recently established NATO-Ukraine Council. The Comprehensive Assistance Package NATO's multiyear program for critical, nonlethal aid also supports Ukraine, he said. That effort complements the more than $87 billion in bilateral security assistance the United States and countries around the world have committed over the past two years to help Ukraine defend itself from Russia's unprovoked aggression. Austin returned to work at the Pentagon today after working from home since his release from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on Feb. 13. Separately, Pentagon Press Secretary Air Force Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder at a news conference today, said the Missile Defense Agency and the Space Development Agency yesterday launched six satellites into low Earth orbit from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The satellites, which include two satellites for MDA's hypersonic and ballistic tracking space sensor and four SDA tracking layer satellites, are conducting initial testing, he said. The launch of the two prototype systems will be followed by two years of on-orbit testing, Ryder noted. Over the next few weeks, SDA and MDA engineers will run a series of tests and checkout procedures to ensure the satellites are operating and communicating with the other systems, he said. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address February 15, 2024 By Jim Garamone , DOD News NATO Leader Highlights Programs to Increase Defense, Deterrence Steps to secure NATO and aid Ukraine were at the heart of discussions defense ministers held at NATO headquarters today, said alliance leader Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. The defense ministers also discussed the general security environment almost two years since the Russian invasion of Ukraine. "We can never take peace for granted, but we do not see any imminent military threat against the alliance," Stoltenberg said. "NATO continues to ensure there is no room for miscalculation in Moscow about our readiness to protect all allies." Since Russia first invaded Ukraine in 2014, the NATO allies have significantly strengthened the alliance's deterrence and defense. NATO leaders agreed to revamp alliance defense plans at the Vilnius summit in Lithuania last year, and the defense ministers reviewed those steps in preparation for the summit in Washington in July. That summit will mark the 75th anniversary of the Washington Treaty that established the defensive alliance. At today's meeting, the ministers were briefed about NATO's Exercise Steadfast Defender, the largest NATO exercise in decades. About 90,000 service members from the 31 allies and Sweden are participating. The exercise, which began Jan. 24 and continues for four months, aims to test the new defense plans and the ability of the alliance "to swiftly move forces across the alliance to defend our eastern flank," Stoltenberg said. The defense ministers "accelerated work on resourcing our new defense plans and strengthening our transatlantic defense industrial base," the secretary general said. "This requires investment, and we are on the right track. I expect 18 allies to spend 2% of their GDP on defense this year, a six-fold increase from only three allies in 2014." The European allies and Canada are on track to spend $380 billion on defense in 2024, which is 2% of the combined gross domestic product of those countries. "We still have a way to go, but we have already made historic progress," he said. The defense ministers also discussed moves to ramp up ammunition production to resupply NATO nations and continue to support Ukraine. "We need to shift from the slow pace of peacetime to the high-tempo production demanded by conflict," he said. "To do that, manufacturers need signed contracts, and just in the past few months, NATO has agreed to contracts worth $10 billion. This helps Ukraine, makes NATO stronger, and provides more highly skilled jobs in Europe and North America." Stoltenberg said the ministerial featured a meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Council. The ministers heard from Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, who briefed them on the latest developments on the ground. They also discussed the importance of continued support. "Just in the past few days, we have seen new packages of aid announced by allies, including Canada, Finland and Norway," Stoltenberg said. These packages include F-16 equipment and spare parts and air defense capabilities. "A group of allies is coming together with the goal of delivering one million drones to Ukraine," he said. "Twenty NATO allies have also agreed to form a demining coalition. All of this will help to save Ukrainian lives." Since Russia's invasion, the United States has provided Ukraine with around $75 billion in military, financial and humanitarian aid. "Other NATO allies and partners have provided over $100 billion," the secretary general said. "So, our support is an example of true transatlantic burden-sharing, and it is making a real difference every day." Stoltenberg announced that the defense ministers agreed to place a new NATO-Ukraine Joint Analysis, Training and Education Center in Bydgoszcz, Poland. "It will allow Ukraine to share lessons learned from Russia's war," he said. "And it will create a structure for Ukrainian forces to learn and train alongside their allied counterparts." NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Israel/Palestine: Statement by the Spokesperson on housing demolition in East Jerusalem European External Action Service (EEAS) 15.02.2024 EEAS Press Team The European Union condemns the demolition of community leader Fakhri Abu Diab's home in East Jerusalem, where his family had resided for generations. Such acts are in violation of International Humanitarian Law and undermine efforts to advance durable and lasting peace and security, which both Palestinians and Israelis deserve. We urge Israel to stop demolishing Palestinian homes, including in this sensitive area adjacent to the Old City. The priority is, and must be for all, to de-escalate a very tense situation. The continuation of Israel's settlement policy, including demolitions and expanding settlements in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, is a grave violation of international law and undermines efforts for peace. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address China Coast Guard expels Philippine vessel for illegal intrusion into South China Sea waters after repeated warnings Global Times By Global Times Published: Feb 15, 2024 10:57 PM The China Coast Guard (CCG) announced on Thursday night that it had expelled a Philippine vessel that had illegally intruded into the waters adjacent to Huangyan Dao, also known as Huangyan Island, in the South China Sea, despite repeated warnings from the CCG. CCG spokesperson Gan Yu said in a statement that the Philippine Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) vessel 3005 illegally intruded into the adjacent waters of China's Huangyan Dao on Thursday. Despite repeated warnings from the CCG, the Philippine vessel persisted in its activity. Therefore, in accordance with the law, the CCG implemented measures to control the vessel's navigation and compel it to leave the area. The situation was handled in a professional and standardized manner on-site, according to the spokesperson. China indisputably holds sovereignty over Huangyan Dao and its adjacent waters. The CCG consistently conducts law enforcement activities to safeguard rights and enforce the law in China's jurisdictional waters, resolutely defending national sovereignty and maritime interests. This is not the first time that China has expelled Philippine vessels that illegally intruded into waters adjacent to Huangyan Dao during the Chinese New Year. The CCG just announced on Sunday that it had expelled a Philippine Coast Guard vessel that illegally intruded into waters adjacent to Huangyan Dao in the South China Sea multiple times from February 2 to 9, noting that China's responses were professional and reiterating its firm resolve to safeguard China's national sovereignty. Experts warned that the Philippines' deliberate provocations during the Spring Festival are intentional, and the move will further erode mutual trust, disrupt the political atmosphere, and even affect the perception of Chinese people toward the Philippines. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Norway starts maritime training mission Government of Norway News story | Date: 15/02/2024 This spring, Norwegian soldiers start training Ukrainian Marines specialized in small boat operations. The training will go on for at least a year. In addition, Norway will donate rubber boats and equipment to a value of approximately NOK 60 million. - The Norwegian Army has already developed a close relationship with Ukrainian marines through training in Norway, says Defence Minister Bjrn Arild Gram (Sp). The training is a first step in the maritime coalition work that Norway is co-ordinating with Great Britain. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Press Briefing by IDF Spokesperson, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, February 15th , 2024 IDF Press Release February 15, 2024 15.02 Good evening, We continue to maintain a very high level of readiness in the north. Following a missile strike from Lebanon that hit the Northern Command base yesterday, First Sergeant Omer Sara Benjo was killed and several other soldiers were injured. Our hearts are with the families during this difficult time. In response to the launches towards Kiryat Shmona and Safed which also affected civilians, we conducted widespread strikes in Lebanon against military sites, Hezbollah operatives, and infrastructure of the Radwan Forces- we will respond severely to attacks against settlements and civilians. We targeted a key commander in the Radwan Forces, Ali Muhammad Aldbas, his deputy and other terrorists. Aldbas was a key figure in Hezbollah, responsible for planning terrorist activities, and together with Wisam Atwi, who was commander of the Radwan Forces, planned the terrorist attack at the Megiddo Junction in March 2023. We are highly prepared in the north, in both defense and offense, ready to counter Hezbollah's terrorist threats. We are determined to change the security reality until the threat to the residents of the north is removed. In Gaza, we continue to focus efforts in the Khan Yunis area. We reach every place used by Hamas, that we suspect may hold information or evidence about the 134 hostages. Today we also reached Nasser Hospital for this mission. This is a mission of utmost importance. We do not enter hospitals without reason. Rather, as we have shown repeatedly since the beginning of the war, the use of hospitals as terrorist bases is one of the fundamental aspects of Hamas's operational method. Shifa, Rantisi, the Turkish hospital, and others - we have exposed how Hamas uses them for terrorist purposes. In Nasser Hospital there are approximately four hundred patients and thousands of displaced civilians. It is for this very reason that Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorist, some of whom participated in the October 7th massacre, chose to hide there. Following interrogations of terrorists arrested or surrendered in the area and testimonies of hostages who returned, we can confirm that kidnapped individuals were held in the hospital compound. In addition, we have information that bodies of hostages were also held there. In recent hours, IDF Special forces have been operating in the hospital area against Hamas terrorist infrastructure, and scanning it to find hostages. While no findings have been made yet, we are still searching and will update all findings. So far, we have arrested dozens in the hospital area suspected in involvement in terrorism, who have been transferred for further investigation, and we have found weapons including grenades and mortar shells, within the hospital compound, placed near a point from which mortar shells were fired at our forces a month ago. At exactly that point, this was detected by our radars - firing from the Nasser Hospital at our forces - mortar fire from the hospital compound. Among the terrorists arrested, we also found those who participated in the October 7th massacre. Here are some examples: Maeed Adel Muhammad Abu Nazira - A Hamas ambulance driver who took part in the October 7th Massacre and admitted in his investigation that he transported a hostage from the border area into Gaza. Ismail Ahmed Ali Oda - who confessed to participating in the October 7th massacre. Amro Khaled Shahada Abu Rida - an operative of the PLFP, Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. The use of hospitals for terrorist activities, firing mortar shells from civilian areas, and for holding hostages are against the international law. We are sharing the intelligence findings we have with our international partners, some will be sent to the Munich Security Conference, and further findings discovered in the area will be exposed later. We urge displaced civilians to evacuate from the hospital compound. We have opened a humanitarian corridor in recent days, through which the area can be safely evacuated. We also assist in evacuating patients who want to leave with ambulances, or between buildings in the hospital in an organized manner. In every hospital where we have operated, we have done so precisely and in accordance to international law and will continue to do so. We have no intention of disrupting the hospital's function. Rather, we provide aid and needed equipment. The only ones with an interest in turning hospitals into battlegrounds are Hamas terrorists. We have patience. We will get to every terrorist - from the lowest to the highest rank, just as we saw through and eliminated the terrorist Ahmed Ghoul, who participated in the massacre in southern communities and was one of the captors of Sergeant Noa Merziano, z"l. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address 24h Operational Update: Successful eliminations of Hamas terrorists in Joint Ground, Naval and Aerial activities IDF Press Release February 15, 2024 15.02.24 IDF , Media Center Over the past day, the IAF completed a series of strikes on terror targets in Gaza as part of assistance to the ground forces. During the strikes, underground terrorist infrastructure, military compounds, and launch posts belonging to the Hamas terrorist organization were struck. In central Gaza, IDF troops eliminated several terrorists over the past day. In one of the operations, aerial and ground forces eliminated a Hamas commander of observational activities. In addition, an Israeli Navy ship identified terrorists approaching forces in the area, following which ground and naval forces struck and eliminated the terrorist cell. IDF troops also struck Hamas terrorists in Gaza City and northern Gaza. Approximately 15 Hamas terrorists were killed, including terrorists who took part in the October 7th massacre, and a Hamas general security operative. In Khan Yunis, IDF troops are continuing to kill terrorists and conduct targeted raids on terror targets. Over the past day, the IDF special forces located numerous weapons, including various guns, explosives, and additional military equipment. In addition, two enemy spotters were identified operating in the area adjacent to the forces, who directed an aircraft that struck and killed the terrorists. In western Khan Yunis, IDF troops eliminated a number of terrorists with sniper and tank fire over the past day. In addition, the forces conducted targeted raids on terror targets in the area, and located AK-47 rifles, grenades, magazines, and explosives. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Seven countries join Latvia's Drone Coalition, Latvia will invest 10 million euro Republic of Latvia - Ministry of Defence 02/15/2024 - 11:52 International cooperation Information prepared by Media Relations Section On Wednesday, 14 February, several countries of Ukraine Defence Contact Group (Rammstein Group) announced they will be joining Latvia's Drone Coalition for Ukraine. Letter of intent to join the Drone Coalition for Ukraine was signed by Latvia and Ukraine, the Netherlands, Lithuania, Estonia, Sweden, Denmark and Germany. "Drone technologies have had an enormous impact on military strategies and tactical control. Drones are an instrumental element of Ukraine's capabilities - they are efficient for both reconnaissance and attacking enemy targets. Coalition will ensure efficient and swift delivery of drones to Ukraine. It will also enhance our national and allied UAV capabilities," Defence Minister Andris Spruds pointed out. Drone Coalition will contribute to development of Latvia's military industry, said Minister Spruds. Latvia intends to spend at least 10 million euro over the next year to bring the Coalition into the next phase. Ministry of Defence has received information about drones from Ukraine and has already reached out to local companies, inviting them to propose the structure of drone and spare part delivery to Ukraine based on specification. Drone Coalition intends to deliver 1 million drones to Ukraine. By signing the letter of intent, countries have agreed to commit resources for manufacturing of drones and will deliver these drones and spare parts to Ukraine, where they will be tested and Coalition will also train Ukrainian troops on how to use them and integrate with other technologies. Other countries have also shown interest in joining the Coalition. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address UK joins Latvia's Drone Coalition Republic of Latvia - Ministry of Defence 02/15/2024 - 12:37 International cooperation NATO Information prepared by Media Relations Section On Thursday, 15 February, the United Kingdom joined Latvia's Drone Coalition in support of Ukraine. The two countries will jointly lead the Drone Coalition. "Along with the existing seven countries that have already joined the Drone Coalition, the UK will make a significant contribution by supporting Ukraine both with technology and helping to develop skills. The Drone Coalition has created a strong core of partnership," Defence Minister Andris Spruds pointed out. "I am proud that the United Kingdom, together with Latvia, will lead an international drone coalition to jointly strengthen Ukraine's capabilities. We will provide Ukraine with the drone technology it needs to defend itself and win this war," said UK Defence Minister Grant Shapps. As reported earlier, on 14 February, alongside Latvia, Denmark, Estonia, Germany, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Sweden, Ukraine and the Netherlands signed a Letter of intent to join the Drone Coalition. Latvia intends to spend at least 10 million euro in a year. Ministry of Defence has received information about drones from Ukraine and has already reached out to local companies, inviting them to propose the structure of drone and spare part delivery to Ukraine based on specification. Drone Coalition intends to deliver 1 million drones to Ukraine. By signing the Letter of intent, countries have agreed to commit resources for manufacturing of drones and will deliver these drones and spare parts to Ukraine, where they will be tested, and Coalition will also train Ukrainian troops on how to use them and integrate with other technologies. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address We urge NATO Allies to implement ambitious de fence spending goals and develop missing capabilities, says A. Anusauskas Republic of Lithuania - Ministry of National Defence 2024-02-15 Security and defense policy On February 15 Minister of National Defence Arvydas Anusauskas attended the NATO Defence Ministers' meeting in Brussels held in the run-up to the NATO Summit in Washington. Lithuania invited NATO Allies to set and implement ambitious defence spending goals and fill in capability gaps. Ministers focused on executability of the Alliance defence plans, defence spending and industrial capability development. A record number of NATO Allies are hitting the 2 percent defence spending milestone this year. However, the level of ambition must be raised significantly to reflect the current security situation, according to A. Anusauskas. "It is critical to ensure that NATO maintains the quick pace of strengthening the collective defence as agreed with the decisions approved in Madrid and reaffirmed in Vilnius. The NATO Summit which will take place in Washington this summer must ensure the decisions are put into practice and demonstrate the Alliance's readiness to defend every inch of its territory," said A. Anusauskas. Minister also pointed out Lithuania's priorities we would work on ahead of the Summit. "Our key priority is executability of the regional defence plans. We also need more progress on strengthening the NATO Integrated Air Defense System. We look forward to a practical implementation of the Rotational NATO Air Defence Model," underscored A.Anusauskas addressing the Allies. Minister also had a bilateral meeting with Supreme Allied Commander Europe General Christopher G. Cavoli on the security situation and the ongoing adaptation of NATO's collective defence. A. Anusauskas also met with Polish, Dutch and Turkish counterparts separately to address bilateral cooperation. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Remarks by Hon. Enrique A. Manalo Republic of the Philippines - Department of Foreign Affairs Secretary for Foreign Affairs FOCAP Media Forum 15 February 2024, 12:00pm to 1:30pm Manila Diamond Hotel 15 February 2024, Thursday Manila Diamond Hotel Ladies and gentlemen, Good afternoon. I wish to thank you, the officers and members of the Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines (FOCAP), for inviting me this afternoon to be with you. I know we met about five years ago, but more recently, last August and we had a good exchange. The year 2023 was a meaningful and productive year for the men and women of the Department of Foreign Affairs. Our approach to foreign policy has been driven by President Ferdinand R. Marcos' foreign policy purpose and vision. Basically a friend to all and enemy to none, our diplomacy is working for outcomes benefiting the average Filipino, as it sustains a high level of commitment to contribute to global peace, stability and progress through multilateralism, and advancing shared aspirations of the community of nations. We witnessed new pages of Philippine bilateral ties, for example with China, Japan, Malaysia, the Czech Republic, United States, and Timor-Leste unfold last year, with 8 incoming and outgoing Presidential-level visits. The President's trips visit to Davos, Riyadh, and Tokyo amplified the voice of the Philippines in important global meetings, not to mention the President's participation the previous year (2022) in the UN General Assembly. Each visit and meeting declared the Philippine intention without ambiguity: to strengthen these partnerships, and through them, the contours of global order that need tending amidst uncertainty and risk. Most recently, President Joko Widodo's visit to Manila and President Marcos' visit to Hanoi united the Philippines and our neighbors Indonesia and Viet Nam in a new level of understanding on our shared role as active stewards of peace and prosperity in our region. This month and in March, the President will visit Australia, Germany, and the Czech Republic. This will highlight the growing scope of our relations with these countries, as we see a broader convergence of interest in cooperating in the areas of energy transition, climate finance, trade, security, and rule of law in the regional and global order. As Secretary of Foreign Affairs, I, myself, had over 65 meetings with Ministers and other high-ranking officials in 2023, with about 17 of them taking place in the context of focused bilateral visits. I visited Kampala, Uganda last January to join Leaders and other Ministers of the Non- Aligned Movement in solidarity with NAM's long-standing pursuit of a more equitable and just global order. There, I had fruitful discussions in 20 bilateral meetings mostly with Foreign Ministers from Africa. I then traveled to Brussels last February to co-chair 24th EU-ASEAN Ministerial Meeting with EU High Representative Joseph Borrell. I also attended to speak at the 3rd Indo Pacific Ministerial Forum. I also met 11 Foreign Ministers from Europe earlier this month. This year, so far, I was honored to meet and welcome my counterparts to the Philippines, namely, Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi of Indonesia last January, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock of Germany last month, and Foreign Minister Ignacio Cassis of Switzerland this month. In the coming weeks and months, I look ahead to welcoming the Foreign Ministers of Brazil, Singapore, Lithuania, Thailand and Hungary to Manila and also plan to meet my Malaysian counterpart in Kuala Lumpur. Moreover, these meetings should be viewed in terms of enhancing focused and broader bilateral, including trilateral, engagements. These, in turn, should not be viewed as isolated, discrete actions but in the context of our efforts to reinforce a web of cooperation with all our partners. Friends, ladies and gentlemen, It is important to frame the Philippines' foreign policy agenda in the context of our aim to become an upper middle income economy by 2025 and - in the longer term - to realize the national aspiration for all Filipinos to enjoy strongly-rooted, comfortable and secure lives by 2040. We are trying to deliver on this promise. We are reaping the rewards of steady reforms, investment in human development and infrastructure, and the demographic sweet spot. With GDP growth at 5.6 percent, the Philippines outperformed all major Asian economies in 2023. This matched, and in cases, exceeded, forecasts of multilateral organizations and private analysts. The government projects a GDP growth rate of 6.5 to 7.5 percent in 2024 despite domestic and external headwinds. This follows the post-pandemic recovery curve that saw a 7.6 percent GDP expansion in 2022, on the back of our robust domestic market and sound economic fundamentals. These prospects have placed the Philippines among the world's fastest growing large emerging markets, on track to become a one-trillion-dollar economy, one of the 8 biggest in Asia Pacific by 2033. We are projected to become the 17th biggest consumer market in the world by 2030 and one of the fastest-growing Asian economies in the 2050s. Philippine foreign policy is well-aligned to government strategies to consolidate this positive economic momentum and leverage these prospects to advance the Philippine quality of life. Thus, our foreign policy will seek to push the envelope - through partnerships, through confident engagements in the global markets, and reshaping rules in international economic institutions - to bring forward the Philippines' arc of transformation as a green, digitized, connected, innovative, smart and inclusive economy. This falls within the wider concept of promoting economic security and economic resilience. The Philippines is riding a crest of a pivotal economic expansion in a world navigating uncertainties and risks. We are in the middle of shifting global economic tapestries that will be dramatically different 30 to 40 years from now. Thus, I wish to make a second point about our foreign policy agenda. It is one deeply conscious of the nation's duty to contribute to global peace and prosperity and foster constructive multilateralism amidst change and challenge. It is an over-arching objective of our policy that cooperation, dialogue and diplomacy remain the drivers of inter-state relations. Growth and prosperity thrive best in peace. Diplomacy bridges gaps and differences. As the first Asian Republic and as one of the 51 founding members of the United Nations - one of only 3 from Asia - the Philippines is in the frontline of conversations for meaningful solutions to issues and challenges of the 21st century. The world is maneuvering ever narrower pathways to end unacceptable human suffering in places such as Ukraine, Gaza, Yemen, South Sudan and Haiti. The Philippines intends to do its share within our means to support the global humanitarian system long overstretched to its limits, and meet demands for more novel approaches to bring peace to conflict areas. Under the guidance of the President, the DFA is working with the DILG and DND to revitalize Philippine contribution to peacekeeping troops worldwide. More than most countries with similar capacities, the Philippines has steadily increased its voluntary contributions, providing at least USD 5 million since 2019, mostly to humanitarian funds. During the pandemic, the Philippines was one among few middle income countries that pledged USD 1 million to the COVAX facility of the World Health Organization. We will continue to invest in strengthening the governance of global institutions. To be more credible, they need to be more fair and more inclusive, but also agile, accountable, and responsive. President Marcos Jr. has said that no nation stands alone. Valuing the interconnectedness and interdependence of nations, we believe this holds the key to making peoples and communities everywhere safe and secure. This means much for the Philippines, with its diaspora of 10 million, who are assets wherever they are, but who are nevertheless not immune to perils of conflict, natural disaster or a pandemic. We will also shore up global consensus for more sound migration governance frameworks, quality, sufficient and accessible climate finance through the UNFCCC Conference of Parties and its bodies including the Loss and Damage Fund, and new instruments such as the pandemic treaty, the plastics treaty and regulations for lethal autonomous weapons. The Philippines is hosting this year high-level conferences on Strategic Trade Management, Disaster Risk Resilience, Women and Peace and Security and Middle Income Countries. This year, the Philippines will forge effective partnerships that coalesce around building climate, disaster and biodiversity resilience and fit-for-purpose solutions for inclusive development. We aim to extend our reach to promote South-South and technical cooperation, with Asia, the Pacific and Africa. We will seek to foster closer relations with Pacific island states mindful of our shared interests in maritime security, marine biodiversity, climate resilience, disaster preparedness, and public health. Let me recall the remarks of President Marcos Jr. before the UNGA in 2022 where he underlined the value of global solidarity amidst complex challenges. He called for actions to solve inequality and inequities, solutions to the climate emergency, and regulation in response to the weaponization of new technologies. Most saliently, he affirmed the rule of law at the center of an international order based on the principles of justice and equity, the ballast that steadies our common vessel. And this brings me to my third point: Ladies and gentlemen, The Philippines' role as vanguard of the rule of law, particularly the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea as the fundamental and only arbiter of the overlapping claims and disputes in the South China Sea, can be seen as an extension of Philippine good global citizenship as a peacemaker, rule-shaper and consensus- builder, as much as it is about Philippine territorial integrity and national sovereignty. With our principled rules-based approach on the South China Sea/West Philippine Sea, the Philippines is championing nothing less, and nothing more, than what is just. When a state becomes a party to a Treaty, it is under a legal obligation to bring its laws and conduct into conformity with the Treaty. Efforts seeking to shape and use rules, going against international law, should be opposed or not accepted. I have spoken a number of times against a tendency to over-characterize tensions in the South China Sea mainly as a function of the US-China strategic rivalry. Subscribing strictly to the prism of this rivalry does not help in an honest understanding of the situation. Firstly, it puts distinct and legitimate rights and interests of countries such as the Philippines aside, and secondary to the interests of the rivals. Secondly, it purposely obscures good judgment: actions that are clearly illegal in international law and against the UN Charter are sometimes rationalized under the pretext of this rivalry. Thirdly, legitimate responses to illegal actions are at times viewed in the prism of this strategic rivalry. The use of terms such as "Cold War mentality" is paradoxical, because it is a paradigm long gone, and with no anchor in fact and the current situation. As I have emphasized in many previous remarks, the future of the Indo Pacific, resting on abiding peace and resilience in the face of risks, is being shaped not just by one or two powers, but by many actors, each with their agency and legitimate interests and voice. At the dawn of the global order as we know it, Philippine diplomacy has stood steadfastly for equality of peoples and nations and principles of justice, fairness and equity. The voice of each nation, and each human being, counts. The Philippines stands by this indelible foreign policy footprint, especially as the nation steps into a new threshold of economic expansion. Being the driver of global growth in the coming decades places Asian nations in the driver's seat in terms of shaping the rules to make the 21st century an age of inclusion and equity. The Philippines will continue to bear its responsibilities to preserve a rules-based international order with the UN at its center, support the pursuit of more prosperous, just, and humane societies, and contribute to international peace and security. We aim to do this as our campaign for a non-permanent seat in the United Nations Security Council for the term 2027-2028 shifts to a higher gear. We aim to harness our role as partner, pathfinder and peacemaker, and to present solutions integrating peace, people, and prosperity in a fuller spectrum of inclusive and sustainable development and taking into account the stakes and the voices of all. In closing, I wish to convey my hope and trust that the members of the FOCAP will continue being objective, fair and judicious in presenting the Philippines to global audiences. You are part of the Filipino peoples' journey. Bagong Pilipinas has gathered the Filipino nation around a re-forged national identity, and it has endowed our foreign policy with a more inspired sense of purpose. Thank you for your attention. I look forward to our interaction. Thank you. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Polish and UK foreign ministers hold talks Ministry of Foreign Affairs - Republic of Poland 15.02.2024 Head of Polish diplomacy Radosaw Sikorski met with his UK counterpart in Warsaw today. This was David Cameron's first official visit to Poland as Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The talks focused on the current international situation, including military, economic, and political support for Ukraine and the country's recovery plans. Moreover, the officials discussed sanctions against Russia and Belarus, the upcoming NATO summit, the crisis in the Middle East, and the developments in the Taiwan Strait. During the press release, the diplomats jointly called on the US House of Representatives to adopt an aid package for the resistant Ukraine. The meeting provided an opportunity to thoroughly review the state of bilateral relations. The head of the Polish MFA stressed Poland's and the UK's commitment to countering terrorism, organised crime, and disinformation. Foreign Ministers Sikorski and Cameron also spoke about joint plans to implement enhanced cooperation as regards security and defence policy. They also discussed the need to further step up cooperation in the area of the arms industries, while taking into consideration possible trilateral collaboration with Ukraine. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address NATO consistently strengthens deterrence and defense capabilities Poland - Ministry of National Defence 15.02.2024 "Poland is one of the leaders of NATO countries. During my speech I emphasized spending on the armed forces, on national defense. We are the leader among NATO countries, we spend the most in relation to our GDP, more than 4%. More than 50% of the funds are spent on modernization of the military. This is extremely important for us, we show and set a good example. (...) This is vital in the context of the ongoing discussion, fulfilling the strategic goals" the head of the Ministry of Defense said after a meeting of NATO defense ministers in Brussels. On Thursday, February 15, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of National Defense Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz took part in a meeting of defense ministers of the North Atlantic Alliance countries. One of the goals of the meeting in the formula of the heads of defense ministries is to prepare this year's NATO summit in Washington, which will take place on July 9-11. After the talks, W. Kosiniak - Kamysz informed about NATO's decision to establish the NATO - Ukraine Joint Analysis, Training and Education Centerin Poland. "The NATO-Ukraine Joint Analysis, Training and Education Center will be established in Bydgoszcz. The decision was made at today's meeting of the national defense ministers of NATO countries. We have a full agreement and we are starting the formation of this center. It's a multi-stage process, but today also after bilateral talks I'm glad that all member states support this initiative. This is the first initiative of its kind between NATO and Ukraine, which is producing tangible results in the form of the center that is being created, which is vitally needed for gathering lessons learned from the war and strengthening support for struggling Ukraine" - Deputy Prime Minister noted. During the meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Council, the Alliance's solidarity with Ukraine was manifested and the possibility of further NATO support for the Ukrainian Armed Forces was discussed. Deputy Prime Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz signed letters of intent regarding proposals for cooperation within the Multinational Procurement Initiative (MPI), involving the establishment of two separate initiatives for the joint procurement of missiles, missile systems and ammunition. As part of their implementation, the countries will determine the feasibility of combining efforts on multi-year, international procurement of munitions, missiles and weapons systems and related industrial cooperation. The initiatives support the implementation of NATO's Defense Production Action Plan (DPAP). Poland's involvement in the initiatives will provide access to the knowledge and experience of other countries interested in deepening cooperation in the indicated areas. The visit to Brussels also included bilateral meetings of the head of the Ministry of Defense with, among others, the defense minister of Lithuania, Germany, Norway, Turkey, France and the defense secretary of the United Kingdom. The subjects of the talks included bilateral military cooperation, security threats in the region and further strengthening of NATO's eastern flank. "I had meetings with the defense minister of the Federal Republic of Germany, the defense secretary of the United Kingdom, the defense minister of Norway, the defense minister of France and Turkey. I also had a long conversation with the defense minister of Finland, so very many bilateral meetings. Very good ones. (...) An important meeting I had, of course, with our partners from the Baltic countries, including the defense minister of Lithuania. There are joint exercises ahead of us. Our armed forces will be involved in the Dragon 24 exercise, which provides an opportunity to strengthen cooperation within NATO, implementing the principle of deterrence and defense" - the head of the Ministry of Defense said after the bilateral meetings. Following bilateral talks with the defense ministers of France and Germany, the head of the Ministry of Defense said that cooperation within the Weimar Triangle will be resumed and developed. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address US House passes bill urging China to resolve Tibet dispute Bill calls on the State Department to counter disinformation about Tibet. By Tenzin Pema and Tashi Wangchuk for RFA Tibetan 2024.02.15 -- The U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday passed a bill that urges China to resolve issues related to Tibet through dialogue with the Dalai Lama or Tibetan leaders and directs the State Department to actively counter disinformation about the history of the formerly independent country. The Promoting a Resolution to the Tibet-China Dispute Act, also known as the Resolve Tibet Act, passed by a vote of 392-28, with 11 abstentions. To become law, it still needs to pass the Senate. It calls for a resumption in negotiations between Chinese officials and the Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhists, or his representatives. Since 2010, no formal dialogue has happened and Chinese officials continue to make unreasonable demands of the Dalai Lama as a condition for further dialogue. The bipartisan bill was introduced by House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul, a Texas Republican, and Rep. Jim McGovern, a Democrat from Massachusetts, along with Senators Todd Young, an Indiana Republican, and Jeff Merkley, an Oregon Democrat. The Dalai Lama fled Tibet into exile in India in the midst of a failed 1959 uprising against rule by China, which invaded the then independent Himalayan country in 1950. Since then, Beijing has sought to legitimize Chinese rule through the suppression of dissent and policies undermining Tibetan culture and language. 'Clear message' The legislation articulates that Tibet includes the Tibetan-populated regions of Gansu, Qinghai, Sichuan and Yunnan provinces, in addition to the Tibet Autonomous Region, thereby challenging China's claim that Tibet is restricted to that latter region alone. The bill's passage "sends a clear message to China that Tibet has always been an independent nation and negates the Chinese government's claim that Tibet has historically been a part of China," said Namgyal Choedup, the representative of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the Central Tibetan Administration to North America. The bill states that "claims made by officials of the People's Republic of China and the Chinese Communist Party that Tibet has been a part of China since ancient times are historically inaccurate." On Tuesday, McGovern, one of the lead sponsors of the bill, urged Congress to support the legislation, saying, "A vote for this bill is a vote to recognize the rights of the Tibetan people. And it is a vote to insist on resolving the dispute between Tibet and the People's Republic of China peacefully, in accordance with international law, through dialogue, without preconditions. There is still an opportunity to do this. But time is running out." Beijing believes that the Dalai Lama, who lives in Dharamsala, India, wants to split off the Tibet Autonomous Region and other Tibetan-populated areas in China's Sichuan and Qinghai provinces from the rest of the country. Chinese authorities have urged Tibetan monks to denounce the Dalai Lama, and even possessing a photo of him is a crime. However, the Dalai Lama does not advocate for independence but rather a "Middle Way" that accepts Tibet's status as a part of China and urges greater cultural and religious freedoms, including strengthened language rights that are guaranteed for ethnic minorities under China's constitution. "Today's vote shows that U.S. support for Tibet is only growing stronger even after 65 years of China's control and occupation," International Campaign for Tibet President Tencho Gyatso told RFA. "China has been playing a waiting game, hoping that the international community would eventually abandon Tibet. Clearly that is not the case," he said. "The Chinese government should take the hint and restart the dialogue process with Tibetan leaders." Copyright 1998-2024, 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 February not be used in a manner which would give the appearance of any endorsement of any product or support of any issue or political position. Please read the full text of our Terms of Use. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address US officials: Funding for Pacific allies 'must be done' Officials from the White House and the US departments of State and Defense say Congress must find the funds. By Alex Willemyns for RFA 2024.02.15 -- A deal by Congress to find funding for promised aid to three Micronesian allies of the United States "simply must be done" in order to stop Beijing from growing its influence in the strategically located countries, a senior White House official said Thursday. Efforts to counter Chinese influence in longtime American allies Palau, Micronesia and Marshall Islands have been frustrated by the inability of Congress to fund economic assistance packages pledged to countries, which hold "compacts of free association" with the United States. The deals, often simply referred to as COFA, give the U.S. military access to their vast maritime territory in the Pacific in exchange for funds and the right for citizens to work and live in America. A new 20-year COFA deal worth $7 billion in total was signed in October but Congress has not yet found the funds. Notably, the money was not included in a massive aid bill in the Senate this week. Leaders of the nations last week wrote a joint letter to U.S. President Joe Biden warning that "competitive political actors" may be exploiting the delays in funding due to the "uncertainty among our peoples." Speaking at an event at the United States Institute of Peace, Mira Rapp-Hooper, the senior director for East Asia and Oceania on Biden's National Security Council, said getting the funds flowing to Palau, Micronesia and Marshall Islands "really matters" for U.S. strategy. "Getting COFA funded is really second-to-none in terms of our strategic tasks we have to take on this year, and it just simply must be done," Rapp-Hooper said, calling the funds "a reinvestment" in America's "deep and continuing historical ties" to the three countries. Contested access to the region Rapp-Hooper's comments at the event - which marked two years since the release of Biden's Indo-Pacific Strategy - were echoed by two colleagues from the Departments of State and Defense. "Securing COFA funding is one of the most important things that the administration can do this year in terms of our Indo-Pacific strategy," said Ely Ratner, the assistant secretary of defense for Indo-Pacific security affairs, emphasizing the strategic centrality of Micronesia. The territory covered by the three archipelagic countries stretches over a vast swathe of the Pacific Ocean from just west of Hawaii to the Philippines. The area is wider than the continental United States. "This is really strategic territory in terms of having a short access in the region," Ratner said. "It's also the fact that citizens in the COFA territories are participating in the U.S. military at very high rates." "Look, this is something that matters," he said. "This is an opportunity for Congress and the administration to work together this year." "We just have to get it done," he added. Camille Dawson, deputy assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, said that she agreed "100%" with the comments. Congressional efforts Sen. Mazie Hirono, a Democrat from Hawaii, last week unsuccessfully attempted to make an amendment to the Senate's aid bill to include the promised funding for the COFA states, saying in a speech on the Senate floor that it was a mistake to leave the money out. "At a time of rising tensions in the Pacific, these compacts are a critical component of our ability to operate in the Pacific, especially as we work to counter China's growing influence in this region," Hirono said. The chairs of four Senate committees - foreign relations, armed services, energy and natural resources - had all expressed support for finding the funds, she noted, but it was still left out of the bill. "They understand how critical these agreements are to our posture and readiness in the Pacific and, frankly, the harmful message it would send if we do not get these Compacts agreed to," she said. Edited by Malcolm Foster. Copyright 1998-2024, 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 February not be used in a manner which would give the appearance of any endorsement of any product or support of any issue or political position. Please read the full text of our Terms of Use. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Papua New Guinea Parliament, in aftermath of riots, backs Marape as PM The confidence vote trumped an opposition attempt to introduce a motion of no confidence in Marape. By Stephen Wright for BenarNews 2024.02.15 -- Papua New Guinea's prime minister was backed by three quarters of legislators in a parliamentary confidence vote Thursday, following riots last month that highlighted the Pacific island country's tenuous hold on stability. The motion of confidence in Prime Minister James Marape was introduced by a government lawmaker and supported by 84 of the Parliament's 111 members. Opposition parliamentarians, who had been attempting to get the legislature to debate and vote on a separate motion of no confidence in Marape, stormed out of the chamber. "If you have the numbers [to defeat me], produce your numbers," Marape said after the vote. Lawmakers who walked out were "imbeciles and cowards," he said. Papua New Guinea's capital Port Moresby was engulfed by chaos on Jan. 10 after its police stopped work to protest a cut in the pay of government employees that was purportedly caused by a payroll system glitch. At least 16 people died during the looting and arson that caused a severe blow to an economy already failing to provide sufficient jobs and incomes. Several government lawmakers defected to the opposition in the aftermath of the riots. Criticism of Marape's administration has also mounted recently because of alleged corruption in crucial infrastructure projects, as well as the perennial failure to create jobs and lift living standards. The opposition could still get Parliament to vote on a no-confidence motion and Marape said the government wouldn't stand in the way of the processes. A new government would need to be formed by lawmakers if Marape lost a no confidence vote, which currently seems unlikely. Separately, the country's attorney-general has asked the Supreme Court to review whether the no confidence motion sought by the opposition is consistent with the constitution or a "vice through which political instability is promoted through opportunistic machinations outside the electoral cycle," according to a court filing. Papua New Guinea is the most populous Pacific island country with an estimated 12 million people and endowed with significant mineral and other resources. But it has struggled to develop economically because of corruption, poor infrastructure, frequent tribal violence and deep inequality for women. It has one police officer for about every 1,800 people, nearly four times less than the level recommended by the United Nations to ensure law and order, according to a Griffith Asia Institute report released last year. The ratio of police to people has declined substantially in the past half century as Papua New Guinea's population tripled. The country is increasingly the focus of China-United States rivalry for influence in the Pacific. It signed a wide-ranging defense cooperation agreement with the U.S. last year that could bolster the U.S. military presence in the region, but doesn't help the country address challenges such as tenuous law and order and grinding poverty. Marape became prime minister following national elections in 2022 that were marred by violence and dozens of deaths. His PANGU party is the largest bloc in the governing coalition. New governments in Papua New Guinea have an 18-month grace period during which motions of confidence can't be introduced - a convention intended to reduce political instability. The grace period for Marape's government ended earlier this month. Marape on Thursday said the government has crucial challenges to address including lack of jobs for the burgeoning youth population. BenarNews is an RFA-affiliated online news organization. Copyright 1998-2024, 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 February not be used in a manner which would give the appearance of any endorsement of any product or support of any issue or political position. Please read the full text of our Terms of Use. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Azerbaijani Envoy Hands Letter To Taliban On Opening Embassy In Kabul By RFE/RL's Radio Azadi February 15, 2024 Afghanistan's Taliban-led government says Azerbaijan has officially reopened its embassy in Kabul, following through on a pledge made last year. A spokesman for the Taliban-led government's Foreign Ministry, Abdul Qahar Balkhi, wrote on X, formerly Twitter, on February 15 that Azerbaijani Ambassador to Afghanistan Ilham Mammadov arrived in the Afghan capital and handed an official letter on opening the oil-rich South Caucasus state's embassy in Kabul to Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi. "This meeting discussed the beginning of diplomatic relations between Afghanistan and Azerbaijan, economic cooperation and many other issues," Balkhi wrote, adding that Muttaqi called the opening of the embassy and the sending of ambassador-level diplomats "an important development in bilateral relations." Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev signed a law on opening an embassy in Kabul in January 2021. In July the same year, Mammadov was appointed the ambassador to Kabul. In December, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Ceyhun Bayramov said Azerbaijan would open its embassy in Kabul in 2024. Azerbaijani armed forces took part in the international anti-terrorist operation in Afghanistan. They left the country along with the U.S.-led international forces in August 2021, after which the Taliban, which is internationally recognized as a terrorist organization, returned to power. Mammadov's trip to Kabul comes three days before UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is expected to host an international meeting in Doha, Qatar, to discuss joint efforts to assist the people of Afghanistan. The Taliban confirmed earlier this month that it had received an invitation to the meeting and was considering "meaningful participation" in it. The Taliban takeover of Afghanistan drove millions into poverty and hunger after foreign aid stopped almost overnight. Sanctions against the Taliban rulers, a halt on bank transfers, and frozen billions in Afghanistan's currency reserves have cut off access to global institutions and the outside money that supported the aid-dependent economy before the withdrawal of U.S. and NATO forces. Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/afghanistan-azerbaijan-embassy- kabul/32821357.html Copyright (c) 2024. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Munich Security Conference Opens With Europe On Edge Over War In Ukraine, Trump's View Of NATO By RFE/RL February 15, 2024 The Munich Security Conference kicks off on February 16 at a critical time, as the U.S. presidential election campaign heats up with a rematch between former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden looking likely and with a major U.S. military aid package bogged down in Congress. U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris is scheduled to address the conference on its opening day to be followed on February 17 by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who will make his first in-person appearance at the conference since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. He addressed the 2023 conference virtually. An estimated 50 world leaders are expected to attend the annual event that bills itself as the world's leading forum for debating international security policy. The governments of Russia and Iran have not been invited. It will be an encore for Harris, who spoke at the conference in 2022 and 2023, but the stakes are different this year. She faces the task of reassuring allies that Washington remains committed to defending their security after Trump, the front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination, questioned defending NATO allies who failed to spend enough on defense from a potential Russia invasion. Harris plans to pledge that the United States will never retreat from its NATO obligations, and contrast Biden's commitment to global engagement with Trump's isolationist views, a White House official was quoted by Reuters as saying. "The vice president will recommit to defeat the failed ideologies of isolationism, authoritarianism, and unilateralism...[and] denounce these approaches to foreign policy as short-sighted, dangerous, and destabilizing," the official said. Harris is expected to meet with Zelenskiy during the conference, according to the White House. She will be joined by Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who just completed a visit to Albania, where he reinforced what he called an "extraordinary partnership" between Washington and Tirana. The U.S. vice president will also express confidence that the American people will continue to support the Biden administration's approach to Ukraine. Ukraine, which is heavily dependent on economic and military aid from its Western allies, has been facing a shortage of ammunition and military equipment on the battlefield and is now facing intense fighting for the eastern city of Avdiyivka. Kyiv also is desperate for a replenishment of supplies of air-defense systems to protect its civilians and infrastructure, which are hit almost daily by Russian shelling and drone attacks. Harris is certain to be asked about a $95.34 billion military-aid package for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan that the Senate, led by Democrats, approved on February 13 but that may never be put up for a vote in the Republican-controlled House of Representative because of Trump's opposition to it. Meanwhile, Ukraine's European allies have begun increasing their support for Ukraine. Ahead of his arrival in Munich, Zelenskiy was scheduled to travel on February 16 first to Berlin for talks with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and then to Paris to sign a security pact with French President Emmanuel Macron, his office in Kyiv and the Elysee Palace in Paris said. Berlin did not release any details about Zelenskiy's meeting with Scholz, but Germany is also negotiating a security agreement with Kyiv. With reporting by Reuters, AFP, and dpa Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-munich-security- conference/32821480.html Copyright (c) 2024. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Pro-Kremlin Leader In Breakaway Abkhazia Pushes 'Foreign Agents' Bill To Silence Critics By Lela Kunchulia and Tony Wesolowsky February 15, 2024 If the de facto pro-Kremlin leader of Abkhazia gets his way, Georgia's breakaway region could face draconian restrictions on any individual or group receiving foreign funding as its rubberstamp parliament debates legislation apparently modeled after Russia's much criticized "foreign agents" law. The proposal, which includes imprisonment for those found to have violated its terms, has sent a chill through Abkhazia's NGO and activist community amid fears that Aslan Bzhania, the region's de facto leader, is tightening the screws on free speech and dissent in a bid to silence his critics. Activists in Abkhazia have vowed to fight the proposal. "I will not allow them to register me among the foreign agents," Asida Lomia, head of the Children's Fund of Abkhazia, told RFE/RL's Georgian Service. "God forbid, but if the deputies take this step anyway and pass [the bill], I will withdraw my projects with the government, and then let them [finance them].... We work for the people," Lomia said. Dating back to Soviet days, her NGO provides family assistance and has cooperated with UN agencies. Russia's legislation, which dates back to 2012 but has been expanded since, targets NGOs and rights groups, as well as media organizations -- including RFE/RL and VOA -- and individual journalists, YouTubers, and others who receive money outside of Russia and, in the eyes of the Kremlin, voice a political opinion. The model has been exported elsewhere, including Georgia itself, where it was pushed by the governing Georgian Dream party but met by protests that led to Tbilisi withdrawing the proposal in March 2023. A version of the legislation is being debated in Kyrgyzstan, sparking tensions between Bishkek and Washington, which has expressed concern over the bill. In Abkhazia, Bzhania has taken other steps in recent months to restrict what he deems unwanted Western "interference." In December 2023, the de facto Abkhaz government introduced sweeping restrictions on foreign funding, including banning financial support from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). On January 26, Abkhaz authorities denied entry to Toivo Klaar, the EU special representative for the South Caucasus and the crisis in Georgia, who noted that there have been "increasing restrictions being placed on our work and the work of UN agencies, international NGOs, and local civil society organizations." Located in the northwestern corner of Georgia, with the Black Sea to the southwest and the Caucasus Mountains and Russia to the northwest, Abkhazia fought a war of secession with Georgia in 1992-93 and formally declared independence in 1999. Abkhazia was an autonomous republic inside the Soviet Union until the 1930s, when it was absorbed into the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic. After the Georgia-Russia war of 2008 over the separatist regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, Moscow recognized them both as independent states. The West has labeled Moscow's move as effectively annexing the two territories, with thousands of Russian troops stationed in the separatist regions. In addition to Russia, only Venezuela, Nicaragua, Nauru, and Syria have recognized Abkhazia as independent. Debate In Parliament Introduced to the local parliament by Bzhania on February 7, the "foreign agents" proposal states that any individual or organization may be recognized as "performing the functions of a foreign agent" if they receive funding or "property from foreign sources" and are involved in the "political life of Abkhazia." If adopted, the bill "On Noncommercial Organizations and Individuals Acting As Foreign Agents" would ban organizations and individuals deemed to be "foreign agents" from participating in politics, organizing protests and rallies, and receiving state funding. Journalists declared foreign agents would be unable to gain state accreditation, and those in violation of the law could also face prison. Critics say the proposal is sweeping in scope. "It's crucial for everyone to understand that the discussion extends beyond those employed by nongovernmental noncommercial organizations. It encompasses a far wider array of individuals, including political activists, journalists, and diaspora members -- essentially, anyone who has had any interaction with international organizations," said Diana Kerselyan, a board member of the Center for Humanitarian Programs, a local NGO promoting democracy, good governance, and civic activism, in an interview with RFE/RL's Echo of the Caucasus. The proposed legislation comes amid other measures by Bzhania that have troubled Western officials. In November 2023, Bzhania issued a decree obligating international organizations operating there to not only disclose their budgets and expenses but also the names of local partner organizations. A month later, Abkhazia's de facto foreign minister, Inal Ardzinba, announced that Abkhazia was taking "new approaches" to cooperation with international organizations and UN agencies. Among other things, these changes included declaring USAID Regional Director John Pennel persona non grata, refusing to certify projects partially or fully funded by USAID, as well as banning initiatives, according to Ardzinba, with the purported aim of "establishing contact between Abkhaz and Georgian citizens." In his announcement, Ardzinba said that "Russian and Belarusian colleagues" had informed him that Western NGO activity aimed to change values, discredit "cultures, religions, and civilizations," "falsify" history, and "violate" spiritual and moral ties between "fraternal peoples," according to a report from OC Media, a Tbilisi-based news website. For Abkhazia's leaders, however, concerns over foreign interference don't appear to extend to Russia. On December 27, 2023, Bzhania signed into law a controversial deal with Moscow, handing over control of a Black Sea resort. The deal to transfer Abkhazia's Bichvinta (aka Pitsunda) complex of holiday homes to Russia was rubberstamped by Abkhazia's de facto parliament during an unusual overnight session, despite protests by hundreds of demonstrators opposed to the deal outside the parliament building in the regional capital, Sukhumi. Tbilisi condemned the deal, calling it "another illegal act and the continuation of Russia's policy of occupation of the indivisible regions of Georgia, which grossly violates the fundamental principles of international law." According to the Russian-Abkhaz deal signed in January 2022, the complex will be handed to Russia free of charge, with a symbolic annual payment of 1 ruble for each land parcel. It is unclear what Russia intends to use the complex for. Besides snatching up key real estate, Moscow also plans to expand its military footprint in Abkhazia. On October 5, 2023, following a meeting the day before in the Russian resort city of Sochi, Bzhania announced that he and Russian President Vladimir Putin had signed an agreement in September to build a Russian naval base in the Abkhaz port of Ochamchira. Bzhania's announcement came the same day that The Wall Street Journal reported Moscow had withdrawn most of its Black Sea fleet from Crimea, the Ukrainian peninsula it illegally annexed in 2014, because of constant attacks by Ukraine. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov refused to be drawn on Bzhania's statement. "I cannot comment on this. The issues related to our troops' location, our vessels, and our units are the competence of the Defense Ministry," Peskov said at the time. 'Blatant Violation' Of Sovereignty In 2009, mention of a comparable naval installation was swiftly condemned by NATO, which has three Black Sea littoral states as members: Turkey, Bulgaria, and Romania. Georgia's Foreign Ministry condemned the announcement, calling it a "blatant violation" of its sovereignty and territorial integrity. In January of this year, Sergei Shamba, the head of Abkhazia's Security Council, an advisory body on defense, national security, and foreign policy, told the Russian state-owned RIA Novosti news agency that construction of the planned new military facility should begin this year. Shamba did not disclose what type of Russian vessels were expected to use the planned site. As it cements ties with Russia, Abkhazia appears to be taking the opposite tack with the West. On January 26, Abkhazia blocked Klaar, the EU envoy, from entering the breakaway territory, the second such rebuff for him in the past six months, Civil Georgia reported. "Abkhazia's openness should not become a casualty of Russia's war against Ukraine," Klaar told the independent regional news outlet Jam-News that same day. In Abkhazia, rights advocates and government opponents are concerned that measures such as the proposed "foreign agents" law are taking the country back to the Soviet era. Tengiz Jopua, an Abkhaz activist, politician, and blogger, said the proposal was nothing more than an attempt by the de facto leaders to silence critics and "free opinions.' "We are used to expressing our opinion freely and speaking freely," Jopua told RFE/RL's Georgian Service. "It is unacceptable for the Abkhaz people to return to the Stalin era," adding that no one in the breakaway region will accept any attempt to silence them. Written by Tony Wesolowsky based on reporting by RFE/RL Georgian Service's Lela Kunchilia and RFE/RL's Echo of the Caucasus Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/georgia-abkhazia- foreign-agents-bill-bzhania-russia/32821249.html Copyright (c) 2024. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Secretary Antony J. Blinken and Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama at a Joint Press Availability US Department of State Remarks Antony J. Blinken, Secretary of State Prime Minister's Office Tirana, Albania February 15, 2024 PRIME MINISTER RAMA: (Via interpreter) Dearest U.S. State Secretary, dear Tony, it's always a remarkable day of special meaning in the history of Albania's international relations, the day when a U.S. state secretary visits our country. Well, in our books you are the sixth state secretary visiting, but this time we have a special appreciation of this visit, as we are very much aware of the troubled times happening not only in the European world but also in other areas of strategic importance for the global balances. Consequently, actually this is something that adds especially to the burden of your agenda. The very fact that you found time and saw it necessary to stop in Tirana is, to us, a very important sign of our friendship but also of your appreciation of this friendship, of this partnership, and of course, the appreciation of this region. Well, I cannot help but share with the public the regret that between a dinner with us in Albania and a dinner in Munich, where you have to depart quite immediately, you chose the not-so-tasteful German food. Well, we did our best. Our dinner was ready. We are highly honored by the visit of the state secretary today, and I could say without any diplomatic or any protocol embellishment that I am very pleased with our open, deep conversation and the level of interaction and understanding between us. I feel very pleased that your visit coincides with Albania's - at conclusion of its mission in the UN secretary - in the UN Security Council. And in addition to extending my thanks to the state secretary, the gratitude for the invaluable support we had from the United States and its mission at the United Nations, their support of our presence in the council and the support to our success in the course of the two years where we were not permanent members of the UN Security Council. I also extended my gratitude for the very touching message that the United States ambassador in the United Nations shared for the high appraisal she actually made for the work of the Albanian team, for the very positive notes and words she shared with the public on the way in which Albania managed to represent itself, but even more than that, the way in which Albania managed to represent this community of countries and states that stand together for some values and principles that are non-negotiable to us. On the other hand, I wish to thank the state secretary publicly also for another support that maybe is not so much talked about, and it's not so visible, but it's a constant, important, and useful support for Albania to progress on its path towards EU accession. Clearly, this is a process that depends on what we do; it also depends on the assessment and judgment of our allies in the European Union. But since some years now, we have remarkably felt the constant interest of the U.S. administration, and in particular the continuous interest shown by the State Department, and the fact that in his important meetings with European allies, the state secretary always underscores the need to push further the integration process for Albania and Western Balkans in the EU as a strategic interest of the United States. On the other hand, we spoke about the region. We shared the same perspectives and concerns. As you know, Albania has a policy of an extended friendship hand for all the countries of the region, and we are interested and wanting that the region moves ahead as a whole, because first and foremost is - it is in our strategic interest. It is in the interest of our people to see its integration with Europe as an integral part of the integration of this region around values and principles that embody our being part of the large community of democratic states and countries. We have encouraged, we encourage, and will continue to encourage the irreplaceable dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia. The United States have been our and will be the staunch supporters of the process for the final recognition of Kosovo and to meet the international subjectivity of Kosovo. And it is actually better for all Albanians and also Albanians in Kosovo to be reminded - remember that without the United States there would not be an independent state of Kosovo, and that the interest of the United States in this region, and specifically the interest of the United States for things to run smoothly in Albania and Kosovo, is not a secondhand interest. It is neither an interest that is separate in any respect from our interest in Albania and Kosovo to build a peaceful and prosperous future for the next generations. It is unquestionable - so there is no doubt that we actually feel regret any time we witness steps back. Of course, we are aware of the difficulties of the dialogue. There is no doubt that we are cognizant of the wounds of a not so past strategy of - a tragedy of those who live in Kosovo. And we are also aware that in certain points in time, such as the terrorist attack in Banjska, Serbia does not always help the process as it should. But first and foremost, Albanians of Kosovo and all of us must be conscious that it is in our interest, it is in the interest of Kosovo, to progress even unilaterally, should the need arise, to meet all those requests put on the table of dialogue that are not restrictive demands. They are neither demands for Kosovo to give up a single millimeter of its dignity, of its sovereignty, and of its future. These are requirements or demands that through their delivery ensure the establishment of a context that elevates the Republic of Kosovo as a republic that deserves all the support, all the support and also the trust of our strategic partners, without whom the future becomes even more remote and the present becomes even more complicated. So even today, after we discussed and talked, I want to repeat our appeal, my appeal, for the authorities in Pristina not to take any steps without consulting and being coordinated with our strategic allies because it is first and foremost in their interest, and of course it is in the interest of our alliance. Actions that are not consulted and uncoordinated could perhaps gain some votes for the moment, turning the foreign policy into a tool and function of the domestic policy. But there is no long-term gain. On the other hand, we discussed about the dimensions of our bilateral cooperation, with the latter not only being a constant strategic operation in the area of security, but it is also a cooperation that is increasingly gaining an economic dimension. While it is unquestionable the need and importance of U.S. investments in Albania as a testament not only of this relationship but also of the awareness of the large potential Albania has in critical sectors for the world today and for our region, for example, like the energy sector. The U.S. administration is highly engaged in working to tackle the climate challenge, and it is highly committed to supporting all the programs and projects of green energy. And we believe that in this respect, U.S. companies are a desired partner, and we hope that this process that has already kicked off will progress further. Equally so, we believe that Albania is a country - and the Secretary actually is a witness of this himself - this is a country that the U.S. tourists actually can visit because it's worth it. As differently from the United States or other countries, in a very small country without going hours of distance, one can find everything, all the natural beauties, ranging from the beaches to the mountains full of snow. By way of concluding, last by not least, I wish to publicly thank the state secretary for what we've been discussing again and again in all our meeting. And something that we repeated in our meeting as well that is the irreplaceable support to transform Albania from a country that had never justice and where the impunity culture was the norm, that made the citizens of the country, from the establish of the Albanian state, that it would never be possible in this country for the law to be actually equal for everyone, and so that no one could be above the law. They made it possible for us to see today that even in Albania, just like in every country that is ambitious for their own children, it is possible that people in office, also people who are also part of the current executive power, could actually be called accountable before the law for breaching the law. This is something whose weight and importance Albania will be able to fully perceive many years later. But there is something we know even now: that when we started the reform in justice and we received the support of our allies, all the polls and questionnaires of the public on the reform saw an overwhelming support, irrespective of the political affiliations and irrespective of the typical and tradition polarization of politics; either left- or right-wing supporters or those who are not affiliated with any parties, support this reform in justice. It is no secret, Mr. Secretary, that here we have a problem. We can't find a consensus even on time. If you ask anyone on what the time is, we have a left wing time, a right wing time, and we have also a central time. However, when it came to the question whether those who supported the reform in justice believed that they would be able to see in their lifetime important people going before the justice, the majority answered with a no. Well, here we are today. We are living in a time where the myth of impunity and the myth of the powerful above the law has been debunked. Of course, there is a lot of work that remains to be done. We talked about the challenges. We talked about the advancement of the reform. We talked about how imperative it is to counter the phenomenon of corruption as a phenomenon that must be looked at from the perspective of the integration process with all its aspects as well. But if there is a reason, an important reason today to be more convinced than ever of the value of this partnership, of the value of this friendship, this reason is the commitment of our strategic partners to offering support and assistance to change a chapter of the history of Albania that seemed to be unchangeable throughout a lifetime and for all the generations. Thank you very much, Mr. Secretary. Thank you very much. Tony, the floor is yours. SECRETARY BLINKEN: Prime Minister, Edi, thank you so much for welcoming us here today, and not just welcoming us - the warmth, the hospitality, the substance, directness, frankness of our conversations - something I always deeply appreciate. I'm going to start with two expressions that we have. One is the expression "rain check." So if you miss out on someone's hospitality, if you miss out on a kind invitation to dinner, you ask for a rain check. So I'm asking for a rain check, if you'll have me back. Second is another expression we have and that is the notion of a "fair weather friend." That's a friend who's with you when the sun is shining but not when the rain is coming down. Albania is not only a fair weather friend, it's also a foul weather friend - together, even when the going is tough, even when we're facing challenges. And that's something I can't begin to tell you how much we appreciate and value. And it's a tribute to this country and the friendship we have, and it's a tribute to the prime minister, who is an extraordinary partner for the United States. I'm here on my first visit as Secretary to Albania because this partnership between our two countries is stronger than it's ever been. And the relationship for us is vital to addressing so many issues that matter to our people. This is a two-way street, and we are doing things with each other and for each other that are to the benefit of people here in Albania and in the United States and beyond, I would argue. As a key NATO Ally, a powerful voice on the UN Security Council - and you heard the prime minister allude to this - we had a really extraordinary partnership during the two years that Albania was a nonpermanent member of the council, and that was reflected in the message the prime minister referenced from our ambassador, Linda Thomas-Greenfield. We did, I think, very, very important and strong work together, particularly holding the pen together on the question of Ukraine and the Russian aggression, something we deeply value; now a new member of the Human Rights Council, and also playing a growing role in other critical international institutions, including UNESCO. This is consequential not just for Albania, not just for the region, not just for Europe; it's actually consequential for the world, and we deeply, deeply appreciate it. We had the opportunity today to discuss a lot of issues and challenges that we're facing together, and we focused first on what we're doing to promote our shared security. As you know, Albania has been from day one a strong supporter of Ukraine - really the first to step up, to raise its hand. It was one of the first countries to send military aid to Ukraine in the wake of the Russian aggression - guns, ammunition, mine resistant vehicles - and it's currently one of the top ten per capita in terms of its support for Ukraine and security assistance. The prime minister said this at the Security Council last September, and I'm going to - Edi, if I can, I'm going to quote you: "The struggle of Ukraine is also the struggle of everyone who aspires to live in a world where nations are free and equal, where territorial integrity is indisputable, and [where the] right to live in peace is unquestionable." It's hard to think of a more elegant way to put what's at stake in Ukraine. Over its 15 years now in NATO, Albania has made significant contributions to our alliance. Albanian troops are helping to keep the peace in Kosovo to deter Russian aggression on NATO's eastern flank. Next month, Albania will inaugurate a NATO airbase in Kucove. Our 31 Allies, soon to be 32 Allies, bring different histories, different experiences, different geographies, different capabilities. But each of us has the same ironclad commitment to our mutual defense, and each of us makes important contributions and sacrifices. In the last three years alone, virtually every Ally has increased defense spending as a percentage of its GDP. Together, our collective strength is much more than the sum of our parts. It's an enduring investment in shared security, shared prosperity, and in the principles that join us together. We're grateful that Albania is doing its part, prepared to continue to do its part. We're fully committed to upholding our obligations as well. Our countries are also growing our bilateral security partnership. Albanians and Americans have fought side by side from Afghanistan to Iraq. Albanian pilots fly American-made Blackhawks. U.S. Special Forces are training their Albanian counterparts and helping to keep watching the Balkans. In the wake of the recent Iranian cyber attacks targeting Albanian critical infrastructure, the United States has supported Albania cyber defenses, helping to train experts, to upgrade equipment, to improve technology so that they're more resilient to future attacks. I thank the Prime Minister as well for something that is near and dear to my heart, and near and dear to the hearts of so many Americans, and that is the extraordinary generosity that the Albanian people have shown in welcoming thousands of Afghan evacuees. Albania was the very first country to do so. I had a chance a little bit earlier today to meet with some of the most recent evacuees from Afghanistan who will be going on to the United States. They're getting their Special Immigrant Visas, and then they'll come to be part of the next chapter in the story of the United States. These are people who have endured incredible hardship, who've shown remarkable courage. And what I heard from them today was not just gratitude for being welcomed here, Mr. Prime Minister, in Albania, but the way they were welcomed by the Albanian people: with extraordinary warmth and support. And it's hard to - it's hard to describe how much that means to people like our Afghan colleagues and friends who are in the midst of the most uprooting experience possible. We're committed to resettling them in America, offering them a similarly warm welcome, but I have to say we're really inspired by the way that you've done it. The prime minister and I also discussed how to keep making Albania's democratic institutions more accountable to Albania's citizens. Justice reform has not been easy, perfect, or quick, but it is showing real results, and you heard the prime minister describe them. Today I met with key judges and prosecutors who are helping to lead the reform effort. Corrupt officials are being held accountable. Members of organized crime are going to prison and losing their assets. So this is a very powerful process, but it's a process, and it continues to move forward. We'll continue to strongly support Albania in these efforts, which are critical steps toward Albania joining the European Union and what the people in Albania deserve. Our democracies are also threatened, both of us, by disinformation. And that fuels division and it erodes trust. We just signed with the foreign minister memorandums of understanding, and the one that we signed a moment ago will enable the United States and Albania to develop a shared approach to countering dangerous distortions and lies and build a resilient information ecosystem. There is an information competition, even an information war, that goes on day in, day out. And it's critical that democracies have the tools that they need to act effectively in dealing with it. We also discussed ways to further strengthen our economic relations, again, as the prime minister said. American investment in Albania has tripled since 2019, and it will only grow more as the business climate continues to improve. Our companies are exploring hydropower, wind, solar projects in Albania. These have great potential to diversify Albanian energy resources and sources to help our shared planet and to create inclusive economic growth for everyone. Finally, we committed to deepening ties between our people. Edi and I just came from a really terrific gathering at the Pyramid just a few doors away from here, where I met some of the young people who are participating in our exchange programs - their alumni and current participants. These programs are making the bonds between us stronger every single day. So the other memorandum of understanding that we signed for the Fulbright Program will double the number of Albanians who can study on scholarships in the United States, bringing our people even more closely together. One of my predecessors who I see on the wall here to my left, Secretary James Baker, famously told the Albanian people, and I quote, "You are with us and we are with you." That was true three decades ago. It remains true today. It will remain true tomorrow. Thank you, Prime Minister. PRIME MINISTER RAMA: Thank you. MODERATOR: Prime Minister and Secretary of State, there are some questions from the journalists for you. First question is from Muhamed Veliu from Top Channel Television. QUESTION: (Via interpreter) I - a joint question. Dear Mr. Secretary, you just mentioned that Kucove Base is going to be inaugurated one month later, whereas Prime Minister Edi Rama has offered Albania's readiness and continues meetings in NATO and here to have a maritime base for NATO in Durres Port. Did you discuss about this matter in your bilateral meetings today? And is there any progress, if any? Thank you. SECRETARY BLINKEN: Thank you very much. Well, in fact, I had an opportunity to meet with a number of different people and different groups besides the prime minister, foreign minister, members of the cabinet, as I mentioned. I also met with some of the leading judges and prosecutors who are leading the judicial reform effort. I had a chance to meet with some, as I mentioned, remarkable young people who are engaged in our exchange programs. And when I come back for my rain check for dinner, I'll look forward to meeting an even broader cross section of Albanian society and all of the different actors. But we, I think, got a lot into this day - something I take great satisfaction in. With regard to the air base, first, I think it's important to underscore a couple of things. One, it's now 15 years since Albania has been a NATO Ally. And the fact that we'll be inaugurating - you'll be inaugurating the air base in Kucove in just a few weeks is a wonderful way to highlight and underscore the commitment that Albania has made to NATO and that NATO, of course, has to Albania. This is a very strong example of the defense partnership that we enjoy. When it comes to the question of a maritime base, yes, this is something that we discussed and that I very much look forward to pursuing through NATO and through the processes that NATO has to determine what future assets would be valuable to the Alliance. And we discussed this, and I know that NATO will work on it. MODERATOR: Next question is from Olivia Gazis from CBS. QUESTION: (Off-mike.) SECRETARY BLINKEN: Edi, is there anything you wanted to add? PRIME MINISTER RAMA: I don't think that I was also involved, but - (laughter) - but as you know, when he's not here, what I say is like he's saying it. And now that he's said it, what can I say more? (Laughter.) QUESTION: Okay. Thank you very much. Mr. Secretary, information has emerged about a serious national security threat from Russia with lawmakers of both parties in the United States pressing for a response from the administration. How would you characterize, first, the urgency of the threat in question, and secondly, the United States current preparedness to confront it? And secondly on Gaza, what is the United States level of confidence right now that negotiating parties can achieve an agreement that pauses hostilities before the beginning of Ramadan on March 10th? And Mr. Prime Minister, on Ukraine, the Secretary referenced Albania's significant contributions. The U.S. Congress has struggled for months now to pass a significant aid package for the Ukrainians, even as Kyiv is entering its third year of war with Russia. Do you believe that this indicates American support for Ukraine is waning and do you see it undermining broader Western efforts to push back against Moscow? And secondly, if I may, Mr. Prime Minister, on NATO, given recent statements by the Republican presidential frontrunner in the United States, do you have confidence that America will uphold its commitments to NATO's collective defense pact no matter what members' defense spending levels are and no matter what the outcome is in November? Thank you. SECRETARY BLINKEN: Thank you, Olivia. So on the first question, there's not much that I can say right now on the underlying issue. What I can say is this: This is not an active capability, but it is a potential one that we're taking very, very seriously. And I would expect that we'll have more to say soon - in fact, very soon - so stay tuned for that. And, of course, we're also conferring with allies and partners on this issue. But here's the most important thing of all: The President's focus, President Biden's focus, is on the security of the United States and its people. And as we approach this and every other issue, that is first and foremost what's on his mind. That's where his focus is. On the question of hostages, so as you know, we put forward a proposal to Hamas that the United States, Qatar, and Egypt, working with Israel, had had put together and then, as I said, put forward. We received a response from Hamas about a week ago, a response that we believe, while it has, as I said at the time, a number of clear nonstarters in it, also offers the possibility of working toward an agreement. We're now in the process with our counterparts from Qatar, from Egypt, from Israel in working on that and working very intensely on that with the goal of trying to find an agreement. And I believe that it is possible. Now, as I said, there are some very, very hard issues that have to be resolved, but we're committed to doing everything we can to move forward and to see if we can reach an agreement. We know what success looks like. We had it when we secured the first agreement that resulted in the release of 105 hostages, that resulted in a pause in military operations, the substantial expansion of humanitarian assistance going into people who so desperately needed it. If an agreement can be reached here, it offers the prospect, of course, doing what is at the top of our list, which is getting the hostages home to their families, but also having an extended pause, which offers many other benefits as well. So we're very focused on it, and I believe it's possible. PRIME MINISTER RAMA: You are tricking me into something that I am afraid might be dangerous, because answering to your question, I have to melt in American politics, which is not very advisable when you are a friend with United States. But I want to take advantage from your presence to invite you, maybe through your TV, to share with the American public a map of Mongolia. Following Mr. Putin's interview and his reasoning on the legitimacy of attacking Ukraine that went back to 9th century - but if you dig a bit more, you'll discover that Russia once upon a time was within the borders of Mongolia. So I know that Mongolians are a peaceful people, but I don't think that - looking back to the maps and using history like a reason to attack other people, to take others' lives, to destroy others' houses, to break others' future, is a quite insane exercise. And being in that in that situation, Ukraine couldn't survive so far without the United States, first and foremost, and all the other allies and friends who, by the way, are not eager to enter in war with Russia or with whomever, but have to protect Ukraine for protecting the world they believe in. Now, if you want me to have a take on the American Congress and Senate, I think I should not go there, because let's say that the American politics nowadays is not at its best. But one thing I can say, I had the privilege to be prime minister for Albania in NATO when the former president was there. And despite the rhetoric, despite the colorful way to confront adversaries, I don't see that NATO was weakened. On the contrary, what was decided before continued to be the case. Every country continued to put more money and to put more effort in increasing the NATO budget. So now, elections are elections, Trump is Trump. American politics is American politics. But I think United States is something more than that. And what makes United States one of a kind in the - in our community of countries and of people all around the world is that United States cannot and will never, in my view, shy away from what are the principles and the values to be protected, whatever it takes. And so I'm not afraid of anything, but of stopping or wavering to continue and protect ourselves through protecting the right of Ukrainians to live in their country, to have their own house intact, to have their children grow there, and to have a common future with everyone else, without being threatened to be wiped out from maps based on ninth, thirteenth, fifteenth, whatever century. Because if this Pandora box opens then I can tell you we have a lot of maps in this region, but we have to see the future, and it's only the future that will unite us. So no, I don't think that NATO will be weakened. I don't think the United States will shy away from their role and from their leadership. I then that when elections will be over, American business is American business. MODERATOR: Next question is from Elja Zotka, journalist of Klan Television. QUESTION: (Via interpreter) Mr. Secretary, you did not touch upon the region and Kosovo in your remarks. Therefore, I wish to ask specifically a question about Kosovo. What is your view of the latest developments in Kosovo? How do you see the steps that have been taken in the dialogue with Serbia? Also the removal of dinar as the currency - do you see it as concerning, and also the fact that there is no steps being taken to establishing the associations? Well, Mr. Prime Minister, you already gave an answer, but I don't know whether you've had - you have something to add when it comes to the situation in Kosovo. A second question for Mr. Secretary, if it is possible. You mentioned that you had a meeting with the heads of the justice institutions, and justice is a matter close to our heart as a people, because we've been missing it so far. Could you specifically speak about the message you imparted to the heads of our justice institutions on behalf of the U.S. in your although very brief meeting? Thank you. SECRETARY BLINKEN: Thank you very much. When I started out working at the State Department and at the White House, now I'm afraid to say more than 30 years ago, the issue, the question, the challenge that was front and center - this is during President Clinton's administration - was the Balkans, first Bosnia and Herzegovina, then Kosovo. And so many of us have a long and deep history, no one more so than the President of the United States, President Biden. And I think you know that history well. And so we're strongly animated by the notion that we can't go back to the future. We can't have a repeat of what we saw and what too many people experienced in the 1990s, which is why we're committed to supporting all of the efforts to advance the integration of countries in the Western Balkans, with each other and with Europe. With regard to Kosovo and Serbia more specifically, the EU-facilitated dialogue is the right - in fact, I think the only - path forward. And we're committed to doing what we can to support both countries as they travel that path. But I also have to applaud Albania's role in being a force for regional stability, for regional integration, for regional progress. That is the path that so clearly brings everyone to a better future. And we know what the alternative is because we've experienced it, we've seen it. So we're resolute in doing everything we can in support of all the countries in the region taking that path. We very much support, as I said, the EU-facilitated dialogue. And we'll work with Albania and others to try to help countries advance along that path. PRIME MINISTER RAMA: Ditto. MODERATOR: Any comment? PRIME MINISTER RAMA: No, no, no. Ditto. MODERATOR: Next question is from Alexander Marquardt, CNN. QUESTION: Thank you very much. Mr. Secretary, you just said a moment ago that you think that a deal is possible, a humanitarian pause and a hostage deal. After the meeting that took place earlier this week in Cairo, do you think that that deal and a pause could be reached before Israel launches its expected offensive into Rafah? Do you think Prime Minister Netanyahu favors that Rafah offensive over reaching a hostage deal and a humanitarian pause? And then separately, two teenage American boys have now been killed in the West Bank in the past few weeks. An American woman was detained by Israeli forces in the West Bank. Two young American men were also detained by Israeli forces in Gaza. Have those detainees gotten U.S. consular access? Do you even know where those detainees are? And when it comes to the investigations into the teenagers' deaths, where do those stand? SECRETARY BLINKEN: Thanks, Alex. QUESTION: And Mr. Secretary, may I ask the prime minister also a question? Albania recognized Palestine in 1988. Prime Minister Netanyahu's office said earlier today that now is not the time to be speaking about gifts for the Palestinian people. Do you think that a two-state solution is still possible with the current Israeli Government, and how do you and the U.S. think that is achievable? Thank you both. SECRETARY BLINKEN: Thank you, Alex. So look, on the first question, I'm obviously not going to be speaking for the prime minister or telling you what his views may or may not be on these questions. You'll have to ask him yourself or have others ask him. All I can tell you is this. As I said to Olivia's question, we believe it must be and must remain a priority to do everything we can to bring the hostages home, to get them back with their loved ones, and that's where our focus is. We've done a lot of work to try to get back to this point; that is where we think an agreement is possible, even if it - even if difficult. And at least from the perspective of the United States, we think it's imperative that we continue to pursue that urgently. And as I said, that would bring many other benefits with it, and notably an extended pause to the conflict, an extended expansion of humanitarian assistance, all things that would be very, very welcome - more than welcome - by men, women, and children in Gaza who continue to suffer every single day. So that's where our focus is, but in terms of timing, how one thing fits with another, you'll have to ask the prime minister. Edi. PRIME MINISTER RAMA: Yes. QUESTION: Mr. Secretary, on the detainees SECRETARY BLINKEN: Oh, I'm sorry. Yes, on the detainees - or this question - well, two things. First, with regard to American citizens who reportedly were killed, the first thing I would say is our deepest condolences to the families, to the loved ones, to the friends. You've heard me say this before, the President feels the same say: the safety, the security of American citizens around the world is our number one priority, our number one responsibility. And we've made clear that with regard to the instance you alluded to, there needs to be an investigation. We need to get the facts and, if appropriate, there needs to be accountability. With regard to detainees, there is a limit to what I can say because of the privacy laws and the requirements that flow from that. But I can just say in general, without reference to specific cases, we insist that people be treated fairly, that they be treated with due process, and that they be treated humanely. And that's something that, regardless of where an American citizen might be detained, we insist on and will continue to insist on. Prime Minister. PRIME MINISTER RAMA: It's in my humble view the hardest (inaudible) one can get. And the answer straightforward to your question: yes, Albania has recognized Palestine long ago. To give you a little background, Albania was a communist dictatorship, and our dictator was one of the closest friends and allies of the Palestinian Liberation Organization, PLO, and of Yasser Arafat. And on the other hand, our regime was very viciously against three major devils - United States, Soviet Union, and Israel, so in other words, American imperialism, Soviet social imperialism, and Jewish Zionism. But this country, on the other hand, is the only country in Europe that had more Jews after the Second World War than before, and it's the only country where Jews didn't fly out, but flew in to be protected. And as it is very well shown in Yad Vashem, it's a country where the Nazis didn't succeed to get a single Jew. This is the background. Now, of course, the situation is tragic because on one hand, Israel has its legitimate right to defend itself, but on the other hand, the destroyal and the loss of life on the Palestinian side are far too much to accept the escalation, the further escalation. And the trouble is that this further escalation is not an action that, at the end, by itself will wipe out Hamas or whatever form of Hamas may grow from the bottom of the rubbles. So for sure the two-state solutions - solution is the only way. But my humble opinion is that, in this situation, there are many things that have to happen at the same time. It's not one thing. Because if one envisage a two-state solution now, just like one piece, then who will be on the Palestinian side? So the reform of Palestinian politics, the need for a body that would somehow represent all the Palestinian society and would be a credible interlocutor to all the parties involved, on one hand; on the other hand, a direct involvement of the Arab countries that are the most interested and those, and also at the same time, the most vulnerable, potentially, from the escalation of this conflict, to create an interforce that, together with Turkiye and under some guarantees of United States, would somehow make sure that what may be a Palestinian state will not be seen like a threat again for Israel. And of course all this without the liberation of hostages sounds very improbable. And at the end, last but not least, for sure I don't envy the Secretary of State. MODERATOR: And now at the end, we would like to thank you all for being here today. Thank you. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Secretary Antony J. Blinken and Albanian President Bajram Begaj Before Their Meeting US Department of State Remarks Antony J. Blinken, Secretary of State President's Office Tirana, Albania February 15, 2024 SECRETARY BLINKEN: Thank you so much, Mr. President. It's a privilege. PRESIDENT BEGAJ: A great pleasure. Thank you. SECRETARY BLINKEN: Thank you. PRESIDENT BEGAJ: This is very good that we can demonstrate that our strategic partnership is stronger than ever. SECRETARY BLINKEN: I could not agree more. Thank you. PRESIDENT BEGAJ: And I'm grateful about what you are doing for Albania, for Kosovo and in the region. And, of course, I cannot leave without mentioning that you have done so much for Albanian democracy, about rule of law, about justice reform, and in defense and security, and of course, in economy and education. And I can assure you that Albania is committed to be always with you, and of course, we'll be a contributor to the regional and global security. SECRETARY BLINKEN: We see that every day. This is a partnership, and we're grateful for it. We know that so many of the challenges each of us has we can most effectively deal with together, not alone. And so for us to have the friendship, the partnership - it's been 101 years of diplomatic relations, but the last few years in particular we've seen the strength of the partnership in so many different areas. So it's a great pleasure. PRESIDENT BEGAJ: It's a strong message that you are supporting Albania, Albanian foreign policy, and of course the future of Albania - its way to European unification. SECRETARY BLINKEN: Yes. PRESIDENT BEGAJ: And I am sure that - and I see this visit as a bright future for Albania and our partnership. Strategic partnership will be for more hundred years to come, so we will have time to celebrate. SECRETARY BLINKEN: It's a very - a very good wish. PRESIDENT BEGAJ: Good. Thank you. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address The UK calls on Iran to use influence to stop Daesh attacks and de-escalate regional tensions: UK statement at the UN Security Council Statement by Ambassador James Kariuki at the UN Security Council meeting on threats to international peace and security. 15 February 2024 Thank you, President, let me thank Under Secretary Voronkov, Executive Director Gherman, and Secretary-General Stock for their briefings today. I also thank the Monitoring Team for their work on the report. The United Kingdom remains deeply concerned at the prospect of Daesh resurgence in the Middle East. As the report notes, though the threat in Iraq and Syria has been effectively suppressed, it remains a serious threat. Iranian-aligned militias continue to attack the Coalition Forces that are directly working to remove Daesh's malignant influence in the region, in partnership with the Government of Iraq. The United Kingdom calls on Iran to use influence to stop these attacks and de-escalate regional tensions. It is in all our interests to prevent Daesh from projecting its poisonous ideology and inflicting death and destruction across the region. Turning to Africa, the UK is deeply concerned at Daesh's growing presence across the continent. We stand ready to support our African partners and intensify efforts to improve coordination and strengthen regional cooperation. UN entities play an important role and we welcome their cooperation with the African Union to build capacity and squeeze the spaces in violent extremist networks can flourish. We also encourage cooperation between UN Global Counter Terrorism Coordination Compact members, and we welcome INTERPOL's role in this. Finally, we must not ignore the disproportionate impact that terrorism has on women and girls. This year, we mark the 10th anniversary of atrocities committed against the Yezidi people. We commend the important work done by UNITAD with the support of the Iraqi authorities to investigate sexual crimes by terrorists against women and girls. President, we know that Daesh thrive in divided, fragile and unstable environments. We all have a responsibility to counter their ideology and provide an alternative future. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Presidential Elections in Azerbaijan, 2024: UK statement to the OSCE Ambassador Neil Holland thanks the ODIHR mission for observing the Presidential election that took place on 7 February in Azerbaijan. 15 February 2024 The United Kingdom welcomes the fact that Azerbaijan invited an ODIHR mission to observe the Presidential election that took place on 7 February. We were pleased to contribute 10 Short Term Observers to this mission. We also welcome the establishment of an Expert Group by the Azerbaijan Central Election Committee to consider election complaints. This election was calm and provisions to allow the Internally Displaced Population to vote in their historic constituencies have been positively noted. We also note the preliminary findings of the observer mission's report, which indicate that the election took place in a restrictive environment without genuine political alternatives. Some serious violations were observed, some of which run counter to the 1990 Copenhagen Document. The United Kingdom respectfully encourages Azerbaijan to evaluate and fully implement ODIHR's recommendations. We would once again like to express our thanks to the ODIHR mission for playing an impartial and expert role in assessing the design and implementation of democratic processes in Azerbaijan and all OSCE participating States. The UK stands ready to support Azerbaijan in taking forward electoral reforms and improvements to the democratic process on the basis of ODIHR's recommendations. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Gaza: Threat of ground invasion looms over Rafah 15 February 2024 - UPDATED: Amid ongoing airstrikes targeting Gaza's southernmost city of Rafah and reports that Israeli forces have conducted a military operation inside the Nasser Hospital Complex, concerns over a potential ground invasion of the densely populated border city are escalating. The Israeli military confirmed on Thursday in a tweet that its special forces had conducted what they called a "precise and limited operation" inside Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza, the largest functioning health facility in the area. The UN human rights office OHCHR said on Thursday that it was deeply worried over the raid, saying that it appeared to be "part of a pattern of attacks on civilian infrastructure, especially hospitals." The raid comes after a week-long siege which cut off medical, food and fuel supplies, said OHCHR spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani. "Israeli forces reportedly ordered the transfer of all patients, including those in intensive care and nursery units, to a different building, exposing patients to grave risks, including the risk of death for the most vulnerable", she continued. "There are unconfirmed reports of detention as well as targeting of those trying to leave the hospital." In a tweet on Wednesday, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, head of the World Health Organization (WHO), expressed alarm over the increasingly dire situation at the hospital. "Access to the hospital remains obstructed there is no safe corridor for those in need. Two WHO missions have been denied in the last four days, and we lost touch with the hospital's personnel," the WHO Director-General said. He called for humanitarian access and the safeguarding of hospitals by all combatants, stressing that they must remain safe for civilians. Rafah situation dire The latest situation update from OCHA, the UN's humanitarian aid agency, highlights "population movements" away from the southern border city towards Deir al Balah and the Nuseirat refugee camp. Earlier this week, the World Food Programme (WFP) expressed concern that further displacement from the densely packed city on the Egyptian border could exacerbate the plight of those seeking refuge there. Matthew Hollingworth, WFP Country Director for Palestine, describes Rafah's streets as "packed with throngs of people", noting that every available space in the city has become a makeshift shelter. The city is now home to around 1.5 million Gazans displaced by conflict. Mr. Hollingworth, speaking in a video released on Thursday on the X platform, highlighted the despair pervading Rafah, where people struggle for support, fuel and sustenance amid "damp, cold and miserable" conditions. While WFP continues to provide aid to Gazans in Rafah, organizations such as Action Against Hunger that work side-by-side with UN's humanitarians warn of having to suspend activities if Israeli ground operations expand to Rafah. Meanwhile, intense Israeli bombardment persists across Gaza, resulting in further civilian casualties and infrastructure damage. Death toll rising The Ministry of Health in Gaza reports a death toll of at least 28,576 Palestinians and 68,291 injured since October. Between 13 and 14 February, 103 Palestinians were killed and 145 injured. Israeli military casualties stand at 230 soldiers killed and 1,352 injured since the start of ground operations, with over 1,200 Israelis and foreign nationals killed during attacks on Israel, mainly during the Hamas-led massacre of 7 October. Some 134 individuals remain captive in Gaza, according to Israeli authorities. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address The Wisconsin Assembly on Thursday voted in favor of a divisive bill that would block nonincumbent competition on long-distance power line projects in the state. The chamber also advanced a Republican-authored constitutional amendment that would bar local governments and state agencies from discriminating against or granting preferential treatment to anybody on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity or national origin. Proponents of the transmission bill which would give incumbent companies the exclusive right to build any transmission project approved by the Midwest grid operator, known as MISO say the measure would ensure reduced construction costs and lower customer rates. Opponents of the proposal, however, have argued the measure merely protects in-state transmission companies interests by limiting competition and would drive up energy costs for ratepayers. Rep. Ty Bodden, R-Hilbert, said in a statement the bill will have a lasting negative impact on your familys bottom line when it comes to their utility bills. It is a sad day in Wisconsin with the passage of Assembly Bill 470, Bodden added. We cannot afford to impose restrictions on the free market, as it contradicts the fundamental values of our capitalist society. Assembly Bill 470 passed the chamber on a voice vote without any discussion. It would require Wisconsin transmission developers to competitively bid their infrastructure construction projects, which would be reviewed and approved by the state Public Service Commission. Today, our legislators sided with utility companies over hardworking ratepayers like you and me, without even a second of debate, Megan Novak, director of Americans for Prosperity-Wisconsin, said in a statement. Far too many Wisconsinites are already grappling with the consequences of rising energy costs, but todays vote robbed ratepayers of much needed relief, Novak continued. The measure now heads to the state Senate. Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu, R-Oostburg, told the Wisconsin State Journal he hopes to bring the bill to a vote this session. Supporters, including some of the states largest utility companies, have said the so-called right of first refusal law would maintain Wisconsins regulatory oversight of the states transmission infrastructure and ensure reliable energy and reduced construction costs. Bill Skewes, executive director of the Wisconsin Utilities Association, said in the statement the bill's passage "is a win for electricity customers in Wisconsin." The whole point of this bill is cutting costs for ratepayers by splitting the transmission bill with other states and speeding up the process to get these critical facilities built," Skewes continued. Like a previous version of the bill, which died in committee last session, the measure has been opposed by consumer advocates such as the Citizens Utility Board and Wisconsin Industrial Energy Group, as well as the free-market conservative group Americans for Prosperity. Lawmakers in several states including Minnesota and Michigan have passed similar legislation in the decade since the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission abolished federal anti-competition protections. The federal government does not directly control the grid but sets ground rules for entities such as MISO, an independent nonprofit organization established in 2001 to operate electricity markets and oversee regional planning in 15 states and one Canadian province. Similar right of first refusal laws have faced backlash in some of those states, including Iowa, where the state Supreme Court last year halted the law. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals last year ruled that a similar measure in Texas violated the dormant commerce clause of the U.S. Constitution, which prohibits states from passing protectionist policies that discriminate against nonresidents doing business in those states. The U.S. Supreme Court later refused to review the ruling, leaving the lower courts decision in effect. Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker vetoed a right of first refusal bill in August. Constitutional amendment The proposed constitutional amendment before the Assembly on Thursday is the latest step in Wisconsin Republicans fight against government-run diversity, equity and inclusion efforts. Republican lawmakers last year struck a deal requiring the Universities of Wisconsin to restructure its DEI programs, and GOP legislative leaders have said they plan to scrutinize similar programs in state agencies. The proposal, which passed on a 62-35, party-line vote, requires hiring decisions across all state governmental entities to be based on merit, fairness and equality, a conservative response to DEI with its own acronym (MFE), authors of the resolution said earlier this year. Rep. David Murphy, R-Greenville, said the proposal would assure that no one is given improper preferential treatment. Rep. Sylvia Ortiz-Velez, D-Milwaukee, countered that the measure is divisive and manufactured. This notion that theres some preferred treatment does not ring true, Ortiz-Velez said. The amendment would apply to everything from public universities and school districts to municipalities and state agencies. Unlike bills, Democratic Gov. Tony Evers cannot veto constitutional amendments. The measures must pass two successive legislative sessions before voters have the final say. If enacted, amendments can only be reversed through the same amendment process or by a court order. Several federal laws already prohibit discrimination based on sex, race, color, nationality or religion. Spokespeople for the bill authors didnt immediately explain how adding the language to the state Constitution would add further protections. Today in history: Feb. 15 1764: St. Louis 1933: Franklin D. Roosevelt 1965: Nat King Cole 1967: Chicago 1992: Jeffrey Dahmer 2005: Paul Shanley 2013: Russia Meteor 2020: Diamond Princess 2021:Johnny Pacheco 2022: Sandy Hook lawsuit 2023: Raquel Welch Media Quote by UN Humanitarian Coordinator about Increase of Civilian Casualties in South Lebanon UNOCHA - United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs Beirut, 15 February 2024 -- Addressing the unfolding events in South Lebanon, where airstrikes have reportedly claimed numerous civilian lives, the United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator for Lebanon, Imran Riza, expressed deep concern, stating: "The recent surge in hostilities and the reported airstrikes resulting in increasing civilian casualties are extremely concerning. Among the victims are children, mothers, and grandparents. The loss of innocent life is lamentable. The rules of war are clear: Parties must protect civilians and these rules must be upheld. They are not a target." -END- NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address SECNAV Del Toro Delivers Keynote Address at WEST 2024 US Navy SAN DIEGO Speech by Carlos Del Toro Presented on 15 February 2024 Date Published 15 February 2024 Good morning, everyone! Thank you for joining us today here in sunny San Diego for the 34th iteration of WEST. I just completed a short trip to Everett, Washington, and it's truly wonderful to be here with you again this year. Thank you, Admiral Spicer, for your warm welcome today, and for your leadership of this fine institution. The theme of this year's conference poses a question that I spend a lot of time thinking about: "Are Acquisitions and Readiness on Pace to Meet Global Security Demands?" A second question to perhaps ask might be: is industry doing everything it can to meet the challenge at the required pace? As I said last month at SNA, we face a comprehensive maritime power that demands the same rigor in our strategic planning that leaders like Chester Nimitz, William Sims, and Ernest King applied during wargames between world wars. Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz once said that "hindsight is notably cleverer than foresight." I will submit to you that history is forged in the crucible of action, not the comfort of hindsight. And as we develop our new approach to Maritime Statecraft, it's necessary we have leaders in the Department of the Navy and in industry who can identify, propose, act decisively on the best courses of action, and most importantly, execute effectively on behalf of our Sailors, Marines, and all Americans. As we all know, seapower advances the security and prosperity of the nationunderstanding and leveraging its political influence must shape our approach to operations every day short of war. All of usfrom Seaman Recruit, Private, Ensign or Second Lieutenant to Admiral, General, Master Chief, Sergeant Major, or Secretary of the Navyhave a critical role to play in our efforts. And all of you in industry equally play an important part, as well. The operations in the Red Sea over the past three months illustrate perfectly how investments and decisions made by naval leaders 30, 40 years ago impact operations today. The backbone of our air defense fleet, the Aegis Combat System, first became a programthen named the Advanced Surface Missile System60 years ago this year. 51 years ago, the first model of the SPY RADAR was installed on USS Norton Sound (AVM 1). While our Sailors have performed with exceptional professionalism, the systems of six of our coalition navies' destroyers used to shoot down scores of anti-ship cruise missiles, ballistic missiles, and drones launched by the Houthis can be traced back to the 60s, 70s, and 80s. We can trace them to moments when visionary naval leaders such as Admiral George Anderson Jr. and then-Captain Wayne E. Meyer made increasingly consequential decisions that still impact our Navy and Marine Corps. Today, we face decisions in shipbuilding, maintenance, repair, and the future of the fleet that will impact and shape the Navy in the 2050s and beyond. And while Congress has so far avoided a painful and disastrous government shutdown, a full-year Continuing Resolution would be monumentally damaging to our efforts to build and maintain the fleet of todaymuch less the fleet of the future. If Congress does not pass a full year budget, we will face a deficit of over 40 billion dollars in sequestration cuts and misaligned funds. Without a full budget, our safety and readiness will suffer, at a time when we are ill able to afford itlost time in readiness cannot be bought back through future funding. The American people expect the Navy and Marine Corps to be ready to respond in defense of our national interestsand we must have the funding to rise to the significant global challenges we face. We need the House of Representatives to now do its job so that lives are not placed at risk tomorrow in the Red Sea. And in Europe, Russia's illegal war of aggression continues in Ukraine. I can't overemphasize how we all must continue to call on the House of Representatives to pass legislation in the coming days to support our Ukrainian partners in their battle against Russia. Democracy in Ukraine, Europe, and throughout the world indeed depends on this supportit is critical to do so. And in the Indo-Pacific, the People's Republic of China remains our pacing challenge and continues to behave provocatively. China today seeks to exploit its growing economic and military power to coerce its neighbors and threaten their interests while undermining our alliances and security partnerships. Earlier today, in Japan, Vice Admiral Thomas turned over command of 7th Fleet to Vice Admiral Kacher. I cannot imagine a more capable officer taking command of our forces in that critical theater as we continue to work for a free and open Indo-Pacific. In his most recent sea tour as Commander of Task Force 76, Admiral Kacher was a key architect of a remarkable prototype operation, which pioneered a new approach to support our partners' civilian vessels in standing up to the PRC's coercive maritime insurgency in the South China Sea. Admiral Kacher combined diverse naval and Marine Corps forces at his disposal to establish and maintain a persistent presence in determined support of a Malaysian partner facing heavy Chinese pressure to abandon its lawful exploration of its offshore resources. And, under my leadership as your Secretary of the Navy, we are delivering the forces our operational commanders require to defend our interests around the world against the threats we face every day. As just one example, this past year, for the first time, we deployed six Littoral Combat Ships armed with Naval Strike Missiles West of the International Date Line. These vessels play an essential role in providing persistent presence and working alongside key allies such as the Philippines. Let me underscore that Maritime Statecraft is about using naval power to deter and prevail without fighting. And I hope to soon deploy mobile launchers on the back of those LCS to be able to fire more lethal missiles, if called upon to do so. As National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan recently described, we aim to manage our competition with the PRC while defending our national interests, standing with our allies, and upholding a free and open international ordernot just for ourselves, but for all nations. To maintain a global, sustainable maritime posture, we must continue to innovate and invest in capabilities that keep our ships at sea, especially as their weapons magazines run low. The capability to rapidly rearm our missile shooters at sea using our time-provenand singularadvantage in connected replenishment will revolutionize surface warfare. Rearming our missile combatants at sea will make our fleet more lethaland more presentsending an unmistakable signal to our allies and deterring our adversaries. Admiral Paparo and I have discussed at-length the importance and the critical advantage this tremendous game-changing opportunity will provide usespecially in the Pacificand we are now working to pave the way for that capability to reach the fleet. To that end, I've directed an at-sea demonstration no later than this summer for reloading our Vertical Launch Systems at sea using the Transportable Re-Arming Mechanism (TRAM) developed at Port Hueneme. As we move deeper into this critical decade, the near-term deterrent effect of fielding TRAM in the fleet cannot be overstated. You don't have to look any further than the dozens of missile engagements conducted in the Red Sea by our destroyers to realize that a capability like TRAM is long overdue. While TRAM delivers an at-sea missile reload capability for the fleet, we look forward to working with industry to improve our missile supply through efforts like the Naval Modular Missile (NMM) program. NMM standardizes components across the family of naval missiles, streamlining production and bolstering our supply chain as our demand for weapons grows. Fueling our fleet for sustained operations is equally crucial. We've recently awarded the contract for the ninth John Lewis-class oiler, and initiatives like the Modular Consol Adapter Kit (MCAK) and Modular Fuel Delivery Station (MFDS) will further boost our refueling capacity. MCAK, which is easily and rapidly installable, will allow commercial tankers to refuel our Combat Logistics Force, while MFDS will enhance tanker compatibility with our entire fleet. These game-changing initiativesTRAM, NMM, MCAK, and MFDSwill solidify our maritime dominance and act as a powerful deterrent to our adversariesand will be operational within two to three years. Maybe I'll still be Secretary of the Navy then! Beyond immediate operational needs, we're tackling the long-term health of American shipbuilding. This isn't just a Navy priority; it's a national imperative. And I am driving innovation to change our outdated shipbuilding and repair paradigm. In November, I convened the inaugural meeting of the Government Shipbuilder's Council. Four different cabinet departmentsDefense, Transportation, Homeland Security, and Commerceand our five government shipbuilding partnersMARAD, Coast Guard, NOAA, and even the Armymet to discuss our common challenges in surface ship construction and share best practices. And we're working with our international partners, too. My team's recent visit to BAE's facility in the United Kingdom and my upcoming trips to Japan and South Korea underscore our commitment to learning from and collaborating with global leaders in shipbuilding. We need greater investment in our commercial and naval shipbuilding industry if we are to build a more lethal and bigger navyand we need to start that journey now. Last weekend, I also had the opportunity to visit Pearlson Shiplift in Miami, Florida to learn about technology with applications to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of our ship maintenance enterpriseto include potentially even include submarine production and maintenance. Their work in coordination with our Navy Facilities Engineering Command includes project development to address our need for expeditionary repair of both our forward deployed crewed and uncrewed systems. Our shipbuilders are also taking note. Fincanteri just completed installation of shiplift in Wisconsin and last week AUSTAL USA decided to invest in a shiplift system for the future of steel vessel construction programs. We've also launched a first-of-its-kind White House-led initiative on shipbuildingnaval and commercial. As part of my cabinet-level awareness and advocacy campaign, I've met with leaders across this administration on the need to take collective action to restore our comprehensive maritime power and the long-term health of American naval shipbuildingall as part of our national maritime statecraft. Now, let's focus on the role you in industry play alongside us. We in the government will not reach our goals nor will we succeed in our mission without your help. We need the brainpower and muscle of industry and academia. Your expertise, time, and resources are vital for developing the cutting-edge technologies we need. And as a former small business owner, I know a strong business case matters to serve as the foundation for that engagement. That is why I am committed to providing you in industry clear requirements, robust pipelines for the future, and strong stable investments. However, I need you to do your part as well to provide a proper return on investment for the American taxpayer. I need you to deliver platforms and capabilities on time and on budget without excuses. Yes, COVID had a negative impact on the supply chain, but we need to move beyond that now. I need industry to make the necessary investments to recruit and retain your own personnel more effectively. Overall, many of you are making record profitsas evidenced by your quarterly financial statementsand while I am happy for you, you can't be asking for the American taxpayer to make greater public investments while you continue to goose your stock prices through stock buybacks, deferring promised capital investments, and other accounting maneuvers thatto someseem to prioritize stock prices that drive executive compensation rather than making the needed, fundamental investments in the industrial base at a time when our nation needs us to be all ahead flank. We need to work together, government and industry, to develop the shipbuilding industrial base. You need to deliver ships, aircraft, and submarines on time and on budget. And you need to innovate. That's why the Department of the Navy's commitment to rapid innovation presents an unparalleled opportunity for industry partners. Several commands, including ONR, NavalX, NIC, MIU, RCO, and DCO are all actively collaborating with industry to identify and address capability gaps. Through initiatives like the Taxpayer Advocacy Project, I have directed our contract community and Office of General Counsel to ensure that we will leverage all legal means at our disposal to ensure that the American people are getting what they paid for. It's my obligation as the Secretary of the Navy to make sure theyyouget the proper return on investment. Now, in some cases, we recognize the Department of the Navy won't completely own all of the intellectual property of dual-use technologybut we must ensure that, when contractually required, we receive delivery of the technical data we need to maintain and sustain our platforms. And for those of you who think I will not hold firm, you obviously do not know me very well. Now, we do remain dedicated to the protection of IP rights for our small business partners. I also want you to know that the Department of the Navy is holding companies accountable for poor performance and misconductand now I've directed a deep dive into holding individuals accountable for chronic poor performance or misconduct as well. Not just to hold personnel responsible for their own actions, but to deter those who even consider taking similar actions. We must endeavor to ensure that contracts with the Navy are delivered on time and on budgetthe global strategic situation demands it. I am personally committed to a fully integrated teamSailor, Marine, civilian, contractor, and industryworking together to support our warfighters. Fiscal Year 2023 saw record investments and contractor awards, and I'm particularly proud we added nearly 1,000 new small businesses to our Navy-industry teama testament to our Office of Small Business Programs. My Director of Small Business Programs, Ms. Arveice Washington, is here today, and I encourage you to reach out to herall of us in the Department are excited to find ways to expand our partnerships with industry. Now, the key is to help us all find and train the right peopleand, as one example, NAVSEA's Team Submarines' Talent Pipeline Initiative has been instrumental in addressing workforce shortages. The Americans who build and maintain all of our ships are a national asset, and we must be relentless in our efforts to improve their number, capabilities, and skill. High-paying, high-skilled, "new-collar" jobs that restore America's manufacturing prowess are a priority of this Administration, combining traditionally blue-collar trades with cutting-edge technologies. We must reignite our manufacturing prowess, and we need 150,000 new, qualified workers to choose a career in shipbuilding over the next ten years to make it happen. Pre-apprenticeship, registered apprenticeship, and labor management programs are critical tools to help fulfill this labor demand. And as we're developing these skillsets throughout our shipbuilding workforce, we must continue to leverage our nation's advantage in technology and innovation in the maritime domain. This includes working to secure our systems and industrial base from within the cyber domain. The shipyard I remember from my active-duty career is disappearing quickly. Advances in modeling, virtual reality, and artificial intelligence will allow us to reduce costs, optimize systems, and improve interoperability. As we gather here this afternoon, we have nearly 100 ships under contract and over 50 in construction, including Ford-class aircraft carriers, Constellation-class frigates, San Antonio-class LPDs, Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, Columbia-class SSBNs, and Virginia-class SSNs. Last year, we commissioned the first Flight III destroyer, USS Jack H. Lucas, which marks an important milestone in that class's already storied history and represents the most technologically advanced surface combatant ever built. And one year ago, we installed the first SPY-6 RADAR on an amphibious warshipthe future USS Richard M. McCool Jr (LPD 29). But that isn't all. We also continue our initiatives to build a hybridmanned and unmannedfleet. Let's be frank: the hybrid fleet is here. It's not a future state, a list of capabilities, or a fanciful concept drawn up by strategists. This transformation is evident in the Indo-Pacific, Middle East, Caribbean, and Latin America, where unmanned systems are seamlessly integrated into our operations. And the future marches on. Together, Operation Windward Stack and Operation Gatekeeperled by Fourth and Fifth Fleet, respectivelywill include 16 unmanned vessels. Those vessels will provide a persistent presence in their respective AORs and deliver all-domain awareness over a total area covering tens of thousands of square miles. This past summer, we made history by deploying four unmanned ships to Japan for the first time. All these operations demonstrate our ability to rapidly procure, develop, and integrate off-the-shelf technologies. Our unmanned vessels free our more capable manned assets for strategic missionsand help us swiftly deploy manned platforms when necessary. Every operation, every test, every deployment of an unmanned platform allows to validate its effectiveness against a challenge we face in the maritime domain. And best of all, they never result in liberty incidents when they pull into port! But innovation is more than gadgets, gizmos, or whizbangs. Innovation is about culture. It's about fostering an environment where the status quo is never sacred, every voice is heard, and every idea is explored. We need to empower our Sailors and Marines to think differently, to think strategically, to challenge the status quo, and to relentlessly ask, "Why can't we do this better?" That's why we established the Department's Science and Technology Board, chaired by former Secretary of the Navy Richard Danzig. They are already tackling the tough questionslike how will emerging technologies shape the future of warfighting across all domains. Our ongoing project on surface ship maintenancea key priority for the CNOis investigating key issues that impact our performance. I eagerly await their recommendations and discovery of potential new technology investments to improve all aspects from planning, condition-based assessments, additive/advanced manufacturing, and IT modernization. Their initiative on surface ship cyber defense is a key imperative to execute complex missions in contested environments. We have a world class team performing this study that will impact the fleet. For example, we havefor the first timeintegrated cybersecurity and defense requirements into the new Constellation-class frigate at the onset of the program, as a critical attribute. The program has scheduled early integration testing events at available land-based test sites. These test events are intended to assess network cybersecurity controls and reduce shipboard integration risks for government- and contractor-furnished equipment. More, we're leading the effort on securing our weapons systems and critical infrastructure, led by my acting Principal Cyber Advisor, Mr. Scott St Pierre. We recently released an overall cyber strategy for the first time to enhance our posture and get after this key issue. As we push deeper into this critical decade, we have the conn in the eye of a storm. The challenges we face are complex, demanding, and ever-evolving. Among all the challenges, one thing must remain constant: the unwavering commitment of our nation to uphold the values of freedom, security, and prosperity. Our acquisitions and readiness are the bedrock of our national security. We're not just building ships, we're forging a modern, lethal fleetagile, adaptable, and able to meet any threat on the horizon. Our logistics and shipbuilding initiatives aren't just about jobs or creating a technological advantage, they're about guaranteeing a maritime force that can outmaneuver any challenge. But at the heart of our efforts are our people, because human ingenuity is the basis of our success. The unwavering courage of our Sailors and Marines, the dedication of our civilian workforce, and the strength of our partnershipsthese are the true metrics of our maritime advantage. Last month, we suspended the search for two U.S. Navy SEALS we lost at-seaPetty Officer First Class Christopher Chambers and Petty Officer Second Class Nathan Ingramduring an interdiction of Iranian lethal aid to the Houthis. And last week, in a training accident, we lost five MarinesLance Corporal Donovan Davis, Sergeant Alec Langen, Captain Benjamin Moulton, Captain Jack Casey, and Captain Miguel Navaassigned to the "Flying Tigers" of Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 361. These incidents highlight the dangerous nature of our workwe must honor these patriots and their ultimate sacrifice by remembering why we all choose to serve and committing ourselves to do better. Thank you all for your service to our Navy, our Marine Corps, and our Nation. May God continue to bless us with fair winds and following seas. Now, I'd like to hear from you. No question is off-limits. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address WFP calls for humanitarian access as violence and unrest wreak havoc in Haiti World Food Programme 15 February 2024 PORT-AU-PRINCE -- Amid sustained attacks on civilians by armed groups, increasing displacement and civil unrest in Haiti, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) is calling for unimpeded access for aid agencies and the free flow of food commodities to prevent already-dire levels of hunger from becoming catastrophic. WFP continues to deliver emergency food assistance in Haiti alongside programmes that help tackle root causes of hunger. However, the recent uptick in violence has prevented WFP from reaching more than 370,000 of most food insecure Haitians since early February. Currently, 44 percent of Haitians face acute food insecurity and struggle to feed their families. "The recent upsurge in violence has blocked cargo routes, restricted movement and closed schools, forcing WFP to temporarily halt many activities across the country. We can't afford to lose ground when 1.4 million Haitians face emergency levels of hunger. We risk seeing the most vulnerable people fall into famine-like conditions unless we can effectively deliver assistance," said Jean-Martin Bauer, WFP Country Director in Haiti. Children are bearing the brunt under the latest wave of violence and unrest. School closures in recent weeks have deprived close to 300,000 school children of daily hot meals provided by WFP and partners which are, for many, the only full meal of the day. In the Port-au-Prince, WFP was also unable to deliver rations to 56,000 people in the impoverished Cite Soleil neighborhood, as well as food to central kitchens providing meals for recently displaced people. The International Organization for Migrations (IOM) estimates that 20,000 people have fled their homes in the Haitian capital since the beginning of 2024. Working with the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labour, WFP continues to disburse payments to vulnerable households in the department of Grand'Anse through its social safety net programme, which provides digital transfers using mobile phones - illustrating how new technology can ensure continued assistance in moments of extreme volatility. WFP aims to reach 2.4 million people in 2024 through emergency assistance (cash and in-kind food rations) - security permitting - and is working with the government to provide school meals and to implement longer-term programmes to help Haitian produce their own food. # # # 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. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address NATO defence ministers discuss strengthening bloc's deterrence, support to Ukraine People's Daily Online (Xinhua) 09:11, February 16, 2024 BRUSSELS, Feb. 15 (Xinhua) -- The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) sought to further strengthen the bloc's deterrence and defence, and support to Ukraine, at its defence ministers meeting here on Thursday. In light of the deteriorating security environment, NATO does not see any "imminent military threat against the Alliance," NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said after the meeting. In terms of defense investment, Stoltenberg said he expected 18 member states to spend 2 percent of their GDP on defense this year, compared to only three members in 2014. This year, NATO member states in Europe will invest a total of 380 billion U.S. dollars in defense, he said. "By the end of 2024, European Allies and Canada will have added more than 600 billion dollars for defense since we made the Defence Investment Pledge in 2014," he added. The ministers also discussed ramping up production of ammunition to support Ukraine, Stoltenberg said. "We need to shift from the slow pace of peacetime to the high-tempo production demanded by conflict." In the past few months, NATO has agreed on contracts worth 10 billion dollars, he said. While some allies are coming together intending to deliver one million drones to Ukraine, 20 members have also agreed to form a demining coalition. Since the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the United States has provided around 75 billion dollars in military, financial and humanitarian aid to Ukraine, while other NATO member states and partners have provided over 100 billion dollars. NATO, created by 12 countries from Europe and North America in 1949, has 31 member states after several rounds of enlargement. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Israel kills Hamas, Hezbollah commanders, vows to expand attacks People's Daily Online (Xinhua) 08:40, February 16, 2024 JERUSALEM, Feb. 15 (Xinhua) -- Israel announced on Thursday that its forces killed two commanders from Hamas in the Gaza Strip and Hezbollah in Lebanon, while vowing to expand the attacks in Gaza and Lebanon. During a meeting of the Emergency Preparedness Committee, a governmental body, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant warned that Israel is prepared to escalate its attacks in Lebanon, noting that it has unleashed "no more than a tenth of our capabilities against Hezbollah." Israel has concluded a home front preparedness exercise for a full-fledged war scenario along the country's northern borders with Lebanon and Syria, Gallant noted. "The Air Force jets that are now flying above Lebanon have more massive bombs," he said, adding that Israel can attack 50 km deep into Lebanon and also in Beirut, the Lebanese capital. Gallant added that Israeli forces will continue operations in the Rafah area in southern Gaza and other places. Rockets fired by the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah on Thursday caused a temporary power outage in the northern Israeli city of Kiryat Shmona after a high-voltage line was damaged, the state-owned Israel Electric Corporation said in a statement. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced on Thursday that a commander of Hezbollah's Radwan Forces, Ali Muhammad Aldbas, his deputy, and an operative were killed on Wednesday in an Israeli drone attack on a Hezbollah military structure in the city of Nabatieh in southern Lebanon. Israeli warplanes carried out dozens of strikes on Hezbollah military structures in Blida, Maroun al-Ras and other areas in southern Lebanon, according to the IDF. Israel's Ha'aretz newspaper reported Thursday that senior Hezbollah official and parliament member Hassan Fadlallah warned that Israel "will pay the price" for its attacks in Lebanon, which killed 11 civilians a day earlier. In another development, the Israeli army said it raided the Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis in southern Gaza in an operation based on intelligence indicating that Hamas militants and the bodies of some Israeli hostages are in the hospital. Hamas said the Israeli forces forced the displaced people and staff to evacuate from the hospital, turning the largest functioning hospital in Gaza "into a military barrack." In Gaza City, Ahmed Ghoul, a commander of Hamas' Shati Battalion who participated in the Oct. 7 attack on Israel, was killed by Israeli forces, the IDF said. During the fighting in Gaza on Thursday, an Israeli soldier was killed and 12 others were injured, it added. The war has so far claimed the lives of at least 28,663 Palestinians and wounded 68,395 others, mostly civilians, according to the Gaza-based Media Office. The Israeli death toll from Hamas and Hezbollah attacks reached about 1,400, most of them killed during the initial Hamas cross-border surprise attack on Israel on Oct. 7 last year, according to official Israeli figures. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Operation Iron Swords - Day 132 - 15 February 2024 The biblical holidays for the Jews this year intersect with the second week of Ramadan and Tarawih prayers, which may open the door to a new battle in Al-Aqsa Mosque. Ramadan is celebrated Mar 10, 2024 Apr 9, 2024. Tarawih, also known as Taraweeh, is a voluntary (nafl) night prayer performed by Muslims during the Islamic month of Ramadan. Tarawih prayers are a sunnah of the Prophet, which means that it was his practice to perform them. Purim is a Jewish holiday that celebrates the survival of the Jewish people from annihilation in the 5th century BCE. The story is told in the Book of Esther and is known as the Feast of Lots. Purim dates are March 2324, 2024. The newspaper "Haaretz" said that the Television Regulatory Authority in Israel opened an investigation against Channel 13 due to a comment by one of its analysts in which he asserted that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "does not want the hostages (held in the Gaza Strip ) to return alive." The newspaper explained that the decision of the authority - which regulates and supervises commercial broadcasting in Israel - came after a comment by analyst Gil Tamari yesterday, Monday, on Channel 13s morning newscast, during a discussion about negotiations on a new prisoner exchange deal with the Islamic Resistance Movement ( Hamas ). Tamari, who is known for his criticism of Netanyahu and his right-wing government, said, "I said a month ago that Netanyahu has no real incentive to release the hostages. He wants them to die as martyrs for his own reasons." He added, "We must remember that he opposes the deal that was actually approved by the head of the Mossad , and he is the one who allowed him to conclude such a deal... Netanyahu does not want to return the hostages alive. We have to understand this and accept it." Tamari later appeared on the same channel and apologized for his previous comment, and said, I want to retract what I said, in which I implied that the prime minister wants to kill the hostages. Despite the very harsh criticism I directed at Netanyahu and the government, and without detracting from that criticism, my choice of words was unsuccessful. No. I truly believe that Netanyahu wants the hostages dead, and I regret my statements. The channel announced the suspension of the analyst for a few days because of his statements, but that did not prevent the Television Broadcasting Regulatory Authority from continuing its investigation, which may lead to imposing a financial penalty on the channel. The newspaper "Haaretz" quoted a statement from the Likud Party led by Netanyahu, published after Tamari's apology, which said, "While Prime Minister Netanyahu has already released 110 hostages and is working to release the others, Gil Tamari dares to say that the Prime Minister wants the hostages to die. Hamas does not "It needs its own media if it has Channel 13." A legal expert attributes Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's refusal to stop the aggression on the Gaza Strip to his fear of holding elections in Israel that he would lose and that would end his life and political ambitions. War Termination The IDF's Military Intelligence Research Department confirmed in a report published on Thursday that even if Hamas is defeated as a regime, it will remain as a "guerrilla" organization and eliminating it is an unrealistic goal. According to Israeli Channel 12, the department explained in its assessment of the situation regarding the expected achievements of the war on Gaza, as well as the Palestinian arena in general, that despite the maneuvers carried out by the army, the elimination of terrorists that took place and the defeat of the Phalange, real support for Hamas continues. The Israeli military intelligence report came as a kind of warning to the political echelon in Israel regarding the future of the Gaza Strip. Senior intelligence officials say that since there are currently no alternatives or practical steps to find an alternative to Hamas, Gaza will become in a deep crisis. Senior officers from the army, military intelligence, Shin Bet, and the National Security Council participated in preparing the report. Sources in the Israeli army said that during the discussions it was agreed that overthrowing Hamas is not a realistic goal in the foreseeable future. Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant previously confirmed that he is open to any solution that allows Israel to cut the umbilical cord from Gaza as long as it adheres to a simple formula, which is eliminating Hamas in the Strip. Yoav Galant added: At the end of the war, Hamas will be destroyed, and there will be no military threat to Israel from Gaza, and Israel will not be in Gaza. In an article by writers Tony Carson and Daniel Levy, they concluded that Israel is in the process of losing the battle it is leading against Hamas in the Gaza Strip , considering that Hamas, despite its limited numbers and equipment, has become a rival to Tel Aviv. Carson and Levy pointed out in an article published by The Nation website that just thinking about this matter seems a kind of absurdity, especially since a group of irregular armed men, whose number does not exceed tens of thousands, are besieged and have little ability to... Having access to advanced weapons, they became a counterpart to one of the most powerful armies in the world, supported and armed by the United States of America. Despite all these qualities that the Israeli army possesses , a growing number of strategic analysts in the military establishment warn that Israel may lose this war against the Palestinians despite the catastrophic violence it has unleashed since the Al-Aqsa Flood attack last October 7. Netanyahu's office rejected any discussion at the present time about establishing a Palestinian state, considering that the priority at the current stage is "victory over Hamas." In a press conference, Avi Heyman, spokesman for Netanyahus office, said: Now is not the time to talk about gifts to the Palestinian people... Israel is still living in the aftermath of the October 7 massacre committed against us by a Palestinian terrorist organization that practices genocide, as he put it. He added: "Now is the time for victory... complete victory over Hamas, and we will continue on the path to victory," repeating Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's message that "all discussions about the next day for Hamas will take place the next day." Earlier, the Palestinian Authority Foreign Ministry welcomed the efforts made to reach a political initiative leading to the establishment of an independent Palestinian state, and criticized the Israeli ministers who rejected the idea. The ministry called for sanctions to be imposed on the ministers, especially National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who "pose a threat to peace, security and stability in the region." The Foreign Ministry added: "The Ministry welcomes all regional and international efforts made to formulate a political initiative based on the strategic needs to establish a Palestinian state, and pave the way for an immediate ceasefire that protects Palestinian citizens and releases hostages in exchange for prisoners." The Washington Post reported that the United States and several Arab partners are preparing a detailed plan to reach a comprehensive peace agreement between Israel and Palestine that includes a fixed timetable for the establishment of the State of Palestine. The war in Gaza has entered its 132nd day, while the specter of a humanitarian catastrophe looms over Rafah, which awaits an Israeli military operation, coinciding with negotiations in Egypt regarding a truce and the release of prisoners and hostages. US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said that his country is seeking to reach a temporary truce in Gaza as part of a possible prisoner exchange deal, while Israel witnessed protests against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's decision to freeze talks on detainees. Sullivan added in statements he made yesterday, Wednesday, that the goal is to begin with a temporary truce and build on it in order to reach a more sustainable situation. For his part, Strategic Policy Coordinator at the US National Security Council, John Kirby, said that Washington believes that the Cairo negotiations on Gaza were constructive. He added in an interview with CNN that Washington is still involved and holds out hope that the talks will lead to a positive result. In this context, the US Department of Defense (Pentagon) said that Secretaryr Lloyd Austin discussed yesterday, in contact with his Israeli counterpart Yoav Gallant, negotiations to secure the release of what he described as the remaining hostages of the Hamas movement. In an interview with Al Jazeera, the US ambassador to Qatar, Timmy Davis, said that his country views the ongoing negotiations in Egypt regarding reaching a humanitarian truce and ceasefire in Gaza with cautious optimism. Davis added that US efforts are currently focused on reaching a peaceful solution to the conflict and developing a plan that could lead to the establishment of a Palestinian state. In developments in the same file, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said - in statements she made during her visit to Israel - that there is a need for a new humanitarian truce in Gaza, and that the Qatari-Egyptian proposal is an opportunity that must be seized. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Hamas must give up its conditions, adding that then negotiations can advance. Netanyahu added that the key to releasing the rest of the "kidnapped" is to continue military pressure on Hamas, which demands that any agreement lead to an end to the ongoing aggression against Gaza for more than 4 months. Israeli media said that the Prime Minister ordered the Israeli delegation, which was supposed to travel today, Thursday, to resume prisoner exchange negotiations in Cairo, not to go there. In this context, the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation reported that Netanyahu made the decision without the knowledge of the two ministers in the war council, Benny Gantz and Gadi Eisenkot, indicating that they will demand full participation in decision-making in the war council today, Thursday. As for the Israeli Channel 13, it quoted an unnamed Israeli official that a dispute broke out between the political and security elite in Israel regarding the delegations participation in the Cairo talks. According to Tel Aviv estimates, there are still about 130 Israelis detained in Gaza, and 30 of them are likely killed. Meanwhile, Israeli media reported that the families of the Israeli prisoners demonstrated last night in front of the homes of Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant , and War Council member Benny Gantz after the negotiation delegations travel to Cairo was cancelled, demanding the immediate conclusion of an exchange deal. The families of the Israeli prisoners threatened to stage a sit-in in front of the Ministry of Defense headquarters in Tel Aviv if Netanyahu continued to ignore them. Also last night, dozens of demonstrators from the "Change Direction" movement stormed the headquarters of the Israeli Likud Party in Tel Aviv to protest the continued war on Gaza. The protesters demanded a no-confidence vote in Benjamin Netanyahu's government and a date for immediate elections, considering it an extremist government that sacrifices citizens for its political survival. The movement also called on members of the Likud Party to remove what it described as the extremist movement from the government. The Washington Post quoted American and Arab officials as saying that the administration of President Joe Biden and some of its partners in the Middle East are working on developing a comprehensive plan to establish lasting peace between the Palestinians and the Israelis, but ministers in Benjamin Netanyahu s government renewed their rejection of the establishment of a Palestinian state. The newspaper said that the peace plan includes a timetable for establishing a Palestinian state that can be announced as soon as possible. It quoted an American official who participated in the discussions as saying that the key to the Middle East peace plan is the hostage deal, referring to a possible prisoner exchange agreement between Israel and the Palestinian resistance. The Washington Post also quoted the European Union's Special Representative for the Middle East Peace Process, Sven Koopmans, as saying that the Union is communicating with the various parties to develop a plan that actually focuses on reaching the end of the conflict. Koopmans indicated that the plan aims to reach an independent and fully recognized Palestinian state, and a safe Israeli state fully integrated into the region. Recently, there have been repeated American statements calling for the implementation of the so-called two-state solution , which would lead to the establishment of a Palestinian state alongside Israel, after the end of the war on Gaza, but this was met with rejection from the highest political levels in Tel Aviv. European countries also announced that they are considering recognizing an independent Palestinian state in a proactive step that would pave the way for the implementation of the two-state solution. In what appeared to be a direct response to the Washington Post report, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said that he would under no circumstances agree to a two-state solution. Smotrich added that the Palestinian state poses an existential threat to the State of Israel, as was proven on October 7, in reference to Operation Al-Aqsa Flood. The Israeli Finance Minister continued that he will demand today, at the Political and Security Ministerial Council meeting, a clear and unambiguous decision stating that Israel opposes the establishment of a Palestinian state, saying that he expects clear support from Prime Minister Netanyahu, members of the War Council, Benny Gantz and Gadi Eisenkot , and all ministers. For his part, Israeli Minister of National Security Itamar Ben Gvir said that the world wants to give the Palestinians a state, and that this will not happen, as he put it. The Times of Israel newspaper quoted Diaspora Minister Amichai Shikli as saying that Israel must resist the American plan and threaten to take unilateral steps, such as canceling the Oslo Accords. In this context, Zeev Elkin, head of the State Camp bloc in the Knesset - led by Benny Gantz - said that the establishment of a Palestinian state would lead to the risk of repeating the events of last October 7 in all of Israel, as he put it. Elkin considered that the establishment of a Palestinian state means that Hamas will win every election that will be held, saying that no one suggested to the United States the establishment of a state for Al-Qaeda after the events of September 11, he said. In contrast to American statements about the necessity of implementing the two-state solution as soon as possible after the war on Gaza, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu repeatedly announced his rejection of the establishment of a Palestinian state, and said that Israel will not give up its full security control over the West Bank. An article in the British newspaper The Guardian warned that what US President Joe Biden is promoting regarding a Palestinian state does not contain any mention of Resolution 242 , but rather may be limited to a statelet similar to the Bantustans in South Africa during the apartheid regime , stressing that 3 things must be the basis for the prospective state. The newspaper - in an article written by H. A. Hellyer, who is an associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute and the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace - drew attention to British Foreign Secretary David Camerons surprise announcement of the possibility of the United Kingdom recognizing a Palestinian state before the end of the peace process with Israel, and the United States also saying that it would It could recognize the Palestinian state after the war in Gaza. The writer believed that this trend towards recognition of the Palestinian state, if it is based on Security Council Resolution No. 242, which is based on the principle that Israels withdrawal from the lands it occupied in 1967 is a precondition for peace, then it will be consistent with other moves that have been taken in this direction, Most notably, the Arab Peace Initiative of 2002 was accepted by all members of the League and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, including Iran, confirmed its support for it, although Israel still rejects it. However, the state that Washington is talking about - according to Hellyer - may not contain any mention of Resolution 242, and what the US President is promoting appears to be a state similar to the Bantustans in South Africa during apartheid, or Russian puppet states in eastern Ukraine, which means that it is not country at all. This is why the writer says that the new Palestinian state must be based on three foundations, which are that the land cannot be seized by force, the necessity of removing and rejecting the extreme right in Israel, and carrying out real reform of the Palestinian National Council . If such a Palestinian statelet is established, it will not be viewed by the Palestinians, the surrounding region, or even the international community as Israels fulfillment of its obligations under international law, nor as recognition of the Palestinians aspirations to establish a state, according to the writer, who believes that this step will be seen as an endorsement of the legitimacy of the occupation, and this will not help Israel and its allies obtain support within the region.As for the path to progress, it is based on three indispensable pillars, according to Heller, the first of which is that Resolution 242 in 2024 remain the cornerstone, not only for addressing the Palestinian issue, but also for preserving the principle of rejecting force as a means of seizing land, because the international community He watches what the West is doing in Israel and Palestine, and compares it to what Russia and Ukraine are doing, and we cannot allow contradiction to be the prevailing norm today. The second pillar is to undertake real reform of the Palestinian National Council, the legislative body of the Palestine Liberation Organization, to make it accountable, more democratic and more representative. Finally, the Israeli extreme right represented in the current government must be rejected, to ensure that our behavior reflects our values, and therefore the West must work to marginalize and isolate the Israeli political forces that work to undermine the safety of the people of Israel, as well as global interests in the region. Operational Update Haaretz newspaper said that soldiers from the Givati Brigade refused to obey orders and carry out military missions inside Gaza City, due to the deterioration of their psychological and physical conditions. Earlier, the Israeli government broadcasting authority reported that about 3,000 regular and reserve soldiers have been examined by mental health officers since the beginning of the war on Gaza on October 7, 2023. Rafah includes a military presence of various Palestinian resistance factions, and the Al-Qassam Brigades, the military arm of Hamas, form its backbone. The Rafah Brigade is considered one of the five brigades that constitute the strength of the Al-Qassam military effort in the Gaza Strip. It includes 4 military battalions: Yabna, Al-Sharqiya, Al-Shaboura, and Al-Gharbiyah, which cover the neighborhoods and areas of Rafah Governorate, and the number of its fighters is estimated at approximately 10,000 fighters. Rafah formed an advanced confrontation point with the occupation army in the Gaza Strip, and dozens of specific operations were launched from it during the years of the occupation and then the Al-Aqsa Intifada, including the bombing of a Merkava tank in 2004, claimed by the Al-Quds Brigades, which at the time killed 6 occupation soldiers. Following the occupations withdrawal from the Gaza Strip in 2005, Operation Shattered Illusion was launched from Rafah, which resulted in the capture of soldier Gilad Shalit from inside the Kerem Shalom military site. The year 2014 also witnessed the capture of officer Hadar Goldin. Rafah contributed to supporting the Palestinian resistance with a number of its most prominent military leaders, including Raed Al-Attar, commander of the Rafah Brigade in the Al-Qassam Brigades, and Muhammad Abu Shamala, head of the Brigades Supply and Equipment Department. Likewise, Jamal Abu Samhadana, leader and founder of the Al-Nasser Salah al-Din Brigades, Khaled Mansour and Muhammad Sheikh Khalil, leaders of the Al-Quds Brigades, and Majdi Al-Khatib, one of the leaders of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades. The region gained an additional advantage by being the main supply point for the resistance factions with equipment and weapons, through border tunnels, which date back to the 1980s. The process of building tunnels developed over the years to form the main weapon artery of the resistance until 2014, which witnessed the Egyptian army launching a campaign against the border tunnels and forming a buffer zone in Sinai. The tunnels were - and still are - the password and title of the confrontation in Rafah, which placed it at the top of the list of Israeli military targets since the beginning of the Al-Aqsa Intifada, as it was subjected to dozens of invasions and military operations before the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, and later in the 2008 operation. Since the beginning of February, the pace of statements made by the Israeli Prime Minister about his intention to deepen the aggression against Gaza towards the city of Rafah has accelerated, as he confirmed that he had instructed the army to prepare the necessary military plans to expand the attack and to prepare field plans to transport hundreds of thousands of displaced people from Rafah. Despite the official political statements that successively warned against expanding the aggression towards Rafah, whether by Arab or European countries, and the conservative Egyptian position, Netanyahu does not seem to care about the extent of international condemnations. He is moving forward with promoting the expected attack on Rafah, armed with the American position that does not oppose the operation but It requires the safety of civilians, according to President Joe Bidens statements. Israeli statements are based on 4 main facts to justify the expected attack on Rafah, which are: 1 - Completing the mission "Eliminate the military force of Hamas" - The Rafah Brigade constitutes one-fifth of the fighting force of the Hamas movement, and after 130 days of aggression, it still maintains a large part of its human and material military capabilities. The brigade, with its four battalions, did not enter into any direct confrontations with the occupation army on the ground after the Al-Aqsa Flood on October 7, 2023. Although no evidence has been documented of the existence of tunnels for smuggling weapons into the Gaza Strip in Rafah, Egyptian military operations targeted the border area to destroy the tunnels and impose a buffer zone on the border with Gaza, in which Hamas participated at some stages under the title of controlling the borders. Israel believes that there are tunnels for smuggling weapons, despite its failure to estimate the size and quality of the tunnel networks in Gaza, and the clear gap in information and facts on the ground revealed by the ground incursion into Gaza. The political level, through Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, accused Egypt of involvement in the Al-Aqsa Flood operation, and said at a meeting of his partys parliamentary bloc, The Egyptians bear great responsibility for what happened on October 7. Hamas arming passed largely through Egypt. 2 - Imposing control and siege on the Gaza Strip - The occupation army has fire control over the northern Gaza Strip, separating the north from the central region and the south by stationing itself in the south of the Gaza Governorate. It has taken its southern neighborhoods and the site of the former Netzarim settlement as points of concentration for its forces, which from time to time launch ground incursions deep into the western neighborhoods of Gaza City. In addition to its presence in the northeast and west of the sector. With the start of the ground invasion towards the city of Khan Yunis, the occupation partially cut off the road connecting the Central Governorate to Khan Yunis Governorate, which penetrated into the eastern, southern, northern and western parts of it, and cut off with fire the road connecting to the city of Rafah via Salah al-Din Street, east of the governorate. By controlling the Philadelphia axis, the Israeli army has divided the Gaza Strip into 4 separate parts, completely besieging it from its four sides, and thus becoming directly in control of the movement of individuals and humanitarian aid to and from the Gaza Strip, and within the Strips governorates in the north, south, and center. 3 - Field pressure to impose conditions in the truce talks - The idea of the IDF developing its attack on the Gaza Strip towards the city of Rafah, after more than 130 days of aggression, may be viewed as primarily a political tactical step, seeking to impose a state of direct pressure on the Palestinian resistance, and drag it into the category of giving up its demands that it had previously presented during rounds of discussions. The truce is taking place under Egyptian and Qatari sponsorship and American knowledge in Cairo. 4 - Attack on Rafah - Recalling the number of surprises presented by the Al-Aqsa Flood battle since its beginning, the option of invading the city of Rafah does not seem far-fetched, despite its high political and military cost to the occupation before the world. This comes in light of the clear consensus on the threat that this attack poses to the lives of hundreds of thousands of displaced people, and in light of an Egyptian position that is officially wary of the idea of directing this human mass towards the border, or the idea of violating the Camp David Accords by launching a military operation in the area that the agreement stipulated was devoid of Weapon from both sides. Between the two sides of optimism and pessimism, the idea of the IDF launching a local operation in Rafah is likely, which may be by seeking to penetrate the city from its southeast and positioning itself on the ruins of Gaza International Airport, and starting from there to penetrate the separation border and seek to isolate the Gaza Strip from Egypt, or launching rapid local operations to strike what They are believed to be military targets for Hamas and the resistance factions. Scenarios of invasion - With the Israeli threat of launching a military operation in Rafah, Egyptian officials repeatedly made statements threatening to suspend the peace treaty with Israel, according to what was reported by the Associated Press. These statements coincided with the Egyptian army moving 40 tanks and troop carriers towards North Sinai, and accelerating the operations of fortifying the border wall separating Gaza strip. The Egyptian position and the scenario of canceling the Camp David Treaty may not seem like a serious option at the present time, especially if it is connected to a long history of Israeli violations of the treaty, but despite its consequences for Egypt as well by depriving it of the annual American aid imposed by the treaty, it constitutes a pressure card in terms of accelerating reaching a halt. Fire, or curtailing the planned military operation in Rafah. The Rafah invasion operation, once launched, will constitute a military and humanitarian dilemma for the Gaza Strip, and will open the doors wide to scenarios of forced displacement and a new catastrophe for the residents of the Strip. This is what Hamas and its allies in the region are well aware of, and which may require them to escalate the level of confrontation with the occupation on the Lebanon and Yemen fronts to avoid the consequences. Disastrous attack. Given the current data, and with our inability to predict the limits of communications and coordination between Hamas and the pillars of the Axis of Resistance, this scenario for expanding the scope of the confrontation seems possible and capable of shuffling the cards in the region, curbing Israels intentions to invade Rafah, and obliging its allies to intervene to prevent the region from being dragged into a wide-ranging regional war. Despite American media statements and press reports about the Biden administrations annoyance with the uncompromising Israeli position, Washington seems to be far from taking a different position towards the occupation, while the Arab and European position continues to issue official statements warning of the consequences of the attack on Rafah. The escalation of demonstrations and popular events in countries around the world, and the political and legal consequences of the decision of the International Court of Justice, the most recent of which was the decision of a Dutch court to stop the export of F-35 aircraft parts to Israel, are cumulatively creating a state of pressure that may reach the point of no return, and cause... International resolutions against Israel force it to stop the aggression. The Palestinian Red Crescent said that it had not received any aid through the Rafah crossing for about a week; Due to the continuing Israeli demonstrations that obstruct the inspection of trucks by the occupation authorities at the Al-Auja crossing. Dozens of Israelis closed the Al-Auja crossing, located on the Israeli-Egyptian border, and prevented humanitarian aid trucks from reaching the Gaza Strip. Meanwhile, the Kerem Shalom crossing is still operating to bring in aid for United Nations organizations and other aid. Demonstrations have been continuing for weeks in front of the Kerem Shalom and Al-Auja crossings near the Gaza Strip, in order to prevent the entry of aid into the Gaza Strip, and to pressure Hamas to release Israeli prisoners in the Gaza Strip. An article in the Financial Times questioned the reason behind the failure of aid to reach the residents of the Gaza Strip, who are in dire need of it. The report said that inspections and security problems impede the arrival of food supplies, despite the looming famine in the besieged Strip. The newspaper pointed out that the aid shipment, which could have fed more than a million Palestinians for a month, remained stagnant in the Israeli port of Ashdod for weeks, and then the Israeli authorities said they would not release it. One of the field commanders of the Al-Qassam Brigades - the military wing of the Islamic Resistance Movement ( Hamas ) - said in a video clip that the occupation is delusional and is looking for a mirage with its talk of dismantling Hamas military capabilities, stressing that the Qassam is an idea that will never end, and our fighters are still safe and sound. In this context, the military and strategic expert, Major General Fayez Al-Duwairi, commented on the words of the Qassami Commander, saying that the video differs from all previous videos, as it sent messages to supporters of the resistance, as well as messages of challenge to the occupation. Al-Duwairi confirmed during his analysis for Al Jazeera that the speakers words are consistent with the content of the video, after it included a specific resistance operation within a distance of no more than 800 meters from the border fence, even though the occupation armys operations have entered their third month east of Khan Yunis, south of the Gaza Strip. He pointed out that the video confirms that the offensive resistance tunnels still exist and have not been destroyed or discovered, adding that most of the occupation's painful operations occur deep in the areas it entered, as happened in Bureij, Juhr al-Dik, and Khan Yunis. Al-Duwairi warned that he would not be surprised if the Al-Qassam Brigades bombed central occupied Palestine at any moment, attributing this to the fact that whoever is managing the battle takes into account the worst scenario, and the Al-Qassam cannot divest itself of its strategic weapons, because the duration of the battle is unknown. The strategic expert did not deny the resistances suffering and loss as a result of the Israeli bombing, but at the same time he asked, Did these strikes lead to a disruption in the defensive battle?, to which he answered categorically in the negative. He added, asking, Has the occupation condemned control over one square kilometer of the total area of the Gaza Strip? He responded by saying, The resistance is still active, cohesive, and managing its battle effectively, and in many cases it has the upper hand. Regarding developments on the Lebanese-Israeli front, Al-Duwairi stressed that what is happening is a gradual but controlled escalation, reviewing the development of the escalation in the region, and the expansion of its geographical scope since last October. He added that both sides "do not want to go to open war; it is costly for Lebanon, as well as for the occupation army, which has been exhausted in Gaza." He concluded that the equation between Lebanese Hezbollah and Israel is similar to Newton's third law of motion, as "for every action there is a reaction equal in magnitude and opposite in direction." The Israeli army carried out a raid on the Labouneh area in the western sector of southern Lebanon. For its part, Hezbollah said that it targeted with missiles a gathering of Israeli soldiers in the vicinity of the Zarit barracks and achieved a direct hit. Hezbollah also targeted the Birkat Risha site with missile weapons. Al Jazeera's correspondent reported that sirens sounded in Kiryat Shmona in the Upper Galilee. The correspondent stated that 8 missiles were launched from southern Lebanon towards an Israeli site in the Upper Galilee. Al-Monitor newspaper quoted a French diplomatic source as saying that Paris is working with the administration of President Joe Biden to avoid the outbreak of an all-out war between Israel and Hezbollah. The source added that we should not wait for a ceasefire in Gaza to begin calming tensions between the two sides. He explained that the French proposal to reduce the escalation includes deploying thousands of Lebanese soldiers on the border. The Wall Street Journal said that the US State Department is investigating allegations that the Israeli Air Force used white phosphorus in its raids on the Gaza Strip and southern Lebanon. The newspaper, which quoted American officials, explained that the investigation aims to determine whether the weapons provided by the United States to Israel were used incorrectly to kill civilians. It added that the authorities are investigating the air attack on Jabalia refugee camp (northern Gaza Strip) on October 31, which led to the death of more than 125 people. The American newspaper pointed out that investigators suspect that Israel may have used a bomb weighing about 907 kilograms in that raid. Last October, the Palestinian Foreign Ministry accused Israel of using white phosphorus to bomb densely populated areas in the Gaza Strip. The founder and head of the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Observatory, Rami Abdo, also published the same clip. Human Rights Watch had mentioned in previous reports that Israel had used white phosphorus in several wars, especially in the Gaza Strip. According to the organization, white phosphorus is a chemical substance that is dispersed by artillery shells, bombs, missiles, and mortar shells, and is primarily used to camouflage ground military operations. It explained, "Its use in open areas is permitted under international law, but air-explosive white phosphorus over populated areas is illegal as it exposes civilians to dangers." Maps All maps are lies. Not only is it easy to lie with maps, it is essential, wrote cartographer Mark Monmoneir in his book How to Lie with Maps. He showed that condensing complex, three-dimensional spaces onto a two-dimensional sheet of paper [in old days] is bound to be reductive. But it is impossible to comprehend the war in Gaza without reference to maps, otherwise the entire conflict is reduced to an endless series of meaningless acts of random violence and the suffering of civilians. The first characteristic of guerrilla warfare is the loss of a front line. Evidently, different mappers have different ideas of how to depict the war in Gaza, notably those that seek to depict Israeli progress in the ground campaign. Part of the problem is latency. The news that forms the basis of the maps takes time to filter out to mappers, and the cartographers take time in crafting their maps, and it takes time to curate them. These processes are uneven among mappers, so their maps may differ in detail. Probably there is some ideological bias, or at least thematic apperception, which is understandable in wartime. It may come as no surprise that al-Jazeera maps depict rather less Israeli territorial progress than other sources. Finally, there remains the epistemological question of just exactly what are the colored in areas depicting. Naively, this might be understood as areas of Israeli control, that are no longer contested by the HAMAS. Or possibly these are areas of Israeli presence, in many of which the possibility of an RPG-wielding HAMAS militant popping out of a tunnel unexpectedly remains a live possibility. With the "zero-range" combat characterized by small unit tactics on both sides, maps may be prey to a fallacy of misplaced concreteness. Bystanders International warnings continued about the dangers of Israel launching a military operation in Rafah , south of the Gaza Strip , and the disastrous consequences that would result from that. Spain and Ireland called on the international community to quickly intervene to prevent this looming catastrophe. In a rare joint statement from Canada, Australia and New Zealand, the countries warned members of the Commonwealth on Tuesday that any Israeli military operation in Rafah would be disastrous for Palestinian civilians. The leaders of the three countries allied with the United States expressed their "deep concern" about the existence of indications of a planned Israeli ground attack on Rafah. In its joint statement, it urged the Israeli government not to take this path. The statement said, "A military operation in Rafah would be disastrous. There are about 1.5 million Palestinians who have taken refuge in this area, and civilians have no other place to go." Adding that there is "an urgent need for an immediate ceasefire for humanitarian purposes and a need to negotiate a political solution to achieve lasting peace." For their part, Spain and Ireland called on the European Union to conduct an urgent review of the extent of Israels compliance with its human rights obligations in the Gaza Strip, and the need for urgent intervention by the international community to stop the expanded Israeli operation against the city of Rafah in the south of the Gaza Strip. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said, in a post on the If the occupation authorities fulfill their obligations and respect human rights in the Gaza Strip. The joint letter stated that if it becomes clear that Israel is violating the Association Agreement with the European Union, which makes respect for human rights and democratic principles an essential element of their relationship, the Commission must propose appropriate measures for the Council to consider. The two ministers expressed their deep concern about the deteriorating situation in the Gaza Strip, noting that the expanded Israeli attack in the city of Rafah, south of the Strip, constitutes a serious and imminent threat that the international community must address urgently. They also called for an immediate ceasefire in the Strip to facilitate the arrival of supplies. Humanitarian and relief assistance needed for the residents there. On the same level, the International Committee of the Red Cross warned in a statement yesterday, that the increasing and continuing Israeli hostilities in Rafah pose a catastrophic threat to the lives of civilians and infrastructure. Director of the Middle East Branch of the International Committee of the Red Cross, Fabrizio Carbone, said in the statement: We renew our call to save and protect lives. Civilians and infrastructure. The statement added that under international humanitarian law, the provision of basic necessities for life must be guaranteed and the necessary guarantees taken to preserve the lives of the civilian population, and stressed the need to preserve the basic principle of humanity, speaking of indications that the war is entering a new phase. The statement pointed out that Israel, as the occupying power, bears the responsibility under international law to ensure that the basic needs of the civilian population are met. The organization stressed in its statement that forced displacement is explicitly prohibited under international humanitarian law, as well as the use of human shields and indiscriminate attacks that cause the death, injury, and destruction of disproportionate numbers of civilians. It pointed out that evacuations must ensure the safe arrival of civilians, must provide satisfactory conditions in terms of hygiene, health, safety and nutrition, and not separate family members, noting that they must also be able to return to their homes when hostilities stop. The visit of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to Cairo ended nearly 10 years of estrangement between the two countries, following Ankaras refusal to overthrow the late President Mohamed Morsi , and tensions escalated until the two countries were on the verge of a direct military confrontation in Libya following Turkeys intervention to prevent the fall of the capital, Tripoli, into the hands of the general. Retired Khalifa Haftar, supported by Egypt and the UAE. Observers believed that this visit opened promising cooperation and spread an atmosphere of optimism in the two countries, pushing relations forward. It also came at a pivotal moment of regional tension, in light of the Israeli aggression on Gaza, to constitute support for Egypts position in the face of Israeli threats to Egyptian national security. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi will respond to Erdogans visit, which he described as a new page in relations between the two countries, by accepting the invitation to visit Turkey next April, to participate in the sessions of the Strategic Cooperation Council. Analysts in Egypt believe that rapprochement with Turkey has positive effects on Gaza, based on the weight of the two countries, as their rejection of war, the displacement of Palestinians, and launching an operation on the city of Rafah will constitute a clear message that is difficult for Washington and the European Union to ignore, in addition to that this rapprochement will seek to besiege Israeli positions in international organizations. Erdogans speech regarding the aggression on Gaza came to confirm that seeking to deliver aid to Gaza is one of the most important priorities of the two countries, expressing his appreciation for Egypts role in rejecting forced displacement, and the two presidents agreed on the necessity of an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip , and to calm tensions in the West Bank , in order to achieve peace, Erdogan also stressed that his country will continue to cooperate with Egypt to reconstruct Gaza. Ambassador Masoum Marzouk, the former Egyptian Assistant Foreign Minister, believes that this visit will resolve the differences between the two countries, and overcome the pitfalls over the past years, while acknowledging the existence of differences in viewpoints on many issues, adding in his speech to Al Jazeera Net that they are disagreements that can be settled according to the highest interests of the two countries, and reaching "For compromise solutions between the two capitals." The ambassador stressed that Erdogan's visit to Cairo "may be in favor of the existence of a regional security system that brings together many important regional powers, in light of the threats besieging the countries of the region, in a way that necessitates the need for coordination between these major powers, to launch a system that confronts the threats, especially towards the situation in Gaza." He also said, "It is certain that the visit is considered a qualitative shift in the relations of the two countries, but this development will not happen overnight. Rather, it will require some efforts, especially if the intentions of the two countries are achieved." The state of stalemate and political tension between Cairo and Ankara over the past decade did not negatively affect their economic relations, as trade exchange numbers between them reached $10 billion in 2022, primarily to the benefit of Turkey. During the meeting, Sisi confirmed that Egypt will raise the level of trade exchange with Turkey to $15 billion through several agreements, which President Erdogan confirmed in his speech in turn. Egyptian economic expert Hani Adel considered that "Erdogan's visit and the momentum surrounding it will be positive for cooperation to support the Egyptian economy, which is suffering from severe difficulties, and increase the rates of trade, especially since Turkey's economic weight may constitute support for Egypt." He expressed his expectations that the improvement in political relations would double Turkish investments in Egypt, which exceed two billion dollars, and may expand to include new areas such as the wealth of the Eastern Mediterranean and the textile and petrochemical sectors, as well as removing any obstacles to Egyptian exports to Turkey, in a way that balances trade exchange. The economic expert pointed out the need for the two countries for intensive rounds of negotiations in order to exchange local currencies in commercial transactions, pointing out the absence of the governors of the central banks in the two countries from attending the visit ceremony, which means postponing this file. A similar state of satisfaction appeared for the visit within Turkish circles, as Turkish observers considered it historic and would constitute a new page for relations with Egypt, opening the door to positive paths for it at all levels, building on a broad history of cooperation between them over the past decades, and benefiting from the rapprochement it had established. The visit to improve relations at all levels, politically, economically and militarily, in light of negotiations to supply Egypt with Turkish drones. Turkish observers saw that Ankara seeks through the visit to strengthen its regional influence, expand its influence on the African continent, and deepen its ties with the Arab world. It also aims to establish a stronger presence in the Palestinian issue and support political stability in Libya, in addition to protecting its interests in the Eastern Mediterranean. Ankara also aims to expand export opportunities to markets that are already active for Turkey, and the partnership in the field of defense industries is expected to produce effects that enhance the military capabilities of both parties, which promises a strategic shift that may reshape the features of regional cooperation, in light of the good relations that Cairo has with Cyprus. And Greece. Regarding the impact of the visit on the situation in Gaza, political researcher Ibrahim Ozgur pointed out in his interview with Al Jazeera Net that Erdogans foreign policy, especially related to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, reflects a deep commitment to ideology that often goes beyond pragmatic geopolitics. He considered that Turkish solidarity with the Palestinians is an essential element of their identity. Turkey's political stance, which greatly affects its position towards Israel and its aggression against Gaza. He added, "Despite the history of volatile relations with Israel, Erdogan has taken a sharper stance against it in light of the recent escalation in Gaza, and affirmed his support for the Palestinian cause, a stance that is in line with his broader foreign policy vision, which positions Turkey as the protector of Muslims in the region, including... the Palestinians." The researcher pointed out that "the visit supports a possible shift in regional dynamics, as Erdogan seeks to use relations with Egypt to play a more prominent role in mediating the Gaza conflict," and stressed that "the current political reality requires Turkey to strengthen its active role in the region," pointing out that Egypt represents a fundamental pillar for several issues that Turkey aspires to get involved in, which prompts the Turkish leadership to seek to strengthen ties with Cairo. Axis of Resistance The ongoing genocidal war on the Gaza Strip demonstrates the necessity for the replacement of the unjust global structure with a just one, Irans president said. The situation in the Gaza Strip, which is enduring a genocidal Israeli war, is symbolic of the unjustness of the governing, Ebrahim Raisi said during a meeting in Tehran on Wednesday with the visiting head of Russias Republic of Tatarstan, Rustam Minnikhanov. "The genocide and crime against humanity that is taking place in Gaza has necessitated replacement of the current unjust (global) structure with a just order more than ever," Raisi said. "Disapproval of unilateralism, preservation of independence, and confrontation against the imperial system are among Iran and Russia's common approaches, and an appropriate platform for (further) convergence of the countries' relations," he noted. Hezbollahs Secretary General Seyed Hassan Nasrallah said in a televised address that Lebanons resistance would only stop exchanges of fire when a full ceasefire is in place in the besieged Gaza Strip. On that day, when the shooting stops in Gaza, we will stop the shooting in the south, Nasrallah stated. If they (Israel) broaden the confrontation, we will do the same, Nasrallah warned in the televised address. The Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah vowed retaliation after Israels latest airstrikes on southern Lebanon killed two children. Todays offensive against southern Lebanon, during which a number of civilians were martyred, cannot pass without a response. There will surely be a response and it will be of the required level, Hashem Safieddine, the head of Hezbollahs executive council, said on Wednesday, according to Press TV. It was the first reaction by Hezbollah to a wave of Israeli attacks in various areas in southern Lebanon. Lebanons state-run National News Agency (NNA) said Israeli warplanes targeted a house in Sawwaneh with two strikes, leading to its destruction and the death of three members of the same family. It identified the dead as a Syrian woman and two children, aged 13 and 2. The NNA also said an Israeli attack targeting south Lebanons Adshit killed one person, who Hezbollah announced was one of its fighters. The attack wounded 10 others, completely destroying a building and causing great damage to commercial establishments, shops and homes nearby. Israel said it had responded to rocket fire from Lebanon that killed a soldier and wounded at least eight people in the town of Safed in the occupied territories. In a statement, the Palestinian factions called on the Arab and Islamic governments to take urgent action and exert political pressure to stop the aggression that has been ongoing for more than 4 months on the Gaza Strip. They called for tomorrow, Friday, to be considered an international day for supporting Palestinian rights, and for next Saturday and Sunday to be international days for supporting the Palestinian people in all European and Western countries, Latin American countries, and East Asia. They appealed to the Palestinian people "to unite against displacement projects and the liquidation of the Palestinian cause." They also praised the patience and steadfastness of our legendary people and their support and embrace of the resistance and its heroic performance. Allied for Democracy The Israeli Broadcasting Authority quoted sources as saying that tension within the War Council had reached its peak and that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Minister in the War Council, Benny Gantz, rarely spoke to each other. The sources said that Netanyahu has doubts regarding Gantzs communication with American officials. The sources reported that Minister of the War Council, Gadi Eisenkot, criticized Netanyahu's decisions regarding the negotiating delegation in the deal for the detained prisoners. Eisenkot refuses for Netanyahu to make decisions on his own, as this is considered a violation of the war council agreement. Yossi Klein opened an article in Haaretz newspaper, in which he said that the fighters in the Israeli army are neither absent from reality nor stupid, and they realize that the government is fighting on their backs and that they are its cannon fodder. He added that these fighters see where the money is going, they see the extension of reserve service, the inefficiency in dealing with the displaced Israelis, and the indifference towards the detainees, and on top of that they see the goal of the war changing every week, from overthrowing Hamas in the past to absolute victory now. What is this absolute victory for which they sacrifice their lives? -The writer wonders- Laird that the media knows, and the journalists who can analyze every second in the mind of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar , know what is happening in the mind of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu , and they know that absolute victory means preserving Netanyahus rule, not the next day. Neither overthrowing Hamas nor releasing detainees. Journalists know this - according to the writer - but they do not convey what the public should know, but rather what the public wants. As for what the public does not want to know, it is that their children are fighting for Netanyahu. The evidence is that the most reliable Channel 1 - according to an opinion poll - is the least watched. Because the public would rather lie to him than to torture him with the bitter truth. The commentators - as the writer says - do not tell the painful truth in front of the cameras, such as the fact that the detainees are under the barrel of a gun, but rather they present a false scene of reserve soldiers ready to serve for two or three years if that will achieve the goal, and at the same time they cover up the fact that the goal is deliberately ambiguous. The writer concluded - sarcastically - that the brilliant minds who do not even know how to care for 100,000 Israeli refugees will know how to transport 1.4 million refugees from Gaza, and they have continued to bombard them with leaflets asking them to transfer themselves, and whoever remains may God have mercy on them. At the conclusion of his article, Yossi Klein suggested to the pollster to check the extent of the publics support for an action in Rafah during which 5,000 elderly people, women and children were killed, guessing that the public would support it, on the condition that they would not see it. The Pentagon said it had reduced the Houthis' capabilities to attack ships and was focusing on ensuring freedom of navigation in the Red Sea. The Pentagon added that it is concerned about what is happening on the Lebanese-Israeli border and is intensifying efforts to prevent the expansion of the conflict outside Gaza. The Pentagon confirmed that it is helping Israel defend itself to defeat Hamas and restore calm to the region to move forward with the two-state solution. We cannot be clearer with Israel that we do not want to see civilian casualties, he said, stressing that he would continue to urge Israel to abide by the laws of armed conflict and international humanitarian law. US Representative Jerry Nadler said in response to Netanyahu that the two-state solution is not a gift, but rather the only possible solution to the conflict. Nadler added that Israel's security will only be achieved through a solution that includes the reconstruction of Gaza and the establishment of a Palestinian state. Butcher's Bill / Oasis of Martyrs On 7 October 2023, Hamas and other armed groups present in the Gaza Strip carried out an attack in Israel, killing more than 1,200 persons, injuring thousands and abducting some 240 people, many of whom continue to be held hostage. It was the second largest loss inflicted on the Israeli forces after the 1973 war. Palestinian armed groups launched thousands of missiles at Israel Following this attack, Israel launched a large-scale military operation in Gaza, by land, air and sea. The 1,200 Israelis killed on the first day would be the equivalent of 36,000 Americans killed in an attack, as a proportion to Israels population of 9.3 million people (compared to 332 million in the USA). Israeli President Isaac Herzog stated: Not since the Holocaust have so many Jews been killed in one day". PM Netanyahu stated "On October 7th, Hamas murdered 1,400 Israelis. Maybe more. This is in a country of fewer than 10 million people. This would be equivalent to over 50,000 Americans murdered in a single day. Thats twenty 9/11s. That is why October 7th is another day that will live in infamy." Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant considered 05 February 2024 that half the number of Hamas militants were killed or seriously injured by Israeli army forces. The HAMAS Ministry of Health in the besieged sector announced that the number of victims of the Israeli operation its beginning had risen to 28,4730 martyrs, "including 12,300 dead children, 8,400 women, 340 medical personnel, 46 civil defense, and 124 journalists." He pointed out that "7,000 people are missing, 70% of whom are children and women, The ministry does not distinguish between civilians and combatants. The number wounded was 68,146. The Palestinian Government Media Office in Gaza had said much earlier that the number of missing people had risen to more than 8,000, including including 4,700 children and women, amid expectations that the toll will be double thi figures. The IDF intensified its military operations in the West Bank, and increased the pace of incursions and raids into cities, towns, and camps, resulting in the martyrdom of 394 Palestinians, the injury of about 3,950, and the arrest of 5,780, according to official HAMAS sources. As of 17 January 2023, the Israeli escalation in the West Bank led to the death of 360 Palestinians, the injury of nearly 2,200, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, and the arrest of about 6,000, according to the Palestinian Prisoners Club. More than 130 Hezbollah fighters were killed in Lebanon during exchanges of bombing operations with Israel. Israel revised down the death toll from the October Hamas attacks in southern Israel from 1,400 to 1,200. IDF had said previously it was holding 1,500 bodies of terrorists, a total that now would increas to about 1,700. The total announced number of Israeli officers and soldiers killed had risen to 569 since the start of the war on October 7, including 236 killed since the ground invasion as a result of the ongoing clashes with the Palestinian resistance. Among them were at least 56 with the rank of platoon commander, 43 with the rank of company commander, 9 with the rank of battalion commander, and 5 with the rank of brigade commander. These officers constitute 23% of the total deaths of the Israeli army in the war on Gaza. Israeli media reported that 27% of the Israeli military casualties in the war were officers. In detail, the media highlighted that three brigade commanders, four battalion commanders, and other senior officers have been killed in the war so far. The Israeli Broadcasting Corporation reported that 29 of the army's deaths were caused by "friendly fire" and operational incidents since the start of the ground war in Gaza, late last October. The Israeli authority explained that "18 army soldiers were killed by friendly fire, two were killed as a result of gunfire (without explanation), and 9 Israeli soldiers were killed in ammunition, weapons, or run-over accidents." The Jerusalem Post newspaper revealed that 15 soldiers were killed in the Strip without their bodies being found. According to some reports statistics indicate that 20% of the Israeli losses were due to friendly fire. Because the nature of the battle has become completely different from what was expected, and it lacks a front line. Haaretz newspaper quoted the Israeli Ministry of Defense as saying that the Medical Rehabilitation Department has treated more than 5,500 wounded since the beginning of the war on the Gaza Strip on October 7. Israeli Army Radio reported that the Rehabilitation Department of the Ministry of Defense is preparing to receive 20,000 wounded this year, compared to 5,500 wounded received last year since the start of the war. It was announced that soldiers wounded in the Gaza Strip battles numbered to 2,864 since the beginning of the war, including 1,296 who had been wounded since the start of the ground attack on October 27, 2023. The Israeli army reported that 407 who are still receiving treatment for their injuries in the Gaza battles, and the condition of 48 of them is serious. The number of injured among the Israeli army since the start of the ground operation in the Gaza Strip on October 27 included 602 minor cases, 430 moderate cases, and 264 critical cases. The Israeli army published new data about those wounded in the military operation in the Gaza Strip. The Israeli army announces that 540 soldiers were injured in the Gaza StripThe Gaza government announces that the Israeli army committed a horrific massacre in an area it claimed was safe According to army data, 540 soldiers, including 27 seriously injured, were injured in operational incidents since the start of the bombing of the Gaza Strip. There were also 21 accidental shooting incidents in the Gaza Strip, 54 bilateral shooting incidents and 31 traffic accidents. In addition, 388 incidents occurred, including ramming anti-tank rifles, anti-aircraft guns, weapons and machine guns. At least 14,070 Israelis were injured, according to i24 TV. Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper had reported that 5,000 soldiers had been wounded since the beginning of the war on October 7, and that the Ministry of Defense had recognized 2,000 soldiers as disabled so far. An estimate by the Israeli Ministry of Defense expected that the number of soldiers with disabilities in the war taking place in the Gaza Strip since October 7 of last year would reach 12,500 soldiers. The Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth said that the Soldiers' Rehabilitation Department of the Ministry of Defense has dealt with 3,400 soldiers who were classified as disabled in the army since last October 7. The Israeli army revealed that about 9,000 of its soldiers have received psychological assistance since the beginning of the war on the Gaza Strip on October 7, and about a quarter of them have not returned to combat. This came according to a new statement revealed by the Army Medical Corps, according to Channel 12 and the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth. According to the statement, nearly 9,000 soldiers have applied for psychological assistance since the beginning of the war, and approximately a quarter of them have not returned to combat. The statement continued, "In total, about 13,000 regular and reserve soldiers required accompaniment or medical treatment at some level during the fighting, and thousands of them were injured in the battles." Al Jazeera military and strategic expert Major General Fayez Al-Duwairi expressed his conviction that the numbers of dead and wounded announced by Israel cannot represent the truth, due to a discrepancy between the Israeli armys data and the Walla website, which is close to the army itself. In an interview with RT, Military strategist retired Tunisian Brigadier General Tawfiq Didi said that the number of Israeli army deaths in the Gaza battles is much greater than what Israel announces. Didi explained in an interview with the Best Saying program on RT channel, The number of people killed in battles can be easily known, as the equation in wars is that for every 3 wounded there is a dead person, and the numbers now in Israel hover around 12,500 wounded and disabled people, and when we divide by Three, we find that the death toll exceeds 4,000, especially after eliminating more than a thousand tanks and armored vehicles, and I know what happens when Kornet missiles hit a tank. Its ammunition explodes and no one is left alive. He added, "The Israelis announce their dead only of those of Jewish origin and of the first race, meaning all Arabs, Falash, and those who are among them. They are not counted because they are of the second category. So I am sure that the number exceeds 4 thousand dead, and this is a very easy military calculation." He pointed out, "The Palestinian resistance documented everything it did, unlike the Israelis. The resistance documented shooting at tanks and armored vehicles and destroying the houses in which the Israeli soldiers were holed up, and we saw them being killed... We saw the Kornet hitting the tanks, we saw Al-Yassin 105, so the difference is clear." Hostages Israel announced 12 February 2024 that the total number of prisoners that the army was able to recover in exchange deals and through military operations was 126 people, including 91 Israelis, 11 bodies, and 24 foreign workers. Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed have been held as hostages in Gaza since 2014 and 2015, respectively. Unlike the roughly 240 people kidnapped in the Hamas October 7 terrorist attacks, the campaign for the release of Mengistu and al-Sayed has received little publicity. Mengistu is known to suffer from what HRW deemed "serious" mental health issues. "Avera crossed one of the safest borders in the world, under the eyes of the security services," recalled Gil Elias, a relative. "We're talking about a mentally ill person who got lost." The calls for the release of Mengistu and al-Sayed have been barely audible during the many years they have been held captive in Gaza. Israel had previously estimated there were 116 living hostages in Palestinian custody. Israel declared 20 out of 136 people in Gaza captivity dead in absentia, after announcing its forces had recovered the bodies of two hostages. By another count, 132 of them are still being held in Gaza, and 25 of them have been confirmed dead. Israel considers those still held by Hamas to be hostages regardless of whether they are dead or alive. Israeli government spokesperson Eylon Levy earlier had told reporters that Hamas still held 137 captives. The resistance released 10 Israeli detainees, 4 Thais and 2 Russian women, who were released outside the agreement. Over the course of 6 days, Israel has received 102 detainees, women and children, including 78 Israelis, in exchange for the release of 234 Palestinian prisoners, women and children. Eylon Levy, the Israeli government spokesperson, told reporters 01 December 2023: Hamas still held 137 hostages from the October attacks, in addition to four others who went missing before the war The hostages include two children aged four and 10 months, who, Hamas now claims, are dead 117 male hostages are still kept in Gaza, including the two children, as well as 20 females 126 hostages are Israelis, and 11 others are foreign nationals Foreign nationals are eight Thais, one Nepalese, one Tanzanian and one French Mexican citizen Ten of the remaining hostages are 75 and older. There are seven missing people since the October 7 attack Hamas had released 110 hostages so far 86 Israelis and 24 foreign nationals. Some of the rest are soldiers, seized when Hamas raided military bases in Israel. They may end up being held the longest. The Israeli military had not specified how many soldiers were captured, nor their ranks. Israeli army spokesman Daniel Hagari announced on 07 February 2024 that 31 hostages detained in Gaza had died. He added in a press conference, "We informed 31 families that their detained relatives had died, and thus we announce their deaths." According to some estimates, Hamas was initially holding nearly 210 of the 240 hostages, while Palestinian Islamic Jihad was holding the remaining 30. About 40 Israelis remained missing. More than 40 hostages taken from Israel into Gaza on October 7th are not currently in the custody of Hamas, the group responsible for the attack, according to a CNN report based on a diplomatic source briefed on the negotiations, CNN's prior reports had indicated that an estimated 40 to 50 hostages were held by Palestinian Islamic Jihad or other unidentified groups or individuals. Abu Ubaida, the spokesperson for the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, said on Hamas telegram account that 23 bodies of the 60 missing Israel hostages were trapped under the rubble. It seems that we will never be able to reach them due to the continued brutal aggression of the occupation against Gaza, he said. The Al-Qassam Brigades announced on 11 February 2024 that the continuous Israeli bombing of the Gaza Strip during the past 96 hours led to the death of 2 prisoners and the serious injury of 8 others. The Palestinian Prisoners' Club revealed that about 11,000 arrests were carried out by the Israeli army during the year 2023 in the West Bank, including occupied Jerusalem, in addition to arrests from the Gaza Strip before the seventh of last October. The number of people arrested by the Israelis in the West Bank since that date has exceeded 7,000. The total number of prisoners in Israeli prisons exceeds 9,000 Palestinians. Palestinian prisoner institutions said 661 were classified as unlawful combatants from Gaza, and this is the number available only as a clear given. The Palestinian Prisoners' Club said that there has been a significant increase in the number of Palestinian administrative detainees in Israeli prisons since October 7, with 3,484 detainees recorded, including children and women. The club added in a statement that "this number was not actually recorded even during the years of the 1987 uprising." Israel said on 14 January 2024 that, since the beginning of the war, over 2,960 wanted persons have been arrested throughout the Judea and Samaria Division and the Bekaa and Valleys Division, over 1,350 of whom are affiliated with Hamas. On 08 January 2024 it was reported that more than 1,350 wanted persons had been arrested throughout the Judea and Samaria Division and the Bekaa and Valleys Division, more than 870 of whom are associated with the terrorist organization Hamas. The institutions added in the statement that the occupation arrested 210 women during the aforementioned period, and this statistic includes women who were arrested from the territories in 1948, and more than 355 children, pointing out that the outcome of the arrest campaigns includes all those who were arrested from homes, and through military checkpoints, Those who were forced to surrender themselves under pressure, and those who were detained. It explained that "the number of arrests among journalists reached 50, of whom 35 remain in detention, and 20 of them were transferred to administrative detention." The announced numbers of detainees do not include those who were detained from Gaza since the start of the operation in the Gaza Strip, as there is no accurate census of these numbers. Israel has rejected international legal adaptations since 1967, and has treated the Palestinians as criminals, and tried them before military courts and not as prisoners of war. Because the POW is not tried, but is released when the war stops, or as a result of a political agreement. But international humanitarian law sets clear conditions relating to the Palestinians, whether as prisoners of war or organized groups with one leadership and carrying a unified slogan, and these conditions apply to Palestinian resistance fighters, specifically armed groups. International law, through the Third Geneva Conventions, which relate to prisoners of war and armed conflicts, and the Fourth Geneva Convention, which relates to civilians under occupation; Provide full protection to Palestinian prisoners and groups, including resistance factions. The obstacles imposed by the Israeli occupation authorities became very different after the seventh of last October. They decided to cancel all trials in order to double the sentences issued against detainees, and now The scope of arguments before lawyers is very limited, due to military orders, and not according to legal data. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Russo-Ukraine War - 15 February 2024 - Day 721 Su M Tu W Th F Sa 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 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 14 February 2024, Ukrainian forces conducted a successful uncrewed surface vessel attack on the Russian Ropucha-class landing craft Tsezar Kunikov, which almost certainly resulted in the sinking of the vessel. Three of ten Ropucha-class vessels have now been destroyed by Ukrainian strikes. The vessel is heavily relied on to provide logistical support to the Black Sea Fleet (BSF) and the Russian war in Ukraine. The loss of the vessel will almost certainly further constrain the limited Russian resources available in the Black Sea and leave the Black Sea Fleet logistical chain vulnerable to additional attacks. It also further reduces the redundancy available to support logistical movements between mainland Russia to the Crimean Peninsula when the Kerch bridge is closed. Ukraine's ingenuity has highly likely deterred Russia from operating freely in the western Black Sea and enabled Ukraine to seize the maritime momentum from Russia. The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that during the day of February 15, there were 51x combat engagements. Russian forces launched a total of 30x missile and 56x air strikes, carried out 70x MLRS attacks at the positions of Ukrainian troops and various settlements. Unfortunately, Russian attacks resulted in killed and wounded civilians. Residential private and apartment buildings, educational establishments and critical infrastructure facilities were destroyed and damaged. 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: Russia maintains its military presence in the areas of russia bordering Ukraine. Russia continues its sabotage and reconnaissance activities, shelling Ukrainian settlements from the territory of Russia and increases the density of minefields along the state border of Ukraine. Russian forces launched air strikes in the vicinities of Okhrimivka, Nesterne, Budarky, Chorne, Kolodyazne (Kharkiv oblast). Around 20x settlements came under Russian artillery and mortar fire, including Velyka Pysarivka, Volodymyrivka, Oleksandrivka (Sumy oblast), Kudiivka, Krasne, Starytsya, Vovchans'k, Okhrimivka (Kharkiv oblast). Kup'yans'k axis: the Ukrainian defenders repelled 1x attack in the vicinity of Ivanivka (Kharkiv oblast), where Russian forces launched an air strike. Russian forces fired artillery and mortars at around 10x settlements, including Syn'kivka, Stepova Novoselivka, Kotlyarivka, Berestove (Kharkiv oblast). Lyman axis: the Ukrainian defenders repelled 5x assaults near Terny, Yampolivka and Vesele (Donetsk oblast). In that area the Russian adversary made attempts to breach Ukrainian defense. Russian forces launched air strikes in the vicinities of Novolyubivka, Bilohorivka (Luhansk oblast), Terny, Novosadove (Donetsk oblast). Russian forces fired artillery and mortars at more than 10x settlements, including Bilohorivka (Luhansk oblast), Terny, Yampolivka, Tors'ke (Donetsk oblast). Bakhmut axis: the Ukrainian Defense Forces repelled 9x attacks in the vicinities of Bohdanivka, Ivanivske, Klishchiivka, Andriivka (Donetsk oblast), where the Russian occupiers, with air support, made attempts to improve their tactical situation. Moreover, Russian forces launched an air strike in the vicinity of New York (Donetsk oblast). Around 10x settlements came under artillery and mortar fire, including Orikhovo-Vasylivka, Bohdanivka, Ivanivske (Donetsk oblast). Avdiivka axis: the Ukrainian defenders repelled 14x attacks in the vicinity of Avdiivka and 1x more attack near Pervomais'ke (Donetsk oblast). In that area, the Russian occupiers, with air support, continue their attempts to capture Avdiivka. On top of that, the Russian forces launched air strikes in the vicinities of Novoselivka Persha, Berdychi, Orlivka, Lastochkyne (Donetsk oblast). Russian forces fired artillery and mortars at up to 20x settlements, including Oleksandropil', Novokalynove, Berdychi, Lastochkyne, Sjeverne (Donetsk oblast). Mar'inka axis: the Ukrainian Defense Forces continue to hold back Russian forces in the vicinities of Krasnohorivka, Heorhiivka, Pobjeda, Novomykhailivka (Donetsk oblast). In that area, Russian forces, with air support, made 17x attempts to breach Ukrainian defense. The settlements of Krasnohorivka, Heorhiivka, Pobjeda, Novomykhailivka, Paraskoviivka (Donetsk oblast) were under Russian artillery and mortar fire. Novopavlivka axis: the Ukrainian defenders repelled 3x attacks south of Prechystivka and near Staromaiors'ke (Donetsk oblast). The adversary launched air strikes near the settlements of Vodyane, Shevchenko, Staromaiors'ke (Donetsk oblast), and Novodarivka (Zaporizhzhia oblast). Russian forces fired artillery and mortars at around 10x settlements, including Prechystivka, Zolota Nyva, Urozhaine, Staromaiors'ke (Donetsk oblast). Zaporizhzhia axis: the adversary conducted no offensives. More than 20x settlements, including Malynivka, Chervone, Bilohir'ya, Robotyne, Kam'yans'ke (Zaporizhzhia oblast), were under Russian artillery and mortar fire. Odesa operational-strategic group, Kherson axis: Russian forces do not abandon their intention to drive Ukrainian units out of their footholds on the left bank of the Dnipro. During the day, Russian forces made 1x attempt to assault positions of Ukrainian troops. The city of Kherson, the settlements of Inzhenerne, Veletens'ke (Kherson oblast), and the city of Ochakiv (Mykolaiv oblast) came under Russian artillery fire. During the day of February 15, the Ukrainian Air Force launched air strikes on 12x concentrations of Russian troops. The Ukrainian missile troops hit 2x concentrations of Russian troops, 1x artillery system, 1x ammunition depot, 1x electronic warfare station. In addition, Fierce battles are being fought within the city of Avdiiivci / Avdiivka. Ukrainian troops use all available forces and means to contain the Russian enemy. According to the decision, there is a planned reinforcement of the units and the troops are maneuvering in threatening directions. In addition, an additional resource of ammunition and other means of impact has been allocated. New positions have been prepared and powerful fortifications are being prepared taking into account all possible scenarios. Commanders on the ground know their task and perform it according to the plan of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine to stabilize the situation in this direction. Management of troops is sustainable and effective. The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation reported that that morning, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation have launched a group strike with long-range air- and sea-based precision weapons against enterprises of the Ukrainian military-industrial complex engaged in the production and repair of aircraft engines, radio-electronic and communications equipment and mortar ammunition, as well as against factories producing fuel for AFU military hardware. The purpose of the strike has been achieved. All the facilities have been destroyed. In Kupyansk direction, units of the Zapad Group of Forces have defeated enemy manpower and hardware close to Berestovoye and Peschanoye (Kharkov region) and Makeevka (Lugansk People's Republic) and repelled an attack by an assault group of the 30th Mechanised Brigade near Sinkovka (Kharkov region). The enemy losses were up to 105 servicemen, three motor vehicles, one Grad multiple-launch rocket system, French-manufactured Caezar and Gvozdika self-propelled artillery systems. In Krasny Liman direction, units of the Tsentr Group of Forces have improved their position along the front line and also repelled two attacks by assault groups of 60th and 63rd mechanised brigades of the AFU near Yampolovka (Donetsk People's Republic) and Chervonaya Dibrova (Lugansk People's Republic). The enemy losses were up to 305 troops, 15 armoured fighting vehicles, including one U.S.-manufactured Bradley IFV, 14 motor vehicles, one Polish-manufactured Krab self-propelled artillery system, and one D-30 howitzer. In Donetsk direction, units of the Yug Group of Forces have occupied more advantageous lines and positions, repelled 10 enemy attacks, and also defeated manpower and hardware of the 17th Tank Brigade, the 79th Air Assault Brigade, 24th and 72nd mechanised brigades of the AFU, and the 112th Territorial Defence Brigade near Krasnoye, Kleshcheevka, Kurdyumovka, Leninskoye, Konstantinovka, and Paraskovievka (Donetsk People's Republic). The enemy losses were up to 360 servicemen killed and wounded, one tank, three armoured fighting vehicles, including one U.S.-manufactured Bradley IFV, as well as 27 motor vehicles. In the course of counter-battery warfare, one Polish-manufactured Krab self-propelled artillery system, two U.S.-manufactured M777 artillery systems, UK-manufactured FH-70 and L119 howitzers, as well as Msta-B, D-30 howitzers, and three D-20 guns have been destroyed. In South Donetsk direction, units of the Vostok Group of Forces have struck manpower and hardware of the 58th Infantry Brigade, the 72nd Mechanised Brigade of the AFU, 128th and 127th brigades of the Territorial Defence of Ukraine close to Vodyanoye, Vladimirovka, Urozhaynoye (Donetsk People's Republic), and Priyutnoye (Zaporozhye region). The enemy losses were up to 200 servicemen, one tank, two infantry fighting vehicles, and eight motor vehicles. In the course of counter-battery warfare, one British-manufactured FH-70 howitzer, two U.S.-manufactured M198 howitzers, and one Gvozdika self-propelled artillery system. In Kherson direction, Russian troops, in cooperation with aviation and artillery, have hit the 35th Marine Brigade and the 126th Territorial Defence Brigade close to Tyaginka, Ivanovka, and Yantarnoye (Kherson region). The enemy losses were up to 20 soldiers, two motor vehicles, one U.S.-manufactured M777 artillery, as well as one D-30 howitzer. Operational-Tactical Aviation, unmanned aerial vehicles, Missile Troops and Artillery of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation have neutralised a control point of the 72nd Mechanised Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, as well as manpower and military hardware in 102 areas. Air defence facilities have shot down MiG-29 aircraft of the Ukrainian Air Force near Kramatorsk (Donetsk People's Republic). Eight HIMARS multiple-launch rocket systems have been intercepted, as well as one U.S.-manufactured JDAM guided aerial bomb. In addition, 95 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles have been destroyed close to Zhitlovka (Lugansk People's Republic), Soledar, Volnovakha, Elenovka (Donetsk People's Republic), Lyubimovka, Inzhenernoye, Pologi, Ocheretovatoye (Zaporozhye region) and Velikiye Kopani (Kherson region). In total, 571 airplanes and 266 helicopters, 12,485 unmanned aerial vehicles, 469 air defence missile systems, 15,056 tanks and other armoured combat vehicles, 1,221 combat vehicles equipped with MRLS, 8,061 field artillery cannons and mortars, as well as 18,729 units of special military equipment have been destroyed during the special military operation. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Justice Department Conducts Court-Authorized Disruption of Botnet Controlled by the Russian Federation's Main Intelligence Directorate of the General Staff (GRU) Thursday, February 15, 2024 For Immediate Release Office of Public Affairs A January 2024 court-authorized operation has neutralized a network of hundreds of small office/home office (SOHO) routers that GRU Military Unit 26165, also known as APT 28, Sofacy Group, Forest Blizzard, Pawn Storm, Fancy Bear, and Sednit, used to conceal and otherwise enable a variety of crimes. These crimes included vast spearphishing and similar credential harvesting campaigns against targets of intelligence interest to the Russian government, such as U.S. and foreign governments and military, security, and corporate organizations. In recent months, allegations of Unit 26165 activity of this type has been the subject of a private sector cybersecurity advisory and a Ukrainian government warning. This botnet was distinct from prior GRU and Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) malware networks disrupted by the Department in that the GRU did not create it from scratch. Instead, the GRU relied on the "Moobot" malware, which is associated with a known criminal group. Non-GRU cybercriminals installed the Moobot malware on Ubiquiti Edge OS routers that still used publicly known default administrator passwords. GRU hackers then used the Moobot malware to install their own bespoke scripts and files that repurposed the botnet, turning it into a global cyber espionage platform. The Department's court-authorized operation leveraged the Moobot malware to copy and delete stolen and malicious data and files from compromised routers. Additionally, in order to neutralize the GRU's access to the routers until victims can mitigate the compromise and reassert full control, the operation reversibly modified the routers' firewall rules to block remote management access to the devices, and during the course of the operation, enabled temporary collection of non-content routing information that would expose GRU attempts to thwart the operation. "The Justice Department is accelerating our efforts to disrupt the Russian government's cyber campaigns against the United States and our allies, including Ukraine," said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. "In this case, Russian intelligence services turned to criminal groups to help them target home and office routers, but the Justice Department disabled their scheme. We will continue to disrupt and dismantle the Russian government's malicious cyber tools that endanger the security of the United States and our allies." "For the second time in two months, we've disrupted state-sponsored hackers from launching cyber-attacks behind the cover of compromised U.S. routers," said Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco. "We will continue to leverage all of our legal authorities to prevent harm and protect the public a whether the hackers are from Russia, China, or another global threat." "Russia's GRU continues to maliciously target the United States through their botnet campaigns," said FBI Director Christopher Wray. "The FBI utilized its technical capabilities to disrupt Russia's access to hundreds of routers belonging to individuals in addition to small and home offices. This type of criminal behavior is simply unacceptable, and the FBI, in coordination with our federal and international partners, will not allow for any of Russia's services to negatively impact the American people and our allies." "In this unique, two-for-one operation, the National Security Division and its partners disrupted a botnet used by both criminal and state-sponsored actors," said Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department's National Security Division. "Notably, this represents the third time since Russia's unjustified invasion of Ukraine that the Department has stripped the Russian intelligence services of a key tool used to further the Kremlin's acts of aggression and other malicious activities. We will continue to use our legal authorities and cutting-edge techniques, and to draw on the strength of our partnerships, to protect the public and our allies from such threats." "This is yet another case of Russian military intelligence weaponizing common devices and technologies for that government's malicious aims," said U.S. Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. "As long as our nation-state adversaries continue to threaten U.S. national security in this way, we and our partners will use every tool available to disrupt their cyber thugs a whomever and wherever they are." "Operation Dying Ember was an international effort led by FBI Boston to remediate over a thousand compromised routers belonging to unsuspecting victims here in the United States, and around the world that were targeted by malicious, nation state actors in Russia to facilitate their strategic intelligence collection," said Special Agent in Charge Jodi Cohen of the FBI Boston Field Office. "The FBI's strong partnerships with the private sector were critical to identifying and addressing this threat which targeted our national security interests here and abroad. This operation should make it crystal clear to our adversaries that we will not allow anyone to exploit our technology and networks." As described in court documents, the government extensively tested the operation on the relevant Ubiquiti Edge OS routers. Other than stymieing the GRU's ability to access to the routers, the operation did not impact the routers' normal functionality or collect legitimate user content information. Additionally, the court-authorized steps to disconnect the routers from the Moobot network are temporary in nature; users can roll back the firewall rule changes by undertaking factory resets of their routers or by accessing their routers through their local network (e.g., via the routers' web-based user interface). However, a factory reset that is not also accompanied by a change of the default administrator password will return the router to its default administrator credentials, leaving the router open to reinfection or similar compromises. The FBI Philadelphia and Boston Field Offices and Cyber Division, U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, and the National Security Division's National Security Cyber Section led the disruption effort. The Criminal Division's Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section and Office of International Affairs, Shadowserver Foundation, Microsoft Threat Intelligence, and other partners provided valuable assistance. The FBI is working with internet service providers to provide notice of the operation to owners and operators of SOHO routers covered by the court's authorization. If you believe you have a compromised router, please visit the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center. To better protect themselves, the FBI advises all victims to conduct the following remediation steps: Perform a hardware factory reset to flush the file systems of malicious files; Upgrade to the latest firmware version; Change any default usernames and passwords; and Implement strategic firewall rules to prevent the unwanted exposure of remote management services. The FBI strongly encourages router owners to avoid exposing their devices to the internet until they change the default passwords. Attachment redacted_warrant_and_affidavit.pdf [PDF, 1 MB] Topic: National Security Components: Office of the Attorney General Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) National Security Division (NSD) Office of the Deputy Attorney General USAO - Pennsylvania, Eastern Press Release Number: 24-179 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Foreign National Pleads Guilty to Role in Cybercrime Schemes Involving Tens of Millions of Dollars in Losses Thursday, February 15, 2024 For Immediate Release Office of Public Affairs A Ukrainian national pleaded guilty today to his role in two separate and wide-ranging malware schemes involving tens of millions of dollars in losses. "Vyacheslav Igorevich Penchukov was a leader of two prolific malware groups that infected thousands of computers with malicious software. These criminal groups stole millions of dollars from their victims and even attacked a major hospital with ransomware, leaving it unable to provide critical care to patients for over two weeks," said Acting Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri of the Justice Department's Criminal Division. "Before his arrest and extradition to the United States, the defendant was a fugitive on the FBI's most wanted list for nearly a decade. Today's guilty pleas should serve as a clear warning: the Justice Department will never stop in its pursuit of cybercriminals." According to court documents, Vyacheslav Igorevich Penchukov, also known as Vyacheslav Igoravich Andreev and Tank, 37, of Donetsk, helped lead a wide-ranging racketeering enterprise and conspiracy that infected thousands of business computers with malicious software known as "Zeus" beginning in May 2009. After installing "Zeus" without authorization on victims' computers, the enterprise then used the malicious software to capture bank account information, passwords, personal identification numbers, and similar information necessary to log into online banking accounts. Penchukov and his co-conspirators then falsely represented to banks that they were employees of the victims and authorized to make transfers of funds from the victims' bank accounts, causing the banks to make unauthorized transfers of funds from the victims' accounts, resulting in millions of dollars in losses to the victims. The enterprise used residents of the United States and elsewhere as "money mules" to receive wired funds from victims' bank accounts into their own bank accounts, who then withdrew and wired funds overseas to accounts controlled by Penchukov's co-conspirators. Penchukov was charged with these offenses in the District of Nebraska. Given the severity of the charges in the case and the harm posed to American victims, Penchukov was added to the FBI's Cyber Most Wanted List. "The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Nebraska, in concert with the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina and Justice Department's Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section, successfully coordinated the prosecution and plea of Penchukov," said U.S. Attorney Susan T. Lehr for the District of Nebraska. "This case demonstrates that cybercrime can affect anyone, no matter where they are. It also demonstrates that no matter where the cybercriminals are, the department can and will bring them to justice." Despite being added to the FBI's Cyber Most Wanted List, Penchukov returned to criminal activity by helping lead a conspiracy that infected victim computers with IcedID or Bokbot, a new malware, from at least November 2018 through February 2021. IcedID was a sophisticated form of malicious software that collected and transmitted personal information from victims, including credentials for banking accounts. Penchukov and his co-conspirators used this information to steal from IcedID's victims. IcedID also provided access to infected computers for other forms of malicious software, including ransomware. One such victim of this ransomware attack was the University of Vermont Medical Center, causing the loss of over $30 million from this victim alone, and left the medical center unable to provide many critical patient services for over two weeks, creating a risk of death or serious bodily injury to patients. Penchukov was charged with these offenses in the Eastern District of North Carolina. "Malware like IcedID bleeds billions from the American economy and puts our critical infrastructure and national security at risk," said U.S. Attorney Michael Easley for the Eastern District of North Carolina. "The Justice Department and FBI Cyber Squad won't stand by and watch it happen, and won't quit coming for the world's most wanted cybercriminals, no matter where they are in the world. This operation removed a key player from one of the world's most notorious cybercriminal rings. Extradition is real. Anyone who infects American computers had better be prepared to answer to an American judge." "Core to the FBI's cyber strategy is our willingness to play the long game and take players off the field. Vyacheslav Penchukov was a prolific criminal for over a decade and his criminal activities caused millions in damages," said Assistant Director Bryan Vorndran of the FBI's Cyber Division. "The FBI would like to thank our partners in both public and private sectors, and domestically and globally, for helping us bring Penchukov to justice." Penchukov was arrested in Switzerland in 2022 and extradited to the United States in 2023. Penchukov pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit a racketeer influenced and corrupt organizations (RICO) act offense for his leadership role in the "Zeus" enterprise. Penchukov (as Andreev) also pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud for his leadership role in the IcedID malware group. He is scheduled to be sentenced on May 9 and faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for each count. A federal judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. The FBI Omaha and Charlotte Field Offices are investigating the case. Assistant Deputy Chief William A. Hall Jr. and Senior Counsels Frank Lin and Ryan K.J. Dickey of the Criminal Division's Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section, Assistant U.S. Attorney John E. Higgins for the District of Nebraska, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Brad DeVoe for the Eastern District of North Carolina are prosecuting the case. The Justice Department's Office of International Affairs worked with the Swiss Federal Office of Justice to secure the arrest and extradition of Penchukov. Topic: Cybercrime Components: Criminal Division Criminal - Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section Criminal - Office of International Affairs Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Cyber Division (FBI) USAO - Nebraska USAO - North Carolina, Eastern Press Release Number: 23-183 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address U.S. Offers Rewards Worth Millions For Info On Russian Ransomware Group By RFE/RL February 15, 2024 The United States on February 15 announced a reward of up to $10 million for information leading to the identification or location of any of the leaders of the Russian-based criminal group known as BlackCat. The group, which also uses the names ALPHV and Noberus, has targeted the computer networks of more than 1,000 victims and caused harm around the world, including to networks that support critical U.S. infrastructure, the State Department said. The announcement said that in addition to the $10 million reward for information leading to the identification of the gang's leaders, the State Department was offering up to $5 million for information leading to the arrest or conviction of anyone participating in or attempting to participate in a ransomware attack using the ALPHV/Blackcat variant. The Justice Department said in December that ALPHV/Blackcat had emerged as the second-most-prolific ransomware-as-a-service variant in the world, based on the hundreds of millions of dollars in ransoms paid by victims. The FBI said it had infiltrated the Russian-based group and disrupted its operations through a decryption tool that it developed. The tool was distributed to victims of the ransomware and helped them restore affected computer systems, saving them from ransom demands totaling approximately $99 million, the FBI said in December. The ransomware-as-a-service model involves developers who create and update ransomware and maintain the illicit Internet infrastructure used. Affiliates are responsible for identifying victims and attacking them with the ransomware. After a victim pays, developers and affiliates share the proceeds. The affiliates who identify and hack into the targeted entities steal sensitive data, then seek a ransom in exchange for decrypting the data. ALPHV/Blackcat actors attempt to target the most sensitive data in a victim's system to increase the pressure to pay, the Justice Department said. Victims who refuse to pay risk their data being published on the Internet. The scale of the crimes has triggered parallel investigations by law enforcement agencies around the world, the State Department said. The reward offer announced on February 15 complements the Justice Department and FBI's announcement of cooperation with law enforcement agencies in Britain, Australia, Germany, Spain, and Denmark, to launch a disruption campaign against ALPHV/Blackcat. Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/us-russia- ransomware-reward/32821335.html Copyright (c) 2024. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Central Platte Natural Resources District (CPNRD) is accepting applications for the CPNRD-Ron Bishop Memorial College Scholarship Program. Applicants must be a college junior, senior or graduate student enrolled in a natural resources course of study at an accredited college or university. Five scholarships will be awarded at $1,000 per student for the 2024-2025 school year. Eligible applicants or their parent(s) must reside within CPNRD boundaries which reach from Gothenburg to Columbus in Nebraska along the Platte River. Return applicants and recipients are eligible to apply. Applications must be postmarked by April 15, 2024. The NRDs college scholarship program was implemented in 2007 and has awarded funds to 150 students. Download applications at https://www.cpnrd.org/education/scholarships/ or by contacting Marcia Lee at 308-385-6282 or email: lee@cpnrd.org. Eligible college majors are: Agriculture: Business Representative, Engineer, Inspector, Agronomist, Applied Science/Diversified Biologist Engineer: Civil, Mechanical, Chemical Conservationist, Resources Management Natural Resources/Environmental Educator Geographic Information Systems Specialist Geology Engineering Grazing Livestock System Hydrologist, Hydrogeologist Soil and Water Conservation Rangeland Management Soil Conservationist/ Soil Engineer Vocational/Agriculture Educator Water Resources Specialist Other natural resources-related careers Remarks by Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian Nelson on Treasury's Efforts to Safeguard the U.S. Financial System from Illicit Finance U.S. Department of the Treasury February 15, 2024 As Prepared for Delivery Good morning. I'm Brian Nelson, Treasury's Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence. My office is responsible for leading U.S. government efforts to counter illicit finance and using financial tools to respond to national security threats. From terrorist financiers to cybercriminals and drug kingpins, our work centers on safeguarding the U.S. financial system from those who seek to corrupt it, exploit it, and use it to hide or launder illicit proceeds. Central to this mission is a recognition of the dangers that illicit finance threats pose not only to our national security and the integrity of the U.S. economy, but also to the economic opportunity afforded to hardworking, responsible Americans. The Treasury Department is matching the gravity of these challenges with a commitment to addressing the biggest vulnerabilities in the U.S. financial system that corrupt actors, criminals, and other national security threats exploit to launder funds. We are undertaking a concerted effort to address the systemic deficiencies in the United States' anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism frameworkaalso known as AML/CFT. As I look forward to discussing with you this morning, over the past few days and weeks, we have announced several major initiatives that are designed not only to close critical regulatory loopholes and stay ahead of urgent national security threats, but also to increase transparency, fairness, and equity across the U.S. economy. As the world's largest economy and with the most globally integrated financial system, the steps that the United States takes to fight crime, corruption, and illicit finance will radiate outwardahelping other countries to combat these challenges and strengthening international AML/CFT standards. Treasury's efforts, therefore, will help us to advance prosperity and security at home, while leading by example around the world. Addressing Urgent Challenges I am joining you all at a critical moment for U.S. national and economic security interests. It is a moment when the fentanyl crisisafueled by transnational networks of complicit companies and criminal organizationsais exacting an enormous human toll in communities across the United States, taking an estimated 70,000 lives annually. According to the DEA, the two most sophisticated Mexican drug trafficking organizations, as well as their associates and facilitators, operate across all 50 U.S. states and in more than 50 countries. It is a moment when Russia's brutal invasion of Ukraine, tragically on the cusp of its two-year mark, is making clear the increasingly sophisticated ways that Russian elites and businesses are seeking to violate U.S. sanctionsain support of Vladimir Putin's war machine and at the expense of global security. At this moment, cybercriminals continue to plunder the life savings of hardworking Americans, and ransomware actors continue to wreak havoc on critical infrastructureaincluding against a children's hospital in Chicago just this month. Across the United States, fraudsters generate massive sums of illicit proceedsaoften at the expense of taxpayer-funded programs and vulnerable populations. For example, frauds against the elderlyaoften referred to as elder financial exploitationaare linked to annual losses of more than $3 billion, with the average victim losing $35,000 and the associated proceeds often laundered through shell and front companies, wire transfers, and money mules. Over the past four months, we have seen in the Middle East the consequences of terrorist groups like Hamas and Iran-aligned militant groups continuing to access funds. Their actions have not only taken innocent livesaincluding those of Americansabut also threatened international commerce and stability. These threats, among others, share three important themes: They threaten U.S. national security and the lives of Americans. They undermine America's economic healthaeither by affecting Americans and businesses, or by eroding trust in the integrity of our financial system. And they exploit vulnerabilities in the United States' AML/CFT framework to launder, move, or store funds. That is why we are taking such substantial steps toward closing these loopholes, in partnership with key stakeholders, including the private sector. Honing Our Understanding Of Illicit Finance Risk The Treasury Department's efforts are rooted in our constantly evolving understanding of the illicit finance risks that the United States facesaour assessments of who and what our biggest risks are, how these threat actors move or launder funds, and what regulatory loopholes and financial blind-spots they are exploiting to do so. To highlight these risks, last week Treasury published three national risk assessments for money laundering, terrorist financing, and proliferation financing. From North Korea's efforts to exploit the U.S. financial system to fund its nuclear program, to human traffickers concealing their activities through front companies, these assessments shine light on the ways that key threat actors are seeking to operate under the radar. These studies aim not only to inform U.S. government efforts to address threats and safeguard the U.S. financial system, but also to help the private sector stay ahead of illicit activity and stay attuned to the biggest risks affecting their customers and their bottom lines. Enhancing Corporate Transparency A recurring risk that we are focused on is the misuse of corporate structures to launder or conceal funds. Anonymous companies are a favorite tool for bad actors seeking to conceal their activities and their funds. Across our risk assessments, we have identified numerous cases involving criminals and U.S. adversaries seeking to operate with anonymity using opaque corporate structures. To address the critical vulnerability of corporate anonymity, last month, Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, or FinCEN, launched a beneficial ownership filing system pursuant to the Corporate Transparency Act. Under this new framework, many companies operating in the United States are now required to report information to FinCEN about their beneficial ownersain other words, the real people who own or control them. FinCEN stores this information in a secure, non-public database. With this information, we can better support law enforcement and other partners in untangling networks of shell companies run by criminals, and work to hold them accountable. It is not only international malign actors like drug traffickers, Russian oligarchs, and Iranian agents exploiting shell companies, but also home-grown criminalsalike fraudsters, tax cheats, and corrupt officialsawho use these tools to illicitly enrich themselves at the expense of their fellow Americans. For example, last year, seven individuals were indicted for an alleged conspiracy involving efforts to steal the identities of accountants and taxpayers, file 371 false tax returns, and claim more than $100 million in refunds. Moreover, fraudsters have used shell companies to facilitate their exploitation of innocent American victims, and corrupt officials have hidden bribes and misappropriated funds through anonymous LLCs. Accordingly, FinCEN's efforts to promote corporate transparency will both keep our country's financial system safe and protect everyday Americans. Preventing The Abuse Of The Residential Real Estate Sector Another major vulnerability involves the abuse of certain segments of the U.S. residential real estate sector. Although 80 percent of the residential real estate market has long been subject to stringent AML/CFT requirements, a range of national security threatsafrom foreign kleptocrats to drug kingpinsahave been able to exploit certain regulatory gaps and anonymously park and launder their ill-gotten gains through all-cash purchases of U.S. real estate. They have leveraged the stability, size, and value of the U.S. housing market for their own nefarious gain, investing in an appreciating asset by hiding their wealth in Miami villas, Manhattan penthouses, and suburban neighborhoods. To address these regulatory gaps, last week, FinCEN issued a proposal to increase transparency into certain non-financed transfers of U.S. residential real estate. This proposal builds on years of information collected through FinCEN's residential real estate Geographic Targeting Order program, which requires reporting on certain residential estate transactions in specified geographic areas of the United States. Our proposed rule aims to equip our law enforcement and national security partners with a lasting tool to help curb the flow of illicit proceeds through the residential real estate market across all of America. Criminal exploitation of the real estate market does not just enable illicit activity, it can also be deeply unfair to everyday Americans. At a time when many American cities are grappling with limited housing supply and record-high prices, criminals are able to buy homes anonymously. Many of the properties they purchase sit vacant for yearsafunctioning not as homes, but as vehicles for storing and hiding ill-gotten wealth. Without action, this can exacerbate housing market manipulation and corrode our neighborhoods, towns, and cities. FinCEN's proposal aims to bring transparency to the sector and remedy the existing regulatory gaps that allow illicit actors to exploit the U.S. residential real estate market. Safeguarding Financial Services Another one of our current priorities involves the misuse of the U.S. investment adviser sector by illicit actors. While many key players in the financial services sectoralike banks, broker-dealers, and mutual fundsahave, for decades, implemented regulations to identify and prevent money laundering and illicit financial activity, the investment adviser sector as a whole has not been consistently or comprehensively subject to these foundational AML/CFT obligations. As recent Treasury analysis has foundaincluding in an illicit finance risk assessment for the investment advisers sector published this weekaillicit actors have moved massive amounts of funds through witting and unwitting investment advisers. In one instance, as part of the infamous 1MDB corruption scheme, investment funds laundered approximately $150 million to acquire interests in various companies owned or affiliated with an SEC-registered private equity firm. Separately, billions of dollars belonging to sanctioned Russian oligarchs and elites have been managed by U.S. investment advisersain violation of U.S. sanctions and in support of Russia's war in Ukraine. Additionally, foreign state actors have also used surreptitious investments in private funds managed by U.S. investment advisers to gain access to sensitive and emerging U.S. technologiesaundermining American innovation and economic competitiveness. To curb this illicit activity, earlier this week, Treasury issued a proposal to apply AML/CFT Compliance Program and Suspicious Activity Report (SAR) filing obligations to certain investment advisers. These measures would be critical to helping prevent misuse of this sector and stopping illicit financial activity in its tracks and protecting U.S. businesses from these threats. This proposal would also help to harmonize regulatory obligations for advisers with existing obligations that already apply to banks, broker-dealers, mutual funds, and others. It would also help us to advance a level regulatory playing field across the financial services sectoraso that no firm gets an unfair advantage. Seeking Private Sector Feedback As we work to address these systemic vulnerabilities in the U.S. financial system, getting feedback from our stakeholders, including the private sector, is critical. We are committed to ensuring that these initiatives both keep our country safe and advance fairness and opportunity. That is whyaacross all of our workawe will continue to make it a priority that regulatory obligations are clear, streamlined, and reasonable. We recognize that it is most often those in the private sector that are on the front lines of identifying illicit activity and helping us stop it. That is why we assign so much value to hearing from the private sector. As part of the rulemaking process, there is a public comment period, and we are looking forward to engaging with key stakeholder groups and making sure their voices are heard. The U.S. financial system is a pillar of the United States' economic health, and a driver of growth and opportunity across our country. The same traits that make it such an asset to usaits size and stability, its dynamism, and its centrality to global commerce, to name a fewaalso make it appealing to illicit actors. Addressing the gaps in our AML/CFT regime will help prevent bad actors from operating across the United States and protect Americans from harm. These effortsaassessing illicit finance risk, enhancing beneficial ownership transparency, and preventing the misuse of the residential real estate and investment adviser sectorsareflect our commitment to safeguarding the U.S. financial system. These efforts are not just priorities for the Treasury Department, they are also key goals for the President, who called on us to advance these initiatives when he published the first-ever U.S. Strategy on Countering Corruption in the first year of his administration. We will continue to take action to identify and mitigate vulnerabilities in other parts of our financial system as well. This work helps advance U.S. economic and national security, while bolstering U.S. leadership and international standards relating to countering money laundering, terrorist financing, and illicit finance. We are committed to ensuring that the benefits of the U.S. financial system extend to all Americansathrough better jobs, equitable and fair markets, and economic prosperityawhile also protecting it from those who seek to exploit it. ### NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address United States Welcomes Uruguay's Signing of the Artemis Accords Media Note Office of the Spokesperson February 15, 2024 On February 15, 2024, Uruguay became the 36th signatory to the Artemis Accords, underscoring its commitment to the peaceful, safe, and transparent exploration and use of outer space. Uruguayan Foreign Minister Omar Paganini signed for Uruguay during a ceremony at NASA Headquarters in Washington in the presence of Uruguayan Ambassador to the United States AndrAs DurAn, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, U.S. Ambassador to Uruguay Heide Fulton, and Deputy Assistant Secretary Kevin Sullivan. The United States welcomes Uruguay as an esteemed partner in advancing our shared goals for peace, prosperity, and scientific discovery in space. Today, our countries held our second Annual Bilateral Inter-Ministerial Dialogue where we strengthened our partnership on innovation, democracy, and educational exchanges. Our growing high-tech commercial ties and commitment to democracy are the foundation of our strong relationship. Together, we will continue to uphold the principles of the Artemis Accords and work towards a future of cooperation and exploration beyond Earth's bounds. The Artemis Accords were established in 2020 by the United States and seven other countries. They set out a practical set of principles to guide space exploration. Uruguay joins 35 other nations - Angola, Argentina, Australia, Bahrain, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Colombia, Czech Republic, Ecuador, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, India, Israel, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Poland, the Republic of Korea, Romania, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Spain, Ukraine, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the United States - in affirming the Accords' principles for sustainable civil space activity. The Department of State and NASA lead the United States' outreach and implementation of the Accords. For more information, please visit https://www.state.gov/artemis-accords/. For media inquiries, please contact OES-Press@state.gov. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Ekipazh - Space-Based Jammer Marcin A. Piotrowski reported "It is now under the Zeus cover name". Electronic warfare (EW) is a type of armed warfare, during which the impact of radio emissions (radio interference) on the radio-electronic means of enemy control, communications and reconnaissance systems is carried out. In Ukraine, ground-based electronic warfare systems used by the Russian Armed Forces effectively suppress modern NATO weapons, including HIMARS multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS). Russian systems have proven particularly effective at jamming Ukrainian GPS and other satellite channels. The space segment of the electronic warfare forces is also being formed on the basis of a group of spacecraft. According to the official representative of the Russian Ministry of Defense, a constellation of satellites will be used for this purpose. One system created at the Electronic Warfare Research Institute to counter unauthorized access to subscriber information is being tested. This system detects connections to cellular networks to listen to false messages, the purpose of which is to sow panic and disorient the population. It detects false base stations of the cellular network and blocks the information leakage channel, after which communication with the real base station is restored. Bart Hendrickx, a long-term observer of the Russian space program, noted in 2019 that "evidence emerged in the past few years for the existence of another KB Arsenal project with the odd name Ekipazh (a French loanword meaning both crew and horse-drawn carriage).... Ekipazh officially got underway on August 13, 2014, with a contract signed between KB Arsenal and the Ministry of Defense. It has the military index 14F350, an out-of-sequence number in the 14F satellite designation system, pointing to the satellites unusual nature.... contractual information that appeared on the procurement website this summer provides conclusive evidence that Ekipazh is a nuclear-powered satellite and leaves little doubt that it uses the Plazma-2010 platform or an outgrowth of it...."" snippets of information strongly indicate that Product 295 is the code name for a thermionic nuclear reactor that Krasnaya Zvezda is building for Ekipazh. According to Hendrickx, "One military mission for Plazma-2010 that KB Arsenal is known to have considered is to perform space-based electronic warfare (EW). KB Arsenals director general Andrei Romanov hinted at the companys interest in such a mission in late 2014... KB Arsenal outlined plans for nuclear-powered EW satellites in several editions of an annual publication called Electronic Warfare in the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, a compilation of articles by military officials and companies involved in Russias electronic warfare program.... "The presence of a nuclear reactor would make it possible to install jammers operating in a wide range of frequencies and place such payloads into highly elliptical and geostationary orbits for uninterrupted suppression of electronic systems in large areas. The spacecraft would be delivered to their operational orbits by an electric propulsion unit and are therefore referred to in the articles as transport and energy modules. The EW mission would require a reactor generating at least 30 to 40 kilowatts, allowing the satellites to be launched by the Soyuz-2-1b rocket. For more advanced EW missions, the performance would have to be increased to 100 kilowatts, necessitating a switch to the more powerful Angara-A5 rocket."" The Arsenal design bureau, part of the Roscosmos system, proposed the Ministry of Defense to create an orbital group of spacecraft with electronic warfare equipment, equipped with a nuclear power plant (NPP). The proposal is set out in the annual collection Electronic warfare in the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, where specialized enterprises formulate their ideas for the Ministry of Defense. Arsenal is working on the creation of universal transport and energy modules (TEM) with increased power supply with nuclear power plants, the collection says. The use of such TEMs is especially relevant in the interests of solving problems of electronic warfare (EW) in space and from space, which require high power levels of jammers, and, consequently, significant on-board energy. The presence of a nuclear power plant makes it possible to place high-potential, wide-range radio jamming transmitters on board the vehicle, and to use geostationary and highly elliptical orbits for electronic jamming in order to continuously suppress radio electronic equipment over large areas and in a wide frequency range. TEMs are developed taking into account the use of payloads in the interests of solving problems of electronic suppression, which require the presence of a payload in the module, including transformable parabolic antenna systems, Arsenals proposal says. The presence of such platforms and, as a consequence, an increase in the power supply of the satellite allows us to raise the question of creating a truly operational space segment of electronic warfare based on electronic suppression spacecraft with nuclear power plants. Arsenal General Director Alexander Milkovsky told Izvestia that if the military is interested in Arsenals proposal, the company will be ready to implement the project. Alexander Milkovsky emphasized that Arsenal Design Bureau has extensive experience in creating devices with nuclear power plants. In February 1998, a government decree approved the Concept for the development of space nuclear energy in Russia, which set priorities for the development of basic unified structures, units, and thermionic reactor-converters for spacecraft. Within the framework of this concept, Arsenal carried out design and research work to create a universal space platform "Plasma-2010" with a multi-mode thermionic power plant with a power of up to 100 kW (this almost corresponds to the power supply of the International Space Station - 110 kW, which is provided by the operation of solar panels with an area of 17 by 70 m). In 2010, work began in Russia on the creation of megawatt-class nuclear power plants, since then the topic of flights to the Moon and Mars arose again. As of 2018, the first megawatt-class space-based installation of the Rosatom enterprise is promised to be presented by 2018, and an experimental spacecraft with it is planned to be launched into orbit in 2025. From 1973 to 1988, Arsenal built more than 30 spacecraft with nuclear power plants for the Legend naval space reconnaissance and target designation system. During the Soviet period, the serial production of satellites with nuclear installations was organized for a specific task: radar installations required a lot of energy, and they were provided thanks to nuclear power plants, said Ivan Moiseev, scientific director of the Institute of Space Policy. "Electronic warfare equipment against nuclear installations is not prohibited by any laws, but you need to understand that their use is possible only in wartime. Therefore, in this case, we need to make a political decision - whether we need to deploy such means in space. And again, here we need to take into account the experience of using satellites with nuclear power plants, which we already had. Not everything went smoothly there; they sometimes fell to Earth."" Special equipment for the promising Russian electronic warfare (EW) spacecraft is being created at the Radioelectronic Technologies (KRET) concern, Daniil Brenerman, director of Aviaavtomatika OJSC named after Tarasov (Kursk), told Interfax-AVN on 20 February 2015. KRET initially and fully participates in the project to create specialized on-board equipment for the promising Russian electronic warfare spacecraft, said D. Brenerman, who heads the concerns delegation at the Aero India 2015 air show in Bangalore. He did not specify what the specialized equipment would be. This is a closed project, so there is no detailed information available for wide publicity, said D. Brenerman. Steven Colbert remarked "The screaming all aps headlines say no reason to panic. Unfortunately having no reason is my favorite way to panic. All of this is because there's some alarming news from Ohio representative ... Mike Turner, who is the Republican chairman of the house intelligence committee. He released an unusual statement today warning of a serious national security threat without providing any additional details. Okay that's unnecessarily vague. It's like labeling a pack of cigarettes Surgeon General's warning "trust me you don't want to know". Now we didn't get much more than that other than reports that the threat is related to Russia. Oh my God is it a bioweapon? Is is it cyber warfare? Are they sending Steven Sagal back? "Well whatever it is Turner wants the White House to release the details of the threat to the public immediately. Now for their part the White House said they were planning a congressional briefing for tomorrow, adding that they couldn't do it today cuz they're a little busy stocking up on canned goods. Now other congressmen on the intelligence committee have stepped forward to call for calm. Connecticut Congressman Jim Heim said "I don't want people thinking that martians are landing or that your Wednesday is going to be ruined". Martians are landing? Oh great, now my Wednesday's ruined! "So that that was our midafternoon Panic. By late afternoon we got we got some more details from sources with access to highly classified information so anyone who used the bathroom at Mar A Lago reportedly the threat is Russia wanting nuclear weapons in space but before you get too worried the nukes would not be to drop a weapon on Earth from orbit but to possibly use again satellites reminds me of that famous quote from Oppenheimer "now I am become death destroyer of GPS - find your own way to Costco suckers!" Again I cannot say this enough there is no reason to panic. About that the only reason to panic is if you forgot it's Valentine's Day." NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Battery embraces new littoral role By Captain Annie Richardson 15 February 2024 Traditionally steeped in the ethos of conventional gunnery, the 101st Battery of the 8th/12th Regiment, Royal Australian Artillery, is now at the forefront of a new frontier: the littoral space. Originally formed in 1916 as the 101st Howitzer Battery, derived from members of the 1st Field Artillery Brigade at Gallipoli, the unit was disbanded post-war and reformed in the 1920s and again in 1957. With the 2023 Defence Strategic Review (DSR) recommending a strategic shift towards a light-littoral brigade, 101st Battery has transitioned to specialise in intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) operations within archipelagos and coastal areas. Battery commander Major Jack Bagwill said 101st Battery was well suited to take on the challenge of ISR in the coastal region. "We're comprised of well-trained joint fires observers and artillery command systems operators; individuals who are already accustomed to the science of intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance, and synchronisation of joint effects," Major Bagwill said. "Their expertise in observation and target acquisition seamlessly translated into the littoral environment, where instead of hills, we're working with tides, beaches and rocky landings." He said the transition was not without its challenges, but the members of 101st Battery embraced them, studying and enhancing their operation of small watercraft and honing their skills in intelligence photography for deployment on Operation Resolute, the ADF's endeavour to safeguard the nation's borders and maritime interests. "101st Battery has embraced the evolving battlespace and forged a path forward in the littoral space," Major Bagwill said. "By day and by night, we're conducting ISR to feed back to the Australian Border Force, enabling them to follow up on suspected illegal activities in the area. "In the wake of the DSR, the Army is preparing for the introduction of long-range fires, but 8/12th Regiment is also in the process of adapting to the 1st Brigade's new mandate as the Army's light-littoral combat brigade. In that vein we have done something unique here; we have built a dedicated brigade reconnaissance element." NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Flexible training benefits reservists By Captain Peter March 15 February 2024 9th Brigade's Reserve Accelerated Training Scheme (RATS) is being run again in 2024 after a successful pilot last year. The initiative provides a flexible option for part-time soldiers to undertake full-time contracts of 3-12 months for service similar to a 'Gap Year'. In 2023, 10th/27th Battalion, the Royal South Australia Regiment (10/27RSAR), successfully provided 37 soldiers with the experience of being members of a full-time platoon inside a combat brigade. Private Lachlan McCulloch commenced his full-time contract under the RATS as a recruit. After attending Kapooka in January 2023, he went on to complete his initial employment training, and was fully qualified in time to be able to deploy with the platoon to Indonesia on Exercise Super Garuda Shield in August 2023. "The RATS has given me unparalleled experience," Private McCulloch said. "The training and community has been excellent. It has inspired me to make a career out of what I thought was just a job." The RATS allowed participants to accelerate individual training and complete a number of corps qualifications, combat behaviour training and promotion courses, along with specialist qualifications including protected mobility vehicle driver and direct fire support weapons. The enhanced training and readiness capability of the platoon enabled its soldiers to contribute to high-end collective training and security cooperation activities, including participating on Exercise Super Garuda Shield 23 and the combined arms platoon live-fire on Exercise Rhino Run 23. Additionally, the soldiers provided a high-readiness force element for domestic response contingencies. Commanding Officer 10/27RSAR Lieutenant Colonel Aaron Jackson said the initiative provided greater flexibility for part-time soldiers to complete training on a full-time contract in order to deliver capability faster. "The Reserve Accelerated Training Scheme is a fantastic opportunity for Australians interested in serving their community to get a taste of the rewarding careers available in the ADF," Lieutenant Colonel Jackson said. "Participants gain valuable skills in leadership, working in teams, as well as developing professionally. "This initiative also demonstrates the battalion's capability and how we can be employed effectively for exercises and operations." One-in-five participants from the 2023 RATS program are now transferring to Service Category 7 full-time service, but many, such as Private McCulloch, will return to Service Category 5 part-time service after the completion of their contract. "We look forward to another successful year of the program in 2024," Lieutenant Colonel Jackson said. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Former Belarusian Law Enforcement Officers Sentenced To Lengthy Prison Terms In Absentia By RFE/RL's Belarus Service February 15, 2024 The Minsk City Court on February 15 handed lengthy prison terms to six former Belarusian law enforcement officers who backed protests in 2020 challenging the official results of the presidential election that gave authoritarian leader Alyaksandr Lukashenka a sixth term in office. The six officers, all of whom left the country after the demonstrations, were sentenced in absentia. Former officer Alyaksandr Azarau received the longest sentence, 25 years. Four others -- Matsvey Kupreychyk, Aleh Talerchyk, Ihar Loban, and Uladzimer Zhyhar -- were sentenced to 12 years each, and Andrey Astapovich was sentenced to 11 years in prison. Judge Dzina Kuchuk of the Minsk City Court sentenced the defendants after finding them guilty of inciting social hatred, plotting to forcibly seize power, and the creation of an extremist group. The judge also ordered the defendants to pay hefty fines. The charges stem from the defendants' role in the creation while abroad of ByPol, a group that united former law enforcement officers who support opposition politicians. In August 2022, ByPol was declared a terrorist organization by Belarus's Supreme Court. A year later, ByPol split into two groups -- ByPol and BelPol -- following disagreements within the organization and with the Belarusian opposition in exile led by Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya. Thousands were detained during and after the 2020 protests, and there have been credible reports of torture and ill-treatment by security forces. Several people died during the crackdown. Lukashenka, who has ruled the country with an iron fist since 1994, has refused to negotiate with the opposition, and many of its leaders have been arrested or forced to leave the country. Also on February 15, a court in the town of Luninents in the country's west started the trial of a local resident Alyaksandr Paliuka on charges of insulting Lukashenka, libeling Lukashenka, insulting a representative of the authorities, calls for activities compromising the country's national security, and taking part in an extremist group's activities. The charges stem from Paliuka's online posts and comments. Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/belarus-bypol-sentences- absentia/32821297.html Copyright (c) 2024. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Canada acquiring air defence and anti-drone capabilities for Canadian Armed Forces members deployed with NATO in Latvia National Defence News release February 15, 2024 - Brussels, Belgium - National Defence / Canadian Armed Forces Today, the Honourable Bill Blair, Minister of National Defence, announced that Canadian Armed Forces members deployed to NATO's Canada-led Battle Group in Latvia will soon have two new defensive capabilities that are being acquired on an urgent basis. This new equipment will strengthen the defence capacity of the Battle Group as a whole, further adding to the deterrence capabilities of soldiers from all contributing nations. First, Canada is investing $227.5 million in an Air Defence capability for Canadian Armed Forces members in Latvia. Canada has finalized contracts with Saab Canada Inc. to procure the RBS 70 NG short-range Air Defence System, which will provide tactical air defence protection to Canadian troops in Latvia. This capability will enable Canadian troops to defend themselves against fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters within its range, close air support aircraft, class 1 small Uncrewed Aerial Systems, and larger Uncrewed Aerial Systems. This is the first time since 2012 that the Canadian Armed Forces will have an Air Defence capability - and the first systems are expected to be delivered later this year. Second, Canada is investing $46 million to acquire new counter-drone equipment. This will provide Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) members deployed on Operation REASSURANCE with improved protection against hostile Class 1 UAS (small drones) by enabling their detection, identification, tracking, and defeat - ensuring freedom of action for land operations. Initial operational capability for this new equipment is expected later this year. The project will deliver counter-UAS systems, command and control hardware and software, sensors, non-kinetic effectors, and in service support and training. Minister Blair announced these acquisitions during a visit to Brussels, Belgium, where he participated in a meeting of NATO Defence Ministers. Minister Blair emphasized how these new capabilities will strengthen NATO's defence and deterrence posture on Canada's eastern flank, where Canada leads NATO's enhanced Forward Presence Battle Group in Latvia. Canada is more than doubling its military presence on Operation REASSURANCE - from about 1,000 troops currently to up to 2,200 persistently deployed troops by 2026, as Canada committed in the July 2023 Roadmap on Scaling the eFP Latvia Battle Group to Brigade. Today's announcement follows Minister Blair's December 2023 trip to Latvia, where he announced that Canada will deploy Royal Canadian Air Force helicopters to the Battle Group starting this summer, and highlighted Canada's recent deployment of a Canadian Army Tank Squadron of 15 Leopard 2A4M tanks to Latvia. During his visit to Brussels, Minister Blair also highlighted that approximately 1,000 CAF sailors, soldiers, aviators, and special forces members (including the Canadian warship HMCS Charlottetown) are currently participating in NATO's Exercise Steadfast Defender 2024. This is the largest NATO exercise in decades and will serve to rehearse NATO's Deterrence and Defence plans to counter threats to the Euro-Atlantic area. In addition, together with his Czech counterpart, Defence Minister Jana AernochovA, Minister Blair also signed a Canada-Czechia Defence Cooperation memorandum of understanding (MOU). This MOU will establish a framework for cooperation and outlines how Canada and Czechia will work collaboratively to strengthen cooperation in several areas such as bilateral and multilateral training, military education, defence research and technology, and mutual logistics research. In addition to enabling closer bilateral cooperation, this MOU will also enable Canada and Czechia to work together more closely in supporting Ukraine. During this important moment for Euro-Atlantic security, Canada is working closely with NATO Allies and international partners to provide and coordinate comprehensive military assistance for Ukraine, and to help build a more resilient Alliance. Quotes "Canada's support for the NATO Alliance is steadfast. By investing in Air Defence and anti-drone capabilities for Canadian troops, we are also bolstering the defensive capabilities of the NATO Battle Group in Latvia as a whole. Through our leadership of the Battle Group in Latvia and our many other contributions to NATO - including our current participation in Exercise Steadfast Defender - Canada will continue to work with our Allies to strengthen Euro-Atlantic security." The Honourable Bill Blair, Minister of National Defence Quick facts Following a competitive procurement process, the Government of Canada has awarded three contracts to Saab Canada Inc. for the acquisition of the RBS 70 NG Soldier Portable Air Defence (AD) System as an Urgent Operational Requirement. These contracts represent a combined value of $227.5 million (excluding taxes), and include acquisition of the systems, supporting ammunition, and in-service support. Canada is also making progress on the Ground Based Air Defence (GBAD) project, which will allow the Canadian Armed Forces to defeat threats posed by rocket, artillery, and mortar (RAM) munitions, air to surface missiles (ASM) and bombs, and uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS) with attack aircrafts and helicopters as secondary targets. The GBAD project is in definition phase. A final Invitation to Qualify was issued on October 5, 2023, and closed on January 12, 2024. Following a competitive procurement process, the Government of Canada awarded contracts for the acquisition and support of dismounted and fixed-site systems as part of Phase 1 of the Counter-UAS Project. The contracts have a total combined value of $46 million. The systems being acquired in Phase 1 include: A contract with an estimated value of $2 million (excluding taxes) to TRD Systems of Singapore for ORION-H9 dismounted directional systems; A contract with an estimated value of $19 million (excluding taxes) to CACI Inc. of the United States of America for CACI BEAM 3.0 omni-directional systems; and A contract with an estimated value of $25 million (excluding taxes) to Leonardo UK Ltd. Of the United Kingdom for Falcon Shield fixed-site systems. Canada's Industrial and Technological Benefits Policy applies to the Soldier-Portable Air Defence (AD) Systems project, which will ensure that the company will provide meaningful business activities and targeted investments to grow the Canadian defence industry. These economic commitments are estimated to contribute $40 million annually to Canadian GDP and create or maintain 350 jobs annually over a six-year period. NATO is a cornerstone of Canada's international security policy. Canada steadfastly supports NATO's principle of collective defence and is providing direct support to NATO missions and operations to this end. Current Canadian contributions to NATO include: leading the multinational NATO enhanced Forward Presence Battle Group in Latvia; providing consistent support to NATO maritime forces through the deployment of Royal Canadian Navy vessels in European waters; providing advisory support on institutional reforms to build lasting security and stability through NATO Mission Iraq; and providing CAF personnel support to the NATO-led international peace support operation in Kosovo through Operation KOBOLD. Canada further contributes to Euro-Atlantic security through our support to Ukraine. Operation UNIFIER is the CAF's military training and capacity building mission in support of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU). Since 2015, Canada has trained approximately 40,000 members of the AFU under Operation UNIFIER. More than 300 CAF members are deployed under Operation UNIFIER in various roles, including to provide and coordinate training, and to facilitate and deliver military donations to Ukraine in coordination with Allies. Beyond providing military training under Operation UNIFIER, Canada has committed over $9.5 billion in total assistance to Ukraine since February 2022, including $2.4 billion in military assistance to Ukraine. Canada is also currently negotiating bilateral long-term security commitments with Ukraine, in line with the 2023 G7 Joint Declaration of Support for Ukraine. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Volkswagen reviews Xinjiang operations as abuse pressure mounts New evidence directly implicates the auto giant in Uyghur forced labor use, aiding surveillance, indoctrination. By RFA Staff, Yitong Wu and Chingman for RFA Cantonese 2024.02.14 -- The German auto giant Volkswagen is facing renewed accusations of using Uyghur forced labor, as new evidence directly implicates its use of slave labor in the construction of a test track in Xinjiang, where brainwashing, surveillance and assimilation measures on employees were implemented. The evidence from Adrian Zenz, a German scholar on Xinjiang internment camps, revealed that SAIC-Volkswagen's test track in Turpan in Xinjiang was built using transferred Uyghur laborers. SAIC-Volkswagen, headquartered in Anting, Shanghai, China, is a joint venture between China's state-owned SAIC Motor and Volkswagen Group. "The VW project subjected them to indoctrination, biometric data collection, assimilation and surveillance," said Zenz in his post on X on Wednesday of his findings, which were also reported by the German newspaper Handelsblatt. The track was built by the China Railway Engineering Corporation (CREC)'s Fourth Bureau between 2015 and 2019, under the oversight of the Xinjiang Test Track Project (XTTP), a joint entity of SAIC and CREC. The entity not only employed Uyghur laborers through so-called "poverty alleviation" schemes, but participated in government work teams monitoring Uyghur families - hosting assimilatory "ethnic unity" activities, exhorting Uyghur children to study Chinese, and facilitating the transfer of Uyghur surplus laborers to state-arranged workplaces, Zenz wrote. Future business direction Volkswagen told Radio Free Asia on Thursday that it was in talks with its joint venture partner over the future of its Xinjiang operations. "Volkswagen is currently in talks with the non-controlled joint venture SAIC-Volkswagen about the future direction of business activities in Xinjiang province," a spokesperson said via email. "Different scenarios are being considered intensively." The company spokesperson went on to say that the test site in Turpan, which offers conditions for vehicle testing in an extremely dry and hot climate, was chosen by the SAIC-Volkswagen joint venture in 2013. But it was not possible to perform an ESG audit - an organizational assessment of risks related to environmental, social and governance domains by an independent party - on the Turpan test track as part of a previous ESG audit at the other joint-venture in Urumqi, because the two facilities belonged to different operating companies. "Any audit of the test track in Turpan would have had to be coordinated with the JV partner SAIC and the responsible authorities in China separately from the ESG audit of the plant site and approved by them," the spokesperson said. "The first priority was to audit the joint venture plant in Urumqi. We are in contact with our joint venture partner SAIC regarding the further procedure with regard to the test site." "To date, we have had no indications of human rights violations in connection with the test site in Turpan," the spokesperson said. "Should new findings emerge or we receive any such information, we will take this as an opportunity - as in the past - to investigate them immediately and take appropriate action if necessary." Zenz pointed out in his X post that CREC and XTTP reports have stated openly that the project employed transferred Uyghur surplus laborers during the peak of the mass internments in 2017 and 2018. One report outlined how the project employed Uyghur workers from Hotan and southern Xinjiang starting in 2017, as "transferred rural surplus laborers" of a scheme which Zenz believes to be the "coercive 2017-2019 plan" under the-then Xinjiang party secretary Chen Quanguo to transfer over 100,000 Uyghurs from poor backgrounds. Another report in May 2017, when the mass internments started, described the XTTP's intensified surveillance of employees, using early pre-shift "speeches" to strengthen their ideological awareness. The project also collected iris scans of employees and passed their information to the security services. By 2019, the XTTP was dissolved and the track is currently managed by the SAIC-Volkswagen (Turpan) Test Center, which provides a range of services, including vehicle maintenance. Learning from the past Shing Sai Kwong, a Taiwanese political commentator in Germany, called Volkswagen's state of denial despicable despite the solid evidence available, and urged the German authorities to take action. "Volkswagen hasn't learnt the lessons of history," he said, referring to the automaker's dark past of using forced labor during Nazi Germany in the second World War. "It is killing innocent people like the Uyghurs in Xinjiang, our human rights, and democracy and freedom. Of course, the judiciary can investigate. If not for the media and scholars who have a conscience and conduct their own investigation, such matters will never be discovered," said Shing. "Volkswagen can afford to be arrogant and lie today, [as] the German government is also quite slack. Therefore, voters like us need to monitor and keep tabs," Shing added. Gheyyur Qurban, director of the youth department of the World Uyghur Congress, said responses from Volkswagen have been superficial and the company continued to conceal the truth. "We have contacted the top leadership of Volkswagen through various means and asked them to withdraw from East Turkistan," she said. "On the surface, they expressed their concern about this issue, but they used the former human rights commissioner of the German federal government [Markus] LAning to conduct a so-called review and concluded that 'there is no forced labor in Volkswagen's supply chain.' This so-called audit result is not recognized at all, whether it is in the German political, economic fields or internationally." Since Germany's supply chain law took effect at the beginning of 2023, Qurban said eight cases of German companies - including Volkswagen - involved in Uyghur forced labor have been reported. "One sees many multinational companies are already very uneasy," she added. Chemical giant BASF, whose joint venture partner in Xinjiang was found to be involved in using forced labor, announced last week that they were exiting the operations, which German lawmakers expect will pressure more companies to follow suit. Zenz said the Volkswagen findings are worse than those he uncovered for BASF's Markor Chemical joint venture partner, because they implicate a Volkswagen-controlled entity not only in "activities aiding state atrocities, but also in subjecting its own staff to forced labor, assimilation, surveillance and indoctrination." Translated by RFA staff. Additional reporting by Shahrezad Ghayrat for RFA Uyghur. Edited by Taejun Kang and Mike Firn. Updated to include a Volkswagen spokeperson's emailed comments to RFA on Thursday. Copyright 1998-2024, 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 February not be used in a manner which would give the appearance of any endorsement of any product or support of any issue or political position. Please read the full text of our Terms of Use. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Foreign Ministry Spokesperson's Remarks on Wang Yi's Upcoming Trip to the 60th Munich Security Conference and Visit to Spain and France Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the People's Republic of China 2024-02-15 12:10 Q: What are the issues that Foreign Minister Wang Yi will discuss China's position on? What does China expect to achieve through his visit to Spain and France?a A: The Munich Security Conference is an annual forum on international strategy and security policy with important global influence. China has sent high-level representatives to the conference multiple times. The world is undergoing accelerating changes and has entered a new period of turbulence and change. Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi will attend the conference to elaborate on China's propositions on building a community with a shared future for mankind and advocating an equal and orderly multipolar world. Spain is a major country in the European Union and China's comprehensive strategic partner. Wang Yi's visit to Spain is happening as the Year of the Dragon kicks off and China-Spain diplomatic relations enter the second 50 years. It will also be Chinese foreign minister's first visit to the country in nearly six years. Both sides attach great importance to this visit and Spain has made thoughtful and cordial arrangements. China hopes that this visit will enable both sides to further implement the common understandings reached by the two heads of state, continue the friendly atmosphere of the 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties, consolidate mutual trust, enhance friendship, promote cooperation and enrich the China-Spain comprehensive strategic partnership. China and France are both permanent members of the UN Security Council and independent major countries. This year marks the 60th anniversary of China-France diplomatic ties. Last month, President Xi Jinping and French President Emmanuel Macron exchanged congratulatory messages and delivered video speeches, stressing that the two sides need to work together for a more solid and dynamic China-France comprehensive strategic partnership for the next 60 years. Foreign Minister Wang Yi's visit to France will be the first important visit between the two countries this year. He will hold bilateral meetings with the French side and co-chair a new round of the China-France Strategic Dialogue with French President's Diplomatic Adviser Emmanuel Bonne. China hopes to work with France to further deepen strategic communication, consolidate political mutual trust, advance practical cooperation and people-to-people and cultural exchanges, and enhance communication and coordination on multilateral issues to jointly steer China-EU relations toward sound and steady growth, and contribute to global peace, stability, development, and progress. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address China's Xi appeared 'humble' but now rules supreme, ambassador says Former Japanese envoy publishes an account of his brushes with China's 'Wolf Warrior' diplomats. By Chi Chun Lee for RFA Cantonese 2024.02.15 -- China's Xi Jinping was once a "humble" leader who has "totally changed" since taking control of the country in the style of Mao Zedong, according to the memoir of Hideo Tarumi, a former Japanese ambassador to Beijing who left his post in December amid deteriorating bilateral ties. In the memoir published by the literary magazine BungeishunjA just two months after he left his post, Tarumi describes meeting Xi during a visit to Japan when he was vice president under Hu Jintao in 2009. Tarumi's job on the night was to greet each guest personally, and he noticed that Xi showed no sign of impatience while waiting to be greeted, despite the fact that Tarumi was running late, and took a while to get to him. The encounter was to leave Tarumi with the impression of a "humble" official, he wrote, adding that Xi has "totally changed" since taking power in 2012. "Xi Jinping's aura has totally changed," Tarumi wrote, adding that he is now surrounded by far more security guards than his predecessor Hu Jintao, making it hard to approach him. He said Xi has now steered China away from the decades of economic reform launched by late supreme leader Deng Xiaoping in 1979, and along a path that is closer to that chosen by Mao Zedong. "Xi Jinping's actions prove that he chose ... to use a high degree of centralization to maintain the legitimacy of Chinese Communist Party rule," Tarumi wrote, adding that the centralization of power in Xi's hands now means that the formerly powerful Politburo Standing Committee is now subordinate to Xi Jinping. He said Xi had "sacrificed the economy to achieve national security goals," or regime stability. 'Contradictory' But he said the amendment of the Counterespionage Law last year and the loosening of immigration controls are also tied in with economic development. "It's a contradictory thing, and the ambassadors of Europe and the United States are also confused about it," Tarumi wrote of the two moves. The reform era ushered in by Mao's successor Deng Xiaoping saw people freed up to make money as fast as they liked, and the start of a burgeoning private sector and decades of export-led economic growth, while political ideology and authoritarian rule took a back seat. In August, top Chinese economist Hu Xingdou published a 10-point plan calling for a return to those policies, and a move away from Beijing's aggressive "Wolf Warrior" diplomacy under Xi. Yet Xi, who is serving a third and indefinite term in office after abolishing presidential term limits in 2018, is widely seen to be moving in the opposite direction to Deng. He's cracking down on private sector wealth and power and boosting the state-owned economy while eroding the freedoms enjoyed by the country's middle classes. Face-off Tarumi was feted as a "China hand" by the nationalistic Global Times newspaper when he took up his post in 2020 and has since gained a reputation as a fearless challenger of Wolf Warrior diplomacy. In the book, he also describes being hauled in by foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying and lectured after then-Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe took part in a regional strategic forum on Taiwan, which China claims as its territory despite never having ruled the democratic island. Tarumi went reluctantly after instructing his staff to "ignore" Hua's summons - and after the foreign ministry threatened to cut him off from all future meetings. Hua berated him with Japanese militarism leading to "the slaughter of many Taiwanese." But Tarumi, who had served in Japan's economic and trade office in Taiwan, retorted that he knew more about Taiwan than she did, and that Japan's 50-year rule over Taiwan was due to the ceding of the island under the Treaty of Shimonoseki in the wake of the First Sino-Japanese War. Hua appeared at a loss for words at this, and replied only: "Some people say Japanese militarism started in the 19th century. These new interpretations are unacceptable," according to Tarumi's memoir. A few months later, Tarumi faced an even bigger problem. One of his diplomats was detained by police after having lunch with Dong Yuyu, deputy head of editorials at the Communist Party's Guangming Daily newspaper, who was arrested for spying on Feb. 21, 2022. "Foreign personnel engaged in activities inconsistent with their status in China," Hua told a regular news briefing at the time. "The relevant Chinese authorities conducted investigations and inquiries into this matter." According to Tarumi, the Japanese diplomat had presented his passport and work permits, informing the police that his detention had violated the Vienna Convention because it breached his diplomatic immunity. Tarumi made an immediate protest to the foreign ministry, meeting with assistant foreign minister Wu Jianghao, who told him that the meeting was "irregular." Tarumi replied that Wu had misrepresented the meeting and objected strongly, with the support of the ambassadors of 13 other countries, according to his account. Eventually, the Japanese diplomat was released. A Beijing-based journalist who declined to be named said China intensified its surveillance of Japanese diplomatic missions following the incident, barring them from taking part in exchange activities as they normally would, and isolating them in their embassy and consulates. Listening devices Tarumi's memoir appears to confirm this claim, adding that a number of dinner invitations sent to prominent Chinese intellectuals were declined after the incident, while listening devices were placed at Japanese restaurants frequented by embassy staff. Pretty much nobody turned up for the emperor's birthday celebrations, while police prevented Tarumi from holding an exhibition of his landscape photographs taken while in China. Police blocked the venue, preventing anyone from getting in, and removing Tarumi's photos from their frames, Tarumi wrote, adding that the aim was "to make me feel uncomfortable." A senior international editor at a Japanese media organization who gave only the pseudonym Sato said they were shocked at the level of detail provided in Tarumi's memoir, adding that the former ambassador had been extremely cautious about talking to journalists while still in post. "I think Hideo Tarumi said too much," Sato said. "The relationship between China and Japan is not very good right now, but it's also a very important relationship." "However, I do believe he is coming from a place of wanting a good relationship between China and Japan," Sato said, adding that former Japanese ambassadors are generally allowed to comment on current affairs after leaving office, as long as they don't reveal any state secrets. Translated by Luisetta Mudie. Edited by Malcolm Foster. Copyright 1998-2024, 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 February not be used in a manner which would give the appearance of any endorsement of any product or support of any issue or political position. Please read the full text of our Terms of Use. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address On Tuesday night, the Mechanicsburg Area School Board approved a 2024-24 general operating budget for Cumberland Perry Area Career and Technical Center that increases the annual contribution because of a rising number of Mechanicsburg attendees. The career and technical center charges each of its 13 member school districts an annual contribution based on a five-year weighted enrollment average. As a result, Mechanicsburg will pay an additional $78,217 next year to Cumberland-Perry for a total annual fee of $585,946, a 15.4% increase from 2023-24 due to the districts continuing growth of vo-tech students. In 2018-19, a total of 72 Mechanicsburg students in grades 10-12 opted to attend the career and technical center. In contrast, an average of 95.8 Mechanicsburg students in those grades chose to attend Cumberland-Perry in 2022-23, bringing the districts current 5-year attendance average to 78.6 students, an increase of 7% since last year. Comparatively, a total of 1,344 students were enrolled at Mechanicsburg Area Senior High School on Dec. 15, 2023, Superintendent Mark Leidy said. Leidy said that the growing trend of district students choosing a career path at Cumberland-Perry also shows no sign of abating for the upcoming school year. So far, 101 Mechanicsburg students have applied to attend the career and technical center for 2024-25. I believe our community and students recognize the value offered by the programs at CPACTC, he said. Additionally, our increasing student enrollment has contributed to more students electing to attend this program. Policy approvals Also Tuesday, the board approved several revisions to existing policies regarding name and classification, organization and structure of the organization. The changes relate to the district recently crossing the threshold of expanding into a larger state classification size due to enrollment and area population growth, Leidy said last month. Mechanicsburg now qualifies as a Class 2 school district according to Pennsylvania School Code. A district meets Class 2 qualification by having an area population of 30,000 or more but less than 250,000, according to the state Department of Education. Until recently, Mechanicsburg qualified as a Class 3 district, meaning that its population numbered 5,000 or more but less than 30,000. With Mechanicsburgs classification upgrade come new state requirements. For one, the district must appoint an administrator or staff member to serve as treasurer rather than a school director. The appointment must take place by July 1. Until now, school board member Tracy Morgan served as treasurer. As approved Tuesday, the chain of command lists Leidy directly underneath the board to oversee leaders of the districts academic programs, student services, district operations and building principals. The complete new organization structure is attached to Tuesdays online meeting agenda at www.mbgsd.org. Construction contracts In other news, Mechanicsburg School directors approved contracts totaling $3,198,225.89 on Tuesday for planned replacement of 17 of 19 existing rooftop HVAC units at Elmwood Academy. District officials said last month that the district plans to start work on the overall project later this year for slated completion by the start of the 2024-25 school year. We should be in good shape by the time school starts, Eric Hoffman, the districts director of facilities, said at a district finance/facilities committee meeting last month. Contracts approved Tuesday were: Mechanical contractor Air Management Technologies, Lewisburg: $2,044,749.89 Electrical contractor Leer Electric, Dillsburg: $269,226 HVAC contractor Siemens, New Cumberland: $884,250 HKSAR gov't holds explanatory sessions on legislation of Article 23 of HKSAR Basic Law People's Daily Online (Xinhua) 09:58, February 16, 2024 HONG KONG, Feb. 14 (Xinhua) -- The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government has held a series of briefing and consultation sessions to explain details of the legislation of Article 23 of the Basic Law of the HKSAR. On various occasions, HKSAR Chief Executive John Lee reiterated the necessity and urgency of the legislation of Article 23 of HKSAR Basic Law, saying that the legislation must be done and must be done as soon as possible. As Hong Kong has gone through the Hong Kong version of "color revolution" in 2019, people all understand the importance of national security, and that risks to national security are serious, real and can arise unexpectedly, he said. Paul Lam, secretary for justice of the HKSAR government, explained the legislative principles identified in the public consultation document to a meeting joined by the panel on security and the panel on the administration of justice and legal services. He said that it is necessary to formulate effective and forward-looking laws to safeguard national security based on Hong Kong's actual situation and draw on foreign experience. Chris Tang, secretary for security of the HKSAR government, said that the legislation of Article 23 of HKSAR Basic Law is not only a constitutional duty, but an actual necessity. Hong Kong must seize the opportunity to quickly legislate to deal with continued national security risks and threats, he said. Government officials explained the details of the legislation to people from all walks of life. Paul Chan, financial secretary of the HKSAR government, hosted a session attended by representatives from the financial industry. After the meeting, he said the attendees all agreed that a safe and stable business environment is a key prerequisite and core condition for social and economic development. In response to the concerns and doubts raised by some Hong Kong residents and foreigners in Hong Kong, the HKSAR government held consultation sessions to explain the public consultation document while listening to suggestions. People who participated in one of the consultation sessions said that the HKSAR government's explanation was timely and comprehensive, and they had a clearer understanding of the legislative work. A representative from the foreign business community who attended the meeting described that communication between all parties was smooth, and officials from the HKSAR government listened to everyone's opinions and responded to their concerns. After an explanatory session attended by deputies of the HKSAR to the National People's Congress (NPC) and members of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference in the HKSAR, national legislators and political advisors in the HKSAR also voiced their support for the legislation of Article 23 of the HKSAR Basic Law. Chen Yong, a deputy of the HKSAR to the NPC, said that he firmly supports the HKSAR in fulfilling its constitutional and legal responsibilities to make up for the shortfalls in safeguarding national security as soon as possible, and provide the greatest protection for the welfare of Hong Kong residents, so that Hong Kong can focus on developing the economy and improving people's livelihood. The public consultation on the legislation of Article 23 of the HKSAR Basic Law was launched on Jan. 30 and lasts till Feb. 28, 2024. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Pyongyang 'open to enhancing ties with Japan': N Korean leader's sister Kim Yo Jong's remarks came after the Japanese PM stressed the need to change current Japan-N Korea relationship. By Taejun Kang for RFA 2024.02.15 -- The powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Thursday said the hermit state is open to enhancing its ties with Japan, even suggesting the possibility of inviting the Japanese Prime Minister to Pyongyang. Kim Yo Jong's remark came after Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said during a speech last week that he feels a "strong need" to alter the current relationship between Japan and North Korea. "I think there would be no reason not to appreciate his recent speech as a positive one, if it was prompted by his real intention to boldly free himself from the past fetters and promote the DPRK-Japan relations," said Kim Yo Jong, as cited by North Korea's state-run Korean Central News Agency on Thursday. DPRK refers to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the North's official name. The Japanese prime minister's visit to Pyongyang "might come," if Tokyo "drops its bad habit of unreasonably pulling up the DPRK over its legitimate right to self-defense and does not lay such a stumbling block as the already settled abduction issue," said Kim, adding that it is just her "personal view." "I think our state leadership still has no idea of repairing the DPRK-Japan relations and has no interest in contact," she said. "It is necessary to watch the ulterior intention of Prime Minister Kishida in the future." The issue of abductions remains a significant obstacle to diplomatic normalization between North Korea and Japan. Tokyo claims it has confirmed the abductions of 17 Japanese citizens by North Korea in the 1970s and 1980s for language education for North Korean spies, and 12 are still in the North. Pyongyang contends that of the 12, eight have already died, and four never entered North Korea, asserting that there is no issue to be resolved. Following Kim Yo Jong's comments, Japanese foreign ministry spokesperson Yoshimasa Hayashi on Friday refuted Kim's statement that "the abduction issue has already been resolved" as "completely unacceptable." He stressed during a regular press meeting that "Japan has not changed its policy of comprehensively resolving issues such as abduction and nuclear and missile programs on the basis of the Japan-North Korea Pyongyang Declaration." The declaration was signed in 2002 after former Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi visited Pyongyang. The declaration contained four sections: promoting talks on normalization of diplomatic relations, compensation based on reflection on past history, preventing the recurrence of "regrettable issues," such as abductions, and establishing cooperation to resolve nuclear and missile issues. Hayashi declined to comment further since "it could affect future negotiations." When asked what North Korea's intentions were in making such a statement, he replied: "I am not in a position to comment on North Korea's intentions and objectives." Edited by Elaine Chan and Mike Firn. Copyright 1998-2016, 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 February not be used in a manner which would give the appearance of any endorsement of any product or support of any issue or political position. Please read the full text of our Terms of Use. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address N Korea peddles illicit gambling sites to South's criminal ring Seoul's spy agency has linked the sales to the office funding leader Kim Jong Un. By Taejun Kang for RFA 2024.02.15 -- A North Korean information technology group has created illegal online gambling websites and sold them to a South Korean cybercrime ring, the South's National Intelligence Service revealed. Gyonghung Information Technology Co., a group of 15 members based in Dandong, a Chinese border town next to the North Korean city of Sinuiju, was reportedly paid US$5,000 by an unnamed South Korean criminal organization in exchange for the development of a website and $3,000 monthly for its maintenance, the agency, known as NIS, said on Wednesday. The company is also believed to have earned an extra $2,000 to $5,000 for increased website user traffic, involving commercial transactions via bank accounts owned by Chinese nationals and the global online payment service PayPal. "Dandong has emerged as a base for apparel production in China, with the manpower from North Korea, and North Korean IT organizations have sprouted up and blended in among the North Korean workers in the area to make money and illegally earn foreign currencies," said the NIS, adding that thousands of North Koreans generate income abroad through similar tactics. Since the United Nations Security Council's 2017 sanctions against Pyongyang, North Korean citizens have been barred from working in China, a measure aimed at curtailing the North's ability to fund its nuclear and missile development programs. But North Korean operatives have camouflaged themselves as IT workers by fabricating their identities. The spy agency said the Gyonghung group is believed to be under the so-called Bureau 39 of the North Korean ruling party, which is responsible for managing and raising secret funds for leader Kim Jong Un. Each member of the group sends the North Korean government about $500 per month. The group is led by Kim Kwang Myong, a former official of Pyongyang's main intelligence agency, Reconnaissance General Bureau. It also extorted personal information from users who accessed the websites it developed through the installation of malicious codes. The amount of revenue generated by the entity from the South Korean criminal organization is not immediately known. However, the organization was also found to have generated profits in the trillions of South Korean won through the use of its websites, and an investigation is underway into the ring. Edited by Elaine Chan and Mike Firn Copyright 1998-2016, 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 February not be used in a manner which would give the appearance of any endorsement of any product or support of any issue or political position. Please read the full text of our Terms of Use. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Transcript of Special Briefing by Foreign Secretary on Prime Minister's visit to the UAE and Qatar (February 15, 2024) India - Ministry of External Affairs February 15, 2024 Shri Randhir Jaiswal, Official Spokesperson: Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. I warmly welcome you to this Press engagement on the visit of Prime Minister to Qatar. On the dais, we have our Foreign Secretary, Shri Vinay Kwatra. We also have our Ambassador to Qatar, Ambassador Vipul; and Joint Secretary in charge of Gulf Division and the Ministry of External Affairs, Shri Aseem Mahajan. With that, I give the floor to Foreign Secretary to make his opening remarks. Shri Vinay Kwatra, Foreign Secretary: Thank you very much. Ambassador Vipul, Joint Secretary Aseem, friends from the media; very good afternoon, and thank you for coming out this afternoon for this Special Briefing on Prime Minister's just concluded official visit to Qatar. As you know, Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi ji arrived in Doha yesterday evening on what is his second official visit to Qatar. He was welcomed at the airport by Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, His Excellency Mr. Soltan bin Saad Al-Muraikhi. Prime Minister, you would recall, had last visited Qatar in 2016. Yesterday evening, Prime Minister Modi met with the Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Qatar, His Excellency Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani. The two leaders discussed, at length, various elements of bilateral engagement as also issues of regional importance to both countries. This was followed by a dinner hosted by Excellency, the Prime Minister of Qatar, in honour of Prime Minister Modi. The dinner was attended by senior ministers on both sides. This morning, there were three key and significant elements of Prime Minister's program. First was ceremonial welcome. Honorable Prime Minister was accorded a ceremonial welcome at the Amiri Diwan, where His Highness Amir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani received him. Thereafter, the ceremonial Guard of Honour was presented to the Prime Minister. The two leaders, thereafter, held detailed discussions, first in a delegation level format and then in the restricted format. The topics of discussion included wide range of areas of bilateral cooperation, including trade partnership, investment cooperation, energy partnership, issues engaged in regional security, cultural affinity, and people-to-people ties. In this, when the two leaders spoke, they spoke about the need for strategic investment and strategic partnership in the field of energy and technology and to proceed beyond the (inaudible) relationship in this field. They also discussed issues of regional and international importance. The two leaders, of course, recalled their last meeting on the sidelines of COP28, last December. Prime Minister thanked His Highness, the Amir, for his support for the welfare of the Indian community and, in this regard, expressed his deep appreciation to His Highness, the Amir, for the release of eight Indian nationals of Al-Dahra company. We are extremely gratified to see them back in India. Honorable Prime Minister invited His Highness, the Amir, to pay a visit to India. His Highness, the Amir, also hosted a banquet lunch at the Palace in honour of the Prime Minister. The third and the last segment was Honorable Prime Minister's meeting with His Highness, the Father Amir, which was the last part of the engagements today. Prime Minister congratulated His Highness, the Father Amir on his visionary leadership that has paved the way for Qatar's development over the past decades, as also laid a strong foundation for India-Qatar bilateral partnership. Father Amir affirmed that India and Qatar share an unwavering bond epitomized by mutual trust and cooperation. He also appreciated the role of the Indian community and Indian diaspora in Qatar in the development and nourishing of the bilateral partnership. India and Qatar, just to recall, are very important trade partners. There are several segments of our bilateral cooperation that are important, significant, and growing. I would just highlight three, four of them. First is the bilateral trade, which is roughly standing at close to $20 billion. Two is the strong investment cooperation that India and Qatar already have. Three, which I just mentioned, a very strong and vibrant Indian diaspora based and living in Qatar. And four, of course, the multi-faceted partnership in the field of energy, which includes energy trade as also other segments of energy supply chain contributing to a stronger partnership in the field of energy security. You would recall that most recently, on the sidelines of India Energy Week in last week, held in Goa; two countries signed an agreement for supply of 7.5 MMTPA, I think it stands for Million Metric Tons Per Annum, LNG from Qatar to India for 20 years, starting 2028 onwards. This long-term LNG partnership goes way back to 1999 and remains robust, strong, and future-oriented. All in all, the Honorable Prime Minister has had a very successful visit to Qatar. The visit has set the stage and laid the basis for taking India-Qatar relationship to much higher level across the whole domain of cooperation; as also laid foundation to explore partnership in some of the new areas, which during the discussions today, included the domain of space, technology, and innovation. I would stop here and take some questions. Unfortunately; Prime Minister's departure is imminent, so we'll only be able to take one round of questions. Arun: Good afternoon, sir. I'm Arun from DD News. Just wanted to know, sir, that what exactly is the objective of this visit of Prime Minister Modi to Qatar now; and what is the future trajectory now after this visit as far as the bilateral or the relation between India and Qatar is concerned? And second, sir, you mentioned about the technology. Just if you can briefly highlight that what aspects of technology were discussed, because India's fintech, UPI are making ways all across the world. So any specific thing in technology parts, sir? Joseph: Good afternoon. I'm Joseph Varghese from Gulf Times, Qatar. I'd like to know some of the details of the discussions that the Prime Minister had with the Qatari officials, Qatari authorities, Qatari leadership here; regarding, of course, the technology as well as the investment as well as trade that you mentioned; some of the details of the deal, I mean, the topics that you have discussed. And in addition to that, were there any agreements signed between both parties during the discussions? I'd like to know more about that. Satyendra: I'm Satyendra Pathak from Qatar Tribune newspaper. As the Foreign Secretary rightly said that now, the trade relations between Qatar and India has reached almost $20 billion. But it is finally in favor of Qatar. So what India is trying to do to bridge this gap? Thank you, sir. Shri Vinay Kwatra, Foreign Secretary: Okay. Thank you very much. I think in some ways, the questions are interrelated, so we'll try to cover them in a single answer. Look, as I mentioned in my opening remarks, the Prime Minister's visit to Qatar is focused on; one, consolidating the wide-ranging partnership that India and Qatar have across different fields of economic cooperation. Two, also through the visit this time, build on the gains of 2016 visit, build on the gains achieved through subsequent high-level political exchanges between the two countries, and lay a foundation for what the two countries driven by the strong leaderships of His Highness, The Amir, the Prime Minister of India can achieve in months and years ahead in a manner that not only expands the areas of bilateral cooperation, but also increases convergences on regional issues, also looks at partnership across in third countries; four, and whatever we're doing in a bilateral space, we look at that from a strategic perspective rather than from a transactional perspective. This then essentially segues into the areas of technology, which you asked, the areas of trade investment and energy. So in terms of technology per se, whether it is the domain of fintech, whether it is the domain of technologies used in the building of smart cities, for example; three, the innovation ecosystems; four, technology innovation ecosystem combining with the skilled manpower; and then taking a convergence of these four areas into individual sectors, such as space, education, energy, automotive electric vehicles, for example, and the ecosystem of each of these areas. So space has an ecosystem, auto sector has an ecosystem, EV has an ecosystem. So the whole idea is to not just look at technology from a singular domain of fintech, which you asked, but also expand the scope of technology partnership to other domains and then within domains to the entire ecosystem of each domain. Similarly, with regard to the investment, energy also, the idea was that yes, India and Qatar have a strong energy security, energy trade partnership, but there are several aspects of energy partnership where India and Qatar could have a strategic view. So green energy, for example, renewable space, for example, building supply chains that go beyond trade in the field of clean energy, using technology in the energy space, looking at new innovations that are coming up in the energy field, etc, etc. The idea was to view it from a comprehensive frame of reference rather than from a very, important but a restricted frame of reference of pure energy trade. The same applies to the investment also, that we should look at investment from a strategic perspective, given that India is poised to become the third largest economy in coming years, given that the growth trajectory of Indian economy is very strong, robust and also substantial, which then opens up opportunity for countries, including particularly partners like Qatar, to become our strategic partners through the investment in that development and growth journey, but do it in a manner that is of course beneficial to both the partners. So, not looking at pure play investments, purely from the point of view of return on equity, but also on using investment as a vehicle actually to build a long-term strategic partnership between the two countries. So, investment from a strategic perspective, energy. Similarly, in terms of trade, the focus on trade is to; one, broad base the trade basket, and then within the existing trade baskets, look at; one, the expansion of trade, building new trade market. When I say new trade market, what I mean is that you may have a product for which there may not necessarily be currently a market in Qatar, but I think the way the complementarities of the two economies are growing, it's quite possible we can have new market demand created in Qatar. At some level, although this didn't come up specifically in discussion, how the partnership between the two countries can also be used to expand it into a regional trade dimension, which is significant. So technology, investment, energy, trade, all aspects were discussed at length with a view to look at them, assess them from a strategic perspective. Per se, any specific agreement was not signed during the visit, but as I said, the visit will set the stage, lay the basis for a stronger, deeper, more extensive, wide-ranging partnership between India and Qatar. Thank you. Shri Randhir Jaiswal, Official Spokesperson: With that, we come to the end of the Press briefing. Thank you ladies and gentlemen for your presence. Thank you sir. Shri Vinay Kwatra, Foreign Secretary: Thank you very much. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks with Israel War Cabinet member Minister Benny Gantz Prime Minister of Canada - Justin Trudeau February 15, 2024 Ottawa, Ontario Today, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spoke with Minister Benny Gantz, a member of Israel's War Cabinet, to discuss the situation in Israel, Gaza, and the West Bank. The Prime Minister shared his concern around Israel's planned offensive in the southern Gaza city of Rafah and the severe humanitarian implications for all civilians taking refuge in the area. The Prime Minister added that the protection of civilians is paramount and a requirement under international humanitarian law. The Prime Minister unequivocally condemned Hamas and its brutal attacks against Israel, including the use of civilians as human shields, and underscored Canada's position that Hamas must lay down its arms and release all hostages immediately. The Prime Minister also stressed the need for continued support from Israel in facilitating the exit of Canadians and their families from Gaza. Prime Minister Trudeau reiterated the importance of renewing efforts and engaging all regional actors toward a two-state solution to secure lasting peace in the region. Prime Minister Trudeau and Minister Gantz reaffirmed the strong relationship between Israel and Canada and agreed to remain in contact as the situation evolves. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address PM call with Prime Minister Netanyahu of Israel: 15 February 2024 The Prime Minister Rishi Sunak spoke to Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu this afternoon. 15 February 2024 The Prime Minister Rishi Sunak spoke to Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu this afternoon. He reaffirmed the UK's continued support for Israel's right to defend its people against Hamas' terror and ensure its long-term security. The Prime Minister said the UK was deeply concerned about the loss of civilian life in Gaza and the potentially devastating humanitarian impact of a military incursion into Rafah. He reiterated that the immediate priority must be negotiating a humanitarian pause to allow the safe release of hostages and to facilitate considerably more aid going to Gaza, leading to a longer-term sustainable ceasefire. For there to be lasting peace, Israel's security must be assured. The Prime Minister highlighted the scale of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and urged Israel to fully open the Kerem Shalom crossing and allow the maritime delivery of international aid through Ashdod port, which the UK stood ready to support on. He noted the importance of continuing to abide by International Humanitarian Law and protecting civilian infrastructure like hospitals and shelters. The Prime Minister said more must be done to ease restrictions on humanitarian supplies and ensure the UN and aid agencies can reach civilians in need throughout Gaza. The Prime Minister updated on his recent meeting with the families of British hostages held by Hamas and they discussed urgent ongoing efforts to bring hostages safely home, as well as steps to ensure any remaining British nationals who wish to leave Gaza are able to do so. Turning to wider issues, the Prime Minister said it was vital to avoid inflaming tensions and undermining security in the West Bank. In the longer term, the UK continued to believe a viable two state solution was the best means to achieve lasting peace and stability for both Israelis and Palestinians. They agreed that Hamas can have no role in the future governance of Gaza. The leaders also discussed regional issues, and the Prime Minister set out how the UK is supporting efforts to de-escalate the situation on Israel's northern border with Lebanon and avoid further conflict or threats to Israeli citizens. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Japan to assist 4 ASEAN countries to counter China: report Tokyo is to provide drones, radar systems and patrol boats during the 10-year plan. By RFA Staff 2024.02.15 -- The Japan International Cooperation Agency is preparing a 10-year maritime security support plan for four ASEAN nations - Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam - to boost security in the South China Sea, according to a media report. The four countries are regarded as Tokyo's top priorities in terms of security, public broadcaster NHK said, adding that the move is designed to counter China's growing assertiveness in the disputed waters in the region. The agency, known as JICA, is expected to unveil a detailed plan by March, 2025. The support plan will see Japan providing drones, radar systems and patrol boats, as well as other capacity building measures to each of the four countries, according to NHK. Japanese officials and specialists are believed to have conducted studies and on-site surveys last month in the Philippines and Indonesia. They are scheduled for April in Malaysia and Vietnam. A JICA delegation led by Director General Hiroo Tanaka visited Manila in January to identify maritime security cooperation projects in the country. During the visit of Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to the Philippines in November last year, Manila and Tokyo signed an agreement on Japan's grant of coastal surveillance radars to the Philippines worth 600 million yen (US$4 million). Japan's ASEAN partners "Japan will continue to invest in helping build capacities in Southeast Asian countries through the provision of vessels, capabilities and training," Stephen Nagy, professor at the International Christian University (ICU) in Tokyo, told Radio Free Asia. "Expect more in the future as Japan's defense oriented self-defense approach and focus on the U.S.- Japan alliance means that Tokyo thinks it's better to enhance the capabilities of each Southeast Asian states individually so they can have a stronger position in the South China Sea," said Nagy, who also serves as the director of policy studies at the Yokosuka Council of Asia Pacific Studies. In December 2023, ASEAN and Japan held a special summit to commemorate 50 years of friendship and bilateral cooperation. A major part of the event was dedicated to cooperation in maritime security. On the sidelines of the summit, Kishida and his Malaysian counterpart Anwar Ibrahim signed a security assistance agreement worth 400 million yen (US$2.6 million) through which Tokyo will provide maritime equipment and rescue boats to Kuala Lumpur. Malaysia-Japan bilateral relations were also upgraded to Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, the highest level of cooperation. Separately, Japan and Indonesia also signed notes for the provision of a large Japan-built patrol vessel of up to 9.05 billion yen ($60.2 million) for the Indonesian Coast Guard . Japan and Vietnam also elevated their bilateral relationship to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership last year. Before that, in 2020, Tokyo agreed to a US$348 million loan agreement for Vietnam to build six maritime patrol vessels. "Japan, who is by far the most trusted partner of many ASEAN member states, is stepping up in playing a security role in the region," said Huong Le Thu, Asia deputy director at the International Crisis Group . Japan has territorial disputes with China over the sovereignty of the Senkaku islands - known as Diaoyu by the Chinese - in the East China Sea. China and four ASEAN countries - Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam - hold contesting claims over parts of the South China Sea, but Beijing's claim is by far the most expansive. A U.N. tribunal in 2016 ruled against most of China's claims in the South China Sea, but Beijing refused to accept the verdict. Edited by Mike Firn and Elaine Chan. Copyright 1998-2024, 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 February not be used in a manner which would give the appearance of any endorsement of any product or support of any issue or political position. Please read the full text of our Terms of Use. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Libyan people continue to suffer from political stalemate: UK statement at the UN Security Council Statement by Ambassador Barbara Woodward at the UN Security Council meeting on Libya. 15 February 2024 Thank you, President and I thank SRSG Bathily and Ambassador Yamazaki Kazuyuki for their briefings today. We welcome the SRSG's continued efforts to convene representatives of key actors for a preparatory meeting, as a critical next step towards breaking the political impasse and delivering elections. But as we heard from the SRSG, constructive engagement and genuine compromise from all sides are necessary for this process to be successful. We note that some of the actors have either refused to nominate representatives or have attached conditions to their attendance. So we echo the SRSG's call on all parties to engage meaningfully with the UN process, without preconditions, and to meet under UN auspices to resolve the issues that are delaying elections. As I witnessed first-hand during my visit to Tripoli last year, it is the Libyan people who continue to suffer from this political stalemate. Nearly six months have passed since the devastating floods in Derna and reconstruction is hampered by the lack of a unified and transparent approach. Basic healthcare and other services are not functioning. The political stalemate also exacerbates the challenges civil society organisations face across Libya. We remain concerned by the shrinking of civil society space, the rise of human rights violations, particularly towards migrants and refugees as the SRSG highlighted, and the increasingly restrictive environment for women. We welcome efforts by the High National Elections Commission to hold municipal elections across the country. However, we are concerned by reports that eleven HNEC field offices were forced to suspend operations in southern and eastern Libya at the start of February. We strongly urge Libya's leaders to provide the necessary support to facilitate municipal elections, allowing Libyan people to exercise their democratic rights. President, as the SRSG has asked, we need to put our collective effort and collective support behind building momentum towards elections. Libyans will benefit from a democratic, united, and stable state. So we urge Libyan leaders to engage constructively with the SRSG to fulfil their responsibilities to the Libyan people. And the UK will continue to work with partners and support the SRSG and UNSMIL towards this aim. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Arakan Army escalates assaults in Myanmar's west The anti-junta group reportedly demanded the junta's surrender before its arrival in Rakhine state's capital. By RFA Burmese 2024.02.15 -- An ethnic army in Myanmar launched an attack on yet another major city in the country's west, with the state's capital close behind, according to locals on Thursday. The Arakan Army, already in control of three townships in Rakhine state, began an assault on the seaside township of Rathedaung on Wednesday, residents told Radio Free Asia, adding that junta officials are retaliating in the coastal area by air, land and sea. "The AA attacked the junta's battalions in Rathedaung on Wednesday. The frequent sound of heavy and small weapons could be heard, and airstrikes were carried out," said a Rathedaung resident who declined to be named for safety reasons. "The junta is shelling artillery now." The AA targeted Rathedaung-based junta battalions of 536, 537 and 538, according to locals. Calls by RFA to Rakhine's junta spokesperson Hla Thein and national junta spokesperson Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun went unanswered. The junta's retaliation largely focused on civilians, township residents said, adding that troops shelled nine villages with heavy artillery near Rathedaung city. The AA said on Wednesday that Kha Naung Gyi, Ywar Thit Kay and Nwar Tin Koke were the first to be ambushed. Following the cessation of a year-long ceasefire with junta troops in November, the AA has seized control of three townships - the historic capital of Mrauk-U, Minbya, and Kyauktaw. Additionally, the resistance force took over the city of Pauktaw and Taung Pyo, a military post on the Bangladesh border, alongside the adjacent city of Paletwa in Chin state. Separately, the AA also captured Kyauktaw-based Western Regional Headquarters, one of the state's three junta headquarters, on Monday. Moving South Publications in Rakhine cited sources close to the AA stating that on Monday, the anti-junta group warned of its plans to target the Sittwe-based junta Military Regional Command Headquarters. Furthermore, the group reportedly demanded the junta's surrender before their arrival in Rakhine state's capital city. However, the junta is not planning to surrender, said a resident in Sittwe who asked to be anonymous. The junta army has been preparing defensive forts and urgently moving soldiers' family members to safer locations, he told RFA. "There are reports that the Arakan Army is going to attack Sittwe city. Defensive forts at the battalions, nearby offices and outskirts of the city are built and prepared," he said. "I saw that the army's family members are being moved out towards Yangon by military [personnel] and on civilian planes. I don't know the exact number of people, and I can't estimate it." Conflict intensifying Meanwhile, residents said, the conflict between the military and the AA is intensifying in the coastal Rakhine townships of Ramree and Kyaukphyu, south of Sittwe, and Buthidaung and Maungdaw to the north. Sources told RFA that the military had "lost many outposts and some police stations, as well as some towns" in AA offensives, and had responded with an increasing number of airstrikes. The Three Brotherhood Alliance, of which the AA is a member, issued a statement which accused the military of "destroying Ramree township" with more than 130 bombs from fighter jets and Y-12 aircraft on Tuesday. It said junta troops stationed at the Thein Taung Pagoda hill fired "at least 76 rounds" of artillery on the township, while "hundreds of shells" were fired from a navy vessel on the Kalein Taung River. Since the AA launched attacks on a military outpost in December, more than 10,000 civilians have fled clashes in Ramree and at least 60 homes were destroyed in military airstrikes and artillery attacks, according to residents. The Three Brotherhood Alliance said the military also dropped "at least 30 bombs" from Y-12 aircraft on Kyaukphyu's Hnget Pyaw Chaung village on Tuesday. Fighting has escalated in Kyaukphyu after the AA ambushed a military column on patrol near Hnget Pyaw Chaung earlier this month, residents said, causing an unknown number of civilians to flee the township for safer areas. High-value assets Two high-ranking junta officials are in the AA's custody, and another two have been killed at their hands, the anti-junta group claimed in a statement on Wednesday. Kyauktaw-based Military Regional Operation Command Brigadier Zaw Min Tun was captured alive during a naval battle near Ah Pauk Wa village on Jan. 10. Separately, regional operation center commander Lt. Col. Nyi Nyi Win was captured with injuries on Jan. 16 and was given medical treatment. In December, Lt. Col. Banyar Paing Soe, a commander in Paletwa township, died during a battle in Chin state's Paletwa township. Meanwhile, Col. Min Min Tun, the commander of the 11th Regiment, died during an attack of Infantry Battalion 377 in Mrauk-U, according to the AA. The claims follow a statement the AA released on Tuesday, in which it said its forces had "sank five navy vessels" in attacks between Feb. 7 and 13. The AA said that it destroyed three "landing craft vessels" in Kyauktaw and two other boats in Minbya. Additionally, it said AA fighters had "seriously damaged" four other navy vessels during the same week. A spokesperson for the AA, Kaing Thu Kha, has not responded to RFA's inquiries as of this writing. Attempts to contact junta Rakhine state spokesman Hla Thein about the AA's claims also went unanswered Thursday. Translated by RFA Burmese. Edited by Taejun Kang and Joshua Lipes. This story has been updated to include reports of intensifying clashes between the military and the AA in the coastal Rakhine townships of Ramree, Kyaukphyu, Buthidaung, and Maungdaw, as well as the AA's claim that it sank five navy vessels between Feb. 7 and 13. Copyright 1998-2024, 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 February not be used in a manner which would give the appearance of any endorsement of any product or support of any issue or political position. Please read the full text of our Terms of Use. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Answers to questions from journalist Pavel Zarubin February 14, 2024 23:00 Pavel Zarubin: Mr President, your interview with Tucker Carlson has already garnered one billion views. While there has been a lot of positive feedback, we can see the kind of comments that Western leaders are making. For example, the Prime Minister of the UK and the German Chancellor labelled your explanation that the special military operation had been caused by a threat from NATO as "absurd" and "clearly ridiculous." What do you think of this? President of Russia Vladimir Putin: First of all, it is good that they have been watching and listening to what I say. If we are not able to maintain a direct dialogue today due to certain reasons, we should be grateful to Mr Carlson for acting as an intermediary. So, it is good that they are watching and listening. The fact that they are distorting my words and misrepresenting things is concerning. Why? Because I never said those things. Nowhere in the interview did I say that the start of the special military operation in Ukraine is linked to the threat of a NATO attack on Russia. Where in the interview did I make such a statement? The interview was recorded. They can go back and pinpoint exactly where I said this. What I actually said was that we have been constantly deceived about NATO's non-expansion to the east. By the way, then NATO Secretary-General, a representative of Germany, made such a promise. He explicitly stated NATO would not expand even an inch to the east. After that, NATO proceeded to expand five times, completely deceiving us. Of course, we were concerned about the possibility of Ukraine being drawn into NATO, as it poses a security threat to us. So, this is what I actually said. However, what served as the trigger was the current Ukrainian officials' outright refusal to comply with the Minsk agreements, coupled with Ukraine's relentless attacks on the unrecognised republics of Donbass, the Donetsk People's Republic and the Lugansk People's Republic, which continued for eight years and resulted in numerous deaths. Realising that there are no prospects of resolving this problem under the Minsk agreements, these republics formally requested our recognition. We recognised them and signed a treaty of friendship and mutual assistance. After that, as required by the UN Charter, we fulfilled our obligations under the treaty. As I said, we did not initiate this war; rather, we are striving to end it. During the first phase, we tried to achieve this through peaceful means, specifically, through the Minsk agreements. However, it became apparent that we had been given the runaround once again. Both the former German Chancellor and the former President of France admitted and publicly stated that they had never intended to honour the agreements and had merely used them to buy time to supply the Ukrainian regime with more weapons, which they successfully did. Our only regret is that we did not take action sooner, believing that we were dealing with honest people. Pavel Zarubin: Carlson faced criticism before the interview, and since then he has been accused of asking too few probing questions and of allegedly being too soft on you, which is why you felt so comfortable with him. Do you think you overwhelmed the American journalist with your authority? Vladimir Putin: I believe that your Carlson - "your" as a member of the journalistic community - is a dangerous man, and here is why. To be honest, I thought he would be quite aggressive and ask so-called tough questions. I was not just prepared for this, I wanted it, because it would give me the opportunity to respond with equally sharp answers, which would add a certain character to our conversation. But he chose a different tactic. He tried to interrupt me several times, but still, surprisingly for a Western journalist, he remained patient and listened to my lengthy monologues, especially when I spoke about history. He gave me no cause for doing what I was prepared to do. That is why, to tell the truth, I did not fully enjoy that interview. But he acted strictly according to his plan, and he did what he intended. As for how informative it turned out to be in the end, that is not for me to judge. It is for the viewers, listeners and possibly readers of this material to judge. Pavel Zarubin: Following that interview, calls have been made to impose sanctions against Tucker Carlson, and there are even rumours that he could be arrested. Is this possible? Vladimir Putin: Assange has been locked up, and few people mention him now. Only those close to him still talk about it, and that is all. One specific feature of public opinion is that people tend to forget quickly. But Assange was at least accused of revealing state secrets. Carlson cannot be charged with that because he did not touch upon any secrets. Nevertheless, anything is possible, theoretically, in modern-day America, in the United States today. This would be bad for Carlson. I feel sorry for him, but it was his choice. He knew what he was doing. On the other hand, this could be a good opportunity for people around the world to see the true nature of modern "liberal democratic" (in scare quotes) dictatorship, which is supposedly represented in the current ruling class in the United States. This would reveal its true face. Pavel Zarubin: Carlson said that after the interview... I wanted to ask you a question so that we can put the doubt to rest. Carlson said that after the interview your conversation continued. What did you discuss? Now everyone wants to know. Vladimir Putin: As I have already said, and as far as I can see, he had a plan for the interview and he stuck to it. But there were other topics too that had to be raised, in my opinion. Still, I decided not to inject new topics into our conversation without being prompted to do so by the journalist. During the taped part of the interview, we should have discussed efforts to use inter-ethnic relations and the Jewish pogroms in the Russian Empire as a way of denigrating and demonising Russia. One of the subjects we discussed when the cameras were turned off was what US Secretary of State, Mr Blinken, mentioned on several occasions. He said that his relatives, his great-grandfather, fled the Jewish pogroms and left Russia. This topic keeps surfacing across the world, in Europe and in the United States. Let me reiterate that it is being used to demonise and discredit Russia and to demonstrate that it is home to barbaric, cruel people and outlaws. However, we can clarify many issues if we try to understand what today's US Secretary of State actually said and if we look beyond political slogans by focusing on the substance. All this information is in our archives. For example, Mr Blinken's great-grandfather did leave the Russian Empire. I think that he was born somewhere in the Poltava Province, and then moved to Kiev before emigrating. This raises the following question: does Mr Blinken think that Kiev and the surrounding territories are historically Russian land? This is my first point here. Second, if he says that his great-grandfather left Russia to escape the Jewish pogroms, this, at least, means, and I would like to stress this point, that in 1904, since this is when Mr Blinken's great-grandfather left Kiev for the United States, Ukraine did not exist - this is what he seems to believe. This way, Mr Blinken seems to share our views. That said, he should have refrained from saying so in public. This could undermine his cause. Pavel Zarubin: Just the other day, there were articles in the German media saying that the grandfather of Germany's current Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock was a devoted Nazi. Considering the way the relations between our countries have been unfolding over the past years, could it be that the Nazi virus still exists in this country at a genetic level or something like that? Vladimir Putin: This is an iteration of nationalism, albeit a radical one. By the way, something has just occurred to me about these pogroms. They took place mainly in the south and southwest of the Russian Empire. In fact, this is where present-day Ukraine is, for example in Kiev, in 1905. If Mr Blinken's ancestor left in 1904, the first pogrom in Kiev, I mean a big one, happened in 1905, which means that his great-grandfather, or his great-great-grandfather, could only find out what happened there from newspapers, or from those who were in Kiev at that time. In fact, these tragic mass atrocities started in the early 19th century. I think it was in 1820 or in 1821 when the first major pogrom took place. We know that these crimes took place in Odessa, and later in Melitopol, in Zhitomir, and in other cities of present-day Ukraine, as well as in Byelorussia. There were also several incidents of this kind in Siberia, but the very first one happened after a Greek Patriarch was killed in Constantinople. This was when the Greeks who lived there thought that the Jews were involved in the assassination in one way or another. But this is not what matters here. What does matter is that there were resistance militias who tried to counter these attacks, formed by Jewish and Russian youth, while the government, even the tsarist authorities, delivered a proper assessment of these tragic events and tried to stop them, including by sending in the army. Let me reiterate that this is a whole different story. Speaking of nationalism, Nazism and fascism, you know, I will tell you something that may sound strange. First, Ms, what is her name? Annalena Baerbock. Vladimir Putin: Yes, Baerbock (I do not want to mispronounce her surname) represents the Greens party. Many representatives of this part of the European political spectrum speculate on people's fears and engage in fearmongering about what might happen in the world due to climate change. Later, they speculate on these fears, fanned by themselves, and follow their political line that differs greatly from their earlier programme, with which they assumed power. This is what is now happening in Germany. For example, the share of coal has increased in the national energy mix. The share of coal was already higher than in Russia, and it has now increased even more. I mean, what happened to the "green" agenda? This is the first thing. Second, the German Foreign Minister and people like her, are, of course, hostile towards Russia. In my opinion, she is also hostile towards her own country because it is hard to imagine such a high-ranking politician treating the economic interests of her country and people with such disdain. Right now, I will not go into details, but this is exactly what is happening in reality, and we can see this. The next part of my statement will probably sound out of tune with what I have just said. I do not think that the current generations of Germans should assume complete political responsibility for everything perpetrated by Nazi Germany. It is impossible to blame the current generation of people for what Hitler and his cronies perpetrated in Germany and other parts of the world, in Europe and so on. I believe that this would be unfair. To be frank, sticking this label on the entire German nation is an unfair position; this misuses what people experienced, what the people of the Soviet Union experienced. To my mind, this is unfair and inappropriate. We should proceed from present-day realities and see who is doing what, and what policy they are conducting. By the way, in this connection, it would be useful to do the following. As I see it, many people in many countries are voicing this viewpoint; unfortunately, this concerns even those countries where this issue should not be politicised. What am I talking about? I am referring to an exceptionalism of certain nations, as compared to others, some kind of exclusivity, etc. Just listen: this is how Nazism started. Now that this has become so widespread, it would be appropriate to conduct this anti-fascist and anti-Nazi propaganda and work at the same global level. I repeat, at the global level. And this should not be done at some state level. This will prove effective only if it is done at the level of public conscience and public initiative, regardless of the country where it takes place. Pavel Zarubin: The European Union is generally in panic over Donald Trump's potential return to the presidential post in the United States. Trump completely dumbfounded European leaders with his recent statements, made just a couple of days ago, and they are not trying to hide it. Trump said that the United States must protect the European countries only if the European countries can pay for it. Why has this sort of relationship come about between Europe, the European leaders and politicians, and Donald Trump? Vladimir Putin: Trump has always been considered a non-system politician. He has his own ideas about how the US should develop its relations with its allies. There was friction before. Take, for example, the United States and its withdrawal from the Kyoto Protocol on environmental protection. It was tense. But the then President of the United States decided that the United States should withdraw from the agreement, despite the high appeal of the environmental agenda. He believed that the agreement causes harm to the US economy. That was all. He stood his ground and that was it. There was a massive wave of criticism from European leaders but he still did it. Yes, he made certain changes later. How is Trump's stance different? It is fundamentally no different. He wanted to force Europeans to raise their defence expenditure or, as he said, to pay the United States for protection and for opening a nuclear umbrella over their heads. Well, I don't know, it is their problem, they need to work it out for themselves. There may be logic from his perspective. There is none from the Europeans' perspective. Europe wanted the United States to continue performing certain functions that it took up at the establishment of NATO, at no charge. It is their business. I personally believe that there is absolutely no point in NATO. Its only purpose is to serve as a tool of US foreign policy. If the United States considers this tool no longer necessary, that is their decision. Pavel Zarubin: The current President of the United States Biden has been causing a mounting wave of speculation around the world concerning his health. We are talking about the president of one of the world's biggest nuclear powers, all while witnessing very peculiar, to put it mildly, scenes almost every day. What do you think when you see and hear all this? Vladimir Putin: What this suggests to me is that the election campaign and domestic political struggles are gaining traction in the United States. These processes are exacerbating so I do not think that it would be appropriate for us to weigh in on them. You see, when Biden and I met in Switzerland, even if it happened several years ago, in fact, three years ago, there were already those back then who were saying that he was unfit for office. I did not see anything of this sort. Well, he did keep glancing at his notes but, to be honest, I looked at mine too. Nothing special about that. And the fact that he banged his head on something when descending from a helicopter, well, who of us has never banged his head on something, let them throw the first stone, as the saying goes. Overall, what I think... I am not a doctor, so I do not think that I can make any comments on this topic. We must look elsewhere, focus on the political position instead. I believe that the current administration is pursuing what amounts to a harmful and erroneous policy. This is what I told President Biden back then. Pavel Zarubin: Therefore, the question we had four years ago is taking on new relevance today. Who would be better for us? Biden or Trump? Vladimir Putin: Biden. He has more experience, and he is more predictable too, an old school politician. That said, we will work with any leader of the United States who has the trust of the American people. Pavel Zarubin: Allow me to come back to the Tucker Carlson interview. We mentioned statements by the current German and British leaders. We also heard from the person whom you mentioned in your interview with Carlson with the following words: "Where is Mr Johnson now?" According to Arakhamia's confessions, it was Johnson who ordered Kiev not to sign a deal with Moscow and to keep fighting instead. Had the Kiev authorities ignored this kind of advice, how would events have unfolded? Vladimir Putin: This is what Mr Arakhamia said. After all, he... Look at the recording. We did not force him to say these words. He spoke his mind. Why he did so is another matter. I do not know. Maybe he likes saying things as they are. He did say that had we fulfilled the agreements negotiated in Istanbul, the war would have ended one and a half years ago. He was the one who said it. I think Arakhamia's recordings should be included in the interview with Carlson. Why has the West adopted this position? I am referring to the West, primarily the Anglo-Saxon world, since former Prime Minister Johnson would have never travelled there on his own initiative, without seeking Washington's advice. These consultations probably took place, and I think that he was on a business mission, with expenses covered by the US administration, including the per diem. So he went there on a mission to make the case for fighting Russia until the last Ukrainian (without saying so directly), or should we say until victory and Russia's strategic defeat. This is probably the kind of result they hoped for. However, I can repeat here what I told Mr Carlson. If they see that it is not working out the way they expected, they probably have to make adjustments. But this is a matter of the art of government and politics, since politics, as we all know, is the art of compromise. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address HARRISBURG A suspended magistrate judge in Pennsylvania shot her estranged boyfriend in the head as he slept last weekend, police said Thursday in filing attempted murder and aggravated assault charges against her. Tests showed Magisterial District Judge Sonya M. McKnight, 57, had gunshot residue on her hands an hour after Michael McCoy was shot in the bed of his home in the Harrisburg area early Saturday, Susquehanna Township Police wrote in an arrest affidavit. McKnight was in the Dauphin County Prison on Friday with bail set at $300,000. No lawyer was listed for her in court records. A lawyer who had represented her previously said he did not currently represent her and declined comment. A message was left on McKnights cellphone. Authorities say McCoy is now blind in his right eye. Police wrote that McCoy, 54, had tried numerous times to get McKnight to move out after he ended their one-year relationship. On Feb. 9, McCoy came home to find McKnight in pajamas on the couch. When he returned from a restaurant he told her he planned to get McKnights mothers help to get her out of the home. Michael McCoy stated that it was like she finally understood that it was over, police said. He went to bed about 11 p.m. McCoy awoke to massive head pain and was unable to see, police said, and when he began to scream McKnight told him, Mike what did you do to yourself? He had suffered a gunshot wound to the right temple that exited his left temple, police said. McCoy told police at the scene and later at the hospital that he did not shoot himself. When McKnight called 911 shortly before 1 a.m. Saturday, she could not explain what happened and stated that she was sleeping and heard him screaming, police said in the affidavit. Investigators found doorbell videos from neighboring homes that contradicted McKnights claim that she did not leave the home the night of the shooting. McCoy suspected she had checked on him at the tavern. Detectives wrote in the affidavit that the gun was registered to McKnight and both of them said no one else was in the home at the time of the shooting. The attempted murder case was transferred from the Dauphin County district attorneys office, which cited a conflict of interest, to a neighboring prosecutor, Cumberland County District Attorney Sean McCormack. A message was left seeking comment from McCormack. McKnight, an elected judge in Dauphin County since 2016, was suspended without pay in mid-November by the Court of Judicial Discipline, which handles misconduct allegations against judges. The Judicial Conduct Board, which investigates and charges misconduct cases against Pennsylvania judges, claimed in a September filing that McKnight had violated judicial probation from a previous misconduct case centered on her actions regarding a 2020 traffic stop involving her son. She was acquitted of criminal charges in that matter. Among the pending misconduct allegations, the Judicial Conduct Board alleges that she gave excess vacation time to members of her court staff; directed an aide to ignore a womans civil complaint that claimed McKnight owed her for a $2,100 loan; and used a Facebook profile with her photo in judicial robes to promote sales of a consumer product. Pennlive.com reported McKnight was not charged for shooting her estranged husband in 2019 after inviting him to her home to help her move furniture. State prosecutors did not charge her, citing self-defense, Pennlive said. Russian Anti-War Presidential Hopeful's Appeals Denied By RFE/RL's Russian Service February 15, 2024 Russia's Supreme Court on February 15 rejected two appeals filed by anti-war presidential hopeful Boris Nadezhdin related to a decision by election officials not to register him for next month's election. The Central Election Commission (TsIK), which routinely refuses to register would-be opposition candidates on the pretext that they submitted an insufficient number of valid signatures, disqualified thousands of signatures Nadezhdin's representatives gathered across the country to reach the 100,000-signature threshold needed to be registered as a candidate. The first appeal was related to the TsIK's justifying its decision by the fact that many of Nadezhdin's representatives who collected the signatures had power-of-attorney papers certified by notary offices in regions other than the ones they were collecting the signatures in. Nadezhdin insists that the TsIK abused its powers because no Russian law says signature collectors' powers of attorney must be certified in the same regions where the signatures are collected. In his second appeal, Nadezhdin questioned the TsIK's documents on checking his supporters' signatures, saying that the TsIK failed to add the written conclusions of handwriting experts to its signature-inspection protocols. The Uzbekistan-born 60-year-old academic and former lawmaker, who was proposed as a presidential candidate by the Civic Platform party, vowed to appeal both Supreme Court rulings and file a third appeal with the Supreme Court challenging the TsIK's final decision to bar him from the election. "I am not giving up and I will not give up," Nadezhdin wrote on Telegram. Nadezhdin is the only politician with presidential ambitions who has publicly condemned Russia's invasion of Ukraine and criticized incumbent Vladimir Putin. The poll will be held on March 15-17. Russian elections are tightly controlled by the Kremlin and are neither free nor fair but are viewed by the government as necessary to convey a sense of legitimacy. They are mangled by the exclusion of opposition candidates, voter intimidation, ballot stuffing, and other means of manipulation. Meanwhile, the Kremlin's tight grip on politics, media, law enforcement, and other levers nationwide means Putin, who has ruled Russia as president or prime minister since 1999, is certain to win, barring a very big, unexpected development. But the surprising show of support for the little-known Nadezhdin, whose platform says the invasion of Ukraine was a "fatal mistake" and accuses Putin of dragging Russia into the past instead of building a sustainable future, is complicating the Kremlin's more aggressive ambition of boosting the perception of Putin's legitimacy. Opposition voices expected to be Putin's main challengers are currently either incarcerated or fled the country, fearing for their safety. Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-nadezhdin-appeal- election-rejected/32821051.html Copyright (c) 2024. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Taiwan thanks U.S. Senate for passing aid bill, keeping eye on House decision ROC Central News Agency 02/15/2024 04:03 PM Taipei, Feb. 15 (CNA) A senior Taiwanese diplomat on Thursday expressed gratitude to the United States Senate for passing a US$95 billion foreign aid package that includes funding for Taiwan, saying that it again exemplified bipartisan support in the U.S. Congress for Taiwan. Wang Liang-yu (cZecZ), head of North American Affairs Department in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said the ministry would continue to closely monitor the bill's progress in the House of Representatives, after House Speaker Mike Johnson warned that the Republican-led lower chamber would reject it because it did not contain provisions for U.S. border security. The Border Policy and National Security Supplemental Appropriations Act seeks to provide US$95.34 billion in foreign aid, including US$4.83 billion to Taiwan and other U.S. allies in the Indo-Pacific region. It also provides for US$61 billion in aid to Ukraine, amid its war with Russia, and US$14 billion for Israel in its conflict against Hamas. The bill was passed in the Senate on Tuesday with a 70-29 vote, with the support of 22 Republicans but stripped of the immigration and border reforms that it had earlier included, as Republicans backpedaled on those provisions. On Wednesday, Johnson said the U.S. House would not feel "rushed" to pass the US$95.3 billion foreign aid package, signaling a continued stalemate on the supply of military hardware and munitions to Ukraine in its fight against Russia's invasion. On the question of how the bill's potential stall in the House might affect Taiwan, Wang did not give a direct answer, saying only that bipartisan support for Taiwan's security needs remains strong on Capitol Hill. "We will continue to work closely with our friends in the U.S., based on a solid and longstanding foundation," she added. According to the version of the bill passed by the Senate, up to US$1.9 billion of the proposed total US$4.83 billion would be made available to Taiwan until Sept. 30, 2025 to procure new weapon systems and services from the U.S. and to fund military education and training. To be implemented, the foreign aid bill must first be passed by both the Senate and the House, after which it has to be sent to the U.S. president to be signed into law. House Speaker Johnson told reporters in the U.S. on Tuesday that he does not intend to bring the bill to the House floor, as the lower chamber is focused on more "immediate deadlines." The earlier version of the bill had been held up in the Senate for months as senators from the two parties tried to reach a deal on stricter border policies. When it was finally brought forward, with substantial input from Republicans, it failed in the Senate, as Republicans insisted it was not tough enough. It was then stripped of the border security provisions and put forth again with only the foreign aid proposals. (By Joseph Yeh) Enditem/pc NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Death of 2 Chinese men off Kinmen regrettable: Taiwan agency ROC Central News Agency 02/15/2024 06:15 PM Taipei, Feb. 15 (CNA) The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said Thursday it was regrettable that two Chinese men had died the day before when their speedboat capsized during a chase by the Taiwan Coast Guard in waters off the Kinmen Islands. In a statement, the MAC said it supports the efforts of Taiwan authorities to carry out their duties in accordance with the law. An initial investigation into Wednesday's fatal incident has indicated that the Taiwan Coast Guard officers were legally performing their duties and had not erred in any way, the MAC said. It was regrettable that two of the four Chinese men on the boat had died in the accident, the MAC said, adding that China should take effective actions to restrict illegal activities by its nationals in Taiwan waters. According to the MAC, various Chinese fishing vessels have been intruding recently into Taiwan's restricted or prohibited waters to poach high-priced fish, which has seriously intruded on the rights and interests of Taiwan's fishermen and residents on nearby islands. Some Chinese fishermen have also been caught using poison and explosives to catch fish in the waters near Taiwan and have been polluting the sea with trash, the MAC said. Taiwan has repeatedly urged China to conduct better oversight of its people, but those calls have been fruitless, the agency said. On Thursday, MAC Minister Chiu Tai-san (eaa) said Taiwan's Coast Guard Administration has reported the details of the fatal accident to Kinmen prosecutors and will inform the Chinese side of the investigation's findings. The accident occurred 1.1 nautical miles east of Beiding Island in Taiwan's offshore Kinmen County at 1:45 p.m. Wednesday, when a Chinese speedboat with four people onboard was spotted in the area. As Taiwan Coast Guard vessels approached with the intention of carrying out an inspection, the speedboat tried to flee, and it capsized while zigzagging across the waters. All four men on the boat fell overboard and were picked up by the Taiwan Coast Guard. Two of them were taken to hospital but were pronounced dead after efforts to resuscitate them failed. Later on Wednesday, Zhu Fenglian (ee), a spokesperson for China's Taiwan Affairs Office, issued a statement, strongly condemning Taiwan over the death of the two Chinese nationals. Such "rude and dangerous" actions during the Lunar New Year holiday have hurt the feelings of the people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait, Zhu said. (By Flor Wang, Lee Ya-wen and Lai Yu-chen) Enditem/pc NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Taiwan affirms cooperation with Palau despite China pressure ROC Central News Agency 02/15/2024 11:05 PM Taipei, Feb. 15 (CNA) Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) on Thursday affirmed that the country will continue to push for peace, prosperity and stability with Palau in the Indo-Pacific region, at a time when China has encouraged the Pacific ally to cut ties with Taiwan. In a statement, the ministry said Taiwan has long supported Palau in tourism development in a bid to strengthen the Pacific nation's economic resilience and sustainability. In the post COVID-era, MOFA said, Taiwan has been keen to help Palau improve its tourism industry, maintaining stable direct flight links between the two countries, while working with like-minded countries to support the Pacific island nation's development. "In the future, MOFA will continue to team up with Palau to facilitate peace, stability and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region," the ministry said in the statement. The statement came after Cleo Paskal, a researcher at the U.S.-based think tank Foundation for Defense of Democracies, posted a letter from Palau President Surangel Whipps Jr. to a U.S. senator on her X page, which said: "The PRC has already offered to 'fill every hotel room' in our tourism-based private sector -- 'and more if more are built' -- and US$20 million a year for two acres for a 'call center.'" Writing to the U.S. senator, whose name was crossed out on Paskal's X page and could not be recognized, Whipps urged the U.S. Congress to support the Compacts of Free Association (COFA), a financial aid agreement with Palau, that also includes Micronesia and the Marshall Islands. A renewal of the 20-year COFA was signed late last year, but US$7 billion to fund it is still struggling to find a path forward in the U.S. Congress, international news media said recently. Whipps said as long as the U.S. congress fails to renew the COFA aid package, it will play "into the hands of the CCP and the leaders here (some of whom have done 'business' with the PRC) who want to accept its seemingly attractive economic offers -- at the cost of shifting alliances, beginning with sacrificing Taiwan." In response, the ministry said Whipps has repeatedly supported Taiwan's international organizations at many international occasions, including the U.N. General Assembly and the 28th Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP28) held last year. MOFA described Whipps as an "adamant ally" of Taiwan. In addition, MOFA said Whipps had a phone conversation with Taiwan's President-elect Lai Ching-te (ea) soon after the presidential election on Jan. 13 and congratulated Taiwan for advancing democratic values, indicating the bilateral ties between the two countries are stable and continue to grow. Taiwan has long criticized China for poaching its diplomatic allies. Nauru severed ties with Taiwan two days after Lai of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) was elected president. It was the 10th diplomatic ally Taipei has lost to Beijing since President Tsai Ing-wen (ee) took office in May 2016 due to deteriorating cross-Taiwan Strait relations. (By Matt Yu, Chen Yen-chun and Frances Huang) Enditem/AW NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Taiwan has no preconditions for foreign exchanges: MOFA ROC Central News Agency 02/15/2024 02:11 PM Taipei, Feb. 15 (CNA) Taiwan's government said Thursday that it sets no preconditions for conducting exchanges with a foreign country and welcomes any opportunities to expand the nation's international presence. Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) spokesman Jeff Liu () made the statement after an opposition party leader in the Solomon Islands said recently that his party would seek to reestablish official ties with Taiwan if it won the general elections in April. The Solomon Islands, under Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare, switched diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to China soon after his election to power in 2019. In 2022, the Sogavare administration signed a security pact with Beijing, causing alarm among the Solomon Islands' longtime partners - Australia, New Zealand and the United States - as they were concerned that the agreement would facilitate the establishment of a Chinese naval base in the Pacific region. With the Solomon Islands now in a new election cycle, Peter Kenilorea Jr., political wing leader of the country's opposition United Party, is proposing a review of the pact with China, according to a report in the Solomon Star newspaper on Tuesday. Kenilorea also said that if his party is elected to government in the April elections, it would seek to reestablish diplomatic ties with Taiwan, the newspaper reported. Another opposition leader Matthew Wale said at a recent campaign event that the Solomon Islands' relations with China should be decided by means of a national referendum, according to the report. He criticized Sogavare for not consulting the provinces before switching ties from Taiwan to China, which has led to a situation in which the Solomon Islands' largest province, Malaita, consistently refuses to cooperate with Beijing, the report said. Commenting Thursday on the latest statements on the issue by Solomon Islands' opposition party leaders, Liu said Taiwan has always been "open-minded and sincere" in its exchanges with all foreign countries. Taiwan welcomes any opportunity to elevate its international status and expand its global presence, Lui told reporters in Taipei, when asked to comment on the newspaper report. Taiwan "will not set any preconditions for establishing relations with a foreign country," he said, when asked about the possibility of countries forging simultaneous diplomatic ties with Taipei and Beijing. Beijing, however, is firmly opposed to the idea of simultaneous diplomatic recognition and has said that its diplomatic allies must first terminate relations with Taiwan before establishing formal ties with China. Since Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen () first took office in May 2016, the country has lost 10 diplomatic allies to China amid deteriorating cross-Strait relations. The most recent ally to switch sides was the tiny Pacific island country of Nauru, on Jan. 15. (By Joseph Yeh) Enditem/pc NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address PLA activities in the waters and airspace around Taiwan Feb. 16, 2024 ROC Ministry of National Defense 2024/02/16 PLA activities in the waters and airspace around Taiwan 1. Dateis 6 to 6 a.m. (UTC+8) Thursday to Friday , Feb. 15-16 2.PLA activitiesis 8 PLA aircraft and 7 PLAN vessels operating around Taiwan were detected up until 6 a.m. (UTC+8) today. 1 of the aircraft entered Taiwan's southwestern ADIZ. ROC Armed Forces have monitored the situation and employed CAP aircraft, Navy vessels, and coastal missile systems in response to the detected activities. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address PM meeting with His Majesty King Abdullah II of Jordan: 15 February 2024 The Prime Minister hosted His Majesty King Abdullah II of Jordan for a meeting at Downing Street this afternoon (15 February). 15 February 2024 The Prime Minister hosted His Majesty King Abdullah II of Jordan for a meeting at Downing Street this afternoon. He welcomed the opportunity to meet with King Abdullah again and reiterated the high value the United Kingdom places on our historic partnership and Jordan's vital regional role. The leaders discussed the crisis in Gaza and agreed it was critical as a first step to secure an immediate humanitarian pause, to get hostages out and considerably more aid in. The UK ultimately wanted to see a sustainable ceasefire - which would require Hamas to no longer be in charge in Gaza and Israel's security to be assured. The Prime Minister welcomed Jordan's innovative efforts to deliver life-saving aid to Gaza by land and air, and he set out the UK's work to unblock aid access and alleviate the humanitarian crisis. The UK was deeply concerned about the humanitarian impact of any offensive on civilians sheltering in Rafah. They also discussed the importance of de-escalating tensions in the West Bank and bolstering the role of the Palestinian Authority to deliver security and prosperity. The Prime Minister highlighted steps the UK has taken to support stability in the West Bank, including sanctioning extremist settlers. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address $50 million in Australian support for International Fund for Ukraine Media release Thursday 15 February 2024 Prime Minister Anthony Albanese The Hon Anthony Albanese MP Prime Minister of Australia The Hon Richard Marles MP Deputy Prime Minister Minister for Defence Senator the Hon Penny Wong Leader of the Government in the Senate Minister for Foreign Affairs Ahead of the second anniversary of Russia's brutal full-scale invasion, the Albanese Government will provide a $50 million grant to the International Fund for Ukraine, directly supporting the procurement of priority military capabilities. The International Fund for Ukraine is administered by the United Kingdom's Ministry of Defence. It uses international partners' contributions to procure priority military equipment for Ukraine and ensure the continued supply of military support - lethal and non-lethal -through 2024 and beyond. Australia remains steadfast in our commitment to support Ukraine and the Ukrainians who are defending their people, their territory, and their sovereignty. The contribution announced today will take Australia's overall support to Ukraine to approximately $960 million, including $780 million in assistance for Ukraine's Armed Forces. In addition to Australia's materiel and financial support, the Australian Defence Force continues to make an important contribution to multinational efforts in support of Ukraine under Operation Kudu. Australian personnel continue to train Ukrainian soldiers as part of an extended and expanded mission in the United Kingdom. Australia's E-7A Wedgetail aircraft is also lending its unique capabilities in Germany to help protect a vital international gateway of military and humanitarian assistance into Ukraine. Australia again calls on Russia to immediately withdraw from Ukrainian territory and for Belarus to stop supporting Russia's senseless war. Quotes attributable to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese: "Australia remains steadfast in supporting Ukraine to defend itself against Russia's illegal and immoral invasion. "We stand with Ukraine in support of its courageous people and also in defence of a fundamental principle - the right of every sovereign nation to be secure in its own borders and to determine its own future." Quotes attributable to Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles: "Almost two years on from Russia's illegal and immoral invasion, Australia continues to stand with Ukraine and our international partners in providing meaningful support to enable Ukraine end this war on its own terms. "This contribution to the International Fund for Ukraine will help Ukraine procure the equipment it needs as a priority, delivering real-time effects on the battlefield." Quotes attributable to Foreign Minister Penny Wong: "Australia steadfastly supports Ukraine in their fight for freedom, as they defend the fundamental principles that underpin a stable, peaceful and prosperous world. "We are proud to stand shoulder to shoulder with the brave Ukrainians who are defending their people, their territory, and their sovereignty." NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address U.S. Embassy Ukraine, Office of Defense Cooperation co-host resilience workshop with Ukrainian and international Allies By Office of Defense Cooperation - Kyiv, Ukraine , United States European Command Stuttgart, Germany Feb 15, 2024 The U.S. Embassy in Ukraine and Office of Defense Cooperation in Kyiv co-sponsored a resilience workshop with Ukraine's Government Office for Coordination of European and Euro-Atlantic integration and the U.S. Institute for Security Governance in Krakow, Poland, Feb. 6-7, 2024. Developed in support of Ukraine's national resilience agenda, the workshop sought to advance the government of Ukraine's efforts to develop a culture of preparedness, empower communities and promote resilience against all threats and hazards. During the event Ukrainian participants from 14 ministries and government agencies benefited from informational exchanges with U.S. subject matter experts and a senior representative from Sweden's Civil Contingency Agency. The workshop raised participants' awareness of U.S. and Swedish legislative mandates and evolving national practices for the examination and validation of capabilities in all preparedness mission areas: prevention, protection, mitigation, response and recovery. It also laid the foundation for the potential establishment of a national exercise program in Ukraine. Additional resilience-related information exchanges are planned between Ukraine's Government Office for Coordination of European and Euro-Atlantic Integration, the ODC and ISG in the coming year. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Sweden takes its seat in international donor coordination platform for Ukraine's reconstruction Government Offices of Sweden 15 February 2024 On 14 February, Sweden was welcomed as a new member of the Steering Committee of the Multi-agency Donor Coordination Platform for Ukraine. "Sweden's new membership of the Donor Coordination Platform for Ukraine is a recognition of our country's substantial and long-term engagement. It's gratifying that we can now get involved and help shape international support from the inside. This is partly about providing large-scale development assistance, but also about paving the way for Swedish, Ukrainian and international companies by stimulating trade and business sector engagement in the reconstruction of Ukraine," says Minister for International Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade Johan Forssell. Sweden was invited to become a member of the Steering Committee as a result of the country's extensive support to Ukraine. Sweden is thus a part of the Platform's innermost circle, together with the G7 countries, the European Commission, Ukraine and international financial institutions such as the World Bank and the IMF. The Netherlands, Norway and South Korea have also been invited to take part in the expanded Steering Committee. Denmark, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Spain participate as observers. Background The Multi-agency Donor Coordination Platform for Ukraine was created in January 2023 at the initiative of the G7 countries, the European Commission and Ukraine. Its aim is to coordinate major support measures for Ukraine as regards immediate funding needs and future reconstruction. This coordination is intended to ensure effective planning and implementation. The Platform's Steering Committee convened seven times in 2023. Ahead of its first meeting in 2024, which will be held online, the group has expanded to include four additional countries and a group of observer countries. Russia's large-scale invasion of Ukraine continues to cause great suffering, many civilian deaths and extensive damage to infrastructure and assets - in addition to grave social and economic consequences. Th G7 comprises Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address HORSHAM A mother who strangled her 11-year-old son at their Pennsylvania home last year and then went to New Jersey where she drove her SUV into the ocean has been convicted of murder. Ruth DiRienzo-Whitehead, 51, of Horsham, faces a mandatory life term when she's sentenced Friday. She was found guilty Thursday following a bench trial. DiRienzo-Whiteheads lawyers argued she strangled her son, Matthew Whitehead, with a belt on April 10 because she was having a psychotic break due to financial concerns and family issues, and felt she was sparing her son a painful life. A defense expert testified DiRienzo-Whitehead was suffering from depression and mental illness at the time. Montgomery County prosecutors argued the killing was premeditated, saying she had made numerous online searches on how to strangle someone and did research on mental illnesses that lead women to kill their own children. They also said DiRienzo-Whitehead blamed her husband for the familys financial issues and was motivated to kill by a mix of anger and revenge. After killing her son, DiRienzo-Whitehead drove to Cape May, New Jersey, where her SUV was found partially submerged in the ocean. She was later found walking in nearby Wildwood Crest, where she was taken into custody. Defence ministers address strengthening NATO's deterrence and defence, support to Ukraine NATO - North Atlantic Treaty Organisation 15 Feb. 2024 NATO Defence Ministers met on Thursday (15 February 2024) to address the Alliance's deterrence and defence, as well as support to Ukraine. Addressing the media following the meeting, Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg pointed to "historic progress" in increased defence investment. "By the end of 2024, European Allies and Canada will have added more than 600 billion dollars for defence since we made the Defence Investment Pledge," he said, adding that he expects 18 Allies to spend 2% of their GDP on defence this year. Minsters also discussed progress in ramping up ammunition production. The Secretary General made clear that there is a "need to shift from the slow pace of peacetime, to the high tempo production demanded by conflict," in order to refill stocks and continue to support Ukraine. In the past months, NATO has agreed contracts worth $10 billion US dollars. "This helps Ukraine, makes NATO stronger, and provides more highly-skilled jobs in Europe and North America," Mr Stoltenberg said. Ministers also addressed the deteriorating security environment. The Secretary General confirmed that while "we do not see any imminent military threat against the Alliance, NATO continues to ensure there is no room for miscalculation in Moscow about our readiness to protect all Allies." With Steadfast Defender 24, the largest NATO exercise in decades, currently ongoing, Allies are demonstrating capabilities and testing their ability to swiftly move forces across the Alliance to defend the eastern flank. Finally, Allies held an exchange with Ukrainian Defence Minister Rustem Umerov, who remotely joined a meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Council. Underlining the importance of continued support, Mr Stoltenberg welcomed recent announcements of support - including from Canada, Finland, and Norway - covering key capabilities like F-16 equipment and spare parts, as well as air defence. He further welcomed that a group of Allies is coming together with the goal of delivering one million drones to Ukraine, and that 20 NATO Allies have agreed to form a demining coalition for Ukraine. At the meeting, Defence Ministers also decided to create a new NATO-Ukraine Joint Analysis, Training and Education Centre in Poland to share lessons learned from Russia's war and create a structure for Ukrainian forces to learn and train alongside their Allied counterparts. "Together, NATO Allies account for 99% of all military aid to Ukraine and our continued commitment is essential to preserving Ukraine's freedom," Mr Stoltenberg concluded. "We will continue to stand with Ukraine, for Ukraine's security, and for ours." NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Ukraine Withdraws Some Units From Avdiyivka After Deploying Advanced Brigade To 'Hellish' Battle By RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service and RFE/RL's Russian Service February 15, 2024 Ukrainian troops are withdrawing from the eastern town of Avdiyivka after months of heavy fighting for control of the city, a Ukrainian military spokesman said on February 15 as Kyiv's hold on the city appeared increasingly shaky. "In Avdiyivka a maneuver is under way in some places to withdraw our units to more advantageous positions, in some places to force [the Russians] out of positions," Dmytro Lykhoviy said. "Therefore, the key announcement with regards to all this is that supplies to Avdiyivka and evacuations from there are difficult." Likhoviy added that an alternative supply route that had been prepared in advance was still available to the Ukrainian military. The Ukrainian military said earlier on February 15 it was deploying the 3rd Assault Brigade, one of its most experienced infantry units, to Avdiyivka. "The 3rd Assault Brigade confirms that it was urgently redeployed to strengthen Ukrainian troops in the Avdiyivka area," the brigade said on Telegram. "The situation in the city...is extremely critical.... The enemy's forces on our section have approximately seven brigades," the message said. Maksim Zhorin, deputy commander of the 3rd Assault Brigade, wrote on Telegram that the soldiers must perform combat tasks in conditions that "were difficult to imagine." "The battles in Avdiyivka are many times more hellish than the hottest battles of this phase of the war, which were in Bakhmut," he noted. At the White House, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Avdiyivka was at risk of falling to Russian forces, citing Ukrainian troops' lack of artillery ammunition. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Kyiv was sending as much support as possible to troops in the region. "We are doing everything we can to ensure that our warriors have enough managerial and technological capabilities to save as many Ukrainian lives as possible," Zelenskiy said in his evening address. Earlier this week, Ukrainian sources and Russian pro-war bloggers said the Russian military managed to reach the main supply route for the Ukrainian garrison as they try to cut the city's defenses in half. Russia has been trying to capture Avdiyivka since October and now appears on the verge of achieving a battlefield victory. President Vladimir Putin said in late January that Russian troops had reached the city's outskirts, leading some analysts to speculate that he wants to announce the conquest of the city before the Russian presidential election next month. Before Russia launched its full-scale invasion almost two years ago, the industrial city had a population of more than 30,000. Now the authorities say there are only a few hundred civilians still living among the ruins. The battle for the industrial hub has been one of the bloodiest of the war, drawing comparisons with last year's grinding fight for Bakhmut. Should Russian forces seize it, it would be the most significant territorial gain for Moscow since it took Bakhmut last May. With reporting by Reuters, AFP, and dpa Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-russia-avdiyivka- redeployment/32821412.html Copyright (c) 2024. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Stoltenberg Hopeful U.S. Will Unblock Aid As NATO Ministers Discuss Ukraine Support By RFE/RL February 15, 2024 NATO defense ministers met in Brussels on February 15 to discuss continued military aid for war-wracked Ukraine as Kyiv's forces, exhausted and lacking sufficient ammunition and heavy weapons, face an increasingly aggressive Russian assault in the east while civilians across Ukraine are being pounded relentlessly by Moscow's missiles and drones. Ahead of the talks, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg expressed hope the United States will continue to support Ukraine as a $95.34 billion military aid package that includes $61 billion for Kyiv and was approved by the U.S. Senate still has to clear the hurdle of a vote in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives. Depleted Ukrainian forces say they are conserving dwindling ammunition stocks as they struggle to stave off Russia's increasingly intense attacks on the battlefield and missile and drone strikes on civilians and infrastructure. "We see the impact already of the fact that the U.S. has not been able to make a decision, but I expect the U.S. to be able to make a decision, that the Congress and the House of Representatives will agree continued support to Ukraine," Stoltenberg told journalists. The bill passed the U.S. Senate on February 13 but has not yet been taken up by the House of Representatives. If adopted, it would allow the immediate restart of shipments of weapons and ammunition for Ukrainian forces that have been suspended since December. However, it remains unclear when or if the House will take up the funding to restart regular shipments. House Speaker Mike Johnson, who criticized the package even before the vote in the Senate because it lacks provisions to stem a record flow of migrants across the U.S.-Mexico border, has indicated that it could be weeks or months. "The Republican-led House will not be jammed or forced into passing a foreign aid bill," Johnson said late on February 14 after a closed-door meeting with fellow Republicans -- many of whom are aligned with former President Donald Trump, the expected candidate for the party in November's presidential election. He reiterated that the aid package must also include border-protection measures. Johnson has gone on the record as saying he personally supports aid for Ukraine, but the far-right wing of the Republican House caucus is more closely allied with Trump's isolationist ideology. As NATO discussed more support for Ukraine and increases in the military spending of the bloc's 31 members countries, Ukraine's military deployed reinforcements to the embattled city of Avdiyivka in the east, where Russian forces have been mounting a monthslong assault that has become increasingly intense in recent days. The Third Assault Brigade, one of Ukraine's most experienced infantry groups, said on February 15 that it had been sent to Avdiyivka. "The Third Assault Brigade confirms that it was urgently redeployed to strengthen Ukrainian troops in the Avdiyivka area," the brigade said on Telegram. "The situation in the city...is extremely critical.... The enemy's forces on our section have approximately seven brigades," the message said. At the same time, military spokesman Dmytro Lykhoviy said on February 15 that the Ukrainian military is withdrawing some troops from Avdiyivka to "more advantageous positions." With reporting by AP and Reuters Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/nato-stoltenberg-washington- ukraine-aid/32820631.html Copyright (c) 2024. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Ukraine, Russia Exchange Missile Strikes With Both Sides Reporting Deaths By RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service and RFE/RL's Russian Service February 15, 2024 Ukraine and Russia on February 15 both reported missile and drone strikes that caused deaths and injuries among civilians and caused material damage. Ukraine declared an all-out air-raid alert for the second time on February 15 after Russian MiG-31 warplanes were detected after taking off from military airfields inside Russia. Oleh Synyehubov, the governor of Ukraine's eastern region of Kharkiv, said that the number of people killed in an overnight Russian missile strike on the village of Velikiy Burluk near the Russian border has risen to five, after the body of a 27-year-old woman was pulled from under the rubble. "As of now, five civilians are known to have been killed -- three women aged 74, 54, and 27, and two men aged 41 and 53," Synyehubov wrote on Telegram. Local authorities said Russian S-300 guided missiles hit a two-story residential building and another one next to it. Serhiy Popko, the head of the Kyiv's military administration, said all missiles targeting the city were shot down and there were no casualties after a first air-raid alert that lasted for more than two hours in the morning. In Lviv, Mayor Andriy Sadovy said the windows of several buildings were blown out by explosions, but there were no casualties. Zaporizhzhya Governor Ivan Fedorov said an infrastructure objective was hit in the city and one person was wounded. The air defense of the Ukrainian military reported that it shot down 13 out of the 26 missiles launched by Russia in the latest wave of strikes on February 15. Meanwhile, Russian state media reported Ukrainian missiles struck a shopping center in the western city of Belgorod, located some 30 kilometers from the Ukrainian border. Vyacheslav Gladkov, the governor of the Belgorod region, said at least five people were killed and that there was considerable material damage. "According to preliminary data, five people were killed in Belgorod, including one child, another 18 people were injured, five of whom were children. Ambulance crews transport victims to medical facilities. All necessary assistance is provided," Gladkov wrote on Telegram. Videos showing a damaged shopping center are circulating on social media. Russia's Defense Ministry said its air-defense forces had shot down 14 Ukrainian missiles over the Belgorod region. The ministry did not mention any casualties or damage. An oil depot near the western Russian city of Kursk close to the border with Ukraine caught fire after being hit by Ukrainian drones early on February 15, regional Governor Roman Starovoit said on Telegram, adding that there were no casualties. Ukraine has not commented on the Russian claims, which could not be independently verified immediately. Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-missile-strikes- kyiv-russia-war/32820456.html Copyright (c) 2024. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address The international community is united in our support for Ukraine, no amount of Russian disinformation will break that: UK statement to the OSCE Ambassador Neil Holland underlines steadfast international support for Ukraine and calls out Russia's blatant violation of international law and futile attempts to distort reality. 15 February 2024 Thank you, Madam Chair. Up until 24 February 2022, Russia denied its intent to invade its sovereign neighbour; yet almost two-years-on, Russia's aggression persists. In that time, Russia has sought to seize and consolidate control of Ukrainian territory through violence and repression. There is mounting evidence that Russian forces are responsible for unimaginable atrocities against men, women, and children in the territories temporarily under Russian control, including torture, sexual violence, and summary executions. In response to Russia's aggression, the United Kingdom and our international partners have remained steadfast in our support for Ukraine. We have been clear Russia's assault on Ukraine is an unprovoked, premeditated, and barbaric attack against a sovereign democratic State. It is a blatant violation of international law, including the UN Charter. Furthermore, it contravenes OSCE principles, such as those contained in the Helsinki Final Act. We have responded to Russia's futile attempt to distort this reality with unity, strength, and resilience. To date, multiple OSCE participating States have committed billions to Ukraine, alongside the United Kingdom's overall package of A12 billion. United in our efforts, the United Kingdom and our international partners have held Russia to account through the implementation of the most severe package of sanctions ever imposed on a major economy. Together, we have sent a strong message that any effort to undermine global stability will be stopped in its tracks. The United Kingdom is proud to support Ukraine in its pursuit of a just and sustainable peace, as set out in President Zelenskyy's Peace Formula. Russia has never given any indication that it is serious about engaging in diplomacy. Instead, President Putin has repeatedly demanded Ukraine's total capitulation of its sovereign territory - which the Ukrainian people have bravely resisted. The United Kingdom has never prevented or stopped any peace negotiations between Ukraine and Russia. Ukraine is a sovereign country that can decide its own future. If Russia wants peace, it knows what to do: unconditionally withdraw all its forces from the internationally recognised borders of Ukraine, and respect Ukraine's right to sovereignty and territorial integrity, based on the UN Charter. Peace, stability, and the adherence to international law remain in the interests of all OSCE members. Each of us must uphold this organisation's core principles, including the non-use of force, respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, and the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms. The international community is united in our support for Ukraine. No amount of Russian disinformation will break that. We will continue to stand up for the rule of law and global security and stability. In closing, Madam Chair. We remain extremely concerned for the welfare of our three OSCE colleagues of the Special Monitoring Mission (SMM). They have been wrongly held by the Russian authorities for over 600 days. There is absolutely no justification for their detention - despite attempts to pretend otherwise, they and their SMM colleagues were simply performing their official duties, duties mandated by all participating States of the OSCE. Russia's pattern of disinformation is all too familiar, and so, I wanted to take this opportunity to lay out the facts. The UK again calls for their immediate release. Thank you. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address UK to supply thousands of drones as co-leader of major international capability coalition for Ukraine The UK and Latvia will jointly lead a capability coalition, which will see thousands of drones supplied to Ukraine, including first-person view (FPV) drones, which have proven highly effective on the battlefield. 15 February 2024 Ukraine will receive thousands more drones as Defence Secretary Grant Shapps announces today that the UK will co-lead a major drone capability coalition with Latvia for Ukraine. As part of the coalition, the UK will scale up and streamline the West's provision of "first person view" (FPV) drones to Ukraine. FPV drones have proven highly effective on the battlefield since Russia's full-scale invasion, providing their operators with situational awareness to target enemy positions, armoured vehicles, and ships with explosive ordnance. By creating a competition to produce these drones at scale and at an affordable price point, the UK will leverage the strength of Western industry. This is the first project to be launched from the A200 million drone package announced by the Prime Minister in January this year. It will see the UK order thousands of FPV drones for Ukraine, including from UK manufacturers, providing a boost to the industry and delivering on the Prime Minister's priority to grow the economy. Defence Secretary Grant Shapps said: The UK continues to do all we can to give Ukraine what it needs - upping our aid to A2.5bn this year and committing A200m to manufacture drones, making us Ukraine's largest drone supplier. Today, we're going even further. I'm proud to announce that the UK and Latvia will co-lead an international coalition to build Ukraine's vital drone capabilities. Together, we will give Ukraine the capabilities it needs to defend itself and win this war, to ensure that Putin fails in his illegal and barbaric ambitions. The Defence Secretary also meets his NATO counterparts today to review progress on support for Ukraine, NATO's new warfighting plans, ramping up defence production capacity and preparations for the NATO Summit in Washington in July, where leaders will mark the Alliance's 75th anniversary. The UK continues to play a leading role in NATO, contributing to all operations and missions, committing almost all our Armed Forces under the NATO Force Model, and offering a full spectrum of capabilities. In the margins of the NATO ministerial, the Defence Secretary will bring together his counterparts from 13 NATO Allies* and Sweden to sign an agreement on two new multinational procurement initiatives focusing on munitions and missiles. Spearheaded by the UK, these initiatives aim to increase defence industrial capacity across the Euro-Atlantic area, replenish stockpiles at pace and continue support to Ukraine. This multinational approach offers a scalable solution for nations to jointly procure more of the missile and munition types that NATO and Ukraine need. The UK is also working with NATO Allies Canada, Denmark, the Netherlands and the United States to deliver priority air defence equipment to Ukraine. This partnership, which Canada recently joined, has so far delivered hundreds of short and medium air defence missiles and systems to keep Ukraine's cities safe from Russian bombardment. Tomorrow, the Defence Secretary will participate in the Munich Security Conference and meet international counterparts to discuss Euro-Atlantic security issues, including support for Ukraine. The UK is committed to standing with Ukraine for as long as it takes and has committed to provide A2.5 billion in military aid to Ukraine in 2024/25, an increase of A200 million on the previous two years. Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, The Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Romania and TArkiye. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with representatives of the Council for Support of Entrepreneurship under Martial Law President of Ukraine 15 February 2024 - 21:49 President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with representatives of the Council for Support of Entrepreneurship under Martial Law. The event was attended by the Council members and government officials, including Head of the Presidential Office Andriy Yermak, First Deputy Prime Minister - Minister of Economy of Ukraine Yuliia Svyrydenko, Deputy Prime Minister for Innovation, Education, Science and Technology Development of Ukraine - Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov, Prosecutor General of Ukraine Andriy Kostin, Deputy Head of the Presidential Office Rostyslav Shurma, and Advisor to the Head of the Presidential Office Dariia Zarivna. Volodymyr Zelenskyy noted that he had established the Council to merge the efforts of the state and business towards preserving and developing Ukraine's entrepreneurial potential in the face of Russia's full-scale war against our country. "War issues take up almost all of my time. I stand for state institutions helping entrepreneurs. You are now ready to act, you have the energy to focus on these issues. Because this is your life and you know what laws need to be changed, what amendments need to be made, what reforms need to be brought to the parliament. These are universal issues," the President said, addressing business representatives. For his part, the Head of the President's Office spoke about the work done together with the Council members. In particular, he noted that pursuant to the President's instruction, the Council had conducted a series of meetings and come up with a list of the most pressing issues to be resolved. "At these meetings with representatives of the parliament, government, and law enforcement agencies, we addressed the issues raised by the business and systematized them. Today we are ready to report which issues have already been resolved and which are still being worked out," said Andriy Yermak. Yuliia Svyrydenko noted that nine key areas for improving the business climate in Ukraine have been identified. The implementation of all the planned measures is expected to contribute to Ukraine's economic growth and increase the number of jobs, which is a priority for the state and business. The participants of the meeting discussed the issues of reducing law enforcement pressure on legal business, updating the principles of the Economic Security Bureau, as well as the need to support defense industry enterprises and changes to legislation. Particular attention was paid to the introduction of digital solutions to modernize the interaction between the state and business, namely, the creation of a platform for receiving feedback from business and an analytical module for the Unified Register of Pre-trial Investigations, which will allow to see the full picture of criminal proceedings in the country in real time. The digital platform is expected to facilitate feedback between the government and businesses - regional, small, and medium-sized - and to provide insight and an opportunity to systematize the issues that are of primary concern to entrepreneurs and identify ways to improve the business environment. For each of the issues discussed, the parties outlined an action plan and ways for business to participate in developing systemic, concrete solutions with the involvement of the Council for Support of Entrepreneurship under Martial Law, a wide range of businessmen, and the Made in Ukraine platform. The entrepreneurs thanked the President and other government officials for the constructive dialog. In particular, Oleh Horokhovskyi, co-founder of FINTECH BAND LLC and the Monobank project, member of the Council, noted that representatives of the government, parliament, and many specialized experts were involved in the consultations, which gives entrepreneurs hope for a positive outcome. "The Head of the Presidential Office has done a great job in preparing this meeting. Many stakeholders were involved in consultations with us, and we saw constructive thinking and a sincere desire to improve the efficiency of interaction between the state and business. We are very inspired by this track and want to assure you that we will actively support and communicate all the positive decisions that we will come up with and that will be adopted by your team to support business in Ukraine," the businessman said. He noted that it is impossible to win this war without the bravery of our warriors, without a robust defense industry, without the help of our allies, and without powerful Ukrainian entrepreneurs. "We consider this work a great trust and a great responsibility. And our duty and sincere desire is to help the country. Together we want to create a country where businessmen are respected. Especially those who pay taxes and do not break the law. They should feel respect, appreciation and support," added Oleh Horokhovskyi. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Head of the Office of the President had a phone call with the U.S. National Security Advisor President of Ukraine 15 February 2024 - 18:42 Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak had a phone call with National Security Advisor to the President of the United States Jake Sullivan as part of the ongoing dialogue with allies. Andriy Yermak briefed his interlocutor on the current situation at the frontline and the urgent needs of the Ukrainian defense forces. He particularly emphasized the need to further bolster our air defense systems, as Russia continues its terrorist missile and drone strikes against Ukrainian cities and critical infrastructure. The Head of the President's Office also expressed gratitude to the U.S. Senate for approving the long-awaited decision to continue the support of Ukraine. Andriy Yermak noted that during two years of full-scale Russian invasion, the Ukrainian people have consistently felt reliable support from the United States. He expressed hope that the U.S. House of Representatives will also vote in favor of supporting Ukraine, which will once again demonstrate America's global leadership in defending freedom and democracy. Andriy Yermak thanked both houses of Congress, the administration of President Joseph Biden and all Americans who support the Ukrainian people in their fight for independence against Russia's unjust aggression. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Ukraine recovery and reconstruction: $486 billion over the next decade 15 February 2024 - Reconstruction and recovery in war-torn Ukraine is projected to cost $486 billion over the next decade, up from $411 billion estimated a year ago, a UN-backed study published on Thursday has revealed. The updated Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment (RDNA3) - issued by Ukraine's Government, alongside the World Bank Group, the European Commission and the UN - covers damage incurred since the start of the full-scale Russian invasion on 24 February 2022 to the end of last December. The highest needs are in housing, or 17 per cent of the overall estimated costs, followed by transport, commerce and industry, agriculture and energy. Social protection and livelihood support and explosive hazard management are pegged at under 10 per cent, respectively. Across all sectors, the cost of debris clearance and management, as well as demolition where needed, is almost $11 billion. Damage and displacement "Despite the ongoing full-scale war, the Ukrainian Government, with the support of international partners, continues to implement a rapid recovery programme. The execution of the third Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment allows us to approach this process more systematically," Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said in a joint press release. Direct damage in Ukraine has now reached almost $152 billion and is concentrated in the regions of Donetsk, Kharkiv, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson and Kyiv - the same areas that suffered the greatest damage as reported in the previous assessment. The RDNA3 found that 10 per cent of housing stock across the country - some two million homes - has been damaged or destroyed, prolonging displacement of Ukrainians from their communities. Furthermore, the destruction of the Kakhovka Dam and the hydropower plant last June has resulted in significant negative impacts on the environment and agriculture while worsening the plight of people already struggling to access housing, water, food and health services. Russia should pay The Ukrainian authorities estimate that roughly $15 billion will be needed this year alone for immediate reconstruction and recovery priorities at both national and community levels. Focus is particularly on supporting and mobilizing the private sector alongside the restoration of housing, soft infrastructure and services, energy and transport. Roughly $5.5 billion has already been secured so far from both Ukraine and international partners. Prime Minister Shmyhal noted that reconstruction needs have continued to grow over the past year. "The main resource for Ukraine's recovery should be the confiscation of Russian assets frozen in the West. We need to start this process already this year," he said. Inclusive and 'green' recovery The RDNA3 lists critical investment needs for short-term recovery and medium-term reconstruction. Where possible, it considers and excludes needs that have already been met through the state budget and support provided by partners and the international community. The assessment also highlights the continued need for reforms and policies that catalyze private sector involvement and ensure an inclusive and "green" recovery. It also provides stronger data analysis of the impact on both vulnerable people and communities. Invest in Ukraine's people Denise Brown, the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Ukraine, underscored the need to invest in the Ukrainian people because the future of the country depends on them. "The war is not over; the suffering is not over," she said. "But, communities in Ukraine are demonstrating significant courage and commitment in driving their own inclusive recovery processes, and they need the continued support of their international partners." The findings in the RDNA3 complement the Government's Ukraine Plan and the European Union (EU) Ukraine Facility, both of which are forthcoming. These instruments lay out a reform and investment agenda for the next four years as Ukraine prepares to join the EU. Prime Minister Shmyhal said the Government "is creating conditions to attract private investments, which will accelerate the reconstruction process and transform our country on its path to the EU". Since the last assessment in March 2023, the authorities, supported by partners, have met some of the most urgent needs, such as disbursing $1 billion for housing sector recovery and carrying out more than 2,000 kilometres of emergency repairs on motorways, highways and other national roads. Culture under attack The war has also taken a toll on Ukraine's culture and tourism sectors. Damage is estimated at nearly $3.5 billion, up from $2.6 billion last year - a 40 per cent increase. Nearly $9 billion will be needed for recovery over the next decade, the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) said this week. A total of 4,779 cultural and tourist assets in Ukraine have been reported as damaged, including buildings of heritage value, works of art, workshops for creative industries and tourism facilities. The Kharkiv region was the worst affected, accounting for one quarter of the damage, followed by Donetsk and Odessa. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address 7 killed, 18 injured in Ukrainian rocket attack on Russia's Belgorod People's Daily Online (Xinhua) 09:12, February 16, 2024 MOSCOW, Feb. 15 (Xinhua) -- Seven people were killed and 18 others injured in a Ukrainian rocket attack on Russia's Belgorod, Russia's Ministry of Health said Thursday. The attack targeted a shopping center in Belgorod, resulting in casualties, including one child among the deaths and four children among the injured, said the ministry. The shopping center, which houses a grocery store and a pharmacy, was severely damaged as a result of the rocket attack by the Ukrainian armed forces, Russia's RIA Novosti news agency said in an earlier report. According to Russia's Ministry of Defense, the Russian air defense shot down 14 RM-70 Vampire MLRS rockets over the Belgorod region. The Russian Foreign Ministry strongly condemns the attack against civilians and civilian infrastructure, the ministry said in a statement on its website, adding that the crime will be investigated and the perpetrators will be severely punished. Russia intends to raise this issue for consideration in the United Nations Security Council and other international organizations, the ministry said. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Central Virginia wineries, specifically those in the Monticello wine country surrounding Charlottesville, are taking home fewer gold medals from this years Governors Cup Competition, the commonwealths top contest for winemakers. The region still reigned supreme though, taking home nearly half of the total gold medals, more than any other region. Plenty has changed in the Virginia wine industry since last year, some of which may explain this years slimmer winnings. While the Charlottesville area was named the best wine region in the world by Wine Enthusiast magazine last year, the Governors Cup Competition, under new leadership, changed the judging procedures, welcomed more entries and awarded prizes to more producers this year. Out of 752 entries from across the commonwealth, 138 more than last year, and 79 medal winners, 13 more than last year, Central Virginia winemakers secured 48% of the 2024 awards announced Thursday. The Monticello region in particular took home 49 gold medals this year, six fewer than last year. Trump Winery just south of Charlottesville was awarded the most gold medals of any Monticello estate this year with five, the same number it received last year. Trump won for its 2017 blanc de noir, 2021 chardonnay reserve, 2022 chardonnay, 2022 sauvignon blanc and 2022 viognier. Michael Shaps Wineworks in nearby Keene and Barboursville Vineyards in Orange County both secured four gold medals. Michael Shaps won for its 2020 and 2021 L. Scott red blend as well as its 2021 chardonnay and 2021 petit manseng. Barboursville won for its 2019 Nascent white blend, 2019 Paxxito dessert wine, 2020 Octagon red blend and 2022 vermentino. A lot of great wines were entered in the competition, and for us, its very exciting because we were also able to win with a different style of wine, Barboursville Vineyards winemaker Luca Paschina told The Daily Progress. I only enter the wines I think are the most beautiful and the most elegant. The Governors Cup Competition also awarded two Central Virginia cideries with gold medals: Albemarle CiderWorks and Potters Craft Cider. Much like last year, red wines dominated the competition, winning more than 55% of the total gold medals awarded. Within the red wine category, red blends rose to the top, securing 19% of the total gold medals, making it the most awarded category, followed by petit verdot at 13%. White wines secured roughly 31% of the total gold medals, with chardonnay alone taking home 14 gold medals. Varieties with growing popularity in Virginia like Petit Manseng, Albarino and Sauvignon Blanc were also awarded golds by the judges, the Virginia Wineries Association, which puts on the competition, said in a statement. The number of winners wasnt the only significant change this year. The 2024 competition marked the first year Frank Morgan, who writes a wine column for the Virginian-Pilot, has directed the judging, replacing Jay Youmans who served in the role for the past seven years. Youmans is an advanced-level sommelier and a master of wine, one of only 413 worldwide who hold that certification. He owns Capitol Wine School in Washington, D.C. As someone who has covered the Virginia wine industry for 15 years and judged this competition for many years, its an honor to now serve as the Director of Judging for the Virginia Governors Cup Wine Competition, said Morgan in a statement. This years record number of entries and top scoring wines showcase the continued growth in wine quality and diversity of grape varieties thriving in vineyards across the Commonwealth. The change in leadership also brought a change in the way preliminary judging was handled this year, according to those close to the judges. Unlike past years, every judge was not asked to taste each wine due to the increase in entries. To handle the substantial quantity, Morgan brought on more judges that he assigned to different groups to sample certain selections of wines. The judges then scored each wine based on a 100-point scale, focusing on characteristics such as appearance, aroma, flavor, overall quality and commercial suitability. Wines that fell between 90 and 100 points earned gold, between 85 and 89 silver and between 80 and 84 bronze. While the Monticello area won fewer gold medals this year, the region has a chance to once again bring home one of the top three prizes in the competition, which have yet to be announced. The winners of the coveted Governors Cup Case, comprising of the 12 highest scoring red and white wines; the best-in-show cider; and the Governors Cup itself will be announced at a Richmond gala on March 7. Last years Governor Cup winner was a Monticello brand: Delfosse Vineyards & Winery just outside of Faber. Soon after winning the award, the owners changed its name to Mountain & Vine Vineyards and Winery. Mountain & Vine won two gold medals this year for its 2021 petit verdot Reserve and 2022 chardonnay. Tickets for this years gala held at Richmonds Main Street Station are now available. General admission costs $225. VIP admission, which includes early entrance, exclusive seating and a wine tasting, is $375. This year's gold medal winners in the Monticello American Viticultural Area are: Afton Mountain Vineyards, 2017 Tradition. Afton Mountain Vineyards, 2019 T. Afton Mountain Vineyards, 2022 albarino. Barboursville Vineyards, 2019 Nascent. Barboursville Vineyards, 2019 Paxxito. Barboursville Vineyards, 2020 Octagon. Barboursville Vineyards, 2022 vermentino. Barn at 678, 2021 reserve red. Chestnut Oak Vineyard, 2019 petit verdot. Chestnut Oak Vineyard, 2021 Chestnut One. Chisholm Vineyards, 2019 petit verdot. Cunningham Creek Winery, 2022 viognier. Eastwood Farm and Winery, merlot. Eastwood Farm and Winery, 2022 rose. Flying Fox Vineyard, 2017 cabernet franc. Flying Fox Vineyard, 2019 Trio. Grace Estate Winery, 2021 petit verdot. Hark Vineyards, 2019 merlot. Hark Vineyards, 2019 Spark. Jefferson Vineyards, 2021 cabernet franc reserve. Jefferson Vineyards, 2021 viognier. Jefferson Vineyards, 2022 chardonnay reserve. Keswick Vineyards, 2019 cabernet sauvignon. King Family Vineyards, 2019 Meritage. King Family Vineyards, 2021 Mountain Plains White. Merrie Mill Farm & Vineyard, 2021 Calaboose cabernet sauvignon. Michael Shaps Wineworks, 2020 L.Scott. Michael Shaps Wineworks, 2021 chardonnay. Michael Shaps Wineworks, 2021 L. Scott. Michael Shaps Wineworks, 2021 petit manseng. Mountain & Vine Vineyards and Winery, 2021 petit verdot reserve. Mountain & Vine Vineyards and Winery, 2022 chardonnay. Pippin Hill Farm & Vineyards, 2019 petit verdot. Pippin Hill Farm & Vineyards, 2021 chardonnay reserve. Pollack Vineyards, 2021 cabernet franc reserve. Pollack Vineyards, chardonnay reserve. Reynard Florence Vineyard, 2021 Recherche. Southwest Mountains Vineyards, 2021 cabernet franc. Southwest Mountains Vineyards, 2021 petit manseng. Mount Ida, 2021 High Ridge 1810 reserve red. Mount Ida, 2022 Moonlight Red. Trump Winery, 2017 blanc de noir. Trump Winery, 2021 chardonnay reserve. Trump Winery, 2022 chardonnay. Trump Winery, 2022 sauvignon blanc. Trump Winery, 2022 viognier. Veritas Vineyard and Winery, 2021 Momentarius collection white blend. Veritas Vineyard and Winery, 2021 reserve. Veritas Vineyard and Winery, 2022 sauvignon blanc. Woodbrook Farm Vineyard, 2020 petit verdot. TORONTO, Feb. 15, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- European Residential Real Estate Investment Trust (TSX: ERE.UN, ERES) is pleased to announce that the trustees of ERES have declared the February 2024 monthly cash distribution of 0.01 per Unit and Class B LP Unit (the February Distribution), being equivalent to 0.12 per Unit annualized. The distribution will be payable to holders of the Units and Class B LP Units (the Unitholders) of record on February 29, 2024, with payment on March 15, 2024. The Euro-denominated distribution will be paid in Canadian dollars based on the exchange rate on the date of payment (estimated C$0.01449 per Unit and Class B LP Unit). Registered Unitholders will be provided with an option to elect to receive such distribution in Euros rather than Canadian dollars. If no such election is made, registered Unitholders will be paid the distribution in Canadian dollars based on the above exchange rate mechanism. Beneficial Unitholders will not have an option to elect to receive the distribution in Euros. The final cash distribution in respect of January 2024 was C$0.01449 per Unit and Class B LP Unit. To encourage participation and reward our loyal Unitholders, investors registered in our Distribution Reinvestment Plan will continue to receive an additional amount equal to 5% of their distributions paid in the form of additional Units. ERES intends to continue to make regular monthly distributions, subject to the discretion of the ERES Board of Trustees. ERES continues to target a long-term AFFO payout ratio in the range of 80% to 90%. ERES Limited Partnership will make corresponding cash distributions to holders of Class B LP Units. About ERES ERES is an unincorporated, open-ended real estate investment trust. ERESs Units are listed on the TSX under the symbol ERE.UN. ERES is Canadas only European-focused multi-residential REIT, with a current initial focus on investing in high-quality, multi-residential real estate properties in the Netherlands. As at September 30, 2023, ERES owns a portfolio of 158 multi-residential properties, comprised of approximately 6,900 suites and ancillary retail space located in the Netherlands, and owns one office property in Germany and one office property in Belgium. ERESs registered and principal business office is located at 11 Church Street, Suite 401, Toronto, Ontario M5E 1W1. For more information, please visit our website at www.eresreit.com. For further information TORONTO, Feb. 15, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- BlackRock Asset Management Canada Limited (BlackRock Canada), an indirect, wholly-owned subsidiary of BlackRock, Inc. (BlackRock) (NYSE:BLK) today announced an update to the investment risk rating of the iShares exchange-traded fund (iShares ETF) listed below. iShares ETF Name Ticker Previous Risk Rating Updated Risk Rating iShares U.S. Small Cap Index ETF (CAD-Hedged) XSU Medium to High High A copy of the standardized risk classification methodology used by BlackRock Canada to identify the investment risk levels of the iShares ETFs is available on request, at no cost, by calling us at 1-866-474-2737, by emailing iSharesCanada_inqiries@bulackrock.com, or by writing to BlackRock Canada at 161 Bay Street, Suite 2500, Toronto, Ontario M5J 2S1. About BlackRock BlackRocks purpose is to help more and more people experience financial well-being. As a fiduciary to investors and a leading provider of financial technology, we help millions of people build savings that serve them throughout their lives by making investing easier and more affordable. For additional information on BlackRock, please visit www.blackrock.com/corporate. About iShares iShares unlocks opportunity across markets to meet the evolving needs of investors. With more than twenty years of experience, a global line-up of 1400+ exchange traded funds (ETFs) and US$3.5 trillion in assets under management as of December 31, 2023, iShares continues to drive progress for the financial industry. iShares funds are powered by the expert portfolio and risk management of BlackRock. iShares ETFs are managed by BlackRock Asset Management Canada Limited. Commissions, trailing commissions, management fees and expenses all may be associated with investing in iShares ETFs. Please read the relevant prospectus before investing. The funds are not guaranteed, their values change frequently and past performance may not be repeated. Tax, investment and all other decisions should be made, as appropriate, only with guidance from a qualified professional. 2024 BlackRock Asset Management Canada Limited. All rights reserved. iSHARES and BLACKROCK are registered trademarks of BlackRock, Inc., or its subsidiaries in the United States and elsewhere. Used with permission. Contact for Media: Reem Jazar Email: reem.jazar@blackrock.com Tokyo, Japan and Cambridge, UK, 16 February 2024 Sosei Group Corporation (Sosei Heptares or the Company; TSE: 4565), today announces that at a meeting held on 15 February 2024, its Board of Directors resolved to change the corporate names of the Company and its subsidiaries and the location of the head office of the Company. At the same meeting, the Board resolved to merge Idorsia Pharmaceuticals Japan Ltd ("IPJ") and Sosei Co. Ltd., both of which are wholly owned consolidated subsidiaries of the Company, and to change the corporate name of IPJ as the surviving company. The Board also resolved to submit a proposal on the Partial Amendments to the Articles of Incorporation to the 34th Ordinary General Meeting of Shareholders scheduled to be held on 27 March 2024 (details below). Change of corporate names of the Company and its subsidiaries Reason for change In July 2023, the Company acquired all the issued shares of IPJ and made it a wholly owned subsidiary with the strategic goal to expand the Companys operations in Japan. As IPJ and Sosei Co. Ltd., also a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company, plan to merge as of the effective date 1 April 2024 as described in 3 below, the Company has decided to use the event to adopt a unified corporate brand and corporate name for the Group, including all subsidiaries. The name Nxera derives from the words Next and Era to express the Companys determination to be a leader in the next era of science and healthcare. Nxera will be a technology enabled pharma company that will challenge the status quo in its pursuit of better treatments for patients in need across multiple therapeutic areas. New corporate names Current name New name Sosei Group Corporation Nxera Pharma Co., Ltd. Idorsia Pharmaceuticals Japan Ltd Nxera Pharma Japan Co., Ltd. Idorsia Pharmaceuticals Korea Co., Ltd Nxera Pharma Korea Co., Ltd. Heptares Therapeutics Ltd. Nxera Pharma UK Limited Pronounced in English /nex/ /era/ Pronounced in Japanese /nexa/ /era/ Date of change 1 April 2024 (planned) * The change is subject to the approval of a partial amendment to the Articles of Incorporation at the Ordinary General Meeting of Shareholders. Change of location of head office of the Company Reason for the change Considering the merger between the subsidiaries as described in 3 below, the Companys head office will be moved to the same location as the head office of IPJ (Minato-ku, Tokyo) to accelerate business integration and enhance operating efficiencies. New location 9-7-2 Akasaka Minato-ku Tokyo 107-0052 Japan Date of change 1 April 2024 (planned) * The change is subject to the approval of a partial amendment to the Articles of Incorporation at the Ordinary General Meeting of Shareholders. Merger of wholly owned consolidated subsidiaries Purpose of the Merger Since the acquisition of IPJ in July 2023, the Company has been pursuing integration synergies and decided to merge IPJ and Sosei Co. Ltd to accelerate business integration and enhance operating efficiencies. Schedule of the Merger 15 February 2024 Approval of the Merger Agreement by the Board of Directors (the Company) 19 February 2024 Approval of the Merger Agreement by the Board of Directors (Sosei Co. Ltd) 20 February 2024 Approval of the Merger Agreement by the Board of Directors (IPJ) 20 February 2024 (planned) Execution of the Merger Agreement by the merging companies 27 March 2024 (planned) Approval of the Merger Agreement at the Meeting of Shareholders (the merging companies) 1 April 2024 (planned) Effective date of the Merger (Merger date) Merger format The Merger will be an absorption-type merger with IPJ as the surviving company and Sosei Co. Ltd. as the non-surviving company. Partial amendments to the Articles of Incorporation Reason for the amendments This is to amend Article 1 (Corporate Name) and Article 3 (Head Office) of the current Articles of Incorporation to make the change of corporate name of the Company mentioned in 1 and the change of the location of the Company mentioned in 2 above. This is also to amend the number of directors specified in Article 19 of the existing Articles of Incorporation from not more than ten (10) to not more than twelve (12) directors to allow for future flexibility to enhance the supervisory function of the Board as the Company grows. Details of amendments The following table shows the current Articles of Incorporation and proposed Articles of Incorporation after amendments. Current Articles of Incorporation Proposed amendments CHAPTER 1 GENERAL RULES (Corporate Name) Article 1. The name of the Company shall be Sosei Group Kabushiki Kaisha, and shall be Sosei Group Corporation in English. Article 2. (Omitted) (Head Office). Article 3. The Head Office of the Company shall be located in Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, Japan. Articles 4 through 18 (Omitted) (Number of Directors) Article 19 The Company shall have no more than ten (10) Directors. Articles 20 through 42 (Omitted) (New provisions) CHAPTER 1 GENERAL RULES (Corporate Name) Article 1. The name of the Company shall be Nxera Pharma Kabushiki Kaisha, and shall be Nxera Pharma Co., Ltd. in English. Article 2. (Same as the current provision) (Head Office). Article 3. The Head Office of the Company shall be located in Minato-ku, Tokyo, Japan. Articles 4 through 18 (Same as the current provisions) (Number of Directors) Article 19 The Company shall have no more than twelve (12) Directors. Articles 20 through 42 (Omitted) (Supplementary Provisions) 1. The changes to Article 1 (Corporate Name) and Article 3 (Head Office) of the current Articles of Incorporation shall take effect from 1 April 2024 (the Effective Date). 2. These Supplementary Provisions shall be deleted after the Effective Date. ENDS Enquiries: Sosei Heptares Media and Investor Relations Kentaro Tahara, VP Investor Relations and Corporate Strategy Shinichiro Nishishita, VP Investor Relations, Head of Regulatory Disclosures Maya Bennison, Communications Manager +81 (0)3 5210 3399 | +44 (0)1223 949390 | IR@SoseiHeptares.com MEDiSTRAVA Consulting (for International Media) Mark Swallow, Frazer Hall, Erica Hollingsworth +44 (0)203 928 6900 | SoseiHeptares@medistrava.com Forward-looking statements This press release contains forward-looking statements, including statements about the discovery, development, and commercialization of products. Various risks may cause Sosei Group Corporations actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements, including: adverse results in clinical development programs; failure to obtain patent protection for inventions; commercial limitations imposed by patents owned or controlled by third parties; dependence upon strategic alliance partners to develop and commercialize products and services; difficulties or delays in obtaining regulatory approvals to market products and services resulting from development efforts; the requirement for substantial funding to conduct research and development and to expand commercialization activities; and product initiatives by competitors. As a result of these factors, prospective investors are cautioned not to rely on any forward-looking statements. We disclaim any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. NEWARK, Del, Feb. 16, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The global automotive manufacturing equipment market is poised to grow at a CAGR of 11.1% during the forecast period. It will likely attain a valuation of US$ 6.8 billion in 2024 and US$ 19.4 billion by 2034. The conveyor belt segment is anticipated to progress at a healthy CAGR of 11.0% during the assessment period. This is attributable to the growing usage of conveyor systems in the automotive industry. Growth in the automotive manufacturing equipment market is expected to be propelled by several factors during the forecast period. These include: Robust expansion of the automotive sector globally The growing focus of automakers on improving productivity and reducing labor costs Rising popularity of electric and hybrid vehicles Increasing penetration of Industry 4.0 technologies in the automotive sector Request Exclusive Sample Report: Automotive Manufacturing Equipment Market Strategic Insights: https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-18925 Rapid population growth and urbanization are leading to increasing car ownership. This is prompting the automotive industry to significantly increase its production capacity, thereby fueling demand for automotive manufacturing equipment. Several leading automakers are adopting Industry 4.0 principles and smart manufacturing practices, including automation and robotics. This will continue to act as a catalyst, triggering sales of automotive manufacturing equipment during the assessment period. Rising demand for electric vehicles is another key factor expected to fuel the growth of the automotive manufacturing equipment market through 2034. These vehicles need specialized equipment for battery production, charging infrastructure, and sensor systems. Key Takeaways from the Report The global market for automotive manufacturing equipment is projected to expand with 11.1% CAGR through 2034. By equipment type, the conveyor belts segment is expected to grow at a CAGR of 11.0% CAGR from 2024 to 2043. Based on vehicle type, passenger vehicles segment is poised to exhibit a CAGR of 10.5% through 2034. The United States market is estimated to be valued at US$ 3.5 billion in 2034. Sales in China are set to be valued at US$ 3.2 billion by 2034. South Korea is set to exhibit a CAGR of 13.3% CAGR through 2034. "The global automotive manufacturing equipment industry is set to register strong growth through 2034, driven by expanding automotive sector, growing demand for electric vehicles, and high adoption of automation, - Nikhil Kaitwade (Associate Vice President at Future Market Insights, Inc.) Gain the Competitive Edge: Buy Our Market-Driven Insights Report: https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/checkout/18925 Competitive Landscape Top Key Companies Profiled ABB FANUC CORPORATION KUKA AG Durr Group AMANDA CO Yaskawa Electric Corporation Kawasaki Heavy Industries Schuler Group They account for a significant share of the global automotive manufacturing equipment industry. Key players are constantly developing advanced manufacturing equipment and showcasing them during trade shows and exhibitions. They also employ tactics like partnerships, facility expansions, collaborations, distribution agreements, acquisitions, and mergers to expand their revenue and fortify their market positions. Recent Developments: In 2022, FANUC unveiled its latest automation solutions, including new cobots, robots, and factory automation technologies at IMTS. unveiled its latest automation solutions, including new cobots, robots, and factory automation technologies at IMTS. In June 2023, to meet the growing demand for automotive and related components, Nidec Machine Tool Corporation announced the establishment of a new factory in India. Scope of the Report Attribute Details Estimated Market Value (2024) US$ 6.8 billion Projected Market Value (2034) US$ 19.4 billion Anticipated Growth Rate (2024 to 2034) 11.1% CAGR Forecast Period 2024 to 2034 Historical Data Available for 2019 to 2023 Market Analysis Value (US billion), Volume (Units), and CAGR for 2024 to 2034 Key Countries Covered Canada, United States, Mexico, Brazil, Chile, Peru, Argentina, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, United Kingdom, Netherlands, Belgium, Nordic, Russia, Poland, China, Japan, South Korea, India, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, GCC Countries, South Africa, Central Africa, and others Request Report Methodology: https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/request-report-methodology/rep-gb-18925 Automotive Manufacturing Equipment Market by Category By Equipment Type: Conveyor Belt CNC Machine Robot Injection Molding Machine By Vehicle Type: Passenger Vehicles Commercial Vehicles By Region: North America Latin America Western Europe Eastern Europe East Asia South Asia and Pacific Middle East and Africa Author Nikhil Kaitwade (Associate Vice President at Future Market Insights, Inc.) has over a decade of experience in market research and business consulting. He has successfully delivered 1500+ client assignments, predominantly in Automotive, Chemicals, Industrial Equipment, Oil & Gas, and Service industries. His core competency circles around developing research methodology, creating a unique analysis framework, statistical data models for pricing analysis, competition mapping, and market feasibility analysis. His expertise also extends wide and beyond analysis, advising clients on identifying growth potential in established and niche market segments, investment/divestment decisions, and market entry decision-making. Nikhil holds an MBA degree in Marketing and IT and a Graduate in Mechanical Engineering. Nikhil has authored several publications and quoted in journals like EMS Now, EPR Magazine, and EE Times. Explore FMIs Extensive Ongoing Coverage in the Automotive Domain Automotive Garage Equipment Market Share will total around US$ 63.1 billion by 2033. Automotive Timing Chain & Belt Market Demand is projected to exceed the market valuation of US$ 13.2 billion by the end of 2033. Automotive Belts Market Outlook to reach US$ 21,136.4 million in 2033. Automotive Stamping Market Size is predicted to surpass US$ 18,460.7 million by 2033. Compaction Machines Market Growth to be worth US$ 10.42 billion by 2033. Automated Guided Vehicles (AGV) Market Size is predicted to rise to US$ 2,432.5 million by 2033. Two Wheeler Accessories Aftermarket Share is likely to reach US$ 45,608.96 million by 2033. Smart Motors Market Growth to reach an impressive value of US$ 3.2 billion by 2033. Axial Piston Motor Market Demand is projected to reach US$ 529 million by 2034. Automotive Bearing and Clutch Component Aftermarket Outlook is predicted to reach US$ 9,145.2 million by 2033. About Future Market Insights (FMI) Future Market Insights, Inc. (ESOMAR certified, recipient of the Stevie Award, and a member of the Greater New York Chamber of Commerce) offers profound insights into the driving factors that are boosting demand in the market. FMI stands as the leading global provider of market intelligence, advisory services, consulting, and events for the Packaging, Food and Beverage, Consumer, Technology, Healthcare, Industrial, and Chemicals markets. With a vast team of over 5000 analysts worldwide, FMI provides global, regional, and local expertise on diverse domains and industry trends across more than 110 countries. Contact Us: Nandini Singh Sawlani Future Market Insights Inc. Christiana Corporate, 200 Continental Drive, Suite 401, Newark, Delaware - 19713, USA T: +1-845-579-5705 For Sales Enquiries: sales@futuremarketinsights.com Website: https://www.futuremarketinsights.com LinkedIn| Twitter| Blogs | YouTube VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Feb. 15, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Rubicon Organics Inc. (TSXV: ROMJ) (OTCQX: ROMJF) (Rubicon Organics or the Company), a licensed producer focused on cultivating and selling organic certified, premium cannabis, is pleased to announce the appointment of Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and grants restricted share units (RSUs). Appointment of Chief Executive Officer The board of directors of the Company (the Board) is pleased to announce the appointment of Margaret Brodie as the Chief Executive Officer of the Company, effective immediately. Since January 1, 2023, Ms. Brodie has acted as the Interim CEO and CFO. This appointment comes after the Board completed a search and evaluation of both internal and external candidates to lead the Company. We are delighted to appoint Margaret as our CEO. Margaret has been the CFO of Rubicon since our inception and she also served as our interim CEO over the past year. She has distinguished herself as a very capable and respected leader with a deep understanding of the regulated Canadian cannabis sector. We are confident that her strategic skills will play a pivotal role in the continued success of Rubicon. As we persist in our pursuit of growth and unwavering dedication to delivering top-tier cannabis products, Margaret's guidance, along with the incredible team she has helped to build, will undoubtedly be a cornerstone of our journey, expressed Len Boggio, Board Chair. Rubicon Organics is taking its position as a Canadian leader in premium and organic cannabis and I am proud to take on the role as the CEO. As I transition from the role of CFO to helm the company's strategic direction, I am energized by the tremendous opportunities that lie before us in 2024 and beyond. I am committed to leading our talented team towards continued innovation, sustained growth, and the realization of our collective vision for success. Together, we will embark on an exciting journey as we navigate the next phase of Rubicons evolution, said Margaret Brodie, CEO. About Margaret Brodie Margaret Brodie has been instrumental in building Rubicon Organics since it was founded in 2015. She began her tenure as the CFO of the Company and was appointed Interim CEO on January 1, 2023. As Interim CEO and CFO, Ms. Brodie led the Company to achieving six consecutive quarters of AEBITDA profitability and five consecutive quarters of positive operating cashflow. Under her leadership in 2023 Rubicon was awarded the prestigious KIND Awards of Cannabis Company of the Year and Peoples Choice Best Weed, and produced two of the top three most popular brands as recommended by Canadian Budtenders in a third-party evaluation. She has over 20 years of experience in finance and executive leadership, of which 10 were spent with KMPG working in the UK and Canada for global beverage and global mining companies. Ms. Brodie has also held numerous corporate development and CFO roles for listed companies. Appointment of Chief Financial Officer and Corporate Secretary The Company is also pleased to announce the appointment of Janis Risbin as CFO and Corporate Secretary of the Company effective immediately. Serving first as Director of Finance, and then as Vice President of Finance since 2019, Ms. Risbin has been instrumental in the success of the company from the early start-up of the Canadian business to delivering one of Canadas profitable cannabis companies. Through keen insights and financial strategies, Ms. Risbin has played a pivotal role in shaping Rubicons strong financial performance to date. I am thrilled to extend a warm welcome to Janis in her new capacity as CFO, announced Margaret Brodie, CEO. Janis brings an abundance of experience and demonstrated judgment to our leadership team, positioning her as a valuable asset in steering our company forward as a prominent player among Canada's leading cannabis enterprises. I am honoured to assume the role of CFO and am excited to lead with vision, strategy and dedication towards the execution of Rubicon's business strategy. My commitment is to generate sustainable value for all stakeholders, and to continue driving the financial success for the company, expressed Janis Risbin, CFO. About Janis Risbin With a career spanning over two decades in the fast-moving consumer goods sector, Janis Risbin has amassed extensive experience across diverse product categories such as laundry, personal beauty, soft drinks, and frozen foods. Demonstrating a consistent ability to enhance profitability, she has effectively leveraged her financial expertise to propel growth and efficiency throughout her professional journey. Equipped with a wealth of industry knowledge and a proven track record of delivering impactful results, her strategic acumen and financial proficiency will be instrumental in steering growth and maximizing profitability within the dynamic cannabis landscape. RSU Grant The Company has granted an aggregate of 1,361,106 restricted share units (RSUs) in accordance with the Company's equity incentive plan to certain executives of the Company. The vesting conditions of the RSUs are as follows: (i) 50% vesting between one and three years from the date of grant; and (ii) 50% vesting at the end of 3 years based on achievement of 3-year targets. ABOUT RUBICON ORGANICS INC. Rubicon Organics Inc. is the global brand leader in premium organic cannabis products. The Company is vertically integrated through its wholly owned subsidiary Rubicon Holdings Corp, a licensed producer. Rubicon Organics is focused on achieving industry leading profitability through its premium cannabis flower, product innovation and brand portfolio management, including three flagship brands: its super-premium brand Simply Bare Organic, its premium brand 1964 Supply Co, and its cannabis wellness brand Wildflower in addition to the Companys mainstream brand Homestead Cannabis Supply and its concentrate brand Lab Theory. The Company ensures the quality of its supply chain by cultivating, processing, branding and selling organic certified, sustainably produced, super-premium cannabis products from its state-of-the-art glass roofed facility located in Delta, BC, Canada. CONTACT INFORMATION Margaret Brodie Chief Executive Officer Phone: +1 (437) 929-1964 Email: ir@rubiconorganics.com The TSX Venture Exchange or its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) does not accept 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 securities laws. All statements that are not historical facts, including without limitation, statements regarding future estimates, plans, programs, forecasts, projections, objectives, assumptions, expectations or beliefs of future performance, statements regarding Rubicon Organics goal of achieving industry leading profitability are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking information can be identified by the use of words such as will or variations of such word or statements that certain actions, events or results will be taken, occur or be achieved. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, events or developments to be materially different from any future results, events or developments expressed or implied by such forward looking statements. The forward-looking information in this press release is based upon certain assumptions that management considers reasonable in the circumstances, the impact on revenue of new products and brands entering the market, and the timing of achieving Adjusted EBITDA profitability and cash flow positive. Risks and uncertainties associated with the forward looking information in this press release include, among others, dependence on obtaining and maintaining regulatory approvals, including acquiring and renewing federal, provincial, local or other licenses and any inability to obtain all necessary governmental approvals licenses and permits for construction at its facilities in a timely manner; regulatory or political change such as changes in applicable laws and regulations, including bureaucratic delays or inefficiencies or any other reasons; any other factors or developments which may hinder market growth; Rubicon Organics limited operating history and lack of historical profits; reliance on management; the effect of capital market conditions and other factors on capital availability; the Companys ability to attract and retain skilled staff; competition, including from more established or better financed competitors; the need to secure and maintain corporate alliances and partnerships, including with customers and suppliers; and the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. These factors should be considered carefully, and readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. Although Rubicon Organics has attempted to identify important risk factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements, there may be other risk factors that cause actions, events or results to differ from those anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in forward-looking statements. Rubicon Organics assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement, even if new information becomes available as a result of future events, new information or for any other reason except as required by law. VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Feb. 15, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- B2Gold Corp. (TSX: BTO, NYSE AMERICAN: BTG, NSX: B2G) (B2Gold or the Company) deeply regrets to report that three B2Gold employees have passed away as a result of injuries sustained in an off-site incident in Mali earlier today. B2Gold wishes to express its deepest condolences to the families of the deceased employees. Traveling under Malian gendarme escort, a bus transporting B2Gold employees from the Fekola Mine to Bamako was involved in an incident when it was attacked approximately 75 kilometers west of Bamako. Initial reports have identified this tragic event as the result of an attack on the employee transport convoy, which included Malian gendarmerie vehicles in front and in the rear of the transport convoy. Unfortunately, the incident resulted in the death of three employees. Initial reports indicate several other employees travelling on the bus were wounded, all whom have been transported to a local hospital. Other personnel involved in the incident were transported to Bamako for assistance and counselling. The attack occurred over 300 kilometers northeast of the Fekola Mine site, along a transport route that has been the focus of an increased security presence by the Malian armed forces. Mining and processing activities at the Fekola Mine have not been impacted by this incident. The Company has been actively engaged with the Malian government on further improvement to security along the transport route. The Company is working with the Malian government to understand further details of the attack. ON BEHALF OF B2GOLD CORP. Clive T. Johnson President & Chief Executive Officer For more information on B2Gold, please visit the Company website at www.b2gold.com or contact: Dublin, Feb. 16, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Stock Trading and Investing Applications Market - Global Industry Size, Share, Trends Opportunity, and Forecast 2018-2028" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The global Stock Trading and Investing Applications Market has valued at USD 39.1 Billion in 2022 and is anticipated to project robust growth in the forecast period with a CAGR of 19.7% through 2028. The Global Stock Trading and Investing Applications Market have witnessed significant growth in recent years, driven by a combination of factors reshaping the financial landscape. Increasing global interest in stock trading and investments, fueled by greater accessibility and user-friendly interfaces provided by mobile applications, is a key driver. Investors worldwide are turning to digital platforms to access real-time market data, execute trades, and manage their portfolios with ease. The convenience and flexibility offered by these applications have democratized stock trading, attracting both novice and seasoned investors. Additionally, the rise of commission-free trading platforms has further boosted market participation. Amidst these trends, financial technology (FinTech) companies and traditional brokerage firms are continually innovating to meet the evolving needs of investors, offering advanced features such as robo-advisors, social trading, and customizable investment strategies. As a result, the Global Stock Trading and Investing Applications Market are poised for sustained growth, with technology playing a pivotal role in shaping the future of stock trading and investment management. Key Market Trends Rise in Digital Stock Trading and Investing The global stock trading and investing applications market are experiencing a significant rise in adoption as more individuals and investors recognize the convenience and accessibility offered by digital platforms. Digital stock trading applications have transformed the way people invest, enabling them to buy and sell stocks, ETFs, and other financial instruments with ease through their smartphones and computers. This trend has been accelerated by the proliferation of user-friendly applications offered by both traditional brokerage firms and FinTech startups. Investors now have the flexibility to trade at any time and from anywhere, reducing the reliance on traditional brokerage services. The rise of digital stock trading has also introduced features like real-time market data, customizable portfolios, and educational resources, making it more appealing to a broader range of users, including millennials and first-time investors. With the democratization of investing and the removal of barriers like high fees and complex interfaces, digital stock trading and investing applications are expected to maintain their growth trajectory. Integration of Artificial Intelligence and Automation Another notable trend in the global stock trading and investing applications market is the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) and automation to enhance investment strategies and user experiences. These technologies are being used to provide users with personalized investment recommendations, automated portfolio management, and intelligent trading algorithms. AI-driven robo-advisors, for instance, analyze users' financial goals and risk tolerance to offer tailored investment portfolios and automatic rebalancing, eliminating the need for manual decision-making. Furthermore, AI-powered chatbots and virtual assistants are becoming commonplace, providing users with real-time market insights, news updates, and responsive customer support. This integration of AI and automation not only streamlines the investment process but also augments decision-making by harnessing vast amounts of data and market trends. Investors are increasingly embracing these technologies for their potential to optimize returns and manage risk effectively. Expanding Access to Global Markets The globalization of financial markets is another prominent trend in the stock trading and investing applications sector. These applications are facilitating access to a broader range of global markets, allowing investors to diversify their portfolios across different geographic regions and asset classes. With the ease of trading international stocks, ETFs, and cryptocurrencies, investors can capitalize on opportunities in emerging markets or allocate assets in response to global economic trends. Additionally, the expansion of fractional share trading enables users to invest in high-priced shares of multinational companies without the need for substantial capital. As a result, stock trading and investing applications are fostering a more inclusive and interconnected global investment landscape, making it easier for investors to navigate and benefit from opportunities around the world. Enhanced Security Measures and Regulatory Compliance In response to growing cybersecurity concerns and regulatory requirements, stock trading and investing applications are prioritizing enhanced security measures and regulatory compliance. With the increasing threat of cyberattacks and data breaches, user protection and data security have become paramount. These applications are incorporating robust encryption, multi-factor authentication, and biometric verification to safeguard user accounts and financial information. Moreover, they are actively adhering to stringent financial regulations and compliance frameworks to ensure transparent and secure trading practices. By enhancing security and compliance measures, stock trading and investing applications aim to instill trust among users and maintain the integrity of the financial markets they operate in. Segmental Insights Platform Insights The mobile segment dominated the market in 2022 and accounted for a revenue share of more than 60.0%. The widespread adoption of smartphones and mobile devices has revolutionized the way people access information and conduct transactions. Mobile platforms provide investors with the convenience of trading on the go, allowing them to monitor their portfolios, execute trades, and access real-time market data anytime and anywhere. The ease of use, mobility, and instant connectivity offered by mobile platforms have made them a preferred choice for investors. The web-based segment is anticipated to register a significant CAGR over the forecast period. Web-based platforms offer convenience and accessibility to a wide range of investors. Users can access their investment accounts and execute trades through a web browser on their desktop or laptop computers, eliminating the need for specialized software or dedicated trading platforms. This ease of access allows investors to stay connected to the market and make informed decisions from any location with an internet connection. Financial Instruments Insights The derivatives segment dominated the market in 2022 and accounted for a revenue share of more than 31.0%. This is attributable to the inherent flexibility and versatility of derivatives as financial instruments. Derivatives offer investors the opportunity to speculate on price movements and hedge against market risks, providing a level of diversification and risk management that is highly valued in the investment community. In addition, derivatives enable investors to leverage their positions, amplifying potential gains and allowing for more efficient capital allocation. This appeal of higher returns and improved capital efficiency has attracted a significant portion of market participants to the derivatives segment. The cryptocurrencies segment is anticipated to register a significant CAGR over the forecast period. Cryptocurrencies offer a decentralized and digital form of currency, providing investors with an alternative asset class outside the traditional financial system. This decentralized nature appeals to individuals seeking greater financial sovereignty and independence from centralized institutions. Moreover, cryptocurrencies have gained significant attention and popularity, attracting both institutional and retail investors. The potential for high returns has fueled investor interest, with some cryptocurrencies experiencing substantial price appreciation over a short period. Operating System Insights The Android segment dominated the market in 2022 and accounted for a revenue share of over 43.0%. Android enjoys a wide user base, as it is the most widely used mobile operating system globally. This large user base translates to a significant market share in the stock trading and investing industry, attracting developers and companies to create applications specifically tailored for the Android platform. Moreover, Android offers a highly customizable and flexible operating system, allowing developers to create feature-rich and user-friendly applications for stock trading and investing. The iOS segment is anticipated to register a significant CAGR over the forecast period. iOS has a strong reputation for its security and privacy features, making it an attractive choice for investors concerned about the safety of their financial transactions and sensitive data. The robust security measures implemented by Apple, along with stringent App Store guidelines, provide users with a sense of trust and confidence when using stock trading and investing applications on iOS devices. Moreover, iOS devices, including iPhones and iPads, are known for their high-quality hardware and seamless user experience. The intuitive and user-friendly interface, coupled with the smooth performance of iOS devices, creates an optimal trading environment for investors. Report Scope: In this report, the Global Stock Trading and Investing Applications Market has been segmented into the following categories, in addition to the industry trends which have also been detailed below: Stock Trading and Investing Applications Market, By Financial Instruments: Stocks Cryptocurrencies ETFs/Mutual Funds Derivatives Others Stock Trading and Investing Applications Market, By Platform: Mobile Web-based Stock Trading and Investing Applications Market, By Operating System: iOS Android Others Stock Trading and Investing Applications Market, By End User: Retail Institutional Key Attributes: Report Attribute Details No. of Pages 190 Forecast Period 2022 - 2028 Estimated Market Value (USD) in 2022 $39.1 Billion Forecasted Market Value (USD) by 2028 $116.05 Billion Compound Annual Growth Rate 19.7% Regions Covered Global Companies Profiled Bank of America Corporation (Merrill Edge) Morgan Stanley (E*TRADE) FMR LLC Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. Robinhood Interactive Brokers LLC eToro Plus500 Zerodha Angel One Limited For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/b704l About ResearchAndMarkets.com ResearchAndMarkets.com is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends. Attachment Dublin, Feb. 16, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "China Automotive Multimodal Interaction Development Research Report, 2023" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. China Automotive Multimodal Interaction Development Research Report, 2023 combs through the interaction modes of mainstream cockpits, the application of interaction modes in key vehicle models launched in 2023, the cockpit interaction solutions of suppliers, and the multimodal interaction fusion trends. Foundation models and multimodal fusion will facilitate the introduction of AI Agent into cars. Large AI models are evolving from the single-modal to the multi-modal and multi-task fusion. Compared with the single-modal that can only process one type of data such as text, image and speech, the multimodal can process and understand multiple types of data, including vision, hearing and language, thus better understanding and generating complex information. As multimodal foundation models continue to develop, their capabilities will also be significantly improved. This improvement gives AI Agent higher capabilities of perception and environment understanding to achieve more intelligent, automatic decisions and actions, and also creates new possibilities for its application in automotive, providing a broader prospect for future intelligent development. Car control by voice extends from inside to outside cars. Changan Nevo A07 adopts iFlytek's latest technology XTTS 4.0. The voice of the car voice assistant is more natural and anthropomorphic, and can express multiple emotions such as happiness, regret, and confusion. It supports saying towards the outside of the car (the content can be user-defined). In addition, the trunk, windows, music, air conditioning, pull-out/parking and other functions can also be controlled by voice outside the car. Voiceprint recognition finds wider application. All Li Auto's L series models support voiceprint recognition function. After passengers register their voiceprints, 'Lixiang Classmate' can identify who the passenger is, call the nicknames designated by different passengers, and perform vehicle control according to the positions of different passengers memorized via their voiceprint. Myoelectric interaction comes into commercial use in cars. In April 2023, Voyah Passion and FlectoThink introduced a myoelectric interaction fusion solution enabled through a myoelectric bracelet. A multi-channel myoelectric sensor and a high-precision amplifier that are installed inside the bracelet can collect rich myoelectric signals in real time and generate algorithms, and transmit them to the computing terminal to generate a personalized AI gesture model, which is then integrated with Voyah's vehicle platforms. Multimodal fusion creates active interaction. Currently multimodal fusion enabled by automakers includes but is not limited to voice + lip motion recognition, voice + face recognition, voice + gesture recognition, voice + head posture, face + emotion recognition, face + eye tracking, and fragrance + face + voice recognition. Wherein multimodal voice interaction is mainstream, and supports models mentioned above, like Changan Nevo A07, Jiyue 01, Li L7, and Hycan A06/V09. Key Topics Covered: 1 Overview of Multimodal Interaction 1.1 Definition of Multimodal Interaction 1.2 Multimodal Interaction Industry Chain 1.2.1 Multimodal Interaction Industry Chain - Chip Vendors 1.2.2 Multimodal Interaction Industry Chain - Algorithm Providers 1.2.3 Multimodal Interaction Industry Chain - System Integrators 1.3 Multimodal Fusion Algorithms 1.3.1 Speech Algorithm 1.3.2 Vision Algorithm 1.4 Multimodal Interaction Policy Environment 1.4.1 Policy and Regulation Environment 1.4.2 Multimodal Interaction Laws and Regulations 1.4.3 In-cabin Information Security Strategies of OEMs 2 Human-Computer Interaction Based on Touch 2.1 Haptic Interaction Development Route 2.2 Highlights of Haptic Interaction of OEMs 2.3 Cockpit Display Trends 2.4 Development Trends of Smart Surface Materials 2.5 Haptic Feedback Mechanism 3 Human-Computer Interaction Based on Hearing 3.1 Voice Function Development Route 3.2 Summary on Voice Functions of OEMs 3.3 Summary on OTA Updates on Voice Functions of OEMs 3.4 Development Trends of Voice Interaction Images 3.5 Application of Voiceprint Recognition in Car Models 3.6 Customization Trends of Voice Functions 3.7 Major Suppliers of Voice Functions 3.8 Voice Function Development Models of OEMs 4 Human-Computer Interaction Based on Vision 4.1 Face Recognition 4.1.1 Face Recognition Function Development Route 4.1.2 Application of Face Recognition in Car Models 4.1.3 Summary on Face Recognition Suppliers 4.2 Gesture Recognition 4.2.1 Gesture Recognition Function Development Route 4.2.2 Application of Gesture Recognition in Car Models 4.2.3 Summary on Gesture Recognition Suppliers 4.3 Lip Movement Recognition 4.3.1 Lip Movement Recognition Function Development Route 4.3.2 Application of Lip Motion Recognition in Car Models 4.3.3 Summary on Lip Movement Recognition Suppliers 4.4 Other Visual Interaction 4.4.1 AR/VR Interaction Function Development Route 4.4.2 Application of AR/VR Interaction in Car Models 4.4.3 Summary on AR/VR Interaction Suppliers 5 Human-Computer Interaction Based on Smell 5.1 Olfactory Interaction Function Development Route 5.2 Principle of Intelligent Fragrance System 5.3 Fragrance System Technology 5.4 Application of Olfactory Interaction in Car Models 5.5 Summary on Fragrance System Technologies of OEMs 5.6 Olfactory Interaction Design Trends 5.7 Summary on Olfactory Interaction Suppliers 6 Human-Computer Interaction Based on Biometrics 6.1 Fingerprint Recognition 6.1.1 Fingerprint Recognition Function Development Route 6.1.2 Application of Fingerprint Recognition in Car Models 6.1.3 Summary on Fingerprint Recognition Suppliers 6.2 Iris Recognition 6.2.1 Iris Recognition Function Development Route 6.2.2 Application of Iris Recognition in Car Models 6.2.3 Application of Iris Recognition in AR/VR 6.2.4 Summary on Iris Recognition Suppliers 6.3 Myoelectric Recognition 6.3.1 Myoelectric Recognition Function Development Route 6.3.2 Application of Myoelectric Recognition in Car Models 6.3.3 Introduction to Myoelectric Recognition Equipment 6.3.4 Summary on Myoelectric Recognition Suppliers 6.4 Vein Recognition 6.4.1 Vein Recognition Function Development Route 6.4.2 Application of Vein Recognition in Car Models 6.4.3 Summary on Vein Recognition Suppliers 6.5 Heart Rate Recognition 6.5.1 Heart Rate Recognition Function Development Route 6.5.2 Heart Rate Recognition Technology 6.5.3 Application of Heart Rate Recognition in Car Models 7 Multimodal Interaction Application by OEMs 7.1 Emerging Carmakers 7.1.1 Multimodal Interaction in Xpeng G6 7.1.2 Multimodal Interaction in Li L7 7.1.3 Multimodal Interaction in NIO EC7 7.1.4 Multimodal Interaction in Neta GT 7.1.5 Multimodal Interaction in HiPhi Y 7.1.6 Multimodal Interaction in Hycan A06 7.1.7 Multimodal Interaction in Hycan V09 7.1.8 Multimodal Interaction in New AITO M7 7.1.9 Multimodal Interaction in AITO M9 7.2 Conventional Chinese Independent Automakers 7.2.1 Multimodal Interaction in Chery Cowin Kunlun 7.2.2 Multimodal Interaction in WEY Blue Mountain DHT PHEV 7.2.3 Multimodal Interaction in Hyper GT 7.2.4 Multimodal Interaction in Trumpchi E9 7.2.5 Multimodal Interaction in Voyah Passion 7.2.6 Multimodal Interaction in Denza N7 7.2.7 Multimodal Interaction in Frigate 07 7.2.8 Multimodal Interaction in Changan Nevo A07 7.2.9 Multimodal Interaction in Jiyue 01 7.2.10 Multimodal Interaction in ARCFOX Kaola 7.2.11 Multimodal Interaction in Deepal S7 7.2.12 Multimodal Interaction in Galaxy L6 7.2.13 Multimodal Interaction in Lynk & Co 08 7.2.14 Multimodal Interaction in LIVAN 7 7.2.15 Multimodal Interaction in ZEEKR X 7.2.16 Multimodal Interaction in ZEEKR 009 7.2.17 Multimodal Interaction in IM LS7 7.2.18 Multimodal Interaction in GEOME G6 7.3 Conventional Joint Venture Automakers 7.3.1 Multimodal Interaction in Mercedes-Benz EQS AMG 7.3.2 Multimodal Interaction in GAC Toyota bZ 4X 7.3.3 Multimodal Interaction in FAW Toyota bZ 3 7.3.4 Multimodal Interaction in Buick Electra E5 7.3.5 Multimodal Interaction in 11th Generation GAC Honda Accord 7.3.6 Multimodal Interaction in FAW Audi e-tron GT 7.3.7 Multimodal Interaction in BMW XM 7.4 Concept Cars 7.4.1 Multimodal Interaction in Audi A6 Avant e-tron 7.4.2 Multimodal Interaction in BMW i Vision Dee 7.4.3 Multimodal Interaction in RAM 1500 Revolution 7.4.4 Multimodal Interaction in Peugeot Inception 7.4.5 Multimodal Interaction in Yanfeng XiM23s 8 Multimodal Interaction Solutions of Suppliers 8.1 Aptiv 8.2 Cipia Vision 8.3 Cerence 8.4 Continental 8.5 iFlytek 8.6 SenseTime 8.7 ADAYO 8.8 Desay SV 8.9 ArcSoft Technology 8.10 AISpeech 8.11 Horizon Robotics 8.12 ThunderSoft 8.13 PATEO 8.14 Joyson Electronics 8.15 Huawei 8.16 Baidu 8.17 Tencent 8.18 Banma Network 8.19 MINIEYE 8.20 Hikvision 8.20.3 Vehicle Intelligent Monitoring System 9 Multimodal Interaction Summary and Trends 9.1 Multimodal Interaction Fusion Trends 9.1.1 Development of Intelligent Cockpit Interaction System 9.1.2 Development Trends of Single-modal Perception - Touch 9.1.3 Development Trends of Single-modal Perception - Hearing 9.1.4 Development Trends of Single-modal Perception - Vision 9.1.5 Development Trends of Single-modal Perception - Smell 9.1.6 Multimodal Interaction Fusion Trends 9.1.7 Multimodal Interaction Development Roadmap 9.2 Cockpit Computing Power Required by Multimodal Interaction 9.3 Large AI Models Required by Multimodal Interaction 9.4 Integration of Multimodal Interaction and Cockpit Hardware 9.4.1 Multimodal Recognition and Hardware Interaction - Headlights 9.4.2 Multimodal Recognition and Hardware Interaction - Ambient Light 9.4.3 Multimodal Recognition and Hardware Interaction - AR/VR 9.5 Summary on Multimodal Interaction Features in Typical Car Models For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/m1xl2n 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. MILAN, Italy, Feb. 16, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today, Aptean, a global provider of mission-critical enterprise software solutions, is pleased to announce that Wortmann Group has solidified its commitment to digital transformation with its investment in Aptean's next generation of technology, Aptean Retail PLM. The Wortmann Group plans to implement the industry-leading product lifecycle management solution at both its headquarters based in Germany and its subsidiary NOVI Footwear based in Hong Kong. The Wortmann Group is one of the leading shoe production and distribution companies in Europe. With its wide range of collections available worldwide including renowned brands such as Tamaris, s.Oliver Shoes, Marco Tozzi, Jana and Caprice the Wortmann Group has solidified its position in the shoe market over the past 50+ years. Through its daring approach, comprehensive understanding and exceptional business expertise, the company has consistently achieved remarkable growth. After having successfully implemented the previous generation of PLM five years ago, Wortmann is confident in moving to the new cutting-edge Aptean Retail PLM. This upgrade will allow the manufacturer to leverage modern technologies such as 3D design and team collaboration features whilst also benefitting from new PLM functionality, including features to support sustainability and circular design for Wortmann Groups biobased footwear production. In our fast-fashion shoe business, we need an easy-to-use and configurable PLM solution. Aptean PLM helped us to capture and digitize our creative ideas, allowing us to successfully move all our brands from an analog and spreadsheet driven product development process to digital-driven collection building, said Fritz Haubrich, Head of Group IT at Wortmann Group. Aptean has proven to be a trustworthy PLM provider, hence we decided to continue our cooperation and implement Apteans new PLM because we are convinced that this system will help us to master future challenges, in large part thanks to Apteans reliable and flexible team. Over the past five years, Wortmann has proven to be an ideal partner, inspiring Aptean to deliver innovative PLM software that meets the demands of being a market leader in the footwear industry, said Duane George, GM, EMEA and APAC, at Aptean. We are thrilled to continue our partnership and be a part of their digital transformation journey as they transition to our state-of-the-art Aptean Retail PLM platform. We are confident that this cutting-edge technology will serve Wortmann well as they continue to push the boundaries of innovation by developing sustainable biobased footwear. About Wortmann KG The Wortmann Group, Detmold, known primarily for its Tamaris brand, is one of the largest shoe production and distribution companies in Europe and is considered the market leader for fashionable women's shoes. The collections are sold in over 70 countries and more than 15,000 shoe shops worldwide. Apart out from the top brand Tamaris, the group of companies includes the brands Marco Tozzi, Caprice, Jana and s.Oliver shoes. In addition, there is Novi Footwear International Co. Ltd. in Hong Kong, which counts numerous global retail chains among its customers. Internationally, the group has over 1,100 employees. Worldwide, about 30,000 workers produce for the Detmold-based company. About Aptean Aptean is one of the worlds leading providers of purpose-built, industry-specific software that helps manufacturers and distributors effectively run and grow their businesses. With both cloud and on-premises deployment options, Apteans products, services and unmatched expertise help businesses of all sizes to be Ready for Whats Next, Now. Aptean is headquartered in Alpharetta, Georgia and has offices in North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific. To learn more about Aptean and the markets we serve, visit www.aptean.com. Aptean and Ready for Whats Next, Now are Registered Trademarks of Aptean, Inc. All other company and product names may be trademarks of the respective companies with which they are associated. For Media Inquiries Please Contact MediaRelations@Aptean.com New Delhi, Feb. 16, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Global smart cities market is projected to have a major leap forward in revenue from US$ 173.36 billion in 2023 to US$ 944.68 billion by 2032. The market is estimated to register a CAGR of 20.5% during the forecast period 2024-2032. By 2032, it is predicted that the global smart cities market will be worth US$ 944.68 billion. Thanks to how data utilization and technological advancement has blended so well with active citizen participation. We see this most prominently in China and India, where their unique strategies have pushed them to be at the forefront of smart cities in the Asia Pacific region. Chinas government-led initiatives and technological innovation has led them to target building 100 smart cities with a market value of $583 billion. While on the other hand we can look to Indias 23.7% CAGR as a sign of their rise - separating themselves by putting cost-effective solutions before anything else. Request a Sample Copy of the Report @ https://www.astuteanalytica.com/request-sample/smart-cities-market With knowledge exchange and joint research bringing them together, there is massive potential for collaboration between these nations which could lead to even more innovation that tackles climate change further. Currently dominating the global smart cities market, companies like Cisco, IBM, Microsoft, GE, and Huawei collectively hold a majority share - with Cisco leading at 14%. A stronghold they have thanks to things like making comprehensive network infrastructure a priority above all else along with unwavering commitment to security and privacy. But when it comes down to it, all the advancements mean nothing if not done ethically or without careful planning for its implementation into cities. Meaning sustainability, inclusivity and cooperative efforts must always be kept first in mind when trying using technology such as this for good. The journey towards realizing the full potential needs individual empowerment every step of the way! What Does Analysts at Astute Analytica Says About Smart Cities Market? Sustainability will be paramount: Smart cities will increasingly prioritize solutions that address climate change and environmental challenges. Focus on resilience: Building cities that can withstand natural disasters and other disruptions will be critical. Human-centered design: Technology will be used to enhance, not replace, human interaction and community building. Evolving partnerships: Public-private partnerships will continue to play a key role in funding and implementing smart city initiatives. Key Findings in Global Smart Cities Market Market Forecast (2032) US$ 944.68 Billion CAGR 20.5% By Technology IoT Devices (34.1%) By Component Hardware (47.0%) By Application Smart Citizen Services (20.9%) By Deployment Cloud (67.0%) Top Trends Citizen-Centric Design: Focus on citizen needs, engagement, and co-creation. Data-Driven Decisions: AI, analytics, and IoT insights power smarter solutions. Sustainable Development: Green infrastructure, clean energy, and resource efficiency prioritized. Top Drivers Urbanization: Growing population density in cities fuels demand for smart solutions. Government Initiatives: Investments and policies create enabling environments. Technological Advancements: AI, IoT, and other innovations improve capabilities. Top Challenges Data Privacy & Security: Balancing innovation with citizen data protection. Digital Divide: Ensuring equitable access to technology and benefits. Funding & Investment: Sustaining long-term funding for smart city initiatives. The Exponential Growth of Data Generated by Smart City Sensors to Creates a $1.7 trillion Market for Data Analytics by 2025 Data is growing at an extraordinary rate, all thanks to sensors placed throughout city infrastructures like buildings, traffic lights, and trash cans. This data accumulation is expected to make a market worth $1.7 trillion for data analysis in 2025. According to Astute Analytica this will help enhance urban efficiency and improve the lives of those who live in cities. World Economic Forum states that smart energy solutions could lower energy consumption by 20%, all because of data analytics. Siemens has similar aspirations; they say with the help of data-driven traffic systems there can be a 30% improvement in traffic flow. Our study on the smart cities market suggests that these numbers could contribute to $4 trillion in annual economic benefits for smart cities by 2025, which highlights how important data analytics are when developing an urban setting. Cities like Chicago and Amsterdam are leading examples when it comes to utilizing the power of data," Array of Things," and optimized waste management systems respectively. With the use of these initiatives congestion can be reduced, costs on energy will go down, and there will be less emissions from waste transportation. Aside from energies and emissions, public safety is on the list along with infrastructure as well. Data analytics suggest that predictive maintenance based off collected information can lead up to a 30% reduction in infrastructure maintenance costs. The same source also finds that informed public safety solutions driven by collected information can achieve a 20% crime rate reduction. These advancements come at a good time too. Cybersecurity Ventures found that there would be an estimated $6 trillion cost if global cybercrime keeps increasing at its current rate. These numbers show how important it is for security measures to be put into place around the world. The PulsePoint initiative from New York City and Yarra Trak from Melbourne show how quick action can be taken if sensor data is analyzed. Both of those initiatives help predict potential contamination outbreaks and respond to emergencies respectively. Last but not least, personalized citizen services also play a big part in utilizing collected information. When IDC interviewed citizens they found that 80% of them believe that improving quality of life should be a smart city priority. In response to this IDC predicts that 70% of cities will start using collected information for personalization purposes by 2025.Public-private partnerships have the potential to make $5.4 trillion says Astute Analytica by 2040.This adds even more pressure on the need for data-driven decision making. Smart city development in places like San Francisco and Barcelona showcases how data analytics can personalize public services, offer open data access for civic engagement, and provide commute recommendations. Smart Citizen Services Captures More than 20% Revenue Share of Smart Cities Market The smart cities market is taking a greater emphasis on smart citizen services, which capture more than 20% of its revenue share. These services are the leading edge in smart city technology and enhance life quality, security and efficiency for citizens. A report done by Astute Analytica shows that 93% of citizens believe that smart city facilities can improve their daily lives. This leads to a strong relationship between these technologies and happiness. Smart citizen services are shown to have an impact on various sectors such as public safety and transportation. The study shows that crime can be reduced by 20% with smart public safety solutions. Siemens reports that transportation systems can elevate traffic flow by 30%. For instance, Barcelonas mobility app was able to drop travel time by 20%. Efficiency in travel doesn't only save time but helps with a greener environment. Singapore and Dubai lead examples of citizen convenience through e-payments services and round-the-clock citizen support apps for better interaction with city services. Engagement from the citizens also plays a large role in shaping smarter cities, so its important for them to feel connected. A study done showed that 63% of people believe that the main focus should be enhancing quality of life. UNIDO also noted a boost in citizenship satisfaction when there is engagement with the community (25%). By 2025, IDC says that over half (70%) of cities will be using online platforms for citizen participation. Initiatives like Madrid's "Decide Madrid," Seoul's "U-report," and Bangalore's "Swachhata App" highlight how residents are playing bigger roles in the improvements/changes made throughout their cities. Efficiency and transparency in governance benefits were also significant points brought up during this study. In fact, the sector is projected to bring $1 trillion in annual economic benefits by 2025 due to these benefits. Over the next 4 years, the adoption of smart energy and water management systems are expected to drop resource consumption by 30% and loss by 20% according to the World Economic Forum and UN-Habitat. Examples of efficiency can be seen through San Franciscos parking system, Copenhagens waste management system, and Rio de Janeiros digital ID program. Asia's Powerhouse Duo: How India and China are Reshaping the Global Smart Cities Market The global smart cities market is on an exciting trajectory, expected to reach $944.68 billion by 2032, with India and China leading the charge. Each country, with its unique strengths and challenges, has helped shape the smart cities landscape across the globe. China, known as the Tech Titan, is expected to make $583bn in its smart city market by 2024 predicts Astute Analytica. The governments National New Urbanization Plan has set a goal to develop 100 smart cities by 2025. This drive for technological dominance is supported by homegrown tech giants like Huawei and Alibaba that are pushing boundaries in AI (Artificial Intelligence), IoT (Internet of Things) and big data. Cities like Shenzhen offer glimpses into Chinas future showcasing innovations in transportation with self-driving buses and integrated traffic management systems. Hangzhou and Tianjin lead advancements in healthcare and waste management systems respectively. India, on the other hand, is once again emerging as a formidable challenger. Government initiatives including Smart Cities Mission and Digital India have ensured efforts are made towards integrating technology into urban solutions that address specific problems seen locally such as water scarcity or sanitation needs rather than relying on cookie-cutter approaches seen globally where cost-effectiveness takes center stage sometimes reducing the quality of service provided in the smart cities market. Examples include Pune working through solutions such as renewable energy sources Delhi's approach to water management while Bhopal focuses on waste management. While competition often arises when these two countries are mentioned together there is a lot of room for collaboration rather than just being competitors they can take this opportunity to learn from each other through joint ventures in research tech exchange among others this would also help solve common issues faced such as climate change resource management among others ultimately helping push forward their goal of creating sustainable ethical data-driven environments for generations to come. Request for a Discount on this Report Before Purchase @ https://www.astuteanalytica.com/ask-for-discount/smart-cities-market Cisco Systems, IBM Corporation, Microsoft Corporation, GE Company, and Huawei Technologies are Leader in Global Smart Cities Marker with Over 51% Revenue Contribution Cisco Systems, IBM Corporation, Microsoft Corporation, GE Company and Huawei Technologies are the key players in the global smart cities market. Together they control over 51% of global market revenue. Cisco Systems has a 14% market share, making it one of the leading companies in smart cities in a range of markets such as, network infrastructure expertise crucial for 70% of smart city solutions as per Astute Analytica. Moreover, 90% of global internet traffic is managed through networks powered by Cisco. When it comes to interoperable systems open and accessible to all is what sets Cisco apart from competitors. A survey published by IDC found that 80% of cities have data silos or problems with interoperability. To solve this problem, Cisco said it advocates for open standards and partnerships with other firms so that its products will integrate well with any type of technology out there. Denvers deployment of the Smart Connected Communities solution uses an interoperable infrastructure that enables several smart city applications, reads an excerpt from the report. The implementation increases cross-departmental visibility into data and processes. Privacy will always be a concern when adopting any new technology in the smart cities market but especially when adopting them on a macro-scale like smart cities being built across countries around the world. CISCO says it embeds security and privacy by design into all its products so users can be confident no one else has access to their personal information (or data). Not only does the firm help protect citizens data but they also help protect against hackers who hope to do harm by embedding themselves within connected devices. Lastly, CISCO contributes billions each year towards research and development (R&D) efforts aimed at creating more advanced technology. Top Players in Global Smart Cities Market ABB Ltd. Accenture Plc Alphabet Inc. AT&T Cisco Systems Inc. Ericsson Foxconn Electronics Inc. Fujitsu Ltd. General Electric Company Hitachi Honeywell Huawei Technologies IBM Corporation INTEL Corporation LG Electronics Inc. Microsoft Corp. Oracle Corp. Qualcomm Technologies Inc. Schneider Electric SE Siemens AG Toshiba Corporation Other Prominent Players Astute Analytica has segmented the Global Smart Cities Market report based on Technology, Component, Application, Deployment and region: By Technology: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Deep Machine Learning Artificial Neural Network Voice Recognition Pattern Recognition Natural Language Processing Others Big Data Analytics Cellular Technology 5G Technology Others Cloud Technology Edge Computing High-Performance Computing Internet of Things (IoT) Satellite Network Cellular Network Radio Frequency Identification Near Field Communication Wi-Fi Quantum Computing Others By Component: Hardware Camera Sensors/Detectors Meters Vehicles Smart Robots Others Software Cloud (IoT) Platform Public Private Data Management & Analytics Cyber Security Remote Monitoring Services Consulting System Integration and Deployment Support and Maintenance Managed Services By Application: Smart Transportation Parking Management Ticketing & Travel Management Traffic Management Passenger Information Management System Freight Information System Other Smart Transportation Systems Smart Utilities Energy management Advanced Metering Infrastructure Smart Grid Water Management Distribution Management Other Smart Utilities Smart Governance E-Governance Solutions Smart Public Safety Law Enforcement City Planning Other Governance Services Smart Home & Building Building Automation System Energy Management Systems Parking Management System Emergency Management System Other Smart Building System Smart Citizen Service Smart Education Smart Healthcare Emergency Response System Video Surveillance System Assisted Living Solution Other Citizen Services Smart Mobility Electric Vehicle Charging Tunnel Management Tolling Management Other Mobility Solutions Others By Deployment: Cloud On-premise By Region Outlook North America (U.S., Canada, Mexico) Europe (Western Europe [The UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain Rest of Western Europe], Eastern Europe [Poland, Russia, Rest of Europe]) Asia Pacific (Japan, China, India, Australia & New Zealand, ASEAN, Rest of Asia pacific) South America (Brazil, Argentina, Rest of South America) Middle East (UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Rest of Middle East) Africa (South Africa, Nigeria, Rest of Africa) Directly Purchase a Copy of the Report: https://www.astuteanalytica.com/inquire-before-purchase/smart-cities-market For further details or to explore our comprehensive industry reports, we invite you to connect with our dedicated team. Please reach out to us at sales@astuteanalytica.com for personalized assistance. About Astute Analytica Astute Analytica is a global analytics and advisory company which has built a solid reputation in a short period, thanks to the tangible outcomes we have delivered to our clients. We pride ourselves in generating unparalleled, in depth and uncannily accurate estimates and projections for our very demanding clients spread across different verticals. We have a long list of satisfied and repeat clients from a wide spectrum including technology, healthcare, chemicals, semiconductors, FMCG, and many more. These happy customers come to us from all across the Globe. They are able to make well calibrated decisions and leverage highly lucrative opportunities while surmounting the fierce challenges all because we analyze for them the complex business environment, segment wise existing and emerging possibilities, technology formations, growth estimates, and even the strategic choices available. In short, a complete package. All this is possible because we have a highly qualified, competent, and experienced team of professionals comprising of business analysts, economists, consultants, and technology experts. In our list of priorities, you-our patron-come at the top. You can be sure of best cost-effective, value-added package from us, should you decide to engage with us. Contact us: Vipin Singh BSI Business Park, H-15,Sector-63, Noida- 201301- India Phone: +1-888 429 6757 (US Toll Free); +91-0120- 4483891 (Rest of the World) Email: sales@astuteanalytica.com Website: https://www.astuteanalytica.com/ Insightful Analysis: The Rising Impact of Expert Networks: https://www.astuteconnect.com/blog/expert-network-industry-growth-trends-astute-connect A month after it was told it must recuse itself from the case of a man who participated in the racist torch-bearing mob on University of Virginia Grounds in 2017, the Albemarle County Commonwealths Attorneys Office lost another bid to remain on the case. Judge H. Thomas Padrick Jr. ruled again on Monday that an apparent conflict of interest in Jim Hingeleys office precludes his team from prosecuting Jacob Joseph Dix, a 28-year-old truck driver from Clarksville, Ohio. Yet again Judge Padrick made the correct decision, Dixs lawyer Peter Frazier told The Daily Progress after the ruling. We look forward to a fair trial with an impartial prosecutor. At issue have been statements and actions made by the offices lead prosecutor on the case: W. Lawton Tufts. Before Tufts became a prosecutor, he was an outspoken opponent of the White nationalist effort to preserve Confederate imagery in American cities and he served as a legal liaison for anti-racist counterprotesters during the Unite the Right rally-turned-riot in Charlottesville seven years ago. On Aug. 12, 2017, the day after Dix participated in a 300-strong torch-lit march across UVas campus, Charlottesville hosted one of the largest gatherings of White nationalists in American history, a gathering that quickly turned violent when the White nationalists who were in the city to protest the removal of Confederate memorials clashed with anti-racist counterprotesters. Amid the street brawling that day, avowed neo-Nazi James Alex Fields Jr. struck and killed counterprotester Heather Heyer with his car. Fields was later convicted of murder and is now serving a life sentence in prison. In court Monday, Albemarle Commonwealths Attorney Jim Hingeley argued the court should reconsider its original decision to oust Tufts and the rest of the office. The basic point that we are making in the motion was that the court did not find an actual conflict, said Hingeley. Hingeley downplayed Tufts prior behavior, including his comments about fighting Nazis in a 2017 edition of UVa Law Schools magazine. Hingeley referred to such comments as part of the job. Hingeley offered the seemingly hypothetical example of a legal figure criticizing human traffickers by saying, These people are monsters. It turned out not to be a hypothetical, as Hingeley revealed the quotation came from Jason Miyares, the commonwealths attorney general. This is not a comment about a particular defendant, Hingeley said. Its not directed to a specific individual. And if Tufts were critical of White nationalists, Hingeley continued, then he was actually pursuing justice and avoiding racial bias, principles demanded by both the Virginia State Bar and the Constitution. Anti-racism is required, said Hingeley. Its not a disqualifying factor; its a qualifying factor. Before Frazier got his chance to argue, Padrick took a moment to hint that he finds prosecuting the cases of the 2017 torch-bearers both novel and, perhaps, stale. The judge recalled a month-earlier hearing when a witness named Ben Doherty testified that they could not recall who Rosia or Katrina were. Rosia Parker and Katrina Turner were outspoken anti-racist activists in the summer of 2017 and were copied in an email chain from Tufts to Doherty that entered into evidence. Half the witnesses couldnt remember anything, said the judge. They had to have their memory refreshed with emails. Later, when Tufts got his turn in court, he addressed that concern. You know who remembers? asked Tufts. People who were standing around a statue and surrounded by people waving torches in their face. While the prosecutions of the 2017 mob are based on Virginias cross-burning statute, a Jim Crow-era law targeting the Ku Klux Klan that prohibits using fire for racial intimidation, the judge noted that the Virginia General Assembly reworked the statute after its focus on crosses was found unconstitutional in Virginia v. Black, a 2003 Supreme Court case. Has this statute been used anywhere else in Virginia? asked Padrick. I think this is a case of first impression, replied Hingeley. A case of first impression is one that hasnt yet been tested. Such a case forces a judge to base a decision not on prior rulings, known as precedents, but on such things as customs, scholarly comments and legislative history. Padrick remarked that Hingeleys predecessor, a Republican named Robert Tracci, determined that the rewritten statute didnt apply to the torch-wielders. But then you came in, said Padrick. Yes, judge, replied Hingeley. And thats not an unusual consequence of an election; elections have consequences. A Democrat, Hingeley was elected in 2019 with 56% of the vote to Traccis 44%. That was an issue in this election, Hingeley said. The voters of Albemarle County chose me to be their prosecutor knowing that that was my choice. Then Frazier, Dixs lawyer, stood to make his arguments. They take issue with the fact that you said appearance, said Frazier staring at Hingeley and Tufts. The conflict is the mere appearance. Frazier moved quickly through mentions of emails and public statements Tufts made about the torch-bearing marchers. Then, Frazier proffered a snippet from an October radio interview in which Hingeley described the march as domestic terrorism. He called them terrorists when the case had been filed, fumed Frazier, who found his own fervor surprising even to him. Am I yelling? Frazier asked the judge. Im sorry. I turned down my hearing aid, deadpanned the judge. Besides accusing the commonwealths attorneys office of personal animus, Frazier accused Hingeley of delaying the release of a third-party review of the Nov. 13, 2022, shooting at UVa that left three students dead and two others injured in order not to taint the jury pool. Such care, Frazier suggested, has not been shown for the defendants in the 2017 cases. Hingeley quickly rose to his feet. That is a false statement, said Hingeley, as Frazier returned to his main point. Theres a clear personal animus, Frazier said. Thats a textbook case of violating pretrial publicity. The court was right the last time. This looks dirty. While the judge didnt share such cynical views, Padrick did reaffirm his initial ruling. That means that an outside prosecutor must be hired to prosecute Dix. Whether Padricks ruling will apply to the other pending cases connected to the events of 2017, of which there are as many as nine, remains to be seen. Four cases have already resulted in convictions, but only two sentences six-month jail terms have been set. Padrick is serving as a substitute judge in Dixs case after another successful defense challenge resulted in two other judges having to recuse themselves. In late September, Judge Claude Worrell recused himself from one case after a lawyer told him that he and his wife might have to serve as witnesses in the trial. Several weeks later, fellow 16th Circuit Judge Cheryl Higgins bowed out of two cases but expressed an intention to remain in two more. One high-profile defendant, Augustus Invictus of Florida, is also challenging the bias of the prosecution. His next hearing is slated for Tuesday. Dix was not in court Monday, but his lawyer appeared to be relishing the situation. This is a case of first impression, Frazier told Judge Padrick. Lets make some precedent here. TORONTO, Feb. 16, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Beginning during Black History Month on February 15, 2024, the Labourers International Union of North America (LiUNA) and Fengate Asset Management (Fengate) are partnering with Black Artists Networks in Dialogue (BAND) for a three-part public art exhibit dubbed BAND Offsite 355 Adelaide, located in a future development site in downtown Toronto. The series runs from February to December 2024, launching with an installation by Frantz Brent-Harris and followed by works from Leone McComas and Natalie Asumeng. An artists ability to transcend languages and culture through their work is integral in building and connecting communities, and we are honoured to provide BAND the opportunity to showcase their art to the public, said Joseph Mancinelli, International Vice President and Regional Manager for Central and Eastern Canada, LiUNA. Creating platforms to highlight, promote and celebrate diverse perspectives is at the core of building stronger communities and we are proud to present BAND Offsite at 355 Adelaide Street West. We are pleased to partner with LiUNA and BAND in re-imagining the corner of Adelaide and Charlotte into a meanwhile space that can leave a lasting impact to the residents and visitors of the area, said Jaime McKenna, Managing Director and Group Head of Real Estate, Fengate. As they have done in countless other exhibits throughout the City, BAND has transformed this space into a visual experience that invites passers-by to pause, reflect and uncover a new connection to the community. On behalf of the LiUNA Pension Fund of Central and Eastern Canada, Fengate acquired 355 Adelaide Street West and its adjacent lots, 46 Charlotte Street and 16 Oxley Street, in 2022. The proposed development for the site includes plans to preserve parts of the heritage facade of the existing building, and introduce new homes to the area. As the proposal goes through the development process, the site is hosting a series of art exhibitions dubbed BAND Offsite 355 Adelaide. Since 2010, BAND has been dedicated to connecting Black culture to communities to inspire, enlighten, and educate through the arts, said Karen Carter, Co-Founder and Director, BAND. We are excited to be working with LiUNA and Fengate in bringing Frantzs, Leones, and Natalies experiential and multi-dimensional works to life. The collaborative spirit among the partners for this BAND Offsite project has been vital in showcasing the vision and creativity of the artists, and creating this experience to share with the community. BAND Offsite 355 Adelaide offers the public a variety of ways to interpret and engage with the artwork presented in the enclosed glass box structure. The art installations will feature a mix of prints, sculptures, paintings and soundscapes, curated with the viewer experience in mind. Each of the participating artists is set to bring their unique creative vision to the space. The first artist to present work will be Frantz Brent-Harris. Afrophilia: Beloved was unveiled on February 15th, 2024. This piece is a tribute to Black love, drawing inspiration from the young Black individuals who are redefining self-perception and reshaping worldwide sensibilities towards Blackness, highlighting its profound value, diversity, and beauty. Afrophilia: Beloved embodies the dreams of our ancestors, advocating for a culture of self-acceptance. It encourages us to honour their memory not by dwelling on narratives of oppression but by reveling in the contentment of authentic self-expression. Artists Leone McComas and Natalie Asumeng will also exhibit in BAND Offsite with their own site- specific installations exploring narratives of discovery and interconnectedness through painting, sound and other media elements. Details about each installation and related programming will be posted on BANDs website at: www.bandgallery.com/current-exhibitions-and-events/band-offsite-355-adelaide About the participating artists for BAND Offsite 355 Adelaide: Frantz Brent-Harris | February 2024 April 2024 Frantz Brent-Harris, a Jamaican artist based in Toronto, creates predominantly figurative art that delves into the intricacies of identity and perception. His works vividly encapsulate the internal turmoil of double-consciousness and cognitive dissonance experienced by Black, African, and Caribbean individuals in a society marred by white supremacy. Anchored in anti-colonial and anti-racist principles, Brent-Harris's practice challenges western canons of beauty and heroism. His Black Barbie series reimagines beauty standards, while installations like Afrophilia critique historical narratives around figures deemed worthy of commemoration. Brent-Harris's art has been showcased at notable venues such as BAND Gallery and THEMUSEUM in Ontario, MakeRoomInc in Toronto, and Cart in Jamaica. His artistic contributions have been recognized in Toronto Life, through Ontario Arts Council grants, and as an artist in residence in Harare, Zimbabwe. Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/frantzbrentharris Leone McComas | May 2024 August 2024 Leone McComas is a visual artist and designer specializing in mural art, oil painting, and graphic design. Following a growing sense of artistic responsibility, Leone now creates from her source of life to counter-act the increasing presence of anxiety, social polarization, and emotional fatigue. Since receiving her BDes from OCADU, Leone has exhibited in solo and group shows, and art fairs across Toronto, as well as internationally in Italy and South Korea. She is a recipient of the OIEOS 2010 Scholarship, OAC 2018 Visual Arts Project Grant, and joined Akin Collectives studio program in MOCA Toronto 2018-19. Leone was a NXT City Prize finalist (2016) and assisted on the winning design Streetcar Murals adopted by City of Torontos King Street Pilot Project. She has received Mural Routes MACD certificate for professional mural management and continues creating art in the public realm; most notably for WomxnPaint, Canderels St. Clair Village hoarding as part of MRL in 2019-20, and the Lansdowne Underpass Project with the City of Toronto in 2021. Website: https://www.leonemccomas.com/ Instagram: www.instagram.com/lehohneh/ Natalie Asumeng | September 2024 December 2024 Natalie Asumeng is a Ghanaian-Canadian fine artist based in Toronto, working under the alias of 135 Studio. Her practice centers heavily on the genre of conceptual/ contemporary art. She creates and photographs environmental sets and organic sculptures. Natalie also produces soundscapes that thrust listeners into experiencing a rollercoaster of emotions, allowing them to dive into their inner thoughts. Concept is important in Natalies work; everything is structured and has meaning, mainly through the element of design of form and colours. Natalie holds a BA in Photography and a diploma in Marketing and Advertising from Sheridan College. She has shown her work in Okyena, a solo pop-up exhibition in Toronto, done an educator-in-residence program with Doris McCarthy Gallery, and participated in Dealrproject, a collaborative digital showcase that paired six artists to create themed work about the principle of form and function in regard to the pandemic age. Instagram: www.instagram.com/135studio_/ About the Labourers International Union of North America Half a million members strong across North America, LiUNA the Labourers International Union of North America is a powerhouse of highly-skilled men and women who proudly build stronger communities across various sectors, predominately in construction. Representing over 160,000 men and women in Canada, LiUNA continues to be a leading advocate for workplace health and safety. United through collective bargaining agreements, LiUNA members earn competing wages, good benefits and the opportunity for advancement and better futures. From roads to bridges, tunnels to high-rise, building essential transit and healthcare infrastructure, the highly skilled, diverse members of LiUNA build stronger, prosperous communities from the ground up and are essential to our countrys economic development and advancement. Learn more at liuna.ca. About the LiUNA Pension Fund of Central and Eastern Canada Established in 1972, the LiUNA Pension Fund of Central and Eastern Canada (LPFCEC) is one of the fastest growing multi-employer pension funds across Canada, voted top 10 pension funds by Benefits Canada. With a diverse investment portfolio and over $12 billion in assets, LPFCEC has yielded positive returns for the plan, great work opportunities for LiUNA members, and has created many needed institutions across North America through a broad range of investments. Learn more at lpfcec.org. About Fengate Asset Management Fengate is a leading alternative investment manager, with more than $8 billion of capital commitments under management, focused on infrastructure, private equity, and real estate strategies. With offices in Ontario and Texas, Fengate has a proven track record of successful projects and partnerships, and an established reputation as one of the most active real asset investors and developers in North America. Fengate Real Estate, a division of Fengate Asset Management, has been strategically developing and managing real estate assets since 1974. Learn more at www.fengate.com. About Black Artists Networks in Dialogue Established in 2010, Black Artists Networks in Dialogue (BAND) Gallery and Cultural Centre is a charitable organization dedicated to supporting, documenting and showcasing the artistic and cultural contributions of Black artists and cultural workers in Canada and internationally. BAND was co-founded by Karen Carter, maxine bailey, Karen Tyrell, and Julie Crooks after they saw a need for an artistic and cultural organization to have a dialogue about black culture. BAND presents visual artist exhibitions, hosts performing art events, hosts talks and panel discussions intended to encourage dialogue on current events among Black artists, cultural workers and the larger society. BAND focuses on developing emerging artists, curators and administrators by providing an accessible venue to showcase their work to the general public. BAND Offsite is an initiative to connect BAND Gallery artists with new audiences. In keeping with BANDs vision to inspire, enlighten and educate through the arts. Learn more at www.bandgallery.com Connect with BAND on socials @blackartndialog Media Inquiries: Jennevieve Virata Director, Marketing and Communications, Real Estate Fengate Asset Management jennevieve.virata@fengate.com | +1 905 466 7527 Photos accompanying this announcement are available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/63989acc-493f-471c-a48e-46833d047e5c https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/3adcab4d-f9dc-4dd6-aab9-66e43c019ecb https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/f1fe831a-697d-4dc5-abee-aa9106fd287f ORANGE, Calif. , Feb. 16, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- via IBN -- Astiva Health Inc. , a fast-growing Medicare Advantage Prescription Drug (MAPD) health plan dedicated to reshaping personalized and comprehensive healthcare is proud to announce the grand opening of its newest facility, the Los Angeles-Koreatown Activity Center. This center was inaugurated on Dec. 16, 2023, in a vibrant ceremony that included a ribbon-cutting by Congresswoman Michelle Steel, marking a significant step in Astiva Health's commitment to serving the senior community of Koreatown. The new Activity Center is designed to be a hub for seniors in Koreatown, providing a space for health education, wellness activities, and community building. It reflects Astiva Health's dedication to delivering culturally tailored healthcare and support services that cater to the unique needs of the communities it serves. "We are thrilled to open the doors of the Los Angeles-Koreatown Activity Center," said Dr. Tri T. Nguyen , CEO of Astiva Health. "It's more than just a place it's a testament to our mission of empowering seniors to lead active, fulfilling lives. Having the support of Representative Michelle Steel and the Korean-language media highlights the importance of community collaboration in achieving our goals." Congresswoman Michelle Steel , who represents California's 45th congressional district, attended the ceremony, offering her support for Astiva Health's efforts to provide specialized care for the aging population. "It's heartening to see Astiva Health's initiative in opening this Activity Center. Their focus on personalized, accessible healthcare is vital for the well-being of our seniors," said Rep. Steel. The event was well-attended, with notable coverage by Korean-language media outlets, showcasing the community's excitement and endorsement of this innovative approach to senior care. The Los Angeles-Koreatown Activity Center is just one example of how Astiva Health is actively addressing the healthcare disparities faced by ethnic communities. By integrating cultural respect into its healthcare model, Astiva Health is setting a new standard for responsive and respectful care. Astiva Health extends its deepest gratitude to all those who contributed to the success of this grand opening and looks forward to the positive impact the Activity Center will have in the Los Angeles-Koreatown community. For more information about the services offered at the new Activity Center and Astiva Health's comprehensive healthcare plans, please visit www.AstivaHealth.com. About Astiva Health Astiva Health is a fast-growing MAPD health plan committed to redefining the standards of personalized and comprehensive healthcare. With a mission to elevate the well-being of individuals, Astiva Health specializes in innovative health plans tailored to meet the unique requirements of its members. The organization prioritizes a culturally responsive approach to healthcare, offering multilingual solutions for customer service, marketing materials, and educational resources. Astiva Health's dedication to serving the underserved population is not only fulfilling a critical societal need but also positioning the company to tap into a market segment with significant growth potential. By addressing the diverse healthcare needs of its members, Astiva Health aims to create lasting relationships and contribute to the overall well-being of the communities it serves. Astiva Health invites individuals to join its transformative healthcare experience, where personalized care and lasting well-being take center stage. For more information about Astiva Health and enrollment details, please visit https://astivahealth.com/ . Forward-Looking Statements This communication contains forward-looking statements regarding the outlook of our private company. These statements are identified by terms such as "may," "will," "could," "anticipate," "aim," "intend," "plan," "believe," "expect," "estimate," "propose," "potential," "continue," or similar expressions. Our forward-looking statements encompass expectations about our business activities, development plans, and strategic initiatives. These forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ from our expectations due to various factors, such as the unpredictable nature of development efforts, potential modifications in the timing and success of our initiatives, and uncertainties related to intellectual property. Additionally, we face challenges associated with financial resources and operational sustainability. We do not commit to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or changes in expectations, as we operate as a private entity. While we believe our forward-looking statements are reasonable, we caution stakeholders that actual results may differ materially from our anticipated outcomes. As we don't file with regulatory bodies, we encourage stakeholders to review additional risk factors specific to our private company that may impact future results. Contacts Astiva Health, Inc. 765 The City Drive South #200 Orange, CA 92868 astivahealth.com Media Contact media@astivahealth.com Investor Contact Scott McGowan InvestorBrandNetwork (IBN) Phone: 310.299.1717 ir@astivahealth.com SOURCE: Astiva Health, Inc. Attachment ATLANTA, Feb. 16, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Astra Plastic Surgery, an acclaimed North Georgia-based cosmetic and reconstructive surgery practice, is welcoming Dr. Pallavi Kumbla to its staff of seasoned physicians and surgeons at its Alpharetta and Cumming locations. With the practices dedication to excellence, patients can choose Astra Plastic Surgery and its strong roster of providers with confidence. Dr. Kumbla specializes in advanced cosmetic and reconstructive procedures involving the breast and body. She studied under renowned breast surgical oncologists and plastic and reconstructive surgeons who specialize in the treatment of complex reconstructive trauma patients. Dr. Kumbla trained alongside several prominent plastic and reconstructive surgeons performing complex craniofacial, hand, microsurgery, and aesthetic surgery, learning the comprehensive spectrum of plastic and reconstructive surgery. During fellowship training, she focused on the latest non-surgical and surgical aesthetic techniques under the mentorship of some of the leading aesthetic plastic surgeons in the country. As a result, Dr. Kumbla is able to share her immense knowledge and skill with Astra Plastic Surgery patients. Our mission at Astra Plastic Surgery is to provide excellent care and a commitment to advancing the art and science of plastic and reconstructive surgery, says Dr. Christopher Killingsworth, founder and managing partner of Astra Plastic Surgery. With the addition of Dr. Kumbla, were continuing to meet that goal in a big way. In addition to providing exceptional care to her patients and performing the latest surgical techniques, Dr. Kumbla has continued to advance her field by co-authoring breast reconstruction chapters in prestigious surgical textbooks. These include Fischers Mastery of Surgery and Bland and Copeland's The Breast: Comprehensive Management of Benign and Malignant Diseases. To schedule an appointment with Dr. Kumbla at either the Alpharetta or Cumming locations of Astra Plastic Surgery, call 678-208-6008 or visit AstraPlasticSurgery.com . Astra Plastic Surgery was established in 2012, recognizing the need for both cosmetic and reconstructive surgery in the North Atlanta area. Our locally acclaimed staff provides exceptional results with compassion and integrity. With three locations in Georgia, we are dedicated to addressing all your cosmetic concerns and helping you achieve your aesthetic goals using innovative techniques. Interviews are available upon request. A photo accompanying this announcement is available at: https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/7b454c4f-38a5-4e58-9db7-b2614fb69bc7 All remains on track for a fast-moving storm to hit Charlottesville Friday night between midnight and daybreak Saturday This storm track is not one that suggests a big snow storm. Rather, it is approaching from the west, which makes a large amount of precipitation whether that be rain or snow very unlikely. However, because the center of the storm will pass through southern Virginia, that puts much of the commonwealth on the colder side of the circulation, and turns our winds briefly from the east. Those two things are just enough to provide some snow. Specifically in the area stretching from Charlottesville to Culpeper, about four to five hours of precipitation is expected between midnight Friday night and 5 a.m. Saturday. Although it may start as a brief period of rain, most of it will come down as snow. Temperatures will remain in the 30s while the snow falls, holding just above the freezing mark through dawn. But because the precipitation will be falling at night, it will be a bit easier for snow to accumulate. In general, accumulating snow will be mostly confined to grassy and elevated surfaces. And without any substantial time below freezing, pavement will stay wet all night long. Having said that, a quick burst of heavier snow for 20 to 30 minutes could result in some slush on the sides of untreated roads. About 1 to 3 inches of snow are expected before all precipitation ends before dawn. However, there will be some narrow bands where 4 inches are possible, especially northward from Charlottesville including Culpeper. The best chance for the higher amounts will be on the immediate west side of Skyline Drive, where 4 inches is a distinct possibility for Staunton, Waynesboro and Harrisonburg. The precise location of the storm track will go a long way in determining the precipitation type and the amount. Although the storm will be traveling west to east across southern Virginia, a small deviation of 20 miles north or south in the forecast track would have repercussions for Charlottesville. In addition to the most likely situation outlined above, a couple of extremes cannot be discounted just yet. First, a slightly more southerly track keeps any rain from mixing in at the outset, resulting in 3 to 5 inches of snow by daybreak Saturday. That is not a likely outcome, but is not one that could be ignored. Conversely, a slightly more northerly track keeps the air warmer and does not turn our winds as much from the east. The result is more light rain before a changeover to snow, yielding only about an inch of snow. But everything is gone by daybreak on Saturday. The clouds break for sun and gusty breezes develop from the northwest, averaging 15 to 25 mph. As a result, both Saturday and Sunday will be cooler than normal, with afternoons in the 40s to near 50 and lows edging into the 20s. And once the Friday night system is gone, there is no chance of precipitation until at least the middle of next week. A couple of substantial systems remain in the pipeline for the rest of the month, but both look more wet than white. For snow lovers, we are beginning to run out of time. /NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO UNITED STATES NEWS WIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES/ QIM believes this listing is an important step for the Company and provides transparent trading for current and future U.S. investors Provides improved accessibility and liquidity for a broad range of private and ?institutional U.S. investors Initiates private placement offering of units for gross proceeds of up to $2,025,000 VANCOUVER, Feb. 15, 2024 - Quimbaya Gold Inc. (CSE: QIM) (OTC: QIMGF) ("Quimbaya" or the "Company") to announce the Company's common shares have been accepted and qualified to trade on the OTCQB Venture Market in the United States operated by the OTC Markets Group Inc. Quimbaya Gold Inc. Trades on the OTCQB Market in the United States and Initiates Private Placement "Quimbaya has been fortunate to enjoy initial strong support from investors in Canada and internationally," said Alexandre P. Boivin, CEO of Quimbaya. "This timely listing to the OTCQB now is intended to provide improved accessibility and liquidity for a broad range of private and institutional investors in the United States." The Company's common shares began trading tomorrow on the OTCQB under the symbol "QIMGF." U.S. investors can find current financial disclosures and Real-Time Level 2 quotes for the Company on www.otcmarkets.com. The Company's common shares will continue to trade on the Canadian Securities Exchange ("CSE") under the symbol "QIM." The DTC eligibility and method of clearing securities speeds up the receipt of stock and cash and thus accelerates the settlement process for investors and brokers, enabling the stock to be traded over a much wider selection of brokerage firms by coming into compliance with their requirements. As an emerging exploration focused company, Quimbaya very much looks forward to reaching out to American investors as the story unfolds. DTC eligibility will assist greatly in that endeavor. Private Placement The Company also wishes to announce a private placement offering of units of the Company (each a "Unit") at $0.68 per Unit for up to $2,025,000 (the "Private Placement"). Each Unit will be comprised of one (1) common share in the share capital of the Company (an "Offered Share") and one common share purchase warrant (a "Warrant"). Each Warrant will entitle the holder thereof to purchase one (1) common share in the share capital of the Company (a "Warrant Share") at a price of $0.68 per share at any time on the date that is three (3) years from the date of the issuance of the Units. Proceeds of the Private Placement will be used to advance the Company's Colombian exploration projects, as well as general working capital purposes. Any securities issued in connection with the Private Placement will be subject to a four-month hold period, in accordance with securities laws and the policies of the CSE, as applicable. The Private Placement is subject to CSE acceptance. About Quimbaya Quimbaya aims to consolidate gold reserves through exploration and acquisition of mining properties in Antioquia, Colombia. Managed by an experienced team in mining sector, Quimbaya is focused on 3 projects in the regions of Segovia (the Tahami project), Puerto Berrio (the Berrio Project), and Abejorral (the Maitamac Project), all located in the Antioquia Department, Colombia. About OTC Markets Group Inc. OTC Markets Group Inc. (OTCQX: OTCM) operates regulated markets for trading approximately 12,000 U.S. and international securities. OTCM's data-driven disclosure standards form the foundation of the three public markets: OTCQX Best Market, OTCQB Venture Market and Pink Open Market. Cautionary Statements This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of securities legislation in Canada and which are based on the expectations, estimates and projections of the Company's management as of the date of this news release unless otherwise stated. Forward-looking statements are generally identifiable by use of the words "expect", "anticipate", "continue", "estimate", "objective", "ongoing", "may", "will", "project", "should", "could", "believe", "plans", "intends" or the negative of these words or other variations on these words or comparable terminology. More particularly, and without limitation, this news release contains forward-looking statements and information concerning the Company's expectations regarding the listing of its common shares on the OTCQB, improved liquidity and accessibility for U.S. investors in the Company's common shares and closing of the Private Placement. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Such factors include, among others, the risks described in QIM's public filings. Actual results, developments and timetables could vary significantly from the estimates presented. Readers are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking statements. QIM disclaims any intent or obligation to update publicly such forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, unless required by law. Additionally, QIM undertakes no obligation to comment on analyses, expectations or statements made by third parties in respect of QIM, its financial or operating results or its securities. Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its regulation services provider accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. SOURCE Quimbaya Gold Inc. Revenues Teacher Salaries Employee Benefits Cost of Living Demographics Class Sizes Administrative Costs State and Local Policy Education Spending by State Public school spending varies dramatically from one part of the country to another. New York is the biggest spender, doling out more than $20,000 per student each year, counting teacher salaries, support services and all the other costs associated with public schools. On the opposite end of the spectrum, Idaho and Utah spend only about one-third as much. Financial figures published by the U.S. Census Bureau depict wide variation in spending across states, regions and individual districts. Several factors help to explain the vast differences in spending. Here are a few key drivers:The amount school districts spend is more a function of the money available than the actual costs of educating students, says Marguerite Roza, director of the Edunomics lab at Georgetown University. School districts will always spend just about all the money theyre allocated. Schools in areas more reliant on state funding than on local property taxes generally have fewer total dollars available to them, but theres more equity across their districts. The largest spending spikes are found in districts serving regions with high-property values, Roza said.Wage and salary expenses are one area where theres a particularly large variation across states. New York spends the most -- $8,712 per student -- followed by Connecticut and New Jersey. By comparison, states with fewer teachers and lower wages report spending as little as $3,000 per student in some cases. The influence of teachers unions may push wages higher in some states, as do favorable labor market conditions. Districts employing more experienced teachers or those with advanced degrees spend significantly more on salaries.Teacher pensions, health insurance, tuition reimbursement and other employee benefits add up to a sizable portion of school spending. Employee benefits for teachers account for about $1,700 in spending per pupil nationally and are as high as $4,127 per student in Alaska and $4,660 in New York. Of course, states with more generous retirement benefits tend to spend more. Pension expenditures, however, dont fully register in states that underfund their retirement systems.As one would expect, the top overall spenders tend to be states with a higher cost of living. The Bureau of Economic Analysis calculates regional price parities, which measure prices of goods and services across states. This data suggests that costs are highest in the District of Columbia, Hawaii and New York. But not all states spending more on schools have higher overall living costs. Rhode Island and Wyoming have regional price parities below the national average, but still rank among the top 10 highest-spending states.Some states just have a lot more young residents. Consider Utah, where more than 1 in 5 residents is a public school student. With so many students, the state simply cant afford to let average costs rise to the same level as in other states, says Mark Peterson of the state Board of Education. Areas with more rural districts tend to incur greater school transportation costs.Class size is another important factor in school district spending. The most recent federal data pegged average class size in Utahs primary schools at nearly 28 students per nondepartmentalized class. By comparison, Maine, Tennessee, Vermont and Wyoming reported averages of fewer than 18 students per class. Comparable dissimilarities are found among high schools. Nevadas departmentalized high school classes have an average of 31 students -- the largest size nationally and nearly twice as many as in some other states.While spending on school and executive administration accounts for a small slice of total spending (about 7 percent nationally), considerable variation exists across states. The District of Columbia and 13 states spend more than $1,000 per student on administrative costs. On the opposite end, Utah spends $463 and Arizona spends $450 per student. Part of this has to do with the fact that school districts are much more fragmented in the high-spending states, notably Illinois and New Jersey. As a percentage of total current spending, Massachusetts and New York spend the least on administration, while New Mexico spends the highest portion of its expenditures on administrative costs.A litany of policies that affect funding of school systems further drive up costs. States employ varying funding formulas and maintain mandates around special education or other requirements that end up affecting how much districts spend. States such as Arizona have seen extensive criticism of lawmakers for cuts to state school aid. Osaka chief says two Japanese hosts could co-exist in F1 Suzuka's new long-term contract with Formula 1 does not mean a new project in Osaka will fail. Start, Japanese GP 2023 Red Bull That is the insistence of Hiroshi Mizohata, president of the Osaka tourism board, despite F1 having agreed to keep the Japanese GP at Suzuka through 2029. Just weeks earlier, the Osaka tourism board had announced its intention to attract F1. When asked about Suzuka's new contract, Mizohata told as-web.jp: "There is no impact on us. Suzuka is a great example to us and something to be respected, so we hope we can coexist and prosper together. I have no desire to take F1 away from Suzuka, he insisted. He said the decision to put together an F1 project for the future in Osaka dates back a year, including visits to the races in Melbourne, Singapore and Las Vegas. We have not had any specific negotiations with FOM, Mizohata clarified. "But while there is a general principle of holding one grand prix per country, there are already multiple in the United States and Italy. We have investigated the background behind two races being held in Japan, and have come to the conclusion that if we put together a solid business scheme and follow the necessary steps, the possibility of holding the event is not zero. He admitted a decision about whether to build a permanent circuit or look into a layout on public roads is yet to be taken. I would like to proceed with our plan over the course of the year and present it to FOM, said Mizohata. (GMM) A 42-year-old Lebanon man died while serving a prison sentence at the Snake River Correctional Institution in Ontario. Dustin Dewayne Patterson-Olah died the evening of Wednesday, Feb. 14, according to a news release from the Oregon Department of Corrections. A Place to Sleep, episode 5: Lebanon How did the last couple of elections change the way East Linn County interacts with its unho As with all in-custody deaths, the Oregon State Police have been notified and the State Medical Examiner will determine cause of death, the release states. Patterson-Olah entered state custody from Linn County on March 12, 2019, with an earliest release date of March 11, 2026. Court records show Patterson-Olah was convicted of first-degree sex abuse and attempted first-degree sodomy in March 2019. He had been previously convicted of first-degree sex abuse in February 2011. The Albany Police Department and Linn County Sheriff's Office contributed to a federal investigation that put a Southern California drug trafficker behind bars. Following a trial and conviction for possessing meth and heroin with intent to distribute, the 39-year-old Los Angeles man was sentenced to federal prison on Wednesday, Feb. 14, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorneys Office for the District of Oregon. A Place to Sleep, episode 2: Albany, part II Last week we introduced Dusty Bryant, who police evicted from Albany's designated resting site for homeless individuals. This week, we check in to see what's happening with Dusty. Pedro Keny Verganza was reportedly sentenced to six years and three months in federal prison and three years of post-prison supervision. The government sought a 10-year sentence, according to court documents. Mr. Verganza drove bundles of methamphetamine and heroin from Southern California to Albany, Oregon, on more than one occasion, U.S. Attorney Natalie Wight wrote in a sentencing memo. At trial, Mr. Verganza feigned ignorance to this court and the jury, but he was ultimately found guilty on all counts. Verganza was charged with possessing meth with intent to distribute, and later a charge of possessing heroin with intent to distribute was added. He was found guilty on both charges at a trial in October. In December 2019, Albany police learned a confidential informant had been communicating with a California-based drug trafficking ring that was transporting narcotics into Oregon, according to the sentencing memo, which states a man known as Pelucha was the source of supply for the drugs. A courier for Pelucha, later identified as Verganza, was scheduled to meet with the informant in February 2020 at a Subway restaurant in Albany for a meth and heroin deal, the memo states, noting Verganza and a woman driver arrived at the location in a silver Honda. When law enforcement approached the Honda with weapons drawn, the woman reportedly complied with commands, but Verganza remained in the vehicle, using his cellphone for around two minutes before authorities opened the passenger door and arrested him, seizing the phone as he continued his call. Investigation revealed Verganza was talking with his drug supplier as he was being ordered out of the Honda, according to the sentencing memo. There were also 20 texts on the phone of a logistical nature between Verganza and the supplier. A search of the vehicle yielded a cardboard box with three large heat-sealed and shrink-wrapped bundles containing more than 3 pounds of meth and more than 2 pounds of heroin, the memo states, adding that subsequent lab tests revealed Verganzas fingerprints and palm prints inside the box and on the packages of narcotics. Authorities estimated the drugs were worth at least $30,000, according to the memo, which states Verganza said he was delivering the box for $1,000 at the direction of someone else in Los Angeles. He admitted to making a similar delivery three weeks prior, the memo states. Verganza initially said he didnt know what was in the box, suggesting it could be some heavy weed, but when challenged by police about why anyone would import California cannabis to Oregon which has a superior market he conceded it was unlikely the delivery was cannabis, according to the memo. Quality journalism doesn't happen without your help Support local news coverage and the people who report it by becoming a subscriber today. Mr. Verganza made bad decisions for easy money, Wight wrote in the sentencing memo. He knew exactly what he was trafficking and feigned ignorance all the way to the witness stand. However, Wight wrote that its understandable how someone like Verganza, with multiple children, a wife and limited work opportunities, could be lured into making those decisions, and turn a blind eye to the poison he was responsible for distributing into this community. Related stories: Protecting students now and preparing them for the future are two of the priorities of Sweetwater County School District No. 2. Working towards these goals, the school district is hosting presentations from Uprising next week and is continuing to develop Work Based Learning programs through the RIDE grant. Assistant Superintendent Alan Demaret and Superintendent Craig Barringer presented these topics to the SCSD No. 2 Board of Trustees during Tuesday night's meeting. Promoting online safety One area the school district wants to focus on is working with students to address technology and online dangers like exploitation and sextortion. "We know that online safety is a big concern," Demaret said. "Most of our students have devices in their hands, and so we want to try to equip them with some information and raise awareness around some of the risks." To accomplish this, the school district has partnered with Uprising, a Wyoming nonprofit organization based out of Sheridan that travels around the state to provide education about the risks of human trafficking as well as topics related to online safety. Uprising will be conducting presentations in all SCSD No. 2 schools next week. There will be two separate programs, with one for elementary schools and one for the middle school and high school, according to Demaret. The elementary program will be for fifth graders and will focus on age-appropriate material surrounding topics like having healthy relationships, recognizing red flags, understanding social norms, and how students can protect themselves around online technology. The presentation for older students will focus on more specific topics such as grooming, consent, sextortion, and other areas related to online safety. "We're just wanting to raise that awareness that this is out there and we can't have our heads in the sand," Demaret said. Some have brought up the objection that these types of issues aren't a problem in Wyoming, Demaret pointed out, but his response was that even a quick Google search can pull up a number of articles about Wyoming-related incidents with charges related to alleged child pornography, exploitation, and more. Beyond just the state-wide impact, Demaret pointed out that these issues have already been seen within Sweetwater County, particularly regarding dangers like sextortion, which involves extorting money or sexual favors from someone by threatening to reveal evidence of their sexual activity. "We have had incidents of this taking place in our buildings where our School Resource Officers have had to be involved, the FBI has been involved in a couple cases," Demaret explained. "It's important that we do raise awareness about these behaviors because they're real. This is happening, even in Sweetwater County." Demaret also acknowledged that many say these conversations should be happening at home, which he agreed with. However, he pointed out that many parents struggle to address these hard topics with their children, and many students aren't equipped to know what to do when faced with these dangers. Just as the school district takes measures for school safety in other areas, online safety is also an area of concern. Parental rights are also important in these conversations, according to Demaret. He explained that the purpose of presenting to the board about the Uprising presentations was for transparency about the school district's plans, and he pointed out that parents have the option to opt out if they don't want their students to attend the presentation. While each school will have a presentation for students, there is also a "Parent Night" presentation for parents, caregivers and educators that is free and open to the public to attend. This presentation will take place from 6 - 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, February 21 in the Green River High School auditorium. The board expressed concern over the parent night taking place after some of the school presentations, which Demaret explained was a matter of scheduling. Since the board wanted parents to have the option of viewing the presentation before deciding whether to have their children attend, they decided to put the presentation up online so parents can preview it. Demaret also noted that the presentation was seen by school counselors, who wanted it to come to the schools, and has been distributed to administration already as well. "I think it's good the school district is being proactive in this," Board Chairman Steve Core said. Pursuing Work Based Learning When it comes to preparing students for the future, SCSD No. 2 is working on ways to ensure that graduates can gain experience that will help them be prepared to enter the workforce. Last year, the school district was accepted into the RIDE (Reimagining and Innovating the Delivery of Education) Pilot program through the Governor's office, connected to the "Wyoming's Future of Learning" grant. The grant was awarded last July, and in August the school district started collaborating with 2Revolutions, the group working with all the school districts that were chosen for RIDE. Last month, 2Revolutions came to Green River to work with staff at the high school to do training and continue developing the program, which will focus on pairing students with local employers. "The reason is that we have to prepare kids for the workforce," Barringer said. Starting next month, the school district hopes to be able to implement the first stages of the program. The goal is to have full implementation by August. "We'll have kids out into the community job shadowing," Barringer said. In preparing to get started, there are already plans to pair students with employers in fields that the students are interested in pursuing. For example, one of the current students is interested in becoming a veterinarian, so plans are being made for that student to spend a period each day job shadowing with and learning from a local veterinarian. Students who participate in the program will earn an elective credit initially. In order to get their grade, they will be required to demonstrate proficiency through the end of the quarter and do a portfolio defense of their work. Students will also have to do weekly assignments reflecting on what they've learned. Another program SCSD No. 2 and 2Revolutions have worked together to implement and learn from is "Profile of a Graduate," which included four 90-minute sessions and had around 100 participants. This program gathered input from students, teachers, and community members discussing what graduates need. Barringer said that the results from these meetings will be shared in March, and said that a survey will be shared because the school district still wants more input. While the Wyoming Legislature's 2024 Budget Session is underway, having convened on Monday, February 12, local legislators from Sweetwater County prepared beforehand by receiving feedback from the community. A legislative town hall meeting was hosted by the Sweetwater County GOP at Western Wyoming Community College on February 1, and Rep. J.T. Larson, Rep. Cody Wylie, Rep. Clark Stith, Rep. Tony Niemiec, Rep. Bob Davis, Rep. Scott Heiner, Sen. Stacy Jones, and Sen. John Kolb all gathered to discuss this year's legislative session and hear from constituents. "I appreciate you all being her... Jerry Olachia Elizondo, 72, passed away February 3, 2024 at the University of Utah Hospital in Salt Lake City, Utah. He was born March 14, 1951 in Baytown, Texas, one of 8 children to Manuel and Janie Elizondo. After graduating from high school, he joined the Navy where he met his future wife Mary Gail Rule. They were both in the helicopter squadron HC-6. Jerry and Mary Gail were soon married and after he got a surprise leave and realized they would be welcoming a baby daughter whom they named Christy. He stayed in the Navy, both active duty and reserve through 1992. He was stationed mostly at Norfolk, Va and even served in Operation Desert Storm with the helicopter squadron HAL-4. After retiring from the Navy, he and his family continued to live in Virginia where he lovingly endured his daughter's horse craziness by taking her and her 3 horses to rodeos and trail rides. In 1998 he moved his family back to Texas just in time for his daughter to meet her future husband. At their wedding he tried to act tuff but Jerry was actually a big ol softy. He was famously known for saying to the groom "She's your problem now". It wasn't too many years after that that he started driving cranes and moving him and Mary Gail all over the country on construction jobs. He worked anywhere from Pennsylvania to Florida, and even clear out to Nevada. But it was on one special job that led them to Green River, Wyoming that Mary Gail fell in love with a house they were renting and decided to make it their permanent home. It didn't hurt that there were wild horses not too far away to show their daughter and son-in-law when they came to visit. Jerry lived in that home until he passed away. Survivors include his daughter Christy Simmons and husband Ken; brothers Robert, David, Albert; sister Janie; as well as his many nieces, nephews, friends and coworkers that will miss him dearly. He is preceded in death by his father Manuel, mother Janie, brothers Manuel, Louis, and Joel, and his beloved wife Mary Gail. Services will be at Fox Funeral Home on Saturday February 17th at 11am. Funeral services with military honors will take place at 11:00am, Saturday, February 17, 2024 at Fox Funeral Home, 2800 Commercial Way, Rock Springs, WY. Condolences cab be left at http://www.foxfh.com. By Representatives John Bear (HD 31), Scott Heiner (HD 18), Ben Hornok (HD 42), and Tony Locke (HD 35) In late 2023, Governor Gordon submitted his state budget. The Governor described his budget as disciplined, business like, forward-thinking, fiscally conservative, realistic, practical, balanced, prudent, sustainable, and living within our means. The Wyoming Freedom Caucus has thoroughly reviewed the Governors budget and would ourselves describe it as UNAFFORDABLE and UNSUSTAINABLE. This is the largest budget in the history... The OnePlus 12R recently reached North American and European shores but those who bought a 256GB storage version prior are now entitled to a full refund if they are willing to return their device. To recap, OnePlus was advertising that the 16GB RAM and 256GB storage trim OP 12R was packing UFS 4.0 storage while it was actually using the slower UFS 3.1 type as later confirmed by OnePlus President and COO Kinder Liu. The executive now confirmed that all buyers of the 256GB storage OnePlus 12R are entitled to a full refund valid until March 16. If you've received a OnePlus 12R 256GB variant and want to discuss the situation with the file system type on your phone, please contact Customer Service through your usual channel. They will be able to discuss next steps with you, up to and including a refund until 16th March 2024. We're still confident that OnePlus 12R lives up to the high expectations you have of our devices, and that you will love it when you try it. But I also hope that our quick action shows that we value our relationship with you, our Community, and has helped restore your trust in us. Kinder Liu, OnePlus President and COO If you purchased a 256GB OnePlus 12R and want to apply for a refund, you should contact OnePlus Customer Service. The process should be straightforward, though do keep in mind the limited-time refund window is valid until March 16. Source While the OnePlus 12 works fine on Verizon, the same unfortunately can't be said about its more affordable sibling, the OnePlus 12R. According to some user reports, the phone simply doesn't work on Verizon, even though it definitely should. It's the first time that an R series device launches in the US, and it seems like the launch wasn't prepared properly from OnePlus' side. One user on XDA forums explains the issue quite eloquently, describing that out of multiple 12Rs he purchased, all are "Invalid IMEI" on Verizon. OnePlus customer support has apparently been stringing him along for over a week, constantly asking him to wait a day or two, over and over again. For what it's worth, OnePlus has acknowledged the issue in this statement issued to Android Authority: The OnePlus 12R is able to work with all major carriers and on all major 5G networks in the US, including Verizon. We are currently investigating unexpected cases that users may be having with Verizons network, and are working with the carrier to resolve the issue as soon as possible. Unfortunately, the company hasn't provided any specific pointers as to how long the process could take. It might just be a case of support for this model being 'switched on' at Verizon, but the fact that it should be simple doesn't mean it's going to be easy, or quick. So for now, if your carrier of choice is Verizon and the phone you're eyeing is the OnePlus 12R, if we were in your shoes we'd hold off on the purchase until everything is working properly. Hopefully it won't take too long. While you wait, why not read our in-depth OnePlus 12R review? That way you can get better acquainted with it ahead of time. Source 1 | Source 2 The Guam Power Authority wants to bypass some procurement regulations in order to get temporary, emergency power generation online but some lawmakers remain skeptical about the move. GPA intends to lease and get online 20 megawatts of temporary power by May, in a push to add capacity to the grid before summer temperatures drive up customer power demand and leave residents vulnerable to rolling blackouts seen after Typhoon Mawar last year. But, should a company lose out on the contract to provide those generators and decide to protest, it will freeze efforts to bring extra power online, GPA Assistant General Manager for Administration Tricee Limtiaco told senators this week. The utility would then miss the very tight schedule to get temporary power online by May, she said. GPA leadership spoke in support of Sen. Will Parkinsons Bill 206-37 during a Thursday hearing. The measure would waive the right of losing bidders to protest the award of the contract, waive a requirement that the attorney general review the temporary generator contract, and waive a number of competitive bidding procedures. Parkinson said he believed that GovGuams procurement generally had problems, and that lawmakers were playing whack-a-mole with specific issues it caused, like GPAs issues with delayed generator maintenance. Final approval from the Public Utilities Commission is all thats needed before GPA can award industrial energy supplier Aggreko the contract for the 20MW of emergency power. Aggreko is the only company thats agreed to get the extra power online within GPAs schedule, and will also help to overhaul and repair a number of GPAs old generators that have since fallen into disrepair, at a cost of $25 million. Limtiaco told senators Thursday that PUC will consider whether to approve the contract, which was sought on an emergency basis, before the end of February. But a protest of the award to Aggreko could stall the project out, Limtiaco said, and the utility was not confident that the Office of the Attorney General, which had the power to bypass a stay on the contract award, would assist GPA if that happened. The attorney general can make a written determination that the award of an emergency contract without delay is necessary to protect the substantial interest of the island, under procurement law. Zero response Procurement oversight chairwoman Sen. Sabina Perez asked Limtiaco why more waivers were needed, when GPA could already use the emergency procurement process already laid out in law. Limtiaco said when the utility sought help from the AGs office with getting a deal to overhaul several generators unstuck last year, we just got zero response. GPA had been transparent with selecting Aggrekko, and was trying to be proactive, so that we dont have to come back and ask for waivers or assistance when we are in the midst of protest," she said. Any delays in the temporary power deal could lead to more load shedding come this summer, according to Jennifer Sablan, GPA assistant general manager for operations. Though repairs to generators damaged by Mawar were ongoing, generators still needed to be taken offline for regular maintenance once the island heated up, Sablan told senators. Were trying our best to bring in the necessary repairs to address the issues. But the temporary power is really going to be the key, she said. However, several lawmakers had issues with taking a review by the AGs office out of the equation. Sen. Joanne Brown remarked that though the utility was having issues with the AG, I dont think that the solution to that is simply to remove the attorney general. Speaker Therese Terlaje said she was wary of removing the review of the contract by the attorney general, but may support the bill if it was narrowed to only waive a stay on contract awards in the event of a protest. Likewise, Sen. Telo Taitague said she did not believe the AG should remove a stay on any contract award if he believed there were some kind of shenanigans going on. The Guam Police Department continued its search for two suspects involved in a robbery that left a woman in critical condition after she was shot Wednesday night. As of Friday afternoon, there were no arrests made in the case. The woman was sent to the Guam Memorial Hospital after she was shot in a robbery at around 10:30 p.m. Wednesday at Thai Thai Healthy Cuisine restaurant in Tamuning, according to Guam Police Department spokesperson Officer Berlyn Savella. The woman continues to receive medical attention after she underwent immediate surgery, a release from GPD Friday states. Patrol officers responded to the scene after receiving information of a shooting incident. Upon arrival, officers discovered that a woman had sustained a gunshot wound and was subsequently transported to GMH for urgent medical treatment. The Guam Police Department remains fully committed to resolving the ongoing investigation into the incident at Thai Thai Healthy Cuisine, the release states. GPD is utilizing all available resources to assist in the investigation including detectives from the Criminal Investigation Section, Juvenile Investigation Section and Special Investigations Section. All Task Force officers have been recalled and the Special Operations Division is actively engaged in advancing the investigation, the release states. At this time, GPD is seeking the assistance of the community in providing any information that may aid in the investigation. We urge anyone with information regarding the incident to come forward and assist in the investigation, GPD said. Anyone with information can contact the Guam Police Department at 671-475-8615 thru 8617. Description of the two suspects involved in the incident: Suspect #1: Gender: Male Height: Approximately 57 Build: Medium Attire: Long sleeve black hoodie and white ski mask Suspect #2: Gender: Male Height: Taller than Suspect #1 (specific height details unavailable) Further details: Not provided GPD advises residents against making assumptions or taking any actions based solely on these descriptions. We appreciate the communitys cooperation and understanding as we work diligently to bring closure to this matter, GPD said. While GPD strives to provide timely updates, it must prioritize the integrity of the investigation. Therefore, certain details may not be immediately releasable to avoid compromising the ongoing efforts. Further information will be provided as it becomes available, the release states. A 40-year-old man is accused of attempting to steal cases of corned beef from Kmart and two thefts at a Shell gas station, a magistrate's complaint filed in the Superior Court states. Jay Patrick Ojeda Javier was charged with attempted retail theft as a second-degree felony and two counts of possession of a Schedule II controlled substance as a third-degree felony with notice of commission of felony while on felony release, retail theft as a misdemeanor and retail theft as a petty misdemeanor, the complaint states. Guam Police Department officers responded to Kmart in Tamuning on Oct. 15, 2023, for a criminal trespass complaint. The store's loss prevention agent told officers that Javier, who he recognized from previous occasions, was at the store despite being told not to return, the complaint states. The employee saw Javier with a shopping cart full of cases of Palm brand corned beef passing all the cash registers without paying for the items, documents state. The employee approached Javier at the entrance of the store, but Javier fled the store and left the cart and its contents along with a black pouch, the complaint states. The report indicates the value of the corned beef cases was $2,109.36, documents state. Officers checked the black pouch and found a clear plastic resealable bag containing a crystalline substance suspected of being methamphetamine. A filed test was conducted and yielded a presumptive positive for methamphetamine, the complaint states. On Jan. 26, officers responded to NCS Shell gas station in Dededo where an employee told them a man, later identified as Javier, had been in the store the previous night inquiring about the price of a can of Spam and a can of Tulip. The employee was busy at the time, but the man never returned to the line and another employee said he left the store without paying for the items. About $136 worth of products were stolen including Spam and other food items, the complaint states. On Feb. 15, officers responded to a retail theft complaint at the NCS Shell gas station in Dededo. An employee reviewed the camera surveillance footage and say on Feb. 13 a man later identified as Javier by the gum/candies section of the store placed several types of gum in his bag, documents state. Javier then walked out of the store without paying for the items, which included Mentos and Hi-chew candies which were valued at $4.57, the complaint states. Officers were at a Dededo residence on Feb. 15 for a separate investigation when they saw a man in a vehicle that matched Javier and when informed about the theft complaint, he initially denied stealing the gum, but later admitted that he stole the gum for his nephews and nieces, the complaint states. Javier then exited the vehicle and a pat down was conducted and officers found a glass pipe containing suspected methamphetamine residue in one of his short pockets, the complaint states. A filed test yielded a presumptive positive for methamphetamine, documents state. He initially denied owning the drugs found in his pocket, but later admitted to owning the glass pipe and that he struggles with "meth" addiction, the complaint states. He also admitted that he did try to steal the corned beef cases at Kmart, but he was stopped before he could leave the store and that he owned the bag and drugs left behind at the store, documents state. He also admitted to stealing the food items from the Shell gas station, the complaint states. Javier was on pre-trial release in another felony case at the time of his arrest. Laura Torres Souder, the chairwoman of the local commission on CHamoru language, said the language needs to be passed down today in order to prevent it from being lost in the future. Souder spoke about the issue during a proclamation signing to make 2024 the year of Indigenous Languages and Feb. 21 as International Mother Language Day at Adelup Friday. We are in a crisis because if we dont do something different to make sure our language is spoken across generations in the next 10 years by 2060 ma funas I CHamoru (CHamoru will be erased), she said. Souder is the chairwoman of Kumision i Fino CHamoru yan i Finanaguen i Historia yan i Linala i Taotao Tano or Commission on CHamoru Language and the Teaching of the History and Culture of the Indigenous People of Guam. She said with language loss comes cultural loss a generation or two later. CHamorus in 2080 may still be able to make red rice, kelaguen and finadenne, but the wisdom of the ancestors passed down through the language will be gone, she said. Weve never been at this point in our lives as a people, as an indigenous people where we have to make a constant and deliberate effort to preserve our language, Souder said. She said the CHamoru language has preserved itself through the passing of the language to the next generation since the CHamoru people came to this land roughly 4,000 years ago. Our language is that old and that precious. Its up to our generation now to make sure we do everything we possibly can to ensure the next generation learns it from us, she said. Souder thanked the administration for being constant supporters of the commission and said without the support it wouldnt be able to fulfill its mission. The proclamation signed by Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero Friday states the CHamoru language is threatened by the possibility of extinction in several generations if we do not take urgent measures to produce young speakers to ensure its sustainability and continuity. The proclamation also recognizes and honors the CHamoru language as the indigenous language of the first people of our island. It is with pride that we pay tribute to our indigeneity and strive to perpetuate our language and customs for future generations. Through our individual and collective efforts, we ensure the proud legacy of our island and her people continue to thrive in the 21st century and beyond, the proclamation states. The governor speaking in CHamoru agreed that if the language isnt passed down it will have an impact on the CHamoru people in the future. The governor shared that when she was little, she didnt learn CHamoru at school like kids do today. Her CHamoru learning came from her family including her parents, her grandma and her siblings. Desde mafanagu yu ma nafino CHamoru yu esta ki annai first grade hu giya Cathedral School (Since I was born I spoke CHamoru. Until I was first grade at Cathedral School), Leon Guerrero said. She said once in a while they would be given demerits for speaking CHamoru at school, but now thats changed because CHamoru has been brought into the schools. But she said its not enough to speak CHamoru at school and for the government to do the work. Everyone needs to do their part and should speak CHamoru at home, at work and eating out at restaurants and at official events as well, she said. Mampos bula pa ta chogue para ta nasusteni i fino-ta, i fino CHamoru (Theres a lot that we need to do to sustain our language, the CHamoru language), Leon Guerrero said. Marie Virata Halloran is a registered nurse, certified in death and grief studies. She is executive director of LifeWorks Guam/Rainbows for All Children Guam. Contact her at (671) 685-0237 or at rainbbows@yahoo.com. A deputy from the Okaloosa County Sheriffs Office in Florida, resigned after mistakenly interpreting the sound of an acorn hitting the roof of his patrol vehicle where a suspect was being detained as a gunshot, leading him to discharge his weapon multiple times into the vehicle. The suspect, identified as Marquis Jackson, was not injured in the incident, which took place Nov. 12, 2023, near Fort Walton Beach, Florida, and no weapon was found in his possession. Deputy Jesse Hernandez resigned Dec. 4, as the Okaloosa County Sheriffs Office conducted an internal investigation of the event, which ultimately determined Hernandezs use of force was not objectively reasonable. It all began when deputies responded to a call at McLaren Circle around 8:42 a.m. Nov. 12, after a woman said her boyfriend, Jackson, had borrowed her vehicle and never returned it. Jackson, who arrived at the scene shortly after 9 a.m., was detained, searched, handcuffed and subsequently placed in the rear of Hernandezs patrol vehicle. In recently released body camera footage of the incident, while Okaloosa County Sgt. Beth Roberts is seen speaking with the woman who made the complaint, Hernandezs camera shows him approaching his patrol car when suddenly he falls to the ground and begins yelling shots fired multiple times before firing his own weapon at the car multiple times, emptying the chamber. In the video, Hernandez is heard yelling, Im hit, Im hit. In response to his call, Roberts ran toward the vehicle and fired her weapon as well but the investigation determined Roberts use of deadly force was objectively reasonable and she was exonerated. A review of the internal investigation by the First Judicial Circuit State Attorneys Office found no probable cause for criminal charges. In a statement, Okaloosa County Sheriff Eric Aden said he understands this situation was traumatic for Jackson and all involved and promised that officer training to ensure nothing similar happens again will be conducted. We are very thankful Mr. Jackson wasnt injured and we have no reason to think former Deputy Hernandez acted with any malice, Aden said. Though his actions were ultimately not warranted, we do believe he felt his life was in immediate peril and his response was based off the totality of circumstances surrounding this fear. Haiti - Insecurity : The WFP urgently calls for humanitarian corridors against a backdrop of urban guerrilla warfare Thursday February 15, 2024, in a context of sustained attacks against civilians by armed groups, an increase in the number of displaced people and multiple civil unrest in Haiti, the United Nations World Food Program (WFP) called for access without hindrance for humanitarian agencies and the free movement of food products in order to prevent already disastrous food insecurity from becoming catastrophic. WFP continues to provide emergency food assistance in Haiti alongside programs that help address the root causes of hunger. However, the recent upsurge in violence has prevented the UN organization from helping more than 370,000 Haitians among those most affected by food insecurity since the beginning of February. Currently, 44% of Haitians face acute food insecurity and struggle to feed their families. "The recent surge in violence has blocked transport routes, restricted travel and closed schools, forcing WFP to temporarily suspend many activities across the country. We cannot afford to lose ground when 1.4 million Haitians face emergency levels of hunger. We risk seeing the most vulnerable people fall into famine-like conditions if we cannot provide effective aid," said Jean-Martin Bauer, WFP Country Director in Haiti. Children are most affected by the latest wave of violence and unrest. School closures in recent weeks have deprived nearly 300,000 schoolchildren of the daily hot meals provided by WFP and its partners in school canteens, which constitute, for many, the only full meal of the day. In Port-au-Prince, WFP was also unable to deliver rations to 56,000 people in the poor neighborhood of Cite Soleil, nor food to central kitchens providing meals to recently displaced people. In collaboration with the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor, WFP continues to disburse payments to vulnerable households in Grand'Anse department through its social safety net program, which enables digital transfers using mobile phones WFP aims to reach 2.4 million people in 2024 with emergency assistance (cash and in-kind food rations) security permitting. Ulrika Richardson, the United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator in Haiti, condemned the violence that has further intensified in the capital and stressed that civilians and civilian infrastructure must be protected and that humanitarians must have safe access and without restriction to people in need. HL/ HaitiLibre Haiti - News : Zapping... Attacks in Cite Soleil at least 15 dead According to testimonies, at least fifteen people were killed and an unknown number injured during the attacks by the "Chen Mechan" "Ti Gabriel" and Jeff de Canaan gangs, in the Blanchard, Terre noire and Duvivier neighborhoods in Cite Soleil. This violence forced hundreds of people to move NOTICE : Moot court competition, extended registrations Given the context of insecurity and the difficulties encountered by certain candidates, the Office of Human Rights in Haiti (BDHH) informs that the deadline for applications for the written preselection of the 9th edition of the Moot Court Competition on Human Rights is extended until Thursday February 29, 2024, 8:00 p.m. See also : https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-41417-haiti-moot-court-competition-2024-applications-open.html FIFA : The Grenadiers backs Thursday, February 15, FIFA published its latest world ranking in which the Grenadiers fell one place, going from 89th to 90th. With 1,262 points. Their elimination from the Gold Cup, their relegation to League B of the Concacaf Nations League and their poor performances are notably the cause Justice : Marcelin Myrtil transferred to PAP Opposition activist Marcelin Myrtil alias "Arab" arrested in Les Cayes https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-41671-haiti-news-zapping.html was transferred this Thursday, February 15, 2024 to the Port-au-Prince Prosecutor's Office for legal proceedings. Resumption of protests Thursday, February 15, we are informed that protest movements have resumed at Airport Carrefour and Street Capois to continue to demand the departure of Prime Minister a.i. Ariel Henry. 10,000 people displaced in 10 days The International Organization for Migration (IOM - Haiti) reports that 10,000 displaced people have been registered in just 10 days due to increased violence in the capital, forcing more and more people to flee their homes. The IOM estimates that at least 20,000 people have fled their homes in Port-au-Prince since January 1st, 2024. Words of sympathy from the UEH The Rectorate of the State University of Haiti (RUEH) learned with great sadness and pain the news of the death of Dr. Jean Saint-Vil, former professor at the Ecole Normale Superieure and at the Faculty of Human Sciences https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-41676-icihaiti-obituary-death-of-professor-jean-st-vil.html The Rectorate of the UEH bows before his mortal remains and presents its deepest sympathies to the grieving family, to his former colleagues and students, to his former colleagues at Club Phare Haiti, to the parents and friends affected by this mourning. See also : https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-41676-icihaiti-obituary-death-of-professor-jean-st-vil.html HL/ HaitiLibre Telekom Malaysia (TM) and Maybank Islamic announced on Thursday that they have partnered to create what theyre billing as Malaysias first Islamic banking-as-a-service (BaaS) solution powered by 5G. Targeted at both consumers and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), the partnership aims to bundle Maybank Islamics financial services with TMs Uni5G Postpaid Biz service. While the technology originates from the BaaS concept, what makes it unique is its adherence to Islamic principles, making it the pioneering example of its kind in Malaysia, said Maybank Islamic CEO DatoMohamed Rafique Merican in a statement. It combines modern technology with the ethical requirements of Islamic finance, providing innovative and faith-based financial services. The first offering out of the gate is Go Niaga, a mobile business banking bundle designed to help MSMEs manage finances, improve incomes and offer digital payment options. Banking services include accounts and credit facilities tailored for MSMEs, as well as payment acceptance facilities through Maybank Islamics QRPay Biz, and Tap2Phone, which enables cloud POS via mobile devices to facilitate digital/card payments. The Go Niaga bundle includes any of Unifis three Uni5G Postpaid Biz packages, along with free 5G mobile devices, which TM says will ensures secure access to financial services, as well as bring 5G capabilities to more communities. Shanti Jusnita Johari, chief commercial officer for Consumer Strategy & Business at Unifi said the bundle which is being offered via its digital business solutions arm, Unifi Business will address current market gaps among the MSME segment, and enable businesses to better leverage e-commerce and expand their customer reach. MSMEs are a key growth engine for the nations economy. At present, this segment accounts for nearly 38% of Malaysias GDP, yet their potential is often dimmed by limited access to digital tools and financial services, she said in a statement. This is even more apparent among underserved segments, micro and small businesses who face the most challenges in accessing financial services and digital innovations that are necessary to elevate their lives and livelihoods. Maybank Islamics Rafique also described the partnership as a significant step forward in financial inclusion. By embedding Maybank Islamics BaaS solutions within Unifi Business platforms, previously unbanked or underbanked individuals and businesses will gain access to Maybanks essential financial services and 5G mobile connectivity through TMs cutting-edge technologies, he said. by Havre/Hill County Historic Preservation Commission The Blohm and Voss Shipyard built the German battleship Bismarck in Hamburg, Germany. Work started on July 1, 1936; it was to be 823 feet, 6 inches long, 118 feet, 1 inch wide, with a top speed of 35 miles per hour. It had 70 guns, some reaching 22.6 miles; there were no torpedo tubes or torpedoes. The iron belt (sides) was 12.6 inches thick, and gun turrets were 14.2 inches in the front, with 8.7-inch sides. The upper deck was 2 inches thick, and the main deck was 3.9 inches to 4.7 inches; all this was in iron and steel. Bismarck weigh... Why do the little changes take up so much space? I should qualify that with an addition, in my head? Really, most changes hardly make a dent in my consciousness. Change is constant. My favorite bowl slips from my fingers and shatters on the tile floor. Blip gone. The rubber tip on my cane wears out. I replace it. Lola The Dog celebrates her birthday (OK, I celebrate her birthday). I notice she has quite a few more white hairs. Change, like a river, always moving. Other changes. I give them big space, make them important. Over the years while Julie lived next door, weve sl... Finnish exports to Russia and Central Asia have experienced a significant downturn, dropping 68.9% over two years, according to Eurostat's international trade statistics. In 2021, Finland's share of EU exports to these regions was 3.9%, but by 2023, this figure had fallen to just 1.9%. This decline indicates that Finnish companies have reduced their exports to the East far more than the EU average. The EU's exports to Russia decreased by 50.9 billion over two years, while exports to Central Asia, which includes Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Georgia, Armenia, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan, grew by 14.0 billion during the same period. Despite an overall 57.0% decrease in EU exports to Russia, four EU member statesSlovenia, Bulgaria, Latvia, and Croatiamanaged to increase their exports to both Russia and Central Asia. Finnish exports to these regions witnessed the third-largest decline among EU countries, emphasizing a significant shift in trading patterns. "From the perspective of international trade statistics, there is currently no need for Finnish companies to export to the East via road transport," analyzed Olli-Pekka Penttila, a statistics director. In 2021, Finnish exports to Russia and Central Asia amounted to 3.9 billion, dropping to 2.5 billion in 2022a 37.2% decrease from the previous year. By 2023, exports had further declined to 1.2 billion, marking a 50.5% decrease from 2022 and a 68.9% decrease from 2021. This drastic reduction in Finnish exports was double the decrease seen in EU exports to these regions over the same period. Penttila commended Finnish companies for their responsible reduction in exports to the East, which has been significantly greater than the EU average. It's important to note that export statistics do not account for the country of origin, which can complicate direct comparisons between countries' import and export figures. For instance, a considerable portion of Finnish exports to the East is not originally from Finland, necessitating adjustments when comparing to other countries' import data. Statistical discrepancies, often methodological but sometimes unexplained, exist between Finland and Central Asian countries' trade data. Despite these differences, the latest comparisons suggest that Russia has not significantly replaced its imports from Finland with goods from Central Asia. Public discussions on differences in international trade statistics between countries often overlook these methodological nuances. Penttila highlighted that Russia has not published its trade statistics for 2022-2023, making the most recent cross-border statistical comparison with its neighbors from late 2021. This study illustrates the complex dynamics of international trade and the significant impact geopolitical and economic shifts can have on national export figures. HT BUSINESS owners in Henley say they understand the town councils concerns over inappropriately placed advertising boards. Town centre manager Paul Carey has received complaints about A-boards being positioned haphazardly on pavements. Last week, he sent a letter to businesses to remind them of the councils A-board policy, which states that they should be placed as close to the shop entrance as possible without causing an obstruction and that there should only be one per business. Ilie El-Choueiry, owner of Henley Menswear in Duke Street, said: They are right, the town council. The board has to be close to the shop because when you place it on the pavement there has to be room for pedestrians. But its very important that the board is outside, especially for a shop like mine as it has a very small window and people can pass and not notice it. We have to place it a little bit further from our window because we are situated in like a bay. Gary Truman, owner of Henley Cycles in Duke Street, said his A-board and flags were always positioned close to the shop front. He said: Weve always had it like that. We recognise that pedestrians may not see the board until the last minute so we try to keep it out of the way. Its crucial for us because theres no directional signage in the town to tell visitors where shops are. Unfortunately, the council hasnt invested in anything for several years, despite requests. It would be nice, for example, if they had on the information board in the market place something to guide visitors around the town. The main cycle routes are along Hart Street and towards Fair Mile and without any flags we wouldnt be seen by important customers. Some businesses claimed the councils policy was unfair. Soner Sahbaz, owner of the Golden Needle tailors in Friday Street, said that without the shops A-board being positioned away from the store customers would not see the shop. The board currently sits by the pedestrian crossing at the junction with Duke Street. Mr Sahbaz said: How are we going to advertise the shop otherwise? How many people pass us? None. He said the sign would not fit on the narrow pavement outside the shop. Feb 16, 2024 12:50 PM IST Internationally renowned architects have been invited to prepare a novel design for constructing a 250 meters high Skydeck in Bengaluru. It will become a landmark tourist destination in the city, The budget document stated. The CM also announced that an additional 44 km of metro line will be added to the existing 74 km by March 2025. Namma Metro Rail project which is the one among the best metro services in the country, is the lifeline of Bengaluru citys transport system. Every day, more than eight lakh people use metro services, He said. In early March, thousands of residents across the state will head to the polls to vote in the primary election. Primary elections allow voters to determine which candidates compete in the general election and can be nonpartisan or partisan. In partisan primaries, voters choose the candidates they prefer for a political party to nominate in the general election. The laws governing primary elections vary from state to state and can even vary within states by locality and political party. This variation has created a number of different types of partisan primary elections. In 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court ordered the Alabama Supreme court to draw new Alabama congressional map with greater representation for Black voters. In October, federal judges selected new congressional lines for Alabama to give the state a second district where Black voters comprise a substantial portion of the electorate. The new districts could help Democrats trying to flip control of the House of Representatives. Deadlines in the March 5 primary election Friday, Feb. 16 Last day to hand-deliver voter registration forms Saturday, Feb. 17 Last day to postmark voter registration forms Monday, Feb. 19 Must register to vote electronically by 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 27 -Last day to apply for an absentee ballot by mail. Thursday, Feb. 29 - Must apply apply in person for absentee ballots by 4:30 p.m. Monday, March 4 Last day to hand-deliver an absentee ballot Tuesday, March 5 - Mail in absentee ballot accepted until noon Where and how to register to vote If a persons name does not appear on the list of registered voters for the polling place, the poll worker will contact the county Board of Registrars to determine if the person is eligible to vote at that polling place. If the Board of Registrars are unable to verify the persons voter registration, the voter may vote a provisional ballot. Do you want to find out what you can find on the ballot? Visit the Alabama Secretary of State's website for sample ballots for every county in the state. The local polls are preparing for the 80,687 already registered voters in Houston County. Voting kicks off with the primary election on March 5 from 7AM to 7PM. There are 27 polling places in Houston County. To find your specific polling location you can visit https://probate.houstoncountyal.gov/, under the elections tab you can find a map where you put in your address and find the exact location you are supposed to vote at. Registration for voting ends Feb. 19 which you can do online at alabamavotes.gov or in person at the Houston County Administration building on the third floor. Absentee voting has already started and absentee ballots must be sent in by March 29. After the severe weather experienced in the Wiregrass area the town of Cottonwood unfortunately lost their community center which doubled as their polling precinct during elections. Judge Davenport shared that Calvary Baptist Church in Cottonwood offered up their fellowship hall since the original location wouldnt be fixed in time for voting. The new location is just about a mile away at the other end of Metcalf Street. A citizen can register to vote or update voter registration by: visiting alabamavotes.gov when you have your valid Alabama drivers License or non-driver ID card handy; using the Vote for Alabama app with your valid Alabama drivers license or non-driver ID card handy; applying for or renewing an Alabama drivers license or non-driver ID card; visiting state and local government offices when applying or recertifying SNAP, TANF, Food Stamps, WIC, Medicaid, Aid to Dependent Children, or Rehabilitation Services; by visiting armed forces recruiting stations; by visiting your county's Board of Registrars office; by submitting a mail-in form available at Probate Judge and License Commissioner offices, colleges, universities, public schools or library; by requesting a mail-in registration form be mailed to you by contacting the Elections Division at 1-800-274-VOTE (8683) and mailing it to your local Board of Registrars office; by downloading a voter registration from the Secretary of States website at alabamavotes.gov and mailing it to your local Board of Registars office. Key federal and statewide races President/vice president U.S. House of Representatives (Seven seats) Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Associate Justice of Supreme Court (Places 1, 2, 3, and 4) Court of Criminal Appeals (Places 1, 2, and 3) Court of Civil Appeals (Places 1, 2, and 3) Find your polling place When you register to vote or update your registration information, the county Board of Registrars office sends a Voter ID card to each voter. The card is a postcard which includes the voters precinct information and polling location. Voters can verify their polling place by going to the Secretary of States website at www.sos.alabama.gov and selecting the link labeled, "My Voting Information." For municipal elections, check with the city clerk. Alabama polling places are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Election Day. Anyone who attempts to join the voting line after 7 p.m. shall not be permitted to vote. If you have not received a Voter ID card, call your county Board of Registrars Office. You can reach the Coffee County Board of Registrars Office on East McKinnon Street by calling (334) 894-5347. You can reach the Dale County Board of Registrars Office near South Union Avenue by calling (334) 774-9038. What do you bring to the voting polls? How to obtain a free Alabama Voter ID Card? The voter arrives at the polling place and provides their name to a poll worker. The voter must also present an acceptable form of photo identification .Prior to the date of the election, any registered voter who does not possess a form of valid photo identification may receive a free Alabama Photo Voter ID. To receive a free Alabama photo voter ID card, a voter must show: A photo document or a non-photo identity document that contains one's full legal name and date of birth; Documentation showing the voters date of birth (can be verified by information in the statewide voter file); Documentation showing the person is a registered voter (can be verified by voter registration information); Documentation showing the voters name and address as reflected in the voter registration record (can be verified by voter registration information). When a voter can submit an absentee ballot and how? According to the Alabama Secretary of State's office, any qualified voter can submit an absentee ballot application by mail or in person to the Absentee Election Manager's Office under certain circumstances. Multiple absentee ballots cannot be mailed in the same envelope. Each absentee ballot must be mailed separately. Alabamians may obtain an application or register to vote online at www.sos.alabama.gov/alabama-votes/voter/register-to-vote. They may also obtain a voter registration application at driver license offices, libraries, and at Alabama Public Assistance offices such as Medicaid, WIC, and DHR. Citizens can submit an absentee ballot under these circumstances: The voter is out of the country or state on Election Day; The voter has any physical illness or infirmity which prevents the voter from attending the polls; The voter works a shift that has at least 10 hours which coincide with the hours the polls are open at the voters regular polling place; The voter is a student enrolled in school outside the county of residence; The voter is a member, a spouse, or a dependent of a member of the United Stated Armed Forces or is similarly qualified to vote absentee according to the Federal Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act; The voter is a caregiver for a family member who is confined to their own home; The voter is incarcerated in prison or jail and has not been convicted of a felony involving moral turpitude. GATE 2024 Response Sheet Live: Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore has released GATE 2024 Response Sheet. Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering candidates responses is available on the official website of IISC GATE at gate2024.iisc.ac.in. To check the responses candidates will need enrolment number and password. Direct link to check GATE 2024 Response Sheet...Read More GATE 2024 was conducted on February 3, 4, 10 and 11, 2024 at various centres across the country. The examination was conducted in two shifts on all exam days from 9.30 am to 12.30 pm and from 2.30 pm to 5.30 pm. The answer keys of GATE 2024 examination will be released on February 21 and candidates can raise objections, if any, between February 22 and 25, 2024. Results of GATE 2024 will be declared on March 16 and scorecards will be released on March 23, 2024. Follow the blog for latest updates on candidates responses, direct link and more. Bharat Bandh LIVE Updates: Security personnel fire tear gas shots to disburse protesters who try to remove barricades at the Shambhu border of Punjab/Haryana near Ambala during the Farmers protest on Friday, February 16, 2024.Photo by Ravi Kumar/ Hindustan Times. Bharat Bandh highlights: Various farmers' unions, including the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), called for a Gramin Bharat Bandh, a nationwide strike, on Friday, February 16, to press for their demands in front of the Centre. The SKM requested all like-minded farmers' organisations to come together and be a part of the Bharat Bandh, which is called by the central trade unions....Read More The Bharat bandh call has come amid the Delhi Chalo protests by hundreds of farmers, who are marching from Haryana, Punjab and have been stopped at the Haryana borders near Ambala, which is around 200 kilometres away from Delhi. Haryana security forces have been using tear gas on the farmers trying to disperse them. The SKM (non-political) has asked all the like-minded farmer organisations to come forward and participate in the Bharat bandh, which is a day-long protest beginning from 6am to 4pm. The farmers will be participating in a widespread chakka jam on major roads across India from 12 pm to 4 pm. In Punjab, a large part of state and national highways would be closed for at least the four hours. What will be affected: Transportation Agricultural activities Activities related to the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA) Private offices Village shops Rural industrial and service establishments. What are farmers demanding: A few days before he was expelled from the Congress, Acharya Pramod Krishnam told this reporter: Politics is a game of possibilities. As of now, neither have I left the Congress nor has the Congress left me. After his expulsion on February 2, he thanked the Congress leadership for freeing him and providing him the opportunity to explore all possibilities in politics. When I meet you after the programme (Kalki Dham foundation programme on February 19), there will be a storm on the horizons of the countrys politics, Krishnam told media persons. Krishnam was reportedly a member of Priyanka Gandhi Vadras advisory group till she was the All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary (in charge of Uttar Pradesh). Krishnam did not have an official position in the party and he was not given any official party work. Though an excellent orator, he was never considered a political force. His expulsion comes days after he met UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath to invite him to the Kalki Dham foundation laying programme. Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with CM Adityanath will lay the foundation stone of Kalki Dham at Ainchora Kamboh in Sambhal district of Uttar Pradesh on February 19. Krishnam, who is the chief priest of Kalki Dham, has remained associated with the Kalki Dham project for over 15 years. He has been associated with the Congress for even longer. Krishnam joined the Congress in the 1980s after meeting Rajiv Gandhi, the then PM. He also worked with the youth Congress but it was only in 2014 that he stood for an election from Sambhal. In 2019, the party made him a candidate against defence minister Rajnath Singh in the Lucknow Lok Sabha seat. He lost both times. His oratory skills and consistent participation in television debates as a Congress leader made him a well-known face of the party. I had made a promise to Rajiv Gandhi that I would not leave the Congress till my last breath, he said. I am satisfied because I have not broken my promise made to Rajiv Gandhi. There is nothing to suggest that he worked closely with Rajiv Gandhi. Those aware of recent developments said Krishnam, who initially countered the Bharatiya Janata Party on various issues, sometimes had diametrically opposite views to the Congress official position often causing embarrassment to the party, such as on the abrogation of Article 370 and the triple talaq law - Krisham also admits that he did not like the stance that Udaynidhi Stalin of Tamil Nadus ruling party, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, took on sanatana dharma. More recently, Krishnam attended the January 22 consecration ceremony at the new Ram temple in Ayodhya. Honble Congress president has approved Uttar Pradesh Congress Committees proposal to expel Pramod Krishnam from the party for six years in view of his repeated anti-party statements and complaints of indiscipline, a press statement issued by All India Congress Committee general secretary KC Venugopal read. Krishnam is now using this letter to question the Congress leaders. I want to know from Kharge ji (Mallikarjuna Kharge, party president) and Venugopal ji (KC Venugopal) which anti-party activities they are talking about, and when did they come to know about them... Is remembering the name of Lord Ram a crime? Is going to Ayodhya a crime? Is accepting an invitation to the consecration ceremony a crime? Is it a crime to get the foundation of Kalki Dham laid? Is it a crime to meet the PM? Is it a crime to invite UP CM to the Kalki Dham foundation programme? I have these questions and they should clarify what anti-party activity is, Krishnam said. I was humiliated. But I did not leave the Congress, he said. Krishnam said that senior leaders like Ghulam Nabi Azad (who eventually left the Congress to form the Democratic Progressive Azad Party), Kamal Nath, Bhupendra Hooda, Digvijay Singh and Anand Sharma, have not got due respect in the grand old party. I cannot make any compromise on Ram and Rashtra, he said, using a shorthand of the saffron partys core concerns. Krishnam indicated that his war with the Congress would go on. Lord Ram was sent to exile for 14 years. Now, a Ram bhakt has been expelled for six years. I request the party to expel me for 14 years, he said. However, there is nothing to suggest that Krishnam has received an offer to join the BJP. Shah Rukh played Sunil, a bumbling, naive, aspiring musician in Goa who falters at pretty much everything. Year after year, he fails in class. He loves the local beauty Anna (Suchitra Krishnamoorthi), but makes a mess there too, lying to get his rivalthe richer, smarter, better-dressed Chris (Deepak Tijori) out of the way. Sunil plays in a band with his mates but cant even get to practice in time. Exasperated, the local priest Fr Breganza, played by Naseeruddin Shah, asks him, Tum hamesha khidki se kyun jaata hai. Khidki se pehle darwaza kyun nahin try karta kabhi. But Sunil simply isnt the type to take the standard route. In the eyes of the world, he is a loser. But Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa celebrates the fact that he walks to the beat of a different drummer. This was the second film by Kundan Shah. It came 11 years after his first one, the satirical modern classic Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro. Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa had some of that same absurdist comedy, but here, Kundan and co-writer Pankaj Advani offer a less curdled view of the world. There are no bad people in the movie. Even the gangster Anthony is a good-natured music lover who recognises a kindred spirit in Sunil. Anthony has lost the woman he loves too. Tu toh ek saccha lover hai yaar, he tells Sunil. This film was released after the 1993 hits Baazigar and Darr, but it was shot before those two. Shah Rukh hadnt yet become a star. His performance has a rawness and a vulnerability to it that he was rarely able to summon again (though you can see flashes of it in Fan and Chak De! India). Sunil does foolish things, including faking an exam result. (Anthony secures a marksheet that declares he passed with first-class results and, in a hilarious moment, a dismayed Sunil says the lie should at least have been a bit more credible.) But through it all, his generosity and inherent goodness remain unchanged. There is a purity to this character that makes us root for him. And Shah Rukh makes his foibles endearing. In the end, even as Anna marries Chris, the man she loves, Sunil wont really give up hope. In church, Chris drops the ring and, for a moment, everyone is looking for it. Can he see it, Anna asks Sunil. He sees it, hesitates, looks at her a few seconds too long, and shakes his head, no. There is such sweetness and longing in his face that one half-expects Anna to switch grooms on the spot. Three decades ago, Kundan was advocating for a kinder, gentler world in which inclusion and acceptance are the norm. Tellingly, Sunils band includes Christians (Anna and Tony), a Muslim (Imran, played by Ashutosh Gowariker), and a Parsi (Yezdi, Sunils best friend). Naseers Fr Breganza is a friend and confidante to people beyond his parish. Sunil routinely confesses to him and the priest helps him get past his worst mistakes. Despite the many hiccups, there is harmony. This humanity that Kundan built into the films DNA is an ideal to aspire to. It would be a far better world with more Sunils. (To reach Anupama Chopra with feedback, email feedbackforanu@gmail.com) Circa January 1959. Charan Singh was cabinet minister in the Sampurnanand government in Uttar Pradesh when at the 64th session of the All-India Congress Committee in Nagpur, he vehemently criticised the then Prime Minister Jawahar Lal Nehru's proposal on collective farming, which, it was believed, was inspired by Russia. After returning home, Singh tendered his resignation from the cabinet as he had broken the party discipline at an open forum. However, Nehru wrote him a letter telling him to withdraw his resignation. In his letter, Nehru said that dissent in the party was as important as assent and he saw no justification in Singhs resignation. The Jat leader withdrew his resignation. He quit the government a few months later over other ideological differences with Nehru. Dr KS Rana, vice chancellor of the University of Technology, Jaipur has authored a book on Charan Singh with whom he had a close relationship since 1980. Ranas several anecdotes throw light on Singhs political ambitions and manoeuvring. He was not opportunistic, as many think. He was ambitious but he never compromised on the farmers issues, Rana said. He recounts how after hearing complaints against a police station at an Arya Samaj function in Etawah, Singh disguised himself as a farmer intending to lodge a complaint. When the cop demanded money, he filed a complaint and stamped it with his CMs stamp that he often carried in his pocket. How many leaders today will raid police stations and tehsils, incognito, without their paraphernalia? The demand for a Bharat Ratna for Singh was first raised in 1989 two years after his death but it went to Dr BR Ambedkar that year. However, what his son, Chaudhury Ajit Singh could not manage despite being in the Union cabinet of various political parties four times, his look-alike grandson Jayant Singh and Rashtriya Lok Dal chief, did in one go. Singhs influence once spread across the northern belt in UP, Haryana and Rajasthan. Singh was also a pioneer in engineering defections and forming coalitions of small parties; he also had a keen mind to socially engineer winning combinations of caste alliances. He created AJGAR (Ahir, Jat, Gujar, Rajput) to which he added Muslims as they belonged to the peasantry an alliance which was one of the most substantial in West UP. On again, off again with Congress Charan Singhs relationship with the Congress dates back to pre-Independence days. Though he snapped his by then 38-year-old association with the Congress in 1967, this did not stop him from taking the support of the grand old party to fulfil his political ambitions. He opposed the continuation of Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Lal Krishna Advani in the Union cabinet (in 1977) till they severed their ties with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS, another pre-Independence organisation that now serves as the ideological fount of the ruling BJP). Singh even opposed his own party (Lok Dal at the time) candidate from Fatehpur Sikri at a public meeting. Addressing a gathering, he told the audience, I have come to know my candidate consumes liquor. If this is true, then let him lose the election. In the 1980 Lok Sabha election, he replaced his party candidate with an Independent during his public address there itself only because he was told he was unpopular. In a similar vein, when it came to the Congress or its leadership Nehru and later Indira Gandhi he did not mince words in criticising economic reforms that were detrimental to the farming community. But the champion of the farmers continued to pursue his political ambitions and agenda. Rana recalls how Singh reportedly warned Indira Gandhi against Khalistani movement leader Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale saying, He will not harm us, but you. Many thought the leader with socialist leanings had risked his career by making this fearless statement. However, the back and forth with the Congress party continued for the formation of various governments despite his socialist leanings. Equipped with an MA and a law degree, Singh won his first election from Chhaprauli (Baghpat) in 1937, and subsequently in 1946, 1952, 1962 and 1967. He was imprisoned in pre-Independent India by the Britishers and in Independent India by the Indira Gandhi government during the Emergency. After parting ways with the Congress in 1967, he formed the Bhartiya Kranti Dal, engineered defections in the Congress within a month of state elections and pulled down the Chandra Bhanu Gupta-led Congress state government in UP. He became CM with the support of other socialist groups and the Bhartiya Jan Sangh, forming the coalition, Samyukta Vidhayak Dal (SVD). The Congress was breaking in other northern states too, but Charan Singh could last as CM for only a few months. Gupta returned to power after winning a mid-term poll in 1969, albeit with a wafer-thin majority. Singh replaced Gupta a year later a result of a split in the Congress in 1969 and the support from one of the factions that supported Indira Gandhi. Within a few months, however, Indira replaced him with TN Singh. During the Emergency, Indira sent Singh to jail. The Janata Party, a coalition of several opposition groups, ousted Indira and formed the government in 1977 and Singh became deputy prime minister in charge of Home. At the time, he demanded action against Indira Gandhi for the excesses committed during the Emergency. He even sent her to jail, but she was released by the court in a day. He resigned as his own party leaders were infuriated by the political fiasco, but returned to the cabinet as finance minister soon enough. His differences with the then PM Morarji Desai led him to resign yet again. In July 1979 he became the country's fifth prime minister, with the support of Indira-led Congress, and was invited by the President to form the government. However, a month later, he resigned without facing a trust vote in the Parliament. Rana once asked Charan Singh about his decision to resign instead of telephoning Indira to thank her for extending him the support to form the government. He reportedly told Rana that he had learnt about a deal to exonerate Indira over the Emergency cases. "On the eve of the trust vote, the Congress veteran Kamlapati Tripathi called on [Charan Singh] asking [him] make a courtesy call on Indira Gandhi before driving to Parliament. [He] decided to meet Morarji Desai at 8.30 a.m. and Indira Gandhi at 9 a.m, but in between that time, [he] came to know about a deal struck between Indira and her son Sanjay with senior socialist leader, who had defeated Indira Gandhi in 1977 from Rae Bareli, Raj Narain, over withdrawing the Emergency cases against her. [He] went up to her house but returned from the gate itself., Rana recounted. She felt humiliated and the Singh's government collapsed. That was the last straw in his relationship with the Congress. Singh suffered a stroke in 1985 and died in 1987. By then, the Congress was back on the rise. Succession trouble Charan Singh may have seemed a bit mercurial, but he had a clear idea of winning combinations. He was grooming Mulayam Singh Yadav as his successor, when Singhs son, Chaudhary Ajit Singh, quit his job in the United States and returned home to stake a claim on his father's party. This split the party into two factions: Lok Dal-A and Lok Dal-B. The two parties faced off in 1989 and Mulayam became CM for the first time. They both belonged to Janata Dal, which was ruling the Centre under the leadership of Prime Minister VP Singh. Ajit and Mulayam never became friends. Mulayam formed the Samajwadi party in 1992, and Ajit Singh flip-flopped his way to the Union cabinet, allying with different parties but his party's base kept shrinking. The last Lok Sabha election he won was in 1999. Charan Singh rechristened his party as Bhartiya Lok Dal in the 1980s and Ajit Singh reconstructed it as the Rashtriya Lok Dal what its still called today, and is run by Ajit Singhs son, Jayant in 1996. Its best performance in the UP assembly elections was in 1974 when it won 106 of the 425 seats under Charan Singh. Thereafter, its numbers dwindled and the Congress swept the assembly polls in 1980 and 1985. The party saw a resurgence in 2002 when RLD won 14 out of the 38 seats it contested in alliance with the BJP in the UP Assembly elections. In 2007, it independently won 10 of the 254 seats; in 2012, the RLD allied with Congress and won nine of the 46 seats and in a solo show in 2017, the RLD won only one seat. Many Jats had the impression that the late SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav was instrumental in opposing reservation for Jats in the court, when he was chief minister. The subsequent Muzaffarnagar riots during SPs regime in the state demolished the Jat-Muslim unity created by Charan Singh. Interestingly, according to Rana, even Charan Singh never supported quota for Jats. You belong to the great Rajput clan, would it not be demeaning to beg for quota? Jayant Singh allied with the Samajwadi Party in 2022 and won eight out of 33 seats. However, in the 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha elections, both Ajit Singh and his son Jayant failed to win their seats. Ajit Singh died in 2021. In the 2022 state elections, a large chunk of Jats had moved to the BJP despite their anger with the Narendra Modi dispensation over the controversial farm bills, which the government later withdrew. Interestingly, RLD leaders have always remained in demand in every government though their Jat voter base forms around 3.7%. There was a time when the Jats used to recount an interesting tale of Charan Singh appearing in their dreams on the polling day eve of every election, demanding that they support his son Ajit Singh. Often they said we spent sleepless nights as they could not ignore the diktat of their icon. Perhaps they will sleep soundly this time around as the RLD has reopened its account with the BJP, and Jayant may find space in the new government if formed by the NDA in the 2024 general elections. From her perch in Lucknow, HTs senior journalist Sunita Aron highlights important issues related to Uttar Pradesh Feb 16, 2024 11:37 PM IST Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov: Peskov conveyed that President Vladimir Putin has been informed about Navalny's death. He later described the reaction of Western leaders to the death as unacceptable and "absolutely rabid", Peskov said later. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy: "It is obvious: he was killed by Putin, as thousands of others were tortured and martyred by this one creature. Putin does not care who dies as long as he keeps his position. And that is why he should not keep anything. Putin should lose everything and answer for what he has done." UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres: Said he was shocked and urged a "full, credible and transparent investigation". French President Emmanuel Macron: "In today's Russia, free spirits are put in the Gulag and sentenced to death." German Chancellor Olaf Scholz: "I met Navalny here in Berlin when he was trying to recover in Germany from the poisoning attack and also talked to him about the great courage it takes to return to his country. And he has probably now paid for this courage with his life." NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg: "We need to establish all the facts, and Russia needs to answer all the serious questions about the circumstances of his death." (With inputs from Reuters) Israeli military troops drove out Palestinians as they conducted a raid on the largest functioning hospital in Gaza amid the conflict with the Hamas militant group. Officials claimed that Hamas routinely operates within and beneath places like Nasser Hospital located in Khan Younis, using them as shields and taking hostages. However, the militant group has repeatedly denied the accusations. Israeli Military Raids Nasser Hospital On Thursday, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) raided the largest hospital in the Gaza Strip that is still operating. Authorities said that it was part of efforts to search for Hamas fighters and the bodies of hostages. Many people who had sought shelter inside the hospital were forced to flee the area in fear of collateral damage of combat between the two warring sides. Before the pre-dawn raid, explosions and gunfire rocked the hospital, killing and wounding several people, including at least one doctor and a patient. The victims also included the charity Doctors Without Borders, which had staff members working at the hospital. The specific casualty claims, like many that were made in the conflict, could not be immediately confirmed, as per the New York Times. Video footage posted on social media on Thursday as well as voice messages sent by doctors during the night showed both before and after Israeli military troops smashed through the perimeter wall and entered the compound. They also depicted scenes of chaos and fear within the damaged, smoke-filled hospital as gunfire, explosions, and shouting could be heard in the background. One video recording, which was verified by the New York Times, showed the damage to the hospital and injured people who were being rushed through a smoke-filled corridor among debris and sounds of gunfire. Witnesses said that hundreds of people, potentially even thousands, later stood in long lines as Israeli military troops screened them, a few at a time, for evacuation. Read Also: Deaths in Cross-Border Skirmishes Between Israel and Hezbollah Mark Escalation in Violence Chaotic and Dangerous Situation The IDF said that it was able to detain dozens of people but did not say who or for what reason they were taken in. The chief spokesman for the Israeli military, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, said that they have credible intelligence from a number of sources that indicate the militant group held hostages at the Nasser hospital in Khan Younis. The situation in the region came after doctors and medical officials in southern Gaza claimed that Israeli snipers shot dead a number of people who were fleeing the Nasser hospital. A witness to the shootings said that at least two people were killed by the snipers on Tuesday, with several others being shot and injured, according to CNN. A spokesperson for the Ministry of Health, Dr. Al-Qidra, said that Israeli military bulldozers dug up mass graves inside the complex walls. He added that on Thursday, the troops "stormed the maternity building and conducted a search operation inside. Hagari added that among the people who were detained included an individual who participated in Hamas' attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. He said that the person was "an ambulance driver for Hamas" who had driven a hostage into Gaza, as well as a member of the armed Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine group, said BBC. Related Article: Doctors in Gaza Assess Children for Malnutrition In the aftermath of the reported death of Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny, his wife, Yulia, and his mother, Lyudmila, made very conflicting statements. Wife vs. Mother-in-Law In her address to the Munich Security Conference, Navalnaya said that the Putin regime would pay for their crimes if the death of her husband is confirmed. She additionally called upon the international community to oppose and fight the "horrific regime" in Russia. "We cannot believe Putin and his government," she told the audience in her native Russian. "They are lying constantly. But if it's true, I would like Putin and all his staff, everybody around him, his government, his friends, I want them to know that they will be punished for what they have done with our country, with my family and with my husband. They will be brought to justice, and this day will come soon." On the other hand, the older Navalnaya claimed that her son was alive and well. "I don't want to hear any condolences," she said on Facebook, as quoted by Russian media outlet Novaya Gazeta. "We saw him in prison on the (Feb) 12, in a meeting. He was alive, healthy and happy." Clips of what seemed to be the last time Navalny was recorded alive revealed that he was cracking jokes with prison staff. Navalny is survived by Yulia, their adult daughter Dasha, and their son Zakhar. Read Also: Cause of Death Unknown: Alexei Navalny, Russian Opposition Figure, Dies in Prison Daddy's Girl Continues Navalny Legacy Meanwhile, social media users commented on the TED Talk of Navalny's daughter, Dasha Navalnaya, speaking at an October 2023 event in Atlanta after her father's death. The young Navalnaya shared stories of her life as a little girl whose father was always being followed by FSB agents, stressing that his patriotism urged him to return to Russia after he recovered from Novichok nerve agent poisoning despite the risks to his life and personal liberty. "My dad is an incredibly courageous and selfless man, and I can only dream to be like him one day," she said. "He doesn't run or hide. And unlike my father, Putin is a coward - a coward who, with his cronies, can no longer hide from the consequences of what they have done to my country and democracy around the world." Recent comments reflecting on Navalny's death were of condolences to his daughter. "Today, we cry with you," said one comment. "Take the place of your father now!" another added. "He would be proud of you." "Thank you, Dasha," read a third, commending her TED Talk stint. "Today, we received the news that your father is no longer with us. We feel very sorry." Related Article: World Leaders React to Alexei Navalny Death: Outrage, Concern, Skepticism Among International Tone Before Russian prison authorities announced the reported demise of vocal Kremlin critic Alexey Navalny in a secluded penal colony, the opposition leader and consistent thorn in President Vladimir Putin's side was seen in a courtroom looking happy and healthy, according to CBS News. "Your honor, I will send you my personal account number so that you can use your huge federal judge's salary to fuel my personal account, because I am running out of money, and thanks to your decisions, it will run out even faster," a smiling Navalny said into the camera beaming his image into the Moscow courtroom. "So, send it over." Navalny, who survived at least two suspected poisonings in his role as an anti-corruption activist and political opposition leader, passed away in the remote IK-3 penal colony. The Office of the Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia for the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous District reported that he went for a walk, suddenly "felt unwell," and then collapsed "almost immediately." "Medical workers from the institution arrived immediately and an emergency medical team was called. All necessary resuscitation measures were carried out, but did not yield positive results," the prison authority said in a statement obtained by CBS. "Emergency doctors confirmed the death of the convict." On Friday, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris called reports that Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny had died in a Russian prison "terrible news," and declared "Russia is responsible." "We've all just received reports that Alexey Navalny has died in Russia. This is, of course, terrible news, which we are working to confirm," Harris said as she began her remarks. Why is the United States particularly concerned about the death of Alexey Navalny? CNN reports Navalny has long been a point of contention between the U.S. and Russia. President Joe Biden previously told reporters in 2021 that he warned Putin that the consequences would be "devastating for Russia," if Navalny died in prison. Harris faced the challenging responsibility of providing reassurance to the U.S. and its allies on the international stage amid legislative challenges in providing aid to Ukraine and Israel. Complicating matters, the potential withdrawal of support from NATO allies by former President Donald Trump heightened diplomatic uncertainties. It was another high-profile moment for Harris to address the Munich Security Conference Friday amid a significant moment in U.S. foreign policy. Ongoing conflicts overseas are only agitating domestic politics. It also comes at a delicate time for the White House, which is currently dealing with the fallout of the special counsel report questioning President Joe Biden's mental acuity and placing more focus on Vice President Harris. After her opening statements on Navalny, Harris progressed into her prepared remarks to help reassure American allies over the future of US foreign policy. Harris confirmed Friday that the U.S. commitment to NATO remains "ironclad" in the wake of Trump's comments encouraging Russia to invade countries that don't meet NATO obligations. "Imagine if America turned our back on Ukraine and abandoned our NATO allies and abandoned our treaty commitments. Imagine if we went easy on Putin. Let alone encouraged him," Harris continued. National security adviser Jake Sullivan told NPR on Friday that the U.S. is working to confirm Navalny's death. WASHINGTON Since Roe v. Wade was overturned, many health care providers say an increasing number of patients are deciding the fate of their pregnancies on whatever information they can gather before state abortion bans kick in. But early ultrasounds show far less about the condition of a fetus than later ones. And genetic screenings may be inaccurate. When you find out your fetus has a serious problem, youre in crisis mode, said doula Sabrina Fletcher. Youre not thinking about legal repercussions and (state) cutoff dates, and yet were forced to. About half of states ban abortion or restrict it after a certain point in pregnancy. This leaves millions of women in roughly 14 states with no option to get follow-up diagnostic tests in time to feasibly have an abortion there if they wanted, a paper published last March in the journal Obstetrics and Gynecology found. Even more states have abortion cutoffs too early for mid-pregnancy ultrasounds. More people are trying to find these things out earlier to try to fit within the confines of laws that in my mind dont have a place in medical practice, said Dr. Clayton Alfonso, an OB-GYN at Duke University in North Carolina. When done at the right time, doctors said prenatal testing can identify problems and help parents decide whether to have an abortion or continue a pregnancy and prepare for a babys complex needs after delivery. One of the most common tests is the 20-week ultrasound. It checks on the fetal heart, brain, spine, limbs and other parts of the body, looking for signs of congenital problems. It can detect things like brain, spine and heart abnormalities and signs of chromosomal problems such as Down syndrome. Follow-up testing may be needed to make a diagnosis. The earlier ultrasounds, in the first trimester for example, are not standard practice because it is too soon to see many of the fetus limbs and organs in detail, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists says. Its impossible to spot problems like serious heart defects much before mid-pregnancy because the fetus is so small, said Dr. Cara Heuser, who practices maternal-fetal medicine in Utah. Nonetheless, she said, more patients are having ultrasounds at 10 to 13 weeks to get access to abortion if they choose. Experts say there are no statistics on how many people opt for early ultrasounds or make choices based on them. But some health care providers say theyve noticed an uptick in requests for the scans, including Missouri genetic counselor Chelsea Wagner. She counsels patients from around the nation through telehealth. But she said doctors cant provide patients with "an everything looks good or a clean bill of health off of an ultrasound at 10 weeks. Doctors also cant make a firm diagnosis from a genetic screening, which is done at 10 weeks gestation or later. These screenings are designed to detect abnormalities in fetal DNA by looking at small, free-floating fragments circulating in a pregnant womans blood. They screen for chromosomal disorders such as trisomy 13 and 18, which often end in miscarriage or stillbirth, Down syndrome and extra or missing copies of sex chromosomes. The accuracy of these tests varies by disorder, but none is considered diagnostic. Natera, one of only a handful of U.S. companies that makes such genetic tests, said in an email that prenatal test results are reported as either high risk or low risk and that patients should seek confirmatory testing if they get a high risk result. Some may be pretty accurate, doctors said, but false positives are possible. In 2022, the Food and Drug Administration issued a warning about the screenings, reminding patients and doctors that results need further confirmation. The agency is poised to release a new regulatory framework in April that would require prenatal screenings, and thousands of other lab tests, to undergo FDA review. In states with tough abortion laws, health care providers said, there's more urgency because of the timing of diagnostic tests. CVS or chorionic villus sampling, is offered at 10 to 13 weeks gestation. Initial results take a few days and more detailed ones around two weeks. Amniocentesis is typically done at 15 to 20 weeks, with similar timing for results. If a state has a 12-week abortion ban, for instance, some people may have to act on a screening, Alfonso said. Wagner said she's had to counsel patients who couldn't afford to travel out of state for an abortion if they waited for diagnostic testing. They are forced to use the information they have to make choices they never thought theyd have to make, she said. Some states restrict abortion so early that women would not have the chance to get any prenatal testing done before the cutoff. That was the case for 26-year-old Hannah in Tennessee, which has a strict abortion ban. An ultrasound in late November, at about 18 weeks, revealed she had amniotic band sequence, when very thin pieces of the amniotic membrane get attached to the fetus. In Hannahs case, the bands were attached to many of her babys body parts and ripped open multiple areas of his body. After calling clinics in Ohio and Illinois to terminate the pregnancy, she finally found one 4 hours away in Illinois and had the procedure in early December at 19 weeks gestation. Hannah, who didnt want her last name used for fear of backlash, said its awful to have to think about state timelines, and to travel long distances when dealing with something like this. But shes grateful she had enough information to feel confident in her decision. I know some women are not that lucky, Hannah said. She named her son Waylen. Everything you need to know about when and how implantation occurs at the beginning of pregnancy Everything you need to know about when and how implantation occurs at the beginning of pregnancy When does implantation occur? On Thursday, the White House confirmed its knowledge of a national security threat on which the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, Rep. Mike Turner of Ohio, raised the alarm the day before regarding a Russian anti-satellite weapon. However, they sought to downplay the threat rather than indulge in a Chicken Little narrative. According to National Security Council spokesman John Kirby, the sky is not falling. "This is not an active capability that's been deployed," National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Thursday. "And though Russia's pursuit of this particular capability is troubling, there was no immediate threat to anyone's safety." "We are not talking about a weapon that can be used to attack human beings or cause physical destruction here on Earth," Kirby added. The comments come a day after Rep. Mike Turner of Ohio poured gasoline on the proverbial fire when he issue a statement announce the panel had "information concerning a serious national security threat." The dearth of immediate details regarding the true nature of the perceived threat left a lot of room for speculation as to the severity and the imminence of the threat. The Criticism Turner faced blistering criticism, both from members of his own party and across the aisle, for the manner in which he chose to publicize the matter by way of a vague social media post. Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida accused him of gaslighting the country, while Rep. Andy Ogles of Tennessee called for an investigation into Turner. Rep. Turner has supported the continued support of the Ukraine war effort while members of his own party, led by former President Donald Trump, supported opposing a $60 billion aid package to support Ukraine. However, Texas Rep. Dan Crenshaw, who is also a member of the Intelligence Committee, defended Turner's decision to go public with the information. "There was notifications from the intelligence community that made it just clearer now than before," Crenshaw said. "This was just the time." Turner's post called on President Joe Biden to downgrade the classification status for all the information pertaining to the Russian anti-satellite weapon. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said the United States has been aware of Russia's pursuit of such capability for many months, if not years. He further stated that President Biden has been briefed on it since the start of his tenure in the White House. More and more Gen Zs are now preferring to move to Texas, making it the U.S. state with the most Gen Z movers year-over-year. This was revealed by a new analysis conducted by Zillowan American housing platform. The real-estate marketplace conducted its analysis using data from the U.S. Census Bureau's 2022 American Community Survey (ACS). After completing it, results showed that Texas gained the most Gen Z residents in 2022. Why Gen Zs Prefer Moving To Texas Zillow's analysis showed that the Lone Star State was able to have a net gain of over 76,000 new Gen Z movers. Texas was followed by California (gaining almost 44,000 Gen Z residents) and Florida (gaining more than 41,000 Gen Z movers). Edward Berchick, the principal population scientist of Zillow, explained why younger American citizens are now moving to Texas. "Texas offers job opportunities and relative affordability. Many parts of Texas have been successful [in] building a lot of new housing to better accommodate its new residents," he said via Fox Business. The arrival of Gen Zs, Texas also had the largest numeric changeacross all generations and agesin the United States in 2022 since the Lone Star State was able to add 473,453 people during that year. "People have different priorities at different stages of their lives. Young adults may be more willing to be flexible in their living standards or put a larger share of their income toward housing when starting their careers," explained Berchick. Read Also: Survey Shows Americans Need Over $1 Million to Retire; Gen Z Most Confident to Achieve This Other US States With Most Gen Z Movers Aside from Texas, California, and Florida, Zillow also provided other U.S. states with the most Gen Z movers. These include the following: Colorado : 39,797 Gen Z out-of-state movers : 39,797 Gen Z out-of-state movers North Carolina : 33,690 Gen Z out-of-state movers : 33,690 Gen Z out-of-state movers Washington : 33,534 Gen Z out-of-state movers : 33,534 Gen Z out-of-state movers Virginia : 26,418 Gen Z out-of-state movers : 26,418 Gen Z out-of-state movers Illinois : 25,890 Gen Z out-of-state movers : 25,890 Gen Z out-of-state movers Georgia : 24,788 Gen Z out-of-state movers : 24,788 Gen Z out-of-state movers Arizona: 21,418 Gen Z out-of-state movers If you check the list, it includes some of the more expensive U.S. states, such as Washington. But the question is, if these states are expensive to live in, why do younger Americans prefer them? Edward Berchick said that many Gen Zs are moving to these more expensive U.S. states because they offer higher-paying job opportunities, which can help them achieve financial independence. Another reason is that these younger Americans are willing to be flexible in their living arrangements just to have the amenities and opportunities they want in life. Related Article: South Korea's Organized Crime Crackdown Targets Gen Z, Millennial CriminalsWhat to Know About 'MZ Gangsters' Kenyan wildlife conservationists are cheering as rhinos are being returned to a plateau upon which they were once wiped out decades ago. The move of 21 black rhinos to their new dwelling will give them all the space they need to breed and create the next generation of black rhinos. The critically endangered species was the subject of Kenya's most extensive rhino relocation ever. The rhinos were taken from three different parks on the verge of becoming overcrowded to a private conservancy in Loiaba, where herds were wiped out decades ago. Returning After 50 Years "It's been decades since rhinos roamed here, almost 50 years ago," said Loisaba security manager Daniel Ole Yiankere. "Their numbers were severely impacted by poaching. Now, our focus is on rejuvenating this landscape and allowing rhinos to breed, aiming to restore their population to its former splendor." The challenge of moving 21 wild animals, some of which could weigh up to 3000 pounds, was an arduous exercise over 18 days. It involved tracking the animals using a helicopter and shooting with tranquilizer darts. They were then loaded into the back of a truck for the move. One rhino almost suffered an unfortunate fate as it stumbled into a creek after being tranquilized. Rangers and veterinarians fought to hold the rhino's head above water with a rope to prevent it from drowning while the tranq reversal drug was administered to wake it up. Some were transferred from Nairobi National Park, about 186 miles from their new habitat. Rhinos are solitary animals that enjoy open spaces and large territories to roam. The decision was made to move them as numbers in the other parks they were in increased. Why move them? Experts believe the animals will be more likely to breed in this new environment with more resources and less competition, an expert on rhinos at the Kenya Wildlife Service, said their reproduction rates decrease when there are too many in a territory. "By removing some animals, we expect that the rhino population in those areas will rise up," said rhino expert David Ndere. "And then we reintroduce that founder population of at least 20 animals into new areas." The Loisaba Conservancy provides 96 square miles of space for the new arrivals, a mixture of males and females. The rhino population was around 20,000 in the 1970s but dropped below 300 in the 1980s due to rampant poaching. There are currently around 1,000 black rhinos in Kenya, which has the third largest population of the beasts in Africa, behind South Africa and Namibia. According to the Save the Rhino organization, more than 6,400 black rhinos today exist. Cegid is a business tool that offers innovative human resources solutions to help companies improve their work experience. With the rapid evolution of HR and the increasing expectations of employees, Cegid aims to rethink work experience by offering a range of technologies and tools. One of the main features of Cegid Talentsoft is its ability to improve the candidate experience and recruitment process. By connecting to 1,400 job boards, it allows companies to easily distribute job postings and reach a wider audience. This saves time and allows HR professionals to focus on more valuable activities. Additionally, Cegid Talentsoft helps companies develop employees careers and performance through various learning programs and content. Cegid Wittyfit is another tool offered by Cegid that focuses on employee engagement. It uses a scientific method to assess and measure employee engagement and prevent psychosocial risks. This allows companies to develop effective action plans to improve the overall employee experience. Another solution provided by Cegid is Cegid Digitalrecruiters, which is a comprehensive talent acquisition solution. This tool includes an applicant tracking system (ATS), customer relationship management (CRM), and career sites to help companies reinvent the candidate and recruiter experience. It offers a smooth experience for all users and provides support to launch and convert recruitments quickly, ultimately improving profitability. Cegid Notilus is a digital solution designed to help companies manage and control their employees travel budgets. It simplifies the processing and reimbursement of expense claims and integrates the corporate travel policy. This tool aims to streamline the travel experience for employees, allowing them to focus on their work. Cegid Features Improve candidate experience and recruitment process Develop employee careers and performance Complete learning experience from content to administration Assess employee engagement using a scientific method Measure and prevent psychosocial risks Save time by simplifying media buying for job postings Automate the job posting process and measure results Manage and control employees travel budgets Cegid Pricing Cegid offers customized pricing plans for their business tool, with details available upon request. They also provide a free demo for interested individuals upon contact. Visit cegid.com for more. Keep up to date with our stories on LinkedIn, Twitter , Facebook and Instagram. Businesses of all sizes are progressively adopting a more strategic approach, moving beyond traditional financial management practices and towards collaborative business partners. This shift sees executive leaders navigating through uncertainties, driving the effective implementation of strategies across the business, and playing a key role in managing change. According to Gartners 2024 Finance Executive Survey, digital transformation and improving the finance function are top priorities for businesses in the new year. (1) A critical aspect of this transformation is their proactive engagement with emerging trends and technologies. Fabian Calle, managing director, small and medium business, SAP Concur Australia and New Zealand said, In 2023, more change was witnessed than could have been predicted, and its likely that 2024 will be no different. This means more technology and more disruption. Managers are facing greater pressure to demonstrate profitable growth, making technology a top priority as it becomes increasingly integral to all aspects of financial operations. Thats why business leaders need to be laser focused on people, processes, and technology, and look for ways to automate routine business processes such as travel, expense, and invoice management to gain precise insights into their expenditures. In 2024, the expense management and finance industry will be shaped by several key trends, including: Technology and budget flexibility Managers are increasingly advised to incorporate flexibility in their planning, especially given the economic challenges anticipated for the year ahead. Embracing integrated management platforms that leverage emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI) and automation, are critical in letting finance teams adopt a more strategic approach in an unpredictable economic environment. Virtual payments for simplified reimbursement The shift towards virtual payments is set to become more integrated into business processes. With the application of AI, these payment systems are expected to quickly validate transactions for improved compliance, leading to a more efficient and near-immediate reimbursement process. This change is poised to make financial management more streamlined, efficient, and less cumbersome. Predictive analytics in spend management The rise of predictive analytics tools, powered by AI, is expected to significantly enhance business operations, especially in spend management. These tools will provide critical insights and solutions, empowering executive leaders to optimise their operations and make better data-driven decisions. This development marks a significant shift towards more informed and strategic operational management. Digital transformation The integration of digital technology across all facets of business operations is becoming increasingly crucial for maintaining agility and efficiency. In this digital transformation journey, finance teams are guiding business leaders to adopt new technologies while reshaping business models to create more value for customers and enhance overall business agility. New Distribution Capability (NDC) in travel Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives are becoming essential components of company travel programs. The implementation of the NDC standard is set to transform the retail of airline products, particularly integrated travel management solutions which offer personalised experiences, and align travel programs with DEI initiatives. Fabian Calle said, Theres no definitive guide to predict future challenges; however, businesses of all sizes equipped with sophisticated, intelligent integrated management systems are well-positioned to start the new year off right. These systems, enhanced with AI, offer a comprehensive solution for simplifying the tracking and control of costs and providing insight into emerging business trends. By consolidating key business processes such as travel, expense, and invoice management with the help of such systems, businesses can effectively adapt to the economic and market shifts anticipated in the coming year. Keep up to date with our stories on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. The opening of the vibrant IntercityHotel Bawshar in Muscat marks Deutsche Hospitality's fourth IntercityHotel branded property in the Sultanate of Oman, and the sixth IntercityHotel branded property in the Middle East. The new hotel boasts 96 cozy guest rooms and state-of-the-art amenities that offer business and leisure travelers an urban and lively experience. CityNest: Locally inspired private refuge IntercityHotel Bawshar Muscat redefines comfort and style, seamlessly blending modernity with Oman's rich heritage. Adorning the new CityNest design concept, each room category is designed with large floor-to-ceiling windows for abundant natural light, while the decor connects travelers to Oman's local heritage. The hotel offers four room categories: the Deluxe Suite, Accessible King Room, Standard Twin Room, and Standard King Room. It caters to discerning travelers alike, offering scenic views of Sultan Qaboos Mosque, state-of-the-art amenities including fully equipped kitchenettes in the Deluxe Suites and more. CitySquare: The place to work, meet, eat and relax The hotel also offers guests smart food and beverage (F&B) offerings in the property's vibrant CitySquare - a dynamic space for meeting, working, and enjoyment. Whether a business or leisure traveler, IntercityHotel Bawshar Muscat promises a unique stay with a perfect blend of modernity and convenience. The Breakery: New innovative F&B concept offering German bakery delights IntercityHotel Bawshar Muscat will feature the innovative food and beverage concept "The Breakery" where lively urban energy meets the IntercityHotel brand's German roots. Guests can immerse themselves in the welcoming aroma of homemade and freshly baked delights to go for those on the move or to stay for those who want to take a break at the hotel. Elevating the dining experience, The Gourmet House - the all-day-dining restaurant - presents a fusion of international delicacies and Omani cuisine. State-of-the-art wellness and meeting facilities IntercityHotel Bawshar Muscat caters to the diverse needs of travelers. The hotel's rooftop pool bar - Pentapool Bar - provides the ideal retreat for both easy-going and active travelers and boasts stunning Muscat mountain views, a tailored light menu and a refreshing beverage selection to unwind and recharge. Guests can also enjoy a relaxing day in the sun at the rooftop swimming pool and invigorating gym. Five modern meeting rooms equipped for seminars, training sessions and events provide flexibility with easily separable spaces. Located in the upscale district of Bawshar in Muscat, the vibrant and urban IntercityHotel Bawshar Muscat is located just 600 meters from the famed Mall of Oman and within a convenient ten-minute drive to Muscat International Airport, the Royal Opera House and the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque. Hotel website Indian Hotels Company (IHCL), India's largest hospitality company, today announced the opening of Ekante Bliss, an IHCL SeleQtions branded hotel in Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh. The city is home to the sacred shrine of Tirumala Venkateswara Temple. The 113-key Ekante Bliss - IHCL SeleQtions is strategically located in the heart of the city, a convenient drive from Tirupati Airport, and offers a captivating view of the Tirumala temple. The hotel's elegant decor, inspired by the temple, incorporates refined design elements that pay tribute to this iconic spiritual site. Guests can indulge in an array of culinary delights at Vyom, the all-day diner, Azure the open-air cafe, unwind at Amruth the bar, or rejuvenate at the swimming pool and a state-of-the-art fitness centre. The hotel also features expansive event spaces, complete with versatile pre-function areas, perfectly suited for hosting both intimate gatherings and lavish celebrations. Tirupati is known as the spiritual capital of the state of Andhra Pradesh. With its natural beauty, cultural heritage, and spiritual aura, it offers many attractions for tourists. Hotel website Renaissance Pattaya Resort & Spa is pleased to announce the appointment of Anna Rohm as the new General Manager, effective February 12th, 2024. With a seasoned international career in hotel management spanning Europe, the Middle East, and Asia, Anna brings a wealth of experience and leadership to her new role. In her capacity as General Manager, Anna will lead the team in delivering operational excellence and innovative guest experiences at our premium 5-star haven located in the idyllic travel destination of Pattaya, Na Jomtien Beach. Her responsibilities include overseeing day-to-day hotel operations and driving the resort's overall business strategy, ensuring alignment with the Renaissance brand and maintaining progress toward our goals. Anna's impressive 25-year journey in hospitality management includes holding key positions at luxury hotels such as Mandarin Oriental, JW Marriott, and InterContinental. Before joining Renaissance Pattaya Resort & Spa, Anna served as Hotel Manager at one of the flagship hotels of the Banyan Tree Hotel Group in Thailand, where she played a pivotal role in overseeing the operations department and contributing to the exceptional service at Banyan Tree Bangkok. Beyond her professional achievements, Anna is passionate about culinary arts and photography. She also values the moments spent with her 16-year-old son, emphasizing the importance of a balanced and fulfilling life. Anna Rohm is excited to be reunited with Marriott International and lead the team at Renaissance Pattaya Resort & Spa. She will be an inspiration for the resort's management and ambassadors to deliver the services and experiences that express the premium status and adventuresome spirit of the Renaissance brand. Kelly moves into the role with 10 years of experience in sales and leadership positions within the company, having previously held the role of Market Director - Sales & Distribution Victoria in which she was responsible for Marriott's portfolio of 11 Melbourne hotels. With a proven track record of driving revenue growth, Kelly brings a wealth of experience and expertise to the role. As Area Director, Sales & Distribution, Kelly will spearhead sales strategies, cultivating key relationships with partners to maximize revenue opportunities. With a keen understanding of market trends and customer needs, she will lead Marriott International's cluster and hotel sales teams in delivering exceptional service and tailored solutions to meet the diverse needs of guests. Hospitality Net today Sign up to our free daily newsletter, Ashford Hospitality Trust, Inc. (NYSE: AHT) ("Ashford Trust" or the "Company") today announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to sell the 144-room Residence Inn located in Salt Lake City, Utah (the "Hotel") for $19.2 million. The sale is expected to be completed in early March and is subject to normal closing conditions. The Company provides no assurances that the sale will be completed on these terms or at all. When adjusted for the Company's anticipated capital expenditures, the sale price represents a 4.6% capitalization rate on 2023 net operating income, or 18.2x 2023 Hotel EBITDA. Excluding the anticipated capital spend, the sale price represents a 6.0% capitalization rate on 2023 net operating income, or 14.0x 2023 Hotel EBITDA. All of the proceeds from the sale are expected to be used to pay down debt. "We are pleased to announce the signed agreement to sell the Residence Inn Salt Lake City at a very attractive cap rate," commented Rob Hays, Ashford Trust's President and Chief Executive Officer. "We continue to have several assets in the market at various stages of the sales process and look forward to providing more updates in the coming weeks." Ashford Hospitality Trust is a real estate investment trust (REIT) focused on investing predominantly in upper upscale, full-service hotels. About Ashford Hospitality Trust Ashford Hospitality Trust is a real estate investment trust (REIT) focused on investing predominantly in upper upscale, full-service hotels. Ashford has created an Ashford App for the hospitality REIT investor community. The Ashford App is available for free download at Apple's App Store and the Google Play Store by searching "Ashford." A Vietnam Airlines aircraft seen at Dien Bien Airport in Dien Bien Province, northern Vietnam. Photo by VnExpress/Ngoc Thanh Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has instructed government agencies to resolve the difficulties faced by lossmaking Vietnam Airlines. He said the State Capital Investment Corporation, Vietnams sovereign fund, should furnish a plan to revive the state-owned carrier within this month. The SCIC manages public investment in 19 corporations. The airline, which was severely affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, has been struggling to recover since. It reported losses of VND11.22 trillion ($458 million) in 2022 and VND5.5 trillion last year. Its accumulated losses now exceed VND40 trillion. Vietnam Airlines has completed a restructuring plan, which is being reviewed by its shareholders and the government. It includes restructuring its assets and investment portfolio to increase revenues and issuance of shares to raise capital. The Ministry of Finance is amending a decree on government investment to allow Vietnam Airlines to sell its stakes in Pacific Airlines. SMG Holding acts as IPO sponsor and investor for the IPO of Sircle Hospitality Group. Sircle Hospitality Group is an pan-European lifestyle hotel group with around 4,000 rooms (including hotels under renovation) in 37 hotels in 23 cities. Part of Sircle Hospitalty Group are brands such as Sir Hotels, Max Brown, The Cover private members club, The Entourage Group. Listing on the Regulated Market of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange via business merger with SMG European Recovery. Value of the hotel property portfolio of over EUR 400 million. Already the second listing initiated by SMG Holding in 2024. SMG Holding, an IPO sponsor and investor focused on the European medium-sized business sector, announces the listing of Sircle Hospitality Group, a European lifestyle hospitality group (Sircle Hospitality Group). Following the listing, the company has an expected market capitalization of around EUR 250 million with a total value of the hotel real estate portfolio of over EUR 400 million. Sircle Hospitality Group intends to use the funds for growth investments and the expansion of the hotel portfolio. The listing of Sircle Hospitality Group on the regulated market of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (General Standard) is planned for the second quarter of 2024. A business merger agreement has been signed between Sircle Hospitality Group and the already listed SMG European Recovery, a subsidiary of SMG Holding. With the closing of the transaction, expected in the second quarter of 2024, the listed company will be renamed Sircle SE and the new shares will be listed. The founder of SMG, Dr. Stefan Petrikovics, will become Deputy Chairman of the companys Board. Sircle is ideally positioned in the fast-growing European tourism and lifestyle hospitality sector. With the expansion of its hotel portfolio and its focus on high-quality lifestyle concepts, Sircle is pursuing a clear strategy that impresses us as SMG Holding. With our prepared structures for a listing, we are therefore the ideal partner to grow successfully together in the long term. We provide capital and offer secure framework conditions for access to the capital market. Dr. Stefan Petrikovics, CEO of SMG Holding Sircle Hospitality Groups merger with SMG European Recovery marks a milestone as we become Europes premier boutique hospitality group. With plans to open 100 hotels and the continuous expansion of our F&B offerings including Seven North Restaurant and Miznon in collaboration with celebrated chef Eyal Shani and our members club, The Cover, were set to raise standards and shape the future of lifestyle hospitality. Liran Wizman, founder and Chairman of Sircle Hospitality Group Liran Wizman is an award-winning real estate and hospitality entrepreneur based in Amsterdam. He started his hotel investment career in 2003 by founding GCH Hotel Group. He is also the co-founder/co-owner of Sircle Collection and of The Entourage Group. Sircle Hospitality Group seeks to strategically allocate the proceeds from the merger toward expanding its presence in major Western European cities and the Mediterranean region. Presently, Sircle Hospitality Group includes a portfolio of 37 upscale hotels spanning 23 distinct European cities, complemented by 35 vibrant bars and restaurants. Currently, approximately 75% of the groups portfolio is concentrated in Germany, the Netherlands, and Austria. However, the forward-looking strategy entails expanding new and established brands like Sir Hotels and Max Brown Hotels and adding more bookable rooms, currently at 4,000 (including hotels under renovation). In 2023 sales grew by 25% to 200 million EUR. Sircle Hospitality Group is committed to excellence and promises unforgettable experiences for guests. Together with selected investors, SMG Holding is providing both capital and the listing vehicle for the upcoming listing. SMG will remain a shareholder in the company after the listing and is committed to a long-term partnership. The listing of Sircle Hospitality Group is already the second listing initiated by SMG Holding for 2024. Previously, the listing of BigRep, Berlin, the leading provider of large-format industrial 3D printers, was announced for the first quarter of 2024. The listing of an energy company is set to follow in the second half of 2024. About SMG Holding SMG Holding is an IPO sponsor and investor specializing in the European mid-market. SMG Holding builds successful partnerships between investors, entrepreneurs and industry leaders in European growth companies. The aim is to offer growth companies simple and predictable access to the capital market. The SMG Holding team has experience from over 50 capital market transactions with a volume of more than 22 billion euros. You can find further information at: https://smg-holding.com. Residence Inn Salt Lake City Cottonwood Ashford Hospitality Trust, Inc. (NYSE: AHT) today announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to sell the 144-room Residence Inn located in Salt Lake City, Utah for $19.2 million. The sale is expected to be completed in early March and is subject to normal closing conditions. The Company provides no assurances that the sale will be completed on these terms or at all. When adjusted for the Company's anticipated capital expenditures, the sale price represents a 4.6% capitalization rate on 2023 net operating income, or 18.2x 2023 Hotel EBITDA. Excluding the anticipated capital spend, the sale price represents a 6.0% capitalization rate on 2023 net operating income, or 14.0x 2023 Hotel EBITDA. All of the proceeds from the sale are expected to be used to pay down debt. "We are pleased to announce the signed agreement to sell the Residence Inn Salt Lake City at a very attractive cap rate," commented Rob Hays, Ashford Trust's President and Chief Executive Officer. "We continue to have several assets in the market at various stages of the sales process and look forward to providing more updates in the coming weeks." Ashford Hospitality Trust is a real estate investment trust (REIT) focused on investing predominantly in upper upscale, full-service hotels. REAM SGR acquires former Golden Palace Hotel in Turin A summary of European hotel transactions provided by HVS Real Hotels acquires Amazonia Hotel Group and its four hotels in Portugal Portuguese hotel chain Real Hotels Group has acquired the Amazonia Hotel Group platform, which includes four hotels, all in Portugal, ranging from three to four stars. Founded in 1990, the groups current properties include the Amazonia Estoril Cascais Hotel (21 rooms), the Amazonia Jamor Hotel (97 rooms), the Amazonia Lisboa Hotel (192 rooms) and the Amazonia Palmela Apartments (40 apartments). The assets are all located within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, with the Amazonia Estoril Cascais Hotel located on the oceanic coast some 25 km from the centre of Lisbon. The Bernardino Gomes Group, including subsidiary Real Hotels, was acquired in 2020 by ex-Yahoo! COO Henrique de Castro and Eurico Almeida, through Palminvest. With this latest acquisition, Real Hotels will now own 20 hotels totalling around 3,000 rooms across Portugal. REAM SGR acquires former Golden Palace Hotel in Turin Italian real estate asset management firm REAM SGR, through its Geras 2 fund, has acquired the former five-star, 195-room Golden Palace Hotel in Turin, Italy, for a reported 36 million (185,000 per room). The centrally-located hotel comprises six floors which span some 20,000 sqm. Originally an office building, the hotel opened for the Winter Olympics in 2006, following a 60 million conversion process. Prior to its closure in 2022, the Golden Palace Hotel was owned by Italian hotel group Allegroitalia and since then had fallen into the hands of banks. The Geras 2 fund is expected to invest another 6-7 million into a comprehensive capital expenditure plan to reposition it into a reference point for upper upscale hotels in Turin. The hotel is expected to reopen before the November 2024 Turin ATP finals, under a lease structure with an international hotel chain. REAM SGR invests in various real estate fields, including but not limited to residential, healthcare, hospitality and urban regeneration. Portuguese group acquires Hotel Lago Montargil & Villas in central Portugal An unnamed Portuguese hotel group has reportedly acquired the five-star, 105-room Hotel Lago Montargil & Villas in Montargil, Portugal, from a domestic bank for a reported sum between 15 million and 20 million. Located at a site about two hours east of Lisbon, the transaction also included 11 luxury villas, as well as neighbouring land plots on which another 10 villas can be developed. The property has five swimming pools, congress space with a capacity for over 500 guests and four F&B outlets. In March 2023, KPI Hotel Management Services, which has a track record of hotel management in Portugal, Europe and Africa, was appointed to operate the property. The hotel is located on the artificial Montargil lake, which was formed from the creation of the Montargil dam of the Sor River. 12.18. and partner acquire the Club Santa Ponsa hotel in Mallorca, Spain German hotel group 12.18. Investment Management, in partnership with an international investment fund, has acquired the three-star, 142-room Club Santa Ponsa in Mallorca, Spain, for an undisclosed amount. The property is located some 200 metres from the beach and is expected to be fully redeveloped into an exclusive resort in partnership with local Puro Group, which will oversee the reopening of the hotel and its management. Puro Group currently operates six beach clubs in Spain, Portugal and Italy under its Purobeach brand. 12.18. holds around 10 hotels in its portfolio, including the 7Pines resorts in Ibiza and Sardinia, the Top Hotel Hochgurgl in Austria and the Cone Club in Sardinia. HotelsProperties acquires the The Wellington Hotel in Dublin Dublin-based hospitality and management group HotelsProperties has acquired the recently developed four-star, 38-room Wellington Hotel in Dublin, Ireland, for 14 million (368,000 per room), from receiver Kroll Advisory Ltd. The hotel is located in Temple Bar, one of the citys major nightlife and tourism precincts, within walking distance of the Dublin castle, Trinity College and the Christchurch Cathedral. It houses a restaurant and a bar totalling approximately 340 sqm. HotelsProperties, led by Sheila ORiordan, is a family-owned group active in both Ireland and the United Kingdom and has some 14 hotels in its portfolio, including the five-star Exhibitionist Hotel and the four-star Gainsborough Hotel in London. Dalofi acquires Grand Hotel des Terreaux in Lyon from Bernard family French hotel group Dalofi has acquired the four-star, 53-room Grand Hotel des Terreaux in Lyon, France, from the Bernard family, for an undisclosed price. The hotel is located in proximity to the Musee des Beaux-Arts and the Vieux-Lyon district, which houses the Saint Jean-Baptiste cathedral. This acquisition marks Dalofis fifth operational hotel. Its portfolio now comprises 440 rooms distributed across Lyon (213 rooms), Marseille (178 rooms) and Paris (49 rooms) under both Accor and Hilton franchises. The group currently has another two pipeline properties in Lyon, namely the Courtyard by Marriott Lyon and the Hampton by Hilton Saint Exupery Airport, which are expected to open in 2024 and 2025 respectively. In 2022, the group recorded an average rate of 137 across its then four properties, with group revenues of 19 million. AKF acquires Comwell Koge Strand Hotel in Copenhagen Danish property and development company AKF has acquired the four-star, 127-room Comwell Koge Strand Hotel in Koge, about 40 minutes south of Copenhagen, Denmark, from the Aage V. Jensens Foundation, for an undisclosed amount. The hotel features event spaces for up to 550 people, two restaurants and a bar. Danish firm Comwell Hotels will remain as the propertys operator, having been incumbent since 2013. Cromwell Hotels has 17 properties in its portfolio, with locations primarily in Denmark and one in Sweden. The Aage V. Foundation focuses on acquiring, owning, operating and preserving natural areas across the world, and this property was its last hotel real estate asset. AKF primarily owns residential and commercial properties across Denmark, and focuses on three core segments: property management and rental, property development and real estate acquisitions through its own investment fund. HVS is the world's leading consulting and valuation services organization focused on the hotel, restaurant, shared ownership, gaming, and leisure industries. Established in 1980, the company performs more than 4,500 assignments per year for virtually every major industry participant. HVS principals are regarded as the leading professionals in their respective regions of the globe. Through a worldwide network of over 50 offices staffed by 300 experienced industry professionals, HVS provides an unparalleled range of complementary services for the hospitality industry. For further information regarding our expertise and specifics about our services, please visit www.hvs.com. Chicago, IL (60637) Today Generally cloudy. A few flurries are possible. High near 40F. Winds NW at 10 to 20 mph.. Tonight Partly cloudy skies early will give way to cloudy skies late. Low 29F. Winds WSW at 10 to 20 mph. Hudson, NY (12534) Today Partly cloudy. High 47F. Winds WNW at 10 to 15 mph.. Tonight Mostly cloudy skies this evening will become partly cloudy after midnight. A few flurries are possible. Low 32F. Winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph. Holiday Hours: Presidents Day Gen. George Washington taking command of the Continental Army in Cambridge in 1775. Washington's Birthday will be celebrated on Monday, Feb. 19. The holiday was first enacted by Congress in 1879 to mark George Washington's birthday on Feb. 22 and later moved to the third Monday in February in 1968. While the name of the federal holiday remains Washington's Birthday, it is more often referred to as Presidents Day to include the birthday of Abraham Lincoln on Feb. 12. Washington was born in 1732 (or Feb. 11, 1731, according to the old-style calendar) in Colonial Virginia. A Founding Father, he would lead the new nation as head of the Continental Army in the Revolution and as its first president under the U.S. Constitution for two terms. He died Dec. 14, 1799, at his home in Mount Vernon. His military background brought him to Cambridge in 1775 as commander of the newly formed army just months after the Battles of Lexington and Concord. Cannon taken from Fort Ticonderoga were dragged through the Berkshires on their way to Dorchester Heights, where Washington placed them to force the British out of Boston in 1776. (Celebrated in Suffolk County as Evacuation Day on March 17.) During the yearlong siege, Washington stayed at a house that would later become known as the home of literary giant Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, a frequent visitor to the Berkshires. His vice president was John Adams of Quincy, who would become the first president to live in the new capital of Washington, D.C. Lincoln, our 16th president who led the nation through a bloody Civil War, was born in 1809 in Kentucky. During September 1848, he spoke at the Whig convention in Worcester as well as in New Bedford, Dedham, Lowell and Boston but apparently not in the Berkshires. His son, Robert Todd Lincoln, attended Harvard and later lived in Manchester, Vt., at Hildene. While Washington and Lincoln never slept here, a number of other presidents did, or at least spent time in the Berkshires. In Massachusetts, the holiday is "unrestricted" in that businesses may open at will without permits or special pay provisions. Closed: Federal, state and local offices; no mail delivery Berkshire Grown Elects New Officers and Trustees Susan Bronson, Tu Le, Laura Tupper-Palches, and Nick Martinelli GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. At their Annual Board meeting, Berkshire Grown Board of Trustees approved a slate of four new board members and elected officers. Officers are Amy Rudnick, President; Peter Platt, Vice President, Katy Sparks, Treasurer, Lee Venolia, Clerk; Jake Levin, Member-at-Large and Kat Hand, Member-at-Large. Joining the Board in 2024 are three food and farming-focused Berkshire residents: Susan Bronson, Monterey Susan Bronson has lived in Monterey for 27 years. For the last 13 years she has served as executive director of the Yiddish Book Center in Amherst, MA. Prior to assuming that position, Susan was director of development and interim director of the Berkshire Museum, director of development at Shakespeare & Company, and director of development at Austen Riggs. Before moving to the Berkshires, Susan was the program officer for the Social Science Research Council in New York and served as a consultant to projects for the Ford Foundation, the MacArthur Foundation and the U.S. Holocaust Museum. Susan holds a Ph.D. in Russian History and Jewish History from the University of Michigan. She serves on the board of the Council of American Jewish Museums and on the board of 7,000 Languages, a non-profit dedicated to supporting the preservation of indigenous languages. Married to Berkshire native, John Sellew, Susan and John raised their children across the road from Rawson Brook Farm and Susan is eager to support Berkshire farmers and their connections to the local community. Tu Le, 328North, Williamstown Tu Le is a Vietnamese-American farmer, designer, and chef of 328North, a micro farm in Williamstown, Massachusetts. Born in Phu Quoc, Vietnam, he along with his two parents and eleven siblings, became refugees and immigrated to America. Tu's passion for farming and cooking stems from his upbringing in San Diego, California, where his parents installed in him the importance of growing and cooking their own food to retain a sense of culture. Tu and his husband, Matt Berltes, started building their farm on Stockbridge Munsee land in 2014. With food and flowers, Tu and Matt have connected with their Northern Berkshire community and continue to push the boundaries on what small-scale farming can produce. With a background in Fashion, Industrial Design + Construction, Tu's goal is to continue to connect with his fellow community member by using the Farm as a medium to tell stories. Nick Martinelli, Marty's Local, Lenox Nick is the founder and CEO of Marty's Local, a Western Massachusetts-based food distribution business, specializing in local and regional foods. Founded in 2016, the mission of Marty's Local is to help re-build our regional food system by linking area farmers and food producers with nearby grocers, schools and colleges, restaurants, farm stores, and other institutions. Nick previously worked as an attorney for nine years in Massachusetts state government and in the office of Governor Deval Patrick. He is a graduate of Williams College, Suffolk University Law School, and The Farm School. Laura Tupper-Palches, Full Well Farm, Adams Laura Tupper-Palches is a co-owner and farmer of Full Well Farm in Adams, MA. Originally from Cape Cod, she has made a home in North Adams because of the opportunity to farm. She and Meg Bantle started Full Well in 2019 on Meg's family land. The Berkshires provided an opportunity for Laura to combine her passion for food justice and farming. Their organically grown produce and flowers are sold through a CSA, farmer's market, and wholesale accounts - all in the North Berkshires. Laura lived in a Harlem neighborhood experiencing food apartheid and became very interested in how food is produced and accessed. She pursued a bachelor's degree in Social Thought and Political Economy at UMass Amherst which provided context for the structures that create food insecurity. Letter: Democratic Writer Out of Touch With Reality To the Editor: Let me start by saying that I have zero expectations that this will be published on iBerkshires because any messages against the favored leftist narrative are not allowed on your platform. After reading his letter to the editor entitled "Contrast Between Parties," I'm struggling to determine if Michael Wise is merely out of touch with reality or if he's intentionally attempting to gaslight people. My guess is that it's the latter. He claims that "Only one of our national political parties cares anymore about good government," and asserts that is the Democrats. Is our wide-open southern border an example of that "good government?" What about the skyrocketing inflation that continues to grip our economy due to the Biden admin's reckless spending? Or is the rampant crime and homelessness in blue cities now made worse by surging illegal alien populations? Or the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan? Or the spectacle of our clearly diminished president stumbling and bumbling through his presidency? Or is our affirmative action VP spewing another meaningless word salad while waiting in the wings for an obviously frail octogenarian to break a hip? Or the weaponization of our intelligence agencies and DOJ against political rivals? That's good government? Then there's the biggest whopper of them all: President Joe Biden, like President Obama, is running a no-scandal administration. A no-scandal administration? Joe Biden is facing an impeachment inquiry for the blatant corruption he engaged in with his son Hunter and his brother James. Polls show that 60-70 percent of Americans think that Joe is dirty. His family clearly took money from China, Ukraine, Romania, and others. That's the biggest of many scandals. What about his mishandling of classified documents which the special counsel labeled as "willful," only escaping prosecution because Hur thought Biden demonstrated diminished mental capacity? That's not a scandal? How about Biden's DOJ labeling concerned parents at school board meetings as domestic terrorists? Are these not scandals? I won't even get into the myriad of scandals from the Obama admin. Lois Lerner anyone? Fast and furious? Benghazi? Hillary's email server? Iran nuclear deal? Solyndra? The list goes on and on, no matter what Mr. Wise would like you to believe. Mr. Wise assumes of course that the good Democrats of Berkshire County only consume news from the mainstream media aka the narrative-spewing lap dogs of the Democrat party like ABC, NBC, CBS, NY Times, WaPo, MSNBC, CNN, etc. That's why they won't be able to determine that his letter is packed full of lies on their own. It's not a surprising tactic from a leftist like Mr. Wise. He knows he truly can't tout the Biden admin's accomplishments, because there are none, so he resorts to attacking the opposition while relying on the easily duped Democratic base to be uncurious about the facts. Allen Jezouit Chicopee, Mass, formerly of Williamstown The U.S.s share of Vietnams exports is growing, especially of laptops and smartphones, and the country is considered by investors as a potential global manufacturing hub, an analyst has said. Some 20% of Vietnams exports went to the U.S. in 2017, but that had increased to 30% by 2022. That makes the U.S. the biggest buyer of Vietnamese goods, Jeongmin Seong, a partner at management consulting firm McKinsey Global Institute, told VnExpress in an interview. Chinas share of U.S. manufactured goods imports fell from 24% to 15% between 2017 and 2023. The drop was largest in electronics. Chinas share of U.S. laptop and smartphone imports fell in both 2022 and 2023, and Vietnam is now exporting more of those products to the U.S. Vietnams goods trade stands at around 180% of GDP, one of the highest levels in the world and up from 100% in 2010. This is 70 to 100 percentage points higher than that of Korea, Germany and the other ASEAN economies, indicating that Vietnams integration into cross-border global value chains is deepening, Seong said. Investment into Vietnam has been coming from countries across the geographic and geopolitical spectrum, he said. Investment by U.S. companies surged to $22 billion in 2022 as against a pre-Covid average of around $3 billion. As of October Chinese companies had invested $11 billion in 2023 as against the pre-pandemic average of less than $2 billion a year. More than 80% of the investments are going into electronics components and semiconductor manufacturing, and he said this growing investment attests to Vietnams potential as a high-tech manufacturing base. Since they face uncertainties in 2024, Vietnamese companies should consider shifting supply chains and diversifying production locations or end markets, he added. Secretary of Education Patrick Tutwiler, center, poses with students at Wahconah Regional High School's annual civility assembly on Thursday. PreviousNext Wahconah Regional High School Urges Change Through Togetherness Principal Aaron Robb says the annual event was started in 1998 to address the frequency of fighting between students. See more photos here. DALTON, Mass. The message of togetherness echoed in the Wahconah Regional High School auditorium during a civility assembly on Thursday afternoon. "Overall, our hope for today is that we could shift our perspective and pause just for a moment to think about the impact of our words and actions on others," Principal Aaron M Robb said. The importance of togetherness and reflection was demonstrated through a presentation, performances, and speakers, including Secretary of Education Patrick Tutwiler. "The work to create a community where every student feels a sense of belonging is never finished. This is work that must be continuously tended to, nurtured, talked about, closely monitored, and reflected upon. And equally, it's everyone's work," he said. The secretary echoed remarks of the other speakers who showcased the gathering as a "highlight what the school community is all about, what it believes, and what the school community values resilience, integrity, self direction, and empathy." All of this is true but there is another reason, he said, and that is to make "a renewed commitment to the work. Friends, that work is not enough. .. "We find ourselves living in a very interesting time right now. There are many forces that work against the very values that this community is attempting to live. The work is everyone's responsibility and the work is not done." The assembly included student demonstrating through a skit how a hurtful act reinforced by your peers can have a painful impact on an individual. It concluded the assembly with a musical performance by Wahconah's Modern Band, which performed a song they felt reinforced the message, Tim McGraw's "Humble And Kind." Wahconah established the annual assembly in 1998 to address the frequency of fights when it had almost 300 more students than it does now. The issues could not be blamed on social media back then because it didn't exist. School staff decided to do something about it, Robb said. "So, we gathered the whole school together just like we are today and we chose to face the problem and, over time, by pulling together and working on simple common acts of civility toward one another, that problem began to dissipate," he said. "Since that time, we've gathered annually to tackle many other issues and concerns that have developed over the years. We've explored topics such as substance abuse and mental health and the way we ought to treat folks with disabilities." This year's assembly the school expanded on the message it had last year which was to "look inward in an effort to spark some self improvement," Robb said. During the assembly the students were challenged to look inwards so they can improve the lives of those in their community. "More specifically, we want to seek self-improvement by thinking about how our actions and our words might impact others around us and in our school and be cognizant of that in spite of our differences," the principal said. He stressed the importance of facing a problem together by discussing the legacy of academic, feminist and activist Loretta Ross Ross has a "prolific career working to educate and promote acceptance across all parts of society," Robb said. "Having learned about her in recent years, I've come to marvel at the work she's accomplished in her life." One of the things she has grown sick of over the years is "call out culture" what is now known as "cancel culture," he said. "No matter what you call it, she said that the act of calling people out was proving to be far too ineffective in her eyes." The approach was meant to shine a light on societal problems but has had an adverse effect on people and society by invoking the fear of being targeted, he said "Thereby forcing people to avoid important and sensitive conversations that could otherwise foster important relationships," Robb said. "She believes that calling people out doesn't really foster true self-improvement, which is the only way to go about creating real change." Ross began studying something she worked against white supremacy and felt the best thing to do was to talk to people. She started to attend Ku Klux Klan rallies and meetings to learn about them and have them learn more about her, especially her struggles, as a Black woman. "She wanted to use this knowledge to call people in and educate them, not push them away by calling them out. Loretta Ross once said that calling in practices are so important. It's imperative to ensure that we don't grind each other up and harm each other out of our despair and drama," Robb said. This way of thinking is deeply rooted in the goal of the civility assembly that has been happening for more than 25 years, he said. Wahconah senior and "No Place for Hate" Vice President Bee Gillespie welcomed Tutwiler by sharing their dream for the school community. "My hopes and dreams for our school community is that through student advocacy and no place for hate, we will continue to strive for an inclusive and safe environment. I am passionate about our school and the attitude of our students towards personal identity and belonging," Gillespie said. "... I want to implore every student to listen and act. We have a unique chance here to let our voices be heard at a state level." Dr. Martin Luther King reminded everyone that all the labor that lifts humanity has dignity, importance, and must be undertaken with painstaking excellence, Tutwiler said, adding that education plays an important role in uplifting humanity. "I understand and respect the fact that you were born into a world that was and continues to be imperfect. It's not your fault. Nonetheless, don't let the responsibility to be part of solution escape you. This is everyone's work," he said. A person uses Apple Maps on a mobile phone in Hanoi. Photo by VnExpress/Luu Quy U.S. tech giant Apple is deploying vehicles equipped with LiDAR imaging devices in Vietnam to capture data for its new maps. The vehicles will begin plying across the country from Friday as part of a global process of rebuilding data for Apple Maps. The company said when the system is updated Vietnamese users could get the maps app with improved navigation capabilities, rich details and more accurate information about locations. The use of imaging vehicles will also enable Apple Maps to feature the "Look Around" function similar to "Google Street View" in Vietnam. Currently the feature is only available in some major cities in the U.S., Japan, Europe, and Singapore, allowing users to preview real-life images of streets, buildings and squares without physically visiting the place. Apple's specialized vehicles will be equipped with external LiDAR imaging devices along with computer systems, iPhones and iPads. It is not yet clear what type of vehicles will be deployed. In the U.S., the company mainly uses customized Subaru Impreza and Lexus cars, according to AppleInsider. In areas where the vehicles will have difficulty traversing, like narrow alleys, the company will use mobile systems such as devices attached to backpacks to collect surrounding data. In Vietnam too, the imaging data will adhere to Apple's privacy principles, blurring license plates, faces and others before uploading to the system. Apple Maps in Vietnam currently have basic features such as satellite view, traffic information, temporary road closures, and 3D simulation. But the navigation feature cannot function when connected to Car Play. In Vietnam, Google Maps remains the popular option since it has been familiar for long and offers rich functionalities. Google Street View in Vietnam is not directly done by the company but by a third party. Apple Maps service first appeared in 2012, replacing Google Maps as the default app on iPhone, iPad. Data was initially acquired from third parties and was so poor that CEO Tim Cook had to apologize to users. In 2018 the company began to fully renovate this app. Friday 16 February 2024, 09:36 - Last updated: 17 February, 16:15 There are stories that seem to come out of a novel, but are instead true testimonies of kindness and humanity. One of these is that of a woman who lived an incredible experience that brought to light fragments of her past, buried for over four decades. A story that shows how the kindness and dedication of a stranger can make a difference in a person's life. The Time Capsule Everything started on February 2nd of this year, when Vanessa Austin, a resident in the province of Ontario, Canada, received an unexpected surprise while she was at work. An anonymous package, addressed to her, contained an object that would awaken long-forgotten memories: her mother's wallet, missing for over forty years. To CBC News Vanessa told of the content: her birth certificate, her mother's immigration documents, born in El Salvador, family photos, old tickets for a Toronto amusement park dated 1984 and even a Toronto Public Library card expired in 1985. These are objects that tell stories, that bring to mind moments and people long gone. "I couldn't believe it. The wallet is like a time capsule. It is so well preserved that it seems that no one has touched it in 40 years", Austin told the same media. The Private Investigator But how did that wallet return to the hands of its rightful owner after so much time? The answer lies in the commitment of a good man, Andrew Medley, a private investigator who stumbled upon the wallet quite by accident during his investigation at the Toronto Eaton Centre shopping mall. Entering a bathroom reserved for authorized personnel, Medley noticed the wallet resting on an air duct, as if someone had left it there on purpose. To his surprise, he opened the wallet and discovered its precious contents, struck by the state of preservation despite the years passed. Determined to return those objects to the rightful owner, Medley embarked on a search that led him to Vanessa Austin. Using the information found in the wallet, such as the full names of Vanessa and her mother and old photos of the two, Medley navigated on social networks until he located the woman. Although he received no response to his messages on Facebook, he did not lose hope and continued his search until he found Vanessa's workplace address. Get our free weekly email for all the latest cinematic news from our film critic Clarisse Loughrey Get our The Life Cinematic email for free Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the The Life Cinematic email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Sebastian Stan called out a journalist for using insensitive language when describing his new character during a press conference at the Berlin Film Festival on Friday (16 February). The Marvel star, 41, was attending a Q&A panel in support of his new A24 horror movie, A Different Man, in which he plays Edward, an aspiring actor who undergoes a radical reconstructive procedure to drastically transform his disfigured appearance. Afterwards, he becomes fixated on a stage actor (Adam Pearson) set to portray him in a production based on his former life. When asked by a journalist about his characters transformation from this so-called beast, as they call him, to this perfect man, Stan stepped in to correct them. I have to call you out a little bit on the choice of words there, because I think part of why the film is important is because we often dont have the right vocabulary, the Captain America actor said, according to Variety. I think its a little bit more complex than that, and obviously there are language barriers, but you know, beast isnt the word. And I think, ultimately, its just interesting to hear this word because I think thats one of the things the film is saying we have these preconceived ideas and were not really educated on how to understand this experience in particular. Thats one of the things I love about the movie, he added. Hes offering you a way to look at it, and hopefully, if you can have the same objective point of view while youre experiencing the film, maybe you can kind of pick apart the initial instincts that you have, and maybe those arent always the right ones. Sebastian Stan, Renate Reinsve and Adam Pearson in A Different Man (A24) Norwegian actor Renate Reinsve (The Worst Person in the World) and British actor Adam Pearson, who has neurofibromatosis, a genetic disorder that causes tumour growth along the bodys nerves, also star in the movie. Director Aaron Schimbergs A Different Man had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival last month. It will also screen in competition at the Berlin Film Festival. It has not yet set a cinematic release date. In July 2022, Stan stunned fans when he posted first-look images of himself in character, wearing heavy facial prosthetics. The first act of the movie sees Stan in heavy makeup before he goes back to his typical appearance after the procedure. Sign up to Roisin OConnors free weekly newsletter Now Hear This for the inside track on all things music Get our Now Hear This email for free Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Roisin OConnors email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} In the early Seventies, Notting Hill was a haven for creatives music fans could expect to rub shoulders with stars such as The Clashs Joe Strummer, David Bowie, and the rock band Quintessence. But no one wandering between the music shops, old boozers and recording studios would have had any idea that one of Paul McCartneys most prized possessions was just yards away in the Admiral Blake pub, stashed there by a panicked thief. After more than 50 years, the Beatles legend has been reunited with the bass guitar he played on some of the Fab Fours most famous early songs, including Love Me Do, Twist and Shout, and She Loves You. McCartney bought the Hofner bass for 30 (around 800 today) in 1961, before he rose to global stardom with the band he co-founded as a teenager in Liverpool. The distinctively shaped guitar, which was said to be his favourite, was last seen around the time The Beatles were recording their final album, Let It Be. Arguably one of the most famous instruments in the world, the bass helped power Beatlemania: it was played by McCartney hundreds of times at the iconic Cavern Club in his hometown, as well as in Hamburg during The Beatles storied Hamburg residencies in the early part of the Sixties. He used it during recording sessions for the first two Beatles albums: Please Please Me and With the Beatles (both released in 1963). McCartney held on to the bass until October 1972, after The Beatles split, when tragedy struck and it was stolen from a van that was being used to transport instruments for his band, Wings. Roadies Trevor Jones and Ian Horne told The Lost Bass Project that they parked the van on the street near Joness home in Ladbroke Grove, and went outside the next morning to find the heavy padlock locking it had been cut and the doors smashed open. I knew it was bad news. I looked inside and the bass, along with one other guitar and two Vox AC30 amps, had gone, Horne told the project. Paul McCartney on stage at the Cavern Club in Liverpool with his Hofner bass in the early 1960s (Keystone/Getty) He said he and Jones went to Notting Hill police station and reported the theft, as well as going door to door and asking if anyone had seen anything. The story was picked up at the time by The Independents sister paper, the Evening Standard; the people behind The Lost Bass Project believed this made the thief who was living in one of the squats in Ladbroke Grove realise just what it was hed stolen. At that point, the thief realised he had Paul McCartneys bass. Its very clear to us that he didnt set out to steal The Beatles bass, and he didnt know he was taking such a piece of Beatlemania history, husband and wife team Scott and Naomi Jones who joined the project with Nick Wass from Hofner told the BBCs Today programme on Friday 16 February. Apparently believing the bass was too hot to handle, the thief is then thought to have scuttled over to the Admiral Blake pub, where he knew the landlord, Ronald Guest, and asked if he could stash it there. The Lost Bass Project team believe he might eventually have sold it to Guest, who then kept it in the family for the next 52 years. Enjoy unlimited access to 70 million ad-free songs and podcasts with Amazon Music Sign up now for a 30-day free trial Sign up Enjoy unlimited access to 70 million ad-free songs and podcasts with Amazon Music Sign up now for a 30-day free trial Sign up McCartney was apparently devasted after the guitar was stolen (Getty) Nothing more was heard about the instrument until 2018, when a nationwide search was launched by The Lost Bass Project. After a fresh appeal for help from the public last year, the team received an anonymous tip-off apparently from a relative of the late landlord that it was sitting in the attic of a terraced house in Hastings, on the south coast of England. On Tuesday (13 February), a photo was posted to social media by 21-year-old film student Ruaidhri Guest, in which he claimed to be holding the elusive instrument. Guest, a Doctor Who fan who has met Scottish actor David Tennant, claimed he had inherited it and that it had since been returned to McCartney. A statement posted to McCartneys official website said: Following the launch of last year's Lost Bass project, Pauls 1961 Hofner 500/1 bass guitar, which was stolen in 1972, has been returned. The guitar has been authenticated by Hofner and Paul is incredibly grateful to all those involved. The Independent has contacted Ruaidhri Guest for comment. We are extremely proud that we played a major part in finding the lost bass, the people behind the project said in a statement. It has been a dream since 2018 that it could be done. Despite many telling us that it was lost forever or destroyed, we persisted until it was back where it belonged. We want to thank everyone who helped with the search, all those who sent us leads and ideas and many who just wanted to lend their support to us. Thank you all so very much. Very much indeed! We did it! For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} At least 11 people died in a fire that erupted at a paint factory in the northern part of India's national capital. Fire department authorities rushed 22 fire engines to the Alipur area after receiving a call around 5.25pm on Thursday. The massive blaze was brought under control after four hours, Delhi fire services chief Atul Garg said, adding that four injured people were admitted to a local hospital. Police officials fear more workers may be dead as no one was able to escape the blaze that started on the ground floor of the factory, trapping victims on the floors above. The bodies of the victims were recovered from under the rubble as a blast following the fire brought down parts of the building. "The fire then rapidly spread to adjacent buildings and shops," Mr Garg said, according to Reuters. The exact cause of the fire was still unknown and rescue teams and firefighters were continuing to search to find any trapped person, he added. Tense family members of the factory workers were anxiously waiting for the authorities to reveal the identity of the dead. I dont know where my brother is he recently joined the factory He is missing along with several others," Shyamu Kumar, the brother of a 19-year-old man who worked at the factory, told the Indian Express. He added that nearly a dozen people were employed by the factory. Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal is expected to meet the family members of those killed in the blaze. Fires are common in India, where building laws and safety norms are often flouted by builders and residents. Earlier this month, a fire swept through a fireworks factory in central India, killing 11 people and injuring about 150 others as it sparked other explosions. In January, four people, including a nine-month-old girl, died due to asphyxiation after a fire broke out in a house in the capital's Shahdara area. At least 27 people died in May 2022 in a massive fire at a four-storey commercial building in the western part of Delhi. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Indian farmers demanding higher prices for their crops will postpone a planned protest march to New Delhi until unions hold another round of talks with government ministers on Sunday. "We have decided that the next meeting to take the discussion forward will take place on Sunday at 6pm...We believe we will all find a solution together peacefully," said agriculture minister Arjun Munda. He met farmers representatives on Thursday along with commerce minister Piyush Goyal and minister of state for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai. Protest leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal also confirmed that the farmers would hold off their march for now. "When the meetings have started, if we move forward (towards Delhi) then how will meetings happen?" He, however, said that the protest "will continue peacefully". Thousands of farmers had embarked on the Delhi Chalo, or Lets go to Delhi march earlier this week to press the government to set a minimum price for their produce but they were stopped by security forces about 200km away from the capital, triggering clashes as police used tear gas and barricades to stop them. The farmers had brought their tractors and trucks along to the protest and have used these, and other farm equipment, as deterrents to the police action: jute vegetable sacks are soaked in water and used to contain the tear gas canisters while blowers disperse the fumes. Protesting farmers run for cover as Indian Police fires teargas to prevent them from moving towards Delhi on the second day of their protest at Shambhu Haryana-Punjab border point (EPA) Indian farmers continue to protest at Shambhu Haryana-Punjab border point (EPA) In addition to the kites, the farmers also have sling shots and flare-guns to fire against the drones. "Many people in this movement are veterans from the army, police or other forces, and they are suggesting ideas on how to minimise damage," said Sarvan Singh Pandher, general secretary of the Punjab Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee, one of the farm unions leading the march. Many servicemen in Indias Punjab and Haryana states turn to farming to make a living after they retire. Karampal Singh, a 23-year-old protestor, said the police were "forcing" farmers to act this way. "Let them do what they want, we will find a solution," he said. Indian farmers continue to protest at Shambhu Haryana-Punjab border point (EPA) Balbir Singh, a 42-year-old farmer from Punjab who was among the protesters, said he wanted the government to know that he was struggling to make ends meet. "We are demanding fair crop prices, theres no fixed price so what will the farmer do? Well have to sell our land," he said. "Farmers are facing a financial crisis." The protests erupted a few months before India is due to hold national elections in which prime minister Narendra Modi is seeking a third term. Farmers form an influential voting bloc. The farmers remained camped on the border between Punjab and Haryana states on Friday. Security forces have used concrete and metal barricades, as well as drones carrying tear gas canisters, to stop them from advancing. The protest comes two years after Modis government, following a similar protest movement, repealed some farm laws and promised to find ways to ensure support prices for all produce. Additional reporting by agencies For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} At least two people were killed and dozens sustained injuries as police in India's northeastern state of Manipur opened fire to stop a mob of hundreds from storming a police station. A mob consisting of about 400 people from the Kuki-Zo community attempted to storm the office of the superintendent of police in the tense Churachandpur district on late Thursday, the state police said. Security officials were "responding appropriately by firing tear gas shells to control the situation", it added on X. Nearly 200 people have been killed in the notheastern state since the violent conflict between minority Kuki-Zo and majority Meitei communities broke out on 3 May. Churachandpur, home to the Kuki-Zo community, was among the first areas in the state to witness ethnic clashes. The mob on Thursday stormed the station after the district police ordered the suspension of a Kuki constable for "grave misconduct" after purported images of him with armed men surfaced on social media. The crowd, demanding the constable be reinstated, attacked the complex that houses the offices of the police chief and set several vehicles on fire as violence and arson spread to the other parts of the city. Security forces fired tear gas to disperse the crowd and then "resorted to shooting", an anonymous official was quoted by Reuters as saying. Mobile internet has been suspended in the district in view of the violence, authorities said. The longest-running internet shutdown of 2023 was imposed by Indian authorities in Manipur and lasted over 5,000 hours. The Indigenous Tribal Leaders' Forum (ITLF), an apex tribal body, warned district police chief Shivanand Surve, who had issued the suspension order, to leave Churachandpur within the next 24 hours. "Despite multiple evidence of the Meitei police collaborating with Meitei militants and engaging in violence against tribal communities, no action has been taken against them. In contrast, a Kuki-Zo tribal policeman was swiftly suspended based on a single screengrab, the ITLF said. Stay ahead of the trend in fashion and beyond with our free weekly Lifestyle Edit newsletter Stay ahead of the trend in fashion and beyond with our free weekly Lifestyle Edit newsletter Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Lifestyle Edit email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Zendaya has once again proven her fashion icon status, this time at the London premiere for Dune: Part Two. The 27-year-old actor arrived at Leicester Square on Thursday 15 February looking futuristic in a robot-style outfit, straight from the Thierry Mugler archives. The silver bodysuit, which hails from Muglers Fall-Winter 1995 couture collection, was decked out with chromatic sleeves covering her from neck to hands. The metallic ensemble also featured sheer cut-outs over plastic across her midriff and legs. When the robotic bodysuit was initially unveiled in 1995, it featured a matching headpiece and was modelled with a sheer black cape on the runway. To make it her own, Zendaya accessorised the already eye-catching look with a shiny diamond necklace. The outfit was styled by none other than Law Roach, the Euphoria stars longtime friend and frequent collaborator. According to W Magazine, the Mugler catsuit was dubbed the Machinenmensch - or Machine Human - and took six months to create at the time. The iconic designer, who died in January 2022 aged 73, collaborated with Jean-Jacques Urcun to make the look, which was inspired by the fictional character Futura from Thea von Harbous dystopian novel, Metropolis. Of course, it didnt take long for fans on social media to once again proclaim Zendaya as the unofficial queen of fashion. Zendaya attends Dune: Part Two premiere alongside celebrity stylist Law Roach (Getty Images for Warner Bros. Pi) This is SICKENING, one fan commented on X, formerly Twitter, in response to the chromatic look. Zendaya has outdone herself. By far one of the best looks this decade, another person replied. Nobody comes close to her and her fashion, a third user said. She is unstoppable. According to users on X, the Emmy winner unveiled a second look at the Dune: Part Two premiere that same evening: a chic, floor-length gown with a cowl neckline and her short hair slicked back. Zendaya wasnt the only Dune cast member to pull out all the fashion stops during Thursdays premiere. Florence Pugh, who joins the sci-fi film franchise in its second installment as Princess Irulan, stunned on the red carpet wearing a dark brown bedazzled gown with a plunging neckline, hood, and open back. Timothee Chalamet attended the premiere in a black oversized T-shirt with silver patterned trousers, while his Dune co-star Austin Butler turned heads wearing a long, cape-like black blazer with high-waisted trousers and a white sleeveless shirt. Even actor Anya Taylor-Joy wore a whimsical, white plunging gown with a sheer headscarf. Throughout the press tour for Dune: Part Two, Zendaya hasnt shied away from showing off her strong sense of style. Just one day prior, she wore a dark purple three-piece suit set from Roksanda in London, pairing the look with jewellery from Bulgari and Nina Ricci. Earlier this week, Zendaya stepped out for the films premiere in Paris wearing a two-piece Louis Vuitton ensemble, which featured a gold rose-embroidered crop top and billowing skirt. Fans can expect the Spider-Man: No Way Home star to turn heads once again at the 2024 Met Gala, her first time attending the annual fashion event since 2019. In fact, it was recently announced that Zendaya will serve as Met Gala co-chair alongside Bad Bunny, Chris Hemsworth, Jennifer Lopez, and Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour. The theme for this years Met Gala - which takes place on Monday 6 May in New York City - is Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion and the dress code is The Garden of Time. Stay ahead of the trend in fashion and beyond with our free weekly Lifestyle Edit newsletter Stay ahead of the trend in fashion and beyond with our free weekly Lifestyle Edit newsletter Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Lifestyle Edit email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} London Fashion Week has started, marking the 40th anniversary of the biannual event. Since launching in 1984, the event has grown from an avant-garde show to a giant in the fashion industry with this years London Fashion Week (LFW) opening at the London Stock Exchange this week, signifying the importance of the fashion industry to the UK economy. UK womenswear sales alone are worth an estimated 30.9 billion, according to Mintel data. But, the world has changed a lot in the past four decades so is there still a place for LFW today? Dr Benjamin Wild, senior lecturer of Fashion Narratives at Manchester Metropolitan University, believes so. Fashion is an industry that contributes just over 3% to the countrys GDP. I also think in terms of diversity and social responsibility, thats something I think London takes very seriously. With three globally established fashion weeks, I think that its imperative to be different, says Wild. First organised by the British Fashion Council in February 1984, London Fashion Week happens twice a year in February and September. When it launched, there were already three well established fashion weeks running in Paris, New York and Milan, and London was considered an interloper of the industry. Its always been said and I think its very much true that right from its inception, London Fashion Week has always been associated with innovation, and in terms of its creativity, theres a greater sense of freedom, adds Wild. It does capture something that is quintessentially British or English in terms of being a little bit rebellious, a little bit playful and defying the norms. I think thats enabled London Fashion Week to really establish itself in distinction to the pre-existing fashion weeks and, over these past 40 years, its always had an angle, its always had a perspective and, if you like, a territory that is very much its own. In March 1984, when prime minister Margaret Thatcher hosted a reception to celebrate London Fashion Week, English designer Katharine Hamnett caused a stir by wearing a slogan tee which read 58% dont want Pershing, in response to opinion polls being against the basing of Pershing II missiles in the country. Wilds believes politics seeps into LFW more than the other fashion weeks around the world, adding: Fashion is a mirror of society. Since the Eighties, LFW has established itself as a giant within the fashion industry and is now a highly anticipated event in the fashion calendar. However, the exclusivity of the shows has drawn criticism, and Wild says the catwalk isnt particularly democratic but he believes the event is moving with the times, with the 2009 LFW at Somerset House putting up digital screens to make the event accessible. The way [designers] communicate with their audiences, whether thats taking advantage of digital technologies, has evolved over this 40-year period, Wild adds. London has always been a hub for innovative fashion in the 1980s, for example, a group of designers called Body Map created designs that did not follow the natural silhouette of the body. Wild says London Fashion Week has continued to push boundaries, with the first London Collections: Men launching in 2012, and shifting again in 2020 to become one gender-neutral event. The academic adds that being different and diverse is very much part of the DNA of the event. It has had pushback over the years though, most recently from Extinction Rebellion who disrupted an event last year to call on LFW to cut their ties with Coca-Cola, criticising their plastic use. Despite this, Wild argues LFW still has value in 2024 but admits it will need to evolve to stay relevant. This is particularly the case in terms of sustainability/environment impact and accessibility. Were increasingly thinking about sustainability, with a lot of recent reports from the industry itself, but also other international organisations, saying the fashion industry will not meet, and wont be able to contribute to meeting sustainability goals that have been set, Wild notes. He also thinks the questions around whether it should move more online are important if it wants to be increasingly relevant. During the Covid-19 pandemic, when gatherings were limited to small numbers, organisers pivoted their approach by going digital and live-streaming shows online. This is something Wild thinks well see more of in the future a hybridity and balance between physical and digital. He adds: I think itll be interesting to see how it does evolve. I think the fashion industry right now, very much since the pandemic, is trying to align its priorities. There will always be that need for the physical, because of the materiality of our clothing, but were increasingly aware of sustainability. Well probably see more of what London Fashion Week is doing this year, emphasising the cultural element in the capital, with multi-site events and reaching out to bring in people who might not validly associate themselves with fashion. American tourists in Hoi An in central Vietnam. Photo by VnExpress/Dac Thanh Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has ordered the Ministry of Public Security to consider expanding visa exemptions for citizens of certain countries in accordance with bilateral cooperation. The request was made on Thursday after the Lunar New Year break as the country eyes 18 million foreign arrivals this year, equivalent to the pre-pandemic figure. The PM asked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to evaluate the application of unilateral visa exemption policies for citizens of 13 countries. The foreign affairs and public security ministries have been asked to expand the list of countries whose citizens are unilaterally exempted from visas. The list now has Germany, France, Italy, Spain, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Russia, Japan, South Korea, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, and Belarus. Vietnam now waives visas for travelers from 25 countries compared to 162 for Malaysia and Singapore, 157 for the Philippines, 68 for Japan, 66 for South Korea and 64 for Thailand. Many Asian countries are increasing their competitiveness to attract foreign tourists with visa-free policies. Under the current immigration policy, Vietnam grants three-month tourist visas for citizens from all countries and territories. The government also tripled the duration of stays in Vietnam to 45 days for citizens of 13 countries unilaterally exempted from visas. Stay ahead of the trend in fashion and beyond with our free weekly Lifestyle Edit newsletter Stay ahead of the trend in fashion and beyond with our free weekly Lifestyle Edit newsletter Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Lifestyle Edit email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Florence Pugh sweetly brought her grandmother to the premiere of Dune: Part Two in Leicester Square on Thursday. The 28-year-old actor pulled on fans heartstrings as she walked the carpet in Leicester Square with her grandmother - whom she calls Granzo Pat. Pugh looked as stylish as ever in a custom Valentino brown sequin dress with a hood made by Pierpaolo Piccioli, as she smiled with her grandmother and posed for photos. And of course, fans had something to say about the special moment shared between the Pugh and Granzo Pat. One user wrote on X/formerly known as Twitter: Florence Pugh and her grandmother are so cute. Awww beautiful people, a third user said under a post by Film Updates on X. Florence Pugh and grandmother Pat (Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images) A third commented: Maximum respect for any celebrity who always takes or shows that he is grateful for being where he is thanks to the support of his family. This isnt the first time Granzo Pat proudly joined her granddaughter on the red carpet. In 2022, Pugh and Granzo Pat attended the Venice International Film Festival. In an Instagram post at the time, Pugh called it a "special" moment and said that her grandmother would attend a carpet with her again. In the caption of her post, Pugh wrote, She is such an adventurer that it saddened us all that she was thinking that way. I asked her, but granny, what about being on the red carpet at my premiere in Venice? What about if Bear Grylls actually does invite you to run wild with him for an episode? After some thought she started the process. I hugged her and asked if she would like to stand with me for a picture, her eyes lit up whilst also saying Oh they dont want to see me. I assured her they did. Next thing I know shes dancing for all the photographers calling her name. It was truly the most special moment I have ever had on a carpet. Pugh and her grandma Pat share a special moment (Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images) When joining the Dune franchise, Pugh, who plays the role of Princess Irulan, said, I stepped into a world that I already was enamoured with. Dune: Part Two, is the second instalment of the sci-fi movie. Canadian director Denis Villeneuve takes audiences back to Arrakis for his follow-up to 2021s Dune, with Chalamets lead character Paul Atreides joining forces with Zendayas Chani and the Arrakis locals, called the Fremen, to seek revenge against those who killed his father. Set in a future where noble families rule planetary fiefs, the franchise is based on author Frank Herberts highly acclaimed 1965 novel of the same name. It tackles politics, religion, the fight for precious resources and the environment. "The first movie was a bit of homework for the audience that they had to learn about this world...there was a lot of back story, that's done. Now the second one was more cinematic fun for me," Villeneuve told Reuters at the London premiere. The evening was filled with glitz and glam as stars including Timothee Chalamet and Zendaya walked the sandy desert carpet. Zendaya arrived on for the premiere looking futuristic in a robot-style outfit (Getty Images for Warner Bros. Pi) Zendaya, 27, stole the show as she arrived for the premiere looking futuristic in a robot-style outfit, straight from the Thierry Mugler archives. The silver bodysuit, which hails from Muglers Fall-Winter 1995 couture collection, was decked out with chromatic sleeves covering her from neck to hands. The metallic ensemble also featured sheer cut-outs over plastic across her midriff and legs. The Mugler catsuit was dubbed the Machinenmensch - or Machine Human - and took six months to create at the time, according to W Magazine. Dune: Part Two arrives in UK cinemas on 1 March. Stay ahead of the trend in fashion and beyond with our free weekly Lifestyle Edit newsletter Stay ahead of the trend in fashion and beyond with our free weekly Lifestyle Edit newsletter Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Lifestyle Edit email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} A royal expert has claimed the coat of arms featured on the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's website as part of a rebrand includes three key mistakes. Prince Harry and Meghan launched their new website earlier this week, changing the name from Archewell to Sussex.com in a nod to their royal roots. The revamped site declares itself The Office of Prince Harry and Meghan, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, and it also links to their former sussexroyal.com website even though they agreed to stop using the Sussex Royal title in 2020. The rehaul has stirred controversy since critics claimed the couple should not be cashing in on their regal legacy after stepping down from their duties. A coat of arms features on their revamped site, with a shield-shaped flag topped with a crown on top, a Lion to the left and a white bird on the right. Writing for The Telegraph, Hugo Vickers, who has authored biographies on members of the royal family including the Queen Mother, said that Harry and Meghan should not be exploiting their royal connections by using the coat of arms on their website. He highlighted Haldsburys Laws of England, which state that the Royal arms should not be used in connection with any business, trade, calling, or profession in such a manner as to be calculated to lead to the belief that he is authorised so to do. (Supplied) The royal expert also highlighted three mistakes with the coat of arms used on the site. Firstly, Mr Vickers pointed out that the coat of arms used is Meghans - granted to her when she was still a HRH - rather than a conjugal side-by-side shield. He writes it would have been better to use a joint coat of arms, with two shields side by side, similar to the ones used by the current Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh. The left-hand side of the coast of arms, which features Prince Harry's coat of arms, also features an error, Mr Vickers writes. It was issued to the Duke of Sussex in 2018 when he was the grandson of the Sovereign, but now he is son of the Sovereign he should have three-point labels instead of five. The point labels refer to the white emblem around the neck of the Lion and the top of the shield, the Telegraph explained. The coronet is also out-of-date since the one used on the site is correct for sons and daughters of the Heir Apparent, with one cross patee, two fleurs de lys and two strawberry leaves. Now Harry is son of the Sovereign, there should be three of each of the described details. The rebrand comes as Prince Harry spoke about his fathers cancer diagnosis for the first time, suggesting King Charless cancer could lead to a reconciliation. In an interview with a US breakfast show, Harry also said I love my family and that he was grateful to be able to spend time with his father last week. The dukes whirlwind visit to see Charles for around 45 minutes prompted speculation the two men, estranged since the duke stepped down as a working royal, may be on the point of rebuilding their relationship. In the interview due to be aired on Good Morning America it was suggested a family illness could have a re-unifying effect, and when Harry was asked is that possible in this case? he replied: Yeah, Im sure. The duke and his wife Meghan are in Canada staging a number of events with Invictus competitors to mark a year to go until Harrys Invictus Games, for wounded and sick veterans and military, is staged in the country. They are being followed by a film crew led by Will Reeve, the son of the late Superman star Christopher Reeve, who interviewed the royal. Stay ahead of the trend in fashion and beyond with our free weekly Lifestyle Edit newsletter Stay ahead of the trend in fashion and beyond with our free weekly Lifestyle Edit newsletter Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Lifestyle Edit email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Prince Harry has shared a sweet update about his and wife Meghan Markles children, Archie, four, and Lilibet, two. The Duke of Sussex opened up about his family life during an interview with Good Morning America on 16 February, while he and Meghan were in Whistler, Canada, meeting athletes at the Blackcomb resort in British Columbia in preparation for the 2025 Winter Invictus Games. During the conversation, he was asked how he was doing as a parent, to which he jokingly responded: I cant tell you that, its classifiedTop secret. He then clarified that his children are doing great, before describing some of the things he loves about being a father. The kids are growing up like all kids do, very, very fast, he said. Theyve both got an incredible sense of humour and make us laugh and keep us grounded every single day, like most kids do. So, Im just very grateful to be a dad. This isnt the first time that the duke has spoken candidly about his children. While speaking to Todays Hoda Kotb in 2022, during the fifth Invictus Games, Harry shared what he loved the most about fatherhood. All of it. The chaos, the learning, the reminder of just every element of yourself, your soul, he said at the time. While once again emphasising that he loves every part of being a parent, he also noted that he always wanted to be a dad, even before he welcomed his children. Ive always wanted to have my own kids, and now I got two little people who Im responsible for, he said. During the recent Good Morning America interview, Harry also opened up about living in the US, noting that its amazing and that he loves every day of it. He then acknowledged that while he doesnt necessarily feel American, hes still considered becoming an American citizen. American citizenship is a thought that has crossed my mind but not a high priority right now, he said. Harry left the UK in 2020, shortly after he and Meghan decided to step back as senior members of the royal family. They now live in Montecito, California, with their children. Elsewhere in the Good Morning America interview, Harry opened up about his father King Charless cancer diagnosis, after travelling to London to see him for a 30-minute meeting, a day after the news of the health diagnosis was made public. He specified that he learned about Charles illness through speaking to him, before he jumped on a plane to see his father as soon as [he] could. I love my family. The fact that I was able to get on a plane and go and see him and spend any time with him, Im grateful for that, he said. When asked if Charles cancer diagnosis could reunify the royal family, Harry responded: Yeah, Im sure. Throughout all these families, I see it on a day-to-day basis, the strength of the family unit coming together. I think any illness, any sickness brings families together. Regarding how hes processed everything going on with his family, while living in California, he explained that hes been focused on his wife and children. However, he still acknowledged that hell make the time to see his family in the UK. I have my own family, as we all do, he said. So my family and my life in California is as it is. Ive got other trips planned that would take me through the UK or back to the UK, and so Ill stop in and see my family as much as I can. Stay ahead of the trend in fashion and beyond with our free weekly Lifestyle Edit newsletter Stay ahead of the trend in fashion and beyond with our free weekly Lifestyle Edit newsletter Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Lifestyle Edit email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Zendaya and Tom Holland have put the breakup rumours to rest with a sweet date, after the premiere of Dune: Part Two. The beloved couple was spotted walking through the streets of London on 15 February, following the premiere of Zendayas new film. The outing also comes one month after Holland squashed speculation that he and his girlfriend split, as shed unfollowed everyone from Instagram, including him. In the photos taken outside of the after party, which have been shared to X, Holland could be seen holding Zendayas hand, as she was wearing a black dress and heels. The actor also matched his girlfriend with an all-black look, which included a shirt, vest, and pants. Another video on X also showed the couple walking to a car on their date, while being escorted by a security guard. During the occasion, Holland was also seen holding Zendayas hand, before he placed his hand on her back as she entered the car. On social media, fans have gone on to praise the couple and their relationship, while seemingly hitting back at the rumours that they split. They look amazing omg, one tweeted, while another wrote: Zendaya and Tom Holland are so happy and in love and i just know those fans are crying about it. Its so cute that Tom and Zendaya are still together, a third wrote. In January, Holland first clarified that he and Zendaya were still together. When approached by a TMZ reporter at the time, Holland was asked to clear up any speculation that he and the Euphoria star had split up. In response, Holland quickly clarified that those breakup rumours werent true, saying: No, absolutely not. The clarification also came days after Zendaya made headlines for making changes to her social media account, as she cleared her friends and colleagues out of her following list on Instagram. Although Zendaya isnt following Holland on Instagram, hes still following her. While Zendaya never publicly addressed her decision to do the social media cleanse, it came as she was advertising some of her newest films. More specifically, on her Instagram in January, she shared a photo of herself in the poster of her new movie, The Challengers. Zendaya and Holland first sparked rumours that they were dating in 2017, after starring in Spider-Man: Homecoming. However, they didnt confirm their romance until July 2021, when photos of them kissing in a car were published. The Disney Channel alum has also hit back at rumours that have been made about her relationship. More specifically, when the Emmy Award-winner published a selfie exposing what appeared to be a pearl ring with a studded band on her finger in September 2023, viewers were quick to guess the two Hollywood stars were getting hitched. However, Zendaya silenced those engagement rumours in a since-removed Instagram video, saying: I cant post anything, you guys. I posted it for my hat. Like not for the ring on my right hand, you guys, seriously. You think thats how I would drop the news? You think, like, what, she joked. In a follow-up post, she also shared a full-body picture, which featured a Golden State Warriors hat and the ring reflected in the body of a car. Her caption read: Let me just put the full body back so yall can relax lmao. Over the years, the couple has also been candid about the dynamics of their relationship. Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter in 2022, Holland explained why he and his girlfriend keep their romance out of the public eye. Our relationship is something that we are incredibly protective of and we want to keep as sacred as possible, he said. We dont think that we owe it to anyone, its our thing, and it has nothing to do with our careers. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Serbia will seek an urgent U.N. Security Council meeting to discuss the escalation of tensions with its former province of Kosovo after its government decided to ban the use of the Serbian dinar and introduce the euro in areas where minority Serbs live, Serbia's president said Friday. Kosovos government has banned banks and other financial institutions in the Serb-populated areas from using the dinar in local transactions. Kosovos Central Bank issued the new rules last summer. Most of Kosovo uses the euro, even though the country is not part of the European Union. But parts of Kosovos north, populated mostly by ethnic Serbs, continue to use the dinar and many there rely on the government of Serbia for financial support, often delivered in dinars in cash. In an address to the nation Friday, Serbian populist President Aleksandar Vucic said Kosovo's ban of the dinar is intended to ethnically cleanse the Serbs from Kosovo, describing it as a criminal strike against the Serbs. Serbia will ignore the currency rule, he said, and find a way so that Kosovo Serbs continue to receive their pensions and salaries from Serbia. People are scared, they are waiting in lines to get their money," Vucic said. On Monday, we will continue delivering the money through an authorized and licensed carrier. Serbs represent about 4% of Kosovo's 1.7 million people. Serbian forces fought a 1998-99 war with ethnic Albanian separatists in what was then the province of Kosovo. About 13,000 people, mostly ethnic Albanians, died until a 78-day NATO bombing campaign pushed Serbian forces out. Kosovo eventually declared independence in 2008, but the government in Belgrade doesnt recognize its neighbor as a separate country. The EU and the United States have called on Kosovo to postpone the currency measure. The measure has sparked concern among Western powers, fearing more tension in Kosovos relations with Serbia. "I believe that the Western partners will keep their word and try to fight for the elementary rights of the Serbian population in Kosovo, said Vucic, who has maintained warm relations with Vladimir Putins Russia. Serbia will send a formal request for the urgent Security Council session on Monday, Vucic added. The EU-facilitated normalization talks between Belgrade and Pristina have failed to make progress, especially following a shootout last September between masked Serb gunmen and Kosovo police that left four people dead and ratcheted up tensions. Both Serbia and Kosovo have said they want to join the EU, but the blocs officials have warned that their refusal to compromise in the talks is jeopardizing their chances for membership. Will Christian Brueckner ever be charged with the abduction of Madeleine McCann? It is now more than three years since he was first named and identified as the prime suspect in the case, and longer still since he initially became a focus of investigation. The media speculation around him remains intense. On the BBCs Panorama programme at the end of last year, Hans Christian Wolters, the chief public prosecutor for the German city of Braunschweig, once again repeated his claim that we think (Brueckner) was involved in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann and we think that he murdered Madeleine McCann. But if there is evidence to make such a public declaration, why hasnt he been charged? And if there is no evidence, why has the prosecutor repeatedly asserted his belief in Brueckners guilt? For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} A British woman has been jailed for seven years in a legal first after she was found guilty of handing over a three-year-old who was subjected to female genital mutilation. Amina Noor, 40, took the toddler, who cannot be named for legal reasons, to Kenya in 2006 where the procedure was carried out. A court heard the girl, who was not told what would happen to her, cried for the whole night after her clitoris was removed by a woman whose medical qualifications were not known. Noor was found guilty of assisting a person to mutilate a girls genitalia while outside the UK, contrary to the FGM Act of 2003, following a week-long trial at the Old Bailey in October. Sentencing her to seven years on Friday, judge Mr Justice Bryan said it was the first successful prosecution for the truly horrific and abhorrent crime, adding the victims life has been irrevocably altered by your actions. The judge said he hoped the victims bravery would encourage others to come forward to report FGM, which is often perpetrated under a cloak of secrecy. Referring to the victim as Jade to protect her anonymity, he added: It is to Jades very great credit that she came forward and had the confidence to speak to a teacher about what had been done to her, and it is to be hoped that her courage in doing so will inspire other women to do the same, so that the perpetrators of such vile practices are prosecuted, and such vile practices are deterred. He said it defies belief that an adult would allow a vulnerable young child to be mutilated, concluding that the toddler would have been held down and suffered significant pain and copious bleeding. He said that the removal of the clitoris amounted to the destruction of an organ, noting potential complications can include swelling, delayed wound healing, urine retention and infection - which can lead to sepsis and death - while the long term impacts are irreversible. Dressed in black at the Old Bailey, Noor wiped away tears as she was led from the dock. In mitigation, Nneka Akudolu KC, defending, had urged the court to at least consider an alternative to a substantial custodial sentence arguing that Noor believed the victim would be subjected to a far less invasive procedure. She told the court Noor, who was born in Somalia but fled to Kenya during the civil war before relocating to Britain aged 16, was pressured to take the child for the procedure. The court heard that 94 per cent of women of Somali origin living in Kenya undergo FGM, according to United Nations figures. Its difficult for us to understand and comprehend that pressure. This repugnant practise was embedded in that culture and she was clearly, plainly influenced at the time in the belief she was doing what was necessary to be accepted, she said. In an impact statement read to the court, the victim now 21 insisted she is not angry with Noor. The victim said: I know that had I been in her position with the failure of education, with the pressure from people I loved most, I would also have gone through with it. During the trial, prosecutor Deanna Heer KC said Ms Noor travelled by tuk-tuk to a clinic at a private house in the east African country, where the girl was taken into a room on her own by a woman whose medical qualifications were not known. The girl, who was born in Britain, was not told what would happen to her or was too young to understand. Whilst they were there, she took [the girl] to the house of Kenyan woman, where [the girl] was subjected to female genital mutilation (FGM), she told the court. Afterwards, the toddler cried the whole night, complaining of pain when she went to the toilet, while cotton wool was stuck to the wound after the procedure, the court heard. The incident was not reported until 2018, when the girl then aged 16 confided in an English teacher who contacted the authorities. During a medical examination at a London hospital in 2019, doctors confirmed the girls clitoris had been fully removed. Senior Crown Prosecutor Patricia Strobino said the conviction sends a clear message (PA) In a police interview in 2019, Noor, who denied the charge, said she had expected the child to undergo Sunnah, which she said was the insertion of a needle in the genitalia to draw blood, but insisted she did not know her clitoris would be removed. Giving evidence, Noor, from Harrow, northwest London, told jurors she feared she would have been disowned and cursed if she did not hand over the child. Following the conviction last year, senior crown prosecutor Patricia Strobino, who works in the CPS London Complex Casework Unit, urged other FGM survivors to come forward. She said: This kind of case will hopefully encourage potential victims and survivors of FGM to come forward, safe in the knowledge that they are supported, believed and also are able to speak their truth about whats actually happened to them. It will also send a clear message to those prospective defendants or people that want to maintain this practice that it doesnt matter whether they assist or practise or maintain this practice within the UK, or overseas, they are likely to be prosecuted. The Mets Detective Superintendent Andy Furphy, whose team led the investigation, added: We know FGM can be a taboo subject, which is rarely discussed within families and communities we must build trust with those impacted so we can protect victims. Its not our job to judge and we will always remain sensitive and respectful. I hope todays sentence acts as a real deterrent to those who choose to harm children in this way. Most importantly, I hope that we can use this result as an opportunity to continue to raise awareness of this topic, ensuring victims know that there is support and help out there. Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Morning Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Following a damaging antisemitism row, Labour has withdrawn support for its former candidate in the Rochdale by-election, Azhar Ali. Mr Ali faces allegations of antisemitism for comments he made at a meeting of other Labour members, where he said that Israel had allowed last years October 7 attack to happen to use as a pretext to invade Gaza. Labour had initially stood by their candidate, arguing he had fell for an online conspiracy theory. They subsequently withdrew support, in light of new information. Mr Ali has said he apologises unreservedly for his comments. Labours candidate for Rochdale, Azhar Ali, has lost the partys support (Peter Byrne / PA) This is not the first time Keir Starmers Labour has acted to suspend members due to allegations of antisemitism or racism, sometimes in very high-profile cases. The North London MP has pledged the party under his leadership will have zero tolerance of antisemitism, of racism, of discrimination of any kind. However, others have accused the party under Mr Starmers leadership of displaying a factional preference in the disciplinary process. Most recently Matt Forde KC, author of an antisemitism report into the Labour party, has said the handling of Mr Alis case was shambolic and raises questions around disparity in treatment. Heres a breakdown of other notable Labour members who have been suspended from the party following allegations of racism or antisemitism: Jeremy Corbyn Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn was suspended in October 2020 after rejecting the conclusions of a report into antisemitism in the party. Claiming the problem was dramatically overstated for political reasons, the veteran politician came into direct conflict with his successor Keir Starmer. Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, 2020 (PA) A Labour spokesman said at the time that Corbyn was being suspended for a failure to retract his words. Over two years later, Starmer confirmed Corbyn would not be allowed to stand as a Labour MP. How has he responded? Corbyn initially reacted by saying he would strongly contest his suspension, calling it political. Following this, he offered clarification of he comments, but not an apology or retraction. The point I wished to make was that the vast majority of Labour Party members were and remain committed anti-racists deeply opposed to antisemitism, wrote the former leader, I fully support Keir Starmers decision to accept all the EHRC recommendations in full. It is expected Mr Corbyn will still stand as an independent candidate in Islington North, the seat he has held since 1983. Diane Abbott In April 2023, Diane Abbott was suspended from the party after suggesting in The Observer that white-seeming Irish people, Jews and Travellers do not experience racism in the same way as non-white people do. The party moved quickly, announcing her suspension the same day. Diane Abbott and then-shadow Brexit secretary Keir Starmer at 2019 rally (PA) Over 9 months later, Abbott remains suspended as party officials say the investigation is ongoing. How has she responded? After her suspension, Abbott apologised and said she wished to wholly and unreservedly withdraw her remarks. The MP said: The errors arose in an initial draft being sent. But there is no excuse, I wish to apologise for any anguish caused. The veteran MP has since said she believes there is no investigation, and that she suspects the party is using disciplinary process to bar me from standing at the next election. Andy McDonald Former shadow employment secretary Andy McDonald was suspended in October 2023, three days after repeating the slogan from the river to the sea at a peace rally organised by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign. The phrase, long-used by pro-Palestine campaigners and activists, has been subject to intense debate since last years October 7 Hamas attack. Mr McDonalds full statement was: We will not rest until we have justice, until all people, Israelis and Palestinians, between the river and the sea can live in peaceful liberty. Andy McDonald MP (PA) A Labour spokesperson said: The comments made by Andy McDonald at the weekend were deeply offensive, particularly at a time of rising antisemitism which has left Jewish people fearful for their safety. Mr McDonald confirmed on Twitter that he had been placed under precautionary suspension for three months. However he remains suspended past this deadline. How has he responded? Following his suspension, Mr McDonald wrote that he was saddened by the news, and that he looked forward to engaging and fully co-operating with the inquiry. He added that his words should not be construed in any other way than they were intended, namely as a heartfelt plea for an end to the killings in Israel, Gaza, and the occupied West Bank. In the subsequent months, Mr McDonald has been proactive in ensuring the media construes his words accurately, forcing several corrections. He is suing Conservative MP Chris Clarkson for accusing him of seeking to justify the Hamas October 7 attack. Mr McDonald had already stood down from his post as Shadow Secretary for Employment in 2021, accusing Keir Starmer of failing on his commitments to workers and not delivering on his pledges. Kate Osamor Edmonton MP Kate Osamor was suspended in January 2024 for saying on Holocaust Memorial Day that the situation in Gaza should be recognised as a genocide. She wrote to party members that there was an international duty to remember Holocaust victims, but also those of more recent genocides in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and now Gaza. Kate Osamor, then-Shadow Secretary for International Development, speaks at the 2016 Labour conference in Liverpool (PA) How has she responded? Ms Osamor later posted an apology on Twitter / X saying: Holocaust Memorial Day is a day to remember the 6 million Jews killed in the Holocaust and the genocides that have occurred since. I apologise for any offence caused by my reference to the ongoing humanitarian disaster in Gaza as part of that period of remembrance. However, Ms Osamor remains suspended from the party as investigations continue. Graham Jones Former Hyndburn MP Graham Jones, seeking re-election in his seat, was suspended shortly after Azhar Ali. He was recorded repeatedly referring to Israel as f***ing Israel and saying British nationals who join the Israel Defence Forces should be locked up. Graham Jones MP (UK Parliament) This audio, released by Guido Fawkes, was allegedly recorded at the same meeting Mr Ali had made the remarks that lead to his own suspension. The Jewish Labour Movement called his comments appalling and unacceptable. How has he responded? Mr Jones has not yet publicly responded to news of his suspension. This article was amended on February 16, 2024, to remove Rebecca Long-Bailey from the list. Ms Long-Bailey was never suspended by Keir Starmer, although she did lose her position in the shadow cabinet after sharing an article that contained what Mr Starmer said was an antisemitic conspiracy theory. Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Morning Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Britons are set to be struck by a weekend washout as mild temperatures make way for heavy showers. The Met Office has issued a rain warning for the whole of England and Wales as torrential downpours will make their way across the country from the west. The forecast is a stark change from Thursday, the warmest day of the year so far, with temperatures reaching an abnormally high 16C in some parts of the country. This weekends yellow rain weather warning (Met Office) The two-day warning comes into force at 3pm on Saturday and runs until 6pm on Sunday. Alex Burkill, a meteorologist at the Met Office said: There is more wet weather to come as we go through this weekend. A band of rain is going to sweep its way in from the west as we go from Saturday into Sunday. Pushing in from the west, initially across Northern Ireland but feeding into western parts of Scotland, England and Wales as we go through Saturday afternoon. Some of this rain will be heavy so we are expecting some impacts in the form of localised flooding, disruption to travel and perhaps some power outages. Friday will mainly remain mild and dry with some light rain developing in the evening. A vehicle passes through flood water in Walton, near to Stratford-upon-Avon, in Warwickshire on Friday, with more rain to come this weekend (PA) Up to 20mm rain is expected with 40mm set to fall over higher grounds. The rainfall can lead to travel disruptions like delays in bus and train services and some flooding, the forecaster warned. Nine flood warnings and 109 flood alerts are in place across England as the country prepares for more rain. The Met Offices five day weather forecast Friday: Any early rain will soon clear eastern parts of England. A bright day to come for many, with sunny spells. Some showers developing, these most focused across England and Wales. Another mild day for the time of year. Friday night: A dry evening for most. Cloud slowly thickening across western areas overnight, with some light rain or drizzle developing. Hill fog possible too. Clear spells holding on in the east. Saturday: Western areas will have a cloudy day with outbreaks of rain, turning heavy into the evening. Drier further east with sunny spells, though rain arriving here after dark. Mild. Outlook for Sunday to Tuesday: Morning rain largely clearing, then fine on Sunday with sunny spells. Monday should remain dry, with further spells of sunshine. Turning wetter and windier from the northwest through Tuesday. Mild. Stranded Taiwanese tourists arrive at Phu Quoc International Airport on Feb. 14 2024 to fly home. Photo by VnExpress/Hoang Dung Winner International Travel Company has been fined for "violating regulations when providing travel services" after 292 Taiwanese tourists it was contracted to serve were stranded on Phu Quoc Island. The fine amount has not been announced yet by the Tourism Department of Kien Giang Province, home to Phu Quoc. The Phu Quoc-based company had a contract with Taiwanese travel company We Love Tour on Sept. 12 last year. After receiving a deposit of 700,000 TWD (US$22,317) on Jan. 18, the Vietnamese company sent a price quote to the Taiwanese partner. However, both then could not reach an agreement about the prices. On Jan. 31, the Vietnamese travel agency sent a notice to stop providing services to the partner but there was no confirmation or response from it. Despite halting the cooperation, it still kept the deposit. On Feb. 9, the group of Taiwanese tourists arrived at Phu Quoc International Airport where there were no vehicles and hotels waiting for them. A representative of We Love Tour contacted with the Vietnamese company to take care of the visitors. The Vietnamese company requested an additional payment of $720 per person. We Love Tour asked the group to pay, keep the invoice to be refunded when they returned to Taiwan. However, only 90 of them agreed. The Kien Giangs Department of Tourism said Winner Company had violated regulations when providing travel services as "it still kept the deposit, serving the group of tourists and collecting service fees despite unilaterally terminating the contract." Bui Quoc Thai, director of the tourism department, said it would continue to collect information and evidence to clarify issues related to the responsibilities of the two companies, leading to the loss of tourists' rights and affecting the tourism image of Phu Quoc and Vietnam. The stranded tourists flew home on charter flights on Feb. 14. Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Morning Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Six migrants have been taken to hospital after they were found in the back of a lorry at Newhaven ferry port in East Sussex. Police said they had arrested two men - one on suspicion of facilitating illegal entry to the UK, and the other for illegally entering the UK. The discovery at the Sussex port on Friday morning sparked a major emergency services response, with border force, police and the ambulance service all attending the scene. The vehicle is reported to have arrived on a passenger ferry from Dieppe on Friday morning. The scene at Newhaven ferry port after migrants have been found in the back of a lorry at port in East Sussex amid a large emergency services presence. (PA) Footage circulating online appears to show someone wrapped in a foil blanket being wheeled off a ferry on a stretcher. No fatalies have been reported. Martin Sinnock, 70, whose home overlooks the entrance to Newhaven Harbour, said he saw a lot of activity and a large emergency services presence including a helicopter landing on the quayside shortly after the ferry arrived. He said he was deeply sad to hear migrants were inside the vehicle. A spokesman for ferry operator DFDS said: We can confirm that migrants were found onboard Seven Sisters [ferry]. Immediate medical attention was provided and as per normal procedure, relevant authorities were contacted. From there on our crew followed their instructions. Responding to media reports about the incident, Lewes MP Maria Caulfield, whose constituency includes Newhaven, said in a post on X, formely Twitter: Very concerned about these reports. Migrants have been found in the back of a lorry at Newhaven ferry port (Alamy) From my office in Newhaven we can see lots of activity opposite at the port and thanks to the emergency services responding. A spokesperson for the south east coast ambulance service said they were called at 9:40am on Friday morning to an incident at the port. A range of ambulance resources have attended, including our HART (hazardous area response team), alongside other emergency service partners, they added. A spokesperson for Sussex police said a number of people had been found on a lorry on a boat in Newhaven port. A Home Office spokesperson said: Border Force are supporting emergency services in response to an incident at Newhaven Ferry Port. While the incident is ongoing, it would be inappropriate to comment further. Close Princess Kate reassuring Mothers Day image done completely opposite, says royal biographer Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Morning Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Kate Middleton looked happy and healthy as she was spotted alongside Prince William doing a spot of shopping near her Adelaide Cottage home, according to reports. The Prince and Princess of Wales were seen at one of their favourite farm shops on Saturday, around a mile away from their home set within the grounds of Windsor Home Park, a delighted onlooker told The Sun. It comes as Kate was forced to skip a St Patricks Day parade as she continues her recovery from abdominal surgery. Her health condition has not yet been revealed to the public but her friends claimed she may soon speak out about her ailment in a bid to quell the spurious rumours that have circulated in her absence. Those close to Kate and William said the couple will disclose more information about her recovery in due course, according to The Sunday Times, which reported her return to royal duties should come after April 17. A source told the newspaper: They are at their most open when out interacting with members of the public and I can see a world in which the princess might discuss her recovery out on engagements. If she was going to do it, thats how she would do it. The apparent appearance followed a public backlash after the Cambridges decision to share a family photograph edited by Kate on Mothers Day. Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Morning Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Prince Harry is set to discuss King Charles's health in a television interview in the US for the first time since his father's cancer diagnosis. The Duke of Sussex is also due to talk about his life with Meghan and the Invictus Games in the Good Morning America interview on Friday. The interview comes after a week of announcements from Harry and Meghan, who faced backlash after relaunching their Archewell website, the name of their foundation, as The Office of Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. Buckingham Palace announced earlier this month that King Charles had been diagnosed with cancer and would be stepping back from public-facing duties. Harry, who now lives in California, flew to the UK last week to see the King. He visited without Meghan and their two children, but he spent less than an hour seeing his father at Clarence House and there was no meeting with his brother, the Prince of Wales, during the trip. Prince Harry flew back to see the King last week (Getty Images) What time is the Good Morning America interview? The programme, broadcast on ABC, starts at midday GMT each day, running for two hours from 7 to 9am EST. It is not yet clear at which point in the programme the Dukes interview will feature, but it marks his first TV interview in some time, following a flurry of broadcasts in which he discussed his autobiography Spare. Those interviews saw him quizzed about critical claims of his father and brother made in the book, the publication of which is believed to have stoked tensions in their relationship. Can I watch in the UK? ABC is not available as a television channel in the UK, however the broadcaster is livestreaming its ABC News channel on YouTube. The broadcaster is typically quick to posts clips of its interviews on social media sites, including YouTube and X/Twitter, which can be expected to be the case for the Dukes interview. Additional reporting by PA Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Morning Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} A family have created a welfare minefield, a judge has said, after a man mixed his sperm with his fathers to help his partner get pregnant. After having fertility problems, the man, known as PQ, and his then-partner, JK, agreed to mix his sperm with his fathers and inject it into the woman, the High Court was told. The couple had been unable to afford IVF treatment. A new-born baby lies in an incubator (stock image) (AFP via Getty Images) However, after Barnsley Council was informed about the circumstances of the conception in separate proceedings, it brought a legal bid over the parentage of the child. The council had asked the High Court in Sheffield to direct DNA tests that should be carried out to determine whether the man was Ds father. The sperm arrangement was always intended to be kept secret and resulted in the birth of a now five-year-old boy, known as D, the court heard. But in a judgment on Thursday, Mr Justice Poole dismissed the councils action, finding it had no stake in the outcome, and he ruled that the man does not have to have a paternity test. The judge said the family had created a welfare minefield, adding: I cannot believe that JK, PQ and (his father) RS properly thought through the ramifications of their scheme for JK to become pregnant, otherwise it is unlikely that they would have embarked upon it. He continued that the boy is a unique child who would not exist but for the unusual arrangements made for his conception, but those arrangements have also created the potential for him to suffer emotional harm were he to learn of them. Mr Justice Poole said the man had an established father-and-son relationship with the child and it was up to him and the boys mother to manage the latent risks to his welfare. He added: It must be acknowledged that the circumstances of Ds conception cannot now be undone. Without testing, his biological paternity remains uncertain but there is a strong chance, to say the least, that the person he thinks is his grandfather is his biological father, and that the person he thinks is his father is his biological half-brother. Dismissing the councils bid, the judge said the body does not have parental responsibility or a personal interest in the boys biological parentage. He said: It may wish to know who is Ds biological father, but it has no stake in the outcome of its application. A wish to uphold the public interest in maintaining accurate records of births does not confer a personal interest in the determination of such an application. Mr Justice Poole concluded that the family may wish to undergo a paternity test to tell the child at a later date but that is a matter for them. Additional reporting by PA Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the View from Westminster email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Rishi Sunak is under increasing pressure from within his own party to change course amid warnings that historic back-to-back by-election defeats show support for the Conservatives is collapsing . Labour overturned huge Tory majorities to take the seats of Kingswood, in Gloucestershire, and Wellingborough, in Northamptonshire, hours after official figures showed the UK had fallen into recession. The results set a nearly 60-year record, with the government presiding over more by-election losses in a single parliament than any administration since the 1960s. The Wellingborough result also saw the largest ever drop in the Conservatives vote share in a by-election, surpassing Christchurch in 1993. Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said the results showed the country is crying out for change. But Mr Sunak tried to play down the joint blows as he blamed the particularly challenging" challenging circumstances surrounding both by-elections and insisted his plan was working. The votes were called after one former Tory minister resigned in protest at Mr Sunaks watering down of environmental commitments and another was found guilty of bullying and sexual misconduct. The bruising defeat came as: Mr Sunak set a new post-war record for the number of Tory by-election defeats, surpassing the eight suffered by John Major in the run-up to Tony Blair's 1997 landslide victory A Tory minister disowned his partys selective editing of a video of Sadiq Khan accidentally calling Labour antisemitic, removing the Londons mayors correction Nigel Farages Reform took more votes in one of the by-elections than the Labour majority a result that will rattle Tory nerves A leading pollster said the results showed the Conservatives are in deep, deep electoral trouble Tory peer Ed Vaizey said Mr Sunak was not a brilliant politician but could improve Tory peer Lord Frost, who recently fronted a bombshell poll linked to a Tory plot to oust Mr Sunak, said the partys vote was "collapsing" as he called for more Conservative policies on issues like tax, spending, immigration and net zero. He warned the prime minister: It's late, but not yet too late. The New Conservatives group within the party warned their leader he "must change course" and adapt to the reality that the by-elections reveal" by making voters a better offer, including tax cuts and curbs on legal migration curbs. One MP, Andrea Jenkyns, publicly repeated her call for Mr Sunaks head, warning her party that sticking heads in the sand will make matters worse. But Jacob Rees-Mogg hit out at the plotters, telling The Independent: Any Conservative who thinks a war of attrition against the leader would help or be sensible, in the year of an election, needs urgent restraint in Colney Hatch. Colney Hatch was a lunatic asylum often referred to in PG Wodehouses novels. Former minister Paul Scully warned tax cuts a key ask of many Tory MPs would not be enough to bring our Tory voters currently sitting at home. They are asking for Conservative values and a vision to get behind, as well to stop the infighting within the party, he told GB News. Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer (left) is joined by musician Feargal Sharkey canvassing voters by phone for the Wellingborough (PA) As well as taxes, the party has got to set out a vision on housing. What are we going to do for young people? What are we going to do about migration in a sensible way that's achievable. One former cabinet minister urged Mr Sunak to call a May election, for the sake of the partys future. An early poll is our best chance of getting most (Tory MPs) back, he said. Otherwise it will seem like we are just holding on". Sir Keir said the results showed Labour are "credible contenders'' for the 2024 general election, but "that is all we are. Warning against complacency, he said he wanted his party, currently thumping the Tories in the opinion polls, to fight like we are five points behind. He also hailed "Tory switchers" who he said made up part of the Labour vote. But he admitted the last week had been bumpy after Labour was forced to dump a candidate in a separate by-election in Rochdale who had said Israel allowed the October 7 Hamas massacre that killed 1,200. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak speaking to the media while visiting Harlow Police Station in Essex (Dan Kitwood/PA) (PA Wire) However, he insisted the victories showed the public recognised Labour had changed since Jeremy Corbyn's leadership, when it was dogged by antisemitism allegations. Labour overturned majorities of 11,220 and 18,540 in Kingswood and Wellingborough respectively, delivering the government's ninth and tenth by-election defeats of the current Parliament. Gen Kitchen secured Wellingborough with 45.8 per cent of the vote, while Damien Egan won Kingswood with 44.9 per cent of the vote. Farages Reform party won more than 10 per cent of the vote in both by-elections. While the party will struggle to win any seats at the election, Tory MPs fear it could take enough votes in some Tory-held constituencies to hand them to Labour. Party leader Richard Tice called it a defining moment and showed Reform was a significant force now in British politics. Mr Farage, the honorary president of Reform, sought to add to the PMs woes, telling BBC Radio 4: I think if you asked Tory Party members right now, theyd vote for me to be leader and not Rishi Sunak. Polling guru Sir John Curtice said: Tory MPs will now be even more concerned that the determination of Reform's leader, Richard Tice, that his party should contest all Tory-held seats could cost them dearly. Overall, he said the results showed the Conservatives are in deep, deep electoral trouble. Former Conservative MP Peter Bone (PA) (PA Archive) In Wellingborough, Labour sources pointed to the huge 28.5 per cent swing from the Tories to Labour, the second largest swing from Tory to Labour at a by-election since the Second World War, adding that if the trend was replicated at a general election the Tories would hold just four seats. Chris Hopkins, director of polling company Savanta, told The Independent the results were really positive for Labour after a difficult week for the party, though he said the choice of the Tory candidate in Wellingborough [Mr Bones partner] has had a perhaps larger-than-usual benefit for Labour. Tory sources suggested Mr Bone, who campaigned in the contest, triggered by constituents signing a petition to boot him out, had been a drag on their vote. Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the View from Westminster email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Rishi Sunak has suffered a devastating double blow as Labour stormed to back-to-back by-election victories overnight. Hours after official figures showed Britain has fallen into a recession, the prime minister saw Labour overturn huge Tory majorities in Kingswood and Wellingborough. The devastating losses will add to pressure on Mr Sunak from Tory backbenchers worried about losing their seats with a general election looming. And strong performances from Reform UK will set alarm bells ringing in Downing Street, with the party living up to its 10 per cent plus national poll ratings in by-elections for the first time. Labours Gen Kitchen overturned a huge Tory majority in Wellingborough (PA) In the Kingswood contest to replace Chris Skidmore, who resigned in protest at the governments plans to boost North Sea oil and gas drilling, Damien Egan overturned an 11,000 Tory majority, winning with a majority of 2,501 votes. And hours later, in the Wellingborough by-election to replace disgraced former Conservative MP Peter Bone, Labours Gen Kitchen secured 13,844 votes to beat the Tories Helen Harrison by more than 6,000. Labour sources pointed to the huge 28.5 per cent swing from the Tories to Labour in the seat, the second-largest swing from Tory to Labour at a by-election since the Second World War. They said that if the trend was replicated at a general election, the Tories would hold just four seats. The result is also the largest-ever drop in the Conservatives vote share in a by-election, surpassing Christchurch in 1993. And the back-to-back losses mean the Conservatives have suffered more by-election defeats in this parliament than any previous government since the 1960s, surpassing the eight defeats experienced by John Major between 1992 and 1997. Chris Hopkins, director of polling company Savanta, told The Independent the results were really positive for Labour after a difficult week for the party. But he added: I think we have to express a bit of caution. The swing in Kingswood isnt perhaps as large as some polling tends to indicate it should have been, and while Wellingborough is a great result, I think weve got to assume the reason for the by-election and the subsequent choosing of the Tory candidate [Mr Bones partner] has had a perhaps larger-than-usual benefit for Labour. The back-to-back losses put Rishi Sunak on course for electoral disaster (PA Wire) Mr Hopkins said the contests were a reminder that the Tories are losing an unprecedented amount of by-elections, and often theyre losing large majorities. And pollster Luke Tryl, of research organisation More In Common, said it was a horrible night for the Tories and a great night for Labour, with Sir Keir further on course for No 10. After the results of the Wellingborough contest were confirmed, Sir Keir said the fantastic wins show people want change and are ready to put their faith in a changed Labour Party to deliver it. He said: By winning in these Tory strongholds, we can confidently say that Labour is back in the service of working people and we will work tirelessly to deliver for them. The Tories have failed. Rishis recession proves that. Thats why weve seen so many former Conservative voters switching directly to this changed Labour Party. Wellingborough was the second-most marginal seat in Sir Tony Blairs 1997 election win when Paul Stinchcombe turned the seat red by 187 votes. And Ms Kitchens win puts Sir Keir on course to repeat the success of his predecessor, with an election expected this autumn. Ms Kitchen said: The people of Wellingborough have spoken for Britain. This is a stunning victory for the Labour Party and must send a message from Northamptonshire to Downing Street. And Mr Egan launched a scathing attack on the prime minister, calling for voters to oust the Tories when Mr Sunak finds the courage to call a general election. Labours Damien Egan said the Conservatives have sucked the hope out of Britain (PA Wire) He added: In Kingswood, as across the country, 14 years of Conservative government have sucked the hope out of our country with a feeling that no matter how hard you work, you just cant move forward. And with Rishis recession, were left again paying more and getting less. It doesnt have to be this way. You know it, I know it, we all know it. The prime minister will also be concerned by strong performances for Nigel Farages Reform UK in both seats, with the party securing enough votes in Kingswood to deprive the Tories of a win. Meanwhile in Wellingborough, former MEP Ben Habib came third, winning 3,919 votes, compared with Tory candidate Ms Harrisons 7,408. The partys vote share was the highest it has recorded in a by-election yet, at 13 per cent, higher than it is currently polling nationally. The Tories fear that a surge in support for Reform, which could be exacerbated if Mr Farage rejoins the party in a formal role, would cost them tens of seats at the general election. The countrys most senior pollster, Sir John Curtice, said last nights results show the Conservatives are in deep, deep electoral trouble. Sir John told the BBC that although the 21-point drop in support in Kingswood is in line with what the party is currently suffering in the opinion polls, it is the Wellingborough result of 37-38 points that is the biggest Tory loss the Conservatives have ever managed to suffer in a post-war by-election. Referring to the Kingswood outcome, Tory former business secretary Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg said: I think we should learn from this result and look at what happened with the Reform Party vote. Conservative Party votes are most likely to come from people who stay at home or who voted Reform. How do we win them back to the Tory family? He suggested the party cut taxes, pull back from net zero measures and take more of the advantages of Brexit. The prime minister defended his partys drubbing in the by-election defeats. Speaking to ITV News, Mr Sunak said: Mid-term elections are always difficult for incumbent governments and the circumstances of these elections were, of course, particularly challenging. Now, if you look at the results, very low turnout, it shows that weve got work to do to show people that we are delivering on their priorities and thats what Im absolutely determined to do. He added: But it also shows that there isnt a huge amount of enthusiasm for the alternative in Keir Starmer and the Labour Party and thats because they dont have a plan and if you dont have a plan, you cant deliver real change when the general election comes. Despite the technical recession and two record by-election losses, the prime minister insisted that our plan is working and he could give everyone the piece of mind that there is a better future for them and their families. He added: Weve clearly been through a lot over the past couple of years as a country but I genuinely believe at the start of this year, were pointing in the right direction. Now were not out of the woods yet but across all the priorities that I set out, were making progress. Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the View from Westminster email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Polands prime minister said on Friday that his country will upgrade the wall on its border with Belarus to better insulate the frontier against unauthorized migration. Donald Tusk also said that Poland and Finland both see the need for changes in the European Unions asylum legislation, which he called inadequate in the face of the current migration challenges and threats posed by Russia's and Belarus's policies that are pushing unauthorized migration into the EU. Tusk spoke alongside visiting Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo following their talks on regional security. Both nations share borders with Russia while Poland also borders Belarus and Ukraine, which is fighting a war against Russia's aggression. Finland and Poland are ready to cooperate toward a tough, pan-European policy toward illegal migration, Tusk said. "We are also interested in a reform of the asylum law because the legal environment today in the European Union is inadequate to the threats posed by the policy of Russia and Belarus." Tusk said both Poland and Finland countries want to cooperate with other nations in the region toward the strengthening of their borders and defenses, and also civilian defenses in response to Russias aggressive policies. Orpo called the current security situation critical and stressed the two countries will continue supporting Ukraine and will develop their own cooperation in the defense and armaments sector. ___ Follow APs global migration coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/migration Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the View from Westminster email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Gen Kitchen has just become the first Labour MP for Wellingborough since Peter Bone turned the seat blue in 2005. The Northamptonshire constituency was the second most marginal seat for Labour in Sir Tony Blairs 1997 landslide, with Paul Stinchcombe winning by just 187 votes. And Labour figures are confident that Ms Kitchens win, beating Tory candidate Helen Harrison by more than 6,000 votes, puts the party on course for a landslide under Sir Keir Starmer later this year. Gen Kitchen campaigned with Keir Starmer ahead of polls opening in Wellingborough (PA) Amid the fallout of another dramatic by-election win for Labour The Independent asks, who is the new MP for Wellingborough? Ms Kitchen was born in Northamptonshire to navy parents who think the idea of her becoming an MP is a bit mad. But the 28-year-old, who went to a local state school during the last Labour government, is determined to fight for the constituents she says have been left behind under Conservative leadership. She graduated in 2016 from Queen Mary University of London with a degree in history and politics and spent the next seven years working in the charity sector. Her most recent role was running philanthropy for a childrens health charity. Ms Kitchen is also a former councillor in Newham, London, where she was responsible for economic recovery in the area as well as boosting residents health. Gen Kitchen will join the House of Commons in the coming days as one of its youngest MPs (PA) She is set to join the House of Commons in the coming days as one of its youngest MPs. An avid Taylor Swift fan, with tickets to the popstars Eras tour in May, Ms Kitchen has earned the nickname zen Gen among her campaign team, partly due to her penchant for spa days and partly for her ability to remain calm throughout the gruelling campaign. Ms Kitchen had been hoping to fight to become Wellingboroughs MP in this years general election. But, midway through her honeymoon in Suffolk, disgraced ex-MP Mr Bone was found to have indecently exposed himself to a staff member and trapped him in the bathroom of a hotel room. It became obvious a by-election was coming and, with fish and chips in one hand and her two dogs in the other, Labours regional director rang her and she came back early. Ms Kitchen was helped to victory by the Tories selection of Mr Bones girlfriend Ms Harrison to fight the seat for them. And she was likely boosted by Nigel Farages Reform UK, which stood ex-MEP Ben Habib in the seat as part of its war on the Conservatives. Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the View from Westminster email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Labour has won the Wellingborough by-election, with candidate Gen Kitchen overturning a Tory majority of 19,000 in the seat. The 28-year-old secured 13,844 votes, beating Tory candidate Helen Harrison by a margin of more than 6,000. The win is a huge boost for Sir Keir Starmer, with the seat last turning red in Sir Tony Blairs 1997 election win. Party figures believe winning Wellingborough puts the Labour leader on course for a landslide win in the general election expected this autumn. Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer campaigns with the partys candidate Gen Kitchen (PA) Labour sources pointed to the huge 28.5 per cent swing from the Tories to Labour, the second largest swing from Tory to Labour at a by-election since the Second World War, saying that if the trend was replicated at a general election the Tories would hold just four seats. The result is also the largest drop in the Conservative vote share ever in a by-election, surpassing Christchurch in 1993. And the back to back losses mean the Conservatives have suffered more by-election defeats in this Parliament than any previous government since the 1960s, surpassing the eight defeats experienced by John Major between 1992 and 1997. And, just hours after confirmation Britain has fallen into a recession, it marks another major blow for Rishi Sunak, whose premiership has been rocked by a series of devastating by-election losses. The by-election was called after disgraced ex-MP Peter Bone was booted out of parliament for indecently exposing himself to a staff member and trapping him in a hotel bathroom. Mr Sunaks hopes of retaining the seat, which has been held by the Conservatives since 2005, were shattered by the selection of Ms Harrison, Mr Bones partner of several years. Local activists also complained of a lack of support from Tory HQ, with Labour figures accusing the party of effectively giving up during the campaign. Rishi Sunak is under growing pressure from backbench MPs to turn the partys fortunes around (iStock/Getty) The latest by-election defeat will see Mr Sunak come under fresh pressure from backbench MPs to turn the partys fortunes around. Tories are growing increasingly nervous, with the party lagging 20 points behind Labour in the polls and a general election looming. The devastating result came just hours after Mr Sunak suffered a devastating loss in Kingswood, the seat vacated by Chris Skidmore, who resigned in protest at the governments plans to boost North Sea oil and gas drilling. Sir Keir said the fantastic results in Kingswood and Wellingborough show people want change and are ready to put their faith in a changed Labour Party to deliver it. He said: "By winning in these Tory strongholds, we can confidently say that Labour is back in the service of working people and we will work tirelessly to deliver for them. "The Tories have failed. Rishis recession proves that. Thats why weve seen so many former Conservative voters switching directly to this changed Labour Party. "Those who gave us their trust in Kingswood and Wellingborough, and those considering doing so, can be safe in the knowledge that we will spend every day working to get Britains future back. The victories give Labour a much-needed boost after a difficult week following a u-turn on its flagship pledge to spend 28 billion a year on green projects and an antisemitism row that forced the party to drop its candidate for the Rochdale by-election on February 29. The prime minister will also be concerned by strong performances for Nigel Farages Reform UK in both seats, with the party securing enough votes to deprive the Tories of a win in Kingswood. In Wellingborough, former MEP Ben Habib came third, winning 3,919 votes, compared with Tory candidate Ms Harrison on 7,408. Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the View from Westminster email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} David Cameron has denied wanting to lecture Americans after hard-right Republican congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene said the foreign secretary could kiss my a**. Ms Greene rebuked Lord Cameron after he called for the US Congress to grant aid to Ukraine, urging modern-day politicians not to give in to tyrants like Russias Vladimir Putin as some had done during the rise of Adolf Hitler in the 1930s. Ms Greene told Sky News: I think he tried to compare us to Hitler... and if thats the kind of language he wants to use, I really have nothing to say to him. Lord Cameron angered US congressmen with an op-ed published in The Hill on Wednesday, in which he wrote: As Congress debates and votes on this funding package for Ukraine, I am going to drop all diplomatic niceties. I urge Congress to pass it. I believe our joint history shows the folly of giving in to tyrants in Europe who believe in redrawing boundaries by force. I do not want us to show the weakness displayed against Hitler in the 1930s. He came back for more, costing us far more lives to stop his aggression. I do not want us to show the weakness displayed against Putin in 2008, when he invaded Georgia, or the uncertainty of the response in 2014, when he took Crimea and much of the Donbas before coming back to cost us far more with his aggression in 2022. Lord Cameron, a former UK prime minister, went on. I want us to show the strength displayed since 2022, as the West has helped Ukrainians liberate half the territory seized by Putin, all without the loss of any Nato service personnel. The foreign secretary, seen arriving in Warsaw, Poland on Thursday, says he has a deep and abiding love of the United States (AFP via Getty) Ms Greene was asked by Sky News if she was an appeaser for Putin. She replied: I think that I really dont care what David Cameron has to say. I think thats rude name-calling, and I dont appreciate that type of language. And David Cameron needs to worry about his own country, and frankly, he can kiss my a**. The congresswoman is a close ally of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, and has previously said her name is on a list of possible vice-president picks for a Trump presidency. During a visit to Poland on Thursday, the foreign secretary said that he is not someone who wants to lecture American friends, or tell American friends what to do, but he added, we really do want to see Congress pass that money to support Ukraine economically, but crucially militarily in the months ahead. Speaking at a press conference, Lord Cameron said: We have to do everything we can to make sure that Ukraine can succeed in this year and beyond. We must not let Putin think he can out-wait us or last us out, and thats why this vote in Congress is so crucial. He added: And I say this as someone who is not wanting in any way to lecture American friends, or tell American friends what to do. I say it as someone who has a deep and abiding love of the United States of their democracy, of their belief in freedom [and] as someone who really believes in the importance of our alliance. President Joe Biden calls the war between Israel and Hamas the issue thats front and center in the Middle East and beyond. The United States continues to work tirelessly to achieve an agreement that would not only allow for the release of the hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, but would allow a pause that would enable delivery of humanitarian assistance to alleviate the suffering of Palestinians on the ground. Were looking for a temporary pause as part of a hostage deal, said National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, and then to build on that into something more enduring. What we would like to seeis that Hamas is ultimately defeated, that peace and security come to Gaza and to Israel, and that we then work towards the longer-term issues related to a two-state solution with Israels security guaranteed, he said. State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller underscored U.S. support for Israels right to ensure that the October 7th attacks cannot be repeated: We know that Hamas wants to continue to target Israel. Hamas has been very clear about what their goals are, and they have not changed since October 7th. They want to continue to launch terrorist attacks. They are committed to the full-scale destruction of Israel, and we want to see Israel to be able to answer that. Spokesperson Miller emphasized the obvious tension in trying to ensure that Israel can accomplish that first objective while doing everything in its power to ensure that civilian harm is minimized Those are the two things we believe in, he said. In remarks after his recent meeting with King Abdullah of Jordan, President Biden deplored the deaths of the over 27,000 Palestinians that have been killed in this conflict. Every innocent life lost in Gaza is a tragedy, he said. That is the reason, said Spokesperson Miller, the United States engages with Israel offering ideas and expertise and ways to minimize civilian harm. We have seen civilian deaths come down from the levels they were. They are nowhere near where they should be. They are still far too high. There are still far too many Palestinians that continue to die, he said. Spokesperson Miller said, Its why we continue to engage to try to achieve a humanitarian pause and why we continue to work to try to bring a durable end to this conflict. Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the View from Westminster email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Labour is celebrating two victories over the Conservatives in the Kingswood and Wellingborough by-elections - but that success may be short-lived as a third battle in Rochdale looms. Keir Starmers party overturned majorities of 11,220 and 18,540, delivering the governments ninth and tenth by-election defeats of the current parliament and securing its second largest swing from the Conservatives ever. However, an antisemitism row that forced it to drop its candidate this week for another by-election in Rochdale is still a cause for concern. Labours candidate Mr Azhar Ali sparked anger after reportedly saying Israel had been warned about the 7 October attack and allowed it to happen. Voters go to the polls in the Rochdale by-election on 29 February, with the result now uncertain following the Labour decision to drop support for Mr Ali. Here are the 11 candidates in the running for election: Azhar Ali - Independent, formerly Labour Azhar Ali has been at the centre of an extremely turbulent week for the Labour party. He has had the support of the party withdrawn after reportedly making anti-semitic comments at a Lancashire Labour party meeting. At first, Labour insisted that Mr Ali will remain Labours candidate in Rochdale and Electoral Commission rules mean it is too late for Labour to replace their candidate anyway. However, after further comments came to light, the party withdrew their support. If elected, Mr Ali will sit as an independent MP and will not receive the party whip. The decision means that Labour will also need to find a new candidate to contest the seat at the upcoming general election. Speaking as he launched his campaign, he said: Ive set out my five pledges around reopening the maternity unit, investment in the town centre, and free breakfast clubs in the primary schools, and there is a long list of things that we need to do. Labour has withdrawn its support for Azhar Ali (PA) (PA Wire) Paul Ellison - Conservative Paul Ellison is a well-known local volunteer and businessman who was voted Rochdale Man of the Year in 2020 and runs a landscaping firm in Rochdale. His manifesto is focused on local issues including improving the town centre, cracking down on antisocial behaviour and protecting green spaces. He said: In places like Rochdale peoples aspiration can often by stifled by the impacts brought about by negative perceptions. If elected I am determined to be a champion to the borough. Paul Ellison (Getty) Iain Donaldson - Liberal Democrats Iain Donaldson is a former councillor in Manchester for 19 years and has promised to be a strong voice for the people of Rochdale in the upcoming by-election. He has enjoyed the endorsement of the former Lib Dem MP for Rochdale, Paul Rowen, who served from 2005 to 2010, The people of Rochdale have been hammered by the double whammy of a cost of living crisis and an NHS on its knees, Mr Donaldson said. This disastrous Conservative government has utterly failed our area and they need to be held to account. Locally, Labour have also taken people for granted because they just dont listen. Ill be a strong voice for Rochdale, listening to local people and getting real action for them. Iain Donaldson (North West Liberal Democrats) Simon Danczuk - Reform UK Simon Danczyk was Labour MP for Rochdale between 2010 and 2017 but was suspended by the party in 2015 over allegedly exchanging explicit messages with a 17-year-old girl. Reform UK has made their primary intention to block the Conservatives from gaining seats clear, so there is a possibility Labour voters will switch to Reform following this weeks controversy. He has focused his campaign on championing local issues, which he affirms should take priority over international happenings. Its now a fight between Galloway, who will prioritise Palestine, and me, who will prioritise Rochdale, he said on Monday. Simon Danczuk George Galloway - Workers Party of Britain George Galloway is a former Labour and Respect Party MP who has largely centred his campaign on the ongoing conflict in Gaza. He said: The number of people in Rochdale vitally concerned with the issues that preoccupy me... theres probably not a constituency in the whole country where there are more people concerned about Gaza than there are in Rochdale. Labour leader Sir Keir Starmers refusal to back a ceasefire in Gaza has been criticised by Muslim voters and Galloway says he is using the by-election to teach Labour a lesson. George Galloway (AFP via Getty Images) Reverend Mark Coleman - Independent Reverend Mark Coleman is a long-time climate campaigner and Just Stop Oil supporter, who has been jailed twice during climate protests. The 64-year-old worked as a vicar in Rochdale town centre until his retirement, due to Parkinsons disease, in 2020. He continues to serve as a Church of England priest and lives with his wife, Wendy, who is a former Labour councillor. The people of Rochdale deserve the truth - and that is we need radical action on climate right now to stand any chance of a safe and stable future, he said. Government policies have put us well on the way to climate hell, and the Labour Party is willing to let that happen. Im horrified that the Labour Party will not revoke the Tory new oil and gas licences given out by this corrupt government. He has also been vocal on issues in the Middle East. Reverend Mark Coleman (Supplied) Michael Howarth - Independent Michael Howard has branded himself as a local lad representing the people of Rochdale as he puts himself forward for election. He owns a number of local hospitality businesses in the area and is committed to improving local issues including expanding the local job market. We are continuing to invest in Rochdale with the imminent opening of our own brewery and tap, which will create more jobs and help make Rochdale the place to be, He said. Whatever the outcome of the election I am committed to make Rochdale a better place. David Anthony Tully - Independent Dave Tully is a local businessman committed to local issues such as re-opening Rochdales maternity ward and providing aid to local businesses. He is also passionate about local sporting issues in the area as a lifelong season ticket holder at Rochdale AFC and says he will advocate for support and funding for the team. Throughout my life I have remained connected and dedicated to the wellbeing and growth of the Rochdale community, he said. Committed to the principles of integrity, transparancy and inclusivity, now, as a local lad, its my time to step up and find practical solutions for the benefit of our town. William Howarth - Independent Also known as Billy Howarth, this candidate co-founded the support group Parents Against Grooming UK and has recently campaigned for housing issues relating to damp and mould. He wrote on his campaign GoFundMe: I am Rochdale born and bred and have the needs of Rochdale close to my heart. I truly believe I can make the changes that this town wants and deserves. Guy Otten - Green Party Although Guy Otten is technically still a candidate, he has stepped down over previous social media posts he made about Palestinians and Islam. A Green Party spokesperson said: The Rochdale Green Party candidate has said that he has decided to leave the stage following social media posts made some years ago. As nominations have now closed, his name will still appear on the ballot. However, he will not take part in any campaigning between now and polling day. Ravin Rodent Subortna - Official Monster Raving Loony Party This candidate said as an MP he would campaign for the introduction of a 99p coin to save on change and would also call for all roundabouts to have fairground carousels in the middle to tell cars where to go and prevent road rage. Among his other policies is a plan for all new-build housing to have hedgehog homes included to help eradicate homelessness for hedgehogs, and making sure hedgehogs had lollipop signs to help them cross the road. Ravin says he is aiming to win zero votes because that would be fair to give everybody else a chance. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Rising demand for beauty products is devastating donkey populations and is on course to endanger the species in Africa, a report reveals. About six million donkeys are slaughtered every year for their skins, from which collagen is extracted for use in food or drink supplements and in beauty products such as face creams used in Chinese medicine, which are marketed as luxury products. Chinas donkey population has been hit hard by the surge in popularity of such products, with populations there collapsing by 76 per cent between 1992 and 2019, according to The Donkey Sanctuary. Donkeys at a slaughterhouse in Kenya (The Donkey Sanctuary) Dealers are now focused on Africa, which has long had the worlds highest donkey numbers, but where the species is facing a crisis, experts warn. Traders either persuade impoverished owners to sell their donkeys or steal them in illegal bush slaughter. The trade is driven by increasing demand for traditional Chinese remedy ejiao, or donkey hide glue, which makers claim reduces wrinkles, cures anaemia, boosts energy and enhances libido. The researchers say killing the animals for their skins is not only intensely cruel but also leaves women, children and communities that rely on the animals worse off. Researchers at The Donkey Sanctuary used figures from the skin industry and statistical modelling to calculate that 6.7 million skins will be needed by 2027 to keep pace with demand. Its a rise from todays 5.9 million but the researchers say these numbers are their most conservative estimate. Africa has about 11 million donkeys, so the calculation has prompted alarm. The new report says production of the glue rose by 160 per cent in five years from 2016 to 2021. Numbers killed for ejiao have shot up to at least 5.9m a year in just a few years (The Donkey Sanctuary Figures from Bennett et al (2019)) And it says social-media platforms facilitate illegal trade by allowing sellers to advertise. Agents working for the ejiao industry persuade people, already living on the brink of poverty, to sell their animals for short-term gain, said Calvin Solomon Onyango, director of The Donkey Sanctuary in Kenya. The reality is the long-term loss of livelihood, and eventually, the loss of a way of life for many communities. The destructive impact of the trade has led the governments of countries including Kenya, Nigeria and Tanzania, to outlaw donkey slaughter. However, the demand is such that we now see the emergence of illegal bush slaughter, with hundreds of donkeys taken or stolen and slaughtered for their skin. Donkeys at a slaughterhouse in Kenya (The Donkey Sanctuary) A worker carries one of many dried donkey skins at a slaughterhouse in Kenya ( The Donkey Sanctuary) Based on what we have seen here in Kenya, if the exploitation of donkeys continues at this rate, in another three to six years, donkeys could be joining rhino and elephants as an endangered species in Africa, said Dr Onyango. Donkey slaughter is illegal in some countries and legal in others. On Sunday, the African Union Heads of State will debate whether to ban the slaughter across the continent. It would be the most significant donkey protection measure ever enacted on the African continent, the researchers said. In Brazil, where large numbers of donkeys are also trafficked and killed for their skins, a bill to ban their slaughter is expected to pass the National Congress this year. Marianne Steele, chief executive of The Donkey Sanctuary, said: The slaughter of six million donkeys every year is an animal welfare disaster. Donkeys are a lifeline to people living in some of the most challenging environments on earth where the loss of a donkey can be the difference between modest survival and destitution. The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Adam Montgomery told a friend how much he missed his five-year-old daughter Harmony despite him having violently beaten her to death months earlier, a court heard. Montgomerys murder trial is currently underway in Manchester, New Hampshire, more than four years after Harmony was last seen alive in 2019. Harmonys disappearance went unreported for two years, until her mother Crystal Soreys desperate pleas to authorities to help look for her daughter prompted an investigation in late 2021. During his trial, jurors have heard how Montgomery allegedly beat his daughter to death in December 2019, after she soiled herself. Tarah Hilbert, the building manager at the Union Street apartment where Montgomery, his estranged wife Kayla Montgomery and their two infant sons lived after Harmony was killed, took the stand on Friday. Ms Hilbert told jurors that she befriended the Montgomerys six months after they moved to the building complex in 2020, and often spent time with Kayla and the boys. She then recounted a conversation in which Montgomery told her he had a daughter who lived with her mother in Lowell, Massachusetts. He said he had a daughter named Harmony and he hadnt seen her in a couple of years because her mother had taken her, Ms Hilbert said. It is unclear when exactly the exchange took place, but it was at least eight months after Harmony was killed. Harmony Montgomery died in late 2019 (Manchester Police Department) During cross-examination, defence attorney Caroline Smith brought up the context in which Montgomery volunteered that information. That conversation came up sort of the topic of him missing her, and you asked, Well, where is she? Ms Smith asked. And he said Lowell, Mass. Ms Hilbert agreed that this was correct. Ms Hilbert also testified about an incident where, shortly before the Montgomerys were evicted from the building in 2021, she drove Kayla Montgomery, her sons and newborn daughter to a hotel after she was badly beaten by Montgomery. Adam had beat her pretty bad, Ms Hilbert said through tears. Really bad, her eyes, her nose. Throughout the trial, prosecutors have introduced evidence about the horrific ways in which Montgomery worked to destroy Harmonys remains before disposing of what was left of the little girl at an unknown location in March 2020. The defence has sought to argue that Harmony actually died in the care of her stepmother Kayla Montgomery and that Montgomery only went along with plans to conceal the body to protect his family. Harmonys remains have never been found. The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} A 16-year-old boy was taken into custody on Thursday in connection with a shooting at a Bronx subway station earlier this week that left one man dead and five others injured. The shooting happened on Monday at around 4.30pm at the Mount Eden train station in the Bronx and six people, mostly bystanders, were shot. It is believed that it happened after a fight broke out between two groups and three teenagers began shooting, firing at least 19 around, both inside the train and on the platform. Passengers frantically exited the train as the shooting continued. The teenager was being sought by the police and his role in the shooting is being determined. He was taken into custody by the officers who were waiting for him as he was leaving his apartment on West 172nd Street in the Bronx. A train stands at the Mt Eden Avenue subway station in the Bronx borough of New York after six people were injured with one person in critical condition following a shooting at the subway station (AFP via Getty Images) Obed Beltran-Sanchez, 35, was killed after he was hit in the chest, police said. He was an immigrant from Mexico who crossed the border from Canada in search of work as a construction worker. He died almost immediately," said Jorge Islas, Consul General of Mexico in New York. "And with that, that bullet, life on a dream, someone who was willing to do something important for his family." Beltran-Sanchez is survived by a wife and two young daughters. Others who were injured include a 14-year-old girl and a boy, a 28-year-old man, 29-year-old woman, and 71-year-old man. The 16-year-old was previously arrested for an attempted robbery in the Bronx in April 2023. Close Adam Montgomery convicted of second-degree murder of daughter Harmony The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} The mother of slain five-year-old Harmony Montgomery spoke to reporters outside a courtroom after the little girls father was convicted of her murder. Jurors convicted Adam Montgomery on all charges following a gruelling trial which took place more than four years on from when Harmony was last seen alive in 2019. Authorities failed to search for the missing child who was known to protective services for more than two years after she went missing. Kayla Montgomery testified that her husband struck the Harmony several times after she had a bathroom accident. She testified that, after killing her, the family drove to a Burger King. She fed her two young sons and placed a sandwich on Harmonys lap without realising she was dead. After the defendant repeatedly struck Harmony. After he put the blanket over her. After she moaned. After the strange crying moaning stopped. After you did drugs and after the car died, you thought she was sleeping under that blanket, the prosecutor said. Why did you think that she may be sleeping after Adam repeatedly struck her? Because she would usually just go to sleep after, Kayla answered. The little girls remains were hidden in a ceiling vent at a shelter where the family stayed after her death. Montgomery snuck the remains into his workplace freezer, before disposing of them in March 2020. Harmonys remains have never been found. After the verdict was handed down, Harmonys mother Crystal Sorey told reporters she was grateful that it was over but vowed that she and authorities would not stop fighting to find her daughters body. She also slammed Montgomery as a coward for failing to attend any of his trial. In a press conference, Manchester Police Chief Allen Aldenberg also vowed to continue to push to find Harmony. Were still going to find her, Chief Aldenberg told reporters as he choked back tears. This girl deserves better than the life that she had. This is never about winning or losing, this is about a five-year-old girl who was killed by her father. And I cant think of a worse crime. The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} A mystery caller dialled into a tip line with information about the Harmony Montgomery case amid her fathers New Hampshire trial over the little girls alleged murder. The developments were revealed by Adam Montgomerys defence attorney at the end of his second week of trial in Manchester. Montgomery, who is accused of beating Harmony to death in December 2019, is facing a count of second-degree murder. Last week, he conceded to two lesser charges of abuse of a corpse and falsifying information. Montgomery only appeared in court during the first day of jury selection and has not returned since. The prosecution has argued throughout the two weeks of trial that Montgomery killed his daughter after he became enraged because she had a bathroom accident. Jurors have heard from more than a dozen witnesses about the horrific ways he worked to conceal, reduce, and destroy Harmonys remains. Montgomery then disposed of what was left of Harmonys body at an unknown location in March 2020. Despite massive multi-state searches and a $150,000 reward for information, her remains have never been found. On Friday, attorney Caroline Smith brought up a tip made by an unknown individual. During the course of the trial, apparently somebody contacted the tipline and was interviewed, gave information, Ms Smith told Judge Amy Messer. The state has given us a recording of the interview. I have not [gone through it.] We certainly have somebody trying to go through it. I dont know, and I dont need to name this person. I dont know if well be seeking to call this person [to testify]. A photo of Harmony provided by the National Center for Missing Children (National Center for Missing Children/Manchester Police Department) Senior Assistant Attorney General Ben Agati later explained that the call was placed by a woman on Tuesday after she had spent several days watching the trial. Manchester Police only notified the prosecution the following day. She came into the station to be interviewed and provided a statement, Mr Agati said. Mr Agati said that a written report and the taped interview were sent to his office and then forwarded to the defence. Judge Messer asked Ms Smith to expeditiously file a motion seeking to have the mystery called on her witness list if the defence wished to call her to the stand. The judge also asked the prosecution to advise the individual against watching the remainder of the trial. Superior Court Justice Amy Messer, background, watches as Assistant New Hampshire Attorney General Christopher Knowles, from left, Senior Assistant New Hampshire Attorney General Benjamin Agati and defence lawyers Caroline Smith and James Brooks walks back to their posts following a bench meeting (AP) Adam Montgomery only attended the first day of jury selection and has not returned to court since (AP) The prosecutions case has largely hinged on testimony from Montgomerys estranged wife, Kayla Montgomery. Kayla told jurors last week that she was in the car with Harmony, Montgomery, and the couples two infant sons when the little girl had a bathroom accident. Montgomery reportedly became enraged and hit Harmony in the head several times between traffic stops. Kayla and Montgomery did not realise that Harmony had died until several hours later. According to Kaylas testimony, they usually kept the little girl under a blanket in order to hide her bruised and beaten body. The family stopped at a Burger King, with Kayla reportedly even placing a sandwich on the dead girls lap, before heading to buy drugs. After Montgomery realised his daughter was dead, he placed the body inside a duffel bag that he buried in the snow for a few days. The remains were later crushed to fit inside a diaper bag and further manipulated with lime and different power tools, according to the prosecution, before Montgomery disposed of the body. Harmonys death went unreported for two years. In December 2021, her mothers pleas to authorities were finally heard, prompting an investigation into the little girls disappearance. Harmony, who was born in 2014 while her father was in prison, was removed from her mothers home in Massachusetts due to the latters substance abuse problem. In 2018, DCFS sent Harmony to live with her father and stepmother in New Hampshire after failing to complete home studies to ensure she would be safe. Last December, the Manchester Police Department established a new tip line (603-932-8997). Close Witness describes moment he tackled man at Kansas City Chiefs rally The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Two juveniles have been charged in connection to Wednesdays shooting at the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl victory parade. The juveniles are currently detained in secure detention at the Juvenile Detention Center on gun related and resisting arrest charges, the Jackson County Family Court Division said in a statement. It is anticipated that additional charges are expected in the future as the investigation by the Kansas City Police Department continues. Officials have yet to release the suspects names. Of the 22 people who suffered gunshot injuries during the shooting, more than half of the victims are under the age of 16, police said. The victims ranged in age from eight to 47 years old. The deceased has been identified as local DJ and mother-of-two, Elizabeth Lopez-Galvan. A GoFundMe started by the family of Ms Lopez-Galvan raised more than $190,000 with Taylor Swift donating most of the proceeds. On the official GoFundMe page, the top donator remains to be Ms Swift, who attended the Super Bowl to cheer on her boyfriend and Kansas City Chiefs player Travis Kelce. Ms Swift donated $50,000 twice to the familys fundraiser and sent her deepest sympathies and condolences. On Saturday, Childrens Mercy hospital announced that all 12 shooting patients were released. A patient at another hospital remains in critical condition. The same day, more than 100 people gathered in Kansas City for gun safety group Moms Demand Actions rally calling to end gun violence. Local officials, including Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas, were also in attendance, according to KSHB. Im angry, Im frustrated, volunteer Tara Bennett told the outlet. Im frustrated because I know there are things that can be done, we just have to have the courage to do them. Jackson County Legislator Manny Abarca also shared his experience at Wednesdays shooting. He said he was with his daughter. She said, Daddy this is a drill right? This is a drill? Mr Abarca recalled his daughter asking him. I said, Yes, it is, because in that moment I needed her to act like it was a drill. The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} At least 23 people were shot, including multiple children, in a mass shooting at the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl victory parade near Union Station in Kansas City, Missouri, on Wednesday 14 February . Kansas City Police Chief Stacey Graves said at a press conference that half of the victims shot in the attack are children while one victim a 43-year-old mother-of-two died. Nearly a week after the shooting, the Jackson County Prosecutors Office announced they charged Lyndell Mays and Dominic Miller with second-degree murder, unlawful use of a weapon and two counts of armed criminal action. Officials say Mr Mays was the first one to draw his gun during a dispute with other people present at the parade. Meanwhile, Mr Miller may have fired the fatal shot that killed Lisa Lopez-Galvan, according to court documents and Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters-Baker. So far, the investigation has found that the shooting stemmed from a dispute between people and was not terrorism-related, police said. Prosecutors with the Jackson County, Missouri Family Court Division also charged two juveniles in connection to the shooting, officials said in a statement two days after the shooting. That news comes after officials detained three individuals in connection to the shooting. One of the three was released Thursday without charge. The juveniles are currently detained in secure detention at the Juvenile Detention Center on gun related and resisting arrest charges, the Division said in a statement. It is anticipated that additional charges are expected in the future as the investigation by the Kansas City Police Department continues. The identities of the juvenile suspects have yet to be released. Heres what we know so far about the victims: At least 22 people suffered gunshot wounds when shooters attacked the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl parade (AP) Beloved mother and radio DJ killed Among the 23 people shot, one woman Lisa Lopez-Galvan was killed. Lopez-Galvan was a 43-year-old mother-of-two and beloved local radio DJ. She died on scene, police said. Her adult son and cousins, believed to be minors, also may have been wounded in the shooting, The Kansas City Star reported. Beto Lopez, the victims brother, told ABC News that his sister loved her family and had a life-of-the-party personality. She was dearly loved in this community and gave a lot back, Mr Lopez said. Ms Lopez-Galvans two adult children and two other relatives daughters of her cousin were also with her at the parade, The Kansas City Star reports. Ms Lopez-Galvans son was shot and has since been released from the hospital, according to the outlet. The two young girls were also struck, but their wounds are not life-threatening, a relative told The Kansas City Star. Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and his wife visited the two girls eight and 10 years old in the hospital. KMBC reported that both girls are in recovery after undergoing surgery, with doctors expecting them to remain in casts for several months. While we are relieved by their progress, the emotional healing continues for all of us, the girls family said in a statement. The girls were celebrating with many family members when they were senselessly injured. We kindly ask that you continue to keep our family and the other families affected in your thoughts and prayers. Ms Lopez-Galvan worked as a local DJ, with her radio station KKFI also confirming her death in a statement. It is with sincere sadness and an extremely heavy and broken heart that we let our community know that KKFI DJ Lisa Lopez-Galvan, host of Taste of Tejano, lost her life today in the shooting at the KC Chiefs rally, the station said. Lisa Lopez-Galvan (left) was shot and died at the victory parade (Facebook/Lisa Lopez-Galvan) This senseless act has taken a beautiful person from her family and this KC Community, they continued. Manny Abarca, a Kansas City lawmaker and friend of Lopez-Galvan, also memorialised her in a post on X. I have known Lisa and her family for over a decade. I have witnessed that smile across DJ equipment, and on the stage of our largest Fiesta in #KansasCity, he said. I will not let her death go in vein. I will legislate, I will fight and I WILL do everything in my power to change this State and City for the better. 10-year-old boy shot while attending parade with family Samuel Arellano, 10, had attended the parade with his grandfather, aunt and uncle. He was struck by a bullet which hit him just under the arm. When I heard the gunshots, I hid, Samuel told The Independent. I fell to the ground and then hid behind a trashcan. But because the gunshot wound didnt bleed, Samuel and his family didnt discover the wound until they arrived home. After Samuel was taken to the hospital, doctors took some parts of the bullet out and told Samuels family the injury had been within centimetres of his pulmonary artery. Samuel was treated at Mercy Childrens Hospital (Arellano/Salas Family) One victim says he and his family members were shot Another survivor, Jacob Gooch, told CBS Mornings about the moments leading up to the shooting. Mr Gooch said he, his wife and his son were all shot. I personally did not see the shooter, Mr Gooch said. I heard the altercation of a girl or some girls like dont do it, not here, this is stupid or something like that. And then the gunshots, which at the time I thought were fireworks. The survivor also told CBS Mornings that he saw a group of suspicious people before gunshots rang out, though he was not sure if they were actually connected to the attack. I mean, I got suspicious of a certain group of people that were there, Mr Gooch said. We were standing on the left side of the stage when the shooting ended up happening. And right before it ended up happening, there was this group dressed in all black. About four, five, six kids with black on, black masks. They disappeared into the crowd and then the show ended and as soon as we started walking around, it happened, he continued. Half the victims are under 16 The 22 surviving gunshot victims include multiple children, with police confirming that at least half of the victims are aged under 16. The youngest victim is just eight years old, while the oldest is 47, the police chief said. Childrens Mercy Kansas City Hospital treated 11 children on the night of the shooting, Senior vice-president and chief nursing officer Stephanie Meyer said. Nine of those children suffered gunshot wounds. All of the children who suffered gunshot wounds have since been discharged from the hospital, the Kansas City Star reported on 17 February. Kansas City Fire Chief Ross Grundyson provided updates on the severity of injuries at a press conference: Eight critical, seven serious, and six patients with minor injuries. All the critical patients were transported off the scene within 10 minutes of our point of contact with them. The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} The man who allegedly killed his father, decapitated his head and showed it off on YouTube, has now been hit with terrorism charges, Pennsylvania officials have announced. Justin Mohn, 32, was previously charged with first-degree murder, abuse of a corpse and possession of an instrument of crime. On Thursday, officials filed a second criminal affidavit against the man. He has now been hit with three counts of terrorism, two additional counts of possession of an instrument of crime, one count of robbery, carrying firearms without a license, theft by unlawful taking, receiving stolen property, criminal use of a communication facility, terroristic threats and deviant trespassing. Mr Mohn is being held in Bucks County Correctional Facility without bail. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for 2 April. The man had no previous criminal charges before the incident. Michael Mohn, 68, was killed on 30 January. An autopsy determined that he had been shot in the head before he was decapitated with a machete and knife. The suspect then fled the scene in his fathers 2009 Toyota Carolla, police said. His mother, Denice Mohn, discovered his fathers body at the residence and called the police. Later, they were informed of the sons 14-minute YouTube video in which he identified himself and his father and held up the mans head in a plastic bag before it was spotted in a cooking pot, according to LevittownNow.com. He is now in hell for eternity as a traitor to his country, Mr Mohn said, according to authorities. YouTube removed the video hours after it was posted. The younger Mohn also claimed to be the messiah and said many people wanted to see him as president. I am now officially the acting president of America under martial law, he said, while simultaneously calling for a second American Revolution. Mr Mohn then went further and provided a list of federal officials who should be captured and publicly executed, including a US District Judge. Officials said he said the judges name and address on camera. During a search of the residence the day after the murder, officials found a 9mm shell casing, a kitchen knife and a large machete in a downstairs bathroom. Officials discovered blood stains on the computer the man used to upload his video. Despite fleeing the scene, police were able to track Mr Mohns cell phone to the National Guard Training Center in Lebanon County. He was spotted climbing a barbed wire fence and entered a secure military installation, according to a news release. Officials with the Pennsylvania State Police took him into custody. Officials said they subsequently found a USB drive in the mans possession which had photos of federal buildings and instructions on how to make an explosive device. The firearm he used in the attack was purchased legally, authorities said. He did not have a license to carry a concealed firearm. Before the attack, the man had self-published several books and had uploaded songs to Spotify. Hed previously sued the federal government for allowing him to take out student loan debt he had to repay, but the complaint was shot down in court four times. The suit claimed that hed spent years not being able to find a good-paying job and asked for $10m. Mr Mohn had spent time in Colorado where he was employed at a credit union after college. He later went to work at an insurance company that paid him more money. He later sued his employer, Progressive Insurance, because he was unable to move up in the company because of his being a man. He eventually moved back in with his parents. The ongoing investigation is being handled by the Bucks County District Attorneys Office. The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} A judge on Friday rejected Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton s attempts to throw out felony securities fraud charges that have shadowed the Republican for nearly a decade. The decision by state District Judge Andrea Beall, an elected Democrat, keeps Paxton on track for an April 15 trial on charges that he duped investors in a tech startup. If convicted, Paxton faces up to 99 years in prison. Paxton, who has pleaded not guilty, appeared in the Houston courtroom for the hearing, sitting at the defense table with his attorneys. Hes ready for trial This thing has been pending for eight years. (The special prosecutors) want to dance. Put on your shoes. Its time to go. Lets dance, Dan Cogdell, one of Paxtons attorneys, told reporters after Fridays court hearing. Brian Wice, one of the special prosecutors handling the case, said it was important that Paxtons case go to trial because no one is above the law. And that includes Ken Paxton. And thats why this case matters. During Fridays hearing, the other special prosecutor in the case, Kent Schaffer, announced he was withdrawing ahead of the trial. After the hearing, Wice said the two prosecutors parted ways after disagreeing over Schaffers push to avoid a trial and instead settle the case through pre-trial intervention. Wice said Schaffer had recently reached out to Cogdell with the offer for pre-trial intervention, which is like probation and would ultimately lead to the dismissal of charges if a defendant stays out of legal trouble. Wice said he doesnt believe pre-trial intervention would have been appropriate because there would be no admission of guilt and no jail time. And without an acknowledgment of guilt, to me, that was worse than a slap on the wrist. That was, gee, lets get you a cocktail, a hot meal, and breath mint. And that wasnt going to happen on my watch, Wice said. Cogdell said Schaffer had reached out to him about the proposal and he would have been happy to resolve the case without a trial and a dismissal of the charges. Schaffer did not immediately reply to a call seeking comment on Friday. Wice said another Houston lawyer, Jed Silverman, will take Schaffers place. Paxton did not address the court as his legal team argued that a long trial delay since he was first indicted in 2015 violated his right to a speedy trial. Paxton is charged with defrauding investors in a Dallas-area tech company called Servergy by not disclosing that he was being paid by the company to recruit them. The case has been delayed for years with pretrial disputes over whether to hold the trial in the Dallas area or Houston, and payment for the states special prosecutors, who have contended they have not been consistently paid in the case. During the hearing, Cogdell argued Paxton should not have his rights violated because of the payment dispute. He added Wice and Schaffer were not suffering financially, pointing out that Wice drives a Mercedes and Schaffer drives a Rolls Royce. Its a Bentley, Schaffer responded. Wice argued most of the delays were caused by Paxtons side and that his attorneys had never previously raised the issue of a speedy trial violation. Wice said that since the 2015 indictment, Paxton has been living his best life as hes twice been reelected and has bought millions of dollars in real estate. The criminal charges are among the myriad legal troubles that have long dogged Paxton over his three terms as one of the nations highest-profile state attorneys general. He was acquitted last year during a historic impeachment trial in the Texas Senate over accusations that he misused his office to help a wealthy donor. The 61-year-old Paxton has shown remarkable political resilience, maintaining and growing strong support among GOP activists on the state and national level, including from former President Donald Trump. Paxton still faces legal troubles. A federal investigation has been probing some of the same charges presented in his impeachment. He is also fighting efforts by former top aides to make him testify in a whistleblower civil lawsuit that also includes allegations central to the impeachment. __ Associated Press writer Jim Vertuno contributed to this report from Austin. ___ Follow Juan A. Lozano on X, formerly known as Twitter: twitter.com/juanlozano70 Foundation for Advanced Consulting, Education and Training (IFACET), an initiative by IIT Kanpur, has collaborated withwithin the HCL Group, to launchin regional languages. These programs are designed to provide career-enhancing opportunities by offering a range of professional courses in various technology and business fields, catering to the dynamic needs of today's job market.These carefully designed courses, led by mentors, integrate theoretical understanding with hands-on practice, serving students, graduates, and professionals alike. Available in Hindi, English, Telugu, and Tamil, they emphasize accessibility and aim to overcome language barriers that may have previously impeded learning in conventional educational approaches.The course offerings encompass a Professional Certificate Course in Business Intelligence and Digital Marketing, available in English, Hindi, and Tamil; a Professional Certificate Course in Full Stack Development - MERN Stack, offered in English, Hindi, and Tamil; a Professional Certificate Course in Data Science, available in Hindi, Telugu, and Tamil; and a Professional Certificate Course in Data Engineering, provided in Hindi, Telugu, and Tamil.Speaking about the tie-up with GUVI, Professor S Ganesh, Director, IIT Kanpur commented "IIT Kanpur has been offering various certificate programs to help students to be well-equipped for success in the ever-evolving professional landscape. GUVI has a unique positioning among Ed-tech players with their expertise in reaching out to students in vernacular medium. Through this partnership, we look forward to unlocking new possibilities by reaching out to the student diaspora across India whose medium of instruction has been in their local language"."We are excited about the collaboration with IIT Kanpur , showcasing our commitment to deliver high-quality education at a national level. Our meticulously crafted programs aim to seamlessly connect academic knowledge with industry requirements, empowering individuals to excel in today's competitive job market", says Arun Prakash M, Founder & CEO of GUVI. The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} More people in the US are now dying of overdose from smoking drugs than taking them via injections, a new study has found. The study conducted by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that the percentage of overdose deaths with evidence of smoking surged by nearly 75 per cent, while the percentage of drug injection-related deaths decreased by about 30 per cent between the period January-June 2020 to JulyDecember 2022. Researchers found that the changes were most pronounced in deaths where illegally manufactured fentanyls (IMFs) were detected. The findings, according to the CDC, can help inform public health and harm reduction services to address overdose risks with smoking and reduce deaths. In the study, researchers analysed data from the State Unintentional Drug Overdose Reporting System to describe trends in routes of drug use in 27 states and the District of Columbia. They found that deaths with evidence of smoking more than doubled from 2,794 to 5,843 during the study period, and by 2022, smoking was the most commonly documented route of use in overdose deaths. Trends were similar in all US regions, the CDC noted. This change, researchers suspect may be indicative of transition from injecting heroin to smoking IMFs among drug users. Oregon addiction crisis sparks fervid debate over solutions An increasing number of deaths might also involve a combination of IMFs and stimulants that may be smoked, according to the study. There may also be reduced cost and less perceived stigma associated with smoking drugs as opposed to injecting them, the CDC report noted. Despite some risk reduction associated with smoking compared with injection (fewer bloodborne infections), smoking carries substantial overdose risk because of rapid drug absorption, researchers said. Citing some limitations of the study, researchers said they could not determine the how and why specific overdose deaths, especially when witnesses were not present. Injections may also be more reported when it is the route of drug use as they leave behind marks on the body as opposed to smoking. However, scientists say the findings can still help reduce overdose deaths. They call for expanded public health messaging emphasising overdose risk linked to smoking and other routes of drug use. Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Inside Washington email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Upon the news of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalnys death, House Speaker Mike Johnson denounced Vladimir Putin. As Congress debates the best path forward to support Ukraine, the United States and our partners must be using every means available to cut off Putins ability to fund his unprovoked war in Ukraine and aggression against the Baltic states, he said in a statement. Of course, Johnsons words would hold much more weight if he had actually put through the aid package for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan that the Senate passed on the floor of the House of Representatives. Indeed, as the Senate labored late into the night on Monday and into the wee hours of Tuesday to pass that aid bill, Johnson summarily killed the bill because it did not address immigration at the US-Mexico border. This came after Johnson and the rest of House Republican leadership blew up a bipartisan agreement that would have included aggressive restrictions to immigration in exchange for aid to Israel and Ukraine. Johnson, like most of the Republican Party, did so in the service of Donald Trump after he came out in opposition to the deal despite the fact it would give him sweeping authority to deport migrants if he became president again. Despite his tough words, Johnson a political neophyte only elected to the House in 2016, who became Speaker after three other candidates for the job faltered before him has elected to appeal only to the most extreme elements of the GOP conference. After the Senate passed its aid package, Johnson didnt spend Tuesday dispatching Republicans to come up with a counter offer to Democrats. Nor did he spend the day trying to come up with a way to keep the government open, since it runs out of money next month. Rather, he spent it holding a second vote to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, something that will do next to nothing to address immigration and has no chance of passing in a Senate controlled by the Democrats. Johnson did this in the service of appeasing Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, the right-wing conspiracy theorist and Trump ally from Georgia, who is also an ardent opponent of funding for Ukraine. But he seems to know that holding an impeachment with little merit will be seen with distaste by most of America. Instead of walking back to his office on Tuesday after the vote, he avoided reporters by exiting the floor from the area where Democrats usually exit. That allowed him to avoid journalists keen to ask him questions. He has proven far less chatty with reporters than his predecessor, Kevin McCarthy. Johnson had plenty of words when I eventually caught him, saying Mayorkas deserved to be impeached. But when I asked him about Trump recalling a story where he told a Nato head of state he would encourage Russia to do whatever it wanted, he said, Not going to comment about that, before leaving. The fact he refused to cross the person largely responsible for him being Speaker shows how unserious he is. In contrast, everyone in the Senate from Rand Paul to Mitt Romney criticized Trumps Nato remarks. Marjorie Taylor Greene has pledged that if aid to Ukraine goes to the floor of the House, she will file a motion to vacate the chair of Johnson. This comes despite the fact that many in Johnsons conference want to support Ukraine and most Democrats would vote to help pass a bill doing so. The only way for Johnson to survive if he were to put support for Ukraine on the floor would be for Democrats to bail him out and vote present or no on any motion to vacate. Thats unlikely for an archconservative like him. Republican leaders have cowered in fear of the far-right flank of their conference before. In 2013, John Boehner refused to put an immigration reform bill on the floor of the House because he feared the Tea Party wing of the House GOP. Kevin McCarthy cynically lied on national television that President Trump won this election and voted to overturn the 2020 election results, even after the January 6 riot. But now, the shrinking courage of Republican elites dont just risk the ability of Congress to function or even the health of American democracy. Johnsons abdication of his duties risks the entire international order and American leaderships place in it. Should Ukraine fall and Putin begin to march through Nato countries which would require American troops to mobilize the blood will be on Johnsons hands as much as Ukrainians blood are on Putins. Navalny was willing to take on Vladimir Putin and risk his life. Johnson is so afraid of losing his speakership that he caves to Marjorie Taylor Greene. Recommended Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Inside Washington email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} President Joe Biden on Friday promised the people of East Palestine, Ohio to keep federal resources and personnel working on mitigating the effects of last years deadly train derailment and chemical spill until the job is done and every need is met. Mr Biden spoke in the Ohio village, where last year a derailed freight train sparked a fire which spewed a toxic chemical cloud and stoked fears of air and water contamination, just over one year to the day when the Norfolk Southern train jumped its tracks and began spilling its toxic contents onto the ground. Flanked by Environmental Protection Agency administrator Michael Regan and East Palestine mayor Trent Conaway, Mr Biden described being briefed on herculean efforts that have been undertaken in the year since the accident. It's absolutely amazing what this community rose to, he said. But Mr Biden told the crowd that the federal government was not going home, no matter what, until the job is done. He then added: Its not done, yet. The president said there was a lot more to be done, and promised to keep federal resources in play until the very end when every need is met. He also promised that his administration would continue to hold Norfolk Southern accountable both now and in the future, and said the government would step in to fill any gaps in the railroads restitution efforts. What they do not make whole, what they cannot make whole, what isn't made whole, the government will make whole, said the president, who said the government has an obligation to look after the towns people. He praised East Palestine residents for their resilience, telling them he could see the tragedy would not define them and if it did, would do so in a different way, with their courage and resilience, and the compassion residents have shown for each other. While the president admitted that some disasters are acts of God, he denounced what happened one year ago in East Palestine as an act of greed that was one hundred per cent preventable. We were pushing the railroads to take more precautions, to deal with braking, to deal with a whole range of things that were not dealt with, he said, adding that Norfolk Southern had failed its responsibility. Multimillion dollar railroad companies transporting toxic chemicals have responsibility to do it safely and ... Norfolk Southern failed, he said. But the president recounted how his administration took action by dispatching personnel to the site within hours to work closely with state and local officials. He added that his administration ordered Norfolk Southern to clean up the mess it created and ensure it was done right, and recalled how water, air, and soil quality testing had begin within hours of the accident, as well as teams of health experts and officials to provide emergency loans to local businesses. Repeating his assertion that the job was not done yet in East Palestine, Mr Biden announced six National Institutes of Health grants to enable studies of both short and long term effect of the disaster and keep top researchers on the case as long as needed. The president also called for Congress to pass the bipartisan rail safety bill shepherded by Ohio Senators JD Vance, a Republican, and Sherrod Brown, a Democrat. The bill, he said, would require stronger protective measures when trains are carrying hazardous waste storage tank cars. We argued about this for years. They should be stronger, they should be able to survive crashes without exploding, he said. The fact of the matter is there was a lot of discussion ahead of time before this occurred, about the safety of the braking systems of many of these railroads trains and more staffing on trains, so that there are more people to respond immediately to a crash, he said. And to do so much more. Mr Bidens visit comes after months of attacks from Republicans, who have complained that the presidents failure to travel to the disaster site indicated a disdain for the people living in the area, which voted overwhelmingly for Mr Bidens opponent in the 2020 election. But the White House has repeatedly stressed that Mr Biden had acted within hours of the derailment to mobilise a comprehensive, whole-of-government response to support the people of East Palestine nearby affected communities after the 3 February 2023 wreck, which caused 38 cars of the 150-car train that was en route from Madison, Illinois to Conway, Pennsylvania to jump the track. Following the derailment, a fire began, and because the train was carrying flammable materials including toxic vinyl chloride, authorities started a controlled burn of some of the spilled material rather than risk what would have been a catastrophic explosion. Railroad and emergency personnel released cargo from five tanker trucks, diverted the liquid to a trench, and set it ablaze. In the wake of the derailment and controlled burn, Environmental Protection Agency officials said vinyl chloride, butyl acrylate, ethylhexyl acrylate and ethylene glycol monobutyl ethers were released into the air, soil and water, though the agency later said it had not detected such chemicals at levels of concern several days after the incident. At the time, Mr Biden said he would not visit the disaster site until an appropriate time, citing the logistical hurdles in arranging presidential travel and the need to prioritise resources for the disaster response. Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Inside Washington email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Michael Cohen, who served as the vice president of the Trump Organization and as counsel to former president Donald Trump, said hes confident his ex-boss will be convicted in the Stormy Daniels hush money case. Mr Trumps legal team has tried to get the case tossed out, but that effort was rejected by New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan on Thursday. His trial has now been scheduled for 25 March. This is a very simple case, Cohen told CNN on Thursday. This case could and should be over in a month with a decision. Mr Trumps former employee has been subpoenaed to testify in the case and will be a key witness at the trial. Mr Cohen was previously sentenced to serve three years in federal prison for criminal tax evasion and campaign finance violations, but spent about 13-and-a-half months behind bars and a year-and-a-half under house arrest. The case is set to be Mr Trumps first criminal trial as he faces 91 charges across four separate indictments. Speaking outside the courthouse, he expressed his reservations about the upcoming proceedings. We want delays, he said. Obviously, Im running for election. A Monmouth University poll found that 58 per cent of voters believe that Mr Trump should be taken off the ballot if hes convicted of a crime before the Republican Party convention this summer. Last year, a grand jury under Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg charged the former president with 34 counts of falsifying business records in connection with repayments to Cohen, who arranged the so-called hush-money scheme to prevent the release of potentially damaging stories about Mr Trump and his affairs. While appearing on CNNs Erin Burnett OutFront, Cohen was asked about whether he thinks Mr Trump will be convicted in the case. This is not even a six-week case, he said. At best it would be a four-week case. He added that he believes Mr Trumps legal team has only secured one witness, while the prosecution has multiple people lined up. I believe based upon the information that I know, and based upon not just the documentary evidence but the corroborating testimony from so many people, I believe that he will be found guilty on all charges, he said. When asked if he had any reservations about seeing his old boss in the courtroom, he said, Theres no intimidation by him. Hes the one sitting at the defendants desk. Not me. Still, when it comes to testifying, he said: Nobody wants to do this. This isnt fun. They get personnel. They get nasty. Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Inside Washington email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Watch as a judge continues to hear misconduct allegations against the Georgia prosecutor leading an election-subversion case against Donald Trump, on Friday 16 February. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, has been accused by one of the former Presidents co-defendants of an improper relationship with Nathan Wade, the special prosecutor she hired to lead the case, Mr Trump and his co-defendants are seeking to remove the judge based on the allegations, which they believe financially benefitted the district attorney. Judge Scott McAfee has said he Ms Willis could be disqualified from the case if the evidence supports the claims. Ms Willis, who is the first female district attorney in Fulton County, has admitted to the relationship but denied it was unethical. There are fears inside the District Attorneys office that should she be disqualified, then it may derail the sprawling racketeering case against Mr Trump. Doubly so with the window to go to trial rapidly shrinking ahead of the 2024 election, for which Mr Trump is likely to be the Republican candidate. Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Inside Washington email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley has hit out at her 2024 Republican presidential primary opponent, former president Donald Trump, following the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. Ms Haley on Friday released a statement denouncing Mr Trump, under whom shed served as US ambassador to the United Nations, for his frequent and repeated praise of Russian President Vladimir Putin. In the statement, she said that Mr Trump continues to side with Vladimir Putina man who kills his political opponents, holds American journalists hostage, and has never hidden his desire to destroy America. Trump continues to side with Putin over our allies and our military service members, she added. Mr Trump, whose 2016 election victory was aided by Russias efforts to interfere in that years election according to the US Intelligence Community and a report issued by the then-Republican-controlled Senate Intelligence Committee has long made a habit of refusing to criticise Mr Putin, and in some instances has issued glowing praise of the Russian dictator. During his 2016 campaign, he told television hosts that he respects the Russian leader after he was told that Mr Putin murders journalists and opposition figures. Nikki Haley hit out at her Republican rival (AP) A succession of US officials, led by Vice President Kamala Harris, has placed blame on the Russian government for Navalnys death in a prison colony in Siberia. Ms Harris told attendees at the annual Munich Security Conference that the US government is still working to confirm the facts and circumstances of Navalnys passing, but called the development terrible news while offering prayers to his family, including his wife Yulia Navalnaya, who is also attending the conference. If confirmed, this would be a further sign of Putins brutality, said Ms Harris. She added: Whatever story they tell, let us be clear, Russia is responsible. Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Inside Washington email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Closing arguments in a weeks-long misconduct hearing took place in an Atlanta courtroom where the future of Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis role in the Georgia election interference case against former president Donald Trump is being determined. The defence has scrutinised the timeline of the relationship between Ms Willis and the special prosecutor she hired, Nathan Wade. The pair have not disputed the relationship, but defence attorneys for the former president allege that the elected district attorney abused her office by financially benefiting from the case by hring a romantic partner. Hearings in mid-February revealed intimate details of their current and former relationships, which Mr Wade described as private but not a secret, as well as the friendship between Ms Willis and a former employee in her office. Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee has said that Ms Willis and her team could be disqualified if the allegations are substantiated, which would then trigger a re-appointment process that could continue to delay a major criminal case against the former president. Here are some key revelations from the two-day hearing: Relationship timeline Nathan Wade wrote in a sworn affidavit that he did not start a romantic relationship with Ms Willis until 2022. He supported this claim in his testimony on 15 February, adding that his their relationship began in March 2022. Ms Willis, when she testified, said their relationship began in early 2022, which she then estimated as April 2022. These testimonies suggest that they started dating after Mr Wade was hired by Ms Willis in November 2021. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis testifies during a hearing on the Georgia election interference case (AP) Robin Bryant-Yeartie, who first testified on 15 February, told the court that she believed the pair began dating in November 2019, not long after the pair met at a municipal court judges conference in October. Mr Wade revealed that the pair are not still together romantically, as of June 2023, but remain good friends. When Ms Willis was asked when they stopped dating she replied that hes a man. Im betting he would say June or July, when they were no longer physical. Ms Willis testified that they had a tough conversation and ended the relationship in August of last year, before the indictment against Mr Trump and his co-defendants. She added that their relationships end had nothing to do with the indictment. Fulton County Special Prosecutor Nathan Wade looks on during a hearing in the case of State of Georgia v. Donald John Trump at the Fulton County Courthouse in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, 15 February 2024 (EPA) Friendship between Ms Willis and Ms Bryant-Yeartie Ms Bryant-Yeartie told the court that she first met Ms Willis in college in 1990. She aid she last spoke to Ms Willis in March 2022. They were good friends and later worked together at the DAs office. In her testimony, Ms Willis had a totally different take on their relationship. She said they partied together while they were both in college although they attended different schools in different states. I havent spoken to her in over a year. I certainly do not consider her a friend now... I think that she betrayed our friendship, Ms Willlis said. Ms Bryant-Yeartie also said that Ms Willis leased a condo she owned in April 2021, adding that Ms Willis took over her lease after moving out from her house in South Fulton shortly after she faced death threats upon her election to office. I never lived with her, Ms Bryant-Yeartie said. Ms Willis also agreed with the timeline, but took issue with how Ms Bryant-Yeartie portrayed the circumstances in which Ms Willis rented her condo. Thats a lie, she said. Ms Willis said that she chose to move to the condo because her father was terribly concerned and urged her to leave her house due to the threats the familiy receieved. Witness Robin Yeartie appears on a screen as she is sworn in during a hearing in the case of the State of Georgia v Donald Trump (Getty Images) Cash payments Ms Willis testified that she often paid in cash and had reimbursed Mr Wade for trips that the couple went on a disclosure that also seemingly poked holes in the defences questioning of Mr Wades financial statements. During Mr Wades testimony, the prosecutor was asked about all of the charges on his Capital One card, which seem to suggest that he had paid for a series of trips with Ms Willis to Belize, Aruba and elsewhere. Mr Wade explained to the court that he booked a lot of these trips for safety reasons, given the high-profile nature of the election fraud case against Mr Trump, and that she paid him back in cash. Ms Willis explained that her father once told her she should always have six months of cash stored in her house or wherever I lay my head. Mr Wade testified that she always reimbursed him: Shes a very independent, proud woman so shes going to insist she carries her own weight ... Shes going to pay her own way. I dont need anybody to foot my bills, Ms Willis said. Ms Willis eager to clarify the allegations against her, the timeline of her relationship, and how she handled payments for trips and meals between them, and how the relationship ultimately came to an end. He told me one time: the only thing a woman can do for me is make me a sandwich, she said. We would have brutal arguments about the fact that he was my equal There was tension, always, in our relationship I dont need anything from a man. A man is not a plan. A man is a companion. On 16 February, defence attorneys also questioned Ms Williss father John Clifford Floyd III about his daughters use of cash, prompting Mr Floyd who is Black to deliver a history lesson about racist discrimination and to defend a habit that he taught his daughter. Im not trying to be racist but its a Black thing, he said. Most Black folks, they hide cash or keep cash You always keep some cash. He explained that a restaurant rejected his credit cards and travellers cheques while he was a fellow at Harvard University, just because of the colour of my skin. I told my daughter, You keep six months of cash, always, he said. I gave my daughter her first cash box and told her always keep some cash. Fani Willis fiery testimony Ms Willis did not seem to hold back any emotion at the hearing, evident from the moment she burst into the court. Im ready to go, Ms Willis announced as she entered the courtroom on 15 February. She testified that she ran to the courtroom after she heard Mr Wades testimony had ended because she thought she would be called next to the stand. Ive been very anxious to have this conversation with you today, Ms Willis told defence attorney Ashleigh Merchant. Its ridiculous that you lied on Monday and yet here we are. ... Im actually surprised that the hearing continued. But since it did, here I am. After Ms Willis explained her money habits, Ms Merchant suggested that Ms Willis doesnt know where that cash came from when she reimbursed Mr Wade for various trips. You are mischaracterizing my testimony greatly, Ms Willis said. She added the money came from my sweat and tears. She accused Ms Merchant of repeatedly mischaracterising her testimony and repeating lies about her personal life in her questions to Ms Willis and in court filings. Youre confused. You think Im on trial. These people are on trial for trying to steal an election in 2020, she said. Im not on trial. No matter how hard you try to put me on trial. (REUTERS) Up close and personal The lines of questioning from attorneys for Mr Trump and his co-defendants often veered into deeply personal questions, with Ms Willis eager to clarify the allegations against her in her heated testimony. Ms Willis said she found it highly offensive that the lawyer implied that Ms Willis had slept with Mr Wade the first time she met him. Mr Wade also was pressed about the start of their relationship. Mr Wade said he was battling cancer in 2020 so he mostly stayed inside, in a sterile environment, especially given the Covid-19 pandemic. So, he said, he wasnt dating: I had health on my mind. The defence also made assertions that Mr Wade was untruthful in his interrogatories in his divorce proceedings. During 15 Februarys hearing, Ms Merchant alleged that Mr Wade said he hadnt had an affair with anyone in the divorce case, but told the court in the election interference case that he had had an affair in 2022. Mr Wade undermined this claim, clarifying, My marriage was irretrievably broken in 2015, claiming that his wife had an affair and they stayed together for their children. Because my marriage was irretrievably broken, I was free to have a relationship, he said. I did not have a relationship with anyone during the course of my marriage. The pair also discussed the fact that they didnt publicise their romantic relationship, putting to rest some rumours. Their testimonies underscored that a decision wasnt out of secrecy, but rather out of preference. Were private people. Our relationship isnt a secret. It was just private, Mr Wade said. Ms Bryant-Yeartie, however, told the court that she had observed the couple hugging and kissing. While she was on the stand, Ms Willis also said that she hadnt discussed their romantic relationship with others in the DAs office. Williss father testifies to nightmarish threats Testimony from Ms Williss father, a longtime civil rights activist who lived with Ms Willis, detailed the threats that the family faced shortly after she took office in early 2021, which prompted her move. There were people outside her house, cursing and yelling and calling her the b-word and the n-word in February of that year, Mr Floyd testified on 16 February. He said that there had been so many death threats and they said they were gonna blow up the house, they were gonna kill me, they were gonna kill my grandchildren ... I was concerned for her safety. Mr Floyd said he continued to live in his daughters South Fulton home until the end of 2022 as the family continued to face nightmare threats. Things got so bad and threats got so many that the house became basically uninhabitable, he said. Star witness Donald Trumps defence attorneys hopes about the revelatory material they could draw out from their purported star witness Terrence Bradley, Mr Wades divorce attorney and former law partner, were dashed on 27 February. Defence attorneys seemed to believe that Mr Bradley could shed light on when Ms Willis and Mr Wades alleged relationship began to no avail. Ms Merchant repeatedly asked Mr Bradley about whether Ms Willis and Mr Wade started a relationship in 2019, conflicting with the 2022 relationship start date that both Ms Willis and Mr Wade testified to. I have no personal knowledge of when [the start of any relationship between Wade and Willis] actually happened. I was not there. I do not have any personal knowledge, Mr Bradley told the court. Ms Merchant then presented texts and an email from Mr Bradley during her information-gathering stages of this investigation. Do you think it started before she hired him? And you said, Absolutely, she said. Do you recall me asking how they would react? Would they attack me? And you told me that they would deny it, Ms Merchant continued. Mr Bradley repeatedly testified that he was merely speculating. Donald Trumps attorney, Steve Sadow, also pressed Mr Bradley about the text messages. Why in the heck would you speculate in this text message? the defence attorney asked. You dont want to admit it in court, he continued. What you want the court to believe and what you want the rest of us to believe you decided on your own to simply speculate and put it down in a text message. His highly-anticipated testimony arrived after much back-and-forth about what Mr Bradley would be able to say due to attorney-client privilege. A judge ultimately ruled his potential testimony about Ms Willis and Mr Wades relationship would fall outside of that scope, so he was able to take the stand. The defences closing arguments Closing arguments in the weeks-long hearing began on 1 March. The defences closings focused on money that was allegedly unaccounted for between Ms Willis and cell tower records in an effort to showcase inconsistencies in their testimonies. John Merchant, the attorney husband of Ms Merchant, delivered the defences closing arguments. He argued that there is still more than $9,200 unaccounted for from Fani Willis to Nathan Wade. We could frankly care less if they had a personal relationship outside of work. Thats not whats at issue here, he said. He alleges they started dating in 2019, despite testimony and sworn statements from Willis and Wade that they started dating two years later, after he was hired, and then ended the relationship before the indictment. She awarded him a contract, where public money either from Fulton County or the state of Georgia ended up in his pockets, he said. Then he and she used that money to go on personal vacations and trips. Steve Sadow, Mr Trumps attorney, argued that the judge could determine that Ms Willis and Mr Wade lied on the stand, and that Mr Bradley spoke clear-cut lies when he did everything he possibly could do to evade answering questions. Defence attorney Richard Rice then pointed to cell phone records and texts in 2019 and 2021 between the pair, saying: I dont even think lovestruck teenagers text that much. Teenagers have a name for those kinds of calls and I wont get into that here, he added. Harry McDougal, another attorney for the defence, capped off the teams closing arguments by claiming that the DAs office engaged in a pattern of concealment and coverup, citing Ms Willis speech that she gave at a church on Martin Luther King Day as an example of a disqualifying action and an effort to deflect attention from her own misconduct and that of Mr Wade. This office is a global laughingstock because of their conduct. They should be disqualified and the case should be dismissed, he concluded. The prosecutions closing arguments The states closings centred around the misleading evidence, like cell tower records, presented by the defence to impugn Ms Willis character while also pointing out the toll that the Trump case and now the hearings have taken on Ms Willis. the prosecutors argued that this was a "desperate attempt" to remove a prosecutor from a case, adding that the defences questioning was an attempt to embarrass and harass ms Willis and impugn her character. On top of this, all of the people who were subpoenaed to testify about their relationship did not testify, the state argued. The state also argued that the texts do not pinpoint that the relationship started in 2019, as the defence tried to prove. Prosecutor Adam Abbate tried to poke holes in the defences cell tower records, saying they do not show Mr Wade connecting with Ms Willis, highlighting the timeline and location of the cell phone pings do not align with where and when Ms Willis residences. For example, the defence said their relationship began in October 2019, but his phone never pinged towers in South Fulton where she lived at the time, until March 2021. His phone pinged cell towers near Hapeville from January 2021 to March 2021, but Ms Willis wasnt living there then. Instead, Mr Abbate emphasised that the evidence from the hearings shows there was a true cost to being the Fulton County district attorney. He highlighted a series of precautions that Ms Willis had to take to stay safe. Due to threats, she had to pay for a safe house apartment in addition to the mortgage on her home which she was forced to leave. She also endured racist and sexist attacks, threats to her safety, isolation from family and friends, and cruel statements and falsehoods leaked to media including those made about her daughter in an attempt to undermine her. Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Inside Washington email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Attorneys for Donald Trump and his allies who are criminally charged in a sprawling election interference case in Georgia have been scrutinising a relationship between the prosecutor leading the case and one of her lead attorneys. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis is the subject of a two-day court hearing following allegations supported by Mr Trump and co-defendants to interrogate her relationship with another attorney and whether they financially benefited from the case. Defence attorneys have repeatedly questioned when she moved out of her home in South Fulton and into a condominium, suggesting that she was using the unit to conceal an alleged affair. But testimony from Ms Williss father John Clifford Floyd III, a longtime civil rights activist who lived with Ms Willis, detailed the threats that the family faced shortly after she took office in early 2021, which prompted her move. There were people outside her house, cursing and yelling and calling her the b-word and the n-word in February of that year, Mr Floyd testified on Friday. I hadnt seen anything exactly like it before, he said. Fani Williss father John Clifford Floyd III testifies on 16 February (Getty Images) Ms Willis left the home in the weeks that followed. She testified on Thursday that she moved into a condominium owned by a friend after she was bombarded by violent threats after her election to the district attorneys office. Thered been so many death threats and they said they were gonna blow up the house, they were gonna kill me, they were gonna kill my grandchildren, Mr Floyd said on Friday. I was concerned for her safety. Defence attorneys accuse Ms Willis of hiring lead prosecutor Nathan Wade while they were in a romantic relationship, and using money earned through work on that case to vacation together. Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee has said that Ms Willis and her team could be disqualified if the allegations are substantiated, which would then trigger a re-appointment process would continue to delay a major criminal case against the former president Ms Willis and Mr Wade began dating in 2022, after he was hired, and the relationship ended last summer, before the defendants were indicted. She told the court she moved into the condominium in 2021. Mr Floyd said he continued to live in his daughters South Fulton home until the end of 2022 as the family continued to face nightmare threats. Things got so bad and threats got so many that the house became basically uninhabitable, he said. Defence attorneys also questioned him about Ms Willis storing cash that was allegedly used to conceal payments to Mr Wade, prompting Mr Floyd who is Black to deliver a history lesson about racist discrimination and to defend a habit that he taught his daughter. Im not trying to be racist but its a Black thing, he said. Most Black folks they hide cash or keep cash You always keep some cash. He explained that a restaurant rejected his credit cards and travellers cheques while he was a fellow at Harvard University, just because of the colour of my skin. I told my daughter, You keep six months of cash, always, he said. I gave my daughter her first cash box and told her always keep some cash. When he first moved into his daughters home, Ms Williss then-boyfriend was also frequently there and stored disc jockey equipment at the property, Mr Floyd said. He testified that he didnt find out about her relationship with Mr Wade until recently. Coming up short with any getting any contradictory testimony, defence attorney Ashleigh Merchant asked to strike his entire testimony, after he said he couldnt avoid reading about the hearing, as its plastered across news websites and broadcast endlessly on TV and radio. Fulton County special prosecutor Anna Cross, left, who represents Fani Willis, appears alongside defence attorney Ashleigh Merchant, right, during a hearing on 16 February (AP) Their testimony builds on what has become a high-stakes line of inquiry what Ms Willis and others have cast as an effort to undermine her prosecution and delay and distract from Mr Trumps proceedings that could threaten her removal from the case altogether. If Juge McAfee determines that she can be disqualified, her team would be removed and new prosecutors would be appointed, a process that could take months and further delay a sprawling trial that has been tentatively scheduled to begin in August. Lines of questioning from attorneys for Mr Trump and his co-defendants have veered into deeply personal questions, including her sex life and how she handles cash, with Ms Willis eager to clarify allegations against her, the timeline of her relationship, and how she handled payments for trips and meals between them. There is nothing illegal or improper about the relationship itself; Ms Willis and Mr Wade had already admitted to their relationship, but in court documents they firmly rejected the meritless and salacious allegations as bad-faith attempts to see her kicked off a case that would put Mr Trump on a state trial for unlawfully rejecting an election he lost. Weve three witnesses indicating Wade and Willis were not in a relationship in 2019, 2020, or early 2021 and later 2021 before Wade was hired. There is one witness who testified to the contrary, but with no specifics. The weight of evidence so far goes to the DA on that point, according to Georgia State University law professor Anthony Michael Kreis. Barring some revelatory new facts, it is hard to establish that there was a relationship to the extent that Willis gave a contract unethically to someone she was already in a relationship with or with the intent to personally profit from gifts offered by Mr Wade, he added. Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Inside Washington email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} In a misconduct hearing that threatens the course of Donald Trumps election interference case in Georgia, an Atlanta courtroom has heard contradictory timelines regarding the romantic relationship between the Fulton County District Attorney and a prosecutor. Thursdays hearing in Atlanta hinges not on whether Fulton County DAFani Willis and prosecutor Nathan Wade had a relationship as the pair have already admitted they were romantically involved but whether Ms Willis could be disqualified from the case. The defence has argued that the couple have financially benefited from Ms Willis hiring Mr Wade to prosecute the former presidents case. The former DAs office employees testimony came in direct contradiction to Nathan Wades testimony. Robin Bryant-Yeartie, a former DAs office employee and once good friend of Ms Willis, took the stand on Thursday morning. She testified that Ms Willis told her the pair first met at a municipal court judges conference in October 2019. The pair possibly could have been dating in November 2019, Ms Bryant-Yeartie said. You have no doubt that their romantic relationship was in effect from 2019 until the last time you spoke with her? defence attorney Ashleigh Merchant asked. No doubt, she replied. Mr Wade said his relationship with Ms Willis began in March 2022. His testimony on Thursday is consistent with the timeline he had written in a sworn affidavit. This would have been after Mr Wade began working for the DAs office in November 2021. He testified: Were private people. Our relationship isnt a secret. It was just private. Ms Bryant-Yeartie, however, told the court that she had observed the couple hugging and kissing. The defence also made assertions that Mr Wade was untruthful in his interrogatories in his divorce proceedings. Ms Merchant alleged that Mr Wade said he hadnt had an affair with anyone in the divorce case, but told the court in the election interference case that he had had an affair in 2022. Mr Wade undermined this claim, clarifying, My marriage was irretrievably broken in 2015, saying that she had an affair and they stayed together for their children. Because my marriage was irretrievably broken, I was free to have a relationship, he said. I did not have a relationship with anyone during the course of my marriage. The defence has also focused on potential financial dealings between the couple. Ms Bryant-Yeartie testified that Ms Willis moved into her condo in April 2021, but clarified a previous misconception that the friends ever lived together. I never lived with her, Ms Bryant-Yeartie said, explaining that Ms Willis took over her lease after moving out from her fathers house. Debunking another potential financial claim, Ms Bryant-Yeartie testified that Ms Willis and only Ms Willis paid the rent at the condo she was leasing from her friend and rejected the notion that Mr Wade ever paid the rent. Ms Merchant pressed Mr Wade about bank statements that show he went on trips with the Fulton County DA. He described trips to California, Alabama, Tennessee, Belize, Aruba, and a cruise with Ms Willis and his mother. For safety reasons, she would limit her transactions. Imagine trying to walk through an airport or sit at a restaurant or do anything as Ms Willis, he said. Mr Wade said she paid him back in cash. He said the Belize trip was a birthday trip so I paid zero for that. She then paid for it in cash for both his and her portions. Regarding the Napa, California trip, Ms Willis paid for the excursions so that everything was financially balanced. Shes a very independent, proud woman so shes going to insist she carries her own weight Shes going to pay her own way. In a relationshipyoure not keeping a ledger, he said. Ms Willis was emphatic and adamant about the independent woman thing, Mr Wade said with a smile. In early 2022 Mr Wade said he went to Tennessee with Ms Willis for a day trip to drive there, have lunch, and come back. She kept getting a lot of attention locally so we would get in my car and drive to some place off the beaten path and have lunch, Mr Wade testified. He said theyve also done the same in Alabama. Mr Wade, his mother, and Ms Willis took a cruise together in 2022. Then, his mom went home as the pair went to Aruba, he testified. The hearing continues on Thursday. Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Inside Washington email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} The Georgia prosecutor leading a sprawling election interference case against Donald Trump has testified in court about allegations of misconduct levelled against her by the former president and his co-defendants questions that could potentially disqualify them from the case. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis began her testimony in an Atlanta courtroom on Thursday after defence attorneys questioned lead prosecutor Nathan Wade about the timeline of their relationship and the expenses they shared. The attorneys had already admitted to their relationship but firmly rejected the meritless and salacious allegations as bad-faith attempts to see her kicked off a case that Mr Trump has baselessly labelled a conspiracy against him, according to court filings. Thursdays hearing is scrutinising allegations that the former couple financially benefited from Ms Willis hiring Mr Wade to prosecute the former presidents case, which charges Mr Trump and more than a dozen co-defendants as part of a criminal enterprise to overturn the states election results in 2020. Ive been very anxious to have this conversation with you today, Ms Willis told defence attorney Ashleigh Merchant. Its ridiculous that you lied on Monday and yet here we are. ... Im actually surprised that the hearing continued. But since it did, here I am. Robin Yeartie, a friend of Ms Willis when they were in college in the early 1990s, previously testified that Ms Willis and Mr Wade were in a romantic relationship beginning in 2019. During her testimony, Ms Willis vigorously denied those claims and called an allegation that she slept with Mr Wade after meeting him extremely offensive. Thats a lie, she told Ms Merchant, a criminal defence attorney representing Trump co-defendant Mike Roman. Thats one of your lies, she said. She will return to the witness stand on Friday under questioning from her team. Attorneys plan to introduce four to five other witnesses, with another round of questioning expected to take four to five hours. Im not ruling on any of this tomorrow, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee said as the day-long hearing came to a close on Thursday evening. This is something thats going to be taken under advisement on all aspects. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis testifies at a hearing on 15 February about allegations involving her relationship with another prosecutor. (REUTERS) Mr Wades signed affidavit in the case states that he and Ms Willis developed a personal relationship in addition to our professional association and friendship in 2022, several months after he was hired on the case. He stated he has no financial interest in the case, that no funds from his hiring have been shared with Ms Willis, and that they have never shared any financial accounts, expenses or housing. Ms Willis also testified that the couple began dating in March or April of 2022 and ended their romantic relationship in the summer of 2023. She accused Ms Merchant of repeatedly mischaracterising her testimony and repeating lies about her personal life in her questions to Ms Willis and in court filings. Youre confused. You think Im on trial. These people are on trial for trying to steal an election in 2020, she said. Im not on trial. No matter how hard you try to put me on trial. Ms Willis had initially tried blocking efforts by the former presidents attorneys and other defence lawyers to compel her testimony, but she withdrew her objection on Thursday and told the court that she ran down the hall after learning that Mr Wade finished testifying. Im ready to go, she could be heard saying as she walked into the room. Her testimony builds on what has become a high-stakes line of inquiry what Ms Willis and others have cast as an effort to undermine her prosecution and delay and distract from Mr Trumps proceedings that could threaten her removal from the case altogether. If Juge McAfee determines that she can be disqualified, her team would be removed and new prosecutors would be appointed, a process that could take months and further delay a sprawling trial that has been tentatively scheduled to begin in August. Lines of questioning from attorneys for Mr Trump and his co-defendants veered into deeply personal questions, including her sex life and how she handles cash, with Ms Willis eager to clarify allegations against her, the timeline of her relationship, and how she handled payments for trips and meals between them. She recounted four trips in 2022 and 2023, including travel to Miami and a cruise to Aruba, a cruise to the Bahamas, a trip to Belize, and a trip to Napa Valley in California. She testified that her shares of those trips excluding the trip to Belize, which was a gift to Mr Wade for his 50th birthday were repaid in cash and that those costs were divided roughly evenly throughout. I want to be clear, because my credibility is being questioned here I dont consider our relationship to have become romantic until early 2022, Ms Willis said. They ended a physically intimate relationship in 2023, they said. Ms Willis said they had a tough conversation last August before Mr Trump was indicted in Georgia. He told me one time: the only thing a woman can do for me is make me a sandwich, she said. We would have brutal arguments about the fact that he was my equal There was tension, always, in our relationship I dont need anything from a man. A man is not a plan. A man is a companion. ELKO A fight over a portable speaker led to a man being arrested at a homeless camp, accused of strangling a woman and burning her belongings. Jacob Braunschweig, 31, was booked in the Elko County Jail on Feb. 12 on felony charges of robbery, domestic battery by strangulation and two counts of fourth-degree or attempted arson. According to court documents, police were called to a homeless camp on Hot Springs Road on a report of a fight between Braunschweig and a woman. The woman told police Braunschweig demanded she let him use her portable speaker. When she refused, the woman said, he became angry, grabbing a torch and lighting it and the threatened to kill her, presenting the torch in a threatening manner and then taking the speaker. When the woman refused to give Braunschweig the speaker, she alleged he attacked her, using both his hands, grabbed her by the neck and throat, strangling her for about a minute. Police said they observed visible skin irritation and bruising on the left side of the womans neck. The woman said she feared for her life and lost consciousness during the attack. It ended when other people from the homeless camp intervened, she said. Police were told Braunschweig then grabbed the torch, left the tent and burned the womans clothing and other items in a shopping cart. The woman told police she and Braunschweig had a dating relationship that ended about a year ago. Braunschweig was accused of stealing items from Big 5 Sporting Goods on April 17, 2023, and from Walmart a few weeks later. A year earlier, he was charged with two felony counts of grand larceny for allegedly stealing a vehicle from an automobile repair shop. Braunschweig was jailed on $165,000 bail. Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Inside Washington email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Watch as US Special Envoy for Middle East Humanitarian Issues, David Satterfield, participates in a peace discussion on the region on Friday 16 February. The conversation is being hosted by Washington DC-based think tank The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. As the Israel-Hamas conflict enters its fifth month, Mr Satterfield is expected to discuss what the future holds for Palestinians in Gaza, as well as a pathway to a two-state solution. The humanitarian situation for 2.3 million Gazans is increasingly dire. A grinding process of inspections of trucks has slowed delivery of aid, while Israels ground campaign in southern Gaza - where an estimated 1.9 million displaced Palestinians now reside - makes using predictable and reliable corridors for transport extremely difficult, a statement on the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace website reads. What is the future for Palestinians in Gaza? How does the Biden administration envision the proverbial day after? And what are the prospects for converting this crisis into a better pathway to a two-state solution and closer ties between Israel and the Arab world? Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Inside Washington email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Marjorie Taylor Greene has doubled down on her mistaken assertion that British Foreign Secretary David Cameron compared Republicans unwilling to support further aid to Ukraine to Nazi leader Adolf Hitler. Well, number one, I really could care less what Lord Cameron has to say. I just don't care, she told The Independent on Thursday. And number two, he was calling us Hitler and calling us horrible names and that is extremely rude and he needs to stop making that association. He needs to consider what he's actually saying, she added. So I just don't care. He really needs to worry about his country. I think over there, they're having all kinds of problems, theyre entering a recession. They need to worry about their problems and leave our country alone. This comes after the hard-right Republican congresswoman said Lord Cameron can kiss my a** on Wednesday after he urged the US Congress to pass aid to Ukraine and avoid repeating the mistakes of the past, citing the appeasement of Hitler in the lead-up to the Second World War. The Democratic Senate has already passed a bill which would send further aid to Ukraine but the legislation faces a steep uphill climb in the House. In an op-ed published in The Hill on Wednesday, Lord Cameron wrote: As Congress debates and votes on this funding package for Ukraine, I am going to drop all diplomatic niceties. I urge Congress to pass it. I believe our joint history shows the folly of giving in to tyrants in Europe who believe in redrawing boundaries by force, he added. I do not want us to show the weakness displayed against Hitler in the 1930s. He came back for more, costing us far more lives to stop his aggression. I do not want us to show the weakness displayed against Putin in 2008, when he invaded Georgia, or the uncertainty of the response in 2014, when he took Crimea and much of the Donbas before coming back to cost us far more with his aggression in 2022, Lord Cameron, a former UK prime minister, argued. I want us to show the strength displayed since 2022, as the West has helped Ukrainians liberate half the territory seized by Putin, all without the loss of any NATO service personnel. I dont want to read it, I know the British embassy wanted me to read it I have way too many other things to do than read his op-ed, Ms Greene said on Thursday. James Matthews of Sky News asked Ms Greene on Wednesday: David Cameron says that you should vote through funding for Ukraine. What do you say to that? I think he tried to compare us to Hitler also, Ms Greene said, mixing up the appeasers, whose conduct Lord Cameron did cite, and the Nazi leader. Ms Greene has previously faced criticism for making comments comparing the use of masks during the pandemic to the Holocaust. She later visited the Holocaust Museum in Washington, DC and apologised for the remarks. Speaking about Lord Cameron on Wednesday, Ms Greene told Sky News: If thats the kind of language he wants to use, I really have nothing to say to him. He likened you can do to an appeaser for Hitler, in not voting through funding for Ukraine, are you an appeaser for Putin? Matthews asked. I think that I really dont care what David Cameron has to say. I think thats rude name-calling, and I dont appreciate that type of language. And David Cameron needs to worry about his own country, and frankly, he can kiss my a**, she added. During a visit to Poland on Thursday, the foreign secretary said that he is not someone who wants to lecture American friends, or tell American friends what to do, but he added, We really do want to see Congress pass that money to support Ukraine economically, but crucially militarily in the months ahead. Speaking at a press conference, Lord Cameron said: We have to do everything we can to make sure that Ukraine can succeed in this year and beyond. We must not let Putin think he can out-wait us or last us out, and thats why this vote in Congress is so crucial. He added: And I say this as someone who is not wanting in any way to lecture American friends, or tell American friends what to do. I say it as someone who has a deep and abiding love of the United States of their democracy, of their belief in freedom [and] as someone who really believes in the importance of our alliance. Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Inside Washington email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Washington reacted like a bomb went off after news broke on Capitol Hill of a national security threat about which all members of Congress had received a classified briefing. For hours on Wednesday morning, rumours churned on Twitter before details began to come together. An early leak indicating that the intelligence was related to both a foreign security threat as well as outer space even drew excited murmuring about the possible discovery of alien life. But if you were hoping to see some little green men, you better stick to reruns of X-Files. A clearer picture of the issue emerged later Wednesday and early Thursday; US officials are concerned about a new Russian capability centred around what The New York Times called a space-based nuclear weapon with anti-satellite capabilities. The purpose of this system, the Times further reported, is alleged by US officials to be threatening Americas military, communications and private satellite network. A few other details remain unclear as leaks trickle out. The capability was described as not based in orbit by several current and former US officials who spoke to Reuters. But others who spoke to the Times contended that the capability did indeed raise questions about whether Russia was prepared to violate an international ban on orbital nuclear weapons. Theres reportedly no cause for alarm, not yet: Reuters separately reported on Thursday that a source who had received the briefing from US intelligence agencies on the matter described the threat as not urgent. The language used to describe the classified information by those who have seen it has differed marginally; most agree with the description of the threat as serious but no cause for alarm. Reuters has also cited read-in sources as saying that the anti-satellite weaponry is not an active capability of the Russian military likely meaning it is in early or late-stage testing. The Times backed up that assertion, citing officials who said there was a limited window of time to prevent Russia from deploying this new weapons system. The moment has sparked a rare instance of bipartisanship in the House of Representatives, which for a year now has been at the mercy of a far-right contingent. That contingent has thrown the chamber into disarray on multiple occasions, thanks to a rule change lowering the threshold of members required to bring a motion to oust the House Speaker. The GOP Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee issued a comparably cordial statement calling on the Democratic president, Joe Biden, to declassify intelligence regarding the Russian threat. In general, Democrats and Republicans have managed to avoid (so far) the partisan rancor and bad blood that consumes virtually every other issue on Capitol Hill. Exceptions exist, of course. On Wednesday, one of the members of Congress to react to the intelligence was Georgias Marjorie Taylor Greene, who posted a lengthy and seemingly unrelated rant on Twitter about border security in response. We only know bits and pieces of the story so far. But at the moment it looks very much like those lawmakers who defended the creation of the US Space Force under mockery from the public have been at least partially vindicated as the arena of geopolitical conflict makes a decisive shift towards the heavens. Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Inside Washington email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} President Joe Biden on Friday said Russian president Vladimir Putin is responsible for the death of Alexei Navalny, the opposition leader who is reported to have died in a Russian penal colony in Siberia after several years of imprisonment for opposing Mr Putins regime. In remarks delivered from the White House before he departed for an event in Ohio, Mr Biden said he was not surprised and outraged by reports that Navalny had died. He described the late anti-corruption activist as having bravely stood up to the corruption, the violence and all the bad things that Putins government was doing. In response, Putin had him poisoned. He had him arrested and prosecuted for fabricated crimes, then sent to prison and held in isolation, said Mr Biden, who added that it was kind of amazing that Navalny kept up his criticism of the Putin regime from behind bars. Even in prison, he was a powerful voice for the truth, Mr Biden said, recalling how Navalny could have remained safe in exile following a 2020 poisoning attempt on his life by Russian security services but chose to return to his homeland even at the risk of being arrested and killed. He did it anyway, because he believed so deeply in his country and Russia ... but make no mistake, Putin is responsible for Navalnys death, he said. What happened to Navalny is yet more proof of Putins brutality. Mr Biden continued to eulogise Navalny and compare him favourably to the man he opposed, Mr Putin, telling reporters that the Russian people would mourn Navalny as having been so many things that Putin was not. He was brave, he was principled, he was dedicated to building a Russia where the rule of law existed and where it applied to everybody, he said. Continuing, the president said Navalnys death is a reminder of the stakes of this moment, and called on the House of Representatives to enact the supplemental appropriations bill he has called for that would fund Ukraines continued defence against Russian invading forces. We have to provide the funding so Ukraine can keep defending itself against Putin's vicious onslaught of war crimes, he said. He added that history is watching the lower chamber, where Republican Speaker of the House Mike Johnson has thus far chosen to heed the wishes of Mr Bidens pro-Russian opponent in the 2024 election, former president Donald Trump, who has repeatedly railed against funding for Ukraine and pushed his GOP allies to block it. The failure to support Ukraine at this critical moment, will never be forgotten. It's gonna be down in the pages of history. It really is. It's consequential. And the clock is ticking and this has to happen, he said. Asked whether he believed Navalnys death to have been an assassination, Mr Biden said his administration has not yet determined exactly what happened to the late opposition leader. But he told reporters there was no doubt that Navalnys death was a consequence of something that Putin and his thugs did. He also said his administration is looking at a whole number of options to fulfil a promise he made during his 2021 summit with Mr Putin in Geneva. At the time, Mr Biden vowed to impose devastating consequences on Russia in the event Navalny died in government custody. He added that in the meantime, Russia has suffered a hell of a lot of consequences as a result of the unlawful invasion of Ukraine ordered by Mr Putin nearly two years ago. Turning to the subject of Mr Trump, the president repeated some of the harsh criticism hed levelled his predecessor earlier this week after Mr Trump told attendees at an event in South Carolina that hed threatened to allow Russia to freely attack Nato members that dont spend enough on defence. Donald Trump says he would encourage Russia to attack Nato allies who pay too little All of us should reject the dangerous statements made by the previous president that invited Russia to invade our Nato allies if they weren't paying up. He said if an ally did not pay their dues, he encouraged Russia to do whatever the hell they want, he said. Mr Biden appeared to pause for several seconds, as if he was holding his tongue from uttering language not suitable for a nationally televised speech. He then quipped that he should clear his head rather than say what he was really thinking, and instead condemned Mr Trumps remarks as an outrageous thing for a president to say. He added that the US would be standing by the sacred commitment to its Nato allies as long as he is in the Oval Office, just as Nato has stood by the US in the past, and said Mr Putin should know that the US will continue to defend every inch of Nato territory against any adversary that attacks any member state. Close Donald Trump warns of a 'bloodbath' in US if he isn't elected as president again Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Inside Washington email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Former president Donald Trump is once again facing criticism over his use of inflammatory rhetoric after he declared at a campaign rally in Dayton, Ohio, on Saturday evening: If I dont get elected its going to be a bloodbath for the country. The Republican presidential challenger used the phrase as part of a dire economic forecast for the American auto industry but was swiftly rebuked by the White House over its wider implications, with spokespeople for Joe Biden accusing him of endorsing political violence particularly given that the candidate had also bemoaned the fate of the J6 hostages at the same event. The luxury real estate mogul has since hit back on Truth Social, claiming the media is only pretending to be shocked by his choice of words. Mr Trump gave an interview to Fox News journalist Howard Kurtz over the weekend in which he again attacked the late-night host Jimmy Kimmel for making jokes at his expense, doubled-down on comparing migrants to vermin and on his call to terminate parts of the US Constitution and floated the prospect of supporting a 16-week national abortion ban in an overt appeal to the Christian right. Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Inside Washington email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} A co-defendant in the sprawling election interference case against former president Donald Trump in Georgia was warned he could be removed from the courtroom after he laughed during testimony. David Shafer, the former chairman of the Georgia Republican Party, was reprimanded on Thursday during a hearing about the misconduct allegations against Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis. Ms Willis, who is overseeing the Georgia election interference case against Mr Trump, has recently faced ethics concerns over her romantic relationship with Nathan Wade, a special prosecutor hired to lead the case. The hearing heard motions brought by Mr Trumps defence attorneys, who are seeking to have Ms Willis removed from the case. Mr Wade took the stand during the hearing, at one point facing questions about vacations the two took together and how they were paid for. Mr Wade said he booked travel with his credit card, and Ms Willis paid him back in cash. At this point, in a livestream of the hearing, Mr Shafer could be heard laughing aloud. "Mr Shafer, youll step out if you do that again," Judge Scott McAfee warned him. A Georgia grand jury indicted Mr Trump, as well as 18 others, in August, over allegations that he attempted to overturn the states 2020 election results. The case centres in part on a phone call between Mr Trump and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger just days before Bidens inauguration. In leaked audio of the call published by the Washington Post , Mr Trump threatened and berated Mr Raffensperger and urged him to "find" more votes so he could win. Mr Trump, who is the first and only former or sitting president to be criminally charged, faces a total of 91 felony counts across his four criminal indictments by state and federal prosecutors. He has pleaded not guilty to every charge in each case and has accused prosecutors of election interference and an attempt to derail his 2024 run for a second term in the Oval Office. Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Inside Washington email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Donald Trump Jr and his younger brother Eric Trump have been ordered to pay a total of more than $8m for the fraudulent business dealings of their fathers sprawling real estate empire. A New York court on Friday found former president Donald Trump and his Trump Organization liable for just under $464m, representing $364m in surrendered profits and $100m in interest so far. Prosecutors had accused the company of grossly inflating Mr Trumps net worth and assets in documents handed to banks and lenders in order to secure more favourable financing terms for some of his star properties. In addition to the fines owed by Mr Trump and his firm, Judge Arthur Engoron ordered Don Jr, 46, and Eric, 40, to pay roughly $4m each. Both men will be barred from executive offices with any New York company for two years, while the former president is barred from holding such officers or getting loans from New York banks for three years. In response, Eric Trump called the ruling a total joke and insane, telling ABC News that the court was living in an alternate universe and that his family would appeal the decision. He stood by his testimony during the trial that he did not recall ever believing that any of the financial information he signed off on was fake or doctored. Alina Habba, a lawyer for Donald Trump, likewise slammed the decision. This verdict is a manifest injustice, plain and simple. It is the culmination of a multi-year, politically-fueled witch hunt that was designed to take down Donald Trump. Donald Trump Jr said: Weve reached the point where your political beliefs, combined with what venue your case is heard, are the primary determinants of the outcome, not the facts of the case! Its truly sad whats happened to our country, and I hope others see it before its too late to correct course. The trial, and the Trump familys reaction, offered a preview of how Mr Trump plans to use his mounting legal troubles as a springboard for his 2024 presidential campaign. The former president groundlessly framed the court case as a conspiracy to derail his shot at the White House, repeatedly defying courtroom instructions and gag orders while attacking the judge and his staff. Fridays judgement comes one day after a state judge in a separate criminal case scheduled a trial on charges stemming from hush money payments to adult film star, Stormy Daniels and less than a month after a federal jury in another civil case decided that he owes more than $83m to E Jean Carroll for repeatedly defaming a woman he was found liable for sexually assaulting. Back-to-back judgments totalling more $400m could not only evaporate Mr Trumps cash on hand but also seriously imperil a brand on which he has built his political career. Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Inside Washington email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Donald Trump, his adult sons and their chief associates in the Trump Organizations sprawling real-estate empire have been ordered to pay more than $364m after a months-long case targeting fraud in the family business. The former president and his co-defendants defrauded banks and investors as part of a decade-long scheme to secure favourable financing terms for some of his brand-building properties, according to a blockbuster lawsuit filed by New Yorks attorney general nearly two years ago. A final judgment from New York Justice Arthur Engoron on Friday finds the former president, Donald Trump Jr and Eric Trump, as well as their Trump Organization associates and Trump properties liable for tens of millions of dollars. Mr Trump, his companies and his trust must pay the state more than $354m. His sons are each ordered to pay roughly $4m. The former president also is barred from holding any executive office with a New York company and from getting loans from New York banks for three years. His adult sons are barred from executive offices with any New York company for two years. Former executives Allen Weisselberg and Jeffrey McConney are also permanently barred from financially controlling any New York businesses, and face a three-year ban from serving as an officer or director of any New York business. The judges final ruling in the case struck at the defendants lack of credibility on the witness stand, their failed strategy to blame the accountants for the false financial statements and valuations at the centre of the case, and the evidence of deceit used to come up with the inflated figures under scrutiny. He pointed to a history of malfeasance within the Trump Organization, followed by the findings in the sprawling fraud case, to determine that Mr Trump and his co-defendants are likely to continue their fraudulent ways unless the Court grants significant injunctive relief. Their complete lack of contrition and remorse borders on pathological, he wrote in a 92-page order on Friday. They are accused only of inflating asset values to make more money. The documents prove this over and over again. This is a venial sin, not a mortal sin, he added. Defendants did not commit murder or arson. They did not rob a bank at gunpoint. Donald Trump is not Bernard Madoff. Yet, defendants are incapable of admitting the error of their ways. New York County Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron appears in a civil fraud trial targeting Donald Trump and his business on 13 November, 20923. He issued a final ruling in the case on 16 February, finding him and his co-defendants liable for more than $360m (AP) After 11 weeks of witness testimony followed by closing arguments last month, the judge overseeing the case issued a final judgment that delivered yet another blow to Mr Trumps mounting legal challenges as he seeks the Republican nomination for president. The judgment also comes one day after a state judge in a separate criminal case scheduled a trial on charges stemming from hush money payments to an adult film star, and less than a month after a federal jury in another civil case decided he owes more than $83m to E Jean Carroll for repeatedly defaming a woman he was found liable for sexually assaulting. Back-to-back judgments totalling more $400m could not only evaporate Mr Trumps cash on hand but also seriously imperil a brand on which he has built his political career. The civil fraud trial in New York County Supreme Court offered an early glimpse of Mr Trumps reliance on courtrooms for his campaign, which has baselessly framed his criminal charges and lawsuits as election interference and a conspiracy to derail his shot at the White House. In a statement on Friday, Mr Trump called the ruling an illegal, unAmerican judgment against me, my family, and my tremendous business. This decision is a Complete and Total SHAM, he wrote on his Truth Social. There were No Victims, No Damages, No Complaints. His attorney Alina Habba said they plan to appeal. The attorney general touted the verdict as a massive victory for the state. When powerful people cheat to get better loans, it comes at the expense of hardworking people, she said in a statement. Everyday Americans cannot lie to a bank to get a mortgage, and if they did, our government would throw the book at them. There simply cannot be different rules for different people. A courtroom sketch depicts Donald Trump in front of New York Justice Arthur Engoron during his civil fraud trial on 2 October, 2023. (REUTERS) Mr Trump used the hallway outside the courtroom in lower Manhattan to attack his political rivals and the prosecutors and judges overseeing the multiple cases against him. Mr Trump and his attorneys repeatedly defied courtroom instructions and gag orders that they blasted as politically motivated and illegal, while death threats poured into the courthouse after the former presidents repeat attacks against the judge and his staff. A lawsuit from New York Attorney General Letitia James, filed in September 2022, accuses Mr Trump and his co-defendants of grossly inflating his net worth and assets in documents handed to banks and lenders as proof of his financial state to secure more favourable financing terms for some of his star properties. Judge Engoron issued a damning pretrial judgment one year later, finding that the defendants are liable for allegations of fraud, and leaving a bench trial to determine how much Mr Trump and his associates should owe, if anything, and whether the attorney general is successful on arguments for other claims in her complaint. The attorney generals office initially sought $250m from the defendants. But after testimony in taped depositions and in courtroom arguments, her office instead pushed for $370m in sanctions for so-called ill-gotten gains the defendants received as a result of fraudulently obtained financing terms that banks would have received if they used rates that reflected Mr Trumps actual net worth and assets, according to the attorney generals office. Her office also asked the judge to ban Mr Trump and his former chief associates Allen Weisselberg and Jeffrey McConney from the states real estate industry for life. His sons Donald Trump Jr and Eric Trump who effectively took control of the Trump Organizations day-to-day business and Mr Trumps trust when he was in the White House also faced five-year bans from the industry, under Ms Jamess proposed sanctions. The latest multi-million dollar judgments add to Mr Trumps growing list of legal liabilities, spanning several lawsuits and 91 criminal charges stemming from four separate federal and state-level charges, including for alleged crimes committed while in office. He has pleaded not guilty in all cases. In furious arguments to the judge throughout the fraud trial, defence attorneys repeatedly stated that the banks were satisfied and that the claims in the attorney generals lawsuit were based on speculation, with Ms James typically seated in a row just behind lawyers with her office routinely accused of waging a politically motivated stunt to defeat Mr Trumps political ambitions. They repeatedly used terms that Mr Trump has used to attack the case and his rivals, labelling the potential sanctions against him the corporate death penalty and an example of weaponised law enforcement. These are success stories, said Mr Kise, referencing Mr Trumps brand-building properties targeted by the attorney generals office. Rather than praising Trump for his business success they are attacking him for a victimless offence, he said. Its insane. He claimed that a judgment against Mr Trump and his co-defendants would deal a major blow to all New York business, not just Mr Trumps. This is an extremely dangerous path, he said. Weaponization I know that gets tossed around a lot but thats really what this is. Donald Trump appears in court for a civil fraud trials closing arguments on 11 January. (AP) Mr Trumps annual statements of financial condition documents provided to lenders to reflect Mr Trumps financial state as he sought the banks backing have been at the heart of the case. Those statements were false for every year they were issued since 2011, state attorney Kevin Wallace said in closing arguments last month. If you look at it across time, it becomes clear that fraud was central to the operation of the Trump Organizations business, Mr Wallace said. The trial then set out to determine what did the defendants know, and when did they know it, and showed that each individual defendant was acting knowingly and intentionally, he added. In their closing remarks, state attorneys also laid out for the first time what they believe was Mr Trumps motivation for the alleged fraud, suggesting the defendants turned to fraud while low on cash during his 2016 campaign and presidency. That way, they didnt have to choose between their priorities, Mr Wallace said. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Russia must face consequences for the death of Alexei Navalny, leaders from around the world have said pointing the finger squarely at the Kremlin as being responsible for the brutal murder of Vladimir Putins fiercest critic. Navalny, 47, had recently been moved to a jail near the Arctic Circle where he was serving a sentence of almost two decades on charges that supporters and much of the international community believe were trumped up in order to silence him. It was the prison service that announced the news. And in a defiant statement at the Munich Security Conference, Navalnys wife Yulia warned Mr Putin and his friends that they will not go unpunished. I dont know whether to believe the news, the terrible news that we are receiving only from the state sources in Russia, she said, adding that Mr Putin and his government are always lying. Navalnys team said his lawyer was urgently flying there, but could not confirm the reports of his death. However, Yulia added: If this is true, I want Putin, his entire entourage ... his government to know that they will bear responsibility for what they did to our country, to my family, to my husband. The federal prison service said in a statement that Navalny had felt unwell after a walk on Friday and lost consciousness. An ambulance arrived to try to rehabilitate him, but he died, the statement added. US president Joe Biden said he was outraged when he heard of the anti-corruption campaigners death, and blamed Mr Putin for Navalnys demise. He described Navalny as having bravely stood up to the corruption, the violence and all the bad things that Putins government was doing. President Biden added: Even in prison, he was a powerful voice for the truth, recalling how Navalny could have stayed in exile after a poisoning attempt in 2020 by Russian security services. Instead, he returned to Russia, knowing hed likely be imprisoned or even killed if he continued his work. He did it anyway, because he believed so deeply in his country and Russia ... but make no mistake, Putin is responsible for Navalnys death, said Mr Biden. British foreign minister David Cameron said Mr Putin should be held accountable. There should be consequences, because theres no doubt in my mind, this man was a brave fighter against corruption, for justice, for democracy. We should hold Putin accountable for this, Mr Cameron said, speaking to reporters in Munich, where he is attending the international security conference. Navalny was brutally murdered by the Kremlin, said Latvian president Edgars Rinkevics in a post on X, formerly Twitter. Thats a fact and that is something one should know about the true nature of Russias current regime. Leaders from Germany, France, and other European nations all painted a similar picture. The EU holds the Russian regime solely responsible for this tragic death, said EU Council president Charles Michel. Alexei Navalny, 47, has died in jail, Russian authorities have said (Reuters) Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, whose country is fighting off an invasion by Mr Putins forces, said: It is obvious: he was killed by Putin, as thousands of others were tortured and martyred by this one creature. Putin does not care who dies as long as he keeps his position. And that is why he should not keep anything. Putin should lose everything and answer for what he has done. Navalny had strongly condemned the invasion of Ukraine in social media posts both from prison and during his court hearings. On Thursday, Navalny gave testimony by videolink to a court hearing. On the television screen, he peered through a barred window, laughing and cracking jokes about his depleting funds and the judges salary, asking if the judge could warm up his bank account. Local reports said that the court session was convened after an argument with a prison officer who had tried to confiscate Navalnys pen. The opposition leader wrote on social media later on Thursday that he had been given 15 days in solitary confinement. It was his last such message. The Kremlin said it had no information about Navalnys death, but that Mr Putin had been informed. Mr Putin recently launched a presidential campaign for his fifth term in office, with the election due to be held next month. He is already the longest-serving leader in Moscow since Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin. The Independent Daily Edition on 28 December last year ( The Independent) Navalny was jailed and charged in multiple cases when he returned to Russia in 2021 after being treated in Germany for nerve-agent poisoning that he blamed on the Kremlin. In December last year, The Independent pleaded for his release with a Daily Edition front page that demanded: Free Navalny from his Polar Wolf prison colony hell. Fingers will no doubt point at the Kremlin. Russian newspaper editor and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Dmitry Muratov described Navalnys death as murder, and said he believed that prison conditions had led to his demise, while exiled Russian businessman and Kremlin critic Mikhail Khodorkovsky said Mr Putin was responsible. Speaking to The Independent, Bill Browder, a Putin critic who has felt the threat from the Kremlin himself, said: Lets make no mistake, Putin assassinated Alexei Navalny. He did so because Alexei Navalny was brave enough to stand up to Putin. He did so because Navalny offered the Russian people an alternative to kleptocracy and repression. This is a tragic day for Navalny and his family but also for Russia and the hope for a better future. Navalnys disappearance was not altogether an unusual event for one who has challenged Russias brutally powerful leadership. Others include Boris Nemtsov, who was killed with four bullets to his back in Moscow in 2014 when he was organising protests against financial corruption and Russian intervention in Ukraine. Or, more recently, Yevgeny Prigozhin and his senior commanders, whose plane was blown out of the sky following the failed coup by their Wagner mercenaries. Russias Investigative Committee has launched a procedural inquiry into Navalnys death, with the UN calling for a transparent investigation. Navalny and his wife Yulia leaving Germany in 2021 (AFP via Getty) Navalnys latest 19-year sentence was premised on charges of extremism, and was the most recent in a series of sentences. He went missing for three weeks in December while being moved from his previous prison in the Vladimir region of central Russia to a special regime penal colony the highest security level for Russian prisons above the Arctic Circle. He came to fame and became a target for the Kremlin after accusing Mr Putin and the hierarchy around him of corruption and abuse. The president, he said, is a madman and his ruling party are crooks and thieves. Navalny urged people not to simply complain about the malaise in Russia but to take action: Everyone says corruption is everywhere, but for me, it seems strange to say that and then not try to put the people guilty of corruption away. As support for his actions grew, he did not hesitate to aim at the top, accusing Mr Putin of running a system of feudal patronage with fabulous rewards. A documentary he presented Putins Palace: The Story of the Worlds Biggest Bribe investigated the building of a 1.35bn luxury mansion, allegedly for the president, in the Krasnodar region. The Kremlin denied the claim but the video racked up more than 110 million views internationally. Navalny, pictured in 2017, was a vocal critic of Vladimir Putin (Getty) Navalny also pointed to the activities of the security apparatus and the plight of Russians pushing back against the state. We have grown accustomed to injustice in Russia; people are constantly being arrested unlawfully, he said. He also foresaw the inevitable retribution he would face, saying: I am on the very blackest part of the black list. Over the years, Navalny faced physical attacks, repeated arrests, investigations, and criminal proceedings. The assassination attempt, via novichok poisoning in Russia, resulted in his being evacuated to Germany in a coma for life-saving treatment. His family and lawyers have previously said he was suffering from an acute, undiagnosed stomach illness while in prison, and that this, along with general deprivation, had led to alarming weight loss and fainting spells. He had returned to Russia following the poisoning, despite warnings from allies and friends that it would be highly dangerous to do so. He was arrested at the airport, put before a court, and sentenced to two and half years of a formerly suspended jail term for alleged fraud. Police officers detain Navalny after he registered as a mayoral election candidate in July 2013 (Reuters) This was just a holding move by the government prosecutors. In August 2022, he was sentenced to nine years in prison after being found guilty of spending public donations to his Anti-Corruption Foundation on extremism and personal needs. A year later, he was sentenced to a further 19 years on a raft of extremism charges. There were further charges, too this time of vandalism. If the authorities thought that prison would keep Navalny quiet, they were mistaken. A lawyer himself, with a dedicated legal team backing him, he has filed suits to obtain adequate medical care, an end to the bugging of rooms where he met with visitors, and an end to broadcasts of Mr Putins speeches into his cell. Russias most prominent inmate has also given interviews in prison, laying out the conditions he has faced. Describing the violence and repression of a penal colony, he told The New York Times: You might imagine tattooed musclemen with steel teeth carrying on with knife fights to take the best cot by the window. You need to imagine something like a Chinese labour camp, where everybody marches in a line and where video cameras are hung everywhere. There is constant control and a culture of snitching. Putin never referred to Navalny by name (Sputnik) On other occasions, Navalny spoke about the mistreatment he had suffered: I now understand why sleep deprivation is one of the favourite tortures of the special services. No traces remain, and its impossible to tolerate. He had to cope with the lingering effects of the novichok poisoning with barely any medical help in prison. It [has] got to the point where its hard to get up from the bed, and it hurts a lot. The prison doctor saw me and started dispensing two ibuprofen pills but did not tell me what my diagnosis is ... If I place my weight on my right leg, I fall right down. Ive got used to my right leg lately, and Id hate to lose it. In concentrating on corruption, Navalnys work had a pocketbook appeal to Russians widespread sense of being cheated, and it carried a stronger resonance than more abstract and philosophical concerns about democratic ideals and human rights. He was also among the opposition leaders involved in mass protests against Mr Putins rule from 2011 to 2013. Navalny was convicted in 2013 of embezzlement in what he called a politically motivated prosecution, and was sentenced to five years in prison, but the prosecutors office later surprisingly demanded his release pending appeal. A higher court later gave him a suspended sentence. Navalny, centre, attending a rally in Moscow in 2018 (AP) The day before that sentence was given, Navalny had registered as a candidate for Moscow mayor. The opposition saw his release as the result of large protests in the capital against his sentence, but many observers attributed it to a desire on the part of the authorities to add a tinge of legitimacy to the mayoral election. Navalny finished second an impressive performance against the incumbent, who had the backing of Mr Putins political machine and was popular for improving the capitals infrastructure and aesthetics. When Mr Putin spoke about Navalny, he made it a point to never mention the activist by name, referring to him as that person or similar wording, in an apparent effort to diminish his importance. It did little to dilute Navalnys appeal. Navalnys spokesperson, Kira Yarmysh, said that even if Navalny was dead, his movement and aims would live on. We are convinced that we will be victorious in the end, Yarmysh said. Russia is our country, it belongs to us and we need to return it to us. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} US Vice President Kamala Harris on Friday placed blame for the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny squarely on the shoulders of Russian president Vladimir Putin, leading a string of world leaders who have reacted in horror to the news. Ms Harris told attendees at the annual Munich Security Conference that the US government is still working to confirm the facts and circumstances of Navalnys passing, but called the development terrible news while offering prayers to his family, including his wife Yulia Navalnaya, who is also attending the conference. If confirmed, this would be a further sign of Putin's brutality, said Ms Harris, who then added: Whatever story they tell, let us be clear, Russia is responsible. Ms Harris comments echoed remarks made by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in the hours after Navalnys death was announced in Russian state media. Mr Blinken, who is attending the conference as part of the US delegation led by Ms Harris, told reporters travelling with him in Germany that Russia had persecuted, poisoned, and imprisoned the anti-corruption activist for decades and said the report of his death, if true, underscores the weakness and rot at the heart of the system that Putin has built. Russia is responsible for this, Mr Blinken said. He added that he and other US officials would be talking to the many other countries concerned about Alexei Navalny, especially if these reports turn out to be true. Mr Blinkens British counterpart, Foreign Secretary Lord David Cameron, said there should be consequences for Vladimir Putin as he blamed Alexei Navalnys death on the action that Putins Russia took. Speaking to broadcasters in Munich, the Foreign Secretary said: Alexei Navalny was an incredibly brave fighter against corruption and he gave up everything in campaigning for what he believed in, and my heart goes out to his wife and to his family. We should be clear about what has happened here. Putins Russia imprisoned him, trumped up charges against him, poisoned him, sent him to an Arctic penal colony and now hes tragically died. We should hold Putin accountable for this, and no one should be in any doubt about the dreadful nature of Putins regime in Russia after what has just happened. Asked whether there should be consequences, Lord Cameron said: There should be consequences because theres no doubt in my mind that this man was a brave fighter against corruption, for justice, for democracy, and look what Putins Russia did to him. They trumped up charges, they imprisoned him, they poisoned him, they sent him to an Arctic penal colony and hes died, and that is because of the action that Putins Russia took. Other world leaders weighed in on reports of Navalnys death in similar fashion, with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak describing it as terrible news. As the fiercest advocate for Russian democracy, Alexei Navalny demonstrated incredible courage throughout his life, he added. Nato Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said he was deeply saddened and disturbed by the news. We need to establish all the facts, and Russia needs to answer all the serious questions about the circumstances of his death, he warned. Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky went further, saying it was obvious Putin was directly behind the death. That view was backed by Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics, who said Mr Navalny had been "brutally murdered by the Kremlin". "Whatever your thoughts about Alexei Navalny as the politician, he was just brutally murdered by the Kremlin. That's a fact and that is something one should know about the true nature of Russia's current regime. My condolences to the family and friends," he wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. The European Union also said it holds Russia responsible for the death, EU Council President Charles Michel said. "Alexei Navalny fought for the values of freedom and democracy," he said. "For his ideals, he made the ultimate sacrifice. The EU holds the Russian regime solely responsible for this tragic death." Swedens minister of foreign affairs Tobias Billstrom said that if the news was true it was another terrible crime by Putins regime. US national security adviser Jake Sullivan told National Public Radio (NPR): "If it's confirmed, it is a terrible tragedy. And given the Russian government's long and sordid history of doing harm to its opponents, it raises real and obvious questions about what happened here." ELKO A Utah man is accused of stealing items from the back room of a convenience store on Mountain City Highway a few days after he is suspected of damaging a vehicle for not getting a ride. James Meranda, 39, of Price, Utah, was arrested on Feb. 9, on felony charges of burglary of a business and obtaining another persons identification and using it for harmful or unlawful purposes. His bail was set at $150,000. According to court documents, police were called to the Maverick Gas Station on Feb. 8 on a report of a theft captured on surveillance video. Footage showed a man identified by police as Meranda coming out of the back storage room, having entered through an unlocked fire escape door. Managers told police the door had been left open earlier in the day after an alarm had gone off. However, the door had not been closed, and the alarm was not reset. Meranda was recorded picking up unopened boxes of candy bars, some motor oil and other items and stuffing them into an employees backpack. He left through the same door carrying the backpack and merchandise. The value of the stolen merchandise totaled approximately $600. The employee estimated about $340 had been stolen, including a birth certificate and Social Security card. Six days earlier, on Feb. 3, a man reported his vehicle was allegedly damaged by Meranda. The victim said Meranda had asked him for a ride, and when the man refused, Meranda punched the windshield and caused it to crack. A video of the incident was recorded by a witness and sent to the victim, who showed it to the police. Meranda also took a swing at the man but did not make physical contact. The altercation occurred before the video began, police said. Police located Meranda, who admitted to hitting the windshield with his hand. Meranda was charged with misdemeanor assault and injuring real or personal property and booked in Elko County Jail with bail set at $975 bail. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Watch as a memorial event for Alexei Navalny was held in Vilnius, Lithuania, after the Russian opposition leader's death was reported on Friday, 16 February. Vladimir Putin's most prominent critic, 47, was reported to have died in jail by the Siberian prison service, where the anti-corruption activist had been serving his almost two-decade sentence. Navalny was imprisoned in 2021 when he returned to Russia having been treated in Germany for poisoning that he blamed on the Kremlin. He had recently been moved to a "special regime" penal colony near the Arctic Circle where he was jailed on extremism charges that supporters and much of the international community believe were trumped up to silence him. Navalny's death was reported by the prison service on Friday. His team said his lawyer was flying there but did not immediately confirm his death. In a statement, the federal prison service said that Navalny felt unwell after a walk on Friday and lost consciousness. An ambulance arrived to try to rehabilitate him, but he died, they added. Alexei Navalny's wife initially said she didn't know if she should believe the news. Fighting back tears as she spoke for the first time following the prison service's announcement, Yulia Navalnaya told the Munich Security Conference: "I want Putin and everyone around him to know that they will be held accountable for everything they did to our country, to my family. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny has died in an Arctic penal colony after years of harsh treatment in the Russian prison system. But his death is only the most recent of a long line of Vladimir Putins critics who have been jailed, silenced or met brutal ends over the years. From poisonings, mysterious falls from windows and plane crashes, many of the Russian presidents foes appear to have been targeted. Follow live updates and reaction here Alexei Navalny has died in an Arctic penal colony (AP) While no cause of death for Navalny has been revealed, friends of the opposition leader are already accusing Mr Putin of murder. The Kremlin claims it has no information about what happened to him. Below, we look at some of the high-profile deaths and mysterious incidents involving those who have defied the Russian leader over the years. Alexander Litvinenko Alexander Litvinenko drank a cup of tea laced with polonium-210 and died in hospital a few weeks later (PA Media) You may succeed in silencing one man but the howl of protest from around the world, Mr. Putin, will reverberate in your ears for the rest of your life, were among the last words said by former Russian spy turned Putin critic Alexander Litvinenko before his death in November 2006. Three weeks earlier, Litvinenko had drunk a cup of tea in an upmarket London hotel where he had met another former Russian agent. After falling ill and spending the entire night vomiting, it emerged he had been poisoned with polonium-210, a poisonous radioactive isotope sourced from a nuclear reactor in Russias Ural mountains. After becoming a whistleblower at the FSB secret service, he had fled Moscow in 2000 and resettled in Britain, where he attracted the ire of Mr Putin, working as a writer, journalist and MI6 agent tasked with providing expertise on Russian organised crime. In 2021, the European Court of Human Rights ruled Russia was responsible for the 2006 murder by radiation poisoning. The Kremlin rejected the ruling as groundless. One of his alleged killers, Andrei Lugovoi, later became a deputy in the Russian parliament. Yevgeny Prigozhin Yevgeny Prigozhin was killed in a plane crash two months after he led an aborted mutiny on Moscow (AP) As Mr Putins personal chef turned Wagner mercenary group warlord, Yevgeny Prigozhin led a failed mutiny against Russias Ministry of Defence over a disagreement with the direction of Moscows war in Ukraine. He led a dramatic march for justice where armed Wagner mercenaries were seen speeding towards the Russian capital in June 2023. As Mr Putin remained silent, the mutiny was suddenly aborted as Prigozhin ordered his troops to lay down their arms, before they were relocated to Belarus under a deal brokered by that countrys Russia-allied president, Alexander Lukashenko. Two months later, Prigozhin plummeted from the sky when the business jet he was flying on from Moscow to St Petersburg apparently exploded. The Kremlin has denied any involvement in the downing of the aircraft and claimed hand grenades could have been let off by drunk passengers. Sergei Skripal Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia Skripal, who were poisoned by Russian agents in 2018 Formerly a colonel with Russian military intelligence before leaving in 1999, Sergei Skripal went on to work at the countrys foreign ministry until 2003. He was arrested in Moscow a year later and confessed to having been recruited by British intelligence in 1995. He said he had given information to British intelligence about Russian agents in Europe in return for around 79,300. Mr Skripal was jailed but later released in a spy swap and moved to the UK. In 2018, along with his daughter Yulia, he was poisoned with the nerve agent novichok but the pair survived the attack after a botched assassination attempt in Salisbury. The Kremlin denied that Russia was in any way involved in the poisoning, describing British accusations that an attack had been approved by senior Russian officials as unacceptable. However, researchers identified two alleged Russian military intelligence agents who were accused of carrying out the attempted assassination. The pair subsequently appeared on Russian TV in an awkward interview in which they claimed to have been visiting Salisbury Cathedral. Ravil Maganov Former first executive vice president of oil producer Lukoil Ravil Maganov with Putin (via REUTERS) Ravil Maganov, the chairman of the board of Russias second largest oil producer Lukoil, met a tragic end six months after he openly criticised the war in Ukraine. In a statement in March 2022, the board called for the soonest termination of the armed conflict and expressed sincere empathy for all victims. It added: We strongly support a lasting ceasefire and a settlement of problems through serious negotiations and diplomacy. In September that year, 67-year-old Mr Maganov died after apparently falling from a sixth-floor window at the Central Clinical Hospital in Moscow. Russian state news agency Tass claimed his death was a suicide. Boris Nemtsov Former first deputy prime minister Boris Nemtsov, who was killed at the age of 55, gestures during an anti-Putin protest in central Moscow, on September 15, 2012 (AFP via Getty Images) The former governor of Nizhny Novgorod Oblast and deputy prime minister under Russias first President Boris Yeltsin was gunned down on 27 February 2015 on a bridge close to the Kremlin in Moscow beside his Ukrainian partner Anna Durytska. He was shot four times in the back. Mr Nemtsov, who was killed at the age of 55, was a critic of Mr Putin from the get-go from the turn of the millennium until his death. When he was killed, he was helping to set up a rally against the Russian military incursion in Ukraine, which began in 2014 with the annexation of Crimea and the support of supposed separatists in the Donbas in eastern Ukraine. The body of Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov was covered with plastic after he was shot four times in the back on the Moskvoretsky bridge near the St Basil Cathedral in central Moscow on February 28, 2015 (AFP via Getty Images) Anna Politkovskaya Russian human rights advocate, journalist and author Anna Politkovskaya is seen 17 March 2005 at the book fair in Leipzig, eastern Germany, where she presented her book titled In Putin's Russia (DDP/AFP via Getty Images) The New York City-born Russian journalist and human rights activist was killed in the elevator of her apartment building on 7 October 2006 at the age of 48. She gained widespread acclaim for her reporting on the Second Chechen War, which lasted between 1999 and 2005. The killing garnered international attention and it wasnt until June 2014 that five men were sentenced for the killing, but it remains unclear who ordered the murder. Mr Putin said after her death that her reporting work was extremely insignificant for political life in Russia and that her murder led to far greater injuries and damage than her publications. Sergei Magnitsky Sergei Magnitsky, a Russian tax adviser who exposed corruption, was detained without a trial and died in prison (AFP/GETTY IMAGES) Sergei Magnitsky, a Russian tax adviser who exposed corruption, was detained without a trial and died in prison just seven days before he was set to be released under the law that suspects can be only be held for a year behind bars without trial. At the age of 37, he died after 358 days in prison, where he was denied medical care and he was later found to have been assaulted shortly before dying. He revealed corruption and misconduct by government officials during his work for a client Hermitage Capital Management. He was arrested in 2008 and died on 16 November 2009. His death led to investigations into theft, fraud, and violations of human rights. The tax adviser alleged that large sums of money were stolen from the state by officials. American-born British financier Bill Browder, the co-founder of Hermitage, was expelled from Russia in 2005. After Mr Magnitskys death, he successfully lobbied for a number of governments to pass the Magnitsky Act, which punishes Russian human rights violators. President Barack Obama signed the US version into law in 2012. Mikhail Khodorkovsky Mikhail Khodorkovsky, here seen in Berlin, on October 23, 2023, was jailed after falling out with Putin (AFP via Getty Images) The 60-year-old who now lives in exile in London, spending some of his time criticizing Mr Putin on X/Twitter, was considered the richest man in Russia in 2003. The businessman, oligarch, and now opposition leader, had an estimated fortune of $15bn coming in at number 16 on Forbes billionaires list. He climbed the ranks of the All-Union Leninist Young Communist League, called Komsomol, before the fall of the Soviet Union. His wealth skyrocketed after the dissolution of the union when he got hold of several Siberian oil fields. After founding the organisation Open Russia in 2001, he was arrested in October 2003, facing charges of fraud. After years behind bars following trials believed by many to have been politically motivated, Mr Khodorkovsky was pardoned by Mr Putin in 2013, and he immediately left the country. Boris Berezovsky The cause of death for the ex-oligarch Boris Berezovsky remains unclear (Getty Images) The cause of death for the former businessman, oligarch, and government official remains unclear. Mr Berezovsky became a very wealthy man when he gained control of Channel One, the main Russian TV channel. He was estimated to be worth $3bn in 1997. The Russian Deputy Prosecutor General demanded that he come back to Russia from abroad in late 2000 to appear for questioning. Mr Berezovsky instead moved to the UK, where he died in 2013. He was found dead on 23 March of that year, and while his death was initially deemed to have been a suicide by hanging as there was no evidence of a violent struggle, a coroner subsequently recorded an open verdict. Alexander Perepilichny Alexander Perepilichny died while jogging in 2012 The Russian businessman died during a jog close to London in 2012 after leaving Russia in 2009. The financier became a whistleblower in 2010 when he handed over files to Swiss officials showing details of the $230m theft of funds from the Russian treasury the case which gained international attention following the death of Mr Magnitsky. While he was found to probably have died of natural causes, there are allegations that he was killed as part of the coverup that also is alleged to have taken the lives of Mr Magnitsky. Close Related: Alexei Navalnys mother demands Vladimir Putin returns her sons body For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} The UK has frozen the assets of six Russian prison bosses in charge of the Arctic penal colony where opposition leader Alexei Navalny died. Western leaders say the blame for Mr Navalnys death lies with the Russian authorities, including Vladimir Putin. Yulia Navalnaya, Mr Navalnys wife, has said she believes her husband was poisoned with Novichok. Those responsible for Navalnys brutal treatment should be under no illusion - we will hold them accountable, UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron said. The UK is the first country to impose sanctions in response to his death, the Foreign Office said. It comes as the Salekhard City Court, the city in which Mr Navalnys body was supposedly transferred after his death, said it will consider the demand of his mother to have his body returned on 4 March. Elsewhere, Vladimir Osechkin, founder of the human rights group Gulag.net claimed to The Times that he believed the Russian authorities kept Mr Navalnys body out in the cold for hours before killing him, potentially with one punch to the heart. Claiming that former prisoners from the Arctic region had previously told of such deaths. The details of Mr Navalnys death are still unclear. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Friends of Alexei Navalny have accused Vladimir Putin of murder after the opposition leaders death - and claim Russian authorities will do everything they can to cover it up. Russias most prominent Putin critic collapsed and died on Friday after a walk at the "Polar Wolf" Arctic penal colony where he was serving a long jail term, according to the prison service. The 47-year-old lawyer, who rose to prominence more than a decade ago for fighting widespread corruption within the Putin regime, was cast by supporters as the future leader of Russia who would one day walk free from jail to take the presidency. But exactly a month before the day of the next election in Russia, those hopes have been dashed. A statement from the prison authorities said Navalny died having felt unwell after a walk, almost immediately losing consciousness. It added that doctors later declared Mr Navalny dead after a failed resuscitation. For his friends and family, these are simply more Kremlin lies. The charismatic figure was killed by Putins regime, they told The Independent. A woman holds a picture of detained Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny reading "Free Navalny!" during a demonstration in Barcelona (AFP via Getty Images) I am very angry, said Yevgenia Chirkova, a Russian environmentalist who met Navalny in 2010. It is a cruel loss for us, for the Russian opposition. The case of Alexei Navaly shows us clearly who Putin is: he is a killer. She still remembers the day she first met the enigmatic opposition leader, in Moscow in 2010. She was opposing the building of a motorway through Khimki Forest near the Russian capital. We wanted fellow opposition figures to help us so we invited Alexei to a cafe for a meeting, she said. I remember being surprised because he was really a very handsome man. Very tall. I was sure politicians were always old and not so handsome in Russia. He was charismatic. He was a very warm person. He said he wanted to support us in our Khimki project. Navalny and his wife Yulia in a hospital picture posted on his instagram in 2020 (Alexei Navalny/Instagram) The pair quickly became friends and two years later, Navalny called Ms Chirikova to endorse her run to become the mayor of Khimki. He called me and said, I want to support you, she said. I was so shocked because he was so busy. But he personally came to Khimki and together with me, he spoke with people on the street. He was a very talented speaker. He could speak to old people, young people, middle-aged people. He was very funny, full of humour. Everyone who had contact with him, even after only a short conversation with him, was profoundly impacted by him. Despite Navalny providing members of his team to Ms Chirikova, her campaign was unsuccessful. Two years later, she fled to Estonia, fearing for her life as an outspoken critic of Putin, who was then in his unconstitutional third term in office. Navalny, however, stayed in Russia. Navalny knew he would eventually be jailed but hoped to become the Nelson Mandela of Russia, according to his friend and fellow anti-corruption activist Bill Browder. Bill Browder (R) has campaigned for more than 15 years against the Putin regime following the death of his friend and lawyer Sergei Magnitsky (L) in 2009 (AP/REX) The pair met in 2002. Mr Browder, from the US, would go on to become the largest foreign investor in Russia until he was exiled in 2005 and his assets passed on to oligarchic friends of Putins regime. We started our careers together as anti-corruption activists in the corporate sphere, he said. Both of our careers then mutated into anti-corruption activists in the political sphere. When Mr Browders lawyer, Sergei Magnitsky, was arrested in November 2008 having exposed corruption within Putins regime, Nalavny rushed to help the American. He was always an ally and a friend, Mr Browder said. Most importantly, when Sergei Magnitsky was killed, he was not afraid to stand up for Sergei and expose the hypocrisy and Kremlin lies every step of the way. He was even sued by some of the same people who were involved in the Magnitsky case for defamation. Mr Magnitsky was later tortured to death in prison and for Mr Browder, the news of Nalavnys death is all too familiar. This is total deja vu of the murder of Sergei Magnitsky 15 years ago, he said. You have a person who exposed corruption, who was arrested for exposing corruption, was mistreated and tortured in prison and then died suddenly. Writer Grigory Chkhartishvili, also known as Boris Akunin, was charged in absentia by a Moscow court earlier this month (AP) Mr Magnitskys killing was never properly investigated. Prison officials at first attributed his death to a rupture to the abdominal membrane and later to a heart attack. Mr Browder said he was under no illusion that Nalavny would face the same injustice. What I expect to happen next is a full-scale Kremlin cover-up, he said. They will say he died of natural causes, there was no sign of violence. They will say they are unaware of any health issues, that people die in prison. But lets make no mistake about it, Putin ordered the killing of Alexei Navalny. The opposition figure may not have lived to become Nelson Mandela, he added, but now that they have killed him, he has become the Martin Luther King of Russia. Grigory Chkhartishvili, a Russian-Georgian author who writes under the pen name Boris Akunin, agreed with Mr Browder. Alexei was a living symbol of courage, he said. Now he becomes an eternal symbol, a banner, absolutely unkillable and undestroyable. The dissident novelist, who was charged in absentia earlier this month for justifying terrorism and lives in London - began exchanging letters with Nalavny in 2012. We have a long history, he said. It started with a public exchange of letters in 2012 where I was asking his opinion on different political matters. Then there were periods of disagreement, then we were together again. He said he was totally devastated by the news of his death. For me, he was not only a hero but a human being, he said. I am totally devastated. Navalny, opposition politician Lyubov Sobol and other demonstrators take part in a march in memory of murdered Kremlin critic Boris Nemtsov (KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV/AFP via Getty Images) He noted that the last correspondence the pair had was last year, when Nalavny filled out a questionnaire for him while he was in prison. One of his answers read: I dont believe in death. Now it reads like an existential manifesto, Mr Chkhartishvili said. Navalnys lawyers have been unable to confirm whether the opposition figure is, in fact, dead, according to his spokesperson Kira Yarmysh. His mother, Lyudmila Navalnaya, wrote in a Facebook post on Friday that she doesnt want to hear any condolences, for now. We saw him in prison on the 12 February, in a meeting, she wrote. He was alive, healthy and happy. Natalia Arno, founder of Free Russia, an organisation funding opposition to the Putin regime across the world, is concerned that if he is dead, any traces of an alleged killing would be erased. Its so mean it has been done on Friday, she said. They [prison authorities] will probably allow the lawyers to get in the prison only on Monday and they will have enough time to hide any traces of their crime. This is purely a political assassination of the Kremlin regime - and Putin personally. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Ukraine has sent battle-hardened troops from a crack unit into the hell of fighting in the key eastern town of Avdiivka as Kyiv seeks to keep it out of the hands of Vladimir Putins forces. After months of heavy fighting, Russia is trying to encircle and capture Avdiivka and use it as a stepping stone towards its aim of taking full control of the industrial region of Donbas, made up of the areas of Donetsk where Avdiivka sits and Luhansk. Ukraine has vowed to ensure Russia advances no further into its territory, with the fight for control of Avdiivka taking on a symbolic significance to both sides on a level similar to the town of Bakhmut roughly 60 miles away. That was the last significant claim of territory by Russia, in May last year, with the mercenary Wagner Group part of the vanguard. The fight for Avdiivka has now reached a critical phase, with Russian forces appearing poised to encircle Kyivs troops remaining in the area and potentially break their supply lines, officials and war analysts have said. Moscows forces surrounded it on three sides earlier this year. And Russian forces have fired roughly 600 shells on the city in the past month, according to Ukrainian journalist Yuri Butusov, who has just travelled back from Avdiivka. The destruction is extensive, he said. Enter one of Ukraine's most prominent fighting units, the Third Assault Brigade, which has said it has been rushed to Avdiivka to reinforce Kyiv's troops there. The brigade, which comprises assault infantry, said the situation in Avdiivka was hell and threatening and unstable, but that it had conducted a raid against Russian forces in parts of the town and inflicted heavy casualties. The brigade took part in a counteroffensive in eastern Ukraine last summer and fought in the battle of Bakhmut. The enemy is continuing the active rotation of its troops [around Avdiivka] and is deploying new forces and equipment to the town, the brigade said on the Telegram messenger app. The situation at the moment the brigade was brought in was extremely critical, it added. Artillery system moves to firing positions on the road to the city, on the outskirts of Avdiivka (Getty) Avdiivka has been a flashpoint of the frontline since the Russians launched a mechanised offensive last October, but up to now, Ukrainian defences had held strong. Russia, meanwhile, has lost hundreds of vehicles and tens of thousands of soldiers. But depleted stockpiles of munitions as a result of paused Western military support have left Ukraine vulnerable on its eastern frontline. The units deputy commander, Maksym Zhorin, said the fighting was much fiercer than the battle of Bakhmut and that Kyivs forces were outnumbered and outgunned in Avdiivka. The battles in Avdiivka are many times more hellish than the hottest battles of this phase of the war, which were in Bakhmut, he said on Telegram. And recent Russian advances over the past two weeks appear to be the result of the Kremlin switching strategies from vehicle to infantry-led assaults as they approached the eastern side of the city, analysts told The Independent. Kyivs new military chief Oleksandr Syrskyi visited near Avdiivka this week, admitting that the operational environment is extremely complex and stressful. But despite calls for the Ukrainian military chief to withdraw his forces from Avdiivka it has become known by soldiers as Avdiiv Hell - he added that he made a number of important decisions aimed at strengthening the combat capabilities of [Ukraines] military units and preventing enemy actions in the city. Soldiers stand on the Armoured Infantry Vehicle 2 (BMP-2) on the road to the city, on the outskirts of Avdiivka (Getty) His comments appear to be a reference to the rotation of fresher forces into the city: the 110th Brigade, which has been stationed in Avdiivka for nearly two years is moving back; the Third Assault Brigade is moving in. Ukrainian officials say not a single building remains intact in the city after months of heavy Russian bombardment, and as the Kremlins forces push deeper into the city, the ability for Ukraines forces to withdraw will become more difficult. A difficult political decision will need to be made soon lest the remaining Ukrainian forces lose the ability to withdraw in good order, wrote Mick Ryan, a retired Australian major-general and military strategist, in a note. The city sits in an industrial region nine miles north of the Russian-controlled city of Donetsk. Before the war, its Soviet-era coke plant was one of Europes top producers; now, according to officials, it is serving as a crucial and final stronghold in the citys defence. Ukrainian war tracker DeepState reported that Russian forces had made further gains south of the coke plant, which is located in the northwest, and had effectively severed the city in two. Six weeks into 2024, after rumours appeared on Telegram last week that Russian forces had entered the northeast of the city, using cloud cover to evade overhead drone reconnaissance, the situation in Avdiivka looks more uncertain than ever. In Avdiivka, a manoeuvre is underway in some places to withdraw our units to more advantageous positions, in some places to force [the Russians] out of positions, Ukraines southern military spokesman Dmytro Lykhovy said in televised comments on Thursday. The key announcement with regards to all this is that supplies to Avdiivka and evacuations from there are difficult. He added the military had activated a reserve logistics artery that had been prepared in advance. It was the first official confirmation that Russia had breached the main supply line into the city. Vitalii Barabash, the head of the citys military administration, warned that Russia was now pressing very powerfully on the northeast part of the city. Ukraines President Volodymyr Zelensky takes a video in front of a road sign with the words Avdiivka this is Ukraine (Ukrainian Presidential Press Service) The enemy is still trying to cut off the coke plant from the city through the country massif, and he is pressing there very powerfully, he said. Earlier last week, he said: The situation is very difficult, very tense. While for several weeks we were saying the situation was very difficult but under control, now the situation is very difficult and in some places critical. Andrew Perpetua, a war analyst who tracks vehicle losses on the frontline, said there had been a noticeable downtick in destroyed or damaged tanks in the past few weeks which, he believed, was indicative of Russias strategic switch to infantry-led assaults, throwing waves of troops at the battle. The vehicles were used out in the open, he said, referring to the fields to the east of the city, but once [Russian forces] hit the urban areas, it was basically all infantry. Experts have warned that Russias concurrent aggressive bombing campaign, not unique to Avdiivka but rather a trend of the Kremlins military strategy throughout the war in Ukraine, has been especially successful this time around due to Kyivs depleted artillery stockpiles, a direct result of delayed Western military support. Federico Borsari, a fellow at the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA), told The Independent that Ukrainian forces were being forced to ration their shells because of a lack of Western supplies in the past six months. Ukraine cannot weaken Russias forward positions because they are having to ration their artillery shells due to insufficient stocks, he said. North Koreas Kim Jong-un has allegeldy supplied thousands of artillery shells to Russia after meeting with Vladimir Putin late last year (AP) In turn, he added, Russian forces are able to move closer to the Ukrainian positions and subsequently transition to infantry-led assaults in the city. While the EU signed off on a delayed support package, although not directly military based, last month in the US, Ukraines largest single source of military support has been held up by a spat in Congress about immigration at the US southern border, led by Donald Trump-supporting Republicans. While the Senate has now cleared tens of billions of dollars in fresh funding, it is still uncertain if the bill will make it swiftly through the other chamber, the House of Representatives. Meanwhile, North Korean and Iranian supplies to Russia have given the Kremlin a significant artillery advantage, estimated to be five to one. Avdiivka, Borsari added, has become the theatre in which this disparity is playing out to Russias advantage. There is a direct line between the lack of deliveries from Western partners to Ukraine and the current situation in Avdiivka, he said. Butusov, meanwhile, said Ukraines soldiers in Avdiivka were paying for this shortage with their blood. Mykola Bielieskov, a fellow at the National Institute for Strategic Studies, an official think tank in Kyiv, said the Kremlin was likely looking to exploit such shortages further. He said he believed the battle for Avdiivka is driven by a Russian desire to strengthen the hand of the Wests Ukraine sceptics by providing them so-called evidence that their military investment to Kyiv is in vain. It is, he suggested, a vicious circle. In that vein, any Russian takeover of Avdiivka may be a Pyrrhic victory, Borsari said, in terms of the soldiers and materiel lost to win a city entirely razed to the ground. But it is fight that Ukraine are desperate not to lose. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Cocaine and crack keep flowing. Shootings among rival gangs rage close to the very heart of Brussels. Police seize drugs and arrest traffickers almost daily. But dealers keep coming back, and the population is fed up. As record amounts of cocaine are being seized in Europe, drug-related violent crime is becoming increasingly visible in the European Union's capital city. Were up against mafia-like organizations, said Jean Spinette, mayor of the Saint-Gilles district, where one man was killed early Wednesday in the culmination of several days of fighting among drug dealers. One of the Saint-Gilles shootings took place on Tuesday, a day of celebrations before Lent when many schools are closed to allow children to take to the streets. The series of incidents has alarmed the whole nation. We should continue to invest in security, Interior Minister Annelies Verlinden told reporters on Thursday. The events of the last few days show that this is not an unnecessary luxury. A forensic team takes photos at the scene of a shooting in Brussels, Wednesday (Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved) With Antwerp the main gateway for Latin American cocaine cartels into the continent, gang violence has been rife in the Belgian port city for years. With drug use on the rise across the whole country, federal authorities say trafficking is rapidly penetrating society. Nearly every day, the Brussels public prosecutors office announces new arrests and large drug and cash seizures. Its clear that these are serious matters that are taken very seriously," the office said. The increasing spread of crack cocaine and open dealing and use of drugs in some central neighborhoods over the past year have exacerbated an already bad situation to the point that petty theft, fights and harassment of tourists have become everyday headline news in the nation of 11.5 million. In 2023, seven people were killed and 131 injured in Brussels in drug-related violence, according to police figures quoted by Le Soir newspaper. Last year, the federal police dedicated nearly 25% of its investigation capacity to drug-related cases across the country, according to new data released Thursday. Spinette said urgent action is needed to combat criminal organizations with cross-border links. In Brussels, the influence of mobsters from Albania and the French city of Marseille is particularly strong. Belgiums Federal Police Commissioner General Eric Snoek, left, and Belgian Justice Minister Paul Van Tigchelt (Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved) Im convinced that the police and the justice system can be successful against this problem, Justice Minister Paul Van Tigchelt said. Last year, an alleged drug lord from Marseille was arrested in Brussels. The man was the subject of two European arrest warrants, one of which followed a 12-year prison sentence. Were not talking about a little neighborhood deal, a little side business, Spinette said, speaking to RTBF media network. He said the problem should be tackled upstream by dismantling networks and urged authorities to prosecute criminals faster to avoid a feeling of impunity. Despite gentrification along some tony streets filled with shops, bars and restaurants, large swaths of Saint-Gilles remain poor. Its central location also makes it a convenient location for dealers, and it is often described by residents and officials as a drugs drive-in. The mayor said traffickers return just a few hours after a shooting, angering residents. They have the impression that nothing is being done," Spinette said. "The dealers move back in a minute. Theres a feeling of total impunity. A feeling that theyre safe from everything, that theyre taunting the police." The killing Wednesday took place near a square that has become a gathering point for drug addicts and dealers. Following police operations last year to clean Belgium's major rail gateway, the Brussels Midi Station, the Porte de Hal zone has seen an influx of users who disrupt the lives of residents and shop owners. It really went downwards in the space of four, five months, said a business owner who asked not to be identified for safety reasons. The other day, a guy was injecting himself close to my shop. There is another bloke who often comes to the shop with his face bloodied. And so many owners here have had their store windows smashed. This is unbearable. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Greece has become the first Christian Orthodox country to legalise same-sex marriage in a landmark victory for the LGBTQ+ community. The legislation allowing same-sex couples to wed and adopt children was passed on Thursday by a cross-party majority of 176 votes in the 300-seat Greek parliament. Seventy-six lawmakers rejected the bill drafted by prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis's center-right government while two members abstained. Greece "is proud to become the 16th (European Union) country to legislate marriage equality", Mr Mitsotakis wrote on X after the post. "This is a milestone for human rights, reflecting today's Greece a progressive, and democratic country, passionately committed to European values," he added. The legislation was approved despite strong resistance from the Orthodox church and mass protests over the weekend opposing gay civil marriage. Organisers of a rally in the capital Athens described the bill as a threat to the traditional family as they chanted: "Hands off our children." Although members of Mr Mitsotakis's New Democracy party abstained or voted against the bill, it gained enough support from the leftist opposition in a rare show of cross-party unity despite a tense debate. Three small far-right parties and the Stalinist-rooted Communist Party rejected the draft law from the start of the two-day debate. "This law doesn't solve every problem, but it is a beginning," said Spiros Bibilas, an openly gay lawmaker from the Passage to Freedom party. Ahead of Thursday's vote, the prime minister said: "People who have been invisible will finally be made visible around us. And with them, many children (will) finally find their rightful place." "Both parents of same-sex couples do not yet have the same legal opportunities to provide their children with what they need," he added. "To be able to pick them up from school, to be able to travel, to go to the doctor, or take them to the hospital. ... That is what we are fixing." Although the bill confers complete parental rights to married same-sex partners, it precludes gay couples from parenthood through surrogate mothers in Greece. Surrogacy is only available to women in the country who can't have children for health reasons. The absence of any provisions for transgender people in the legislation was criticised by the rights organisation. Vassilis Stigas, a far-right lawmaker and chief of the Spartans party, described the legislation as "sick" and claimed that its adoption would "open the gates of Hell and perversion". Former prime minister Antonis Samaras claimed ahead of the vote that "marriage of same-sex couples... is not a human right". But the legislation was celebrated by LGBTQ+ rights groups, who called the approval "a historic moment" and a "day of joy". "Discrimination is the most pervasive risk factor for mental health," Psychologist Nancy Papathanasiou, scientific co-director of Orlando LGBT+, told the Associated Press. "So just knowing that there is less discrimination is protective and promotive for LGBTQI mental health." The bill will become law when it is published in the official government gazette. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Greece has become the first majority-Orthodox Christian nation to legalise same-sex marriage under civil law. And at least for the near future, it will almost certainly be the only one. A cross-party majority of 176 lawmakers in the 300-seat parliament voted on Thursday in favor of the landmark bill drafted by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis center-right government. Another 76 rejected the reform while two abstained from the vote and 46 were not present in the house. Mitsotakis tweeted after the vote that Greece is proud to become the 16th (European Union) country to legislate marriage equality. This is a milestone for human rights, reflecting todays Greece a progressive, and democratic country, passionately committed to European values, he wrote. Eastern Orthodox leadership, despite lacking a single doctrinal authority like a pope, has been united in opposing recognition of same-sex relationships both within its own rites and in the civil realm. Public opinion in majority Orthodox countries has mostly been opposed, too. But there are some signs of change. Two small majority-Orthodox countries, Montenegro and Cyprus, have authorized same-sex unions in recent years, as did Greece in 2015 before upgrading to this weeks approval of full marital status. FILE - A protester raises a banner during a rally against same-sex marriage, at central Syntagma square, in Athens (Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved) Civil unions may become more common among Orthodox countries gravitating toward the European Union. They remain off the table in Russia, which has cracked down on LGBTQ+ expression, and countries in its orbit. Following is a summary of church positions and public opinion in the Orthodox world, followed by the situation in individual majority-Orthodox lands. The Orthodox World Eastern Orthodoxy is a socially conservative, ancient church with elaborate rituals and a strict hierarchy. Churches are mostly organized along national lines, with multiple independent churches that share ancient doctrine and practices and that both cooperate and squabble. Roughly 200 million Eastern Orthodox live primarily in Eastern Europe and neighboring Asian lands, with about half that total in Russia, while smaller numbers live across the world. Like other international church bodies, Orthodoxy has confronted calls for LGBTQ+ inclusion. A 2016 statement by a council of most Orthodox churches called marriage between a man and a woman the oldest institution of divine law and said members were forbidden from entering same-sex unions. FILE - Anti-gay protesters hold religious banners amid heavy police presence and during a Pride march in Belgrade, Serbia (Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.) In countries where they are a majority, Orthodox believers overwhelmingly said society should not accept homosexuality or approve same-sex marriage, according to surveys conducted in 2015 and 2016 by the Pew Research Center, a Washington-based think tank. Greek Orthodox showed relative tolerance, with half of Orthodox saying homosexuality should be accepted and a quarter favoring same-sex marriage. In more recent polls, Greeks overall narrowly supported the marriage law. The Greek law validates marriage in the civil realm but doesn't require any church to perform such rites. Nevertheless, Greeces Orthodox leadership unanimously opposed the law in January, saying the duality of genders and their complementarity are not social inventions but originate from God. Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis acknowledged the churchs position but said, We are discussing the decisions of the Greek state, unrelated to theological beliefs. Civil unions may be in some Orthodox countries near future, said George Demacopoulos, director of the Orthodox Christian Studies Center at Fordham University in New York. In terms of civil marriage, I think the countries that are in the European Union will eventually all do it, Demacopoulos said. My guess is the assemblies of bishops in those countries will offer some resistance to the measure, and depending on where you are, that may or may not delay it. Ukraine In Ukraine, same-sex couples cannot register their status legally. In 2023, the issue became acute as many LGBTQ+ people joined Ukraines armed forces. That year, a bill was introduced in Parliament to establish civil partnerships for same-sex couples, providing basic rights such as compensation if one of the partners is killed in action. The All-Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations which includes Ukraines two rival Orthodox churches opposed the draft law, contending that some international entities are using the countrys current vulnerability to force unwanted changes. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved) The legislation remains pending. The European Court of Human Rights ruled in 2023 that Ukraine violated the rights of a same-sex couple who sought legal protections provided to married heterosexual couples. Ukraine is majority Orthodox, with various religious minorities. Russia In increasingly conservative Russia, President Vladimir Putin has forged a powerful alliance with the Russian Orthodox Church and has made traditional family values a cornerstone of his rule, juxtaposing them with perversions of the West. Putin effectively outlawed same-sex marriages in the 2020 constitutional revision that added a clause stipulating that marriage is a union of a man and a woman. In 2013, the Kremlin adopted whats known as the gay propaganda law, banning any public endorsement of nontraditional sexual relations among minors. A gay rights activist stands with a rainbow flag, in front of journalists, during a protest in Russia (Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved) After sending troops into Ukraine in 2022, Russian authorities ramped up a campaign against what it called the Wests degrading moral influence, in what rights advocates saw as an attempt to legitimize the war. Patriarch Kirill of Moscow has assailed LGBTQ+ rights. As head of the Russian Orthodox Church, he oversees the world's largest Orthodox flock. He depicted his countrys invasion of Ukraine as part of a metaphysical struggle against a liberal agenda that included gay parades. In November, Russias Supreme Court effectively outlawed LGBTQ+ activism, labeling what the government called the LGBTQ+ international movement as an extremist group and banning it in Russia. In 2021, a survey by Russias top independent pollster, the Levada Center, showed that only 33% of Russians completely or somewhat agree that gay men and women should enjoy the same rights as heterosexuals, a decrease from earlier years. Belarus Belaruss Family Code defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman. There is also no legislation prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Homosexuality was decriminalized in Belarus in 1994, but the LGBTQ+ community faces heavy stigma and high suicide rates, advocates say. Human rights groups report hundreds of cases of the KGB the countrys main domestic security agency trying to recruit gay people and threatening to out them. Serbia and Montenegro Serbia and Montenegro, two conservative Balkan nations where the Serbian Orthodox Church holds huge influence, have had mixed results addressing LGBTQ+ rights as part of efforts to join the European Union. Tiny Montenegro passed a bill in 2020 allowing same-sex partnerships not marriage and with fewer rights. In Serbia, a similar draft law never made it to a parliamentary vote. FILE Men kiss during gay pride march in Podgorica, Montenegro (Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.) The Serbian Orthodox Church, which maintains close relations with the Russian church, has opposed the idea of same-sex marriages. Serbias President Aleksandar Vucic has said he would not sign off a bill on same-sex marriages, although Serbia has had an openly lesbian prime minister for years. Activists have been campaigning for legal partnerships. Pride marches in Serbia are routinely banned or held under tight security. In Montenegro, though same-sex partnerships are allowed, the highly male-oriented society of 620,000 people remains divided over the issue. Romania and Moldova Romania is one of the few European Union members that allows neither same-sex marriage nor civil unions, despite a growing social acceptance of LGBTQ+ people. In 2023, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that Romania had failed to enforce same-sex couples rights by not legally recognizing their relationships. In early February in Romania, LGBTQ+ activists were allegedly assaulted while holding a peaceful protest outside the Bucharest headquarters of the countrys far-right AUR party. A participant waves the rainbow flag during the gay pride march in Bucharest, Romania (Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.) In 2018, Romania held a referendum backed by the Orthodox Church on whether to narrow the constitutional definition of marriage from a union of spouses to a union between one man and one woman. Rights campaigners urged Romanians to boycott the vote, which failed due to low turnout. In neighboring Moldova, which isnt an EU member but has official candidate status, neither same-sex marriages nor unions are allowed. Large majorities in both countries are Orthodox. Bulgaria Public opinion in Bulgaria is mostly hostile to gay people and more so to same-sex marriages. In the Balkan country, patriarchal family traditions still predominate. The European Court of Human Rights last year found that Bulgarias government was violating European human rights law in failing to legally recognize same-sex couples. The court also ruled that Bulgaria is obliged to adopt legal recognition for same-sex couples, but Bulgaria shows no signs of implementing the decision. Leaders of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, which includes about 80% of Bulgarians, condemned the ECHR ruling and called on the government not to give in. Bulgarias constitution explicitly prohibits the recognition of same-sex marriage. Amending the constitution requires a two-thirds majority in parliament on three consecutive votes. Such a scenario seems remote. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} The main suspect in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann is expected to stay silent during his upcoming trial in Germany for unrelated sexual offences, his lawyer has said. Christian Brueckner is facing five charges for offences which allegedly took place in Portugal between 2000 and 2017, which include the rape and sexual abuse of children. He has never formally been charged over the disappearance of three-year-old Madeleine and was first identified as a suspect by German prosecutors in 2020. He has denied any involvement but was made a formal suspect by Portuguese prosecutors in 2022. Madeleine was on holiday with her family at the Ocean Club in Praia da Luz in the Algarve area when she went missing from her bedroom on 3 May 2007. Suspect Christian Brueckner, who is facing trial for unrelated sex offences (ITALIAN CARABINIERI PRESS OFFICE) Her suspected kidnapping has attracted sustained press coverage around the world and has been known as the most heavily reported missing person case in modern history. While her whereabouts remain unknown, German prosecutors believe she is dead. Brueckners lawyer told the BBC via email that he did not expect his client to make substantive submissions during the upcoming trial in Braunschweig, in Lower Saxony, which could span for months. The five charges he faces include the rape of a young woman after entering her apartment in 2004, the sexual abuse of a child on a beach in 2007 and the sexual abuse of a child in a playground in 2017. He has also been charged over the alleged rape of a girl believed to be 14 years old at his home in Praia da Luz between 2000 and 2006, as well as the rape of an unidentified woman in her holiday home in Portugal during the same time period. Public defender Friedrich Fulscher said: We will see whether the defendant will defend himself in silence or make statements denying individual acts. At the moment, I do not assume that there will be any substantive submissions. Madeleine disappeared from her bedroom while on holiday with her family (METROPOLITAN POLICE/AFP via Gett) He added that no negative conclusions could be drawn from this. Whether a defendant declares I have nothing to do with it, I am innocent or the like, or whether he uses his right to remain silent, leads to the same result in criminal proceedings, said Mr Fulscher. So this does not mean that there is something to hide, but is simply due to the fact that it makes sense from a procedural point of view. He would however be expected to confirm details such as his name and date of birth. Brueckner is already serving a seven-year sentence for rape which he committed in Portugal in 2005. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} The Kremlin has said it has no information about the jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalnys cause of death. Navalny, Russian President Vladimir Putins most visible and prominent critic, died behind bars while serving a 19 year-prison sentence, it was reported on Friday. The 47 year-old had recently been moved from his former prison in central Russia to a jail above the Arctic Circle. His supporters and much of the international community believe his charges were trumped up in order to silence him. Alexei Navalny has died behind bars, the Russian prison service has said (Moscow City Court) While the federal prison agency said it is currently establishing the cause of death, the Kremlin told Russian state news agency TASS: We have no information on the cause of death of Navalny. They added that Mr Putin had been made aware of his main opponents death. Russias prison service said Navalny had died after he felt unwell after a walk on Friday, and almost immediately lost consciousness. It said that medical staff had been called, but that they were unable to resuscitate Navalny and added that the cause of death was being established. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday that Russias penitentiary service was making all checks regarding Navalny, but that he had no additional information. Navalnys death comes as Russia prepares to hold a presidential vote in March which is expected to hand Mr Putin a fifth term as president. He was a fierce critic of Vladamir Putin (AFP via Getty Images) The anti-corruption activist had become the leading figurehead for the opposition against Mr Putin in Russia - organising anti-Kremlin protests and serving several stints in jail. The critic first came to prominence as blogger in 2010, publishing investigations into corruption in Russia, with his videos garnering millions of views online. This campaign against corporate corruption saw Navalny turn his criticism also directly to the government and Mr Putins ruling political party calling them crooks and thieves. Navalny urged people not to simply complain about the malaise in Russia but to take action: Everyone says corruption is everywhere but for me, it seems strange to say that and then not try to put the people guilty of corruption away. Over the years, Navalny faced physical attacks, repeated arrests, investigations, and criminal proceedings. A 2021 assassination attempt, done via Novichok poisoning in Russia, resulted in him being evacuated to Germany in a coma for life-saving treatment. His cause of death has yet to be revealed (AP) His family and lawyers have previously said he had been suffering from an acute, undiagnosed, stomach illness while in prison. That, and general deprivation, has led to alarming weight loss and fainting spells. He has also given interviews in prison laying out the conditions he has faced. Describing the violence and repression of a penal colony, he told The New York Times: You might imagine tattooed musclemen with steel teeth carrying on with knife fights to take the best cot by the window. You need to imagine something like a Chinese labour camp, where everybody marches in a line and where video cameras are hung everywhere. There is constant control and a culture of snitching. On other occasions, Navalny has spoken about the mistreatment he has suffered: I now understand why sleep deprivation is one of the favourite tortures of the special services. No traces remain, and its impossible to tolerate. ELKO The Elko County School District will present short reports to county commissioners once a month on school construction and improvement projects now that the county is more involved in school building needs through a state legislation that deals with funding. Were trying to earn back the trust of the public, said Ken Higbee, director of special services for the school district. He asked commissioners to agree to a standing time for an update on schools to keep them and the public informed about the districts goals and visions. I think that would be a good idea and keep the public informed, Chairman Wilde Brough said, adding a word of caution that the board does not get into fuzzy reports that go beyond construction needs. Im all for it but just dont let it take too long. Higbees reference to building trust refers to a decision by voters in 2020 to not renew the school districts long-time pay-as-you-go tax of 75 cents per $100 assessed valuation for school construction projects. Voters also nixed a proposed bonding tax the following year. State lawmakers then passed AB519 and it was signed by the governor last year to address funding for Elko schools. Commissioners were agreeable to the monthly report, if the district only talked about school projects, although they also wondered if school district reports to the oversight panel called for in AB519 would be sufficient. AB519, which Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo signed last year, provides $64.5 million for construction of a new school in Owyhee, provides two $25 million funds for grants to rural school districts and tribes, creation of the advisory panel in Elko County and the demand that Elko County pass a tax of between 1 cent and 25 cents for school projects. Commissioner Jon Karr, who chairs the oversight panel, said ECSDs report to the commissioners could be a duplication, but he wouldnt oppose district officials providing reports. Higbee said the school districts monthly appearance would provide a good opportunity to ask questions and have a more informed public. If any questions come up, we will be glad to answer those questions. He said if the school district report is on the agenda, we will have someone here. Commissioners informally agreed to put the school district on the agenda for a monthly update, but Higbees request came during public comment at their Wednesday meeting held to certify the primary balloting, so there was no vote. They certified the election. The school district is urging teachers, staff and families to answer the three-question survey that Elko County is also asking the public to take about the future of school facilities, including what level of tax rate the county should levy. Commissioners voted earlier this month to inform the Nevada Department of Taxation that the county wouldnt be going over the $3.64 tax cap to raise money for school projects. The county is looking at taking the money out of the countys 50-cent tax levy from the expired 75-cent pay-as-you-go tax. The information on the school district website states that receiving the maximum 25 cents allowed by AB519 will provide roughly $5 million a year for school projects, and the remaining balance from the pay-as-you-go tax is $14.23 million. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Vladimir Putin and his friends will not go unpunished, an emotional Yulia Navalny warned in her first comments since her husband Alexeis death was announced. Ms Navalny choked back tears as she addressed the Munich Security Conference on Friday afternoon. Earlier, the Russian prison service said Navalny, opposition leader and fierce Putin critic, collapsed and died after becoming unwell during a walk. In her speech, his wife called upon the international community to come together and fight against the horrific regime in Russia. An emotional Yulia Navalny chokes back tears in an address to the Munich Security Conference after Russia said her jailed husband Alexei had died (REUTERS) The Kremlin has been accused of a brutal assassination, with 47 year-old Navalnys death sparking outrage among world leaders. The prominent anti-corruption activist had been serving his sentence at an Arctic penal colony. The Siberian prison service said he almost immediately lost consciousness after becoming unwell but no cause of death has been revealed. Officials said medical staff had been called, but that they were unable to resuscitate him. Antony Blinken, the US secretary of state, said Navalnys death underscores the weakness and rot at the heart of the system that Putin has built. He met with Ms Navalny at the security conference and expressed his condolences andreiterated that Russia is responsible for his death, the state department said. Navalny, pictured here being arrested, was an outspoken critic of Vladimir Putin (AFP via Getty Images) Rishi Sunak said it was terrible news, adding that Navalny had demonstrated incredible courage throughout his life. My thoughts are with his wife and the people of Russia, for whom this is a huge tragedy, he added. Justin Trudeau, Canadas prime minister, said Navalnys death served as a reminder to the world what a monster Putin is. He was such a strong fighter for democracy, for freedoms for the Russian people, he said. It really shows the extent to which Putin has, will crack down on anyone who is fighting for freedom for the Russian people, Trudeau said. It is a tragedy and its something that has the entire world being reminded of exactly what a monster Putin is. Navalny had become the leading figurehead for the opposition against Putin in Russia , organising anti-Kremlin protests and serving several stints in jail. He first came to prominence as a blogger in 2010, publishing investigations into corruption in Russia. As Navalnys team sought confirmation of his death and warned against Kremlin propaganda, Latvian president Edgars Rinkevics was among those who noted that his death would amount to being brutally murdered by the Kremlin. The Kremlin has said that it had no information about Navalnys death, but that Putin had been informed. Navalny had been sentenced to 19 years in a penal colony around 40 miles from the Arctic Circle on charges his supporters say were politically motivated. He was moved from his former prison in the Vladimir region of central Russia in December to the special regime penal colony, which has the highest security level of prisons in Russia. The political agitator has been behind bars since January 2021, when he returned to Moscow after recuperating in Germany from nerve agent poisoning that he blamed on the Kremlin. Before his arrest, he campaigned against official corruption, organized major anti-Kremlin protests and ran for public office. Antony Blinken, US secretary of state, said Russia was responsible for his death (Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.) Over the years, Navalny faced physical attacks, repeated arrests, investigations, and criminal proceedings. The assassination attempt, via Novichok poisoning in Russia resulted in him being evacuated to Germany in a coma for life-saving treatment. The United Nations Human Rights Office urged the Russian authorities to ensure that a credible investigation into the death was carried out. "If someone dies in the custody of the state, the presumption is that the state is responsible - a responsibility that can only be rebutted through an impartial, thorough and transparent investigation carried out by an independent body," spokesperson Liz Throssell said. "We urge the Russian authorities to ensure such a credible investigation is carried out." Russias Investigative Committee has launched a procedural probe into the death, the Investigative Committee said. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Russian forces are intensifying efforts to seize the small eastern Ukrainian city of Avdiivka as Moscows war in Ukraine grinds on. The fighting is reminiscent of the battle for the eastern city of Bakhmut, which fell to Russia last May after months of grinding urban combat, 15 months into a full-scale invasion that Moscow calls a special military operation. Ukraines Third Assault Brigade, which fought in the battle of Bakhmut, says it has been deployed to Avdiivka and has described the situation there as threatening and unstable. On Thursday Ukraine said it is conducting a manoeuvre in the embattled town to withdraw troops in some areas to more advantageous positions, military spokesman Dmytro Lykhoviy said on Thursday. He said in televised comments that Ukraine had activated a backup logistics route into the town, but that supplies into Avdiivka and evacuations from it were difficult. Russia is trying to capture the town after months of heavy fighting. What is Avdiivka? Avdiivka, which had a pre-war population of around 32,000 and is called Avdeyevka by Russians, was briefly occupied in 2014 by Moscow-backed separatists who seized a swathe of eastern Ukraine but was recaptured by Ukrainian troops who built fortifications. Today, authorities say fewer than 1,000 residents remain, many sheltering in cellars and basements. Officials say not a single building remains intact, and Avdiivkas mayor says it is under attack from all directions. Avdiivka sits in the industrial Donbas region, 15 km (nine miles) north of the Russian-occupied city of Donetsk. Before the war, its Soviet-era coke plant was one of Europes top producers. Russian-backed officials describe Avdiivka as a fortress with concrete bunkers. They say defenders are holed up in tower blocks that cannot be stormed head-on without huge losses, and are using the coking plant as a base and weapons depot. What losses have both sides suffered in Avdiivka? Ukrainian and Western military analysts say Russias offensive on Avdiivka is taking a huge human toll. Last November, British military intelligence said the fighting had contributed to some of the highest Russian casualty rates of the war so far. Every day there are new fresh forces, regardless of the weather, regardless of anything - of losses, one member of Ukraines 47th Separate Mechanized Brigade told Radio Liberty. But no matter what, they keep crawling - literally over the bodies of their own. A street sign seen on the road to the city on the outskirts of Avdiivka (Getty Images) Russian war bloggers, whom the Kremlin has brought under tight control, have acknowledged heavy Russian losses but alleged significant Ukrainian losses too. They say Kyivs forces could be encircled if Russian forces can cut their last main supply line to the west. President Vladimir Putin on Jan. 31 underlined Avdiivkas significance and said a group of military veterans had recently advanced ahead of the army to seize 19 buildings - an assertion that, like other battlefield reports, Reuters cannot verify. Russia has been carrying out air strikes with targeting assistance from special forces, and using artillery, drones, helicopters and tanks as well as infantry, according to spare but regular Russian defence ministry updates. Ukraine, which replaced its popular army chief and other military leaders on Feb. 8, has not said what its military strategy for the town is, or whether it might eventually withdraw. Whats at stake in Avdiivka? Both sides regard Avdiivka as key to Russias aim of securing full control of the two eastern Donbas provinces - Donetsk and Luhansk. These are among the four Ukrainian regions Russia says it has annexed but does not have full control of. Avdiivka is seen as a gateway to Donetsk city, whose residential areas Russian officials say have been shelled by Ukrainian forces, sometimes from Avdiivka. Soldiers on the Armored Infantry Vehicle 2 (BMP-2), on the road to the city, the outskirts of Avdiivka (Getty Images) Seizing it could boost Russian morale and demoralise Ukrainian forces, which have made only incremental gains in a broad counteroffensive since June. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy himself visited in December. If the Russian army takes control of the (supply) road, the Ukrainian armed forces will evidently be forced to withdraw from Avdeyevka. That will be a great victory for the Russian army, Sergei Markov, a former Kremlin adviser, said on Feb. 5. Mykola Bielieskov of the National Institute for Strategic Studies, an official think-tank in Kyiv, said taking Avdiivka would not decisively tip the situation in Moscows favour but would make the situation more tenable for occupied Donetsk as a major Russian logistics hub. Bielieskov believes the battle is driven by a Kremlin desire to strengthen the hand of Western sceptics calling for a cut in support for Kyiv, citing the limited impact of billions of dollars in military aid. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} The White House said Ukraines besieged city Avdiivka facing onslaught from Russian forces for months now was at risk of falling as Ukrainian soldiers lacked artillery ammunition to fight back. Unfortunately, were getting reports from the Ukrainians that the situation is critical, with the Russians continuing to press Ukrainian positions every single day. Avdiivka is at risk of falling into Russian control, White House spokesperson John Kirby said. In very large part, this is happening because the Ukrainian forces on the ground are running out of artillery ammunition, he said, calling the situation in the warzone incredibly intense. This comes hours after Ukraine said it was pulling out troops from some parts of the eastern town to better positions after months of heavy fighting. Avdiivka has been a flashpoint of the frontline since the Russians launched a mechanised offensive last October, but up to now Ukrainian defences had held strong. Russia, meanwhile, has lost hundreds of vehicles and tens of thousands of soldiers. "In Avdiivka a manoeuvre is underway in some places to withdraw our units to more advantageous positions, in some places to force (the Russians) out of positions," Ukrainian military spokesperson Dmytro Lykhoviy said in televised comments. "Therefore the key announcement with regards to all this is that supplies to Avdiivka and evacuations from there are difficult." He added that the military had activated a "reserve logistics artery" that had been prepared in advance. The difficult situation was confirmed by president Volodymyr Zelensky in his evening video address on Thursday. "The situation on the front Avdiivka, the east in general. We are doing everything possible to ensure that our soldiers have sufficient managerial and technological capabilities to preserve as many Ukrainian lives as possible, he said. Russian forces have fixated their resources and energy on capturing the Ukrainian town in Donetsk as its latest territorial gain in its continuing full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Any complete seizure of territory could give Russia full control of the two provinces that make up the industrial Donbas region. Ukraine has deployed the battle-hardened reserve fighters from Third Assault Brigade a crack team known to be one of its most prominent fighting units to now defend the last swathes of the city. The brigade, which comprises assault infantry, said the situation in Avdiivka was "hell" and "threatening and unstable", but that it had conducted a raid against Russian forces in parts of the town and inflicted heavy casualties. The brigade took part in a counteroffensive in eastern Ukraine last summer and fought in the battle of Bakhmut, another town in eastern Ukraine that held out for many months before being captured last May. "The enemy is continuing the active rotation of its troops (around Avdiivka) and is deploying new forces and equipment to the town," the brigade said on the Telegram messenger. "The situation at the moment the brigade was brought in was extremely critical." The units deputy commander, Maksym Zhorin, said the fighting was much fiercer than the battle of Bakhmut and that Kyivs forces were outnumbered and outgunned in Avdiivka. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Just minutes before the opening session of the worlds largest meeting for security policy, news broke of the sudden death of prominent opposition leader Alexei Navalny in an Arctic prison in Russia. A day before, Navalny had appeared in court, thin but ostensibly well and even joking about the absurdity of the Russian judicial system with the judge, who couldnt help but smile at his joke. Then on Friday, it was announced that the 47-year-old had collapsed after a walk in the penal colony in the Arctic Circle. However, the reported death of such a prominent figure and public critic of Russian president Vladimir Putin cast a heavy shadow over the three-day Munich Security Conference, which his wife Yulia Navalnaya is attending. The meeting of world leaders, military officials and diplomats in the German city was always expected to focus on Russia and its bloody invasion of Ukraine. That expectation has only heightened. Canadian prime minster Justin Trudeau said the reported death had reminded the entire world what a monster Mr Putin is. US vice-president Kamala Harris pledged support for Ukraine and Nato. Make no mistake, the American people will meet this moment, and America will continue to lead, she told the conference. Navalnys newly widowed wife, who addressed the conference shortly after the news broke, held Mr Putin and his coterie responsible for the death, saying that the world needed to unite and overcome that terrible regime that is currently in Russia. And so the news placed a searing spotlight on one of the biggest challenges occupying the global stage the Ukraine war and the problem of Russia at a time when Ukrainian officials have been worrying about global war fatigue as they have struggled to hold the front lines at enormous cost. The news [of Navalny] added a sober note to it all, said Bronwen Maddox, CEO of British think tank Chatham House, who was present as a minutes silence was held for Navalny at the opening sessions. There is a sense of great sadness, and a sense of reality about what Russia could mean for Europe, for everyone. Palestinians look at the destruction after an Israeli strike on a residential building in Rafah, in the Gaza Strip (AP) The backdrop to the conference already comprised the threat from Russia and concerns over the USs increasing isolationism whether Joe Biden or Donald Trump is in the White House with delays to fresh US funding to Ukraine, worth tens of billions of dollars, resulting from spats in Congress. There is a feeling that Europe is going to have to do more to look after itself, said Ms Maddox. Part of the debate this morning has been trying to make the point to the US that Russia doesnt just affect Europe, it affects the US and everyone. The annual global gathering, which is dubbed the Davos of Defence, is being attended by an estimated 60 heads of state including German chancellor Olaf Scholz, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, and Kaja Kallas, the Estonian prime minister, who said: This is the European hour and we need to rise to the challenge. Defence matters, and the best way to show that is to spend on defence. This year, the stages and talks on the sidelines will likely be dominated by the Ukraine war but also the war in Gaza, as Israel has vowed to press ahead with its offensive into Rafah, the last refuge in the besieged enclave. Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has faced an increasingly loud chorus of condemnation after he vowed to press ahead with his ferocious bombardment of the strip, which came as a response to a Hamas attack inside Israel on 7 October that killed around 1,200 people and saw another 250 taken hostage. Health ministry officials in Hamas-run Gaza say more than 28,000 Palestinians have been killed during the conflict. World leaders have said that a ground assault into Rafah, which is hosting some 1.5 million people the vast majority already displaced would be a bloodbath. The Rafah offensive is hanging in the air, as is the question of how to get a resolution to the wider situation in the Middle East, Ms Maddox added. The biggest questions will be around how to secure a ceasefire and a hostage release deal to pull the region back from the brink. But Israeli foreign minister Israel Katz said in Munich that Israel believed there was no choice but to go into Rafah, as it could not leave Hamas there. When asked where refugees in Rafah would go, he suggested Gazas second city, Khan Younis which has been the focus of an Israeli assault for weeks, forcing many who were sheltering there to travel to Rafah. While two of the largest wars of this generation rage on, other issues at the conference include the devastating impact of the climate crisis on security. Ms Maddox said that leaders from Barbados and Ghana were at the summit and wanted to raise their concerns across a weekend of frenetic talks. Close Thousands of pro-Palestine protesters rally outside Downing Street For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} At least four patients in intensive care died because their oxygen supply was cut off when Israeli troops stormed Gazas main hospital, according to the doctors. Israeli special forces have stormed the last major hospital in southern Gaza, with the military saying it is a limited operation to seeking the remains of hostages taken by Hamas. The raid came a day after the army sought to evacuate thousands of displaced people who had taken shelter at the Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis. The southern city has been the main target of Israel's offensive against Hamas in recent weeks. The military said it had "credible intelligence" that Hamas had held hostages at the hospital and that the remains of hostages might still be inside. This comes after the UN warned that an Israeli ground invasion into Rafah could lead to slaughter as more tha one million Palestinians shelter there. UN aid chief Martin Griffiths said Benjamin Netanyahus planned offensive could leave an already fragile humanitarian operation at deaths door. Sign up to our free weekly IndyTech newsletter delivered straight to your inbox Sign up to our free IndyTech newsletter Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the IndyTech email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} OpenAI has unveiled a new tool which can generate short videos based on text prompts. Called Sora, it is able to create videos up to a minute long based solely on a short text-based description of what the user wants to create. OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT, said Sora was being made available to safety testers to assess critical arears for harms or risks, as well as being given to a range of visual artists, designers, and filmmakers to try out and offer feedback. Were teaching AI to understand and simulate the physical world in motion, with the goal of training models that help people solve problems that require real-world interaction, OpenAI said of its new tool. The firm said the model has a deep understanding of language which enabled it to accurately interpret prompts and generate compelling characters that express vibrant emotions. But OpenAI said it was also taking several important safety steps around Sora ahead of making it more widely available. It said it was red teaming the tool, meaning it was being tested for vulnerabilities and its ability to be exploited, and was adding a detection classifier to the metadata of Sora videos which identifies it as content created by AI. Video examples of Sora in action on the OpenAI website also included a watermark, identifying the content as being AI-generated an important tool in combating misinformation. The ChatGPT maker added: Well be engaging policymakers, educators and artists around the world to understand their concerns and to identify positive use cases for this new technology. We believe that learning from real-world use is a critical component of creating and releasing increasingly safe AI systems over time OpenAI Despite extensive research and testing, we cannot predict all of the beneficial ways people will use our technology, nor all the ways people will abuse it. Thats why we believe that learning from real-world use is a critical component of creating and releasing increasingly safe AI systems over time. Earlier this week, the company revealed that it had detected and removed several state-backed groups using its AI tools for malicious activities, including working on content to be used in phishing attacks. OpenAI and a team from Microsoft, a major investor in the AI firm, had uncovered groups linked to China, Iran, North Korea and Russia, the company said. In a busy week for the firm, it also unveiled plans to give ChatGPT a better memory so that it could remember more of its users chats. Dr Andrew Rogoyski, from the University of Surreys Institute for People-Centred AI, said he was encouraged by OpenAIs safety approach to Sora, but questioned what access AI safety institutes had had to the tool ahead of its announcement. OpenAI has recognised the potential for harm with such a system, he said. The idea that an AI can create a hyper-realistic video of, say, a politician doing something untoward should ring alarm bells as we enter into the most election-heavy year in human history, with over 60 democratic elections in 2024 and half the planets population voting. OpenAIs Sora system potentially marks a ChatGPT moment for video Dr Andrew Rogoyski, University of Surrey Interestingly, OpenAI plans to watermark Soras outputs with C2PA, a digital certification system that is growing in popularity as a means to track the provenance of information. Although OpenAI is promising further details on the safety measures put in place for Sora, one has to ask whether the UKs AI Safety Institute, announced by Rishi Sunak last November at Bletchley Park and enjoying a commitment from the big AI firms to share their breakthroughs, has actually seen sight of Sora before its release yesterday. But Dr Rogoyski also acknowledged the potential of Sora, calling it a major step forward for AI video. He said: OpenAIs Sora system potentially marks a ChatGPT moment for video. In the same way that the text-based ChatGPT launched just over a year ago has transformed and disrupted text-based work, from scriptwriting to email marketing, the Sora system could do the same for video. With a simple text-based prompt, Sora will create a video sequence with astonishing realism and clarity. If OpenAIs showreel is to be believed there have been examples of AI companies faking their own systems outputs then this is a major step forward. Sign up to Simon Calders free travel email for expert advice and money-saving discounts Get Simon Calders Travel email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Simon Calders Travel email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} The latest round of industrial action on the railways is under way. Members of the train drivers union, Aslef, have imposed an overtime ban at LNER and Northern on Thursday 29 February and Saturday 2 March. Northern is warning passengers to expect disruption. Dozens of LNER trains on the East Coast main line are cancelled or curtailed due to industrial action. On Friday 1 March train drivers walked out at both train operators cancelling all Northern trains and most LNER services. These walk-outs are unconnected with the continuing pay and conditions dispute at the heart of the national rail strikes that began in the summer of 2022. Over the past 22 months, hundreds of millions of journeys have been cancelled. Billions of pounds have been lost to the UK economy, particularly hospitality businesses and taxpayers are subsidising an increasingly decrepit and unreliable railway to the tune of 90 per second on top of the normal subsidy. During that time there has been zero progress in the dispute between Aslef and the 14 rail firms controlled by the UK government and represented by the Rail Delivery Group (RDG). In a snap social media poll for The Independent, with 2,142 responses, one in three passengers say they will permanently travel less after the industrial action finally ends. These are the key questions and answers. Where are we with industrial action on the railways? Many rail passengers may feel national strikes have been going on forever. In fact, the first nationwide rail walkouts since the 1980s began in the summer of 2022. The train operators involved are the 14 English rail firms whose operations are controlled by the government At the root of the disputes: the demand of the rail unions for a no-strings pay rise against ministers insistence that any increase must be funded from running trains more efficiently. The larger rail union, the RMT, has ended its campaign of strikes for now. But Aslef, the smaller yet more powerful train drivers union, is as far from an agreement as ever with the Since the dispute began, Aslef has called regular strikes and bans on rest-day working. The latest national industrial action by train drivers, comprising an overtime ban and rolling regional walk-outs, hit for nine days from 29 January to 6 February. The aim of these rolling strikes and the ban on rest-day working is to cause maximum disruption for minimum loss of pay. How much has all the disruption cost? According to the RDG, industrial action from June 2022 up until mid-January 2024 has cost the rail sector around 775m in lost revenue. That does not include the impact of the most recent strikes, which probably adds a further 50m-60m to the losses. UKHospitality estimates the lost business for places to eat, drink and stay amounts to almost 5bn. Kate Nicholls, the organisations chief executive, says: Ongoing strike action hurts businesses, prevents people from getting to work and significantly erodes confidence in the rail network. In addition, there is an unknowable loss of revenue from passengers who have adjusted their lifestyles or found alternative forms of transport; businesses that have stopped making trips and are using online communication instead; and people trimming back on travel because of the lack of certainty. What is at stake? The train drivers demand a pay rise to reflect high levels of inflation since they last won a pay award; Aslef says some members have not had an increase for five years. But the government insists that even a modest pay increase is contingent on radical changes to long-standing working arrangements in order to reduce costs and the almost 250 per second subsidy the railway is currently receiving from the taxpayer. That is 43 per cent higher than normal, according to government figures. Since the pandemic, travel patterns have changed. Ticket revenue is about one-fifth down on pre-Covid levels. As taxpayers will foot the eventual bill for the train drivers pay rise, the Treasury as well as the Department for Transport will sign off any deal. Ministers believe train drivers terms and conditions are part of the problem. To keep costs down, they must accept changes to how they work, such as making Sunday part of the working week everywhere. On 27 April 2023 the Rail Delivery Group offered a pay increase of 4 plus 4 per cent over two years covering the 2022 and 2023 pay awards subject to a host of changes on terms and conditions, covering a wide range of issues including driver training, Sunday working, sick pay and new technology. The union say this is completely unacceptable. The train drivers will negotiate on changes, but only after they get a decent no-strings pay offer on top of their current pay, averaging 60,000 a year. They believe the money will be found to meet their demands, as it always has in the past. Aslef has also always sold reforms to working arrangements for an extra few per cent on their pay and does intend to stop now. No constructive talks have taken place since spring 2023, and train drivers have walked out repeatedly bringing most trains to a halt in England. Stuck in the middle: the passenger. Which rail firms are involved? Aslef is in dispute with the train operators that are contracted by the government to provide rail services. They are: Intercity operators: Avanti West Coast CrossCountry East Midlands Railway Great Western Railway (GWR) LNER TransPennine Express Southeast England commuter operators: C2C Greater Anglia GTR (Gatwick Express, Great Northern, Southern, Thameslink) Southeastern South Western Railway (including the Island Line on the Isle of Wight) Operators focusing on the Midlands and north of England: Chiltern Railways Northern Trains West Midlands Railway (including London Northwestern Railway) Which rail firms are not involved? ScotRail, Transport for Wales, Transport for London (including the Elizabeth Line), Merseyrail and open-access operators such as Grand Central, Hull Trains and Lumo. But their services are crowded on days of industrial action, where they duplicate journeys of strike-hit companies. What are the warring sides saying? Rail minister Huw Merriman told The Independent: We believe a fair and reasonable offer is there on the table for Aslef if they put it to their members. These are train drivers that are paid an average 60,000 for a 35-hour, four-day week. The pay deal would take them up to 65,000. A spokesperson for Rail Delivery Group, representing the train operators, said: There are no winners from these strikes that will unfortunately cause disruption for our customers. We believe rail can have a bright future, but right now taxpayers are contributing an extra 54m a week to keep services running post-Covid. Aslefs leadership need to recognise the financial challenge facing rail. Instead of staging more damaging industrial action, we call on the Aslef leadership to work with us to resolve this dispute and deliver a fair deal which both rewards our people, and makes the changes needed to make services more reliable. But Mick Whelan, general secretary of Aslef, says its a rubbish deal that he cant possibly put to his members. Aslef members have consistently voted overwhelmingly for industrial action in pursuit of their demands. The union says it has had no talks with Mark Harper, the transport secretary, since 2022; with Huw Merriman, the rail minister, since January 2023; and with the employers since April 2023. Mr Whelan said: We have given the government every opportunity to come to the table but it has now been a year since we had any contact from the Department for Transport. Its clear they do not want to resolve this dispute. Meanwhile, the corrosion in confidence among travellers continues, with no rail passenger able to plan journeys more than two weeks ahead that being the minimum notice the union must give for industrial action. What about the new minimum service levels law? Legislation now allows the transport secretary to stipulate minimum service levels (MSLs) on strike days amounting to 40 per cent of the normal service. The government says the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act 2023 aims to ensure that the public can continue to access services that they rely on, during strike action. No train operator is seeking to impose the new law on the train drivers union. LNER said it might do so, and opened consultations, at which point Aslef called a separate five-day strike on LNER alone. Then the train operator said it would not require drivers to work, and the strike was called off. The BBC reports that the prime minister is disappointed that train operators had not implemented minimum service levels. A Downing Street spokesperson said: Yes, its something that we and the public expect them to use. Weve been repeatedly been clear that this legislation is available for train operators to use. The Transport Select Committee has previously warned of potential unintended consequences of the legislation. The Conservative chair, Iain Stewart, said: There is a risk of MSLs worsening worker-employer relations and that, as a result, MSLs could end up making services less reliable. The minimum service level rules do not apply to union bans on non-contractual rest-day working so there would be no benefit in imposing the law when an overtime ban is in force. What are the LNER and Northern disputes about? Train drivers members of Aslef working for LNER, the main operator on the East Coast main line, and Northern serving the north of England walked out on Friday 1 March. Hundreds of trains were cancelled as a result of the strikes. In addition, an overtime ban applies on the previous and following days, Thursday 29 February and Saturday 2 March. The industrial action was called for what Aslef described as LNERs and Northerns persistent failure to comply with existing agreements. The Independent understands that the union is unhappy with what it sees as LNERs routine use of managers to drive trains on some routes, and toxic local industrial relations at Northern. Aslefs Mick Whelan said: We are fed up to the back teeth with the bad faith shown, day after day, week after week, and month after month by these two companies. A spokesperson for LNER said: Our priority focus remains on minimising disruption to customers during Aslef strikes, which sadly will continue to cause disruption and delays. Tricia Williams, chief operating officer at Northern, said: We're surprised and disappointed that strike action has been called over a local disagreement that we have all been working positively to resolve. Both rail firms are state-run, having been brought back into public control after the previous franchise holders stood aside. What does the Labour Party say? Louise Haigh, Labours shadow transport secretary, said: It is a staggering dereliction of duty that the transport secretary hasnt got around the table with the unions to try to resolve it since the Christmas before last. Labour will take an unashamedly different approach to the Tories, and will work with both sides to reach a deal in the interests of passengers and workers. If the transport secretary took this sensible approach then perhaps we wouldnt still be having strikes on our railways. The shadow rail minister, Stephen Morgan MP, has previously said: Labour will bring our railways back into public ownership, as contracts expire, and ensure services work in the interests of the passenger. Prince Harry has admitted that American citizenship is a thought that has crossed my mind because he loves every single day of life in the US. The Duke of Sussex spoke with Good Morning America in an interview released on Friday 16 February. I have considered it, yeah, Harry said, when asked about US citizenship. American citizenship is a thought that has crossed my mind but is not a high priority right now. Harry and his wife, Meghan, live in Montecito, California with their two children Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet. Queen Camilla admired a painting of her step-granddaughter Princess Charlotte as she attended an art gallery in London on Wednesday (14 February). The Queen visited Kindred Studios Shepherds Bush pop-up hub, where she admired a painting of Princess Charlotte, created by artist Mercedes Carbonell. Looking closely at the painting, the 76-year-old monarch declared: I think I recognise her. Ms Carbonell created her version of a photograph released to mark the young royal's second birthday in 2017. The Queen also met with other London artists, from painters and ceramicists to textiles and fashion designers. The Nevada Presidential Primary and GOP Caucus are history, with final unofficial results. Voter turnout numbers show 135,000 Democrats cast ballots in the Democratic primary. That represents 22.6% of the states 597,000 registered Democrats. Among Republicans, 80,000 ballots were cast in the state-run presidential primary, representing 14.2% of Nevadas 560,000 registered GOP voters. Thats more than the 60,000 Republicans, 10.7% of those registered, who voted in the party-run caucus. A confusing dueling primary and caucus rendered the GOP primary meaningless when party leaders decided only caucus results would determine allotment of the states 26 delegates to the partys convention, a move meant to benefit former President Donald Trump. The Nevada GOP banned candidates whose names appeared on the primary ballot from participating in the caucus. As a result, Trumps name did not appear on the primary ballot, confounding GOP voters. The runaway primary winner among Democrats was President Joe Biden with 116,806 votes, over 89% of the total. Trump was the near-unanimous choice (over 99%) of GOP caucus participants, receiving 59,984 votes against a political unknown. The state-run GOP primary featured Nikki Haley, a half dozen other candidates (but not Trump), and the option none of these candidates. Voter participation in both the primary and caucus was legal. Nevada Republican Party officials encouraged Trump supporters to select none of these candidates to defeat Haley since the former presidents name did not appear on the primary ballot. Haley lost to none of these candidates by over 30%, receiving 23,795 primary votes. She technically won the primary state election law says only votes cast for the named candidates shall be counted but she was embarrassed by the outcome. Trump had it rigged from the very beginning, Haley said. Trump bragged that turnout for the GOP caucus on Feb. 8 (60,000 voters) eclipsed the record Republican caucus turnout in 2016 of 75,000 voters. That was untrue. And, the last Democratic caucus in 2020 had 105,000 voters turn out. Even though more than twice as many Democrats turned out for their primary (135,000) than Republicans turned out for their caucus (60,000), its clear enthusiasm for Trump among Republicans is far greater than for Biden among Democrats. Thousands of Republicans stood in long lines for up to two hours to cast their caucus vote for Trump, who was running essentially unopposed in an caucus rigged in his favor by the Nevada GOP. Trumps devoted supporters were prepared to walk a mile for a Camel in his behalf on a cold blustery night. But only hard-core Trump supporters turned out. His 59,984 votes represents only 10.7% of Nevadas registered Republicans exactly as the Nevada GOP intended. It was also Caucus Chaos, with the state party unprepared for the turnout. There were reportedly not enough caucus sites or volunteers to conduct the election. There was confusion about where to vote or how, or even why, since it was a done deal. There were complaints of long lines, sites running out of ballots and disorganization. By contrast, very few problems were reported with the presidential primary across the state. This year, primary voters in both parties participated in record numbers, compared with caucuses held in prior years. More Republicans chose to cast ballots in the state-run presidential primary this year (80,000 voters) than participated in the party-run caucus (60,000 voters), according to turnout numbers. Among Democrats, they saw record levels of participation in their uncompetitive primary (135,000 voters) compared with their last competitive caucus in 2020 (105,000 voters). The vast majority of primary voters cast their ballots by mail: 75% of Republicans and 80% of Democrats. Only 22% voted in person by early voting or on Election Day. Primary and caucus turnout results this year are evidence Nevada voters prefer primaries. They are much more accessible to the general public. Alexei Navalny joked with journalists in his final public appearance before his death in an Arctic jail which was reported on Friday, 16 February, by the prison service in the Yamalo-Nenets region where he had been serving his sentence. The Russian opposition leader, 47, was Vladimir Putin's most prominent critic. He was imprisoned in 2021 when he returned to Russia having been treated in Germany for poisoning that he blamed on the Kremlin. "Conditions of detention [are good], touch wood. That's a dig at you, dear defendants," Navalny can be heard joking in his final public appearance in a video call from the IK-3 penal colony in January. Joe Biden has paid tribute to Alexei Navalny following his death, saying his courage will not be forgotten. Russias federal prison service said in a statement that Navalny, the 47-year-old opposition politician regarded as Vladimir Putins fiercest critic, had died on Friday 16 February. According to the agency, he became unwell after a walk and lost consciousness. God bless Alexei Navalny, his courage will not be forgotten, and Im sure it will not be the only courage we see coming out of Russia, Mr Biden said. Confetti rained down on the streets of Athens as crowds celebrated Greece becoming the first Orthodox Christian nation to legalise same-sex marriage under civil law on Thursday, 15 February. A cross-party majority of 176 lawmakers in the 300-seat parliament voted in favor of the bill drafted by Kyriakos Mitsotakis center-right government. Seventy-six rejected the reform, 46 were not present, and two abstained from the vote. Same-sex couples' parental rights will be recognised under the bill, but it will not allow gay men to have biological children through surrogate mothers in Greece. Sir Keir Starmer defended his judgement after Labour suspended two parliamentary candidates over their remarks about Israel. The Labour leader spoke to BBC Breakfast on Friday morning, 16 February, following a tumultuous week for the party. I did something that no leader of the Labour party has ever done before, which is to remove a candidate in a by-election where they cannot be replaced because I was so determined to take decisive action in relation to anti-semitism, the Labour leader said. Mr Starmer has faced backlash for the speed of his decision after a damaging 48 hours in which he initially backed Azhar Ali over anti-semitic comments, before changing his mind. Finance Minister Michael McGrath said he will change the law to close a legal loophole whereby thousands of people whose mortgages were sold to vulture funds have no access to the States financial ombudsman service. Speaking in the Dail this Thursday, Mr McGrath said: If a legislative amendment is necessary and possible, it will be brought forward. This follows an Irish Independent story on Wednesday which highlighted how large numbers of these mortgage holders whose loans were sold to vulture funds are unable to use the ombudsman service to make complaints if they are in dispute over the handling of their loans. This is the case if their complaints relate to the time before the credit servicers, who act for the funds, were registered with the Central Bank. The credit servicers have only been required to be registered with the Central Bank since 2019 after earlier legislation was tightened. Mr McGrath his said departments legal advisers are working to identify a way forward so that the gap that has been identified is fixed. As many as 100,000 owners have had mortgages sold to vulture funds, with credit servicing firms acting on behalf of the funds. Elizabeth Mc Auley, who is impacted, said: My complaint with the Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman was submitted in 2020. He stressed that that all consumers must have equal access to the Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman and told those present that his department is engaging with the ombudsman with regard to its interpretation of the legislation. As many as 100,000 owners have had mortgages sold to vulture funds, with credit servicing firms acting on behalf of the funds. But it has now emerged that large numbers of these mortgage holders whose loans were sold to vultures are unable to use the ombudsman service to make complaints if they are in dispute over the handling of their loans. This is the case if their complaints relate to the time before the credit servicers, who act for the funds, were registered with the Central Bank. The credit servicers have only been required to be registered with the Central Bank since 2019 after earlier legislation was tightened. Mr McGrath his said departments legal advisers are working to identify a way forward so that the gap that has been identified is fixed. Elizabeth Mc Auley, who is impacted, said: My complaint with the Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman was submitted in 2020. The ombudsmans office came back to her last December, saying it cannot investigate the complaint as the firm dealing with her mortgage was not registered until 2019. Her loan was sold by Danske Bank in 2016. Ms Mc Auley got into financial difficulties in 2018 and engaged with the credit servicing firm acting for the fund that bought her mortgage. She filled out a standard financial statement (SFS) under the Mortgage Arrears Resolution Process (MARP). I never received an assessment of my SFS. I was in contact with them by email through an account manager who subsequently left the group, she said. So, no alternative payment schedule was put in place to pay off the arrears She subsequently voluntarily sold her home late in 2019 after coming under pressure to do so. I was made homeless for a couple of months. I was under severe mental anxiety and depression. I am 58 years of age with no hope of owning my own home again. I am struggling to pay private rent. I saved all my life and never had any other financial difficulties, Ms Mc Auley added. She had stopped payments on her mortgage when her mother was dying. A single woman, she has been forced to relocate to near Roscrea, Co Tipperary. Ms Mc Auley made a complaint to the Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman (FSPO) in 2020 about the failure by the fund and its credit servicer agent to consider her SFS and put a plan in place to pay off the arrears. The ombudsman office came back, in a letter seen by this publication, stating that it could not consider the complaint about the failure to assess the standard financial statement as the complaint falls outside the jurisdiction of the FSPO to investigate. But the firm behind her mortgage was not registered here at the time, so the ombudsman cannot act, it said in a what is a complex letter. Ms Mc Auley said: I am sure they are a lot of Irish mortgage holders in exactly the same position as myself without a legal recourse to a vulture fund or its servicer as they were not registered with the Central Bank prior to 2019. Last week, the Dail debated technical amendments to the Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman Act. Sinn Fein finance spokesman Pearse Doherty raised the issue of some vulture fund mortgages being excluded from the ombudsmans services. Sinn Feins Pearse Doherty (Liam McBurney/PA) What we have now are thousands of mortgage holders with loans held by vulture funds who simply cannot make a complaint about the conduct of these funds where the conduct occurred prior to 2019 or, in many instances, even during 2019, Mr Doherty said. It is a serious issue. The FSPO has made determinations on this issue and they are crystal-clear. These are loans that were unfairly sold to vulture funds, which do not now have equal access to the Financial Service Pensions Ombudsman, despite all of the commitments we heard at the time. He said this loophole was not being dealt with in the amendments before the Oireachtas at the moment. Asked if there are any plans to rectify the situation, which is excluding thousands of vulture fund customers from using the ombudsmans office, a spokesperson for Finance Minister Michael McGraths Department of Finance did not directly answer this question. The spokesperson confirmed: Where a complaint is made against a provider who was not a regulated financial service provider at the time the conduct complained of is said to have occurred, the FSPO does not have jurisdiction to investigate the conduct which is the subject matter of the complaint against that provider. The FSPO said its statutory functions are strictly governed by the provisions of the Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman Act 2017. Asked how many vulture mortgages cases it has rejected as firms complained of were not registered at the time the conduct was alleged, the FSPO said it does not have that data. Metas messaging giant will soon let people message from other services, in line with a new EU law In a move triggered by EU law, Irelands biggest messaging service will soon be able to receive and send messages to other services, possibly including Apples iMessage or privacy apps like Signal, as well as its own sister service, Messenger. It could see messaging services become like email services, able to work with each other rather than being closed mini-networks. Its the biggest shakeup in how WhatsApp operates in years. However, it wont work with SMS text messages, as that isnt covered by the EUs Digital Markets Act, which has pushed Meta into modifying WhatsApp and Messenger. A spokesperson for the company said that interoperability has been in preparation for the last two years and will focus on issues such as security and privacy, as well as what features can be used. Text, images and videos are expected to be included in the interoperability systems, but group chats and calls between messaging services are unlikely to be in the first wave. Under the EUs Digital Markets Act, messaging gatekeepers such as Meta (WhatsApp, Messenger) are required to grant limited access to their messaging systems to others smaller, or newer messaging firms who want to allow their users interact with users of the bigger services. While Apple (iMessage) was initially named as a gatekeeper, this week the company won a reprieve from being included in the first wave of gatekeepers as it demonstrated that it does not have over 45m active monthly users across the EU. However, the European Commission said that it would be monitoring Apples figures and that iMessage might be reclassified as a gatekeeper at a future date. WhatsApp has begun informing users of what personal data will be involved when its interoperability with other services begins. It did not put any date on when it expects the first interoperable messages are sent, or which services it will initially work with. WhatsApp also announced that it was lowering its minimum age from 16 to 13, in line with most social media apps. That move is not expected to make much difference to usage among young teens, almost all of whom have WhatsApp accounts already installed on their phones, according to the most recent nationwide school survey from CyberSafeKids. Separately, Irish Facebook and Instagram users are also being asked by the company to confirm their accounts for the purposes of sharing information between them. The move is being introduced to comply with the requirements of EU law. Opting out means that Instagram and Facebook accounts would remain separate from each other for the purposes of content and friend preferences. Glorious Exploits by Ferdia Lennon sucks the reader in and doesnt let go Like most genres, historical fiction spans the range from the well-researched but boring to the boring and badly researched, and on to those that are really rather interesting and make you want to know more about that time and place. Every now and then, however, you come across one that truly stands out. Ferdia Lennons debut novel, Glorious Exploits, stands out like Mount Etna. With a sold-out tour, 150,000 monthly listeners on Spotify, the Irish trio's future looks bright Some of the members of folk trio Amble were strangers when they formed the night before their first ever performance. They hadnt even officially decided to become a group when they played together at the Glens Centre in north Leitrim in late 2022. Hardly over a year old, Amble is composed of Robbie Cunningham (vocals and guitar), Ross McNerney (mandolin and guitar) and Oisin McCaffrey (guitar and vocals). The three men, from Leitrim, Longford and Sligo respectively, were thrown together when Cunningham went looking for someone to play music with for fun in Dublin. They have a folky, nostalgic sound, reminiscent of the titans of the genre, like The Dubliners. Controversies over antisemitism and samples featuring Ozzy Osbournes Black Sabbath and Donna Summer have rocked this collaboration with Ty Dolla $ign It has been a long 14 years since Kanye West last delivered an album worthy of his talents. That record, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, remains a sprawling masterpiece and it arrived hot on the heels of four albums that had established him as the greatest rapper of the 2000s. Since then, his output has veered from merely average to woeful. Its coincided with an extremely turbulent private life which, for a man who has consistently over-shared, has been played out in the public glare. West seems incapable of self-filtering and has regurgitated several abhorrent views, both in song and outside the studio. He has become something of a parody of himself, one who seeks to offend simply for shock value. Most recently, he has been accused of antisemitism, and half-baked apologies feel especially insincere when one listens to his latest album, Vultures 1. Written and recorded with the US rapper Ty Dolla $ign, it was released, suddenly, last weekend. The title track confronts the alleged anti-Jewish sentiments head on, but his words only serve to fan the flames. How am I antisemetic? he raps, I just f***ed a Jewish bitch. I just f***ed Scooters bitch. Its a reference to the Jewish music mogul Scooter Braun, sometime nemesis of Taylor Swift. Like so much of the lyrical content, its witless stuff, the verbal diarrhoea of a man with little to say. As has been so often the case with Wests albums from 2013s Yeezus onwards, this album comes freighted with controversy and acrimony. Nicki Minaj requested that her contribution not be used because it was recorded so long ago while Ozzy Osbourne has reportedly slapped West with a cease and desist letter after the rapper used a sample of Black Sabbaths War Pigs without permission. Hes a disrespectful antisemite, Ozzys wife, Sharon, said. He f***ed with the wrong Jew this time. West has also upset the estate of the late Donna Summer. He sampled I Feel Love without getting the go ahead. Despite his entreaties that he has been cancelled, there is no shortage of big name artists on this album, most prominently Travis Scott. Wests eldest daughter, North, also makes an appearance. Timbaland and James Blake are among the roll-call of producers. Ty Dolla $ign is something of a stabilising force. His rapping is the more compelling, especially on standout Problematic, and one senses he has helped rein in some of Wests tendency for sonic self-indulgence. There are glimpses of his old brilliance here and there. Carnival is the sort of dazzling track that he seemingly delivered at will in the noughties, although joking about child abusers R Kelly and Bill Cosby leaves an ugly residue. Do It, meanwhile, is vintage Kanye, and enlivened thanks to a sample of Juveniles Back That Azz Up. Too often, though, Wests creativity seems spent, despite the best efforts of co-conspirator Ty. It is, reportedly, the first of a planned trilogy of albums between the pair. The quality of parts two and three will largely depend on where Wests head is at. Can he ever regain the gifts that were once so startling? Paul McCartney has been reunited with his bass guitar, which the Beatle used on famous tracks such as Twist And Shout and She Loves You, after it went missing more than 50 years ago. A spokesperson for the former Beatle said he is incredibly grateful for those who were involved in helping to locate the Hofner bass guitar, which went missing in 1972. The Lost Bass Project launched a search to find the missing German violin-shaped bass in 2018, but traction picked up last year after further media attention. An exact replica of Sir Paul McCartneys original Hofner bass guitar, which has been reunited with the former Beatle (Guncotton Guitars/PA) The team, which included Nick Wass from Hofner and husband and wife team Scott and Naomi Jones, received more than 100 leads which they used to help track down the missing guitar. Among the tip-offs, the project said they were given information that claimed the guitar had been stolen from the back of a van in 1972 in Notting Hill in London. They later discovered the bass was allegedly sold to a landlord in the area before it was passed on until it ended up in the attic of a terraced house in the south coast of England. The project said the owner realised they had the highly-sought-after item following the publicity last year. The bass is still complete and in its original case but will need some repairs to make it playable again, the project added in their statement. A post on Pauls official website read: Following the launch of last years Lost Bass project, Pauls 1961 Hofner 500/1 bass guitar, which was stolen in 1972, has been returned. The guitar has been authenticated by Hofner and Paul is incredibly grateful to all those involved. The bass had been purchased for 30 in Hamburg, Germany, in 1961 by Sir Paul and was used during his time with The Beatles. His career-long use of the guitar led to it to being dubbed the Beatle bass. Sir Paul played the Hofner on the Fab Fours first two albums, Please Please Me and With The Beatles, as well as on a slew of hits including Love Me Do. The guitar has been dubbed the Beatle bass A statement from The Lost Bass project said: We are extremely proud that we played a major part in finding the Lost Bass. It has been a dream since 2018 that it could be done. Despite many telling us that it was lost forever or destroyed, we persisted until it was back where it belonged. We want to thank everyone who helped with the search, all those who sent us leads and ideas and many who just wanted to lend their support to us. Thank you all so very much. Very much indeed! We did it! In the last days of the Year of the Cat, the average coffee price in the Central Highland provinces continued to increase compared to the previous week (Photo: VNA) In the last days of the Year of the Cat, the average coffee price in the Central Highland provinces continued to increase compared to the previous week. Coffee is being purchased at prices ranging from 78,200 - 79,400 VND (3.2-3.25 USD) per kg in some localities. With the current upward trend, domestic coffee prices are likely to exceed 80,000 VND per kg soon. A surge in domestic coffee prices was attributed to the fact that traders actively purchased coffee before the Lunar New Year (Tet) holiday while exporters were afraid of supply shortages like last year so they tended to buy more. The coffee output of the 2023-2034 crop in Dak Lak province is forecast to reach 580,000 tonnes, thus the coffee export volume is estimated at 330,000 tonnes. If prices stay as high as they are now and fluctuate slightly in the near future, the province's coffee export turnover could hit 900 million USD. Lam Dong province has about 175,700 ha of coffee and the output for 2023-2024 crop is expected to hit 535,000 tonnes. In 2023, Vietnam exported over 1.6 million tonnes, down 8.7% in quantity but up 4.6% in value compared to last year, reaching a record turnover of 4.24 billion USD. According to the Vietnam Coffee-Cocoa Association (Vicofa), Vietnams coffee production in the 2023-2024 crop will be 1.6-1.7 million tonnes, lower than 1.78 million tonnes in 2022-2023. Localities welcome first tourists in Lunar New Year The Da Nang International Airport in the central city of the same name welcomed more than 125 domestic and international flights carrying over 17,000 passengers on February 10, the first day of the Year of the Dragon, said the Vietnam News Agency. The airport served 53 international flights with some 7,500 passengers abroad on the day. Nearly 362,000 tourists are expected to visit Da Nang city during the Tet holiday. (Photo: VNA) Up to 894 domestic and international flights are expected to arrive at the airport during the seven-day holiday, beginning February 8, up about 16% year-on-year. The municipal Department of Tourism, the airport, the Da Nang International Terminal Investment and Operation JSC and air carriers jointly held a ceremony to welcome the first holidaymakers. On the same day, the central city welcomed the first international cruise ships in the lunar year with more than 1,800 passengers. Last year, the city served 22 cruise ships with more than 18,000 passengers. The numbers are expected to reach over 45 and more than 50,000 this year, respectively. Nearly 362,000 tourists are hoped to visit the city during the holiday, a rise of 23% from the corresponding time last year, including 172,000 international and 190,000 domestic. The northern province of Quang Ninh, home to UNESCO-recognised Ha Long Bay, also welcomed the first group of nearly 300 visitors from the Republic of Korea (RoK) to the heritage on the day. The first tourists to Quang Ninh province. (Photo: VNA) Pham Van Hiep, Managing Director of the Ha Long International Cruise Port, said around 2,000 international tourists visited the bay on the day. Ha Long Bay is expected to attract some 1.4 million vacationers this year, up 25-30% from the previous year. According to the provincial Department of Tourism, Quang Ninh province aims to lure at least 17 million arrivals in 2014, including 3 million international visitors. The northern province of Ninh Binh, known for its Trang An Landscape Complex that was recognised by UNESCO as a World Cultural and Natural Heritage Site in 2014, has organised a range of activities to welcome the first tourists in the lunar year, striving to fulfill the yearly target of serving 7.5 million visitors, of them 900 are international ones. 2024 drones light up Hanois night sky on New Years Eve The highly awaited "Hanoi Art Light Festival - Resplendent Thang Long" took place in Hanois Tay Ho district, on the New Year's Eve of the lunar calendar, drawing the audience of thousands, the Vietnam News Agency reported. The drone performance in Ho Tay area. (Photo: VNA) The most prominent part of the show was the 15-minute performance featuring 2024 drones, which set a Southeast Asian record in terms of number of unmanned vehicles involved, followed by high-altitude fireworks show from 00:00am when the Year of the Dragon began. The show depicts beautiful stories and images of the Dragon symbol in Vietnamese culture and the famous scenic spots of the capital city Hanoi. One-pillar pagoda (Photo: hanoimoi.com.vn) It aims to promote the image of the capital to both the local people and international tourists, and serves as a significant highlight program to ring in the new year with vigour and joy, according to the People's Committee of Tay Ho district./. Voters should treat every day like April Fool's Day during an election campaign, the CEO of the Electoral Commission Art OLeary has said. Speaking to agricultural students at Ballyhaise Agricultural College in Cavan, he encouraged the students to check what theyre reading online in relation to the two upcoming referendums. However, with very few in the room registered to vote a bigger challenge facing the Commission could be getting young people on the electoral register. Chair of the Electoral Commission Justice Marie Baker admitted it has some work to do and needs to convince people of the importance of voting. She admitted she was disappointed with how few of the Ballyhaise students were registered to vote, but said she was not concerned about a lack of engagement in the upcoming referendum. What we're doing this time is learning what we need to do to persuade people to get out and registered. So I wouldn't say I'm concerned. "I'm looking at it as a learning curve and I've been pleasantly surprised until now because I thought there was a very high, representation of people who were already registered or intended to register and intend to vote. I think the information is beginning to seep out and I don't think that's unusual, that people don't start engaging with the topic until quite close to the time and the debate is heating up a bit. OLeary said that some of the turnout figures that have been used in the past aren't all that reliable, because the electoral register is not all that reliable, but work is underway to establish a single electoral database. People talk about the electoral register as if it's one thing. We have 28 separate electoral registers in this country, and they don't talk to each other. But it could be at least 2025, he said, before there is a referendum on whether Irish people living abroad could vote in Presidential elections. The Taoiseach said recently the time to have that referendum is during the Presidential election next time around, so that in 2025 in October of next year, when you're voting for a president you may also be voting in a referendum to give people living outside the State an opportunity to vote in presidential elections. "That would give us seven years to develop an electoral register to start with. Because there are millions and millions of people who claim Irish heritage around the world and secondly, you've got to find a way for them to vote, whether that's electronically or whether we have some kind of way of both (postal and electronic). The Irish Pharmacy Union has called for the MMR catch-up vaccine to be made available in pharmacies, advising all adults not yet fully vaccinated against measles to urgently seek an MMR vaccine. Parents of unvaccinated children have also been encouraged to ensure their child is protected against measles. It comes as a new report today revealed that seven deaths have been reported in the EU so far this year, including one in Ireland. The figures from the European Centre for Disease Control also comprises of six deaths from the disease in Romania. The Irish Pharmacy Union is encouraging all those not up to date with their vaccines or if they are the parent of a child unvaccinated against measles to seek vaccination. "Measles is a highly contagious and potentially serious viral infection, as we have seen in Ireland already this year it can be fatal. Thankfully, the majority of cases can be treated with over-the-counter medications, such as paracetamol and ibuprofen, which your pharmacist can assist with, said Kathy Maher, the chair of the IPUs Pharmacy Contractors Committee. "However, it is important that anyone with a suspected measles infection seeks advice from their pharmacist or GP. The IPU believes the availability of the vaccine in pharmacies would increase uptake due to its accessibility. "The MMR provides the best way to minimise the risks of contracting or spreading measles. Recent data has shown that vaccination rates have fallen in recent years. Pharmacists are now experienced vaccinators and have been playing an important role in combatting flu and COVID for many years, Ms Maher added. It is time to add measles, through the MMR to the list of vaccinations available in local pharmacies. The COVID pandemic demonstrated the role pharmacists can play an important role in administering vaccines. Patients value the convenient locations and long opening hours of Irish pharmacies; this asset should be utilised in the new fight against measles. Since last year there has been legislation in place that allows pharmacy-based measles vaccinations. Pharmacies are now also connected to the national vaccination recording system, which will ensure that GPs and other healthcare providers can access up to date vaccine records for each patient. "This is a very safe highly effective vaccine. We all have a responsibility to our families, friends, co-workers and the most vulnerable in our society to take this simple precautionary step. The MMR is first administered to babies at 12 months, prior to this they have limited protection. For all our infants, as well as other immunocompromised groups, it is imperative that we do what is possible to avoid infection. Two doses of MMR vaccine are needed for a child to be fully protected. TWO brothers accused of discharging a "military grade" semi-automatic rifle in a built-up residential area in Dublin have been refused bail. Glen Ward, 31, from Finglas, Dublin, and his brother Eric O'Driscoll, 22, have been in custody on remand since January 12 but moved fresh applications in the High Court in Cloverhill today. The biggest Irish music festival Electric Picnic will go green in 2024 as the main stage is set to be powered by renewable energy. This marks the first time a music and arts festival in Ireland or the UK will install mains power to reduce its carbon footprint. The Festival Republic, promoter of Electric Picnic, will submit a planning application for a substation, and, if successful, the works on delivering grid power to the main stage will begin this spring, marking the transition of the outdoor live sector to renewable energy. Electric Picnic will be seeking an energy supply allowing the festival to benefit from Irelands renewable energy generation, especially onshore wind energy and large-scale solar projects. The grid power would reduce carbon emissions associated with powering the main stage of the festival this year and also reduce the use of temporary generators. Managing director of Festival Republic Melvin Benn said: The installation of our first grid connection is a key contributor to our goal of reducing carbon emissions associated with the festival by 50pc by 2030 in line with our Green Nation Charter. I hope that by leading the way and sharing what we have learned, festival goers can have an amazing time at Electric Picnic safe in the knowledge that we are doing everything we can to minimise the impact on the only planet we have got. Historically, I've always used diesel in all generators, and more recently, I've principally been using biodiesel to reduce our carbon footprint. This year, I've been trying to get the application to bring mains electricity in, so that I no longer have a need for lots of really big generators at the side of the main stage. "Im able to use not just mains power from the grid, but I'm able to use renewable power and buy specifically renewable soft power from the Irish grid, he added. Mr Benn said they have received great support from Irish power companies. I wanted Electric Picnic to be the first festival in Ireland or the UK to do this, the first major festival, he said. The company aims for other festivals to follow its footsteps and consider connecting their events to the national grid to reduce carbon emissions at festivals. Electric Picnic is sold out and will take place from August 16 to 18 in Stradbally, Co Laois. A funding crisis has forced services for 8,000 people with an intellectual disability and mental health issues, run by the St John of God Community Services, to transfer to the HSE in what has been described as the "saddest" day for the organisation. It said the "decision follows the failure to conclude a funding agreement with the HSE aimed at securing the future financial sustainability of the organisation". It has been in service since the 1930s. The organisation said that a formal letter confirming todays decision has been conveyed to the HSE by the Board of St John of God's and it is intended that the transition process will be completed by August 15 next. Members of management have been speaking with staff members and families of service users at its various locations around the country today informing them of the decision. In response, the HSE tonight said it is shocked and disappointed at the announcement. We have worked with them over the last number of years on funding-related matters. SJOGCSs services have had an in-year break even each year for several years, with the help of substantial HSE support, and there is no reason to believe that 2024 will be any different, a spokesperson said. Today's News in 90 Seconds - February 16th The HSE is open to further meetings with SJOGCS to discuss the resolution of its financial position, remembering that we have to consider all of those in need of the services of the many service providers in the disability sector. "But to emphasise again it has sufficient funding and assurances to continue to provide its services and to pay bills as they fall due. As a Section 38 Organisation, they are afforded all of the protections associated with that status, and their staff are paid and pension treated as public servants." HSE CEO Bernard Gloster said: If despite substantial assistance in a 200 million grant to SJOG annually, they remain insistent on withdrawing from service provision then we will require them to do so in an orderly and appropriate fashion having regard to the rights of service users and their staff. "I do not accept it is appropriate or responsible for a declaration of handover by August this year. The HSE will consider carefully its options if this eventuality arises. For now, we urge SJOG to remove the anxiety for families and continue their engagement safe in the knowledge they have more than enough money and assurance to avoid such an immediate action. Saint John of God Community Services clg operates HSE-funded services to children and adults with intellectual disability, and to children, adolescents and adults with mental health support needs. It currently operates in three hundred locations in counties Dublin, Kildare, Kerry, Wicklow, Meath, Monaghan and Louth. The organisation said it has had ongoing engagement on its funding challenges with the HSE since 2020 but in recent months communicated its serious concerns regarding its accumulated deficit and the sustained lack of adequate funding to allow for its continued financial and operational sustainability. In more recent weeks, the matter was the subject of engagement with the HSE, the Department Children, Equality, Disability and Integration and the Department of Health. Chief Executive of Saint John of God Community Services, Clare Dempsey, said it was a very sad day for the service We are confirming with profound regret and deep disappointment that due to the failure of an extensive engagement process with the HSE, we have initiated the plan to transfer responsibility for service provision to the HSE. This process will see the formal transition of all current services delivered by Saint John of God Community Services to the HSE and the complete cessation of our involvement in these services by 15th August 2024. By that date, the HSE must have assumed full responsibility for the Service, and we will use the time between now and then, to manage the handover process. It said that "today represents the saddest day in the history of our long-established service, which has been in operation since the 1930s. I know it is deeply disappointing for those we support, our staff and the many thousands of families around the country with whom we hold such strong ties and bonds with over so many years. "We will do all in our power to conduct a smooth transfer of service to HSE and will seek to minimise the impact on the eight thousand people availing of our services, as well as our three thousand valued members of staff. "Efforts will be made to ensure an orderly transfer of services, with a commitment to minimise disruption on those availing of the services. Representatives from St John of God Services will collaborate with personnel nominated by the HSE to prepare and implement a plan to transfer services. The statement said that it is expected that staff will transition to the employment of the HSE in accordance with TUPE legislation. In messages to staff and families today, the Board and the executive management team emphasised that every effort has been made to avoid this difficult decision and acknowledged and thanked them for their support throughout this difficult period. Saint John of God Hospital in Dublin and Saint Josephs Shankill are unaffected by todays announcement Gardai are investigating after Chief Imam Shaykh Dr Umar Al-Qadri has said he experienced a deliberate hate crime attack in Tallaght, Co Dublin on Thursday evening. The chairperson of the Irish Muslim Council was in hospital receiving medical treatment after the attack, which left him with broken teeth and a swollen face. Gardai do not comment on individual cases but confirmed an incident took place and are investigating a robbery and assault that occurred in Tallaght. I have experienced a deliberate hate crime attack in Tallaght a few hours ago. I would like to express my gratitude to the kind Irish lady and two Irish gentlemen who assisted me when I collapsed and safely helped me into my car, said Dr Al-Qadri. I am currently receiving medical care at the hospital. Also, thank you my community members who have come immediately to my support, said on X, formerly Twitter. "I was hospitalised last night and underwent a CT scan. Thankfully, there is no brain injury or broken jaw, but the left side of my face is severely swollen and my front teeth are damaged. "It appears that this was a planned attack, as I met two Irish individuals who had arranged a meeting in Tallaght. The next thing I remember is feeling disoriented in my car, surrounded by helpful Irish neighbours of the area I was visiting, as the Gardai and ambulance arrived. "I was injured and had lost consciousness, but my mobile phone was still with me, allowing me to contact my friends who arrived within 15 minutes. "They took me to the hospital where I stayed overnight. Alhamdulillah, I am doing alright, considering the circumstances, and it could have been much worse. "Thank You for your prayers and well wishers. Having lived in Ireland for 21 years, this has never happened to me. This incident doesnt change the fact that I deeply appreciate and cherish Ireland and its people. Is brea liom Eire. A statement from Gardai said: Gardai are investigating a robbery and assault that occurred in Tallaght, Dublin 24. One man required medical attention following the incident. Gardai confirmed that investigations are ongoing at this time. Today's News in 90 Seconds - February 16th Notorious Sinaloa Cartel suspected to be behind plot to export 32m of crystal meth from Ireland The Sinaloa Cartel, the infamous Mexican drugs gang, are suspected of being behind a 32m seizure of crystal meth in Cork on Friday morning. The cartel, who have senior facilitators based in Co Kerry, are suspected of being behind a plot to export 546kg of the drug found in a container at Cork Port. Gardai are investigating if the crystal meth was produced in a lab in Ireland by the Kerry gang and it is by far the largest seizure of the deadly drug in the history of the State. The drugs are believed to have been controlled by the notorious Sinaloa cartel the European operation of which is headed by Kerry man Morris OShea Salazar. Morris O'Shea Salazar from Kerry heads the Sinaloa Cartel's European operation. According to sources, the crystal meth was being exported from Ireland and destined for Australia where illegal drugs are sold at much higher prices than in Europe. This is being controlled by the Sinaloa cartel in Mexico the drugs were due to be exported from Ireland, a source told the Sunday World. The Munster-based gang who have been working with the Mexican cartel have been watched for a long time. It will be a huge blow to them and while the investigation is in its early stages, there can be no doubt that this has caused serious damage to them. No crystal meth lab has yet been discovered as part of this investigation, the source added. 546kg of meth was seized today. Photo: Gardai. Gardai have confirmed that two men aged in their 40s are in custody in relation to the bust and they are being held at a garda station in Co Kerry. This includes a prominent businessman who was arrested in Tralee and another suspect who was arrested nearby. The other man arrested is suspected of being involved in directing huge shipments of cocaine into Dublin Port for a number of years. He is considered a close associate of Morris Salazar OShea, a 33-year-old Irish-Mexican citizen who has managed to rise to the top of the Sinaloa Cartel despite being raised in Killorglin, Co Kerry. The arrested man is the son of a Co Kerry political figure and answers directly to OShea Salazar, according to information obtained by international investigators. The man, who is in his 40s, is known to gardai but now poses as a legitimate businessman. On Friday night, a motor business was also raided as part of the massive garda investigation. As revealed in an exclusive Sunday World investigation last weekend, the same gang who previously answered directly to infamous Mexican narcotrafficker Joaquin El Chapo Guzmans son, conspired to smuggle up to 6,000kg of cocaine into Europe in just one year. Gardai announced details of the major operation which was led by detectives from Kerry in a statement on Friday afternoon. Multiple garda units spent a number of hours searching a retail premises on Friday morning in Co Kerry where they made one of their arrests as part of detailed investigations into the drug seizure. Following a joint operation at Cork Port between An Garda Siochana and Revenues Customs Service, a substantial drugs seizure was made this morning, Friday, 16th February 2024, a garda spokesman said. It is understood to be a synthetic drug, pending analysis. A number of follow up searches were conducted in Kerry and Cork resulting in the arrests of two men. The men, both aged in their 40s are currently detained at Garda Stations in the Southern Region under Section 50 of the Criminal Justice Act 2007, he added. "Garda personnel from the Kerry Divisional Drugs Unit, Cork and a number of Garda units were involved in the operation. Follow up searches were conducted in Kerry and Cork which resulted in the arrests of two men and the seizure of two firearms, the spokesperson said. The guns seized by Gardai are believed to be high velocity weapons. Crystal methamphetamine is an illegal drug that is not widely used in Ireland. It is a colourless, odourless form of d-methamphetamine, a powerful and highly addictive synthetic stimulant. The Co Kerry gang involved in the drugs seizure are long term targets for gardai, including national units such as the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB). A kilo of crystal meth is understood to cost the equivalent of around 200,000 in Australia meaning that the Sinaloa cartel and their Kerry based associates were due to make huge profits from the hundreds of kilos of the deadly drug that was seized at Cork Port. Last weekend, it was revealed that intelligence documents from Spain detailed how the suspected mastermind of Fridays massive drugs bust, Morris OShea Salazar, is in charge of the drugs trafficking ring for the group which has major Irish connections. Although he was born in Mexico, OShea Salazar was raised in Killorglin, Co Kerry, where he went to school. The DEA, Spanish police and Chilean law officials have named OShea Salazar as the head of the gang. He is accused of running logistics for the cartel based out of a luxury apartment in Barcelona. Chilean officials have now issued an extradition warrant for OShea Salazar and have named him in court proceedings. His mother and uncle are behind bars in relation to drug shipments. It is the first time a Garda Commissioner has not been invited to attend the conference in over 40 years. The Garda Representative Association (GRA) has said it could not maintain credibility if the Garda Commissioner was invited to its delegate conference this year. The policing body, which represents around 11,000 frontline gardai, yesterday decided that Drew Harris would not be asked to attend the annual event in April. It is the first time a Garda Commissioner has not been invited to attend the conference in over 40 years. The decision was made following a vote by the GRAs central executive committee, with 26 against inviting Mr Harris while 11 were in favour of offering him the chance to attend. A further four were either absent or abstained. Today's News in 90 Seconds - February 16th It comes just five months after almost 99pc of frontline gardai balloted said that they did not have confidence in the Garda Commissioner. This morning the GRA President Brendan OConnor issued a statement saying the decision not to invite Mr Harris to their conference reflects the breakdown in trust between him and their members. "The decision of the Central Executive Committee was arrived at after a very honest and forthright debate following consultation with their divisional representatives during which the strength of feeling about unresolved issues was very evident, Mr OConnor said. The issues that contributed to the vote of no confidence continue to impact in a very real sense on the morale and working environment that our members still experience every day At a time when our members feel increasingly vulnerable and exposed to danger, they require stability and support from internal structures. Unfortunately this is not the case and these challenges have coincided with a programme of change much of which has been implemented with minimal consultation and often without training. "This coupled with an overarching atmosphere of fear created by the overzealous application of discipline and oversight are genuinely impacting on the ability of our members to do their job with confidence. It is far from a cliche to state that morale is in tatters. "Therefore, the Association could not maintain credibility if the Commissioner is afforded an opportunity to articulate a management perspective and message at a conference which is the primary forum to reflect the very real concerns and frustrations of our members, many of which are a direct result of initiatives and policies implemented by the Commissioner in the absence of meaningful consultation, he added. This years annual delegate conference takes place in Westport, Co Mayo, where topics set to be discussed include morale, welfare and recruitment. In 2013, a decision was made not to invite Justice Minister Alan Shatter in response to Government cuts to garda resources and the closing of over 90 garda stations that year. Three years ago, Mr Harris angered some GRA members after declining an invitation to attend the conference, citing prior commitments. He was also heckled by a number of delegates at last years conference while discussing the issue over rosters Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has previously outlined why Ireland has a greater obligation to help Ukrainians over Palestinians. Photo: Getty Fewer than 70 Palestinians have applied for and been granted international protection in Ireland since the start of the war in Gaza last October. Thousands have been displaced internally in the Gaza Strip since Israel ordered the evacuation of over 1.1 million people from the north of the densely-populated region. The Department of Justice said 75 of the applications last year were made before the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, while 67 people of Palestinian origin have sought international protection in Ireland since then. A group of Irish lawyers has urged the Government to allow Palestinian refugees fleeing Gaza and the West Bank to benefit from the same emergency measures introduced for Ukrainian refugees. From 2013 to 2022, a total of 37,000 Palestinians applied for protection in the EU. However, those numbers increased steadily on a yearly basis. There were 1,690 protection applicants in 2014, but this figure had more than quadrupled by 2022, to 6,890. A Department of Justice spokesperson said: We will process any new applications speedily and sympathetically. This also refers to claims for international protection. The department is acutely aware of the grave humanitarian crisis and is working closely with colleagues in the Department of Foreign Affairs to ensure a co-ordinated national response to this volatile and evolving situation. This includes working with the recently-evacuated Irish citizens and their families who may require visa assistance. The Socialist Lawyers Association of Ireland (SLAI), chaired by solicitors Gary Daly and Erin Allen, said the EU Temporary Protection Directive (TPD) should be extended to Palestinians living in Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Under the terms of the directive, people fleeing the conflict in Ukraine are eligible for temporary protection. This is initially for a period of one year and on a renewable basis. The directive applies to those who have arrived in Ireland from Ukraine since the Russian invasion two years ago. The European Council decision on March 4, 2022 activated the TPD for the first time immediately after the Russian invasion of Ukraine and introduced temporary protection to Ukrainian nationals living in Ukraine who were displaced on or after February 24, 2022, the SLAI said. This should be immediately extended to Palestinians. Last October, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said Palestinian refugees would not be granted the same temporary protection as Ukrainians. I think Ukraine is a different category, he said. Its a European country, its an EU candidate state and weve given it a special recognition by granting temporary protection. Expanding on why he thinks Palestine is different in this instance, Mr Varadkar said he believes it would be the responsibility of the Arab countries to welcome those who have been displaced, similar to how Ireland has reacted to the crisis in Ukraine. In the past two years, weve accepted over 100,000 people, mostly from Ukraine fleeing the war there, but also another 20,000 or so people fleeing elsewhere, he said. It was announced yesterday that Ireland will give 20m to relief agency UNRWA, which supports Palestinian refugees. The agency had its funding suspended by several countries following accusations by Israel that some of its staff were involved in the October 7 attacks by Hamas. A man has been charged with the murder of a father-of-four in a Cork sheltered housing complex. Daniel Hourigan (31) appeared before Judge James McNulty at Bandon District Court charged in connection with the death of Michael 'Mickey' Foley (61) in Macroom on February 6 last. Evidence of arrest, caution and charge was given to the court by Det Garda Danielle Hegarty of Macroom Garda Station. She said that Hourigan - of no fixed abode and with an address at Cork Simon - was formally charged at 11.15am today. The defendant made no reply to the charge when it was formally put to him. Judge McNulty noted that Hourigan is charged with the murder of Michael Foley at a date unknown between January 31 and February 1 last in Macroom. The charge is brought contrary to Common Law. Solicitor Eddie Burke was confirmed as acting for the defendant. Mr Burke pointed out that Hourigan is in receipt of Job Seekers Allowance and he applied for free legal aid for his client. Judge McNulty granted free legal aid and also agreed to a defence application that Hourigan receive all necessary medical treatment while in custody. The court was told that he has various addiction issues. Today's News in 90 Seconds - February 16th Judge McNulty noted that as the charge involved is murder, bail cannot be dealt with by the district court. Any bail application has to be taken before the High Court. Judge McNulty agreed to a State application for the defendant to be remanded in custody to appear again before Clonakilty District Court next Tuesday (February 20). That appearance will be via video-link. The defendant remained silent throughout the brief court hearing except for pointing out that he has nerve trauma issues with his left hand. A woman in her 30s who was arrested last Wednesday for questioning in respect of Mr Foley's death was released without charge early on Friday. Gardai are now preparing a file on the matter for the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP). Foreign visitors go on a cyclo tour in Hanoi (Source: vov.vn) The central city of Da Nang took the lead with nearly 177,000 visitors, followed by Hanoi with nearly 103,000, Ninh Binh with 100,000, Quang Nam with 97,000, Quang Ninh with 89,767, and Ho Chi Minh City with 75,000. Most notably, the southern island of Phu Quoc, a major tourist destination in Vietnam, welcomed 52,000 international visitors during the period, recording an increase of nearly six times year on year. According to the VNAT, the increase in the number of foreign visitors can be attributed to favourable visa policies, proper market exploitation, and efforts of businesses and localities, as well as effective promotion activities. The VNAT also noted that during the holiday period, the tourism industry served 10.5 million domestic tourists, up 16.6% over the same period from last year. The average occupancy rate of hotels and resorts was 45% to 50%. Hoi An among worlds top 25 Honeymoon Destinations of 2024 According to VOV, the ancient riverbank city of Hoi An in the central province of Quang Nam has been named among the worlds top 25 Honeymoon Destinations of 2024 on Tripadvisor 2023 Travelers' Choice Best of the Best Awards. Hoi An has been named among worlds top 25 Honeymoon Destinations of 2024 by Tripadvisor According to Tripadvisor, Hoi An was placed second on the list, and it was the only Vietnamese representative to make the list. The city is an ideal place for couples around the world to enjoy their honeymoon and create life-time memories. The place is one of the most welcoming and romantic cities on Earth that any travel lover should experience once in their lifetime, Tripadvisor stressed. First place on the list went to Bali of Indonesia. Other destinations named were the Maldives, the Republic of Dominica, Santorini (Greece), Mauritius, Venice (Italy), Khao Lak (Thailand), Zanzibar (Tanzania), and Budapest (Hungary). World yacht race to arrive in Quang Ninh province The Clipper Round the World Yacht Race will make a stop in Vietnam when the eleven strong fleet sails to Ha Long city, the northern coastal province of Quang Ninh, home to UNESCO heritage site Ha Long Bay from Australias Queensland from February 21-26. Cruising Ha Long Bay (Photo: VNA) The Ha Long Bay, Vietnam of Quang Ninh province is among the teams, with 400 crewmen who are scientists, businesses, investors, doctors and renowned people that love boat racing. According to the provincial Department of Tourism, the fleet will engage in several activities in Quang Ninh before leaving on March 2 for Jiuzhou port in Chinas Guangdong province. The 2023-2024 race sees adventurers from all over the world to take on the challenges of racing across the oceans on 70-foot ocean racing yachts. It is divided into eight legs with 16 individual races and six ocean crossings. Quang Ninh province will organise various activities on the occasion with a view to popularising local attractions and luring investors, including a welcoming ceremony, a programme to introduce local staples and destinations at Ha Long international port, an investment conference, static event and art performances, among others. The first Clipper Race started in October 1996, with eight teams of 60-foot yachts departing Plymouth, the UK. More than 50 cities around the world have hosted the event so far. HCM City, Son La join UNESCO Global Network of Learning Cities Ho Chi Minh City and Son La city in the northern mountainous province of the same name have joined the UNESCO Global Network of Learning Cities (GNLC) as announced by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) on February 14. The UNESCO Global Network of Learning Cities is an international network comprising cities that successfully promote lifelong learning across their communities. (Photo: VNA) They were among the 64 new members from 35 countries recognised by the organisation for their outstanding efforts to make lifelong learning a reality for all at the local level. Ambassador Nguyen Thi Van Anh, Permanent Representative of Vietnam to the UNESCO, noted that the event reflects specific steps in the implementation of policies and guidelines of the Party and the State regarding international integration and education. Dao Quyen Truong, Deputy Director-General of the Department of Cultural Diplomacy and UNESCO Affairs under the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, viewed it as the result of the materialisation of the cultural diplomacy strategy to 2030, efforts and resolve of the local Peoples Committees as well as their close coordination with relevant agencies, experts and scientists both at home abroad, and contributions by local residents. A lab activity of students in Son La. (Photo: VNA) Apart from HCM City and Son La, three other Vietnamese cities have also joined the network, namely Sa Dec city in the Mekong Delta city of Dong Thap, Vinh city in the central province of Nghe An (2020), and Dong Thaps Cao Lanh city (2022). The UNESCO Global Network of Learning Cities is an international network comprising cities that successfully promote lifelong learning across their communities. The new learning cities are added to the network on the recommendation of a jury of experts. A strong commitment to lifelong learning by the mayor and city administration and a track record of good practices and policy initiatives are key prerequisites for becoming a learning city. With the new members, the network now counts 356 cities from 79 countries with more than 390 million people benefiting from lifelong learning opportunities./. Garda look on as the cadaver dog searches Santry Park for clues into the disappearance of Jon Jonsson from Iceland Picture Credit: Frank McGrath Gardai investigating disappearance of an Icelandic man have confirmed that searches of a Dublin park did not yield any further information on the whereabouts of Jon Jonsson. Gardai had sealed-off a wooded area of a North Dublin park as part of the search efforts this week. The search was being conducted as part of the investigation into the disappearance of Jon Jonsson (41) who was last seen alive five years ago. This week, gardai began carrying out searches of Santry Demesne having previously received two anonymous letters about his disappearance. Gardai have now confirmed they did not recover anything of significance from the site. And they are appealing to the author or authors of the letters to make direct contact with them. They added; Any contact will be dealt with in the strictest confidence. Mr Jonsson had visited Ireland with his fiancee for a poker tournament and was staying at the Bonnington Hotel on the Swords Road in Whitehall. Garda look on as the cadaver dog searches Santry Park for clues into the disappearance of Jon Jonsson from Iceland Picture Credit: Frank McGrath The last confirmed sighting of Mr Jonsson was in the area at around 11am on February 9, 2019. Investigators at Ballymun have so far generated over 270 lines of inquiry and taken numerous statements while also trawling hours of CCTV footage. Jon Jonsson is described as being 6 ft tall and of medium build with short brown hair. When last seen, he was wearing a black padded jacket. Gardai are continuing to appeal for anyone else with information in relation to Mr Jonssons disappearance to contact them. Today's News in 90 Seconds - February 16th The missing mans brother, David Karl Wiium, last week thanked gardai for carrying out inquiries into the anonymous correspondence. I would really like to underline the importance of what has just been said and how important it is to Jons family that the investigation keeps going on and people with any knowledge stepping forward with any information they might have. He also expressed his thanks on behalf of the family for the help and love they have received from the Irish people over the last five years. Leah O'Meara (15) who died following a tragic collision at Rearcross, near Nenagh, on Thursday evening. Source: Facebook Heartfelt tributes have been paid to young teenager Leah OMeara who was killed in a tragic two car collision in Tipperary on Thursday evening. The 15-year-old, from Thurles, was travelling as a passenger in one of the cars, with three other occupants on the R503 at Rearcross, near Nenagh when it collided with another car just after 6.45pm. Ms OMeara was pronounced dead at the scene by emergency services. Her body was transferred to the mortuary at University Hospital Limerick where a post-mortem examination will be carried out. The three other occupants of that car a man in his 20s, a woman in her 20s, and a girl in her mid-teens and the woman driver of the second car were transported by ambulance to University Hospital Limerick for assessment. Their injuries are considered to be non-life-threatening. Katie OMeara paid tribute to her beautiful sister following the news of her tragic death. I love you so much unconditionally baby girl, she wrote on Facebook. Adding: I still just cant believe this is after happening to me, what am I meant to do now. How can I move forward without you, you where my whole world and more. Cllr Sean Ryan, Cathaoirleach for the Thurles Municipal District told the Irish Independent that the entire community is in shock following the collision, with a huge veil of sadness hanging over the town of Thurles. He offered his sincere condolences to Ms OMearas mother and father Mike and Lisa on the death of their daughter Leah, who he said was a very popular young girl in Thurles. It is understood that the family had just moved into a new house in an estate there and were very happy in their new home with her parents prominently involved in the local residents group. Cllr Ryan said her tragic death is beyond comprehension and is extremely sad. These things are extremely tragic, particularly the loss of a child to any family. There has been a lot of accidents in the area and we lost four young people in Clonmel a few months ago. Now this on top of it. There has been huge sadness in the area, especially when children die, he said, following the death of Ms OMeara, who was a third-year student in Colaiste Mhuire Co-Ed in Thurles. He stressed that the entire community is pulling together for Ms OMearas family who they all know very well and are thinking of them at this time. A local priest for Thurles told the Irish Independent that he feels so sad for all the families involved and that prayers were said at 7pm Mass this Friday evening for Ms OMeara. Ms OMearas death bring to 25 the number of people killed on Irish roads so far this year. Gardai are appealing for witnesses to come forward. Additionally, anyone with camera footage (including dashcam) from the area at the time is requested to provide it to Gardai. Anyone with information is asked to contact Nenagh Garda Station at 067 50450, the Garda Confidential Line at 1800 666 111, or any Garda Station. The owner of a hotel in Dublin set to become an accommodation centre for International Protection applicants has said he has faith that gardai and the authorities can protect the building against attacks. Wynnefield Accommodation Centre on Wynnefield Road in Rathmines is said to be coming on stream as an accommodation centre for International Protection applicants and will be ready for new arrivals shortly. Once open, the centre will have capacity for 165 people, a spokesperson for the Department of Integration said. The accommodation centre will be located on the small road in Dublin 6 , where there are also residential properties and businesses located. In recent months, buildings that have been earmarked for refugee and asylum seeker accommodation across the country have been the target of arson attacks. When asked if he was concerned that the Wynnefield Accommodation Centre could also be targeted, Ray Byrne, one of the hotels owners, said he had faith in the authorities. Wed be very concerned if there was anything illegal being done but at the same time, we do have faith in the police and the authorities that are there, whose role it is to protect the community, Mr Byrne said. In February 2022, An Bord Pleanala gave the green light to plans by Mr Byrne and Eoin Doyle to develop a for a four story business hotel with 78 bedrooms in Rathmines. Mr Byrne and Mr Doyle operate other well-known hospitality businesses in Ireland including Wineport Lodge in Co Westmeath and Stauntons on the Green in Dublin. In 2021, the decision by Dublin City Council to grant permission for the development received opposition from local residents and businesses. Five separate appeals were lodged at that time. The plans for the hotel included a cafe and co-working space on the ground level. In An Bord Pleanalas inspection report, the inspector Jane Dennehy addressed a concern from a third party that the plans were a co living development in disguise. Should conversion to some alternative form of accommodation be planned at any future date, a further planning application would be required and a condition to this effect, for the purposes of clarity can be attached if permission is granted, the report stated. When asked if they had sought a further planning application for the hotel to be used as an accommodation centre, Mr Byrne said they had not. We haven't sought further planning but my understanding is that because we are still providing hospitality as such, and the intention is to have a hotel in Rathmines, he said. I imagine at some stage the government will get some kind of control on the IPAS process and there wont be the need for hotels to be run as accommodation centres. Mr Byrne said Rathmines was a multicultural area and didnt believe there would be issues with the locals regarding the centre. I worry in the sense that we all have to live with our neighbours but if you take Rathmines, it has a very multicultural community and its well serviced with public transport, with schools, with shops, with infrastructure, Mr Byrne said. I cant see any issues. I know the department are very keen that there wouldnt be any issues in terms of integrating people who are staying there into the community. Mr Byrne confirmed that the contract for the hotel to be run as an accommodation centre will be for two years. If you have a situation where people are sleeping in tents on the street, versus the requirement we have as a country to house people who have left their own countries, its definitely a better alternative, Mr Byrne said. The hotel model we were doing, its a very basic hotel offering. Its a drop your bags and go. Its not five star luxury. Its clean, its bright, its airy. In that short term where there is a need, I think it will fit the bill. Mr Byrne said that work on the building is now complete and that he and his business partner knew of the need to increase accommodation for those seeking refuge in Ireland. Weve been aware of the need to house international protection people, Mr Byrne said. We were building the hotel in Rathmines and on foot of the growing need thats there, we contacted them, and they seemed to be happy with what we had to offer. In a statement, a spokesperson for the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth said: A new accommodation centre at Wynnefield Accommodation Centre, 10-12 Wynnefield Road, Rathmines, Dublin 6 is coming on stream and will be ready for new arrivals shortly. It has capacity for 165 people and will be for International Protection applicants. Our wine expert picks five organic Italian sips to suit all budgets February can be fickle. Is it winter or spring? No wonder there are two camps on that question it seems even the weather itself cant quite decide. It aint summer, thats for sure, so it can be a fine time to seek out the heat of some bottled sunshine, something that Sicily delivers with gusto. Todays recommendations are all organically farmed, including three certified organic wines at very approachable prices. The selection stars three key Sicilian grapes: two whites showing different sides of Grillo; Nerello Mascalese in a classy blend and a friendly-priced single varietal; and a well-made Nero dAvola boasting no added sulphur (hard to do well). Perched off the tip of the toe of Italys boot, Sicily is an island big enough to have notable differences in both cultural and climatic influences. Our wine of the week comes from terraced vineyards perched high at 600m but just a kilometre from the sea, in the far northeast of the island. Calabria in mainland Italy is just a few kilometres across the Strait of Messina, and two winds the warm Scirocco and cool Maestral bring lots of humidity in off the surrounding seas. This wine is a blend but led by Nerello Mascalese, local star of Etna Rosso wines from higher into the volcanic foothills of Mount Etna, south west of Messina. Nerello Mascalese can produce wines that are often compared with those of Barolo and Burgundy for their deceptive elegance that can balance lifted perfume with earthy power and tension. The other four wines hail from the opposite side of the island, spanning a coastline that faces south towards Malta and southwest towards Tunisia. That north African influence is evident in the local love of tagines filled with dried fruit and spices. At the most westerly tip just below Trapani (familiar to anyone who has flown to Sicily with Ryanair) sits the handsome old port town of Marsala. The drought-resistant Grillo grape was once a star of Marsalas fortified wine and contributed to one of Julius Caesars favourite tipples, Mamertino of Messina but today is turning up in expressive white wines. These can vary in style from big and sunny with tropical fruits and spice to more restrained, floral and herbal, but tend to be fairly full-bodied with lemony fruit and freshness. Finally, an organic Nero dAvola from a winery I recently featured for its aromatic and textural white wine made from Catarratto Lucido. Often compared with Australian Shiraz, Nero dAvola tends to produce big reds that are soft in tannins, generous in fruit and sometimes with a peppery spice. Wines of the week Azienda Agricola Palari Rosso del Soprano 2017 Azienda Agricola Palari Rosso del Soprano 2017, Sicilia IGT, Italy, 13.5pc, 39.95 Powerful yet elegant with fragrant wild herbs, bright red currant, leather and prune notes, this beautifully expressive blend benefits from cellar ageing (over a year of which is in used oak). Featuring two-thirds Nerello Mascalese with Nerello Cappuccio, Nocera and small quantities of local varietals like Acitana, Galatena, Jacche, Core palumba, all grown with organic practices on steep 600m terraces just a kilometre from the sea in Sicilys far north east. Red Island Wines, Whelehans Wines, Blackrock Cellar, Redmonds of Ranelagh, Deveneys Vento di Mare Nerello Mascalese Vento di Mare Nerello Mascalese, Terre Siciliane IGP, Italy, 13.5pc, 13.99 A medium-bodied, organic red with lots going on for its price point. Juicy black fruits, souk spices, fermented cherry and earthy minerality, with dense tannins and raspberry tang lending structure to a fruit-forward palate. Try with rich, spiced dishes like lamb tagine. No 21 Off-Licences, Centra Schull, Cappagh Stores, Clybaun Stores, Ardkeen Stores, McHughs Off-Licence, Shiels Supermarket Cortese Nostru Nero dAvola NAS 2021 Cortese Nostru Nero dAvola NAS 2021, Sicily, Italy, 13.5pc, 16.95 An unoaked, organic Nero dAvola from Sicilys sunny south west, with lush black fruit (damson, blackberry, dried plums) but welcome acidity keeping things fresh, lees ageing building texture and no added sulphur to boot. Rustic peppery spices make it a match for meat ragu and stews. OBriens Wine; obrienswine.ie Baglio Ingardia Grillo 2022 Baglio Ingardia Grillo 2022, Sicilia DOC, Italy, 12.5pc, 22 From a third-generation biodynamic estate near Trapani where they also produce organic olive oil and craft beer (and a lifted Nero dAvola with juicy red cherry character), this springtime pairing for fish and salads is light and herbal with meadow flowers and clean acidity. MacCurtain Wine, The Wine Pair, Lennox Street Grocer, Martins, Red Nose Wine, Sheridans; sheridanscheesemongers.com Vento di Mare Grillo Vento di Mare Grillo, Sicilia DOC, Italy, 12.5pc, 13.99 Organic Grillo with ripe, juicy-fruited aromas of apricot and pineapple and hints of lemon blossom. Soft, generous and full-bodied on the palate, its an attractive pairing for chicken and apricot tagine, grilled tuna or sushi. No 21 Off-Licences, Centra Schull, Cappagh Stores, Clybaun Stores, Ardkeen Stores, McHughs Off-Licence, Thomass Foxrock, Shiels Supermarket This Crolly doll in its original Gaeltarra Eireann sold for 120 at Fonsie Mealy Auctioneers in 2017. Do you remember Crolly dollies? They were made in Crolly, Co Donegal, between 1939 and 1979. If you have one, treasure it. The dolls arent worth a lot of money but theyre a rare piece of Irish cultural history. The Crolly doll factories, one in Crolly and another in Spiddal, Co Galway, were an initiative of Gaeltarra Eireann. Their aim was employment for young women from the Gaeltacht who would otherwise have emigrated. Nobody expected the Crolly doll to become an international superstar. Writing for the National Treasures archive project, Lindel Buckley writes: By the mid-1940s, 60 Irish-speaking girls in orange-tinted uniforms turned out 10,000 dozen dollies yearly; a half million yards of material arrived in bales and left as dolls, supplying the home market and a substantial export market in the UK and US Orders rolled in from buyers for firms in Sweden, Cyprus, Australia, Canada, the US and South America, as well as from many European countries, with exports worth 1.5m. By 1952, the factories employed between 60 and 70 workers, with wages ranging from 40 to 50 shillings per week for women, to 85 shillings per week for men. In 2019, a Crolly composition doll, catalogued as dating from the 1940s, turned up at Vectis Auctions in England. With blue eyes and a dark curly wig, her clothes were a nod to the traditional Irish combo of green skirt, white lace apron, and red cloak. Her jointed body contained a key-wound mechanism that played When Irish Eyes Are Smiling. The label on her wrist read: Crolly Dollies Factory Crolly Co Donegal. She sold for 110 (129). This Crolly doll in its original Gaeltarra Eireann sold for 120 at Fonsie Mealy Auctioneers in 2017. It would have taken quite a lot of saving to buy one for your child, says Megan McAuley, historian of childhood in Donegal. Everyone wanted to get their hands on one. There was a huge sense of pride that these dolls came from a small village in the Gaeltacht. They had a cult status within the community. Most local people couldnt afford to buy them but they often came up as prizes in local competitions. A popular ballad, The Crolly Doll (1957) by local teacher Sean McBride, tells of a young man who wanted a doll but came home with a wife. The earliest dolls had cloth bodies and ceramic heads imported from England, or composition heads from Canada. In this context composition refers to a material made from sawdust and glue. It predated plastic and was a less brittle alternative to china. By 1952, the body parts were made in the Spiddal factory. Someone in Gaeltarra Eireann was serious about innovation. They pioneered blow moulding, which produced lightweight dolls, and introduced rotational casting of PVC. This softer plastic could be penetrated by needles used to sew in hair. In the factorys 40-year history, the dolls evolved from simple soft-bodied toys to sophisticated style icons with clothes that reflected the fashion of the time In the factorys 40-year history, the dolls evolved from simple soft-bodied toys to sophisticated style icons with clothes that reflected the fashion of the time. Anne OLeary, a collector who donated her Crolly dolls to the Museum of Childhood Ireland in 2018, has researched their manufacture. The clothes were as interesting as the dolls, she says. OLeary grew up in Dublin in the 1960s and remembers the day her mother went into town to buy a pair of shoes for her fathers Christmas work party. Instead, she came home with three 24-inch Crolly dolls, one each for me and my two sisters. And no shoes! So there Crolly dolls cost as much as a pair of womens shoes. I often wonder how she managed to get them home on the bus. The variety of Crolly dolls produced over time is spectacular. They included a walking doll which looked like a real child, and a doll that sung London Bridge is Falling Down in a clipped English accent. There were baby dolls of colour and some that roared like a real baba. One baby-faced male doll wore a green jacket and carried a shotgun. The factories also made leprechauns and teddy bears. In the early 1970s the name of the toy and doll industry was changed to Soltoys Limited and production ceased in 1979. A new Crolly doll factory was set up in 1993, making soft-bodied porcelain dolls with an Irish cultural theme. There are many gaps in the history of these toys. The Museum of Childhood Ireland collects stories and photographs from people who remember owning or playing with a Crolly doll. Any information about those who worked in the factories or made clothing for the dolls is also of interest. See vectis.co.uk and museumofchildhood.ie Fine Gael and Sinn Fein TDs want transparency on goodbye money paymentsVaradkar fails to call for Coveneys brother to appear before committeeBakhurst getting legal advice on details of individuals who left with deals RTE paid out 2.6m in golden handshakes to executives during Dee Forbess reign as director general. The broadcasters accounts reveal the significant payments across six years to key management personnel receiving termination benefits. The revelation comes after it emerged a 450,000 exit package was given to former RTE chief financial officer Breda OKeeffe. And goodbye money was also paid out to at least two other departing executives last year. RTE is currently seeking legal advice on disclosing the individual exit packages of former executives. But a review by the Irish Independent of RTEs annual reports shows sums up to 700,000 being forked out in one year. The annual reports show 300,000 being paid in 2022, 0 in 2021, 400,000 in 2020, 600,000 in 2019, 600,000 in 2018 and 700,000 in 2017. The 2017 payments says they were in accordance with the terms of the Voluntary Exit Package 2017 programme. The key management personnel covered under those payments can include the RTE board, the director general, the RTE executive and the corporate functions reporting directly to the director general. RTE sources say there was a culture of termination payments in the organisation during the past few years. The national broadcaster is coming under increasing pressure to disclose who received the payments. Fine Gael TD Alan Dillon, who forced RTE to reveal Ms OKeeffes payments, now wants the amounts and details of all exit packages. The information will be formally requested from the RTE board. Sinn Fein finance spokesman Pearse Doherty also wants full disclosure on exit packages. But RTE said yesterday it cannot give information on the payments from 2016 to 2022. RTE is not in a position to provide further details on any of the cases referred to for legal reasons, said a spokesperson. In the most recent report, the RTE annual report 2022, 300,000 was paid out, but the broadcaster cant say who received the payments: RTE is not in a position to provide such details relating to individuals for legal reasons. Former CFO Breda OKeeffe received 450,000 exit payment when leaving RTE, Kevin Bakhurst says at Oireachtas committee _duplicated RTE also cannot say what executives have had exit packages or special retirement payments or redundancies in the past five years. While a number of RTE executives have left the organisation during this period, RTE is not in a position to provide further details for legal reasons, said the spokesperson. During this weeks committee hearings, Mr Bakhurst confirmed that RTEs former director of strategy Rory Coveney, who was behind the flop Toy Show The Musical, and former RTE chief financial officer Richard Collins, both received exit packages. But he refused to give details of these exit packages, citing legal constraints. RTE has previously received advice that it is restricted from providing details regarding the departures of individuals from RTE. This was previously shared with both the Public Accounts Committee and the Joint Oireachtas Committee. Kevin Bakhurst has sought an update to this legal advice, an RTE spokesperson said. Tanaiste Micheal Martin said the 450,000 payment to Ms OKeeffe should be reassessed and if it is too high then some of it should be paid back. His comments come after the chair of the Dails public spending watchdog, Sinn Fein TD Brian Stanley, called on Ms OKeeffe to pay the money back. I think the absence of transparency on this has been quite shocking, Mr Martin said. Any redundancy package [should be] within the framework of the existing schemes and within RTE and its procedures. I just cannot comprehend how packages were agreed without the agreement of the executive at the time. What I believe should happen is the particular package should be reassessed in the context of agreed procedures. If the amount is far too high, in respect of agreed procedures, then the proper package should be identified and the remainder handed back. Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said senior RTE figures at the centre of the long-running pay controversy should appear at an Oireachtas committee hearing at least once. However, the Taoiseach failed to respond on whether former RTE director of strategy Rory Coveney, who is the brother of Fine Gael deputy leader Simon Coveney, should return to an Oireachtas committee to discuss revelations about his role in the Toy Show The Musical debacle. Simon Coveney also failed to respond when contacted by the Irish Independent yesterday. Mr Varadkar said: In fairness to a number of the senior staff in RTE and the current chairperson, director general and board members, they have come before the committee several times and answered questions for 10-20 hours. So, I think that shouldnt be forgotten. There are others, however, who have refused to even come before the committee once. If it is on health grounds, and they are genuine health grounds, fair enough. But I think anyone should at least once be willing to come before the committee to tell their story. You know, they may have a story to tell, they maybe be able to shine new light on these issues and the committee does have the power to compel people if they have to. Speaking in the Dail, Mr Doherty said the redundancy package was cooked up between Ms OKeeffe and Ms Forbes. A golden handshake to the value of 10 times the average salary in this state, cooked up behind closed doors with no sign off, no tax paid, no disclosure until yesterday, Mr Doherty said. You couldnt make it up. It is damning and people are sick to their back teeth at what is going on and what has gone on in RTE. Mr Bakhurst will seek new legal advice on whether the figures of voluntary exit packages can be revealed. Media Minister Catherine Martin spoke to Mr Bakhurst and said there is a need for maximum transparency when in comes to exit packages. Mr Bakhurst has vowed to seek updated legal advice in relation to the disclosure of details of individual exit packages. The director general told the minister the 450,000 voluntary exit package for Ms OKeeffe does not need to be reassessed. He is confident that it is the correct amount, said a spokesperson for the broadcaster. Pets will no longer have to stay in cars during crossings if the new facilities are availed of by owners The 'Armorique' has been fitted with 18 new pet-friendly cabins to make travel more comfortable for dogs and their owners. Photo: Patrick Browne Over 75,000 pets accompanied by their owners travelled on Brittany Ferries in 2023. Photo: Patrick Browne Brittany Ferries now offers dog owners and their pets the opportunity to travel with more convenience than ever, following the installation of specially-made cabins on one of its ships. The Armorique ferry, which runs between the Port of Cork and Roscoff in Brittany, returned to service earlier than expected on Wednesday after a winter refit saw 18 new pet-friendly cabins installed on it. These cabins will all feature easy access from the garage deck, a hygienic laminate floor and convenient access to a dedicated pet promenade area on the outside deck of the ship, according to Brittany Ferries. The ferrying company said that before the ships upgrade, dogs had to remain in cars during the crossing on board the Amorique, but the new pet facilities, converted from a selection of cabins, will enhance the travel of the animals and their owners. In 2023, the ferrying company transported 75,000 pets accompanied by their owners, a statistic which it said highlighted the soaring demand for pet-friendly travel. Hugh Bruton, General Manager at Brittany Ferries, said the company were delighted to resume its service between Cork and Roscoff and highlighted the addition of the new pet cabins. "This early commencement reflects our commitment to meeting the growing demand for travel options between Ireland and France, Mr Bruton said. "The addition of upgraded pet-friendly cabins on the Armorique ensures that our passengers enjoy a comfortable and convenient journey, with special consideration for those traveling with pets. Brittany Ferries Cork to Roscoff service will run twice weekly via the Armorique, which can accommodate u to 1,500 passengers, and the flagship vessel Pont-Aven, which offers 28 pet-friendly cabins. The company also offers routes from Rosslare to Cherbourg and Bilbao. Town Regeneration Officer Noelle Desmond told the councillors that delays in payment of grants in 2023 arose due to necessary amendments to the charge documents provided to local authorities. The charge documents provide for claw-back of the grant in the event of a grant-aided property being sold. Ms Desmond was responding to a motion from Fine Gael councillor Jack White who requested a breakdown of figures for the Croi Conaithe Scheme. She revealed that one grant was paid last year and 573 applications have been processed by Cork County Council since the launch of the Vacant Property Refurbishment Grant in 2022. Ms Desmond continued: Of those applications, 37 have been deemed ineligible as they do not meet with the basic eligibility criteria of the scheme. 357 have been approved and approximately 64 applications are at inspection stage being assessed for approval. Approximately 110 applications are pending inspection awaiting the submission of required documentation/information from applicants. 34 requests for drawdown have been received to date. These are currently being processed for final inspection and payment approval. Six grant payments are expected to be released in the coming weeks. Drawdown requests cannot be made until all approved works are complete and inspected by the local authority. From approval to drawdown; applicants have 13 months to complete the works. This means there will generally be a significant gap between the number of approvals and the number of drawdowns/payments to allow the grant applicants time to complete the works, she added. Fine Gael councillor Jack White expressed his fears over the low numbers. The numbers are very low. There does seem to be serious blockages around the country between application and payout. In Cork County Council it looks like we have a bit of catching up to do with only one grant being paid out since 2022. It is imperative that the 34 requests for draw down that are currently in are paid as a matter of urgency. Cllr White called for more resources to enable a scaling up of the scheme in Cork County. Every resource must be thrown at this so that inspections happen quickly on completed homes and payouts can happen. From approval to drawdown, applicants have 13 months to complete the work. This is probably longer where applicants are out of pocket awaiting payments back of 50,000 and plus in some cases. That is a significant debt and that is placing a huge burden of stress on people. It is having a real-life effect on people, their finances and their mental health. It is a good scheme which needs to be rolled out as efficiently as possible to achieve its full potential. We need to see delivery and a huge scaling up of delivery from this council in terms of payouts, he added. Fine Gael councillor Anthony Barry echoed the sentiments of his party colleague. We need to put all the resources we can within the organisation to get these delivered. The scheme is bringing a huge number of vacant and derelict properties back into use again which has to be welcomed. When you look at these figures it is unacceptable. It is putting an unbearable stress on people that have been approved, signed off and have contractors knocking on their doors looking for payment. The highest amount of grant applications have come in from the Kanturk-Mallow Municipal District, said Fianna Fail councillor Bernard Moynihan. This grant is one of the best initiatives I have seen in a long time for rural Ireland in particular. It is enabling a lot of people to get their own houses by their own family homes and regenerate property. Fine Gael councillor John Paul OShea said solicitors need to be put in place to help advance the scheme. We need continuity from the Croi Conaithe office to our solicitors to make sure we get the charge documents out as quickly as possible to the applicants, make sure they are approved by their solicitor and sent back in. We have to get ahead of it now. We need to put solicitors in place to deal with this individually. Deputy Chief Executive of Cork County Council Michael Lynch said the local authority will review the scheme. It is a new scheme. We will review our processes including our workforce plan. It is a significant amount of money and this process involves a lot of steps. The timelines on this are not straightforward at all. There are lots of variables. Inevitably as you get through the first cycle issues will show up and we will look at those. It was agreed that another update on the scheme would be provided to the councillors at their full council meeting in April. The funding is part of a national investment package of 658 million. Cork County Council and Cork City Council will receive over 93 million combined for the improvement of local and regional roads across the county. The funding was announced by Transport Minister Eamon Ryan and Minister of State Jack Chambers TD as part of a national investment package of 658 million aimed at restoring the road network all over the country. A total of 83,199,560 has been allocated for improvements across the county, while 10,834,610 has been granted for Cork city roads. 42,496,500 will be allocated for restoration improvements and maintenance for the county roads, with 1,887,840 dedicated to bridge rehabilitation. 13,000,000 will be used to combat the effects of severe weather as well as 2,261,000 dedicated to drainage works for the county. 1 million was allocated to the R595 Old Court, from Skibbereen to Baltimore as part of the 2024 Specific Improvement Grants, as well as 1.5 million going towards the Ilen Bridge on the R586 near Drimoleague. As part of the climate change adaptation and resilience works, 125,000 will be used for coastal protection required for the R600 Wild Atlantic Way due to undermining by the sea at Lisheenaleen south of Kilbrittain. These works will also use 40,000 for the seawall along Oysterhaven beach. The wall requires repairs as the L3216-25 road is supported by this wall and it is the only means of access in and out of the area. Cork city will see 5,744,000 go towards the restoration improvements of roads with the discretionary grant of 3,084,000 to be used across various projects. 400,000 has been allocated towards the Cork citys strategic regional and local roads. Only 4,950 was assigned for cycle signs and 3,600 granted to speed limit signage in rural areas. The 2024 Strategic Regional and Local Scheme will see 400,000 assigned to the Carrigrohane bridge replacement and realignment. 51,800 will used towards safety improvement works at Colmcille Road in Churchfield, near Gerry O'Sullivan Park, Churchfield School and the Family Centre. 450,000 combined will be allocated to bridge rehabilitation works at Gyntown Bridge, Glanmire Bridge and Rathcooney Bridge. The busy junctions of R608 Magazine Rd, and R849 Glasheen Rd with L98492 Coolgarten Park, Glasheen will be given 70,000 for safety improvement works. Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan TD announced the funding and said: My main priority in 2024 continues to be safety for all road users and key to that is the ongoing protection and renewal of the existing regional and local road network. Most of this funding is going towards restoring the network which is essential for maintaining social and economic connectivity, linking people and places across the country. Central to this is the need to ensure that the journeys that people take, whether it's a quick hop up the road or a longer trip, are as predictable as possible and as safe as possible. VinFast's VF6 model on display at IIMS 2024 (Photo: VNA) During the IIMS 2024 held in Jakarta from February 15-25, VinFast is showcasing a variety of models, including VF 5, VF e34, VF 6, VF 7, VF 8, and VF 9. VinFast is planning to collaborate with local suppliers to establish a network of 5,000 charging stations in Indonesia, aiming to significantly boost the adoption of electric vehicles. In a bid to penetrate the Indonesian market, VinFast also plans to build a factory in Indonesia with a projected capacity of around 50,000 cars per year. With the goal of achieving a domestic localisation rate of up to 40%, the VinFast factory is expected to create thousands of jobs and promote the local electric vehicle industry. Quang Ninh to have 62 new tourism products in 2024 The northern border province of Quang Ninh, home to UNESCO-recognised World Natural Heritage Site Ha Long Bay, plans to put 62 new tourism products into operation in 2024 to increase experiences, extend the length of stay, and promote the spending of visitors, according to the Vietnam News Agency. Specifically, there will be 11 products in the Ha Long Bay Bai Tu Long Bay area, such as boat services from Ha Long to Bai Tu Long, water games, and traditional boat race. Ha Long Bay (Photo: VNA) Ha Long city will exploit nine more products, including Korea-style pedestrian street, Bai Chay ferry, and community-based tourism in mountainous commune, while Van Don district will have 14 new products related to health care, outdoor sports, and MICE (Meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions) tourism; and Co To island district seven. In the Lunar New Year holiday from February 10-14, or the first to fifth day of the first lunar month, Quang Ninh welcomed more than 800,000 tourists, including 109,000 foreigners. The locality is striving to serve 17 million tourist arrivals, including 3 million foreigners, this year. Vietnamese culinary delights among Asia's finest fish dishes Vietnams sweet and sour soup and clay-pot caramelised fish have respectively ranked 11th and 44th in a list of 53 best Asian fish dishes by cuisine magazine TasteAtlas, the Vietnam News Agency reported. Vietnam's ca kho to - caramelized fish in clay pot (Source: TasteAtlas) Canh chua ca the sweet and sour soup - refers to a range of Vietnamese fish soups known for their blend of sweet, spicy, and sour tastes. These soups are typically made with a tamarind-infused broth and feature chunks of pineapple, tomatoes, okra, bean sprouts, or assorted veggies. According to the magazine, while catfish is a common choice, other variations may include carp, snakehead fish, eels, or salmon. Typically garnished with cilantro, these soups are served alongside rice. The soup has also earned recognition as one of the top 35 highest-rated fish soups by TasteAtlas, securing 5th position. Canh chua ca (L) - sweet and sour soup - and ca kho to (Source: TasteAtlas) Meanwhile, ca kho to - caramelised fish in a clay pot - involves braising fatty fish cuts in clay pots. Typically featuring catfish or snakehead, the dish is caramelised with a mixture of fish sauce, sugar, and coconut water, often enhanced with sliced scallions, onions, or garlic. Traditionally, caramelised fish in a clay pot is served with rice. The list, based on the number of votes from diners and culinary experts, also includes Indonesias pempek a fish cake made from ground fish meat and tapioca starch, Bangladeshs shorsheilish hilsa fish cooked in a mustard sauce, and Japan's maguro, otoro, and chutoro nigiri sushi that feature different cuts and qualities of tuna. Vietnam rakes in over US$14 million from longan exports Vietnam earned more than US$14 million from exporting longans last year, witnessing a 2.5-fold rise year on year, Radio the Voice of Vietnam quoted the figures of the General Department of Vietnam Customs. The fruit secured the second largest export growth last year after durian, with China, Australia, Thailand, and Japan all being the major importers. Paul Le, vice president of Central Retail in Vietnam, said Vietnamese longans have been favoured among Thai consumers as the export volume of the fruit to the market soared by about 40% last year. Vietnam rakes in over US$14 million from longan exports (Photo: VOV) Last year witnessed the export price of Vietnamese longans remain stable. Currently, the price of Ido longan, a longan variety from Thailand grown in Vietnam, stood at between VND16,000 and VND18,000 per kilo. At this price, local farmers earned a profit of between VND8 million and VND15 million per 1,000 square metres. With regard to future export prospects, the Vietnam Fruit and Vegetable Association said China is the largest consumer of Vietnamese longans, noting that the Vietnamese fruit is highly competitive with the Thai in the potential market thanks to its improved product quality, helping to meet stringent export standards. Currently, longan is among the top five fruit trees with the largest growing area in Vietnam with more than 80,000 hectares and an average output of about 600,000 tonnes annually./. The roads closure would allow ducting to be installed in the area as part of the Celtic Interconnector Project The council said that local access would be maintained throughout the proposed road closure. A local road near Carrigtohill in County Cork could close for a period of over two months beginning in March. Cork County Council have proposed that the L-7639 at Poulaniska, Carrigtohill close from 6am on Tuesday, March 19 to 6pm on Friday, May 31. The road would be closed 24 hours a day. The closure would facilitate the installation of ducting as part of the Celtic Interconnector Project, which will allow the exchange of electricity between Ireland and France via an underwater cable travelling between Knockraha power station in east Cork to the west coast of Brittany. This is Cork Newsletter Enter your email address below and click 'Sign Up' to receive the This is Cork newsletter direct to your inbox. Please check your inbox to verify your details Construction of the international project is estimated to be completed in 2026. The council said that local access would be maintained during the proposed closure and detailed alternative routes that would be used by other traffic. Road users approaching from the north on the L-3606 Woodstock would be instructed to continue towards Carrigtohill village until the T-junction with Main Street, turn left and then take the next left turn on to the L-3617 Carrigane road. Traffic could then continue and cross over the rail bridge at Ballyadam and turn left on to the L-7639. The council said this route would be applicable in reverse for traffic travelling in the opposite direction. The local authority proposed the road closure under Section 75 of the Roads Act 1993 and Article 12 of the Roads Regulations 1994. Objections to the proposed temporary closure can be made in writing to the council by 5pm on Wednesday, February 21. Students from Glanmire Community College with their new qualification. Transition year and senior students from Glanmire Community College in Cork recently experienced an educational milestone by completing their Safe Pass training with the Construction Industry Federation and SOLAS. The students received the first professional qualification after successfully undertaking the training course that will now allow them further opportunities to develop their skills and their career options. Safe Pass is the national mandatory safety training for the construction industry and students from Glanmire Community College undertook the training as part of their curriculum for this year. Speaking about the training Sean Og Murphy, a teacher at Glanmire Community College expressed gratitude to CIF and Solas, on behalf of teachers and students for providing this great opportunity for young people in the area. The initiative is part of the CIFs Careers Campaign to support students interested in a career in the construction industry. Safe Pass is a key qualification we all have in the construction sector. From architects, site managers to work experience labourers, Donegal to Dingle, everyone working in the sector starts with a SafePass, said Dermot Carey, from the Construction Industry Federation. I hope this qualification is the first of many for the students at Glanmire Community College and leads some to a rewarding career in our industry, he added. Students from across Cork and across Ireland are undertaking Safe Pass training with Construction Industry Federation as part of Transition Year, Leaving Cert and Leaving Cert Applied courses in schools this year. Fota-born Asiatic lioness, Arya, has returned to Fota Wildlife Park after spending four years at Helsinki Zoo as part of European Endangered Breeding programme. Arya and her sister Amira were the two female lionesses born from the first ever litter of Asian lions at Fota Wildlife Park in August 2017. The big cat returned to Cork in July 2023 and has since been undergoing a long reintroduction process that involved very careful planning and socialisation to ensure that she settled into the pride, who were essentially her Mum and aunt, plus the new male, Yali. Fota management are recommending Arya breeds with the new male Yali in the hopes a new litter of cubs arrives in the coming months. Its just amazing to see Arya back in the place she was born, mixing with her mother Gira and aunt Gita. Its rare that an animal would be sent back to the place they were born, and we are thrilled that she is back home so to speak, said Lead Ranger, Julien Fonteneau. Were delighted to say that shes a lot less shy that she initially was and appears to have bonded very well with the pride, she added. The Asiatic lion is a subspecies of the genus Panthera that split from African lions around 100,000 years ago and are commonly referred to as Indian or Gir lions. Asiatic lions were once widespread from the Mediterranean to India and Iran, however there are now only 500-600 left in the wild. The Asiatic Lion Habitat was officially opened in Fota Wildlife Park back in 2016, and two litters of lion cubs have been born in the park to date. A team of researchers from University College Cork have made the discovery that a 280-million-year-old fossil, that has baffled many scientists for decades, has been revealed to be a forgery following new examination of the remains. Tridentinosaurus antiquus was discovered in the Italian alps in 1931 and was thought to be an important specimen for understanding early reptile evolution. Its body outline, appearing dark against the surrounding rock, was initially interpreted as preserved soft tissues, but according to the new research, published in the scientific journal Palaeontology, the fossil renowned for its remarkable preservation is mostly just black paint on a carved lizard-shaped rock surface. The team, led by UCCs Dr Valentina Rossi, has now cautioned other researchers about how the fossil is used in future research. Fossil soft tissues are rare, but when found in a fossil they can reveal important biological information, for instance, the external colouration, internal anatomy and physiology. The answer to all our questions was right in front of us, we had to study this fossil specimen in detail to reveal its secrets, even those that perhaps we did not want to know, she said. The microscopic analysis showed that the texture and composition of the material did not match that of genuine fossilised soft tissues. The findings indicate that the body outline of Tridentinosaurus antiquus was artificially created, likely to enhance the appearance of the fossil, and the entirety of the specimen was treated with a coating material. However, even with all this evidence the fossil is not a complete fake. The bones of the hindlimbs, specifically the femurs seem genuine, although poorly preserved. This deception misled previous researchers for years, and now caution is being urged when using this specimen in future studies. The manager of the cafe told the Irish Independent that regular vandalism occurs on the outside of their building which is a protected structure The vandalism caused by the recent incident on February 12 The manager of a cafe on Wellington Quay in Dublin is calling for a support grant to enhance security due to ongoing vandalism since the premises windows were smashed during the Dublin riots in November. The Music Cafe in Dublin city centre had its windows spray-painted this week, prompting a call for increased support grants for security on their building. The cafe has been open since 2012 and site of the building has a preservation order. Its a structure which Dublin City Council considers of special interest from an architectural or historical standpoint. Today's News in 90 Seconds - February 16th During the Dublin riots, the windows of the cafe were smashed, which significantly impacted the business in the lead-up to Christmas. "It has been particularly difficult this year due to the knock-on effect of the riots, affecting our usual Christmas business," the coffee shops manager told the Irish Independent. "The team at Rathmines Glass showed up and absolutely sorted us out, for which we are incredibly grateful." They mentioned that, due to the preservation order on the building, the time taken to obtain the correct windows was extended due to certain regulations. The premises also feature a stage for music played in the cafe, which caused a delay as the windows needed to be custom-built to align with the preservation of the building and its current layout. During this wait period, they had broken windows for two weeks, resulting in one section of the already small premises, which accommodates roughly 20 customers with a fantastic view of the city, being completely closed off. Adding to their troubles, the manager told the Irish Independent that, as a separate issue, the building has been repeatedly vandalised, with the most recent incident occurring last Monday. The vandalism caused by the recent incident on February 12 "We've had people putting up artistic posters around events, and we're trying to inform people that this isn't allowed due to the preservation order. "But then when you come into work and someone does something as silly as spray-painting our windows, it's hard to understand the problem." The cafe manager noted that the support from the gardai has been particularly strong since the riots. They cited how, before November 23, people with addiction issues would regularly come into the premises trying to steal staff tips or generally harass staff and customers. The manager of the cafe told the Irish Independent that regular vandalism occurs on the outside of their building which is a protected structure "Certainly, since the riots, there has been a higher gardaa presence here," they said. "Before that, we would be concerned particularly for some of the female staff being alone here in the cafe. The cafe is a small space, and they say that the idea of hiring a security guard is something they couldn't afford. However, the business does have internal CCTV inside the building, and staff feel that the possibility of installing secure, non-disruptive CCTV outside the building could be a "major deterrent" for future incidents of vandalism. They also cite the major support messages they've received from their loyal customers due to recent vandalism, which has made it "a lot easier. However, they do feel that more support would help them operate as an independently run cafe in the heart of the city. Up to 100 people gathered to show their support of the fundraiser on February 10 at Portmarnock Beach Owner of Soul cafe and his colleague/friend are taking to the Irish sea every day this month for mental health Ciaran O'Connor (21) right and Sean Flanagan (21) are dipping for an extra minute every day this month for Pieta House Two Dubliners are taking a dip in the Irish Sea for an extra minute on each day of the month to support Pieta House. Two friends and co-workers from Dublin are participating in 'Freezebury' this month for Pieta House, spending an extra minute in the sea each day of the month. The beginning of the month started with a one minute dip and the end of the month will conclude with a 29-minute plunge. Pieta provides a professional one-to-one therapeutic service to people who are in suicidal distress, engage in self-harm, or are bereaved by suicide. The initiative was the brainchild of former rugby player Damien Browne, designed to get people out of their comfort zones for February. Ciaran O'Connor, owner of a cafe called Soul Cafe at Portmarnock station, decided to set up the fundraiser with his friend and colleague Sean Flanagan as a way of "bringing people together" in aid of mental health support services like Pieta House. Owner of Soul cafe and his colleague/friend are taking to the Irish sea every day this month for mental health Mr O'Connor is also personally matching the time spent in the sea each day with a donation, with all funds going towards the mental health charity. He will be donating 435 in total for charity and is hoping to "raise awareness. "Too many young people are taking their own lives, dealing with depression, and struggling, and it breaks my heart," he said. "I've struggled with my own mental health my whole life, and I feel very passionate about making sure Soul Food is the type of company that puts good out into the world." Sean Flanagan, who previously shared a lot of content on his own social media pages in relation to mental health, spoke to the Irish Independent about his involvement in the challenge. "We put our heads together and figured it was such an incredible opportunity to raise as much money as we possibly can," he said. "It's not just about raising funds but for me, it's also been about getting people to come along with us and creating a space where people can come together, make new friends, and do something that makes them feel good." Last Saturday, on February 10, the pair encouraged people to come along with them for their tenth dip of the month, where they had to submerge themselves in the water for ten whole minutes. Up to 100 people gathered to show their support of the fundraiser on February 10 at Portmarnock Beach Mr Flanagan said the turnout "beyond exceeded expectations," and that the promenade on Portmarnock beach was lined with people with a struggle for space to pop belongings down. "Afterwards, every single person on that beach left with a massive smile on their face," he said. "They knew they did something that felt awful in the moment but saw in hindsight it was worth it." He added that it was a way for lots of people to meet and interact that wouldn't have had the chance otherwise. The event last week also boosted their fundraiser, adding upwards of 500 to their GoFundMe. The fundraiser is currently sitting at 1,550. The brave participants said they are doing everything they can to ensure their safety during the challenge and prioritizing aftercare. They are also planning on holding a big event on February 24 to celebrate the final swims of the month, with a breathwork event taking place and an encouragement for people to come along. For the last swim of the month, they're appealing for people to give ideas on what attire they should wear, with a full suit being mentioned as a "possibility. You can see Dublin from a completely different perspective, as theres so many nice nuggets of knowledge along the coast, according to a Dublin Bay boat tour guide. Born in Dun Laoghaire and reared in the locality, Ed Ruane and Conor Battigan spent most of their childhoods and adult lives in or on the water. Both are proud locals and over the years have developed considerable knowledge of Dublin Bay. Together, they created the Goat Boat Tours where they bring groups to explore the rich diversity and culture of Dublin Bay. The tours include getting up close to Dalkey Island, which has famously been home to a herd of goats since the early 1800s. Myself and my business partner and friend Conor, we met on the water. We love the water so we thought, how can we bring the experience of the coast to people. We got sailing backgrounds going back years and we would have bumped into each on the water on many occasions. We both love being out on the water and the boat, Billy Goat is one of a kind and we were heavily involved in the design process. Having a boat now is like having a kid in a way like it's our own. She's comfortable and we can take 11 passengers, so it's intimate when you're on the water with a small group, you get to take in that atmospheric experience of Dublin Bay. A big part of a tour is educating people about. It took 42 years to build Dun Laoghaire Harbour. There are so many nice little nuggets of knowledge all along the coast. It's important so that we're able to highlight that. The wonderful thing is that you have this beauty of seeing Dublin from a completely unique perspective. Giving people the opportunity that have never been out of the water to see everything in a different light, which is nice. Our boat is really one of a kind, it's really unique and it really is all about sharing, about the biodiversity of Dublin Bay but also, I realised growing up as a kid in Dun Laoghaire, I didnt know much about where Im from, I didnt know much about the harbour or local history, Ed told the Irish Independent. Both Ed and Conor continue to learn about the water and the life in it, from dolphins, seals, whales, and seagrass. In the last couple of months, we've seen a lot of dolphins come back into Dublin Bay and porpoises which are the smallest whales of their kind in the world. We have a lot of seals. There are thousands of them all along Dalkey Island and the coastline. If we're lucky at times, you'll see dolphins and they will play with the boat. It's nice to showcase that. We have amazing wildlife, and seeing more of them return to our waters is great. We have a lot of sea grass around here and seagrass basically once it starts coming back, it really showcases that biodiversity is getting better. We've noticed that there is a lot more seagrass starting to show up around this coast. The water is getting clean. I think that has a knock-on effect than the likes of dolphins returning. For the first time in a really long time, we saw dolphins swimming in the harbour. It's really, amazing to see dolphins actually come in. We need your consent to load this Social Media content. We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review your details and accept them to load the content Ed explained how they are working with students from the University of Limerick who are working on a project to highlight how bad plastic is and where it ends up. The big thing that they mentioned was that when we wash our clothes, all our clothes have tiny particles in them, and our washing machines are not able to filter those out. All of those little particles get pushed out into the seat as wastewater. The students are trying to design these different types of nets that we would wash our clothes and stop those particles, but it starts at home with us. They told us how 14 tons of plastic ends up in the ocean each year and it can take 500 years to break those down. I think it's really important that we foster that relationship with students wanting to learn more about water, Ed added. 17-year-old Lauryn Linehan who is missing from Listowel. Gardai are appealing to the public for assistance in tracing the whereabouts of 17-year-old Lauryn Linehan who is missing from Listowel since Wednesday, February 14. Lauryn is described as approximately 55 in height, of slim build with long black hair and blue eyes. When last seen Lauryn was wearing black dress, black bomber jacket and black runners. Lauryn is known to frequent Cork City centre and Gardai are concerned for her welfare. Anyone with information on Lauryns whereabouts is asked to contact Listowel Garda Station on 068 50820 or the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111, or any Garda Station. A Kerry woman has started a personal campaign ahead of the March 8 Referendum on whether to change Article 41.1.1. & Article 41.2.1 of the Irish Constitution. Michelle Keane, who calls herself a proud Knocknagoshel and Kerry woman, mother, and business woman is advocating for a no vote believing the rights of the great Mna Na hEireann would be renounced by going against the 1937 Constitution of our forefathers. On Friday 8 March, Irish citizens are asked to vote on two proposed changes to the Constitution. The first Referendum concerns the concept of Family in the Constitution, while the second Referendum proposes to delete an existing part of the Constitution and insert new text providing recognition for care provided by family members to each other. People will have two separate votes on whether they wish to make the proposed changes to the current text of Article 41 of the Constitution. Ms Keane is a published author and spiritualist who made headlines in 2018 when she claimed to have been inspired by her ancestors to search for water wells on her land. She discovered seven natural spring waters and later established the Kingdom Water brand. She is on the campaign trail ahead of the referendum believing it would be inappropriate to change the Constitution, saying the reference to women in the home as being outdated is misunderstood. There is nothing in the Constitution on the contrary that states that a womans place is in the household, the household as we all know is the building block of society and no law can change that. The Irish State is already obliged to help An Teaghlach (the Household), which protects mothers in the home, she said. The Constitution clearly states that, first and foremost, women are protected in the household, and secondly, accepts that An Teaghlach is the unit of society. No law can change that in any way, as its already powerfully enacted within the fabric of the Constitution since 1937. There is no need, in my opinion, to change this, she added. This is Kerry Newsletter Enter your email address below and click 'Sign Up' to receive the This is Kerry newsletter direct to your inbox. Please check your inbox to verify your details Ms Keane referenced how great Irish women like Hanna Sheehy-Skeffington - a promoter of womens rights in the suffragette movement - and Countess Markievicz - the first woman elected to the House of Commons - must be turning in their graves at what is happening. In my opinion, this is the biggest insult bestowed on Irish women. By this Governments need to change our constitutional rights on International Womens day, when we should be celebrating women not putting them down, is wrong, she said. Corcoran's Furniture & Carpets Ltd. share the Love on Valentine's Day by launching their Charity Partnersip of the Year with Autism Assistance Dogs Ireland (AADI). Photo front: Willis the Ambassador Dog AADI, seated from l-r: Magella Corcoran (owner), Elaine Buckley, AADI, Pamela Kelleher; back from l-r: Greta O'Connell, Marzena Jegouzo, Keith Reen, Dan O'Connor, Kieran Corcoran (owner and managing director), Shane O'Callahan (financial officer), Julian Gherman, Justyna Krawczyk, Chris Chandler, Lilly Atkinson, Ronan O'Shea. Photo by Tatyana McGough. It was a busier than normal day at the Corcorans Furniture & Carpets Ltd store in Killarney on Wednesday as the store which has shops not just in Killarney but also in Cahersiveen, Newcastle West along with two stores in Tralee launched their charity of the year partnership with Autism Assistance Dogs Ireland (AADI). Now in their 25th year in business, Corcorans decided that to celebrate this milestone moment, this was the perfect time for them to team up with the AADI to raise much needed funds for the work they do and to help give back to the community. The launch of the charity partnership in the Killarney store included a visit from AADI dog handler Elaine Buckley, Community Engagement Manager, as well as the star of the event, one of AADIs ambassador dogs, Willis, who is a beautiful chocolate labrador. Speaking at the launch of the charity partnership, founder and Managing Director, Kieran Corcoran, had this to say: We are thrilled to launch our charity of the year partnership with Autism Assistance Dogs Ireland on Valentines Day 2024, and we look forward to fundraising across our five stores, including Killarney, Cahersiveen, Newcastle West and our two stores in Tralee. This is a very important year for the company as we will be celebrating our 25th Anniversary this August." We wanted to give something back to the community, and our Corcorans team chose Autism Assistance Dogs Ireland as the recipient of our fundraising initiatives across 2024. AADI is a very worthy charity that makes a significant impact on the lives of children with autism and their families, and we look forward to supporting them, and to raising as much funds as possible, he continued. Vasya Ponomarev, Corporate Partnerships & Philanthropy Manager with AADI, gave a synopsis of where the funds will be allocated, and the difference that this will make to children with autism and their families. "We are delighted that Corcorans Furniture & Carpets Ltd. have chosen Autism Assistance Dogs Ireland (AADI) as their charity partner of the year. AADI provides specially trained assistance dogs to help protect children with autism. The dogs priority is the childs safety while also promoting independence and reducing anxiety. Thus, allowing the child to be included in everyday situations that they would otherwise find overwhelming, said Vasya. "We cater to high-risk children; they may bolt off into traffic and get into dangerous situations without any sense of danger. Our dogs act as an anchor, the child is attached via a gentle lead to the dog stopping any chance of bolting. To quote one of our clients her child is an escape artist. If they see somewhere they want to get to, they will find a way, she continued. We have had instances where children who are non-verbal and on the cusp of speech start to speak after receiving one of our dogs. It costs 25,000 over the span of two years to train one of our dogs, and we do not charge families a cent for this life changing service. The funds raised from this new partnership with Corcorans Furniture & Carpets Ltd. will go directly towards the training of an assistance dog, this will change a childs life as well as the lives of their loved ones, she added. For more information on Autism Assistance Dogs Ireland (AADI), head to https://www.autismassistancedogsireland.ie/about-us UN peacekeepers protect civilians after two killed in Abyei violence: UN Xinhua) 09:03, February 16, 2024 UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 15 (Xinhua) -- UN peacekeepers have responded to intercommunal fighting in southern Abyei, where two civilians reportedly were killed, a UN spokesman said on Thursday. "The UN Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) is continuing enhanced levels of patrolling as intercommunal tensions persist," said Stephane Dujarric, chief spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. "Peacekeepers responded to gunfire between two groups yesterday (Wednesday) in Rumamier in southern Abyei." Dujarric said two civilians were reportedly killed during the Rumamier violence, and peacekeepers maintained their presence by patrolling the area to protect civilians. "UNISFA is also continuing to engage with stakeholders to calm tensions and coordinate to provide longer-term security and voluntary return options to those displaced," the spokesman said. The civilians slain in fighting Wednesday have brought to four civilians killed in recent intercommunal violence in Rumamier, in the disputed Abyei Administrative Area between Sudan and South Sudan. (Web editor: Peng Yukai, Liu Ning) The Vietnamese community in Thailand celebrates Tet festival (Photo: VNA) Speaking at the event, Vice Chairman of the Overseas Vietnamese Association in Thailand Tran Van Sau highlighted achievements that the Vietnamese community in Thailand made in 2023, and sent Tet greetings to all Vietnamese people in the country. At the event, Vietnamese General Consul in Khon Kaen Chu Duc Dung highly appreciated the role and contributions of the Vietnamese community in Thailand to the homeland. He emphasized that through cultural exchanges as well as religious activities, the community has helped maintain the national identity and spread cultural values of Vietnam in Thailand, contributing to fostering the friendship between the two countries. Governor of Nong Bua Lamphu province Suwit Chanworn expressed his deep impression at the traditional New Year celebrations of Vietnam. He hailed contributions made by the Vietnamese community to the local socio-economic and cultural development, which is one of the many evidences of the close ties between Thailand and Vietnam. At the event, participants had a chance to enjoy art performances by artists from Ho Chi Minh City./. National Broadband Ireland CEO to update Kerry County Council on rollout of plan. Almost half of the 28,000 premises in Kerry included in the Governments Intervention Area plan for the roll out of high-speed broadband are available for connection. Currently, there are 13,512 premises where the network is available for order in towns and townlands in the county under National Broadband Ireland (NBI). This includes 3000 connections each for Killarney and Tralee; Kilgarvan with 2000, Dingle 1800, Ballyheigue 1500, Castlegregory 900, and Rathmore 700. Chief Executive Officer of National Broadband Ireland (NBI) TJ Malone is to meet with Kerry County Council on Monday (February 19) to discuss the ongoing roll out of the NBI on behalf of the Government. Mr Malone stated that 3,300 premises in Kerry have already connected, which is below the average take-up rate, nationally. We are strongly encouraging Kerry residents to visit (www.nbi.ie/eoi) and enter their Eircode to check their status, he said. We are also letting people know that build works are under way for the residents of Black Valley, for more than 4,000 premises in Listowel, and over 1,000 premises in Sneem. We expect all of these premises to be able to connect by the end of this year, Mr Malone added. He explained that NBI is working hard on chieving the rollout in Kerry with engineering surveys largely complete and all premises moving into the design and build phase by the end of 2024. We will continue to provide regular progress updates and we are confident the rollout is on schedule and on budget and the network will be live for all premises by the end of 2026, Mr Malone said. NBI provides a high speed fibre network with minimum speeds of 500 megabits per second. It is the biggest investment in rural Ireland since rural electrification, with Kerry receiving 107 million in Government investment under the NBI plan. The objective is to connect residents for work, study and play online, all at the same time, without interruption. NBI is key for farms and businesses as high-speed broadband unlocks opportunities to expand and innovate. Irelands horse racing community has said goodbye to its matriarch, as the head of Irish sports greatest dynasties, Maureen Mullins has been laid to rest. The Church of the Holy Trinity, Goresbridge was not big enough to hold all the lives that Maureen inspired, as a mass of mourners gathered outside the church to pay their respects to the horse racing legend. The Mullins name is synonymous with horse racing, and while Maureen has joined the winners enclosure in heaven, her children and grandchildren will ensure the legend of the Mullins name will remain on top of horse racing podiums across the country. While Maureen has finished her last race and has been reunited with her late husband, Paddy Mullins who passed away in 2010, the impact she had on the racing world will continue to be felt for years to come. That impact was evident in some of the biggest names in horseracing who had travelled to Fridays funeral to pay their final respects, including trainers Jim Bolger, Dermot Weld, Gordon Elliott, Noel Meade, Paul Nolan and Ted Walsh. It was an amazing story from the start to the finish for my mother, said an emotional Tony Mullins. Unfortunately its now over. But today was not a day for mourning, but a day for celebration as Tony Mullins, on behalf of his brothers Willie, Tom and George and sister Sandra, paid tribute to the their amazing mother. "I was thinking to myself how I would start this eulogy, but there is nowhere to start as she was always just there, all the time, whether it was a good day or a bad day, our mother was always there. Three generation of the Mullins family (l-r) Maureen Mullins, Patrick Mullins, trainer Willie Mullins and Jackie Mullins at Punchestown Racecourse. Photo: Sportsfile "Just to give an example of the type of woman she was, in the early 1930s, her father had a plough horse and she just tacked him up one morning to go to the local hunt. Her father, on seeing her going down the avenue, he ran out after her and told her he needed the horse. She just waved at him and never looked back and I think her life continued right up until the last weeks in the same fashion, laughed Tony. One word that cropped up time and time again during the mass was the use of the word positive to describe Maureen Mullins. Tony echoed this sentiment as he recalled how even on the bad days, his mother remained positive for those around her. "Even though we had bad times she was always there for every single one of us to buck us up and keep us going. "She had a belief in success. I remember a couple of years ago when Willie won the first race and the second race which he is doing every year now, chuckled Tony. But anyways at that stage it was a new thing and she said to me did you get to meet so and so and I said no I didnt get to see them and she said ah dont worry he will win the next race and you will get to meet them then. Her belief in her five children and ten grandchildren was unwavering. If they didnt believe in themselves, she most definitely did. That unwavering belief was never more evident as her final winning bet, where she backed her grandson Charlie, placing 20 on his mount Coco Masterpiece in the last race in Thurles on Tuesday right, before her death. "Maureen Mullins has finished her last race, said Father James Kelly. "This great gathering today reminds me of many race meetings Maureen attended and the numerous winners she had. She entered the winners enclosure countless times to receive her prize or to see her family receive their prize. The winners enclosure is a special place and she now enters heavens winners enclosure. "Maureen has been reunited with her beloved Paddy and all her loved ones gone before her. It will be a welcome as loud as a Cheltenham roar, smiled Fr Kelly. "Maureen and her husband Paddy have left behind them an incredible legacy through their wonderful family, all the generations. Today is a day to mourn her passing, but it is also a celebration of a life well and fully lived. She had a tremendous passion for sport and loved the horses from an early age. While Maureen was surrounded by the success of her family on the racing track, she rode one winner from her sole ride on the track when she beat her daughter Sandra at Gowran Park in 1982. That win came aboard Razzo Forte in a race for wives and daughters of trainers. Maureen passed away aged 94 on Wednesday following a short illness. While she will be remembered as one of the faces of the Irish horse racing community, she will be remembered by those closet to her as a beloved mother, grandmother and sister who would do anything for her family. "Cheltenham was her piece of heaven, sighed Tony. Hopefully there is a Cheltenham in heaven for her now. There are calls for government bosses to increase Monaghan's annual roads allocation and fast-track key projects such as the N2 Ardee to Castleblayney Road. The Governments allocation of over 17m to restore and uphold county Monaghans road network is simply not enough. That was the frank admission delivered by Cllr Cathy Bennett in the wake of a State backed eight figure investment package. Approximately 17.05m was allocated from an overall 658m financial programme announced by Transport Minister Eamon Ryan and Minister of State Jack Chambers. Over 7.8m has been apportioned to restoration improvements with over 2m being assigned to local council officials by way of a discretionary grant. Despite those figures, Cllr Bennett said questions still remained as to how committed government leaders were in adequately resourcing the infrastructural requirements of counties like Monaghan. Follow Independent Monaghan on Facebook For our roads in county Monaghan, has that figure increased at all? Cllr Bennett asked. I hear all the time that Fianna Fail and Fine Gael are looking to get road improvements in our county, but has the funding for roads improved at all under their tenure? There is a lot of roads with potholes and what is worse is people are trying to get roads programmes done to get a full resurfacing of them carried out and all the engineers and council staff will tell you there is just not enough money. "They are only getting four or five roads done per year, its not enough, its not good enough. People are paying their taxes and its just not good enough. The Sinn Fein local politician said there were concerns locally too about the protracted upgrading of the N2 Ardee To Castleblayney Road. Definitely, she said, in response to the need for further national roads funding to be assigned to the county. Especially in relation to the N2. We havent received the full amount of funding that was required for that road. We are still waiting and still hopeful that will be delivered. Sligo Traveller Support Group held a Pancake Tuesday fundraiser in support of the suicide prevention and mental health charity North West STOP. Two hundred euro was raised on the day with the event being attended by members of the Traveller community, representatives from a range of organisations and elected representatives including Cllr Marie Casserly and TD Marian Harkin. North West STOP provide free counselling and a range of other mental health and suicide prevention supports across the region for anyone that is struggling or experiencing mental health difficulties or concerns. Cheryl McGinley, Marian Harkin TD and Caroline Forde (DVAS). Mental Health worker with Sligo Traveller Support Group Jamie Murphy highlighted the importance of organisations like North West STOP. He said: There is not a family or community in Ireland that has not been impacted by the issue of poor mental health and suicide. It is something which has touched people from all walks of life and it can have an absolutely devastating impact. It is important though that while we acknowledge the difficulties posed by poor mental health that we also emphasise the supports that are available for the people affected, their friends and families, and the many stories of recovery from difficult situations. North West STOP are a fantastic community organisation who provide support and are one of many across the country that do so. We in STSG would also encourage people who are experiencing any type of mental health difficulty, no matter how big or small it may feel, to reach out for support. That could be with your GP, a friend or loved one or an organisation like North West STOP, Samaritans or Pieta House. For members of the Traveller community we in STSG are also here to support you in whatever we that we can, he added. Tutors from Leitrim and Sligo combined to call for better pay conditions during a protest outside Leinster House. This week, adult education tutors held a protest outside the Dail calling for better pay and conditions for their work. They seek parity of esteem and conditions with teachers. They are currently paid by the hour, without reliable contracts or security for their jobs, while they have to claim social welfare during school holidays. Tim ORiordan, a Leitrim-based adult education tutor with the MSLETB and Sligo-based adult education tutor Victoria Montsvilaite attended the protest. The tutors are demanding the same pay and conditions as their full time colleagues in the Further Education and Training sector. The protest was organised by the Adult Education Tutors Organisation (AETO). Speaking about the protest, AONTAS CEO Dearbhail Lawless said, Staff turnover and low pay is a challenge for many sectors, especially in the current economic and housing crises. Adult education tutors must have improved pay and conditions to protect the quality of education provision in Ireland, as well the experience and success of learners, and the wellbeing of our communities, said Ms Lawless. A Wexford candidate in the upcoming local elections is calling on people to support a protest outside a former pub in Ferns this Friday evening. Darren McGovern, who will be representing Ireland First in the Gorey Kilmuckridge Municipal District (GKMD) this coming June, said a protest is to take place outside the old OLoughlins pub in the Co Wexford village, a building which he claims has been the subject of a lot of controversies in recent times. Mr McGovern claims that the pub has been converted into apartments with a view to housing international protection applicants, while also maintaining that the people of Ferns have some real and legitimate concerns over this. This is Wexford Newsletter Enter your email address below and click 'Sign Up' to receive the This is Wexford newsletter direct to your inbox. Please check your inbox to verify your details However, a spokesperson for Wexford County Council (WCC) advised that the council has no role in the contracting of IPAS centres. They added that, in follow up to elected members queries, they have sought and received confirmation from IPAS that it has no properties under consideration in Ferns at this time. Meanwhile, a spokesperson from Enniscorthy Garda Station said local gardai were aware of the upcoming protest in Ferns but wouldnt be drawn on whether there would be a garda presence on the day itself. Early this month, Mr McGovern spoke at a rally in Enniscorthy where he was critical of Irelands immigration policies, claiming the government has gone rogue and that the media is facilitating this by being made up of censorship agents. He also rejected claims that his party is promoting far right ideologies. Immigration protest in the Market Square. There was 60-70 people there, a lot of people came up to me afterwards, shook my hand, said that everything I said was the truth and they feel the very same, that its wrong whats happening, the way the government and the media are branding people, he said. They stood there for the whole 40 minutes of the speech and listened intently to what I was saying. I did ask people to come down, to congregate a bit, but, again because of the media and the government, people are afraid to be seen to be supporting stuff like this, he said. Today's News in 90 Seconds - February 16th "Its not just in relation to whats happening with immigration in Wexford, our government has gone rogue, and our media is facilitating it, our media is nothing more than a propaganda machine, we used to laugh as children about how Pyongyang ran its media outlet in North Korea, thats the way its going here, the media isnt working for the people, its not reporting, its full of censorship agents. Responding to claims that his party is right-wing, that it promotes dangerous ideologies, Darren asks who is responsible for those claims. Minister (for Justice) Helen McEntee has called us right-wing and she cant even define what right-wing is, Im not denying that Ireland First is a centre-right party, thats what we are. But we are garnering huge support from the people across Wexford ,and across the country. That can be seen but the media doesnt want to see it. Home Instead, Ireland's leading home care services provider, will be holding two hiring events in County Wexford at the end of February. Home Instead will be holding two hiring events in County Wexford at the end of February. Home Instead will be holding two hiring events in County Wexford at the end of February. Home Instead, Ireland's leading home care services provider, will be holding two hiring events in County Wexford at the end of February. On Wednesday, February 21 they will be at the Gorey Shopping Centre in Gorey from 10a.m. until 2p.m. and then on Friday, February 23 they will host a coffee afternoon in Home Instead Wexford at Office R9 Clonard Village Centre in Clonard from 2p.m. until 4p.m. "As a Professional Home Instead CAREGiver, you'll discover stability, flexibility, and a supportive environment that nurtures personal and professional growth. Home Instead's CAREGivers undergo best-in-class training through our Home Care Professionals Academy, ensuring each CAREGiver feels equipped to provide the highest-quality care for those they care for, said General Manager of Home Instead Wexford, Martin Murphy. Home Instead aims to expand its professional CAREGiver team by 1000 people and to achieve this there will be over 80 events taking place nationwide. This expansion solidifies its commitment to delivering exceptional home care services for those who wish to age in place but require assistance. This is Wexford Newsletter Enter your email address below and click 'Sign Up' to receive the This is Wexford newsletter direct to your inbox. Please check your inbox to verify your details Throughout the hiring campaign, Home Instead will continue to be inspired by its ongoing 'Not Just a Carer' initiative, challenging stereotypes, and acknowledging the invaluable contributions of caregivers. Dedicated professional caregivers have often been unfairly labelled or made to feel like "just a carer," perpetuating undervaluation. Home Instead teams will engage with communities to convey the reasons why caregiving is a highly skilled profession. Some of the key skills include the demand for a high level of emotional intelligence, interpersonal and communication skills, flexibility to respond swiftly in emergencies, grit and determination, as well as physical and emotional fortitude. Established in Ireland in 2005, Home Instead is the countrys largest private provider of home care services. It is an approved provider of HSE Home Support Services in all nine Community Health Organisations in the country, meaning that people aged over 65 can choose Home Instead for their non-medical home care services. It also serves a large and growing client base who avail of private home care services to help them continue to live an independent life at home. It is committed to delivering the highest standards of care services and it has robust clinical governance, HR and training practices in place to ensure this. These services include companionship, meal preparation, light housework, personal care, dementia care and more. It has 26 offices around Ireland, employing 3,600 CAREGivers and serving almost 7,000 clients. For more information or to arrange an interview, contact Tom.Foster@HomeInstead.ie or call 086 128 0452. Following thousands of concerned residents signing petitions and filing submissions over plans to close exits on the N11 to facilitate a bus priority corridor, there have been calls for Wicklow County Council to make the Post-Consultation Report public without delay. Wicklow Minister Simon Harris confirmed on Tuesday, February 13, that Wicklow County Council had received over 1,000 submissions regarding the schemes proposals, and said work is currently under way on the Post-Consultation Report for the N11/M11 Bus Priority Interim Scheme. This scheme is very important to our towns and villages in north Wicklow, and is an issue I have been working very closely on with both Wicklow County Council and Transport Infrastructure Ireland, he said. During the public consultation period, I met and spoke with a large number of Bray and Enniskerrys residents to discuss their concerns such as the proposed closure of the Herbert Road junction, the effects the scheme will have on traffic throughout the town and the proposed closure of Enniskerrys junction. After encouraging local residents to voice their concerns, I am delighted to see that over 1,000 people sent in submissions to have their say over how their own communities will develop. This is Wicklow Newsletter Enter your email address below and click 'Sign Up' to receive the This is Wicklow newsletter direct to your inbox. Please check your inbox to verify your details However, Wicklow Sinn Fein TD John Brady has urged the Council to proceed, without delay, with the preparation and publication of the report. I welcome the fact that Wicklow County Council has completed the public consultation process on the N11 / M11 Bus Priority Interim Scheme and is currently preparing a post publication consultation report, Deputy Brady said. In November, I submitted a Sinn Fein petition opposing the plans as they had been presented to the public. The strength of public opinion on the issue can be seen from the 1,853 signatories to the petition. In addition, there were a further 1,152 submissions, including one which I submitted in my own name, in which I outlined the reasons for my strong opposition to the existing plans. It is absolutely clear that the primary issue of concern for members of the public which was evident across the submissions to the Council concerned the closure of the Herbert Road Junction, and the installation of a traffic lights system at Hill Garage in place of the existing roundabout. The reality is that the traffic plans as they were presented are not just unworkable, they would result in a disaster for motorists and residents who currently use the Herbert Road Junction, and the Hills roundabout. There are three other junctions in Bray. I do not believe that the traffic prevented from using the Herbert Road would travel to the Bray North Junction. Nor would they use the Old Fassaroe Junction, which would take them onto the Main Street, which is itself overwhelmed with traffic. [This] would result in traffic being forced to use the new junction at the former Hills Roundabout. Planners have already conceded that the new junction will privilege traffic exiting the N11. The anticipated influx of additional traffic would be significantly more than this junction could cope with. Particularly when we consider that vehicles are forced to queue out onto the N11 as they await access to the junction. Through my ongoing interaction with local people and motorists on this issue, and the response in terms of support for the petition and the number of submissions tabled, the strength of opposition is abundantly clear, he added. A motion brought by Cathaoirleach of the Greystones Municipal District, Councillor Stephen Stokes, seeking reform of local government in Ireland, passed with unanimous support at the February meeting of Wicklow County Council. The motion, which was seconded by Cllr Rory O'Connor, Leas Cathaoirleach of the Bray Municipal District, is seeking more power to be transferred from central government, so that decisions can be made at the closest level to citizens. In October 2023, the Council for Europe published a report that found Ireland is compliant in only eight out of 20 principles of the European Charter of Local Self Government. Since then, the Association of Irish Local Government has highlighted the challenges found in the report, with a Ready for Reform campaign. "The Council of Europe expressed concerns in three key areas, Councillor Stokes explained. Firstly, the investigation revealed that Irish local authorities had limited democratic decision making powers. This creates a power imbalance, leading to a democratic deficit. "Second, there are insufficient financial resources and autonomy for local authorities. The Council of Europe found that this limits their ability to provide essential services and adequately respond to local needs. Thirdly, Ireland has the most centralised system of local government in Europe. The report concluded that Ireland is far from decisions being taken at the closest point to the citizen." This is Wicklow Newsletter Enter your email address below and click 'Sign Up' to receive the This is Wicklow newsletter direct to your inbox. Please check your inbox to verify your details Since the Council of Europe report was published, Cllr Stephen Stokes and Cllr Rory O'Connor have heard further contributions from public representatives across Wicklow, who have expressed concerns about the role of councillors in decision making. "At times, we do have impassioned debates in the Council Chamber, but that is healthy for democracy. I retain full confidence that if given the opportunity, local government will come to balanced decisions on behalf of local residents if decision making is further delegated," Cllr Stokes said. Cllrs Stokes and O'Connor are determined to work towards positive change. Wicklow County Council will now resolve to write to Darragh O'Brien, the Minister for Housing, Local Government & Heritage about the matter. Cllr Stokes concluded: "In our own Council of Wicklow County Council, it should be noted that there are many dedicated officials who are making an impact across Wicklow. We appreciate their service. The key point of this motion is to seek to address democratic shortfalls. Myself and Cllr O'Connor would like to thank our Council colleagues for their unanimous support. We believe it is timely for us to continue to pursue reform of local government in Ireland." Volunteers from Blessington Tidy Towns have been nominated in the Outsider Awards 2023. Volunteers from Blessington Tidy Towns received a nomination at the Outsider Awards 2023 for their commitment to fostering environmental interest and inclusivity in west Wicklow over the past year. As one of 17 Wicklow nominees in this year's Outsider Awards, which celebrates the remarkable achievements of the Irish outdoor community, Blessington Tidy Towns stands out in the 'Diversity and Inclusion category. The volunteer-led community group has made significant strides in promoting community engagement, adding to their work through well-known initiatives such as the national Tidy Towns Competition, 2MinuteStreetClean, and the Big Beach Clean. In recent years, the group has broadened its outreach to newer community members, including those recently relocated to the area, individuals displaced from Ukraine, and those under International Protection. In 2023, the group initiated an informal English chat to encourage connections with individuals from diverse backgrounds, focusing on supporting Ukrainians, new Irish residents, and various nationalities involved in their weekly litter picks. Speaking ahead of the awards night at The Sugar Club in Dublin on February 21, Jason Mulhall from Blessington Tidy Towns expressed his pride in the nomination, saying: It is great to be nominated and recognised for the work we have done over the last year. Quite a few people from the Ukrainian and other communities are working with Tidy Towns, including people from accommodation in the Avon and Kippure Lodge. Were working closely with the Volunteer Centre in Wicklow, where Fiona Downes has been putting us in touch with people who want to volunteer with us. Blessington Tidy Towns collaborated with Wicklow Partnerships SICAP Coordinator to set up the informal English classes, which have proved hugely beneficial. The English classes were set up informally, with volunteers from Tidy Towns meeting in the library, breaking off into small groups, and engaging in conversations to help people with their English without creating a formal setting, Jason explained. We're also working on a new Pure Mile project where members of our Ukrainian community will take ownership of an area, and we will support them and make sure they have everything they need. It is something the group can own and run with themselves, and will give them a great sense of achievement from establishing and having ownership over an initiative in the community. Among the other Blessington Tidy Towns initiatives highlighted by Outsider judges is their inspirational work with Blessington Community College in assisting in establishing a Youth Environmental Council. The group has officially become a Gaisce Challenge Partner, showcasing a particularly fruitful relationship set to continue bearing fruit, Jason said. One of the things the judges mentioned, which we are all very proud of, is the work of Blessington Community College, who have established a Youth Environmental Council and are very active. VinFast's VF6 model on display at IIMS 2024 (Photo: VNA) During the IIMS 2024 held in Jakarta from February 15-25, VinFast is showcasing a variety of models, including VF 5, VF e34, VF 6, VF 7, VF 8, and VF 9. VinFast is planning to collaborate with local suppliers to establish a network of 5,000 charging stations in Indonesia, aiming to significantly boost the adoption of electric vehicles. In a bid to penetrate the Indonesian market, VinFast also plans to build a factory in Indonesia with a projected capacity of around 50,000 cars per year. With the goal of achieving a domestic localisation rate of up to 40%, the VinFast factory is expected to create thousands of jobs and promote the local electric vehicle industry. Also on February 5, the automaker signed a letter of intent on cooperation with the first 5 dealers in Indonesia./. A bus service cancelled in November that was formerly crucial to west Wicklow schoolchildren getting home from school each day has now been reinstated, following lobbying by Wicklow TD Jennifer Whitmore. The National Transport Authority announced sweeping changes to the Local Link timetables late last year. These included cancelling the 4pm 885 bus from Sallins in Kildare to Ballymore Eustace, while extending the route of this bus to include Baltinglass. The removal of the 4pm bus resulted in several school children being left with no way home to Blessington and Ballymore Eustace from school in Naas. Deputy Whitmore and her Social Democrats colleague Deirdre McCormack, local area rep for west Wicklow, raised this issue with the National Transport Authority and were successful late last year in having the 4pm service reinstated on a temporary basis, which was operated by Kildare-South Dublin Local Link. However, parents remained in limbo with constant fears the temporary service would be stopped. This prompted Deputy Whitmore to continue pressing for a permanent solution. That has now been confirmed. I am delighted to have received confirmation that the 885 4pm bus service from Sallins to Ballymore Eustace will be continued on a permanent basis, Deputy Whitmore announced. The removal of this service, which at least 14 school children were relying on to get home from school, caused a huge amount of stress and upheaval for the families involved. I would like to thank the NTA and Local Link for their help in finding a solution to this matter. This is Wicklow Newsletter Enter your email address below and click 'Sign Up' to receive the This is Wicklow newsletter direct to your inbox. Please check your inbox to verify your details Ms McCormack added: This is great news for the families involved and for people in west Wicklow who want to choose public transport over getting in their car. We need more public transport options and routes here in west Wicklow but we also need transport services that work for the needs of our community. Id like to thank the NTA and Local Link for engaging with our community on this issue and working together with us to resolve it. The 4pm 885 bus service will be operated by Carlow Kilkenny Wicklow Local Link and will run from Sallins to Ballymore Eustace via Naas and Blessington. My favourite part is imagining what other peoples lives are like and getting to act out that imagined life (L-R) Dearbhla Mescal and Paul Mescal attend the 95th Annual Academy Awards on March 12, 2023 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Emma McIntyre/Getty Images) A delighted Limerick school student has shared the letter she received from Oscar-nominated star Paul Mescal in which he reveals the actor he would most like to work with. Doon Convent NS student Kate was taking part in a school project to show how letter writing is not a lost art by contacting various well-known faces and asking them to reply. The fifth and sixth-class students who were given the task by their teacher then wrote to people such as television and radio presenter Ray Darcy, President Michael D Higgins, Marty Morrisey and Limerick hurling manager John Kiely and others. A thrilled Kate with the letter from Mescal. Photo: Limerick Live To Kates delight, the Maynooth actor replied to her letter and answered a number of her questions. To answer your questions: I think seeing my dad on stage when I was young and taking part in a school musical when I was sixteen are what inspired me to start acting, the Normal People star wrote. Once I started acting, I fell in love with it immediately. Irish actor Paul Mescal My favourite part is imagining what other peoples lives are like and getting to act out that imagined life. He added that he would love to work with Joaquin Phoenix as hes extraordinary. (L-R) Dearbhla Mescal and Paul Mescal attend the 95th Annual Academy Awards on March 12, 2023 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Emma McIntyre/Getty Images) According to Limerick Live, Paul told Kate: Im delighted you enjoyed acting in the Christmas play. My only advice at this point is if you enjoyed, keep doing it as much as you can. See if there are any drama groups around you and join them. The class have also received replies from President Michael D Higgins and Ray Darcy who featured them on his RTE Radio One show last Thursday. Mescal, who received his first Oscar nomination for his role in the feature film, Aftersun is up for a Supporting Actor gong at this weekend Baftas for All of Us Strangers. He is also set to lead the upcoming Gladiator sequel which famously starred his favourite actor, Phoenix. From the rugby turf of Thomond Park to memories of New York's Lower East Side, Paul Costelloe's AW '24 collection is heavily influenced by personal memories spanning five decades. His new 'Once upon a Time' themed collection is where Limerick meets downtown New York. Such a pity then that, after distilling a very personal storyline, right down to a print based on the street where he once lived in Manhattan, that Paul wasn't at his London Fashion Week show today, after he was felled by a virus. Guests arrived at the 9am show, the first on schedule as London Fashion Week celebrates its 40th birthday to find a note from the designer. "Regretfully, I cannot be here today at the launch of my Autumn Collection due to a virus. But, as they say, the show must go on, and my London based couture team will take a bow in my place. Happy Birthday to London Fashion Week. See you all in September for my Spring/Summer 2025 launch." His artist son William who designs all of the bespoke prints, Jordi Vall i Saborit, Pauls head of design and three of the petits mains who work on the collection, all donned their white coats and came out to take a bow at the end of the fast paced show. Costelloe has been showing at London Fashion Week since 1986 and the clamour for seats at the packed show today was testimony to the Irish designers enduring appeal with a reputation from the 1980's for dressing Princess Diana for her royal duties right up to this decade and dressing Vogue Williams for her wedding day. Never one to hold back, Paul may not have been there in person today but in his show notes, he made his point about value of craftmanship and wrote, "this collection expresses my view that classic design has it place in high fashion. The show opened with strong winter whites with dramatic brown leather accessories and there was personal nostalgia with a print by William Costelloe of Pauls favourite hangouts, the Brooklyn bridge and iconic spots like McSorley's Ale House. This signature print popped up throughout the show in separates including wide-legged pleated palazzos Paul dubbed 'New York legs. His palette included chic charcoal greys and rich brown Donegal tweeds trimmed in leather. A giant tweed jacket with oversized hood trimmed in leather, ideal for a cold day on the terraces at Thomond Park. Paul is very proud of his Limerick and New York roots. His father, William, came from Limerick while his mother, Catherine Easter, was American. The show opened to the upbeat track of George Bensons On Broadway and from urban sophisticate he delved into his fondness for country chic vibes which he developed in his Dressage range at the beginning of his career. Tweed coats with beautiful leather trim popping up as pockets under the lapel. Cosy cable knit grey sweater with oversized neck worn with short leather skirt and short trapeze coat with pilgrim collar in leather worn with a huge leather shopper bag with giant bow. The arrival of leather jodhpurs saw the frow of celebrities lean forward for a better look. This season Paul played with proportions and textures. A dark charcoal Aran jumper worn with fishtail long skirt. Mermaid and while there were lots of cool mini dresses, he closed with dramatic evening wear and the message, "Thank you, London. Alexei Navalny, the fiercest foe of Russian President Vladimir Putin who crusaded against official corruption and staged massive anti-Kremlin protests, died in prison on Friday, Russias prison agency said. Mr Navalny was 47. The federal prison service said in a statement that Mr Navalny felt unwell after a walk on Friday and lost consciousness. An ambulance arrived to try to rehabilitate him, but he died. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov says Mr Putin was informed of the death and the prison service was looking into the circumstances in line with standard procedures. Mr Navalnys spokeswoman, Kira Yarmysh said on X, formerly Twitter, that the politicians team had no confirmation of his death so far and that his lawyer was traveling to the town where he was held. Mr Navalny, who was serving a 19-year sentence on charges of extremism, was moved in December from his former prison in the Vladimir region of central Russia to to a special regime penal colony the highest security level of prisons in Russia above the Arctic Circle. His allies decried the transfer to a colony in the town of Kharp, in the Yamalo-Nenets region about 1,200 miles north-east of Moscow, as yet another attempt to force Mr Navalny into silence. The remote region is notorious for long and severe winters. Kharp is about 60 miles from Vorkuta, whose coal mines were part of the Soviet gulag prison-camp system. Mr Navalny had been behind bars since January 2021, when he returned to Moscow after recuperating in Germany from nerve agent poisoning that he blamed on the Kremlin. Before his arrest, he campaigned against official corruption, organised major anti-Kremlin protests and ran for public office. He had since received three prison sentences, all of which he rejected as politically motivated. He was convicted in 2013 of embezzlement on what he called a politically motivated prosecution and was sentenced to five years in prison, but the prosecutors office later surprisingly demanded his release pending appeal. A higher court later gave him a suspended sentence. The day before the sentence, Navalny had registered as a candidate for Moscow mayor. The opposition saw his release as the result of large protests in the capital of his sentence, but many observers attributed it to a desire by authorities to add a tinge of legitimacy to the mayoral election. Mr Navalny finished second, an impressive performance against the incumbent who had the backing of Mr Putins political machine and was popular for improving the capitals infrastructure and aesthetics. Mr Navalnys popularity increased after the leading charismatic politician, Boris Nemtsov, was shot and killed in 2015 on a bridge near the Kremlin. Whenever Mr Putin spoke about Mr Navalny, he made it a point to never mention the activist by name, referring to him as that person or similar wording, in an apparent effort to diminish his importance. People take a part in a demonstration after the resignation of the country's President Katalin Novak and former Justice Minister Judit Varga in Budapest, Hungary, February 16, 2024. REUTERS/Bernadett Szabo Tens of thousands of Hungarians protested in Budapest on Friday at the biggest rally against Prime Minister Viktor Orban's government for years, after a sex-abuse case pardon by President Katalin Novak caused public uproar and led to her resignation. Conservative Orban, who has been in power since 2010, has sought to defuse the week-old scandal that brought down two of his key political allies, the president and former justice minister Judit Varga, but it has continued to dominate domestic media. Hezbollah yesterday fired dozens of rockets at a northern Israeli town in a preliminary response to the killing of 10 civilians in southern Lebanon, the deadliest day for Lebanese civilians in four months of cross-border hostilities. The United Nations urged a halt to what it called a dangerous escalation of the conflict, which has played out in parallel to the Gaza war and fuelled concerns of a wider confrontation between the Iran-backed Hezbollah and Israel. Irish citizens from Palestine Batoul Hania and her four sons Nourmohammed, 11, (front left), Ahmed, 14, (front right), Mazen, 19, (back left) and Ismael, 17, (back right) at their accommodation in West Dublin. Batoul's husband Zak was not permitted to cross the border from Gaza into Egypt with his family, despite being an Irish citizen. Picture: Brian Lawless/PA Wire Fury for Donald Trump as judge rules trial over hush money for affairs to begin in March Former US president accused of payoffs to porn star, model and his doorman Donald Trump (left) outside a New York courtroom yesterday after it emerged his hush-money trial will start next month. Photo: Reuters Michael R Sisak, New York Fri 16 Feb 2024 at 03:30 Donald Trumps hush-money trial will go ahead as scheduled with jury selection starting on March 25, a judge ruled yesterday, turning aside requests for a delay from the former US presidents defence lawyers. Mumbai: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday extended the deadline for Paytm Payments Bank Ltd (PPBL) to cease accepting new deposits and conducting credit transactions. The new deadline is March 15, extending from February 29 set by RBI for PPBL to stop these operations. Despite this extension, the latest press release or FAQ from the regulator does not indicate any notable concessions or relaxations for the troubled payments bank. No further deposits or credit transactions or top-ups shall be allowed in any customer accounts, prepaid instruments, wallets, FASTags, National Common Mobility Cards, etc. after March 15, 2024, extended from the earlier stipulated timeline of February 29, 2024, other than any interest, cashbacks, sweep in from partner banks or refunds which may be credited anytime, the RBI said in a release. Notably, RBI has only extended the deadline on business restrictions by two weeks. If the regulator doesnt remove the curbs on the payments bank by March 15, it will likely become dormant without permission to accept fresh deposits or do credit transactions. However, the Central bank has made it clear that existing Paytm bank customers with money in their accounts have nothing to worry about. However, for the purpose of services such as withdrawal or utilisation of available balance by customers or wallet holders, such fund transfers including AEPS, IMPS, and UPI may be allowed anytime, the RBI said. Significantly, the RBI underscored that PPBL must facilitate withdrawals up to the available balance from all accounts and wallets, except those that have been frozen or marked with a lien by Law Enforcement or judicial authorities. President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy held a meeting with members of the Council on supporting entrepreneurship under martial law, the online representation of the President of Ukraine reported on Thursday evening. The event was attended by the Council members and government officials, including Head of the Presidential Office Andriy Yermak, First Deputy Prime Minister Minister of Economy of Ukraine Yulia Svyrydenko, Deputy Prime Minister for Innovation, Education, Science and Technology Development of Ukraine Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov, Prosecutor General of Ukraine Andriy Kostin, Deputy Head of the Presidential Office Rostyslav Shurma, and Advisor to the Head of the Presidential Office Daria Zarivna. "I stand for state institutions helping entrepreneurs. You are now ready to act, you have the energy to focus on these issues. Because this is your life and you know what laws need to be changed, what amendments need to be made, what reforms need to be brought to the parliament," Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. The participants of the meeting discussed the issues of reducing law enforcement pressure on legal business, updating the principles of the Bureau of Economic Security (BES), as well as the need to support defense industry enterprises and changes to legislation. Particular attention was paid to the introduction of digital solutions to modernize the interaction between the state and business, namely, the creation of a platform for receiving feedback from business and an analytical module for the Unified Register of Pretrial Investigations, which will allow to see the full picture of criminal proceedings in the country in real time. The digital platform is expected to facilitate feedback between the government and businesses regional, small, and medium-sized and to provide insight and an opportunity to systematize the issues that are of primary concern to entrepreneurs and identify ways to improve the business environment. For each of the issues discussed, the parties outlined an action plan and ways for business to participate in developing systemic, concrete solutions with the involvement of the Council for Support of Entrepreneurship under Martial Law, a wide range of businessmen, and the Made in Ukraine platform. The entrepreneurs thanked the President and other government officials for the constructive dialog. In image manipur mob violence/ courtesy: Videograb A violent mob attacked and tried to burn the DC, SP, and other government offices on Thursday night, resulting in the death of a person in Churachandpur district. To control the situation The Manipur government on Friday ordered the suspension of internet services for five days in the district. Manipur Police suspended a police head constable identified as Siamlalpaul attached at Churachandpur police station for allegedly working with suspected Kuki militants and attacking Meitei villagers. The video of the policeman taking part in attacks by going with Kuki militants went viral. Police said a mob converged on Thursday night, demanding the revocation of the suspension order. The mob turned violent and burned government infrastructure at the DC and SP offices. Tear gas shells were fired, and police tried to control the mob; however, the situation could not be controlled. Police said the Rapid Action Force (RAF) and police fired tear gas shells. In the standoff, a person died. In X, Manipur Police said, A mob numbering approximately 300400 attempted to storm the office of SP CCP today, pelting stones, etc. The SF (security forces), including the RAF, is responding appropriately by firing tear gas shells to control the situation. Things are under watch." The Manipur crisis started on May 3, 2023, after a violent Kuki mob burned government offices and attacked people from another ethnic group. Over 60000 people were displaced, and over 200 people have died so far due to the crisis. Photo courtesy: UNI Srinagar/UNI: A fire incident damaged the residential quarter building at the Member Legislative Assembly (MLA) hostel in Srinagar on Friday, officials said. The fire broke out at around 9 a.m. in the upper story of the double-story residential quarters at MLA Hostel on Maulana Azad Road, causing extensive damage to the property, Fire and Emergency Service officials said. A chinar tree and a wooden structure were also damaged in the fire incident. The fire tenders were rushed to the spot from the nearby fire stations to bring the fire under control. There was no report of any loss of life or injury in the incident. The cause of the fire is being ascertained, they said. Photo courtesy: X/@mieknathshinde Kolhapur/UNI: The Maharashtra State Backward Class Commission submitted its report on the social and financial conditions of the Maratha community to Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Friday. At a press conference that was held in Mumbai this morning before leaving for Kolhapur for a two-day visit to participate in two-day national convention of Shiv Sena (Shinde group), Shinde said the state government has already stated positive about Maratha community peoples reservation issue, so there was no need to express protest and taking agitation, and on this ground, he appealed to Jarange-Patil to withdraw his ongoing agitation of hunger strike in Anntarwali-Sarati. Shinde said the state Backward Classes Commission has submitted its report on the Maratha survey. He expressed confidence that the Maratha community would get a lasting reservation. He said a total of four lakhs of employees were engaged on a war footing to check backwardness in social economics and education with a survey of more than 2.25 crore families, and the government would take a decision on this issue in a cabinet meeting and also discuss this issue in a special assembly session called on February 20. With confidence, Shinde said, "Reservation can be given to the Maratha community without any injustice to the OBC or any other community, which will fit and remain within the framework of the law. Government's stance has been very clear and positive from the beginning.". Meanwhile, Jarange-Patil's indefinite fast entered on the seventh day today, while the high court directed doctors to saline Jarange-Patil after considering his health. State Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Phadnvis was present at the press conference, while his counterpart Aji Pawar was absent as he is out of Mumbai. Photo Courtesy: Amjad Ullah Khan X page A 25-year-old Indian student has died of cardiac arrest in Canada making his family seek help from External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar to help bring his mortal remains to India. The deceased Indian student was identified as Shaik Muzammil Ahmed. According to reports, he was pursuing a Masters in IT from Conestoga College, Waterloo Campus in Kitchener City, Ontario. He has been staying in Canada since 2022. He was suffering from fever for the past one week and his family received a call from his friend informing him about his death from cardiac arrest on Friday. .@DrSJaishankar Sir, One Shaik Muzammil Ahmed-25 years from Hyderabad, Telangana State persuing Masters in IT from Conestoga College, Waterloo Campus in Kitchener City in Ontario, Canada since Dec 2022 was suffering from fever since last one week, but his family received a call pic.twitter.com/hvA1munXaX Amjed Ullah Khan MBT (@amjedmbt) February 15, 2024 Amjad Ullah Khan, a leader of the Telangana-based political party, Majlis Bachao Tehreek (MBT), posted on X :"@DrSJaishankar Sir, One Shaik Muzammil Ahmed-25 years from Hyderabad, Telangana State persuing Masters in IT from Conestoga College, Waterloo Campus in Kitchener City in Ontario, Canada since Dec 2022 was suffering from fever since last one week, but his family received a call from his friend that he died due to cardiac arrest today. On hearing this news his parents and entire family is in a state of shock and has request you to kindly ask @HCI_Ottawa& @TorontoCGI to send his mortal remains back to Hyderabad as soon as possible, for more details please contact Waliuddin on +1 (647) (786) 5940 or his uncle Mohammed Amjad on 9618160740." Image credit: X/BJP4India New Delhi/IBNS: Prime Minister Narendra Modi Friday slammed the Congress party saying that it has only one agenda 'anti-Modi, extreme anti-Modi'. He said that Congress was neglecting discussions about a developed Bharat as Modi advocates for it. Addressing the Viksit Bharat Viksit Rajasthan Programme virtually on Friday, the PM said, "The sole agenda of Congress remains to criticize Modi. They are willing to incur significant losses for the country just to oppose Modi." "Congress has only one agenda anti-Modi, extreme anti-Modi. They spread divisive propaganda against Modi, dividing society. When a party becomes entangled in the vicious cycle of nepotism and dynasty politics, this is the result," he said. Stating that the sole agenda of Congress remains to criticise Modi, the PM said, "The more one denounces Modi, the more they embrace him." PM Modi said that everyone is abandoning Congress, leaving only one family at its helm. "Such politics fails to inspire young Bharat, especially the first-time voters who have grand dreams and aspirations, who support the vision of a developed Bharat," he claimed He said, "Congress lacks the foresight and strategic planning necessary for the future and the drawback of the party is it's inability to formulate forward-thinking and positive policies. When Modi fulfills the commitments made to you, some individuals become worried." Stating that the roadmap for developed Rajasthan and developed Bharat is for every such first-time voter, PM Modi said, "Discussions are resonating loudly across the country these days, with people saying - 'Abki Baar, NDA 400 Paar' (This time NDA will cross 400). I am confident that Rajasthan will also strengthen its trust in Modi's commitments." "They evade discussions about Made in India because Modi promotes it. They remain silent on 'vocal for local' because Modi advocates for it. When Bharat becomes the fifth-largest economic power, the entire nation rejoices, but Congress members remain discontent," the PM added. He said that when he asserted that Bharat would become the third economic power globally in the next term, the entire nation gained confidence, but Congress members were disappointed. "During the Congress era, widespread power shortages plunged the entire country into darkness for extended periods. Even when electricity was available, it was often for brief intervals. Crores of impoverished households were left without access to electricity connections during this period," the PM said. Stating that no country can progress without adequate access to electricity, Modi said the pace at which the Congress party was addressing this challenge would have required decades to resolve the electricity shortage. The PM said soon after assuming office, the BJP government prioritised addressing the nation's power challenges. "We formulated policies, made decisive choices, and placed a significant emphasis on emerging sectors such as solar energy generation. Today, Bharat stands as a global leader in solar energy production, a testament to our efforts," he said. The BJP government is committed to enabling every household to generate solar energy and even help them earn income by selling surplus electricity, Modi asserted. To achieve this, he said that the Central government has launched a significant initiative known as the PM Surya Ghar scheme, meaning the Free Electricity Plan. Under this scheme, the government aims to provide up to 300 units of free electricity per month to eligible households. The Prime Minister laid the foundation stone and inaugurated projects worth approximately Rs 17,000 crores for the development of Rajasthan. These projects encompass various development initiatives such as rail, road, solar energy, water, and LPG. In image Rahul Gandhi during Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra/ courtesy: Facebook Chandauli (UP)/IBNS/UNI: Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on Friday attacked the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Prime Minister Narendra Modi and said that the incidents of violence were increasing in the country due to injustice. The Congress leader was addressing a public meeting after his Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, which reached Naubatpur in Chandauli district, located on the Bihar border, was accorded a grand welcome by the office-bearers of the state and district Congress. After transferring the flag to the stage, a public meeting was held under the leadership of Gandhi at the National Inter College in Saiyadraja town. During the meeting, he said, "Two types of ideologies are running in the country. One unites brother with brother, and one makes brother hate brother. Through this journey, I have come to open a shop of love in the market of hatred." "The government is not concerned with the problems of the poor and farmers. There is a continuous increase in violent incidents in the country, the main reason for which is injustice to farmers, the poor, women, and youth," He said that Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra is getting full support from the countrymen. "A historic welcome is being accorded in the states through which the Yatra is passing. The purpose of the yatra is to make the failures of the Modi government at the center reach the public. "The BJP is doing politics for Lord Ram. The President of the country, who comes from a poor and Dalit class, did not get a place during the consecration ceremony of Lord Ram, this shows the intention of the government," he said. After the meeting, the former Congress President reached the martyr's place while traveling on foot, offered flowers at the statues of immortal martyrs, and left for the halt via Chandauli and Mughalsarai cities. Congress state president Ajay Rai, senior leaders Pramod Tiwari and Jairam Ramesh, and other senior party officials, along with a large number of workers and common people, were present in the meeting. Russian opposition leader and president Vladimir Putin's critic Alexei Navalny dies Photo Courtesy:Wikimedia Commons/ShareAlike 4.0 International Russian opposition leader and president Vladimir Putin's critic Alexei Navalny has died at the Arctic prison colony, media reports said on Friday. He was 47. He was serving a 19-year term. Alexey Navalny felt unwell in prison after a walk and lost consciousness. He received all necessary resuscitation measures, but they did not yield positive results, the Federal Ptnitentiary Service stated as quoted by Russia's Sputnik news agency. Authorities are trying to figure out the cause of his death. Commenting on the development, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was quoted as saying by Sputnik it is up to medics to find out reasons behind Navalny's death. As far as we know, now, in accordance with all current rules, the Federal Penitentiary Service is engaged in all inspections, clarifications, and so on. That is, no instructions are required anymore, because there is a certain set of rules in this regard that the service is now guided by, Peskov told reporters, adding that the news about Navalnys death was reported from Moscow. Speaking about the investigation into the death of the Russian leader, authority said in a statement as quoted by Sputnik: "The investigation office of the Russian Investigative Committee in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Area has launched a procedural investigation into the death of Navalny A.A. ... In accordance with the procedure established by law, a set of investigative and operational measures is being carried out aimed at establishing all the circumstances of the incident. The prominent opposition leader had garnered a massive follower base for his criticisms of the corruption in Putin's administration. According to reports, he returned to Russia in 2021 from Germany where he underwent treatment after being allegedly poisoned. Upon his return, Navalnvy was swiftly arrested on charges he dismissed as politically motivated, reported CNN. Reaction from Navalny's team Navalny's close aide Leonid Volkov wrote on X: "Russian authorities publish a confession that they killed Alexey Navalny in prison." "We do not have any way to confirm it or to prove this isnt true. Navalnys lawyer is on the way to Harp," he said. Navalnys spokesperson, Kira Yarmysh, posted on X: "The Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug is spreading the news of Alexey Navalny's death in IK-3. We have no confirmation of this yet. Alexey's lawyer is currently on his way to Kharp. As soon as we have some information, we will report on it." Photo Courtesy: Unsplash The Network of Women Journalists for Digital Rights (NWDJR) has expressed 'deep concerns' over the ongoing attacks against prominent women journalist Meher Bokhari and others in online spaces by PML-N supporters. On examining multiple platforms, NWJDR has found non-consensual use of images, non-consensual use of intimate images and doctored images, created through generative artificial intelligence and other AI tools, of Ms Bokhari being shared online with sexist, misogynistic and sexualised gendered attacks, reported Dawn News. The women journalists have been targeted by supporters of political parties in the past as well. There has been pervasive and persistent online harassment, sexualised and otherwise gendered disinformation faced by women journalists in Pakistan, with many being threatened with physical assault and offline violence, reported Dawn News. NWJDR has witnessed multiple incidents of female journalists private information being leaked online with what NWJDR can say are well-planned and directed efforts to silence them and resulted in stalking and offline harassment, the newspaper reported. NWJDR posted on X: "More than 60 journalists signed Network of Women Journalists for Digital Rights (NWDJR)'s statement condemning the use of technology-facilitated gender-based violence (TFGBV) and Generative AI to attack and silence women journalists." Photo Courtesy: BNM UK X page The UK cell of the Baloch National Movement (BNM) recently announced an awareness campaign for the atrocities committed against the Baloch community in Pakistan,media reports said. BNM UK posted on X: "The Baloch National Movement will launch an awareness campaign across various cities in the UK, commencing on February 17th in London." Unveiling The Baloch Struggle The Baloch National Movement will launch an awareness campaign across various cities in the UK, commencing on February 17th in London. pic.twitter.com/HVZGwgPFeZ BNM_United Kingdom (@BNM_UK_chapter) February 13, 2024 The awareness campaign will begin on February 17. Meanwhile, Baloch National Movement (Germany Chapter NRW Unit) on February 10 staged a protest in Trier, Rhineland Palatinate, Germany, when they condemned the Baloch Genocide and decrying the Fake Encounters by Pakistani forces. All these protests are taking place at a time when Pakistan voted to elect a new government. No party emerged as winner in the elections with the political outfits now trying to forge calculations to form the government in the country. Photo Courtesy: Unsplash The White House has expressed concerns over the allegations that the recently held national polls in Pakistan were not performed in a free and fair manner. "Were concerned. And we share our concerns about the some of the reports that weve heard coming out of Pakistan in terms of intimidation, voter suppression, that kind of thing," White House spokesperson John Kirby told reporters on Thursday. "Were watching this very, very closely," he said. "And as I understand it, votes are still being tallied. So, international monitors are still taking a look at at those tallies. Im not Im not going to get ahead of that process," he said. Pakistan voted to elect a new government on February 8. However, the country plunged into a political crisis with none of the political outfits winning the majority needed to form the government. Political parties are now trying to forge an alliance and secure 169 seats needed to secure a majority in the 336-member lower house of parliament. PTI-backed Independent candidates consolidated their lead in the general elections 2024 over mainstream political parties, especially in the National and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assemblies, throughout the result announcement process, reported ARY News. During the day, the Ukrainian military eliminated about 1,210 enemy personnel, 23 tanks, 39 armored combat vehicles, 21 artillery systems, four UAVs, 13 cruise missiles, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reports. "The total combat losses of the enemy from February 24, 2022 to February 16, 2024 approximately amount to: about 400,300 people of military personnel (plus 1,210), 6,465 tanks (plus 23) units, 12,129 armored combat vehicles (plus 39) units, 9,641 artillery systems (plus 21) units, 984 MLRS units, 671 units of air defense equipment, 332 aircraft units, 325 helicopters, 7,408 operational-tactical UAVs (plus four), 1,895 cruise missiles (plus 13), 25 ships/boats, one submarine, 12,716 automotive equipment and tankers (plus 25) units, and 1,528 units of special equipment (plus four) units," a message posted on Facebook on Friday morning reads. Photo Courtesy: Wikimedia Commons/ShareAlike 4.0 International Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) will stage a demonstration against alleged rigging in the general polls in Peshawar city of Pakistan on Saturday. Sources told ARY News that PTI nominated candidate for Chief Minister KP slot Ali Amin Gandapur headed the meeting regarding alleged rigging in elections in Peshawar. Demonstrations are scheduled to take place in Ring Road Gulistan Park and Ali Amin Gandapur regions of the city. Sources said that the candidates held the Returning Officer, DC Peshawar Afaq Wazir responsible for rigging in Peshawar elections. White House voices concern over alleged rigging The White House has expressed concerns over the allegations that the recently held national polls in Pakistan were not performed in a free and fair manner. "Were concerned. And we share our concerns about the some of the reports that weve heard coming out of Pakistan in terms of intimidation, voter suppression, that kind of thing," White House spokesperson John Kirby told reporters on Thursday. "Were watching this very, very closely," he said. "And as I understand it, votes are still being tallied. So, international monitors are still taking a look at at those tallies. Im not Im not going to get ahead of that process," he said. Pakistan polls Pakistan voted to elect a new government on February 8. However, the country plunged into a political crisis with none of the political outfits winning the majority needed to form the government. Political parties are now trying to forge an alliance and secure 169 seats needed to secure a majority in the 336-member lower house of parliament. PTI-backed Independent candidates consolidated their lead in the general elections 2024 over mainstream political parties, especially in the National and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assemblies, throughout the result announcement process, reported ARY News. Photo Courtesy: Unsplash The White House on Thursday reacted to the recent attacks on Indian students in the US and said there is no excuse for violence based on race. John Kirby, Coordinator for Strategic Communications at the National Security Council in the White House, said during a press briefing: "Theres no excuse for violence, certainly based on on race or or gender or religion or any other factor." He said such incidents are 'unacceptable' in India. "The President and this administration has been working very, very hard to make sure were doing everything we can to work with state and local authorities to try to thwart and disrupt those kinds of attacks and make it clear to anybody who might consider them that theyll be held properly accountable," he said. Several Indian-origin people found dead in the USA in 2024 Indian-origin student Sameer Kamath was found dead in the woods at a nature preserve in the USA last week. He was a doctoral student at Indiana's Purdue University. Four other deaths of Indian-origin students were recorded in the USA this year Recently, 19-year-old Shreyas Reddy Beniger, a student at the Linder School of Business in Ohio, was found dead. Purdue University student Neel Acharya was found dead on the university campus, hours after his mother had reported him missing. Vivek Saini, from Haryana, was hammered to death by a homeless man in Georgia's Lithonia on Jan 16. Akul Dhawan, another Indian student, was found dead outside the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in January. Hyderabad student injured after being chased and attacked by four men in Chicago Meanwhile, a student from Hyderabad has received grave injuries after being attacked by four armed robbers near his house in the US state of Chicago. A video shows the student, who was bleeding profusely, stating that he was kicked and punched by the robbers. The robbers also snatched his phone. The victim-Syed Mazahir Ali, a resident of Langar Houz in Hyderabad, had gone to the US to pursue a Master's degree from Indiana Wesleyan University. Photo Courtesy: Unsplash A US school teacher was arrested for allegedly giving students an assignment where he asked them to come up with different ways to kill one of his students, media reports said. The identity of the teacher has not been revealed so far. The unidentified Crestwood Middle School teacher instructed his students to write how they would kill one particular student in the class in January 2022, according to court documents obtained by WTKR Thursday as quoted by New York Post . The documents state that the assignment came from another student in the class, but the teacher went along with it, the newspaper reported. According to reports, students pulled out thier tablets and following the assignment mentioned ways to kill the selected classmate. Documents outline how the ideas from the students included chopping him up, throwing him out the window, burning him alive and feeding him to a dog, reported WTKR. Police was informed about the incident after the bullied student went home and told his parents about the incident. When asked by authorities why this happened, records state that the teacher said it was hard to engage the class and the student at the center of the assignment didnt appear upset, but the teacher agreed it was an inappropriate assignment and told police it was an error in judgment, reported WTKR. The teacher later pleaded guilty to one misdemeanour of contributing to the delinquency of a minor. Photo Courtesy: X/The White House Washington DC/ IBNS: US President Joe Biden Friday said he was "not surprised" but "outraged" over the news of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny's death. "He bravely stood up to the corruption, the violence and all the bad things the Putin government was doing," Biden said at the White House of Russian President Vladimir Putin. "Putin is responsible for Navalny's death." Russian opposition leader and President Putin's critic Alexei Navalny has died at the Arctic prison colony, media reports said on Friday. He was 47. He was serving a 19-year term. Alexey Navalny felt unwell in prison after a walk and lost consciousness. He received all necessary resuscitation measures, but they did not yield positive results, the Federal Ptnitentiary Service stated as quoted by Russia's Sputnik news agency. The White House sought more information about Navalny's death at a Russian penal colony north of the Arctic Circle, where he was dispatched less than two months ago. The development has put a further chill into already bitter US-Russian relations. The 47-year-old Navalny had been a leading critic of Putin, and Biden had said after meeting Putin in Geneva in June 2021 that Nalvany's death would risk devastating consequences for Putin. Biden and Putin remain deeply at odds over Russia's invasion of Ukraine two years ago, and Biden is urging Republican hardliners in the US Congress to support additional funding to pay for more weaponry for Ukraine's military. Authorities are trying to figure out the cause of Navalny's death. Commenting on the development, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was quoted as saying by Sputnik it is up to medics to find out reasons behind Navalny's death. As far as we know, now, in accordance with all current rules, the Federal Penitentiary Service is engaged in all inspections, clarifications, and so on. That is, no instructions are required anymore, because there is a certain set of rules in this regard that the service is now guided by, Peskov told reporters, adding that the news about Navalnys death was reported from Moscow. Speaking about the investigation into the death of the Russian leader, authority said in a statement as quoted by Sputnik: "The investigation office of the Russian Investigative Committee in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Area has launched a procedural investigation into the death of Navalny A.A. ... In accordance with the procedure established by law, a set of investigative and operational measures is being carried out aimed at establishing all the circumstances of the incident. The prominent opposition leader had garnered a massive follower base for his criticisms of the corruption in Putin's administration. According to reports, he returned to Russia in 2021 from Germany where he underwent treatment after being allegedly poisoned. Upon his return, Navalnvy was swiftly arrested on charges he dismissed as politically motivated, reported CNN. In the new turn of events, it looks like the trouble is only going to increase for Elvish Yadav. The Bigg Boss OTT winner and YouTuber whose name was embroiled in the Noida rave party case a couple of months ago in which snake venom was allegedly being used as a drug was accused of supplying the snake venom. New update on Elvish Yadav snake venom case Twitter For the unversed, Noida Police had transferred the samples of evidence that they obtained from the rave party in Noida to Jaipur FSL for investigation. Now, the FSL (Forensic Science Laboratory) report of the sample has arrived and confirmed the presence of snake venom of Cobra Krait species. What does this mean? Now that it has been confirmed that snake venom was being used for rave party, Elivsh Yadav might be called for questioning in the case. Screenshot from an old video/Twitter Police had recovered nine snakes, including five cobras from the accused men. How did Elvish Yadav's name get embroiled in the controversy? It all came to light after an animal welfare activist, from an NGO run by BJP MP Maneka Gandhi, filed a complaint against the use of snake venom drugs in Noida. During the investigation, the Police found out and arrested five people for providing snake venom for recreational purposes at parties in Delhi-NCR. During the questioning of these people, Bigg Boss OTT 2 winner's name had emerged. Following this, an FIR was registered under the Wildlife (Protection) Act and Section 120A (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code. What did Elvish Yadav say about his involvement in the rave party case? Twitter Also Read: Snake Smuggler Reveals Elvish Yadav's Parties Last Only For 30 Minutes, Cops Don't Dare To Raid In a statement, the social media star said, "I woke up in the morning and saw the kind of news being spread against me. It's all over the media that Elvish Yadav has been arrested, and he has been caught with intoxicating substances. All the accusations against me that are spreading are completely false. Not even 1% of them are true." He added, "I am ready to cooperate with the UP police, and I would like to request the UP Police, the entire administration, and respected Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to investigate thoroughly. If even 0.1% of my involvement is found in this matter, I am willing to take full responsibility." For more news and updates from the world of celebrities from Bollywood and Hollywood, keep reading Indiatimes Entertainment. Mahashivratri 2024 Date: Mahashivratri is one of the most significant festivals dedicated to Lord Shiva which is celebrated by Hindus worldwide every year. The festival of Mahashivratri falls every year on the 13th or 14th night of the lunar month or the day before the new moon by the Hindu calendar, which usually falls in February or March in the Gregorian calendar. The word Mahashivratri "The Great Night of Shiva" is derived from two Sanskrit words - Maha, meaning great, Shiva" referring to the lord shiva, and "ratri means night, meaning the night of Lord Shiva. It is believed that on this night, Lord Shiva performed the Tandava dance, a dance which signifies creation, preservation, and destruction. Hence, the festival is considered to be an extremely auspicious event for devotees of Lord Shiva. Mahashivratri 2024 Date: When is Maha Shivratri in 2024? Mahashivratri, a revered Hindu festival, is an annual celebration dedicated to Lord Shiva, considered the supreme deity in Hinduism. This sacred occasion holds significant importance and is marked by devout celebrations worldwide by followers of Shiva. Mahashivratri 2024 Date Maha Shivratri, known as the great night of Lord Shiva, is a significant occasion marked by fasting, meditation on Shiva, self-reflection, fostering social harmony, and an overnight vigil at Shiva temples. According to the Hindu calendar, Maha Shivratri is observed annually on the fourteenth day of the dark (waning) half of the lunar month of Phalguna or Magha. In the Gregorian calendar, this year, the day falls on Friday, March 8, 2024. Maha Shivratri 2024 Date And Time Maha Shivaratri 2024 Date March 8, 2024 Maha Shivaratri 2024 Day Friday Chaturdashi Tithi Begins Mar 08, 2024, 9:57 PM Chaturdashi Tithi Ends Mar 09, 2024, 6:17 PM Nishita Kaal Puja Time Mar 09, 2024, 00:07 to 00:56 Shivaratri Parana Time 06:37 AM to 3:29 PM How To Celebrate Maha Shivaratri? On the special day of Mahashivaratri, devotees observe fasting as a gesture to please Lord Shiva. This festival is particularly auspicious for women, with married women praying for the well-being of their husbands and unmarried women seeking a life partner with qualities akin to Lord Shiva, known for being an ideal husband. Various rituals are performed in temples across the country during Mahashivratri celebrations. Devotees engage in prayers and puja ceremonies dedicated to Lord Shiva, offering items such as milk, honey, flowers, and the sacred Bilva Patra leaves. In addition to the puja rituals, devotees undertake fasting, abstaining from food and drink throughout the day. Some choose to stay awake the entire night, participating in prayers and meditations, commonly known as the "Night of Awakening." Others visit temples to seek blessings from Lord Shiva. Devotees utilize this night by worshipping Adidev Mahadev through continuous chanting and listening to Mantras like Mahamrityunjay Mantra and Shiva Tandav Stotram. Mahashivratri attracts a large gathering of devotees at prominent Shiva temples nationwide, including the Mahakaleshwar Jyotirlinga in Ujjain and the Kashi Vishwanath Temple in Varanasi. The festivities are characterized by devotional songs, mantra chanting, and the resonating sound of temple bells. Known as "The Great Night of Shiva," Mahashivratri is also viewed as a time for spiritual awakening. Many individuals across the country use this occasion to seek inner peace and enlightenment, believing that Lord Shiva is especially benevolent on this night, granting the wishes of those who pray with unwavering devotion. Beyond its religious aspects, Mahashivratri is celebrated with enthusiasm through cultural events and festivities, featuring dance performances, musical presentations, and various cultural programs, making it a grand celebration for all participants. Mahashivratri 2024 Date and Time | Shutterstock Why is Mahashivratri celebrated? Shivratri is a Hindu festival celebrated every year in honour of Lord Shiva, one of the most powerful deities within the Trimurti, the Hindu trinity which also includes Brahma and Vishnu. The festival is observed on the 13th night/14th day of the Hindu lunar month of Phalguna, which usually falls in February or March and this year the festival will be celebrated on the 8th of March. According to Hindu mythology, there are many stories associated with the celebration of Mahashivratri. One of the most popular legends states that Lord Shiva drank the deadly poison called halahal or kalakuta that emerged from the ocean during the Samudra Manthan (churning of the ocean) to save the world. Another popular story relates to the marriage of Lord Shiva and Parvati, who are considered the ideal couple in Hinduism. It is believed that on the night of Mahashivratri, Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati got married, and since then the festival marks the union of Lord Shiva and Devi Parvati. Maha Shivratri 2024 FAQs When is Maha Shivratri? In 2024, Mahashivratri or Maha Shivratri will be celebrated on March 8, 2024 (Friday). Why is Maha Shivratri celebrated? Maha Shivratri is a Hindu festival celebrated annually to honor Lord Shiva, one of the principal deities in Hinduism. It is believed that on this day, Lord Shiva performed the Tandava dance, which symbolizes creation, preservation, and destruction. The festival is celebrated on the 14th night of the Hindu month of Phalguna or Maagha, which usually falls in February or March. It is observed by fasting, performing puja (worship) of Lord Shiva, and chanting his mantras. Can we sleep during the Day on Shivaratri? Shivaratri is traditionally observed as a night of fasting and vigil, during which devotees stay awake and engage in prayers, meditation, and other spiritual practices. Therefore, it is generally not recommended to sleep on Shivaratri night. What is the favourite foods of Lord Shiva? As per Mythology Lord Shiva's favourite food is Kand-Mool and he also likes bhang, dhatura, milk, thandai, and sweets white in colour. For more informative articles on historical and upcoming events from around the world, please visit Indiatimes Events. Ramadan 2024 Date in India: When is Ramadan 2024? As we all know the sacred month of Ramadan is supposed to begin from March 10, 2024. These days are considered to be very important and pious and a large number of Muslim people observe fast or roza for one month and offer prayers to Allah. Every year, Muslims around the world celebrate Ramadan, the holiest month of the Islamic calendar. For approximately 30 days, Muslims fast from dawn to sunset, and engage in nightly communal prayers leading up to Eid al-Fitr, the final day of Ramadan. So, if you're celebrating Ramadan for the first time this year or want to know more about this Holy month of Ramadan. Ramadan 2024 Start Date in India The Islamic calendar follows the phases of the moon, commonly known as the lunar cycle. As a result, the Holy month of Ramadan falls approximately 10 days earlier each year in the Gregorian calendar. This year, Ramadan 2024 is supposed to begin on Monday, March 11, 2024, however, it will now start on March 12, following the sighting of the moon over Mecca. Lasting for 30 days, Ramadan will end on Wednesday, April 10, 2024, with the celebratory days of Eid al-Fitr starting on Wednesday, April 10, 2024, or Thursday, April 11, 2024, it depends on moon sighting. Ramadan 2024: When Is Ramadan 2024 Starting In India? Ramadan 2024 Dates Ramadan 2024 Schedule When does Ramadan start? Monday, March 11, 2024 How long is Ramadan 2024? 30 Days (From March 10 to April 10) When does Ramadan end? Wednesday, April 10, 2024 When Does Eid al-Fitr Start? April 11 or April 12, 2024 About the Holy month of Ramadan According to Islamic culture, the origins of Ramadan can be traced back to the seventh century, when the Prophet Muhammad received the first verses of the Quran, the holy book of Islam, during the month of Ramadan. According to Islamic tradition, the revelation of the Quran to Muhammad began on the 27th night of Ramadan, a night that is known as Laylat al-Qadr, or the Night of Power. Muslims believe that Laylat al-Qadr is the holiest night of the year and that praying on this night is more valuable than praying for a thousand months. The practice of fasting during Ramadan is based on the Quranic injunction to "fast for a fixed number of days". Muslims are required to abstain from food, drink, and other physical needs during daylight hours throughout the month of Ramadan. The fast is broken at sunset with a meal known as iftar, which typically consists of dates, water, and a light meal. After the meal, Muslims perform the Maghrib prayer, the fourth of the five daily prayers in Islam. Ramadan is also a time for spiritual reflection, prayer, and charitable giving. Muslims are encouraged to read the entire Quran during the month, and many mosques offer daily prayers and study groups. In addition, Muslims are expected to give to charity during Ramadan, with many mosques and charitable organizations organising food drives and other initiatives to help those in need. FAQs: Ramadan 2024 When does Ramadan 2024 start? This year, Ramadan is expected to begin in the evening on Monday, March 11, 2024. How long is Ramadan 2024? This year, Ramadan is expected to begin in the evening on Monday, March 11, 2024, and end on Wednesday, April 10, 2024. Ramadan 2024 is expected to last 30 days. When does Ramadan 2024 end? Wednesday, April 10, 2024. What year will Ramadan be 2 times? Ramadan is likely to occur twice in 2030, owing to differences between the Gregorian and the Islamic/ Hijri calendar, said Dr Sobeih Al Saadi, an astronomer. The Hijri year differs from the Gregorian year by about 11 days, and this means that every 33 years, Ramadan is repeated twice in one year, he explained. Note: Dates/timings may be subject to change; details mentioned here are as per the information available. For more informative articles on historical and upcoming events from around the world, please visit Indiatimes Events. Taj Mahotsav 2024: From February 18 to 27, Agra is set to host the mesmerising Taj Mahotsav 2024, a grand cultural event that showcases the richness of Indian art and culture while commemorating the legendary love story of Mumtaz and Shah Jahan. Over the course of ten days, the festival will feature talent shows by local artisans, chefs, entertainers, and artists from Uttar Pradesh. This extravaganza has left a lasting impression on international tourists who consistently flock to witness the vibrant activities. Originally conceived to highlight local handicrafts from across India and recognize artists, this year's celebration marks its thirty-second anniversary. So, seize the opportunity, book affordable flight tickets from the USA to India, and delve into the significance and history of this event and its impact on culture and tourism. Taj Mahotsav 2024 Dates The Taj Mahotsav Festival is scheduled to commence on February 17 and conclude on February 27 this year. Important Details about Taj Mahotsav 2024 Taj Mahotsav 2024 Dates 17th Feb 27th Feb 2024 Venue Shilpgram, Agra Official Website www.tajmahotsav.org Taj Mahotsav 2024 Theme The theme for Taj Mahotsav 2024 is revealed as Sanskriti & Samriddhi, echoing the profound connection between culture and prosperity. Under the patronage of the Uttar Pradesh Government and organised by the Taj Mahotsav Committee, this festival stands as a legacy initiative, celebrating the rich roots of Indian heritage. History of Taj Mahotsav Established in 1992, the Taj Mahotsav has attracted people from around the globe since its inception. It serves as a testament to the richness, diversity, and individuality of Indian art. Shilpgram, a popular craft town in Agra, is the chosen venue for Taj Mahotsav 2024. Situated close to the iconic Taj Mahal, also known as the "white mausoleum," Shilpgram Village is an ideal location for celebrating this event. Significance of Taj Mahotsav Organised by the Indian government's Department of Tourism with the deliberate intent to boost tourism, Taj Mahotsav attracts large crowds and serves as a platform for educating visitors about the historical and cultural importance of the Taj Mahal. The event takes place at the eastern gate. For ten days, Taj Mahotsav transforms into a lively carnival, featuring outstanding works by national and international artists. Artists showcase their skills, offering a diverse array of artwork, local specialties, and handcrafted souvenirs for sale at stands set up throughout the venue. For more informative articles on historical and upcoming events from around the world, please visit Indiatimes Events. In a tragic turn of events, an 80-year-old man, who had arrived on an Air India flight from New York with his wife, passed away at Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport on Monday. Pixaby The octogenarian collapsed after walking 1.5 km from the plane to the immigration counter due to insufficient wheelchairs available. "The couple had pre-booked wheelchairs but only the wife received one," reported Times Of India. "The man was walking alongside his wife and as they reached the immigration counter, he collapsed due to a heart attack." Air India responds to incident An Air India spokesperson provided insight, stating, One of our guests flying from New York to Mumbai on 12th February fell ill while proceeding to clear immigration with his wife, who was in a wheelchair. Due to heavy demand for wheelchairs, we had requested the passenger to wait till he was also provided with wheelchair assistance but he opted to walk along with his spouse. As advised by the airport doctor attending to him after taking ill, the passenger was immediately rushed to the hospital, where he was declared to have passed away. Reuters Shortage of wheelchairs at Mumbai Airport According to a source at the airport, there seems to be a recurring problem with a shortage of wheelchairs. They mentioned to TOI that on a recent flight, there were 32 passengers who needed wheelchairs, but there were only 15 wheelchairs available on the ground, and staff was waiting to assist them. Reuters Air India assured that they were in constant communication with the family members to provide any necessary assistance during this difficult time. Furthermore, a ground staff member shed light on the challenges faced by elderly couples, stating, We've often found that aged couples aren't comfortable parting with the spouse and travelling alone from the aircraft to the airport terminal. Those with mobility issues, hearing problems prefer to stay with each other when moving from the aircraft through the terminal building. The flight, which was originally scheduled to arrive at 11:30 am, was delayed and landed at 2:10 pm. Treatment of disabled passengers at airports Representational Image This incident highlights concerns about the treatment of disabled passengers in airports. In February, a woman in a wheelchair faced distressing treatment during security clearance at Kolkata airport. Yesterday evening during the security clearance at Kolkata airport, the officer asked me (a wheelchair user) to stand up, not once but thrice. First she asked me to get up and walk two steps into the kiosk. (1/1) Arushi Singh (@singhharushi) February 1, 2024 In her post on X, she recounted the ordeal, stating, Yesterday evening during the security clearance at Kolkata airport, the officer asked me (a wheelchair user) to stand up, not once but thrice. First, she asked me to get up and walk two steps into the kiosk. I told her I cant as I have a disability. Inside, she again asked me to stand up. I said, I cant. She said sirf do minute khade ho jao (Please stand for two minutes). I explained again that I have a disability by birth. This appalling lack of empathy has left me shaken, furious. There have been instances in the past too, and show that Kolkata airport has learnt nothing from them. For more news and current affairs from around the world, please visit Indiatimes News. As the farmers' protest entered its fourth day on Friday, there is no end to the deadlock and unending traffic woes on the borders of Delhi. On Friday, the protesting farmers who are demanding a legal guarantee for minimum support price for their crops and loan waiver, among other issues are observing a Bharat bandh. BCCL Farmers' protest affecting goods movement As the protests continue Delhi's borders with Haryana and Uttar Pradesh have been fortified and vehicular movement has been significantly restricted. This has resulted in trucks carrying supplies like fresh vegetables, milk, and poultry produce to the markets in Delhi being forced to take longer routes. While there is no shortage of supplies as of now, wholesale vendors in Delhi's Azadpur Mandi fear that if the protests continue, prices of vegetables, fruits, and dairy products brought in from other cities could increase soon. BCCL Vegetable, fruit, poultry prices may increase "The supplies to Delhi have not been impacted much as of now. However, there's a slight delay in the products reaching the city," a Wholesaler in Azadpur Mandi said. "For now, the exports from Delhi to Punjab and adjoining areas have been impacted as truckers have to take an alternative route, which is longer than the usual one taken through the highway. This has increased the cost of travel and a slight increase in prices of export," a wholesaler from Ghazipur mandi said. Industries also fear losses It is not just vegetable and fruit dealers that are worried, traders and manufacturers in Haryana's Bahadurgarh and Delhi's Bawana Industrial Area (BIA) are also incurring losses due to the farmers' protest. BCCL The Tikri region in western Delhi and neighbouring Bahadurgarh are home to one of the largest footwear manufacturing sectors, with over 400,000 workers commuting daily to their respective workplaces. In addition to the footwear industry, the manufacturers, traders and industrialists at BIA, which accommodates various industries such as plastic granules, stainless steel, clothing, and nuts and bolts, are also concerned about potential business losses. For more news and current affairs from around the world, please visit Indiatimes News. As a result of a meeting on the situation on the Ukrainian-Polish border, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy instructed Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal to hold urgent talks with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk. We in Ukraine view what has happened and is happening to our citizens and Ukrainian cargo as an obvious violation of the principles of solidarity. Ukrainian grain on the asphalt is not just a few dramatic shots. This is evidence of how emotions can become dangerous. We have to defend the good neighborliness and solidarity that are changing the history of the whole of Europe for the better. And together with Poland, we must establish a unified stance towards the imports of Russian grain and other Russian goods to European countries in order to protect our societies and specifically farmers, both Ukrainian and Polish. And we must always come to an agreement with each other Ukrainians and Poles so that our common enemy in Moscow cannot turn conflicts in our border area against the economy, borders and sovereignty of each of us, Zelenskyy said in a video address Thursday evening. In a bid to encourage organ donations, the Odisha Government has announced that the funeral of organ donors would be performed with full state honours including wrapping the body in tricolour and giving a 21-gun salute. Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Thursday said that the initiative aims at honouring the courage and sacrifice of the donors to save the lives of others. UNSPLASH Will encourage more organ donations Honouring the organ donors will also create awareness in society about the importance of organ donation and motivate more people to come forward, Patnaik said. Noting that organ donation is a noble gesture, Patnaik said the relatives of brain dead people, who take courageous decision on donating the organs, play an important role in saving many human lives. Award for organ donors The Odisha government has already set up the State Organ & Tissues Transplant Organization (SOTTO) in 2019. The government also instituted the Suraj Award for the organ donors in 2020, the chief minister said. The state government instituted Suraj Award after a youth by the same name from Bhanjanagar of Ganjam district sustained critical injuries in a road accident and was declared brain dead by doctors during treatment following which his relatives decided to donate his organs. Their decision helped save the lives of six persons. FREEPIK This apart, the government has been providing Rs 5 lakh from Chief Minister's Relief Fund to the family of organ donors. The chief minister also honours the next of kin of organ donors on World Organ Donation Day on August 13 every year. Organ donation in India Organs including the heart, lungs, liver, kidneys, intestines and pancreas can be donated and can be the difference between life and death for a patient in need of a transplant. Despite this in most cases, the kin of the brain-dead patients are unwilling to donate the organs. Over the years, several attempts have been made in India to encourage organ donations, which are still voluntary. For more news and current affairs from around the world, please visit Indiatimes News. A man in England, referred to as PQ in court documents, made a decision to assist his partner JK in conceiving a child due to their financial constraints preventing them from pursuing IVF. Representational Image| Lexica Facing fertility challenges, PQ agreed to mix his sperm with that of his father, RS, which was then used for insemination. Legal action over unconventional conception The couple had always intended to keep the procedure that led to the birth of their son, D, a secret. After learning of the unusual conception, the local council took legal action to determine the parentage of D. They petitioned the high court to compel PQ to undergo a DNA test for paternity. Representational Image| Lexica However, the judge dismissed the council's application, stating that the council lacked standing. He asserted, "A wish to uphold the public interest in maintaining accurate records of births does not confer a personal interest in the determination of such an application." Judge on father-and-son bond The judge emphasised that disclosing the identity of D's biological father was the family's decision. According to Sky News, the judge remarked that the family had "created a welfare minefield," expressing doubt that PQ, JK, and RS fully considered the consequences of their actions. He added, "I cannot believe that JK, PQ and (his father) RS properly thought through the ramifications of their scheme for JK to become pregnant, otherwise it is unlikely that they would have embarked upon it." Representational Image| Lexica The judge recognised the established father-and-son relationship between PQ and D, asserting that it was the responsibility of PQ and JK to "manage the latent risks to his welfare." Ethical and legal dilemmas of ART Assisted reproductive technology (ART) presents complex ethical and legal dilemmas. While it offers hope to many struggling with infertility, cases like this highlight the need for more explicit regulations. Issues surrounding parentage, consent, and the well-being of resulting children necessitate thoughtful consideration. Legal frameworks must evolve to address the evolving landscape of reproductive technologies and family structures. For more news and current affairs from around the world, please visit Indiatimes News. Israel is threatening a full scale attack on the city of Rafah where it believes that many Hamas militants are operating from. While the international community has urged Israel to spare the last refuge for the people of Gaza, who have sought safety in the city. Let's take a look at why the region may see an all out attack by Israel. Last week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reaffirmed his plans to extend military operations into Rafah. Two days following this statement, Israel initiated a series of airstrikes that resulted in the loss of dozens of lives. Israel Bombs Biggest Refugee Camp In Gaza Where Is Rafah? Rafah is a city located in the southern part of the Gaza Strip, which is a Palestinian territory situated on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea. Rafah is near the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt. The city is divided into two parts: Rafah in the Gaza Strip and Rafah on the Egyptian side. The border between Gaza and Egypt is known as the Rafah Border Crossing. Rafah has historical and strategic significance, and it has been the site of various developments and events related to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The city has faced challenges and has been affected by geopolitical and humanitarian issues associated with the broader situation in the region. Why Rafah holds importance? Geopolitical Location: Rafah is located in the southern part of the Gaza Strip, making it a key point near the border with Egypt. Its proximity to Egypt has contributed to its strategic significance in the context of regional dynamics. Border Crossing: The Rafah Border Crossing is a crucial entry and exit point between the Gaza Strip and Egypt. It serves as a major crossing for people and goods, facilitating the movement of individuals, humanitarian aid, and commercial goods. The status and operation of the Rafah Border Crossing have been subject to political and security considerations. Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: Rafah has been directly affected by the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, with the city witnessing various events and developments related to the broader geopolitical situation in the region. The city and its surroundings have experienced the impact of conflicts, military operations, and efforts to control the flow of goods and people. Humanitarian Considerations: Rafah's importance extends to humanitarian concerns, given its role as a gateway for the movement of people, especially during periods of conflict or when access to and from Gaza is restricted. The city's population may face challenges related to access to basic services and humanitarian aid. Historical Significance: Rafah has a history that dates back centuries, with archaeological sites and historical landmarks. The city's historical significance adds cultural and heritage dimensions to its overall importance. The Indian Institute of Management, Indore (IIMI), achieved a 100% placement rate for the 2022-24 batch recruitment drive, with 594 students receiving job offers. One student bagged a Rs 1 crore job offer. This is the highest annual package offered during the final placement round of this session at IIM-I, an official said. "One of our students has bagged the highest salary package of Rs 1 crore during the final placement period of this session. This student has been offered a job in the sales and marketing department by a company in the e-commerce industry. The offer is for domestic placement. IIM Indore Achieves 100% Placement: 594 Students Secure Offers from 150 Companies, Including New Recruiters IIMI Over 150 companies participated in the drive and extended offers to 594 students of the two-year Post Graduate Programme (PGP) and five-year Integrated Programme in Management (IPM). This year, the average CTC stood at Rs 25.68 lakh per annum (LPA), with a median CTC of Rs 24.50 LPA. The highest compensation offered on campus was Rs 1 crore per annum. IIM Indore welcomed more than 50 new recruiters this year, including top industries players like Accenture Operations, Airtel, Bajaj Consumer Care, CAMS, DataLink, ESAF Bank, Godrej & Boyce, HCL Software, and HDFC Life. twitter IIM-I Director Himanshu Rai said, "We strongly believe that integrating academia and industry is crucial for students' welfare and have made consistent efforts to bridge the gap. Our students' ability to secure fulfilling career opportunities, despite ongoing economic uncertainties, underscores the efficacy of our philosophy." (With PTI inputs) For the latest and more interesting financial news, keep reading Indiatimes Worth. Click here Charging that the government did not scrape the bottom of the barrel as it had promised, farmers on Thursday voted during a nationwide meeting in Nikaia in Larissa A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, Salihu Lukman, on Friday urged former governor of Edo State, Adams Oshiomhole, to stop blaming the immediate past government of Muhammadu Buhari for the forex challenge and economic hardship affecting the country. INFORMATION NIGERIA learnt that Oshiomhole, during an appearance on Channels Television, had claimed that Nigerians are suffering due to the the long-term consequences of the former presidents reckless policies. However, reacting to Oshiomhole claims via a statement issued in Abuja titled APC and Question of Liability: Open Letter to APC Leaders, Lukman stated that it would be uncharitable to make excuses for Tinubu. The APC chieftain insisted that all those in the leadership of APC including the incumbent president should be blamed for Buharis policies. He said: Sadly, instead of ruling with humility and reviewing policies when there is public outcry, they are grandstanding and giving excuses. They engage in the familiar blame games, attributing the consequences of government policies to the administration of former President Buhari. This is very uncharitable and dishonest, with due respect to our leaders. Certainly, the government of Buhari did not measure up to the expectations of party members and Nigerians in general. But we must take responsibility. The truth is that the success or failure of Buharis government represents the collective success or failure of APC as a party. READ MORE: Just Yesterday He Was Their Hero Aisha Yesufu Reacts To Oshiomoles Comments On Buhari All of us in the leadership of the APC, including Tinubu, were complicit in one way or the other to all the circumstances that contributed to the failure of Buhari. Unfortunately, as things are, we are also strengthening the hands of Asiwaju to continue the path of failure. Just like we deluded Buhari into believing that every decision he took was right, our leaders are today misleading Tinubu to believe that all his decisions are right. Our leaders, including Comrade Oshiomhole, want us to believe that the past administration created the problem. If that is the case, why were they unable as party leaders to regulate the conduct of former President Buhari and prevent him from failing? Now that President Asiwaju Tinubu is in charge, what is being done to address this challenge and ensure that he does not suffer the fate of his predecessor? he queried. Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu of the All Progressives Congress, APC, has pulled out of the governorship primary in Edo State. Ize-Iyamu, who is one of the leading aspirants for the primary election slated for Saturday, announced his withdrawal in a letter dated February 16, 2024. The letter, addressed to the National Chairman of the Party, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje and the State Acting Chairman of the Party, Jarrett Tenebe, disclosed that his decision to shelve his gubernatorial ambition followed exhaustive consultations with family, friends, political associates and supporters. Describing the decision as painful, he opined that he made the sacrifice to withdraw for the sake of peace and unity that the Party desperately required at both state and national levels. The 2020 governorship candidate of the Party said he joined the race as a result of his passion and commitment to the cause of rescuing Edo State from its current condition of decrepitude. READ ALSO: Edo 2024: Nobody Can Stop My Governorship Ambition APCs Ize-Iyamu Having been cleared to contest. I regretfully wish to announce my withdrawal from the race. Although painful, this decision has become imperative after an exhaustive consultation with my family, friends, political associates and supporters. I make this sacrifice in the interest of the peace and unity that the party desperately requires at both state and national levels, he said. According to him, he entered the contest as a progressive democrat, with an open mind to keenly contest and accept the result of a process that is fair, credible and transparent. He further commended the efforts made by the Partys National Working Committee for correcting the impression that was maliciously created by certain persons that some aspirants, including himself were disqualified from the gubernatorial contest by a controversial screening committee. The NWC constituted the authentic screening committee and all twelve aspirants who purchased and completed the nomination forms were successfully screened and subsequently issued Clearance certificates. This step was praiseworthy and helped in restoring our integrity in the eyes of the public, he added. He however appealed to the people of the state and his supporters to accept his decision, which he noted was very personal and promised to be there for them at all times. As part of efforts to tackle many challenges, such as economic hardship and insecurity issues, the Borno State Government has declared a one-day fast for Monday, February 19, to seek divine intervention. INFORMATION NIGERIA reports that Governor Babagana Zulum disclosed this in a statewide broadcast on Friday. He said: I speak to you today with a heavy heart, but also with a determination to address the challenges that have befallen our beloved state. I am deeply troubled by the recent hardships faced by our citizens, particularly the high cost of food items, i understand the burden that this places on families and individuals. I want to assure you that we are taking decisive steps to alleviate this issue, explaining, Our government is focusing on reviving agriculture in the state, intending to increase food production and reduce our reliance on food palliative. By doing so, we hope to not only lower the cost of food items but also to create sustainable livelihoods for our people. READ MORE: Police Inspector, Two Others Killed As Boko Haram Attack Borno Community It is with great concern that I address the recent planting of mines on major roads by some miscreants. These cowardly acts have not only threatened the safety of our citizens but have also hindered the movement of goods and services essential for our states development. As people of faith and from our previous experience, I implore his eminence, the Shehu of Borno, the Chief Imam, Imams, and the Christian brothers and the citizens of Borno State to observe a one-day voluntary fast on Monday the 19th of February 2024, Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo state, on Friday, announced that his administration will extend the payment of wage awards to the workers and pensioners in the state by another six months. Makinde led this out on Friday, during the commissioning of the 12.5km Challenge Odo Ona Elewe-Elebu Apata dualized road project. Recall that in October, the Oyo State Government approved the payment of N25,000 for workers and N15,000 for pensioners as wage award in the state for the next six months. Makinde said that he has not failed to pay workers salaries and pensions to retirees later than the 25th of any month aside from paying the 13th-month salary every year since his assumption of office. The Governor said: When this economic crisis started, we gave wage award to the workers. READ MORE: Development: Oyo Will Compete With Lagos In 12 Years Gov Makinde Assures I gave them for six months, we started 6th October, I wanted that time to be able to sort out between the government and the workers what the minimum wage should be. We have not been able to achieve that. And I will announce today also that that wage award be extended by another six months to give us time to close out on the minimum wage discussion and negotiation. In doing this, we will again demonstrate that we care more about the progress of our people than we do about politics. Like here in Oyo State, we dont care what road, whether it is federal or state, we fix it because those roads have economic importance to Oyo State, not the federal. The Federal Government has said that the country doesnt need to import food items from other countries, adding that Nigeria can feed itself and even be an exporter of food items. The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, made this known at a press briefing in Aso Villa, Abuja, on Thursday. He said: A decision has also been taken that in the interest of our country, there will be no need for food importation at this point. Nigeria has the potential to feed itself and even be a net exporter of food items to other countries. READ MORE: Monitor Warehouse Hoarding Food Across The Country Tinubu Charges IGP, NSA The governors have also agreed to join hands with Mr President to deepen their own investment in the agricultural sector so that more food will be made available to Nigerians. Of course, these investment is not just in crop production; it is also in livestock development. All these is to ensure that food is available. Russian forces conducting tactical turning movement through Avdiyivka likely to create conditions that would force Ukrainian troops to withdraw from their positions ISW Geolocated footage published on February 15 indicates that Russian forces recently advanced to the southern outskirts of the Avdiyivka Coke Plant in northwestern Avdiyivka, according to the analytical review of the American Institute for the Study of War (ISW) for February 15. Russian forces are conducting a tactical turning movement through Avdiyivka likely to create conditions that would force Ukrainian troops to withdraw from their positions in the settlement, a report posted on the official website on Friday reads. At the same time, as the ISW analysts note Ukrainian forces continue to prevent Russian forces from making gains that are more significant than the current incremental Russian advances. As the ISW reports geolocated footage published on February 15 indicates that Russian forces recently advanced to the southern outskirts of the Avdiyivka Coke Plant in northwestern Avdiyivka. Additional geolocated footage published on February 15 indicates that Russian forces captured a Ukrainian fortified position south of Avdiyivka that has long been a Russian sub-tactical objective. In addition, recently geolocated Russian advances indicate that Russian forces have cut the last road in Avdiyivka connecting southern and northern Avdiyivka. But Ukrainian Tavriysk Group of Forces Spokesperson Dmytro Lykhoviy stated that Ukrainian forces are currently using prepared secondary ground lines of communication (GLOCs) to supply Ukrainian forces in southern and eastern Avdiyivka, the Institute notes. ISW said that Russian milbloggers claimed that Russian forces made further advances west of Avdiyivka in an effort to cut dirt roads that Ukrainian forces are using to supply positions in Avdiyivka from Lastochkyne and Pivnichne (both west of Avdiyivka), although ISW has not yet observed any confirmation of these claimed Russian advances. Experts admit that Russian forces may be able to complete the envelopment of some Ukrainian forces if the Ukrainian forces do not withdraw or conduct successful counterattacks. At the same time, ISW analysts believe that the Russian offensive attempt to capture Avdiyivka (as it was in Bakhmut) highlights the inability of the Russian military to conduct a successful operational coverage or encirclement in Ukraine. The repeated Russian inability to conduct successful operational-level envelopments or encirclements suggests that the Russian military will likely continue to advance through gradual minor tactical advances instead of through these wider maneuvers that could lead to more rapid advances or the destruction of large groups of Ukrainian forces, the ISW experts said. It is also noted that the potential Russian capture of Avdiyivka would not be operationally significant and would likely only offer the Kremlin immediate informational and political victories. The Niger State Command of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, has pledged to take decisive action against those selling adulterated fuel to unsuspecting members of the public in the State. Joachin Okafor, Commandant of the Corps, stated this while hosting to the State Commissioner for Communication Technology and Digital Economy, Suleiman Isah, in Minna. He stated that anyone caught engaging in such activities would be prosecuted and brought before the court to serve as a deterrent to others in the State. Expressing concern over the escalating trend, he decried an increase in the sale of adulterated Petroleum Motor Spirit (PMS) at some filling stations in the state, urging perpetrators to change their behavior. READ ALSO: Petroleum Commission Considers Relocating Some Departments To Lagos He stated, One of the filling stations in Niger State, selling Petroleum Motor Spirit (PMS) from one of the filling stations in the state, has been confirmed to be adulterated. This confirmation was made through laboratory tests conducted by the Department of Petroleum Resources, with a certificate of laboratory confirmation issued to the Niger State Command of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC. Okafor further disclosed that the Corps has received several complaints from motorists and vehicle owners reporting breakdowns due to purchasing adulterated fuel from such filling stations. He added, We are currently investigating additional complaints, apart from the one we discovered in Tafa local government area. The Nigeria Police Force, attached to Zone 16 headquarters in Bayelsa State has dismissed three officers, identified as Inspector Edet Inamete, Jeremiah Oreeke and Uche Collins, from the service over misconducts. It was gathered that the officers were earlier defaulted and tried for the offences bordering on discreditable conduct and corrupt practice by the authorities of the command. However, the Zonal Public Relations Officer, CSP Ikwo Kelvin Lafieghe, in a statement on Friday in Yenagoa, disclosed that the action was in a bid to rid the force of the bad eggs. She said: In a bid to rid of the Nigeria Police Force of bad eggs, three (3) personnel attached to one of the tactical teams of the Zonal Command Headquarters, Yenagoa were de-kitted on 14th February, 2024 by the Zonal Provost, following their dismissal from the Nigeria Police Force. READ MORE: Top Bayelsa Police Officer Dies In His Sleep The dismissed officers were earlier defaulted and tried for the offence of discreditable conduct and corrupt practice. They were found guilty of the charges accordingly, hence the punishment of dismissal from the Force was upheld by the Inspector-General of Police IGP Kayode Egbetokun, PhD, NPM, with effect from 18th January, 2024. The affected persons are , AP/NO: 279374 Inspector Edet Inamete, AP/NO: 347467 Inspector Jeremiah Oreeke and AP/NO: 334909 Inspector Uche Collins. Furthermore, the Assistant Inspector-General of Police in charge of Zone 16 headquarters, Yenagoa, AIG Paul Alifa Omata, has re-iterated his zero tolerance to all acts capable of bringing disrepute to the image of the Force in general and the Zone in particular. This week, the Wall Street Journal wrote about an uncommon wedding venue in Philadelphia: the Eastern State Penitentiary. The story about venues that give a new twist to the ol ball and chain was almost expertly designed to give readers the ick. Prison puns aside, why are people seeking to celebrate in spaces where others were tortured and abused? I moved to Philly last year and while Ive visited Eastern State, I had no idea that the prison has offered weddings for more than a decade now. Walking into old cells and hearing about the crushing reality of incarceration did not evoke thoughts of party planning or expressions of love. Why weddings in a former prison, you ask? One Philly Mag wedding writer praised the idea when Eastern State first announced the offering in 2013: It makes sense: Prison/marriage metaphors aside, the space itself is nothing short of magnificent, and it really is a Philadelphia landmark with super cool history and amazing architecture. In 2010, The Inquirer wrote about the popularity of engagement photoshoots at the historic prison. Eastern State is really photogenic. There are 1,200 skylights, and the walls have lots of texture and color. Its the type of thing a Hollywood set builder would try to re-create, said an Eastern State staffer at the time. Advertisement What about couples snapping family photos in the very cells that pioneered solitary confinement is super cool? So pretty! So much history! The photos will look great! People said the same about plantation weddings, which have been under scrutiny in recent years with wedding planning sites like Pinterest and the Knot promising to stop glorifying them. Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively even apologized for their wedding at Boone Hall Plantation in South Carolina, eight years after the ceremony. These structures are living reminders of the atrocities that enslaved Black Americans experienced for centuries, not nostalgic sites of charming history. As Malaika Jabali wrote in an apt critique in 2019, Historical texts, news articles and academic research are all available for anyone genuinely interested in examining slaverys brutality. Plantation weddings, as she says, are wrong. Why is it so hard for white Americans to admit that? she asks. The same goes for prisons, which represent modern-day slavery in the form of mass incarceration. But still, historic prisons are seemingly fair game as wedding venues, considered unique, quirky, and catchy, according to the Wall Street Journal. The practice is especially disgusting and sickly ironic in Philadelphia, the birthplace of the nation that incarcerates more people than any other country in the world. The history in question obviously hits differently depending on your background. Where some couples see old-school beauty, others see bloodshed and violence perpetrated against their communities. Some day, I hope to know the demographics of the couples and wedding guests partying in prisons across the U.S. How many are people of color? How many of these people have family members who are incarcerated? Prisons should not be commodified into lifestyle content. Eastern State explicitly says that the proceeds from its (also cringe-worthy) haunted Halloween event go toward efforts to educate the public about the impacts of mass incarceration on Black and brown communities. How much of that knowledge is valued or understood by the people gallivanting around at a prison yard wedding? Evidently precious little. Zack Whilden looks up at a giraffe created by Lego artist Nathan Sawaya on Wednesday during a media preview of "The Art of the Brick" at the Franklin Institute. Read more When it comes to Lego, theres mortar these little bricks than meets eye. Sure, one yellow Lego brick is just a piece of plastic with tiny nubbins, but a hundred can be used to make a house and 11,014 can be used to build the torso of a man opening up his own chest cavity with his bare hands. Artist Nathan Sawaya illustrates the creativity Lego can unleash within all of us as his The Art of the Brick exhibit returns to the Franklin Institute on Saturday. The show, which first debuted at the museum in 2015, features more than 100 large-scale Lego creations, 30 of which are new to the Franklin. Among the new builds are a collection of endangered animals and reimagined versions of famous artworks, like Frida Kahlos The Frame. Sawayas most-famous creations, like a 20-foot-long T-Rex and the aforementioned Yellow, of a man ripping open his chest, are also on display. To mark the exhibits return to Philly and the 200th anniversary of the founding of the Franklin as an institution, Sawaya built a replica of the Benjamin Franklin National Memorial thats in the museums rotunda (he made a replica of the Liberty Bell for the shows 2015 run). Sawaya declined to say how many bricks he used to build Ben, because visitors are encouraged to guess for the chance to win a one-year family membership to the museum, but the build took just under a month to complete. A former attorney based in New York City, Sawaya walked away from a career in corporate law two decades ago to pursue what made him happy, creating Lego art. My mantra is art is not optional, he said during a press preview for the exhibit on Wednesday. I realized art makes you happier, creating art makes you healthier, creating art makes you smarter, so really creating art makes you a better person. Advertisement He encouraged those who attend the exhibit to explore the Lego play space at the end and to check out the creations by Lego fans who won the Franklins brick build challenge. As an artist I want to inspire folks to explore their own creativity and this is a great venue for doing so, Sawaya said. Here are five not-to-miss builds at The Art of the Brick: 1. Decisions Decisions, Sawayas largest work to date, made out of 112,306 bricks, features more than a dozen human figures suspended in midair above a red sea of human hands reaching up for them. Decisions, Sawayas largest piece. Thanks for following along! Heading out to build my brick story now. pic.twitter.com/4jkhr5kNlJ Stephanie Farr (@FarFarrAway) February 14, 2024 Are the figures floating or falling? Are the hands there to catch their fall or pull them down? The decision is up to the viewer. 2. Shes a brick house If you thought Whistlers mother was a formidable figure in the 1871 portrait painted by her son, James McNeill Whistler, wait to you see her made out of bricks. From the folds in her black dress to the expression on her face that screams, I dont suffer fools lightly, Sawayas interpretation of the American masterpiece is stacked and thats a fact. 3. Never Lego Sawaya locks both bricks and lips together with his Lego version of Gustav Klimts painting The Kiss. Happy kissy face day! Love this LEGO version of Klimts The Kiss. pic.twitter.com/YKrl6UMY8S Stephanie Farr (@FarFarrAway) February 14, 2024 To see this famous two-dimensional embrace reimagined in three-dimensional form with Lego bricks is stunning and surprisingly sensual (in a very PG way). Sawayas ability to capture and maintain the flat, geometric patterns in the couples gold robes as they flow around them is especially impressive. 4. Endangered species Much of Sawayas work explores the human form and the joys and struggles we face, but in The Endangered Species Connection, Sawaya turns his sights to the animal kingdom and those within it were in danger of losing. From a family of African elephants to a humpback whale suspended in air, the creations illustrate that every species is a building block of our world. The animals are impressive in their scale and serve as a reminder that like Lego bricks, were all connected. 5. Brick build challenge As part of the exhibit, the Franklin held a brick build challenge, the theme of which was S.T.E.A.M. (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics). The winning builds and the stories behind them are featured at the end of the exhibit. Kristy Whilden, 41, of Elmer, loves building Lego with her 10-year-old son, Zack. He made a Captain America shield for the challenge, while Whilden made a large Lego stamp of her hero, Laurent Clerc, a Frenchman and deaf-rights activist who cofounded the first school for the deaf in North America. Laurent Clerc is the reason American Sign Language exists, she said. Whilden was a music teacher for 10 years, but when she learned was losing her hearing she went back to school and obtained degrees in deaf studies and American Sign Language. Shes now vice president of the Societe Laurent Clerc, which is campaigning to get a U.S. stamp in Clercs honor, which inspired her Lego build. Whilden won the challenge in the 18+ category and said her son, whose build was not a finalist, was very supportive. The Art of the Brick opens Saturday and runs through Sept. 2. Daytime tickets, which include admission to the museum, are $39 for kids ages 3 to 11 and $43 for adults. Evening tickets are $20 for adults and children. For more information, visit fi.edu. Wawa mascots Wally Goose, in the driver's seat, and Shorti, in the rear, cruise by the grand opening of a Wawa store last year. Read more Wawa has been expanding beyond the Philadelphia region for years, but the convenience chains growth aspirations might be even bigger than previously indicated. Hailey Schearer, a Wawa store employee in Kendall Park, N.J., told Bloomberg that the company eventually wants to open locations in every state. When reached for comment, Wawa spokesperson Lori Bruce directed The Inquirer to its official market expansion announcements posted to the companys website. We cant wait to share our unique Wawa offer and experience with the new communities weve announced and look forward to serving them in the future very soon! Bruce said. Advertisement The company has previously announced expansion into the South and Midwest. Tennessee, Alabama, North Carolina, and Georgia stores are planned for 2024. Wawa has said it plans to open 160 stores across Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana in the next eight to 10 years, beginning in 2025. Wawa began as a dairy business before it began operating convenience stores across Southeastern Pennsylvania and in surrounding states. Its first store opened in Folsom, Delaware County, in 1964, with the company later adding stores in New Jersey and Delaware. In just under 15 years, 200 Wawa stores were open throughout the region. READ MORE: A history of Wawas on-again, off-again relationship with Center City In recent years, Wawa has pulled back its presence in Philadelphia, closing several stores citing safety concerns. Planned stores in surrounding suburban areas have also faced pushback from residents. CEO Chris Gheysens has said Wawa aims to open about 100 new stores every year, with a goal of having 2,000 stores by 2030. Gheysens has called Wawas latest expansion plans the most aggressive growth in the 60-year-old companys history, according to Bloomberg. Federal authorities charged six men with being part of a carjacking ring responsible for dozens of car thefts and at least two slayings including that of a 60-year-old man visiting his mother. The 60-count federal indictment, which was unsealed Thursday, lays out a litany of charges against three of the men Mikal McCracken, 22; Amin Muse, 22; Aleem Abdul-Hakim, 21 including counts of carjacking, firearms offenses, and murder. That last count means all three could face a rare federal death sentence should they be convicted. Prosecutors have not yet indicated whether they intend to pursue that punishment, a decision that requires approval from Justice Department officials in Washington. A fourth man Dean Fosque, 26 was also charged with several carjacking and firearms offenses, the most serious of which could send him to prison for up to 25 years. Advertisement The case comes nearly a year after District Attorney Larry Krasner announced state charges against a fifth man Jonathan Akubu, 29 for many of the same incidents, including the murders, at the center of Thursdays indictment. Both Akubu and a sixth man, Eniamaj Lee, have also been federally charged, prosecutors said in court filings Thursday, but the cases against those men remain under court seal. But the federal indictment unsealed Thursday against the others offers new details on what investigators describe as the groups months-long reign of violence in Philadelphia and its suburbs between late 2021 and early 2022. According to the indictment, the group targeted many of the vehicles they stole with the intent to ship them overseas to sellers in Africa, who were aware they were buying stolen cars from the U.S. Armed with guns, the members stole peoples cars by threatening to hurt or kill them, sometimes multiple times in a day and several days in a row, prosecutors said. The men would allegedly ransack the vehicles and drive them to other states and in some cases ship them to Niger. In one case, detailed in the indictment, their scheme turned deadly. Prosecutors said McCracken, Muse, Abdul-Hakim, and Akubu fatally shot George Briscella while attempting to steal his Toyota RAV4 on Feb. 6, 2022, outside of his mothers house on the 2100 block of Afton Street in Rhawnhurst. Briscella, 60, was on the way to use his mothers printer when he was ambushed, shot in the stomach, and left to die, authorities said at the time. Thursdays indictment also accuses three of the same men Akubu, McCracken, and Muse of committing another murder six days later to prevent the victim from cooperating with authorities investigating Briscellas death. Prosecutors say the trio executed Aiah Gbessay, shooting him three times in the head, on the 8100 block of Grovers Avenue in Eastwick before fleeing in Gbessays van. Police later found it engulfed in flames three blocks away. Federal authorities did not spell out Thursday what information they believe Gbessay might have had on Briscellas earlier slaying to share with police. But police sources have previously told The Inquirer that Akubu and Gbessay, who ran a car locksmith business in Southwest Philadelphia, knew each other and cell phone records indicate they were in contact minutes before Gbessays death. Like Akubu, all four of the men charged in the indictment unsealed Thursday have remained in custody since their arrests last year on state charges related to their alleged carjacking scheme. The District Attorneys Office withdrew those charges earlier this month, after federal prosecutors secured their indictment. Attorneys for McCracken and Fosque could not be reached for comment Thursday. It was not clear whether Lee, whose case remains under seal, had retained an attorney. William Brennan, an attorney for Abdul-Hakim, declined to comment on the specific crimes of which his client is accused. Its important to remember that an indictment is nothing more than a charging document, he said. My client, like all Americans, is innocent until proven guilty. Thomas Kenny, Muses attorney, declined to comment on the allegations, other than to say the charges were very serious and that Muse was taking them very seriously. The driver was shot by a Philadelphia Police Officer after police said he hit the officer with his car. Police recovered the white Ford Lincoln sedan about a mile away with a bullet hole through the windshield, the driver suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. Read more Philadelphia police on Friday continued to investigate an attempted traffic stop Thursday night that authorities said led to an officer being struck by a car, then pinned against a wall by the vehicle, before the officer shot and fatally wounded the driver. Family identified the man who died as 36-year-old Curtis Wallace Jr. And while police declined to name the officer involved, multiple law enforcement sources identified him as 38-year-old Marckenson Smith, an eight-year veteran of the force. The incident began around 7 p.m. Thursday, when Smith attempted to pull over a white Ford Lincoln sedan at Roosevelt Boulevard and F Street in Crescentville, Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel said outside Einstein Medical Center Thursday night. Bethel did not say what prompted the traffic stop, and a department spokesman on Friday said that remains part of the investigation. One police source said body-worn camera footage appeared to show that Smith turned on his emergency lights to initiate the stop. But Wallace, who police said was driving the sedan, kept driving, and the officer followed him north. Bethel said that three civilians saw the officer trying to pull the car over, and blocked the highway for him as the sedan attempted to cross the Adams Avenue Bridge, near Newtown and Adams Avenues. The car, surrounded by the civilians in front and officer behind, came to a stop on the bridge. Advertisement The witnesses told investigators that Smith got out and approached the drivers side of the sedan. But the car, despite being boxed in, attempted to get away, and reversed into the officers patrol car, Bethel said. Those independent witnesses say at some point they see the door open, and then at some point they see the car turn into the officer, striking him and pinning him against the wall, Bethel said. Smith then fired multiple times into the car. Bethel said a passenger got out of the car and tried to flee, but the witnesses grabbed and detained him. Police said Friday that he was questioned and released. The driver of the car then fled the scene, Bethel said. Officers found the car about a mile away on the 200 block of Benner Street, with a bullet hole through the windshield. Inside, they found Wallace, who had been shot multiple times in the torso. Records show Wallace lived on nearby Oakley Street, and was just a few blocks from home when police found him in the car, losing consciousness. Wallace was taken to Einstein Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead shortly after. Smith, an officer in the 25th Police District who was on patrol alone Thursday, was also taken to Einstein with injuries to his legs. He was released from the hospital Friday morning, police said. Bethel said the incident was recorded on Smiths body-worn camera, and investigators are reviewing it. Wallaces mother, Alice Idris, confirmed that her son was killed. Its true, she said solemnly Friday morning when reached by phone. She declined to speak further. Much about the shooting remains unclear, including why the officer attempted to pull Wallace over, and why he did not stop. Records show he has a history of prior arrests and run-ins with the law. In March 2015, records show he pleaded guilty to theft and receiving stolen property, and was sentenced to two years probation. Later that year in December, he was charged with aggravated assault after police said he broke into a house, beat a man with a metal pipe, dragged him out of the property, and threatened to kill him. Wallace pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 1 months to a year in jail, plus two years probation, and was released on time served. He continued to violate this probation over the years, records show. In early 2019, he was charged with indecent assault, violating a protective order, and strangulation, but the charges were later dismissed for reasons that were not immediately clear. Most recently, in January 2022, he was convicted of theft and conspiracy for breaking into a womans car and stealing her computer, $900 cash, and Burberry coat, records show. He was sentenced to up to 23 months in jail, plus 30 months probation, though he was immediately paroled and ordered to pay $5,000 in restitution. Just a few months later, he was arrested and charged with orchestrating a catalytic converter theft ring in Allegheny County. Records show he pleaded guilty to theft and was sentenced to one year probation. Staff writers Barbara Laker and Ryan Briggs contributed to this reporting. File: The Winslow Township School district has reached settlements for $6 million in two separate lawsuits filed by former students who say they were sexually abused by a former high school teacher. Each man will get $3 million. Read more Winslow Township Schools has reached a $6 million settlement with two former students who alleged they were sexually assaulted for years by a former high school teacher who plied them with money and fancy restaurant outings. It is believed to be the largest civil settlement by a public school district in New Jersey since the state passed a law in 2019 that extended the statute of limitations to allow victims of child sexual abuse to sue their abusers up until they turn 55. These are important settlements, said John Baldante, a Haddonfield attorney representing both victims who will receive $3 million each in a structured settlement. These victims of child sex abuse now have a voice. Former Edgewood High School students Michael Delguercio and Matthew Grossman, who filed separate civil lawsuits in 2021, said they were relieved that the case has been resolved. They wanted to share their stories to encourage other sex abuse victims to consider coming forward. Advertisement I feel like Im not walking around with a burden anymore, said Delguercio, 44, of Atco. I have a feeling of freedom that has come with being fully honest about this. I dont blame myself. I was a kid. Delguercio and Grossman filed lawsuits weeks apart alleging they were assaulted by Nicholas Zaccaria, a social studies and history teacher at Edgewood, now known as Winslow Township High School, between 1998 and 2003. Zaccaria was also a theater adviser, and the teens participated in the stage crew club. Both men said they were too traumatized to come forward until recently. The statute of limitations had expired to pursue criminal charges, so they filed civil lawsuits. Both men alleged they were targeted by Zaccaria for sex abuse, according to their lawsuits. They said Zaccaria, known as Mr Z. by students, took them separately to dinner at steak houses and Italian restaurants. They said Zaccaria, a popular teacher, gave them money from the stage crews petty cash account. According to the lawsuits, Zaccaria emotionally manipulated and habitually touched, kissed, and sexually abused students in the school and on school property. His inappropriate and alarming behavior included overt and inconspicuous activities with vulnerable children as part of his grooming, manipulation, and normalization of such inappropriate behavior. Reached at his Clementon home, Zaccaria, 75, declined to comment. Delguercio said he knew Grossman when they were students, but was unaware that Grossman suffered similar abuses. The two were reconnected by mutual friends after filing lawsuits against the district and Zaccaria. I never told anybody until I talked to the lawyer. For 20 years I kept it to myself, said Grossman, 39. It takes a lifetime to learn that you need to be brave. READ MORE: A South Jersey teacher has resigned after a student recorded her profanity-laced tirade to the class The Winslow school board approved the settlements in December, without any admission of liability. Superintendent H. Major Poteat declined to comment, noting that the alleged incidents occurred before his tenure as school chief. Matthew J. Behr, a Mount Laurel lawyer who represented the district, declined to comment as well. The lawsuit also named as defendants the Lower Camden County Regional School District, which was dissolved in 2001. It accused the district of negligence and failing to protect the students. More than 500 cases have been filed New Jersey is among about a dozen states that have adopted laws making it easier for child sexual abuse victims to seek justice in civil court years after the abuse occurred. A bill that would implement similar changes in Pennsylvania has stalled in the state legislature. Baldante said the New Jersey Child Victims Act changed the legal trajectory because victims are often unable to disclose the trauma they experienced until an older age. Previously, the laws required them to report the abuse by a certain age to file a civil action, he said. Since the law was passed, Baldante said his firm has filed more than 500 civil cases on behalf of child sex abuse victims involving public and private schools and the Roman Catholic Church. This is the first big settlement that has been publicly disclosed, he said. It is estimated that 1 in 4 girls and 1 in 6 boys in New Jersey experience some form of sexual abuse before age 18. But most of the abuse goes unreported, according to the state. Baldante said his clients struggled with drug use as a result of the abuse and underwent therapy. Delguercio, who recently retired as an English teacher, said dealing with the trauma was destroying me until he came forward. I feel like me again. Im able to feel a sense of peace and love, Delguercio said. Grossman, of Atco, a landscaper, said he was moved to act when his 6-year-old daughter started school. He worried that something similar could happen to her. I dont need the recognition. I want people to be safe, especially when they go to school, Grossman said. A similar case is also unfolding A former Camden school district student filed a similar civil lawsuit in 2021 alleging Board Advisory President Wasim Muhammad sexually abused her when he was her social studies teacher starting in 1994. The case is pending in Superior Court in Camden County. The former student, named Jane Doe in the lawsuit to keep her identity confidential, has accused Muhammad, now a minister and prominent community activist, of grooming her for abuse by singling her out for special attention. The alleged abuse began when the girl was 14 and Muhammad was known as Donnie Walker. The lawsuit alleges that district employees who knew about the abuse failed to stop it. An arbitrator recommended a $1 million settlement, with Muhammad responsible for paying 60%. All parties rejected the recommendation. A settlement conference is scheduled for Feb. 20. READ MORE: Who is Wasim Muhammad, Camdens school board president accused of sexually abusing a student? If a settlement is not reached, a March 11 trial date has been set. The district has spent nearly $65,000 in legal fees defending the case, according to documents obtained by The Inquirer under the New Jersey Open Public Records Act. Muhammads lawyer, Troy Archie, has maintained that the allegations against Muhammad are a frivolous and meritless case lacking legitimate facts. Muhammad took a leave of absence from his board advisory position in January after Gov. Phil Murphy called for his resignation. Nurses, medical assistants, and health aides are among the most in-demand jobs in the Philadelphia region. Read more E+ / Getty Images The number of jobless people in the workforce remains low in the Philadelphia area, where unemployment was 3.7% at last count. JUMP TO SECTION In health care and hospitality, look for jobs with a career path Want an office job? Some are low-training and high-opportunity. I want a career. Do I need to go to college? Still, the question remains for those who are jobless, or just entering the workforce: What industries and skill sets hold the most opportunity right now? Some jobs are particularly likely to grow in the coming years, and while many of them require some amount of education or experience, some allow workers to start with on-the-job training and build from there. Those include nursing assistants, childcare workers, and receptionists. Heres a bit more advice from workforce experts on how to make the most of these growing industries. In health care and hospitality, look for jobs with a career path The fastest-growing sectors for Philadelphia right now are education and health services and leisure and hospitality, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Job growth near Philadelphia outpaced total U.S. employment growth in both of these industries. A lot of the starting wages in these sectors are OK, but not great, said H. Patrick Clancy, CEO of Philadelphia Works, the citys nonprofit workforce development board. Advertisement He suggested using those roles as a chance to gain experience before moving into related positions that offer more stability or better pay. For instance, Clancy said, people who get restaurant experience may want to use that to get into a job at a hotel or casino, preferably one with a unionized staff. You could very well work your way up to assistant manager, general manager without a college degree, he said. You have to be able to sacrifice nights and weekends to start, Clancy added. Home health care is another job with huge demand for labor, but, theyre tough jobs, Clancy noted, where workers often end up driving around between multiple clients. A more solid place to be eventually is a long-term care facility or a hospital. Advertisement Getting started as a home health-care worker can provide valuable experience needed to land at a single workplace, he said, and those jobs wont be going away. Quick training for health-care jobs H. Patrick Clancy, CEO of Philadelphia Works, said the following jobs all have training opportunities available through the nonprofit, and can generally be completed in six months or less. Certified nurse aide Clinical medical assistant Phlebotomy Emergency medical technician Sterile processing technician Want an office job? Some are low-training and high-opportunity. Clancy also noted finance and insurance as areas of high employment growth, climbing above pre-pandemic levels. After education and health services and leisure and hospitality, professional and business services had the third-highest increase in employment last year for the Philadelphia metro area, according to BLS. Advertisement Christine Endres, a senior regional director for recruiting firm Robert Half, said a number of finance roles are at 1.5% unemployment or lower locally, including accounting, payroll, and analyst jobs. The sector also provides entry-level opportunities, she noted, such as clerical roles. Even without a specialized degree or certification, she said, knowing how to use Microsoft Excel is a valuable skill for getting an entry-level position in the finance or accounting space. For those looking for a career change, Endres said, auditing jobs focused on anti-money laundering work within financial services may be a consideration for those who are detail-oriented and critical. Shes seen people with a background in the legal industry, math, and former enforcement officers end up in those jobs. And, while some of the big names in Big Tech did high-profile workforce reductions last year, information technology (IT) jobs remain in demand, Endres said. Advertisement According to the Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry, just one job category is expected to decline in the coming years: office and administrative support. Still, the department noted, that doesnt mean there wont be demand for those workers. Only one of 10 jobs filled on average is the result of an industrys expansion. I want a career. Do I need to go to college? Short answer: it depends. Nearly two-thirds of Philadelphia jobs will require less than a four-year college degree by 2030, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry. Thats about 470,000 positions, of which about 255,000 will require short-term on-the-job training, and roughly 74,000 will require moderate-term on-the-job training. Advertisement Many of those jobs are a starting point for careers that may require higher education or a specialized degree. The state provides sample career paths by county and industry to help workers sketch out those plans, listing in-demand jobs for today, tomorrow and the future. For example, a path within the Philadelphia health-care industry might look like this: home health aide today, nursing assistant tomorrow, and registered nurse further in the future. While the number of jobs requiring a college education appears to be declining, jobs requiring an associate degree will have the highest growth rate at 10.5%, the Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry reports. Some other jobs, requiring a bachelors degree or more, are unlikely to see their educational requirements lessen. Still, some of them are projected to stay in high demand, especially in health care. Most of those positions offer average annual salaries much higher than the area median. Officials investigate at the Ashburner Street home where three people were found dead in Philadelphia on Thursday. Read more A child and two adults were found dead at a house in the citys Holmesburg section Thursday afternoon, Acting Fire Commissioner Craig Murphy said. High levels of carbon monoxide were detected inside the house, Murphy said. Police said later that carbon monoxide poisoning was the suspected cause of the deaths. Murphy said the Fire Department responded around 1 p.m. to a house on the 4000 block of Ashburner Street and found the two adults and the child dead inside. Advertisement The victims were Maricel Martinez, Jorge Cardona, and 12-year-old Angelina Cardona-Martinez, said Elizabeth Sanchez, who identified herself as the mother of Martinez and grandmother of the girl. A wellness check was initiated after the victims didnt respond to calls and text messages, Sanchez said. My grandchild was the most amazing kid. So sweet, extremely bright, loved to dance, very friendly, and a great student, Sanchez said. Martinez, who was 47, was the best daughter one could ask for. She was a teacher at Angelinas school. The most responsible single person you could meet, Sanchez said, who identified the school as St. Albert the Great Catholic School in Huntingdon Valley. The schools website lists Maricel Martinez as a Spanish teacher. A representative from the school could not be reached for comment. Cardona, 56, was a good man, kind, always willing to help, Sanchez said. Murphy said a woman outside the house was taken to the hospital. Sanchez said that person was a relative who nearly fainted when she learned about the deaths. Workers from Philadelphia Gas Works were at the scene as part of the emergency response. St. Alberts administrators issued a statement Thursday night acknowledging the deaths and offering grief counseling at the school. We will remember Mrs. Martinez as a gifted Spanish teacher, wonderful mother, and true friend to our school community. Angelina, a proud member of this years 5th grade class, will be remembered by many here as a bright, spirited, and always smiling student, who had a passion for drawing and reading, Sandra McDevitt, the principal, and the Rev. Robert B. McDermott, pastor, said in the statement. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a bilateral security agreement in Berlin on Friday, February 16. As long as it takes. Volodymyr Zelenskyy and I signed an agreement today on our long-term security commitments. A historic step. Germany will continue to support Ukraine in the fight against the Russian aggressive war, Scholz wrote on the social network. According to French media, it is planned that French President Emmanuel Macaron and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will sign a bilateral security agreement this week. Earlier in January, a bilateral Agreement on security cooperation between Ukraine and the United Kingdom was signed within the framework of the G7 Joint Declaration adopted at the previous NATO summit in Vilnius. It covers three main areas: providing "comprehensive assistance" to Ukraine, "preventing and actively deterring" any form of escalation of hostilities, as well as providing support to Kyiv for "future integration into Euro-Atlantic institutions." Kevin M. Gil, right, a financial wellness manager at Everence Federal Credit Union, leads a parent workshop on financial wellness at Casarez Elementary School. Jessica Almendarez, far left, and Dalila Bedoya, second from left, attended the workshop, on Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2024. Read more Take a statistical look at Kensington and you see a community where almost half the residents live below the poverty line. This makes Kensington the poorest neighborhood in the nations poorest big city. However, take a spiritual look at Kensington and that vision shifts to one of a community of hard-working residents doing their best but in need of financial services to do better. At least thats the message according to Leonard Dow, vice president of community and church development for Indiana-based Everence, a Christian, member-owned financial services organization that includes a credit union. We chose Kensington intentionally, said Dow, former pastor of Oxford Circle Mennonite Church in the Northeast. Kensington has a lot of challenges but it also has a good percentage of homeowners and small business. Building businesses through microloans Five years ago Everence Federal Credit Union, headquartered in Lancaster, partnered with Esperanza Health Center, also a faith-based organization, and put its first local retail branch at Kensington and Allegheny Avenues, in the health centers newly rehabilitated medical building, to serve residents. The credit union, which has $423 million in assets, provides banking and insurance services but also works with its members to align their faith or values with their finances. READ MORE: People cant believe theyre in Kensington when they see new health center in historic bank Advertisement Now, the credit union is reaching out to small-business owners. Everence recently announced a community development investment partnership with Greenline Access Capital, which will provide loan preparation assistance to its clients: Latinos and immigrants from Latin America, the Caribbean, and Mexico. Everence Community Investments will provide the loan while Everence Federal Credit Union will handle underwriting and administration. Banks dont really want to do microloans, loans less than $50,000, because they are the most expensive to sustain, said Greenlines president and CEO, Kersy Azocar. The borrowers are not really profitable. Physical wellness requires financial wellness Health and wealth have become linked in the United States, with more than 60% of a persons health outcomes influenced by financial well-being including income, health insurance, and stable housing. It was pretty bold [of Everence] to think about coming into Kensington when everything else seems to be closing up. Debra Ortiz-Vasquez From that perspective, it makes sense to put a credit union inside a community health center that serves a neighborhood teeming with unbanked residents facing high bank fees, predatory lenders, and a dwindling number of businesses. Those who stay are left with few trusted and knowledgeable people to turn to for answers to their financial questions. It was pretty bold [of Everence] to think about coming into Kensington when everything else seems to be closing up, said Debra Ortiz-Vasquez, Esperanzas director of Community Health and Wellness. Finances are not something we talked about in the Latin community. Everence offers an opportunity to consult with someone in a friendly way. It feels less threatening. Principles over profits According to Morningstar, the number of faith-based funds is increasing as investors look at a funds investment values as well as its rate of return or ethical wealth. Profits matter but not at the expense of the community, Dow said. Everence, in addition to its credit union, has a mutual fund, Praxis Mutual Funds, with $2.5 billion in assets. As a 2023 Morningstar report noted, Faith-based investing, a distinctive approach that integrates financial goals with religious and ethical principles, has emerged as a noteworthy avenue for investors seeking to align their portfolios with their deeply held convictions. Im not a traditional banker. Im self-taught, said Kevin M. Gil, Everences financial wellness manager. I come from a traditional Hispanic family where money is not talked about. Its not a common practice. I come from a traditional Hispanic family where money is not talked about. Kevin M. Gil Gils mother is Puerto Rican and his father was an undocumented immigrant and entrepreneur from the Dominican Republic who was deported while Gill was in middle school. He said its exactly this background that helps him understand his clients. The need for nontraditional services Everence, which originated in 1945 to serve the Mennonite Church, announced its new small-business loan service was part of a larger Everence commitment to grow who, how, and where it serves people who welcome faith and values-based financial services. The credit union offers savings, checking, credit cards, loans, financial wellness education, and insurance products for traditional and nontraditional borrowers. Not every institution accepts ITIN status. We do. Leonard Dow In Kensington, it is serving the neighborhood by offering nontraditional services such as loans to undocumented immigrants who have an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN). An ITIN is provided by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to ensure undocumented immigrants without a Social Security number still pay taxes. Not every institution accepts ITIN status. We do, Dow said. Now, Gils office is on the mezzanine level of the former Kensington Trust Co., which once provided banking services when Kensington was in its heyday but today is at the center of the citys opioid epidemic. Kevin knew the community and he knew the challenges, Ortiz-Vasquez said. The first member of the credit union was an African immigrant and Kensington resident eager to purchase a home, Gil said. He said he knew how to do it in his country but not in America. Gil spent years counseling him, and he now has more than enough saved for a substantial down payment. He actually decided that he would wait and continue to save, Gill said. For Greenlines Azocar, the first successful loan applicant is a restaurateur looking to expand from a food truck to a brick-and-mortar restaurant. Ideally they will stay in the community, Azocar said. Greg DeShields, shown here at a 2018 press conference at Reading Terminal Market, has been accused by former interns and employees of being disrespectful to the Black women and women of color he oversaw. Read more Eight women have signed an open letter accusing their former boss a prominent Philadelphia diversity and tourism industry executive of toxic, hypocritical behavior. The women contend that Greg DeShields, executive director of nonprofit Tourism Diversity Matters, was disrespectful and demeaning to the young Black women and women of color he supervised, and that the nonprofits CEO and board failed to act when they reported his behavior. The letter, which six women signed by name, including the former board chair of Tourism Diversity Matters, calls out the dissonance between professed values and actual practices, saying that the failure to act on DeShields behavior not only undermines the credibility of the industry, but also casts doubt on the sincerity of leaders who purport to prioritize [diversity, equity, and inclusion] as a valuable business strategy. DeShields, a former executive director at the Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau, has been suspended, according to an email from a board member shared with The Inquirer. Tourism Diversity Matters, a three-year-old nonprofit that aims to diversify the tourism industry, has also hired a lawyer to conduct an HR assessment in response to the allegations against DeShields, according to internal e-mails made public by the women. Advertisement DeShields did not respond to requests for comment. Neither did Mike Gamble, CEO of Tourism Diversity Matters. Tourism Diversity Matters board member and former board chair Elliott Ferguson said he could not comment in advance of a Friday afternoon board meeting to discuss the letter. READ MORE: New report details discrimination, harassment concerns on Pennsylvania state universities What former employees say DeShields, 65, of Cherry Hill, N.J., has built his career on his diversity and inclusion expertise, noting his intersectional identities as a Black, gay man. He hosted the PHL Diversity podcast for the Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau, penned articles about organizational change, and serves on numerous boards for identity-oriented organizations such as the Independence Business Alliance, an LGBTQ chamber of commerce. DeShields has also been a member of The Inquirers Soapbox Salon, a community advisory council, since its inception in 2022. Some of those who worked for or with him over the last decade including several interns say he made inappropriate comments about their appearance, demeaned them in front of clients, and retaliated when they attempted to speak up. Sofia Mendoza-Muller, a former executive assistant at the tourism nonprofit, said in the open letter that DeShields would constantly make references to the fact that English isnt [her] first language. He made me feel like being a native Spanish-speaker somehow made me less professional, she wrote. Weeks after she announced her pregnancy to the team, DeShields asked if [she] was capable of continuing to meet expectations now that you are pregnant, Mendoza-Muller wrote in an initial letter sent internally to Tourism Diversity Matters board last month. Mendoza-Muller raised her concerns about DeShields to Gamble but was subsequently laid off in January due to budget issues, she says she was told. Amber Dugger, a recent Temple grad who interned at Tourism Diversity Matters last year, said that DeShields scolded, berated, and humiliated [her] in private yet publicly praised for her hard work. I developed anxiety pretty quickly and hated having to attend meetings with him, especially ones where no one else was present, she said. Brittany Benjamin, a former Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau intern who worked on DeShields team, said that on the first day of her internship in 2015, DeShields commented on her hair during a meeting, saying that certain styles could be seen as unprofessional. It was a jarring moment, considering I had just recently embraced my natural hair with a fresh big chop, leaving me with a short Afro, said Benjamin, who is Black. Brandi Baldwin, a diversity consultant and Tourism Diversity Matters former board chair, resigned from the board in January, saying she could no longer work at the organization if DeShields was not held accountable, according to a letter sent to the board. She had previously voiced her concerns to Gamble last summer, e-mails show. While some may see me as a pot-stirrer for advocating for fairness in this way, I see myself as a spark one that ignites TDM towards a future where its internal practices align seamlessly with the values it espouses, one where we know through-and-through that were really one of the good guys, not another organization succumbing to performative DEI, Baldwin wrote to the board in her resignation. READ MORE: Philly-area schools showcase diversity challenges in medical school leadership A diversity nonprofit with Philadelphia roots Tourism Diversity Matters was founded in the wake of the George Floyd protests to empower tourism organizations to evolve and achieve excellence in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. It was started by Gamble, a former sales and marketing executive for the Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau, which describes itself as a founding partner. Gamble, a white man now based in the Twin Cities, runs an executive search firm called Searchwide Global. Board members include Gregg Caren, president of the Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau; executives from Marriott and Kimpton Hotels; and directors of city tourism agencies such as Los Angeles Tourism and Destination DC. Last fall, the tourism nonprofit hosted a $750, two-day diversity conference in Philadelphia. Tourism Diversity Matters describes itself as a tax-exempt 501(c) 6 nonprofit. Its 2022 IRS filing is not publicly available and Gamble did not respond to requests to view it. On its 2021 filing, the organization listed $1 in revenue and $1 in assets. It did not list any employees except Gamble, though DeShields LinkedIn says he has worked as the executive director of the organization since 2020. In its 2022 annual report, Tourism Diversity Matters says it raised more than $1 million, including contributions of $75,000 or more from Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau, ConferenceDirect, and Searchwide Global. Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau said in a statement it was aware of the open letter. The PHLCVB has policies and resources in place for all staff to utilize should concerns arise during their employment with the company, no matter the topic, and it encourages employees to use those resources, spokesperson Joe Heller said. READ MORE: With few Black male educators in local schools, a push for more diversity: You get tired of being the only one A West Philly client at the Community Legal Services, poses for a portrait after the celebration of his criminal records being sealed in Philadelphia, Pa., on Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2024. I lost it all, the 61 year old said. I was in the toughest time in my life, the worst time. The type of pain I was going through. I had nothing to live for. I just really appreciate this organization. Read more The kind of cold that one 61-year-old father from West Philly felt while working construction on the high rises above Atlantic City remains burned into his memory. The cold coming off that water in February Ive seen for the first time, guys snot freezing in [their] mustache. Cold beyond anything Ive experienced in my life for eight hours [a day], he said. He has a college degree, and was once just nine credits away from a masters degree in education. But nearly two decades ago, his life was spiraling away from him. He lost his job, and his wife left him. He still had three children to take care of, and child support ate away at his unemployment checks. He turned to the streets out of desperation. When he was eventually arrested on felony weapon and drug charges, he pleaded guilty to the drug charge, and his weapon charge was dropped. He avoided prison time because he had no priors and received six years of parole. Advertisement He said his criminal record made it nearly impossible to get work that he was interested in and relevant to his degree, so his only option was construction. Even though he was in his 40s, he started out as an apprentice. He was making very little money and was being talked down to. Doing anything with a pen. Sitting at a desk its all out the window. My degree means nothing, he said. But the West Philly father hopes that changes now that his criminal record was officially sealed on Feb. 14. He was one of the first Philadelphians to benefit from the states newly expanded Clean Slate law, which allows people with certain felony convictions to have their criminal records sealed by filing court petitions. The law could help hundreds of thousands of eligible Pennsylvanians access more opportunities in employment, housing, and education. Just because you got a record, that dont mean youre a bad person. West Oak Lane man, whose record was sealed Something thats really old and unrelated to their ability to be a good employer or a good tenant is still used against them, said Jamie Gullen, the managing attorney of the employment unit at Community Legal Services, a free legal assistance organization serving low-income Philadelphians, including the West Philly man. I feel like somebody was just holding me by my shoulders and that pressure is being released now, he said. Im starting to feel like I dont have to be ashamed. Addressing inequities CLS proposed Pennsylvanias Clean Slate law and has been one of the lead advocates calling for its expansion since it began in 2018. The original law was the first legislation in the country that automatically sealed certain misdemeanor criminal records. In 2020, legislators expanded Clean Slate to allow for cases to be sealed when the person still owed fines and other costs to the state. Since these two laws were passed, more than a million Pennsylvanians have had their records sealed using Clean Slate policies. READ MORE: There are 400,000 people in Philly with convictions and criminal records. Expungement clinics can offer a fresh start. The latest iteration of the law, Clean Slate 3.0, was passed in December, which made certain drug and property related felonies (such as theft and trespassing) eligible to be sealed, as long as the person has not committed a subsequent misdemeanor or felony offense for 10 years. The updated law also shortens that waiting period for sealing for misdemeanors to seven years, and summary convictions to five years. Beginning in June, some drug felonies will begin being automatically sealed. The law clarifies that once the records been sealed, it cannot be used for employment, housing, or educational purposes, and it also cant be used for occupational licenses. In addition to taking it out of background checks, its also giving people added legal protection that once this has happened, it really cant be used against you anymore, Gullen said. Before this expanded law, the only way to get a felony conviction off a persons record in Pennsylvania was to go through the pardon process, which can be an arduous, multi-year long process with no guaranteed success. READ MORE: The Inquirer is launching the Up for Review initiative to consider requests to update old stories Gullen said that CLS and other advocates fought for felonies to be included in Clean Slate to address racial inequities in sentencing, too. Black people are more likely to be sentenced to felonies than white people. And so, under the first iteration of the Clean Slate law, unfortunately a lot of Black Philadelphians were not able to get their records sealed. We felt it was really imperative to expand that relief to include felonies, she said. Everybody makes mistakes One of those people was a CLS client with a felony record, a 33-year-old man from West Oak Lane. In 2009, around Thanksgiving, one of his best friends was murdered. I took it real hard. That was my first real friend that I ever seen killed. Like, laying on the ground, he said. The next day, he was driving with some friends when police pulled their car over. The officers found crack inside of the car, and asked who the drugs belonged to. The West Oak Lane man was feeling guilty and depressed about his friends death, since he was one of the last people to talk to him before he was killed. He told the officers that the drugs were his, and took the charge for his friends. Wrong thing to do, he said. After he was bailed out of jail, his mother kicked him out of the house, afraid of the path where his life was headed. He moved in with his fathers family in North Philly, and began selling crack. Several months later, he was arrested. He served 16 months of house arrest and three years of parole. He was determined to make a change in his life. He picked up any job he could, at one point working three at once when he was just 20 years old. But his felony record made it difficult to find a job that stuck, despite all of his work experience and the professional licenses he earned over the years. Once, he was hired by a FedEx near the Philadelphia airport and went through all of the required training for the position. But since his job required him to make frequent stops at the airport, he needed to pass a background check. When FedEx learned of his record, he had to resign. READ MORE: Your rights when youre looking for a job and you have a criminal record A family member suggested that he look into hospital work, and he got jobs working as a psychiatric technician. He was passionate about mental health care, but ran into the same problems with his record even as he built direct experience. They tell me that they go with somebody with more experience or somebody that furthered their education, such as a college degree, but Ive been in this field for years. I got more experience, he said. This is the only thing thats really been holding me back. For the West Oak Lane man, who has a 4-year-old son, getting his record sealed last week is perfect timing. He had just received a new job offer as a psychiatric technician with a local hospital, but was told that the offer would be rescinded after a background check discovered his record. He told his new employer that his record was going to be sealed imminently, and had the paperwork to prove it. The hospital agreed to let him keep the job. Just because you got a record, that dont mean youre a bad person, he said. Everybody makes mistakes. Vladimir Putin killed him. The Russian leader is as responsible for Fridays death of Alexei Navalny that countrys most fearless and famous opposition leader as if he personally had shot him. Navalny, who had rallied anti-Kremlin crowds across Russia before being jailed on bogus charges in 2021, died in a grim Arctic penal colony where he was serving a 19-year sentence. He was the latest in a long string of prominent Russian activists and journalists jailed, shot, or poisoned under Putin (Navalny barely survived a poisoning attempt in 2020). Yet Navalny was unique. His bravery and his charisma which I observed during several interviews on trips to Moscow over the years made him the only Russian opposition figure with national name recognition who could rouse substantial opposition to Putin. Advertisement This put him on the Kremlins hit list. READ MORE: Putin must be stopped from having opposition leader Alexei Navalny killed in prison | Trudy Rubin Navalnys death is a direct challenge to U.S. politicians who praise Putin, as well as the legislators who are helping him by blocking aid to Ukraine. They and other Western leaders must hold Putin directly responsible. Underestimating the cold-blooded killer in the Kremlin is a mistake that America cannot afford. When I last interviewed Navalny in 2018, in his sleek, spare office far from Moscows city center, I asked him whether he feared he might be killed. They [the Kremlin] missed a chance when I was less popular, he explained. Now they are afraid they will provoke rallies or worse. Right now, the cost is higher than they want, but maybe they are still saving this tool. The reason Navalny was so popular at the time was his (and his young teams) brilliant social media campaign against Kremlin corruption on YouTube and the Telegram messaging service, which won him supporters across Russia. A lawyer by training, banned from access to state-controlled media, he still won more than 27% of the vote in the 2013 Moscow mayoral election. He signed up 20,000 young volunteers and amassed a war chest of online contributions. We copied Obamas method of fundraising, he told me. He also watched the HBO series The Wire, to learn the ins and outs of a U.S. mayoral campaign. Indeed, Navalny was the first Russian politician to use U.S. campaign methods, touring every region and appealing to folks on the street, especially young people, unlike stiff Russian leaders who make limited and formal presentations. He kept building his mass movement despite ongoing threats. Green dye was thrown in his face after a rally, nearly blinding him in one eye; he was banned from running for president in 2018; his brother was imprisoned as a hostage; and he was repeatedly jailed. His Anti-Corruption Foundation put out brilliant, hilarious videos (with English subtitles) documenting Kremlin corruption, including one in 2017 on former president and prime minister Dmitry Medvedev that spotlighted his mansions and yachts. It racked up 27 million views. A 2021 video about Putins secret palace in southern Russia, complete with drone footage, garnered 92 million views. His goal, Navalny told me, was to reach blue-collar youth, not hipsters, youth who see no future and convince them that elections didnt have to be hopeless, and that grassroots resistance was possible. We are the biggest movement in Russia, he said. No wonder Putin was afraid of this dynamic, attractive activist in his 40s who contrasted so dramatically with an aging, isolated president-for-life. Putin finally applied the tool Navalny feared in 2020, when Russian intelligence officers tried to poison him with the banned nerve toxin Novichok, after he addressed a rally in Siberia. Miraculously, he survived when a private plane sent from Germany was able to evacuate him, and Berlin doctors helped him recover. With typical Navalny panache, he then managed to track down one of his poisoners and trick the guy into thinking he was an FSB intelligence official requesting details on the failed operation. The man revealed, on tape, that the poison had been applied to Navalnys underpants in his hotel room, and the whole hilarious episode was included in a documentary that won an Oscar last year. (Navalny later taunted Putin from prison as Vladimir the underpants poisoner.) At the Oscar ceremony, Navalnys beloved wife, Yulia, accepted the award and praised her husband for defending democracy. She said softly, Alexei, Im dreaming of the day when you will be free, and our country will be free. Putin wanted Navalny dead. Yet the opposition leader chose to return to Russia from Germany in January 2021, as soon as he was well enough to travel, and was jailed when he reached the Moscow airport. Why did he return? I asked Yevgenia Albats, one of Russias leading independent journalists and a close friend of Navalnys. He knew he could not be a Russian politician who asks people to protest if he was living in the luxury of Germany, she told me early last year. Putin is still afraid of him, she added. He does understand if anyone is capable of uniting people, it is him. So, as Putin prepares for a sham election to return him for a fifth term as president, Navalny has been conveniently eliminated. Even in Russias brutal, Stalin-like gulag, where Navalnys health deteriorated under the harshest of conditions, Putin couldnt break him. Now he will brush off Navalnys death as irrelevant, yet it is anything but that. READ MORE: The link between Alexei Navalnys life or death and Bidens policy toward Russia | Trudy Rubin Even from prison, Navalny reminded a world of what Putins admirers would like to forget: that Russia is not destined by the heavens for eternal dictatorship, nor must Putins survival be seen as ordained. Navalny opposed the Ukraine war and called last year for the return of all Russianoccupied territory in Ukraine. He issued a manifesto in February 2023 calling for an end to the Putin regime and the establishment of a parliamentary republic based on fair elections. He died fighting for democracy and free elections values that many Americans too often take for granted. But, as Navalny reminded us, they are never guaranteed. Shame on MAGA legislators or any GOP candidates who praise Putin and are willing to help the Russian dictator extinguish those very values in Ukraine. Shame on those who ignore the long-term threat Putin presents to the U.S., including weaponizing space. Navalnys death is a stark warning of the danger of underestimating Putins determination to challenge the West and a reminder that we must defend our own democracy in 2024. Can something positive emerge from the horrors of the Hamas terror attack on Oct. 7 and the carnage caused by the Israel-Hamas war? This is the question that hovers over Gaza battlefields as Israel prepares to attack the city of Rafah, where Hamas leadership and Israeli hostages are hidden deep in underground tunnels, while one million Palestinian civilians huddle aboveground with nowhere safe to flee. The Biden administration, along with moderate Arab allies including Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Qatar, believes the answer is yes this war can spark a long-sought accord on a regional Arab-Israeli peace pact. Top administration officials, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken and CIA Director William Burns, have been tirelessly touring the region to shape a plan for postwar Gaza that would set a firm timeline for a demilitarized Palestinian state next to Israel. In return, the Jewish state would be recognized by most (or all) Arab countries, led by Saudi Arabia. Advertisement The Biden team is in a rush to have this resolved before the 2024 elections. (Should Donald Trump be elected, he has shown zero interest in a state for the Palestinians.) Time is not on the presidents side. READ MORE: U.S. must prevent a new humanitarian disaster in Gaza | Trudy Rubin I see no chance of making progress toward two states before a change in the current Israeli and Palestinian leadership including the political and military demise of Hamas. Both Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Hamas compete rhetorically in their fervent rejection of a two-state solution. The Israeli leader has always denigrated the idea, while the Hamas charter calls for the destruction of the Israeli state and the killing of its Jews. Polls show that the vast majority of Israelis want Netanyahu gone, but most of them are still so traumatized by the Hamas savagery of Oct. 7 that the idea of a Palestinian state next door is unimaginable. Meantime, on the Palestinian side, the Hamas attack and Gaza war have fed fantasies of creating one Arab state from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea to which millions of Palestinian refugees and their descendants would return. Yet, after decades of covering the region, I believe the need for a two-state formula has never been more urgent, as the global power balance shifts and an axis of dictatorial regimes gain strength from Russia to Iran to China while America grows more isolationist. Oct. 7 is a preview of more disasters for Israel if there is no solution to the Palestinian question. The case was laid out to me bluntly by Nimrod Novik, former senior foreign policy adviser to the late Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres and a fellow at the Israel Policy Forum. A two-state solution is inevitable, not because I wish it, or [because] it will be easy, he told me by phone from the Israeli city of Raanana. Any other suggestion assumes one of two things: Either we grant the Palestinians equal rights and give up our Jewish majority and our Zionist dream, or the Palestinians will agree forever to live deprived of equal rights. Oct. 7 was an indication, he added, like the two intifadas (Palestinian uprisings from 1987-1993 and 2000-2005) that Palestinians will not agree forever. READ MORE: Israels trial on genocide charges before a U.N. court should be a wake-up call for Jerusalem | Trudy Rubin That means we will live in a one-state reality but forever bloody, Novik said. We will ultimately separate either because we are lucky enough to have farsighted leaders on both sides or in the wake of a bloodbath worse for both than we can imagine. But separate we will. If the Gaza war ends without a political path toward two states, Novik believes there is likely to be a similar Palestinian explosion on the West Bank, where the Netanyahu government permits violent Israeli settlers to attack villages and towns. I share Noviks concern that if Netanyahus policies continue as is, Israels peace accords with Egypt and Jordan could become unsustainable. He sees the spark as likely to come from provocations at Arab holy sites by messianic Jews, or even by radical cabinet members such as Itamar Ben-Gvir, who are emboldened by Netanyahu. The lunatics are far more emboldened when they have representatives in the government, Novik said. A provocation on Jerusalems Temple Mount [holy to Muslims and Jews] would unify Arabs and the whole Muslim world. The question again becomes, how to change the leadership of the Palestinians and Israelis in a timely fashion? (And, I would add, how to convince the Israeli and Palestinian publics that a two-state solution would leave both sides secure.) On the Israeli side, the pressure for new elections will mount when the fighting stops. But most Israelis wont want the fighting to stop permanently before more damage is done to the leadership and military of Hamas. And Netanyahu shows little intent to stop temporarily, even if it means the death of more Israeli hostages in captivity. To buy more time to crush Hamas, a wise Israeli government would have gone out of its way to protect Palestinian noncombatants, granting a humanitarian cease-fire and facilitating the movement of families to truly bomb-free locations. I would have sent 500 trucks of aid when the ask is 250, argued Novik. If you want the support of the international community for more time, you have to show this is not a war on Palestinian civilians. But that is not the modus operandi of the Netanyahu government. READ MORE: Back from the dustbin: Two-state solution reemerges as the only way to Israel-Palestine peace | Trudy Rubin On the Palestinian side, things are even more complicated. The Biden team and Arab states want a rejuvenated Palestinian Authority - the current Palestinian governing body on the West Bank - to take over in Gaza. But the PA, as this body in commonly called, and its leader, 88-year-old Mahmoud Abbas, have lost all credibility with Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza, as they havent held elections since 2006 from fear Hamas would win. To have any credibility with Israelis, however, new Palestinian elections would have to bar any group, such as Hamas, that refuses to recognize the Israeli state. It is unclear whether the Palestinian public would accept barring Hamas. The Biden team hopes a detailed timeline for establishing two states, backed by a pledge of Saudi recognition of Israel and funding of Gaza reconstruction, will win over both publics. A further sweetener for Israelis would be a stronger, united regional Israeli-Arab front against Iran. And any deal would require Arab willingness to join an international force that would help secure Gaza until the Palestinian Authority regained the credibility to take over. Unfortunately, neither Netanyahu nor Hamas have any desire to facilitate a two-state solution. And Israeli indifference to the mounting deaths of civilians in Gaza will increase international pressure to end the fighting before Hamas is defeated. The future of any regional peace may hang on how quickly Israelis mobilize to change their government - and whether Israel shifts strategy to buy more time to clobber Hamas by helping Palestinian civilians survive. Gov. Josh Shapiro speaks about his Main Street Matters proposal at a press conference at the Two Locals Brewing Company in Philadelphia, Pa., on Thursday, Feb. 15, 2024. Read more Gov. Josh Shapiro visited Black-owned businesses in West Philly on Thursday to promote a proposed $25 million budget initiative to support small businesses across the state. The potential program, called Main Street Matters, would support downtown areas across the state by offering grants to improve commercial corridors and the small businesses on them. The visit to Philadelphia was part of a statewide tour to promote his ambitious $48.34 billion proposal for the 2024-25 state budget. The pool of $25 million would go toward infrastructure on main streets, such as outdoor seating or lighting, or directly to business owners to get equipment or a new facade, for example. The details of exactly who would get the money and how is not yet clear. Advertisement Theyd have to meet certain standards in order to receive those funds, the Democratic governor said. I can tell you that those terms and conditions are being worked on right now. On Thursday afternoon, Shapiro visited Hakims Bookstore, an African American bookstore on 52nd Street in West Philly, along with State Sen. Vincent Hughes and State Rep. Amen Brown, both Democrats. The store is the oldest African American book shop on the East Coast, according to its owner, Yvonne Blake, 72, whose father opened the business in 1959. Blake showed the officials around the store, which carries books written by Black authors and about the Black experience. When Shapiro asked Blake what could help support her West Philly business, she said marketing to show people that there are a lot of things of quality and culture on 52nd Street. She also wants people to feel safe in the neighborhood, and thinks better lighting and shelters for bus stops could help. When Shapiro asked Blake if she knows the name of the local police officers or sees them walking around, she said no, though she sees their cars occasionally. Blake also said that more free parking in the neighborhood would help local businesses. People are in here browsing books and theyre watching their cars, she said, adding that she feels bad when people get a ticket for shopping in her store. Shapiro said creating a parking lot where drivers can show a receipt from a local business for a free spot would be a super worthwhile investment. Blake, who grew up helping with the store, runs the store herself with help from family and one volunteer, told The Inquirer that being able to hire staff would also help. After his visit to the bookstore, Shapiro was joined by Enterprise Center President Della Clark and a host of local elected officials at a news conference at Two Locals Brewing Company, in University City, to talk about the initiative. State Rep. Rick Krajewski, a Democrat who represents University City and other parts of West Philly south of Market Street, said local entrepreneurs are increasingly facing barriers through prohibitive start-up costs, loans and equity, and competition with big chain companies. He said that when he walks down the 52nd Street corridor in his district, he feels its history. Beautiful facades and storefronts that are the heart and soul of West Philly, he said. And as a young person, I dont want to just remember that vibrancy, I want to see it. I want to see it happen, I want to see it perpetuate, I want to see it continue. But despite the fanfare surrounding the initiative, Shapiro has to take on Republicans in the General Assembly who want to cut spending rather than increase it, like State Rep. Seth Grove, who posted a Valentines Day video on Tuesday mocking Shapiros budget and national ambitions. This budget is more of a pipe dream, we all see through this scheme, to use the surplus and rainy day funds for some presidential campaign fun, Grove said in the video. Shapiro argued that the state has a budget surplus of $14 billion that should be invested in communities. However, the governor wants to tap into that surplus in coming budget years as well to keep up with the states spending as it begins to outpace revenue next budget cycle. Despite the states divided legislature, Shapiro said he is very confident the initiative will make the budget but acknowledged there will have to be compromises. Unfortunately, no miracle technologies will help radically change the course of a long-term war, other factors are much more important, according to Kyrylo Budanov, head of the Main Intelligence Agency (GUR) of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine. The question is how to allocate resources, how to use what is available, and how to plan supply lines. In a prolonged war, the side that has a more powerful economy and logistics wins, Budanov said in an interview with the French edition of Liberation. According to him, the situation on the battlefield remains difficult, but not critical. Our war is not unique. It's just a high-intensity conflict using the full range of available weapons. We are not on the verge of using weapons of mass destruction, but everything else from submarines to strategic aviation has been used for a long time, Budanov said. We are delighted to have Peter join iExtend as chairman and are fortunate to have someone of his experience and calibre to help guide us in the next stage of our growth, he said. Peter joins us at a busy and pivotal moment where we have the opportunity to scale our business with the adviser support we have built and further develop our enterprise solutions to elevate our industry-leading offering for licensees. Synergy is very pleased to begin this relationship with Munich Re. This new financing provides us the funds we need and enables us to immediately begin the abandonment of the Synergy Oil Field and the restoration of 156 acres of prime coastal wetlands. It is a huge win for everyone, especially the communities of Long Beach and Seal Beach, Synergy CEO and principal John McKeown said. The Bridgewater native is one of 35 dedicated professionals who made the cut and were recognized recently for their excellence in the crucial role of an insurance broker. Her employer, Keyes Insurance, is a 5-Star Brokerage. The business has been trading since 1926. Oliver is the ideal candidate to spearhead our new offering and our clients will benefit from his extensive experience, Owen said. We are looking forward to building out the team and its capabilities further in the coming months. Learning lessons from the 2016 election Harkening back to troubles from the 2016 US election, Hernandez noted that there has been a shift in the way online trolling has evolved. Whereas back then, it was centered around organizations such as the Internet Research Agency in St. Petersburg, there was no need for such centers in todays climate as AI has taken over the trolling role. Zelenskyy on situation in Avdiivka: Our military is main thing, we need to make do with fewer losses President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he sent a signal to the leadership of the Armed Forces about the need to minimize military casualties in battles with the occupiers, in particular in Avdiivka direction (Donetsk region). "As for Avdiivka: the situation there is complicated not the first day. We remember what Russia is doing to our cities and villages. They will not calm down until they completely destroy all living things there," he said on press conference with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, answering questions from journalists. According to Zelenskyy, the Ukrainian military is now heroically defending strategic facilities and logistics routes in the Avdiivka area, which could lead the enemy to advance. He also said he is thoroughly aware of the situation in that area and is in constant contact with the military leadership. "At the same time, I will not talk about what new military approaches they are using. Their task is to do everything to protect, first of all, our people," Zelenskyy said. The head of state also said the lives of the Ukrainian military are the main thing. "And this is the main signal from me: our military is the most important thing we have. And this is our main weapon. Everyone can say that war is losses. No. First of all, we need to make do with fewer losses. This is exactly the signal that the leadership [Defense Force] receives from me. Well, there, on the battlefield, there are already professionals. They know what to do," the president said. This appeal presents the question of whether allegations that SARS-Co-V-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, was present in insured restaurants and resulted in cessation of in-person dining services and related business interruption losses are sufficient to state a claim for direct physical loss or damage, as that phrase is used in plaintiffs property insurance policy, Judge Halligan said in the February 15 court document seen by Insurance Business. New York City joined a growing chorus of states, cities and school districts suing social media companies over claims that their platforms are fueling a mental-health crisis among teens, alleging that Meta Platforms and others exploit children and adolescents. The most populous US city filed a lawsuit Wednesday in California state court in Los Angeles against Meta, its Facebook and Instagram platforms; TikTok Inc. and its parent company, ByteDance Ltd.; Google LLC and its YouTube platform; and Snapchat owner Snap Inc. Social media companies face mounting legal risks from claims that they use algorithms to get teenagers and adolescents addicted to their platforms. Meta was sued by the attorneys general of more than 30 states over similar claims in October. A month later, a judge in Oakland, California, ordered Meta, Google, TikTok and Snap to face hundreds of suits blaming them for hooking young people. Hundreds of school districts also have sued to force the companies to change their behavior and pay the cost of addressing social media addiction. New York said it spends more than $100 million on mental health programs and services for youth every year. The citys health commissioner last month called unchecked access to social media a public health hazard. Our city is built on innovation and technology, but many social media platforms end up endangering our childrens mental health, promoting addiction, and encouraging unsafe behavior, New York Mayor Eric Adams said in a statement. Maximizing Engagement Like many other complaints across the US, the New York City lawsuit alleges the companies borrowed from behavioral and neurobiological tactics used by the casino and tobacco industries to design features aimed at maximizing youth engagement to drive advertising revenue, and target children and adolescents who are particularly vulnerable to the addictive effects of those features. Jose Castaneda, a Google spokesperson, disputed the citys claims. Providing young people with a safer, healthier experience online has always been core to our work, he said in an email. In collaboration with youth, mental health and parenting experts, weve built services and policies to give young people age-appropriate experiences, and parents robust controls. Meta said it wants teens to have safe, age-appropriate experiences online, citing more than 30 tools and features to support them and parents. Weve spent a decade working on these issues and hiring people who have dedicated their careers to keeping young people safe and supported online, a spokesperson said in a statement. A TikTok spokesperson said the company has industry-leading safeguards to support teens well-being, including age-restricted features, parental controls, an automatic 60-minute time limit for users under 18, and more. We regularly partner with experts to understand emerging best practices, and will continue to work to keep our community safe by tackling industry-wide challenges. A spokesperson for Snap, in a statement, said the platform was intentionally designed to be different from traditional social media, with a focus on helping Snapchatters communicate with their close friends. Snapchat opens directly to a camera rather than a feed of content that encourages passive scrolling and has no traditional public likes or comments. While we will always have more work to do, we feel good about the role Snapchat plays in helping close friends feel connected, happy and prepared as they face the many challenges of adolescence. The case is City of New York v Meta Platforms Inc., 24STCV03643, Superior Court of the State of California, County of Los Angeles. Copyright 2024 Bloomberg. Topics Lawsuits California New York New York states highest court has affirmed that there must be direct physical loss or damage, not just presence of a virus, to trigger coverage under a commercial property policy for COVID-19 business interruption losses. The Court of Appeals upheld lower courts that rejected Consolidated Restaurant Operations, Inc.s (CRO) claims under a policy from Westport Insurance Corp. CRO, like many businesses, sustained a significant reduction in revenue during the pandemic. In its original complaint, CRO alleged that it was forced to suspend or substantially curtail its operations due to the presence of the coronavirus in its restaurants and government restrictions on nonessential businesses. CRO sought coverage for the loss of revenue and, after Westport denied coverage, sued Westport for breach of contract. Westport moved to dismiss for failure to state a cause of action, arguing that CRO could not establish that the coronavirus caused direct physical loss or damage to its properties as a matter of law. First, the Supreme Court declared that the policy did not cover CROs alleged losses and granted Westports motion to dismiss. Then the Appellate Division affirmed the Supreme Court order, noting that numerous federal and state court cases had applied both New York law and the law of other states to hold that the terms direct and physical, as they relate to damage or loss to property, require a direct physical loss of property, not simply the inability to use it. The Court of Appeals took up the issue and reached the same conclusion. The states high court held that the insurance provisions relied upon by CRO only cover economic losses to the extent they are caused by direct physical loss or damage to insured property and the business interruption caused by the actual presence of the coronavirus on the premises of CROs insured property is insufficient to trigger such coverage. The court said that direct physical loss or damage requires a material alteration or a complete and persistent dispossession of insured property, which CRO did not show. We do not take lightly the severe economic losses incurred by restaurants and other businesses serving the public as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the opinion by Judge Caitlin Halligan states. But our task is to faithfully interpret the terms of the insurance policy before us, not to rewrite the language of the policy at issue to reach a result with equitable appeal.' Topics Carriers New York COVID-19 Atlantic City casinos would be able to continue to allow gamblers to smoke on the casino floor under a new bill that would impose additional restrictions on lighting up. New Jersey state Sen. John Burzichelli introduced a bill Monday giving the casinos much of what they want amid a push by many casino workers to prohibit smoking altogether. His measure would keep the current 25% limit of the casino floor on which smoking can occur. But it would allow smoking in unenclosed areas of the casino floor that contain slot machines and are designated as smoking areas that are more than 15 feet away from table games staffed by live dealers. It also would allow the casinos to offer smoking in enclosed, separately ventilated smoking rooms with the proviso that no worker can be assigned to work in such a room against their will. Whether to ban smoking is one of the most controversial issues not only in Atlantic City casinos, but in other states where workers have expressed concern about secondhand smoke. They are waging similar campaigns in Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, Kansas and Virginia. The move sets up a fight between to competing bills: Burzichellis, which he describes as a compromise giving something to both sides, and a different bill that would end smoking altogether in the casinos. Its about what we can do to keep casinos open, and how do we get it right, said Burzichelli, a Democrat from southern New Jersey and a former deputy speaker of the state Assembly. Losing one casino means thousands of jobs lost. Atlantic Citys nine casinos say they fear that banning smoking while neighboring states including Pennsylvania continue to offer it would cost them jobs and revenue. Workers dispute that contention, saying that smoke-free casinos have thrived in other states. They also say their health should come before casino profits. The group CEASE (Casino Employees Against Smokings Harmful Effects) issued a statement Wednesday calling Burzichellis bill Big Tobacco and casino industry talking points, copied and pasted. This bill would retain the same level of smoking as is currently permitted and will not decrease in any way the amount of exposure workers have to secondhand smoke, the statement read. It added that the only bill with enough support to be passed and signed into law by Gov. Phil Murphy, a Democrat, is the total ban. Murphy has pledged to sign a smoking ban into law once passed by the Legislature. On Wednesday, the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network urged New Jersey lawmakers to reject the new bill and enact the total smoking ban. Since the 1980s, weve known that secondhand smoke can cause cancer, along with a host of other devastating health effects, like heart disease, the group said in a statement. Yet despite the crystal-clear proof that exposure to secondhand smoke is bad, and that smoke-free laws work, lawmakers continue to force Atlantic City workers to choose between their paycheck and breathing in secondhand smoke. The Casino Association of New Jersey did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday. But it has previously said a total smoking ban would chase business to other states, jeopardizing jobs and state tax revenue. Burzichellis bill was referred to the same state Senate committee that last month advanced the total smoking ban bill. He said he has not counted heads to see how much support his bill has. It is not currently scheduled for a hearing. Casinos were specifically exempted from New Jerseys 2006 law that banned smoking in virtually all other workplaces. Photo: A gambler smokes while playing a slot machine at the Hard Rock casino in Atlantic City N.J. on Aug. 8, 2022. On Monday Feb. 13, 2023, lawmakers will hold their first hearing on a bill that would ban smoking in Atlantic Citys nine casinos. (AP Photo/Wayne Parry) Copyright 2024 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics Legislation New Jersey Russias Aeroflot has finalized insurance settlements with leasing companies for seven more planes, it said on Friday. Planes leased by Russian airlines from foreign leasing companies have been in limbo since sanctions were imposed over Russias military campaign in Ukraine in February 2022. Russian airlines have tried to buy out the planes, rather than return them to the leasing companies. (Reporting by Felix Light; editing by Jan Harvey) Related: Topics Russia Co-operators Financial Services Ltd. announced the acquisition of the parent company of Carson Dunlop & Associates Ltd., a consulting engineering firm that provides advice to help homeowners make better, more informed decisions about their homes, while also providing education and reporting software for the inspection profession. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed. The acquisition, which was completed by a wholly owned subsidiary of Co-operators, includes the commercial inspection firm Carson Dunlop Weldon & Associates Ltd.; a U.S. franchise network National Property Inspections Inc.; and a Canadian franchise network, GPI Franchise Corp. (collectively, Carson Dunlop). More than 200,000 inspections are performed annually across the Carson Dunlop platform, which will continue to operate as it currently does, with the same brand name. The Co-operators said the acquisition is a milestone for its resiliency strategy, which seeks to catalyze more sustainable communities. Home services is a new business line at Co-operators, and one which is perfectly tied to our purpose. Our combined capabilities with Carson Dunlop will provide an unparalleled inspection experience, explained Steve Phillips, executive vice president of Emerging & Adjacent Business Models at Co-operators. We are committed to participating in the home services industry and Carson Dunlop is an excellent match for our purpose, vision, and values. A persons home is likely to be the single largest investment theyll make over the course of their lives and, increasingly, is seen as the lynch pin of their financial futures which is why it deserves the very best information and advice, something Carson Dunlop has been providing clients for nearly half a century, Co-operators said. I started the company 46 years ago with the idea of providing trusted, unbiased advice to existing and potential homeowners, said Alan Carson, co-founder of Carson Dunlop. We demystify homeownership by providing knowledge and peace of mind. I look forward to continuing the Carson Dunlop journey along with Co-operators. In Co-operators, we have found an ideal partner that brings a wealth of experience, relationships, and resources to drive growth and long-term value for our stakeholders, said Craig Rowsell, CEO of Carson Dunlop & Associates Ltd. Our core values are in sync, and Co-operators long-term vision uniquely positions us to effectively scale our network and help us live our purpose: to better the lives of homeowners. The Co-operators Group offers multi-line insurance and investment products and services. Operating for 78 years, the company has more than C$58 billion in assets under administration. Source: The Co-operators Topics New Markets Canada If youve got information on one of the worlds most prolific ransomware gangs, you could stand to make a cool $10 million. The Department of State on Thursday announced a reward of up to $10 million for anyone who can provide information leading to the identification or location of a leader of the ALPHV/Blackcat ransomware group as well up to a $5 million reward for information leading to an arrest or conviction of anyone participating in a ransomware attack using the variant. There have been more than 1,000 victims globally of ALPHV/Blackcat ransomware, said the department. Late in 2023, the FBI seized websites of the notorious ransomware group and, they said, saved around 500 victims about $99 million in ransom demands by developing a decryption tool that restored computer systems. Related: US Seizes BlackCat Ransomware Site, Offering Decryption Tool The Department of Justice and FBI last month announced a cooperative effort with law enforcement agency groups from the United Kingdom, Australia, Germany, Spain, and Denmark, to launch a disruption campaign against the notorious ransomware gang ALPHV/Blackcat. Alphabets Waymo unit has recalled 444 self-driving vehicles after two minor collisions in quick succession in Arizona because a software error could result in them inaccurately predicting the movement of a towed vehicle. All of the vehicles are in the companys possession and had software updates last month. Waymo said in a filing Feb 15 with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) that in December one of its autonomous vehicles operating in Phoenix, Arizona made contact with a pickup truck being towed backwards and at an angle relative to the towing vehicle. The towing vehicle was improperly traveling straight in the middle shared turn lane and the pickup truck being towed was partially occupying the travel lane immediately to the right of the middle shared turn lane. The Waymo AV was in the same travel lane as a portion of the towed pickup truck when the front left of the Waymo AV made contact with the pickup truck, the company said. Waymo said that several minutes later a second Waymo AV made contact with the same off-angle towed pickup truck, which had continued after the first contact and was still occupying multiple lanes. The two events were both at low relative speeds. Neither collision resulted in injuries, Waymo said. Waymo met with NHTSA on the issue on four separate occasions starting on Dec. 15 and most recently last week. Waymo said it carefully considered points raised by NHTSA in these discussions. Waymos Safety Board said due to the unique characteristics of the collisions that it warranted submitting this report to NHTSA to fulfill relevant notification obligations. The recall announcement comes days after a crowd vandalized and set fire to a Waymo self-driving car using a firework in San Francisco, marking the most destructive attack so far on driverless vehicles in the United States. California lawmakers and labor unions rallied on Monday to call for laws to not allow autonomous trucks without human drivers, amid rising safety concerns after accidents. Separately, NHTSA said electric automaker Lucid Group recalled 189 of its Air vehicles to fix a software issue that could have resulted in loss of drive power. Waymo and Lucid did not respond to Reuters requests for comment. Topics Personal Auto Symphony Grow is launching a bespoke captive insurance program for large and sophisticated cannabis businesses called Symphony Grow Captive. The Symphony Grow Captive risk financing tool provides a breadth of benefits not commonly afforded to cannabis businesses due to the historical reluctance of most admitted insurers to write coverage. This includes: Policies can be customized to include or exclude non-negotiable or uninsurable losses in the commercial insurance market. Symphony Grow Captive also allows control of all aspects of claims management, including: settlement authority, legal expense management and defense counsel panel selection. Symphony Grow is the specialty business of Symphony Risk Solutions. Symphony Risk Solutions is an insurance, risk management and employee benefits consulting firm with offices in San Francisco, Dallas, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, St. Louis and Seattle. Topics California New Markets Cannabis Evolved, diverse and inclusive companies are far more profitable and more successful at attracting and retaining talent, according to Nessa Maguire, CEO of EudaOrg. Irish and US-based EudaOrg hosts a software suite that embeds and sustains diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in all areas of the business of its client companies all over the world. Its stated goal is to make the workplace fairer for one million colleagues by 2026. Some sectors like tech and pharma realise that embedding DEI in your business is not just about your colleagues, it is also about your suppliers and customers, said Nessa Maguire. Businesses need to set goals on more than just gender. Some businesses are collecting gender, age, ethnicity data, but they should start to collect more data. People are all very different, and having access to data is important because sometimes we are not aware of our bias. When you are having to asking yourself why are we not getting the talent we need?, you may need to look closer at your talent acquisition software. For example, Ireland is now effectively at near full employment, so Irish-based employers are looking overseas for talent. Ireland is not alone in that. Global competition for talent is going to continue to grow. A global survey in 2021 by the Manufacturing Institute predicted that by 2030, as many as 2.1 million jobs could go unfilled in manufacturing if current trends in hiring and retention continue. In another survey by recruiters Monster, 83% of Gen Z candidates said that a company's commitment to DEI is very important to them when choosing an employer. That age cohort is increasingly likely to dig deeper before committing to join a company. It was in this context that organisation and industrial psychologists Nessa Maguire and Allison Kuschel founded EudaOrg, whose software offers the infrastructure for the delivery and measurement of diversity, equity and inclusion for client companies. From their operations based in Cork and New York, the company works with clients across the globe. EudaOrgs software enables organisations to assess, analyse and action their DEI goals. EudaOrg works with companies of all sizes from big corporations to SMEs. In every case, it is important for a comprehensive buy-in across the company to properly embed DEI commitments. It is not just about the HR leader. John Kotter, a leading organisational change researcher, found 75% of leadership need to be bought-in to effect sustainable change, said Nessa. Embedding DEI is just like any other type of organizational change; it requires full engagement across the organisation. It is not just about HR or how you market or advertise vacancies, which is a common mistaken view of DEI. It has to filter throughout your organisation and through to your customers and your supply chain. Meanwhile, the benefits of embedding EDI in a company go beyond better talent acquisition and retention. It also boosts performance and productivity. A report on EDI published in 2023 by the BioPharmaChem Industry in Ireland cited a ResearchAndMarkets.com report which found that diverse and inclusive companies earn 2.5 times more per employee and are 35% more productive. Naturally, access to quality data is important in managing these outcomes. More and more companies are fast becoming aware of the need to engage with measurable DEI in their organisations. For some smaller companies, however, cost can be an issue when it comes to engaging with DEI imperatives. You have to collect the data, but for some one big issue around DEI is the cost, said Nessa. A lot of products can be at a very high price point. At EudaOrg, we are very keen to focus on the SME market. Of course, we also work with very big enterprises, but we want to allow smaller companies to also be able to focus on DEI. Our dashboard generates data that allows you to generate goals, to evaluate how you are doing. We are doing a lot of hand-holding with the software, automating processes and bringing enterprise-grade resources to companies of all sizes. Read More Business movers: People starting new jobs in Ireland Nessa likens EudaOrgs mission with DEI to the way that customer relationship management (CRM) has allowed companies to improve their sales performance in a measurable manner. The sooner you implement and embed DEI in your organisation, the better for your business, she said. Acting sooner than later gets you ahead of the legislative pressure thats coming down the line. Thats why we built EudaOrg, a technology company focused on social impact. Our goal is to make the workplace fairer for one million colleagues by 2026. We want to make DEI accessible to businesses of all sizes. If your organisation has a limited budget, EudaOrg is the best way to cover all bases. EudaOrg will break down everything you need to do into achievable blocks of work related to the resources you have and help you progress and achieve your goals over time. Investing in DEI goes beyond culture and enables organisations to create well-functioning, high-performing, successful and innovative teams. With EudaOrg, companies of all sizes get access to Enterprise data insights, assessments and consultative feedback at a non-enterprise price. EudaOrg gives companies everything they need to create, manage, monitor their DEI goals and most importantly, drive impact in diversity, equity inclusion. www.eudaorg.com President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy has expressed hope that both houses of the Congress would reach an agreement on the U.S. financial and defense assistance. "I hope the United States of America will not fall away," he said at a joint press conference with German Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Friday. The Ukrainian president also said that a major part of the U.S. population support Ukraine and understands that Ukraine is defending not only itself, but also whole Europe and common values. "I constantly receive such signals from the [U.S.] president, his administration and representatives of both parties of the Congress. There are different voices, there are radical ones, there are real hotheads in the United States who are engaged in the political process. But I still hope that, despite all difficulties which we can see today in the Congress and generally in U.S. policy due to elections, I still hope that among all this a pragmatic American approach will be for the fact that we are defending the whole world's security. And today this war and this defense are on the territory of Ukraine. And we are paying the highest price," Zelenskyy said. When asked whether Germany and the EU in general would be able to close a defense and financial gap if the United States does not provide assistance, he said: "risks always exist." "We count not only on Germany alone. We count on the entire European Union. Because it is not only about money or some type of weapons. This is a political union. This union allows to impose sanctions against Russia's defense industry. Much depends on strong unity of the countries of Europe. We count on the union of the countries of Europe in general. And on their alliance with the United States," Zelenskyy said. He also noted that everyone in Europe realizes very well the necessity to ramp up weapons production. "This must be done. Russia is ramping it up but it will lag behind Ukraine and the countries of Europe. You should know that Ukraine is also increasing it in times, and some types of weapons in dozens of times. Certain types of drones in hundreds and thousands of times," the head of state said. A lot happens in quarter-life, those less talked about though no less turbulent years that stretch from the end of adolescence to the beginning of midlife. This is when, having been thrown into the deep end of the pool without armbands, the rest of the world expects you to swim gracefullylike a proper 'adult'. In the eyes of many, swimming gracefully in your 20s and 30s means building a stable career, saving for a house with good plumbing, and finding a suitable forever partner. Just as all of these properly adult goals come to the fore, a bunch of seemingly less rational fantasieslike launching a new creative project or working abroadget tucked away like disobedient children. This is the perfect recipe for what Satya Doyle Byock, US-based psychotherapist and author of the new book Quarter-life: The Search for Self in Early Adulthood, calls a quarter-life crisis. In the scramble to move from dependence to independence, quarter-lifers will recognise that distinct moment when you realise you have no idea who you are or what you want to do with the rest of your life. In Byocks view, this crisis often arises from a tug-of-war between what she calls the 'meaning self' and the 'stability self'. The meaning self is the part of you that craves adventure, spirituality, and soul projects, even if it means bending the rules a little. The stability self, by contrast, is the part that demands stable income, a place to put down roots, and a compatible partner. When the 'stability self' becomes fixated on paying the bills and planning for the future, the 'meaning self' has a habit of stopping you in your tracks with proclamations like: 'I have to go find out who I am before I die.' On the one hand, there's this move to find oneself and create oneself in the world and so that impulse is very strong, Byock explains. On the other, harsh economic realities dictate the need to make a living and pay for rent and buy food. In quarter-life, we see this confluence of different needs as we search for meaning and stability at the same time. In searching for meaning, we want to truly deeply find ourselves as individuals, while in searching for stability, we need to face the realities and responsibilities of taking care of ourselves. For many quarterlifers, the harsh realities of becoming an adult in the midst of a housing and cost-of-living crisis can feel stifling. In my life, I cant seem to escape the feeling that I am a whole decade behind where I was meant to be. Right on the cusp of 30, I find myself child-free, car-free, and a perpetual student. Having had to leave the world of academic science due to illness and the false promise that more degrees equal future job security and a higher wage, I find myself sandwiched between the house I grew up in and my boyfriends pad. This he shares, in the manner of most high-earning Dublin-dwelling professionals, with three other 30-something software developers. Financial survival becomes so pressing so quickly that were not supporting people to try projects theyre excited about, to date, to travel, and to work in different areas, says Byock. Theres such huge pressure on quarter-lifers to join the real world and get a job. Sometimes, we forget the importance of the call to adventure and letting young people find themselves. Niamh Jimenez: "The money I earn from writing wont fund travel adventures but will instead contribute to my retraining for entry into her field of work. Only then will I have the means to start saving for a mortgage." Picture: Moya Nolan Taking time out to 'find yourself' Byock is hardly surprised when I tell her that the money I earn from writing wont fund travel adventures but will instead contribute to my retraining for entry into her field of work. Only then will I have the means to start saving for a mortgage. The very notion of taking time out to find oneself sounds wildly impractical, even whimsical, in a country where 68% of people aged between 25 and 29 cannot afford to move out of the family home. Many millennials are faced with the financial impossibility of saving for a mortgage and paying exorbitant rents, which averaged 2,344 in Dublin last year nearly 60% of the national median monthly income. Under such circumstances, how can we achieve independence without slipping back into the gawkish dance of early parent-child dynamics? Byock responds with a volley of questions: A key question is how does the quarter-lifer become psychologically independent, and how can parents support and encourage this process? If the parents are paying for the rent or mortgage, how does the quarter-lifer contribute as an adult in the household? How are they managing -cooking responsibilities? How are they making sure to clean up for themselves, even if the parents used to do that? Contrary to popular belief, psychological independence does not have to mean trading in your vibrant, adventurous spirit for a sedate grown-up. From Byocks perspective, transitioning into maturity has a lot to do with negotiating with the 'meaning self' and 'stability self' twins trying to go in opposite directions". Being able to hear this internal dialogue is no small feat amid the backdrop of a global crisis of meaning, where climate change, social revolution and war threaten to unravel our society. I tell her that, in these uncertain times, I am far more in touch with my stability self, who waits obediently for the green man at crosswalks, plans a spontaneous getaway two years in advance, and saves cash in little brown envelopes for future emergencies. How can I coax my overactive 'stability self' into giving my 'meaning self', with its lust for adventure, a much-needed pep talk? First, she advises being wary of that inner voice who, desperate for personal meaning, says things like, Im going to work for that non-profit or Im going to save the world in some way. While these are noble ambitions, she believes that becoming whole is less of a psychological self-improvement project and more of an existential one. Its about asking deeper questions like, Who am I within the context of existence versus just what am I building in this life? she says. Its also about learning how to honour our instinct, dreams and intuition all sources of wisdom that can give us a clearer picture of what we need to feel satisfied and fulfilled. This is hard to do from just a straight logic or left-brain perspective, especially when most of us were raised to have a much more extroverted focus, she says. Satya Doyle Byock 'Going dark' on social media Practices like mindfulness and yoga can help quieten our internal chatter, says Byock. I think the social narrative needs to shift so its not just about carving out a brand and being distinctive, but rather about deeper self-exploration. That might mean disappearing from view on some level to go travelling for a couple of years or to try things you havent done before. Either way, you're not posting it [on social media] constantly because you're actually sorting out who you really are, she says. Byock, who has recently deleted her social media apps from her phone, says that going dark like that requires moral courage. [Disappearing from social media] can mean that somebody's making a very wise choice to deepen their relationship with themselves as opposed to being constantly mirrored or bombarded with information, she says. It's hard to deeply know what we think on a moral, ethical, creative level when we are receiving so much input." Finally, I ask her about that burning anxiety that crept into my life at about the age of 26, awakened in part by the arrival of a set of stubborn forehead lines. How do we deal with ageing in quarter-life? This one I hear all the time from clients, says Byock, who, despite remembering the initial angst, has settled into her age to the extent that it almost feels irrelevant now. It's important to step off that vertical ladder and embrace a more horizontal, almost circular, plane of life that we can truly enjoy. The world is burning, people are suffering, and that is a tremendous reality. But the more we get to know ourselves, the more we can build a life that we want to be living. Irish Examiner columnist and author Seamas O'Reilly has been reinstated on X, formerly Twitter, having been banned after writing about the social media platform. The popular commentator was suspended from the platform and claimed he did not know why but said he suspected the ban was linked to his column which he said made "reference to the fact that Twitter/X may be considered complicit in the deluge of bots and scams on their platform given that it materially benefits from their activities". Mr O'Reilly previously said the suspension came within hours of his latest column going on the platform. The journalist, who has almost 100,000 followers, had gone nearly a week without being able to read his tweets. He said he had made efforts to contact Twitter, using a link provided in the notification. I have heard nothing back and nor, at time of writing, have any of the news organisations currently asking whether an Irish-headquartered tech behemoth has really suspended an Irish journalist for critiquing their operation in an Irish newspaper, he said. X had claimed Mr O'Reilly had been originally suspended for violating X's rules "against platform manipulation and spam". However, on Friday, the journalist received a notification from X which said the suspension on his account was lifted. He said his account had been suspended for sending "multiple unsolicited replies or mentions" which he said was completely different to what he had been originally suspended for. Mr O'Reilly told the Irish Examiner he was "mostly happy" to be reinstated back on X which allows him to do his work but said it was not something that "should happen to someone whether they have written about Twitter or not". He has successfully used his account for 14 years, having first come to public attention with a story thread on an unusual meeting with former president Mary McAleese. A new project which will allow the public to see who owns media organisations in Ireland and detailing their connections with individuals will be launched today. Media Ownership Monitor (MOM) Ireland will be the first of its kind in the EU and is being supported by Coimisiun na Mean, the new media regulator. MOM will be available as a website, with the database highlighting connections between Irish media outlets (print, broadcast and online) and other individuals and institutions whether through friendship, family or business connections. The MOM study found a number of what they say are "hidden concentrations" in some news content provision. It is a joint project of Dublin City University and the German-based Global Media Registry which will be co-funded by the EU. All research results are available to the general public via the website, which includes a searchable database of media companies, outlets and owners, profile pages for each of them, and a trove of accessible information about the Irish media industry overall. Some key findings from the study include: The radio market may be "less diverse than the operation of more than 30 commercial stations alongside RTE suggests", with the majority of stations serviced for their national and international news by Bauer Media Ireland. A succession of printing press closures means that almost all Irish-facing national papers now rely on just two operations, that are owned by the Irish Times and Webprint. In television, Sky Televisions suite of channels cumulatively account for 7% of the audiences in Ireland but Sky Media also sells advertising space in Ireland on behalf of more than 20 other channels owned by, amongst others, the BBC, Warner Bros-Discovery and Paramount. Research lead of the MOM Ireland Dr Roderick Flynn said: "The findings do not constitute a clear and present danger to media pluralism and diversity in Ireland. But they do highlight concentrations of media power not always referenced in Irish debates about regulating direct media ownership." Coimisiun na Mean Irelands new commission for regulating broadcasters and online media will financially support the further development and updating of MOM over the coming three years. Its broadcasting commissioner Celene Craig said: "The MOM project is a valuable resource, providing key information and data on the ownership of individual media outlets, as well as relevant context and insight into the broader media landscape to inform greater understanding and discussion on issues of media plurality and concentration. "We are delighted to support the further development of Irelands Media Ownership Monitor and the increased transparency it brings to control and influence in the Irish media sphere. We look forward to its ongoing development over the next three years. MOM's publication comes during the same period where a new EU act will be implemented at a national level in Ireland. The Digital Safety Act was introduced in November with laws now requiring very large online platforms and search engines to do more to tackle illegal content and risks to public security, and to protect their services against manipulative techniques. Legislation was brought forward to allow for the act to come into effect in Ireland this month. A DCU spokesperson explained: "This happens as a response to the digital transition of the industry and aims at regulating social media platforms, sustaining quality journalism and fighting disinformation. MOM Ireland is the first of its kind in any country in the European Union." An Irish-Palestinian man who was blocked from leaving the Gaza Strip has described his fear of never seeing his family again and how life in Rafah has become critical. Zak Hania said he feels abandoned by the Irish authorities after appeals for help to leave Gaza went unanswered. Mr Hanias wife, Batoul, and their four sons were among the Irish citizens who left Gaza via the Rafah border last November and are now living in Dublin. However, Mr Hania was not accepted onto the list of evacuees and was left in the besieged territory, where he fears for his life. Mrs Hania and her four Irish-born sons, Mazen, Ismael, Ahmed and Nour, have spent months pleading for help from the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), but have been unable to get him clearance to leave. Irish citizens from Palestine Batoul Hania and her four sons Nourmohammed (front left), Ahmed (front right), Mazen (back left) and Ismael (back right) at their accommodation in Dublin. Picture: Brian Lawless/PA Wire I think I am abandoned. Im happy my kids left this terror and genocide and I urge everyone to help me and reunite me with my family, Mr Hania told the PA news agency. Mr Hania said life in Rafah is very hard. Last night we had the worst night since I have been here, he said. We woke up at 1am to the sounds of missiles and bombardment and we were not sure what was happening. We thought the Israelis were invading Rafah. Its so dark and theres no electric. We dont know where all the bombs are. We cant go outside to see. It is very horrible and very hard at night. All people thought they were going to die because of the attacks. Around 100 people were killed last night and lots of people injured. They attacked houses and they attacked mosques. A destroyed building in Rafah (Hatem Ali/AP) I see people moving from Rafah on cars and donkeys. They take their blankets and things. Rafah is so crowded. Its full of people and it has become a tent city. Every empty space is filled with tents. Around 1.5 million people in Rafah. If they attack Rafah it will be terrible. The situation is very grim. We are exhausted. We have no energy and we are close to collapsing and dont want to think that we have to move to another place because we have no energy to go anywhere. We dont know where to go. We were told to go to Rafah as it is safe and now lots of people are here and we dont know where to go. Its very difficult and we are not sure what to do. Mr Hania said he does not know why he was blocked from leaving the Gaza Strip. The DFA said the relevant (Israeli) authorities refused me to leave but didnt give a reason. I dont know why but I know that travelling is a human right and I am held against my will and I consider myself to be a hostage in Gaza, he added. I want to join my kids. Things are becoming critical here. I dont know if I will be able to see my children again and be able to hug them. I want to join my family and dont want to be separated from them. They are worried about me in Dublin. I was told by DFA to go to Rafah to leave and now I am stuck here. I have no place to go. His son, Mazen, described his familys harrowing journey from their home in Beach Camp in northern Gaza through the Rafah border crossing and on to Dublin. The 19-year-old, who was born in Dublin and moved to Gaza in 2012, was studying engineering at a local university when his home town was attacked by Israeli strikes. Palestinians fleeing the Israeli offensive on Khan Younis arrive in Rafah (Hatem Ali/PA) Around 20 of his family members, including a three-month-old baby, left their home and travelled to a cousins house near the al-Shifa hospital. The bombardment became very intense. You have no idea what is happening all you hear are the bombs, he said. We were hoping the war would end and that we could get home again. It is very hard to survive there. During the day, we would go outside looking for food or flour to make bread or anything that we could eat to survive. Before we left we had three bags of flour each weighing 25kgs which were provided by UNRWA (The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees). It was so difficult carrying all the flour, as well as pillows and blankets. It was hell of a journey. Whoever was well enough in the morning looked for food. My role was to go and look for water. We had gallon-sized barrels and had to stand in long queues for three hours to get to the taps of water. 'Sometimes you couldnt tell the difference between rubbish and bodies' Days later, the family were told to evacuate the building following a warning from the Israel Defence Forces (IDF). Mazen found a cart and loaded it with all their belongings. We moved on to somewhere new. We tried to follow routines every day to keep us going. If we felt good and healthy in the morning we would fast during the day and eat only small things like one piece of bread, he said. We only had one meal a day. There were 11 children in total with us. We sometimes had chicken but very rarely, sometimes we had cheese and olive oil and thyme. There was so much rubbish in the streets and we saw bodies too. Sometimes you couldnt tell the difference between rubbish and bodies. Mazens most treasured items were his laptop, toothbrush and toothpaste, which he carried close to him for weeks. Irish-Palestinian Mazen Hania, 19. Mazen's father Zak was not permitted to cross the border from Gaza into Egypt with his family, despite being an Irish citizen. Picture: Brian Lawless/PA Wire The family walked for hours, despite his mother suffering from issues with her pelvic bones, while his father suffers from spinal issues. We went to another cousins house, who lives in Hamad City. We were lucky to have different houses to go to as there are so many people who sleep in the street. We found a car and used it to carry our belongings and people, Mazen added. "The worst journey we made was to the south of Gaza. I cant believe it when I think about it. We got to a point where we saw the IDF and tanks and snipers. The IDF tank blocked the street and stopped us from going any further. We waited. The streets are not easy to walk. Roads are cracked up. A lot electric cables are in the way. It was the most intense hour of my life. We were all waiting for the tanks to move so we could get through. The IDF soldiers were calling and shouting at us. They would take some people away and we wouldnt see them again. The Irish embassy contacted the family and told them to travel to Rafah. They were all on the clearance list, except Mr Hania. My dad was so angry and asked why this happened. He spoke to the Department of Foreign Affairs and we were told that the Israeli authorities had him on the red list, Mazen said. My dad did his Masters in journalism in DCU (Dublin City University), and he worked as a lecturer at the University of Palestine but his salary was not good. He resigned and worked as a translator and translates essays and reports. I dont know why he is on the blacklist. Since October, he contacted press in Ireland, including RTE as well as Al Jazeera. He filmed himself talking about the situation and recorded some videos. They dont want pictures in Gaza to go international. The last moments with him was so hard. We didnt want to leave him. I didnt know what to say or do. Describing the moment he left his father behind, Mazen wiped away tears as he recalled the difficult decision to leave. We all sat crying. My dad told us to go as it was the only chance to get our family out. He forced us to go. My dad told us to go to Ireland and do all we can to get him out and back with us. It didnt seem real and I was 90% sure we would be back to him again but also thinking we might get out. After arriving in Rafah, the family headed to the border and boarded a bus to Cairo in Egypt. When we got to Cairo we stayed at a hotel for two nights. It was so weird. They put us in a five-star hotel. I remember walking into the room we couldnt believe there was water coming out of taps and electricity the transition to looking for water for hours to a five star hotel. Department 'not dealing with the issue' Mazen, who is studying at University College Dublin, said he has not received updates from the DFA. We spoke to (Tanaiste) Micheal Martin and the DFA but we have had no updates. I feel they are not dealing with the issue, he said. We have emailed and called for updates but nothing. We told him that he has full responsibility for my dads safety and God forbid if anything happens to him he will be held responsible. Mazen Hania said the family have spoken to Tanaiste Micheal Martin (Niall Carson/PA) A spokesperson for the Department of Foreign Affairs: A small number of Irish citizens remain in Gaza. The Government, through our embassies in the region, has consistently sought clearance for all Irish citizens who wish to exit Gaza to do so. We continue to advocate with the authorities in relation to those who have not yet been permitted to leave. We are also ready to assist in instances where other Irish citizens and accompanying dependants wish to exit Gaza. As with all consular cases, the department does not comment on the detail of individual cases. Nicknamed Americas most dangerous drug, methamphetamine or crystal meth is a highly addictive and destructive drug that has laid waste to many US communities, with mortality rates increasing 50-fold between 1999 and 2021, from 608 to 52,397. Its use has led to huge increases in petty and serious crime in several US states, most of them in poorer regions, with public health experts saying there are no signs of it abating. And while there have been some seizures of the synthetic drug here over the last 10 to 15 years and several warnings about the dangers it poses, it has yet to take a foothold. Just last April, the Citizens Assembly on Drugs Use heard a warning from Eoghan Quigley of the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) about a potential increase in the use of methamphetamine in Europe, with the continent now a major producer of the drug. Record amounts of methamphetamine have been seized on the main heroin trafficking routes towards Europe from Afghanistan, as production of the drug has increased there, he said. A white van escorted by two Garda Armed Response Unit cars leaving the container terminal at Ringaskiddy, Co Cork at around 5pm on Friday afternoon after the drugs seizure. Picture: Larry Cummins But most peoples experience of it here is confined to the hit US television series Breaking Bad, featuring fictional chemistry teacher turned drug maker, Walter White, cooking his meth in a high-tech homemade lab in New Mexico. However, Fridays massive seizure of the drug in the Port of Cork has set alarm bells ringing among those working in law enforcement and in addiction services. Gardai and Revenue said investigations are ongoing as they try to establish the source and destination of the drug. Those in addiction services are waiting anxiously to see if this was attempt to flood Ireland with the drug, or if it was seized in transit along one of the routes used by international drug smugglers. There is also the distant possibility that the drug could have been manufactured here, and this was an audacious export attempt. Whatever emerges, a record haul of the drug has been taken out of circulation. First major seizure in 2008 There have been some garda seizures of the drug over the years, with the first major seizure in Birr in 2008, prompting a warning from the then garda commissioner, Fachtna Murphy. Then Garda commissioner Fachtna Murphy and defence minister Willie O'Dea speaking at the garda graduation ceremony at Templemore on July 31, 2008, about the first major find of methamphetamine. Picture: Niall Carson/PA I want to plead and to ask the public, nurses, doctors, teachers, parents, anybody who has information to report it to ensure this scourge of a drug doesnt come into this jurisdiction, he said at the time. I want to ensure that this doesnt creep into this country. It is my understanding that that is a very addictive drug and the mortality rate amongst addicts is very high, worse than heroin and thats saying something. And while other seizures have followed over the years, the quantity and value of yesterdays seizure is likely to eclipse all previous seizures. What is methamphetamine? So why is it so dangerous and why is it labelled the most destructive drug? Crystal meth can be smoked, injected, snorted or swallowed, and its effects last up to 10 hours, almost 10 times longer than cocaine. It has a particularly dangerous set of complex medical side effects, even with short-term usage, which can be significantly magnified, with hyper-stimulation, risk of paranoia and violence, toxic effects on the heart, and, unlike cocaine, there is neurotoxicity nerve damage. David Lane, the HSEs head of drug and alcohol services in Cork and Kerry: 'Powder cocaine is the number one issue we have but we cant be complacent.' Picture: Gerard McCarthy Meths main effect is on the dopamine receptors in the brain, meaning that meth use often stimulates feelings of reward, motivation and generally pleasant sensations the sensations that users are typically chasing. However, with increased frequency of use, it can be harder to achieve these sensations as the body becomes more tolerant, and that means more meth is needed for the body to feel the effect, leading to addiction and dependency. David Lane, the HSEs head of drug and alcohol services in Cork and Kerry, said their services have only encountered a handful of crystal meth cases annually. Powder cocaine is the number one issue we have but we cant be complacent, he said. No city, no region is immune to new trends, and we are always on alert about whats happening in vulnerable populations. But for any new drug to take hold, you have to have a market. We have people engaging with vulnerable drug users and through our homeless outreach work on a daily basis, seven days a week, so we get a very good sense of whats happening on the ground. And from what we are hearing, in general, people arent looking for crystal meth. Our finger is very much on the pulse across the region. Its important that we maintain that. Addiction counsellor Michael Guerin said that while he has seen only a handful of cases of crystal meth addiction over his 20 years in addiction services, those caught in its addictive grip have had their lives destroyed physically, mentally and psychologically. The biggest problem we have is crack cocaine, heroin, and free base cocaine [powder], he said. But people addicted to cocaine can often chase a more intense high and often graduate to crystal meth because they say it creates more intense feelings of euphoria and invincibility. There is not a lot of it around and it certainly isnt mainstream in Ireland. Many of those I would have seen are immigrants who would have developed their dependency while overseas and who are now living here. But to see this amount of the drug seized here in Ireland is very worrying indeed. If it takes hold here, it would only compound what is already an unmanageable situation, where treatment services are over-run and overwhelmed with people aged from 18 to 50 seeking help for alcohol and cocaine dependency. Previous crystal meth finds 2008: The Garda National Drugs Unit and customs seize almost 5kg of powder methamphetamine in Birr, Co Offaly, from a Lithuanian gang. 2009: Gardai in Tralee, Co Kerry, make three seizures of crystal meth, including one haul worth 7,500. 2011: Customs and gardai intercept 2.5kg of the drug, with an estimated street value of 250,000, at Dublin Airport. The haul is discovered when customs officers stop a 39-year-old man from Lesotho, Africa, and find the drugs concealed in the framework of two suitcases. August 2012: Gardai find 8,000 worth of the drug in a lab in Tralee, and arrest an Eastern European man. April 2013: Customs staff at Dublin Airport become suspicious of a wood carving that was due to be exported to Asia. The thick frame had a hollow back covered with timber slots. When they open it they find four packages, weighing 660g, on methamphetamine, in powder form. A customs spokesman confirmed the haul at Dublin Airport was the first seizure of the drug being exported. December 2020: Gardai in Ballymun arrest a woman in connection with a Revenue operation resulting in the seizure of 3kg of crystal meth, with an estimated value of 180,000, at Dublin Airport. June 2020: Gardai in Roscrea arrest two people after seizing 200 of suspected crystal meth during the search of a house. A juvenile, in his mid-teens, is among those arrested. More than half a tonne of suspected crystal methamphetamine has been seized in the Port of Cork while linked searches were carried at a large retail store in Co Kerry. The consignment seized on Friday morning was due to be exported and believed bound for Australia, which is one of the biggest consumers per person of crystal meth in the world. While an examination of the haul was continuing on Friday, gardai said the quantity seized is 546kg. The drugs would have a final estimated street value of 32.8m in Ireland, according to gardai, but could be worth up to 10 times that in Australia. Two people arrested Two people, both Irish nationals, have been arrested in Kerry in what gardai suspect is a major international drug trafficking operation. Local gardai in Kerry and Cork, assisted by the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau, are leading the investigation, assisted by Customs. The suspected methamphetamine seized in Cork on Friday. It is estimated to be worth 32.8m if sold on the Irish market, but would fetch far more in Australia. Picture: An Garda Siochana/PA The massive haul was found at Ringaskiddy container terminal in Cork Port and later removed under armed escort. If the drugs are confirmed as crystal meth it will be by far the biggest ever seizure of the highly addictive drug in Ireland. Drugs not believed to be for Irish market Gardai believe the drugs were not for the Irish market and were transiting through Irish ports for abroad. Gardai are investigating where the consignment originated and if it was shipped into Ireland from a traditional crystal meth manufacturing country, such as Mexico or the Netherlands, to be transported to a final destination. Drug may have been made in Ireland The other possibility, described by sources as very remote, was that the drugs were manufactured here. Crystal meth factories have been discovered in the Netherlands and Belgium and Mexican cooks specialists flown in by cartels to produce crystal meth have been arrested. A major garda search operation took place at a large retail outlet in Kerry as part of the investigation, resulting in one arrest. A second arrest occurred elsewhere in Kerry. Two firearms were also seized. Garda personnel from the Kerry Divisional Drugs Unit, Cork and a number of garda units were involved in the operation. The men, both aged in their 40s, are currently detained at garda stations in the Southern Region under Section 50 of the Criminal Justice Act 2007. The seizure in Cork Port follows the confiscation of over 2.2 tonnes of cocaine off the Cork coast in a military-garda-customs operation last September. A joint report by the US Drug Enforcement Administration and Europol, the EU police agency, in December 2022, said Mexican cartels were known to cooperate with EU-based criminal networks to traffic methamphetamine to the EU for further distribution outside the union. Previous large hauls of methamphetamine trafficked from Mexico to the EU include the interception of 2.5 tonnes of methamphetamine in Spain in 2021, 1.5 tonnes of methamphetamine trafficked through Croatia to Slovakia in 2020. The report said: It is likely that most of the methamphetamine trafficked from Mexico to the EU only transits the EU on the way to more profitable markets in Oceania and Asia given the higher wholesale and retail prices of methamphetamine in those regions. Once the drugs are received at EU entry points, local criminal networks cooperating with the Mexican cartels are responsible for moving the drug loads to their final destinations. In August 2022, some 1.8 tonnes of crystal meth was found in containers arriving in Sydney port, with a local valuation of A$1.6bn (970m). While methamphetamine powder, often ground with other cutting ingredients, is generally snorted, large crystals of highly pure methamphetamine hydrochloride, known as ice or crystal meth, are typically smoked and considered both addictive and damaging. A woman arrested in connection with the murder of Michael Foley in Co Cork has been released without charge. The 61-year-old was found dead at his home in Macroom 10 days ago. A man has been remanded in custody after he was charged on Friday with the murder of a man whose body was found in his sheltered accommodation in Macroom, Co Cork, last week. Daniel Hourigan, 31, with an address care of Cork Simon, was brought before a sitting of Bandon District Court in the last hour, where he was charged with the murder of Michael Foley, at a date unknown between January 31, 2024, and February 1, 2024, in Macroom town. Detective Sgt Danielle Hegarty of Macroom Garda Station gave evidence of arrest charge and caution, and said Mr Hourigan made no reply to the charge. His solicitor, Eddie Burke said Mr Hourigan was on jobseekers allowance, and he applied for and was granted free legal aid. Judge James McNulty acceded to the State's request to remand Mr Hourigan in custody and he directed that he appear before Clonakilty District Court by video link next Tuesday. Mr Burke said his client has various addiction issues, and nerve trauma in his left hand, and he asked that he receive medical assistance upon committal. Judge McNulty said Mr Hourigan would receive all appropriate medical attention while in custody. There were angry scenes outside the courtroom as Mr Hourigan was driven away by gardai. Several relatives of Mr Foley had gathered outside and they shouted abuse at Mr Hourigan as he was being led away to a waiting garda car. Case background Michael Foley, 61, who was originally from Scartagh in Clonakilty, West Cork, was found dead in the kitchen of his bungalow in a sheltered accommodation complex at Annville, near Barretts Place in Macroom, Co Cork, at around 1pm on Tuesday, February 6. He had lived in the county council-owned complex for about a year. The alarm was raised after neighbours called to his home and got no answer. A care worker then called to check on him and found his badly injured body lying in the kitchen. It is believed he may been dead for a few days before his body was found. A murder investigation was launched after an autopsy confirmed he had suffered a violent death. Michael Foley was found dead at his home in Macroom 10 days ago. His remains were buried last Monday. Before the requiem mass in Clonakilty, his friend Ciss ODriscoll described him as a gentleman, who was kind-hearted and would do anything for you. His coffin, covered with the Irish flag, was wheeled out of the church by relatives through a guard of honour featuring his fishing rods, which had earlier been presented at the altar by family members as mementoes of his life. He was later laid to rest in St Marys cemetery outside the town. In October 2018, his younger brother, Timmy, 44, died after being stabbed 28 times by his ex-wife, Rita ODriscoll, 48, at Dan Corkery Place, in Macroom. Ms ODriscoll is now serving a life sentence for murder. Failure to pay 60,000 of Value Added Tax returns by an engineering company in 2013 to 2016 resulted in the company being convicted and fined 5,000, and a director getting an 18-month suspended sentence at Cork Circuit Criminal Court on Friday. Jonathan Cummins, director JPAC Engineering Ltd, of Cork Road, Fermoy, Co Cork, pleaded guilty to 10 counts of creating incorrect tax returns and failing to remit the correct Vat 19 times as well. The loss of Vat revenue of 60,000 and 20,000 in interest have now been paid in full by the defendant. Identical guilty pleas to the 20 charges were entered on behalf of JPAC Engineering Ltd, and there were additional pleas of guilty by the company on four counts of making incorrect corporate tax returns. Revenue Commissioners investigating officer Catherine Bambrick testified the matter came to light when a discrepancy was noticed between invoices from a company doing business with JPAC and the invoices showing from JPAC in respect of this work. The two sets of invoices did not match up, Ms Bambrick said. Following an initial audit, the matter was escalated and an investigation commenced. Ms Bambrick told prosecution barrister Imelda Kelly the Vat shortfall across the four years from May 2013 to August 2016 totalled 60,000. In terms of the loss of 60,000, Mr Cummins has paid that in full. 20,000 interest has also been paid. Mr Cummins cooperated with the investigation, he paid back the amount in full, he admitted he was responsible and he entered the guilty plea early, Ms Bambrick said. Defence barrister Tom Power said of Mr Cummins: He is now up to date and fully tax compliant. He had never been in any difficulty with Revenue before. He has done everything he can to put it right, he has rehabilitated and adjusted his behaviour, he has come up with the money and accepted responsibility in relation to the matters. Judge Helen Boyle imposed the suspended sentence on Jonathan Cummins and the fine of 5,000 on the company. Referring to the offences, the judge said: This required a bit of effort, creating incorrect invoices, moving money between accounts, writing cheques to make it look like the amounts were the same it was sustained and deliberate over a period of time. However, the judge noted the mitigating factors put forward by Mr Power BL also. University College Cork (UCC) has dropped plans for Cork University Dental School and Hospital to move to a bigger site, despite its dean warning that the current building is untenable without significant investment. The change in plans for the school, one of only two in Ireland, comes amid a national crisis in dentist numbers. One in six patients are already waiting over three months for routine appointments, the Irish Dental Association recently warned. The school, which treats almost 11,000 patients and trains around 50 Irish and international students annually, shares a campus with Cork University Hospital (CUH). Back in 2019, UCC was granted planning permission for a five-storey building in Curraheen but this did not progress. Professor Paul Brady said: We had to get UCC to make a decision, we couldnt remain in limbo. The university had to make a hard decision to tell us to stay where we are on the CUH site. I find that very frustrating I almost feel it is untenable to stay here." The school has "outgrown where we are", he warned. The new school was designed and went to tender. Basically due to building inflation and covid, the project got shelved, Prof Brady said. There was a 21m estimated deficit in the funding. So weve been in limbo ever since the planning permission runs out at the end of this year. That gap could be filled by state funding, he claimed. I personally estimate 40m from the exchequer would see us in a position that we could go ahead and build a proper state of the art dental school for southern Ireland and provide dentists for the whole country. "We have a frail, old building. Its got a leaking roof and other issues as would be expected of a building that age," he said. Equipment also needs upgrading or even replacing, he said. A key concern is the need to expand annual numbers upwards, from the mix of 24 to 26 Irish students and an equal number of international students. In our business case for the new school, there would be an overall intake eventually of 72 students. That would be 26 plus another 20 Irish students, domestic EU students through CAO, and then balanced up with overseas students. The school has an agreement with the HSE to treat public patients and also takes fee-paying patients, coming to 10,745 patients and 56,586 treatments per year. However patients, along with students and staff, are now impacted by space constraints. The actual CUH campus really is very congested now, theres a lot going on there, Prof Brady said. Two of the new buildings starting construction shortly will be within a few metres of us and it will become almost impossible to function here. The hospital needs the space on which the schools sits, he added. In contrast, the Curraheen site is owned by UCC with plans for a 8,710m building and a modern approach including digital dentistry. The Higher Education Authority has recommended investment to boost training places nationally for dentistry, medicine and veterinary courses. Options for achieving this are being examined through the departments of health, agriculture and higher and further education. The agreement on cooperation in the field of security and long-term support between Ukraine and the Federal Republic of Germany, signed on Friday in Berlin by Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, is designed for 10 years and provides, in particular, support for Ukraine at a level of more than EUR7 billion for 2024, reports the press service of the head of the Ukrainian state. "The document was concluded in the framework of the Joint Declaration adopted by Ukraine and the members of the G7 in Vilnius on July 12, 2023," according to the official website of the President of Ukraine. "With this unprecedented agreement, Germany reaffirms its unwavering support for Ukraine's independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders of 1991. Germany intends to provide support to Ukraine for as long as it takes to help our country defend itself and restore its territorial integrity," it is noted in the statement. The bilateral agreement is valid for ten years from the date of its signature and clearly sets out the specific components of the security commitments that Germany has made to Ukraine. In particular, the document defines the priority areas of bilateral security cooperation military, political, financial, and humanitarian. "So," the press service says, "the agreement states that in 2024, Germany will provide more than EUR 7 billion in military aid to Ukraine, significantly strengthening the Ukrainian army. Germany will continue to provide support to Ukraine throughout the validity of the document." As noted, "the parties also acknowledge the importance of imposing sanctions to restrict the Russian Federation's access to finance, goods, technologies and services used in its aggressive war. According to the document, Germany will work on maintaining sanctions pressure on Russia and combating sanctions evasion as long as Russia's war against Ukraine continues and until the territorial integrity of our country is restored." In addition, according to the presidential press service, Germany will continue to work in the Coalition to create a tribunal for the crime of aggression against Ukraine to ensure effective accountability. "Germany reaffirmed its readiness, along with its partners in the EU and the G7, to pursue legal means to channel the revenues from Russian assets to support Ukraine," the statement said. The agreement also provides for "emergency consultations in the event of a possible future armed attack by Russia on Ukraine, which is to be initiated at the request of any of the participants within 24 hours to determine the appropriate next steps." "In addition, the document reaffirms Germany's commitment to supporting Ukraine's efforts on the path of reforms necessary to realize its aspirations for EU and NATO membership. Germany will also contribute to the current and future support of Ukraine by the European Union," the press service said. World leaders and Russian opposition activists wasted no time on Friday in blaming the reported death of imprisoned opposition leader Alexei Navalny on President Vladimir Putin and his government. US President Joe Biden said Washington does not know exactly what happened, but there is no doubt that the death of Navalny was a consequence of something Putin and his thugs did. Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said reports about the death of Mr Navalny show further evidence that Russia is a deeply oppressive state. Speaking to reporters in Germany where he is attending the Munich Security Council Mr Varadkar said: I think if the reports are true its further evidence if we ever needed it that Russia is a deeply oppressive State and that anyone who challenges President Putin risks their lives. I think for those of us in other parts of Europe, in the West in the Democratic world, it reminds us not to take our freedoms, not to take our democracy for granted, he added. Tanaiste Micheal Martin said he was deeply shocked to hear the news saying that Ireland had consistently called for Mr Navalny's unconditional release. "His death underpins the lack of respect for the rule of law and protection of human rights in Russia, and is a reminder of the repressive nature of the regime against its own people," Mr Martin said before extending his condolences to Mr Navalny's family. It is obvious that he was killed by Putin, said Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who was visiting Berlin as he sought aid for his country as it fights off an invasion by Russia. Putin doesnt care who dies only for him to hold his position. This is why he must hold onto nothing. Putin must lose everything and be held responsible for his deeds, Mr Zelenskyy said. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, whose country temporarily took in Navalny in 2020 after he was poisoned with a nerve agent, said the Kremlin critics death makes clear what kind of regime this is. He has probably now paid for this courage with his life, Mr Scholz said, standing next to Zelenskyy. The German leader said he met Mr Navalny in Berlin during his convalescence. Mr Navalny, 47, was serving a 19-year prison sentence on extremism charges in a remote penal colony above the Arctic Circle at the time of his death. He has been behind bars since he returned from Germany in January 2021, serving time on various charges that he rejected as a politically motivated effort to keep him imprisoned for life. A man holds a poster with the portrait of Alexei Navalny in front of the Russian embassy in Berlin, Germany, after hearing news of his death (Paul Zinken/dpa via AP) Mr Navalny was brutally murdered by the Kremlin, said Latvian president Edgars Rinkevics in a post on X, formerly Twitter. Thats a fact and that is something one should know about the true nature of Russias current regime. Mr Navalnys associates stressed they did not have independent confirmation of his death in the reports that came from Russias penitentiary officials. His close ally, Ivan Zhdanov, said authorities must notify the relatives within 24 hours if true. There hasnt been any notifications, he said on X, formerly Twitter. We have no other comments beyond that. Alexei Navalny, right, poses for press as he sits handcuffed in court in Moscow in 2017 (AP Photo, File) The outpouring of sympathy for Mr Navalnys family and outrage at the Kremlin, which in recent years mounted an unprecedented crackdown on dissent, came from all over the world. If this is true, then no matter the formal cause, the responsibility for the premature death is Vladimir Putin personally, who first gave the green light to the poisoning of Alexei and then put him in prison, said Mikhail Khodorkovsky, an exiled Russia tycoon turned opposition figure in exile, speaking in an online statement. Other Russian opposition activists echoed him. If it is confirmed, the death of Alexei is a murder. Organised by Putin, opposition politician Dmitry Gudkov said on social media. Even if Alexei died of natural causes, those were triggered by his poisoning and further torture in prison. Former world chess champion-turned-opposition activist Garry Kasparov said Putin tried and failed to murder Navalny quickly and secretly with poison, and now he has murdered him slowly and publicly in prison. He was killed for exposing Putin and his mafia as the crooks and thieves they are, Kasparov, who lives abroad, wrote on X. Nato secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg said Russia has questions to answer if the reports are true. What we have seen is that Russia has become a more and more authoritarian power, that they have used repression against the opposition for many years, Mr Stoltenberg said. White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan told NPR that if Navalnys death is confirmed, its a terrible tragedy and, given the Russian governments long and sordid history of doing harm to its opponents, it raises real and obvious questions about what happened here. Im a doctor and psychiatrist, and before the war in Gaza, my days followed a reliable routine. I would go to work in the clinic, visit my friends and spend time with my family. I lived a normal life. Now, my family and I are refugees in Rafah, after the Israeli army ordered us to leave our home in Khan Younis. We are living in the worst conditions imaginable. We spend our days waiting. We wait in queues for two or three gallons of drinkable water, or for food or plain flour to make bread over a fire, after months without electricity. In the last few days, as we heard Israel was preparing for a ground invasion in Rafah, we knew that there was nowhere else for us to go. Israel claims it will evacuate civilians, but how can we believe that when there seems to be no plan and we have repeatedly seen what they have done before? All we can do all 1.4 million of us is wait for the worst. Life feels like one eternal, never-ending day. It is filled with suffering and scenes of horror that you see so often, they begin to blend together. It is our collective new routine to hear, witness, sit with, and walk beside death. Death felt closer than ever when the Israeli military launched extensive airstrikes overnight on February 12. I have spent my career working in mental health and community trauma in Gaza, but even that could not prepare me for the profound sense of hopelessness that has spread through our community now, permeating everything. When a human being faces danger or a threat to their survival, they will respond in one of three ways: fight, flight, or freeze. We cannot fight and we cannot escape, so we are a people frozen, many of us for four months now. Picture: AP/Hatem Ali Almost all of the people around me have lost family members, whether theyve been killed by Israeli airstrikes or snipers, taken by the Israeli army, or displaced to other areas. It is the uncertainty that is killing us slowly. We dont know who will be next to die or lose their family. When a human being faces danger or a threat to their survival, they will respond in one of three ways: fight, flight, or freeze. We cannot fight and we cannot escape, so we are a people frozen, many of us for four months now. When you are in a freeze response, you cant act or feel normally. People become like zombies. When I am at the clinic in Rafah, waiting in the water queues or talking with neighbours, what I notice is that peoples faces have become empty of life. They are masks of fear, hopelessness and emotional numbness. Some days, I dont know how I can carry on mentally. I dont know how to wake up the next morning and face the fact that this is reality, and relive every day the sounds of the bombardment, the buzz of the drones above our heads. I cant face yet more news of those we love who have been hurt or killed. As children, we develop the notion that our sense of security and safety is rooted in our homes. We were told only days ago that our home in Khan Younis was bombed. Our first thoughts were, where will we go? Where will we live? When a person loses their home, that feeling of safety is wrenched away. We are all trying to be strong for the children. But we cant hide this reality from them they are experiencing everything just like we are. Picture: AP/Fatima Shbair When the bombardment of Rafah started, I was with my family in the tent we are living in. What can a thin piece of nylon protect you from? It wont stop the shrapnel from hitting you or your family. So we stared at the sky and watched the massive bombardment, waiting for our fate, knowing exactly what that meant. What can we do? Were a small family. My brother, sister and her four-year-old twin daughters. When I see the terror in my nieces eyes, I want to break down. We are all trying to be strong for the children. But we cant hide this reality from them they are experiencing everything just like we are. Everywhere you go, you are surrounded by children without parents or with no living family members. For us, this is not war. It is a never-ending bloodbath, yet as the world watches the unfolding genocide, no action is being taken that could prevent it. Nothing that is happening to us is justifiable and no human should experience this kind of suffering. We fear these warnings by Israel are laying the groundwork for what is to come. They are getting people around the world used to the idea that Rafah is becoming a target so it wont come as a shock when we are killed. Nothing except international intervention will stop this. The international community must keep applying urgent pressure for a permanent ceasefire. It may be our only chance to survive this. F Scott Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway may well have been four sheets to the wind in Paris when they had a fabled exchange. The rich, Scott Fitzgerald said to his fellow writer, are different from you and me. Hemingway paused, before issuing his reply. Yes. They have more money. If the pair of them were still around and had been watching the Oireachtas committee hearing into RTE last Wednesday, maybe skulling pints of porter in a west Cork hostelry, they might have had a reprise along these lines: Those corporate types, theyre different from you and me, Fitz might have said. Yes, Hem would have replied. Because theyre worth it. In September 2019, RTE announced that Breda OKeeffe was leaving her job as chief financial officer (CFO). It wasnt mentioned at the time but her exit was being catered for under a voluntary redundancy scheme put into action two years previously. Such a scheme is generally designed to cut jobs by making the positions redundant. Ms OKeeffe presented her boss, RTE director general Dee Forbes with a plan in which the CFO job would become redundant. Its not clear how exactly an organisation the size of RTE would have operated without a CFO. According to Ms OKeeffes plan savings of 200,000 could be made by promoting from within to fill her position, which would no longer be CFO, but presumably called something else. At this point, it is not known whether anybody else interested in voluntary redundancy had the opportunity to present a tailor-made plan to the DG at the time or whether that was reserved for those at the upper echelons of the broadcaster. Ms OKeeffes plan involved her receiving an exit package of 450,000, which was more than four times the average lump sum paid out to staff who took up the offer of redundancy. And what about those savings? According to a review by solicitor firm McCann Fitzgerald, the savings never materialised. There was no promotion from within. A public competition was conducted to fill Ms OKeeffes role and the new CFO Richard Collins was in place in March 2020 before Ms OKeeffe finished up. Mr Collins has since left with his own exit package but we dont know how much money was involved there. Former director general of RTE Dee Forbes is not available for answering questions about the exit package for former chief financial officer Berda O'Keefe. File picture: Niall Carson/PA It is unclear how heavy the negotiations between Ms OKeeffe and Dee Forbes got, or whether, on behalf of her employer, Ms Forbes pushed back against handing out such an enormous sum, but that was it. The RTE head of human resources Eimear Cusack was the only other person notified of this package. So just three people knew the terms of this pay-out, the basis for which had been personally designed by Ms OKeeffe. None of that was Ms OKeeffes fault. She just presented the plan. It was up to Dee Forbes to assess the plan and decide whether it was in the best interests of RTE to take it up and what the chances were of it actually working. We dont know how quickly Ms Forbes realised the savings plan wouldnt work because Ms Forbes is not available for answering questions. But despite the fact that the savings didnt happen, Ms OKeeffe was at that point legally entitled to her exit package, which was designed on the basis of the savings. The new DG Kevin Bakhurst confirmed to Minister Catherine Martin this week that the size of Ms OKeeffes wodge of money was in line with the design of the redundancy scheme. Why the package was never presented to the executive board of RTE, or even the overall board, considering Ms OKeeffe was one of the most senior employees at the station, is not known. Ms OKeeffe did absolutely nothing wrong in negotiating her exit package. Who wouldnt take a big wodge of money if an employer is offering it? A cardinal sin in corporate Ireland is to undervalue yourself. That lets the side down. After all, the person negotiating the exit package on behalf of a company may one day have his or her own hand out for the golden farewell and you wouldnt want to be selling yourself short. Because youre worth it. Ms OKeeffe wasnt available to talk about her package before the Oireachtas committee on Wednesday. Last June, when the RTE story was first dealt with at this forum, she appeared in jig time to clear up a misunderstanding. The issue over secret payments to Ryan Tubridy was being discussed, and she wanted to point out that she had not been part of that, had not signed off on anything that might be considered dodgy or unethical. At the time, she never mentioned anything about her own exit package which was known to just Ms Forbes and Ms Cusack. That didnt render it a secret, not legally at any rate. Compartmentalisation is a valued skill among corporate types. RTE director general Kevin Bakhurst confirmed to Minister Catherine Martin this week that the size of Ms OKeeffes wodge of money was in line with the design of the redundancy scheme in RTE. File picture In the same week that her imminent departure was announced in 2019, things werent too hot at ground level. RTE was gearing up for what were called in media reports as wide-ranging cuts. These included a further redundancy scheme as well as proposed downsizing of regional operations and the possibility that Lyric FM would be axed. There was also the issue bubbling away of bogus self-employment, the system by which various staff in RTE were not afforded proper employee rights. This was a cost-saving exercise that ensured it wouldnt be too expensive to get the work done in the station. These staff members couldnt even get an entry package that might reflect their value and work, while Ms OKeeffe was looking forward to her generous exit package. The politicians want her to come in and explain herself. It would be interesting to hear how she designed the savings plan that included her exit package and whether she was devastated when it emerged that the savings wouldnt be made. Equally, the person who agreed to this wondrous plan, Dee Forbes, cant make it in either to explain how exactly she ran the station during her tenure. Meanwhile, Kevin Bakhurst is charged with clearing up the mess. If RTE was a corporation, dependant on the bottom line, it might well be wound up. The problem is that the station is an important cog in a democracy, that needs to be supported and nurtured, and that employs a large number of people who are seething at what went on upstairs. Corporate types are, as F Scott Fitzgerald might have had it, different from you and me. Once they arrive in the rarefied atmosphere of the upper echelons, whether they succeed or fail, whether or not their plan works out, they always manage to walk away with a big wodge of money. Because theyre worth it. Pendant lighting gliding through our eye-line has a special character. This year sees a renewed fascination with coloured and speciality glass pieces that glow with gem-like beauty whether lit from within, refracting and reflecting daylight, or simply being enjoyed for their polished silhouette. The thickness and intensity of the colour in the glass or acrylic will show off more or less of the bulb, the shape of which can be a feature in itself. Whether you love a high chandelier, a staircase dandy, or an intimate addition swung low to anchor a table or seating spot, here are just six of our favourite vintage and new statement pieces for fashionable jewel flash. Bailey faux-gem and crystal chandelier, 965, Venetto Design. JARS THAT JAM Suited to singles, rows, clusters, and staggered multiples the Amp designed for Normann Copenhagen by Simon Legald, was inspired by old radio tubes and the line of Japanese paper lanterns. It retains that gentled industrial feel thats become a staple of the contemporary interior. Choose from a closed inverted jar or a longer, more aubergine shape. With the addition of a disk of marble, its highly sophisticated set low and examined closely by dinner guests (green/golden or smoked/black glass). Pair with a spiral LED bulb of 2,000K or 2,500K (dimmable) depending on the size of your Amp; from 113. Maluma from Fritz Hansen (DK) in Moss, 306. For a frosted matt in the same jar style, try the Maluma pendant from Fritz Hansen in Plum or Moss; 306, byflou.com. This restrained smoked glass look in lighting is something youll find by a variety of makers and high street outlets this spring and includes the popular Kornelius pendants from Jysk. A wider mouth, they start at just 25 on sale (32.99 standard) nailing classic,1970s conversation pit groove, jysk.ie. Tip: If the bulb is going to be on show, consider using an LED version that will last for years and not months. Large decorative filament-style bulbs can be expensive to replace. INCLUSIVE STYLE The Danish firm Verpan was started by legendary designer Verner Panton (its a contraction of his name), known for his stacked metal dish varieties of pendants. The VP Globe is an architect favourite from this company. Spoiler alert, the bigger globe is formed of acrylic, making it light to handle and hang, but if someone reaches for its Sputnick body, I would rudely smack those fingers away. The Verpan Globe, from 850 in glass. Its a sculptural tower of five geometric aluminium reflectors spray-lacquered on some surfaces in red and blue, and hung like a necklace on thin chains. These are enclosed and magnified inside the Globe, making it perfect for a window situation to curate its slightly scientific oddness. Available in 40cm or 50cm versions, the Globe is best used as a single and is offered in a brass finish (only small version) and a clear and coloured glass (small version). Various Irish suppliers from 850. Tip: If you cant see the full face of your guest across the table, your pendant is hung too low; 60cm-80cm is about right. VINTAGE LOOKS Chandeliers are back in fashion. With a heritage formed largely in the 18th and 19th centuries, vintage styles with captivating, modern lines are on show with leading lighting brands. If you dont like cut-glass dingle-dangles and raindrops, look for panels or bubbled discs of pressed, textured glass applied to a gilded frame made popular in the 1960s. Hung low on decorative chains with fabric wiring, these have all the punch of a shrubby period piece. Were drawn to the Melvillous from Pooky with its rounded form, and slender staggered panels of mercurised glass on a three-ring frame the sort of thing celebrated in the hall half a century ago; 581, pooky.com. For a larger piece, the Amaryllis from Sweetpea & Willow shimmers with an amber glow, 1,883, sweetpeaandwillow.com. The Melvillous from Pooky, the sort of thing celebrated in the hall half a century ago, 581. Explore authentic lighting from German, Viennese and Italian makers and be prepared for a RECI rewire. Design-market.eu has eye-watering prices on named designer lighting but will give you a lead for a hunt on Etsy, pamono.eu or eBay or at Irish auctions (collectireland.com) and 20th-century furniture suppliers. For new bargains try The Range, HomeSense, B&Q, Sklum, Wayfair, and Etsy shops. Tip: With chandeliers, clusters, and horizontal bar lighting, take up no more than 50% of the length of a long table or bay area below it. Beware of reflected and refracted glare with bright fittings and cut glass. Tom Dixon explores new colourways in the Globe, 4,548, tomdixon.net. There's plenty of inspired lighting in a similar style for under 400. MELTING MAGIC British designer Tom Dixons Melt and Globe lighting brought us back to the wonder of mid-century sci-fi imaginings, and his latest varieties in terms of colour and form are irresistible, arty fruits. The firm prides itself on its plays on the archetypal round, enclosed lamp housing, and our pick from the spring 2024 products is the small Copper LED Globe. This has the visual appeal of a bunch of ripe cherries; 4,548, tomdixon.net. The Skyfall pendant in Murano glass is more symmetrical in a single drop in a Dixon-like opaque metallic finish and doesnt include the feature dents to the lamp housing. Its well priced at 717.09, willieduggan.com. Love the look but cant reach that dazzling price. Trip over to lights.ie for the three-shade, amber/blue/smoke pendant from Hollander which offers that slightly sucked sweetie pleasure of chunky textured balls of glass; 219.90, single Roman pendants, 79.90. Tip: Avoid half-spherical lights clamped to the ceiling. Set cut-glass half globes in frames and take them off the ceiling surface as a fuller suspended light. If youre stuck with one in a rental, try putting a drum shade over it to hide this ghastly intruder. SUPER STACKS A simple sculptural pendant in bright colours can be arty and very playful. Assembled in a stacked light with various shapes connected by the vertical wiring and additional embellishments? Just gorgeous in coloured glass. The Smykke Glass Pendant Light by EBB & Flow (Denmark) is informed by the swing and sway of groovy pendant earrings in mid-century plastics and Lucite. Normann Copenhagen Amp in a variety of designs and smoked colours from 113. Mouth-blown by skilled artisans, for a stunning focal point, hang a single Smykke in your entryway or living room and arrange lights in a linear formation in your kitchen or dining area; from 325, suppliers include lamptwist.ie. Ebb & Flow does an especially lovely ivy green in a number of its glass pendants including the hourglass sexy Futura (from 243, depending on supplier). Alternatives in this stacked styling include Bezany Colors from Sklum, 42.95, sklum.ie. Tiered pressed glass ceiling lights and pendant shades channelling art deco, are everywhere this year. Try M&S for its Monroe lamp in trending reeded glass and gold plate with prismatic reflections; 412. Tip: Some suppliers offer build-your-light services where you can choose everything from the cable material to the colour of your glass-stacked lighting elements. This can help with scheming and scaling a special space. Try Esther Pattersons work for UK brand Curiousa, suppliers at curiousa.co.uk. What would the "Three Little Pigs" say if they knew about developments which would have future generations living in houses made from, among other things, straw? What about thatched roofs, or would our ancestors evicted by rack-rent landlords who then set light to the thatch to prevent reoccupation, turn in their graves? Using wholesome alternative and traditional materials is addressed at a new exhibition, How to Build a Low-Carbon Home which runs until March 10 at Londons Design Museum, with a specific reference to any concerns the Three Little Pigs or their own descendants, understandably, may have. Interestingly, the museum is housed in a 1960s concrete monolith, originally home to the Commonwealth Institute, an organisation dating back to the 19th century whose job it was to do scientific research into raw materials from across the British Empire. Now the new home for the Design Museum, the exhibition explores traditional materials, blending tried and tested methods with new technology including robotics. London's Design Museum, home to How to Build a Low Carbon Home exhibition until March 9, 2024. So, if youre in research mode for building a home, are dreaming of doing it using an environmentally sustainable approach, and you happen to be visiting across the water, take the London Underground to High Street Kensington and explore these new ways of building to challenge the belief that houses must be concrete or brick. Unusually for a museum, the exhibition is future-focused, developing out of a research initiative called Future Observatory which supports the transition to a greener way of doing things, launched at COP26 in 2021. Its timely, as the UK faces another issue in common with Ireland. Private residence - Surrey 2, by Albion Stone, which is among those exhibiting at the London Design Museum event. According to Future Observatorys curator and the exhibitions co-curator George Kafka, this is where the housing and climate crises intersect, with the big question being addressed in this regard: How do we develop low-carbon homes when the building industry is notoriously high carbon and how to build quickly? Even when more environmentally friendly materials like wood are used, the transportation of a tree from the forest to a timber yard and onto the building site results in a significant carbon footprint being expended. Currently, its estimated that 30% of global carbon emissions are caused by embodied carbon whats produced in making, preparing and getting materials to the building site and in running buildings. The key themes in the display, says George, are embodied carbon in buildings, how we design our homes to respond to the climate crisis and how architects are reimagining straw, wood and stone familiar materials repurposed for contemporary living. UK architecture firm Waugh Thistleton who are designing homes with engineered timber, Material Cultures which is a bio-based straw proponent, and Groupwork which uses structural stone, along with engineers Webb Yates, are the exhibition's collaborators, with displays following the route of these materials from fields, forests and quarries to finished buildings, explained through scale models, samples, tools, film work and photography. We wanted it to be accessible, says George. Show why construction has such a big carbon footprint. We have people with houses coming in, school parties. But despite these developments and clear enthusiasm from the public visiting, hes realistic about the change needed to make this mainstream and the timeframe involved. Infrastructure and skills to support local doesnt exist in the UK so were looking at what would have to change in the next fifty years to be compliant," he says. For a modern Irish visitor, theres a certain warming to the re-emergence of thatched roofs but it raises the topic of straw and timbers flammability. Its something were very conscious of with the museum being so close to Grenfell, says George, referencing the 2017 fire which engulfed a high-rise apartment block claiming many lives. Combustible materials have been banned that were used in Grenfell, and theres an argument that engineered timber can be structurally safer in a fire than steel. Steel bends. But are we ready for timber skyscrapers, I ask? Large-scale buildings are being developed in London using cross-laminated timber, George replies. Theres even a twenty-floor timber skyscraper in Sweden. A quick Google search sites it in a place called Skellefte a in northern Sweden, made from glue-laminated timber (glulam) and cross-laminated timber (CLT). With the involvement of three teams of structural engineers, its now considered the blueprint design for what we may well be calling "plyscrapers" in the future. The urgency to meet global climate targets has never been greater and with buildings accounting for 40% of global greenhouse gas emissions, the need to advance sustainable building technology to help enterprises meet net-zero goals while accommodating for continued growth is imperative. As the worlds leading dedicated smart buildings company, Johnson Controls is transforming buildings by creating spaces and places that can reduce energy consumption, achieve climate goals, improve well-being, and save money. To achieve this, Johnson Controls uses industry-leading digital solutions, building automation and hyper-efficient heating and cooling systems. At the same time, the company continues to advance safety with world-class fire detection and protection, and smart security systems. Eamonn Hughes, Vice President and General Manager of Johnson Controls Ireland. We are delighted to be able to demonstrate how to make buildings ultra-efficient, reducing energy output by up to 40%, and we share our insights on how to assist our customers to achieve their decarbonization targets while operating safe and healthy spaces to live and work in, said Eamonn Hughes, Vice President and General Manager of Johnson Controls Ireland. With a significant share of global emissions, buildings are key in the pursuit of a net zero world. Research and development at Johnson Controls focuses on the global priority to reduce carbon emissions in built environments. "Never has it been more important for organizations to deploy advanced and efficient ways to reduce their carbon footprint especially in the buildings industry, which is one of the single largest sources of our planet's greenhouse gas emissions," said Hughes. Focusing on existing in addition to new builds is essential to reduce this 40% metric. Johnson Controls OpenBlue offering is key to help decarbonize buildings. This is a complete suite of connected solutions that delivers impactful sustainability, new occupant experiences and respectful safety and security. It uses a digital platform to break down system siloes and can connect multiple systems in a building, using edge compute, cloud connectivity and AI analytics to monitor, measure, and manage buildings. By applying system-wide diagnostics and management, OpenBlue multiplies energy, cost, and emissions savings. The OpenBlue suite of solutions and services are making an impact in the global effort to decarbonize buildings and improve occupant comfort and wellbeing. With OpenBlue Net Zero Buildings available as a Service, Johnson Controls offers tailored solutions and financial packages to help building owners in every industry to accelerate their journeys to net zero, without the need for upfront capital investment. Johnson Controls believes buildings are transitioning from being a burden on the balance sheet to a strategic asset that can unlock capital and help organizations to achieve a competitive advantage. Johnson Controls is leading by example with its Global headquarters at One Albert Quay, Cork. The One Albert Quay building is highly energy efficient and was certified Gold under the US Green Building Councils Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) scheme. In addition, the global headquarters hosts eco building features such as rainwater thats harvested and treated, solar-reflective energy-efficient glazing, intelligent lighting systems, smart lift integration and EV charging for electric vehicles. One Albert Quay opened in 2016 and hosts employees from 31 different nationalities across many diverse functions including Finance, HR, IT, Legal, Procurement, Supply Chain, Engineering and more. I am proud of how Johnson Controls is leading the way in sustainable innovation, says Hughes, and I am particularly proud of how OpenBlue solutions and services are transforming buildings to help businesses, communities and governments to reach their net zero goals. Learn more at: www.johnsoncontrols.com Observability and IT management software company SolarWinds is celebrating over 15 years in Ireland. Its a significant achievement for a company that has become a cornerstone of the tech landscape in Cork. Founded in 1999 with a focus on network management solutions, SolarWinds has grown and diversified its offerings to become a leading provider of simple, powerful, secure observability and IT management software. When the US-based company sought to expand internationally, Ireland stood out for its network of multinational tech companies and its skilled workforce. In 2007, SolarWinds officially opened its international headquarters in Cork. The company was the first tenant of Mahons City Gate campus, starting with only two employees. The citys vibrant tech ecosystem and talent pool have seen SolarWinds consistently expand its presence in the city. Today, the company boasts around a couple of hundred employees in Ireland, with most located in Cork. The site has played an instrumental role in driving growth for the company worldwide. SolarWinds products serve more than 300,000 customers globally, and it has a passionate online user community of almost 200,000 members. In 2020, SolarWinds acquired SentryOne, a leading technology provider of database performance monitoring solutions. With the acquisition, the company added an office in Docklands, Dublin. The area, nicknamed the Silicon Docks, is the EuropeSolan headquarters for numerous tech companies, including Google, Facebook, X, and LinkedIn, plus a range of local startups. We are proud of how instrumental Ireland has been in our overall success at SolarWinds, said Ireland site leader Garrett O'Keeffe. As the company continues to evolve its business, expand its product portfolio, and enhance its go-to-market strategy, I believe our Ireland sites are uniquely positioned to help our company during this period of transformation. A people-first commitment SolarWinds aims to enrich the lives of the people it serves: employees, customers, shareholders, partners, and communities. Employees are placed at the start of the list to reflect the companys people-first culture, characterized by a commitment to providing an environment for fulfilling careers with meaningful work and peer recognition. The companys Ireland-based employees span all core business areas, including sales, legal, marketing, IT, customer success and support, and people success (HR). Speaking to the Irish Examiner, SolarWinds President and CEO Sudhakar Ramakrishna said, "Cork is our international headquarters, supporting customers all over. More than 300,000 customers globally use SolarWinds products, and the company has a passionate online user community of almost 200,000 members. He explained that many of the sites functions are global functions. Ramakrishna emphasised the SolarWinds commitment to being a global company, so we can continuously learn from the best experiences and the best environments. To help attract top talent in the region, the company has rolled out a popular university recruitment scheme and a successful internship programme both set to generate future leaders within the company. The SolarWinds internship programme provides students interested in the computer software industry with interdisciplinary experience and holistic business knowledge. Interns have the opportunity to network with industry leaders, and the experience has led to internship extensions and full-time opportunities with the business. Both initiatives have helped strengthen ties between SolarWinds and regional universities, including University College Cork and Munster Technological University. Giving back to the Cork community SolarWinds is committed to giving back to the communities where employees live and work. The Cork site has organized volunteer events, hosted charitable fundraising events, and donated laptops to schools in the area. The company also provides a robust donation-matching programme, and full-time employees receive two Solar Service days to volunteer their time to causes and communities they care about. SolarWinds is also involved in several local organisations, including the Tech Industry Alliance and Cork Chamber of Commerce, where it works with industry peers to address challenges like attracting and retaining talent in the region. In 2015, the company was named Cork Chamber Company of the Year in recognition of its contribution to the Cork business community. We are proud to be a part of the vibrant and diverse business community in Cork, said O'Keeffe. SolarWinds will continue to advocate for the region globally as a great place to do business. For further information about SolarWinds and career opportunities in Cork, please visit www.solarwinds.com Britain's Prince Harry is set to discuss his father Charles' health in a television interview in the US. Harry has been interviewed for the first time since Charles postponed all public-facing duties because of his cancer diagnosis. He is also due to talk about his life with Meghan and the Invictus Games during the broadcast, to be aired on Good Morning America on Friday. Harry, who lives in California with his wife and their two children, Archie and Lilibet, flew to the UK last week to see the King. He visited without Meghan and their children, less than 24 hours after the announcement about Charles health. But there was no meeting with his brother, William, after Harry spent around 45 minutes at Clarence House seeing their father. The interview comes after a week of announcements from Harry and Meghan. Meghan signed a deal with Lemonada Media to record new podcast shows, and the company will distribute her previous series. Her Archetypes podcast about female stereotypes ran for just one series before a lucrative deal with Spotify ended in 2023. The couple also relaunched their Archewell website, the name of their foundation, rebranding it The Office of Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. A man who is a suspect in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann goes on trial on Friday over several unrelated sexual offences he is alleged to have committed in Portugal between 2000 and 2017. The 47-year-old German faces trial at the Braunschweig state court in northern Germany on three counts of rape and two of sexual abuse of children. The suspect, known as Christian B in Germany because of the countrys strict privacy laws, has been named in the media as Christian Brueckner. The start of the trial was delayed because of long queues to get into the courthouse, German news agency dpa reported. Gerry and Kate McCann with a picture of their missing daughter, Madeleine (AP Photo/Sven Kaestner, File) The suspect has not been charged in the McCann case, in which he is under investigation on suspicion of murder. He spent many years in Portugal, including in the resort of Praia da Luz around the time of Madeleines disappearance there in 2007. He has denied any involvement in her disappearance. He is currently serving a seven-year prison sentence in Germany for a rape he committed in Portugal in 2005. Prosecutors filed charges in the case going to trial on Friday in October 2022. Christian Brueckner, centre, stands next to his lawyers at the start of his trial at Braunschweig district court (Julian Stratenschulte/dpa via AP) Defence lawyer Friedrich Fulscher has said the defence will seek the suspects acquittal on all counts, dpa reported. Prosecutors have said that, at an unspecified time between 2000 and 2006, the suspect allegedly tied up and raped an elderly woman in her vacation apartment in Portugal. He allegedly beat the victim several times with a whip and recorded the incident on video. During the same time period, he is alleged to have tied a German-speaking girl aged at least 14 to a wooden post in the living room of his residence in Praia da Luz, allegedly beating her with a whip and forcing her to perform oral sex. In June 2004, the defendant allegedly gained access at night to the apartment of an Irish woman then aged 20 in Praia da Rocha before raping her, tying her to a table and whipping her. In separate cases in 2007 and 2017, he is accused of exposing himself to girls aged 10 and 11. The case is being heard in Braunschweig after a higher court ruled that judges in the city have jurisdiction, overturning an earlier decision that they did not. That decision centred on questions over where the suspects last residence was in Germany before he went abroad and then to prison. The court has set 29 trial sessions through to late June. Newly elected UK Labour MP Damien Egan overturned a Conservative majority to win the Kingswood by-election on Thursday night. Mr Egan won 44.9% of the vote on a disastrous night for British prime minister Rishi Sunak who suffered a double defeat, with the Tories also losing a seat in the Wellingborough by-election. The Kingswood seat that now belongs to Mr Egan was vacated when Conservative MP Chris Skidmore resigned in protest at UK government legislation to boost North Sea oil and gas drilling. Mr Egan was born in Co Cork and his family moved to Bristol in the UK when he was still a child. Here, the family experienced homelessness and lived in temporary accommodation something which Mr Egan said has shaped his political views. It also led him to become a parish councillor when he was 21. After moving to London, he was elected as a councillor in Lewisham. Mr Egan stood as a Labour Party candidate in both the 2005 and 2010 general elections finishing third of seven candidates each time. He was elected Mayor of Lewisham in 2018 with 54% of the vote and retained his position in the 2022 election. He stepped away from the position on January 9 of this year to run his by-election campaign. He moved back to Kingswood and now represents the area where he grew up. Last year, he was chosen as Labour's prospective parliamentary candidate for the new seat of Bristol North East which is to be established at the next general election following boundary changes. The seat that Mr Egan won last night is due to be abolished at the next general election. Speaking after his victory, Mr Egan said that it means a huge amount to be able to represent the community he comes from. President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the signed agreement on security cooperation with Germany one of the most powerful documents in Ukrainian history. "Our security agreement is an unprecedented bilateral document. It reflects not only the level of relations achieved between us, but also the fundamental role of Germany in maintaining normality in Europe and the world," he said at a press conference with the German Chancellor in Berlin. According to Zelenskyy, the most important thing in this agreement is specific numbers, years and specifics. "These figures are not only about money. They are also about years. About specific dates when we act [with Germany] together. That is, these are specifics that a person in Ukraine can count on. Ukraine did not have more powerful documents than this one, which we signed today," the president said. At the same time, Zelenskyy expressed gratitude to the political leadership of Great Britain, which was the first to launch the process of signing security cooperation agreements with Ukraine. The head of state also said that today Ukraine is supported in this regard by more than 20 countries, and negotiation tracks are underway with them. "[At the same time] this document [with Germany] is very powerful, and of the negotiations that we have with other states, with all due respect, I think that this will be one of the most powerful documents," Zelenskyy said. The legal team of Pakistans imprisoned former prime minister Imran Khan on Friday appealed his convictions and sentences in three controversial legal cases, a defence lawyer said. Khan was sentenced to a total of 31 years in prison on charges of corruption, revealing official secrets and violation of marriage law. The appeals were filed on Friday, more than two weeks after Khan was convicted and sentenced following trials at a prison in the garrison city of Rawalpindi, Latif Khosa, Khans lawyer, said. It was unclear why Khans legal team waited for more than two weeks to file the appeals. Supporters of the Grand Democratic Alliance attend a rally on the outskirts of Hyderabad, Pakistan (AP Photo/Pervez Masih) Khans convictions and sentencing came ahead of February 8 parliamentary elections in which candidates backed by Khans Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, or PTI, won the most seats. However, no party was able to get a simple majority in the vote that was held to choose a new parliament and ultimately elect a new premier. Khan could not run because of his convictions. Khan was sentenced on January 30 to 10 years on the conviction of revealing official secrets. Within the next few days, he was sentenced to 14 years in a corruption case and seven years on violation of a marriage law. Mr Khosa said the appeals of the convictions for revealing official secrets and indulging in corruption have been filed in the Islamabad High Court, while an appeal of the conviction of Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi on a charge of violation of a marriage law was filed in another court. Meanwhile, Khans PTI and several other political parties rallied on Friday against alleged rigging of the February 8 vote, with thousands gathering near the southern city of Hyderabad. Khans party also issued a call for nationwide protests against the alleged vote rigging for Saturday. The party of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, which replaced Khans government after his removal in a vote of no confidence in 2022, is finalising a powersharing deal to form a coalition government. Mr Sharifs Pakistan Muslim League party is in talks with the Pakistan Peoples Party of former President Asif Ali Zardari and those allies who had replaced Khan in 2022. Khan has been embroiled in more than 170 legal cases, including inciting people to violence after his arrest in May 2023. During nationwide riots in May, Khans supporters attacked the military headquarters in Rawalpindi, stormed an air base in Mianwali in the eastern Punjab province and torched a building housing state-run Radio Pakistan in the northwest. The violence subsided only when Khan was released at the time by the Supreme Court. Mr Khosa said Khans legal team is seeking the suspension of all three convictions and sentences given to Khan and his wife. Missile fire apparently targeted a ship off Yemen in the Red Sea on Friday. It is the latest attack suspected to have been carried out by Yemens Houthi rebels amid Israels war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip. The vessels captain reported an explosion near the ship in the Red Sea off the Yemeni city of Mocha, the British militarys United Kingdom Maritime Trade Organisation (UKMTO) centre said. The crew and the vessel are reported safe, the UKMTO said. It did not immediately identify the vessel targeted. Yemens Houthi rebels did not immediately acknowledge carrying out the attack. However, the rebels typically take several hours before claiming their assaults. Since November, the rebels have repeatedly targeted ships in the Red Sea over Israels offensive in Gaza. They have frequently targeted vessels with tenuous or no clear links to Israel, imperilling shipping in a key route for trade among Asia, the Mideast and Europe. The US and British militaries have conducted multiple rounds of airstrikes targeting the Houthis missile arsenals and launch sites in territory they hold. Meanwhile, the US militarys Central Command acknowledged carrying out new airstrikes targeting the Houthis on Thursday. It described hitting three mobile anti-ship cruise missiles in Houthi-controlled territory that were prepared to launch against ships in the Red Sea. President Joe Biden said that the apparent death of Russian anti-corruption activist Alexei Navalny brings new urgency to the need for Congress to approve tens of billions of dollars for Ukraine to stave off Moscows invasion. Speaking at the White House, Mr Biden said that no matter the cause, he holds Russian President Vladimir Putin responsible for Mr Navalnys death. He added, I hope to God it helps push US officials to send more aid to Ukraine. The president said he hopes Alexei Navalnys death pushes officials to send more aid to Ukraine (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) Mr Biden said that history is watching lawmakers in the House, which hasnt moved to take up a Senate-passed bill that would send funds and armaments to Ukraine, whose troops US officials say are running out of critical munitions. The failure to support Ukraine at this critical moment will never be forgotten, Mr Biden said. And the clock is ticking. This has to happen. We have to help now. Mr Biden said the US had not confirmed Mr Navalnys death in a Russian prison above the Arctic Circle, but that he had no reason to doubt it either. The president sharply criticised House Republicans for letting the chamber enter a two-week recess without moving on the Ukraine funding. What are they thinking my God, Mr Biden said. This is bizarre and its just reinforcing all of the concern I wont say panic but real concern about the United States being a responsible ally. Mr Biden added that the US has not confirmed Mr Navalnys death but that he had no reason to doubt Russian reports (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski) Republican Speaker Mike Johnson earlier this week said the House wont be rushed to pass the aid, but on Friday he said Mr Putin was a vicious dictator and the world knows he is likely directly responsible for the sudden death of his most prominent political opponent. Mr Johnson said in a statement: We must be clear that Putin will be met with united opposition. As Congress debates the best path forward to support Ukraine, the United States and our partners must be using every means available to cut off Putins ability to fund his unprovoked war in Ukraine and aggression against the Baltic states. Lawmakers who have pushed for the Ukraine aid blamed the Republicans, who have sided with former President Donald Trump as he has urged its defeat. Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said, Shame on the pro-Putin MAGA extremists who continue to block bipartisan national security legislation in the House, referencing Mr Trumps Make American Great Again slogan. North Carolina Senator Thom Tillis, one of 22 Republicans who voted for the Senate-passed Ukraine aid package, said that Mr Navalny laid down his life fighting for a country he loved and that Putin is a murderous, paranoid dictator. Mr Tillis posted on X: History will not be kind to those in America who make apologies for Putin and praise Russian autocracy. Nor will history be kind to Americas leaders who stay silent because they fear backlash from online pundits. Mr Biden, eyeing a likely general election rematch against Mr Trump this November, said American presidents from Harry Truman on are rolling over in their graves hearing Mr Trumps comments suggesting that the US might not defend its Nato allies who fail to meet their defence spending targets if attacked. As long as Im president, America stands by its sacred commitment to our allies, Mr Biden said. Friday, Feb 16th, 2024 (8:27 am) - Score 9,360 Angry residents living on Griffiths Drive in Southport (England) have used their cars to block access to the street in an effort to prevent Openreach from deploying poles. The new infrastructure is necessary in order for the operator to deploy their Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) based gigabit broadband ISP network. In the UK, its fairly normal for network operators to deploy c.9m high wood poles in order to run overhead cables (millions have already been built over the decades). Such poles are quick and cost-effective to build, can be deployed in areas where there may be no space or access to safely put new underground cables, are less disruptive (avoiding the noise, access restrictions and damage to pavements of street works) and can be built under Permitted Development (PD) rights with only minimal prior notice. The lower cost impact of poles can often mean the difference between building a competitive gigabit broadband network into an area or skipping it. But not everybody is a fan and those who complain often focus on their negative visual appearance, as well as concerns about exposure to damage from major storms (example), the lack of effective prior consultation or engineers that fail to follow safety rules while building (examples here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here). The issue often becomes particularly emotive in areas that havent previously had poles before or where they already exist (i.e. excess duplication of infrastructure). In this case, its the former, with residents of Griffiths Drive arguing that the cables should be put underground and locals in other nearby streets are threatening to join the protest. Darren Boyd-Preece, who lives on the street, told LancashireLive: This is all happening because Openreach will not put the cables underground. They want to put poles up and string cables up at a high level to our house. The whole street objected to the planning application that was put in, but they simply ignored us. We have tried our best to engage with Openreach but they will not listen to us and wont even have a conversation. The street in question is currently already covered by one gigabit-capable broadband network from Virgin Media, which runs their infrastructure underground via existing ducts (this is a closed network and not available to rivals). But by refusing Openreachs build, the locals do run the risk of creating a less competitive area for gigabit services in the future and thus restricting themselves to one operator (higher prices, less choice etc.). On the flip side, Openreach states that their existing copper cables were direct buried in the ground (no spare ducts) and so poles are the quickest, as well as being the most cost-effective, solution for upgrading the street to FTTP. An Openreach spokesperson said: Bringing ultrafast broadband to Southport will create huge benefits for families and businesses in the area for decades to come, as well as a welcome boost to the local economy. Wherever possible we use existing network to build our broadband upgrades but in Southport cables are mainly buried direct in the ground. The scale and cost of civil engineering to install new underground ducts throughout the area just isnt viable and would involve months of road closures and disruptions. We know that people feel strongly about poles and understand why. Our local team has engaged extensively with local residents, and also explored every possible option for the build. Southport has one of the lowest percentages of full fibre broadband coverage in the UK and the existing copper network there is increasingly unreliable, it also takes longer to repair because of the way it was buried historically, so to halt this upgrade would deprive thousands of other local people who want the new technology, both in Southport and surrounding communities. Weve communicated our decision to continue the build by using our existing network wherever possible and positioning any new poles sensitively. Local authorities are limited in their powers to stop such work and the UK government remains unlikely to pay much heed to any attempts to restrict it, as limitations on the build would seriously damage their own targets for digital infrastructure. Lest we forget that quite a lot of people would also be happy to see poles if it meant they could access more affordable full fibre broadband, but such voices are often drowned out by vocal campaigners. However, as we always say, network operators do need to be very careful about their approach, particularly as we go into what will be a General Election year disputes against poles are already attracting some political support. Due to this, quite a few network operators have opted to skip streets when local opposition becomes a problem, but this can result in a confusing patchwork of coverage and isnt always viable due to the interconnectivity of local infrastructure (some streets are critical junctions for a network). Anti-Ukrainian rallies in Poland, in addition to the blockade of the Polish-Ukrainian border, not only cause damage to Ukraine's economy, but also violate the principles of Ukrainian-Polish solidarity, Spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry of Ukraine Oleh Nikolenko has said. "The latest examples are especially radical actions the spoiling of Ukrainian grain on the border and a farmers' demonstration under anti-Ukrainian slogans in Wroclaw. These rallies, in addition to the blockade of the Polish-Ukrainian border not only cause multiple damage to Ukraine's economy, which is already suffering from Russia's aggression, but also violate the principles of Ukrainian-Polish solidarity. Ukrainians pay with their lives so that Polish and other European cities can live in peace. This must not be forgotten or taken for granted," he said on Facebook on Friday. The diplomat emphasized that any attempts to weaken the economy of Ukraine by radical or anti-market measures will only undermine its capability to hold back the Russian aggression, create additional threats for the security of Poland and its well-being. "Ukraine has always been standing up for a constructive approach to addressing the issues of Ukrainian grain transit and trade. We expect that the Polish authorities will use the same approach, particularly when it comes to effective prevention of illegal actions against Ukrainian cargos and proper response to rhetoric that caused damage to bilateral relations," Nikolenko said. He also said that any attempts to undermine the foundation of solidarity between Ukraine and Poland and their people will not succeed. "Ukraine is determined to strengthen friendship and mutual respect with Poland, with which we have a common European future," the diplomat said. 1371138342::cfb49c8e-2422-11e5-99a3-d7f5c6e8b241 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. President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, during a working visit to Berlin, met with Federal President of Germany Frank-Walter Steinmeier. "In Berlin, I had a meeting with Federal President of Germany Frank-Walter Steinmeier. We talked about the situation at the front, the current defense needs of Ukraine," Zelenskyy said in Telegram channel. The head of state thanked the German side for the significant support of Ukraine, and also noted that the signed agreement on security cooperation with Germany is an important step in strengthening Ukrainian defense capability. Separately, Zelenskyy and Steinmeier noted the importance of launching joint production of weapons, the presidential press service said. The interlocutors also paid special attention to the implementation of the Ukrainian peace formula. In addition, they focused on the issue of further development of municipal and interregional partnerships between Ukraine and Germany, which should be embodied in specific agreements and projects. In particular, the parties agreed on further steps to prepare for the next Conference on the Restoration of Ukraine, which is to be held in Berlin in June this year. PGO, ICC actively working on cases of deportation of Ukrainian children, killing of civilians in Hroza, destruction of grain storages Kostin Prosecutor General of Ukraine Andriy Kostin has praised the intensity and openness of cooperation between Ukrainian prosecutors and the International Criminal Court (ICC) during investigation into a number of cases on the war crimes committed by Russia in Ukraine. "We closely cooperate with the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court. We have specific cases in which they are interested," he said in Kyiv on Friday. Task forces were created for the investigation into specific crimes, Kostin said. "We work on a daily basis. And the field office of the ICC, which was opened in Kyiv last year, was an important step to ensure that the prosecutor of the ICC and the ICC will work in Ukraine permanently. We understand that not only documenting but also investigation and prosecution of war crimes will take years," the prosecutor general said. According to Kostin, permanent presence of the ICC team in Ukraine is a very important component of support for our country in its aspiration to bring those guilty to justice, as well as demonstrates openness of Ukraine itself. "Our cooperation with the ICC, I should say, is 100% transparent and open Every day I sign documents on specific cases on which the ICC requests cooperation in terms of evidence and providing the ICC team with specific information. Of course, the arrest warrant for forced deportation of Ukrainian children is our ultimate goal. We anticipate the results and thoroughly work on specific cases," he said. Kostin named several cases on which Ukraine has an information disclosure agreement with the ICC. "We are working very intensively on the case of the massive killing of civilians in Hroza, Kharkiv region. The second case, which I can name in public, is the investigation into the destruction of grain storage facilities, mostly in the southern part of Odesa region," he said. Up to 2,000 apartments for displaced people to be built in Ukraine with German funds IOM The Ministry for the Reintegration of Temporarily Occupied Territories of Ukraine, the International Organization for Migration (IOM), five regional state administrations and 12 communities signed memorandums of cooperation on Friday, which will provide affordable housing for displaced people and war-affected people. As the IOM press service reported on Friday, the project, financed by the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development through the German Development Bank, provides for the construction of up to 2,000 apartments for approximately 6,000 people in the cities of Khotyn and Chernivtsi in Chernivtsi region, Kolomyia in Ivano-Frankivsk region, Irpin and the village of Horenka in Kyiv region, Agronomichne, Ladyzhyn and Khmelnyk in Vinnytsia region, Stary Sambir, Drohobych and Kamianka-Buzka in Lviv region. At the same time, the last two communities receive migrants from Severodonetsk, Luhansk region, with which a memorandum of understanding was also signed on the implementation of a housing project. "Housing will be made available to internally displaced persons and vulnerable local populations through a rental mechanism that will be developed and implemented as part of the project," the ministry said. The Ministry for the Reintegration of Temporarily Occupied Territories will provide overall coordination of the project. "According to the latest IOM data, a fifth of internally displaced people plan to remain and integrate in their current place of residence. Finding long-term solutions to housing problems is the key to success... The legal and technical provisions tested within the framework of the affordable housing project can become the basis for further large-scale projects of international assistance in the field of housing policy in Ukraine," Chief of Mission of IOM Ukraine Alessia Schiavon said. U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris said President Joe Biden and she "stand with Ukraine" and support it. "President Joe Biden and I stand with Ukraine. We will work to secure critical weapons. The failure to do so would be a gift to Vladimir Putin," she said, speaking at the Munich Security Conference on Friday. Harris said that two years ago many expected the fall of Ukraine in a few days, but this did not happen thanks to the skill of the Ukrainians, the leadership of Zelenskyy and the coalition of 50 states. Ukraine achieved what no one expected. The U.S. Vice President said the world has united to defend the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity. She said they forced Russia to bear economic costs, they froze Russian state assets and made it clear that Russia must pay for everything it did in Ukraine. "America will continue to lead," she said. Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) Al-Arabi al-Jadid reports, The streets of the Gaza Strip are witnessing a catastrophic environmental crisis due to the mixing of rainwater with sewage water, which is now flooding various roads as a result of a continuous overflow, resulting from the targeting of infrastructure [by the Israeli military], and the inability to drain the necessary quantities of wastewater due to the depletion of fuel, and the complete outage of electricity. Some 70% of people in Gaza are forced to drink contaminated water or water with too much salt in it, which is a health hazard, according to Doctors without Borders (MSF). Although each person needs about 3 liters a day of drinking water, and needs four times that for hygiene and other purposes, entire families are getting only 3 liters a day, according to MSf. There is an estimated one toilet for every 500 people. There is a severe risk of a massive spike in infant mortality from dirty water, not to mention malnutrition from insufficient food being allowed into the Strip. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports on a seldom-considered issue concerning the Israeli assault on the civilians of Gaza, which is the water and sanitation catastrophe. The Israeli government of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu forced over a million Palestinians of Gaza into the far south of the Strip, Rafah, which is only 20% of its land area. Although the Israelis said that this zone would be safe for noncombatants, they have been bombing it in recent days and say they will invade it. Some two-thirds of the Palestinians so far ethnically cleansed from their homes in the north and center of the Strip have congregated in Rafah. Although most press reporting has considered mainly the deaths of Palestinian civilians from Israeli bombardment, which have risen to over 27,000, some 70% of them women and children, the deaths from malnutrition and dirty water, i.e. from poor sanitation, have not been reported with the same clarity. Israel has destroyed the Gaza hospital system on the phony pretext that medical complexes are power centers and sites of militant Hamas activity. There is no compelling evidence that this narrative is true, and in some instances it has been debunked by US newspapers of record. Hosny Muhannad, spokesman for the Gaza Municipality, explained to al-Arabi al-Jadid that the scorched earth policy followed by the [Israeli] occupation [government] during its aggression against the Gaza Strip led to the cessation of many basic service sectors, including the work of municipalities, including repairing main and secondary roads, rainwater drainage, and wastewater drainage from the streets. The ground water in Gaza is heavily polluted with sewage and industrial waste. Because of climate change and the rising Mediterranean, salt water has leaked into the aquifer. Only 4% of ground water in Gaza is believed by international health experts to be potable. Al Jazeera English Video: Gazas water crisis: Destruction and desperation Clean water came from three desalinization plants, but the Israelis closed them after October 7 and only restored their production after severe pressure from the Biden administration. However, they deliver water through pipelines. Many of the pipelines dont work because there is not enough fuel to operate their pumps. Other pipelines have been broken by intensive Israeli bombing. Neither the some 150,000 remaining Palestinians in North Gaza nor the 1.4 million crowded into Gaza have clean water and sanitation. All 2.25 million Palestinians in Gaza need assistance in these areas. The UN reports, Currently only 5.7 per cent of water is being produced from all the water sources in Gaza, compared to pre-war production levels. Safe drinking water and water for domestic use, including personal hygiene, remains very limited. There had been 284 groundwater wells. As noted, the water they yielded was problematic. It has a high salt content, which can cause dehydration, and it is often polluted. In ordinary times people could boil it, but people living in tents and shelters without sufficient fuel cannot reliably boil their water. Only 17% of the wells are operating. Some 39 were destroyed by Israeli bombing, and 93 have been damaged. Needless to say, Gaza City, Rafah and other municipalities cannot run wastewater treatment centers in the midst of this war, in which Israeli pilots and tank commanders have deliberately targeted civilian buildings and infrastructure. None of the wastewater treatment systems are operative. They have either been damaged by bombing, or dont have enough fuel. There isnt enough power for solid waste management. Muhannad told Al-Arabi al-Jadid, the repeated Israeli targeting of streets and intersections, and the repeated attacks on the already exhausted infrastructure, which caused great destruction in it and hindered its ability to deal with weather depressions and rainwater, which have become traffic obstacles for private vehicles, ambulances, and civil defense The bombed out streets are pockmarked so rain water and sewage is standing in these holes. Gaza is afloat in piss and shit. That is a cholera and hepatitis epidemic waiting to happen. Infants and toddlers are extremely vulnerable to dehydration from diarrhea, and there is almost certainly an epidemic of dead babies as a result of these unsanitary conditions. Although bombing has killed perhaps 8,000 children (probably many more), the lack of water and lack of clean water will potentially kill many thousands more. It should be remembered that one reason given by al-Qaeda for the 9/11 attacks was that US policy in Iraq in the 1990s was to deny the country chlorine imports for water purification, resulting in thousands of deaths of infants. OCHA notes, Two out of out of three desalination plans are partially operating: the Middle Area plant produces an average of 750 cubic metres per day and is distributed via water trucking and the South Gaza desalination plant produces 1,700 cubic metres per day; around 600 cubic metres are distributed via water trucking and 1,100 cubic metres via the water network. The UAEs small desalination plant located on the Egyptian side of Rafah, operates at full capacity, providing 2,400 cubic metres per day, following the construction of a 3-kilometre transmission line. That is 4,850 cubic meters of water per day, or 4,850,000 liters. Each individual needs on the order of 12 liters per day of water for drinking, food, hygiene and cooking purposes, according to the World Health Organization. The 2.2 million Palestinians therefore need about 26.4 million liters a day of water. They are only getting 18% of that from the desalinization plants, assuming it can be distributed to them, which is the only really potable water to be had. h/t WHO . The groundwater is dirty. Some refugees are reduced to cupping their hands amidst the sewage in the streets and drinking from it. The reason I question whether the water from the remaining desalinization plants is even being reliably distributed is that OCHA says this: Mekorot Connections: Two of the three water pipelines are not functioning (the Mentar pipeline since the beginning of the conflict, and the Bani Suhaila pipeline since 18 December. The Bani Saeed pipeline is functioning, but is currently producing 6,000 cubic metres per day, which is only 42 per cent of its full capacity. Plans are in place to repair the Bani Suheila pipeline, but there are challenges for safe access, communication, and coordination of repair activities. OCHA notes anecdotal reports from aid workers and medical personnel of a rise of hepatitis A cases in Gaza. Since the building materials for constructing toilets and repairing the sewage system are considered dual use by the Israeli authorities (i.e. they could be used by Hamas for its own infrastructure), they are not being let in at the requisite rate. UNICEF tried to construct 80 family latrines this week. But the sanitation coverage remains very low. WASH partners continue to construct family latrines, but the lack of cement, wood and other construction materials slows down the progress. Finally, OCHA says, The crisis is exacerbated by a fuel shortage, hindering sewage station operation and leading to environmental and public health concerns. The situation is worsened by continuous restricted access to essential sanitation supplies and services in Gaza. VANCOUVER, BC, Feb. 15, 2024 /CNW/ - Libero Copper & Gold Corporation (TSXV: LBC) (OTCQB: LBCMF) ("Libero Copper") announces that, further to its press release dated January 22, 2024, it has closed a non-brokered private placement (the "Offering") for aggregate gross proceeds of $3,000,000. The Offering was completed post-Consolidation (as defined herein). Effective February 13, 2024, Libero Copper consolidated its common shares (the "Common Shares") on the basis of one (1) new post-consolidation Common Share for every ten (10) pre-consolidation Common Shares (the "Consolidation"). The net proceeds of the Offering will be used for exploration at Mocoa and general corporate purposes. Libero Copper issued 19,999,335 units (the "Units") at a price of $0.15 per Unit, with each Unit consisting of one post-Consolidation Common Share, and one full common share purchase warrant (a "Warrant") with each Warrant entitling the holder to acquire an additional post-consolidation Common Share at an exercise price of $0.20 per Warrant until February 15, 2027. Common Shares issued in the Offering as well as any Common Shares issuable from the exercise of Warrants which were issued in the Offering, are subject to a four month hold period expiring June 16, 2024. Early Warning Disclosure The Company announces that Mr. Frank Giustra, through Fiore Aviation Corporation (a company owned and controlled by Mr. Giustra) acquired 4,200,000 Units of the Company pursuant to the private placement. As a result of the acquisition of securities described above, Frank Giustra now owns and/or controls directly and indirectly 4,200,000 Common Shares and 3,700,000 Warrants, representing 11.21% of the issued and outstanding Common Shares of the Company and 19.19% on a partially diluted basis. Prior to this transaction, Mr. Giustra did not hold any securities of the Company. Frank Giustra and his related entities acquired these securities for investment purposes and as disclosed in the early warning report accompanying this news release, may in the future acquire or dispose of securities of the Company, through the market, privately or otherwise, as circumstances or market conditions warrant. This news release is being issued under the early warning provisions of Canadian securities legislation. A copy of the early warning report to be filed by Mr. Giustra in connection with the transaction described above will be available under the Company's profile on SEDAR+ at (www.sedarplus.ca). Change to Board of Directors Ian Slater, Michael Sununu, Rob Pease and Brad Rourke have resigned from the Board of Libero Copper effective February 15, 2024 and are replaced by Rob Van Egmond. The Board now consists of Rob Van Egmond, Ian Harris, Ernest Mast, and Jay Sujir. Bonus Warrants Further to the Company's news release dated February 9, 2024, the Company issued on February 15, 2024 the 750,000 non-transferable warrants (the "Bonus Warrants") expiring February 15, 2025 with an exercise price of $0.20 per Common Share to Slater Capital Corporation (the "Lender") on a post-Consolidation basis in connection with a loan agreement between the Company and the Lender dated January 1, 2024. Any Common Shares issuable from the exercise of Bonus Warrants are subject to a four month hold period expiring June 16, 2024. About Libero Copper Libero Copper is a mineral exploration company which is focussed on unlocking the value of the Mocoa copper-molybdenum porphyry deposit located in Putumayo, Colombia. Mocoa is being advanced by a highly disciplined and seasoned professional team with successful track records of discovery, resource development, and permitting in Colombia. Libero Copper prioritizes building strong relationships with the communities in which we operate and is dedicated to creating long-term value for our shareholders through responsible exploration to fuel the green energy future. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. This news release includes forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties. All statements within, other than statements of historical fact, are to be considered forward looking. Although Libero Copper believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those in forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include market prices, obtaining the receipt of final TSX Venture Exchange approval, exploitation and exploration successes, continued availability of capital and financing, and general economic, market or business conditions and regulatory and administrative approvals, processes and filing requirements. There can be no assurances that such statements will prove accurate and, therefore, readers are advised to rely on their own evaluation of such uncertainties. The forward-looking information is stated as of the date of this news release and Libero Copper assumes no obligation to update or revise such information to reflect new events or circumstances, except as may be required by applicable law. TORONTO, Feb. 15, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Consolidated Lithium Metals Inc. (TSXV: CLM | OTCQB: JORFF | FRA: Z36) (CLM or the Company) is pleased to announce that joint venture partner North American Lithium, Sayona Mining Inc.s majority-owned subsidiary, (NAL) has reported to the Company the final set of assay results from the last 40 holes of the 2023 summer drilling program at the Vallee joint venture (the Vallee JV) lithium project, located approximately 30 km north of Val-dOr, Quebec within the heart of the Vallee Lithium Corridor (see Figure 1). The 2023 summer drilling program consisted of 58 holes totaling 15,607 m. CLM released the results of the first 18 holes in its news release dated January 11, 2024, which is available under the Companys SEDAR+ profile at www.sedarplus.ca. The Company is also pleased to announce that analytical results have been received for the 29 drill holes completed and all surface channel samples from the outcrop stripping program, both parts of the 2023 summer exploration program at the Companys 100% owned Baillarge Lithium Project (Baillarge). Baillarge is located in the Abitibi Greenstone Belt approximately 21 km northwest of Val DOr, Quebec (see Figure 1). Vallee JV 2023 Drilling Results The 2023 summer drilling program succeeded at tracing lithium-bearing pegmatite mineralization associated with the adjacent NAL operating lithium mine across the entire width of the Vallee JV property (the JV Property) from northwest to southeast (see Figure 2). Thicker high-grade mineralized intersections were located along the northwestern and southeastern sections of the Core Pegmatite Dyke. The 2023 program extended the Core Pegmatite 700 m to the southeast from the area defined by CLMs 2021 and 2022 drilling programs. Highlights from the second set of results include a high grade intersection in hole VAL-23-051 that averaged 1.04% Li 2 O over 7.15 m from 157.15 to 164.30 m, an interval in VAL-23-051 of 17.60 m that averaged 0.55% Li 2 O from 112.50 to 130.10 m that included a higher grade subinterval of 1.25% Li 2 O over 3.20 m from 112.50 to 115.70 m, and a wide intersection of 16.02 m from VAL-23-057 that averaged 0.50% Li 2 O from 132.73 to 148.75 m that included a subinterval of 1.29% Li 2 O over 2.36 m from 140.74 to 143.10 m (see Tables 1 and 4). Two high-grade intersections were also discovered in VAL-23-042, located north of the Core Pegmatite trend (see Figure 3). The first interval averaged 1.43% Li 2 O over 3.60 m from 167.55 to 171.15 m within an interval of 0.60% Li 2 O over 17.00 m from 163.00 to 180.00 m. The second interval averaged 0,68% Li 2 O over 23.30 m from 215.50 to 238.80 m that included a subinterval of 0.95% Li 2 O over 10.20 m from 216.55 to 226.75 m. The extension of the Core Pegmatite to the eastern property boundary during the drill program is considered to be a very exciting development for CLM. The Companys East Vallee project is located immediately adjacent to the JV Property (see Figures 2 and 3). We expect that the Core Pegmatite and adjacent spodumene-bearing dykes likely continue onto CLMs 100% owned property. The East Vallee project overlies an additional 5 km of the Vallee Lithium Trend that has never been drill-tested for lithium (see Figure 2). The tracing of the Core Pegmatite to the southeast end of the property, and the discovery of numerous additional lithium-bearing pegmatites defined during the 2023 summer Vallee JV drilling program immediately south of the Core Pegmatite in the same area has defined high-priority drill targets for the Vallee East project (see Figure 3). The Company is currently in the process of planning and permitting a drill program to follow-up these results on the East Vallee project in the coming months. Table 1 Highlights of the 2023 Vallee JV Drilling Program CLM also intends to review and interpret the 2023 results in collaboration with the 2021-2022 CLM drill results in the northwest end of the Core Pegmatite Trend immediately adjacent to the NAL lithium mine. The objective of the review will be to determine if sufficient drilling has been completed to establish a mineral resource in that area. The 2023 drilling helped support CLMs work over the previous two years to further refine the extension of the NAL Mine Pegmatites where they crossed onto the JV Property. We are eager to work with our partner NAL to dig into these results to determine the potential to develop extensions or satellite lenses along the west boundary adjacent to their current mining operation. However, the Company is also very excited about the possibilities on our 100% owned East Vallee project. Now that the spodumene-bearing pegmatites have been extended right to the property boundary, the Company is focused on continuing to trace the Core Pegmatite along strike to look for what we hope will be the next big pegmatite blow-out somewhere along the 5 km trend that has yet to see any lithium drilling. - Richard Quesnel, Executive Chair, Consolidated Lithium Metals Inc. Baillarge 2023 Exploration Program Results In addition, the Company is pleased to announce that analytical results have been received for the 29 drill holes completed and all surface channel samples from the outcrop stripping program, both parts of the 2023 summer exploration program at the Companys 100% owned Baillarge Lithium Project (Baillarge). Baillarge is located in the Abitibi Greenstone Belt approximately 21 km northwest of Val DOr, Quebec (see Figure 1). The summer exploration program consisted of three key but separate components: a 29 hole, 4747 m drilling program; an outcrop stripping and channel sampling program; and a soil sampling program covering the area between the Baillarge Est Showing (see Figure 1) and the Chubb Showing, which is located 1.1 km southeast and along strike of the area that was the subject of the summer drilling program. The completed summer drill program totaled 4,747 m of drilling in 29 holes which targeted the extensions of outcropping pegmatites at the Baillarge Est Showing, located just south of Lac Baillarge. Lithium mineralization was first found at Baillarge Est in 1955 by Amos Lithium Corporation Limited (see Government of Quebec, Ressources Naturelles et Forets, SIGEOM files GM 3404 and GM 4109-B at this link. The drill program was successful at extending the three known spodumene-bearing pegmatites at depth and along strike to the southeast. The program also discovered seven additional lithium-bearing pegmatites between and adjacent to the previously known dykes (see Figure 4) all within an area measuring 500 m by 450 m. All ten dykes remain open for expansion along strike in both directions and at depth. Seven holes intersected lithium mineralization exceeding 0.20% Li 2 O (see Table 2). Six anomalous intersections were obtained from the D7 pegmatite, and one each from the D1, D2, D3, D5 and D7 pegmatites. Assay results from the D7 pegmatite are closely spaced to areas proximal to higher lithium concentrations from the channel sampling program and to the historical drill results. Table 2 Assay Results from 2023 Summer Drilling Baillarge Project Hole Dyke From (m) To (m) Length (m) Li (ppm) Converted to Li20 (wt%) B23-01 D7 41.70 42.70 1.00 1467 0.32 B23-02 D7 49.20 50.20 1.00 1076 0.23 B23-05 D7 37.40 38.40 1.00 1010 0.22 B23-06 D7 41.00 42.00 1.00 1015 0.22 B23-16 D3 83.70 84.70 1.00 1258 0.27 D5 127.40 128.40 1.00 1849 0.40 B23-18 D2 71.40 72.40 1.00 1834 0.39 D1 94.00 94.50 0.50 1044 0.22 B23-28 D6 28.25 29.65 1.40 1521 0.33 D7 145.60 146.65 1.05 1029 0.22 Core lengths are estimated to be approximately 90-95% of true width The 2022 outcrop stripping campaign was expanded in 2023 to extend the stripped areas north of Dykes 3 and 7. Stripping was also done under the BE Lithium Soil Anomaly (see CLM News Release dated July 10, 2023) which led to the discovery of Dyke 5. Channel samples were collected along lines spaced at 5 m to 10 m intervals along the new dyke discoveries and along the extended stripped areas at D3 and D7. Four different lines containing significant channel sample anomalies were discovered at the north end of the D3 stripping area, immediately overlying and within 10 m of the up-dip projection of the D3 intersection of hole B23-16 (see Figure 4). Channel R5 returned 0.83% Li 2 O over 8.16 m and had a peak sample of 2.15% Li 2 O over 1.02 m. Channel R7, located 5 m south of R5, averaged 0.86% Li 2 O over 5.37 m including a single sample of 2.10% Li 2 O over 1.00 m. The highlights of the results of the channel sampling program are included in Table 3 below. Table 3 Assay Results from 2023 Summer Channel Sampling Baillarge Project Channel R23 was located on the newly discovered Dyke 5 immediately under the BE Lithium Anomaly that averaged 0.38% Li 2 O over 1.96 m (see Figure 2) Figure 1 CLM Regional Projects Map [property boundaries from Company resources and historical drill hole, geology and showing information from the Government of Quebec website Figure 2 Location of drilling and the Core Pegmatite Trend from the NAL Mine to East Vallee Project. Figure 3 Close-up of the 2023 Vallee JV Drilling Program Figure 4 Final Assay Results 2023 Baillarge Program About the Vallee JV The JV Property is located immediately adjacent to, and along strike of NALs operations, the largest lithium operation in North America (see Figure 1). The JV Property is majority-owned by CLM, with NAL having an option to earn up to a 51% interest therein (see the Companys news releases dated November 14, 2022, December 19, 2022, and January 11, 2024, each of which are also available under the Companys SEDAR+ profile at www.sedarplus.ca). NAL earned its initial 25% interest in the JV Property pursuant to its first option in late 2023. NAL has a second option to spend an additional C$6 million by November 14, 2024 to earn a cumulative 50% interest. Analytical Procedures Vallee JV Project Sayona Mining Inc., as the project operator, selected samples from the drill core using visual identification of lithium-bearing minerals in the drill core with the assistance of a Laser Induced Breakdown Spectrometer (LIBS) handheld analyser. Core samples were sawn into two halves, with one half being submitted for analysis and the other half retained and returned to the core tray and stored for future reference. All samples were analysed at ALS Laboratories, Vancouver, an independent accredited laboratory. The samples were crushed and pulverized. Excess crushed and pulverized material not used in the analysis have been retained for future reference. All samples were analysed by ME-MS589L Sodium Peroxide Fusion and ICP-MS finish using a 0.2 g aliquot of pulverised material. Assay sample of Certified Reference Material (CRM), half core duplicate sampling and insertion of blanks into the sample sequence has been undertaken to ensure QA/QC. Protocols include systematic insertion of CRM standards at approximately 1 in every 25 samples and alternating blank samples of quartz and core duplicate samples for every 1 in 25 samples. The CRM material used for monitoring lithium values are OREAS 750, OREAS 752 and OREAS 753. Occasionally, a CRM for Zn (OREAS 630B) has been used to validate other metals. These standards have been selected to reflect the target mineralisation. Assays of quality control samples were compared with reference samples in database and verified as acceptable prior to use of data from analysed batches. The Company believes that the sampling, assaying and laboratory procedures are representative of the drilled material and appropriate for the project. Analytical Procedures Baillarge Project CLM geologists selected samples from the drill core using visual identification of lithium-bearing minerals in the drill core. Core samples were sawn into two halves, with one half being submitted for analysis and the other half retained and returned to the core tray and stored for future reference. All samples were analysed at SGS Laboratories (SGS), Burnaby, an independent accredited laboratory. The samples were crushed and pulverized at the SGS preparatory facility in Val-dOr, Quebec. Excess crushed and pulverized material not used in the analysis have been retained for future reference. All samples were analysed by GE-ICP91A50 Sodium Peroxide Fusion and ICP-OES finish using an aliquot of pulverised material. Assay sample of CRM, half core duplicate sampling and insertion of blanks into the sample sequence has been undertaken to ensure QA/QC. Protocols include systematic insertion of CRM standards at approximately 1 in every 20 samples and alternating blank samples of quartz and core duplicate samples for every 1 in 20 samples. The CRM material used for monitoring lithium values are OREAS 47, OREAS 147, OREAS 553, OREAS 750 and OREAS 753. Assays of quality control samples were compared with reference samples in database and verified as acceptable prior to use of data from analysed batches. It is believed the sampling, assaying and laboratory procedures are representative of the drilled material and appropriate for the project. There are no known drilling, sampling, recovery, or other factors that could materially affect the accuracy or reliability of the data presented herein. Qualified Person The scientific and technical information contained herein has been reviewed and approved by Roger Lemaitre, P.Eng., P.Geo., the Companys Senior Vice President & Head of Mining who is a Qualified Person as defined in National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects. About Consolidated Lithium Metals Inc. Consolidated Lithium Metals Inc. (formerly known as Jourdan Resources Inc.) is a Canadian junior mining exploration company trading under the symbol CLM on the TSX Venture Exchange and Z36 on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. The Company is focused on the acquisition, exploration, production, and development of mining properties. The Companys properties are in Quebec, Canada, primarily in the spodumene-bearing pegmatites of the La Corne Batholith, around North American Lithiums Quebec lithium mine. For more information: Rene Bharti, Chief Executive Officer and President Email | This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Phone | (416) 861-5800 Website | www.consolidatedlithium.com Cautionary Statements The content and grades of any mineral deposits at the Companys properties are conceptual in nature. There has been insufficient exploration to define a mineral resource on its properties and it is uncertain if further exploration will result in any target being delineated as a mineral resource. In addition, sample results at or around, and information applicable to, the Chubb Showing, the New Athona Showing, or the North American Lithium or Molybdenite Corporation mines are not indications of results that could be obtained at, or information applicable to, any of CLMs properties. This press release contains forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking information includes, but is not limited to, statements with respect to the Companys future exploration plans and anticipated results, particularly respecting the Core Pegmatite and adjacent dykes as they relate to the Vallee East project potential; the ability of the Company to establish a mineral resource at its properties and, together with NAL, develop extensions or satellite lenses; the results of the Companys summer 2023 exploration program, including the potential to expand all ten dykes existing at Baillarge; and the Companys ability to execute its business plan. Generally, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as plans, expects or does not expect, is expected, budget, scheduled, estimates, forecasts, intends, anticipates or does not anticipate, or believes, or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results may, could, would, might or will be taken, occur or be achieved. Forward-looking information is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of CLM to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information, including but not limited to: receipt of necessary approvals; general business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties; future mineral prices and market demand; accidents, labour disputes and shortages and other risks of the mining industry. Although CLM 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. CLM does not undertake to update any forward-looking information, except in accordance with applicable securities laws. QIM believes this listing is an important step for the Company and provides transparent trading for current and future U.S. investors Provides improved accessibility and liquidity for a broad range of private and institutional U.S. investors Initiates private placement offering of units for gross proceeds of up to $2,025,000 VANCOUVER, BC, Feb. 15, 2024 /CNW/ - Quimbaya Gold Inc. (CSE: QIM) (OTC: QIMGF) ("Quimbaya" or the "Company") to announce the Company's common shares have been accepted and qualified to trade on the OTCQB Venture Market in the United States operated by the OTC Markets Group Inc. "Quimbaya has been fortunate to enjoy initial strong support from investors in Canada and internationally," said Alexandre P. Boivin, CEO of Quimbaya. "This timely listing to the OTCQB now is intended to provide improved accessibility and liquidity for a broad range of private and institutional investors in the United States." The Company's common shares began trading tomorrow on the OTCQB under the symbol "QIMGF." U.S. investors can find current financial disclosures and Real-Time Level 2 quotes for the Company on www.otcmarkets.com. The Company's common shares will continue to trade on the Canadian Securities Exchange ("CSE") under the symbol "QIM." The DTC eligibility and method of clearing securities speeds up the receipt of stock and cash and thus accelerates the settlement process for investors and brokers, enabling the stock to be traded over a much wider selection of brokerage firms by coming into compliance with their requirements. As an emerging exploration focused company, Quimbaya very much looks forward to reaching out to American investors as the story unfolds. DTC eligibility will assist greatly in that endeavor. Private Placement The Company also wishes to announce a private placement offering of units of the Company (each a "Unit") at $0.68 per Unit for up to $2,025,000 (the "Private Placement"). Each Unit will be comprised of one (1) common share in the share capital of the Company (an "Offered Share") and one common share purchase warrant (a "Warrant"). Each Warrant will entitle the holder thereof to purchase one (1) common share in the share capital of the Company (a "Warrant Share") at a price of $0.68 per share at any time on the date that is three (3) years from the date of the issuance of the Units. Proceeds of the Private Placement will be used to advance the Company's Colombian exploration projects, as well as general working capital purposes. Any securities issued in connection with the Private Placement will be subject to a four-month hold period, in accordance with securities laws and the policies of the CSE, as applicable. The Private Placement is subject to CSE acceptance. About Quimbaya Quimbaya aims to consolidate gold reserves through exploration and acquisition of mining properties in Antioquia, Colombia. Managed by an experienced team in mining sector, Quimbaya is focused on 3 projects in the regions of Segovia (the Tahami project), Puerto Berrio (the Berrio Project), and Abejorral (the Maitamac Project), all located in the Antioquia Department, Colombia. About OTC Markets Group Inc. OTC Markets Group Inc. (OTCQX: OTCM) operates regulated markets for trading approximately 12,000 U.S. and international securities. OTCM's data-driven disclosure standards form the foundation of the three public markets: OTCQX Best Market, OTCQB Venture Market and Pink Open Market. Cautionary Statements This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of securities legislation in Canada and which are based on the expectations, estimates and projections of the Company's management as of the date of this news release unless otherwise stated. Forward-looking statements are generally identifiable by use of the words "expect", "anticipate", "continue", "estimate", "objective", "ongoing", "may", "will", "project", "should", "could", "believe", "plans", "intends" or the negative of these words or other variations on these words or comparable terminology. More particularly, and without limitation, this news release contains forward-looking statements and information concerning the Company's expectations regarding the listing of its common shares on the OTCQB, improved liquidity and accessibility for U.S. investors in the Company's common shares and closing of the Private Placement. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Such factors include, among others, the risks described in QIM's public filings. Actual results, developments and timetables could vary significantly from the estimates presented. Readers are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking statements. QIM disclaims any intent or obligation to update publicly such forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, unless required by law. Additionally, QIM undertakes no obligation to comment on analyses, expectations or statements made by third parties in respect of QIM, its financial or operating results or its securities. Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its regulation services provider accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. On February 19, the United Nations Court will once again plunge into the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The hearing for its legal opinion on Israels occupation of the Palestinian territories follows the South African genocide case against Israel earlier this year, where provisional measures orders were issued to prevent a plausible risk of genocide in the war in Gaza. But this legal request precedes it in the chronologically, having originated in a UN General Assembly resolution adopted on 30 December 2022, following the conclusions of a UN Commission of Inquiry. Since then, some 4.000 documents from this commission in particular have been transmitted from New York to The Hague. 57 countries and international organisations have submitted written legal arguments. 55 legal teams will present their arguments within the Great Hall of Justice before the 15 judges of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), including 6 newly elected colleagues and a new Lebanese president and Ugandan vice president. All to ask the judges their opinion on two questions about the legality of Israels occupation of Palestine: what are the legal consequences of the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories and what should states do about it [read box]. One of the big missing pieces What the judges say will not be binding on Israel, which is not addressing the court, but will be very important, says Chantal Meloni, professor at the University of Milan as one of the big missing pieces: examining the situation in Palestine under the lens of international humanitarian law, when set against the backdrop of other legal interventions in the past months. I am pleased, says to Justice Info Navanethem Pillay, the South African head of the independent inquiry into Palestine set up by the UN Human Rights Council, that the UN General Assembly listened to our report in 2022 in which the commissioners outlined all the different UN resolutions and recommendations on Palestine which have not been implemented. As a result of that report, a majority of states voted to ask the ICJ for its opinion. The invasion in Ukraine in 2022 also spurred developments, says Victor Kattan, a professor of international law at the University of Nottingham. The Palestinians saw Russia invade Ukraine. And the Americans saying this is aggression. It's illegal, annexing territory. Sanctions were imposed on Russia. Palestinian argued, he says, we've been occupied for half a century, and our land has been annexed in East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights and the Americans and the Europeans don't do anything. There was frustration with what they see as double standards. That frustration tapped into the longer-term disputes at the UN to bring this question to the ICJ. Expectations for the world legal order Back in 2004, the UN court provided an opinion on the building by Israel of a wall to contain the security threat posed by Palestinians. At that time, the court unambiguously said that the Israeli project of settlement building in the West Bank was illegal and that Israel was in violation of its obligations under international humanitarian law. But despite the World Court legal opinion, nothing happened, acknowledges Kattan. This time, the questions has been phrased to encompass much more than settlements, but also prolonged occupation, annexation, demographic changes, and that precise framing provides clues as to the underlying intentions of the advisory opinion request. Expectations for the world legal order are higher. Back in 1949 says Meloni, when the Geneva Conventions were drafted, no-one would imagine that at a certain point, there will be such a situation where you have a prolonged occupation. Geneva Convention IV does not make occupation lawful or unlawful in international laws of war. But an occupation does have certain characteristics, limitations and purposes, of which one of the main ones is that it is temporary, limited, says Meloni. We were very convinced that the perpetual nature of the occupation position renders it unlawful now, says Pillay. Thats why we asked the General Assembly to get an advisory opinion on that one issue - lawfulness. And secondly to spell out the responsibilities of states who cooperate with this unlawful endeavour, she adds. What kind of legal framework are we in today? The settlement enterprise, started in 1967, is now so big and impossible to undo. Israel has, imposed facts on the ground, Meloni says. But to her, despite this, international humanitarian law (IHL) should continue to be applied and in particular, the Fourth Geneva Convention that gives the rights of the protected population, in this case, the Palestinian people. At the same time, let's face reality. Israel never accepted, to be de jure the occupying power, she adds. By asking the judges to examine this situation, the question implicitly asks whether we are still falling under this [IHL] legal framework or not. And if not, what kind of legal framework are we now talking about? says Meloni. Here's the point that for me becomes very, very relevant. Any ruling by the judges that IHL is no longer the acceptable framework for a 50-plus year occupation could have further ramifications both in terms of a state responsibility and in terms of individual criminal responsibility, says Meloni. The International Criminal Court (ICC) began its investigation into Palestine in 2021 and at the time parked it, under then prosecutor Fatou Bensouda, while asking judges to consider which territory it could investigate. But some details of the scope of the investigation were made public, she recalls, including settlements and the potential war crime of transfer of civilians. It would be very surprising to me if they were not, looking seriously at it, says Meloni, who is representing Palestinian victims at the ICC. A decision will end this political deadlock Several human rights organisations and some of the United Nations bodies have described the situation of Palestinians under occupation as akin to apartheid. The questions in front of the International Court of Justice does not mention apartheid, but the elements asking about related discriminatory legislation are, I think, a nod to the apartheid claim, says Kattan. In the end, agrees Meloni, this is what we are talking about. This is what would be the logical conclusion of an advisory opinion. To her, the judges could conclude that the situation on the territory, for its features, for the time, for all the characteristics, is not any more just a situation of military occupation, but is something different. A ruling could strengthen the arguments that this is a de facto situation of apartheid, which can have further ramifications both in terms of a state responsibility and in terms of individual criminal responsibility, again, potentially in front of the International Criminal Court, which has an open investigation, continues Meloni. That legal conclusion could also have implications for Palestinian statehood and peace negotiations. The UN court hearings come against the backdrop of increased international focus on the war in Palestine in which nearly 30,000 civilians are estimated to have lost their lives, after the Hamas raids killing more than 1,000 Israelis on October 7, 2023. According to Kattan, western states are discussing the possibility of recognising the state of Palestine and of course, the UK wouldn't do it alone. Such a move would be seismic, he says, providing Palestinians a range of rights as individuals and as the state with sovereign immunity, right of self-defence and territory. Currently, under the arrangement including the Palestinian Authoritys limited mandate, they have few rights. The court delicately acknowledges in its 2004 Wall opinion that it was aware of the greater whole of peace negotiations, but rejected western states arguments that therefore it should not exercise its jurisdiction. This legal action, suggests Meloni, is meant to arrive at some conclusions to show that there can be one or the other, but you must have either a state or recognise the rights of the Palestinian people that are living de facto under apartheid under Israeli rule. A determination by the court, will end this political deadlock, says Pillay contrary to what people say, that they oppose the referral to the ICJ because they felt it could interfere with the peace process - as if there's been some brisk peace process going on - my view and the Commission's view, is, in fact, that this judicial opinion will advance the process of achieving peace in the Middle East. The questions the International Court of Justice (ICJ) has to answer On 30 December 2022, the United Nations General Assembly adopted resolution 77/247, by which it decided to request the International Court of Justice to render an advisory opinion on the two following questions: What are the legal consequences arising from the ongoing violation by Israel of the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination, from its prolonged occupation, settlement and annexation of the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967, including measures aimed at altering the demographic composition, character and status of the Holy City of Jerusalem, and from its adoption of related discriminatory legislation and measures? How do the policies and practices of Israel referred to in paragraph 18 (a) above affect the legal status of the occupation, and what are the legal consequences that arise for all States and the United Nations from this status? Kamyshin calls on NATO to buy 1 mln drones from Ukrainian manufacturers: This is the best way to make more good Russians Minister for Strategic Industries of Ukraine Oleksandr Kamyshin has called on NATO to purchase 1 million drones for Ukraine from Ukrainian manufacturers and promised that Ukraine has all necessary capacities and technology. "Yesterday, [Secretary General of NATO] Jens Stoltenberg announced that NATO countries are ready to supply Ukraine with a million drones and I, like every Ukrainian, am grateful for this support. Today at the Munich Security Conference, on behalf of the entire Ukrainian defense industry, I called on NATO to purchase these one million drones from Ukrainian manufacturers. We have the capacities, we have the technology, we have the engineers," he said on the Telegram channel on Friday. The minister noted that Ukraine can make both cheap FPV drones "and things that fly more than 1,000 km, as well as land and sea, combat and evacuation, reconnaissance and attack ones." Kamyshin also said that "the effectiveness of our drones has been proven at the front, and their cost is as competitive as possible." "Ordering a million drones from Ukraine is the best way to make more good Russians," he said. President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived in Paris, where he will meet with French President Emmanuel Macron. "Paris. A meeting with President Macron and an important agreement are planned. Our cooperation is yielding results in protecting the life of Ukraine and our entire Europe," Zelenskyy said in his Telegram channel on Friday evening. The $15.9 million settlement of a class-action lawsuit related to TD Bank Group's insufficient fund fees has been approved by an Ontario Superior Court. A person makes their way past a Toronto-Dominion Bank branch in Toronto, Monday, Aug. 14, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Spencer Colby Academic leader, researcher named dean of Kennesaw States College of Science and Mathematics KENNESAW, Ga. | Feb 16, 2024 Kennesaw State University has named accomplished researcher and physiologist Heather Koopman as dean of the College of Science and Mathematics, effective July 1. Koopman, who comes to KSU with two and a half decades experience in academia, was named dean following a national search. Koopman currently serves as the chair of the Department of Biology and Marine Biology at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. Dr. Koopman is a highly respected and nationally renowned educator and scholar who shares KSUs commitment to excelling as a student-focused, research-driven university, said Kennesaw State President Kathy Schwaig. Her leadership in the College of Science and Mathematics will enhance the educational experience and research opportunities for students and faculty. Along with her extensive classroom expertise and field research experience, Koopman has served on the board for the Society for Marine Mammalogy and is the senior biologist and board member for the Grand Manan Whale and Seabird Research Station. She has taught biology and marine biology courses at UNC Wilmington since 2004 and was promoted to department chair in 2017. Koopmans research focuses on the role and importance of marine lipids and how those molecules fit into the function and evolution of various marine organisms. Her laboratory uses a combination of methods to examine the health, metabolism, adaptations and lineage of marine animals. Dr. Koopman will help advance the national profile of the College of Science and Mathematics with a focus on excellence in teaching and research, said Ivan Pulinkala, KSUs provost and executive vice president for academic affairs. Her innovative approaches to scientific inquiry and dedication to interdisciplinary collaboration are rooted in her body of scholarship. Koopman has published more than 50 articles in academic journals and given lectures and presentations at various seminars and conferences. Throughout her career, Koopman has secured more than $2 million in scientific funding for projects related to wildlife and the environment. I am very excited to be joining Kennesaw State and becoming part of its strong leadership team, Koopman said. The College of Science and Mathematics has a strong foundation of dedication to teaching and mentoring, high-quality research, and engagement with the community, and I am looking forward to seeing how we can build on these strengths to reach and exceed the colleges potential. Koopman received both her bachelors degree in marine biology and masters degree in zoology from the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada. She earned an interdisciplinary Environment Ph.D. from Duke University, and in 2022-23 completed an American Council on Education (ACE) Fellowship. Related Stories A leader in innovative teaching and learning, Kennesaw State University offers undergraduate, graduate and doctoral degrees to its more than 45,000 students. Kennesaw State is a member of the University System of Georgia with 11 academic colleges. The universitys vibrant campus culture, diverse population, strong global ties and entrepreneurial spirit draw students from throughout the country and the world. Kennesaw State is a Carnegie-designated doctoral research institution (R2), placing it among an elite group of only 7 percent of U.S. colleges and universities with an R1 or R2 status. For more information, visit kennesaw.edu. Friday, February 16, 2024 - Kileleshwa Ward MCA, Robert Alai, has stated that he doesnt trust Kenya Kwanza Alliance leaders who are urging former Prime Minister Raila Odinga to contest for the African Union chairperson position. Raila on Thursday declared that he will contest for the position, ahead of the retirement of Mousa Faki this year. Already, President William Ruto and the Kenya Kwanza brigade have indicated that they are ready to use resources to ensure Raila Odinga is the head of the continental body. However, Alai, who is a fierce defender of Raila Odinga, claims that Ruto and his allies have an ulterior motive for Jakoms candidacy. Alai said he sees Ruto's AU campaign in support of BABA as a structured plan to embarrass him and use this as fodder to discredit his presidential bid in 2027. The AU Chairmanship campaign might be structured to fail to embarrass Baba @RailaOdingaI don't trust Kenya Kwanza on this. "It might be Kenya Kwanza fishing for new insults to throw Baba's way with a campaign they strategically want to fail, Alai stated. The Kenyan DAILY POST. Friday, February 16, 2024 - The DCI cautions taxi operators to be wary of an ongoing trend by criminal syndicates that are hiring taxi services for either long distances or trips with several pickup points while disguised as cash-rich customers, only to turn violent robbers along the way. A member of a well-organized criminal ring identifies a target whom they deem vulnerable to a good deal of money out of the ordered trip, and whose car suits their need. The "customer" negotiates with the taxi driver on the charges for the trip, and while on the way communicates with one or more accomplices who will be conveniently waiting along the route. With promises of an extra inconvenience fee for the stop, the driver goes ahead to let onboard new passengers. On some occasions, the accomplices lie in wait at the drop-off point. Usually, the route or destinations picked will have secluded areas, where the gangs turn against the drivers, robs them of their vehicles, and at times murder them in cold blood. In one of the latest scenarios reported at Kikopey Police Post within Gilgil, Nakuru County on January 14, 2024, a 42-year-old male taxi operator in Nairobi CBD was hired by a customer to drive him to Nakuru using his motor vehicle Toyota Fielder. Once in Naivasha, the customer requested that they pick up his two friends in the Karagita area before setting off towards Nakuru. A short moment into the final stretch of the journey, the passengers turned against the male driver before robbing him of his vehicle and dumping him at the Diatomite area in Gilgil. On receiving the report, a team of detectives from DCI HQs was deployed to launch a manhunt for the suspects, two of whom were traced to Bungoma County. Francis Ojerepata Omoindi, 39 and Jack Odhiambo Otieno, 38 were arrested and the vehicle recovered, before being handed over to DCI Gilgil for further police action. In their possession were seven SIM cards, five national ID cards, and two driving licences. Their case is ongoing at the Chief Magistrate's Court in Naivasha as pursuit for other accomplices continues. While the DCI understands the challenge of identifying potential threats by hardworking taxi drivers who wait late to ensure their customers get to their destinations safely, we encourage operators to be vigilant and report any suspicion of danger to the police through the various police hotlines. At the DCI, we remain committed to our key mandate of investigating serious crimes in the country and assure Kenyans that we shall continue serving with Dedication, Care, and Integrity. The Kenyan DAILY POST. Friday, February 16, 2024 The proverbial 40th day for one Javason Kimemia Maina reached after the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) arrested him for faking his academic certificate to land a well-paying job in government. In a statement, EACC explained that Maina forged the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) from Kimuri Secondary School. He then used the forged academic certificate to land employment at the Rural Electrification and Renewable Energy Corporation (REREC). Maina was arraigned before the Milimani Anti-Corruption Court after the Director of Public Prosecutions concurred with recommendations of the Commission to charge him with fraudulent acquisition of public property being Ksh293,240.94 salary paid to him by REREC, forgery, and uttering a false document. The suspect was released on a bond of Ksh700,000 surety of the same amount or a cash bail of Kenya shillings Ksh400,000. "The matter will be mentioned on 26th February 2024 for a pre-trial conference," EACC wrote. His arrest came after Public Service Commission (PSC) Chairperson Anthony Muchiri said over 2,000 public officers secured jobs, promotions, and re-designations using fake academic papers. According to PSC, at least 331 institutions were targeted in the probe, of which 52 were ministries, State Departments, and Agencies. The Kenyan DAILY POST Friday, February 16, 2024 - Former Prime Minister Raila Odingas bid for the African Union Chairpersonship has gained momentum with the backing of former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo. If elected AU Chairperson, Raila will wield immense power in the continent and his remuneration will be mouth-watering. As detailed in the AU mandate, the chairperson has 12 statutory roles and gets a monthly salary of Ksh2.4 million (US15,576.75) among other hefty perks. If he clinches the seat, Raila will assume the role of Chief Executive Officer, Legal Representative, and Accounting Officer of the Union. The main responsibility of the holder of the lucrative post is to be the administrator and enforcer of the AU. He will also be tasked with preparing the budget of the Union which runs to billions of shillings. On the diplomatic front, the Chairperson is mandated to champion AU's objectives and interests in the global arena. Therefore, the holder of the office is required to attend various continental engagements including summits such as the US-Africa summit and Italy-Africa summit among others. Additionally, the Union's CEO also chairs and determines the agenda of the African Union Commission (AUC). As CEO, he will also determine the size and structure of the Commission including key appointments to be made to various posts. Should Raila get elected, he will also be the recipient of all AU treaties and legal instruments. However, as the chairperson, he will be answerable to the Heads of State and will be required to prepare reports required to help the leaders make decisions for the Union and the continent. Besides the Ksh2.4 million monthly salary, the AU Chairperson is also entitled to a monthly rental budget of USD6,000 (Ksh933,000) which will include rent and payment of utilities such as electricity. On the other hand, should Raila get elected, his wife, Ida, will also get a monthly facilitation of USD500 (Ksh77,750) per month. Notably, the AU also pays 100 per cent fees for the Chairperson's dependent children studying in Africa or any other part of the world other than Europe and North America. The Kenyan DAILY POST Thursday, February 15, 2024 Kylian Mbappe has reportedly told Paris Saint-Germain he will leave the club at the end of this season when his contract expires. According to Sky Sport, Mbappe communicated his decision to Nasser Al-Khelaifi, the PSG president, on Tuesday and the club expects him to join Real Madrid. The terms of the forward's exit are yet to be finalised as the two parties negotiate whether Mbappe will leave for a fee or sacrifice his own earnings. PSG expect Mbappe to keep his word that he would never leave on a free transfer. It is understood PSG and Mbappe will make an announcement once this is agreed in the coming months. Real Madrid has long been chasing the 25-year-old forward, who would have to take a pay cut to join the Spanish side. The club will make him the highest-paid player in their history. PSG turned down a 220m (188m) offer for Mbappe from Real Madrid in August 2021. The forward then chose to sign a new three-year deal with PSG that expires this summer. If Mbappe were to extend his deal by a further year, PSG would value him at 150m (128m) in the upcoming transfer window. They accepted a 300m (256m) from Saudi club Al Hilal last summer, which Mbappe turned down. The departure of Mbappe, whose wages cost PSG 200m (171m) per year, will free up funds for the club to replace their star player and it is understood there are already plans to make multiple signings this summer. Friday, February 16, 2024 - Renowned political analyst, Prof. Mutahi Ngunyi, has said President William Ruto will make former Prime Minister Raila Odinga president of Africa without the help of Kikuyus. In a tweet on Friday, hours after Raila Odinga declared interest in being the chairperson of the African Union, Mutahi said Ruto is a meticulous politician who will make sure Raila Odinga is the President of Africa. Mutahi further said Ruto is cleverly pulling Luo Nation to his side by supporting Raila Odinga's interests in Africa's top job after realising the Kikuyu nation, which he has given 10 cabinet slots, is playing hard to get when it comes to his re-election in 2027 Dear Kikuyus: Continue playing 'Had to Get' with Ruto after he gave you 10 out of 22 cabinet slots. " But watch how one man, Ruto, will make Raila President of Africa. "Then you will realise that you probably DO NOT matter. Ruto's next stop is the Luo Nation. Clever!, Mutahi wrote on X. The Kenyan DAILY POST Friday, February 16, 2024 - Prime Cabinet Secretary and Cabinet Secretary for Foreign and Diaspora Affairs, Musalia Mudavadi, has jealously defended Kenyas human rights record and the integrity of the police service following criticism by US congressmen. Speaking during the African Unions 44th Ordinary Session at Addis Ababa, Mudavadi highlighted the integrity of the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA), where Kenyans freely report police impunity. This body investigates such impunity if any and holds individual police officers accountable, including through prosecution, Mudavadi stated. Responding to an assertion by the African Commission on Human and Peoples Rights, Mudavadi assured that the Kenyan police force is guided by laws and regulations that dont entertain police brutality and excessive use of force. Mudavadi further appreciated the work of the commission in protecting human rights in Africa, highlighting Kenyas alignment with the mandate. Reassuring the countrys commitment to uphold the law, Mudavadi added that Kenya would formally submit an appropriate language to be annexed to the human rights report to address the issue. This comes a day after six members of the United States Congress opposed the move by their government to support a Kenya-led multinational security mission to Haiti, questioning why their country was supporting forces with a history of violating human rights. Referencing the 2023 demonstrations organised by the opposition, where 23 people died, the congressmen and women disapproved of methods used to tame the protestors. The US in September last year promised to support President Rutos plan to deploy 1000 police officers to Haiti, pledging Ksh14.7 billion in support of the mission. The Kenyan DAILY POST. Mayor of Kyiv Vitali Klitschko announced the sending of additional assistance in the form of 150 FPV drones to three brigades that hold the defense in the city of Avdiivka, Donetsk region. "Today we urgently found 150 more FPV drones as assistance and sent them to our defenders in Avdiivka. It's very hot there and the soldiers are asking for additional support. Some 50 'birds' from this batch are already on their way to the military of the third assault brigade, some 110 to the first separate mechanized brigade and 47th separate mechanized brigade Mahura," Klitschko said in Telegram channel on Friday. According to him, a new batch is currently being assembled, which will also be promptly delivered to the Ukrainian military. As reported, on Friday, after many months of confrontation, the command of the Tavria group of forces decided to withdraw from the Zenit position to the south-eastern outskirts of Avdiivka in order to preserve personnel and improve the operational situation. In addition, planned reinforcement of units is being carried out. Friday, February 16, 2024 President William Ruto and Wiper Leader Kalonzo Musyoka are over the moon following Azimio Leader Raila Odingas latest announcement ahead of the 2027 General Election. This is after he announced that he was ditching his 2027 presidential bid for the African Union Commission chairmanship. While speaking to the media in his local dialect, Raila stated that he is ready to ditch everything, including the presidency, for the AU role. He explained that if elected AU chairman, he would not engage in local politics for the four-year term. Raila is seeking to succeed incumbent Moussa Faki Mahamat, whose second and final term lapses this year. The opposition leader will have the option to seek re-election in 2028 to hold the chairman position for a second term until 2032. However, he must first win his first stab at the top AU role in this year's election set to be held in July. If he wins, Raila may miss out on running for the presidency in the 2027 General Election. "It means that I am going to work for Africa for the period that I'll be in that office. "It doesn't mean that I will not participate in Kenyan politics forever, it is only during that period," Raila stated. The declaration made by Raila has opened the conversation surrounding the next flag bearer for the Azimio coalition. Already, Wiper's Kalonzo Musyoka has declared his interest in the presidency and 2027 is his opportune chance to fly the Azimio flag should Raila be elected AU Chairman. On the other hand, Ruto may find it easy to retain his seat in the next election with Railas absence from the ballot. The Kenyan DAILY POST Friday, February 16, 2024 - Former Prime Minister Raila Odinga has technically retired from Kenyan politics following his announcement on Thursday that he will contest for the African Union chairperson position. Raila, 79, said he is ready to succeed Mousa Faki, who is expected to retire in August. If Raila Odinga succeeds in replacing Faki, he will be required to cease being active in Kenya's politics to allow him to focus on matters affecting the entire continent. Raila Odinga's move to announce that he will contest for the top job has excited President William Rutos sycophants, led by former nominated Senator, Millicent Omanga. In a post on X, Omanga said Raila Odinga is overqualified for the job and has a lot of experience in handling African affairs. A man who ticks all the boxes. We enthusiastically look forward to @RailaOdingabecoming the AU Commission Chairperson. "There has never been a better candidate for this job than Jakom, Omanga wrote. The Kenyan DAILY POST Friday, February 16, 2024 - Wanted fugitive Kevin Kangethe had a lucrative career in the United States of America where he had lived for decades and even gained citizenship. According to K24 TV investigative reporter Franklin Wallah, Kangethe was a senior technician at Chicago Freight, a leading transport company. He had worked at the company for 17 years. Word has it that he was being paid over 44,000 dollars (Ksh 6.3 million) per month. He has reportedly invested in rental apartments in different parts of the city. His financial muscle was evident after he bribed police officers to escape from Muthaiga Police Station. Kangethe had renounced his US citizenship before he murdered his girlfriend and flew to Kenya. Kangethe was arrested in Embulbul, Kajiado County on the outskirts of Nairobi on Tuesday evening as he sought refuge at one of his relatives' homes. The court approved a police application for him to be detained for 30 days while the extradition issue was heard. The Kenyan DAILY POST. Friday, February 16, 2024 - KTN News anchor Ken Mijungu has offered to buy Busia Senator Okiya Omtatah a new car. This is after Omtatah was involved in an accident in Kisumu on his way to Busia but escaped unharmed. He disclosed that the accident happened after a trailer lost control after the brakes failed and hit his Nissan Advan vehicle which was badly damaged As a result, Mijungu offered to change the lifestyle of Omtatah, saying he will not allow him to drive a Nissan Advan car anymore. In a statement via X, Mijungu said the activist has worked hard for Kenyans, and with his status in society, he does not deserve to drive a Nissan Advan. The news anchor noted that he is ready to contribute for Omtatah to buy a Mercedes Benz S-Class. Mijungu disclosed that he has spoken to his friends in the car dealership business to get the Busia Senator a new car. Pole sana my friend senator Okiya Omtatah. You cannot however drive a Nissan Advan. "You are prohibited by your status. "With the work you have done for Kenyans hata kama tutakuchangia tununue S-Class we have to, Mijungu stated. Omtatah chooses to live a modest life despite all the money he earns as the Senator for Busia and the status that comes with it. The Kenyan DAILY POST The International Organization for Migration (IOM) will restore three houses in Irpin and two in the village of Horenka Hostomel community (Kyiv region), which were destroyed by Russian occupiers, Head of the Regional Military Administration Ruslan Kravchenko said. "Today, together with the Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine, Minister for Reintegration of Temporarily Occupied Territories Iryna Vereshchuk, Chief of Mission of IOM Ukraine Alessia Schiavon and representatives of the Irpin and Hostomel communities signed memorandums that should intensify all processes. Houses will be restored within the framework of the project "Improving the Housing Conditions of Internally Displaced Persons in Eastern Ukraine," Kravchenko wrote on Facebook on Friday. According to him, in total, residents of 263 apartments will be able to return to their homes. Kravchenko added, "cooperation with international partners on the restoration of these facilities began last year. All sites were demined. One house, in Irpin, will be built from scratch. Others will be overhauled." Funding is provided by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) through the Credit Institution for Recovery (KfW). In total, as a result of the full-scale invasion in the region, more than 29,000 objects were destroyed, almost 17,000 were restored. This summer, The National Youth Film & Animation School will be hosting 50 young filmmakers and animators at a ten-day residential summer school in Kilkenny. Described as the Gaeltacht for creative people this residential camp is a once in a lifetime experience for any young person aged 16-19 years, interested in filmmaking or animation. This unique programme gives young people an opportunity to meet like minded people, make friends and learn about filmmaking or animation while producing a high quality short film for their college portfolio or industry showreel. Young filmmakers will be immersed in the world of film making with practical training workshops, masterclasses, intensive shooting days and long hours in the edit suite. NYFAS offers script to screen training and mentorship through every step of the creative process; facilitating the students to actively learn the skills and job roles involved in pre production, shooting a film and the final edit. Students will take their scripts from pre-production to shooting post production. Young animators will be given ten days of mentorship and training by the brilliant Matchbox Mountain animation studio and will have the opportunity to work with and learn from professional animators about the traditional methods involved in the animation process including hand-drawn and stop motion animation. Students will have a chance to write, design and create their own animation as well as recording the voices and sound effects and will also learn the ins and outs of character design, backgrounds, layouts and how to shoot and edit their animations. With Kilkenny being the hometown of four-time Oscar nominated Cartoon Saloon, you never know who might pop in to share their experience, wisdom and expertise. Over the years, the National Youth Film and Animation School has attracted young people from all over Ireland, Europe and even the USA for this one-of-a-kind opportunity to work at a professional level on a broadcast quality film production. Many young people have used their work with YIFM as a portfolio piece and gone on to attend film schools such as The National Film School at IADT in Dun Laoghaire. The film school is funded by Screen Ireland. Industry support comes from Screen Guilds Ireland, Cartoon Saloon, the National Talent Academies Film & TV and the National Talent Academy Animation. This unique blend of experience, practice and industry support makes NYFAS the course for aspiring young filmmakers and animators in Ireland. The National Youth Film & Animation School has limited capacity and places will be offered on a first come first served basis so log on to yifm.com to secure your place. The school runs from August 5 to 15 and costs 750. Founded in 1991 Young Irish Film Makers (YIFM) is a dynamic and innovative national youth arts organisation that aims to develop talent, creativity and skills in young people. To register your interest go to yifm.com The U.S. Congress should not hesitate to approve additional funds to help Ukraine; depriving Kyiv of support would have historical consequences, U.S. President Joe Biden said on Friday. We had to provide the funding so Ukraine can keep defending itself. (...) The clock is ticking, Biden said, speaking at the White House. He warned that "the failure to support Ukraine at this critical moment will never be forgotten." "It's going to go down on the pages of history. It really is. It's consequential," he said. The day before, The Hill said the U.S. Democratic congressmen are trying to find alternative ways to approve the White House's request for additional funds to help Ukraine in the House of Representatives. At the same time, the House of Representatives goes on recess until February 28, without holding a vote on this issue. The Hill said Democrats are considering a way to do this by bypassing Speaker of the House of Representatives, Republican Mike Johnson. Earlier, Johnson warned that he was ready to consider a request for Ukraine only at the same time as taking measures to protect the southern U.S. border from the flow of illegal immigrants. Kildalton College in Piltown has triumphed to become overall winners in this year's Macra and Teagasc Colleges Challenges Day, winning on home soil. Teams of 12 students from Teagasc and private agricultural colleges around the country competed in sport, presentations, and land based skills learned during the college year such as stock judging, tractor driving, fencing and teamwork challenges. It was very close competition all day, with the outcome decided at the final challenge. Many thanks to everyone who organised a competitive and enjoyable day. Thanks to Kildalton college for hosting the event and to the staff and judges from Marca, Teagasc, Farm Relief Services (FRS), National Broadband Ireland (NBI) and to Michelle Foley and her team from Tug of War Ireland (TOWI). The FRS Memorial Scholarship Presentation has been a long term feature of the Macra and Teagasc Colleges Challenges Day. The topic this year was Leadership in Sustainability - Focusing on Biodiversity. Collette McInerney, Head of Operations at Farm Relief Services, said: It was wonderful to support and be a judge for the FRS Memorial Scholarship Presentation. I was impressed with the quality, the content, and the obvious work that went into each presentation. It was great to see a group of competitors from such diverse backgrounds levelling up to compete. It is a great testament to their college. Congratulations to Alana Brigdale from Mountbellew Agricultural College for winning the Presentation, and Clonakilty Agricultural College for winning the FRS fencing competition. " National Broadband Ireland (NBI) sponsored the Farm Business and Technology Award for the third year in a row. Niall Beirne, Head of Strategic Partnerships at NBI commented; Congratulations to the students from Kildalton College on their success on winning the NBI Farm Business & Technology Award. This year the students were tasked with demonstrating how fibre broadband is benefiting their farm business. In keeping with previous years, there was a very high standard, and it was clear to the judging panel that a significant amount of research and thought had gone into the submissions. It was great to see different themes emerge as the students highlighted productivity benefits, sustainability benefits, cost savings, as well as social connections as just some of the benefits of high speed, reliable broadband. It was great to hear first-hand the impact that NBI is having on the sustainable development of farms, as well as wider rural communities. Elaine Houlihan, Macra President said: Macra are delighted to support and run such a successful event with Teagasc, FRS, NBI and TOWI. All the students who participated in this year's Colleges Challenges day were exceptional and we would like to thank everyone who participated. Young farmers and rural people play a crucial role in our organisation, and it is great to see the up-and-coming generation of young farmers across the board. Congratulations to Kildalton College on winning this year's Colleges Challenge Day." Dr AnneMarie Butler, Head of Education, Teagasc said; "The annual Challenges Day is a key event on the Teagasc Education calendar. It's great to see learners and staff from all the colleges getting to know each other, competing and having fun. With the variety of challenges, there is an event for all interests and skills. We are delighted to work with Macra, FRS, NBI and TOWI in bringing this event to fruition and wish all learners continued best wishes in their courses and personal development." The winners of the different challenges were: Tug of War Kildalton College Simulator Challenge Clonakilty Agricultural College NBI Farm Business and Technology Award Kildalton College FRS Scholarship Mountbellew Agricultural College Stock Judging - Mountbellew Agricultural College Team Tractor Driving Competition Clonakilty Agricultural College FRS Fencing Clonakilty Agricultural College Problem Solving Competition Kildalton College Final Team Challenge Kildalton College A memorial stone to Antarctic explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton containing Kilkenny limestone has been unveiled at Westminster Abbey on the 150th anniversary of his birth. The Dean of Westminster, David Hoyle, said the service of dedication on Thursday would help sustain Shackletons legacy of wonder. Shackleton, who led three British expeditions to the Antarctic, had helped create a new excitement about science and a deeper reverence for the world in which we live, according to the Very Reverend Hoyle, who dedicated the memorial. He added: Shackletons name conjures up a little bit of an old and familiar narrative about a great man with remarkable courage and resilience. That is true but it does not do justice to his achievement. Shackleton was more than an explorer, he was a storyteller. A pioneer in photography and film and an inspiring speaker, he planted the idea and image of the Antarctic in our imaginations. The stone is in the Abbeys south cloister, close to a memorial to pioneering sailors Captain James Cook, Sir Francis Chichester and Sir Francis Drake. The stones sculptor Will Davies incorporated Kilkenny limestone and Connemara marble into the memorial to reflect Shackletons Irish heritage he was born in Kilkea, Co Kildare, on February 15, 1874. The stone is also inscribed with the names of Shackletons expedition ships and his family motto, fortitudine vincimus by endurance we conquer. Shackletons first experience of the polar regions was as third officer on Captain Robert Falcon Scotts Discovery expedition of 19011904, from which he was sent home early on health grounds. In 1907, his Nimrod expedition aimed to be the first to reach the South Pole and although this was not achieved, it was the first expedition in history to travel within 100 miles of the South Pole and successfully ascend Mount Erebus, Antarcticas second highest volcano. Shackletons Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition of 1914-1917 hoped to achieve the first land crossing of Antarctica from the Weddell Sea via the South Pole to the Ross Sea. The expeditions ship, Endurance, became stuck in pack ice and sank in the Weddell Sea in 1915, and was lost until it was located by a British-led expedition in 2022, months after the 100th anniversary of Shackletons death. The survival of Shackletons crew despite the sinking of Endurance highlighted his exceptional leadership, Westminster Abbey said. During his lifetime, Shackleton was awarded the Polar Medal and he is remembered as one of the key figures associated with the period known as the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration. Please allow ads as they help fund our trusted local news content. Kindly add us to your ad blocker whitelist. If you want further access to Ireland's best local journalism, consider contributing and/or subscribing to our free daily Newsletter . Support our mission and join our community now. BAKU, Azerbaijan, February 16. Islamophobia has become a "political epidemic" in Europe, said Deputy Director General of Trend News Agency, Head of Turkic World media platform, and political scientist Rufiz Hafizoglu, Trend reports. "Islamophobia is on the rise in many European countries, escalating into a widespread "political epidemic." This phenomena is coordinated by political factions throughout the Western Hemisphere, with a particular emphasis on France. The current situation in many Western nations resembles the pre-Second World War era in Germany, typified by the rising influence of radical right-wing and nationalist beliefs," he said. Hafizoglu reminded out that Western nations, which presently advocate for human rights and democracy, are far from respecting actual democratic norms. "For some odd reason, burning the Quran in front of police is considered a human right, whereas objecting to it is regarded as extremist. When dealing with numerous Muslim countries, Western countries, particularly France, use double standards," the political scientist added. He claims that many of Europe's venues are no longer used for dialogue, but rather as pressure mechanisms. Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel BAKU, Azerbaijan, February 15. A trilateral meeting of the foreign ministers of Azerbaijan, Turkiye and Georgia will take place in March, the Georgian Foreign Ministry said, Trend reports. As noted in the statement, on February 15, Georgian Foreign Minister Ilia Darchiashvili made an official visit to the Republic of Turkiye . "During the visit, Ilya Darchiashvili held a bilateral meeting with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkiye Hakan Fidan. The Foreign Ministers of Georgia and Turkiye discussed important issues included in the agenda of the strategic partnership between the two countries, including issues of cooperation in trade, economics, energy, transport, strategic regional projects, cultural and humanitarian sphere. The ministers assessed the successful dynamics of bilateral trade and economic relations," the department said. As noted, the parties attention was focused on the implementation of strategic transit and energy projects. "The parties reviewed the transit potential of Georgia, Azerbaijan and Turkiye . In this context, they noted the importance of developing the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway, as well as the Middle Corridor. The importance of holding high-level visits and the creation of a high-level Strategic Cooperation Council between Georgia and Turkiye . Particular attention was paid to the ongoing processes and security challenges in the region. At the meeting, Turkiyes strong support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Georgia was once again confirmed, the statement noted. At the same time, the parties also emphasized the need for sustainable and stable development of the region, the role of Georgia and Turkiye in ensuring peace in the region. They noted the successful format of trilateral cooperation between Georgia, Turkiye and Azerbaijan, within the framework of which a trilateral meeting of the foreign ministers of Georgia, Turkiye and Azerbaijan will take place in March. BAKU, Azerbaijan, February 16. The foundation of Azerbaijan's success lies in the strong economy established within the country, Chairman of the Milli Majlis (Parliament) of Azerbaijan Azer Badamov told Trend. During the inauguration ceremony, President Ilham Aliyev delivered a substantial speech, recognizing accomplishments in numerous areas and defining new goals for a resilient Azerbaijan in the coming years. Over the last two decades, under the leadership of the head of state, Azerbaijan has successfully navigated a substantial and victorious journey, principally based on prolonged sociopolitical stability and the building of a solid economy. Badamov highlighted that without assuring the country's economic prosperity, achieving other goals would be difficult. "Ensuring the country's economic independence was critical for carrying out socioeconomic projects, bolstering the army, and pursuing an independent foreign policy. Thanks to President Ilham Aliyev's wise and forward-thinking economic policies, Azerbaijan has achieved major leaps in growth, emerging as a robust state capable of restoring justice. Examining our country's economic landscape over the last two decades indicates success in many aspects of life. Examining major economic statistics from this time period will provide a more in-depth understanding of the situation. For example, the GDP was $7 billion in 2003 and is expected to reach $72 billion in 2023. Over the last 20 years, our foreign currency reserves have climbed from $1.6 billion to $70 billion, and the minimum wage has risen from 9 to 345 manat (from $5 to $202), while the minimum pension has risen from 200 to 280 manat ($117 to $164). The average pension in the country has grown to 500 manat ($294), while the average salary has increased to 940 manat ($553). Our country's external public debt has gone below 9%. In comparison, industrialized countries' foreign public debts approach 100% of GDP. This statistic serves as a significant benchmark, reflecting Azerbaijan's economic development in comparison to the global economy," the MP said. He mentioned that $320 billion of investments have been put into the country's economy. "Comprehensive opportunities have been established to foster the growth of the country's non-oil sector. The expansion of Azerbaijan's economy led to the establishment of new enterprises, contributing to the alleviation of the unemployment issue. In 2003, the unemployment rate stood at 50 percent, whereas today it has declined to 5 percent. Additionally, 14,800 apartments and 7,600 cars have been allocated to martyr families and veterans. Furthermore, a state program aiming to provide housing for 100 percent of families in this category is underway over the next two years. The main objectives for the upcoming period include enhancing our country's transit logistics capabilities, sustaining the growth of the oil and gas sector, fostering the development of the private sector, optimizing the investment climate, advancing digitalization in the economy, promoting the renewable energy sector, addressing technological development challenges, and tackling various other issues. I am confident that under the leadership of President Ilham Aliyev, our economy will fortify, the social welfare of the people will improve, and our international standing will strengthen in the new period," the MP added. Stay up to date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel Altogether, the project will add a third lane east west bound on interstate 70 from Blue Springs on the Kansas City side and to Wentzville on the St. Louis side. There is 2.8 billion dollars that passed through the general assembly to fund this entire project Portions of a Norfolk Southern freight train that derailed the night before burn in East Palestine, Ohio, on February 4, 2023. Chinook Tyee Industry Ltd (CVE:XCX Get Free Report)s stock price was up 21.6% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as C$0.53 and last traded at C$0.45. Approximately 203,469 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 356% from the average daily volume of 44,615 shares. The stock had previously closed at C$0.37. Chinook Tyee Industry Stock Up 21.6 % The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.15, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 1.55. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of C$0.45 and a 200 day simple moving average of C$0.45. The company has a market capitalization of C$9.10 million and a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.60. About Chinook Tyee Industry (Get Free Report) Chinook Tyee Industry Limited operates as a financial service company in Canada. The company was formerly known as Global Railway Industries Ltd. and changed its name to Chinook Tyee Industry Limited in August 2013. Chinook Tyee Industry Limited is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada. See Also Receive News & Ratings for Chinook Tyee Industry Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Chinook Tyee Industry and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Kendallville, IN (46755) Today Mostly cloudy with snow flurries and snow showers, especially in the afternoon. High around 35F. Winds NW at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of snow 40%.. Tonight Partly cloudy skies this evening will become overcast overnight. A few flurries are possible. Low 27F. Winds W at 10 to 20 mph. BAKU, Azerbaijan, February 16. The Parliament of Azerbaijan has approved Ali Asadov's candidacy for the role of Prime Minister in today's session, Trend reports. Article 118 of the Constitution, which specifies the method for appointing the Prime Minister of the Republic of Azerbaijan, states that the President of Azerbaijan appoints the Prime Minister with the permission of Parliament. The President of the Republic of Azerbaijan presents a proposal for the Prime Minister's candidacy to Parliament within one month of taking office or within two weeks of the resignation of the Republic of Azerbaijan's Cabinet of Ministers. The Parliament decides on the candidacy of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Azerbaijan within one week from the day of its submission. In the event of a violation of this timeframe or if the candidates proposed by the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan are rejected three times, the President may appoint the Prime Minister without the Parliament's consent. On February 14, the inauguration ceremony of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev was held in Parliament. Stay up to date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel In an exciting turn of events, it has been reported by Hankook Ilbo Korea on February 16th that the renowned South Korean band DAY6 is poised for a much-anticipated comeback this March. This revelation marks a significant moment for fans, as it signals the group's return to the music scene after a hiatus of nearly three years since the release of their sixth mini-album, 'The Book of Us: Negentropy,' back in April 2021. A Return Worth Waiting For The news of DAY6's impending comeback has ignited a wave of enthusiasm among their dedicated fanbase. With all members having fulfilled their mandatory military duties, anticipation for the band's return has been steadily building. The reported comeback quickly became a trending topic across various online communities in South Korea, with netizens expressing their excitement and eagerness for what lies ahead. INCASE YOU MISSED THIS: WATCH: Day6 stuns internet with amazing cover of Ed Sheeran's 'Shape of You' Netizens' Reactions Reactions from netizens flooded social media platforms, reflecting the collective sentiment of fans eagerly awaiting DAY6's return: "They're making a comeback sooner than I thought haha. They must have been really busy haha. I'm looking forward to the song.... I've been listening to Flee Desik's songs a lot lately haha." "Wow, I think this place has spent the plague and military service ideally, but I wonder how much Won Ki-ok saved. It would be nice if it was regular." "I think everyone has high expectations. I hope the song is good. I hope there will be a lot of people at the outdoor festival this year, but there hasn't been anything on the lineup yet, right?" "Something big is coming" "Wow, congratulations to the whole group! I want to go to a Japanese concert because there are a lot of songs I learned during my military service." "Finally!!!!!!" "Looks like they're going to hit a home run this time." "I'm looking forward to it. It's crazy fast!" "Passing by listeners are also looking forward to it." "Hey, please do a concert too!!!" "This is my first comeback since I got addicted to them." YOU MIGHT BE ALSO INTERESTED IN: DAY6 MV Plagiarized by Arashi? K-Pop Band's MV Directors and JYPE Respond For more K-Pop news and updates, keep your tabs open here at KpopStarz. KpopStarz owns this article. Written by Cassidy Jones. BAKU, Azerbaijan, February 16. Milli Majlis (Parliament) of Azerbaijan has sent a congratulatory letter to President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, Trend reports, referring to the statement made by Chairman Sahiba Gafarova at today's parliamentary session. She highlighted that, representing all MPs, she sent a congratulatory letter to President Ilham Aliyev for his re-election, extending heartfelt congratulations and conveying best wishes. The MPs welcomed the sending of the congratulatory letter with applause. Stay up to date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel The E2024 team documented their five-day trip to the nation's capital in July of 2023, during which they interviewed current and former politicians, meeting the people who embody our nations capital. Along the way, they embarked on adventures, and chronicled them on a nightly podcast with behind-the-scenes moments and adventures through Washington, D.C. New Delhi [India], February 16 (ANI): The newly elected board of directors of the National Federation of Cooperative Sugar Factories led by the Federation's president Harshvardhan Patil met Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Amit Shah at his residence. Meanwhile, to achieve the vision of "Sahakar se Samriddhi" the Ministry of Cooperation has taken some initiatives in consultation with various Ministries/Departments of the Government of India, State/UT Governments, National Cooperative Federations, Statutory and Non-Statutory bodies such as NABARD, NDDB, NCDC, NFDB etc. since its formation i.e. July 6, 2021. Also Read | Arms Loot Case in Manipur: Seven Rifles Personnel Suspended in Imphal; Internet Suspended in Churachandpur. There are around 8,02,639 Cooperative Societies in 29 different sectors in the Country out of which numbers of cooperative societies in the States of Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh and Jharkhand are 81307, 17659, and 11448, respectively. "As per Schedule II of the Multi-State Cooperative Societies (Act), 2002 (as amended) 19 Multi-State Cooperative Societies are listed as National level Co-operative Societies. However, out of these 19 National Federations, only IFFCO is of the size and scale of AMUL. The turnover of IFFCO for the Financial Year 2022-23 was Rs. 60, 324 Crores." Ministry of Cooperation said. Also Read | PSL 2024 Schedule, Free PDF Download Online: Get Fixtures, Time Table With Match Timings in IST and Venue Details of Pakistan Super League Season Nine. "To strengthen PACS, a Centrally Sponsored Scheme for the Computerization of 63,000 functional PACS with a total financial outlay of Rs 2,516 Crore is under implementation, which entails bringing all functional PACS in the Country to a common ERP-based national software, linking them with NABARD through StCBs and DCCBs. For this, a total fund of Rs 488.42 crore has been released to the States/UTs by the Central government for hardware purchase, digitization and setting up of support systems." said the release. To computerize the Offices of Registrar of Cooperative Societies of the States/UTs, Rs 95 crore will be released as a Central Share to the States/UTs under a Centrally Sponsored Scheme. This will increase transparency and accountability and will also bring uniformity in the cooperative ecosystem. (ANI) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) PRNewswire Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], February 16: UiPath (NYSE: PATH), a leading enterprise automation software company, today announced the winners of the 2024 UiPath Academic Alliance India Awards, at the 2024 UiPath Academic Summit held in Bengaluru, India. The award honors top institutions and educators who have played a significant role in impacting India's automation education and ecosystem development. This year, 24 partner institutions and educators have been recognized respectively under the Partner of the Year, Educator of the Year and Special Awards categories. Also Read | Farmers Delhi Chalo March: Farmer To Stay Put at Punjab-Haryana Borders Over Various Demands As Deadlock Persists Despite Talks With Union Ministers. Rajesh Nambiar, Director of Academic and Learning Alliances, APJ, UiPath said: "Automation will play a crucial role in unlocking the transformative potential of AI at work. For AI to deliver real value in India, building a strong ecosystem with an automation-ready workforce will be critical. Through the 2024 UiPath Academic Alliance India Awards, we are acknowledging the contributions of our partners and recognizing their impact on India's automation education and ecosystem development." The 2024 UiPath Academic Alliance India Awards winners are: Also Read | From Vidheyan to Bramayugam, 5 Movies Where Mammootty Memorably Played Irredeemable Antagonists!. Partner of the Year: Recognize partner institutions for their excellence in citizen development, curriculum integration, automation literacy, strategic alliances, social impact, and innovation. - Automation Literacy - Acropolis Institute of Technology and Research, Indore- Social Impact - ICT Academy, Chennai- Innovation - Mangalore Institute of Technology & Engineering, Mangaluru- Rising Star - BNM Institute of Technology, Bengaluru- Curriculum Integration - PSGR Krishnammal College for Women, Coimbatore- High Impact Social Projects - JECRC University, Jaipur- Strategic Alliance - FutureSkills Prime - A MeitY nasscom initiative- Citizen Developer Efforts - Sri Krishna College of Engineering and Technology (SKCET), Coimbatore- Best Student Group - Rajalakshmi Engineering College, Chennai Educator of the Year: Awards educators who have positively impacted their students, through outstanding teaching skills and innovative teaching methods. It also honors those who commit to academic research, engage in community outreach and service-learning projects, and actively engage in continuous learning. - Professional Development - Shilpa Prabhu Patil, East Point Group of Institutions- Mentorship - Dr. Preethi Harris, Sri Ramakrishna Engineering College- Community Engagement - Dr. Priya Jadhav, Symbiosis Institute of Technology Pune- Research and Publications - Dr. Ganeshayya Shidaganti, M S Ramaiah Institute of Technology- Student Impact - Pavithra Ragunathan, KGiSL Institute of Technology- Leadership in Education - Bhuvaneswaran B, Rajalakshmi Engineering College- Curriculum Innovation - Sidiq Sherif, ICT Academy- Teaching Excellence - Dr. Gireesh Kumar, Manipal University Jaipur Special awards were also given out to top institutions and educators for their contributions to advancing the automation education and ecosystem development, through the UiPath Academic Alliance Program. Automation Education Accelerator: Recognizes the exceptional contributions to accelerate and advance automation education with the UiPath Academic Alliance Program. - Honeywell Special Jury Partner: Presented to an exceptional educational institution that has demonstrated outstanding commitment, innovation, and impact in collaboration with the UiPath Academic Alliance Program. - Model Institute of Engineering and Technology, Jammu Automation Education Advocate: Recognizes individuals who raised awareness, promoted collaboration, and drove initiatives that contribute to the growth and improvement of education in the field of automation. - Dr. S N Chandrashekara, Principal, C Byregowda Institute of Technology, Kolar, Karnataka- Dr. Devi Thirupathi, Former Professor and Head - Department of Computer Applications- Bharathiar University, Coimbatore- Dr. M Kannan, Professor and Head of Computer Science & Engg, Mahendra Engineering College, Namakkal- Dr. Prakash Sheelvanth, Senior Vice President, East Point Group of Colleges, Bengaluru Distinguished Alumnus: Honors individuals who graduated from a partner institution and leveraged UiPath technologies to drive positive change. These individuals have demonstrated excellence in automation practices and contributed to the education and mentorship of aspiring automation professionals. - Aswin Bhaskar, Senior RPA Developer, Billennium India The UiPath Academic Alliance envisions a workforce fluent in automation technologies and empowered to find engaging, creative and strategic careers. Institutions that join the Alliance are provided free courses, free access to UiPath software for students and educators, and the ability to network with the highly active community of global automation professionals and users. UiPath first rolled out the Academic Alliance program in India in January 2019. Within 3 years, the ecosystem has established thriving partnerships with over 1,000 academic institutions in India's vocational and higher education sector, impacting more than 350,000 students with the help of over 1,250 educators. To learn more about the UiPath Academic Alliance, please visit: https://www.uipath.com/rpa/academic-alliance About UiPath UiPath (NYSE: PATH) is on a mission to uplevel knowledge work so more people can work more creatively, collaboratively, and strategically. The AI-powered UiPath Business Automation Platform combines the leading robotic process automation (RPA) solution with a full suite of capabilities to understand, automate, and operate end-to-end processes, offering unprecedented time-to-value. For organizations that need to evolve to survive and thrive through increasingly changing times, UiPath is The Foundation of Innovation. Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2341141/UiPath_Award_Winners.jpgLogo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2341148/UiPath_Logo.jpg (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) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Nellore, February 16: A bird flu outbreak has been confirmed in Andhra Pradesh's Nellore district after several chickens died in two villages in the past few days. The samples of the dead chickens were sent to a laboratory in Bhopal, where the test results confirmed the presence of the avian influenza virus, said authorities. The district collector Hari Narayan convened an emergency meeting with the officials of the animal husbandry department and instructed them to take all necessary steps to contain the spread of the disease. He ordered the closure of all chicken shops for three months within a one-kilometre radius from Chatagutla of Podalakur mandal and Gumalladibba of Kovur mandal, where the deaths occurred. Bird Flu Outbreak in Jharkhand: Over 400 Chickens Die in Last Five Days in Government Poultry Farm in Bokaro. He also directed the officials to bury the dead chickens in the ground and conduct gram sabhas in the affected villages to create awareness among the people. The collector appealed to the public not to panic and assured them that the situation was under control. He said that the health department was monitoring the situation and taking precautionary measures to prevent any human infection. Bird Flu Outbreak: WHO Confirms Another Case of Avian Influenza H5N1 Virus in Chinese Woman. He advised the people to avoid contact with poultry and report any symptoms of fever, cough or sore throat to the nearest health centre. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Bhubaneswar, February 16: The Election Commission on Friday held important discussions with representatives of political parties in Bhubaneswar on the first day of their visit to the poll-bound state. These discussions were aimed at ensuring a comprehensive review of election preparedness and fostering cooperation among all stakeholders, a press release from the Chief Electoral Office (CEO) Odisha read. The ECI team conducted a review of poll preparedness for simultaneous elections to both the Lok Sabha and the Odisha Assembly. At the outset, the Commission sought the views and concerns of the representatives of various recognised national and regional political parties. The focus was on soliciting active cooperation to uphold the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) in letter and spirit and to ensure a smooth electoral process. Each party had ample opportunity for a patient hearing of their perspectives and concerns by the Commission.Following this, the Commission and the delegation delved into detailed discussions with the District Collectors-cum-District Election Officers, and other officials responsible for election management across the state, the release said. Lok Sabha Elections 2024: Election Commission on Tour of States To Review Preparations for General Polls. They assessed various aspects, such as the readiness of the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), voter demographics, training status of election staff, and infrastructure setup at polling booths. The meeting involved high-ranking Police officers in the state as well.The high-level delegation comprised Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar, Election Commissioner of India Arun Goel, Senior Deputy Election Commissioners Dharmendra Sharma and Nitesh Vyas, Deputy Election Commissioner Manoj Kumar Sahu, Director General of Media and B Narayanan. Chief Electoral Officer of Odisha and Additional Chief Secretary to Government Nikunja Bihari Dhal and Additional Chief Electoral Officer N Thirumala Naik were also part of the review meeting, the release said. Lok Sabha Elections 2024: 96.88 Crore People Registered To Vote for General Polls, Announces Election Commission. Odisha has 21 Parliamentary constituencies. In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) got the maximum number of seats followed by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress. The BJD won 12 seats, BJP bagged 8 and the Congress won one seat. The state has 147 Assembly constituencies. The BJD swept the state in the last polls, winning 113 seats in the 2019 elections held simultaneously with the general elections. The BJP came a distant second with 23 seats, followed by the Congress with 9, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) with 1 and an Independent candidate bagging another seat. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Chandigarh [India], February 16 (ANI): Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Friday said that he has requested the Centre to direct the Haryana government to 'maintain peace' in border areas in view of the farmers' 'Delhi Chalo' agitation. Meanwhile, the third round of talks between the Union ministers and the 14 farmer union leaders concluded after around five hours on Friday. It ended in a stalemate, with no common ground in sight, the next round of the talks will take place on Sunday at 6 pm. Also Read | Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde Holds Meeting With London Lord Mayor Michael Mainelli (See Pic). Bhagwant Mann, while addressing the media after the meeting with union ministers, said that the deliberation took place on 13-14 demands put forward by the farmers. "We have had the meeting in a positive environment on 13-14 demands. The next meeting will take place on Sunday... The Internet in the border areas has been suspended. This is causing problems for students during the examinations... I requested the Centre to direct the Haryana government to maintain peace in border areas," Mann said. Also Read | Delhi: Woman Sustains Minor Injuries After Iron Pipe Falls on Scooter From Subhash Nagar Metro Station (Watch Video). Mann further said that the problems of the people of Punjab are also a concern. "The next meeting is on Sunday... There have been agreements on a lot of topics... Law and order and problems of the people of Punjab are also a concern... We should not have a scarcity of fuel or milk or anything that comes from outside..." he added. Earlier, the Haryana government, led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has announced the extension of internet shutdown in districts including Ambala, Kurukshetra, Kaithal, Jind, Hisar, Fatehabad and Sirsa tomorrow in view of the 'Delhi Chalo' march by the farmers. This is the third time that internet services have been suspended in the state this month, due to the protests. On February 13, the state government extended the suspension of these services for two days. According to the order, the suspension of the mobile internet services, bulk SMS (excluding banking and mobile recharge) and all dongle services, etc. provided on mobile networks except voice calls in the jurisdiction of Ambala, Kurukshetra, Kaithal, Jind, Hisar, Fatehabad and Sirsa districts has been extended till February 17. On Tuesday, farmers from Punjab faced tear gas shells at two border points as protesters tried to break past barricades set up by the Haryana Police to stop them from heading to the national capital. The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha are spearheading the 'Delhi Chalo' agitation to put pressure on the Centre over their demands, including a law on minimum support price for crops and loan waivers. Meanwhile, Union Minister Arjun Munda said that the third round of talks with the leaders of the protesting farmers was, however, "positive". "Today, a very positive discussion happened between the government and the farmers' unions. Focusing on the topics highlighted by the farmers' union, we have decided that the next meeting will take place on Sunday at 6 pm... We all will find a solution peacefully...," Munda said. Union Ministers Piyush Goyal, Arjun Munda and Minister of State (MoS) for Home Affairs, Nityanand Rai, represented the central government at the meeting. Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann was also present at the meeting. Samyukt Kisan Morcha (non-political) convenor Jagjit Singh Dallewal, speaking about the meeting said that the Centre asks for more time for a detailed discussion over the demands. "We had a detailed discussion with the three Union ministers (Piyush Goyal, Arjun Munda and Nityanand Rai). After the discussion, the government said that the demands require a detailed discussion. They have decided Sunday for the next (fourth) round of meeting," Dallewal said. Previous talks with the representatives of the farm bodies also had turned out to be unfruitful, which spurred the farmers to come up with 'Delhi Chalo' march. The first meeting between the farmer leaders and the centre took place on February 8, while the second was held on February 12. Earlier today, protesting farmers from Rajpura in Punjab's Patiala were sitting on rail tracks and blocking trains at Rajpura Railway Station as part of their protest, which has escalated ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. According to the protesting farmers, the centre promised them better crop prices, after which they ended the 2021 protest. They are demanding to enact a law guaranteeing a minimum support price (MSP) for all crops, as recommended by the Swaminathan Commission report.They are also demanding a complete debt waiver and a scheme to provide pensions to farmers and farm labourers. The farmers have also urged to scrap the Electricity Amendment Bill 2020 and are demanding to reintroduce the Land Acquisition Act of 2013, ensuring consent from farmers and compensation at 4 times the collector rate. Further, they are demanding to punish those involved in the Lakhimpur Kheri killings. An appeal to provide 200 days of employment per year and a daily wage of Rs 700 under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005 (MGNREGA), linking it with farming, has also been made by the farmers. Also, they have demanded compensation to the families of farmers who died during the protests in 2021 and a job for any family member. In 2020, farmers protested against three laws at Delhi borders, after which they were repealed by the centre in 2021. These laws were The Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, and The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act. (ANI) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Hazaribag (Jharkhand), Feb 16 (PTI) Enraged residents surrounded Chalkusha police station in Jharkhand's Hazaribag district after five persons, who were arrested in connection with the abduction of an eight-year-old boy from Chandni Chowk locality on February 14, allegedly confessed to police that the boy had been killed and his body dumped in Tilaiya dam, a senior police officer said. Dinesh Shah, father of the abducted boy Deepak, informed police that his son was kidnapped by five men from the same locality with the intention of extorting money. Also Read | Arms Loot Case in Manipur: Seven Rifles Personnel Suspended in Imphal; Internet Suspended in Churachandpur. Shah, a JCB driver by profession in Mumbai, had been planning to purchase a JCB machine through bank loan. However, his neighbours assumed that he must have a significant amount of money and conspired to kidnap the boy to extract a ransom, SP Arvind Kumar Singh said. The kidnappers demanded Rs 5 lakh from Shah on Thursday and threatened to kill his son if their demand was not met, he said. Also Read | India Approves Defence Purchase Worth Rs 84,560 Crore; Procurement Include Mid-Air Refuellers, Maritime Aircraft and Heavy Weight-Torpedoes. Upon receiving the ransom call, Shah's wife Chameli Devi, who had previously filed a complaint after her son went missing, learned of her son's kidnapping. She promptly informed Chalkusha police about it, he added. Police swiftly acted on the information and arrested five persons. However, the accused denied involvement in the kidnapping but disclosed that the boy had been killed and his body thrown into Tilaiya Dam. The body of the boy has not yet been recovered as water in the reservoir is very deep. An NDRF team from Ranchi has been called in to assist in locating the body, police said. Police are conducting raids to apprehend the actual culprits who orchestrated the kidnapping. The SP assured the bereaved family that police would soon apprehend the culprits and requested the protesters to disperse. Singh said the kidnappers were not professional criminals but committed the crime out of greed to extort money from Shah. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) BAKU, Azerbaijan, February 16. During a parliemantary session, Azerbaijan's acting Prime Minister Ali Asadov extended gratitude to President Ilham Aliyev, Trend reports. "First of all, I am deeply grateful to President Ilham Aliyev for nominating me for the office of Prime Minister of the Republic of Azerbaijan and for the tremendous trust put in me," he said. "Once again, I warmly congratulate President Ilham Aliyev on his confident and brilliant victory in the presidential election, which, for the first time in the history of independent Azerbaijan, covered all our sovereign territories and is forever inscribed in our glorious history as the victory election," added the acting prime minister. To note, the Azerbaijani parliament has discussed the issue of "approval of the candidacy of Ali Asadov for the position of Prime Minister of the Republic of Azerbaijan." After the discussion, the issue was put to a vote, and the parliament approved Asadov's appointment as the Prime Minister of Azerbaijan. New Delhi, Feb 16 (PTI) A civil rights groups-led fact-finding team has claimed that the violent clashes that shook Haldwani on February 8 was not an isolated incident but rather the culmination of escalating communal tensions fuelled by divisive rhetoric and policies. Violence broke out on February 8 over the demolition of an illegally built madrassa in the Banbhoolpura area, with locals hurling stones and petrol bombs at municipal workers and police, forcing many police personnel to seek refuge at a police station, which the mob then set on fire. Also Read | Maratha Quota Matter: Manoj Jarange-Patil Hails MSBCC Panel Report, but Will Continue Agitation. In the clashes, six "rioters" were killed and more than a 100, including police personnel and mediapersons, were injured, according to the police. A look-out notice has been issued against Haldwani violence key accused Abdul Malik and his son Abdul Moid, while five more rioters have been arrested, police said on Friday. Also Read | Gurugram: Two Arrested for Sending 'Dirty and Objectionable Messages' Through Fake Instagram ID, Probe Underway. A civil society fact-finding team comprising members of the Association for Protection of Civil Rights and Karawan-e-Mohabbat had visited Haldwani on Wednesday. The team's report claimed that despite the matter being sub judice, authorities moved to demolish the sealed mosque and madrasa, triggering anguish in the Muslim community. The situation quickly escalated with clashes erupting between residents and law enforcement. The report cited witnesses' testimony and alleged excessive use of force by police, including indiscriminate firing and brutality during searches and detention. The report criticized the prolonged imposition of curfew and internet shutdown, exacerbating the hardships faced by the already vulnerable residents, particularly women and children. Because the area directly affected by violence on February 8 continued to be under curfew, it was not possible for the team members to directly meet and talk to the affected people, it said. "We also reached out to members of the district administration however they either did not respond or informed us that they were very busy and therefore unable to meet us. "Therefore, this is an interim report based on the conversations with a large number of members of civil society, journalists, writers and lawyers; and telephone conversations with a few affected persons who spoke to us on the condition of anonymity," the report said. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Shimla (Himachal Pradesh) [India], February 16 (ANI): Leader of Opposition and former chief minister Jairam Thakur held a meeting with the protesting junior officer assistant (IT) candidates and assured them he would take up the issue regarding the exam results in the assembly on Friday afternoon. Candidates who appeared for the post of junior office assistant (JOA) in Himachal Pradesh have been staging a protest and hunger strike, demanding immediate action from the state government to release the pending exam results. Also Read | India Now Ranks As Third Largest Digitalised Country Among G20 Nations After US and China: Report. Leader of Opposition Jairam Thakur reached Chauda Maidan in Shimla on the third day of the budget session in the state assembly to meet the JOA IT candidates sitting on strike. While interacting with the candidates, Thakur said he raised the issue in the House yesterday also and alleged that the present Sukhwinder Singh Sukhwinder Sukhu government enjoys stopping the work procedure rather than getting it done. Also Read | PM Narendra Modi Lays Foundation Stone for NLC India's Solar Power Plant in Rajasthan's Barsingsar. He said that despite the orders of the Supreme Court, the recruitment process has not been taken forward yet and that due to this, the candidates have to sit on protests in such cold weather. Taking a dig at the present Sukhu government, Jairam Thakur said that this government is fond of stopping work and that is the reason why the government has not given any new employment even after promising one lakh jobs. The protesting candidates have threatened to carry out their hunger strikes until their demands are met and have sat in protest in Chaura Maidan, near Himachal Pradesh's Vidhan Sabha for the past few days. Earlier last week, hundreds of job candidates, accompanied by their families, raised slogans against the government outside the Himachal Pradesh secretariat in Shimla. Parents of the candidates emphasised the unfulfilled promises made by the ruling Congress government regarding employment opportunities for the state's youth. Scores of youth who appeared in various examinations are waiting for results to be declared. These job seekers and the aspirants for the different posts, where thousands of youth appeared in different examinations for thousands of posts in different departments of the state government, have warned of protests. Speaking to ANI, Anshul Kashyap, a protester, said, "We want the government to declare our results, we shall continue our protest until the Chief Minister comes to meet us, the government is not worried about us. We are dealing with cold conditions, and youth are getting ill. The government should surrender if you are not able to deal with it. We shall continue the hunger strike until the recruitment process is started." The demonstrations have brought attention to the growing pressure on the government to resolve the issues raised by job seekers and fulfill its commitments to empower Himachal Pradesh's youth. As the protests and hunger strikes rise, all eyes are on the authorities to put an end to the matter quickly and ease the aspirants' concerns. (ANI) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Srinagar (Jammu and Kashmir) [India], February 16 (ANI): A massive fire broke out at the MLA hostel in Jammu and Kashmir's Srinagar district, officials said on Friday. Officials further said that there are no immediate reports of casualties or injuries in the incident. Also Read | PM Modi Rajasthan Visit: Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Lay Foundation Stone of NLCs 300 MW Solar Power Plant in Bikaner Today. "Fire broke out at an MLA hostel in Srinagar. Fire tenders are at the spot, and efforts to douse the fire are underway," officials said. The exact cause of the fire is being ascertained, officials said. Also Read | Uttar Pradesh: Yogi Adityanath Government Resolves To Eradicate Filariasis in State by 2026. More details are awaited. (ANI) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) New Delhi, Feb 16 (PTI) External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Friday held talks with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken with a focus on key bilateral issues as well as the situation in West Asia, Ukraine and the Indo-Pacific. The meeting took place in Munich on the sidelines of a security conference. Also Read | India and Colombia Sign MoU on Sharing Open-Sourced Digital Public Infrastructures. "Great to meet my friend US @SecBlinken this afternoon on #MSC2024 sidelines. Our talk centered on the situation in West Asia, Ukraine and Indo-Pacific. Reviewed the continuing progress in our bilateral ties," Jaishankar said on X. Jaishankar and Blinken are learnt to have deliberated on various aspects of India-US strategic ties. Also Read | Arvind Kejriwal ED Summons: Delhi CM Likely To Appear Before Court on February 17 in Case of Evading Enforcement Directorate Summons. There has been a major upswing in India-US ties in the last few years, especially in the spheres of defence and high-technology. Over two weeks ago, the Biden administration notified the US Congress on its proposed supply of 31 MQ-9B Predator long endurance drones to India. The move was seen as significant forward movement to firming up the mega deal that was announced during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Washington in June last year. The Defence Security Cooperation Agency of the US government delivered the required certification notifying Congress of this possible sale. The Jaishankar-Blinken talks also came amid some unease between the two sides following Washington's allegations in December that it thwarted an alleged plot hatched by an Indian agent to kill Sikh separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun on American soil. The US federal prosecutors charged Indian national Nikhil Gupta of working with an Indian government employee in the foiled plot. India has already constituted a probe committee to investigate allegations. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Ranchi, Feb 16 (PTI) Jharkhand Governor CP Radhakrishnan on Friday said he expected that the new Champai Soren government in the state would concentrate on maintaining law and order in the state. Soon after administering the oath of office and secrecy to eight ministers in the new JMM-led coalition in the state, the governor reiterated that his prime concern was law and order. Also Read | India and Colombia Sign MoU on Sharing Open-Sourced Digital Public Infrastructures. My first expectation from the government is that it should concentrate on law and order, the gangsters and their gang leaders and they should be controlled. They should not be allowed to take the law into their hands, Radhakrishnan, who has repeatedly expressed concern over deteriorating law and order in the state, said. He expressed hope that the Champai Soren government will focus on these issues. Also Read | Arvind Kejriwal ED Summons: Delhi CM Likely To Appear Before Court on February 17 in Case of Evading Enforcement Directorate Summons. Apart from law and order, the governor said, the new government should accord priority to imparting good education to the youth in the state. Preliminary education is improving. We will also have to concentrate on higher education. The recruitment (on vacant posts of teachers) has to be done, he said. The governor added that he has repeatedly been requesting the government to create one special Jharkhand Public Service Commission for recruiting the teaching and non-teaching staff for universities. Through that we have to recruit the right people based on merit so that the next 30 years will be taken care of for the youngsters, he said. Earlier, the governor administered the oath of office and secrecy to eight ministers who were inducted into the new JMM-led coalition government at Raj Bhavan. The new faces in the 11-member cabinet are JMM's Chaibasa MLA Deepak Birua and Basant Soren, the youngest son of the JMM supremo Shibu Soren and younger brother of jailed former Chief Minister Hemant Soren. Earlier on February two, 67-year-old Champai Soren was sworn in as the 12th chief minister of the state, while senior Congress leader Alamgir Alam and RJD leader Satyanand Bhokta took oath as ministers. JMM executive president Hemant Soren was arrested by the ED on January 31, shortly after he resigned as the chief minister. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) New Delhi, Feb 16 (PTI) Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Friday hailed indigenously designed metro train set for the Meerut section of the Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut corridor as an example of India's capability to build finest infrastructure. The first look of the Meerut Metro train set was unveiled on Friday and was handed over to National Capital Region Transport Corporation at Savli, Gujarat. Also Read | AP TET 2024 Exam: Registration for Teacher Eligibility Test Examination Ends on February 18, Apply Online at aptet.apcfss.in. Addressing the event virtually, Puri said, "Establishing a robust public transportation system in metropolitan cities is a fundamental aspect of our vision for India's urban rejuvenation. Since 2014, the government has laid emphasis on improving the quality of services offered to urban dwellers." The minister added, "The indigenously designed and manufactured MRTS train set for the Meerut section of the Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut corridor demonstrates our capabilities of building world-class infrastructure." Also Read | Mizoram Foundation Day 2024 Date: Know the History and Significance of the Day That Marks the Establishment of the State of Mizoram. Puri said that from 248 km of operational metro lines in 2014, India's metro network has increased to 905 km so far. "RRTS and MRTS are vital components of this ongoing transformation. The tremendous progress made so far has incentivised us to achieve the target of making India the second largest Metro network in the world, even more quickly," Puri said. The Meerut Metro will comprise three car train sets with a capacity of carrying more than 700 passengers. The metro corridor will have 13 stations spanning across 23 km -18 km elevated and 5 km underground. Of 13 stations, nine are elevated, three underground, while one station (depot station) will be at grade. The stations are Meerut South (elevated), Partapur (elevated), Rithani (elevated), Shatabdi Nagar (elevated), Brahampuri (elevated), Meerut Central (underground), Bhaisali (underground), Begumpul (underground), MES Colony (elevated), Daurli (elevated), Meerut North (elevated), Modipuram (elevated), and Modipuram Depot (at grade). Four metro stations Meerut South, Shatabdi Nagar, Begumpul, and Modipuram will also serve RRTS and will allow commuters to change trains between RRTS and metro. The 17-km priority section between Sahibabad and Duhai Depot is currently operational for the public. The construction of the 82-km Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut RRTS corridor is underway and the entire stretch is set to be operational before the targeted timeline of June 2025, according to authorities. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Noida, Feb 16 (PTI) The forensic reports of samples collected from a suspected rave party linked to a prominent YouTuber have been confirmed as venom of snake species, officials of the Noida Police said on Friday. The samples were sent to a forensic laboratory in Jaipur, Rajasthan shortly after the November 3, 2023 incident and their results were received by the police here a few days ago, an officer privy to the probe said. Also Read | AP TET 2024 Exam: Registration for Teacher Eligibility Test Examination Ends on February 18, Apply Online at aptet.apcfss.in. "The results of the forensic reports of the sample have confirmed that the substances found from the party spot were indeed venom of cobra and krait species of snakes as was suspected initially in the case," the officer told PTI. Six people, including YouTuber Elvish Yadav, were booked under provisions of the Wildlife (Protection) Act and IPC Section 120A (criminal conspiracy) for allegedly providing snake venom for the suspected rave party at a banquet hall in Noida's Sector 51 on November 3 last year. Also Read | Mizoram Foundation Day 2024 Date: Know the History and Significance of the Day That Marks the Establishment of the State of Mizoram. While five of those named in the FIR were arrested, Yadav was questioned in the matter but not arrested. According to police, Yadav, who was not present at the party, is being investigated on charges of providing venom for the event. After his name cropped up in the case, the 26-year-old YouTuber took to social media to refute the charges against him, dubbing them "baseless, fake and not even 1 per cent true". In its probe, the veterinary department here found that venom glands were missing in all nine snakes, including five cobras, that were rescued on November 3 from the possession of the accused persons, Dr Nikhil Varshney, who headed the probe committee, had told PTI. "Also, teeth were missing in eight of the nine snakes that were rescued," according to Varshney. BJP leader and PFA chairperson Maneka Gandhi had also slammed Yadav in the wake of the case and called for his arrest. "He (Elvish Yadav) has escaped for now but his arrest should definitely take place," Gandhi had told reporters. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Washington, Feb 16 (PTI) US President Joe Biden and his administration are working very hard to thwart and disrupt attacks on Indian and Indian American students, the White House has said. The announcement by John Kirby, Coordinator for Strategic Communications at the National Security Council in the White House comes amid a slew of attacks on Indian and Indian American students in various parts of the country. Also Read | PM Narendra Modi's Qatar Visit Focused on Strengthening Economic Ties, Fostering Strategic Partnerships, Says MEA. There is no excuse for violence, certainly based on race or gender or religion or any other factor. That's just unacceptable here in the United States, Kirby told reporters here when asked about the series of attacks on students from India and also those from the Indian American community. The president and this administration have been working very, very hard to make sure we're doing everything we can to work with state and local authorities to try to thwart and disrupt those kinds of attacks and make it clear to anybody who might consider them that they'll be held properly accountable, Kirby said. Also Read | Pakistan: Imran Khan's Party Nominates Omar Ayub Khan As PM Candidate. Vivek Saini, a student working part-time in a department store, died following an attack by a drug addict in Lithonia, Georgia in January. Syed Mazahir Ali, an Indian student at Indiana Wesleyan University was assaulted in February. Deaths of at least four Indian American students have been reported in the last several weeks. Akul Dhawan of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and Neel Acharya of Purdue University died apparently due to heavy drinking followed by long exposure to low temperatures at night in January. Shreyas Reddy Benigeri, an Indian-origin student at the Lindner School of Business in Cincinnati was found dead in Ohio this month. Indian American community leader Ajay Jain Bhutoria said he was deeply troubled by the tragic deaths of these students in separate incidents and underscored the urgent need for enhanced safety measures for those pursuing education in the US. College authorities, and local police, must address these challenges promptly, he asserted. These incidents understandably worry parents and families in India, and their concerns are shared. It's crucial to address safety issues to ensure the well-being of Indian students studying in the USA, he said, adding that the Indian American community unites in calling for improved safety measures and support systems. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Hyderabad, February 16: An Indian student named Shaik Muzammil Ahmed died of cardiac arrest in Canada after which his family has requested External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar to arrange for the student's mortal remains to be sent back to Hyderabad. Ahmed (25) belonged to Hyderabad and was pursuing Masters in IT from Conestoga College, Waterloo Campus in Kitchener City, Ontario. Amjad Ullah Khan, a leader of the Telangana-based political party, Majlis Bachao Tehreek (MBT), informed about the incident on social media. US: 26-Year-Old Indian Doctoral Student Killed Inside His Car in Shooting Incident in Ohio. The MBT leader said that Ahmed had been suffering from fever since last week, but his family received a call from Ahmed's friend that he had died due to cardiac arrest. He also posted the letter by the deceased's family requesting EAM Jaishankar for help. Taking to social media platform X, Amjad Ullah Khan said, "One Shaik Muzammil Ahmed-25 years from Hyderabad, Telangana State pursuing Masters in IT from Conestoga College, Waterloo Campus in Kitchener City in Ontario, Canada since Dec 2022 was suffering from fever since last one week, but his family received a call from his friend that he died due to cardiac arrest today." Singapore: 17-Year-Old Indian Student Dies on Unchaperoned School Trip to Cambodia, Parents Urge Review of Guidelines. "On hearing this news his parents and the entire family is in a state of shock and has request you to kindly ask @HCI_Ottawa & @TorontoCGI to send his mortal remains back to Hyderabad as soon as possible, for more details please contact Waliuddin on +1 (647) (786) 5940 or his uncle Mohammed Amjad on 9618160740," he added. Ahmed's Family Urges EAM Jaishankar for Help: .@DrSJaishankar Sir, One Shaik Muzammil Ahmed-25 years from Hyderabad, Telangana State persuing Masters in IT from Conestoga College, Waterloo Campus in Kitchener City in Ontario, Canada since Dec 2022 was suffering from fever since last one week, but his family received a call pic.twitter.com/hvA1munXaX Amjed Ullah Khan MBT (@amjedmbt) February 15, 2024 Earlier, MBT leader Khan had also highlighted the case where another Indian student Syed Mazahir Ali was brutally attacked in Chicago. Videos on social media showed Ali bleeding heavily as he described the horrific incident. The Indian Consulate in Chicago had then assured of being in touch with the victim's wife in India and also assured of all possible assistance. Bishkek [Kyrgystan], February 16 (ANI): The Deputy National Security Advisor, Vikram Misri on Friday highlighted India's consistent and steadfast policy in support of peace, security and stability in Afghanistan and said that India has legitimate economic and security interests in Afghanistan, an official statement said. "India has been consistent and steadfast with its policy in support of peace, security and stability in Afghanistan. As a contiguous neighbour, India has legitimate economic and security interests in Afghanistan. Ties with the Afghan people date back centuries and are historic and civilizational," he said. Also Read | Alexei Navalny Dies: Imprisoned Opposition Leader Has Died in Jail, Says Russia's Prison Service. Speaking at the Sixth Regional Dialogue of Secretaries of Security Councils/National Security Advisers on Afghanistan in Bishkek, he said that India's common immediate priorities include providing humanitarian assistance, ensuring the formation of a truly inclusive and representative government, combating terrorism and drug trafficking and preserving the rights of women, children and the minorities. "For India, development is a fundamental human right. India believes in working with the international community and like-minded actors for the welfare of the Afghan people. India has presence in almost 500 projects in Afghanistan spread across each of the 34 provinces in critical areas of power, water supply, road connectivity, healthcare, education, agriculture and capacity building. India has invested more than USD 3 billion for the welfare of the people of Afghanistan," he added. Also Read | Israel-Hamas War: 112 Killed in Gaza in Last 24 Hours, Palestinian Death Toll Rises to 28,775, Says Health Ministry. According to the official statement, he also underlined that India has till now supplied nearly 50,000 tons of wheat, 250 tons of medical aid and 28 tons of earthquake relief aid. In view of the urgent UN appeals, India also supplied 40,000 litres of Malathion (pesticide) to Afghanistan to fight the locust menace. He stated, "Since August 2021, ICCR has granted admissions to more than 3000 students, including 600 Afghan girls. India has also continued its collaboration with the Afghan National Agricultural Science and Technical University by providing online scholarships for Afghan students in agro-related fields. India also continued its assistance for the Habibia school and sent winter clothing and more than 5000 units of stationary items for the primary school students." Deputy NSA said, "Drug trafficking is a serious menace for the region. The recent seizures of large shipments of drugs are a worrisome trend. India is partnering with UNODC in Afghanistan to provide humanitarian assistance for individuals, especially females, who are benefiting from drug rehabilitation programs being undertaken in Afghanistan. Under this partnership, India has supplied 11,000 units of hygiene kits, baby food kits, blankets, medical aid etc. to UNODC, Kabul." "It is equally important to create economic opportunities, empower the people to be self-reliant and self-sufficient, and re-build the economy. To this end, India has continued its trade relations with Afghanistan. Tariff concessions under SAFTA continue to be provided to Afghan traders. A 'Humanitarian Air Corridor' between Delhi and Kabul has been created," he added. To foster maritime cooperation, he also invited Central Asian neighbours to utilise the Chabahar port as well as the Shaheed Bahesti terminal at the port for maritime trade with India and other countries of the world. Solicited support of members to include Chabahar port within the framework of INSTC and make this a reality. Sports interactions and exchanges with the Afghan people have been greatly enhanced, he said. Addressing the issue of terrorism at the meeting, Deputy NSA reiterated India' stand that Afghanistan's land should not be used for sheltering, training and planning or financing terrorist acts. "Our collective approach has been articulated in UNSCR 2593. Afghan territory should not be used for sheltering, training, planning or financing terrorist acts; specifically, terrorist individuals proscribed by the UN Security Council, including those belonging to the Lashkar-e-Tayyiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad. It is well established that any instability in Afghanistan is a threat to the whole region," he said. "India was and is an important stakeholder in Afghanistan. Consider it imperative to have a 'consensus' based approach at both levels, regional and international, he added. The 6th Regional Dialogue of Secretaries of Security Councils/National Security Advisers on Afghanistan was held in Bishkek on 16 February 2024. Vikram Misri, Deputy National Security Adviser, National Security Council Secretariat represented India at the dialogue. This is a regional security mechanism on Afghanistan comprising the Secretaries/ NSAs of the National Security Councils of Iran, India, Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, China, Turkmenistan and Pakistan. India hosted the Third Regional Security Dialogue on Afghanistan in New Delhi on 10 November 2021. Notably, NSAs from Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan participated for the first time in The Delhi Dialogue. (ANI) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) BAKU, Azerbaijan, February 16. Ali Asadov, whose nomination for the position of Prime Minister of Azerbaijan was approved by the Milli Majlis (Parliament) of Azerbaijan, outlined the government's priorities, Trend reports. "Today, Azerbaijan is effectively progressing in line with the development strategy tailored to address the challenges of the post-war era," Asadov said. He highlighted that the priority for the future period will be to improve defense and national security, build the military-industrial complex, upgrade army provisions, and strengthen border defense. Asadov highlighted that President Ilham Aliyev has always prioritized social development and will continue to do so. The Azerbaijani Parliament accepted Ali Asadov's candidacy for Prime Minister during today's plenary session. Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel Jakarta, Feb 16 (AP) Foreign leaders congratulated Defence Minister Prabowo Subianto on his apparent victory in Indonesia's presidential election, while rights activists called him a threat. But how he'll govern remains uncertain after a campaign in which he made few concrete promises besides continuity with the popular outgoing president. The 72-year-old ex-general has never held elective office. He'll lead a massive, diverse island nation whose economy has boomed amid strong global demand for its natural resources, but he'll have to contend with global economic distress and regional tensions in Asia, where territorial conflicts and the US-China rivalry loom large. Also Read | Alexei Navalny Dies: Imprisoned Opposition Leader Has Died in Jail, Says Russia's Prison Service. The election outcome capped a long comeback for Subianto, who was expelled from the Indonesian army over allegations his men tortured dissidents, and banned from travelling to the United States and Australia for years. He declared victory Wednesday night after unofficial tallies by polling agencies showed him taking an overwhelming lead over two other contenders in the race to lead the world's third-largest democracy. If an official count conducted over the next few weeks confirms his victory, he'll take office in November. Also Read | Israel-Hamas War: 112 Killed in Gaza in Last 24 Hours, Palestinian Death Toll Rises to 28,775, Says Health Ministry. He has vowed to continue Widodo's modernisation efforts, which have boosted Indonesia's economic growth by building infrastructure and leveraging the country's abundant resources. A signature policy required nickel, a major Indonesian export and a key component of electric car batteries, to be processed in local factories rather than exported raw. He's also promised to push through Widodo's most ambitious and controversial project, the construction of a new capital on the frontier island Borneo, about 2,000 kilometres (1,240 miles) away from the congested current capital of Jakarta. A LONGTIME WIDODO RIVAL Subianto was a longtime rival of Widodo who ran against him for the presidency twice, and refused to accept his loss in 2019. But after his reelection, Widodo asked Subianto to serve as defence chief. He took the offer, which served as a springboard for his stunning comeback. Subianto chose Widodo's son as his running mate and earned tacit support from the outgoing leader. Subianto's background and personality are a sharp contrast with his immensely popular predecessor. He is known for his temper, unease with criticism, and fiery speeches. The soft-spoken Widodo has rarely shown anger in public. Subianto comes from one of the country's wealthiest families and his father was an influential politician who served as a minister under both Suharto and the country's first president, Sukarno. Widodo rose to the presidency from a common background and as president often mingled with working-class crowds and journalists. It's uncertain how Subianto will respond to political dissent, street protests and critical journalism. But for now, he appears to enjoy widespread support. The unofficial results showed him taking more than 55 per cent of the vote in a three-way race, enough to win without a runoff. Josteka Banjarnahor, a resident of Jakarta who voted for Subianto, said his long pursuit of the presidency indicates his sincerity. It's not because he's hungry for office, she said. If you think about his actual age, he's no longer fit, but his dream of running for president several times means there are good things he wants. CONCERNS AMONG RIGHTS ACTIVISTS Many activists see the ex-general's ties to the brutal authoritarian regime of Suharto whose daughter was once Subianto's wife as a bad omen. Winter is coming, Usman Hamid, Amnesty International's executive director in Indonesia, told The Associated Press. People can be old, but if they are authoritarian, then they are still authoritarian, Hamid said. What is important is for us to build structural conditions. There must be voices of opposition, there must be space for freedom and there must be integrity of the election system. Subianto was expelled by the army, where he served as a special forces commander, over accusations that he played a role in the kidnappings and torture of activists and other abuses. He never faced a trial and vehemently denies any involvement, although several of his men were tried and convicted. SUBIANTO'S FOREIGN POLICY On foreign policy, Sana Jaffrey, a research fellow at the Australian National University's Department of Political and Social Change, said Subianto would likely continue Widodo's efforts to maintain ties with both Beijing and Washington, while rejecting alignment with either. The delicate balancing act has paved the way for substantial Chinese trade and investment for Indonesia, including a USD 7.3 billion high-speed railway that was largely funded by China, while Jakarta boosted defence ties and intensified military exercises with the US under Subianto as defence chief. The United States and Australia banned Subianto's entry for years due to his human rights record, but in 2020 he travelled as Widodo's defence minister to the US to meet his American counterpart, Mark Esper. Indonesian activists said then that the US decision to allow Subianto back to America after a two-decade ban was a loss for human rights. The leaders of Australia, Singapore and Malaysia were among the first to congratulate Subianto. I was honoured to be the first foreign leader to speak today with Prabowo, who has a clear lead in official and unofficial counts, about my ambition for the future of Australia-Indonesia relations, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. The US State Department issued a statement on Wednesday, as preliminary results were still being counted, congratulating Indonesians for a strong turnout and citing the 75 years of diplomatic ties between Washington and Jakarta, without mentioning Subianto. "This vote was a testament to the durability and strength of the Indonesian people's commitment to the democratic process and electoral institution, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said, adding that the US was looking forward to the announcement of official results. (AP) (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 [UAE], February 16 (ANI/WAM): Saqr Ghobash, Speaker of the Federal National Council (FNC), will head an FNC delegation visiting Jordan and Egypt from 17th to 22nd February. The visits aim to enhance the relations between the FNC and the parliaments of Jordan and Egypt, reflecting the strong strategic partnerships that the UAE shares with the two countries, which are built on mutual respect and trust and the shared objectives and interests, to jointly pursue sustainable development, growth, and prosperity. Also Read | Earthquake in China: Quake of Magnitude 4.6 on Richter Scale Jolts Southern Xinjiang, No Casualty Reported. Ghobash is expected to have discussions with speakers of parliaments and meet with various officials during the visits to reinforce their existing relationships and explore ways of expanding their ties in light of events and developments affecting countries in the region and the world. The Emirati delegation will include several FNC members, along with Dr Omar Abdulrahman Al Nuaimi, Secretary-General of the FNC. (ANI/WAM) Also Read | Who Was Alexei Navalny? Jailed Opposition Leader and Staunch Critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin Dies in Prison; All You Need To Know. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Beijing/Hong Kong, Feb 16 (PTI) At least seven persons were arrested by Hong Kong customs authorities on Friday in connection with the territory's biggest money-laundering case involving a whopping HKD 14 billion (USD 1.8 billion), some of it linked to a mobile app scam case in India. The syndicate used stooge bank accounts and shell companies to transfer the largest amount linked to a single case recorded in the city, the Customs and Excise Department of Hong Kong said. Also Read | Who Was Alexei Navalny? Jailed Opposition Leader and Staunch Critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin Dies in Prison; All You Need To Know. The operation was linked to a mobile app scam in India and two jewellery companies in the country, which allegedly handled about HKD2.9 billion (USD 371 million) of the funds, Suzette Ip Tung-ching, the head of customs' financial investigation bureau told the media in Hong Kong. Ip described the amounts laundered as astonishing with one of the accounts receiving as much as HKD100 million (USD 12.8 million) a day and carrying out as many as 50 daily transactions. Also Read | Alexei Navalny Dies: Imprisoned Opposition Leader Has Died in Jail, Says Russia's Prison Service. Some of those arrested were non-Chinese residents of Hong Kong, she said without giving details. Law enforcement in Hong Kong, India, and elsewhere cooperated in carrying out the operation, enabling its success, Ip said. She said we found that a large amount of money came from India as well as other overseas bank accounts. The Indian authorities exchanged intelligence with us. We found that certain bank transactions were connected to the two companies that have been taken down by the Indian authorities being suspected of laundering crime proceeds in relation to the online mobile application scam, she said. Ip said the suspects were accused of laundering the cash through transactions involving gemstones and electronics, with the group, including a 34-year-old man, believed to be the mastermind, the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post newspaper reported. His wife, brother and father were also arrested, as well as three other Hong Kong residents accused of setting up a large number of shell companies and stooge bank accounts to trade electronics, gemstones and jewellery. These bank accounts were used for receiving multiple local and overseas transactions before conducting complicated and frequent trades with multiple layers of laundering, Ip said. According to police, stooge account holders are those who loan or sell their bank accounts to syndicates to collect scammed money and launder crime proceeds in exchange for hundreds or thousands of dollars. Ip added that authorities had spotted a significant discrepancy between the bank transactions valued at billions involving companies registered under their names, and import and export declarations of about HKD 90 million (USD 11.50). The Associated Press reported from Hong Kong quoted Yu Yiu-wing, the bureau's divisional commander as saying that officers exchanged intelligence with Indian authorities and found some of the money came from two jewellery companies that Indian authorities said were connected to the scam. Officials have confiscated electronic devices, documents, and over 8,000 carats of suspected synthetic gemstones apparently meant for export to India. The previous record money laundering case involved about 6 billion Hong Kong dollars (USD 767 million) and arrests of nine people in January 2023. China's law enforcement officers have been detaining a large number of Chinese involved in telecom fraud cases and money laundering abroad in recent months. Chinese public security departments have cracked 391,000 cases of telecom and online fraud from January to November 2023, the country's Ministry of Public Security said last month. To deliver a heavy blow to relevant criminal activities, the ministry in 2023 launched several law enforcement campaigns targeting telecom and online fraud, state-run Xinhua news agency reported on January 5. In total, 79,000 suspects were apprehended, including 263 persons who financed, led, or were in charge of such activities. The ministry has also dispatched work teams to countries including Thailand, the Philippines, and Cambodia to participate in international law enforcement missions. Multiple overseas criminal dens were destroyed, and more than 3,000 suspects were captured in the process, the report said (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Manama [Bahrain], February 16 (ANI/WAM): President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa of the Kingdom of Bahrain discussed the fraternal ties between the two nations, the depth of their cooperation, and collective efforts across various sectors to fulfil their shared goals of progress and development while serving mutual interests. Additionally, they addressed several matters of joint concern. This took place as King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa welcomed Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and his accompanying delegation in the presence of Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Bahrain. Also Read | Earthquake in China: Quake of Magnitude 4.6 on Richter Scale Jolts Southern Xinjiang, No Casualty Reported. King welcomed the visit of and the accompanying delegation to his second home, Bahrain, where they exchanged friendly conversations that reflected the depth of the fraternal relations uniting the leaderships and peoples of the two countries based on strong ties of kinship, understanding, and a belief in their shared destiny. They reaffirmed their mutual commitment to continued coordination and consultation for the benefit of their peoples and the broader region. Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan offered his condolences and sympathies to Bahrain's King over the martyrdom of Major Abdullah Al Noaimi and a number of his comrades from the UAE Armed Forces following a recent terrorist act in the Federal Republic of Somalia while on duty training the Somali Armed Forces. Bahrain's King, in turn, expressed his deepest condolences and sympathies over the martyrs of the UAE. Also Read | Who Was Alexei Navalny? Jailed Opposition Leader and Staunch Critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin Dies in Prison; All You Need To Know. The meeting touched on the importance of enhancing joint Gulf action and the two countries' commitment to supporting it at various levels for the wellbeing of all citizens of Gulf Cooperation Council countries. Additionally, the two sides explored regional and international developments, along with ways to elevate bilateral and multilateral cooperation to address a range of issues and developments. Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan stated that the fraternal relations between the UAE and Bahrain are growing stronger due to the shared dedication of their leaders to enhance ties across various sectors. He highlighted that the relationship between the UAE and Bahrain stands as a cornerstone of collective Gulf and Arab initiatives and reflects the aligned perspectives of both nations on regional issues. Bahrain's King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa expressed his pride in the profound and brotherly relationship between Bahrain and the UAE, emphasising his dedication to further strengthening these ties. He applauded the high level of cooperation and ongoing collaboration between the two countries, as well as their aligned strategic visions aimed at enhancing regional security and stability. King hosted a lunch banquet in honour of Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and the accompanying delegation. The meeting was attended by the accompanying delegation of President, which includes Lt. General Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior;Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan; Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad bin Tahnoun Al Nahyan, Advisor for Special Affairs at the Presidential Court; Ali bin Hammad Al Shamsi, Secretary-General of the Supreme Council for National Security; Abdullah Muhair Al Ketbi, Minister of Federal Supreme Council Affairs; Mohamed Ali Al Shorafa, Chairman of the Department of Municipalities and Transport and Member of the Executive Council; Fahad Al Ameri, UAE Ambassador to the Kingdom of Bahrain; and a number of senior officials. Upon arrival at the Sakhir Air Base earlier today, UAE President was received by King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Bahrain, and a number of high-ranking officials in the Kingdom. UAE President, accompanied by King Hamad bin Isa and Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, visited the headquarters of the Royal Guard, where they were briefed on its facilities and annexes. Upon their arrival at the headquarters, the national anthems of the UAE and Bahrain were played. The reception was attended by Field Marshal Sheikh Khalifa bin Ahmed Al Khalifa, Commander-in-Chief of the Bahrain Defence Force; Lieutenant General Sheikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa, National Security Advisor and Commander of the Royal Guard; Colone Sheikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Royal Guard Special Force Commander, and a number of senior officers of the Bahrain Defence Force. UAE President also visited the family of the late Major Abdullah Al Noaimi, offering his heartfelt condolences and sympathies. He prayed for God Almighty's mercy and forgiveness for him and all Emirati martyrs, and for their families to find patience and comfort. UAE President penned a message in the visitor's book at the headquarters, expressing, "It is a pleasure to visit the Royal Guard's headquarters, a key pillar of Bahrain's national framework, emblematic of the nation's strong defence and its contributions to security and stability locally and regionally. I extend my best wishes to Royal Guard members for their ongoing success and honour." Lieutenant General Sheikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa presented a gift to the President on the occasion of his visit to the headquarters of the Royal Guard, expressing gratitude for the visit and highlighting the pride of Royal Guard members in welcoming UAE president. Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed was bid farewell by King Hamad bin Isa as he departed Bahrain. (ANI/WAM) (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 [UAE], February 16 (ANI/WAM): The UAE celebrates over 20,000 trailblazers shaping the future in the nuclear and radiation sector. This is not just a number, it's a testament to the country's ambitious vision and dedication to empowering generations. Ambassador Hamad Al Kaabi, UAE's Permanent Representative to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), emphasised this commitment to the Emirates News Agency (WAM), while marking the annual Professional Day of Nuclear and Radiation Sector Workers. Also Read | Earthquake in China: Quake of Magnitude 4.6 on Richter Scale Jolts Southern Xinjiang, No Casualty Reported. February 16th holds even greater significance this year, commemorating the issuance of the first operating licence for Unit 1 of the Barakah Nuclear Power Plant by the Federal Authority for Nuclear Regulation (FANR) on 16th February, 2020. Al Kaabi said that "employing more than 20,000 people in the nuclear and radiation sector", reflects the UAE's pioneering efforts and the extensive investments that have been made over the past years to empower generations to serve the country. Also Read | Who Was Alexei Navalny? Jailed Opposition Leader and Staunch Critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin Dies in Prison; All You Need To Know. He said that the celebration of this special day comes in appreciation of the qualitative contributions of workers in developing the sector that have consolidated the UAE's position and leadership at all levels, stressing the importance of motivating workers in these vital sectors by introducing their achievements to the community. Al Kaabi expressed his hope that they will continue to intensify work and efforts to ensure the continued growth of the sector by providing more scientific and technological achievements, as the nuclear and radiation sector relies primarily on science, technology, research and development. He stressed their continuous efforts to develop human resources and the infrastructure related to these fields. He said, "It is very important to highlight the achievements of the workers in this sector, as they represent a large and important category in the development and progress of the country. The employees of the nuclear and radiation sector in the country fall into many sectors that aim to achieve sustainable development and the safety and security of society." He explained that the diversity of the fields and uses of nuclear and radiation energy in various sectors reflects the importance of nuclear technology and its applications, which can be used in many fields such as health, diagnostics, industry, and agriculture, in addition to security and defence. He pointed to the energy sector represented by the Barakah Nuclear Power Plant, which is a fundamental pillar in consolidating the UAE's leadership in this vital sector regionally and globally. The adoption of the Professional Day of the Nuclear and Radiation Sector Workers comes after the Cabinet approved in January 2023 to commemorate the anniversary of the issuance of the operating licence for Unit 1 of the Barakah Nuclear Power Plant by the FANR, and in appreciation of the efforts of the workers made to develop the UAE's Peaceful Nuclear Energy Programme.(ANI/WAM) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Washington, Feb 16 (PTI) United States' Indian-American Deputy Secretary of State Richard Verma will be on a six-day long official visit to India, Sri Lanka and Maldives next week to strengthen bilateral ties with the nations, along with reaffirming America's enduring commitment to a free, open, secure, and prosperous region. Verma, who is currently the Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources, and the second senior post in the State Department, will travel to India, Maldives, and Sri Lanka from February 18-23 to strengthen America's cooperation with each of these key Indo-Pacific partners. Also Read | Earthquake in China: Quake of Magnitude 4.6 on Richter Scale Jolts Southern Xinjiang, No Casualty Reported. Shortly following the two-year anniversary of the US Indo-Pacific Strategy, his trip will reaffirm the United States' enduring commitment to a free, open, secure, and prosperous region, a media release said. In New Delhi, Verma will meet with senior government officials, business leaders, and entrepreneurs to advance the US-Indian global strategic partnership on a full range of issues, including economic development, security, and technology, said the official statement. Also Read | Who Was Alexei Navalny? Jailed Opposition Leader and Staunch Critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin Dies in Prison; All You Need To Know. From India, Verma will travel to Male to meet with senior officials and advance shared priorities in increasing economic cooperation and promoting maritime security. He will also tour the planned office space for a new US Embassy in Male, which will help further increase people-to-people ties between the United States and Maldives. Verma will conclude his trip in Colombo. His meetings with senior officials will support US-Sri Lankan defence and maritime security cooperation. He will visit the Port of Colombo's West Container Terminal, where the United States is supporting Sri Lanka's ongoing economic recovery through USD 553 million in financing to transform Colombo into a regional shipping hub. Finally, he will meet with civil society leaders to hear their perspective on democratic governance in Sri Lanka and with government officials to voice US support for the protection of free speech and open discourse, a statement said. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Washington, Feb 16 (PTI) The House of Representatives has passed a bill that will strengthen the efforts of the United States to push the Chinese government to resolve the longstanding Tibet-China dispute through dialogue with Tibetan leaders. The bipartisan Promoting a Resolution to the Tibet-China Dispute Act', also known as Resolve Tibet Act, aims to pressure the Chinese government to resume negotiations with the Dalai Lama's envoys or the democratically elected leaders of the Tibetan people, which have been stalled since 2010. Also Read | PM Narendra Modi's Qatar Visit Focused on Strengthening Economic Ties, Fostering Strategic Partnerships, Says MEA. Introduced by Congressman Jim McGovern and Michael McCaul, it dismisses as inaccurate the Chinese claim that Tibet has been part of China since ancient times and empowers the State Department to actively counter China's disinformation about Tibetan history, people, and institutions. A similar legislation was introduced by Senators Jeff Merkley and Todd Young. Also Read | Pakistan: Imran Khan's Party Nominates Omar Ayub Khan As PM Candidate. A vote for this bill is a vote to recognise the rights of the Tibetan people. And it is a vote to insist on resolving the dispute between Tibet and the People's Republic of China peacefully, in accordance with international law, through dialogue, without preconditions. There is still an opportunity to do this. But time is running out, McGovern said. Congressman Young Kim said the bill ensures that Tibetans have a say in their future. It stresses the need for a direct dialogue between the CCP and the democratically elected leaders of Tibet, and that any resolution must be peaceful and include the voice of the Tibetan people. Congressman Kathy Manning said since 2010 Beijing has also refused to meet its international obligations to engage the Dalai Lama and his representatives to resolve the Tibet issue through dialogue. At the same time Beijing has unleashed a disinformation campaign to mislead the world about Tibet and its history, he said. Congressman Chris Smith said amid threats to Tibetans in Tibet, the Chinese Communist Party also seeks to extend its repressive reach abroad, targeting surveillance and harassment of the Tibetan diaspora in the United States, India, and Nepal. The Chinese Communist Party has long engaged in crimes against humanity in Tibet and against Tibetans, plain and simple, he alleged. In a statement, the Central Tibetan Administration to North America said the Tibetan people will always cherish the bipartisan support for Tibet in the US Congress. Tibetan people, despite seven decades of brutal and paralysing oppression by the CCP, have never abandoned hope. The H.R.533 passage by the US House will boost the determination of the Tibetan people and their resilience, Representative Namgyal Choedup said. It also sends a clear message to the current regime under Xi Jinping that if they truly desire social harmony and stability, the only way is to come to the negotiating table in good faith to resolve the Tibet-China dispute, Choedup said. International Campaign for Tibet president Tencho Gyatso said the vote shows that US support for Tibet is only growing stronger even after 65 years of China's control and occupation. China has been playing a waiting game, hoping that the international community would eventually abandon Tibet, he said. Clearly that is not the case. The Chinese government should take the hint and restart the dialogue process with Tibetan leaders. We thank Congressman McGovern and Chairman McCaul and all the representatives who helped pass the Resolve Tibet Act today, and we look forward to working with Sens. Merkley and Young, as well as our supporters across the country, to make this bill the law of the land, he said. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) New Delhi, February 16: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday laid the foundation stone for NLC India Ltd's 300-mw solar power project in Barsingsar, Rajasthan. The prime minister also laid the foundation stone of other solar projects in the state. Addressing the event through videoconferencing, Modi said that the country has started moving at a fast pace in generating solar power, and in giving an impetus to this mission, today, the foundation stone has been laid for various solar power projects in Rajasthan. PM Modi in Haryana: Prime Minister Narendra Modi Inaugurates AIIMS, Various Other Projects in Rewari (Watch Video). The projects, he said, will not only give green and cheap power to the region but also provide great employment opportunities to the youth. The total cost of NLC India's solar project is estimated at Rs 1,756 crore and it is scheduled to be commissioned in September, the public sector enterprise said in a statement. The project is strategically located near the existing Barsingsar Thermal Power Station which offers advantages in power evacuation through the existing network and utilisation of common infrastructure facilities. PM Narendra Modi Inaugurates Development Projects Worth Rs 17,000 Crore in Rajasthan, Says Double Engine Government Working Fast (Watch Video). The company said that it has signed a power usage pact with Rajasthan Urja Vikas Nigam Ltd for the entire capacity of 300 mw at a tariff of Rs 2.52 per unit. NLC India is a navratna company under the coal ministry. In April 1992, Chris McCandless walked into the Alaskan wilderness. He survived there for more than 100 days before perishing in an abandoned bus. Since then, millions have become captivated with his story, reading about it in Jon Krakauers iconic Into the Wild or watching it in Sean Penns film of the same name. But more than 20 years after Chris body was discovered, readers and viewers still struggle to understand what motivated him to abandon his family and a life rooted in what appeared to be an idyllic home in the suburbs of Washington D.C., for the harsh wilderness of Alaska. In The Wild Truth (HarperOne, $27.99), Chris sister, Carine McCandless, comes forward to set the record straight, revealing the much darker reality of Chris family life: a violent home in which their father beat and belittled their mother and where both parents manipulated the details of a second family. Advertisement Amid the many misconceptions of her brother, Carine speaks up to explain that going into the wild was far from crazy; it was the sanest thing [Chris] could have done. We spoke by phone with the Virginia-based entrepreneur, activist and mother. McCandless will be discussing and signing her book at Book Soup in West Hollywood on Friday at 7 p.m. It has been over two decades since your brothers death. Why did you decide that now was the time to tell Chris entire story? First and foremost, [it was] becoming a mother and having my relation to this very well-known story shift from [me] being a daughter and a sister to being a sister and a mother. I really understood the importance of having the complete truth out there. I saw how much learning from that had helped me in my own life and had helped me reach a peaceful place where I could really focus on the important things in life. But also, its been especially important over the years that Ive worked with students. Sharing Chris story and filling in the blanks for them becomes not just an assignment, but this lesson that they can take with them outside of college walls. So many are inspired by Chris story already but being able to share that other side, give the personal insight and answer all those lingering Why? questions, I think makes the lessons that much more thorough and powerful. Looking back now, do you think it was your primary role as a daughter that was holding you back from coming out with the whole truth when Jon Krakauer began writing Into the Wild? Advertisement Yes, definitely. As much as I was upset with my parents, I could see them hurting my mother especially; I was her last surviving child. I knew that if I was completely honest about Chris childhood and all that I knew about what drove him to these extremes, that would cause undue pain to my parents, and would take away their opportunity to learn from his disappearance and his death. I waited 20 years, for two particular people to learn that lesson, and it still did not come to fruition. But ... I was contacted by people all over the world who had read Jons book and had seen the film. I know and Ive learned that the greatest inspiration can only come from truth. It became something that I just couldnt not do. What did the process of writing and releasing the book feel like? I didnt have doubt or anxiety, but I cant say that I never looked at what I had written on the page and sat back and thought, Oh my gosh, am I going to leave that there? I would say it was a cathartic experience but I honestly had already absorbed all the lessons in myself. I had already dealt with my anxiety about it. So when the time came to actually sit down and write, I had made the decision. And much like Chris, when I make a decision, Im going to follow through on it. I just stayed focused on the mission and that was: this book is going to help people. Its not just about domestic violence but thats an important message in there. Chris story is a powerful example of the devastating effects that domestic violence in all forms can have on children and families. While I want people to understand that, its about more than just that issue. I found my voice and was vocal in the writing of this book. I think Chris would be very proud of that. I want this book to help other people who are dealing with those circumstances find their strength and find their voice. Advertisement Chris found absolution in the wild. How were you able to build that with your siblings? I think its a matter of survival. This book doesnt just focus on the sadness of Chris death much like [Krakauers] book didnt just focus on the sadness of Chris death. It focused on the beauty of life. Jons book ends there: focusing on the beauty of Chris life and how he was at peace when he died. But Chris story didnt end there. He has seven brothers and sisters. My book is the story of sibling survival. I think its through survival and all that weve been through in life, learning what family is and what happiness is. Family is what you make of it. My brothers and sisters are an incredible gift and theyve been a wonderful family to me and you know what? Given the circumstances, they didnt have to be.... You mention in your epilogue how one of the most difficult questions you had been asked was whether or not you have been able to forgive your parents. I was recently asked by a student, What is the line for you between forgiving and not forgiving? And what immediately came out of me was, honesty. The answer was immediate for me. Honesty. Thats it. Im not trying to villanize my parents, Im trying to humanize them. People can learn from humans. Just like they can learn so much more from Chris by knowing hes not just this iconic, legendary figure hes a human. Advertisement The huge lesson in all of this, and what I talk to students about so much, is owning responsibility for the choices you make in life, and the mistakes you make.... [My parents] Billie and Walt did not accept responsibility for the mistakes they made, and theyre human mistakes. They havent done anything that a lot of people dont do. Thats why this story is so relatable and can reach so many people in a powerful way. And it really speaks to the hypocrisy and self-righteousness that Chris saw and felt that he needed to separate himself from. Have your parents read the book and do you know how they feel about it? They have. I made sure that they received an advanced copy because I felt that it was only fair for them to be able to respond and not be bombarded by the media. They released a blanket statement to ABC stating, After a brief review of its contents and intention, we concluded that this fictionalized writing has absolutely nothing to do with our beloved son, Chris, his journey, or his character. The whole unfortunate event in Chris life 22 years ago is about Chris and his dreams, not a spiteful, hyped-up, attention-getting story about his family. I dont feel I have to defend Chris or my actions in this book. I feel that the truth is the truth. And I wrote this book with that focus on truth and that was the pure intent in my heart, not to hurt my parents in any way. But my parents statement in no way surprises me and it doesnt anger me. They never did understand their son nor the damage they were doing to him, or to any of us. So denial is what I expected. And I mean that not in a mean way. Its just what Ive been living with my whole life, for 43 years. Authorities have charged FBI informant Alexander Smirnov after it was found that he lied to the agency about payments that a Ukrainian energy company, Burisma, allegedly made to Joe Biden and his son, Hunter Biden. In June 2020, Smirnov reportedly told FBI agents that Burisma executives paid Hunter and Joe Biden $5 million each in 2015 or 2016, with Smirnov also claiming that a Burisma executive had claimed that they hired Hunter Biden to "protect us, through his dad, from all kinds of problems." These allegations that Smirnov made against the Bidens were one of the main accusations made by House Republicans against Joe Biden and Hunter Biden until these accusations were found to be false as it was proven that Smirnov lied. However, Republicans acknowledged at that time that it was unclear if Smirnov's claims were actually true, according to the Associated Press. Prosecutors pointed out that Smirnov claimed that Burisma executives had contact with him near the end of the Obama administration when Joe Biden was still the vice president. However, it was later found that the contact took place after Obama and Biden left office and Donald Trump was already president. This meant that Biden would have had no ability to influence US foreign policy. "In short, the Defendant transformed his routine and unextraordinary business contacts with Burisma in 2017 and later into bribery allegations against Public Official 1, the presumptive nominee of one of the two major political parties for President, after expressing bias against Public Official 1 and his candidacy," read the indictment against Smirnov. He also repeated some of his false claims when the FBI interviewed him in September 2023. He then reportedly changed his story and "promoted a new false narrative after he said he met with Russian officials." Republican Witness Admits She Did Not Find Any Wrongdoing by Joe Biden in Hunter Biden Probe The indictment of the FBI informant came after House Republicans wanting to impeach Joe Biden were dealt another big blow when Karen Tramontano, CEO of Blue Star Strategies and a Republican witness, admitted under oath that she was unaware of any involvement by President Joe Biden in his son Hunter's business deals. READ MORE: Hunter Biden Shocks Congress by Actually Showing Up "Neither Hunter Biden nor then Vice President Joe Biden had any financial or other involvement in my firm's work with Burisma," the Republican witness told lawmakers in her testimony. "I am also not aware of any financial arrangements or compensation to then Vice President Biden related to his son's business dealings with Burisma or otherwise." Republicans tried to paint Joe Biden as having profited from his son's alleged influence peddling. However, Tramontano is the latest victim to admit they did not see any wrongdoing on the part of the elder Biden and that he was not involved in his son's work abroad. Senior Republican Lawmaker Also Previously Admitted He Saw No Wrongdoing on Joe Biden's Part It was not just the witnesses who are saying they found no wrongdoing on Joe Biden's part over his son's foreign business dealings. In December last year, Iowa Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley stated he had seen "no evidence" that the POTUS is involved in his son Hunter Biden's foreign business dealings, according to The Hill. "I'm going to take the same position that I've taken since 2019 that all I can say is there's some indication, maybe some compromise with China particularly, but I have no evidence of it," the senior Senate Republican admitted during an interview. He added that the facts "haven't taken me to that point where I can say that the president's guilty of anything." READ MORE: Joe Biden Impeachment Inquiry: Jim Jordan Admits Strongest Evidence Vs. POTUS Is an Empty One This article is owned by Latin Post. Written by: Rick Martin WATCH: Informant charged with lying about Joe and Hunter Biden's ties to Burisma - PBS NewsHour BAKU, Azerbaijan, February 16. Representatives of the Military Attache Office of Azerbaijan in Russia took part in the meeting of the heads of governing bodies of military education of the member states of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) in Moscow, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said, Trend reports. "The meeting was chaired by Major General Yuri Dashkin, Secretary of the Council of CIS Defense Ministers. It covered the activities completed in 2023 and the measures planned for 2024. Also, speeches by authorized persons were heard, and comprehensive opinions were shared on the prospects for mutual integration of military education systems in the CIS within the present problems. At the end, a protocol was signed on the progress of the meeting with follow-up discussions," the ministry noted. Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel Fani Willis, the prosecutor overseeing former president Donald Trump election case in Georgia, vehemently refuted allegations of a financial conflict of interest arising from her romantic involvement with special prosecutor Nathan Wade. The claims were raised by Trump's legal team, specifically attorney Ashleigh Merchant, representing co-defendant Michael Roman, Reuters reports. During the misconduct allegations hearing on Thursday, Trump prosecutor, Willis, dismissed the assertions as lies, emphasizing that the focus should remain on the case against those accused of attempting to manipulate the 2020 election. "You're confused. ... You think I'm on trial. These people are on trial for trying to steal an election in 2020," Fani Willis told Merchant. The Fulton County district attorney responded to Merchant's insinuations that she had lived with a colleague, denouncing it as "another one of your lies." READ NEXT: Donald Trump Fraud Trial Timeline Dispute in Misconduct Hearing The hearing took a dramatic turn as Fani Willis, facing misconduct allegations, took the stand following conflicting statements about the timeline of her relationship with Wade, per NBC News. Robin Yeartie, a former friend and colleague of Willis, testified that she observed signs of affection between Willis and Wade as early as November 2021, contradicting claims made in a previous affidavit by the prosecutors. Yeartie, who worked in the district attorney's office until 2022, testified against Willis, asserting that they had a personal relationship but describing their friendship as a betrayal. Willis, however, sought to distance herself from Yeartie during her testimony, emphasizing that their connection spanned decades but was now strained. Despite admitting to a personal relationship with Wade, Willis maintained its propriety. Tensions flared during her testimony when faced with claims that her office objected to turning over records, prompting a caution from the judge. Nathan Wade, in a sworn statement, initially denied any personal relationship with the Trump prosecutor before the case and stated it began in early 2022. However, he clarified during the hearing that their relationship began around March 2022, acknowledging it as private but not a secret. Nathan Wade, no longer romantically involved with Willis, emphasized their continued friendship, strengthened in response to the ongoing attacks. Efforts to Discredit Kickback Allegations Fani Willis aimed to undermine allegations of a kickback scheme related to Wade's hiring, insisting that she reimbursed him for shared expenses in cash, according to The Guardian. Defense lawyers for Michael Roman, co-defendant of Trump, claim that this relationship constitutes a conflict of interest. The outcome of the hearing, set to continue for a second day, carries significant implications for the Trump election case. If Roman succeeds in having the Trump prosecutor disqualified, it could lead to the removal of the entire district attorney's office, creating uncertainty in an already politically charged prosecution. Fulton County Superior Judge Scott McAfee led the proceedings, focusing on three key areas concerning alleged conflicts: whether Fani Willis financially benefited from hiring Nathan Wade, the timeline of the romantic relationship, and whether the relationship was ongoing. The hearing unfolds against the backdrop of a high-stakes legal battle that could impact the trajectory of the Trump election case. READ MORE: Joe Biden Urged To Declassify 'Serious National Security Threat' Report This article is owned by Latin Post. Written by: Bert Hoover WATCH: Fani Willis kicks off her testimony by accusing attorney of lying - From CNN Venezuela has ordered the local technical advisory office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to be closed. This comes after the country was accused of further human rights violations that involved the sudden abduction of a human rights activist and the Nicolas Maduro regime's latest attempts at suppressing the country's united opposition. The Venezuelan government gave the staff of the local United Nations office on human rights just 72 hours to leave and to suspend all of its operations in the country. The UN human rights body has been accused of "assisting coup plotters and terrorist groups." This was confirmed by Venezuela Foreign Affairs Minister Yvan Gil during a news conference in Caracas. The move received much criticism from various rights groups, especially as the Maduro regime has been accused of repressing real or perceived opponents during an election year like 2024. Gil accused the UN human rights body of becoming an "international sounding board to maintain a discourse against the Bolivarian government and against the Venezuelan people." The foreign affairs minister of Venezuela added that the local UN human rights office had "become the private law firm of coup plotters and terrorist groups that permanently conspire against the country," though the Associated Press noted that he did not show any evidence or point to a specific example of that alleged activity. The closure came after more and more rights groups called for the release of recently imprisoned Rocio San Miguel, a prominent human rights advocate and lawyer. The UN agency had reportedly expressed "deep concern" over her detention last Tuesday, urging for her "immediate release" and respect for her right to legal defense. READ MORE: Venezuela Accuses US of Blackmail Over Sanctions UN Human Rights Office Reacts to Expulsion Order From Venezuela This latest feud comes as Venezuela is currently at odds with the United States over Maduro breaking his promise of a free and fair presidential election this year, as well as Guyana, which currently complains about a troop build-up on its border with the country. The UN has become Maduro's latest target, and the rights body has now reacted. "We regret this announcement and are evaluating the next steps. We continue to engage with the authorities and other stakeholders," UN human rights office spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani said in a statement. "Our guiding principle has been and remains the promotion and protection of the human rights of the people of Venezuela." According to The Guardian, the UN human rights office was established in Caracas in 2019. International Rights Group Says Detained Venezuela Human Rights Lawyer Has No Legal Access Meanwhile, Amnesty International has revealed that Rocio San Miguel "has had no access to family members or legal representation" since she was detained. The international rights group then called for her immediate release. "She is forcibly disappeared, resembling a widely documented pattern. The Attorney General's Office publicly acknowledged her detention but has denied information on her whereabouts. Her lawyers have requested information at detention centers in Caracas and have so far received no response," the rights group said in a statement on its official website. READ MORE: Guyana Culture: Essequibo Identifies More as Guyanase and Not With Venezuela This article is owned by Latin Post. Written by: Rick Martin WATCH: Venezuela orders U.N. Human Rights office to close - Associated Press Victor Manuel Rocha, former US ambassador to Belize, appeared in court on Wednesday and pleaded not guilty to the accusation that he is a Cuban spy. He also asked if he could not have to appear in court Friday, which is his scheduled arraignment. A career diplomat working for the US Department of State, Manuel Rocha, is accused of providing Cuba information regarding US activities in his decades working for the US government. His charges include defrauding the United States and acting as an illegal agent of a foreign government. The former US ambassador is also charged with making false statements to obtain and use a US passport. The Miami Herald pointed out that the Foreign Agents Registration Act requires those working under the control of foreign governments they should always notify the US Attorney General's office that they are doing so. In entering his "not guilty" plea, Rocha admitted that he "fully understands the nature of the offenses" he is charged with. He also waived formal arraignment, which is when he makes the initial appearance in court to hear the charges. Rocha was indicted last December by a grand jury, accusing him of acting as an agent of Cuba after he was arrested in a sting operation where he admitted to a government agent he had Cuban ties. He currently remains in federal detention and has been in custody since his arrest. Alleged Cuba Spy Manuel Rocha Told Undercover US Agent That US Is 'the Enemy' US Attorney General Merrick Garland stated that the case against Rocha is "one of the highest-reaching and longest-lasting infiltrations of the US government by a foreign agent." The AG added that the accused Cuban spy was seeking high US government positions that "would provide him with access to non-public information and the ability to affect US foreign policy." READ MORE: Ex-US Ambassador a Cuba Spy? Manuel Rocha Calls America 'The Enemy' He was allegedly recruited by the Cuban spy agency, the Directorate of Intelligence, Cuba's own answer to the CIA, in 1973 while he was still working for the US State Department in Chile. He also held high-level security clearances, according to CBS News. This means that he had access to top-secret information. When he was arrested, Rocha spoke with an undercover FBI agent posing as a fellow Cuban spy. The former US ambassador reportedly told the agent that the US was the "enemy," adding that "what we have done" was "enormous" and "more than a grand slam." US Missed Clues, Red Flags, Regarding Accused Cuba Spy Manuel Rocha "Ambassador Rocha," as he preferred to be called, previously held top posts in Argentina, Bolivia, Cuba, and the White House. His discovery as an alleged Cuban spy shocked many in the government. Former CIA operative Felix Rodriguez spoke with the Associated Press, admitting that there had been plenty of clues regarding Rocha's activities, including a tip from a defected Cuban Army lieutenant colonel who told him flat out that Rocha is a Cuban spy. "No one believed him," admitted Rodriguez. "We all thought it was a smear." As it also turned out, the AP reported that the CIA was aware that Fidel Castro had a "super mole" burrowed deep inside the US government as early as 1987. Many now believe that this refers to Rocha. READ MORE: Pope Francis Wants Cuba to Release Cuban Protesters Arrested in 2021 This article is owned by Latin Post. Written by: Rick Martin WATCH: Victor Manuel Rocha, former US ambassador to Bolivia, accused of serving as agent of Cuba - CBS News Government officials from Haiti, US, and Kenya recently concluded a planning conference for the deployment of a multinational security mission to assist Haitian police in addressing the escalating threat from criminal gangs. However, the timing of the forces' arrival remains uncertain, as neither US nor Haitian officials disclosed Kenya police deployment date after their meeting, according to the Miami Herald. The discussions, characterized as an "entry-level discussion" by a Biden administration official, lacked details on international funding and awaited clearance from Kenya courts. A Kenya high court ruling deemed it unconstitutional for Kenya to deploy 1,000 police officers to Haiti without a police-sharing agreement last month. The Kenya government plans to appeal the ruling, with President William Ruto expressing confidence in addressing the court's concerns. Haiti's justice ministry confirmed intense discussions between Haitian and Kenyan officials to draft a memorandum of understanding, a prerequisite set by the Constitutional Court of Kenya for the deployment. A final decision and the signing of the document are expected early next week. During the stay in Washington, the Haitian government formalized collaboration with the US Homeland Security Investigations by signing a memorandum of cooperation. This establishes the Haiti Transnational Criminal Investigative Unit, aiming to enhance information exchange between law enforcement in both countries. The unit is pivotal in strengthening the investigative and prosecutorial capacities of both nations against transnational crimes. READ NEXT: Haiti: Kenya Court Stops Police Deployment to Caribbean Country Unprecedented Surge in Gang Violence Grips Haiti Haiti, already grappling with political instability and economic challenges, faces an unparalleled surge in gang violence. Over 800 people, including children, have been affected, leading to the displacement of families in Port-au-Prince, per BNN. The UN Human Rights spokesperson reported the dire situation, highlighting the impact on medical facilities, which are now subject to heavy gunfire exchange, necessitating evacuations of patients and staff. The alarming escalation prompted Dominican Republic President Luis Abinader to address the United Nations, emphasizing the urgent need for a multinational force to support Haiti's security forces. Homicides have doubled in the past year, with January alone witnessing over 1,100 people killed, injured, or kidnapped. The Dominican Republic is deeply concerned about the potential collapse of Haiti if swift action is not taken to address the security crisis. Kenya Official Found Dead in Hotel Amid Haiti Multinational Security Mission Discussion In a tragic turn of events, a 39-year-old Kenya official, Nyamato Walter, part of the official delegation discussing the planned international security force, was found dead in his hotel room in Washington, Reuters reports. The discovery occurred on Tuesday morning, with police pronouncing him dead at the scene. While the cause of death was not provided, the investigation is being handled by a specialized squad dealing with natural deaths and suicides. Walter, a police commissioner, played a role in the Kenya-led force discussions. The force encountered setbacks with a Nairobi court blocking the proposed deployment of 1,000 police officers last month. Despite this, President William Ruto affirms the plan's continuation, with ongoing meetings on Kenya police deployment to address challenges on Haiti gang violence. The tragic incident adds a somber note to the complexities surrounding the multinational security mission. READ MORE: Haiti: Fear Cripples Port-au-Prince This article is owned by Latin Post. Written by: Bert Hoover WATCH: Gang violence escalates in Haiti's capital - From REUTERS A high school student in California, identified as Sebastian Villasenor, has been arrested and is facing attempted murder charges in connection with a plot to carry out a school shooting, according to CNN. The arrest came after a classmate expressed concerns about Villasenor's fixation on school shootings and his access to weapons, according to Ontario Police Chief Mike Lorenz. Villasenor, 18, was apprehended on Saturday, and a subsequent search of his residence revealed a cache of weapons. Investigators discovered seven rifles, two revolvers, a handgun, and a shotgun, along with over 1,000 rounds of ammunition, as highlighted by Chief Lorenz during a news conference on Wednesday. Lorenz disclosed that the California teen had identified five intended victims, all fellow students at Ontario Christian High School, and was contemplating a sixth. Notably, all the potential victims were girls, according to a criminal complaint filed. The Police Chief emphasized that there was no explicit hit list, but the threats were determined through interviews detailing Villasenor's interactions with other students. READ NEXT: California Teen Known as the 'Serial Swatter' Faces Charges in Florida California Teen's Background and Investigation Authorities revealed that Villasenor exhibited an obsession with school shootings, particularly referencing the tragic incident at Columbine High School in Colorado, CBS News noted. His extensive research included tactical supplies, police response times, and the proximity of the Ontario Police Department to the school. The investigation suggested that Villasenor might have been planning the shooting around April 20, coinciding with the Columbine High School incident in 1999. Principal Ben Dykhouse, speaking about Villasenor, confirmed that the student had attended Ontario Christian High School for two years and had no prior disciplinary record indicating a potential for violence. Authorities reiterated that Villasenor had no police record or criminal history. Contrary to speculation, interviews conducted by law enforcement indicated that Villasenor was not bullied or harassed. However, the California teen faced challenges in forming relationships with other students and struggled with social interactions, according to Lorenz. Legal Proceeding Following Thwarted School Shooting Villasenor was arraigned on Thursday and pleaded not guilty to the charges, including one count of attempted criminal threats and five counts of attempted murder. The San Bernardino County District Attorney's Office issued a news release confirming his legal representation by a public defender. Due to the perceived risk he posed to potential victims and the community, Villasenor is being held without bail. His next court appearance is scheduled for February 20, as per the district attorney's office. The San Bernardino County District Attorney's Office commended the swift and thorough response of the Ontario Police Department and the courage of the student who voiced concerns, emphasizing that tragedy was averted and lives potentially saved, per KTLA 5. They urged residents across the county to remain vigilant, stating that active shooter threats should always be treated seriously, and encouraged the mantra, "If you see something, say something." In the wake of this alarming incident, the community is left grappling with the realization that even seemingly ordinary individuals may harbor dangerous intentions. The legal proceedings will shed further light on the motives behind the California teen's alleged school shooting plot as authorities work to ensure the safety of students and residents alike. READ MORE: Missing California Hiker Found Dead This article is owned by Latin Post. Written by: Bert Hoover WATCH: California teen charged in school shooting plot - From NBC News A trial date has been set on Donald Trump's porn star hush money case, where he is accused of using campaign money to pay off porn star Stormy Daniels to keep quiet about their affair as he ran for president for the first time in 2016, an election which he won. Donald Trump tried to have the case dismissed, and this was immediately shut down by Judge Juan Merchan, who told the court, "Defendant's motions to dismiss have been denied," adding, "We're moving ahead to jury selection on March 25." Uncharacteristically, however, the Guardian noted that Donald Trump did not have any of his usual outbursts on the dismissal of his motion. In fact, Trump was notably well-behaved in court, was not his usual combative self during the approximately 100-minute hearing, and did not throw any of his usual tantrums. He did complain, however, as he entered the courtroom before the hearing, saying, "They wouldn't have brought this - no way - except for the fact that I'm running for president and doing well ... I'm running for election. How can you run for election and be sitting in a courthouse in Manhattan all day?" The main source for the hearing's drama, however, came instead from Donald Trump's lawyers. Specifically, it was Trump's lead attorney, Todd Blanche, who acted up, constantly interrupting Judge Merchan, who scolded the Trump lawyer. However, this still did not reach the same level of antics as fellow Trump lawyer Alina Habba, who was not just schooled in how to present evidence but was also threatened with jail time over her antics. Donald Trump Makes Final Pitch to Supreme Court Over Immunity Case The Donald Trump porn star hush money trial is the least of the former president's worries, however, as the Supreme Court of the United States is set to decide on whether he has immunity or not regarding the January 6 Capitol Insurrection case. READ NEXT: Stormy Daniels Net Worth: How Rich Is the Controversial Porn Star Who Could Send an Ex-President to Jail? Trump made his final pitch to the highest court in the land last Thursday as part of his effort to delay the trial over the election subversion charges brought by special counsel Jack Smith. "There are overwhelming reasons why the case should not go to trial 'in three months or less,'" Trump told the Supreme Court in his filing. "With any other defendant, it would be virtually unthinkable for the case to go to trial so soon, and 'wildly unfair' to do so." However, Jack Smith argued that the former president did not meet the standard to pause proceedings in his case, pointing out that Trump was "conspiring to subvert the electoral process so that he could remain in office." January 6-Related Lawsuits Vs. Donald Trump Advance Trump is also facing plenty of civil cases in addition to his ongoing criminal ones. This includes several that are related to the January 6 Capitol Insurrection. According to a report by Politico, the former president decided against asking the Supreme Court to intervene and declare him immune to a January 6-related lawsuit. This means that three of the lawsuits made against him in the wake of January 6 would be moving forward and advancing to the next phase, which is a period of limited evidence-gathering. The lawsuits include ones filed by police officers and lawmakers affected by the attack. The case had been pending since 2021 as Trump argued that he is immune. READ NEXT: Donald Trump Called a Chicken by Nikki Haley Super PAC This article is owned by Latin Post. Written by: Rick Martin WATCH: Trump will face his first criminal trial in March - CNN BAKU, Azerbaijan, February 16. Administrator of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) Achim Steiner has sent a congratulatory letter to President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev on his confident victory in the presidential election, Trend reports. "Excellency, On behalf of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), I would like to extend my sincere congratulations to you on your re-election as President of the Republic of Azerbaijan. For more than 30 years, UNDP and the Republic of Azerbaijan have enjoyed substantive cooperation across a wide range of development areas. UNDP has been privileged to be a trusted partner in supporting key national priorities including inclusive economic development, governance and digitalization, climate action and disaster management, and humanitarian mine action. UNDP is committed to deepening the strategic cooperation with the Government of the Republic of Azerbaijan on these and other mutually defined priorities in line with the Sustainable Development Goals. I look forward to meeting with you to discuss the strategic partnership between UNDP and the Republic of Azerbaijan. Please accept, Excellency, the assurances of my highest consideration," the letter reads. The owner of a Lehigh County-based authentic Puerto Rican restaurant plans to open a second location Friday at the former home of an iconic Southside Bethlehem hot dog shop. Sams Restaurant, 400 Broadway, is slated to open to the public in the former 1,820-square-foot Petes Hot Dog Shop space. Itll become the second location for owner Sam Rodriguez, who operates the business with help from his father, Carlos Rodriguez. The pair from Lower Saucon Township have operated the original Sams for over a year at 29 Bridge St. in Catasauqua. They took over the new location in Bethlehem last month. The Rodriguez family in September 2023 were in a bind when their Catasauqua restaurant was condemned, as were an upstairs apartments and neighboring building, by the borough due to alleged code violations. The buildings landlord continues to resolve the issues, the pair said. If all goes well, the original Sams should reopen this year, Carlos Rodriguez told lehighvalleylive.com. We are excited to finally open in South Bethlehem and share our vision of what great homemade food tastes like, Carlos Rodriguez said. Sams is known for its made to order, fresh dishes. The Bethlehem site will be serving up both breakfast and lunch specialties with plans for dinner in the near future. On the menu will be some of the favorites Catasauqua patrons regularly order. Think eggs any style, an assortment of omelette choices, and pancake and waffle platters, as well as various breakfast egg and meat sandwiches, for breakfast. For lunch, therell be wings, tostones (twice-fried crispy slices of green plantain that are lightly seasoned) or mozzarella sticks to start. Therell be pastelillos, which are deep-fried pastries stuffed with meat; relleno de papa, which are deep-fried potatoes stuffed with meat; alcapurria, which are fried fritters made with green plantains; and a Sams fiesta bowl, complete with grilled chicken, melted cheese and a special sauce made by Sam Rodriguez. Menu options also will include a variety of burgers, Cuban sandwiches, New York-style subs, and quesadillas. Daily specials are planned to include chicken, pork chop, roast pork or fish, according to the menu. For those missing Petes signature hot dogs, theyll be somewhat in luck. Hot dogs are on Sams menu, but theyll be less of the Greeker-style dogs Petes was known for. Those were Hatfield-brand hot dogs made with a secret chili sauce, spicy mustard and raw onions. The Sams dogs will be more of a New York-style Sabrett with red onions, sauerkraut, relish, ketchup and mustard as topping choices. Itll all get paired with fries or onion rings, washed down with soft drinks or Kola Champagne, and capped with such desserts as ice cream cones, cups, floats and milkshakes. What isnt changing is the Petes decor fans were accustomed to. The orange booths and an eating counter with gray and chrome stools will remain. Food will still be prepared in an open kitchen layout, Carlos Rodriguez said. Former Petes Hot Dog Shop operator Effie Ramirez in December 2022 announced her plans to move on from the business. Her youngest son was in a carseat when she started working there, and now hell graduate high school in the spring, she said. Generations of the Ramirez family worked at Petes alongside Effie Ramirezs parents and former owners, John and Stacy Mamounas. The Mamounases purchased Petes in 1988 from Teddy Kourpas, whose uncle Pete Kourpas founded the business in 1937. Ramirez then sold the property to business partners Yongkang Gao of California and Bill Geddes, who took over Petes in spring 2023. Gao and Geddes initially had plans to turn the former Petes into a new restaurant. That vision fell through and their search for a restaurateur to take over eventually led them to Sam Rodriguez. Hours of Sams Restaurant will start at 6:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Monday to Saturday. Sundays will be breakfast only from 6:30 to 11 a.m. Please subscribe now and support the local journalism YOU rely on and trust. Pamela Sroka-Holzmann may be reached at pholzmann@lehighvalleylive.com. Safety concerns led to the temporary closure of a Northampton County post office Friday, representatives of the United States Postal Service said. The Treichlers Post Office, 331 E. Breadfruit Drive in Lehigh Township, is shuttered as a result of the issue. USPS representatives made the announcement in a news release posted on the postal services website. Representatives did not provide specifics about the issue and there was no timeline on when the regional office may reopen. Postal service spokesman confirmed Desai O. Abdul-Razzaaq the building has some structural integrity issues, which prompted the closure. We apologize for the inconvenience to our customers and plan to have the Treichler Post Office reopened and fully operational as soon as possible, representatives added in the release. Township residents in the meantime are being asked to pick up mail at nearby Walnutport Post Office, 249 Lehigh Gap St. They should also bring photo identification for mail and package pickups. Window service hours for the Walnutport post office are from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday; and 8:30 a.m. to noon Saturday. Dropoff shipment hours are from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday; and 8:30 a.m. to noon Saturday. The post office is closed Sunday. Please subscribe now and support the local journalism YOU rely on and trust. Pamela Sroka-Holzmann may be reached at pholzmann@lehighvalleylive.com. A man allegedly tried to run over another man before driving the wrong way down a street in Portlaoise. Keith Cash, 40, of Danganroe, Castletown is accused of violent disorder, production of article being a hurley and dangerous driving at Market Square, Portlaoise on June 4, 2022. Garda Sergeant JJ Kirby said gardai received a report of three men fighting in the square at 2pm on the date in question. Sgt Kirby said the altercation was captured on CCTV and three men including the defendant were identified. He said it would be alleged the defendant produced a hurley in the fight. He said it would be alleged the defendant tried to hit another man with his van and drove the wrong way down the street. Judge Nicola Andrews asked if anyone had been injured during the altercation. On hearing there were no injuries, she agreed to accept jurisdiction in the case. Solicitor Philip Meagher sought disclosure in the case including a copy of any CCTV footage from the incident. Judge Andrews directed disclosure be handed over and she adjourned the case back to Portlaoise District Court on March 11. In the passing of Maureen Mullins, aged 94, the racing world bid farewell today to a remarkable figure whose invincible spirit and unwavering dedication left an everlasting mark on the sport she loved. With a lifetime devoted to horses and racing, Maureen's legacy as the mother of Irish racing will be remembered for generations to come. Her funeral took place today at Church of the Holy Trinity, Goresbridge, and was attended by large crowds including the aide-de-camp of the President of Ireland Michael D Higgins. Mourners heard of a proud and faithful Goresbridge woman who had a wonderful life. She adored her grandchildren and was proud of each and every one of them. They recited the Prayers of the Faithful at today's funeral Mass. Her son Tony Mullins gave a touching and at-times humourous eulogy, recounting the details of a fascinating life well lived. Her early years were shaped by a passion for horses and the thrill of the race. While many of her siblings played musical instruments, young Maureens interests were hunting and show jumping. From her carefree beginnings on the family farm to the heights of international acclaim, Maureen's life journey showed how strong and determined she was. She moved from the idyllic countryside of Carlow to the bustling streets of Dublin, where she embarked on a career as a secretary for the British Paint Company. It was during this time that she crossed paths with her future husband, Paddy Mullins, a meeting that would forever alter the course of her life. Maureen and Paddy's journey began when they first met at the tender age of 14, bonding over their shared love for equestrian pursuits while hunting with the Mount Loftus Harriers. They were married in 1954 and had five children - Sandra, Willie, Tom, George, and Tony. As the beloved wife of the late Paddy Mullins, Maureen played an instrumental role in his distinguished career as a trainer and jockey. Behind every great man, it is said, stands an even greater woman, and Maureen's unwavering support and encouragement were the bedrock of Paddy's success. Together, they forged a partnership that became synonymous with excellence, earning acclaim on tracks both at home and abroad. The couple were married for 54 years, until Paddys passing 12 years ago. Maureen, whose equestrian expertise extended to successful point-to-point riding, gave her two wins in the sport, noting her last ride two decades ago at the age of 75. Fondly remembered for outpacing her daughter Sandra to clinch third place in a race at Gowran in 1982, a moment treasured by both mother and daughter. Throughout her life, Maureen remained a pillar of strength and inspiration to her family, including sons Willie, Tom, and Tony, and grandson Emmet, who followed in her footsteps as stewards of Ireland's racing dynasty. With grandsons Danny, Patrick, David and Charlie in the saddle, the Mullins dynasty continues to dominate the racing world. With a keen eye for talent and an unwavering commitment to excellence, Maureen's influence extended far beyond the racecourse. Her legacy lives on in the countless lives she touched and the hearts she inspired, leaving an indelible imprint on the fabric of Irish racing. Maureen always graced the track, elegantly dressed with a big smile, leaving everyone struck by her warmth and wit. In her final years, Maureen reflected on a life well-lived, filled with the thrill of victory and camaraderie shared with fellow race goers. From the triumphs of Vintage Tipple victory ridden by Frankie Dettori, in the 2003 Irish Oaks to the iconic Height of Fashion and the legendary Dawn Run. Her memories are a testament to her enduring passion for the sport. As we bid farewell to Maureen Mullins, we celebrate her legacy that will forever be enshrined in the annals of Irish racing history. She was a beacon of inspiration to all who had the privilege of knowing her. May her spirit continue to gallop on in the hearts of racing enthusiasts around the world, a fitting tribute to the lady and mother of Irish racing. Maureen Mullins (nee Doran) Doninga, Goresbridge, died peacefully at her home on Wednesday. Predeceased by her husband Paddy. Sadly missed by her children, Sandra (McCarthy), William, George, Tony and Tom, spouses, and partner, ten grandchildren, sisters Elizabeth and Angela, brothers Tom and Noel. Predeceased by her siblings, Peggy, Agnes Patricia, Eileen, George and Michael, nieces, nephews, relatives, and friends. There have been calls for the details of the exit package for all employees, including former RTE executive Rory Coveney, to be revealed after it emerged this week that former CFO Breda OKeeffe received an exit package of 450,000. The Chair of the Public Accounts Committee Deputy Brian Stanley has sought for details on Mr Coveney's package to be revealed. Mr Coveney was RTE's director of strategy and resigned from the organisation last year. During the week an Oireachtas committee heard that he also received an "exit package". Speaking on RTE's Morning Ireland on Friday, Sinn Fein TD Brian Stanley said that the amount paid to Mr Coveney should be disclosed. While he welcomed changes made by the new executive at RTE, Deputy Stanley said that it was a mistake to enter into or have confidentiality clauses "around any of these matters". Senator Marie Sherlock also said RTEs Director General must set the record straight on exit packages for all staff that were granted by RTE over the past five years. Senator Sherlock said: Many of us are reeling at the news that the business case for the exit of former CFO Breda OKeeffe was not even committed to paper at a time where RTE management were engaged in fine tooth comb negotatiations about pay, travel and subsistence with staff in the organisation". Until we have full transparency on this behaviour RTE cannot move on: 2.6m in golden handshakes paid out to executives during Dee Forbess reign - & all this while staff were cut back ! https://t.co/WqdBMis5Ly Ciaran Mullooly (@ciaranmullooly) February 16, 2024 She also questioned other exit deals for staff. All this is happening at a time where RTE continues to deny employment status and associated rights to hundreds of workers who have been determined as bogusly self employed," Senator Sherlock said. Ultimately, Director General Kevin Bakhurst needs to provide a full record of what packages were negotiated and the associated cost. Unlike any private organisation that might negotiate packages to push people out of the organisation, public money is at stake here. The need for bailouts for RTE predates the crisis that broke out last summer and the sharp drop in TV licence revenues is deeply concerning. This is all happening in the context of massive bailouts paid to the broadcaster in recent years," Senator Sherlock said. It was a day for champagne celebrations in the Wee County as Arthurs XL Shop on the Newry Road in Dundalk was revealed as the selling location for Wednesdays jackpot winning ticket worth an astonishing 3,523,021. The winning numbers in the Wednesday 14th February draw were 01, 05, 10, 15, 44, 47 and the bonus was 45. Brian Duffy, who owns the store with his wife Clodagh, was thrilled to hear the news so soon after selling another large prize: "Two months with two big wins for our customers! Back in January, we sold an All Cash Platinum scratch card with a 75,000 prize and now the winning has gotten even bigger for February. We are delighted for the winner imagine checking your ticket to see its worth over 3.5 million. "Myself and my wife took over the shop back in December 2021 from my wifes father so this has been our biggest win since then. There is sure to be lots of excitement in-store as the news spreads and of course around the town as well. "We have a real mix of locals who come into us daily as well as passing trade from far and wide as we are located not too far from the border. The winner really could be anywhere, so we wish them all the very best with their huge win." Lotto players in Louth are now being urged to check their tickets carefully for last nights draw as one player now has a ticket worth a life-changing amount. Wednesdays jackpot winner is advised to sign the back of their ticket and to keep it safe. They should make contact with the National Lottery prize claims team on 1800 666 222 or email claims@lottery.ie and arrangements will be made for them to collect their 3.5 million prize. A National Lottery spokesperson said: "It might be known as the Wee County but the celebrations are certain to be huge this week in Louth with a Lotto player bagging themselves over 3.5 million in Wednesday nights draw. "The midweek multi-millionaire has officially taken the title of 2nd Lotto jackpot winner of 2024 as well as the 5th National Lottery millionaire of the year to date. "We are encouraging all of our players who purchased their tickets in Louth to carefully check their tickets today as one player has a prize worth 3,523,021 waiting for them. "The first thing the jackpot winner should do is the sign the back of their ticket and then make contact with our prize claims team who will make arrangements for Irelands newest millionaire to visit Lotto HQ to collect their life-changing prize. TRU Simulation celebrates 10 years of innovation in flight simulation TRU Simulation + Training today revealed that as it marks a decade of success in the aviation simulation industry, the company is rebranding to simply "TRU Simulation." The new brand and logo reflect TRU's shift away from providing pilot training experiences to a more targeted focus on designing, manufacturing and maintaining state-of-the-art, high-fidelity flight simulators to address the vital need for accurate and true-to-life pilot training tools. TRU Simulation Inc., an affiliate of Textron Aviation Inc., is a Textron Inc. (NYSE:TXT) company that designs, manufactures and delivers high-fidelity training devices and full-motion simulators for civil and defense customers. "We are thrilled to celebrate TRU Simulation's 10th anniversary, a significant milestone that showcases our commitment to excellence in advanced aviation simulation. We owe our success to our loyal customers and dedicated employees who have been instrumental in shaping our journey. Their trust and support have allowed us to deliver cutting-edge training tools that empower pilots to navigate the skies confidently," said Jerry Messaris, vice president and general manager, TRU Simulation. "As we look ahead, we remain steadfast in our mission to provide safe, realistic and cost-effective simulators that meet the evolving needs of the aviation industry." Originally formed out of three legacy aviation companies, TRU Simulation has evolved since its founding in 2014 to address unique simulator needs for a wide range of customers. TRU prides itself on customizing simulator devices to meet specific customer needs while meeting or exceeding all regulatory requirements. For more information, visit trusimulation.com. About TRU Simulation TRU Simulation Inc., an affiliate of Textron Aviation Inc., is a leading provider of high-fidelity training devices and full-motion simulators for the aviation industry. With a strong commitment to excellence and innovation, TRU Simulation has been at the forefront of flight simulation technology for over a decade. Our customized simulator solutions empower pilots to navigate the skies confidently, while our state-of-the-art technology ensures safe and realistic training experiences. For more information, visit www.TRUSimulation.com. About Textron Aviation We inspire the journey of flight. For more than 95 years, Textron Aviation Inc., a Textron Inc. company, has empowered our collective talent across the Beechcraft, Cessna and Hawker brands to design and deliver the best aviation experience for our customers. With a range that includes everything from business jets, turboprops, and high-performance pistons, to special mission, military trainer and defense products, Textron Aviation has the most versatile and comprehensive aviation product portfolio in the world and a workforce that has produced more than half of all general aviation aircraft worldwide. Customers in more than 170 countries rely on our legendary performance, reliability and versatility, along with our trusted global customer service network, for affordable and flexible flight. For more information, visit www.txtav.com | www.defense.txtav.com | www.scorpionjet.com. About Textron Inc. Textron Inc. is a multi-industry company that leverages its global network of aircraft, defense, industrial and finance businesses to provide customers with innovative solutions and services. Textron is known around the world for its powerful brands such as Bell, Cessna, Beechcraft, Pipistrel, Jacobsen, Kautex, Lycoming, E-Z-GO, Arctic Cat, Textron Systems, and TRU Simulation. For more information, visit: www.textron.com. Certain statements in this press release are forward-looking statements which may project revenues or describe strategies, goals, outlook or other non-historical matters; these statements speak only as of the date on which they are made, and we undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements. These statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors that may cause our actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. 15 february 2024 at 16:25 News published onand distributed by: BAKU, Azerbaijan, February 16. The Baku Network expert platform aired the next episode of the analytical video project "Dialogue with Tofig Abbasov", Trend reports. The guest of the program was Azerbaijani MP Mazahir Afandiyev. He added that the issue of citizenship of the Armenian population of Karabakh is exclusively internal to Azerbaijan. The Azerbaijani side has consistently emphasized that they will not discuss internal concerns with the opposing side. Of course, citizenship concerns for anyone wishing to reside in Azerbaijan are entirely internal to the country. Armenians living in Karabakh can now apply for Azerbaijani citizenship through a specific portal, the MP added. Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel Town of Trenton fined $100,000 for violating the Fisheries Act in Nova Scotia PICTOU, NS, Feb. 16, 2024 /CNW/ - The Government of Canada enforces the laws that protect Canada's air, water, and natural environment, and takes pollution incidents and threats to the environment seriously. On February 15, 2024, the Town of Trenton was ordered to pay a total of $100,000, after pleading guilty to one count of violating the Fisheries Act at the Provincial Court of Nova Scotia in Pictou County. The total fine will be directed to the Government of Canada's Environmental Damages Fund. In addition to the sentence, the court also issued an order with a number of conditions to be met within 18 months. Some of the conditions include: training on the Fisheries Act and its requirements; training on proper effluent sampling protocols for Town of Trenton employees and contractors; completing routine sampling; and publishing emergency contact information and information about the incident and sentencing on the Town of Trenton website. The charge stemmed from an Environment and Climate Change Canada enforcement investigation, which determined that raw sewage was discharged into Lowden Brook between June 1, 2019, and January 4, 2020. Lowden Brook is a tributary to the East River that supports populations of Speckled Trout, Brown Trout, and Atlantic Salmon. On November 13, 2019, Environment and Climate Change Canada enforcement officers received a complaint of a strong sewage smell around Lowden Brook along North Main Street in Trenton, Nova Scotia. When officers conducted an on-site inspection, they located an outfall that was releasing what appeared to be raw sewage into the brook. It was determined that the outfall was connected to the Town of Trenton's municipal infrastructure. Officers collected samples from the outfall and at the entry point into Lowden Brook for chemistry, microbiology, and toxicology analysis. After lab results determined that there were high levels of E. coli at the outfall and the culvert, and that the effluent was toxic to fish, on December 20, 2019, officers issued a Fisheries Act written Direction to the Town of Trenton. The Direction required the town to develop a plan to stop the deposit of the deleterious substance and provide regular monitoring reports until the deposit was stopped. The deposit ceased on January 3, 2020. Because of this conviction, the Town of Trenton will be added to the Environmental Offenders Registry. The Registry contains information on convictions of corporations registered for offences committed under certain federal environmental laws. Environment and Climate Change Canada has created a free subscription service to help Canadians stay current with what the Government of Canada is doing to protect the natural environment. Quick facts Environment and Climate Change Canada administers and enforces the pollution prevention provisions of the Fisheries Act . The pollution prevention provisions include subsection 36(3) of the Fisheries Act which prohibits the deposit of a deleterious substance into water frequented by fish, or in a place where it may enter water frequented by fish. . The pollution prevention provisions include subsection 36(3) of the which prohibits the deposit of a deleterious substance into water frequented by fish, or in a place where it may enter water frequented by fish. A Fisheries Act Direction is a compliance tool that may be issued by enforcement officers when there is an unauthorized deposit of a deleterious substance into water frequented by fish, or when there is a serious and imminent danger of such an incident and immediate action is necessary. The Direction may require the person to take all reasonable measures consistent with safety and the conservation of fish and fish habitat. Direction is a compliance tool that may be issued by enforcement officers when there is an unauthorized deposit of a deleterious substance into water frequented by fish, or when there is a serious and imminent danger of such an incident and immediate action is necessary. The Direction may require the person to take all reasonable measures consistent with safety and the conservation of fish and fish habitat. Created in 1995, the Environmental Damages Fund is a Government of Canada program administered by Environment and Climate Change Canada. The Fund helps ensure that court-awarded penalties are used to repair environmental damage or benefit the environment. The Fund receives and redirects the money from court penalties and settlements and aims to invest in areas where the environmental damage occurred. Associated links Environment and Climate Change Canada's Twitter page Environment and Climate Change Canada's Facebook page SOURCE Environment and Climate Change Canada 16 february 2024 at 12:58 News published onand distributed by: Palestinian patients arriving at Rafah after evacuation from Nasser Hospital, Khan Yunis, February 15, 2024. MOHAMMED SALEM / REUTERS Clearly terrified, Dr. Mohammed Harara filmed himself moving around a room in the Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis, in the south of the Gaza Strip. All around, debris from an explosion littered the floor, the air saturated with dust. "Is there anyone still inside?" repeated the doctor in this short video posted on Instagram on Thursday, February 15, against a backdrop of artillery fire. The Israeli army had just launched its assault on the largest hospital complex still in operation in the Gaza Strip. Another video shot by Palestinian journalist Mohammad Salama showed patients being evacuated in chaos, following a strike on the orthopedics department, which killed one patient. Faced with the unexpected attack, over 400 people, including 191 patients, were transferred to a wing of the hospital, without food or water, according to the local Ministry of Health. "Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis, Gaza, was shelled in the early hours of this morning, despite Israeli Forces having told medical staff and patients they could remain in the facility," the NGO Doctors Without Borders (MSF) reported on X, reporting an "undetermined number of people killed and injured." The Israeli military claimed to have launched their raid after gathering "credible information from various sources, including freed hostages, indicating that Hamas had held hostages" in the hospital a claim denied by the Palestinian Islamist movement. The army hopes to find information about the hundred or so Israelis still being held hostage in the Gaza Strip since October 7, 2023, and about the remains of the 29 hostages who have since been killed there. On Thursday evening, IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari said they were "still searching." Only grenades had so far been found in the compound. The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights on Thursday condemned the "pattern of attacks by Israeli forces striking essential life-saving civilian infrastructure in Gaza, especially hospitals." Already strangled by the Israeli siege throughout the enclave and overwhelmed by the influx of dead and wounded caused by the bombardments, the Gazan health system has also been systematically targeted by the Israeli military. The strike on Nasser Hospital followed a similar pattern to the attacks inflicted on most hospitals in northern Gaza in recent months: Al-Shifa, Kamal-Adwan, Al-Awda, Al-Rantissi... 'Executed in cold blood' The army's strategy was to first tighten its grip and creep closer. For three weeks, the fighting had gradually moved closer to Nasser Hospital. In the week leading up to the assault, more than 20 Palestinians were killed by sniper fire in and around the hospital compound, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, based on figures from the local Ministry of Health. The body of a teenager was filmed lying near the entrance gate, with no one daring to come and get him. Then, on Tuesday, the Israeli army ordered the complete evacuation of the hospital a call repeated the following day. You have 34.2% of this article left to read. The rest is for subscribers only. Senegalese President Macky Sall in Dakar on February 9, 2024. SYLVAIN CHERKAOUI / AP The decision is a scathing repudiation of the Senegalese president. On Thursday, February 15, the Constitutional Council overturned the postponement to December 15 of the presidential election, plunging the West African country further into uncertainty. Referred to by several members of the opposition and a dozen candidates for the presidency, the Council declared the law postponing by 10 months the election due to be held on February 25 and extending President Macky Sall's time in office beyond the end of his term is "contrary to the Constitution." Although it also repealed the presidential decree which, de facto, modified the electoral calendar, the body did not set a new date for the vote. Given the delay in the process, it simply noted it was "impossible" to organize "the presidential election on the initially scheduled date" of February 25 and "encourages the competent authorities to hold it as soon as possible." First announced by President Sall on February 3 and ratified two days later by MPs during a heated session in which opposition members were expelled from the National Assembly, the decision to postpone the election caused a political upheaval in a country where presidential election dates had always been respected since independence. The Council's decision, after petitions by opponents who considered the change in timetable to be unconstitutional, was eagerly awaited, even if Senegal's leader made no commitment to follow its advice. "When the decision is made, I will be able to say what I will do," he told the Associated Press on February 9. A number of leading members of the presidential camp believe that the members of the Council do not have the authority to review a constitutional law. This interpretation has been rejected by the seven judges, who consider themselves "competent" to rule on the legality of texts. Judges suspected of corruption Nevertheless, the Council finds itself in a situation that is, to say the least, uncomfortable. Committed to impartiality, it has been blamed for influencing the electoral process. Two of its seven judges have been accused of corruption by the Senegalese Democratic Party (PDS) for their decision to disqualify its candidate, Karim Wade, the son of former president Abdoulaye Wade (2000-2012), from the presidential race. Wade was disqualified for refusing to renounce his French nationality in time, as the Constitution requires that all candidates for the office be exclusively Senegalese. The PDS then successfully got the National Assembly to set up a commission of inquiry accusing Prime Minister Amadou Ba, the ruling party's presidential candidate, of "using his power to manipulate the election and eliminate candidates." You have 59.86% of this article left to read. The rest is for subscribers only. Actor Gerard Depardieu poses in Berlin, Germany February 19, 2016. STEFANIE LOOS / REUTERS A woman has accused French screen legend Gerard Depardieu of allegedly sexually assaulting her during a 2014 film shoot, according to the police complaint and a newspaper report. The woman registered a complaint on January 9 accusing Depardieu of "sexual assault on a vulnerable person by someone abusing the authority of their function," according to the document seen by Agence France-Presse late Thursday. She told the regional newspaper Le Courrier de l'Ouest that he groped her "all over" and made "inappropriate" remarks while she was a 24-year-old assistant on the set in western France of 2015 film Le magician et le Siamiois ("The Magician and the Siamese"). The Paris prosecutor's office confirmed there had been a complaint, and said it would be examined. The statute of limitations for an alleged sexual assault on an adult in France is six years. The actor's lawyer, Christian Saint-Palais, said he had learnt about the complaint in the press and would not comment on it. But "Depardieu firmly rejects all accusations against him," he said. Depardieu, 75, has been charged with rape in another case and has been accused of sexual harassment and assault by more than a dozen women. He denies the allegations. Depardieu was in 2020 charged with rape and sexual assault after actor Charlotte Arnould filed her own complaint over allegations dating to 2018. Read more Subscribers only Gerard Depardieu: The decline of a sacred monster of French cinema Another sexual assault complaint filed last year by actor Helene Darras, who said Depardieu groped and propositioned her during a 2007 film shoot, has been dropped for being past the statute of limitations. Spanish journalist and author Ruth Baza said that she had filed a criminal complaint in Spain against Depardieu last month, claiming he raped her in 1995 in Paris. The complaint has little hope of leading to charges due to the statute of limitations in France, which is 20 years for the alleged rape of an adult. But Baza said she decided to go ahead anyway in the hope that it would "help other people" to do the same. Repeated allegations against Depardieu have become a culture-war frontline in France, dividing the world of cinema and pitting feminist groups against the actor's defenders including President Emmanuel Macron. The French leader in December said Depardieu should enjoy the presumption of innocence, calling him an "immense actor" and insinuating he was the victim of a "manhunt." Macron more recently allowed that he had not "said enough how important the words of women who are victims of this violence are." Read more Subscribers only Depardieu in North Korea: The preposterous making of a profane documentary A LONG-SERVING Limerick priest has said theres something very blinkered at what he feels is a rise in anti-immigrant sentiment. Fr Seamus Enright, who spent more than 21 years as a Redemptorist cleric in Limerick, says: I don't understand it really when asked about the increase. And, he said, the government has not done well in terms of its communication around the issue. His comments come amid a number of alleged arson attacks across the country on facilities which are set to house asylum seekers. Its quite worrying really. We are a nation of emigrants ourselves. People say migrants and think asylum seekers and refugees. But without migrants, our health system would collapse, Fr Enright said. The priest said he fears people are being manipulated. Maybe people who live in communities where the resources are scarce are frightened if they have to share those scarce resources with other people, they will be even more scarce then they are already, he told the Leader. Fr Enright said he recalled watching the news covering the protests in Roscrea, where one demonstrator declared the town and its schools are full. READ MORE: 'On the beat' at charity gig organised by Limerick gardai About two days later, the Irish Independent had an article saying they had spoken to almost all the schools there and they are not full, he said. Untruths, half truths and misinformation filters its way into the conversation and really needs to be challenged. I dont think government has done well in terms of communicating what is going on, he added. Elsewhere, Fr Enright believes if the Redemptorist order is to survive into the future, its clergy must become more representative of the population of Limerick now. A group of ageing white, middle-class men no longer does that, he remarked. We need a Ukrainian Redemptorist which we have now, a Brazilian Redemptorist, an Indian Redemptorist, we need a Polish Redemptorist. We missed an opportunity before my time when Congolese migrants came to Limerick and asked if we could say Mass in French. The priest at the time said itd be better if they integrate. Limerick is so cosmopolitan and who appears at the altar should reflect that, and we are only now doing that, he concluded. LIMERICK Chamber has formally objected to controversial plans to expand Dublin Airport to allow it to welcome 40 million passengers a year. The largest business representative organisation in the region has put in a formal submission to Dublin Airport Authoritys plans to expand on land to the airports north and south and extend terminal one. In the lengthy communication with Fingal County Council, whose local planners will decide on the application in the first instance, Chamber chief executive Dee Ryan said expanding the capitals airport is wrong when there is significant under-utilised capacity in other State-owned airports. She is referring to Cork and Shannon. Ms Ryan added: Limerick Chamber has long been calling for national aviation policy to be updated as it is out of touch with the goals of Project Ireland 2040 and the Climate Action Plan. She acknowledged the national importance of Dublin Airport, but said it is time other airports around Ireland were expanded - in particular Shannon. She says the local airport has the capacity to handle three million extra passengers annually. This would take them from their current levels of 1.9million passengers to their maximum capacity at five million. Multiple studies have evidenced the link between international connectivity in regional airports and regional economic growth. "We know that business routes, specific strategic routes that support clusters of industry, translate into investment and more opportunities thats why we advocate for better connectivity for Shannon, said the chief executive. Ms Ryan said the starting point for passenger growth across regional airports must come with a review of national aviation policy. Limerick Chamber have been vocal advocates for this over a number of years, she said, adding when Ireland compares to other European countries in terms of its airports, there is capital domination. In Ireland, 85% of flights into the country land in Dublin, while in Switzerland, this number falls to just 55% going to its hub airport of Zurich. We cant continue this unrestricted growth at Dublin Airport and Fingal County Council must take a broader view of the overall national aviation landscape when they are adjudicating on this expansion application, Ms Ryan said. Limerick Chamber stated a strong interconnected network of international airports is vital for both businesses and the wider economy. READ MORE: Business park left out of Limerick transport strategy It warned that if this goes unaddressed, Ireland 2040 - which envisages a doubling of Limericks population in 16 years - could become an unrealised dream. Limerick Chamber has 400 businesses among its membership. Between these, up to 50,000 people are employed. Its submission also highlighted the issues around public transport to and from Dublin Airport. The introduction of Metro North, they said, is a vital tool, if Dublin Airport wants to expand. No decision date for the planning application is available from Fingal County Council as of yet. THE Lord Mayor of Birmingham will travel to county Clare this weekend to initiate efforts by Clare County Council and Birmingham City Council to explore the establishment of economic links between the UKs second largest City and the Shannon area, including the airport and industrial zone. Councillor Chaman Lal and key figures from Europes largest local authority will arrive at Shannon Airport this Friday before embarking on a comprehensive two-day tour of County Clare. The itinerary includes meetings with business leaders in Shannon, including representatives of the Future Mobility Campus, EI Electronics and Jaguar Landover, ahead of a Shannon Chamber business lunch, which will feature a keynote address by Darragh OBrien, TD, Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage. Cllr Lal also will visit the Cliffs of Moher Visitor Experience, enjoy a cruise on Lough Derg, and attend the Bunratty Castle Medieval Banquet. Cllr Lal became the first British-Indian Lord Mayor of Birmingham on his election to the position in May 2023. Speaking ahead of his visit, the Lord Mayor said, Birmingham has the largest Irish population per capita in Britain, but to date the city has not had any formal or substantive direct relationships with any Irish town or city at a municipal level. READ MORE: Clare couple's incredible house to feature on RTE's Home of the Year "I am excited to meet with business and local government leaders in County Clare to explore how both Councils might build connections on a variety of footprints from trade and investment to education and culture." The Lord Mayors visit follows his acceptance of an invitation from the cathaoirleach of Clare County Council Cllr Joe Cooney and chair of the County Clare Twinning Committee, Cllr Tony OBrien. On the invitation of the Lord Mayor, a Clare delegation will make a return visit to Birmingham during March as the city will celebrate the 50th anniversary of their St. Patricks Day celebrations. Cathaoirleach Joe Cooney said, Establishing a link between the Shannon Municipal District (MD) and a British city has been a long-time objective of the MDs Elected Members who recognise the potential gains for businesses in this region through the establishment of such a relationship. "Birmingham with its sizeable Irish population and its status as a global hub for major multinationals makes it an ideal fit for Shannon. We very much look forward to welcoming the Lord Mayor to County Clare on Friday morning. Cllr. Tony OBrien commented, The Twinning Committee approached Birmingham City Council about exploring the development of links between both regions due to the excellent connectivity between Shannon Airport and Birmingham, which is the largest airport in the British Midlands. "Any economic synchronisation between our two regions also would have an added tourism value as it would serve to showcase County Clare to the vitally important UK visitor market. A 15-year-old girl has been pronounced dead after a road collision in Co Tipperary. Gardai in Nenagh are appealing for witnesses following the fatal traffic collision on Thursday, February 15, 2024. At approximately 6:45pm, gardai and Emergency Services rushed to the scene of a two-car crash on the R503 at Rearcross. A 15-year-old girl, a passenger in one of the cars, was pronounced deceased at the scene a short time later, gardai have confirmed. "The three other occupants of that car (a male in his 20s, a female in her 20s, and another female in her mid-teens) and the driver of the second car (an adult female) were transported by ambulance to Limerick University Hospital for assessment; their injuries are not deemed life-threatening," a statement added. "The deceased has been transferred to the mortuary at Limerick University Hospital where a post-mortem examination will be carried out." The road is currently closed to facilitate examination by Garda Forensic Collision Investigators, with local traffic diversions in place. Gardai are appealing for witnesses to come forward. Additionally, anyone with camera footage (including dashcam) from the area at the time is requested to provide it to gardai. Anyone with information is asked to contact Nenagh garda station at 067 50450, the Garda Confidential Line at 1800 666 111, or any garda station. A MAN who was jailed for ten years for causing serious harm to an elderly man with a machete has had his conviction overturned due to the failure by gardai to seek out CCTV footage of the attack. At Limerick Circuit Criminal Court in November 2021, John O'Donoghue was convicted of assault causing serious harm to Willie O'Driscoll Sr, who was then aged 74, in Bothar Bui, Rathkeale, Co Limerick, on December 17, 2017. ODonoghue (54) of Lower Main Street, Rathkeale, was also convicted of violent disorder on the same date and location. A jury unanimously convicted Mr ODonoghue on the assault causing serious harm and on the violent disorder charge but found him not guilty of a charge of the production of an article a machete during the course of a dispute and of making threats to kill. Mr ODonoghue had pleaded not guilty on all counts. He was sentenced to 10 years' imprisonment for the assault causing serious harm and to a concurrent eight-year term for the violent disorder offence. At the appeal hearing, Michael Bowman SC, for Mr ODonoghue, said the prosecution failed in their duty to seek out crucial and paramount CCTV evidence in the case. Mr Bowman said that no CCTV had been retrieved by gardai even though there were 30 cameras in the area, according to an engineer the defence hired themselves. Mr Bowman submitted that a woman who lived in a house in the area with CCTV cameras covering the location of the incident, which involved multiple individuals and vehicles at a nearby yard area, said the equipment was operational at the time and told canvassing gardai they could view it. However, the Court of Appeal heard that gardai never returned to do so. READ MORE: 'They were telling me I was going to give them head. I did not want to' says alleged victim, 17, in Christmas party trial At the Court of Appeal on Friday, Ms Justice Tara Burns said the three-judge court would uphold Mr O'Donoghue's complaint regarding the failure of the trial judge to direct an acquittal". She said this was on the basis of an unfairness arising in the investigation which deprived him of a "reasonable prospect of a defence". Ms Justice Burns said it was an established duty of gardai to seek out and preserve CCTV. Ms Justice Burns said no evidence was submitted by the State to rebut the womans statement that she had operational CCTV fixed at a height to her house on the day and that gardai had called to her house and had been granted permission to view the footage. It seems to us that there were significant failings regarding the investigation into CCTV in this case and that a realistic prospect of a defence existed in relation to this missing CCTV, said Ms Justice Burns, who said the court would quash the convictions. BAKU, Azerbaijan, February 16. President of the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkiye (TOBB) Rifat Hisarckloglu has sent a congratulatory letter to President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev on his confident victory in the presidential election, Trend reports. Will be updated Cillian Murphy has said that the Magdalene Laundries scandal has continued to be a collective trauma that is still being dealt with by the Irish public. The Oscar and Bafta nominee, 47, is starring in Small Things Like These, based on Irish writer Claire Keegans Booker-shortlisted novel of the same name, which explores a father finding out how mothers and babies are being treated by a convent in New Ross, County Wexford. Irish star Murphy, also known for crime period drama Peaky Blinders and epic Christopher Nolan-directed Oppenheimer, attended a press conference for the new film at the 74th Berlin International Film Festival on Thursday. When asked how he thinks Ireland is still grappling with the shame of a time when women say they were detained by the Catholic Church against their will and forced to give up their children he said: I dont know if Im qualified enough to speak for the nation, really. But I do think that it was a collective trauma, particularly for people of a certain age, and I think that were still processing that. And I also think that art can be a really useful band for that wound and I think the book certainly was, and it was a huge seller in Ireland, it seemed like everybody read it. And I think, the sort of irony of the book is that its a Christian man trying to do a Christian act in a dysfunctional Christian society. And it asked a lot of questions about complicity and silence and shame and all of those things. But I really dont think the duty of art is to answer those questions (but) is to kind of provoke them, and maybe its kind of easier to absorb than an academic report, or a government report. Murphy, who plays Bill Furlong, a coal and timber merchant, who in December 1985 discovers the secrets of his local community, has been vocal in the past about womens issues in Ireland. The Cork-born actor has previously backed the repeal of the Irish constitutions eighth amendment ahead of the 2018 referendum, where the public voted yes to changes making abortion legal. He also narrated a podcast series about the survivors of the Tuam Mother and Baby homes in 2020 and is listed as a patron of the Unesco Child and Family Research Centre at the University of Galway, who have run projects on the issue. Producer and Hollywood star Matt Damon also told the press conference that it was a very easy decision for him and Ben Afflecks production company Artists Equity to make the Keegan adaptation. He said: Just to echo what Cillian said, that was one of the one of the things that attracted us to it, were these great artists grappling with this trauma. And so I mean, for us, just as you know, on on our side of it, it was a very easy proposition. It was about facilitating an environment where they could do this, work and explore these things, and really getting out of their way. Damon and Murphy previously starred together in 2023s Oppenheimer, which explores the rise and downfall of the so-called father of the atomic bomb, J Robert Oppenheimer. The cast of Small Things Like These reportedly also includes Belfast-born Ciaran Hinds, English actress and Angelas Ashes star Emily Watson, Northern Ireland actress and Game Of Thrones star Michelle Fairley, and The Magdalene Sisters star and Cork actress Eileen Walsh. Since the 18th Century, nuns operated laundries across Ireland until the final institution in Sean McDermott Street in Dublin closed in 1996. Originally aimed at fallen women, the laundries use was expanded during the 20th century to also include women who had not been pregnant or had entered from childrens homes. The Irish institutions became notorious for the abuse many women suffered there, with unmarked graves being discovered at one site in the 1990s. The issue prompted a formal state apology in 2013. The Good Shepherd Magdalene Laundry in New Ross closed its doors in 1967 and a memorial for the women has been placed near the area at St Stephens Cemetery, Irishtown, according to Justice for Magdalenes Research organisation. The subject was previously examined on the big screen in 2002, with Peter Mullans award-winning The Magdalene Sisters. New Delhi, India, February 16, 2024 - The 14th Global Investment Immigration Summit at the Shangri-la Hotel in New Delhi on February 10, 2024 marked a significant milestone in India's quest for international opportunities. The event witnessed a remarkable surge in attendees, indicative of the growing interest among Indian investors and High Net Worth Individuals (HNIs) in exploring avenues abroad. With a keen focus on various immigration programs such as the EB-5 Visa, Portugal Golden Visa, UK Business Immigration, and Europe Golden Visa, the summit served as a comprehensive platform for industry professionals and aspiring immigrants alike. Organized by BLS Global and Acquest Advisors (Knowledge Partner) the summit brought together a diverse array of immigration experts from around the world. Representatives from countries like the US, UK, Portugal, Greece, and more converged in New Delhi to share insights and expertise with over 150 HNIs and industry professionals in attendance. View Full Image The 14th Global Investment Immigration Summit at the Shangri-la Hotel in New Delhi on February 10, 2024 marked a significant milestone in India's quest for international opportunities. The opening ceremony of the summit was graced by Sam Hussain, Director of BLS Global, and Paresh Karia, CEO Acquest Advisors who extended a warm welcome to all the distinguished guests, speakers, and partners. Shri Raj Kumar Sharma, Founder, President, and CEO of the Indo Latin American Chamber of Commerce, delivered the inaugural address, shedding light on the myriad opportunities available to Indian business owners and HNIs on the global stage. Sharma's emphasis on the importance of seeking professional guidance in navigating the complex immigration landscape struck a chord with the audience, laying the foundation for the insightful discussions that followed. One of the key highlights of the summit was the presentation by Paresh Karia, CEO of Acquest Advisors. With years of experience in banking, investment advisory, real estate, and immigration, Mr. Karia brought a wealth of knowledge to the table. His presentation provided a comprehensive overview of the latest immigration trends, focusing on the growing interest among Indian HNIs in residency and citizenship by investment options such as the US EB-5 Visa, Portugal Golden Visa, and Greece Golden Visa. Karia's insights resonated with the audience, sparking discussions and inquiries into the various opportunities available abroad. View Full Image Throughout the summit, Acquest Advisors played a pivotal role as the knowledge partner, providing invaluable expertise and guidance to attendees. A power-packed session on the US EB-5 Visa program captured the attention of attendees. Leading professionals from the US and India engaged in insightful discussions, dissecting the legal and financial intricacies of the EB-5 program and addressing queries from the audience. The session provided valuable insights into the highly popular US Green Card by Investment program, its requirements, benefits, and potential pitfalls, empowering attendees to make informed decisions about their immigration goals. The summit also featured presentations highlighting investment opportunities in Europe, with a particular focus on countries like Portugal and Greece. Post-lunch sessions delved into the technical aspects of remitting funds overseas under schemes like the Liberalised Remittance Scheme, as well as recent regulatory changes affecting such remittances. The session, led by Paresh Karia, featured renowned bankers, chartered accountants, and immigration experts who imparted valuable insights and practical guidance on navigating the intricate terrain of international finance and immigration effectively. A panel discussion on the recent changes in UK Immigration programs rounded off the event, providing attendees with valuable insights into the opportunities available to entrepreneurs and businesses seeking immigration to the UK. Throughout the summit, Acquest Advisors played a pivotal role as the knowledge partner, providing invaluable expertise and guidance to attendees. Specializing in Business Immigration and Residency by Investment programs offered by American and European governments, Acquest Advisors offers tailor-made solutions to HNIs, business owners, and startup entrepreneurs. With a deep understanding of clients' needs and circumstances, Acquest Advisors works closely with its clients to develop personalized immigration strategies that align with their goals and aspirations. Headquartered in Mumbai, the financial capital of India, Acquest Advisors boasts a network of experts, including renowned attorneys, bankers, and chartered accountants. This extensive network enables Acquest Advisors to offer comprehensive immigration solutions to its clients, ensuring that they receive the highest level of service and support throughout their immigration journey. After establishing itself as a leading investment immigration consultant in India, Acquest is now spreading its wings to the Middle East starting with Dubai. Paresh Karia, CEO of Acquest Advisors, is at the forefront of the firm's efforts to provide world-class immigration services to its clients. With over two decades of experience across banking, investment advisory, real estate, and immigration, Karia brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to his role. A thought leader in the field, Karia is a regular contributor to leading publications and media outlets, where he shares his insights and expertise on immigration and investment trends. In conclusion, the 14th Global Investment Immigration Summit served as a valuable platform for Indian investors and HNIs to explore opportunities abroad and gain insights into the latest immigration trends and programs. With valuable insights from BLS Global and Acquest Advisors, attendees left the summit equipped with the knowledge and expertise they need to pursue their immigration goals with confidence and success. For more information, please visit - https://www.acquest-advisors.com/ Contact Information - +91 9769769900 (Tel/WhatsApp) 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. Milestone Alert! Livemint tops charts as the fastest growing news website in the world Click here to know more. Unlock a world of Benefits! From insightful newsletters to real-time stock tracking, breaking news and a personalized newsfeed it's all here, just a click away! Login Now! JSW Steel Ltd, Indias largest steelmaker by capacity, will invest 65,000 crore to set up one of its biggest manufacturing plants, in Odisha, adding to the countrys efforts to boost production of the alloy. JSW Steel, part of the $23-billion JSW Group, is establishing a greenfield complex in the industrial city of Paradip that will include a steel plant with a production capacity of 13.2 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) as well as a cement manufacturing unit. The investment will be in phases. The company at present has a total manufacturing capacity of 28.5 million tonnes (mt), which includes Indias current largest steel plantJSW Steels facility in Vijayanagar, Karnataka that has an annual capacity for producing 12 mt of steel. The company is upgrading this facilitys manufacturing capacity to 18 mtpa. JSW Steels latest addition in Paradip aligns with the national steel policys target of boosting Indias total steel manufacturing capacity to 300 mt by 2031, from about 161 mt now. Based on the announced investment pipeline, the steel industry is set to augment its capacity by about 40 million tonnes between FY24 and FY27, nearing a total installed capacity of close to 200 million tonnes upon project completion," said Priyesh Ruparelia, vice-president and co-group head, corporate ratings, at Icra Ltd. However, the pace of capacity growth hinges on the timely execution of these expansion initiatives." JSWs new complex will be set up on over 2,958 acres of land handed over to it by the Industrial Development Corporation of Odisha. The group said it plans to use about 30% of the land for preservation of forest and water bodies. Steel plays the most important role in building any great nation. A steel plant changes the lives of future generations and positively affects the economy in many ways," said Sajjan Jindal, chairman of JSW Group, following a foundation-laying ceremony on Friday that was presided over by Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik. There will be a total investment of 65,000 crore in this facility and more than 30,000 direct and indirect employment potential," Jindal said. Earlier this week, JSW Steel announced plans to set up a 5,500-crore, grain-oriented electrical steel manufacturing facility through a joint venture with Japans JFE Steel Corp. in Karnataka. At a press briefing on Thursday, Santrupt Misra and Sasmit Patra, national spokespersons for the Odishas ruling Biju Janata Dal party, said the state was seeking substantial private investments to boost its economy. He also said the state government had approved about 1,860 industrial projects over the previous 5 years, receiving total investments of about 11.63 lakh crore and creating employment opportunities for over 733,000 people. According to analysts, the consistent flow of investments from the steel industry into Odisha, which has a 485-km coastline along the Bay of Bengal, is owing to its mineral-rich characteristics and the governments policies. Odisha being a mineral-rich state has high-quality iron ore reserves, which is a critical raw material for a steel plant. Moreover, the presence of thermal coal mines supports the operation of captive power plants for the steel companies in the region," said Icras Ruparelia. The JSW Group has also signed a memorandum of understanding with the Odisha government for an electric vehicle and a battery manufacturing unit in Cuttack and Paradip. The company will invest 40,000 crore for the manufacturing plants, it had said. Earlier this week, Kalyani Steel Ltd announced a plan to invest 26,000 crore to set up a titanium metal and aerospace components manufacturing facility and an integrated specialty steel and automotive components manufacturing complex at Gajamara in Odisha. JSW STEEL More Information Milestone Alert! Livemint tops charts as the fastest growing news website in the world Click here to know more. Unlock a world of Benefits! From insightful newsletters to real-time stock tracking, breaking news and a personalized newsfeed it's all here, just a click away! Login Now! Nike on Thursday said that it will reduce its workforce by about 2%, or more than 1,600 people, in a bid to cut costs. Nike Chief Executive John Donahoe said the company is using its resources to increase investment in categories like running, womens apparel and the Jordan brand, according to an employee memo reviewed by The Wall Street Journal. The cuts arent expected to affect employees in stores and distribution centers or those in its innovation team. The Beaverton, Ore.-based sneaker company had about 83,700 employees as of May 31. This is a painful reality and not one that I take lightly. We are not currently performing at our best, and I ultimately hold myself and my leadership team accountable," Donahoe said in the memo. The job cuts are expected to start Friday and a second phase will be complete by the end of the quarter, the memo said. Nike in December lowered its revenue outlook for the year amid concerns that consumers are becoming more cautious with their spending. At the time, it said it would look to shave up to $2 billion in costs over the next three years through actions including job cuts and organizational streamlining. To compete, we must edit, shift and divest less critical work to create greater focus and capacity for what matters most," Donahoe said in the memo. The announcement came as U.S. retail sales declined in January from the prior month, which showed robust consumer spending activity during the holiday season. The company has been dealing with higher levels of competition from rival brands and concerns from customers about its ability to deliver innovative products. In recent years it also dealt with inflated inventories, which has resulted in deep discounts on items like apparel and footwear that have hurt profits. Nike in the past few months has announced leadership changes in the areas of innovation, design, marketing and technology. Write to Inti Pacheco at inti.pacheco@wsj.com Milestone Alert! Livemint tops charts as the fastest growing news website in the world Click here to know more. Unlock a world of Benefits! From insightful newsletters to real-time stock tracking, breaking news and a personalized newsfeed it's all here, just a click away! Login Now! The U.S. economy took a breather in January following brisk growth at the end of last year, but it remains fundamentally healthy. Retail sales fell 0.8% in January from December, the Commerce Department said Thursdaymuch worse than expectations for a 0.3% decline. Also Thursday, Federal Reserve data showed January industrial production edging down 0.1% compared with expectations for a 0.2% increase. Technical issues with how the retail sales data was seasonally adjusted might have weighed on the reading, and cold weather in January likely had an impact on both retail sales and industrial production. But those factors dont explain away all the weakness. Economists at Goldman Sachs, for instance, said in a note that cold weather doesnt explain a decline in e-commerce, as sales by nonstore retailers fell 0.8%. Analysts at Bank of America noted that card spending remained soft in the week ended Feb. 10, despite no big weather events that week. Yet there were also some encouraging signs in Thursdays batch of data that went less noticed. Within the retail sales report, spending on food services and drinking places was up 0.7% from December and 6.3% higher than in January last yearnot something one would expect if the economy were suddenly in trouble. Fed surveys of manufacturing activity in New York state and the Philadelphia area in February both came in stronger than expected, weekly unemployment claims were lower than expected and there were indications in the industrial production report that the promising U.S. shift toward high-tech manufacturing is still going strong: Output of semiconductors, for instance, was up 23% from a year earlier, according to Capital Economics. It isnt all that surprising that consumers and manufacturers took something of a pause in January. Economists have long been expecting the Feds rate increases last year to start dragging on activity after a lag. And, while there has been debate about how much remains of the savings cushion consumers built up during the pandemic, no one expected these savings to last forever. The real surprise is just how resilient the economy has been to the Feds tightening. Keep in mind that not long ago the consensus expectation was for an imminent recession. Economists at Morgan Stanley, taking into account Januarys retail sales data, and downward revisions to Decembers sales increase, said Thursday they expect first-quarter gross domestic product growth to come in at a 2% annualized pace. They expect fourth-quarter growth to be revised down to 2.1% from 3.3%. The retail sales report this month supports our view that the economy is strong but cooling," they said in a note, adding that there is no reason for the Fed to rush the next move in rates." The upshot? The fluctuation in stock and bond prices on the back of the weeks economic data was much ado about not much. The S&P 500 on Thursday ended above its closing level on Monday. A slower but steady U.S. economy is nothing to be afraid of. Write to Aaron Back at aaron.back@wsj.com Bharat Bandh: Two farmers' unions, including the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) and Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) have called for Bharat Bandh on February 16, to get their demands fulfilled. Delhi alone is expecting to have lost around 300 crore in business amid the ongoing protests, according to Praveen Khandelwal, the national secretary general of the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT). The ongoing farmers' protest has impacted trade in Delhi, resulting in an estimated loss of approximately 300 crore so far. The absence of around 5 lakh traders, who typically visit Delhi from nearby states for purchases, further exacerbates the economic downturn," said Khandelwal. Also Read | Karnataka: CM Siddaramaiah announces 3.71 lakh crore budget | Key highlights Additionally, shops situated near areas with blocked roads experience substantial losses, as the blockade hampers both customer footfall and logistical operations. This disruption highlights the urgent need for a resolution to the ongoing protests to mitigate further economic fallout and restore normalcy to trade activities in Delhi," he further added. Why are farmers protesting? The farmers' unions claimed that the government hasnt made development on other crucial demands such as Minimum Support Price (MSP), a doubling of farmers income and loan waivers. The demand for legislation that will guarantee minimum prices is at the heart of their protests. Also Read | Bharat Bandh 2024 Highlights: MSP to get legal guarantee if INDIA bloc comes to power: Rahul Gandhi The Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi demanding a Minimum Support Price for crops based on the Swaminathan formula of C2 50 (input cost of capital 50 per cent), legal guarantee of procurement, debt waiver, no hike in electricity tariff and no smart metres. They have also demanded free 300 units of power for farming for domestic use and shops, comprehensive crop insurance, and a hike in pensions to 10,000 per month among others. In view of the Bharat Bandh called by farmers' unions on Friday, the Gautam Buddh Nagar Police on Thursday said restrictions under CrPC Section 144, including a ban on unauthorised public assemblies, would be enforced across the district, reported news agency PTI. Additionally, farmers sat on railway tracks at many places in Punjab over the Haryana Police's action against the "Delhi Chalo" protesters on February 15. The Bharatiya Kisan Union (Ekta Ugrahan) and the BKU Dakaunda (Dhaner) gave the "rail roko" call. The strike is expected to impact several sectors, with potential disruptions to transportation, agricultural activities, and rural employment schemes, among others. Milestone Alert! Livemint tops charts as the fastest growing news website in the world Click here to know more. Unlock a world of Benefits! From insightful newsletters to real-time stock tracking, breaking news and a personalized newsfeed it's all here, just a click away! Login Now! For the first time since the test was introduced in 1936, more Indians took the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) than American students in 2022-23, according to a report released on Friday. China followed the two countries on the list. In a report by The Economic Times (ET), Amit Sevak, chief executive of Education Testing Service (ETS) was quoted as saying that this shows the demand for the test is growing among Indians. GRE is a standardised test which tests critical thinking, analytical writing, verbal reasoning skills and quantitative aptitude of students who wish to take admission to colleges US or other countries. According to the data in the report, 113,304 Indians took the test in June-July in 2022-23, followed by 97,676 Americans and 57,769 Chinese. It also highlighted that the number of US citizens who took this test has fallen 61 per cent from 250,274 in 2019-20. At the same time, the number of Indians appearing for GRE has jumped 62 per cent from 69,835. One of the main reasons for the rise in number of Indians taking this test is the acceptance of GRE score in over 100 Business schools here. Sevak said these institutes are aiming to bring in more international students and "internationalise" the higher education in the country. ETS is a non-profit education testing and assessment organisation which conducts GRE. Another reason is the rising interest of Indians in STEM discipline. Among the GRE-takers, the most in-demand subject was physical sciences followed by undecided and engineering. Moreover, GRE also provides more flexibility as its scores are valid for five years. During these years, a student can decide if they want to study in India or abroad, using the score. The ET report also highlighted that highest number of Indians prefer to study in southern region of US followed by western region. After USA, Canada and Western Europe are more sought after destinations. Milestone Alert! Livemint tops charts as the fastest growing news website in the world Click here to know more. Unlock a world of Benefits! From insightful newsletters to real-time stock tracking, breaking news and a personalized newsfeed it's all here, just a click away! Login Now! Shares of Borosil Renewables , a solar glass manufacturer and a subsidiary of the Borosil group, witnessed a significant surge in its stock price during today's intraday trade, climbing 11% to 598.65 per share. This rise came after India initiated an anti-dumping investigation into specific solar glass imports from China and Vietnam, prompted by complaints from domestic industry players. Anti-dumping probes are conducted by countries to determine whether domestic industries have been hurt because of a surge in cheap imports. The commerce ministry's investigation arm Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR) is probing the alleged dumping of 'Textured Tempered Coated and Uncoated Glass' made or from China and Vietnam, PTI reported today. Also Read: Vibhor Steel Tubes IPO: Experts decode key reasons behind robust 300 times subscription ahead of allotment The product is also known by various names, such as solar glass or solar photovoltaic glass, in the market parlance. The report said that an application has been filed by Borosil Renewables on behalf of the domestic industry for the probe and the imposition of an appropriate anti-dumping duty on imports. If it is established that the dumping has caused material injury to domestic players, DGTR would recommend the imposition of anti-dumping duty on the imports, the report said. Borosil Renewables is the first producer of solar glass in the country. It is engaged in the production of low iron textured solar glass used in the manufacturing of solar photovoltaic modules in the power sector. Also Read: Nifty FMCG vs Nifty Finance: Which sector has better long-term investment opportunities? Power demand has been rising, and solar remains the single largest source of new power capacity additions consecutively in the last 7 years. On February 13, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana to provide free electricity to its beneficiaries. As per the scheme, the central government will provide 300 units of free electricity per month to its beneficiaries by investing 75,000 crore. The free electricity scheme was earlier announced by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her interim budget speech on February 1. This would result from the generation of free solar electricity for personal use as well as the potential to sell surplus energy back to distribution companies. Also Read: Small is Big: 18 of 30 SME IPOs in 2024 saw subscriptions between 100 and 960 times Going forward, the outlook for solar photovoltaic (PV) installations worldwide appears promising. The Indian government's ambitious goal to achieve 280 GW of solar power installations by 2030, coupled with initiatives like the imposition of BCD and PLI schemes and preference for domestic solar modules, is driving a continuous increase in demand for solar glass in India. The European Union's "Solar Accelerator Program" and Green Deal, aimed at reducing dependence on Chinese imports and promoting local manufacturing, are also fueling the demand for solar glass in European markets. Disclaimer: The views and recommendations given in this article are those of individual analysts. These do not represent the views of Mint. We advise investors to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions. Milestone Alert! Livemint tops charts as the fastest growing news website in the world Click here to know more. Unlock a world of Benefits! From insightful newsletters to real-time stock tracking, breaking news and a personalized newsfeed it's all here, just a click away! Login Now! In its recent report, global brokerage firm CLSA revised its target price for Dish TV India to 24 per share, up from the previous target of 18, citing the stock's cheap valuation at 8x FY25CL EV/EBITDA. The brokerage continues with its 'Outperform' rating on the stock. In response to this target price revision, the stock surged 13.5% during today's intraday trading, reaching 24.40 per share, surpassing the brokerage target price. CLSA highlighted Dish TV's achievement of becoming debt-free in 1QFY24, despite its disappointing performance in 3QFY24. Additionally, Dish TV has significantly reduced its debt burden over the past five years, repaying 32 billion mainly through internal cash generation. Also Read: Borosil Renewables stock surges 11% as India initiates anti-dumping probe on solar glass imports from China For Q3 FY24, Dish TV posted a revenue of 4.7 billion, which is down 2% on a QoQ basis and 4% below the brokerage estimates. EBITDA also missed the brokerage estimates, coming in at 1.8 billion, which is down 8% QoQ. Subscription revenue came in lower at 3.7 billion, down 6% QoQ. Programming costs are a pass-through in the new tariff regime, and the EBITDA margin at 38.4% was down 2 percentage points. The company reported a 28 million loss in 3QFY24 versus a profit of 54 million in the previous quarter. With the miss in Dish TVs 3QFY24 performance, the brokerage cut its FY24/26CL revenue and EBITDA by 1837% but retained an 'Outperform' rating as the stock is cheap at 8x FY25CL EV/EBITDA. Also Read: Small is Big: 18 SME IPOs in 2024 saw subscriptions between 100 and 960 times There are a couple of upcoming events that could have an impact on the stock of Dish TV. Firstly, Tata Play, which is owned jointly by Tata Group and Walt Disney, is planning an IPO and fundraising. Secondly, it has been reported that Reliance Industries is looking to acquire 30% of Tata Play from Walt Disney. CLSA believes that these events could act as catalysts for Dish TV's stock. It valued Dish TV on a revised and rolled-forward EV/EBITDA multiple of 7x, a 25% premium to the five-year average. DTH subscribers to grow again The DTH sector had 72.4 million subscribers in FY19, but it declined to 64 million in September 2023, according to data from the regulator, TRAI. However, the top two players, Tata Play (32.4% share) and Airtel DTH (27%) have increased their combined share by 12 percentage points since FY19. Dish TV (21.5% share) is the third-largest player but has seen an 18-percentage point decline in its share. Also Read: 13 Nifty 500 stocks priced under 100 have gained up to 425% in a year CLSA believes that with the implementation of New Tariff Order (NTO) 3.0 and DTH operators promoting set-top boxes that combine OTT and linear TV, DTH subscriber growth is likely. Dish TV has also launched its OTT aggregation (17 OTTs) and 200 linear TV channels under the "Watcho" brand, which has 90 million users with 3.6 million paid subscriptions, it added. At 02:45 pm, the stock was trading with a gain of 9.30% at 23.70 apiece. Disclaimer: The views and recommendations given in this article are those of individual analysts. These do not represent the views of Mint. We advise investors to check with certified experts before making any investment decisions. Milestone Alert! Livemint tops charts as the fastest growing news website in the world Click here to know more. Unlock a world of Benefits! From insightful newsletters to real-time stock tracking, breaking news and a personalized newsfeed it's all here, just a click away! Login Now! Shares of Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) have been on a downward in February (so far) after jumping over 10 percent in January. The stock has already surged over 47 percent in the last 1 year and with the general elections coming up as well as the robust outlook for Indian Railways, most experts see a strong potential for this rail stock. However, domestic brokerage house Prabhudas Lilladher sees the stock declining in the next 1 year. The brokerage has a hold call on the stock with a target price of 825, indicating a downside of over 13 percent. However, it has raised its target price from 749 earlier post the firm's December quarter results. While the brokerage remains positive on the long-term prospects of the stock and overall sector, higher valuations have kept the brokerage cautious. IRCTC is the catering and ticketing arm of the Indian Railways, which manages food services on trains and offers online ticket booking services. In the December quarter (Q3FY24), IRCTC reported an over 17 percent year-on-year (YoY) jump in its net profit to 300 crore from 255.5 crore in the year-ago period. Its revenue increased 21.8 percent YoY to 1,118.3 crore versus 918.1 crore it had posted in Q3FY23. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) for the quarter came in at 394 crore, up 20.9 percent YoY and EBITDA margin declined slightly to 35.2 percent in Q3FY24 compared to 35.5 percent in Q3FY23. "Indian Railway Catering & Tourism Corporation (IRCTC IN) reported better than expected top-line performance led by a beat in the catering division. However, the bottom line was impacted by a one-off charge of 14.5 crore amid provisioning pertaining to share in Rail Neer profits with Indian Railways," noted PL. Given strong performance from the catering division led by the introduction of Vande Bharat trains, rising FTR bookings and expansion of business outside of Railways the brokerage re-aligned its growth and EBIT margin assumptions resulting in an EPS upgrade of 3-4 percent over FY24E-FY26E. It expects PAT CAGR of 12 percent over FY23-FY26E and retains a HOLD on the stock with a revised TP of 825 (earlier Rs749) as it increased target multiple to 47.5x (earlier 45x; escalation of 5 percent odd) to account for optionality arising from catering business. Meanwhile, another domestic brokerage firm Shriram Way2Wealth expects IRCTC to be one of the biggest beneficeries of the upcoming elections. The brokerage has a buy call on the stock with a target price of 1,080, indicating an upside potential of 13.5 percent. "IRCTC has stated that it is eyeing pan-India non-railway catering business which should auger well during this time period. Vande Bharat trains (along with Amrit Bharat Express) during this time will also add revenues to the rail Neer, catering and tourism business also. Tracking the weekly chart, IRCTC has given a bullish breakout from the symmetrical triangle pattern on the weekly chart suggesting positive bias and it can move towards 992/1,120 levels. Technically the chart structure on IRCTC is likely to remain strong in the medium to long term and a move over the above-mentioned level could lead to a fresh uptrend as it can test 1,280. Based on the above-mentioned observations, Investors are advised to buy/accumulate IRCTC for medium-term to long-term gains," recommended the brokerage. The stock has hit its 52-week high of 1,049 on January 20, 2024 and is now a little over 10 percent away from that peak. Meanwhile, it has surged 71 percent from its 52-week low of 557.10, hit on March 29, 2023. 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 decision. Milestone Alert! Livemint tops charts as the fastest growing news website in the world Click here to know more. Unlock a world of Benefits! From insightful newsletters to real-time stock tracking, breaking news and a personalized newsfeed it's all here, just a click away! Login Now! BAKU, Azerbaijan, February 16. President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has signed a decree on the appointment of Ali Asadov to the post of Prime Minister, Trend reports. Will be updated Nifty 50, which represents the countrys top 50 blue-chip companies across various sectors, has experienced high volatility this month, owing to significant events including the interim budget, RBI policy meeting, the US Fed's inflation data, Q3 corporate earnings, and the surge in crude oil prices, all of which contributed to the index's wild fluctuations. In contrast, Nifty 50 Junior (Nifty Next 50), representing the subsequent tier of liquid securities after Nifty 50, has significantly gained and outperformed the benchmark index with a wide margin. In the current month, Nifty 50 Junior saw a 5.94% return, surpassing Nifty 50's 1.45% gain. Year-to-date, Nifty 50 Junior rose by 9.83%, whereas Nifty 50 recorded a 1.42% increase. Also Read: 13 Nifty 500 stocks priced under 100 have gained up to 425% in a year; Suzlon Energy stands at the top Looking back, the Nifty 50 Junior yielded a 26.45% return in CY23, compared to the Nifty 50's 20% increase. Commenting on this divergence, Kapil Shah, Technical Research Emkay Global, said," The prevailing market trends indicate that the oil & gas, power, CPSE, and hospital stocks have gained momentum, while the leading private banks have underperformed." "Notably, the Nifty Next 50 index comprises a greater proportion of companies from performing sectors as compared to the Nifty 50 index, which is currently being weighed down by the financial sector, which occupies a substantial share of the pie chart," he added. Also Read: Dynacons Systems: This small-cap stock turned 10,000 into 4.4 lakh in less than 4 years "This may explain the stronger performance of the Nifty Next 50 index in contrast to the Nifty 50 index. It is imperative to recognise that the underperformance of financial stocks may have a significant impact on the overall stock market performance," he further stated. In terms of top performers, Trent leads the Nifty 50 Junior index gainers with a 30% return. The stock began its upward trend after company released its Q3 numbers on February 7, gaining 32.6% in the following eight sessions. Indian Oil Corporation stood as the second top gainer with a return of 27.25%. Other stocks such as Canara Bank, Zydus Lifesciences, Bosch, Bank of Baroda, Adani Green Energy, ICICI Lombard General Insurance, Zomato, Varun Beverages, and Punjab National Bank have also gained between 10% and 22% in February so far. Looking at the yearly performance, eight stocks within the Nifty 50 Junior, namely Zomato, Adani Green Energy, Trent, Punjab National Bank, Hindustan Aeronautics, Indian Oil Corporation, DLF, and Varun Beverages, have yielded multi-bagger returns ranging between 100% and 208%. Among the Nifty 50, Coal India, Adani Ports & Special Economic Zone, Bajaj Auto, Tata Motors, NTPC, and BPCL also produced multi-bagger returns, ranging from 100% to 124% in the last one-year time frame. Disclaimer: The views and recommendations given in this article are those of individual analysts. These do not represent the views of Mint. We advise investors to check with certified experts before making any investment decisions. Milestone Alert! Livemint tops charts as the fastest growing news website in the world Click here to know more. Unlock a world of Benefits! From insightful newsletters to real-time stock tracking, breaking news and a personalized newsfeed it's all here, just a click away! Login Now! The National Pension System (NPS) stands as a valuable asset in financial planning, particularly for retirement purposes. Despite its substantial advantages, private sector individuals, unlike government employees, are required to opt for participation and personally handle their contributions. Nevertheless, a notable distinction exists in contribution limits for government and private sector employees. Government employees have the flexibility to contribute up to 14% of their basic salary, whereas private sector employees are constrained to a limit of 10%. Furthermore, the prevalence of employer contributions is higher among government employees in comparison to their private sector counterparts. For those unfamiliar with it, the NPS allocates your contributions across a combination of market-linked instruments (equity) and debt instruments, providing a balance between growth potential and stability. You can customize your asset allocation according to your risk tolerance and investment timeframe. There are two categories of NPS accounts: Tier-1 and Tier-2, each designed for specific purposes with distinct features. Tier-1 functions as a primary retirement account, whereas Tier-2 is ideal for individuals looking to save voluntarily. Has your NPS account been frozen? Errors may result in the potential freezing of NPS accounts. It is essential to identify the types of mistakes that can lead to deactivated NPS accounts before delving into the reactivation process. The common errors that lead to the freezing of NPS accounts include: Failure to make the minimum yearly contributions can result in the freezing of the NPS account. Incomplete or inaccurate KYC documentation, specifically problems with identity and address verification, may also lead to account freezing. Unauthorized transactions, such as attempting unauthorized withdrawals or contributions, can initiate a freeze on the account. In rare instances, technical errors associated with contributions or account updates may also lead to the freezing of the account. Process for reactivating an NPS account Understanding the cause of deactivation is crucial for the reactivation of a frozen NPS account. This can be accomplished either online through eNPS or offline at a Point of Presence (PoP). You will need to follow simple steps including To unfreeze an account, you must complete the UOS-S10-A form. You can obtain this form from the post office. You may also acquire this form from the location where your NPS account is operational. Attach a copy of the subscriber's PRAN card along with the form. Additionally, the subscriber needs to deposit the outstanding annual contribution in the account and pay a penalty of 100. 100. On submission of the application, NPS officials verify your account. Subsequently, your application undergoes processing, and the PRAN is activated. For KYC discrepancies, provide the missing or corrected KYC documents to your PoP. First, reach out to the NPS Central Recordkeeping Agency (CRA) to address and resolve the matter. In case of a technical error, contact the NPS CRA for support in rectifying the issue. The reactivation procedure typically takes five to seven working days. However, if the error involves financial misconduct, the reactivation process may be more intricate and necessitate additional steps. It is essential to take proactive measures and address the issue promptly upon discovery to prevent further complications. Milestone Alert! Livemint tops charts as the fastest growing news website in the world Click here to know more. Unlock a world of Benefits! From insightful newsletters to real-time stock tracking, breaking news and a personalized newsfeed it's all here, just a click away! Login Now! Income Tax and Tax Deducted at Source (TDS) are the two most common terms Indian taxpayers often come across. Both may sound similar, but there is a vast difference between them. The main difference between Income Tax and TDS is that the Income Tax is deducted from the payers overall profit or annual return, on the other hand, TDS refers to the tax deducted from the payers sources of income based on the expected tax liability. Also, both taxes have a different mechanism when it comes to the collection process. What is Income Tax? Income Tax is a tax on the annual income earned by the individual or company during the fiscal year. It is governed by the Income Tax Act of 1961, which outlines the norms for tax calculation, assessment, and collection. It applies to income sources like salary, income from house property, profits from profession or business, and capital gains etc. Any individual earning above Rs. 2.5 lakhs (old tax regime)/ 3 lakhs (new tax regime) have to pay the income tax; avoiding it will be considered as tax evasion, punishable under the law. What is TDS? Tax Deducted at Source (TDS) is tax deducted from the payers very source of income and is directly remitted to the government. Under TDS, individuals or organizations making specified payments like salary, interest, rent, or professional fees, must deduct a certain tax percentage before making the payment. It is crucial in preventing tax evasion and also simplifies the tax collection process. Also Read | Blood tests can detect signs of dementia 15 years before onset with 90% accuracy Heres a more comprehensive breakdown of the Income Tax and TDS components: Income Tax Return (ITR): Any individual having annual income higher than 2.5 Lakhs (old tax regime)/ 3 lakhs (new tax regime) For senior citizens who are more than 60 years old and less than 80 years old, the limit is 3 Lakhs For senior citizens who aged more than 80 years, the limit is 5 Lakhs Tax Deducted at Source (TDS): Salary Payment Earnings from Investments and rent Money from winning contests, lotteries, gambling, prize money, riddles, and similar activities. Commissions from insurance Payment to contractors, brokerage, commission and other professional fees Payments related to the National Savings Scheme and various other sources. Major differences between TDS and Income Tax TDS is deducted periodically throughout the year at the very source of the income. On the other hand, Income Tax is paid by the taxpayer at the end of the financial year. TDS is deducted by the payer (employer or financial institution) and is remitted to the government, whereas Income Tax is directly paid by the taxpayer after calculating his/her tax liability. TDS tax rate is based on the nature of payment specified by the government with no payers intervention. On the other hand, the Income Tax rate is based on income slabs outlined in the Tax Laws TDS is applicable to payments like salary, interest, rent, professional fees, etc, whereas Income Tax is levied on the total annual income, including salary, capital gains, etc Milestone Alert! Livemint tops charts as the fastest growing news website in the world Click here to know more. Unlock a world of Benefits! From insightful newsletters to real-time stock tracking, breaking news and a personalized newsfeed it's all here, just a click away! Login Now! Baroda BNP Paribas Mutual Fund announced the launch of the Baroda BNP Paribas Innovation Fund. The scheme opened for public subscription on February 14, 2024, and will close on February 28, 2024. The scheme re-opens for continuous sale and repurchase within five days from the date of allotment. What kind of mutual fund scheme is this? This is an open-ended equity scheme investing in innovation theme. Innovation extends beyond the realm of technology, encompassing various fields. The innovation landscape in India is flourishing, driven by increasing per capita GDP, shifting consumer behaviours, a growing youth demographic, changing consumer preferences, and robust government initiatives. Key drivers of this momentum include the adoption of cleaner technology, widespread internet accessibility, and the prevalence of smartphone usage. India's prowess in innovation is evident not only in the technological sphere but also in diverse sectors like manufacturing and space exploration, as demonstrated by successful ventures such as Chandrayaan and Vande Bharat. What is the main objective of investing in this fund? The investment objective of the scheme is to seek long-term capital appreciation by investing at least 80% of its net assets in equity/equity-related instruments of companies focusing on and benefitting from innovation. However, there is no assurance or guarantee that the investment objective of the scheme will be achieved. Commenting on the NFO launch, Suresh Soni CEO, Baroda BNP Paribas AMC, said, Innovation is the spark that inspires change. The Baroda BNP Paribas Innovation Fund aims to back the disrupters and the brave creators building revolutionary paths with cutting-edge technologies. The fund will pick companies that are poised to transform industries and capitalise on shifting market trends. By supporting a diverse mix of legacy enterprises, digital natives, and transformers, the fund will strategically invest in firms that thrive on innovation across several sectors and market caps." How may one invest in this scheme? Investors can invest under the scheme with a minimum investment of 5000 per plan/option and in multiples of Re 1. There is no upper limit for investment. Under normal circumstances, the asset allocation (% of net assets) of the schemes portfolio will be as follows: Instruments Indicative allocations (% of total assets) Risk Profile Minimum Maximum Equity & Equity related instruments of companies belonging to the innovation theme 80% 100% High Equity and equity-related instruments of any other companies 0% 20% High Debt & Money Market instruments 0% 20% Low to Medium Units issued by REITs & INvITs 0% 10% Medium to High Units of Mutual Fund Scheme 0% 10% Medium to High Are there similar mutual funds in the market? To date, two asset management companies (AMCs) have launched such funds in the past. The following table illustrates the names of the mutual fund houses along with their respective innovation funds. Name of the mutual fund house Name of the fund ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund ICICI Prudential Innovation Fund Nippon India Mutual Fund Nippon India Innovation Fund Union Mutual Fund Union Innovation & Opportunities Fund Source: AMFI (As of February 15, 2024) How will the scheme benchmark its performance? The performance of the scheme will be benchmarked to the performance of Nifty 500 TRI. The Trustee / AMC reserves the right to change the benchmark for evaluation of the performance of the scheme from time to time in conformity with the investment objectives and appropriateness of the Benchmark subject to the SEBI Regulations, and other prevailing guidelines, if any. Are there any entry or exit loads to this scheme? This scheme involves no Entry Load", which means that investors do not have to pay anything to park their earnings in this scheme. The Exit Load" would be calculated as under: - If units of the scheme are redeemed or switched out up to 10% of the units (the limit) within 1 year from the date of allotment - Nil. - If units of the scheme are redeemed or switched out more than the limit within 1 year from the date of allotment - 1% of the applicable NAV. - If units of the scheme are redeemed or switched out after 1 year from the date of allotment - Nil. Who will manage this scheme? Pratish Krishnan shall be the designated fund manager for the scheme. Does the fund contain any inherent risk? The scheme involves Very High Risk" as per the details mentioned in the Scheme Information Document and is best suited to investors willing to understand that their principal will be subject to very high risk only. However, investors should consult their financial advisors if they doubt whether the product is suitable for them. Milestone Alert! Livemint tops charts as the fastest growing news website in the world Click here to know more. Unlock a world of Benefits! From insightful newsletters to real-time stock tracking, breaking news and a personalized newsfeed it's all here, just a click away! Login Now! A 63-year-old farmer who was participating in the protests at the Shambhu border close to Haryana's Ambala passed away on 16 February due to heart attack, officials said as reported by news agency PTI. The farmer identified as Gian Singh complained of chest pain in the morning and was taken to the Civil Hospital in Punjab's Rajpura. As per officials, from Civil Hospital, he was then rushed to Rajindra Hospital in Patiala, where doctors declared him brought dead. Singh hailed from Punjab's Gurdaspur district had come to the Shambhu border two days ago to participate in the farmers' 'Delhi Chalo' march. Bharat Bandh 2024 LIVE Updates The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha had given a call for the march. Farmers began the march on 13 February and have been camping at Punjab and Haryana's Shambhu and Khanauri borders ever since. Today, Security forces fire tear gas shells to disperse protesting farmers at Punjab-Haryana Shambhu Border. Framers' unions have called for a 'Bharat bandh' today. Bharat Kisan Union (BKU) leader Pawan Khatana said farmers have been asked to strike their work for one day in order to press the government for demands aimed at pressing the government to accept their demands, including a legal guarantee of minimum support price (MSP) for crops. The farmers are pushing for the legal guarantee for Minimum Support Price (MSP) for crops. The farmers are also demanding justice for victims of the violence in Uttar Pradesh's Lakhimpur Kheri. The farmers have also urged to scrap the Electricity Amendment Bill 2020. Also, an appeal to provide 200 days of employment per year and a daily wage of 700 under the MGNREGA, linking it with farming, has also been made by the farmers Also Read: Farmers to postpone protest march to Delhi as talks with govt continue Meanwhile, three Union ministers held talks with the leaders of protesting farmer unions in Chandigarh on 15 February for more than five hours. As the third meeting between Union Ministers and the farmer leaders ended, no common ground was seen in sight and the next round of talks will now take place on 18 February. After the meeting concluded, Union Minister Arjun Munda said that the third round of talks with the leaders of the protesting farmers was, however, "positive". "Today, a very positive discussion happened between the government and the farmers' unions. Focusing on the topics highlighted by the farmers' union, we have decided that the next meeting will take place on Sunday at 6 pm... We all will find a solution peacefully...," Munda said. (With PTI inputs) Milestone Alert! Livemint tops charts as the fastest growing news website in the world Click here to know more. Unlock a world of Benefits! From insightful newsletters to real-time stock tracking, breaking news and a personalized newsfeed it's all here, just a click away! Login Now! The Samyukta Kisan Morcha, along with several trade unions, has called for a Gramin Bharat Bandh today i.e. on February 16. As CBSE exams are underway, residents of areas near Delhi's Tikri and Singhu borders have raised concerns about how children will reach exam centres amid traffic and security restrictions. Speaking of today's nationwide strike, the Bharat Bandh will not affect emergency services like ambulance operations, medical shops, marriage, schools, etc. Earlier while speaking to news agency PTI on the nationwide bandh, a parents group had said that "as concerned parents, we are in agony and compelled to raise our voices against the proposed nationwide strike or bandh on February 16" and appeal it to reconsider their bandh call. "Our children have been working hard while preparing for these examinations. However, their hard work could go in vain if they are unable to reach their examination centres due to railroad blockades and non-availability of transport services," the concerned parents group said as quoted by news agency PTI. Earlier on 14 February, a group of girls, whose exam centre is the Government Boys Senior Secondary School, Tikri Kalan had said that because of the restrictions, they would have to leave home early as the school is around seven kilometers from their village. "We don't have a vehicle. So we might have to leave early and look for an auto or a bus to reach our exam centre in time," a girl had said. A Class 12 student who is a resident of Tikri border had told PTI on 14 February that, My exam centre is in south Delhi's Mehrauli, which is around 40 km away. I have to reach the centre at 8 am. I won't travel by car due to heavy traffic. Instead, I will take the metro to reach there." Meanwhile, CBSE Board Exam 2024 commenced from February 15 onwards. The CBSE Class 10 board examination will be conducted till March 13, 2024 and Class 12 exams will be held till April 2, 2024. Milestone Alert! Livemint tops charts as the fastest growing news website in the world Click here to know more. Unlock a world of Benefits! From insightful newsletters to real-time stock tracking, breaking news and a personalized newsfeed it's all here, just a click away! Login Now! The ban on the sale of electoral bonds is unlikely to have any major impact on the funding of political parties, said a political analyst on Thursday. In a landmark verdict, the Supreme Court scrapped the Centre's electoral bonds scheme of anonymous political funding, calling it "unconstitutional". ALSO READ: Electoral Bonds Scheme verdict: SC strikes down EBS, calls it unconstitutional Will this have any impact on political parties? Political strategist and commentator Amitabh Tiwari said there will be no gainers or losers in this. He said there will be no major impact on political parties as most of their funding comes from cash and other sources. In many cases, this cash may be unaccounted. Here's a look at data and disparities: According a report by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), the total amount of electoral bonds collected by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) since Financial year 2017-18 is 65,66 crore, while that by the Congress was 1,123.3 crore. ADR cites data collected from the website of the Election Commission of India. According to another ADR report which cited data available with the ECI, political parties spent a total of 2994.16 crore during the Lok Sabha 2019 elections and assembly elections 2019. These expenses were incurred by cash and cheque/DD, and the amount remaining unpaid. Of 2994.16 crore, the BJP's total expenditure was calculated to around 1371.82 crore, while that by the Congress was around 820.887 crore. Now, after the 2019 Lok Sabha Elections, an analysis report by think tank CMS India, titled "Poll Expenditure, The 2019 Elections", estimated that 55,000-60,000 crore was spent in 2019. "On an average, nearly 100 crore per Lok Sabha constituency, has been spend," the report had added. Of this total estimated expenditure of over 55,000, the BJP's share was said to be 4555% (around 24,700 crore) and that of the Congress's was estimated to be around 1520% (around 8,200 crore). This was way more than what the ADR had reported while citing official figures. In his analysis, Tiwari said, "...electoral bonds is a very insignificant amount". The amount of donation through electoral bond till date in last six years is around 11,986 crore, as per the ADR data. This is very less compared to the total expenditure in one Lok Sabha Election (2019) estimated to be 55,000-60,000 crore. "In one election cycle of 5 years, one Lok Sabha and around 30 Vidhan Sabha polls, total of 85,000-90,000 crore (estimate) is spentThe rest of the money is pumped into the parties in cash format," the analysts said. Other sources of funding Donations could be given to political parties through cheques, sale of coupons, crowd-funding and corporate donations. Meanwhile, the CMS India report had added, As the number of candidates who are millionaire and with business interest has been on increase in the recent elections, a higher percent of expenditure is being borne by candidates themselves. There are many cases of candidates contributing to the party or/ and meeting some campaign costs of some other candidates as well." Ban on electoral bonds: Who and what could be impacted? In the absence of electoral bonds, there might be an issue for the corporates and companies "which do not generate cash, like IT services companies", Tiwari added. "In industries where there is no cash collection/generation, only services is provided, they might not replace electoral bonds with cash donations," he added. He said, "Political parties will continue to get cash donations and that it cannot be curbed." The electoral bond had raised question of transparency and the voters' right to know as the scheme had encouraged anonymous political funding. However, if the funding is done through cash and not disclosed, the transparency" issue persists. Notably, donation to any political party, not just through the now-scrapped electoral bonds but also through other means, is exempt from income tax under Section 80GGC of Income Tax (I-T) Act. "One can donate through cheque or electronic transfer, but not through cash, in order to claim the exemption, Chirag Chauhan, a Mumbai-based Chartered Accountant from CA Chauhan & Company, said. Besides this, the Supreme Court directed the State Bank of India (SBI) to stop issuing the electoral bonds. It ordered the SBI to disclose details of electoral bonds encashed by political parties, including date and denomination. Political consultant Azaz Alam said this "development could have a notable impact on the BJP, given the significant amount of funds typically transferred to them". He said this is particularly relevant amid concerns over a political party giving favours to industries and businessmen. His statement came amid the Supreme Court's verdict specifically targeting the "quid pro quo" element potentially associated with electoral bonds, where donations might be linked to future favours. However, Amitabh Tiwari said, Quid pro quo will also continue whether with black or white money. This happens across the world." "It is crucial to electoral democracy that the exercise of freedom to vote is not subject to undue influence," the Supreme Court said while striking down as unconstitutional the electoral bonds scheme for political funding on Thursday. Milestone Alert! Livemint tops charts as the fastest growing news website in the world Click here to know more. Unlock a world of Benefits! From insightful newsletters to real-time stock tracking, breaking news and a personalized newsfeed it's all here, just a click away! Login Now! Farmers unions have called for demonstrations on Saturday and Sunday outside the residences of prominent political leaders in Punjab, following four days of protests after another round of negotiations failed. Tension mounted at the Punjab-Haryana Shambhu border as security personnel fired teargas shells to disperse farmers protesting at the site on Friday. This happened after the third round of negotiations between the farmer unions, Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann, and Union ministers Piyush Goyal, Arjun Munda, and Nityanand Rai concluded in the early hours of Friday. Addressing the media late Thursday, Munda had said the farmers had brought up several important issues, making the meeting very positive", adding that the next round of talks would be held on Sunday. Meanwhile, the Haryana government has extended its suspension of internet services till Saturday to prevent any disturbance of peace and public order". Extending support to the protesting farmer unions at Shambhu and Khanauri borders in Haryana, the Bharti Kisan Union (Ugrahan) has announced two days of demonstrations, on Saturday and Sunday, outside the houses of the Bharatiya Janata Partys Punjab state president Sunil Jakhar in Abohar, and BJP leaders Captain Amarinder Singh in Patiala and Kewal Dhillon in Barnala. The union also said staff at toll plazas in Punjab will not be allowed to collect payments from commuters. The protests had taken a violent turn earlier in the week, as the Haryana Police, in a bid to block farmers from marching towards Delhi, fired teargas shells and rubber bullets, injuring at least 40 farmers. At least three farmers reportedly lost their vision due to pellet injuries. In Friday's Grameen Bharat Bandh, and blockade was organized at 240 places in Punjab, as per information received from the farmer union Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM). Thousands of members of 16 farmer unions from Punjab, mainly the SKM (non-political) and the Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee (KMSC) headed for the national capital in tractors and utility vehicles for their Dilli Chalo agitation. Several prominent unions had called for a nationwide industrial or sectoral strike and Grameen Bandh on Friday to press the Union government to accept demands such as a legal guarantee on the minimum support price, or MSP, implementation of the Swaminathan Commission's recommendations, pension for farmers and farm labourers, and farm debt waiver. They have also sought withdrawal of police cases against protesting farmers, "justice" for the victims of the Lakhimpur Kheri violence, reinstatement of the Land Acquisition Act, 2013, and compensation to the families of the farmers who died during the previous agitation in 2020-21. For many, the protests revived memories of 2020, when thousands of farmers gathered outside Delhi demanding a repeal of three new farm laws. That protest was withdrawn after the government relented, but on the condition that it would take measures to widen the MSP regime and make it more effective. But an expert committee set up in July 2022 to resolve the matter is yet to submit a report. Government agencies buy crops from farmers at MSP, a model that works best for rice and wheat. For other crops such as pulses and oilseeds, farmers are often forced to sell to private traders at prices below MSP. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, after laying the foundation stone for AIIMS-Rewari, said on Friday that his BJP government at the Centre has been working on schemes for the "benefit of farmers". This came amid the second edition of the farmers' protest. Modi said that the Centre gave the farmers the "guarantee" to seek loans from banks, which earlier was denied to them. "We gave Modi guarantee to farmers... Banks did not give them loans, but we gave guarantee to the farmers," he added. The latest round of protests comes after muted farm earnings over the past year, during which the government placed export curbs on wheat, rice, sugar and onion, depressing local prices. Farm incomes were also hit by repeated climate shocks such as heatwaves and uneven rains. Milestone Alert! Livemint tops charts as the fastest growing news website in the world Click here to know more. Unlock a world of Benefits! From insightful newsletters to real-time stock tracking, breaking news and a personalized newsfeed it's all here, just a click away! Login Now! (Bloomberg) -- Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, who is set to release his fiscal 2025 spending proposal next week, said he plans to ask the state legislature for an additional $182 million in the year starting July 1 to care for asylum seekers and other migrants coming from the US southern border. The funding request is part of a broader $250 million commitment announced Thursday with Cook County, where Chicago is located, according to emailed statements from state and county officials. With thousands of asylum seekers continuing to come to Chicago in desperate need of support and with Congress continuing to refuse to actit is clear the state, county, and city will have to do more to keep people safe," Pritzker said in the statement. The aid is on top of the more than half billion dollars Illinois has spent on shelter, food, relocation and other services for the thousands of migrants arriving from Texas and other southern states since August 2022. So far, Illinois has committed $638 million to the response as more than 35,000 migrants have arrived in Chicago and surrounding suburbs over the last year and a half. Cook County committed more than $100 million for migrants in its current fiscal 2024 budget, primarily for health care. County Board President Toni Preckwinkle will work with Cook County commissioners to commit up to $70 million more for this joint funding plan," according to the statement. A Chicago spokesperson didnt immediately respond to an email and phone call requesting comment about the citys role in the funding. More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com 2024 Bloomberg L.P. Milestone Alert! Livemint tops charts as the fastest growing news website in the world Click here to know more. Unlock a world of Benefits! From insightful newsletters to real-time stock tracking, breaking news and a personalized newsfeed it's all here, just a click away! Login Now! Reserve Bank of India ( RBI ) signed terms of reference (ToR) with Nepal Rastra Bank on Integration of Unified Payments Interface (UPI) of India with National Payments Interface (NPI) of Nepal for cross-border remittances. The banking regulators of India and Nepal signed and exchanged Terms of Reference for integration of cross border payment between the two countries. The integration is aimed at facilitating cross-border remittances between India and Nepal by enabling users of the two systems to make instant, low-cost fund transfers. The collaboration between India and Nepal in linking their fast payment systems through the UPI-NPI linkage will further deepen financial connectivity and reinforce the enduring historical, cultural, and economic ties between the two countries," reads the RBI statement. The statement further adds that the necessary systems will soon be put in place for interlinking of UPI and NPI. However, the formal launch of the linkage i.e., commencement of operations will be carried out at a later date. UPI in seven countries Notably, Indians can now use the UPI to make payments in seven countries (including Nepal). Following its launch in Sri Lanka and Mauritius, UPI payments are accepted in France, UAE, Singapore, Bhutan, and Nepal. After the announcement, MyGovIndia shared a world map, highlighting the countries where Indians can use UPI to make payments. UPI was launched by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) in 2016 and has rapidly gained momentum. The widespread adoption of UPI underscores the urgent need for secure, efficient, and user-centric payment methods. Bhutan was the first country to adopt UPI in 2021. In August last year, Germany's federal minister for digital and transport Volker Wissing used UPI to make a payment at a vegetable shop in the national capital. Following this, the German embassy described digital infrastructure in India as one of its success stories and shared the video of Wissing using the UPI. Milestone Alert! Livemint tops charts as the fastest growing news website in the world Click here to know more. Unlock a world of Benefits! From insightful newsletters to real-time stock tracking, breaking news and a personalized newsfeed it's all here, just a click away! Login Now! BAKU, Azerbaijan, February 16. Azerbaijani Prime Minister Ali Asadov has held a phone talk with his Russian counterpart Mikhail Mishustin, the press service of the Cabinet of Ministers of Azerbaijan told Trend. Mishustin congratulated Asadov on his appointment to the post of Prime Minister. During the discussion, both parties highly valued the progress of amicable relations and mutually advantageous collaboration between Azerbaijan and Russia, expressing optimism for the continued enhancement of their strategic partnership. The Parliament of Azerbaijan approved Ali Asadov's candidacy for the role of Prime Minister in today's plenary session. Afterward, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev signed a decree on the appointment of Ali Asadov to the post of Prime Minister. Bharat Bandh: Betwixt the farmers' protest for minimum support prices (MSPs), agricultural reforms and other laws, the Samyukt Kisna along with Kisan Mazdoor Morcha have joined hands to call for Bharat Bandh on February 16. The farmers' union called upon similar organizations to join forces and participate in the Gramin Bharat Bandh scheduled for February 16, organized by the central trade unions. This coordinated effort seeks to strengthen the farmers' voices and compel the government to adequately respond to their demands. Also Read | Bharat Bandh 2024 LIVE Updates: Farmers' nationwide strike begins; Section 144 imposed in Noida Are banks closed today? Currently, banks have not provided any information regarding service disruptions. Additionally, the Reserve Bank of India's holiday schedule confirms that banks will be operational. Also Read | Bharat Bandh today: Farmers announce nationwide protest on 16 Feb. Banks, offices shut on Friday? Know details The nationwide strike has the potential to disrupt numerous services. Let's explore how individuals could be affected by the Gramin Bharat Bandh planned for February 16, 2024, as per a report from ET. Also Read | Top news of the day: From farmers' call for Bharat Bandh to India vs England test match Day 2, all you must track today Bharat Bandh Schedule On February 16, the farmers' union has called for nationwide strike "Bharat Bandh," organized by the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha and Samyukat Kisna. Scheduled from 6:00 AM to 4:00 PM, farmers aimed to highlight unfulfilled promises and demand changes through chakka jams (road blockades) on major routes across the country. Punjab in particular saw potential closures of its roads for four hours, causing concerns about potential disruptions to transportation, supply chains, and essential services. While the bandh has now concluded, understanding its impact and future possibilities remains crucial. According to a report by The Indian Express, farmers will join massive chakka jams on main roads nationwide from 12 pm to 4 pm on Friday. Most of the state and national highways will be closed for four hours in Punjab on Friday. Milestone Alert! Livemint tops charts as the fastest growing news website in the world Click here to know more. Unlock a world of Benefits! From insightful newsletters to real-time stock tracking, breaking news and a personalized newsfeed it's all here, just a click away! Login Now! Farmers Protest: During a meeting that lasted over five hours on Thursday night, farmer leaders engaged in discussions with three Union ministers, expressing their worries about the actions taken by security forces against the protesting farmers. Also Read: Bharat Bandh 2024 LIVE They emphasized their desire for a peaceful resolution rather than confrontation. The talks occurred amidst a standoff between protesters and security personnel at two locations along the Punjab-Haryana border. Sarwan Singh Pandher, coordinator of the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha (KMM), addressed the media following the meeting, stating that the leaders of the farmers' union have reassured the cabinet ministers of their commitment to dialogue." Also Read: Farmers Protest LIVE Updates: Mobile internet services to remain suspended in 7 Haryana districts till February 17 Pandher expressed apprehension regarding the ongoing situation, citing issues such as the suspension of social media accounts and the use of tear gas during otherwise peaceful interactions, We said we are not Pakistan. We seek a peaceful solution, not confrontation. They assured us that our pages would be restarted... We assured them of our commitment to dialogue." He further said that the discussion was held to find a resolution to the issues. The discussion with the Centre was held on all the demands raised by us. We discussed to find a resolution to the issues. The ministers said that they require time. We hope that a peaceful solution is derived; to avoid any conflict. Our programme to go to Delhi is still there," Pandher added. Jagjit Singh Dallewal, the president of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (Ekta Sidhupur), stated that the government requested additional time to thoroughly discuss the farmers' demands. Also Read: Farmers' 'Delhi Chalo' Protest Enters Day 3: Key border points closed, movement of traffic affected We engaged in a detailed discussion, and the government acknowledged the need for dialogue on MSP and shared debts, committing to further discussions. After the discussion, the government said that the demands require a detailed discussion. They have decided Sunday for the next (fourth) round of meeting," he said. The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha have issued a Delhi Chalo" call to exert pressure on the BJP-led Centre to meet their demands. On Tuesday, farmers from Punjab commenced their journey towards the national capital but were halted by security forces at the Shambhu and Khanauri border points separating Punjab and Haryana. The farmers participating in the protest have been stationed at the border points. Also Read: Farmers' protest: Suspension on internet, bulk SMS, dongle services extended in THESE Haryana districts On Wednesday, the Haryana police persisted in their forceful actions, utilizing tear gas shells, including with the assistance of drones, and water cannons towards the Punjab area at the Shambhu border between Ambala and Patiala districts. Embarking on trucks and trolleys stocked with provisions such as food and bedding, the farmers initiated their Delhi Chalo" march on Tuesday morning following unsuccessful negotiations with the government regarding guaranteed minimum prices for various crops. The recent meeting held on Thursday marked the third attempt at dialogue between the two parties. Previous discussions on February 8 and 12 failed to reach any resolution. Also Read: Is Bharat Bandh tomorrow due to farmers' protest in Delhi? What's open, what's not on February 16 Following the third round of talks between Union ministers and 14 farmer union leaders, no agreement was reached, leading to a deadlock. The next round of discussions is scheduled for Sunday at 6 pm. Representing the Centre at the meeting were Union Agriculture and Farmer Welfare Minister Arjun Munda, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal, and Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai. The talks revolved around various demands from the farmer unions, including the enactment of a law ensuring a minimum support price (MSP) for crops. Also Read: What happened to govt-appointed panel on MSP formed after 2020-21 farmers protest? Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann participated in the meeting held at the Mahatma Gandhi State Institute of Public Administration in Sector 26. Following the conclusion of the meeting, Union Minister Arjun Munda described the third round of discussions with the leaders of the protesting farmers as positive". Today, a very positive discussion happened between the government and the farmers' unions. Focusing on the topics highlighted by the farmers' union, we have decided that the next meeting will take place on Sunday at 6 pm... We all will find a solution peacefully...," Munda said. Addressing the media, Mann said that all the demands made by the farmers were discussed in a positive environment. Since the Punjab farmer is affected the most, I came forward as chief of the state. Detailed discussions took place on all the issues. I took up the issue of internet suspension in three districts and its impact on students who are taking their exams. What is their fault? The farmers showed shells fired at them. We said the farmers should not be treated like this," he added. Also Read: Delhi, Haryana on alert as farmers gear up for protest march, police issue advisories What to expect? He further said that assurances were obtained from the Centre to tell the Haryana government to exercise restraint. "We have told them to tell the Haryana government not to fire ammunition in our jurisdiction," he said. He noted that the Punjab government does not want to expose the youth of the state to tear gas shells and bullets. On their part, the farm leaders had issued an appeal the previous day to uphold peace, and they had abided by it...I do not want to expose our youth to tear gas shells and bullets," the CM said. He, however, said that the march would continue with peace. Earlier, on Thursday, farmers from Rajpura in Punjab's Patiala district were staging a protest by occupying rail tracks and obstructing train services at Rajpura Railway Station as part of their escalating demonstrations in the lead-up to the Lok Sabha elections. (With inputs from ANI) Milestone Alert! Livemint tops charts as the fastest growing news website in the world Click here to know more. Unlock a world of Benefits! From insightful newsletters to real-time stock tracking, breaking news and a personalized newsfeed it's all here, just a click away! Login Now! Ahead of the Bharat Bandh called by farmers' unions on Friday, Gautam Buddh Nagar Police said the enforcement of restrictions under CrPC Section 144, which includes prohibiting unauthorized public gatherings, across the district. Additionally, they alerted commuters travelling to and from Delhi about potential traffic diversions in Noida and advised citizens to consider using the metro rail service whenever feasible to minimize inconvenience. The police stated that these measures were implemented in anticipation of protest marches organized by the farmers' collective Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) and other unions. Also Read: Bharat Bandh 2024 LIVE Updates: Farmers' nationwide strike begins; Section 144 imposed in Noida The Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU), a constituent of SKM, had previously announced a Bharat Bandh on February 16, highlighting various unaddressed grievances of farmers. Farmers protest LIVE Additionally, the Bharatiya Kisan Parishad (BKP) based in Noida has also pledged its support for Friday's Bharat Bandh. In a post on X, police said that in the event of traffic congestion, the following alternative routes will be implemented: 1. Vehicles travelling from the 130-meter road towards Pari Chowk via Depot Roundabout will be redirected via Supertech Roundabout, Honda CL Chowk, and IFS Villa Roundabout to reach their destination. 2. Vehicles travelling from Surajpur towards Pari Chowk can take the route via Expomart Roundabout, Knowledge Park, and LG Roundabout to reach their destination. 3. Vehicles using the Noida-Greater Noida Expressway towards Pari Chowk will be diverted via Knowledge Park/Expomart Roundabout and Hindon Cut/Galgotia Cut. Also Read: We are not from Pakistan.., Farmer leaders express concern amid call for Bharat Bandh 4. Vehicles travelling from Kasna to Pari Chowk towards Surajpur can follow the route via the 130-meter road and Supertech Roundabout from Honda CL Chowk. 5. Vehicles heading from Chilla Border to Delhi can opt for the route via Sector 14A flyover, Golchakkar Chowk, Sector 15, Sandeep Paper Mill Chowk, and Jhundpura Chowk. 6. Vehicles going from DND Border to Delhi can take the elevated route via Filmcity flyover and Sector 18. 7. Vehicles travelling from Kalindi Border to Delhi can use the Mahamaya flyover to Sector 37. 8. Traffic destined for Delhi via Yamuna Expressway can exit at Jewar Toll towards Khurja and reach their destination via Jahangirpur. 9. Traffic bound for Delhi via Sirsa, Pari Chowk, after leaving the Peripheral Expressway, can reach their destination via Dadri and Dasna instead of exiting at Sirsa. Also Read: Top news of the day: From farmers' call for Bharat Bandh to India vs England test match Day 2, all you must track today 10. The police, in a statement, explained that various programs such as protest demonstrations are planned by SKM and various organizations for Friday. Therefore, Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) will be enforced on February 16. As per the directive, gatherings of five or more individuals, unauthorized processions or demonstrations - political or religious - are prohibited. The order also restricts the use of private drones within a one-kilometre radius of government establishments and prohibits the possession of weapons such as sticks, rods, tridents, swords, firearms, etc., in public spaces. In a traffic advisory, the police mentioned that intensive checking will be conducted by setting up barriers on all borders between Noida and Delhi. People going to Delhi please use Metro as much as possible to avoid traffic inconvenience. Arrival of all types of goods vehicles will be restricted on the route from Yamuna Expressway to Delhi via Noida-Greater Noida Expressway and from Sirsa to Surajpur via Pari Chowk. To avoid traffic inconvenience, drivers can use alternative troutes to reach their destination," PTI quoted police as saying. Pawan Khatana, a leader of the BKU, stated that during their planned Bharat Bandh, farmers have been instructed to cease work for a single day to emphasize their demands to the government. "Farmers have been asked to shun work in farms or not go to markets for any purchases tomorrow. Traders and transporters have also been exhorted to join the strike tomorrow," Khatana told PTI. (With inputs from agencies) Milestone Alert! Livemint tops charts as the fastest growing news website in the world Click here to know more. Unlock a world of Benefits! From insightful newsletters to real-time stock tracking, breaking news and a personalized newsfeed it's all here, just a click away! Login Now! The number of fatalities in an explosion followed by a fire at a paint factory in the Alipur area of outer Delhi has risen to 11, police said on Friday. As reported by PTI, four additional bodies were discovered at the site, bringing the total death toll. The incident, which occurred on Thursday evening, also resulted in injuries to four individuals, who are currently receiving medical treatment at a hospital. Also Read: Delhi news: At least seven dead after massive fire erupts at a paint factory in Narela's Alipur market The charred bodies of the 11 victims were recovered from the factory, which also houses chemical godowns, located in Alipur's Dayal market, a Delhi Fire Services (DFS) official said. The fire was preceded by a blast and soon it spread to nearby buildings, including a drug rehabilitation centre and eight shops. Also Read: Harda blast news: 11 dead, over 200 injured in firecracker factory explosion in MP | Video The DFS official said a call about the fire was received around 5:30 pm on Thursday and 22 fire tenders were pressed into service. The blaze was brought under control by 9 pm, he said, adding that 11 charred bodies were recovered from the factory premises. In a post on X, DFS chief Atul Garg said, Despite best efforts by DFS, 11 labours died in paint factory fire in alipur area Delhi. Fire call was received @ 5.30 pm and 22 tenders were to the site but due to explosion building collapsed & workers trapped inside the factory and couldn't not be saved. Very very unfortunate day." A police officer indicated that the explosion is believed to have been triggered by chemicals stored in the warehouses. Among the four individuals injured, identified as Jyoti (42), Divya (20), Mohit Solanki (34), and police constable Karambir (35), all of whom have been hospitalized at Raja Harish Chandra Hospital, as stated by the officer. Also Read: Kerala news: Customer fires shots at Kochi's local bar, injures three employees The bodies of the deceased have been kept at Babu Jagjivan Ram Hospital, where the process of identification is currently underway, according to the police. An eyewitness Sumit Bharadwaj told ANI, The incident took place at around 5.30 pm. Everyone gathered here after hearing an explosion. We tried a lot to douse the fire. Around 7-8 fire tenders reached here and started the fire fighting operation." (With inputs from agencies) ATUL More Information Milestone Alert! Livemint tops charts as the fastest growing news website in the world Click here to know more. Unlock a world of Benefits! From insightful newsletters to real-time stock tracking, breaking news and a personalized newsfeed it's all here, just a click away! Login Now! A mob of approximately 300-400 people tried to forcefully enter the office of the Superintendent of Police (SP) in Churachandpur, Manipur, leading to 2 peole dead and 25 injured reportedly on Febuary 15 night, the police said. The Manipur Police, in a statement to X, said that the mob threw stones and carried out other violent activities in an attempt to breach the SP's office. In response, the security forces, including the Rapid Action Force (RAF), used tear gas shells to control the situation, the Manipur Police further said. The authorities are closely monitoring the situation. "Mob numbering approx. 300-400 attempted to storm the office of SP CCP today, pelting stones, etc. The SF [security forces] including the RAF [Rapid Action Force], is responding appropriately by firing tear gas shells to control the situation. Things are under watch," the Manipur Police posted on X. Also Read | Bharat Bandh 2024 LIVE Updates: Farmers' nationwide strike begins; Section 144 imposed in Noida The Manipur government clamped Section 144 of the IPC in the area and temporarily suspended mobile internet in Churachandpur district for 5 days with immediate effect from 1:40 AM of 16-02- 2024. Also Read | Bharat Bandh today: Farmers announce nationwide protest on 16 Feb. Banks, offices shut on Friday? Know details "There is apprehension that some anti-social elements might use social media extensively for the transmission of images, posts, and video messages inciting the passions of the public, which might have serious repercussions for the law and order situation in the State of Manipur. There is an imminent danger of loss of life and/or damage to public/private property, and widespread disturbances to public tranquilly and communal harmony, as a result of inflammatory material and false rumours that might be transmitted/circulated to the public through social media and messaging services on mobile services, SMS services, and dongle services," the order said. Milestone Alert! Livemint tops charts as the fastest growing news website in the world Click here to know more. Unlock a world of Benefits! From insightful newsletters to real-time stock tracking, breaking news and a personalized newsfeed it's all here, just a click away! Login Now! Kavita Chaudhary, famous for her portrayal of an IPS officer in the popular TV series Udaan from 1989 and her role as Lalita-ji in iconic Surf advertisements of the '90s, has passed away due to cardiac arrest at Parvati Devi Hospital in Amritsar on Thursday. "She passed away following cardiac arrest last night around 8.30 pm in Amritsar at the hospital. She was admitted to the hospital a few days ago due to low blood pressure. Her condition became critical later," Ajay Sayal, Chaudhary's nephew, told PTI. He added, Kavita, I, Satish Kaushik, Anupam (Kher), and Govind Namdev were together in the same batch." Kavita rose to fame after appearing in numerous television shows on Doordarshan during the 1980s and 1990s. Her notable works include roles in shows like "Your Honour," "Apradhi Kaun!," and IPS Diaries." Kavita Chaudhary is survived by her daughter Sayal and her niece. Chaudhary gained widespread recognition for her role as IPS officer Kalyani Singh in Udaan," a groundbreaking television series on women empowerment aired on Doordarshan from 1989 to 1991. Not only did she star in the series, but she also wrote and directed it, drawing inspiration from the life of her elder sister and police officer, Kanchan Chaudhary Bhattacharya. Udaan," which featured Shekhar Kapur alongside Chaudhary, depicted the struggles of a woman aspiring to become an IPS officer. The critically acclaimed show, known for inspiring a generation of women to pursue careers in public service, was re-aired on Doordarshan during the pandemic. Actor Amit Behl was among those who extended condolences upon Chaudhary's passing. "RIP Kavita Chaudhary, is baar aapne lambi udaan bhar li,Naman @CintaaOfficial @nsd_india," he wrote on X. (With inputs from PTI) Milestone Alert! Livemint tops charts as the fastest growing news website in the world Click here to know more. Unlock a world of Benefits! From insightful newsletters to real-time stock tracking, breaking news and a personalized newsfeed it's all here, just a click away! Login Now! Japan is set to launch a digital nomad visa in March that will allow citizens of 49 countries to stay in the nation for up to six months. Japan serves as the best place to combine work and travel considering its metropolitan cities, diverse natural landscapes and world-renowned pop culture. In a move to boost the tourism industry and its economy and international competitiveness, the island country is increasingly opening up to foreigners. Find out who can apply for Japans digital nomad visa Japans digital nomad visa will be available to citizens of 49 countries and territories. These eligible nations are those that have signed a tax treaty with the country or are visa-exempt when visiting Japan. The list of eligible nations includes all EU countries, Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Moldova, Monaco, North Macedonia, Norway, Serbia, Switzerland, Turkey and the United Kingdom, reported Euronews. However, as of now, India is not on the list. One must work for an employer or corporation outside of the host nation or own a business that can be managed from anywhere in the world to be eligible for this visa. The visa mainly targets IT professionals as well as highly skilled professionals. This visa is expected to apply to YouTubers as well who make revenue from overseas advertisers. This East Asian country is threatened by its ageing population and hence faced with a high dependency ratio. According to Japans labour ministry, over two million foreign nationals work in the country currently, which is the highest number ever recorded. How much does one need to earn to be eligible? To qualify for Japan's digital nomad visa, applicants must earn at least 10 million Japanese Yen (62,672) annually and have private health insurance coverage, reported Euronews. Also read: VFS Global expects visa processing time to ease this year Moreover, family members including children and spouses will be allowed to accompany digital nomads during their stay in Japan but they also have to be covered by private medical insurance. Digital nomads are 45 per cent more productive than their office-based counterparts, according to a US study. It was also found that these digital nomads are happier, with 91 per cent reporting job satisfaction and flexibility as the primary benefits. Various countries including Portugal, Canada, and Germany, have introduced digital nomad visas and modified laws to promote working tourism. Dedicated remote working centres have emerged over the years that offer individuals the freedom to choose their workplace including beachside locations. Milestone Alert! Livemint tops charts as the fastest growing news website in the world Click here to know more. Unlock a world of Benefits! From insightful newsletters to real-time stock tracking, breaking news and a personalized newsfeed it's all here, just a click away! Login Now! The White House has said that the US President Joe Biden and his administration are working very hard to thwart and disrupt attacks on Indian and Indian American students. The statement was made by John Kirby who is the Coordinator for Strategic Communications at the National Security Council in the White House. His statements comes amid a slew of attacks on Indian and Indian American students in various parts of the US. Further reacting on this, he asserted that there is no excuse for violence based on race, gender or any other factor and called it unacceptable in the US. Also Read: Indian students in American universities 'scared to travel alone', stay 'situationally aware' after 2 deaths in a week There's no excuse for violence, certainly based on race or gender or religion or any other factor. That's just unacceptable here in the United States and the President and his administration has been working very, very hard to make sure we're doing everything we can to work with state and local authorities to try to thwart and disrupt those kinds of attacks and make it clear to anybody who might consider them that they'll be held properly accountable." The president and this administration have been working very, very hard to make sure we're doing everything we can to work with state and local authorities to try to thwart and disrupt those kinds of attacks and make it clear to anybody who might consider them that they'll be held properly accountable," Kirby said. Indians death in the US On 15 February, an Indian-origin family was found dead in their apartment in California. The family comprised of four members, who have been identified as namely; Anand Sujith Henry, his wife Alice Priyanka, and their twin children Noah and Neithan. As per San Mateo police, the death of the family occurred on 13 February. "San Mateo Police officers were dispatched to the 4100 block of Alameda de las Pulgas on the report of a welfare check. After arriving officers were met with no response, they searched the perimeter of the home and did not see any signs of forced entry into the house. Finding an unlocked window, officers entered the home and located four people dead; 1 adult male, 1 adult female, and two children," the police statement read. Prior to this, On February 7, a 41-year-old Indian-origin man died in the United States, days after suffering life-threatening injuries as a result of an assault in downtown Washington, police said. According to the police, the deceased was identified as Vivek Taneja of Alexandria, Virginia. According to the police report, the incident took place on February 2 at approximately 2:00 a.m. (local time), following which Taneja was rushed to the hospital for treatment. However, due to critical injuries, he succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead on February 7. The Metropolitan Police in Washington, DC, has been seeking public assistance in identifying and locating the suspect. An Indian student faced a brutal attack in Chicago on February 4. Following the attack, the Indian Consulate in Chicago stated that it was in touch with the victim, Syed Mazahir Ali, as well as his wife in India. Videos on social media that surfaced showed Ali bleeding heavily as he described the horrific incident. Earlier this month, an Indian student in the United States named Shreyas Reddy was found dead in Cincinnati, Ohio. The cause of his death, however, remains unknown as of now. According to reports, Reddy was a student at the Linder School of Business. On 8 February, MEA spokesperson had said that Indian student's death at the University of Cincinnati, the preliminary report suggested no foul play, although the medical report is awaited. On January 30, Neel Acharya, a student at Purdue University, was found dead after being missing for days, according to the Tippecanoe County Coroner. Earlier, another Indian student, identified as Vivek Saini, was brutally killed with repeated blows from a hammer by a homeless man inside a store in Lithonia, Georgia, US. A video of the incident went viral on social media, but the date of the incident can't be confirmed. The MEA spokesperson said in Vivek Saini's brutal murder case in Georgia's Lithonia, the culprit has been arrested and the local authorities are investigating the matter (With inputs from ANI) Milestone Alert! Livemint tops charts as the fastest growing news website in the world Click here to know more. Unlock a world of Benefits! From insightful newsletters to real-time stock tracking, breaking news and a personalized newsfeed it's all here, just a click away! Login Now! Ratha Saptami also known as Magha Saptami is being celebrated today, February 16 this year. Ratha Saptami is an auspicious Hindu festival that marks the birth anniversary of Lord Surya. Highlighting the word, Ratha Saptami, Ratha implies chariot and Saptami implies the seventh day. Ratha Saptami falls on saptami or seventh day during the Shukla Paksha of the Magha month. Date and time This year Ratha Saptami 2024 is being celebrated on February 16. Ratha Saptami Shubh Muhurat Saptami Tithi begins - 10:12 am on Feb 15, 2024 Shubh Muhurat to take bath on Ratha Saptami - 5:17 am to 6:59 am Civil Dawn on Ratha Saptami - 6:35 am Observational Sunrise time on Ratha Saptami - 6:59 am Saptami Tithi Ends - 8:54 am on Feb 16, 2024 History The worship of Sun goes back to the ancient times and also finds mention in ancient scriptures such as Vedas. As per folklore and several legends it is believed that sage Kashyapa and his wife Aditi were blessed with the incarnation of Lord Surya who was one of the Adityas. Another legend claims that a king called Yashovarma prayed to Lord for blessing him with a son as he had no heir to his reign. Meanwhile, his prayers were answered and a son was born to him but he turned out to be terminally ill. The king performed Ratha Saptami pooja (worship) to get rid of his past sins on being advised by a saint King's son recovered after performing the rituals and hence went on to rule the kingdom. Significance The belief around Ratha Saptami festival revolves around the popular folklore that Sun God Surya begins his journey towards northern hemisphere riding in a ratha or chariot drawn by seven horses. The day is also celebrated as Surya Jayanti as it is considered to be the day of Lord Surya's birth. Also read: China stocks in Hong Kong slide as market reopens from holiday Ratha Saptami celebrates the beginning of spring season as Lord Surya starts his journey towards the north and marks the beginning of harvest season. Farmers across the country head to sun temples seeking blessings of Lord Surya. Festivities On this day people worship Sun God that is believed to bring good luck and cleanse one of their sins. Devotees wake up early in the morning, offer arghya to the rising sun and observe a day-long fast on this day. Farmers pray for a bountiful harvest and favourable weather conditions throughout the year. This day serves as a momentous occasion to express gratitude towards Sun that illuminated the entire world with its warmth and brightness, that also makes life possible on earth. Ratha Saptami is the perfect occasion to donate clothes and food to the poor and pray for longevity, prosperity and good health. Milestone Alert! Livemint tops charts as the fastest growing news website in the world Click here to know more. Unlock a world of Benefits! From insightful newsletters to real-time stock tracking, breaking news and a personalized newsfeed it's all here, just a click away! Login Now! OTT releases this week: Several movies and web series including Dunki, The Kerala Story, Salaar and Players are releasing on platforms like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Disney+ Hotstar. Lets have a look. Love Storiyaan Plot: Six married couples share their struggles to stay together in a traditional society that doesn't easily accept breaking norms. Genre: Documentary Platform: Amazon Prime Video Release Date: February 14 Chemistry Mashi Plot: Sucharita finds out who she is apart from her family, but then her life changes completely when the police arrest her for sharing exam papers. Genre: Drama Cast: Debashree Roy, Vinay Sharma, Soumya Mukherjee Platform: Hoichoi Release Date: February 14 Players Plot: New York sportswriter Mack and her friend Adam create ways to have casual dates with their group. However, they soon start to understand the difference between casual dating and being in a serious relationship. Genre: Sports/Drama Cast: Gina Rodriguez, Damon Wayans Jr. Tom Ellis Platform: Netflix Release Date: February 14 AlRawabi School for Girls Season 2 Plot: In Season 2 of AlRawabi School for Girls, Mariam and her friends transform from bullied outcasts to advocates for justice. Genre: Action/Drama Cast: Andria Tayeh, Rakeen Saad, Noor Taher Platform: Netflix Release Date: February 15 House of Ninjas Plot: The series is set in a world where ninja clans, now mostly retired, still exist. When an evil clan poses a threat to Japan, a family of former ninjas secretly comes out of retirement to stop them and take decisive action. Genre: Action/Adventure Cast: Kento Kaku, Riho Yoshioka, Aju Makita Platform: Netflix Release Date: February 15 Ready, Set, Love Plot: In this dating show from Thailand, 20 single women try to win the heart of an eligible bachelor. Genre: Comedy/Romance Cast: Pongtiwat Tangwancharoen, Kemisara Paladesh, Man Trisanu Soranun Platform: Netflix Release Date: February 15 Dunki Plot: A group of friends took a dangerous secret path, known as 'donkey flight', to move to the United Kingdom, putting their lives at risk. Cast: Shah Rukh Khan, Taapsee Pannu, Vicky Kaushal Platform: Netflix Release Date: February 15 The Kerala Story Plot: Shalini Unnikrishnan converts her religion and takes a new name, Fatima Ba. Then, she joins ISIS and gets jailed in Afghanistan. Genre: Drama Cast: Adah Sharma, Yogita Bihani, Sonia Balani Platform: ZEE5 Release Date: February 16 This Is Me Now: A Love Story Plot: This is a documentary on Jennifer Lopezs love life and her reunion with Ben Affleck. Genre: Documentary Cast: Jennifer Lopez Platform: Amazon Prime Video Release Date: February 16 Salaar: Part 1 Ceasefire (Hindi) Plot: A gang leader vows to fulfill a dying friend's wish by battling rival gangs. Genre: Action/Drama Cast: Prabhas, Prithviraj Sukumaran, Shruti Haasan Platform: Disney+ Hotstar Release Date: February 16 Saladn: The Conqueror of Jerusalem (Hindi) Plot: The Turkish show tells the story of Saladin, who started the Ayyubid dynasty. Genre: Drama Cast: Fawad Khan, Ugur Gunes, Adnan Siddiqui Platform: YouTube Release Date: February 20 Milestone Alert! Livemint tops charts as the fastest growing news website in the world Click here to know more. Unlock a world of Benefits! From insightful newsletters to real-time stock tracking, breaking news and a personalized newsfeed it's all here, just a click away! Login Now! BAKU, Azerbaijan, February 16. In his speech after the inauguration ceremony, President Ilham Aliyev announced Azerbaijan's roadmap for the new period and emphasized the priorities of the country's domestic and foreign policy, dean of UNEC's Faculty of Turkic World Economy and professor at Uludag University, Mehmet Yuce told Trend. "After the 44-day II Karabakh War and 23-hour and local anti-terrorist measures, a new period has started for Azerbaijan. This period continued with the extraordinary presidential election on February 7. President Ilham Aliyev's vote in Khankendi, which Armenian separatists once declared the capital of their administration, became a symbol of a new era and a message to the whole world. At the new stage we are talking about Azerbaijan, which has ensured its territorial integrity, fully restored its sovereignty, implemented its Constitution throughout its territory, become a leading state in the region, acting as a locomotive in the Organization of Turkic States, supporting right-wing causes of countries in good dialogue with Islamic countries, unjustly offended by the colonization of Western countries, defended itself and striving for reforms in all spheres," he noted. According to him, the Turkic world will be the most important priority in Azerbaijan's foreign policy in the new period. "In fact, there is a natural unity between the member countries of the Organization of Turkic States and Azerbaijan in terms of history, culture, geography, and creation of socio-economic power. At the same time, this integrity is a formula that will counterbalance other forces that have their own interest in the South Caucasus, especially France, which wants provocations in the region," Yuce emphasized. He also mentioned that Azerbaijan, along with its leading role in the OTC, its active role in the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and the Non-Aligned Movement, and its growing prestige in the international arena, also provides strong support in the fight against neo-colonialism to countries and societies that France considers its backyard. "We can say that this initiative of Azerbaijan is an important means of combating French imperialism, which includes elements of Turkophobia, Islamophobia, and neocolonialism. Thus, the February 7 election is the beginning of a new era for Azerbaijan. In this period Azerbaijan will be stronger than in all previous ones," he added. Stay up to date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel Alexei Navalny, Russian President Vladimir Putin's critic and a significant opposition leader, reportedly died in prison, Russian media Tass news agency reported on Friday. It cited "Federal Penitentiary Service of Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Region" as saying that the "convict" was not "feeling well and fainted almost instantly" after a walk on February 16. While Navalnys and Kremlin spokesperson and Krimlin said they "had no information about the matter", here's how leaders across the world reacted to Alexei Navalny's death. UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak: This is terrible news. As the fiercest advocate for Russian democracy, Alexei Navalny demonstrated incredible courage throughout his life. My thoughts are with his wife and the people of Russia, for whom this is a huge tragedy." German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock: "Like no other, Alexei Nawalny was a symbol of a free and democratic Russia. That's exactly why he had to die. My thoughts are with his wife and children." Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky: "It is obvious Alexei Navalny was killed by Putin," Zelensky was quoted by Kyiv Post as saying. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz: He said he was "very sad" about reports on the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, saying it was a "terrible" sign of how Russia as a country had changed in recent years. European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen: "Deeply disturbed and saddened by news of the death of Alexei Navalny. Putin fears nothing more than dissent from his own people. A grim reminder of what Putin and his regime are all about. Let's unite in our fight to safeguard the freedom and safety of those who dare to stand up against autocracy." Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Dmitry Muratov: Speaking to Reuters, Muratov called the death "murder" and said that he believed prison conditions had led to Navalny's demise. French Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne: "Alexei Navalny paid with his life for his resistance to a system of oppression. His death in a penal colony reminds us of the reality of Vladimir Putin's regime. To his family, his loved ones and the Russian people, France presents its condolences." Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom: "Dreadful news about Alexei Navalny... If the report about his death in Russian prison is true it represents another terrible crime by Putins regime. The ruthlessness against Navalny shows again why it is necessary to continue to fight against authoritarianism." US Secretary of State Antony Blinken: "The fear of one man only underscores the weakness and rot at the heart of the system that Putin has built. Russia is responsible for this. We'll be talking to many other countries concerned about Alexei Navalny..." Poland's Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski: "My heart now goes to the family of Alexei Navalny, who is a hero and a symbol for all Russian democrats...He was convicted in a trial on false charges... He was placed in prison, where he lived in terrible conditions. Vladimir Putin is responsible for all this." Tap here to read more about Vladimir Putin critic Alexei Navalny Nato Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg: He said he was "deeply saddened and disturbed" by the reports of Navalny's death. "We need to establish all the facts, and Russia needs to answer all the serious questions about the circumstances of his death." Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte: Navalny's death "illustrates the unprecedented brutality of the Russian regime. Navalny fought for democratic values and against corruption. He had to pay for his struggle with death while he was held under the harshest and most inhumane conditions. I wish his family, loved ones and everyone who fought with him for change in Russia much strength." Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo: "His tragic death again underscores why we will continue to support Ukraine. Russia will not prevail in Ukraine. Our thoughts are with the family and friends of Navalny and all brave Russian political prisoners." Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics: "Whatever your thoughts about Alexei Navalny as the politician, he was just brutally murdered by the Kremlin. That's a fact and that is something one should know about the true nature of Russia's current regime. My condolences to the family and friends." Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky: "Its still the case that just as Russia treats its foreign policy, it treats its citizens. It has turned into a violent state that kills people who dream of a better future, like Nemtsov or now Navalny - imprisoned and tortured to death for standing up to Putin. Rest in peace." What Russian officials said on Navalny's death Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov: Peskov said President Vladimir Putin has been told about Navalny's death. Alexei Navalny's wife Yulia Navalnaya: We cannot believe Putins government. They are lying constantly. But if this is the truthI'd like Putin and all his staff to know that they will be punished for what they have done with our country, with my family and with my husband. We should fight this horrific regime in Russia today. Vladimir Putin should be personally held for all the atrocities they have committed in our country in the last years" Navalnys spokesperson Kira Yarmysh: We dont have any confirmation of this yet. Alexei's lawyer is now flying to Kharp. As soon as we have any information, we will report it." Navalny aide Leonid Volkov: Volkov said he was unable to confirm the death, adding Navalny's lawyer was travelling to the site of the prison where the opposition leader had been serving his sentence. Russia's Investigative Committee: The committee said it has launched a procedural probe into the death. (With inputs from Reuters) Milestone Alert! Livemint tops charts as the fastest growing news website in the world Click here to know more. Unlock a world of Benefits! From insightful newsletters to real-time stock tracking, breaking news and a personalized newsfeed it's all here, just a click away! Login Now! Jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny passed away on Friday at a special regime penal colony in Russia. The stunning news less than a month before an election that will give Vladimir Putin another six years in power brought renewed criticism and outrage directed at the President. The situation is also reminiscent of the backlash that followed a Novichok nerve agent attack against the activist and politician in 2020. India had reiterated its clear and consistent stance on chemical weapons after the attack as officials took note of the developments. New Delhi however stopped short of seeking explanations from Moscow or lashing out at Vladimir Putin over the matter a deviation from the stance adopted by numerous Western nations. India has been firmly opposed to any use of chemical weapons anywhere, at any time, by anybody, under any circumstances. With regard to any allegations of use and investigations conducted in this regard, we urge that the provisions and procedures laid down in the Convention be strictly adhered to by the OPCW and the concerns be addressed on the basis of cooperation among all parties concerned," then ambassador Venu Rajamony had said. Navalny was admitted to hospital in Siberia in August 2020 after losing consciousness during a flight. He was transferred to a Berlin hospital where tests showed he was poisoned with a Soviet-era nerve agent called Novichok. Navalny had blamed Putin for the poisoning an accusation that had been denied by the Kremlin. He had eventually returned to Moscow after recuperating in Germany and was immediately arrested. He had since received three prison sentences, all of which he rejected as politically motivated. (With inputs from agencies) Milestone Alert! Livemint tops charts as the fastest growing news website in the world Click here to know more. Unlock a world of Benefits! From insightful newsletters to real-time stock tracking, breaking news and a personalized newsfeed it's all here, just a click away! Login Now! Donald Trumps hush-money trial will go ahead as scheduled with jury selection starting March 25, a New York judge ruled Thursday, turning aside demands for delay from the former presidents defense lawyers, who argued it would interfere with his campaign to retake the White House. The decision means that the first of Trump's four criminal prosecutions to proceed to trial is a case centered on years-old accusations that he sought to bury stories about extramarital affairs that arose during his 2016 presidential run. Other cases charge him with plotting to overturn the results of the 2020 election and illegally hoarding classified documents at his Florida estate. In leaving the trial date intact, Judge Juan Manuel Merchan pointed to the recent delay in the separate prosecution in Washington related to efforts to undo the 2020 election. That case, originally set for trial on March 4, has been effectively frozen pending the outcome of Trump's appeal on the legally untested question of whether a former president enjoys immunity from prosecution for actions taken while in office. Noting that he had resisted defense lawyer urgings from months ago to postpone the trial, Merchan said, In hindsight, frankly, Im glad that I took that position, because here we are and the D.C. case did not go forward." He said he decided to stick with the trial date after speaking last week with the judge in the Washington case, Tanya Chutkan. The hush-money trial is expected to last six weeks, Merchan said. Assuming the New York case remains on schedule, it will open just weeks after the Super Tuesday primaries, colliding on the political calendar with a time period in which Trump will be looking to sew up the Republican race and emerge as the presumptive nominee in this years presidential contest. His attorneys cited that schedule in urging the judge to reconsider the March trial date. We strenuously object to what is happening in this courtroom," said defense lawyer Todd Blanche, adding that "the fact that we are now going to spend, President Trump is now going to spend, the next two months working on this trial instead of out on the campaign trial running for president is something that should not happen in this country." Trump made a similar case after leaving the courtroom, telling reporters that "instead of being in South Carolina and other states campaigning, Im stuck here." Well just have to figure it out," he added. I'll be here during the day and Ill be campaigning during the night." In fact, Trump has repeatedly attended court proceedings where his presence was not required and he went to court Thursday voluntarily. The judge had said he could join remotely by video from Georgia, where he was contemplating attending a simultaneous hearing in his criminal case there. Thursday marked Trumps first return visit to court in the New York case since that historic indictment made him the first ex-president charged with a crime. Since then, he has also been indicted in Florida, Georgia and Washington, D.C. The hearing was held amid a busy overlapping stretch of legal activity for the Republican presidential front-runner, who has increasingly made his court involvement part of his political campaign. On Monday, for instance, he voluntarily attended a closed hearing in a Florida case charging him with hoarding classified records. A separate hearing was unfolding in Atlanta on Thursday as a judge considered arguments on whether to toss Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis off the states election interference case because of a personal relationship with a special prosecutor she hired. The New York case has long been considered the least legally perilous of the four indictments filed against Trump last year, with the alleged misconduct generally known to the public for years seen by many as less grave than accusations of mishandling classified documents or plotting to subvert a presidential election. Chutkan officially delayed the Washington case last month, with the Supreme Court now weighing the immunity question. Theres no new date. The classified documents case in Florida is set for trial May 20, but that date could be moved. No trial date is scheduled in the Atlanta case. Over the past year, Trump has lashed out at Merchan as a Trump-hating judge," asked him to step down from the case and sought to move the case from state court to federal court, all to no avail. Merchan has acknowledged making several small donations to Democrats, including $15 to Trumps rival Biden, but said hes certain of his ability to be fair and impartial." Trump is also awaiting a decision, possibly as early as Friday, in a New York civil fraud case that threatens to upend his real estate empire. If the judge rules against Trump, who is accused of inflating his wealth to defraud banks, insurers and others, he could be on the hook for millions of dollars in penalties among other sanctions. Along with clarifying the trial schedule, Merchan also rejected a request by Trumps lawyers to throw out the case. Trumps lawyers accuse Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, a Democrat, of bringing the case to interfere with Trumps political chances. Braggs predecessor, Cyrus Vance Jr., declined to pursue a case on the same allegations. Trump is charged with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. Each count carries a potential punishment of up to four years in prison, but there is no guarantee that a conviction would result in prison time. The case centers on payoffs to two women, porn actor Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal, as well as to a Trump Tower doorman who claimed to have a story about Trump having a child out of wedlock. Trump says he didnt have any of the alleged sexual encounters. Trumps lawyer at the time, Michael Cohen, paid Daniels $130,000 and arranged for the publisher of the National Enquirer supermarket tabloid to pay McDougal $150,000 in a practice known as catch-and-kill." Trumps company then paid Cohen $420,000 and logged the payments as legal expenses, not reimbursements, prosecutors said. Bragg charged Trump last year with falsifying internal records kept by his company, the Trump Organization, to hide the true nature of payments. Trumps legal team has argued that no crime was committed. Milestone Alert! Livemint tops charts as the fastest growing news website in the world Click here to know more. Unlock a world of Benefits! From insightful newsletters to real-time stock tracking, breaking news and a personalized newsfeed it's all here, just a click away! Login Now! This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed. (Bloomberg) -- General Motors Co. is mulling a shift from mainstream models in China by focusing primarily on luxury vehicles as it struggles to bounce back from years of declining sales and profits in the worlds largest car market. While GM still sees a role for itself in Chinas increasingly competitive market, Chief Executive Officer Mary Barra said Thursday that her company has to reverse its downward trajectory in the country. When you look at Chinese market, its very different than it was five years ago," Barra said at a conference held by Wolfe Research. Its a market that we want to play in appropriately, and I think its more at the premium and the high end." The CEOs comments follow her statements on an earnings call in late January signaling a reassessment of GMs Chinese business, saying no options were off the table." A narrower product strategy in China would mark a big reversal for GM, which entered the market in 1997 to become only the second foreign brand to manufacture locally after Volkswagen AG. The Detroit automaker grew rapidly in its first two decades in China via its Buick, Cadillac and Chevrolet brands, earning it $2 billion a year as recently as 2018. But last year, GM made only $446 million in China, down 34%. It expects to revert to a loss there this quarter as it adjusts production and inventory. At the same time, GMs market share in China topped 14% in 2017 but has since fallen by nearly half to 8.4% and its Chinese sales volumes in 2023 dropped below those in the US for the first time since 2009. GM sales in China are down 50% from their 2017 peak," said Michael Dunne, former President of GM Indonesia and CEO of consulting firm Dunne Insights. Chevy and Buick no longer mean much to Chinese consumers. Cadillac is the last line of defense. For GM in China, its up or out." GM shares rose 1.4% to $38.91 at 2:33 p.m. in New York and are up 8.4% this year. Part of GMs problem in the market is that its catching up in electric-vehicle development. BloombergNEF forecasts sales of plug-in vehicles to reach 38% of Chinas auto market this year. Cadillac just started building the Lyriq EV in November and will start building the smaller Optiq and three-row Vistiq EVs later this year. Buick has had inexpensive electric models in the market but just expanded its lineup with the Electra E5 SUV and Electra E4 coupe EVs. Both went on sale last summer, giving the brand two new EVs powered by GMs Ultium battery pack. The company also has a third EV, the compact Velite 6, but like Cadillac gets most of its sales from gasoline-powered models. Cadlillac is showing signs of improvement, John Roth, vice president of Global Cadillac, said in an interview. He said that brand started growing in January and is boosting sales in China again in February, thanks in part to the Lyriq. China needs to do well. Weve got great plans," Roth said. I see no reason why we wont see year-over-year growth." Read more: GM Will Bring GMC Trucks to China, Where Sales Have Faltered Barra said GM could still make money from Chinas mass market with its ownership stake in the joint venture with its SAIC-GM-Wuling Automobile Co. Ltd. partnership that it shares with SAIC Motor and Guangxi Auto. That partnership builds small vehicles and mini electric models that start for less than $10,000. GM has a 44% stake in the JV, which now accounts for more than half its China sales. (Updates throughout) More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com 2024 Bloomberg L.P. Milestone Alert! Livemint tops charts as the fastest growing news website in the world Click here to know more. Unlock a world of Benefits! From insightful newsletters to real-time stock tracking, breaking news and a personalized newsfeed it's all here, just a click away! Login Now! Happy Independence Day, Lithuania! Google Doodle on Friday commemorated Lithuanias two Independence Days: the Restoration of the State Day. According to the description, on February 16, 1918, the Council of Lithuania ratified the Act of Independence, signalling the end of Soviet domination. This day holds significance as Lithuanians pay tribute to the individuals who fought and endured hardships to secure their country's sovereignty. Independence Day kicks off with festivities in the capital Vilnius. Lithuanians gather for flag-hoisting ceremonies where they sport the countrys national colours. Yellow, green, and red decorate buildings and homes just like the flag in todays Doodle," the description added. Also Read: Google Doodle celebrates Serbia National Day 2024 As the day progresses, families and friends come together to celebrate by indulging in traditional Lithuanian cuisine. Among the favourite dishes are delicacies such as cepelinai, potato dumplings, and sakotis, a unique split cake with a distinctive hollow center. Earlier on February 15, the Google Doodle honours Serbia's National Day, recognized as Statehood Day or Sovereignty Day. This date commemorates the significant events in Serbian history, including the first Serbian Uprising in 1804, which led to Serbia's liberation from Ottoman rule. Additionally, National Day marks the adoption of Serbia's inaugural constitution in 1835, a pivotal moment in establishing democracy and safeguarding human rights within the nation. Also Read: Google Doodle celebrates Mexican archaeologist and anthropologist Alfonso Caso's 128th Birthday In the 15th century, the majority of what is now Serbia was under Ottoman Empire rule, with the remaining portion under the control of the Austro-Hungarian Habsburgs. On this day in 1804, the initial Serbian Uprising occurred, heralding the path to Serbia's eventual independence from the Ottoman Empire. Milestone Alert! Livemint tops charts as the fastest growing news website in the world Click here to know more. Unlock a world of Benefits! From insightful newsletters to real-time stock tracking, breaking news and a personalized newsfeed it's all here, just a click away! Login Now! Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated his rejection of a plan for international recognition of a Palestinian state, stating that such a move would be a significant reward for terrorism. AFP reported that Netanyahu's comments follow a similar rejection by influential far-right ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, who responded to reports of the plan in The Washington Post. The newspaper article, citing various US and Arab diplomats, detailed ongoing efforts by the United States, Israel's primary ally, along with several Arab nations, to devise a comprehensive peace plan for Israel and the Palestinians. Among the plan's components was a defined timeline for the establishment of a Palestinian state, as per the newspaper report. Also Read: Al Jazeera journalists targeted and injured in Israeli airstrike, network condemns Israel will continue to oppose unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state," Netanyahu said in a post in Hebrew on social media platform X. Such recognition, in the wake of the October 7 massacre, would offer an enormous reward to unprecedented terrorism and would prevent any future peace agreement," he said. "Israel categorically rejects international diktats concerning a permanent settlement with the Palestinians," he added, saying that a peace agreement could only result from direct negotiations without preconditions", AFP reported. The Washington Post reported that the plan would begin with a ceasefire expected to last at least six weeks", with officials hoping that an agreement could be reached before the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan on March 10. Also Read: Gaza war to stop? Hamas gives positive reply to truce deal; Israel says studying it intensely The agreement would include a pause in the fighting, the release of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza since the October 7 attack, and a timetable for the eventual establishment of a Palestinian state. "We will never agree to such a plan, which in reality says that the Palestinians deserve a reward for the terrible massacre they have committed," Smotrich wrote on X, describing a Palestinian state as an existential threat to the State of Israel". Meanwhile, Reuters reported that US President Joe Biden reiterated to Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that proceeding with military action in Rafah without a credible plan to protect Palestinian civilians is not advisable, as per the White House statement. Also Read: Israel-Hamas War Highlights: No winners in war where thousands of children are killed, says UN committee This marks the second time within a week that Biden has cautioned Netanyahu against entering the southern part of the Gaza Strip without ensuring the safety of approximately 1 million people taking shelter there. Additionally, they discussed ongoing hostage negotiations, with Biden committing to continue efforts to secure the release of hostages who have been in Hamas captivity for 132 days, according to the White House's account of the call. (With inputs from agencies) Milestone Alert! Livemint tops charts as the fastest growing news website in the world Click here to know more. Unlock a world of Benefits! From insightful newsletters to real-time stock tracking, breaking news and a personalized newsfeed it's all here, just a click away! Login Now! Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pushed back against growing international pressure to bring the four-month-old war in the Gaza Strip to an end as Palestinian doctors in the embattled enclave struggled to save patients in a major hospital that was raided by the Israeli military. After speaking by phone with President Biden, Netanyahu said Friday that he is opposed to proposals being discussed in world capitals to officially recognize a Palestinian state as part of a coordinated diplomatic effort to end the wara move that would give Palestinian leaders a long-sought symbolic victory. Netanyahu said any such effort would be seen as a reward for Hamas militants who carried out the Oct. 7 attack on Israel that his government says killed around 1,200 people in the most deadly such assault in the nations history. Israel will continue to oppose the unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state," Netanyahu wrote on X. Netanyahu and his right-wing government have resisted growing international pressure to work with world leaders and bring the fighting in Gaza to a quick end. On Wednesday, Netanyahu rebuffed French President Emmanuel Macrons calls for Israel to hold back from an assault on Rafah, saying Hamas must be eliminated from the city on the southern border of the strip, where more than 1.3 million Palestinians are now sheltering. We will fight until complete victory and this includes a powerful action also in Rafah after we allow the civilian population to leave the battle zones," he said on X. More than 28,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children, have been killed since Israel launched the war in response to the Oct. 7 attack, according to Gaza health officials. The figure doesnt distinguish between combatants and militants. At least 235 Israeli soldiers have died since the military launched its ground assault in Gaza in late October. Israeli soldiers have been fighting to bring an end to 17 years of Hamas rule in Gaza and secure the release of about 130 hostages captured on Oct. 7 who are believed to be held by Palestinian militants in the enclave. Israel privately estimates as many as 50 of the hostages could be dead. As part of the search for captives, Israeli forces raided the main hospital in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis, after Israel said it had intelligence indicating that hostages kidnapped by Hamas had been held there and that the bodies of some of them could be on the hospital grounds. Gaza health officials said Friday that the 350-bed Nasser Hospital had lost power and that four patients had died as a result of the cut in power and oxygen supplies. The Gaza Health Ministry said that the power cut endangered the lives of six other patients in the intensive care unit and three infants in the neonatal unit. The Israeli military didnt immediately respond to requests for comment. The Israeli military said Friday that it was carrying out a precise and limited" operation at the hospital that led to the detention of 20 militants who took part in the Oct. 7 attack, though it didnt say how it linked the Palestinians to the October assault. The military released a photograph of several mortar rounds and grenades it said it found inside the hospital compound. It released no information to support its contention that the hospital had been used to hold hostages. The raid at Nasser Hospital comes as international efforts to bring the war to an end have stalled. The U.S. is trying to reinvigorate negotiations to secure the release of the hostages held in Gaza in exchange for the release of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons and a halt to fighting in Gaza. On Thursday, Central Intelligence Agency Director William Burns met with Netanyahu and David Barnea, the director of Israels Mossad intelligence agency, in Israel in an effort to break the deadlock, according to people familiar with the matter. The families of Israeli hostages held in Gaza are stepping up pressure on Netanyahu to secure a deal to win their loved ones freedom. Only through a deal and through diplomatic efforts can we achieve the release of all the hostages," said Nadav Rudaeff, whose father is believed to be held in Gaza. I only want my dad back and all the other hostages." Netanyahu has called Hamass demands in the talks delusional," dampening hopes for an agreement. In an effort to put pressure on Hamas, Israel is preparing for a major military assault on Rafah, the enclaves southernmost city, where more than one million Palestinians have taken refuge. In his call with Netanyahu, Biden reiterated his view that Israel shouldnt launch the ground assault until it takes steps to move civilians out of harms way. The Israeli government is floating plans to move civilians from Rafah to central Gaza, where they propose the creation of new tent cities. Israel is seeking support from the U.S. and Arab nations for the plan. Saleh Al-Batati contributed to this article. Write to Dion Nissenbaum at dion.nissenbaum@wsj.com Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have decided to use Sussex as the surname of their children, several reports claimed this week. The Times reported on Thursday, "The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have rebranded their website to 'unify' their family after their children started using the Sussex title." Before King Charles acceded the throne, children of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were "Master Archie Mountbatten-Windsor" and "Miss Lilibet Mountbatten-Windsor". Technically, the royal familys last name is Mountbatten-Windsor, People reported. ALSO READ: King Charles tried to control Prince Harry, Meghan Markle by slapping financial sanctions: Report The children of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were accorded the titles of prince and princess when their grandfather King Charles became monarch in September 2022, the report added. Using their title 'Sussex' as their children's last names follows the tradition used by members of the royal family. The Times quoted sources as saying that rather than being known as the Mountbatten-Windsors, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet had been known as Archie Sussex and Lilibet Sussex since the coronation. The talk about Meghan and Prince Harry's royal titles came amid the launch of their new website, Sussex.com, earlier this week. On Monday, Harry and Meghan released Sussex.com, a rebranded website that is said to have taken a year to build. Now, when people visit Archewell, they are redirected to Sussex.com. It has a big photo of them and says The Office of Prince Harry & Meghan, The Duke & Duchess of Sussex." However, the website came under criticism for using the royal coat of arms on the site. Critics said this showed the couple are cashing in on their royal connections. A source told The Times, The reality behind the new site is very simple its a hub for the work the Sussexes do and it reflects the fact the family have, since the Kings coronation, the same surname for the first time...Thats a big deal for any family. It represents their unification and its a proud moment." ALSO READ: Prince Harry, Meghan Markle get compared with Kardashians; America not much impressed with Royal couple: Report Prince Harry quit royal duties in 2020 and relocated to California where he lives with his American wife and their two young children. Recently, Prince Harry suggested that King Charles's illness could help reunite the British royal family, and described how he immediately "jumped on a plane" to London after his father's cancer diagnosis. ALSO READ: 'Meghan's influence led Prince Harry to leave his own family In an interview with ABC's Good Morning America show on Friday, the prince made his first public comments on the king's health. King Charles' diagnosis came just 17 months into his reign following the death of his 96-year-old mother, Queen Elizabeth II, on September 8, 2022. ALSO READ: Meghan Markle wants to be the Queen, Royal Author claims she tried to Harry said he heard the news directly from Charles "and went to go and see him as soon as I could." "I love my family," Harry was quoted by AFP as saying, adding he was "grateful" to spend a brief amount of time with his father last week. Milestone Alert! Livemint tops charts as the fastest growing news website in the world Click here to know more. Unlock a world of Benefits! From insightful newsletters to real-time stock tracking, breaking news and a personalized newsfeed it's all here, just a click away! Login Now! Alexei Navalny, the jailed Russian opposition leader and critic of President Vladimir Putin, has died, Russian media reported on Friday while citing prison service. According to Russia's Tass news agency, Navalny died in prison inside the Arctic Circle. The prison service in the Yamalo-Nenets district said he had "felt unwell" after a walk on Friday. The report cited Federal Penitentiary Service as saying, "After a walk on February 16 the convict did not feel well and fainted almost instantly. The facilitys medical staff arrived immediately, an ambulance was called." "All necessary resuscitation procedures have been carried out without any positive results. The ambulance crew pronounced the convict dead. The cause of death is being established," the report added. On its Telegram channel, Tass news reported that investigators are carrying out an inspection over the fact of Alexei Navalnys death in the penal colony. 'No confirmation yet' However, Navalnys spokesperson, Kira Yarmysh said in an update on the X, We dont have any confirmation of this yet. Alexei's lawyer is now flying to Kharp. As soon as we have any information, we will report it." Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov also told Reuters that Russia's penitentiary service was making all checks regarding Navalny's death, but that he had no information about the matter. Mint could not independently verify the report. Meanwhile, Alexei Navalny's wife Yulia Navalnaya said, We cannot believe Putins government. They are lying constantly. But if this is the truth...I'd like Putin and all his staff to know that they will be punished for what they have done with our country, with my family and with my husband..." Last year, TASS news agency had quoted US President Joe Biden as saying, "I made it clear to him (Russian President Vladimir Putin) that I believe the consequences of that (Navalnys death in prison) would be devastating to Russia." ALSO READ: Alexei Navalny 'had to die': How world reacted to death of Vladimir Putin's critic Who is Alexei Navalny? Seen as Putin's critic, Navalny was serving a 19-year jail term on charges of extremism. He was moved to a prison in north of the Arctic Circle, which is considered one of the toughest jails. He was reported to be "missing" for nearly three weeks before he was found in a prison colony in the town of Kharp, in the Yamalo-Nenets region about 1,900 kilometers (1,200 miles) northeast of Moscow. This prison colony, known as "the Polar Wolf" colony, is considered to be one of the toughest prisons in Russia. ALSO READ: Life of Alexei Navalny, Kremlins biggest foe Last year, Navalny had reportedly lamented the terrible state of inmates' teeth in Russian prison. "Poor nutrition, a lack of solid food, lots of sweet stuff (the most affordable food), a lot of strong tea, smoking, and a complete absence of dental care do them in," he had said at the time. Tap here to read more about Vladimir Putin critic Alexei Navalny Navalny was behind bars in Russia since January 2021, when he returned to Moscow after recuperating in Germany from nerve agent poisoning that he blamed on the Kremlin. Before his arrest, he campaigned against official corruption and organized major anti-Kremlin protests. Milestone Alert! Livemint tops charts as the fastest growing news website in the world Click here to know more. Unlock a world of Benefits! From insightful newsletters to real-time stock tracking, breaking news and a personalized newsfeed it's all here, just a click away! Login Now! Taiwan and India signed an agreement on Friday to bring in Indian migrant workers to the island. Taiwan's Ministry of Labour said the memorandum of understanding had been signed between each other's de facto embassies in Taipei and Delhi, but implementation details will still need to be worked out. According to Taiwan News, a memorandum of understanding on labor cooperation was signed between the Taipei Economic, Cultural Center in India and the India Taipei Association via video conferencing. The deal came when labour-strained Taipei seeks to expand its foreign workforce beyond its traditional source countries of Southeast Asia, Reuters reported. Meanwhile, local media reports said Taiwan seeks to hire more Indian workers to address labour shortages in the manufacturing, construction, agriculture, and fishery industries. Taiwan is a major semiconductor producer but with an ageing society. It island nation hosts to around 700,000 migrant workers who come mostly from Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand. Many of them reportedly work in either in manufacturing or as home helpers for the elderly. Taiwan's Ministry of Labour said demand for workers in Taiwan for manufacturing, construction, agriculture and other industries has continued to expand which Taiwan is unable to fulfil itself, so demand for migrant workers has increased year by year. ALSO READ: India's elderly population to double by 2050, surpassing number of children, warns report "The quality of Indian labour is stable, they are hard working and well considered," the ministry said. A small-scale pilot scheme will start first, and if that goes well, more Indian workers will be allowed in," it added. The ministry, however, didn't mention how many workers may eventually come. Taiwan Representative to India Baushuan Ger had met with the Chief Minister of Mizoram, Lalduhoma on Feb. 12. Ger said on X that the fruitful" meeting included talks on labor mobility, education, and agricultural cooperation. Exciting opportunities ahead!" Taiwan had earlier denied reports that up to 100,000 Indian workers may be allowed in. Indian Minister of State for External Affairs Muraleedharan had said in December last year, "Government facilitates and promotes interactions in areas of trade, investment, tourism, culture, education and other such people-to-people exchanges with Taiwan." Muraleedharan had informed the Lok Sabha that the Labor and Manpower Cooperation MOUs/Agreements, "that provide the overarching framework for cooperation on labour and manpower related issues", have been signed with the Gulf Cooperation Council countries (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and United Arab Emirates) and Jordan. "Further, to safeguard the specific interest of domestic workers in GCC Countries, agreements on Labor Cooperation for Domestic Sector have been signed with Saudi Arabia, UAE and Kuwait. Specific Labour Mobility Partnership Agreement/MOU/MOC have been signed with Denmark, Japan, Portugal, Mauritius and Israel," Muraleedharan had said. "Migration and Mobility Partnership agreements to facilitate mobility for our students, academics, business people, and professionals, have been signed with France, UK, Germany, Australia, Austria and Italy," he added. India, like most countries, has no formal ties with Chinese-claimed Taiwan, but there is a close business relationship with India wanting to encourage more Taiwanese tech companies to invest and manufacture in India. India also has a difficult relationship with China, especially over their disputed shared border. (With inputs from agencies) Milestone Alert! Livemint tops charts as the fastest growing news website in the world Click here to know more. Unlock a world of Benefits! From insightful newsletters to real-time stock tracking, breaking news and a personalized newsfeed it's all here, just a click away! Login Now! BAKU, Azerbaijan, February 16. President of the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria Abdelmajid Tebboune has sent a congratulatory letter to President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev on the occasion of his confident victory in the extraordinary presidential elections, Trend reports. "Excellency and Dear Brother, I am pleased to extend to Your Excellency my heartfelt congratulations on your re-election as President for a new term, following your victory in the elections that recently took place in your friendly country. I seize this opportunity to express my wishes for success in your high office, thus continuing the march of progress and achievement for the benefit of the friendly people of Azerbaijan. Looking forward to meeting you in Algiers on the occasion of the 7th GECF Summit, please accept, Excellency and Dear Brother, the assurances of my highest and cordial consideration," the letter reads. Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel Russian officials have announced the death of jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny at a high security prison above the Arctic Circle. The stunning development wrought international outrage on Friday afternoon while other dismissed the Federal Penitentiary Service statement as fake news. We cannot believe Putins government. They are lying constantly. But if this is the truthI'd like Putin and all his staff to know that they will be punished for what they have done with our country, with my family and with my husband. We should fight this horrific regime in Russia today. Vladimir Putin should be personally held for all the atrocities they have committed in our country in the last years," Yulia Navalnaya told the Munich Security Conference. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met Navalnaya on the sidelines of the event to express his condolences. According to details shared by the State Department, the top official also reiterated that Russia is responsible for his death" if the reports were true. Meanwhile his mother Liumila Navalnaya insisted that she did not want to hear any condolences". I don't want to hear any condolences. We saw him in prison on the (Feb) 12, in a meeting. He was alive, healthy and happy," Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta quoted her as writing on Facebook. The politician's team said they had no confirmation of his death at this time. Navalny aide Leonid Volkov his lawyer was travelling to the site of the prison where the opposition leader had been serving his sentence. According to the official statement medical staff at the high security prison were unable to revive Navalny after he fell sick during a walk. No cause of death was given. The statement indicated that an investigation is underway. (With inputs from agencies) Milestone Alert! Livemint tops charts as the fastest growing news website in the world Click here to know more. Unlock a world of Benefits! From insightful newsletters to real-time stock tracking, breaking news and a personalized newsfeed it's all here, just a click away! Login Now! (Bloomberg) -- Two witnesses gave starkly different accounts Thursday about when Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis began her romance with Nathan Wade, a lawyer she hired to oversee her election-interference case against Donald Trump in Georgia. A former longtime friend of Willis, Robin Yeartie, said the DAs relationship with Wade began in 2019, or two years before he was hired in November 2021 to work on the Trump case. But Wade followed Yeartie on the witness stand and insisted their romance began in March 2022. The testimony came at an evidentiary hearing about the affair between Willis and Wade, who earned $650,000 more than anyone else in the office and took several vacations with her. Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee has said he could disqualify the prosecutors if their relationship amounted to a conflict of interest, as Trump co-defendant Michael Roman claims. He must decide whos telling the truth in this highly charged drama that could upend Williss racketeering case against Trump. In response to questions by Roman attorney Ashleigh Merchant, Wade said he took trips with Willis, including a cruise and a vacation in Napa, California, using his law firm credit card to pay for the travel. He testified that she either paid him back with cash or paid for other expenses during the trips, which he believed evened out the financial burden. Shes a very independent, proud woman, so shes going to insist that she carry her own weight," Wade testified in state court in Atlanta. The scandal, exposing intimate details about the private lives of Willis and Wade, has been a gift for Trump, the former president fighting four indictments as he seeks the Republican nomination to run again for the White House. Trump and other defendants have joined Romans legal attack, seek dismissal of the indictment, or at least removal of Willis, Wade and the DAs from the case a potentially crippling blow to the prosecution. Trump and 18 others were indicted in August on racketeering charges related to their efforts to overturn President Joe Bidens victory in 2020. Four have pleaded guilty. Both Wade and Willis were part-time municipal judges when they met at a conference in 2019, Wade said. They spoke later that year, and talked more in 2020, when he supported her successful DAs campaign. Merchant pressed Wade on whether he had spent the night at Williss condo or ridden with her security detail. He insisted he did not. Wade often gave halting answers, speaking softly and frequently removing his glasses. Dozens of people leaned forward in the gallery, straining to hear his answers. Its unclear when the judge may decide whether to disqualify the prosecutors. Contentious Divorce Merchant asked Wade about his contentious divorce case, which he filed the day after he was hired in November 2021. Wades wife has said in that case he has stonewalled her requests for how much money he was earning and spending. Merchant asked him about a 2023 affidavit in the divorce case saying he didnt have relations outside his marriage. He claimed his wife had an affair in 2015 but they stayed together for the benefit of their two children. Because my marriage was irretrievably broken, I was free to have a relationship," Wade said. In 2015 my marriage was irretrievably broken." Merchant said hes also updated his divorce affidavit this year to assert a privilege that she said amounted to him pleading the Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination. He denied that, saying he was asserting a different legal privilege. Merchant had earlier called Yeartie, a one-time friend of Willis to the witness stand. Yeartie said that she saw Willis and Wade hugging and kissing before his hiring. She also said she had conversations with Willis about the relationship. Merchant asked if she had any doubt they had a romantic relationship from 2019 until the last time they spoke in 2022. No doubt," Yeartie said. Under cross examination, Yeartie, who later went to work for Willis at the district attorneys office, said she no longer speaks with Willis since she resigned in 2022. She said she had received at least one negative job review and had been moved to a different department at the time she left. At a hearing this week, McAfee said he could disqualify the prosecutors if evidence is produced demonstrating an actual conflict or the appearance of one." He said he must resolve whether a romantic relationship existed, when it started, and whether its continuing. Thats only relevant because its in combination with the question of the existence and extent of any personal benefit conveyed as a result of their relationship," McAfee said. --With assistance from Brett Pulley. (Updates with Wade testimony. An earlier version corrected a year in 15th paragraph.) More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com 2024 Bloomberg L.P. Milestone Alert! Livemint tops charts as the fastest growing news website in the world Click here to know more. Unlock a world of Benefits! From insightful newsletters to real-time stock tracking, breaking news and a personalized newsfeed it's all here, just a click away! Login Now! (Bloomberg) -- The White House said Russia is developing an anti-satellite capability" but cautioned it is not yet active and poses no current threat after a top US lawmaker warned of an unspecified national security concern. This is not an active capability that has been deployed," National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters Thursday. There is no immediate threat to anyones safety." Kirbys revelation is the latest in a whirlwind that began when House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Turner on Wednesday issued a cryptic statement about an unspecified national security threat, spurring conflicting accounts of the severity. Were taking this potential threat very, very seriously, and we are examining what the best next steps are and what our options might be," Kirby said. US intelligence shows Russia is discussing the possibility of a nuclear weapon in space, according to people familiar with the matter. The threat, however, is not an active one, the people cautioned, and Russia has yet to deploy such a weapon into space. Kirby declined to go into further detail on the capability when asked if it is nuclear-powered, but said that it would be space-based. It would be space-based, and it would be a violation of the Outer Space Treaty, which more than 130 countries have signed up to including Russia," he said. US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan told reporters on Wednesday that he would meet Thursday with the US House contingent of the so-called Gang of Eight congressional leaders a meeting that was scheduled ahead of Turners statement. Earlier: Russia Mulls Nuclear Weapon in Space, US Intelligence Finds (1) Turner has called on President Joe Biden to declassify all information relating to this threat." Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called the finding a White House ruse" to encourage lawmakers to pass a funding bill, according to the state-run Tass news service. The developments come as further US aid to Ukraine to help Kyiv fend off Russias invasion remains deadlocked in Congress due to a fight over immigration policy and border security. Kirby on Thursday said the US is in the process of engaging with Russia about this" but said they have not secured actual conversations at this point." --With assistance from Josh Wingrove, Akayla Gardner and Jennifer Jacobs. (Updates with additional Kirby comments in paragraphs 6-7, 13) More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com 2024 Bloomberg L.P. Milestone Alert! Livemint tops charts as the fastest growing news website in the world Click here to know more. Unlock a world of Benefits! From insightful newsletters to real-time stock tracking, breaking news and a personalized newsfeed it's all here, just a click away! Login Now! Alexei Navalny was one of the few remaining voices in Russia who gave President Vladimir Putin cause for alarm. One of the Kremlins most vocal critics, he was a fierce anticorruption activist who managed to galvanize Russias political opposition, working to expose the flaws of Putins decades-long rule despite never being able to contest him at the ballot box. He died in a Russian penal colony, Russian news agencies reported, where he was serving sentences amounting to more than 30 years on various charges. He was 47 years old. Navalny, who had been suffering from long-term health issues after surviving being poisoned with a nerve agent in 2020, had complained of poor treatment in prison, including lack of proper medical attention for what he described as debilitating back pain. He had staged hunger strikes and was often subjected to sleep deprivation, with prison guards waking him up every hour and filming him with a camera because he had been deemed a flight risk. His associates said his health had recently deteriorated and he was put on a drip following a dizzy spell. On Dec. 8, 2023, Navalnys aides sounded the alarm after they said they had been unable to contact him for three days. He failed to appear via video for a court hearing on Dec. 11, according to his spokeswoman Kira Yarmysh. He was subsequently a no-show for several more days. On Dec. 18, Yarmysh said Navalnys lawyers had made inquiries to more than 200 pre-trial detention centers across the country," searching for him. They received no answer, she wrote on X. The Vladimir Regional Court subsequently confirmed in a letter to The Wall Street Journal that Navalny had left the penal colony where he was being held, for a correctional institution outside the Vladimir region," under the terms of the sentence issued by a Moscow court in August. On Dec. 25, Navalnys allies said he had been traced to a penal colony in Russias Arctic region of Yamalo-Nenets, a bitingly cold area that is difficult to reach. The next day Navalny resurfaced on social media, thanking his supporters for their concern and telling them he was fine and they shouldnt worry. Such messages from the politician were passed to his lawyers, three of whom are now under arrest in Russia and two of whom are living in exile and wanted by Russian authorities. Navalnys death followed Putins Dec. 8 announcement that he plans to run for re-election in 2024, a widely expected decision that could keep him in power until at least 2030. The demise of the Kremlin critic casts him as a symbol of Russias besieged opposition movement, which in recent years has faced raids by Russian authorities on their homes and offices, indiscriminate detentions and physical attacks. Many government critics have fled the country. Others, including three of Navalnys own lawyers, have been jailed. Without Navalny, the opposition movement has essentially been decapitated, analysts who follow Russian domestic politics said. Navalny was a fiery orator who roused crowds with ease, but his real weapon was his YouTube channel, which gave him a nationwide platform to reach millions of subscribers. The popularity of his videos, usually detailing the corruption of Russias elite, set him apart from others in Russias fragmented opposition and gave him a nationwide following that he successfully called on to protest in the streets of Moscow and Russias other biggest cities. Navalnys first foray into politics dovetailed with a broader ethnic Russian nationalist movement. But in 2012, he discarded the nationalist rhetoric to become a member of a broad coalition of opposition groups that sought to lead protests against Putins decision, unpopular with the middle class of Moscow and other big cities, to return to the presidency after serving for four years as prime minister. The protests faded, but Navalnys taste for opposition politics stayed strong and in the years that followed he focused his energies on his Anti-Corruption Foundation, which carried out investigations into the pro-Kremlin elite. His weekly YouTube videos took aim at a spectrum of Putin-aligned businessmen and politicians, earning him a number of enemies. He published exposes, purporting to show the lavish lifestyle of Putin, whom he once described as a naked, thieving emperor" who had turned his people into slaves. Kremlin watchers said Putin loathed Navalny. He would typically avoid even voicing the opposition politicians name. Russias general prosecutors office would ultimately outlaw the Anti-Corruption Foundation and regional branches of Navalnys campaign, by branding them extremist groups" under legislation typically reserved for terrorist organizations and violent religious sects. Navalny was arrested several times and accused of criminal wrongdoing, including for alleged embezzlement in 2013 and 2014 for which he received a suspended sentence in both cases. Navalny denied the charges. In 2019, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that Russian authorities violated Navalnys rights by repeatedly placing him under detention between 2012 and 2014, and said the actions against him were politically motivated. Navalny wanted to challenge Putin in the 2018 presidential election but was deemed ineligible because of his prior conviction. Navalny was born on June 4, 1976, in the village of Butyn in the Moscow region. He came from a military family and moved around between military towns with his parents, Anatoly Ivanovich and Lyudmila Ivanovna, now retirees, according to information published on his 2018 campaign website. He graduated in 1997 as a lawyer from the Peoples Friendship University Moscow and in 2001 as an economist from the Russian governments Finance Academy. Navalny was a fellow at Yale University in 2010 and afterward returned to Russia to continue his political career. His activism drew retribution. In 2016, he was attacked and injured by pro-Kremlin activists at an airport in southern Russia. Less than a year later, an attacker doused him with a green antiseptic dye during a campaign stop, leaving his vision compromised. In 2019, Navalny said he was poisoned while in police custody after supporting protests against the Kremlin in central Moscow. The Journal couldnt independently confirm that claim. In the summer of 2020, Navalny led a campaign against a series of constitutional amendments that passed and included a provision to potentially allow Putin to rule until 2036. He called for Russians to boycott a referendum on the amendments, saying the vote would be falsified regardless of the real outcome. He said it was better to stay at home than feed into the Kremlins propaganda machine, which he said depended on voters to maintain a veneer of democratic legitimacy. Putin claimed 78% of Russians supported the constitutional amendments in the July vote, a victory that members of the opposition said emboldened the Kremlin leaders allies to exert pressure on potential challenges to his rule. In August 2020, Navalny fell ill midflight onboard a flight to Moscow, forcing the plane to make an emergency landing in the Siberian city of Omsk. His wife of 23 years, Yulia Navalnaya, 47, an economist by training, led the charge to have her husband evacuated to Germany, appealing directly to President Putin in a letter to let Navalny receive the qualified medical assistance he needed. A medical plane chartered by a German nongovernmental organization would eventually transport Navalny, who was in a coma and on a ventilator, out of the country. Scientists in Germany, to which he was eventually evacuated, determined that he was poisoned as a result of being exposed to the nerve agent Novichok. His supporters across the country think the Kremlin was involved in harming Navalny for his relentless political activism. The only reason behind this was that he is the Kremlins biggest enemy," said Lyubov Sobol, Navalnys colleague at the Anti-Corruption Foundation. The Kremlin denied any involvement in harming Navalny. But the U.S., U.K. and European Union all imposed sanctions on Russian officials and entities in connection with the opposition politicians poisoning, with the Biden administration formally accusing the Kremlin in the assassination attempt. Navalny was discharged from Berlins Charite Hospital on Sept. 23, 2020, after spending 24 days in the facilitys intensive-care unit. Navalnaya, whom supporters refer to as Russias first lady," was constantly by his side together with their children: Daria, 22, today a student at Stanford, and Zakhar, now 15. He returned to Russia in January 2021 and was detained by Russian security forces upon arrival at Moscows Sheremetyevo airport. Russias federal prison service said in a statement that Navalny, who had been on the agencys wanted list" since Dec. 29, 2020, was detained for repeated violations of his probation. He would never leave custody again. Navalny later said he had no regrets over returning to the country that is his home, telling his supporters on social media dont be afraid of anything." From prison, Navalny continued to lampoon government policies, condemn Moscows war in Ukraine and he urged Russians to speak out. His allies said prison authorities at the facility in the Vladimir region went out of their way to make his life intolerable by regularly placing him in what is called a punishment cell, where prisoners are denied food parcels or the opportunity to buy additional food, leaving them relying solely on food and water supplied by the prison. He also complained of being forced to share a prison cell with unsanitary inmates who neglect personal hygiene. By the end of 2023, Navalny had filed at least 89 lawsuits against the penal colony, prison management and prosecuting authorities since August 2022, claiming violation of his rights while incarcerated, according to court records. He has asked for compensation in connection with harm caused to his life and health, court documents show. Prison authorities didnt respond to a request for comment regarding the lawsuits and Navalnys claims. In August 2023, a Russian court sentenced Navalny, who was already serving an 11-year sentence for what he says are trumped-up charges of fraud and other allegations, to a further 19 years in prison, in what he said was a blatant attempt to intimidate anyone tempted to follow in his footsteps. They want to frighten you, not me, and deprive you of the will to resist," he said in comments posted on his Instagram account addressing the length of the sentence. You are being forced to surrender your Russia without a fight to a gang of traitors, thieves and scoundrels who have seized power." The charges against Navalny in August included allegations that he had incited and funded extremism and had spurred minors to break the law, in addition to a charge that he was trying to rehabilitate Nazisma potent allegation in Russia, which prides itself on its defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II. The persecution didnt end. In early December 2023, Navalny said on social media via his associates that he had been informed of new criminal charges against him, this time under an article of the penal code article that covers vandalism. They really do initiate a new criminal case against me every three months," he said at the time. On Dec. 7, the day Russias parliament announced the presidential election would take place on March 17, allowing Putins widely anticipated run at a fifth term in office, Navalny came out swinging. His associates posted a message from him on his Telegram channel, in which he encouraged Russians to go to the polls and vote against Putin by checking a box for any other candidate. He also announced the launch of a website called Russia Without Putin," which encouraged citizens to spread the word about the anti-Putin campaign by distributing opposition materials and to each persuade 10 others to vote against the Russian leader. We urge everyone: Do not be afraid," Navalny wrote. Our fear robs us of our country and our future. The future belongs to those who, overcoming fear, fight and believe in victory." Russian authorities quickly blocked the website. But from his prison in Russias Far North, where his allies believe he was placed to make it harder for him to organize meaningful resistance, Navalny sought to show that he remained in high spirits and unbroken. In a message to supporters the day after his whereabouts were revealed, he joked about being their new Santa Claus" and the fact that he now had a sheepskin coat, a fur hat with ear-covering flaps and traditional Russian felt winter boots. Dont worry about me," he said. Im fine." Thomas Grove contributed to this article. Write to Ann M. Simmons at ann.simmons@wsj.com Congress MLA and former Rajasthan Cabinet Minister Mahendrajeet Singh Malviya is likely to join the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), delivering a major blow to the party in the state ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, according to the sources. According to sources, Malviya is not 'happy' with the Congress. Notably, Malviya did not come to Jaipur during the filing of the nomination papers of Sonia Gandhi as a Congress candidate from Rajasthan for the Rajya Sabha elections on February 14. Malviya currently represents the Bagidora Assembly seat in the Banswara district. As a tribal leader from southern Rajasthan, where the BJP is considered to have a stronger footing than the Congress, his inclusion can assume significance before the forthcoming Lok Sabha polls in the state. The Bagidora Assembly seat is part of the Mewar region, which largely spans the old districts of Bhilwara, Banswara, Chittorgarh, Pratapgarh, Rajsamand and Udaipur, before the reorganisation of districts on August 4. Malviya first became an MLA in 2008, defeating the Janata Dal (United)'s Jeetmal Khant by 45,000 votes. In 2003, Khant had defeated Malviya by 6,000 votes. Despite strong anti-incumbency in 2013, when the Congress was reduced to just 21 seats, Malviya had retained his seat by defeating the BJP's Khemraj Garasiya. He defeated Garasiya again in 2018. In 2020, Malviya's name had cropped up in an FIR lodged in connection with the attempt to topple the Ashok Gehlot government that year by Tonk MLA Sachin Pilot and his group of loyalist MLAs. The case pertained to purported audio clips, which were leaked during that year's political crisis, in which few people were heard saying that Malviya was with Pilot but has changed sides. Milestone Alert! Livemint tops charts as the fastest growing news website in the world Click here to know more. Unlock a world of Benefits! From insightful newsletters to real-time stock tracking, breaking news and a personalized newsfeed it's all here, just a click away! Login Now! This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed. Irans arms industry is growing rapidly, turning the country into a large-scale exporter of low-cost, high-tech weapons whose clients are vexing the U.S. and its partners in the Middle East, Ukraine and beyond. The transformation of the industry, accelerated by Russias 2022 purchase of thousands of drones that altered the battlefield in Ukraine, has helped Tehran scale up its support of militia allies in Middle East conflicts that have intensified alongside Israels war with Hamas in Gaza. One of Irans top arms exports, a Shahed suicide drone, designed to carry explosives and crash into its target, was used to kill three American servicemembers in Jordan in an attack by an Iraqi militia group on Jan. 28, U.S. officials said. The same day, the U.S. Coast Guard confiscated over 200 packages of weapons originating from Iran and bound for Yemen, the U.S. said Thursday. U.S. Central Command, which is responsible for U.S. military operations in the Middle East, said the shipment was headed for territory controlled by Irans Houthi allies, a group whose attacks on Red Sea shipping lanes have disrupted global commerce and drawn airstrikes by the U.S. and U.K., including on a drone-control station in Yemen. The shipment included components for missiles and underwater and surface drones, Centcom said. It was the months second reported seizure following a Jan. 11 operation that yielded Iranian missile parts but resulted in the loss at sea of two U.S. Navy Seals. Iran denies it is arming the Houthis. Models from the same family of drones that killed the U.S. servicemen in Jordan have been used on many fronts, including by the Houthis, by Iraqi militias targeting Israel and by Russia in its war in Ukraine, the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency found in an investigation released this month. Battlefields in Europe and the Middle East have provided a showcase for Tehrans emergence as a global arms supplier. In Ukraine, Russia has been using Iranian drones to great effect against military targets and civilian infrastructure, while Mideast militias have employed Iranian-supplied weapons to target the U.S. military, Israel and global shipping interests. By exporting these technologies and proving their efficacy in battle, Iran has likely changed the nature of asymmetric warfare forever, potentially giving substantial leverage to previously disadvantaged nonstate actors," said Adam Rousselle, a researcher at the Militant Wire, a network of experts that examines weapons used by nonstate actors. The consequencescould be disastrous for major powers around the world." Iran sold about $1 billion in weapons from March 2022 to March 2023, three times as much as the previous year, Deputy Defense Minister Mahdi Farahi said in November. In a tally that omits smuggled weapons, Iran became the worlds 16th-biggest arms seller in 2022 with $123 million in exports, a jump from $20 million in 2017, when Iran was the 33rd-biggest exporter, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. The U.S. is the worlds top weapons supplier: U.S. exports under the Foreign Military Sales system climbed to a record $80.9 billion in the 2023 fiscal year. Irans sales include a range of weapons. Russia is planning to buy short-range ballistic missiles from Iran, according to U.S. officials, and Tehran has also supplied ammunition to Russia, The Wall Street Journal has reported. Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, or IRGC, which controls the countrys defense industry, also supplies weapons free to allies in the Middle East as a way of supporting their activities. Beneficiaries of Iranian support include Hamas and Lebanons Hezbollah, under what Tehran calls its Axis of Resistance." The U.S. designates both groups as terrorist organizations. We provide assistance to the Palestinians on how to attain military empowerment, enabling them to stand independently under siege," Irans mission to the United Nations told the Journal on Monday. Iran faces no restrictions or prohibitions on the purchase and sale of weapons" under international law and United Nations Security Council resolutions, the Iranian mission said. Restrictions on Irans weapons trade, while lifted by the U.N. last year, have been maintained by the U.S. and the European Union. Irans defense industry was born out of necessity in the 1980s after the U.S. imposed an arms embargo on the newly born Islamic Republic. For years, Iranian arms production was focused on supplying Irans armed forces. Iran used drones chiefly for reconnaissance, developing them in the 1980s during the war with Iraq, according to Irans semiofficial Fars news agency. Irans suicide drones gained international prominence in 2019 when Saudi Arabia said Iran or one of its militia allies was behind a complex missile-and-drone attack on Saudi oil facilities, accusations that Iran denied. By 2021, defense officials in the U.S., Europe and Israel were warning that Tehrans rapidly developing ability to build and deploy drones was changing the security equation in the Middle East. But Irans suicide drones at the time were often made with widely available components used in the commercial drone market and by hobbyists. In 2021, the Houthis were firing 30 Iranian drones a month on average, according to the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. Production scaled up after Iran sold over 2,000 Shahed drones to Russia in 2022, according to security consultants to a European government. At around $20,000 each, the deliveries generated at least $40 million for Tehran, they said. Iranian drones that have turned up in Ukraine showed a leap in engineering, becoming more accurate through improvements in radio communications, onboard computers and measurement tools, according to Conflict Armament Research, a U.K.-based investigative organization. Irans sale of drone technology to Russia has brought exponential resources and profitability to the Islamic Republics high-tech defense industry," said Lou Osborn, an analyst at All Eyes on Wagner, an open-source research nonprofit. In a sign of the evolution of Irans drone expertise, Moscow enlisted Tehran last year to help build a Russian factory that could produce at least 6,000 drones a year, part of a $1 billion deal between the two countries, the Journal reported. The plant was expected to be operational early this year, the U.S. said in June, releasing a satellite image that it said showed the construction site. It couldnt be determined how far those plans have progressed. The Kremlin didnt respond to a request for comment. In the Middle East, the influence of Iranian weapons technology isnt limited to drone production. Hamas used Iranian-made explosives and antitank warheads when it attacked Israel on Oct. 7, according to Israeli Lt. Col. Idan Sharon-Kettler, a weapons expert. The explosives and engineering know-how used in the attack to blow open the Israeli security fence on the Gaza border, in addition to other equipment used by Hamas in the war, reflected military intelligence that could only have come from a state actor like Iran," Sharon-Kettler said. In recent weeks, Iran has been sending increasingly sophisticated equipment to its Houthi allies in Yemen, including drone jammers and parts for long-range rockets and missiles, according to Western officials and advisers, the Journal has reported. A surface-to-air missile used in recent months by the Houthis against U.S. drones in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Oman is almost identical to a model first exhibited by Iran in September 2023, the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency said. Days after the Jan. 28 drone attack on Americans in Jordan, President Biden said he held Iran responsible because it supplied the drone. Iran has denied any connection to the incident. Days later, the U.S. Treasury imposed new sanctions on companies supplying components to Irans drone and missile programs, and on Feb. 7 the U.S. military killed a commander in the Iraqi militia that the U.S. blamed for the Jordan attack. The U.S. warned that it would continue to carry out strikes as needed to deter attacks on its forces. The blossoming of Irans weapons-export industry has been a source of revenue in a country isolated by sanctions that impede its ability to sell oil and carry out most banking transactions. The IRGC is hooked on the cash generated by military sales," said Saeid Golkar, an authority on Tehrans security services at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. Iran is leaving its fingerprints all over the place," he said. Gordon Lubold contributed to this article. Write to Benoit Faucon at benoit.faucon@wsj.com The income Tax department had seized Congress party's four main bank accounts on 'flimsy grounds', leaving the party with no money to pay bills and salaries, party leader and treasurer Ajay Maken alleged on Friday. Maken said, "I have very disturbing news to share with all of you. The accounts of the Congress party have been frozen and also those of the Youth Congress have been frozen." "When the principal opposition party's accounts have been frozen just two weeks before the announcement of the national elections. Do you think democracy is alive in our country?" Maken said. The accounts were frozen on an Income Tax demand of 210 crore for 2018-19, an election year, Maken said adding that the grand old party has already appealed to the Income Tax appellate authority. We got information yesterday that banks are not honouring the cheque we are issuing. On further investigation, we got to know that the Youth Congress bank accounts have been frozen. The accounts of the Congress party have also been seized. Income tax asked for 210 crore recovery from Youth Congress and Congress party. The crowdfunding money in our accounts has been frozen. Just 2 weeks before elections when the opposition's accounts are frozen, it is equivalent to freezing the democracy," the former Union Minister told newspersons at AICC office in New Delhi. He further elaborated, Income Tax Department and the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) has said that we have to ensure that 115 crores have to be kept in the Banks. This 115 crore is the line marked in the Bank Accounts." We can spend an amount over and above that. This means that 115 crores have been frozen. This 115 crores is much more than we have in our Current Accounts" Don't have money to pay salaries, bills: Maken Questioning the motive behind the alleged freeze of party accounts ahead of the upcoming parliamentary elections, the Maken said it was for first time in the country's history that the accounts of country's principal opposition party have been frozen by the tax authorities. Right now we don't have any money to spend, to pay electricity bills, to pay salaries to our employees. Everything will be impacted, not only Nyay Yatra but all political activities will be impacted..." Meanwhile, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi-led Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra arrived in Bihar on Friday. The Yatra reached its final stage in Bihar and is scheduled to enter Uttar Pradesh later today. Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will also join the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra led by Rahul Gandhi as it enters Uttar Pradesh on Friday evening. She will join her brother in Chandauli in Uttar Pradesh after the yatra enters the state from Bihar. Later Unfrozen Senior Congress leader Vivek Tankha said on Friday that the party's bank accounts were unfrozen by the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal after the party filed an appeal. Tankha's clarification came shortly after the party's another leader Ajay Maken alleged at a press conference in New Delhi that the IT department had frozen the party's main bank accounts. Tankha, who appeared before the tribunal against the order, said the Congress was now allowed to operate its bank accounts. The tribunal will hear the matter next Wednesday before a final decision is taken on the matter. Tankha said he told the tribunal that the Congress would not be able to participate in the festival of elections" in case its accounts remain frozen. Milestone Alert! Livemint tops charts as the fastest growing news website in the world Click here to know more. Unlock a world of Benefits! From insightful newsletters to real-time stock tracking, breaking news and a personalized newsfeed it's all here, just a click away! Login Now! RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav on Friday claimed that Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had "begged for forgiveness for past betrayals" before his parents, party supremo Lalu Prasad and ex-CM Rabri Devi, before they allied with the JD(U) president in 2022. Yadav, who lost the Deputy CM's chair last month when Kumar abruptly went back to the BJP-led NDA, made the claim at a rally in Mohania, in the state's Kaimur district, which was organised as part of former Congress president Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra. ALSO READ: 'BJP made Bharat Ratna a deal': Tejashwi Yadav ahead of Bihar floor test Breaking into the local dialect Bhojpuri, the young RJD leader said, "Nitish ji had, after begging for forgiveness, told my parents that the BJP was trying to split his party and wean away his MLAs". Kumar dumped the BJP and joined the RJD-led Mahagathbandhan in 2022. The RJD leader added: "We were initially not very inclined towards trusting him again. But there were talks with leaders across the country, all of whom were of the opinion that in the larger interest of the fight against BJP, we should agree. So we made a sacrifice". ALSO READ: Bihar Floor Test: Setback for Tejashwi Yadav as 3 RJD MLAs sit with ruling NDA ahead of Nitish Kumar's trust vote Calling his ex-boss "a tired Chief Minister", the RJD leader said he is proud that in just 17 months the Mahagathbandhan made him give government jobs on an unprecedented scale. "He (Kumar) had earlier mocked me by asking whether I would use my father's money to pay them salary. But I had told him that our support to his government would require him to help us fulfil the promise of 10 lakh government jobs that I had promised to the people ahead of the 2020 assembly polls," Yadav said. Yadav claimed the Mahagathbandhan would have won the assembly polls, but for manipulations by the administration, which worked overtime to ensure that its candidates were shown defeated by margins of as low as 12 votes. Fishing in troubled waters of the NDA, which Kumar has joined claiming he was there "for ever" even as the BJP has made it clear that it will not give up its ambition to form its own government in Bihar, Yadav said, "Now that Nitish ji is back with the BJP, there is no guarantee that he will not make a flip-flop again". Cries of "palturam (Mr turncoat)" emanated from the crowds, even as the RJD leader added that he had said in the assembly that Prime Minister Narendra Modi prides himself on his guarantees, but even he cannot guarantee that Nitish Kumar will not do another volte-face". Yadav's averment came close on the heels of his father making it clear that the RJD's "doors were always open" for Kumar, causing an indignant JD(U) to retort: "The famed padlock of Aligarh has now been placed on the doors". ALSO READ: 'Tejashwi Yadav, dard ho rha hai...?' AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi takes a dig as Nitish Kumar returns to NDA The young RJD leader added: "We asked the chief minister to at least explain why he was turning his back on us. But he could give no reason. We wonder if he is afraid of ED and CBI". Earlier, at a farmers' congregation (Kisan Mahapanchayat) in the adjoining district of Rohtas, Yadav took potshots at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for paying no heed to the demands of cultivators who were staging a protest in Delhi. "He does not have even two minutes to spare for the farmers. But he has time for Priyanka Chopra", said Yadav, in an apparent reference to the Prime Minister's meeting with the Bollywood star a few years ago. Yadav also referred to his inability to join Gandhi in the first phase of Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra's journey through Bihar last month. "On one day, my father was made to appear before the ED and on the next day it was my turn. But we are not the ones who will be cowed down by such things," he said. Yadav had also joined Gandhi for a roadshow in Sasaram where, upon the former Congress president's beckoning, he took to the wheel of the car for a brief while. The Congress hailed the presence of the young RJD leader, sharing the video of Yadav behind the steering wheel with the slogan "Hum INDIA waale", borrowed from a Bollywood song to signify that the opposition bloc was in high spirits, recent setbacks notwithstanding. Milestone Alert! Livemint tops charts as the fastest growing news website in the world Click here to know more. Unlock a world of Benefits! From insightful newsletters to real-time stock tracking, breaking news and a personalized newsfeed it's all here, just a click away! Login Now! On a blazing hot day in November, Raibel Palacio and three neighborhood friends boarded a flight at Cubas Varadero beach resort, taking selfies and chattering in excitement. They had a job offer that promised a way out of the islands misery. A few weeks later, Palacio was killed by a drone as he tried to tie a tourniquet to staunch the bleeding from a leg wound on the freezing front lines of Ukraine, said Danelia Herrera, his mother. Cubans are cannon fodder and they will kill them all," she said, weeping in her home, a wooden shack on the outskirts of Havana. The four young men arepart of a wave of Cubans who enlisted in the Russian army, lured by salaries in the region of $2,000, far higher than they would be able to earn at home, where the average monthly wage is less than $20. Ambassador Ruslan Spirin, Ukraines special representative to Latin America and the Caribbean, said the government believes that about 400 Cubans are fighting in the country. We take it seriously," he said. Others think the numbers go higher. Maryan Zablotskyi, a member of the Ukrainian parliament who has studied the issue, estimates that between 1,500 and 3,000 Cubans have enlisted as the islands state-controlled economy crumbles. Russia has also recruited fighters from the Central African Republic, Serbia, Nepal and Syria, according to Ukrainian authorities, to prop up its war effort. On the opposing side, the number of volunteers, initially numbering thousands, including U.S. military veterans, has dropped off as the war drags toward a third year. View Full Image Raibel Palacio, who was killed while serving in the Russian army in Ukraine, in an undated photo provided by his mother. PHOTO: HERRERA FAMILY The Cubans are one of the largest contingents, motivated by the implosionofCubas economy, which is ossifying under a die-hard Communist government reluctant to open up to private and foreign investment after decades of mismanagement, and the impact of U.S. economic sanctions. For military recruiters working for Russia,Cubas worsening poverty makes for easy pickings as Moscow attempts to fill the holes in its front lines, security experts say. Deteriorating living conditions and an increasing sense of hopelessness among working-age Cubans have sparked an unprecedented wave of emigration. More than 500,000 Cubans, or about 5% of the countrys population, have left for the U.S. in the last two years, according to U.S. government data, while back home on the island, shortages of fuel, food and medicine are spreading. Power outages are frequent amid scorching heat. Palacio was the first Cuban recruit whose death in combat last month was confirmed by his family. It was initially reported by the Spanish-language Univision network in Miami. After five months, they were going to give him a Russian passport and citizenship for me, his mother and our two daughters," said Melisa Flores, Palacios wife. She hoped to escape poverty to a new life far from the shack she shared with her husband, which floods when it rains. Sometimes the family had to rely on neighbors for food. In Russia, she thought things would be different, she said. As word spread on WhatsApp chats across the Caribbean island, everybody in the neighborhood was talking about going to Russia to work," said Mario Velazquez. His teenage son, Andorf, an unemployed mason who lived in Havana, left for Moscow in July. Two recruiters, a Russian woman named Elena and a Cuban named Dayana, promised Andorf a bright future in Russia, Velazquez said. The Cuban government said in September that it dismantled a recruitment ring luring Cubans to fight inUkraine. The islands Communist regime, historically wary of invasion by the U.S., bans mercenary recruitment. Prosecutors said they detained 17 people who could face prison sentences of up to 30 years or even the death penalty. View Full Image Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel meeting his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in 2019. PHOTO: ALEXANDER NEMENOV/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES Ukrainian officials are skeptical about the impact of the Russian recruitment drive in Cuba. A few hundred Cubans wont make a difference on the battlefield," said one senior Ukrainian security official, though he noted that Russias aim in recruiting them was likely to drawCubadeeper into the war on the Russian side. Russias Embassy in Havana didnt reply to requests for comment. Neither did Cuban officials in Washington and Havana. As Russia expands its recruitment across a belt of impoverished countries, from the Caribbean andacross Africa to parts of Asia,it helps Russian President Vladimir Putin push back what would be a deeply unpopular order to call up more Russians to fight until after a presidential election next month.Though he is expected to win another six-year term, the margin of his victory is important to the Kremlin as it tries to demonstrate continuing support for the war. In a bid to increase the number of soldiers in its military, Putin signed a decree in January allowing foreigners who serve in Russias military for a year to obtain Russian citizenship for themselves, their spouses, children and parents. Russia has waived debt payments to its former Cold War ally and supplied fuel oil to help keep the islands sputtering power grid going. It has also donated tons of wheat and cooking oil, which are scarce on the island. View Full Image Mario Velazquez now lives in Leon, Mexico, after leaving Cuba. PHOTO: LUIS ANTONIO ROJAS FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL Havana has long been one of Moscows closest partners. At the height of the Cold War in 1962, the Soviet Union and the U.S. came to the brink of nuclear war after the U.S. discovered Soviet nuclear missiles on the island. From 1975 to 1991,Cubadeployed more than 50,000 soldiers to Angola and Ethiopia in support of Soviet policies. The Soviet Unions collapse in 1991 transformed the Cuban military, once among the largest and best-armed in Latin America. The military was slashed to some 40,000 soldiers, and is now more focused on managing tourist hotels and growing beans than fighting in foreign wars. Now the security relationship is picking up again as Russia looks for more troops. Ukrainehas been closely following a parade of high-ranking officials traveling between Moscow and Havana since Russia invadedUkrainein 2022, including Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel and his defense minister, Alvaro Lopez Miera, who met with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu to discuss military cooperation. After the visits, we started seeing Cuban mercenaries on the battlefield," said Spirin, the special envoy. They werent soldiers or former soldiers," he said. They are poor people who dont have the money to buy airline tickets." Knowing the effectiveness ofCubas intelligence services, Spirin said, he found it difficult to believe that the government wasnt aware of the recruitment. We have informed the Cuban government of our concerns," he added. Jose Cohen, a former Cuban intelligence agent who defected in 1994 and now lives in the U.S., said it is impossible that the government doesnt know of the flow of Cubans going to fight inUkraine. Cubawill always say it had nothing to do with it," he said. The U.S. has also raised serious concerns" about the reports of Cubans recruited by Russia, a State Department spokeswoman said. The U.S. has askedCubafor information on its investigation of the recruitment ring.Cubahasnt provided any or made any public comments since the initial announcement in September, the spokeswoman said. We have repeatedly warnedCubanot to let its citizens fight in Russias war," the spokeswoman said. In the industrial city of Leon in central Mexico, where he now works as a security guard and married a Mexican woman, Velazquez looks at photos on his phone showing his son Andorf, a skinny young man swallowed up in a green camouflage uniform three sizes too big for him over the white-and-blue striped shirt Russian soldiers wear. Andorf signed up for what he thought was a work contract to dig trenches and fix destroyed buildings in Russian-occupied parts ofUkraine, but not to fight, said Velazquez. Its a dream that turned into a nightmare," he said, his voice breaking. He hasnt been able to talk to his son since September and fears for his life. In a video recording of Andorf and his friend Alex Vega, the two slightly built young men said they ended up on the front lines inUkraineafter signing contracts in Russian that they couldnt understand. They warn other Cubans not to follow them. There are a lot of Cubans who have disappeared," Vega said in the recording. If you are thinking about coming to Russia, dont." James Marson and Warren P. Strobel contributed to this article. Write to Jose de Cordoba at jose.decordoba@wsj.com View Full Image How Russia Recruits Soldiers From Cuba to Fight in Ukraine View Full Image How Russia Recruits Soldiers From Cuba to Fight in Ukraine View Full Image How Russia Recruits Soldiers From Cuba to Fight in Ukraine View Full Image How Russia Recruits Soldiers From Cuba to Fight in Ukraine Google has broadened the availability of its Gemini app, an artificial intelligence-powered chatbot, beyond the United States to more than 150 countries and territories, including India. Launched on February 8 for Android users, the Gemini app has garnered attention for its innovative features. The Gemini app is now accessible in English, Korean, and Japanese languages, catering to a diverse user base. According to Google's support page, the expansion to over 150 countries is aimed at bringing the power of AI-driven conversations to a global audience. It is noteworthy that there is no dedicated Gemini app for iOS. However, the iPhone users can now access Gemini through a toggle within the Google app, opening the door to the chatbot's capabilities. To make use of the Gemini app, Android device owners should have a phone equipped with a minimum of 4GB of RAM and operating on Android 12 or more recent versions of Google's OS. Similarly, iPhone users with iOS 16 or later can interact with the chatbot using the Google app, activating the feature through a toggle located in the top-right corner. Presently, the app is only accessible in English, Japanese, and Korean languages. Gemini's global rollout began on Thursday and is expected to continue over the next few days, ensuring that users around the world can seamlessly integrate the chatbot into their digital experiences. Users are required to be signed in to a personal Google Account or a Workspace account with the feature enabled by the administrator. Jack Krawczyk, Senior Director of Product at Google overseeing Gemini, addressed some user concerns. He mentioned that restrictions on image uploading and generation were being relaxed, but emphasized responsible alignment on refusals for both images and text. Furthermore, Krawczyk acknowledged user feedback regarding clarity on the assistant's capabilities over Google Assistant and assured improvements in communication on features in progress versus those already available. Milestone Alert! Livemint tops charts as the fastest growing news website in the world Click here to know more. Unlock a world of Benefits! From insightful newsletters to real-time stock tracking, breaking news and a personalized newsfeed it's all here, just a click away! Login Now! AccessBank, a prominent financial institution dedicated to fostering the growth of small and medium-sized businesses (MSMEs) in Azerbaijan, has entered into a partnership with Tegeta Motors Baku, a renowned leader in sales, service, and provision of spare parts for specialized equipment. This agreement encompasses financial cooperation and the sale of special equipment, spanning a duration of 12 months with the potential for extension. Supporting the development of entrepreneurial activity in Azerbaijan is a priority focus for AccessBank, and we are pleased to contribute further to facilitating accessible financing and the procurement of specialized equipment for entrepreneurs on advantageous terms. AccessBank has earned the trust of entrepreneurs as a reliable partner, and we are committed to upholding this principle, aiding entrepreneurship development across various stages," remarked Renat Humbatov, a member of the Management Board and Executive Director of Micro and Agro businesses at AccessBank. We are delighted to collaborate with AccessBank in providing our customers with the opportunity to acquire special equipment on favorable terms. Tegeta serves as the exclusive representative of the British brand, JCB, in Azerbaijan. Alongside offering top-tier JCB construction and specialized equipment, we provide comprehensive after-sales services. We engage in partnerships with leading companies in the construction, logistics, and oil sectors. We view the cooperation agreement with AccessBank as a significant stride in fostering business development," expressed Alexander Lapereshvili, Director of Tegeta Motors Baku. For more information and installment purchase options for equipment under special conditions, please contact the Contact Center at 151, as well as the AccessBanks social media pages (Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn). Tegeta Motors Baku, established in February 2017 by the international company Tegeta Motors, holds a prominent position in the sales, repair, maintenance, and provision of spare parts for specialized equipment. Rising swiftly to become one of the foremost companies in Azerbaijan, it has garnered favor among users in a short span of time. Tegeta Motors Baku is involved not only in retail but also in corporate sales of spare parts for specialized equipment, collaborating with leading companies in the construction, logistics, and oil sectors. Tegeta Motors offers customers quality products sourced from Baku, China, Turkey, and various European countries, ensuring a high level of service and customer satisfaction. AccessBank, a leading institution in Azerbaijan's microfinance sector, has been catering to small and medium-sized enterprises since 2002. The bank's shareholders comprise international organizations and institutions such as the Asian Development Bank, the European Investment Bank, and the International Finance Corporation. With a network of 32 branches, including 14 in Baku and 18 in regional areas, AccessBank continues to provide accessible financing solutions for SMEs. AccessBank CJSC operates under license number 245, issued by the Central Bank of the Republic of Azerbaijan on October 25, 2002. The bank's headquarters is located at 3 Tbilisi Avenue, Yasamal district, Baku city. BAKU, Azerbaijan, February 16. A group of servicemen of the Azerbaijan Defense Ministry visited the Republic of Turkiye, Trend reports, referring to the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry. As part of the visit, the Azerbaijani delegation visited the monument to the National Leader of our people, Heydar Aliyev in the park in Ankara and Antkabir, the mausoleum of the founder of the Republic of Turkiye, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. A tribute was paid to the memory of great leaders. The delegation was then led by Major General Elchin Khalilov, Acting Chief of the Main Department for Personnel, and paid visits to the Turkish National Defense Ministry, several troop commands, and other military educational institutes, as well as holding discussions. At the discussions, opportunities for the growth of cooperation between Azerbaijan and Turkey in the field of military education and personnel training were reviewed, as well as a detailed exchange of views on upcoming work in this direction, and various topics of mutual interest were addressed. Then a meeting with cadets studying in Turkiye was conducted. Azerbaijani representatives got acquainted with the educational process of the cadets and answered their questions. A dinner with the cadets was held. During the visit, the Azerbaijani delegation also visited the fraternal countrys HAVELSAN company. Weapons and equipment for various purposes and military means were shown to the guests. Stay up to date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel The school has purchased about $50,000 worth of new equipment for the career technical institute, thanks to a grant from the Tennessee Department of Education. Sherrie Waters says Tabitha Smith was like a daughter to her and didn't realize it would be the last time she saw her. BAKU, Azerbaijan, February 16. Youth policy pursued by President Ilham Aliyev gives grounds to say that patriotic youth formed in Azerbaijan is a guarantor of new victories, Deputy Chairman of the Organization of War, Labor and Armed Forces Veterans, Colonel Jalil Khalilov told Trend. He noted that the upbringing of youth in the spirit of national-spiritual values is an important component of the ideas of National Leader Heydar Aliyev. "Azerbaijani youth's commitment to national-spiritual values, and high patriotism shown in the 44-day II Karabakh War was met with great admiration all over the world. The II Karabakh War, along with the strength of our army, revealed in all its greatness the patriotic spirit of our people, and their love for the Motherland. Our youth lined up in long lines in front of the recruiting stations to liberate their native lands from occupation. At the same time, there was widespread desertion in the Armenian army. During the war, more than twelve thousand Armenian servicemen deserted their combat positions," Jalilov said. He emphasized that the President of the Azerbaijan Republic Ilham Aliyev has repeatedly talked about the heroism of Azerbaijani youth in the II Karabakh War, stressing that this heroism is conditioned by adherence to national-spiritual values. Jalilov emphasized the importance of contributing to the youth policy of the state, contributing to the process of educating the young generation in the spirit of national values. "The Organization of War, Labor and Armed Forces Veterans regularly works with young people, organizes meetings, and takes consistent steps to further enrich the worldview of young people. Nowadays, there are hundreds of young veterans who participated in the II Karabakh War in the ranks of our Organization, and who play an important role in the activities of the Organization. We also hold a series of meetings called 'Meeting of Generations', during which, among other issues, we talk about the importance of youth policy of our state from the point of view of today and tomorrow," the colonel stressed. In addition, according to him, this year the Organization of War, Labor and Armed Forces Veterans plans to hold several events related to youth at the all-republican level. "These events will cover various regions of our country," Khalilov added. Stay up to date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel If you do not have a current print subscription to the Lodi News-Sentinel, but want to view unlimited articles for the month, please choose this option. A Longford representative was part of a Midlands delegation which visited a leading Spanish social economy region to learn best practice. The Midlands delegation comprising officials from a number of local authorities and key social enterprise stakeholders learnt from best practices in social economy during a recent visit to the Navarre region in Spain. Navarre has become a leading pioneer in promoting social enterprise and developing the social economy. In 2017, it became the only European region to develop a comprehensive Social Economy Plan (2017-2020) to support social economy organisations. More recently, Navarre announced it will have the first Social Economy Business School in Europe. Social enterprises are businesses that work primarily to improve the lives of people, frequently working to support disadvantaged groups such as the long-term unemployed, people with disabilities, and those suffering from social exclusion. The recent Spanish visit was organised by Social Enterprise Exchange (SEE), a local initiative connecting social enterprises across East Galway, Longford, Offaly, Roscommon, Westmeath and Laois. The schedule included a wide range of meetings, including discussions with the Directorate General for Social Economy and Labour, the Navarre Employment Service-Nafar Lansare (SNE-NL) and the Directorate General for External Action. Longford County Council's Catherine Kane was one of the local authority representatives among the visiting delegation. Our trip to Navarre highlighted how the benefits of social enterprises and a social economy extend far beyond financial gains. The case studies we visited showcased the positive social, environmental, and economic outcomes that can be achieved when the model is right, said Ms Kane. The experience was described as a major success on many levels by Gabrielle McFadden of Social Enterprise Exchange (SEE). The Irish delegation availed of the valuable opportunity to learn about several success stories and good practices in social economy that are being applied in the Navarre region. I am very encouraged that each member of the Irish delegation has taken back a huge body of knowledge which can be used to apply best practice when it comes to promoting the social economy in the Midlands region. I am also enthused by the great spirit of cooperation that the Irish delegation fostered during the trip to Navarre. I believe that we can continue to nurture these working relationships with all stakeholders, including local authority officials. When it comes to maximising the prospects of securing Just Transition Funding, you are better positioned to apply for this funding through a steering group. Accordingly, Social Enterprise Exchange is looking forward to developing and strengthening the relationships between all of these stakeholders for the betterment of this region, said Ms McFadden. The counties represented in the visiting delegation are among the designated areas eligible to apply for funding under the Just Transition Funding (JTF). JTF is an EU programme aimed at providing new employment opportunities for workers and communities, such as Bord na Mona workers, that were heavily dependent on the peat industry. "Because of climate change, we have been trying for the last two years to build social enterprises that will allow us to create jobs and services for an area, the Midland region, which is home to about half a million people," outlined Ms McFadden. She was also encouraged that even the Irish government itself had shown its support for SEEs promotion and nurturing of social enterprises in this region. Louise Lennon, Policy & Media Officer with Irish Rural Link (IRL), who was also on the delegation to Navarre, said IRL was delighted to participate in the study visit with the Social Enterprise Exchange Just Transition Project. It was interesting to learn how this region has developed the social economy and having the necessary infrastructure and supports in place to help social enterprises develop and grow. The importance of having all actors involved the Minister, Government Departments and agencies, academia, financial institutions and social enterprises and co-operatives themselves - highlighted the importance of collaboration and working together to make the social economy a viable model to creating employment and sustaining regional development, she said. PHOTO CAPTION - At the University of Navarra: Back L to R: Annette Barr Jordan, Westmeath County Council; Clodagh Barry, Social Enterprise Exchange (SEE); Liam Ramsbottom Laois County Council; Cathriona MacCarthy, Roscommon County Council; Catherine Kane, Longford County Council; Pablo Lansac ANEL. Front, L to R: Sandra Cavero Dean of Economics and Business Studies; Louise Lennon IRL; Ignacio Ugalde President of ANEL; Chris Gordan SEE; Antonio Martinez de Bujanda Director ANEL; Anne Graham, Western Development Commission; Gabrielle McFadden SEE. Gardai in Nenagh are appealing for witnesses following a fatal traffic collision in County Tipperary on Thursday, February 15, 2024. At approximately 6:45 pm, Gardai and Emergency Services responded to a two-car collision on the R503 at Rearcross. A 15-year-old girl, a passenger in one of the cars, was pronounced deceased at the scene a short time later. The three other occupants of that car (a male in his 20s, a female in her 20s, and another female in her mid-teens) and the driver of the second car (an adult female) were transported by ambulance to Limerick University Hospital for assessment; their injuries are described as not life-threatening. The deceased has been transferred to the mortuary at Limerick University Hospital where a post-mortem examination will be carried out. The road is currently closed to facilitate examination by Garda Forensic Collision Investigators, with local traffic diversions in place. Gardai are appealing for witnesses to come forward. Additionally, anyone with camera footage (including dashcam) from the area at the time is requested to provide it to Gardai. Anyone with information is asked to contact Nenagh Garda Station at 067 50450, the Garda Confidential Line at 1800 666 111, or any Garda Station. Local News By Chris Boyle Published: February 16 2024 Registration Waived for Out-of-State Snowmobilers for First Two Weekends in March. Governor Kathy Hochul today announced two free snowmobile weekends for all out-of-state and Canadian snowmobilers to rev their engines. This years events will occur March 1- March 3 and now March 8 - March 10, encouraging out-of-state visitors to come ride the 10,500 miles of snowmobile trails in New York State. Winter is here in New York, and we are ready to welcome visiting snowmobilers to our trails, Governor Hochul said. With the help of local governments and clubs, we are now offering two free snowmobiling weekends this year to boost tourism and support local economies. Plan your trip to explore a scenic, beautiful upstate trail this season. New York State already set aside the first consecutive Saturday and Sunday in March as free for out-of-state snowmobilers, and is now adding a second. During this time, the registration requirement in New York is waived for already properly registered and insured out-of-state snowmobiling enthusiasts. Participants in these free snowmobiling events must operate a snowmobile that is registered in their home state/Province and must carry any applicable insurance as required. Outside of this promotion, out-of-state and Canadian snowmobilers are required to register their snowmobiles with New York State before hitting the state's trails from the Hudson Valley to the North Country to Western New York. These free snowmobiling weekends, March 1 - March 3 and March 8 - March 10, 2024, helps with tourism for state and local economies, and reinforces New York's commitment to the industry. New York State has made an ongoing commitment to snowmobile trail maintenance and our local grants program is funded by snowmobile registration fees collected by the State Department of Motor Vehicles and deposited into the Snowmobile Trail Development and Maintenance Fund. County and municipal governments distribute the grants to about 230 snowmobile clubs across the state, which in turn groom and maintain the trails. Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation Commissioner Erik Kulleseid said, We invite you to explore the many snowmobile trails groomed and maintained by snowmobile clubs, counties and municipalities. As we celebrate our Centennial at State Parks, we are so excited to have the support of Governor Hochul and help introduce outdoor winter enthusiasts to the Empire State. Im grateful to all those who help with the upkeep of the trails and make sure they are safe for all. Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner Basil Seggos said, New York State offers some of the nations most extraordinary and scenic trails for snowmobilers to explore and enjoy. These two free weekends in March provide a great opportunity for visitors try a new ride along any of the states thousands of miles of public snowmobile trails and experience the natural beauty of New Yorks great outdoors. Empire State Development Vice President and Executive Director of Tourism Ross D. Levi said, "New York State is truly a winter wonderland, and the annual free snowmobile weekend has served as an invitation for visitors to experience the state's cold weather beauty in an exciting and affordable way. This year, with two designated weekends, even more riders can take advantage of this program and create a snowmobile getaway that includes great lodging, tasty food, craft beverages and an endless variety of activities and attractions. These weekends provide the perfect opportunity to discover that when it comes to winter fun, it's easy to love New York." New York State Department of Motor Vehicles Commissioner and Chair of the Governors Traffic Safety Committee Mark J.F. Schroeder said, Riding a snowmobile is a wonderful way to enjoy winter weather, and we urge everyone to ride responsibly and never while impaired. Your snowmobile must be registered in New York State, and you must wear a helmet. These simple steps will enable you to have a safe and fun time out on New Yorks many scenic trails. New York State Snowmobile Association Executive Director Rollie Scroger said, We would like to thank Governor Hochul for declaring and promoting both March 1-3 and March 8-10 as a Free Snowmobiling Weekend for out-of-state residents. The weekend is a wonderful opportunity for visitors to come and explore the over 10,000 miles of trails. New York State has many wonderful riding areas, thanks to the volunteers of all member clubs, who build, sign, and groom the trails for all to enjoy. We laud the opportunity to show them to out-of-state visitors. This announcement is also a good reminder for riders to observe trail conditions and safety procedures while snowmobiling. Trail conditions vary depending on snowfall amounts and other factors. State Parks cautions snowmobilers, fishermen, skiers and snowshoers to put safety first and to proceed with extreme caution before venturing on ice- or snow-covered bodies of water. Historically, the two leading causes of snowmobile injuries in New York State are excessive speed and operator intoxication. Top safety recommendations include: INSPECT and properly maintain your snowmobile; carry emergency supplies ALWAYS wear a helmet with DOT-certified standards and make sure you wear appropriate snowmobile gear including bibs, jackets, boots, and gloves to withstand the elements ALWAYS ride with a buddy or group and tell a responsible person where you will be riding and your expected return time SLOW DOWN. Ride within your ability STAY ON MARKED TRAILS. Respect landowners and obey posted signs NEVER drink alcohol or use drugs and ride FROZEN BODIES OF WATER are not designated trails; if you plan to ride on ice, proceed with caution and be aware of potential hazards under the snow. If you choose to ride on ice, wear a snowmobile suit with flotation built-in and carry a set of ice picks as a precaution. Check the websites of area snowmobile clubs for information on trail conditions, including the status of grooming. Individuals operating a snowmobile should be familiar with safe riding practices and all applicable laws, rules and regulations. The New York State Snowmobile Association website provides information about snowmobiling and snowmobile clubs. Maps of the state snowmobile trail network are available on New York State Parks' website here. More information on planning a great snowmobile getaway and other ways to enjoy winter in New York State is available at iloveny.com/winter. DEC recently enacted speed limit regulations, effective immediately, for the length of the Adirondack Rail Trail which posts limits of 15 miles per hour in Saranac Lake and Lake Clear. Visit DECs website for more information on the Adirondack Rail Trail. Visit the DEC website here for more information on snowmobiling on Forest Preserve and other DEC lands. The DMV reminds New York riders that snowmobile registrations must be renewed annually. DMV allows snowmobilers to renew registrations online on the DMV website, by mail or in person at a DMV office. Snowmobile registration costs $100 but is decreased to $45 if the snowmobiler is a member of a local snowmobile club. Non-New Yorkers who wish to use a snowmobile in New York State before or after this promotional weekend can use the NYS Registration for Out-of-State Snowmobile service to get a 15-day registration and operate their snowmobile here immediately. DMV will send a permanent registration in the mail. For information on snowmobiling, visit parks.ny.gov. Bill and Behnam discuss the status of U.S. posture in the Middle East, including whether deterrence has been restored and how the U.S. could be more proactive in Syria and Iraq (but wait, do we even have a partner in Baghdad?); the unclaimed rocket attack (by Hezbollah) on the northern Israeli city of Safed; Irans recent missile launches (speaking of just how close are they to being able to build and launch a nuclear weapon?); and why the cyberattack just conducted by the U.S. on an alleged Iranian spy ship transiting the Gulf of Aden, Bab al-Mandeb, and Red Sea will do nothing to deter the Islamic Republic. Powered by RedCircle Forces of the IDFs 162nd division operate in Shati in northeast Gaza. (IDF) The Israel Defense Forces is in control of most of the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis following a difficult two-month battle against Hamas opposition therein. Khan Younis hosts an extensive tunnel network underneath it and is the hometown of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar. The IDF has zeroed in on the area of Nasser Hospital, one of several health facilities in the city. The hospital is crowded with patients, staff and other people and the IDF said in a February 15 statement that it has credible intelligence that hostages have been held here. Palestinians have said they were asked to evacuate on February 14. However IDF spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said that we emphasized that there is no obligation for patients or staff to evacuate the hospital. However, we have been urging other Gazans, in Arabic, on the phone and via loudspeakers, to move away from the danger that Hamas puts them in via a humanitarian corridor we opened for this purpose. For the purpose of protecting uninvolved civilians in Gaza. This situation with Nasser Hospital is a familiar pattern of Hamas co-opting medical facilities across Gaza to support its terrorist activity in various ways, from operating hubs to weapons storage to tunnel entrances. In early November, the IDF eliminated Ahmed Siam, a Hamas commander trying to utilize human shields in northern Gazas Rantisi Hospital. In late December, the IDF said it found evidence of hostages being held at northern Gazas Indonesian Hospital. Gaza Citys Shifa Hospital was for weeks an area of focus, with the IDF revealing evidence that Hamas used the medical facility for weapons storage and underground tunneling. Now, the battle for Khan Younis has culminated in a similar manner. It is unclear if hospitals in several communities have become the final sites for IDF operations because Hamas has retreated to them or because many civilians took shelter there or a combination of both challenges. It is also not clear why the IDF leaves securing these hospitals to the end of each operation, rather than handling them first and ending Hamas use of them sooner. Each neighborhood battle has ended in a similar fasion with Hamas being systematically defeated in the city and the hospital being the last local area of IDF operation. The IDF said on February 15 that Hamas systematically uses hospitals as terror hubs. According to intelligence assessments and information we gathered on the ground, over 85% of major medical facilities in Gaza have been used by Hamas for terror operations. To confront the challenge of operating in a medical facility, the IDF says it coordinates the transfer of medical supplies and has doctors and Arabic-speakers among the IDF officers in the hospital during the operation. A second challenge in Gaza continued to emerge this week. The IDF sent its 162nd division into the Shati neighborhood in northeast Gaza, near the beach, on a two-week mission to dismantle Hamas elements that have resurfaced in the area since being taken by IDF forces in November. Hamas has re-emerged in other areas in northern Gaza. Tanks, infantry and special forces re-entered the built-up area in early February. During this operation, IDF forces found a Hamas tunnel under UNRWA headquarters and struck 150 targets using artillery, air strikes and naval gunfire. Reporting from Israel, Seth J. Frantzman is an adjunct fellow at FDD and a contributor to FDDs Long War Journal. He is the acting news editor and senior Middle East correspondent and analyst at The Jerusalem Post. Following the opening of online registration for the second China International Supply Chain Expo (CISCE) to be held later this year, more than 90 Chinese and overseas companies have already signed letters of intent to exhibit at the event, according to the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT). The council, also the event's host, said that during the first phase of overseas roadshows, promotional activities for the second CISCE were recently held in countries including Malaysia, Singapore, Japan, Mauritius, Ethiopia, and Egypt. It said it will continue to organize various promotional activities and invite both Chinese and foreign companies, as well as professional buyers, to attend the 2024 CISCE. According to the host, the second CISCE will be held from Nov. 26 to 30 this year. Five major segments for the clean energy, smart automobile, digital technology, health and life, and green agriculture sectors will be set up, along with a supply chain services exhibition area. During the expo, special forums will be organized, while investment promotions, business matchmaking events and new product launches will also be held. The CISCE is an open international platform that integrates the upstream, midstream and downstream sectors, connects small, medium and large enterprises, promotes collaboration between industry, academia and research, and facilitates interactions between Chinese and foreign enterprises. More than 500 Chinese and international enterprises took part in the first CISCE that concluded on Dec. 2, 2023 in Beijing. More than 200 cooperation agreements and letters of intent were signed at the event to the tune of over 150 billion yuan (about 21 billion U.S. dollars), according to data from the expo's website. BAKU, Azerbaijan, February 16. Chairman of the Human Rights Committee of the Iraqi Council of Representatives Arshad Rashad Al-Salihi has sent a congratulatory letter to President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev on the occasion of his confident victory in the extraordinary presidential elections, Trend reports. Will be updated Stay up to date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel Rail passengers travelling between Luxembourg and France need to brace for disruption this weekend due to a strike by French ticket controllers that started late on Thursday. Just one in two high-speed trains (TGVs) is expected to run between Luxembourg and Metz, as well as on lines across the whole of France, and there is also disruption to the regular railway line between the capital and the Lorraine region, the CFL and SNCF said. French ticket controllers started striking on Thursday at 20:00 and the walkout is expected to last until Monday at 8:00. The strike coincides with the end of the Luxembourg carnival holidays and the middle of the French half-term break. The CFL has advised rail travellers wishing to travel to French border areas to switch to bus replacements for their journey. In France, services will be reduced by half on the TGV Inoui and Ouigo lines, as well as on day and night Intercites trains, the SNCF announced. Services will operate as normal on classic Ouigo trains but will be disturbed on European lines, such as Eurostar, AFP reported. The French operator said it will give priority to services travelling to popular ski resort areas as the strike falls in the middle of the countrys public school holidays. Were going to get as many trains out to the snow as possible. The aim is to guarantee departures and returns to and from the [snow areas], and Im confident about that, Christophe Fanichet, the CEO of SNCF Voyageurs said at the start of the labour action. French cross-border commuters will have to continue coping with packed trains on their way to Luxembourg even when strikes end and school resumes as new, larger trains - originally expected to be deployed from 2021 - are yet to be delivered. In 2019, the Grande Est region purchased 16 trains from the Normandie region, but these are yet to be delivered as the latter cannot release them because they have not received replacements from French manufacturer Alstom. Two of the 16 trains were expected to be handed over by December, but the region on Luxembourgs doorstep is still waiting for them. All 16 trains are set to be running between Luxembourg and the border area from 2025, the vice-president of the Grande Est region Thibaud Philipps told the Luxembourg Times sister newspaper Virgule. The new trains will add around 1,000 additional seats to help ease the already overstretched capacity on the crucial rail link between both countries. Two new diplomatic missions to become operational in autumn, foreign minister says Luxembourg will open two new embassies in Canada and Rwanda later this year, the government said on Friday, as the country continues to expand its diplomatic footprint. Luxembourg operates fully resident embassies in just over 40 countries, around half of which are outside the EU, with consular services and non-resident embassies in a dozen others. The new missions in Ottawa and Kigali, the respective capitals of Canada and Rwanda, will be opened in the autumn, Foreign Minister Xavier Bettel said in response to a written parliamentary question from CSV deputy Laurent Mosar. Also read: Luxembourg not to renew ties with Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger Luxembourg nationals are currently represented by the Dutch embassy in Rwanda, while the Grand Duchys embassy in the US is co-accredited in Canada, with honorary consuls in several Canadian cities. New embassies in Asia, Africa and Latin America were opened at the end of last year, Bettel said, with missions now operational in San Jose in Costa Rica and Cotonou, Benins largest city, as well as Seoul in South Korea. Developments following the 2018 socio-political crisis in Nicaragua, a former partner country, have led to the closure of the embassy offices in Managua and a strategic reorientation of the Luxembourg cooperation in Central America, Bettel said, explaining the switch to Costa Rica. Emergency assistance Luxembourg nationals stranded abroad in an emergency could be billed directly by another EU country which gives them assistance, under a new European Commission proposal unveiled in December. Also read: Luxembourg strengthens ties to Ireland with new embassy Current EU rules already enable a national of any member state to seek assistance from the embassy or consulate of another. Under agreements struck by the government, Luxembourg nationals are officially represented by Belgium or the Netherlands in a host of countries outside the EU, including Australia, Cuba, South Africa and Saudi Arabia. More than 133,000 Luxembourg nationals were registered as living abroad in July last year, according to the foreign ministry. LIVONIA, MICH. Last week, in her Global Supply Chain Management class, Nermine Atteya, hosted Ashwini Balasubramanian, Harley-Davidson Motor Company general manager of advanced engineering. Balasubramanian's presentation was about careers, innovation, and the future of supply chain management. She shared her career journey in the mobility solutions space and her contributions and experience in working in different cultures, moving from Bosch to Toyota to ZF to Martinrea to Harley Davidson serving in various capacities. Her presentation was impressive, interactive, and impactful. Balasubramanian provided advice and recommendations to students about achieving success working in different cultures and diversity spaces. She focused on product innovation and the collaboration between supply chain professionals and engineers to make products that are profitable and will sustain business. She discussed the challenges in the supply chain field and talked about the variety of careers in supply chain management and assured students that it is a profession in high demand and that will grow for the coming 30-40 years. Supply Chain Calling? Answer With Madonna University. Inspired by Ashwini Balasubramanian's insights? Explore Madonna University's supply chain programs, where students gain industry-ready skills, network with leaders, and graduate prepared for fulfilling careers. LEARN MORE Manchester, VT (05254) Today Mainly cloudy with snow showers around this morning. High around 40F. Winds W at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of snow 40%.. Tonight Occasional snow showers. Low 28F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of snow 50%. Snow accumulations less than one inch. BAKU, Azerbaijan, February 16. Leaders of the European Union and Brussels are looking for an opportunity to take a photo while shaking the hand of President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary Peter Szijjarto told Turkish Anadolu Agency, Trend reports. Speaking about criticism of Hungary by the EU after becoming an observer member of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS), Szijjarto mentioned that Hungary's establishing friendship with Azerbaijan was also criticized. Now, the leaders of the European Union and Brussels are doing everything they can to snap a photo with President Ilham Aliyev and be honored to get his handshake, having recognized that they can supply natural gas from Azerbaijan. Our partnership with Azerbaijan is built on ideals and is much stronger than others, the minister added. Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel Editors note: This story contains a description of the abuse and death of a child and could be disturbing to some readers. On the stand, Tarah Hilbert described bringing a mother and her sons into her home. Hilbert said she noticed the woman had bruises on her face and was covered in blood. The woman told Hilbert that these bruises came from her husband, Adam Montgomery. The retrial of Emanuel Lopes ended Friday when a jury found him guilty of all charges in connection with the deaths of Weymouth police Sgt. Michael Chesna and bystander Vera Adams in 2018. A Massachusetts jury at Norfolk Superior Court found Lopes guilty of first-degree and second-degree murder, NBC 10 Boston reported. Deliberations took a week, happening months after a hung jury in a trial in June 2023 ended in a mistrial. The second trial started on Feb. 8, 2024, and only paused on Tuesday, Feb. 13, due to weather conditions. Norfolk County District Attorney Assistant District Attorney Greg Connor previously said police responded to a call for an erratic driver in the area of the South Shore Hospital at 7:32 a.m. on July 15, 2018. Lopes ex-girlfriend Mary Cronin testified during the first trial that he was angry and struggled with being homeless. The morning of the shooting, the couple chose to go to her home out of fear the other man would show up at the home of another friend, who they originally planned to see that day. Lopes was agitated, Cronin said, pacing the room before falling asleep at 5 a.m. Two hours later, he was gone and called Cronin saying they werent safe and needed to leave. Lopes took Cronins white BMW and crashed into another car outside South Shore Hospital before he fled to Burton Terrace, Cronin said. He was seen vandalizing a home on Burton Terrace. Chesna, one of the officers searching for the suspect, saw Lopes. Chesna got out of his cruiser, drew his firearm and demanded Lopes to stop, Connor said. Lopes then attacked Officer Chesna, it is believed with a large stone, striking him in the head, the prosecutor said. Officer Chesna fell to the ground. Lopes then retrieved Officer Chesnas firearm and discharged it several times in his head and chest. Officers returned fire. Lopes was struck in the leg. He ran through the neighborhoods around Burton Terrace. He still had the officers gun and fired three more times, authorities said. Adams was inside her home and was fatally struck by a bullet Lopes fired. Lopes was then caught by police. A 39-year-old man from Gloucester is facing several charges in connection with a stabbing at Tewksbury State Hospital on Thursday night, Tewksbury Police Chief Ryan Columbus said in a statement Friday. Police were looking for Brian Kobs after the stabbing happened at around 7 p.m. on Feb. 15. Responding officers found one person had been stabbed during a fight at the hospital located at 365 East St. in Tewksbury. The two people involved in the fight were known to each other, according to Columbus. The victim was brought to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Read More: John Wesley Young III confirmed as man found in Neponset River by police Meanwhile Kobs, who was identified as the suspect, left the area after the stabbing. Agencies including the Tewksbury Police Department Drone Unit, Massachusetts State Police Air Wing and multiple K-9 units searched for Kobs. He was found in a shed near Lee Street just before 9 a.m. on Feb. 16, Columbus said. Kobs was arrested without incident and is being treated at a local hospital for minor injuries. Investigators determined the stabbing was targeted. I would like to thank my officers for their immediate response, including those who came in off-duty to assist in the search, Columbus said. I would also like to thank the Massachusetts State Police for their assistance and for the use of the Air Wing Unit. Kobs was charged with charged with the following: Attempted murder Breaking and entering (Misdemeanor) Possession of a Class E Drug Assault and battery with a dangerous weapon Two outstanding warrants: Warrant 1 (Out of Boston District Court) Assault and battery with a dangerous weapon (two counts), resisting arrest, threat to commit crime, assault and battery (two counts) Warrant 2 (Out of Boston District Court) Assault with dangerous weapon, disorderly conduct, destruction of property under $1,200 Kobs is expected to be arraigned in Lowell District Court on Friday. Alexei Navalny, the fiercest foe of Russian President Vladimir Putin who crusaded against official corruption and staged massive anti-Kremlin protests, died in prison Friday, Russias prison agency said. He was 47. The Federal Prison Service said in a statement that Navalny felt unwell after a walk on Friday and lost consciousness. An ambulance arrived to try to rehabilitate him, but he died. There was no immediate confirmation of Navalnys death from his team. Navalny, who was serving a 19-year sentence on charges of extremism, was moved in December from his former prison in the Vladimir region of central Russia to to a special regime penal colony the highest security level of prisons in Russia above the Artic Circle. His allies decried the transfer to a colony in the town of Kharp, in the Yamalo-Nenets region about 1,900 kilometers (1,200 miles) northeast of Moscow, as yet another attempt to force Navalny into silence. The remote region is notorious for long and severe winters. Kharp is about 100 kilometers (60 miles) from Vorkuta, whose coal mines were part of the Soviet gulag prison-camp system. BAKU, Azerbaijan, February 16. Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers of Kyrgyzstan Akylbek Zhaparov made a phone call to the Prime Minister of Azerbaijan Ali Asadov, Trend reports. According to information, Zhaparov congratulated Asadov on his appointment as Prime Minister of the Republic of Azerbaijan. During the conversation, the sides expressed satisfaction with the comprehensive development of a strategic partnership between Azerbaijan and Kyrgyzstan. The sides also discussed prospects of further increasing Azerbaijani-Kyrgyz mutually beneficial cooperation. Stay up to date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel A Boston man was identified as the body recovered from the Neponset River in Milton on Tuesday, Norfolk District Attorney Michael Morrisseys office said. John Wesley Young III, 57, was last seen the day before Thanksgiving and was reported missing by his family soon after. At around 9 a.m., law enforcement was informed of the bodys presence in the river, located near 2 Granite Ave., Morriseys office said in a statement. State Police divers and troopers in the marine unit, along with detectives from the Milton Police Department and other crime scene personnel were at the death investigation scene along the river, the State Police said. The body appeared to have been in the water for a significant time, his office added. Youngs body had items on his person with his name and age, in his 50s, that matched those of a man who was reported missing since December, Morrisseys office said Tuesday. A cause of death has not yet been determined. Young was mistakenly referred to by his middle name in Boston polices public alert about his disappearance. It was corrected on Jan. 29 after MassLive informed them of the issue. The bulletin was issued in mid-January over a month after he was reported missing. Prior to the discovery of Youngs body, his family expressed frustrations with investigators over their handling of the case, going as far as calling it negligent. They told MassLive that they believed his disappearance wasnt being taken seriously and that they wanted police to do more to find him. The Neponset River extends from the Foxborough area out to the Boston Harbor, with some major tributaries in the Milton area, according to the Massachusetts River Alliance website. All 11 members of the Bay States delegation on Capitol Hill have signed onto a letter to Cerberus Capital Management, the private equity firm that owned Steward Health Cares hospitals from 2010 until 2021, seeking information amid growing concerns about the hospital systems increasingly precarious financial plight. We are particularly concerned about the extent to which Cerberus and its affiliates literally stripped out and sold the property from underneath these hospitals, creating hundreds of millions of dollars in profits for private equity executives, while leaving the facilities with long-term liabilities that are magnifying if not creating the current crisis, the delegation wrote. With February half gone, tax filing season is well underway, and many Americans looking to get ahead of the dreaded April deadline are getting their taxes out of the way in February. But the Internal Revenue Service issued a warning for these early birds you wont be alone. The IRS is bracing for a peak period during Presidents Day weekend Feb 17-19 which has historically been a busy period for the IRS phone lines, the IRS said. The two week period following Presidents Day will be a time when phones are swamped, the IRS predicted. In a message on Feb. 14, the IRS encouraged February tax filers to visit IRS.gov and use new online tools to get answers quickly and avoid phone delays. New this year, theres a step-by-step guide for people to file their personal federal income tax return. The IRS also pointed to its special free help page and a suite of online self-help tools when filing, including sections on IRS accounts, filing, uploading documents and tracking a refund. Weve worked hard to provide better taxpayer service for people this filing season with more options to reach the IRS in convenient ways, said IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel in a statement. We want taxpayers to have access to the help they need around the clock. IRS.govs expanded tools and information make that easier for taxpayers, especially during this peak period for IRS phone lines around Presidents Day. Another unfortunate surprise for people may be a lower refund this year. Early tax refund totals are down by nearly 30% in 2024, according to early statistics released by the IRS. However, Mark Steber, chief tax information officer at Jackson Hewitt, warned CNBC that the stats released by the IRS were very preliminary data. I caution anyone on reading too much into an entire year, or a tax season of three-and-a-half months, on five days worth of data, he said. The new year is shaping up to be one full of moving trucks for Burlington Mall in Massachusetts, as it welcomes a vibrant array of new establishments. Fashion enthusiasts will delight in the arrival of trendy clothing stores, foodies will enjoy a brand-new selection of meals from international cuisine and wellness fanatics will enjoy unique spots to relax to take care of themselves. Here are some of the new stores set to open at the Burlington Mall in 2024, according to Simon Property Group, which manages the mall. The Canadian design house, Aritzia, will open in late 2024, according to Simon. Aritzia sells luxury items, womens clothing and accessories along with popular brands such as Agolde, EB Denim and New Balance. SweatHouz is an infrared sauna with several health services, shops and eateries, according to the mall manager. The sauna is built with state-of-the-art equipment and sauna technology that creates a relaxing and rejuvenating experience for patrons. Tessa Nossa Brazilian Grill will open in early 2024, according to Simon. This new eatery will include meals such as rotisserie-style pork, beef, wings, sausage, chicken, delicious Brazilian side dishes, mini bites and desserts. Queenia will open in the spring of 2024, according to Simon. This is a womens clothing boutique that features original work. Queenia has its own designers and a manufacturing factory with several stores in Massachusetts. The store offers the latest trends in dress wear and offers several products that reflect a high level of quality, the press release read. Mochi Dough opens in the spring of 2024. The store sells Japanese-inspired doughnuts using rice flour instead of yeast to create an airy and chewy inside mixed with a crispy outside, according to the mall manager. There are locations in Boston and Natick. MINISO will open in the spring of 2024, according to Simon. MINISO is a lifestyle retailer known for selling products such as novelty items, household goods, cosmetics, toys and more. MINISO has more than 100 stores from across the globe. This Italian eatery will open in the summer of 2024, according to Simon. Fiorellas Cucina prepares its food with fresh, locally sourced ingredients. The restaurant offers meals such as toasted ravioli, nicoise and lemon chicken. This Greek dining spot will open up in the summer of 2024, according to Simon. The restaurant will offer traditional meals such as souvlaki, loukoumades and lamb chops. This will be the Greek eaterys first location in the Boston suburbs, according to the press release. GRECO. Truly Greek will also open in four other locations in the Back Bay, Downtown Crossing, the Seaport and Hub Hall in the North Station area, the press release reads. Burlington Mall is at 75 Middlesex Turnpike in Burlington. It is open Monday-Thursday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Sunday 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Find more information at its website. Artificial intelligence is in and on the rise. Most industries are thinking about the ways the technology can be implemented. Gov. Maura T. Healey Wednesday introduced a new, statewide Strategic AI Task Force, whose first meeting is in a few weeks. The task force, which is made up of 26 individuals from around the state, will study artificial intelligence and generative AI and its impact on the state, residents and industries. The head of the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education announced he plans to step down by simply saying it is time to pass the baton. In a letter to the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, Jeffrey C. Riley said he plans to resign in exactly one month, on March 15. There was no public indication previously that he planned to give up the role as the head of education for the commonwealth. WESTFIELD Despite the announcement last year that a squadron of F-35A fighter jets would be deployed to the Westfield-Barnes Regional Airport in 2026, on Friday the U.S. Air Force and National Guard released a draft environmental study that analyzes the potential environmental consequences of not only the Navys next generation fighter, but also the F-15EX. However, Barnes Airport Manager Chris Willenborg said there shouldnt any confusion about which of the two fighter jets will arrive in Barnes next year. Le nouveau cabinet des Ministres a pris note que le gouvernement va signer un accord avec le gouvernement francais pour combattre le trafic de la drogue, de la signature dun accord entre lEconomic Development Board et International Trade Centre pour implemeter le projet SheTrades dans le pays, des projets de la National Development Unit a Rodrogues, quau 14 fevrier 2024 il y avaot 634 cas actifs de la Dengue entre autres. 1. Cabinet has agreed to the signing of a Technical Agreement on the Fight against Drugs and Psychotropic Substances between the Government of Mauritius and the French Government. The Agreement would aim at fostering technical and operational cooperation on combating drugs between the two parties through the exchange of information, the sharing of best practices and the provision of specialised training and technical assistance, amongst others. The cooperation would cover: (a) strengthening of professional competencies and operational expertise; (b) promoting the mutual support at regional level; and (c) enhancing the mutual knowledge of methodologies and procedures. 2. Cabinet has agreed to the signing of the Technical Cooperation Agreement on the Exchange of Information regarding Vessel Traffic Monitoring and staff training between the Government of Mauritius and the French Government. The Agreement would aim at harmonising the practices of the Mauritian Maritime Search and Rescue Coordination Centre of the Mauritius National Coast Guard and the French Maritime Search and Rescue Coordination Centre of Reunion Island. It would define the practical modalities of the mutual support they could provide to one another and specify areas of collaboration in order to ensure continuous improvement of the services provided as well as the smooth and timely exchange of relevant information between the two operational centres. 3. Cabinet has agreed to the Economic Development Board (EDB) signing an Agreement with the International Trade Centre (ITC) for the implementation of the SheTrades Mauritius Project. The main objective of the Agreement would be to provide the revised framework for cooperation between the EDB and the ITC to advance their shared goal of increasing the international competitiveness of women-led businesses and women entrepreneurs from the Republic of Mauritius and supporting them to connect and export to new markets through the activities of the SheTrades Mauritius Hub. The main activities would include but not be limited to increasing the capacity and competitiveness of women-led businesses and women entrepreneurs from the Republic of Mauritius. 4. Cabinet has agreed to Mauritius endorsing a Joint Ministerial Declaration on the Agreement on Investment Facilitation for Development at the forthcoming 13th Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization (WTO). The purpose of the Agreement would be to improve the investment climate and promote international cooperation in order to facilitate the flow of foreign direct investment between WTO Members, particularly to developing and least developed country Members, with the aim of fostering sustainable development. The Agreement would also include provisions on responsible business conduct as well as on measures against corruption. 5. Cabinet has agreed to Mauritius joining the International Seabed Area (ISA) Call for Action for ensuring the stewardship of the ISA and its resources for the benefit of humanity through deep-sea science, technology and innovation. The Call was being spearheaded by the ISA under its mandate to regulate and control activities in the international seabed area in accordance with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. The Call would aim at enhancing collective action of Member States around four key priorities: (a) increasing investments in marine science and technology; (b) aligning relevant research agendas at various levels with the ISAs Action Plan in support of the United Nations Decade for Ocean Science for Sustainable Development; (c) promoting deep-sea literacy; and (d) leveraging the ISAs experiences in support of the implementation of the Biological Diversity in Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction Agreement. 6. Cabinet has agreed to the implementation of the following projects by the National Development Unit: (a) construction of drain at SSR Road and Orchidee Lane, LEscalier; (b) raising of Ford at Baie Topaze and Box Culvert Upstream in Rodrigues; (c) raising of Ford at Pistache in Rodrigues; and (d) drainworks at Quatre Vents Dans Darisse in Rodrigues. 7. Cabinet has agreed to the implementation of urgent repairs of public infrastructure, namely repairs and resurfacing of roads, by the National Development Unit and the Road Development Authority following the passage of Cyclone Belal. 8. Cabinet has taken note that the new vessel, MV Peros Banhos reached the Port Louis Harbour on 14 February 2024 and the traditional water salute was performed as a welcoming gesture. 9. Cabinet has taken note of activities being organised by the Ministry of Commerce and Consumer Protection in the context of World Consumer Rights Day, celebrated every year on 15 March, to raise awareness about the protection and rights of consumers. The activities would comprise: (a) dissemination of short video clips on the rights and responsibilities of consumers, legal obligation of traders, unfair trade practices or misleading consumers, among others; (b) distribution of flyers/booklets to sensitise the public on the rights of consumers through the printed newspaper copies; (c) participation on radio/TV programme and publication of press articles on specific issues relating to consumer protection; and (d) targeted sensitisation and educational campaigns through talks in secondary schools, Women Centres and Citizens Advice Bureaus. 10. Cabinet has taken note that, as at 14 February 2024, there were 634 active cases of Dengue Fever in Mauritius, of which 83 had been hospitalised in both public and private hospitals. For Rodrigues, 222 active cases of Dengue Fever had been recorded as at 15 February 2024, of which 11 were hospitalised. The Ministry of Health and Wellness, in collaboration with various stakeholders, was pursuing fogging, larviciding and vector control activities across the island. In addition, a mass sensitisation campaign was being carried out. 11. Cabinet has agreed to the provision of financial assistance to the tune of USD25,000 to the United Republic of Tanzania, as a gesture of solidarity following the unprecedented heavy rainfall which occurred in December 2023 in the northern part of the country, causing devastating flooding and mudslides. 12. Cabinet has taken note of the outcome of the fourth Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of Mauritius held during the 45th Session of the UPR Working Group of the Human Rights Council in Geneva. Some 303 recommendations were formulated by 121 countries during their interventions including those on gender-based violence and empowerment of women, education and upholding rights of children. 13. Cabinet has taken note of the outcome of the recent participation of the Attorney General, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and International Trade in the 13th Meeting of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Council of Ministers responsible for trade, in South Africa. The meeting considered the outstanding rules of origin for the textiles and clothing, took note of progress made with respect to the ongoing negotiation on the draft Protocol on Digital Trade and adopted the Ministerial Directives on the terms and conditions of service of the members of the Appellate Body. In the sidelines of the meeting of the AfCFTA Council of Ministers, the South Africas inaugural shipment and preferential trading under the AfCFTA Guided Trade Initiative were launched. 14. Cabinet has taken note of the outcome of the recent participation of the Attorney General, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and International Trade in the 7th edition of the Indian Ocean Conference held in Australia. The theme of the Conference was Towards a Stable and Sustainable Indian Ocean. Panel discussions during the Conference covered four thematic areas, namely climate change and the energy transition, blue economy, managing global commons, and partnerships for a resilient region. The Conference highlighted the Indian Ocean Regions geopolitical significance and stood as a testament to the collective commitment towards enhancing stability and sustainability across the Indian Ocean Region. In the margins of the Conference, the Attorney General had bilateral meetings with, inter alia, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Australia, the Minister of External Affairs of the Republic of India and the Minister of State in the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office. 15. Cabinet has taken note of the appointment of Dr Didier Samfat, as part-time Chairperson of the National Cybersecurity Committee. The Commonwealth Secretary-General, the Rt Hon Patricia Scotland KC, has announced the theme for Commonwealth Day 2024 as One Resilient Common Future. Commonwealth Day will be observed on Monday, 11 March, and will start with a series of events and activities, including faith and civic gatherings, debates, school assemblies, flag-raising ceremonies and cultural events. Commonwealth Day is celebrated by people across Africa, Asia, the Caribbean and Americas, the Pacific and Europe. The Commonwealth Secretary-General, the Rt Hon Patricia Scotland KC, said: Each year, we observe Commonwealth Day to recognise, celebrate and invigorate our 56 member states, all of whom are committed to the Commonwealth Charter. This years theme underscores the collective strength that enables us to confront and overcome present challenges, emerging with resilience. This paves the way for a future where wealth isnt just widespread but genuinely equitable. We have countries which are amongst both the smallest and largest in the world. What binds us together is our shared values, and those include a commitment to ensuring stronger and stable governance, a more sustainable environment, robust economies, and societies that empower Commonwealth citizens. Secretary-General Scotland also took the opportunity, on behalf of the Commonwealth, to wish His Majesty King Charles III, the Head of the Commonwealth, a complete and fast recovery. 2024 is a CHOGM Year This years Commonwealth Day theme reflects the focus of the upcoming Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), which will be held in Samoa, in October 2024. When announcing the CHOGM theme in 2023, Samoas Prime Minister, Afioga Fiame Naomi Mataafa said: We look forward to sharing our unique Samoan communal culture and traditions as we come together to transform our one resilient family into a common wealth. During Commonwealth Week in March, world leaders, foreign ministers, young advocates and other delegates from across the Commonwealth will come together for wide-ranging conversations. Together, they will deliberate and decide on collective actions to solve shared challenges while suggesting initiatives that empower people, encourage growth and bring transformative change. One of these initiatives is the declaration of the Commonwealth Year of Youth, which has put a focus on increasing projects to support the 1.5 billion young people of the Commonwealth. Commonwealth Day Activities Countries will observe the day through readings of the Commonwealth Proclamation, hosting celebratory events, or dedicating the week to enlightening citizens about the Commonwealth. The Commonwealth Secretariats website will serve as a central hub, providing free and accessible resources to support these diverse activities. In London, where the Commonwealth Secretariats headquarters are located, a reception will be held welcoming invited representatives from across the Commonwealth. Additionally, a vibrant multicultural, multi-faith service at Westminster Abbey on 11 March will celebrate the rich tapestry of the Commonwealths people, history, and culture. The event promises reflections, performances, and readings by individuals spanning the diverse nations of the Commonwealth. Each year, one of the highlights of Commonwealth Day is the procession of Commonwealth flags at Westminster Abbey, with young flag bearers representing each of the 56 member states. This year, Commonwealth Day events will also include a contingent of Speakers and Presiding Officers from the Commonwealth countries, UK Overseas Territories, Crown Dependencies and the UK nations, specially invited by the Rt Hon Sir Lindsay Hoyle MP, the Speaker of the House of Commons in the UK. Each year, Commonwealth Day is commemorated to inspire and foster a dynamic and united community of our 56 member states. This year the Commonwealth will celebrate even more milestones. On 26 April 2024, the 75th Anniversary of the modern Commonwealth will be celebrated. Le gouvernement a donne son feu vert a lEconomic Development Board pour signer un accord avec lInternational Trade Centre pour la mise en place dun cadre revise pour le projet SheTrades Mauritius. Cabinet has agreed to the Economic Development Board (EDB) signing an Agreement with the International Trade Centre (ITC) for the implementation of the SheTrades Mauritius Project. The main objective of the Agreement would be to provide the revised framework for cooperation between the EDB and the ITC to advance their shared goal of increasing the international competitiveness of women-led businesses and women entrepreneurs from the Republic of Mauritius and supporting them to connect and export to new markets through the activities of the SheTrades Mauritius Hub. The main activities would include but not be limited to increasing the capacity and competitiveness of women-led businesses and women entrepreneurs from the Republic of Mauritius. BAKU, Azerbaijan, February 16. President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has met with U.S. Special Presidential Coordinator for Global Infrastructure and Energy Security Amos Hochstein in Munich, as per the latters request, Trend reports. Amos Hochstein conveyed his congratulations on Azerbaijans hosting the COP29. The head of state expressed gratitude for the congratulations. U.S. Special Presidential Coordinator for Global Infrastructure and Energy Security fondly recalled joint partnership with President Ilham Aliyev since 1990s in projects involving cooperation between Azerbaijan and USA and export of hydrocarbon resources from the Caspian Sea to the world markets. He noted that Azerbaijan is a strategically important country in the region. The meeting discussed development of the Middle Corridor and Azerbaijans role in this process as well as cooperation within the COP29 framework. They also shared their opinions on the US-Azerbaijan bilateral relations. Castlebar artist Chris Cresham will play his first ever headline gig next Saturday, February 24, in Garbo's Venue. There is great excitement for the gig, with a full band joining him onstage, and Ballina native Aisling Mullarkey, and rising artist Seamus Harty, opening the show. It has been a busy couple of weeks for the Castlebar musician, with his new single Back To You, being released today. In 2023, Chris Cresham was selected for Hot-press Magazines Irish Music Month' competition with his original song My TV as one of four finalists selected by Midwest Radio. The Irish songwriter has never been afraid to be vulnerable and express emotion in his music. Tickets for the gig are available now Merging modern pop, folk and country music with an eccentric poise unique to him, Chris lives and breathes every aspect of what he does as a musician and songwriter. The Castlebar artist has had some amazing opportunities- playing music abroad in Cyprus for a summer, where he got an opportunity to craft his identity through writing music and playing live every night. Since then, he has been working alongside The Voice of Ireland star Liam Geddes, who recently wrote and produced Latvias Eurovision selection song for 2024. Mr Geddes has also worked alongside another talented producer named Patrick ODonnell who recently has produced tracks for Ireland's rising band Kingfishr, who have recently opened for Bruce Springsteen and Dermot Kennedy. Chris is known for his emotional storytelling through his lyrics and has accumulated over 90,000 streams across Spotify with his original music. He has also opened for prominent artists like Chasing Abbey, Late Late Toy show star Michael Moloney, and Hudson Taylor. 2024 promises to be an exciting year for him, from gigs nationwide, and his long awaited set to be released. Doors for the Castelbar gig open at 7pm next Saturday, February 24, and you can get your tickets on Eventbrite, and listen to Back To You on Spotify. Rare Disease Day 2024 will take place on Thursday, February 29. Held on the last day of February each year, it is a global celebration which aims to raise awareness and generate change for the 300 million people worldwide living with a rare disease, their families and carers. Rare Ireland is the voice for families living with rare conditions in Ireland. They are there to understand, support, and advocate for those affected by rare diseases. Rare Disease Day is basically about creating awareness and is a day that we really like to celebrate said Westport native Selina Neal, who is a member of the Rare Ireland committee. Despite the day itself being February 29, there are many events taking place in the lead up to raise awareness for Rare Disease Day, including cold water dips, coffee mornings, and a summer skydive by parents and committee members. The parent run charity was established in 2017 by two mothers, Laura Egan and Louise O'Keefe, after they witnessed the lack of support and information available to them at the time of their childrens diagnosis. They were two parents who felt that they were given a diagnosis of their child's rare condition and that was it. They were sent out with no more information, no help whatsoever, not knowing what the future is going to bring said the Westport woman. So they set up a Facebook group to begin with, and it was just kind of trying to help other parents who were going through the same thing. And from that it's developed into a charity that's able to help she explained. Rare Ireland has a board of trustees that manage the charity in accordance with the principles set out in our constitution. Our committee also consists of several trustees and currently has 12 parents, all of whom contribute on a voluntary basis, to support our members and raise awareness of the many challenges facing the rare community. We're supporting almost 1700 families across Ireland, and that's done through one on one support said Ms Neal. The charity provides subsidies for different therapies, as therapies can be very expensive with long waiting lists. The organisation also offers genetic counselling from a top consultant, Dr Anand Saggar. Dr Saggar frequently comes over from the UK, to provide genetic counselling for members, subsidised by Rare Ireland. Ms Neal said at the time of diagnosis you're not given any more information and lengths of wait lists means you could be waiting up to five years to get any information about what this could be. The charity providing genetic counselling means they can help families understand their child's diagnosis within a matter of months. Maya, aged 8 Ms Neal was one of these parents left with no information after her eight-year-old daughter, Maya, was diagnosed with Beckwith Friedman syndrome at birth. When I was pregnant with Maya, we didn't really know anything. I was going, something's not right here and I basically got told by doctors, well, your last baby was fine, so this baby will be fine, which is probably the worst statement you could say to anyone Ms Neal explained. Maya was born through an emergency section in 2015. She was born with an extremely large, protruding, tongue, and it looked like there was a line drawn down the centre of her body; half of her body was larger than the other. Shortly after birth, Maya was taken to the baby unit due to low glucose levels. Ms Neal said she and her partner didn't know anything about rare diseases and had only been informed about more common conditions, such as down syndrome. Ms Neal said that they were lucky that Maya had very clinical features, however, when Maya was just a few hours old, they were told that doctors believed Maya had Beckwith Wiedemann Syndrome (BWS), and she was transferred to Temple Street Children's Hospital. Maya spent the first five weeks of her life in Temple Street, and still Ms Neal and her family knew nothing. No one could tell me anything about it. We did see a geneticist who explained a bit about it, but there wasn't really any information. We didn't know any other parents, we didn't know who to get in touch with, where to go or what to do; and none of this information was given. That was a really hard time for us. We struggled. There were an awful lot of questions. Did we do this? Did we do something wrong? Is there something we could do to fix this? Ms Neal says they were on that journey for a few years until I did manage to find support networks in the UK and America. Now, nearing her ninth birthday, Maya is a pretty healthy kid, described by her mother as a little diva. She's been through a bit now; she had tumours when she was about eight months old. She's had a couple of surgeries explained Ms Neal. Mayas condition, BWS, is an overgrowth syndrome, where parts of her body can grow faster than others, but she also has other conditions such as hemihypertrophy and hyperinsulism. That's something we've been monitoring her entire life. Like, she's been out of hospital checking for scans for tumours, and she's been out checking for her glucose levels and all that. So it's just an ongoing thing with her, but she's a really happy, healthy little person told her mother. Maya, raising awareness for Rare Ireland As Irelands only charity supporting families living with rare diseases, Rare Ireland has become an invaluable source of support to its members. The lack of education and awareness surrounding rare disease is evident in Ireland. The aim is to create as much awareness and support as possible to families around Ireland, something Ms Neale didnt exactly have. There are so many different conditions in our group and our big thing is, even if a condition isn't exactly the same, a lot of them have similar features, characteristics, and issues that another parent has been through, and they're able to provide the support and information for other families she added. The charity doesnt just support financially, but mentally. Families living with rare conditions face many prolonged hospital stays, thus creating many challenges. To help lift their spirits and let them know they are in our thoughts, Rare Ireland sends gift boxes and care packages to the hospital. People can support Rare Disease Day and Rare Ireland by lighting up for Rare Ireland, sharing stories, hosting events, and donating. We always need support; donations go directly to helping families across the country. You can donate on Rare Irelands website, Facebook, or Instagram. Sustainable living is becoming increasingly important and with this in mind The Gallery in Westport is offering a clothes repair workshop next week Monday. The name: Sew good. The goal: To combat fast-fashion culture. The Gallery clothes repair workshop supported by volunteers Gemma Hensey and Carmel Healy, aims to raise awareness about the detrimental effects of fast-fashion, which contributes an alarming 92 million tons of clothing to landfills worldwide annually, says Tom Ramwell, The Gallery's owner. The concept of the workshop emerged during a solo backpacking trip in northern Italy, where Tom Ramwell was inspired during an interview with the manager of the Patagonia store in Milan, for his upcoming podcast, about the repair service this global brand offers. Rooted in a lifelong commitment to environmental stewardship, instilled by his parents, Tom has dedicated himself to operating The Gallery from a less environmentally damaging standpoint. From pioneering Ireland's first 'natural wine' bar to hosting community-centric events and initiatives, including music, poetry, crafts and so on, The Gallery has tried to consistently lead the charge in promoting sustainable practices, including Westports first free mini-library. "We're creating a space where community members can come together to mend clothing, fostering a sense of connection and empowerment, says Tom. Our ultimate goal is to evolve this workshop into a thriving community hub that combines art projects and secures funding to combat the fast-fashion industry while advocating for fair labour practices and environmental sustainability. The launch of the clothes repair workshop underscores The Gallery's commitment to promoting a more conscientious approach to consumption and fostering a greener, more equitable future for all. The workshop takes place on Mondays, from 2pm-3.30pm. More information on the website. BAKU, Azerbaijan, February 16. Serbia's support for holding the COP29 conference in Baku is another example of our friendly relations, Minister of Labour and Social Protection of Azerbaijan Sahil Babayev said during the event dedicated to the Statehood Day of the Republic of Serbia, Trend reports. "The high level of political dialogue between Azerbaijan and Serbia undoubtedly stems from the wise foresight of the leaders of the two countries, sincere friendship, and the high importance they attach to cooperation. The memorandum on the establishment of the Strategic Partnership Council signed on 23 November 2022 once again proves that Azerbaijan and Serbia are friendly countries and strategic partners in the true sense of the word. Serbia's support for the COP29 conference in Baku is another example of our friendly relations," the minister said. Sahil Babayev stressed that Serbia is also a new partner of Azerbaijan in the diversification of the European gas market. "The launch of the Serbia-Bulgaria gas interconnector in Nis in December 2023, along with the diversification of Serbia's supply sources, will make a significant contribution to Europe's energy security," he said. The minister added that there is a strong legal framework between Azerbaijan and Serbia and that more than 50 agreements, contracts, and other documents covering various areas of cooperation have been signed over the past 27 years. "The activity of the Joint Intergovernmental Commission is crucial for strengthening cooperation between the two countries. To date, the Commission has held 7 meetings. The last meeting of the Commission was held on 28 April 2023. Our burgeoning cooperation is also reflected in the expansion of economic ties. Cooperation in the fields of energy, transport infrastructure, air transport, defense industry, agriculture, tourism, and other areas is in the focus of both sides," Babayev noted. Stay up to date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel by Tanya Gazdik , February 14, 2024 If you're looking for a ride or meal delivery in certain cities today, think again. Thousands of drivers for ride-share platforms Uber and Lyft, as well as the food delivery service DoorDash are expected to strike on Wednesday, in what organizers say will be the largest nationwide protest action to date against the gig economy giants, according toThe Washington Post. A 24-hour strike on what is normally a busy day for the apps are planned in at least 17 U.S. cities, including Austin, Newark, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Washington, Philadelphia and Orlando, according to two ride-share labor organizations. Rideshare Drivers United, an independent union, said that Lyft and Uber drivers would turn off their apps on Wednesday to protest the significant decrease in pay we've all felt this winter, according to CBS News. Drivers planned rallies at some airports. advertisement advertisement "We're sick of working 80 hours a week just to make ends meet, being constantly scared for our safety and worrying about [being] deactivated with the click of a button," stated the Justice For App Workers coalition, which represents more than 100,000 drivers. But Uber brushed off concerns about the strike affecting customers. "These types of events have rarely had any impact on trips, prices, or driver availability, and we expect the same tomorrow," an Uber spokesperson told Business Insider. Lyft announced last week that it would guarantee that drivers would make "70% or more of rider fares after external fees each week, according toUSA Today. Manhattan Venture Partners Head of Research Santosh Rao and Citizens JMP Securities Head Mark Lehmann says these events may create further headwinds for companies powered by the gig economy. "These services have become an intrinsic part of the transportation fabric of all the cities, I think everybody knows that," Rao told Yahoo Finance. "I think they will settle at some point. They need to maybe compromise, the costs will get pushed down, the insurance costs and all of that will come down." by Sarah Mahoney @mahoney_sarah, February 15, 2024 With the holiday season fast receding, its becoming clearer which retailers are struggling to hang on. Big Lots, the Body Shop, Express, and the Childrens Place -- all stalwarts of the American mall -- are the latest to make financing headlines. The Wall Street Journal reports that Express is scrambling to restructure debt and could file for bankruptcy in the coming weeks. With more than 600 stores, the company has some $280 million in debt. The fashion brand has underwhelmed consumers. In its most recent quarterly report, the company posted a 5% sales increase to $454.1 million. But sales fell 7% at Express and Up West, to $402 million, down from $434.1 million in the third quarter of 2022, with comparable sales declining 6%. Store sales sank 16%, while ecommerce revenues gained 10%. The company also owns Bonobos, with $52.1 million in sales for the quarter. advertisement advertisement The Childrens Place is also looking for help and is working with advisors and lenders to seek new financing and strategic alternatives. The company made that announcement last week after reporting that sales for the quarter are likely to reach between $454 million and $456 million, below its forecast. And it expects losses for the period to amount to between 8% and 9% of sales. Bloomberg reports that Big Lots is another retailer looking for outside financing following a period of declining sales and liquidity issues. And in a jolt from across the pond, the private-equity owner Aurelius has put the U.K. business of The Body Shop into administration, which is the Brits' way of saying bankruptcy. Aurelius is the companys third owner in seven years. It bought the chain just three months ago from Natura & Co., the Brazilian company that also owns Avon. Natura had been looking to unload The Body Shop, once one of retails most-admired brands, for several months. Taking this approach provides the stability, flexibility and security to find the best means of securing the future of The Body Shop and revitalizing this iconic British brand, the company says in a statement. The Body Shop remains guided by its ambition to be a modern, dynamic beauty brand, relevant to customers and able to compete for the long term. Creating a more nimble and financially stable U.K. business is an important step in achieving this. The U.K. business is still trading, with no change for customers. The company operates over 900 company-owned stores in 20 countries, with 1,600 franchised stores in 69 geographies. And a spokesperson for The Body Shop tells Marketing Daily all stores in North America are open as well. While British fans of the brand, who have long loved it for its cruelty-free products and sustainability commitments, fear the news will mean layoffs and closures, some observers think Aurelius will make sure it lives on, even in a scaled-back version. The Guardian quotes Andrew Pepper, a restructuring expert at ReSolve, who told the paper that Aurelius was likely slimming down the shops to create a right-sized business fit with an intensified ecommerce focus. What will they sell to the world if they dont have the flagship business? They still believe in the Englishness of it. The real value is in its global presence. BAKU, Azerbaijan, February 16. Prime Minister of Japan Fumio Kishida has sent a congratulatory letter to President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev on the occasion of his confident victory in the extraordinary presidential election, Trend reports. "Your Excellency, On behalf of the government and people of Japan, I would like to extend to you my sincere congratulations on your re-election as the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan. As a country playing a vital role in international energy security, Azerbaijan is also an owner of the key to stability and development in the region. The year 2022 marked the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between our countries. Since the establishment of diplomatic relations, inter-governmental dialogues, high-level visits, inter-parliamentary ties, as well as relations between local self-governing bodies in the regions, cooperation in the economic and environmental domains, and other areas are becoming more active. I am looking forward to cooperating with Your Excellency to further develop the important relations between Japan and Azerbaijan. From the bottom of my heart, I extend my wishes for prosperity to Azerbaijan and the Azerbaijani people", the letter says. by Erik Oster , February 15, 2024 advertisement advertisement While brewing conglomerates may have spent millions on advertising during the Kansas City Chiefs defeat of the San Francisco 49ers, none of these brands were the top seller in either city leading up to and on Super Bowl Sunday, with one citys top choice an alternative to the category on beers big day according to data from Total Wines & More on sales in each city from Feb. 8-11. In the home of Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs, fans were loyal to a local brewer, with Boulevard Brewing -- which opened in Kansas City in 1989 and was acquired by Flemish brewer Duvel Moortgat about 25 years later -- the top seller. Coors, a big Super Bowl advertiser -- including an extensive campaign leading up to the Big Game -- is notable as the only brew to reach the top 10 in both cities. The other big brewer advertiser, AB InBev, featured ads for Bud Light, Michelob Ultra and Budweiser, the first two of which did achieve top 10 status in Kansas City. Hometown 49ers fans favorite fell outside the category, with Cutwater Spirits outselling all brews and demonstrating the popularity of the canned cocktail category. The top three selling flavors in the city were Cutwater Tequila Lime Margarita, Cutwater Vodka Mule, and Cutwater Tiki Rum Mai Tai. Cutwater also made the list for Kansas City, at number five. In San Francisco, a canned cocktail bran, Buzzballz, also earned the number three spot, while another brand in the category -- VMC -- rounded out the list at number ten. The runner-up in San Francisco was a beer: Modelo, which surpassed Bud Light as the top-selling beer in the country for the first half of 2023. In Kansas City, the second best seller was outside the beer category, with fans reaching for Crown Royal Canadian Whisky. A whisky -- Jack Daniels -- also made San Franciscos list at number nine. Kansas City was by far the more beer-friendly of the two cities, with Yuengling, Michelob, Coors, Miller, Bud Light, and Busch also making the list of the citys 10 best sellers. In San Francisco, Coors and Corona made the citys top five list, in addition to Modelo, but no other beer brands cracked the top 10. Sierra Nevada and Bud Light rounded out San Franciscos list of top five best-selling beers for the occasion Here are the full lists of the top 15 sellers in each city from February 8-11, according to Total Wines & More: Kansas City: 1. Boulevard 2. Crown Royal 3. Yuengling 4. Michelob 5. Cutwater 6. Coors 7. Miller 8. Titos 9. Bud Light 10. Busch 11. Fireball 12. Kim Crawford 13. Kendall Jackson 14. Josh Cellars 15. Mom Water San Francisco 1. Cutwater 2. Modelo 3. Buzzballz 4. Coors 5. Corona 6.Titos 7. Duckhorn 8. Jameson 9. Jack Daniels 10. VMC 11. Don Julio 12. Josh Cellars 13. Sierra Nevada 14. White Claw 15. Bogle by Teresa Buyikian , February 15, 2024 Customers can get those claw crackers readyLobsterfest is back at Red Lobster. And this year a lucky few will get the chance to overindulge in the pricey crustation if they win the new Endless Lobster Experience contest. The contest is a new addition to Red Lobsters long-standing yearly Lobsterfest, when the chain highlights its namesake dishes. After the success of the contest in New York City last year, Red Lobster elected to roll out the promo to customers nationwide. Beginning Feb. 20, customer will have a chance to be one of the 150 winners of one complimentary seating to eat endlessamounts of lobster, with two sides and Cheddar Bay Biscuits. To enter, guests must check Red Lobster's social channels, which include Facebook, X, TikTok, and Instagram, to see when the online contest goes live. advertisement advertisement The Lobsterfest menu includes newly added Lobster and Shrimp Tacos and Lobster and Shrimp-Topped Sirloin, as well as the Lobster Lovers Dream, the Bar Harbor Lobster Bake and of course the Maine Lobster Tail Duo or a full Live Maine Lobster. Of course, the Endless Lobster Experience has its limits; per the company release ,Offer entitles one person to enjoy non-shareable all you can eat lobster during an in-restaurant dining experience that lasts a maximum of two hours, which will be fulfilled with up to a maximum of twelve 1 lb. live Maine lobsters followed by Maine lobster tails or Caribbean Rock lobster tails, with two sides; beverage, tax and gratuity not included. The dine-in only experience is subject to a reservation made at least seven days prior to dining. About Keratoprosthesis refers to both the implant itself and the surgical procedure used to implant the prosthesis. Implant: Keratoprosthesis implant is a fake cornea placed in the eye to replace a damaged or sick cornea. Typically, manufacturers make this device using materials such as clear plastic polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) or other biocompatible materials. The implant has a part for vision and a part for stability, sometimes with a tissue graft for integration. Surgical Procedure: Keratoprosthesis surgery is the surgical procedure used to implant the artificial corneal device into the eye. The surgeon removes the damaged or diseased cornea and securely implants the keratoprosthesis into place during the surgery. The surgery uses careful techniques to place and integrate the device well, while reducing the chance of problems(1 Trusted Source Keratoprosthesis Go to source). Different types of keratoprosthesis include: Boston Keratoprosthesis Boston Type I Keratoprosthesis: Comprising a clear plastic PMMA optic and back plate, often including a corneal graft, secured with a titanium locking ring. This type is typically used for severe corneal diseases or ocular surface disorders. Comprising a clear plastic PMMA optic and back plate, often including a corneal graft, secured with a titanium locking ring. This type is typically used for severe corneal diseases or ocular surface disorders. Boston Type II Keratoprosthesis: Similar to Type I but with a longer optic extending through the upper eyelid opening. It is indicated for severe cicatrizing ocular surface diseases. Osteo-Odonto-Keratoprosthesis (OOKP): This involves using a tooth as a support structure for the optic. The tooth is modified and implanted to support the artificial corneal device. OOKP is indicated for severe corneal diseases with inadequate posterior corneal support. AlphaCor Keratoprosthesis: A synthetic corneal device made of biocompatible hydrogel material that allows for tissue integration. It is used for patients unsuitable for traditional corneal transplantation. Fyodorov-Zuev Keratoprosthesis: Developed in Russia, this type is designed for easy implantation and indicated for visual rehabilitation for patients with severe corneal conditions leading to corneal blindness( Trusted Source Boston Type 1 Keratoprosthesis: Updated Perspectives Go to source Trusted Source Did You Know? The Boston Type I Keratoprosthesis emerges as the most prevalent keratoprosthesis device utilized in the United States. Clear plastic and titanium make up its composition, and it securely holds a corneal graft in place. Advertisement Some common indications for keratoprosthesis include: Multiple Failed Corneal Transplants (PKP): Patients who have experienced repeated failure of penetrating keratoplasties (PKPs) due to conditions like corneal graft rejection or vascularization may be candidates for keratoprosthesis. Severe Ocular Surface Diseases: Individuals with severe ocular surface disorders such as Stevens-Johnson syndrome, ocular cicatricial pemphigoid, aniridia, chemical injuries, and other conditions causing limbal stem cell deficiency may benefit from keratoprosthesis. Corneal Scarring and Opacity: Patients with extensive corneal scarring or opacity that impairs vision and cannot be effectively treated with conventional corneal transplantation may be considered for keratoprosthesis. Chronic Inflammation of the Eye: Conditions associated with chronic inflammation of the eye, such as autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis or scleritis, may necessitate keratoprosthesis in cases where inflammation compromises corneal integrity and function. Keratoconus: In advanced cases of keratoconus where traditional treatments like contact lenses or corneal collagen cross-linking are insufficient to improve vision, keratoprosthesis may be considered as an alternative option. Corneal Blindness: Patients with corneal blindness resulting from various etiologies, including trauma, infection, or congenital conditions, may undergo keratoprosthesis to restore vision and improve quality of life(3 Trusted Source Boston type | keratoprosthesis versus penetrating keratoplasty following a single failed corneal graft Go to source). Patient Selection Patients with a history of multiple failed penetrating keratoplasties (PKs) often constitute primary candidates for keratoprosthesis transplantation. Keratoprosthesis may be helpful for people with severe eye conditions. These conditions include keratitis or ocular surface diseases caused by limbal stem cell failure. Examples of such conditions are Stevens-Johnson syndrome, ocular cicatricial pemphigoid, aniridia, or chemical injuries. Keratoprosthesis Patient Management Keratoprosthesis patient management involves pre-operative evaluation, surgical planning, post-operative care, and long-term follow-up to optimize visual outcomes, monitor for complications, and address ocular surface health. Close collaboration between ophthalmologists, optometrists, and other healthcare providers is essential to ensure comprehensive and personalized care for keratoprosthesis patients(4 Trusted Source Boston type 1 keratoprosthesis from patient selection through postoperative management: a review for the keratoprosthetic surgeon Go to source). Advertisement The keratoprosthesis implantation procedure follows a meticulous series of steps to ensure optimal outcomes for patients. Pre-operative Preparation Before the surgery, thorough pre-operative assessments ascertain patient suitability and enable tailored treatment plans. These assessments include evaluating corneal integrity, ocular health, and systemic factors impacting surgery. Pre-operative Assessments: Corneal Topography and Pachymetry: Assess corneal shape and thickness. Ocular Surface Evaluation: Evaluate tear film quality, ocular surface integrity, and presence of inflammation. Systemic Evaluation: Assess patient's general health status and medication history. Surgical Technique Partial-thickness Trephination: The process starts by making a small hole in the cornea to place the keratoprosthesis. Utilization of specialized trephination tools ensures accurate and uniform corneal incisions. Corneal Resection: The surgeon carefully removes the patient's cornea with curved scissors to make space for the keratoprosthesis. Careful dissection minimizes trauma to surrounding tissues and facilitates optimal wound healing. Keratoprosthesis Implantation: Implant is carefully placed and secured onto the host tissue using sutures for stability and integration. Selection of suture materials and techniques depends on patient-specific factors and surgeon preference( Trusted Source Boston type 1 keratoprosthesis from patient selection through postoperative management: a review for the keratoprosthetic surgeon Go to source Trusted Source Advertisement Improved Visual Acuity: Keratoprosthesis can significantly improve visual acuity, especially in patients with severe corneal diseases or conditions that cannot be adequately corrected with glasses or contact lenses. Stabilization of Corneal Conditions: For patients with progressive corneal thinning or irregularities, keratoprosthesis can stabilize the cornea, preventing further deterioration of vision and potentially halting the progression of the underlying condition. Reduced Dependence on Visual Aids: Many patients who undergo keratoprosthesis find that they can reduce their reliance on visual aids such as glasses or contact lenses, leading to greater independence and improved quality of life. Enhanced Ocular Comfort: Keratoprosthesis can alleviate discomfort associated with severe corneal diseases, such as chronic pain, irritation, and light sensitivity, allowing patients to enjoy greater comfort and well-being. Expanded Treatment Options: For individuals who have exhausted traditional treatment options such as corneal transplantation or contact lenses, keratoprosthesis offers a viable alternative for restoring vision and improving ocular function. Long-Term Solution: Unlike some temporary treatments or interventions that may provide short-term relief, keratoprosthesis offers a durable, long-term solution for patients with irreversible corneal conditions, providing sustained improvement in vision and quality of life. Potential for Improved Social and Professional Engagement: By enhancing visual function and reducing the impact of corneal diseases on daily activities, keratoprosthesis can empower patients to engage more fully in social, professional, and recreational pursuits, leading to a more fulfilling and active lifestyle. Keratoprosthesis Outcomes Typical keratoprosthesis outcomes include improved visual acuity, enhanced ocular surface integrity, and restored ocular function in patients with severe corneal diseases or conditions. However, there are potential risks and complications associated with the procedure, including infection, inflammation, glaucoma, and retinal detachment, which may impact outcomes and require close monitoring and management. Infection: Bacterial, fungal, or viral infections can occur following keratoprosthesis surgery, leading to corneal inflammationpain, and potential vision loss if left untreated. Inflammation: Post-operative inflammation may occur as the body's response to surgery, causing discomfort, redness, and swelling in the eye. Prolonged inflammation can contribute to other complications and hinder visual recovery. Glaucoma: Elevated intraocular pressure (IOP) can develop after keratoprosthesis surgery, leading to optic nerve damage and irreversible vision loss if not managed promptly. Glaucoma monitoring and treatment are essential to preserve vision. Retinal Detachment: Retinal detachment, characterized by the separation of the retina from its underlying tissue, is a severe complication that can occur after keratoprosthesis surgery. Symptoms include sudden flashes of light, floaters, and vision loss, requiring urgent intervention to prevent permanent vision impairment. Corneal Melting: Corneal melting, or the breakdown of corneal tissue, can occur due to various factors such as infection, inflammation, or tissue necrosis. Corneal melting compromises the integrity of the cornea and may lead to device extrusion or displacement if not addressed promptly. Device Extrusion or Displacement: Improper wound healing or mechanical factors can contribute to the extrusion or displacement of the keratoprosthesis device. This complication requires surgical intervention to reposition or replace the device and restore ocular function. Keratoprosthesis and keratoplasty are both surgeries that help people with problems in their corneas. Here's a simple breakdown of each: Keratoplasty: This is like a corneal transplant. It's when a surgeon removes the damaged or diseased part of the cornea.A healthy cornea from a donor replaces it. It's like replacing a broken piece of glass with a new one. Keratoplasty helps improve vision and eye health for people with issues like corneal scars or thinning. Keratoprosthesis: This is a bit different. Instead of using a donor cornea, a keratoprosthesis surgery involves placing an artificial cornea into the eye. It's like putting in a small, clear window to help people see better when their cornea can't be fixed with a regular transplant. This procedure is usually for people who can't have a regular corneal transplant or have had problems with them in the past. As technology evolves, so does the landscape of keratoprosthesis. Advancements aim to enhance efficacy, durability, and patient outcomes. The Boston Type II Keratoprosthesis The Boston Type II Keratoprosthesis is an improved version of the Boston Type I. It has a longer optic that goes through a hole in the upper eyelid. This modification facilitates its utility in managing the most severe cicatrizing ocular surface diseases. Latest Novel Device for keratoprosthesis The latest novel device for keratoprosthesis implantation incorporate advancements in materials, design, and surgical techniques to enhance safety, efficacy, and long-term outcomes. These devices may offer improved biocompatibility, tissue integration, and stability compared to traditional methods, potentially leading to better visual outcomes and reduced complications. Summary To summarize, advancements in keratoprosthesis (Kpro) implantations have significantly expanded treatment options for individuals grappling with complex corneal conditions such as autoimmune diseases and corneal melt. The evolution of surgical techniques, including the innovative osteo-odonto-keratoprosthesis (OOKP), has paved the way for enhanced visual rehabilitation and restored vision in patients where traditional methods may have fallen short. Clinical trials, supported by organizations like the American Academy of Ophthalmology, continue to explore novel approaches to improve vision outcomes and mitigate complications such as retinal detachments. Through the judicious use of topical antibiotics, eye drops, and even soft contact lenses, the landscape of ophthalmic care is continuously evolving to offer hope and tangible solutions for those facing the challenges of severe corneal diseases. Aditya Narayan became the talk of the town after a video of him throwing a fans phone at his concert went viral on social media. Aditya was getting brutally trolled after the video, but recently, the event manager issued statements and clarifications regarding the incident and told what actually happened. In an exclusive conversation with Times Now, the event manager said, That boy was not even a college student, he must be someone from outside the college. He was constantly dragging Aditya's feet nonstop. He was very irritating. He banged his phone on Aditya's feet multiple times. After that only did he lose his cool. He must have taken almost 200 selfies with this student. The whole concert went smoothly apart from this. After this incident, the show went on for almost two hours. If the student was right, he would have come forward." The manager further added, Even Darshan Raval stopped doing such college events because these kinds of activities keep happening in every city. People don't know the truth behind everything. You just see one side. He kept continuously hitting and dragging Aditya, what if he had fallen down? If this boy was right, he would have come forward and told the college authorities that this has happened to him. I have been connected with the college since many years and they haven't had a good concert like this one ever. They have said so themselves." BAKU, Azerbaijan, February 16. Israeli President Isaac Herzog has sent a congratulatory letter to President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev on the occasion of his victory in the early presidential election, Trend reports. "Your Excellency, It is my sincere pleasure to share my congratulations to you on the occasion of your re-election to continue serving your people as President of Azerbaijan. Under your leadership, Azerbaijan has built and sustained two decades of stability, economic development, and religious freedoms. I am certain that your re-election will continue to ensure a bright future of prosperity for your nation. The State of Israel deeply values its relationship with the Republic of Azerbaijan. Our bilateral ties provide vital economic, security, and political benefits, and we are committed to this robust and ongoing partnership. I am personally thankful for the opportunity to work with you to further build and enhance the bonds between Azerbaijan and Israel. I will remain ever grateful and humbled by warm and moving hospitality that you showed Michal and myself during our visit to your beautiful nation last year. I look forward to working with you to continue deepening the ties between our nations, as we strive to promote our mutual interests in the years to come", the letter says. A former recruit filed a federal legal complaint against the Marine Corps on Thursday after her recruiter -- who self-published a memoir detailing some of his own misconduct -- allegedly sexually abused her. Gunnery Sgt. Christopher Champagne, 36, is currently under investigation by the service after he wrote a now-retracted book detailing an inappropriate relationship with the recruit, actions that the alleged victim's family previously described to Military.com as grooming, threatening and abusive. Champagne was assigned to a Fort Worth, Texas, recruiting station before being pulled from recruiting duty. The alleged abuse against the then-17-year-old plaintiff occurred over the span of more than a year, according to the complaint, and included sexual assault, monitoring the recruit's phone activity, plying her with alcohol, and manipulating her interactions with peers in an attempt to isolate her. Read Next: 250,000 VA Patients Are at Risk of Receiving Wrong Medication Due to Electronic Health Records Issue The complaint, which was filed under a provision that allows individuals to sue the military, alleges that the service knew Champagne had a "history of sexual abuse" and was violating Marine Corps policy. The complaint was shared with Military.com on Thursday by Sanford Heisler Sharp, the law firm representing the alleged victim. Military.com reported in November that Champagne was under investigation by the military. Later that month, it reported that he was still contacting the family despite them being told a military protective order was in place against him. The complaint filed Thursday said that the alleged abuse was "entirely preventable" and that the Corps was negligent in its handling of Champagne. The history of sexual abuse that the complaint is referring to was allegedly against Champagne's ex-wife, something the attorneys argued the Marine Corps knew about but ignored. The Naval Criminal Investigative Service was also unresponsive to the recruit's concerns when she asked for help or forwarded evidence of Champagne's alleged abuse -- something she said she did more than a dozen times, the legal complaint alleges. "My client was looking forward to spending her life serving her country as a Marine. But her faith in the Marines has been shattered because she was sexually abused by her recruiter -- someone she thought she could trust," said Christine Dunn, the lawyer representing the alleged victim known as "Jane Doe" in the complaint. "The Marines had a duty to take reasonable measures to protect our client and recruits coming into its facility," Dunn said in a released statement Thursday. "We believe that the Marines knew Gunnery Sgt. Champagne had a history of sexual assault but nonetheless allowed him to oversee teenaged recruits. Because of the Marines' negligence, my client was harmed." Military.com contacted the Marine Corps and Champagne on Thursday, but did not immediately hear back by publication. Champagne has previously denied allegations against him. He was removed from his recruiting role in November, but remained on active duty at that time. A spokesperson for NCIS would not comment on the complaint, but told Military.com on Thursday that the agency "takes allegations of sexual assault very seriously and is conducting a thorough investigation. Out of respect for the investigative process, NCIS will not comment further while the investigation remains ongoing." Dunn told Military.com in an interview Thursday that the complaint, which was filed under the Federal Tort Claims Act, could take up to a year. She said that it is now the Marine Corps' obligation to investigate the claims and that the allegations outlined in the complaint are "egregious." "Jane Doe" alleges that Champagne would pull her into his recruiting office alone while other recruiters looked on, to include an instance where she exited his private car in front of other noncommissioned officers. Doe was a "poolee" at the time, meaning that she was recruited but hadn't started official training yet. By January 2023, the alleged victim said that she became sick, was losing weight and not sleeping well "as Mr. Champagne strengthened his grip on my life." She said that he visited the shop where she worked, would have "violent outbursts," tracked her phone, prevented her from interacting with other recruits, and monitored how much she ate. The complaint alleges that Champagne sexually assaulted the recruit in May. "I told him I was uninterested in sex, tired of fighting, and wanted to go to bed alone," the complaint said. "I fell asleep quickly, then woke up to find him on top of me, fully penetrating me. I yelled at him to stop and tried to push him away. He resisted, and I fought again. He eventually stopped and pulled away. I was extremely distraught that he had sexually violated me even after I said no." When the recruit attempted to cut Champagne out of her life, the complaint said that he texted her pictures of pill bottles, threatening to kill himself and told her she was the reason for his impending suicide. The complaint alleges that he continued to message her from burner Snapchat accounts, some of which Military.com has previously reported on -- activity that attorneys described as stalking. "He posed a danger, and the military knew that and they still allowed him to be in the presence of these teenage recruits," Dunn said. The alleged abuse occurred in Texas. The plaintiff's family became aware of the alleged abusive relationship only when Champagne showed up to their house mid-summer, prompting her parents to call the police because they felt threatened. According to the complaint, NCIS has started an investigation and enacted a military protective order against Champagne, which he then allegedly broke by contacting the poolee. Despite opening an investigation, she said that NCIS did not respond to her, even when she told them he was writing a book about her and after she called an agent assigned to her case several times. "During this time, I was contacted by NCIS personnel who each time asked me if I felt 'safe with my spouse,'" the complaint said. "I told each person that I was not married, nor did I live with Mr. Champagne, yet they continued to be confused and incorrect about the facts of my case." A spokesperson for Champagne's unit would not answer questions about Champagne's current status or whether he had been charged, but confirmed that the investigation into him is ongoing. The alleged victim is seeking $5 million in damages from the Marine Corps. The Federal Torts Claims Act allows individuals to bring a complaint against the government for "torts," or wrongful acts, committed by its employees. Before filing a complaint in court, the individual must file the complaint with the at-fault agency -- in this case, the Marine Corps, Navy and Pentagon. The agency must then investigate the claim and has six months to do so before an individual can file a lawsuit in federal court. "We really believe that the Marines need to take responsibility for their actions here and to be held accountable when they knew that he was a danger and still allowed him to be on their premises," Dunn said. Related: A Marine Recruiter's 'Grooming' of a Teenage Recruit Led to an Investigation. The Family Says He's Still Terrorizing Them. BILLINGS, Mont. An Air Force nuclear missile base in central Montana was locked down by authorities for about two hours on Thursday after an active shooter report sowed confusion and prompted officials to issue a shelter-in-place advisory for nearby schools. No shots were fired and nobody was injured at Malmstrom Air Force Base in Great Falls, the base said as it lifted the lockdown in a statement posted to social media. A suspicious person on the base had been reported as an active shooter, officials said. Malmstrom had just begun a scheduled training exercise an active shooter response drill when the report came in of a real active shooter at another location on base, said Malmstrom spokesperson Staff Sgt. Trevor Rhynes. Base officials directed people to stay away from a building where they said the "suspected real world threat" was reported at about 10:30 a.m. The Great Falls Police Department said it was providing security and support in the area of the base and nearby schools due to an incident that may be occurring" at Malmstrom. An advisory to shelter in place was announced for schools in the surrounding community. Police recommended private schools and daycare also shelter in place. The lockdown was lifted about two hours later. The base community had been notified Tuesday that the active shooter response drill would take place Thursday, but a time was not publicized, a U.S. defense official said on the condition of anonymity to provide details that had not yet been made public. Military bases routinely conduct security training exercises. In 2017, Travis Air Force Base in California was locked down for more than an hour in response to a mistaken report of a shooter during an emergency training exercise, officials said at the time. Malmstrom has about 4,000 active duty military and civilian personnel. It's one of three bases in the U.S. that operates and secures vast fields of Minuteman III Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles. The missiles housed in silos scattered across Montana are tightly guarded by security forces, including troops in armored vehicles and snipers guarding from helicopters and towers to protect each movement of a warhead. The base conducts regular drills where its forces enact a security breach and train on how to reestablish control of a breached facility. ___ Hanson reported from Helena, Montana. Associated Press journalist Tara Copp contributed from Washington, D.C. SAN DIEGO - An annual Navy survey of sailors shows that, while the service is making progress on improving its culture, stress for the rank and file is continuing to grow. The data, released Thursday, shows that more than one-third of sailors surveyed reported feeling severe or extreme levels of stress in 2023. The problem appears to be getting only worse. In 2019, only 26% of sailors surveyed had the same stress levels. In a statement released alongside the report, the Navy acknowledged that "sailor well-being continues to be an area of concern" and that the overall satisfaction with the work-life balance sailors experience in general "continues to be suboptimal." Read Next: 250,000 VA Patients Are at Risk of Receiving Wrong Medication Due to Electronic Health Records Issue A Navy official told Military.com that "senior Navy leaders are encouraged by a lot of the results from the 2023 Health of the Force Survey, such as improved morale, trust, culture and protective factors, but remain cognizant that there is still work to do in providing sailors the tools needed to better manage stress and burnout." The official added that "initiatives in 2024 will help to directly address these issues." Navy leaders have begun to talk more frequently and openly about the need to improve sailors' quality of life in the past several months. The survey, which began in 2019, randomly taps thousands of sailors across the fleet and in various ranks to answer questions about their experience in the Navy. The 2023 survey had 19,380 participants. The data shows that junior enlisted -- sailors between the ranks of E-1 and E-6 -- are bearing the brunt of the stress. In 2023, more than 40% of that group reported severe or extreme stress levels. In contrast, only 30% of junior officers and 27% of senior officers felt the same way. "Since 2019, inadequate manning has topped the list of reasons for heightened stress levels," the report said. The Navy's top personnel officer, Vice Adm. Rick Cheeseman, told reporters in January that the service is short about 22,000 junior sailors at sea. That figure is driven in large part by several years ofrecruitment struggles that are not unique to the Navy. However, the Navy managed to attract only 30,236 recruits, falling nearly 20% short of its goal of 37,700 sailors. It also recruited only 2,080 officers, almost 18% short of its 2,532 officer goal. Alongside the rising stress levels in the fleet, the survey also found that burnout -- sailors being exhausted and disengaged from their jobs -- is a significant problem. Between 2019 and 2021, the number of sailors reporting high levels of burnout went from 20% to 28%. In this latest survey, the total dipped slightly to 27%. "Consistent with the results for stress, results indicate that E-1 through E-6 are most likely to have high levels of burnout," the report said. A Navy official told Military.com that the data showed that leadership was less of a causal factor for stress and burnout than in previous years, falling from the fourth-highest reason cited in 2019 to sixth in 2023. When sailors were asked about the morale at their command, most didn't describe it as high or very high. Instead, the vast majority of sailors -- 60% -- said morale was moderate or low. Also, 13% of sailors said morale at their unit was very low. The morale figures are a slight improvement over 2021, though, when the Navy was dealing with the strains and stresses of the COVID-19 pandemic. Another detail revealed in the survey was a disconnect between leadership and the junior enlisted. In 2023, only 22% of the participating E-1 through E-6 sailors said their command morale was high. In contrast, 41% of the senior enlisted sailors and 50% of participating O-4 through O-6 officers -- the group that would include most of the Navy's ship commanders -- said morale was high. Meanwhile, the Navy has managed to make progress on the culture of the fleet, and the data shows that most sailors have trust in the enlisted and senior leadership at their individual commands. "A majority of both male and female participants, across all grades, agree that they trust their commanding officer (CO) to do the right thing," the report said. The number of sailors who agree with the statement that racism is not a problem in the Navy has steadily grown across the years, though in 2023 only 17% of Black sailors agreed with that sentiment. The Navy also made inroads with women on sexism. In 2023, 13% of women agreed that sexism wasn't a problem in the Navy, up from only 9% in 2022. The Navy's statement noted that those data points are "initial signs of improvement," but added that additional work is needed. The statement also highlighted the fact that the number of junior enlisted and officers planning to remain in the Navy until retirement "rebounded from 37% and 35% in 2022 to 44% and 40% in 2023, respectively." The report noted that sailors who were unsure about making the Navy a career "most commonly cited influences to leave include civilian career opportunities, salary, difficulty balancing work and their personal life, a desire to focus on the family, and the climate at their current command." Related: The Navy's Personnel Boss Is Confident Data Can Fix the Service's Recruiting Woes Amid a growing push by Navy leaders to improve the lives and conditions for sailors, the sea service's installation command is building four new child-care facilities and has plans for 12 more over the next several years. A spokeswoman for the Navy Installation Command told Military.com that the Navy has four centers currently under construction -- one near the base in Kitsap, Washington, another near a base in San Diego, and two others around Norfolk, Virginia. All told, these represent the ability to look after nearly 1,000 more children. Part of the aim behind the new facilities is to drive down the lengthy wait times that many service members encounter when attempting to enroll their children. However, officials also say that one of the key challenges for them is finding the staff to run the centers, as well. Read Next: New York Guardsmen Accused of Sexually Exploiting Asylum Seekers Housed in Hotel Dr. Janet Hooten, the regional program manager for the child-care centers in the Navy's southwest region, told Military.com in an interview Tuesday that the wait in her area can be anywhere from 6-18 months for a spot. Hooten oversees an area that includes all of California and Nevada -- states that are home to some of the Navy's largest concentrations, including the many bases around San Diego and the air base in Fallon, Nevada. Seven construction projects are in her area alone. One reason for the growing demand, according to Hooten, is the increase in two-income households. Other nationwide trends, such as the ever-rising number of single-parent households may also play a role. "We would like to meet child-care needs within 30 to 60 days of the date care needed," Hooten explained. The Navy recently opened two child-care centers at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in California that, together, can look after around 450 children. However, Hooten said she is struggling to fill the centers with staff and retain the employees that she has. "We're probably around 73% staffed after COVID," Hooten said, referring to the pandemic that closed many public facilities and shook up the U.S. economy. "Child care is in the top 50 most needed jobs, but it's not in the top 50 most desirable. "It's not just the military; it's outside the fence line ... it's a nationwide shortage of child-care workers," she added. Hooten says that they are working on giving their employees -- whom she notes only need a high school diploma -- a pay bump from the starting salary of $21 an hour. After six months of training and experience, it rises to $23.69 an hour. The job also has perks built in to attract military spouses. Hooten explained that they offer discounts and priority child placement for employees as well as transfers so spouses can keep working even after the service member is transferred to a new location. However, those programs are only Navy to Navy right now. There's no way for someone working at a Navy center to transfer to an Air Force or Army facility. The result, Hooten says, is that she estimates around a third of her workforce are military spouses. A 2021 independent survey of military families found that 78% said finding child care was "very difficult or difficult in the past two years." The efforts to make child care more accessible and predictable go beyond just the immediate concerns of parents. Sailors say that they see the issue as a key factor in their choices to stay in the service or get out, and Navy leaders have been aware of this for years. In a recently released survey of the force, sailors who said they were either unsure about their career plans or only committed to staying in the Navy for now noted both "difficulty balancing work and their personal life, a desire to focus on the family" as things that affected that decision. Other branches, such as the Army, have also started to work on beefing up child-care options in an effort to get more recruits or keep soldiers in uniform. Related: Navy Survey Shows Continued Problems with Stress, Burnout Among Sailors, But Progress on Culture U.S. Sens. Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy introduced bipartisan legislation Thursday on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., that the two Connecticut Democrats say will help protect survivors of sexual assault and harassment in the United States Coast Guard, including cadets at the academy. They were joined by U.S. Sens. Ron Johnson, R- Wis., Marsha Blackburn, R- Tenn., Tammy Baldwin, D- Wis., and Katie Britt, R- Ala., in introducing the legislation. The legislation, known as the Coast Guard Academy Safe-to-Report Act, requires that the Coast Guard implement and enforce a safe-to-report policy. Under the policy, which the Coast Guard voluntarily established last week, sexual abuse victims in its ranks can no longer be punished for certain minor infractions to the Uniform Code of Military Justice which previously punished offenses like drinking and violating curfew even when reporting sexual abuse cases. Blumenthal said that under the previous rules, survivors were "understandably afraid" to be punished for reporting sexual misconduct. "This legislation holds the Coast Guard Academy accountable by enshrining safe-to-report policies and ensuring proper protections," he said. "We are sounding a call to action," he added. " Coast Guard survivors of sexual assault and harassment need and deserve safeguards long overdue protections when they come forward against their attackers." He said recent history shows how at risk Coast Guard members are to sexual harassment and assault. That history was uncovered in large part last summer, when cable news network CNN revealed the existence of the Coast Guard report "Operation Fouled Anchor," which now-retired Adm. Karl Schultz had covered up. The report detailed decades of rapes and sexual assaults at the academy in New London. "The Coast Guard Academy spent decades covering up its history of harassment and sexual misconduct," said Murphy. "And it's devastating to think of how many more incidents were unreported for fear of punishment for minor misconduct like breaking curfew or underage drinking." He said cadets and midshipmen at every other military academy are already protected by a similar "safe-to-report" policy, and Coast Guard members deserve those same protections. Other military services were required to implement similar policies in the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act. Meanwhile, U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney, D- 2nd District, last August introduced complementary legislation, the Coast Guard Academy Safe-to-Report Parity Act, to ensure fair treatment between Coast Guard cadets and their military counterparts. "I am pleased that Sens. Blumenthal and Murphy have joined me in this effort and applaud the Coast Guard for voluntarily adopting the Safe to Report policy," said Courtney, adding he would continue to lead efforts in Congress that ensure protection of cadets. Additionally, Blumenthal and U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, R- Wis., chair and ranking member of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations have opened an inquiry into the Coast Guard's mishandling of sexual assault investigations and its failure to disclose the results of its sexual assault investigation to Congress or the public. In December, the subcommittee held a hearing with current and former cadets who experienced sexual assault, harassment or retaliation at the academy. Blumenthal has scheduled a news conference for Friday morning in which he is expected to demand answers from the Coast Guard after new documents released this week revealed what his office called "troubling information about the Coast Guard's mishandling of Operation Fouled Anchor." ___ (c)2024 The Day (New London, Conn.) Visit The Day (New London, Conn.) at www.theday.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. BAKU, Azerbaijan, February 16. President of the State of Israel Isaac Herzog has congratulated President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev on his resounding victory in the snap presidential election, Trend reports. Under your leadership, Azerbaijan has built and sustained two decades of stability, economic development, and religious freedoms. I am certain that your re-election will continue to ensure a bright future of prosperity for your nation. The State of Israel deeply values its relationship with the Republic of Azerbaijan. Our bilateral ties provide vital economic, security, and political benefits, and we are committed to this robust and ongoing partnership, the President of the State of Israel said in his message. I am personally thankful for the opportunity to work with you to further build and enhance the bonds between Azerbaijan and Israel. I will remain ever grateful and humbled by warm and moving hospitality that you showed Michal and myself during our visit to your beautiful nation last year. I look forward to working with you to continue deepening the ties between our nations, as we strive to promote our mutual interests in the years to come, President Isaac Herzog emphasized. A federal lawsuit accuses at least five New York National Guardsmen and public contract workers of sexually exploiting asylum seekers. Seven migrants allege numerous incidents of sexual exploitation at a Quality Inn in Cheektowaga, outside of Buffalo -- part of the state's effort to house a flood of asylum seekers coming into the country as traditional shelters have hit their breaking point. The suit, filed on Feb. 8 on behalf of three migrants and four government subcontractors, described at least six Guardsmen -- alongside DocGo contractors, the New York-based humanitarian contractor hired to handle much of the influx of immigrants -- as setting an environment of intimidation and coercion. Migrants, including teens, were sometimes taken away from the hotel and expected to give sexual favors, and in some cases, troops tried to start romantic relationships with them, the lawsuit alleges. Read Next: Sex Offenses for 3 Senior Army Officers End with Plea Deals and Reprimands "The guests were (and remain) particularly vulnerable, given their uncertain immigration status, lack of mobility, need of basic supplies, and other needs," the suit says. "Even a trip to a Walmart was considered a great gift." The suit mostly centers on Sgt. Deven Colon, a religious affairs specialist with 2nd Squadron, 101st Cavalry Regiment, the only named Guardsman. It is noted he was the highest-ranking Guardsman on duty at the hotel. It alleges he had inappropriate relations with an asylum seeker, which included him buying her gifts, making sexual comments and taking her to his home and other locations he referred to as "dates." He allegedly told the woman he had authority to help her out and that he would help get her and her children a house, and support them. On one occasion, he allegedly arranged for transportation of the woman and her children to a rental property two hours away, and coordinated with other Guardsmen to sneak the family to his car to drive away from the hotel, the suit claims. Once there, he allegedly "demanded" sexual favors, which the suit says she reluctantly agreed to. Colon did not immediately respond to a request for comment. It is unclear whether he has hired an attorney. The next day, the lawsuit alleges that Colon had remorse, begging the woman to keep their encounter a secret, texting her, "I am just so lost and I need to find myself again. I don't recognize the man I have become in these last few months." Colon allegedly took at least one other woman and her children away from the hotel where he massaged the mother's shoulders and later flirted with the teenage daughter, texting her saying he thought she was attractive. One teenager was also allegedly groped by another Guardsman, whom she ran away from. Children were warned to stay away from the Guardsman, who is only identified as "Thomas" in the suit. "The Division of Military and Naval Affairs takes all allegations of misconduct regarding our personnel very seriously and -- if allegations are substantiated following an investigation -- can result in adverse administrative and/or disciplinary actions pursuant to regulation and New York State Military Law," Eric Durr, a New York National Guard spokesperson, said in a statement to Military.com. "Criminal activities are referred to law enforcement for appropriate action." It was unclear as of Friday if Colon or any of the Guardsmen were facing administrative or judicial punishment. Durr declined to comment on whether those troops are still part of the mission that involves 2,100 troops on state active duty, or SAD -- meaning it's a state mission run by the governor. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul deployed the Guard to assist with the ongoing migrant crisis in the state. About 175,000 asylum seekers, many from Venezuela, are pushing government services to their limit. Related: Former Poolee Files Legal Complaint Against Marine Corps over Recruiter's Alleged Sexual Assault and Abuse WASHINGTON Donald Trump is considering scaled-back commitments to some NATO members and a push for Ukraine to negotiate an end to the war with Russia if he returns to power next year, according to people familiar with the matter. Among possible moves in a second term, Trump allies have discussed essentially a two-tiered NATO alliance, where Article 5 which requires common defense of any member under attack would apply only to nations that hit defense-spending goals, according to the people, who asked not to be identified and cautioned that no policy decisions have been finalized. Others are advocating new tariffs on laggard countries, they said. Trump advisers have also discussed getting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin around a negotiating table early in a potential second term, according to the people. The initiatives, if pursued, would upend decades of U.S. policy, fracturing a defense alliance that has shaped European security since the Cold War and worrying allies in Asia about Washingtons commitment to counter China. One adviser to Trump said the promise of severing U.S. military aid could help get Ukraine to the negotiating table, while the threat of increased U.S. assistance could prompt Russia. Advisers including Larry Kudlow and Robert OBrien have also publicly pushed for tougher sanctions on Russias central bank to sway Putin. The people added that the Trump campaign is not currently in talks with Russian or Ukrainian intermediaries, partly because that would likely run afoul of the Logan Act, a U.S. law that prohibits private entities from negotiating on behalf of the government. Trumps tense relationship as president with NATO reemerged this week when he recalled telling one member country that hed let Russia do whatever the hell they want if it didnt hit the blocs defense spending targets. President Joe Biden and allies in Europe condemned the warning, which people familiar with the situation said was a reference to conversations with Germanys former leader Angela Merkel. During his term, Trump pushed NATO countries to reach their defense spending targets of at least 2% of gross domestic product, a level 18 out of 31 members are expected to hit this year. President Trump got our allies to increase their NATO spending by demanding they pay up, but Joe Biden went back to letting them take advantage of the American taxpayer, Jason Miller, a senior adviser to Trump, said in a response to questions, adding that the former president never actually moved to dismantle the alliance during his term. Amid wars in the Middle East and Europe and intractable tensions with Beijing over Taiwan, Trump is poised to influence U.S. foreign policy from the sidelines in ways never before seen in modern presidential politics. That has left U.S. allies bracing for his possible return and his supporters in Congress trying to dodge his wrath. As the war in Ukraine nears its two-year mark, Trump has already sunk the chances of a U.S. aid bill clearing Congress this week, with Republican leaders in the House heeding his calls to reject it despite enough bipartisan votes. Hes not negotiating with other countries or making foreign policy, said Emma Ashford, senior fellow at the Stimson Center. But theyre reacting to the potential for him to make changes if hes elected. While the most immediate impact of a Trump return would be felt in Europe, a shift in Washingtons stance on Ukraine would likely be seen as a signal to Beijing over Taiwan, another strategic partner seen by the U.S. as threatened by a bigger neighbor. Beijing recently suggested Trump may abandon Taiwan if hes back in office. The U.S. will always pursue America first, and Taiwan can change from a chess piece to a discarded chess piece at any time, Chen Binhua, spokesman for the office in Beijing that handles Taiwan matters, said Jan. 31. He was responding to a question about Trump comments in July, in which he avoided answering whether he would defend Taiwan if China attacked and complained that the island took Americas semiconductor business. The U.S. ambassador to NATO, Julianne Smith, drew a direct link between action on Ukraine and China. Putin must understand that Western support is not waning, that he cannot, unprovoked, attack another country and infringe on their sovereignty, she said in a Bloomberg Television interview. This is a message we need to send to Putin but also other countries around the world including China, she said. Merkels successor in Germany, Chancellor Olaf Scholz, said this week that Germany will meet the alliances spending goal this year, a target his country set after Russias invasion of Ukraine. Before the shock of the war, Merkel struggled to explain to Trump that military spending at that level was politically unfeasible. During his presidency, Trump berated the former German chancellor over the issue in multiple conversations, according to people familiar with those interactions. Over the course of those talks, the former president suggested to Merkel he would not be responsible for what happened if Germany failed to pay, one of the people said. He ended another by hanging up on her. The Germans have a budget surplus and yet refused to pay their 2% NATO obligation, Richard Grenell, Trumps ambassador to Germany, recalled of that period in an interview. When you dont pay, youre the country undermining NATO. (With assistance from Annmarie Hordern, Arne Delfs, John Follain, Mackenzie Hawkins and Nick Wadhams.) ___ 2024 Bloomberg L.P. Visit bloomberg.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. The national security of the United States is currently imperiled by a new threat from Russia, according to the White House: a "troubling" emerging, anti-satellite weapon that, while ostensibly incapable of "physical destruction" on the ground, could severely disrupt U.S. military and civilian operations in outer space. Some U.S. government officials suspect the system may be nuclear, a prospect that raises concerns that the Russian government could not only disable strategic satellites in orbit, but, in turn, deal a major blow to the U.S. economy by degrading both government and civilian space-based operations. The threat is apparently so dire that lawmakers in Congress are sounding alarm bells to the public. Luckily, the U.S. military has a relatively simple countermeasure in place to deal with space-based weapons: just send up a fighter jet to blow the damn thing out of the sky. After all, the Air Force had done it before -- once. A F-15 fighter jet piloted by then-Maj. Wilbert 'Doug' Pearson Jr. flies an ASM-135 anti-satellite missile on Sept. 13, 1985. (Paul E. Reynolds/U.S. Air Force photo) In 1985, as the Cold War was winding down, the U.S. military found itself with a relatively new problem. The Soviet Union had developed a "robust" ability to launch small satellites into orbit that could keep track of U.S. Navy warships at sea, a capability that diminished the Pentagon's ability to suddenly project power at any shore in the world without significant risk of detection, according to Maj. Gen. Wilbert "Doug" Pearson Jr. (ret.), the one and only Air Force pilot to ever shoot down a satellite in orbit above the planet. The U.S. military had been pursuing anti-satellite weapons since the dawn of the space race with the launch of the Soviet satellite Sputnik 1 in 1957, especially as fears of Russian space nukes grew at the height of the Cold War. According to Smithsonian magazine, previous efforts to develop anti-satellite weapons included air-launched ballistic missiles as well as "adapted versions" of the ground-launched, anti-ballistic missiles system, among others. None of those efforts proved viable solutions, although a fast-moving aircraft appeared the most likely platform to deliver a kill vehicle to an adversary's satellite. "Earlier programs identified how absolutely difficult it was to hit a satellite with another object, because things in space, in order to be in orbit around the Earth, have to move at very high velocities, and hitting something at very high velocities is very difficult," Pearson told Task & Purpose of his miraculous space kill in a 2020 interview. In response to the Soviet Union's rapid development of "co-orbital" anti-satellite weapons in the late 1970s -- weapons "designed to reach orbit, sync up with their targets and detonate, sending shrapnel out to destroy enemy satellites," per Smithsonian -- the Carter administration launched a weapons program that would lead to the development of the ASM-135 missile, the very system that Pearson would use to eventually take out a satellite in orbit. The underlying concept of the ASM-135 was simple: An aircraft would launch a two-stage missile at altitude that would then release an autonomous "Miniature Homing Vehicle" that would then impact an enemy satellite, breaking it into pieces at velocities reaching thousands of miles per hour. By the early 1980s, Pearson was commander of the F-15 Anti-Satellite Combined Test Force out of Edwards Air Force Base in California. When the time came to test the ASM-135, the F-15 was the logical choice for a delivery vehicle. At the time, the twin-engine fighter jet "was the real racehorse of the fighter community," as Pearson put it in his 2020 interview. "It was big enough and powerful enough that it could carry a fairly large missile on the centerline. So it was the perfect choice. And it had good navigation capabilities, very reliable, and it could operate from many bases along the East or West coast." After five successful test launches of the ASM-135 missile from an F-15, Pearson's team decided that the time had come to test the system on a real-world satellite target. The team chose the Solwind P78-1 satellite, a solar observation platform that had been orbiting the planet at an altitude of around 325 miles since it was launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base in 1979. The day of the launch came down to Sept. 13, 1985. After rendezvousing with a refueling tanker about 200 miles from Vandenberg AFB, Pearson finally moved into position at an altitude of 30,000 feet to launch the ASM-135 at the Solwind satellite, which was moving at a speed of around 17,500 mph some 300 miles above Pearson's aircraft. According to Smithsonian, Pearson "lit the afterburners, accelerated the airplane to Mach 1.3, and pulled into a 60-degree climb" before hitting his aircraft's "pickle button" and launching the missile toward its target. The ASM-135 missile quickly accelerated to 13,000 feet per second, streaking off into the distance. Because he couldn't get visual confirmation of impact with the Solwind satellite, Pearson keyed his microphone to talk to the Air Force team on the ground at Vandenberg AFB, but his friend SCott on the ground "couldn't get a word out because all the screaming and yelling at the control room totally overrode him," as Pearson recalled in his 2020 interview. "Thirty-five years ago, hitting a bullet with a bullet seemed impossible to many people," Pearson told Smithsonian. "The F-15 ASAT program clearly demonstrated one high-speed object -- faster than a speeding bullet -- could be guided to a precise impact on another, even faster object." Retired Maj. Gen. Doug Pearson (left) and his son, Capt. Todd Pearson, joke with one another on Sept. 13, 2007, prior to Capt. Pearson taking off on the Celestial Eagle remembrance flight at Homestead Air Reserve Base, Fla. (Erik Hogmeyer/U.S. Air Force photo) Despite his successful shootdown of a satellite in orbit, Pearson's glory was short-lived: The ASM-135 program only conducted two additional test flights before lawmakers in Congress slashed the effort's funding the following year, according to Smithsonian. Pearson would go on to retire in 2005 as the commander of the Air Force Flight Test Center at Edwards AFB. And while the U.S. has since developed other methods to disable satellites -- the Navy destroyer USS Lake Erie used a Standard Missile-3 to kill a malfunctioning National Reconnaissance Office satellite in 2008 -- nobody else has matched Pearson's distinct honor as a "space ace" since that fateful day in 1985. "I don't know exactly what happened, but we demonstrated we could do it," said Pearson of the discontinued program. "And we made it look relatively easy. It wasn't, but it looked that way." Want to Know More About the Military? Be sure to get the latest news about the U.S. military, as well as critical info about how to join and all the benefits of service. Subscribe to Military.com and receive customized updates delivered straight to your inbox. LANSING, MI Michigan residents who had property damaged by tornadoes and flooding last August can now apply for federal assistance. The federal assistance is available to residents in Eaton, Ingham, Ionia, Kent, Livingston, Macomb, Monroe, Oakland and Wayne counties who suffered property damage between Aug. 24 and Aug. 26 due to tornadoes, severe storms and flooding. Related: Timeline: 7 tornadoes whipped across Michigan in less than 3 hours Available assistance includes temporary lodging, basic home repairs and other disaster-related expenses, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency. To begin the application process for aid, eligible residents should contact FEMA by going online to disasterassistance.gov, downloading the FEMA app or calling the FEMA Helpline at 800-621-3362. For other languages on the FEMA Helpline, people can press 2 for Spanish and 3 for other languages. When applying, people are asked to have the following information ready: A current phone number where you can be contacted Your address at the time of the disaster and the address where you are now staying Your social security number (or the social security number of a minor child in your household, if youre applying on their behalf) A general list of damage and losses Banking information if you choose direct deposit If insured, the policy number or the agent and/or the company name. Those who have already made repairs should still apply. FEMA inspectors are trained to recognize damage caused by a disaster even after recovery has started, and they will discuss that damage with you when they come to your home, FEMA officials said in a Tuesday, Feb. 13, press release. Be prepared to show repair receipts, photos and any other disaster-related documentation as well. In announcing the disaster declaration for Michigan on Feb. 8, President Joe Bidens administration said available federal assistance can include grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses and other programs to help individuals and business owners recover from the effects of the disaster. Seven tornadoes ripped across five Michigan counties on Aug. 24, with the tornadoes ranging in strength from EF-0 to EF-2. The tornadoes and strong winds brought down trees, toppled semi-trucks and caused widespread damage and power outages. Five people were killed in the storms. Related: All of our trees just hit the ground, couple says of riding out suspected tornado In the morning before the tornadoes hit, Wayne and Monroe counties saw widespread flooding that closed roads, flooded homes and stranded vehicles, according to the National Weather Service. A roadway at Detroit Metro Airport was closed due to flooding, cutting off access to the McNamara terminal for several hours. FEMA officials say their teams will be out in impacted neighborhoods soon to provide one-on-one support to residents. FEMA will also be opening recovery centers for people to get in-person help. People can find out more about FEMAs disaster recovery operation in Michigan by visiting www.fema.gov/disaster/4757. PONTIAC, MI A Michigan man has been found guilty of murder and other crimes in a fatal shooting at a hotel during summer 2021, officials announced. Christian Amari Johnson was convicted by an Oakland County jury on Wednesday, Feb. 14. After an hour of deliberation, the jury found him guilty of felony murder, assault with intent to murder and two counts of felony firearm. Johnson was charged along with co-defendant Aurelius Juan Williams in connection with a fatal shooting that took place on June 6, 2021, at the Baymont Inn in Royal Oak Township. On February 8, 2024, the Indian Embassy in Baku organized a significant event to promote Indian ceramic tiles and granite among Azerbaijan's leading importers of ceramic tiles and construction materials. The event served as a platform to highlight the superior quality and cost-effectiveness of Indian ceramics and granite, fostering stronger trade ties between India and Azerbaijan. Mr. Sridharan Madhusudhanan, the Ambassador of India to Azerbaijan, addressed the gathering, emphasizing the global acclaim for Indian ceramic products. He encouraged Azerbaijani importers to consider the unmatched quality and competitive pricing of Indian ceramic tiles and granite for their procurement needs. Adding to the event's informative agenda, Mr. Sanjay Jain, Counsellor, presented a detailed overview of the Indian ceramic tiles and granite industry through a comprehensive PowerPoint presentation. He highlighted the use of modern technology and innovative designs in the production of these materials in India, showcasing the country's advancements in the sector. An eight-member delegation of Indian exporters specializing in ceramic tiles and granite came from India to Azerbaijan to participate in the vent. The delegation, led by a representative from CAPEXIL (Chemical and Allied Products Export Promotion Council of India), engaged in productive business-to-business (B2B) meetings with their Azerbaijani counterparts, exploring opportunities for collaboration and trade expansion. The event concluded on a high note with an interactive Q&A session, where Indian exporters discussed their product offerings in detail. Azerbaijani participants shared their positive experiences and the benefits of trading with Indian partners, reflecting the potential for growth in bilateral trade relations. The Indian Embassy officials assured their continuous support to Azerbaijani traders in their endeavours to source high-quality Indian ceramic tiles, reinforcing the commitment to mutual economic cooperation. To cap off the successful event, participants were treated to a special Indian dinner, offering a taste of India's rich culinary heritage and further enhancing the cultural exchange between the two countries. DETROIT A Michigan man is expected to stand trial for allegedly embezzling more than $60,000 for a judge he worked for, authorities announced. Steven Allen, 42, of Detroit, was bound over for trial this week in the 3rd Circuit Court of Wayne County, according to a news release from the Michigan Department of Attorney General. He is accused of stealing from his employer, a sitting circuit court judge. Allen was employed as a judicial assistant from 2018 to 2022. During these years, it is alleged that he illegally obtained an ATM card associated with the judges accounts, wrongfully made withdrawals and purchases, and forged checks presented to the victim to conceal the thefts. RELATED: Former Michigan court employee allegedly stole more than $60K from judge he worked for The victim became aware of the missing funds after being notified of delinquent taxes on a secondary property, despite Allen presenting the judge with checks made to look like the taxes had been paid. Everyone should exercise extreme caution in who you permit to access your financial accounts, Attorney General Dana Nessel said in a statement. Even judges are not immune to theft, embezzlement and fraud perpetrated against them by those they trust the most. Truly anyone can fall victim to financial exploitation crimes. Allen is charged with embezzlement of $50,000-$100,000, a 15-year felony; using a computer to commit a crime, a 10-year felony; forgery of bank bills/promissory notes, a 7-year felony; and stealing or retaining without consent a financial transaction device, a 4-year felony. Allens next court appearance is scheduled for 9 a.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 28, in the 3rd Circuit Court. HOUGHTON, MI Cadets at a university in Michigans Upper Peninsula recently had the rare opportunity to see the states winter beauty from above, officials said. A visiting crew from the U.S. Air Forces Minneapolis-St. Paul Joint Air Reserve Station flew to Michigan Technological University to familiarize Air Force ROTC cadets with the C-130 Hercules, a military transport aircraft., according to a news release from the university. ANN ARBOR, MI - Days after announcing it is likely to cut jobs amid financial instability, Concordia University is holding two town halls for concerned students, faculty and staff. The first town hall for students will be at 9 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 18 at the Chapel of the Holy Trinity, 4090 Geddes Road on the Ann Arbor campus, according to a university email. The second one for faculty and staff will be at 3 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 19 in the chapel, emails show. President Eric Ankerberg on Feb. 13 emailed students about the current financial situation at the Ann Arbor university and its sister university in Wisconsin. He and his staff will hold presentations at the town halls to further explain issues, said university spokeswoman Kali Theil. The intention of the town hall meetings is to ensure students and employees understand the universitys current fiscal issues, Theil emailed MLive/The Ann Arbor News. We are receiving a great deal of calls/emails (on both campuses), she said. The responses encompass a variety of feelings and opinions...We are continuing to monitor responses regularly to ensure those seeking help are getting the necessary resources. Read more: Ann Arbor university facing financial instability, probable staff reductions The town halls will not be open to media to protect (them) as a time and space for the campus community, Theil said. The presentations will be 20 to 25 minutes followed by attendees asking Ankerberg and his staff questions, the emails show. The private Lutheran university with campuses in Ann Arbor and Wisconsin discovered the financial issues after a comprehensive Feb. 1 review of university finances, university spokeswoman Lisa Lilijegren previously told MLive/The Ann Arbor News. Ankerberg emailed the campuses that the universitys Board of Regents will likely approve staff reductions on both campuses, as well as the sale of property, facilities and equipment on the Ann Arbor campus. The regents will meet next on Feb. 29 to approve a financial plan, Lilijegren said. Concordias fiscal problems exist despite the Ann Arbor campus seeing record enrollment as recently as the fall 2022 semester. The campus in Mequon, Wisconsin, north of Milwaukee, also saw recent growth in enrollment, Lilijegren said. The Ann Arbor campus was established at its 4090 Geddes Road location in 1963. Campus landmarks include the Earhart Manor and the red-and-white barn that acts as a billboard for the university. If you would like more reporting like this delivered free to your inbox, click here and signup for our weekly newsletter: Michigan Schools. 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. WASHTENAW COUNTY, MI Washtenaw County police are more than four times as likely to attempt to charge Black people with a crime, according to a recent report from the prosecutors office. A study published Friday, Feb. 16, showed that while the Washtenaw County Prosecutors office does approve more and severer charges for people of color, a larger amount of racial disparity happens at the policing level. OTTAWA COUNTY, MI -- An Ottawa County commissioner who taped a sign to his laptop at a Feb. 14 meeting -- specifically in protest of a pastors LGBTQ+ support -- did so against a new county prayer policy, an attorney says. Attorney Sarah Howard, representing Rev. Jared Cramer, made the claim in a new legal filing Thursday, Feb. 15 in U.S. District Court in Grand Rapids. Cramer is suing Ottawa County and the county Board of Commissioners for religious discrimination, claiming board leadership excluded him from delivering the invocation at board meetings in early 2023 because of his support for LGBTQ+ rights. RELATED: Commissioner displays war on children sign to protest pastor over LGBTQ+ support But attorneys for the county say the lack of invitation was simply an oversight and Cramer was allowed to give the invocation at the Feb. 14 meeting. They also pointed to a new county policy, adopted Jan. 2 of this year, that promises inclusivity and scheduling speakers on a first-come, first-served basis. Cramer gave the invocation Feb. 14, but not without controversy. At the meeting, District 9 Commissioner Roger Belknap displayed a sign on the back of his open laptop that read The war on children.com. Belknap, after the meeting, told media he made the sign in objection to the pastor who gave the invocation. The web site includes a documentary that exposes the ongoing battle for control of the next generation and their minds. RELATED: Pastor who advocates for LGBTQ+ files lawsuit against Ottawa County government leader Belknap said he believes events like Pride festivals and drag shows are not appropriate places for children and are part of the war on children. Howard, in the Thursday legal filing, is asking a judge for permission to file a supplemental brief that includes a description of what happened at the Feb. 14 meeting. She said it bolsters her claim that commissioners, specifically Chair Joe Moss and Belknap, ignored Cramers request in early 2023 to give the invocation because they disagreed with his beliefs. Moss and Belknap were elected in 2022 as part of an ultra-conservative faction known as Ottawa Impact. The faction holds a majority on the board. Howard also claimed that Belknaps actions at the Feb. 14 meeting violated the new invocation policy adopted about six weeks earlier. The policy, a board rule, states that this rule is intended to acknowledge and express the Boards respect for the numerous religious denominations and faiths represented and practiced among the citizens of Ottawa County. Howard, in the legal filing, wrote: Commissioner Belknap voted to approve the policy less than two months ago, and yet, the first time the Commission allowed a prayer-giver who does not share his beliefs, Commissioner Belknap went out of his way to violate it. Commissioner Belknaps sign was intended to demonstrate his lack of respect for Plaintiffs views, and it had its intended effect. The legal filing referenced an article from MLive that included comments from Belknap about his reasoning for displaying the laptop sign. Cramer and his attorney filed the lawsuit Oct. 3, 2023, after he received no response from Ottawa County leaders when he asked to give the invocation. He said he sent a May 9 email to Moss, Belknap, Commissioner Roger Bergman and county Administrator John Gibbs, and then an Aug. 30 registered letter through the U.S. Mail to the same people. Until the new policy was adopted in January, the county did not have a written policy, according to Bergman. He said it was his understanding that Moss was picking the invocation speakers, possibly with help from other commissioners, for the majority of 2023. A message left for Belknap on Thursday evening was not immediately returned. Want more Grand Rapids-area news? Bookmark the local Grand Rapids news page or sign up for the free 3@3 Grand Rapids daily newsletter. GRAND RAPIDS, MI - The Grand Rapids Chamber and the University of Michigan Health-West recently announced a new award in memory of the late Rhae-Ann Booker, PhD, the health centers former vice president of diversity, equity and inclusion. The Dr. Rhae-Ann Booker Award for Inclusive Excellence honors individuals who have demonstrated exceptional leadership and commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion in West Michigan, health officials said. Booker, who died Feb. 3 at age 56, retired in September from Health-West during her battle with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, also known as Lou Gehrigs disease. She was appointed to lead diversity, equity and inclusion in 2019. RELATED: Grand Rapids to celebrate the life of beloved advocate for inclusion, Rhae-Ann Booker, PhD Dr. Bookers contributions to our team members and hospital have been invaluable, and this award is a fitting tribute to her legacy, said Dr. Ronald Grifka, president of UM Health-West. We are proud to honor those who carry on her mission. Bookers leadership included transformative initiatives and interactive workshops that significantly improved UM Health Wests culture for patients and employees, officials said. Under her guidance, the hospital established a DEI Council aimed at enhancing the work environment and providing opportunities for underrepresented groups. Due to her initiatives, Health-West also implemented comprehensive training in LGBTQIA+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning, intersex, asexual, and others) patient-centered care, provided equal benefits for same-sex spouses, expanded equal visitation policies and publicly posted resources and data on sexual orientation and gender identity as part of the confidential patient intake process, officials said. The health system also displays window decals based on the Progress Pride and Transgender Pride flags with the message, You belong here. The new award will be presented annually at the Grand Rapids Chambers Diversity & Talent Summit to employees who have continued her legacy by going above and beyond to foster a culture of inclusivity, officials said. The Dr. Rhae-Ann Booker Award for Inclusive Excellence will be an inspiration in West Michigan, encouraging us all to strive for a more inclusive and equitable future, said Greg Meyer, Health-West executive vice president and chief community officer. Under her leadership, Health-West received national recognition for its diversity, equity and inclusion program and Employee Resource Groups. In October 2023, Talent Dimensions and the Global ERG Network named the healthcare systems DEI Steering Committee as the No. 1 Enterprise-Wide Employee Resource Group. Before joining Health-West, Booker served at Davenport University from 2011-19, where she acted as chief diversity officer following her work at Calvin University (formerly Calvin College) from 2005-10 as an evaluator and assistant dean of academic multicultural affairs. RELATED: Metro Health aims to reinforce approach to access, choice with first VP of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion In honor of Booker, Calvin University established the Dr. Rhae-Ann Booker Entrada Scholarship, prior to her death. The $2,500 scholarship, a four-week, four-credit college course for racial and ethnic minority high school students is intended to continue her legacy of opening doors wider for all students to have opportunities to pursue their educational goals. Booker was married for 30 years to Michael Booker. She mentored and helped raise her bonus daughter, Acelia Jones, and enjoyed a special bond with grandchildren Lydia and Kendra. Booker is a native of Grand Rapids, one of six children born to Rayford Richardson Sr. and the late Gloria Richardson. She passed peacefully on Feb. 3 surrounded by family. Funeral services were held Feb.10 at Calvins chapel. Want more Grand Rapids-area news? Bookmark the local Grand Rapids news page or sign up for the free 3@3 Grand Rapids daily newsletter. Read more: Whats being built off U.S. 31 in Holland? Its got a year-round pool Bring your furry friends to a Dog Prom this weekend Cancel culture hits Michigan cafe that fired waitress days after $10K tip JACKSON COUNTY, MI - The victim of a Napoleon Township stabbing is now in stable condition, police said. The man from the township southeast of Jackson was stabbed multiple times early on Feb. 14, according to the Napoleon Township Police Department. UPDATE: The headline and story have been updated to accurately reflect the words of the officer. BATTLE CREEK, MI -- A Texas man was shot and killed after an altercation with a police officer at a restaurant in Battle Creek, the chief of police said at a news conference. The man shot the female officer while he tried to take control of her gun, Battle Creek Chief of Police Shannon Bagley said at a Friday, Feb. 16, news conference the day after the incident. Another officer shot and killed the man during the struggle, Bagley said. Dario Agudelo, 29, of San Antonio was killed in the incident on the afternoon of Thursday, Feb. 15, Bagley said. Earlier that day, around 9 a.m., Agudelo was at Cafe Rica, 62 E. Michigan Avenue, and the staff asked him to leave, the chief said. He left once officers arrived. Around 3 p.m. that day, Agudelo was identified as a suspect in a felonious assault investigation at a separate location in the city and officers were attempting to locate him, police said. Agudelo returned to the cafe about a half hour later. Management called police with concerns about the mans behavior, Bagley said. Officers responded and saw the man seated at a table and tried to detain him. He was initially compliant but then resisted and did not comply with the officers commands during the exchange, police said. The man slowly began to walk at the female officer, Bagley said. The officer used a Taser, which appeared to have no effect on the man, Bagley said. He rushed the officer, knocked her to the ground and attempted to disarm her, Bagley said. Restaurant patrons rushed in to help the officer. The city of Battle Creek posted a video of the news conference that includes footage of the incident from officer body cameras. The body camera footage begins around 3:35 in the video. Viewer discretion is advised. Backup officers arrived and saw the man on top of and fighting with the officer, Bagley said. Another officer deployed a Taser and it had no effect, Bagley said. He just shot my gun! the female officer can be heard screaming on a body cam video of the incident that police played at a news conference Friday morning. The man shot the officer in the leg in the scuffle to disarm her, the chief said. The officer advised the backup officers that Agudelo had her gun and that she had just been shot, Bagley said. Another officer then shot the man to stop his actions, the chief said. The wounded officer was sent to the hospital and treated for non-life-threatening injuries, police said. The chief estimated between five and eight others were at the Battle Creek restaurant at the time of the shootings. Bagley did not answer a question about substance use or mental health issues. Our officer is doing well, Bagley said. They hope she will be released today, he said. Bagley said he has no idea what the Texas man was doing in Battle Creek. He stood 6 feet, 2 inches tall and weighed over 300 pounds, the chief said, a far greater stature than the officer. The video shows both of the mans arms reaching for the officers firearm, Bagley said. The officers involved are on paid administrative leave. Michigan State Police will handle the criminal aspect of the investigation, Bagley said. Battle Creek police will examine the use of force as part of an internal process. Its a tough day, the chief said, adding though that the team is happy their officer survived the tragic incident. Police had some minor contacts with the man, the chief said, as he was new to the community. Want more Kalamazoo-area news? Bookmark the local Kalamazoo news page or sign up for the free 3@3 Kalamazoo daily newsletter. BATTLE CREEK, MI - Police killed a Texas man Thursday in a shooting in Battle Creek after the man was in an altercation with an officer, police said. Officers responded to reports of a suspicious person around 3:42 p.m., Feb. 15 to Cafe Rica, 62 E. Michigan Ave. in the city, according to the Battle Creek Police Department. A female officer that responded to the scene was in a physical altercation with the man when she received a gunshot wound to the leg, police said. It is unclear if the officer was shot by her own gun, or if the man had a gun and shot her. The officer was taken to Bronson Battle Creek Hospital and is expected to recover, police said. The altercation stopped when another officer at the scene shot the man, police said. After receiving medical treatment at the scene, the man died from his injuries, police said. The incident is under further investigation by Michigan State Police and the Battle Creek Crime Lab. Officers request residents avoid Michigan Avenue between Division Street and Capital Avenue amid the investigation. The officer who shot the man will be placed on administrative leave, which is standard procedure, police said. BAKU, Azerbaijan, February 16. A citizen of the Russian Federation detained in Azerbaijan has been extradited to his country, the General Prosecutor's Office of Azerbaijan said, Trend reports. Meanwhile, the petition of the General Prosecutor's Office of Russia for the transfer of the citizen of this country Golubev Vladislav Vladimirovich, born in 1966, accused under Article 196 (deliberate bankruptcy) of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation and declared in the interstate search by law enforcement agencies, was satisfied by the General Prosecutor's Office of the Republic of Azerbaijan. Golubev was detained on November 11 last year while passing through border control at the airport, and a measure of restraint in the form of arrest was chosen against him. Following international documents, a decision was taken to extradite the accused. He was handed over to the competent authorities of the Russian Federation, accompanied by a Special Convoy of the Penitentiary Service of the Ministry of Justice. Stay up to date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel China's inclusive finance sector maintained rapid loan expansion in 2023 as the country stepped up credit support for the real economy, a central bank report showed. China's outstanding balance of small and micro loans reached 29.4 trillion yuan (about 4.14 trillion U.S. dollars) as of the end of 2023, up 23.5 percent from the end of 2022, according to the report from the People's Bank of China. By the end of last year, the outstanding loans extended to rural households for production grew 18 percent year on year to 9.24 trillion yuan, while the outstanding student loans reached 218.4 billion yuan, up 22.4 percent year on year. The report also showed that the country's outstanding agriculture-related loans in yuan and foreign currencies reached 56.6 trillion yuan by the end of 2023, up 14.9 percent from the end of the previous year. BAKU, Azerbaijan, February 16. The petition of the General Prosecutor's Office of the Republic of Kazakhstan for extradition of the citizen of the Republic of Turkiye Fatih Akdag, born in 1988, accused of smuggling and put on the international wanted list in 2021, has been satisfied by the General Prosecutor's Office of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Trend reports, referring to the Azerbaijani General Prosecutor's Office. Meanwhile, Fatih Akdag was detained in July 2023. In accordance with international agreements, he was handed over to the competent authorities of Kazakhstan accompanied by a special convoy of the Penitentiary Service of the Ministry of Justice. Stay up to date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel BAKU, Azerbaijan, February 16. Supplies of natural gas from Azerbaijan through Turkiye will start in April this year, said Minister of Foreign Affairs of Hungary Peter Szijjarto in an interview with Turkish Anadolu Agency news company, Trend reports. He emphasized that, for the first time, Turkiye will export gas to a country other than its direct neighbor. "Trade with members of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS) has increased significantly. Starting this year, we will start buying gas from Azerbaijan and Turkiye," the Hungarian foreign minister said. When discussing natural gas deliveries from Azerbaijan to Hungary via Turkiye, Szijjarto stressed the signing of a contract for 275 million cubic meters. Stay up to date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel BAKU, Azerbaijan, February 16. The New York Climate Exchange, established in 2023, has shared its expectations for the upcoming 29th session of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29), scheduled for November in Baku, Trend reports via the exchange's social media statement. "The New York Climate Exchange supports the opinion of the Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, Simon Stiell, voiced during his visit to Baku, where COP29 will take place, on the urgent need for climate change financing equal to at least $2.4 trillion," the statement said. "The upcoming COP29 in Azerbaijan will focus on climate financing with the aim of setting a clear target for the period after 2025 to support developing countries in mitigating and adapting to the impacts of climate change. This is crucial." The message stressed that the organization's current actions will determine the problems it may face. "As a community committed to tackling climate change, we must and will prioritize investments in a sustainable future, taking every opportunity to help global efforts during this critical decade," the statement added. The decision to hold COP29 in Azerbaijan was made official on December 11, 2023, in Dubai. On January 4, 2024, Mukhtar Babayev, Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources of Azerbaijan, was appointed as President of COP29. Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel American States Water (NYSE:AWR Get Free Report) saw a large increase in short interest in January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 328,200 shares, an increase of 7.0% from the January 15th total of 306,600 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 194,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.7 days. Currently, 0.9% of the companys stock are short sold. Institutional Investors Weigh In On American States Water Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Quarry LP bought a new stake in American States Water in the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in American States Water by 633.3% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 352 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 304 shares in the last quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP grew its holdings in American States Water by 1,000.0% in the 1st quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP now owns 363 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 330 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its holdings in American States Water by 900.0% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 380 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 342 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northwest Financial Advisors acquired a new stake in shares of American States Water during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Institutional investors own 74.67% of the companys stock. Get American States Water alerts: Analyst Ratings Changes Separately, StockNews.com cut American States Water from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note on Thursday, November 23rd. American States Water Stock Up 3.0 % Shares of American States Water stock traded up $2.25 on Thursday, reaching $77.21. 222,118 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 202,838. American States Water has a one year low of $73.83 and a one year high of $95.07. The company has a 50-day moving average of $78.54 and a 200 day moving average of $80.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. The company has a market capitalization of $2.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.59, a PEG ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.44. American States Water Dividend Announcement The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 20th will be paid a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 16th. American States Waters dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.81%. American States Water Company Profile (Get Free Report) American States Water Company, through its subsidiaries, provides water and electric services to residential, commercial, industrial, and other customers in the United States. It operates through three segments: Water, Electric, and Contracted Services. The company purchases, produces, distributes, and sells water, as well as distributes electricity. Read More Receive News & Ratings for American States Water Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for American States Water and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. ASTANA, Kazakhstan, February 16. Kazakhstan's Samruk-Kazyna JSC (Sovereign Wealth Fund), the Ministry of Energy of Kazakhstan and the Qatari company Urbacon Concessions Investments WLL, part of the Power International Holding WLL group, have signed a Memorandum of understanding in Doha, Trend reports. Thus, the agreement between the parties involves the construction of a gas processing plant with a capacity of 6 billion cubic meters. The purpose of the document is to consolidate intentions to jointly develop a project for the construction of a gas processing plant at the Kashagan field. Earlier, Kazakhstan's QazaqGaz and Qatar's UCC Holding agreed to build two gas processing plants with a capacity of 1 billion m3/year and 2.5 billion m3/year at Kashagan field. As part of the agreements, investments will be attracted, and financing for projects will be organized. The construction of these plants will help increase the resource base of commercial gas in Kazakhstan. Meanwhile, Kazakhstan plans to increase gas production through the introduction of new gas fields in the medium term. Gas production has already started at the Rozhkovskoye, South Aksay, and Anabay fields, with recoverable reserves of more than 31 billion cubic meters of gas. In the medium term, the launch of the Urikhtau Central, Western Prorva, and Kalamkas gas fields with recoverable reserves of 69 billion cubic meters of gas is expected. In addition to this, work is underway on new gas processing plants in Kashagan and Karachaganak, as well as in Zhanaozen. At the same time, the 2nd and 3rd stages of the Saryarka gas pipeline, the Aktobe-Kostanay gas pipeline, and the 2nd line of the Beineu-Bozoy-Shymkent gas pipeline are planned. Moreover, to develop the petrogaschemical industry, construction of the Butadiene project worth $1 billion will begin this year. At the same time, the implementation of other large investment projects for the production of polyethylene, polyethylene terephthalate, and urea in the Atyrau and Aktobe regions for a total amount of $13.7 billion continues. Furthermore, trade turnover between Kazakhstan and Qatar more than doubled and amounted to 9.6 million from January through November 2023 (from January through November 2022, $3.96 million). Kazakhstan's exports to Qatar for the above period amounted to $5.36 million, and imports were $4.3 million. AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR Get Free Report) saw a significant drop in short interest in January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 353,000 shares, a drop of 27.9% from the January 15th total of 489,900 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 309,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.1 days. Approximately 0.5% of the companys stock are sold short. AptarGroup Trading Down 1.6 % NYSE ATR traded down $2.21 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $134.96. The companys stock had a trading volume of 471,417 shares, compared to its average volume of 355,263. AptarGroup has a twelve month low of $108.18 and a twelve month high of $140.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.28, a PEG ratio of 3.82 and a beta of 0.58. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $128.46 and a 200 day moving average of $126.37. Get AptarGroup alerts: AptarGroup (NYSE:ATR Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, February 9th. The industrial products company reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.09. AptarGroup had a net margin of 8.16% and a return on equity of 14.46%. The firm had revenue of $838.48 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $842.50 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.92 earnings per share. The businesss quarterly revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that AptarGroup will post 5.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. AptarGroup Announces Dividend Insider Buying and Selling at AptarGroup The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 22nd. Investors of record on Thursday, February 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.41 per share. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 31st. AptarGroups payout ratio is 38.59%. In other AptarGroup news, Director Monnas Giovanna Kampouri sold 2,387 shares of AptarGroup stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.38, for a total value of $306,443.06. Following the sale, the director now owns 11,648 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $1,495,370.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider Marc Prieur sold 3,200 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.24, for a total transaction of $403,968.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 13,828 shares in the company, valued at $1,745,646.72. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Monnas Giovanna Kampouri sold 2,387 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.38, for a total value of $306,443.06. Following the sale, the director now owns 11,648 shares of the companys stock, valued at $1,495,370.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.20% of the stock is owned by insiders. Institutional Inflows and Outflows Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ATR. Voloridge Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of AptarGroup by 74.2% during the 4th quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 34,530 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $4,269,000 after purchasing an additional 14,710 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of AptarGroup by 34.3% in the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 181,249 shares of the industrial products companys stock worth $22,406,000 after acquiring an additional 46,297 shares in the last quarter. Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP grew its stake in shares of AptarGroup by 68.9% in the 4th quarter. Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP now owns 11,999 shares of the industrial products companys stock worth $1,483,000 after acquiring an additional 4,893 shares in the last quarter. Palisade Capital Management LP grew its stake in shares of AptarGroup by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Palisade Capital Management LP now owns 21,469 shares of the industrial products companys stock worth $2,654,000 after acquiring an additional 608 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Prelude Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AptarGroup by 33.4% in the 4th quarter. Prelude Capital Management LLC now owns 3,109 shares of the industrial products companys stock worth $384,000 after buying an additional 778 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.61% of the companys stock. Analyst Ratings Changes Separately, Robert W. Baird raised shares of AptarGroup from a neutral rating to an outperform rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $125.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Buy and an average price target of $146.25. Check Out Our Latest Analysis on AptarGroup About AptarGroup (Get Free Report) AptarGroup, Inc designs and manufactures a range of drug delivery, consumer product dispensing, and active material science solutions and services for the pharmaceutical, beauty, personal care, home care, and food and beverage markets. The company operates through three segments: Aptar Pharma, Aptar Beauty, and Aptar Closures. See Also Receive News & Ratings for AptarGroup Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for AptarGroup and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Baillie Gifford & Co. trimmed its stake in Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR Free Report) by 4.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,970,254 shares of the business services providers stock after selling 123,132 shares during the period. Baillie Gifford & Co. owned about 2.52% of Broadridge Financial Solutions worth $531,824,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 10.7% during the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 8,155 shares of the business services providers stock valued at $1,270,000 after acquiring an additional 788 shares during the period. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS lifted its stake in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 6.8% during the first quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 15,625 shares of the business services providers stock valued at $2,433,000 after acquiring an additional 992 shares during the period. Raymond James Trust N.A. lifted its stake in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 126.2% during the first quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 3,384 shares of the business services providers stock valued at $527,000 after acquiring an additional 1,888 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its stake in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 1,851.9% during the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 527 shares of the business services providers stock valued at $82,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the period. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH lifted its stake in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 13.2% during the first quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 12,722 shares of the business services providers stock valued at $1,981,000 after acquiring an additional 1,487 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.36% of the companys stock. Get Broadridge Financial Solutions alerts: Broadridge Financial Solutions Stock Up 0.9 % Broadridge Financial Solutions stock traded up $1.83 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $198.30. The stock had a trading volume of 721,482 shares, compared to its average volume of 611,218. The firms fifty day simple moving average is $200.16 and its 200-day simple moving average is $187.61. Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. has a 1-year low of $133.97 and a 1-year high of $210.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.23 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a current ratio of 1.40. Insiders Place Their Bets Broadridge Financial Solutions ( NYSE:BR Get Free Report ) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The business services provider reported $0.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.03. Broadridge Financial Solutions had a return on equity of 41.12% and a net margin of 10.82%. The business had revenue of $1.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.40 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.91 EPS. Broadridge Financial Solutionss revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. will post 7.72 EPS for the current fiscal year. In other Broadridge Financial Solutions news, insider Douglas Richard Deschutter sold 22,722 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.00, for a total transaction of $4,521,678.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 44,680 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $8,891,320. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, President Christopher John Perry sold 2,722 shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.01, for a total transaction of $544,427.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now directly owns 58,831 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,766,788.31. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Douglas Richard Deschutter sold 22,722 shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.00, for a total value of $4,521,678.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 44,680 shares of the companys stock, valued at $8,891,320. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 41,246 shares of company stock valued at $8,211,616 in the last 90 days. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders. Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. StockNews.com raised Broadridge Financial Solutions from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Broadridge Financial Solutions from $226.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 5th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Broadridge Financial Solutions from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Friday, December 8th. Raymond James boosted their target price on Broadridge Financial Solutions from $205.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Broadridge Financial Solutions from $212.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $203.17. View Our Latest Research Report on Broadridge Financial Solutions Broadridge Financial Solutions Profile (Free Report) Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc provides investor communications and technology-driven solutions for the financial services industry. The company's Investor Communication Solutions segment processes and distributes proxy materials to investors in equity securities and mutual funds, as well as facilitates related vote processing services; and distributes regulatory reports, class action, and corporate action/reorganization event information, as well as tax reporting solutions. Further Reading Want to see what other hedge funds are holding BR? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Broadridge Financial Solutions Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Broadridge Financial Solutions and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Baillie Gifford & Co. lessened its stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO Free Report) by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 696,934 shares of the medical research companys stock after selling 16,513 shares during the period. Baillie Gifford & Co.s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $352,767,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 104,536.8% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,355,245 shares of the medical research companys stock worth $4,601,150,000 after buying an additional 8,347,260 shares in the last quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 61,754.7% during the 1st quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,842,175 shares of the medical research companys stock worth $10,136,000 after purchasing an additional 5,832,730 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 4th quarter worth about $3,105,677,000. Osaic Holdings Inc. increased its position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 1,963.5% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 2,204,394 shares of the medical research companys stock valued at $53,628,000 after purchasing an additional 2,097,565 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased its position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 17.7% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 11,730,063 shares of the medical research companys stock valued at $6,459,629,000 after purchasing an additional 1,764,312 shares during the last quarter. 87.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. Get Thermo Fisher Scientific alerts: Thermo Fisher Scientific Price Performance Shares of TMO stock traded up $0.30 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $548.57. 1,513,853 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,893,511. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $536.39 and a 200 day moving average of $513.54. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a 52-week low of $415.60 and a 52-week high of $593.17. The company has a market cap of $211.95 billion, a PE ratio of 35.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.80. Thermo Fisher Scientific ( NYSE:TMO Get Free Report ) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The medical research company reported $5.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.64 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $10.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.73 billion. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a net margin of 13.99% and a return on equity of 18.78%. The companys revenue for the quarter was down 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $5.40 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 21.57 earnings per share for the current year. Thermo Fisher Scientific declared that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, November 14th that allows the company to repurchase $4.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the medical research company to repurchase up to 2.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the companys board believes its stock is undervalued. Wall Street Analyst Weigh In TMO has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised Thermo Fisher Scientific from an underweight rating to an equal weight rating and set a $475.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 25th. Raymond James lifted their target price on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $515.00 to $605.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $640.00 to $600.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 24th. Wolfe Research started coverage on Thermo Fisher Scientific in a report on Wednesday, December 13th. They issued an outperform rating and a $575.00 target price on the stock. Finally, TheStreet raised Thermo Fisher Scientific from a c+ rating to a b- rating in a research note on Friday, December 22nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Thermo Fisher Scientific currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $596.00. View Our Latest Stock Analysis on TMO Insiders Place Their Bets In other news, SVP Michael A. Boxer sold 14,566 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $562.00, for a total transaction of $8,186,092.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 12,901 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,250,362. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, Director Debora L. Spar sold 164 shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $546.97, for a total value of $89,703.08. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 1,207 shares in the company, valued at approximately $660,192.79. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Michael A. Boxer sold 14,566 shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $562.00, for a total transaction of $8,186,092.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 12,901 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $7,250,362. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 24,730 shares of company stock valued at $13,832,095 in the last ninety days. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders. 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. See Also Want to see what other hedge funds are holding TMO? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Thermo Fisher Scientific Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Thermo Fisher Scientific and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Baillie Gifford & Co. trimmed its stake in Markel Group Inc. (NYSE:MKL Free Report) by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 302,681 shares of the insurance providers stock after selling 6,617 shares during the period. Baillie Gifford & Co. owned approximately 2.29% of Markel Group worth $445,695,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Asset Dedication LLC increased its holdings in shares of Markel Group by 72.7% in the 2nd quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 19 shares of the insurance providers stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 8 shares during the period. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S lifted its position in Markel Group by 50.0% during the 2nd quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 21 shares of the insurance providers stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 7 shares during the period. Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE lifted its position in Markel Group by 150.0% during the 3rd quarter. Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE now owns 20 shares of the insurance providers stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 12 shares during the period. Lee Financial Co acquired a new stake in Markel Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Markel Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $39,000. 76.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors. Get Markel Group alerts: Insider Activity at Markel Group In other Markel Group news, Director A. Lynne Puckett purchased 72 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $1,409.28 per share, for a total transaction of $101,468.16. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 960 shares in the company, valued at $1,352,908.80. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Thomas Sinnickson Gayner acquired 100 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were bought at an average price of $1,414.74 per share, with a total value of $141,474.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 45,039 shares in the company, valued at approximately $63,718,474.86. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director A. Lynne Puckett bought 72 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $1,409.28 per share, with a total value of $101,468.16. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 960 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $1,352,908.80. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.75% of the stock is owned by company insiders. Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades A number of brokerages have commented on MKL. Citigroup began coverage on Markel Group in a research report on Wednesday, November 22nd. They set a sell rating and a $1,275.00 price target for the company. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on Markel Group from $1,550.00 to $1,400.00 and set a hold rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 3rd. StockNews.com cut Markel Group from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Friday, November 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a sector perform rating and issued a $1,475.00 price objective on shares of Markel Group in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut Markel Group from a buy rating to a hold rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $1,680.00 to $1,500.00 in a report on Monday, February 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Markel Group presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $1,412.50. Check Out Our Latest Report on MKL Markel Group Price Performance Shares of Markel Group stock traded up $0.35 on Thursday, hitting $1,469.32. The companys stock had a trading volume of 58,316 shares, compared to its average volume of 56,104. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 0.63. Markel Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $1,186.56 and a 1 year high of $1,560.00. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $1,423.84 and a 200-day moving average price of $1,446.05. The company has a market capitalization of $19.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.99 and a beta of 0.70. About Markel Group (Free Report) Markel Group Inc, a diverse financial holding company, engages in marketing and underwriting specialty insurance products in the United States, Bermuda, the United Kingdom, rest of Europe, Canada, the Asia Pacific, and the Middle East. The company offers general and professional liability, personal lines, marine and energy, specialty programs, and workers' compensation insurance products; and property coverages that include fire, allied lines, and other specialized property coverages, including catastrophe-exposed property risks, such as earthquake and wind. See Also Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MKL? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Markel Group Inc. (NYSE:MKL Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Markel Group Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Markel Group and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste, S. A. B. de C. V. (NYSE:ASR Get Free Report) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 103,000 shares, an increase of 19.2% from the January 15th total of 86,400 shares. Approximately 0.4% of the companys stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 53,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.9 days. Institutional Inflows and Outflows Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste, S. A. B. de C. V. by 17.6% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 39,482 shares of the transportation companys stock valued at $8,749,000 after purchasing an additional 5,900 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste, S. A. B. de C. V. by 13.5% during the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,090 shares of the transportation companys stock worth $463,000 after acquiring an additional 248 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE boosted its holdings in Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste, S. A. B. de C. V. by 7.1% in the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 766 shares of the transportation companys stock valued at $170,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its holdings in Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste, S. A. B. de C. V. by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 7,059 shares of the transportation companys stock valued at $1,538,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BlackRock Inc. raised its stake in shares of Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste, S. A. B. de C. V. by 10.0% in the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 360,238 shares of the transportation companys stock valued at $79,830,000 after acquiring an additional 32,860 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.05% of the companys stock. Get Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste S. A. B. de C. V. alerts: Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades Several research firms have commented on ASR. Bank of America raised shares of Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste, S. A. B. de C. V. from an underperform rating to a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, December 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste, S. A. B. de C. V. from a sell rating to a buy rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $274.00 to $326.00 in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Scotiabank upgraded shares of Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste, S. A. B. de C. V. from a sector perform rating to a sector outperform rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 24th. StockNews.com raised shares of Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste, S. A. B. de C. V. from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Citigroup downgraded shares of Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste, S. A. B. de C. V. from a neutral rating to a sell rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $228.00 to $222.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $274.00. Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste, S. A. B. de C. V. Trading Up 0.8 % Shares of NYSE:ASR traded up $2.52 during trading on Thursday, reaching $300.46. 40,783 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 58,384. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.01 billion, a PE ratio of 15.72, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 1.17. The businesss fifty day simple moving average is $284.96 and its 200-day simple moving average is $258.19. Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste, S. A. B. de C. V. has a 12-month low of $165.00 and a 12-month high of $317.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 2.97 and a quick ratio of 2.97. Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste, S. A. B. de C. V. Company Profile (Get Free Report) Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste, S. A. B. de C. V. holds concessions to operate, maintain, and develop airports in the southeast region of Mexico. The company operates airports that are located in the cities of Cancun, Cozumel, Merida, Huatulco, Oaxaca, Veracruz, Villahermosa, Tapachula, and Minatitlan. Featured Stories Receive News & Ratings for Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste S. A. B. de C. V. Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste S. A. B. de C. V. and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd lifted its position in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO Free Report) by 14.8% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 248,548 shares of the companys stock after acquiring an additional 32,016 shares during the period. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltds holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $13,871,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in KO. Freedom Wealth Alliance LLC acquired a new position in Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Hibernia Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Coca-Cola in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Paladin Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in Coca-Cola in the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, KB Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. 68.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors. Get Coca-Cola alerts: Coca-Cola Stock Performance NYSE:KO traded up $0.11 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $59.40. 13,646,036 shares of the companys stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 14,326,417. The Coca-Cola Company has a 12 month low of $51.55 and a 12 month high of $64.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $256.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.59. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $59.45 and a two-hundred day moving average of $58.36. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23. Coca-Cola Increases Dividend Coca-Cola ( NYSE:KO Get Free Report ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 13th. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $10.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $10.68 billion. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 42.44% and a net margin of 23.92%. Coca-Colas quarterly revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.45 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th will be given a $0.485 dividend. This is a positive change from Coca-Colas previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.27%. Coca-Colas payout ratio is 74.19%. Analyst Ratings Changes KO has been the subject of a number of research reports. Citigroup boosted their price target on Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $65.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 25th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Coca-Cola in a report on Monday, November 13th. They set a hold rating and a $64.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Coca-Cola from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $67.31. Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on Coca-Cola Insider Transactions at Coca-Cola In related news, CEO James Quincey sold 92,028 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.06, for a total value of $5,435,173.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 442,546 shares of the companys stock, valued at $26,136,766.76. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 52,300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total value of $3,138,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 143,383 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $8,602,980. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 92,028 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.06, for a total value of $5,435,173.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 442,546 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $26,136,766.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 197,024 shares of company stock valued at $11,575,265. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the companys stock. 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. See Also Want to see what other hedge funds are holding KO? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Coca-Cola Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Coca-Cola and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 195,202 shares of the payment services companys stock after buying an additional 4,442 shares during the quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLCs holdings in American Express were worth $29,122,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Prudential PLC boosted its stake in American Express by 10.6% during the third quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 44,881 shares of the payment services companys stock worth $6,696,000 after buying an additional 4,307 shares during the period. Kestra Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 12.0% in the third quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 48,507 shares of the payment services companys stock valued at $7,237,000 after purchasing an additional 5,183 shares during the period. Midwest Professional Planners LTD. boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 9.0% in the third quarter. Midwest Professional Planners LTD. now owns 2,404 shares of the payment services companys stock valued at $359,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares during the period. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 519.0% in the third quarter. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group now owns 359 shares of the payment services companys stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 301 shares during the period. Finally, Atomi Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 36.8% in the third quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,818 shares of the payment services companys stock valued at $271,000 after purchasing an additional 489 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.08% of the companys stock. Get American Express alerts: Insider Transactions at American Express In other news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 69,356 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total transaction of $14,774,215.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 122,158 shares of the companys stock, valued at $26,022,097.16. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 69,356 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total transaction of $14,774,215.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 122,158 shares of the companys stock, valued at $26,022,097.16. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Laureen Seeger sold 84,420 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.98, for a total transaction of $17,979,771.60. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 57,512 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $12,248,905.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 193,055 shares of company stock valued at $40,064,664. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders. Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades Several analysts recently weighed in on AXP shares. Barclays raised their target price on shares of American Express from $216.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of American Express from $188.00 to $206.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. DZ Bank cut shares of American Express from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Piper Sandler raised shares of American Express from an underweight rating to a neutral rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $150.00 to $151.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of American Express from $186.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Monday, December 18th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $189.00. Get Our Latest Stock Report on American Express American Express Price Performance AXP stock traded up $1.62 during trading on Thursday, hitting $212.52. The stock had a trading volume of 2,642,512 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,571,524. The companys 50 day moving average price is $189.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $168.51. American Express has a 1-year low of $140.91 and a 1-year high of $214.25. The stock has a market cap of $153.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a current ratio of 1.63. American Express (NYSE:AXP Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 26th. The payment services company reported $2.62 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $2.64 by ($0.02). American Express had a net margin of 13.84% and a return on equity of 30.99%. The company had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.07 EPS. The companys revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that American Express will post 12.83 EPS for the current fiscal year. American Express Announces Dividend The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 5th were given a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.13%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 4th. American Expresss dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.41%. American Express Company Profile (Free Report) American Express Company, together with its subsidiaries, provides charge and credit payment card products, and travel-related services worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Global Consumer Services Group, Global Commercial Services, and Global Merchant and Network Services. Its products and services include payment and financing products; network services; accounts payable expense management products and services; and travel and lifestyle services. Further Reading Want to see what other hedge funds are holding AXP? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for American Express (NYSE:AXP Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for American Express Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for American Express and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Bacanora Lithium Plc (LON:BCN 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 GBX 67 ($0.85) and traded as low as GBX 67 ($0.85). Bacanora Lithium shares last traded at GBX 67 ($0.85), with a volume of 238,939 shares. Bacanora Lithium Stock Down 0.4 % The firm has a 50-day moving average of GBX 67 and a 200 day moving average of GBX 67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 18.44, a current ratio of 36.64 and a quick ratio of 36.64. The stock has a market capitalization of 259.38 million and a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.70. Bacanora Lithium Company Profile (Get Free Report) Bacanora Lithium Plc, a development stage mining company, engages in the identification, acquisition, exploration, and development of mineral properties. The company primarily explores for battery grade lithium carbonates. Its flagship project is the Sonora lithium project, which consists of 10 mining concessions covering approximately 100,000 hectares located in the northeast of Sonora State in Mexico. Further Reading Receive News & Ratings for Bacanora Lithium Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Bacanora Lithium and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. BlackRock Limited Duration Income Trust (NYSE:BLW Get Free Report) saw a large decline in short interest in January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 98,900 shares, a decline of 17.9% from the January 15th total of 120,500 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 99,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.0 days. BlackRock Limited Duration Income Trust Stock Up 0.5 % Shares of BLW traded up $0.07 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $13.91. The stock had a trading volume of 56,870 shares, compared to its average volume of 84,112. BlackRock Limited Duration Income Trust has a 52 week low of $12.35 and a 52 week high of $14.10. The firms 50 day moving average price is $13.77 and its 200-day moving average price is $13.25. Get BlackRock Limited Duration Income Trust alerts: BlackRock Limited Duration Income Trust Increases Dividend The company also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 15th will be paid a $0.108 dividend. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.32%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 14th. This is an increase from BlackRock Limited Duration Income Trusts previous monthly dividend of $0.11. Institutional Trading of BlackRock Limited Duration Income Trust About BlackRock Limited Duration Income Trust Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock Limited Duration Income Trust in the 2nd quarter worth $45,000. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of BlackRock Limited Duration Income Trust by 214.8% in the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 4,486 shares of the investment management companys stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 3,061 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock Limited Duration Income Trust in the 4th quarter worth $140,000. Pathstone Family Office LLC acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock Limited Duration Income Trust in the 3rd quarter worth $176,000. Finally, Pathstone Holdings LLC acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock Limited Duration Income Trust in the 4th quarter worth $193,000. (Get Free Report) BlackRock Limited Duration Income Trust is a close ended fixed income mutual fund launched by BlackRock, Inc It is managed by BlackRock Advisors, LLC. The fund invests in fixed income securities of the United States. It invests in securities of companies operating across diversified sectors. The fund primarily invests in investment grade corporate bonds, mortgage-related securities, asset-backed securities, US Government and agency securities, and senior, secured floating rate loans. Featured Stories Receive News & Ratings for BlackRock Limited Duration Income Trust Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for BlackRock Limited Duration Income Trust and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. South Street Advisors LLC lowered its position in Canadian Pacific Kansas City Limited (NYSE:CP Free Report) (TSE:CP) by 13.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,750 shares of the transportation companys stock after selling 2,500 shares during the quarter. South Street Advisors LLCs holdings in Canadian Pacific Kansas City were worth $1,172,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Canadian Pacific Kansas City by 83.9% in the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,880,185 shares of the transportation companys stock valued at $140,015,000 after purchasing an additional 857,878 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. purchased a new stake in Canadian Pacific Kansas City in the 3rd quarter valued at $5,873,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Canadian Pacific Kansas City in the 3rd quarter valued at $960,000. Wealthsource Partners LLC raised its position in Canadian Pacific Kansas City by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Wealthsource Partners LLC now owns 30,670 shares of the transportation companys stock valued at $2,282,000 after purchasing an additional 660 shares during the last quarter. Finally, WCG Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Canadian Pacific Kansas City in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,180,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.93% of the companys stock. Get Canadian Pacific Kansas City alerts: Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Canadian Pacific Kansas City from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. TD Securities cut shares of Canadian Pacific Kansas City from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Monday, January 8th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Canadian Pacific Kansas City from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Canadian Pacific Kansas City from $121.00 to $116.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 21st. Finally, Susquehanna Bancshares lowered shares of Canadian Pacific Kansas City from a positive rating to a neutral rating and reduced their target price for the company from $90.00 to $87.00 in a report on Monday, January 8th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $92.94. Canadian Pacific Kansas City Stock Performance CP traded down $0.11 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $85.62. 992,598 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,435,787. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $79.30 and a 200-day simple moving average of $76.64. Canadian Pacific Kansas City Limited has a 12 month low of $68.92 and a 12 month high of $86.26. The stock has a market cap of $79.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.61. Canadian Pacific Kansas City Increases Dividend The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 28th will be paid a $0.1415 dividend. This represents a $0.57 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.66%. This is a boost from Canadian Pacific Kansas Citys previous quarterly dividend of $0.14. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 27th. Canadian Pacific Kansas Citys dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.15%. Canadian Pacific Kansas City Profile (Free Report) Canadian Pacific Kansas City Limited, together with its subsidiaries, owns and operates a transcontinental freight railway in Canada and the United States. The company transports bulk commodities, including grain, coal, potash, fertilizers, and sulphur; and merchandise freight, such as energy, chemicals and plastics, metals, minerals and consumer, automotive, and forest products. Featured Stories Receive News & Ratings for Canadian Pacific Kansas City Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Canadian Pacific Kansas City and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Subscription to paid content Gain access to all that Trend has to offer, as well as to premium, licensed content via subscription or direct purchase through a credit card. DP Poland Plc (LON:DPP Get Free Report)s stock price passed below its fifty day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a fifty day moving average of GBX 10.44 ($0.13) and traded as low as GBX 9.71 ($0.12). DP Poland shares last traded at GBX 10.25 ($0.13), with a volume of 116,447 shares. DP Poland Price Performance The company has a quick ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 89.18. The stock has a market capitalization of 73.03 million, a P/E ratio of -1,033.40 and a beta of 0.44. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of GBX 10.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of GBX 8.64. About DP Poland (Get Free Report) DP Poland Plc develops, operates, and sub-franchises Domino's Pizza stores in Poland. The company operates through two segments: Corporate Store Sales and Commissary Operations. It operates pizza delivery and dine-in restaurants. DP Poland Plc was incorporated in 2010 and is headquartered in Warsaw, Poland. Further Reading Receive News & Ratings for DP Poland Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for DP Poland and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. General American Investors Company, Inc. (NYSE:GAM Get Free Report)s stock price hit a new 52-week high on Thursday . The company traded as high as $45.04 and last traded at $45.04, with a volume of 9296 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $44.73. General American Investors Price Performance The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $43.02 and a 200 day simple moving average of $41.95. Get General American Investors alerts: Insider Buying and Selling at General American Investors In other news, CEO Jeffrey W. Priest bought 1,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Monday, January 8th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $42.19 per share, for a total transaction of $42,190.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 95,616 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $4,034,039.04. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 8.25% of the companys stock. Institutional Inflows and Outflows About General American Investors Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in shares of General American Investors by 11.8% during the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 132,245 shares of the investment management companys stock worth $5,680,000 after purchasing an additional 13,973 shares during the last quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC acquired a new position in shares of General American Investors during the 4th quarter worth approximately $10,590,000. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. increased its position in shares of General American Investors by 111.6% during the 4th quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 43,251 shares of the investment management companys stock worth $1,858,000 after purchasing an additional 22,813 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of General American Investors by 22.7% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 36,477 shares of the investment management companys stock worth $1,567,000 after purchasing an additional 6,743 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cornerstone Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of General American Investors by 7.6% during the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Advisors LLC now owns 332,918 shares of the investment management companys stock worth $14,299,000 after purchasing an additional 23,531 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 23.71% of the companys stock. (Get Free Report) General American Investors Company, Inc is a publicly owned investment manager. The firm invests in the public equity markets of United States. It invests in growth stocks of companies. It makes investments in Information Technology, Financials, Consumer Staples, Consumer Discretionary, Retailing, Communication Services, Industrials, Health Care, Energy and Materials. See Also Receive News & Ratings for General American Investors Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for General American Investors and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Harleysville Financial Co. (OTCMKTS:HARL Get Free Report) shares were down 2.2% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $21.00 and last traded at $21.00. Approximately 3,959 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 221% from the average daily volume of 1,232 shares. The stock had previously closed at $21.47. Harleysville Financial Stock Down 2.2 % The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $22.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $22.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $76.65 million, a P/E ratio of 6.80 and a beta of 0.33. Get Harleysville Financial alerts: Harleysville Financial (OTCMKTS:HARL Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 24th. The bank reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter. The company had revenue of $7.20 million for the quarter. Harleysville Financial had a return on equity of 13.31% and a net margin of 30.64%. Harleysville Financial Increases Dividend About Harleysville Financial The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 7th will be issued a $0.31 dividend. This is an increase from Harleysville Financials previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.90%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 6th. Harleysville Financials payout ratio is presently 40.13%. (Get Free Report) Harleysville Financial Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Harleysville Bank that provides various banking products and services in Pennsylvania. The company offers various deposit products, including savings, money market, and checking accounts, as well as certificates of deposits. It also provides consumer loans, including residential mortgages, savings account loans, and home equity line of credit, construction, and non-real estate consumer loans; and commercial loans, such as commercial mortgages, line of credit, and commercial business loans. Featured Articles Receive News & Ratings for Harleysville Financial Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Harleysville Financial and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. IDACORP (NYSE:IDA Get Free Report) issued an update on its FY24 earnings guidance on Thursday morning. The company provided EPS guidance of $5.25 to $5.45 for the period, compared to the consensus EPS estimate of $5.46. Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of IDACORP from $93.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Friday, December 1st. Guggenheim downgraded shares of IDACORP from a buy rating to a neutral rating and set a $93.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of IDACORP to a sell rating in a research report on Monday, November 20th. Finally, UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of IDACORP in a research report on Monday, October 23rd. They issued a neutral rating and a $99.00 price objective for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, IDACORP presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $99.50. Get IDACORP alerts: Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on IDA IDACORP Price Performance IDACORP Announces Dividend Shares of IDA traded up $1.87 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $88.93. 506,452 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 321,258. IDACORP has a 1-year low of $86.43 and a 1-year high of $112.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 1.81 and a current ratio of 2.12. The company has a 50 day moving average of $94.98 and a 200-day moving average of $95.96. The stock has a market cap of $4.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.77 and a beta of 0.57. The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 28th. Investors of record on Monday, February 5th will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 2nd. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.73%. IDACORPs dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.94%. Institutional Inflows and Outflows Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of IDA. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. grew its stake in IDACORP by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 10,979 shares of the energy companys stock valued at $1,266,000 after acquiring an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in IDACORP by 10.9% during the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 5,751 shares of the energy companys stock valued at $663,000 after acquiring an additional 564 shares in the last quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can grew its stake in IDACORP by 7.2% during the 1st quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 27,426 shares of the energy companys stock valued at $3,251,000 after acquiring an additional 1,853 shares in the last quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC grew its stake in IDACORP by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 27,046 shares of the energy companys stock valued at $3,120,000 after acquiring an additional 690 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in IDACORP by 9.4% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 376,712 shares of the energy companys stock valued at $43,459,000 after acquiring an additional 32,219 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.00% of the companys stock. IDACORP Company Profile (Get Free Report) IDACORP, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the generation, transmission, distribution, purchase, and sale of electric energy in the United States. The company operates 17 hydropower generating plants located in southern Idaho and eastern Oregon; three natural gas-fired plants in southern Idaho; and interests in two coal-fired steam electric generating plants located in Wyoming and Nevada. Recommended Stories Receive News & Ratings for IDACORP Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for IDACORP and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Shares of International Tower Hill Mines Ltd. (TSE:ITH Get Free Report) (NYSE:THM) crossed below its fifty day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a fifty day moving average of C$0.76 and traded as low as C$0.71. International Tower Hill Mines shares last traded at C$0.71, with a volume of 3,800 shares trading hands. International Tower Hill Mines Trading Up 9.9 % The businesss fifty day simple moving average is C$0.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is C$0.61. The firm has a market cap of C$155.76 million, a P/E ratio of -23.67 and a beta of 1.06. About International Tower Hill Mines (Get Free Report) International Tower Hill Mines Ltd., a mineral exploration company, engages in the acquisition, exploration, and development of mineral properties. It holds or has rights to acquire interests in the Livengood gold project covering an area of approximately 19,546 hectares located to the northwest of Fairbanks, Alaska. Featured Stories Receive News & Ratings for International Tower Hill Mines Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for International Tower Hill Mines and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. iShares S&P/TSX 60 Index ETF (TSE:XIU Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high on Thursday . The stock traded as high as C$32.56 and last traded at C$32.53, with a volume of 3333272 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at C$32.03. iShares S&P/TSX 60 Index ETF Price Performance The firms 50-day moving average price is C$31.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is C$30.80. iShares S&P/TSX 60 Index ETF Company Profile (Get Free Report) iShares S&P/TSX 60 Index Fund seeks to provide long-term capital growth by replicating, to the extent possible, the performance of the S&P/TSX 60 Index through investments in the constituent issuers of such index, net of expenses. The Index is comprised of 60 of the largest (by market capitalization) and liquid securities listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX), selected by Standard & Poors (S&P) using its industrial classifications and guidelines for evaluating issuer capitalization, liquidity and fundamentals. See Also Receive News & Ratings for iShares S&P/TSX 60 Index ETF Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for iShares S&P/TSX 60 Index ETF and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. iShares U.S. Equity Factor ETF (NYSEARCA:LRGF Get Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week high on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $51.24 and last traded at $51.20, with a volume of 89386 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $50.75. iShares U.S. Equity Factor ETF Trading Up 1.0 % The businesss 50 day moving average price is $48.70 and its 200-day moving average price is $45.91. The company has a market cap of $1.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.32 and a beta of 0.98. Get iShares U.S. Equity Factor ETF alerts: Institutional Trading of iShares U.S. Equity Factor ETF A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of LRGF. Raymond James & Associates lifted its stake in shares of iShares U.S. Equity Factor ETF by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 15,642 shares of the companys stock worth $696,000 after buying an additional 596 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC acquired a new stake in shares of iShares U.S. Equity Factor ETF during the 1st quarter worth about $480,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of iShares U.S. Equity Factor ETF by 93.4% during the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 4,836 shares of the companys stock worth $215,000 after buying an additional 2,336 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. raised its stake in iShares U.S. Equity Factor ETF by 6.7% in the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 104,351 shares of the companys stock worth $4,642,000 after purchasing an additional 6,529 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Plancorp LLC raised its stake in iShares U.S. Equity Factor ETF by 9.0% in the 1st quarter. Plancorp LLC now owns 1,039,195 shares of the companys stock worth $46,223,000 after purchasing an additional 86,069 shares in the last quarter. About iShares U.S. Equity Factor ETF The iShares U.S. Equity Factor ETF (LRGF) is an exchange-traded fund that is based on the STOXX U.S. Equity Factor index. The fund tracks an index of US large- and mid-cap equities. Stocks are selected and weighted to maximize exposure to five factors: momentum, quality, value, low volatility, and size. Featured Stories Receive News & Ratings for iShares U.S. Equity Factor ETF Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for iShares U.S. Equity Factor ETF and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Kite Realty Group Trust (NYSE:KRG Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 5,420,000 shares, an increase of 11.1% from the January 15th total of 4,880,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,870,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.9 days. Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Kite Realty Group Trust from $23.00 to $21.00 and set an underweight rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 13th. StockNews.com cut shares of Kite Realty Group Trust from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Kite Realty Group Trust from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kite Realty Group Trust presently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $26.00. Get Kite Realty Group Trust alerts: View Our Latest Stock Analysis on Kite Realty Group Trust Insider Activity Institutional Trading of Kite Realty Group Trust In other news, CEO John A. Kite sold 60,000 shares of Kite Realty Group Trust stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.91, for a total transaction of $1,314,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 104,121 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $2,281,291.11. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link . Insiders own 1.70% of the companys stock. Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in KRG. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. raised its position in Kite Realty Group Trust by 27.9% during the second quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 482,064 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $10,769,000 after purchasing an additional 105,015 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System raised its holdings in Kite Realty Group Trust by 7.3% during the 2nd quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 389,621 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $8,704,000 after buying an additional 26,501 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Kite Realty Group Trust by 1.3% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,157,785 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $70,545,000 after acquiring an additional 39,426 shares during the period. Virginia Retirement Systems ET AL purchased a new stake in shares of Kite Realty Group Trust in the second quarter valued at $4,996,000. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Kite Realty Group Trust by 1.9% in the second quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 2,163,851 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $48,340,000 after acquiring an additional 39,722 shares during the period. 97.22% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors. Kite Realty Group Trust Price Performance Kite Realty Group Trust stock traded up $0.67 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $21.85. 2,089,860 shares of the companys stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,883,140. The company has a market cap of $4.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 128.53, a PEG ratio of 3.74 and a beta of 1.30. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $22.14 and a two-hundred day moving average of $21.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. Kite Realty Group Trust has a 12-month low of $18.77 and a 12-month high of $24.26. Kite Realty Group Trust Announces Dividend The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 5th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 4th. Kite Realty Group Trusts dividend payout ratio is 588.24%. Kite Realty Group Trust Company Profile (Get Free Report) Kite Realty Group Trust (NYSE: KRG) is a real estate investment trust (REIT) headquartered in Indianapolis, IN that is one of the largest publicly traded owners and operators of open-air shopping centers and mixed-use assets. The Company's primarily grocery-anchored portfolio is located in high-growth Sun Belt and select strategic gateway markets. Read More Receive News & Ratings for Kite Realty Group Trust Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Kite Realty Group Trust and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Korea Investment CORP raised its position in Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK Free Report) by 18.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 467,678 shares of the medical technology companys stock after acquiring an additional 71,614 shares during the period. Korea Investment CORPs holdings in Stryker were worth $127,802,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Stryker by 4.8% in the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 25,862,485 shares of the medical technology companys stock valued at $7,890,386,000 after purchasing an additional 1,188,957 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Stryker by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 14,393,817 shares of the medical technology companys stock valued at $4,402,083,000 after purchasing an additional 340,114 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Stryker by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,135,106 shares of the medical technology companys stock valued at $1,865,989,000 after purchasing an additional 181,068 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in shares of Stryker by 21.7% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 5,978,782 shares of the medical technology companys stock valued at $1,461,753,000 after purchasing an additional 1,066,751 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Stryker by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,656,405 shares of the medical technology companys stock valued at $1,420,623,000 after purchasing an additional 25,131 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.24% of the companys stock. Get Stryker alerts: Insider Buying and Selling In other Stryker news, Director Allan C. Golston sold 3,273 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $341.00, for a total value of $1,116,093.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 14,242 shares of the companys stock, valued at $4,856,522. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Director Ronda E. Stryker sold 201,146 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Monday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $342.90, for a total transaction of $68,972,963.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 3,755,128 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $1,287,633,391.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Allan C. Golston sold 3,273 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $341.00, for a total transaction of $1,116,093.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 14,242 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,856,522. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 261,475 shares of company stock valued at $86,518,553. Company insiders own 5.90% of the companys stock. Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded shares of Stryker from a hold rating to a buy rating and set a $360.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Stryker from $330.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Stryker from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Monday, December 4th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Stryker from $289.00 to $297.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Thursday, November 9th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Stryker from $340.00 to $362.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $331.52. View Our Latest Stock Analysis on SYK Stryker Trading Down 0.2 % Shares of SYK traded down $0.61 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $348.81. The company had a trading volume of 1,516,125 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,499,263. The businesss 50-day simple moving average is $310.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $290.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. Stryker Co. has a 1-year low of $249.98 and a 1-year high of $352.56. The stock has a market cap of $132.53 billion, a PE ratio of 42.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.90. Stryker (NYSE:SYK Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The medical technology company reported $3.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.27 by $0.19. Stryker had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 22.99%. The business had revenue of $5.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $5.60 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.00 earnings per share. The companys quarterly revenue was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Stryker Co. will post 11.87 earnings per share for the current year. Stryker Announces Dividend The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 29th will be paid a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.92%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 27th. Strykers dividend payout ratio is presently 38.79%. Stryker Profile (Free Report) Stryker Corporation operates as a medical technology company. The company operates through two segments, MedSurg and Neurotechnology, and Orthopaedics and Spine. The Orthopaedics and Spine segment provides implants for use in hip and knee joint replacements, and trauma and extremities surgeries. This segment also offers spinal implant products comprising cervical, thoracolumbar, and interbody systems that are used in spinal injury, deformity, and degenerative therapies. Featured Articles Want to see what other hedge funds are holding SYK? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Stryker Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Stryker and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Korea Investment CORP lifted its holdings in shares of Prologis, Inc. (NYSE:PLD Free Report) by 1.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 806,834 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock after purchasing an additional 14,295 shares during the period. Korea Investment CORP owned about 0.09% of Prologis worth $90,535,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. BlackRock Inc. raised its stake in shares of Prologis by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 92,924,760 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $11,395,363,000 after purchasing an additional 1,783,742 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Prologis by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 18,762,836 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $2,294,586,000 after acquiring an additional 299,124 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in Prologis by 6.7% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 16,519,324 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $1,853,633,000 after acquiring an additional 1,034,211 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in Prologis by 48.0% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 14,577,827 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $1,643,359,000 after acquiring an additional 4,729,040 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Prologis by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 12,847,534 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $1,575,482,000 after acquiring an additional 131,090 shares during the last quarter. 90.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors. Get Prologis alerts: Prologis Trading Up 2.0 % Shares of Prologis stock traded up $2.65 during trading on Thursday, reaching $133.15. 3,409,211 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,318,935. Prologis, Inc. has a 1 year low of $96.64 and a 1 year high of $137.52. The firm has a market cap of $123.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The stocks fifty day moving average is $129.94 and its 200 day moving average is $119.85. Prologis Dividend Announcement Prologis ( NYSE:PLD Get Free Report ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 17th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.68 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $1.26 by ($0.58). The business had revenue of $1.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.85 billion. Prologis had a return on equity of 5.29% and a net margin of 38.13%. Prologiss quarterly revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.24 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Prologis, Inc. will post 5.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 18th were given a $0.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 15th. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.61%. Prologiss dividend payout ratio is 105.78%. Insider Buying and Selling at Prologis In other news, Director James B. Connor sold 103,331 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.20, for a total value of $13,763,689.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 21,419 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $2,853,010.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.50% of the companys stock. Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on PLD shares. StockNews.com raised Prologis from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report on Thursday, December 14th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Prologis from $128.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Prologis from $133.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Prologis from $134.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a sector outperform rating in a report on Friday, December 15th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their target price on Prologis from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $141.50. Read Our Latest Stock Report on PLD Prologis Company Profile (Free Report) Prologis, Inc is the global leader in logistics real estate with a focus on high-barrier, high-growth markets. At December 31, 2023, the company owned or had investments in, on a wholly owned basis or through co-investment ventures, properties and development projects expected to total approximately 1.2 billion square feet (115 million square meters) in 19 countries. Recommended Stories Want to see what other hedge funds are holding PLD? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Prologis, Inc. (NYSE:PLD Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Prologis Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Prologis and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. ASTANA, Kazakhstan, February 16. The UK has created an international fund dedicated to climate change issues in Central Asia, said British Ambassador to Kazakhstan Kathy Leach, Trend reports. She made the remark during a meeting with the Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation of Kazakhstan, Nurzhan Nurzhigitov. According to her, within the fund, the UK will provide support to five countries in the region to combat the negative effects of climate change. The British side is also ready to cooperate with the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea. At the same time, Kathy Leach noted that the UK intends to interact with Kazakhstan not only within the framework of regional but also bilateral cooperation. In turn, Nurzhan Nurzhigitov outlined three priority areas of bilateral cooperation. "This is work with the Research Institute for the Study of the Caspian Sea, the exchange of experience and attraction of experts from the UK, as well as postgraduate education for students of technical specialties and personnel in the field of water diplomacy," he said. Kathy Leach pointed out that the British side is ready to train masters and doctors of philosophy within the framework of the Bolashak educational program. Kathy Leach also suggested considering the possibility of launching joint double-degree education programs. In addition, representatives of the British delegation expressed their readiness to invite to Kazakhstan world-class experts in the fields of hydrogeology, irrigation, glacier studies, etc. Mar Vista Investment Partners LLC reduced its holdings in Mettler-Toledo International Inc. (NYSE:MTD Free Report) by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 46,868 shares of the medical instruments suppliers stock after selling 2,990 shares during the period. Mettler-Toledo International makes up 2.5% of Mar Vista Investment Partners LLCs holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. Mar Vista Investment Partners LLC owned 0.22% of Mettler-Toledo International worth $51,933,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MTD. Gladius Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Mettler-Toledo International during the third quarter worth about $27,000. Ancora Advisors LLC raised its stake in Mettler-Toledo International by 100.0% during the first quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 20 shares of the medical instruments suppliers stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the period. VitalStone Financial LLC purchased a new position in Mettler-Toledo International during the first quarter worth about $37,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Mettler-Toledo International by 37.5% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 33 shares of the medical instruments suppliers stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 9 shares during the period. Finally, Huntington National Bank raised its stake in Mettler-Toledo International by 34.6% during the second quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 35 shares of the medical instruments suppliers stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 9 shares during the period. 93.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors. Get Mettler-Toledo International alerts: Mettler-Toledo International Stock Up 1.0 % Mettler-Toledo International stock traded up $11.52 during trading on Thursday, reaching $1,192.70. The stock had a trading volume of 92,387 shares, compared to its average volume of 164,525. Mettler-Toledo International Inc. has a 52-week low of $928.49 and a 52-week high of $1,615.97. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $1,188.45 and a 200 day moving average price of $1,140.32. The stock has a market cap of $25.62 billion, a PE ratio of 32.94, a P/E/G ratio of 5.02 and a beta of 1.15. Insider Transactions at Mettler-Toledo International Mettler-Toledo International ( NYSE:MTD Get Free Report ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 9th. The medical instruments supplier reported $9.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $10.32 by ($0.92). Mettler-Toledo International had a negative return on equity of 904.59% and a net margin of 20.82%. The firm had revenue of $934.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $959.45 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $12.10 EPS. The firms revenue was down 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Mettler-Toledo International Inc. will post 39.79 EPS for the current fiscal year. In other news, Director Elisha W. Finney sold 251 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,177.35, for a total transaction of $295,514.85. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 316 shares in the company, valued at approximately $372,042.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 2.40% of the companys stock. Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth A number of brokerages have weighed in on MTD. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of Mettler-Toledo International from $1,185.00 to $1,030.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 13th. Citigroup reiterated a sell rating and set a $975.00 price target (down from $1,050.00) on shares of Mettler-Toledo International in a research report on Monday, December 11th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Mettler-Toledo International from $1,520.00 to $1,300.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 13th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Mettler-Toledo International from $1,425.00 to $1,270.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 13th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Mettler-Toledo International from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $1,223.71. Get Our Latest Stock Report on Mettler-Toledo International About Mettler-Toledo International (Free Report) Mettler-Toledo International Inc manufactures and supplies precision instruments and services in the United States and internationally. It operates through five segments: U.S. Operations, Swiss Operations, Western European Operations, Chinese Operations, and Other. The company's laboratory instruments include laboratory balances, liquid pipetting solutions, automated laboratory reactors, titrators, pH meters, process analytics sensors and analyzer technologies, physical value analyzers, density and refractometry, thermal analysis systems, and other analytical instruments; and LabX, a laboratory software platform to manage and analyze data generated from its instruments. Recommended Stories Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MTD? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Mettler-Toledo International Inc. (NYSE:MTD Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Mettler-Toledo International Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Mettler-Toledo International and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. (OTCMKTS:NSANY Get Free Report)s stock price rose 1.3% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $7.49 and last traded at $7.49. Approximately 113,840 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 9% from the average daily volume of 125,414 shares. The stock had previously closed at $7.39. Nissan Motor Stock Performance The firms 50-day moving average price is $7.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $8.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a current ratio of 1.80. The stock has a market cap of $15.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.74, a PEG ratio of 0.20 and a beta of 1.07. About Nissan Motor (Get Free Report) Nissan Motor Co, Ltd. manufactures and sells vehicles and automotive parts worldwide. It sells vehicles under the Nissan and Infiniti brands. The company offers vehicle and vehicle parts; engines, manual transmissions, and multiplier/reducer units; automotive parts; axles; and other related components. Featured Stories Receive News & Ratings for Nissan Motor Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Nissan Motor and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. ONEOK, Inc. (NYSE:OKE Get Free Report) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest in January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 11,810,000 shares, a decrease of 8.7% from the January 15th total of 12,940,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 3,500,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.4 days. Insider Transactions at ONEOK In other news, Director Eduardo A. Rodriguez sold 800 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.29, for a total transaction of $56,232.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 25,154 shares of the companys stock, valued at $1,768,074.66. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the companys stock. Get ONEOK alerts: Hedge Funds Weigh In On ONEOK Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Presima Securities ULC raised its holdings in ONEOK by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Presima Securities ULC now owns 9,100 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $639,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Regal Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in ONEOK by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Regal Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,631 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $294,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares during the last quarter. FourThought Financial Partners LLC raised its holdings in ONEOK by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. FourThought Financial Partners LLC now owns 4,386 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $308,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp raised its holdings in ONEOK by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 6,793 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $419,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hoxton Planning & Management LLC raised its holdings in ONEOK by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. Hoxton Planning & Management LLC now owns 3,594 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $228,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. 68.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. Analysts Set New Price Targets A number of brokerages recently issued reports on OKE. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of ONEOK from $69.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a research note on Thursday, November 16th. Bank of America upgraded shares of ONEOK from a neutral rating to a buy rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $72.00 to $83.00 in a research note on Monday, December 4th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of ONEOK from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Raymond James lifted their price target on shares of ONEOK from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Friday, January 19th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded shares of ONEOK from an underperform rating to a peer perform rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $75.91. Read Our Latest Report on ONEOK ONEOK Stock Performance OKE stock traded up $1.95 on Thursday, hitting $71.06. The companys stock had a trading volume of 3,556,753 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,032,432. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The stock has a market cap of $41.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.64. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $69.49 and a two-hundred day moving average of $67.22. ONEOK has a 1 year low of $55.91 and a 1 year high of $72.51. ONEOK Increases Dividend The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 30th were paid a $0.99 dividend. This is a boost from ONEOKs previous quarterly dividend of $0.96. This represents a $3.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.57%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, January 29th. ONEOKs payout ratio is currently 72.66%. ONEOK declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, January 17th that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the utilities provider to repurchase up to 4.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the companys board believes its stock is undervalued. About ONEOK (Get Free Report) ONEOK, Inc engages in gathering, processing, fractionation, storage, transportation, and marketing of natural gas and natural gas liquids (NGL) in the United States. It operates through four segments: Natural Gas Gathering and Processing, Natural Gas Liquids, Natural Gas Pipelines, and Refined Products and Crude. Featured Stories Receive News & Ratings for ONEOK Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for ONEOK and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Pertento Partners LLP boosted its stake in shares of Patria Investments Limited (NYSE:PAX Free Report) by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,932,475 shares of the companys stock after buying an additional 102,222 shares during the quarter. Patria Investments accounts for about 5.1% of Pertento Partners LLPs holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Pertento Partners LLP owned approximately 3.56% of Patria Investments worth $28,175,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in shares of Patria Investments by 94.6% during the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 9,771,580 shares of the companys stock worth $174,032,000 after purchasing an additional 4,750,000 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Patria Investments by 21.9% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,278,548 shares of the companys stock valued at $76,201,000 after acquiring an additional 769,798 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Patria Investments during the second quarter worth approximately $40,570,000. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in Patria Investments by 11.7% during the second quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 2,738,690 shares of the companys stock worth $39,163,000 after purchasing an additional 286,382 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda acquired a new stake in Patria Investments during the second quarter worth approximately $19,115,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.27% of the companys stock. Get Patria Investments alerts: Patria Investments Stock Up 3.7 % PAX stock traded up $0.53 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $14.85. 422,934 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 192,935. Patria Investments Limited has a 1-year low of $12.81 and a 1-year high of $17.40. The stocks 50-day simple moving average is $14.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $14.45. Patria Investments Profile Patria Investments Limited operates as a private market investment firm focused on investing in Latin America. The company offers asset management services to investors focusing on private equity funds, infrastructure development funds, co-investments funds, constructivist equity funds, and real estate and credit funds. Featured Articles Receive News & Ratings for Patria Investments Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Patria Investments and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Reliance Steel & Aluminum (NYSE:RS Get Free Report) issued its earnings results on Thursday. The industrial products company reported $4.73 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.92 by $0.81, RTT News reports. The company had revenue of $3.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.31 billion. Reliance Steel & Aluminum had a net margin of 9.38% and a return on equity of 18.92%. The businesss revenue was down 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $5.87 EPS. Reliance Steel & Aluminum updated its Q1 guidance to $5.30-5.50 EPS. Reliance Steel & Aluminum Price Performance RS stock traded up $37.63 during trading on Thursday, hitting $332.28. The stock had a trading volume of 600,635 shares, compared to its average volume of 212,645. The companys 50 day moving average price is $282.73 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $273.51. Reliance Steel & Aluminum has a 1-year low of $229.12 and a 1-year high of $332.66. The stock has a market cap of $19.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.97 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 3.13 and a current ratio of 5.53. Get Reliance Steel & Aluminum alerts: Insider Activity at Reliance Steel & Aluminum In related news, Director James Donald Hoffman sold 10,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.49, for a total value of $2,724,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 94,042 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $25,625,504.58. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CEO Karla R. Lewis sold 5,374 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $278.87, for a total transaction of $1,498,647.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 83,884 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $23,392,731.08. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director James Donald Hoffman sold 10,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.49, for a total transaction of $2,724,900.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 94,042 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $25,625,504.58. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 26,614 shares of company stock valued at $7,357,934. 0.71% of the stock is owned by insiders. Institutional Inflows and Outflows Analyst Ratings Changes A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Worth Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Reliance Steel & Aluminum in the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Advisory Services Network LLC grew its position in Reliance Steel & Aluminum by 160.0% in the first quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 221 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in Reliance Steel & Aluminum by 131.7% in the first quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 234 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $60,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Reliance Steel & Aluminum in the first quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Finally, Fortis Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in Reliance Steel & Aluminum by 8,850.0% in the first quarter. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC now owns 358 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $92,000 after acquiring an additional 354 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.87% of the companys stock. RS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Reliance Steel & Aluminum from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, November 23rd. KeyCorp decreased their price objective on shares of Reliance Steel & Aluminum from $290.00 to $285.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $275.00. Get Our Latest Stock Report on Reliance Steel & Aluminum About Reliance Steel & Aluminum (Get Free Report) Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co operates as a diversified metal solutions provider and the metals service center company in the United States, Canada, and internationally. The company distributes a line of approximately 100,000 metal products, including alloy, aluminum, brass, copper, carbon steel, stainless steel, titanium, and specialty steel products; and provides metals processing services to general manufacturing, non-residential construction, transportation, aerospace, energy, electronics and semiconductor fabrication, and heavy industries. Featured Articles Receive News & Ratings for Reliance Steel & Aluminum Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Reliance Steel & Aluminum and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Global Net Lease, Inc. (NYSE:GNL Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest during the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 6,040,000 shares, a decline of 35.7% from the January 15th total of 9,400,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,710,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.5 days. Global Net Lease Stock Performance Shares of GNL stock traded up $0.19 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $8.16. The stock had a trading volume of 1,103,767 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,498,227. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.88 billion, a PE ratio of -4.97, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.37. Global Net Lease has a twelve month low of $7.56 and a twelve month high of $14.62. The stocks 50 day moving average is $9.10 and its 200 day moving average is $9.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.05 and a quick ratio of 0.05. Get Global Net Lease alerts: Global Net Lease Increases Dividend The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 12th were issued a $0.354 dividend. This is an increase from Global Net Leases previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. This represents a $1.42 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 17.36%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 11th. Global Net Leases dividend payout ratio is presently -86.59%. Analyst Ratings Changes GNL has been the topic of several research reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Global Net Lease to a sell rating in a research report on Monday, November 27th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Global Net Lease in a research report on Tuesday. They set an outperform rating and a $11.00 price target on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and two have given 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 $13.50. View Our Latest Analysis on GNL Insider Activity In other Global Net Lease news, major shareholder Nicholas S. Schorsch sold 220,564 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.01, for a total value of $2,207,845.64. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 4,405,042 shares of the companys stock, valued at $44,094,470.42. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Global Net Lease news, major shareholder Nicholas S. Schorsch sold 4,837 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.90, for a total value of $43,049.30. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 3,861,472 shares of the companys stock, valued at $34,367,100.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, major shareholder Nicholas S. Schorsch sold 220,564 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.01, for a total transaction of $2,207,845.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,405,042 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,094,470.42. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 571,978 shares of company stock valued at $5,362,151. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by insiders. Institutional Investors Weigh In On Global Net Lease Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of GNL. Raymond James & Associates lifted its holdings in shares of Global Net Lease by 11.8% during the first quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 74,749 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $1,176,000 after purchasing an additional 7,886 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Global Net Lease by 4.5% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,145,077 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $18,013,000 after purchasing an additional 48,896 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its holdings in shares of Global Net Lease by 5.3% during the first quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 31,150 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $491,000 after purchasing an additional 1,581 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Global Net Lease by 57.8% during the first quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 54,350 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $855,000 after purchasing an additional 19,899 shares during the period. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers lifted its holdings in shares of Global Net Lease by 1.6% during the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 317,198 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $4,990,000 after purchasing an additional 5,102 shares during the period. 75.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. Global Net Lease Company Profile (Get Free Report) Global Net Lease, Inc (NYSE: GNL) is a publicly traded real estate investment trust listed on the NYSE focused on acquiring a diversified global portfolio of commercial properties, with an emphasis on sale-leaseback transactions involving single tenant, mission critical income producing net-leased assets across the United States, Western and Northern Europe. Read More Receive News & Ratings for Global Net Lease Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Global Net Lease and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Jacobs Solutions Inc. (NYSE:J Get Free Report) saw a large increase in short interest during the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,780,000 shares, an increase of 16.3% from the January 15th total of 1,530,000 shares. Approximately 1.4% of the companys stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 890,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.0 days. Jacobs Solutions Stock Up 0.2 % Shares of J stock traded up $0.24 during trading on Friday, reaching $147.54. The companys stock had a trading volume of 879,954 shares, compared to its average volume of 817,047. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $133.16 and a 200-day moving average price of $132.93. The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The company has a market cap of $18.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.73. Jacobs Solutions has a one year low of $109.00 and a one year high of $149.17. Get Jacobs Solutions alerts: Jacobs Solutions (NYSE:J Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The company reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $1.56 by $0.46. The business had revenue of $4.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.02 billion. Jacobs Solutions had a net margin of 4.20% and a return on equity of 14.57%. The firms revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.67 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Jacobs Solutions will post 8.06 earnings per share for the current year. Jacobs Solutions Increases Dividend Analyst Ratings Changes The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 23rd will be issued a $0.29 dividend. This is an increase from Jacobs Solutionss previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.79%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 22nd. Jacobs Solutionss payout ratio is currently 18.57%. A number of research firms have recently commented on J. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Jacobs Solutions from $151.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. KeyCorp began coverage on shares of Jacobs Solutions in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. They set a sector weight rating for the company. Benchmark reaffirmed a buy rating and set a $160.00 price objective on shares of Jacobs Solutions in a report on Wednesday, November 22nd. Raymond James cut shares of Jacobs Solutions from an outperform rating to a market perform rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 22nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a buy rating and set a $150.00 target price on shares of Jacobs Solutions in a research report on Tuesday, November 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $152.11. Read Our Latest Stock Report on J Insider Transactions at Jacobs Solutions In other news, Director Ralph E. Eberhart sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.86, for a total transaction of $454,510.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 26,754 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,474,274.44. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Jacobs Solutions news, SVP William B. Allen, Jr. sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.50, for a total value of $194,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 28,150 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $3,645,425. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Ralph E. Eberhart sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.86, for a total transaction of $454,510.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 26,754 shares of the companys stock, valued at $3,474,274.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 17,166 shares of company stock worth $2,201,482 in the last 90 days. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders. Institutional Investors Weigh In On Jacobs Solutions A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. bought a new position in Jacobs Solutions in the 4th quarter valued at about $584,000. Security National Bank of SO Dak increased its holdings in Jacobs Solutions by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Security National Bank of SO Dak now owns 23,380 shares of the companys stock valued at $3,035,000 after buying an additional 210 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio increased its holdings in Jacobs Solutions by 9.8% in the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 71,949 shares of the companys stock valued at $9,339,000 after buying an additional 6,414 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV increased its holdings in Jacobs Solutions by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 20,785 shares of the companys stock valued at $2,698,000 after buying an additional 786 shares during the period. Finally, Empire Financial Management Company LLC bought a new position in Jacobs Solutions in the 4th quarter valued at about $280,000. Institutional investors own 84.77% of the companys stock. Jacobs Solutions Company Profile (Get Free Report) Jacobs Solutions Inc provides consulting, technical, engineering, scientific, and project delivery services for the government and private sectors in the United States, Europe, Canada, India, Asia, Australia, New Zealand, the Middle East, and Africa. It operates through Critical Mission Solutions, People & Places Solutions, Divergent Solutions, and PA Consulting segments. Featured Stories Receive News & Ratings for Jacobs Solutions Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Jacobs Solutions and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. The Bank of New York Mellon Co. (NYSE:BK Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest during the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 6,940,000 shares, a growth of 14.1% from the January 15th total of 6,080,000 shares. Currently, 0.9% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 4,330,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.6 days. Wall Street Analyst Weigh In Several research firms have weighed in on BK. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Bank of New York Mellon from a neutral rating to an overweight rating and set a $54.50 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, December 18th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Bank of New York Mellon from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Bank of New York Mellon from an underweight rating to an equal weight rating and increased their target price for the stock from $52.00 to $62.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Bank of New York Mellon from $54.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, January 9th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Bank of New York Mellon has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $54.75. Get Bank of New York Mellon alerts: View Our Latest Analysis on BK Insiders Place Their Bets Institutional Inflows and Outflows In other Bank of New York Mellon news, VP Catherine Keating sold 4,498 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.81, for a total transaction of $246,535.38. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 123,490 shares of the companys stock, valued at $6,768,486.90. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link . In related news, VP Hanneke Smits sold 15,425 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.16, for a total value of $850,843.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 119,656 shares in the company, valued at $6,600,224.96. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link . Also, VP Catherine Keating sold 4,498 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.81, for a total transaction of $246,535.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 123,490 shares in the company, valued at $6,768,486.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here . Insiders own 0.10% of the companys stock. A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BK. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its position in Bank of New York Mellon by 160.0% in the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 5,358 shares of the banks stock valued at $263,000 after purchasing an additional 3,297 shares in the last quarter. Prudential PLC bought a new position in shares of Bank of New York Mellon in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,096,000. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its position in shares of Bank of New York Mellon by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 35,635 shares of the banks stock valued at $1,769,000 after acquiring an additional 1,154 shares during the period. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. grew its position in shares of Bank of New York Mellon by 54.3% in the 1st quarter. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. now owns 232,115 shares of the banks stock valued at $11,519,000 after acquiring an additional 81,728 shares during the period. Finally, Zions Bancorporation N.A. grew its position in shares of Bank of New York Mellon by 165.3% in the 1st quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 1,459 shares of the banks stock valued at $72,000 after acquiring an additional 909 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.29% of the companys stock. Bank of New York Mellon Stock Up 1.5 % Shares of BK stock traded up $0.81 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $55.29. 3,641,455 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,342,142. The business has a 50 day moving average of $53.39 and a two-hundred day moving average of $47.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. Bank of New York Mellon has a 52 week low of $39.65 and a 52 week high of $56.42. The company has a market capitalization of $42.52 billion, a PE ratio of 13.93, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.12. Bank of New York Mellon (NYSE:BK Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 12th. The bank reported $1.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $4.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.30 billion. Bank of New York Mellon had a net margin of 10.01% and a return on equity of 11.62%. The firms revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.30 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Bank of New York Mellon will post 5.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. Bank of New York Mellon Dividend Announcement The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, January 22nd were given a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.04%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 19th. Bank of New York Mellons dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 42.32%. About Bank of New York Mellon (Get 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. Read More Receive News & Ratings for Bank of New York Mellon Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Bank of New York Mellon and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Southern (NYSE:SO Get Free Report) updated its first quarter earnings guidance on Thursday. The company provided earnings per share guidance of $0.90 for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share estimate of $0.91. Southern also updated its FY24 guidance to $3.95-4.05 EPS. Southern Stock Down 1.5 % SO traded down $0.99 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $66.82. The companys stock had a trading volume of 10,331,661 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,668,580. The stocks 50-day moving average is $69.78 and its 200-day moving average is $68.81. Southern has a 1 year low of $61.56 and a 1 year high of $75.80. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.12, a PEG ratio of 4.27 and a beta of 0.50. Get Southern alerts: Southern Announces Dividend The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 16th. Southerns payout ratio is 101.08%. Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades A number of research firms have recently commented on SO. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Southern from $66.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Tuesday, November 21st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Southern from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report on Friday, November 3rd. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Southern from $68.00 to $67.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Scotiabank cut shares of Southern from a sector outperform rating to a sector perform rating and set a $78.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Friday, November 3rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Southern from a market perform rating to an outperform rating and raised their target price for the stock from $72.00 to $77.00 in a report on Thursday, January 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Southern presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $74.00. Get Our Latest Stock Report on Southern Insiders Place Their Bets In other Southern news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.94, for a total value of $334,700.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 129,552 shares in the company, valued at $8,672,210.88. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.94, for a total transaction of $334,700.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 129,552 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,672,210.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.06, for a total transaction of $60,286.94. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 22,502 shares in the company, valued at $1,508,984.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 25,998 shares of company stock worth $1,817,613. Company insiders own 0.37% of the companys stock. Institutional Trading of Southern Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SO. Prudential PLC increased its holdings in Southern by 23.4% in the 1st quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 19,438 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $1,409,000 after acquiring an additional 3,689 shares during the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its holdings in Southern by 33.5% in the 1st quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,727 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $126,000 after acquiring an additional 433 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in Southern by 63.0% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,902 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $138,000 after acquiring an additional 735 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Southern by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 49,925 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $3,621,000 after acquiring an additional 221 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its holdings in Southern by 35.8% in the 1st quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 907,132 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $65,776,000 after acquiring an additional 239,325 shares during the last quarter. 62.85% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors. About Southern (Get Free Report) The Southern Company, through its subsidiaries, engages in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity. It operates through three segments: Gas Distribution Operations, Gas Pipeline Investments, and Gas Marketing Services. The company also develops, constructs, acquires, owns, and manages power generation assets, including renewable energy projects and sells electricity in the wholesale market; and distributes natural gas in Illinois, Georgia, Virginia, and Tennessee, as well as provides gas marketing services, gas distribution operations, and gas pipeline investments operations. Featured Stories Receive News & Ratings for Southern Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Southern and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS Get Free Report) (TSE:BNS) was the target of a large drop in short interest in January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 20,650,000 shares, a drop of 25.2% from the January 15th total of 27,620,000 shares. Currently, 1.7% of the companys stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,950,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 10.6 days. Bank of Nova Scotia Stock Performance BNS traded up $0.46 during trading on Thursday, hitting $47.25. The stock had a trading volume of 2,059,135 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,166,364. The firm has a market cap of $57.37 billion, a PE ratio of 11.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.03. Bank of Nova Scotia has a 12 month low of $39.79 and a 12 month high of $54.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $46.81 and a 200-day simple moving average of $45.70. Get Bank of Nova Scotia alerts: Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS Get Free Report) (TSE:BNS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 28th. The bank reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.21 by ($0.28). Bank of Nova Scotia had a return on equity of 11.87% and a net margin of 10.47%. The firm had revenue of $8.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.98 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.55 EPS. The businesss revenue was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Bank of Nova Scotia will post 4.91 EPS for the current year. Bank of Nova Scotia Cuts Dividend Analyst Ratings Changes The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.7773 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, January 2nd. This represents a $3.11 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.58%. Bank of Nova Scotias payout ratio is 72.73%. A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on BNS shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report on Wednesday, November 29th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from $73.00 to $68.00 and set a market perform rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $69.00. Get Our Latest Stock Report on Bank of Nova Scotia Institutional Inflows and Outflows Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BNS. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 59.1% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 26,438 shares of the banks stock worth $1,896,000 after purchasing an additional 9,818 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 18,359 shares of the banks stock worth $1,317,000 after purchasing an additional 475 shares during the period. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC bought a new position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia during the 1st quarter worth about $366,000. Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 56.3% during the 1st quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 7,272 shares of the banks stock valued at $522,000 after acquiring an additional 2,619 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BlackRock Inc. boosted its position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 10.3% during the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 870,918 shares of the banks stock valued at $62,462,000 after acquiring an additional 81,002 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 43.18% of the companys stock. About Bank of Nova Scotia (Get Free Report) The Bank of Nova Scotia provides various banking products and services in Canada, the United States, Mexico, Peru, Chile, Colombia, the Caribbean and Central America, and internationally. It operates through Canadian Banking, International Banking, Global Wealth Management, and Global Banking and Markets segments. Featured Articles Receive News & Ratings for Bank of Nova Scotia Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Bank of Nova Scotia and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan, February 16. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has approved a senior loan of $4 million to Demir Kyrgyz International Bank (DKIB) under Kyrgyzstans Green Economy Financing Facility (KyrSEFF III), Trend reports. The loan, with a 4-year term including a 1-year grace period, will be used to finance projects promoting energy efficiency, renewable energy, a circular economy, and climate resilience in the country. The funds obtained will be lent to sub-borrowers, who will have the option to withdraw funds in either Kyrgyz soms or US dollars. This transaction is expected to enhance DKIB's ability to finance energy and water efficiency projects, thereby contributing to the development of a more competitive financial sector in the country. Sub-projects will be selected based on the technical and financial eligibility criteria outlined in the policy statement for KyrSEFF III. All proceeds will be dedicated to investments in transitioning to a green economy. So far, the EBRD has offered DIKB a diverse array of debt products, such as loans for SMEs, energy efficiency, and mortgages, along with trade finance financing. The total funding provided has surpassed $50 million. Meanwhile, within the framework of KyrSEFF III, EBRD plans to offer up to $50 million to qualifying participating financial institutions (PFIs) in Kyrgyzstan. KyrSEFF III will help Kyrgyzstan shift towards a sustainable, low-carbon, and climate-resilient economy. The aim is to avoid locking the country into a path that relies heavily on carbon emissions, making it vulnerable to climate change and environmental damage. Tricon Residential Inc. (NYSE:TCN Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest in the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,190,000 shares, a decline of 31.8% from the January 15th total of 3,210,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 5,180,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.4 days. Currently, 0.8% of the companys shares are sold short. Analyst Ratings Changes TCN has been the subject of a number of research reports. BMO Capital Markets lowered shares of Tricon Residential from an outperform rating to a market perform rating in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. TD Securities cut Tricon Residential from a buy rating to a tender rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $10.50 to $11.25 in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on Tricon Residential from $10.25 to $10.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Tricon Residential from $9.50 to $11.25 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. Finally, Citigroup restated a neutral rating and set a $11.25 price objective (up from $10.50) on shares of Tricon Residential in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $10.20. Get Tricon Residential alerts: Get Our Latest Stock Report on Tricon Residential Institutional Trading of Tricon Residential Tricon Residential Stock Performance A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of TCN. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Tricon Residential during the first quarter worth about $39,000. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Tricon Residential in the first quarter worth about $885,000. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can boosted its position in Tricon Residential by 5.8% during the first quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 82,305 shares of the companys stock worth $1,393,000 after acquiring an additional 4,530 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Tricon Residential by 531.0% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,500,305 shares of the companys stock valued at $166,746,000 after acquiring an additional 8,836,273 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp purchased a new stake in Tricon Residential during the 1st quarter valued at about $29,049,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.83% of the companys stock. TCN stock traded up $0.02 during trading on Thursday, hitting $11.06. 2,345,473 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,066,040. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 0.25 and a quick ratio of 0.25. Tricon Residential has a 1 year low of $6.53 and a 1 year high of $11.15. The stocks 50-day simple moving average is $9.75 and its 200 day simple moving average is $8.50. The company has a market cap of $3.02 billion, a PE ratio of 20.47 and a beta of 1.48. About Tricon Residential (Get Free Report) Tricon Residential Inc (NYSE: TCN, TSX: TCN) is an owner and operator of a growing portfolio of approximately 37,000 single-family rental homes in the U.S. Sun Belt and multi-family apartments in Canada. Our commitment to enriching the lives of our employees, residents and local communities underpins Tricon's culture and business philosophy. Featured Articles Receive News & Ratings for Tricon Residential Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Tricon Residential and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Clearstead Advisors LLC lowered its position in Vanguard Total World Stock ETF (NYSEARCA:VT Free Report) by 6.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 193,290 shares of the exchange traded funds stock after selling 12,956 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Total World Stock ETF makes up approximately 1.1% of Clearstead Advisors LLCs holdings, making the stock its 20th biggest position. Clearstead Advisors LLC owned about 0.07% of Vanguard Total World Stock ETF worth $18,011,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of VT. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Vanguard Total World Stock ETF by 681,735.5% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 251,713,227 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $21,695,163,000 after acquiring an additional 251,676,310 shares in the last quarter. Cambridge Associates LLC MA ADV lifted its position in shares of Vanguard Total World Stock ETF by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Cambridge Associates LLC MA ADV now owns 2,463,680 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $238,928,000 after purchasing an additional 39,381 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in shares of Vanguard Total World Stock ETF by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,985,542 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $192,557,000 after purchasing an additional 72,465 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG lifted its position in shares of Vanguard Total World Stock ETF by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,978,589 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $184,365,000 after purchasing an additional 25,957 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Modera Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Vanguard Total World Stock ETF by 5,723.4% during the 3rd quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,791,634 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $166,944,000 after purchasing an additional 1,760,868 shares during the last quarter. Get Vanguard Total World Stock ETF alerts: Vanguard Total World Stock ETF Price Performance Shares of NYSEARCA VT traded down $0.25 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $105.98. 1,277,382 shares of the companys stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,259,757. Vanguard Total World Stock ETF has a 1-year low of $86.13 and a 1-year high of $106.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.20 and a beta of 0.94. The companys 50-day moving average price is $102.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $98.03. Vanguard Total World Stock ETF Company Profile Vanguard Total World Stock Index Fund ETF (the Fund) is an open-end investment company. The Fund seeks to track the performance of the FTSE Global All Cap Index, which covers both well-established and still-developing markets. The Fund invests in both foreign and the United States stocks. The fund offers three classes of shares: Investor Shares, Institutional Shares, and ETF Shares. See Also Want to see what other hedge funds are holding VT? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Vanguard Total World Stock ETF (NYSEARCA:VT Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Vanguard Total World Stock ETF Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Vanguard Total World Stock ETF and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST Get Free Report) released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.83 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.78 by $0.05, MarketWatch Earnings reports. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 21.86% and a net margin of 19.11%. The business had revenue of $732.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $740.43 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.77 earnings per share. The companys revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. West Pharmaceutical Services updated its FY24 guidance to $7.50-7.75 EPS. West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock traded down $57.49 on Thursday, reaching $350.70. 3,178,595 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 562,814. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 2.89 and a current ratio of 3.70. The companys 50-day moving average is $361.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $368.34. The firm has a market cap of $25.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.33, a P/E/G ratio of 4.01 and a beta of 1.05. West Pharmaceutical Services has a 1-year low of $303.79 and a 1-year high of $415.73. Get West Pharmaceutical Services alerts: West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 31st were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.23%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, January 30th. West Pharmaceutical Servicess payout ratio is 10.80%. Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades WST has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, December 7th. Stephens cut their price objective on West Pharmaceutical Services from $420.00 to $390.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 27th. KeyCorp upped their price objective on West Pharmaceutical Services from $440.00 to $470.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a hold rating to a buy rating and upped their price objective for the company from $323.00 to $536.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Buy and a consensus target price of $418.20. Read Our Latest Report on WST Insider Transactions at West Pharmaceutical Services In other news, CAO Chad Winters sold 1,013 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $349.00, for a total transaction of $353,537.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,270 shares in the company, valued at approximately $443,230. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.13% of the companys stock. Hedge Funds Weigh In On West Pharmaceutical Services A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 8.5% in the 1st quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 384 shares of the medical instruments suppliers stock worth $133,000 after buying an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 37.4% in the 1st quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 147 shares of the medical instruments suppliers stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Wetherby Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 5.7% in the 1st quarter. Wetherby Asset Management Inc. now owns 822 shares of the medical instruments suppliers stock worth $338,000 after buying an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,276 shares of the medical instruments suppliers stock worth $300,000 after buying an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lido Advisors LLC grew its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 2,572 shares of the medical instruments suppliers stock worth $1,056,000 after buying an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. 91.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors. About West Pharmaceutical Services (Get Free Report) West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc designs, manufactures, and sells containment and delivery systems for injectable drugs and healthcare products in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. It operates in two segments, Proprietary Products and Contract-Manufactured Products. Read More Receive News & Ratings for West Pharmaceutical Services Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for West Pharmaceutical Services and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. You are already a Moneycontrol Pro user. OK BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan, February 16. Gold mining using underground methods has commenced at the Kumtor deposit in Kyrgyzstan, Trend reports. According to the Cabinet of Ministers of Kyrgyzstan, the project was launched by the First Deputy Chairman, Adylbek Kasymaliev. Kasymaliev noted that this method of ore extraction will contribute to an increase in gold production, as well as a reduction in negative environmental impacts, including on glaciers. "We hope for the successful implementation of this project, considering its ecological significance and economic efficiency," he said. According to Almazbek Baryktabasov, President of Kumtor Gold Company, the developed technical and economic justification for the underground gold mining project speaks to its economic efficiency. Preliminary data suggests that using underground mining methods will yield 115 tons of gold. The Kumtor gold mine is one of the largest in Central Asia. Kumtor Gold Company operates the Kumtor mine and oversees the entire production cycle. In 2022, Kumtor produced 17.3 tons of gold. All gold produced at the Kumtor mine is purchased by Kyrgyzaltyn JSC. Siddharth Upasani is a Special Correspondent at Moneycontrol. He has been covering the Indian economy, economic data, and monetary and fiscal policies for nine years. He tweets at @SiddharthUbiWan. Contact: siddharth.upasani@nw18.com Meghna Mittal MEGHNA MITTAL is Deputy News Editor at Moneycontrol. Meghna has experience across television, print, online and wire media. She has been covering the Indian economy, monetary and fiscal policies, Finance and Trade ministries. She tweets at @Meghnamittal23 Contact: meghna.mittal@nw18.com Tasmayee Laha Roy is Assistant Editor of Storyboard18. Storyboard18 is Network18's flagship platform focused on the advertising & marketing community and a leading source of news and analyses on the business of brands. https://www.moneycontrol.com/https:/www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/markets/bat-stake-sale-in-itc-may-trigger-short-term-pressure-fmcg-arm-to-outperform-no-impact-on-hotels-analysts-12286071.html?PAGE_VIEW_IN_EU_REGION=1&DEVICE_TYPE=desktop *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept In today's edition of Moneycontrol Pro Panorama: More NBFC's piled in past three years, simultaneous polls may not be an unalloyed... Moneycontrol Pro Panorama | Markets need their Vitamin D too, as disclosures make them stronger The much awaited block deal in Vedanta did happen, but not exactly in the way that the bulls in the stock were hoping for. The good news is that the company has managed to raise funds without diluting equity as it races against clock to repay bondholders. But the question is: who were the buyers for the shares that the promoter group sold? There has been chatter for a while that Rajiv Jain-owned GQG was interested in USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept Invite your friends and family to sign up for MC Tech 3, our daily newsletter that breaks down the biggest tech and startup stories of the day Kayezad E Adajania heads the personal finance bureau at Moneycontrol. He has been covering mutual funds and personal finance for the past two decades, having worked in Mint and Outlook Money magazine. Kayezad was the founding member of Mints personal finance team when it was set up in 2009. 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. You are here: Business China's imports of finished vehicles fell 9 percent year on year to 799,000 units last year, data from the General Administration of Customs showed. The import value totaled 47.05 billion U.S. dollars, a decrease of 11.6 percent from a year ago. Imports of sedans, off-road vehicles and minibuses all declined year on year in 2023. In December, the country's imports of finished vehicles jumped 25.6 percent year on year to 80,000 units, with the import value reaching 4.31 billion U.S. dollars, up 22.7 percent year on year. ASHGABAT, Turkmenistan, February 16. Turkmenistan and the UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) discussed issues of enhancing international cooperation in the field of renewable energy and natural gas, Trend reports. According to the official source, these issues were discussed during a meeting of representatives of relevant ministries, departments, and state concerns in Turkmenistan with Director of the Sustainable Energy Division of the UNECE, Dario Liguti, who arrived in Ashgabat. During the meeting, an interesting exchange of views took place on the achievements of the oil and gas industry of Turkmenistan and the implementation of tasks in this area. The parties noted that important importance is attached to the introduction of modern advanced technologies into the production complexes of the country, which has rich reserves of fuel and energy resources, as well as the exchange of experience with the world's largest companies and international organizations in this field. At the same time, during the meeting, the representative of the UNECE praised Turkmenistan's accumulated experience in preventing hazardous waste from entering the atmosphere and actively using modern technologies in this area, noting that natural gas and its components play an important role in the introduction of renewable energy sources. Furthermore, among the priorities of cooperation between the parties were technologies for processing and expanding the use of energy resources, as well as improving the management of the industry. Meanwhile, Turkmenistan is actively directing efforts towards the development of renewable energy, including wind and solar energy, while the country is striving to diversify its energy base and reduce dependence on hydrocarbon resources, encouraging investments in the wind and solar energy sectors. These efforts not only contribute to reducing greenhouse gas emissions but also contribute to strengthening energy security and sustainable development in the region. Bharat Bandh Highlights: Protesting farmers are set to continue their presence at the Punjab-Haryana borders as the deadlock persists despite the third round of talks with a panel of Union ministers. Following a five-hour meeting on Thursday evening, which ended inconclusively, both sides will reconvene on February 18 for the fourth round of discussions. The previous rounds on February 8 and 12 also failed to yield a resolution. The Centre was represented by Union Agriculture and Farmer Welfare Minister Arjun Munda, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal, and Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai during the meeting, where various demands of the farmer unions, including a law guaranteeing minimum support price (MSP) for crops, were discussed. Protests by farmers, primarily from Punjab and Haryana, have intensified at the Shambhu border as they clashed with the police in an attempt to cross over to Delhi. The farmers are demanding that the Centre guarantee minimum support prices (MSP) for their crops. These protests have seen escalating tensions, with instances of violence breaking out as farmers clashed with law enforcement. In their attempt to reach Delhi and pressurize the government to meet their demands, protesters have broken barricades at the Shambhu border, leading to confrontations with the police. Farmers's unions have called for Bharat Bandh, which will affect some sectors. This measure was taken in an attempt to make the government aware of the issues the farmers are facing. The protests are being organized by groups like the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha. These organizations are leading the 'Delhi Chalo' agitation, demanding not only MSP guarantees but also legislation on loan waivers for farmers. ASHGABAT, Turkmenistan, February 16. Turkmenistan and the UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) discussed prospects for cooperation in the field of green energy, Trend reports. According to an official source, these prospects were discussed during a meeting between Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan Myakhri Byashimova and Director of the Sustainable Energy Division of the UNECE, Dario Liguti, who arrived in Ashgabat. During the meeting, prospects for cooperation in the fields of green energy, sustainable energy, and reduction of methane emissions were discussed, as were the results of the 'Straight Talk': Synergy between Renewable Energy Sources and Natural Gas in Turkmenistan meeting held in Ashgabat the day before. The Deputy Minister noted the participation of the Turkmen side, led by the President of Turkmenistan, at the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP-28) in Dubai and Turkmenistan's commitment to solving global problems by joining the Global Methane Pledge. In this context, the parties touched upon the upcoming Global Methane Forum to be held in Geneva in March 2024, as well as the holding of a round table within the framework of the forum to discuss measures to reduce methane emissions in Central Asia. During the conversation, issues of interaction in terms of UNECE expert support in the field of solar and wind energy, as well as the development and implementation of advanced energy storage and transmission technologies, were also discussed. Meanwhile, Turkmenistan is actively directing efforts towards the development of renewable energy, including wind and solar energy, while the country is striving to diversify its energy base and reduce dependence on hydrocarbon resources, encouraging investments in the wind and solar energy sectors. These efforts not only contribute to reducing greenhouse gas emissions but also contribute to strengthening energy security and sustainable development in the region. Stay up-to-date with more news at Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel News Highlights: Bihar Deputy CM Samrat Choudhary responds to RJD chief Lalu Yadav's statement regarding Bihar CM Nitish Kumar, stating that the RJD looted the entire state. He asserts that while Rahul Gandhi is accused of looting the country, Lalu Yadav's family is implicated in looting Bihar. Choudhary emphasizes that Nitish Kumar will not align with those considered as looters. Swapnil Tripathi is a lawyer and tweets at S_Tripathi07. Views are personal and do not represent the stand of the publication. Anil Verma heads the Association for Democratic Reforms. Views are personal and do not represent the stand of this publication. Marc Champion writes editorials on international affairs. Views are personal and do not represent the stand of this publication. Gland Pharma Gland Pharmas first overseas acquisitionCenexi Group in Europe--is proving to be a difficult one. The company planned to revitalise Cenexi by improving its product mix and profitability. But such changes are easier said than done. Cenexi reported an operating loss for the second consecutive quarter as Gland Pharma implemented organisation restructuring. When the acquisition was made, Gland Pharma was expected to maintain Cenexis annual operating profit margins of 10-11 percent while making changes. That may not be possible in Sandeep Sahu is a senior Bhubaneswar-based journalist and columnist, who has authored a biography of President Droupadi Murmu published by Penguin India. Views are personal, and do not represent the stand of this publication. Sohil Sehran is a journalist with 10 years of experience in print, broadcast, and digital media. He covers politics and national affairs at Moneycontrol. He tweets @SohilSehran ASHGABAT, Turkmenistan, February 16. Turkmenistan and Georgia have outlined plans to expand their partnership across various sectors, Trend reports. According to an official source, these plans were outlined during a meeting in Ashgabat between Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan Serdar Muhammedurdiyev and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Georgia Alexander Khvtisiashvili. During the meeting, the parties discussed a wide range of issues, including the current state and prospects of political and diplomatic cooperation, trade and economic partnership, and cultural and humanitarian ties between the countries. The high efficiency and importance of constant contacts at various levels were highlighted, where meetings at the level of heads of state and government are a key factor in deepening relations between Turkmenistan and Georgia. Furthermore, the spheres of transport, energy, trade, agriculture, and tourism, as well as scientific and cultural exchanges, have been identified as promising areas of bilateral partnership. At the end of the meeting, the parties agreed to continue to maintain diplomatic contacts in accordance with previously outlined plans. Meanwhile, in recent years, cooperation between Turkmenistan and Georgia has been actively developing in various fields, including trade, energy, transport links, and cultural exchanges. Both countries show interest in deepening economic relations, which is reflected in regular meetings of high-ranking officials and the Axis Bank said on Thursday that it has obtained all necessary regulatory approvals in connection with the purchase of shares of Max Life Insurance with regard to the public interest writ petition filed by BJP leader Subramanian Swamy. A public interest writ petition has been filed by Subramanian Swamy against the Union of India, Axis Bank Limited (Axis Bank), Axis Securities Limited, Axis Capital Limited and others before the Delhi High Court in connection with the sale/purchase of shares of Max Life Insurance Company Limited. Axis Bank has obtained all necessary regulatory approvals in connection with these transactions. We will also take the required steps to defend Axis Bank against any unfounded allegations. Axis Bank believes that there is no material impact of the allegations being levelled against Axis Bank in connection with the said transactions," it said. "Axis Bank adheres to highest standards of legal and regulatory compliance, and we are committed to take actions in compliance with applicable laws," it added. Max Financial Services said in a filing, In this regard, we would like to state that the shares transactions being highlighted were consummated post taking appropriate approvals from the respective regulators viz. RBI, IRDAI and CCI, wherever applicable." Further, in line with the letter dated August 31, 2023, submitted to the stock exchanges by the company, we would like to reiterate that the company had taken appropriate approvals from its shareholders in 2020 (with 99.99 per cent affirmative voting from the shareholders) for cementing the long-term strategic partnership with Axis Bank in respect of Max Life, which included certain transfer of shares of Max Life, and that all adequate disclosures have been made in this regard," the company said. We would like to further state that with regard to the transactions involving shares of Max Life between the company and Axis Bank, SEBI has sought various details/clarifications from the company and Max Life and the requisite details have been submitted by the company to SEBI for its consideration, from time to time as advised by SEBI. "We believe that there is no legal or regulatory anomaly in the transactions and due process of law has been followed. The company and Max Life shall take all requisite legal recourse to defend the matter before the court," the company said. Disclaimer: Information, facts or opinions expressed in this news article are presented as sourced from IANS and do not reflect views of Moneylife and hence Moneylife is not responsible or liable for the same. As a source and news provider, IANS is responsible for accuracy, completeness, suitability and validity of any information in this article. The Delhi High Court has said that parole is a privilege, not a right, as it dismissed the plea of a realtor, Rakesh Kumar of Tirupati Associates, seeking an extension of his parole for six months. Kumar, facing a staggering 182-year sentence for duping homebuyers, had been released on parole in 2019, but repeatedly failed to comply with the legal proceedings and settle the claims. Justice Anoop Kumar Mendiratta noted that parole cannot be endlessly extended, especially when efforts to settle cases are not diligently pursued within the framework of the Delhi Prison Rules, 2018. The court firmly said that the automatic extension of parole via writ petitions, spanning over four years in this case, cannot become a routine practice. Kumar's counsel argued that he intended to settle the claims with funds from compensation for land acquired by the Ghaziabad Development Authority. However, the court maintained that parole extensions must be granted only in exceptional circumstances, and not as a matter of routine. The realtor's predicament stemmed from a 1998 case where 344 complaints were lodged against his firm. Despite directives from the consumer forum, Kumar failed to comply, resulting in his sentencing under the Consumer Protection Act. His sentence includes one year of imprisonment for 20 cases and six months for 324 others, with consecutive terms. The court said that its jurisdiction is limited to matters of parole extension, not judging the merits of the consumer forum's orders. Therefore, Kumar's plea for further parole extension was dismissed, citing the principle that parole is a privilege subject to stringent rules, and not a right to be extended routinely. Disclaimer: Information, facts or opinions expressed in this news article are presented as sourced from IANS and do not reflect views of Moneylife and hence Moneylife is not responsible or liable for the same. As a source and news provider, IANS is responsible for accuracy, completeness, suitability and validity of any information in this article. The directorate of enforcement (ED) has launched a preliminary investigation or a pre-open inquiry into alleged violations related to the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) in the Paytm Payments Bank Ltd case, says a report. Meanwhile, citing regulatory actions, the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) has removed Paytm Payments Bank from its list of 30 authorised banks for the FASTag service. Quoting sources in the know, a report from Business Standard says, the probe follows serious concerns raised by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on multiple violations by the Paytm Payments Bank, which is a joint venture between One97 Communications Ltd, the parent company of Paytm, and the group's founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma. The ED is learnt to have sought further clarification from RBI. Sources have also indicated that there could be a multi-agency investigation of the company, the report says. A senior official in the Union ministry of corporate affairs (MCA) told the newspaper that the developments were being watched closely. He did not rule out a probe in the coming days. "We have to understand whether there was an exchange of money without following proper procedures or without informing the central bank. Some groundwork has to be done," a source told the newspaper. While the ED can launch an inquiry against FEMA violations, its investigation under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) is contingent on the existence of a scheduled offence under Acts such as the Indian Penal Code (IPC) or Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC). Sources told Business Standard that the ED would also be looking into other issues flagged by the RBI, including various lapses related to the workings of Paytm Payments Bank. Meanwhile, in a regulatory filing, One97 Communications (Paytm) clarified that its associate Paytm Payments Bank does not undertake outward foreign remittances. "One 97 Communications, its subsidiaries and its associate, Paytm Payments Bank, have over time been receiving notices and requisition for information, documents and explanations from the authorities, including ED, with respect to the customers that may have done business with the respective entities, and provided the required information, documents and explanations to the Authorities. The Company and its associate have continued to provide such information, documents and explanations to the authorities as is being required by them." Last month, RBI imposed significant restrictions on Paytm Payments Bank for persistent non-compliance and continued material supervisory concerns . In its directions, RBI has asked PPBL to terminate nodal accounts of Paytm and Paytm Payments Services Ltd, the payment aggregator, before 29 February 2024. Nodal accounts are used for the settlement of merchant transactions. Of the total payment processing charges incurred by Paytm in FY22-23, about 33% was paid to PPBL. Paytm says it and Paytm Payments Services will move the nodal to other banks before 29 February 2024. "OCL will pursue partnerships with various other banks to offer various payment products to its customers. OCL's other financial services, such as loan distribution, insurance distribution and equity broking, are not in any way related to Paytm Payments Bank and are expected to be unaffected by this direction." In March 2022, RBI directed PPBL to stop onboarding new customers with immediate effect. Last month, RBI said no further deposits, credit transactions, or top-ups would be allowed in any customer accounts, prepaid instruments, wallets, FASTags, or national common mobility cards (NCMC) of Paytm Payments Bank after 29 February 2024. However, withdrawal or utilisation of balances by its customers from their accounts will be permitted without any restrictions. RBI deputy governor Swaminathan J clarified that such actions are preceded by several months of bilateral engagement and regulated entities are provided adequate time to take corrective action to protect consumers and ensure the system's financial stability. RBI governor Shaktikanta Das said it was an issue with a specific institution, and there was no worry about the entire system. "Let me put the record straight on the Paytm issue. There is no worry about the entire system. It is an issue with a specific institution. The regulations are in place. It is not a case of regulatory deficiency. It is an issue of compliance with various parameters. I don't want to specify the details," Mr Das told reporters. It is a standard bus stop in a city. One person with a red velvet rope creates a section for seating at the bus stop. He labels it as a VIP section and charges a fee. Three curious commuters pay the charges and tightly sit on the bench meant for two people. This is a prank played out on Discovery Science . This clip is played several times on the TV channel. It highlights that we all have an innate need or craving for self-esteem and statuseven in questionable circumstances. Similarly, when Prasad (name changed) was added to a WhatsApp group created for VIPs with a label 'by invite only', he felt like he had 'arrived'. Before he realised what was happening, he was lured into investing money to earn bumper profits in stocks, specifically selected and recommended by the 'Maha-genius, financial tycoon' who is propagated to have 'created a tsunami in Indian stock markets'. Prasad was shown earning the 'bumper' profit on his investment in the super-duper multi-bagger stock into which he has plonked money. After that, he was nudged to make a bigger profit by joining an exclusive club meant for joint trading, guided personally by the 'genius'. This financial tycoon also told Prasad that he was in the process of launching his own private equity fund of Rs1,500 crore and needed 'smart' people like him to invest and earn huge returns. He also claimed that three institutions had invested Rs680 crore in his venture. He claimed that 8,200 members from his 'Investor Alliance' had contributed Rs260 crore and he needed a further Rs560 crore from new, intelligent investors like Prasad. Prasad is a small-time investor who happens to know the rules and regulations governing stock market investment. So he soon realised that this bumper profit he had earned was nothing but a 'pump-and-dump' trading operation carried out by the 'financial tycoon' and his gang. In pump-and-dump operations, share prices of specific companies are inflated by creating artificial trading volumes and then dumped when gullible investors start buying the scrip. Prasad came up with a clever plan to get his money back. He told the operators that he wanted to invest more funds but, before transferring money, he needed to see the profit he earned from his first investment in his bank account. It worked, and once his money was credited, he blocked all accounts operated by the financial tycoon and his gang on WhatsApp and Telegram. I came across another such 'investment scheme' on Telegram offering guaranteed returns. The group, 'Bharat Trading Yatra' offers two schemes: one is to invest a minimum Rs40,000 and earn 20% to 30% daily and the second is to invest from Rs15,000 to Rs1 lakh and earn a daily profit of Rs5,000 to Rs25,000. The condition was that the investor would need to share the profit with Bharat Trading Yatra as account handling service charges. While this group is on Telegram, the next step to investing requires you to connect to WhatsApp number 787812767. This number is registered in Rajasthan and appears as 'Stock Market' on Truecaller. These are just two examples of the many investment scams that are running wild on social media platforms. While honest advisers are burdened with onerous compliance rules set by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), those offering anonymous stock tips and investment schemes are able to go scot-free without severe punishment. In most cases, SEBI bars these people from markets while asking them to return the money to the investors. Unfortunately, this has no significant impact since these fraudsters often operate as a gang. When one entity faces the music(!), another continues to thrive (read: cheating and duping investors). A few days ago, SEBI expressed concern over unscrupulous entities and online platforms falsely claiming to be registered intermediaries and offering huge returns and urged investors to exercise utmost vigilance and due diligence before entrusting their funds to any such entity However, SEBI's action against the fraudsters offering super-profits on social media falls way short of the number of such operations that are proliferating. The regulator has often urged investors not to invest with unregistered intermediaries, but instead of 'caveat emptor' or investor beware greed takes over and leads to losses. From October 2013, only those registered with SEBI are permitted to offer investment advisory services. However, we note that there is at least one SEBI order every week against an entity offering illegal investment advice. The risk-reward ratio is seen as favourable by fraudsters, who continue to launch new groups or channels on social media to lure investors with the promise of bumper trading profits. In its January 2022 order against a Telegram channel called Bullrun2017, SEBI said, "Social media channels are being exploited for such fraudulent, deceitful, and unfair trade practices. Common investors should be cautious of being enticed by such schemes and it may be prudent to independently research investment opportunities." Debashis Basu, editor of Moneylife, wrote in his December 2022 column that the regulator's job ends with rulemaking; it is not accountable for the outcome of the rules or their impact on the growth of the business. On the other hand, despite these rules, illegal advisory services are thriving. ( Read: Has SEBI Lost the Battle against Finfluencers and Illegal Advisers? Having said that, monitoring social media on a 24x7 basis and tracking fraudsters is quite difficult for regulators and law enforcement agencies (LEAs) since criminal gangs keep changing their Telegram and WhatsApp groups. Perhaps the use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools, machine learning (ML) and large language models (LLMs) could help. SEBI's annual reports claim that it is already being done, but clearly more is needed. Until that happens, here are a few suggestions for anyone interested in investing in the stock market... 1. Never invest in a product that you do not understand. The same applies to the scrip of a company whose business you do not understand. 2. Nobody earns quick and bumper profit from stock market investment in a day or two. Any investment, including the stock market, must be for the long term to give you returns that are at least on par with other investment products available in the market. 3. Ask, check and verify credentials, including the SEBI registration details of the person offering your investment opportunity. 4. Also, ask yourself why the person is so big-hearted to offer the opportunity to earn bumper profit to some unknown person like you and not using it for himself to reap the benefits. 5. Be cautious of any entity that promises assured or exceptionally high returns. The principle of 'higher returns come with higher risks of losing your money altogether' holds true in the securities market. 6. Knowledge is your best defence against any fraud. Empower yourself with knowledge about the securities market for a safer investment journey. 7. Do remember, if the entity you are dealing with is registered and regulated by a regulator, there is some scope for you to get justice and maybe your money invested. In other words, dealing with an unregistered and unregulated entity means you are saying goodbye to your hard-earned money. Be sceptical and cautious to keep your money safe. How To Report Cyber Fraud? Do report cybercrimes to the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal http://cybercrime.gov.in or call the toll-free National Helpline number, 1930. To follow on social media: Twitter (@Cyberdost), Facebook (CyberDostI4C), Instagram (cyberdostl4C), Telegram (cyberdosti4c). Are you a victim of Online Financial Fraud? Immediately call helpline Number 1930 and register your complaint at https://t.co/cr6WZMOi4c pic.twitter.com/HZqUMKSDNF Cyber Dost (@Cyberdost) October 12, 2022 If the fraud is related to your bank account, you need to immediately send an email to the official email ID of your branch (you can find it on the bank's website or your passbook) with a copy to the bank's customer care. Even if you have called the official number for customer care, you must still send an email describing your conversation with the bank executive, along with the time, date, and duration of the call. This will be helpful if you face a liability issue with the bank. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has extended the deadline to 15 March 2024, after which Paytm Payments Bank Ltd is barred from accepting deposits. The last date fixed earlier was 29 February 2024. RBI also released FAQs to help customers understand the implications of its restrictions on Paytm Payments Bank. RBI says the extension has been given keeping in view the interest of customers (including merchants) of PPBL who may require a little more time to make alternative arrangements and the larger public interest. "No further deposits or credit transactions or top-ups shall be allowed in any customer accounts, prepaid instruments, wallets, FASTags, and national common mobility cards (NCMC). After 15 March 2024 (extended from the earlier stipulated timeline of 29 February 2024, other than any interest, cashback, sweep in from partner banks or refunds which may be credited anytime," RBI says. Withdrawal or utilisation of balances by its customers from their accounts, including savings bank accounts, current accounts, prepaid instruments, FASTags and NCMC are to be permitted without any restrictions up to their available balance, which was stated in RBI's earlier order on 31st January. The bank should provide banking services like fund transfers (irrespective of name and nature of services like AePS and IMPS, BBPOU and UPI facility after 15th March, which is extended from the earlier stipulated timeline of 29 February 2024. However, for withdrawal or utilisation of available balance by customers or wallet holders, such fund transfers, including AEPS, IMPS and UPI, may be allowed anytime. The nodal accounts of One97 Communications Ltd and Paytm Payments Services Ltd maintained by Paytm Payments Bank are to be terminated as soon as possible, in any case not later than 29 February 2024, as per the previous order. Similarly, settlement of all pipeline transactions in nodal accounts referred to in respect to all transactions initiated on or before 29 February 2024 should be completed by 15 March 2024 and no further transactions shall be permitted after that, RBI says. RBI has directed that withdrawals up to their available balance should be facilitated by the bank from all accounts and wallets, excluding the ones that are frozen or lien marked by law enforcement or judicial authorities. RBI also directed that the bank shall facilitate a seamless withdrawal of customer deposits that are parked with partner banks under the automatic 'sweep-in sweep-out' facility without causing any inconvenience to such customers. Here are the FAQs released by RBI on bank accounts with Paytm Payments Bank... 1. I have a savings or current account with Paytm Payments Bank. Can I continue to withdraw money from this account after 15 March 2024? Can I continue to use my debit card issued by Paytm Payments Bank? Yes. You can continue to use, withdraw or transfer your funds from your account upto the available balance in your account. Similarly, you can continue to use your debit card to withdraw or transfer funds upto the available balance in your account. 2. I have a savings bank or current account with Paytm Payments Bank. Can I deposit or transfer money into this account after 15 March 2024? No. After 15 March 2024, you will not be able to deposit money into your account with Paytm Payments Bank. No credits or deposits other than interest, cashbacks, sweep-in from partner banks or refunds are allowed to be credited. 3. I am expecting a refund in my account with Paytm Payments Bank after 15 March 2024. Can this refund be credited into my account? Yes. Refunds, cashbacks, sweep-in from partner banks or interest are permitted credits into your account even after 15 March 2024. 4. What will happen to the deposits maintained with partner banks through 'sweep in/out' arrangements, after 15 March 2024? The existing deposits of Paytm Payments Bank customers maintained with partner banks can be brought back (sweep-in) to the accounts with Paytm Payments Bank, subject to the ceiling on balance prescribed for a Payments Bank (i.e. Rs2 lakh per individual customer at the end of day). Such sweep-ins for the purpose of making available the balances for use or withdrawal by the customer will continue to be allowed. However, no fresh deposits with partner banks through Paytm Payments Bank will be allowed after 15 March 2024. 5. My salary is credited into my account with Paytm Payments Bank. Can I continue to receive my salary into this account? No. After 15 March 2024, you will not be able to receive any such credits into your account with Paytm Payments Bank. It is suggested that you make alternative arrangements with another bank before 15 March 2024 to avoid inconvenience. 6. I receive a subsidy or certain direct benefit transfers linked to my Aadhar from the Government in my account with Paytm Payments Bank. Can I continue to receive it into this account? No. After 15 March 2024, you will not be able to receive any such credit into your account with Paytm Payments Bank. Please arrange to change your linked account to another bank before 15 March 2024 to avoid any inconvenience or disruption. 7. My monthly electricity bill is paid automatically from my bank account with Paytm Bank Limited? Can this continue? Withdrawal/ debit mandates (such as National Automated Clearing House (NACH) mandates) will continue to get executed till there is balance available in your account. However, after 15 March 2024, credit or deposit in your accounts will not be allowed. Therefore, to avoid inconvenience, it is suggested that you make alternative arrangements through another bank, before 15 March 2024. 8. My monthly OTT subscription is paid automatically through UPI from my bank account with Paytm Payments Bank? Can this continue? Withdrawal/debit mandates through automatic UPI mandates will continue to get executed till there is balance available in your account. However, after 15 March 2024, credit or deposit in your accounts will not be allowed. Therefore, to avoid inconvenience or disruption, it is suggested that you make alternative arrangements through another bank, before 15 March 2024. 9. The instalment (EMI) for my loan is automatically paid through my account with Paytm Payments Bank. Can this continue? Auto debit mandates will continue to get executed till there is balance available in your account. However, after 15 March 2024, credit or deposit in your accounts will not be allowed. Therefore, to avoid inconvenience, it is suggested that you make alternative arrangements for setting up EMI payments through another bank before 15 March 2024. 10. The instalment (EMI) for my loan is automatically paid through my account with a bank other than Paytm Payments Bank. Can this continue? Yes, EMIs registered with any bank other than Paytm Payments Bank can continue. 11. I have a wallet with Paytm Payments Bank. Can I continue to use money from this wallet after 15 March 2024? Yes. You can continue to use, withdraw or transfer to another wallet or bank account upto the balance available in the wallet. Minimum KYC wallets1 can, however, be used only for merchant payments. 12. I have a wallet with Paytm Payments Bank. Can I top-up or transfer money into this wallet after 15 March 2024? Can I receive money from any other person into this wallet after 15 March 2024? No. After 15 March 2024 you will not be able to top-up or transfer money into the wallet or receive any credits, other than cashbacks, or refunds into this wallet. 13. I have a cashback due in my wallet with Paytm Payments Bank. Can I receive this cashback after 15 March 2024? Yes. Refunds and cashbacks are allowed to be credited. 14. I have a wallet with Paytm Payments Bank. Can I close this wallet and have the balance transferred to my bank account with another bank? Yes. You may approach Paytm Payments Bank or use its banking app to close your wallet and transfer the balance to an account maintained with another bank in the case of full KYC wallets. In the case of minimum KYC Wallets, you may use the available balance or request for a refund. FASTag issued by Paytm Payments Bank 15. I have a FASTag issued by Paytm Payments Bank. Can I continue to use it to pay toll after 15 March 2024? Yes. You can continue to use your FASTag to pay toll upto the available balance. However, no further funding or top ups will be allowed in the FASTags issued by Paytm Payments Bank after 15 March 2024. It is suggested that you procure a new FASTag issued by another bank before 15 March 2024 to avoid any inconvenience. 16. I have a FASTag issued by Paytm Payments Bank. Can I recharge the balance after 15 March 2024? No. After 15 March 2024 you will not be able to top-up or recharge your FASTag issued by Paytm Payments Bank. It is suggested that you procure a new FASTag issued by another bank before 15 March 2024 to avoid any inconvenience. 17. Can I transfer the balance from my old FASTag issued by Paytm Payments Bank to a new FASTag obtained from another Bank? Credit balance transfer feature is not available in the FASTag product. Therefore, you will have to close your old FASTag issued by Paytm Payments Bank and request the bank for a refund. National Common Mobility Card (NCMC) issued by Paytm Payments Bank 18. I have an NCMC card issued by Paytm Payments Bank. Can I continue to use it after 15 March 2024? Yes. You can continue to use your NCMC card upto the available balance. However, you will not be able to load or top up funds into the card after 15 March 2024. In order to avoid inconvenience, it is suggested that you obtain an NCMC card issued by another bank or non-bank prepaid instrument (PPI) issuer, before 15 March 2024. 19. I have an NCMC card issued by Paytm Payments Bank. Can I add to its balance through top-up, recharge, etc. after 15 March 2024? No. After 15 March 2024 you will not be able to top-up or recharge your NCMC card issued by Paytm Payments Bank. In order to avoid inconvenience, it is suggested that you obtain an NCMC card issued by another bank or non-bank prepaid instrument (PPI) issuer, before 15 March 2024. 20. Can I transfer the balance from my old NCMC card issued by Paytm Payments Bank to a new card obtained from another Bank? Balance transfer feature is not available in the NCMC card. Therefore, you may use the card upto the available balance. In case you have some more balance which you have not been able to use, you may request Paytm Payments Bank for a refund. Merchants using Paytm Payments Bank to receive payments 21. I am a merchant and I accept payments using a Paytm QR code, Paytm soundbox or Paytm POS terminal, linked to another bank account (not with Paytm Payments Bank). Can I continue to use this set-up even after 15 March 2024? Yes. If your receipt and transfer of funds is linked to any bank account other than Paytm Payments Bank, you can continue to use this arrangement even after 15 March 2024. 22. I am a merchant and I accept payments using a Paytm QR code, Paytm soundbox, Paytm POS terminal linked to my bank account or wallet with Paytm Payments Bank. Can I continue to use this set-up even after 15 March 2024? No. After 15 March 2024 you will not be able to receive any credit into your bank account or wallet with Paytm Payments Bank other than refunds, cashbacks, sweep-in from partner banks or interest. In order to avoid any inconvenience or disruption, it is suggested that you may obtain a fresh QR code linked to an account with another bank or wallet to receive payments. You may also change your bank account details (in which you receive payments) through your service provider. Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS) 23. Can I make payments through the Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS) using my account with Paytm Payments Bank? Yes. You can continue to make payments from your Paytm Payments Bank account through Bharat Bill Payment System upto the balance available in your account. Since you will not be able to credit any further funds into your accounts or wallets with Paytm Payments Bank after 15 March 2024, it is advised that you may make alternative arrangements with another bank account for BBPS before 15 March 2024. Aadhar enabled Payment System (AePS) 24. Can I make withdrawals from my Paytm Payments Bank account with biometric authentication under Aadhar enabled Payment System? Yes. You can continue to withdraw using the AePS authentication, upto the balance available in your account. Money Transfer through UPI/ IMPS 25. Can I transfer my money into my Paytm Payments Bank account through UPI/ IMPS after 15 March 2024? No. You cannot transfer the money into your Paytm Payments Bank account after 15 March 2024. 26. Can I withdraw my money from my Paytm Payments Bank account through UPI/ IMPS after 15 March 2024? Yes. You can withdraw your money from Paytm Payments Bank account through UPI/ IMPS upto the balance available in your account. Paytm Payments Bank Business Correspondent 27. I have an account with Paytm Payments Bank. Can the Paytm Payments Bank business correspondent (also referred to as Paytm Payments Bank agent) help me in withdrawing funds from my account after 15 March 2024. Yes. The Paytm Payments Bank business correspondent (bank agent) can help you to withdraw money from your bank account upto the balance available in your account. Accounts frozen, lien marked etc. 28. What will happen to my Paytm Payments Bank account/ wallet if there is a lien or freeze marked on the directions of law enforcement or judicial authorities? Any lien or freeze (full or partial) marked as per the instructions of any law enforcement or judicial authorities on the account/wallet of a customer with Paytm Payments Bank will continue to be governed by the orders passed by such authorities. 29. What will happen to my Paytm Payments Bank account/ wallet if there is a lien or freeze marked on account of internal policies of Paytm Payments Bank? The bank has been directed to allow withdrawal or transfer to another bank account of the customer, upto the available balance in the account / wallets. Onboarding of new customers 30. What is the status of the Business restriction placed on Paytm Payments Bank vide RBI press release dated 11 March 2022? The business restriction dated 11 March 2022, prohibiting Paytm Payments Bank from onboarding any new customers for any of its services continues to be in force. Hence, Paytm Payments Bank cannot onboard any new customers after 11 March 2022. BAKU, Azerbaijan, February 16. Khududgaztaminot addressed the population in connection with possible restrictions on the operating hours of methane gas stations in Uzbekistan, Trend reports. According to Uzhydromet forecasts, from 16 to 18 February, sharp cooling is expected across Uzbekistan, with daytime air temperatures from -3 to -8 degrees Celsius and nighttime temperatures from -11 to -16 degrees Celsius. It is noted that in the near future changes may be made to the operating schedule of automobile gas filling compressor stations (CNG filling stations) in agreement with local administrations (khokimiyats). The measures taken are aimed at ensuring uninterrupted access to natural gas for the population and social facilities. TASHKENT, Uzbekistan, February 16. Uzbekistan and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) outlined particular steps to organize cooperation in the field of capital market development in their Trend reports. This was discussed at a meeting hosted by Uzbekistan's National Agency for Advanced Projects between the regional head of the private sector development division of ADB's Central and West Asia department, Enrico Pinali, and the senior private sector development officer of ADB's Uzbekistan Office, Adham Kuchkarov. The main topic of the meeting was to discuss the establishment of cooperation between the Agency and ADB in the field of capital market development and regulation, including assistance in drafting a bill on the capital market as well as stimulating various approaches in the application of green financial tools, in particular, green corporate bonds. Meanwhile, ADB's current sovereign portfolio in Uzbekistan amounted to $5.06 billion as of January 2024. The banks current sovereign portfolio includes 32 loans, 1 grant, and 1 sovereign guarantee. According to the bank's data, ADB has committed 240 public sector loans, grants, and technical assistance to Uzbekistan worth $11.5 billion to date. TASHKENT, Uzbekistan, February 16. Uzbek citizens can now visit Dubai and other emirates of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) without issuing visas, Trend reports. A protocol on mutual exemption from entry visa requirements by Uzbekistan and the UAE was signed in Abu Dhabi on January 16 this year. The agreement between the countries allows tourists to stay in the UAE for up to 30 days without the need for entry visas. This innovation will greatly simplify the process of planning trips and will contribute to the development of tourism and the economies of both countries. In addition, the simplified visa regime will increase tourist demand and make Dubai and other emirates of the UAE more attractive for travelers from Uzbekistan. Meanwhile,the data from Uzbekistan's Statistics Agency shows that 131,589 Uzbek citizens visited the UAE in 2023. Furthermore, an agreement was reached between Uzbekistan and the United Arab Emirates to increase the frequency of flights. According to the information, airlines from both countries can now operate 41 flights per week on various routes, such as Tashkent - Abu Dhabi, Samarkand - Abu Dhabi, and others. This agreement is aimed at developing tourism and strengthening ties between Uzbekistan and the UAE. The Guam Department of Education headquarters in Tiyan is seen on Friday, Dec. 22, 2023. BAKU, Azerbaijan, February 16. The Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny has died, Trend reports. According to the Federal Penitentiary Service of the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, where Navalny was imprisoned, the convict began feeling unwell after a walk, quickly losing consciousness. "The institution's medical staff arrived promptly, and an ambulance team was called. Despite all the necessary resuscitation efforts, no positive results were achieved. Emergency medical service doctors confirmed the convict's passing. The exact causes of death are currently being investigated," the statement reads. BAKU, Azerbaijan, February 17. A New York court found former US President Donald Trump guilty in a civil case related to fraudulent valuation of Trump Organization assets, Trend reports. According to the information, Trump is required to pay about $355 million in compensation. In addition, Trump will be prohibited from serving as an officer or director of any corporation in New York for a period of three years. It is reported that the former US president is likely to appeal the decision. Yosemite National Park View Photo Yosemite, CA A Southern California man allegedly stole a Yosemite rangers vehicle and then led officials on a high-speed chase. It happened back on December 26 of 2022, according to the US Attorneys Office, which just filed a three-count indictment. 28-year-old Christian Claustro of Rancho Cucamonga is accused of stealing a vehicle after a Yosemite Ranger pulled over and got out to remove a bike from the roadway. Officials say Claustro then led officials on a chase that eventually ended when the stolen vehicle reached the Ferguson Slide Bridge and went off the cliff and crashed 200 feet down an embankment. Claustro now faces federal charges of theft of personal property, unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, and fleeing from a peace officer. The US Attorneys Office reports, If convicted, Claustro faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine for theft of personal property, up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 for destroying or removing property subject to seizure, and up to three years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000 for recklessly evading a peace officer. The case was investigated by the National Park Service and Assistant US Attorney Robert Veneman-Hughes is prosecuting the case. Alaska woman gets 99 years for orchestrating catfished murder-for-hire plot in friends death View Photo ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) An Anchorage woman has been sentenced to 99 years in prison for orchestrating the death of a developmentally disabled woman in a murder-for-hire plot, hoping to cash in on a $9 million offer from a Midwestern man purporting to be a millionaire. Denali Dakota Skye Brehmer, 23, was sentenced by Anchorage Superior Court Judge Andrew Peterson earlier this week in the 2019 death of her friend Cynthia Hoffman, whose death was captured in photos and video near Thunderbird Falls, a popular trail area just north of Anchorage. Brehmer pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in February 2023. She may not have pulled the trigger, but this never would have happened it if it werent for Denali Brehmer, Anchorage assistant district attorney Patrick McKay said during sentencing. Peterson said Hoffmans pre-mediated murder-for-hire was tragic and senseless, and that Brehmer showed no remorse. He said he hoped her sentence would serve as a deterrent to others. Defense attorneys sought an 80-year sentence with 20 of those years suspended. Alaska does not have the death penalty. Darin Schilmiller of New Salisbury, Indiana, was sentenced last month to 99 years in prison for his role in Hoffmans murder. Authorities in 2019 said Schilmiller posed online as Tyler, a millionaire from Kansas when starting an online relationship with Brehmer. About three weeks before Hoffman was killed, Brehmer and Schilmiller discussed a plan to rape and murder someone in Alaska, according to court documents. The millionaires only demand for payment was either photos or video of the killing. Brehmer agreed to the offer, and enlisted the help of four friends, Caleb Leyland and Kayden McIntosh, along with two unnamed juveniles, authorities said. Leyland will be sentenced in June. McIntosh, whom prosecutors have said was the gunman, will be tried as an adult in the case even though he was 16 when Hoffman was killed. His case is pending trial. An email seeking comment was sent to McIntoshs lawyer. According to court documents, the group took Hoffman to Thunderbird Falls. They went off trail and followed a path to the Eklutna River, where Hoffman was bound with duct tape, shot in the back of the head and thrown into the river. Officials said Brehmer then texted Hoffmans family to let them know they dropped her off at an Anchorage park. Brehmer was eventually arrested, and once she realized she had been catfished or tricked by Schilmiller, she told authorities that she had been solicited by him. Schilmiller admitted to federal agents and the Indiana State Police that he chose Hoffman as the victim and told Brehmer to kill her, court documents said. He said Brehmer communicated with him throughout Hoffmans killing and sent Snapchat photos and videos of Hoffman while bound and after she was killed. ___ This story has been corrected to show that Denali Dakota Skye Brehmer is 23, not 24. Heres where all the cases against Trump stand as he campaigns for a return to the White House Heres where all the cases against Trump stand as he campaigns for a return to the White House View Photo WASHINGTON (AP) From allegations of plotting to overturn a lost election to illegally stowing classified documents at his Florida estate, former President Donald Trump faces four criminal indictments in four different cities as he vies to reclaim the White House. The cases, totaling 91 felony counts, are winding through the courts at different speeds. Some might not reach trial this year, while one is set to begin in a matter of weeks. A look at each case: CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS CASE Special counsel Jack Smith has been leading two federal probes related to Trump, both of which have resulted in charges against the former president. The first charges to result from those investigations came in June when Trump was indicted for mishandling top secret documents at his Florida estate. The indictment alleges that Trump repeatedly enlisted aides and lawyers to help him hide records demanded by investigators and cavalierly showed off a Pentagon plan of attack and classified map. A superseding indictment issued in July added charges accusing Trump of asking for surveillance footage at his Mar-a-Lago estate to be deleted after FBI and Justice Department investigators visited in June 2022 to collect classified documents he took with him after leaving the White House. The new indictment also charges him with illegally holding onto a document hes alleged to have shown off to visitors in New Jersey. In all, Trump faces 40 felony charges in the classified documents case. The most serious charge carries a penalty of up to 20 years in prison. Walt Nauta, a valet for Trump, and Carlos De Oliveira, the property manager at Trumps Florida estate, have been charged in the case with scheming to conceal surveillance footage from federal investigators and lying about it. Trump, Nauta and De Oliveira have pleaded not guilty. U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon set a trial date of May 20, 2024, though she has signaled that it may be pushed back. ELECTION INTERFERENCE Smiths second case against Trump was unveiled in August when the former president was indicted in Washington on felony charges for working to overturn the results of the 2020 election in the run-up to the violent riot by his supporters at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. The four-count indictment includes charges of conspiracy to defraud the United States government and conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding: the congressional certification of Joe Bidens victory. It says that Trump repeatedly told supporters and others that he had won the election, despite knowing that was false, and describes how he tried to persuade state officials, then-Vice President Mike Pence and finally Congress to overturn the legitimate results. After a weekslong campaign of lies about the election results, prosecutors allege, Trump sought to exploit the violence at the Capitol by pointing to it as a reason to further delay the counting of votes that sealed his defeat. In their charging documents, prosecutors referenced a half-dozen unindicted co-conspirators, including lawyers inside and outside of government who they said had worked with Trump to undo the election results and advanced legally dubious schemes to enlist slates of fake electors in battleground states won by Biden. The Trump campaign called the charges fake and asked why it took two and a half years to bring them. He has pleaded not guilty. The case had been set for trial on March 4 in federal court in Washington. But that date was canceled amid an appeal by Trump on the legally untested question of whether a former president is immune from prosecution for official acts taken in the White House. The Supreme Court injected fresh uncertainty into the trial date, saying Wednesday that it would hear arguments in late April. That leaves it unclear whether a trial can be completed before the November election. HUSH MONEY SCHEME Trump became the first former U.S. president in history to face criminal charges when he was indicted in New York in March on state charges stemming from hush money payments made during the 2016 presidential campaign to bury allegations of extramarital sexual encounters. That case is set to be first to proceed to trial, with a judge setting jury selection for March 25. Trump has already pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. Each count is punishable by up to four years in prison, though its not clear if a judge would impose any prison time if Trump were convicted. The counts are linked to a series of checks that were written to his lawyer Michael Cohen to reimburse him for his role in paying off porn actor Stormy Daniels, who alleged a sexual encounter with Trump in 2006, not long after Melania Trump gave birth to son Barron. Those payments were recorded in various internal company documents as being for a legal retainer that prosecutors say didnt exist. GEORGIA Trump is charged alongside 18 other people including former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani and former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows with violating the states anti-racketeering law by scheming to illegally overturn his 2020 election loss. The indictment, handed up in August, accuses Trump or his allies of suggesting Georgias Republican secretary of state could find enough votes for him to win the battleground state; of harassing an election worker who faced false claims of fraud; an, attempting to persuade Georgia lawmakers to ignore the will of voters and appoint a new slate of Electoral College electors favorable to Trump. In the months since, several of the defendants, including lawyers Sidney Powell and Kenneth Chesebro, have pleaded guilty. A trial date for Trump and the others has not yet been set, and the case in recent weeks has been consumed by revelations of a personal relationship between Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, whose office brought the case, and an outside prosecutor she hired. CIVIL CASES Beyond the criminal cases, Trump has also been the subject of a civil proceeding in New York City. The states attorney general, Letitia James, argued that Trump and his companies engaged in a yearslong scheme to dupe banks and others with financial statements that inflated his wealth. A judge has ordered Trump and his companies to pay $355 million as a penalty in the case. Trump wont have to pay out the money immediately as an appeals process plays out, but the verdict still is a stunning setback for the former president. If hes ultimately forced to pay, the magnitude of the penalty, on top of earlier judgments, could dramatically diminish his financial resources. And it undermines the image of a successful businessman that hes carefully tailored to power his unlikely rise from a reality television star to a onetime and perhaps future president. That ruling comes on top of the $83.3 million Trump was ordered to pay to E. Jean Carroll in January for his continued social media attacks against the longtime advice columnist over her claims that he sexually assaulted her in a Manhattan department store. He was already the subject of a $5 million sexual assault and defamation verdict last year from another jury in the case. VICE PRESIDENT Constantino Chiwenga has slammed the Gays and Lesbians of Zimbabwe (GALZ), an association of LGBTI people in the country, for luring and recruiting less privileged students into lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender activities and malpractices by offering them educational scholarships. GALZ flighted an advert dubbed munhu-munhu scholarship that is circulating on various social media inviting individuals who are LGBTI and aged between 18 and 35 years to apply for a scholarship to pursue a degree programme in democracy, governance, justice, human rights and conflict resolution studies. The scholarship covers full tuition fees, stationary accommodation expenses and mentorship. In a statement last night, VP Chiwenga said the Government strongly rejects and denounces unlawful, unchristian, anti-Zimbabwean, and unAfrican attempts by foreign interests to lure the less privileged students into LGBTI. The Government of Zimbabwe strongly and firmly rejects and denounces as unlawful, unchristian, anti-Zimbabwean and unAfrican insidious attempts by foreign interests to entice, lure and recruit, Zimbabwes less privileged but able students into lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender activities and malpractices through offers of educational scholarships, he said. Article continues below these jobs... Work In Zimbabwe Latest Jobs Production Supervisor on 18 March 2024 Our client, a leading company [] Trainee Production Supervisor on 18 March 2024 Our client, a reputable [] Stock Controller on 18 March 2024 Our client is a [] Processing Electrician on 18 March 2024 Our client, a leading company [] VP Chiwenga said the Government has legislated against all such deviances, making any offers predicated on the same aberrations both unlawful and criminal, and a grave and gross affront to the national values and ethos since Zimbabwe is a Christian nation. To that end, Government sees such scholarship offers as a direct challenge to its authority, and thus will not hesitate to take appropriate measures to enforce national laws to protect and defend national values, said VP Chiwenga. Our schools and institutions of higher learning will not entertain applicants, let alone enroll persons associated with such alien, anti-life, un-African and unchristian values which are being promoted and cultivated by, as well as practised in decadent societies with whom we share no moral or cultural affinities. VP Chiwenga said Zimbabwe is a sovereign, African State with definite laws and values that typify it, cutting it apart from other mores. Young Zimbabweans who qualify for enrolment into tertiary institutions here and elsewhere should approach Government departments tasked to give grants and scholarship support to deserving cases. They should never be tempted to trade or sell their souls for such abominable and devilish offers, he said. Same-x marriage is banned by the Constitution and no explicit legal protections exist for LGBTI people. Section 78 of the Constitution prohibits persons of the same x from marrying each other while Section 73 of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act outlaws same-x relations under the sodomy and indecent act clauses. Breaking News via Email Nelson Chamisas leadership style questioned as former allies accuse him of dictatorial tendencies Analysts have raised concerns about the leadership style of former Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) leader, Nelson Chamisa, as his former allies come forward, accusing him of exhibiting dictatorial tendencies, refusing consultations, and running a one-man show. Chamisas abrupt resignation from the CCC last month, announced through a press statement, caught his supporters, sitting Members of Parliament (MPs), Senators, and councillors off guard. In his statement, Chamisa alleged that ZANU PF had infiltrated the party through proxies such as self-proclaimed interim CCC secretary-general, Sengezo Tshabangu. Chamisa established the CCC in January 2022 after losing control of the MDC Alliance to Douglas Mwonzora. He assumed the presidency of the MDC under controversial circumstances following the death of the late Morgan Tsvangirai in February 2018. Shortly after launching the CCC, the youthful leader disbanded its structures, claiming a need to protect the political outfit from infiltration. Chamisa adopted a strategy of strategic ambiguity while refusing to establish new structures. He has also remained vague about his next move, despite indications that he is in the process of launching a new party. Notably, Chamisas close allies, former legislators Amos Chibaya and Gift Siziba, have been conducting countrywide tours to popularize blue as the colour of the unnamed movement, hinting at the impending launch of Chamisas new party. However, senior opposition figures, including sitting and recalled parliamentarians, have expressed their displeasure at the duo holding provincial meetings without their knowledge. Some legislators have also stated that they cannot resign from the CCC until Chamisa clarifies his plans. Former Seke legislator, Willard Madzimbamuto, recently criticized the handling of the proposed new movement, portraying Chamisa as a dictator. In response to these concerns, Chamisa urged people to ignore the noise and wait for the announcement of his next move. However, senior lecturer Ricky Mukonza from South Africas Tshwane University of Technology expressed his unease over emerging details regarding Chamisas leadership style, highlighting a lack of transparency and accountability. Mukonza emphasized the importance of checks and balances within a democracy and questioned whether Chamisas leadership style would enable him to effectively govern in a more complex environment such as running the State. Professor Stephen Chan, a World Politics expert at the University of Londons School of Oriental and African Studies, commented that as things currently stand, it is unlikely that Chamisa will remove ZANU PF from power. Political analyst Methuseli Moyo echoed similar sentiments, stating that those hoping for change from Chamisa were being too optimistic. Moyo criticized Chamisas team-building skills and highlighted his failure to unseat ZANU PF in two previous elections. Nonetheless, political analyst Rashweat Mukundu offered a different perspective, suggesting that Chamisas leadership style should be understood in the context of repression and infiltration by ZANU PF and the state apparatus. Mukundu pointed out that Chamisa successfully led the MDC to victory following Tsvangirais death, but subsequent disruptions caused by the capture and politicization of parliament, the judiciary, and the police hindered progress. Critics have also accused Chamisa of hiding behind Bible verses when confronted about his leadership style, often using the phrase GodIsInIt. Concerns are mounting over Nelson Chamisas leadership style, with accusations of dictatorial tendencies and a lack of consultation. As the political landscape in Zimbabwe continues to evolve, it remains to be seen how these criticisms will impact Chamisas future political endeavours. Breaking News via Email In a tragic incident that occurred in 2021, Clayton Mabasa Hunda has been sentenced to 14 years in prison for the murder of his wife. The dispute arose after a power outage ended, and Hunda requested his wife to prepare sadza (a traditional Zimbabwean dish) for him. However, she refused, claiming she was talking to her boyfriends. Under the influence of alcohol, having consumed a 750ml bottle of gin, Hunda became enraged and assaulted his wife. He proceeded to sit on her chest and forcefully pulled out her braids. The assault resulted in her losing consciousness and ultimately led to her death. During the trial, Hunda defended himself, citing a moment of madness and claiming provocation due to his intoxicated state. However, High Court judge Justice Lucy Mungwari, in convicting Hunda, determined that although there was some provocation, it did not meet the threshold required for a partial defense of provocation. Justice Mungwari acknowledged that Hundas actions were out of character and decided on a rehabilitative sentence. She stated that Hundas offense was driven by passion and the belief that his wife was being unfaithful. Consequently, Hunda was sentenced to 14 years imprisonment. Following the discovery of his wifes death, Hunda attempted to administer first aid by pouring water on her, but his efforts were unsuccessful. This tragic incident highlights the severe consequences of domestic violence and serves as a reminder of the importance of seeking peaceful resolutions to conflicts. Breaking News via Email The Financial Times made its interview with departing CalSTRS Chief Investment Officer Chris Ailman its lead story yesterday: Private equity should share more wealth with workers, says US pension giant. The Financial Times was too polite to say so, but Ailman could lay claim to being the best large public pension fund chief investment officer. CalSTRS, which manages the pensions of California teachers, is in the same general size league as its Sacramento sister CalPERS, and regularly outperforms CalPERS by a meaningful margin. We have commented over many years about the degree of intellectual capture, Stockholm syndrome, and soft corruption among investors in private equity funds (called limited partners; the private equity fund managers like Apollo and Carlyle are general partners). Ailman, who is a devout Christian and no doubt has a very lucrative pension, does not need to curry favor with private equity any more, unless he perhaps fancies staying relevant in his retirement by serving on the board of one of the private-equity-oriented NGOs. But it isnt just that he may not want to rock the boat on behalf of his legacy and the colleagues he is leaving behind at CalSTRS. I have no doubt he sincerely believes this idea of getting private equity firms to be a bit less ruthless towards the workers in their acquired firms is the best way to reduce the damage they do to society. First, lets look at the germane parts of this story: Private equity executives need to share the wealth they create with workers at the companies they buy, according to the investment head of Calstrs, the giant US pension fund that is one of the worlds biggest investors in the sector. Private equity has not shared enough revenues, said Ailman, who pioneered Calstrs move into private equity two decades ago and now holds $50bn in the asset class, in an interview with the Financial Times. Its great they make money for our retirees who are teachers and for other funds, he said. But they need to also share the wealth with the workers of those companies and with the communities they invest in. Its hard to know where to begin with this. Limited partners like CalSTRS, who are, in Wall Street parlance, the money, have not even been able to get basic disclosures from the general partners like how much in total the private equity firms hoover out in fees and expenses, despite many years of pleading. Mind you, its a requirement for a fiduciary to evaluate the costs and risks of any investment, yet these investors have accepted this abuse. Limited partners dont get P&Ls of portfolio companies. They dont get independent valuations even though that is considered to be essential for every other type of investment. So its ludicrous to think that general partners will share money with one of the very weakest parties in the picture, mere workers, when they wont give information to the limited partners. Someone new to this topic might wonder why limited partners dont say no. The reason is they perceive private equity to be necessary for them to earn enough to reduce their level of underfunding, which in the public pension fund world is typically pretty bad. To make up for the shortfalls, pension funds like CalPERS and CalSTRS have also been increasing the amount they charge to cities, counties, and other local government entities. These pension costs are taking up larger and larger proportions of these budgets, creating concern and anger. Investors like Ailman havent even worked out that private equity has been selling them the rope with which they are hanging themselves. Private equity pay and manning-level squeezing crimps incomes, and with it, all sorts of government revenues that derive from income and sales taxes. The more than occasional bankruptcy kills jobs and often puts commercial and residential real estate on the market, hurting values and thus over time, property taxes. One cant know for certain how much, but communities all over California would be better off if private equity predators were not stalking the land. Consider these observations from the Financial Times comments section: Nonns Pe represents toxic finance at its worst. Ive now worked at 3 companies that were taken over by pe companies and the playbook was the same every time. They demoralised the workforce, p@ssed off their customers but somehow managed to make their kpis and ebitda targets and then sold it to mugs who were left with a smoking ruin. They load the order books beyond their their ability to deliver, gut the delivery organisation so its on life support but still delivering enough to maintain credibility to a potential buyer. Destroy morale and then announce what a great organisation theyve created when they hit the targets and they sell out paying no tax and leaving a mess behind them. Truly destructive organisations run by amoral unscrupulous get rich quick types. The so called efficiencies theyve created arent real. Stoupebeck Over the last ~20years Ive been working for orgs taken over by PE, and also a customer of orgs taken over by PE. And by PE I mean the highly leverage, financially engineered type. As an employee the only advice I can offer is to group together and walk out as a group. Your employment experience will only get really really bad. As a customer of orgs/products took over by PE start planning on removing the org/product as soon as takeover happens. Basically scorched earth strategy. PE creates wealth in the same way that burning your money keeps you warm. On top of that, all of that pillaging does not benefit the limited partners. Many studies, when you carefully cut their metrics, have effectively found that private equity has not out-performed on a risk-adjusted basis since the early 2000s, potentially even the last glory year of PE, 1999. The Financial Times has regularly run article featuring the analysis of Oxford professor Ludovic Phalippou, who has found that private equity has not even outperformed stocks on a nominal (as opposed to risk-adjusted) basis since 2006. The dean of quantitive portfolio analytics, Richard Ennis, has written many studies showing that for public pension funds and endowments, investing in alts (alternative investments which include private equity) is investment office featherbedding. It creates tons of busywork via overdiversification without increasing returns. Ennis has ascertained they would do as well, and potenally better, by dumping all the alts and sticking to simple stock and bond strategies. In other words, to the extent private equity does outperform, the general partners suck it all out for themselves. But worse, Ailman, admitting to falling private equity returns but not admitting to the reality we set forth above, has left his successors with a ticking time bomb by leveraging up on his already-leveraged alts positions. The excuse is that its necessary to have enough liquidity. What about cash? Leverage to achieve that end via anything more complicated than commitment fees for typically unused lines of credit screams of trying to boost returns. Recall that leverage on leverage was what made the 1929 and 2008 crashes so spectacular. Further bear in mind that Ailman does not acknowledge that the private equity general partners themselves are often, perhaps even routinely, engaging in leverage by borrowing at the fund level in addition to borrowing against portfolio company assets and income. This is the bland description from the Financial Times: One of his final acts has been to obtain board approval for a controversial $30bn of borrowing to help manage the funds giant illiquid portfolio. The move attracted concerns that the fund had become overweight with illiquid assets, which are not easily traded. Ailman signalled that its private markets allocation, which includes assets such as private equity and real estate and which amounts to about 40 per cent of the portfolio, had peaked. The Financial Times also presents the image that private equity is nevertheless making some concessions to labor, presumably in response to political pressure: Ailmans comments come as the private equity industry faces increasing pressure from regulators, campaigners and investors due to its growing influence over the American corporate landscape and a series of scandals involving workers at businesses they own He added that Calstrs had been putting pressure on managers such as Blackstone behind the scenes over their investments. We go directly to our general partners to have conversations, we just havent done that in the press, he said. Some private equity managers have taken steps to ensure that employees at companies they own can share in the profits, if the firm performs well. New York-based buyout group KKR says that billions of dollars in equity have been shared between more than 60,000 employees at its portfolio companies since 2011. Last year, the firm committed to offering equity-sharing programmes to all employees in the takeover deals coming from its $19bn North American private equity fund and in all future funds in the region. More than two dozen buyout groups, including Apollo, TPG, Warburg Pincus and Advent International have committed to a plan called Ownership Works that aims to generate more than $20bn in wealth for workers by 2030. If you believe that these ownership schemes in the end will generate more than a hill of beans, I have a bridge Id like to sell you. If you have followed our work over these many years, or looked at the limited partnership agreements we posted, private equity firms are the masters of heads I win, tails you lose provisions. Moreover, it isnt clear to what extent actual vested equity wont wind up being effectively an exchange for current wages. The Financial Times peanut gallery is as skeptical as I am. For instance: Abby P Sorry, has he really *met* people in PE? They are not the type to share wealth, they do the opposite. They bribe politicians to get themselves a lower tax rate then wage earners. They feed themselves dividends while loading their companies with debt. Quietly fuming Thats exactly what wont happen. Have you ever worked with them? Maron Fenico It appears that someone is justifying his decision to invest in private equity when returns have become riskier while fees remain outrageous. What to do? Deflect by suggesting the ridiculous idea that the employees of portfolio companies share the wealth. This after a decades-long wealth extraction by PE from these employees and the portfolio companies who employ them, a strategy that is now, finally, coming under intense scrutiny. The cancerous effects of PE have infected most American industries, causing millions of lost jobs, destruction of entire communities, poor service, especially in the health care space, while contributing to the yawning wealth gap in the U.S. PE titans- Ackman, Rowan, etc., are now using their political power to make and break university administrations to ensure that the marginally intelligent children of their class legacy admissions retain a seat at the best schools unburdened by DEI. Its striking that Aliman didnt advocate for the most obvious way to redistribute at least some wealth away from private equity to communities at large: ending the carried income loophole, which has the effect of allowing private equity barons have ginormous amounts of ordinary income taxed at capital gains rates. Sadly, this story confirms that private equity faces no challenge to their unending appetite for more money. Even though trees dont grow to the sky, the only thing that might curb their rapaciousness is a crash.which even then wont damage them all that much, unless the pitchforks come out in a big way. Buy panic room futures. On January 1, The Bachelor contestant and Ukrainian actress Victoriia Varlei became a mother for the first time at the age of 39. The Ukrainian and her American husband named their daughter Michelle, which means "gift from God" in French. ADVERTISIMENT The star said that she decided to name her child this way many years ago, so she did not hesitate. Varlei told Viva magazine more details about her care, childbirth and relationship with her husband. The artist hid her pregnancy for a long time and declassified it after giving birth. The first photos of her big belly appeared on her blog just a week ago, while little Michelle is already 10 days old. Due to the full-scale war, Victoriia Varlei moved to Miami, where she found her beloved. The reality star had a partnered birth with him, although at one point the man had to sit down because of stress. "In general, I refused to have him present at the birth, but when the doctor came in and said: "We're going to give birth," everything started to develop so rapidly that before my husband could even realize it, he was holding my leg. And I was watching it all as if it were a cartoon and listening carefully to the nurses' instructions. At some point, my husband asked to be changed: he needed to sit down. He couldn't stand the strain," said the new mother. ADVERTISIMENT Interestingly, Mr. Varlei's elected representative is Russian by birth. At the age of 14, he moved to New York with his parents, and now he says he feels "disgusted and disrespected by the Russian Federation." The Ukrainian actress's husband already has two children from a previous marriage, so the actress is confident that he has experience and will be a good father. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg underscored the importance of NATO-EU cooperation in response to Russias war against Ukraine on Friday (16 February 2024) arriving at an event hosted by Bavaria's Christian Social Union. Speaking alongside the President of the European Commission and the Minister-President of Bavaria, Mr Stoltenberg said that two years into Russias war Ukraine continues to fight for its freedom and independence. This is due first and foremost to the courage of the Ukrainian people, enabled by major military and economic support from Europe and North America. I welcome that the European Council has approved an important new package of aid to Ukraine and I expect the US to follow suit. This is vital, he said. Read the full transcript (As delivered) I am deeply saddened and concerned about reports coming from Russia that Alexei Navalny is dead. All the facts have to be established and Russia has serious questions to answer. Alexei Navalny has been a strong voice for freedom, for democracy for many years, and NATO and NATO Allies have called for his immediate release for a long time. And today my thoughts go to his family and his loved ones. And we remain committed to support everyone that believes in democracy and freedom as Alexei Navalny has done for so many years. Question: [inaudible] regarding the causes of the death of Navalny? NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg: We don't have any information now. That's the reason why it is important to have all facts established, and why Russia has some very serious questions to answer. What we have seen is that Russia has become a more and more authoritarian power, that they have used oppression against opposition for many years. And of course, he was in jail, he was a prisoner. And that makes it extremely important that Russia now answer all the questions that will be asked about the cause of the death. Question: Mr Stoltenberg, we are only weeks away from the Russian presidential election. Could there be any connection to his passing now? NATO Secretary General: I will not speculate today. I will just continue to call on Russia to make sure that all facts are established, that they answer all the questions that now will be asked. And then based on that we will be able to say more. Question: [inaudible]... waiting for President Zelenskyy to attend the conference here. What kind of message can he take home especially when we consider that the US aid is stalled and that the Europeans are also struggling? Critics in Ukraine would say Europe failed us once when Crimea was annexed, is Europe gonna fail us again? NATO Secretary General: Our task is to ensure that we continue to support Ukraine, because this is in our security interest to do so. And the situation is difficult. The fact that the United States has not made a decision has impacted the situation on the battlefield. At the same time, I continue to expect that the United States will make a decision to continue to provide support. And it's also important to actually recognise that even though the situation on the battlefield is difficult, we should not overestimate Russia and underestimate Ukraine. Just this week, the Ukrainians have demonstrated once again, their skill and their competence when it comes to deep strikes by sinking one of the Russian ships in the Black Sea. We have also seen new announcements of more support for Ukraine. At the NATO Defence Ministerial meeting this week, Allies announced more support for the F16s, more air defence. And several Allies also went together and promised to deliver 1 million drones to Ukraine. And then of course, Ukraine is coming closer to NATO. We agreed to establish a new centre to help train and build capacity in Ukraine to learn lessons. And today also France and Germany are signing security assurances with Ukraine. I welcome these assurances; they're not an alternative to NATO membership, but they help Ukraine to move closer to membership. So therefore, we need to continue to support Ukraine and ensure that Ukraine will become a member of the Alliance. Question: On Navalny, what does it tell us about the nature of Putins regime, that the opposition leader has died in prison? NATO Secretary General: Today my message is that we need to establish all the facts, and Russia needs to answer all the questions and many serious questions about the causes of his death. I'm deeply saddened and very concerned. And of course, Alexei Navalny was a very strong voice for freedom, for democracy. And therefore also NATO and NATO Allies called for his immediate release for a long time. And my main message today is to express my condolences and my thoughts are with his loved ones and his family. And then we need to come back to all the rest when we know more about the circumstances. Question: What kind of support would you like to have from Latin American countries, Mr. Stoltenberg? NATO Secretary General: I would like countries all over the world who believe in freedom and democracy to support Ukraine. Because it will not only be a tragedy for Ukraine if President Putin wins, but it will make the whole world more dangerous. Because then the message to authoritarian leaders all over the world will be that when they use military force, they get what they want. And then we all will become more vulnerable. And therefore it is extremely important that also countries in Latin America who believe in freedom, support Ukraine and stand up against the war of aggression against Ukraine. Thank you so much. RED DAWN ALERT: Chinese agents are being sent across Mexican border to prepare for attacks on U.S. soil The Chinese Communist Party is currently taking advantage of lax border controls to put the infrastructure in place in America to attack us from our own soil. Gatestone Institute Distinguished Senior Fellow Gordon G. Chang recently outlined a number of very compelling signs that such attacks are in the works. One is video posted on X showing recently arrived Chinese migrants firing pistols, including a Chinese woman operating a sniper rifle. Chinese citizens cannot possess firearms and the migrants had only been on U.S. soil for three weeks. As Chang points out, it seems like an odd way to spend ones time immediately after arriving to a new country with nothing to your name. Most migrants are worried about where they will live and where their next meal will come from; working on shooting skills normally doesnt fit into these plans. He wrote: You would not, within weeks of entering your new homeland, be sharpening your skills to kill. You would not be thinking of killing unless... that is what you came to do. This is supported by comments by retired Air Force General Blaine Holt, who reports that Chinese migrants are also carrying out target practice in Idaho, where he lives. He said that tens of thousands of men of military age have already made their way into the U.S., including terrorists and state actors working for the Peoples Liberation Army of China. As we speak, these actors are training, making plans and obtaining weapons, watching our patterns and learning our vulnerabilities." "We are vulnerable to attack," he added. "Our enemies eagerly wait." We are building the infrastructure of human freedom and empowering people to be informed, healthy and aware. Learn about our free, downloadable AI tools on nutrition, health and preparedness at this article link. Every purchase at HealthRangerStore.com helps fund our efforts to build and share more tools for empowering humanity with knowledge and abundance. Secret Chinese bioweapon lab found in California Further evidence of the CCP setting up infrastructure to attack the U.S. was seen when authorities uncovered a secret Chinese bioweapon lab near Fresno, California. More than 20 pathogens were found there, including for Ebola, along with nearly 1,000 mice they had genetically engineered to spread diseases, perhaps in hopes of having agents transport the mice throughout the nation to cause widespread infections. And thats just what we know about many experts believe there could well be more labs just like it that have yet to be discovered. Chinese migrants not receiving proper vetting upon arrival Chinese migrants are the fastest-growing group of people trying to cross into America via Mexico. The number of encounters with such individuals more than doubled from January to November of 2023 compared to the same time period the year before, climbing from 25,397 to 59,642. Some reporters have noted that Chinese men of military age are often traveling in groups of up to 15, unaccompanied, and performing Chinese military rituals along the way. Although some migrants are turned away, China often refuses to take them back and the U.S. has no way of forcing them to do so. According to the Department of Justice, 55% of Chinese migrants were given asylum last year; the figure for migrants from other countries is just 14%. Customs and Border Protection recently relaxed the screening process used for people from China entering the country to make it easier to process them, and lawmakers have warned that this is putting national security at great risk. They reduced the number of questions that processors must ask Chinese migrants from 40 to just five, which means that it will be far easier for those who intend to harm us to make their way into the country. In a statement, the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party said the move was unacceptable, adding: Americans do not want Americas foremost adversary facilitating the flow of fentanyl into our country or sending thousands of people across our border illegally. President Biden needs to secure the border now. Sources for this article include: GatestoneInstitute.org NYPost.com CBSNews.com CLOWN SHOW: Biden administration in CHAOS over migrant crisis, Axios reveals A damning report from Axios revealed that the Biden administration already a clown show in itself was thrown into chaos over the ongoing migrant crisis. The Feb. 12 exclusive report revealed that "infighting, blame-shifting and indecision" has gotten in the way of repairing the immigration crisis that they had created. In a nutshell, Biden and his mood are to blame for the border crisis, and his team is a group of idiots. According to the outlet, President Joe Biden allegedly exploded with anger in January 2023 while aboard Air Force One. The president's outburst was triggered by his team's inability to deliver obscure data he was demanding at the time. "Biden's fury subsided, and aides scrambled for the information he wanted," Axios recounted. "People in the meeting later told others in frustration that his winding process and irritability were making it more difficult to reach decisions about the border." Moreover the border crisis prompted Biden to embrace "immigration policies he ran against in 2020 such as restricting asylum laws and suggesting he'll 'shut down' the border." Biden's team ceased holding undocumented families in U.S. detention centers a practice under Presidents Bush, Obama and Trump in favor of monitoring people utilizing ankle bracelets and other technology. Then, as conditions worsened, Biden contemplated restoring the detention program. In another instance, the administration extended temporary protections for Venezuelans in the United States. But weeks later, it declared plans to deport Venezuelans for the first time in years. Human knowledge is under attack! Governments and powerful corporations are using censorship to wipe out humanity's knowledge base about nutrition, herbs, self-reliance, natural immunity, food production, preparedness and much more. We are preserving human knowledge using AI technology while building the infrastructure of human freedom. Learn about our free, non-commercial AI / LLM project here. Support our efforts to build the infrastructure of human freedom by shopping at HealthRangerStore.com, featuring lab-tested, certified organic, non-GMO foods and nutritional solutions. "The White House generally didn't want to talk publicly about immigration or the border for much of Biden's first three years, feeling it would draw attention to a political vulnerability," the Axios report stated. "Publicly, the White House also initially downplayed jumps in illegal border crossings as normal "ebbs and flows" even as some internally pushed to acknowledge that the problem was significant." (Related: Biden administration continues to lie about border crisis as millions of illegals flood into the USA.) Biden admin officials also fighting against each other The Axios piece underlined a combination of infighting, incompetence and indifference concerning the administration's handling of the border over the past three years. It also recounted several instances of this internal conflict, mainly involving then-Domestic Policy Advisor Susan Rice who left the Biden administration in May 2023. In one instance, insulted Health Secretary Xavier Becerra and privately called him an "idiot." During one meeting where Biden was admonishing Becerra, Rice passed Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas a note reading: "Don't save him." This instance of the advisor dissuading Mayorkas from covering for Becerra was confirmed by two people familiar with the meeting. Aside from Becerra, Rice also crossed swords with Homeland Security Advisor Liz Sherwood-Randall and Vice President Kamala Harris herself. The rivalry between the vice president and domestic policy advisor arose when Harris was selected as Biden's running mate instead of Rice. "[The domestic policy advisor] later told people she thought Harris and her team were partly responsible for opposition research that resulted in negative coverage," Axios continued. Moreover, the report also said Rice appeared to others as someone taking pride in being more informed on the border than Harris. Some of the vice president's aides found Rice to be disrespectful to the second-highest official in the land, and dismissively referred to the former United Nations ambassador as just a "staffer." The heart of the matter is America being headed by a man who is too senile to prosecute, and whose administration is entirely dysfunctional. Follow InvasionUSA.news for more stories about the illegal immigrant invasion happening in America. Watch Tom Homan of Fox News explain why the open border policy is by design. This video is from the NewsClips channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories: Speaker Johnson reveals 64 instances Biden where sabotaged border security and encouraged illegal migration. OPEN SESAME: Biden administration opens border to millions of ILLEGALS by lifting Title 42. Biden to offer $1.2 billion in college-preparatory aid to ILLEGAL ALIENS in yet another handout incentive to flood the country with invaders. Sen. Marshall introduces bill REQUIRING the White House to report to Congress how many TERRORISTS are encountered at the border. ABSURD: Biden administration asks for $3.3B to fund more housing for illegal migrants. Sources include: ZeroHedge.com Axios.com Brighteon.com The famous Soviet and Russian actor, comedian, and TV presenter Hennadii Khazanov fell out of favor with the Z-patriots. After a long stay abroad, the artist returned to Moscow to give concerts. However, activists of the Veterans of Russia movement are demanding that his performances be canceled, and have also appealed to the head of the Investigative Committee of Russia, Oleksandr Bastrykin, to check the star for "discrediting the Russian army." ADVERTISIMENT The reason for the "disaster" was a video that Khazanov posted from abroad in December 2023. The Russians saw it as "hidden support for Ukraine". Propaganda media wrote about this. Thus, in the video, the actor quotes the writer Lev Tolstoi and says the following: "War is such an unjust, bad thing that those who fight try to drown out the voice of conscience. For the rulers, patriotism is nothing more than a tool to achieve power-hungry and selfish goals. And for the ruled, it is a renunciation of human dignity, reason, conscience, and slavish submission to those in power. Patriotism is slavery. Because of it, patriotism, as well as their ignorance, people turn into obedient slaves who blindly go to kill and die!" ADVERTISIMENT For fans of Putin and the terrorist war, these words have become a red herring. It turns out that they were the ones whom the actor called slaves, although it is worth emphasizing that Khazanov did not mention Ukraine or the policies of the current dictatorial president. However, this did not stop the citizens of the terrorist country. They demanded that the star not be allowed to enter Russia and that his words be urgently checked for "discrediting the Russian army." Obviously, law enforcement officers did not find anything provocative in Khazanov's statements, so his concert took place on February 15. Also on February 16, propaganda media published Khazanov's commentary on his "emigration" from the country. The artist assured that he was not going to move anywhere, and that he allegedly travels abroad only on vacation. ADVERTISIMENT "No, I go when I have a vacation and come back. Where am I going to emigrate to? I'm working," the "controversial" actor said. We would like to add that in 1996 Khazanov became a confidant of the first Russian president Boris Yeltsin, and in 2012 he became a confidant of Vladimir Putin, who was then re-elected for a third term. For many years, he maintained friendly relations with the Kremlin leader, as far as Putin is concerned. SMURFING: New complaint accuses Fulton County DA Fani Willis of illegally using peoples info for CAMPAIGN DONATIONS Fulton County District Attorney (DA) Fani Willis is involved in a massive fraud scheme for her campaign funds, according to independent journalist Peter Bernegger. He made this revelation in an exclusive interview with fellow independent journalist Emerald Robinson. Bernegger said he and his colleagues uncovered discrepancies in the DA's campaign funds following an extensive review. These discrepancies, he added, suggest that a large number of people were being used to make campaign donations to Willis without their knowledge. More precisely, their names and addresses are being used for these donations a tactic known as "smurfing." This tactic is a known structured money laundering scheme that takes money from unwitting individuals, often seniors. Their identities are then used to mask these contributions, amounting to identity theft and elder financial abuse. Bernegger and his team have found numerous out-of-state donors for Willis that fit the political nonprofit organization ActBlue's money laundering profile. A total of 220 donations amounting to approximately $23,000 lacked the required name or address information clearly violating Georgia election law. They also found donations exceeding the $3,000 limit, amounting to another $27,000 in unlawful contributions. The suspicious donations now stand at over $160,000, which meant that all of the amount was apparently "smurfed" into the Willis campaign. The team also alleged that over 50 percent of her campaign contributions were unlawfully obtained through these methods, thereby compromising the legitimacy of her election. Human knowledge is under attack! Governments and powerful corporations are using censorship to wipe out humanity's knowledge base about nutrition, herbs, self-reliance, natural immunity, food production, preparedness and much more. We are preserving human knowledge using AI technology while building the infrastructure of human freedom. Learn about our free, non-commercial AI / LLM project here. Support our efforts to build the infrastructure of human freedom by shopping at HealthRangerStore.com, featuring lab-tested, certified organic, non-GMO foods and nutritional solutions. "We are filing under sworn oath a complaint to the Georgia State Ethics Commission against Willis of $160,000 in smurfing," Bernegger announced. "You add these numbers up, and we're over 50 percent, at least, of all her money coming into her campaign. It was unlawful, illegally obtained and basically, she cheated in her elections by using that money," The said complaint could lead to a thorough examination by the state attorney and possibly law enforcement agencies, given the criminal nature of the allegations. As the complaint goes forward, critics raise questions regarding the potential consequences for Willis. Should the allegations be proven true, the repercussions could range from legal action, including arrest and indictment, to political ramifications, such as removal from office. Probe links Willis to election fraud and money laundering activities In September 2023, the Gateway Pundit (GP) first reported a bombshell investigation that uncovered Willis' sprawling web of election fraud and money laundering activities. Sources close to the matter suggested at the time that the district attorney was a massive beneficiary in the Federal and Georgia RICO (racketeer influenced and corrupt organizations) enterprises groups of people or entities that engage in a pattern of racketeering activity, such as illegal gambling, drug dealing or extortion. It looked as though she played a key role in orchestrating a systematic scheme to manipulate election outcomes. In the lead-up to the 2022 midterm elections, a team of investigators uncovered a massive money laundering network of campaign finance contributions being made also via ActBlue. One of the top beneficiaries of this money laundering RICO enterprise was none other than Georgia Sen. Raphael Warnock. As GP's investigation progressed, the pundits expanded their efforts into other states such as Missouri, Maryland, Wisconsin and Arizona, and then into every single state. It also found that many of the ActBlue donors never made individual contributions. The scheme was further exposed when the GP team provided the data to James O'Keefe and his team at O'Keefe Media Group, who captured many unwitting "money laundering smurfs" in Maryland. O'Keefe is an American activist and a producer known for founding Project Veritas. This big-time money-making operation involves wire fraud, evasion of campaign finance limits, structuring of financial transactions, tax fraud, nonprofit fraud, identity theft and elder abuse. According to reports, the scheme is still in operation up until today. (Related: Fulton County, Ga., DA Fani Willis faces 22 articles of impeachment for "malfeasance, oppression and tyrannical partiality.") Check out Corruption.news for more stories about how government officials "make money." Watch Breanna Morello discuss Fulton County DA Fani Willis possibly getting disqualified from former President Donald Trump's case. This video is from the MyPodcastDropped2320 channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories: Atlanta attorney Fani Willis hired SECRET LOVER as special prosecutor in Georgia racketeering case against Trump. Report: Fulton County DA Fani Willis SECRETLY COLLUDED with House J6 Committee. Trump files 3 motions to dismiss Georgia election case, citing PRESIDENTIAL IMMUNITY. Former Trump official HOSPITALIZED after violent carjacking incident in D.C. Sources include: TheGatewayPundit.com 1 Emerald.TV TheGatewayPundit.com 2 Brighteon.com Gaslighter Mayorkas washes hands and denies responsibility for the border crisis Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas has denied accountability of the currently burgeoning border crisis, claiming it was not his or President Joe Biden's administration's responsibility. This denial came amid House Speaker Mike Johnson's (R-LA) report on the 64 instances the Biden regime undermined border security. Since the 46th president assumed office in January 2021, at least seven million encounters have been reported from the U.S.-Mexico border. Johnson's report included how Biden manipulated the federal bureaucracy to open our borders to illegal immigrants, human trafficking, fentanyl and potential terrorists. "It certainly is a crisis. And, well, we don't bear responsibility for a broken system, and we're doing a tremendous amount within the system. But fundamentally, Congress is the only one who can fix it," the DHS executive claimed during an appearance on NBC's "Meet the Press." "Do you bear responsibility for what is happening at the border?" MAYORKAS: "We don't bear responsibility" pic.twitter.com/rCdwOIAIAX RNC Research (@RNCResearch) February 11, 2024 He has publicly and in front of Congress said that the border is "secure" repeatedly for years. Then last week, Biden undercut him and admitted the "border is not secure" before pinning blame on his predecessor, former President Donald Trump. Mayorkas' comments denying responsibility came on the heels of him dodging an effort by House Republicans to impeach him. It looked like the vote was going to succeed, with three GOP defections, until Rep. Al Green (D-TX) was unexpectedly wheeled onto the floor in his hospital scrubs after intestinal surgery. The Texas Democrat tied the vote at 215-215, defeating the resolution. "Sometimes when you're counting votes and people show up when they're not expected to be in the building, it changes the equation," said Johnson. A fourth Republican also switched his vote at the last minute to give GOP leaders the opportunity to bring up the vote again, making the final vote 214 in favor to 216 against. Thanks to your generous support, we are building the infrastructure of human freedom and actively donating our technology to independent publishers, authors and home schooling organizations. Learn about our game-changing non-commercial AI project here. Support our ongoing efforts to preserve and enhance human knowledge by shopping at HealthRangerStore.com. The representatives accused Mayorkas of "willful and systemic refusal to comply with the law" while presiding over the border crisis and "breach of public trust" for allegedly lying to Congress by saying the border is "secure" and that DHS has "operational control" of it. But for Mayorkas, the impeachment contains "baseless allegations." He added: "That's why I am not distracted by them and focused on the work of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)." Meanwhile, a sweeping bipartisan border security reform package in the Senate collapsed last week. The deal had been negotiated for some four months. It was widely seen as a means of unlocking Republican support for a broader supplemental featuring aid to Ukraine, Israel and Indo-Pacific allies, as the New York Post reported. "The system has not been fixed for 30 years. A bipartisan group of senators [has] now presented us with the tools and resources we need and yet Congress killed it before even reading it," said Mayorkas, following a failed Senate spending plan that would allocate a scant amount to the border, while providing Ukraine and Israel with roughly $80 billion in aid. Mayorkas impeached by House Republicans On Feb. 13, the House narrowly impeached Mayorkas in a 214-213 vote. This came exactly a week after an earlier impeachment attempt failed as three GOP congressmen joined Democrats in voting against the measure and another flipped their vote from "yea" to "nay." House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA), who missed the earlier vote as he was undergoing treatment for blood cancer, cast the deciding vote on this second impeachment attempt. (Related: TRAITOR TO AMERICA: House will vote to impeach DHS Secretary Mayorkas ASAP, Speaker Johnson reveals.) The vote coincided with a special election in New York's third congressional district to replace former Rep. George Santos (R-NY). The possibility of Democrats picking up the swing seat puts pressure on Republicans to move quickly. The right wing has been asserting that Mayorkas is responsible for the high crimes and misdemeanors at the border and for not enforcing immigration laws. Mayorkas and Democrats, meanwhile, contended that it's a matter of policy differences, arguing that Republicans are using impeachment to score political points during an election year. Last month, Republicans unveiled two articles of impeachment against Mayorkas. The first impeachment article accused Mayorkas of releasing migrants into the U.S. who should have been detained. The second article alleged he lied to lawmakers about whether the southern border was secure when he previously testified that his department had "operational control" of the border, and accused Mayorkas of obstructing congressional oversight of his department. Visit BorderSecurity.news for more stories related to the worsening migration crisis in the United States. Sources for this article include: ZeroHedge.com Speaker.gov NYPost.com Cross at your own risk: Increase in Darien Gap crossings leads to sharp rise in CRIMES against migrants The mainstream media is apparently turning a blind eye to harrowing stories of crimes at the Darien Gap, located between the Central American nation of Panama and Colombia in South America. According to independent non-profit newsroom New Humanitarian, the number of migrants who crossed the treacherous jungle corridor saw a record increase in 2023. Its figures also disclosed that Darien Gap migrant crossings have exponentially surged under the open borders policy of U.S. President Joe Biden. The Guardian disclosed in a report that a record 520,000 people crossed the gap in 2023, citing figures from the Panamanian government. It added that this number was more than double that of 2022 numbers. The Panamanian Ministry of Public Security said most of the migrants who made the journey came from Venezuela, Ecuador, Haiti and China with those who survive the two-week trek through the jungles ending up on the southern U.S. border weeks later, if not months. (Related: FBI wary of terrorists crossing the border illegally.) "[The year] 2023 has broken all records. It has been a huge, terrible maelstrom," Elias Cornejo of the non-government organization (NGO) Fe y Alegria told the New Humanitarian. "And we expect a new increase [in 2024]." However, those who cross the Darien put themselves at risk of violence, sexual abuse, human trafficking and disease. The Doctors Without Borders NGO reported a seven-fold increase in sexual assaults across the gap. Given this, Reuters said back in September that Africans heading to the U.S. are flying to Nicaragua to bypass the gap's dangers. Human knowledge is under attack! Governments and powerful corporations are using censorship to wipe out humanity's knowledge base about nutrition, herbs, self-reliance, natural immunity, food production, preparedness and much more. We are preserving human knowledge using AI technology while building the infrastructure of human freedom. Learn about our free, non-commercial AI / LLM project here. Support our efforts to build the infrastructure of human freedom by shopping at HealthRangerStore.com, featuring lab-tested, certified organic, non-GMO foods and nutritional solutions. Ben Bergquam experiences migrant chaos first-hand in Darien Gap Given the ongoing chaos, Real America's Voice (RAV) correspondent Ben Bergquam and his team reported from the Darien Gap. Just like the other migrants there, they encountered cartel thieves and robbers terrorizing would-be border crossers. "There you go, Democrats. This is your open borders right there," said Bergquam, referring to the chaos unfolding in the jungle including rapes, robberies and shootouts. Bergquam and his team, accompanied by armed guards, tracked and intercepted cartel thieves. They came across countless migrants who warned about cartel members leaving a trail of destruction, including raping and robbing. The reporters then found themselves in a firefight as armed guards assaulted the thieves, leaving one of them dead while two others were arrested. The men were preying on migrants, armed with pistols and condoms. "It's never-ending; you can say all you want Biden administration that the borders aren't open. But this video tells the truth," Bergquam said. "You got these scumbags coming in from Colombia [we got a] gun and the condoms they are using to rape the women. That's what your open borders do. These people risk their lives." Bergquam later took to X to expound on their report. The RAV correspondent wrote: "This is all by design by the open borders globalists [and] Democrats, who have realized they can cash in on the 'refugee' game through the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR)." These entities, Bergquam added, facilitate "immigration fraud" at the ORR by "training illegals who don't qualify for asylum how to say the right words to get in." "This is not a natural migration. This is a coordinated, for-profit invasion organized by international NGOs at the expense of American citizens and every country the invasion passes through." Watch this video about Agenda 2030's mass migration plan at the Darien Gap being exposed. This video is from the GalacticStorm channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories: Turkish smugglers using SOCIAL MEDIA to aid and abet illegal immigrants crossing southern border. Texas installs RAZOR WIRE along New Mexico border to block ILLEGAL ALIENS from crossing. INSANE: New border security bill secures every border except ours. Texas border sector reports 10K known border crossers in single week. BORDER DEFENSE: America protects US-Mexico border with barbed wire and verbal warnings. Sources include: ZeroHedge.com Brighteon.com Kyiv is running out of ammunition as Western aid packages hit roadblocks As the United States and European Union's Ukraine aid packages are stuck and pending release, Kyiv is facing a critical gap in its artillery ammunition that its military needs to continue battling fully-geared Russia. According to a Financial Times (FT) report, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky's troops have already been struggling to hold back Russia's military along a 1,500km active frontline, with Ukrainian forces rationing stockpiles and firing only about a third of the absolute critical daily minimum requirement to maintain their position, which is 6,000 shells a day. A senior U.S. military official called the "critical" situation "gap in the hose." "It is a desperate situation on the front lines for the Ukrainians, far worse than they are letting on," another senior NATO diplomat told the news outlet. "The old truism still holds true: The side with the most ammunition to fight usually wins," Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov even wrote to European Union foreign policy head Josep Borrell, lamenting the shortages getting worse by the day. Borrell responded in a speech to Ukraine's parliament this week: "I know that on ammunition your needs are higher than [Europe can provide]. I have been talking with your military staff, and I know that you need more."(Related: Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov tells EU counterparts: Ukraine is OUTGUNNED 3-to-1 by Russia.) President Joe Biden failed to pass a $60 billion military and financial aid package this month. This only means that most U.S. shipments of ammunition are at an effective pause. The White House bundled the aid package with funding for Israel and the U.S.-Mexico border, which ended up getting stuck in Congress due to domestic political concerns. The foreign aid portion of the bill finally advanced in the Senate earlier this week. Also, the Pentagon's stockpiles of 155mm ammunition ran low, and has remained low, last summer so Biden sent some cluster munitions instead to Zelensky's military. However, this move did not sit well with several NATO allies so they banned their use. Human knowledge is under attack! Governments and powerful corporations are using censorship to wipe out humanity's knowledge base about nutrition, herbs, self-reliance, natural immunity, food production, preparedness and much more. We are preserving human knowledge using AI technology while building the infrastructure of human freedom. Learn about our free, non-commercial AI / LLM project here. Support our efforts to build the infrastructure of human freedom by shopping at HealthRangerStore.com, featuring lab-tested, certified organic, non-GMO foods and nutritional solutions. Meanwhile, the European Union's increase in production has not been fast enough, as per authorities knowledgeable of the matter. It has already fallen far short of its pledge to crank out a million rounds by March 2024 and was only able to send less than half of that number. "It will not be easy for the Europeans to substitute for the U.S. That's not entirely realistic," one senior EU diplomat told FT. "Can [the EU] be enough if the US changes course of its direction? Im not sure." Biden agreed that the country was the "essential nation" in the current Ukraine conflict. His national security adviser Jake Sullivan added last week that there was "no alternative" to the scale of resources that the U.S. could offer if Congress authorizes more spending on Ukraine aid. Ukraines frontline people are weak and have low morale Apart from ammunition shortage, Ukraines line of people is also now scarce. Not only that, a Washington Post (WaPo) article indicated that these shortages have been leading to exhaustion and diminished morale on the front line. According to military personnel in the field, manpower deficits are their most critical problem now, as Russia has regained the offensive initiative on the battlefield and is stepping up its attacks. "We have direct trouble with personnel," a deputy commander of an infantry battalion, identified only as Nikita, told the news outlet. "I'm talking with my friends, also officers in other units, and those in infantry; its almost the same situation everywhere." WaPo also interviewed about a dozen officers and soldiers, who concealed their identities. One commander of a battalion in a mechanized brigade said his unit currently had less than 40 infantrymen, compared to 200 when fully staffed. Another battalion commander, identified as Alexander, said his infantry companies were staffed at about 35 percent. His colleague from an assault brigade said this situation was "typical" for combat units. "The basis of everything is the lack of people," he said. His battalion was sent five replacements over the past five months, so poorly trained that officers had second thoughts about sending them into battle and almost certain death. With no replacements, frontline troops can't be rotated out. "There is no one to replace them, so they sit there more, their morale drops, they get sick or suffer frostbite. They are running out," Alexander added. "The front is cracking. The front is crumbling." Meanwhile, a 41-year-old platoon commander fighting in Avdeevka said most of his men are over 40 and are beginning to feel the strain. "You can feel it; people are exhausted both morally and physically," he said. Zelensky announced in December that Ukraine would need to mobilize another 500,000 troops, indirectly admitting a far higher death toll than Kyiv has officially acknowledged. The measure has been so unpopular that the parliament has not taken it up until this week, while Zelensky has sought to shift the blame onto his top general, Valery Zaluzhny as he refused to comment. The General Staff also did not respond to a request for feedback. Proceed to UkraineWitness.com for more updates about the ongoing war in Ukraine. Sources for this article include: RT.com FT.com WashingtonPost.com Dutch court bans sending F-35 fighter jet parts to Israel as they may be used to carry out genocide and crimes against humanity The Hague Appeals Court on Monday, Feb. 12, ruled that the Dutch government should stop sending Israel spare parts for its F-35 fighter jets in the next seven days, saying "there is a clear risk that serious violations of humanitarian law of war" are being committed in the Gaza Strip. Presiding Judge Bas Boele said the Netherlands "must prohibit the export of military goods if there is a clear risk of serious violations of the humanitarian law of war." It might be allowed to export the said parts to Israel in the future, but only on condition that they are not used in operations in Gaza, Boele added. "We hope this ruling will strengthen international law in other countries so that the citizens of Gaza are also protected by international law," said Michiel Servaes, director of Oxfam Novib, one of the groups involved in the litigation. Human rights groups led by Oxfam brought the case to the Court of Appeal, calling for the ban of the parts to Tel Aviv after the Hague District Court refused to do so in a December 2023 judgment. The higher court overturned that decision, saying in a statement that it "rules in the favor" of Oxfam, Peace Movement PAX Netherlands and the Rights Forum, "and orders the State to put an end to the further export of F-35 parts to Israel." The human rights organizations argued that the export of the F-35 parts makes the Dutch state complicit in war crimes as the fighter jets are used in Israeli operations in the Gaza Strip. The parts in question are owned by the United States, as per a report on RT, but the Netherlands houses a regional warehouse where they are stored and sent to countries that comprise the F-35 consortium. Israel has received at least one shipment since October last year. "The delivery of U.S. F-35 parts to Israel in our view is not unjustified," said Trade Minister Geoffrey van Leeuwen, adding that the jets allow West Jerusalem to defend itself from threats from Iran, Yemen, Syria and Lebanon. Thanks to your generous support, we are building the infrastructure of human freedom and actively donating our technology to independent publishers, authors and home schooling organizations. Learn about our game-changing non-commercial AI project here. Support our ongoing efforts to preserve and enhance human knowledge by shopping at HealthRangerStore.com. According to reports, a month after the initial attack by the Hamas back in October, Israel started using the F-35I Adir fifth-generation fighter in the conflict. Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi even confirmed that one jet had been used in a close air support role to protect troops in the enclave. Tel Aviv operates two squadrons of the Lockheed Martin-made aircraft and has committed to acquiring a third. Israel has stood its ground in claiming that its armed forces are not committing war crimes in the Palestinian territory. The Hamas-controlled Health Ministry in Gaza reported that nearly 30,000 people have been killed since Israel retaliated to the initial Hamas assault that killed about 1,200 Israelis. The Israeli military says about 10,000 Hamas fighters are among the dead in Gaza. President Joe Biden's administration continues to support Israel and is even working its way to securing more money to fund its war. (Related: ICJ finds plausible genocide case against Israel, suggests military operation in Gaza is not "self-defense.") 95 civilians 42 of them children killed in unlawful Israeli attacks in Rafah International NGO Amnesty International was able to gather fresh evidence that Israel recently held deadly unlawful attacks in southern governorate of the Gaza Strip that was supposed to be "safe." According to the non-profit's probe, there were four Israeli strikes three in December 2023 after the humanitarian pause ended and one in January 2024 that killed at least 95 civilians, including 42 children in Rafah, which it was supposedly the "safest" area in the strip. In all four attacks, Amnesty did not find any indication that the residential buildings hit could be considered legitimate military objectives or that people in the buildings were military targets, raising concerns that these strikes were direct attacks on civilians and civilian objects and must therefore be investigated as war crimes. Even if Israeli forces had intended to target legitimate military objectives in the vicinity, these attacks evidently failed to distinguish between military objectives and civilian objects and would therefore be indiscriminate. Indiscriminate attacks that kill and injure civilians are war crimes. "Entire families were wiped out in Israeli attacks even after they sought refuge in areas promoted as safe and with no prior warning from Israeli authorities. These attacks illustrate an ongoing pattern of Israeli forces brazenly flouting international law, contradicting claims by Israeli authorities that their forces are taking heightened precautions to minimize harm to civilians," said Erika Guevara-Rosas, the organizations Senior Director of Research, Advocacy, Policy and Campaigns. She added that among those killed were a baby girl who had not yet turned three weeks, a prominent 69-year-old retired physician, a journalist who welcomed displaced families into his house and a mother sharing a bed with her 23-year-old daughter. "The testimonies that grieving survivors shared should serve as a reminder that these atrocity crimes in Gaza are a stain on the collective conscience of the world," said Guevara-Rosas. Amnesty also reviewed the war diary published by the Israeli military's official page and found no reference to any of the four strikes. They sent questions to Israeli authorities twice in January and received no response as of press time. Head over to Humanitarian.news to read more stories related to human rights violations being committed in the Middle East conflict. Sources for this article include: RT.com Rechtspraak.nl Amnesty.org Republicans should ally with the American people not Washington Democrats No one should be surprised that conservatives are not supporting the U.S. Senates supposedly bipartisan border bill. (Article by Newt Gingrich republished from RealClearWire.com) Every time Republicans reach out to Democrats to write a bipartisan bill, they inevitably sell out conservative values and accept liberal poison pills to get Democrats votes. When Republicans give up their principles in the name of bipartisanship, it is a disaster for conservatism, enrages the base, and splits the Republican Party. This was the model of so-called bipartisan outreach which led President George H.W. Bush to break his read my lips, no new taxes pledge. It was the same model of bipartisanship which led President George W. Bush to begin his first term working with Sen. Edward Kennedy on No Child Left Behind, a supposedly bipartisan education bill. It only benefited the Teachers Union and leftwing bureaucrats and was a disaster for American students. The same brand of bipartisanship ?is leading Sen. Mitt Romney to propose a fiscal commission on the national debt (which Democrats openly state must include tax increases which the American people deeply oppose). Marc Thiessen captured the insanity to which this passion for bipartisanship leads in the Washington Post: "This much is certain about the border agreement being negotiated by Senate Republicans and the Biden administration: There is no excuse for a weak deal. The border crisis could cost Democrats this years election and put Donald Trump in the White House and Democrats know it. That means Republicans have all the leverage in these negotiations. So, any deal that Republicans reach needs to force Biden to take steps that will cause some in his party to balk if Biden wont do these things, it will be clear that he doesnt want to stop illegal immigration. He only wants to stop Trump from entering the Oval Office again. Thanks to your generous support, we are building the infrastructure of human freedom and actively donating our technology to independent publishers, authors and home schooling organizations. Learn about our game-changing non-commercial AI project here. Support our ongoing efforts to preserve and enhance human knowledge by shopping at HealthRangerStore.com. Speaking specifically to the bipartisan border deal being discussed in the U.S. Senate, Andrew McCarthy put things even more bluntly in the National Review. Citing Fox News Bill Melugins analysis of the bill, McCarthy said the parts of the bill Republican senators are touting are disingenuous and, ultimately, counterproductive. McCarthy explained: That is to say, the good in the bipartisan Senate negotiators proposal and there definitely is some (a) can already be accomplished under current law, and (b) would require faith that the Biden administration will for some reason enforce these provisions even though it has systematically refused to enforce existing border-security provisions. More important, to get the illusory good in the proposal, Congress would have to enact provisions in the deal that would both undermine existing statutory restrictions and etch into our law magnets for illegal immigration. There is a clear alternative to seeking an alliance with the Democrats. It is to seek an alliance with the American people. It is why President Abraham Lincoln said, with public sentiment anything is possible. Without public sentiment nothing is possible. President Ronald Reagan understood this principle, too. He would often say to us, my job is to shine the light on the American people, so they will turn up the heat on Congress. In his farewell address, he said I've had my share of victories in the Congress, but what few people noticed is that I never won anything you didn't win for me. They never saw my troops, they never saw Reagan's regiments, the American people. You won every battle with every call you made and letter you wrote demanding action. We stood on President Reagans shoulders with the Contract with America in 1994. We realized that you can achieve bipartisanship from the ground up. Every item in the Contract was overwhelmingly popular with the American people. When we passed welfare reform, half the Democrats voted with us, because it was so popular back home they had no choice. Recent Americas New Majority Polls make clear the kind of border security bill the American people support. Two-in-three support the provisions in the Secure the Border Act of 2023 (H.R. 2). Further, three-in-four Americans want the government to prioritize stopping illegal immigration before addressing the status of current illegal immigrants. This includes 89% of Republicans, 75% of independents and 60% of Democrats. You would think numbers this massive would help define an American citizen-based bipartisanship. Americans by 2:1 favor simplifying the laws for deporting illegal immigrants back to their home countries. This includes 88% of Republicans and 67% of independents. Among minorities it includes 75% of Asian Americans, 52% of Latino Americans, and 48% of African Americans. If you just started with these two principles, you could write an immigration and border control bill that would have overwhelming popular support. The more the American people learn about the U.S. Senates supposedly bipartisan bill, which should be called the Illegal Immigration Support Act, the more they will oppose it and question the common sense of the people who wrote it. Read more at: RealClearWire.com Houston megachurch shooter was a woman who identified as a TRANS MAN Genesse Moreno, who also went by a man's name Jeffrey Escalante, has been identified as the person responsible for the unnerving shooting at Lakewood Church in Houston . She used a seven-year-old kid, subsequently revealed to be her son, as a human shield during a shooting rampage. On Sunday, Feb. 11, Moreno, 36, entered the megachurch clad in a trench coat and armed with an AR-15. What could have been a terrible tragedy was quickly averted thanks to the swift action of two off-duty officers, one a Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission officer and the other a Houston Police Department officer. Moreno was killed during a shootout, and two people were injured Moreno's child and a 57-year-old man. Moreno's child suffered a gunshot wound to the head and remains in critical condition. Moreno, after arriving at the church with the child in the vehicle, initiated the gunfire upon entering the premises, prompting the two officers to return fire. The motive for her actions is still unknown. The incident shed light on Moreno's complex identity, as she also identified as Jeffrey Escalante and has a long criminal history, including charges related to assault, drugs and illegal possession of firearms. Dan Hooper, a writer at the Houston Conservative Forum, describes the shooter as a woman who thinks she is a man in a post on X, formerly Twitter. (Related: Transgender shooters manifesto leaked; Nashville police flip out.) "A lengthy criminal history. A woman who thinks she is a man," said Hooper, who added that information he received from a medical examiner confirms that Moreno is a biological female. "They were looking at the body when brought in." We are building the infrastructure of human freedom and empowering people to be informed, healthy and aware. Learn about our free, downloadable AI tools on nutrition, health and preparedness at this article link. Every purchase at HealthRangerStore.com helps fund our efforts to build and share more tools for empowering humanity with knowledge and abundance. Despite some confusion surrounding the gender identification of the assailant, investigators have predominantly identified Moreno as a Hispanic female. The shooter, who reportedly used multiple aliases, was recognized as having a lengthy criminal history. Lakewood Church, under the leadership of known pastor and televangelist Joel Osteen, expressed deep sorrow and devastation in a statement. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott condemned the act as "heinous" and commended law enforcement for their rapid response to the unfolding tragedy. Shooter had long history of mental health troubles During a press conference on Monday, Houston Police Department Homicide Division Cmdr. Christopher Hassig revealed that Genesse Moreno had a long mental health history and had been placed under an emergency detention order by Houston police officers in 2016. According to state law, individuals with mental illness can be detained if they pose a substantial risk of serious harm to themselves or others. In 2022, Moreno's former mother-in-law, Walli Carranza, attempted to be declared the conservator of Moreno's son, but the petition was unsuccessful. Sam, the child who was shot in the head on Sunday, was at the center of this legal endeavor. Carranza alleged in an affidavit that a psychiatrist had issued a "red flag warning" on Moreno in 2016 after she was hospitalized with schizophrenia. Carranza further claimed to have found a gun in Moreno's possession in 2020 and reported it to Colorado police, where Moreno was staying at the time, based on the psychiatrist's warning. Colorado has laws aiming to restrict access to guns for individuals who may pose a risk to themselves or others. Carranza, who mentioned on Facebook that Moreno had taken medication for schizophrenia in the past, asserted that Moreno's mother expressed fear of her daughter's "violent temper." Despite raising red flags over six years and seeking help from Child Protective Services and the police, Carranza claimed that Moreno was still allowed to own firearms. In 2022, Moreno also sought a protective order against her ex-husband, alleging threats, and against her former mother-in-law, claiming harassment. These cases were dismissed when Moreno failed to appear in court. Watch this clip from "The Breanna Morello Show" as she discusses in detail how the trans-identifying shooter used her own child as a human shield. This video is from the Breanna Morello channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories: ANOTHER deranged transgender caught planning mass shooting against children; arrested with Communist Manifesto and kill list. Nashville shooting aftermath: Anti-gun and pro-transgender activists storm state capitol buildings. Nashville transgender Christian school shooting occurred just days after "Trans Day of Vengeance" protest. Sources include: TheEpochTimes.com Edition.CNN.com Brighteon.com Watchdog exposes potential FRAUD in nutritional assistance programs in the form of no-good-cause exemptions A government watchdog has revealed potential fraud in nutritional assistance programs (NAPs) in the form of so-called "no-good-cause exemptions" (NGCEs). According to a Feb. 9 report released by the Florida-based Foundation for Government Accountability (FGA), NGCEs play a major role in circumventing work requirements and concealing food stamp errors. Also known as discretionary exemptions, NGCEs allow states to excuse able-bodied adults from work obligations without requiring any justification. (Related: Watchdog study: Bidens food stamp expansion caused 15% SURGE in grocery prices.) The report said these food stamps exemptions are widely misused by states hiding accounting errors and presenting ample opportunities for abuse and corruption. Further fueling the potential for abuse is the fact that these exemptions can be carried over from year to year if unused. One example of misuse of the NGCE outlined in the report was the retroactive issuance of such exemptions to certain individuals. By doing so, states can also artificially lower their error rates, undermining the integrity of the program. True enough, the report highlighted instances where states have openly admitted to the practice dubbing it by as "overissuance/error protection." Hayden Dublois, the report's author and FGA's data and analytics director, decried the practice of exemption abuse. He asserted that this practice isn't only deceptive, but also undermines the accountability measures put in place to ensure the proper administration of these programs. We are building the infrastructure of human freedom and empowering people to be informed, healthy and aware. Learn about our free, downloadable AI tools on nutrition, health and preparedness at this article link. Every purchase at HealthRangerStore.com helps fund our efforts to build and share more tools for empowering humanity with knowledge and abundance. "Instead of cleaning up their food stamp rolls, state bureaucrats are sweeping their errors under the rug," Dublois said in a statement. "The federal rule theyre using keeps thousands of ineligible recipients on welfare, using resources meant for the truly needy." Dublois: Taxpayers and the truly needy lose under the current system His report also disclosed that in some states, up to 100 percent of NGCEs are issued retroactively. FGA submitted requests for public records to nearly 20 states that have been identified as having utilized these exemptions. While many of the states declined to provide records, documents from those who did paint an alarming picture. The FGA cited Kansas, Maine and Rhode Island as three examples of states that applied 100 percent of their NGCEs retroactively. Pennsylvania applied 78 percent of these exemptions retroactively, while New York state was found to have used 14 percent in the same way. The group estimates that over the five-year period from 2016 to 2020, approximately 100,000 retroactive NGCEs were issued in these five states alone. Bureaucrats in these states could be concealing the true magnitude of their errors by covering up mistakes. "This is trickle-down program abuse: The Biden administration unilaterally increases food stamp spending, state bureaucrats exploit this federal rule and ineligible food stamp recipients exploit the lack of program integrity," Dublois remarked. "It's taxpayers and the truly needy who lose under the current system. Congress can, and should, end the abuse of NGCEs." This was not the first time FGA zoomed in on with regard to the issue of NAPs. A previous report from the watchdog released in October 2023 presented evidence that more than 66,000 persons remained on the list of food stamp recipients despite winning enough money in lotteries. The watchdog discovered this issue from documents obtained through the Freedom of Information Act. "We aren't talking about the proud owners of $20 prizes from scratchers," Dublois said back in October. "We're talking about those who won at least $4,250 which, under federal law, makes a person ineligible for the taxpayer's help." Head over to Corruption.news for more stories related to fraud. Watch this video about the U.S. Army recommending soldiers to apply for food stamps to augment their low wages. This video is from the Truth Channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories: Greedy Harvard University, which boasts a $53 billion endowment, tells struggling students to apply for FOOD STAMPS in order to survive. Report: US militarys latest surveillance strategy involves TRACKING and LOCATING private citizens who express contrary opinions. Record heat, drought, and flooding sweeps US; food supply to take a hit. Citizens can SUE federal employees for censorship collusion under new Republican legislation. RATIONING BEGINS: California water board to require reduced indoor water use for citizens. Sources include: TheEpochTimes.com TheFGA.org Brighteon.com US government steals airplane that Iran sold to Venezuela, claiming alleged sanctions violations The United States has stolen a Boeing 747 cargo plane that Iran sold to Venezuelan state airline Emtrasur in 2022 because, according to the Biden regime, the sale of the aircraft violated sanctions. On Monday, the U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) announced that Washington has taken custody of the aircraft, which was grounded 18 months ago by Argentina. Iran's Mahan Air conducted the sale in violation of U.S. sanctions on the airline due to its affiliation with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). "Mahan Air, known to ferry weapons and fighters for the IRGC and Hezbollah, violated our export restrictions by selling this airplane to a Venezuelan cargo airline," said Assistant Secretary of Export Enforcement Matthew S. Axelrod in a statement. "Now it's property of the U.S. government." In 2019, the U.S. sanctioned Iran with the toughest restrictions yet due to Washington's designation of the IRGC, a critical military and economic component of Iran, as a "foreign terrorist organization." (Related: The corporate media really wants the world to believe that Tehran helped Hamas plot the October 7 attack on Israel because this will justify waging war on Iran.) U.S. plane seizure "illegal," says Iran Iran is protesting the move, its Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemning it as "illegal" in a brief statement that cited the United Nations Charter. Spokesman Nasser Kanaani vowed in his statement to help Caracas reclaim the plane. "The Islamic Republic of Iran announces its decisive support for the legal and diplomatic efforts of Venezuela in order to regain ownership and access to the possessions and belongings of the country," he said. Human knowledge is under attack! Governments and powerful corporations are using censorship to wipe out humanity's knowledge base about nutrition, herbs, self-reliance, natural immunity, food production, preparedness and much more. We are preserving human knowledge using AI technology while building the infrastructure of human freedom. Learn about our free, non-commercial AI / LLM project here. Support our efforts to build the infrastructure of human freedom by shopping at HealthRangerStore.com, featuring lab-tested, certified organic, non-GMO foods and nutritional solutions. The government of Venezuela is saying much the same, calling the theft a "shameful rapacious operation." It, too, is vowing to "take all actions to restore justice and achieve the restitution of the aircraft to its legitimate owner." Argentina is also involved in the heist, having grounded the jumbo jet immediately following the deal. Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro condemned Argentina for "colluding" with the U.S. in violating the international aeronautics regulations and rights of Emtrasur. In defense of the theft, the DoJ cited court documents claiming that the registered captain of the aircraft in question was a former commander of the IRGC and shareholder and board member of Fars Air Qeshm, which the U.S. claims is affiliated with the foreign operations Quds Force of the branch of the IRGC that handles operations outside the borders of Iran. The U.S. seizure of the plane has been a long time coming, having been in the works since 2022 when Argentina first grounded it. Now, the U.S. has taken possession of the stolen loot using the usual claims of terrorism. The DoJ announced that the U.S.-built plane has since been taken to Florida where it is scheduled to be disposed of, though the federal agency did not indicate any further what this process will actually entail. "The seized American-built aircraft was transferred by a sanctioned Iranian airline in a transaction that violated U.S. export control laws and directly benefited the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which is a designated terrorist organization," said Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the DoJ's National Security Division. "The Justice Department is committed to ensuring that the full force of U.S. laws deny hostile state actors the means to engage in malign activities that threaten our national security." U.S Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida further added that the seizure was conducted "to prevent the illegal exportation of U.S. technologies and enforce U.S. export control laws." The latest news about the escalating conflict between the West and Iran can be found at WWIII.news. Sources for this article include: AlJazeera.com NaturalNews.com Justice.gov Border walls and strong anti-illegal immigrant policies have seen tremendous SUCCESS in Hungary Amidst the United States' ongoing border crisis, Hungary has seen the number of illegal immigrants attempting to enter its borders drop since the completion of its extensive border fencing network The number of immigrants entering the U.S. has surpassed three million more people than in the four least-populated states combined. (Related: INSANE: New border security bill secures every border except ours.) "Both the right and the left mocked [former U.S. President] Donald Trump for building a wall, being deemed 'racist and unnecessary.' Trump requested $5.7 billion to go toward this project of building the wall, and everyone put up a fit, leading to a government shutdown in 2019," wrote Martin Armstrong for Armstrong Economics. "Now, Biden wants to sign a bill of $118.2 billion to fund Ukraine and Israel. How that seems logical still beats me." In contrast, Hungary has seen its previously tremendous number of illegal immigrants crossing its border drop since it finished building an extensive network of fences that deterred border crossers. From over 6,000 people a day entering, the numbers are down to about 870 a day on average. This network of fences is 96 miles long, electrified and topped with razor wire. It is considered a huge step forward for Hungary's project of preventing the country of less than 10 million people from drowning in a flood of illegals. "You might not like it, it's not a nice thing, but the only way to stop illegal border crossings is [to] first build a fence, man it, equip it and also, in parallel, build up your capabilities in terms of legal confines, legal circumstances to be able to handle what is coming," said one spokesperson for the Hungarian government. Thanks to your generous support, we are building the infrastructure of human freedom and actively donating our technology to independent publishers, authors and home schooling organizations. Learn about our game-changing non-commercial AI project here. Support our ongoing efforts to preserve and enhance human knowledge by shopping at HealthRangerStore.com. Orban tells Europe to follow Hungary's lead in erecting border fences In 2023, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban called for European Union financing for border fences, reviving an idea long seen as inadmissible by the bloc that sees illegal immigration as a problem but is unwilling to discuss concrete solutions to it. Multiple nations including Hungary, Austria and the Netherlands are part of a growing choir that have been lobbying the EU's main executive agencies to deal with the increasing illegal arrivals. The bloc's border agency reported 330,000 irregular crossings last year, the highest since 2016. EU states are bitterly split over sharing the task of caring for refugees on their soil, and have for years focused on tightening their external borders to prevent people from arriving through unofficial and often deadly routes. Countries including Poland, Hungary and Slovenia erected border fences to keep refugees and migrants away. But the European Commission, which manages the bloc's shared budget, has so far refused to pay for such barriers, saying it would run against the bloc's liberal democratic values and could lead to human rights violations. In a call ahead of the summit with his Polish, Belgian, Finnish, Maltese and Bulgarian counterparts, Orban called for EU financing for such projects, saying that "fences protect all of Europe." Last year Hungarian police detained 1,277 smugglers who tried to ship illegal migrants across the country up from 455 the year before, police said. "I believe it is not normal for anyone to come in as they please," Armstrong wrote. "If governments are trying to protect their people, allowing hundreds of thousands of immigrants into the country at any given time is not the way to do it. It may seem a bit harsh to some to build a wall/fencing, but this is a way to make sure everyone who tries to come in will take the proper steps to make sure they are brought in legally." Visit BorderSecurity.news for more stories regarding illegal immigration. Watch this video of Tucker Carlson interviewing Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban. This video is from the HaloRock channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories: Leaked CIA docs: Hungary considers US among its top adversaries. Leaked docs: Zelensky planning to blow up Druzhba pipeline connecting Russia and Hungary. Texas border sector reports 10K known border crossers in single week. BORDER DEFENSE: America protects US-Mexico border with barbed wire and verbal warnings. Hungary BLOCKS EU military aid for Ukraine after Kyiv blacklisted Hungarian bank for keeping Russian branches open. Sources include: ArmstrongEconomics.com Reuters.com Brighteon.com The famous Ukrainian musician Garik Krychevsky continues to "Ukrainize" his old hits. After the success of "Kyianochka", the chanson took on the hit song "My Number 245". The artist translated only the chorus of the song, which now sounds like "My Train 245," but fans are already demanding the full version. ADVERTISIMENT Krychevsky performed the translated song with his daughter Victoria on her birthday. On February 4, the girl turned 27. It was on the occasion of the holiday that the birthday girl and her star father decided to entertain their fans with an updated version of the well-known chorus. The corresponding video was posted on Instagram. As a reminder, in the Russian-language version of the song, the chorus reads: "My number is 245, there's a stamp on my shirt, and I used to live in Taganka, I taught barefoot how to steal. My number is 245, but I want to go home again, and I often dream of my soft bed behind the thorns." Now the "number" has changed to "train," and the prison vibe of the song has become romantic. ADVERTISIMENT "My train is 245. The fields outside the windows are flying. And I count the stars in the sky. And I return at 25. My train is 245. Half the night memories stay awake. Let the trams of Lviv always ring with chords for me," Krychevsky sang with his daughter, who, by the way, joined her father in singing the Ukrainian-language "Kyianochka." For Internet users, the translated version of the song was another confirmation that language matters. According to the commentators, the song has taken on a completely different color and a new mood. "How cool", "Absolutely different feelings - language matters, especially Ukrainian", "My respect, I'm listening to it for the tenth time", "Bravo", "All your songs sound better in Ukrainian!" - listeners leave these and many other similar comments. ADVERTISIMENT Earlier, Garik Krychevsky amused his fans with a Ukrainian-language version of his hit song "Kyivlyanochka". As you know, the musician was helped with the "Ukrainization" of the song by a famous poet and his friend Yevhen Rybchynsky. The day before, one of the versions of the updated lyrics was leaked online, which sang: "Oh, Kyiv, you are Kyiv, oh Kyiv! Not a whore from Moscow, not a Polish lady." However, in the final version, the "whore from Moscow" was removed, and instead the artist sang about a "frau from Berlin." Why - read in the article. Chicagos suburbs are now banning buses from dropping off illegal immigrants More Chicago suburbs are taking a stand , especially as more buses keep dropping off illegal immigrants in various areas, such as the northwest suburban city of Woodstock, Illinois. To address the issue, the city council met to pass an ordinance that would prevent chartered buses from leaving illegal immigrants in their city. Woodstock passed new rules requiring buses to file applications at least five days before dropping off passengers in the city, which is about 50 miles northwest of Chicago. Early in January, the Woodstock City Council voted unanimously on an ordinance that was designed to crack down on bus drop-offs, particularly those transporting asylum-seekers from the southern U.S. border. Vehicles that leave passengers without submitting applications five days in advance and coordinating with Woodstock will have their buses impounded and the bus companies will have to pay fines of $10,000 and an additional $750 per passenger. The vote followed after about an hour of public comments from community members, who shared various points of view. Many expressed concerns about the potential repercussions of the influx of migrants in the community. During the meeting, Woodstock Mayor Mike Turner emphasized that they were there to discuss the ordinance. He interrupted one speaker who started to discuss national policies related to immigration. Councilmember Natalie Ziemba agreed, noting that the city council wasnt going to debate federal, state or county immigration policy. Councilmember Tom Nierman said the ordinance was merely a "stopgap measure." Meanwhile, Councilmember Gordie Tebo said the city lacks the infrastructure to support the migrants. (Related: Several LA hotels under investigation for hiring ILLEGALS to replace striking workers.) Thanks to your generous support, we are building the infrastructure of human freedom and actively donating our technology to independent publishers, authors and home schooling organizations. Learn about our game-changing non-commercial AI project here. Support our ongoing efforts to preserve and enhance human knowledge by shopping at HealthRangerStore.com. In a Facebook post, Turner explained that the city had developed a plan. "For the City of Woodstock, we determined that our approach would be to encourage and direct these migrants to accept transportation into the City of Chicago via train or bus so that they can make use of the City of Chicago/State of Illinois/Federal government resources available to provide assistance to them," Turner wrote. Illegal migrants of all ages are being dropped off Councilmember Melissa McMahon related that she helped migrants who were dropped off at the Woodstock Metra train station. McMahon admitted that she was conflicted about the ordinance even though she voted in its favor. According to McMahon, migrants of all ages were being dropped off at the city's train station. McMahon said she saw old migrants and children as young as 18 months "who are not prepared for this weather." She added that they were dropped off by "a very nondescript, white tour bus." Aside from Woodstock, Rosemont and Cicero have passed ordinances to limit or ban buses from dropping off illegal migrants in their jurisdictions. Aurora, Matteson, Elburn, Chicago Ridge and Posen have also passed similar rules. Cities throughout northern Chicago are opposing Illinois Democrat Gov. J.B. Pritzker's "sanctuary city" measures. The busing scheme stems from Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who has transported border crossers from his state to New York City, Chicago and other blue cities. Go to OpenBorders.news for more stories about America's ongoing migration crisis. Watch the video below as Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) talks about how the migrant crisis is now out of control. This video is from the NewsClips channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories: Sen. Marshall introduces bill REQUIRING the White House to report to Congress how many TERRORISTS are encountered at the border. Costa Rica declares STATE OF EMERGENCY over thousands of illegal migrants transiting through country heading to America. NEW RECORD: Border Patrol reports 302,000 illegal migrant encounters in December alone. NO MORE AMERICAN DREAM: Illegals are leaving "sanctuary city" Chicago due to harsh living conditions. Sources include: Breitbart.com ShawLocal.com Brighteon.com Dems are taking out Biden, and they used the disastrous evening presser to seal the deal Just in case you missed it, it looks like the Democrats are in the process of removing Joe Biden from the 2024 election stage. (Article republished from Revolver.news) Honestly, is anyone really shocked? Given the latest disastrous polls and how Bidens support is vanishing faster than one of his ice cream cones in the sun. And then theres the impossible-to-ignore fact that Joes dementia is getting worse every day. It was always a long shot that the Dems would ride into 2024 with a horse that has four broken legs, especially up against a revitalized President Trump, who, despite every legal sham thrown his way, is the most powerful man in politics. Dems probably hoped Biden would gracefully bow out, appealing to his better side, but rather, hes likely dug his heels in; after all, Joe has a very high opinion of himself. Apropos of nothing, did you know Joe Biden has long seen himself as a historic figure. pic.twitter.com/D2Dl639qAp Miranda Devine (@mirandadevine) February 9, 2024 Yes, hes historic alright. First sitting President in US history to be declared legally incompetent to stand trial. pic.twitter.com/FGkvtH9rfg Eric Matheny ?? (@ericmmatheny) February 9, 2024 Joes never been one to shy away from the spotlight, despite not having a standout record to brag about. Sure, hes not been known for his brilliance or widespread respect, but hes carved out a significant niche for himself in the political swamp over the years. Back in the day, Biden didnt even know how to spell Afghanistan, as we can see from the illegal files he stored in his messy and unsecured garage. Imagine the outcry if Trump would have misspelled the name of a country where we were at war pic.twitter.com/LUBXuORcSx Julie Kelly ?? (@julie_kelly2) February 8, 2024 Now, with decades under his belt, Bidens probably not so willing to give up his spot. Can you blame him? Hes milked the US government for all its worth over the years, and hes not ready to give up that gig. But Democrats cant win with him; the writing is on every wall at this point. Things have taken such a ghastly turn for the left that even Michael Rapaport, a notorious and rabid Trump-hater, is issuing apologies to Trump and declaring hes done with the Democrats. Trump hater Michael Rapaport apologizes for mischaracterizing Trump after Charlottesville. Says he's done with Democrats. "I'm not voting for Biden, I'm not voting for Kamala. Gavin?, I just left California. I'm not voting for Gavin with the good hair." pic.twitter.com/wYDC4sWAKK Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) February 9, 2024 This is the cover of the New York Post: Most people, even President Trump, figured Joe would be long gone before election season really got underway. Newsweek: Former President Donald Trump, front-runner for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, has predicted that President Joe Biden wont make it to the gate in the general election. No sitting president in modern U.S. history has lost their partys nomination in the primaries, so many believe Biden will be the Democratic nominee in 2024. However, Trump said he cant believe hes going to be the nominee in an interview with far-right news outlet Breitbart on Thursday. Trump took a jab at his political rival, calling Biden a cheater and a scoundrel. The Dems were looking for the perfect moment to cut loose the anchor thats been sinking them deeper into the swamp, and they finally found it with the special counsels report on Bidens classified documents case. The findings laid out were so damning, its hard not to suspect a Democrat setup. The report shows that Biden, who was not authorized to have classified documents, stored them in his garage and even shared them with his ghostwriter. The report also outlined how Joe is so forgetful and out of it that he wont be charged, simply because hes not fit to stand trial. This is what the Dems have been waiting forthe perfect out for confused Grandpa Joe. After all, if they truly wanted to shield Biden, that report would have never seen the light of day, and we all know it. Senior Fellow Victor Davis Hanson weighed in on the classified documents scandal and the explosive report that followed: Biden is Too Demented to Be Found Guilty of Crimes, But Not Too Demented to Be President? Special Counsel Robert Hur just found Joe Biden was guilty of violating national security laws in removing classified documents after examining then Senator and Vice President Bidens some 15-year habit of removing classified files to his offices and residences, where they were stored in unsecured fashion. Period. End of story. Hur then as a disinterested Special Counsel, not a local county prosecutor on a limited budget, logically would have indicted and prosecuted Biden. It really is a jurys decision to determine whether Biden was guilty or innocent, or whether he is pardoned/exempted by reason of dementia. It is not the role of Hur, as a prosecutor and advocate for the state, to imagine how difficult his case might be to prove someone so incapacitated like Biden was guilty, as Hurs own research and investigations had otherwise indicated that he was.) Is mindset, intention, or mental status a normal consideration of violations of national security laws, or is it the act itself? So we are back to the James Comey defense: Hillary was guilty but in Lord and Savior Comeys judgement no jury would likely convict a presidential candidate of such stature of violating national security laws. (NB: After her reprieve, Hillary immediately claimed such extenuating circumstances were proof of her innocence! And Biden in a nanosecond likewise claimed he is now exonerated too, as was the administrations plan all along). Finally note the following: 1) The Left, Hur, and others believe that someone who has lost his faculties and who would not be allowed to drive a semi-truck, teach a class, diagnose a patient, argue a case, wire a house, or cook a hamburger is nevertheless fit enough to run the United States of America. 2) Note this same old/same old shocking but predictable asymmetry. Trump is a mere four years younger than Biden. The left fixated on the fact that he recently confused Nikki Hayley with Nancy Pelosi. Are we then to expect Jack Smith to follow the precedent of his fellow special counsel Hur, who was likewise appointed by Biden administration AG Merrick Garland and thus to conclude that although Trump violated the law by removing files, he seemed too confused to indict, given the likelihood of a sympathetic jury? 3) Hur himself tried to preemptively defend himself from the obvious conclusion that he extended special considerations not to indict Biden in a manner Jack Smith did not to Trump. Yet he omits that there were key differences in the two cases: Biden had no putative right, as did Trump as President, to declassify files he took home. Trumps Mar-a-Lago walled and surveilled estate was far more secure than Bidens rickety garage. Biden had stored files for over a decade not less than two years. Bidens attorneys came forward just days before Smith was appointed on November 18, 2022. So it was not altruism that prompted their confession after Bidens years of secretly hiding such illegality, but rather fear that Trump would soon be hounded for a crime of which Biden was found out to be long guilty. So they went public to preempt that charge and falsely claim civic virtue. This is just more of a long, disgusting pattern of biased applications of the law: Jan 6 vs 2020 May to October deadlier and more violent riots; election denialism of Trump versus Stacey Abramss nonstop claims of being the real governor of Georgia; insurrection called for in Trumps speech vs Kamala Harriss threats that the 2020 riots (protests) would and should keep going; the Trump 2020 election gambit versus the 2016 Leftwing coordinated effort to leverage electors into renouncing their states popular vote mandates. And so on. No Department of Justice in our history has ever done more to undermine Americans confidence in the fair and equitable application of justice. This is not the America we grew up in. Biden is Too Demented to Be Found Guilty of Crimes, But Not Too Demented to Be President? Special Counsel Robert Hur just found Joe Biden was guilty of violating national security laws in removing classified documents after examining then Senator and Vice President Bidens Victor Davis Hanson (@VDHanson) February 8, 2024 But it wasnt over yet. The Dems, who seemed determined to make darn sure Joe was firmly on his way out the door, took another bold step. They plopped him, a man who likely struggles with sundown syndrome, in front of the press at a time when he should be sleeping or enjoying his tapioca. This evening press encounter left him exposed to a barrage of journalists who, for once, didnt hold back. Right on cue, Joe became flustered, defensive, and even confrontational. And the pressure really got to him, so badly that he mixed up Egypt with Mexico and referred to blue states as green states, among other blunders. The jokes were flying fast and furious, but behind the laughs was a really scary situation. Americans want to know who is actually running this country. Gonna build a wall with Gaza and make Mexico pay for it and boy are they gonna be confused. Rand Paul (@RandPaul) February 9, 2024 Biden just referred to Sisi as the president of Mexico, not the president of Egypt. Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) February 9, 2024 In truth, Matt Gaetz summed it up best: So, to summarize, Russias president can give you an 12 century history lesson, rattle off the GDPs of numerous countries and withstand a 2 hour interview and the US president doesnt remember when his son died or when he served as VP. That about it? Matt Gaetz (@mattgaetz) February 9, 2024 Clearly, Biden is way out of his league, so thats why it was as if the stage was set for him to showcase his vulnerabilities under the harsh spotlight and fail, for the entire world to fully see. And they made sure that there was zero wiggle room for excuses. Truth be told, weve watched this same confused scene play out with Joe in countless public moments over the past few years, yet the media consistently looked the other way and even outright lied. This is just a reporter from Axios parroting the White Houses talking points. Anyone with a bit of sense never bought into this laughable hooey. Bidens mental acuity is so far gone that he regularly*checks notes*runs circles around young Ivy League-educated staffers pic.twitter.com/DedostcRA6 Keith (@nagy_minaj) February 9, 2024 But now, with the objective of phasing out Joe, its all hands on deck. Suddenly, the media is not shying away from tossing the old guy under the bus. Thats our media for youless about reporting the truth or uncovering vital issues and more about playing the enforcer for the regime. But not all hack reporters are ready to throw in the towel on Biden just yet. Look at Rachel Maddow over at MSNBC. She says Biden isnt too old, simply because he rides a bike. Hard-hitting stuff, folks. Unlimited Ls: MSNBC host Rachel Maddow Suggests Biden Isnt Too Old for the Presidency Because He Rides a Bike Chris Hayes: If someone says, Youre too far left, you can tack to the center, but theres nothing you can do if someone says youre too old. Rachel Maddow: He rides a bike, MSNBC host Rachel Maddow Suggests Biden Isnt Too Old for the Presidency Because He Rides a Bike Chris Hayes: If someone says, Youre too far left, you can tack to the center, but theres nothing you can do if someone says youre too old. Rachel Maddow: He rides a pic.twitter.com/ZNurVX2y4q Unlimited L's (@unlimited_ls) February 9, 2024 Meanwhile, this is Biden riding a bike: And lets not forget the failing LA Times, delivering yet another cringe-worthy piece. Gee, and you wonder why theyre laying everyone off LA Times on the elderly occupant of the White House (not satire): pic.twitter.com/6esOUD6bEv @amuse (@amuse) February 9, 2024 Believe it or not, theres actually a Democrat stepping up to call out this whole mess, and its 2024 hopeful Dean Phillips. Heres what he had to say on X: Im attacked for being honest and saying the quiet part out loud the part DC insiders only do in private. I admire our President. I voted for him and campaigned for him. He has visited my home and been gracious to my family and our country. But shame on all of you pretending everything is ok. You are leading us and him into a disaster, and you damn well know it. Im attacked for being honest and saying the quiet part out loud - the part DC insiders only do in private. I admire our President. I voted for him and campaigned for him. He has visited my home and been gracious to my family and our country. But shame on all of you pretending pic.twitter.com/OdaKvW7vbc Dean Phillips (@deanbphillips) Now the burning question is: how does disgraced lackey Merrick Garland justify charging Trump over records hes entitled to hold yet avoid charging Biden for possessing records he has no legal right to? Attorney Mike Davis offers his insights on this absurd inconsistency: .@mrddmia: "How does Merrick Garland explain that he's going to charge Trump for records he's allowed to have, but not charge Biden for records that he stole?' pic.twitter.com/bv3KdqNtz2 American.357 (@ASimplePatriot) February 9, 2024 Keep this in mind: Biden wasnt supposed to have those documents. Period. Its flat-out illegal, yet it looks like hell skate by without a scratch, simply because hes too far gone to face trial. Meanwhile, Trump, who was within his legal right to have his documents, is getting dragged through the mud, with charges hanging over his head. Its a twisted scenario that just goes to show how far off track our country has gone, courtesy of a government playing by its own set of rogue rules. BREAKING: These are some photos of the classified docs President Biden stored in the garage in Delaware, according to Special Counsel Robert Hurs report. Some of these documents included classified information about Afghanistan, the report says. No criminal charges recommended. pic.twitter.com/IvMQbJglse Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) February 8, 2024 Its obvious the Democrats are busy clearing their biggest hurdle to the White House. But heres a tip for conservatives: dont lend them a hand. If the left is eager to show Joe the door, we should let them do the heavy lifting. Actually, the man who imitates President Trump better than anyone else out there actually made a really good point on this topic: NO MERCY! They told us Biden was ok. Now they're stuck with him. DO NOT BAIL THEM OUT. pic.twitter.com/ESHENg0na1 Shawn Farash ?? (@Shawn_Farash) February 9, 2024 Shawn is right. Why should we assist these ghouls in hitting their targets? The GOPs been playing that game for way too long, and just look at the mess its landed us in. Read more at: Revolver.news Estonia claims Russia is preparing for MILITARY CONFLICT with the West The Baltic nation of Estonia has claimed that Russia is preparing for a military confrontation with the West. The Estonian Foreign Intelligence Service (VLA) puts forward this claim in a Feb. 13 report, citing Russian plans. Per the said plans, Moscow seeks to double the number of forces stationed along its border with four member nations of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Finland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. "Russia has chosen a path which is a long-term confrontation and the Kremlin is probably anticipating a possible conflict with NATO within the next decade or so," remarked VLA Director-General Kaupo Rosin. He told reporters that a military attack by Russia is "highly unlikely" in the short term, partly because Moscow has kept troops in Ukraine. The VLA head reiterated the report's finding that such an attack would remain unlikely if the West matched Russia's buildup of forces, echoing the sentiments of several Western officials. "If we are not prepared, the likelihood [of a Russian attack] would be much higher than without any preparation," Rosin continued. (Related: NATO holds massive military exercise to prepare for planned escalation of war with Russia.) The Estonian official said he does not expect a Russian breakthrough in Ukraine before its presidential election in March, as Moscow would need to mobilize significantly more troops to achieve that goal. However, he warned that Russia's ability to provide ammunition to its troops is continuing to outweigh that of Kyiv. Rosin ultimately pointed out that unless the West sustains or increases its support toward Ukraine, it is unlikely to be able to change the situation on the battlefield. We are building the infrastructure of human freedom and empowering people to be informed, healthy and aware. Learn about our free, downloadable AI tools on nutrition, health and preparedness at this article link. Every purchase at HealthRangerStore.com helps fund our efforts to build and share more tools for empowering humanity with knowledge and abundance. Rosin also put in his two cents on remarks made by former U.S. President Donald Trump about America's allies that fail to spend enough on defense. Russia could do "whatever the hell they want" to these countries, Trump said. According to the Estonian official, "such statements are never helpful." Estonian report also warns of military buildup along Finnish border According to the Financial Times (FT), Rosin's analysis of Russia "is closely followed in Western capitals." The VLA director-general continued: "Russians are planning to increase the military force [not only] along the Baltic states' border, but also the Finnish border." "We will highly likely see an increase of manpower, about doubling, perhaps. We will see an increase in armed personnel carriers, tanks, (and) artillery systems over the coming years." The intelligence report echoed this prediction, noting that a new army corps consisting of "two or three maneuver units with around a dozen fire support and combat support units" could be deployed along Russia's border with Finland measuring 1,340 kilometers (833 miles). Moreover, the number of Russian troops along the Estonian border could almost double from the 19,000 deployed there before the Russia-Ukraine war broke out in February 2022. Rosin wasn't the only Western defense official who sounded the alarm on Russia's potential military activity. Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen earlier warned that Moscow could possibly launch an attack within three to five years. His warning comes amid "new information" previously unknown to NATO member countries coming to light. FT also pointed out that Russian weapons factories are working around the clock, enabling Moscow to produce 3.5 million units of ammunition in 2023. This number surpassed Ukraine's own domestic production and supplies provided by the West, according to the VLA's report. The document also warned that this figure will rise to 4.5 million units of ammunition in 2024, further widening the gap between Russian and Ukrainian forces. "Supplies from Iran and North Korea have enabled [Russian President Vladimir] Putin's army to outgun Ukraine as Western aid for Kyiv begins to waver," the outlet wrote. FT continued, citing the Estonian report: "In a bid to circumvent Western sanctions that limit Moscow's access to machine tools, production lines and factory equipment, Putin has ordered the [modernization] of armored vehicles retrieved from storage and [the aggressive pursuit of] alternative supplies particularly from China and Hong Kong." Head over to NationalSecurity.news for similar stories. Watch this G News report about Estonia, Latvia and Finland closing their borders to Russians. This video is from the Chinese taking down EVIL CCP channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories: Hungarian publicist: Insistence that Russia will attack Germany is Berlin's scaremongering tactic to hide its incompetence. German military pushes more scaremongering propaganda, claiming Russia will invade Western Europe. U.K. deploys troops to NATO military drills while ramping up aid to Ukraine. Dutch army head says Netherlands should PREPARE FOR WAR with Russia. Top NATO official warns of ALL-OUT WAR with Russia within 20 years. Sources include: Reuters.com FT.com Brighteon.com ICC prosecutor threatens Israel with more LEGAL ACTION if it does not stop killing Palestinians in Rafah A prosecutor for the International Criminal Court (ICC) has warned Israel that his office may be pushed to take action if Tel Aviv's military activity in the southern Gazan refugee city of Rafah results in gross violations of international law According to the Palestinian Health Ministry in the Gaza Strip, Israel conducted a bombardment and a ground incursion in Rafah on Feb. 12. The recent airstrikes have targeted 14 homes and three mosques, resulting in at least 67 casualties. Analysts have warned that the indiscriminate airstrikes may be in preparation for a possible ground invasion of the city, which is currently home to approximately a million Gazans displaced from other parts of the Strip by Israel's invasion. The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is already working overtime to claim that an assault on Rafah is necessary, with its latest statement claiming that four Hamas battalions are present in the city. It argued that Israel could not achieve its goal of eliminating the militants as long as they remained in the area and called for the evacuation of civilians from the combat zone. (Related: Israel-Hamas war will continue until rights are recognized analyst.) To date, half of Gaza's population is reportedly concentrated around Rafah, a sixfold increase compared to its pre-war population. This has turned Rafah into the most densely populated city in the world. "When you have a population that is 60 percent children and women by all accounts, the risks to civilians are profound. This situation is one that I give the utmost priority to. It's an issue that we're moving forward on," said ICC prosecutor Karim Khan. We are building the infrastructure of human freedom and empowering people to be informed, healthy and aware. Learn about our free, downloadable AI tools on nutrition, health and preparedness at this article link. Every purchase at HealthRangerStore.com helps fund our efforts to build and share more tools for empowering humanity with knowledge and abundance. Khan, who has been a vocal critic of Israel's military assault in Gaza since the conflict began in October, warned Israel that his office has an ongoing and active investigation into the situation in Rafah. "All wars have rules and the laws applicable to armed conflict cannot be interpreted so as to render them hollow or devoid of meaning. This has been my consistent message, including from Ramallah last year," said Khan. "Since that time, I have not seen any discernible change in conduct by Israel. As I have repeatedly emphasized, those who do not comply with the law should not complain later when my office takes action pursuant to its mandate." In December, Khan called on Israel to respect international rules of war and accelerated the investigation into reports of violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, internationally recognized as Palestinian territory. Then, on Feb. 12, he made a similar statement to warn Israel of the consequences of its actions. "I was crystal clear that this is the time to comply with the law," said Khan. "If Israel doesn't comply now, they shouldn't complain later." Callamard: Israeli incursion in Rafah will have devastating consequences Israel, who is not a member of the ICC and not recognizing its jurisdiction, has faced allegations of atrocities in its attacks on Gaza. However, the ICC claims that it can investigate nationals of non-member states in certain circumstances, including when alleged crimes are committed in the territories of member states. In other words, the ICC has jurisdiction over potential war crimes committed by both Hamas Palestinian militants in Israel and Israelis in the Gaza Strip. However, Tel Aviv consistently denies any atrocities in its attacks on Gaza. The conflict, which started on Oct. 7 when Hamas attacked Israel, resulted in the deaths of 1,200 Israelis and the abduction of around 240 hostages. After more than four months, much of the densely-populated Gaza Strip lies in ruins. Gaza health officials have reported 28,340 Palestinians dead the majority being women and children and 67,984 wounded. Amnesty International Secretary-General Agnes Callamard also claimed in a post on X that nowhere in Gaza is safe for Palestinians. "The Israeli incursion will have devastating consequences: Mass killings, forced transfers [and] more war crimes. The carnage must stop," she said. Learn more about the ongoing invasion of Gaza and the genocide of the Palestinian people at WWIII.news. Watch this video from Southfront Press discussing the very costly gains Israel is making in its invasion of Gaza. This video is from the channel The Prisoner on Brighteon.com. More related stories: Hamas leaders preparing for permanent war with Israel. Netanyahu: Israel to take over security in Gaza after the Israel-Hamas war. World War 3 could be imminent as Israel-Hamas war escalates, experts warn. Looking for more trouble? Israeli airstrikes hit Damascus amid escalating Israel-Hamas war. Middle East scholar: Iran-backed Hezbollah joining Israel-Hamas war is a game-changer. Sources include: MiddleEastEye.net Reuters.com Brighteon.com James OKeefe infiltrates No Mas Muertes illegal migrant humanitarian camp in Arizona and discovers evidence of HUMAN TRAFFICKING Another bombshell was dropped this week concerning the invasion taking place at America's southern border. OMG investigative journalist James O'Keefe and his team successfully infiltrated an alleged illegal alien migrant "humanitarian" compound called No Mas Muertes in the arid deserts of Aravaca, Ariz., near the southern border. They learned that the compound is not so much a "humanitarian" presence as claimed, but is rather a human trafficking operation in disguise. With the help of an illegal immigrant working undercover, O'Keefe and his team posed as donors and land surveyors in order to gain access to the compound. Once inside, they discovered a litany of horrors. Recordings captured by OMG show volunteers behaving in ways that can only be described as paranoia. Members of the group were hostile not only to law enforcement but also to white people. They were also caught openly advocating for breaking asylum law and offering for-profit services, even though No Mas Muertes is supposed to be a "nonprofit." View this post on Instagram A post shared by OKeefe Media Group (@okeefemedia) (Related: Did you catch our other report about the illegal alien compound in Tucson that O'Keefe and his team infiltrated? It is similarly mind-blowing just like this story.) Universal Unitarian Church of Tucson aiding, abetting illegal immigration The same aforementioned undercover illegal immigrant was assaulted by Mexican men from Sonora and Tijuana these two locations are notorious for cartel activity who pointed guns at him, demanding that he give them $300 cash to traffic him to Phoenix. This person told O'Keefe that he feared for his life during the harsh interrogation that ensued. In order to get the undercover journalist out of harm's way, O'Keefe had to strap on a bulletproof vest with the word "PRESS" emblazoned on it. Even this did not go smoothly as it resulted in a standoff at the gate of the compound. Another entity present at the site was a "ministry" of the Universal Unitarian Church (UCC) of Tucson that O'Keefe's "surveyor" team recorded as they discussed their operations. The UCC, by the way, is a 501(c)3 "nonprofit" organization that does not file a public tax return, as this is not required under existing law. The UCC "ministry" staffers talked about their $400,000 budget, as well as the great lengths they go to in order to keep the identity of their staff members a secret. One staffer said "we are paranoid" while calling O'Keefe's "surveyor" team "white supremacists." When staffers from No Mas Muertes were questioned about their identities, they, too, refused to disclose the information. They also made derogatory remarks about white people, just like members of the "ministry" from UCC did. "You also don't need the mask," they added to the undercover journalists about how to dress their faces in various circumstances. "I only put it on when the military shows up or when those white people show up so they won't take my picture." Such activity explicitly violates the legal provisions of 501(c)3 tax-exempt organizations, which in this case are skirting immigration and human trafficking laws under the guise of providing "humanitarian aid." Human knowledge is under attack! Governments and powerful corporations are using censorship to wipe out humanity's knowledge base about nutrition, herbs, self-reliance, natural immunity, food production, preparedness and much more. We are preserving human knowledge using AI technology while building the infrastructure of human freedom. Learn about our free, non-commercial AI / LLM project here. Support our efforts to build the infrastructure of human freedom by shopping at HealthRangerStore.com, featuring lab-tested, certified organic, non-GMO foods and nutritional solutions. "OMGs expose of secret illegal immigrant compounds funded by Catholic Community Services of Tucson coupled with this undercover footage of No More Deaths reveals the shocking proliferation of private tax-exempt nonprofit organizations working with the government or potentially dangerous cartels to engage in what amounts to human trafficking into the United States under the guise of humanitarian aid, without any scrutiny or accountability," OMG says. America is under attack both from without and from within. Find out more at InvasionUSA.news. Sources for this article include: Twitter.com NaturalNews.com Invasion-complicit Homeland Security Secretary Mayorkas IMPEACHED by GOP-controlled House in second attempt The Republican-controlled House of Representatives has succeeded in impeaching Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on the second attempt, exactly a week after the first one failed. GOP lawmakers impeached Mayorkas in a 214-213 vote on Feb. 13. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) was present during the session, with his vote finalizing the lower chamber's impeachment proceedings against the secretary. He had returned to Capitol Hill after undergoing treatment for blood cancer. A week before, on Feb. 6, the House GOP's initial attempt to impeach Mayorkas ended in failure after three Republicans voted "no" alongside their Democratic colleagues. The three Colorado Rep. Ken Buck, California Rep. Tom McClintock and Wisconsin Rep. Mike Gallagher voted "no" again in this second attempt. Utah Rep. Blake Moore later flipped his "yes" vote to a "no" during the Feb. 6 session in order to preserve the ability to bring motions to reconsider. (Related: House FAILS TO IMPEACH Mayorkas after 4 Republicans defected.) "From his first day in office, Mayorkas has willfully and consistently refused to comply with federal immigration laws, fueling the worst border catastrophe in American history. He has undermined public trust through multiple false statements to Congress, obstructed lawful oversight of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and violated his oath of office," House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) said in a statement. "Since the secretary refuses to do the job that the Senate confirmed him to do, the House [of Representatives] must act." Human knowledge is under attack! Governments and powerful corporations are using censorship to wipe out humanity's knowledge base about nutrition, herbs, self-reliance, natural immunity, food production, preparedness and much more. We are preserving human knowledge using AI technology while building the infrastructure of human freedom. Learn about our free, non-commercial AI / LLM project here. Support our efforts to build the infrastructure of human freedom by shopping at HealthRangerStore.com, featuring lab-tested, certified organic, non-GMO foods and nutritional solutions. The Senate would be required to hold an impeachment trial once the House impeachment managers transmit the articles to the upper chamber. But given its Democratic majority, the Senate could either dismiss the articles, or the trial could be sent to a special committee that would hear the evidence from the impeachment managers and report it to the full Senate. Two-thirds of the full Senate 67 senators is needed to convict and remove Mayorkas, but this majority will move to exonerate him. The Senate is currently out of session, and the earliest it would take up the matter would be after lawmakers return to Washington, D.C. on Feb. 26. Biden, Democrats denounce Mayorkas' impeachment Immediately after the impeachment vote, President Joe Biden rebuked House Republicans for their actions in a statement. "History will not look kindly on House Republicans for their blatant act of unconstitutional partisanship that has targeted an honorable public servant in order to play petty political games," part of his statement said. DHS spokeswoman Mia Ehrenberg also rebuked the House GOP for wasting months on a "baseless, unconstitutional impeachment" in a statement. She continued: "House Republicans will be remembered by history for trampling on the Constitution for political gain rather than working to solve the serious challenges at our border." "Without a shred of evidence or legitimate Constitutional grounds, and despite bipartisan opposition, House Republicans have falsely smeared a dedicated public servant who has spent more than 20 years enforcing our laws and serving our country. [Nevertheless,] Mayorkas and the DHS will continue working every day to keep Americans safe." Former Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, the second person to assume the position, also defended his successor in a Wall Street Journal op-ed. "For all the investigating that the House Committee on Homeland Security has done, they have failed to put forth evidence that meets the bar," he wrote. Chertoff served as the head of DHS under former President George W. Bush. Mayorkas defended himself from the allegations put forward by the House GOP in a Feb. 11 appearance on NBC News' "Meet The Press." He also rejected the idea that he is to blame for the overwhelming number of illegal aliens entering the southern border unlawfully. "It certainly is a crisis; we don't bear responsibility for a broken system, and we're doing a tremendous amount within that broken system," Mayorkas commented. "But fundamentally, Congress is the only one who can fix it." Head over to BigGovernment.news for similar stories. Watch Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas insist that he won't step aside, even if impeached. This video is from the SecureLife channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories: Republicans have a brand-new reason to impeach DHS chief Alejandro Mayorkas. Dear House GOP: Stop making excuses and impeach Alejandro Mayorkas immediately. TRAITOR TO AMERICA: House will vote to impeach DHS Secretary Mayorkas ASAP, Speaker Johnson reveals. House HSC Chair reveals proof of potential FRAUD committed by Secretary Mayorkas a gateway to impeachment. Group of House Republicans call for impeaching DHS chief Mayorkas over record illegal immigration, drug smuggling. Sources include: NBCNews.com ZeroHedge.com Brighteon.com Moscow questions Washington leaderships health and ability to control the U.S. nuclear chain of command Russian Security Council Deputy Secretary Mikhail Popov expressed alarm via an interview with a local news outlet on the possible mistakes the United States chain of command may commit in terms of nuclear decisions that could lead to a major catastrophe. The reason? Washington's leadership's declining health conditions. According to Izvestiya newspaper, Popov warned of President Joe Biden's political instability and "cognitive disabilities" and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin's recent cancer diagnosis, two factors that could trigger an accidental nuclear escalation. "In the overall difficult and nervous internal political situation in the U.S. that has emerged recently, the price of a management mistake, committed by the national leaders, either deliberately or involuntarily, has increased significantly," he said. "And there won't be much distance to a global catastrophe." He cited both of the American leaders' "health conditions" as they have been raising questions about the global security system. "The secretary of defense is not there, and no one knows where he is or who is replacing him. The press writes that some of his responsibilities were assigned to Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks. But she was on vacation in Puerto Rico at the time," the Moscow official pointed out. "Surprising as it may be, the U.S. nuclear shield has effectively been compromised." He went on to cite an episode during the Cold War when a U.S. Air Force major was dismissed for questioning how he could know whether a nuclear launch order "came from a sane president," as the commander in chief is responsible for employing America's nuclear arsenal. Thanks to your generous support, we are building the infrastructure of human freedom and actively donating our technology to independent publishers, authors and home schooling organizations. Learn about our game-changing non-commercial AI project here. Support our ongoing efforts to preserve and enhance human knowledge by shopping at HealthRangerStore.com. Meanwhile, a recent NBC News poll reported that 76 percent of respondents were majorly or moderately concerned over 81-year-old Biden's mental and physical health, while even DOJ Special Counsel Robert Hur, who was tapped to probe alleged mishandling of classified documents by Biden, concluded that the president has "diminished faculties in advancing age." "The conversation is not about a banana republic, but about a state that has nuclear weapons and constantly claims to be the world hegemon," Popov added. (Related: Doctors urge Biden to take MENTAL COMPETENCY test following increasing evidence of president's cognitive decline.) Russian nukes are already in space and the U.S. cannot counter them According to top U.S. officials, Russia has an escalating ability to install nuclear weapons in space, citing new intel that suggests the Eurasian nation might already be gaining a tactical edge in the space race, in terms of autonomous weapons, robots and sophisticated artificial intelligence. Whatever Russia has out there, the New York Times alerted, could threaten America's extensive civilian and military satellite network, which transmits billions of bytes of data each hour. Such a satellite-killing weapon, if deployed, could destroy civilian communications, surveillance from space and military command-and-control operations by the United States and its allies. At the moment, the U.S. cannot counter such a weapon and defend its satellites, a former official said. The said warning was made public in a cryptic announcement of the "serious national security threat" on Wednesday by Rep. Michael R. Turner (R-OH), chairman of the House Intelligence Committee. He called on the Biden administration to declassify the information without saying specifically what it was. Some wondered why Turner took the liberty to announce it before getting a full White House briefing but they believe that the congressman wanted to "wake up" his fellow Republicans so they would take the Russia threat more seriously. They would also be more vigilant on the funding request of Biden for Ukraine in waging a war against Russian President Vladimir Putin. Head over to NuclearWar.news to read more about a possible eruption of a nuclear war between Russia and the West. Sources for this article include: RT.com Independent.co.uk Axios.com NYTimes.com Neocons deceitfully trying to misdirect Americans about true intent of Tucker Carlsons Putin interview, which was to teach and show Americans the TRUTH The establishment is trying every which way to smear Tucker Carlson for interviewing Russian President Vladimir Putin, and yet not a single mainstream media outlet will air it so Americans can decide for themselves whether or not the chat was worthwhile. The Economist ran a headline claiming to cover the "real message" of "Putin's chat with Tucker Carlson," but provided nothing in the way of the interview itself so the magazine's readers can evaluate it themselves. "The Economist did not present a review of the interview; it was a typical propaganda piece that did nothing but insult Tucker and Putin and never dealt with any facts," wrote Martin from Armstrong Economics about the hit piece. "Perhaps they were upset that their former [British] Prime Minister Johnson went to Ukraine to tell Zelensky he was not allowed to sign a peace deal and fight until the last Ukrainian died." Neoconservatives, aka neocons, meaning war hawks primarily on the right but also on the left, similarly blasted the interview and smeared its true intent, arguing that Putin presented a "false history" about the history of Russia and Ukraine. "This way that 'false history' would dominate everyone's opinions the next day, managing the Overton Window of the entire interview, making it all about that," reported ZeroHedge. "This would be the basis of how they discredit Putin." (Related: Check out our earlier report about Tucker's interview with Putin and what it aimed to accomplish.) NSA, CIA blocked Tucker Carlson from interviewing Putin for three years The establishment also went after Tucker himself, with two-time failed presidential wannabe Hillary Clinton calling him a "useful idiot," a "poppy dog," and a joke in Russian media. Regardless of how someone sees Carlson concerning those first two points, the third is a flat-out lie. Thanks to your generous support, we are building the infrastructure of human freedom and actively donating our technology to independent publishers, authors and home schooling organizations. Learn about our game-changing non-commercial AI project here. Support our ongoing efforts to preserve and enhance human knowledge by shopping at HealthRangerStore.com. All of this name-calling and hatred from the establishment is a desperate attempt to distract the world away from seeing what the interview actually accomplished, which was to present a calm and collected version of Putin in unfiltered form, which is rare. For many years, the West has denigrated Putin as a maniacal dictator and lunatic, which he clearly was not in Carlson's interview. Americans got to see a different side of Putin, thanks to Carlson. We also learned that Carlson was denied this very interview for a full three years by the National Security Agency (NSA) and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), with Fox News even going so far as to cancel Carlson from its network because he was straying too far from the narrative. "Knowing that Tucker tried for three years to get this interview with Putin, we should assume that Putin would come into the room prepared," ZeroHedge reported. "So, it makes sense that Putin wanted to give us a history lesson because he assumes, rightly, that most Americans do not have any clue about Russia's history ... He didn't do this to bore us, he did this to inform us and set us at ease. To tell us that he is a man with a perspective that he believes he can justify ... He's not a frothing-at-the-mouth cannibal who desires world domination." Not once did Putin talk down to his audience, nor did he get riled up or angry. All he did was simply lay out another side of the story that is almost never told in the West, including the following three points: Putin once asked Bill Clinton if Russia could join NATO George W. Bush unilaterally abrogated the ABM Treaty Putin is the one who pushed for the Minsk Agreements, which were the last hope for settling the differences between the Donbass and Kiev Whether you agree with his version of history or not, Putin was able to speak for himself for once, which is something most people in the West have never gotten to hear. The West is falling apart faster than a Chinese-made trinket. Learn more at Collapse.news. Sources for this article include: ZeroHedge.com NaturalNews.com Paranoid Pentagon now says Russian nukes in space will destroy America The latest threat to the U.S., according to the pentagram-shaped Pentagon (Department of Defense), are Russianwith nuclear-equipped laser beams attached to their heads. Okay, so that was ZeroHedge's description, but the Pentagon really is warning about a "major, imminent, grave, terrifying security threat" that it claims involves Russian nuclear weapons that can blast America from space. It probably has to do with that recent Tucker Carlson interview, but this newfound Russian threat appears to be the potential makings of yet another false flag attack on the U.S. from the deep state's number-one bogeyman: Russia. According to "two sources familiar with deliberations on Capitol Hill," the intelligence community believes that Russia is sending nuclear weapons to space that will be able to take out satellites. "Will this be the 'event' that triggers some increased crackdown on Russian 'sympathisers?'" asks ZeroHedge, cutting to the heart of what this is probably actually really about. "Will this be the 'event' that warrants politicians to allow terrified Americans to vote by mail-in-ballot once again (because you're safe from Russian space-nukes in your home)?" "We will wait and see, but without a doubt the timing is a coincidence ... and there's no such thing as coincidence in Washington." (Related: Did you catch the breaking news exposing Obama's CIA for concocting the Russian collusion hoax against Trump?) Post-Ukraine trip paranoia It is an election year, after all, so we have come to expect these kinds of scare stories from the Washington spooks who are freaking out with utter paranoia right now at the bombshells being dropped that make them look bad. We are building the infrastructure of human freedom and empowering people to be informed, healthy and aware. Learn about our free, downloadable AI tools on nutrition, health and preparedness at this article link. Every purchase at HealthRangerStore.com helps fund our efforts to build and share more tools for empowering humanity with knowledge and abundance. The Russian collusion hoax is one prominent bombshell that implicates Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden and likely many other establishment figureheads who have been committing crimes behind the scenes for years. Donald Trump is their enemy, it would seem, and he is threatening to blow the lid on all their crimes by declassifying documents and showing the world what has really been going on behind closed doors, often on the taxpayer dime. "Zero surprise at what will probably be ever-increasing National Security Risk theater up to the election," one X user wrote mockingly about the Russian space-nuke-shark threat. "It's literally the only play left in the book to try to drum up some percentages of approval for Brandon, trying to scare news addicts." Since details about the Russian space nuke thing are classified of course nobody except those on the inside know for sure what is really going on. It can't be all that serious, though, since House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) issued a statement that "there is no need for public alarm." "I saw [House Intelligence Committee Chair Mike Turner's (R-Ohio)] statement on the issue and I want to assure the American people," Johnson added. "We are going to work together to address this matter as we do all sensitive matters that are classified." It was Turner, it turns out, who drummed up all this fresh fear about Russian space nukes. And what do you know, he just got back from a trip to visit with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, having likely promised the former actor and stripper that more U.S. tax dollars will be coming his way soon. There are so many potential explanations as to the purpose of this fearmongering, one of the most obvious being that it could be a distraction from Biden's disintegrating brain matter, or perhaps a desperate attempt to deflect from Tucker Carlson's recent interview with Russian President Vladimir Putin. "The way we solve this threat is by letting in more illegals and having our tax dollars pay for them," someone joked on X. The latest news about Washington's paranoid fearmongering about Russia can be found at DeepState.news. Sources for this article include: ZeroHedge.com NaturalNews.com U.S. and UN are funding the illegal migrant invasion of America using CASH IN ENVELOPES The invasion taking place at America's southern border would not be possible without the tax dollars that U.S. taxpayers are paying to the IRS, which in turn funnels much of that cash into the United Nations (UN) and its partners to bankroll America's destruction. The UN and its allies send hundreds of millions of Americans' hard-earned dollars to non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and other groups that then turn around and funnel the cash into the hands of illegal migrants who continue to pour across the southern border by the tens of thousands weekly, we now know. Such "aid" has been making its way from the bank accounts of American workers all the way into the coffers of illegal aliens for decades, it turns out, meaning Americans have been funding their own demise for quite some time now. "We're actually funding our own border crisis," says Todd Bensman, senior national security fellow at the Center for Immigration Studies, which describes itself as "a pro-immigrant, low-immigration" think tank. "And it's provided by, ultimately, the United States taxpayer." (Related: Are illegal alien migrants bringing screw worms into the United States?) America defeated Prior to Joe Biden occupying the White House, past presidents, both Democrat and Republican, oversaw the transfer of around $500 million to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the UN's pro-illegal immigration arm. Under Biden, that figure has ballooned to nearly $1.3 billion, more than double what was sent to the IOM under Donald Trump. Human knowledge is under attack! Governments and powerful corporations are using censorship to wipe out humanity's knowledge base about nutrition, herbs, self-reliance, natural immunity, food production, preparedness and much more. We are preserving human knowledge using AI technology while building the infrastructure of human freedom. Learn about our free, non-commercial AI / LLM project here. Support our efforts to build the infrastructure of human freedom by shopping at HealthRangerStore.com, featuring lab-tested, certified organic, non-GMO foods and nutritional solutions. Most of that money is laundered through the Department of State and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), including $547 million in payments that were made to the UN from the State Department's Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration over the course of two years ending in 2023. The bureau says its objective is "to fund processing individuals requesting refugee status and resettlement in the United States and arrange their movement." For 2024, the UN-orchestrated Regional Refugee and Migrant Response Plan calls for another $1.6 billion in U.S. tax dollars to be funneled into 17 Latin American and Caribbean countries with the help of 248 partner agencies, all of which are also receiving U.S. tax dollars. In other words, this global illegal immigration scheme is happening to Americans while being funded by Americans, at least those Americans that pay taxes. In 2024, the UN plan is to distribute $372 million in U.S.-funded "cash and vouchers" and "multipurpose cash assistance" to 624,300 migrants in Central and South America who are currently marching towards the U.S. border for a planned invasion. According to Bensman, all that money, vouchers and assistance is intended for illegals who would otherwise not caravan to the southern border due to fears about food and safety. While the entire political establishment in the U.S. is guilty of complicity in all this, Biden and his people really ramped things up since occupying D.C. to the point that current invasion figures are astronomically off the Richter scale in terms of the sheer number of illegals headed to, or already in, the U.S. In January, the IOM issued its first "annual appeal" begging for even more money. It wants $7.9 billion more in U.S. tax dollars to deal with the "migrant crisis," pointing to "migration's promise as a force for good throughout the world." "The evidence is overwhelming that migration, when well-managed, is a major contributor to global prosperity and progress," says IOM Director General Amy Pope, Biden's senior adviser on migration. Pope also worked as deputy Homeland Security adviser to Barack Obama. The UN agency further claims it needs all that money to "save lives" and provide "regular pathways for migration." The latest news about America's border crisis can be found at InvasionUSA.news. Sources for this article include: TheEpochTimes.com NaturalNews.com Antonina Paperna , the eldest daughter of the famous Ukrainian actress Olga Sumska, who is silencing the war in Ukraine and working in Russia, boasted of a new project that will bring more money to Russia. The traitor to Ukraine starred in the Russian version of the famous Turkish TV series Knock on My Door, but few people liked the adaptation. ADVERTISIMENT On Russian movie resources, it didn't even get five points out of a possible 10, and almost 5,000 viewers left their dissatisfied reviews. A post advertising the failed series appeared on Antonina Paperna's Instagram. "Knock on my door in Moscow" Sumkska's daughter called it a "great project." In the series, she played Alina, the protagonist's former lover, in whom they are trying to make her feel jealous. This is one of the key roles in the story, although not the main one. ADVERTISIMENT According to the audience's assessment and reviews, the project seemed "bland" and did not impress them at all. "What were the director's goals? If he wanted to make a typical Russian gloomy movie out of a super-popular contemporary series, he did a good job. There are no expressive characters, no decent acting, no memorable music, no quality cinematography, no integrity - nothing here and it's not worth looking for. It's a bland, idea-less movie with wooden actors," reads a popular review that has garnered several hundred likes. ADVERTISIMENT The series was produced by Mediaslovo in partnership with Gazprom-Media Holding, so the Kremlin will pay taxes on the money earned. Earlier, Antonina Paperna was seen with her husband, a well-known Russian actor Vladimir Yaglych, in Moscow at the presentation of new films by the Russian service Kinopoisk. This website has been banned in Ukraine since 2017. According to Olga Sumska, her daughter cannot return home, but the reason for this remains unclear. The Ukrainian film star assured that the traitor was "very hard" because of the war, but apparently not enough to give up earnings in rubles and sponsorship from Russia. As OBOZREVATEL previously reported, Sumskaya suggested that her Russian son-in-law, Vladimir Yaglych, could be mobilized for the war against Ukraine. The Roksolana star tries not to talk about this "terrible" topic with Paperna. ADVERTISIMENT Only verified information is available on our Obozrevatel Telegram channel and Viber. Do not fall for fakes! In the arid landscapes of Libya, a coastal town, renowned for its bone-dry desert terrains, is now grappling with an unprecedented challenge. An enigmatic upsurge of groundwater has transformed this serene sanctuary into a scene of chaos. Homes and fields, once symbols of resilience amidst the harsh climatic conditions, are now inundated. A Desert Oasis Overwhelmed The townspeople, who had mastered the art of thriving in a desert, find themselves ill-equipped to handle this sudden deluge. Walls have cracked and collapsed under the pressure of stagnant water and squishy mud that have overtaken streets and palm groves around the northwestern town of Zliten. Many locals have fled their homes, seeking refuge in nearby cities or relatives' houses. Some have stayed behind, hoping to salvage what they can from their belongings or crops. But their efforts seem futile, as the water level shows no sign of receding. Also Read: Groundwater Depletion Threatens Food Security in the US, Researchers Warn Environmental Repercussions Unleashed The groundwater upsurge is not just a structural menace but also an environmental catastrophe. The foul smell emanating from the stagnant waters is indicative of a deeper underlying issue - it has become a breeding ground for mosquitoes. Experts from Tripoli have been summoned to assess this crisis that extends beyond immediate structural damage to homes and fields. The environmental repercussions are feared to be long-lasting; an echo of distress that might reverberate across generations. According to the experts, the groundwater upsurge is likely caused by a combination of factors, such as climate change, overexploitation of aquifers, and seismic activity. The town of Zliten lies on the edge of the Great Man-Made River, a massive network of pipes and wells that pumps water from underground reservoirs to supply the country's urban and agricultural needs. The experts suspect that the groundwater upsurge is a result of a rupture in the pipes or wells, causing the water to leak and seep into the surface. The leakage could also contaminate the groundwater with chemicals or pollutants, posing a threat to the health and safety of the residents and the environment. Authorities are working on finding a solution to stop the leakage and drain the excess water. However, they face many challenges, such as the lack of resources, equipment, and security in the war-torn country. They also have to deal with the resistance and distrust of some locals, who believe that the groundwater upsurge is a divine blessing or a natural phenomenon. A Town in Limbo The groundwater upsurge has left the town of Zliten in a state of limbo. The residents are unsure of their future, whether they will be able to return to their homes, restore their livelihoods, or adapt to a new reality. Some are hopeful that the situation will improve, while others are pessimistic and angry. One of the affected locals is Mohamad Ali Dioub, the owner of a farm some four kilometers from Zliten. He has lost his apple, apricot, and pomegranate trees to the flooding. He says that he has invested a lot of money and effort in his farm, and now he has nothing left. He blames the government for neglecting the town and failing to provide any assistance or compensation. Another local is Fatima Al-Zawi, a mother of three children. She has moved to her sister's house in Misrata, a city about 160 kilometers away from Zliten. She says that she misses her home and her neighbors, but she is afraid to go back. She worries about the health risks of living in a flooded area, especially for her children. She hopes that the experts will find a way to fix the problem and make the town safe again. The groundwater upsurge has disrupted the lives and dreams of many people in Zliten. It has also exposed the fragility and vulnerability of the town and the country, which are already suffering from political instability, economic hardship, and social unrest. The groundwater upsurge is a silent crisis that demands urgent attention and action. Related article: Groundwater Overpumping Causes Land Subsidence in San Joaquin Valley City of Corcoran The fossil record is a window into the past, revealing the diversity and complexity of life that has existed on Earth. However, not all fossils are equally informative or complete. Some fossil sites, known as lagerstatten, are exceptionally rich and well-preserved, offering unparalleled insights into evolutionary relationships between different fossil groups. One such site is the Late Cretaceous Gobi Desert, which boasts an extraordinarily diverse and well-preserved fossil lizard record. A new study published in PLOS ONE introduces a novel metric to measure and visualize fossils' completeness and demonstrates how these sites shape our understanding of evolutionary history. The Gobi Desert's Hidden Treasures The Gobi Desert is a vast expanse of land that covers parts of China and Mongolia. It is one of the most arid and inhospitable regions on Earth, with extreme temperatures and scarce vegetation. However, beneath its surface lies a treasure trove of fossils, particularly of lizards. Lizards are a diverse group of reptiles that have adapted to various habitats and lifestyles. They are also important indicators of environmental changes and biogeographic patterns. The fossil lizards from the Gobi Desert date back to the Late Cretaceous period, about 66 to 100 million years ago. This was a time of major transformations in the Earth's climate, geography, and biodiversity, leading to the extinction of many groups, including the non-avian dinosaurs. The Gobi Desert preserves a remarkable snapshot of this era, with fossils of lizards and other animals that are rarely found elsewhere. The fossil lizards from the Gobi Desert are not only abundant but also exceptionally well-preserved. Many of them retain soft tissues, such as skin, scales, and internal organs, which are usually lost during fossilization. These soft tissues provide crucial information about the anatomy, physiology, and ecology of these ancient animals. They also allow scientists to reconstruct their appearance and behavior more accurately. Also Read: Explosive Evolution Driven by Tectonic Plate Movement Beneath the Earth [Study] A Metric Revelation To quantify and compare the completeness of fossils from different sites, a team of researchers from the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County and other institutions developed a new tool called the Character Completeness Metric (CCM2). This metric uses a scoring system to assign values to different parts of a fossil, such as bones, teeth, and soft tissues. The higher the score, the more complete the fossil. The CCM2 also produces a visualization of the fossil's completeness, using colors to indicate the presence or absence of different features. The researchers applied the CCM2 to a dataset of 248 fossil lizards from 18 sites around the world, spanning from the Jurassic to the Paleogene periods. They found that the Gobi Desert had the highest average CCM2 score, indicating that it had the most complete fossil lizards. They also found that the Gobi Desert had the highest diversity of fossil lizards, with 21 different genera and 26 different species. Then, researchers used the CCM2 scores to assess how the completeness of fossils affects the reconstruction of evolutionary relationships. They performed a phylogenetic analysis, which is a method of inferring the evolutionary history and relatedness of different organisms based on their shared characteristics. They found that the inclusion or exclusion of the Gobi Desert fossils had a significant impact on the results, altering the position and support of many branches in the lizard tree of life. This shows that the Gobi Desert fossils provide valuable information that enhances our grasp of lizard evolution. The researchers concluded that the CCM2 is a useful tool for measuring and visualizing the completeness of fossils, and that the Gobi Desert is a key site for understanding the evolution of lizards and other groups. Moreover, they also suggested that the CCM2 could be applied to other fossil groups and sites, and that more studies are needed to explore the factors that influence the preservation and discovery of fossils. They hoped that their work will inspire more research and appreciation of the fossil record and its role in revealing the secrets of life on Earth. Related article: Centipede Genome Unlocks Secrets of Early Evolution Weather experts said that a pair of storms is set to bring floods and landslides in California. Based on the weather forecast, two consecutive storms are slated to move into California this weekend up to early next week. Flood Threats California The phenomenon will bring travel concerns and the threat of flooding across the state. After a brief dry stretch on Friday across the West Coast, the first of the two storms will arrive along the Northern California and southwestern Oregon coast in the evening and it will then spread inland through Saturday night. Meteorologists said that the heaviest precipitation would focus across Northern and Central California, where a general 0.50-1.50 inch of rain can fall with localized amounts that are as high as three inches in some of the higher terrain near the coast. The National Weather Service (NWS) said that a deep upper-level low over the Eastern Pacific would send a plume of moisture into the West Coast on Saturday. Weather experts said that this moisture would be supported by a low pressure system and an attendant cold front at the surface. Due to this, heavy rains will develop across southern Oregon and northern California in the evening before spreading south into central and southern California on Saturday. Further, there is a slight risk of excessive rainfall (level 2/4) leading to flash flooding for portions of Humboldt County down to Sonoma on Saturday where between one to two inches per hour rainfall rates are possible. On the other hand, heavy snow will develop over the Sierra Nevada and Shasta/Trinity on Saturday night as the Pacific moisture will move inland. Meanwhile, another low pressure system will bring yet another round of heavy precipitation to California on Sunday. The heavy rainfall from the prior day in addition to the general sensitivity of California's coastal areas to heavy rainfall will support a slight risk of flash floods from Humboldt County down to Ventura on Sunday. This moisture will eventually shift into the Sierra and Trinity/Shasta once again, and this will support additional moderate to heavy snowfall over those mountain ranges. A total of one to two feet of snow are possible over the Sierra this weekend while one to three feet are more likely over the Trinity and Shasta Mountains. Read Also: Washington, Philadelphia Weather Forecast: New Brewing Storm Likely This Week Light To Moderate Snowfall Meanwhile, a quick moving low pressure system will also sweep across the Southeast and Tennessee Valley today before exiting into the Western Atlantic later in the evening. An area of light to moderate snowfall will develop over the northern periphery of this system, which will go on to produce a general swath of two to four inches of snow from eastern Missouri to southern New Jersey and Delaware. Heavier snowfall will occur over the Central Appalachians of West Virginia into the Maryland Panhandle where four to six inches, with locally higher amounts are possible. The timing of this snowfall could cause issues during rush hour commutes across the Midwest today. Weather experts warned that late night travel could be dicey from the DC up to Philadelphia metros during the evening. Meanwhile, a deep southern stream trough will support rain showers and thunderstorms across parts of the Texas/Central Gulf Coast through the evening. Moreover, showers and thunderstorms will develop across the Florida Peninsula on Saturday and continue into Sunday as an Arctic cold front propagates across the state. Shortwave energy moving through the Rockies will promote moderate to heavy snowfall over the Northern and Central portions of the mountain range through this evening as well. An Arctic air mass will also work its way through the Central and Southern parts of the country this weekend as the associated Arctic cold front moves through. Temperatures across parts of the Great Plains, Mississippi Valley and eventually Southeast will be between 15-25 degrees below average this weekend. Related Article: Northeastern US Weather Forecast: Snowstorm Possible to Bring Snow, Colder Conditions in Pre-Valentine Heavy wind and rain may be causing widespread desert locust outbreaks in important breadbasket regions around the world, according to new research. Climate change may cause these hungry, crop-stripping locusts' range to grow by up to 25%. Affected Multiple Countries The study, published in the journal Science Advances, is the first to demonstrate a strong correlation between large-scale, synchronous locust swarms and certain weather patterns. The size of these megaswarms is staggering: a single swarm can comprise tens of millions of insects and cover 925 square miles (2,400 square kilometers). Outbreaks, which occur primarily in North Africa, the Middle East, and Asia, can kill thousands of acres of agriculture in a single day, depleting crops of enough food to sustain 35,000 people. Understanding the causes of these events could help farmers foresee and avoid disasters. However, experts have struggled to identify the drivers. To find them, the study's researchers looked through a massive database from the Food and Agriculture Organization, which is part of the United Nations. The database examined the number of locust outbreaks in 36 nations over a 35-year period from 1985 to 2020. The team merged this knowledge with meteorological data on temperature, wind speed, and precipitation. Researchers discovered "a strong coupling between locust occurrence and climate conditions through our analysis." Specifically, meteorological data revealed that locust outbreaks frequently affected multiple countries at the same time and tended to correlate with periods of severe regional rainfall and wind. One idea says that locust eggs, which are laid in large numbers in the ground, require high levels of soil moisture to mature and hatch. Heavy rains also stimulate plant development, providing luscious crops and other plants as a convenient food source for hatchlings, who subsequently grow and take to the skies in swarms. Heavy winds can also aid in transporting locust swarms over long distances, allowing outbreaks to originate in new locations. Read Also: Locust Outbreaks: Global Warming Could Intensify Locust Swarms in Afghanistan, Iran and Turkmenistan [Study] Tackle The Problem Globally The new research paints a grim picture of the future under climate change. The researchers simulated various climate change scenarios spanning 2065 to 2100, in which lower or greater emissions could result in less or more future warming. According to study researcher Xiaogang He, an assistant professor of environmental engineering at the National University of Singapore, even under a mitigated scenario with a dramatic carbon emissions cut, there will still be at least a 5% increase in locust habitat, and existing hotspots in Africa and Asia will continue to experience swarms. In a business-as-usual climatic scenario, locusts would spread into previously uninhabited areas such as western India, Iran, Afghanistan, and Turkmenistan. "Given the critical roles of Africa and South Asia as global breadbaskets, concurrent locust infestations have the potential to trigger widespread crop failures, jeopardizing global food security," He said. He expects that the findings will demonstrate the interconnectedness of locust outbreaks. Addressing the issue globally, rather than country by country, could help scientists better predict locust outbreaks, which could then guide early-warning systems. Those could assist farmers in preparing, such as harvesting crops early and storing them or covering them with locust-proof nets. Related Article: Desert Locust Swarms Wreak Havoc Across Ethiopia, Termite Swarms Reported in Other Regions According to information published by the HQ Western Fleet on February 14, 2024, the Royal Malaysian Navy and the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force have further solidified their maritime partnership through a Passage Exercise (PASSEX) in the strategic Malacca Strait. Follow Navy Recognition on Google News at this link Malaysian Lekiu class frigate KD Jebat and Japanese Takanami-class destroyer JS Sazanami. (Picture source: Malaysian MoD) The exercise, involving the Malaysian vessel KD Jebat and the Japanese vessel JS Sazanami, aimed at enhancing interoperability and reinforcing the strategic ties between Malaysia and Japan. Relations between the two countries The naval defense relations between Malaysia and Japan have significantly evolved over the years, reflecting a deepening security partnership amid regional maritime challenges, especially in the context of the South China Sea disputes. A pivotal moment in this relationship was marked by the elevation of bilateral ties to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, announced during a meeting between Japan's Prime Minister Kishida Fumio and Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim. This enhancement of relations underscores a mutual commitment to security assistance, including a grant of 400 million yen ($2.8 million) from Japan to boost Malaysia's maritime security. This agreement involves the provision of equipment such as rescue boats and surveillance equipment, aiming to strengthen Malaysia's maritime capabilities amid growing tensions in the South China Sea. The defense pact between Japan and Malaysia is part of a broader pattern of increasing security collaboration, which includes the transfer of defense technology and capacity building. The relationship leverages Japan's Overseas Security Assistance (OSA) program, designed to support partner nations in bolstering their defenses without contravening Japan's post-war pacifist constitution. The OSA program aims to enhance security and deterrence capabilities in recipient countries through non-lethal means, such as communications and surveillance systems, to create a more secure environment conducive to Japan's interests. This initiative reflects a strategic approach by Japan to deepen security cooperation with countries facing maritime security challenges, particularly from China's assertive maritime claims. Famous Ukrainian actress, comedian, and TV presenter Olena Kravets shared her memories and observations about First Lady Olena Zelenska, with whom she has been friends for over 29 years. According to the comedian, the Zelensky is have always had a special bond-they had their own "microcosm" and never lost the romance in their relationship. The full-scale war, as the former star of Kvartal 95 noted, greatly changed the president's wife. ADVERTISIMENT Kravets told Breakfast with 1+1 on the occasion of Zelenska's 46th birthday, which she celebrates today, February 6. The actress recalled what Olena Volodymyrivna was like before she became the country's first lady, and also described how she changed after February 24, 2022. "The two of them (Olena and Volodymyr Zelenskyi - Ed.) were just going somewhere. And this is so much of their world, their microcosm. And it's romantic, they didn't lose it. Also, Olena cooks very tasty, very cool," Kravets said. When Volodymyr Zelenskyy decided to run for president, his wife was quite scared, but of course she did not dissuade him, and instead supported him. ADVERTISIMENT Kravets commented: "She accepted her husband's decision. And she consolidated a lot of efforts to keep up with him on the same path." The actress believes that after the full-scale invasion, the first lady became even stronger, but did not lose her femininity. On the contrary, Zelenska has learned to use soft power to convey the necessary messages to the world about the terrorist, bloody, and destructive war in Ukraine. "I think she has realized her soft power. She realized it. The way she conveys the truth is painful. It's very feminine, but at the same time very powerful," Kravets said. ADVERTISIMENT Today, Zelenska is one of the main faces of Ukraine on the international stage. In 2022, she became the first first lady to address the U.S. Congress, and in 2023, she was named one of TIME magazine's most influential people in the world. In addition, she is a mother of a 19-year-old daughter and an 11-year-old son and a wife who cares for her children and husband. To relieve stress, Olena once admitted, she washes dishes. After her victory, Zelenska plans to get in her car and "run away to a quiet place with a view of the Dnipro River." Kravets added: "It seems to me that she really wants privacy, to be alone in general. I know how much she loves it and how much she needs it." ADVERTISIMENT We collected 10 interesting facts about the first lady on the occasion of her birthday. Olena Zelenska used to try to work in the rear, but the times of the full-scale invasion forced her to represent Ukraine internationally, to demand weapons from her partners, which is why she was included in the list of the most influential people in the world. On the occasion of her 60th birthday, disgraced Ukrainian filmmaker Oksana Bairak got in touch and indirectly hinted that she still lives in Russia, where she is friends with Russians and makes films for them. Earlier, the traitor threatened to return to Odesa and called those stars who moved abroad during the full-scale war "rats." ADVERTISIMENT However, she soon left home herself, preferring St. Petersburg, Russia, and her actress friends in Russia. OBOZ.UA decided to remind you how Bairak turned from a pseudo-patriot into an outright traitor and what her colleagues in Ukraine say about her. Even at the beginning of the full-scale invasion, the director claimed that Ukraine was to blame for the war and that Ukrainians should be a "brotherly people" with Russians. She expressed this pro-Russian position in personal messages to actress Natalia Denysenko. In the public sphere at that time, Bairak said that celebrities who left Ukraine decided to "shed tears" in comfort, and called them "rats." The star herself was still living in Odesa in the summer of 2022. ADVERTISIMENT However, already in 2023, her blog featured a declaration of love for St. Petersburg, where she filmed Russian film projects for bloody rubles while Odesa was being bombed by missiles and drones. In Russia, the filmmaker was working on a new series, Rain at the End of Summer, for a propaganda TV channel. The main role in the film is played by Anton Batyriov, who previously starred in a Ukrainian TV series and after February 24, 2022, posted the letter "Z" with a St. George's ribbon on the social network VKontakte. According to stars close to Bairak, she began to show her pro-Russian stance long before the full-scale war. For example, actress Kateryna Tyshkevych recalled that the traitor dreamed of marrying Russian dictator President Vladimir Putin. ADVERTISIMENT "Oksana also surprised me. I was either so blind that I didn't see the level of pro-Russianism she was. There were some jokes: 'I would marry Putin'. I thought she was crazy, that this could not be possible. It's not a secret, she talked about it everywhere," the star said. In December 2023, Bairak threatened to return to Odesa and Kyiv from Russia, and soon claimed that she had succeeded. She said that she had come home from St. Petersburg without any problems and was reading news about herself on the Black Sea coast. ADVERTISIMENT Judging by the director's new posts, she has returned to Russia. This is indicated by complaints about the exhausting work that the traitor could not get in Odesa because of her pro-Russian position, and congratulations from her friends, whose blogs contain exclusively Russian contact numbers. Thank you for every single sunrise: Dia Mirza wishes husband Vaibhav Rekhi on 3rd wedding anniversary Mumbai, February 15 Actor Dia Mirza shared a special post for her husband Vaibhav Rekhi on their third wedding anniversary. https://www.instagram.com/p/C3W1TvbPmMI/?img_index=4 Sharing the pictures, she wrote, "On this day we cried copiously. Tears of joy and gratitude. May we continue to hold each other in our darkest hours, laugh, love and value the miracles of life. Thank you baby for every single sunrise and sunset we have shared. Happy Anniversary Husband @vaibhav.rekhi #SunsetKeDivane #ThankYouPreeta." As soon as the post was shared, fans and industry members flooded the comment section. Lara Dutta Bhupathi wrote, "Happy anniversary my beautiful Di and Vaibhav!" Bipasha Basu commented, "Happy anniversary." Neha Dhupia dropped a comment, "Happy anniversary u two. love and more love." Fardeen Khan wrote, "So happy for you both. Congratulations." Dia married businessman Vaibhav in an intimate ceremony in Mumbai in 2021 and on May 14, 2021, they welcomed a baby boy named Avyaan. Meanwhile, on the work front, Dia Mirza was last seen in the road drama 'Dhak Dhak' alongside Ratna Pathak Shah, Fatima Sana Shaikh, and Sanjana Sanghi. Helmed by Tarun Dudeja, the film 'Dhak Dhak' belongs to the adventure genre which follows the story of a road trip undertaken by a girl gang. (ANI - Posted on 16 February 2024) Thank you for every single sunrise: Dia Mirza wishes husband Vaibhav Rekhi on 3rd wedding anniversary Found this article helpful? Spread the word and support us! Christopher Nolan open to making horror film, looking for 'exceptional idea' Los Angeles, February 16 British-American filmmaker Christopher Nolan is open to making a horror film if the idea is good enough, as reported by Variety. Responding to an audience member's query about whether he would consider making a horror film, Nolan said, "Oppenheimer has elements of horror in it definitely, as I think is appropriate to the subject matter. I think horror films are very interesting because they depend on very cinematic devices, it is about a visceral response to things and so, at some point, I'd love to make a horror film. But I think a really good horror film requires an exceptional idea. And those are few and far between. So I haven't found a story that lends itself to that," Nolan said. "But I think it's a very interesting genre from a cinematic point of view. It's also one of the few genres where the studios make a lot of these films, and they are films that have a lot of bleakness, and a lot of abstraction. They have a lot of the qualities that Hollywood is generally very resistant to putting in films, but that's a genre where it's allowable," Nolan said. The filmmaker used 'Oppenheimer' as an example, stating that the centre of the film is very heavily heist-themed, and the third act is a courtroom drama. "The reason I settled on those two genres for those sections is they are mainstream genres in which dialogue, people talking, is inherently intense and interesting to an audience. That's the fun thing with the genre, you can play with a lot of different areas, wherein a different type of film you really wouldn't be allowed to," Nolan said. The talk, hosted by BBC broadcaster Francine Stock, spanned Nolan's whole career, with the filmmaker explaining many facets of his craft, including his writing and editing techniques, Variety reported. He also mentioned the importance of cinematography, particularly the Imax format, and composition in his work, praising Hoyte Van Hoytema and Hans Zimmer. The influence of his actors was also examined, particularly Heath Ledger's performance as the Joker in 'The Dark Knight.' Stock claimed that Nolan's Batman films foreshadowed the development of disruptive leaders in politics around the world. Nolan responded, "The intent was always to just be honest about presenting the things we were affected by, things we were worried about. Certainly, when I look back at 'Batman Begins,' there's a heavy emphasis on terrorism, obviously, post 911. It wasn't something we were consciously putting into the film. Certainly, the Joker from 'The Dark Knight' is all about fear and anarchy and the fear of rules breaking down and what that will do to society. 'The Dark Knight Rises' is very much fearful of fascism, demagoguery." (ANI - Posted on 16 February 2024) Christopher Nolan open to making horror film, looking for 'exceptional idea' Found this article helpful? Spread the word and support us! The world-famous Ukrainian supermodel Alina Baikova reacted to a clumsy joke by American actress Megan Fox about "Ukrainian inflatable dolls." In it, the Transformers star tried to humiliate Ukrainian women, and after a wave of hate, she assured that she "didn't mean it at all." Meanwhile, the beauty from Kropyvnytskyi, who has conquered more than one world catwalk, publicly called Fox a "Putin's whore." ADVERTISIMENT Baikova left a comment under the actress's Instagram post. In addition, on her personal page, which is followed by more than 4.1 million subscribers, the supermodel left a few more "warm words" for Fox. So, the Hollywood star wrote under one of her latest photos: "Oh my God, look how I've changed... I don't look like myself at all. It turns out that it was just a shadowy cell phone photo where I looked like a Ukrainian inflatable doll. In reality, I look like one of those super expensive silicone sex dolls that you can only buy in Japan." In response to this, Baikova wrote in the comments: "Girlfriend, dream! And keep trying! But for now, you remain a little Putin's whore." ADVERTISIMENT The model posted a screenshot of her comment on InstaStories, adding a sharp, scathing text: "I'm so sick of these brainless bitches trying to look like Ukrainian inflatable sex dolls. Because it is unrealistic to look like Ukrainian women. You need at least a brain and a heart to function... I bet she is so stupid. You'll see how she votes for Trump." It should be noted that many other Ukrainian women reacted to Fox's "ambiguous" post, emphasizing that the star was making a bad joke while the Russian occupiers continue to rape Ukrainian women in the occupied territories. However, the actress is in no hurry to talk about this. You can read Megan Fox's apt comments under the post in our article. Champaign, IL (61820) Today Snow flurries this morning will give way to partly cloudy skies during the day. High 39F. Winds NW at 10 to 20 mph.. Tonight Mainly clear. Low 26F. Winds WSW at 10 to 15 mph. Scientists at the University of Michigan, USA, have profiled climate change denialism across the United States using artificial intelligence and network analysis. They find that a large proportion of Americans do not believe in climate change. The study is published in the journal Scientific Reports. Study: The social anatomy of climate change denial in the United States. Image Credit: Lightspring / Shutterstock Background The recent prevalence of climate change denialism in the United States is 12% to 26%. The prevalence is higher in regions with high fossil fuel dependency, in rural communities, and in populations with marked disbelief in science. The main reasons behind climate change denialism include political affiliation and ideology, socioeconomic status, educational background, and exposure to extreme weather conditions. Social media platforms play a significant role in influencing the beliefs and opinions of their users. Influencers often consider these platforms to spread misleading information to millions of users. The Yale Climate Opinion Survey is the only dataset that combines data from more than 2500 national surveys and estimates climate change-related public opinion at the state and national levels for the entire United States. In this study, scientists have used data from the social media platform Twitter to estimate the prevalence of climate change denialism at the state- and county levels. Twitter is an extensive data source that helps understand public opinion on various topics, including politics, social issues, and the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination rate. Clusters of spatial association between climate change denial and belief in relation to political affiliation. Notes: Figure created using QGIS 3.30 (https://www.qgis.org/). Spatial clustering analysis performed using Geoda 1.22 (https://github.com/GeoDaCenter/geoda/). Study design The scientists used a Deep Learning text recognition model to classify 7.4 million tweets containing climate change-related keywords, which 1.3 million unique US-based users posted between September 2017 and May 2019. The classification led to the identification of climate change believers and deniers. Besides profiling climate change deniers across the United States, the scientists explored how social media propagates climate change denialism through key influencers and determined how world events are utilized to propagate climate change views. Important observations Twitter data analysis revealed that about 14.8% of Americans do not believe in climate change. The highest prevalence of denialism was noticed in the Central and Southern US. In contrast, the highest belief in climate change was observed on the West and East coasts and in New England. A significant variation in climate change denial was observed within states. Although a significant proportion of the California population believed in climate change, a high prevalence (52%) of climate change denial was observed in Shasta County. In Texas, the prevalence of denialism was 21%; however, in Travis County and Hockley County, the respective prevalence was 13% and 67%. Regarding the characteristics of climate change deniers, the study found that Republican voters have the strongest negative opinion for climate change both at the state and county levels. In contrast, climate change denialism showed the strongest negative correlation with educational level and COVID-19 vaccination rate. The vaccination rate was used as a proxy measure for belief in science in general. With further statistical analysis, scientists determined a typical profile of a climate change denier. The profile was defined as a Republican without a college degree and COVID-19 vaccination who lives in a region with high annual temperature. Climate change influencers on Twitter The study identified former US President Donald Trump as the most significant influencer for climate change deniers. Three groups of influential deniers showed strong connections with Donald Trump. These groups were conservative media outlets that regularly present negative views on climate change, websites that publish misleading or false information about climate change, and right-wing producers, political commentators, and activists. Influencers detected in climate change co-retweeted networks. (A) Co-retweeted networks formed by the 1200 most retweeted users in the U.S. The nodes represent unique accounts; the edges represent co-retweeted relationships. The size of nodes and the shade of the node color are proportional to their influence, as measured by eigenvector centrality scores. The high density of edges within the communities makes many individual edges not displayable. The top influencers in the community of climate change deniers (B) and believers (C) are labeled with the usernames. In panels (B) and (C), edges-to-users in the other community are not displayed. For climate change believers, the most common influencers were members of the Democratic Party, popular media outlets or websites, popular science communicators, and entertainers advocating scientific consensus. Further analysis revealed that a coordinated social media network uses periodic events to spread negative views on climate change and science in general. Six such events were identified, related to extreme cold weather events, climate change activities by the United Nations (UN), and an attack on climate change deniers by Bill Nye in an HBO broadcast. Study significance The study finds that about 15% of Americans do not believe in climate change. Political affiliation is the strongest influencing factor towards climate change denialism, followed by educational level, distrust in science, socioeconomic status, and carbon intensity of the regional economy. Social media is the primary platform for spreading negative views on climate change. Given the study findings, scientists advise social media companies to flag accounts that spread misleading or false information. Instead, the companies should collaborate on targeted educational campaigns to increase public awareness about the detrimental effects of climate change on human, animal, and planetary health. Chula researchers have developed a remarkable wireless hepatitis B virus test kit to screen for infection and collect data for an online database that's fast and complete in one step. Industrial production is targeted for use throughout the country. Hepatitis B is a disease that causes illness and death in a large population and causes chronic liver diseases such as cirrhosis and liver cancer, the most common cancer in Thailand and in the world. For Thailand, the latest data from the Ministry of Health shows that the country currently has more than 2 million people infected with chronic hepatitis B! Therefore, hepatitis B is considered a major public health disease. The World Health Organization (WHO) even announced a campaign that aims to eradicate hepatitis B by 2030 or just 6 years from now. With the situation of hepatitis B in Thailand combined with the WHO campaign, a group of researchers from Chulalongkorn University led by Prof. Pisit Tangkijvanich, M.D. and Dr. Natthaya Chuaypen from the Faculty of Medicine, together with Professor Dr. Orawon Chailapakul, and Dr. Prinjaporn Teengam from the Department of Chemistry, the Faculty of Science, have jointly developed a Wireless Point-of-Care Testing for Hepatitis B Virus infection to help make the diagnosis of hepatitis B simpler and faster. Why is early diagnosis of hepatitis B important? Prof. Pisit Tangkijvanich, M.D., Head of the Center of Excellence in Hepatitis and Liver Cancer, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, and former President of the Thai Association for the Study of the Liver (THASL) 2021-2022 discusses the situation of hepatitis B ten years ago, of which statistics is still very close to today. About 2-4 percent of the total population of Thailand has hepatitis B. The majority of the cases are found among people born before 1992, the year that hepatitis B vaccination began in newborns. Most people with hepatitis B rarely show symptoms, so they don't know they have it, and don't get treatment early, so, they may be unwittingly spreading hepatitis B." Prof. Pisit Tangkijvanich, M.D., Head of the Center of Excellence in Hepatitis and Liver Cancer, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University Therefore, early diagnosis of this disease is crucial in stopping the spread of the infection and helping the patient to enter the treatment process timely, thus reducing the likelihood of cirrhosis and liver cancer, which are mainly caused by the hepatitis B virus in Thai people (read more in the Getting to Know Hepatitis B section). The pain point that started this research Prof. Dr. Pisit explained that today, standardized tests for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg), require the expertise of personnel and the use of large machine-based assays, which are often available in large hospitals and expensive, so access to the tests is still relatively limited and scarce in remote areas. Inadequate access to screening for this disease is a key problem and a pain point that has sparked the development of this research and innovation. "We are trying to develop a test kit that allows healthcare professionals at small hospitals or public health centers to screen for hepatitis B by themselves. The product we are developing is a self-test kit that can be self-administered or point-of-care testing that can be used at different care points to a certain extent. It makes screening patients more convenient while giving accurate results similar to machine-based testing," Prof. Dr. Pisit explained. Highlights of the wireless hepatitis B test kit Prof. Dr. Pisit provides information on the wireless hepatitis B test kit that though there are now commonly used strip tests similar to the COVID-19 screening kits imported from abroad, the advantage of the product that the research team is developing is that in addition to getting quick results, the test can give an approximate quantity of virus, the data can be uploaded immediately, in real-time, and can be attached to the patients to whom the data belongs. For hepatitis B, it is very important to identify the patient because the treatment takes a long time. The use of this test is different from the COVID-19 test, which is a strip test, also known as lateral flow, that is commonly available. Lecturer Dr. Natthaya, one of the research team members from the Faculty of Medicine, explained that the wireless hepatitis B test is an electrochemical biosensor based on the specific reaction between the antigen and the antibody. Once there is a binding between the antigen and the antibody, there is a change in electricity detectable by an electric current detector, also known as amperometric detection. "The principle is that if there is a virus or antigen present, there will be a change in the current. The value of this measured current can be an indication of the amount of the antigen in a semi-quantitative way, and fluctuate according to the electricity current detected. "Simply speaking, other tests can only tell you if the antigen is "present or not present. But this test can not only tell if the infection is found or not but can indicate an approximate amount of found antigen as well. If the current is low, the antigen amount is high, and vice versa. It takes only short time to know the results and related information." For the screening procedure, only 2 l (ml) of serum from the "blood sample" is used for dripping and incubation on the electrodes. Then, they are washed with wash buffer solution and wait for it to dry. It takes only up to 10 minutes for the results of the analysis through observation of the changes in electrical currents. "We need to use blood samples because other secretions will yield very small amounts of antigens and may not be as accurate as it could be," Dr. Natthaya explained. The journey of innovation to address public health problems This innovative research and development are funded by the Program Management Unit for Competitiveness (PMUC) for 3 years. The project is divided into 3 phases from prototyping to commercialization. Dr. Natthaya described the Phase 1 Research & Development which lasted throughout 2022. "In the early years, we developed a prototype of a hepatitis B virus test kit using an electrochemical biosensors technique that works with a variety of measuring instruments. In the following year, for the kit to have reproducibility, and stability of current, with fast and convenient use, we developed the test kit with Bluetooth capability, so it can work both wirelessly and plugged into a small computer. The said Bluetooth is produced by a company in Taiwan. The current electrodes are produced in the lab of the Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University." Currently, the research has already entered phase 2. "We're now in the process of collecting data for field visits, including usage data and conducting clinical trials according to Section 27 of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), exemption for research, and application for FDA certification before the production of commercialized kits ready for sale in the next phase," Dr. Natthaya said, "We went through the first stage quite quickly because we had the know-how of electrochemical biosensors from Prof. Dr. Orawon Chailapakul and researcher Dr. Prinjaporn so it didn't take long to further develop the prototype in the beginning." From research to practical innovation In creating medical innovations, Dr. Natthaya recommends that researchers study and develop research in various stages following the requirements of various certifications, such as the FDA. "In the past, we might have completed the research and waited until after its publication before applying for FDA certification. This may force some research papers to rest only on the shelf because they do not meet the FDA criteria. Currently, funding sources, especially external funding, are trying to push researchers to "do the reverse" by examining the FDA's criteria and requirements before conducting research. Publication of the research is a bonus that will come later. This is so that such research can lead to practical innovation. " Prof. Dr. Pisit and Dr. Natthaya emphasized that for the development of medical devices to pass the FDA certification process, In addition to studying relevant requirements along with research development, there must also be an ISO 13485-certified production source for medical devices. Currently, there are two locations in Chulalongkorn University: the Faculty of Science and our laboratory at the Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, which are used by the research team to produce the original electrochemical sensors as mentioned. "Now it's like we're working for the FDA on the side as we try to constantly communicate with them in order to find out what they want. Medical innovation is very important and useful for our country. The easier access people have to healthcare, the faster they are cured, and the financial burden is drastically reduced." As for the future of wireless hepatitis B detection kits, Dr. Natthaya said that at the beginning of next year (2024), which is the beginning of phase 3, there should be a clearer direction for industrial mass production, which has already been roughly discussed with the private sector. Prof. Pisit ended by saying, "This research is a collaboration of several researchers at Chulalongkorn University. I believe that there is still a lot of knowledge base that is good for society. This research is consistent with university policies that promote integration and cooperation by bringing knowledge and expertise from many sciences together to create great innovations that can meet society's needs." City of Hope, one of the largest cancer research and treatment organizations in the United States, treated the oldest person to be cured of a blood cancer and then achieve remission for HIV after receiving a blood stem cell transplant from a donor with a rare genetic mutation. Research published in NEJM today demonstrates that older adults with blood cancers who receive reduced intensity chemotherapy before a stem cell transplant with donor cells that are resistant to HIV may be cured of HIV infection. Paul Edmonds, 68, of Desert Springs, California, is the fifth person in the world to achieve remission for acute myelogenous leukemia and HIV after receiving stem cells with a rare genetic mutation, homozygous CCR5 Delta 32. That mutation makes people who have it resistant to acquiring HIV. Edmonds is also the person who had HIV the longest -; for over 31 years -; among these five patients. Known as the "City of Hope patient" among these five patients, Edmonds received a transplant at City of Hope on Feb. 6, 2019, and is now considered to be cured of leukemia. Edmonds stopped taking antiretroviral therapies for HIV nearly three years ago and will be considered cured of HIV after he has stopped taking antiretrovirals for five years. "City of Hope's case demonstrates that it is possible to achieve remission from HIV even at an older age and after living with HIV for many years," said Jana K. Dickter, M.D., a clinical professor in City of Hope's Division of Infectious Diseases, who led the study. "Furthermore, remission can be achieved with a lower-intensity regimen than the therapy received by the four other patients who went into remission for HIV and cancer. As people with HIV continue to live longer, there will be more opportunities for personalized treatments for their blood cancers." For Edmonds' medical team, this meant they would need to tailor his treatment to address his age and the duration of his HIV. City of Hope's decades-long expertise treating older adults with cancer and HIV -; efforts led by John A. Zaia, M.D., director of City of Hope's Center for Gene Therapy and Aaron D. Miller and Edith Miller Chair for Gene Therapy, and other doctors -; proved to be invaluable in treating Edmonds and helping him go into remission for both leukemia and HIV. Under the care of City of Hope hematologist Ahmed Aribi, M.D., assistant professor in the Division of Leukemia and a study author, Edmonds received three different therapies to get him into remission before receiving a transplant. The therapy is needed to help the patient achieve remission, and the patient can then proceed with a transplant with the goal of curing the cancer. Edmonds received a chemotherapy-based, reduced-intensity transplant regimen prior to his transplant that was developed by City of Hope and other transplant programs for treatment of older patients with blood cancers. Reduced-intensity chemotherapy makes the transplant more tolerable for older patients and reduces the potential for transplant-related complications from the procedure. For the transplant, Aribi and his team worked with City of Hope's Unrelated Donor Bone Marrow Transplant Program -; directed by Monzr M. Al Malki, M.D. -; to find a donor who was a perfect match for the patient and had the rare genetic mutation, which is found in just 1-2% of the general population. The mutation makes people who have it resistant to acquiring HIV. CCR5 is a receptor on CD4+ immune cells, and HIV uses that receptor to enter and attack the immune system. But the CCR5 mutation blocks that pathway, which stops HIV from replicating. Edmonds had mild to moderate side effects caused by graft-versus-host disease, which occurs when the donor's T lymphocytes, a type of white blood cell that fights infections, attack the patient's cells. Edmonds also achieved "full chimerism," meaning that all of his bone marrow and blood stem cells originated from the donor. Stephen J. Forman, M.D., director of City of Hope's Hematologic Malignancies Research Institute and a professor in the Department of Hematology & Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation, noted a confluence of several research initiatives by City of Hope over the years helped lead the institution to this moment. City of Hope and other institutions started performing successful stem cell transplants in older adults a decade ago, an intensive and high-risk procedure in this population that was unheard of prior to then. We have treated patients who are in their 80s with transplants and that is due to City of Hope's emphasis on expanding therapies to more patients, as well as our compassionate, top-notch care of even the most vulnerable populations." Stephen J. Forman, M.D., Director of City of Hope's Hematologic Malignancies Research Institute "City of Hope is not stopping there. Our researchers are working on creating stem cells that have the genetic mutation that makes them naturally resistant to HIV, among other research initiatives," he added. These milestones include: City of Hope was one of the first institutions in the United States to perform a reduced intensity regimen for older patients with myelodysplasia, a blood disease that can evolve into leukemia and that Edmonds had prior to acute myelogenous leukemia. Ryotaro Nakamura, M.D., director of City of Hope's Center for Stem Cell Transplantation and Jan & Mace Siegel Professor in Hematology & Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation, led the national trial that demonstrated a transplant could become standard of care for older people with myelodysplastic syndromes, which led to Medicare approving the therapy in older populations. City of Hope was one of the first centers in the United States to perform effective, curative autologous transplants, which use a person's own stem cells, for patients with HIV-related lymphoma. When many centers still treated patients with low-intensity, noncurative treatment approaches, City of Hope -; led by Forman and Amrita Krishnan, M.D., executive medical director of hematology, City of Hope Orange County challenged that paradigm by demonstrating that autologous transplants could be used to cure patients with HIV-related lymphomas who would otherwise die. City of Hope was also a primary national co-leader in two National Cancer Institute-sponsored trials for autologous as well as allogeneic stem cell transplantation, which use a donor's stem cells, for patients with HIV and blood cancers. Led by Joseph Alvarnas, M.D., City of Hope's vice president of government affairs and a hematology professor, these trials led to a change in the national standards of care on how best to manage this vulnerable patient population. City of Hope's blood stem cell and bone marrow transplant (BMT) program has performed nearly 19,000 transplants, making it one of the largest programs in the nation. City of Hope has exceptional transplant outcomes year after year, according to the Center for International Blood & Marrow Transplant Research. Building on its BMT expertise, City of Hope is also a pioneer in the development of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells to treat blood cancers and solid tumors. More than 1,200 patients have been treated with CAR T cell therapy at City of Hope. Leveraging their expertise in cellular immunotherapy, City of Hope scientists have also developed chimeric antigen receptor CAR T cells that can target and kill HIV-infected cells and control HIV in preclinical research. A City of Hope clinical trial using CAR T cell therapy, which has the potential to provide HIV patients with a lifelong viral suppression without antiretroviral therapies, is expected to open later this year. Angelo Cardoso, M.D., Ph.D., City of Hope director of the Laboratory of Cellular Medicine, is also a study author and performed many of the experiments that confirmed Edmonds' HIV remission. The famous Ukrainian composer, Shevchenko Prize winner, author of the music for the cartoons "Like Cossacks..." Ihor Poklad and his wife Svitlana were injured as a result of another Russian terrorist missile attack on the Kyiv region. The couple lives in Vorzel. At the beginning of the full-scale invasion, the village was under occupation, which the Poklads also had to endure. And on February 15 this year, Svitlana told how she was thrown several meters by a blast wave at night and was forced to hide with her husband in the basement. ADVERTISIMENT The wife of the 82-year-old composer shared the details on her personal Facebook page. She admitted that she was very tired, so she did not immediately react to the information about the Russian ballistic missile launch. Having had such a terrifying experience, Svitlana decided to appeal to her compatriots to not ignore the alarms under any circumstances. "Usually I follow the warnings about the takeoff of those monsters, but yesterday I was very tired, so I went to bed and slept. It was around 5:00. My "bell" went off. A threat in the direction of Vorzel. This was no joke. I got up. I went to the window, which I had opened at night because I didn't have enough air, and decided to close it just in case. And then... First, a tiny something in the sky, like the moon behind the clouds, and then a huge explosion. A huge explosion! And the sky was red. And I was hit by the frame and then thrown onto the bed. I was blown away. I realized it was a blast wave. My cheek was burning, my heart was jumping. Then there were several more explosions a little further away. Then I felt cold on my cheek, opened the basement, threw down my anxious suitcase and jackets, and helped my husband downstairs. The dogs hid, I couldn't get them down, the cats came down on their own," said Svitlana Poklad, showing a photo of the crater that was formed near Vorzel by a Russian shell. ADVERTISIMENT The wife of the Ukrainian music legend realizes that during the two years of full-scale terrorist war, she has become accustomed to sirens, like many Ukrainians, but such incidents have become a reminder for her that she cannot relax for a second. "The 'Shakheds' relaxed us a little bit. And this is ballistics. And it was incredibly scary. And I took it calmly until the first explosions! I blame myself for this! Very much! Although I know a place upstairs where you can still hide, there are chairs there all the time, but in this case, I definitely had to go down immediately," Poklad wrote. ADVERTISIMENT Svitlana said she would never forgive the Russians for their terror. She suggested that a tragedy could have happened to her family on February 15 if the occupiers' missile had hit even closer to their home. "This damn country will not stop! Never! And we simply have no right to ignore the alarms. For me, this morning was a lesson. And a warning: no one is forcing you, it's up to you. I decided, but it was too late! A tragedy could have happened. God forbid you to experience a blast wave. It is very dangerous... I will never forgive them for letting my husband down to the basement these days... What can I say about my late mother, who did not see the light for two weeks back in the spring of '22. Damned bastards! I hate them," Poklad's wife added emotionally. ADVERTISIMENT As a reminder, in March 2022, it became known that Ihor and Svitlana Poklad were left without food and water in the occupied Vorzel, Kyiv region. They hid together in the basement and later stopped contacting each other, which frightened their relatives and colleagues. This was reported by journalist Dmytro Gordon, who appealed to caring people to save the couple from the occupation. Volunteer Konstantin responded to the cry for help, and the next day he was already at the Poklads' house. He managed to take the Hero of Ukraine and his family out. Later, Poklad's wife showed how their house was damaged by the Russian invaders. According to her, the invaders left behind devastation and tripwires, and turned the resort town itself into a "branch of hell." A multidisciplinary working group of 22 experts from eleven European scientific associations have joined forces to define recommendations for the effective and individualized use of biomarkers for the diagnosis of Alzheimers disease in memory clinics. Putting patients, instead of the disease or a test, at the center of doctors diagnostic considerations constitutes a turning point in the approaches currently applied. This work has been coordinated by a team from the University Hospital of Geneva (HUG), the University of Geneva (UNIGE) and the Fatebenefratelli of Brescia National Research Center for Alzheimers Disease (IRCCS). The consensus is published in The Lancet Neurology. Individualized diagnostic pathway Experts from eleven European scientific associations and organizations and a patient advocacy association (Alzheimer Europe) have collaborated to define a diagnostic pathway focused on each individual case which enables the right tests to be identified according to the symptoms profile. The pathway is easy to use in memory clinics and enables a highly reliable diagnosis to be made. This diagnostic pathway has been developed on the basis of the scientific literature and from the practical experience of the specialists. After having examined the individual's complaints, performed memory tests and conducted a brain MRI, the specialist can now take advantage of these recommendations to classify the case into one of the eleven defined phenotypes, then look for biomarkers using the tests recommended by the international experts, namely lumbar puncture, amyloid PET, glucose PET, ioflupane SPECT, MIBG SPECT and tau PET. Moving beyond the biomarker-centric approach The objective of the diagnostic pathway is to overcome the current limitations of the recommendations and guidance related to the diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease. The latter focus mainly on the disease itself or on biomarkers, rather than on the person affected. Although they have been developed to help clinicians use the correct diagnostic tests, they reveal gaps when applied in clinical practice. Indeed, most of these recommendations do not take account of the many diagnostic options available nor of the existence of several tests that can be carried out simultaneously or sequentially. Moreover, those that do take these into account often only reflect the opinion of non-representative expert groups. As a result, in clinical practice biomarker choice is often influenced more by organizational and logistical considerations than by clinical factors. The diagnostic pathway we have developed will help clinicians define the most informative biomarker in the most frequent clinical case scenarios. It will promote consistency in the diagnosis of neurocognitive disorders in European countries, reduce the cost of analyses and identify those eligible for treatments with more precision." Prof. Giovanni Frisoni, head of the HUG Memory Center, Professor of Clinical Neuroscience at the University of Geneva and first author of the study Consensual method To reach this consensus the 22 experts used the Delphi participatory approach to compare the difference in effectiveness of one test compared to another in various situations. This approach consists of measuring the specialists' opinion on the characteristics studied in order to retain only those opinions that achieve a consensus of over 70% and therefore considered highly probable. Next steps This pooling of expertise has enabled a reference standard to be established that will be useful to all doctors in Europe. It will now be incumbent on national services, healthcare providers, medical officials and insurance companies to implement it in each country. As far as the study is concerned, the next step will be to integrate blood biomarkers into the decision tree. These are only available currently within the remit of research and are in the process of being approved for clinical use. In future they will avoid up to 70% of invasive tests such as lumbar punctures and PETs, helping to reduce costs and expand diagnoses in the general population. Turning point in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease In the United States the first anti-amyloid drug was approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2021 followed by a second in 2023. These drug types will be introduced in Europe in 2024. The arrival on the market of the first drugs for specific forms of Alzheimer's disease will now require the existence of a consensual, precise and easy-to-apply diagnostic pathway. Indeed, these expensive disease-modifying treatments can only be prescribed at the cost of increasingly accurate diagnoses. Explosion in cases of Alzheimer's disease in Switzerland In Switzerland the number of people affected by Alzheimer's disease or another form of dementia is expected to reach 315,400 by 2050, up from 153,000 in 2023 according to Alzheimer Switzerland. It is the most common form of dementia in older people, although it can also affect younger individuals. Characteristics of Alzheimer's disease include the formation of beta-amyloid protein plaques and neurofibrillary degeneration in the brain, resulting in the progressive death of brain cells. Over time the disease progresses from mild forgetfulness to impaired cognitive functions, memory and the ability to perform everyday tasks. These symptoms are easily confused with those of other neurocognitive disorders. The Foundation for Women's Cancer (FWC) is pleased to host a Patient and Advocate Education Forum on Friday, March 15, 2024, 10 a.m. 4:30 p.m. PT, in San Diego, CA, at the San Diego Convention Center the day before the start of the Society of Gynecologic Oncology (SGO) 2024 Annual Meeting on Women's Cancer. The organization welcomes all gynecologic cancer (cervical, endometrial/uterine, ovarian, vaginal, and vulvar) patients, advocates, family members, and providers. The Forum is complimentary, and attendee registration is now open. This event will provide an opportunity for the creation of meaningful connections among patients, advocates, and healthcare professionals, all centered around a community learning experience where participants will: explore recent developments and breakthroughs in gynecologic cancer from renowned experts, share health and wellness best practices through a cancer journey, and join together in group movement activities. The FWC's Patient and Advocate Education Forum is important to gynecologic cancer patient advocates like Rachel Miller Garcia as the event provides an opportunity to meet and connect with others in a similar journey. Originally diagnosed in 2018, Garcia now serves as an active patient advocate for organizations like SGO and FWC and as the Co-Chair, alongside Lori Cory, MD, MSCE, University of Pennsylvania, of the FWC Patient and Advocate Education Forum Planning Committee. "I'm happy to be working with a smart, informed team of doctors and advocates wanting to share some amazing new developments and trends in our disease categories," Garcia shared about planning for the Forum. "Turning pain into purpose or lemons to lemonade has been my goal and focus," she added. "These diseases are deadly, but working closely with others is very rewarding, and I look forward to coming together in community in San Diego at this event." "Gynecologic cancers are on the rise in the United States, and we are committed to raising awareness of the new prevention and treatment options now available. As the FWC, we work to advance large-scale opportunities to address unmet needs for patients, and to ultimately eliminate the burden of ovarian, uterine/endometrial, cervical, vaginal, and vulvar cancers among all patients and communities," said Ginger J. Gardner, MD, Chair, Foundation for Women's Cancer, Gynecologic Cancer Surgeon and Vice Chair of Hospital Operations at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. "This work starts with making information available. When patients and caregivers join together in common space with dedicated health providers and researchers, we all gain greater understanding, and together we build the promise of tomorrow. With the power of shared purpose, we support the patient journey and each other...and we passionately extend the opportunity for health, wellness and community outreach to make a meaningful difference for all." Agenda for the Patient and Advocate Education Forum Time session details 9 a.m.: Registration Opens; Networking 10 a.m.: Forum Welcome; Meditative Moment 10:30 a.m.: Disease Site (Cervical, Endometrial, Ovarian, Vaginal, Vulvar) Speed Rounds; Q & A 11:15 a.m.: Precision Medicine Presentation; Q &A 12:15 p.m.: Clinical Trials Panel 12:40 p.m.: Lunch; Networking Opportunity 1:25 p.m.: Wellness Presentation; Q & A; Movement Minute 2:40 p.m.: Break; Networking Opportunity 3 p.m.: Side Effect Management Presentation; Q & A 3:45 p.m.: Survivor Panel 4:10 p.m.: Mini Move4Her Moment 4:25 p.m.: Closing Ceremony; Post-Event Networking Forum presenters Gynecologic cancer survivors and their associated organizations Debbie Janes Rachel Miller-Garcia Ovarian Cancer Research Alliance Adrienne Moore Endometrial Cancer Action Network for African-Americans Kimberly Richardson Black Cancer Collaborative; Special Commission on Gynecologic Cancer Jackie Smith Ovarian Cancer Research Alliance; Ovarian Cancer Alliance of San Diego Angelica L. Thomas Endometrial Cancer Action Network for African-Americans Forum presenters Health providers and/or researchers in gynecologic oncology and their associated institutions Ginger J. Gardner, MD Chair, Board of Directors, Foundation for Women's Cancer Memorial Sloan Cancer Center, New York, NY Angeles Alvarez Secord, MD, MHSc 2023-2024 President, Society of Gynecologic Oncology Duke University, Durham, NC Lisa Barroilhet, MD, MS University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI Joshua Cohen, MD City of Hope, Irvine, CA Ramez Eskander, MD University of California San Diego, San Diego, CA Lynn Parker, MD Norton Healthcare, Louisville, KY Premal Thaker, MD Washington University, St. Louis, MO Jessica Walchonski, PA-C, MMS University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA Christina Washington, MD University of Oklahoma, Oklahoma City, OK Additional learning opportunity Registration is also open for the full Society of Gynecologic Oncology (SGO) 2024 Annual Meeting on Women's Cancer. Patients, their care partners, and gyn cancer survivors may register here with code AM24SGOPA to receive a special patient and advocate rate of only $150. Learn more about FWC events happening at the Annual Meeting here. Processing times for complaints against drug companies suspected of having breached their industry code of practice have more than tripled in a nearly two-decade period, an investigation by The BMJ has found. Data analysis by Shai Mulinari at Lund University and Piotr Ozieranski at the University of Bath show that the average processing time of a complaint more than tripled between 2004-2021, from less than three months to more than 8.5 months. Numerous complaints have taken more than a year to resolve. The industry's trade body, the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI), has now raised fees related to these complaints by more than 40% in order to tackle the backlog. Complaints against ABPI members and non-members that have ratified the ABPI code of practice are dealt with by the arms-length body, The Prescription Medicines Code of Practice Authority (PMCPA), the authors explain. For example, Novo Nordisk, the Danish drug giant, is currently suspended from the ABPI until 2025 for sponsoring weight loss programmes that promoted its products. Commenting on the delays, Susan Bewley, former chair of HealthSense-UK, said: '"Matters have gone adrift over the past two decades if it now takes over three times as long to process complaints. It's a privilege for an industrial sector to have 'light-touch' self-regulation and mark their own homework." In correspondence seen by The BMJ, an ABPI executive said the hike in the charges would 'partly' support the PMCPA to reduce long processing times. "In recent years, there has been an increase in both the number and complexity of complaints, which has unfortunately caused some cases to take longer to resolve than we want," said Alex Fell, director of the PMCPA. "Addressing this is our highest priority", he added. Critics have questioned whether the PMCPA's remit is adequate to meet the current scale of challenges posed by unethical pharmaceutical marketing. Since 2019, the PMCPA has adjudicated against Novo Nordisk several times for undue marketing of its weight-loss drug Saxenda. This did not serve as a deterrent, as Novo Nordisk went on to engage in serious breaches in 2021 and 2022. Novo Nordisk takes "any breach of the ABPI Code extremely seriously," a company spokesperson told The BMJ. "Since the suspension, we have continued to strengthen our compliance framework to ensure that we are meeting the standards required by the Code, and our progress is being monitored through PMCPA audits." But Margaret McCartney, honorary senior lecturer at University of St Andrews, questioned whether the sanctions delivered under the current system improve compliance. The charges are "nothing to massive companies" and reputational damage hasn't, for example, prevented NHS's decision to allow Novo Nordisk to fund obesity clinics, she said. Alan Black, a retired pharmaceutical industry senior doctor said he has noticed a deterioration in processing times. He shared his concerns with the ABPI, the PMCPA, and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) which has statutory responsibility to oversee the self-regulation system. Yet the correspondence between Black and the MHRA reviewed by The BMJ shows that the MHRA has no expectations for the duration of handling of complaints by PMCPA. "If self-regulation fails, the MHRA will act to ensure a company is fully compliant with UK medicines law to ensure that safety is not compromised", a MHRA press officer told The BMJ, without specifying how the agency would determine this to be the case. Processing times have been clearly deteriorating for the best part of a decade yet neither the MHRA or the ABPI appears to have been sufficiently concerned to do anything about it." Alan Black, retired pharmaceutical industry senior doctor "The current time to deal with any complaint now appears to be over a year, a delay which risks seriously undermining public confidence in the independence and utility of the entire self-regulatory system," he added. Ivor Parker and Karen Palaza have been together for 20 years and treat each day as if it were Valentine's Day. One day recently, Karen realized something was very wrong with her partner when suddenly Ivor could barely speak and couldn't recognize her while otherwise seeming to be fully conscious and mobile. Karen rushed Ivor to the Emergency Department at Long Island Community Hospital, which is affiliated with NYU Langone. What NYU Langone neurosurgeon Donald Krieff, DO, discovered was something he had never seen in more than 25 years of being a surgeona bubble on the brain. After having a CT scan and an MRI, Ivor was diagnosed with a 6-to-7-centimeter air bubble near the left temporal lobe of his brain, a relatively rare condition known as pneumocephalus. Ivor had emergency surgery, and when Dr. Krieff opened the covering to the brain, the bubble completely dissipated. When Ivor woke up in the recovery room, he was fully able to speak. "When I first saw the bubble on the scan, I thought, 'This is crazy. It has to be something else,' but that wasn't the case," said Dr. Krieff, who is chief of neurosurgery service at the hospital and a clinical assistant professor in the Department of Neurosurgery at NYU Grossman School of Medicine. He was able to fully repair Ivor's skull after the bubble evaporated, but still doesn't know what caused it. Brain bubbles occur typically after scuba diving or being in a hyperbaric chamber, but Ivor had done neither. The 74-year-old Long Island man was discharged from the hospital on Christmas Day, just two days after surgery, and he considers it a miracle. "It was a life-changing experience. We can't thank Dr. Krieff and the medical staff enough," said Ivor, who doesn't remember much about what happened before the surgery. But his significant other recalls every single moment. The idea of him not knowing my name and not being with me was scary. Life is precious, and you have to embrace every moment." Karen Palaza The couple first met at a church in England, which is where Ivor is from. At the time she was a widow trying to recover from her loss, and he was recently divorced. They say they stopped exchanging candy and flowers on Valentine's Day because they consider being together their biggest gift. Two months after losing a multi-year contract worth $1.5 billion, IT major Infosys has started the year 2024 on a high note, securing two significant contracts, according to a livemint report citing industry sources. It said the most recent deal is a multi-year contract worth $300 million with Singapores shipping company Pacific International Lines (PIL) running until 2027. The Singapore deal came after a seven-year agreement with Irish food retailer Musgrave on January 31 to automate its IT functions using AI and cloud solutions. In the PIL deal, Infosys will help revamp PILs existing customer portal and deploy a scalable and modern technology platform for them. This will enable PIL to further their Driving Connectivity mission, which is aimed at connecting their businesses across the markets that they serve. In addition, PILs web and mobile applications will undergo a comprehensive overhaul to simplify user experience and enhance customer engagement, Infosys has said in a regulatory filing. In December, Infosys had said a global company has decided to terminate a multi-year contract worth $1.5 billion with it. On September 14, 2023, Infosys announced a pact with a global company to offer enhanced digital experiences alongside modernisation and business operations services leveraging Infosys platforms and AI (artificial intelligence) solutions. The deal loss came at a time when global uncertainties and macro headwinds have challenged IT and tech companies worldwide. Insurance industry regulator Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India has proposed to increase the free look period for the return of the policy to 30 days and make nomination mandatory for life policies. Also Read: Life Insurance Gains Momentum In Urban India, Report Highlights Shift In Awareness Currently, a policyholder can examine the insurance policy and opt out if not satisfied with any of the terms and conditions mentioned in the policy within the free look period of 15 days (30 days in case of electronic policies) from the date of receipt of policy document, by stating the reasons for the objection. In a draft Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Protection of Policyholders Interests and Allied Matters of Insurers) Regulations, 2024, IRDAI proposed consolidating several provisions of the different laws related to insurance. On protection of interest of policyholders, the draft said, The free-look period for the policies, obtained through any mode, shall be 30 days from the date of receipt of the policy document. Nomination Mandatory Further, no life insurance policy should be issued unless a nomination is obtained, said the draft regulation of the IRDAI. Nomination provisions relating to general, wherever applicable, and health insurance policies (have been) introduced, it said. Sanjiv Bajaj, joint chairman & MD, BajajCapital, said, The laudable initiative by IRDAI to extend the free look period to 30 days is a commendable step forward, enhancing consumer empowerment and fortifying the Indian insurance sector. This extension offers customers an extended duration to thoroughly review policy terms and conditions, thereby reducing the likelihood of mis-selling and fostering a culture of informed decision-making. By affording individuals more time to assess their policies, it can help minimise instances of regretful purchases and potentially decrease the number of policy cancellations, ultimately leading to higher satisfaction levels among policyholders. From an industry perspective, Bajaj highlighted that the initiative underscores a commitment to transparency, which could lead to a reduction in associated compliance costs. By building stronger relationships with customers based on trust and empowerment, insurers may witness increased renewal rates and greater brand loyalty, consequently enhancing the overall reputation of the industry and attracting new customers. This collaborative approach contributes to the development of a resilient insurance ecosystem where consumers feel empowered and the industry operates with transparency, resulting in mutual benefits for all stakeholders, Bajaj added. Claim Payments To enable electronic transfer of refunds and for payments of claims, the draft said the insurer should collect details of the bank accounts of the insured at the proposal stage itself. To promote ease of doing business, IRDAI also proposed to dispense the requirement of filing of advertisements by insurers with the authority. The draft further said an insurer having specified solvency ratio, profitability in three years out of five and having a satisfactory track record can now open a foreign branch. The draft follows recommendations of the Regulations Review Committee (RRC) comprising members of insurance councils. Bima Sugam IRDAI has proposed to establish an online insurance marketplace, Bima Sugam, a one-stop solution to enhance the availability, accessibility, and affordability of a product. A digital public infrastructure called Bima Sugam Insurance Electronic Marketplace is proposed to be established to empower and protect the interest of policyholders, IRDAI said. The aim behind setting up the marketplace is to increase penetration of insurance in India and to enhance availability, accessibility, and affordability, it added. Tarun Chugh, MD & CEO, Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance, said, The draft regulations for Bima Sugam is a big step towards bringing this transformative initiative to fruition. The regulations focus on making insurance easy to access and affordable for everyone. Its towards streamlining the entire insurance value chain, from policy issuance to claim settlement, thereby promoting transparency and collaboration at every stage. These initiatives will play a huge role in driving the penetration of insurance and enabling us to achieve the vision of Insurance For All by 2047. Chugh added that the guidelines will enable the industry to also build collaborative ecosystems for the benefit of customers. IRDAI said Bima Sugam will be a one-stop solution for all insurance stakeholders, vis-a-vis customers, insurers, intermediaries or insurance intermediaries, and insurance agents. It would promote transparency, efficiency, collaboration across the entire insurance value chain, technological innovation in the sector, universalise and democratise insurance and achieves the vision of Insurance for all by 2047. The draft said Bima Sugam would be a not-for-profit company. The company shall establish, facilitate, develop, operate, and maintain the marketplace for providing various services to the insurance stakeholders, the draft said, listing out the regulatory framework for the establishment, governance, functioning of Bima Sugam. Shareholding of the company would be widely held amongst life, general and health insurers and no single entity would have a controlling stake. Shareholders will contribute to capital as and when required. IRDAI has invited comments by March 4. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday extended deadlines on certain business restrictions regarding Paytm Payments Bank Ltd (PPBL) by 15 days till March 15, 2024, as against the February 29 decided earlier. The deadlines have been extended on services like top-ups and fund transfers, while the remaining PPBL services will be shut on February 29 only. PPBL Business Restrictions Where Deadline Extended Till March 15 In a notification, the RBI said, No further deposits or credit transactions or top ups shall be allowed in any customer accounts, prepaid instruments, wallets, FASTags, National Common Mobility Cards, etc. after March 15, 2024 (extended from the earlier stipulated timeline of February 29, 2024), other than any interest, cashbacks, sweep in from partner banks or refunds which may be credited anytime. Also Read: Paytm Payments Bank FAQs: Can You Withdraw Or Deposit Money After March 15? RBI Answers List of Questions No banking services like fund transfers (irrespective of name and nature of services like AEPS, IMPS, etc.), BBPOU and UPI facility should be provided by the bank after March 15, 2024 (extended from the earlier stipulated timeline of February 29, 2024), the RBI said. PPBL Business Restrictions Where Deadline Is Same As February 29 Withdrawal or utilisation of balances by its customers from their accounts including savings bank accounts, current accounts, prepaid instruments, FASTags, National Common Mobility Cards, etc. are to be permitted without any restrictions, up to their available balance. The Nodal Accounts of One97 Communications Ltd and Paytm Payments Services Ltd maintained by Paytm Payments Bank Limited are to be terminated at the earliest, in any case not later than February 29, 2024. Settlement of all pipeline transactions in nodal accounts (in respect of all transactions initiated on or before February 29, 2024) shall be completed by March 15, 2024 and no further transactions shall be permitted thereafter. The RBI also said, It is also directed that withdrawals upto their available balance should be facilitated by the bank from all accounts and wallets, excluding the ones that are frozen or lien marked by Law Enforcement or judicial authorities. It is directed that the bank shall facilitate a seamless withdrawal of customer deposits that are parked with partner banks under the automatic sweep-in sweep-out facility without causing any inconvenience to such customers, the RBI said. On January 31, the banking regulator had decided to bar PPBL, which houses all of Paytms 330 million wallet accounts, from accepting deposits or top-ups in any customer accounts, wallets, FASTags and other instruments after February 29. The Reserve Bank of India on Friday issued a set of frequently asked questions on the recent decision on Paytm Payments Bank. Under the Business restrictions imposed on Paytm Payments Bank Limited, the central bank listed the most compelling questions and answered them to bring out clarity among Paytm users. Also Read: Paytm Crisis: RBI Extends Deadlines on Certain Business Restrictions Till March 15 Queries ranging from deposits, wallet, FASTag, is Paytm Payment Bank closed?, surfaced all around the financial ecosystem since RBI restricted PBBL from carrying out transactions. On January 31, RBI directed PPBL to stop accepting deposits or top-ups in any customer accounts, wallets, FASTTags and other instruments after February 29, which the central bank extended till March 15. Paytm FAQ By RBI Is Given Below; Bank Accounts with Paytm Payments Bank 1. I have a savings or current account with Paytm Payments Bank. Can I continue to withdraw money from this account after March 15, 2024? Can I continue to use my debit card issued by Paytm Payments Bank? Yes. You can continue to use, withdraw or transfer your funds from your account upto the available balance in your account. Similarly, you can continue to use your debit card to withdraw or transfer funds upto the available balance in your account. 2. I have a savings bank or current account with Paytm Payments Bank. Can I deposit or transfer money into this account after March 15, 2024? No. After March 15, 2024, you will not be able to deposit money into your account with Paytm Payments Bank. No credits or deposits other than interest, cashbacks, sweep-in from partner banks or refunds are allowed to be credited. 3. I am expecting a refund in my account with Paytm Payments Bank after March 15, 2024. Can this refund be credited into my account? Yes. Refunds, cashbacks, sweep-in from partner banks or interest are permitted credits into your account even after March 15, 2024. 4. What will happen to the Deposits maintained with partner banks through sweep in/out arrangements, after March 15, 2024? The existing Deposits of Paytm Payments Bank customers maintained with partner banks can be brought back (sweep-in) to the accounts with Paytm Payments Bank, subject to the ceiling on balance prescribed for a Payments Bank (i.e. Rs 2 lakh per individual customer at the end of day). Such sweep-ins for the purpose of making available the balances for use or withdrawal by the customer will continue to be allowed. However, no fresh deposits with partner banks through Paytm Payments Bank will be allowed after March 15, 2024. 5. My salary is credited into my account with Paytm Payments Bank. Can I continue to receive my salary into this account? No. After March 15, 2024, you will not be able to receive any such credits into your account with Paytm Payments Bank. It is suggested that you make alternative arrangements with another bank before March 15, 2024 to avoid inconvenience. 6. I receive a subsidy or certain direct benefit transfers linked to my Aadhaar from the Government in my account with Paytm Payments Bank. Can I continue to receive it into this account? No. After March 15, 2024, you will not be able to receive any such credit into your account with Paytm Payments Bank. Please arrange to change your linked account to another bank before March 15, 2024 to avoid any inconvenience or disruption. 7. My monthly electricity bill is paid automatically from my bank account with Paytm Bank Limited? Can this continue? Withdrawal/debit mandates (such as National Automated Clearing House (NACH) mandates) will continue to get executed till there is balance available in your account. However, after March 15, 2024, credit or deposit in your accounts will not be allowed. Therefore, to avoid inconvenience, it is suggested that you make alternative arrangements through another bank, before March 15, 2024. 8. My monthly OTT subscription is paid automatically through UPI from my bank account with Paytm Payments Bank? Can this continue? Withdrawal/debit mandates through automatic UPI mandates will continue to get executed till there is balance available in your account. However, after March 15, 2024, credit or deposit in your accounts will not be allowed. Therefore, to avoid inconvenience or disruption, it is suggested that you make alternative arrangements through another bank, before March 15, 2024. 9. The instalment (EMI) for my loan is automatically paid through my account with Paytm Payments Bank. Can this continue? Auto debit mandates will continue to get executed till there is balance available in your account. However, after March 15, 2024, credit or deposit in your accounts will not be allowed. Therefore, to avoid inconvenience, it is suggested that you make alternative arrangements for setting up EMI payments through another bank before March 15, 2024. 10.The instalment (EMI) for my loan is automatically paid through my account with a bank other than Paytm Payments Bank. Can this continue? Yes, EMIs registered with any bank other than Paytm Payments Bank can continue. Paytm Payments Bank Wallet 11. I have a wallet with Paytm Payments Bank. Can I continue to use money from this wallet after March 15, 2024? Yes. You can continue to use, withdraw or transfer to another wallet or bank account upto the balance available in the wallet. Minimum KYC wallets1 can, however, be used only for merchant payments. 12. I have a wallet with Paytm Payments Bank. Can I top-up or transfer money into this wallet after March 15, 2024? Can I receive money from any other person into this wallet after March 15, 2024? No. After March 15, 2024 you will not be able to top-up or transfer money into the wallet or receive any credits, other than cashbacks, or refunds into this wallet. 13. I have a cashback due in my wallet with Paytm Payments Bank. Can I receive this cashback after March 15, 2024? Yes. Refunds and cashbacks are allowed to be credited. 14. I have a wallet with Paytm Payments Bank. Can I close this wallet and have the balance transferred to my bank account with another bank? Yes. You may approach Paytm Payments Bank or use its banking app to close your wallet and transfer the balance to an account maintained with another bank in the case of full KYC wallets. In the case of minimum KYC Wallets2, you may use the available balance or request for a refund. FASTag issued by Paytm Payments Bank (for more details on FASTag, you may visit website of IHMCL https://ihmcl.co.in) 15. I have a FASTag issued by Paytm Payments Bank. Can I continue to use it to pay toll after March 15, 2024? Yes. You can continue to use your FASTag to pay toll upto the available balance. However, no further funding or top ups will be allowed in the FASTags issued by Paytm Payments Bank after March 15, 2024. It is suggested that you procure a new FASTag issued by another bank before March 15, 2024 to avoid any inconvenience. 16. I have a FASTag issued by Paytm Payments Bank. Can I recharge the balance after March 15, 2024? No. After March 15, 2024 you will not be able to top-up or recharge your FASTag issued by Paytm Payments Bank. It is suggested that you procure a new FASTag issued by another bank before March 15, 2024 to avoid any inconvenience. 17. Can I transfer the balance from my old FASTag issued by Paytm Payments Bank to a new FASTag obtained from another Bank? Credit balance transfer feature is not available in the FASTag product. Therefore, you will have to close your old FASTag issued by Paytm Payments Bank and request the bank for a refund. National Common Mobility Card (NCMC) issued by Paytm Payments Bank 18. I have an NCMC card issued by Paytm Payments Bank. Can I continue to use it after March 15, 2024? Yes. You can continue to use your NCMC card upto the available balance. However, you will not be able to load or top up funds into the card after March 15, 2024. To avoid inconvenience, it is suggested that you obtain an NCMC card issued by another bank or non-bank pre-paid instrument (PPI) issuer, before March 15, 2024. 19. I have an NCMC card issued by Paytm Payments Bank. Can I add to its balance through top-up, recharge, etc. after March 15, 2024? No. After March 15, 2024 you will not be able to top-up or recharge your NCMC card issued by Paytm Payments Bank. In order to avoid inconvenience, it is suggested that you obtain an NCMC card issued by another bank or non-bank pre-paid instrument (PPI) issuer, before March 15, 2024. 20. Can I transfer the balance from my old NCMC card issued by Paytm Payments Bank to a new card obtained from another Bank? The balance transfer feature is not available in the NCMC card. Therefore, you may use the card upto the available balance. In case you have some more balance which you have not been able to use, you may request Paytm Payments Bank for a refund. Merchants using Paytm Payments Bank to receive payments 21. I am a merchant and I accept payments using a Paytm QR code, Paytm soundbox or Paytm POS terminal, linked to another bank account (not with Paytm Payments Bank). Can I continue to use this set-up even after March 15, 2024? Yes. If your receipt and transfer of funds is linked to any bank account other than Paytm Payments Bank, you can continue to use this arrangement even after March 15, 2024. 22. I am a merchant and I accept payments using a Paytm QR code, Paytm soundbox, Paytm POS terminal linked to my bank account or wallet with Paytm Payments Bank. Can I continue to use this set-up even after March 15, 2024? No. After March 15, 2024 you will not be able to receive any credit into your bank account or wallet with Paytm Payments Bank other than refunds, cashbacks, sweep-in from partner banks or interest. In order to avoid any inconvenience or disruption, it is suggested that you may obtain a fresh QR code linked to an account with another bank or wallet to receive payments. You may also change your bank account details (in which you receive payments) through your service provider. Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS) 23. Can I make payments through the Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS) using my account with Paytm Payments Bank? Yes. You can continue to make payments from your Paytm Payments Bank account through Bharat Bill Payment System upto the balance available in your account. Since you will not be able to credit any further funds into your accounts or wallets with Paytm Payments Bank after March 15, 2024, it is advised that you may make alternative arrangements with another bank account for BBPS before March 15, 2024. Aadhaar enabled Payment System (AePS) 24. Can I make withdrawals from my Paytm Payments Bank account with biometric authentication under Aadhaar enabled Payment System? Yes. You can continue to withdraw using the AePS authentication, upto the balance available in your account. Money Transfer through UPI/ IMPS 25. Can I transfer my money into my Paytm Payments Bank account through UPI/ IMPS after March 15, 2024? No. You cannot transfer the money into your Paytm Payments Bank account after March 15, 2024. 26. Can I withdraw my money from my Paytm Payments Bank account through UPI/ IMPS after March 15, 2024? Yes. You can withdraw your money from Paytm Payments Bank account through UPI/ IMPS upto the balance available in your account. Paytm Payments Bank Business Correspondent 27. I have an account with Paytm Payments Bank. Can the Paytm Payments Bank Business Correspondent (also referred to as Paytm Payments Bank Agent) help me in withdrawing funds from my account after March 15, 2024. Yes. The Paytm Payments Bank Business Correspondent (Bank Agent) can help you to withdraw money from your bank account upto the balance available in your account. Accounts frozen, lien marked etc. 28. What will happen to my Paytm Payments Bank account/wallet if there is a lien or freeze marked on the directions of Law Enforcement or judicial authorities? Any lien or freeze (full or partial) marked as per the instructions of any law enforcement or judicial authorities on the account/wallet of a customer with Paytm Payments Bank will continue to be governed by the orders passed by such authorities. 29. What will happen to my Paytm Payments Bank account/ wallet if there is a lien or freeze marked on account of internal policies of Paytm Payments Bank? The bank has been directed to allow withdrawal or transfer to another bank account of the customer, upto the available balance in the account/wallets. Onboarding of new customers 30. What is the status of the Business restriction placed on Paytm Payments Bank vide RBI Press Release dated March 11, 2022? The business restriction dated March 11, 2022, prohibiting Paytm Payments Bank from onboarding any new customers for any of its services continues to be in force. Hence, Paytm Payments Bank cannot onboard any new customers after March 11, 2022. Deadline Extended The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday extended deadlines on certain business restrictions regarding Paytm Payments Bank Ltd (PPBL) by 15 days till March 15, 2024, as against the February 29 decided earlier. The deadlines have been extended on services like top-ups and fund transfers, while the remaining PPBL services will be shut on February 29 only. Real Estate Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs) are playing a pivotal role in reshaping Indias economic landscape. Over the past decade, these funds have gained substantial traction, reflecting a transformative chapter in the countrys economic narrative. The real estate sector, encompassing office spaces, co-working environments, co-living spaces, warehousing, data centres, and residential properties, has emerged as a prime beneficiary of Indias rapid wealth accumulation. Investors, particularly Ultra-High-Net-Worth Individuals (UHNIs), High-Net-Worth Individuals (HNIs), and affluent retail investors, are increasingly drawn to financial instruments that offer stable and elevated returns. Real estate AIFs have witnessed a surge in adoption, fueled by regulatory clarity and transparent norms, creating a conducive environment for robust growth in this alternative investment space. According to SEBI data, the alternative investment fund (AIF) industry reached a pinnacle of Rs 8.50 lakh crore by June 2023, marking a 22% surge in assets under management (AUM) compared to the previous year. Regulated by SEBI, real estate-focused AIFs serve as preferred investment vehicles, pooling capital from investors to primarily invest in Indian real estate assets. These privately pooled funds can adopt various structures, including trusts, companies, limited liability partnerships, or body corporates. Typically, UHNIs, HNIs, institutional investors, and accredited investors engage with these instruments, adhering to SEBIs minimum investment limits. Office space dominates the AIF landscape, driven by increasing demand from enterprises. Manufacturing and engineering players setting up units in India, coupled with the expansion of Global Capability Centres (GCCs), led to office space absorption of 58.2 million in 2023 across the top six cities, as reported by real estate consultancy Colliers India. With the IMF projecting growth for India, office space is expected to remain a significant portion of real estate AIFs in the coming years. The rising demand for flexible office spaces, with co-working spaces contributing around 27% of total office space absorption, is expected to increase by 52% by 2025, according to Vestian. Co-living, witnessing a surge in popularity, and the industrial and warehousing segment, absorbing 49 million sq ft in 2023, are poised to contribute significantly to real estate AIFs overall asset base shortly. The increasing adoption of real estate AIFs in India can be attributed to investors pursuit of stable and superior returns, making these investment avenues increasingly attractive for diversified asset exposure. Diversification: Investors are increasingly considering diversification beyond traditional assets. Real estate AIFs provide an excellent opportunity to gain exposure to various real estate assets, including Grade A office spaces, warehouses, data centres, co-living, and student living, offering a cushion against downturns with better return potential. Better return potential: NRIs and high-net-worth individuals, seeking higher returns, find real estate AIFs attractive. Historically, these funds have provided returns exceeding 20% per annum in the last decade. The real estate sectors potential for generating rental income and capital appreciation provides better investment risk-return ratios. Moreover, the less volatility of AIFs, uncorrelated to stock markets, makes them a preferred choice for risk-averse investors. Regulatory transparency with tailored opportunities: The regulatory landscape for real estate AIFs is transparent, with SEBI developing detailed norms, ensuring the protection of investors interests. Tax structures and commission payouts are structured, providing clarity to investors. AIFs offer specialised investment opportunities to sophisticated investors, enabling exposure to customised offerings. Varied risk-return ratios: Real estate assets within AIFs come with varied risk-return ratios, allowing investors to carefully assess and pick exposure based on their investment philosophy. Different types of exposure of investors will result in varied risk profiles. For instance, an investor having fractional ownership is betting on capital appreciation of the asset along with assured rental income. As fractional ownership is all about partial ownership in big-ticket commercial properties, which are jointly operated by a group of investors, the risk-return profile will depend on the demand for those office spaces. As compared to fractional ownership, the risk level of structured debt instruments is fairly low. In structured debt, the investor gets an assured return as per the returns fixed on the agreement. For risk-averse investors, such types of exposure work the best. Similarly, in a co-living asset class, the return will depend on the occupancy ratio. If the occupancy rates are high, the real estate AIF generates higher returns and hence, investors get a better return on their investments. Bright growth prospects: The Indian economys anticipated rapid growth, aiming to become a $5 trillion economy, will reflect in real estate growth. With global companies setting up facilities in India, demand for office space, warehouses, data centres, co-living, and student housing is rising. The rise of REITs has brought a significant transformation to the AIF landscape, amplifying investor enthusiasm towards real estate AIFs in the upcoming years. -The author is the founder & CEO of Assetmonk. Views expressed are personal. To raise awareness and appreciation for Khadi products, the University Grants Commission (UGC) has directed all Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs) to use Khadi products as well as present books at felicitation ceremonies. According to the commission, this practice will help to promote local artisans and authors while also highlighting Indias textile traditions. The commission has observed that colleges and universities organise seminars, conferences, workshops, and other events regularly as part of the teaching-learning process and that on such occasions, guests or dignitaries are usually felicitated by being presented with a shawl or angavastram, bouquet, potted plants, and so on. It is suggested that in keeping with the thrust on Aatmairbhar Bharat (Self-reliant India), Khadi products such as angavastram, shawl, etc. which are eco-friendly may be used for felicitation purposes. Such a practice, while reaffirming our links with the freedom struggle, also showcases our appreciation for our nations rich textile tradition, UGC reportedly said in an official notice. According to the commission, books may also be taken into consideration for presentation on such occasions to demonstrate the nations dedication to education and knowledge as well as to introduce a larger audience to our rich literary heritage. The official notice also cites that implementing these practices would support the empowerment and promotion of our regional artisans as well as help make local authors books more widely available. Hence, HEIs have been requested to consider incorporating the above practices when felicitating guests or dignitaries during seminars, conferences, workshops, and other similar events in their institutions. On January 16, the commission urged universities to consider using handloom fabrics for ceremonial attire at their annual convocations, claiming that it would promote handloom and instil a sense of pride in being Indian. The higher education regulator also requested an action taken report, photos, and videos to be posted on its university activity monitoring portal in a letter to vice-chancellors of universities. In 2015, the commission first requested that universities switch to handloom fabrics, claiming that handloom apparel would be more comfortable in Indias climate. Several universities, such as Delhi University (DU) and Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), have begun to use handloom fabrics in their convocation attire. While DU has replaced gowns and caps with angavastram (stoles), JNU has opted for white kurta pyjamas and saris. On the other hand, the Khadi and Village Industries Commission launched the Khadi Mahotsav e-pledge, a campaign that the UGC had encouraged universities and higher education institutions (HEIs) to actively participate in in October 2023. Anna Yakhno, the mother of four-year-old Sasha, whose death at the beginning of the full-scale invasion shocked the whole world, shared with her followers the good news of her marriage. The woman said that she got married to her beloved on January 5, 2024. For a long time, she did not tell anyone about it and decided to reveal the secret for the first time on Valentine's Day, February 14. ADVERTISIMENT And today, on February 16, Anna addressed Ukrainians with words of gratitude. The woman shared that she had received many congratulations and words of support from her compatriots, which was the biggest gift for her. The Ukrainian posted the message on her personal Instagram page, where she has more than 27.5 thousand followers. According to Anna, she and her now official husband did not organize a luxurious wedding - this day belonged only to the two of them. The couple signed their marriage license without any witnesses, traditions, or other attributes. For a woman who lost a child, the birth of a family became a symbol of hope. "It's time to make new plans and a future together. The birthday of our family has become a symbol of hope for me and proof that light always comes after the darkest period of life, and it continues even after the most terrible trials. It is vital for any person to be loved. I wish each of you to meet someone to whom you can trust your heart without fear or hesitation as soon as possible. Someone who will protect this heart with special tenderness. Someone who will help you survive all the troubles and give you the most unforgettable moments in this life. I wish you to meet your love!" Anna wrote touchingly, showing her first smiling photo in a long time. ADVERTISIMENT The woman was wearing a trendy three-piece suit in a milky shade. Obviously, this stylish set replaced her traditional wedding dress. Hundreds of commenters gathered under Anna's post to congratulate the newlywed and wish her not to lose the hope she talks about. Anna decided to thank people for their kind words. She also admitted that her followers are now one of her sources of inspiration and motivation. "My dear friends, today I want to stop you for a moment to express my sincere gratitude to each of you. You cannot imagine how grateful I am for your kind words, congratulations and wishes on my marriage. Your support and love mean so much more to me than you can ever know. This was one of the happiest days of my life, and your congratulations brought me back to that day. Every word, every compliment, every wish penetrated my heart and warmed it. You know how to inspire me and make my life better. I would also like to express my gratitude for your loyalty and support throughout the time I have been sharing my thoughts and experiences with you. You are my inspiration and motivators," the Ukrainian wrote. ADVERTISIMENT Yakhno emphasized in a touching way that caring fellow citizens online have become an integral part of her life. "I appreciate every word, every comment, every like. You inspire me to further achievements and make my life brighter and filled with new meanings!" the Ukrainian summarized. On March 10, 2022, Sashko, his grandmother and 6 other people tried to cross the Dnipro River by boat from the Vyshhorod area, which was blocked by Russian invaders. While rowing, the boat overturned, Sasha's grandmother drowned, and rescuers began looking for the boy, who was wearing a life jacket. The child ended up in a cold current, and they searched for him all over Ukraine. Unfortunately, little Sasha was found dead. This news was a tragedy for every Ukrainian. ADVERTISIMENT On September 1, 2022, Anna Yakhno addressed her son in a touching speech. She stated with pain that today many Ukrainian children will not sit at their desks in schools because they were killed by Russia. "Sasha, you dreamed of going to school so much. You are forever our smartest, kindest and most beloved boy. Forgive this cruel world that took away all your dreams. It took you away, my love. I still do not believe and do not understand why. You were, you are and you will always be our best boy. You will never go to the first grade, but you are such a small four-year-old boy, I think you have told the whole world how terrible, unjust and unnecessary wars are, what horror and pain they bring. Wake up, World! On September 1, Sasha and at least 380 other children will never go to school again, they died in this damn war. I wish every child who went to school today safety and a peaceful sky as soon as possible!" the woman wrote. Nearly 75 Indian diaspora scientists may return to India over the next three years to work on multiple science and technology projects under the governments new fellowship scheme with an outlay of about Rs 80 crore. The first batch of 22 fellows have already been selected and are expected to join the institutes in April this year. The scheme Vaibhav launched by the Department of Science and Technology (DST) has already completed its first call for proposals, and initiated the second call. The call is being made to all scientists of Indian-origin engaged in active research in a recognised institutes abroad for at least five years to collaborate with a reputed institute/university, including the IITs back in India. They will be required to spend 1-2 months annually for a maximum of three years and will be provided with a grant of Rs 4 lakh per year ($4,800). While they may take leave to come and work in India briefly, they will have to submit a consent letter from their parent institute. The fellowship also covers their international travel from the parent institute to India once a year, and fully-furnished local accommodation for two months, along with Rs 1 lakh per year for research expenditure in India, and domestic travel to institutes within India. We have received about 302 proposals when we made the first call last year, out of which 22 proposals have been shortlisted, and would be given the award letters soon. Hopefully, we can expect them to join their respective institutes after April, says Dr Charu Agarwal from the Department of Science & Technology (DST). The ministry will also provide financial support up to Rs 5 lakh per year for three years to the institute facilitating the fellow for research work. While they can spend just two months in a year, the institute will have to complete the project within three years and connect with the fellow through online meetings for rest for the year. AI & MACHINE LEARNING AMONG TOP AREAS OF INTEREST The scientists are selected on the basis of a research proposal to be submitted by the host institute they intend to collaborate with. All the funds would also be released to the institute which will disburse it to the fellow. While the fellowship is open for all areas under Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics as well as Medicine (STEMM), Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML) and Data Science have garnered the maximum interest. It is a good opportunity for our scientists working abroad to collaborate with their local counterparts on projects which can be of tremendous value to both. The Indian diaspora has access to new innovations and futuristic technology that they can share with the students here, and at the same time, get an opportunity to build their network and collaborate on research publications. Its like giving back to the country in a way. A win-win situation for all, says Dr Agarwal from the International Co-operation Division at DST. Some areas are also being prioritised in line with the governments scientific missions. The government has recently launched several scientific missions, including the National Quantum Mission, National Supercomputing Mission, Deep Ocean Mission, and the plan is to get the Indian diaspora to engage in related projects which can eventually strengthen these missions, and build the necessary human resources in the long run. MAX APPLICATIONS FROM THE US, CANADA The ministry plans to shortlist as many as 75 scientists from countries across the globe based on their research proposals, which can also benefit the Indian researchers. The first call issued last year yielded about 302 proposals, out of which 22 have been selected across 18 different verticals. The second call made this January will end with scrutiny of the applications after March 15. Scientists from several countries, including the US, Sweden, Norway, Australia, Singapore, Japan and the UK, have applied during the first call, according to the officials. However, the maximum applications are from scientists in the US and Canada who are keen to engage with local institutes. The proposals are examined by an Expert Review Committee with members from different ministries, including earth sciences, new and renewable energy, health as well as electronics and IT, and later shortlisted by an apex committee. The fellowship is open to all the Non-resident Indians (NRIs), persons of Indian Origin (POIs) as well as Overseas Citizens of India (OCIs) currently employed abroad. The Border Security Force (BSF) has pinpointed new areas of concern for drone activity after analysing the flight paths of drones that have been shot down recently. These areas, predominantly in Punjab with some scattered in other regions, have raised suspicions of increased drone movements and officials attribute this trend to potential involvement from Pakistan Rangers. Following a thorough examination by top officials, these areas have been earmarked for heightened surveillance and technical monitoring. A recent visit by senior officers to hotspots of drone sightings further reinforced the need to designate these zones as high-risk areas for drone activity. During the analysis, it was discovered that drones were operated from locations near the offices of Pakistan Rangers. Notably, Amritsar has recorded the highest percentage of drone movements this year, followed closely by Gurdaspur. Of the numerous sightings, around 90 per cent have occurred in the Amritsar region alone. In one particularly alarming incident on January 19, BSF troops recovered a cache of arms and ammunition near the bordering area of Firozpur district. The discovery included an AK-47 assault rifle, two rounds of ammunition, 40 rounds of 7.62 mm caliber, and cash concealed in a carefully wrapped package within a white gunny sandbag. This incident underscores the seriousness of the threat posed by drones in smuggling contraband across the border. According to a top-level official, the concern is about the new tactics used by Pakistan in sending drones with drugs, arms etc. Recently, a drone from Jaisalmer which was suspected to be used to supply arms and ammunition had a dead pigeon tied on it. Officials said this was to fool troops. It is expected that Pakistan will try such more ways to send drugs, arms and ammunition to India, a senior BSF official said. Another challenge that BSF as well as local police have noticed is that Pakistan has shifted its strategy to send drugs, arms, and ammunition using high-end, expensive drones which can fly very high. These HD drones can fly at significant altitudes and carry heavy payloads with increased speed, posing a challenge to the security forces deployed at the Indo-Pak border. According to data of the past two months, the Border Security Force has apprehended close to 20 drones. Priced between Rs 1.5 lakh and Rs 11 lakh in the market, these drones signify a change in Pakistans approach. In fact, all the drones shot down by BSF this year are high-value drones. A man from Uttar Pradeshs Bara Barabanki allegedly killed his wife over suspicion of infidelity and walked to a nearby police station with the womans severed head in one hand and a sickle in another before getting arrested. A video of the incident is being widely shared on social media. The scene played out on the streets Basara village under the jurisdiction of Fatehpur Police Station. According to sources, a man identified as Kumar Kanaujiya, a daily-wage labourer, killed his wife, Vandana, over suspicion of an affair using a sickle and walked out with the severed head. Police said the couple had gotten married eight years ago and had a four-year-old son. According to sources, the accuseds wife, Vandana, was dating another man, which led to frequent disputes in the house. As the tensions escalated over the past few days, and the matter reached the police, who worked out a solution, counselled the couple and sent them home. On Friday morning, Anil left the house for work but returned shortly and attacked his wife fatally, beheading her with the sickle. Locals alerted the police, who arrested the accused while he was walking to the police station. Barabanki Superintendent of Police (SP) Dinesh Kumar Singh said the accused was arrested with the severed head of his wife and the murder weapon. Anil suspected his wifes illicit relationship and confronted her about it. Fuelled by anger, he carried out this heinous act. The police are registering a case and conducting a thorough investigation. Stringent legal action will be taken against the accused after a comprehensive inquiry into the entire incident, he said. Bengal man parades with wifes severed head A similar incident has been reported from West Bengal. According to an NDTV report, 40-year-old Goutam Guchhait, was arrested after he beheaded his wife and walked around on the streets with her severed head. The incident took place in Purba Medinipur district and was filmed by locals. The mans family had, in 2021, claimed he was mentally unstable after he jumped into a lions enclosure at the Alipore Zoo in Kolkata. The police in Maharashtras Thane district have registered a case in connection with alleged tampering of consignments of chemicals that caused a loss of Rs 33 lakh to the sender, an official said on Friday. Between October 2023 and January this year, a businessman had dispatched some chemicals that he had imported from China to various locations in Maharashtra and other states. However, the recipients informed the sender that some of the drums containing the chemicals had been tampered with and that the original substances had been replaced with different materials. The businessman suffered a loss of Rs 33.05 lakh due to the tampering, the official said. On a complaint by the businessman, the Narpoli police station in Bhiwandi on Thursday registered a case for criminal breach of trust under the Indian Penal Code, he said, adding that a probe is underway. The Defence Ministry on Friday approved a proposal to acquire nine maritime surveillance aircraft for the Indian Navy and six maritime patrol aircraft for the Indian Coast Guard. The 15 maritime patrol planes would be built upon the Made in India C-295 transport aircraft. The overall value of these projects is estimated to be around Rs 29,000 crore, news agency ANI reported citing its defence sources. Defence Ministry has given approval for proposal to buy 9 maritime surveillance aircraft for the Indian Navy and 6 maritime patrol aircraft for the Indian Coast Guard. The 15 maritime patrol planes would be built upon the Made in India C-295 transport aircraft and the worth of pic.twitter.com/TwxGk7UWXS ANI (@ANI) February 16, 2024 The transport aircraft will undergo modifications, equipped with essential radars and sensors, to transform into a maritime patrol plane under the purview of the Defence Research and Development Organisations Centre for Airborne Systems (CABS), reported ANI. The ministry on Friday granted the acquisition of military hardware worth Rs 84,560 crore, which includes multi-mission maritime aircraft, aiming to enhance the overall combat capabilities of the armed forces. The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), led by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, gave a green signal to these procurement proposals. (With agency inputs) The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) led by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has approved proposals to buy hardware worth Rs 84,560, including multi-mission maritime aircraft, to boost the overall combat capabilities of the armed forces. The proposals cleared by the DAC include new-generation anti-tank mines, air defence tactical control radar, heavy-weight torpedoes, medium-range maritime reconnaissance and multi-mission maritime aircraft, flight refueller aircraft, and software-defined radios. The DAC approved the procurement of medium-range maritime reconnaissance and multi-mission maritime aircraft for strengthening the surveillance and interdiction capabilities of the Indian Navy and the Indian Coast Guard, the defence ministry said, adding that India-made hardware will be given preference. A proposal to procure air defence tactical control radar was also approved to strengthen the air defence systems, especially the capabilities to detect slow, small and low-flying targets, it said. In order to enhance the operational efficiency and domination in the tactical battle area for engaging targets that are beyond visual line of sight by the mechanised forces, the AoN (approval of necessity) under Buy (Indian-IDDM) category has been accorded for procurement of canister launched anti-armour loiter munition system, the defence ministry said. It said the DAC accorded AoN for procurement of Flight Refueller Aircraft for enhancing the operational capabilities and reach of the Indian Air Force. (With PTI inputs) An elderly farmer suffered a massive heart attack while protesting at the Shambhu border near Haryanas Ambala on Friday morning. He was rushed to the civil hospital in Punjabs Patiala, but doctors declared him brought dead. According to news agency PTI, 63-year-old farmer Gian Singh complained of chest pain in the morning and was taken to the Civil Hospital in Punjabs Rajpura. From there, he was rushed to Rajindra Hospital in Patiala, where doctors declared him brought dead, officials told the news agency. Singh, who hailed from Punjabs Gurdaspur district, arrived at the Shambhu border two days ago to participate in the Delhi Chalo march organised by the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha. The purpose of the march is to exert pressure on the government to meet farmers demands, including a legal guarantee of minimum support price (MSP) for crops. Since Tuesday, the farmers have been stationed at the Shambhu and Khanauri borders of Punjab and Haryana. Despite a third round of talks between farmer union leaders and the government on Thursday yielding no conclusive results, the next round of discussions is scheduled for Sunday. India has said that it remains an important stakeholder in Afghanistan, and urged the Taliban regime that its territory should not be used for training and sheltering terrorists, including those belonging to the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM). Indias deputy national security adviser, Vikram Misri, while participating in the dialogue on Afghanistans security and political situation held in Bishkek on Friday, said, India was and is an important stakeholder in Afghanistan. India considers it imperative to have a consensus-based approach at both levels regional and international he added. The 6th Regional Dialogue of Secretaries of Security Councils/National Security Advisers on Afghanistan took place in the Kyrgyz capital. The meeting also saw representation from the national security heads of Russia, China, Iran, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan. Misri also reiterated Indias consistent policy in backing Afghanistans journey towards peace, emphasising the historical and cultural ties between the two nations. India has been consistent and steadfast with its policy in support of peace, security, and stability in Afghanistan. As a contiguous neighbour, India has legitimate economic and security interests in Afghanistan, he said. The deputy NSA underlined New Delhis concern regarding the possibility of anti-India terror outfits like the Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed under the de facto government of Afghanistan, the Taliban. Afghan territory should not be used for sheltering, training, planning or financing terrorist acts; specifically, terrorist individuals proscribed by the UN Security Council, including those belonging to the Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed. It is well established that any instability in Afghanistan is a threat to the whole region, he said. Msiri highlighted efforts to promote economic cooperation with Afghanistan, including the facilitation of trade through the Chabahar port in Iran. He emphasised the importance of leveraging regional connectivity to promote trade and foster economic growth in Afghanistan. India has called upon Central Asian neighbours to utilise the Chabahar port for maritime trade, underscoring its potential to serve as a gateway for regional commerce. New Delhi does not recognise the Taliban in Afghanistan and is represented by a technical team including some senior officers from the ministry of external affairs, which engages in conversations with the regime. Last month, on the question of the head of the Indian technical team meeting with the Taliban in Kabul, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, We have been attending several meetings on Afghanistan in various formats both at the digital and international levels. You would have seen that recently we also participated in a regional meeting in Kabul where the head of our technical team attended. He apprised the meeting of Indias longstanding friendship with the Afghan people and the humanitarian assistance that we are carrying out in the country,. On January 29, the Taliban organised a Regional Cooperation Initiative meeting where representatives and envoys of 12 countries met with the acting foreign minister of the Afghan government, Amir Khan Muttaqi. Apart from India, the meeting included delegates from Kazakhstan, Turkiye, Russia, China, Iran, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Indonesia, Kyrgyzstan, and Afghanistan. Indias investment in Afghanistan exceeds USD 3 billion with a presence in nearly 500 projects across all 34 provinces of the country. These projects aim to enhance the lives of Afghan citizens by providing essential services and fostering economic opportunities. Additionally, India has been a key provider of humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan, offering aid in the form of food, medical supplies, and educational support. India has till now supplied nearly 50,000 tonnes of wheat, 250 tonnes of medical aid, and 28 tonnes of earthquake relief aid. KERALA LOTTERY NIRMAL NR-367 RESULT ON FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 16, LIVE UPDATES: The Kerala State Lottery Department has announced the results of the Nirmal NR-367 lucky draw for Friday, February 16. Check the full list of winning numbers below. ALSO READ: Kerala Lottery Result Today LIVE: Karunya Plus KN-510 WINNERS for February 22, 2024; First Prize Rs 80 Lakh! NIRMAL NR-367 LOTTERY: WINNING NUMBERS WINNING NUMBERS FOR CONSOLATION PRIZE WORTH RS 8,000 ARE NO 504089 NP 504089 NR 504089 NS 504089 NT 504089 NU 504089 NV 504089 NW 504089 NX 504089 NY 504089 NZ 504089 WINNING NUMBER FOR 1ST PRIZE WORTH RS 70 LAKH IS NN 504089 (IRINJALAKKUDA) Agent Name: P L SATHEESH Agency No.: R 4510 WINNING NUMBER FOR 2ND PRIZE WORTH RS 10 LAKH NO 163768 (KOTTAYAM) Agent Name: JIJI RAJ Agency No.: K 6951 WINNING NUMBER FOR 3RD PRIZE WORTH RS 1 Lakh ARE NN 233391 (ERNAKULAM) NO 935745 (IRINJALAKUDA) NP 400235 (ALAPPUZHA) NR 735813 (GURUVAYOOR) NS 567393 (KOLLAM) NT 516676 (KARUNAGAPALLY) NU 746287 (ALAPPUZHA) NV 310417 (CHITTUR) NW 293364 (MOOVATTUPUZHA) NX 818939 (KANNUR) NY 214752 (KASARAGOD) NZ 529041 (ADIMALY) WINNING NUMBERS FOR 4TH PRIZE WORTH RS 5,000 ARE 1345 1894 2575 3563 4078 4945 5529 6478 6620 7289 7451 7656 7883 8410 8581 9245 9376 9424 WINNING NUMBERS FOR 5TH PRIZE WORTH RS 1,000 ARE 0078 0113 0426 0857 1364 2098 2181 2397 2802 3085 3218 3365 3880 4168 4614 4920 5119 5161 5273 5656 5788 6027 6068 6551 6812 6960 7388 7416 7793 8234 8285 8729 9095 9186 9223 9770 WINNING NUMBERS FOR 6TH PRIZE WORTH RS 500 ARE 0265 0397 0868 1047 1124 1189 1468 1469 1605 1677 1848 1850 1969 2041 2053 2238 2245 2786 2840 3103 3279 3304 3508 3593 3696 3772 3786 3851 3872 3890 3950 4018 4224 4251 4650 4745 4792 4829 4842 4968 5185 5364 5415 5519 5555 5689 5701 5807 5971 5984 6085 6204 6310 6399 6442 6645 6688 6805 7093 7095 7333 7398 7546 7645 7749 7765 8201 8313 9436 9484 9589 9602 9640 9683 9704 9783 9867 9904 9906 WINNING NUMBERS FOR 7TH PRIZE WORTH RS 100 ARE 0182 0185 0206 0237 0259 0498 0561 0563 0646 0806 0851 0981 1167 1275 1334 1406 1517 1689 1833 1859 2044 2114 2161 2216 2243 2244 2270 2282 2304 2389 2454 2556 2582 2595 2615 2631 2649 2891 2954 2990 2995 3092 3095 3173 3210 3288 3316 3323 3327 3393 3487 3531 3539 3619 3644 3863 3993 3994 4044 4193 4320 4340 4346 4351 4375 4474 4531 4567 4924 5039 5209 5232 5287 5361 5459 5460 5754 5793 5861 6071 6077 6152 6186 6249 6254 6342 6361 6383 6395 6421 6487 6504 6550 6606 6778 7009 7201 7223 7240 7295 7374 7410 7435 7524 7908 7931 8029 8067 8148 8187 8321 8332 8387 8427 8451 8485 8898 9174 9544 9823 9850 9897 NIRMAL NR-365 LOTTERY: PRIZE STRUCTURE 1st Prize: Rs 70 Lakh 2nd Prize: Rs. 10 Lakh 3rd Prize: Rs. 1 Lakh 4th Prize: Rs. 5,000 5th Prize: Rs. 1,000 6th Prize: Rs. 500 7th Prize: Rs. 100 Consolation Prize: Rs. 8,000 HOW TO CHECK KERALA NIRMAL NR-367 LOTTERY RESULTS? To view the results of the Nirmal NR-367 lottery, go to the Kerala Lottery Departments official website, www.keralalottery.info. Ticket numbers can also be validated through physical validation in the Kerala Government Gazette. HOW TO CLAIM THE PRIZE MONEY? To determine whether you have won the Nirmal Lottery NR-367 prize, compare the draw results published in the Kerala Government Gazette to your ticket number. If the two numbers match, you are eligible for the prize. Winners have 30 days from the results announcement to claim their prizes at the Kerala Lottery Office in Thiruvananthapuram. To get the prize money, participants must present their winning tickets and submit the necessary identity for verification. Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Thursday praised RIL Chairman Mukesh Ambani for supporting several CSR projects in the state as he denied Lokmat Media chairman Vijay Dardas assertion that businessmen prefer Gujarat over Maharashtra. Answering a question by Darda during the Lokmat Maharashtrian of the Year Award event, Shinde said: This allegation is not true. Mukesh Ambani always supports Maharashtra government and our CSR project for improving schools across state. He is generous and always supports us. Mukesh Ambani is known to share a cordial relationship with Shinde and was also seen visiting the chief ministers residence last year with his family for Ganpati Puja celebrations. Meanwhile, Mukesh Ambanis daughter Isha Ambani, Director of Reliance Retail Ventures Ltd, won the Indian Businesswoman Award at the Lokmat event on Thursday and dedicated the honour to the entire Reliance family. Thank you for this huge honour. Lokmat, as the name itself suggests, has been the peoples voice in Maharashtra. Lokmat has played a pivotal role in enlightening and empowering our society over decades, Isha Ambani said in her speech. Im truly, truly honored. This recognition is very special to me because my mother, Nita Mukesh Ambani, who is my biggest role model and inspiration, won this award in 2016. For our family, Maharashtra is more than just our home. It is our karma bhoomi, she added. Isha Ambani is part of the executive leadership teams as a Member of the Board at Reliance Retail Ventures Limited, Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited and Reliance Foundation (RF), Reliance Foundation Institution of Education and Research, and Dhirubhai Ambani International School. Isha has led the expansion of the digital footprint for Reliance Retail and launched new formats such as the e-commerce business Ajio and the online beauty platform Tira. She was also involved with the launch and operations of the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre, launched in Mumbai in March 2023. DISCLAIMER: Network18 and TV18 the companies that operate News18.com are controlled by Independent Media Trust, of which Reliance Industries is the sole beneficiary Flash Australia, Canada and New Zealand have called for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza. According to a joint statement by prime ministers of the three countries on Thursday, they expressed "grave concern" over indications that Israel was planning a ground offensive into Rafah, a Palestinian city in southern Gaza Strip. A military operation into Rafah would be catastrophic, as about 1.5 million Palestinians are taking refuge in the area, the statement said. "With the humanitarian situation in Gaza already dire, the impacts on Palestinian civilians from an expanded military operation would be devastating. We urge the Israeli government not to go down this path. There is simply nowhere else for civilians to go," it said. "An immediate humanitarian ceasefire is urgently needed," it said, stressing that a sustainable ceasefire is necessary to finding a path toward securing lasting peace for Israelis and Palestinians. The Edinburgh Festival canceled the War Requiem concert by Greek conductor Theodore Kourentzis, who has Russian citizenship. The reason was the refusal of Ukrainian conductor Oksana Lyniv to stand on the same stage with him, as culture cannot be outside of politics. ADVERTISIMENT According to the website of the Vienna Festival, Kurentzis did not condemn Russian aggression against Ukraine, but he was not forced to do so, as the organizers are concerned about his situation when he gets to Russia. The War Requiem performance was to take place on June 12 at the Vienna Burgtheater, but its cancellation will not have a major impact on the conductor's career, as he is going on a tour of Germany. However, the concert of the Kyiv Symphony Orchestra with Oksana Lyniv on June 2 with Kaddish Requiem "Babyn Yar" will take place, although the organizers planned to cancel it. "As artistic director Milo Rau has emphasized at various points, the Kaddish Requiem is a centerpiece of the Vienna Festival 2024 program, which he would like to preserve. Therefore, in consultation with the SWR Symphony Orchestra, we have decided not to present the War Requiem under the baton of Theodor Kurentzis. The Kaddish Requiem will take place as planned on June 2 at the Vienna Concert Hall," the organizers said. ADVERTISIMENT Following the news of the refusal to cooperate with the Russian, Oksana Lyniv also commented on the event. In particular, her performance will also include a new contemporary Ukrainian work written by a student of the composer of Kaddish Requiem "Babyn Yar" Yevhen Stankovych. "We are very pleased that the Vienna Festival has found a solution, and we are very happy that we can finally perform the Babyn Yar Kaddish Requiem in Vienna. All participants are looking forward to this special concert on June 2," said Oksana Lyniv. In particular, Anke Mai , the program director of the SWR orchestra, expressed her condolences and hope to return to the festival "in more peaceful times." The organizers will cancel all purchased tickets and return the money to the audience who planned to have a good time while supporting Russian culture. ADVERTISIMENT What we know about Theodor Kurentzis: He studied conducting at the St. Petersburg State Conservatory in Russia with the support of the Alexander S. Onassis Foundation for Public Assistance. Since 2004, he has been working in Russia on a permanent basis, first as the chief conductor of the Novosibirsk Opera and Ballet Theater, and later as the musical director of the Perm Opera and Ballet Theater. Kurentzis has not publicly condemned Russia's invasion of Ukraine and is unlikely to do so, as his performance at the Vienna Festival was sponsored by the Russian bank VTB, which is currently under sanctions. Only verified information is available on our Telegram channel OBOZ.UA and Viber. Do not fall for fakes! At least two people were killed and about 25 others were injured after security forces opened fire to disperse a mob of approximately 300-400 people who attempted to storm the office of the Superintendent of Police (SP) in Manipurs Kuki-Zo tribes-dominated Churachandpur district on Thursday night. The mob has gathered to protest against the suspension of a head constable after his selfie with armed miscreants went viral. With tension prevailing in the district, the Manipur government clamped Section 144 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) in the area and temporarily suspended mobile internet in Churachandpur for 5 days. According to the Manipur Police, in an attempt to breach the SPs office, the mob gheraoed the premises, threw stones, and set a bus and other structures outside the district police chiefs office on fire. They demanded police reinstate the head constable, Siamlalpaul, who took the selfie in a bunker of armed miscreants and village defence volunteers atop a hill. Manipur churachandpur kukis vs kukis Fighting Yesterday 15/02/2024 pic.twitter.com/EOzPfxZswx NG Singh (@7840bimol) February 16, 2024 In response, the security forces, including the Rapid Action Force (RAF), used tear gas shells to control the situation. They later opened fire as the angry mob turned violent. Mob numbering approx. 300-400 attempted to storm the office of SP CCP today, pelting stones, etc. The SF [security forces] including the RAF [Rapid Action Force], is responding appropriately by firing tear gas shells to control the situation. Things are under watch, the Manipur Police posted on X. Mob numbering approx. 300400 attempted to storm the office of SP CCP today, pelting stones, etc. The SF, including the RAF, is responding appropriately by firing tear gas shells to control the situation. Things are under watch.. Manipur Police (@manipur_police) February 15, 2024 They climbed the gates and scaled the walls of the complex. Several vehicles were burnt, and later at night, the official residence of the deputy commissioner was torched, a senior police official said by phone. The Indigenous Tribal Leaders Forum (ITLF), an apex tribal body, warned district police chief Shivanand Surve, who had issued the suspension order, to leave Churachandpur within the next 24 hours. Suspension Of Head Constable Head constable Siamlalpaul was kept under suspension with immediate effect until further orders by Churachandpur SP Shivanand Surve after a video of him with armed men and sitting together with village volunteers went viral on social media. This tantamount to very grave misconduct being a member of the disciplined police force, a police order said. A departmental inquiry is being contemplated against Siamlalpaul of Churachandpur district police, as a clip has gone viral on social media showing him making a video with armed men on February 14, the order said. Siamlalpaul has been asked not to leave the station without prior permission and his pay and allowances have been restricted to subsistence allowance admissible as per the rules, it said. Violence In Manipur Since the ethnic violence broke out in Manipur on May 3, 2023, armed village volunteers of different communities have been guarding their villages along the peripheries of different districts to prevent attacks from the rival community. Close to 200 people have died since fierce fighting broke out between members of the majority Meitei and minority Kuki communities in the state bordering Myanmar over sharing economic benefits and quotas given to the tribes. Thousands remain displaced in relief camps. Churachandpur, home to the Kuki-Zo community, was among the first areas in the state to witness ethnic clashes when violence first erupted in May. A woman undergoing treatment for mental illness strangled her 11-year-old daughter to death using a dupatta and tried to kill herself by slitting her wrist with a knife at a rented accommodation in Mumbais Borivali area on Thursday night. According to the police, the womans husband informed the Kasturba Police Station about the incident, and the officials rushed to the spot. The police officials found the woman lying on the floor in a pool of blood and the daughter lying near her mother with a dupatta around her neck. According to the officials, the woman was undergoing treatment for mental illness at two hospitals in Andheri and Baroda for the last 10 years and skipped her medicines for three days. Police said the daughter, 11-year-old Ruhaani Solanki, was declared dead on arrival at the Shatabdi hospital, but the woman, 46-year-old Rekha, was still alive and she began undergoing treatment. The incident took place around 10:30 pm on Thursday, moments after the family had dinner and the mother locked herself with her daughter in a room and the father was sitting in the living room of their three-bedroom flat, police said. The father, who owns a shop in the area, told police that he heard his daughter scream and shout that her mother was trying to hurt her. He said the screams stopped after a while and no one was opening the door. Police said when they arrived, the door was locked from inside and they had to break open. Police have launched an investigation into the incident and have started recording statements of the woman and her husband. We have registered a case under Section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code against the woman. Further investigation is on, said a senior officer from Kasturba Marg Police Station. One of the residents of the apartment, seeking anonymity, said, They looked like a regular family. In fact, at a recent event hosted by the housing society, the daughter performed and seemed like a cheerful girl. Last evening, she was walking her pet downstairs. Whatever has happened is shocking. In todays digest, News18 brings you the latest updates on Karnataka Budget 2024, a mentally ill woman in Mumbai kills her daughter after skipping medicines and other top stories. Rs 100 Cr for Waqf Properties, Rs 200 Cr for Christian Community: Karnataka Budget Unveiled Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who also holds the Finance portfolio, presented the state budget on Friday (February 16). Amid opposition attacks on Congress over appeasement, the Siddaramaiah government allocated Rs 100 crore for waqf properties, Rs 200 crore for Christian communities and Rs 20 crore for pilgrimage sites. READ MORE Mentally Ill Woman, Who Skipped Medicine for Days, Kills Daughter with Dupatta; Slits Her Wrist Too in Mumbai Flat A woman undergoing treatment for mental illness strangled her 11-year-old daughter to death using a dupatta. She tried to kill herself by slitting her wrist with a knife at a rented accommodation in Mumbais Borivali area on Thursday night. READ MORE Reaping Benefits of Highest MSP And Procurement, Punjab Farmers Still Protesting; Is It Politics? Punjabs farmers are protesting against the Centre, demanding a law guaranteeing minimum support price (MSP) for their crops. But not only do Punjabs farmers get the highest return for paddy and wheat crops over their cost of production in short, the most favourable MSP but they also see the maximum quantity of their crop being procured at that rate than any other state, government reports show. READ MORE 80-Year-Old Man Dies of Heart Attack At Mumbai Airport After Being Forced To Walk Due to Lack of Wheelchairs In a tragic incident, a senior citizen, who was not provided with a wheelchair at Mumbais Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport, collapsed at the immigration counter and died earlier this week. The incident occurred on Monday when the 80-year-old man arrived from New York on an Air India flight with his wife. READ MORE Amitabh Bachchan HATES This About Bachchan Women, Shweta Bachchan Reveals: He Doesnt Like It When Shweta Bachchan made a surprising revelation about Amitabh Bachchan. Appearing on her daughter, Navya Naveli Nandas podcast What The Hell Navya Season 2, Shweta shared tidbits about the Bachchan family when she revealed the one thing that Amitabh Bachchan hates the most. She revealed that he hates it when the familys women cut their hair short. Navya confirmed her mothers confession during the chat. READ MORE Punjabs farmers are protesting against the Centre, demanding a law guaranteeing minimum support price (MSP) for their crops. But not only do Punjabs farmers get the highest return for paddy and wheat crops over their cost of production in short, the most favourable MSP but they also see the maximum quantity of their crop being procured at that rate than any other state, government reports show. Sample this: MSP procurement happened for 99 per cent of the paddy crop in Punjab and 74 per cent of the wheat crop in the state in the last season for which data is available, the most recent government report says. The total quantity of rice procured in the last season was the highest in Punjab at 12.3 million tonnes, with the states share in paddy procurement being the highest in the country at almost 22 per cent. This is though Punjab accounts for 10 per cent of the rice production in the country. Nearly 74 per cent of the wheat produced in Punjab was procured at MSP in the 2023-24 season, and the state had the highest procurement share of almost 40 per cent in the country. The wheat procurement in Punjab in the latest season grew by 25 per cent. Doing the MSP maths The returns for MSP crops for Punjabs farmers are also the best in the country. These returns are calculated on three basic parameters: Gross Value of Output (GVO), A2, and A2+FL costs. Punjab tops on all three counts when it comes to paddy. In paddy farming, highest GVO (gross value of output) was realised for Punjab (Rs 1, 36, 636 per hectare). GVO of moong was highest for Punjab (Rs 1,02,047 per hectare); in cotton, the highest GVO was in Punjab (Rs 1,42,239 per hectare). In cultivation of paddy, gross returns over A2 and A2+FL costs per hectare were highest for Punjab at Rs 88,287 and Rs 82,037. In moong, per hectare returns over A2 and A2+FL costs were highest for Punjab at Rs 75,256 and Rs 72,719 respectively. In case of cotton, per hectare returns over A2 and A2+FL costs were highest for Punjab at Rs 89,474 and Rs 81,582, the government reports say. Another parameter is the MSP margin over projected CoP A+FL. This is highest in Punjab for both paddy and wheat. Government reports say the highest MSP margins over projected CoP A +FL was in Punjab (152.6%) for paddy as well as wheat (173.5%). For wheat, the highest GVO was realised for Haryana followed by Punjab (Rs 1,01,905 per hectare). Among the top five wheat-producer states in the country, returns for Punjab and Haryana were higher than the all-India average. The per-farmer procurement of paddy in Punjab stands at 11.9 tonnes, the highest in the country. Nearly 184 lakh tonnes of paddy was procured from Punjab on MSP in the last season the share of beneficiary farmers as a proportion of total farmers in Punjab was over 100 per cent too. So is it politics? The face of the current farmer protests, Jagjit Singh Dallewal, has been heard saying that the farmer protests are to bring down the graph of Prime Minister Narendra Modi as it has been up since the opening of the Ram temple in Ayodhya. Dallewal has also referred to a very short window for this job, alluding to the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. This is now making government sources question if the current protests have the tacit political backing of the Aam Aadmi Party and the Congress. The current protest is mainly made up of farmers from Punjab, with those from Haryana and Uttar Pradesh not joining in unlike in 2020. The earlier leaders of the farmer protests, like Gurnam Singh Charuni and Balbir Singh Rajewal, are missing from the scene now. The AAP governments in Punjab and Delhi have been backing the intentions of the protesting farmers to enter the capital and protest with no effort to stop them in Punjab or allow the Centres request to convert the Bawana stadium into a temporary jail. BJP functionaries say the answer may well lie in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in Punjab where AAP and Congress are trying to get on the right side of farmers in order to win most of the 13 Lok Sabha seats in the state. With the chances of Akali Dal and BJP down in Punjab, both the Aama Aadmi Part and Congress are in direct competition here and AAP is keen to increase its tally in the state it presently rules. AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal is also facing the heat from the Enforcement Directorate and has been summoned by both the court and the ED. Punjabs farmers have nothing to protest about. They are already getting the best benefits even beyond the Swaminathan Commissions recommendations. This protest has political connotations ahead of Lok Sabha elections when all other cards against Narendra Modi have failed, a senior BJP leader said. The love for Indian cuisine sees no border. The phenomenal mix of spices and rich curry items is loved by people across the globe. So, when the Indian restaurant Tresind Studio bagged second place in the recently-released list of the 50 Best Restaurants in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) for 2024, it did not come as a surprise but as a proud achievement. MENAs 50 Best Restaurants annual category, first released in 2022 is a culinary celebration that offers food enthusiasts an idea of the best places to eat in 19 countries in the MENA region. Orfali Bros Bistro, led by three chef brothers from Syria has been ranked at the top. The official Instagram handle of Tresind Studio dropped the ranking list on the platform, elated at the honour. We are proud to have our grounds in a region that celebrates cultural roots and has immense talent that pushes boundaries in every sense, read the caption. The hard work and efforts of the team members and associate chefs were also acknowledged in the post. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Tresind Studio (@tresindstudio) Tresind Studio, located on The Palm Jumeirah in Dubai has been featured in the MENA 2024 list, thanks to the restaurant serving an array of exquisite Indian dishes. Chef Himanshu Saini from Delhi launched Tresind in 2014, followed by the experimental and conceptual Tresind Studio in 2018. The official website of MENA reveals that the restaurants most recent tasting menu India rising pays tribute to the countrys richly-infused 5000-year history and the plurality of produce that has long stocked its larder. View this post on Instagram A post shared by The Chef JKP Podcast (@chefjkppodcast) Some irresistible delicacies that are included in the exclusive menu include a Thar Desert speciality ash-roasted artichokes served with lime chutney. Some items from the coastal regions of India are tapioca grits aamti (sour lentil broth) and puran poli (sweet flatbread). Diners willing to embark on the gastronomical adventure across subcontinents are also relocated to different parts of the eatery accordingly. The decorations have been executed to mirror the sub-continental dishes being prepared. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Tresind Studio (@tresindstudio) Since Tresind Studio offers an intimate dining experience, the bookings need to be done way ahead as the restaurant has only 20 seats available. The theme of the restaurant is inspired by the popular Indian phrase, atithi devo bhava (guest is god). Apart from the lip-smacking dishes, it is the warm hospitality of the chef and the staff that makes Tresind Studio worth a visit. Shweta Bachchan made a surprising revelation about Amitabh Bachchan. Appearing on her daughter, Navya Naveli Nandas podcast What The Hell Navya Season 2, Shweta was sharing tidbits about the Bachchan family when she revealed the one thing that Amitabh Bachchan hates the most. She revealed that he hates it when the women of the family cut their hair short. Navya confirmed her mothers confession during the chat. For More: Amitabh Bachchan HATES This About Bachchan Women, Shweta Bachchan Reveals: He Doesnt Like It When In the recent episode of Shark Tank India season three, Aman Gupta got offended by the owners of a jewellery brand after they rejected his offer. Gupta accused them of wasting everyones time and argued if such incidents happen repeatedly, he will stop trusting entrepreneurs. It all started after the pitchers asked for Rs 8 lakh in return for 1 per cent of their companys equity. For More: Shark Tank India 3: Aman Gupta Loses His Cool As Pitchers REJECT His Offer, Says I Will Stop In a big development in the Noida Rave Part case, police officials have now revealed that the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) report has found venom of cobra and krait species of snakes in samples seized from the party. An FIR was filed against the Bigg Boss OTT 2 winner late last year after his name came up in a rave party where snakes and venom were allegedly found. Later, politician and animal rights activist Maneka Gandhi accused the YouTuber of supplying snake venom to rave parties in Noida, Uttar Pradesh. Elvish was stopped at a checkpost in Rajasthans Kota in connection to the case recently but was released later. For More: Elvish Yadav Lands In BIG Trouble, Police Probe Finds Cobra Venom In Samples From Rave Party Ranbir Kapoor opened up about the life advice he has received from business mogul Mukesh Ambani. On Thursday, Ranbir was honoured with the Maharashtrian of the Year award for his impressive work in cinema last year. Accepting the award, Ranbir called Mukesh Bhai his inspiration and revealed that the businessman has always told him to never let the success of your work get to your head and never let a failure pull you down. Mukesh Ambani, who was seated in the audience, was seen smiling at Ranbir as he shared the anecdote. For More: Ranbir Kapoor Shares Mukesh Ambanis BIGGEST Life Advice To Him: He Always Said Keep Your | Watch Jr. NTRs highly anticipated film Devara will not hit theaters this coming April. Being a multilingual release, the actor has now officially announced the new release date of the film as October 10, 2024. The film also stars Janhvi Kapoor and Saif Ali Khan in pivotal roles. Promising intense action sequences and an extraordinary orchestral musical score, Devara Part 1 will grace theatres on the occasion of Dussehra, October 10, 2024. For More: Devara: Jr NTRs Film Delayed, Makers Now Lock THIS Release Date, Know Here Arbaaz Khan and Sshura Khan are Bollywoods most talked about pair recently. They kept their romance a secret for a long time before getting married in December last year. Since then, the duo has never shied away from public displays of affection on their social media or whenever they are spotted in the city. In the latest, the couple was spotted exiting the Mumbai airport hand-in-hand. Arbaaz and Sshura Khan were spotted by the paparazzi leaving Mumbais airport. In the video shared on Instagram, the actor-producer was seen wearing a spotless white sweater, black loose pants, and white trainers. His wife Sshura looked elegant in a black crop top and matching trousers. She placed a powder blue jacket over her attire to keep herself warm and cosy. As they walked outside the airport premises, the celebrity pair smiled sweetly at the cameras. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Viral Bhayani (@viralbhayani) Recently, the couple shared their cute interaction on social media as she asked Arbaaz to pick between coffee, tea, or her. Sshura Khan took to her Instagram story to share a cup of coffee with the letter A on it. She asked, Mr. A (red heart emoji) Coffee, Tea, or Me? Arbaaz Khan replied to her story saying, Youuuuu (multiple red heart emojis). Sshura then reshared Arbaazs story, including a GIF of two teddy bears cuddling each other. Arbaaz Khan married make-up artist Sshura Khan in an intimate ceremony last December. The traditional ceremony was held at Arpita Khans home and was attended by Salman Khan and other family members. Shortly after the wedding, the couple shared an official photo on social media. Arbaaz reportedly met Shura on the sets of his production, Patna Shukla while she was working with the lead star, Raveena Tandon. He indicated that it was a professional meeting but after the film, they frequently met. However, Arbaaz and Shura agreed that they wanted to be sure of one another, so they kept their relationship private. Some of their close acquaintances in the industry also attended the wedding. Arbaaz has previously married Malaika Arora. They were married for 19 years. The pair married in 1998, separated in March 2016, and legally divorced in May 2017. They have a son, Arhaan. Meanwhile, Arbaaz Khan was last seen in Tanaav, which premiered on SonyLiv. In the online series, the actor co-starred with Manav Vij, Rajat Kapoor, Ekta Kaul, Satyadeep Mishra, and others. Jonny Lee Miller has revealed a daring Valentines Day adventure with young Angelina Jolie that went beyond the usual flowers and chocolates. In the early days of their relationship, Jolie was already a prominent star and Miller was rising to fame after his role in Danny Boyles Trainspotting. The couple decided to go on a unique adventure. Instead of a romantic dinner, they opted for something more exciting, as they decided to go skydive. Recounting the memorable day on Johnny Vaughans Radio X drivetime show, Miller shared that Jolie somehow convinced him to travel to Hemet, in Los Angeles, for an unexpected and thrilling experience. Despite Miller not planning on repeating the parachute jumps, he remembered diving three times with his ex. The revelation came during a discussion on the radio show on the segment called, Things You Do For Love. Miller recalled, I jumped out of an airplane. Well it wasnt my idea. I was dating a young lady called Angelina Jolie and she said Lets do something exciting this weekend. Why dont we go to Hemet, which is outside LA, and jump out of an airplane. I was like, Yeah, sounds great. She was cool as a cucumber. Fearless. When asked if he would do the adventure again, he added, No. I mean we actually did it three times, we did this programme where you do a bit more technical stuff each jump and then we trained for a solo jump and then thank goodness it was too windy so we didnt do the solo jump. Jonny Lee Millers revelation about his adventurous Valentines Day with Angelina Jolie sparked memories of the radio shows host, Johnny Vaughan, who shared that the former couple had another wild hobby. The host specifically remembered a drinking session with Miller, where the actor showed his knife skills which he claimed he learned from Angelina. The host shared, I remember when we were in Costa Rica together. For some reason, the knife that cuts the cocktail things was left on the counter and you chucked the knife and I said to you, I didnt know, how come you throw knives, and you said, No, me and Angelina, we were once in the hotel room and we just used to spend the evening just knife throwing together, and I was like, What? and you go, Yeah, we just used to shove the duvet in a cardboard box. Put the box down at the end of the room and just chuck knives. It was just me and the other lads, I remember were all nodding, like yeah, nice, cool, cool girl. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Radio X (@radiox) Jonny Lee Miller and Angelina Jolie exchanged vows in 1996 and started their journey as a married couple. However, their union was short, as the couple decided to part ways just 18 months after marriage. The first official trailer and poster of Netflixs much-awaited film My Name Is Loh Kiwan was unveiled on February 16. Directed by Kim Hee-jin, the emotional romance drama stars Song Joong-Ki as the titular character and Choi Sung-eun as a mysterious woman Mari, in lead roles. Song Joong-Ki plays the role of a North Korean defector, trapped in a cold and ruthless world, struggling to survive. The official teaser of My Name Is Loh Kiwan was dropped on February 1, sparking intrigue among K-drama lovers. Now, with the release of the trailer, the masses are waiting with bated breaths for the film to release on March 1. The trailer offers viewers a glimpse into the life of Loh Kiwan who escapes the autocracy of North Korea and lands up in Belgium. Receiving a refugee status is his only hope to survive in the city which makes him feel unwelcome and difficult to live in. My name is Loh Kiwan. I came this far by promising myself that I would endure and overcome whatever I experience in this land," he says while stealing money from a gambling table to fill his empty stomach. Exhausted and desperate, Loh Kiwan leaves no stone unturned to obtain refugee status, undergoing repeated screenings. In a shift of scenes, Loh Kiwan is seen lying unconscious on the streets when Mari steals his wallet. Mari portrayed to be a mentally unstable woman who has lost her will to live stumbles upon Loh Kiwan at a police station. During their conversation, Loh Kiwan reveals that the money in the wallet is the last resort that he received after selling his mothers corpse. Mari, who also lost her mother finds herself drawn toward Loh Kiwan, finding him similar yet different from her. The trailer is interspersed with intense sequences, the fight for survival, and a unique love story between two contrasting individuals sharing a traumatic past. The trailer ends with Loh Kiwan facing Mari amidst a grim cityscape asking, Does someone like me even deserve happiness?" View this post on Instagram A post shared by (@songjoongki.kg) The poster of My Name Is Loh Kiwan comes with the tagline Unfamiliar land. Daunting life." Besides Song Joong-Ki and Choi Sung-eun, the film also stars Lee Sang-hee, Seo Hyun-woo, Lee Il-hwa, Jo Han-chul, and Kaan Abdullah in important roles. Shah Rukh Khan consistently receives praise from his fellow actors, and Priyamani, known for her role in The Family Man, shares a similarly positive opinion of him. In her previous interviews, Priyamani has expressed her admiration for working with the superstar on a special song, which featured in the film Chennai Express. And now the actress has revealed that she became part of One Two Three Four Get On The Dance Floor in Chennai only because of Shah Rukh Khan. The actress told India Today, Post Chennai Express, I kept getting a lot of offers from people where they wanted me to do special numbers. I said, No, I dont want to do it. I dont want to be known just for that. I purely did that only for Shah Rukh Khan because I love him and I wanted to star opposite him. After several years, Priyamani reunited with Shah Rukh Khan on the sets of Atlees Jawan. Recalling about her experience working with SRK, Atlee shared, Shah Rukh is all heart. He is a man who I am sure must have fare share of haters, but people who love him are more. He is such a humble, gentle soul, very nice man. He is very courteous and respectful when it comes to anybody, not just women. Speaking about the special song from Chennai Express, Priyamani had shared earlier, He made me feel incredibly at ease right from the beginning, starting from the day I met him, a day before the shoot. Throughout the entire filming process, he has been exceptionally kind-hearted, taking excellent care of all of us. To illustrate his thoughtfulness, we even played a game of Kaun Banega Crorepati on his iPad during breaks. He generously gave me 300 rupees, which I still carry in my wallet. His ability to create a comfortable environment is remarkable. He possesses a genuine sweetness, and as I mentioned earlier, he is undeniably one of the most prominent superstars in our country. She added, We filmed this particular song in Wai, spanning five consecutive nights, and it was an incredible experience. SRK, often referred to as the Badshah of Bollywood, has earned this title for a reason. He stands as one of the most significant superstars in our country. Remarkably, his immense success never affects his humble nature. During our shoots, he displays genuine kindness and remains down-to-earth, just like any ordinary person. He effortlessly puts everyone at ease in his presence. Its his unique persona and irresistible charisma that make you adore him even more, appreciating the exceptional human being that he is. Quality and healthy sleep during the war sounds like utopia. It would seem that it is impossible to sleep when anxiety has become a constant companion in our lives. However, this basic human need should never be neglected. ADVERTISIMENT Lack of sleep threatens the body with a number of dangerous consequences: from loss of concentration to a decrease in immunity. The right regimen, on the other hand, is almost a panacea. By improving your sleep, you can overcome stress, depression, avoid heart disease, prolong your youth, and love life in general. Yes, it's harder to make it better during the war than in normal times, but it is possible. In this article, we'll look at a few rules that will help you say goodbye to insomnia and regain your desire to live a full life. Comfort in the bedroom Since the enemy always intends to deteriorate the morale of Ukrainians, it is at night that they become more active to increase the degree of tension in society. When you have the opportunity to sleep in your usual "nest" instead of in a shelter, make it as comfortable as possible. Say goodbye to the TV and gadgets at least 30 minutes before bedtime. Let your bedroom become a dark, quiet, and cool oasis. Be sure to relax before bed: take a bath or read a book. ADVERTISIMENT The bed matters Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, recommend using a heavy blanket to restore healthy sleep. It reduces anxiety and stress, simulates the feeling of a hug, and keeps you warm. A group of Italian researchers in their paper published in the National Library of Medicine concluded that sleep quality significantly worsens low back pain. That is, a quality mattress should be the best friend of a person who wants to improve their sleep. According to the researchers, patients with a medium-firm mattress reported a higher level of improvement in physical condition compared to hard and soft mattresses. Although the latter will also become indispensable at different stages of life. ADVERTISIMENT With this in mind, Veneto mattresses can become a home massage therapist and even a psychologist. Depending on the model, they have several support zones of varying stiffness and are free of electrostatic voltage. Your back will thank you and your hair will not stand on end no matter how much you rock in bed. Veneto orthopedic mattresses differ from conventional mattresses in their ability to significantly improve the quality of life and eliminate the risk of unpleasant diseases. Even orthopedic surgeons have noted their beneficial properties during sleep studies of their patients. In particular, observations have shown: ADVERTISIMENT - Uninterrupted sleep throughout the night and good health in the morning. - Support of the spine and prevention of osteochondrosis and salt deposition. - Correct body position during sleep, which contributes to good recovery. - Relief from insomnia and headaches. - Anti-allergic properties. Specialists at Veneto stores will help you make the right choice, taking into account your preferences, body type and health status. Veneto is a Ukrainian brand that has been manufacturing mattresses and furniture for over 30 years. During this period, the company has gained the trust of not only Ukrainians but also European consumers. Rules for good sleep on restless nights Olha Maslova, a biologist and co-author of the book When will I finally get some sleep?, gave some tips for healthy sleep during the war on the Take Care of Yourself platform. She reminded that depending on individual characteristics and external factors, the normal sleep duration should be 7-9 hours. However, this is not always possible under martial law. ADVERTISIMENT To minimize the negative effects of lack of sleep on the body, the expert advises: - Keep the place where you will sleep dark at night. If you go to a bomb shelter, take a sleep mask or cover your eyes with a scarf. - Prepare for nighttime air raid alarms in advance to minimize the amount of light. If necessary, use a dim nightlight instead of a bright flashlight, and pack all the things you need to go to the shelter (warm clothes, water, etc.) in your bag in the evening. - After eight o'clock in the evening, switch your gadgets to night mode. This will reduce their attractiveness: you will be able to respond to messages, but the desire to "hang" in the feed for an hour will be less. ADVERTISIMENT - Make yourself comfortable in the shelter. Bring a pillow, a blanket, or the cream you usually use. If you have children with you, bring toys. This will allow you to create your own familiar space in unusual conditions. - If you are safe but cannot fall sleep because of anxiety, try meditation and special breathing practices for sleep. Be sure to use the tips and let your sleep be healthy and anxiety-free. Subscribe to OBOZ.UA on Telegram and Viber to keep up with the latest news In the recent episode of Shark Tank India season three, Aman Gupta got offended by the owners of a jewellery brand after they rejected his offer. Gupta accused them of wasting everyones time and argued if such incidents happen repeatedly, he will stop trusting entrepreneurs." It all started after the pitchers asked for Rs 8 lakh in return for 1 per cent of their companys equity. Anupma Mittal argued that he wasnt sure if the business would be able to increase in the coming years and therefore, he backed out. Namita Thapar followed him. Aman Gupta and Amit Jain made an offer with the pitchers with certain conditions but the owners rejected this. This offended Aman who then asked, Aap aaye kyu humara time kharab karne ke liye (Why did you come here to waste our time)?" While Namita tried to calm him down, Gupta continued, Im out. You gave such a wonderful pitch, you told your stories so beautifully. You said you wanted to learn, to grow. Now, Ill stop trusting entrepreneurs when they come on the show. There has to be some seriousness in the way youre running your business, sorry." This was not the first time that Aman Gupta was seen getting angry with pitchers. In one of the previous episodes, he bashed the owners of a food brand after they asked him to commit 50 hours of time. Oh bhai sunn, I know what you are saying but main tereko aise ghante commit nahi kar sakta," he said and explained that he does not want to make false promises. Shark Tank India returned with season three on January 22, 2024. Several familiar sharks from the previous seasons including Namita Thapar, Executive Director at Emcure Pharmaceuticals Limited, Aman Gupta, Co-founder of Boat, Peyush Bansal, Co-Founder and CEO of Lenskart, Anupam Mittal, Founder and Director of Shaadi.com and Vineeta Singh, CEO of Sugar Cosmetics, returned for Shark Tank India Season 3. Joining them were also the new additions to the panel, which include Amit Jain, CEO and co-founder of Car Dekho, Ritesh Agarwal, Founder of OYO, Azhar Iqubal, Co-Founder and CEO of Inshorts, and Radhika Gupta, CEO of Edelweiss Capital. Recently, film producer Ronnie Screwvala also joined the show. Actor Kavita Chaudhary, who is fondly remembered for her television show Udaan and playing Lalitaji in Surf commercials, died on Thursday night. Her nephew Ajay Sayal informed a news portal that the actress suffered cardiac arrest in Amritsar, after which she passed away at the age of 67 Speaking with Indian Express, Ajay Sayal conveyed the news of her demise, She died due to cardiac arrest on Thursday at 8.30pm. She breathed her last at Parvati Devi Hospital in Amritsar where she was being treated. Popular television actor Anang Desai, her former batchmate from National School Of Drama expressed his sadness, I came to know this morning that Kavita is no more. She died last night. It is very sad. She was our batchmate at the National School of Drama. We studied together at NSD for three years during our training. Kavita, I, Satish Kaushik, Anupam (Kher), Govind Namdev were together in the same batch. She had cancer a few years ago, we have met after that also, but she wanted to keep it private so we never spoke about it. She was originally from Amritsar and died there. I spoke to her about fifteen days ago when she was in Mumbai, she was not keeping too well. Kavitas nephew informed me about her death this morning, he told Indian Express. Kavita Chaudhary was born in Amritsar, Punjab, India, on January 1, 1954. She began her acting career in the early 1970s, and she quickly became one of the most popular actresses in India. The actress starred in many films and television shows, including Udaan, Hum Log, and Lalitaji. She was also known for her work in the Surf commercials. She is survived by her husband, two sons, and two daughters. Kavita Chaudharys death is indeed a great loss to the Indian film and television industry. February 14 was a busy day in the National Capital. An event called the India Summit on Education Knowledge Exchange, organised by the World Bank saw the participation of representatives from 20 nations mostly from Africa and Asia. On the agenda were discussions around the Skill India initiative and how it has helped impart much-needed skills to the Indian workforce, while also upskilling and re-skilling those who already have expertise in various fields. By the end of the discussions, the representatives were convinced that Skill India Digital would be of tremendous use to their own countries, effectively paving the way for another component of Indias digital public infrastructure to go global. Among the countries that were represented were Bangladesh, Benin, Bhutan, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Cote dIvoire, Ghana, Liberia, Malaysia, Mali, Thailand, Vietnam, etc. All the countries belong to the Global South a bloc of developing and underdeveloped countries that India has chosen to lend a voice to and extend all possible help to aid their development journeys. Whether it be providing such countries with elements of its digital public infrastructure or paving the way for them to emulate the GatiShakti Masterplan, to even signing agreements expanding the use of UPI India is making a concerted effort at being perceived as a natural partner for nations in the Global South. A Decade of Empowering Indians with Skills Coming back to the specifics, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has made his vision clear: India has the potential to emerge as one of the largest providers of skilled workforce in the world. With over 65 per cent of its youth in the working age group, India holds the advantage of a budding demographic dividend unlike any other country in the world. Efforts to capitalise on this demography started as early as 2014, with the creation of the dedicated Ministry for Skill Development & Entrepreneurship. This was followed by the launch of the Skill India Mission in 2015. The mission offers courses in almost 40 sectors across India. These courses are specifically designed to equip an individual with hands-on knowledge and practical skills required for their job so that once employed, their employer would not be required to make further investments in their training and capacity development. The Skill India Mission has, under its ambit, the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana, Jan Shikshan Sansthan, National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme, and Craftsmen Training Scheme through Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs). PM Kaushal Vikas Yojana, for example, imparts short-term skill development training and certification to youth, including in rural areas. At present, there are about 2,640 training centres, including PM Kaushal Kendras, offering the latest pedagogy backed by the use of technology. Until October 2023, these centres trained over 1.40 crore candidates with funding of more than Rs 10,000 crore. Similarly, the Jan Shikshan Sansthan scheme is providing comprehensive support to individuals who are non-literates, neo-literates, school dropouts or those with low levels of education. The primary objective of this scheme is to equip such individuals with essential vocational skills, improving their access to livelihood opportunities. Here, priority is given to SCs, STs, OBCs, minorities, and women. Since 2018-19, over 22.58 lakh persons have been trained under JSS. Besides, India has also witnessed the addition of 5000 new ITIs over the past nine years, resulting in an addition of over four lakh new ITI seats. As a result, over 15,000 such centres are now operating in the country, having trained over 65 lakh students since 2018. The Modi government also plans to set up 30 Skill India International Centres across the country to facilitate the mobility of skilled workforce as per demands in different countries. In addition, MoUs have been signed with nearly 11 countries including Australia, China, Germany, among others in the field of skill development and vocational training. The Centre has also established the National Skill Development Corporation International, under which a network of institutions will be set up throughout India to develop and hone diverse skills meeting international standards, and providing an effective linkage between skilled candidates and global employers. There are also plans to set up at least three Indian Institute of Skills (IIS) in Mumbai, Ahmedabad and Kanpur. These are especially important components of Indias plan to become the worlds skill capital. As a result of various interventions, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her interim budget speech revealed that the Skill India Mission has so far trained 1.4 crore youth, upskilled and reskilled 54 lakh youth. However, challenges do remain. A recent parliamentary standing committee report on labour, textiles and skill development pointed out the various challenges and gaps that remain in imparting skill training to Indians and recommended that the satisfaction level of employers on the training imparted to candidates be gauged under the PM Kaushal Vikas Yojana. The biggest challenge remains ensuring jobs are provided to those seeking skill training. There are also allegations on grounds of poor training, no certification and lack of competent trainers. Skill India Digital: A Boon for the Global South As India takes steps domestically to equip its people with requisite skills which will open avenues of employment and entrepreneurship for them, the goal is to have an Indian workforce spread all over the world. The governments plan is to take advantage of Indias young demography and not just limit them to work within the country, equipping them instead to work anywhere in the world. Similarly, countries of the Global South stand to benefit from Skill India Digital, which will effectively provide them with a unified digital platform to access quality skill development, relevant opportunities, and entrepreneurial support. According to Atul Kumar Tiwari, Secretary, Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, the platform creates a unified and centralised hub for skill development initiatives. Skill India Digital has received over 40 lakh registrations since its launch in September 2023, and the platform today offers more than 550 courses. It is pretty much like a school where one gets exposure to hundreds of skills. As the world navigates through the challenges of the 21st century, Indias emphasis on skill development complements the larger goal of turning the country into a global manufacturing and innovation hub. With each skill imparted, India paves a path towards a more prosperous, interconnected, and resilient global community, where every individual has the opportunity to thrive and contribute to the collective advancement of humanity. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the writer. They do not necessarily reflect News18s views. In one of the major developments, the National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) on Friday submitted the commissions report on alleged harassment of women by TMC supporters in Sandeshkhali to President Droupadi Murmu. The panel in its report, recommended the imposition of Presidents rule in West Bengal. A delegation of NCSC visited Sandeshkhali on Thursday after a large number of women claimed that TMC leader Shajahan Sheikh and his supporters captured swathes of land by force and sexually harassed them. Earlier in the day, a central team of BJP MPs as well as West Bengal Congress chief Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury were stopped by police on the way to restive the Sandeshkhali area. The Bengal police restricted their movement citing prohibitory orders under Section 144 of CrPC, Union Minister Pratima Bhoumik said. Sandeshkhali Violence: Here Are the Top Updates Of The Day The NCSC delegation submitted its report on Sandeshkhali violence on Friday and recommended the imposition of the Presidents rule in West Bengal. NCSC Chief Arun Halder said that the TMC government and West Bengal police failed to cooperate with his team. A central team of BJP MPs, including two union ministers, was stopped from visiting West Bengals Sandeshkhali. A six-member fact-finding team formed by BJP chief JP Nadda was on its way to meet West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose. A Congress delegation headed by State Chief Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury was also stopped by police on the way to the restive Sandeshkhali area. West Bengal Congress President and MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury sat on a protest in Rampur after being denied entry to Sandeshkhali. The TMC or the central government will take no step to impose the Presidents rule because their only motive is politics of polarization, said West Bengal Congress President and MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury. A PIL was filed in the Supreme Court seeking a court-monitored CBI or SIT probe into the violence in West Bengals Sandeshkhali and compensation for victims. BSP supremo Mayawati on Friday voiced concern over the violence in West Bengals Sandeshkhali and urged the Mamata Banerjee government to take strict action against the culprits. There couldnt be a more disgusting thing than this. With women, youre playing such a kind of game? This is unbelievable. We all do politics, but this is beyond politics, BJP leader Mithun Chakraborty said. The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) issued a notice to the district administration calling for a prompt investigation into a report about a child being thrown away by miscreants in Sandeshkhali. Protests in Sandeshkhali continued for the eighth consecutive day on Friday, with a notable presence of women demonstrators demanding the arrest of TMC leader Shajahan Sheikh and his associates. A large number of women in the locality accused Trinamool Congress strongman Shajahan Sheikh and his supporters of land-grab and sexually assaulting them under coercion. Many women in Sandeshkhali are demanding the immediate arrest of Sheikh, who has been absconding since an Enforcement Directorate (ED) team that raided his house in connection with an alleged ration scam was attacked by a mob last month. The row over the alleged freezing of four accounts of the Congress has thawed the inertia in the party over crowdfunding and political campaigns. ALSO READ | Now Working: Congress Clarifies After Big Claim of Accounts Frozen; Rahul Gandhi Says Wont Ever Bow Down Coming just a day after the Supreme Court judgment on electoral bonds, it gave the Congress a chance to link it to freezing of its accounts. At a press conference, treasurer of the party, Ajay Maken called it the end of democracy" and also said that this move will curtail and stop the salaries and expenditures of the Congress. But with some luck, the matter was heard in the income tax tribunal, which gave it relief, as the accounts were de-freezed and the case will continue to be heard next week. , , , #DemocracyUnderAttack Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) February 16, 2024 For the Congress, however, it was a chance to once again accuse the government of using its agencies and departments to silence the opposition. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and party chief Mallikarjun Kharge jumped in to criticise the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). HOW IS BJP RESPONSIBLE FOR I-T ACTIVITY? However, sources told News18 that the government or ministry had nothing to with it. It is not political. Its a simple regulatory procedure" The BJP, too, distanced itself. Its spokesperson Ajay Alok said, It is an I-T activity, how can the BJP be held responsible for it? Its sick thinking. The courts are there, go and approach them." What applies to common man will apply to the CongressThey will have to pay Rs 115 crore. If they dont have, they have to get it. Transactions on electoral bonds have not been stopped They brought the era of black money in the Lok Sabha," said sources. #BreakingNewS: I-T department source reveals that return of income was filed late by CongressI-T source: Operation of accounts not stopped, INC has other accounts for its activities@_pallavighosh with more details | @poonam_burde#Congress #CongressParty pic.twitter.com/itRMlFfpav News18 (@CNNnews18) February 16, 2024 CROWDFUNDING AS CROWD-PULLER The Congress crowdfunding has been under a cloud, with many in the BJP accusing the party of making money to fund the Bharat Jodo Yatra. Over electoral bonds, the Congress has made the point that the BJP has unaccounted-for cash and it gives no defence. But it stops the opposition parties from getting access to donations, as those who give are targeted. Sources in the Congress have lamented in the past that the party is running out of money and, with the BJP using huge money at its disposal to topple and buy leaders, it cannot win or fund polls. The crowdfunding idea was given to ensure that funding was transparent. And two, it could tell people that Congress, unlike the BJP, is not cash-rich". For the Congress, with the BJP successfully building the narrative that the grand old party is soaked in corruption, this issue is important. But will it click? Days after Nitish Kumar took oath as the Bihar Chief Minister for the record ninth time after returning to the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) alliance, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad Yadav on Friday said his doors are always open for the Janata Dal (United) chief. Speaking about giving another chance to Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar a day after the two prominent leaders were seen exchanging greetings outside the Bihar Assembly, Lalu said, Let him come back, we will see then (jab aaenge tab dekha jaaega). He said the doors were always open for Nitish, who ditched him for the second time, leading to his son Tejashwi Yadav losing the deputy chief ministers post twice. Doors are always open (darwaza toh khula hi rehta hai), he said. #WATCH | Patna: On giving a chance to Nitish Kumar again, former Bihar CM and RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav says Ab aayenge toh dekhenge, khula hi rehta hai darwaaza pic.twitter.com/seY1oWV2pp ANI (@ANI) February 16, 2024 However, JD(U) has ruled out the possibility of a possible comeback. Lalu ji says the doors are still open. He should know that the famous padlock of Aligarh has been placed on the doors. Our leader Nitish Kumar has clearly said whenever RJD has shared power with us, it has engaged in corruption. There is no question of going back, asserted JD(U) chief spokesman and MLC Neeraj Kumar. Last month, Nitish Kumar ended the suspense over his next political move by resigning as Bihar chief minister returned to his old ally NDA, in a body blow to the Opposition bloc INDIA. Nitish Kumar dumped the Mahagathbandhan, which included Lalu Prasad Yadavs Rashtriya Janata Dal, which he had joined less than 18 months ago after breaking from the NDA. Several allegations of murder, abduction and extortion against him, but his antecedents are still clean. The only FIR still active against him is the one that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) team filed after being attacked while on a raid in his village last month. There is still no instruction of arrest from the state government as the FIR only speaks about conspiracy of rioting. The he here is none other than Trinamool Congress leader Shahjahan Sheikh. Sheikh has been absconding for over two weeks now. A well-known face in the ruling Trinamool Congress, he has been the partys block president for Sandeshkhali in North 24 Pargana district. Sheikh and his associates are accused of sexual abuse in Sandeshkhali, one of the largest islands in the Sundarbans. Despite outrage, no woman has come forward to lodge an FIR of sexual assault against him. Even as the political slugfest between the ruling TMC and the opposition BJP continues in the state over the allegations and their veracity, West Bengal Police has moved into the blame-game territory. Political Parties and Police Lock Horns The social media handles of Bengal Police have turned proactive in busting fake news with one-liners like shameful spreading of fake news or wilful misinformation. Like the handles of political parties, the social media handles of the police force are also posting video clips of women who were out to present their cases before the magistrate. On the other hand, the BJP shared a list of women alleged to have been abused sexually, and intimidated or threatened. This is an unusual display of hyper activity by all political and administrative fronts in the state, which borderline violates the Supreme Court ruling of victim and witness protection in case of sexual abuse, said a retired officer on condition of anonymity. Meanwhile, senior officers in the all-women police officers team probing the allegations said they received four complaints related to slavery or forced labour after talking to around 70 to 80 women across villages in the area. The women officers are moving from one village to another in an effort to talk to the women. None of them have yet come on record about an alleged rape or any form of sexual harassment. They are all saying some random hearsay stories. But none has come forward to lodge a complaint of sexual assault. They are primarily registering complaints about highhandedness of some local hooligans and coerced slavery, a senior police officer told News18. Amid the protests, statements and counter-statements in Sandeshkhali, Governor CV Ananda Bose intervened with a report to the Union Home Ministry and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee made a controversial statement in the Assembly calling the masked women outsiders and blaming the RSS for the mobilisation of protesters. Amid the high-voltage action, Sheikh Shahjahan is still roaming free and can afford to be at large. The Murky World of Muscle Power, Land Grabbing and Slavery Land grab, conversion of agricultural land to fish ponds, abductions, murders and slavery or forced labour welcome to the murky world of muscle and political power play in West Bengals remotest Sundarbans. Sandeshkhali, that shot to infamy following alleged complaints of sexual assault, is one of many such islands, almost inaccessible to civil and police administration most of the time. Talking to News18, another senior police officer said: The issue is not about sexual assaults. It is more about land grabbing in the area. There is pent-up anger. Hundreds of acres of agricultural land were converted into fish ponds. There were allegations of sexual abuse against Uttam Sardar, who is an aide of Sheikh Shahjahan and we have arrested him already. However, Shahjahan is still absconding. Sources in the area further claimed that Shahjahan is accused of killing four villagers between 2018 and 2020. However, no FIR was registered. Bodies of two persons were not even found, they added. Moving a little away from the electoral-political flare ups, one needs to look at the incidents unfolding in Sandeshkhali. These are remote locations where administrative accessibility is one of the main challenges. To reach the villages, one needs to travel to some rural jetty in South or North 24 Parganas district, take improvised boats to the villages. The journey through river ways can take hours depending on the tide. The police stations run small camps in most of these islands. And above all, the islands have seen hundreds of acres of land being converted to fish ponds. The interior and challenging topography of these locations give the local political musclemen an upper hand over the villagers. Trinamool Version of Majid Master For decades, Bengal has witnessed rampant land grabbing and capture of fishponds. During the Left rule, the villages used to be terrorised by such a muscle man called Majid Master. He ruled over 40,000 bighas of fishponds and leased them out. Shahjahan Sheikh is the Trinamool version of Majid Master, said a senior BJP leader. Majid Master, who used to be the head master of a school in North 24 Parganas district, was known as terror in the region. He was an active member of the CPMs district and state committees. There were several murder cases against him. Majid Master is credited with building the organisational growth of the CPM in the area. He was arrested in 2011 after the Trinamool Congress came to power. His interest outside of politics was in fishing ponds, spanning 40,000 bighas, which he controlled for three decades. These ponds are leased out for around Rs 10,000-15,000 per bigha. CPM and Trinamool Congress activists often clashed over the control of fish ponds, that help fund both parties. He allegedly ran a private army that operated across the 12 villages in Sashan panchayat which is close to Sandeshkhali. The locals claim that the party in power changed, but the villages are controlled by the same people led by different leaders. RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav on Friday claimed that Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had begged for forgiveness for past betrayals before his parents, party supremo Lalu Prasad and ex-CM Rabri Devi before they allied with the JD(U) president in 2022. Yadav, who was removed from the position of Deputy Chief Minister last month when Kumar joined the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance, recently spoke at a rally in Mohania, located in the Kaimur district of Bihar. The rally was organized as a part of former Congress president Rahul Gandhis Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra. Breaking into the local dialect of Bhojpuri, the young RJD leader said, Nitish ji had, after begging for forgiveness, told my parents that the BJP was trying to split his party and wean away his MLAs. Kumar dumped the BJP and joined the RJD-led Mahagathbandhan in 2022. The RJD leader added: We were initially not very inclined towards trusting him again. But there were talks with leaders across the country, all of whom thought that in the larger interest of the fight against BJP, we should agree. So we made a sacrifice. Calling his ex-boss a tired Chief Minister, the RJD leader said he is proud that in just 17 months the Mahagathbandhan made him give government jobs on an unprecedented scale. He (Kumar) had mocked me by asking whether I would use my fathers money to pay them salary. But I had told him that our support to his government would require him to help us fulfill the promise of 10 lakh government jobs that I had promised to the people ahead of the 2020 assembly polls, Yadav said. Yadav alleged that the administration manipulated the assembly polls, ensuring that its candidates lost by as little as 12 votes. He claimed that the Mahagathbandhan would have won the election otherwise. Fishing in troubled waters of the NDA, which Kumar has joined claiming he was there forever even as the BJP has made it clear that it will not give up its ambition to form its government in Bihar, Yadav said, Now that Nitish ji is back with the BJP, there is no guarantee that he will not make a flip-flop again. Cries of palturam (Mr turncoat) emanated from the crowds, even as the RJD leader added that he had said in the assembly that Prime Minister Narendra Modi prides himself on his guarantees. Still, even he cannot guarantee that Nitish Kumar will not do another volte-face. Yadavs averment came close on the heels of his father making it clear that the RJDs doors were always open for Kumar, causing an indignant JD(U) to retort: The famed padlock of Aligarh has now been placed on the doors. The young RJD leader added: We asked the chief minister to at least explain why he was turning his back on us. But he could give no reason. We wonder if he is afraid of ED and CBI. Earlier, at a farmers congregation (Kisan Mahapanchayat) in the adjoining district of Rohtas, Yadav took potshots at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for paying no heed to the demands of cultivators who were staging a protest in Delhi. He does not have even two minutes to spare for the farmers. But he has time for Priyanka Chopra, said Yadav, in an apparent reference to the Prime Ministers meeting with the Bollywood star a few years ago. Yadav also referred to his inability to join Gandhi in the first phase of Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatras journey through Bihar last month. On one day, my father was made to appear before the ED, and on the next day, it was my turn. But we are not the ones who such things will cow down, he said. Yadav had also joined Gandhi for a roadshow in Sasaram where, upon the former Congress presidents beckoning, he took to the wheel of the car for a brief while. The Congress hailed the presence of the young RJD leader, sharing the video of Yadav behind the steering wheel with the slogan Hum INDIA waale, borrowed from a Bollywood song to signify that the opposition bloc was in high spirits, recent setbacks notwithstanding. (with PTI inputs) Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who also holds the Finance portfolio, presented the state budget on Friday (February 16). Amid opposition attacks on Congress over appeasement, the Siddaramaiah government allocated Rs 100 crore for waqf properties, Rs 200 crore for Christian community and Rs 20 crore for pilgrimage sites. Presenting his 15th Budget at Vidhan Soudha in Bengaluru, Siddaramaiah also earmarked Rs 10 crore for the construction of Haj Bhavan in Mangalore and announced that 100 Maulana Azad schools will be opened in the state. The CM further said that Tripitakas, the sacred texts of the Buddhist community, will be translated into Kannada, and necessary grants will be allocated for the same. The total outlay of the Karnataka State budget for 2024-25 is pegged at Rs 3,71,383 crore, as against a revised estimate of Rs 3,12,708 crore for 2023-24. Energy Sector Gets Rs 23,159 crore After facing the power deficit last year, Siddaramaiah allocated Rs 23,159 crore to the Energy sector in the budget. more allocation to the sector to make Karnataka a pioneer in the sector again, the Chief Minister said. The government will also set up solar parks in Bengalurus civic agency offices like BBMP, BMRCL, BDA and BWSSB. 50 Women Run Cafes To Be Opened Further, the Chief Minister said that 50 women-run cafes with the name of Cafe Sanjeevini will be launched across the State during this year for Rs 7.50 crore. These canteens will cater to the demand and supply gap in rural areas for healthy, hygienic and affordable cooked food and traditional local cuisine, he said. Stress On Tourism The government also announced the revision of the Tourism policy for 2024-29 to attract more tourists and investors to make full use of the tourism potential of the State. Anjanadri Hills and surrounding areas of Koppal district hold mythological and historical importance, Rs 100 crore will be provided to develop tourism in these areas, the CM said. The Karnataka government also decided to develop cable car facilities in 10 tourist destinations and establish interpretation centres in Bandipur and Kabini. Siddaramaiah also announced a peripheral road project in Mysuru. More Hospitals In State The CM said Mysuru will get a state-of-the-art Nephrology hospital with a hundred-bed capacity. Further, Kodagu Institute of medical sciences will get Viral Research & Diagnostic Laboratory. Famous pilgrimage centre Sringeri will also finally get a Taluk hospital. On Tax Devolution Siddaramaiah also mentioned the tax devolution issue and noted that while introducing the Goods and Services Tax (GST), the Union Government had assured that there would be growth of 14 per cent and states would be compensated in case of shortage in revenue growth. Growth In GST in 2024 At a projected growth rate of 14 per cent, it was estimated that the GST tax collection would be Rs. 4,92,296 crore from 2017 to 2023-24. However, only Rs 3,26,764 crore GST revenue was collected and against the GST shortfall of Rs. 1,65,532 crore, the Central Government had released Rs 1,06,258 crore as compensation to the state. Hence, a loss of Rs 59,274 crore was incurred by the state due to unscientific implementation of GST in the last seven years, he said. As per the Chief Minister, the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) of Karnataka is estimated to grow 6.6 per cent in 2023-24. The service sector is expected to grow by 8.7 per cent, industry 7.5 per cent. However, the agriculture sector has contracted by 1.5 per cent due to the failure of the monsoon and drought in the StateGST collection grew by 18 per cent in 2023-24, and is expected to grow by a further 12 per cent in the next fiscal year, Siddaramaiah said. Attack On BJP-Led Centre Siddaramaiah also attacked the NDA government in the Centre and said that under the NDA government, inequality has increased, forcing the State government to take measures for equitable distribution of resources. Our guarantee schemes are not an election gimmick. These schemes have been designed based on the feedback from people during the Bharat Jodo Yatra taken out by our partyOur opponents have been calling them freebies while also ironically trying to project them as their own guarantees on the ground, he said. Allocation To Guarantee Schemes The Congress government further earmarked Rs 52,000 crore for the implementation of five guarantee schemes Shakti, Gruha Jyoti, Gruha Lakshmi, Yuva Nidhi and Anna Bhagya in the 2024-25 budget. While Siddaramaiah did not increase any taxes, he presented a revenue deficit budget with the net borrowings crossing Rs 1 lakh crore, perhaps for the first time in a year. Minority Push In Budget The Chief Minister announced that the government will restart fee reimbursement for students of minority community who are pursuing BSc or nursing degrees in government and private colleges. The government also announced a 6 per cent interest subsidy for loans up to Rs 10 crore availed from Karnataka State Financial Corporation (KSFC) for setting up new micro and small industries by minorities. The government also allocated Rs 393 crore for minority development corporation. BJP MLAs Stage Walk-out Opposing the budget presented by Siddaramaiah, BJP MLAs decided to stage a protest in front of the Kengal gate (west entrance) at Vidhan Soudha. They also walked out of the state Assembly during the budget presentation. (With Inputs from News18 reporters Harish Upadhya and Akshara DM from Bengaluru) Former Congress president Sonia Gandhi neither owns any vehicle, nor a house in India, but she has an ancestral home worth nearly Rs 27 Lakh in Italy. As per the poll affidavit attached to Gandhis Rajya Sabha nomination papers filed from Rajasthan, she has total assets worth Rs 12,53,76,822 (Rs 12.53 crore). As per the affidavit, Italian-born 77-year-old Sonia Gandhi has movable assets worth Rs 6,38,11,415, (Rs 6.38 corer), which include assets such as jewellery, royalty from Oxford University, investments, bonds, bank deposits, and Rs Rs 90,000 in cash, according to media reports. Total Assets Valuation The Congress matriarch in her affidavit mentioned that her share, in the residential property she inherited from her father in Italy, amounts to Rs 26,83,594 (Rs 26.83 lakh) at the current market value. While many news publications have access to the affidavit, News18 could not get the document by the time this story was filed. However, a copy of the reported affidavit is being widely circulated on social media. As per the document, former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhis widow also has jewellery worth Rs 1,07,15,940 (Rs 1.07 crore), which includes 88 kg silver amounting to Rs 57.2 lakh and 1.267 grams of goldamounting to Rs 49.95 lakh. She also owns three bighas (2529.28 square metre) of agricultural land in New Delhis Dera Mandi village, valued at Rs 5.88 crore, as per the current market rate of Rs 23,280 per square meter. Her other streams of income include her salary as an MP, royalty income, interest on bank deposits, dividends from mutual funds, and capital gains as sources of income. As per her documents, the former Congress president has agreements with Penguin Book India, Oxford University Press, Ananda Publishers, and Continental Publications and gets royalty from books. Income Increased By Rs 72 Lakh in 5 Years Gandhis affidavit showed that her total assets had increased by Rs 72 lakh in five years. During the 2014 Lok Sabha poll, Gandhi declared her total wealth worth Rs 9.28 crore, which grew approximately 27.59 per cent to Rs 11.82 crore in 2019. As per her latest declaration, her assets have further increased by 5.89 per cent to 12.53 crore in 2024. It is to be noted that Sonia Gandhis assets saw a significant jump between 2009 and 2014 by 574.18 per cent, as per a report by India Today. Educational Qualifications In the section related to educational qualification, Sonia Gandhi mentions two courses: a three-year course in foreign languages (English and French) from an institute in Turin (Italy) and a Certificate in English Language from Lennox Cook School, Cambridge. Criminal Cases Sonia Gandhi also declared the criminal cases pending against her in her affidavit. She revealed that she has never been convicted in any criminal case. However, the case registered against the shareholders in the National Herald (including her), filed on the petition of Subramanian Swamy on charges of fraud and irregularities, is still pending in Delhis Rouse Avenue Court. The case is filed under sections 420,120B, 403,406. Delhi High Court stayed the trial court process on Feb 22, 2022. No Social Media Presence In the digital age of social media, Sonia Gandhis affidavit shows that she does not have any social media accounts. She declared that she does not have any presence on Facebook, X or Instagram. Sonias Move To Rajya Sabha Sonia Gandhi on Thursday informed voters of her Rae Bareli constituency in Uttar Pradesh that she will not contest the upcoming Lok Sabha polls due to health and age issues. However, She will continue to have a significant role in Indian politics though, as she will join parliaments indirectly elected upper house, for which she filed her nomination earlier this week. The biennial Rajya Sabha elections to fill 56 seats are scheduled for February 27, with the last date for filing nominations being February 15. In the United States, as part of the #ArtAgainstPropaganda project aimed at combating Russian propaganda around the world, the rough footage of the feature drama Bucha was screened. The film tells the story of the atrocities committed by Russian invaders during the occupation of Bucha district in Kyiv region, and is based on the real story of Konstantin Gudauskas, a citizen of Kazakhstan and a resident of Bucha, who did not leave Ukraine after the full-scale invasion but helped evacuate Ukrainians from the occupied territories. However, a scandal erupted online around the movie, or rather the poster for it. ADVERTISIMENT User X (formerly of Twitter) noticed that the poster for the movie titled "Bucha" depicts Borodianka. OBOZ.UA collected comments from Ukrainians on this issue and found out what the accused party says. What is wrong with the movie Bucha, according to the audience? "A Ukrainian-made film about Bucha. Hi, I'm from Bucha, I lived in the occupation for two weeks until I managed to evacuate, and here's what's wrong with this poster. This is Borodyanka," the Ukrainian woman wrote. In addition, a resident of Bucha, who saw the atrocities of Russian murderers and terrorists with her own eyes, added the following comment: "For me, it's still a dance on bones." ADVERTISIMENT Some potential viewers were also distrustful of the film since its producer and screenwriter, Oleksandr Shchur, is a former employee of Kvartal 95, which produced, among other things, the comedy I, You, He, She. "The director and producer who previously gave us the comedy Date in Vegas or The Producer... And now, for some reason, these gentlemen have decided to take on such an incredibly complex and delicate topic. Even though almost all directors have an embargo on it nowadays. We are only making documentaries, and we are waiting for a feature film, it's too early. Even very good authors don't know how to approach it," commented Lena Chychenina, a journalist and art critic, on her Facebook page back in September 2022. ADVERTISIMENT What the producer says Let's start with Oleksandr Shchur's answer to the question of why the author of once humorous content took up the task of making a serious movie about the full-scale war that is still going on. In an interview with Detector Media, the producer said that he wanted to do something useful for Ukraine. At first, he actively volunteered, and then he was inspired by the story of Konstantin Gudauskas. "This story with the movie started when I saw an interview with a real person, Konstantin Gudauskas. It looked like a hi-concept, which is a movie term for an idea that looks very interesting. Our hi-concept is that a native of Kazakhstan saves Ukrainians from Russians. People ask me: there were so many Ukrainians who volunteered, why did you choose this man as the hero of the film a man who was in prison in Kazakhstan? This is the hi-concept. When Ukrainians rescue Ukrainians, it's normal, it's the way it should be, and no one in the world is surprised. But when a person who could have left on the first day of the war because he has a Kazakh passport but decided to stay, this is an example of the foreigner. Look: when a great evil happens in another country, you cannot stand aside," the producer explained. ADVERTISIMENT As for the scandal with the poster and Borodianka instead of Bucha, Shchur also left a comment on his Facebook page. The producer explained that the events of the film take place throughout the Bucha community. "Abroad, and this drama is primarily intended for a foreign audience, Bucha has become a collective image and symbol of the atrocities of the Russian army in the Kyiv region. In other words, the international community refers to the occupation of Borodianka, Hostomel, and Irpin as "Bucha." "Are you serious? Do you think that the team that has been working on the movie for two years does not know where Bucha is and where Borodianka is? Do you even know what a movie poster is? Out of respect for Ukraine, the best specialists from AppleTV London helped us to make this English-language poster for free. Not to mention that the film takes place not only in Bucha, but also in Kyiv, Vorzel, Hostomel, Borodianka, and Bucha is a symbol of the genocide of Ukrainians for the whole world," said Shchur. ADVERTISIMENT He noted that the film has become an important weapon in the information war with Russia. "For two weeks now, we have been showing the working materials of the film Bucha in the United States and the United Kingdom to congressmen, senators, ambassadors, and journalists. All of them, absolutely all of them, say that it is very timely and can influence the allocation of 60 billion to Ukraine. They say to distribute your film as soon as possible. Consuls and the ambassador to the United States, the UN Permanent Representative, the Ukrainian Congress, business clubs in London and Ukraine, and a lot of foundations in the United States have seen the film and are helping us. At each screening, we have people from Bucha, Hostomel, and Irpin who thank us for raising this topic. Before that, in Ukraine, we showed our film at private screenings to real prototypes of the film's characters, eyewitnesses, many bloggers and volunteers, military, intelligence officers, and those who went through the entire occupation, and they all say that this is a real and true movie that the world should see. We have been advised and assisted by the GUR, the General Staff, the Ministry of Culture, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the State Film Agency," the producer said. ADVERTISIMENT What is the movie "Bucha" about? The feature drama introduces the viewer to Konstantin Gudauskas, a citizen of Kazakhstan who was granted asylum in Ukraine and lived in Bucha, saving people by taking them out of the occupied territories. The film stars Polish actor Cezary Lukaszewicz and Ukrainian actor Viacheslav Dovzhenko. The team was assisted by the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine, the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine, the National Police of Ukraine, the Kyiv City Council, and the Kyiv Regional Military Administration. In addition, psychiatrist and clinical psychologist Oleksii Krugliachenko provided consultations during the script development. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said that the Congress party, which once used to call Lord Ram imaginary, is now chanting Jai Siya Ram. Addressing the audience in Haryanas Rewari, the prime minister also spoke on Article 370 and one rank, one pension that benefitted personnel from Haryana. The country wished that a grand Ram temple should be built in Ayodhya, today the whole country is seeing Ram Lalla sitting in the grand Ram temple. The Congress people, who used to think Lord Ram was imaginary, who never wanted Ram temple to be built, have also started chanting Jai Siya Ram the prime minister said. #WATCH | Haryana: Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses a public event in Rewari, he says The country wished that a grand Ram temple should be built in Ayodhya, today the whole country is seeing Ramlala sitting in the grand Ram temple. The Congress people, who used to think pic.twitter.com/WGQZWJv8HI ANI (@ANI) February 16, 2024 PM Modis Rewari visit, which comes ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, is seen as the launch of his electoral campaign. Interestingly, Rewari is the place where he addressed his first rally as the prime ministerial face of the BJP back in 2013. Before his address, PM Modi inaugurated and laid the foundation stone for multiple development projects worth more than Rs 9750 crore in Rewari. PM Addresses Public in Haryanas Rewari: Top Quotes The Congress on Friday announced that the partys bank accounts, including those of the Youth Congress, were frozen and become inoperative by the Income Tax department. However, just an hour after Congress made the announcement, the party clarified that the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) in Delhi unfroze the accounts. The allegation comes just weeks ahead of the announcement of the Lok Sabha Election 2024 schedule. The Congress party treasurer Ajay Maken earlier today held a press conference where he called the action a disturbing blow to the democratic process. We have filed an application to the income tax tribunal. Now the hearing is currently underway and in total four accounts have been frozen, Maken added. Later, Maken issued another clarification saying that while IT lifted the freeze on its bank accounts it has said that the party has to ensure that Rs 115 crores are kept in the banks as lien. The ITAT has reportedly allowed the Congress party to spend an amount over and above Rs 115 crores. But, according to Maken, the Congress party has much less than Rs 115 crores in their current account. #DemocracyFrozenOn our petition, Income Tax Department and the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) has said that we have to ensure that Rs 115 crores have to be kept in the Banks. This 115 crore is the lien marked in the Bank Accounts. We can spend an amount over and above Ajay Maken (@ajaymaken) February 16, 2024 According to reports, the freeze reportedly stems from a tax demand of Rs 210 crore raised by the Income Tax department, a move that the Congress claims is politically motivated and strategically timed to disrupt the partys election preparations. Party leader Vivek Tankha, who appeared before the tribunal against the order, said the party was now allowed to operate its bank accounts. The tribunal will hear the matter next Wednesday before a final decision is taken on the matter, PTI reported. The government, on the other hand, said that the government had nothing to do with Congresss finance accounts being frozen and it was a regulatory action. On the freezing of the Congress bank accounts, the Income Tax department said that the party has only gotten a temporary relief and the Congress will have to give transaction and expenditure details. Money Is Not Congresss Power: Rahul Gandhi Reacts Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, in a social media post, attacked the Modi government and said Money is not Congress partys power. Dont be afraid Modi ji, Congress is not the name of power of money but of power of people. We have never bowed down before dictatorship, nor will we ever bow down. Every Congress worker will fight tooth and nail to protect Indias democracy, Gandhi wrote on X. Party president Mallikarjun Kharge also raised his concerns and said that the Modi government is intoxicated with power. The unconstitutional money that BJP has collected will be used in the elections, but the money we have collected through crowdfunding will be sealed. That is why we have said that there will be no elections in the future! We appeal to the judiciary to save the multi-party system in this country and secure Indias democracy. We will take to the streets and fight strongly against this injustice and dictatorship, Kharge said in a post on X. Apple plans to launch an artificial intelligence tool for completing lines of software code, Bloomberg reported on Thursday. The tool would be similar to Microsofts Copilot, which can complete lines and blocks of code based on the first parts of the code typed in by a developer, the news service reported. Apple could include the feature in its Xcode software as early as this year. Apple gives away Xcode for free to software developers but charges $99 per year to submit apps to its app stores. Bloomberg also reported that Apple is planning other AI features in its products, such as the ability to automatically create Apple Music playlists and slide decks in its business presentation software. The news service said a new version of Apples Spotlight search feature on its devices could dig deeper into apps to control specific features of the apps. Apple did not immediately respond to request for comment. The pandemic is well and truly over. Companies who have resorted to remote and hybrid work setup are slowly moving back to the old habits, i.e. having people come to office every week. The tech industry is seeing the biggest rush to get employees back to work and not sign into their day sheet from a hill station or beach side. These companies are not just based in India but we are talking about some of the biggest names in the tech space that are making people switch their work style, or face serious consequences. Most brands started informing their employees about the changes from late 2023 but now it has come into full effect. Heres a round up of the companies that have made work-from-office mandatory for its employees. Google Google revised its hybrid work policy as per reports in 2023, making it mandatory for employees to be in the office for at least three days a week. According to a new report, Google will monitor employee attendance and take action against those who do not follow the new requirements. Googles chief people officer, Fiona Cicconi, wrote an email to employees recently which included doubling down on office attendance. Remote work is only an option in exceptional cases, which is another way of saying, you dont have that option anymore. Meta Google wasnt the only tech giant to issue the order. Meta, formerly known as Facebook, had a similar order for its employees to work from the office for three days a week. It also warned employees that those who fall short of office attendance could lose their jobs. The email was sent to Meta employees by Lori Goler, the companys head of people. Beginning September 5, people assigned to an office will need to spend at least 3 days per week in person to foster healthy relationships and strong collaboration, an excerpt from the mail read. TCS TCS is the India-based tech company that recently changed its policies, making it mandatory for employees to work from office all five days or their appraisals and hikes will suffer. TCS seems to have gone for the kill with its work-from-office order and it seems the policy is the same for all the divisions, giving everyone the last warning about its decision. Major changes like these could force some employees to look for newer pastures if the policy doesnt work out for them. HCL Tech HCL is going slightly easier on its employees, asking them to come to the office three days in a week. Even HCL is asking all its employee bands to follow the new policy that comes into effect from February 19 which is just a few days away. The mail from the HR quoted in the media suggests HCL doesnt have a warning tone to its message, but just informs the employees of the inevitable changes. Amazon Amazon is another global tech giant that is discouraging remote or even hybrid work for that matter. The company also wants its employees to work from home a minimum of three days a week or else they risk the chances of promotion. Infosys And finally, we have another Indian tech company in the form of Infosys that also wants its workforce to come to office for a minimum of 10 days in a month, which roughly translates into 3 days in a week. Mixing of cultures often results in wholesome results be it fusion cuisine or music. Now a video, from an Indian and Scottish wedding is raking in likes, thanks to the joyful music created by the mix of Indian drums and Scottish bagpipes. The undated video, which appears to be taken at a wedding reception, shows the bride and the groom entering a wedding hall as musicians play drums alongside bagpipers who are dressed in their traditional costumes. This video has gathered over 8.8 lakh likes on Instagram since it was posted on February 3. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Inside History (@insidehistory) In the comments, many people praised the musical symphony created by the two cultures. Commenting on the video, an Instagram user wrote, The kids will be able to drink and eat spicy food like a champ. Another person joked, Now this is a wedding I need to go to. Im on that dance floor all night baby! An Instagram user observed, See what people can accomplish when they put aside their differences and make beautiful music together. we could all learn from this one moment. that love conquers all. Expressing a similar sentiment of acceptance, another person wrote, See how beautiful our lives could be if we learn to live as one ? Such a beautiful combination of both cultures music. Someone shared, Our mash-up, Im Mexican my husband is Japanese. Had food from both our cultures, Mariachis for the win! Back in August 2022, a video went viral that showed a make-up artist transforming a Nigerian woman into a Hindu bride on her wedding day. The look was complete with a bridal lehenga and traditional jewellery like maang tika and a nath. While sharing the video of the transformation, makeup artist Neha Waraich Grover wrote, Isnt she looking Indian after the makeover? Ps:- it was my dream to do an African girl as an Indian bride. I was looking for an African model for that, and then I got this real bride.. Yippee! Felt so lucky that i got an opportunity to doll her up for her big day. Her video got over 6,000 likes. Commenting on it, an Instagram user wrote, Thats the most beautiful Indian bride Ive ever seen! Shes gorgeous! I love this. Another person observed, Her hairs more beautiful with her braids. Loved her look. I loved that u didnt change her color at all, wrote the third. The US government has informed lawmakers and European allies about Russias rumoured plans to deploy a space weapon potentially equipped with nuclear capabilities. Reports say the preparations have been made for this attack, purportedly aimed at destroying a satellite and potentially disrupting satellite networks. Congressman Mike Turner, chair of the House Intelligence Committee, has labelled this a national threat and urged the US President to disclose all pertinent information. However, Russia has dismissed these allegations as a tactic by the White House. If such an event were to occur, would it result in devastation on Earth? According to ABC News, security agencies suggest that Russia plans to deploy nuclear weapons in space to potentially disable satellites, granting them the ability to launch attacks on other countries. However, the feasibility of this tactic is questioned. While nuclear explosions on Earth cause devastation due to radiation, the vacuum of space lacks the medium through which radiation can propagate and cause harm. Therefore, the effectiveness of such an attack in space is uncertain. Scientists argue that a nuclear explosion in space would have minimal to no impact on Earth. The vastness of space means that even if hundreds of nuclear bombs were detonated simultaneously, they would dissipate into the expanse. Additionally, the lack of atmosphere in space means radiation would not spread, rendering it relatively harmless. To illustrate, even if observed through the Hubble telescope, such explosions would appear minute. Furthermore, any radiation reaching Earths orbit would take approximately two months to reach the planet. While its true that in the 1960s, the United States conducted nuclear tests about 50 miles above the Earths surface, resulting in visible fire rays due to the proximity of the explosions. However, the concern among American agencies today stems from the critical dependence on satellites for virtually all modern systems and weaponry. The entire global infrastructure relies heavily on satellite functionality; any disruption, even momentary, could lead to widespread chaos. From transportation to communication to military operations, satellites play a crucial role. Targeting satellites could effectively cripple essential services and make it easier for Russia, or any other aggressor, to exert control over affected countries. This dependency amplifies the fear of potential attacks on satellite networks. The BAPS Hindu temple, the Middle Easts inaugural traditional stone temple, has debuted this week in the UAE capital with a grand ceremony. However, many are unbeknownst to the diplomatic endeavour that went behind the project, which was once in limbo. UAEs Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan played a key role in the construction of the grand temple in Abu Dhabi, which was inaugurated with much pomp on Wednesday. It was during Prime Minister Narendra Modis maiden visit to the UAE in August 2015, Sheikh Mohamed, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, announced the allocation of land for the temple. This marked a significant step forward, according to former Indian envoy to Abu Dhabi, Navdeep Singh Suri. Following this announcement, Suri, who assumed office at that time, was tasked by then-Minister of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj, to expedite the project. In an interview with The Khaleej Times, Suri revealed how he then engaged with relevant stakeholders and local authorities. Sheikh Mohameds unwavering support and generosity were instrumental in overcoming various obstacles encountered during the temples development, he said. Initially, a piece of land was allocated, but it was deemed unsuitable. Undeterred, Sheikh Mohamed generously gifted a sizable plot, totaling 13.5 acres, ensuring the project had ample space for construction and future activities. Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan provided invaluable guidance, suggesting solutions to logistical challenges, such as parking facilities, which further facilitated progress, the former envoy said. Through concerted efforts and cooperation between the Indian community, represented by the BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha, and the supportive gestures from the UAEs leadership, including Sheikh Mohamed and Sheikh Abdullah, the project gained momentum. On February 11, 2018, Modi ceremoniously launched the temple project, symbolising the commencement of construction. Later, on April 20, 2019, the Vedic ceremony of laying the foundation stone was performed, marking another significant milestone. The former Indian ambassador said the completion of the BAPS Hindu Mandir stands not only as a testament to the perseverance and dedication of those involved but also as a shining example of interfaith harmony and the inclusive policies embraced by the UAE government. Lauding the contribution of the UAE president in making the grand temple a reality, PM Modi on Wednesday said, If there is anyone who has the biggest and the most significant role in making this grand temple a reality, then it is none other than my brother His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed. Addressing the crowd waving UAE and Indian flags, the Prime Minister said, I am confident that a large number of devotees will come here in the times to come. This will also increase the number of people coming to the UAE and increase the people-to-people connection between the two countries. This temple is a symbol of the shared heritage of humanity. It is a symbol of the mutual love between the Indian and Arab people. It reflects the philosophical connection between India and the UAE, he added. The Indian High Commission in Australia on Friday said an Indian national lost her life in a flooding incident near Mount Isa, Queensland. Heart breaking tragedy in Australia: an Indian national lost her life in a flooding incident near Mount Isa, Queensland. Deepest condolence to the family of the deceased. Mission team is in touch for all necessary assistance, the Indian High Commission said in a post on social media site X. The Indian High Commission did not reveal the name or the age of the person. Meanwhile, Australian news agencies reported that a woman died after her vehicle submerged in floodwaters near Mount Isa. According to reports by Australian news media outlets, authorities located the woman inside the vehicle and declared her deceased. At approximately 1:15pm, emergency services received reports of a white Toyota Hilux that was located partially submerged in the flooded Malbon River, near Cloncurry Duchess Road. The driver of the vehicle, a 28-year-old Townsville woman, was located inside and was declared deceased. Investigations into the circumstances of the womans death are ongoing, the Queensland Police said in a statement. Senior Sergeant Adam King told ABC said it appeared the woman had attempted to cross the flooded area. She was then washed off that causeway and it has sadly resulted in the ultimate price her life, King was quoted as saying by ABC. The Queensland Police have also not revealed the name and age of the person. Severe storms have dumped heavy rainfall on southeast Australia. A report ABC Australia said parts of Brisbane recorded up to 200 millimetres of rain and forecasters predicted more rains. Parts of the southeast are under a severe weather alert for heavy rain and a thunderstorm warning is in effect for the Sunshine Coast. Brisbane suburbs like Rosalie and Mt Coot-tha recorded high rainfall, prompting flood warnings. Rosalie recorded 197 millimetres of rain while Mt Coot-tha recorded 189mm rainfall. The Gold Coast City Council issued a flood warning and more than a dozen roads remain closed across the city. More than 1,000 homes were without power on the northern Gold Coast, according to electricity supplier Energex. The leader of a prominent Islamic party in Pakistan has accused the top military leaders of overthrowing Imran Khans government, a claim echoed by his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) since their leader was removed from power. In April 2022, Pakistans then-PM Khan was removed from power after losing a no-confidence vote in his leadership. The vote was held after opposition parties brought a motion against him, following days of high drama. However, the PTI has continued to assert that Khans removal was part of a US-led conspiracy. During a Samaa TV talk show on Thursday, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman claimed that the former army chief Gen (rtd) Qamar Javed Bajwa toppled the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insafs: government. Rehman, who was appointed the head of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) coalition against Imran, said: The PPP was moving the no-confidence motion against the PTI. Gen Bajwa and Faiz Hameed (former Pak spy chief) were in touch with us at the time of the no-confidence motion. [English subtitles]Truth always prevails. Fazlur Rehman, who was the head of the PDM coalition alliance, has confessed that it was then Army Chief Qamar Javed Bajwa who brought all parties together to remove Imran Khan in a no confidence motion and form the PMLN-PPP led pic.twitter.com/w3QsIeN3kx PTI (@PTIofficial) February 15, 2024 Why come into politics? In what appears to be a big revelation, Fazlur Rehman claimed, Gen Bajwa, Faiz Hameed asked all parties to do this (bringing a vote of no-confidence motion). Rahman even said: Someone should stand up to the establishment and say it is doing wrong. The protest will continue until things are settled, as the establishment has nothing to do with politics. As a result of this protest, there will be a revolution, Rehman said. He said, The state institutions are respectable, but why come into politics? If the establishment thinks that the elections were transparent, then the narrative in line with the May 9 mayhem is buried, Rehman added. Speaking about talks with the PTI, Rehman said: There is a difference of mind with the PTI that can be resolved. He also criticised Nawaz Sharifs PML-N for announcing its plan to form a coalition government with the help of other parties, including the Pakistan Peoples Party. No future The present parliament has no future, as the decisions and policies in the parliament will come from somewhere else, he said. Rehaman had traditionally been close to the establishment but has become weary after suffering a devastating defeat in the elections. The JUI-F chiefs opponents allege that being a seasoned politician, Rehman may be in search of some role in the future government by attacking the Army. Democratic standards worldwide faced a decline in 2023 due to escalating conflicts, authoritarian crackdowns, and a lack of trust in mainstream political parties, according to the ranking released by The Economist. In the report titled Age of Conflict, the London-based outlets Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) categorised 165 independent states and two territories as full democracies, flawed democracies, hybrid regimes, or authoritarian regimes. Norway, New Zealand, and Iceland secured the top positions in the index, while North Korea, Myanmar, and Afghanistan occupied the bottom three spots. Despite an increase in the number of democracies, the global average index score dropped to 5.23 in 2023 from 5.29 the previous year, reaching its lowest level since 2006. The decline in the overall index score was driven by reversals in every region of the world with the exception of western Europe, whose average index score improved by the smallest margin possible (0.01 points). Every other region registered a decline in its average score, with the biggest regressions occurring in Latin America and the Caribbean, and the Middle East and North Africa, according to EIU. Crisis-marred Pakistan saw a significant decline in the Asian region, with its score plummeting to 3.25, resulting in a downgrade from a hybrid regime to an authoritarian regime. Notably, more than half of the 28 countries in the region witnessed score declines, while only eight saw improvements. Pakistan was among six countries globally to have its classification altered. Greece ascended to a full democracy, Papua New Guinea and Paraguay improved from hybrid regimes to flawed democracies, and Angola was upgraded from an authoritarian regime to a hybrid regime. Pakistan was the sole Asian nation to undergo such a significant downgrade. Despite conducting elections, countries like Bangladesh, and Russia, where opposition forces face state repression, are unlikely to witness regime change or enhanced democracy, according to the EIU. The decline in democratic standards can be attributed to factors such as electoral processes, pluralism, and government functionality. The EIU highlights the outsized political influence of the military in certain regions, which it says compromises the fairness and competitiveness of elections. China, classified as an authoritarian regime, demonstrated formal rather than substantive improvements in governance indicators, according to EIU. India classified as a flawed democracy, showed promising economic growth, reflecting a shift in global economic power. China and India, the worlds most populous countries, recorded the biggest score improvements in the region in 2023. China is an authoritarian regime with a very low score (2.12) and rank (148th) in the Democracy Index, while India is classified as a flawed democracy with a fairly high score (7.18) and ranking (41th), the report said. Developed Western economies are now outnumbered by emerging Asian economies like India, Indonesia, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, and Thailand. Western Europe surpassed North America in the index, signaling a shift in global democratic trends. The United States, once considered a democratic beacon, faces internal divisions and disillusionment. The upcoming election between Joe Biden and Donald Trump could further deepen these challenges, signaling a potential decline in American democracy. North America, comprising the US and Canada, remains a top performer in the Democracy Index. However, the regions overall score fell from 8.37 in 2022 to 8.27 in 2023, leading it to fall behind western Europe. This marks the first time that North America has not placed as the worlds highest scoring region since the Democracy Index launched in 2006, according to the report. Russian politician Alexei Navalny died in a penal colony on February 16. The Russian Federation said that the prisoner allegedly felt sick after a walk and fainted. ADVERTISIMENT The Federal Penitentiary Service claims that Navalny was given all the necessary resuscitation measures, but "they did not give positive results." It should be noted that the politician opposed to Vladimir Putin was held in the Polar Wolf penal colony No. 3 in the village of Kharp in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous District of the Russian Federation. The incident occurred after a walk: Navalny felt unwell and "almost immediately" lost consciousness, the press service of the aggressor country's Federal Penitentiary Service said. ADVERTISIMENT Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed the unexpected death of the prisoner. He said that "the Federal Penitentiary Service is engaged in all checks, no special orders are needed here." Less than an hour after the official announcement, RosSIA named a possible cause. "One of the priority versions of Alexei Navalny's death is a broken blood clot," the propagandists wrote. The politician's lawyer, Leonid Solovyov, said around 13:40 (Kyiv time) that he had visited his client on February 14. Navalny was doing fine then. The prisoner's spokeswoman Kira Yarmysh wrote on Twitter at 13:38: "The Federal Penitentiary Service for the Yamalo-Nenets District is spreading the news about the death of Alexei Navalny in prison cellblock 3. We have no confirmation of this yet. Alexei's lawyer is now flying to Kharp. As soon as we have any information, we will report it." ADVERTISIMENT Meanwhile, the Investigative Department of the Yamalo-Nenets District of the Russian Federation has officially announced the start of an investigation into the politician's death. "In accordance with the procedure established by law, a set of investigative and operational measures is being taken to establish all the circumstances of what happened," the press service wrote on social media. The day before his death (February 15), Navalny appeared in court via video link. He was laughing, and there were no visible problems with his health on the recording. As a reminder, the so-called oppositionist was detained on January 17, 2021, when he returned to Moscow from Berlin through Sheremetyevo Airport. The Russian had been on the wanted list since December 29, 2020. Prior to that (since the end of August), Navalny had been undergoing treatment in Germany after an attempt to poison him with a substance from the Novichok group. ADVERTISIMENT Navalny was initially imprisoned for 2 years and 8 months (fraud and money laundering to the detriment of Yves Rocher Vostok). Later, he was sentenced to 9 years in a maximum security prison and fined 1.2 million rubles on charges of fraud and contempt of court. In August 2023, Navalny was sentenced to 19 years in a special regime colony on six articles on "extremism." The Freedom of Russia movement (whose soldiers are fighting the Russian invaders together with the Ukrainian Defense Forces) noted: Navalny is an ambiguous figure in the Russian opposition. "Views on his activities vary from complete rejection to unconditional trust. But it cannot be denied that for millions (indeed millions) of Russians - from schoolchildren who protested for him to pensioners who donated to the activities of the FBK - he has become a symbol of resistance, the most visible political prisoner." ADVERTISIMENT The press service believes that "Putin killed him, as he has killed thousands of undesirables before." As OBOZ.UA previously reported, Navalny said that terrorist Igor Girkin (Strelkov) was detained illegally. Moreover, he called the war criminal a "political prisoner". Only verified information is available on the OBOZ.UA Telegram channel and Viber. Do not fall for fakes! Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny died Friday at the Arctic prison colony, Russias federal penitentiary service said in a statement. Navalny, who was serving a 19-year term, was a prominent critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Navalny felt unwell after a walk and almost immediately lost consciousness, according to the Federal Penitentiary Service of the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous District. Navalny felt bad after a walk, almost immediately losing consciousness. Medical staff arrived immediately and an ambulance team was called. Resuscitation measures were carried out, which did not yield positive results. Paramedics confirmed the death of the convict, the statement said. The cause of death is yet to be determined. The Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug is spreading the news of Alexey Navalnys death in IK-3. We have no confirmation of this yet. Alexeys lawyer is currently on his way to Kharp. As soon as we have some information, we will report on (@Kira_Yarmysh) February 16, 2024 Most prominent opposition leader The press secretary of Navalny said his team had not been informed of his death. Alexeis lawyer is now flying to Kharp, where his prison colony is, Kira Yarmysh said in a post on social media. Citing his spokesperson, Russian news agencies reported that Putin had been informed of Navalnys death. Russias most prominent opposition leader won a huge following with his criticism of corruption in Vladimir Putins Russia. He was jailed in early 2021 after returning to Russia from Germany, where he was recuperating from a near-fatal poisoning attack with Novichok, a Soviet-era nerve agent. Read More: Who Was Alexei Navalny? Russian Opposition Leader Survived Poison Attack But Died In Prison The 47-year-old leader was sentenced to 19 years in prison on charges questioned by several rights groups and in the West as retribution for his opposition to the Kremlin. Navalny was moved in December from his former prison in the Vladimir region of central Russia to a special regime penal colony, above the Arctic Circle. His allies decried the transfer to a colony in the town of Kharp, in the Yamalo-Nenets region about 1,900 kilometers northeast of Moscow, as yet another attempt to force Navalny into silence. The remote region is notorious for long and severe winters. Western governments, including the United States, the United Kingdom, and Germany, came down heavily on Putin over the sudden death of Navalny. Read More: Jailed Russian Opposition Leader Navalnys Death Spurs Western Outcry, Rebuke to Putin The White House said the death of the Russian opposition leader, if confirmed, would be a terrible tragedy. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the death of Navalny is terrible news and a huge tragedy for the people of Russia. Germanys Chancellor Olaf Scholz condemned the opposition leaders death, saying the Russian opposition leader paid for his courage with his life. (With agency inputs) Seeking to keep a spotlight on President Joe Bidens age, House Republicans will hold a public hearing next month with the Justice Department special counsel who found evidence that the president had mishandled classified information when he was out of office but who also concluded that criminal charges were not warranted. The House Judiciary Committee, chaired by conservative firebrand Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, will hold a hearing with special counsel Robert Hur on March 12, according to two people familiar with the plans who spoke anonymously to discuss the yet-to-be-announced hearing. The White House declined to comment on the plans. The committee has spearheaded much of the House GOPs investigations into Biden, including the effort to impeach him. While that effort has floundered, Republicans want to hear from Hur after his report last week offered an unflattering assessment of Bidens competency and age. The report described the 81-year-old Democrats memory as poor and having significant limitations. The president has angrily pushed back on that account and said his memory is fine. The hearing is sure to spill into a political spectacle as House Republicans have consistently sought to use hearings to punch holes in Bidens political weaknesses. Voters are already worried about Bidens age and competency heading into an election where he is likely to face the 77-year-old Donald Trump, the former Republican president who is the clear front-runner for his partys nomination. Hur, who was appointed under Trump to be the U.S. attorney in Maryland, found some evidence suggesting that Biden had willfully retained classified information as a private citizen but said the evidence was not strong enough for a prosecution. In ruling out bringing a criminal case, he cited the possibility that Biden would present himself to a jury as a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory. House Speaker Mike Johnson this week said at a news conference, A man too incapable of being held accountable for mishandling classified information is certainly unfit for the Oval Office. Trump is facing criminal charges that he mishandled classified documents. Trump has bragged about his own memory, but at certain times in legal proceedings said he does not recall certain events. A British court has decided that a man who mixed his sperm with his fathers to impregnate his partner will not be required to undergo a paternity test, despite the ambiguity surrounding the true father of the child. The case involves a five-year-old boy identified as D, who was conceived following a unique deal between a man referred to as PQ and his then-partner, JK, Sky News reported. Facing fertility issues and being unable to afford IVF treatment, PQ and JK opted for a controversial method where PQs sperm was mixed with that of his father and injected into JK. The procedure, intended to be kept secret, ultimately led to the birth of the child. Justice Poole acknowledged the possibility that the person the child believes to be his grandfather could be his biological father, indicating a potentially complex family dynamic where the man he perceives as his father is actually his half-brother. Barnsley Council in South Yorkshire intervened in the matter, seeking clarification on the childs parentage following revelations about the unconventional conception. The council petitioned the High Court in Sheffield to order DNA tests to determine Ds biological father. However, Justice Poole dismissed the request, asserting that the council had no vested interest in the outcome. In his judgment, the judge remarked on the complexities of the situation, emphasizing the potential emotional harm D could suffer if made aware of the circumstances of his conception. He noted that the family had navigated a welfare minefield and expressed doubts about their foresight in embarking on the unconventional reproductive method. Acknowledging the childs unique status and the challenges posed by the circumstances of his conception, the UK judge underscored the importance of managing the latent risks to Ds welfare. While the biological paternity of the child remains uncertain without testing, there is a strong likelihood that the person D believes to be his grandfather is, in fact, his biological father. Ultimately, the judge concluded that it was for the family to decide whether to undergo paternity testing in the future. He emphasised that the council, despite its interest in upholding accurate birth records, had no personal stake in the determination of Ds parentage. Russia is developing a space-based anti-satellite weapon that is troubling for the United States but poses no immediate threat to people on Earth, the White House said Thursday. The announcement came a day after a wave of speculation sparked by US lawmakers making a cryptic warning of an unspecified but serious national security threat to the country. Moscow denied the malicious and unfounded claims, describing them as a White House ploy to try to pass a multi-billion-dollar Ukrainian war aid package stalled in Congress. I can confirm that it is related to an anti-satellite capability that Russia is developing, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters in a briefing at the White House. This is not an active capability thats been deployed. And though Russias pursuit of this particular capability is troubling, there is no immediate threat to anyones safety, he said. Kirby confirmed that the Russian weapon was space-based but would not comment on reports in US media that it was either nuclear-capable or nuclear powered. But he said it would breach the 1967 Outer Space Treaty, which both Russia and the United States are parties to and which bans the deployment of nuclear weapons in space. The weapon could pose a lethal risk to astronauts in low orbit, along with potentially disrupting vital military and civilian satellites, he added. We are not talking about a weapon that can be used to attack human beings or cause physical destruction here on Earth, said Kirby. US President Joe Biden had been kept informed and had ordered officials to reach out to Moscow over the weapon, although it had not responded yet. Concern had gripped Washington since Republican House Intelligence Committee chairman Mike Turner issued a public statement on Wednesday referring to a serious national security threat and calling on Biden to declassify all information relating to this threat. Tricks White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan was holding a closed-door meeting with congressional leaders on Thursday to brief them about the developments. The early disclosure by lawmakers however irked the White House, with Kirby saying they were working out whether US intelligence sources and methods had been compromised. Democrat Biden and the Republican-led House are at an impasse over a White House request for $60 billion in military aid to help Ukraines defense against the Russian invasion entering its third year. Republican House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson who has repeatedly warned he will not address allies security until Americas immigration system is shored up is refusing to bring the Senate-passed bill to the floor for a vote. Kirby said Ukraines embattled frontline town of Avdiivka was at risk of falling into Russian control, partly due to a lack of ammunition. Moscow dismissed the claims about the technology, calling them a US attempt to denigrate Russia and push through the Ukraine funding. Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the White House was trying to get Congress to vote on the appropriations bill any way it can, the state-run TASS news agency reported. Its obvious. Lets see what tricks, so to speak, the White House is going to pull, he was quoted as saying. Kirby said the Kremlins comments were bollocks. The West has accused Russia of reckless nuclear rhetoric after President Vladimir Putin said he was prepared to use a nuclear weapon if he felt an existential threat. The Outer Space Treaty, which both Russia and the United States are parties to, bans the deployment of nuclear weapons in space. The row meanwhile came as Putin said he preferred the predictable Biden over Donald Trump in Novembers US presidential vote. Mr Putin should just stay out of our elections, added Kirby. Alexei Navalny, the most prominent critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin who staged massive anti-Kremlin protests, died in prison Friday, Russias prison agency said. He was 47. In a statement, the Federal Penitentiary Service said that Navalny felt unwell after a walk on Friday and lost consciousness. Navalnys press secretary Kira Yarmysh said his team had not been informed of his death. Alexeis lawyer is now flying to Kharp, where his prison colony is, she said in a post on social media. Who was Alexei Navalny? Navalny was born in Butyn, about 40 kilometers outside Moscow. He received a law degree from Peoples Friendship University in 1998 and did a fellowship at Yale in 2010. He emerged as a prominent figure within Russias opposition and was revered by his supporters. He had been behind bars since January 2021, when he returned to Moscow after recuperating in Germany from nerve agent poisoning that he blamed on the Kremlin. Navalnys journey to prominence began with his exposes on corruption within Russias elite, using blogs to shed light on systemic issues. Despite facing expulsion from political parties for his nationalist views, Navalny persisted in his mission to challenge the status quo. Before his arrest, he campaigned against official corruption, organised major anti-Kremlin protests and ran for public office. Confronting the Kremlin Navalnys activism against Putins government led to numerous detentions and prosecutions, all of which he contends were politically motivated. The Kremlin has consistently dismissed Navalnys allegations of corruption and portrayed him as an extremist puppet controlled by Western intelligence agencies. Despite facing legal challenges and government opposition, Navalny remained steadfast in his pursuit of political reform and accountability. He continued to raise his voice via various channels even after he was imprisoned. That Person In Putins Russia, political opponents went into exile after imprisonment, suspected poisonings, or repression. But Navalny grew consistently stronger and reached the apex of the opposition, according to US media. His popularity increased after the leading politician, Boris Nemtsov, was shot and killed in 2015 on a bridge near the Kremlin. Whenever the Russian President spoke about Navalny, he made it a point to never mention the activist by name, referring to him as that person or similar wording. Poisoning and International Fallout The attempted assassination of Navalny in August 2020 shocked the world, as he fell critically ill from a nerve agent poisoning. Following extensive medical treatment in Germany, Navalny returned to Russia to continue his activism, despite the inherent risks. Investigations into the poisoning implicated Russias FSB security service, though the Russian government dismissed these allegations. Navalny, who was serving a 19-year sentence on charges of extremism, was moved in December from his former prison in the Vladimir region to the highest security level of prisons in Russia, above the Arctic Circle. (With agency inputs) Many scientific discoveries were made by accident or mistakes made by experimenters. That's how Kevlar, saccharin, microwave ovens, pacemakers, and even penicillin appeared in the modern world. ADVERTISIMENT OBOZ.UA has collected information about five inventions whose creators caught their luck by the tail and changed the world. Kevlar Polyparaffenylene terephthalamide, better known as Kevlar, was created by an American chemist of Polish origin, Stephanie Kwolek. In 1965, she worked for DuPont. This company wanted to get a new polymer - lightweight and strong at the same time - to use in car tires. Kvolek conducted many experiments and discovered a special formation of chains of molecules that was exceptionally strong and rigid. However, the resulting solution was strange, cloudy, and watery. Other scientists might have thrown away the "failed" material. The spinning engineer flatly refused to put this solution into the machine, fearing it would ruin it. Stephanie finally persuaded him to experiment. ADVERTISIMENT The resulting yarn turned out to be five times stronger than steel, and its characteristics surprised even Kwolek. At first, she assumed that the device had broken down - the numbers were so high. By 1971, the new fiber had undergone additional tests and improvements and was introduced to the world as Kevlar. Saccharin The German chemist Constantin Falberg made his completely accidental discovery in 1879. The scientist, who was working on coal tar derivatives, noticed that his food had become surprisingly sweet. He assumed that the taste was related to the benzoic acid sulfimide compound he had been working on before. ADVERTISIMENT Five years later, industrial production of saccharin, a substance 700 times sweeter than sugar with fewer calories, was launched. It is labeled as E 954 and is approved for use in all foods in more than 90 countries. The microwave oven The American engineer and inventor Percy Spencer worked for Raytheon, a contractor of the US Department of Defense, and in 1945 made a landmark discovery. He noticed that microwave radiation could heat objects. Several legends were born about how he did it. According to one version, he noticed how a sandwich placed on a switched-on magnetron heated up. Another version is that Spencer was very fond of sweets and a chocolate bar left in his pocket melted when the scientist stood in front of an active radar. ADVERTISIMENT A patent application for the microwave oven was filed on October 8, 1945. The manufacturer named it the Radarange. Implantable pacemaker American engineer Wilson Greatbatch developed the internal pacemaker in 1956. Before that, he worked on a device for the Chronic Disease Research Institute that was supposed to record heart rhythm. The scientist accidentally inserted an unsuitable resistor into his experimental apparatus and noticed that instead of recording, the machine began to produce an irregular pulse. So he had the idea to develop another device that would produce regular small pulses and thereby stimulate a sick human heart. ADVERTISIMENT In 1961, a license for the device was presented to Medtronic, a Minneapolis-based company that developed an external pacemaker. Penicillin The dramatic increase in life expectancy in the 20th century is due to penicillin. Thanks to this antimicrobial substance, doctors were able to treat such serious diseases as bacterial endocarditis, meningitis, pneumococcal pneumonia, gonorrhea, and syphilis. Scottish physician and microbiologist Alexander Fleming discovered the first antibiotic in history by accident. It is said that he did not always wash laboratory instruments perfectly, as required by the instructions. One day, after returning from a two-week vacation, the scientist discovered that mold had formed on a contaminated petri dish with Staphylococcus aureus bacteria. After studying the mold, he noticed that the staphylococci around the molds had become transparent due to cellular destruction. ADVERTISIMENT Fleming's research was continued by his colleagues Howard Florey and Ernst Cheyne from Oxford University. They are credited with the development of penicillin for use as a medicine in mice. Only verified information is available on the OBOZ.UA Telegram channel and Viber. Do not fall for fakes! Kelly Rutherford, a 55-year-old Hollywood actress known for the TV series Melrose Place and Gossip Girl, posted a photo of herself wearing an embroidered dress by the famous Ukrainian brand GUNIA Project. It costs up to 14 thousand dollars. ADVERTISIMENT The image delighted the celebrity's fans on her Instagram page. This is not the first time that the icon of "quiet luxury" has demonstrated a bow made by Ukrainian designers. Rutherford wore a long snow-white maxi dress. Its upper part, thanks to embroidered elements and peculiar cuffs, resembles a Ukrainian embroidered shirt. The star added large sunglasses, gold earrings, and light boots to the look. The GUNIA Project brand commented on the celebrity's photo, noting that "she always looks great." ADVERTISIMENT This is not the first time that Kelly Rutherford has chosen Ukrainian-made items. The actress regularly shares her "outfit of the day" while taking pictures in the elevator. Recently, she wore a stylish red sheepskin coat by KULAKOVSKY. Later, she posted a new photo in a trendy fluffy coat from the Ukrainian brand BAZHANE, which perfectly fit into the actress's wardrobe. Rutherford also tried on an elegant milk-colored dress by BOBKOVA. However, the celebrity chooses clothes by Ukrainian designers not only for everyday looks. In the fall, the Gossip Girl star appeared on the red carpet of a social event wearing a Gasanova jacket, which is loved by First Lady Olena Zelenska. THE Zimbabwe United Passenger Company (Zupco) has initiated a process of terminating its contracts with private owners of buses plying urban routes. The move comes as the remaining buses on contract are seen by commuters on the routes they ply as giving an important service and regulating fares by charging standard Zupco fares. Negotiations between Zupco and transporters are underway to review the decision in the interest of both parties. The contracts started during the Covid-19 lockdowns on the direct intervention of President Mnangagwa to ease transport woes for urbanites and ensure that the services would follow lockdown rules. With the ban on intercity services, many bus companies were ready and willing to move large parts of their fleet into Zupco control, and a reasonable number of kombi operators were willing to do the same to ensure they could keep running under lockdown rules. As the lockdown was relaxed and then dropped, a lot of buses were returned to private control for normal intercity use, and almost all kombi operators wanted independence from Zupco, with many forming and joining their own associations if they wished to retain adherence to public transport rules and a high level of acceptance by the authorities. In a letter dated February 9, and addressed to bus operators, Zupco acting chief executive Tineyi Rwasoka notified operators of the expiry of the remaining contracts. As you are already aware, the Zupco bus hiring contract for urban transportation between yourselves and Zupco Limited is set to expire on February 28, 2024. We refer to our previous correspondence, specifically our letter dated January 1, 2024, regarding the same matter. We are writing to officially inform you that we do not intend to renew the contract, reads the letter. We kindly request that you provide us with any necessary information or documentation regarding the conclusion of our contractual relationship. This includes the return of any Zupco Limited property or confidential information that may be in your possession. Mr Rwasoka thanked operators for their support and said should the need arise for similar services in the future, Zupco would consider them as potential partners. Some Harare commuters who spoke to The Herald yesterday expressed concern over the termination of the Zupco contracts. Our greatest fear is that of overpricing once Zupco contracts with private players expire. Zupco buses have a standard fee unlike others which sometimes overcharge during peak hours, said Mrs Anastancia Gurwe of Chitungwiza. Another commuter who stays in the KwaBobo area in Eastview, Mr Runesu Gwafa, said the buses were reliable. There is a Zupco contracted bus which plies the Bobo-City Centre route which is very convenient for us. We were used to its time-table both in the morning and evening. If it is removed from Zupco we are not sure it will continue with its normal operations, he said. Manicaland bus operators chairman and coordinator of buses attached to the Zupco franchise, Mr Esau Mupfumi, yesterday confirmed receiving termination letters from Zupco. He said they had engaged officials from the Minsitry of Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion who indicated that they wanted to fund the acquisition of 500 new buses. We are waiting for Government guidance as the termination is neither here nor there. It appears the left hand was unaware of what the right hand was doing, Mr Mupfumi said. He said the Permanent Secretary for Finance, Mr George Guvamatanga, agreed to facilitate discussions between Zupco, private operators, Local Government and Finance ministries but these would have to start next week when he would be back in office. Mr Mupfumi said he had also engaged Mutapa Investment Fund chief executive officer Dr John Mangudya who said there is no termination of contracts pending negotiations with operators. B Metro UPDATE Feb 16, 2024 8:47 AM CST A Florida man freed in 2020 from nearly four decades behind bars after DNA evidence cleared him of rape and murder will now receive monetary compensation for that time lost. The New York Times reports that on Thursday, the Tampa City Council unanimously OKed a $14 million settlement for Robert DuBoise, to be doled out in three installments over the next three years. "This was a big wrong," said council member Luis Viera, per the AP. "I hope and pray this settlement will give him some measure of comfort." In settlement documents, the city denied "intentional wrongdoing" by the Tampa PD and four officers accused of coercing a jail informant to testify against DuBoise, per the Times. As for DuBoise's reaction to the payout: "I'm just grateful," he said Thursday. Two other men serving life sentences for another killing have since been charged for the murder of 19-year-old Barbara Grams. Aug 27, 2020 7:50 PM CDT A Florida man who spent the last 37 years in prison on a rape and murder charge was released Thursday, hours after officials revealed dramatic new evidence that proved his innocence. Robert DuBoise walked out of the Hardee Correctional Institution in Bowling Green shortly after 2pm. With him were his mother and sister. "It's an overwhelming sense of relief," Robert DuBoise told reporters outside the prison. "I prayed to God every day and hoped for it." The 56-year-old was serving a life sentence, having been convicted in 1983 in the murder of 19-year-old Barbara Grams. She had been raped and beaten while walking home from her job at a Tampa mall. DuBoise's conviction centered on one piece of evidence: an alleged bite mark on the victim's face, the AP reports. A jailhouse informant's testimony also helped convict him. A Delta Air Lines flight en route from Amsterdam to Detroit had to turn back to the airport about two hours into its flight for a bizarreand grossreason: maggots. Fox2 Detroit reports that the slimy creatures fell onto a female passenger, seemingly out of nowhere. Flight attendants soon traced the source: They came from a bag in the overhead bin that contained a not-so-fresh fish wrapped in newspaper. The pilot soon notified passengers that the plane would be returning to Amsterdam Airport Schiphol. "We apologize to the customers of Flight 133 on Feb. 13 as their trip was interrupted due to an improperly packed carry-on bag," said the airline in a statement quoted by People. "The aircraft was removed from service for cleaning." Left unexplained is how the man who brought the fish aboard the plane got through screening with it. (More strange stuff stories.) An Anchorage woman has been sentenced to 99 years in prison for orchestrating the death of a developmentally disabled woman in a murder-for-hire plot, hoping to cash in on a $9 million offer from a Midwestern man purporting to be a millionaire. Denali Dakota Skye Brehmer, 24, was sentenced by Anchorage Superior Court Judge Andrew Peterson this week in the 2019 death of her friend Cynthia Hoffman, whose death was captured in photos and video near Thunderbird Falls, a popular trail area just north of Anchorage. Brehmer pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in February 2023. "She may not have pulled the trigger, but this never would have happened it if it weren't for Denali Brehmer," Anchorage assistant district attorney Patrick McKay said during sentencing. Peterson said that Hoffman's premediated murder-for-hire was "tragic and senseless" and that Brehmer showed no remorse. Defense attorneys sought an 80-year sentence with 20 of those years suspended. Alaska does not have the death penalty. Darin Schilmiller of New Salisbury, Indiana, was sentenced last month to 99 years in prison for his role in Hoffman's murder. Authorities in 2019 said Schilmiller posed online as Tyler, a millionaire from Kansas, when starting an online relationship with Brehmer. About three weeks before Hoffman was killed, Brehmer and Schilmiller discussed a plan to rape and kill someone in Alaska, according to court documents. The millionaire's only demand for payment was either photos or video of the killing. Brehmer agreed to the offer, and enlisted the help of four friends, Caleb Leyland and Kayden McIntosh, along with two unnamed juveniles. Leyland will be sentenced in June. McIntosh, who prosecutors have said was the gunman, will be tried as an adult even though he was 16 when Hoffman was killed. His case is pending trial. (More Alaska stories.) The Justice Department rejected sharp objections from President Biden's legal team to the contentand existenceof the special counsel's report on his classified documents investigation before its release. The president's lawyers wrote that parts of the report "openly, obviously, and blatantly violate Department policy and practice," the Washington Post reports. Robert Hur had written that Biden is an "elderly man with a poor memory" who has "diminished faculties in advanced age," assertions that the president's lawyers said were "uncalled for." Hur also accused the president of being "totally irresponsible" for keeping diaries from his terms as vice president at home that held classified information. That statement remained in Hur's report though he conceded that other former presidents had taken similar files home and that the Justice Department had never raised an objection in other cases, per the New York Times. White House counsel Edward Siskel and Bob Bauer, Biden's personal lawyer, did not ask Attorney General Merrick Garland to take anything out of the report or have Hur rewrite it. But they told him, "we object to the multiple denigrating statements about President Biden's memory which violate longstanding DOJ practice and policy." Garland did not answer. On the day the report was released, the Justice Department's senior career official, Bradley Weinsheimer, wrote back defending it. Weinsheimer said Hur's assessments were appropriate given the context, because his job is to make and explain his decisions on filing charges. Biden's lawyers argued Hur shouldn't have produced any report, much less a 388-page one weighing in on the president's faculties; department rules say that when no charges are filed after an investigation, the special counsel should send merely send a confidential summary to the attorney general. The Post has the letters here. (More President Biden stories.) UPDATE Feb 21, 2024 2:00 AM CST Russian President Vladimir Putin declared Tuesday that Moscow has no intention of deploying nuclear weapons in space, claiming that the country has only developed space capabilities similar to those of the US, the AP reports. "Our position is quite clear and transparent: we have always been and remain categorically opposed to the deployment of nuclear weapons in space," Putin said. "Just the opposite, we are urging everyone to adhere to all the agreements that exist in this sphere." Putin's defense minister alleged that the US could have made the allegations of a new Russian space capability in order to force Congress to support aid for Ukraine and also encourage Moscow to reenter nuclear arms control talks that Russia has suspended. Feb 15, 2024 6:00 PM CST The White House publicly confirmed on Thursday that Russia has obtained a "troubling" emerging anti-satellite weapon but said it cannot directly cause destruction on the planet. White House national security spokesman John Kirby said intelligence officials have information that Russia has obtained the capability but that such a weapon is not operational. US officials are analyzing the emerging technology and have consulted with allies and partners, the AP reports. The capability poses no immediate threat, Kirby said. "We're not talking about a weapon that can be used to attack human beings or cause physical destruction here on Earth," he said. Amid the growing humanitarian crisis in Rafah , the southernmost city in the Gaza Strip, and threats of a ground invasion there by Israel, Egypt appears to be building a giant walled "buffer zone" on its side of its border with Gaza. Satellite images reveal the more than 2-mile-wide area that has been bulldozed since the beginning of February, CNN reports. The Wall Street Journal reports the walled enclosure in the Sinai Desert will be 8 square miles and will be able to hold more than 100,000 people. It is expected to encompass the entire border crossing complex at the Egypt-Rafah border, stretching from the end of the Gaza border to the Mediterranean Sea, and a human rights group says it will be surrounded by concrete walls at least 16 feet high. The area is said to be a "contingency plan" for Egypt, which has made clear it does not want Gaza refugees flooding across the border, and the fact that it's being constructed, per the Journal, "signals that Egyptian officials see a rising danger" of exactly that happening. "Even if the Israelis push a million and a half people to spill over the border, Egypt can throw the ball back into Israel's lap by simply limiting the movement of Palestinians further in," an Egyptian security analyst says. Almost 1.5 million Palestinians are crowded into the tent city at Rafah with little food and water, but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu remains determined to launch a ground offensive there despite international opposition. He says civilians will be evacuated first, but no evacuation plan has been outlined. (More Israel-Hamas war stories.) After the United Nations human rights agency expressed concern about the arrest of a prominent human rights advocate, Nicolas Maduro's government ordered the agency's office in Venezuela's capital to close and said its 13 staff members had 72 hours to get out of the country. Foreign Affairs Minister Yvan Gil said the Caracas office of the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, which opened in 2019, had become a tool for "coup-plotters and terrorists" to conspire against Maduro's government, the New York Times reports. In a post on X on Tuesday, the rights agency said it was looking into the detention of attorney Rocio San Miguel with "deep concern" and called for her immediate release. San Miguel, who faces charges of treason, conspiracy, and terrorism, was arrested at the Caracas airport Friday as she waited for a flight to Miami, the AP reports. Authorities didn't confirm the arrest until Sunday. Hours before Gil ordered the Caracas office to close, the rights agency said, "Due process guarantees, including right to defence, must be respected." In a statement Monday, some 200 non-governmental organizations denounced San Miguel's detention as part of the "criminalization and persecution of the work of promoting and defending human rights" in Venezuela. Phil Gunson at the International Crisis Group tells the Times that the arrest and the expulsion of the UN agency "marks a drastic hardening" of Maduro's approach to critics and political rivals. (More Venezuela stories.) Israeli forces stormed the main hospital in southern Gaza on Thursday, bringing chaos to hundreds of staff and patients inside, hours after Israeli fire killed a patient and wounded six others inside the complex. Health officials said Friday four people in intensive care died because electricity was cut, stopping oxygen supplies for them. Troops were searching the facility, where the military said it believes the remains of hostages abducted by Hamas might be located. The raid came after troops had besieged Nasser Hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis for nearly a week, with staff, patients, and others inside struggling under heavy fire and dwindling supplies, including food and water, the AP reports. Troops moved into the hospital after the military said it had "credible intelligence" that Hamas had held hostages there and that the hostages' remains might still be inside. Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, the chief military spokesperson, said forces were conducting a "precise and limited" operation there and would not forcibly evacuate medics or patients. Later Thursday, Hagari said dozens of militants were arrested from the hospital grounds, including three who participated in the Oct. 7 attack on Israel. Negotiations over a ceasefire in Gaza, meanwhile, appear to have stalled, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday pushed back hard against the US vision for after the warparticularly its calls for the creation of a Palestinian state. After speaking overnight with President Biden, Netanyahu wrote on X that Israel will not accept "international dictates regarding a permanent settlement with the Palestinians." He said that if other countries unilaterally recognize a Palestinian state, it would give a "reward to terrorism." Netanyahu has repeatedly rejected creation of a Palestinian state. He has vowed to continue the offensive and expand it to the Gaza city of Rafah, near Egypt, until Hamas is destroyed and scores of hostages taken during the Oct. 7 attack are freed. In their phone call, Biden again cautioned Netanyahu against moving forward with a military operation in Rafah before coming up with a "credible and executable plan" to ensure the safety of Palestinian civilians, the White House said. (More Israel-Hamas war stories.) The arrested 92-meter yacht of former MP and godfather of Russian President Viktor Medvedchuk, accused of treason, Royal Romance, will be sold, and Ukraine will receive the money from the deal. The vessel is physically located in Croatia, and its sale is to take place through Prozorro.Sale online auctions. ADVERTISIMENT The sale of the yacht was authorized by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine at a meeting on February 16. Formally, the yacht is managed by the National Asset Recovery and Management Agency (ARMA), which proposed to the government to sell the vessel, the agency's press service said. "On Friday, February 16, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine approved the sale of the 92-meter yacht Royal Romance, owned by Viktor Medvedchuk's family and located in Croatia, to ARMA. A tender for the sale of assets in the form of movable property located abroad and transferred to ARMA for sale is carried out in agreement with the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine. Such approval has been formalized today by the relevant protocol decision," the statement said. ADVERTISIMENT All proceeds from the sale will go directly to the state budget of Ukraine. The initial cost of the vessel was estimated at over $200 million. The sale of the vessel is to take place on the Prozorro platform. The fact is that back in November 2023, the Cabinet of Ministers adopted a resolution that now provides for the sale of seized assets managed by the ARMA through online auctions in the state electronic trading system Prozorro.Sale. The 92-meter Royal Romance is one of the five largest yachts in the world used exclusively for the needs of their owners. The annual maintenance, repair and fuel costs of such a yacht range from $15 to $20 million. ADVERTISIMENT The Royal Romance yacht was arrested in Croatia on March 16, 2023. The decision to transfer the yacht to the ARMA was made by the Lychakiv District Court of Lviv. The court ruling immediately stated that the yacht would be sold. At the same time, a court in Split, Croatia, ruled to transfer Medvedchuk's yacht to Ukraine on the basis of a request for international legal assistance. As noted by the head of the ARMA, Olena Duma, if the vessel is sold, this sale will be the first example of the sale of seized assets located abroad. Medvedchuk already has a new yacht Medvedchuk, accused of high treason, purchased a new speedboat after being taken to Russia (as a result of an exchange for captured Mariupol defenders). The cost of the vessel is estimated at almost $9.6 million. It is a Pershing 9X speed yacht called Amore Mio. Such vessels are manufactured by the Italian Ferretti group, which calls this model a "fighter" yacht. ADVERTISIMENT The vessel is 28 meters long. There are four cabins and eight beds on board, but the yacht can accommodate up to 20 guests in total. According to journalists, Medvedchuk's new yacht was launched in 2023. As reported by OBOZ.UA, meanwhile, a branch of the Russian public organization "Other Ukraine" was established in Serbia. This structure was created in Russia by Medvedchuk. Only verified information is available on the OBOZ.UA Telegram channel and Viber. Do not fall for fakes! The New York Times is out with a story suggesting that medical journals provide nowhere near the kind of scrutiny necessary for papers on cancer research. The newspaper reports that a top cancer surgeon at Columbia University is under scrutiny after 26 of Dr. Sam Yoon's published studies were flagged for suspicious data, including images of cancer cells, mice, and tumors that appear to have been repurposed for different studies. One published study on stomach cancer was "quietly" withdrawn after doubts surfaced, and another medical journal recently retracted a Yoon study after inquiries from the newspaper. Memorial Sloan Kettering in New York City, where much of the research was conducted, has opened an investigation. A house in west Tamaki Makaurau/Auckland has been destroyed by fire on Friday afternoon. Fire and Emergency responded to several calls of a Glen Eden home on fire at 3:15pm, a spokesperson told Newshub. The blaze was well-involved by the time fire crews arrived, and a second alarm was raised. At the fire's peak, five trucks were dousing the flames. We have used your information to see if you have a subscription with us, but did not find one. Please use the button below to verify an existing account or to purchase a new subscription. AFP | New York The Daily Tribune www.newsofbahrain.com Seventy-two of the 99 journalists killed in 2023 were killed in the Israel-Hamas war, making the last 12 months the deadliest for the media in almost a decade, the Committee to Protect Journalists said yesterday. Killings of reporters would have dropped globally year-on-year had it not been for the deaths in Gaza, Israel and Lebanon, the CPJ said, although fatalities were stable in Somalia and the Philippines. The toll is the highest since 2015 and an increase of nearly 44 percent on 2022's figures. "In December 2023, CPJ reported that more journalists were killed in the first three months of the Israel-Gaza war than have ever been killed in a single country over an entire year," the CPJ said. The 72 journalists killed in the Israel-Hamas conflict also include three Lebanese and two Israeli victims, the organization said. "Journalists in Gaza are bearing witness on the frontlines," said CPJ chief executive Jodie Ginsberg. "The immense loss suffered by Palestinian journalists in this war will have long-term impacts for journalism not just in the Palestinian territories but for the region and beyond. Every journalist killed is a further blow to our understanding of the world." On February 7, the New York-based press freedom organization said the number of journalists killed in the Gaza conflict had risen to 85. CPJ has previously attacked what it calls "persecution" of journalists by Israeli forces, and is investigating whether a dozen journalists killed in the Gaza conflict were deliberately targeted by Israeli soldiers, which would constitute "a war crime." The greatest reductions in journalist fatalities were registered in Ukraine and Mexico, which both went from 13 killings to two. One of those killed in Ukraine was AFP journalist Arman Soldin. Soldin, 32, died when his reporting team came under fire near the eastern city of Bakhmut. The CPJ warned that Mexico, along with the Philippines and Somalia, was "one of the world's deadliest countries for the press." "Compounding the situation, government agencies spy on reporters and rights defenders, and a significant number of journalists have had to leave their homes, and abandon their professions, due to violence," the CPJ report warned. Trostianets is located near the picturesque Neskuchne tract on the banks of the Boromlia River, 55 kilometers from Sumy. In February 2022, it came under occupation and was in the hands of the invaders for a month. During this time, the enemies did a lot of damage. ADVERTISIMENT Today we will tell you about the monuments that were destroyed by the Russians. They are currently being restored and reconstructed, but tourists are not yet able to visit them. Nevertheless, Ukrainians should know where to visit after the war is over. The round courtyard Exploring the city should start with a visit to a unique architectural landmark that has no analogues in Ukraine. The building resembles an ancient amphitheater: it has four three-tiered towers, similar in design to small rotundas. A high brick wall that stretches around the entire perimeter adds to the bastion's grandeur. The building combines two styles. The project harmoniously intertwines strict Gothic elements with delicate Ukrainian Baroque details. Previously, various events were held all year round at the Round Court: festivals, jousting tournaments, concerts, broadcasts, etc. In winter, the city's main Christmas tree was set up there. Now, of course, is not the time for celebrations. But the time will come when the green beauty will shine here again. ADVERTISIMENT Unfortunately, the monument was damaged during the battles for Trostianets. Koenig's estate (Golitsyn House) A princely palace built in the neoclassical style. Before the war, the building was decorated with bas-reliefs in the form of chimeras and angels, Baroque elements, and pilasters. Unfortunately, shrapnel from a Russian missile damaged the facade of the building. Two outbuildings, some furniture and decor from the second half of the eighteenth century were also destroyed. Before the war, the ground floor of the mansion, occupying four halls, housed paintings by contemporary Ukrainian and Polish artists. Before the occupation, there were more than 200 masterpieces here. The collection was constantly replenished because artistic plein airs were held in the city. The best works were exhibited and remained there forever. Of course, if the authors allowed it. ADVERTISIMENT During the occupation, the museum staff hid the things they could take out of their homes. That's why most of the exhibits survived. Unfortunately, some were stolen by the occupiers or completely destroyed. Now the museum building looks very sad. We hope the entire building will be restored soon. Museum of Chocolate and Coffee This attraction is also located in the princely palace of Kening. Unfortunately, the building was also destroyed. Chocolate figures and sculptures, including the Crown and the Swan, were damaged. Fortunately, the museum has now been fully restored, but it is not yet open to visitors. Before the war, this attraction was very popular among travelers. The first two rooms, the "Small" and "Crown" rooms, opened in 2012. The third, Jacobs, was opened in 2014. Here, visitors were told the history of dark and milk chocolate: how it was made by the Aztec tribes and how technology has changed in our time. By the way, you could see incredible chocolate figurines in the museum. ADVERTISIMENT Leopold Koenig 's room It is worth visiting to be inspired by the story of a man who went from a simple worker to a millionaire and tycoon known throughout Europe. It was this man who turned a small and unremarkable village into a developed center. Unfortunately, the room was also damaged as a result of the aggression: a chair and a unique antique cabinet with old books were damaged. In March 2022, Trostianets went through a difficult time. During the occupation and the battle for the city, many national monuments were damaged. But despite this, the locals have not lost their fighting spirit. Today, work is in full swing, historic buildings are being restored, and their walls are acquiring familiar features. The US Air Force awarded contracts to five companies to design and build Collaborative Combat Aircraft that can fly autonomously alongside manned platforms, a spokesperson confirmed. The plan is to spend $5.8 billion over the next 5 years. In its fiscal 2024 budget request, the Air Force outlined plans to spend $5.8 billion on CCAs over the next five years, and $392 million in fiscal 24 alone. That figure is a small down payment on what is shaping up to be an enormous program. While Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall has set 1,000 CCAs as a working number of such aircraft. There is already talk about getting to 2000 or more drone wingman systems. The US Air Force (USAF) is set to downselect contractors on the Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) program from five current potential providers to two to three within the next few months. The next phase is going to take us into development for production, Kendall continued. Then well be moving forward in a couple of years to downselect for production. How many [contractors] well be able to carry into production is still uncertain. We [will] definitely [have] one but theres a possibility that we could do more than one. They are: Boeing Lockheed Martin has the distributed team air drone wingman support concept. Northrop Grumman In 2021, Grummand revealed the designn for the Model 437 a stealthy jet with a 3,000 mile range is a collaboration between the company and Scaled Composites. It is a wingman drone concept. Anduril is a silicon valley based drone company. They have better software and a faster pace of development than the old military weapons companies. They have a design for the Fury wingman combat drone. General Atomics General Atomics unveiled its concept for a Gambit series of uncrewed aircraft last spring, with optional external configurations optimized for sensing, fighter escort, defense suppression and ground attack, all using a common core to increase commonality and modularity. On February 15, the famous American actress Zendaya attended the premiere of the second part of the movie Dune, where she played one of the main roles, in London, UK. The look of the 27-year-old star, in which she appeared on the red carpet, became the splash in the media and attracted the attention of all the paparazzi. The celebrity wore a robotic jumpsuit with shiny chrome elements and transparent plastic. ADVERTISIMENT This futuristic set was not created exclusively for the actress, as many might have thought. In fact, this is the most memorable outfit from Mugler's fall-winter 1995 couture collection. Photos of Zendaya in a vintage outfit "from the future" were published by OBOZ.UA. Mugler's outfit on the star of Dune: Part Two is a fully metal armor with silver panels and transparent plexiglass inserts. The costume featured corseted details that "hugged" the actress' figure, as well as built-in gloves and matching silver heels. More of a cyborg priestess than a sand princess, but still very much in the atmosphere of the premiere film. ADVERTISIMENT The original costume also included a headpiece, but Zendaya decided to ditch it so as not to hide her luxurious hairstyle in a trendy low bun with a side parting. ADVERTISIMENT At the same time, the actress added a blue diamond necklace from Bulgari to her robot costume, giving the outfit a large dose of glamor. Zendaya could hardly move around on her own in her silver armor, so her stylist came to the rescue, who apparently had the idea to dress his star client in a retro 1995 robot look. Law Roach had his own sci-fi look, wearing a gray draped hooded jacket and large tinted sunglasses. Thus, helping Zendaya to walk, the two of them looked even more impressive and in the style of Dune. ADVERTISIMENT The 1995 costume is known as the Machinenmensch or Machine Man and was designed over six months in tandem with longtime Mugler collaborator and artist Jean-Jacques Lauquin. The pair was inspired by the fictional character Futura from the dystopian novel Metropolis by Thea von Harbou. However, Zendaya's robotic outfit is not her only look at the London premiere. Later, the star changed into a more practical outfit: a stylish, elegant black dress with an asymmetrical neckline. She also complemented this elegant ensemble with accent jewelry from Bulgari. ADVERTISIMENT Only verified information is available on our Telegram OBOZ.UA and Viber. Do not fall for fakes! A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, Salihu Lukman, on Friday appealed to former Governor of Edo State, Adams Oshiomhole, to stop blaming the immediate past government of Muhammadu Buhari for the forex challenge and economic hardship plaguing the country. He said all leaders of the APC, including President Bola Tinubu, were complicit in one way or the other to all the circumstances that contributed to the failure of Buhari. Oshiomhole, senator representing Edo North, had claimed when he featured as a guest on Channels Televisions Politics Today on Sunday that Nigerians are currently suffering due to the long-term consequences of the former presidents reckless policies. He recalled protesting some of the policies, which he claimed were designed to dehumanise a population that was already in pain. Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun, and the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, made similar observations that President Bola Tinubu inherited an administration that was almost comatose and a bankrupt country. Reacting in a statement issued in Abuja titled APC and Question of Liability: Open Letter to APC Leaders, Lukman stated that it would be uncharitable and dishonest for the former president of Nigeria Labour Congress and other loyalists to be seen making excuses for Tinubus government. He said, Sadly, instead of ruling with humility and reviewing policies when there is public outcry, they are grandstanding and giving excuses. They engage in the familiar blame games, attributing the consequences of government policies to the administration of former President Buhari. This is very uncharitable and dishonest, with due respect to our leaders. Certainly, the government of Buhari did not measure up to the expectations of party members and Nigerians in general. But we must take responsibility. The truth is that the success or failure of Buharis government represents the collective success or failure of APC as a party. All of us in the leadership of the APC, including Tinubu, were complicit in one way or the other to all the circumstances that contributed to the failure of Buhari. Unfortunately, as things are, we are also strengthening the hands of Asiwaju to continue the path of failure. Just like we deluded Buhari into believing that every decision he took was right, our leaders are today misleading Tinubu to believe that all his decisions are right. Our leaders, including Comrade Oshiomhole, want us to believe that the past administration created the problem. If that is the case, why were they unable as party leaders to regulate the conduct of former President Buhari and prevent him from failing? Now that President Asiwaju Tinubu is in charge, what is being done to address this challenge and ensure that he does not suffer the fate of his predecessor? A Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice (AGF) to re-open investigation and prosecution of those who murdered the founder of Newswatch Magazine, Dele Giwa, in 1986. Dele Giwa was murdered on October 19, 1986 in his Lagos office through a letter bomb. Delivering judgment on Friday in a suit against the AGF, Justice Inyang Edem Ekwo held the Chief Law Officer of the Federation is under obligation to prosecute and penalize killers of media practitioners in the country. Apart from Dele Giwa, the court ordered that the killings of other journalists in the discharge of their lawful duties must be investigated and perpetrators brought to book in line with the provisions of the law. The Incorporated Trustees of Media Rights Agenda, MRA, had dragged the AGF before the court for the enforcement of fundamental rights of media practitioners to safety as guaranteed by the 1999 Constitution and African Charters on Human Rights. Justice Ekwo in the judgment ordered the Federal Government to ensure adequate protection and safety of lives of journalists as enshrined in sections 33, 39 of the Constitution and Articles 4 and 9 of the African Charters on Human and Peoples Rights. On Friday, February 16, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived in Germany on an official visit. There, he held talks with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, during which the parties signed a bilateral security agreement. ADVERTISIMENT This is reported by Der Spiegel, which has been following Zelenskyy's visit since his plane landed in Berlin in the morning. The President's Office published the first photos, and the signing of the security agreement was announced by the President's spokesman, Serhiy Nikiforov. At around 1 p.m. Kyiv time, the President's spokesman said that the ceremony of signing the "Agreement on Security Cooperation between Ukraine and the Federal Republic of Germany" by President Zelenskyy and Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz had taken place. The Federal Chancellor of Germany also commented on the signing of the agreement. He emphasized that his country would support Ukraine for as long as "necessary." ADVERTISIMENT "Today, President Zelenskyy and I signed an agreement on our long-term security commitments. A historic step. Germany will continue to support Ukraine against Russia's war of aggression," Scholz wrote on his profile on the X network. After signing the agreement, Zelenskyy revealed some details about its content, calling it "unprecedented." "An unprecedented document that enshrines German support for Ukraine at the level of more than 7 billion euros for this year. These are weapons for which there are already specific contracts. The agreement sets out Germany's clear position on sanctions against the aggressor, the tribunal, and frozen assets. The agreement also provides for the mechanism of emergency consultations in case of a possible future armed attack of Russia on Ukraine," the President noted. ADVERTISIMENT The Head of State also thanked Germany and the German people for their solidarity with Ukraine and Ukrainians, as well as for all the support and assistance that this European state has provided, is providing and will provide. In addition, after his meeting with Zelenskyy, Scholz announced a new package of military aid to Ukraine worth 1.1 billion. Official Kyiv had high expectations for the President's two-day foreign visit. "Two important days are ahead. A new security architecture for Ukraine, new opportunities. We are doing everything to end the war as soon as possible on fair Ukrainian terms and ensure a lasting peace," the Presidential Office said in a statement earlier. ADVERTISIMENT It is noted that during the meeting, Zelenskyy and Scholz will sign an agreement based on the G7 declaration signed by the allies during the NATO summit in Vilnius in the summer of 2023. It could be similar to the security cooperation agreement Ukraine signed with the UK last month. After talks with the chancellor, the Ukrainian leader will also meet with German Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier. In addition, during his trip abroad, Zelenskyy will also visit France. In Paris, he and French leader Emmanuel Macron will sign a security agreement between the two countries. On Saturday, February 17, the Ukrainian president is scheduled to speak at the Munich Security Conference. ADVERTISIMENT As reported by OBOZ.UA, on February 14, France and Germany signed an agreement to create an "air defense coalition" for Ukraine. The purpose of this document is to provide long-term assistance to Kyiv in the field of ground-based air defense systems. Only verified information on our Telegram channel OBOZ.UA and Viber. Do not fall for fakes! In the face of the hardship confronting Nigeria, the Catholic Archbishop of Kaduna Diocese, Most Rev. Matthew Man-Oso Ndagoso, has blamed President Bola Tinubu for the manner he removed the subsidy on fuel. Ndagoso said Tinubu should have removed the fuel subsidy gradually and not like a time bomb. Addressing journalists at St. Josephs Catholic Cathedral in Kaduna, he urged Tinubu to wake up and do the needful before all Nigerians die of hunger. Ndagoso also blamed the economic hardship on governments bad policies. According to Ndagoso: Nigerians are suffering and all of these sufferings are avoidable. But they impose bad policies. Tinubus policies have compounded the problems. Anyone who cares about Nigeria shouldnt have removed subsidy, Tinubu should have done it gradually and not like bomb blast, he said. He said that Nigeria has never had it so bad before, stressing that ineffective leaders were the major problem Nigeria was having. Senator Kabiru Marafa, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, APC, has urged the Zamfara State Government to apprehend those responsible for the killing of his associates. Marafa alleged that his associates were killed by members of the Community Protection Guards, CPG, and not due to a confrontation with other individuals. In a statement, Marafa stated the need for justice to prevail, saying Alhaji Mogaji Lawalis death should not be in vain. While I welcome the good news from the Zamfara State Government through the office of the Secretary to the State Government to conduct a holistic investigation into the incident that led to the death of Alhaji Magaji Lawali, my associate, I reject the claim that he died during a confrontation or skirmishes between some groups or persons. Its pertinent to commend the state government for coming up with the Community Protection Guards (CGP) to tackle the insecurity in our state, but the government must do everything possible to rid the outfit of bad characters, criminals and agents of darkness, Marafa stated. He commended the state government for initiating an investigation into the incident but expressed concern over the attempt to alter the circumstances surrounding the killings. Marafa criticized the governments statements, which initially described the incident as a confrontation between the CPG and members of the banned Yansakai group. In spirited efforts to change the narratives, the state government issued two statements in less than 24 hours, claiming that the deceased died during the confrontation. First, it was a Press Statement from the office of the SSG dated 13th February 2024 and another one was issued by the state Commissioner of Information and Culture dated February 14, 2024. In the first statement, they claimed that the recent confrontation between members of the community Protection Guards and some elements of the banned Yansakai group in Tsafe Local Government Area. This incident tragically resulted in the death of one individual. The government is fully cognizant of the skirmish between the two factions. In the second statement issued by the Zamfara state Commissioner of Information and Culture today, February 14_ ZMSG condemned CPG/Yansakai classes in TSAFE, constituency. The Government again referred to the incident as a clash between two groups. The two releases are nothing but a desperate effort to change the narratives of what happened, he added. He called for a thorough and unbiased investigation to identify and prosecute those responsible for the crime. The senator also urged the government to ensure that the CPG is free from individuals with criminal intent, stating the importance of providing security without engaging in political vendetta or witch hunts. He called on the state government to address the issue transparently and bring the perpetrators to justice. Reality TV star and Nollywood actress, Bisola Aiyeola, has opened up on how being a mother shapes the roles she accepts. The single mother of one said she is always conscious of the acting roles she accepts in the movie industry because of her child. I have a growing child and sometimes some of the roles you take can affect her positively or negatively. Especially because she is growing You have other children around her who have different thoughts on what their parents do and so I have to be careful with some stories because I have to think that, in the long run, would it be a good look for my child?' Pulse quoted the actress as saying. The actress said her trajectory has been one of patience and putting her daughter first, no matter what. She said, unknown to many, that she has been in the industry for years, even before going on the Big Brother Naija reality show in 2017. She noted that her passion has been her driving force. The Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission, ICPC, has arraigned a former President of the Senior Civil Servants Association of Nigeria, ASCSN, Bola Audu, over alleged N72 million fraud. Audu was arraigned on Thursday before Justice Yusuf Halilu of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, on a five-count charge. He has been expelled as a member and President of ASCSN over anti-union activities. In the five-count charge, the government accused Audu of alleged embezzlement of N69 million that was meant for the purchase of a sport utility vehicle for the office of the President of ASCSN. In another charge, the prosecution told the court that Audu allegedly diverted N3 million into the unions election. He pleaded not guilty when the charges were read to him. His counsel, Babatunde Adewusi, applied that the defendant be granted bail. Following his not guilty plea, Osuobeni Akponimisingha, an Assistant Chief Legal Officer at the ICPC, opposed the bail application and requested a date for commencement of trial. My Lord, we are interested in the defendant attending trial, Akponimisingha said. In his reaction, the defendants lawyer commended Akponimisingha for his professional conduct in the handling of the case. The judge, Halilu, said bail is a constitutional right of an accused person depending on the nature of the alleged offense. Halilu noted that a defendant was presumed innocent until proven otherwise. The prosecution must lead credible evidence to establish the guilt of a defendant, the judge said. In considering Audus bail request, the judge said the alleged offenses were bailable. Subsequently, the judge allowed Audu to bail on the grounds that he produces two sureties who must be directors in the federal civil service. The judge added that the directors must produce their letters of employment and promotion to the directorship rank in the civil service. Halilu said the defendant would be remanded at Kuje Prison in Abuja if he fails to meet the bail condition. The suit was adjourned until 6 May for commencement of trial. The federal and state governments are currently mulling the establishment of state police in a bid to combat the lingering security crisis in the country. The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Muhammed Idris, stated this on Thursday while briefing the state house correspondent after meeting with President Bola Tinubu and state governors. The move followed the recent surge in the activities of the daredevil bandits and other criminal elements causing mayhem in the country. According to the Minister, although the governments have agreed to consider the calls to establish the state police, more work may still need to be done. He said, The federal government and the governors are considering the possibility of establishing state police. Of course, this is still going to be further discussed, and a lot of work has to be done in that direction. The federal and state governments are agreeing to the necessity of having state police. This is a significant shift, but like I said, more work needs to be done. Many meetings will happen between the FG and the sub-nationals to see the modalities of achieving this. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has placed limits on the transfer of proceeds from crude exports by international oil companies (IOCS) to offshore parent company accounts. According to a circular dated February 14, 2024, signed by Hassan Mahmud, director, trade and exchange department, the transfer of funds by the IOCS has an impact on liquidity in the domestic foreign exchange market. Due to the ongoing reforms in the foreign exchange market, CBN said it is necessary to take measures to reverse the trend. In the circular, banks can only transfer 50 percent of repatriated export proceeds, on behalf of the IOCs, to their parent company offshore accounts - with the remaining 50 percent repatriated after 90 days. The financial regulator said the transfer is subject to the approval of the CBN and the existence of a "cash pooling" agreement with the IOC's parent entity. "While the CBN strongly supports the need for IOCs to have easy access to their export proceeds, particularly to meet their offshore obligations, this must be done with minimal negative impact on liquidity in the Nigerian foreign exchange market," CBN said. "Banks are allowed to pool cash on behalf of IOCs, subject to a maximum of 50% of the repatriated export proceeds in the first instance. "The balance of 50% may be repatriated after 90 days from the date of inflow of the export proceeds." According to the CBN, the arrangement is subject to the fulfilment of documentation requirements including "prior approval of the CBN for the repatriation of funds under the "Cash PEN Pooling" transaction". Other requirements listed by the apex bank are a statement of expenditure incurred by the IOC in the immediate past period relating to the "cash pooling", evidence of the source of foreign exchange inflows, and completion of relevant forex form(s) as required under extant regulations. CBN said it remains dedicated to advancing openness in the Nigerian FX market and it will keep creating regulations to stabilise and expand the market. President Bola Tinubu, in the company of Vice President Kashim Shettima, met with the 36 state governors and the Minister, Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike. The meeting was held at the State House in Abuja on Thursday. The meeting was necessitated by the rising price of food items and insecurity, and delayed/non-payment of salaries and gratuities owed workers, retirees and pensioners, amongst others. This was disclosed in a tweet posted on X by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Temitope Ajayi, in a statement issued by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga Onanuga stated that the meeting agreed on common ground to address some of the challenges currently facing the country especially the rising cost of food and insecurity. After extensive deliberations, the President and Governors agreed to work together to solve the problems and tackle the economic pressure being faced by the citizens. Below are the key takeaways from the meeting: 1. On addressing insecurity which is also affecting farming and food production, President Tinubu made three key pronouncements. More police personnel are to be recruited to strengthen the force. President Tinubu informed the Governors that the Federal Government will work with them and the National Assembly towards putting in place a mechanism that will engender state police instead of the vigilantes that are being used in some states. The President charged the Governors to strengthen their Forest Rangers and arm them to keep all the forests safe from criminals. Modalities for State Police and addressing security issues are to be discussed further at the National Economic Council. 2. On the rising cost of food: The President directed that the State Governments and Federal government should collaborate to increase local food production. The President advised against the idea of food importation and price control when local food producers should be encouraged to produce more food. 3. The President advised Governors to follow the example of Kano State in dealing with the hoarding of food for profiteering by commodities merchants. He directed the Inspector-General of Police, National Security Adviser and Department of State Security Services to monitor warehouses hoarding food items across the country and stop profiteering by merchants. 4. The President charged Governors to pay attention to livestock development in their states and increase production most especially poultry and fishing products. 5. The President pleaded with Governors to ensure all salary arrears to workers and gratuities to retired workers and pensioners are cleared as a way to put money into the hands of the people since states are now getting more monthly FAAC revenue. Spend the money, dont spend the people, he urged the governors. 6. President Tinubu implored the Governors to create more economic opportunities for the youths in their states to keep them more productively engaged. Ogun State Police Command has smashed a seven-man gang that specializes in selling human parts for rituals. The State Police Commissioner, Abiodun Olamutu, revealed this on Thursday, saying that a human heart and two kegs filled with human bodies were parts of exhibits recovered from the suspects. The men arrested included Moses Abidemi, Oluwo Monday, Prophet Peter Akiwunmi Ifatosin, Jamiu Yusuf, Sheriff Agbai and Osojieahen Alioneitoura. Olamutu said the Divisional Police Office, Onipanu, received a report of a missing lady, Ms Sulaiimon Adijat on January 9 who was invited out on a date by one Adebayo Azeez. Despite frantic efforts to locate her whereabouts, her mobile phone has been switched off since the day she was reported missing. Consequently, the Anti-Kidnapping Unit of the command was drafted to unravel the mystery behind her disappearance and a technical-based investigation was embarked on, the CP said. The police boss said investigation revealed that the suspects were involved in a money ritual known as Oshole to produce N200m within seven days. Oluwo Monday charged the duo of Agbai and Alioneitouria N800,000 to prepare the materials for the ritual. Oluwo Monday, in furtherance of his criminal intention, later contacted one Peter, who was not new in the trade of human parts, to source for a lady between the age of 18 and 20 years, he added. According to him, Peter was to deliver the ladys mutilated body parts, specifically the head, two breasts, vagina and two wrists that would be used for the ritual. However, on January 10, Sheriff and Osojieahen collected the ritual money from Oluwo and travelled back to their location in Edo State. Trouble started when Osojieahen used the ritual element as directed by Oluwo, and complained bitterly that it failed to yield the expected sum of 200 million in seven days. A search was conducted in the shrine of Moses on Feb. 3 and 10, where female handbags, two cement sacks containing human bones were recovered, he said. A man who held a knife to a convenience store clerks neck during a robbery was sentenced to 10 years in prison, Cumberland County Prosecutor Jennifer Webb-McRae said Thursday. Sean Roberts, 54, of Woodbury pleaded guilty to first-degree robbery and third-degree eluding on Nov. 30, 2023, the prosecutors office said. On the morning of Sept. 29, 2023, authorities said Roberts entered a 7-Eleven on North High Street in Millville, grabbed the clerk from behind and held a knife to her neck while demanding money. Roberts made off with $130 in cash and fled on foot, according to authorities. Later in the day, Roberts was spotted by police in a car that was reported stolen and sped through a red light when officers tried to pull him over, authorities said. Roberts was apprehended soon thereafter, according to authorities. Roberts was also sentenced to a concurrent four year sentence in state prison and must serve 85% of the sentence under the No Early Release Act. A public defender for him did not immediately return a request for comment. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. Matthew Enuco may be reached at Menuco@njadvancemedia.com. Follow Matt on X More than a dozen people were displaced from their homes when a fire that started in the basement of a Jersey City multi-family building spread to the first and second floors and then the roof Thursday. Jersey City firefighters responding to 77 Nelson Avenue, near North Street, in the Heights, found the fire had already spread to the first and second floors, city spokeswoman Kimberly Wallace-Scalcione said. The fire caused damage to the roof of a neighboring building. The American Red Cross provided aid to the 14 residents at 77 Nelson, which had severe fire and overhaul damage to the entire structure. A cat was also safely removed from the building and returned to its owner. There were no reported injuries to occupants or firefighters. Flash Israel announced on Thursday that its forces killed two commanders from Hamas in the Gaza Strip and Hezbollah in Lebanon, while vowing to expand the attacks in Gaza and Lebanon. During a meeting of the Emergency Preparedness Committee, a governmental body, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant warned that Israel is prepared to escalate its attacks in Lebanon, noting that it has unleashed "no more than a tenth of our capabilities against Hezbollah." Israel has concluded a home front preparedness exercise for a full-fledged war scenario along the country's northern borders with Lebanon and Syria, Gallant noted. "The Air Force jets that are now flying above Lebanon have more massive bombs," he said, adding that Israel can attack 50 km deep into Lebanon and also in Beirut, the Lebanese capital. Gallant added that Israeli forces will continue operations in the Rafah area in southern Gaza and other places. Rockets fired by the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah on Thursday caused a temporary power outage in the northern Israeli city of Kiryat Shmona after a high-voltage line was damaged, the state-owned Israel Electric Corporation said in a statement. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced on Thursday that a commander of Hezbollah's Radwan Forces, Ali Muhammad Aldbas, his deputy, and an operative were killed on Wednesday in an Israeli drone attack on a Hezbollah military structure in the city of Nabatieh in southern Lebanon. Israeli warplanes carried out dozens of strikes on Hezbollah military structures in Blida, Maroun al-Ras and other areas in southern Lebanon, according to the IDF. Israel's Ha'aretz newspaper reported Thursday that senior Hezbollah official and parliament member Hassan Fadlallah warned that Israel "will pay the price" for its attacks in Lebanon, which killed 11 civilians a day earlier. In another development, the Israeli army said it raided the Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis in southern Gaza in an operation based on intelligence indicating that Hamas militants and the bodies of some Israeli hostages are in the hospital. Hamas said the Israeli forces forced the displaced people and staff to evacuate from the hospital, turning the largest functioning hospital in Gaza "into a military barrack." In Gaza City, Ahmed Ghoul, a commander of Hamas' Shati Battalion who participated in the Oct. 7 attack on Israel, was killed by Israeli forces, the IDF said. During the fighting in Gaza on Thursday, an Israeli soldier was killed and 12 others were injured, it added. The war has so far claimed the lives of at least 28,663 Palestinians and wounded 68,395 others, mostly civilians, according to the Gaza-based Media Office. The Israeli death toll from Hamas and Hezbollah attacks reached about 1,400, most of them killed during the initial Hamas cross-border surprise attack on Israel on Oct. 7 last year, according to official Israeli figures. The North Korean KN-23 ballistic missile, which the occupiers launched at Ukraine during a missile attack on February 15, was probably shot down by air defense forces in the Kyiv region. It most likely fell near the village of Buda-Babynetska near Kyiv. ADVERTISIMENT Bucha mayor Anatolii Fedoruk showed a huge crater from the missile on his Telegram channel. The footage was also published by the BBC and Reuters. The editor-in-chief of Defense Express portal Oleh Katkov noted that this crater could be from KN-23, Informator repots. The crater at the site of the missile impact is about 10 meters wide and about 8 meters deep. All the trees within a radius of about 40 meters are burnt out. However, as Katkov explained, the size of the crater cannot be proof of the greater destructive power of DPRK missiles compared to Russian Kalibr. According to him, the size of the crater primarily depends on the soil. ADVERTISIMENT "If the soil is sandy, the crater will be larger than in the case of rocky soil. It also depends on the explosion mechanism. If the warhead detonates after being buried in the ground, the crater will again be larger. There are many variables: even the temperature of the soil affects this," the expert said. Only verified information is available on our Telegram OBOZ.UA and Viber. Do not fall for fakes! New Jersey legal weed will be a $1 billion industry this year, the states Cannabis Regulatory Commission said. Im confident well reach and surpass that milestone in 2024, CRC Executive Director Jeff Brown said at the commissions monthly meeting Thursday. The states cannabis industry saw close to $800 million in sales in 2023. The commission this week also announced New Jersey now has 100 dispensaries selling cannabis, something that was touted by Gov Phil Murphy. One person was killed Friday afternoon when a New Jersey Transit shuttle hit a pedestrian near Faculty Road in Princeton, NJ Transit officials said. At around 2:15 p.m. the Princeton Dinky shuttle fatally struck a pedestrian after leaving the Princeton University stop about one minute earlier, a spokesperson for NJ Transit said. None of the 30 passengers and crew on board the shuttle which runs between downtown Princeton, the university and Princeton Junction train station were injured, the spokesperson said. Service was temporarily suspended in both directions. NJ Transit police are investigating the incident, the spokesperson said. University officials could not immediately be reached for comment. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. Matthew Enuco may be reached at Menuco@njadvancemedia.com. Follow Matt on X PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. Newly acquired Mets pitcher Sean Manaea has played in Queens and in the Bronx before but he hasnt quite experienced life in New York. This season, hes excited to add the city that never sleeps to the list of stops hes made around the world. To fans, Manaea is a good pitcher, one of 322 to throw a no-hitter in MLB history. But when hes not throwing a baseball around, he likes to spend his time traveling and practicing photography. A Somerset County man was convicted for his role in the armed robbery of $100,000 in jewelry and cell phones from a luxury car rental business in 2021, the Morris County Prosecutors Office said Friday. Melvin Banks, 37, of the Somerset section of Franklin Township, was found guilty of first-degree armed robbery, second-degree conspiracy and witness tampering, according to the prosecutors office. During a subsequent investigation, Riverdale police learned that Banks had sent threatening messages to the victim, saying they and their family would be harmed if they did not drop the charges, authorities said. Its happening. The first heavy construction contract for the $16 billion Gateway rail tunnel under the Hudson River between New York and New Jersey was approved Friday by the Gateway Development Commission. The Hudson River Ground Stabilization Project, was awarded to Weeks Marine, Inc. of Cranford, for $100 million for the first phase. The company had the highest qualified proposal out of three and was selected by an evaluation panel. The construction is the start of our first heavy construction in water, said Kris Kolluri, the commissions CEO. Our commitment is to make sure the project enters the point of no return and that is where we are today. The project will build the infrastructure and stabilizes 1,200 feet of shallow riverbed on the Manhattan side to allow the massive tunnel boring machine to start excavating the new tunnel and protect the riverbed. The entire project has a $284 million price tag and awards of contracts to do phase 2 of the work is expected in late summer or early fall, officials said. Phase one will be performed between March and September and includes surveying, design, and construction of the test cofferdam. Phase two includes the design and construction of remaining design and construction work. The year is starting off the same way last year ended, with GDC hitting our milestones to make sure the most urgent infrastructure project in the nation is built, Kolluri said. Progress on the Hudson Tunnel Project is an ongoing testament to American infrastructure at its best. The project addresses conditions where the riverbed off the Manhattan shoreline is made up of silt that is too soft to support a tunnel. Work includes injecting grout into the silt, and using columns of soil mixed with cement and water to stabilize the ground above the future tunnel. Temporary sheet pile cofferdams will enclose the work area. Work will begin in the section of the river closest to Manhattan and move westward toward the Hudson Rivers navigation channel, officials said. Silt affected the original Hudson River tunnels, which sit in 20 feet of silt under the river bottom. Engineers discovered after they were built that the tunnels moved with the high and low tides, prompting Pennsylvania Railroad officials to increase the weight of steel casings that made up the tunnels. But the added weight didnt help the tunnels to settle. Gauges were attached in 1907 and measurements showed the tunnels movement corresponded to high and low tides. Engineers considered chaining the tunnel to bed rock, but rejected it over concerns the tunnel would crack, according to a PBS documentary. Gateways tunnel will be built deeper in the river. Officials also said the federal governments share of the cost of project will be 73% while New Jersey and New Yorks share of the cost has been reduced to roughly 27%. New Jerseys share will be $308 million and New Yorks will be $1.335 billion, according to the final financial plan the commission filed with the Federal Transit administration last month. The difference between the two state reflects credit for New Jerseys funding of the new Portal Bridge North that carries the Northeast Corridor line over Hackensack River in Kearny, Kolluri said. Official anticipate the Federal Transit Administration could make a decision on a $6 billion full funding grant agreement for the tunnel in June. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. Larry Higgs may be reached at lhiggs@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on X @CommutingLarry A New Jersey councilman has been charge with inappropriately touching someone at a residence in North Jersey. Matthew P. Conlon, 32, a West Milford councilman, was charged by complaint on Thursday with fourth-degree criminal sexual contact and harassment, a disorderly persons offense, according to the Passaic County Prosecutors Office. A person reported that Conlon touched intimate parts in an unwelcomed manner at a home in West Milford on Feb. 4, officials said. It was not clear on Thursday whether Conlon had surrendered to authorities. On behalf of the township, we have no statement at this time except to say that the matter will proceed pursuant to law, Edward R. Pasternak from Dorsey & Semrau, municipal counsel for West Milford, told NJ Advance Media Thursday night. Calls and emails to Conlon, West Milford Mayor Michele Dale, and the West Milford Police Department were not returned. According to his since-deleted LinkedIn profile, Conlon worked as chief of staff to Republican state Rep. John V. Azzariti, Jr. The state assemblyman said Conlon is no longer employed by his office. Matt Conlon no longer works in my office. I have no further comment, Azzariti wrote in an email to NJ Advance Media. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. Nicolas Fernandes may be reached at nfernandes@njadvancemedia.com. Sign up to get positive Black news stories, words of affirmation and weekly curated playlists delivered to your inbox twice a week: Enter your email to subscribe to Black Joy. Resigning from a historic role was a tough call for Tracie Hall, but it was a decision necessary to embrace a new shift in her life. Shed built a mammoth legacy after becoming the first Black woman executive director of the American Library Association in January 2020. Her philanthropic, innovative and optimistic spirit was needed as libraries endured a global pandemic, censorship challenges, record-breaking book bans and defunding strategies. These issues were occurring during a time when political scientists and researchers were becoming and continue to be more concerned about the effects of disinformation on democracy. Under Halls leadership, the association created the first national anti-censorship campaign, Unite Against Book Bans, which empowers people with the tools to fight for the right to read. She improved the financial health of the association, giving it the power to create a grant program for librarians doing the work to improve their communities and a legal defense fund for those who were unjustly fired or facing litigation. More than $10 million was distributed to public school and academic libraries during Halls tenure. Hall was honored multiple times for her efforts at ALA. TIME magazine named her one of the 100 most influential people in 2023. The National Book Foundation awarded her the Lifetime Achievement Award the second librarian to receive such an honor. All of these accolades were foreshadowed to Hall during her interview for the position. I joked and said, You know, Im just trying to make sure that Black girl magic doesnt turn into Black girl tragic, Hall said. I said that because I have and continue to consciously fight a trope of my own making, but certainly a societal trope, that says that Black womens value to the world is only when were doing labor. While Hall is proud of what she has built during her tenure, her words echo the generations of Black women whove spoken about the dangers of martyrdom. Folklorist and anthropologist Zora Neal Hurston said Black women were the mules of the earth in her book Their Eyes Were Watching God. The imagery evokes a responsibility of servitude to ones own detriment, which mirrors the psychological and physical consequences of the strong Black superwoman persona. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill professor Dr. Cheryl Woods Giscombe believes Black women disproportionately face high rates of stress-related illnesses, such as anxiety, untreated depression and adverse birth outcomes, because they feel pressured to take on a persona that requires them to be strong, hyper-independent caretakers who suppress their emotions. Hall takes pride in her hard work ethic, but has admitted to workaholism at times. Advocacy was something close to her heart, but in the back of her mind, Hall was coming to terms with her own mortality. She is only two years shy of turning 57, the age when her mother suddenly passed. I made a decision that I would try to do all of the work that was needed to the best of my ability, and when it was clear that the work was in a place where the baton can be passed because youre never finished that I would move on, Hall said. That time came last October, when the ALA announced Halls departure so she could become more focused on creating a balanced life for herself one that didnt solely orbit around a profession. We spend a lot on What are your career goals? But what about life goals? Hall said. I think its important to be fully dimensional and to pursue all your dreams. For me, thats also about discipline because its easy to just keep doing the thing that you know. But you risk a lot, when you say, No, Im gonna go in the direction of this dream here. Im sort of like, a real life example, that you can take a risk. And it can be scary, but it can also be very rewarding. Halls life goals include spending hours reading or writing in a Paris cafe, watching the push and pull of the tide in Cape Coast, Ghana, or polishing up her Spanish while strolling around in Mexico City. Peace is a passport for someone with as much wanderlust as Hall. Travel is a form of meditation, release, and an opportunity to get to know world cultures, foodways, and indigenous forms of knowledge, Hall said. Ive always seen travel as another form of reading. More traveling gives her an opportunity to complete her quest to visit 30 of the most beautiful libraries in the world. Shes halfway to her goal as of the beginning of February. The literary marvels that have swooned her heart include Biblioteca Vasconcelos, a library located in downtown Mexico City where bookshelves hang like honeycombs from the ceiling. She awed at the artistry dominating the interior and exterior of Biblioteca Central UNAM. The sprawling, colorful mural was painted by Juan OGorman, a friend and colleague of Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo. The Seattle Public Library will always have a place in Halls heart because thats where she first became a librarian. Over the past 20 years, Hall has visited and held speeches at about 300 libraries worldwide. Even if the location is not on her list, she cherishes the architecture of each space, whether its the stained glass windows or the small rooms that have their own fireplaces. They all have a feeling thats almost spiritual, Hall said. It makes you realize how important it is that we develop the life of the mind. In the same way that we have gyms for people to exercise their bodies, libraries are the place where they exercise their mind. Since leaving her post at the ALA, Halls advocacy work hasnt gone to the wayside. Shes currently across the pond serving as a visiting fellow at Royal Holloway at the University of London, where shes researching the impact of Brexit on public libraries in the United Kingdom. Shes also sharing her library trips on social media where followers are already being inspired to visit a library during their own travels. Libraries have always been my favorite places especially when its cold outside. There are several lists of the 30+ most beautiful public libraries in the world. My goal is to visit as many as I can. Heres a few so far: Beinecke, Trinity, Vasconcelos, Victoria. pic.twitter.com/R6dwNFBAE3 Tracie D. Hall (@TracieDHall1) January 16, 2024 Living life this way has shown Hall she can serve her community while replenishing herself. She hopes every Black woman does the same: to break through the stereotypes of over-extending servitude and to find their worth outside of being a wife, mother of the church, or any other title. What Ive been interested in is what do Black women look like as creatives, as artists, as makers? What do we look like at play? What do we look like when were happy and in joy? she asked. What is the force that we bring into the world when we just have our heads held back in laughter? Im wanting to explore that. 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. Over 100 faith leaders and activists are marching 172 miles from Philadelphia to Washington DC to demand an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. Were bringing this to the front doorsteps of the most powerful place on the planet to really use our moral and spiritual authority to call for a new way of living in this world, said Reverend Stephen Green, the founder of Faith for Black Lives in an interview with Reckon Thursday afternoon. He and the over 100 supporters who came out to accompany the faith leaders were stopped at a gas station just outside of Wilmington, Delaware after completing seven miles of the 8 day walk The Pilgrimage for Peace kicked off one day earlier in Philadelphia, where leaders from a variety of faith communities including bishops, rabbis, reverends and imams, spoke about the reason for their journey to Washington, DC. They have three demands to Joe Biden and Congress: call for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza, release all hostages and prisoners and channel funding toward humanitarian aid instead of weapons for Israel. Faith for Black Lives initiated the multi-faith pilgrimage in the tradition of the Black faith leaders who led marches all over the country oftentimes risking their own lives to bring attention to the injustices faced by Black Americans during the civil rights movement of the 50s and 60s. As people of African descent in the United States, we know what it means to live under occupation, what it means to live without the freedom of mobility, Green said. Living in the Jim Crow south or in apartheid South Africa is very similar to the apartheid that our brothers and sisters living in under the Israeli regime, he said. We see this all very clearly. That is what is motivating this action. Ramya Vijaya, of Hindus for Human Rights, was motivated to support the march by the legacy of non-violence championed by Gandhi, who led one of the earliest documented acts of civil disobedience, she said at a press conference Wednesday. We have all been horrified as we watch the mass destruction of an entire people unfold in front of our eyes. Were all supposed to just pretend that it doesnt happen, but were here to say that we wont pretend. she said before closing with a traditional Hindu prayer for peace and light in times of darkness. A walk toward a future of solidarity Nearly 30,000 Palestinians have died as a result of Israeli bombardment since the Hamas attack on Oct. 7th 2023. Right now, Israeli troops have begun bombing the southern city of Rafah, where over 1 million Gaza residents are living in refugee camps after they were instructed to flee there to escape the violence. On Thursday, Israeli forces raided Gazas main hospital in Rafah ahead of a looming ground invasion. Part of what led so many Jews to support this horrible violence is a sense of fear. lead organizer of Rabbis for Ceasefire Rabbi Alissa Wise said Thursday, as she and the other faith leaders walked down a street in Delaware. They had walked seven of the 172-mile trek to the White House. And what I have come to understand is that Jews, Palestinians, all of us are more safe in relationship with solidarity across faith and across race. Thats the future that I want to build for the coming generations. Wise said she has been encouraged by the hundreds of thousands of Jews throughout the country who have mobilized in massive civil disobedience actions to call for an end to the violence in their name. My feet are sore, Im not gonna lie but its been so uplifting to be in this multi faith community, Rabbi Wise said. Thereve been all kinds of little miracles sprinkled through this journey Today the group is marching 13 miles from Wilmington to Newark, Delaware. After marching through Maryland, the pilgrimage will end in Washington, DC on February 21. A grand jury has indicted a man accused of sexually assaulting a child in Salem County, but his whereabouts remain unknown nearly three years after the charges were filed. Emeterio Alavez-Cruz, 33, of Pilesgrove, assaulted a 12-year-old girl in June 2021, authorities said in court documents. In July 2021, New Jersey State Police issued a call for the publics help locating Alavez-Cruz, who was known to have connections to Rio Grande, Wildwood, Bridgeton, Penns Grove and New Castle, Delaware. Authorities said Friday that he remains at large. We have not been able to locate or arrest Alavez-Cruz, Salem County Prosecutor Kristin Telsey said. The prosecutors office went forward with the indictment at this time because we felt that it was important to formalize the charges and make it clear that the prosecutors office will continue to pursue accountability and justice for the victim in this matter. A Salem County grand jury indicted Alavez-Cruz this week on charges of first-degree aggravated sexual assault and second-degree endangering, sexual conduct of a child. Anyone with information about his whereabouts is asked to contact the State Police at 800-437-7839 or the Woodstown Station at 856-769-0775. Tipsters may remain anonymous. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. Matt Gray may be reached at mgray@njadvancemedia.com. While Presidents Day celebrates the birth of our first president, George Washington, it is also one of the best time to nab a deal on a new mattress. Retailers, such as Tempur-Pedic, Serta and Amazon, are having massive Presidents Day sales on mattresses, bedding, bases and anything else you might need in the bedroom. Since this is considered the most ideal time to score a discount on a mattress, youll find hundreds of dollars in savings. Big markdowns are available on mattresses styles for side sleepers, stomach sleepers and couples in many sizes and comfort levels. Plus, there is free shipping, a sleep trial and lifetime warranty that make these mattress deals sweeter. So, if youre looking to upgrade your mattress, youll want to take advantage of these big Presidents Day sales events while you can. The Best Presidents Day Mattress Sales 2024 Heres a look at some of the best mattress sales going on during Presidents Day 2024. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. Dawn Magyar can be reached at dmagyar@njadvancemedia.com. Have a tip? Tell us at nj.com/tips/. There were 95 combat engagements on the frontline over the last day, during which our defenders repelled dozens of enemy attacks and assault attempts. The situation is critical in Avdiivka, where the command is carrying out planned reinforcement of the Defense Forces. ADVERTISIMENT This was reported by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in a morning briefing on February 16. It emphasized that Ukrainian soldiers are actively inflicting losses in manpower and equipment on the occupation forces, depleting them along the entire front line. According to military estimates, the day before, Russian terrorist forces launched 34 missile and 85 air strikes, firing from multiple launch rocket systems at Ukrainian positions and settlements 144 times. Unfortunately, these attacks resulted in injuries and deaths among the civilian population. Multi-story and private buildings, educational institutions and critical infrastructure facilities were either destroyed or damaged. The areas hit by enemy air strikes include Okhrimivka, Mala Vovcha, Nesterne, Budarky, Chorne, Kolodiazne, and Ivanivka in the Kharkiv region; Stelmakhivka, Novoliubivka, and Bilohorivka in the Luhansk region; Terny, Novosadove, Ivanivske, Chasiv Yar, Kostiantynivka, Klishchiivka, New York, Avdiivka, Novoselivka Persha, Ocheretyno, Berdychi, Orlivka, Lastochkyne, Heorhiivka, Vodiane, Shevchenko, and Staromaiorske in Donetsk; Novodarivka in Zaporizhzhia. More than 110 towns and villages in Chernihiv, Sumy, Kharkiv, Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, Dnipro, Kherson and Mykolaiv regions came under Russian artillery fire. ADVERTISIMENT In the area of responsibility of the North Joint Forces Operation Center in the Volyn and Polissia sectors, the operational situation remains without significant changes. In the Siverskyi and Slobozhanskyi sectors, the aggressor maintains a military presence in the border areas, conducts sabotage activities, and increases the density of minefields along the border in the Belgorod region of the Russian Federation. In the area of responsibility of the Khortytsia Joint Forces Operation Center in the Kupyansk sector, our defenders repelled three enemy attacks near Synkivka and Ivanivka in the Kharkiv region. In the Liman sector, six attacks by the Russian Armed Forces were repelled near Terny, Yampolivka and Vesele in the Donetsk region. In the Bakhmut sector, the Ukrainian Armed Forces repelled 10 occupants' attacks near Bohdanivka, Ivanivske, Klishchiivka, and Andriivka in the Donetsk region. ADVERTISIMENT In the area of responsibility of the Tavria Brigade in the Avdiivka sector, Ukrainian defenders continue to hold back the enemy, who keeps trying to surround Avdiivka. Our soldiers are steadfastly holding the line, inflicting significant losses on the invaders. Thus, yesterday, the Defense Forces repelled 28 Russian attacks in the areas of Avdiivka, Lastochkyne and five more near Pervomaiske and Nevelske in the Donetsk region. "In accordance with the decision, we are reinforcing units as planned and maneuvering troops in threatened areas," the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said about the situation around Avdiivka. ADVERTISIMENT In the Marinka sector, Ukrainian troops continue to hold back the enemy near Krasnohorivka, Heorhiivka, Peremoha and Novomykhailivka in the Donetsk region, where they repelled 34 attacks over the last day. In the Novopavlivka sector, the Ukrainian Armed Forces stopped three enemy attacks south of Prechystivka and near Staromaiorske in the Donetsk region. In the Zaporizhzhia sector, the Russian Armed Forces did not conduct any offensive (assault) actions. ADVERTISIMENT In the area of responsibility of the Odesa Joint Forces Operation Center in the Kherson sector, the Ukrainian Defense Forces continue to hold their positions and repel the attacks of the occupation forces. Despite significant losses, the Russian army keeps trying to drive our units from their positions. Over the past day, the enemy made three unsuccessful assaults. Over the past 24 hours, Ukrainian combat aircraft struck 12 areas where Russian Armed Forces personnel were concentrated. In addition, late on February 15, air defense forces destroyed one X-59 guided missile. Missile troops struck a command center, three areas of personnel concentration, one artillery vehicle, an ammunition depot, and one radar station. ADVERTISIMENT Only verified information on our Telegram OBOZ.UA and Viber. Do not fall for fakes! UPDATE: Winter storm warnings issued for 4 counties, with 4 to 6 inches of snow expected -- A storm expected to drop as much as 6 inches of snow in parts of New Jersey will likely start after midnight Saturday and wind down by mid-morning, according to the latest forecast on the storms timing. Though most winter storm warnings and advisories take effect starting at 10 p.m. Friday, both the National Weather Service and AccuWeather.com expect snow to arrive from west to east in the early hours of Saturday. Snowfall will begin late tonight through early Saturday morning, depending on where you are, before ending around 7 - 10 a.m. Saturday, the weather service said in an update Friday afternoon. While the snow will luckily avoid this evenings rush hour, anyone traveling overnight through Saturday morning should exercise extreme caution and consider delaying travel, the weather service said. Snowfall rates could reach 0.5 inch to 1.0 inch per hour at times! The National Weather Service has issued winter storm warnings for four New Jersey counties and winter weather advisories for the rest of the state with up to 6 inches of snow expected overnight into Saturday morning.National Weather Service AccuWeather says snow will begin falling as early as 1 a.m. in western parts of the state with the bulk of the snowfall in about a six-hour window. AccuWeathers forecast calls for 3 to 6 inches of snow across southern New Jersey and 1 to 3 inches through central counties. The private forecasting company expects little to no accumulation north of I-80. AccuWeathers forecast calls for 3 to 6 inches of snow across southern New Jersey and 1 to 3 inches through central counties.AccuWeather.com The National Weather Service says the first flakes will start flying around midnight in Warren, Hunterdon, Mercer, Burlington, Camden, Gloucester, Salem, Cumberland and western Atlantic counties with snow reaching the Jersey Shore around 1 a.m. Residents of the northwest corner of New Jersey will be the last to see snow, with precipitation beginning at about 2 a.m. Temperatures will be in the 20s with light winds as the snow falls, forecasters say. A brief period of heavy snow is possible. A quick-hitting winter storm is expected to drop 2 to 4 inches of snow across most of New Jersey late Friday into Saturday morning.AccuWeather.com Snow is expected to taper off by about 10 a.m. Saturday when winter weather advisories end for all but Union County. The rest of the weekend will be dry, but chilly due to gusty winds, especially Sunday. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. Jeff Goldman may be reached at jeff_goldman@njadvancemedia.com. Six-day (Tuesday through Sunday) print subscribers of the Watertown Daily Times are eligible for full access to NNY360, the NNY360 mobile app, and the Watertown Daily Times e-edition, all at no additional cost. If you have an existing six-day print subscription to the Watertown Daily Times, please make sure your email address on file matches your NNY360 account email. You can sign up or manage your print subscription using the options below. Watertown, NY (13601) Today Snow this morning will transition to snow showers this afternoon. High 37F. Winds WSW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of snow 100%. Snowfall around one inch.. Tonight Mainly cloudy with snow showers around this evening. Low 26F. Winds WNW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of snow 50%. Russia has deployed two regular armies to fight in Avdiivka, with a 7-to-1 ratio of forces. At the same time, Ukrainian defenders are holding defensive positions in the city. ADVERTISIMENT The situation is deteriorating every hour. This was reported by the press officer of the third separate assault brigade Oleksandr Borodin during a telethon. According to him, the situation in Avdiivka is critical, the enemy is increasing pressure. Borodin clarified that the ratio of forces of the occupiers and Ukraine at the level of brigades is 7 to 1. "We are holding our defensive positions. The task is difficult precisely because of the ratio (of forces - ed.) and the enemy's infinite amount of resources... The enemy has constant support, instead of an unwound battalion, another one comes in and there is no horizon that they may run out of people and resources," he said. The spokesman added that the situation in Avdiivka is more complicated than in Bakhmut at the most critical moment. "The enemy has a huge number of Guided aerial bomb and equipment. "In Wagner, they were taking care of the equipment, they were mostly manned, while here it is tank attacks with infantry. A large number of armored personnel carriers, infantry fighting vehicles, aircraft, FPV drones. This was not the case in Bakhmut during the Wagnerian period," he explained. ADVERTISIMENT In addition, the occupiers are now increasing the use of guided aerial bombs and phosphorus bombs. They cause fuel oil tanks to catch fire. Poisonous smog spreads throughout the plant. The invaders are also shelling the Defense Forces with artillery and MLRS day and night, dropping aircraft bombs, assaulting with armored vehicles and invading enemy infantry. At the same time, Ukrainian defenders continue to resist the enemy with dignity, conducting defense and inflicting record losses on the enemy. ADVERTISIMENT As a reminder, Russian troops are carrying out a tactical turn through Avdiivka, with the key goal of forcing Ukrainian troops to leave the city. However, there are still Ukrainian soldiers in the town, and this prevents the occupiers from realizing their plans and achieving greater success. The battle for Avdiivka once again proves the inability of Russian troops to successfully encircle enemy forces, and even if the city is captured, it will not be of operational importance for the overall situation on the battlefield. As reported by OBOZ.UA, the Defense Forces are currently using a logistics artery in Avdiivka, Donetsk region, prepared in advance to evacuate the wounded and supply weapons. As of February 15, Avdiivka is not in an operational encirclement, and Ukrainian soldiers continue the defensive operation in this area of the front. ADVERTISIMENT The pathway to political hell is paved with bad intentions. Consider, for example, the decision by Gov. Jeff Landrys administration to reject federal Summer Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) funds that would have given low-income Louisiana families money to feed their kids over the summer. It reflects the sort of cruel policy decisions we and others warned Landry would make once elected, and it will achieve nothing good for Louisiana. It will, however, punish children and families simply for being poor. There is zero public benefit in stripping poor families of much-needed money, let alone in starving their children. It doesnt foster a sense of responsibility, nor does it encourage families to pick themselves up by their mythical bootstraps, as Landry has claimed. The very idea that children will learn responsibility by going hungry for three months is beyond absurd. Were it not so monstrously cruel, it would be clownishly laughable. But this is no laughing matter. Children will suffer. So, lets call this decision what it is: the Landry Doctrine. Moreover, the Summer EBT program is a proven success. It helps families nourish their kids during the summer, and good nutrition improves kids ability to learn. That makes it a wise use of state funds. The program has additional benefits. For conservatives who preach the rising tide lifts all ships economic gospel, it means more money spent at local grocery stores some $130 million in added economic impact. Supporters of the Landry Doctrine say the decision to reject Summer EBT funds will save the state about $2.5 million in administrative costs. That view only considers the programs relatively small cost, not its enormous benefits. The $2.5 million savings is, um, small potatoes compared to the more than $71 million in federal funds the program would bring to the state and hardly worth the harm Louisiana will inflict upon around 600,000 of its poorest children. The decision becomes even more illogical considering Landrys plan to send 150 National Guard troops to the Texas-Mexico border at a cost of at least $3 million. And for what? The Louisiana National Guard has no business patrolling that border, and its presence there will provide no economic benefit to Louisianans. Quite the contrary, in fact. Forcing 150 working men and women who belong to the Guard to leave their jobs and their families will do great harm to them, their employers and their families. Only one person will benefit from such political showboating: Landry, who seeks to elevate his national profile among conservatives and is willing to waste taxpayers money to achieve that goal. These two decisions are eerily reminiscent of the kind of short-sighted, cruel policies implemented by another Louisiana governor who was more concerned with his national profile than the welfare of his constituents: Bobby Jindal. He left office as one of America's worst-rated governors and flopped as a presidential candidate. If he wont reverse course, Landry should at least find ways to help local governments access EBT funds. Otherwise, he will be destined to follow Jindal down the pathway to political hell. And deservedly so. Federal judges who struck down the way Louisiana lawmakers drew legislative, congressional and other district maps forever changed the states political landscape in the 1970s, 80s and 90s. Now, the latest round of litigation could have the same tectonic effect. The rulings handed down decades ago initially came in response to claims that the state violated the one person, one vote principle of equal representation, the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Those cases led to the elimination of multi-member legislative districts, which Louisiana once used to dilute Black voting strength and give sparsely populated rural parishes outsized influence. They also gave Black citizens significant representation in the Legislature, on state and local governing bodies, and in the judiciary. But redistricting remains a fundamentally political process. Its often said that every four years voters choose their legislators and every 10 years legislators choose their voters. That only hints at what really drives redistricting: politicians self-interest. If the essence of the physicians oath is First do no harm, that of the politician is First do no harm to myself. That explains why lawmakers in 2022 adopted legislative and congressional redistricting plans that maintained the status quo. Even though nearly a third of Louisianas voting-age population is Black, they drew five majority-white (read: Republican) congressional districts and only one majority-Black district; and only 11 of 39 state Senate districts and 29 of 105 state House districts are majority-Black. That led to separate legal challenges. U.S. District Judge Shelly Dick of Baton Rouge struck down both plans, starting with the congressional map. After appeals affirmed her decision, she ordered lawmakers to draw a new plan that included a second majority-Black district by Jan. 30 or she would do it for them. They reluctantly complied, with some political intrigue. At Gov. Jeff Landrys behest, lawmakers created a meandering second majority-Black district that favors state Sen. Cleo Fields and disfavors U.S. Rep. Garret Graves, both of Baton Rouge. Fields, a Black Democrat, is a behind-the-scenes ally of Landry; Graves, a white Republican, is despised by Landry. Dick must now decide if the new congressional plan meets constitutional standards. Meanwhile, a group of Graves supporters recently challenged the new congressional plan in another federal judicial district. That new challenge has yet to play out. On Feb. 8, Dick voided the state legislative districting plan for the same reason she struck down the congressional plan. Five days later, the plaintiffs asked her to order new legislative elections in the fall. That would require lawmakers to fast-track the remapping process, which Republicans oppose because it would threaten their super-majority in both legislative chambers. Even if Dick orders new elections, a lengthy appeals process makes it unlikely they will happen this fall. Its a long shot right now, but not impossible, that we could see new legislative elections in the autumn of 2025. That, along with a second majority-Black (read: Democrat) congressional district, would upend Louisianas political landscape once more. The head of the Defense Ministry's Main Intelligence Directorate, Kyrylo Budanov, said that the situation on the battlefield in the Russian-Ukrainian war remains difficult, but not critical . Ukraine effectively maneuvers resources and adapts to changes in strategy. ADVERTISIMENT Budanov said this in an interview with the French edition of Liberation. According to the head of the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine, this war is not unique. "Our war is not unique. It is simply a high-intensity conflict using the full range of available weapons. We are not on the verge of using weapons of mass destruction, but everything else - from submarines to strategic aviation - has been used for a long time," he said. Budanov added that, unfortunately, no miracle technologies will help to radically change the course of a long war, as, in his opinion, other factors are much more important. "The question is how to allocate resources, how to use what is available, and how to plan supply lines. In a prolonged war, the side that has a stronger economy and logistics wins," he said. Earlier, Kyrylo Budanov suggested that it would be more difficult for Ukraine to drive the occupiers out of Donbas than from the territory of Crimea, which was temporarily seized by the enemy. He explained that the army of the aggressor country Russia has established continuous supply lines to the east of our country. ADVERTISIMENT As reported by OBOZ.UA, the Defense Forces, after many months of fierce fighting with the Russian occupiers, withdrew from the Zenit position on the outskirts of Avdiivka, Donetsk region. Currently, the troops are regrouping, replenishing supplies and equipping units at their new positions. Commander of the Ukrainian Navy Oleksiy Neizhpapa is confident that the so-called Crimean bridge, illegally built by Russian occupiers across the Kerch Strait, will not exist. In his opinion, this strategic object for Russia may not survive until the end of 2024. The Army Corps of Engineers has scheduled a series of scoping meetings to gather public comments on its $25 million, 5-year study aimed at improving management of the Mississippi River from Cape Girardeau, Mo. to the Gulf of Mexico. The "mega-study," as the Corps calls it, will identify recommendations for management of the region that will include: There's nothing else like the Southern University System. Southern University and A&M College was founded in the 1800s, and other Southern Kyrylo Budanov, Chief of the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine, suggested that it would be more difficult for Ukraine to drive the occupiers out of Donbas than from the territory of Crimea, which was temporarily occupied by the enemy. He explained that the army of the aggressor country Russia had established continuous supply lines to the east of our country. ADVERTISIMENT The head of the Ukrainian intelligence shared his opinion in an interview with the French edition of Liberation. The journalist asked him: "Which part of the Ukrainian territory will be more difficult to return: Crimea or Donbas?" "I think Donbas... Because there is a continuous supply line there, their troops can access it from any direction," Budanov replied. He added that all those who once owned the Crimean peninsula "loudly declared" that it was an "impregnable fortress". "And absolutely everyone lost this fortress, just like Ukraine did ten years ago. Today, the Russians still have a land corridor to Crimea. The Crimean bridge is still standing, but this bridge will not live long. Two strategic tasks need to be solved: to cut the land corridor and to destroy the Crimean bridge. What will happen next is only a matter of time. The peninsula will be returned. The situation with Donbas is more complicated," the DIU chief said. ADVERTISIMENT As OBOZ.UA previously reported: - Commander of the Ukrainian Navy Oleksiy Neizhpapa is confident that the so-called Crimean bridge, illegally built by the Russian occupiers across the Kerch Strait, will not exist. In his opinion, this strategic object for Russia may not survive until the end of 2024. - Neizpapa also said that Ukraine could have won the war faster if it had received permission to strike at Russian territory with weapons received from the West. Only verified information on our Telegram channel OBOZ.UA and Viber. Do not fall for fakes! The bereaved family of a female Japanese tourist who was killed in Thailand in 2007 asks the Thai justice minister to resolve the case and eliminate the statute of limitations for murder. The European Union is failing to fulfill its commitment to supply one million rounds of ammunition to the Ukrainian army by March 2024. Therefore, Europe has discussed the possibility of purchasing ammunition outside the bloc as the situation at the front with the supply of ammunition for Ukraine is critical. ADVERTISIMENT However, France, Greece and Cyprus opposed this decision. This was reported by Politico. Three unnamed diplomatic interlocutors confirmed to the publication that at the last meeting of the EU Political and Security Committee, the possibility of purchasing shells for Ukraine outside the bloc was discussed. The majority of EU member states supported this proposal, given the critical shortage of ammunition that the Ukrainian army is currently suffering from. However, France, along with Greece and Cyprus, opposed this "emergency measure," arguing that "European arms manufacturers need orders to justify increased production." At the same time, the newspaper reminds us that at the end of January, a high-ranking French official said that France would not object to purchasing shells outside the EU if the EU failed to provide one million shells for Ukraine by March. According to Politico, Europe will not be able to fulfill this obligation within the stated timeframe. ADVERTISIMENT It has been three months since the School City of Hammond and the Hammond Teachers Federation failed to reach a new contract agreement, and it seems that both sides have not gotten any closer towards a resolution. Even prior to the stalemate, it looked like the tension was already building. The beginning of contract negotiations last September was marked by teachers publicly expressing their grievances over the lack of salary increases, overcrowded classrooms, involuntary transfers and reduction in planning periods, among other concerns. The district and teachers' union met six times for contract negotiations between September and November with the final session occurring on Nov. 13, days before the state's deadline for school districts to approve teacher contracts. After the deadline passed on Nov. 15, the Indiana Education Employment Relations Board declared an impasse between Hammond schools and the teachers' union, with a mediator appointed to help resolve the stalemate. However, the defeat of the school city's operating referendum by Hammond voters in November seemed to further complicate contract talks. After two mediation sessions, a proposed contract from Hammond schools administration was voted on by the union on Dec. 22. Nearly all teachers rejected it. According to the union, the contract's language was drastically different following negotiations, with teachers claiming the proposal would eliminate compensation for covering classes, cap personal and family illness days, halt the district's contributions to the teachers' retirement fund, as well as significantly increase health care premium costs for employees. Additionally, educators decided to cast a vote of no confidence in the district's superintendent, Scott Miller, and two assistant superintendents, further expressing their frustrations with the administration. On Dec. 27, the Hammond Teachers' Federation filed an unfair labor practice complaint against Hammond schools, and moved to keep the impasse in place until its complaint was resolved, which was granted. In filings submitted to IEERB obtained by The Times through a public records request, the union alleges the school city negotiating in bad faith by refusing to honor tentative agreements reached during bargaining sessions, making unreasonable demands and bringing forward new proposals in the advantage stages of negotiations. These actions, the union claimed, "constituted conduct designed to frustrate rather than promote agreement." In its response, Hammond schools denied the union's accusations. The district noted it was notified by Indiana's Distressed Unit Appeals Boards following the referendum's defeat to create and implement a corrective action plan that, in part, had to include cost-cutting measures. Therefore, the contract proposed to the union during mediation was meant to address those cost-cutting measures asked by DUAB to avoid further financial distress. However, Hammond Teachers' Federation President Louis Gikas says the failure of the referendum and DUAB's intervention is a "smokescreen" being used to hide what he considers mistakes the district has made: Such as outsourcing substitute teacher services, and transferring funding from the employee self-insurance fund. "I think there's a true animosity on the part of [the School City of Hammond's] central office against unions," Gikas said to The Times. On Jan. 15, Gikas sent an email to the Hammond School Board requesting a meeting to discuss the status of contract negotiations. Following Gikas's email, the district submitted a cross-complaint against the union, claiming the union president was attempting to illegally bypass the administration, which is the district's designated point of contact for contract negotiations. Gikas denies trying to go around the administration, saying he felt obligated to reach out to the board since the union did not have confidence in the administration to provide complete information to them. Since the deadlock began between both sides, teachers have picketed at school board meetings and have attempted to publicly pressure the district's administration to restart negotiations. Gikas said the union is sincere in its attempts to bargain, and they're hoping the administration takes a similar position. "We're not in the business of having a huge, great bottom line," he said. "What we want is really good learning conditions for our students." The Times reached out to Miller for comment on the story but did not receive a response back as of Thursday afternoon. PHOTOS: Hammond's 2024 Black History Month Celebration 2024 Annual Black History Month Celebration 2024 Annual Black History Month Celebration 2024 Annual Black History Month Celebration 2024 Annual Black History Month Celebration 2024 Annual Black History Month Celebration 2024 Annual Black History Month Celebration 2024 Annual Black History Month Celebration 2024 Annual Black History Month Celebration 2024 Annual Black History Month Celebration A Valparaiso High School student has criticized the apparent lack of communication and action from Valparaiso Community Schools, following its controversial decision to remove an LGBTQ flag last year. Last November, the removal of the Progress Pride flag from a VHS classroom sparked reactions from parents, students and community members, with many calling for its reinstatement. During Thursday night's school board meeting Tencia Almaraz, a senior at VHS, reminded Superintendent Jim McCall he said in November public discussions would continue even after the flag's removal. However, Almaraz claimed those conversations never happened. "I think it would of been a unique and perfect opportunity for us to ... learn and maybe understand each other a little bit more," Almaraz said. Brian Williams, a frequent commentator at school board meetings, expressed similar concerns as Almaraz. He reminded the board of a student who spoke at a meeting last June about her fears during and after the lockdowns at VHS last January due to a false bomb threats, and the number of students who spoke in November about being bullied due to their sexual orientation. Williams criticized the board and administration for having no apparent meaningful response to the students' concerns and said they needed to do better. "You need to be proactive and not merely reactive or silent," Williams told the board. He suggested they hold a public forum to learn more about the extent of students' issues or work with the city council. In response, McCall said conversations have occurred with several groups including LGBTQ Outreach of Porter County, and the high school's Gender & Sexuality Alliance. The superintendent said they were still having discussions and gathering information so could address the situation the best way possible. "This is not something we ever take lightly and I want you to walk away knowing that," McCall said to Almaraz. During the meeting, the school board also approved renewing its contract with Surf Internet for three years to provide internet service for VHS. The board also approved several surplus items of equipment to go to auction, including a salt spreader, sewing machines and tools formerly used in the woodshop courses. The next Valpo school board meeting is slated for March 21. Close Nursing students learn the basics in the skill center before moving on to the simulation center at Valparaiso University. Valparaiso University Simulation Specialist Susie Zaweski explains the use of simulators in the Sim Center to Valparaiso City Council President Robert Cotton in the Sim Center. Valparaiso University President Jose Padilla speaks at a press conference announcing $1 million in federal funding secured for Valparaiso University nursing program. Valparaiso University Director of the Center for Experiential Learning Gail Kost speaks at a press conference announcing $1 million in federal funding secured for Valparaiso University nursing program. U.S. Congressman Frank Mrvan speaks at a press conference announcing $1 million in federal funding secured for Valparaiso University nursing program. Valparaiso University President Jose Padilla speaks at a press conference announcing $1 million in federal funding secured for Valparaiso University nursing program. Valparaiso University President Jose Padilla speaks at a press conference announcing $1 million in federal funding secured for Valparaiso University nursing program. Valparaiso University Simulation Specialist Susie Zaweski explains the use of simulators in the Sim Center to Valparaiso City Council President Robert Cotton in the Sim Center. Valparaiso University Assistant Dean Lynette Rayman speaks at a press conference announcing $1 million in federal funding secured for Valparaiso University nursing program. Valparaiso University nursing student Eleanor Schuler speaks at a press conference announcing $1 million in federal funding secured for Valparaiso University nursing program. Valparaiso University nursing student Mariya O'Grady speaks at a press conference announcing $1 million in federal funding secured for Valparaiso University nursing program. U.S. Congressman Frank Mrvan speaks at a press conference announcing $1 million in federal funding secured for Valparaiso University nursing program. U.S. Congressman Frank Mrvan speaks at a press conference announcing $1 million in federal funding secured for Valparaiso University nursing program. Valparaiso University Assistant Dean Lynette Rayman speaks at a press conference announcing $1 million in federal funding secured for Valparaiso University nursing program. U.S. Congressman Frank Mrvan speaks at a press conference announcing $1 million in federal funding secured for Valparaiso University nursing program. PHOTOS: $1 million in federal funding secured for Valparaiso University nursing program Nursing students learn the basics in the skill center before moving on to the simulation center at Valparaiso University. Valparaiso University Simulation Specialist Susie Zaweski explains the use of simulators in the Sim Center to Valparaiso City Council President Robert Cotton in the Sim Center. Valparaiso University President Jose Padilla speaks at a press conference announcing $1 million in federal funding secured for Valparaiso University nursing program. Valparaiso University Director of the Center for Experiential Learning Gail Kost speaks at a press conference announcing $1 million in federal funding secured for Valparaiso University nursing program. U.S. Congressman Frank Mrvan speaks at a press conference announcing $1 million in federal funding secured for Valparaiso University nursing program. Valparaiso University President Jose Padilla speaks at a press conference announcing $1 million in federal funding secured for Valparaiso University nursing program. Valparaiso University President Jose Padilla speaks at a press conference announcing $1 million in federal funding secured for Valparaiso University nursing program. Valparaiso University Simulation Specialist Susie Zaweski explains the use of simulators in the Sim Center to Valparaiso City Council President Robert Cotton in the Sim Center. Valparaiso University Assistant Dean Lynette Rayman speaks at a press conference announcing $1 million in federal funding secured for Valparaiso University nursing program. Valparaiso University nursing student Eleanor Schuler speaks at a press conference announcing $1 million in federal funding secured for Valparaiso University nursing program. Valparaiso University nursing student Mariya O'Grady speaks at a press conference announcing $1 million in federal funding secured for Valparaiso University nursing program. U.S. Congressman Frank Mrvan speaks at a press conference announcing $1 million in federal funding secured for Valparaiso University nursing program. U.S. Congressman Frank Mrvan speaks at a press conference announcing $1 million in federal funding secured for Valparaiso University nursing program. Valparaiso University Assistant Dean Lynette Rayman speaks at a press conference announcing $1 million in federal funding secured for Valparaiso University nursing program. U.S. Congressman Frank Mrvan speaks at a press conference announcing $1 million in federal funding secured for Valparaiso University nursing program. The Madison, Wisconsin-based video game studio Lost Boys Interactive is laying off 125 workers around the country, including one in Merrillville. The studio, which designs AAA games for PlayStation, Xbox and PC, sent a mass layoff notice to the Indiana Department of Workforce Development in January. Lost Boys Interactive issued a Workers Adjustment and Retraining Notice, or WARN, informing Indiana it would lay off a designer in Merrillville, another in Bloomington, eight workers in Illinois, mostly in Chicagoland, and workers in 22 other states. The company said in the WARN notice the layoffs will start on March 15. Lost Boys Interactive is a subsidiary of the Swedish company Embracer Group, which laid off nearly 1,400 employees last year, cutting 8% of its workforce. The struggling video game company cut the number of games under development from 153 to 124 last year. It shut down the Volition and Free Radical Games developers as part of the restructuring. The maker of games like "South Park: Snow Day" and "Alone in the Dark" warned of further layoffs as it looks to reduce debt, which stood at $1.5 billion at the end of last year. Longtime Munster Town Manager Dustin Anderson stepped down after a new town council was elected. Anderson served as the town's administrator since 2014. "Every council has the right to work with a town manager that they are enthusiastic about. It is clear that the new councils agenda will be best accomplished with a better fit for their goals in the role of town manager," Anderson wrote in a letter to staff. "To that end, the Munster Town Council and staff worked together to establish a framework for a transition that included the current town managers last day being on Friday, February 2nd and a separation agreement in recognition for his years of service. The town of Munster is in a strong financial position to accomplish our goals and as we are all invested in our community, let us look forward to our towns future successes." The town council voted at the last meeting to accept his resignation. "The position of town manager is one of the most thankless jobs in town government. For the past four years, I had the pleasure of working with Dustin Anderson. I've seen Dustin invest his energy and efforts in making Munster a better place. Recently I and each member of the council received 25 letters of support for Dustin. While each letter was unique there was a common theme: 'Dustin was helpful and assisted many residents, provided feedback, supported the town, and was a professional, knowledgeable and generous public servant,'" town councilman Chuck Gardnier said at the council meeting. "While Dustin has been a catalyst for many town accomplishments over the past nine years, one needs to be highlighted. His work and dedication to the 45th underpass project was outstanding. His work to coordinate the multijurisdictional alphabet soup-funded model of NIRPC, INDOT and the RDA greatly reduced the cost to the town of Munster, provided unbelievable amenity to the town of Munster and brought it to completion under budget. That being said, I do accept his resignation in order for our town to come together and move forward." Munster will start to search for a new town manager. Anderson described the position of Munster town manager in a social media post as a "dream job." "I am one of the lucky ones, though. For more than nine years I have had the absolute privilege and pleasure of serving as the Town Manager for Munster Indiana. It is an incredible opportunity to be a part of a team that works to make our community a better place to be," he wrote in a post he pointed to in lieu of answering questions. "I didn't even grow up knowing what local government really was, let alone that there was a job called 'city manager.' All I knew was that there were some places that felt "nice to be in" and others that didn't. It wasn't until after undergrad and I moved away that I learned that the quality of place in a given locale isn't a factor of merely how much money was floating around or if there was a college in town - but was also dependent on what people are involved and in what capacity, what decisions they are empowered to make, and what their long-term vision was for their community." He believes the town accomplished a lot of good work during his tenure. "No one of sound mind takes the role of manager in local government thinking that the duration of their appointment will be at their sole preference. Nearly all my mentors and many a manager better than myself have found themselves in transition due to shifting councils and circumstances. I now find myself also in transition," he wrote in the social media post. "As managers, we are given a tremendous responsibility to act as temporary stewards of a permanent place. To have the chance to look over the horizon and prepare, to get to constantly learn and adapt, and to deliver the services people depend on in a predictable and transparent manner - well, it is a special thing. I look forward to a new adventure in placemaking, budgeting, managing, and leading." The notion that locally elected leaders know what's best for their communities and constituents is an opinion not shared by nearly all the Republican members of the Indiana Senate. On Thursday, the Republican-controlled chamber twice voted 34-10 to invalidate 21 municipal ordinances banning the sale of puppies and dogs at retail pet stores as a means to combat animal abuse. House Bill 1412 instead would substitute a package of one-size-fits-all state dog sale regulations for policies already on the books in Cedar Lake, Crown Point, Dyer, East Chicago, Hebron, Highland, Lake Station, Lowell, Munster, Schererville, Valparaiso and Whiting. State Sen. Fady Qaddoura, D-Indianapolis, said he has no problem with the proposed statewide dog sale requirements. But he doesn't believe they should come at the expense of policies tailored by citizens and local leaders to meet the unique needs of their communities. To that end, Qaddoura suggested revising the legislation in two different ways, both of which would have deleted the provision nullifying local dog sale ordinances. "It preserves local control to make these decisions," Qaddoura said. "What we're saying here is the best form of government is government that's close to the people that understands their needs." The sponsor of the legislation, state Sen. Blake Doriot, R-Goshen, said local governments have an obligation to submit to state authority when the General Assembly decides it wants to regulate in certain areas. "Locals have zoning, subdivision, health department and many other things that is in their purview. But we feel that commerce is the purview of the state of Indiana; locals have to ask us to do things all the time. You know, when they don't want us around they don't want us, but when they need us we're the first ones they call," Doriot said. In response, Senate Democratic Leader Greg Taylor, D-Indianapolis, asked when Republicans stopped believing in local control. "If we're going to keep regulating from the Statehouse then why should we even have city councils and other local governments?" Taylor asked. "We talk about how we want people to be accountable to their constituents. Where is there more accountability than at the local level where the people live?" The defeat of both of Qaddoura's proposals makes the state dog sale regulations eligible for approval by the full Senate as soon as Monday. Among Northwest Indiana lawmakers, the preemption of local dog sale ordinances was supported by state Sens. Mike Bohacek, R-Michiana Shores; Ed Charbonneau, R-Valparaiso; Dan Dernulc, R-Highland; and Rick Niemeyer, R-Lowell. Voting to maintain local control were state Sens. Rodney Pol Jr., D-Chesterton; Lonnie Randolph, D-East Chicago; and Dave Vinzant, D-Hobart. Meet the 2024 Northwest Indiana legislative delegation State Sen. Dan Dernulc, R-Highland State Sen. Lonnie Randolph, D-East Chicago State Sen. Dave Vinzant, D-Hobart State Sen. Rodney Pol Jr. State Sen. Ed Charbonneau, R-Valparaiso State Sen. Rick Niemeyer, R-Lowell State Sen. Mike Bohacek, R-Michiana Shores State Rep. Carolyn Jackson, D-Hammond State Rep. Earl Harris Jr., D-East Chicago State Rep. Ragen Hatcher, D-Gary State Rep. Ed Soliday, R-Valparaiso State Rep. Pat Boy, D-Michigan City State Rep. Chuck Moseley, D-Portage State Rep. Mike Aylesworth, R-Hebron State Rep. Mike Andrade, D-Munster State Rep. Vernon Smith, D-Gary State Rep. Hal Slager, R-Schererville State Rep. Kendell Culp, R-Rensselaer State Rep. Julie Olthoff, R-Crown Point State Rep. Jim Pressel, R-Rolling Prairie In an interview with The New York Times, the Russian opposition leader Aleksei A. Navalny discusses life in Penal Colony No. 2 in Pokrov, Russia, where he is being held; President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia; international sanctions imposed on Russia; the upcoming elections for the Duma, Russias lower house of Parliament; his poisoning with the chemical weapon Novichok; being tailed by the Federal Security Service, or the F.S.B., the successor agency to the K.G.B.; and a host of other issues. These excerpts have been edited for space and clarity. How have you been treated in prison? Before, my zone was famous for fearsome beatings of inmates. Now, nobody is beaten, or at least I havent heard about it. But as they say, At first you work for your reputation, and then your reputation works for you. And that is true of this prison. People who have the poor fortune of being told they will serve in Pokrov arrive noticeably subdued and afraid. The zone specializes in psychological violence. This is far and away more sophisticated. They wont beat you quite the opposite, with continual provocation, they will put you in a position where you have to beat up somebody else, hit somebody, threaten somebody. And then the deed is done there are video cameras everywhere, and the administration with great pleasure will open a new criminal case against you on charges of assault, adding a few years to your sentence. To not succumb to provocation, this is the most important thing to learn here. The first few months, I was really good at this, and now things became calmer. I just decided this would become an excellent Christian practice. We continually talk about loving thine enemy, but really, just try to understand and forgive people you literally couldnt stand at all just a little while ago. But Im trying. In 2019, the celebrity chef Ina Garten set off a flurry of excitement among her millions of fans: Garten, a Food Network star, best-selling cookbook author and social media sensation, was writing a memoir. The publisher behind the book, Celadon, celebrated the acquisition of what was sure to be a best seller in a news release. Ina Garten is beloved by all, a national treasure who has become iconic beyond the food world, Deb Futter, now the president and publisher of Celadon Books, an imprint of Macmillan, said in the release. Her memoir will cement her legacy in the cultural landscape. When Garten recently updated her Instagram bio to note the books October release date, the revelation once again led to online chatter and a cascade of news articles. One crucial detail was missing: The book was no longer coming from Macmillan. Instead, it will be published by Crown, an imprint of Penguin Random House. A judge in Manhattan rejected Donald Trumps bid to throw out criminal charges against him that stem from a hush-money payment to a porn star in 2016, clearing the way for the first prosecution of a former American president in the nations history. The judge, Juan Merchan, scheduled the trial to begin on March 25, ensuring that Trump will face at least one jury before Election Day. The New York case is generally viewed as the least significant of the four criminal cases against the former president, but it still presents a formidable threat. Trump is facing 34 felony charges and, if convicted, a sentence of up to four years in prison. It is also a state case, meaning Trump could not pardon himself even if he is elected in November. The trial was originally scheduled to come after Trumps federal election interference trial in Washington, which is now stalled. The federal trial could take place in the late spring or early summer, or not at all, depending on the Supreme Court, which will soon have to decide whether Trump has executive immunity. The companys lawyers repeatedly denied in their filing that Amazon had broken the law. Then, under a section titled Other Defenses, they argued that the structure of the N.L.R.B. violates the separation of powers by impeding the executive power provided for in Article II of the United States Constitution. The company also argued that the board or its actions or proceedings violated Articles I and III of the Constitution, as well as the Fifth and Seventh Amendments in the last case because, the filing said, board hearings can seek legal remedies beyond whats allowed without a trial by jury. Amazon declined to comment. The claims it made in the filing echo arguments that lawyers for SpaceX made in a federal lawsuit last month, after the labor board issued a complaint accusing the company of illegally firing eight employees for criticizing Mr. Musk. SpaceX sued in Texas, but a federal judge there on Thursday granted the boards motion to transfer the case to California, where the companys headquarters are. In a statement, the boards general counsel, Jennifer A. Abruzzo, said, I am pleased that SpaceXs blatant forum-shopping efforts in Texas attempting to enjoin the agencys litigation against it have failed. Wilma Liebman, a chairwoman of the labor board under President Barack Obama, called the arguments by Amazon and SpaceX radical, adding that the constitutionality of the N.L.R.B. was settled nearly 90 years ago by the Supreme Court. The pews of St. Patricks Cathedral were packed on Thursday for an event with no likely precedent in Catholic history: the funeral of Cecilia Gentili, a transgender activist and actress, former sex worker and self-professed atheist whose memorial functioned as both a celebration of her life and an exuberant piece of political theater. Over 1,000 mourners, several hundred of whom were transgender, arrived in daring outfits glittery miniskirts and halter tops, fishnet stockings, sumptuous fur stoles and at least one boa sewed from what appeared to be $100 bills. Mass cards and a picture near the altar showed a haloed Ms. Gentili surrounded by the Spanish words for transvestite, whore, blessed and mother above the text of Psalm 23. That St. Patricks Cathedral would host the funeral for a high-profile transgender activist, who was well known for her advocacy on behalf of sex workers, transgender people and people living with H.I.V., might come as a surprise to some. As House Speaker Mike Johnson refuses to put to a vote the bill approved in the Senate that includes aid to Ukraine, lawmakers in both chambers are preparing a plan B behind the scenes. They are considering two options. ADVERTISIMENT The Hill reports that US lawmakers are trying to agree on another round of aid to Ukraine as soon as possible and finally put it on President Joe Biden's desk. Among the options is the use of a petition, the so-called discharge petition procedure, which allows the issue to be put to a vote bypassing the speaker. This procedure involves collecting signatures of a simple majority of the House of Representatives, meaning that 218 signatures are required. The publication notes that for the discharge petition to succeed, Democrats in the lower house of Congress need to enlist the support of several Republicans. However, this is a political risk for them as they would be "openly opposing" their leadership. So far, only one Republican, Greg Murphy, has publicly announced the possibility of joining the petition. ADVERTISIMENT At the same time, Congressman Gregory Meeks (New York), the senior Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said he has already spoken to Republicans about signing the petition and believes it is the most likely way to get aid to Ukraine, given Johnson's staunch opposition. "It's a way to do something bipartisan for our country's national security and to support our allies. It's urgent. Ukraine needs it need right now," the congressman emphasized. The second option, which a number of U.S. lawmakers are considering in parallel, involves the adoption of an alternative bill that would include measures for border security and foreign aid, but for a smaller amount. It provides about $40 billion for Ukraine. The initiators believe that their bill has a better chance of passage because it does not include money for humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza, which could turn Republicans away. ADVERTISIMENT Only verified information is available on OBOZ.UA Telegram and Viber. Do not fall for fakes! INTERNATIONAL An article on Thursday about Liu Jianchaos role in shifting the Chinese Communist Partys tone described incorrectly a meeting between Mr. Liu, who is the head of Chinas International Liaison Department, and U.S. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken. While meetings between officials in those positions are rare, the meeting between Mr. Liu and Mr. Blinken was not the first of its kind. An article on Thursday about fears of an expansion of Israels war in the Gaza Strip misstated the day on which Benny Gantz, a member of Israels war cabinet, warned of further Israeli strikes in Lebanon. His comments were on Wednesday, not on Monday. The article also misspelled the surname of Hezbollahs leader. He is Hassan Nasrallah, not Nazrallah. An article on Thursday about concerns about Keir Starmers management of the U.K. Labour Party misstated the date of a by-election in Rochdale, England. It is scheduled for Feb. 29, not Feb. 28. The error was repeated in a picture caption. NATIONAL An article on Sunday about a rise in premature births in the United States misstated the name of Northwell Healths maternal health department. It is Center for Maternal Health, not Center for Maternal Medicine. An Alaska woman who arranged to have her best friend killed in 2019 after a man she met online promised her $9 million to do so was sentenced on Monday to 99 years in prison, state prosecutors said. Judge Andrew Peterson of Anchorage Superior Court sentenced the woman, Denali Brehmer, 23, of Anchorage, who pleaded guilty last year to one count of first-degree murder in the death of the friend, Cynthia Hoffman, the Alaska Department of Law said in a statement. Evidence presented at the sentencing showed that Ms. Hoffman, 19, was fatally shot on June 2, 2019, on a bank of the Eklutna River near Thunderbird Falls and that her body was later placed in the river, according to the Department of Law. Prosecutors later learned that Ms. Brehmer had been hired to kill Ms. Hoffman in exchange for millions of dollars. During the hearing, Judge Peterson described the murder of Ms. Hoffman as tragic and senseless, the Department of Law said. Fani T. Willis walked unaccompanied through the front door of a Fulton County courtroom on Thursday afternoon in a bright magenta dress and announced she was ready to testify. She was interrupting her lawyer, who at that very moment was trying to convince a judge that she should not have to testify at all. Im going to go, Ms. Willis said. And so she did. For roughly three hours on Thursday, Ms. Willis, the district attorney in Fulton County, Ga., engaged in the fight of her life from the witness stand to try to salvage the case of her life, the prosecution of former President Donald J. Trump. In a raw performance, Ms. Willis, 52, presented herself as a woman in full by turns combative and serene, focused and discursive (at one point she declared her preference for Grey Goose vodka over wine). Her language toggled between casual (a thousand dollars was a G) and precise: On numerous occasions, she prefaced her statements with variations on the phrase, I want to be very clear. The special counsel investigating Hunter Biden has charged a former F.B.I. informant with fabricating claims that President Biden and his son each sought $5 million bribes from a Ukrainian company a stinging setback for Republicans who cited the allegations in their push to impeach the president. The longtime informant, Alexander Smirnov, 43, is accused of falsely telling the F.B.I. that Hunter Biden, then a paid board member of the energy giant Burisma, demanded the money to protect the company from an investigation by the countrys prosecutor general at the time. The explosive story, which seemed to back up unsubstantiated Republican claims of a Biden crime family, turned out to be a brazen lie, according to a 37-page indictment unsealed late Thursday in a California federal court, brought by the special counsel, David C. Weiss. Mr. Smirnovs motivation for lying, prosecutors wrote, appears to have been political. During the 2020 campaign, he sent his F.B.I. handler a series of messages expressing bias against Joseph R. Biden Jr., including texts, replete with typos and misspellings, boasting that he had information that would put him in jail. Representative Matt Rosendale of Montana, the right-wing candidate vying for the states contested Senate seat this year, is dropping out of the Republican primary race, he said in a statement on Thursday. He announced his withdrawal less than a week after he formally entered the race. Just hours after he began his campaign, former President Donald J. Trump endorsed Tim Sheehy, a businessman and retired Navy SEAL who was Mr. Rosendales opponent in the primary. With the party establishment lining up behind Mr. Sheehy and Mr. Trump also lending his support, Mr. Rosendale struggled to see a path forward. By my calculations, with Trump endorsing my opponent and the lack of resources, the hill was just too steep, Mr. Rosendale said in a statement, adding that he had spoken with Steve Daines, the states Republican senator, who is also in charge of Senate Republicans re-election efforts. We both agree that this is the best path forward for Republicans to regain the majority in the U.S. Senate. The news of Mr. Rosendales withdrawal was earlier reported by Politico. Mr. Rosendale did not say whether he would endorse Mr. Sheehy. The news sets up Mr. Sheehy as a favorite to secure the nomination and face Jon Tester, a popular yet vulnerable Democratic incumbent, in November. A man who spent 37 years in prison after being wrongfully convicted in the 1983 rape and murder of a woman in Tampa, Fla., will receive $14 million in a settlement with the City of Tampa, it said Thursday. The man, Robert DuBoise, 59, was just 18 when he was arrested in connection with the killing of Barbara Grams, 19, who was beaten to death and whose body was discovered behind a dental office on the north side of the city on Aug. 19, 1983. Mr. DuBoise was convicted of first-degree murder and attempted sexual battery in 1985 following a one-week trial in which a jailhouse informant claimed he was guilty, and prosecutors argued that Mr. DuBoises teeth matched what they described as a bite mark on the victims cheek. He was initially sentenced to death, but three years later, the Florida Supreme Court changed that sentence to life in prison. In August 2020, Mr. DuBoise was freed after new DNA evidence came to light that exonerated him and implicated two other men who were later charged in the killing. The next year, Mr. DuBoise filed a federal lawsuit against the City of Tampa, four former police officers and the forensic odontologist who had testified against him. The Australia Letter is a weekly newsletter from our Australia bureau. This weeks issue is written by Natasha Frost, a reporter based in Melbourne. In August 1972, a collective of writers, mostly in Melbourne, released the first issue of a biweekly broadsheet that would chronicle a certain corner of Australian countercultural life starting with a scathing piece on the young press baron Rupert Murdoch. Over a run of about 40 months, The Digger newspaper featured fervent opinion columns, extended reviews and cultural listings, as well as what it described as gonzo accounts of Australian life. It touched on topics including sex education, Aboriginal rights, republicanism (Its time we chucked the Queen of Oz and her GG, an abbreviation for governor general, into the sea) and the joys of riding a bike. The paper was connected with some of the most important names in Australian literature of the time, and it played a significant role in starting the Australian novelist Helen Garners career as a writer. (The Digger folded in 1975 when, as the founder Phillip Frazer wrote in 2018, it ran out of money and lawyers.) Five decades later, another Australian publication is channeling some of that same irreverent spirit and commitment to, as its editors put it, reportage. Gen. Frank Kitson arrived in Northern Ireland in September 1970, charged with leading a brigade of British paratroopers in Belfast. The 30-year struggle known as the Troubles, pitting loyalists, who wanted to stay part of Britain, against Republicans, who wanted to separate, was just beginning and over the next two years, General Kitson would do much to shape the course of the conflict. By then, General Kitson was considered one of Britains leading warrior-intellectuals. He had just come off a yearlong fellowship at Oxford, and he had used his time there to write a book, Low Intensity Operations: Subversion, Insurgency and Peacekeeping (1971), which drew on his decades of experience fighting colonial wars in Africa and Asia and has since come to be regarded as a classic text in the art of counterinsurgency. General Kitson was short and stocky, with a ramrod posture and a high, nasal voice. He detested small talk and spoke rarely, but he had a martial charisma that won him widespread admiration among his ranks. In his 2007 autobiography, Soldier, Gen. Mike Jackson, who at the time was a young officer in General Kitsons brigade, called him the sun around which the planets revolved, adding that he very much set the tone for the operational style. The city of Rafah in southern Gaza is one of the last areas of the territory where Israeli troops have yet to deploy in force. But now, as Israel warns of a ground offensive there, some of the 1.4 million people who have been sheltering in the city are packing up and moving on. The Israeli military on Thursday raided the largest hospital still functioning in the Gaza Strip, in what it called a search for Hamas fighters and the bodies of hostages. Many people who had sought shelter there were forced to flee from combat once again. Explosions and gunfire rocked the hospital in the city of Khan Younis, the Nasser Medical Complex, before the predawn raid, killing and wounding several people including at least one doctor and a patient, according to a doctor there, as well as the charity Doctors Without Borders, which had staff members at the hospital, and Gaza health authorities. The specific casualty claims, like many assertions in the conflict, could not be immediately confirmed. Videos posted on social media on Thursday and voice messages sent by doctors during the night, both before and after Israeli forces smashed through the perimeter wall and entered the compound, depicted scenes of chaos and fear inside the damaged, smoke-filled hospital, punctuated by automatic gunfire, explosions and shouting. International alarm over a potential Israeli ground offensive in Rafah, in southern Gaza, has intensified in recent days, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatens to invade the city near the Egyptian border. Over half of the Gaza Strips entire population of more than two million is sheltering in Rafah, according to the United Nations, an area of about 25 square miles. Many of them were repeatedly pushed southward by Israeli military orders to move into so-called safe zones. They are now trapped against Gazas southernmost edge, largely living in makeshift tents with little food or clean water, under aerial bombardment and awaiting the terrifying prospect of soldiers advancing on them once again. Mr. Netanyahu has ordered the Israeli military to draw up plans to evacuate civilians from Rafah before any offensive, though human rights groups say there is little chance that an evacuation of such scale could be carried out in compliance with international law. They also say that because Rafah is the primary portal for aid to Gaza, any military ground operations there would have disastrous consequences on the entire enclave. Warnings have come from nearly every part of the world, including from Israels most powerful allies. Here are some of the most notable. The United States: A ground invasion of Rafah should not proceed without a credible and executable plan for ensuring the safety of displaced civilians, President Biden told Mr. Netanyahu in a phone call on Sunday, according to the White House. The United States is a top financial backer of the Israeli military, and its most steadfast diplomatic ally. On Tuesday, John F. Kirby, Mr. Bidens national security communications adviser, declined to answer questions about what the United States would do if Israel moved on Rafah without such a plan, saying, Lets see what they come up with. The Israeli military operation at Nasser Medical Complex on Thursday followed weeks of warnings from health officials about increasingly dire conditions inside the hospital. Doctors struggling with scarce supplies. Displaced people sleeping in corridors. Hunger gnawing as food grew scarce. Bombings and gunfire reverberating in the surrounding streets. In a series of social media posts in late January, Ahmed Moghrabi, a surgeon at the hospital, described two days of horror as Israeli forces edged closer. Over two days, he said, the hospital, with just a dozen surgeons left, received more than 320 patients. How does a body stand upright when the world is spinning around it? Or, worse, when that world is breaking down with such vehemence that the air seems to grow more toxic by the minute? In Alexei Ratmanskys new ballet Solitude, dancers waver and buckle as inner and outer forces wreak havoc on their bodies. Within this stark, dark universe, set to music by Gustav Mahler, bodies live on the edge, leaning and bending precariously as they fight for equilibrium. They are disjointed, their body parts at odds with one another. Spines twist deeply, as if wringing out the torso could also unleash the rawest pain. Ratmanskys latest ballet, his first as artist in residence at New York City Ballet, is about war the devastating war in Ukraine, the country where Ratmansky grew up and where his parents still live. This month marks two years since the Russian invasion, and there seems to be no end in sight. Dedicated to the children of Ukraine, victims of the war, the ballet, which had its premiere on Thursday at the David H. Koch Theater, was inspired by a photograph of a father kneeling next to the body of his 13-year-old son after he was killed by a Russian airstrike at a bus stop in Kharkiv. The father held the boys hand for hours. That grief the solitude of Solitude is apparent from the start. The principal dancer Joseph Gordon kneels before the limp body of Theo Rochios, a young student of the company-affiliated School of American Ballet. Rochios, in a bright blue shirt it lets him nearly glow in the darkness lies flat on his back while Gordon holds his hand. For the past two weeks, the New York Philharmonics podium has been occupied by Santtu-Matias Rouvali, a Finnish conductor who with a little spontaneity and a lot of sprezzatura offers a jolt to whatever orchestra he encounters. But thats not what has made these two weeks interesting. Rouvali, after all, led multiple programs last season, making a long-awaited return after his debut in late 2019. Having proven himself as a guest worth keeping around, he has become comfortably part of the orchestra. His latest residency, though, has been more notable for the appearances of other artists: the violinist Esther Yoo and the much-hyped pianist Bruce Liu, both in their debuts, who with any luck will be just as present as Rouvali in the years to come. No one seemed to know what had happened to one of the most important bass guitars in music history, though in the decades since it went missing there had been some dramatic rumors. Was the Hofner violin bass, which had accompanied Paul McCartney and the Beatles to worldwide fame, tucked away in a private collection? Had it been secretly shipped to a wealthy fan in Japan? It turned out the bass was passing time in a more unassuming locale: the loft of a family home in East Sussex, England. The family reported the guitar in late September, after a couple of journalists and a guitar expert started a new campaign looking for it in 2023, more than 50 years after it was last seen. The guitar, which has been authenticated by its manufacturer, has been returned to Mr. McCartney, according to a statement posted on his website on Thursday. Paul is incredibly grateful to all those involved, it said. A New York judge this afternoon found Donald Trump liable for conspiring to manipulate his net worth, ordering the former president to pay a penalty of nearly $355 million. The judge also barred Trump from running a business in New York for three years. The ruling, after a yearslong civil fraud case that tested Trumps exaggerated claims of wealth, could wipe out his entire stockpile of cash. The former president will almost certainly appeal the financial penalty which could climb to $400 million or more once interest is added but will have to either come up with the money or secure a bond within 30 days. With no jury, the power to deliver punishment was in the hands of Justice Arthur Engoron, and he came down hard. The decision threatens Trumps business empire as he simultaneously contends with four criminal prosecutions and seeks to retake the White House. Engoron also barred Trumps two adult sons from running a New York business for two years and imposed a $4 million penalty on each of them. Trump will most likely ask an appeals court to halt the restrictions on him and his sons while it considers the case. Trumps hush-money trial to begin next month A New York judge yesterday set a March 25 trial date for Donald Trumps hush-money case, clearing the way for the first prosecution of a former American president and ensuring that Trump will face at least one jury before Election Day. The judge rejected Trumps bid to throw out the Manhattan district attorneys criminal charges against him, which stem from a hush-money payment to the porn star Stormy Daniels in 2016. It will be Trumps first criminal case to go to trial, and it might not be the last: He is facing 91 felony counts across four criminal indictments in Washington, D.C., Florida and Georgia, as well as Manhattan. Unlike the federal cases in Washington and Florida, the case in Manhattan is insulated from federal intervention, so Trump would not be able to pardon himself or otherwise use the presidency as a legal shield. A $14 trillion exit Climate hawks have long questioned the financial industrys commitment to sustainable investing. But few foresaw JPMorgan Chase and State Street quitting Climate Action 100+, a global investment coalition that has been pushing companies to decarbonize. Meanwhile, BlackRock, the worlds biggest asset manager, scaled back its ties to the group. All told, the moves amount to a nearly $14 trillion exit from an organization meant to marshal Wall Streets clout to expand the climate agenda. The retreat jolted the political landscape. Representative Jim Jordan, the Ohio Republican who compared the coalition to a cartel forcing businesses to cut emissions, called for more financial companies to follow suit. And Brad Lander, New York Citys comptroller, accused the firms of caving into the demands of right-wing politicians funded by the fossil-fuel industry. The companies say theyre committed to the climate cause. JPMorgan said it had built an in-house sustainable investment team to focus on green issues. And BlackRock will maintain some ties to the coalition: It has transferred its membership to an international entity. The South Korean government unleashed a wave of panic across the internet industry: The countrys antitrust regulator said it would enact the toughest competition law outside Europe, curbing the influence of major technology companies. The Korea Fair Trade Commission, with the backing of President Yoon Suk Yeol, said in December that it planned to make a proposal modeled after the 2022 Digital Markets Act, the European Unions landmark law to rein in American tech giants. This bill also seemed to target South Koreas own internet conglomerates just as much as the Alphabets, Apples and Metas of the world. The commission said the law would designate certain companies as dominant platforms and limit their ability to use strongholds in one online business to expand into new areas. Then last week, the agency suddenly shifted course. After a furious backlash from South Korean industry lobbyists and consumers, and even the U.S. government, the Fair Trade Commission said it would delay the bills formal introduction to solicit more opinions. Bob Marley, the beloved and singular reggae luminary, was a dreadlocked Rastafarian from Jamaica who sang and played guitar. Kingsley Ben-Adir is a Brit with close-cropped hair who doesnt sing or play guitar, and stands seven inches taller than Marley did. Despite the lack of external similarities, Ben-Adir was cast as Marley in a new Hollywood biopic, the culmination of a yearlong search for the right actor. We tried to find someone from Jamaica who could speak the dialect we needed, said Ziggy Marley, Bob Marleys oldest son as well as a Grammy-winning musician, and a producer on Bob Marley: One Love, which opened in theaters on Feb. 14. But physical verisimilitude, he decided, wasnt the key to portraying his father: Kingsley brought an emotional depth that nobody else brought to the auditions, and a magnetism, he added. The choice of Ben-Adir has been denounced by many Jamaicans, who point out that at least since 1990s films like Cool Runnings and How Stella Got Her Groove Back, Hollywood has been using non-Jamaican actors with diluted accents. We were not meant to have agency over our narratives, Danae Peart wrote in RiddimStyle Magazine, which covers culture in the Black diaspora. She added that Hollywood executives are obsessed with making everything palatable for the white gaze. Reviews for Bob Marley: One Love have been almost uniformly negative, but even some of the harshest critics have praised Ben-Adirs performance. In a film that mostly sticks to reliable formula, he is one thing to love, Olly Richards of Empire wrote. Recently, Ben-Adir explained in detail how he made the transformation, despite little outward resemblance to Marley. One hundred and three days after Omer Neutra was taken prisoner by Hamas, his parents, Ronen and Orna, found themselves in the basement of the United States Capitol, looking for an exit. Andrea Mitchell, the NBC News journalist, stood with them, eager for an interview. Beside Ms. Mitchell were two Senate staff members, with orders to deliver the Neutras to meetings with their bosses. It would be the second media interview of the morning for the Neutras and for Yael and Adi Alexander, whose son Edan is also held captive by Hamas. The two families have worked together for months to build political pressure to free their sons, an effort that on this day would include meeting privately with Joni Ernst, a Republican senator from Iowa, and gathering with dozens of members of Congress for a candlelight vigil. I have walked more distance in these corridors than I have in my own house, Ronen Neutra, 59, said of his experience the last four months. I cant believe this is our life. Hamas took more than 240 people captive when it attacked Israel on Oct. 7. About 100 hostages, most of them women and children, were released during a cease-fire in November, and at least 30 others are believed to have died in captivity, according to Israeli officials. That may leave around 100 alive, most of them men who are Israeli citizens. The On Site Opera company stages operas, but not in traditional theaters. It performed a Benjamin Britten opera about a governess at a country estate at a onetime country estate in the Bronx. For a work based on Edgar Allan Poes short story The Tell-Tale Heart, it went deep in an underground crypt adjacent to a cemetery in Upper Manhattan. For one about a fossil hunt, it turned the Hall of Saurischian Dinosaurs at the American Museum of Natural History into a performance space. Now the company has taken Bachs Coffee Cantata to where else? a coffee shop in SoHo. There is a back-to-the-future slant to staging this piece in that place. Bach wrote the cantata Schweigt stille, plaudert nicht, BWV 211 after he took over as leader of an ensemble that gathered regularly at Cafe Zimmermann in Leipzig, Germany. The cantata, in which a father and his coffee-loving daughter sing to each other, mocked some Leipzigers fixation on what others considered an unconventional drink. The $355 million penalty that a New York judge ordered Donald J. Trump to pay in his civil fraud trial might seem steep in a case with no victim calling for redress and no star witness pointing the finger at Mr. Trump. But a little-known 70-year-old state law made the punishment possible. The law, often referred to by its shorthand, 63(12), which stems from its place in New Yorks rule book, is a regulatory bazooka for the states attorney general, Letitia James. Her office has used it to aim at a wide range of corporate giants: the oil company Exxon Mobil, the tobacco brand Juul and the pharma executive Martin Shkreli. On Friday, the law enabled Ms. James to win an enormous victory against Mr. Trump. Along with the financial penalty, the judge barred Mr. Trump from running a business in New York for three years. His adult sons were barred for two years. The judge also ordered a monitor, Barbara Jones, to assume more power over Mr. Trumps company, and asked her to appoint an independent executive to report to her from within the company. Ms. Gloucester was probably 63 years old on census day not 60, as the census taker reported and suffering from the heart disease that would kill her in August 1883. The residence at 144 Remsen Street was brimming with flowers on her funeral day. The Brooklyn Daily Eagle described the mourners as a congregation of people such as has seldom before come together in Brooklyn. Fashionably dressed white people mingled with a whos who of the colored world, including several prominent ministers. Testimonials offered a glimpse of how the wealthiest colored woman in the United States had dispensed her largess. She aided the colored poor in both the North and South; conspired with forces that plotted the armed overthrow of slavery; she contributed to the Union effort during the war. The Daily Eagle praised her marked energy and shrewdness in investing her earnings, then reverted to the antifeminist dogma of the day, endorsing the view that women in the broader sense were better fitted for the emotional rather than the practical side of life. Loyal readers of the author Kristen Nicole Arnett may not be surprised to learn that the night she met Kayla Kumari Upadhyaya, she was at home in Winter Park, Fla., sipping wine from a 7-Eleven store. Ms. Arnett, 43, whose novels include the New York Times best-selling Mostly Dead Things, was unwinding after work on Valentines Day in 2019 when she slid into Ms. Upadhyayas DMs on Twitter. Kayla had been posting what the kids call thirst traps, or alluring pictures of herself, Ms. Arnett said. Emboldened by the terrible wine, she told Ms. Upadhyaya that she was cute and hoped she was having a good day. But it hadnt been a good day at all for Ms. Upadhyaya, 31, also a writer. Although she knew of Ms. Arnett through online L.G.B.T.Q. circles, she decided to open up. I replied a little too honestly, Ms. Upadhyaya said. By the end of the day, Ms. Arnett knew that she was living in Brooklyn, had been through a recent breakup and was feeling adrift. Im having a pretty bad day, but this genuinely brightens it, Ms. Upadhyaya wrote her. Two months later, Ms. Arnett finagled a trip to New York to meet Ms. Upadhyaya in person. Mostly Dead Things would not be published until late 2019, but advance praise was building that spring, and Tin House Books, Ms. Arnetts publisher, had arranged for her to sign 2,000 first-edition copies in Pennsylvania. My editor said, Well get you a flight there and back, Ms. Arnett said. But I said, Actually, if you can fly me there and get me to New York after, Ill fly myself home. Who comes to New York City? The ambitious. The competitive. The desperate to be famous, to be rich, to be beloved. But Ive long thought that adopted New Yorkers are united by another quality, as well: Our desire to find a new family. Sometimes that family is a literal, traditional family. Just as often, however, its not well before the phrase chosen family was coined, much less became popular, generations of New Yorkers already understood its meaning. A family was a group of people who were sometimes brought together by mutual affection, sometimes because theyd been rejected by everyone else. Anyone who thinks that a chosen family isnt as durable or as fraught as a legal family has clearly never been a part of one: Those of us who have know that these unions have their own obligations, their own debts and resentments, their own disappointments. What makes them different, and resilient, is that they were born from choice. We stay in them by choice, too. The average patient today, confronted with the prospect of using a medicinal leech, or Hirudo medicinalis, a faceless aquatic invertebrate with a lust for blood, might feel some queasiness, if not outright repulsion. But the parasitic worm has been touted as a cure-all by various ancient medicine traditions: It can be seen in Ancient Egyptian tomb paintings and traditional portraits of Dhanvantari, the Hindu deity associated with Ayurveda. And in medieval and early modern Europe, when impure blood was believed to unbalance the humors of the body and cause disease, the creatures were seen as solicitous helpers, ever ready to relieve a patient of their unwelcome plasma. As the British medical historians Robert G.W. Kirk and Neil Pemberton wrote in their 2013 book, Leech, the worms were long celebrated as a gentle alternative to the lancet and became known, during the so-called leech mania of the early 19th century, as the tools of the physician who cared. In 1828, the French hospital system alone prescribed tens of millions of leeches, for conditions ranging from insomnia to smallpox. The worms fell out of favor soon after, as germ theory replaced the humoral concept of disease, but two centuries later theyre recapturing the public imagination. In the past few decades, the slippery creatures have returned, in far smaller numbers, to hospitals: Carl Peters-Bond of the Biopharm leech farm in Hendy, Wales, which has bred medicinal leeches since 1812, estimates the creatures are now used globally in hundreds of thousands of hospitals, mostly those with specialized burn and plastic surgery units. Whatever their other abilities, leeches have proved to be gifted bloodsuckers and offer a noninvasive and precise way to reestablish blood flow in patients recovering from reconstructive and aesthetic operations. People are now also seeking out leech therapy as an alternative treatment for various illnesses; the 77-year-old Serbian performance artist Marina Abramovic recently claimed that the practice, along with garlic drops and other old-world treatments, helped cure her Lyme disease. (A new line of skin-care and wellness products developed by Abramovic and the holistic practitioner who first treated her with leeches launched in January.) And as aging less rapidly, or at least less visibly, becomes an increasingly obsessive collective pursuit, openness to cosmetic technologies both new and very old is growing: Just as tongue-scraping (shown to reduce oral bacteria), colonics (purported by some to detoxify the intestinal tract), bee-sting therapy (thought to relieve inflammation) and cupping (the Eastern practice believed to promote healing and reduce muscle soreness by creating suction with heated cups) have recently experienced a resurgence in the beauty and wellness worlds, so too has leeching. OpenAI has completed a deal that values the San Francisco artificial intelligence company at $80 billion or more, nearly tripling its valuation in less than 10 months, according to three people with knowledge of the deal. The company would sell existing shares in a so-called tender offer led by the venture firm Thrive Capital, the people said. The deal lets employees cash out their shares in the company, rather than a traditional funding round that would raise money for business operations. OpenAI, which declined to comment, is now one of the worlds most valuable tech start-ups, behind ByteDance and SpaceX, according to figures from the data tracker CB Insights. The deal is another example of the Silicon Valley deal-making machine pumping money into a handful of companies that specialize in generative A.I. technology that can generate text, sounds and images on its own. The funding boom kicked off early last year, after OpenAI captured the publics imagination with the release of the online chatbot ChatGPT. A congressional committee said Friday that it subpoenaed Harvard University in a hunt for documentation of whether the university tolerated antisemitism on its campus. The move is part of an expanding Republican effort to investigate elite universities for their response to pro-Palestinian student demonstrations, especially after the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks in Israel. The committee has also started investigations into Columbia, M.I.T. and the University of Pennsylvania. But Harvard is the first to receive subpoenas. The Israel-Hamas war has exposed deep political divisions among Harvard students, faculty members and alumni, which contributed to the resignation last month of Claudine Gay, the universitys first Black president. Harvard, like many other universities, has said it must protect Jewish students while also protecting free speech, but critics have said that university officials have allowed demonstrations to veer into antisemitism. Across the country, Americans were shocked and horrified by the images on Wednesday from Kansas City, Mo., after shots were fired into a crowd of jubilant parade-goers celebrating the citys Super Bowl win. To people intimately aware of the entrenched violence in Kansas City, the shooting was painfully familiar. There were 182 people killed in Kansas City last year, according to police data, surpassing a previous high in 2020. With a population of just over 500,000, Kansas City has one of the highest murder rates in the nation. Rosilyn Temple, who founded the Kansas City chapter of Mothers in Charge after her son, Antonio, was killed in 2011, was at the scene of two separate shootings on Tuesday, the night before the Super Bowl celebration. President Biden traveled to East Palestine on Friday to show solidarity with a community still reeling more than a year after a Norfolk Southern train derailed, spilling a toxic mess across this small Ohio town near the border with Pennsylvania. But what he found when he got here were divisions on every corner. On the main street, protesters accused the White House of neglect and asked why it had taken Mr. Biden so long to visit. More than 100 Trump supporters, some of whom had driven in from out of state, held up Impeach Biden signs. And still others said they were sick of their town being used as a political prop and wanted answers about their long-term health. Mr. Biden alluded to some of those differences during remarks near the crash site, saying that it doesnt matter if youre a Democrat or Republican or independent. What matters is were all Americans, Mr. Biden continued. We look out for one another. We leave no one behind. And we come back stronger than before. The Biden campaign is releasing a digital ad in three battleground states Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania with significant populations of Americans with Eastern European roots, attacking former President Donald J. Trumps recent threat to NATO countries. The minute-long ad highlights Mr. Trumps claim that, while president, he had told the leaders of NATO countries that he would encourage Russia to do whatever the hell they want to nations that had not met their financial obligations to the military alliance. (Mr. Trump has long cast NATO as a kind of protection racket, twisting the facts of an unofficial commitment for member countries to increase their military spending.) No president has ever said anything like it, the ads deep-voiced narrator says. The spot will run through the Super Tuesday primaries on March 5 and will target voters in three states that are critical to Mr. Bidens re-election chances. Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania are home to more than 2.5 million Americans who identify as Polish, Finnish, Norwegian, Lithuanian, Latvian or Estonian all NATO countries that border Russia and face the threat of an expansion of Putins aggression in Ukraine, the Biden campaign said in a statement. Mr. Trumps disparagement of NATO allies came at a time when Mr. Biden and his Democratic supporters are trying to take the focus away from voters concerns about the presidents age. In an address at the White House on Friday in response to the death of the Russian activist Aleksei A. Navalny, Mr. Biden condemned Mr. Trumps comments as outrageous for an American president, saying that from Truman on, theyre rolling over in their graves hearing this. (The United States joined NATO under President Harry Truman in 1949.) Defense lawyers for Donald J. Trump and his co-defendants in Georgia found themselves frustrated in efforts to extract damaging information from a key witness on Friday, as they sought to disqualify the lead prosecutors accusing Mr. Trump and his allies of a conspiracy to overturn the 2020 election. The defense is arguing that Fani T. Willis, the Fulton County district attorney, and her office should be disqualified and removed from the prosecution, accusing her of benefiting financially from a romantic relationship with the special prosecutor she hired for the case, Nathan J. Wade. If the judge removes them, it would delay and potentially derail a proceeding that has major implications for the 2024 presidential election. Here are takeaways from the second day of the misconduct hearing: The star witness for the defense shed no new light on the relationship. Defense lawyers had high hopes for drawing out damaging testimony from Terrence Bradley, a former law partner of Mr. Wade who also served as his divorce lawyer. But they were frustrated twice: Mr. Bradley didnt show up to testify in the morning. Then, once he took the stand in the afternoon, he continued to assert attorney-client privilege over many matters. He found a house for Hunter Bidens new family, paid divorce costs to Mr. Bidens ex-wife and helped resolve a paternity lawsuit from a third woman. He footed the bill for Mr. Bidens security, back taxes and car payments, facilitated the publication of a memoir and the launch of an art career, and provided emotional support as Mr. Biden dealt with scrutiny from prosecutors and political adversaries. In recent years, no one has been more influential in helping Hunter Biden rebuild his life after a devastating battle with addiction than the Hollywood lawyer Kevin Morris. But Mr. Morriss role has now become a flashpoint of its own. His influence in shaping an aggressive legal and public relations defense for the presidents son against criminal indictments and Republican attacks has rankled President Bidens advisers inside and outside the White House. While they see the relationship as helping the presidents son avoid relapse, they also grumble that Mr. Morriss generous financial backing, confrontational counsel and conspiracy theorizing has only drawn attention to Hunter and the impeachment push against his father by allies of former President Donald J. Trump. Senator Joe Manchin III, the conservative West Virginia Democrat, on Friday announced that he would not seek the White House in 2024, ending months of speculation that he might challenge President Biden as an independent candidate. I will not be seeking a third-party run, he said in a speech in Morgantown, W.Va. I will not be involved in a presidential run. Since Mr. Manchin, 76, announced in November that he would not run for re-election, he had been the subject of months of public and private guesswork about whether he would seek the presidency. In particular, he had flirted with becoming the candidate for No Labels, a centrist group aiming to recruit a third option in what is shaping up to look like a general-election race between Mr. Biden and former President Donald J. Trump. But on Friday, he pledged, I will not be a deal breaker or a spoiler. Mr. Manchins decision takes off the table the highest-profile candidate that the leaders of No Labels had sought to attract. The group had told donors and allies in recent months that they planned to name a Republican to lead their ticket, ostensibly taking Mr. Manchin out of contention, but they have so far not found any takers. For all their bluster, nobody in Donald J. Trumps political inner circle actually thinks a criminal conviction will help him with the independent voters and suburban women who lost him the presidency in 2020. But since Mr. Trump was first indicted, he and his team have looked toward securing the nomination as a vital imperative. And as he is set to become the first former United States president to stand trial, some of those advisers who long ago realized that his freedom is intertwined with the outcome of the 2024 election see a silver lining in the calendar. On Thursday, a New York judge set a March 25 start date for a trial on charges brought by the Manhattan district attorney, Alvin L. Bragg, accusing Mr. Trump of falsifying business records to cover up reimbursements for a hush-money payment made in 2016 to a porn star who said she had a past affair with him. Legal observers have commented that, compared with charges Mr. Trump faces for hanging onto sensitive national security documents and obstructing efforts to retrieve them, or with the charges accusing him of conspiring to defraud the United States in trying to overturn an election, the hush-money case seems far less weighty. This ones going to sting Donald Trump took a huge hit today in the two places where it tends to hurt him most: his wallet and his business-wizard image. The blows were delivered by a state judge in New York who ordered Trump to pay penalties of nearly $355 million for engaging in years of fraud by lying about the value of his real-estate portfolio. As part of his decision, the judge, Arthur Engoron, also barred Trump from running any New York corporation including his own, the Trump Organization for three years. The company has been at the center of Trumps public persona as a wealthy businessman for decades. And in the slimmest of silver linings, Justice Engoron did not permanently take control of it away from him. Still, the ruling if it holds up on appeal will have significant ramifications for the former presidents holdings. Whatever financial pain Trump now faces was rivaled by the damage the decision dealt to his ego and to his image as a jet-setting billionaire and take-charge chief executive, a carefully crafted public face that helped to vault him first into reality-television stardom and then into the White House. An investigation is underway into how a woman boarded an American Airlines flight at Nashville International Airport and flew to Los Angeles without showing a ticket last week, officials said on Friday. Law enforcement met Flight 1393 upon its arrival at Los Angeles International Airport on Feb. 7, American Airlines said in a statement. The Federal Bureau of Investigation detained a woman for questioning after the flight had landed, Laura Eimiller, a spokeswoman in Los Angeles, said on Friday. The airline said it was assisting law enforcement in the investigation but not whether its employees properly checked for a ticket at the gate. The woman was not named because there were no charges as of early Friday. Ms. Eimiller said interviews were still taking place. Aleksei A. Navalny, an anticorruption activist who for more than a decade led the political opposition in President Vladimir V. Putins Russia while enduring arrests, assaults and a near-fatal poisoning, died on Friday in a Russian prison. He was 47. His death was announced by Russias Federal Penitentiary Service and a spokeswoman for Mr. Navalny. The spokeswoman, Kira Yarmysh, said on Saturday in a statement on X that Mr. Navalnys mother had been officially notified of his death. Ms. Yarmysh said Russian investigators had transferred Mr. Navalnys body from the penal colony in the Arctic where he has been held to a nearby town for examination. No cause of death has been specified. Mr. Navalny had been serving multiple sentences that would most likely have kept him in prison until at least 2031 on charges that his supporters say were largely fabricated in an effort to muzzle him. Despite increasingly harsh conditions, including repeated stints in solitary confinement, he maintained a presence on social media, while members of his team continued to publish investigations into Russias corrupt elite from exile. Word of Aleksei A. Navalnys death drew condemnation from across Europe on Friday, with leaders holding Russias government, and specifically President Vladimir V. Putin, responsible for the demise of the imprisoned Russian dissident. President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine, who was in Germany on Friday for the Munich Security Conference, said that Mr. Navalny was killed by Putin, like thousands of others who were tortured because of this one creature. Germanys chancellor, Olaf Scholz, speaking alongside Mr. Zelensky after signing a security agreement with him in Berlin, expressed dismay at the reports of Mr. Navalnys death, calling them very depressing. Its awful the way Russia has changed, Mr. Scholz said. His predecessor as chancellor, Angela Merkel, who in 2020 succeeded in persuading Mr. Putin to allow Mr. Navalny to be flown to Berlin for treatment after being poisoned, expressed her great dismay at the reports of the opposition leaders death. FBI informant charged with providing false derogatory information about Bidens Xinhua) 09:06, February 16, 2024 WASHINGTON, Feb. 15 (Xinhua) -- A Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) informant has been charged with providing the bureau with incorrect information about President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden, according to the U.S. Justice Department. Alexander Smirnov, 43, who disliked President Joe Biden, "provided false derogatory information to the FBI" about Joe Biden and his son after Joe Biden became a presidential candidate in 2020, showed a 37-page indictment filed on Wednesday. Smirnov was arrested in Las Vegas after returning from a trip overseas, the Justice Department said. Smirnov purportedly provided the FBI with inaccurate information, claiming that officials from Burisma, the Ukrainian energy company employing Hunter Biden, had stated they hired Hunter Biden because he would ensure protection, facilitated by his father, from various issues. Additionally, Smirnov allegedly falsely informed the FBI that Burisma officials disclosed they had paid 5 million dollars to Hunter Biden and Joe Biden, suggesting it would take investigators a decade to uncover these illicit payments to Joe Biden. "In short, the Defendant transformed his routine and unextraordinary business contacts with Burisma in 2017 and later into bribery allegations against Public Official 1 (Joe Biden), the presumptive nominee of one of the two major political parties for President, after expressing bias against Public Official 1 and his candidacy," the indictment said. The legal matter emerged from the special counsel inquiry overseen by David Weiss, who is concurrently heading the investigation involving Hunter Biden. Weiss first began investigating the president's son five years ago as the U.S. attorney for Delaware, appointed by former President Donald Trump. In September 2023, Hunter Biden was indicted on gun-related charges. In December, he was indicted on nine counts related to an investigation into his taxes. (Web editor: Peng Yukai, Liu Ning) Flash The screenshot captured from a video released by the Houthi group on Feb. 15, 2024 shows Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sarea making a statement in Sanaa, Yemen. Yemen's Houthi group on Thursday claimed responsibility for attacking a British ship in the Gulf of Aden with several missiles. (Xinhua) Yemen's Houthi group on Thursday claimed responsibility for attacking a British ship in the Gulf of Aden with several missiles. "We carried out a military operation against a British ship, Lycavitos, while it was sailing in the Gulf of Aden," Yahya Sarea, the Houthi military spokesman, said in a statement aired by the group's al-Masirah satellite TV channel. The Houthis launched several missiles that hit the ship "directly and accurately," according to Sarea. The Barbados-flagged ship Lycavitos was sailing in the Indian Ocean to the east of Aden when it was hit by a missile strike, said a Yemeni government coast guard official who required anonymity. Preliminary information indicated the vessel sustained minor damage from a fragment that struck the diesel generator's pipe, causing a diesel leak, the official said. All crew members were unharmed in the incident. Earlier in the day, the UK Maritime Operations Authority said it received a report of an explosion around 85 nautical miles east of Aden. The ship's captain reported that the crew members were all safe as the ship headed toward its next port. "We will continue to attack Israel-linked ships or those heading to Israeli ports in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden until the aggression on Gaza stops and the siege on the Palestinian people is lifted," Sarea said in the statement. "We are in the process of taking further military measures in response to the American-British aggression on our country and confirming our practical position to support the Palestinian people," he added. Meanwhile, the U.S. and British forces on Thursday conducted new airstrikes on Yemen's Red Sea port city of Hodeidah, the TV channel reported. The airstrikes hit the area of al-Jah in the district of Bayt al-Faqih, south of Hodeidah, and the Al-Jabanah area in the northern part of the port city, the report said, without providing more details. Since last November, Yemen's Houthi group has been carrying out attacks in the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandab Strait on ships linked to Israel, in a move to show its solidarity with the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) fighting with Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip since last October. In response, the United States and Britain have launched airstrikes and missile attacks on Houthi targets in Yemen since Jan. 12. The Houthis have vowed to retaliate by expanding attacks on ships, including American and British commercial and military vessels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. This was not the speech she expected to give, at least not on this day. Yulia Navalnaya had come to a gathering of world leaders in Munich to press them to remember her imprisoned husband and her troubled country. And then just as the conference opened on Friday morning came word from Russian state media that her husband, the crusading, defiant dissident Aleksei A. Navalny, was dead in one of President Vladimir V. Putins prisons. By her own admission, her first thought was to fly away, to join her grown children to mourn in private a man who had already survived a horrific poisoning and years behind bars. But before she did, she decided she had to speak out. Because he would have wanted her to. Ms. Navalnaya stunned the presidents, prime ministers, diplomats and generals at the Munich Security Conference when she strode into the hall on Friday afternoon, took the stage and delivered an unflinching condemnation of Mr. Putin, vowing that he and his circle would be brought to justice. Her dramatic appearance electrified a conference already consumed with the threat posed by a revanchist Russia. President Biden blamed President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia personally on Friday for the reported death of the imprisoned Russian dissident Aleksei A. Navalny, and cited the case in pressing House Republicans to approve military aid to Ukraine in its war with Moscow. But while he once threatened to impose devastating consequences on Mr. Putin if Mr. Navalny died in prison, the president conceded that there was not much more he could do after the sanctions and other actions taken in the last two years in response to Russias invasion of Ukraine. Make no mistake: Putin is responsible for Navalnys death, Mr. Biden said in a televised statement from the White House. Putin is responsible. What has happened to Navalny is yet more proof of Putins brutality. No one should be fooled, not in Russia, not at home, not anywhere in the world. Asked if Mr. Navalny had been assassinated, Mr. Biden said the United States did not have a full understanding of the circumstances. The answer is, we dont know exactly what happened, but there is no doubt that the death of Navalny was a consequence of something that Putin and his thugs did. The Russian government has announced the death of Alexei A. Navalny without offering many details. Here is what we know about Mr. Navalnys fate and what happens next. Cause of death: In announcing Mr. Navalnys death, Russias prison service said that he felt suddenly unwell during a walk. The medical workers who had arrived to attend to him in an ambulance had performed all the required resuscitation procedures, without success. A doctor working near Mr. Navalnys prison above the Arctic Circle told the independent Russian news outlet Mediazona that the closest ambulance team is 35 kilometers, or 22 miles, from the prison. By the time it would have arrived, a patient in severe distress would already be dead, said the doctor, who spoke on condition of anonymity. Who were they resuscitating? he added. President Biden said at a White House appearance that, We dont know exactly what happened, but theres no doubt that the death of Navalny was the consequence of something that Putin and his thugs did. The State Department on Friday designated the Houthis as a terrorist organization, following through on a mid-January warning to crack down on the Yemen-based militant group. The action officially labels the Houthis as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist group, a step that gives the United States new powers to crack down on the Iran-backed Houthis access to the global financial system. It restores a designation given to the group late in the Trump administration, which Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken reversed soon after taking office in 2021, partly to facilitate peace talks for Yemens civil war. Last month, Mr. Blinken announced the State Departments intent to return the Houthis to its terrorism list, but delayed the action for 30 days. The pause was intended in part to give humanitarian aid groups working in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen time to ensure that their work does not run afoul of new sanctions from the United States that will punish anyone who provides support to the militant group. Some aid groups have warned that their work will inevitably be constrained in a country with dire humanitarian needs. Israel carried out covert attacks on two major natural gas pipelines inside Iran this week, disrupting the flow of heat and cooking gas to provinces with millions of people, according to two Western officials and a military strategist affiliated with Irans Revolutionary Guards Corps. The strikes represent a notable shift in the shadow war that Israel and Iran have been waging by air, land, sea and cyberattack for years. Israel has long targeted military and nuclear sites inside Iran and assassinated Iranian nuclear scientists and commanders, both inside and outside of the country. Israel has also waged cyberattacks to disable servers belonging to the oil ministry, causing turmoil at gas stations nationwide. But blowing up part of the countrys energy infrastructure, relied on by industries, factories and millions of civilians, marked an escalation in the covert war and appeared to open a new frontier, officials and analysts said. Israel said on Friday that it would not try to force Palestinians from southern Gaza into Egypt, seeking to calm Palestinian fears of a mass displacement even as Israeli forces pressed ahead with a military operation inside the largest hospital in the area. After months of speculation that the Israeli invasion of Gaza after the Oct. 7 Hamas-led attacks would end with millions of Gazans being pushed into northeastern Egypt, Israels defense minister, Yoav Gallant, said on Friday that no one would be forced to leave. The announcement appeared to reverse secret Israeli efforts earlier in the war to promote the idea of sending millions of Gazans into Egypt, a move that Palestinians feared might lock them out of their homeland and led to warnings that Egypt might suspend its peace treaty with Israel. Photographs also show that Egypt has started construction near the border, which some fear is meant to house a sudden rush of refugees from Gaza. In a statement, Mr. Gallant said: The State of Israel has no intention of evacuating Palestinian civilians to Egypt. We respect and value our peace agreement with Egypt, which is a cornerstone of stability in the region as well as an important partner. Israeli special forces were combing the grounds of southern Gazas largest hospital on Friday and questioning suspects, the military said, as Gazan officials announced that five patients had died there after all power was lost amid an Israeli raid on the facility. Gazas Health Ministry said that electric generators had cut out and that all power was lost at the hospital, the Nasser Medical Complex, but did not specify the reason. The ministry said on Facebook that the Israeli military was in control of the complex, which it raided early Thursday. The Israeli military said in a statement on Friday that its forces had arrested 20 people who it said had participated in the Oct. 7 Hamas-led attack, and that it had detained dozens of others for questioning. It also said its troops had found mortar shells and grenades belonging to Hamas in the area of the hospital. In announcing its raid, the Israeli military said that its action was based partly on intelligence that hostages had been held at the complex and that their bodies could have been there. Late Thursday, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, the Israeli militarys chief spokesman, said that its forces had not found any hostages taken in the Oct. 7 attack, but that their search was continuing. On Friday, the Israeli military said medication bearing the names of Israeli hostages had been discovered during the search of Nasser hospital. The source of the drugs and how they were used was being looked into, the military said in a statement. While Israel and Hamas reached a deal last month that would allow medications to be delivered to Israeli hostages, it was unclear if any had reached the captives. Neither the Israeli claims nor those of the Gazan authorities could be independently verified. Communications with people inside the Nasser complex, in the city of Khan Younis, have been extremely spotty since Israels military pushed into its grounds before dawn on Thursday, smashing through the perimeter and entering the compound as explosions and gunfire rang out. Videos showed chaotic scenes inside the hospitals smoke-filled corridors, with parts of the ceiling collapsing and wire and beams protruding as gurneys were rushed past. Video Health care workers shared videos of a chaotic scene at Nasser Medical Center in Khan Younis, Gaza Strip, as Israeli troops raided the hospital and ordered people to evacuate on Thursday. Credit Credit... Obtained by Reuters The medical charity Doctors Without Borders said on Thursday that its staff had had to evacuate but that the weakest patients had stayed behind. The Israeli military ordered all remaining workers and patients into one building, according to a voice memo from a doctor provided by the group. Israel has accused Hamas of using hospitals for military purposes, and its raid on the Al-Shifa Hospital in northern Gaza in November revealed a stone-and-concrete tunnel shaft below. The army said in January that it had detected the launch of mortar fire from the Nasser complex toward Israeli soldiers. Early Friday, the health ministry in Gaza said that the hospitals power supply had cut out, endangering the lives of six adult patients in critical care and three infants in incubators who were dependent on oxygen. About 40 minutes later, the ministry said that three of the patients had died. The deaths of two others who had been dependent on oxygen were announced later. Oxygen is pumped from a central station to patients beds and the pumping process requires power, Ashraf al-Qidra, a spokesman for the ministry, said in an interview. He noted that 186 patients, 95 health professionals and 176 other people were still inside the hospital. Among the remaining patients, Mr. al-Qidra said that 18 were in particularly concerning condition. Nasser had been the largest functioning hospital left in Gaza. Two days before the raid, the Israeli military began ordering the evacuation of the thousands of civilians who were sheltering at the complex, setting off alarm from international observers. Nasser is the backbone of the health system in southern Gaza, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the director general of the World Health Organization, wrote on the social platform X earlier in the week. It must be protected. Several people were also killed or wounded in Thursday mornings incursion, including at least one doctor and one patient, according to Doctors Without Borders, Gazan health officials and a doctor at the hospital. Aaron Boxerman contributed reporting. At least two people were killed and four others wounded when a gunman opened fire at a bustling intersection in central Israel on Friday afternoon, the Israeli authorities said. Avi Bitton, an Israeli police commander, said that the attack took place at a bus stop near the town of Bnei Reem at around 12:30 p.m. The gunman was shot by an armed civilian on the scene and appeared to have acted alone, the Israeli police said, calling it an act of terrorism. Six victims of the attack were taken to hospitals in central Israel where two of them were pronounced dead, according to the Israeli emergency service Magen David Adom. The Israeli authorities did not formally identify the attacker or comment on his condition. The Israeli news media reported that the gunman was a Palestinian from East Jerusalem. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel condemned the attack and extended his condolences to the victims. This attack reminds us that the entire country is on the front line, he said in a statement. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for Fridays shooting. Israel has been on high alert since the Hamas-led attacks on Oct. 7. In late November, at least three people were killed when Palestinian gunmen who the Israeli authorities said were affiliated with Hamass armed wing opened fire at a Jerusalem bus stop. On Friday, Hamas praised the shooting near Bnei Reem and called it a natural response to the war that Israels military is waging against the armed group in Gaza. Johnatan Reiss contributed reporting. When New York magazines finance advice columnist dropped an article that went viral on Thursday about falling victim to a $50,000 scam, my heart skipped a beat. My own financial planner had gone to jail years ago, which Id chronicled in a few columns. Nearly all of us are vulnerable to scams, at least sometimes. What would I have done if someone called and insisted that my children, in particular, were in grave danger? The writer, Charlotte Cowles, who once had a weekly business column with The New York Times, described crooks spinning a fantastical tale: First, they impersonated Amazon and told her shed been a victim of identity theft. Then, one thief passed her on to someone who impersonated a Federal Trade Commission investigator, who told her that nine vehicles, four properties and 22 bank accounts were registered to her name. Finally, a supposed Central Intelligence Agency lead investigator persuaded her to withdraw money from her bank and give it to them for safekeeping while her husband and son watched. But what would any of those entities do if they thought that any one of us was actually a victim of some kind of identity fraud? What would they say, request and tell us to do? The Civil Fraud Ruling on Donald Trump, Annotated Former President Donald J. Trump was penalized $355 million, plus millions more in interest, and banned for three years from serving in any top roles at a New York company, including his own, in a ruling on Friday by Justice Arthur F. Engoron. The decision comes after the state's attorney general, Letitia James, sued Mr. Trump, members of his family and his company in 2022. The ruling expands on Justice Engorons decision last fall, which found that Mr. Trumps financial statements were filled with fraudulent claims. Mr. Trump will appeal the financial penalty and is likely to appeal other restrictions; he has already appealed last falls ruling. The New York Times annotated the document. Download the original PDF. When the world around us stops making sense, I find comfort and clarity in bread. Opinion What Sourdough Taught Me, in the Pandemic and Beyond Inside one tablespoon of active sourdough starter, the fermented culture made of flour and water used for thousands of years to leaven bread, there are billions of microorganisms. Without a microscope, they can be witnessed only through their output: bubbles of carbon dioxide belched up by the Lilliputian workers metabolizing the starches in the flour. Over time these bubbles cause the mixture to swell in its container, creating an illusion of spontaneous material creation. Its easy to understand how before the 1850s, when scientific discoveries shed light on fermentations inner workings, bread was considered both wicked and holy. In late 2019, humanity met an invisible microbe of a different sort, one that sent us lurching toward our homes and away from one another. Unable to feed and comfort through my baking, I tried, like many others in pandemic isolation, to find a new way to connect with people. Instead of baking loaves I used my personal town crier, Instagram, to offer up for free something I could ship through the mail: portions of Barthelme, the sourdough I had coaxed into existence some years prior. How to create a sourdough starter Repeat until bubbling with life. Stir gently and add flour and water. Cover and let rest for 24 hours. Combine flour and water in a jar. Repeat until rising vigorously. Take what you need to bake with. Take 1 tablespoon and add same amount of flour and water. Cover and let rest for 12 to 24 hours. Add flour, water and salt. Put the remainder in the fridge to store. When ready to bake again... Bake your bread! Feed once a week. Repeat until bubbling with life. Combine flour and water in a jar. Cover and let rest for 24 hours. Stir gently and add flour and water. Repeat until rising vigorously. Cover and let rest for 12 to 24 hours. Take 1 tablespoon and add same amount of flour and water. Take what you need to bake with. Put the remainder in the fridge to store. Add flour, water and salt. When ready to bake again... Feed once a week. Bake your bread! Fresh bread offered itself as a useful anchor, both as a symbol and as a direct supply of sustenance and emotional comfort. During this global crisis, many felt drawn to a substance that has connotations of life, money and God, all at once. Still, I was surprised to receive hundreds of requests for bits of my Barthelme within the first 24 hours of offering and more than a thousand within a couple weeks. They poured in from around the world. The emails, which I had to set up a new inbox to collect, were peppered with words like angel, bless, honor and humble. Sourdough was trending. As a dealer, so was I. Through the following year, I sent over 1,700 packets of dried sourdough starter most dehydrated in my oven on endless parchment-lined sheet trays, with a handful produced by volunteers to recipients in 46 states and 36 countries. Sourdough can lie dormant for many years before being revived. (Seamus Blackley, the designer of the original Xbox and an amateur Egyptologist, went viral when he and some collaborators raised loaves with 4,500-year-old sourdough spores extracted from an ancient Egyptian vessel.) This quality, along with the fact that a small baggie of dried sourdough can pass relatively unfettered through the international mail system, makes sourdough an excellent candidate for global distribution. As the coronavirus traveled the world, bits of potential bread spidered out of my kitchen in brown paper envelopes and landed in mailboxes on shores so distant that our tomorrow is their today. Where each starter landed U.S. International New York All 1,707 starters began their journey in my kitchen. Some barely crossed state lines. Conn. Mass. R.I. N.J. N.H. Vt. Penn. Md. Del. D.C. Maine Va. W.Va. Ohio N.C. Mich. Ind. S.C. Ky. Tenn. Wis. Ill. Ga. 1,000 miles traveled Ala. Iowa Miss. Minn. Fla. Others left the country entirely. Ark. Canada La. Neb. Kan. Okla. Texas Colo. Puerto Rico Wyo. Mont. N.M. 2,000 miles Utah Idaho Mexico Ariz. Nev. Wash. Ore. Calif. Iceland 3,000 miles Ireland Great Britain Portugal Spain The Netherlands France Belgium Denmark Luxembourg Sweden Germany Brazil Switzerland 4,000 miles Czechia Poland Latvia Slovenia Italy Croatia Hungary Bulgaria Greece Hawaii 5,000 miles Argentina 7,000 miles China Bhutan India South Africa 8,000 miles 9,000 miles Malaysia Singapore 10,000 miles ~10,400 miles Australia Where each starter landed U.S. International New York All 1,707 starters began their journey in my kitchen. Some barely crossed state lines. Connecticut Massachusetts Rhode Island New Jersey New Hampshire Vermont Pennsylvania Maryland Delaware D.C. Maine Virginia West Virginia Ohio North Carolina Michigan Indiana South Carolina Kentucky Tennessee Wisconsin Illinois Georgia 1,000 miles traveled Alabama Iowa Mississippi Minnesota Florida Arkansas Others left the country entirely. Canada Louisiana Nebraska Kansas Oklahoma Texas Colorado Puerto Rico Wyoming Montana New Mexico 2,000 miles Utah Idaho Mexico Arizona Nevada Washington Oregon California Iceland 3,000 miles Ireland Great Britain Portugal Spain France The Netherlands Belgium Denmark Luxembourg Sweden Germany Brazil Switzerland 4,000 miles Czechia Poland Latvia Slovenia Italy Croatia Hungary Bulgaria Greece Hawaii 5,000 miles Argentina 7,000 miles China Bhutan India 8,000 miles South Africa 9,000 miles Malaysia Singapore 10,000 miles ~10,400 miles Australia Around the time this process began, online searches for the word sourdough skyrocketed over 500 percent. People with bread know-how enjoyed newfound (ahem, deserved) cachet. Supermarkets ran low on yeast. And many Americans realized that they didnt know how to feed themselves. Bread, a suspect indulgence in the age of the low-carb diet, became a humble promise of salvation, or at the very least, a rewarding way to pass the time. A sourdough starter is fruitful by nature: After each feeding of equal parts flour and water, a healthy starter will rise until it doubles in size, at which point it is either ready for use in a dough or ready for another meal. Under ideal conditions, this doubling can take around four hours. If a baker kept up with her starters appetite, consistently feeding it whenever it was hungry, it would quickly outgrow the kitchen. To avoid this exponential growth, a portion of sourdough starter is traditionally discarded at every feeding, which means theres plenty to go around. Despite the interest in heritage sourdoughs, their original microbial balance can change once theyve departed from their place and materials of origin. Take my starter packets: In the mail they were all genetically similar, but after a few feedings in new habitats they became unique, their resulting loaves determined by the environment, ingredients and hands involved in their maintenance. According to a 2020 study published in the microbial science journal mSphere, not only does a decent portion of a sourdough starters ecosystem of yeast and bacteria come from the bakers hands, the transfer is also bidirectional: Increased numbers of Lactobacillus (one of the dominant bacteria found in sourdough cultures) are present on the bakers hands after a few weeks of consistent breadmaking. Its hard to resist the cozy feeling served up by the thought of nearly 2,000 of Barthelmes children scattered across an otherwise fractured and disconsolate globe, especially when I consider theyre working to unite our bodies on an imperceptible scale. Sourdough starters? Proof of connection in this garbage town, thank you! one recipient wrote. Yes, please!!! Any way to feel connected to other humans right now, wrote another. In 2020, a pervading feeling among many Americans was that the powerful were not equipped to save us. We were going to have to try to do it ourselves. Throughout history, bread has been linked with political power. Early civilizations with grain-based agriculture, such as the Mesopotamian city of Uruk, were largely made powerful by the riches and stability afforded by a storable, stretchable food supply. Caesar and his ilk kept a handle on the Roman Empire through cura annonae, the grain rations doled out to qualifying adult men. In late 18th-century France, the elites grasp loosened only when the peasantry revolted against untenable bread prices. In the late 1970s, the Egyptian government cut subsidies for bread and wheat, triggering a bread intifada: two days of violent rioting and protest that led to a swift reversal of policy. Government austerity measures inspired similar bread riots in Tunisia a few years later; and in Egypt during the Arab Spring, demonstrators chanted for bread, freedom and social justice. In all cases, the upheavals were products of complex economic and political underpinnings, but bread was the final straw and a symbol of the peoples pursuit of justice. Some part of me has always wanted to believe that the more peoples hands are in the dough, the more power is in the peoples hands. Particularly because bread, as I join many in arguing, is the ultimate food. I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never go hungry, said Jesus in John 6:35. Throughout the Bible, and later in rallying cries and daily maxims worldwide, bread stands in as the most basic foodstuff, what all people survive and strive for. The ultimate food: not just apotheosis, but also the last. In wartime, bread, requiring only water, flour and heat, has been known to keep people alive until the world order settles back into something more humane. It can be the line, sometimes literal, between life and death. With this understanding, bakeries and the lines that queue outside of them are notoriously vulnerable in war, as has been seen in Syria, Ukraine and, most recently, Gaza, where a substantial number of bakeries have been damaged by Israeli air strikes. By early November, all bakeries in what was then the densely populated area of northern Gaza were closed because of infrastructure damage, lack of fuel and ingredients or fear of further attacks. Prior to the closure of the final bakery, people in the region were surviving on an average of two pieces of bread a day. About a month into the war, I saw a video of a woman in Gaza holding a piece of saj, a thin, tortilla-like bread cooked on a convex metal grill of the same name. She gestured at the viewer: This is the only food that weve got, she said. But after that, where to go? In November, Thomas White, the Gaza director of the United Nations relief agency for Palestinian refugees, said, Now people are beyond looking for bread. Its looking for water. Last week, the BBC reported that some Gazans had begun using grains intended for animal feed to make bread flour, as flour fit for human consumption became impossible to find. Bread is a bellwether, its absence a death knell. In the corners of the world where bread flows freely and remains affordable for every rung of society, there is at least the potential for people to thrive. I have followed the trails of a few far-flung packets of my starter to some of these places. They have new names, have been divvied up and reshared, have gone through divorces and international moves. Many were neglected and are now defunct. At least a few recipients transformed from beginner bakers to professionals. A friend of mine has baked more than a thousand loaves using the starter, almost all of which have been distributed to and eaten by her neighbors. Britain Alice Spearman Canada Guillame Simoneau Germany Chiara G-J The Netherlands Anna Celda Czechia Veronika Moravcikova United States Allie Wist When I began this project, most people I knew were simmering in isolation and despair. But in dispatches from around the world, strangers displayed a desire to connect and nourish, along with the sincere hope that feeding and eating this tiny living thing might offer some small cure to a very big problem. Today, as during those isolated months at the height of the pandemic, were once again bearing collective witness to incredible human loss. Gazans, lacking adequate sanitation, medicine, food and water, are facing starvation. Many of us are again simmering boiling, even. We want an end to the war. We want life (the Egyptian Arabic word for it, aish, also means bread) for our children and all children. Is sourdough a solution? Of course not. But if Barthelmes spores still bubbling away in kitchens around the world can tell us anything, its that its within our nature especially when the world around us feels like its dissolving to reach out to one another and give bits of ourselves away. There is still, and there is always, something to be done with what you have right here, in and on your hands. The Times is committed to publishing a diversity of letters to the editor. Wed like to hear what you think about this or any of our articles. Here are some tips . And heres our email: letters@nytimes.com. Tugboats maneuvered the tanker Eternal Fortune into a berth at the Kharg Island oil terminal on Oct. 28, 2023, while it was falsely broadcasting its location as in the Gulf of Oman. The vessel was insured by an American company. Maxar Technologies Tug boats maneuvered the tanker Eternal Fortune into a berth at the Kharg Island oil terminal on Oct. 28, 2023 while it was falsely broadcasting its location as in the Gulf of Oman. The vessel was insured by an American company. Maxar Technologies Visual Investigations The $2.8 Billion Hole in U.S. Sanctions on Iran A Times investigation reveals how lax government oversight allowed shadowy oil tankers, covered by American insurance, to fund Irans regime. For months, as Iran-backed groups attacked U.S. forces and allies in the Middle East, the Biden administration hailed its efforts to restrict Irans oil revenue and the countrys ability to fund proxy militias. The Treasury secretary told Congress that her teams were doing everything that they possibly can to crack down on illegal shipments, and a senior White House adviser said that extreme sanctions had effectively stalled Irans energy sector. But the sanctions failed to stop oil worth billions of dollars from leaving Iran over the past year, a New York Times investigation has found, revealing a significant gap in U.S. oversight. The oil was transported aboard 27 tankers, using liability insurance obtained from an American company. That meant that the U.S. authorities could have disrupted the oils transport by advising the insurer, the New York-based American Club, to revoke the coverage, which is often a requirement for tankers to do business. Instead, the 27 tankers were able to transport shipments across at least 59 trips since 2023, The Times found, with half the vessels carrying oil on multiple journeys. The Treasury Department did not respond to a question about whether it was aware the ships had transported Iranian oil while insured by the American Club. The tankers exhibited warning signs that industry experts, and the Treasury, have said collectively warrant greater scrutiny. Among other red flags, the ships are: owned by shell companies, older than average vessels and use a tactic called spoofing to hide their true locations. The Times found 27 ships picking up Iranian oil on at least 59 trips since 2023 Satellite imagery, much of it freely accessible to the public, captured the tankers during their oil transports. gulf knot irises fortune galaxy sincere 02 galaxy star cathay kirin sincere 02 penna gabrielle toyomi sincere 02 irises sincere 02 penna selene gabrielle sincere 02 sincere 02 galaxy star duplic dynamic narcissus sincere 02 datura fortune galaxy narcissus gabrielle fortune galaxy irises datura shalimar shalimar cathay kirin azza fortune galaxy datura glory muland selene fortune galaxy serendi irises galaxy star toyomi selene sino star fortune galaxy starry shalimar gulf knot kapok muland eternal fortune tabark eternal success fortune galaxy venus 7 lisa marianne selene Sources: Copernicus Sentinel-2, Planet Labs, Maxar Technologies, TankerTrackers.com, Spire Global, MarineTraffic Satellite images on display represent one of several methods that The Times relied on to locate each tanker. It is unclear who the U.S. government considers primarily responsible for identifying suspicious tankers. The Treasury is tasked with administering sanctions by investigating and blacklisting individuals or companies participating in illicit activities. But it places some of the burden on insurers to monitor for suspicious behavior through the regular release of advisories and alerts. To identify the shipments of Iranian oil, The Times built a database of thousands of tankers and their whereabouts using maritime data and satellite imagery. Vessels whose voyage paths showed irregularities were cross-referenced with information provided by Samir Madani, co-founder of TankerTrackers.com, a company that monitors oil shipping. SynMax and Pole Star, two other companies that monitor shipping, provided additional data. In late-January, several weeks after the American Club was mentioned at a Congressional hearing titled "Restricting Rogue-State Revenue", coverage for many of the tankers identified by The Times abruptly ended. The company said that the stoppages were the result of its own internal investigations. Five of the vessels are still insured by the company, according to data listed on its website; the American Club said it is still investigating those ships. The Timess findings come as the Biden administration is under increasing scrutiny from lawmakers and advocacy groups for its handling of sanctions on Iran. It is very concerning, said Senator Maggie Hassan, a Democrat of New Hampshire, who has filed a bill to strengthen the enforcement of sanctions on deceptive ships. The United States must use every tool at its disposal to identify, stop and sanction these bad actors, she said. These new revelations highlight the stakes. In response to Times findings, a Treasury spokesperson said in a statement: Treasury remains focused on targeting Irans sources of illicit funding, including exposing evasion networks and disrupting billions of dollars in revenue. The spokesperson added that this month the department had taken action against what it called a Hong Kong-based front company, which U.S. officials said had funded Irans Revolutionary Guards Corps. Kharg Island, pictured in 2017, is one of Irans main oil terminals where many of the American Club-insured tankers loaded oil. Fatemeh Bahrami/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images The insurance provided by companies like the American Club is a key factor in the tankers ability to move oil; industry insiders call it a vessels ticket to trade. Most major ports insist that ships have proof of liability coverage, among other requirements, before they can enter and do business. The American Club is one of only 12 major insurers of its kind, and the only one based in the United States. Specifically, the company says, its policies cover third parties affected during an accident caused by a ships negligence. Because of these insurers importance to shipping, they have been consulted by the U.S. government when developing sanctions on Russian oil sales. Daniel Tadros, the American Clubs chief operating officer, said his company has one of the most stringent compliance programs in the industry. But he said that the companys six-person compliance team was overwhelmed each month with hundreds of inquiries about potentially suspicious vessels, and that investigating even a single case takes time. It's impossible for us to know on a daily basis exactly what every ship is doing, where it's going, what it's carrying, who its owners are, Mr. Tadros said. I would like to think that governments have a lot more capability, manpower, resources to follow that. He added that the U.S. government had only recently suggested the use of satellite imagery for maritime-related businesses looking for sanctions evasion. Satellite imagery has been used as a ship-tracking tool in the industry for at least a decade. Shipowners willing to skirt trade restrictions can make more than their normal commissions. But to maintain business connections with the West, including with insurers, they may resort to using deceptive tactics. Since the start of 2023, the 27 vessels moved roughly 59 million barrels of oil, according to a Times analysis. The calculation is based on a tankers depth in the water before and after the oil was loaded, a measurement used by industry analysts. There is no official source detailing the amount of oil that leaves Iran. According to estimates from Kpler, a company that monitors global trade, the oil carried by the tankers would amount to roughly 9 percent of Iran's oil exports over that period. Iranian oil pickups by American Club-insured tankers since January 2023 Sources: Copernicus Sentinel-2, Planet Labs, Maxar Technologies, Spire Global, MarineTraffic, TankerTrackers.com Note: Pickups include those made at Iranian ports as well as via transfer at sea from other ships to American Club-insured ships. The map does not represent all oil pickups The Times found. Many of the tankers ultimately ended up in China, which has tripled its imports of Iranian oil over the past two years. Some of the shipments continued into the fall, as one Iran-backed group, Hamas, led the Oct. 7 assault on Israel, and other Iran-aligned militants, like the Houthis in Yemen, launched attacks on shipping routes and U.S. forces in the region. By then, the tankers had transported at least $2.8 billion in crude oil, based on the lowest reported prices of Iranian oil in 2023. That dollar amount could be higher. The Times found eleven more tankers, anchored off Iranian oil ports last year, that used deceptive practices and carried American Club insurance. Although there is little other reason for the ships to hide their presence, The Times could not verify whether they loaded oil. Where contact information was available, The Times sought comment from more than 40 entities linked to the tankers involved in moving Iranian oil. None replied. Some experts expressed doubt that the American Club was doing everything it could to identify deceptive ships. Responsible, reputable insurers waste no time in confronting their clients or club members, Mr. Madani of TankerTrackers.com said. David Tannenbaum, a former sanctions compliance officer for the Treasury Department who now works as a consultant for a compliance advisory company, said his research showed that the American Club covers a large proportion of deceptive vessels when compared with similar insurers. While weve seen spoofers infiltrate almost all of the major protection and indemnity clubs, they are definitely a leader, he said. Last week, Bloomberg reported that the American Club had insured more ships suspected of violating sanctions than other comparable insurers, according to data from United Against Nuclear Iran, a privately funded group advocating stronger sanctions on Iran. (Many of the vessels noted by the group were also identified by The Times. Mr. Tadros, the American Club executive, said his company had removed insurance for the claims it could corroborate. He said in some cases United Against Nuclear Iran presented flawed evidence, which The Times also concluded for one of the accused tankers.) The Times was able to use satellite imagery and information available to the shipping industry, such as signals that ships transmit to report their purported locations, to identify the tankers. The tankers deception mainly involved a practice known as spoofing in which vessels broadcast fake route information to hide their true locations. Last August, for example, the tanker Glory broadcast that it was off the coast of the United Arab Emirates when it was really loading oil in Asaluyeh, Iran. A spoofed location near Dubai obscures an oil pickup over 200 miles away in Iran Sources: Copernicus Sentinel-2, Spire Global, MarineTraffic, TankerTrackers.com, SynMax Note: Locations relative to each other are approximate in time. In some cases, tankers also conducted ship-to-ship transfers, exchanging goods with another vessel at sea. The practice is common, but can be used to conceal a cargos origin, especially when used with spoofing. Ship-to-ship transfers near Iran frequently occurred just off the coast, such as when the tanker Shalimar took on oil in October. For each transfer, The Times traced the cargo back to Iranian oil terminals. A faked location hides a pickup from another vessel at sea Sources: Copernicus Sentinel-2, Spire Global, MarineTraffic, TankerTrackers.com Note: Locations relative to each other are approximate in time. The Times also found some tanker crews altering the physical appearance of their ships. On one spoofing vessel, a red tarp was spread over its green deck in an apparent effort to disguise itself from satellites. How a spoofing tanker used a tarp to change its appearance Sept. 6 A month after leaving China, the American Club-insured tanker Irises reaches the Gulf of Oman for at least the fourth time in 2023. Sept. 8 Red tarps appear partially covering the deck of the Irises. The ship begins spoofing its location as it approaches the Persian Gulf. Sept. 11 Elsewhere, a ship owned by the National Iranian Tanker Company loads oil from Kharg Island. Sept. 14 The two ships meet in the Persian Gulf, with more red tarp visible on the Irises deck. The Iranian ship transfers oil to the Irises. Sources: Planet Labs, Copernicus Sentinel-2, Spire Global, MarineTraffic, TankerTrackers.com Even though the tankers used deceptive tactics, their spoofing had identifiable patterns. Many pretended to anchor off Oman or in the Persian Gulf for days, while satellite imagery showed they were not there. Some ships even broadcasted signals showing them on land and moving at high speeds, a physical impossibility. Several of the tankers had a history of picking up oil in other countries under U.S. sanctions. Before they moved the Iranian oil, a Times analysis found, eight of the tankers spoofed their locations while carrying Venezuelan oil that was subject to sanctions. Its unclear if they were insured by the American Club at the time. One of the tankers did carry American Club insurance when The Times found it likely evading Russian sanctions last year. The American Clubs role in insuring the 27 tankers could put the company in potential violation of sanctions, industry experts said. Mr. Tadros disagreed. He said the company includes a clause in its contracts, based on Treasury guidance, that nullifies coverage if a ship violates sanctions. He argued this protects the insurer from being complicit in potential violations. The American Club takes its obligations seriously and works diligently to comply with sanctions regulations, Mr. Tadros said. The Treasury office has publicly enforced sanctions on the American Club only once in the past 20 years. In 2013, the office announced that it found the insurer had processed dozens of claims for ships that violated sanctions on Cuba, Sudan and Iran. Treasury officials calculated the penalty for the apparent violations totaled more than $1.7 million. Ultimately, the office said the American Club did not appear to have been willful or reckless and the case was settled. The company agreed to pay a reduced fine of $348,000. Sources and Methodology Times reporters built a database of nearly 20,000 tankers and their owners, operators, managers and insurers by combining information from Equasis; the International Maritime Organization; and Pole Star, a maritime intelligence company. Times reporters cross-referenced this information with the websites of the major insurance companies, which all maintain freely accessible databases of ships they insure. The publicly available location data of the ships, known as their automatic identification system or AIS, was obtained through MarineTraffic and Spire Global. The platforms show live ship locations around the world and keep records of past voyages. To detect any irregularities in the AIS paths that may be signs of deceptive practices, The Times used data on spoofing ships provided by TankersTrackers.com, as well as from SynMax, a satellite data analytics company, and Spire Global; and information collected through The Timess own reporting. Reporters then crossed-referenced the sources with satellite imagery. The satellite imagery used to search for the ships reported and actual locations came from Planet Labs, Maxar Technologies and the European Space Agencys Copernicus Sentinel-2 satellite, which is publicly available. A large share of the spoofing tankers had already been spotted in Iranian waters by TankerTrackers.com. To estimate the amount of oil carried in each shipment, The Times looked at how deep a ships hull dropped below the waterline after taking cargo. This number, known as draught depth, is publicly reported by each ship. The Times verified the changes in draught depth with Samir Madani at TankerTrackers.com. The barrels worth was determined by taking the lowest reported price of Iranian crude oil in 2023, which stood at approximately $70 per barrel, and applying a commonly cited discount price of $10 per barrel for Chinese buyers. China was the most common destination for crude oil tracked by The Times. The Times used data obtained from Kpler, a company that monitors global trade, to estimate Irans total oil exports. These are the 27 ships that The Times identified as using deceptive tactics to transport Iranian oil products. The ships are listed with their names, which can change frequently, and their International Maritime Organization numbers, which are permanent identification numbers. A Dutch man was fined 380 euros ($400) after an AI-powered camera caught him talking on his phone while driving. Only he claims he was only scratching his head and the system made a mistake. In November of last year, Tim Hansen received a fine for allegedly speaking on his mobile phone while driving a month earlier. He was shocked, mainly because he didnt remember using his phone at the wheel on that particular day, so he decided to check the incriminating photo on the Central Judicial Collection Agency. At first glance, it seems that Tim is indeed talking on his phone, but a closer look reveals that he isnt actually holding anything in his hand. He was simply scratching the side of his head and the camera mistook the position of his hand for it holding a phone. What is even more baffling is that the human who checked the photo and validated his fine didnt spot the false positive either. Photo: Monocam Hansen, who happens to work in IT, creating algorithms that edit and analyze images, used his personal experience to explain how the police camera system, Monocam, works, and why it can make mistakes. Even though he couldnt test Monocam himself, he explained how the system is designed to work and why it can produce false positives. If a model has to predict whether something is yes or not the case, it can of course also happen that the model is wrong, Tim wrote. In the case of my ticket, the model indicated that I am holding a telephone, while that is not the case. Then we speak of a false positive. A perfect model only predicts true positives and true negatives, but 100% correct prediction is rare. The IT specialist explained that systems like Monocam have to be trained on a large set of images divided into two or three groups: a training set, a validation set and a test set. The first set is used to teach the algorithm which objects are on which images and which properties (colors, lines, etc.) belong to them, the second, to optimize a number of hyper-parameters of the algorithm, and the third to test how well the system actually works. Photo: Tim Hansen The algorithm we used, and that of the police, may suspect that a telephone is present because the training dataset contains many examples of people calling with a telephone in their hand next to their ear, Tim said. It may well be that the training dataset contains few or no photos of people sitting with an empty hand on their ear. In that case, it becomes less important for the algorithm whether a phone is actually held in the hand, but it is sufficient if the hand is close to the ear. To improve this, more photos should be added where the hand is empty. Hansen claims that due to the many variables that can impact the decision of an algorithm, a human filter is needed to minimize the number of false positives. Only in his case, the fine was confirmed by a human after analyzing the photo captured by the camera. so that isnt a foolproof solution either. The Dutch driver has contested the fine and expects a positive outcome, but he will now have to wait up to 26 weeks for an official verdict. His case went viral in the Netherlands and neighboring countries like Belgium, where some institutions are asking for the installation of cameras capable of detecting the use of mobile phones while driving, but Timss story proves that they are far from 100% reliable. An Italian woman stands accused of faking no less than 17 pregnancies 12 natural abortions and 5 false births over the last 24 years, to receive 110,000 euros ($120,000) in maternity benefits. 50-year-old Barbara Ioele has had an unusual number of pregnancies over the last 24 years, which have resulted in years of maternity leave and a small fortune in state-paid benefits. According to documents filed by the woman, she went through 17 pregnancies, 12 of which unfortunately couldnt be carried to term. The other five allegedly resulted in the birth of healthy babies named Benedetta, Angelica, Abramo, Letizia, and Ismaele, only there is no record of them ever being registered, and no one has ever actually seen them. Barbara allegedly birthed her youngest child in December of last year, but now authorities claim she had been under surveillance throughout her late pregnancy and they have proof that she was never pregnant. They are also accusing her of having faked all 17 declared pregnancies to receive over 110,000 euros in benefits and get time off from work. Photo: Juan Encalada/Unsplash Barbara Ioeles case recently made national news headlines in Italy, and for good reason. Hers is a story so unbelievable that most filmmakers would consider it over-the-top. Prosecutors claim that her elaborate fraud over the last two decades involved stolen birth certificates from Rome clinic and other forged documents and doctors signatures, pillows to emulate a baby bump, and a rehearsed walk to appear pregnant. To declare all her pregnancies, Barbara Ioele registered the stolen medical certificates with forged signatures and was able to receive around $120,000 in maternity benefits as well as years of maternity leave from various employers. Incredibly, no one suspected anything considering she had reportedly been doing this since 2000, but her luck ended last year when labor police started monitoring her latest pregnancy, following her around and gathering evidence that she wasnt actually pregnant. This kickstarted the investigation into her previous pregnancies. I knew full well that my partner was not pregnant, Davide Pizzinato, Barbaras 55-year-old partner, confessed during interrogation, claiming that he had been aware of her fraud since 2012, when their relationship began. He stands accused as an accomplice but is apparently more than willing to testify against Ioele in exchange for a lighter sentence. As for Ioele, despite the overwhelming evidence against her the inexistence of her five children, the forged paperwork, the partners testimony, surveillance, etc. she remains defiant. To avoid having to appear to investigators for interrogation, the 50-year-old woman produced two medical certificates genuine, this time around attesting to her poor medical condition. Still, she faces prison time for financial fraud and identity fraud, among other charges. The Santuario Della Beata Vergine Maria Delle Grazie, in Italys Lombardia region, is an old church famous for having a real taxidermied crocodile hanging from the ceiling. Whats the last thing you expect to see when you look up in a church? Granted, there are plenty of interesting answers one can think of, but a crocodile definitely ranks up there with the quirkiest of them. But if you travel to the small municipality of Curtatone, in Lombardia, Italy, youll find a church with a five-century-old crocodile hanging from the ceiling. Its a peculiar sight, to say the least, but one that has been around for as long as anyone can remember. How the croc wound up at the Santuario Della Beata Vergine Maria Delle Grazie is, and will probably remain a mystery, but its purpose had been linked to religious symbolism. In ancient times, Christianity associated reptilian creatures like snakes, dragons, and crocodiles with evil, either as personifications of the devil or simply animals that lead humans to sin. So having it chained high up in the vault of the church served both as a warning for churchgoers, but also as a symbol of victory of good over evil. While it might look like a prop at first, this is a real embalmed Nile crocodile (Crocodilus niloticus) believed to be at least 500 years old, with the church itself dating back to the 13th century. Over the years, many legends surrounding the origin of the animal circulated around Lombardia, but the two most popular ones involve a local animal menagerie and two brave brothers who fought the animal. Some believe that the crocodile was caught and killed after escaping a private exotic zoo on the estate of Francesco Gonzaga, while others claim that the animal one day attacked two brothers resting on the banks of the Mincio River. One of them asked for the help of the Holy Virgin, and armed with a knife attacked and killed the crocodile. According to another local legend, the crocodile was let out of its cage when a circus stopped in the area for a show, taking refuge among the reeds and lotus flowers. It is said the crocodile was even blessed with the gift of human speech by the Holy Virgin. Whether you believe in these stories or not, the hanging crocodile of the Santuario Della Beata Vergine Maria Delle Grazie is a worthwhile attraction. Its quirky, but it also speaks to the taxidermy skills of the monks whose job it was to turn the crocodile into a permanent exhibit. Interestingly, this is not the only Italian church with a real crocodile on display. The Church of Santa Maria delle Vergini, in Macerata, and the Santuario della Madonna delle Lacrime, in Ponte Nossa, have their own stuffed crocodiles. Elizabeth Cholis Elizabeth Cholis, who most recently was a partner at Dentons Global Advisors, is joining Brunswick Group in New York on Feb. 20. She has more than 20 years of experience in high-stakes communications, risk management and legal PR. Cholis joined DGA in 2021 following a 10-year stint at FTI Consulting. As managing director at FTI, Cholis served as senior leader in its crisis & litigation practice, and counseled clients on regulatory scrutiny, cybersecurity events, work place matters, discrimination, labor relations and COVID-19 related issues. Earlier, Cholis was senior VP and co-head of the corporate advisory group at Ruder Finn, and managing associate at Chlopak Leonard Schechter & Assocs. THE 2024 FIS Film Awards have announced that students from Carrig National School, Birr, have made the shortlist for this year's competition. Carrig National School have been shortlisted for their film for 'Now and Then', which was produced by their 4th, 5th and 6th classes. The renowned contest which is now in its 18th year, will feature a host of short movies created by primary school children and their teachers across Ireland. This years event, hosted by RTEs Sinead Kennedy is set to take place in the Helix, Dublin on February 21st. With over 1,500 pupils involved, the FIS Film Awards aims to inspire a new generation of budding filmmakers from within the classroom The premise of the FIS project is to introduce and lead pupils, often as young as six and seven years of age through every step of the filmmaking process. By doing so, children are offered a unique opportunity to develop their creative skills outside of a traditional classroom setting. Aspiring moviemakers are encouraged to test their communication and collaborative skills, essential components for personal growth and learning. Additionally, pupils are given hands-on experience with a variety of filmmaking tools and equipment, bolstering their digital skills and increasing their confidence with new technologies. The FIS project is in line with the Governments digital strategy for schools, an action plan for integrating digital technologies into teaching and learning assessments in the classroom. From one cohort of students to another, the award ceremony will be filmed and broadcast by third-level students from the IADTs National Film School, MA in Broadcast Production for Radio & TV to provide them with hands-on professional and practical experience as they seek to further their skills. In addition, post-production of the awards is produced by students on IADTs BA in Film & TV programme. This years FIS Awards Ceremony will recognise a wide range of achievements across 20 unique categories. Celebrating all aspects of the filmmaking process, it will include awards for acting, costume design, originality, and storytelling among others. The wide range of accolades on offer aim to highlight the many different components pupils and teachers must consider when acting as movie directors, producers and screenwriters. Members of the public can join in by watching the 18th Annual FIS Film Awards live through fisfilmproject.ie. Commenting on the shortlist for this years FIS Film Awards, Christina Reynolds, FIS Creative Manager, Institute of Art, Design & Technology added: As we prepare for this years FIS Film Awards ceremony, where the next generation of movie makers will be recognized across 20 diverse categories, we are heartened by how the FIS Film Project continues to inspire young minds through the magic of filmmaking. Alongside nurturing creativity in primary students, the FIS Film Project offers invaluable, hands-on learning experiences for the students of IADTs National Film School. We are excited to celebrate the blending of education, technology and creativity through this project, as it continues to empower students to become directors, producers and screenwriters of their own narratives. Irish rail is in the process of looking at a number of locations for in-land hubs, as part of its rail freight strategy. No decision has been made at this point, a spokesperson said. At a presentation made by Irish Rail to the February meeting of Tullamore Municipal District regarding its future plans for Tullamore railway station, Councillor Declan Harvey asked about the possibility of the station becoming a freight hub. Cllr Harvey said his family has a long association with the station and his brother still works there. He recalled that the station used to have a goods yard and it has the infrastructure for a similar development today. In response Derrick Curran, Regional Manager, Customer Experience, said it would depend on what industry Tullamore has. However, those who advocate for a freight hub to be located at Tullamore station, say it could become a central point where trucks from around the Midlands came to collect freight from the station for distribution throughout the region. Tullamore train station has served passengers for over a century, connecting the town to Dublin, Galway and beyond. In its past, it boasted a goods yard, handling fertiliser and cement. Today, with the Midlands lacking a dedicated freight rail facility, the station's existing infrastructure and strategic location are sparking renewed interest. Those seeking a freight hub, say several factors make Tullamore a strong contender. Its location in the heart of the Midlands offers easy access to the motorway facilitating easy onward distribution across the region. The disused goods yard provides a ready-made foundation, potentially reducing development costs and time. Passenger services could continue alongside freight operations, maximising the station's potential. The lack of a dedicated freight hub creates a logistical gap,and Tullamore could fill that void. For Tullamore to become a freight hub utilising the third rail track would be required. Without much tweaking, trains up to 400m could be accommodated in Tullamore. It would also have to attract enough freight to make it sustainable. Those who support the cause say that if done right,Tullamore's train station could transform into a vital logistics hub, boosting the Midland's economy and offering a sustainable freight solution. (Image by NATO) Details DMCA A major war with Russia is looming, possibly even another world war, and European nations are waking up to this threat. Russia is preparing for a military confrontation with the West within the next decade and could be deterred by a counter build-up of armed forces, Estonia's Foreign Intelligence Service confirmed. A growing number of Western officials have warned of a military threat from Russia to countries along the eastern flank of NATO, calling for Europe to get prepared by rearming. Retired Lieutenant General Ben Hodges, who commanded the US Army in Europe between 2014 and 2018, warned NATO should stand prepared and united. Failing to do so, would only invite Moscow to launch an attack, which may possibly lead to World War III. The chief of the intelligence service said the assessment was based on Russian plans to double the number of forces stationed along its border with NATO members Finland and the Baltic States of Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia. In response, Russian authorities have initiated unprecedented criminal proceedings against Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas, along with other Baltic officials, over allegations of damaging or destroying Soviet-era monuments. The Kremlin's charges, confirmed by Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, target Kallas, Estonian Secretary of State Taimar Peterkop, and Lithuanian Culture Minister Simonas Kairys. This action has led to the inclusion of these officials on Russia's wanted list, marking a significant escalation in tensions following Estonia's decision to remove Soviet monuments after Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Kallas has responded to these charges on social media, stating, "the move was unsurprising and proof that she was 'doing the right thing' by supporting Ukraine in its war against Russia." She further criticized Russia's use of so-called law enforcement agencies to veil repressions, citing personal family history with the KGB and expressing her unwavering support for Ukraine. The Baltic states have collectively condemned the Russian move as politically motivated, with Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania summoning Russian diplomats in response. These developments occur against the backdrop of Estonia's and its Baltic neighbors' concerns over Russian aggression, especially after the invasion of Ukraine. Estonia, having joined the EU and NATO in 2004, finds NATO's expansion a point of contention with Russia. Furthermore, a NATO military chief has warned that Brits need to prepare for an all-out war with Russia and be ready to join the battle. Admiral Rob Bauer - chair of the NATO military committee - warned recently that civilians need to be ready for a conflict that will change their lives. As the globe faces its "most dangerous and volatile moment" in history, large numbers of private citizens will need to be mobilized, he said. He also called for a mechanism that could see a mandatory draft. During a crunch summit between NATO defence chiefs in Brussels, Bauer said: "We need to be readier across the whole spectrum. You have to have a system in place to find more people if it comes to war, whether it does or not." The head of the Norwegian armed forces, Norwegian Gen. Eirik Kristoffersen, is warning fellow NATO countries that they only have "two, maybe three" years to brace for a Russian attack -- just days after it was revealed that Germany is preparing for the likelihood as well. Kristoffersen claimed Moscow is building up its military stockpile at a rate far faster than previously predicted, all while Western nations have depleted their own weapons by supplying them to Ukraine. Next Page 1 | 2 | 3 (Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher). Kalispell, MT - January 31, 2024 - Taurus Flood-National Flood Services (Taurus Flood), a leading provider of flood and insurance technology solutions, announced that it has been awarded the Cypress Property & Casualty Insurance Company flood insurance service provider contract. Cypress Property & Casualty provides an array of innovative insurance products to clients in Florida and Texas and is a new participant in the National Flood Insurance Program's (NFIP) Write-Your-Own March 1, 2024 (Lincoln, RI) - EDM artist & music producer Electron will release his latest EDM single "The Captain." It will be featured on all major music streaming platforms including Spotify, Apple Music, Pandora, YouTube & iHeart radio." This song has a total of 3:33 of listening time. "The Captain" is a very powerful & emotionally climatic song. It has an addictive guitar melody along with a surprisingly explosive Bay Stage Live, a leading live-event production and audio/visual company in Tampa, designs and executes the lighting production for the world renowned Gasparilla Music Festival (GMF) kicking off this weekend, February 16-18, 2024 in Tampa's Julian B. Lane Riverfront Park. 2024 marks the 13th year of GMF with 50 bands across five stages and with an expected attendance upwards of 70,000 people over the course of the three-day event. Planning Belfast, Northern Ireland - The Mortgage Clinic, a leading mortgage broker known for providing expert financial guidance and personalised mortgage advice, is thrilled to announce the opening of its new office in the heart of Belfast. Situated in the prestigious Scottish Provident Building on Donegal Square West (https://themortgageclinicuk.co.uk/belfast/) , this expansion reflects the company's commitment to accessibility and exceptional service during these uncertain times. As demand for knowledgeable mortgage advice continues A Boy Scouts of America employee who met up with a boy in a Molalla city park after hours and attempted to sexually abuse him has been sentenced to 75 days in jail. Molalla police discovered Peter C. Simpson and the boy in the park on Feb. 1 and initially charged Simpson with several counts of third-degree sex abuse after interviewing the boy, they said in a statement. Tommy Ly never knows what a day will bring. All thats guaranteed is that it costs him roughly $500 to slip a key into the front door, turn on the lights and wait for customers to buy something. A 24-year-old man is accused of posting multiple threats on Instagram, writing that he had 1 bullet for each of 27 people on what he called a purge list including his ex-wife, her friends and family. FBI agents arrested Trevell Carcell Rich on Valentines Day in the 900 block of Southeast 162nd Avenue. Hes accused of interstate communication of threats. He made his first appearance in federal court in Portland Wednesday afternoon. Officials have released the names of two people killed last Saturday in what police believe was a street race in North Portland. The families of Cristian Perez Hernandez, 18, and Gabriel Sanchez, 16, have been notified of their deaths, according to the Portland Police Bureau. A 54-year-old Portland man who shot and killed his neighbors dog was sentenced Thursday to four years in federal prison for being a felon with a gun. Freddie Cleveland Ross Jr. pulled out a .45-caliber pistol and shot the pit bull in the head after the pit bull and his dog began barking at each other, according to police and prosecutors. U.S. District Judge Marco A. Hernandez told Ross that he pictured a 20-something engaging in such behavior, not someone in his 50s. Ross said he agreed with the judge. I want to apologize for being here, he said during his sentencing. The shooting occurred on Jan. 28, 2023, in the 5300 block of North Interstate Avenue. According to a probable cause affidavit, Ross had gone to his neighbors apartment with his pit bull. The neighbor also had a pit bull. When the two dogs began barking at each other, Ross pulled a semi-automatic pistol and shot the neighbors dog in the head, killing it. He left with his dog, the affidavit said. The judge mentioned that Ross went to the neighbors apartment after the neighbor was asking for help. But neither prosecutors nor Ross lawyer elaborated on that and court records didnt reference why Ross went to the apartment or name the neighbor. The neighbor didnt attend the sentencing. Portland police recovered a single .45-caliber casing at the scene. Officers raided Ross apartment on March 10 and seized a loaded .45-caliber pistol found in his bedroom inside a fanny pack in a laundry hamper, according to court documents. Ballistic analysis showed that the spent casing recovered from the shooting scene had been fired from the pistol recovered from Ross bedroom, according to the prosecutor. Ross, who was on post prison-supervision at the time, pleaded guilty in October in federal court to being a felon in possession of a firearm. Ross is a registered sex offender who has convictions for first-degree sexual abuse and sodomy in Washington County in 2006 and first-degree sexual abuse and sexual penetration in Multnomah County in 2006. He also has convictions for being a felon in possession of a firearm in 1997 and second-degree assault with a gun in 1989 in Multnomah County, according to court records. Federal prosecutor Leah Bolstad argued for a sentence of four years and nine months, which she said accounted for a reduction in time due to Ross quick acceptance of responsibility. This is a serious offense for somebody who has a prior very serious offense involving a firearm, Bolstad said. Ross lawyer, Assistant Federal Public Defender Peyton Lee, argued for a three-year prison term, saying Ross lost his mother at age 17, suffered significant childhood physical abuse, was a victim of sexual abuse, witnessed domestic violence against his mother before her death and endured gang violence in his neighborhood. An evaluation found Ross has anxiety disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder and an adjustment disorder, Lee said. Ross, standing before the judge, said he became complacent and called his latest shooting the straw that broke the camels back. I had a hiccup, he said. Im going to move on with life and be productive. The judge said he considered Ross personal and criminal history and the seriousness of the offense in selecting a four-year prison term. Ross faces separate state charges in Multnomah County in the shooting. He has pleaded not guilty to first-degree aggravated animal abuse, first-degree animal abuse and being a felon in possession of a firearm. -- Maxine Bernstein covers federal court and criminal justice. Reach her at 503-221-8212, mbernstein@oregonian.com or follow on Twitter @maxoregonian or on LinkedIn. Our journalism needs your support. Subscribe today to OregonLive.com. Oregon volleyball will host national runner-up Nebraska and travel to national semifinal Wisconsin in its inaugural season in the Big Ten. In addition to those two marquee opponents, the Ducks will play home-and-homes with UCLA, USC and Washington as part of their 20-match 2024 conference schedule, also hosting Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Northwestern, Purdue and Rutgers and traveling to Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Ohio State and Penn State. Match dates are to be announced by the Big Ten. UO will visit six of the Big Tens top seven venues in volleyball attendance last season, all of which are in the top 20 nationally, including two of the top four and four of the top nine. Three of those teams appeared in the NCAA Tournament last season: Minnesota, Penn State and Wisconsin, which defeated Oregon in the Elite Eight last season. Nebraska, Purdue and USC are the current Big Ten teams UO will host that made the NCAA Tournament last year. Oregon has played 12 current Big Ten teams, including five last season, and will face Indiana and Maryland for the first time. UO went 29-6, reached a second straight Elite Eight and finished No. 7 in the AVCA poll. Pacific Power is asking state regulators to approve a 17% rate increase for residential customers and businesses starting next year. The investor-owned utility says it needs the roughly $304 million the rate hike would generate for new renewable energy projects and investments in transmission infrastructure that would allow it to add those sources to the grid. The money also would pay for reducing wildfire risks, including vegetation management in wildfire-prone areas, creating a catastrophic fire fund and paying for Pacific Powers rapidly growing wildfire insurance premiums, according to the utility. If the Oregon Public Utility Commission approves the increase, the average residential customer with typical energy usage would pay an additional $29.47 per month. It would be the third double-digit rate increase within three years on top of the 12.9% increase for residential, business and industrial customers that took effect in January to cover wildfire mitigation costs and market volatility and the 21% rate hike for residential customers in 2023 to cover the high costs of generating power. This is a huge increase that raises real affordability issues, said Bob Jenks, executive director of the Oregon Citizens Utility Board, which advocates for utility customers. We will be pushing back on a lot of it. Pacific Power serves about 618,000 customers in Oregon, including about 90,000 in the Portland metro area. While our essential operating costs remain low, extreme weather events and increased wildfire risks are impacting all households and businesses, raising the costs of providing our essential services, Matt McVee, Pacific Powers vice president of regulatory policy and operations, said in a statement. In recent years, Pacific Powers parent company, PacifiCorp, has been hit with multiple wildfire-related lawsuits and has been on the hook to pay related damages. This includes a $62 million verdict and a $90 million judgment for its negligence in the 2020 Labor Day wildfires. Attorneys for people who lost their homes and businesses in the fires have argued that PacifiCorps deficient tree trimming and maintenance practices caused a host of destructive wildfires. The rate increase would not cover wildfire-related litigation costs but does seek to pay for preventive measures to address issues brought up in those lawsuits. The utility is now tracking wildfire litigation costs and could try to recover those costs in a later rate case. The rate setting process typically takes months, so whatever rate the commission ultimately approves would not take effect until next January. Pacific Powers proposal comes on the heels of a similarly large rate increase for Portland General Electric customers, who saw their bills go up by 18 percent in January, in addition to a 14.8% rate increase in 2023. Gosia Wozniacka covers environmental justice, climate change, the clean energy transition and other environmental issues in the Portland region and across the state. Reach her at gwozniacka@oregonian.com. The Oregon Supreme Court on Thursday overrode a jurys decision to award a Portland man $20.3 million after he hurt his knee when his leg punched through a rotten wooden walkway that his apartment complex had allowed to fall into disrepair. The high court found that although Robert Trebelhorn underwent surgery and suffered prolonged pain in his knee, penalizing the large corporation that owns the complex to the tune of $20 million was grossly excessive. Instead, the high court reduced Trebelhorns jury award to about $5.3 million in punitive damages, plus about $300,000 in compensatory damages. State law calls for 70% of punitive damages to go toward crime victims compensation and courthouse funds. The Supreme Courts ruling limits what it sees as over-the-top jury verdicts. The court has previously stated that punitive damages that so greatly dwarf a plaintiffs compensatory damages should be reserved for all but the most exceptional of cases. But Trebelhorns attorneys the son and father team of Jason and Greg Kafoury argued the amount was well deserved to send a message that such reprehensible behavior by landlords should be stiffly punished. Its a sad day for our client and justice, Jason Kafoury said. Greg Kafoury added: In a more just society, neither Oregons Supreme Court nor any other court would have the power to reduce punitive damages imposed by a jury. Matthew Casey who is a lawyer representing Prime Wimbledon and Prime Administration, which own and manage the apartments did not return a call seeking comment Thursday. A call to the Wimbledon Square apartments, located north of Reed College in Southeast Portland, also wasnt returned. During the 2018 trial in Multnomah County Circuit Court, the Kafourys argued that the apartments were owned by a massive out-of-state corporation that maximized profits by brushing off maintenance that was crucial to the lives and safety of its tenants. The attorneys told jurors that the owners and management refused to replace the deteriorating walkways and told maintenance workers to paint over rotting wood. It was bubble-gum fixes bubble gum and tape and thats how it was for years at this place, Portland attorney Jason Kafoury had said during trial. During trial, attorneys for Robert Trebelhorn presented this photo of the hole punched in the elevated walkway by Robert Trebelhorn as he was walking on it at the Wimbledon Square apartments near Southeast 28th Avenue and Colt Drive. Trebelhorn was 47 when he plunged thigh-deep into a rotting second-story walkway in 2016. He tore the meniscus in his knee, then underwent surgery and therapy. But at the time of trial, nearly two years later, he said he was suffering from ongoing pain and limitations to his activities. Casey, an attorney for the apartments, argued during trial that there was no evil intent by the complexs owners to hurt people. We agree that this event happened, Casey said. Were sorry that it happened, and were taking responsibility that it happened. The owners, which do business under the name Prime Group, owned more than 16,000 rental units and $7 billion in real estate, making it one of the largest rental holding companies in the U.S. at the time, according to Trebelhorns lawyers and the companys website. The jury awarded nearly every dollar Trebelhorn had asked for. Former Multnomah County Circuit Judge Karin Immergut was the first to reduce the award. The Oregon Court of Appeals affirmed Immerguts ruling. Thursday, the Supreme Court unanimously agreed. Read its opinion here. Aimee Green covers breaking news and the justice system. Reach her at 503-294-5119, agreen@oregonian.com or @o_aimee. Our journalism needs your support. Subscribe today to OregonLive.com. A federal jury took less than two hours to rule in favor of Lattice Semiconductor in a dispute over whether the Hillsboro company hid that its chips were ineligible for export, bringing an abrupt end Thursday to an 11-day trial. The issue dates to 2008, when authorities seized a shipment of Lattice products sent by Apex-Micro Manufacturing Corp. from British Columbia to Hong Kong. The chips were prohibited for export by authorities in Canada and the U.S. but Apex said it couldnt have known that because Lattice had improperly labeled them. A year after Oregon lawmakers allocated more than $500 million in subsidies and tax breaks for the states semiconductor industry, the Legislature is considering $30 million more for workforce training at public universities and community college. Computer chip manufacturing is one of Oregons largest industries and the state is hoping to grow the sector amid a federal push for more domestic semiconductor production. The state has allocated $240 million from last years legislative appropriation to 15 companies planning to expand their Oregon operations. State economists anticipate the chip industry will add more than 6,000 jobs over the next several years as a result of that growth. House Bill 4154 aims to help train those workers for the specialized field. Industry advocates sought workforce training funds during last years legislative session, ,but lawmakers focused on financial incentives for the industry instead. This years bill would allocate $14.9 million to be shared among six public universities and community colleges. A roughly equal amount would go to a sustaining fund for nurturing skills needed in the semiconductor industry. This bill will help to fund the universities from community college on through the graduate school level, Rep. Kim Wallan, R-Medford, testified at a Feb. 6 committee hearing on the legislation. Oregons chip industry shed jobs last year, partially reversing a hiring spree that accompanied a surge in semiconductor demand during the COVID-19 pandemic. Business leaders and industry advocates believe that dip is temporary and have made semiconductor workforce training a top priority for many years. HB 4154 has bipartisan support and 35 sponsors but its competing with many other bills for attention and funding during this years brief legislation session. Lawmakers have indicated they might offer partial funding this year and revisit the topic in 2025. -- Mike Rogoway covers Oregon technology and the state economy. Reach him at mrogoway@oregonian.com Our journalism needs your support. Please become a subscriber today at OregonLive.com/subscribe Hundreds of people stayed overnight across the five warming shelters opened in Multnomah County ahead of uncertain Valentines Day weather forecasts in the Portland area, officials said. The county filled over 200 of the 480 beds opened at the Market Street shelter in Southeast Portland and four temporary shelters Wednesday night, officials said. Meteorologists originally predicted as much as 3 inches of snow, but the shelters closed Thursday as warmer weather rolled in with no snow in sight. Mohawk Reportedly in "Final Stages" of Acquisition by Italy's Fedrigoni February 16, 2024 - According to an article by the Times Union, an Albany, New York-based news organization, Mohawk Fine Papers, located in Cohoes, NY, is being sold to Verona, Italy-based, Fedrigoni, a manufacturer of specialty papers. "We are in the final stages of an acquisition to be closed with Fedrigoni," Melissa Stevens, Chief Revenue Officer at Mohawk told the Times Union. She offered few other details, stressing that the deal was very close to being completed, the Times Union reported. Mohawk and Fedrigoni are not strangers to one another. In September of 2022, Mohawk announced a manufacturing partnership with Fedrigoni. The deal provided Fedrigoni with an avenue to expand its presence in the U.S. market and Mohawk to accelerate its focus on developing increasingly high-performance specialty papers solutions. Marco Nespolo, CEO of Fedrigoni Group, said at that time, "This is an important step forward to reinforce our geographical penetration in the United States, where we will directly produce and distribute high-value-added papers, leveraging all possible industrial and commercial synergies with our Group." Mohawk grew its partnership with Fedrigoni when in July of 2023, it became the North American distribution partner for Fedrigoni Specialty Papers. At that time, Fedrigoni again expressed its desire to expand its presence in the U.S. market. "The alliance with Mohawk will accelerate our geographic expansion in the U.S. in the increasingly promising sector of specialty papers for luxury packaging and other creative and technical solutions," said Ilan Schinazi, Chief Commercial Officer of Fedrigoni Paper. "We are determined to grow our market-leading position by leveraging the reshoring trend in the U.S. and our deep customer partnerships with top luxury brands in Europe, and developing our relationships with U.S. brands." In what now appears to be a bit of foreshadowing, Mohawk stated in the above-mentioned September 2022 announcement, "The alignment between Mohawk and Fedrigoni carries the potential to formalize a strategic transaction over the next several years." Mohawk Mohawk is North America's largest privately-owned manufacturer of fine papers and envelopes which are preferred for commercial and digital printing, photo specialties and high-end direct mail. Fedrigoni Fedrigoni is a manufacturer of labels and self-adhesive materials, along with specialty papers for luxury packaging, and art and design papers. SOURCE: Times Union, Mohawk, and Fedrigoni Photo: (Photo : IAN BARRETT /Getty Images) A 29-year-old Canadian was arrested allegedly for the rural crime spree in Manitoba and the recent murder of five people, including three children Rural Manitoba was shattered by a shocking sequence of events that has left the community grappling with grief. The Canadian now faces allegations of a grisly murder involving five victims, including three young children tragically discovered lifeless in a burning car. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) are spearheading an intensive investigation into what appears to be a rural crime spree, weaving a tale of horror that has sent ripples through the close-knit neighborhoods. Canadian Man Arrested for Alleged Rural Crime Spree The ominous chain of events commenced with a disturbing report of a hit-and-run near Carman, a peaceful town nestled southwest of Winnipeg, at 7:30 a.m. Responding officers, expecting a routine incident, discovered a woman's lifeless body in a nearby ditch, casting a pall over the picturesque morning. However, the horror was far from over. Just 40 miles north, in the rural municipality of Cartier, a witness emerged as an inadvertent hero at 10 a.m. The witness bravely pulled three children from a vehicle engulfed in flames. Despite the desperate rescue attempt, the inferno claimed the lives of these innocent youngsters. The alleged perpetrator was then apprehended at the scene, marking the onset of a deeply distressing investigation. As the investigation unfolds, the RCMP delves into the intricate web connecting the suspect and the five victims. The close-knit communities, particularly in Carman, where the heart-wrenching events transpired, are enveloped in palpable sorrow. Premier Wab Kinew, in an expression of shared grief, offered condolences to the affected families, recognizing the profound impact on the region. A collaborative effort involving various RCMP departments, including forensic specialists and a collision reconstruction unit, seeks to unravel the details of this distressing rural crime spree. Autopsies are currently underway, with authorities withholding specific details as the investigation remains fluid and dynamic. Read Also: NYC, Boston Declare No Classes as Winter Storm Targets the Northeast Shock and Grief Grips Carman Amidst Ongoing Investigation Carman, a town now synonymous with tragedy, grapples with the aftermath. The once-idyllic family residence, now ensconced in police tape, stands as a stark reminder of the darkness that unfolded within its walls. Forensic crews meticulously navigate the scene, and remnants of children's toys strewn across the back lawn serve as poignant, silent witnesses to the abrupt end of innocent lives. Neighbors, previously unaware of the shadows that loomed next door, share a collective sense of disbelief and sorrow. Mayor Brent Owen, a representative of the tight-knit community, describes the events as "absolutely horrific," echoing the sentiments of a town thrust into an unwarranted spotlight. The Prairie Rose School Division, recognizing the profound impact on local students, has activated crisis response teams for Carman Collegiate and Ecole Carman elementary school, offering support in the face of emotional turmoil. As the investigation unfolds, Carman collectively mourns, underscoring the gravity of the situation. The loss of young, innocent lives prompts reflection on the fragility of life in rural Manitoba. This dark cloud prompts communities to grapple with the aftermath of an unimaginable crime and seek solace amidst the tragedy. In a place where tranquility once reigned, an indelible mark has been left, and the echoes of sorrow resonate in the hearts of those who now mourn. Related Article: Navigating State Abortion Laws With Early Ultrasounds, Genetic Screenings Photo: (Photo : OLEH SAMOILENKO/AFP via Getty Images) In Horsham, Pennsylvania, Ruth DiRienzo-Whitehead, aged 51, was convicted of murdering her 11-year-old son last year. Following a bench trial, she is set to receive a obligatory life sentence during her sentencing on Friday. Pennsylvania Mom Guilty of Son's Murder DiRienzo-Whitehead's legal team argued that on April 10, she strangled her son, Matthew Whitehead, with a belt during a psychotic break prompted by financial concerns and family issues, with the belief that she was sparing him from a painful life. A defense expert testified that DiRienzo-Whitehead was experiencing depression and mental illness at the time. Prosecutors from Montgomery County contended that the killing was premeditated, pointing to numerous online searches of DiRienzo-Whitehead about strangulation methods and research on mental illnesses that lead women to harm their own children. They also asserted that DiRienzo-Whitehead, attributing the family's financial problems to her husband, was driven by a combination of anger and revenge. Read Also: Canadian Arrested for Alleged Murder of Five, Including Three Children Found Dead in Burning Car DiRienzo-Whitehead's Husband Testifies During Trial In Norristown, DiRienzo-Whitehead's husband provided an emotional testament at his wife's trial, where she is accused of using a belt to strangle their 11-year-old son. Daniel Whitehead, clearly hysterical, described discovering their child dead in the master bedroom of their home. Matthew, the couple's son, was found lifeless on April 11, 2023. Ruth DiRienzo-Whitehead faces charges of first- and third-degree crime and possession of an instrument of crime, with the trial ongoing in Montgomery County Court. Daniel Whitehead, during his teary testament, referred to his wife as "the defendant" and recounted his son's joyful demeanor as a sixth-grade student at Germantown Academy. He revealed that on the night of the incident, his wife slept in the masters bedroom with Matthew, while he slept in Matthew's room, a practice he considered normal. The following morning, Daniel noticed the master bedroom door padlocked, and his wife's car was lost from the garage. Using a screwdriver, he forced open the door, discovered their dead son, and immediately called 911. Horsham Police Officer Anna Kumor confirmed the child's death upon arrival, and a medical examiner, Victoria Sorokin, determined the cause of death as ligature strangulation. Prosecutors argue that the killing was intentional, while the defense claims Ruth DiRienzo-Whitehead was seriously mentally ill at the time she committed the crime, citing stressors such as caring for her mother with dementia, financial pressures, and the recent sale of the family home in Wildwood Crest, N.J. The preliminary is expected to involve conflicting psychiatric expert testimony regarding DiRienzo-Whitehead's mental state at the time. The defense is ensuing an absurdity or mental infirmity defense, affirming that she may not have been aware of the violation of her actions. Prosecutors presented a video documentation of DiRienzo-Whitehead's testimony where she professed to desperately strangling her son due to concerns about the family's financial crisis. The defense contends that she was suffering from serious mental illness, while the prosecution aims for first-degree murder charges, which carry a possible life sentence, or third-degree murder with a maximum sentence of 20 to 40 years. Related Article: South Carolina's 34-Year Cold Case: Parents Arrested for 5-Year-Old Son's 1989 Murder Ford president and CEO Jim Farley attends the reveal of the 2024 Ford F-150 pick-up truck in advance of the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Michigan, September 12, 2023. Last falls contentious United Auto Workers strike changed Fords relationship with the union to the point where it will think carefully about where it builds future vehicles, Fords top executive said Thursday. CEO Jim Farley told the Wolfe Research Global Auto Conference in New York that the company always took pride in its relationship with the UAW, having avoided strikes since the 1970s. But last year, Fords highly profitable factory in Louisville, Kentucky, was the first truck plant that the UAW shut down with a strike. Farley said as the company looks at the transition from internal combustion to electric vehicles, we have to think carefully about our (manufacturing) footprint. Ford, Farley said, decided to build all of its highly profitable big pickup trucks in the U.S., and by far has the most union members 57,000 of any Detroit automaker. This came at a higher cost than competitors, who went through bankruptcy and built truck plants in Mexico, he said. But Ford thought it was the right kind of cost, Farley said. Our reliance on the UAW turned out to be we were the first truck plant to be shut down, Farley told the conference. Really our relationship has changed. Its been a watershed moment for the company. Does this have business impact? Yes. Asked about Farleys comments, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said President Joe Biden believes in making goods and creating jobs in the U.S. Were going to do everything we can to make sure that continues, she said. Biden, she said, also believes that workers have the right to collective bargaining to get better wages and benefits like the UAW did. That is something that the president is always going to speak for and is going to stand up for she said. You hear him say this all the time, unions build the middle class, and he believes that. The UAW made strong wage gains after a six-week strike at selected plants run by Ford, General Motors and Jeep maker Stellantis. Top-scale factory workers won 33% raises in a contract that runs through April of 2028, taking their top wage to around $42 per hour. A UAW spokesman did not immediately return a message left Thursday seeking comment. High manufacturing costs are among the reasons why Ford has a $7 billion annual cost disadvantage to competitors, Farley has said. He told the conference that Ford is making progress on cutting those costs with cultural and structural changes at the company. It expects to take out $2 billion worth of costs this year, and Farley said he thinks cuts in manufacturing costs will fully offset the cost of the UAW contract. Ford has said the contract would add $900 to the cost of a vehicle by the time it reaches full effect. Ford has shifted its electric vehicle strategy so it concentrates on smaller, lower priced EVs and electric work vehicles such as pickup trucks and full-size vans, Farley said. Any EV larger than a Ford Escape small SUV better be really functional or a work vehicle. A small team within the company is developing the underpinnings of a less costly smaller vehicle, which Farley said would be profitable because of U.S. federal tax credits as high as $7,500 per vehicle. He gave no time frame for the small EV to come out, but said Fords next generation of electric vehicles would come in the 2025 through 2027 time frame. His comments about the union raise questions about whether the new small EV would be built in Mexico, which has lower labor costs. Vehicles built in North America are still eligible for the U.S. tax credit. Farley also said he sees EV battery prices coming down with more competition. The company, he said, may go with a common cylinder-shaped battery cell to leverage purchasing and get better prices. He also said Ford might do that with another automaker. Fords Model e, the electric vehicle unit, lost nearly $5 billion before taxes last year. Farley wouldnt give a date for it to break even, but said any new EV built by the company has to make money within 12 months of its release. The company still posted net income of $4.3 billion due largely to big profits from its Pro commercial vehicle unit and Ford Blue, the internal combustion division. Farley said Ford and others will have trouble competing on EVs with Chinese automakers, which are likely to sell 10 million of them this year. Its a big reason why Ford has recruited management talent to focus on lean operations, he said. Chinese automakers, he said, went from selling no EVs in Europe two years ago to 10% of the market now. Chinese auto giant BYD s Seagull small electric vehicle, he said, has about $9,000 in material costs, and it will probably cost the company another $2,000 to meet crash test standards, for a total cost of around $11,000. It has a range of about 150 miles in cold weather, not a fantastic vehicle, but pretty damn good. Shares of Ford fell less than 1% to $12.51 in trading late Thursday. Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAIS USA Edition This service is a courtesy for our print subscribers to give them access to our online edition at no additional cost. If you haven't registered on the new site, you must do it now before you do anything else. + Bible Passages On the Organic Relationship of Faith, Works, Grace, Obedience, & Salvation Dr. Gavin Ortlund is a Reformed Baptist author, speaker, pastor, scholar, and apologist for the Christian faith. He has a Ph.D. from Fuller Theological Seminary in historical theology, and an M.Div from Covenant Theological Seminary. Gavin is the author of seven books as well as numerous academic and popular articles. For a list of publications, see his CV. He runs the very popular YouTube channel Truth Unites, which seeks to provide an irenic voice on theology, apologetics, and the Christian life. See also his website, Truth Unites and his blog. In my opinion, he is currently the best and most influential popular-level Protestant apologist, who (especially) interacts with and offers thoughtful critiques of Catholic positions, from a refreshing ecumenical (not anti-Catholic), but nevertheless solidly Protestant perspective. Thats what I want to interact with, so I have done many replies to Gavin and will continue to do so. His words will be in blue. I use RSV for all Bible passages unless otherwise specified. All of my replies to Gavin are collected in one place on my Calvinism & General Protestantism web page, near the top in the section, Replies to Reformed Baptist Gavin Ortlund. This is my 20th reply to his material. ***** This is a response to a statement in Gavins video, Why Reformation Was Needed (10-20-23). He stated at 38:10: when you die and you stand before God he will say to you righteous in my sight because you are clothed in the righteousness of Christ. Protestants frequently preach about if you die tonight and Jesus asks you why you should be saved and allowed into heaven, what will you say? and what Jesus supposedly says to the elect believer who is proclaimed to be saved once and for all at the Last Judgment (eschatological salvation). Ironically (and even remarkably, given this background),when I looked into this, I discovered that Jesus never says any such thing. What Gavin states here is technically not biblical (in terms of Jesus saying it at that time). Jesus doesnt say that on the Last Day to the elect about to enter heaven. But first, let me respond to what Gavin did claim. To be sure, there is indeed a scriptural motif of being clothed in His righteousness. Thats justification by faith, and Catholics agree with it. What we disagree with is the notion of faith alone, completely and categorically separated from works, which James in line with the entire Bible says is an essential, intertwined aspect or characteristic of this faith (faith without works is dead). And when we look at one passage that describes the process of being clothed this is what we find: Ephesians 6:5-8, 11, 13-17 Slaves, be obedient to those who are your earthly masters, with fear and trembling, in singleness of heart, as to Christ; [6] not in the way of eye-service, as men-pleasers, but as servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, [7] rendering service with a good will as to the Lord and not to men, [8] knowing that whatever good any one does, he will receive the same again from the Lord, whether he is a slave or free. . . . [11] Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. . . . [13] Therefore take the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. [14] Stand therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, [15] and having shod your feet with the equipment of the gospel of peace; [16] besides all these, taking the shield of faith, with which you can quench all the flaming darts of the evil one. [17] And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Note first of all that faith is not alone at all. Paul even states, almost nonchalantly, besides all these [including righteousness], taking the shield of faith . . . This is not merely God declaring us righteous (imputed righteousness). St. Paul doesnt describe our relationship with righteousness as being granted by mere declaration (with us being totally passive); on the contrary, we have to do all sorts of good works and make the effort to be righteous and to receive Gods grace, justification, and salvation. And so we see above in the highlighted green texts, how much human effort is made in the whole process. In this passage, God doesnt clothe us with the armor of God; rather, we put [it] on and take it. We put on the breastplate of righteousness; we shod our feet with the gospel and we take the shield of faith (which again is not alone). Its the language of human action; not passivity. The acquisition of these clothing items is surrounded by all these works and actions, precisely as James highlights in his epistle, and as Isaiah also does (as we will see below). All of this involves our actions; its not merely a proclamation that a second ago we were lost, and now were saved because God did all these things. Its entirely originated and enabled by His grace, to be sure (Catholics believe in sola gratia, too), but not without our participation through works enabled by His grace. Thats the true biblical gospel of salvation; not faith alone. Gavin in this five-minute video presents at the end what he construes to be the biblical gospel of salvation. I am now doing so in a little more depth, from a Catholic and I contend, even more deeply biblical perspective. Calvinist Randall Van Meggelen, in an article about being clothed in righteousness, offered two Bible passages that most closely resemble that phrase: Isaiah 1:18 and 61:10. I love the book of Isaiah. Its always been my favorite Old Testament book. Whats interesting, again, is how much the notion of being clothed or covered in the first passage, is literally surrounded by good works that seem to play a crucial and necessary causal role in bringing about this state of affairs. Once again, the Catholic view is much more supported than the Protestant faith alone outlook, and we dont have to ignore the actual context: Isaiah 1:16-20 Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your doings from before my eyes; cease to do evil, [17] learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; defend the fatherless, plead for the widow. [18] Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool. [19] If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land; [20] But if you refuse and rebel, you shall be devoured by the sword; for the mouth of the LORD has spoken. Clearly, works cannot possibly be separated from the blessing of justification and forgiveness. They partially bring about the result of Gods grace working together with our participatory action and obedience: our sins being white as snow; that is, forgiven. God lists no less than nine good works in Isaiah 1:16. Its certainly strongly implied that if one does all those good works, then their sins will be made white as snow. Then God reiterates If you are willing and obedient you get the reward, and that, conversely, if we refuse and rebel we dont get it. Its a conditional promise, which is very typical in the Old Testament period. Whereas Isaiah 1:16-20 emphasizes our part in the process of salvation, Isaiah 61:10 is more about Gods grace and the justification He blesses us with: Isaiah 60:10 I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall exult in my God; for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation, he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with a garland, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. Both things are true, and must be accepted together, in harmony. We cant simply pull out texts that teach one side of the equation, and ignore the other biblical side of it. Isaiah 60 still mentions good works, too. We are to bind up the brokenhearted and open the prison to those who are bound and comfort all who mourn (60:1-2), and work for justice (60:8). I wrote a paper entitled, Isaiahs Catholic & UnProtestant Soteriology [8-1-23]. In it, I highlighted 26 passages (with many additional cross-references), where Catholics and Protestants fully agree, as to their meaning. Then I noted 19 others where Isaiah teaches a Catholic faith without works is dead soteriology. I have made similar analyses of the book of Jeremiah and the books of the twelve minor prophets. But now we go back to the original topic, and what I allude to in the title of this article. What does the Bible teach us about what Jesus actually says to His elect on the Last Day when they stand before Him? Gavin claimed that He will say, righteous in my sight and that He will do so because we are clothed in the righteousness of Christ. The elect certainly will be clothed in Christs righteousness and justified due to His death on the cross on our behalf. All agree with that. Im not disagreeing with it. My point is that this is not what Jesus says, according to what we know, based on Gods inspired revelation, the Bible. And I am protesting that Gavin completely removes the central role of our works in the whole scenario. Thats not just my Catholic bias. Its Holy Scripture. I found no less than fifty passages proving it. Of the fifty passages, only one mentions faith at all (Rev 21:8 refers to the faithless who will be damned, alongside the absence of good works). The most directly relevant passage, where we find the answer to the question, is the following: Matthew 25:31-36 When the Son of man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. [32] Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate them one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, [33] and he will place the sheep at his right hand, but the goats at the left. [34] Then the King will say to those at his right hand, `Come, O blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; [35] for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, [36] I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me. We see not a word about faith or being clothed in righteousness here. According to our Lord Jesus, they are saved and will enter into heaven because they did six listed good works. This is what Jesus actually says on the Last Day to the elect. Its not a mere projection of distinctive (and unbiblical) Protestant soteriology of faith alone. If we know what He says on the Last Day, from the Bible, we do! A=A. We need not speculate any further about it. Its biblically settled beyond any discussion. Heres the second most relevant passage about what Jesus actually says: Matthew 7:16-27 You will know them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorns, or figs from thistles? So every sound tree bears good fruit; but the bad tree bears evil fruit. A sound tree cannot bear evil fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will know them by their fruits. Not every one who says to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name? And then will I declare to them, I never knew you; depart from me, you evildoers. Every one then who hears these words of mine, and does them will be like a wise man who built his house upon the rock; and the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat upon that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And every one who hears these words of mine, and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house upon the sand; and the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell; and great was the fall of it. Jesus says many other things along the same lines, that express the same idea, regarding how one is saved in the end. In the parable of the talents (i.e., coins, not abilities), in Matthew 25:14-30, right before the primary passage on this topic above, the saved person did a work of increasing the talents, and so Jesus says to him, Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a little, I will set you over much; enter into the joy of your master. In Matthew 7:16-27, Jesus likewise states about he ones who are saved: You will know them by their fruits and Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. The saved person is the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven and Jesus reiterates: Every one then who hears these words of mine, and does them will be like a wise man who built his house upon the rock. Jesus talks about what He will do on the Last Day, as well as what He will say: the Son of man is to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay every man for what he has done (Mt 16:27). Similarly, He said that every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire (Lk 3:9; cf. Mt 3:10; 7:19). Jesus says that He has authority to execute judgment and that those who have done good will gain the resurrection of life and that those who have done evil will incur the resurrection of judgment (Jn 5:26-29). This is just from Jesus. There are many more passages with the same teaching (fifty in all) from the Old Testament and the epistles. All of it is completely harmonious with Catholic soteriology, and in conflict with Protestant faith alone soteriology. Protestants, if they are being honest with themselves, and seeking to be biblical (as they always claim they are doing, and that we Catholics are supposedly not doing) need to grapple with these passages that sure seem to be in conflict with their beliefs. I issue the challenge, with all due respect to my esteemed and respected Protestant brethren in Christ. ** See some additional related thoughts of mine and discussion with a Protestant friend on my Facebook page. * [response to an evangelical Christian (one whom I like a lot) who has rejected the doctrine of hell and who thinks that the OT God was mean and evil and fundamentally different from Jesus. See the first part of my reply on Facebook: Angry OT God vs. Meek and Mild Jesus? * I think this line of thought you are expressing will entail many serious difficulties. The apologists job is to tackle tough questions, and I have some more thoughts. * As I alluded to, Jesus and God the Father are one, as Jesus Himself says. There is no separation between them at all. They always agree. To deny that would be to call into question the Holy Trinity, which has always been a central doctrine for all Christians. If someone denies that, they have always been considered non-Christians or heretics (e.g., Jehovahs Witnesses, Mormons, Unitarians). * Secondly, its a dangerous principle and road to go down if we start deciding that certain things are too difficult to accept, so that we decide to reject them. This means that we have questioned the doctrine of the inspiration of Scripture. * There are many things that are very difficult for us to understand. A friend of mine just lost his one-year-old son to a rare form of cancer. I dont understand that. I dont understand hell or Gods eternity or omnipresence or timelessness or how we can have free will and still be predestined to heaven (those who are in the elect). * If we start questioning the inspiration of Holy Scripture, anything then becomes possible, and people who went down that road claim to be Christians and yet think abortion is fine and dandy, and same-sex marriage and fornication, and a host of other things. * The Old Testament God was a loving God, just as Jesus (God the Son) is a loving God. I just reposted yesterday an article of mine entitled, Gods Valentine: His Love, Mercy, & Compassion. All it is, is Scripture, and about half of it came from the OT. * Excerpts: * Psalm 103:3-5 (RSV) who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, [4] who redeems your life from the Pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, [5] who satisfies you with good as long as you live so that your youth is renewed like the eagles. * Isaiah 43:4 . . . you are precious in my eyes, and honored, and I love you, . . . * Isaiah 49:15-16 Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you. [16] Behold, I have graven you on the palms of my hands; . . . * Isaiah 54:10 For the mountains may depart and the hills be removed, but my steadfast love shall not depart from you, and my covenant of peace shall not be removed, says the LORD, who has compassion on you. * Isaiah 62:4-5 . . . the LORD delights in you . . . [5] . . . as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you. * Isaiah 66:13 As one whom his mother comforts, so I will comfort you; you shall be comforted in Jerusalem. * Jesus didnt reject the Law at all. He said: * Matthew 5:17-19 Think not that I have come to abolish the law and the prophets; I have come not to abolish them but to fulfil them. [18] For truly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the law until all is accomplished. [19] Whoever then relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but he who does them and teaches them shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. * Jesus followed OT law to the letter, including observance of all of the Jewish holy days and various commands. * As for the doctrine of hell, the Bible records Jesus saying much more about it than He did about heaven. See my article: Biblical Evidence for an Eternal Hell. * Again, if we start picking-and-choosing what we will accept in the Bible, based on our own feelings and questions, and even do that with Jesus Himself, there is no end to it. * Rather than question the Bible and Jesus, I think it would be more fruitful for you to question your fundamentalist religious background which taught you false ideas that you have struggled with, and which have led you in the long run to start rejecting biblical doctrines. * This is very common, too. I cant tell you how many of the atheists I have interacted with, report that they had a fundamentalist background. Invariably, they think that Christianity teaches a host of things that it doesnt teach, and I try to explain that to them: that they rejected a straw man, not actual Christianity, beyond the narrow fundamentalism (similar to Pharisaism). Thats where the errors lie and where they arose, looks like to me. * I think you are aware of how dangerous this view is, even though you have decided to adopt it. If we start saying that this and that are wrong in the Bible, how does it ever end? You have made yourself the arbiter of Gods revelation, rather than accepting it in faith. Now, whether you are right or wrong in that, I think you have to admit that it is a subjective and arbitrary point of view, which could literally go anywhere. * How do you know that you wont become one of those atheists who maybe started questioning hell at first, or another difficult doctrine, then got rid of it, and it was only the first of many rejections, leading ultimately to atheism? * If you say that hell is nonexistent and that the OT God is different, this hearkens back to the old heresies of dualism and gnosticism, where you have a good God and an evil counter-god. Its very dangerous territory. And you would be flat-out denying Jesus teaching. * All you can do at that point is start denying that Jesus teaching really is His. In this view, when you disagree with something, you say that Jesus didnt really say it. If you go that route, youd probably leave the Christian faith within a year, because thats how all apostasy and atheism begins, if the person began as some sort of Christian. * There are views that simply assert annihilationism and soul sleep, without denying other Christian doctrines, like Seventh-Day Adventism, but you have already gone farther than they do, by separating Jesus from God the Father. * I think the fundamental error in this approach is what I would call hyper-rationalism. Every atheist thinks like that. I know, because I have spent many thousands of hours interacting with them, and my book about biblical archaeology [ The Word Set in Stone: How Archaeology, Science, and History Back Up the Bible ] was a direct result of that. * That book, by the way, provides strong independent evidence that the Bible is inspired revelation. Most of it is about the OT too. Ill send you a free pdf copy in a PM. * [The OT] God is following His own laws and His nature of being love itself. We follow His example if we, for example, shoot a terrorist who is holding fifty children hostage, threatening to kill them. Thats an act of love and simultaneously acting as Gods agent of justice, on behalf of the children. * If the Israeli Army kills Hamas terrorists: the ones who beheaded children and tortured, raped, and murdered women, its the same thing. Its loving with regard to the rest of the Israeli population who might be treated in the same way, and an act of judgment towards unrepentant murderers and evil people. * God was very strict in the OT because He had to be. He was trying to illustrate the reality of sin and how it separates a person from God. So there was capital punishment. It doesnt follow, however, that everyone who was executed is lost for eternity. If many of them went to heaven, they have all eternity in happiness and bliss, compared to one second when they were punished with death. That changes everything. * God judged Sodom and Gomorrah. Jesus alluded to that. He agreed with it. You might recall how Abraham pled with God if there were just ten righteous people in the cities, to not judge them. But there werent. That sin had gotten to the point of no return. Thats why God judged. * There is judgment in the NT In Acts 5, Ananias and Sapphira were killed for holding back some of their profits, after they donated to the apostles. It seems harsh, but there it is. Do you rip that page out of the Bible because its difficult to understand? I dont. I say, God knows much more about their hearts and motives than I do. God knows what He is doing. * There was that man who died because he tried to stop the ark of the covenant from tipping over. God was showing how holy the item was. Was that man damned for all eternity? I highly doubt it. * Essentially your view boils down to a denial that God can justly judge sin. Thats the road to ethical relativism and subjectivism. You dont want to go down that road. You need to seriously re-think all this. * Jesus didnt call the OT God a murderer. * John 8:38-45 I speak of what I have seen with my Father, and you do what you have heard from your father. [39] They answered him, Abraham is our father. Jesus said to them, If you were Abrahams children, you would do what Abraham did, [40] but now you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth which I heard from God; this is not what Abraham did. [41] You do what your father did. They said to him, We were not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God. [42] Jesus said to them, If God were your Father, you would love me, for I proceeded and came forth from God; I came not of my own accord, but he sent me. [43] Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word. [44] You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your fathers desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and has nothing to do with the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks according to his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies. [45] But, because I tell the truth, you do not believe me. * The murderer there is the devil (You are of your father the devil,. . . He was a murderer from the beginning.). Jesus contrasts His Father with the devil, who is the Pharisees father, in the passage. You seem to have completely ignored the context. Are you reading materials that are teaching you these unbiblical doctrines? * Were limited by the fact that we are finite creatures and not God. God knows everything. A creature cannot know everything, because then he or she would be God, and were not. We have limitations. Thats what faith is about. We accept things that we dont fully understand, based on what we do know. And in fact all fields of knowledge entail that. They all have unproved premises and conclusions that follow from data that are not airtight or absolutely undeniable. We exercise a sort of faith to believe in them. * Were not penalized for not understanding. Were judged based on what we know and our level of intent, just as in secular law different penalties are applied, so that a crime of passion or one done in temporary insanity is penalized a lot less than premeditated murder, that was planned for months. * The Bible has a lot about degrees of culpability and ignorance and how they cause us to be judged less than we otherwise would have been. See, e.g.,: * Luke 12:47-48 And that servant who knew his masters will, but did not make ready or act according to his will, shall receive a severe beating. But he who did not know, and did what deserved a beating, shall receive a light beating. Every one to whom much is given, of him will much be required; and of him to whom men commit much they will demand the more. * Luke 23:34 And Jesus said, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. . . . * John 9:41 Jesus said to them, If you were blind, you would have no guilt; but now that you say, We see, your guilt remains. * John 19:11 . . . he who delivered me to you has the greater sin. * Acts 17:30 The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all men everywhere to repent, * Romans 3:25 . . . This was to show Gods righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins; * 1 Timothy 1:13 though I formerly blasphemed and persecuted and insulted him; but I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief. * Hebrews 10:26 For if we sin deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, * James 3:1 Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, for you know that we who teach shall be judged with greater strictness. ** I dont know why hell is eternal, but I know that its just punishment, because I know that God is both just and loving, in what He has revealed about Himself. Jesus is both. He judges and kills millions on the Last Day (Rev 19:11-21). Thats in the Bible. * I guess you could be like Thomas Jefferson (a Unitarian) and take scissors to the Bible and cut out everything that is not to your liking. He tried to remove every miracle, since he didnt believe in them. Problem is, Jesus; death on the cross for our salvation is also a miracle. So much for Christianity as related to Jefferson! * I have also written a book in which I refute 191 alleged contradictions in the Bible: Inspired!: 191 Supposed Biblical Contradictions Resolved (June 2023). Its totally free online at this link. * Can God judge His creation or not? If not, on what basis do you claim such a thing? And the consequences of such an uninvolved, unloving (yes, unloving) God would be too horrible to contemplate. God only judges after making any and every effort to reach unrepentant people. He would have not judged and destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah if they had even ten righteous people, as the Bible says. But they didnt. That was the whole point. They were beyond redemption because they chose to be. The few righteous people that were there (Lot and his family) were allowed to escape. Thats God. * We presuppose that judgment is a good thing in every law that we pass and every penalty for not abiding by them. Imagine a nation in which there were no penalties for murder and rape (even one with no traffic laws)! Thats loving; thats just? Of course it isnt. The laws are made out of love and concern for people. If we dont judge lawbreakers, all the law-abiding people suffer for it. * What G. K. Chesterton wrote about tradition also applies to Gods laws. He compared tradition to a fence around a field that sits on top of a hill that has dangerous drop-off cliffs on all sides. When the fence is there, the children play completely free of all worries about falling off the edge. Theyre free! But if it isnt there they arent free at all. Every second, they are worried about falling off the edge and being killed and they cant enjoy life and be carefree children. * If I punish a child severely because he or she ran into the street without looking or went into a car with a stranger, is that a loving act or a selfish, immoral act? Is it necessary? Of course it is. Failing that, the child may actually get killed or abducted and sold into child trafficking. That isnt a very loving parent, is it? Likewise, God punishes and chastises us for our own good, as the Bible states several times (many times in the NT, since you seem to now think that the OT is so wicked). Its made necessary by original sin and our rebellion against Him. Benchmarks, while inherently contentious and not always representative of real-world performance, are an important tool in any kind of quantitative evaluation. Thats why nerds are obsessed with them. And not just nerds: companies use third-party benchmark results to make decisions on millions, sometimes billions of dollars in investment. So when someone finds evidence of a company putting its figurative thumb on the scale, it has the potential for big ramifications. Such is the case with some recent, and very specific, Intel Xeon CPU benchmarks. The Standard Performance Evaluation Corporation, better known as SPEC, has invalidated over 2600 of its own results testing Xeon processors in the 2022 and 2023 version of its popular industrial SPEC CPU 2017 test. After investigating, SPEC found that Intel had used compilers that were, quote, performing a compilation that specifically improves the performance of the 523.xalancbmk_r / 623.xalancbmk_s benchmarks using a priori knowledge of the SPEC code and dataset to perform a transformation that has narrow applicability. In laymans terms, SPEC is accusing Intel of optimizing the compiler specifically for its benchmark, which means the results werent indicative of how end users could expect to see performance in the real world. Intels custom compiler might have been inflating the relevant results of the SPEC test by up to 9%. For more technical details (many of which are, frankly, beyond my level of compsci understanding) check out the reports from ServeTheHome and Phoronix, via Toms Hardware. SPEC uncovered these results while looking back over its own benchmark database, and while its not deleting them for the sake of historical records, it is invalidating them for its own reports. Slightly newer versions of the compilers used in the latest industrial Xeon processors, the 5th-gen Emerald Rapids series, do not use these allegedly performance-enhancing APIs. Ill point out that both the Xeon processors and the SPEC 2017 test are some high-level hardware meant for big iron industrial and educational applications, and arent especially relevant for the consumer market we typically cover. But companies giving their chips a little extra oomph for the sake of attention-grabbing benchmarks isnt exactly novel. Most recently, mobile chip suppliers across the industry (Qualcomm, Samsung, and MediaTek, supplying chips in almost every non-Apple phone) were accused of effectively faking Android performance results in 2020. Accusations of interference in companies own self-reported benchmarks, often without specific parameters and therefore unverifiable, are incredibly common. Valentines Day, the world over is a period to celebrate love and show care and affection to loved ones. Capitalizing on this globally recognized day, Arla foods, producers of Dano milk embarked on a massive activation drive dubbed, Dano Spread the Love. Accompanied by brass band music, the Dano Mascot paraded the streets of Accra Central Market and Madina rewarding traders, consumers, and lovers of milk with free Dano milk products. The mascot shared hugs and interacted with traders about the benefits of consuming milk. Valentines Day gives us the opportunity to bond with our consumers and make simple yet meaningful impact in their lives. Building inner strength begins with building a positive mentality about life. The initiative, while bonding with consumers and spreading warmth, is also Danos way of saying, You are not alone, we care about your nourishment so just go for it, said Mr Wilson Agbeko in an interview. Speaking to some of the traders, they expressed their amazement at Dano milk for bringing the love to them right where they are. We have never seen anything like this - to have a company come to us on Valentines Day to tell us that they love and care about us; that is really heartwarming, one of the traders opined. Source: Peacefmonline.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT) has issued a two-day ultimatum to the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) to release salaries of some teachers by Friday or face the wrath of the union. The Association alleged that the OSP had withheld the salaries of more than 400 teachers believed to be ghost names that are still being kept in the system. According to the Office, they are investigating ghost names on the governments payroll. However, the President of NAGRAT, Angel Carbonu said the searching and clearing of ghost names is not enough reason to withhold salaries of eligible workers. He said, "When you're auditing somebody, until the audit is completed and you have conclusively arrived indicating that A, B and C are not qualified to earn a salary, you don't go ahead to inflict punishment." Speaking on NewsNite, Mr. Karbonu warned that the association will be forced to resort to other measures if the OSP fails to release their salaries by Friday, February 16, 2024. "He [Special Prosecutor] has not finished prosecuting people who have been given bribes in elections and things like that, it is not poor teachers that he is coming to zero in on. "If he does not defreeze the salaries by Friday, he will have to be blamed for whatever happens after Friday," he added. Source: Kobina Darlington/peacefmonline.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The Tertiary Education Workers Union of Ghana (TEWU-GH) has called off its two-week-long strike. The workers went on strike on February 1 citing the nonpayment of their vehicle maintenance allowances by the government. A statement issued on Friday, February 16 said After a series of discussions with the National Labour Commission and the government, NLC directed the union to suspend the strike action and engage the Government to resolve the issue of the vehicle maintenance allowance to our members". As we are all aware, the government denied some of our members the vehicle maintenance allowance payment which compelled the union to embark on an indefinite strike action. Below is the full statement The Tertiary Education Workers Union of Ghana (TEWU-GH) of the public universities in Ghana declared an indefinite strike on February 1st 2024, leadership subsequently directed all members to continue the strike action on 12th February 2024, to press home our demands. The leadership of TEWU-GH was invited by the National Labour Commission (NLC) on 14th February 2024, in attendance from Government representatives was the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC) and Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC). After a series of discussions with the National Labour Commission and the government, NLC directed the union to suspend the strike action and engage the Government to resolve the issue of the vehicle maintenance allowance to our members. As we are all aware, the government denied some of our members the vehicle maintenance allowance payment which compelled the union to embark on an indefinite strike action. The National Executive Council (NEC) of the Tertiary Education Workers Union of Ghana (TEWU-GH) had an emergency meeting today 15th February 2024, in Accra and a resolution was passed, that ongoing strike should be suspended and engage with the Government as directed. In view of the above, we wish to announce that the ongoing strike action is suspended with immediate effect. All local executives are requested to disseminate this information/directives to their rank and file for compliance. Leadership wish to thank all members for their tireless support during this industrial action, for your support we shall be treated with dignity to improve our working conditions in the public university campuses. Thank you Long Live TEWU-GH on the university campuses in Ghana. Thank you. Source: Peacefmonline.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video 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. America's most expensive home for sale has three mansions and is located in Naples, Florida. Its asking price has made it the most expensive house listing in the United States. This beachfront mansion located in Port Royal, the playground of the super-rich and famous in the city of Naples, in southwest Florida, is up for sale for $295 million (275 million). Called Gordon Pointe, it belongs to the descendants of the financier John Donahue, according to The Wall Street Journal, which first reported on the listing. The nine-acre compound is spread out across three mansions and includes a private yacht basin and 1,650 feet of waterfront between the Gulf of Mexico and Naples Bay. The main house spans about 11,500 square feet, with six bedrooms and an indoor pool. The second house, built around 1990, is 5,400 square feet, with five bedrooms and an outdoor pool. The third was built in 2013, spans 19,000 square feet and has an outdoor pool and a dock for six boats. The property is currently divided into six contiguous lots on which other houses could still be built, up to a maximum of 200,000 square feet of residential development. The home is being sold by Coldwell Banker Realty in Florida, in collaboration with Corcoran and Savills. An agent for Coldwell recently told CNBC that the listing is already drawing significant interest and that the realtor had scheduled eight in-person visits. The nine-acre compound is spread out across three mansions. The property is currently divided into six contiguous lots on which other houses could still be built. Called Gordon Pointe, it belongs to the descendants of the financier John Donahue. The main house spans about 11,500 square feet, with six bedrooms and an indoor pool. The home is being sold by Coldwell Banker Realty in Florida, in collaboration with Corcoran and Savills. Location : Naples (Florida, USA) Size : Nine acres Price : $295 million Realtor: Coldwell Banker Dr. Benjamin Otchere-Ankrah, a lecturer at the Central University, has advised the ministerial appointees to selflessly serve in their respective offices. The President on Wednesday, February 14, relieved some ministers of their duties in his first major ministerial reshuffle after assuming office. The Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, and the Health Minister, Kwaku Agyemang Manu, have been kicked out, and Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam and the Director of the National Health Insurance Authority, Dr. Bernard Okoe-Boye, have been appointed to the Finance and Health Ministries, respectively. The Minister for Information, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, has been reassigned to the Works and Housing Ministry, and his deputy, Fatimatu Abubakar, replaces him. Other new ministers include Lydia Alhassan, who heads to the Sanitation and Water Resources Ministry, Andrew Egyapa Mercer, to Tourism, Greater Accra Regional Minister Henry Quartey, re-assigned to the Interior Ministry, among others. Former Member of Parliament for Tema East, Daniel Nii Kwartei Titus-Glover, takes over from Henry Quartey as Minister for General Accra Region. Dr. Benjamin Otchere-Ankrah, speaking on Peace FM's "Kokrokoo" morning show, admonished the ministers-designate to ensure they leave a legacy. "You have to live up to expectations and sometimes even beyond the expectation...It's not what you do to the people [but] what you do with the people and for the people," he said. He was, however, hopeful they would work hard, saying, "I am confident that these new ministers will work to leave a legacy. Some of them will do well," hence mentioning "people like Agya Mercer will do well; Kojo Oppong Nkrumah will do well." Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Governance lecturer at Central University, Dr. Benjamin Otchere-Ankrah, has commended President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo for appointing women into ministerial positions. A statement from the Presidency released on Wednesday, February 14, 2024, indicated that the President has relieved some ministers of their positions and others have been reassigned to different ministries. Finance and Health Ministers, Ken Ofori-Atta and Kwaku Agyemang Manu have been removed, with Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam, Minister of State at the Ministry of Finance, and the Director of the National Health Insurance Authority, Dr. Bernard Okoe-Boye, appointed to the Finance and Health Ministries, respectively. Some females elevated to hold ministerial positions include Fatimatu Abubakar, who has been appointed to the Ministry of Information, and Lydia Alhassan, who heads to the Sanitation and Water Resources Ministry. Ophelia Hayford Mensah has also been appointed to the Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology, and Innovation. Dr. Benjamin Otchere-Ankrah was elated that the President has considered women in his government, giving them top-notch positions. He lauded the president, saying, "Our politics have become like men's field. So, let's protect a few women who come out boldly. Let's encourage and support them so that they will succeed, because when they work hard, we reap lots of benefits. He has done well for female representation." He asked for the female ministers, together with their male counterparts, to be encouraged to work hard towards the development of the nation. "We need to encourage them. We need to support them," he emphasized on Peace FM's morning show "Kokrokoo". Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video A 54-year-old man woke up in excruciating pain and complete blindness after he was shot in the head in his bed, six days after breaking up with Sonya McKnight, he wrote in a petition for a protection-from-abuse order filed Thursday. He asked McKnight, his former girlfriend, if he was bleeding. She said yes, he wrote in the petition. One of the biggest breakout groups in indie music attended the industrys biggest award show earlier this month, decked out in rare jewelry from a private studio in central Pennsylvania. Boygenius, the indie supergroup consisting of Phoebe Bridgers, Julien Baker and Lucy Dacus, took home three Grammy Awards from the Feb. 4 event. And they attended several Grammy-related events while wearing items borrowed from Maejean Vintage, a Lancaster-based business founded by Laura and Amanda Hornberger. Austin North, star of the Netflix hit show Outer Banks, is opening up about a hospital incident that led to his arrest in Las Vegas Tuesday. According to a police report obtained by TMZ, the incident took place in the emergency room of the UMC Hospital. Multiple hospital employees claimed North had attacked them unprovoked, throwing punches and shoving the healthcare workers. The report said the actor even shoved a phlebotomist into a table. The phlebotomist then used a tray to hit the actor over the head in self-defense. Before he was fully restrained, North attacked another person nearby but its unclear if they were hospital staff or a bystander. In an Instagram Story on Thursday, the 27-year-old attempted to address the details of the ordeal, which resulted in him being restrained and secured to a stretcher. He said it was all due to him having a severe anxiety attack, but he initially thought it was a heart attack. I am deeply upset by the events that took place in Las Vegas this past week, he wrote in his statement. My friend drove me to the hospital because I thought I was having a heart attack. Several tests were taken, including blood, which came back negative for any drugs or alcohol in my system. I have very little memory of the events that day at the hospital. I have the utmost respect for healthcare workers and hospital staff. I have battled anxiety on and off for years and this was the most extreme panic attack Ive ever had. Going forward, I hope to shed light on this debilitating disorder and send hope to those who have also struggled, he continued. North was arrested for assault and booked for gross misdemeanor battery. He has since bonded out of custody. Right now, its unclear if this will have an impact on the production of the upcoming fourth season of Outer Banks. North portrays Topper Thompson on the show, which follows a group of teenagers who hunt for a legendary treasure that has something to do with the disappearance of one of their fathers. The Black Crowes rock band is going on tour in support of their new album that will be released in March. Happiness Bastards is the bands 10th studio album and the first in 15 years. The record by brothers Chris and Rich Robinson will be released on March 15, 2024. Some may say the project has been several tumultuous years in the making, but we argue its arriving at just the right time. Call it brotherly love or music destiny that brought them back together, the highly anticipated record consecrating the reunion of this legendary band just may be the thing that saves rock & roll. The Happiness Bastards tour includes two stops in Pennsylvania: Friday, May 3, 8 p.m., Wind Creek Event Center, Bethlehem Tuesday, May 7, 8 p.m., The Met, Philadelphia In a time where the art form is buried beneath the corporate sheen of its successors, The Black Crowes are biting back with the angst of words left unsaid penned on paper and electrified by guitar strings, revealing stripped, bare-boned rock & roll. No gloss, no glitter, just rhythm and blues at its very best gritty, loud, and in your face, The Black Crowes said on their website. Since The Black Crowes reunited in 2019, theyve made a triumphant return to form with over 150 shows spanning 20 countries worldwide, celebrating the 30th anniversary of Shake Your Money Maker, the album that put them on the map. Upon their return from the road, they knew they needed something new to show for their lost time. The Robinson Brothers and longtime bassist Sven Pipien headed to the studio with producer Jay Joyce in early 2023 and the experiences of years past transcribed themself through the music as the band found their way back to their roots. Other stops on the tour include: April 2 - Nashville, Tennessee April 3 - Atlanta, Georgia April 5 - Houston, Texas April 6 - Irving, Texas April 8 - Denver, Colorado April 10 - Phoenix, Arizona April 12 - Los Angeles, California April 13 - Oakland, California April 15 - Seattle, Washington April 16 - Vancouver, Canada April 19 - Chicago, Illinois April 20 - Detroit, Michigan April 23 - Montreal, Canada April 24 - Toronto, Canada April 27 - New York City, New York April 28 - Boston, Massachusetts April 30 - Washington, D.C. May 1 - Charlotte, North Carolina May 4 - Atlantic City, New Jersey On May 14, the band heads overseas to the United Kingdom, Belgium, Netherlands, France, Italy, Germany, Denmark and Spain through June 9. The Municipal Emergency Services Authority of Lancaster County is now providing 911 emergency medical ambulances services in northwest Lancaster County. After a two-year process of study, public meetings and planning, the Municipal Emergency Services Authority of Lancaster County began providing services on Feb. 4. The services were previously provided by Northwest EMS. Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. wasted little time in jumping on a new report showing four out of five Americans are being exposed to a concerning chemical found in Cheerios and Quaker Oats. On the heels of the study the Environmental Working Group, Kennedy posted this on X (formerly Twitter): Americans are being mass poisoned by agricultural chemicals and processed foods that fuel the chronic disease epidemic. As President, Im going to put an end to this. Americans are being mass poisoned by agricultural chemicals and processed foods that fuel the chronic disease epidemic. As President, Im going to put an end to this. https://t.co/D2neWBQnkI Robert F. Kennedy Jr (@RobertKennedyJr) February 15, 2024 As the New York Post reports, the study published in the Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology found a staggering 80% of Americans tested positive for a harmful pesticide called chlormequat. The chemical, which is linked to reduced fertility, altered fetal growth and delayed puberty, is found in popular oat-based foods including Cheerios and Quaker Oats, the Post reported. Kennedy, a well-known skeptic on the efficacy and safety of many vaccines, sounded the alarm on putting the chemical on grain crops back in 2023. EPA set to approve chlormaquat chloride on grains. This chemical was prohibited by the very same EPA in 1962 for use on anything but ornamental plants in greenhouses. That was before the agency was captured by industry, Kennedy posted on X in July 2023. This, as the US Environmental Protection Agency under President Biden proposed allowing the first-ever use of chlormequat on barley, oat, triticale and wheat grown in the US, the Post wrote, adding: EWG opposed what it called the dangerous April 2023 EPA decision which came in response to a request by chlormequat manufacturer Taminco. What EWG labeled a highly toxic agricultural chemical was already federally allowed to be used on oats and other grains imported to the US, the Post said. More on the study, as reported by the NY Post report: When applied to oat and grain crops, chlormequat alters a plants growth, preventing it from bending over and thus making it easier to harvest, per EWG. Just as troubling, we detected the chemical in 92% of oat-based foods purchased in May 2023, including Quaker Oats and Cheerios, the nonprofit organization said. EWG also tested 20 more oat-based foods for chlormequat, plus seven organic, 13 non-organic, and nine wheat-based products, the EWG said, though it didnt specify which brands foods it tested. Detectable levels of the chemical in question were found on 92% of non-organic oat-based foods, while only two samples of wheat-based foods both of them bread had low levels of chlormequat. General Mills, which makes Cheerios, and PepsiCo, which makes Quaker Oats, didnt immediately respond to requests for comment, the Post said. Given the recent warnings from the U.S. government about traveling to island nations, some would-be tourists might be wondering just how safe any cruise vacations to warmer climates might be at the moment. In January, the U.S. State Department sent out a a level 3 reconsider travel advisory for Jamaica, saying travelers should rethink going to the country due to high crime and a lack of adequate medical services. By Katie Moore and Bill Lukitsch, The Kansas City Star (TNS) KANSAS CITY, Mo. Two teenagers remain in custody while police work with prosecutors following the deadly mass shooting that unfolded Wednesday as the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl victory rally wrapped up at Union Station. A third person, an adult who had been detained, was not involved and has been released, Officer Alayna Gonzalez, a spokeswoman for the Kansas City Police Department, said Thursday afternoon. The two juveniles are currently being held in custody while we work with juvenile prosecutors to review investigative findings and determine applicable charges, Gonzalez said. The Office of the Juvenile Officer acts as a prosecutor for criminal cases brought against minors. Proceedings are held in family court. Kansas City police at Union Station, where a shooting broke out during the Chiefs Super Bowl victory rally. (Glenn E. Rice, The Kansas City Star, TNS, file)TNS Depending on the seriousness of criminal charges filed in family court, juvenile defendants may face a mandatory certification hearing to determine whether they are tried as adults. Such offenses requiring a mandatory certification include first-degree assault and murder. Kansas City Police Department Chief Stacey Graves said the shooting started over a dispute. Police did not share further details about what led to the altercation. Graves said several firearms had been recovered. Of the known factors that lead to homicides, arguments top the list, according to data from the Kansas City Police Department. Rosilyn Temple, founder of KC Mothers in Charge, said people do not know how to agree and disagree and walk away. She also said changing the culture of violence in Kansas City starts in the home, by addressing trauma and mental health and decreasing access to guns. Im hoping Kansas City really wakes up, she said. Gunshots erupted shortly before 2 p.m. Wednesday on the west side of Union Station. The shooting sent rally-goers rushing for cover. As officials gathered more information in the wake of the shooting, the number of victims ticked up to 23, including a woman who died. Lisa Lopez-Galvan, a Johnson County mother of two, died at the scene. Nine children were also among the gunshot victims. All were expected to recover, a Childrens Mercy spokeswoman said. 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. All opinion articles written by individuals from outside the staff of EL PAIS shall feature, along with the authors 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 Four days ago there were tractors parked on Barcelonas Diagonal Avenue blocking traffic while protesters roasted butifarra sausages and artichokes to the rhythm of ska music in the middle of the street, to the astonishment of expats and tourists alike who watched the scene unfold from a safe distance, as they licked their chops at the prospect of so much top-notch material to feed their Instagram stories, uploaded from the safety of their Airbnb rental balconies, which are no mans land, no offense meant to Ikea. You cannot be given a column to write about gastronomy and not talk about the elephant in the room. Because the tractor revolt is about gastronomy as much as the breakfast, lunch and dinner I had today, as much as all the meals Ive ever had and all those that are yet to come with any luck. Me and everyone else who needs to eat to stay alive. But it is impossible to put words together to make a sentence about this issue and not fall into an abyss of questions, dilemmas and contradictions. The agricultural sector protests taking place in Europe have included everyone from the owner of a macro-farm that fattens thousands of pigs to the owner of a monoculture plantation of nectarines and flat peaches, a farmer who tills four hectares of land using horses as the prime driving force, another one who practices regenerative agriculture and opposes the very action of farming, and a shepherd who takes care of a herd of 40 goats and ekes out a living selling cheese. The large landowners of Spain did not show up on the streets. These folks are more about solving their issues with a phone call from their office. Also, I dont know whether fishermen feel like farmers and whether they were there, either in body or spirit, nor do I know anything about the presence or position on the issue of the large numbers of seasonal workers and immigrants who work in the Spanish countryside. Even so, the magnificent sight of the tractors entering in synchronized formation through the great arteries of the Catalan metropolis gave me goosebumps. The delegation was received with unanimous applause by the citizens, regardless of their color or political stripe or food preferences. If both omnivores and vegans, both large landowners and small farmers, can agree on something, it is that the food system as it is organized right now, despite taking different forms in each region and each individual plot of land, is a failed system. Some protesters, desperate to wake up day after day to find their crops destroyed by wild animals, are asking for armed action against the plagues of rabbits, wild boar and roe deer. Others advocate for the abolition of livestock farming in its entirety and for rewilding, and the elimination of meat consumption in the world, without taking into account that right now only 10.8% of the planets land is arable, and that for now there is only one machine capable of transforming certain types of vegetation into protein that can be assimilated by the human organism the herd therefore turning their backs on the rest of the world that lives beyond the privileged West and which needs grazing to nourish itself. Meanwhile, every day we see news about terrible accidents or attacks on livestock as a result of the collision between those who experience the natural environment as a place to work and those who go visit it in a festive spirit. There are those who defend another type of savagery, one of a neoliberal nature, a hyper-technicalization of agricultural production that is only within the reach of large investment funds, and a limitation of global food production, in a context of rampant biodiversity loss, to the three or four most productive and efficient varieties of each species, duly modified and genetically improved, in the hands of the 10 or 12 corporations in power, which own both the seeds and the patents on pesticides and drugs. Many applauded when the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, in view of the protests, announced the withdrawal of a legislative project aimed at halving the use of pesticides in agriculture, so that the EUs agricultural production does not have to compete in the market with non-EU products that are not subject to such strict regulations. I wonder if the next step will be to continue equalizing from below and eliminate collective bargaining agreements, unions and labor rights in order to continue on the path of business competition on equal terms. Given the protectionist position calling for the regulation of the EU market with tariffs and import duties, we will have to see how the countries to which we export will respond to these trade barriers one of our star exports to Africa and America, by the way, are the same pesticides that are prohibited here. The agricultural sector is calling for a reduction in bureaucracy, for setting fire to the exaggerated paperwork imposed by an inefficient administration and its obsession with guarantees, and it unanimously agrees on the need to promote locally sourced consumption among citizens. There are those who, within this idea of locally sourced food, include the art of creating tropical groves in the middle of dry land, further desertifying their environment by siphoning water from the aquifers to plant avocados and mangoes, and by establishing irrigation systems where almond and carob trees had previously grown, in order to continue exporting sweet fruit to the north of Europe. Locally sourced for us, not for the others. The way I see it, locally sourced also means the pigs on the macro-farms that rule the region in which I live. I have more pig neighbors than human ones. If we say yes to that, then we have to think about what to do with the brutal pollution derived from this intensive farming that is devastating the land. And if we say no to the intensive practices of the porcine sector, then we must ask ourselves what will happen to 35.9% of Catalonias agricultural production (that is what this sector represents), its impact on GDP and all the jobs it generates, which in Spain are close to 415,000. Each and every one of the strands used to weave the immense web of factors and events that participate in the agrarian world includes, within it, another infinity of threads made of different perspectives, debates, opposing positions, collateral damage and, above all, pending conversations that affect and connect with each of the foods we put in our mouths, all of us, every day, in the entire world. We need not one, but as many great debates as necessary, with an eye on the long term and not on the next election, to make far-reaching decisions of depth. This is not a time for patches or short-term decisions or whitewashing, but rather a time to confront each and every one of the elephants in the room, inviting input from reputed voices and authorities, considering everyone affected, in pursuit of a hopeful future for all. By WAFAA SHURAFA and BASSEM MROUE, The Associated Press RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) The storming by Israeli troops of southern Gazas main hospital brought chaos to hundreds of staff and patients inside, as health officials Friday said four people in intensive care died after their oxygen cut off. Troops were searching the facility, where the military said it believes the remains of hostages abducted by Hamas might be located. The raid came after troops had besieged Nasser Hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis for nearly a week, with staff, patients and others inside struggling under heavy fire and dwindling supplies, including food and water. Hours before troops seized the hospital Thursday, Israeli fire killed a patient and wounded six others inside the complex, staff said. Negotiations over a cease-fire in Gaza, meanwhile, appear to have stalled, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday pushed back hard against the U.S. vision for after the war particularly its calls for the creation of a Palestinian state. After speaking overnight with President Joe Biden, Netanyahu wrote on X that Israel will not accept international dictates regarding a permanent settlement with the Palestinians. He said that if other countries unilaterally recognize a Palestinian state, it would give a reward to terrorism. Netanyahu has repeatedly rejected creation of a Palestinian state. Palestinians look at the destruction after an Israeli strike on a residential building in Rafah, Gaza Strip, Friday, Feb. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Hatem Ali)AP Netanyahu has vowed to continue the offensive and expand it to the Gaza city of Rafah, near Egypt, until Hamas is destroyed and scores of hostages taken during the militants Oct. 7 attack are freed. In their phone call, Biden again cautioned Netanyahu against moving forward with a military operation in Rafah before coming up with a credible and executable plan to ensure the safety of Palestinian civilians, the White House said. Nasser Hospital was the latest in a series of hospitals Israeli forces have besieged and stormed during the war, claiming Hamas was using them for military purposes. The assaults have gutted Gazas health sector as it struggles to treat a constant stream of people wounded in daily bombardments. Video captures a Florida deputy opening fire with his gun multiple times at a patrol vehicle after the sound of an acorn hitting the roof of the car was mistaken for a muffled gunshot that was presumed to have come from a Black man who was searched, handcuffed, and placed inside the vehicle. The dramatic footage of the incident was captured by the deputys body camera in November 2023, which was released Monday by the Okaloosa County Sheriffs Office. The body camera video shows Deputy Jesse Hernandez yelling, Shots fired! four times while falling to the ground. He then turns and begins firing multiple shots at the patrol vehicle. He then falls to the ground and fires rounds of bullets while lying on his side, yelling, Im hit! Im hit! Hernandez was yelling Im hit even though no one was shooting at him as he continued firing into the patrol vehicle with the man inside. A sergeant with the sheriffs office also opened fire on the patrol vehicle, believing Hernandez was being fired at due to his response, according to the report. The two continued to fire at the vehicle until both emptied their weapons. Hernandez can then be seen crawling farther away to safety. After the shooting, the footage captured the sergeant asking if Hernandez was OK, to which he responded, Im good, I feel weird but Im good. Fortunately, the unarmed, arrested passenger inside the patrol vehicle was unharmed. No weapon was located. The two officers responded to a report of a stolen vehicle at a residence near Fort Walton Beach on Nov. 12, 2023, where Marquis Jackson was accused of stealing his girlfriends car earlier that morning. He refused to return the vehicle and had been calling and texting her threats. There was also what appeared to be a firearm depressor pointing at the dash of the victims vehicle, the sheriffs office said in their news release. Jackson said the bizarre incident left him traumatized. Right before Hernandez fired off a hail of bullets toward the patrol vehicle, he told investigators he heard what he thought was a suppressed weapon off to the side, according to the report. At the same time, I felt an impact on my right side, like upper torso area, Hernandez said in an interview conducted on Nov. 15, 2023, according to the report. The audible sound Deputy Hernandez reported can be heard on body cam video, and witnesses also attested they heard the sound they thought could have been a muffled gunshot, the sheriffs office said. During the interview, Hernandez was told that what he heard was an acorn. When asked about the sound possibility being that of an acorn striking the roof of the vehicle, Hernandez said, Im not gonna say no, according to the report. What I heard sounded what I think would be louder than an acorn hitting the roof of the car, but theres obviously an acorn hitting the roof of the car, he said, according to the report. The investigation found that Hernandezs use of force was not objectively reasonable, while the sergeants use of force was found to be objectively reasonable. Hernandez has since resigned from the sheriffs office and has not been charged. By JIM HEINTZ, The Associated Press Alexei Navalny, the fiercest foe of Russian President Vladimir Putin who crusaded against official corruption and staged massive anti-Kremlin protests, died in prison Friday, Russian authorities said. He was 47. Navalny, who was serving a 19-year sentence on charges of extremism, felt unwell after a walk, according to the Federal Penitentiary Service, and lost consciousness. An ambulance arrived to try to revive him, but he died. It said the cause of death was being established. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Putin was informed of Navalnys death and the prison service would look into it in line with standard procedures. Navalnys spokeswoman Kira Yarmysh said on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, that the politicians team had no confirmation of his death so far and that his lawyer was traveling to the town where he was held. Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, right, is seen via a video link provided by the Russian Federal Penitentiary Service, standing during a court session in Pokrov, Vladimir region, Tuesday, March 22, 2022. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, file) Navalny had been behind bars since January 2021, when he returned to Moscow after recuperating in Germany from nerve agent poisoning that he blamed on the Kremlin. Before his arrest, he campaigned against official corruption, organized major anti-Kremlin protests and ran for public office. He had since received three prison sentences, all of which he rejected as politically motivated. Shortly after Navalnys death was reported, the Russian SOTA social media channel shared images of the opposition politician reportedly in court yesterday. In the footage, Navalny is seen standing up and is laughing and joking with the judge via video link. Navalny was moved in December from a prison in central Russia to a special regime penal colony the highest security level of prisons in the country above the Artic Circle. His allies decried the transfer to a colony in the town of Kharp, in a region about 1,900 kilometers (1,200 miles) northeast of Moscow, as yet another attempt to force Navalny into silence. In Putins Russia, political opponents often faded amid factional disputes or went into exile after imprisonment, suspected poisonings or other heavy repression. But Navalny grew consistently stronger and reached the apex of the opposition through grit, bravado and an acute understanding of how social media could circumvent the Kremlins suffocation of independent news outlets. He faced each setback whether it was a physical assault or imprisonment with an intense devotion, confronting dangers with a sardonic wit. That drove him to the bold and fateful move of returning from Germany to Russia and certain arrest. Navalny was born in Butyn, about 40 kilometers (25 miles) outside Moscow. He received a law degree from Peoples Friendship University in 1998 and did a fellowship at Yale in 2010. He gained attention by focusing on corruption in Russias murky mix of politicians and businesses; one of his early moves was to buy a stake in Russian oil and gas companies to become an activist shareholder and push for transparency. By concentrating on corruption, Navalnys work had a pocketbook appeal to Russians widespread sense of being cheated, and he carried stronger resonance than more abstract and philosophical concerns about democratic ideals and human rights. A documentary called Navalny that detailed his career, his near-fatal poisoning and his return to Moscow won an Academy Award for best documentary in March 2023. Alexei, the world has not forgotten your vital message to us all: We must not be afraid to oppose dictators and authoritarianism wherever it rears its head, director David Roher said in accepting the Oscar. Navalnys wife also spoke at the award ceremony, saying: My husband is in prison just for telling the truth. My husband is in prison just for defending democracy. Alexei, I am dreaming of the day you will be free and our country will be free. Stay strong, my love. Besides his wife, Navalny is survived by a son and a daughter. Christina Siceloff and her boyfriend Randy Dehaven document the creeks of East Palestine, Ohio. She is Safekeeper115 on TikTok. He is Merica2.0 Media on YouTube. Before any trip into the creeks, Christina is filled with reproach. Here we go again, she tells herself, taking that first, chilly step into the water. Armed with a stick, rainbow polka dot boots and an industrial-grade respirator, Christina, 38, uses the stick to disturb the creeks floor. She pushes against the soil and overturns rocks. Christina is determined to prove that the waterways of East Palestine remain contaminated, long after the Norfolk Southern train derailment of February 2023. With little effort, a rainbow sheen emerges and takes over the waterway. The once clear, undisturbed creek assumes a metallicappearance. At the right angle, it reveals shades of blue, purple, green, and orange. This is the visual beauty Christina and Randy need people to see. Christina started posting videos of the creeks in April, two months after the train derailment. It was her third TikTok video under the handle Safekeeper115. The first two were early responses to the derailment. The rest more than 50 videos chronicle the waterways of East Palestine. Christina Siceloff of Darlington, Pa. and Randy Dehaven of East Palestine, Ohio pose for a portrait in a chemically contaminated local waterway on Nov. 4, 2023 in East Palestine, Ohio. (Photos by Alysa Rubin)Photos by Alysa Rubin On the night of the East Palestine train derailment, Christina put her son, Edward, to bed and went to Facebook to scroll shes too far in the woods for cable television. She saw posts about a fire scene in East Palestine and thought it involved the gas stations there. She told her father, also Edward, and the two of them went outside, not expecting to see anything. Christina walked out her front door and looked into the sky. It looked like the whole town was on fire, she said. Were standing here, watching everybody die, Christina thought. Christina stayed awake until 4 a.m., constantly checking Facebook for updates. Not too long after midnight, she heard the firemen had been evacuated from the site. A former firefighter, she knew something wasnt right. Ive never been pulled from a scene, Christina said. And Ive been to some pretty big fires. At the site of the derailment, chemical tankers holding vinyl chloride, butyl acrylate and other toxic chemicals sat for days soaking in the soil. On Feb. 6, a decision was made to burn the chemicals in the derailed tankers in a process referred to as vent and burn. It would happen that day. Christina was getting ready to take Edward to school. That was until she got notice her sons school district was being evacuated. She drove to nearby Chippewa to get birdseed for her animals at home in case she was put on a stay-at-home order. On the drive, she saw unmarked police vehicles flying up and down the roads. Then came the evacuation maps. Christina couldnt tell if her home was inside or outside the evacuation radius, so she returned home in a panic. She rushed around the house packing bags and thought through where she could go. She called friends and family, looking for help or a place to be safe. There was nowhere to go, she said. The three of them stayed home. That afternoon, the vinyl chloride at the site of the derailment was burned. The result: a dark plume of smoke that lifted over East Palestine and made its way east, over the border into western Pennsylvania and then south. It was so dense, meteorologists picked it up on radars. Christina went outside just after sunset and wasnt able to see the moon or the stars. Around midnight, the skies cleared. That night, she had watery eyes, a burning throat and a cough. I couldnt talk for like a week, Christina said. When the EPA and Norfolk Southern began cleaning up contaminated soil near the tracks, Christina said, everyone in her house had diarrhea and were vomiting. She took Covid tests and had multiple doctors visits; months later, she was diagnosed with chemical exposure. Christina first heard that the fish were dying. Skeptical, she wanted to see for herself. It was 11 days after the train derailment in East Palestine. Her son and father accompanied her down to Sulphur and Leslie Runs. They could all tell something was wrong. Even the rocks didnt look right, Christina said. They had black all over them. And then there were the fish dead everywhere. What Christina saw was evidence of the 38,000 minnows killed as a result of the derailment, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. They estimated an additional 5,500 small fish, crayfish, amphibians and macroinvertebrates died. As residents throughout the region started to see changes in their local waterways and creeks, they took to social media. Videos and images, posted across platforms, documented the experience in real time. But Christina and Randy Dehaven have not stopped. FILE - This photo taken with a drone shows portions of a Norfolk and Southern freight train that derailed the night before in East Palestine, Ohio, on Feb. 4, 2023. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)AP The night of the derailment, Randy filmed the flames in town until the early morning hours. He posted it on YouTube the following night. Ive never seen nothing like that in my life, Randy said. Randy, 43, was crossing a bridge over Leslie Run near his house when his body weight caused a disturbance in the sediment and water, releasing a pool of rainbow sheen. It was almost breathtaking, he said, but it was also sobering. Those colors. In town, hes known as creek guy. He now spends four and five days a week out in the creeks, where he makes videos for his YouTube channel. Randy wades the water with boots up to his knees, a full-face respirator and a shovel a far cry from Christinas stick. While Christina is consistent, returning to the same creeks and the same spaces, continuing to document their conditions, Randys documentation when he is on his own is marked by variety, shifting toward any evidence of the derailments impact. In August, when the bridge in East Palestine Park came down, crashing into the creek below, Randy went to Leslie Run to film. He found a fish kill. Local reports claimed the kill was simply due to the bridge coming down and a statement from the Ohio EPA said it was unlikely to be connected to the derailment of cleanup activities. Randy and Christina whove been regularly disturbing the surface to expose the chemicals beneath see the bridge falling as the ultimate disruption to soil. Jack Vanden Heuvel, a Penn State professor of molecular toxicology, said the sheen that Christina and Randy are seeing is produced by chemicals that arent 100% water soluble. He compared the relationship to oil and water. Since the chemicals are less dense than water, they float to the surface and are limited in their movement. The chemicals can also bind to different organic materials and get trapped in sediments, Vanden Heuvel said. Christina wont spend much time near East Palestines waterways without her respirator. Without her mask, she said, her legs begin to tremble, and her lips and tongue go numb. Symptoms after visiting the creeks have become a fixture of Christinas experience something she just expects by now. You know youre probably gonna feel sick afterwards, but theres nothing you can do about it. Sometimes Christina finds herself laughing just standing in Sulphur or Leslie Run and laughing. Not because what she sees is funny but because, she says, its just too disturbing. Sulphur Run enters East Palestine from the Pennsylvania side of town. It travels along the northern side of the railroad tracks for just under a mile, and then dips south, under the tracks. It continues parallel, along Taggart Street, until it makes its way south again, through and around homes in the center of town. It passes through East Palestine Park and meets Leslie Run just south of the business district. From there, it is 17 miles to the Ohio River, one of the most if not the most polluted rivers in America. Chemicals float on the water of a local waterway on Nov. 4, 2023 in East Palestine, Ohio. (Photos by Alysa Rubin)Photos by Alysa Rubin Sulphur Run happens to be at ground zero of the train derailment and the entry point of chemicals into East Palestines waterways. The Ohio EPA, in its own words, described Sulphur Run as grossly contaminated. It is also one of East Palestines easiest waterways to access. Leslie Run is approximately 1.5 miles west of the derailment site, but an entry to Sulphur Run is a stones throw from the spill. Many sections of Sulphur Run are accessible by just stepping off the sidewalk, and three sections or culverts run underground through town. Many of these travel under homes and one stretch runs as long as 800 feet. Sulphur Run is also where some of the citys stormwater drains and sewage used to drain, with entry points in tunnels underneath the town. On the corner of East Rebecca Street and North Sumner Street sits the home of Krissy Ferguson. Sulphur Run travels immediately beneath her house. In a video shared with the News Lab, Fergusons basement could be seen flooding with water that was pushing upward from Sulphur Run. Ferguson said her house was built in the 1930s when sewage used to flow directly into Sulphur Run. When the city installed sewer lines, they never capped off the creeks entry into her home. Three days after the derailment, the Ohio Environmental Protection Agencys surface water testing of Sulphur Run at a location just next to Krissys home showed levels of butyl acrylate at 180 ppm. The CDCs immediately dangerous to life or health threshold is 113 ppm. OSHAs 8-hour workday exposure limit is 10 ppm. According to the EPAs testing, the levels in Sulphur Run didnt drop below that level until Feb. 9. Since the derailment, Krissy said, her basement has flooded on multiple occasions. Sometimes its been just a few inches. At least once, she says, it was nearing the top of the basement stairs. Ferguson says her sandstone foundation has absorbed the chemicals from the flood water. When the chemicals are near the foundation of someones home, said Vanden Heuvel, theres a chance of outgassing. Outgassing is the release of vapors from materials, waterways or a place it may have been trapped. If it were to flood a home, Vanden Heuvel said, it could bind to sediments or dirt in the basement and outgas that way, too. So, if its going under your house as we see with Krissys home said Vanden Heuvel, theres a chance that it is able to come in, and you can actually smell some of these vapors. Christina said her father doesnt want her going to the creeks and exposing herself to the chemicals, if nothings gonna change. If you dont keep coming, then it just goes away, Christina said. To Christina, her trips into the creeks are the last lifeline she has to reach people. To date, Safekeeper115 has 722 followers. Merica2.0 Media has 2,310 subscribers. The visuals she captures may just be the only reminder people have that theres something still going on in East Palestine. I sort of, at this point, feel like were just gonna be left here to die, Christina said. Nick Stonesifer is a journalism student at Penn States Bellisario College of Communications. This story was published by PennLive in collaboration with The News Lab at Penn State. Want a say in the news? Email Claudia at todayinpa@pennlive.com to have your thoughts on the stories covered here or on PennLive heard. You can listen to the latest episode of Today in Pa at this link, or on any of your favorite apps including Alexa, Apple, Spotify, and Stitcher. Episodes are available every weekday on PennLive. Feel free to subscribe, follow or rate Today in Pa. as you see fit! Today in Pa. Daily Podcast | February 16, 2024 More of the elderly are dying from accidental falls in Pennsylvania as well as throughout the rest of the country. A student assaulted a total of four teachers after being asked to get off his phone. More snows on its way. Also, Lego check out this upcoming exhibit! Those are the stories we cover in the latest episode of Today in Pa., a daily weekday podcast from PennLive.com and hosted by Claudia Dimuro. Today in Pa. is dedicated to sharing the most important and interesting stories pertaining to Pennsylvania that lets you know, indeed, whats happening today in Pa. Todays episode refers to the following articles: If you enjoy Today in Pa., consider leaving us a review on Apple Podcasts or on Amazon. Reviews help others find the show and, besides, wed like to know what you think about the program, too. As sponsored by Renewal by Anderson of Central PA. Update: Police recover gun, detain students after Dauphin Co. high school lockdown Police at Central Dauphin East High School tackled and arrested at least one person outside of the building following an all-day lockdown after a gun was reported at the school. Around 4 p.m. while students were being released from school following a lockdown that started Thursday morning two people ran across the high schools front lawn. Then, just before 4:10 p.m., police dogs and officers were seen tackling and arresting at least one of the individuals. It is not clear at this time if the person taken into custody was a student or if they are facing any charges. Police have not announced how many people were arrested. The high school was locked down around 8:45 a.m. Thursday after officials determined there was a gun on campus. It was not clear where the gun was found or how school officials learned it was on the campus. The school initially planned to dismiss students early, but students were held for hours while officers searched students and the property for the weapon. Some students said they didnt get lunch. The school said they would release students late, starting at 3 p.m., but then postponed that dismissal time until 4 p.m. Its not clear why. 3 1 / 3 Central Dauphin East High School on lockdown Students who eventually were released from the school told PennLive they were held inside their classrooms for hours and had limited access to bathrooms. School officials sent a notice at 12:30 p.m. noting that there is false information being posted on social media and urged parents to refrain from posting rumors. All students were held on the high schools campus until cleared by law enforcement. Believe it or not, Presidents Day isnt just about mattress sales. The federal holiday, celebrated on the third Monday of February, was created to honor our first president, George Washington, but has increasingly become to a day to honor both Washington and Abraham Lincoln. But of course you can also spend the day paying homage to your former president of choice (where are my James K. Polk fans?) Since the day is a federal holiday, a number of offices and businesses will be closed. Heres a quick rundown of what we know will be open or closed on Presidents Day for 2024, which falls on Feb. 19. America is all about free expression. If youve got an opinion, you have a right to be heard, as long as you dont hurt anyone or their property. Thems the rules. Thats the American way. Americans agree on some basic tenets of taking to the streets. No one has the right to hit or shoot anyone. No one should break into any houses or businesses, shatter windows or steal anybodys stuff. Thats breaking the law. When protests veer into criminal behavior, protesters risk losing support for their cause, however noble or just it may be. A contractor has been hired to handle the cleanup of an act of vandalism that occurred during an unauthorized demonstration on Tuesday at the Pennsylvania Capitol that left red stains on the front steps. According to the state Department of General Services, Dillsburg-based Lobar Associates was on the job on Thursday to begin cleaning up the food coloring that an individual involved in the protest admitted to throwing on the snow-blanketed steps. Update: Saturday snow in central Pa.: Heres how much has fallen, whats ahead Get ready to clear your cars. More snow is coming to central Pennsylvania Friday night. The National Weather Service issued a winter storm warning for Dauphin, Cumberland, Lancaster, York, Perry, Lebanon, Adams, and Franklin counties from 9 p.m. Friday until 9 a.m. Saturday. Harrisburg, Hershey, Lancaster, York, Chambersburg, and Lebanon are all expected to receive 4 to 6 inches of snow by 7 a.m. Saturday. Forecasters are predicting a 100% chance of 3 to 5 inches of snow throughout the region Friday night, with chances for another 1 to 2 inches of snow before 10 a.m. Saturday. Chambersburgs forecast includes 3 to 7 inches of snow overnight Friday. Parts of central Pa. are forecast to receive as much as 7 inches of snow Friday night, according to the National Weather Service.National Weather Service Heavy winds will push through central Pennsylvania following the snow, with gusts up to 24 mph on Saturday in Harrisburg and the surrounding region, the NWS said. Cities in western central Pa. including Somerset, Johnstown, and Bedford are expected to see 6 to 8 inches of snow by Saturday morning. Areas north of State College, such as Wellsboro, Ridgeway, Williamsport, are predicted to receive anywhere from 1 to 4 inches of snow total. PennDOT scheduled Tier 1 restrictions on multiple highways in central Pa. starting at 8 p.m. Friday, including I-76 (Pa. Turnpike) from New Stanton to Carlisle, I-81 from the Maryland Line to I-78, I-83 from the Maryland Line to I-81, and I-99 from the Pa. Turnpike to I-80. Tier 1 restrictions prohibit motorcycles, trailers, RVs, and empty tractor-trailers from driving on affected roadways. Live road conditions, closures, and restrictions are available at 511PA.com. Linda Darling-Hammond, president of the California Board of Education. Linda Darling-Hammond, the president of the California Board of Education since 2019, has spent a lifetime speaking, writing, studying and teaching about education. A teacher at Stanford University and educational advisor during Barack Obamas 2008 and Joe Bidens 2020 presidential campaigns, she has written numerous books and articles on education policy and believes that teaching is currently at an inflection point. For the academic, who spoke with EL PAIS via video call, the students of the new generations need less memorization and more support, exams where they can apply what they know and tools that help them learn wherever they are. Question. In 2015, during a talk on the evolution of teaching that you gave at Stanford, you said that education must respond to the demands of the age it is in. What age are we in right now? Answer. We are in an age of knowledge explosion, technology expansion, massive change in the world and global climate change. And of course, with AI becoming even more commonplace and with more and more automation, the jobs that people will have to do, the knowledge theyll need to have, is going to be very, very different. One example I often give is that between 1999 and 2003, there was more new knowledge created in the world than in the entire history of the world preceding. And knowledge is now doubling faster every year. So the old idea that somehow thered be a curriculum that students could learn for 12 years and then be all ready to go out in the world is completely blown apart. Q. What should this new education be like? A. Children and adults need to be able to continually learn, to be able to do that on their own because theres going to be new knowledge all the time. To make sense of it, to combine information, to evaluate, to analyze, to synthesize, to apply. Second thing is that weve got these massive changes in the economy and in the climate and all those kinds of things that both require the use of technology for work, but also for learning. With increasingly frequent climate events affecting school attendance, school has to be not just when youre in your seat; we need to get technology devices and connectivity to all kids so that when they cant get to school, they can still be online with each other and their teacher and still learning. Q. While this changes, access to higher education in many countries remains focused on common tests, such as the EBAU in Spain or the A-Levels in the UK. A. During the pandemic, a lot of testing couldnt occur because testing sites were not open. In the United States, weve had a test for many years called the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) that got you into college. But 80% of colleges abandoned the SAT during the pandemic, and many of them either made it optional or said we dont care at all, and theyre using other things to admit students to college. Q. Such as? A. There are things like the International Baccalaureate Program, which is in 125 countries around the world, where assessment is a combination of investigations and research papers and collaborative projects and so on. When you have completed that kind of program and done well on those assessments, which are much more applied, it is a good predictor of your ability to do work in college. In the U.S., theres something called the Advanced Placement Program, which has been doing these kinds of tests and courses and testing in high schools, and now theyre adding projects to their courses and assessments. Q. Are these types of evaluations what the educational system of the future should aspire to? A. With the most productive assessments you can actually see what kids can do. If were going to have assessments, they need to become more authentic assessments. They need to become more performance-based and rely a lot less on memorization. Weve had a big emphasis on memorization, which is very antiquated now. Maybe back in the day when people didnt have books to go to, or Google, they had to memorize a lot of things, but that is not the mode of learning that is most useful right now. What we need to know is how to help young people learn to inquire and apply their knowledge in real life to solve real life problems. Q. In the United States and other countries, parents can choose whether to enroll their children in school or educate them at home. What is your view on homeschooling? A. Homeschooling is going up in the United States now, and I think it is because we have to change from the factory model schools that we inherited from 100 years ago, which are very regimented. Theyre very bureaucratic, very top-down. Theyre not designed to be highly individualized and to meet students where they are and to support them in what they need. I think homeschooling is in part a reaction, people saying: my kid is getting lost in that factory model, and Ive got to do something else for them. We have fabulous teachers and principals who are working to make that model fit the demands of today, but we need to redesign the model. Q. What kind of redesign? A. For example, small schools, 300 or 400 students, not 2,000. Designed with a teaching team that wraps around a group of students, planning around the students and planning interdisciplinary instruction and having time to do that. With the students in advisory programs where they have a teacher for four years who stays with them and does social and emotional learning and checks up on how theyre doing academically and meets with the parents multiple times a year. In those settings, kids are thriving; in the factory model schools, many times they are not. Q. In 2023 the last PISA report was published, and in a large number of countries the score decreased compared to previous years. A. The pandemic was traumatic in many, many ways. It wasnt just that the kids were out of physical schooling for a period of time. They were online. They were learning in different ways. But families were traumatized, children lost their parents and grandparents. There was a lot of economic disruption. So were in a period of time where, again, schools cant function the way they used to. And there are two different impulses. Some people have been saying: lets take advantage of what weve learned to do in the pandemic, the ways in which we learned to use technologies, the ways in which we began to change the learning. Other people are saying: lets get back to normal. Theyre trying to pull the schools back to being just the way they were in 2019, and that is not going to work. Doubling down on getting back to normal is making things worse. Q. Is being at the top of the PISA report equal to having a better education system? A. Well, it says something [about that countrys system]. The PISA assessments are better than some others in terms of being a little more forward looking. Theyre trying to evaluate things like collaboration and problem solving and application of knowledge. They tell us something about the equality within a country, like how well do most students do? Of course, there are other things that are also happening that dont have to do with the education system. If you have poverty and kids dont have enough to eat and dont have a place to live and so on, the education system cannot cure all of that. And if there are low PISA scores associated with those social conditions, thats not the fault of the schools. When people look at these kinds of scores, they have to take it with a grain of salt and say, Okay, what might we learn from this? What else would we have to ask to even understand whats going on? Q. You mentioned that one of the current challenges is new technologies. In Spain, one of the main debates in this regard is whether or not mobile phones should be banned in schools. A. Part of the pressure to ban the phones is that is two-fold; kids are on their phones and not paying attention. Theyre surfing during class, but also on social media, which is so destructive for students. Frankly, I dont think banning the phone does reduce the amount of distraction that they might get. Kids need to be taught how to deal with these things, not just have them taken away. Theres some utility in having some limits on the use of phones at some point in time in school, but also maybe not ignoring them entirely and helping kids learn how to use them. We have to deal with that, rather than just saying, Oh, lets stamp it down and ignore it. Q. What is your vision for the ideal education in the next 15 years? A. One in which the schools are more personalized, with integrated support for students. Focused on social, emotional and academic development of the sort that will allow students to be empowered learners who can use and access knowledge and apply it in all of these challenging situations that are going to be part of their world. Update: Saturday snow in central Pa.: Heres how much has fallen, whats ahead Its clear sailing this afternoon and evening, but tonight equals snow. According to the latest National Weather Service forecasts, the southern tier counties of central Pennsylvania can still expect up to four to six inches from a fast-moving storm that is expected to arrive anytime after 7 p.m. Friday, and do most of its work overnight. A winter storm warning has been issued for eight counties running across the states southern border, including Somerset, Bedford, Fulton, Franklin, Adams, Cumberland, York and Lancaster. Highest snow totals are expected on hilltops and in areas south of the Pennsylvania Turnpike. Slightly lesser amounts are expected in the Harrisburg metro area, Lebanon and Schuylkill counties, but travelers caution is advised throughout the midstate. It looks like the storm track is pretty much locked in. South of the Mason-Dixon Line and southern Pennsylvania still looks pretty much like the bullseye for the heaviest snowfall in the Lower Susquehanna Valley, said meteorologist Matt Steinbugl. Heres a look at potential storm totals for your community, courtesy of the weather services models. This National Weather Service table charts out the most likely snow totals for your town.National Weather Service When most of us wake up Saturday morning, youre main question will breakfast or clean-up first, as most forecasts have the storm moving out of the area by 7 a.m. That will give way, eventually, to a mostly sunny skies Saturday afternoon, with highs forecast to reach a breezy 35 degrees. The good old-school winter cold will stay in place Saturday night, with lows dropping to around 20. Make it through the weekend, however, and the meteorologists promise a steady warming trend through next week. It may be only a matter of time before invasive zebra and quagga mussels are transported into Okanagan Lake on the hulls and propellers of boats towed into the province, a Lake Country town councillor said this week. The RCMP says it has established a national team to co-ordinate the sharing of information about extortion schemes targeting South Asian businesses in B.C., Alberta and Ontario. The RCMP logo is seen outside Royal Canadian Mounted Police "E" Division Headquarters, in Surrey, B.C., on Friday April 13, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck A southwestern Ontario police force is facing scrutiny for its decision to send a team to an international competition in Dubai, an event that saw its members training with and competing against a Russian special unit whose members are accused of atrocities. London Police Chief Thai Truong speaks during a press conference in London, Ont., Monday, Feb. 5, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/ Geoff Robins Whenever Miriam Alia, head of vaccines and outbreak response at Doctors Without Borders, went to visit an Ebola patient in their community, she only had a notebook to write down the names of the people who had been in contact with them and very little hope. I knew that a lot of people were going to die. Sometimes, it was up to 90% of those who became infected. That was until 2015, when in the middle of the epidemic in Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Liberia the worst in history with 11,300 dead and 28,000 infected an effective vaccine was developed against several of the six species of the virus. Now, says Alia, you arrive at the place where an outbreak has occurred and you have something which prevents transmission and protects the community. You give families hope. A study carried out by Epicenter, the NGOs medical research and epidemiology center, whose results have been published by The Lancet, shows that the rVSVG-ZEBOV-GP injection the single-dose vaccine recommended by the WHO in the event of an epidemic not only reduces the risk of infection, but also reduces mortality among patients by half. The researchers analyzed the cases of 2,279 confirmed Ebola patients between July 2018 and April 2020 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). According to their findings, 56% of unvaccinated patients died, compared to 25% of those who had received the Ervebo injection, the commercial name of the vaccine. It is important because we now know that if a person is already incubating the virus when they receive the vaccine, they are still more likely to survive, Etienne Gignoux, director of the Department of Epidemiology and Training at Epicenter, stresses in a phone interview. These are lives saved. Ebola leaves many children orphaned, families destroyed, and health systems in tatters, adds Alia, who has intervened in most of the outbreaks declared in the DRC, before there was a vaccine and after. Jean-Pierre Kaposo, a doctor at the hospital in Goma knows this well. The health center in which the research was carried out is in the capital of the province of North Kivu. It is one of the epicenters where that great epidemic of 20182020 occurred. We faced insurmountable challenges. The fear was pervasive. At first, the residents of Beni did not want to accept that Ebola was real, he says about those dark days. They believed it was staged by the government to secure international financing. Despite these difficulties, the doctor and his team worked tirelessly to save lives and contain the spread of the virus. Every day was a struggle, but we found strength in our commitment to our patients and our community, he adds. Now you arrive at the community where an outbreak has occurred and you have something which prevents transmission and protects people. You give families hope Miriam Alia, MSF According to data from the Center for Disease Prevention and Control, until June 25, 2020, when the WHO declared the end of the worst Ebola epidemic that the DRC has ever suffered, 3,470 cases had been reported, of which 2,287 (66%) were deaths. Marie, a mother from Goma who does not want to give her full name, was one of the survivors. When I realized I had Ebola, I feared for my life and the lives of my children. But thanks to the doctors care and my own determination, I beat the disease, she says. The Ebola virus is named after the river in the DRC next to which an outbreak occurred in 1976. That was the outbreak in which Belgian microbiologist Pier Pior discovered the infectious agent that had killed 400. Since then, 15 outbreaks have been recorded in the country. The last was at the end of August 2022, when a case was detected in Beni, in the troubled province of North Kivu. The sole patient in that outbreak died, but no further infections occurred and the Congolese government declared the end of the crisis just a month later. Today it is known that the incubation period of the worm-shaped virus that wriggled under Piors microscope is between two and 21 days. It is of animal origin, but it also spreads among humans through direct contact with the blood or bodily fluids of infected people, and it is extremely deadly. On average, it kills half of infected patients, although it has been known to wipe out up to 90% of those it infects. The most common thing is that the early symptoms tiredness and headaches, aching muscles and joints usually appear a week after being infected. Their extreme similarity to the symptoms of malaria and other common ailments, makes early diagnosis difficult when a first case occurs in a community. Moreover, infections almost always take place in rural areas. This causes front-line health personnel and the people close to the patient to also become infected. Pain behind the eyes and hiccups are very typical symptoms of Ebola, and they indicate that it will be especially aggressive, says Alia. But the alerts that it may be this disease are not usually sounded until a few days after the patients fever rises, and vomiting, diarrhea, and internal and external bleeding occur. With antiretroviral treatment, rehydration therapy, and blood transfusions, among other interventions, patient survival has been increased. It is now known that if they are also vaccinated, even if they have already been exposed to the virus, it will further contribute to reducing the chances of dying. The Ebola virus is extremely deadly. On average, it kills half of infected patients Research also shows that the sooner those who have been exposed to the virus are vaccinated, the higher the likelihood of them surviving. Of the patients who were immunized at least 10 days before the appearance of the first symptoms, 17% died. Of those who were vaccinated between three and nine days before developing the disease, 20.1% died. Finally, 27.3% of deaths were recorded among those who received the injection just two days before presenting fever and pain. When an outbreak is declared, we recommend vaccinating front-line health professionals and the ring vaccination of contacts of positive cases. Now we also add that it must be done as soon as possible, Gignoux notes. As there is very little production of the vaccine and it is expensive each dose costs about $107 so the vaccine is only used when there is an outbreak. However, it was used preventively among health professionals for the first time in 2023. Now we also know that it has therapeutic value, explains Alia. This means that we are certain that we can vaccinate contacts and, although they are already incubating the virus, the injection will not make them worse. In fact, it will contribute to reducing mortality. The researchers have also verified that the administration of Ervebo is compatible with the medication prescribed to Ebola patients. This opens the door to post-exposure vaccination of people with symptoms, which was not done until now, the MSF specialist says. Now, an unvaccinated person who is admitted with Ebola can be administered the vaccine at the same time as the treatment, she explains. Stop transmission, avoid stigma A single confirmed case of Ebola is an outbreak. Normally, the patient has already deceased. It might be that a nurse sees unexplained deaths in their community or entire families fall ill after a funeral. Similarly, it might be the professional themself who becomes infected after caring for patients with Ebola-like symptoms. In these cases, the health worker communicates their suspicions as best they can, by telephone or by sending a message by bicycle. This alerts an investigation team that travels to the affected area. In the outbreak in Congo in 2014, the nurse began to treat the sick with garbage bags on his hands as the only protection while he sent someone to ask for help. And he didnt get infected! Alia recalls with surprise, since the Ebola virus is extremely contagious. When an Ebola outbreak is declared, contacts of positive cases, and contacts of contacts, are offered the opportunity to be vaccinated to avoid contracting the disease. Today it is known that even if they are already incubating the virus, the injection is effective in reducing the likelihood of death. This was done in North Kivu between 2018 and 2020. Samuel Sieber (MSF) When the diagnosis of patient zero is confirmed, a single treatment center is established to which all suspected and confirmed cases are referred. First it is usually the local dispensary, which ceases all other activity, and, only when a specific health complex has been built, is the previous one disinfected and it regains its function. Positive cases are isolated and treated. Within this clinic, specialists care for patients in teams of two: one works directly on the patient, and the other helps them put on and take off the protective suit (PPE) and ensures that they do not make mistakes that put their own safety at risk. Outside, the investigation team draws up a list of contacts (including front-line healthcare workers), quickly isolates suspected cases, carries out rapid testing the results of which are obtained in two hours and now also vaccinates those who want it. The containment and treatment of hemorrhagic fevers is a scheduled process that the affected countries and the professionals from the organizations that support them know very well. Ebola almost always manifests itself in small outbreaks in rural areas with a widely dispersed population. These outbreaks can be quickly extinguished with this early isolation strategy, helped by the lack of contact between neighbors, and now vaccination to stop transmission. People were afraid of me even after I was cured. But I refuse to let my illness define me Pierre, superviviente del ebola en DRC So what happened in the 2014 epidemic, which lasted two years and affected thousands in three countries? The outbreak began in March 2014 in a rural area that was a border intersection point where there is a lot of population movement, explains Alia. Once the virus reached the capitals and large hospitals, it spread like wildfire. The WHO response was massively delayed, and didnt occur until August. They said we were exaggerating when we said we couldnt cope, she recalls. By then there were already 500 new infections per week between Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Liberia. And there was a lack of coordination between the countries that made contact tracing difficult, says the MSF specialist. The stigma associated with Ebola is very strong, which is why it is so important to stop transmission and prevent the spread of infections thanks to the vaccine. For Pierre, a young man from Beni, the social stigma that followed his recovery from Ebola posed an additional challenge. People were afraid of me, even after I was cured, he says in a telephone conversation. But I refuse to let my illness define me. I am a survivor and I am proud of it. Alia remembers Salome, a Liberian nurse who survived the 2014 epidemic and who featured on the cover of Time magazine. She died in 2017, at only 29 years old, after suffering complications after giving birth to her fourth child, as she was not treated in the hospital when health workers found out that she had been sick with Ebola. Any scientific advance in disease prevention not only prevents people from dying, but also prevents them from getting sick in the first place, the expert concludes. Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAIS USA Edition Paris is the City of Light, and today at the 2024 PokerStars European Poker Tour Paris 10,200 Mystery Bounty, the light shined brightest on Duco ten Haven. The Dutch pro, who considers Paris a second home, is usually an online crusher but captured his first EPT title today at Le Palais des Congres by defeating Quan Zhou heads-up to win the trophy and 126,500. In addition to the top prize, he also earned 117,500 in bounties including one of the 50,000 top mystery bounty envelopes as he began his festival here in Paris with a total score of 244,000, the best of his career. Thats great. I didnt even want to play this tournament, ten Haven said following his victory. Its amazing. My first EPT. My best live score. Cant get any better. I come also from Paris, kind of, so its the best feeling to win the EPT in the city that I come from. Mystery bounty tournaments have become a fixture on the poker calendar within a few short years. Players can collect a bounty by eliminating a player, but the amount is left up to chance. An envelope is pulled out of a wooden box and the figure that is in there is the players to keep. For ten Haven, its a way to keep poker more interesting, especially with how it affects the overall strategy of the tournament. Its fun. A mixture of the different types of tournaments is the best thing to have. I enjoy all the formats as much as one another, but the best is having diversification so youre not bored at any point in time, he said. When the mystery bounty is first getting into play there were a lot, so you should gamble way more at that point, especially if there are short stacks that you cover. But as the tournament goes towards the end they are worth less and less so it plays out more or less like a normal format. Final Table Results Rank Player Country Prize Bounties Total Earnings 1 Duco ten Haven Netherlands 126,500 117,500 244,000 2 Quan Zhou China 81,500 72,500 154,000 3 Thomas Boivin Belgium 58,200 25,000 83,200 4 Sirzat Hissou Germany 44,800 47,500 92,300 5 Sergi Reixach Spain 35,800 62,500 98,300 6 Adrian Mateos Spain 28,700 7,500 36,200 7 Elias Gutierrez Spain 22,900 15,000 37,900 8 Aurelien Russo France 18,300 7,500 25,800 9 Mike Watson Canada 14,700 35,000 49,700 Day 2 Action Day 2 began with 46 surviving players from Day 1 beginning play at 12:30 p.m. local time. With late registration open for the first two levels of the day, they were joined by 32 new arrivals to bring the total field up to 103. Mystery bounties kicked in beginning on Level 13. Team PokerStars Pros Alejandro Lococo and Sam Grafton, as well as EPT champion Steve ODwyer, Chris Brewer, and Day 1 chip leader Joris Ruijs were among those who busted early. Stephen Chidwick fell two spots off the money, while Artur Martirosian fell victim to Zhous flush to finish in 14th place as the unfortunate bubble boy. Once the bubble burst and the remaining 13 players guaranteed themselves a payday, Joakim Andersson had his aces cracked by Mike Watson to fall in 13th. Atanas Malinov lost to Elias Gutierrezs rivered pair of aces as he busted in 12th. Thomas Boivin earned a massive double up when he spiked a set of kings on the river to beat Sergi Reixachs two aces. Gutierrez then won a race against EPT champion Adrian Mateos to double up and leave Mateos nursing an extreme short stack. Mateos, though, managed to climb back into contention and even claimed the next bounty, eliminating Jean-Noel Thorel in 11th place. Jakob Miegel suffered a massive cooler when his tens over queens lost to Boivins queens full of tens as he finished on the final table bubble in 10th place. Boivin took the chip lead into the nine-handed final table with 1,940,000, ten Haven following close behind in second on a stack of 1,815,000. Thomas Boivin Two-time EPT champion Watson was the first to fall, losing a three-way all in to Sirzat Hissous turned flush. Mateos picked off a bluff from Gutierrez to double up yet again before Aurelien Russo was eliminated in eighth place when his eights lost to Reixachs flopped pair of kings. A hand later, Reixach made a straight on the river to beat Gutierrezs pocket deuces to send the online phenom and streamer known as SinKarma to the rail in seventh. Mateos finally fell when he moved all in for 850,000 with king-six. Zhou called with ace-six and both players made two pair on the flop, but Zhous ace earned him the pot as Mateos was sent to the exit in sixth. Zhou took the chip lead, but his turn atop the leaderboard was short-lived as Boivin won a massive flip with nines against Reixachs ace-king to double up. Reixach was eliminated the next hand by Zhous turned straight. Adrian Mateos The biggest hand of the tournament, though, was yet to come as ten Haven catapulted into a massive lead. Zhou four-bet jammed and ten Haven snap-called for 2,530,000 with two aces. Zhou had ace-king and was forced to hand over most of his chips as ten Haven took firm control of the tournament. Zhou nearly tripled up a few hands later to get back into contention. Hissou doubled up his short stack several times before calling off his last 650,000 against ten Haven, who made a pair of aces to bust Hissou in fourth place. Boivin then moved all in for 3,100,000 with a pair of eights and ten Haven called with a dominating pair of nines. Ten Haven ended up with quads to eliminate Boivin in third and take a 8,600,000 to 1,330,000 lead over Zhou into heads-up play. Quan Zhou Zhou managed two double ups until he jammed again for 1,825,000 with jack-four. Ten Haven called with king-three and ended up with a full house to win the pot and tournament. Ten Havens night only got better from there, as he claimed the last remaining 50,000 mystery bounty after clinching the title. Fittingly, Zhou won the other top bounty prize. His career-defining windfall today is going to change ten Havens plans for the rest of the EPT Paris festival. The high roller events werent on his original schedule, but that might change with his win today. I wasnt planning to, but now this makes me reconsider it. So I think so, ten Haven said. That concludes PokerNews coverage of the 10,200 Mystery Bounty at the 2024 EPT Paris. Stay tuned for more coverage throughout the festival. Special Counsel David Weiss has charged Burisma informant Alexander Smirnov with two counts of lying to the FBI about Joe and Hunter Biden. NBC News reported: Alexander Smirnov, 43, disliked Joe Biden and was arrested in Las Vegas after returning from a trip overseas, according to the Justice Department. The case grew out of the special counsel investigation being led by David Weiss, who is also leading the case against Hunter Biden. Weiss had been appointed by then-President Donald Trump as the top federal prosecutor in Delaware. To get more stories like this, subscribe to our newsletter The Daily. Smirnov allegedly told the FBI falsely that officials with Burisma, the Ukrainian energy company that Hunter Biden worked for, had told him they hired Hunter Biden because he would protect us, through his dad, from all kinds of problems. Smirnov allegedly told the FBI again, falsely that Burisma officials had told him they paid Hunter Biden and Joe Biden $5 million and that it would take investigators 10 years to find the illicit payments to Joe Biden. The claim that Biden got $5 million was run with by Republicans ranging from House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer to Donald Trump. Comer made many appearances on conservative media claiming that Biden got $5 million from Burisma. The claim was made up. There was no $5 million. The only time Smirnov had contact with Burisma executives was in 2017 after then vice president Biden had left office. Comers entire impeachment investigation was based on the Burisma lie. There was no influence peddling. There were no kickbacks. President Biden didnt make millions of dollars as vice president. The foundation of the Republican investigation has collapsed, and it is time to end the Biden impeachment sham. A Special Message From PoliticusUSA If you are in a position to donate purely to help us keep the doors open on PoliticusUSA during what is a critical election year, please do so here. We have been honored to be able to put your interests first for 14 years as we only answer to our readers and we will not compromise on that fundamental, core PoliticusUSA value. After the arrest of the FBI informant who made up the Burisma claims that the Biden impeachment investigation is based on, Jamie Raskin called on James Comer to end the probe. Raskin said in a statement provided to PoliticusUSA: In a detailed indictment, Special Counsel David Weisswho was appointed by former President Donald Trumphas demonstrated how key evidence at the heart of House Republicans impeachment inquiry is based on a lie. Special Counsel Weisss investigation is just the most recent to debunk the Ukraine-Burisma conspiracy theory at the heart of this fraudulent impeachment inquiry. It is an undeniable fact that Republicans allegations against President Biden have always been a tissue of lies built on conspiracy theories, and I formally call on Speaker Johnson, Chairman Comer, and House Republicans to stop promoting this nonsense and end their doomed impeachment inquiry. To get more stories like this, subscribe to our newsletter The Daily. Video: Jamie Raskin suggests that Republicans drop the Biden impeachment and instead investigate, "If they want to stick with this issue, let's look at the question of presidents and their families selling out the government of the United States." pic.twitter.com/QrXSR37zF0 Sarah Reese Jones (@PoliticusSarah) February 16, 2024 Oversight Committee Ranking Member Raskin was correct. The basis for the investigation has been proven to be a lie. There is no reason for the investigation to continue because it was based on a lie. It is time for the nonsense to stop. Biden isnt getting impeached, and Republicans have even less of a leg to stand on than when their investigation started. A Special Message From PoliticusUSA If you are in a position to donate purely to help us keep the doors open on PoliticusUSA during what is a critical election year, please do so here. We have been honored to be able to put your interests first for 14 years as we only answer to our readers and we will not compromise on that fundamental, core PoliticusUSA value. The death of Alexei Navalny was carried out by MAGA hero Putin, and the best way for the world to respond is to topple the Russian dictators regime by defeating him in Ukraine. NBC News reported on Navalnys death: Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has died in prison, the countrys prison service said Friday, following a yearslong struggle against official corruption and President Vladimir Putins government that saw him survive several poisoning attempts. To get more stories like this, subscribe to our newsletter The Daily. Navalny was serving a combined 30 -year jail sentence when he died. He went missing in Russias penal system in December, eventually turning up at a high-security penal colony in a remote town above the Arctic Circle. Navalny was sent to prison for thirty and a half years for opposing Putin. Navalnys wife, Yulia Navalnaya, said while speaking at the Munich Security Conference, I would like Putin and his staff, everybody around him, his government, his friendsthey will be punished for what they have done with country, with my family and with my husband. They will be brought to justice and this day will come soon. Video: Navalny's wife Yulia Navalnaya "I would like Putin and his staff, everybody around him, his government, his friendsthey will be punished for what they have done with country, with my family and with my husband. They will be brought to justice and this day will come soon." pic.twitter.com/yvjEV5xyTf Sarah Reese Jones (@PoliticusSarah) February 16, 2024 By the end of his life Navalny expressed support for Ukraines struggle against the Russian invaders, but he also seemed to believe that Russia and Ukraine would again be the same country someday, and Navalny was not a liked or popular figure in Ukraine, which is why on the surface, it may seem contradictory to call for the world to push even harder to support Ukraine and defeat Putin, but it is not. Navalnys death and the Russian invasion were both fueled by Putins contempt and hatred for democracy. Tens of thousands of Ukrainian pro-democracy fighters are dead. They suffered the same fate as Navalny for opposing Putin. Putin is losing the war in Ukraine. The Ukraine invasion has left his regime vulnerable. The world can strike a major blow toward the goal A Special Message From PoliticusUSA If you are in a position to donate purely to help us keep the doors open on PoliticusUSA during what is a critical election year, please do so here. We have been honored to be able to put your interests first for 14 years as we only answer to our readers and we will not compromise on that fundamental, core PoliticusUSA value. of toppling Putin by not just defeating him, but by crushing him. Putins MAGA minions are buying him time by blocking aid to Ukraine in the US House, but it is not enough for the world to condemn Putin for Navalnys death. The best response is one that could both save democracy in Ukraine, and further weaken the Putin regime, and that is overwhelming military support for Ukraine. Some of the prominent Indigenous leaders who led the October protests in Guatemala are seeking to occupy the departmental governorships and be the link between the countrys executive and the municipalities for the next four years. The leaders held a historic 104-day sit-in outside the headquarters of the Prosecutors Office as a measure to demand the resignation of the attorney general, Consuelo Porras, and defend the election victory of President Bernardo Arevalo. Arevalo has been in office for a month and, as part of his campaign promises to fight corruption, he decided that one of his first actions will be to make the election process for departmental governors transparent. In Guatemala, 22 governors and their alternates are elected every four years. They are the link between the central government and the municipalities. Until now, these people had been chosen by the president without further oversight and almost always via cronyism. But the new president has decided that the gubernatorial elections will be held under public scrutiny. On January 29, the government published a governmental agreement with modifications to the regulations of the Urban and Rural Development Councils Law. They added three points to one of the articles to allow selection assemblies to be public with requirements that included the creation of a shortlist that will evaluate the documentation, publication of the list of candidates, and a three-day period for members of the public to present objections. Finally, the evaluation commission must choose a list of five candidates for each department (as the result of a majority vote) that will be delivered to Arevalo. Territorial approach to development With these changes, the councils received paperwork from 1,516 people seeking office. It is the first time I have participated. The Indigenous authorities, motivated by the event that took place last year in the defense of democracy that culminated in stopping a coup detat, spoke to me so that I could represent them, Luis Pacheco, former president of the 48 Cantons, which is one of the largest Indigenous organizations in the country. Indigenous leaders protest in front of the headquarters of the Prosecutor's Office to demand the resignation of the attorney general, Consuelo Porras, in Guatemala City (Guatemala) on January 12, 2024. Monica Gonzalez Islas Apart from Pacheco, other leaders who stand out from the long list of candidates are Angelina Aspuac, a Kaqchikel Mayan and one of the founders of the National Movement of Weavers, and Rigoberto Juarez Mateo, an ancestral authority of the Qanjobal people, who was imprisoned for opposing the construction of facilities belonging to the Spanish hydroelectric company Econer Hidralia Energia, owner of Hidro Santa Cruz. They [the governors] preside over the Departmental Development Councils that manage around 4 billion quetzales, about $513 million, explains Luis Linares, a Guatemalan analyst at the Social Studies Research Association. The municipalities use the money to fund projects, he says. According to the expert, district deputies have, for many years, put pressure on the governors who in turn have put pressure on the mayors to condition the award of public works to their loved ones. It became a source of corruption and it seems that the current government is proposing a territorial approach to meet the needs of the population and promote development, he added. Opposition deputies in Congress have warned that they could challenge the gubernatorial election process and have suggested that Arevalo changed the assemblies because he agreed with the Indigenous leaders due to the support he received during last years protests. They are wrong. It is not payment for a favor. We are complying with the procedures established by law, fulfilling the requirements that came out of the meetings. But no, it is not payment for a favor, Pacheco responded. When Arevalo appointed his Cabinet before his inauguration, he was criticized by Indigenous organizations that felt excluded, after only one Mayan woman occupied one of the 14 ministries. The president accepted that he lacked more representation of the Indigenous peoples, but assured them that they would occupy vice ministries and other positions in the government. For his part, Victor Hugo Godoy, the executive secretary of the presidency, commented in a radio interview that what is intended is to build the institutionality that had been dismantled over 40 years. This week the list of candidates was made known and they are in the period of reception or presentation of objections. It is a process that will run its course in the following days. At the beginning of March, Arevalo must receive the final list of candidates, whittled down from the shortlists, in order to select the new governors. Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAIS USA Edition Stephen Colbert called out the media for treating Trumps crimes like a regular political story that is part of the horse race coverage of the election. Colbert said: Those three are just today and tomorrow. Hes also facing the January 6th trial in Washington D.C., the classified documents case in Florida, Colorado trying to throw him off the ballot for insurrection, and his appeal of the verdict in the E. Jean Carroll defamation case, in which a jury has already found that Trump committed sexual assault. And yet, people want to hire this maniac to be president. In light of all of that, Id like to make a brief public service announcement: This is [f-ed] up. I know weve become numb to it. And is not normal. No other candidate for the presidency has had to end himself in multiple courts. And Id like to point out that in all seven of his cases, no one doubts that he did these things. Were just sitting around patiently waiting to find out if the wheels of justice will grind fast enough for there to be any consequences. To get more stories like this, subscribe to our newsletter The Daily. And the media is covering it like any other political story its all horse race. But in this horse race, one of the horses is old, while the other one is old, has hoof-in-mouth disease, and keeps quoting horse Hitler! Video: Stephen Colbert was right. One of the reasons why the election coverage is so frustrating is that the media continues to minimize or ignore Trumps criminal trials as a part of the campaign. It is as if the press decided that the criminal trials are just another facet of an election. When they are the opposite of normal. The United States has never had a former president plot a return to the White House while they are facing 91 criminal felony counts. None of this is normal and should not be covered as normal. The press is doing a disserve to democracy and the nation. Trumps alleged crimes are not business as usual, and the press needs to stop treating Trump like he is any other candidate. A Special Message From PoliticusUSA If you are in a position to donate purely to help us keep the doors open on PoliticusUSA during what is a critical election year, please do so here. We have been honored to be able to put your interests first for 14 years as we only answer to our readers and we will not compromise on that fundamental, core PoliticusUSA value. Another new development could be coming to East Aiken. The Aiken Planning Commission voted unanimously Tuesday evening to recommend the Aiken City Council approve an annexation and zoning request allowing Clayton Homes to build a display lot at 1740 Richland Ave. E. The development could be the third in the area in recent months. The other developments are a recently opened gas station, convenience store and liquor store and plans for a hotel and townhome community. The property that would be annexed is located between the DMV, a liquor store and the AB Beverage plant on the south side of Richland Avenue. The Hubbell Power Systems plant is across the street. The property is 17.79 acres, according to Aiken County property tax records. However, only 4.99 acres next to the DMV and liquor store would be annexed and zoned. D&M Partners LLC owns the property according to Aiken County property tax records. The company purchased the property for $650,000 May 26, 2022, the records add. CMH Homes Inc. submitted the annexation and zoning request. CMH Homes Inc. is a Tennessee corporation registered to Clayton Homes. Clayton Homes is the largest builder of manufactured homes (trailers) and modular homes in the country. Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway owns the company. Clayton Homes plans to purchase the 4.99 acres, Kai Burk of Bowman Consulting Group said Tuesday. Scottie Scheffler has become the first player in the 50 years of The Players Championship to win back-to-back. This was the hardest. Not only was he dealing with neck pain all week, he started the final round five shots behind. Scheffler closed with a 64. That matches the lowest final round by a winner. He also tied a Players Championship record with a five-shot comeback. U.S. Open champion Wyndham Clark, British Open champion Brian Harman and Xander Schauffele all finished one shot behind. All of them had their chances over the final three holes to force a playoff. Read moreScheffler goes back-to-back in Players Championship in Sunday thriller at Sawgrass YEMASSEE One of the largest tracts of undeveloped waterfront land in South Carolinas Lowcountry, some 4,400 acres in rural Jasper County, has been acquired by The Nature Conservancy. The $35 million deal for Gregorie Neck in Yemasee was announced Feb. 15. The property straddles Interstate 95 and has deep-water access on the Coosawhatchie and Tulifiny rivers. A portion of the property extends into the footprint of a Civil War battle waged as Major Gen. William Shermans Union troops pushed through on their March to the Sea. The property was listed for sale last year by Charleston-based Holcombe Fair & Lane real estate company. This region is experiencing such intense growth; when we saw the opportunity to protect a property like this with so much water frontage and direct interstate access we knew we had to make it happen, Dale Threatt-Taylor, executive director of The Nature Conservancy in South Carolina, said in a statement announcing the sale. Developing Gregorie Neck would have had a huge impact on this regions nature and wildlife, as well as its infrastructure needs and traffic, her message said. Instead, we hope this project now will accelerate regional land protection efforts. The property is located about an hour northeast of Savannah and 1 hours southwest of Charleston. The 6,700-acre Mackay Point sits to the east of the property, across the Tulifiny River, and is under a conservation easement with Lowcountry Land Trust. The Nature Conservancy and Open Space Institute protect the 12,000-acre Buckfield property to the northwest of Gregorie Neck in Hampton and Jasper counties. The conservancy has an agreement with Beaufort-based Open Land Trust to place Gregorie Neck under a conservation easement, which will permanently limit development to no more than six homesteads. Once that easement is in place, the conservancy plans to sell off the property to buyers bound by the set terms. To make progress flying into headwinds takes extra strength and stamina. Today in the United States the effort to strengthen democracy and advance social and economic justice is at risk of stalling because of formidable blowback. Leaders in some states are restricting access to the polls, pulling Black history books from the shelves, misapplying and condemning the legal doctrine called critical race theory and trying to marginalize African American perspectives. Yet Black leaders in South Carolina soldier on. They run businesses, teach students, advocate for the disadvantaged and seek solutions to big challenges in their communities. They walk the walk, knowing the road is long and sometimes full of potholes. The Post and Courier reports regularly on much of this effort, but once a year we crank up the generator that powers our brightest spotlight so we can shine the beam on 12 remarkable people who rarely are so illuminated. They dont seek attention except perhaps from political leaders and philanthropists who can help them achieve their quiet goals. But they deserve attention. So, for the fourth time, the newspaper presents its 12 Black Leaders to Know in South Carolina. They reside in every part of the state, keeping their noses to the grindstone. They each do different work, and each are defined by unique circumstances and experiences. Yet they share something in common: a sense of purpose. Learn about these 12 fascinating people here, and go to postandcourier.com/blackhistory to read profiles and essays from the last three years, and to watch corresponding video conversations. This special section is published during Black History Month, but more is on the way. In the middle of every month, through January 2025, The Post and Courier will publish online a new video conversation. So stay tuned. Boeing Co. continues to prepare its North Charleston factories for an increase in 787 production as the order book for the popular wide-body jet continues to fill. Boeing has stated publicly that it will double its current Dreamliner output rate to 10 per month by 2025 or 2026, but regulatory filings hint bigger things could be in the works for the North Charleston-based aircraft program. The company filed a permit request last week to allow a nearly 25-acre expansion of its Interiors Responsibility Center in North Charleston. The factory at 9775 Patriot Blvd. builds parts for the Dreamliner cabins, such as overhead storage bins and crew-rest stations where flight attendants can get some sleep on long-haul flights. The components are then transferred to the 787 assembly plant off International Boulevard for installation. The S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control is reviewing the application for work that will also include new utilities but no disturbance of wetlands. Plans show an addition on the north side of the existing building and an additional food services area. All told, the expansion appears to be more than half of the existing factory's 300,000 square feet. Boeing said it filed the paperwork in case it needs additional space for increased production but has no current plans to move ahead with the project. The request follows a similar application filed with DHEC late last year that would allow the main 787 assembly campus to build as many as 14 Dreamliners each month. The Lowcountry factory's current permit allows monthly production of up to seven jets a number the company expects to exceed in a couple of years. A DHEC spokeswoman said the permit revision would bring the assembly plant in line with all of the other surrounding buildings, which are already permitted for production of up to 14 planes per month. Internet giant Google confirmed Feb. 15 that it is the mystery company that's planning to build a $510 million data center at the Pine Hill Business Campus west of Summerville the company's second in the Charleston region. The subsidiary of technology giant Alphabet Inc. provided few details about the project, which has received historic tax breaks from Dorchester County and a discount electricity deal from Dominion Energy. Google also has not said when it will begin construction or how many jobs it will create at the 231-acre site along U.S. Highway 17A. The Pine Hill data center will join another that the company completed in 2007 at Mount Holly Commerce Park off U.S. Highway 52 near Moncks Corner in neighboring Berkeley County. We have been proud to call South Carolina home for over 15 years since we first put down roots in Berkeley County," Amber Tillman, Google's head of data center economic and community development, said in a written statement issued late Thursday afternoon. "Since then, we have partnered closely with local leadership, schools and nonprofits to lift up the great work happening here." Tillman confirmed the company has "acquired property in Dorchester County for the development of a new data center campus" and said Google will share details about the project as it progresses. Google, going by the aliases Project Evergreen and Gannett Enterprises LLC, has also purchased 206 acres for a proposed third data center near the county's Winding Woods Commerce Park along U.S. Highway 78. The company said it only plans to develop the Pine Hill project for now but will hold onto the other land near the town of St. George for potential future needs according to business demands. The sale of the properties, totaling nearly $11.4 million, had not been recorded with the Register of Deeds as of Friday. Elected officials have said the Pine Hill data center is expected to generate about $2 million a year in revenue and they have touted Google's community involvement, including providing free laptops to local schools. A year ago, I was in Miami interviewing some priests. A week earlier, they had been exiled from Nicaragua by the dictatorship of President Daniel Ortega and Vice-President Rosario Murillo (who are also husband and wife). The religious figures were among the 222 political prisoners who were taken from the jails at dawn and put on a plane chartered by the Biden administration bound for Dulles Airport, in Virginia. At that moment, the whole operation seemed to me like it was worthy of a movie: unusual, crazy, absurd... While I was in the middle of my interview with the priests, a colleague and friend, Maria Lily Delgado, startled me with some news. She yelled: Theyre removing more nationalities. As if it hadnt been enough to banish the political prisoners, in another act of endless political revenge, the regime stripped them of their Nicaraguan nationality, declaring them to be traitors to the country. Their assets were confiscated and they were deemed fugitives from justice. That is, they suffered a civic death. This same repressive cocktail was applied to 94 more Nicaraguans on February 15, 2023. The majority of the newly-denaturalized were political opponents, activists, religious people and journalists, who had already been exiled since 2018. The retaliation was clear, with the cancellation of our rights as citizens. This was yet another attack for not keeping quiet and denouncing the abuses of the regime. I apologized to the priests for the interruption, closed my notebook, turned off the recorder and started watching the broadcast on Maria Lilys phone. A pro-Ortega judge read the names of those stripped of their citizenship. At that moment with the adrenaline rush that reporters feel with breaking news I didnt think I was going to be named. But there I was on the list: number 78. Im deeply aware of the anger I felt when I heard the judge pronounce my name. An uncontrollable rage that when I left the priests made me turn to the keyboard, to protest with the only tool I have: the written word. At the time, I didnt realize the consequences of having my citizenship stripped from me. Later, I realized that, if I was no longer considered to be Nicaraguan, my passport would no longer be valid. Would I be stranded in Miami? I began asking diplomatic and immigration sources about what to do if my passport was deactivated. Nobody could answer me with certainty. The thing about denaturalization, they agreed, is that it wasnt only shocking and highly unusual, it was a kind of punishment taken from the Middle Ages. There were no explanations for this situation. I managed to travel and, little by little, I began to understand what being stateless was all about. In Nicaragua, they looked for me in the civil registry of my town: I no longer existed. My birth certificate was exterminated. It has happened to several denaturalized people. Their children suddenly (and legally) stopped having parents, because according to the regime they no longer exist. My bank accounts were frozen and above all the most complicated thing for me was the uneasiness in my chest. The dictators hit me where it hurts most, in my essence as a person who is proud to be Nicaraguan. I felt defeated during those days, just like I felt when I had to go into exile for the second time. Since then, Ive dealt with that uneasiness. Its been diminishing as the months have passed, because if Ive learned anything in all this time away from my Nicaragua, its to be more resistant and more stubborn every day, so as not to give up. I cling to what Ghandi said, in a trial against him for sedition: A good person will resist an evil system with his whole soul. Disobedience of the laws of an evil state is therefore a duty. Journalism is a means of being disobedient to the regime. I believe in that. But I would be lying if I told you it was easy. Exile and banishment are costly, beyond legal and logistical issues. It was a huge windfall that Spain made us citizens almost expeditiously a very generous gesture and an act of political goodwill from a country that our national poet, Ruben Dario, taught us to call our motherland. However, the emotional setbacks have continued to pile up. Maintaining the determination to continue practicing a kind of journalism that monitors and denounces a regime a regime that has been accused of committing crimes against humanity turns you into a bit of a downer. Friendships become more strained, or continue clandestinely, as a way of marking distance from you. People want to protect themselves from a repression that appears to have no limits. When someone visits, they dont even post a photo with me, for protection. My family takes the same precautions. Theres a special gravity that surrounds the loss of family members, because youre even more alone in exile and banishment. It hurts to lose that connection with the people you love, but far from reproaching them Im convinced that its what should be done. Its logical. On the other hand, there are those who were once essential to resisting the regime while in exile, but they eventually got fed up with this story that never seems to end. Theyve abandoned us theyve moved into other fields, where the daily effort of wanting to rescue Nicaragua is no longer the norm. They want to escape from exile. Over the last year, Ive questioned myself a lot. This turmoil seems inevitable to me, although I know that this exile isnt my fault. For example, why do I continue doing journalism? Seriously, why continue doing journalism, when they take almost everything away from you? They take away your country, your family, your friends and even the possibility of being able to bury your grandparents. They freeze your bank accounts, declare you a fugitive from justice, defame you, attack you, persecute your parents... Why? I havent found a thoughtful or very profound answer. But what I have found is something similar to a cliche, which still has a bit of truth to it: I have a commitment as a citizen of Nicaragua, but above all, a commitment to the craft of journalism. In that sense, every day, I try to reinvent myself in exile. Ive formed another big and beautiful family with other exiled men and women in Costa Rica, where I now live. We continue to believe that its worth enduring our decisions. The feeling of common hope is badly battered, but it remains unscathed and always offers the promise of returning to a free Nicaragua. A couple of months ago, a friend now part of my family in exile lent me a book by Filipino journalist Maria Ressa, titled How to Stand Up to a Dictator (2022). I was struck by the question that Ressa poses in the introduction: What are you willing to sacrifice for your future? I believe that all of us exiles have already sacrificed the things that Ive written about here. But well also continue to sacrifice, because were facing a dictatorship that doesnt cease in its desire to break our dignity. Thats why it always finds devious ways to attack us and try to silence us. I say this because the last tactic of the Ortega-Murillo regime is to target the relatives of the banished and the exiled. First, they started with arrests. Then, a couple of weeks ago, they began to confiscate the properties of those who are related to denaturalized Nicarguans declared to be traitors to the country. Its a legal aberration and plunder that has no shame, affecting those who havent even been charged with a crime. Theres a strong climate of self-censorship in Nicaragua. Terror reigns both within the country and beyond its borders. Exiles face the dilemma of either continuing to denounce the regime, or remaining silent, so as not to get their families in trouble. This is a decision that each person must make according to their own circumstances. Worrying about the well-being of your family isnt an unfounded fear: it must be taken seriously, because its confirmed that the Ortega-Murillo regime has decided not to respect anything. They cross all the red lines that at least for the sake of decorum shouldnt be crossed. The presidential couple have given themselves license to be abject and heartless. They demonstrated this during the 2018 protests against their government, when they ordered their security forces to shoot down and kill 355 souls. Ortega and Murillo cannot nor will they be able to, in the scope of history avoid their crimes, nor will they evade how they have illegally confiscated properties something that is strictly prohibited by the Constitution of Nicaragua, in article 44. All the violence they exert carries a central element of arbitrariness and revenge. Its time to resist this with strong conviction. Amidst this uncertainty and in the face of attacks one has to find meaning in life, so as to be able to remain calm and move forward. And the meaning of life as Maria Ressa writes in her book isnt something you stumble across nor what someone gives you. You build it through every choice you make, through the commitments you nurture, the people you love, and the values you live by. In my case, its important to continue fighting. As I said before, I do so with the only tool I have: the written word. Its a constant, dichotomous battle. Some days, your commitment feels worn out. On other days, you feel rejuvenated. Several fronts open up for us on an emotional, economic and professional level that we must challenge and resolve. As Joaquin Sabina sings, its bitter like the wine of exile. But its also hopeful when were comforted by the collective embrace that we, the exiled, give each other. We survive clinging to that plank that floats in the sea of totalitarianism, so as not to sink, so as not to drown. We keep going for Nicaragua and all Nicaraguans. And we do so with that slim hope that doesnt abandon us, in the face of such a soulless reality. Based in Costa Rica, Wilfredo Miranda is the editor of the Nicaraguan investigative reporting website Divergentes. He is also a contributor to EL PAIS. COLUMBIA An inspection by the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control into reports of rats at Caughman Road Elementary School's cafeteria found "droppings" throughout the facility, according to a Feb. 15 inspection report. "Rodent activity" at the elementary campus had already been verified by the Richland One school district's pest control service, which has been to the campus to treat the affected areas, a district spokeswoman told The Post and Courier on Feb. 14. DHEC had received multiple complaints about rats at the Lower Richland school on Feb. 13, some of which asserted an "infestation." "There have been multiple complaints from my children, other students, and staff members of rat sightings, droppings, and other evidence of rats in the cafeteria and instruction areas," one of the Feb. 13 complaints to DHEC reads. The droppings found by the health inspector were a violation of the state's health code, according to the report. The inspection also identified issues with the cafeteria's walk-in cooler not being cold enough and improper installation of some plumbing devices. However, the department still awarded the facility an "A" rating and will conduct a follow-up inspection by Feb. 20. DHEC only has regulatory authority over the campus cafeteria, not the rest of the school. Richland One's director of maintenance services, Melvin Henry, attributed rodent issues to the presence of food and water in school classrooms during the district's Feb. 13 school board meeting. He urged school staff to remove food and clutter, and said the district has been removing nesting areas for pests like snakes and rats, such as shrubs, from its campuses. "There's been lots of photos, there's been lots of emails, lots of calls into my office, lots of calls to principals," Henry told the school board. "I want to let you know, we're taking it seriously. We take it very serious, because you're right, we should not have this, and we will not have this if we work together." COLUMBIA The chair of Richland Ones school board took the stand to testify in front of a Richland County judge in a hearing over the legality of a secretive school board vote taken earlier this month. That Feb. 16 hearing, in front of Circuit Judge Jocelyn Newman, was triggered by a lawsuit against the Columbia school district filed by a district parent and University of South Carolina law professor Clint Wallace. Wallace's lawsuit, filed Feb. 7, argues the school board violated the state's Freedom of Information Act when it voted Feb. 1 to approve a recommendation from the district's administration about a controversial and under investigation early learning center project without disclosing what they were actually approving. The lawsuit asserted that before entering an executive session which preceded the vague vote, the board didn't provide enough legally required detail about what they'd be discussing behind closed doors, only that it involved legal advice related to a construction project and the state investigation. "It shouldn't be whack-a-mole to figure out what the government is doing," Wallace's lawyer Christopher Kenny told the court. In the hearing, Richland One's lawyer, Gene Matthews, argued the board couldn't have disclosed the details of the recommendations they were voting on because it amounted to legal advice, which FOIA protects under attorney-client privilege. Under Matthew's questioning, board chair Aaron Bishop testified he thought the board's conduct was sufficient to comply with the law. Beyond that clear position, I urge you to make specific points along these lines: The bill would set up the most conservative, restrictive medical marijuana law in the nation. There would be no legalized pot smoking, as the bill does not allow consumption of marijuana by puffing a joint, but instead limits medical cannabis to lotions, creams, oils, etc. Those cannabis products would be available only by a licensed physicians prescription, which could only be filled at a licensed pharmacy. The conditions for which medical marijuana could be prescribed by a physician are specified and limited, including cancer, epilepsy, seizures and other horrendous diseases. And by the way, what has the prescription been for such ailments in the past? Opioids. Enough said. Medical cannabis is clearly a better alternative. Furthermore, it is clearly not the same thing as recreational cannabis. There is simply an enormous difference between legalizing recreational marijuana (opposing that is fine with me) and legalizing medical marijuana (opposing that is not fine with me.) Nor should it be fine with anyone who cares about their fellow man/woman/child who is suffering terribly from various painful and debilitating diseases that medical marijuana can help alleviate. And yes, children are very much a part of this, with recurring seizures and other afflictions affecting many and medical cannabis offering major relief. With all due respect to those who sincerely oppose medical marijuana, I urge you to rethink your position on letting innocent children suffer when an effective treatment is available. Moreover, we need to enter the mainstream of national thought on this matter. South Carolina is now one of only 10 states not to have enacted a medical marijuana law. The most recent to do so was Kentucky, which joined others in our region including Florida, Virginia, Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas, Oklahoma and West Virginia. We are increasingly an outlier on this issue, even in the South. GEORGETOWN A Georgetown bar will remain closed after it was deemed a nuisance by city leaders due to dozens of police calls over the last two years. Georgetown City Council unanimously revoked the business license for Mingz Bar & Grill during a Feb. 15 meeting after hearing from city staff and the Police Department. City revenue manager and business license official Gillian Davis told the council that the bar was warned in October of ongoing crime issues at its Merriman Road location. Last month, owner Monta Moore was forced to close her doors after the city suspended her license until the February hearing. Between Jan. 3 and Oct. 6, 2023, the Georgetown Police Department responded to 60 calls for service at this establishment for instances ranging from assaults, shots fired and disorderly persons, Davis said. During the Feb. 15 hearing, City Councilwoman Tamika Williams-Obeng asked the Police Department if Moore did anything over the 10 months to prevent the alleged activity. My experience with Mingz is little to no cooperation at all, Georgetown Police Chief William Pierce said. Prior to the October warning, we had spoken to that owner several times about the need to mitigate or abate those types of issues and it went nowhere. Moore told the council that her business has been in operation since 2015 and she provides free meals for the community and gives back to area youth. She also disputed the number of police visits by saying she had proof of 47 calls. My business partner had been out for two years, Moore said. So, Ive been running the business pretty much by myself and I cook in the kitchen, (so) sometimes I cant be out there in the parking lot. Staff Sgt. Blair Cribb said Moore stated in October that she was trying to hire security guards but the cost was too high. He said there were 53 calls for service in 2022 and 60 last year. Of the calls for service, 17 resulted in police reports being filed, Cribb said. Seven reports involved a gun or gunshots. GREENVILLE The Greenville County Sheriff's Office has made arrests in two cold cases from 2016 and 2022. Sheriff Hobart Lewis announced in a Feb. 16 news conference that his office had made an arrest in the 2016 killing of Zachary Whitley and the 2022 killing of Charity Southerland. Whitley was shot dead at a friend's house near Pelzer, the sheriff's office said in a news release. After several years, investigators arrested John Wesley Nix on Feb. 15 on charges of murder and other crimes, according to arrest warrants. Sign up for updates! Get the latest Greenville news from The Post and Courier in your inbox. Email Sign Up! Investigators learned that Nix allegedly went to the home near Pelzer to sell illegal drugs. Witnesses at the scene say the deal turned into an attempted robbery with two others and Nix shot at four people, killing Whitley, according to a sheriff's office release. The sheriff's office is still looking for the other two people who allegedly conspired with Nix, according to the release. In Southerland's case, investigators learned that she was shot and killed following an ongoing domestic dispute in her home one morning. Using DNA evidence along with witness testimony, in late January 2024, the sheriff's office charged Charles Russel Reams with Southerland's murder, according to arrest warrants. Reams had been a person of interest since the investigation began, the sheriff's office said in a news release. He was arrested in Rome, Ga., in January 2023 and remains in custody there on no bond. GREENVILLE In the latest installment of the culture clash that has seized the Greenville County Library System in recent years, a committee tasked with reviewing its catalogue is recommending that access to children's books with transgender themes be formally restricted. While members of that committee argue the move is necessary to protect children and empower parents, critics said the policy would be discriminatory against the LGBTQ community and infringe on a parent's right to choose for their family. The Library Materials Committee voted unanimously Feb. 16 to approve the proposal, which will go before the full board Feb. 26. Sign up for updates! Get the latest Greenville news from The Post and Courier in your inbox. Email Sign Up! If enacted, the rule change would mandate any such materials intended for children ages 12 and under would be moved from the child or juvenile sections to the the parent and early childhood section. It would apply to materials with "illustrations, storylines and themes that addressed trans minors in any way. That includes social transitioning, medical transitioning and dress or pronouns "inconsistent with biological sex," among other subjects. Not all of the GCLS branches have a parent and early childhood section. And at the Hughes Library, the system's largest and most central location, the PEC section comprises only a handful of titles. Once located near the children's section, the Hughes Library PEC offerings are now in a less visible area of the library next to the magazine section. Children 17 and under need their parents permission to check out books from that section as well as other adult sections of the library. Committee chair Marcia Moston, who proposed the policy change, said she was concerned the material it targets could be harmful to children, who should only be able to access those titles at their parents' discretion. "I find children's literature that embeds these ideas as though they were fact into the stories as dangerous," she said. "But I still recognize there are people who want to have these conversations with their children, and people who are struggling." GREENVILLE The owner of two Greenville County vape stores thought what he was selling was legal until a dozen deputies showed up to seize his products and his money. "They took all the money, they even took me and my brother's personal cellphones," Ibrahim Abdo Ahmed Abdulla, owner of Smokey and Greenville Tobacco and Vape, told The Post and Courier. "It hurts my business." The deputies on Feb. 8 seized Abdulla's hemp-derived Delta-8; Delta-9; and CBD chocolates, gummies and vapes, all of which he said are within the legal limit of the psychoactive THC substance. Sign up for updates! Get the latest Greenville news from The Post and Courier in your inbox. Email Sign Up! His was but two of four stores raided in Greenville County a day after the county's chief prosecutor and sheriff publicly declared war against THC products they believe to be illegal. In all, five men were arrested in the raids, according to records obtained by The Post and Courier, each charged with criminal conspiracy and trafficking marijuana. Three of the men, Abdulla included, were charged with trafficking between 100 and 2,000 pounds of marijuana a felony with a mandatory 25-year prison term if convicted. Two of the men were charged with trafficking between 10 and 100 pounds of marijuana, which carries a minimum one year prison sentence, but up to 10 years, for the first offense. The raids came a day after 13th Circuit Court Solicitor Walt Wilkins, in a press conference with Greenville County Sheriff Hobart Lewis, announced authorities would be dropping the hammer on hemp in conjunction with what has become a statewide crackdown. Hemp was federally legalized by the 2018 Farm Bill, so long as it contains no more than .3 percent Delta-9 THC on a dry weight basis. The law didn't explicitly mention other forms of THC, like Delta-8 or Delta-10, though hemp advocates say they are implied as a naturally occurring part of the cannabis plant. GREENVILLE After the collapse of bipartisan Senate border legislation that took months of negotiations, Sen. Lindsey Graham defended pulling his support by saying it did not go far enough. Graham said the bill set too high a number of migrant encounters before the border would be shut down. Also, that the cap on how many migrants would be granted parole to stay in the United States didn't address what he called the "abuse" by the Biden administration. "Shutting down the border at 5,000 (people) a day is a catastrophe," said Graham, R-S.C., at a Greenville news conference Feb. 15. The comments came in advance of a planned trip to Eagle Pass, Texas, a border town off the Rio Grande. Graham said he would have supported the bill if it had been 1,000 people a day or if it had an annual cap paired with it. He called it a "show vote on immigration" before the Senate could move on to fund Ukraine. "There were some good things in the bipartisan bill, but (an) 85 percent chance of getting into the country doesn't deter anybody," Graham said. "The only way they're gonna stop coming at the numbers we're talking about is when people get deported who are already here, and a lot of people are told 'no, they can't get in.' " The bill had proposed an overhaul of the immigration system amid a record number of migrants crossing the border. The Associated Press reported that U.S. Border Patrol arrests totaled 124,220 in January, down 50 percent from 249,735 in December, the highest monthly tally on record. Among other things in the bill, it outlined that if the number of illegal border crossings had reached above 5,000 daily for a five-day average, an automatic shutdown of the border would have kicked in so that migrants would be sent back to Mexico without an opportunity to make an asylum claim. The 34th Annual SC BBQ Shag Festival kicks off on Thursday, March 21, at the recreation park and ball fields in Hemingway. This year the festival runs from March 21-24. The four-day event features music, vendors, BBQ and fun for the whole family. First held in 1987, the event has grown to at Read moreSC BBQ Shag Festival kicks off March 21 Alexei Navalny was, until the Kremlin succeeded in silencing him, the most outspoken, loquacious, and well-known critic of Vladimir Putin outside Russia. The oppositionist, who survived several attacks on his life, the last a serious poisoning in the summer of 2020 in Siberia by the Russian secret services, has died at 47 in a remote Russian penal colony, according to prison authorities. Navalny was a charismatic figure dedicated to the anti-corruption fight who uncovered dozens of cases involving the Russian elite and the orbit of the Kremlin, first on his blog and then on his online channels. He returned to Moscow after spending a few months in Germany, where he was treated for the poisoning, knowing that he would be arrested, prosecuted, and removed from the public eye in a country ruled by the security apparatus, headed by an autocrat and former KGB spy obsessed with history, and which for years has crushed all dissent. In Putins Russia, opponents are in exile, in prison, or dead, often in suspicious circumstances. The Russian authorities had been harassing Navalny since his imprisonment. The aim was to bury the dissident. Ilya Yashin, his friend from his time in the Yabloko party one of the few non-systemic opposition formations in Russia explained that he never had any doubt that he was going to return to Russia, even while aware of the sentence that awaited him. Navalny never sought fame in the West. He wants to live in Russia, he wants the best for his country and he knows that the only way to fight for its normality is to be here, he explained to EL PAIS in 2021, after the dissidents arrest. What he can achieve for Russia, even being behind bars, is greater than from exile. Navalny is a man of conviction and determination. And even the current situation opens political prospects for him. His main task now must be to survive. If he does, he will be president, he concluded. Navalny is now dead and Yashin is in a maximum-security prison, sentenced to eight and a half years for his criticism of the invasion of Ukraine. Alexei Navalny handcuffed in court in Moscow on March 30, 2017. STR (AP) Married for more than two decades to Yulia Navalnaya, with whom he has two children, Navalny carefully cultivated the image of the average Russian. Tall, blue-eyed and with a very characteristic deep voice, the dissident became one of the Kremlins biggest problems, although the party he founded persecuted and banned never managed to garner great popular support, despite it being significant in several regions far from Moscow, in a very decentralized country. Navalny coined one of the best-known definitions of United Russia, the ruling party, chanted during the anti-corruption demonstrations that were still possible if dangerous before the war, calling them crooks and thieves. The dissident and his supporters spoke of the precious Russia of the future, a Russia without Putin. A Russia he will now never see. Navalny studied law and finance and worked in real estate, but he rose to prominence when, in 2007, he started buying small packages of shares in major hydrocarbon companies and banks and began to ask sharp questions about their financial activities. From those uncomfortable inquiries a blog sprouted, in which he laid out cases of alleged corruption and negligence in state corporations. The lawyer who spent his childhood and youth in several cities near Moscow, where his parents ran a family basket factory became one of the leaders of the massive protests against electoral fraud in the parliamentary elections of 2011 and 2012. Those mobilizations posed the biggest challenge to the Kremlin and Putin in a long time. And the Russian authorities learned their lesson. Everything surrounding those protests, which started in Moscow and spread to Russias major cities, not only consolidated Navalnys role as an agitator, but also put his work at the head of the Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK) on the map. The organization, which he had just founded with a young team, launched a series of investigations into the shady and corrupt dealings of Russias political and economic elite, which began to take off thanks to the spread of the Internet. His publications caused certain tidal waves in the circles of power. He made a long list of enemies, among them Yevgeny Prigozhin, known as Putins chef and the former head of the paramilitary Wagner Group, who died in a plane crash last August two months after he had led an attempted military uprising. With almost cinematic production, Navalny also published a 113-minute documentary exposing part of the alleged empire that Putin has built in which a luxurious palace on the shores of the Black Sea, gifted by his frontmen, was shown. It featured golden toilets, disco-pools, a casino area, a hookah room with a stage, a pole dance bar, and a theater. This footage was released when Navalny was already in prison. The Russian authorities arrested him directly at Moscows Vnukovo International Airport in January 2021 after he landed from Berlin with his wife, in the presence of hundreds of journalists awaiting his arrival. A warrant had been issued for Navalny having missed a mandatory parole visit and for not reporting to court in a case dating from 2014 in which he was convicted of fraud, and which the Strasbourg Court of Human Rights defined as politically motivated. He missed those appointments because he was in Germany recovering from the poisoning attack that almost cost him his life. His return to Russia and his arrest afforded him a halo of heroism that the Kremlin has insisted on erasing by silencing him and trying to break him in prison. For Putin, it became personal. So much so that for years he acted as if Navalny were invisible. Then, when he became impossible to ignore, Putin would never mention him by name, instead referring to that person, the blogger, or, after he had been transferred to Germany for treatment after being poisoned, the Berlin patient. On August 20, 2020, when Navalny was flying back to Moscow from Tomsk in Siberia after a meeting with members of his party, he began to feel ill. He collapsed in the bathroom of the aircraft, which had to make an emergency landing in Omsk. The dissident was hospitalized. His family and allies suspected from the outset that he had been poisoned. After more than 24 hours of trying to obtain permission to transfer him out of the country, Navalny was transferred in a hospital plane to Berlin after the mediation of then-Chancellor Angela Merkel. Navalny spent 19 days in a coma. Analyses by German military laboratories detected that he had been attacked with Novichok, the same military nerve agent that was used in 2018 against the former Russian spy Sergei Skripal in the U.K., an attack British intelligence put down to members of the Russian military security services. Laboratories in France, Sweden and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons in The Hague confirmed the finding, which led to further sanctions on Russia from the European Union, based on the conclusion that the poisoning could not have been carried out without the Kremlins knowledge. The Russian secret services had been tracking Skripal for years. Navalny recovered, although he later reported that he had to relearn how to walk. In December 2020, just days after an investigation led by Netherlands-based investigative media outlet Bellingcat identified the alleged Federal Security Service (FSB) agents involved in his poisoning, Navalny released a video in which he telephoned one of them posing as a senior official and elicited from him the alleged details of the attack. Among these was that if the plane had not made an emergency landing, he would have died. The FSB spy said that the poison had been sprayed on the dissidents underpants. These events were collected in an Oscar-winning documentary, Navalny (2022), directed by Canadian Daniel Roher. Before that poisoning Navalny was almost blinded in another attack. The dissident had spoken many times about the possibility of being assassinated. Im trying not to think about it a lot. Because if you start to think what kind of risks I have, you cannot do anything, he said in an interview with CBS News in 2017. Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAIS USA Edition BEAUFORT Its not often that the U.S. Department of Defense is mentioned in discussion about long-term conservation goals. But, as F-35s from Marine Air Station Beaufort lift off the runway headed toward Townsend Bombing Range located 82 miles to the south in coastal Georgia, its apparent why the DOD has a very real interest in the land that surrounds its military installations. Flying jets laden with fuel and high-explosive munitions over a populated landscape can be risky business. As recently as March 2022, an F/A-18D flying from the Beaufort County air station went down in a fiery crash in a rural part of the coastal Lowcountry county. Crew members ejected from the plane, and there were no injuries on the ground. Damage was limited to a stand of live oaks burned by the resulting fire. Thats one reason Mary Ryan Krieger, spokesperson for Marine Air Station Beaufort, told The Post and Courier, We love flying over farmland. Its also one of the reasons that the DOD in 2013 partnered with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Department of the Interior along with a broad base of state and local agencies to create the Sentinel Landscape program an initiative to promote compatible land use on property surrounding military installations. The program recognizes that the DODs goals of improving the effectiveness of its military bases overlays nearly perfectly with local conservation goals. Against this backdrop, more than 2.2 million acres of the southeast corner of the state last year was federally designated as the South Carolina Lowcountry Sentinel Landscape, making it the 11th of just 13 such designated areas in the country. The overall premise is that the conservation and military benefits and opportunities for success really overlap, said Kate Schaefer, director of protection at the Beaufort-based Open Land Trust. Schaefer also serves as the interim coordinator for the Lowcountry Sentinel Landscape. JOHNS ISLAND More than 60 years ago, Esau Jenkins built a home for his wife and 13 children on River Road using a new durable material he found in Mississippi. The late civil rights leader wanted to test the quality of the "brick crete" before using it to build safe, affordable houses in his community, Jenkins' youngest daughter told a group gathered not far from that home, which still stands today. Elaine Jenkins said her father died before seeing that project realized, though he's remembered for other successful endeavors, including the founding of the Progressive Club a co-op grocery and dry goods store for rural Black folk and a Citizenship School where he and others taught adults and children how to read and write, and how to exercise their voting rights. She thanked those who carried on with her father's vision for quality housing. On Feb. 15, Elaine Jenkins joined public and private partners at a groundbreaking for a 72-unit affordable housing complex for seniors named the Esau Jenkins Village, located near the intersection of Maybank Highway and Bohicket Road. "Thank you taking note that our parents' ministry made a difference in the lives of people here on the sea islands," Jenkins told the crowd, which included many of her family members. Last month, Nix Development announced that the company and its two partners, the nonprofit Sea Island Comprehensive Health Care Corporation and Ward Mungo Construction LLC, had finalized nearly $26 million in financing needed for the project. Financial backers include Citibank, PNC Bank and several public agencies, such as the state of South Carolina, the city of Charleston and Charleston County. A Johns Island man is facing felony charges after authorities say he ignited a string of forest fires. Law enforcement officers with the South Carolina Forestry Commission contend Harold William Nelson Jr. ignited four fires between Jan. 25 and Jan. 30, according to a news release from the commission. Nelson allegedly set the fires in a field and in forests of pine trees private property which he did not own. Nelson was booked into the Charleston County jail Feb. 13 on four counts of willfully burning land on another's property, jail records show. The 60-year-old was released the same day after posting bond. The felony charge carries a maximum penalty of five years imprisonment and a fine of $5,000 upon conviction. Incident reports provided by the forestry office indicate authorities were repeatedly called to a field off of Old Pond Road in January to reports of a man setting fires. Nelson was identified by law enforcement based on an eyewitness account and video surveillance. After one fire sparked in the area, a Forestry Commission employee operating a tractor was dispatched to the scene, the commission stated. The operator allegedly witnessed Nelson set another fire across the road. Following reports of suspicious fires in the area, forestry officers, with the assistance of the St. Johns Fire Department, placed cameras on private trails. The video surveillance allegedly showed the defendant set piles of pine straws on fire. In one incident captured on camera the morning of Jan. 30, the defendant carried an ax and wrapped plastic grocery bags around his ankles, according to a report. Nelson allegedly ignited a plastic bag on a pile of pine straw. He left and returned that afternoon, this time carrying a shovel which he used to gather pine straws in a pile. He set the pile on fire with a match and proceeded to leave as the fire grew in intensity, the report states. The local fire department responded after 4 p.m. to the scene and used water to put out the fires. The defendant did not have permission to be on the property, according to the report. Two men charged with multiple counts of attempted murder in a shooting that left an 8-year-old girl with a gunshot wound received lengthy prison terms this week. Christopher Eugene Smith III, 25, and Daryon Markes Smith, 28, pleaded guilty Feb. 12 in Charleston County Circuit Court each to a single count of attempted murder. Five other similar counts were dismissed by the prosecutor. Circuit Judge Alison Lee sentenced each man to 15 years in prison. In November 2020 near Success Street and Spruill Avenue, a North Charleston Police officer heard gunfire and saw the occupants of one vehicle shooting at people in a second vehicle, according to a report in The Post and Courier from that time. There were three adults and three children in the vehicle fired upon. One little girl was hit by a bullet. Christopher Smith, Daryon Smith and Elijah J. Junior, 27, were charged in the case. Junior pleaded guilty in November 2023 to a charge of accessory. His sentencing was deferred by the judge. Christopher Smith was charged in the Sept. 20, 2016, slaying of 20-year-old Nicholas B. Valentine in Berkeley County, but the murder charge was dismissed for insufficient evidence. He pleaded guilty to possession of marijuana and weapon charges and was sentenced to four years in prison in February 2018. Daryon Smith has prior convictions for drug and weapon charges in Charleston County. He was sentenced to a three-year probation term in May 2020. When I was in third grade, my teacher had a vegetable tasting day for us. We each brought in a vegetable from home and shared it with our classmates. I remember coming home, excited, and announcing to my mother that I had fallen in love with rutabaga. After a startled moment or two, she sm Read moreStevens: For the love of rutabaga and our children Happy Sunshine Week indeed. As we hope youve noticed, our newsroom is spending the week recounting successes its had using South Carolinas Freedom of Information Act to illumine your understanding of what your government is doing on your behalf, in your name and with your tax dollars. Read moreEditorial: SC judges support sunshine whenever they get a chance. They need more chances. FLORENCE People living in and around the Salem community of Florence County spoke in support of proposed mine regulations during a Feb. 15 meeting. The residents in and around the community have previously spoken out against the proposed 189.2 acre sand mine that would be located along U.S. Highway 378. The outcry about it from residents prompted Florence County officials to issue a 60-day pause on mine development in November to ascertain the cumulative environmental impacts of existing sand mines. There are 14 in the county. The mine awaits the fate of its permit from the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control. More than 30 people from the Salem community and surrounding area showed up to the county meeting Feb. 15. Those who spoke praised the regulations and spoke against the potential mine. It is a massive project and we believe that it is not going to be good for our community, Salem resident Kathy Poston said. The mine is a quarter-mile away from Postons farm. She grew up in the area and her husband, Jimmy, works the farm of row crops. The potential regulations include doubling the distance a mine has to be from a residential area and putting a height limit on equipment used in the mine. It said a financial guarantee must be provided to ensure road repairs are made during and post mining activities. It would set a noise limit of 65 decibels for the mine, about as loud as a normal conversation. The County Council sent the regulations to the county's committee on public services and county planning when the last speaker finished. Blue Water Industries Regional Manager Cliff Hicks has not responded to a request for comment about the regulations. Blue Water LLC is the company that applied for the mining permit. COLUMBIA Labor leaders, including International Longshoremen's Union members from Charleston, sharply criticized Gov. Henry McMaster's comments from his State of the State address that he would fight unions to "the gates of hell." In a Feb. 15 rally in front of the governor's office inside the Statehouse, Charles Brave, president of the ILA Local 1422 in Charleston, repeated his demand for a public apology from McMaster and said organized labor would fight back. You woke up a sleeping bear, Brave railed in a fiery speech surrounded by more than four dozen supporters. Lets dont get it twisted, you hear what Im telling you? Were here to stay, and we aint going nowhere. McMaster has nothing for which to apologize, Brandon Charochak, a spokesman for the governor, said in a statement Feb. 15. Unions are a direct threat to South Carolina's economy, as made clear by the ILA's unlawful secondary boycott of Leatherman Terminal, Charochak fired back. Labor unions have destroyed the economies of many states across the country, and Gov. McMaster will not allow South Carolina to be next. Charochak was referencing the dispute at the root of the tensions between McMaster and the longshoremen. The S.C. State Ports Authority is fighting the National Labor Relations Board in court over whether ILA members or SPA employees should run the cranes at the Leatherman Terminal on the old Navy base in North Charleston. The NLRB and a federal appeals panel have sided with the union. The escalating legal dispute could now be decided by the U.S. Supreme Court. The ILA has argued that its contract with shipping lines that call at the Port of Charleston requires its members to operate the Leatherman cranes. The ports authority wants its non-union employees to continue filling those jobs as they have for decades. Meanwhile, the union has sued some of shipping lines for using the three-year terminal, which has been nearly shut down by the litigation. GREENVILLE An upcoming FOX News Channel town hall event with Laura Ingraham and former President Donald Trump has been moved from Spartanburg to the Greenville Convention Center. The Feb. 20 live-taping event was originally scheduled for the much-smaller Spartanburg Memorial Auditorium, Fox announced Feb. 16. Once we were informed that the Spartanburg Memorial Auditorium is near an early voting center for the South Carolina primary, we made the immediate decision to relocate Tuesdays town hall to the Greenville Convention Center," Connor Smith, a FOX News spokesperson said. The Greenville Convention Center off North Pleasantburg Drive has more than 91,000 square feet of flexible event space. Spartanburg Memorial Auditorium in downtown Spartanburg has a 3,244 seating capacity. The event will still begin at 2:45 p.m. Feb. 20; the taping will air that night at 7 p.m. The one-hour show will focus on "domestic and foreign policy challenges facing America and solutions for addressing them," according to the initial FOX News release, and audience members will be able to ask questions live. Additional topics will include the former presidents ongoing legal battles, the remaining primary elections, his potential vice presidential pick "and other news of the day," according to the initial release. The town hall is one of several stops Trump is making in South Carolina in the final days leading up to the state's Republican primary Feb. 24. His most recent rally was in North Charleston the evening of Feb. 14 and attracted thousands of people. The former president is slated to attend a $6,600-per-person fundraiser in Greenville later Feb. 20. Hosted by the Trump Save America Joint Fundraising, the event will include a photo opportunity with the former president and a VIP reception for $23,200. This past January, in Madrid, a very serious man guarded the solitary Syrian pavilion at the latest edition of Fitur, the most prestigious international tourism fair in Spain. From his booth, the gentleman promoted the country as a totally safe experience, downplaying the fact that Syria has been at war for 13 years. But his stern expression turned into real anger as soon as he was asked about Cham Wings Airlines, a private airline advertised in one of Syrias displays. This firm is an example of how human-trafficking organizations manage to circumvent European border controls. Cham Wings has been investigated by the European Border and Coast Guard Agency known as Frontex and sanctioned by the EU for supporting the regime of President Bashar al-Assad, held responsible for the deaths of more than 500,000 Syrian citizens since his violent repression of the 2011 revolution and the resulting civil war. After more than a decade of conflict due to the violence, the dire economic situation and persisting insecurity 12 million Syrians remain displaced within Syria, in neighboring Arab countries, as well as in EU nations. Frontex has been tracking Cham Wings for some time now, due to its involvement in a network that traffics Syrian and Bangladeshi individuals from Damascus and Dhaka to Benghazi, in eastern Libya. Following this trip, these migrants reach the EU via Italy, in a matter of just five days. Its the most effective service that has been recorded so far, states a 2022 internal report from the agency. This was the year when Syrian nationals were the third-largest group crossing the Mediterranean irregularly. Frontex subsequently predicted an increase in irregular entries of Syrians into the EU. This proved to be correct: in 2023, 32,881 Syrians entered the EU irregularly. A figure this high hasnt been since the 2015-2016 refugee crisis. Cham Wings was already sanctioned in 2016 by the United States for laundering money and supporting the Assad regime. In 2021, the company and its affiliated persons were sanctioned by the European Council, accused of transferring migrants to Belarus (a non-EU nation that borders Poland, Latvia and Lithuania). The sanctions were lifted in July of 2022, when the flights stopped. However, this past January 24, the airline was put back on the blacklist, this time for facilitating the smuggling of mercenaries, narcotics and weapons between Damascus and Benghazi. Alternative routes from Bangladesh and Syria Italy Damascus Syria Tripoli Libya Benghazi Libya Alexandria Egypt Dubai UAE Dhaka Bangladesh 1000 km Source: Frontex. Alternative routes from Bangladesh and Syria Italy Damascus Syria Tripoli Libya Benghazi Libya Alexandria Egypt Dubai UAE Dhaka Bangladesh 1000 km Source: Frontex. Alternative routes from Bangladesh and Syria Italy Damascus Syria Tripoli Libya Benghazi Libya Alexandria Egypt Dubai UAE Dhaka Bangladesh 1000 km Source: Frontex. The sanctions imposed on Cham Wings consist of the freezing of assets and the prohibition of travelling into EU territory. Firms operating in the EU are also prohibited from doing business with the firm. And the airline isnt the only entity thats been sanctioned: Cham Wings is part of a conglomerate that includes entities such as the ALDJ Group, the Al Tayr Company and Freebird. Between them, they form a network that makes a fortune by facilitating the travel of Syrian migrants, who are desperate to live in peace. This conglomerate operates under the direction of a mysterious individual who is known as Mahmoud Abdulilah Al Dj, also included on the sanctions list. Little is known about him, beyond what hes written on his social media accounts. He presents himself as a 40-year-old businessman and investor with dual Syrian and Libyan nationality. The few photos that he shares show a good-looking guy with a carefully trimmed beard, wearing high-quality clothes. His face radiates confidence. Copy of the death sentence handed down by the Court of Appeals of Benghazi (Libya) against Mahmoud Al Dj, for his involvement in a drug-trafficking offense. Cedida por The New Arab But some investigations such as one conducted by the Istanbul-based Omran Center for Strategic Studies, or those conducted by various media outlets detail other versions of Al Dj. They described him as an alleged criminal, who pulls the strings of a network of companies that traffics human beings. Hes been accused of trafficking hashish and Captagon (a type of amphetamine); hes even been sentenced to death in Libya, for attempting to smuggle in shipment of drugs. The European Council claims that he utilizes his companies to facilitate the transport of merchandise both legal and illicit to make a profit, whether this be narcotics or mercenaries. He has allegedly resorted to Cham Wings charter flights to engage in these activities. Al Dj, for his part, denies all of the aforementioned accusations, including those related to his conviction in Libya. Through an email, he tells EL PAIS that he opposes what he considers to be unfair sanctions that lack the minimum foundations of objectivity and equity. The destination of Al Djs clients is eastern Libya, a territory from which clandestine departures across the Mediterranean to Italy have proliferated in recent years. This part of the country is dominated by Khalifa Hafter, a powerful warlord. The EU and certain individual member states such as Italy or Malta have attempted to negotiate with him to stop irregular immigration. An investigation by EL PAIS and Lighthouse Reports revealed evidence of how this activity is flourishing, with perpetrators often acting under the protection of the Hafter family. Two Syrians who have spoken to EL PAIS under pseudonyms for security reasons traveled on Cham Wings planes from Damascus to Benghazi. Ahmed Nasser, 25, left the country after several of his friends and family were killed. He contacted an intermediary from Daraa, the city that was the cradle of the 2011 revolution. The majority of Syrians who emigrate come from there. He booked tickets at the Al Tayr travel agency, owned by Al Dj. He flew on a Cham Wings plane. The [flight attendants] uniforms, the logos on the headrests everything was from Cham Wings, Nasser recalls. Omar Al Hariri, 44, wanted to apply for asylum in Europe. The Syrian government had already arrested him twice and he feared a third detention. I suffered all forms of torture. When I entered, I weighed [260 pounds] and, when I left, I had dropped to [130], he tells EL PAIS by phone. Al Hariri bought his ticket at a local currency exchange office, which, in turn, acquired it through Al Tayr. I paid $1,500 for the ticket and the passport stamp in Libya, he adds. The experience that Nasser and Al Hariri had with Cham Wings is recurrent in different investigations that have looked into the trafficking of migrants. In its 2022 report, Frontex confirmed that criminal networks were using a particular modus operandi. Theyre taking advantage of flights organized by well-known airlines that operate on the edge of legality, the document indicates. The airline pockets $1,500 per passenger. Frontex points out that Cham Wings is the company who operates these charter flights, which depart almost daily. The companys website, however, doesnt offer tickets from Damascus to Benghazi. It doesnt matter which dates you search: you will invariably see the words not available appear on the screen. Information collected from social media suggests that tickets are only sold through a particular travel agency and are paid for in cash. This information confirms the testimonies obtained by Frontex. Nasser and Al Hariri describe how the facilitators take the migrants passports and book flights for them from Damascus to Benghazi. They also report that, after landing, they dont go through a proper set of border controls. Libyan officials took down the [passport information] and names in a notebook and they let us pass, the men note. According to Frontex, upon arriving in Libya, the refugees are assigned to other smugglers, who hide them in houses or ships. They are then transported to the coast, where large fishing vessels set sail to smuggle immigrants from Libya to Italy. This was one of the main practices in this corridor in 2023, with prices ranging between $3,000 and $4,000 per passenger, according to Frontex. One of these ships was the Adriana, an overcrowded ship that sank last June in the Ionian Sea and left more than 650 people dead. Another investigation by the UN Security Councils panel of experts on Libya identified at least 188 flights to Benghazi between January of 2021 and March of 2022, as well as extensive evidence showing that flights also transported Syrian fighters to and from that city. In 2021, the airline pocketed around $40 million, according to the panel. In 2023, Cham Wings covered the Syria-Benghazi route 83 times, according to data from Flight Radar. Mahmoud Al Dj Owner and administrator of Owner of Travel agent Affiliates Al Tayr Co. ALDJ Group Agent of Owner of Agent of Freebird Travel Agency Cham Wings Mahmoud Al Dj Owner and administrator of Owner of Travel agent Affiliates Al Tayr Co. ALDJ Group Owner of Agent of Agent of Freebird Travel Agency Cham Wings Mahmoud Al Dj Travel agent Owner and administrator of Owner of Affiliates Al Tayr Co. ALDJ Group Agent of Owner of Freebird Travel Agency Agent of Cham Wings EL PAIS contacted Cham Wings by email. A spokesperson claimed that the company provides a humanitarian airlift for displaced Iraqis and Syrians: the humanitarian vocation of Cham Wings has already been demonstrated before, rectifying and discarding [claims made] by [the European Council]. Theres a third entity involved in the plot. His name is Al Tayr. On LinkedIn, Al Dj identifies him as his companys CEO. Al Tayr isnt sanctioned, but appears in an investigation by the Spanish police and other European intelligence services, who are looking into another human trafficking network that allegedly uses him for the recruitment and management of traffickers, mainly Syrians. Other pieces of evidence include the flight reservations of the citizens interviewed, which were made by Al Tayr. The companys logo is clearly visible, while its phone numbers are listed in the police reports. As suspicions grow about Cham Wings, its striving to clean up its image and not only in Spain. In October of 2023, representatives of the airline attended the 15th Global Humanitarian Aviation Conference & Exhibition in Istanbul, which was organized by the World Food Program (WFP). In 2021, this international organization was already criticized for using this airline: it signed a contract worth about $500,000 for chartering a plane to transport medical supplies in 2020, as it was the only viable option, according to a WFP spokesperson. Regarding the presence at the Istanbul conference and other previous editions of the same event, the same spokesperson indicates that the WFP doesnt have the authority to make decisions about the exhibitors or the planned speakers. EL PAIS has reached out to the Istanbul-based conference center for comment, without success. Al Dj continues to sell himself as a clean businessman. His companys social media accounts are still up online. Hes still promoting trips even when they cannot be purchased. The image of a successful businessman hides someone whos considered responsible for lining his pockets at the expense of the suffering of his compatriots. Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAIS USA Edition A mainstay of the Southeastern Wildlife Exposition will be missing this year. Jim Killen, a featured artist, died Jan. 6 at his home in Owatonna, Minnesota. SEWE President John Powell said Killen embodied the expo's spirit and was a staple of its art gallery. Powell called him a master of wildlife art, an avid sportsman and dedicated conservationist. His accomplishments as an artist and conservationist in Minnesota, and with organizations that include Ducks Unlimited International, Pheasants Forever, Quail Unlimited and the National Wild Turkey Federation, are long and include several honors as artist of the year. His art raised $20 million to preserve wetland and waterfowl habitat with Ducks Unlimited. His accolades made him seem larger than life, said Charleston resident and family friend Lesa Watts. But in person, the tall man was humble and gentle, she said. He gave great hugs. His spirit was contagious and was driven by his faith, she said. "If he loved you, you knew it because he told you," she said "That is something I will have in my heart forever." Killen was named the featured artist in 1987, the fifth for SEWE. In the exposition's 42 years, Killen missed only two events. Karen Killen, his wife of 64 years, will attend this year's event, said Powell. Quantifying Killen's influence on SEWE is difficult, Powell said in a statement. Watts said SEWE will honor Killen during the festival's first day on Feb. 16. "He traveled great distances at great expense, not just to display his own body of work, but to champion the genre and celebrate and mentor the next generation," said Powell. "He will be missed dearly, but his work and his spirit will remain with SEWE forever." SPARTANBURG When Tony Ashmore first started Ashmore Vending, it was something he worked at alone on the side for some extra cash. Now, thanks to help from a mentorship program from OneSpartanburg which promotes growth and serves as the citys chamber of commerce he is working full-time on his business and has hired contractors to help out with the work. Ever since I've been in the program, it's been nothing short of amazing, Ashmore said. I've learned a lot. I have some great mentors. They put me in position to really be successful and to win and to allow me to be able to go out on my own. Ashmore was one of the first people to start with the mentorship program dubbed Power Up Spartanburg Mentoring when it began its pilot phase in spring 2023 with a $6 million investment from the Spartanburg County Council. Now, several months later and with some experience under its belt, the program is ready to begin in full. The program is modeled after the MIT Venture Mentoring Service and works by connecting mentees with mentors who have matching expertise and experience. Typically, three mentors are assigned to each mentee. Once together, they conduct mentoring sessions custom-crafted to the mentees needs. The program currently involves 26 mentees who are guided by 56 mentors, but those numbers are set to expand. Jay Jenkins, director of OneSpartanburgs small and minority business development, said the program aims to foster a small-business community where he believes one does not exist. When I got here basically Spartanburg didnt have a small business ecosystem, Jenkins said. We're building the ecosystem. Small business is the backbone of not only Spartanburg but of America," he said. "If you lose small businesses, America basically ceases to exist." In mid-January, the four bishops of the state of Guerrero met in Ciudad Altamirano, in the Tierra Caliente region, seat of the diocese of Monsignor Joel Ocampo. As every year, they gathered for a pastoral meeting with other clergy to share ideas and air their problems. But the meeting had another objective: to engage in face-to-face dialogue with the leaders of the organized crime group La Familia Michoacana Johnny Hurtado Olascoaga, alias El Pez, and his brother, Alfredo, alias La Fresa to try to lay the groundwork for a truce with an opposing criminal organization, Los Tlacos, who dominate part of the central region and the highlands of Guerrero. Despite the attempt, they failed. The frustrated negotiation in Tierra Caliente contrasts with the agreement reached in the capital for Los Tlacos and another criminal group with interests in the area, Los Ardillos, to stop fighting over local transport routes, a situation confirmed by the priest Filiberto Velazquez, of the diocese of Chilpancingo-Chilapa. Asked about this matter, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said Thursday: Priests and pastors and members of all the churches have participated, helped in pacifying the country. I think it is very good. However, the president warned, the government would not approve of any agreement that meant granting impunity, privileges, or licenses to steal. As the bishop of Chilpancingo, Jose de Jesus Gonzalez, explained Wednesday, the negotiation between Los Tlacos and La Familia Michoacana failed because of greed, the ambition to have money and power among the leaders of both factions. Gonzalez did not elaborate. [The bishops] asked for a truce, with their conditions, but those conditions were not to the liking of any of the participants. It was a question of territories, which they do not let go of. It has cost them work, lives, and they wont relinquish them. So, we have to look for other ways to address this situation, he said. Sources close to these negotiations consulted by EL PAIS explain that the mid-January meeting, the culmination of a series of smaller meetings, took place beyond Arcelia, also in Tierra Caliente, the territory of La Familia Michoacana. The bishops first spoke with El Pez and La Fresa, and then called the leader of the opposing group, Onesimo Marquina, alias Necho, who was in the mountains of Tlacotepec with a priest he trusted, according to these sources. Apparently, the conversation did not bear fruit. The same sources said that the negotiation failed because La Familia Michoacana and Los Tlacos did not agree on various points. La Familia wanted Necho to cede Las Tunas to them, a community that is part of San Miguel Totolapan, but very close to Heliodoro Castillo, explains one of the sources. The municipality of Heliodoro Castillo is the base of Los Tlacos, while San Miguel Totolapan is part of La Familias domain. The disagreement extended to other issues. They also did not agree on the distribution of Iguala, because La Familia wants half, and right now it belongs to Los Tlacos with other groups. And the same thing happened with Taxco. Necho agreed to cede the municipality and promised not to get involved in the fight for Morelos, explains this source. One of the four bishops pointed out after the meeting that he had noticed more openness on the side of La Familia and, on the side of Los Tlacos, more reticence. During the meeting, the four bishops emphasized two points to the criminal leaders: first, that their disagreements should not affect the population. Second, that the weight of their extortion on the public was reaching a critical point. Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAIS USA Edition PR-Inside.com: 2024-02-16 16:40:10 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 702 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / February 16, 2024 / Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman, LLC, a nationally recognized law firm, notifies investors that a class action lawsuit has been filed against The Boeing Company ("Boeing" or "the Company") (NYSE:BA) and certain of its officers.Class Definition:This lawsuit seeks to recover damages against Defendants for alleged violations of the federal securities laws on behalf of all persons and entities that purchased or otherwise acquired Boeing securities between October 19, 2019 and January 24, 2024, inclusive (the "Class Period"). Such investors are encouraged to join this case by visiting the firm's site: bgandg.com/BA Case Details:The Complaint alleges that throughout the Class Period Boeing and certain of its executives failed to disclose material information in violation of federal securities laws including:(1) On January 5, 2024, a Boeing 737 aircraft operated by Alaska Airlines experienced an in-flight departure of an in-cabin door plug, causing the cabin to become depressurized and forcing an emergency landing.(2) On January 7, 2024, the Federal Aviation Administration issued a grounding order, stating that "Boeing 737-9 aircraft will remain grounded until operators complete enhanced inspections which include both left and right cabin door exit plugs, door components, and fasteners" and that "[o]perators must also complete corrective action requirements based on findings from the inspections prior to bringing any aircraft back into service." On this news, Boeing's stock price fell $20.00 per share, or 8%, to close at $229.00 per share on January 8, 2024.(3) Then, on January 9, 2024, news outlets reported that United Airlines had found loose bolts on exit door plugs during their FAA-mandated inspections of Boeing 737 Max planes. The reports also noted that Alaska Airlines said its initial inspections of the jets had turned up "loose hardware." On this news, Boeing's stock price fell $3.24 per share, or 1.4%, to close at $225.76 per share on January 9, 2024.(4) On January 11, 2024, news outlets reported that the FAA had informed Boeing it had launched a formal investigation into whether Boeing had failed to properly ensure its aircraft were safe for operation.(5) On this news, Boeing's stock price fell $5.18 per share, or 2.3%, to close at $222.66 per share on January 11, 2024. on January 12, 2024, news outlets reported that the FAA would increase oversight of Boeing production and manufacturing processes. The FAA stated that a comprehensive audit set to be conducted on the Boeing 737 MAX 9 production line and its associated suppliers, specifically to assess Boeing's adherence to approved quality procedures, which could result in further audits.On this news, Boeing's stock price fell $4.96 per share, or 2.2%, to close at $217.70 per share on January 12, 2024.(6) On January 16, 2024, Wells Fargo downgraded Boeing, citing risks associated with the FAA's inspection of Boeing's production.On this news, Boeing's stock price fell $17.18 per share, or 7.9%, to close at $200.52 per share on January 16, 2024.(7) Finally, on January 24, 2024, news outlets reported that the FAA had announced it would not allow Boeing to expand production of the 737 MAX due to safety concerns related to the January 5, 2024 incident.On this news, Boeing's stock price fell $12.25 per share, or 5.7%, to close at $201.88 per share on January 25, 2024.What's Next?A class action lawsuit has already been filed. If you wish to review a copy of the Complaint, you can visit the firm's site: bgandg.com/BA or you may contact Peretz Bronstein, Esq. or his Law Clerk and Client Relations Manager, Yael Nathanson of Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman, LLC at 332-239-2660. If you suffered a loss in Boeing you have until April 1, 2024, to request that the Court appoint you as lead plaintiff. Your ability to share in any recovery doesn't require that you serve as lead plaintiff.There is No Cost to YouWe represent investors in class actions on a contingency fee basis. That means we will ask the court to reimburse us for out-of-pocket expenses and attorneys' fees, usually a percentage of the total recovery, only if we are successful.Why Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman:Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman, LLC is a nationally recognized firm that represents investors in securities fraud class actions and shareholder derivative suits. Our firm has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for investors nationwide.Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes.Contact:Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman, LLCPeretz Bronstein or Yael Nathanson332-239-2660 | info@ bgandg.com SOURCE: Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman, LLC PR-Inside.com: 2024-02-16 10:02:54 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 376 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / February 16, 2024 / Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman, LLC, a nationally recognized law firm, notifies investors that a class action lawsuit has been filed against British American Tobacco p.l.c. ("BAT" or "the Company") (NYSE:BTI) and certain of its officers.Class Definition:This lawsuit seeks to recover damages against Defendants for alleged violations of the federal securities laws on behalf of all persons and entities that purchased or otherwise acquired BAT securities between February 9, 2023 and December 6, 2023, inclusive (the "Class Period"). Such investors are encouraged to join this case by visiting the firm's site: bgandg.com/BTI Case Details:The Complaint alleges that BAT made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (1) British American Tobacco materially understated the risks and potential likelihood of an impairment to its Premium American Cigarette Brands as a result of various longstanding headwinds; and (2) as a result, BAT's statements about its business, operations, and prospects were materially false and misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis at all relevant times.What's Next?A class action lawsuit has already been filed. If you wish to review a copy of the Complaint, you can visit the firm's site: bgandg.com/BTI or you may contact Peretz Bronstein, Esq. or his Law Clerk and Client Relations Manager, Yael Nathanson of Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman, LLC at 332-239-2660. If you suffered a loss in BAT you have until March 25, 2024, to request that the Court appoint you as lead plaintiff. Your ability to share in any recovery doesn't require that you serve as lead plaintiff.There is No Cost to YouWe represent investors in class actions on a contingency fee basis. That means we will ask the court to reimburse us for out-of-pocket expenses and attorneys' fees, usually a percentage of the total recovery, only if we are successful.Why Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman:Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman, LLC is a nationally recognized firm that represents investors in securities fraud class actions and shareholder derivative suits. Our firm has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for investors nationwide.Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes.Contact:Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman, LLCPeretz Bronstein or Yael Nathanson332-239-2660 | info@ bgandg.com SOURCE: Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman, LLC PR-Inside.com: 2024-02-16 10:02:05 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 609 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / February 16, 2024 / Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman, LLC, a nationally recognized law firm, notifies investors that a class action lawsuit has been filed against GrafTech International Ltd. ("GrafTech" or "the Company") (NYSE:EAF) and certain of its officers.Class Definition:This lawsuit seeks to recover damages against Defendants for alleged violations of the federal securities laws on behalf of all persons and entities that purchased or otherwise acquired GrafTech securities between February 8, 2019 and August 23, 2023, inclusive (the "Class Period"). Such investors are encouraged to join this case by visiting the firm's site: bgandg.com/EAF Case Details:The Complaint alleges that, throughout the Class Period, GrafTech made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that:(1) GrafTech's manufacturing operations in Monterrey, Mexico had for decades chronically contaminated neighboring communities with harmful carcinogenic gasses and particulate matter;(2) GrafTech had signed agreements with local authorities committing itself to improving the environmental performance of its Monterrey facility, but repeatedly failed to honor these commitments;(3) GrafTech had been repeatedly warned over an approximately 30-year period regarding its wanton disregard for the environment and health and well-being of people near its operations in Monterrey, Mexico;(4) GrafTech's operations in Monterrey, Mexico were not in compliance with applicable environmental laws and regulations;(5) GrafTech had failed to adequately remediate the environmental problems caused by the Monterrey facility following the 2019 administrative proceeding conducted by the Department of Sustainable Development of the State of Nuevo Leon;(6) the government of Apodaca had sought intervention from the State of Nuevo Leon authorities to curtail and prevent the adverse environmental impacts and noncompliance with environmental laws and regulations caused by the Monterrey facility;(7) GrafTech's purported cost leadership was achieved in substantial part by failing to implement appropriate and effective environmental safeguards at its manufacturing facility in Monterrey, Mexico;(8) GrafTech's capital expenditures and/or related operational projects were woefully insufficient to adequately address the harm that GrafTech's operations in Monterrey, Mexico had inflicted on the environment and people within the neighboring communities;(9) as a result of the above, GrafTech was acutely exposed to undisclosed material risks that GrafTech's manufacturing operations in Monterrey, Mexico would be severely disrupted by government action or enforcement; and(10) as a result of the above, GrafTech was acutely exposed to undisclosed material risks that its supplies of pin stock and graphite electrodes would be withdrawn and/or materially diminished, thereby materially harming GrafTech's business, operations, reputation, and financial results.What's Next?A class action lawsuit has already been filed. If you wish to review a copy of the Complaint, you can visit the firm's site: bgandg.com/EAF or you may contact Peretz Bronstein, Esq. or his Law Clerk and Client Relations Manager, Yael Nathanson of Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman, LLC at 332-239-2660. If you suffered a loss in GrafTech you have until March 25, 2024, to request that the Court appoint you as lead plaintiff. Your ability to share in any recovery doesn't require that you serve as lead plaintiff.There is No Cost to YouWe represent investors in class actions on a contingency fee basis. That means we will ask the court to reimburse us for out-of-pocket expenses and attorneys' fees, usually a percentage of the total recovery, only if we are successful.Why Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman:Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman, LLC is a nationally recognized firm that represents investors in securities fraud class actions and shareholder derivative suits. Our firm has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for investors nationwide.Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes.Contact:Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman, LLCPeretz Bronstein or Yael Nathanson332-239-2660 | info@ bgandg.com SOURCE: Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman, LLC PR-Inside.com: 2024-02-16 14:00:41 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 459 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 Join the Winner's Circle for Experiential Marketing at Booth #529ATLANTA, GA / ACCESSWIRE / February 16, 2024 / Exhibitus today announced that the company will present "Driving Experiences" at ExhibitorLIVE 2024, an industry-leading conference and expo for event marketing professionals. Paving the way for the final thrill of a Formula One racing event, the company will reveal how memorable experiences can resonate with target audiences, foster connection and inspire them to take action."As an experiential marketing agency, it is our job to craft memories that build brand awareness for our clients through unforgettable experiences," said Brad Falberg, President of Exhibitus. "ExhibitorLIVE is our opportunity to immerse attendees in the Exhibitus brand's story. We look forward to our guests experiencing our reimagined racetrack environment, complete with the pop of champagne at the finish line." Throughout the two-day exhibition, Exhibitus will share the company's THINK, FEEL, KNOW, DO audience methodology that is the foundation of its experiential engagement strategy.Falberg continued, "Humans make decisions based on emotions first. Our focus is helping clients create experiences that emotionally resonate with their target audience. If a brand stays top of mind, the next challenge is to inspire action. Exhibitus' award-winning creative team drives clients' experiential programs through every twist-and-turn to the winner's circle of business success." Supporting Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) Foundation's Equitable STEM Education Each year, Exhibitus selects a non-profit organization to support as part of the EXHIBITORLIVE experience. This year's initiative is SAE's "A World in Motion," a PreK-12 STEM Program that provides teacher training, and academic scholarships to equip students for success in future education, careers, and life. Visitors will take part in signing racing helmets promoting our partnership and the company's donation to this important work. Those that participate in a brief survey can double their donation and will be entered into a raffle to win a LEGO Technic McLaren Race Car.EXHIBITORLIVE 2024 will be held February 25-28, 2024 at the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center in Nashville, Tennessee, with the exhibit hall open on February 27-28, 2024. Exhibitus' "Driving Experiences" will be located at booth #529.ExhibitusExhibitus is an award-winning experiential marketing agency offering strategy, creative, digital, activation, exhibit design and fabrication. We partner with clients to produce innovative engagements and event measurement programs that are brand and audience centric. Driven by our philosophy that "Design Matters," our marketing programs connect, engage, and inspire audiences to help drive your business forward.Headquartered in Atlanta with offices in Chicago, Phoenix, New York City, Orlando and San Francisco, Exhibitus' clients include Acuity, AGCO, City of Hope, ConvaTec, Delta TechOps, Genie, Flock Safety, KNAPP, Mimaki, Sandvik, Snowflake, Toshiba Global Commerce Solutions and WIZ.###CONTACT: Deborah Cox deborah.cox@exhibitus.com 678-640-2492SOURCE: Exhibitus PR-Inside.com: 2024-02-16 13:00:16 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 439 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 ITRCC drives toward 50% carbon emissions reductions by 2030ELKHART, IN / ACCESSWIRE / February 16, 2024 / Today, ITR Concession Co. LLC (ITRCC), the maintainer and operator of the Indiana Toll Road, announced the successful completion of a project to construct solar energy systems at 14 locations across the Toll Road.ITRCC Solar Panels Solar Panel Installation at ITR Concession Co. LLC in Elkhart, IN.The project was advanced in collaboration with Solscient Energy, a turn-key provider of solar energy generation solutions based in Toledo, Ohio. The project, known as Project Soleil, is designed to generate enough solar energy to service over one-third of the Toll Road's electricity needs and is expected to reduce annual carbon emissions by approximately 900 metric tons.In October 2021, ITRCC first committed to an aggressive 50% reduction in scope 1 and 2 carbon emissions by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2050. These efforts have been supported via the development of "Science Based Targets" and align with the goals outlined in the Paris Agreement, an international treaty on climate change. Project Soleil is ITRCC's biggest single step so far toward achieving these critical climate goals."What comes across loud and clear through our work with ITRCC over the past year is how seriously they are taking their own role in the energy transition," said Granger Souder, Co-founder of Solscient Energy. "Their embrace of critical steps to move toward renewables in their operations sets an example for others across the country to replicate." At each of the 14 locations, the solar array installations have been designed to provide 100% of each building's energy needs, including maintenance barns and toll plazas. Together, the project will produce almost 2,000 megawatt hours (MWh) of electricity annually. Any energy generated by the solar panel arrays over and above specific ITRCC facility needs is sent back out onto the grid to power local neighborhoods."I believe our commitment to sustainability isn't just about reducing our carbon footprint; it's for a cleaner future for generations to come. Together, we're not just powering our operations; we're illuminating a path towards a more sustainable tomorrow," said Alyssa Staley, ITRCC Executive.About ITR Concession Co. LLCEstablished in 2006, ITR Concession Company LLC (ITRCC) responsibilities are detailed in the Concession and Lease Agreement with the Indiana Finance Authority, such as the construction, maintenance, repair, and operation of the 157-mile Indiana Toll Road. Headquartered in Elkhart, the Toll Road spans northern Indiana, linking Chicago with the Eastern Seaboard. Designated as part of Interstate 80/90, the Toll Road serves as a vital transportation link in the Midwest.Contact InformationYvette LeyvaCommunications Specialistyleyva@ indianatollroad.org 5742614028SOURCE: ITR Concession Company LLCView the original press release on newswire.com PR-Inside.com: 2024-02-16 04:56:12 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 393 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 NEW ORLEANS, LA / ACCESSWIRE / February 15, 2024 / Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC ("KSF") and KSF partner, former Attorney General of Louisiana, Charles C. Foti, Jr., remind investors that they have untilFebruary 20, 2024to file lead plaintiff applications in a securities class action lawsuit against Inspire Medical Systems, Inc. (NYSE:INSP), if they purchased the Company's shares between May 3, 2023 and November 7, 2023, inclusive (the "Class Period"). This action is pending in the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota.What You May DoIf you purchased shares of Inspire and would like to discuss your legal rights and how this case might affect you and your right to recover for your economic loss, you may, without obligation or cost to you, contact KSF Managing Partner Lewis Kahn toll-free at 1-877-515-1850 or via email ( lewis.kahn@ksfcounsel.com) , or visit https://www.ksfcounsel.com/cases/nyse-insp/ to learn more. If you wish to serve as a lead plaintiff in this class action, you must petition the Court byFebruary 20, 2024 .About the LawsuitInspire Medical and certain of its executives are charged with failing to disclose material information during the Class Period, violating federal securities laws.On November 7, 2023, post-market, the Company disclosed disappointing financial results for 3Q 2023, including "a decline in prior authorization submissions for patients seeking Inspire therapy," as well as problems with its highly touted "Acceleration Program" requiring "some corrective action." On this news, shares of Inspire Medical plummeted approximately 20%, from a closing price of $161.74 per share on November 7, 2023, to a closing price of $129.95 per share on November 8, 2023.The case is City of Hollywood Firefighters' Pension Fund v. Inspire Medical Systems, Inc., No. 23-cv-03884.About Kahn Swick & Foti, LLCKSF, whose partners include former Louisiana Attorney General Charles C. Foti, Jr., is one of the nation's premier boutique securities litigation law firms. KSF serves a variety of clients - including public institutional investors, hedge funds, money managers and retail investors - in seeking recoveries for investment losses emanating from corporate fraud or malfeasance by publicly traded companies. KSF has offices in New York, Delaware, California, Louisiana and New Jersey.To learn more about KSF, you may visit http://ksfcounsel.com/ Contact:Kahn Swick & Foti, LLCLewis Kahn, Managing Partner lewis.kahn@ksfcounsel.com 1-877-515-18501100 Poydras St., Suite 960New Orleans, LA 70163SOURCE: Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC PR-Inside.com: 2024-02-16 02:08:19 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 1008 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 RADNOR, PA / ACCESSWIRE / February 15, 2024 / The law firm of Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP ( www.ktmc.com) informs investors that a securities class action lawsuit has been filed against GrafTech International Ltd. ("GrafTech") (NYSE:EAF). The action charges GrafTech with violations of the federal securities laws, including omissions and fraudulent misrepresentations relating to the company's business, operations, and prospects. As a result of GrafTech' s materially misleading statements and omissions to the public, GrafTech' s investors have suffered significant losses.CLICK HERE TO SUBMIT YOUR GRAFTECH LOSSES. YOU CAN ALSO CLICK ON THE FOLLOWING LINK OR COPY AND PASTE IN YOUR BROWSER: https://www.ktmc.com/new-cases/graftech-international-ltd?utm_source=PR&utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=eaf&mktm=r LEAD PLAINTIFF DEADLINE: MARCH 25, 2024CLASS PERIOD: FEBRUARY 8, 2019 THROUGH AUGUST 3, 2023CONTACT AN ATTORNEY TO DISCUSS YOUR RIGHTS:Jonathan Naji, Esq. at (484) 270-1453 or via email at info@ ktmc.com Kessler Topaz is one of the world's foremost advocates in protecting the public against corporate fraud and other wrongdoing. Our securities fraud litigators are regularly recognized as leaders in the field as well as the firm itself which is continuously awarded for the successful results we've achieved. We are proud to have recovered billions of dollars for our clients and the classes of shareholders we represent.In addition to representing investors in cases where the fraud has been revealed, Kessler Topaz also represents whistleblowers - persons who expose wrongdoing to those in positions of authority or to the public- in cases brought under federal and state qui tam statutes, and through financial fraud whistleblower programs, such as those run by the SEC, CFTC and IRS. If you have information about fraud against government programs (such as Medicare), or violations of federal securities, commodities, tax or anti-foreign bribery laws, contact Kessler Topaz at (866) 369-7779 or at wbinfo@ ktmc.com or go to https://www.ktmc-whistleblower.com DEFENDANTS' ALLEGED MISCONDUCTBefore the start of the Class Period, GrafTech had underwent an extensive transformation that wasintended to revamp the company's business and return it to profitability. In public filings with the SEC, the company lauded its "transformation" and claimed that it had emerged from its restructuring with the "most competitive portfolio of low-cost graphite electrode manufacturing facilities in the industry." The company further represented that GrafTech's facilities were "modern, strategically located and well-maintained," which they claimed would provide the company with efficient growth opportunities following the offering. Key to this purportedly sustainable growth were the company's claims regarding the "more environmentally friendly nature of EAF steelmaking" employed by GrafTech's customers. Defendants continued to represent throughout the Class Period that GrafTech was committed to protecting the environment and acting "proactively" to advance sustainability initiatives.The truth began to be revealed on September 16, 2022, when GrafTech disclosed that its critical manufacturing facility in Monterrey, Mexico had been shut down by regulators following inspections by the State Attorney's office for the Secretary of Environment and the Ministry of the Environment. The Monterrey facility was responsible for manufacturing 30% of GrafTech's overall graphite electrode output and 100% of its pin stock. Following this news, GrafTech's stock price fell $0.45, or 8.5%, to close at $4.85 on September 19, 2022.Then, on August 4, 2023, GrafTech issued a press release reporting the company's financial and operational results for the quarter ended June 30, 2023. In the results, GrafTech reported that sales declined 49% compared to the second quarter of 2022 as the company continued to "recover" from the effects of the Monterrey facility shutdown in 2022. As a result of the substantial decline in net sales, GrafTech reported a net loss of $8 million compared to $115 million in net income reported in the second quarter of 2022. On the investor conference call discussing the results, GrafTech attributed the Monterrey suspension as the "key driver" of the underperformance and disclosed that GrafTech's ability to secure customer contracts would continue to be indirectly impacted in the second half of fiscal 2023.Following this news, GrafTech's stock price fell $1.18 per share, or 22.56%, to close at $4.05 per share on August 4, 2023.WHAT CAN I DO?GrafTech investors may, no later than March 25, 2024, move the Court to serve as lead plaintiff for the class, through Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLPor other counsel, or may choose to do nothing and remain an absent class member. Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP encourages GrafTech investors who have suffered significant losses to contact the firm directly to acquire more information. The class action complaint against GrafTech, Porter v. GrafTech International Ltd., et al., Case No. 24-cv-00154, is filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio.CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR THE CASEWHO CAN BE A LEAD PLAINTIFF?A lead plaintiff is a representative party who acts on behalf of all class members in directing the litigation. The lead plaintiff is usually the investor or small group of investors who have the largest financial interest and who are also adequate and typical of the proposed class of investors. The lead plaintiff selects counsel to represent the lead plaintiff and the class and these attorneys, if approved by the court, are lead or class counsel. Your ability to share in any recovery is not affected by the decision of whether or not to serve as a lead plaintiff.ABOUT KESSLER TOPAZ MELTZER & CHECK, LLPKessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP prosecutes class actions in state and federal courts throughout the country and around the world. The firm has developed a global reputation for excellence and has recovered billions of dollars for victims of fraud and other corporate misconduct. All of our work is driven by a common goal: to protect investors, consumers, employees and others from fraud, abuse, misconduct and negligence by businesses and fiduciaries. The complaint in this action was not filed by Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP. For more information about Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP please visit www.ktmc.com CONTACT:Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP Jonathan Naji, Esq.280 King of Prussia RoadRadnor, PA 19087(484) 270-1453 info@ ktmc.com SOURCE: Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LL Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny has died in prison at the age of 47, the state news agency RIA Novosti reports. The well-known dissident felt unwell after a walk and almost immediately lost consciousness, according to the agency, which cites the department of the Federal Prison Service for the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous District. Doctors confirmed the death of the politician, RIA stated. According to a penitentiary service statement, doctors arrived quickly and an ambulance was called. All necessary resuscitation measures were carried out, but they were unsuccessful. The emergency health services confirmed the death of the prisoner. The causes of death are being determined, the statement added. In December, the dissidents associates set alarm bells ringing when they lost contact with him for almost three weeks, during which time his whereabouts were unknown. On December 25 his spokesperson, Kira Yarmysh, reported that he had been transferred to the IK-3 penal colony in Kharp, in the Yamalo-Nenets region, which is notorious for long and severe winters and some 1,900 kilometers (1,200 miles) northeast of Moscow. The prison, known as the Polar Wolf Colony, is considered one of the harshest in Russia and is intended for prisoners convicted of serious crimes. It was founded in the 1960s as part of the Soviet forced labor camp gulag system. Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny looks at a camera while speaking from a prison via a video link, provided by the Russian Federal Penitentiary Service. Denis Kaminev (AP) Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Vladimir Putin was informed of Navalnys death and the prison service was looking into the death in line with standard procedures. Responding to the possibility that the opposition leader had died due to a blood clot, as some Russian media have claimed, Peskov said that doctors will figure it out. READ OUR 2020 INTERVIEW WITH NAVALNY Alexey Navalny: I have no doubt that Putin gave the order to poison me Yarmysh said that the activists lawyers are on their way to the prison. We have no confirmation of this yet, she added, referring to reports of Navalnys death. In early 2023, a group of more than 170 doctors addressed a letter to Putin expressing their concern. The conditions of detention and the physical appearance of Alexei Navalny cause us great concern for his life and health, they said. His lawyers then denounced that the activist was not receiving medicine and was only permitted to leave his cell for an hour and a half per day. Russian opposition activist Alexei Navalny speaks during an anti-Putin opposition rally at the Pushkin Square March 5, 2012 in central Moscow, Russia. Konstantin Zavrazhin (Getty Images) Navalny was the most prominent figure among the Russian opposition. He was sentenced to nine years in March 2022 in a special regime penal colony, the highest security level in the Russian prison system, in a fraud case that his supporters claim was fabricated by the Kremlin. Prosecutors accused him of stealing some $4.7 million in donations given to his organizations, which have now been banned by the Russian government, including his anti-corruption foundation. On August 4, 2023, he was handed a 19-year sentence for supporting extremism. That sentence was added to the previous one and another of 2.5 years issued in 2021 for diversion of funds in the so-called Kirovles case, which dates to 2013. The oppositionists defense, as well as his supporters, claim that the latter case was fabricated to keep Navalny away from the political sphere for an even longer period. Moreover, the declaration of his political movement as extremist intensified his political isolation. The politician was detained upon his return to Moscow in January 2021 for violating parole after he was hospitalized in Germany after being poisoned, in which Western intelligence services believe the Kremlin was involved. Despite his condition, the Russian judiciary considered that he still had to comply with the terms of probation in a case that the European Court of Human Rights described as an arbitrary process. Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny and his family members pose for a picture at Charite hospital in Berlin, Germany, in this undated image obtained from social media September 15, 2020. SOCIAL MEDIA (via REUTERS) Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAIS USA Edition PR-Inside.com: 2024-02-16 12:00:19 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 378 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 Houston-Based Moving Company Earns Praise for Its Superior Customer Service, Experienced Team and Cost-Saving OffersHOUSTON, TX / ACCESSWIRE / February 16, 2024 /Pack It Movers Houston, a leader in the moving and storage service industry, announces in February 2024 that the company is considered one of Houston's top-reviewed moving and storage companies with over 470 google reviews.Professional Movers A look inside the day-to-day experience of moving.With an experienced team boasting of 10+ years in moving and top-notch customer service, Pack It Movers Houston has proven its superiority in both the residential and commercial sectors. Harnessing an extraordinarily qualified team, the company offers reliable, fast, and efficient services tailored to cater to the dynamic needs of its clientele.Earning its reputation from more than 470 Google reviews, customers can expect nothing short of stellar services. The company is well-equipped with modern tools and boasts an extensive range of experience to expediently handle all moving needs. Clients can not only expect speedy services but also rest easy knowing that their property is handled with the utmost professionalism and care.Cost has always been a vital factor for clients when choosing a moving service. Pack It Movers Houston considers this and offers upfront pricing with no hidden costs, ensuring customers understand fully what they are paying for. To further promote a cost-effective approach, the company offers clients the first month free at its brand-new private indoor storage facilities during a move.Anthony Johnson, the CEO of Pack It Movers Houston, under whose leadership the company continues to flourish, extends his gratitude to all clients and partners who have contributed to this remarkable milestone. His sole aim remains to ensure customers receive top-tier services at competitive rates. Pack It Movers has worked for over 10 years doing community work. For Christmas in 2023, the company ended the year by providing toys to more than 200 kids and families in the Houston area. Today in 2024, the company continues to be a staple in the community by sponsoring Katy Angels, helping to provide scholarships to children who wish for a better future and higher education. Moving and storage is our day-to-day business but giving back to our community is our passion.Contact InformationAnthony JohnsonCEOaj@ packitmovers.com 713-884-0018SOURCE: Pack It Movers HoustonView the original press release on newswire.com PR-Inside.com: 2024-02-16 18:00:30 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 383 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 SOUTHLAKE, TX / ACCESSWIRE / February 16, 2024 / Synerion, a Malam Team company, has successfully acquired the global business operations of Rosslare, a company renowned for providing advanced technological solutions in the field of access control security.Operating worldwide, including in the United States, Canada, Australia, Europe, Latin America, Israel, and India, Rosslare boasts annual sales in the tens of millions of dollars. Synerion will also absorb Rosslare's Southlake, Texas, operations which will become the new U.S. home for Synerion USA Inc.Rosslare offers its clients a diverse range of controllers, smart readers, biometric terminals, accessories, and security patrol systems, supported by sophisticated and flexible software systems.Synerion, has been a long-time partner of Rosslare products, establishing full integration between Synerion's attendance software and Rosslare's access control security products.Paolo Gilfillan, CEO of Synerion, emphasized, "The acquisition of Rosslare's business increases our footprint in the North American market for our software products and brings new products and solutions to our existing customer base and partners. Rosslare has world-class access control and security solutions and an established brand with over 100 distributor agreements servicing almost every state and province in North America. Together with Synerion's global reach and technology expertise, we are confident we can bring a lot of value to the market." Ilan Toker, CEO of the Malam Team, expressed, "The acquisition of Rosslare's business aligns with the ongoing growth and development strategy of Malam globally. Malam can now provide its clients worldwide with a solution that integrates workforce management with access control, leveraging our advanced development capabilities, especially in the cloud, and expanding and deepening Rosslare's global presence." ABOUT SYNERIONSynerion is global leader in cloud workforce management software with over 40 years of experience, 1.25 million active users, and 1,600 customers globally. Synerion offers a full suite of workforce management software and hardware, creating the ultimate package in customer satisfaction.ABOUT ROSSLAREFor over 40 years, Rosslare has been delivering access control solutions you can trust drawn on rich global presence and implementation experience. Rosslare offers one of the broadest off-the-shelf product portfolios on the market together with tailored solutions that play a key role in leading organizations' productivity, profitability and growth.Contact Information:Shane SnaryMarketing Manager, Synerionssnary@ synerion.com 647-202-1930SOURCE: Synerion North America Inc.View the original press release on newswire.com PR-Inside.com: 2024-02-16 19:30:27 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 839 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 WASHINGTON, DC / ACCESSWIRE / February 16, 2024 / In a historic culmination of nearly a decade of dedicated effort,Human Gatheringhas turned its once-code-named project "Descendants" into a groundbreaking reality. Symbolizing a beacon of hope and unity against social injustice, the project has evolved into a powerful coalition. This full-fledged organization has now stepped forward to collaborate with influential business leaders and political figures, aiming to develop durable solutions for eradicating social inequity.Joshua Jordison and Wes Chapman, the visionaries behind the Human Gathering, never considered this mission as limited to political or partisan lines. Rather, they view it as a shared human responsibility, one that should be championed by legacies born from a lineage of historic leaders who dedicated their lives to the freedom and equality of humankind.Wes Chapman articulates the profound significance of this venture, saying, ""I am ecstatic that this has transpired! For the first time in history we can give a voice to the voiceless without an agenda from a political figure or business entity. It's time for these families to collectively lead the charge in creating a sustainable and effective world of equality."" The Human Gathering, esteemed for its long-standing dedication to intentional community engagement and philanthropic initiatives, has diligently paved the way for the actualization of this coalition. With roots tracing back to the foundational meetings in the personal abode of its Co-Founders, the undertaking has since ascended to the iconic rooms of the White House."It was amazing that many of them had never met," Joshua Jordison said in the days leading up to the event.As the mantle of leadership passes to the descendants of Frederick Douglass to direct the Descendants' future endeavors, the Human Gathering now redirects its focus toward addressing critical issues such as crimes against children, the domestic and international food crisis and homeless veterans.On a notable Tuesday, history whispered through the walls of the White House as Vice President Kamala Harris addressed the broad lineage of some of the most formidable civil rights figures and other pioneering personalities. Among those gathered were the descendants of Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, Booker T. Washington, Ida B. Wells, Malcolm X, Rosa Parks, Emmett Till, and the intertwined families of Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings.Vice President Harris extolled these superheroes of American history, affirming that their progeny carry the torch of the Constitutional promises birthed by their ancestors. "They've passed the baton to us," she reaffirmed during the assembly.Stephen K. Benjamin, the White House Office of Public Engagement Director, later elaborated on the administration's efforts, including policing reforms and the recognition of Juneteenth as a national holiday.The event, marrying the celebration of Black History Month with honoring these remarkable heritages, resonated with the echo of their ancestors' life work, all within the context of the inclusive vision championed by the Biden-Harris administration.Delving into the genesis of The Descendants, Joshua Jordison, the co-founder ofHuman Gatheringand event organizer, shared that the inception of this union initiated many discussions years prior. The anticipation culminating in this event was heightened by the fact that many of these lineage-bearers had never crossed paths before.The Descendants' congregation stands not as a portrayal of single entities but as a collective embodiment of equal collaboration among its members, each carrying forward the legacy of historical change-makers.Ken Morris Jr., both a descendant of Frederick Douglass and Booker T. Washington, echoed the collective sentiment as he articulated , "Freedom's torch has been passed to us." Not only did the gathering serve as a symbolic gesture, but it also set in motion a series of engagements throughout the capital, providing an immersive experience for these families to explore significant historic sites such as the U.S. Capitol and the National Museum of African American History and Culture.In the spirit of continued collaboration and education, Ernestine "Tina" Martin Wyatt, a direct relative of Harriet Tubman, expressed her eagerness to engage with fellow descendants during the festivities.Wes Chapman closes stating, "The very essence of the Human Gathering was the catalyst for this historic moment. Without our impassioned congregation of minds and hearts, such an event would have remained a dream. Our members rose to the occasion-they showed up, they took action, they embodied the spirit of unity that proves anything is possible. This is a testament to the power of human connection; it is solid proof that when a network of extraordinary people comes together, the impossible becomes achievable. We've turned a page in history, together." This landmark event serves as a poignant reminder of the continuing journey towards equality and justice-an endeavor that remains alive through the progeny of those who first blazed the trail. And as such, the Human Gathering's role in orchestrating the convergence of these families at the White House proves to be an indelible passage in the legacy of civil rights and social advocacy.Read more here.CONTACT:Market News humangathering.compress@humangathering.com SOURCE: The Human Gathering PR-Inside.com: 2024-02-16 13:31:09 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 994 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 Think Research Corporation shareholders to receive cash payment of $0.32 per Common Share, representing a 100% premium to the closing price of the Common Shares on February 15, 2024 and a 75% premium to the 30-day volume-weighted average trading price of the Common Shares Special Committee and Board (excluding any interested directors) unanimously determined the Transaction is in the best interests of the Company, and the Board (excluding any interested directors) has recommended that shareholders vote in favour of the Transaction Certain shareholders, including Chief Executive Officer, Sachin Aggarwal, to roll their equity ownership Shareholders holding 48.21% of the Common Shares have agreed to support the Transaction Think Research Corporation will continue to execute on its strategy of delivering knowledge-based digital health software solutions as a private company upon the completion of the TransactionTORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / February 16, 2024 / Think Research Corporation (TSXV:THNK) ("Think" or the "Company"), a company focused on transforming healthcare through digital health software solutions, today announced that it has entered into an arrangement agreement (the "Arrangement Agreement") with Beedie Investments Ltd. ("Beedie Capital"), a multi-strategy direct investment platform managing alternative investments for one of the largest private companies in Western Canada, pursuant to which Beedie Capital will acquire all of the common shares in the capital of the Company (the "Shares"), other than those Shares owned by Beedie Capital and other shareholders comprised of certain directors and executive officers of the Company as well as other persons (such shareholders, collectively, the "Continuing Shareholders"), for cash consideration of $0.32 per Share (the "Consideration") (collectively, the "Transaction"). The Consideration represents a 100% premium to the closing price of the Shares on the TSX Venture Exchange (the "TSXV") on February 15, 2024, the last trading day immediately prior to the announcement of the Transaction, and a 75% premium to the 30-day volume-weighted average price ("VWAP") of the Shares on the TSXV for the period ended February 15, 2024. As of the date hereof, the Continuing Shareholders, collectively, beneficially own or control an aggregate of 21,706,567 Shares (representing approximately 27.4% of the issued and outstanding Shares on a non-diluted basis)."The Think team is pleased that Beedie Capital has demonstrated its confidence in the Company through this Transaction, the Consideration of which reflects a strong endorsement of the Company's value. Beedie Capital has a deep understanding of our business and we look forward to working with them to continue executing on our plan to accelerate growth and provide digital solutions to clinicians worldwide," said Think Research's Chief Executive Officer, Sachin Aggarwal. "In addition, the Transaction eliminates the financial and administrative burden of continuing as a reporting issuer in what is already a challenging market environment." Richard Wells, an independent director of the Think board of directors (the "Board") and Chair of the Special Committee, said, "After a comprehensive process and careful deliberation, supported by external professional advisors, the Special Committee considers that the Transaction represents the best available path forward for the Company, its shareholders, lenders, employees and other stakeholders. This Transaction provides a cash premium and immediate liquidity to holders of Shares and the Board is unanimous in its belief that this Transaction is in the best interests of all Think shareholders." Special Committee and Board RecommendationsThe Arrangement Agreement was approved unanimously by the Board (with any interested director abstaining from voting due to his or her participation in the Transaction as a Continuing Shareholder), after taking into account, among other things, the unanimous recommendation of a special committee (the "Special Committee") of the Board comprised of Richard Wells, Cindy Gray and Jeffrey Orridge, each an independent director of the Company. The Special Committee and the Board (with the abstention of any interested directors) determined that the Transaction is in the best interests of the Company and the Board recommends that holders of Shares (other than Beedie Capital and the Continuing Shareholders) vote in favour of the Transaction at the Meeting (as defined below).In making its determination to unanimously recommend approval of the Transaction to the Board, and in the Board's determination to approve the Transaction, the Special Committee and the Board considered the following factors, among other things: Compelling Value and Immediate Liquidity - the all-cash Consideration provides shareholders with immediate value and is of particular benefit given the limited trading volume, the financial challenges facing the Company and the lack of liquidity in the Shares. The Consideration represents a 100% premium to the closing price of the Shares on the TSXV on February 15, 2024, the last trading day immediately prior to the announcement of the Transaction, and a 75% premium to the 30-day VWAP of the Shares on the TSXV for the period ended February 15, 2024; Fairness Opinion - the Special Committee received an oral fairness opinion from Canaccord Genuity Corp. ("Canaccord"), which opinion concluded that, based upon and subject to the assumptions made, procedures followed, matters considered, limitations and qualifications set out therein, the Consideration to be received by the shareholders (other than Beedie Capital and the Continuing Shareholders) pursuant to the Transaction is fair, from a financial point of view, to the shareholders. A written copy of the fairness opinion will be included in the materials sent to shareholders in connection with the Meeting; Go-Shop Provision - the Arrangement Agreement includes a go-shop provision, during which time the Company, with the assistance of Canaccord, will be permitted to actively solicit, evaluate and enter into negotiations with respect to a potential Superior Proposal (as defined in the Arrangement Agreement) for a 30-day period, as more particularly described below; Support for the Transaction - each of the Continuing Shareholders and certain other shareholders, directors that hold Shares and certain officers of the Company has entered into a voting support agreement, pursuant to which they have agreed to, among other things, vote their Shares, which represent approximately 48.21% of all of the Shares, in favour of the Transact PR-Inside.com: 2024-02-16 13:30:44 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 1028 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / February 16, 2024 / Toggle3D.ai(the "Company") (CSE:TGGL)(OTCQB:TGGLF)(FSE:Q0C), a revolutionary AI solution harnessing the power of generative AI to convert CAD files, apply stunning 4K texturing, and seamlessly publish superior 4K 3D models is pleased to announce it is launching the next era of GPT AI 3D product solutions of proprietary Artificial Intelligence (AI) algorithms. The initiative will be led by former Microsoft Executive Hareesh Achi, who is the current Head of Product Operations for Toggle3D.ai and Nextech3D.ai This news follows yesterday's press release by parent Company Nextech3D.ai , who announced it is launching the next era of GPT AI 3D product solutions of proprietary Artificial Intelligence (AI) algorithms. A large portion of the GPT's and groundbreaking AI-powered algorithms mentioned in Nextech3D.ai's press release live within the Toggle3D platform, which the Company is currently using to assist in scaling the production of 3D models.Executive leadership for both Company's firmly believe that the AI opportunity is in the early stages. The shift from 2D to 3D modeling for e-commerce is a major multi-decade transformation that is being led by AI. This transformation is evident as major brands and companies are incorporating 3D models and AR shopping, including Amazon, Walmart, CB2, IKEA, Sephora, Target and more.The initial suite includes the following GPT's:GPT 2D image search engine for 3D models that delivers 3D meshes based on 2D images. GPT text based 3D search engine that takes text prompts to provide a 3D mesh based on description. Watch a video demo of the 3D search engine GPT that detects walls/floors in a 2D image in our proprietary decorator tool. This allows changing the color of your room's walls/ floors.GPT that can read a selected portion of a 3D rendering and erase it (Magic Eraser)Watch a video showcasing the proprietary decorator tool and magic eraser GPT Generating textures and PBR materials from text prompts Watch a video demo of generating textures from text prompts GPT Generating PBR maps from texture/color imagesGPT Texture expansion: expanding a small patch of structured textures into larger, high-resolution textures. GPT Texture generation form patches: Generating a texture from a small patch for unstructured textures (woods, marbles, etc) Watch a video demo of the texture generation from patches GPT Generative Rendering: Generating alternative renderings/photos from textured and untextured 3D models using text prompts - a tool for ideating alternative designs.GPT models are designed with user accessibility in mind, allowing for their development without requiring coding expertise. They offer versatility for personal, exclusive business, or general public use. Setting them up is straightforward, using easy-to-understand conversational prompts to convey commands and information, and to choose features like internet searches, image creation, or data analysis.The initiative is being led by Head of Product Operations for Toggle3D.ai and Nextech3D.ai . Hareesh Achi boasts over ten years of experience at leading technology giants Microsoft and Meta, showcasing a profound grasp of the tech industry along with a track record of developing efficient, scalable, and profitable tech operations. Most recently, he spearheaded the product data operations for Meta's Reality Labs, driving the growth of scaled operations across the Reality Labs product range. Before this, Achi played a critical role at Microsoft, managing the multi-billion dollar operations of Bing Ads.The Company plans on generating revenue by offering its collection of GPT technologies to the public through either a paid subscription model or on a per-use basis, tailored to meet the specific needs of individual users. This strategy opens up significant revenue streams for the Company, given the versatility of its GPTs in handling a wide array of tasks across different applications such as 3D modeling, texturing, AI-generated textures, 3D decorating, enhancing image resolution, and more. These technologies meet the needs of various use-cases, catering to professionals like architects, interior designers, 3D modelers, product designers, product prototyping and product variation, and more.Recent Toggle3D.ai News Toggle3D.ai Announces its Groundbreaking AI Textures Increases Productivity by 100% In 3D Model Production For Ecommerce Toggle3D.ai Reports 75% Usage Growth in Q4, New Release With AI Search Engine Integration Set for Q1 Toggle3D.ai Grows Userbase by 70% and Unveils Groundbreaking AI Tool Transforming Doodles into 3D Models Toggle3D.ai's AI Lab Announces Breakthrough With Generative AI Photo RenderingAbout Toggle3D.ai Toggle3D.ai (CSE:TGGL)(OTCQB:TGGLF)(FSE:Q0C) is a groundbreaking SaaS solution that utilizes generative AI to convert CAD files, apply stunning 4K texturing, and enable seamless publishing of superior 4K 3D models, serving various industries within the $160 billion CGI market. With its Augmented Reality-based rapid prototyping web app, Toggle3D empowers designers, artists, marketers, and eCommerce owners to effortlessly convert, texture, customize, and publish high-quality 3D models and experiences, regardless of technical or 3D design expertise. Toggle3D.ai Investor Relations Visit the Toggle3D Investor Relations website and sign up for the investor mailing list to receive the latest news, press releases, investor presentations, CEO interviews, financial information and more.Sign up for the investor mailing list -click hereFollow Toggle3D.ai on Social Media Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@Toggle3D Insta: https://www.instagram.com/toggle3d.ai/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Toggle3D LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/toggle3d-ai/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/Toggle3Dai For further information, please contact:Investor Relations Contact Julia Viola investor.relations@toggle3D.ai Toggle3D.ai Evan GappelbergCEO and Director866-ARITIZE (274-8493)Forward-Looking StatementsThe CSE has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.Certain information contained herein may constitute "forward-looking information" under Canadian securities legislation. Generally, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as, "will be" or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results "will" occur. Forward-looking statements regarding the completion of the transaction are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove Nigeria Content Creators dominated the TikTok Top Creator Awards held at Vodacom World in Johannesburg with four wins out of eight categories. The awards celebrated talent and paid homage to and commended the creativity and diverse content produced by creators across Sub-Saharan Africa. Waris Akinwade, known as Ola of Lagos, won the Trailblazer of the Year award, while PulseNigeria247 secured the Publisher of the Year title. Khalamanja won the Gaming Creator of the Year award, and Iremide was honoured as the Lifestyle and Education Creator of the Year recipient. TikTok said these winners have left an indelible mark on the digital realm, showcasing their innovation and prowess, thereby underscoring Nigerias position as a digital trailblazer and hub of creativity. The Head of Content Operations for TikTok in Sub-Saharan Africa, Bianca Sibiya, praised the regions creators for their unwavering commitment to crafting content that resonates with their followers. As we conclude the Top Creator Awards, I am genuinely impressed by the achievements of Nigerian content creators. With an outstanding performance, securing four out of eight categories, Nigeria has demonstrated its talent and creativity on the global stage of TikTok. We look forward to witnessing their continued success and influence on our platform. In December 2023, TikTok fans cast their votes for their favourite creators, with winners selected by public vote and a TikTok judging panel. From each category, one victor emerged. About the winners Ola of Lagos, once a cleaner, rose to stardom through his expertise in crafting skits and content revolving around a lavish lifestyle and luxury cars. With his creative flair and opulent productions, he has garnered a dedicated following of 1.6 million on TikTok. Upon receiving the award, he expressed immense excitement, acknowledging the honour of being recognised as a trailblazer and a humbling experience. He expressed his belief in pushing boundaries and shattering stereotypes. READ ALSO: Khalamanja gained renown for his gaming content, accumulating 2.6 million likes and 20 million views. His captivating blend of gameplay, tutorials, and witty commentary has cultivated a loyal fanbase, allowing him to entertain and engage with fellow gamers continuously. In response to his win, he thanked his followers for their unwavering support, recognising that his success wouldnt have been achievable without them. Together, we have built a community where gaming is not just a hobby but a shared passion and source of joy, he added. Iremide, the champion of Lifestyle and Education Creator, has captivated audiences with her visually stunning content. With her blend of lifestyle tips and engaging DIY projects, she has cultivated a dedicated following of 1.2 million enthusiasts. Reflecting on her victory, she expressed how she embodies creativity in every aspect of her life, and receiving this recognition reaffirmed the boundless potential creativity unlocks. Sharing her thoughts on the journey, Iremide expressed her excitement to continue inspiring and empowering others through her content. PulseNigeria247, a pioneering news outlet, leverages TikTok to deliver timely and pertinent information to its followers. Their steadfast commitment to keeping their audience informed and engaged positions them as leaders in the platforms publishing domain. Demi Dawson, the director of content at Pulse Nigeria, expressed gratitude to TikTok for the award and for providing a platform for the news outlet to participate in the process. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print PREMIUM TIMES has obtained exclusive details of the disclosures made by the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, at a closed-door meeting with Nigerian senators on Tuesday. Apart from Mr Ribadu, the meeting was also attended by security chiefs; Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo; Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Olawale Edun, and Minister of Police Affairs, Ibrahim Geidam. The meeting at the instance of the lawmakers lasted for about nine hours behind closed doors. Sources at the meeting said the NSA made the lead presentation while the security chiefs and ministers contributed to the discussion. In his presentation, Mr Ribadu spoke about terrorism, various armed groups in the country and the efforts of the government to tackle the situation. Terrorism Mr Ribadu said counter-terrorism efforts in the North-east have led to a marked decrease in Boko haram activities, with incidents dropping to an 8 per cent low in the last six months. In 2023, out of a total of 394 attacks, only 64, representing 16.24 per cent, occurred under the Bola Tinubu administration, he said. He said this indicates a significant reduction in such incidents during the new administrations tenure, reflecting potentially effective security measures or strategic changes in response to terrorism and insurgency in Nigeria. He credited this to aggressive military operations and infighting among insurgent groups. Insurgents now rely more on softer attacks and IEDs against troops, indicating a shift in their tactics due to military pressure, he said. He said the governments analysis indicates a strategic shift in ISWAPs tactics throughout 2023, with 78 per cent of their attacks being defensive, while only 22 per cent were offensive. This suggests that the group is primarily engaging in actions to protect its positions or respond to military pressure, rather than initiating attacks. This change reflects the effectiveness of ongoing counter-terrorism strategies, altering the groups operational capabilities and forcing them into a more defensive posture, he said. Mr Ribadu thanked the Borno State Government for contributing to the successes of security agencies. IPOB Agitations Mr Ribadu said Nigeria has made substantial progress in curtailing attacks by IPOB and its different variants. Through a combination of kinetic (forceful) and non-kinetic (non-violent) measures, attacks in the South-east have been reduced by 75 per cent within six months, he said. He said the significant decrease comes after a period during which over 164 police stations were destroyed by separatists during the last administration. Today, not only is the process of rebuilding underway, but life is also gradually returning to normal. Sit-at-home order that was widely observed is now largely defeated, he said. PREMIUM TIMES has, in several reports, detailed the activities of armed groups in the South-east who have killed or kidnapped hundreds of people, including security officials. The government has blamed the secessionist group, IPOB, for the attacks although the group has denied responsibility, suggesting many other armed groups operate in the region. The armed group had also ordered a sit-at-home every Monday in the region which residents observed mainly out of fear. Addressing these separatist agitations requires a multifaceted approach, incorporating both immediate security measures and long-term strategies to tackle the root causes of such movements, Mr Ribadu said. Enhanced regional cooperation and international support are essential in curbing the spread and impact of these destabilizing forces, he added. Banditry The NSA said there has been a marked improvement in the security situation in the North-west and North-central. Banditry went down by 45 per cent in the second part of 2023, he said. Many communities hitherto unable to farm have gone back to farm in the last farming season, he said. Mr Ribadu said the government has secured the release of over 700 kidnap victims from their captors in the North-west. You can drive to Kaduna and Kano at night today. Most of the extreme violent kidnappers are eliminated, he said. Despite the NSAs claims, bandits continue to attack communities in many North-west states at will. PREMIUM TIMES reported how terrorists, earlier this week, killed 13 people, including two police officers, in separate attacks in northwestern Zamfara state. The attackers also abducted over 40 people. Earlier on Sunday, nine residents of Kwabre in Zurmi Local Government Area of Zamfara were killed by terrorists. On that same day, a commercial driver was lucky to escape death when marauding terrorists ambushed motorists on the Jibia-Batsari road in Katsina State. In his presentation, Mr Ribadu said kidnapping and banditry, initially perceived as mere criminal activities, have evolved into significant economic crimes within Nigeria, signalling a distressing transformation like criminal behaviour. This evolution is a reflection of both changing opportunities for criminals and the dire socioeconomic conditions affecting vast segments of the population, he said. Proliferation of Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALWs) The NSA said security agencies recovered and destroyed over 5,000 military-grade rifles and intercepted over 20 gun-running networks in the last months. He and the security chiefs harped on the need for good governance as a non-kinetic measure to resolve the security challenges. The alarming rates of poverty and unemployment contribute substantially to the proliferation of violence and insecurity, Mr Ribadu said. The inability of some citizens to meet basic needs leads them to take up arms against the state, compounding security challenges, he added. PREMIUM TIMES reported that Senate President Godswill Akpabio, after the meeting, told journalists that the lawmakers were impressed with the efforts made to tackle the security situation and passed a vote of confidence on the security chiefs. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company (PHEDC) has attributed the current power outage in Akwa Ibom state to a fault in (the) Aba/Itu 132kv line. The electricity distribution company disclosed this in a statement posted on its X handle on Thursday. The outage, which has affected several areas in the state, including Afaha Ube Itam, a community in Uyo, which enjoys a stable power supply, began on Wednesday, PREMIUM TIMES learnt. Business owners in Afaha Ube Itam, close to Itam Junction, along Ikot Ekpene, are lamenting the effects of the power outage on their businesses. A barbershop operator in the area who gave his name simply as Jude told PREMIUM TIMES the outage has increased the business operation cost. READ ALSO: He appealed to PHEDC to quickly restore electricity supply as business owners in the area cannot continue to rely on power generating set to power their business because of the high cost of petrol. Most small businesses in Uyo, especially eateries and hotels, which cannot use power-generating sets to power their facilities because of the high cost of fuel, are experiencing low patronage, our reporters learnt. The state has been in total darkness for some days now. The PHED, in its statement on the outage, said The Transmission Company of Nigeria maintenance crew is currently working to ensure restoration of supply. Customers are assured that power supply will be restored as soon as work is completed, it added. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The Ogun State Police Command has arrested seven persons in connection with the disappearance of one Sulaimon Adijat, a 35-year-old woman, who was reported missing by her parents. The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Omolola Odutola, disclosed that the Divisional Police Officer of Onipanu Divisional headquarters received a report of a missing person on 9 January at about 1000hrs. She said one Sulaimon Adijat, f, aged 35 years, was invited out on a date by one Adebayo Azeez, m, of Ajegunle Road, Atan Ota in Ogun State. She noted that since then, the said lady had not been seen despite frantic efforts to locate her and that her mobile phone had been switched off since she was reported missing. Mrs Odutola stated that a tactical team, specifically the anti-kidnapping unit of the Command, was drafted to unravel the mystery behind her disappearance. She disclosed that the team embarked on a technical-based investigation, which led to the arrest of the seven suspects, who participated actively in the abduction and eventual murder of the missing lady. The suspects include Sheriff Agbai, Osojieahen Alioneitouria; Samuel Monday, an herbalist; Peter Oluwalolese, a prophet; Jamiu Yusuf, another prophet; Abidemi Moses, another herbalist; and Adebayo Azeez. According to the police spokesperson, investigation revealed that on 19 November 2023, one Sheriff Agbai m, and Osojieahen Alioneitouria m, contacted Oluwo Samuel Monday m, fondly called Oluwo Mandela, to perform money ritual known as Oshole that can produce N200 million within seven days. And Oluwo Samuel Monday charged the duo of Agbai, and Alioneitouria the sum of N800,000 and agreed to prepare the materials for the money ritual. In furtherance of his criminal intention, Mr Monday reportedly contacted Mr Oluwalolese, who was not new in the trade of human parts, to source for a lady between the ages of 18 and 20 years to deliver her mutilated body parts, specifically the head, two breasts, private part and her two wrists, to be used for the money ritual. Mrs Odutola noted that Mr Oluwalolese, who is an acclaimed prophet of a white garment church in Ibadan, Oyo State, contacted another colleague of his, Mr Yusuf, another prophet fondly called Eri Mose in Lagos State, who is notorious for the supply of human parts for ritual purposes. READ ALSO: Mr Yusuf, reportedly, further contacted one Abidemi Moses, fondly called Asela, who is an herbalist at Atan Ota, Ogun State. Mr Moses subsequently requested a sum of N600,000 to get a lady that could be used for the ritual. But Mr Monday negotiated for the sum of N300,000 for the human body parts. The Police PPRO said that Mr Moses, though an herbalist, serves as an apprentice to one Adebayo Azeez, to harvest human parts for sale; a business he is said to have enjoyed its proceeds for the past three years. On 9 January, Adebayo Azeez invited one Sulaimon Adijat on a date to Sunshine Hotel, Atan Ota. She was later taken to Abidemi Moses shrine at the Igbo Olomi area of Atan Ota in Ogun State where she was killed by Moses and others now at large. Her dismembered body parts were taken to Moses house at Atan Ota to meet Oluwo Monday and Prophet Oluwalolese, who were waiting for the arrival of the body parts. Oluwo Monday collected the head, two breasts, vagina, two wrists and other body parts of the deceased. Monday prepared the body parts in a local pot, and lighted firewood to burn it in Moses house till the next day, Mrs Odutola said. However, trouble started when Mr Agbai and Mr Alioneitouria collected the concoction for the money ritual from Mr Monday and travelled back to their location in Edo State. After using it for more than three weeks, they both complained bitterly that the money ritual failed to yield the desired result. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The police in Jigawa State said on Friday that an investigation has begun into the murder of a Dutse restaurant owner, Esther Adekanla, popularly known as Hadiza Nakowa. This was contained in a statement by the spokesperson of the police in the state, Lawan Shiisu, in Dutse. He said the deceased was killed by assailants at her residence in Dutse. Today, 15/02/2024, at about 1600hrs, information at the commands disposal revealed that Adekanla, popularly known as HADIZA NAKOWA DUTSE, was last seen on Monday by her neighbours. READ ALSO: On receiving the report, detectives from the Dutse Division swung into action and proceeded to her house, on their arrival, it was discovered that the house was locked but for a broken door. Her body was found in the sitting room lying lifeless in a pool of blood, he said. The spokesperson added that the team also observed visible cuts on the deceaseds head and neck, while the body had started decomposing. According to him, her 11-year-old daughter was found unconscious in a locked storage room. He said the victims were immediately rushed to Rasheed Shekoni Teaching Hospital Dutse for medical attention. The spokesperson added that the deceased was confirmed dead by a medical doctor, while the corpse was conveyed to Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital in Kano for autopsy. Considering the gravity of the offence committed, the Commissioner of Police, Jigawa Command, Ahmadu Abdullahi, directed Deputy Commissioner of Police, State Criminal Investigation Department Dutse, to thoroughly investigate the incident to unravel the cause of her killing and arrest the fleeing culprits, the spokesperson said. He called on residents of the area to remain calm and support the investigation, assuring that anybody found wanting would be prosecuted accordingly. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print It is the most tense day in four months on Israels northern border, and a background noise dominates the city of Safed, just under nine miles (14 km) from the border with Lebanon, making conversation difficult. This is due to the fighter-bombers, reconnaissance planes and drones that are flying over this town of some 39,000 inhabitants in the Galilee region a day after a rocket launched from Lebanon killed a soldier and injured eight others at the Northern Command military base located nearby. Between Wednesday and Thursday, Israel responded with dozens of airstrikes that killed 13 people. I like to hear them. It reminds me that we have airplanes, says Keren Hodaya Alon, 52, with a smile at the kosher wine cellar she runs with her husband. Alon talks to the journalist partly because she doesnt have much else to do. A group of 25 people had booked a visit, but they canceled due to the rain of rockets the day before. She and her husband, who are dressed as religious nationalists, keep the business open out of ideology, she explains. Just as soldiers sacrifice their lives for the people of Israel, the least we can do is preserve a certain routine in the rearguard. Even if we only sell one bottle a day, she says. To put an end to the drip of projectiles, she proposes acting in Lebanon as in Gaza: We need a tough war. One that is the definitive one. We are in the Middle East and we have to speak the language of the Middle East. Play with those rules and show them that we are crazier than them. It seems that only we Israelis are not allowed to be cruel to protect our land, she says. If this couple lived a few miles further north, they would probably be telling this story from a hotel on the Dead Sea, in Eilat or Jerusalem, where up to 80,000 Israelis from 28 towns a little closer to Lebanon remain evacuated since shortly after the war began. When daily border skirmishes began, Israel emptied this area to create a sort of buffer zone. The same is true for Lebanon, which has displaced 100,000 people to protect them against the increasingly frequent and lethal Israeli bombings (which have left some 200 people dead). It is a measured give and take that in other circumstances would have led to an open war a long time ago, but it has not yet done so, leaving a bittersweet taste on both sides of the border. On the surrounding roads, volunteers give away hamburgers and drinks from food trucks to the tens of thousands of soldiers deployed in the area. The further north you go, the more movement of military vehicles you see. Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah often boasts of having so many people in uniform (many of them reservists) watching the border despite having used only a small part of his firepower. And also of having forced a massive evacuation, with the psychological and economic damage that entails. Otherwise, those soldiers would be in Gaza, he said in one of his speeches. It is a way of shielding himself from internal criticism for not going all out in defense of their Palestinian brothers when the death toll in Gaza is approaching 29,000. Keren Hodaya Alon with her eldest son, Yoshua, in her wine cellar in the Israeli city of Safed, on Thursday. Antonio Pita Soon he may not have to listen to any more criticism. Not since October 7, when the Hamas attack sparked the war in Gaza, had Israel and Hezbollah come so close to open war. Israels Minister of Defense, Yoav Gallant, issued a forceful threat this Thursday: Hezbollah went up half a step, while Israel went up a full one, but its one step out of ten. The Air Force planes flying currently in the skies of Lebanon have heavier bombs for more distant targets. We can attack not only at 20 kilometers [from the border], but also at 50 kilometers, and in Beirut and anywhere else, said Gallant. And act in Beirut as in Gaza []. And as the State of Israel, the defense establishment, and the IDF have proven in recent months, when we say it we mean it. On Tuesday, the Israeli army killed nine Hezbollah and Islamic Jihad militants in Lebanon. The next day, there was a barrage of rockets against Safed, for which no armed group has yet claimed responsibility. One fell, without causing injuries, next to Ziv hospital. A steady rain has been filling the hole with mud. All the projectiles were apparently directed against unpopulated spaces or specific targets and, surprisingly, were not intercepted by the Iron Dome, Israels defense system against this type of projectiles. That is the half a step that Gallant was alluding to. It represents a qualitative leap because Safed is further from the border and Hezbollah knows that it has not been evacuated. But it is not a whole step because the rockets were mostly not aimed at civilians, as part of the unwritten rules about flexing ones muscles without generating an escalation that would have no turning back. The whole step was taken by Israel on Wednesday and Thursday: dozens of bombings, deeper inside Lebanese territory, which have killed 13 people, 10 of them civilians. Two victims of selective assassinations have been identified as Ali Muhammad al Debes, a senior commander of Radwan, Hezbollahs elite force, and Hassan Ibrahim Issa, his number two operative. These have been the deadliest bombings since October 7. The tension has been felt in Israel. In the evacuated Kiriat Shmona, the largest city in the area, sirens went off twice in 10 minutes due to the launch of around 20 rockets, and a road was closed off to civilian traffic. The tension was also palpable in Safed. Do you see this square with tables? asks Or Attias, a 29-year-old assistant in a pastry shop in the most visited part of the city. Its usually full of our regular customers. Thats about 20 times fewer customers than those we had in September, which were mainly foreign and domestic tourists, but they are the reason why we have continued opening. Yesterday it was also full, even when the rockets fell. But then [when hours later Israel reported the death of the soldier] they saw what had happened and today practically no one has come. This is like a muted war. Doron Cohen in his jewelry store in the Israeli city of Safed, this Thursday. Antonio Pita Safed is not just another city. It receives 1.5 million tourists a year completely gone these days as it is one of the four great centers of Judaism (along with Jerusalem, Hebron and Tiberias) in modern-day Israel and Palestine, and associated with Kabbalah, Jewish mysticism. For the Palestinians, however, the city is one of the great examples of the Nakba, the flight or expulsion of two-thirds (about 700,000) of those who lived in modern-day Israel, today converted (along with their descendants) into millions of refugees. Among them is the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas. His family fled Safed to Syria during the Nakba when he was a teenager. The old city, full of alleys and cobbled stairs that connect ancient synagogues, shops and art galleries with motifs linked to Kabbalah, is usually full of people, especially Jewish Americans whose trip is funded by a program. Among the shops on the popular main street, only one storefront blind is raised. You caught me by chance, I just came to finish up some pieces and Im leaving again, says Doron Cohen inside his jewelry store, which showcases motifs from Judaism and Kabbalah, such as the tree of life and the star of David. Of course Im scared. How can I not be? Whoever around here tells you that theyre not scared is lying. It is not one army against another army fighting on the battlefield. These are rockets that can fall on us, he says. Cohen, a 55-year-old father of 10, says that in the early days of the war he always made sure to have his cars tank full of gasoline in case he had to leave quickly. Not anymore. Now he is resigned to removing pages from the calendar in what he defines as a strange situation. We are living the same way, but it is not the same. Those who have jobs continue to go to work and the children continue to go to school. You are waiting every day for the war to start. You know that sooner or later it will happen, just not when, he adds. A street in the old city of Safed (Israel), this Thursday. Antonio Pita In conversation, one year always comes up: 2006, in which Israel and Hezbollah clashed for 34 days. Many of todays frustrations have to do with that event. The confrontation ended with the death of over 1,000 Lebanese people, mainly civilians, and 167 Israelis, mainly soldiers. But above all with the feeling that Hezbollah had stood up to a militarily superior enemy. Today Hezbollah has more and better weapons, as well as men who have been seasoned in combat in Syria, in support of Bashar al-Assads forces. Therefore, people want a definitive solution, which in Israel usually means deploying even more strength. Shuki Ohana is the mayor of Safed. He is not to be found in City Hall, however, but in the humble headquarters of Likud, the right-wing party of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, with which he hopes to get re-elected in the municipal elections that Israel will hold on the 27th, after postponing them twice. They were initially scheduled for October 31. Safed is full of campaign posters showing Ohanas face with a more relaxed expression than the one he had on Thursday, as he handled back-to-back calls, meetings and interviews with the media. We are fully prepared for whatever happens. We must provide a solution to the northern area. What I expect from the army, the state and the government is for them to fix the situation. There cannot be this trickle [of rockets]. But how to do that? If the political solution is not successful, we have to go to a military one. The mayor clarifies that evacuation is not yet on the table and that very few people have left the city of their own free will. I would also prefer for the city not to be evacuated, but lets see how events develop. The political solution to which Ohana is alluding is the one that countries like France and the United States are increasingly pushing for against the clock. There are several proposals on the table, but they all have in common the requirement to push Hezbollah up to 10 km (6.2 miles) from the border and reinforce Resolution 1701 of the United Nations Security Council that ended the 2006 conflict but which both sides have failed to comply with. In his speech on Tuesday, Nasrallah charged against the idea behind the proposals: All the delegations that have come to Lebanon in the last four months have a single objective: the security of Israel, to protect Israel []. When the attack on Gaza ends and there is a ceasefire, the fire from the south will also stop, he said before issuing a warning: If they increase the confrontation, we will do the same. It is raining in Safed, with the occasional hailstorm. Yaffa Sahrur, 67, takes it in stride on the porch of her house: In 2006 it really rained down rockets. Now, as long as what falls is rain The African Union (AU) has appointed President Bola Tinubu as Champion for Human Resources for Health and Community Health Delivery Partnership. This is contained in a statement issued by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, who noted that the appointment is contained in a letter addressed to Mr Tinubu by Africa Centre for Disease Control and Prevention Africa CDC- an organ of AU working to stem the tide of disease spread on the continent. The new development is coming on the heels of the announcement by the President to intervene significantly in infrastructural development of some public tertiary health facilities across the country. The President is also participating in the ongoing 37th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of AU Heads of State and Government in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. PREMIUM TIMES earlier on Friday reported the declaration of immediate upgrade of 16 medical facilities across the country. Mr Ngelales statement is reproduced below: PRESIDENT TINUBU APPOINTED AS AU CHAMPION FOR HEALTH President Bola Tinubu has been appointed as the African Union (AU) Champion for Human Resources for Health and Community Health Delivery Partnership against the backdrop of his ambitious, innovative, and people-focused efforts in the sector. In recognition of President Tinubus commitment to train 120,000 frontline health workers nationwide within 16 months and to double the number of primary health facilities in communities across all local government areas of the federation from 8,800 to over 17,000 over the next three years; his doubling of health personnel enrollment capacity from accredited nursing and midwifery institutions to accommodate the new demand created by new facilities across Nigeria, and his resolve to establish a paid volunteer youth force of social accountability officers to monitor the operational functioning and financial integrity of primary health centres, the African Union has identified the Nigerian leader as the right champion for this noble and actionable continental effort. The Commission of the African Union (Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention Africa CDC) in a letter to Nigerias Ministry of Foreign Affairs said President Tinubu was appointed on the recommendation of the Committee of Heads of State and Government of Africa CDC, under the leadership of His Excellency, President Azali Assoumani, President of the Union of Comoros and Chairperson of the African Union. READ ALSO: Experts seek robust implementation of health sector renewal initiative In his new role, the Commission subsequently invited President Tinubu to address the Ministerial Executive Leadership Programme (MELP) under the theme, Impactful leadership in health: a whole government approach, billed for Saturday, February 17, 2024, at the Africa CDC Headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on the margins of the 37th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of AU Heads of State and Government. The Tinubu administration is attracting global investments in Nigerias health sector for the provision of cutting-edge infrastructure, equipment, and world-class manpower for improved access to quality healthcare by all Nigerians. Chief Ajuri Ngelale Special Adviser to the President (Media & Publicity) February 16, 2024 Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The US State of Georgia has honoured the Consul General of Nigeria in Atlanta, Amina Smaila, for efficient and unselfish dedication to public service to the state. The North American Correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the House of Representatives of the State of Georgia presented the honour to Ms Smaila on Thursday on the floor of the house. The house, in resolution 647, obtained from the Consulate General of Nigeria in Atlanta, stated that Ms Smaila had diligently and conscientiously devoted her time, talents and energy toward the betterment of the state. The resolution, signed by the Clerk of the House of Representatives, William Reily, spelt out the exceptional diplomatic skills of the Nigerian envoy. A distinguished Nigerian diplomat with more than two decades of exceptional service in the Nigerian Foreign Service, she currently oversees 16 southeastern states as well as Puerto Rico. Throughout her impressive career in public administration and policy development, she served in senior roles such as Minister at the Permanent Mission of Nigeria to the United Nations in New York and acting Director of Policy Division under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Her outstanding service has earned her numerous honours, including delivering the commencement speech at Wesleyan College in Macon, Georgia, and receiving the 2022 Lifetime Achievement Award by the World Chamber of Commerce in Atlanta. According to the lawmakers, the Nigerian diplomat has given inspiration to many through her high ideals, morals, and deep concern for fellow citizens. The representatives noted that Ms Smaila had served with honour and distinction, and her vision and unyielding commitment to excellence had set the standard for public service. Its abundantly fitting and proper that the outstanding accomplishments of this remarkable and distinguished Georgian be appropriately recognised, they noted. Miriam Udeozo, Consul, Consulate of Nigeria, Atlanta, spoke on the extraordinary qualities of Ms Smaila that won her the honour by the State of Georgia and other honours. Ms Udeozo said the Consul General had won the Phoenix Award by Andre Dickens, Mayor of the City of Atlanta, which was in recognition of her diplomatic work in reinforcing the ties between Nigeria and the United States. According to her, the envoy has won Courageous Women Award by Courageous Women in Action, Atlanta, Georgia. Under her leadership, Ms Udeozo said, the President of the City Council of Atlanta and all the State of Georgia, recognised 1 October as the Independence Day of Nigeria in Georgia. They also made a proclamation declaring May 25 as Nigerias Day for Art and Culture in the State of Georgia. This pronouncement came at the heels of the exhibition titled Nigeria Speaks, which attracted Atlanta, the entire United States and the world, to a navel cultural extravaganza, projecting Nigeria and African art in all of its diversity and beauty, she said. (NAN) Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The Ondo State All Progressives Congress (APC) caucus in the House of Representatives has written an open letter to President Bola Tinubu, accusing the governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, of creating a crisis in the party in the state. The governor was also accused of exhibiting disdain for his predecessor, the late Oluwarotimi Akeredolu. The open letter to President Tinubu was signed by six lawmakers, namely, Adesida Abiodun Cornelius (Akure North/South), Timehin Adelegbe (Owo/Ose), Festus Ayodele (Ileoluji-Okeigbo/Odigbo), Ojogo Donald (Ilaje/Ese-Odo), Odimayo Okunjimi (Okitipupa/Irele), and Adegboyega Adefarati (Akoko South West/South East). Addressing journalists in Abuja on the intent of the letter, leader of the caucus, Mr Adesida called on the President to intervene by calling the new governor to order before he ignites a crisis that would cost the party the forthcoming 2024 governorship poll in the state. He said since his swearing-in as governor, Mr Aiyedatiwa had made a series of decisions that indicated his animosity towards the late Akeredolu and his lack of concern for the partys growth in the state. The lawmakers told the president that the governor has been associating with arch political enemies of his late predecessor and even cozying up to the opposition party. The Deputy Governor appointed by Mr. Aiyedatiwa is a well-known political adversary of the late Governor. Despite hailing from Owo, they never saw eye to eye during the late Governors lifetime. Olajide Adelami caused a great deal of trouble for the late Akeredolu during his bid for re-election in 2020 to which you were committed. Furthermore, it has become common knowledge in the state that Mr. Aiyedatiwa has aligned himself with every disgruntled and established political enemy of the late Akeredolu. As an example, the appointment of Kola Olawoye, a suspended APC member and former Attorney General of the state, as Aiyedatiwas campaign coordinator in Owo has been widely condemned by loyal party members, particularly in Owo, the letter read. He also said recent events have revealed Governor Aiyedatiwas apparent eagerness to erase the legacy of the late Akeredolu and had been assuming credit for the successes and achievements of the deceased. According to the lawmakers, the announcement of the payment of N35,000 palliative allowance for civil servants and the settlement of January 2017 salary arrears, which were previously approved by the late Governor Akeredolu, were erroneously presented as early actions taken by Governor Aiyedatiwa. Mr Adesida further said Mr Aiyedatiwa proceeded to dissolve the entire local government structure, including chairmen, councilors, and all government aides and appointees, adding that it was a calculated move aimed at erasing the footprints of his late boss, and has left the party in a state of disarray. Mr. President, the Governor has created a significant divide and caused discord among party members. Currently, the partys state chairman, Ade Adetimehin, is being marginalised and sidelined. To make matters worse, Mr Aiyedatiwa has resorted to sending his proxies to warn the chairman and pressure him into resigning. It is a bad situation, sir. There is a growing divide within our party; and it is occasioned by the seed of enmity sown by Governor Aiyedatiwa. Those who were once loyal to Akeredolu have been sidelined, while individuals from the opposition who aligned with Mr. Aiyedatiwa in the fight against the late Akeredolu, demanding that he relinquished power to Aiyedatiwa when he was sick, now hold significant positions within the government and party, the letter further read. The lawmakers disclosed that their primary concern is to prevent Ondo State from falling into the hands of the opposition due to internal conflict. They stressed the urgent need for decisive and unifying leadership in this trying period for the party. The decision made by Aiyedatiwa to dissolve the Ondo State Executive Council has raised concerns and is being criticised as ill-conceived, imprudent, and misguided on multiple fronts. One of the main criticisms is the perceived rush behind the decision. Many questioned why the Governor couldnt wait until the final burial of Akeredolu before taking such a drastic step. It is our hope that Ondo, the Sunshine state, will be saved from further turmoil, and that the APCs influence in the state will not wane. As representatives of the good people of Ondo State in the National Assembly, we pray that your Presidency will be guided by divine wisdom, resulting in remarkable development, peace, prosperity and renewed hope for all Nigerians, the lawmakers added. Meanwhile, the lawmaker representing Ondo East/Ondo West federal constituency in the House of Representatives, Abiola Makinde has dissociated himself from the open letter to the president. Mr Makinde, in a statement on Friday, said those behind the letter want to create a fake crisis within the party in the state. I wouldnt have responded to the sudden letter purportedly written and signed by five Members of the House of Representatives from Ondo state against Governor Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa if they hadnt made the mistake of letting it look like one emanating from Ondo state caucus in the Green chambers, but signed by just five of them. I want history to be kind to me, hence, the need to clarify issues, he said. With due respect to my colleagues, I think this letter has revealed those who intend to create a crisis in the party rather than averting it. That lawmakers, who are leaders in their own constituencies, would suddenly wake up to protect the late Governor Rotimi Akeredolu, who they abandoned when he was alive, is self-defeating. Since the death of the former governor, this caucus has not deemed it fit to pay a condolence visit to his family, but they claim to now love him in death more than when he was alive. What was the role of the caucus during the inglorious days of thick politics that nearly brought down our state last year? How many letters did we write to the president to save the state from those who deliberately clogged it? It took the personal intervention of the President to resolve the political crisis in the state last year, but these lawmakers were nowhere to be found in that process, the statement read. Mr Makinde noted that it was easy to dissect the purported statement that the lawmakers complaints are not about Ondo State or her people, but about the coming governorship election. He stressed that while there is a known aspirant among the five that wrote the letter, all of them are supporting different aspirants. Adesida, leader of the caucus, is angling to be the running mate of one of the governorship aspirants in the state. Odimayo is a governorship aspirant. Adelegbe is the Director General of the campaign of another governorship aspirant, Mayowa Akinfolarin while Akinfiranye is the Director General of the campaign of another aspirant, Wale Akinterinwa, who is his kinsman. Therefore, it is easy to see where the truth lies in all of this. There is nothing honourable in being bonded to fight a common enemy who you think is ahead. I will never join such, he added. Publicity Secretary of the party in the state, Alex Kalejaiye, in his reaction, said there were misgivings which were raised in a meeting with the governor. He noted that all the issues were resolved and the governor promised to address all concerns. Right now, the party is united and there is no conflict between the party and the state government. So, the party is prepared for the coming election and you can see that many people from the opposition are defecting to the APC, Mr Kalejaiye said. Efforts to get the governors media aides to respond to the allegation were unfruitful. Several calls made to his Chief Press Secretary, Ebenezer Adeniyan, were not answered. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The governments of Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso have made public their plans to form a confederation following their exit from ECOWAS. Our excellent diplomats then recommended to the Heads of State the creation of a Confederation bringing together Burkina, Mali and Niger, awaiting the creation of a Federation of the three countries, said the Malian government spokesperson, Abdoulaye Maiga, on Thursday in a Facebook post. It was part of a speech the army colonel delivered at a meeting that ministers of the three states held in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. Mr Maiga, who is also Malis minister of Territorial Organisation and Decentralisation, said the recommendation to create a confederation was made in a November 2023 meeting by the countries ministers of development affairs. They also recommended expanding the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) objectives in diplomacy and economic development. The AES was created in September 2023, a few months after the Niger coup. The three states last month announced their withdrawal from ECOWAS on grounds of what they said were illegal and inhumane sanctions. Mr Maiga in his speech on Thursday reiterated the accusations against ECOWAS. From an organisation supposed to weld the social fabric between populations, it has become, by some leaders, an instrument that tried to pile populations against each other. From an organization called to support governments efforts to stabilise states, ECOWAS has found no other unfortunate inspiration than to threaten to militarily attack a sovereign state, whose people have simply decided to take their destiny in their hands, he added. Mr Maiga noted that this current ECOWAS is a perfect illustration of what the AES will never be, adding that it will remain an alliance of states united by a common ambition of the emancipation of Africa. This new era will see the alliance between our states strengthen further to assert itself as a force in the service of peace, security, development and integration of our peoples for the good of our nations, he said. Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso are currently led by putschists who carried out successful coups in their countries. The current leaders of the three countries have resisted the demands of ECOWAS to implement transitions to civilian rule. The West African regional bloc, based on its rules, imposed sanctions on the countries as part of efforts to get them to return to civilian rule. It was in response to the sanctions that the countries announced their exit from ECOWAS. The regional body responded by saying it would continue to dialogue with the leaders of the countries. Editors Note: The original speech was in French and was translated by Facebook Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print South Africa is quickly running out of friends on Capitol Hill as it cosies up to US rivals. Already angry over Pretorias decision to host naval drills with Russia and China last year, US lawmakers are now demanding that the Joe Biden administration launch a comprehensive review of bilateral ties following what they call South Africas politically motivated suit against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ). Legislation to that effect was introduced last week by the Republican chairman of the House foreign affairs panel on Africa, with support from a Jewish Democrat colleague. The relationship between the US and South Africa has been and continues to be very important. But there are times, recently, that South Africa has gone out of its way to try to poke its friend in the eye, says Gregory Meeks, the top Democrat on the full house foreign affairs committee. Read the full report here. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The family of a man kidnapped in Abuja has alleged that the police demanded a bribe of N50,000 to trace the victim over whom the kidnappers have also demanded a N100 million ransom. Alfred Ahon was kidnapped on the morning of 1 February in the Mpape district of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) after he set out from home on a journey to Lagos. His wife, Senami, and one of their neighbours, who requested to be anonymous because of fear of intimidation, said the Divisional Crime Officer (DCO) in the Mpape police division requested the money. We went to the police in Mpape division so they can help track the number but as usual they are asking for money. The DCO is asking for N50,000 deposit to track, Mrs Ahon said. They told PREMIUM TIMES that the police officer said they needed to connect with the State Security Service (SSS) which has the skill and tools for such an investigation, but would need to settle the SSS as they would demand some token before taking up the investigation. They clearly told us they dont have the equipment to track but the DSS and that they have to sort the DSS out before it can be done, the neighbour corroborated. This is not the first time an allegation has been made of the police in Abuja demanding money before acting on a kidnapping case reported to them. Sixteen days after the kidnapping of Mr Ahon, he has not been released and the police are yet to respond on the matter. The kidnappers have also reportedly threatened to kill the man if the wife failed to provide the N100 million they demanded by Saturday. One chance victim Mr Ahon 60, had left home for Lagos on the fateful day to see his children who had just been offered admission to a tertiary institution. Her two children in school who just gained admission are the reasons the man was going to Lagos before the unfortunate incident happened, the neighbour narrated. Mr Ahon retired from service with the Nigerian Investment Promotion Council (NIPC) but continued working as a contract staff to support his family and two children in school. READ ALSO: He is just a common public servant who has retired but had to go back as contract staff so he could fend for his family, Mrs Ahon told PREMIUM TIMES. He wanted to give his children some money and be with them but unfortunately, he couldnt get to his children and he couldnt get back home, his 48-year-old wife said. Because Mrs Ahon was ill that day, she could not see her husband off to the junction where he could take a commercial vehicle to the next motor park in Jabi. She suspected the kidnappers operated a One Chance unbranded taxi her husband took that morning. His wife was not that strong and could only see him off to the door from where she saw a Toyota car waiting for him outside. She went back to bed hoping that he would call her when he left the park for Lagos, the neighbour said. She woke up around 11 a.m. and tried to contact him but the line was unavailable. She waited for some time hoping he would contact but still no word from him. She started panicking but waited till evening to call her children in Lagos if their father had got to Lagos. But they said they had not heard from him. Neighbours, friends and family gathered thereafter to look for the man. They visited many motor parks in Abuja before reporting to the nearest police station. We have visited all motor parks in Abuja to check if his name was on their manifests but we found nothing, Mrs Ahon said Police demand N50,000, kidnappers demand N100 million According to the family, when they got to the Mpape police division, the police DCO demanded N50,000. They said the DCO was in mufti so they could not get his name. Subsequently, the kidnapper contacted the wife on Sunday morning (two days after the kidnap) to inform her that her husband had been kidnapped and demanded N100 million as ransom. It was early morning on Sunday when the wife was contacted through the mans phone by the kidnappers who told her they were holding her husband and that if she wanted him alive she should go and look for N100 million and must not tell anyone, the neighbour said. She told them they should let her hear from her husband to believe their story but they hung up the call. On Monday, the kidnappers called back and gave the phone to the man who was crying, lamenting of torture and begging his wife to go and look for what they demanded. They called around the same time yesterday (Monday) and threatened the woman before they allowed her to speak with her husband who was crying and wailing, seriously complaining of torture. The husband begged her to please look for money so he can be released and thats where we are now The retired civil servant was still with the kidnappers as of the time of filing this report. Police PROs reaction On Wednesday, an X user, @True consciences, posted about the incident on his X account tagging the Force Public Relations Officer, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, who later responded. Nigerians!!! Please help us cry loud so that those in authority will hear us. The family has reported to the Police in Mpape and they are asking for money to track the number used to contact the kidnappers. Please help call on the Police authority to rescue him @Princemoye1. he posted He further narrated the bitter experience of the family. Mr Alfred Ahon was crying bitterly on the phone yesterday when the kidnappers allowed him to speak with his wife. Theyve hurt him seriously and hes an old man in his 60s. Please help call on the Police authority to rescue this man from the den of kidnappers. Responding to this, Mr Adejobi said the X user should contact him privately and cease passing the information on the channel. Let the relations talk to me via SMS, with useful info. And we should stop discussing it here forthwith for sec reasons. Thanks. he posted. The X user further claimed in his subsequent post that the police PRO had not picked up several calls put through to him since Wednesday. Its almost 24 hours since we sent you the SMS as you directed and we are yet to get feedback considering that we have a 60-year-old man in captivity of the kidnappers. Weve called your number several times but nobody picked up the calls What else do we do? he requested bitterly. The FCT Police Public Relations Officer, Josephine Adeh, when contacted, said she was in a meeting. She promised to call back but did not and did not also answer subsequent calls to her line. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The Catholic Diocese of Enugu has raised an alarm over the alleged existence of a fake Catholic Church in Enugu State, south-east Nigeria. In a statement on Monday by the Secretary of the diocese, Chidi Agubuchie, the diocese said it was recently drawn to a trending video clip of simulated Roman Catholic episcopal ordination and liturgical worship celebrated at Ibagwa-Nike, a community in Enugu East Local Government Area of the state. The diocese said the group, according to their signpost, claimed that they were members of Old Roman Catholic. It said the group is being led by a bishop who does not participate in apostolic succession, pointing out that they also observe some practices associated with the Catholic Church. This is to inform all Catholic faithful and the general public that the said self-acclaimed Roman Catholic group at Ibagwa-Nike is not in communion with the Universal Catholic Church led by the Holy Father, Pope Francis with its universal see and government in Vatican City, Rome, the diocese said. It stressed that for a Christian to be fully in communion with the Universal Catholic Church on earth, he must be joined with Jesus Christ in the churchs visible structure by bonds of profession of faith, celebration of sacraments and by ecclesiastical governance also called the Code of Canon Law. The pseudo-Catholic Church based at Ibagwa-Nike does not in reality share in any of these three bonds, and thus, is not in communion with the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church under Pope, the successor of Saint Peter, it said. Therefore, the Catholic Diocese of Enugu, led by Most Rev. Callistus V.C. Onaga, hereby disassociates herself completely from the activities of the Simulated Roman Catholic Church and warns all her faithful to beware of them, their activities and movements. Do not be lured by their claims, promises, simulations and religious enticements. They are fake Roman Catholic church, it added. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has sealed Sahad Stores, a popular Abuja shopping mall. The stores Area 11, Garki branch was sealed on Friday following an alleged disparity between prices on the shelves and what customers had to pay. The enforcement was led by FCCPC Acting Executive Vice Chairman, Adamu Abdullahi. Briefing journalists, Mr Abdullahi said the commissions preliminary investigation confirmed that the management of the supermarket was short-changing customers. He said the store would remain sealed until the completion of the further investigation. What we have found out that these people are doing is misleading pricing and lack of transparency in the pricing, which is against Section 115 (3) of the law that says a consumer is not required to pay a price for any good or service higher than the one thats on display, Daily Trust quoted him as saying. When PREMIUM TIMES visited the stores branches in the Central Business District and Area 11 Garki, only a section of the latter was sealed. The other section of the branch, in a separate building, was not sealed. Speaking to PREMIUM TIMES, one of the branch supervisors who did not want to be named acknowledged the reason stated by the FCCPC saying that the section heads failed to update prices on the counter. The source told this newspaper that the store will most likely be reopened before the close of business as representatives of the business were at the commissions office. READ ALSO: FCCPC bags 2023 Government Agency of the Year award Section 155 of the commissions act states that any corporate person that contravenes is liable to a fine of 100 million naira or even more and the directors of the company themselves are liable upon conviction payment of 10 million naira each or imprisonment of six months or both. The commission said the store will only be unsealed when the requirements are met. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Dakar, February 15, 2024Cameroonian authorities must immediately release journalist Bruno Francois Bidjang, drop legal proceedings against him for alleged rebellion, and allow journalists to comment freely on public affairs, the Committee to Protect Journalists said on Thursday. On February 6, gendarmes from the Yaounde State Secretariat for Defense (SED) summoned Bidjang, managing director of the privately-owned LAnecdote media group and news program presenter on Vision 4 television, to secretariat headquarters for questioning. He was then detained on allegations of rebellion in connection with a video posted and later removed on TikTok, according to his lawyer Charles Tchoungang and an official from LAnecdote who asked not to be named for security reasons. On February 8, Bidjang appeared in a Yaounde military court, where a judge sent him back to the SED for further investigation. Bidjang appeared again before the court on Tuesday, February 13, and was questioned further, according to a person familiar with the case who asked not to be named for safety reasons. Cameroonian authorities must immediately release Bruno Bidjang without charge and drop its investigation into allegations of rebellion against him, said Angela Quintal, head of CPJs Africa program, from New York. Journalists must be free to comment and share criticism about issues of public interest without fear of reprisal. Tchoungang told CPJ that investigators questioned Bidjang in relation to a TikTok video he posted in early February commenting about a local socialite, Herve Bopda, who was arrested on January 31 after allegations that he had committed multiple rape and sexual assaults prompted national outrage. Bidjang discussed in the TikTok video the public outcry that led to Bopdas arrest and said there are other more important things that the Cameroonian people are not focusing on, such as the condition of the roads, access to water, electricity and embezzlement, according to CPJs review of the video. Under Cameroons penal code, rebellion by inciting resistance to the application of laws, regulations or legitimate orders from public authority is punishable by imprisonment of three months to four years. Denis Omgba Bomba, director of the media observatory at Cameroons Ministry of Communication, told CPJ that he is not familiar with the facts of the case, but said that LAnecdote issued a statement that was clear about the allegations against Bidjang. The statement, issued on February 7 by LAnecdote communications head Christine Toulou Ndzana, said that Bidjangs comments undermined republican institutions and that an investigation had been opened to clarify responsibilities. On the same day, in a memo circulated by news sites, LAnecdote asked its employees not to make analyses, comments or simply give their opinion on current events on their social media. The founder and CEO of LAnecdote, Jean-Pierre Amougou Belinga, was arrested in February 2023, in connection with the torture and murder of Cameroonian journalist Martinez Zogo, who had accused Belinga of corruption . Belinga remains in pre-trial detention at Kondengui Prison in the capital, Yaounde. Bidjang, who was also arrested last year in connection to the Zogo killing, was eventually released pending investigation, as CPJ reported at the time. Bidjang was recently questioned again about the Zogo murder, but the latest arrest is unrelated, according to his lawyer. On February 8, communications Minister Rene Sadi, issued a general press release saying that freedom of expression could not be understood as the right to excesses of any kind, in particular incitement to sedition and hostility against the homeland. Cameroon was ranked as sub-Saharan Africas third-worst jailer of journalists in CPJs annual prison census, with six imprisoned as of December 1, 2023. One journalist, Stanislas Desire Tchoua, was released on December 28 after serving a prison sentence for defamation and insult. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The Ekiti State Police Command has arrested eight members of a kidnapping syndicate that abducted some school children and their teachers in Emure, Ekiti State recently. Parading the suspected kidnappers on Friday evening, the police spokesperson, Sunday Abutu, said the breakthrough was made possible through the dogged efforts of men of the Rapid Response Squad (RRS). Mr Abutu said that while the police was trying to apprehend the kidnappers, there was an exchange of gunfire, which led to the killing of one of the suspects. According to him, items recovered from the suspects included one (1) AK 47 assorted rifle, one (1) pump action gun loaded with five (5) live cartridges, twenty-one (21) AK 47 live ammunition, and expended shells of AK-47 ammunition. Others are one (1) face-mask, one (1) nose mask, two (2) pairs of hand glove, twenty (20) different handsets, one (1) National ID Card bearing Salisu Mohammed, two (2) MTN sim cards, and one (1) airtel sim card. In our relentless and deliberate efforts to rid the state of criminal elements, especially kidnappers, and the quest to ensure the arrest of the hoodlums behind the killing of two traditional rulers in Ikole-Ekiti and the kidnapping of some school children and their teachers in Emure-Ekiti as well as other kidnapping incidents in the state, the Command Rapid Response Squad (RRS) commenced a thorough investigation and operation, and arrested eight members of a kidnapping syndicate and neutralised one. On 8/02/2024 at about 1300hrs, the Command Rapid Response Squad (RRS) received a credible tip-off that a gang of armed men has invaded a farmland at Eda-Oniyo-Ekiti and were planning to kidnap some expatriates in Dairy Farmland, Ikun-Ekiti. Upon receipt of the information, a team of RRS operatives swung into action and arrested one Abubakar Aliyu who was on a mission to spy on the actual location of the expatriates, the spokesperson said. He disclosed that after Mr Aliyus arrest, the leader of the kidnapping gang identified as Sumo Karami sent two vigilante members one Saliu Ibrahim and Umaru Saliu to secure the bail of the arrested gang member from police custody. The two vigilante members were arrested and subsequently led the RRS operatives to Oro-Ago town where one Mohammed Bashiru, the leader of Miyetti Allah vigilante in Oro-Ago, Kwara State, was arrested. During interrogation, Mohammed Bashiru revealed that he is a relative of Sumo Karami, who is a leader of a dreaded kidnapping gang and that Abubakar Aliyu is one of his gang members who have been terrorising and kidnapping innocent citizens. Initial investigation revealed that Sumo Karami and his gang members were responsible for the kidnapping of the pupils and their teachers in Emure-Ekiti on 29 January 2024. Meanwhile, the phone used to demand for ransom for the release of the pupils and the teachers was recovered from the suspects and further efforts led to the arrest of two more gang members, namely, Yahaya Jubril and Usman Garba in Owo forest, Ondo State, Mr Abutu said. He told journalists that further investigation led to the arrest of one Kenneth Ugwu in Ibadan, Oyo State, on 14 February. According to him, during interrogation, the suspect confessed to being a member of a kidnapping syndicate that kidnapped five pupils, three teachers and a driver in Emure-Ekiti. The suspect led a team of RRS operatives to the kidnappers hideout inside Agric Reserved Forest between Ise-Ekiti/Emure-Ekiti. On sighting the police, the armed hoodlums engaged the team in a gun duel. In the process, one of the gang members, who was later identified as Ayuba, was neutralized; one Abubakar Mohammed was captured alive while other gang members escaped through the forest. Investigation revealed that the syndicate was responsible for the kidnapping of one Paul Omotosho, the APC chairman, Ekiti State, along Agbado/Imesi, Ekiti road on 8 July last year, the kidnapping of Mr. and Mrs. Awoniyi along Ikere/Itaogbolu road in January this year and the kidnapping of teachers and pupils of Apostolic Faith Secondary School, Emure-Ekiti on 29 January this year, Mr Abutu added. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print On early Tuesday morning, February 13, two dangerous prisoners, who were serving their sentences in one of the five maximum security prisons spread across Brazil, escaped. The inmates imprisoned in a jail located in Mossoro, in the interior of the State of Rio Grande do Norte were members of the Comando Vermelho, one of the most powerful Brazilian criminal groups. The jailbreak the first in the federal penitentiary system, which was created in 2006 by the first administration of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, due to the inability of state authorities to manage the prisons has put the maximum security network to the test. It has become a serious crisis for Minister of Justice Ricardo Lewandowski, who has been in office for just 15 days. Four months ago, both inmates were transferred to the intensely-supervised prison that they escaped from, after leading a riot in a prison in the state of Acre that left five inmates dead, three of them decapitated. The minister has proposed building walls around prisons, in addition to increasing the number of guards. The clues collected by investigators indicate that according to the local press the prisoners were able to take advantage of the fact that the yard is under renovation. They obtained construction materials that helped them escape. They allegedly made a hole in the ceiling of their cell and then cut through the fence, according to the newspaper Folha de S. Paulo. The authorities havent provided details regarding how the escape of 36-year-old Rogerio da Silva Mendonca, 36 nicknamed Tatu and 34-year-old Deibson Cabral Nascimento occurred. Both were subjected to the harshest prison regime. Minister Lewandowski described the event as serious in a press conference, but added: It occurred [following] a series of negative coincidences, fortuitous circumstances that, unfortunately, facilitated the escape. In the morning, from Mossoro Prison, National Secretary of Penitentiary Policy Andre Garcia emphasized that, if the security protocols had been respected, there would have been no possibility of an escape occurring. The senior ministry official has avoided speculating about the circumstances. We havent ruled out any of the possibilities: the relaxed [attitude of the guards], the facilitation [of the escape by certain guards], or whatever the investigation tells us. I cannot say more. Minister Ricardo Lewandowski, 75, recently retired as a Supreme Court judge. He took over the Ministry of Justice on February 1. Since the inmates escaped, he has ordered the administrators of the Mossoro Prison to be immediately suspended from their duties. He has also decreed that for now visits and going out to the yard are prohibited. The governor of Rio Grande do Norte, Fatima Bezerra, has deployed a manhunt that includes road patrols and helicopter flights across the area. The neighboring states of Paraiba and Ceara have also been notified. The governor belongs to the Workers Party, the same party as President Lula, whos on an official trip to Egypt. There are five federal prisons in Brazil, in five states. They were created to isolate and properly monitor the top bosses of the main criminal organization in Brazil, the Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC), which is a kind of brotherhood of gangs, including the Comando Vermelho and other local groups. The PCC and the Comando Vermelho are dedicated to drug-trafficking among other illicit businesses and dominate prisons in different corners of the country. The federal penitentiary system is quite different from the ordinary network of prisons, which depends on the state governments. These regular prisons often end up being run by the criminals themselves: theres plenty of violence, while even basic things sometimes even food are missing. And if the prisoners dont have relatives to bring them food or personal hygiene products, theyre totally abandoned behind bars. In maximum security prisons, such as the one where the escape occurred or the one in the capital of Brasilia, where the top leader of the PCC, Marco Wilians Herbas Camacho, is being held each prisoner receives a tracksuit, sneakers, a change of clothes and a toothbrush. There are no gyms or kitchens. The patios are covered by mesh. The water in the shower turns off after five minutes. Inmates receive razor blades that they must return as soon as they finish shaving. They can have books, but smoking is prohibited. These federal facilities are extremely different from ordinary prisons. But in Brazil, theres also a third model: prisons in which the inmates act as guards and where weapons are prohibited. Very few Brazilians are jailed in such institutions, but the concept has been expanding. Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAIS USA Edition With the sad, unsettling, calamitous demise of these peerless ace professionals, Nigeria has lost three invaluable gifts to humanity! Indeed, one remarkable element that distinguished these three extraordinary men was that they were not only giants in their respective fields, having attained the very peak and commanding heights of their excellent, illustrious careers, but also that their exceptional accomplishments will continue to serve as glowing lighthouses in an era of vanishing values! I have been deeply distressed and pained by the shocking death of three valuable and exemplary figures who were behemoths of the finest traditions in their respective professions! Professor Emevwo Biakolo, a colossal literary scholar and founding Dean of the School of Media and Communication, Pan-Atlantic University, Lagos; Mr Emmanuel Ijewere, a foremost Chartered Accountant and former president of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN); and Mr Herbert Wigwe, co-founder and Group Chief Executive Officer of Access Holdings Ltd, all passed away at a most difficult period. It is unimaginable! With the sad, unsettling, calamitous demise of these peerless ace professionals, Nigeria has lost three invaluable gifts to humanity! Indeed, one remarkable element that distinguished these three extraordinary men was that they were not only giants in their respective fields, having attained the very peak and commanding heights of their excellent, illustrious careers, but also that their exceptional accomplishments will continue to serve as glowing lighthouses in an era of vanishing values! On a personal level, I had the privilege of knowing Biakolo closely for about thirty-six years, Ijewere for about thirty years, and Wigwe for precisely eight years! Ironically, Biakolo and Wigwe passed on the same day, while Ijeweres demise was a little over a month ago. It was only over a week ago that I received an email from the revered Professor, apprising me of a pet endeavour which he was devoting his very precious time after retiring from the Pan-Atlantic University to. His message was as eloquent, genial as usual, and with his customary imprimatur. Family Fortnightly, a newsletter he had put together, was his latest adventure! But sadly, last Friday, 9 February, he died in his sleep in his Lekki, Lagos home! Professor Biakolo was a premier writer, an academic behemoth and a former member of the editorial board of The Guardian newspaper, whose storytelling style, sublimity of thought and elegance of prose were some of his very distinctive features. His enthralling weekly column was always a climate of captivating thoughts. A foremost writer, an iconic scholar of the finest tradition, quintessential teacher, and a true family man, whose lofty deeds and towering reputation transcended boundaries! He was affable, kind, compassionate and, to boot, exceptionally principled. Biakolo was a foremost university lecturer at Nigerias premier University of Ibadan and a visiting member of the Editorial Board of The Guardian when I first met him in 1988. At that time, I was in need of a temporary job at The Guardian newspaper, and a good friend of mine had casually referred to Dr Biakolo as an intensely empathic writer who would lend one a listening ear! I was equally told that the professor was, without exception, available only on Wednesdays at The Guardian for the newspapers Editorial Board meetings. Without any prior appointment, I went to the Oshodi-Isolo expressway Office of The Guardian. Upon meeting him, the first thing I noticed about the venerable scholar was his infectious smile, which lightened my concerns. A great listener, with tremendous attention to details, after listening raptly to my mission, he took me straight to the office of the then Managing Director of the newspaper. This young-man would make a good journalist, he declared. The Managing Director asked me to follow up! And thus began my interest in The Guardian where I was to work many years later, precisely in 1995, after Professor Biakolo had left for Botswana, as a senior lecturer in English at the University of Botswana, Gaborone. Indeed, Nigeria has lost one of its most endowed scholars, treasured literary giants, and a classical Iroko, whose influence resonated beyond the shores of the country! Biakolo was a very confident literary author, awesome writer of the noblest fashion, exceptional poet, prolific editorialist, an unusual teacher, strong promoter of family values and a very committed advocate of democracy and the rule of law! His incendiary, intrepid criticisms of the Abacha military regime were part of the rich intellectual repositories of the pro-democracy rockets of that era! With his death, I have lost a very great teacher who took me under his wings some 36 years ago! He was a literary Iroko, who did not only build the School of Media and Communications at PAU from scratch but whose academic prowess and rich contributions to the body of knowledge in the field of Communications and Storytelling in the Global South, was strikingly unexampled. Until his death, he was an emeritus professor of Communication, School of Media and Communication, PAU, Lagos. Some of his ground-breaking scholarly works include; Insurgency in Nigeria: The Niger Delta Experience, Oral tradition, European Modernity and African Philosophy, Women in Conversation with an African Man on gender Issues, and Categories of Cross-Cultural Cognition and the African Condition. For the late calm, charismatic and astute former president of the ICAN, past president of the Nigerian Red Cross Society and erstwhile chairman of the Institute of Directors (IoD), Ijewere, he had been like a very senior friend and counselor for about thirty years. Our path first crossed in 1994 when I was a reporter, and we got introduced by a mutual friend. Friendly, simple and ever straightforward! I cherish deeply the privilege of knowing such a wonderful, down-to-earth business leader with immense wisdom. He was a great thinker, an extraordinary chartered accountant, lover of agriculture and a rare human-being, whose faith in the advancement of agriculture in Nigeria was unmatched. Each time one encountered him, one was always left with a sense of personal fulfilment and satisfaction on account of his simplicity of style and sublimity of wisdom. He also enriched my personal life with his presence at important occasions. In fact, during my wedding, Mr Ijewere and Professor JP Clark were among the first set of guests seated in the Church, preceding many others. Born on 30 October, 1946, in present day Plateau State, Ijewere studied in Lagos, Ijebu-Ode, Cameroon and the United Kingdom. He started his very distinguished accountancy career in 1965 in the UK, and later established his own accountancy firm in Nigeria in 1979, which blossomed and soared like an incredible eagle. As an avant-garde, Ijewere led by example! Until his death, he was chairman and director of several companies, with interests in banking, finance, agriculture, pharmaceuticals, logistics, etc. Among them are Best Foods Group, Emson, Nigeria Agrobusiness Group, Drums Resources Nigeria Ltd, Apei Capital & Trust Limited, Countrywide Direct Mortgage Company, Kerildbert Holdings, Computer Warehouse Group (CWG), Gemini Pharmaceuticals, Nova Merchant Bank Limited, Rosaab International Ltd, Globe Crest (VFM) Nigeria Ltd, Nigeria Cold Chain Supply Systems Ltd, etc. These strings of business interests were products of Ijeweres capacious hard work, inventiveness and brilliance. And as a business leader with great love for his country, he answered the call for national duty at various times, serving as chairman of Agriculture and Food Security Commission, Modified Value Added Tax (VAT), as well as member of the following: National Economic Forum, Agricultural Transformation Implementation Council (ATIC), Buharis transition committees technical team on agriculture and co-ordinator of Nigeria Agribusiness Group (NAGB). With Ijeweres death, the Nigerian business community has lost a business colossus, an empathic professional, a devout Catholic, and self-effacing employer of labour who would be greatly missed by many. Mr Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede and Wigwe nurtured an excellent business partnership that changed the banking sector in Nigeria. Perhaps they were both the youngest founders of a commercial bank in Nigerias history in 2002! It was not therefore unexpected that the news of Wigwes death triggered an uncontrollable wave of sadness across Nigeria. My encounter with Wigwe was through Aig-Imoukhuede, founding Group MD/CEO of Access Bank. I met Wigwes father, Pastor Shyngle Wigwe, now 89 years of age, for the first time, at the service of songs held in honour of the first governor of Delta State, Olorogun Felix Ibru at the Federal Palace hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos in 2016! In his years as a banker, businessman, educationist, thought leader and champion of charitable causes, Wigwe impacted many lives. Following his tragic death in the ill-fated helicopter which crashed in California last Friday, 9 February, and also claimed the lives of his wife, Chizobu, their son and Mr Abimbola Ogunbanjo, a former group chairman of Nigerian Stock Exchange Group (NGX Group) and son of the late legendary industrialist, Chief Chris Ogunbanjo, Nigeria has lost not just a resilient banking chief but also a peerless lover of education, tireless mastermind of lofty initiatives and a boundless family man, whose strong commitment to family values was quite impressive. The transformation of Access Bank into one of the five leading, first-rate financial institutions defined Wigwes resilience, strength of character and clear vision. Born 57 years ago in Rivers State, Herbert was educated at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, where he earned a Bachelors degree in Accountancy in 1987, and thereafter obtained an MA in Banking and Finance in 1991. Tireless Wigwe also took a second masters in Financial Economics, preparatory to a cherished and illustrious career in the banking industry. He later attended Harvard Business School Executive Management Programme. In appreciation of his sterling, splendid and excellent accomplishments in his chosen career, the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, honoured him with a honorary doctorate degree in 2018. A pacesetter, a cultural force, a rare gift to the Nigerian banking industry, many would wish he had not travelled on that day! Just if! That single word often encapsulates the thoughts of everyone whenever calamity strikes! Death, an unfair, numbed, and hopeless cut! In its unkindness, death pierced short the flourishing life of a shining lighthouse! The fragility of life is really telling. But for these exceptional professional behemoths, I can only find solace in the enduring, eternal words of Clare Harner, a famous US journalist, whose poem in 1934 entitled Do Not Stand at my Grave and Weep remains consoling: Do not stand at my grave and weep. I am not there. I do not sleep. I am a thousand winds that blow. I am the diamond glints on snow. I am the sunlight on ripened grain. I am the gentle autumn rain when you awaken in the morning hush. I am the swift uplifting rush of quiet birds in circled flight. I am the soft stars that shine at Night. Do not stand at my grave and cry. I am not there. I did not die. As professional colossi, as stars that shine peerlessly, and twinkling like diamond glints, the triumvirate -Biakolo, Ijewere and Wigwe are not dead! Their immortal accomplishments are huge legacies that live on! Oma Djebah, an erstwhile senior editor at ThisDayand former Delta State commissioner for Information is the immediate past ambassador of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to Thailand. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print As a student of and believer in federalism, I fully support the principle that federal political systems should have police forces controlled by the federating units states, and in the past I have strongly campaigned for State Police. Today, I am very frightened of the idea because the evidence that it would be abused is massive. Nonetheless, widespread insecurity in the country has pushed many Nigerians into supporting the idea The Federal Government, alongside the governments of the 36 states, are considering the creation of state police. This followed an emergency meeting between President Bola Tinubu and state governors in the Aso Rock Villa yesterday. According to reports, Thursdays meeting follows the recent hike in food prices, economic hardship, and rising insecurity all over the country. In other words, there is fear of widespread insurrection. Addressing State House correspondents after the meeting, the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, explained that the process is still in its infancy and would only take shape after more deliberations between stakeholders. As a student of and believer in federalism, I fully support the principle that federal political systems should have police forces controlled by the federating units states, and in the past I have strongly campaigned for State Police. Today, I am very frightened of the idea because the evidence that it would be abused is massive. Nonetheless, widespread insecurity in the country has pushed many Nigerians into supporting the idea of a State Police based on the justification that states are closer to local dynamics of insecurity and might be more effective in combatting them. The reasoning is that members of the police, being local and therefore knowledgeable about the community, would be more effective in fighting crime, terrorism, civil unrest and insurgency. The key idea, therefore, is that they would know or be able to easily find out the bad boys and girls and deal with them. In my view, that is where the trouble begins; who will define the bad boys and girls? State police would be established by State Houses of Assembly and that means the enabling laws defining their mandates, structures and control would be determined by state governors because, as we all know, State Houses of Assembly are essentially puppets of their governors and they do as they are instructed. For state governors, the bad boys are clear and they fall into two categories. The first category comprises politicians who want to contest state power with the governors or their chosen successors, for those in their second term. The second category consists of all persons who dare to criticise the governors or question their misdeeds. Over the years, many critics, including journalists and civil society activists, have been placed in arbitrary detention for daring to speak the truth about their governors. The governors cajole law enforcement offices to deal with their perceived enemies, without having a police force totally under their control. I am convinced that most (not all) governors would jail all their enemies if they have police forces they can control totally. I have heard people argue that currently, the Nigerian Police Force are direct puppets of the president and they do exactly what they are told to do in dealing with the presidents enemies, so State Police could be a counter weight to presidential control of the Nigeria Police Force. I think its uncharitable to argue that the Nigeria Police are completely partisan in their actions. Federal institutions are, in general, much more capable of handling issues in an even-handed manner, relative to state-level institutions. When in 2018 there was a summit to consider the establishment of State Police, there was a counter argument by the late Abubakar Tsav, a retired police commissioner, that the establishment of state police will signal the beginning of the disintegration of the country, as governors would use the institution against their perceived political opponents. State and federal police commands are also likely to work at cross-purposes, he added. My additional reasons of concern are that we have very serious ethnic and religious divides in the country at this time and many governors believe that if they have their own police, they can deal with the other. For example, the pastoralists and farmers conflicts have been intensifying in many states and some governors have clear proclivities of seeking to expel or protect pastoralists in their states, opening the doors to a new dimension of identity conflicts that would deepen the crisis facing the Nigerian state today. As Commissioner Tsav argued in 2018: Our politicians are not civilised enough and tolerant of opposing views and cannot preside over a competent and impartial police force. I have heard people argue that currently, the Nigerian Police Force are direct puppets of the president and they do exactly what they are told to do in dealing with the presidents enemies, so State Police could be a counter weight to presidential control of the Nigeria Police Force. I think its uncharitable to argue that the Nigeria Police are completely partisan in their actions. Federal institutions are, in general, much more capable of handling issues in an even-handed manner, relative to state-level institutions. The more effective separation of powers between the executive, legislature and judiciary at the federal level, in relation to the state level, means that there are more effective control measures. The National Assembly, for example, can call the Inspector General of Police to order in a way that no State House of Assembly can do with any institution obeying the state governor. I know that the structure of the police is defective, as a significant slice of the police budget is consumed at the headquarters and very limited resources go to State Commands where most police operations actually take place. State Police Commands then become dependent on state governors, who give them some money and in return get the Command to do their bidding. It is however easier to address this problem in comparison to a fully state police force. I know that the structure of the police is defective, as a significant slice of the police budget is consumed at the headquarters and very limited resources go to State Commands where most police operations actually take place. State Police Commands then become dependent on state governors, who give them some money and in return get the Command to do their bidding. It is however easier to address this problem in comparison to a fully state police force. The problem we have is that the police are not as effective as they should be and the way forward is to improve their efficacy. One of the core problems is that about 150,000 of the 350,000 of the nations police force are engaged in VIP protection, rather than routine policing. Every Police IG has promised to stop renting out police officers to those who can pay for their services but failed to do so. Successive presidential directives that police personnel attached to unauthorised persons and VIPs in the country be withdrawn and deployed to confront the security challenges in the nation have been disregarded. The police are ineffective because too many of them are not available to do core police work, as they spend their time in the service of a few privileged Nigerians. President Tinubu should start by addressing this challenge. A professor of Political Science and development consultant/expert, Jibrin Ibrahim is a Senior Fellow of the Centre for Democracy and Development, and Chair of the Editorial Board of PREMIUM TIMES. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print It is designated by Allah Almighty Himself, as it is said: Ramadan is the month of giving and mercy, and in it, Allah blesses the believers with forgiveness and being saved from Hellfire. Therefore, whoever is merciful and giving in Ramadan, Allah will be even more Merciful and Giving and will bestow upon him countless bounties and blessings. In the name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful All Praise is due to Allah, We praise Him and we seek help from Him. We ask forgiveness from Him. We repent to Him; and we seek refuge in Him from our own evils and our own bad deeds. Anyone who is guided by Allah is indeed guided; and anyone who has been left astray, will find no one to guide him. I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, the Only One without any partner; and I bear witness that Muhammad (Peace be upon him) is His servant and His Messenger. Dear brothers and sisters! Alhamdulillah, the blessed month of Ramadan is upon us once again! For Muslims across the globe, these few weeks are a sacred time for worshipping Allah the Almighty. They offer an opportunity for devotion, reflection and celebration of the mercy and love of Allah the Almighty. As the Islamic calendar is based around the lunar cycle, the Noble month of Ramadan rotates by approximately ten days each year. This year, Ramadan is expected to begin on Sunday, March 10th, or Monday, March 11th 2024 In Shaa Allah, depending on the sighting of the moon and announcement by our leaders. The Messenger of Allah (Peace be upon him) said: Do good all the time, and seek to be recipients of the outpouring of Allahs mercy. Indeed, Allah showers down these (special) outpourings of His mercy to whomsoever He wills from His servants. (Tabarani) Although Allah constantly showers His mercy, love and blessings upon us throughout the year, there are certain times of the year wherein He is even more Generous to us. These are the special seasons, days and moments in which it is even easier to acquire His pleasure, earn His forgiveness and be saved from the Hellfire. The blessed month of Ramadan is one such season when we witness the fruits of Allahs love and kindness. The Messenger of Allah (Peace be upon him) said: The month of Ramadan has come to you, a blessed month in which Allah Exalted and Majestic is He has obligated (its) fasting upon you. In it the gates of Paradise are opened, the gates of Hellfire are closed, and the rebellious devils are chained. In it, Allah has a night which is better than a thousand months. Whoever is deprived of its good is truly deprived! [Nasai] Imam Ibn Rajab (rahimahullah) quoted the earlier scholars as saying: This Hadith is the basis for congratulating one another for the arrival of Ramadan. Why shouldnt the believer be congratulated when the gates of Paradise have opened? Why shouldnt the sinner be congratulated when the gates of the Hellfire have closed? Why shouldnt the intelligent one be congratulated for a time when the devils are chained? Allah instructed His beloved Prophet (Peace be upon him): Say: In Allahs grace and mercy let them rejoice. That is far better than whatever (wealth) they accumulate. Ramadan is indeed from the mercy, kindness and generosity of Allah upon us. Let us rejoice and feel happy with its arrival. Let us be from those who are pleased with Ramadan and are eager to strive in it. Let us show Allah how happy we are with His special month through our intentions, worship and desire for reward. Let us not be of those who become miserable with Ramadans arrival and feel forced to fast its days. Allah says in the Noble Quran: (Fast for) a limited number of days [Quran, 2:184] Respected brothers and sisters! Fasting is obligatory upon us only for a limited number of days (29 or 30 days). From His mercy, Allah made this amount manageable and easy for us. Furthermore, He made this short amount of time a source of immense blessings. Hafsah Bint Sirin (rahimahallah) quoted Abul-Aliyah (rahimahullah) as saying: The fasting person is in a state of worship so long as he does not backbite anyone, even if he is sleeping in his bed. Then Hafsah would say, How wonderful it is that I am in a state of worship whilst I am sleeping on my bed. We also witness the immense generosity of Allah in the following Hadith: A man came to the Prophet (Peace be upon him) and said: O Messenger of Allah, if I testify that there is no god worthy of worship except Allah, and that you are the Messenger of Allah, I pray the five prayers, I give zakah, I fast Ramadan and I stand in prayer during its nights; then who do you think I am from? He (Peace be upon him) said: From the Siddiqin and the martyrs. [Ibn Hibban] The Siddiqin are those who have attained the highest status of faith (Iman), conviction and truthfulness. Even in difficult times, their actions consistently verify their words. Examples of such people include the best of the Prophets followers, such as Abubakar al-Siddiq (RA). Dear servants of Allah! Just as Friday punctuates our week, and the five daily prayers punctuates our days, Ramadan punctuates our year. The Messenger of Allah (Peace be upon him) said: The five daily prayers, Jumuah to Jumuah, and Ramadan to Ramadan expiate for (the sins perpetrated) in between them, so long as one stays away from the major sins. [Muslim] Ramadan is the benchmark of the year. If we strive hard during it to stay away from sins and attain the pleasure of Allah al-Karim (The Most Generous), we will enjoy its fruits throughout the year. Imam Ibn al-Qayyim (rahimahullah) said: Whoevers Jumuah is safe from evil, his week will be safe from evil. Whoevers Ramadan is safe from evil, his year will be safe from evil. Whoevers Hajj is safe from evil, his life will be safe from evil. Imam Ibn al-Jawzi (rahimahullah) said: It has been said that the example of the 12 months is like the children of Prophet Yaqub (AS): Ramadan is like Prophet Yusuf (AS), while the remaining months resemble his brothers. Just as Prophet Yusuf was Prophet Yaqubs most beloved child, Ramadan is likewise Allahs most beloved month. From his mercy and compassion, Prophet Yusuf forgave his brothers and said: There is no blame on you today. [Quran, 12:92] Ramadan is likewise the month of compassion and mercy. It is a month of blessings, goodness, freedom from the Hellfire, and forgiveness from the All-Powerful King (Allah). The brothers of Prophet Yusuf (AS) came to ask him if he could remedy their situation. Subsequently, Prophet Yusuf (AS) treated them with kindness and was hospitable to them. He provided them with food and told his servants: Put their (traded) goods back into their saddlebags, so that they may recognise them when they go back to their family, and perhaps they may return. [Quran, 12:62] Thus, one person remedied the shortcomings of eleven others. Likewise, the month of Ramadan is one month that remedies our shortcomings and deficiencies of the other eleven months. Prophet Yaqub (AS) had eleven sons who were living with him and whose actions he would see at all times. However, his eyesight did not return due to any of their clothing. Instead, it returned due to Prophet Yusufs shirt. Likewise, if the sinner smells the scents of Ramadan, sits with those who remind him of Allah, recites the Quran, and avoids backbiting and vain talk, he will be forgiven after being a sinner. He will become close after he was far. His heart which was previously blind, will now have the ability to perceive. Throughout his entire life, he will be granted tawfiq (divine providence) to obey Allah, and in his last moments, his soul will be extracted gently from his body. When he eventually meets Allah, he will be blessed with forgiveness and lofty ranks in Paradise. So, by Allah, take advantage of this blessing during these few days; and you will soon see endless blessings and a very long period of rest and relaxation, Allah willing. [See Bustanul Waizin] The Messenger of Allah (Peace be upon him) said: When it is the first night of the month of Ramadan, the devils and the rebellious jinn are tied up; the doors of Hellfire are closed, and none of its doors are opened. The doors of Paradise are opened, and none of its doors are closed. A caller calls out: O seeker of good, come forward! O seeker of evil, stop! Indeed, Allah frees servants from the Hellfire every night. [Tirmidhi] Respected brothers and sisters! As we enter the blessed month of Ramadan, let us supplicate like our beloved Prophet (Peace be upon him) did: O Allah, let this moon (month) pass over us with blessings, firm belief, safety, and in the state of Islam. My Lord and your Lord is Allah. Imam Ibn Al-Jawzi (rahimahullah) said: By Allah, if it was said to the people of grave, make a wish! they would wish for one day of Ramadan. Dear brothers and sisters! Let us welcome the most awaited month of the Islamic calendar, the Noble month of Ramadan. The month of countless blessings. The month in which over 2 billion Muslims all around the world fast separately, yet together. It is during this month the Prophet (Peace be upon him) was visited by Angel Jibril who revealed to him the beginnings of what would later be known as the Quran. Dear brothers and sisters! Please, what are you intending for in this blessed month of Ramadan? What do you hope you get out of this month? How do you wish to grow during this month? How can you be of service and help others? Please, dont just try and go through the motions of fasting and prayers. Try to absorb as much rewards and good deeds as you can (this is something we should be asking ourselves everyday. Dont just let this moment slip by without having gained something, let it move you). My beloved people! Wallahi, Ramadan is not just about testing your will power and abstaining from food. At a deeper level, Ramadan is about transcending to become the best versions of ourselves to please Allah Almighty. To abstain from all things negative, be it in wicked thoughts, words, or actions. Its a reflective period where we analyse the person we are becoming. Are we on the right path or headed down a bad direction? To err is human and Ramadan is the time to course correct. In Shaa Allah, I hope the best for you this coming Ramadan. May we all grow spiritually. Ameen. Respected brothers and sisters! There are a total of five different Quranic verses which mention Ramadan. Here they are as follows: 1. Surah Baqarah verse 183. O you who have believed, decreed upon you is fasting as it was decreed upon those before you that you may become righteous. 2. Surah Baqarah verse 184. [Fasting for] a limited number of days. So whoever among you is ill or on a journey [during them] then an equal number of days [are to be made up]. And upon those who are able [to fast, but with hardship] a ransom [as substitute] of feeding a poor person [each day]. And whoever volunteers excess it is better for him. But to fast is best for you, if you only knew. 3. Surah Baqarah verse 185. The month of Ramadan [is that] in which was revealed the Quran, a guidance for the people and clear proofs of guidance and criterion. So whoever sights [the new moon of] the month, let him fast it; and whoever is ill or on a journey then an equal number of other days. Allah intends for you ease and does not intend for you hardship and [wants] for you to complete the period and to glorify Allah for that [to] which He has guided you; and perhaps you will be grateful. 4. Surah Baqarah verse 187. It has been made permissible for you the night preceding fasting to go to your wives [for sexual relations]. They are clothing for you and you are clothing for them. Allah knows that you used to deceive yourselves, so He accepted your repentance and forgave you. So now, have relations with them and seek that which Allah has decreed for you. And eat and drink until the white thread of dawn becomes distinct to you from the black thread [of night]. Then complete the fast until the sunset. And do not have relations with them as long as you are staying for worship in the Mosques. These are the limits [set by] Allah, so do not approach them. Thus does Allah make clear His ordinances to the people that they may become righteous. 5. Surah Al Qadr Indeed, We sent the Quran down during the Night of Decree. And what can make you know what is the Night of Decree? The Night of Decree is better than a thousand months. The angels and the Spirit descend therein by permission of their Lord for every matter. Peace it is until the emergence of dawn. Respected servants of Allah! Humankind has evolved tremendously over the years, not just in technology, medicine and how we live but also in how we treat each other. As human beings, we have an inbuilt desire to help others if we can. This attribute is greatly endorsed in Islam, which gives immense importance to charity and helping others. Muslims are advised and encouraged to share what they have been blessed with and distribute it to those who are not so fortunate. Charity is not only beneficial for those who receive it, but it also lays a great reward for the ones who give. It is essentially food for the soul and serves as a means of salvation as well. Its our duty as Muslims to help those who need it most. Its for this reason that we created our appeal for feeding the orphans, widows, poor and needy every year, which you can donate to FISABILILLAH. It is designated by Allah Almighty Himself, as it is said: Ramadan is the month of giving and mercy, and in it, Allah blesses the believers with forgiveness and being saved from Hellfire. Therefore, whoever is merciful and giving in Ramadan, Allah will be even more Merciful and Giving and will bestow upon him countless bounties and blessings. An act of goodwill that is prescribed by Allah Almighty Himself should be carried out throughout the year with the sole intention of pleasing Him Subhanahu wa Taala. However, when the Noble Month of Ramadan arrives, every type of worship and the act of pleasing our Lord should be increased, including the noble act of charity. The Prophet (Peace be upon him) is reported to have said: Ramadan is an honourable and blessed month, and the rewards for generosity are multiplied in it. Ramadan brings many blessings, which is why plenty of Muslims choose to pay their Zakat during this month. Generally speaking, Ramadan is spent in a state of meditation and prayer; however, time is also invested in aiding others. From the support of orphans to the aid of children and widows, Zakat provides Muslims with a feeling of salvation. And one of the many great things about Ramadan is Eid-ul-Fitr, when the entire Muslim Ummah reunites and celebrates the occasion together, enjoying all the festivities that follow afterwards. In Ramadan, when we experience the effects of hunger during our fast, we establish a closer association with those people who usually go through the condition due to a lack of food. So, fasting serves two purposes. It tests your obedience and devotion to Allah Almighty and how well you can restrain yourself from the pleasures of life, and it also reminds you of the people who are starving and living in famine and hunger. This feeling inspires and enables us to help others. Charity to these families in this blessed month will not only help them financially but will also help them out spiritually. The notion of charity is so powerful that those who are unable to fast must make up for it via daily Ramadan charity donations. This is otherwise known as Fidyah. If ones health or physical conditions dont permit one to partake in Ramadan fasting, one must, instead, donate enough to feed a single person per missed day of fasting. While its important to perform charitable acts throughout Ramadan, as well as the rest of the year, the Night of Power (Lailatul-Qadr) offers many rewards for generosity. The exact date of the Night of Power is unknown; however, we know that it falls within the final 10 days of Ramadan. The odd-numbered nights during the final 10 are of particular importance, especially the 27th night of Ramadan. The Night of Power is the time in which Allah Almighty first revealed the Quran to the Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) via Angel Jibril (AS). As a result, any rewards for good deeds are greatly multiplied. With Ramadan just a few weeks away, there is an ever-increasing need to give to charity and donate. We urge everyone to put in the extra effort this coming Ramadan and graciously donate to Muslim Aid, who will help others in need on your behalf. Charity is the truest salvation for a person, and such a noble deed never goes unrewarded in the eyes of Allah Almighty. You can ease the hardship of the orphans and widows by donating Iftar Food Parcels this Ramadan. Thousands of women and children have lost their husband and father and are left bereaved, in pain and without income to meet their daily needs. Remember, your Iftar Food Parcel could become their lifeline! Your compassion can save their lives! Insecurity, conflict and natural disaster claims lives every day. When women lose their husbands, they often become vulnerable, ostracised and taken advantage of. Because of their status, their children are also subjected to the same treatment. Reeling with grief, they are left starving and alone without any income or support. With your generosity, our Islamic center can provides Food Parcels to widows and orphans to help relieve their hardship. Last year, your donations meant we were able to provide thousands of meals to our needy widows and orphans, giving them sustenance, comfort and letting them know that you care. All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds. May the peace, blessings and salutations of Allah be upon our noble Messenger, Muhammad (Peace be upon him), and upon his family, his Companions and his true and sincere followers. Murtadha Muhammad Gusau is the Chief Imam of: Nagazi-Uvete Jumuah Mosque; and Late Alhaji Abdur-Rahman Okene Mosque, Okene, Kogi State, Nigeria. He can be reached via: gusauimam@gmail.com; or +2348038289761. This Friday sermon (Jumuah Khutbah) was prepared for delivery today Friday, 06 Shaaban, 1445 AH (16 February, 2024). Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Lets continue the discussion from where we stopped yesterday. The temptation is to ask: what has NDDC, the Presidential Amnesty and the Ministry of Niger Delta done for the benefit of the Niger Delta people since they were established by the Federal Government? The answer is simple: they are individually doing their own things operating at cross-purposes. If they were operating in collaboration, they would presently be tackling problems of basic infrastructure such as roads, electricity, healthcare, and education in the region. In his analysis of the situation in the Niger Delta region, Timi mentioned and discussed such issues as power infrastructure challenges caused by insufficient power generation capacity while the enormous natural gas that would have helped solve that problem is being wasted; then of course the poor transportation infrastructure; and the regions difficult terrain. So, what are the way out? Timi mentioned and dwelt on five strategic imperatives for SD. He started with policy and government reform which involves strengthening regulatory frameworks towards ensuring adherence to environmental standards and human rights protections; and enhancing transparency and accountability by implementing measures to combat corruption and improve governance. The second strategy has to do with protecting and restoring the environment as a move to mitigating pollution and ecosystem degradation. In the Niger Delta, he said this can be achieved through implementation of measures to control oil spills, waste management, and clean-up initiatives and reforestation. In addition, he spoke on the importance of sustainable resource management which can be achieved by encouraging responsible extraction of natural resources, renewable energy promotion, water conservation, and flood control plus land reclamation projects; this would be in addition to preservation of biodiversity by protecting the mangroves, forests, and aquatic ecosystems. The next approach, stated Timi, is community engagement and empowerment. This implies investing in education and healthcare; community empowerment and fostering inclusive participation in decision-making processes by engaging local communities in planning and implementing development projects by ensuring that their voices are heard. As an Ijaw man, Timi could not help mentioning cultural preservation; that is, recognition and preservation of indigenous knowledge and practices. Lastly, he talked about application of appropriate conflict resolution mechanisms. Another strategy discussed by him was economic diversification and infrastructure development aimed at promoting alternative livelihoods. This, he said can be done through support to entrepreneurship, agriculture, and tourism initiatives so as to reduce reliance on oil revenue. Then he focused on the need to build some critical infrastructure for sustainable development through road construction, building of bridges, power plants, and telecommunications networks to improve connectivity and stimulate economic growth. Diversification of the economy through promotion of non-oil sectors; job creation through investment in local industries; vocational training; entrepreneurship development; and poverty reduction through equitable distribution of resources, social safety nets, and wealth generation opportunities were also discussed by him. The last on the required strategies was government commitment and international support. These issues or strategies were not entirely new; but government needed to be reminded of the fact that if the crisis in the Niger Delta must end; and if Nigeria must earn revenue beyond the dwindling oil-based income, these factors must be taken into consideration. Timi went ahead to analyse certain case studies of projects and initiatives employed in the past to handle the situation. They include the NDDC; Ogoni Clean-up Project; Niger Delta Youth Empowerment Programme; Microfinance and Small Business Support Initiatives; Community-driven Development Projects; and the Mangrove Re-forestation Programme. I can confirm that some of these programmes died at birth. If they did not, as Timi explained, their success would have demonstrated the potential for positive change for sustainable development in the Niger Delta region. The truth is that they can be resuscitated and their potential maximised. Permit me to fast-forward at this point and reflect on an issue that is of serious importance to me here. That is, the Niger Delta Regional Development Master Plan which was intended from the beginning to be a pathway and harmonization framework for the various intervening agencies and tiers of government operating in the Niger Delta. The Master Plan was conceived as a miniature version of the legendary Marshall Plan sponsored by stakeholders to rebuild the war-ravaged European infrastructure. It was envisioned to serve as a comprehensive plan to improve the quality of life in the Niger Delta region, focusing on economic growth, infrastructure, human and community needs, institutional development, and environmental conservation. As stated by Timi, every intervention agency in the Niger Delta was expected to key into this plan in the execution of its vision. However, that has not happened; partly because every administration at the NDDC and other interventionist agencies have ignored the Master Plan. From the NDDC to the Presidential Amnesty and the Niger Delta Ministry, all of which are separately funded, there has always been a struggle for operational sovereignty instead of collaboration. The victim of that struggle is the Niger Delta and its people. The Master Plan had five visions wrapped in one pack. They included economic growth of the region; infrastructure development like power, water, education, health, transportation, and housing; human and community needs; institutional development and natural environment which suggested balancing human needs with environmental conservation for sustainable development. My suggestion is that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu revives that Master Plan if he really means to develop the Niger Delta, increase the quantity of oil produced and stop oil theft which has of recent become quite scandalous. In reviewing the Master Plan, every agency of government operating in the Niger Delta must come together. There must be a renewed commitment towards solving the problems these agencies were established to solve. He may decide to appoint someone with executive powers to coordinate the operations of these agencies on his behalf. The moment he does that, with the Master Plan as the operational manual, a lot will change in the Niger Delta. Such an individual must also be demanded to deploy all required machineries towards ending the mechanized oil theft in the region and monitor the avoidable spills. These things are not beyond the ability of serious-minded and committed Nigerians. They only require the political will of the president. Sam Akpe writes from Abuja. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Kaduna State Governor, Uba Sani has ordered thorough investigation into the alleged misconduct by an official of the Kaduna State Traffic Law Enforcement Authority (KASTLEA) which was captured in a video that has gone viral on social media pages. The said official was seen on video diverting money meant for government coffers using a Point of Sale (POS) machine. According to a statement by governor Sanis spokesperson Mohammed Shehu, the governor has ordered for thorough investigation into the matter. The Kaduna State Government reiterates its zero-tolerance for corrupt practices in its Ministries, Departments, Agencies and other state-owned institutions. The administration remains committed to protecting its citizens against fraudulent actions by a few bad eggs. Residents are hereby encouraged to report any infractions to the appropriate authorities, as any official found guilty after thorough investigations will face the full wrath of the law. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Seven people have been killed while about 20 others were abducted by terrorists in an evening attack on Nasarawa Godel in Birnin Magaji Local Government Area of Zamfara State on Thursday. Locals who spoke to PREMIUM TIMES said the terrorists came in Toyota Hilux vans, unlike the usual motorcycles they ride on. We have seven bodies in the last count. Several others are seriously wounded, Tukur Yusuf, a resident of the area, told PREMIUM TIMES Friday morning. Most of the abducted victims are women. The whole community has been thrown into confusion. The terrorists, believed to be from Gwaska Dankarami, stormed the community around 6 p.m. in three Hilux vans and went straight to the exit of the community. It was part of their deceptive plans, he said. When we saw them drive towards the exit towards Kasheshi Kura, our neighbouring village, most of us thought the terrorists were going to attack the other village. READ ALSO: He said they circled through the outside route and began shooting indiscriminately when most of the vigilante members in the area had gone out to help Kasheshi Kura. Another resident, who gave his name as Mubarak, said his childhood friend was killed during the attack. Its barbaric how criminals will just come into a town and start shooting people. They operated for three hours without anyone to protect us, he said. PREMIUM TIMES could not reach the police spokesperson in Zamfara State, Yazid Abubakar. He didnt respond to an SMS sent to him on the attack. The northern part of Zamfara State, which shares boundaries with Katsina and Sokoto states and Niger Republic, is facing renewed terrorists onslaught. In the last few days, the terrorists killed 13 people, including two police officers, and abducted about 40 people in separate attacks in Kaura Namoda and Zurmi areas state. Two soldiers and a mobile police officer were also killed when the terrorists attacked a military camp in Dauran, also in the area. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Strong reactions are trailing the death of Magaji Lawali, a staff of Yandoto Emirate Council, in the hands of members of the Zamfara State Government security outfit. The Community Protection Group (CPG) was formed recently by Governor Dauda Lawal to help the conventional security agencies in the fight against terrorism in the state. Mr Lawali was said to have been picked up by the members of the CPG for questioning over his alleged ties to terrorists, especially Ado Aleru, a notorious bandit. PREMIUM TIMES gathered from local sources in Yandoto, a community inTsafe Local Government Area of the state, that Mr Lawali was arrested last Saturday alongside others suspected of aiding banditry in the community. I cannot say he (Mr Lawali) was an informant or an intermediary for the terrorists but the boys who picked him for investigation must have their reasons, a community leader in Yandoto, who asked not to be named for security reasons, said. I know that there were words here and there about him helping families of those abducted to reach out to the bandits. This reporter gathered from a security source in Gusau, the state capital, that the deceased was a subject of interest to the intelligence circle in the state, especially on the alleged role he played in the turbaning of Mr Aleru as Sarkin Fulani in 2022, as exclusively reported by PREMIUM TIMES. We dont have enough evidence against him but his name was mentioned in several discussions with our local sources. We gathered that he was at the forefront of pressuring the emir to turbane Ado Aleru for peace to return, he said. How our father was killed In a viral video clip, Babani, a son of the deceased, detailed how they were invited to pick up his corpse in the hospital. He said he and his uncle were detained by the CPG and forced to confess on video that Mr Lawal had close ties with Mr Aleru. Our father went to a wedding ceremony on Saturday. On Sunday, we were sitting when we received a call to go and retrieve our fathers body. When we went to the hospital they called CPG and informed them that we were there to take the corpse and the CPG said we should be given the corpse. We kept calling his number but they didnt answer the call but we went to their office and asked them to give us the phone, he said. He said the CPG members detained him and his uncle and forced them to implicate Mr Lawali. Senator Marafa threatens action A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state, Kabiru Marafa, has vowed to take legal action over the killing of Mr Lawali, who was his associate. Mr Marafa is the younger brother of the Emir of Yandoto, Aliyu Marafa. Mr Lawali, the deceased, was a politician with vast local connections in the local government area. A former senator, Mr Marafa told journalists in Gusau on Tuesday that he would sue the suspected members of the CPG over the extrajudicial killing' after the release of an autopsy. The two (Mr Lawali and another suspect) of them were tortured, and while the other person survived the torture with bruises on both arms, Magaji died probably due to severe internal injuries on the left side of his body. He bled through the nose, eyes and mouth. We noticed stains of blood all over his face. Ill personally follow up this case to its logical conclusion, he said. He added that the divisional police officer in Tsafe told him the police were not aware of the arrest of Mr Lawali. Weve begun investigations When contacted by PREMIUM TIMES, the Commandant of the CPG, Rabiu Yandoto, said the incident was being investigated by the state government to know those behind it as he argued they might not be members of the CPG. Mr Yandoto, a retired army lieutenant-colonel, said no member of the CPG was given an order to arrest anyone or take law into their hands. The state government released guns and other equipment for us two days ago, so if anyone wants to say something about CPG, I think we should be fair, he said. Immediately after the passing out of the CPG members, they were asked to go for a one week break before they resume work. Nobody was given an authority to arrest anyone so, if its true someone (CPG) did it, then they did it on their own as nobody commanded anyone to take law into their hands The governor didnt instruct anyone (CPG members) to harass anyone in the name of security. CPG was not formed to witch-hunt any person or association; our core mandate is to fight terrorism in the state and these boys had all taken an oath to work by the rules, Mr Yandoto said. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print It appears that Chavismo has changed course. Following the progress made as a result of the Barbados agreements with the opposition, the recovery of some diplomatic dialogue achieved in Venezuela in recent months including the accreditations of new ambassadors previously downgraded and direct talks with the United States after years of hostilities , and the prospect of resolving the lingering institutional crisis in the South American country through elections seem to have been forgotten in light of the latest escalation of repression by Nicolas Maduros government. In the last three months there have been more arrests of opposition members; the candidacy of Maria Corina Machado, the main leader to challenge the leader of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela, has been blocked, and Rocio San Miguel, a prominent human rights defender dedicated to the monitoring of the national Armed Forces, has been imprisoned. On the domestic level, the Chavista government has reverted to strategies previously used to marginalize its adversaries. However, the fragile platform it had managed to rebuild on an international level with which it sought to regain legitimacy, after years of pressure through sanctions and the severing of diplomatic relations in reaction to the authoritarian shift experienced by the country, appears to be falling apart once again. The Chavistas have denounced a series of conspiracies aimed at assassinating Maduro and have used them as a justification to pull out of the Barbados agreements. These deals had previously been called into question by the Supreme Court of Justices steps to annul the primaries and prevent Machados participation. This has resulted in the easing of the sanctions that had been agreed directly with Washington, which could end in two months. All of this after achieving a marginal improvement in oil production, the opening of the sector to foreign companies, and the return of the businessman Alex Saab, a financial operator linked to the Venezuelan government who became a key player during times of heightened sanctions. This week, as tensions mounted in the ecosystem of human rights organizations over the detention of lawyer Rocio San Miguel and the breaches of due process in her case, whose defenders include forced disappearance, the government resolved to expel the representatives of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCR). A statement on the organizations X account expressing its deep concern over San Miguels detention has prompted the measure announced by Venezuelan minister of foreign affairs, Yvan Gil. The foreign affairs minister, Yvan Gil, in Moscow (Russia), in 2023. Alexander Zemlianichenko (AP) The reaction of rejection in the region has accelerated, with Argentina, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Paraguay and Uruguay already raising the first red flags. A diplomatic standoff with Venezuela could be on the cards again, despite the international communitys attempts to normalize relations with the oil-producing nation. The OHCHR office was installed in 2019 after years of intense pressure from civil society on the rights situation in Venezuela. Maduro authorized the arrival of the Geneva representatives, after years of denying the humanitarian crisis, which also had a correlation in political freedoms. As social indicators deteriorated, repression also escalated in the country. At that time, under Michelle Bachelet, the government was more willing to comply with the protection mechanisms to say that they were guarantors of human rights, even though they had previously denied the repeated violations that had been denounced, says Ezequiel Monsalve, of the NGO Defiende Venezuela (Defend Venezuela). In spite of their extremely limited work, civil society organizations believe that the departure of the U.N. High Commissioners representatives within 72 hours will have consequences for the protection of rights in the country, the access of journalists to the country that was opened in recent years, and the technical assistance provided by the authorities. If their presence here put us at risk, now it is even more so, warns Monsalve. The activist points out that the representatives had considerable difficulty visiting the prisons where some 200 political prisoners are currently being held in Venezuela. Nevertheless, continued reports of extrajudicial executions in poor neighborhoods perpetrated by the FAES (the special forces of the Bolivarian National Police) ultimately led to the dismantling of this police force although its operations were transferred to other agencies and to a decrease in the deadliness of these police raids. Some analysts warn that Venezuela is headed towards a process similar to that experienced in the Nicaragua of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo in recent years. In addition to the developments of the last few weeks, there have been signs such as the intervention of international organizations, as was the case with the Venezuelan Red Cross, and the promotion of legislative initiatives seeking to criminalize NGOs, which are currently being discussed by the National Assembly. Last year, Chavismo had seemed determined to hold a moderately competitive election where it could still control the outcome and retain power. Maduros toughening of his stance towards his adversaries is especially noticeable after the success of the opposition primary elections, in October 2023, and the overwhelming victory secured by Maria Corina Machado, the most anti-Chavista candidate of all, now elected leader, who is currently four times ahead of Nicolas Maduro in voting intentions, according to the polls. Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAIS USA Edition NEW YORK, Feb. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The frozen snack food market size is expected to grow by USD 14.44 billion from 2022 to 2027, according to Technavio. In addition, the growth momentum of the market will progress at a CAGR of 6.48% during the forecast period. Technavio provides a comprehensive report summary describing the market size and forecast along with research methodology. The FREE sample report is available in PDF format Technavio has announced its latest market research report titled Global Frozen Snack Food Market 2023-2027 Market Report Coverage Details Page number 169 Base year 2022 Historic period 2017-2021 Forecast period 2023-2027 Growth momentum & CAGR Accelerate at a CAGR of 6.48% Market growth 2023-2027 USD 14.44 billion Market structure Fragmented YoY growth 2022-2023(%) 5.44 Regional analysis Europe, North America, APAC, South America, and Middle East and Africa Performing market contribution Europe at 38% Key countries US, China, Japan, Germany, and UK The rise in the launch of frozen products is notably driving the frozen snack food market. However, factors such as frequent product recalls may impede market growth. The market is segmented by product (bakery products/meat substitutes/appetizers, meat/poultry/seafood, and vegetables and fruits), distribution channel (offline and online), and geography (Europe, North America, APAC, South America, and Middle East and Africa). The market share of the bakery products/meat substitutes/appetizer segment is significant during the forecast period. This segment mainly includes bakery products, meat substitutes, frozen sandwiches, frozen cheese snacks, and other frozen appetizers. In addition, there is an increasing demand for frozen snacks, especially frozen vegan pizzas from developing countries. Hence, such factors are fuelling the growth of this segment which in turn will drive the market growth during the forecast period. To know additional highlights and key points on various market segments and their impact in coming years, View the FREE PDF Sample Report. Europe is estimated to account for 38% of the growth during the forecast period. Factors such as rapid urbanization which has led to smaller living spaces and busier lifestyles one of the main factors which has significantly contributed to the growth of the region. In addition, the rising preference for frozen snacks in the region is due to the increasing perception of these products as convenient and potentially more nutritious options. Hence, such factors drive the growth in the region during the forecast period. Company Insights The industry is fragmented, and the companies are deploying organic and inorganic growth strategies to compete. The report analyzes the competitive landscape and offers information on several companies, including: Ajinomoto Co. Inc., Al Kabeer Group ME, BRF SA, Conagra Brands Inc., Del Monte Pacific Ltd., General Mills Inc., Home Market Foods Inc., JBS SA, Kidfresh, Maple Leaf Foods Inc., McCain Foods Ltd., Mother Dairy Fruit and Vegetable Pvt. Ltd., Nestle SA, NewForrest Fingerfood B.V., Nomad Foods Ltd., Rich Products Corp., The Kraft Heinz Co., Tyson Foods Inc., ELEVATION BRANDS LLC., and The Hain Celestial Group Inc. View a FREE PDF Sample Report to find additional highlights on the growth strategies adopted by companies and their product offerings. The Frozen Snacks Market is witnessing exponential growth, fueled by the rising popularity of convenient food options among consumers. With the advent of e-commerce stores and widespread availability in supermarkets and hypermarkets, accessibility has increased significantly. Home delivery services cater to busy lifestyles, while heightened consumers' awareness drives demand for healthier options and emphasizes hygiene practices. Innovations such as contactless delivery ensure safety, complemented by fully sanitized packaged food items. Continuous innovation in flavors and packaging captivates consumers, with key players vying for dominance. Various types of ingredients cater to diverse tastes, with preferences varying on a regional basis. Consumers' preference leans towards convenience products, underlining the trajectory towards convenience and accessibility. The industry caters to diverse consumer needs, particularly in regions with hectic lifestyles such as North America, Europe, and the Asian region. Italian cuisine offerings like deep-frozen pizza are gaining traction globally. With innovative techniques, manufacturers ensure quality while meeting demands for convenience. Working populations increasingly rely on frozen products for quick meals. However, concerns persist regarding calorie intake and fat intake, especially with snacks high in animal protein. Addressing these worries is crucial amidst rising awareness of high cholesterol levels and the risk of cardiac diseases. Fueling this growth is the emphasis on healthier options, with companies incorporating telemetry solutions to monitor high blood sugar levels. Effective maintenance scheduling ensures product integrity, maintaining consumer trust in this dynamic industry. Related Reports: The artificial sweetener market size is projected to increase by USD 2,017.87 million and the size is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 5.05% between 2022 and 2027. The poke foods market size is projected to increase by USD 849.19 million and the size is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 8.53% between 2022 and 2027. ToC: Executive Summary Landscape Sizing Historic Sizes Five Forces Analysis Segmentation by Product Segmentation by Distribution Channel Segmentation by Geography Customer Landscape Geographic Landscape Drivers, Challenges, & Trends Company Landscape Company Analysis Appendix About Technavio Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focus on emerging trends and provide actionable insights to help businesses identify opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their positions. With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing scenarios. Contacts Technavio Research Jesse Maida Media & Marketing Executive US: +1 844 364 1100 UK: +44 203 893 3200 Email: [email protected] Website: www.technavio.com/ SOURCE Technavio DUBLIN, Feb. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Asia-Pacific Ion Exchange Resins Market - A Regional and Country Level Analysis, 2023-2033" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The Asia-Pacific region is witnessing a significant surge in the demand for ion exchange resins, driven by a growing emphasis on water treatment solutions across various industries. This trend is underscored by the latest market report, which highlights the remarkable growth and potential of the Asia-Pacific Ion Exchange Resins Market. One key driver is the increasing demand for clean water and effective wastewater treatment. As many countries in Asia-Pacific grapple with water scarcity and pollution challenges, there is a growing emphasis on water purification technologies. Ion exchange resins play a vital role in water treatment processes, such as desalination, water softening, and heavy metal removal, making them essential for addressing water quality issues in both municipal and industrial settings. The expanding pharmaceutical and biotechnology sectors in Asia-Pacific also contribute to the rising demand for ion exchange resins. As these industries continue to grow, there is a parallel need for advanced purification technologies to ensure the production of high-quality pharmaceutical products. Ion exchange resins are utilized in chromatography and purification processes to separate and purify biomolecules, drugs, and other pharmaceutical compounds. The increasing focus on healthcare and the production of advanced therapies further fuels the adoption of ion exchange resins in the Asia-Pacific pharmaceutical market. The ongoing technological advancements and rapid industrialization in Asia-Pacific position ion exchange resins as key components in supporting the region's growth across various sectors. Analyst Perspective According to the Principal Analyst, 'As the Asia-Pacific region confronts escalating water scarcity challenges and heightening environmental awareness, the ion exchange resins market is poised for unprecedented growth. Industries recognize the pivotal role of these resins in achieving water purity and compliance with regulatory standards' Key Questions Answered in this Report What are the main factors driving the demand for ion exchange resin in Asia Pacific market? market? What are the major patents filed by the companies active in the Asia Pacific ion exchange resin market? ion exchange resin market? What are the anticipated effects in the mid-to-long-term resulting from the advancements made in the ion exchange resins market? What emerging technologies are being employed in the ion exchange resins sector? What are the strategies adopted by the key companies to gain a competitive edge in ion exchange resin market? What is the futuristic outlook for the ion exchange resin market in terms of growth potential? Which end users, application, and type is expected to lead the market over the forecast period (2023-2033)? What are the potential growth opportunities for the Asia Pacific ion exchange resins market? Some of the prominent names in this market are: DOW Bengbu Dongli Chemical Co., LTD. Hebi Higer Chemical Technology Co., Ltd Ion Exchange India Ltd. Jiangsu Linhai Resin Science and Technology Co. LTD. Jiangsu Suqing Water Treatment Engineering Group Co., Ltd. Lanxess India Private Limited. Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation NINGBO ZHENGGUANG RESIN CO.,LTD ZHENGGUANG RESIN CO.,LTD Organo Corporation Purolite Corporation Samyang Sunresin New Materials Co. Ltd Thermax Ltd. Zibo Dongda Hongfang Chemical Co., Ltd Key Topics Covered: 1 Markets: Industry Outlook 1.1 Trends: Current and Future Impact Assessment 1.1.1 Rising Demand for Wastewater Treatment due to Severe Contamination Issues in China. 1.1.2 Increasing Development of Power Generation Plants in the Emerging Economies 1.1.3 Stringent Environmental Regulations 1.2 Supply Chain Overview 1.2.1 Value chain Analysis 1.2.2 Market Map 1.2.3 Pricing Forecast 1.3 R&D Review 1.3.1 Patent Filing Trend by Country, by Company 1.4 Regulatory Landscape 1.5 Stakeholder Analysis 1.5.1 Use Case 1.5.2 End Users and buying criteria 1.6 Impact analysis for key global events- covid19, Russia/Ukraine or Middle East crisis 1.7 Comparative Analysis of Different Types of Ion Exchange Resins 1.8 Recent Development of Ion Exchange Resins 1.9 Market Dynamics Overview 1.9.1 Market Drivers 1.9.2 Market Restraints 1.9.3 Market Opportunities 2 Application 2.1 Application Segmentation 2.2 Application Summary 2.3 Asia Pacific Ion Exchange Resin Market (by End Users) 2.3.1 Power Generation 2.3.2 Chemical 2.3.3 Pharmaceutical 2.3.4 Water Treatment 2.3.5 Others 2.4 Asia Pacific Ion Exchange Resin Market (by Application) 2.4.1 Water 2.2.2 Non-Water 3 Product 3.1 Product Segmentation 3.2 Product Summary 3.3 Asia Pacific Ion Exchange Resin Market (By Type) 3.3.1 Cationic Resins 3.3.2 Anionic Resins 3.3.3 Others 4 Region 4.1 Country Summary Table: Asia Pacific Ion Exchange Resin Market, By Country, (Thousand Liters), 2022-2033 Table: Asia Pacific Ion Exchange Resin Market, By Country, ($ Million), 2022-2033 4.2 Drivers and Restraints 4.3 Asia Pacific 4.3.1 Application 4.3.2 Product 4.3.3 Asia Pacific (by Country) 4.2.4.1 China 4.2.4.2 Japan 4.2.4.3 India 4.2.4.4 South Korea 4.2.4.4 Australia 4.2.4.4 Indonesia 4.2.4.5 Rest of Asia Pacific 5 Markets - Competitive Landscape & Company Profiles 5.1 Competitive Landscape 5.2 Company Profile 5.2.1 Company Overview 5.2.1.1 Role Played in Asia Pacific Ion Exchange Resin Market 5.2.1.2 Product Portfolio 5.2.2 Business Strategies 5.2.3 Corporate Strategies 5.2.4 Analyst View 6 Growth Opportunities & Recommendations 7 Research Methodology For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/kp15z6 About ResearchAndMarkets.com ResearchAndMarkets.com is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends. Media Contact: Research and Markets Laura Wood, Senior Manager [email protected] For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470 For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900 U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907 Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716 Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/539438/Research_and_Markets_Logo.jpg SOURCE Research and Markets DUBLIN, Feb. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Asia-Pacific Military Robotic and Autonomous System (RAS) Market - Analysis and Forecast, 2023-2033" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. In 2022, the Asia-Pacific military RAS market was valued at $ 3.15 billion and is expected to reach $ 4.15 billion by the end of 2033, growing at a CAGR of 2.54% during the forecast period 2023-2033. Artificial intelligence (AI) has been a major factor in the expansion of the military RAS market in Asia, and its combination with military RAS has the potential to transform warfare in the future. It will assist in lowering the hazards that soldiers, air forces, and marines face, which could lead to the development of manned systems that are less costly in the future. The three main rivals in the development of military robotic and autonomous systems are the United States, Russia, and China. The military of major nations with substantial defense budgets is concentrating on plans that specify the short-, medium-, and long-term objectives of their armed forces. Market Introduction The military robotic and autonomous system (RAS) market in Asia-Pacific (APAC) is expanding at a rapid pace due to the region's growing emphasis on bolstering defense capabilities by using cutting-edge technologies. The requirement for enhanced operational efficiency, reconnaissance, and surveillance in complex and dynamic security situations is what is driving the market for Military RAS in the Asia-Pacific region. APAC countries are investing more in unmanned technologies, such as aerial drones, ground robots, and autonomous vehicles, as geopolitical tensions continue and military modernization efforts pick up speed. These systems are essential for improving overall operational performance, lowering human risk in dangerous situations, supplying real-time intelligence, and strengthening military capabilities. Continuous technical development and partnerships between defense agencies and business entities are anticipated to further propel the growth of the APAC Military RAS market in the foreseeable future. How can this report add value to an organization? Product/Innovation Strategy The product segment aids the reader in understanding the different types of military RAS and their potential in Asia-Pacific region. Additionally, the study provides the reader with a detailed understanding of the different military RAS based on application, platform, UGRS, UMS, operation mode, UGRS, UMS. Growth/Marketing Strategy: The Asia-Pacific military RAS market has witnessed major development by key players operating in the market, such as business expansion, contracts, mergers, partnerships, collaborations, and joint ventures. The favored strategy for the companies has been contracts, enabling them to strengthen their positions in the Asia-Pacific military RAS market. Competitive Strategy: The key players in the Asia-Pacific military RAS market analyzed and profiled in the study involve military RAS manufacturers. Moreover, a detailed competitive benchmarking of the players operating in the Asia-Pacific military RAS market has been done to help the reader understand how players stack against each other, presenting a clear market landscape. Additionally, comprehensive competitive strategies such as contracts, partnerships, agreements, acquisitions, and collaborations will aid the reader in understanding the untapped revenue pockets in the market. Analyst's Perspective on Asia-Pacific Military Robotic and Autonomous System (RAS) Market The Principal Analyst states, 'Evolving human safety requirements in the military domain is driving the uptake of robotics. Remotely piloted aircraft systems will continue to dominate this segment, while the firefighting and explosive handling use cases will continue to observe a rise in the deployment of robotic systems. While the current trend of robotics deployment as a means of enhanced safety and convenience for military users will continue, the overall uptake is expected to grow across the services. Naval modernization will drive the uptake of unmanned surface and sub-surface vessels across multiple applications collaborating with manned platforms. The evolution of AI capabilities will further drive the uptake of robotics in the military domain as their effectiveness is expected to improve as a consequence.' Key Topics Covered: 1 Markets 1.1 Industry Outlook 1.1.1 Military Robotic and Autonomous System (RAS) Market: An Overview 1.1.2 Current and Emerging Technological Trends 1.1.3 On-going and Upcoming Projects: Major Military Programs 1.1.4 Startup and Investment Landscape 1.1.5 Patent Analysis (2020-2022) 1.1.6 Supply Chain Analysis 1.2 Business Dynamics 1.2.1 Business Drivers 1.2.1.1 Growing Need for Enhancing Battlefield Situational Awareness 1.2.1.2 Growing Defense Budget 1.2.1.3 Rising Demand for Reducing Human Involvement in Battlefield Activities 1.2.1.4 Generating Mass and Scalable Effects through Human-Machine Teaming 1.2.2 Business Challenges 1.2.2.1 Evolving Cyberthreats to Military Robotic and Autonomous Systems 1.2.2.2 Challenges Related to Deployment of Complex Systems and Control Frameworks 1.2.2.3 Contractor Challenges and Supplier Issues in Final Delivery of Military Robotic and Autonomous Systems 1.2.3 Business Opportunities 1.2.3.1 Increasing Innovations in the Field of Artificial Intelligence (AI) 1.2.3.2 Growing Threat Perception due to Ukraine-Russia Conflict Driving Missile Defense Spending 1.3 Business Strategies 1.3.1 Partnerships, Collaborations, Agreements, and Contracts 1.3.2 Mergers and Acquisitions 2 Asia-Pacific 2.1 Military Robotic and Autonomous System (RAS) Market (by Region) 2.2 Asia-Pacific 2.2.1 Market 2.2.1.1 Business Drivers 2.2.1.2 Business Challenges 2.2.1.3 Key Military Robotic and Autonomous System (RAS) Manufacturers in Asia-Pacific 2.2.2 Application 2.2.2.1 Asia-Pacific Military Robotic and Autonomous System (RAS) Market (by Application) 2.2.3 Product 2.2.3.1 Asia-Pacific Military Robotic and Autonomous System (RAS) Market (by Platform) 2.2.4 Asia-Pacific (by Country) 2.2.4.1 China 2.2.4.2 India 2.2.4.3 Japan 2.2.4.4 South Korea 2.2.4.5 Rest-of-Asia-Pacific 3 Markets - Competitive Benchmarking & Company Profiles 3.1 Competitive Benchmarking 3.2 Key Market Players 3.2.1 Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) 3.2.1.1 Company Overview 3.2.1.1.1 Role of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) in the Military RAS Market 3.2.1.1.2 Product Portfolio 3.2.1.2 Analyst View 3.3 Key Unmanned Ground and Robotic System Market Players 3.3.1 Hanwha Defense 3.3.1.1 Company Overview 3.3.1.1.1 Role of Hanwha Defense in the Military Robotic and Autonomous Systems Market 3.3.1.1.2 Product Portfolio 3.3.1.2 Corporate Strategies 3.3.1.2.1 Partnerships, Collaborations, Agreements, Investments, and Contracts 3.3.1.3 Analyst View 4 Research Methodology For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/zi46c6 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 press@researchandmarkets.com For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470 For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900 U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907 Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716 Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/539438/Research_and_Markets_Logo.jpg SOURCE Research and Markets NEW YORK, Feb. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The global aviation fuel market size is estimated to grow by USD 93.88 billion from 2022 to 2027, according to Technavio. The market is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 8% during the forecast period. By geography, the global market is segmented into North America, APAC, Europe, South America, and the Middle East and Africa. The report provides actionable insights and estimates the contribution of all regions to the growth of the global aviation fuel market. APAC is estimated to contribute 39% to the growth of the global market during the forecast period. Another region showing the growth momentum for the market is North America. The North American aviation market is maturing because of the strong aviation base of the North American countries, especially the US. The need to invest in effective aircraft systems has grown as a result of the rapidly expanding demand for new aircraft across the globe. Therefore, substantial investments have been made in the production of commercial aircraft systems, which has fueled the growth of the aviation fuel market in North America. Insights on the market contribution of various segments, including country and region wise historic data (2017 to 2021) and forecast market size (2023 to 2027) - Download a Sample Report Technavio has announced its latest market research report titled Global Aviation Fuel Market 2023-2027 Report Coverage Details Page number 170 Base year 2022 Historic period 2017-2021 Forecast period 2023-2027 Growth momentum & CAGR Accelerate at a CAGR of 8% Growth 2023-2027 USD 93.88 billion Structure Fragmented YoY growth 2022-2023(%) 7.34 Regional analysis North America, APAC, Europe, South America, and Middle East and Africa Performing contribution APAC at 39% Key countries US, Canada, China, India, and Germany Technavio has segmented the market by end-user (commercial, military, and private), product (ATF and aviation biofuel), and geography (North America, APAC, Europe, South America, and Middle East and Africa). The commercial segment will be significant during the forecast period. Due to the post-pandemic recovery of the aviation industry, the commercial aircraft segment has been experiencing significant growth. This is primarily due to the increased number of air passengers from 2021 onwards. The increased number of air passengers puts significant pressure on airlines and airport authorities to effectively manage their fleets. This will increase the demand for commercial aircraft, which, in turn, will increase the demand for fuel, which will boost the growth to watch during the forecast period. Increasing focus on clean fuel will drive the growth. Uncertainty about fuel prices, the need for energy security, and rising emissions are driving interest in alternative fuels in the sector worldwide. Biofuels are gradually becoming widely commercialized worldwide due to research and development efforts. Besides, exhaust gas regulations are being strengthened in various countries. Because of these emission standards, the industry in various nations is increasing to use more renewable fuels like ethanol and biodiesel.Therefore, such developments will boost the growth we are focusing on during the forecast period. The launch of new aviation fuel technology is the primary trend. Fluctuations in oil and gas prices are a major challenge impeding the growth. Insights on Drivers, trends, & Challenges, historic period(2017 to 2021) and forecast period(2023 to 2027)- Request a sample report! The industry continues to evolve, driven by increasing air travel demands and the imperative to address environmental concerns. SAF technology emerges as a pivotal solution, particularly in regions like Asia-Pacific where air travel is burgeoning. With a focus on reducing carbon emissions, SAF offers a promising alternative to traditional turbine fuels. However, considerations such as flash point and freeze point are crucial for its widespread adoption. Despite challenges, commercial airliners are increasingly embracing SAF to align with sustainability goals. As environmental regulations tighten, the aviation industry is compelled to invest in greener fuel options, marking a pivotal shift toward a more sustainable future for air travel and the planet. The industry encompasses a diverse range of sectors, from military jets and business jets to small aircraft and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Jet engines power these aircraft, relying on fuels with optimal energy density like avgas. The United States Energy Information Administration monitors and analyzes trends in fuel consumption and production. Major players like The Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) play a significant role in supplying and distributing fuel globally. With increasing demand for air travel, efficient fuel management becomes crucial, driving advancements in fuel management technologies. Compliance with regulatory standards, including those for emissions, is paramount in the aviation industry, ensuring compliance and regulatory adherence. Related Reports: The commercial aircraft aviation fuel market size is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 7.65% between 2022 and 2027, and the size is forecast to increase by USD 49.5 billion. Furthermore, this report extensively covers segmentation by application (passenger aircraft and cargo aircraft), type (air turbine fuel (ATF), aviation biofuel, and others), and geography (North America, APAC, Europe, South America, and the Middle East and Africa). The increase in demand for air travel is the key factor driving the growth during the forecast period. The Defense Aircraft Aviation Fuel Market size is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 5.81% between 2022 and 2027 and the size is forecast to increase by USD 17,077.63 million. Furthermore, this report extensively covers segmentation by product (air turbine fuel (ATF), aviation biofuel, and others), application (surveillance aircraft, civil aircraft, and others), and geography (North America, APAC, Europe, South America, and the Middle East and Africa). The increasing use of military UAVs is driving growth during the forecast period. About US Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focuses on emerging trends and provides actionable insights to help businesses identify opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their positions. With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing scenarios. Contact Technavio Research Jesse Maida Media & Marketing Executive US: +1 844 364 1100 UK: +44 203 893 3200 Email: [email protected] Website: www.technavio.com SOURCE Technavio Leading Early Childhood Educator is Now Open and Enrolling at Its Newest Location in Atlanta, Georgia Region ATLANTA, Feb. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Big Blue Marble Academy , a leader in early childhood education, is excited to announce its newest child care center in Powder Springs, Georgia, is now open and enrolling children six weeks to 12 years for infant and toddler care, preschool, before and after school care, and summer camp programs. Additionally, this location participates in Georgia's Pre-K Program and accepts CAPS for those who qualify. Big Blue Marble Academy Powder Springs marks the 70th overall location of the leading early childhood educator and the 27th center in Georgia. With the mission to Nurture Little Minds and Grow Big Hearts, Big Blue Marble Academy Powder Springs offers the best in early childhood care, enriching curriculum, and play development. As experts in early childhood education, Big Blue Marble Academy understands the significance of providing a well-rounded curriculum that goes beyond the basics. The combination of STEAM-infused curriculum, service learning, and global perspectives inspires children and instills a love of learning from a young age. "This is a special opening as we celebrate our 70th Big Blue Marble Academy location," said Jeff Wahl, CEO of Big Blue Marble Academy. "Our ongoing expansion is not just about numbers; it's about extending our reach and providing access to high-quality childcare to as many families as possible. We are thrilled to continue growing in the Atlanta region and welcoming new families to our Big Blue Marble Academy community." Big Blue Marble Academy Powder Springs is located at 3375 Florence Rd, Powder Springs, GA 30127, and is open Monday through Friday from 6:30 am - 6:00 pm. For more information, visit bbmacademy.com . About Big Blue Marble Academy: Big Blue Marble Academy operates 70 schools serving more than 10,000 students, providing early care, preschool, after-school care, and summer camp for children ages 6 weeks to twelve years. BBMA nurtures little minds through a robust preschool curriculum that ensures children are cognitively, socially, and emotionally prepared for kindergarten and beyond. Its emphasis on global awareness and character development teaches children invaluable lessons, growing big hearts that are ready and eager to take on the world. SOURCE Big Blue Marble Academy Yulia Navalnaya at the Munich Security Conference on Friday after finding out about the death of her husband, Alexei Navalny. KAI PFAFFENBACH (REUTERS) Yulia Navalnaya, Alexei Navalnys wife, took the main stage of the Munich Security Conference on Friday, three hours after the Russian penitentiary services reported her husbands death in prison. Wearing a dark suit and with glassy eyes but strong in her bearing and voice, she spoke for a few minutes after receiving lengthy applause from an audience packed with political, military and diplomatic leaders. I want Putin and his people to know that they will be punished for what they have done to our country and to my family. They will be brought to justice. That day will come soon, she said. Navalnaya uttered those words on the same stage where, in 2007, Vladimir Putin delivered a historical and brutal speech in which he told the West that he rejected the existing global order. In it, he claimed de facto spheres of influence for the Russia that he had stabilized, vented his discontent and warned of what would gradually happen if the West did not relent. The West did not give in; it opened NATO to Ukraine and Georgia. Soon came the 2008 invasion of Georgia, then Ukraine in 2014, the operation in Syria in 2015 and the full-scale war on Kyiv in 2022. That external aggression has been accompanied by relentless internal repression, of which Navalnayas husband, Alexei Navalny, was one of the primary targets. These are the foreign and domestic components of Putins project to rebuild Russia as a great power based on the reflexive use of force. I am sure that, in my position, Alexei would have decided to get on this stage at this moment. I dont know whether we should believe the terrible news weve only received from official media. For many years, they have lied constantly. But if it is true, I want Putin and his team to know that they will be punished for what they have done to our country and to my family. They will be brought to justice. That day will come soon. I call on the entire international community to unite, to fight this evil, horrible regime, the dissidents wife said. The list of Putins victims is long, from journalist Anna Politkvoskaia to politician Boris Nemtsov. The repression, the strangulation of the fragile democracy that was trying to take root after the fall of the USSR, is there for all to see through brutal episodes. Western leaders came out to express their revulsion at the news. Just before Navalnaya, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris spoke on the same stage, criticizing Putins brutality. Many others said much the same. A divided international community But the international community Navalnaya addressed is divided. At the U.N., a large majority of countries condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine, but only fifty have imposed sanctions on Putins regime. It is a fragmented world in which the quality of democracy is eroding, and the ideas attractiveness seems to be waning; in this world, camps are taking shape that do not seem to be changed by the heroic dissidents death. Authoritarian regimes like China, Russia, Iran and North Korea are closing ranks. So are Westerners and Asian-Pacific democracies, but they are unable to forge closer ties with the rest of the world. The countries in the global South, a heterogeneous group that includes regimes of various types, refuse to align or to take a position, focusing instead on defending certain interests, such as obtaining fair compensation for the environmental damage caused by others. Not long after Putins famous speech in 2008, the West suffered a terrible financial crisis, followed by the consequences of popular discontent, the rise of populists and the dysfunction or outright paralysis of political systems, including the most representative of them all, the United States. In this context, the main authoritarian regimes were emboldened to take up the challenge, while others were more motivated to maintain equidistance. This is the audience that Yulia Navalnaya addressed, one in which the unifying force of the idea of democracy is waning. Russia embodies the most direct and brutal challenge to that idea. On the same stage, Putin warned that he wanted to change the world order and, years later, he signed joint declarations with Xi Jinping affirming that democracy and human rights are relative concepts that vary according to each nations history and culture. Will more countries align themselves with what Navalnayas speech in Munich in 2024 represents? Or will it be with the ideas espoused in Putins 2007 Munich speech? The answer will define the fate of the 21st century. Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAIS USA Edition The January edition of Sustainability Magazine includes interviews with leading experts and executives from Schneider Electric. LONDON, Feb. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- BizClik, the UK's fastest-growing publishing company, has published the latest edition of Sustainability Magazine . This publication is highly regarded within the ESG sector for its in-depth reports and interviews with prominent figures in the respective industry. Sustainability Magazine This month's edition features an extensive lead interview with Natalya Makarochkina of Schneider Electric, about how the technology is shaping the future of data centres. "This significantly outpaces the growth of data centre power demand at the moment." The edition also contains extensive interviews with key thought leaders from Data Castle, Taiga Cloud, and Make-A-Wish, together with Top 10 B Corps. You can visit Sustainability Magazine for daily news and analysis of the ever-changing ESG industry. About BizClik BizClik is one of the fastest-growing digital media companies in the UK, host to a growing portfolio of industry-leading global brands and communities. BizClik's expanding portfolio includes Technology, AI, FinTech, InsurTech, Supply Chain, Procurement, Energy, Mining, Manufacturing, Healthcare, Mobile, Data Centre, Cyber, and Sustainability. For more information, please visit https://www.bizclikmedia.com/ SOURCE BizClik THE HAGUE, Netherlands, Feb. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Gita Salden, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at BNG Bank, will leave the bank as per the end of May 2024 to join the board of De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB) as per 1 June. Salden will hold responsibility for monitoring Insurers and Pension Funds, and for monitoring Horizontal Positions and Integrity. The Supervisory Board of BNG Bank has initiated the recruitment process for a new CEO. Gita Salden Gita Salden (1968) has been the CEO of BNG Bank since 2018. Salden: 'BNG Bank is a bank with a heart. You can feel that. I'm proud of the results we achieved with our colleagues, with a more focused strategy aimed at social impact. Our greatest compliment is from our clients, who indicated in a recent stakeholder survey that they perceive us as a trustworthy and essential partner for the issues they are dealing with. I will continue to work for the public interest and to contribute to the role the financial sector plays in it, but from a different perspective as part of the Board at DNB.' Huub Arendse, chair for BNG Bank's Supervisory Board: 'On behalf of the Supervisory Board, I want to thank Gita for the way in which she has led the company in these past years. Under her leadership, the strategy gained focus, the organisation became increasingly professionalised, and BNG maintained its unique position in the public sector. We are proud that Gita will take on this great position on the Board at DNB, and wish Gita lots of success with her new job.' BNG Bank - Driven by social impact BNG Bank exclusively serves the public domain in the Netherlands. Our clients include municipalities, housing associations, healthcare and educational institutions and energy companies. The aim is for clients to regard the bank as a natural partner for funding the societal issues they face. BNG Bank is the fourth-largest bank in the Netherlands in terms of balance sheet total. Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2341120/BNG_Bank.jpg SOURCE BNG Bank The Antonio Ricardo Cannady Act (ARCA) initiative will pressure Congress and the United States Board of Education to mandate emotional intelligence courses. LOS ANGELES, Feb. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- "Children are not only taking the lives of each other, but also the lives of adults, and for the traumatized children who do make it into adulthood, it's only a matter of time before they self-destruct and it's not always because of a mental illness, but for their lack of not being able to control their emotions due to the nonexistence of emotional intelligence never intentionally taught in the home or public school." These are the words of Antonio Ricardo Cannady, the organizer behind the Antonio Ricardo Cannady Act (ARCA) initiative, who says that it's not only necessary that Congress and the United States Board of Education intervene and vote ARCA into federal law and that it's their duty to do so. Antonio Ricardo Cannady .The Antonio Ricardo Cannady Act, or ARCA, is an initiative that will seek to impose a federal law that mandates every U.S. school district to require students to complete emotional intelligence course(s) to ascend from grade, middle, and high school levels. Students must complete one emotional intelligence course at the 5th-grade level, at the 8th-grade level, and at the 12th-grade level with an average grade score of at least a B-average to graduate and proceed to the next level. Mandating ARCA into federal law will give young moldable minds a fighting societal chance because they will not only know but also understand what it means to stop, breathe, and think, something most children are deprived of being taught. After all, single parents are too busy earning a living to raise their children, and the educational system isn't required to do so. This imperative lack of education is the primary reason children react violently in triggering situations instead of the healthier way of doing things, which is to respond. Here is an example of ARCA at work in the classroom. Imagine a ten-year-old boy in the fifth grade taking part in a semester-long exercise that teaches him how to deal with life's rejections, especially in romance, in a healthy manner. Then, he repeats this exercise in the eighth grade and finally again in the twelfth grade. He now has the tools to manage his emotions ingrained within his neurological pathways. This is how you protect women. This is how you reduce crime in certain areas. This is how you better society. It's all about emotional intelligence; it's vital. "I understand what it's like to lack emotional intelligence, and my chaotic and checkered past reflects that, but now it's critical that we shift the outcomes of countless young minds for the better, and maybe some adults, too," Cannady says. As social media continues to addict and raise our children, society is witnessing the horrid consequences of what it means to lack emotional intelligence. As single parenthood continues to be glamorized, Congress and the U.S. Board of Education must adapt the U.S. education system to match what's transpiring in society or watch as America's youth continues to decline while under their watchful eye. Learn more about ARCA. Visit www.arcact.info to view the PDF and the petition. The Antonio Ricardo Cannady Act (ARCA) is a community activist organization that envisions a better tomorrow for the youth and society through the collaboration amongst the community, congress, and the U.S. Board of Education through implementing mandated laws to elevate emotional intelligence amongst the youth. Media Inquiries: Contact: Antonio Ricardo Cannady Email: [email protected] Website: www.arcact.info SOURCE Antonio Ricardo Cannady LOS ANGELES, Feb. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- COSRX, the beloved beauty brand known for its derm-favourite skincare solutions, is delighted to announce the return of the COSRX The 6 Peptide Skin Booster Serum at Ulta. Following an extraordinary launch that saw COSRX's The 6 Peptide Skin Booster Serum completely sell out at Ulta within a mere 9 days of its launch, the highly coveted skincare product is now back in stock to meet overwhelming demand. A Derm-Favorite Now Back in Stock! Effective Yet Accessible Skincare The exceptional popularity of The 6 Peptide Skin Booster Serum can be attributed to its unique blend of six peptides which works wonders in addressing various skin concerns, making it the go-to solution for anyone seeking perfect skin. While peptides are traditionally associated with luxury skincare, this serum has been carefully designed and formulated for ultimate comfort and ease of use, all at an affordable price point for everyone and anyone to enjoy. Housed in a jumbo-sized pump bottle, the peptide serum is ideal for generous, daily use. Its lightweight, water-based formula ensures quick absorption, leaving behind intense hydration all without that greasy feeling for quick effortless layering with other skincare products. Simply add it to any skincare routine, either by layering it several times or incorporating it as the first step to enhance results. The Ultimate Skin Booster COSRX recommends incorporating The 6 Peptide Skin Booster Serum as the first step of one's skincare routine. Though it can be used as a standalone item, combining it with other skincare products will ensure synergistic action that boosts efficacy and ensures greater results from any skincare routine. It pairs perfectly with various COSRX products, such as The Retinol 0.1 Cream/The Retinol 0.5 Oil for wrinkles and firmness, The Niacinamide 15 Serum for pores and excess sebum, The Hyaluronic Acid 3 Serum for hydration and plumping the skin, and The Vitamin C 23 Serum/The Vitamin C 13 Serum for brightening and hyperpigmentation. "We are delighted to bring back The 6 Peptide Skin Booster Serum to Ulta after its remarkable success," said a spokesperson for COSRX. "The demand for this product speaks to its efficacy and the growing interest in skincare solutions that deliver visible results. We are proud to offer a product that combines dermatologist-recommended ingredients with accessibility, allowing more individuals to achieve their skincare goals." For those who may have missed out on the initial launch, now is the perfect opportunity to discover why COSRX's The 6 Peptide Skin Booster Serum has become a must-have item. COSRX remains committed to innovation and customer satisfaction, and the restock of The 6 Peptide Skin Booster Serum at Ulta reflects the brand's dedication to meeting the evolving needs of skincare enthusiasts. For more information or to make a purchase, visit Ulta's online store. About COSRX: With its powerful yet affordable skincare solutions, COSRX has quickly become one of America's favorite skincare brands. Using a minimal number of highly effective natural extracts in concentrated doses, COSRX products deliver visible results by treating skin with only the essentials it needs and nothing it doesn't. Find its best-selling skincare solutions at retailers nationwide, including Amazon, Ulta, Revolve, and Dermstore. SOURCE COSRX First-of-its-kind partnership gives more Black farmers access to technical assistance and education CHICAGO, Feb. 13, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- In 1920, approximately 14 percent of farmers in the United States were Black. Today, according to the latest estimates from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, only 1.3 percent of America's almost 3.4 million farmers are Black*. National Black Growers Council members. Image courtesy of NBGC. Recognizing this disparity in farming equity, Eggo is entering into a partnership with the National Black Growers Council (NBGC), a farmer-run organization dedicated to improving the efficiency, productivity and sustainability of black row crop farmers. Eggo is proud to support the NBGC, which advocates for the best interests of Black farmers locally, statewide, and nationally. Fostering technical expertise in Black farmers Through this partnership, Eggo is providing grants that aim to nurture the development of member famers while pushing forward NBGC's mission. This includes: Mini grants for technical assistance, such as supporting farmers who host educational Model Field Days designed to educate visiting farmers on the latest farming and agricultural techniques; Financial support for Black growers who would like to attend Field Days or the NBGC Annual Meeting; Participation in the NBGC Advisory Board; Sponsorship of the NBGC Annual Meeting; and Funding for a Model Field Day designed to educate Eggo and Kellanova employees on the importance of Black growers and how best to fulfill their needs as a partner. "Eggo is partnering with the National Black Growers Council because we know that being a farmer isn't a jobit's a way of life, and it's where all our food begins. As Eggo is committed to making mornings easier for all families, we are also committed to supporting the wellbeing of the people who contribute to the food value chain generally, including farming communities," says Joe Beauprez, Senior Director of Marketing for Frozen Foods at Kellanova. "Through programs like this one, Eggo is playing an important part in the Kellanova Better Days Promise mission of creating better days for people and the planet through responsible and sustainable business practices." Eggo and NBGC: A pioneering partnership NBGC's partnership with Eggo is the first of its kind between the organization and a brand, and it has already made a significant direct impact on its members. In December 2023, Eggo sponsored the registration fees for 150 Black farmers and growers attending the NBGC Annual Meeting; attendance was up 50 percent compared to the previous year. "We're incredibly excited by the potential impact that this partnership with Eggo will have on our organization and members, as well as on the role Black farmers play in the greater industry," says Elzadia Washington, program director, National Black Growers Council. "Our organization represents generations of Black farmers. We need engaged partners like Eggo who are willing to not only support existing members, but also to listen and work with us to help ensure that the rich legacy and contribution of Black farmers continues for generations to come." #BetterDays for the communities we serve The 2023 NBGC Annual Meeting also saw Debra Quade, supplier diversity manager at Kellanova, participate in a panel discussion aimed at educating farmers on collaboration with corporate buyers. Quade, an expert in diverse supply chains, discussed the opportunities available to Black farms to be part of corporate supply chains. "Kellanova works to conduct business with diverse suppliers who represent our consumers and the communities where we live and work" says Quade. "At the same time, we want to ensure our customers, employees and supplier partners benefit from our partnerships. When our brands, like Eggo, engage with groups like the NBGC, we bring a higher volume of innovation and unique ideas to the table." The partnership between Eggo and NBGC is one of the ways Kellanova and its iconic brands are bringing the Kellanova Better Days Promise to life. Kellanova is committed to advancing sustainable and equitable access to food, creating better days for 4 billion people by the end of 2030. *Source: USDA 2017 Census of Agriculture Black Producers report About Kellanova Kellanova (NYSE: K) is a leader in global snacking, international cereal and noodles, and North America frozen foods, with a legacy stretching back more than 100 years. Powered by differentiated brands including Pringles, Cheez-It, Pop-Tarts, Kellogg's Rice Krispies Treats, RXBAR, Eggo, MorningStar Farms, Special K, Coco Pops, and more, Kellanova's vision is to become the world's best-performing snacks-led powerhouse, unleashing the full potential of our differentiated brands and our passionate people. Kellanova is guided by our purpose to create better days and a place at the table for everyone through our trusted food brands. We are advancing sustainable and equitable access to food by addressing the intersection of hunger, sustainability, wellbeing, and equity, diversity & inclusion, with the ambition of creating Better Days for 4 billion people by the end of 2030 (from a 2015 baseline). Visit www.Kellanova.com for more information. About National Black Growers Council The National Black Growers Council (NBGC) is a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization. Our mission is to improve the efficiency, productivity & sustainability of Black Row Crop Farmers. NBGC promotes working smarter and being aggressive adapters of technology and programs that will help Black farmers be more efficient. We are multigenerational producers who advocate for the best interests of black farmers locally, statewide and nationally. NBGC represents the unique needs of Black farmers. We have partnerships with each other, majority farmers, corporations, and others because we all contribute to our global food supply. SOURCE Kellanova BOSTON, Feb. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Embracing a synergy of cutting-edge technologies like drones, AI, IoT, machine learning, and electronic vehicles, our surroundings are evolving. With advancements in 4G and 5G networks and government regulations mitigating environmental electromagnetic radiation, this research heralds a transformative era for electronic items. Boston: "According to the latest BCC Research study, the demand for EMI/RFI: Materials and Technologies is estimated to increase from $7.4 billion in 2023 to reach $9.2 billion by 2028, at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.6% from 2023 through 2028." This comprehensive report delves into the dynamic landscape of the EMI/RFI materials and technologies market, meticulously segmenting it based on shielding methods and regions. Offering insights from 2022 as the baseline, the analysis spans the forecast period from 2023 to 2028. With a focus on conductive coatings, metal cabinets, conductive plastics, laminates/tapes/foils, and miscellaneous shielding methods across North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific, the report meticulously identifies and assesses technologies impacting plastics and other materials. In addition, it elucidates trends in electronics, medical, automotive, and consumer product industries, exploring components, devices, key market players, regulatory standards, and environmental considerations. This comprehensive study not only dissects the current state of the industry but also anticipates future technological advancements, providing a holistic view of the market dynamics, challenges, opportunities, and emerging trends. As the proliferation of 5G technology expands, addressing electromagnetic interference (EMI) issues has taken on unprecedented significance. Key players in the global EMI RFI shielding technologies market strategically emphasized new product launches as a major developmental initiative. With electronic warfare threats escalating, encompassing tactics like deception, radar jamming, and electromagnetic pulse (EMP) attacks, the imperative for robust EMI and RFI shielding solutions has never been more pressing. Metal cabinets and conductive coatings emerge as pivotal components in EMI shields, with the latter gaining prominence due to its superior features, notably excellent heat conductivity. In this evolving landscape, the relentless pursuit of enhanced EMI and RFI safety stands as a critical response to the dynamic challenges posed by the advancement of 5G technology and the escalating threats in electronic warfare scenarios. Key Drivers of EMI/RFI: Materials and Technologies Advancement of Telecom Networks Boosts EMI/RFI Shielding Demand: With the telecom industry transitioning to 5G and LTE networks, there is a heightened need for EMI/RFI shielding solutions. These ensure the reliability and performance of wireless devices and infrastructure by preventing interference from electromagnetic and radio frequency sources, including cell towers, satellites, and routers. Tailored EMI/RFI Shielding Solutions for Defense and Aerospace: The defense and aerospace sectors necessitate top-tier EMI/RFI shielding solutions to safeguard sensitive electronic equipment from both external and internal interference. These shielding measures enhance the security, accuracy, and functionality of military and aerospace applications, such as radars, communication systems, navigation systems, and weapons systems. Surging Demand for EMI/RFI Protection in Medical Devices: With the increasing reliance on electronic devices in the medical industry, there is a growing demand for EMI/RFI shielding to ensure the uninterrupted performance and safety of medical devices and equipment. Shielding helps prevent interference from other electronic devices, such as smartphones, laptops, and MRI machines, which could impact critical medical equipment like pacemakers, defibrillators, and ventilators. EMI/RFI Shielding for the Electric Vehicle Era: The automotive industry is witnessing a surge in the adoption of electric vehicles and a corresponding increase in electronic content per vehicle. EMI/RFI shielding plays a crucial role in minimizing noise and interference from electronic systems and components, including batteries, motors, sensors, and controllers. This shielding also guards against external sources like power lines and radio stations, ensuring the smooth operation and efficiency of electric vehicles. Request a Sample Copy of the EMI/RFI: Materials and Technologies report. Report Synopsis Report Metrics Details Base year considered 2022 Forecast Period considered 2023-2028 Base year market size $7.2 billion Market Size Forecast $9.2 billion Growth Rate CAGR of 4.6% for the forecast period of 2023-2028 Segment Covered Method, Region Regions covered North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific Key Market Drivers Advancement of Telecom Networks Will Increase EMI/RFI Shielding Demand EMI/RFI Shielding Solutions for Defense and Aerospace Applications Rising Demand for EMI/RFI Protection for Medical Devices and Equipment Rising Adoption of Electric Vehicles and Increasing Percentage of Electronic Content per Vehicle EMI/RFI: Materials and Technologies Segmentation: Shielding Methods in EMI/RFI Materials and Technologies In examining the landscape of EMI/RFI materials and technologies, a crucial criterion involves the categorization based on the shielding method deployed to block or attenuate interference signals. The market is segmented into five distinct shielding methods, each with its unique set of advantages and disadvantages: conductive coatings, metal cabinets, conductive plastics, laminates/tapes/foils, and miscellaneous solutions. The efficacy of these methods varies depending on factors such as application-specific requirements, cost considerations, performance expectations, and environmental impact. This comprehensive approach enables stakeholders to make informed decisions tailored to their specific needs. Regional Dynamics in the EMI/RFI Materials and Technologies Market Another pivotal criterion for analyzing the EMI/RFI materials and technologies market is the geographical distribution of demand and supply. The report delves into three major regionsNorth America, Europe, and Asia-Pacificeach exhibiting distinct market drivers, challenges, opportunities, and trends. The dynamics in these regions are influenced by factors such as the level of industrialization, urbanization trends, innovation, regulatory frameworks, and evolving consumer preferences. Understanding these regional nuances is paramount for businesses aiming to navigate the intricacies of the EMI/RFI materials and technologies market and capitalize on emerging opportunities. This report on EMI/RFI: Materials and Technologies provides comprehensive insights and analysis, addressing the following key questions: 1. What is the projected market size and growth rate of the EMI RFI: Materials and Technologies Market? Market for EMI RFI: Materials and Technologies is valued at $7.4 billion in 2023 and will reach $9.2 billion by 2028, growing at a CAGR of 4.6% from 2023 to 2028. 2. What are the key factors driving the growth of the global EMI RFI: Materials and Technologies Market? Telecom Network Development Will fuel the EMI Shielding Market Rise in Adaptation of Electric Vehicles and Increasing Percentage of Electronic Content Per Vehicle 3. By method, which segment will dominate the market by the end of 2028? Conductive coatings will dominate the market in 2028. Conductive coatings and paints have become a popular choice due to their advantages over competing methods, particularly in high-volume applications where cost is a primary concern. 4. Which region has the highest market share in the EMI RFI: Materials and Technologies Market? Asia-Pacific has the highest share of the market in terms of region. Some of the Key Market Players Are: 3M CTS CORP. THE DOW CHEMICAL CO. DUPONT DE NEMOURS INC. HENKEL AG & CO. KGAA LEADER TECH INC. PARKER HANNIFIN CORP. PPG INDUSTRIES INC. RTP CO. SCHAFFNER HOLDING AG AD-VANCE MAGNETICS A.K. STAMPING CO. INC. ALCO TECHNOLOGIES AMUNEAL MANUFACTURING CORP. CHANG GU CHUAN TECHNOLOGY CO. LTD. CHANGZHOU PIONEER ELECTRONIC CO. LTD. CHINA EMI SHIELDING MATERIALS CO. LTD. COILCRAFT INC. CYBERSHIELD INC. ELASTOMERIC SPECIALTIES INC. SWIFT TEXTILE METALIZING LLC TDK RF SOLUTIONS INC. TECH-ETCH INC. THRUST INDUSTRIES VTI VACUUM TECHNOLOGIES THE ZIPPERTUBING CO. Directly Purchase a copy of the report with BCC Research. For further information or to make a purchase, please get in touch with [email protected]. About BCC Research BCC Research provides objective, unbiased measurement and assessment of market opportunities with detailed market research reports. Our experienced industry analysts' goal is to help you make informed business decisions, free of noise and hype. Contact Us Corporate HQ: BCC Research LLC, 49 Walnut Park, Building 2, Wellesley, MA 02481, USA Email: [email protected], Phone: +1 781-489-7301 For media inquiries, email [email protected] or visit our media page for access to our market research library. Data and analysis extracted from this press release must be accompanied by a statement identifying BCC Research LLC as the source and publisher. Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2183242/BCC_Research_Logo.jpg SOURCE BCC Research LLC NOT FOR PUBLICATION, DISTRIBUTION OR RELEASE, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN OR INTO AUSTRALIA, HONGKONG, JAPAN, CANADA, NEW ZEALAND, SOUTH AFRICA, SOUTH KOREA, SWITZERLAND, SINGAPORE THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, OR ANY OTHER JURISDICTION IN WHICH THE DISTRIBUTION OR RELEASE WOULD BE UNLAWFUL OR INVOLVE REQUIREMENTS FOR MEASURES OTHER THAN WHAT FOLLOWS BY SWEDISH LAW. LUND, Sweden, Feb. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The Board of Directors of Enzymatica AB (publ) ("Enzymatica" or "the Company") decided on February 16, 2024, to carry out a rights issue of SEK 27.4 million with preferential rights for existing shareholders. The Board of Directors has now entered into agreements of subscription commitments and underwriting agreements with the Company's three largest shareholders, the Chairman of the Board, two members of the Board of Directors, and the Company's CEO, for a total amount of SEK 27.4 million, corresponding to 100 percent of the rights issue. In connection with the rights Issue, Enzymatica has received subscription commitments from the Company's three largest shareholders, the Chairman of the Board, two members of the Board of Directors and the Company's CEO amounting to SEK 14.0 million, corresponding to approximately 51.1 percent of the rights issue. In addition, the Company has entered into underwriting agreements amounting to SEK 13.4 million, corresponding to approximately 48.9 percent of the rights issue, with the Company's three largest shareholders through fully or partly owned companies, as well as the Chairman of the Board and the Company's CEO. The compensation for underwriting agreements amounts to 10.5 percent of the underwriting amount. No compensation is paid for submitted subscription commitments. In total, the rights issue is secured up to SEK 27.4 million through subscription commitments and underwriting agreements, corresponding to 100 percent of the rights Issue. Advisers Hagberg & Aneborn Fondkommission AB is Enzymatica's financial adviser in connection with the rights issue. Setterwalls Advokatbyra is the Company's legal adviser in connection with the rights issue. For more information, please contact: Claus Egstrand, Chief Executive Officer, Enzymatica AB Phone: +44 7780 22 8385 | Email: [email protected] Stefan Olsson, Communication Manager, Enzymatica AB Phone: +46 708 55 11 85 | Email: [email protected] The following files are available for download: Growing consumer preference for convenient, longer-lasting food options and rising adoption of advanced freezing and packaging technologies are anticipated to drive the growth of the global frozen fish market during the forecast period. The Asia-Pacific region is expected to observe significant growth during the forecast period. PORTLAND, Ore., Feb. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Allied Market Research has recently published a report, titled, "Frozen Fish Market Size, Share, Competitive Landscape and Trend Analysis Report by Type (Salmon, Tuna, Cod, Tilapia, Shrimp, Others(Snapper, Pollock, Haddock, Sole)), by Distribution Channel (Supermarkets/ Hypermarkets, Convenience Stores, Specialty Stores, Online Retail): Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2023-2032". According to the report, the global frozen fish market generated $26.9 billion in 2022, and is anticipated to generate $54.5 billion by 2032, witnessing a CAGR of 7.4% from 2023 to 2032. Request Sample Report: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/request-sample/A06855 Prime Determinants of Growth: The increasing consumer preference for convenient, longer-lasting food options and rising adoption of advanced freezing and packaging technologies are boosting the growth of the frozen fish market. However, the rising threat of overfishing and regulatory changes are restraining the growth of the frozen fish market. On the other hand, advancements in sustainable sourcing practices and increasing consumer awareness regarding environmental issues are expected to unlock rewarding growth opportunities in the global frozen fish market during the forecast period. Report Coverage & Details: Report Coverage Details Forecast Period 20222032 Base Year 2022 Market Size in 2022 $26.9 billion Market Size in 2032 $54.5 billion CAGR 7.4 % No. of Pages in Report 190 Segments covered Type, Distribution Channel, and Region Drivers Rising consumer preference for convenient, longer-lasting food options drives demand for frozen fish products Technological advancements in freezing and packaging technologies to enhance product quality and extend shelf life Opportunities Growing awareness of environmental issues may lead to increased demand for sustainably sourced seafood products Development of improved freezing and packaging technologies Restraints Overfishing and regulatory changes may disrupt the supply of fish, leading to potential shortages and higher prices COVID-19 Scenario: The COVID-19 pandemic significantly impacted the global frozen fish market. The pandemic significantly disrupted global supply chains, impacting the availability of frozen fish products. Increased consumer demand for convenient, longer-lasting food options drove a surge in sales of frozen fish products during lockdowns. Restrictions on transportation and closures of processing facilities led to fluctuations in supply, affecting market growth. Concerns about food safety boosted consumer trust in frozen fish products, driving increased demand. The closure or reduced capacity of restaurants led to a shift in consumer behavior towards cooking at home, increasing the demand for frozen fish. E-commerce and direct-to-consumer sales of frozen fish products experienced a significant rise as consumers turned to online shopping for groceries. Export restrictions and logistical challenges hindered the international trade of frozen fish products, impacting both importers and exporters. Despite challenges, technological advancements in freezing and packaging technologies continued to drive innovation and market growth. Buy This Report (190 Pages PDF with Insights, Charts, Tables, and Figures) @ https://bit.ly/3T4nvde Type: Salmon Sub-Segment Anticipated to Grow with Leading CAGR by 2032 The salmon sub-segment dominated the market in 2022, holding a major share of 32.0%. This dominance is expected to continue till 2032, growing with a CAGR of 8.2%. This growth is mainly due to the increasing consumer preference for versatile and nutritious seafood options, driving up demand for salmon products. Additionally, the rising demand for convenient meal solutions and stringent quality control measures are driving consumer trust in frozen salmon products, thus contributing to its dominance in the market. Distribution Channel: Supermarkets/hypermarkets Sub-Segment Anticipated to Hold Leading Market Share by 2032 The supermarkets/hypermarkets sub-segment led the market in 2022, holding a substantial share of 55.2%. This sub-segment is expected to hold a leading market share of 56.5% by 2032. The growth of the sub-segment is mainly because of the increasing consumer preference for convenient shopping experiences and rising demand for a diverse range of frozen fish products, driving sales growth in these retail outlets. Additionally, their ability to offer competitive pricing, strict quality control measures, and promotional strategies further boosted their dominance in the market. By Region: Asia-Pacific Estimated to Dominate the Market in Forecast Period The Asia-Pacific region dominated the global frozen fish market Share in 2022, holding a major share of 47.2%. The dominance of this region is expected to continue by rising with a CAGR of 7.7% in the forecast period. This is mainly due to rising disposable incomes in the region, increasing consumer awareness of the health benefits of seafood consumption, and the boosting demand for convenient and ready-to-cook food options. Additionally, improvements in cold chain infrastructure and logistics have driven the region's ability to maintain the quality and safety of frozen fish products, further driving its dominance in the market. Enquire Before Buying: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/purchase-enquiry/A06855 Leading Players in the Frozen Fish Market: Chicken of the Sea International Brig-Star LLC Marine Harvest Group Zoneco Group High Liner Foods Tassal Group Limited SalMar ASA Nippon Suisan Kaisha aka Nissui aka Nissui Dongwon Enterprise Company Pescanova SA The report provides a detailed analysis of the key players of the global frozen fish market. These players have adopted different strategies, such as new product launches, collaborations, expansion, joint ventures, agreements, and others to increase their market share and maintain their dominance 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. Trending Reports in Food and Beverages Industry Frozen Food Market: Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast 20212030 Processed Fish Market: Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast 20212030 Fast Food Market: Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast 20202031 Fish Sauce Market: Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast 20202030 About Us Allied Market Research (AMR) is a full-service market research and business-consulting wing of Allied Analytics LLP based in Portland, Oregon. Allied Market Research provides global enterprises as well as medium and small businesses with unmatched quality of "Market Research Reports" and "Business Intelligence Solutions." AMR has a targeted view to provide business insights and consulting to assist its clients to make strategic business decisions and achieve sustainable growth in their respective market domain. We are in professional corporate relations with various companies, and this helps us in digging out market data that helps us generate accurate research data tables and confirms utmost accuracy in our market forecasting. Allied Market Research CEO Pawan Kumar is instrumental in inspiring and encouraging everyone associated with the company to maintain high quality of data and help clients in every way possible to achieve success. Each and every data presented in the reports published by us is extracted through primary interviews with top officials from leading companies of domain concerned. Our secondary data procurement methodology includes deep online and offline research and discussion with knowledgeable professionals and analysts in the industry. Contact: David Correa 5933 NE Win Sivers Drive #205, Portland, OR 97220 United States USA/Canada (Toll Free): +1-800-792-5285, +1-503-894-6022 UK: +44-845-528-1300 Hong Kong: +852-301-84916 India (Pune): +91-20-66346060 Fax: +1(855)550-5975 [email protected] Web: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/reports-store/food-and-beverages Follow Us on Blog: https://www.dailyreportsworld.com/ Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/636519/Allied_Market_Research_Logo.jpg SOURCE Allied Market Research DUBLIN, Feb. 15, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Precision Fermentation Global Market Report 2024" has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The precision fermentation market size is forecast to grow from $2.48 billion in 2023 to $3.62 billion in 2024 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 45.7%. Historical growth can be largely attributed to several factors, including a rising demand for sustainable and alternative protein sources, a focus on environmental and resource efficiency, a notable shift towards plant-based and cell-based products, increasing demand for customization and precision in biomanufacturing processes, and advancements in nutrition and functionality within fermented products. These elements collectively fueled the growth observed in the past period within the realm of precision fermentation. The market size is expected to grow further to $17.43 billion in 2028 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 48.1%. Anticipated growth in the upcoming period is associated with several factors, including expansion into industries beyond food, the increasing economic feasibility and scalability of precision fermentation, a growing enthusiasm for fermented functional ingredients, global initiatives aimed at addressing food security challenges, and the integration of precision fermentation into circular economy practices. The rising prevalence of digestive issues and obesity is significantly fueling the expansion of the precision fermentation market. Fermentation ingredients, enriched with lactic acid bacteria, serve as crucial agents in revitalizing and supporting the digestive system. Additionally, these ingredients aid in lowering blood pressure and enhancing cholesterol levels, addressing digestive problems and contributing to the market's growth. A study conducted by the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health forecasts that by 2030, approximately half of the US adult population will battle obesity, with a quarter facing severe obesity, attributing this trend to mounting digestive concerns. Hence, the escalating prevalence of digestive problems and obesity is poised to propel the precision fermentation market. The surging demand for organic cosmetic goods is set to drive substantial growth in the precision fermentation market. Organic cosmetic products, emphasizing natural ingredients, sustainable practices, and the absence of synthetic substances, witness a pivotal role played by precision fermentation. This method offers an eco-friendly and innovative approach to fabricating cosmetic ingredients by leveraging microorganisms to generate specific molecules like enzymes and proteins. The Soil Association reported a 15% surge in certified organic and natural beauty product sales, amounting to nearly $175 million (138 million) in 2021. This burgeoning demand for organic cosmetic products underscores the driving force behind the precision fermentation market. Progressions in the food industry emerge as a defining trend in the realm of precision fermentation. Major players in the food and nutrition sector are dedicated to pioneering advancements in their product lines to fortify their market presence. Leading entities in the precision fermentation market are prioritizing the introduction of pioneering solutions crafted through precision fermentation technology to gain a competitive edge. TurtleTree, a Singapore-based biotech firm, unveiled LF+, the pioneering sustainable bovine lactoferrin produced using precision fermentation in August 2022. Lactoferrin, a key component found in human milk, offers numerous health benefits, from bolstering immunity to promoting gut health. Precision fermentation, leveraging genetically modified microorganisms to generate specific compounds, offers increased efficiency and volume compared to conventional methods. This innovative approach positions TurtleTree at the forefront of the competitive functional protein domain, marking a significant milestone in incorporating precision fermentation into food production. The main ingredients of precision fermentation are whey and casein protein, egg white, collagen protein, heme protein, and other ingredients. Whey protein and casein are both derived from milk. Casein digests slowly, making it ideal before bedtime, whereas whey digests quickly, making it ideal for workouts and muscle growth. The microbes are yeast, fungi, algae, and bacteria. The applications include meat and seafood, dairy alternatives, and egg alternatives. The end users include food and beverage, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, and other end users. The precision fermentation market includes revenues earned by entities by whey and casein protein. The market value includes the value of related goods sold by the service provider or included within the service offering. Only goods and services traded between entities or sold to end consumers are included. The report covers market characteristics, size and growth, segmentation, regional and country breakdowns, competitive landscape, market shares, trends and strategies for this market. It traces the market's historic and forecast market growth by geography. Report Scope Markets Covered: By Ingredient: Whey and Casein Protein; Egg White; Collagen Protein; Heme Protein; Other Ingredients By Microbe: Yeast; Fungi; Algae; Bacteria By Application: Meat and Seafood; Dairy Alternatives; Egg Alternatives By End User: Food and Beverage; Pharmaceutical; Cosmetic; Other End Users Countries: Australia; Brazil; China; France; Germany; India; Indonesia; Japan; Russia; South Korea; UK; USA; Canada; Italy; Spain Regions: Asia-Pacific; Western Europe; Eastern Europe; North America; South America; Middle East; Africa Time Series: Five years historic and ten years forecast Data: Ratios of market size and growth to related markets, GDP proportions, expenditure per capita Data Segmentation: Country and regional historic and forecast data, market share of competitors, market segments Companies Profiled Perfect Day Inc. Impossible Foods Inc. Geltor Inc. the Every Company Motif FoodWorks Inc. MycoTechnology Inc. Mycorena AB Eden Brew Change Foods Inc. Formo Remilk Ltd. Triton Algae Innovations Inc. Melt&Marble AB FUMI Ingredients BV Fybraworks Foods Inc. Liberation Labs New Culture Lygos Inc. Biomilq Atlast Food Co. Meati Foods Bond Pet Foods Inc. TurtleTree Labs Rebellious Foods Solar Foods Air Protein Miraculex Kinoko-Tech Biome Makers Inc. For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/4tr3lb About ResearchAndMarkets.com ResearchAndMarkets.com is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends. Media Contact: Research and Markets Laura Wood, Senior Manager [email protected] For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470 For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900 U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907 Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716 Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/539438/Research_and_Markets_Logo.jpg SOURCE Research and Markets New York State Among Worst in Country for Medicaid Nursing Home Funding Alliance for Senior Care: It's Time to Stand Up for Older Adults They Deserve Better ROCHESTER, N.Y., Feb. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Governor Hochul is proposing massive cuts to Medicaid funding for nursing homes in the 2024-2025 budget that includes $500 million in cuts to nursing homes, freezing the Medicaid operating rate, and an additional $400 million in unidentified cuts to nursing home reimbursement rates. The potential consequences are severe. There is currently a state funding gap of $810 million that directly impacts 97,000 nursing home residents statewide. Of those 97,000 New Yorkers, more than 70% rely on Medicaid to pay for their care. Five nursing homes in the Upstate NY area, representing 33% of nursing home residents in Monroe County, are working together as the Alliance for Senior Care in Rochester, urgently appealing to the Governor to address this crisis. According to a recent report, more than 1,000 nursing homes have closed since 2015 across the nation. Workforce levels are at their lowest since 1994, and 55% of nursing home providers say they are operating at a loss. This has an immediate and tragic impact to the community. Nursing homes in New York State serve a critical role within the healthcare system. New York has the fourth largest population of people over the age of 60 in the US. Nursing homes are crushed under the stresses of depleted resources, rising costs, and unprecedented staffing shortages. Despite a 40% increase in labor costs and a workforce shortage of 65,000 people, nursing homes have not seen a Medicaid reimbursement increase in 15 years. The current reimbursement rate covers only 50-60% of actual costs, creating a substantial financial burden on the industry. Nursing homes are destined for disaster under the current funding model. According to the federal Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission, the shortfall between New York's nursing home Medicaid rate and costs is among the worst in the nation. Medicaid rates for nursing home care in New York State are based on 2007 costs. Additionally, since 2019, a reduction of 5,600 nursing home beds has posed challenges for those seeking quality care close to home, an important consideration for families and loved ones. The Alliance says failing to meet annual costs, NY's Medicaid program adversely affects access to quality care. Inadequate Medicaid rates make it impossible for nursing homes to recruit and retain staff, resulting in a closure of beds and waiting lists that are forcing older adults to seek care far away from their loved ones. The Alliance is urging NYS residents to STAND UP to the Governor telling her that NY's older adults deserve better, and to send a digital letter to the Governor. Contact: Erin Foster, 585-474-0258 [email protected] SOURCE Alliance for Senior Care I fear being judged by others. I sometimes think my achievements are just dumb luck. I worry that important people will discover Im not as capable as they think. Im sure youre already finding this silly everyone feels that way at times. But imposter syndrome is expressed in many of our commonly used phrases. Even Meryl Streep has said she feels like a fraud sometimes. This phenomenon was first described in 1978 by American clinical psychologists Pauline R. Clance and Suzanne A. Imes. They defined it as a strong feeling like a fraud in terms of perceived competence, particularly among highly educated individuals. Statistics indicate that nearly 50% of the people who have received some form of public recognition experience this feeling. In 2000, Joan Harvey and her colleagues also associated it with certain personality traits, such as high self-demand, self-criticism, perfectionism and low self-compassion. People who feel like frauds often blame themselves for mistakes and struggle to accept praise. They believe their accomplishments are due to luck, and that people or overlooking their flaws. They feel like imposters because theyre playing a role that doesnt align with who they truly are. They fear failure and downplay their abilities, sometimes without even realizing it. To compensate, they either over-prepare or procrastinate. This syndrome is more common in competitive environments and has been studied in the healthcare field by two Spanish doctors, Montserrat Gonzalez Estecha and Angeles Martinez Hernanz. Its important to distinguish between occasionally feeling like a fraud, and a prolonged situation that becomes potentially disabling. One clear sign is when no achievement feels satisfactory, leading to chronic dissatisfaction. Another indicator is when high demands extend beyond the professional realm and start affecting social and family life. Excessive stress can also pose risks to physical health. Some studies indicate that women are more affected by imposter syndrome. Gender roles can intensify this issue when women assume leadership positions traditionally associated with men. The historical roots of imposter syndrome and its significant impact on women can be explored in Mary Beards Women & Power: a Manifesto (Liveright, 2017). Her book highlights how women have been historically marginalized, a challenge that persists today. Imposter syndrome typically emerges during adolescence and intensifies during certain stages of adult life, such as motherhood, where women must exert double the effort to prove their professional worth. Books like Imposter syndrome: Why do women still not believe in themselves? by Elisabeth Cadoche and Anne de Montarlot, and I Wont Do It Right by Emma Vallespinos, offer some recommendations to combat this syndrome. To overcome imposter syndrome, start by identifying and understanding its triggers. Then, be kinder to yourself and recognize the errors in your self-evaluations by comparing them with the opinions of others. As Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie suggests, we must challenge the language we use, as it reflects our own biases. Additionally, focus on self-discovery and recognizing your own strengths. Let go of false guilt and cultivate compassion for your mistakes. Avoid overworking, accept compliments, and find joy in what you do. Lastly, raise awareness of gender biases at both an individual and collective level. In the business and organizational field, one way to combat this syndrome is through participatory leadership. This involves having open, creative and transformational attitudes. By committing to healthy leadership styles, trust and cooperation can be fostered, while discouraging competitive judgments and prejudices. This encourages even the most reticent and sensitive individuals to assume more responsibility. Another option is to promote mentoring. As Tomas Chamorro suggests in Why Do So Many Incompetent Men Become Leaders?, the people who evaluate individual performance often favor qualities like confidence, charisma and self-assurance, rather than competence and humility. Shifting focus to these latter characteristics would help reduce coercive environments. Professor Helena Legido recommends implementing gender equality policies, promoting diversity in decision-making, supporting work-life balance, and ensuring equal compensation. For future leadership development, its good to identify role models and mentors who help women support one another and take risks, if thats what they want. However, its equally important to acknowledge and respect the choice of blending in with the crowd without feeling like an imposter. Patricia Fernandez Martin is a clinical psychologist at the Ramon y Cajal Hospital in Madrid. Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAIS USA Edition KANAZAWA, Japan, Feb. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- In a study recently published in Nature Genetics, researchers from Nano Life Science Institute (WPI-NanoLSI), Kanazawa University explore chromatin accessibility, i.e., endogenous access pathways to the genomic DNA, and its use as a tool for gene editing. Our DNA is protected from unwanted external modifications by forming structures called nucleosomes that consist of threads of DNA wound around chunks of special proteins known as histones. This unique coiled shape prevents the access of undesirable molecules to a cell's DNA. However, for vital genetic functionssuch as DNA repairthe right set of proteins require access to these DNA fragments. This phenomenon known as 'chromatin accessibility' involves a privileged set of protein molecules, many of which are still unknown. Now, researchers from Nano Life Science Institute (WPI-NanoLSI), Kanazawa University, led by Yusuke Miyanari, have used advanced genetic screening methods to unravel chromatin accessibility and its pathways. For the investigation the team used a combination of two technologiesCRISPR screening and ATAC-see. While the former is a method to suppress the function of a desired set of genes, the latter is a means to identify which ones are essential for chromatin accessibility. Thus, using this method all genes playing a crucial role in chromatin accessibility could be pinned down. With the help of these assays, novel pathways and individual players involved in chromatin accessibility were uncoveredsome playing a positive role and some negative. Of these, one particular protein, TFDP1, showed a negative effect on chromatin accessibility. When it was suppressed, a significant increase in chromatin accessibility was observed, accompanied by nucleosome reduction. A deeper dive into the mechanism of TFDP1 revealed that it functions by regulating the genes responsible for production of certain histone proteins. The team then focused their study towards exploring biotechnological applications of their findings. After suppressing TFDP1, two different approaches were tried. The first approach involved gene editing using the CRISPR/Cas9 tool. This revealed that deletion of TFDP1 made the gene editing process easier. Now, most chromatin accessibility occurs in nucleosome-depleted regions or NDRs. However, by suppressing TFDP1 chromatin accessibility occurred not only in NDRs but across other regions as well. Secondly, the depletion of TFDP1 aided the process of converting regular cells into stem cells, a massive step forward in cellular transformation. This study identified new chromatin accessibility pathways and channels for exploring its potential even further. "Our study shows the significant potential to manipulate chromatin accessibility as a novel strategy to enhance DNA-templated biological applications, including genome editing and cellular reprogramming," conclude the researchers. Background CRISPR screening: CRISPR screening is a large-scale tool used to find genes involved in a particular function. In this method, genes from the entire genome can be deleted one at a time to investigate which ones play a role in any target pathway. The mechanisms and roles of the genes narrowed down are then understood further using biological assays. In this study the genes identified by CRISPR screening were subjected to ATAC-see to confirm their involvement with chromatin accessibility. ATAC-see: Transposase-Accessible Chromatin with visualization (ATAC-see) is a technique whereby accessible DNA locations can be visualized and quantified. ATAC-see involves using an enzyme to insert fluorescent proteins into the DNA at accessible sites. This technique works within nucleosome-depleted regions but also beyond these regions. Hence, when such sites were visualized after running CRISPR screening, the researchers could understand which genes were affecting chromatin accessibility directly. Reference Satoko Ishii, Taishi Kakizuka, Sung-Joon Park, Ayako Tagawa, Chiaki Sanbo, Hideyuki Tanabe, Yasuyuki Ohkawa, Mahito Nakanishi, Kenta Nakai, Yusuke Miyanari. Genome-wide ATAC-see screening identifies TFDP1 as a modulator of global chromatin accessibility. Nature Genetics, 2024. Published Feb 15, 2024 DOI 10.1038/s41588-024-01658-1 https://www.nature.com/articles/s41588-024-01658-1 Related figures https://nanolsi.kanazawa-u.ac.jp/wp/wp-content/uploads/Fig.-1-1.png Figure 1. a. Screening results of the players involved in chromatin accessibility analyzed by ATAC-see. b. Successful reprogramming to stem cells (indicated by presence of TRA-1-60) after depletion of TFDP1 (right). 2024 Ishii, et al., Nature Genetics Contact Hiroe Yoneda Senior Specialist in Project Planning and Outreach NanoLSI Administration OfficeNano Life Science Institute (WPI-NanoLSI) Kanazawa University Kakuma-machi, Kanazawa 920-1192, Japan Email: [email protected] Tel: +81 (76) 234-4555 About Nano Life Science Institute (WPI-NanoLSI), Kanazawa University Understanding nanoscale mechanisms of life phenomena by exploring "uncharted nano-realms." Cells are the basic units of almost all life forms. We are developing nanoprobe technologies that allow direct imaging, analysis, and manipulation of the behavior and dynamics of important macromolecules in living organisms, such as proteins and nucleic acids, at the surface and interior of cells. We aim at acquiring a fundamental understanding of the various life phenomena at the nanoscale. https://nanolsi.kanazawa-u.ac.jp/en/ About the World Premier International Research Center Initiative (WPI) The WPI program was launched in 2007 by Japan's Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) to foster globally visible research centers boasting the highest standards and outstanding research environments. Numbering more than a dozen and operating at institutions throughout the country, these centers are given a high degree of autonomy, allowing them to engage in innovative modes of management and research. The program is administered by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS). See the latest research news from the centers at the WPI News Portal: https://www.eurekalert.org/newsportal/WPI Main WPI program site: www.jsps.go.jp/english/e-toplevel About Kanazawa University As the leading comprehensive university on the Sea of Japan coast, Kanazawa University has contributed greatly to higher education and academic research in Japan since it was founded in 1949. The University has three colleges and 17 schools offering courses in subjects that include medicine, computer engineering, and humanities. The University is located on the coast of the Sea of Japan in Kanazawa a city rich in history and culture. The city of Kanazawa has a highly respected intellectual profile since the time of the fiefdom (1598-1867). Kanazawa University is divided into two main campuses: Kakuma and Takaramachi for its approximately 10,200 students including 600 from overseas. http://www.kanazawa-u.ac.jp/e/ SOURCE Kanazawa University RADNOR, Pa., Feb. 15, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The law firm of Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP (www.ktmc.com) informs investors that a securities class action lawsuit has been filed in the United States District Court for the Central District of California against Xponential Fitness, Inc. ("Xponential") (NYSE: XPOF). The action charges Xponential with violations of the federal securities laws, including omissions and fraudulent misrepresentations relating to the company's business, operations, and prospects. As a result of Xponential' s materially misleading statements and omissions to the public, Xponential' s investors have suffered significant losses. CLICK HERE TO SUBMIT YOUR XPONENTIAL LOSSES. YOU CAN ALSO CLICK ON THE FOLLOWING LINK OR COPY AND PASTE IN YOUR BROWSER: https://www.ktmc.com/new-cases/xponential-fitness-inc?utm_source=PR&utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=xpof&mktm=r LEAD PLAINTIFF DEADLINE: APRIL 9, 2024 CLASS PERIOD: JULY 26, 2021 THROUGH DECEMBER 7, 2023 CONTACT AN ATTORNEY TO DISCUSS YOUR RIGHTS: Jonathan Naji, Esq. at (484) 270-1453 or via email at [email protected] Kessler Topaz is one of the world's foremost advocates in protecting the public against corporate fraud and other wrongdoing. Our securities fraud litigators are regularly recognized as leaders in the field as well as the firm itself which is continuously awarded for the successful results we've achieved. We are proud to have recovered billions of dollars for our clients and the classes of shareholders we represent. In addition to representing investors in cases where the fraud has been revealed, Kessler Topaz also represents whistleblowers - persons who expose wrongdoing to those in positions of authority or to the public- in cases brought under federal and state qui tam statutes, and through financial fraud whistleblower programs, such as those run by the SEC, CFTC and IRS. If you have information about fraud against government programs (such as Medicare), or violations of federal securities, commodities, tax or anti-foreign bribery laws, contact Kessler Topaz at (866) 369-7779 or at [email protected] or go to https://www.ktmc-whistleblower.com. DEFENDANTS' ALLEGED MISCONDUCT In July 2021, Defendants took Xponential public through an initial public offering, selling over ten million Xponential shares at $12 per share. Thereafter and throughout the Class Period, Defendants failed to disclose that the company's franchisees from whom Xponential derived substantially all of its revenue were largely failing, with the majority of the company's store brands losing money, dozens of studios operating at a loss (forcing some to close permanently), and more than 100 franchisees listed for sale at a fraction of their initial cost. Despite the foregoing, Xponential misled new franchisees to sign up with the company with false and misleading promises of robust financial returns, misleading claims regarding past studio performance, and deceptive assurances of corporate support. The truth began to be revealed on June 26, 2023, when market analyst Fuzzy Panda Research published a short-sellers report alleging, among other things, that Xponential is "hiding the fact that many of their brands and franchisees are struggling." The report further alleges that, despite the claims of Xponential's CEO that the company has "never closed a store," Fuzzy Panda found over 30 permanently closed stores. Moreover, the report claims that franchise documents of Xponential suggest that 8 out of every 10 Xponential brands are losing money monthly, with over half of Xponential studios never making a positive financial return. Following this news, Xponential's stock price fell $9.39, or 37.4%, to close at $15.72 per share on June 27, 2023. Then, on December 7, 2023, Bloomberg Businessweek published an article on Xponential that corroborated many of the allegations reported in the Fuzzy Panda report. Specifically, the article reported that Bloomberg Businessweek had interviewed dozens of former business partners, employees, and franchisees of Xponential who revealed that Xponential misled many franchisees into a "financial nightmare," and that Xponential's management "has a track record of combative management, deploying growth-at-all-costs tactics and unleashing aggressive reprisals against anyone who gets in his way." As a result, these unscrupulous tactics caused "many of the company's franchisees . . . [to] have either declared bankruptcy or los[e] their retirement savings." Following this news, the price of Xponential common stock fell more than 26% over two trading days. Finally, on December 11, 2023, Xponential disclosed that it was contacted by the SEC requesting that Xponential provide it "with certain documents." Addressing the SEC's request, Xponential stated that the company "does not otherwise intend to provide additional information regarding this matter unless and until it believes there is a material development that warrants public disclosure." Following this news, Xponential's stock price fell more than 14% during intraday trading on December 11, 2023. WHAT CAN I DO? Xponential investors may, no later than April 9, 2024, seek to be appointed as a lead plaintiff representative of the class through Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP or other counsel, or may choose to do nothing and remain an absent class member. Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP encourages Xponential investors who have suffered significant losses to contact the firm directly to acquire more information. The class action complaint against Xponential, City of Taylor General Employees Retirement System v. Xponential Fitness, Inc., et al., Case No. 24-cv-00285, is filed in the United States District Court for the Central District of California. CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR THE CASE WHO CAN BE A LEAD PLAINTIFF? A lead plaintiff is a representative party who acts on behalf of all class members in directing the litigation. The lead plaintiff is usually the investor or small group of investors who have the largest financial interest and who are also adequate and typical of the proposed class of investors. The lead plaintiff selects counsel to represent the lead plaintiff and the class and these attorneys, if approved by the court, are lead or class counsel. Your ability to share in any recovery is not affected by the decision of whether or not to serve as a lead plaintiff. ABOUT KESSLER TOPAZ MELTZER & CHECK, LLP Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP prosecutes class actions in state and federal courts throughout the country and around the world. The firm has developed a global reputation for excellence and has recovered billions of dollars for victims of fraud and other corporate misconduct. All of our work is driven by a common goal: to protect investors, consumers, employees and others from fraud, abuse, misconduct and negligence by businesses and fiduciaries. The complaint in this action was not filed by Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP. For more information about Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP please visit www.ktmc.com. CONTACT: Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP (484) 270-1453 280 King of Prussia Road Radnor, PA 19087 [email protected] SOURCE Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP Leaders from 36 communities representing youth from more than 650 U.S. schools called on Members of Congress to pass a bill prioritizing youth impacted by foster care, mental health issues and other systemic barriers WASHINGTON, Feb. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Friends of the Children leaders from 36 communities representing youth from more than 650 schools descended upon Capitol Hill last week to deliver one message: put children first. Leaders from Friends of the Children chapters across the country called on members of Congress to prioritize investment in paid, professional mentoring for children who have immense potential and face immeasurable obstacles. "Every child deserves the chance to reach their inherent potential," said Terri Sorensen, national CEO of Friends of the Children. "For more than 30 years, Friends of the Children has demonstrated that with support from a paid, professional mentor, children and families are able to reach for their dreams and overcome great obstacles. We are proud that Congressional members on both sides of the aisle are open to working with our network to realize our vision that every child who needs a Friend has one." Friends of the Children is a nonprofit network that pairs children who face some of the hardest things in life like foster care, housing insecurity, and family mental health challenges with long-term paid, professional mentors. These professional mentors, called Friends, walk alongside youth and their families from kindergarten through high school12+ years, no matter what. Studies of the program show that 92% of youth go on to enroll in post-secondary education, serve our county, or enter the workforce; 83% of youth earn a high school diploma or GED; 93% of youth remain free from the juvenile justice system; and 98% of youth wait to parent until after their teen years. Leaders from the organization's 36 locations met with more than 70 Congressional offices in both the House and Senate over two days, including in-person meetings with: Rep. Kelly Armstrong (R-ND), Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT), Rep. Danny Davis (D-IL), Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-SD), Rep. Derek Kilmer (D-WA), Rep. Burgess Owens (R-UT), Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA), Sen. Jim Risch (R-ID), Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT), and Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR). In addition, Friends of the Children marked its 30th anniversary with a reception at the AT&T Forum near Capitol Hill, awarding Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) with the Champion for Children Award for his unwavering commitment to the well-being of our most vulnerable children. Rep. Blumenauer is set to introduce legislation in the House of Representatives that would formally recognize paid professional mentoring programs, like Friends of the Children. A graduate of the Friends of the Children program, Freddi McCullers, was on hand to share how a Friend impacted her life and to celebrate the organization's anniversary, alongside executive directors and board chairs from each of the chapters. During their visits, Friends of the Children leaders asked Members of Congress to support increased long-term professional mentoring for youth including: The demonstrated return on investment ( $7 to $1 ) of the Friends of the Children professional mentoring model. to ) of the Friends of the Children professional mentoring model. The impact of the Friends of the Children model localized to support the specific needs of youth and families in rural, Indigenous, suburban and urban communities. The introduction of legislation that would create a five-year pilot program supporting professional mentoring programs for youth. Friends of the Children has shown tremendous growth from 5 to 36 locations in the 10 years as more communities recognize the model as a strategy for both foster care prevention and mental health promotion for young people for face great obstacles. Their work has recently been featured on CNN and in The New York Times and Vanity Fair . Learn more at friendsofthechildren.org . Media kit with photos and videos from the event is accessible here (photo credit: Ting Shen). About Friends of the Children Friends of the Children is a national nonprofit with the mission of impacting generational change by empowering youth who face the greatest obstacles through relationships with professional mentors 12+ years, no matter what. Our successful model is now in 36 locations around the country in rural, Indigenous, suburban, and urban communities. Our work has been highlighted in The New York Times , Stanford Social Innovation Review and CBS News . Visit friendsofthechildren.org to learn more and follow us on Twitter , Facebook , Instagram and LinkedIn . Contact: Ariane Le Chevallier, [email protected] SOURCE Friends of the Children MIDDLETOWN, Conn., Feb. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Mazzotta Rentals, Inc., a leading supplier of construction equipment rentals, sales, service, and parts, has appointed Chris Pera as Chief Operating Officer (COO). Mr. Pera most recently oversaw the growth and transformation of ABLE Equipment Rentals, Inc. (ABLE). Positioning the organization for expansion by implementing systems and metrics that provided transparency into the company's operational performance. ABLE was acquired by United Rentals in the first quarter of 2023. Before joining ABLE, Chris founded the HiReach Group, LLC., a start-up Aerial Lift Rental Company acquired by Sunbelt Rentals just 2 years after formation. Chris held numerous key leadership roles in the equipment industry including President of a privately held Construction Equipment Sales & Rental Company in Upstate New York, Regional Manager for Sunbelt Rentals, and President of Modern Equipment Sales & Rental Company. "Chris is a key addition to our Team and will help us strategically position the Company as we expand our footprint throughout the Northeast and into the Mid-Atlantic region" said Joseph Mazzotta, CEO. About Mazzotta Equipment Rental Mazzotta Rentals, Inc. was founded in 1963 as a construction company. Today, it is one of the largest, and fastest growing, independent equipment rental companies in New England. With locations in Connecticut and Massachusetts, MRI provides equipment rentals, sales, and service to a wide variety of commercial, industrial, retail, residential, and municipal customers throughout New England and New York. The Company's success is directly attributed to its' dedicated employees and their commitment to providing high quality dependable service to the Mazzotta customer base. With one of the largest dedicated rental fleets in the region, Mazzotta offers a full line of: aerial work platforms telehandlers/forklifts industrial fork trucks rotating telehandlers stock pickers air compressors generators and light towers utility vehicles Media Contact: Thomas Caldaroni, [email protected] SOURCE Mazzotta Rentals, Inc. WASHINGTON, Feb. 15, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- During a ceremony at NASA Headquarters in Washington Thursday, Uruguay became the 36th country to sign the Artemis Accords. NASA Administrator Bill Nelson participated in the signing ceremony for the agency, and Omar Paganini, foreign minister, signed the Artemis Accords on behalf of Uruguay. The accords establish a practical set of principles to guide space exploration cooperation among nations. From left to right, Uruguayan Ambassador to the United States Andres Augusto Duran Hareau, U.S. Department of State Deputy Assistant Secretary Kevin Sullivan, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, and Uruguayan Foreign Minister Omar Paganini pose for a photo during an Artemis Accords signing ceremony, Thursday, Feb. 15, 2024, at the Mary W. Jackson NASA Headquarters building in Washington. Uruguay is the 36th country to sign the Artemis Accords, which establish a practical set of principles to guide space exploration cooperation among nations participating in NASA's Artemis program. Credits: NASA/Keegan Barber Also participating in the event were: NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy Karen Feldstein , associate administrator for NASA's Office of International and Interagency Relations , associate administrator for NASA's Office of International and Interagency Relations Kevin Sullivan , U.S. Department of State deputy assistant secretary , U.S. Department of State deputy assistant secretary Andres Augusto Duran Hareau, Uruguayan ambassador to the U.S. Heide Fulton, U.S. ambassador to Uruguay "NASA welcomes Uruguay as the newest member of the Artemis Accords family," said Nelson. "The United States and Uruguay share a commitment to democracy and peace, and now, we expand these principles in the cosmos to commit to the safe and transparent exploration of space." The Artemis Accords were established in 2020 by the United States together with seven other original signatories. Since then, the Accords signatories have held focused discussions on how best to implement the Artemis Accords principles. "We are honored to have the opportunity to introduce space cooperation as a new chapter in the robust bilateral agenda between Uruguay and the U.S.," said Paganini. "We are sure that this signing ceremony is not an end in itself, but the beginning of a new bilateral track based on knowledge-intensive activities and new opportunities for our people." The Artemis Accords reinforce and implement key obligations in the 1967 Outer Space Treaty. They also strengthen the commitment by the United States and signatory nations to the Registration Convention, the Rescue and Return Agreement, as well as best practices NASA and its partners support, including the public release of scientific data. More countries are expected to sign the accords in the months and years ahead, which are advancing safe, peaceful, and prosperous activities in space. Learn more about the Artemis Accords at: https://www.nasa.gov/artemis-accords SOURCE NASA If you suffered losses exceeding $100,000 investing in NYCB stock or options between March 1, 2023 and February 5, 2024 and would like to discuss your legal rights, call Faruqi & Faruqi partner Josh Wilson directly at 877-247-4292 or 212-983-9330 (Ext. 1310). You may also click here for additional information: www.faruqilaw.com/NYCB. There is no cost or obligation to you. NEW YORK, Feb. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP, a leading national securities law firm, is investigating potential claims against New York Community Bancorp, Inc. ("NYCB" or the "Company") (NYSE: NYCB) and reminds investors of the April 8, 2024 deadline to seek the role of lead plaintiff in a federal securities class action that has been filed against the Company. Faruqi & Faruqi is a leading minority and Woman-owned national securities law firm with offices in New York, Pennsylvania, California and Georgia. Faruqi & Faruqi Logo (PRNewsfoto/Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP) As detailed below, the complaint alleges that the Company and its executives violated federal securities laws by making false and/or misleading statements and/or failing to disclose that: (i) the Signature Bank acquisition would not be immediately accretive to New York Community Bancorp because it caused New York Community Bancorp to be required to comply with materially enhanced prudential standards, including, among other things, risk-based and leverage capital requirements, and liquidity standards, and required that New York Community Bancorp build capital, reinforce its balance sheet and strengthen its risk management processes; (ii) New York Community Bancorp failed to comply with the materially enhanced prudential standards; (iii) New York Community Bancorp overstated the quality of its commercial office loan assets; (iv) New York Community Bancorp was experiencing higher net charge-offs and deterioration in its commercial office portfolio than represented; (v) New York Community Bancorp was reasonably likely to incur higher loan losses because it was experiencing higher net charge-offs and deterioration in its commercial office portfolio; (vi) New York Community Bancorp was reasonably likely to be forced to increase its allowance for credit losses due to its status as Category IV bank; (vii) New York Community Bancorp's loan loss provisions were understated so it overstated quarterly earnings and/or understated quarterly losses; and (viii) New York Community Bancorp failed to have adequate internal risk or disclosure controls and procedures. On January 31, 2024, New York Community Bancorp disclosed that it had recorded a $552 million provision for loan losses, up significantly from the $62 million reported just one quarter earlier, and that as a result, New York Community Bancorp had incurred a 4Q23 loss of $252 million, or $0.36 per share, down significantly from a profit of $0.27 per share Wall Street consensus estimate. New York Community Bancorp also disclosed it would cut its quarterly dividend from $0.17 to $0.05 per share. On this news, the price of New York Community Bancorp stock fell nearly 38%. Then, on February 5, 2024, Bloomberg reported, citing "people with direct knowledge of the matter," that it had been "mounting pressure from a top US watchdog" that "led to" New York Community Bancorp's "surprise decision to slash its dividend and stockpile cash in case commercial real estate loans [went] bad." According to the Bloomberg article, "[t]he drastic financial moves . . . followed behind-the-scenes conversations with officials from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the people said, asking not to be identified describing the confidential discussions." On this news, the price of New York Community Bancorp stock fell more than 22%. The court-appointed lead plaintiff is the investor with the largest financial interest in the relief sought by the class who is adequate and typical of class members who directs and oversees the litigation on behalf of the putative class. Any member of the putative class may move the Court to serve as lead plaintiff through counsel of their choice, or may choose to do nothing and remain an absent class member. Your ability to share in any recovery is not affected by the decision to serve as a lead plaintiff or not. Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP also encourages anyone with information regarding NYCB's conduct to contact the firm, including whistleblowers, former employees, shareholders and others. Attorney Advertising. The law firm responsible for this advertisement is Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP (www.faruqilaw.com). Prior results do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome with respect to any future matter. We welcome the opportunity to discuss your particular case. All communications will be treated in a confidential manner. SOURCE Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP Dr. David Fletcher, Public Health Expert Illinois says only 20 percent of adults are vaccinated CHICAGO, Feb. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- With more people back at work and in close quarters, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) is urging patients to continue taking precautions for COVID-19 and not let their guard down. David Fletcher M.D., public health specialist and CEO of SafeWorks Illinois, advises individuals and companies to take measures to prevent the spread of viruses and bacterial-related illnesses over the winter months. "The latest variant, JN.1, is highly contagious and is driving transmissions, but the newest booster is helping to prevent the spread," Dr. Fletcher says. "Yet only 20 percent of adults have received the latest vaccine. It's important to get vaccinated -- especially high-risk patients who have underlying health conditions or are immunosuppressed." Because of the uptick in respiratory illnesses, most hospitals nationwide have reinstituted mask mandates. The Illinois Department of Public Health has advised hospitals to step up safety and prevention efforts, and Rush University Medical Center and Cook County Health have called for masking of patients and medical professionals. Dr. Fletcher provided some easy tips on how to prevent the spread of illnesses in the office or crowded spaces: Wear a well-fitted mask preferably N95 -- when among people in confined areas. Frequently wash your hands with soap and water for at least twenty seconds. Keep a small bottle of hand sanitizer at your workstation. Avoiding touching your face. Stay home if you have symptoms and avoid contact with people who are sick. Do not share cups or eating utensils with others. Clean or disinfect frequently touched surfaces, such as doorknobs, light switches, elevator buttons and phones. David Fletcher, M.D. In addition to being the Medical Director and CEO of SafeWorks Illinois, Champaign, IL, Dr. David Fletcher is board-certified in occupational and preventive medicine, a certified Medical Review Officer (MRO), a certified Substance Abuse Professional (SAP), and a Senior Federal Aviation Administration Examiner. He also is a safety consultant guiding companies on injury prevention in the workplace. He has served as a medical expert witness for over 35 years. SafeWorks Illinois SafeWorks Illinois offers worker's compensation, occupational health services and corporate programs to create safe, drug-free businesses and industries. The company's goal is to promote safety and wellness in the workplace. SOURCE SafeWorks Illinois RANCHO CUCAMONGA, Calif., Feb. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Inland Empire Health Plan (IEHP) has pledged millions of dollars toward a new homeless center in Riverside County. The Rancho Cucamonga-based health plan's donation of $7.5 million for the completion of the Palm Springs Navigation Center was approved by the Riverside County Board of Supervisors during its Jan. 23 meeting by a unanimous vote. The donation will cover a funding gap associated with the project, slated to open this summer at 3589 McCarthy Road. "Funding will help develop and rehabilitate the property and reconfigure the layout of existing buildings to create a suitable space that will provide transitional housing to 120 individuals at one given time," said Dr. Takashi Wada, IEHP's chief medical officer. "Once opened, the center will provide round-the-clock services to homeless individuals and those at risk of homelessness or experiencing housing insecurity." IEHP's involvement in the center is through a partnership with Riverside County's Housing and Workforce Solutions, which focuses on creating innovative ways to elevate social and economic opportunity in Riverside County, and the Department of Health Care Services' Housing and Homelessness Incentive Program (HHIP). The program allows health plans across the state to earn incentive funds toward addressing homelessness and housing insecurity and other social determinants of health. According to Wada, the goals of HHIP align with IEHP's mission, vision and values. "The program ensures health plans like IEHP have the necessary capacity and partnerships to connect members to needed housing services," he said. "We want to provide resources and housing stability because it is extraordinarily difficult to improve an individual's health when they don't have a safe and consistent place to call home." Once complete, the Palm Springs Navigation Center will provide services including hygiene, health and wellness, education and employment, and intensive care management. IEHP will have the opportunity to provide additional materials in support of these efforts. IEHP and Riverside County officials have high hopes for the space. "I am really pleased this funding will help this campus reach the construction finish line and soon begin providing holistic help for our unhoused residents," said Riverside County Fourth District Supervisor V. Manuel Perez. "This is an effort that has been led out of my office, alongside the Riverside County Housing and Workforce Solutions Department and in partnership with the city of Palm Springs to bring solutions to address homelessness. "Thank you, IEHP, for providing the last dollars needed to get more homeless residents help," he said. About IEHP With a mission to heal and inspire the human spirit, Inland Empire Health Plan (IEHP) is one of the top 10 largest Medicaid health plans, the largest not-for-profit Medicare-Medicaid public health plan in the country, and for the third year in a row, certified as A Great Place To Work. In its 27th year, IEHP supports more than 1.5 million Riverside and San Bernardino County residents enrolled in Medicaid or IEHP DualChoice (those with both Medi-Cal and Medicare). Today, IEHP has a growing network of nearly 6,800 providers and more than 3,000 team members who are fully committed to the vision: We will not rest until our communities enjoy optimal care and vibrant health. To learn more, go to iehp.org. SOURCE Inland Empire Health Plan (IEHP) Annual Trends and Top Drivers of Employee Engagement DENVER, Feb. 16, 2024 /CNW/ - People Element , an all-in-one employee survey and feedback provider announces the release of the 2024 Employee Engagement Report . The report details the drivers of employee engagement and shares insights on how to inspire employees and improve performance. To inform the Annual Report, feedback is gathered from tens of thousands of employees across various industries, including more than 400 organizations. Findings are contextualized against economic, societal and workforce trends to reveal shifts in employee engagement from prior years. Employee Engagement Report 3-page Preview 2023 Employee Engagement Levels by Quarter "Given the constant change in workplaces and the emergence of new generations in the workforce, it is crucial to understand the factors that drive employee engagement. I hope that this report can serve as a useful tool to help you make positive changes that will lead to a highly engaged workforce," said Chris Coberly, People Element CEO. In 2023, engagement levels dropped back to pre-pandemic levels with 56% of employees engaged and 44% disengaged or what some may consider "quiet quitting". When compared with 2020 peak engagement levels at 61%, employees are feeling significantly less engaged and less satisfied with their organizations year over year. Since 2020, the percentage of actively disengaged employees has increased by two percentage points. Key workplace trends predicted to impact engagement in 2024: Hybrid workplaces are here to stay. Data shows that 52% of employees are currently operating in a hybrid environment, with most required to be at the office 2-3 days a week. Eight out of ten Fortune 500 CHROs say they do not have plans for decreasing work flexibility in the next 12 months. Increasing employee stress levels with nearly 70% of people experiencing burnout, and the highest levels among Gen Z and Millennials. Economic uncertainty remains a concern as the United Nations predicts a drop in the U.S. GDP and a decrease in consumer spending in 2024. "AI anxiety" is a growing concern as 71% of employees say they are concerned about AI, and nearly half (48%) are more concerned today than they were a year ago. The report details the three categories most correlated with employee engagement in 2023: feeling heard and valued, opportunities for growth, and trust and confidence in leadership. To access the 2024 Engagement Trends Annual Report, please visit: https://get.peopleelement.com/2024-employee-engagement-report About People Element People Element's powerful employee survey solution collects and transforms workforce data into actionable intelligence and gives you the confidence to act on what matters most to your business resulting in a healthier, more successful workplace. Combining an easy-to-use yet powerful survey platform with world-class services and expert support, we provide the best of both worlds for understanding and improving your employee experience. Learn more at www.peopleelement.com . SOURCE People Element The new tool, Perception Studio, merges AI and color psychology together to help users make impactful design decisions IRVINE, Calif., Feb. 15, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Perception , the design intelligence company, announced the launch of Perception Studio a new offering to help designers effortlessly craft color palettes within an intuitive, web-based platform. Combining generative AI with in-depth color psychology research, Perception Studio is poised to transform how color choices are made in the design industry. Perception Studio's comprehensive tools empower designers to tell cohesive brand stories through color. Using its integrated all-in-one-tool, creatives can receive AI recommended color palettes by seamlessly blending their brand colors with carefully chosen keywords that convey the precise mood or inspiration desired for a project. Starting today, creatives can subscribe to Perception Studio, with plans starting at $11 per month , unlocking access to a range of features including: AI-assisted Color Palette Builder: Unlimited use of palette building tools to generate custom color palettes with instant AI-powered recommendations. Unlimited use of palette building tools to generate custom color palettes with instant AI-powered recommendations. Color Palette Analyzer: Validate your own color choices by requesting a detailed analysis based on color psychology research. Validate your own color choices by requesting a detailed analysis based on color psychology research. Creative Inspiration: Full access to Perception's Palette Dictionary containing over 50M+ color palettes definitions indexed by individual colors and words. "Our Perception Studio offering marks a significant milestone in the intersection of AI and design," said Mike Merchant, CEO and Founder of Perception. "While large language models can be used to generate images and videos, these systems are truly black boxes to designers providing limited creative control over the results. We're laser-focused on creating tools that keep the brush in the artists' hands, while using AI in a very pragmatic way." Perception Studio enables creators to unlock the language of design, offering a pathway to deeper emotional resonance with their audience. To learn more about and subscribe to Perception Studio visit https://www.perception.io . About Perception Perception is at the forefront of integrating AI technology and color psychology research into innovative tools that elevate the design process. Founded by Mike Merchant (CEO), Perception envisions a world where every creative professional can make meaningful design decisions with confidence. For more information, visit https://www.perception.io . CONTACT: Christopher Farron, [email protected], 949-420-0848 SOURCE Perception Systems 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. All opinion articles written by individuals from outside the staff of EL PAIS shall feature, along with the authors 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 Russian troops continue to advance in the Donetsk and Kharkiv provinces and the war continues in Ukraine, although it seems more and more distant and strange. It is almost exactly two years since Vladimir Putins forces attempted in February 2022 to reach Kyiv to install a puppet government that would obey the Kremlins designs, expanding the war that began in the provinces of Donetsk and Luhansk in 2014 to the rest of the country. It was something you could have seen coming, had you taken seriously the bluster of some of the protagonists of what was happening in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine. Give me two years and in Ukraine, no one will say they are Ukrainian, the prime minister of the Donetsk Peoples Republic (DPR), Aleksandr Zakharchenko, told Pilar Bonet in March 2017, during a long conversation that the journalist, who was for many years a correspondent in the Soviet Union and the Russian Federation for this newspaper to which she continues to contribute recounts in her book Naufragos del imperio (Castaways of the Empire). Zakharchenko, who spoke of himself as a hero with burning, angry eyes, and who was killed in a bomb attack on August 31, 2018, explained to Bonet that Russians have much more in common with the Mongols than with the Swedes: Russia is a country of victors who have learned to survive. We survive everywhere; we may starve for a whole week, be wounded and covered in mud, but, crawling and ragged, we will defend our land. The war is already a reality, he added. All of Ukraine must be transformed into the DPR. When we succeed, a flood of hundreds of thousands of armed Ukrainians will rush into Europe, and they will not be refugees like those from Libya or Syria, but people with combat experience, well-trained and well-equipped. Naufragos del imperio is full of stories of people suffering the horror of the Russian invasion, and is constructed from the unpublished workbooks, travel diaries, and materials that Bonet has been collecting since then. Those who want to go to Sakhalin, to the right. Those who want to go to Vladivostok, to the left, shouted the employees of the civil protection service of Simferopol, the capital of Crimea, in the face of the avalanche of refugees arriving from Donbas in August 2014. They had to decide, in an instant, between two places to start anew. Lives broken, massacred, forcibly pushed into exile. With Putins invasion in 2022, things got even worse. Zakharchenko admitted to Bonet during their first meeting in 2014 that he was proud to feel Ukrainian. Three years later, he had become a Russian, enthusiastic about Putins project. Bonet looks back to the collapse of the Soviet Union, when there was a brutal shift from a planned, centralized economy to a capitalist economy. Privatizations were an opportunity for the old order to modernize, but they were ruthless. Solidly established industries were turned into rubble and scrap metal; workers who thought they had stable jobs were left on the street, and highly qualified specialists had to retrain as shopkeepers or cab drivers. The fury left by that fall is still intact. Putin exploits it, and is confident of prolonging the war in Ukraine until he can win it. That is where we are. Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAIS USA Edition Students get hands-on experience using advanced analytics software to collect data and perform analyses that are done routinely by accountants and auditors. NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J., Feb. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Professor Hussein Issa doesn't rely on textbooks. Instead he brings his expertise in emerging technologies to the accounting classes he teaches at Rutgers Business School. What's changed lately is those emerging technologies artificial intelligence, data visualization, and robotic process automation, among them have become increasingly more essential for students to know as they enter the accounting field or work to advance their careers in the industry. Professor Hussein Issa introduces emerging technologies like AI and ChatGPT to both undergraduate and graduate accounting students at Rutgers Business School. Students get hands-on experience using advanced software to collect data and perform analyses that are done routinely by accountants and auditors. It doesnt make them experts," Issa said. "The expectation is for them to understand how these technologies work. Issa's Audit Analytics class for undergraduate accounting majors isn't the usual data analytics coursework. Students get hands-on experience using advanced analytics software to collect data and perform analyses that are done routinely by accountants and auditors. "They are learning how to develop an analytics mindset how to ask the right questions, find and prepare the data and how to interpret and communicate the results," Issa said. "It doesn't make them experts. The expectation is for them to understand how these technologies work." Issa's work is an example of the practical expertise that has made Rutgers Business School's Continuous Auditing and Reporting Laboratory well known around the world. The laboratory, known as CarLab for short, is part of the Rutgers Accounting Research Center. Together, they are both a repository of knowledge and a resource for faculty, students, and companies. This spring, the professor will introduce Chat GPT to his undergraduate classes as well. The idea is to demonstrate to the students where generative AI can assist them as well as the situations when they shouldn't rely on it. "If used properly," Issa said, "generative AI can empower them." Find out more about the undergraduate majors and innovative curriculum at Rutgers Business School. RSVP for an Undergraduate-New Brunswick Info Session on Saturday, Feb. 24. Issa also introduces graduate students to the analytics software and how it can be used. In the Doctoral of Business Administration Program, the subject is covered in Business Intelligence. Among the lessons is a case study on the use of AI and image recognition to perform tasks like inventory analysis. A course in Advanced Design and Development of Information Systems is offered as part of the Master of Governmental Accounting Program. It covers robotic process automation, visualization, data mining, artificial intelligence, and cybersecurity. Issa believes his ability to incorporate his research makes the course work richer. "It enables me to communicate my own personal experience in the area and my own expertise," he said. "Many of the examples are real life examples. They are not mock exercises." Learn more about Rutgers Business School's graduate programs during an open house on Saturday, March 2, in Newark. His research also continues to influence the industry. Late last year the California Society of CPAs informed him that it wanted to use a new paper he wrote on the use of robotic processes in auditing as part of a professional development program for industry professionals. Rutgers faculty in the accounting and information systems department know that many accounting programs don't offer the same expertise. "We're struggling with the fact that accounting firms are hiring data scientists because accounting students (generally) lack data analytical skills," Issa explained. "We're trying to provide our students with an additional skill that makes them more marketable." "I've been good with computers since I was a child," Issa said of his interest in the area. "I have an analytical mindset, and I like the use of technology. I'm a nerd." SOURCE Rutgers Business School-Newark and New Brunswick IntraCare elevates its standing in the Arizona healthcare market with three new partnerships in the month of December 2023, bringing an additional 16 Primary Care Professionals on board. The collaborations with Atembis, LLC; Sun Lake Family Physicians, LLC; and Family Practice Specialists have established IntraCare as one of the fastest-growing Management Services Organizations (MSOs) in the Southwest region. CARROLLTON, Texas, Feb. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- IntraCare, a prominent Texas-based MSO, gained record growth in the month of December 2023 upon signing partnership agreements with three medical entities in Arizona. This adds another 16 care practitioners to IntraCare's provider network. The strategic partnerships with Atembis, LLC; Sun Lake Family Physicians, LLC; and Family Practice Specialists are a significant step towards achieving IntraCare's objective to own and operate more than 27 primary care clinics, supported by 91 partner and 425 affiliate primary care providers. As a result of this expansion, IntraCare is better positioned to meet the requirements of a continually evolving healthcare industry, across diverse communities. Partner practices will benefit from a significant increase in service outreach and more senior patients will gain access to value-based care. The centralization of administrative and management functions will standardize care management delivery across the three new clinics, bringing them on par with the IntraCare network of health centers. Meanwhile, physicians, advanced practice providers, and clinical staff will be able to concentrate on providing excellent care and health support services. Atembis, LLC, founded by Andrew Carroll, MD, FAAFP, is counted among Arizona's leading healthcare establishments. Dr. Carroll has served as State Chair for Arizona to the American Medical Association's Organized Medical Staff Section, and is a respected public personality, having appeared regularly on local and national media to share much-needed healthcare information during the COVID-19 pandemic. Arizona's longstanding healthcare facility Family Practice Specialists has delivered comprehensive care since 1969, the same year family practice was officially recognized as a medical specialty. The clinic's on-site laboratory is certified by the Department of Health and Human Services' Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA) and has been conferred the Award of Excellence by the Commission on Laboratory Accreditation. Kenneth Paige, DO, has practiced medicine in the Sun Lakes community since 1998, and co-founded Sun Lakes Family Physicians, LLC, in 2001 with Jennifer McDonald, MD. The clinic's knowledgeable and friendly healthcare providers have been commended by their patients for well-rounded treatment and management of both acute and chronic health conditions. "I am immensely grateful to our partners for the trust they have placed in IntraCare," said Anwar Kazi, Chief Executive Officer of IntraCare. "Each of them has been an independent provider for a significant period, averaging over 15 years. Their performance in Value-Based Care programs has been exemplary, consistently focusing on enhancing patient satisfaction while managing costs and improving quality of care. They have also demonstrated remarkable growth in their senior patient panels." "As we move forward, we are excited to work alongside our new providers to integrate IntraCare's unified technology and care management platforms." "In closing," Kazi added, "I am thrilled to share some extraordinary news that emerged over the weekend. IntraCare has forged a significant partnership, marking a major milestone in our journey. We eagerly anticipate sharing more details about this development soon, as we believe it will significantly bolster our mission and capabilities." IntraCare has always emphasized its values of leading with integrity, caring with compassion, and working in collaboration with the communities it serves. It remains committed to providing a high standard of administrative and management support to its partner clinics while ensuring their independence of spirit is upheld. As a result, IntraCare MSO has seen remarkable growth of 500% in 2023 and is poised to further extend its reach with a network expanding rapidly across Texas and Arizona. About IntraCare MSO IntraCare's partnership track began its journey as an MSO at the end of 2022 with just two healthcare providers and achieved rapid growth and success within a remarkably short period of time. Today, IntraCare MSO works with 91 partnered and 425 affiliated Primary Care Providers. The company provides its partners with a suite of clinical and billing services, population health program solutions, and risk contracts. IntraCare MSO is headquartered in the heart of the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex and is currently operational in four states, with plans to expand further. To know more, visit https://theintracare.com SOURCE IntraCare Utah Technicians are First Red Cross Unit to Organize with Teamsters in 2024 SALT LAKE CITY, Feb. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Manufacturing distribution technicians at the American Red Cross in Salt Lake City have voted overwhelmingly to join Teamsters Local 222. These workers join more than 50 other American Red Cross workers who have organized with Local 222. "We are elated to welcome another group of essential American Red Cross workers to the Teamsters," said Spencer Hogue, Secretary-Treasurer of Local 222. "These workers play a critical role in not just Salt Lake City, but in the national blood supply chain. Their important contributions to our communities should be rewarded with a strong union contract." "With national negotiations slated to kick off in the coming weeks, American Red Cross workers are forming their union with the Teamsters to ensure their priorities are addressed in the new collective bargaining agreement," said Jason Lopes, Teamsters Health Care Director. "We look forward to getting to work on negotiating the strongest possible agreement for all American Red Cross Teamsters." These workers will join more than 1,800 other American Red Cross workers represented by the Teamsters and immediately be covered by a National Master Agreement between the Teamsters and the American Red Cross. "I voted to join the Teamsters so I can work to live, rather than live to work," said Matthew Ocasio, a manufacturing distribution technician at the American Red Cross in Salt Lake City. Teamsters Local 222 serves over 4,500 members working for 35 employers across the entire state of Utah. For more information, visit teamsterslocal222.org. Contact: Matt McQuaid, (202) 624-6877 [email protected] SOURCE Teamsters Local 222 NEW YORK, Feb. 15, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Pomerantz LLP is investigating claims on behalf of investors of WNS (Holdings) Limited ("WNS" or the "Company") (NYSE: WNS). Such investors are advised to contact Danielle Peyton at [email protected] or 646-581-9980, ext. 7980. The investigation concerns whether WNS 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 February 2, 2024, WNS disclosed that "one of [WNS's] top five customers by revenue contribution in fiscal 2024 . . . served a termination notice on January 31, 2024," effective July 1, 2024. WNS further stated that "[w]e are in discussion with the customer around the support required for the transition of the services and are currently ascertaining the related financial and accounting impact." On this news, WNS's American depositary receipt ("ADR") price fell $11.04 per ADR, or 15.32%, to close at $61.00 per ADR on February 2, 2024. 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. Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes. CONTACT: Danielle Peyton Pomerantz LLP [email protected] 646-581-9980 ext. 7980 SOURCE Pomerantz LLP FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., Feb. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Stoner's Pizza Joint, a quick-service pizza franchise, announced today that it will be expanding to Dallas, TX with a 5-unit signed franchise agreement. The first two stores are expected to open in the first half of 2024 in the Sachse, TX & Rowlett, TX markets. Three additional locations are slated for Wylie, McKinney, and Frisco, TX areas. Stoner's Pizza Joint "We are thrilled to expand to the great state of Texas with a new multi-unit deal in the Dallas market," said Scott Mobley, President and a multi-unit franchisee of Stoner's. "We are aggressively looking to open additional markets in 2024 and Dallas will be great fit for the Stoner's brand." The brand has set an expansion goal of 100 units opened by the end of 2025 as it seeks new multi-unit operators throughout the United States. This multi-unit announcement adds to Stoner's aggressive growth as the brand has doubled its store footprint in the past 2 years. About Stoner's Pizza Joint Founded in 2013, Stoner's Pizza Joint launched its franchising program in late 2018 along with fresh new branding and a business model that has proven resilient to massive changes sweeping the food industry. For more information, visit https://www.stonerspizzajoint.com, or call 954-982-6618. Stoner's Pizza Joint is currently seeking qualified franchisees to help the brand grow nationwide in college town markets, with a focus on the Southeast region. Prospective franchisees should have a minimum net worth of $250,000. The ideal candidate is a proven, multi-unit operator in the restaurant industry and has a strong knowledge of their market. Stoner's Pizza Joint's Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD) reveals an estimated initial investment range of $90,000 to $206,000 for the first location, including a franchise fee of $25,000. To learn more about ownership opportunities with Stoner's Pizza Joint, contact the Stoner's Pizza Joint Franchise Development team, at [email protected] MEDIA CONTACT: Scott Mobley // Stoner's Pizza Joint [email protected] 7064100667 SOURCE Stoner's Pizza Joint Nation's Premier Assisted Stretching Brand Continues Miami Expansion MIAMI BEACH, Fla., Feb. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Stretch Zone, the nation's premier assisted stretching brand with a patented strapping system and proprietary tables, announces the opening of its newest location in the North Beach neighborhood of Miami Beach, FL. The new studio will be located on Miami Beach at 6804 Collins Ave. and open on Monday, Feb. 19. Stretch Zone North Beach is co-owned by Marra Chinn Allen, a passionate businesswoman who was immediately drawn to the Stretch Zone franchising opportunity by the brand's philosophy. While this is Marra's first foray into franchising, she is already privy to opening a business in the thriving South Florida market, having previously owned a gluten-free vegan baking company in Miami. Knowing that her next business venture would also be related to health and wellness, Marra, who is partnering with her husband George, went to Stretch Zone and fell in love with the concept she could truly feel the difference after her first stretch. Immediately, she recognized the incredible potential in owning a Stretch Zone franchise and was particularly impressed by the business model, where passion is felt from top to bottom. North Beach, an affluent Miami Beach community with a plethora of businesspeople, influencers, athletes, and health and fitness enthusiasts, was the obvious choice for Stretch Zone's newest Miami location. "As the incoming co-owner of Stretch Zone North Beach, embarking on my first venture into franchising is a deeply personal and familial journey. This is a family venture, and my vision is to create a lasting legacy for my daughter, serving as a positive role model through the inspiring world of entrepreneurship," said Marra Chinn Allen. "Choosing Stretch Zone was not just a business decision; it's a project rooted in my passion for physical fitness and a belief in Stretch Zone's differentiated stretch methodology that supports healthy aging, mobility, and performance for all. North Beach is a dynamic community with a health-conscious demographic making it the perfect location to spread the joy of stretching and well-being. For me, it's more than just business; it's about making a positive impact on people's lives." For more information on Stretch Zone, its innovative approach to assisted stretching, and its new location in North Beach, please visit https://www.stretchzone.com/locations/north-beach-fl , or call 305-400-9987. About Stretch Zone Stretch Zone is a brand that was built with heart. Founded by Jorden Gold in 2004, Stretch Zone originated from Gold's desire to help his Pop-Pop regain mobility. Gold, who was working as a trainer at the time, utilized his background in the wellness space to begin stretching his grandfather, who had been bed-ridden due to age and a variety of health complications. He realized through this process that there was room to develop a new approach that amplified the benefits of assisted stretching. Gold spent months pioneering a proprietary training method that uses a table and straps to help achieve long lasting effects that truly impact daily life. With Gold's help, Pop-Pop went from being bed-ridden to using his walker to dancing at his grandchild's wedding in a matter of months. Gold knew how many lives could benefit from practitioner-assisted stretching and sought to begin introducing the concept nationwide through franchising. Revolutionizing how we all approach stretching, the brand is on a mission to improve the quality of life for communities by utilizing their proprietary tables and patented strapping system to assist in achieving long term results. With more than 330 locations open throughout 41 states, this brand has seen incredible growth since its start and has no plans on slowing their momentum, receiving national recognition for their growth in the 2023 Inc. 5000 and Entrepreneur's 2023 Fastest Growing Franchises. Stretch Zone is looking for experienced franchisees that are passionate about the health and wellness industry and are committed to making a positive impact in the communities they serve. For more information, please visit https://www.stretchzone.com/. Contact: Betty Anne Richardson | Franchise Elevator PR | [email protected] | (847) 945-1300 ext. 245 SOURCE Stretch Zone Local 911 Wants Answers on Tragic Death at LA County Environmental Health Department LOS ANGELES, Feb. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The following is a statement from Teamsters Local 911 Secretary-Treasurer Raymond B. Whitmer regarding the tragic death last week of Heather Hughes, an Environmental Health Specialist at the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, Environmental Health Division: "We are heartbroken to hear of the tragic passing of our Teamsters sister Heather Hughes. Our thoughts are with Heather's family during this incredibly difficult time, and we extend our deepest condolences to them. "At this moment, our primary focus is on respecting the privacy of Heather's family and allowing them the space and time they need to process their grief. "However, while we prioritize the privacy and well-being of our member's family, Teamsters Local 911 also takes this matter seriously. We demand an immediate investigation by the County of Los Angeles into the circumstances surrounding Heather's tragic death. We expect a comprehensive and detailed explanation of what occurred." Teamsters Local 911 represents 369 workers at the Los Angeles County Environmental Health Department. Teamsters Local 911 is an affiliate of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters representing over 8,500 public and private sector workers across Southern California. For more information, visit Teamsters911.com. Contact: Judith Serlin, (213) 544-1677 [email protected] SOURCE Teamsters Local 911 Sage and The BOSS Network's Investment Will Provide Each Organization With $50,000 to Benefit Efforts to Impact African American Women CHICAGO, Feb. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The BOSS Network , an online community of professional and entrepreneurial women who support each other through digital content, programs and event-based networking, has announced awarding $50,000 each in grants and scholarships in partnership with Sage ($250,000 in total) to the Divine Nine sororitiesincluding Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated; Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated; Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Incorporatedthe National Pan-Hellenic Council, Incorporated, and the Chicago Urban League . Led by CEO Dr. Cameka Smith , this investment is a part of The BOSS Network's yearlong celebration highlighting its 15th anniversary milestone year. Four women from each organization will receive a $10,000 grant from the BOSS Impact Fund and a scholarship to BOSS Business University (valued at $2,500). The BOSS Network Dr. Cameka Smith This investment exemplifies The BOSS Network's longstanding legacy of supporting Black women in the arenas of business and community. In December 2023, The BOSS Network honored the president of each of the Divine Nine sororities, as well as the president of the Chicago Urban League, during its annual Ladies That Lead conference, including: Honorees: Elsie Cooke-Holmes, International President, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated Dr. Stacie NC Grant, International President, Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated Rasheeda S. Liberty , International President, Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Incorporated , International President, Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Incorporated Donna Jones Anderson , President, National Pan-Hellenic Council, Incorporated Special Leadership Honoree: Karen Freeman-Wilson , President & CEO, Chicago Urban League Recently, Dr. Smith announced the return of the BOSS Impact Fund and its three-year, $1.5 million commitment with Sage (via the Sage Foundation )the leader in accounting, financial, HR, and payroll technology for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs)to support the Fund with the "Invest in Progress" grant investing in Black women led businesses. In addition, The BOSS Network has partnered with both Sage and Swoop , a global fintech company specializing in funding solutions for businesses, on the launch of "Pathways to Success" a new training and mentorship program designed to support Black women entrepreneurs in Atlanta. "As the BOSS Network continues to celebrate its yearlong 15th anniversary, we look forward to continuing to work with the leaders of these incredible Divine Nine sororities and the Chicago Urban League. We know that this investment will provide these organizations with momentum as they further their efforts to benefit our community," said Dr. Smith. To become a member of The BOSS Network, or for more information , visit thebossnetwork.org . To apply for the "Invest in Progress'' grant, visit bossimpactfund.com. About The BOSS Network Founded by Cameka Smith, BOSS is an acronym for "Bringing Out Successful Sisters," and the network's mission is to promote and encourage the small business spirit and career development of women. To find out more about The BOSS Network, please visit www.TheBOSSNetwork.org . CONTACT: Sheila Harris, Harris Brand Management [email protected] 646.470.4179 SOURCE The BOSS Network Transformational $1.2 million grant to help expand HBCU ELI's curriculum, which offers micro-credentials and prepares executives to assume leadership positions in higher education. ATLANTA, Feb. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Continuing its commitment to building the next generation of HBCU legacy leaders, the HBCU Executive Leadership Institute (ELI) at Clark Atlanta University, today announced its receipt of a grant for $1.2 million from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. The grant includes funding to expand ELI's curriculum, which offers micro-credentials and prepares executives to assume leadership positions in higher education. HBCU ELI stands as a pioneering initiative, committed to nurturing and empowering the next generation of leaders at over 100 Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative was a founding sponsor of the ELI program when it first launched in 2021. The program identifies and develops the most qualified candidates to fill vital HBCU presidencies and other executive leadership positions. To date, ELI has convened a community of 85 Fellows, comprised of professionals representing both public and private sectors. Each participated in ELI's unique professional development program, which includes 13 core competencies. Since its inception, the groundbreaking HBCU ELI program has expanded to include the "New President's Program." Its focus is to provide professional development to new presidents and chancellors within their first three years of service. The first program of its kind, ELI's extended curriculum is preserving and strengthening HBCUs as a hub for education, opportunity and uplift in the Black community. "When we started this idea of training, supporting, and advocating for HBCU leaders, we knew we had an uphill battle, but we also knew it was critical work," said Dr. Phyllis Worthy Dawkins, Executive Director, HBCU ELI at CAU and 18th President of Bennett College. "It is because of the continued support of sponsors, like The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, that we can welcome new Fellows and invest in the future of our institutions as well as the students who rely on HBCUs to thrive." "In today's rapidly evolving world of higher education, effective leadership is paramount to ensuring that all HBCUs achieve and sustain success," said Dr. George T. French, Jr., President, Clark Atlanta University. "We are grateful to the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative for their partnership as ELI continues to cultivate Fellows and help our HBCUs prosper." ELI's robust curriculum equips fellows with the tools and insights needed to effectively lead an HBCU. This includes operations, budgeting, alumni relations, fundraising and development, as well as board governance and human resource management, to name a few. For program updates visit https://hbcueli.com/ . About Clark Atlanta University Established in 1988 by the historic consolidation of Atlanta University (1865) and Clark College (1869). Clark Atlanta University continues a 150-year legacy rooted in African-American tradition and focused on the future. Through global innovation, transformative educational experiences, and high-value engagement. CAU cultivates lifted lives that transform the world. Notable alumni include: James Weldon Johnson; American civil rights activist, poet, and songwriter (Lift Every Voice and Sing "The Black National Anthem"; Ralph David Abernathy Sr., American civil rights activist; Congressman Hank Johnson, Georgia District 4; Kenya Barris, American award-winning television and movie producer; Kenny Leon, Tony Award-winning Broadway Director; Jacque Reid, Emmy Award-winning Television Personality and Journalist; Brandon Thompson, Vice President of Diversity and Inclusion for NASCAR; Valeisha Butterfield Jones, Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer at the Recording Academy. To learn more about Clark Atlanta University, visit www.cau.edu About HBCU ELI at Clark Atlanta University The HBCU Executive Leadership Institute at Clark Atlanta University (ELI) serves as an incubator for recruiting and developing the future presidents of America's Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). ELI equips high-potential leaders with tools and strategies that support the education and business goals of more than 100 HBCUs. Through ELI, the ability of HBCUs to survive and thrive is improved. In addition to granting thousands of degrees each year, HBCUs also boast illustrious alumni like Martin Luther King, Jr., Oprah Winfrey, and Vice President Kamala Harris, among others. For more information, visit hbcueli.com. Join the conversation on social media @hbcueli; #hbcueli. Press Contact Lalohni Campbell 4045937145 https://hbcueli.com/ SOURCE HBCU ELI at CAU LOS ANGELES, Feb. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Solar Power Systems announces its latest comprehensive ranking of the best solar companies in California. At Solar Power Systems , we recognize the importance of choosing the proper solar installation based on each customer's specific needs and expectations. That is why, every few months, we perform rigorous research to select the best California solar installers. Our impartial and comprehensive process guarantees that we only provide you with the best solar companies. Today, we're delighted to present our most recent findings: the best California solar companies, ready to suit a wide variety of solar energy needs: Palmetto is known for its top-rated California solar panels, coming along with full-service installation and multiple financing options in order to fit the needs of every customer. is known for its top-rated solar panels, coming along with full-service installation and multiple financing options in order to fit the needs of every customer. Semper Solaris is a veteran leadership California solar company that stands strong in superior quality and in sourcing solar products manufactured in the U.S. is a veteran leadership solar company that stands strong in superior quality and in sourcing solar products manufactured in the U.S. V3 Electric is recognized within the solar industry for its commitment to the most advanced solar technology, with a focus on an environmentally friendly solution. is recognized within the solar industry for its commitment to the most advanced solar technology, with a focus on an environmentally friendly solution. SunPower is leading the solar industry in terms of efficiency in solar panels and in giving the most comprehensive warranties, hence leading in solar innovation. is leading the solar industry in terms of efficiency in solar panels and in giving the most comprehensive warranties, hence leading in solar innovation. Cosmic Solar is known for the perfect blend of custom California solar installations that are detailed to hold the highest energy savings capacity and custom services that address individual needs. Methodology Solar Power Systems selects top solar energy companies in California, focusing on local providers for superior service, requiring a minimum of five years in operation to ensure reliability and support. Preference is given to California solar companies with their own installation crews, emphasizing quality workmanship and customer satisfaction. High consumer ratings and reviews are critical, alongside the provision of quality California solar equipment that matches the customer's budget, balancing cost with the caliber of solar panels, batteries, and inverters offered. About Solar Power Systems Solar Power Systems is an independent solar reviewer committed to promoting renewable energy sources. We stand apart by undertaking extensive research to find the finest solar solutions in each state. With an emphasis on local solar suppliers, we filter through over a thousand companies to find the most dependable and reputable ones. Our comprehensive screening procedure demonstrates our commitment to steering customers toward solar systems that reflect their values of outstanding service, dependable support, and a commitment to sustainable energy solutions. For more detailed insights, visit Solar Power Systems . SOURCE Solar Power Systems Migrant children from Venezuela as they camp with their families waiting for an appointment through the U.S. Customs and Border Protection app, in Mexico City, Mexico November 23, 2023. The Biden administration struggled to properly vet and monitor the homes where they placed a surge of migrant children who arrived at the U.S.-Mexico border in 2021, according to a federal watchdog report released Thursday. The Department of Health and Human Services is required to screen adults who volunteer to take in children arriving in the country without parents. But the analysis concluded that the department failed to prove it ran basic safety checks like address or criminal background checks on some adults who took in children. In about a third of the cases reviewed by the federal watchdog, the agency did not have legible documentation for the adults on file. We found that childrens case files and sponsor records were not always updated with important documentation and information, said Haley Lubeck, an analyst for the HHS Office of Inspector General, which conducted the review. The federal health agency responded to the report by saying it has improved the process and the report only shows a limited window into how the agency handled cases during an unprecedented influx. HHS said it has also added new training for its employees handling migrant children. The overwhelmingly majority of findings and recommendations address records management and documentation issues that (the agency) has already improved through training, monitoring, technology, and evaluation, said HHS spokesman Jeff Nesbit. The report comes as President Joe Biden is facing intense pressure around his immigration policies. Since he took office, the administration has grappled with millions of migrants traveling to the border and faced scrutiny over how it handles children who arrive in the U.S. without parents. HHS, in particular, has been criticized for releasing those kids too quickly from government shelters, discharging them to adults who have allowed them to be exploited by major companies for cheap, dangerous, and illegal labor. The federal watchdog analyzed the case files of more than 300 migrant children from early 2021, months after thousands of children had trekked to the U.S. border seeking asylum. In March and April of that year, HHS placed more than 16,000 children with adults. HHS is supposed to obtain IDs for the adults called sponsors who take in migrant children. But the federal watchdog found that illegible IDs were submitted to HHS in more than a third of the cases analyzed during that time. Some IDs had misspelled words or missing holograms, raising questions about whether they were forged documents. The agency also failed to provide proof it had conducted basic safety checks like background checks or address checks in 15% of the cases, the watchdog found. And, for every five cases, HHS didnt follow up to check on the children it had placed, often for months. HHS is supposed to have a follow up call with every child and their sponsor between 30 to 37 days after placement. But in cases where the agency failed to follow up with the children, it took on average about 122 days for a caseworker to reach out, the OIGs analysis found. The OIGs investigations have previously found that the administration rushed to respond to the migrant surge in 2021, failing to adequately train staff dealing with the cases of children. Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAIS USA Edition RADNOR, Pa., Feb. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Triumph Group, Inc. (NYSE: TGI) ("TRIUMPH" or the "Company") today announced that it has commenced an offer to purchase for cash (the "Asset Sale Offer") up to $580,000,000 of its outstanding 9.000% Senior Secured First Lien Notes due March 14, 2028 (the "Notes") with a portion of the net cash proceeds that it will receive from its previously announced sale of its product support business (the "Sale"). The Asset Sale Offer is being made pursuant to the indenture governing the Notes, dated as of March 14, 2023 (the "Indenture") and the Asset Sale Offer to Purchase, dated February 16, 2024, (the "Offer to Purchase") which more fully sets forth the terms and conditions of the Asset Sale Offer. The Asset Sale Offer will expire at 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on March 18, 2024 (the "Expiration Date"), unless extended or earlier terminated by the Company, with an early tender deadline of 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on March 4, 2024 (the "Early Tender Date"), unless extended or earlier terminated by the Company. Under the terms of the Asset Sale Offer, holders of the Notes ("Holders") who validly tender (and do not validly withdraw) their Notes on or prior to the Early Tender Date, and whose Notes are accepted for purchase by the Company, will receive the "Asset Sale Consideration," which will be equivalent to $1,000 per $1,000 principal amount of Notes tendered. Holders validly tendering their Notes between the day following the Early Tender Date and on or prior to the Expiration Date will only be eligible to receive the "Tender Offer Consideration," which will be equal to $990 per $1,000 principal amount of Notes tendered. In addition, Holders whose Notes are accepted for purchase by the Company will receive a cash payment representing the accrued and unpaid interest on those Notes from the applicable last interest payment date to, but not including, the applicable Payment Date (as defined in the Offer to Purchase) ("Accrued Interest"). The Asset Sale Consideration or the Tender Offer Consideration, as applicable, and any Accrued Interest, in each case, will be paid in cash to Holders whose Notes are accepted for purchase by the Company. If the Asset Sale Offer is oversubscribed, the Company will accept for purchase Notes on a pro rata basis as set forth in the Offer to Purchase. On February 6, 2024, the Company issued a notice of conditional redemption in respect of $120,000,000 of the Notes to be redeemed on March 4, 2024 at a redemption price of 103.00% of the principal amount of the Notes redeemed, plus accrued and unpaid interest, to, but not including the date of redemption. Pursuant to the procedures set forth under the Indenture, by The Depository Trust Company ("DTC") and brokers for the Holders of the Notes, any Notes selected to be redeemed pursuant to said redemption will not be eligible to be tendered pursuant to the Asset Sale Offer. The redemption of the Notes is conditioned upon the consummation of the Sale. Pursuant to the Indenture, the Company is permitted, but not obligated, to issue a second notice of redemption in respect of up to $120,000,000 of the Notes, with such redemption date to be on or after March 15, 2024 at a redemption price of 103.00% of the principal amount of the Notes redeemed, plus accrued and unpaid interest, to, but not including the date of redemption. The redemption prices described above for the Notes are higher than what Holders who tender their Notes pursuant to the Asset Sale Offer will receive as the Asset Sale Consideration and the Tender Offer Consideration, as applicable. 9.000% Senior Secured First Lien Notes due March 14, 2028 Title of Security CUSIP No. ISIN Outstanding Aggregate Principal Amount Asset Sale Consideration(1) Tender Offer Consideration(2) 9.000% Senior Secured First Lien Notes due March 14, 2028 144A: 896818 AU5 Reg S: U8968G AH7 IAI: 869818 AV3 144A: US896818AU56 Reg S: USU8968GAH75 IAI: US896818AV30 $1,200,000,000 $1,000.00 plus accrued and unpaid interest, if any, to the purchase date $990.00 plus accrued and unpaid interest, if any, to the purchase date (1) Per $1,000 principal amount of Notes validly tendered (and not validly withdrawn) by Holders on or prior to the Early Tender Date and accepted for purchase by the Company. (2) Per $1,000 principal amount of Notes validly tendered by Holders between the day following the Early Tender Date and on or before the Expiration Date and accepted for purchase by the Company. Tendered Notes may be validly withdrawn any time on or prior to 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on March 4, 2024 (the "Withdrawal Date"), unless extended or earlier terminated by the Company. Notes validly tendered after the Withdrawal Date may not be withdrawn (except in limited circumstances where additional withdrawal rights are required by law, as determined by the Company in its sole discretion). The Asset Sale Offer is subject to the satisfaction or waiver of certain conditions as described in the Offer to Purchase. The Company reserves the right, subject to applicable law, to (a) terminate the Asset Sale Offer, (b) waive any or all conditions to the Asset Sale Offer, (c) extend the Early Tender Date, the Withdrawal Date and/or the Expiration Date or (d) otherwise amend the Asset Sale Offer at any time (including the aggregate principal amount of Notes to be purchased in the Asset Sale Offer). Notwithstanding any of the foregoing, the Company does not intend to waive or modify the condition in the Asset Sale Offer that the Sale has been consummated. The complete terms and conditions of the Asset Sale Offer are set forth in the Offer to Purchase. Holders are urged to read the Offer to Purchase carefully. The Company has engaged U.S. Bank Trust Company, National Association to act as depositary and paying agent (collectively, the "Depositary") for the Asset Sale Offer. Persons with questions or requests for documents regarding the Asset Sale Offer should contact the Depositary at (800) 934-6802, or by email at [email protected] . This press release is for informational purposes only and is not an offer to buy or a solicitation of an offer to sell any security. The Asset Sale Offer is being made pursuant to the Asset Sale Offer documents, including the Offer to Purchase that the Company is distributing to Holders of the Notes. The Asset Sale Offer is not being made to Holders of Notes in any jurisdiction in which the making or acceptance thereof would not be in compliance with the securities or other laws of such jurisdiction. None of the Company or its affiliates, their respective boards of directors, the trustee for the Notes or the Depositary is making any recommendation as to whether or not, or when, Holders should tender their notes in the Asset Sale Offer. About TRIUMPH TRIUMPH, headquartered in Radnor, Pennsylvania, designs, develops, manufactures, repairs and overhauls a broad portfolio of aerospace and defense systems and components. The company serves the global aviation industry, including original equipment manufacturers and the full spectrum of military and commercial aircraft operators. More information about TRIUMPH can be found on the Company's website at www.triumphgroup.com. Forward Looking Statements Statements in this release which are not historical facts are forward-looking statements under the provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements about the timing and completion of the Asset Sale Offer or any redemptions of the Notes. All forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties which could affect the Company's actual results and could cause its actual results to differ materially from those expressed in any forward-looking statements made by, or on behalf of, the Company. Further information regarding the important factors that could cause actual results to differ from projected results can be found in the Company's reports filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2023. The Company undertakes no obligation to update any such forward-looking statement. SOURCE Triumph Group RYE, N.Y., Feb. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Dr. Stephen Carolan, a beacon of inspiration in the realm of healthcare, proudly introduces the illustrious Dr. Stephen Carolan Scholarship for Medical Students. This groundbreaking initiative, valued at $1,000, is poised to empower and recognize the brightest minds in medical education, propelling them toward a future of innovation and impact. As the medical landscape evolves, the need for visionary leaders in Obstetrics and Gynecology, laparoscopic and robotic surgery, and women's health becomes increasingly vital. The Dr. Stephen Carolan Scholarship stands as a testament to Dr. Carolan's unwavering commitment to excellence and his passion for advancing healthcare. The Dr. Stephen Carolan Scholarship for Medical Students invites candidates who epitomize academic dedication, possess a fervent passion for healthcare, maintain a stellar academic record, and harbor a compelling vision for impacting the future of healthcare, particularly in women's health. Dr. Stephen Carolan, the visionary behind this transformative scholarship, has left an indelible mark on the medical community. A Summa Cum Laude graduate in Biology from St. Johns University and a Harrison Scholar at New York Medical College, Dr. Carolan's academic journey serves as a beacon of inspiration for aspiring medical professionals. Throughout his distinguished career, Dr. Carolan has championed the cause of women's health as an Attending Physician at WestMed Medical Group and Director of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Greenwich Hospital. His dedication to education and innovation shines through his teaching roles at Yale/Bridgeport and New York Medical College, where he continues to shape the minds of future medical leaders. The Dr. Stephen Carolan Scholarship for Medical Students is not merely a financial award; it represents a transformative opportunity for recipients to be mentored, supported, and recognized within the medical community. It is an invitation to join a legacy of excellence and innovation that defines the essence of Dr. Stephen Carolan's journey. The deadline to apply for the scholarship is September 15, 2024. The esteemed recipient will be announced on October 15, 2024, and will receive a one-time award of $1,000 to further their academic pursuits and contribute to the advancement of healthcare. For more information about the Dr. Stephen Carolan Scholarship for Medical Students and to submit an application, please visit https://drstephencarolanscholarship.com/dr-stephen-carolan-scholarship/. SOURCE Dr. Stephen Carolan Scholarship "What we are experiencing today is an opportunity. In the next decade, we might not speak of a revolution but of a transformation or reinvention, especially in the Moldovan wine industry," said Ambassador Corina Calugaru. She continued: "Moldova is a country of rich heritage with hardworking people. Our achievements in wine industry are a testament to political and international support, but most importantly, to the dedication of our wine producers and the resilience of our people. This, I believe, is the cornerstone of our progress." Meanwhile, Stefan Iamandi outlined the nation's continuing success in export markets, as premium Moldovan wines gain traction abroad. "After '10 Revolutionary Years of Building a National Wine Brand' Moldova's wine exports have tripled in value to western countries" he said. Robert Joseph also observed that "people have fallen in love with Moldovan wine and are telling other people about it, however, it's not easy to make your voice heard. So, Moldova really is just starting down the road." Participating wineries have described Wine Paris 2024 as a "great opportunity to stand alongside the biggest producers." Media Contact - Parascovia Ignat, [email protected], +373 22 105 560 Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2341916/Wine_of_Moldova.jpg Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2341917/Wine_of_Moldova.jpg Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2341918/Wine_of_Moldova.jpg Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2341919/Wine_of_Moldova.jpg Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2341920/Wine_of_Moldova.jpg SOURCE Wine of Moldova If you were looking for the Charlestown Democratic Town Committee website and ended up here, try this Got news tips, gossip, suggestions, complaints?E-mail us: progressivecharlestown@gmail.com We strive to avoid errors in our articles. Our correction policy can be found here New York, Feb 16 : A state judge has ordered former President Donald Trump's criminal trial on alleged hush money payments to start on March 25 -- in the middle of the Republican Party primaries -- while in Atlanta, uncertainty over the prosecutor's conduct clouded the timeline of a case charging him with election interference. Justice Juan Merchan of the New York State Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed Trump's attempts to have the charges thrown out and denied requests to have the trial start later. Trump faces 34 charges, including that he falsified business records to cover up payments to porn star Stormy Daniels to silence her after she alleged that she had an affair with him. The trial is scheduled to start a week before the primary elections in New York and four other states with 17 more to follow and Trump's lawyer asserted that it amounted to "election interference" because he would be spending time preparing for the case instead of campaigning. Outside the courtroom, Trump said, "They want to keep me nice and busy so I can't campaign so hard". With less than nine months to the presidential elections, Trump is snared in a web of local and federal cases involving about 90 charges including attempts to overthrow the 2020 election result, election interference, defamation, fraud and violation of official secrets laws. Meanwhile, he has to face primaries and caucuses, the intraparty elections to pick the Republican Party nominee for president, before the party's convention in mid-July that will formalise the nomination which he is assured of, despite a continuing challenge from Nikki Haley, a one-time member of his cabinet. On Thursday in Georgia state's Atlanta, a tawdry courtroom scene unfolded over allegations that the local prosecutor who brought charges of election interference against Trump was involved in a romantic relationship with one of the lawyers she hired to prosecute the case. If it is established that the prosecutor Fani Willis was involved with the lawyer, Nathan Wade, who had received payments of about $650,000 for the case before he was hired, it could amount to a conflict of interest and lead to her being ordered off the case. If that happens, another prosecutor would have to take up the case, delaying the trial. The allegations against Willis were brought up by a lawyer for one of Trump's co-defendants in the election interference case charging him and others with trying to overturn the state's election result. Both Willis and Wade have not denied their affair, but said that it started after Wade was hired as a special prosecutor -- hence was not motivated by the relationship -- and that they shared the expenses for trips they took together, meaning Willis did not benefit from the payments to him. Both of them were grilled by defence lawyers who brought up their personal and financial matters. In the Washington case accusing Trump of trying to overturn the election result, Federal Judge Tanya Chutkan, who is hearing set the trial date for March 4, but that hinges on a challenge by Trump to the Supreme Court. It will have to adjudicate Trump's claim that as he was the President on that day, he has immunity in the case. If the court does not summarily dismiss the appeal and takes it up for hearings, the federal case will be on hold till it is resolved. That case charges Trump with instigating the January 6, 2021 riots during which his supporters overran the Capitol to prevent Congress from approving President Joe Biden's election. Trump is facing a trial date of May 20 in the official secrets case where he is accused of illegally taking away with him classified documents after leaving office and keeping them. Last week, a federal judge in New York refused Trump's request to declare a mistrial in the case of defamation that awarded damages of $83.5 million. In that case, he was found to have defamed a woman by repeatedly saying that he had not assaulted her, even though a court had ruled that he had in a civil case brought by the woman. The Supreme Court is also hearing an appeal against a ruling by Colorado courts that he could not be on the ballot in the state because he was involved with his supporters who attacked the Capitol on January 6, 2021, and this amounted to an insurrection. The US Constitution forbids those who participated in insurrections from holding offices. (Arul Louis can be contacted at arul.l@ians.in and followed at @arulouis) Sanaa, Feb 16 : Yemen's Houthi group has claimed responsibility for attacking a British ship in the Gulf of Aden with several missiles. "We carried out a military operation against a British ship, Lycavitos, while it was sailing in the Gulf of Aden," Yahya Sarea, the Houthi military spokesman, said in a statement aired by the group's al-Masirah satellite TV channel on Thursday. The Houthis launched several missiles that hit the ship "directly and accurately", Xinhua news agency reported, citing Sarea. The Barbados-flagged ship Lycavitos was sailing in the Indian Ocean to the east of Aden when it was hit by a missile strike, said a Yemeni government coast guard official who required anonymity. Preliminary information indicated the vessel sustained minor damage from a fragment that struck the diesel generator's pipe, causing a diesel leak, the official said. All crew members were unharmed in the incident. Earlier in the day, the UK Maritime Operations Authority said it received a report of an explosion around 85 nautical miles east of Aden. The ship's captain reported that the crew members were all safe as the ship headed toward its next port. "We will continue to attack Israel-linked ships or those heading to Israeli ports in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden until the aggression on Gaza stops and the siege on the Palestinian people is lifted," Sarea said in the statement. "We are in the process of taking further military measures in response to the American-British aggression on our country and confirming our practical position to support the Palestinian people," he added. Meanwhile, the US and British forces on Thursday conducted new airstrikes on Yemen's Red Sea port city of Hodeidah, the TV channel reported. The airstrikes hit the area of al-Jah in the district of Bayt al-Faqih, south of Hodeidah, and the Al-Jabanah area in the northern part of the port city, the report said, without providing more details. Since last November, Yemen's Houthi group has been carrying out attacks in the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandab Strait on ships linked to Israel, in a move to show its solidarity with Hamas fighting with Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip since last October. In response, the US and UK have launched airstrikes and missile attacks on Houthi targets in Yemen since January 12. The Houthis have vowed to retaliate by expanding attacks on ships, including American and British commercial and military vessels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. The kind of systemic failures that enabled the high-profile prison deaths of notorious gangster Whitey Bulger and financier Jeffrey Epstein also contributed to the deaths of hundreds of other federal prisoners over the years, a watchdog report released Thursday found. Mental health care, emergency responses and the detection of contraband drugs and weapons all are lacking, according to the latest scathing report to raise alarms about the chronically understaffed, crisis-plagued federal Bureau of Prisons. The agency said its already taken substantial steps toward reducing preventable deaths, though it acknowledged theres a need for improvements, including in mental heath care assessments. The Justice Department watchdog report, triggered in part by those high-profile deaths, examined 344 deaths over the course of eight years. Investigators found policy violations and operational failures in many of those cases. Among the 187 suicide cases, they found inmates whose mental health assessments appeared wrong and others who were housed in a single cell, which increases the risk of suicide. Staff also failed to do sufficient checks of prisoners in one-third of the suicide cases, something investigators also found contributed to Epsteins 2019 suicide as he awaited trial on sex trafficking charges. In that case, authorities have said guards were sleeping and shopping online instead of checking on him every 30 minutes as required. The prison also failed to search his cell and never carried out a recommendation to assign him a cellmate, factors that were also echoed in other cases. The report examined deaths from 2014 through 2021 and found the numbers increasing in recent years even as the inmate population dropped. In many cases, prison officials could not produce documents required by their own policies, the report states. Investigators focused on potentially preventable deaths, rather than people who died while receiving health care in prison. The second-highest number of deaths documented in the report were homicides, including Bulger, who was beaten to death by fellow prisoners in 2018. Investigators found significant shortcomings in staffers emergency responses in more than half of death cases, including a lack of urgency, a hesitancy to use the opioid-overdose drug naloxone and equipment problems. In one instance, a prisoner died after a health care staffer accidentally turned off a defibrillator instead of administering an electric charge. Contraband drugs and weapons also contributed to a third of deaths, including for 70 inmates who died of drug overdoses, said Michael Horowitz, the Justice Departments inspector general. In one case, a prisoner managed to amass more than 1,000 pills in a cell despite multiple searches, including the day before the death, the report found. The system is facing major operational challenges, including outdated camera systems and widespread staffing storages that make overworked employees into walking zombies, some of whom are required to work 16-hour-days, the report states. One prison went without a full-time staff physician for more than a year, and lack of clinical staffing at many others made it difficult to assess prisoners mental health and suicide risk, the report found. Todays report identifies numerous operational and managerial deficiencies, which created unsafe conditions prior to and at the time of a number of these inmate deaths, Horowitz said. It is critical that the BOP address these challenges so it can operate safe and humane facilities and protect inmates in its custody and care. The Bureau of Prisons said any unexpected death of an adult in custody is tragic, and outlined steps it has taken to prevent suicides, screen for contraband and make opioid-overdose reversal drugs available in prisons. The agency said its also working to reduce the number of people housed alone and forestall conflicts that could lead to homicides. An ongoing Associated Press investigation has uncovered deep, previously unreported problems within the Bureau of Prisons, including rampant sexual abuse and other staff criminal conduct, dozens of escapes, chronic violence, deaths and severe staffing shortages that have hampered responses to emergencies, including inmate assaults and suicides. Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAIS USA Edition Lucknow, Feb 16 : The Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (STF) has arrested three drug peddlers for supplying narcotics, including MDMA and Charas, from Gomti Nagar in Lucknow. The arrests were made on Thursday evening, said an official. According to the STF official, the three have been identified as Ahsan Afzal Khan, Deepak Kumar Gupta and Karan Mehta, all residents of Lucknow. The authorities seized 66 grams of MDMA and 500 grams of Charas valued at Rs 40 lakh from them. Officials said that these drugs were intended for distribution not only to students residing in rented accommodations in Indira Nagar and Chinhat areas but also to the pubs, bars, and hotels in the vicinity. The officials added that Ahsan Afzal Khan is suspected to be the mastermind behind this drug operation. Attack on Indian students: US says "working very hard" to address the issue. Image Source: IANS News Washington, Feb 16 : Asserting that there is no excuse for violence based on race or gender, the White House has said that the US is working very hard to thwart and disrupt attacks on Indians as well as Indian-origin students. A series of attacks beginning this year has put the focus back on the security and safety of the Indian students across the country which has witnessed more than four deaths from the community. "Thereas no excuse for violence, certainly based on race or gender or religion or any other factor. Thatas just unacceptable here in the United States," John Kirby, Coordinator for Strategic Communications at the National Security Council in the White House, said on Thursday. Allaying the fears of parents in India as well as in the US, Kirby said President Joe Biden and his administration are working "very hard" to address the situation. "The President and this administration have been working very, very hard to make sure weare doing everything we can to work with state and local authorities to try to thwart and disrupt those kinds of attacks and make it clear to anybody who might consider them that theyall be held properly accountable," Kirby said in response to a question. Five Indian students have died in quick succession in the US since the start of this year, including Shreyas Reddy Benigeri in Cincinnati and Purdue University's Neel Acharya in Indiana. External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said that the welfare of Indian students abroad is one of the foremost priorities of the government. Indian students constitute more than 25 per cent of the over one million foreign students studying in the US, according to a November 2023 Open Doors report. The number of Indians who travelled to the US for higher education increased by 35 per cent and resulted in an all-time high of 2,68,923 students in the academic year 2022-23, the report said. Last year, the US consular team in India issued over 140,000 student visas -- more than in any other country in the world, setting a record for the third year in a row. Washington, Feb 16 : Hindu-American Tulsi Gabbard, a 2020 Democratic presidential candidate, has spoken to Republican frontrunner Donald Trump and his advisors about the country's foreign policy, keeping her options as the former President's 2024 running mate 'open', media reports suggested. The first Hindu in the US Congress left the Democratic Party in 2022, calling it an "elitist cabal of warmongers" and accusing its leadership of "cowardly wokeness". Now, with the country likely set for a Trump-Joe Biden rematch in 2024, the talks with Gabbard focused on how the Defence Department should be run in case of a second Trump term, The Washington Post reported. Also, with Trump telling his advisors and donors time and again that his personnel choices at the Pentagon cost him, there were broader conversations on how Trump 2.0 would manage things differently. A military veteran, who served in the Iraq war between 2004 and 2005 for the Hawaii Army National Guard before entering Congress, Gabbard has long been critical of US intervention overseas and has also blamed Russia's invasion of Ukraine on Biden's failed foreign policy. "She appeals to Republicans who are skeptical of intervention overseas, which is now a majority of Republican voters," GOP strategist Andrew Surabian told Newsweek. While appearing on Fox News' Fox & Friends recently, the former Hawaii representative said she would be "open" to a conversation with Trump on running as his 2024 running mate. "I'd be open to that conversation. My mission in life is to serve our country and serve the American people and find the best way to be able to do that," Gabbard said. Gabbard recently inked a deal with Elon Musk to host a show on X to "defend free speech", saying she will be sharing stories of those whose "voices have been silenced". Trump, bulldozing his way to grab the crucial GOP nomination for the 2024 presidential race, is yet to announce his vice-presidential pick. While media speculation throws up several candidates, Trump has said very little about whom he or she he has shortlisted or even what qualities he's looking for in a potential candidate, media reports said. Melbourne, Feb 16 : An Indian national has died in a flooding incident in Queensland as wild weather battered the region with severe rain and thunderstorms, the Indian High Commission in Canberra said on Friday. Expressing condolences, the Indian mission said that it is in touch with the family and providing all possible assistance. "Heartbreaking tragedy in Australia: an Indian national lost her life in a flooding incident near Mount Isa, Queensland. Deepest condolence to the family of the deceased. Mission team is in touch for all necessary assistance," the Indian High Commission posted on X. While further details are awaited, the victim's name was not revealed by the mission. The local media reported that a 28-year-old woman was found dead inside a partially submerged car in floodwaters in Queensland on Friday. Australia's Bureau of Meteorology in the country has issued a severe thunderstorm alert for parts of southeast Queensland, which includes heavy rainfall warnings across Logan, Redland City and parts of Brisbane. According to the most recent update by the bureau, a severe thunderstorm was likely to produce heavy rainfall that may lead to flash-flooding in some parts of the state. Lucknow, Feb 16 : As part of its spiritual tourism policy, the Uttar Pradesh government has been renovating ancient temples in various districts. Around 300 temples in all the 75 districts of the state are being renovated. A sum of Rs 50 lakh for each of these temples has been allocated for the refurbishment and renovation. In case of big temples, a separate fund of up to Rs 2 crore each has been allocated. The work to renovate the temples was reportedly undertaken soon after the formation of Yogi government 2.0. Uttar Pradesh tourism and culture Minister Jaiveer Singh said, "Several temples are centuries' old and required repair but remained neglected under successive governments. The Uttar Pradesh government decided to restore the glory and fame of the temples. The district administrations and people's representatives were directed to send the list of the temples in their areas that required renovation." Then, the list was handed over to the construction agencies to prepare the estimate of the works. Some of the reconstructed and renovated temples include Bateshwar Dham temple in Agra district, Rupani Devi temple in Firozabad, Aamani Baba temple in Aligarh, Kailash temple in Etah, Taragarh temple in Hathras, Lalpuri temple in Mainpuri and Laxmi temple in Mathura, Hathiram Baba temple in Ayodhya. The Shiva Baba temple in Ambedkar Nagar, Mahadev temple in Barabanki, Ram Janaki temple in Amethi, Jalhidham temple in Gonda, Baba Bihari Das temple in Bahraich, Maa Pateshwari temple in Balrampur and Jharkhand Mahadev temple in Gorakhpur are also on this list. The minister said, "We have hired architects for the restoration works in the temples. The funds were released accordingly to the agencies to complete the restoration work." The minister further said that "Apart from the structure of the temples, their premises and boundary walls have also been reconstructed. Sheds have been erected, arrangements for drinking water have been made and benches installed in the temple area. The link roads connecting the temple to the nearby highways or villages have been repaired to facilitate the visit of pilgrims and tourists. Guest houses are being constructed near prominent temples." The infrastructural development around these temples will facilitate the movement of tourists in the area. "These temples are centres of religious and cultural activities. Along with performing religious rituals, the local people assemble for cultural activities, including bhajan, kirtan and Ram katha," he said. All the while, the accent was on the quality of work and adherence to standards was ensured before making payments. "After completion, a technical team was sent by the tourism and culture department to check the quality of the works and submit a report. Funds were released to the construction agencies according to the technical team's report," Jaiveer Singh said. He further said the UP government has made the restoration work in the temples a continuous process. "After the works in the temples have been completed, the officers and people have been directed to send a list of the remaining temples in their areas," he said. The minister said that "We have also constituted a district tourism and culture council in all the 75 districts to monitor the construction, organise festivals and cultural activities on the temple premises. The village committee has been given musical instruments for revival of traditional bhajans and kirtans in temples." Singh further said constitution of the Braj Teerth Vikas Parishad, Vindhya Dham Teerth Vikas Parishad, Shree Ayodhya Jee Teerth Vikas Parishad, Shree Devipatan Dham Teerth Vikas Parishad and Shree Shuk Teerth Vikas Parishad will give momentum to renovation of the temples and development of religious spots in various districts. The minister said that the construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya was the flagship project of the state government plan to renovate and rebuild the temples across the state. Five years after father's suicide, IB officer's daughter ends life in Delhi. Image Source: IANS News New Delhi, Feb 16 : A 23-year-old student of IIT-Delhi was found hanging from a ceiling fan in Dronagiri Hostel, a police official said on Friday. The deceased was identified as Varad Sanjay Nerkar, a native of Nashik in Maharashtra and M.Tech final year student. Sharing the details, the official said that on Thursday, a call regarding hanging of a student was received following which a police team rushed to the spot. Upon reaching the spot, Nerkar was found hanging from the ceiling fan with the help of a bedsheet. "As Nerkar's phone was not reachable, one of his friends along with security staff of IIT campus had broken the door," said a senior police officer. "Investigation is underway from all angles," the official added. Six held for swindling over Rs 1 cr from Kanya Vivah Yojna in UP. Image Source: IANS News Kanpur, Feb 16 : Six people have been arrested on siphoning off over one crore in the Kanya Vivah Yojana in Uttar Pradesh's Kanpur district. Those arrested on Thursday include one couple and an assistant accountant of the labour department. Police claimed that with the help of an assistant accountant, the mastermind hacked the web portal while his alleged girlfriend and associates transferred money to the accounts of fake beneficiaries before transferring it into his account and distributed it among the gang. Labour department had outsourced the assistant accountant, Udit Mishra, to resolve other issues related to the accounting software. DCP (Crime) Ashish Srivastava said Mishra ran a business centre in Sajeti area of the district. "An ethical hacker, he used to earn money by pointing out shortcomings in government and private websites and portals and had developed links with officials of Labour department," he said. Police said the labour department's officials from Lucknow too started seeking help from him to resolve issues related to the portal, which gave him strong foothold in the department. "Mishra got acquainted with Vinay Dixit, the assistant accountant in the treasury office of education department with additional charge of the labour department and with his help, Mishra obtained digital signature of the Treasury officer. "A sum of Rs 1,10,00,000 was transferred through fake registration of 201 ineligible applicants and applying for the Kanya Vivah Yojana. Mishra first did a trial run, transferring Rs 15 lakh to various accounts by creating fake applicants," a senior police official said. The fraud came to fore when the investigation team searched the bank accounts of Mishra and his brother Ankit, said police. "Vinay Dixit had provided bank account numbers to transfer Rs 15 lakh withdrawn during the trial. Mishra, his girlfriend Nancy Thakur and brother Ankit, took help of the Jan Seva Kendra network to make the huge amount of money. He scanned for people who could provide him Aadhaar number or bank account of various people and came in contact with Mohammad Yasin and Lalit Kashyap of Moradabad, along with Muntazir and Arjan, Mastan of Amroha and Sitapur after depositing money in bank and payments bank accounts provided them. Later, Udit put the money back into Ankit's account," the police added. New Delhi, Feb 16 : World-renowned Chef and Author Shannon Bennett is set to embark on a much anticipated culinary tour, bringing his innovative gastronomic creations for the very first time to Prego at The Westin Gurgaon, New Delhi on 25th February from 7 pm - 11 pm. The Shannon Bennett tour, organised by World on a Plate (WOAP) in association with Johnny Walker Blue Label, promises an unforgettable experience for food enthusiasts in Gurgaon. Kiran Soans, CEO of World on a Plate says, "The event will be an intimate affair, hosting only 50 guests. Upon arrival at 7 PM, attendees will be treated to pre-drinks at the bar, setting the stage for an exquisite culinary journey. Throughout the night, attendees will relish in lively conversation, savour exceptional cuisine, and bask in the vibrant ambiance of this culinary spectacle." Best known for his pioneering work as the head chef of Vue de Monde at Melbourne's iconic Rialto Tower, Shannon Bennett is a culinary luminary celebrated for his inventive approach to modern Australian-European cuisine. With a stellar career spanning decades, Bennett has garnered international acclaim for his culinary expertise, authoring six books and owning multiple hospitality venues in Melbourne. During this exclusive tour, Shannon Bennett will unveil his latest culinary venture at The Westin Gurgaon's renowned Italian restaurant, Prego, promising a journey through his brand-new culinary wonderland. Guests will be treated to a sumptuous modern Australian-European 7-course degustation menu, featuring a tantalising array of starters, entrees, main courses, signature desserts, and petit fours. Each course will be thoughtfully paired with exquisite selections from Johnny Walker Blue Label, elevating the dining experience with an unparalleled symphony of flavours tailored especially for the Indian palate. "We are thrilled to welcome renowned chef Shannon Bennett to Prego at The Westin Gurgaon for this extraordinary culinary tour. Shannon's innovative approach to modern Australian-European cuisine perfectly complements the vibrant dining experience we offer at Prego. We are excited to showcase his culinary brilliance to our guests and provide them with an unforgettable evening of gastronomic delights." says Deewan Singh Dhami, Director of Food & Beverage at The Westin Gurgaon. IANSlife can be contacted at ianslife@ians.in Jammu, Feb 16 : Alert troops of the Army on Friday intercepted a Pakistani drone along the Line of Control (LoC) in J&K's Poonch district. Officials said that alert troops intercepted the drone in the Baloni area of Krishna Ghati sector in Mendhar (Poonch) and forced it to return by firing at it. "The incident took place around 7.10 a.m. today when a Pakistani drone was seen coming near one of the Army posts in Mendhar area. "Army fired a few rounds at the drone forcing it to return back," the officials said. Sonipat, Feb 16 : The three-day World Universities Summit on "Universities of the Future: A Global Partnership for Social Justice and Sustainable Development" organised by the International Institute for Higher Education Research & Capacity Building (IIHEd) of O.P. Jindal Global University (JGU), Sonipat, will commence on February 19. The World Universities Summit 2024 (WUS 2024) will be a hybrid event, commencing with two days of 25 virtual thematic sessions and concluding with a Higher Education Leaders Conclave at JGU university campus on February 21. The WUS 2024 will be inaugurated in the august presence of the Minister of State for Education, Subhas Sarkar. The guests of honour at the inaugural session are Ashwin Fernandes, Executive Director (AMESA); QS Quacquarelli Symonds; Pankaj Mittal, Secretary General, Association of Indian Universities; and Virander S. Chauhan, former Chairman, University Grants Commission. Across three days, WUS 2024 will convene more than 225 academics and university leaders from more than 100 leading universities in the world with representation from 20 countries and six continents. The summit will host nearly 85 Vice-Chancellors, Provosts, Rectors, Registrars, Presidents, Vice-Presidents, Deputy Presidents, Founding Deans and Executive Deans. The WUS has been conceptualised by JGU with a vision to create a platform for universities worldwide to help shape the universities of the future. A tradition started during the pandemic in 2020, the summit has been held in the virtual mode for the convenience of the international speakers. In the past three editions of the summit, about 120 Presidents and Vice-Chancellors of leading universities from the US, the UK, Australia and other parts of the world have been a part of the summit. The Higher Education Leaders Conclave in partnership with Pritam Singh Foundation will host some of the distinguished scholars in the field of Higher Education -- Philip G. Altbach, Professor Emeritus, Centre for International Higher Education, Boston College, US; Shailendra Raj Mehta, President and Director, MICA; Bhushan Patwardhan, Former Vice Chairman, University Grants Commission. The conclave will facilitate debates and discussions among 100 vice-chancellors and higher education leaders from the Delhi-NCR region on the evolving role of universities in championing social justice and sustainable development. C. Raj Kumar, the Founding Vice-Chancellor, JGU and Director, IIHEd, remarked on the summit and said, "The 'World Universities Summit' was conceptualised to envision a collaborative future where universities worldwide forge meaningful partnerships by facilitating dialogues and opportunities to help shape the universities of the future. Our aim is to create truly global perspectives and I am humbled to share with you that the fourth edition of the summit will bring together over 225 thought leaders representing more than 100 universities from 20 countries and six continents. Over 25 thematic sessions have been carefully crafted to ensure that we deliberate and explore the evolving role of universities in championing social justice and sustainable development. To ensure a well-rounded perspective we will also have leaders from global organisations, including the Association of Commonwealth Universities, the Association of American Universities and Colleges, Quacquarelli Symonds and World Bank." Forty years after the Star Wars program, the alleged development of space weaponry with which the Ronald Reagan administration (1981-1989) aimed to force Moscow into excessive defense spending, leading to the economic collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia now has a novel anti-satellite weapon system. The White House confirmed it this Thursday, a day after the House Intelligence Committee warned of a serious national security threat. The presidential office tried to downplay the significance of the project, which was leaked at a time when Washington is engaged in a profound debate about where it should direct its foreign policy: whether it should maintain a global perspective or whether, as former president Donald Trump believes, it should make a shift towards isolationism. The alert concerns a Russian anti-satellite weapon system, White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby confirmed this afternoon in a press conference in which he did not allude to the new weapon being nuclear, as some U.S. media had suggested. Kirby called on the public to remain calm: though the Russian device is troublesome, he acknowledged, it is not active and there is no immediate threat to anyones safety. Were not talking about a weapon that can be used to attack human beings or cause physical destruction here on Earth, he said. We take the threat very seriously, he added, assuring that President Joe Biden has been briefed on the matter. Biden has ordered a series of steps, including briefings in Congress and diplomatic contacts with Russia and with our partners and allies, as well as with other countries. The existence of the Russian plans is something that the U.S. intelligence services had been following closely for months, according to Kirby, and that had recently been communicated to several congresspeople specialized in the intelligence area. White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan had called a meeting this Thursday with the so-called group of eight, the highest-ranking legislators for intelligence matters in both chambers, to address the weapon an indication of the rapid advances of Russian military technology on the war fronts of the future: space, artificial intelligence, autonomous weapons. The Russian project is a nuclear system that could destroy civilian communications, spy and surveillance, and military coordination and control satellites of both the United States and its allies from space, The New York Times reported. At the moment, the United States does not have the ability to counter such a weapon and defend its satellites, a former official told The New York Times. The alert was raised on Wednesday, when the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, Republican Congressman Mike Turner, issued a cryptic statement warning of a serious threat to U.S. national security and calling for the declassification of all related information, so that the actions necessary to respond to this threat can be discussed. On Monday, the committee had approved almost unanimously to disclose the data it had to the rest of the legislators. Turners warning caused deep discomfort in the White House, where officials worry that declassifying such information would jeopardize valuable intelligence sources. Sullivan, who on Wednesday appeared before the media to discuss another issue, aid to Ukraine, expressed his surprise at the Republicans move. Turner has justified his decision by assuring that the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence worked in consultation with the Biden Administration to notify Congress of this national security threat and that the White House agreed that it was a serious matter. But his press release came at a particularly sensitive time in Congress and in U.S. foreign policy. The Senate this week passed a bill allocating $95 billion for national security, including $60.1 billion for Ukraine and $14 billion for Israel, after four months of negotiations. The measure has now passed on to the House of Representatives, where its future is uncertain. Though a majority formed by the Democratic caucus and moderate Republican lawmakers support aid to the invaded country, a growing part of the Republican conference rejects it, aligning itself with Trump, the foreseeable Republican candidate in the November presidential elections. The Speaker of the House, Republican Mike Johnson, does not intend to bring the bill to a floor vote. The dispute over aid to Ukraine encapsulates a much broader debate, which erupted during Trumps term in office and seemed to have been resolved in the early years of Joe Bidens term: what is the role of the United States in the world and how should it respond to the threat posed by rivals such as Russia, China or other authoritarian countries. The former Republican president, who during his term practiced, or threatened to practice, an isolationist policy, made it clear last weekend that his position has not changed. In declarations that have now been heard around the world and caused concern among NATOs European partners he indicated his willingness to let Russia do whatever the hell it wants with members that do not invest 2% of their GDP in defense. He has also declared himself against any foreign aid that does not come in the form of loans. In contrast, President Joe Biden called Trumps statements un-American and dangerous. The Democrat defends the global involvement of the United States as necessary for the national security of the worlds leading economy. And part of that involvement involves maintaining economic and military aid to Ukraine in its fight against the Russian invasion. In this context, several Republican congressmen have called on Johnson to open an investigation into Turners decision to issue a public alert. In Russia, Vladimir Putins government attributed the alert to Washingtons interest in approving aid to Ukraine. Presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: Its obvious that Washington is trying to force Congress to vote on the aid bill by hook or by crook. Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAIS USA Edition New Delhi, Feb 16 : The Supreme Court on Friday said that it will consider urgent listing of the plea filed by Sharad Pawar challenging the decision of Election Commission of India (ECI) which had recognised the faction led by Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar as the 'real' Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and allotted it the party's 'clock' symbol. A bench presided over by CJI D.Y. Chandrachud agreed to list the matter at the earliest after senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for Sharad Pawar, sought directions for urgent listing of the plea on February 19. Singhvi said that a strange situation would arise if Sharad Pawar faction is subjected to party whip in the Assembly session commencing this weekend. "Our case is worse than Uddhav Thackeray as we have not been allotted any alternate poll symbol," he explained to the apex court. The plea arraying Ajit Pawar as respondent was filed by Sharad Pawar on February 12 through advocate Abhishek Jebaraj The Ajit Pawar side has already filed a caveat last week, saying that it should be heard, before the top court proceeds to pass any order. A caveat serves as a notice submitted to an appellate court by a litigant who wishes to be heard in case any orders are issued regarding an opponent's appeal that challenges the decision made by the lower judicial or quasi-judicial body. Delivering the verdict on the disqualification petitions filed by both rival NCP factions after the party split in June 2023, Maharashtra Legislative Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar on Thursday ruled that the faction led by Deputy CM Ajit Pawar is the 'real' NCP. The NCP split in July last year, with a faction led by Ajit Pawar rebelling against his uncle and NCP founder Sharad Pawar to join the ruling BJP-Shiv Sena government in Maharashtra. After that, both sides laid claim to the party name and symbol. New Delhi, Feb 16 : In an era of Industry 4.0, defined by technological advancements and global connectivity, prioritising global education for students has become more crucial than ever. With the National Education Policy significantly emphasising experiential learning and a global learning experience, prominent educational institutions are embracing strategic measures to enable this transformation. In a similar move towards enhancing global educational opportunities, Chitkara University has announced the establishment of the Chitkara International College (CIC) in association with Arizona State University (ASU). This initiative aims to enhance global educational opportunities for students as ASU is renowned for its innovative approach to education and is considered as one of the most advanced universities in the US. This partnership is a significant milestone for Chitkara University as it is the first university in Punjab to collaborate with Arizona State University for an innovative educational model. As part of the initiative, Chitkara International College will offer ASU degree programmes to Punjab students for the first two years, facilitating their transition to ASU for the final two years. According to the official press statement of the announcement, the number of Indian students enrolled in foreign universities has grown significantly over the years. In 2021, 440,000 Indian students were studying abroad. However, this number has increased to 750,000 in 2022. As a result, India has become one of the top two sources of international students around the globe. Furthermore, it is estimated that the number of Indian students studying abroad will reach 1.3 million in the coming years, with the US being their preferred destination. According to the Professor of Practice School of Public Affairs (SPA) at ASU, Rick Shangraw, "We are introducing a computer science programme with Chitkara University, and we plan to unveil more programmes in business, global management, and other engineering domains. These programs are essential to the Fourth Industrial Revolution.a" "In order to transfer to Arizona State University from Chitkara, students must meet a minimum high school GPA requirement. The estimated cost for the final two years at ASU will be around $30,000 per year and an annual hostel fee of $6,000," Shangraw added. On the other hand, during the first two years at Chitkara University, students will have to shell out Rs five lakh per annum, according to Madhu Chitkara, Pro-Chancellor, Chitkara University, Punjab and Himachal Pradesh Chairperson, Chitkara International School, Chandigarh and Panchkula, General Secretary, Chitkara Educational Trust. Upon graduation, graduates of this STEM programme will also be eligible for a three-year OPT work opportunity, which will give them valuable international experience and boost their careers. In addition, students will have access to unique international exchange programmes and global learning opportunities at ASU and other universities worldwide via Chitkara University's membership in the ASU-Cintana Alliance. With digital transformation and the fourth industrial revolution making inroads into our daily lives, such programmes will go a long way in future-proofing students for emerging opportunities and challenges. As the number of Indian students studying abroad continues to rise, initiatives like this will play a crucial role in delivering students with a world-class education and practical international experience. Washington, Feb 16 : US House Representative Jamie Raskin, a top Democrat from Maryland, a member of the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability, has called for an end to the Republican-led impeachment inquiry against President Joe Biden after the Justice Department special counsel indicted a witness for making "false" statements to the FBI. Alexander Smirnov, an informant with the FBI since 2010, was indicted for allegedly making false claims to the bureau in 2020 about the Ukrainian energy company Burisma paying off the President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden $5 million each. The alleged "false claim" has been central to House Republicans' corruption allegations against Biden. Representative Raskin said the indictment from special counsel David Weiss showed "how key evidence at the heart of House Republicans' impeachment inquiry is based on a lie". "In a detailed indictment, Special Counsel David Weiss--who was appointed by former President Donald Trump--has demonstrated how key evidence at the heart of House Republicans' impeachment inquiry is based on a lie," Raskin said in a statement. "Special Counsel Weiss's investigation is just the most recent to debunk the Ukraine-Burisma conspiracy theory at the heart of this fraudulent impeachment inquiry." "It is an undeniable fact that Republicans' allegations against President Biden have always been a tissue of lies built on conspiracy theories, and I formally call on Speaker Johnson, Chairman Comer, and House Republicans to stop promoting this nonsense and end their doomed impeachment inquiry," Raskin was quoted by the Washington Examiner. House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (Representative from Kentucky), key investigator in the impeachment efforts against Joe Biden, said on Thursday that the indictment of Smirnov doesn't undermine the House GOP's impeachment inquiry. "To be clear, the impeachment inquiry is not reliant on the FBI's FD-1023. It is based on a large record of evidence, including bank records and witness testimony, revealing that Joe Biden knew of and participated in his family's business dealings," Comer said in a statement, referring to the document he subpoenaed the FBI for last year. In response to Raskin's statement, the GOP Oversight Committee wrote on X, "We have over $30 million reasons to continue this investigation and not one of those reasons relies on the corrupt FBI or an informant. Bank records don't lie." Jaipur, Feb 16 : Even as rumours of Congress MLA Mahendrajeet Singh Malviya joining the BJP flew thick and fast in Rajasthan, the veteran leader reached New Delhi on Friday, where for the first time, he slammed the grand old party in front of the media. Even though the BJP and the Congress leader's office remained tight-lipped about the possibility of him joining the BJP, sources close to Malviya said that he has decided to leave the party. In Delhi, Malviya tried to corner the Congress high command without taking names. He said, "You all are seeing the situation in the Congress. The vision that propelled the party earlier is no longer there. I was not made a minister for three years. My name was and still is in the CWC. The Congress is limited now to being surrounded by a few people." Malviya currently represents the Bagidora Assembly seat in Banswara District. Party sources said that Malviya was miffed over not being made the Leader of Opposition. He was also not happy with the fact that the Congress high command did not meet him while he had camped in Delhi for several days to present his case. Even though senior leader KC Venugopal met him it was a brief meeting that lasted for barely two-three minutes. Also, the fact that no one from the tribal area was sent to the Rajya Sabha, left Malviya disappointed as he has a huge following in the belt. All these factors and the fact that no serious effort was made by the Congress party to pacify Malviya had resulted in disillusionment for the senior leader. On the other hand, he came in contact with the think tank of the BJP, especially some prominent tribal leaders of the saffron party in Gujarat, which resulted in him deciding to leave the Congress camp. Guwahati, Feb 16 : Kamalakhya Dey Purkayastha, a three-time MLA, who resigned as Assam Pradesh Congress Committee president and "extended" support to the BJP, has revealed that the grand-old party leader Rahul Gandhi "insulted" the party MLAs when he was in northeast during the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra. "When Congress went to forge an alliance with 15 parties in Assam, many of us resisted the decision because most of the parties do not have any strength on ground. Raijor Dal chief Akhil Gogoi met Rahul Gandhi in Jorhat district and told him that Congress legislators remain mute spectators in the assembly which was not at all true. However, Gandhi scolded his own party legislators badly," Purkayastha said. Purkayastha told IANS: "The leadership is the root cause of Congress' downfall. When Gandhi arrived in Dhubri during his yatra, he misbehaved with the party legislators on Gogoi's provocation. Gandhi threatened the party MLAs of suspension from the Congress. My fellow MLAs felt very much insulted at that time." He also claimed, "Most of the Congress legislators in Assam are with the BJP government whether they openly admit the fact or not." Two Congress MLAs -- Purkayastha and Basanta Das -- on Wednesday went to meet Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma during the ongoing budget session of the assembly and tendered their support to the ruling party. Das was a minister in the Tarun Gogoi-led Congress government in Assam. However, both the legislators have announced that they are not resigning from the Congress party and will continue to support the BJP government in the state despite being a primary member of the opposition party. The legislators chose this way of supporting the BJP to avoid by-elections in their constituencies. Sarma said, "Showing faith in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's development politics, the two Congress MLAs have chosen to support the government. They will support both the central and state governments with all public welfare initiatives and beneficial projects." He also mentioned that both the legislators are not joining the BJP. Meanwhile, both Purkayastha and Das were slapped with show-cause notices for their open announcement of "supporting" the BJP. Kolkata, Feb 16 : Enforcement Directorate (ED) sleuths have started probing the Bangladesh links of Biswajit Das, the Kolkata-based businessman who was arrested by the central agency sleuths in connection with the ration distribution case in West Bengal. Sources said that Das, a close confidante of West Bengal Minister Jyotipriya Mallick and Trinamool Congress leader Shankar Adhya, used to visit Bangladesh frequently. Even a day before his arrest on February 14 he was in Bangladesh. He hurriedly returned to Kolkata on February 13 evening after being informed that the ED sleuths were conducting raid and search operations at his premises. Both Mallick and Adhya are in judicial custody now for their alleged involvement in the ration distribution case and Das's name surfaced in the course of interrogation of Adhya by the ED sleuths. Sources said that as the ED sleuths are getting deeper into their investigation in the ration distribution, the investigating officials are securing additional clues relating to hawala and Bangladesh links in diversion of the ill-gotten proceeds in the alleged scam, Adhya and Das, as per the latest findings of the central agency sleuths, played the key role in first converting the alleged scam proceeds through multiple foreign exchange dealing entities and then diverting the same abroad through the hawala route. The two main countries, according to sources, where these funds were diverted through the hawala route, are Bangladesh and Dubai. On Friday, at the end of the ED custody, Das was presented at a special court of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in Kolkata. The hearing in the matter at that special court is currently on. While being brought out of ED office on Friday after, Das spoke briefly to the media and claimed innocence. "Yes I knew Shankar Adhya. But I never had any sort of intimacy with him. Grave injustice has been done with me. I am an ordinary businessman. I am not involved in any kind of political activities," Das claimed. Tokyo/Seoul, Feb 16 : Japan is "paying attention to" the remarks by the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un about her openness to mending ties and discussing a possible visit to Pyongyang by Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, its top government spokesperson said on Friday. Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi made the comment, referring to Kim Yo-jong's comments on Thursday that Kishida might be able to visit North Korea under certain conditions, such as that Tokyo will not raise the longstanding issue of Japanese abductees, Yonhap news agency reported. "We are paying attention to the fact that Vice Director Kim has issued the statement," Hayashi said in a regular briefing. Without giving further comments, Hayashi restated that Kishida and the Japanese government have been making efforts at various levels to realise a summit with the North Korea's leader to resolve pending issues with Pyongyang. But Hayashi made it clear that Japan will not accept North Korea's claim that the abductees issue has been resolved. "We cannot accept that," he said. "We remain unchanged that Japan intends to comprehensively resolve pending issues such as nuclear and missiles and the abductions, based on the Japan-North Korea Pyongyang Declaration." In 2002, Japan and North Korea signed a landmark declaration committing them to an early normalisation of bilateral ties. The signing came with the first historic visit to North Korea by the then Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi in the same year. This led to North Korea returning five Japanese abductees home. Kim Yo-jong's comments came after Kishida said at a recent parliamentary session that various activities are under way, in response to a question about Tokyo's push for a potential summit with North Korea. Kim also said North Korea and Japan can open up a "new future" together if Tokyo makes a political decision to pave a new path for mending relations through "courteous behaviour and trustworthy action". Japan claims that North Korea abducted 17 Japanese citizens in the 1970s and 1980s and 12 of them are still in North Korea after it returned the five abductees. North Korea has admitted having abducted 13 Japanese nationals in the past to train its spies in Japanese language and culture. While returning the five, North Korea claimed that the other eight were deceased. South Korea believes that any contact between Tokyo and Pyongyang should be made in a way that would "help promote the peace and stability of the Korean Peninsula," a Foreign Ministry official in Seoul said on condition of anonymity. "We are closely communicating with the Japanese side on North Korean issues, including contact between Tokyo and Pyongyang," the official added. "South Korea, the US and Japan are closely coordinating to bring North Korea back on the path to denuclearisation." New Delhi, Feb 16 : The Delhi High Court on Friday issued a notice to the Delhi Police on a plea by NewsClick founder, Prabir Purkayastha, challenging the FIR in a case lodged under the provisions of the UAPA over allegations that the media outlet received money to spread pro-China propaganda. During the proceedings, Advocate Zoheb Hossain, representing the police, opposed the issuance of notice, citing subsequent developments in the case, notably the involvement of former NewsClick Human Resources (HR) head, Amit Chakravarty, as an approver. Hossain argued that the alleged offences were prima facie established against the accused. Senior Advocate Dayan Krishnan, representing Purkayastha, contested these claims, prompting Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma to issue notice to consider the Delhi Police's response. The court stated the importance of following due process and said: "If I donat issue notice, how will I look into your reply? How will I even read thata Why should I adopt a different procedure? What difference does it make if I issue notice." Ultimately, the court proceeded to issue notice in the matter and scheduled further consideration for July 10. Notably, despite Purkayasthaas plea being listed on four previous occasions, no notice was issued until Friday. On October 13, 2023, Purkayastha and Chakravarty's petitions challenging their arrest and remand were rejected by the high court. This decision has been appealed before the Supreme Court and remains pending before it. The high court on February 7 also reserved its order on the bail plea of Chakravarty. On January 9, Delhi's Patiala House Court had granted permission to Chakravarty to become an approver in the case after he filed an application before Special Judge Hardeep Kaur, seeking pardon in the ongoing case. The trial court had, on January 29, extended till February 17 judicial custody of NewsClick founder-editor Prabir Purkayastha and Chakravarty in the case. In August, a New York Times investigation accused NewsClick of being an organisation funded by a network linked with US millionaire Neville Roy Singham, to allegedly promote Chinese propaganda. Lucknow, Feb 16 : Retired officers and educationists in Uttar Pradesh will visit universities to brief youth about employment policies and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's vision. For this, the chief minister has constituted a special team including 12 retired officers from the Indian Administrative Service, four from the Indian Police Service, and seven from the Indian Forest Service (all retired), along with 19 senior educationists. This team will engage in discussions with youth at different universities/colleges, addressing their queries related to jobs, employment, and career planning on February 17-18. Additionally, they will raise awareness about the Global Investors Summit-2023 and GBC-4.0. The chief minister, on Friday, engaged in a dialogue with the 42-member special team, comprising retired officers and senior educationists where he said, "You are all aware of the success of the Global Investors Summit held in February last year. We received investment proposals of nearly Rs 40 lakh crores, and now, within a year, these proposals are being implemented. "This will immensely contribute to the overall development of the state and provide abundant employment and career opportunities for our youth. You all have witnessed and contributed to the success of this state, and you have been supportive collaborators in this journey. You can interact with the youth and tell them about the progress we have made in the past seven years." He further said, "Each of you possesses extensive experience in public life, having shouldered significant responsibilities. It is expected that our youth will benefit from your experiences, and your support in this endeavour is highly appreciated." The Global Investors Summit-23 is crucial in the sense that it has attracted investments for every district in the state. Now industrial development is not limited only to the NCR or some selected cities, but every district is benefiting from it. The Ground Breaking Ceremony will benefit all 75 districts of the state. All districts will be connected to the main event on February 19, he stated. The chief minister said, "Initiatives such as the Investors Summit and the GBC are not solely for the benefit of entrepreneurs but primarily for our youth. They stand to gain the most from these endeavours. As industries are established, job opportunities will be created, directly benefiting our youth. We are also focusing on enhancing the skills of our youth and creating job opportunities for them." From accuser to accused. Special counsel David Weiss who is in charge of investigating U.S. President Joe Bidens son, Hunter Biden has filed charges against the FBI informant who accused the Bidens of corruption in Ukraine. Alexander Smirnov, 43, falsely told FBI agents in June 2020 that executives linked with Ukrainian energy company Burisma paid Hunter and Joe Biden $5 million each in 2015 or 2016. Smirnov has been charged with making a false statement and creating a false and fictitious record. This false statement which the special counsel argues was politically motivated is what the Republicans have used to accuse Joe Biden of corruption, despite not having any evidence. Its also what led the party to open an impeachment inquiry into Biden. Last summer, Republicans said that Smirnov had acted heroically and demanded that the FBI release his full statement. The chairman of the House Oversight Committee, Republican James Comer, sent a request to the FBI last year to obtain the so-called FD-1023 document containing the statement. But even back then, there were many doubts about whether Smirnovs allegations were true. Weiss is the special counsel who indicted Hunter Biden on federal gun charges and for alleged tax crimes. Now, however, he is charging Smirnov in connection with statements he made to the FBI about Hunter Bidens business dealings in Ukraine, which sought to implicate Joe Biden in these business ties. There was no evidence to support the claims of the FBI informant. Despite this, Republicans subpoenaed Hunter Biden in the House of Representatives and voted to open an impeachment inquiry against the president. The indictment filed by the special counsel does not mention the Biden family by name, but there is little doubt it concerns them. The document states that the defendant is a former confidential source who gave the FBI false information about a prominent political figure and his son. The 37-page indictment contains even more obvious descriptions, making it clear that it is about the allegations against Hunter and Joe Biden. Despite repeated admonishments that he must provide truthful information to the FBI and that he must not fabricate evidence, the Defendant provided false derogatory information to the FBI about Public Official 1, an elected official in the Obama-Biden Administration who left office in January 2017, and Businessperson 1, the son of Public Official 1, in 2020, after Public Official 1 became a candidate for President of the United States of America, the indictment states. The indictment dismantles the main testimony against Joe Biden. Prosecutors say Smirnov was in contact with Burmese executives, but argue these were routine meetings that actually took place in 2017, after President Barack Obama and Biden, his vice-president, had left office. In other words, when Biden would not have been able to influence U.S. policy. The special counsel says the defendant transformed his routine, non-extraordinary business contacts with the Ukrainian company Burisma into unsubstantiated bribery allegations against Joe Biden. According to the indictment, the defendant kept changing his version of events, contradicting himself and lying to fabricate the corruption scandal against Biden. He went so far as to fabricate false evidence, according to the document. Smirnovs false statement is what Republicans have been tightly grasping on to for years in their efforts to accuse Biden of corruption. They have issued subpoenas, taken witness statements, but despite their insistence, they continue to find no evidence of what they seek. The indictment against Smirnov is now a major blow to their case against the president. Smirnov appeared briefly in court in Las Vegas on Thursday after being charged with making a false statement and creating a false and fictitious record, the Associated Press reported. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 25 years in prison. The judge ordered the courtroom cleared after federal public defender Margaret Wightman Lambrose requested a closed hearing to make her case for sealing court documents. She declined to comment on the case. The judge has set a detention hearing for February 20 for Smirnov, who was arrested at the Las Vegas airport after arriving in the United States from overseas. Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAIS USA Edition Mumbai, Feb 16 : In a touching and humane gesture, Maharashtra's Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis moved the Centre and Ministry of External Affairs to bring back the body of a medical student from Raigad District, who passed away recently in war-ravaged Ukraine. On February 2, the Pawar family of Roha town was devastated to learn of the death of the ailing Dr. Prachiti Deepak Pawar, 21, in Kyiv. The country has been at war with Russia since February 24, 2022 and citizens as well as foreigners, especially students, face major constraints there. The news of Dr Prachiti's demise reached the Pawar family through her friends and colleagues in the Ivano-Frankivsk National Medical University. On January 25, she was rushed in a critical condition to the KNP Central City Clinical Hospital, of the Ivano-Frankivsk City Council, and underwent surgery there. As per a medical report of the university Dean (FCTD) Dmytro Solomchak, the young student was diagnosed with "phlegmon of the right axillary area with spread to the right shoulder, side wall of the chest, besides Sepsis, Septic Shock, Septic Encephalopathy, Multiple Organ Failure, Bilateral pneumonia, and respiratory failure of the second degree." However, Dr. Prachiti succumbed to her illnesses on February 2, even as her friends appealed to the Indian Embassy in Kyiv, the Ministry of External Affairs and others to help secure a visa for her mother Devayani Pawar, a government employee, and Dr. Prachiti's twin sister, Aditi, who is studying aviation in a college in Salem, Tamil Nadu. The BJP's Maharashtra social media chief, Prakash Gade learnt of the matter and he immediately brought it to the notice of Fadnavis. "The mother was worried whether her daughter would get a decent funeral or not, as she died in a foreign country. The family here couldn't afford to go there and bring back her body," Gade said. Moved by the family's plight, Fadnavis asked Minister of State for External Affairs V. Muraleedharan and other officials for assistance. Fadnavis also directed his team in Mumbai and New Delhi, comprising Dilip Rajurkar and Manoj Munde, to regularly track the developments in the case and he himself monitored the movements in Ukraine and India. All these efforts proved successful, and the MEA started moving various departments and the Indian Embassy in Kyiv, to bring Dr. Prachiti's remains back to India expeditiously. "Finally, a weekly cargo flight from Kyiv, via Poland, landed at Mumbai Airport with Dr. Prachiti's mortal remains on February 13. Fadnavis arranged for an ambulance and the body was taken by road to Roha town the following day where her last rites were performed on February 14," said Gade. Besides the family comprising Devayani Pawar and her daughter Aditi, an uncle and a large number of people from Roha turned up to pay their respects to Dr. Prachiti. Dr. Prachiti's father, Deepak H. Pawar, a Mumbai Police official, died due to a heart attack over 12 years ago, leaving behind the young twins, barely aged 10 then, in the care of Devyani. "Dr. Prachiti's mother had taken an education loan to pay for her medical education in Ukraine as the family has very limited financial resources," revealed Gade. An official added that owing to Fadnavis' personal intervention in the matter, a tragedy-struck family could get the 'antim-darshan' of the girl who passed away in an alien land, and also perform her dignified 'antim-sanskaar' in her motherland. (Quaid Najmi can be contacted at: q.najmi@ians.in ) New Delhi, Feb 16 : One of India's most creative chefs who put nawabi Lucknow's Dum Pukht cuisine on the world map, and also became the first practising member of his fraternity to ever get a Padma Shri in 2016, Imtiaz Qureshi, passed away on Friday at the age of 93. An unlettered cook who started working from the age of nine, Qureshi, who was known for his trademark handlebar moustache, Santa Claus-like personality and the chaste Urdu in which he would narrate his stories from the kitchen, was famous for inventing dishes whose ideas he would pick up from conversations with his patrons and fellow professionals. His influences and inspirations extended from the empress of ghazals, Begum Akhtar, for whom he invented a dessert named Lab-e-Mahshoukh, or pista kulfi drizzled with a sour cherry sauce, to Roger Moncourt, the French chef who ruled the Continental kitchens of Delhi, from whom he picked up the secrets of the sauces that give French cuisine its distinctive personality. Qureshi started out training to be a pehelwan but ended up as an apprentice to his ustads, Haji Ishtiyaq and Ghulam Rasool, and started working with a Lucknow-based catering company that was serving the Indian Army during the Chinese War in 1962. It was then that Qureshi got to serve Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, who was being hosted by the Uttar Pradesh chief minister, C.B. Gupta. To make the occasion special, and out of respect for Gupta's vegetarian sensibilities, Qureshi, who's best known for mutton and fish dishes, invented the Turush-e-Paneer, escalopes of cottage cheese stuffed with dried plum and oranges, quilted in a tomato plum sauce. As the fame of his culinary prowess spread, he moved up the professional totem pole, being hired by Lucknow's then go-to hotel, Clarks Avadh, and then being head-hunted by Ajit Haksar, the founder of ITC Hotels, for the group's new address in New Delhi -- Maurya Sheraton. And from there, he travelled the world, winning accolades wherever he went. At the Maurya, Qureshi became instantly famous. Diwan Gautam Anand, who was banquet manager when the chef was in his element, remembers how the nation's high and mighty would shower gifts on Qureshi in recognition of his food, which was then a novelty in the Butter Chicken-soaked national capital. According to Anand, Qureshi was indeed a self-taught powerhouse of culinary talent, but what made him stand apart was his 'milansar' personality, which enabled him to soak in whatever knowledge anyone had to offer. Anand remembers how Qureshi once came back excited from a dinner he had curated for the Afghan ambassador because he had discovered the brinjal dish known as 'badin jaan'. Overnight, he recreated it for Dum Pukht, the restaurant at the Maurya Sheraton, that became synonymous with the master chef and a standard-bearer for Indian fine dining. Dum Pukht's Badin Jaan consists of wheels of smoked brinjal with a spiced tomato topping and a smooth, creamy spiced yoghurt sauce. It was at Dum Pukht that the jugalbandi of the doyen of food writers, the late Jiggs Kalra, and Qureshi created sensations such as the Kakori Kabab (the melt-in-the-mouth version of the chunky mutton seekh kabab), with Kalra inventing the story of the toothless nawab in its honour, the signature Dum Biryani, and umami-packed gravy dishes such as the Koh-i-Awadh, the 'paya' reinvented with lamb shanks, and Mahi Dum Pukht, red snapper fillet cooked in an almond and brown onion sauce. He had created this dish first for the wedding of a Mumbai socialite's daughter in 1972 and he gave it a Bengali twist a couple of decades later with his Mahi Qaliya, where rohu fish cooked in mustard oil is the base ingredient, for a Kolkata-based news baron. With the passing of Imtiaz Qureshi, India has lost a chef who not only gave Indian fine dining a new lease of life and a personality of its own, but also, despite being unlettered, became its finest and most colourful spokespersons around the world. Washington, Feb16 : Saurav Ghosal moved into the quarterfinals of the Squash Fire Open with a hard-fought 4-11, 11-8, 11-4, 13-11 win over Spencer Lovejoy (US) in a match that stretched to almost an hour. The Indian world No 26, who is the sixth seed and received a first-round bye at the $51,500 PSA World Tour Bronze event, will meet French world No 11 and top seed Victor Crouin in the quarterfinals. Meanwhile, reigning national champion Velavan Senthilkumar, who made it to his maiden PSA World Tour Silver quarterfinal in Pittsburgh last week, lost to Egyptian second seed Youssef Soliman 11-6, 11-8, 11-2. The left-hander from Tamil Nadu had put it past Briton Mark Broekman 11-4, 11-4, 11-2 in 22 minutes in his opening round. Bengaluru/Thiruvananthapuram, Feb 16 : The Karnataka High Court on Friday refused to stay the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) probe into Veena Vijayan's IT firm Exalogic. The Karnataka High Court's order is a massive setback to Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan as his daughter Veena Vijayan is the sole director of Exalogic. The Karnataka High Court came out with a single line order stating that the SFIO probe can go forward and added that the full order would be put out on Saturday. Last week Exalogic had approached the Karnataka High Court seeking a stay on the ongoing probe by the SFIO. The court had stated then that it would come out with its order soon, but until then no arrests should be made. The SFIO is acting on the findings of the preliminary probe into the company conducted by the Registrar of Companies (ROC). Prior to the ROC investigation, this issue was first raised by Congress MLA Mathew Kuzhalnadan on the basis of a media report, quoting an Income Tax official as saying that Exalogic had received Rs 1.72 crore from the mining company CMRL, in which the Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation (KSIDC) has around 13 per cent stake. The SFIO has already taken statements from CMRL and KSIDC officials and now with the court turning down Veena's plea, all eyes are on when she will appear before the SFIO. Reacting to the verdict, Kuzhalnadan said ideally Veena should have approached the Kerala High Court as she is the sole director of the firm but for some reason she went to Karnataka. "More details will be known once the full order comes out. The political narrative by Vijayan and the CPI-M that this is nothing but political witch hunting should be amended now as a probe by SFIO is a very serious thing," he said. Meanwhile with the Lok Sabha polls around the corner this is going to be a campaign point for the Opposition Congress and the BJP, and hence Vijayan and the CPI-M will ensure that Exalogic moves the Supreme Court against the Karnataka High Court's directive. Bengaluru, Feb 16 : Karnataka Chief Minister K. Siddaramaiah on Friday presented a revenue deficit state budget for the year 2024-25 with a total outlay of Rs 3.71 lakh crore. Siddaramaiah, who also holds the Finance portfolio, said: "I am presenting a revenue deficit budget... I have increased the budgetary allocation for Welfare programmes to Rs 1,20,373 crore. Further I have successfully ensured fiscal consolidation by keeping the fiscal deficit within 3 per cent of GSDP and total outstanding liabilities within 25 per cent of GSDP without compromising the Capital Expenditure." In 2024-25, Rs 86,423 crore will be provided for women oriented schemes and Rs 54,617 crore will be provided for children oriented schemes. Siddaramaiah said: "Total revenue receipts of Rs 2,63,178 crore are estimated for 2024-25, out of which Rs 1,89,893 crore are State own tax revenues and Rs 13,500 crore from non-tax revenue sources. A total of Rs 44,485 crore under tax devolution and Rs 15,300 crore as Grant-in-aid are estimated to be received from the Centre. "Total Expenditure for 2024-25 is estimated to be Rs 3,71,383 crore, which includes Revenue expenditure of Rs 2,90,531 crore, Capital Expenditure of Rs 55,877 crore and loan repayment of Rs 24,974 crore," Siddaramaiah said. For the financial year 2024-25, revenue deficit is estimated to be Rs 27,354 crore. Fiscal Deficit is estimated to be Rs 82,981 crore, which is 2.95 per cent of GSDP. Total liabilities at the end of 2024-25 is estimated to be Rs. 6,65,095 crore, which is 23.68 per cent of GSDP, he stated. "Our vision for the future is not limited to the Guarantee scheme. Amid the successful implementation of Guarantee schemes during the past nine months, the state government has given Cabinet approval to works worth Rs 21,168 crore and revised estimates of Rs 2,230 crore have been approved. Further, an Action Plan for Rs 2,188 crore has also been approved," he said. "Social Justice is not just our belief, but a broader perspective towards life. The Kayaka and Dasoha principles of Basavadi Sharanas inspire us towards building an equal society. The Sharana philosophy of setting aside a part of one's earnings for dasoha underpins our hope of achieving an equitable distribution of wealth in society," he said. The chief minister earmarked 52,000 crore for implementation of five guarantee schemes of Shakti, Gruhajyoti, Gruha Lakshmi, Yuva Nidhi and Annabhagya. "Bengaluru will be transformed into a truly global city with world-class infrastructure. We will work to attract global corporate talent in the emerging areas within the IT and BT sector, Artificial Intelligence and Robotics, Semiconductors, Automobiles," he said. "A separate Project Division and two sub-divisions have already been set up to implement the ambitious Mekedatu Balancing Reservoir and drinking water project of Cauvery river valley. Priority will be given to land acquisition and resettlement and rehabilitation as well as to complete sub-schemes under North Karnataka's ambitious Upper Krishna Phase-III Project, Siddaramaiah said. "As announced in the previous Budget, the State Education Policy Commission has been formed to prepare a draft Karnataka State Education Policy which truly reflects the culture and identity of the State," he said. For former devadasis, monthly allowance has been increased from Rs 1,500 to Rs 2,000, Siddaramaiah said. This budget will pave the way for creating a new Karnataka Model of Development, he said. London, Feb 16 : Indians and several other international students unjustly accused of cheating in English language tests in the UK, are creating a television drama pitch on the lines of 'Mr Bates vs the Post Office', to highlight their struggles and seek justice in a decade-long unresolved issue. The recently released ITV drama series showed how hundreds of Post Office employees fought back to clear their names after they were falsely prosecuted for theft and fraud because of faulty accounting software, forcing politicians to sit up and take notice. The Home Office abruptly terminated the visas of 35,000 international students, making their stay in the country illegal overnight, after a 2014 BBC documentary reported allegations of cheating at two of the UK's language testing centres for overseas students. While some 7,200 students left the country after detention threats, many stayed protesting "flawed evidence" as they struggled with homelessness, huge legal fees and stress-induced illnesses. According to The Guardian, students from India, Pakistan and several other countries, met recently to begin chronicling their prolonged struggle in a final attempt to bring politicians' and the public's attention to the issue, which largely went unnoticed in the mainstream. "If it takes a drama to make people understand, then we'll make a drama. We've been inspired by how people have responded to the Post Office drama, and there are so many parallels," Nazek Ramadan, Director of Migrant Voice, told the Daily. The charity has been fighting for these students since 2017 and is now helping them to write their stories and has sought the advice of a film director, who previously showed interest in the charity's work. "This is a huge injustice that most people still don't know about. Thousands of students, young men and women who came here in good faith, had their lives ruined. We want people to empathise and support them. What they went through must be documented," she told The Guardian. Abdul Qadir Mohammad, 36, who left India in 2010 to study business in London, spent more than 20,000 pounds trying to clear his name in the scandal, pushing him and his family into debt. He said he gets "panic attacks" and feels ashamed to face my family back home who ask him: "Abdul you have lived in the UK for 14 years. What have you achieved?" According to the news report, 33-year-old Navjot Kaur, who came to Britain from Amritsar to study tourism management when she was 19, is looking forward to converting her experiences into drama. "I had no need to cheat in the English test... This has ruined my life and my career," she said. Meanwhile, fresh evidence has been presented in the court this month that questions the Home Office's move against the foreign students. The students had also approached and presented a petition to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in March last year, seeking his help to clear their names. In their petition to the Prime Minister, the students called for a simple, free mechanism to apply for a decision or reconsideration of their case. Gaza, Feb 16 : Egypt is building a wall and is levelling land near its border with the Gaza Strip ahead of a planned Israeli offensive targeting Rafah city, satellite images showed on Thursday as quoted by media reports. Egypt hasn't publicly acknowledged the construction but has warned Israel not to forcibly expel the Palestinians now displaced in Rafah into Egypt, The Times of Israel reported. But the images from the Egyptian side of the border in the Sinai Peninsula suggest Cairo is preparing for just that scenario, something that could threaten its 1979 peace deal with Israel. Cairo officials did not respond to requests for comment on Friday from media reports. The satellite images, taken Thursday by Maxar Technologies, show construction ongoing on the wall, which sits along the Sheikh Zuweid-Rafah Road nearly 3.5 km (2 miles) west of the border with Gaza. The images show cranes, trucks and what appear to be precast concrete barriers being set up along the road. Patna, Feb 16 : Bihar Education Department on Friday approved 86,476 teachers' posts in the third phase in Bihar, an official said. He said that the Education Department has sent the details to the General Administration Department for approval. "After the approval, it will be sent to Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) for implementation," the official said. He said that at least 28,028 posts have been approved for class 1 to 5 while 19, 057 posts have been approved for class 6 to 8; 17,018 posts for 9 and 10; and 22,373 posts for 11 and 12 class. The BPSC has not given any age relaxation to candidates, who were waiting for this recruitment. In the first and second phase, BPSC had given 10-year-age relaxation for women. Many students have said as the age relaxation was not given in the third phase, they have missed out on the opportunity. When the notification was issued, the maximum age in the unreserved category was 37 and OBC-EBC was 40-years and for SC/ST candidates was 42 years. The same age criteria had been also been applied during the first and second phase of the recruitment drive. Later, BPSC had also given age relaxation of 10 years more in the woman category in which a large number of candidates had applied. "We appeal to Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to intervene in the matter and give fair chances to all candidates. BPSC Chairman must be impartial too and he must take a lenient view as our recruitment is concerned," said Rajeshwari Singh, a resident of Rajendra Nagar. The BPSC had issued the notification on February 3. The last date of filling the form is February 23. The examinations will be held from March 7 to 17 this year. --IANS ajk/dan New York, Feb 16 : The World Health Organisation (WHO) on Thursday said that it was trying to get access to the biggest functioning hospital in Gaza, the Nasser Hospital, after an Israeli raid, media reports said. "There are still critically injured and sick patients that are inside the hospital," WHO spokesperson Tarik Jasarevic said as quoted by the Times of Israel report. "There is an urgent need to deliver fuel to ensure the continuation of the provision of life-saving servicesa We are trying to get access because people who are still in Nasser medical complex need assistance." Israel's military called the raid on Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis area "precise and limited" and said it was based on information that Hamas had kept hostages in the facility, with some bodies of captives possibly there. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) later on Thursday said it had arrested more than 20 Hamas terrorists, who took part in the October 7 massacres inside the compound and found weapons, including mortar shells and grenades. Bengaluru, Feb 16 : Senior BJP leader Basavaraj Bommai on Friday said Chief Minister K. Siddaramaiah's budget is a "bundle of lies" to cover up his government's "failures". Slamming Siddaramaiah, Bommai said the chief minister has "destroyed the sanctity of the financial statement by attacking the Centre and making false claims". The BJP leader claimed that as compared to last year, only Rs 1,000 crore had been spent out of Rs 25,000 crore borrowed. The Karnataka government was taking loans at a high rate of interest and spending them on unproductive expenses, Bommai said. "The state has received all the grants from the Central government. But the state's tax collection has nosedived. To cover up this, the state government has presented the budget with a bundle of lies. There were no grants for Special Component Plan (SCP)/ Tribal Sub Plan (TSP) and also for education and irrigation. The Congress has made Karnataka bankrupt," Bommai said. The BJP leader said they were making allegations against the Central Government just for the election purposes. "For the first time in the history of Karnataka, the Opposition party has boycotted the budget presentation. The anti-people policies of the incumbent government would be placed before the people," Bommai said. Kochi, Feb 16 : The US Consulate General Chennai and the Cochin University of Science and Technology (CUSAT) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on Friday to establish an American Corner on CUSAT campus here. US Consul General Christopher W. Hodges and CUSAT Registrar V. Meera signed the MoU in the presence of CUSAT Vice Chancellor P.G. Sankaran on the sidelines of a visit by a US education trade delegation of 18 US universities to CUSAT. The new American Corner at CUSAT will eventually join a network of more than 600 American Spaces spread across India, Asia and around the globe. The American Spaces programme is a flexible partnership model the US runs globally. The American Corner will renew the vibrant programmes of an American cultural space in Kerala since the 1970 closure of the USIA cultural centre in Thiruvananthapuram. "We are delighted to partner with CUSAT to open a new American Corner right here in the heart of Kochi. This faculty and student-led project will enable the people of Kerala to build a closer relationship with the United States, while at the same time, open the door for us to support the amazing work that CUSAT and the Centre for Science in Society is doing to inspire and empower the next generation of STEAM [Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics] enthusiasts, future scientists, researchers, innovators, and entrepreneurs," said Hodges. The American Centre Chennai will directly support the new American Corner, which will offer reliable academic and research resources via its eLibraryUSA platform, English language, skills and professional development programmes, media literacy workshops, exchange opportunities with US institutions and advising services for study in the US. The American Corner partnership will also serve as a basis to create more opportunities for student exchanges and research partnerships between CUSAT and American universities. Like all American Corners around the world, the activities at CUSAT will be free of charge and open to all. The corner is expected to open sometime in 2024. Over 20 terrorists who took part in Oct 7 massacre arrested in Gaza hospital: IDF. Image Source: IANS News Gaza, Feb 16 : The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on Thursday said they will continue to carry out searches at the Nasser Hospital in Gaza's Khan Younis and have so far apprehended more than 20 terrorists, who took part in the October 7 massacre, media reports said. Forces from the elite Maglan and Naval Commando Unit also found mortars, grenades and other weaponry belonging to Hamas inside the medical facility, the IDF added as quoted by The Times of Israel report. In addition, dozens of suspects have been detained for questioning. IDF troops entered the hospital on Wednesday, saying they had information that hostages had been held there and some bodies may still be at the site. The Israeli military has said that it will "continue to operate in accordance with international law against the Hamas terror group, which has systematically operated from within hospitals and other civilian infrastructures". Tough on quotas, Maratha leader warns 'No idea what will happen after Feb 15'. Image Source: IANS News Mumbai, Feb 16 : The Shivba Sanghatana leader Manoj Jarange-Patil on Friday welcomed the report of the Maharashtra State Backward Class Commission (MSBCC) submitted to the state government, but declared that his agitation would continue till his demands were met. The MSBCC Chairman, Justice (Retired) Sunil Shukre, presented the report to Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis, to ascertain the backwardness of the Maratha community, just four days ahead of the Special Legislature Session convened on February 20 to finalise the community's quotas. Jarange-Patil said that though the Marathas would get separate quotas, his hunger strike would continue till the January 26 draft notification on 'Sage-Soyare' (bloodline) aspect is approved by the government by February 20. "The hunger strike and agitation will continue till February 20. We shall decide our next move after seeing the outcome of the Special Legislature Session that day," asserted Jarange-Patil. Among other things, Shinde said that those Marathas who do not have Kunbi Caste proof would be given separate quotas, while those having Kunbi Caste documents shall be issued certificates entitling them to reservation. While appreciating the MSBCC's survey that was conducted by three-four lakh officials covering more than 2.25 crore Marathas, Jarange-Patil said that "it was because of our agitation that the panel initiated the survey work." Now, those who have the Kunbi Caste certificate can get reservation from the OBC category and those who don't want the Kunbi Caste certificate should get quotas in the Maratha category, he demanded, on the seventh day of his hunger strike. "This should be allowed so that the Marathas can benefit from both sides," he said. Earlier on Friday, Shinde praised the efforts of the MSBCC for conducting the massive survey on a war-footing, in record time and virtually working round-the-clock. "This report shall be discussed by the state Cabinet and after its approval, will be tabled in the Special Legislature Session for debate before finalising the reservation for the Marathas," said Shinde. The CM reiterated that the state government was positive on giving lasting Maratha quotas that would stand up to legal scrutiny and also without affecting the OBC reservation. Simultaneously, Shinde appealed to Jarange-Patil to call off his agitation as the government was keen to fulfil its commitments without doing injustice to any community. However, state Congress President Nana Patole slammed the government for misleading the Marathas on the quotas, while ruling MahaYuti ally and NCP Minister Chhagan Bhujbal decried the 'Kunbi-isation' of the Maratha community in such a manner. New Delhi, Feb 16 : The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has filed an application before the Supreme Court saying that it has not encroached on the land allotted to the Delhi High Court and the premises was officially allotted to it by the Delhi government in May 2015. The application said that such allotment of office space for official party work is an essential element of public funding of elections in India and is designed to level the electoral playing field. It added: "The applicant (Aam Aadmi Party) has risen to become a national political party. This change in the applicant's character and status has further enhanced its need for, as well as its entitlement to, office spaces in the New Delhi Municipal Area, at par with the 5 other national parties each of which are enjoying, at least, similar allotments in similar locations." Referring to the guidelines issued by the Union government's Land & Development Office, the ruling party in the national capital said that it is entitled to two office spaces -- one for its National Unit and another for its Delhi State Unit. However, as of now, it said that it has been allotted office space only for its Delhi State Unit. "Far from being an instance of aencroachmenta, the Subject Premises were officially allotted to the Applicant (Aam Aadmi Party) by the government of NCT of Delhi on 31.12.2015 for its State Unit Office. This was strictly in accordance with the applicant's entitlement as (at that time) a State Party under the Office Memorandum dated 14.10.2015," said the intervention application filed on Friday. The application asserted that the Aam Aadmi Party has been occupying the premises since 2015 way before it was earmarked for extending the Rouse Avenue Court Complex. The party led by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said that it has no cavils about relocating its State Unit Office to an alternative space as it is cognizant of the necessity of judicial infrastructure for the welfare of citizens of the national capital. Further, the Aam Aadmi Party claimed that no space has been allotted for its National Unit despite repeated letters to the Union government. It said: "While the applicant remains ready and willing to vacate the Subject Premises, it is submitted that this honourable court direct that such vacation be required only after at least one of the two office spaces that the applicant is entitled to are allotted to it in the New Delhi Municipal area of a nature appropriate to the applicant's status as a national party." On Thursday, the top court came down heavily on the Aam Aadmi Party for encroaching on a portion of a plot at Rouse Avenue which has been allotted to the Delhi High Court. A Bench presided over by CJI DY Chandrachud was hearing the issue arising out of the projects of the Delhi High Court pertaining to the infrastructural requirements of the district judiciary. Noting that issues have not been resolved despite previous orders, the apex court asked for a specific timeline for removal of the encroachment before the next date of listing. The Bench, also comprising Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, asked the Chief Secretary of the Delhi government, the Secretary in-charge of the Public Works Department and the Finance Secretary to convene a meeting with the Registrar General of the High Court to settle all outstanding issues without waiting for further directions from the apex court. The matter will be heard next on February 19. --IANS pds/pgh London, Feb 16 : Russia's most significant opposition leader for the past decade, Alexei Navalny, has died in prison inside the Arctic Circle, the prison service said, the media reported. Seen as President Vladimir Putin's most vociferous critic, Navalny was serving a 19-year jail term for offences widely considered politically motivated. He was moved to an Arctic penal colony, considered one of the toughest jails, late last year, BBC reported. The prison service in the Yamalo-Nenets district said he had "felt unwell" after a walk on Friday. He had "almost immediately lost consciousness", it said in a statement, adding that an emergency medical team had immediately been called and tried to resuscitate him but without success. "The emergency doctors declared the prisoner dead. Cause of death is being established," BBC reported. Navalny's lawyer Leonid Solovyov told Russian media he would not be commenting yet. In early December he had disappeared from a prison in the Vladimir region, where he was serving a 30-year sentence on extremism and fraud charges that he had called political retribution for leading the anti-Kremlin opposition of the 2010s. He did not expect to be released during Putin's lifetime, The Guardian reported. New Delhi, Feb 16 : The 22nd Law Commission, chaired by Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi (Retd), has recommended that all marriages between Non-Resident Indians (NRIs)/Overseas Citizens of India (OCIs) and Indian citizens should be compulsorily registered in India. The commission said that there has been a rapid rise in legal issues arising out of inter-country marriages taking place between NRIs and foreign citizens of Indian origin on one hand and Indian citizens on the other. In its report, the panel observed: "The rising occurrence of fraudulent marriages involving NRIs marrying Indian partners is a worrisome trend. Several reports highlight an increasing pattern where these marriages turn out to be deceptive, putting Indian spouses, especially women, in precarious situations. Deceptive practices like false assurances, misrepresentation, and abandonment are commonly associated with these fraudulent unions, causing distress to the Indian partners." It said that the inter-country nature of these marriages further intensifies the vulnerability, making it challenging for affected individuals to pursue legal remedies and support. Pitching for a comprehensive central legislation, the commission said that the proposed law should include provisions on divorce, maintenance of spouse, custody and maintenance of children, serving of summons, warrants, or judicial documents on the NRIs and OCIs. Also, the panel recommended that requisite amendments be introduced in the Passports Act, 1967 in order to mandate the declaration of marital status, the linking of a spouse's passport with the other and mentioning of the Marriage Registration Number on the passports of both the spouses. "The Government, in collaboration with the National Commission for Women and the State Commissions for Women in India and the NGOs and Indian associations abroad, should conduct awareness programs for women and their families who are about to enter into marital relationship with NRIs/OCIs," the commission said. The Centre in February 2019 introduced the Registration of Marriage of Non-Resident Indians Bill, 2019 in the Rajya Sabha and the said Bill was referred to the Committee on External Affairs for examination and report submission. The Ministry of External Affairs through the Ministry of Law and Justice requested the Law Commission of India to conduct an in-depth study of the law concerning inter-country marriage, including the NRI Bill, 2019. Patna, Feb 16 : Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday promised to give legal guarantees on Minimum Support Price (MSP) to farmers if his party comes back to power at the Centre after the Lok Sabha elections. "Whenever farmers have demanded anything from the Congress government, we have fulfilled it, be it waiver of loans or MSP. We have always protected the interests of farmers. We will do it again if given a chance," Rahul Gandhi said. He said that land snatching from farmers is currently underway in the country and the government has not given adequate compensation to them. "During our government, we brought Land Acquisition Act and as per the guidelines of this act, the farmers were getting four times higher price from the market value for their lands," he said. He said that there was also a provision in the act that land could not be acquired without the permission of farmers. He said that if the land acquired by the company was not used for five years, the state government returned the land to the farmers but BJP nullified the act," Rahul Gandhi said. "I want to promise to the farmers that if our government comes back to power, we will reinforce the Land Acquisition Act," he said. --IANS ajk/dan Kolkata, Feb 16 : Sandeshkhali in North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal which is already on the boil over allegations of sexual harassment of local women by Trinamool Congress leaders, has now drawn the attention of the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) for cruelty to a child. The commission on Friday issued a notice under Section 13 of the CPCR Act, 2005, to the District Magistrate (DM) of South 24 Parganas District Sharad Kumar Dwivedi seeking prompt action on a report of a child being snatched from its motheras arms and flung, by a group of miscreants at Sandeshkhali on February 10. In the letter, signed by Dharmendra Bhandari, Principal Private Secretary to the NCPCR Chairperson, the DM has also been asked to arrange for the medical treatment of the child besides ensuring safety and security of the victimas family members. The DM had also been directed to pay adequate compensation to the family besides ensuring their proper rehabilitation and resettlement. The NCPCR has also directed the DM to ensure that action against the miscreants is initiated as per law. The district administration has also been directed to share an action taken report along with the relevant documents with the commission within the next 48 hours. The commission had taken note of a report that miscreants forcefully entered the residence of a woman residing at Sandeshkhali, physically assaulted her, snatched her child and threw her away. However, the state and district administration are silent about the NCPCRas notice and till the filing of this report there was no reaction from them. The development happened on the same day when the members of the six-member high power committee were prevented by the district police from reaching Sandeshkhali. Panaji, Feb 16 : Goa's Scheduled Tribes delegation, along with Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, on Friday called on Union Minister for Tribal Affairs Arjun Munda, seeking political reservation. Joao Fernandes, President of Mission Political Reservation for Scheduled Tribes (MPRST), told IANS that they have met Munda and discussed the issue. "Tomorrow we have sought an appointment with Union Home Minister Amit Shah and will try to meet him," Fernandes said. After the ST community had carried out morcha in the capital city during the Budget session which concluded last week, Sawant had assured the ST community to take the delegation to central leadership and discuss the issue. Goa Legislative Assembly had unanimously adopted a private member resolution in July 2023, moved by ST leader MLA Ganesh Gaonkar, recommending the government to make provision for political reservation in the Goa Legislative Assembly for the Scheduled Tribes of the State. In the past, the ST community took out rallies and tried to draw the attention of the government for political reservation. According to them, there are around 1.30 lakh ST voters in Goa and hence, they should be given political reservation. In May 2023, the ST community members held a meeting at Lohia Maidan in Margao and resolved to boycott the Lok Sabha election in 2024 if their demand for political reservation was not conceded by the government. Kolkata, Feb 16 : The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is considering to issue notices to at least to two close relatives of former West Bengal Education Minister Partha Chatterjee, who are currently residing abroad, for questioning in connection with the multi-crore cash-for-school-jobs case in the state. Chatterjee, a prime accused in the case, is in judicial custody since his arrest by the ED in July 2022. Sources said that one of the two relatives of Chatterjee whom the central agency is considering to send notice to is the former minister's son-in law Kalyan Bhattacharya. The second person is Krishna Chandra Adhikari, the maternal uncle of Bhattacharya. Sources said the central agency is planning to question Bhattacharya and Adhikari because of their alleged links as directors in some corporate entities whose names surfaced during the course of the investigation into the school jobs case. Also, the central agency wants to interrogate them about the properties that Chatterjee purchased in the name of his relatives, especially Bhattacharya. A few months back, Bhattacharya, who currently lives abroad with Chatterjeeas daughter Sohini Bhattacharya, came to Kolkata and was questioned by the Income Tax Department about the properties purchased in his name. Bhattacharya had then reportedly handed over some related documents to the Income Tax officers. Meanwhile on Friday, the ED conducted raid at the residence of a private promoter named Rajib Dey, believed to be a confidant of Chatterjee. The move came after the central agency got information about Dey's real-estate business, in which the close the relatives of Chatterjee, including his deceased wife and son-in-law, served as directors. RBI FAQs for Paytm Payments Bank customers -- All you need to know. Image Source: IANS News Mumbai, Feb 16 : The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday issued a list of frequently asked questions (FAQs) for the convenience of the customers of Paytm Payments Bank and the general public at large to explain how the business restrictions that have been placed on the bank will work in practice. These are: Bank Accounts with Paytm Payments Bank I have a savings or current account with Paytm Payments Bank. Can I continue to withdraw money from this account after March 15, 2024? Can I continue to use my debit card issued by Paytm Payments Bank? Yes. You can continue to use, withdraw or transfer your funds from your account upto the available balance in your account. Similarly, you can continue to use your debit card to withdraw or transfer funds upto the available balance in your account. I have a savings bank or current account with Paytm Payments Bank. Can I deposit or transfer money into this account after March 15, 2024? No. After March 15, 2024, you will not be able to deposit money into your account with Paytm Payments Bank. No credits or deposits other than interest, cashbacks, sweep-in from partner banks or refunds are allowed to be credited. I am expecting a refund in my account with Paytm Payments Bank after March 15, 2024. Can this refund be credited into my account? Yes. Refunds, cashbacks, sweep-in from partner banks or interest are permitted credits into your account even after March 15, 2024. What will happen to the Deposits maintained with partner banks through asweep in/outa arrangements, after March 15, 2024? The existing Deposits of Paytm Payments Bank customers maintained with partner banks can be brought back (sweep-in) to the accounts with Paytm Payments Bank, subject to the ceiling on balance prescribed for a Payments Bank (i.e. Rs 2 lakh per individual customer at the end of day). Such sweep-ins for the purpose of making available the balances for use or withdrawal by the customer will continue to be allowed. However, no fresh deposits with partner banks through Paytm Payments Bank will be allowed after March 15, 2024. My salary is credited into my account with Paytm Payments Bank. Can I continue to receive my salary into this account? No. After March 15, 2024, you will not be able to receive any such credits into your account with Paytm Payments Bank. It is suggested that you make alternative arrangements with another bank before March 15, 2024 to avoid inconvenience. I receive a subsidy or certain direct benefit transfers linked to my Aadhar from the Government in my account with Paytm Payments Bank. Can I continue to receive it into this account? No. After March 15, 2024, you will not be able to receive any such credit into your account with Paytm Payments Bank. Please arrange to change your linked account to another bank before March 15, 2024 to avoid any inconvenience or disruption. My monthly electricity bill is paid automatically from my bank account with Paytm Bank Limited? Can this continue? Withdrawal/debit mandates (such as National Automated Clearing House (NACH) mandates) will continue to get executed till there is balance available in your account. However, after March 15, 2024, credit or deposit in your accounts will not be allowed. Therefore, to avoid inconvenience, it is suggested that you make alternative arrangements through another bank, before March 15, 2024. My monthly OTT subscription is paid automatically through UPI from my bank account with Paytm Payments Bank? Can this continue? Withdrawal/debit mandates through automatic UPI mandates will continue to get executed till there is balance available in your account. However, after March 15, 2024, credit or deposit in your accounts will not be allowed. Therefore, to avoid inconvenience or disruption, it is suggested that you make alternative arrangements through another bank, before March 15, 2024. The instalment (EMI) for my loan is automatically paid through my account with Paytm Payments Bank. Can this continue? Auto debit mandates will continue to get executed till there is balance available in your account. However, after March 15, 2024, credit or deposit in your accounts will not be allowed. Therefore, to avoid inconvenience, it is suggested that you make alternative arrangements for setting up EMI payments through another bank before March 15, 2024. The instalment (EMI) for my loan is automatically paid through my account with a bank other than Paytm Payments Bank. Can this continue? Yes, EMIs registered with any bank other than Paytm Payments Bank can continue. Paytm Payments Bank Wallet I have a wallet with Paytm Payments Bank. Can I continue to use money from this wallet after March 15, 2024? Yes. You can continue to use, withdraw or transfer to another wallet or bank account upto the balance available in the wallet. Minimum KYC wallets1 can, however, be used only for merchant payments. I have a wallet with Paytm Payments Bank. Can I top-up or transfer money into this wallet after March 15, 2024? Can I receive money from any other person into this wallet after March 15, 2024? No. After March 15, 2024 you will not be able to top-up or transfer money into the wallet or receive any credits, other than cashbacks, or refunds into this wallet. I have a cashback due in my wallet with Paytm Payments Bank. Can I receive this cashback after March 15, 2024? Yes. Refunds and cashbacks are allowed to be credited. I have a wallet with Paytm Payments Bank. Can I close this wallet and have the balance transferred to my bank account with another bank? Yes. You may approach Paytm Payments Bank or use its banking app to close your wallet and transfer the balance to an account maintained with another bank in the case of full KYC wallets. In the case of minimum KYC Wallets2, you may use the available balance or request for a refund. 1) As per extant directions, small pre-paid Instruments (PPI) are issued by banks and non-banks after obtaining minimum details of the PPI holder. They can be used only for purchase of goods and services. Funds transfer or cash withdrawal from such PPIs are not permitted. 2) As per extant directions, small pre-paid Instruments (PPI) are issued by banks and non-banks after obtaining minimum details of the PPI holder. They can be used only for purchase of goods and services. Funds transfer or cash withdrawal from such PPIs are not permitted. FASTag issued by Paytm Payments Bank (for more details on FASTag, you may visit website of IHMCL https://ihmcl.co.in) I have a FASTag issued by Paytm Payments Bank. Can I continue to use it to pay toll after March 15, 2024? Yes. You can continue to use your FASTag to pay toll upto the available balance. However, no further funding or top ups will be allowed in the FASTags issued by Paytm Payments Bank after March 15, 2024. It is suggested that you procure a new FASTag issued by another bank before March 15, 2024 to avoid any inconvenience. I have a FASTag issued by Paytm Payments Bank. Can I recharge the balance after March 15, 2024? No. After March 15, 2024 you will not be able to top-up or recharge your FASTag issued by Paytm Payments Bank. It is suggested that you procure a new FASTag issued by another bank before March 15, 2024 to avoid any inconvenience. Can I transfer the balance from my old FASTag issued by Paytm Payments Bank to a new FASTag obtained from another Bank? Credit balance transfer feature is not available in the FASTag product. Therefore, you will have to close your old FASTag issued by Paytm Payments Bank and request the bank for a refund. National Common Mobility Card (NCMC) issued by Paytm Payments Bank. I have an NCMC card issued by Paytm Payments Bank. Can I continue to use it after March 15, 2024? Yes. You can continue to use your NCMC card upto the available balance. However, you will not be able to load or top up funds into the card after March 15, 2024. In order to avoid inconvenience, it is suggested that you obtain an NCMC card issued by another bank or non-bank pre-paid instrument (PPI) issuer, before March 15, 2024. I have an NCMC card issued by Paytm Payments Bank. Can I add to its balance through top-up, recharge, etc. after March 15, 2024? No. After March 15, 2024 you will not be able to top-up or recharge your NCMC card issued by Paytm Payments Bank. In order to avoid inconvenience, it is suggested that you obtain an NCMC card issued by another bank or non-bank pre-paid instrument (PPI) issuer, before March 15, 2024. Can I transfer the balance from my old NCMC card issued by Paytm Payments Bank to a new card obtained from another Bank? Balance transfer feature is not available in the NCMC card. Therefore, you may use the card upto the available balance. In case you have some more balance which you have not been able to use, you may request Paytm Payments Bank for a refund. Merchants using Paytm Payments Bank to receive payments I am a merchant and I accept payments using a Paytm QR code, Paytm soundbox or Paytm POS terminal, linked to another bank account (not with Paytm Payments Bank). Can I continue to use this set-up even after March 15, 2024? Yes. If your receipt and transfer of funds is linked to any bank account other than Paytm Payments Bank, you can continue to use this arrangement even after March 15, 2024. I am a merchant and I accept payments using a Paytm QR code, Paytm soundbox, Paytm POS terminal linked to my bank account or wallet with Paytm Payments Bank. Can I continue to use this set-up even after March 15, 2024? No. After March 15, 2024 you will not be able to receive any credit into your bank account or wallet with Paytm Payments Bank other than refunds, cashbacks, sweep-in from partner banks or interest. In order to avoid any inconvenience or disruption, it is suggested that you may obtain a fresh QR code linked to an account with another bank or wallet to receive payments. You may also change your bank account details (in which you receive payments) through your service provider. Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS) Can I make payments through the Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS) using my account with Paytm Payments Bank? Yes. You can continue to make payments from your Paytm Payments Bank account through Bharat Bill Payment System upto the balance available in your account. Since you will not be able to credit any further funds into your accounts or wallets with Paytm Payments Bank after March 15, 2024, it is advised that you may make alternative arrangements with another bank account for BBPS before March 15, 2024. Aadhar enabled Payment System (AePS) Can I make withdrawals from my Paytm Payments Bank account with biometric authentication under Aadhar enabled Payment System? Yes. You can continue to withdraw using the AePS authentication, upto the balance available in your account. Money Transfer through UPI/ IMPS Can I transfer my money into my Paytm Payments Bank account through UPI/ IMPS after March 15, 2024? No. You cannot transfer the money into your Paytm Payments Bank account after March 15, 2024. Can I withdraw my money from my Paytm Payments Bank account through UPI/ IMPS after March 15, 2024? Yes. You can withdraw your money from Paytm Payments Bank account through UPI/ IMPS upto the balance available in your account. Paytm Payments Bank Business Correspondent I have an account with Paytm Payments Bank. Can the Paytm Payments Bank Business Correspondent (also referred to as Paytm Payments Bank Agent) help me in withdrawing funds from my account after March 15, 2024. Yes. The Paytm Payments Bank Business Correspondent (Bank Agent) can help you to withdraw money from your bank account upto the balance available in your account. Accounts frozen, lien marked etc. What will happen to my Paytm Payments Bank account/wallet if there is a lien or freeze marked on the directions of Law Enforcement or judicial authorities? Any lien or freeze (full or partial) marked as per the instructions of any law enforcement or judicial authorities on the account/wallet of a customer with Paytm Payments Bank will continue to be governed by the orders passed by such authorities. What will happen to my Paytm Payments Bank account/ wallet if there is a lien or freeze marked on account of internal policies of Paytm Payments Bank? The bank has been directed to allow withdrawal or transfer to another bank account of the customer, upto the available balance in the account / wallets. Onboarding of new customers. What is the status of the Business restriction placed on Paytm Payments Bank vide RBI Press Release dated March 11, 2022? The business restriction dated March 11, 2022, prohibiting Paytm Payments Bank from onboarding any new customers for any of its services continues to be in force. Hence, Paytm Payments Bank cannot onboard any new customers after March 11, 2022. --IANS sps/danRBI FAQs for Paytm Payments Bank customers -- All you need to know Mumbai, Feb 16 (AINS) The RBI on Friday issued a list of frequently asked questions (FAQs) for the convenience of the customers of Paytm Payments Bank and the general public at large to explain how the business restrictions that have been placed on the bank will work in practice. These are: Bank Accounts with Paytm Payments Bank I have a savings or current account with Paytm Payments Bank. Can I continue to withdraw money from this account after March 15, 2024? Can I continue to use my debit card issued by Paytm Payments Bank? Yes. You can continue to use, withdraw or transfer your funds from your account upto the available balance in your account. Similarly, you can continue to use your debit card to withdraw or transfer funds upto the available balance in your account. I have a savings bank or current account with Paytm Payments Bank. Can I deposit or transfer money into this account after March 15, 2024? No. After March 15, 2024, you will not be able to deposit money into your account with Paytm Payments Bank. No credits or deposits other than interest, cashbacks, sweep-in from partner banks or refunds are allowed to be credited. I am expecting a refund in my account with Paytm Payments Bank after March 15, 2024. Can this refund be credited into my account? Yes. Refunds, cashbacks, sweep-in from partner banks or interest are permitted credits into your account even after March 15, 2024. What will happen to the Deposits maintained with partner banks through asweep in/outa arrangements, after March 15, 2024? The existing Deposits of Paytm Payments Bank customers maintained with partner banks can be brought back (sweep-in) to the accounts with Paytm Payments Bank, subject to the ceiling on balance prescribed for a Payments Bank (i.e. Rs 2 lakh per individual customer at the end of day). Such sweep-ins for the purpose of making available the balances for use or withdrawal by the customer will continue to be allowed. However, no fresh deposits with partner banks through Paytm Payments Bank will be allowed after March 15, 2024. My salary is credited into my account with Paytm Payments Bank. Can I continue to receive my salary into this account? No. After March 15, 2024, you will not be able to receive any such credits into your account with Paytm Payments Bank. It is suggested that you make alternative arrangements with another bank before March 15, 2024 to avoid inconvenience. I receive a subsidy or certain direct benefit transfers linked to my Aadhar from the Government in my account with Paytm Payments Bank. Can I continue to receive it into this account? No. After March 15, 2024, you will not be able to receive any such credit into your account with Paytm Payments Bank. Please arrange to change your linked account to another bank before March 15, 2024 to avoid any inconvenience or disruption. My monthly electricity bill is paid automatically from my bank account with Paytm Bank Limited? Can this continue? Withdrawal/debit mandates (such as National Automated Clearing House (NACH) mandates) will continue to get executed till there is balance available in your account. However, after March 15, 2024, credit or deposit in your accounts will not be allowed. Therefore, to avoid inconvenience, it is suggested that you make alternative arrangements through another bank, before March 15, 2024. My monthly OTT subscription is paid automatically through UPI from my bank account with Paytm Payments Bank? Can this continue? Withdrawal/debit mandates through automatic UPI mandates will continue to get executed till there is balance available in your account. However, after March 15, 2024, credit or deposit in your accounts will not be allowed. Therefore, to avoid inconvenience or disruption, it is suggested that you make alternative arrangements through another bank, before March 15, 2024. The instalment (EMI) for my loan is automatically paid through my account with Paytm Payments Bank. Can this continue? Auto debit mandates will continue to get executed till there is balance available in your account. However, after March 15, 2024, credit or deposit in your accounts will not be allowed. Therefore, to avoid inconvenience, it is suggested that you make alternative arrangements for setting up EMI payments through another bank before March 15, 2024. The instalment (EMI) for my loan is automatically paid through my account with a bank other than Paytm Payments Bank. Can this continue? Yes, EMIs registered with any bank other than Paytm Payments Bank can continue. Paytm Payments Bank Wallet I have a wallet with Paytm Payments Bank. Can I continue to use money from this wallet after March 15, 2024? Yes. You can continue to use, withdraw or transfer to another wallet or bank account upto the balance available in the wallet. Minimum KYC wallets1 can, however, be used only for merchant payments. I have a wallet with Paytm Payments Bank. Can I top-up or transfer money into this wallet after March 15, 2024? Can I receive money from any other person into this wallet after March 15, 2024? No. After March 15, 2024 you will not be able to top-up or transfer money into the wallet or receive any credits, other than cashbacks, or refunds into this wallet. I have a cashback due in my wallet with Paytm Payments Bank. Can I receive this cashback after March 15, 2024? Yes. Refunds and cashbacks are allowed to be credited. I have a wallet with Paytm Payments Bank. Can I close this wallet and have the balance transferred to my bank account with another bank? Yes. You may approach Paytm Payments Bank or use its banking app to close your wallet and transfer the balance to an account maintained with another bank in the case of full KYC wallets. In the case of minimum KYC Wallets2, you may use the available balance or request for a refund. 1) As per extant directions, small pre-paid Instruments (PPI) are issued by banks and non-banks after obtaining minimum details of the PPI holder. They can be used only for purchase of goods and services. Funds transfer or cash withdrawal from such PPIs are not permitted. 2) As per extant directions, small pre-paid Instruments (PPI) are issued by banks and non-banks after obtaining minimum details of the PPI holder. They can be used only for purchase of goods and services. Funds transfer or cash withdrawal from such PPIs are not permitted. FASTag issued by Paytm Payments Bank (for more details on FASTag, you may visit website of IHMCL https://ihmcl.co.in) I have a FASTag issued by Paytm Payments Bank. Can I continue to use it to pay toll after March 15, 2024? Yes. You can continue to use your FASTag to pay toll upto the available balance. However, no further funding or top ups will be allowed in the FASTags issued by Paytm Payments Bank after March 15, 2024. It is suggested that you procure a new FASTag issued by another bank before March 15, 2024 to avoid any inconvenience. I have a FASTag issued by Paytm Payments Bank. Can I recharge the balance after March 15, 2024? No. After March 15, 2024 you will not be able to top-up or recharge your FASTag issued by Paytm Payments Bank. It is suggested that you procure a new FASTag issued by another bank before March 15, 2024 to avoid any inconvenience. Can I transfer the balance from my old FASTag issued by Paytm Payments Bank to a new FASTag obtained from another Bank? Credit balance transfer feature is not available in the FASTag product. Therefore, you will have to close your old FASTag issued by Paytm Payments Bank and request the bank for a refund. National Common Mobility Card (NCMC) issued by Paytm Payments Bank. I have an NCMC card issued by Paytm Payments Bank. Can I continue to use it after March 15, 2024? Yes. You can continue to use your NCMC card upto the available balance. However, you will not be able to load or top up funds into the card after March 15, 2024. In order to avoid inconvenience, it is suggested that you obtain an NCMC card issued by another bank or non-bank pre-paid instrument (PPI) issuer, before March 15, 2024. I have an NCMC card issued by Paytm Payments Bank. Can I add to its balance through top-up, recharge, etc. after March 15, 2024? No. After March 15, 2024 you will not be able to top-up or recharge your NCMC card issued by Paytm Payments Bank. In order to avoid inconvenience, it is suggested that you obtain an NCMC card issued by another bank or non-bank pre-paid instrument (PPI) issuer, before March 15, 2024. Can I transfer the balance from my old NCMC card issued by Paytm Payments Bank to a new card obtained from another Bank? Balance transfer feature is not available in the NCMC card. Therefore, you may use the card upto the available balance. In case you have some more balance which you have not been able to use, you may request Paytm Payments Bank for a refund. Merchants using Paytm Payments Bank to receive payments I am a merchant and I accept payments using a Paytm QR code, Paytm soundbox or Paytm POS terminal, linked to another bank account (not with Paytm Payments Bank). Can I continue to use this set-up even after March 15, 2024? Yes. If your receipt and transfer of funds is linked to any bank account other than Paytm Payments Bank, you can continue to use this arrangement even after March 15, 2024. I am a merchant and I accept payments using a Paytm QR code, Paytm soundbox, Paytm POS terminal linked to my bank account or wallet with Paytm Payments Bank. Can I continue to use this set-up even after March 15, 2024? No. After March 15, 2024 you will not be able to receive any credit into your bank account or wallet with Paytm Payments Bank other than refunds, cashbacks, sweep-in from partner banks or interest. In order to avoid any inconvenience or disruption, it is suggested that you may obtain a fresh QR code linked to an account with another bank or wallet to receive payments. You may also change your bank account details (in which you receive payments) through your service provider. Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS) Can I make payments through the Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS) using my account with Paytm Payments Bank? Yes. You can continue to make payments from your Paytm Payments Bank account through Bharat Bill Payment System upto the balance available in your account. Since you will not be able to credit any further funds into your accounts or wallets with Paytm Payments Bank after March 15, 2024, it is advised that you may make alternative arrangements with another bank account for BBPS before March 15, 2024. Aadhar enabled Payment System (AePS) Can I make withdrawals from my Paytm Payments Bank account with biometric authentication under Aadhar enabled Payment System? Yes. You can continue to withdraw using the AePS authentication, upto the balance available in your account. Money Transfer through UPI/ IMPS Can I transfer my money into my Paytm Payments Bank account through UPI/ IMPS after March 15, 2024? No. You cannot transfer the money into your Paytm Payments Bank account after March 15, 2024. Can I withdraw my money from my Paytm Payments Bank account through UPI/ IMPS after March 15, 2024? Yes. You can withdraw your money from Paytm Payments Bank account through UPI/ IMPS upto the balance available in your account. Paytm Payments Bank Business Correspondent I have an account with Paytm Payments Bank. Can the Paytm Payments Bank Business Correspondent (also referred to as Paytm Payments Bank Agent) help me in withdrawing funds from my account after March 15, 2024. Yes. The Paytm Payments Bank Business Correspondent (Bank Agent) can help you to withdraw money from your bank account upto the balance available in your account. Accounts frozen, lien marked etc. What will happen to my Paytm Payments Bank account/wallet if there is a lien or freeze marked on the directions of Law Enforcement or judicial authorities? Any lien or freeze (full or partial) marked as per the instructions of any law enforcement or judicial authorities on the account/wallet of a customer with Paytm Payments Bank will continue to be governed by the orders passed by such authorities. What will happen to my Paytm Payments Bank account/ wallet if there is a lien or freeze marked on account of internal policies of Paytm Payments Bank? The bank has been directed to allow withdrawal or transfer to another bank account of the customer, upto the available balance in the account / wallets. Onboarding of new customers. What is the status of the Business restriction placed on Paytm Payments Bank vide RBI Press Release dated March 11, 2022? The business restriction dated March 11, 2022, prohibiting Paytm Payments Bank from onboarding any new customers for any of its services continues to be in force. Hence, Paytm Payments Bank cannot onboard any new customers after March 11, 2022. --IANS sps/dan Mumbai, Feb 16 : The trailer of the upcoming streaming series 'Maamla Legal Hai' was unveiled on Friday. The show, which stars Ravi Kishan, Naila Grrewal, Anant V. Joshi and Nidhi Bisht in key roles, is a courtroom comedy. The trailer gives a peek into the chaotic world of the fictional Patparganj District Court where a team of lawyers handles some bizarre cases with a humorous twist to the narrative. It also shows lawyers presenting weird arguments like "five people, together, cannot loot someone because it's a case of dacoity and not loot". Then there's a parrot who has been put on trial due to his foul language. The lawyers also throw some unexpected courtroom punchlines with their quick wit and unconventional tactics. Talking about the show, Ravi Kishan said, "This is my first time I'm playing a lawyer and I can't tell you how much fun it was. Working with Sameer, Rahul and Saurabh was a delight, their vision truly inspired me. When they first narrated the show to me, I couldn't say no, simply because I could visualise these characters and their shenanigans." He added, "After 'Khakee', this is my second project with Netflix, and I love how they challenge every actor with diverse roles. I hope the audience enjoys watching 'Maamla Legal Hai' as much as we enjoyed making it." Produced by Posham Pa Pictures with showrunner Sameer Saxena at the helm, the show is directed by Rahul Pandey. It will premiere on Netflix on March 1. New Delhi, Feb 16 : The Indian Railways, over the years, has played a pivotal role in ferrying people and commercial goods from one part of the country to the other. The Railway Protection Force (RPF), a dedicated unit for safeguarding rail passengers, has done a remarkable job over the recent years, rightfully earning the goodwill of the travellers. The national carrier did a marvelous in January this year, as it achieved many milestones and set new benchmarks in providing not just safe and secure, but also comfortable and convenient journey to lakhs of passengers. Sharing data of its alife-savinga acts, the Railways on Friday informed that it reunited close to 550 children with their estranged family, saved lives of more than 200 individuals under aJeevan Rakshaa, and also cracked down on the hooligan elements and seized narcotics worth more than Rs 4 crore in January 2024. Railwaysa rescue acts New Delhi, Feb 16 : The Supreme Court on Friday granted bail to Souvik Bhattacharya, the son of Trinamool Congress legislator and former President of the West Bengal Board of Primary Education (WBBPE), Manik Bhattacharya, in a money laundering case linked to the multi-crore cash-for-school-jobs case in West Bengal. A bench of Justices Bela M. Trivedi and Pankaj Mithal ordered the release of Souvik Bhattacharya on bail. In October 2023, the Calcutta High Court had denied bail to Souvik Bhattacharya, saying that the probe agency must be granted an opportunity to exhaust its powers relating to investigation in the alleged teachersa recruitment scam. During probe, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) found that Souvik Bhattacharya was actively involved in assisting his father in laundering the proceeds of crime acquired by Bhattacharya Senior out of his 'corrupt' and 'criminal' activities relating to schedule offences under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). New Delhi, Feb 16 : NITI Aayog in partnership with the government of Andhra Pradesh organised a two-day National Workshop in Visakhapatnam which concluded on Friday with the drawing up of a future roadmap that emphasises the importance of inter-state and Centre-state cooperation in realising the immense growth potential of India's inland fisheries sector. The workshop in its various technical sessions focused on crucial aspects such as sustainability practices, export competitiveness, infrastructure gaps, and livelihood challenges facing India's inland fisheries industry, NITI Aayog said in a statement. It was a collaborative effort aimed at maximising the potential of fisheries in India's inland states. As many as 13 states showcased their accomplishments, potential, challenges, and best practices during the workshop, the statement added. The key stakeholders who participated in the discussions included central and state government officials, researchers, industry representatives, practitioners and Fish Farmer Producer Organisation (FFPO). Union Minister Parshottam Rupala emphasised the need for active handholding and skill development of traditional fishermen to enhance their competitiveness. He also addressed the concept of connecting each Amrit Sarovar to create opportunities for generating livelihoods through inland fisheries. The minister also suggested that the fish market should adopt a marketing approach similar to that of a "fish mall", fostering a culture akin to shopping malls in metropolitan cities. He highlighted the government's emphasis on fisheries, including initiatives like Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY), Blue Revolution, FIDH, and other insurance related schemes. Prof. Ramesh Chand, Member of NITI Aayog, highlighted the achievements of Andhra Pradesh in the fisheries sector and stressed the importance of addressing regional disparities in production and productivity. The second day of the workshop featured technical sessions on "Sustainability in Inland Fisheries: FFPOs/Cooperatives Led Development Models" and "Issues and Challenges in Inland Fisheries Industry in India". These sessions facilitated discussions among policymakers, industry players, and fisheries startups, identifying actionable recommendations and future roadmaps for the sector's growth. The relationships forged and next steps identified during the event would lay a strong foundation for the sector's significant growth opportunities in the future. The Centre has increased the allocation for the Department of Fisheries by 15 per cent to an impressive Rs 2,584.5 crore in the Interim Budget for financial year 2024-25 as part of its policy to promote the sector. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman highlighted that a separate Fisheries Department was established to assist fishermen that has resulted in doubling both inland and aquaculture production, doubling of seafood exports since 2013-14. Bengaluru, Feb 16 : Karnataka BJP and JD (S) MLAs staged walkout from the budget session on Friday while condemning the targeting of the Central government by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. The BJP and JD (S) MLAs stood up as soon as the Chief Minister Siddaramaiah started pointing out the Central government for not allocating sufficient funds for the state. The opposition members displayed placards stating that there is absolutely nothing in the budget, turning the house into chaos. They slammed the Chief Minister for targeting the Central government for political reasons and staged a walkout led by LoP R. Ashoka and JD (S) State President H.D Kumaraswamy. The opposition members of both the houses gathered in front of the Vidhana Soudha and staged a protest against the government. "It is a bogus budget of Sulluramaiah (liar)", "Anti-farmer Siddaramaiah betrayed agriculture sector", "All promises made by Siddaramaiah are bundle of lies," read the placards and legislators of BJP and JD (S) while raising slogans and condemned the budget. State BJP President B.Y. Vijeyendra said that it is an anti-farmer budget. "As for the development of the state, it offers a big zero. It has taken back the state 20 years back. There are no programmes for the youth. To escape from responsibilities and cover up failures, the Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has wasted his time in the budget session," he said. He said that the sanctity of the budget has been violated. "This budget offers not a single rupee for the development of north Karnataka. The women will also not benefit from this budget," he said. He said that the Congress promised big schemes for weavers. "Forget about allocating funds, the budget did not even mention them. There is no reference to increase the honorary amount to Anganwadi workers. They are patting their own backs, the budget has disappointed Dalits, farmers, poor, backwards and all classes," he said. He said that no one expected such a budget from the experienced Chief Minister who was presenting his 15th budget. Earlier, the Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said that unscientific implementation of GST -- increase in surcharges and change in allocation formula -- these injustices meted out by the Central government coupled with short release of funds to the states have adversely affected the financial strength of all the states. He said that as the ruling party in several states are also run by BJP they are unable their raise voice against the injustices. "It is our responsibility to speak out against the injustice being meted out against the states and protect the rights of the states," the Chief Minister said. He said that the anti-people decisions by the Central government for the last 10 years has led to alarming developments such as widening inequality, concentration of wealth in few hands and crony capitalism. "Congress' guarantee schemes are not just election gimmicks. They are the result of the feedback obtained during Bharat Jodo Yatra. These schemes are earnest efforts to create jobs and enhance the purchasing power of the people. These programmes are aimed at creating a just and fair society by redistribution of wealth," he said. Dehradun, Feb 16 : Uttarakhand police on Friday released photos of nine rioters, accused of unleashing mayhem in Haldwani's Banbhoolpura area over the demolition of an illegal madrasa earlier this month. The state government, via its X handle, shared the photos of nine 'wanted' rioters who were allegedly part of the mob to inflict violence on police teams. Nainital Police are on the lookout for these wanted criminals and have sought 'information' regarding them from the public. "Whosoever gets to know about the whereabouts of these criminals can contact police stations and share information about them," the government said, as it shared the contact details of many police stations. To recall, the Banbhoolpura area of Haldwani witnessed bloody violence on February 8 after the police moved in to raze an illegally built madrasa, following court directions. While the police appealed to the masses to maintain calm, a large mob gheraoed the police station and set it on fire. Many indulged in stone pelting while others hurled petrol bombs at cops, resulted in injuries to more than 100 police personnel, mediapersons as well as municipal corporation workers. As the police teams, including women cops, came under attack, they took refuge in a police station but that was also set ablaze by the restive mob. The Pushkar Singh Dhami-led state government was quick to take action against the rioters and vandals who attacked the police and burnt public property, including police vans. The Chief Minister, days after the violence, also announced setting up of a police station to 'instill fear' in the minds of the rioters. Bengaluru, Feb 16 : Former Karnataka Chief Minister and JD (S) President H.D. Kumaraswamy on Friday said that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has laid the foundation for 'vinashkal' (destruction) of the state as far as the budget is concerned. "When Central government is talking about 'Amritkal' (prosperous times), Siddaramaiah's budget has laid the foundation for 'Vinashkal' of the state," Kumaraswamy told media persons. He said that Siddaramaiah is angry with the people of the state and it has reflected in his budget as well. "The Chief Minister has developed hatred towards BJP, JD (S) and Centre. Looking at the budget, it seems that the Chief Minister is angry with over seven crore Kannada people," Kumaraswamy stated. He said that the Chief Minister criticises the Central government every day, but always maintains that he would submit pleas to the Centre. He said that Siddaramaiah has taken a dig at the Centre in every page of his budget. "People are feeling sad for electing Congress to power. Siddaramaiah is an experienced politician and knows how to govern. However, this budget did not succeed in inspiring or creating a sense of trust," he said. New Delhi, Feb 16 : A Delhi court on Friday denied any further extension of interim bail to liquor businessman Sameer Mahendru, an accused in the money laundering case related to the alleged Delhi excise policy scam. Special Judge M.K. Nagpal of the Rouse Avenue Couet stressed the seriousness of the case and stated that Mahendru's status as an accused cannot be overlooked. Judge Nagpal noted that Mahendru had already been out on interim bail for around five months during his 16-month custody, primarily on the grounds of his wife's surgery. However, the court noted that his interim bail had been extended multiple times for this purpose and that the initial order clearly stated that no further extensions would be entertained. "Simply because some post-surgery complications have arisen, which can certainly be managed through medication, the interim bail of applicant cannot be extended again and again and for the purpose of taking care of his wife only," the judge noted. he also said that Mahendru's wife's medical needs could be managed by other relatives, reiterating that the purpose of interim bail is not to convert it into regular bail. Moreover, the court observed that there were indications that the medical treatment for Mahendru's wife may have been prolonged to seek further extensions of bail. "...this court also gets a feeling that the above treatment and tests of his wife have unnecessarily been delayed and stretched so as to seek further extension of interim bail by the applicant and hence, this court is of considered view that no further extension of interim bail to him is warranted in light of the above facts and record," the judge said. Regarding Mahendru's own medical condition and proposed knee surgery, the judge indicated that a separate assessment would be necessary to determine if interim bail was warranted. In light of the circumstances, the court dismissed Mahendru's application for further extension of interim bail and directed him to surrender before the concerned jail by 5 p.m. on Saturday. Earlier, the ED had opposed the extension, contending that it violated the court's earlier condition that Mahendru wouldn't seek further relief. The judge had, however, found no evidence that the surgery delay was intentional or caused by any fault of the accused or his wife. According to the prosecution, Mahendru was a significant beneficiary of excise policy violations, operating an alcoholic beverage manufacturing unit and holding wholesale and retail licences in his and his family's names. Earlier, the Delhi High Court had denied regular bail to Mahendru. Kolhapur : , Feb 16 (IANS) Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Friday inaugurated the Shiv Sena's two-day convention aimed at spurring the party to capture all the 48 Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra. Industry Minister Uday Samant said that six resolutions were passed unanimously on the first day, starting with one congratulating Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the construction of the Ram Lalla temple in Ayodhya and another hailing him for the work done for the progress of India, and the decision to set up a separate Ministry for Cooperation at the Centre. The third resolution lauded Union Home Minister Amit Shah for the decision to abrogate Article 370 and declaring Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh as Union Territories. The next resolution congratulated Eknath Shinde's policies that have led to the welfare of the people of the state, followed by a political resolution that the Shiv Sena would fight the Lok Sabha polls under Shinde's leadership as part of the MahaYuti alliance. The final resolution on 'Mission 48' said the grand MahaYuti alliance of Shiv Sena-BJP-NCP and other allies would win all the 48 Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra. "A special sixth resolution lauded Shinde for working with the ideas of the late Balasaheb Thackeray for all these years," said Samant. The Shiv Sena announced it would institute a series of 'Shiv Samman Awards' from next year in memory of various personalities who contributed to building the party along with Balasaheb Thackeray. These awards are: Excellence in Labour Award in the name of Dattaji Salvi, Innovative Entrepreneur in memory of Sudhir Joshi, Best Journalist Award in the name of Pramod Navalkar, Adarsh Shiv Sainik Award in memory of Datta Nalawade, Excellence in Education in the name of Vamanrao Mahadik, Excellence in Arts in memory of the veteran comedy actor-filmmaker Krishna 'Dada' Kondke, and the Outstanding Social Worker in the name of Sharadbhau Acharya. KYODO NEWS - Feb 16, 2024 - 19:36 | All, World, Japan Japan is "paying attention" to remarks by the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un suggesting a visit to Pyongyang by Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida could be possible, the top government spokesman said Friday. At a press conference, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi declined to elaborate on Kim Yo Jong's statement, which was carried by North Korea's state-run media on Thursday, citing the possible negative impact on negotiations regarding the past abductions of Japanese nationals by Pyongyang. In the statement, Kim said a visit could happen if Tokyo does not make the issue of the abductions an obstacle between the two countries, describing it as "settled." Hayashi said Japan will continue trying to resolve the matter with North Korea. Hayashi, who doubles as minister in charge of the abduction issue, said her assertion regarding the abductions was "totally unacceptable," adding that Japan will also continue to make efforts to solve other problems involving North Korea, such as its nuclear and missile development programs. Takuya Yokota, the head of a group representing the families of Japanese abductees, also said Kim's stance that the abduction issue is settled "cannot be accepted at all." But he said in a statement he would "welcome" the sister's reference to Kishida's possible visit to Pyongyang if it comes as a part of backdoor negotiations between Japan and North Korean governments. "I hope the Japanese government will continue negotiations in a resolute manner, without lowering the level of its demand urging North Korea to return home all abductees at one time," said Yokota, a younger brother of Megumi, who was abducted at age 13 in 1977. In May 2023, Kishida made a sudden commitment to establish high-level negotiations between Japan and North Korea to pave the way for an early summit with Kim Jong Un, although he has not provided details on what kind of official talks he envisions. North Korea, meanwhile, has used antagonistic rhetoric toward Japan, demanding that Tokyo pay post-World War II compensation. Japan colonized Korea from 1910 through the end of the war in 1945. But Kim Jong Un sent a message of sympathy to Kishida in early January over a deadly earthquake that hit central Japan on New Year's Day, according to North Korean state media. It is rare for a Japanese prime minister to receive a message from a North Korean leader. In 2002, Junichiro Koizumi became the first Japanese prime minister to make a trip to Pyongyang, leading to the return of five abductees. He revisited North Korea in 2004. Japan and North Korea have no diplomatic relations, but Koizumi signed the historic Pyongyang Declaration with the late leader Kim Jong Il, father of Kim Jong Un, on Sept. 17, 2002. Related coverage: U.S. backs Japan's bid to engage with North Korea: senior diplomat North Korean leader's sister says Japan PM visit to Pyongyang possible Japan to make "appropriate responses" to North Korea's quake message New Delhi, Feb 16 : The Delhi High Court has voiced grave concerns regarding the increasing incidents of sexual harassment perpetrated by teachers and professors against students while denouncing the offences as an abuse of power. Justice Chandra Dhari Singh has stressed the severity of such offences, and noted the pivotal role teachers play in shaping the minds and futures of students, stating that the trust parents place in educators to provide a safe and nurturing environment for their children must not be betrayed. The court lamented the widespread occurrence of sexual harassment by teachers, labelling it a serious offence and a misuse of authority. Furthermore, the court noted the sacred and profound nature of the relationship between teachers and students, tracing its origins to ancient scriptures and epics. Describing it as a bond of knowledge and devotion, the court stressed the role of teachers in fostering holistic development in students. These remarks were made in the plea filed by a professor of a Delhi University's College, who challenged the university's decision to recover Rs 6.42 lakh from him, alleging overpayment. The court ruled in professor's favour, setting aside the order for recovery since the amount was paid prior to his suspension being approved by the Vice-Chancellor. While his plea succeeded in avoiding the recovery of the alleged overpaid amount, the court clarified that he was not entitled to the increments he sought. New Delhi, Feb 16 : It is imperative to combat the dual burden of smoking and smokeless tobacco in India, health experts and policymakers contended at the sixth National Conference on Tobacco or Health held in the national capital on Friday. India faces an alarming toll of over 1 million annual deaths attributed to tobacco use. The nation is also in an ambitious race against time to achieve a tobacco-free status by 2025. "It is important to combat the dual burden of smoking and smokeless tobacco, which currently affects nearly 29 per cent of Indian adults," said Dr. Prof. Sutapa B Neogi, Director of International Institute of Health Management Research (IIHMR), Delhi. She also emphasised the need for collective action to drive impactful change in tobacco control policies and practices. The three-day conference from February 16-18 has been organised by the IIHMR in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, and is themed "Towards Tobacco-Free India - An Audacious Race Against Time", at the India Habitat Centre in New Delhi. Dr. Atul Goel, Director General of Health Services (DGHS), highlighted the critical role of multisectoral intervention in navigating the country towards a healthier future. He emphasised the need for a concerted effort across various sectors to tackle the deep-rooted issue of tobacco use in society. He also underlined India's position as the 4th largest global producer of tobacco in 2021, highlighting the magnitude of the challenge. Early in January, the World Health Organisation (WHO) in a report stated that India is on track to achieve a 30 per cent relative reduction in tobacco use prevalence by 2025, relative to 2010. "India needs adaptive strategies and legislative measures to counter the tobacco industry's relentless creativity in introducing new products," said Prof. K. Srinath Reddy, from Population Health Foundation of India (PHFI). Reddy also emphasised the imperative need for collective action to combat the parasitic and water-consuming nature of tobacco cultivation, advocating for continued efforts to counteract the industry's influence on health professionals and policymakers. --IANS rvt/pgh New Delhi, Feb 16 : The aviation watchdog, DGCA has issued a show cause notice to Air India after an elderly aboard an Air India flight from New York to Mumbai passed away after collapsing at the Mumbai airport. The incident occurred on February 12 when the passenger, aged over 80, initially requested for a wheelchair but opted to walk after being informed to wait due to high demand. Tragically, the passenger collapsed and died during the immigration process. "With reference to the incident of non-availability of a wheelchair by Air India to an 80-year-old passenger who collapsed and died after walking from plane to terminal at Mumbai, a report was called for from the airline," said Director General, DGCA, Vikram Dev Dutt. Dutt said that Air India informed that Babu Patel expired on arrival of AI-116 from New York on February 12. "Patel was accompanied by his wife Narmadaben Patel (76). Both Passengers had booked wheelchairs. The passengers were requested to wait as there was a high demand for wheelchairs," said Dutt. One wheelchair was available for Patel's wife so he decided to start walking along with his wife on a wheelchair. "While walking, Patel collapsed near APHO office. MIAL doctor was called and after examining the passenger, he was asked to be hospitalised after giving CPR. The passenger was rushed to Nanavati Hospital in MIAL Ambulance. At Nanavati, the CMO (Dr. Ronaldo), who after examination informed that passenger did not survive," the Air India told the Directorate General of Civil Aviation. The DGCA has already issued CAR section- 3, Series 'M', Part- I on "carriage by air - persons with disability (Divyangjan) and/or persons with reduced mobility. As per the Para 4.1.7 of the CAR, airlines are mandatorily required to provide assistance to persons with disability (Divyangjan) or reduced mobility's particular needs and ensure their seamless travel from the departure terminal of the departing airport upto the aircraft and at the end of the journey from the aircraft to the arrival terminal exit. "A show cause notice has been issued to Air India for not complying with the provisions of the said CAR in violation of Aircraft Rules, 1937 and submit a reply to DGCA within 7 days of the issue of the notice," said Dutt. "Further, an advisory has also been issued to all airlines to ensure that an adequate number of wheelchairs are available for passengers who require assistance during embarking or disembarking from the aircraft during their journey," the DGCA chief added. New Delhi : MPs at Parliament House during the budget session. Image Source: IANS News Jaipur, Feb 16 : Home Minister Amit Shah will visit Bikaner in Rajasthan to attend the BJP's election management committee meetings on February 20. He will visit three Lok Sabha seats of Bikaner cluster. Bikaner cluster in-charge and former state President Satish Poonia said that BJP is determined to accomplish Mission 25 in Rajasthan with the slogan of 'Phir Ek Baar Modi Sarkar'. "The action plan is ready and Lok Sabha Vijay Sankalp will be finally implemented on February 20 in Bikaner with the meetings of the Election Management Committee in three Lok Sabha constituencies namely Sriganganagar, Bikaner and Churu," he said. He said that these meetings will be chaired by Amit Shah. "All the workers and public representatives have been fully mobilised for the hat-trick of Mission 25," he said. He said that the veteran leaders will start touring Rajasthan post Shah's visit. "Nadda and Rajnath Singh will also visit the state after Shah's visit. Our leaders have emphasised on increasing the voting margin in the Lok Sabha polls. The workers have been given the target of getting maximum voting done at the booth level," he said. The BJP has won 115 seats in assembly polls while the Congress won 69. However, the Congress got 39.5 per cent of the vote share and the BJP secured 41.7 per cent. The BJP is keen to increase the vote share in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. Beijing, Feb 16 : China is expected to launch its next lunar sample-return mission, Chang'e-6, planned to the far side of the Moon, in May, according to a media report. The China Central Television (CCTV) reported that to make the spacecraft ready for launch, engineers working on China's Chang'e-6 mission have foregone family reunions over the Lunar New Year or Spring Festival. "We must ensure that the probe is in good condition, and each step we take is quality guaranteed," Zhang Yang, managing engineer of Chang'e-6, was quoted as saying. "This is the first time that I am not celebrating the Spring Festival with my family, and I wish all my family members good health in the Year of the Dragon," Zhu Rongkuan, a young engineer on the team, was quoted as saying. During the 53-day-long mission, the lander will seek to touch down in the Apollo basin on the far side of the moon and collect up to 2 kg of lunar materials using a scoop and a drill. Besides China, no other country has so far landed on the far side of the Moon. The far side of the Moon, which cannot be seen from Earth, is covered in craters, but unlike the near side is not dominated by large lunar mare, or darker imprints of ancient lava flows. The country's Chang'e-5 lunar probe went on to become the first to land on the "far" side of the Moon in 2019. In December 2020, Chang'e-5 lunar probe brought back 1,731 grams of samples from the Moon, marking China's first successful extraterrestrial sampling and return, and the completion of its three-step lunar exploration programme. China is also planning the Chang'e-7 probe around 2026 to implement resource exploration of the lunar south pole, and to construct a permanent lunar base in the 2030s. For this, it has roped in nations like Russia, Belarus, Pakistan, Azerbaijan, Venezuela and South Africa. It is in direct competition with the NASA-led Artemis Programme, which aims to place astronauts on the lunar surface by 2030, and has the support of 29 nations to date, including India, Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, South Korea and the UK. Two held with 'whale vomit' valued at Rs 5.60 cr in Goa. Image Source: IANS News Panaji, Feb 16 : In a joint operation on Friday, the Konkan Railway Police and the Railway Protection Force (RPF) arrested two persons and seized 'whale vomit' (Ambergris) valued at Rs 5.60 crore from their possession, officials said. The accused persons have been identified as Arun (30) and Nibin Varghese (29), both hailing from Kerala. The arrest came following a tip-off received by Vinod Mishra, an RPF Inspector in Madgaon. Ambergris, or whale vomit, is a solid waxy substance originating in the intestine of the whale, which is frequently found floating on the water or washing up on the coasts. It can also be found in the stomach of dead sperm whales. It is highly-valued by the perfume makers as a fixative which allows the scent to endure much longer. Speaking to IANS, Mishra said that the accused persons were supposed to send the whale vomit to Madurai in Tamil Nadu. "I had information that Arun and Nibin were supposed to come to the Madgaon railway station to hand over the whale vomit to their prospective customers in order to be transported to Madurai in Tamil Nadu. After their arrest, we handed over the duo to Goa police. We have seized whale vomit valued at Rs 5.60 crore," Mishra said. Sources said the accused persons had brought the whale vomit from Mysuru in Karnataka five months back and had stored it at a place in Mapusa in North Goa. "No sooner they found a customer to sell it, they decided to sell the whale vomit for which they came to the Madgaon railway station," sources said. The duo was intercepted at the Madgaon railway station with 5,694 gm of the sticky brownish substance, neatly packed in a carton. Sperm whales, despite being protected species, are hunted for obtaining Ambergris from their digestive tracts, even though its possession or trade is illegal under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. The accused have been sent to five-day police custody. Rewari: Prime Minister Narendra Modi being received by Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar upon his arrival. Image Source: IANS News Rewari, Feb 16 : Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Friday said "today was a historic day" as the foundation of the country's 22nd AIIMS was laid here. He said in 2013 when Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the Chief Minister of Gujarat, at that time, the people of the country saw him to be the next PM and his journey as PM began from the land of Rewari on September 15, 2013. Speaking on the occasion after PM Modi laid foundation for AIIMS Rewari to be built at a cost of about Rs 1,650 crore and Gurugram Metro Rail project to be developed at a cost of Rs 5,450 crore, the Chief Minister said the people here had been demanding for years that a centre like AIIMS be opened, and today, its foundation stone has been laid. "The campaign to open medical colleges in every district of the state, which has been launched by the Haryana government, also holds great importance in health services. This AIIMS will not only benefit the people of southern Haryana but also the people of Rajasthan." He also expressed gratitude to the people of Majra village, who have donated their panchayat land for this AIIMS. Private land has also been purchased for this. Khattar also expressed gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for laying the foundation of the Gurugram Metro project, which costs around Rs 5,500 crore. This metro service will benefit people from all over the country and abroad. He said "Millennium City Gurugram plays a very important role in the progress of the country and the state". The Chief Minister said Haryana's first airport is being built in Hisar district. Domestic and international flights will start there very soon. Similarly, to strengthen the railway network, the Prime Minister has also inaugurated the Rohtak-Hansi railway line from Rohtak. He said "today's day is also important from a cultural point of view". The Prime Minister has inaugurated the Jyotisar Anubhav Kendra. Khattar said Haryana has made a significant contribution to the progress of the country. "Under the guidance of the Prime Minister, Haryana is progressing in leaps and bounds." He assured that whatever expectations the Centre has from Haryana, "we will fulfill them". New Delhi, Feb 16 : Eight persons have been identified out of 11 charred bodies that were recovered from a paint factory cum warehouse in Delhi's Alipur area, where a massive fire broke out on February 15 evening. The eight victims have been identified as: owner of the factory Ashok Kumar (62), Ram Surat Singh (44), Vishal Gaund (19), Anil Thakur (46), Pankaj Kumar (29), Shubham (19), Mira (44) and Brijkishore (19). An official privy to the probe said that initial findings suggest the fire likely originated from a short circuit, subsequently spreading to an area storing chemicals, resulting in multiple explosions. "It is also suspected that the owner of the unit Om Sun Paint, operating since 2017, used to lock the door from inside and there was no other escape route in case of such an incident in the factory," said the sources. The deceased included Jain and his 10 employees while the injured, who were vacated from nearby establishments, have been identified as Jyoti (42), Divya (20), Mohit Solanki (34) and Delhi Police Constable Karamveer. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has declared a compensation of Rs 10 lakh for each deceased person's family and has also visited the site to assess the situation. Expressing condolences to the bereaved families, Kejriwal said, "We extend our heartfelt sympathies to the families of the deceased. We pledge Rs 10 lakh for each family. Additionally, Rs 20,000 will be given to those with minor injuries, and Rs 2 lakh to those with severe injuries." A delegation from the Delhi BJP, led by its Chief Virendra Sachdeva, also visited the affected individuals of the Alipur fire incident and announced financial assistance. The BJP leader said that Rs 50,000 will be given to each deceased for funeral expenses and Rs 25,000 for medical treatment of the injured. The Delhi BJP President has also urged the Arvind Kejriwal government to provide Rs 25 lakh compensation to the families of the deceased and Rs 10 lakh to the injured. Atul Garg, Director of Delhi Fire Service (DFS), said that a call regarding the blaze was received at 5:26 p.m on Thursday. He said that at least 22 fire tenders were rushed to the spot, which managed to douse the flame by 9 p.m. "The fire had engulfed two paint and chemical godowns and eight shops. At least 11 charred bodies were removed and taken to the Babu Jagjivan Ram hospital while four injured were taken to the Raja Harish Chandra Hospital for treatment," he said. The Deputy Commissioner of Police Outer North Ravi Kumar Singh said that a major fire had initially broken out in Nehru Enclave, Alipur in a paint factory on Thursday. "On receiving the information, the police team reached the spot and saw that the fire had spread to a number of other buildings, including the neighbouring 'Nasha Mukti Kendra', where four to five people were trapped in fire," said the DCP. "Constable Karamveer, rushed to the top of the 'Nasha Mukti Kendra' putting his own life in danger and managed to get the trapped people out. He sustained injuries, including burn injuries and is now admitted to the Safdarjung Hospital," said the official, adding that three injured people from the nearby building have been referred to the LNJP hospital. The DCP said that NDRF along with the fire department had also reached the spot and conducted a search operation in the burnt buildings. "The factory owner's son Akhil Jain, a resident of Sonipat has been booked under sections 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) and 308 (attempt to commit culpable homicide) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) at Alipur police station," said the official. Hyderabad, Feb 16 : A Station House Officer (SHO) appeared before Telangana High Court on Friday for not registering a FIR against the son of a district judge for alleged assault and sexual harassment despite complaint by a sacked woman employee. On the direction of the court, Karimnagar Two Town police station SHO Odela Venkatesh personally appeared before the bench of Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice J. Anil Kumar. Hearing a petition filed by the woman office subordinate, who worked at the residences of additional district judges in Karimnagar, the bench took serious note of the SHO not registering FIR and on the previous hearing on February 14 directed him to appear. The court was informed by Additional Advocate General Mohammed Imran on Friday that the FIR was registered on February 14. He apologised to the court on behalf of government counsel for defending the delay in registering the FIR. The bench observed that there is a need for police to change their behaviour towards people. It said police are there to help the people and not to scare them. It also remarked that people donat go to police stations for fun. People donat wish to go to doctors, lawyers and police. The court asked the Additional Advocate General to convey their suggestion to the Director General of Police to conduct classes to make police personnel change their behaviour and know their duties. The bench noted that the action in not registering FIR was defended on the ground that the woman lodged the complaint as she was sacked from her job. The court observed even if the complaint is false FIR should be registered given the serious nature of allegations. The truth would have come out during the investigation. As the FIR was registered by the police, the court disposed of the petition filed by the complainant. However, it made it clear that the SHO will have to give the clarification for not registering the FIR. The police official was directed to file an affidavit, giving reasons for not registering the FIR. The court posted the next hearing to March 4. The woman employee at the residences of additional district judges in Karimnagar was sacked on October 6, 2023 on the ground that she suppressed her qualification to secure the office subordinate post. Some other employees were also sacked on the same ground. She, however, alleged that she was singled out by officials by registering an FIR against her as she spoke against the harassment she faced at the hands of a woman district judge. She complained that when she went to the police station to lodge a complaint, FIR was not registered. Thiruvananthapuram, Feb 16 : The difference of opinion between the Chancellor (Governor Arif Mohammed Khan) and the Kerala government spilled over to the Senate meeting of the Kerala University, which was mired by a standoff between Higher Education Minister R. Bindhu, who is also the Pro-chancellor, and Mohan Kunnumel, the acting Vice-Chancellor. The special Senate meeting was called to nominate one member to the search committee to select the new VC of the Kerala University, which has to be forwarded to the Chancellor. Right from the start of the meeting, Bindhu and Kunnumel were at loggerheads with each accusing the other of working against the of law. Incidentally, in the 106-member Kerala University Senate, there are three clear-cut factions presently -- the majority led by the CPI-M, followed by the Congress-led UDF members, and a third front that emerged after Governor Khan nominated 11 persons to the Senate. Incidentally, the Pro-chancellor attends a Senate meeting on rare occasions. Bindhu said that as soon as the meeting began, one member raised a point with regard to the selection of a member to the search committee saying the issue being sub-judice, it will be illegal. "After that a resolution to this effect was passed and the meeting was wound up. In the absence of the Chancellor, the the Pro-chancellor normally presides over such meetings," said Bindhu. However, Kunnumel claimed that being the VC, he will be overseeing the conduct of the Senate meeting. At the end of the meeting, the Congress-led UDF members named their nominee, while the new faction consisting of the nominees of the Chancellor suggested another name. Sources close to Kunnumel said that he will soon forward one of the two names to the Chancellor. With the majority of the Senate members and Bindhu claiming that the resolution has been passed, in all likelihood this is going to be the next legal battle between the ruling CPI-M-led Left and Governor Khan. --IANS sg/ KYODO NEWS - Feb 16, 2024 - 14:18 | All, Japan A pet shop owner in Tokyo was arrested for allegedly smuggling multiple birds and mangosteen fruits into Japan from Thailand, local police said Friday. Masayuki Sekiguchi, 69, is suspected of violating the infectious diseases control law and the plant quarantine law, according to the Metropolitan Police Department. He was arrested on Wednesday and has admitted to the allegations. He "wanted to breed the birds as they were pretty and adorable," and brought the mangosteens "as gifts because they taste good," he was quoted as telling police. The pet shop owner is believed to have smuggled seven birds and 33 mangosteens in a suitcase and tote bag in a flight from Thailand to Tokyo's Haneda airport last August. The birds of four different species, including the Pacific parrotlet, require permission from the Japanese government to import due to being potential carriers of bird flu. Fresh mangosteens from Thailand, excluding those produced at designated farms and meeting the government's quality standard, are barred as they may be carrying bugs. The birds, which were placed in a cardboard box for alcohol, were found when customs officials became suspicious of the weight of the container. Sekiguchi is reported by the customs to have said the birds could be "thrown away if they are not allowed," according to the police Raipur, Feb 16 : The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday arrested Nitish Diwan under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in Raipur. Diwan -- is the ninth arrested person in connection with alleged money laundering case -- popularly known as 'Mahadev' online gaming and betting application which was unearthed in Chhattisgarh. The ED said that the accused was arrested in Raipur and produced before a special court. After a hearing, the court sent him under ED's custody till February 24. "Nitish Diwan was working at the highest level of Mahadev Online Book (MOB) in the UAE. He was close to the promoters of the Mahadev app to the extent that he was sent to Zimbabwe by them to look for opportunities for setting up betting operations there," the ED said. The central investigating agency said that Diwan was found to be holding assets in his name, which were beneficially owned by the promoters of Mahadev Online Book. "He was fully aware of the app's illegal operations and was holding and operating bank accounts in UAE for routing funds," the ED said. It said that the probe found out that companies were set up in Diwan's name in the UAE and these companies provided visa services to the MOB staff working in Dubai and were also being used to route illegal betting proceeds. The ED has earlier arrested Nitin Tibrewal, a resident of Kolkata, Raipur-based Amit Agrawal, alleged cash courier Asim Das, police constable Bheem Singh Yadav, Assistant Sub-Inspector Chandrabhushan Verma, alleged "hawala" operator brothers Anil and Sunil Dammani and a man identified as Satish Chandrakar. The ED had unearthed the scam ahead of the Assembly election in Chhattisgarh in November last year. Then the central agency had claimed that a forensic analysis and the statement of Asim Das had led to startling allegations that the 'Mahadev' betting app promoters had paid about Rs 508 crore to former Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, adding that these allegations were a subject matter of investigation. Bengaluru, Feb 16 : Much to the chagrin of his party members, former Karnataka minister and BJP legislator S.T. Somashekhar on Friday praised Chief Minister Siddaramaiah over the Budget presented in the Assembly. Speaking to reporters here, Yeshwanthpur MLA Somashekhar said: "A good budget has been presented in connection with the development of Bengaluru. I will congratulate CM Siddaramaiah and Deputy CM Shivakumar." "Stress has been given to drinking water, garbage management, traffic, white topping, and flyover development. I will thank the government for the Budget. I will not comment on those who have been objecting to the state budget. It is their personal point of view and I won't comment on that," he maintained. According to sources, Somashekhar's moves have been causing severe embarrassment to the BJP-JD-S alliance. He has also been maintaining a distance from the activities of the BJP party. Somashekhar did not flaunt a saffron shawl when all BJP legislators came wearing saffron shawls to the assembly on the first day of the session. Somashekhar had recently campaigned for Congress candidate in the MLC election. His proximity to Deputy CM D.K. Shivakumar is an open secret. Somashekhar joined the BJP through "operation lotus" in 2019 from the Congress. New Delhi, Feb 16 : A 47-year-old man was robbed of Rs 81 lakh here at gunpoint by three unidentified men, who also fired in the air, an official said on Friday, adding the incident took place in Delhi's Narela area. Deputy Commissioner of Police (Outer North) Ravi Kumar Singh said that on Friday, a call was received at 4.11 p.m., regarding three persons robbing the victim identified as Vinod Kumar, a resident of Safiyabad, Narela, at gunpoint and firing was also reported near the Axis Bank in the area. Acting on the call, a police team rushed to the spot, where the victim, who works as 'Arthiya' (commission agent) in Narela Anaj Mandi, narrated the incident and stated that three persons chased him on a white TVS Apache bike. "They robbed him of Rs 81 lakh at gunpoint. He had just withdrawn the money from the Axis bank branch and had started on his scooty. On resisting, one of the assailants hit him with a pistol butt on his face and fired in the air to scare him. Thereafter they took his black bag and drove away towards Bhorgarh," said the DCP. The DCP further said that CCTVs are being scanned in this incident and a case under sections 394, 397 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and 27 Arms Act is being registered at Narela Police station and investigation is in progress. Washington, Feb 17 : US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi discussed a range of regional and global issues, including the Korean Peninsula, Taiwan and Russia's war in Ukraine during their talks in Germany on Friday, a US State Department spokesperson has said. They met on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference on Friday as Washington has been doubling down on its drive to "responsibly" manage strategic competition with China through improved bilateral communication and other measures, Yonhap news agency reported. "The two sides also exchanged views on the situation in the Middle East and on the Korean Peninsula and affirmed that their respective senior officials should meet to follow up on these discussions," State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a readout. Miller did not elaborate on the Korea-related topic, but the two sides were expected to touch on North Korea's evolving military threats. Blinken emphasized the importance of maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and in the South China Sea, while raising concerns over China's support for Russia's war against Ukraine, including support for Russia's defence industrial base, according to Miller. The secretary also highlighted the importance of continuing to implement the progress made by President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping at their summit in November in California, including counternarcotics cooperation and military-to-military communications. "The secretary reiterated that the United States will stand up for our interests and values and those of our allies and partners," Miller said. Both sides recognized the importance of maintaining open lines of communication across a range of strategic issues, including consultations and high-level meetings in key areas in the coming months, according to the spokesperson. Macmillan Childrens Publishing Group has announced that Alessandra Balzer and Donna Bray will bring their HarperCollins imprint, Balzer + Bray, to MCPG. As senior vice-presidents and co-publishers, they will build a new list of picture books, middle grade, YA fiction, and graphic novels. All books published by the two at HarperCollins will remain there, to be reassigned to other imprints in the division. Launched in 2009, Balzer + Bray has published numerous critical and commercial successes. Bray is the editor of The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas (a #1 bestseller and recipient of the Printz Award and Coretta Scott King Honor); Imogen, Obviously by Becky Albertalli (a Stonewall Honoree); and bestsellers Pax by Sara Pennypacker, and the Emmie & Friends series by Terri Libenson. Balzers editing credits include Dumplin by Julie Murphy (a #1 bestseller); Nigeria Jones by Ibi Zoboi (winner of the Coretta Scott King Award); Only This Beautiful Moment by Abdi Nazemian (Stonewall Award winner); and The Lesbianas Guide to Catholic School by Sonora Reyes (a National Book Award finalist and Morris and Pura Belpre Honoree). Additional high-profile books from the imprint are Newbery Honor winner Other Words for Home by Jasmine Warga, and Caldecott Honor winner Extra Yarn by Mac Barnett, illustrated by Jon Klassen. Several Balzer + Bray titles have also been adapted for film. Before starting their imprint at HarperCollins, Balzer and Bray served as executive editor and editorial director at Hyperion Books for Children, respectively. Their move to Macmillan is effective April 15. As of now, no further staff will be joining them; a representative of HarperCollins told PW that only Balzer and Bray, and no other employees, would be leaving the company as a result of the move, although the rep did not specify where former Balzer + Bray staff would be reassigned. Balzer and Bray said in a joint statement, Were incredibly excited to move our imprint to Macmillan Childrens Publishing Group, whose high-quality, award-winning list weve long admired. At Macmillan, we plan to continue Balzer + Brays mission of publishing bold, innovative books that appeal directly to kids in a fresh way, inspire conversations, and reflect a wide breadth of experiences. We are grateful to our brilliant authors and illustrators, as well as our beloved colleagues at HarperCollins, who have contributed so much to B+Bs success over the years. Jen Besser, president and publisher of MCPG, said, The only word is thrilled. Balzer + Bray has been an inspiration in the world of childrens publishing. As a team, Donna and Alessandra are formidable. They have a passion for finding stories that resonate with readers, and their books have been enriching my own reading life for years. I could not be more excited for them to bring their talents to Macmillan Childrens Publishing Group. The departure of the imprint to Macmillan is just the latest change to occur at HCCB in recent months. Last September, Suzanne Murphy, president and publisher of HCCB, left the company and the oversight for the group was turned over to Liate Stehlik, who also remains president and publisher of the Morrow Group. In November, Stehlik reorganized the division, naming Rich Thomas senior v-p and executive director of publishing at HCCB, with the mandate to "lead the editorial strategy for the division with oversight of the Childrens Book Group imprints." Accompanying that announcement, Stehlik said the integrated marketing, marketing design, and rights teams at William Morrow and HarperCollins Childrens were being combined. This story has been updated with further information and for clarity. Esther MacCallum-Stewart, chair of Glasgow Worldcon 2024, has issued an apology on behalf of Worldcon for the acts of censorship that impacted the Hugo, Lodestar, and Astounding Awards at last year's convention in Chengdu. In addition, Kat Jones has resigned as a Hugo Award administrator from Glasgow Worldcon, and has been removed from the Glasgow team across all mediums. A recent report by Chris M. Barkley and Jason Sanford, released simultaneously by File770 and Genre Grapevine, revealed Jones's involvement in what Jones called "conduct[ing] the eligibility research as instructed by the 2023 Hugo Award Administrator" for Chengdu Worldcon. In leaked emails, Jones raised concerns about R.F. Kuang's Babel and Silvia Moreno-Garcia's The Daughter of Doctor Moreau as being potentially politically inflammatory. Jones's resignation comes in the wake of several resignations and censures of Worldcon leaders at the end of January. On January 31, it was announced that director Dave McCarty and board chair Kevin Standlee had both resigned from their positions. In addition, McCarty, along with Hugo administrators Chen Shi and Ben Yallow, was censured, and McCarty was "reprimanded." "I unreservedly apologise for the damage caused to nominees, finalists, the community, and the Hugo, Lodestar, and Astounding Awards," said MacCallum-Stewart in a statement. "I acknowledge the deep grief and anger of the community," she continued, "and I share this distress." MacCallum-Stewart has also announced that the Glasgow Worldcon team will take three steps "to ensure transparency and to attempt to redress the grievous loss of trust in the administration of the Awards." First, when the final ballot is published by the convention in spring 2024, the reasons for any disqualifications or withdrawals of potential finalists from the ballot will also be published. Second, full voting results, nomination statistics, and voting statistics will be published immediately after the awards ceremony on August 11. And the Hugo administration subcommittee will publish a log explaining their decisions in interpreting the World Science Fiction Society Constitution immediately after the awards ceremony. MacCallum-Stewart concluded that "Glasgow 2024 will continue to address this matter as we go forward as a Worldcon." The convention is slated to take place August 8-12. Henry Blackaby, the Canadian pastor and founder of Blackaby Ministries International, who co-authored a groundbreaking Bible study workbook, died Feb. 10. He was 88. Blackaby is the acclaimed co-author of Experiencing God: Knowing and Doing the Will of God. Originally published in 1990 by the Baptist Sunday School Board's curriculum arm, a precursor to Lifeway Christian Resources, it was designed to disciple readers in small group settings. Bill Craig, senior v-p of publishing and ministry experiences, said that Blackaby, together with Experiencing God co-author Claude King, launched "a new model of the way Bible study was done. You spent a week between each meeting to dig into Scripture with Blackaby's teachings. It was like being on a guided tour with questions and answers and insights." Craig added that for decades when he mentions that their house published Experiencing God, many people tell him it was a life-changing book that led them into ministry. The original workbook, reissued in 2022 with new videos added, has sold more than eight million copies in English and been translated into more than 75 languages. It was followed in 1998 by a trade book version, aimed at individual readers, which has sold more than a million copies, a Lifeway spokesperson told PW. In addition to Experiencing God, Blackaby published many spiritual titles with Lifeway and other publishers including three with Thomas Nelson: Holiness: God's Plan for the Fullness of Life; a study of Samuel in Created to Be God's Friend: How God Shapes Those He Loves, and a study of Abraham in Chosen to be God's Prophet: How God Works In and Through Those He Chooses. Blackaby, who was born in British Columbia and attended seminary in California, came to the Southern Baptist Convention's curriculum publishers when he spoke at a conference in the 1980s, after he had built a tiny, dying congregation of 10 people in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan into a thriving church. He later returned to the U.S. and became the director of prayer and spiritual awakening at the SBC's North American Mission Board and a special assistant to the presidents of the Southern Baptist International and North American mission boards and Lifeway. Purdue University researchers rank 5th among U.S. universities in U.S. patents received in 2023, with 198 patents WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. Accelerated bone fracture healing methods. User-friendly, smartphone-driven 3D free-form shape designs. Higher-yield, protein-rich chia seeds. A new crowd management system to help detect and safely evacuate high-density public events. The connection? All are groundbreaking patents created by Purdue University researchers in 2023. Their innovations alongside nearly 200 others reflect Purdues status as a global leader among its peers in protecting intellectual property. Purdue Research Foundation received 198 patents from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office during the 2023 calendar year, placing it sixth internationally and in the top five for U.S. universities for the third year in a row. The information was published in a report Thursday (Feb. 15) from the National Academy of Inventors. The excellence at scale of Purdue inventions is yet again reflected in the top five ranking of American universities receiving U.S. patents in 2023, translating fundamental research breakthroughs to societal impact, Purdue President Mung Chiang said. Launched last year, the Purdue Innovates program will intensify the support for Boilermaker inventors and entrepreneurs in years to come. The Purdue Innovates Office of Technology Commercialization (OTC) manages the technology transfer process to vet, protect and license innovations developed by university researchers, including filing patent applications. Its technology portfolio covers innovations in subject areas including agriculture, biotechnology, chemistry and chemical analysis, computer technology, engineering, food and nutrition, green technology, micro- and nanotechnologies, and more. Brian Edelman, president of Purdue Research Foundation, echoes that commitment to innovation across all disciplines. Purdue Research Foundation is proud to provide critical resources to support faculty, staff and student researchers across all academic disciplines and campuses who want to commercialize their inventions, he said. These commercialization resources bring this cutting-edge, innovative work to the public, where it can enhance quality of life and economic and workforce development. Maintaining a top global ranking among U.S. universities serves as a testament to the unwavering dedication of Purdue Innovates and the relentless pursuit of global improvement through Purdues technologies by our researchers, said Brooke Beier, senior vice president of Purdue Innovates. Purdue Innovates takes great pride in celebrating the outstanding achievements of our researchers and their pioneering endeavors. Our committed team works tirelessly to protect the intellectual property arising from these innovations, strategically positioning them for successful commercialization. Ken Waite, chief patent counsel and director of intellectual property, reiterated the collaborative nature of Purdues success: Im very proud of the IP team for their fantastic efforts to protect the important technological advancements being developed at Purdue University. Protecting Purdue intellectual property and sharing that technology with the world is at the heart of our mission at OTC, and we take our role as steward of these great inventions very seriously. Among the 2023 patents were: In the 2023 fiscal year, the Office of Technology Commercialization: Received 400 total disclosures from Purdue innovators: 375 invention disclosures and 25 copyright disclosures. Filed 809 patent applications with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and international patent organizations. Received 262 U.S. and international patents. Executed 150 licenses and options. Helped establish 14 startup companies. About Purdue University Purdue University is a public research institution demonstrating excellence at scale. Ranked among top 10 public universities and with two colleges in the top four 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, including nearly 50,000 in person on the West Lafayette campus. Committed to affordability and accessibility, Purdues main campus has frozen tuition 13 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. About Purdue Innovates Purdue Innovates is a unified network at Purdue Research Foundation to assist Purdue faculty, staff, students and alumni in either IP commercialization or startup creation. As a conduit to technology commercialization, intellectual property protection and licensing, startup creation and venture capital, Purdue Innovates serves as the front door to translate new ideas into world-changing impact. For more information on licensing a Purdue innovation, contact the Office of Technology Commercialization at otcip@prf.org. For more information about involvement and investment opportunities in startups based on a Purdue innovation, contact Purdue Innovates at purdueinnovates@prf.org. About the Top 100 Worldwide Universities Granted Utility Patents in 2023 The information provided in this list is based on data obtained from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. For this report, a university is defined as an institution that has undergraduate degrees. Patents include only utility patents granted during the 2023 calendar year. All assignees are credited for patents when listed. The number of patents granted does not necessarily indicate the value of a universitys technology, the effectiveness of its research, or whether its patents will be successfully licensed and/or brought to market. This is a dynamic list of worldwide institution patents. Some universities may record patents under different, yet similar names or combine their patents under one foundation or trustee name. If you have questions please contact: info@academyofinventors.org Writer/Media contact: Polly Barks, phbarks@prf.org Sources: Mung Chiang Brian Edelman, beedelman@prf.org Brooke Beier, blbeier@prf.org Ken Waite, kjwaite@prf.org KYODO NEWS - Feb 16, 2024 - 11:58 | All, World U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will hold talks with China's top diplomat Wang Yi in Munich on Friday, the State Department said. The planned meeting on the sidelines of a security conference in the German city, announced Thursday by the department, is part of efforts to increase high-level engagements after months of heightened tensions over issues ranging from a suspected Chinese spy balloon and Taiwan to trade restrictions. Jake Sullivan, the White House national security adviser, and Wang held more than 12 hours of discussions over two days last month in Thailand, with issues on the table including military-to-military communication, the safety of artificial intelligence, Taiwan and attacks on shipping in the Red Sea by the Iran-backed Houthis. It was the first in-person meeting of senior officials of the two countries since Taiwan's presidential election in mid-January, won by Lai Ching-te of the ruling, independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party. Following their talks in Bangkok, a senior U.S. administration official said President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping are expected to hold talks over the phone this spring. Blinken's meeting with Wang on the margins of the Munich Security Conference is also intended to follow up on the summit of the U.S. and Chinese presidents near San Francisco in November. Biden and Xi agreed at the time to reopen military-to-military lines of communication at several levels and work together on transnational challenges such as counternarcotics to help foster confidence between the geopolitical rivals. Since then, despite disagreements over various political and economic issues, the United States and China have gradually taken steps to restart cooperation where possible. In late January, they launched a working group to help choke off exports of ingredients for fentanyl, which is fueling a deadly drug crisis in the United States. The two countries also plan to begin a dialogue this spring on the safe use of artificial intelligence. Related coverage: U.S. says Biden, Xi to hold phone talks in spring OPINION: U.S.-China relations: Filoli summit and beyond China's top diplomat warns U.S. against Taiwan independence Ruling allows Purdue Global Law School grads to apply for waivers to sit for Indiana bar exam WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. The Indiana Supreme Court has approved an amendment to Admission & Discipline Rule 13 that creates a path for Purdue Global Law School graduates to become eligible for the states bar exam. The ruling, issued Thursday (Feb. 15), allows graduates of schools not accredited by the American Bar Association to petition for a waiver to take the Indiana bar exam. The ABA has long required a physical campus for accreditation. Now the states rules will allow a law school graduate who did not attend an ABA-approved school to apply for admission to the Indiana bar. Indiana becomes the second state, after California, in which Purdue Global law graduates will be eligible, following a waiver application, for the bar exam immediately upon graduating. Were excited that theres now a path for our students to become licensed lawyers in Indiana, said Martin Pritikin, dean and vice president of Purdue Global Law School. The ruling by the Indiana Supreme Court is a measure that will help the state, law students and schools like Purdue Global Law School in many ways. This is a big step for us and for others. For example, this would allow lawyers who completed their law studies internationally to apply for the bar exam waiver. Indiana is facing a lawyer shortage, particularly in rural areas, and this new rule can help address that. The new rule goes into effect July 1, 2024. The February 2025 bar exam marks the first time applicants will be eligible to petition for a waiver under Section 4 of the new rule. This decision provides momentum for Purdue Global as the American Bar Association considers eliminating the requirement of a physical campus and allowing fully online law schools like Purdue Global to apply for provisional and then full ABA approval. It is clear that the pandemic was a watershed moment in the recognition of the power of online learning, Pritikin said. When done right, online law school can be just as good as or better than an in-person program in many respects. Currently, 24 Indiana residents are enrolled in Purdue Global Law School, and 20 graduates live in the state. Launched in 1998, Purdue Global Law School was founded as the nations first fully online school. The online option provides students the flexibility to balance classes, work and family while being able to stay in their communities. Because Purdue Global Law School does not incur the costs of maintaining a physical campus, it is able to offer total program tuition for approximately one-third of the cost of traditional law schools. About Purdue Global Law School Purdue Global Law School is part of Purdue Global, the public, nonprofit, online school for working adults backed by Purdue University. Founded in 1998, Purdue Global Law School was the first to offer students a traditional law school program in an affordable, online format. For more information, please visit PurdueGlobalLawSchool.edu. Writer: Adam Bartels, adam.bartels@purdueglobal.edu Source: Martin Pritikin Property details: PALMERA VACATION CLUBHilton Head Island, SC Palmera Vacation Club helps members create customized vacation experiences year after year. The vacation club gives you the opportunity to choose to return to Hilton Head Island whenever you vacation at any of these famous resort: Coral Sands Coral Reef Island Links Port O' Call Or getaway to an array of RCI Affiliated Resorts with the exchange program. There are 4,300 RCI Resorts worldwide and all these resorts are eligible to book using your Palmera ... Price: $ 1 Seller State of Residence: Missouri Property Address: 33 Office Park Rd Suite #218, Hilton Head Island, SC Zip/Postal Code: 29928 City: Hilton Head State/Province: South Carolina Location: 658**, Springfield, Missouri You will be redirected to eBay Nearby South Carolina Property details: Timely Acquisitions Wants you to please note that we are not affiliated with nor do we represent the resort described in this item ad.(The Photos in this Ad are General in Nature) VACATION VILLAGE AT PARKWAY FL.Week 48 FIXED EVEN YEARSUnit: 3605First Usage Available: 2024Maintenance Fee Approx: $1097 JAN. 1 EVEN YEARSThe seller has paid the 2024 maintenance fee = free use for 2024. Resort DescriptionAfter a full day enjoying the theme park capital of the world, youll be ready to return to the... Price: $ 1 Seller State of Residence: Texas Property Address: 2975 ARABIAN NIGHTS BLVD. KISSIMMEE, FL. Type: Attractions Number of Bedrooms: 2 BEDROOM SLEEPS 8 Number of Bathrooms: 2 Zip/Postal Code: 34747 City: KISSIMMEE State/Province: Florida Location: 760**, Mansfield, Texas You will be redirected to eBay Nearby Florida Lexi Young / Instagram By Elizabeth Kwiatkowski, 02/16/2024 ADVERTISEMENT FOLLOW REALITY TV WORLD ON THE ALL-NEW GOOGLE NEWS! Reality TV World is now available on the all-new Google News app and website. Click here to visit our Google News page, and then click FOLLOW to add us as a news source! ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Elizabeth Kwiatkowski is Associate Editor of Reality TV World and has been covering the reality TV genre for more than a decade. 's Lexi Young has revealed that she had her eggs frozen less than two weeks before filming Joey Graziadei 's season.Lexi took to Instagram after her one-on-one date with Joey in Malta aired on 's 28th season.Lexi -- who was diagnosed with endometriosis in early 2019 after silently suffering for years -- was shown telling Joey that she may not be able to have children of her own due to the disease in her reproductive system, which is incurable.Lexi captioned her Instagram post, "Opening up about my experience with egg freezing and how going on less than 2 weeks after my retrieval was challenging yet incredibly empowering.""A little reminder that everyone is fighting their own battles, so let's spread kindness," added the 30-year-old digital strategist from Atlanta, GA."Stay tuned for a deeper dive into the entire egg freezing process!" she added. "#eggfreezing #eggfreezingjourney #ivf #ivfjourney #endo #endowarrior #endometriosis #bachelor #thebachelor #bachelornation #bachelorabc."Lexi shared in her video post, "Less than two weeks before I walked out of the limo and met Joey, I was in the OR having my egg retrieval surgery."Although Joey's season didn't premiere until January, it filmed late last year."I needed at least a solid month after that to kind of recalibrate back to my normal body," Lexi shared."It was hard! I had a lot of heavy bleeding while I was on the show. I had some issues with ovarian cysts while I was on the show. I was like, 'Are people going to see me and my body and judge me for the way that I look?' Because I put on weight."Lexi admitted that it's even "hard to look" at herself on as Joey's season airs on ABC."It's hard to look at it and see myself, you know, swollen and puffy. But you know what? I said, 'I just turned 30. I froze my eggs. That is so empowering and I'm so proud of myself. If this guy doesn't want me when I'm a little puffy and a little emotionally coming down from hormones, then that's not someone I want to marry,'" Lexi explained."I just decided to take a leap of faith and go on the show! To that, I just want to say one more thing. When you're watching these shows and critiquing people's appearances and critiquing people's bodies, just remember that you never know what this person is currently going through or has gone through."Lexi insisted that freezing her eggs was "the right time" for her, even though she struggled with some side effects during her experience."Maybe I didn't feel like myself on national TV, or looked like myself, but none of that matters. In five to 10 years, when I have a family, I'll just be so grateful that I did it," Lexi explained."Going through egg freezing single, at the age of 30, was the most empowering thing that I've done for myself and my body in my entire life. When I look back, I would not change one thing. I now have the added security and confidence that I have eggs frozen at this very moment that, I hope and pray, will turn into embryos when I'm ready."Lexi also warned women considering the procedure that there's never really a right or perfect time to do it."There is always going to be something," Lexi noted, before mentioning how a project at work, a friend's wedding, or a vacation could get in the way."I have people asking me questions all the time who are considering freezing their eggs or have thought about it and they're nervous -- and I hope I can provide some clarity."Lexi went on to reveal how "doing the shots was hard" and "going through" the process by herself was also hard."I remember vividly there was a day when I walked into the fertility clinic and I saw all the women with their partners, and I thought, 'Okay, I am really doing this alone.' It's a beautiful thing to have a partner who is so supportive, and I know I'll have that one day," Lexi said."I never thought I'd be able to go through this alone, and knowing that not only did I do it alone but I did it successfully and then I went on less than two weeks after, I can do anything!"Lexi said if a woman can afford the egg-freezing procedure, her advice would be, "Just do it!""Do not worry so much about the little things," she continued in her video. "It is such a small period of time -- two weeks to 18 days where you're going to go through this really difficult thing."Lexi then recalled waking up from surgery and exited the operating room. When doctors had told her how many eggs they were able to retrieve, she remembers feeling ecstatic, knowing that the emotional and difficult process was well worth it."I am so grateful that I froze my eggs. Egg freezing gives women the autonomy and power to have a family when it's the right time for them," Lexi concluded."For some of them, there may be an added layer of infertility and it gives an additional layer of security. These eggs can be frozen for years, and you have it as a security plan to go back to if it's the right time for you."In a different Instagram video posted last week, Lexi revealed that her endometriosis symptoms have returned full force and she's going to need a second surgery in the near future, which could result in a lot of scar tissue."My egg freezing really aggravated that tissue with all of the hormones I was taking," Lexi said at the time."I'm not in a place where I'm in a waiting game. I'm in a lot of pain. I'm not in a place where I can have children now, but I hope I will be soon."Lexi said the situation she's currently dealing with is when she wants to have children."My doctor wants me to have my second surgery as close as possible to the time I want to try to start conceiving," Lexi explained."Having a third or fourth surgery later on could cause a lot of scar tissue. I am kind of in a place right now of a waiting game. I'm in a lot of pain. I'm not in a place to have children right now. I am hopefully going to be there soon, but I just can't have the surgery at this moment." Click here to learn more about Joey's bachelorettes or click here to read spoilers that reveal how Joey's season ends and who he picked as his winner.Interested in more news? Follow our Bachelor Nation News Page on Facebook or join our The Bachelor Facebook Group KYODO NEWS - Feb 16, 2024 - 14:02 | All, Japan A couple was referred to prosecutors on Friday for allegedly killing their 4-year-old daughter by giving her a toxic substance and an antipsychotic drug at their Tokyo home last March amid growing suspicion that she had suffered repeated neglect. Kenichi Hosoya, 43, and his wife, Shiho, 37, were arrested Wednesday after their daughter, Yoshiki, died with ethylene glycol and large amounts of olanzapine, a medicine prescribed for mental disorders, detected in her body. Investigators believe that the couple neglected Yoshiki as nursery schools have given accounts of Yoshiki being unclean. They also believe the couple attempted to conceal the neglect by making the girl switch nursery schools five times between her birth in 2019 and her death, investigative sources said. Yoshiki was found topless and lying on the family's living room floor when rescuers responded to an emergency call by the father on the morning of March 13, 2023. Marks on her back suggest the couple had abandoned her lying on the floor for a long time, according to the sources. Investigators suspect the parents poisoned Yoshiki with ethylene glycol by making her consume an anti-freeze solution used in engine coolants. The substance is sweet and easily dissolves in water. The substance was also detected in the body of Kenichi Hosoya's older sister, who died at age 41 in April 2018, and the police are investigating the circumstances surrounding her death after finding records of the couple's online purchases of anti-freeze additives and olanzapine around that time. After seizing the suspects' computers and smartphones, the police found records of online searches for ethylene glycol, the antipsychotic drug olanzapine, and toxic aconite. Kenichi Hosoya's parents also died in 2018, and he became the president of the operator of a Japanese-style inn in downtown Asakusa, Tokyo, succeeding his father. He also inherited from his father an apartment. The investigators suspect Kenichi Hosoya had been in a dispute over the inheritance with his older sister. Following their arrest, Kenichi Hosoya has denied murdering Yoshiki while Shiho Hosoya has remained silent. Related coverage: Parents arrested in fatal poisoning, drugging of 4-yr-old daughter The Athens-Clarke County Unified Government Mayor and Commission introduced the first comprehensive road safety plan at its monthly work session at City Hall on Tuesday night. The Local Road Safety Plan is a proactive local road safety plan tailored to local issues and needs by providing a framework for identifying, analyzing and prioritizing roadway safety improvements on local roads. (L-R) "Oleato Caffe Latte with Oatmilk," "Oleato Golden Foam Iced Shaken Espresso with Toffeenut," "Dragon Drink Starbucks Refreshers Beverage with Oleato Golden Foam" and "Iced Matcha Tea Latte with Oleato Golden Foam" sit outside of Starbucks in downtown Athens, Georgia, on Thursday, Feb. 15, 2024. The beverages are a part of the "Oleato" series, which are infused with Partanna extra virgin olive oil. (Photo/ Jayden Henson) The University of Georgia Student Government Association will be hosting their 2024 elections next week. Voting opens on Monday, Feb. 19 at 8 a.m. and will close at noon on Wednesday, Feb. 21. Results will be announced around 5 p.m. Wednesday at Tate Plaza. 'The revenue projection arises out of all sectors doing well and the formalisation of the economy helps in making sure the tax domain gets widened.' IMAGE: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das arrive to address the central board of Directors of the Reserve Bank of India in the customary post-budget meeting, in New Delhi, February 12, 2024. Photograph: Shrikant Singh/ANI Photo Economic Affairs Secretary Ajay Seth explains to Ruchika Chitravanshi and Asit Ranjan Mishra/Business Standard the government's thinking behind the major Budget projections and the fiscal math. Tax revenue projections show a conservative budgeting. The buoyancy has been reduced from 1.4 in FY24 to 1.1 for the next year. Can you explain the thinking behind this? I have treated FY23-24 as the first year where all segments are doing well. In 2022-2023, there were still a few areas that were coming out of the impact of the pandemic. In FY23-24, the profitability of the corporate sector and the general economy, which is reflected more through the GST numbers, are doing well. We expect buoyancy to continue next year, but it cannot continue year after year. It (the revenue projection) arises out of all sectors doing well and the formalisation of the economy helps in making sure the tax domain gets widened. Non-tax revenue has projected a growth of 6 per cent. What is the underlying assumption for this projection? The major non-tax revenues include divestment, dividends from banks, PSUs, RBI, and spectrum charges. They account for almost 80-85 per cent of the non-tax revenue. We have an interaction with each of the stakeholders and that is how we arrive at the number. We think it is a reasonable number. There is a decline of 8 per cent in the subsidy bill. Why is it so? You have to look at it from what base we are coming from. A large portion is on fertiliser prices. These are the estimates based on the current prices as well as the outlook for the next year. It is not as if fertiliser consumption is coming down, it is a question of the price. Prices had shot up during the post-pandemic period. Why is there no specific target for divestment in this budget? It is a combination that has been put through. Instead of looking at the divestment and monetisation as a separate basket, those have been looked at together and that is how a combined number has been indicated in the Budget document. Monetisation has two kinds of flows -- one which comes to the PSU or the agencies such as NHAI and they plough back to their future investment. There will be certain monetisation that will come through the sale of securities, and physical assets. There have been years where monetisation proceeds have been more than estimated and vice versa might have been for divestment. We felt it was better to have a combined number. When will the high-level committee on population and its mandate be finalised? Population control and demographic changes are both challenges and opportunities. We will have a comprehensive look at it and come up with the recommendations. I cannot put a timeline on it. There is a clear thought process. The Economics Division in the Indian Economy Review has estimated a 7 per cent growth rate. Is it achievable? It is a do-able number. We have said that there is potential to do even better. Does the 10.5 nominal growth factor in 7 per cent real growth? For Budget purposes, it is the nominal growth of the economy that is relevant. Real growth of the economy is relevant from the perspective of economic management and development. These are two different tasks. For the Budget number estimation, 10.5 per cent is a reasonable number. How much money will be raised through green bonds in the next fiscal? The final decision will be taken when we announce the calendar by the end of March. We will indicate the firm number so the market has advance information. We, however, intend to raise it in the second half of FY25. Feature Presentation: Aslam Hunani/Rediff.com Rising outgo towards clearing and settlement fees has led to an altercation between the BSE and the National Stock Exchange of India (NSE), with the latter striking down the formers request to lower the charges. Photograph: Danish Siddiqui/Reuters NSE said it has no plans to restructure the same and that it will continue with the pricing defined under the interoperability framework. The interoperability framework, introduced in 2019, allows trades executed on any of the exchanges to be settled or cleared at either of the two clearing corporations -- NSE Clearing (NCL) or Indian Clearing Corporation (ICCL), fully-owned by the NSE and the BSE, respectively. Earlier, each of the exchanges used their clearing corporations for trades executed on their platform. As most of the options volume is settled at the NCL, analysts said that the charges paid by NSE to NCL come back as revenue in the consolidated financials. However, BSE is required to pay both NCL and ICCL for settlement and clearing charges. On a standalone basis, BSE incurred a cost of Rs 63.8 crore towards clearing and settlement charges in December 2023 quarter, up from Rs 40.2 crore in the preceding quarter. After its result announcement, the BSE said high clearing and settlement charges was one of the factors weighing down its net profit, which stood at Rs 108.2 crore in the quarter ended December. We have already requested the other clearing corporation. "We have written to them, telling them that it is too much of a cost and they should relook at it because it has been a long time since the interoperability agreement was signed between the clearing corporation. "And it is time for a review, said Sundararaman Ramamurthy, managing director (MD) and chief executive officer (CEO), of BSE. NSE, in its earnings call a few days later, clarified that it does not plan to restructure the charges. The clearing and settlement charges were defined early on when under the interoperability. "Both the exchanges decided to use the services of both clearing houses. And they continue. "Currently, there is no plan to renegotiate these contracts, said Ashishkumar Chauhan, MD & CEO, of NSE. Industry players said about 60 per cent of the client trading that happens on BSE is through brokers which are members of the NCL. These include the majority of the discount brokers. Clearing and settlement fees are linked to the trading turnover. If the turnover increases, the fee (usually levied Rs per crore of turnover) reduces. Industry players said that given BSE's growth in the derivatives segment, its fees have gone down but it wants them to be reduced further by a third. First, there is no bulk discount for BSE as compared to that for NSE from NCL. "Second, the cost for the settlement and clearing for BSE is almost double that of NSE. NSE enjoys a better margin on every contract traded. "BSE had requested the cost to be cut down by one-third, said an analyst privy to this development. The interoperability is also crucial for the continuity of the market ecosystem in case one exchange or clearing body faces a technical snag or an unforeseen situation. BSE can cut down on these charges if more clients opt to settle on ICCL instead of NCL. The exchange said that it was working with foreign participants for institutional trades and increasing co-location facilities for participants. NSE, on the other hand, is also working on expanding its co-location facilities and data centre, and is awaiting Sebis nod for the same. Any government support or incentive to help exporters deal with high freight and insurance costs is unlikely. IMAGE: Kindly note the image has been posted only for representational purposes. Photograph: Kind courtesy alex dutemps/Pixabay.com Top officials at the prime minister's office are reviewing the developments related to the troubled Red Sea region and its impact on trade and logistics, people aware of the matter said. Senior commerce department officials met PMO officials, although any government support or incentive to help exporters deal with high freight and insurance costs is unlikely. Last week, Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal held hectic meetings with officials of his department and also chaired an inter-ministerial meeting, along with officials of the ministries of defence and external affairs, and the department of financial services. Iran-backed Houthi rebels of Yemen have been repeatedly attacking ships in the Red Sea, and this has forced commercial vessels to take a longer route to avoid the troubled region. This has resulted in higher freight costs because taking the route via the Cape of Good Hope, discovered by the Portuguese in the 15th century, has increased the transit time by around 20 days. Insurance premiums too have risen. The finance ministry said prices might go up because of higher energy costs caused by the rise in shipping charges. The Red Sea is vital for 30 per cent of global container traffic and 12 per cent of global trade. As much as 80 per cent of India's merchandise trade with Europe passes through it. A senior government official said as of now there had been no impact in terms of volumes (of shipments). "The only thing is freight costs have risen, but it is the same in other countries as well, such as Vietnam and Indonesia," a senior government official told Business Standard. The official said the impact of the disruption was not seen in December's trade data, but the government was collating and closely looking into the current month's impact on export and import. According to CRISIL Ratings, the Red Sea crisis will have a differential impact across sectors. Players operating in areas such as agricultural commodities and marine foods could see a significant impact due to the perishable nature of their goods and/or lean margin profiles, which limit their ability to absorb the risks from rising freight cost. On the other hand, players in textiles, chemicals and capital goods may not be immediately affected. This will be because of better ability to pass on higher costs or as a result of a weaker trade cycle, the ratings agency said. As far as industry support is concerned, many governments, including India's, are taking precautionary measures to safeguard a free flow of vessels and to protect them from these activities. However, any incentive or support may not be in the offing. "We want our exporters to be resilient and face the world's challenges and by and large we have been successful in that," Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal had told Business Standard. During the first inter-ministerial meeting on the Red Sea issue in January, the commerce department and the finance ministry discussed maintaining the credit flow to Indian exporters. The government has also asked Export Credit Guarantee Corporation not to raise insurance rates. Feature Presentation: Ashish Narsale/Rediff.com The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), on Thursday issued orders restraining commercial transactions routed through intermediaries by a card network. Photograph: Shailesh Andrade/Reuters The central bank, without naming the card network, said the intermediary with an arrangement with the network, did not have the authorisation to function under the Payment and Settlement Systems (PSS) Act. This led the regulator to suspend the arrangement till further notice. The RBI has clarified that business credit cards will continue to function as usual. In India, fintech companies such as PayMate, and Enkash, among others process payments made via commercial cards. The companies did not respond to queries sent by Business Standard till the time of going to press. The central bank added that the card network had an arrangement which enables businesses to make card payments through certain intermediaries, to entities that do not accept card payments. The RBI explained, under the arrangement, the intermediary accepts card payments from corporates for their commercial payments. It then remits the funds through immediate payment service (IMPS), real-time gross settlement (RTGS), national electronic funds transfer (NEFT) to non-card accepting recipients. In such an arrangement, the intermediary was found to pool large amounts of funds into an account that is not a designated account under the PSS Act. On closer scrutiny, it was observed that this arrangement qualified as a payment system. Under the provisions of PSS Act, 2007, such a payment system requires authorization under Section 4 of PSS Act, which has not been obtained in the case. The activity was, therefore, without legal sanction, the regulator said. Currently, only one card network has operationalised this arrangement in the country, RBI said. Meanwhile, the central bank has also flagged concerns that transactions processed under the said arrangement did not comply with the originator and beneficiary information requirements as stipulated under Master Direction on KYC (Know Your Customer) issued by the regulator. As the matter is under detailed examination, the card network has been advised to keep all such arrangements under abeyance, till further orders. It is clarified that the Reserve Bank has not placed any restriction with respect to normal usage of business credit cards, the regulator added. Queries sent to Visa and Mastercard requesting a comment did not elicit a response till press time. A commercial card is used for payments by companies as opposed to retail cards as it is a business payment card. Meanwhile, a business payment solution providers (BPSPs) acts as an intermediary and enables business-to-business (B2B) payments for non-card-accepting suppliers for transactions such as payrolls, invoices, and rent, among others, according to Visa s website. Visa, on Wednesday, had explained that BPSPs are regulated by the central bank under the Payment Aggregators (PA) and Payment Gateways (PG) guidelines. It is important to note that BPSPs are regulated and licensed by the RBI under the PA PG guidelines. Visa is proactively engaged and continues to be in discussions with the RBI and our ecosystem partners to ensure compliance. If you have further questions, those may be better directed to the BPSPs, it had said. KYODO NEWS - Feb 16, 2024 - 10:11 | All, World The White House said Thursday that Russia is developing an anti-satellite capability, publicly confirming it as the dangerous national security threat referenced a day before by a congressional leader, but added it is not a weapon to attack people. "This is not an active capability that's been deployed," White House national security spokesman John Kirby said, stressing that though Russia's move is "troubling," there is "no immediate threat to anyone's safety." "We are not talking about a weapon that can be used to attack human beings or cause physical destruction here on Earth," he told a press briefing. Kirby said the United States has been closely monitoring Russia's pursuit of such capability and President Joe Biden has been regularly updated about its development by his national security team. The confirmation came after Mike Turner, the chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives intelligence committee, put out a vague statement on Wednesday warning of a "serious national security threat" to the United States and urged the White House to declassify all related information. Citing sources familiar with the intelligence, ABC News reported Wednesday that the threat pertains to Russian efforts to place a nuclear weapon in space for possible use against satellites. Kirby, however, refused to provide details, including whether the capability involves nuclear elements, saying it would not be "prudent" to reveal more at this time. Biden's top security adviser Jake Sullivan and other administration officials have not hidden their surprise at Turner issuing a public warning on the matter. Since obtaining the intelligence, Kirby said the United States has been consulting with its allies and partners, in addition to seeking to engage directly with Russia over the issue. Sullivan said he would brief congressional leaders Thursday on the intelligence regarding the Russian threat. But Kirby suggested that the White House can only disclose a very limited amount of information, saying, "We make decisions about how and when to publicly disclose intelligence in a careful, deliberate and strategic way." Related coverage: U.S. congressional intel chief warns of serious security threat Zelenskyy sacks top general Zaluzhnyi as war with Russia drags on U.S. to keep supporting Ukraine if Trump returns to power: Mike Pompeo 'If you fight you win, if you don't fight, how will you win?' IMAGE: Ashok Chavan, who joined the Bharatiya Janata Party this week, prays at the Siddhivinayak temple in Mumbai, February 15, 2024 before filing his nomination for the Rajya Sabha elections. Photograph: ANI Photo Ashok Chavan, former Maharashtra chief minister, resigned from the Congress party -- which has been home to him and his late father, former chief minister and Union home minister S B Chavan -- joined the Bharatiya Janata Party on February 14. The next day he filed the nomination for the Rajya Sabha as a BJP candidate. "There is no political decision making. There is no implementation of what has been discussed. How can you move forward?", Ashok Chavan asks Rediff.com Senior Contributor Neeta Kolhatkar. Why this sudden decision to undertake a new journey? I thought things are not going well. Things are not happening and they (the Congress party) were not ready for a fight. See, if you fight you win, if you don't fight how will you win? There is not strategic planning, they (the Congress leadership) are not prepared to listen to party workers, there is no preparation. There is no political decision making. More than all of this, there is no implementation of what has been discussed. How can you move forward? The Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee has been plagued recently by personality problems and other issues. Is that the reason for you to leave? It is that and several other issues that have come together. Some people speak while others don't speak (indicating himself), but you have to decide whether you want to sink or you want to swim and move forward. My performance in the Congress party was to be measured, recognised and it is visible. Results have shown it. What ails the Maha Vikas Agadhi, the MVA (the Shiv Sena [UBT], the Congress and the NCP Sharad Pawar]? I won't speak of other partner parties. The Congress has not been able to put its course in action properly, so things don't look bright. Isn't it a bizarre situation that Maharashtra faces today, that there is absolutely no opposition? Is this not worrisome? Seems that... The basic issue is that for the development of the state, people expect political representatives to deliver. This is irrespective of whether leaders are in power or not. People expect their representatives to deliver, come what may. When you are not able to do it, people don't understand your situation. One does things for one's survival, for one's future. People have high hopes from political representatives and this does not happen. People ask what is the use of all this? IMAGE: Maharashtra BJP President Chandrashekhar Bawankule, left, welcomes Ashok Chavan, right, into the party fold in Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis's presence. Photograph: ANI Photo There is no opposition, so how can people have hopes? It doesn't happen just like that. You have to prepare for it, things don't happen just like that. Issues have to be taken up. One can't keep blaming the people. A leader has to struggle, prepare, fight. We have to give results. I have given results earlier. The basic question is how are we going to enthuse the people? In such a situation with no opposition and leaders jumping parties, the electorate will have a problem about whom to vote for? Look, I don't expect unanimous support for all my decisions. Some discontentment is bound to be there. This is a political plunge I have taken. Let us see what happens in the future. IMAGE: During happier times: Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole, left, and Ashok Chavan, right, at the Bharat Jodo Padyatri's Pride Ceremony at Tilak Bhavan, Mumbai. Photograph: ANI Photo Why the Rajya Sabha? You are a formidable leader with your stronghold being Nanded. Why not the Lok Sabha? Probably they (the BJP) want me to campaign all over the state. Maybe more responsibilities are being planned for me. We shall see what unfolds. Do you see any hurdles in your journey? I don't see any hurdle. I think the prime minister's graph has already risen a lot. The infrastructure projects, air and road transport connectivity has improved. The general communication with the masses is strong and growing. I think that is a plus point. Don't you think there are too many former chief ministers and even more probable CMs in the party and NDA alliance you have switched to? Where? Maybe, but that doesn't affect me. I haven't gone with a specific ambition. I am sure work will be recognised. My performance and track record is there and proven. I will work hard, take on responsibilities and will fulfil them with detailed planning, implementation and execution. IMAGE: Ashok Chavan files his nomination for the Rajya Sabha elections in Mumbai. Photograph: ANI Photo The media declared you guilty in the Adarsh scam case. Yes, I know, the media is the media. Hopefully they will support me. The law will take its own course, so let us see. Feature Presentation: Aslam Hunani/Rediff.com 'Can you believe Ashok Chavan was with me in the senior leaders' meeting one day, and next day morning, he switched sides!' IMAGE: Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, right, and state Bharatiya Janata Party President Chandrashekhar Bawankule, left, welcome former Congress leader Ashok Chavan, second from left, into the BJP fold in Mumbai, February 13, 2024. Photograph: ANI Photo Ramesh Chennithala, who is in charge of Congress affairs in Maharashtra, was in Mumbai just before Ashok Chavan left the party. He returned to Kerala -- where he is the senior-most Congress leader -- to attend the assembly session before going back to Maharashtra again "for a 2-day camp to discuss the preparations for the Parliament election". In the first reaction from the central Congress leadership to Chavan's exit, Chennithala tell Rediff.com's Shobha Warrier, "." There were rumours of leaders like Ashok Chavan leaving the Congress, and since you were in charge of the Maharashtra Congress, did you talk to them about this? Could you find out why they were disillusioned with the party? There are two reasons behind them leaving the party. One is the pressure from the ED and CBI. Two, greed for power. As you all know, one person left because he wanted to be a Rajya Sabha member. Three people left the party; Milind Deora, Baba Siddique and Ashok Chavan. And, they have been in the party for 40-50 years. I cannot see any other reason than the fear of ED and CBI, and greed for power for them leaving the party. The Congress has given them everything. The party made them who they are. Without the Congress, they were nothing. There has not been any issue to complain for them in the party. Only the pressure from ED and CBI made them take such decisions. Two of them switched sides because of this reason, and one left to be a Rajya Sabha member! See, people like us are in the party without expecting any position or power. We are in the party because we have faith in the principles and ideology followed by the party. These people should remember that the Congress had given all support to them till now. Can you believe Ashok Chavan was with me in the senior leaders' meeting one day, and next day morning, he switched sides! Though there were rumours, you didn't get any hint at the meeting? Yes, there were rumours. But when he was attending the meetings and working with me closely regarding seat-sharing with our alliance partners, how do you expect him to switch sides the very next morning? Like you, Ashok Chavan also started his political career as a student leader. Last time when I spoke to you, you said, you would be the last person to quit the Congress party.... How do you look at him leave the party? It is very unfortunate. See, the party made him chief minister two times. I still remember I only appointed him as vice president of the Maharashtra Youth Congress. He was a CWC member. He was also a PCC President. What have we not given him? Everything; everything a political leader can aspire for. I am of the opinion that he should tell people why he changed sides. But he has not said anything except, 'This is my personal decision'. IMAGE: Former Congress MP Milind Deora joins the Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde fraction) in Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's presence in Mumbai, January 14, 2024. Photograph: ANI Photo How do you look at this situation> Is it like people abandoning a sinking ship, or the BJP poaching leaders from Opposition parties? The BJP has created a new culture in the country, making people change from one party to another through pressures from the ED, CBI, etc. I don't understand what the BJP wants. All I can say is, what the BJP is doing is not good politics. This aaya ram, gaya raam situation is not good for a healthy democratic political system for the country. The BJP does not have self-confidence. That's why they are poaching people. It is not good to pressurise people using agencies like the ED, CBI, etc to change their political stance. Where will this lead to? What I see is the end of democracy. In the last 76 years of India's independent history, so many political parties ruled this country, but have you seen anything like this happen before? It is very bad for the country. They accused Ajit Pawar of a Rs 55,000 crores corruption scandal but the moment he switched over to their side, the charge disappeared. That's why I said, the BJP has become a washing machine. You put all the bad linen in the BJP washing machine and they come out clean! One senior person from Maharashtra who switched sides told a newspaper, 'Now I can sleep peacefully at night.' This is what is happening in our country. Is it right? IMAGE: Former Congress MLA Baba Siddique, second from left, joins the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP-Ajit Pawar faction) in the presence of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, second from right, party MPs Praful Patel, left, and Sunil Tatkare, right, in Mumbai, February 10, 2024. Photograph: ANI Photo When they came to power itself, the BJP said their agenda was Congress-mukt Bharat... Though they are trying hard, it will not happen. There are crores and crores of Congressmen in this country who believe in the party even now. People leaving the party for personal gains will not weaken the party. Do you think the absence of a very strong leader at the top is the reason why this is happening? It is not that we don't have strong leaders. We have very strong leaders in Delhi. When the ruling party puts pressure on people using central agencies, some find it difficult to withstand the pressure. IMAGE: Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge with party leaders Rahul Gandhi, Sachin Pilot, T S Singh Deo, Bhupesh Baghel, K C Venugopal and others at a public meeting in Ambikapur, Chhattisgarh, February 13, 2024, during the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra. Photograph: ANI Photo Rahul Gandhi connected with ordinary people in his yatra, but it is not getting translated into votes. Why? Yes, Rahul Gandhi is well received by people. My thinking is, we have to strengthen the organisational structure at the grassroot level now. Only then, the goodwill can be translated into votes. Now that we are in the Opposition, this is the time to strengthen the party at the grassroot level. I feel the party should concentrate on that more. Do you think the Congress needs a leader who can take on Narendra Modi? Rahul Gandhi is the only leader in this country who is fearlessly and relentlessly fighting for democratic values and against corruption. Can you name any other person who is fighting like him? Rahul Gandhi is the only leader who is doing it, and he is capable enough to fight the BJP. IMAGE: Ramesh Chennithala, second from left, with Ashok Chavan and Maharashtra Congress President Nana Patole, second from right, at a press conference in Mumbai, January 11, 2024. Photograph: ANI Photo Will he be contesting from Wayanad again? We are demanding that he should contest from Wayanad. Many experts are asking for bringing back paper ballots. What's your opinion on this? I fully agree with them. In the entire world, only five countries use electronic voting machines. It is paper ballot for all the other countries. I am of the opinion that we have to re-introduce paper ballot because so many people feel that machines are being manipulated. For a vibrant democracy, paper ballots will be helpful. Feature Presentation: Aslam Hunani/Rediff.com 'Imran Khan's rule was dismal. Despite this, he has become a cult figure.' 'He sold the dream of a Naya Pakistan to the people of Pakistan, especially the youth, and branded all other politicians as corrupt.' 'Hence, his popularity.' IMAGE: Supporters of Imran Khan's party, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, protest demanding free and fair results of the elections, outside the provincial election commission office in Karachi, February 11, 2024. Photograph: Akhtar Soomro/Reuters Shehbaz Sharif will be Pakistan's next prime minister. His party, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, was the second largest party, winning 75 seats of 266 seats in the national assembly, and he will form a government in alliance with other political parties. A key constituent of the new government will be the Pakistan People's Party which won 54 seats. Interestingly, the people of Pakistan overwhelmingly supported jailed former prime minister Imran Khan in the elections, and independents, contesting on behalf of his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, won 93 seats, the single largest group in the national assembly. So what does Pakistan's election results mean to India, and why do the Pakistan people support Imran Khan,? Syed Firdaus Ashraf/Rediff.com spoke to Tilak Devasher, retired senior RA&W officer, and the author of acclaimed books on Pakistan. His book Pakistan: Courting the Abyss is a must read for anyone who wants to know how the country fell into the dangerous path of Islamisation leading to permanent chaos. Among his other books are Pakistan: At the Helm; Pakistan: The Balochistan Conundrum and The Pashtuns: A Contested History. Were you surprised by the outcome of the elections in Pakistan? The election results were not really a surprise given the demographics of the electorate. Almost 57 million voters or over 47% of the electorate were between the ages of 18 and 35. The PTI has been able to reach out to these young voters through a sophisticated social media campaign while the older parties, relying on traditional methods of campaigning, were not able to do so. After seeing the outcome do you feel as common Pakistanis say in their country, they have 'selection' and not 'election'? Were these elections rigged? The only free and fair elections in Pakistan were in 1970 that led to the break-up of the country. Since then, all elections have been rigged to ensure a result that does not lead to another division of the country. Why do Pakistanis feel that Imran Khan is their last saviour? What did he do during his rule to gain such popularity? Imran Khan's performance during his three-and-a-half year rule was dismal. Despite this, he has become a cult figure. He sold the dream of a Naya Pakistan to the people of Pakistan, especially the youth, and branded all other politicians who did not agree with him as corrupt. Hence, his popularity. He also got sympathy vote due to his incarceration. We saw at the time of President Pervez Musharraf, when he ousted the democratically elected Nawaz Sharif to become the dictator of Pakistan in 1999, there was no revolt from the people. What has changed in 25 years that the people of Pakistan no longer want the Pakistan army to call the shots in their country? Why are Pakistanis so disillusioned and disenchanted with the army? The people had become disillusioned with Nawaz Sharif, that is why there were no protests. Today, because the living conditions are so bad that people are looking for a saviour. While earlier the army was the saviour, today the people see Imran Khan as the saviour. IMAGE: Supporters of Imran Khan's party, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, block a road at Baleli, on the outskirts of Quetta, February 12, 2024, to protest the results of the elections. Photograph: Naseer Ahmed/Reuters When Imran Khan won the elections in 2018 it was widely believed that he won due because of the Pakistan army's support. What led to the fallout between him and the army? He certainly won because of army support and rigging. He fell out with the army because he thought he had become so popular that he could take on the army. Why did Imran Khan underestimate the Pakistan army's power and might?& Hubris and megalomania. Will we ever see Imran Khan coming out of jail? What future do you foresee for him? He will eventually come out of jail. The army will keep him in case the new government gets ideas similar to the ones that Imran Khan had got. Talha Saeed, terrorist Hafeez Saeed's son, received only 2,024 votes whereas the winner Latif Khosa backed by Imran Khan's party won 117,109 votes in Lahore. Does it mean that the people of Pakistan want peace with India and they are fed up with these terrorists? No. It just means that as before, the religious parties have never received electoral support. The Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Pakistan (Fazl) has done badly in the elections. Why have Pakistanis always shunned religious parties in elections? People are religious, but they don't want to be ruled by religious parties. Will this coalition give a stable government to Pakistan? Nawaz Sharif would have become PM if the PML-N had got a majority. Since there will be a coalition government, Shehbaz Sharif is better able to deal with a coalition. Will the new government foster better relations with India? Too early to say. The new government will have to deal with a host of domestic issues first. When countries like Saudi Arabia and UAE are shunning the stricter Wahabbi form of Islam, why has the deep State of Pakistan not taken a cue from those countries and go in for better relations with India? Don't they understand that their economy has collapsed, but all they want to do is spread terrorism in India rather than improve their economy? Pakistan was formed on an ideological basis, the ideology of the two-nation theory that Hindus and Muslims cannot live together. So, hostility with India is inbuilt in their DNA. 'I am not a person who would do such things from behind the scenes.' 'I don't believe in taking somebody else's support for speaking out my mind.' IMAGE: Madhav Bhandari, left, with then Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi. Photograph: Kind courtesy Madhav Bhandari/X Madhav Bhandari, former chief spokesperson for the Bharatiya Janata Party in Maharashtra and a current BJP vice-president, has been with the party since the 1980s. Bhandari is one of the BJP's sharpest and most articulate leaders when it comes to defending the party's political positions. Bhandari's son Chinmay posted a long tweet on X on Thursday, February 15, 2024, expressing his pain and anguish over his father being sidelined in the party (external link). Chinmay's post comes in the wake of the BJP nominating former Maharashtra chief minister and Congress turncoat Ashok Chavan who joined the party a couple of days earlier, Dr Ajit Gopchade, an RSS worker who shot to fame as someone who was seen atop the Babri Masjid when it was demolished on December 6, 1992, and former Pune MLA Medha Kulkarni as its candidates for the Rajya Sabha election. 'I know my father, setbacks and disappointments do not deter him, and they never will. He will continue to work for the party as long as he can, putting this nation, this state and its society first, as always,' Chinmay noted in his X post. "I have never spoken about these things and even today I don't feel it is necessary for me to speak about anything. The party has always taken decisions in the best interest of the party. That's all," Madhav Bhandari tells Prasanna D Zore/Rediff.com. Would you like to react to your son Chinmay Bhandari's post on X that expresses his deep pain and anguish about you being sidelined in the BJP when it comes to being rewarded for all your hard work in the BJP? So? Do you concur with what he has written in his post? He has written about his personal feelings. He is an adult now; he is 33-34 now and he has all the right to write what he feels like. He is entitled to freely express himself. Do you concur with what he has written in his post? He has not criticised anybody in his post. The post is not against anybody. He has not addressed his post to anybody. He has mentioned that he has been pained by your being sidelined in the BJP? Doesn't anyone have the right to express his pain and disappointment? That's all there is to it. Do you concur with what he has written in his post? He has written what he is feeling. I never speak about these things; it is not me. Do you think you should clarify your position in a rejoinder? People will think that it was you who asked Chinmay to tweet about you being sidelined? It is an individual's absolute right to thinks what he thinks and how he thinks. I am not a person who would do such things from behind the scenes. I don't believe in taking somebody else's support for speaking out my own mind. I speak for myself. I act for myself. Are you as pained about being sidelined by the BJP after giving the party so much all your life? I have never spoken about these things and even today I don't feel it is necessary for me to speak about anything. The party has always taken decisions in the best interest of the party. That's all. Sandeshkhali, a village in North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal, has been at the centre of a political storm for nearly a month and has witnessed unprecedented protests over allegations of sexual abuse by scores of women against a local Trinamool Congress leader. IMAGE: BJP workers hold protest over the Sandeshkhali incident, in Purba Bardhaman on Thursday, February 15, 2024. Photograph: ANI Photo How did it start? It all started on a sleepy, cold morning of January 5 after a raid by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) at the residence of now absconding TMC strongman Shajahan Shiekh in Sandeshkhali in the multi-crore ration distribution scam. Shajahan's men in the locality not only prevented the ED officers from entering his home but also assaulted them before the central probe agency's men managed to escape from the village around 74 km away from Kolkata. Considered the last word in Sandeshkhali in the Basirhat sub-division in the district, Shajahan, who is also a member of Zilla Parishad, has been at large since then, but his close associates claimed that he is 'very much in control of things' in the area. After the ED incident, local women in large numbers came out in the open and alleged that Shajahan and his men forcibly grabbed their land for prawn cultivation, torturing and sexually harassing them for several years. What are the main allegations? "Party (TMC) men would survey every home and if there was any beautiful woman, primarily a young wife or a girl, they would take them to the party office. They will keep that woman there night after night till they are satisfied," one of the several local women, who kept her face covered to hide her identity fearing attack by Shajahan and his associates, alleged. The women said that the absence of Shajahan has given them the courage to speak about the torture they have been undergoing for several years. They not only accused Shajahan but also alleged that his close aides and other TMC leaders Uttam Sardar and Shibaprasad Hazra were involved in the abuse. "One might be the husband, but he will not have his rights on her. One would have to let go of his wife. We are unable to live here. There is always a fear of being tortured or sexual molestation. We want safety. Most of our men have left the village and are working in other states," she alleged. Women protested with bamboo sticks, and brooms and gheraoed the local police stations demanding the immediate arrest of Shajahan, Shibaprasad Hazra. Allegations led to protests and a political blame game: Tension escalated last Friday when the protesting women burnt down three poultry farms owned by Hazra, which they claimed were built on a piece of land forcibly grabbed from local villagers. This led the opposition parties in Bengal to escalate their demands to arrest Shajahan and his men immediately. The Bharatiya Janata Party, the Communist Party of India-Marxist, and the Congress alleged that the ruling TMC administration has been 'giving protection' to Shajahan and his men while some of the TMC leaders claimed that Shajahan was wrongfully framed by the opposition parties who have joined hands keeping in mind the ensuing Lok Sabha elections. The protests of the women forced Bengal Governor C V Ananda Bose earlier this week to cut short his Kerala trip to review the situation in Sandeshkhali. After talking to the women there, Bose described it as 'ghastly, shocking, shattering'. "What I saw was ghastly, shocking, shattering to my senses. I saw something which I should never have seen; I heard many things which I should never have heard... This is a shame for a civil society," Bose said after his visit to Sandeshkhali. Bose has also submitted a report to the Ministry of Home Affairs, blaming the law enforcers for working hand in glove with 'rowdy elements' in Sandeshkhali. In his report, Bose also mentioned that the local people want the Constitution of a Special Task Force or Special Investigation Team to probe into their allegations. Reacting to these developments, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said those who were responsible have been put behind bars. The situation was being monitored closely and necessary steps were being taken, she had said. Banerjee's statement came on the day when Bose went to Sandeshkhali and reviewed the law and order situation there. Police action and visits by commissions: Police arrested former CPI-M MLA from Sandeshkhali Nirapada Sardar, and a local BJP leader Vikas Singh over the allegations. Barishat Police on Monday said that they have received only four complaints from the people of violence-hit Sandeshkhali but none of them mentioned any incident of rape or sexual harassment. The police had imposed prohibitory orders in Sandeshkhali and on Tuesday opposition leader Suvendu Adhikari and other BJP leaders were stopped in the city's Science City when they tried to go to Sandeshkhali. On Wednesday, his party colleague and BJP's West Bengal President Sukanta Majumdar was injured as party workers clashed with the police after they were stopped from entering Sandeshkhali. Majumdar is undergoing treatment at a Kolkata-based hospital. A team of the state Women's Commission visited Sandeshkhali on Monday, spoke to the local women, and submitted a report to the Chief Minister's Office (CMO). The state administration has constituted a 10-member team under senior IPS officers to probe into the incidents of Sandeshkhali. Representatives of the National Women's Commission and National Commission for Scheduled Castes tried going to Sandeshkhali have also faced hindrances from the police who cited the prohibitory orders, stating that their visits might cause a law and order problem in the area. A National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) delegation visited the trouble-torn village on Thursday. Led by the panel's Chairman Arun Halder, the team spoke to residents of the area, which is predominantly inhabited by people belonging to SC and other backward communities. Meanwhile, the police have set up barricades on approach roads to Sandeshkhali police to prevent political personalities from visiting the place. Protests and allegations prompted Calcutta HC to react: Earlier this week, the Calcutta high court revoked the imposition of Section 144 in trouble-torn Sandeshkhali saying that the state administration usually identifies disturbed areas and imposes prohibitory orders in specific zones. It also said the state should deploy more security forces and there should be close monitoring through drones and CCTV cameras. Another Calcutta High Court Judge Justice Apurba Sinha Ray on Tuesday took suo motu cognisance of the allegations of the local women being sexually harassed and tribal land forcibly taken away and instructed the state to file a report within a week. Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Yadav on Friday claimed that Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had 'begged for forgiveness for past betrayals' before his parents, party supremo Lalu Prasad and ex-CM Rabri Devi, before they allied with the Janata Dal-United president in 2022. IMAGE: RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav addresses a 'Mahapanchayat' during the Bharat Jodo Naya Yatra as Congress leader Rahul Gandhi looks on, in Sasaram on Friday. Photograph: ANI Photo Yadav, who lost the Deputy CM's chair last month when Kumar abruptly went back to the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance, made the claim at a rally in Mohania, in the state's Kaimur district, which was organised as part of former Congress president Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra. Breaking into the local dialect Bhojpuri, the young RJD leader said, "Nitish ji had, after begging for forgiveness, told my parents that the BJP was trying to split his party and wean away his MLAs". Kumar dumped the BJP and joined the RJD-led Mahagathbandhan in 2022. The RJD leader added: "We were initially not very inclined towards trusting him again. But there were talks with leaders across the country, all of whom were of the opinion that in the larger interest of the fight against BJP, we should agree. So we made a sacrifice." Calling his ex-boss 'a tired Chief Minister', the RJD leader said he is proud that in just 17 months the Mahagathbandhan made him give government jobs on an unprecedented scale. "He (Kumar) had earlier mocked me by asking whether I would use my father's money to pay them salary. But I had told him that our support to his government would require him to help us fulfil the promise of 10 lakh government jobs that I had promised to the people ahead of the 2020 assembly polls," Yadav said. Yadav claimed the Mahagathbandhan would have won the assembly polls, but for manipulations by the administration, which worked overtime to ensure that its candidates were shown defeated by margins of as low as 12 votes. Fishing in troubled waters of the NDA, which Kumar has joined claiming he was there 'for ever' even as the BJP has made it clear that it will not give up its ambition to form its own government in Bihar, Yadav said, "Now that Nitish ji is back with the BJP, there is no guarantee that he will not make a flip-flop again." Cries of 'palturam (Mr turncoat)' emanated from the crowds, even as the RJD leader added that he had said in the assembly that Prime Minister Narendra Modi prides himself on his guarantees, but even he cannot guarantee that Nitish Kumar will not do another volte face. Yadav's averment came close on the heels of his father making it clear that the RJD's 'doors were always open' for Kumar, causing an indignant JD-U to retort': "The famed padlock of Aligarh has now been placed on the doors." The young RJD leader added: "We asked the chief minister to at least explain why he was turning his back on us. But he could give no reason. We wonder if he is afraid of ED and CBI." Earlier, at a farmers' congregation (Kisan Mahapanchayat) in the adjoining district of Rohtas, Yadav took potshots at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for paying no heed to the demands of cultivators who were staging a protest in Delhi. "He does not have even two minutes to spare for the farmers. But he has time for Priyanka Chopra," said Yadav, in an apparent reference to the Prime Minister's meeting with the Bollywood star a few years ago. Yadav also referred to his inability to join Gandhi in the first phase of Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra's journey through Bihar last month. "On one day, my father was made to appear before the ED and on the next day it was my turn. But we are not the ones who will be cowed down by such things," he said. Yadav had also joined Gandhi for a roadshow in Sasaram where, upon the former Congress president's beckoning, he took to the wheel of the car for a brief while. The Congress hailed the presence of the young RJD leader, sharing the video of Yadav behind the steering wheel with the slogan 'Hum INDIA waale', borrowed from a Bollywood song to signify that the opposition bloc was in high spirits, recent setbacks notwithstanding. United States President Joe Biden and his administration are working very hard to thwart and disrupt attacks on Indian and Indian American students, the White House has said. IMAGE: John Kirby, Coordinator for Strategic Communications at the National Security Council in the White House. Photograph: ANI Photo The announcement by John Kirby, Coordinator for Strategic Communications at the National Security Council in the White House comes amid a slew of attacks on Indian and Indian American students in various parts of the country. "There is no excuse for violence, certainly based on race or gender or religion or any other factor. That's just unacceptable here in the United States," Kirby told reporters when asked about the series of attacks on students from India and also those from the Indian American community. "The president and this administration have been working very, very hard to make sure we're doing everything we can to work with state and local authorities to try to thwart and disrupt those kinds of attacks and make it clear to anybody who might consider them that they'll be held properly accountable," Kirby said. Vivek Saini, a student working part-time in a department store, died following an attack by a drug addict in Lithonia, Georgia in January. Syed Mazahir Ali, an Indian student at Indiana Wesleyan University was assaulted in February. Deaths of at least four Indian American students have been reported in the last several weeks. Akul Dhawan of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and Neel Acharya of Purdue University died apparently due to heavy drinking followed by long exposure to low temperatures at night in January. Shreyas Reddy Benigeri, an Indian-origin student at the Lindner School of Business in Cincinnati was found dead in Ohio this month. Indian American community leader Ajay Jain Bhutoria said he was deeply troubled by the tragic deaths of these students in separate incidents and underscored the urgent need for enhanced safety measures for those pursuing education in the US. College authorities, and local police, must address these challenges promptly, he asserted. "These incidents understandably worry parents and families in India, and their concerns are shared. It's crucial to address safety issues to ensure the well-being of Indian students studying in the USA," he said, adding that the Indian American community unites in calling for improved safety measures and support systems. The apex child rights body National Commission for Protection of Child Rights took cognizance of a report about a child being thrown away by miscreants in the violence-hit Sandeshkhali in West Bengal and issued a notice to the district administration calling for a prompt investigation into the matter. IMAGE: A 6-member BJP delegation constituted by party national president JP Nadda speaks to the media after being barred by the police at Rampur on their way to Sandeshkhali to meet the victims, in North 24 Parganas, West Bengal, February 16, 2024. Photograph: ANI Photo In its notice to the district magistrate of North 24-Parganas district, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights said it has come across a news article regarding a distressing incident of a group of miscreants, accompanied by police officials, carrying out an assault on a woman resident on February 10. The report indicates that the miscreants forcibly entered her house and physically assaulted her. Shockingly, they also snatched her infant daughter and callously threw her away, the commission said. In view of the gravity and sensitivity of the matter, the commission has taken cognizance of it and sought a prompt investigation into the incident. The commission called for proper rehabilitation and re-settlement of the family, action against the alleged perpetrators, and an action taken report on the matter. Sandeshkhali has been tense with a large number of women in the locality accusing Trinamool Congress strongman Shajahan Sheikh and his supporters of "land-grab and sexually assaulting" them under coercion. Sheikh has been absconding since January 5 when a mob attacked Enforcement Directorate officers during a raid at his residence in connection with an alleged ration scam. Brattleboro, VT (05301) Today A mix of clouds and sun. High around 45F. Winds WNW at 10 to 15 mph.. Tonight Partly cloudy. A few flurries are possible. Low 29F. Winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph. KYODO NEWS - Feb 17, 2024 - 08:07 | All, World Russian opposition activist Alexei Navalny, a prominent critic of President Vladimir Putin, died Friday at a jail in the Arctic region, Tass and Interfax news agencies said, a development that prompted Western leaders to issue harsh criticism of the country's authorities under Putin. Quoting the Federal Penitentiary Service, Tass reported that Navalny, who was serving a sentence in northern Russia's Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Region over charges of fraud and extremism, "felt unwell" after a walk and "almost immediately" lost consciousness. Medics arrived right away and attempted to resuscitate him, but failed, the report said. Tass quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying that Putin received a report on Navalny's death. In Washington, U.S. President Joe Biden told reporters that he was "outraged" by reports of the death of the 47-year-old activist. "Make no mistake, Putin is responsible for Navalny's death," he said. Biden criticized Putin for having Navalny "poisoned," "arrested" and "prosecuted for fabricated crimes." "If confirmed, this would be a further sign of Putin's brutality," U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris said in an address at a security conference in Munich, Germany. Charles Michel, president of the European Union, said the bloc "holds the Russian regime" solely "responsible for this tragic death" in a post on the X social media platform. "Navalny fought for the values of freedom and democracy. For his ideals, he made the ultimate sacrifice," Michel said. The report of Navalny's death comes as Russia's invasion of Ukraine is about to enter its third year. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Navalny was "obviously" killed by Putin during a press conference in Germany with Chancellor Olaf Scholz. "This is terrible news," British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said on X. "As the fiercest advocate for Russian democracy, Alexei Navalny demonstrated incredible courage throughout his life," he said. Peskov reacted sharply to such statements, saying the Kremlin considers them totally unacceptable as "there has been no information regarding the cause of death," according to Tass. Related coverage: PM Kishida says Japan-Russia ties are "difficult" amid Ukraine war Russia appoints Nozdrev as new envoy to Japan after 1 year vacancy KYODO NEWS - Feb 16, 2024 - 10:14 | All, World, Japan The United States supports Japan's efforts to engage with North Korea, a senior diplomat said Thursday, following a statement from the sister of the country's leader Kim Jong Un not ruling out a visit to Pyongyang by Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. "We support any kind of diplomacy and dialogue with (North Korea)," Jung Pak, a U.S. State Department official responsible for North Korean affairs, told reporters. "The abductions issue is one of the most tragic stories we work on and we very strongly support Japan in their efforts to resolve the issue." Pak made the comments after the North's state-run Korean Central News Agency carried a statement from the leader's powerful sister, Kim Yo Jong, saying Kishida may be able to visit Pyongyang if Tokyo does not make the abduction issue an obstacle for the two countries' future relations. "There will be no reason for the two countries not to become close and the day of the prime minister's Pyongyang visit might come," she said. Officials of Japan, which has never had diplomatic ties with North Korea, have rushed to read between the lines of the statement that she described as containing "my personal view only." Kishida, who is struggling with low approval ratings, has expressed his desire to meet with the North Korean leader to resolve the issue of Pyongyang's abductions of Japanese nationals in the 1970s and 1980s. In the statement, however, the leader's sister, a vice department director of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea, reiterated Pyongyang's position that the issue has already been resolved and there is no room for negotiation. When asked whether there has been close cooperation with Japan on its potential talks with North Korea, Pak said she is confident about the level of coordination and sharing of information that Washington has with Tokyo and Seoul. "I think it's too soon to say if something might happen, but I think the close coordination and the fact that we talk so frequently is always good to have before something happens," said Pak, who has recently taken on the duties of U.S. special representative for North Korean affairs after Sung Kim's retirement. Pak, deputy assistant secretary for East Asian affairs, also said the United States, which has been ramping up pressure on Pyongyang over its cyberattacks and rapid development of military capabilities, remains open to dialogue with North Korea but there has been no response. She believes the North Korean leader has decided "now is not the time to have dialogue and diplomacy, but clearly they're doing that with Russia." Related coverage: North Korean leader's sister says Kishida visit to Pyongyang possible North Korea fires cruise missiles to Sea of Japan, 5th launch this year Yoon urges S. Korea, Japan firms to cooperate on labor compensation Chen Neng Chuan, center left, and Lu Tsu Hsien of Taiwan stand with police during a press conference in Cambodias Preah Sihanouk province after the pair was arrested for streaming video of a fake kidnapping, Feb. 15, 2024. A Cambodian court on Thursday sentenced two Taiwanese influencers to two years in prison on incitement charges after the pair staged and broadcast a fake kidnapping. Chen Neng Chuan, 31, who goes by the handle Goodnight Chicken, and Lu Tsu Hsien, 34, who goes by Anow, were arrested on Wednesday after they live-streamed two videos to YouTube on Feb. 12 and Feb. 13 in which Chen claimed to have broken into a scam compound, been beaten and imprisoned, according to Taiwans Central News Agency. The videos made headlines in Taiwan, where local media reported on his alleged abduction. According to a statement from the Sihanoukville provincial court, both men were sentenced to two years in prison and given a 4 million riel fine ($1,000.) The court statement said the pair came to Cambodia in an attempt to produce fake videos on human trafficking, detention and torture, rape and human organs selling. Materials that two Taiwanese men allegedly used to stage fake kidnapping videos are shown during a press conference in Cambodias Preah Sihanouk province, Feb. 15, 2024. (Preah Sihanouk Provincial Administration via AFP) The speedy conviction followed a Feb. 15 press conference run by Sihanoukville Provincial Gov. Kuoch Chamroeun who said that the pairs actions negatively affected the provincial reputation and seriously defamed Cambodia's reputation. The United Nations estimates some 100,000 people nationwide have been trafficked and imprisoned by crime rings who force them through torture and threats to carry out online scams. While estimates are hard to come by, it is believed that across Southeast Asia, such scams have netted billions of dollars. Most of the victims, both on the enslaved scammer side and on the scammed side, are Chinese nationals. The stories surrounding such trafficking have grown so widespread that they have scared off Chinese tourists a key contributor to Cambodias economy. The Cambodian government has responded by blaming the media for negative reports. Translated by Yun, Samean. Edited by Abby Seiff and Malcolm Foster. The two top diplomats discussed Taiwan, South China Sea and the conflicts in Ukraine and the Mideast. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi shake hands during their meeting at the Munich Security Conference, in Munich, Germany, Feb. 16, 2024. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference on Friday, with the pair discussing ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East and bilateral sticking points like the status of Taiwan. The two sides had a candid and constructive discussion on a range of bilateral, regional, and global issues as part of ongoing efforts to maintain open lines of communication and responsibly manage competition in the relationship, the U.S. State Department said. Blinken emphasized the importance of progress on the deals made by U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping at their meeting in San Francisco in November, including on counternarcotics cooperation and military-to-military communications, it said. The two top diplomats also discussed the status of Taiwan and the South China Sea, to which China claims complete sovereignty, as well as Russias ongoing invasion of Ukraine, Israels invasion of Gaza and relations between North and South Korea, according to a statement. Both sides recognized the importance of maintaining open lines of communication, it said, including consultations and high-level meetings in key areas in the coming months. The pair last met in person in the lead-up to Novembers summit between Biden and Xi in San Francisco and also spoke on the phone in December. A phone call between Biden and Xi in the near future has been suggested, but no details about any plans were issued Friday. Blinken also met with Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar on the sidelines of the conference. Wang, meanwhile, is set to also meet E.U. foreign policy chief Josep Borrell at the conference. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, foreground, meets with Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, background center, on the side of the Munich Security Conference in Munich, Germany, Feb. 16, 2024. (Wolfgang Rattay/Pool via AP) Earlier, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris said in a speech at the Munich Security Conference that the United States had responsibly managed competition with China, standing up to Beijing when necessary and also working together when it serves our interests. The annual security meeting in Munich runs until Sunday. Edited by Malcolm Foster. Koo Sze-yiu, also known as 'Long Beard,' gets a 9-month jail term for 'sedition,' despite advanced cancer. A court in Hong Kong on Friday handed down a nine-month jail term to a septuagenarian rights activist with terminal cancer after finding him guilty of "attempted sedition" for planning to protest an ongoing crackdown on political opposition using a fake coffin. Veteran social activist Koo Sze-yiu, 78, also known as Long Beard, was sentenced by the West Kowloon Magistrates Court. Koo pleaded not guilty to the charge of "attempting or preparing to commit an act with seditious intent" on Dec. 11, but agreed that he had planned to take a coffin to the Electoral Registration Office in protest at the lack of opposition candidates in last year's District Council elections. Koo, who has been jailed at least a dozen times before, was a frequent participant in peaceful mass protests that once took place regularly in Hong Kong, before a city-wide crackdown on "illegal" public assembly in the wake of the 2019 protest movement. He has stage four colorectal cancer, and has been arrested and jailed several times already since the 1997 handover of Hong Kong, including for "desecrating the national flag" in July 2020. National security judge Victor So said Koo's actions "had the intention of incitement," and that his purpose in planning the protest was to "humiliate the government" and incite people to hate the Chinese and Hong Kong authorities. According to So, Koo's fake coffin was emblazoned with the words "One Country, Two Systems to the funeral parlor," in a reference to Beijing's promise that Hong Kong would retain its separate political and judicial system after the handover to Chinese rule, and Want a seat? Love the country and the [Chinese Communist] Party," in a reference to electoral rule changes that only allow "patriots" to run for public office. Hong Kong activist Koo Sze-yiu speaks to the media after arriving at a court in Hong Kong, Sept. 30, 2020. (Kin Cheung/AP) The change to the rules came after millions of voters in Hong Kong delivered a stunning rebuke to Beijing and their own government with a landslide victory for pro-democracy candidates across the city's 18 district councils at the height of the 2019 protests. Koo had also planned to bring "hell money," or underworld banknotes typically burned as an offering to the dead, along to the protest, So said. Request for leniency Koo, who represented himself in court, asked for leniency, adding that he had been protesting peacefully for decades, but So cut him short, adding that the nine-month sentence should act as a "deterrent" to others. Koo responded: "I am happy to be a fighter for social justice and a foot soldier of the democratic movement. I hope to be a martyr for democracy and human rights." He warned that the forthcoming national security legislation under Article 23 of Hong Kong's Basic Law would be a disaster for Hong Kong's people, who will only be permitted to "eat, sleep, pee and poop" after it's enacted. While the 2020 National Security Law ushered in a citywide crackdown that has seen thousands prosecuted for taking part in protests and senior journalists, pro-democracy media magnate Jimmy Lai and 47 former lawmakers and democracy activists charged with offenses from "collusion with a foreign power" to "subversion." Koo, who told the court he had undergone further surgery for rectal adenocarcinoma in the spring of 2023, added: "Where I'm coming from is very straightforward. I've always wanted true democracy, freedom, human rights and the rule of law for Hong Kong." He said that since the imposition of the 2020 National Security Law on the city, Hong Kong's 7 million people have "one foot in the underworld," which was why he had planned to bring along the "hell money." During the 2019 democracy movement, protesters in Sham Shui Po burned spirit money bearing the faces of then Chief Executive Carrie Lam and other officials as "offerings" during Ghost Month as a gesture of anger against the government. Judge So said Koo's 15 previous convictions, the last of which was in July 2022, were taken into account when passing sentence. At the end of the hearing, spectators in the public gallery shouted out "Hang in there" and "Happy Birthday" to Koo. The sentence came as the Economist Intelligence Unit ranked Hong Kong 88th out of 167 jurisdictions for democracy. The city scored just 2.75 out of a maximum score of 10 for its electoral process, and 3.64 out of 10 for the functioning of its government, according to the EIU Democracy Index 2023. Translated by Luisetta Mudie. Edited by Roseanne Gerin. Kim Yo Jongs remarks came after the Japanese leader stressed the need to change current relationship. The powerful sister of the North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Thursday said the hermit state is open to enhancing its ties with Japan, even suggesting the possibility of inviting the Japanese prime minister to Pyongyang. Kim Yo Jongs remark came after Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said during a speech last week that he feels a strong need to alter the current relationship between Japan and North Korea. I think there would be no reason not to appreciate his recent speech as a positive one, if it was prompted by his real intention to boldly free himself from the past fetters and promote the DPRK-Japan relations, said Kim Yo Jong, as cited by North Koreas state-run Korean Central News Agency on Thursday. DPRK refers to the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea, the Norths official name. The Japanese prime ministers visit to Pyongyang might come, if Tokyo drops its bad habit of unreasonably pulling up the DPRK over its legitimate right to self-defense and does not lay such a stumbling block as the already settled abduction issue, said Kim, adding that it is just her personal view. I think our state leadership still has no idea of repairing the DPRK-Japan relations and has no interest in contact, she said. It is necessary to watch the ulterior intention of Prime Minister Kishida in the future. The issue of abductions remains a significant obstacle to diplomatic normalization between North Korea and Japan. Tokyo claims it has confirmed the abductions of 17 Japanese citizens by North Korea in the 1970s and 1980s for language education for North Korean spies, and 12 are still in the North. Pyongyang contends that of the 12, eight have already died, and four never entered North Korea, asserting that there is no issue to be resolved. Following Kim Yo Jongs comments, Japanese foreign ministry spokesperson Yoshimasa Hayashi on Friday refuted Kims statement that the abduction issue has already been resolved as completely unacceptable. He stressed during a regular press meeting that Japan has not changed its policy of comprehensively resolving issues such as abduction and nuclear and missile programs on the basis of the Japan-North Korea Pyongyang Declaration. The declaration was signed in 2002 after former Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi visited Pyongyang. The declaration contained four sections: promoting talks on normalization of diplomatic relations, compensation based on reflection on past history, preventing the recurrence of regrettable issues, such as abductions, and establishing cooperation to resolve nuclear and missile issues. Hayashi declined to comment further since it could affect future negotiations. When asked what North Koreas intentions were in making such a statement, he replied: I am not in a position to comment on North Koreas intentions and objectives. Edited by Elaine Chan and Mike Firn. The troops had been stationed at a border post that the rebel Arakan Army captured earlier this month. Myanmar citizens and Border Guard Police who crossed the Bangladesh-Myanmar border to seek shelter in Bangladesh are escorted back into Myanmar after arriving by ship at Coxs Bazar on Feb. 15, 2024. Some 300 members of a junta military unit and a border police force who fled to Bangladesh during an attack by the rebel Arakan Army have been repatriated to Myanmar, according to several Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh. They were returned by sea on Thursday following a handover ceremony in Coxs Bazar that was attended by five Myanmar junta officials and Myanmars ambassador to Bangladesh, a Rohingya refugee told Radio Free Asia. We learned that five representatives, including a police colonel of the Border Guard Police, came, the Rohingya refugee said. Also, we learned that Amb. Aung Kyaw Moe met with the chief of Border Guard Bangladesh and handed them over. Video showed uniformed Bangladesh guards escorting the junta troops and officers some of them wounded onto a ship. Coxs Bazar is located on southeast Bangladeshs coast near Myanmars western Rakhine state. Over the last decade, almost 1 million Rohingya refugees have fled from Myanmar to the Coxs Bazar area, which has become the worlds largest refugee camp. The junta border guards who crossed over to Bangladesh were retreating from an attack by the ethnic Arakan Army on the Taung Pyo Let Yar outpost and a nearby strategic hill in Rakhines Maungdaw township on Feb. 4. AA takes control of Myebon The attack marked the latest blow to Myanmars military junta in Rakhine state, where the Arakan Army, or AA, ended a ceasefire in November that had been in place since the junta assumed power in a Feb. 1, 2021, coup detat. A total of 330 people crossed over to Bangladesh in early February, including Lt. Col. Kyaw Naing Soe, the commander of the juntas No. 2 Border Guard Police battalion, 302 soldiers, four family members, two other military personnel, 18 immigration officers and four civilians, according to RFA sources on the Bangladesh border. Elsewhere in Rakhine, the AA said it has captured all military council camps and police stations in Myebon township. The Arakan Army said in a statement on Thursday that it now controls seven towns in the state. Myanmar nationals and Border Guard Police who crossed the Bangladesh-Myanmar border to seek shelter in Bangladesh amid recent conflicts between military forces and rebel groups, are escorted back into Myanmar at Coxs Bazar on Feb. 15, 2024. (AFP) The AA has recently launched offensives in townships near the state capital of Sittwe, including Rathedaung and Buthidaung. There are reports that the AA has warned the juntas regional operations command in Sittwe, the Rakhine state capital, to surrender. The junta has not released a statement about recent developments in Rakhine, and RFAs calls to Hla Thein, juntas spokesperson and attorney general of the Rakhine state, went unanswered on Friday. Rebel victory in Kayah state The junta has also suffered a loss to rebels in northeast Kayah state, where the Karenni Nationalities Defense Force, or KNDF, announced Friday that it had gained complete control of Shadaw city after a month-long battle. The KNDF began attacking junta outposts surrounding a strategic hill in Shadaw on Jan. 15, the group said in a statement. On Jan. 21, they began a siege to a junta base after troops refused to surrender and the junta dropped in another 70 troops by helicopter, the KNDF said. A final attack on the base began on Monday. More than 160 junta soldiers, including a colonel and a lieutenant colonel, were either killed or captured, the KNDF said. The junta hasnt released a statement on the battle. RFAs calls to junta spokesman Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun to seek comments on the KNDFs claims went unanswered. Translated by Htin Aung Kyaw. Edited by Matt Reed and Malcolm Foster. The officers previously played key roles in cracking down on youth joining the resistance in border areas. Myanmars junta has appointed police chiefs to oversee conscription across the country as the military regime proceeds with its speedy implementation of a draft law enacted earlier this week. Observers said the move will help prevent Burmese of fighting age from escaping the draft by relocating to liberated areas controlled by ethnic armies, while the shadow National Unity Government, or NUG the civilian government-in-exile labeled those who enforce the law war criminals and vowed to hold them accountable. The draft drive comes as resistance forces and ethnic armies have scored significant victories against the military in Myanmars three-year civil war. Since October, the military has been put on its heels by joint rebel offensives that overran dozens of military camps and resulted in hundreds of soldiers surrendering. On Feb. 10, the junta announced that it had assigned civilian officers to replace Police Col. Koko Lwin, a Naypyidaw councilmember, as well as three police brigadier generals and 11 other police colonels who held positions as state and regional transport ministers. The shuffle was made on the same day junta leader Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing announced that the Peoples Military Service Law, enacted in 2010 by a previous military regime though it had never been enforced, would go into effect immediately. On Wednesday, the junta reassigned the 15 senior police officials to direct public military conscription in the states of Chin, Kachin, Kayah, Kayin, Mon, Rakhine, and Shan; the regions of Ayeyarwady, Magway, Mandalay, Bago, Sagaing, Tanintharyi, and Yangon; and Naypyidaw, which is classified as a union territory. Blocking draft dodgers Commenting on the reassignments, Saw Khin Maung Myint, the juntas minister of economy and spokesperson for Kayin state, said the 15 were returned to their original roles to avoid failure in their police duties. However, a police officer who joined Myanmars anti-junta Civil Disobedience Movement, or CDM, suggested that they had been assigned to more specific tasks related to the draft law roll-out. "Now that the military service law has been enacted, the police colonels have returned to their original duties to effectively implement the law and to suppress democracy activists, said the officer, who spoke to RFA Burmese on condition of anonymity due to security concerns. More than 1,000 people lined up to get visas at the embassy of Thailand in Yangon on Feb. 16, 2024. (AFP) On Aug. 1, 2021, six months after the military seized power in a coup detat, the junta appointed the 15 as state and regional transport ministers. They proved instrumental in cracking down on youth who were leaving cities to join the armed resistance in the countrys ethnic army-controlled border areas. Political commentator Than Soe Naing told RFA that the police chiefs will play key roles in enforcing the draft law. Young people who cannot avoid military service will move to areas controlled by ethnic armed organizations, he said. To prevent that, the role of the police becomes more vital and these police colonels have been appointed to enforce conscription. Troop shortages According to Myanmars compulsory military service law, men aged 18-35 and women aged 18-27 face up to five years in prison if they refuse to serve for two years. Professionals such as doctors, engineers and technicians aged 18-45 for men and 18-35 for women must also serve, but up to five years, given the countrys current state of emergency, extended by the junta on Feb. 1 for another six months. Conscription is slated to be implemented at the end of April 2024, with a goal of recruiting up to 60,000 service members each year, in batches of around 5,000 people, junta spokesperson Major Gen. Zaw Min Tun said Wednesday. Burmese of fighting age have told RFA they would team up with resistance fighters or leave Myanmar rather than serve as soldiers for the junta. Enforcers to be severely punished Kyaw Zaw, spokesman for the NUGs Presidents Office, said the shadow government plans to take action against those who implement the conscription law. "Whoever aids in implementing the military service law by intimidating people, especially the youth, will be severely punished including these police chiefs and other individuals, as well as organizations, he said. Police march during a ceremony marking Myanmar's Independence Day in Naypyidaw, Jan. 4, 2023. (Aung Shine Oo/AP) The NUG on Tuesday noted that the junta is losing ground in battles across the country and claimed that it had activated the Peoples Military Service Law to use the people as human shields on the battlefields to uphold their own interests and power. The government-in-exile also said that it will designate as war criminals all individuals and organizations that assist in the laws implementation. Translated by Aung Naing. Edited by Joshua Lipes and Malcolm Foster. Nobel Aye, seen at a meeting for ex-political prisoners in Mandalays Myingyan Prison held on Jan. 14, 2018. Myanmar junta troops shot dead two political prisoners, including one high-profile activist, a resistance group told Radio Free Asia on Friday. Nobel Aye and Aung Ko Hein were killed while returning from a court appearance in Bago region, north of Yangon, on Feb. 8, according to Waw township Peoples Defense Force citing sources close to the court and hospital. The pair were taken to Waw townships courthouse by junta troops when they allegedly tried to escape, the resistance group said. Nobel Aye is known for her role in protesting against police brutality in Myanmar in 1996, and again in 2007 during the Saffron Revolutions economic and political protests. She had been arrested twice before, following both demonstrations. The prisoners were being interrogated at the No. 901 Artillery Station Command Headquarters, an official of the Waw Peoples Defense Force said. They appeared in Waw Court and were shot dead near the exit of Kyaik Hla village between Waw and Paya Gyi on the way back to the military interrogation, he said, declining to be named for security reasons. The bodies were well-packed and sent to the morgue. No one was allowed to look at the bodies and they were cremated secretly before nightfall. Nobel Ayes brother, Htet Myat, said his family has not heard any official confirmation from police about his sister. We have not yet been informed of what happened and how. I am very worried. As a family, I didnt know what to do when people who knew about this incident confirmed it, Htet Myat said on Friday. I felt uncontrollable. We want reliable and accurate information to be released by those responsible. However, the junta has denied that the prisoners died in custody. Bagos junta spokesperson Tin Oo told RFA the information was just a rumor. Thats wrong and fake news, dissemination of false information. We are working in accordance with the law, he said. Nobel Aye was allegedly shot dead while returning from a court appearance in Bago region on Feb. 8, 2024. (Myanmar Political Prisoners Network) Nobel Aye and Aung Ko Hein were arrested by junta soldiers after being caught with weapons on Jan. 29, sources close to her family said. Nobel Aye was also active in distributing aid during the COVID-19 pandemic and protested frequently after the countrys 2021 military coup, they said. Aung Ko Hein was a resident of Insein township, Yangon region. RFA could not confirm his personal details. In June 2023, troops shot and killed at least 13 political prisoners in central Bago after a prison truck crashed. According to notices junta officials sent to prisoners families, 37 detainees attempted to escape when a prison vehicle overturned during a transfer. RFA could not confirm the whereabouts of the remaining prisoners. According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners Feb. 15 statement, more than 4,500 pro-democracy activists and civilians have been killed during the coup, while over 26,000 have been arrested. Translated by RFA Burmese. Edited by Mike Firn. Indonesias new president may advocate a pragmatic approach but dont expect radical changes, experts say. Prabowo Subiantos foreign and defense policies have come under the spotlight after the former army general and current defense minister claimed victory in Indonesias presidential election this week. Prabowo won almost 60% of the votes, according to several polling agencies drawing attention to his policies amid rising tensions in the South China Sea and China-United States rivalry. Indonesia is not a party to the South China Sea dispute but it has a strategic and economic interest in maintaining peace and stability there as its exclusive economic zone overlaps with several neighboring countries, as well as with the so-called nine-dash line that Beijing uses to claim Chinas historic rights over most of the sea. The South China Sea dispute has become one of Indonesias most important security issues and it could also spark a major conflict between the United States and China, according to Aristyo Rizka Darmawan, a senior researcher at the Center for Sustainable Ocean Policy at the University of Indonesia. Prabowos campaign documents state that Indonesia needs to prepare for future conflicts and plan how to reduce potential risks. Prabowos narrative on the South China Sea has been more about how we [should] have a strong defense capacity, Darmawan told BenarNews, a news service affiliated with Radio Free Asia. People protest outside the Chinese embassy in Jakarta on, Dec. 8, 2021, following reports that China has encroached on Indonesias maritime area in the South China Sea. (Reuters) Muhammad Zulfikar Rakhmat, a researcher at the National University of Singapore (NUS), said that the former general has had a history of advocating for a more assertive and independent foreign policy for Indonesia. His victory in the election might lead to a recalibration of Indonesia's approach to the South China Sea issue and regional security, Zulfikar told RFA. Prabowo may prioritize strengthening Indonesia's military capabilities in the disputed waters. Aristyo Rizka Darmawan said Prabowo would likely focus on building up the naval forces as a deterrent in the waters around the Natuna islands, where encroachments by Chinese fishing vessels and patrols have become regular. "Defense and maritime capabilities of the Indonesian navy are important. With such a strategy, Prabowo would most likely implement a more assertive policy in the North Natuna Sea," the senior researcher from the University of Indonesia said. Strategic continuity Indonesia is a founding member of ASEAN and under its chairmanship in 2023, the bloc and China embarked on a new round of draft agreement discussion for a Code of Conduct (COC) in the South China Sea. However, Prabowo has not offered any new ideas for promoting dialogue or accelerating the COC negotiations, Darmawan said. "Relying solely on military capabilities would not help much in maintaining peace and security in the contested waters. To show leadership in ASEAN, Indonesia should not only think of itself but also think of a bigger role in helping the region avoid escalation and conflict," he added. The new president will take a middle-of-the-road position on the South China Sea dispute without offering anything new, according to Muradi, a military analyst and professor of political and security studies at Padjadjaran University. It is clear that his politics will be more focused on domestic affairs. This is the characteristic of a soldier who was born and raised in the Cold War era," Muradi, who goes by one name, said. A China Coast Guard ship is seen from an Indonesian Naval ship during a patrol at Indonesias Exclusive Economic Zone in the north of Natuna island, Indonesia, on Jan. 11, 2020. (Antara Foto/M Risyal Hidayat/via Reuters) The analyst warned that the situation in the South China Sea is evolving and so is the threat from China to ASEAN. Chinas military modernization is expected to be completed by 2027 and many predict that by then Beijing would be confident enough to wage an open conflict in the region and the U.S. would have to intervene to support its allies. "This requires more fundamental steps, not just saying we need this or that but concrete actions, he said. Zulfikar from the NUS, meanwhile, said Prabowos stance on China and the U.S. Indo-Pacific strategy may not be straightforward. While he has expressed interest in cultivating closer ties with China, particularly in terms of economic cooperation, Prabowo has also emphasized the importance of maintaining Indonesias sovereignty and independence in its foreign policy, Zulfikar said. That may see Prabowo seeking to enhance regional cooperation with ASEAN countries and other regional powers to address security challenges. Prabowo may adopt a pragmatic approach, seeking to balance Indonesias relations with both China and the United States to maximize its own interests. Regarding the U.S. Indo-Pacific strategy and AUKUS grouping [between Australia, the United Kingdom, and the U.S.], he may approach them cautiously, emphasizing Indonesias non-alignment stance while exploring potential benefits and risks associated with increased engagement with these initiatives, the NUS researcher added. Huong Le Thu, Asia deputy director at the International Crisis Group said that she doesnt expect major changes in foreign policy as Prabowo takes over, not in the early days, at least. The former general repeatedly promised to continue the domestic and foreign policies of his predecessor, the widely popular president Joko Widodo. After all, continuity was among the main aspects of his campaign, she said, If anything, I would expect more of the old and old old than of the new. Edited by Mike Firn and Elaine Chan. BenarNews is an RFA-affiliated online news organization. By Shun Yoshioka, KYODO NEWS - Feb 16, 2024 - 09:04 | All, Japan, Coronavirus A Japanese government scheme to drive digitalization in classrooms, accelerated during the coronavirus pandemic, faces an uphill struggle, as an insufficient percentage of elementary and junior high school students are utilizing newly provided digital devices on a daily basis. Teachers' lack of familiarity with the new technology, which has been supplied by the central government under the GIGA school program, is creating a challenging situation, with faculty not fully trained to put it to proper use. Only about 30 percent of all of the students use the devices daily, with wide variation among schools. Progress has been mixed in municipalities across Japan concerning their training of teachers to achieve the objectives of GIGA, or Global and Innovation Gateway for All, an initiative aimed at providing "one device for each student with a high-speed network." As an example of how local governments are tackling the issue, the Kumamoto City Education Center held a session to provide digital training to teachers at Toyoda Elementary School in December. During the session, Mihoko Arakawa, a 47-year-old supervisor from the education center, instructed more than a dozen teachers who were role-playing as students using tablets in a classroom. She had the teachers create their own stories with animation effects. They made slides featuring handwritten drawings, which they downloaded onto their tablets and showed to each other. Some were puzzled over how their colleagues were able to create slides using the tablets or took an interest in others' work. Noriyuki Matsuo, 54, who teaches science at the school, said he would use tablets in his class "as a new teaching tool," saying he expects that the devices will help children in their ability to express themselves more thoroughly. Others such as Tomomi Shimokawa, 44, who has just resumed her job as a school teacher after years of child-rearing, said, "I sometimes get bewildered with digital reform and struggle to keep up," even though she is well aware of technology's importance. Many teachers still prioritize the use of notebooks, pencils and other analog writing materials in their classes, arguing that tablets are "less likely to leave a lasting impression" on their students. The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, which promotes the GIGA school concept, is aiming to partially cover the costs for local governments to form and operate "GIGA School Operation Support Centers" in order to bolster the use of digital devices. Through cutting-edge information and communication technology, the hope is teachers will also be able to firmly establish interactive lessons to accommodate a variety of students based on their educational needs and understanding. According to the education ministry's survey, some 70 percent of public school teachers across Japan received digital training in fiscal 2022. By prefecture, Wakayama logged the highest ratio of 95 percent, while there were prefectures with ratios of 50 to 60 percent. Since fiscal 2023, the Kyoto Prefectural Board of Education has made it mandatory that all teachers at prefectural junior and senior high schools and special-needs schools receive digital training. Another education ministry survey conducted in fiscal 2023 found that only 28.4 percent of all sixth graders in Japan had used digital devices "almost every day" in classes during the first five years at elementary school. The finding shows that the disparity in familiarity with digital instruments is widening among teachers, said an official in charge at the Kyoto education board. Kazunori Sato, an associate professor of educational technology at Shinshu University, said enabling teachers to continue using digital devices will "depend on whether they realize that they can make their work more efficient and improve their working conditions thanks to the use of the technology." He stressed that there is still a need for ongoing digital training among teachers. He also noted that it would be good to have a "companion," such as a technology advisor at the school or municipal level who can think about how best to utilize the terminals in classrooms together with the teachers and their students. Related coverage: Japanese students climb to 3rd in OECD ranking of reading ability Japan to introduce electronic arrest warrants, interrogation records Japan's 4-year spending on COVID, inflation relief hit 68.5 trillion yen Action aims to protect rights, safety of Filipinos in traditional fishing grounds near Scarborough Shoal, national security adviser says. A China Coast Guard ship attempts to cross paths with the BRP Teresa Magbanua near the Scarborough Shoal in this photo released by the Philippine Coast Guard, Feb. 8, 2024. The Philippines this month launched coast guard patrols around Scarborough Shoal to safeguard its exclusive economic zone and challenge China, which for 12 years has dominated those waters vital to the Filipino fishing industry, the national security adviser said Friday. Eduardo Ano said the regular patrols, which began in early February, were in line with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.s goal of achieving food security and making it safe for local fishermen to access prime fishing grounds. The triangle-shaped shoal became the focus of a landmark international court case over disputed waters in the South China Sea after Beijing took control of Scarborough Shoal in 2012. The Philippine government has taken decisive action to protect the rights and safety of Filipino fishermen in the waters of Bajo De Masinloc, Ano said in a statement, using the local name for the shoal. The national government has directed the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) and Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) to deploy their vessels for rotational deployment in BDM starting this month, the security adviser said. Scarborough Shoal, a resource-rich rock claimed by the Philippines, China and Taiwan, lies about 120 nautical miles west of Zambales, a coastal province in the main Philippine island of Luzon. It has served as a traditional fishing ground and a natural shelter for Filipino fishermen against harsh weather at sea, and is considered a vital link to food security for many coastal communities in the Philippines. These efforts aim to ensure the safety and security of our Filipino fishermen in their traditional fishing grounds. Further, both PCG and BFAR were directed to distribute food packs, groceries and even fuel to support the fishermen in sustaining their activities, Ano said. Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama prays during a religious talk by him at the in Dharamshala, India, Oct. 4, 2023. The U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday passed a bill that urges China to resolve issues related to Tibet through dialogue with the Dalai Lama or Tibetan leaders and directs the State Department to actively counter disinformation about the history of the formerly independent country. The Promoting a Resolution to the Tibet-China Dispute Act, also known as the Resolve Tibet Act, passed by a vote of 392-28, with 11 abstentions. To become law, it still needs to pass the Senate. It calls for a resumption in negotiations between Chinese officials and the Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhists, or his representatives. Since 2010, no formal dialogue has happened and Chinese officials continue to make unreasonable demands of the Dalai Lama as a condition for further dialogue. The bipartisan bill was introduced by House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul, a Texas Republican, and Rep. Jim McGovern, a Democrat from Massachusetts, along with Senators Todd Young, an Indiana Republican, and Jeff Merkley, an Oregon Democrat. The Dalai Lama fled Tibet into exile in India in the midst of a failed 1959 uprising against rule by China, which invaded the then independent Himalayan country in 1950. Since then, Beijing has sought to legitimize Chinese rule through the suppression of dissent and policies undermining Tibetan culture and language. Clear message The legislation articulates that Tibet includes the Tibetan-populated regions of Gansu, Qinghai, Sichuan and Yunnan provinces, in addition to the Tibet Autonomous Region, thereby challenging Chinas claim that Tibet is restricted to that latter region alone. The bills passage sends a clear message to China that Tibet has always been an independent nation and negates the Chinese governments claim that Tibet has historically been a part of China, said Namgyal Choedup, the representative of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the Central Tibetan Administration to North America. The bill states that claims made by officials of the Peoples Republic of China and the Chinese Communist Party that Tibet has been a part of China since ancient times are historically inaccurate. Rep. Jim McGovern speaks during a hearing on the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 in the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on May 30, 2023. (Mandel Ngan/AFP) On Tuesday, McGovern, one of the lead sponsors of the bill, urged Congress to support the legislation, saying, A vote for this bill is a vote to recognize the rights of the Tibetan people. And it is a vote to insist on resolving the dispute between Tibet and the Peoples Republic of China peacefully, in accordance with international law, through dialogue, without preconditions. There is still an opportunity to do this. But time is running out. Beijing believes that the Dalai Lama, who lives in Dharamsala, India, wants to split off the Tibet Autonomous Region and other Tibetan-populated areas in Chinas Sichuan and Qinghai provinces from the rest of the country. Chinese authorities have urged Tibetan monks to denounce the Dalai Lama, and even possessing a photo of him is a crime. However, the Dalai Lama does not advocate for independence but rather a Middle Way that accepts Tibets status as a part of China and urges greater cultural and religious freedoms, including strengthened language rights that are guaranteed for ethnic minorities under Chinas constitution. Todays vote shows that U.S. support for Tibet is only growing stronger even after 65 years of Chinas control and occupation, International Campaign for Tibet President Tencho Gyatso told RFA. China has been playing a waiting game, hoping that the international community would eventually abandon Tibet. Clearly that is not the case, he said. The Chinese government should take the hint and restart the dialogue process with Tibetan leaders. The bill has failed to become law in past sessions of Congress, but heads to Senate after passing the House 414-6. Reps. Young Kim, left, and Ami Bera both pictured in file photos led the introduction of the Uyghur Policy Act bill in the House. The U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation Thursday that would require the State Department to offer Uyghur language classes to diplomats, place Uyghur speakers in all consulates in China and include Uyghurs in speaking programs in Muslim-majority countries. The latest version of the Uyghur Policy Act, which has been introduced in past sessions of Congress without success, passed the House 414-6, but still faces a long journey in the Senate to become law. Rep. Young Kim, a Republican from California, and Rep. Ami Bera, a California Democrat, led the introduction of the bill in the House, but it was also co-sponsored by 104 other House members. Both Kim and Bera praised the strong support in Thursdays House vote. The Uyghur Policy Act equips the U.S. with tools needed to support the basic human rights and distinct identities of Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region subject to [Chinas] inhumane treatment, said Kim, who is also the chair of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Indo-Pacific. Candles are lit inside the windows of the US Consulate on the 34th anniversary of China's Tiananmen Square crackdown in Hong Kong, Sunday, June 4 2023. (Louise Delmotte/AP) The United States has labeled Chinese policies in the Xinjiang region a genocide and the U.N. human rights office in 2022 said that there was evidence of possible crimes against humanity being carried out. Bera said he was pleased to see the legislation, which would also require the U.S. State Department to appoint a special coordinator for Uyghur issues, pass so decisively on a bipartisan basis. This bill takes crucial steps to bolster American efforts to safeguard the distinct ethnic, religious, cultural and linguistic identity of the Uyghur people and promote respect for human rights and religious freedom in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, Bera said. Overwhelming support The only six House members to vote against the bill were all Republicans: Michael Cloud of Texas, Warren Davidson of Ohio, Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, Thomas Masie of Kentucky, Ralph Norman of South Carolina and Chip Roy of Texas. Massie and Greene have a history of opposing similar bills. The pair were the only two to vote against a House bill introduced last year to impose sanctions on China due to forced organ harvesting of Uyghurs and practitioners of Falun Gong, citing presidential overreach and their fears that legitimate organ sellers could be punished. That legislation ultimately passed 414-2. The Uyghur Policy Act now heads to the Senate, where it has been championed by Sen. Marco Rubio, a Republican from Florida, and co-sponsored by Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, a Democrat from Nevada, and Sen. Roger Marshall, a Republican from Kansas. The CCP is carrying out a disgusting campaign of genocide and human rights abuses committed against Uyghurs and other predominantly Muslim ethnic groups, Rubio said in a statement after re-introducing the bill in the Senate in April last year. The United States cannot be silent in the face of such horrific abuse, he said. I urge my colleagues to quickly pass this bill. Still, the bill may still have a while to go before becoming law. It has yet to be marked up by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, which would allow it to come before a vote of the chamber. The Senate is also currently in recess until Feb. 26, and is expected to focus on efforts for a deal to fund the federal government when it resumes. Welcome step Uyghur activists in the United States nevertheless welcomed the passage of the legislation as a further step toward its passage. Now is the time to roll up our sleeves and focus on getting the bill through the Senate so it can reach President [Joe] Biden and be signed into law as soon as possible, said Uyghur American Association President Elfidar Iltebir in a statement. Rushan Abbas, the director of the Campaign for Uyghurs, said her organization had worked closely with lawmakers in the House to push the bill towards passage, and was already doing the same in the Senate. She praised the strong bipartisan support. It is a clear indication that the U.S. Congress is earnestly addressing the plight of the Uyghur community and is committed to combating the ongoing genocide, Abbas told Radio Free Asia. We extend our sincere appreciation to the legislators who have demonstrated their unwavering commitment to justice and human rights by standing in solidarity with the Uyghur people. Campaign for Uyghurs founder and executive director Rushan Abbas testifies during a congressional executive commission hearing on China on Capitol Hill, Sept. 12, 2023, in Washington, D.C. (Mariam Zuhaib/AP) Louisa Greve, director of global advocacy for the Uyghur Human Rights Project, said it was telling that originally it was expected that 10 House members would vote against the bill because of a view that foreign policy is not important, but four changed their mind. Even those who have a position, in general, to aim to avoid foreign policy completely as a member of Congress, some changed their votes. They did not want to be on the record for this bill, she said. Edited by Malcolm Foster. Vladimir Putin has claimed a fifth presidential term with a landslide victory in a tightly controlled election that has been condemned by the West as neither free nor fair as the Russian leader seeks to prove overwhelming popular support for his full-scale invasion of Ukraine and increasingly repressive policies. With 99.75 percent of ballots counted, Putin won another six-year term with a post-Soviet record of 87.29 percent of the vote, the Central Elections Committee (TsIK) said on March 18, adding that turnout was also at a "record" level, with 77.44 percent of eligible voters casting ballots. The 71-year old Putin -- who has ruled as either president or prime minister since 2000 -- is now set to surpass Soviet dictator Josef Stalins nearly 30-year reign to become the longest-serving Russian leader in more than two centuries. "This election has been based on repression and intimidation," the European Union's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell told journalists in Brussels on March 18 as the bloc's foreign ministers gathered to discuss the election, among other issues. The March 15-17 vote is the first for Putin since he launched his invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 that has killed tens of thousands of Russians and led to a clear break in relations with the West. In holding what has widely been viewed as faux elections, Putin wants to show that he has the nations full support, experts said. The vote was also held in Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine, where hundreds of thousands of Russian soldiers are located. Moscow illegally annexed the regions since launching the invasion, though it remains unclear how much of the territory it controls. The Kremlin's goal "is to get as many people as possible to sign off on Russia's war against Ukraine. The idea is to get millions of Russian citizens to retroactively approve the decision Putin single-handedly made two years ago," Maksim Trudolyubov, a senior fellow at the Kennan Institute, wrote in a note ahead of the vote. In remarks shortly after he was declared the winner, Putin said the election showed that the nation was "one team." But Western leaders condemned the vote, with the White House National Security Council spokesperson saying they "are obviously not free nor fair given how Mr. Putin has imprisoned political opponents and prevented others from running against him." British Foreign Secretary David Cameron said "this is not what free and fair elections look like," adding in his message on X, formerly Twitter, that illegal elections have also been held on occupied Ukrainian territory. The French Foreign Ministry said Putin's reelection came amid a wave of repression against civil society. It also praised in a statement the courage of "the many Russian citizens who peacefully protested against this attack on their fundamental political rights." Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Putin has become "sick with power" and he is just "simulating" elections. "This imitation of 'elections' has no legitimacy and cannot have any. This person must end up in the dock in The Hague [at the International UN Tribunal for War Crimes]," Zelenskiy said on X. Putin's allies were quick to heap praise on the Russian leader for his election success. China, one of Russia's most importants allies, congratulated Putin, with Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian saying President Xi Jinping and the Russian leader "will continue to maintain close exchanges, lead the two countries to continue to uphold long-standing good-neighborly friendship, deepen comprehensive strategic coordination." Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi called Putin's victory "decisive," the state news agency IRNA reported. WATCH: Leading psychiatrists discuss how excessive power can impact brain functioning and what the impulse for total control reveals about the mind and personality traits of authority figures. Putin was opposed by three relatively unknown, Kremlin-friendly politicians whose campaign was barely noticeable. The main intrigue was whether Russians would heed opposition calls to gather at polling stations at noon on March 17 to silently protest against Putins rule. Russian media had reported in the months leading up to the election that the Kremlin was determined to engineer a victory for Putin that would surpass the 2018 results, when he won 77.5 percent of the vote with a turnout of 67.5 percent. The Kremlin banned anti-war politician Boris Nadezhdin from the ballot after tens of thousands of voters lined up in the cold to support his candidacy. Nadezhdin threatened to undermine the narrative of overwhelming support for Putin and his war, experts said. Independent election observers were barred from working at this years presidential election for the first time in post-Soviet history, experts said. Russian elections have been notorious for ballot stuffing and other irregularities. The vote was also held in Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine, where hundreds of thousands of Russian soldiers are located. The United States called the elections neither fair nor free. 'Noon Against Putin' With options to express resistance severely limited by the lack of competition and repressive laws, opposition leaders called on voters opposed to Putin to gather near polls at noon to show the Kremlin and the country that they were still a force. Russia's opposition movement suffered a serious blow last month when Aleksei Navalny, Putins fiercest and most popular critic, died in unclear circumstances in a maximum-security prison in the Arctic where he was serving a 19-year sentence on charges of extremism widely seen as politically motivated. Long lines formed at polling stations across Russia's 11 time zones at the designated time for the "Noon Against Putin" protest, including in Novosibirsk, Chita, Yekaterinburg, Perm, and Moscow among other Russian cities. "We're not really expecting anything, but I'd somehow like to make a record of this election for myself, tick the box for myself, so, when talking about it later, I could say that I didn't just sit at home, but came and tried to do something," said one Russian who came to vote at noon. "The action has achieved its goals," Ivan Zhdanov, the head the Anti-Corruption Foundation formerly headed by Navalny, said in a YouTube video. "The action has shown that there is another Russia, there are people who stand against Putin." The Moscow prosecutor's office had earlier warned of criminal prosecution against those who interfered with the vote, a step it said was necessary due to social-media posts "containing calls for an unlimited number of people to simultaneously arrive to participate in uncoordinated mass public events at polling stations in Moscow [at noon on March 17] in order to violate electoral legislation." Lawyer Valeria Vetoshkina, who has left the country, told Current Time that if people do not bring posters and do not announce why they came to the polling station at that hour, it would be hard for the authorities to legitimately declare it a "violation." But she warned that there were "some basic safety rules that you can follow if you're worried. The first is not to discuss why you came, just to vote. And secondly, it is better to come without any visual means of agitation: without posters, flags, and so on." Ella Pamfilova, head of Russia's Central Election Commission (TsIK), on March 16 said there had been 20 cases of people attempting to destroy voting sheets by pouring liquids into ballot boxes and eight incidents of people trying to destroy ballots by setting them on fire or by using smoke bombs. Russians living abroad also took part in the "Noon Against Putin" campaign, with hundreds of people lining up at 12 p.m. outside the Russian embassies in Sidney, Tokyo, Phuket, Dubai, Istanbul, Berlin, Paris, and Yerevan among other capitals. "It's not an election. It's just a fake. And so we're here to show that not Russians elect the current leader of Russia, that we [are] against him very severely, and that lots of people had to flee their country to be free," said Anna, a Russian citizen living in Berlin and who gathered outside the embassy in the German capital. Putin was challenged by Liberal Democratic Party leader Leonid Slutsky, State Duma deputy speaker Vladislav Davankov of the New People party, and State Duma lawmaker Nikolai Kharitonov of the Communist Party, none of whom opposed the war. The Russian leader had the full resources of the state behind him, including the media, police, state-owned companies, and election officials. Welcome to The Azadi Briefing, an RFE/RL newsletter that unpacks the key issues in Afghanistan. To subscribe, click here. I'm Abubakar Siddique, senior correspondent at RFE/RL's Radio Azadi. Here's what I've been tracking and what I'm keeping an eye on in the days ahead. The Key Issue The United Nations is convening a major international meeting on Afghanistan in the Persian Gulf state of Qatar on February 18-19. The possible appointment of a special UN envoy to Afghanistan will be one of the key issues discussed at the meeting, which will bring together the special representatives for Afghanistan from various countries. But the Taliban has opposed the appointment of an envoy, an international interlocutor who would be tasked with promoting dialogue between the extremist group and exiled opposition political figures. After seizing power in 2021, the Taliban has monopolized power and sidelined many ethnic and political groups as well as women. The Taliban's theocratic government remains unrecognized internationally and appears to have little support among Afghans. Why It's Important: An intra-Afghan process that would lead to a power-sharing agreement among rival Afghan groups is seen as the best way to reach a lasting peace in the war-torn country. The Taliban's failure to agree to the appointment of a UN special envoy could undermine reconciliation efforts. "The Taliban thinks that it is not necessary to have a political dialogue with people who have left the country," Tariq Farhadi, an Afghan political analyst based in Europe, told RFE/RL's Radio Azadi. Many of the leaders of the former internationally recognized Afghan government went into exile after the Taliban takeover. The Taliban has said the appointment of a UN envoy is unnecessary because the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), which primarily coordinates humanitarian and development efforts, is already present in the country. "I don't think that's correct," former British diplomat Sir Nicholas Kay told Radio Azadi, adding that the task of a special envoy will be to promote dialogue among Afghans and "dedicate themselves to that diplomatic international task." What's Next: Given the Taliban's opposition to a political dialogue and its insistence on imposing its harsh rule through brute force, most of the international community is likely to support the appointment of a special envoy. But such a move could prompt the Taliban to stop engaging with the United Nations and the international community, which would likely entrench Afghanistan's international pariah status under Taliban rule. What To Keep An Eye On Iran has said it is building a 74-kilometer-long "physical barrier" along its long border with Afghanistan. Kiumars Heydari, head of Iran's regular army ground forces, said on February 10 that the aim was to "block a strip of the border with Afghanistan with physical barriers to limit traffic" on the porous frontier. He said the project was "one of the most important" undertaken by the Iranian government and will be carried out in four phases. The launch of the project comes after explosions claimed by the Islamic State (IS) extremist group killed more than 90 people in the southern city of Kerman on January 3, the deadliest attack in Iran in decades. Tehran has not recognized the Taliban government. But it enjoys relatively good relations with the group, despite clashes over issues like cross-border water resources. Senior Iranian officials have expressed concerns over security threats emanating from Afghanistan, where IS militants are active. The Taliban claims that the extremist group does not exist in Afghanistan. Why It's Important: Iran is the second country -- after Pakistan -- that is attempting to build a barrier on the border with Afghanistan. Iran's project is likely aimed at curbing the thousands of illegal Afghan migrants who cross into the Islamic republic every week. Many are fleeing their homeland to escape Taliban repression and the humanitarian and economic crises in Afghanistan. On February 14, Taliban officials said that more than 25,000 Afghans had been forcefully expelled from Iran this month. Tehran has vowed to expel the estimated 5 million Afghans it says are living "illegally" in Iran. That's all from me for now. Don't forget to send me any questions, comments, or tips that you have. Until next time, Abubakar Siddique If you enjoyed this briefing and don't want to miss the next edition, subscribe here. It will be sent to your inbox every Friday. You can always reach us at azadi.english@rferl.org. In the winter of 1924, inhabitants of a small village near Tehran looked up as a metal-bodied airplane swooped in to land, bumped along a field, then collapsed in a cloud of dust after its landing gear broke. The pilot of the plane was Swiss aviator Walter Mittelholzer, who had received an invitation from the Persian government to deliver a new Junkers aircraft to the country, which would be renamed Iran in 1935. Kaspar Surber, a Swiss journalist who wrote a book on Mittelholzer, told RFE/RL the aviator was chosen for the flight to Persia in part to "popularize flying" through aerial images he would take there. Mittelholzer was famous at the time for becoming the first person to extensively photograph Switzerland's mountains from an airplane. In the 1920s, Surber says there was something of a "race" between German and British aviation companies to begin air services in Persia, making Mittelholzer's photography skills a key promotional advantage. A Swiss newspaper wrote of the aviator, "The Swiss people know what to expect from their Mr. Mittelholzer, who can not only pilot a plane across unknown countries but also photograph and film in flight." After their ignominious landing 40 kilometers outside of Tehran, Mittelholzer and mechanic Ernst Bissegger had a tense confrontation with villagers before help eventually arrived from the Persian capital and their aircraft was repaired. Mittelholzer and Bissegger's flight of more than 3,000 kilometers from Switzerland to Persia included a standoff with Turkish authorities who confiscated their plane, troubles with poor-quality gasoline purchased in Baghdad, and erroneous maps that forced them into the ill-fated landing during which their plane's landing gear collapsed. Mittelholzers initial impressions of the territory of Persia from above were of "areas that lie desolate and empty and wander past the observing eye for hours. Huge alluvial fans, piles of rubble, and deltas of saline rivers [that] characterize the country." Isolated settlements occasionally came into view as the pair flew over Persian territory. "Here and there a green patch shines," Mittelholzer wrote, "a space in the center of which features residents' mud huts rising on narrow and winding streets. Silver bands mark the irrigation channels at the edges of the gardens." Mittelholzer seized the opportunity to photograph Persia extensively from above in photographs that are now held by the ETH Zurich library. The Swiss aviator and photographer also made use of his camera on the ground to capture a country on the cusp of dramatic change under Reza Shah Pahlavi, a ruler who would become known as Persia's "modernizing strongman." At the time of Mittelholzer's visit to Persia, the country was without major rail or road networks, and camel caravans were still in use as a means of foreign trade, making air transport an enticing possibility for the country's rulers. With the aviation industry still in its infancy in Persia, Mittelholzer and Bissegger had the sky virtually to themselves as they swept low over urban centers to snap images that would soon stun European audiences. Mittelholzer predicted that aerial photography would play a significant role in documentary imagery of the future. "Another hitherto unseen world opens up before us. It is as if the Earth has thereby gained a new face, and man a new, unflawed eye," he wrote in 1928. After spending several weeks inside Iran, the two Swiss aviators eventually made the long trek back to Central Europe by car. Mittelholzer would later co-found a company that became Swissair, Switzerland's national carrier until 2002. He died in a mountaineering accident in 1937 aged 43. In a newspaper obituary, a friend noted that Mittelholzer's death in the mountains that he loved, and that had sparked his extraordinary career, had a certain tragic poetry: "They have embraced him 0n his last wanderings and claimed him, and perhaps he would not have wished for a better end, but alas it came all too soon, there was so much more for him to do." For more than a decade, and even since his jailing over three years ago, Aleksei Navalny, who Russian authorities say died in prison, had been a crucial driver of Kremlin policy an uncompromising opponent whose vision for a different Russia has been a chief target of President Vladimir Putins ever-increasing efforts to quash protests, stamp out dissent, and tightly control politics across the country. The report of Navalnys death comes as Putins Russia continues to take shape as a place where independent voices are not tolerated, elections are closely managed to avoid even the impression of an alternative, and the country is two years into a full-scale invasion that has cast a massive shadow of death and destruction over Ukraine and had long-lasting effects at home. Does the demise of the Kremlin's most vocal critic change any of this -- and in what way? Could it bring any hint of the change Navalny advocated, or just a further tightening of the screws? The first thing to watch is the campaign for the March 15-17 presidential election, now just one month away. Given the states tight grip on politics and the media, Putin is certain to win barring a major unexpected development -- but analysts say the Kremlin wants him to win by a margin that demonstrates to Russians, and to the world, that there is no alternative. That apparent desire seemed all the more evident when Boris Nadezhdin, the only would-be candidate who is a critic of the war against Ukraine, was barred from the ballot this month after long lines of Russians showed up to support his signature-gathering campaign, possibly spooking Putin and the Kremlin with the prospect that a challenger could gain a substantial chunk of votes. Navalny, who himself was prohibited from challenging Putin in the last election, in 2018, voiced support last week for an initiative calling on Russians to show up at their polling places at 12 p.m. on the last day of the upcoming vote -- a protest effort dubbed Noon Against Putin. Amid widespread suspicions of foul play or the pernicious effects of prison conditions and harsh treatment that Navalny said was aimed to kill him -- several analysts and Kremlin critics linked his reported death directly to the election in which Putin, who has been president or prime minister since 1999, is set to secure a new six-year term. "On Tuesday I heard an audio recording of his voice from one of the many court hearings that he has participated in. It was the voice of a cheerful, energetic, healthy man," political scientist Yekaterina Shulman told Deutsche Welle. "This means that he was killed. He was killed so that he would not interfere with the election campaign. This is what sits on the surface and what cannot be ignored." Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the exiled former oil tycoon who spent a decade in prison following convictions that he and supporters say were part of a Kremlin-orchestrated campaign to punish him for venturing into opposition politics and to bring his companys assets into state hands, urged Russians to write Navalny's name on their ballots when they vote. But any such effort -- let alone street protests over the election, Navalny's fate, or the war against Ukraine -- is a major risk for Russians who join it. "On the one hand, people will now have even less desire to vote for Putin; on the other hand, actively acting against [the election] will become even more frightening," political analyst Abbas Gallyamov wrote on Telegram. "An optimistic view is that Navalnys death may inject a new life into Nadezhdin...and give birth to a real movement. A pessimistic view would see Nadezhdin being silenced, either out of fear or [by] more radical and potentially permanent methods," said Samantha de Bendern, an associate fellow at the British think tank Chatham House. In fact, the death of a man who symbolized opposition to the noncompetitive elections held under Putin might only serve to enhance the risk of protesting over the election -- or anything else. "At one point, Navalny was useful to Russia as a sign that opposition to Putin was tolerated. That usefulness came to an end long ago," said Keir Giles, senior consulting fellow at Chatham House. "And by now, Russia has abandoned any pretense that it is anything other than a repressive regime. Russia is back in its historical comfort zone of murdering opponents at home and abroad without qualms and without a care for international condemnation." Navalny became a vocal critic of Russia's war against Ukraine, and his reported death seems unlikely to have any effect on the Kremlins pursuit of its goals in the invasion. But reverberations abroad could play into the crucial issue of Western support for Ukraine's defense, amplifying calls for additional pressure on Russia and potentially affecting the fate of a $60 billion U.S. package of mostly military aid that has been stymied in Congress for months. Whatever the cause of Navalny's reported death, it poses a challenge for Putin and the state, according to Tatyana Stanovaya, an expert on the Kremlin and an analyst at the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center. Navalny emerged as a seminal and historical figure, embodying an unyielding anti-Putin political stance and representing the most substantial alternative to Putin's regime since 2000. His unmatched recognition, significance to the elites, and involvement in domestic politics distinguished him from any other opposition figure, cementing his status as an outstanding politician, Stanovaya wrote on Twitter. And this creates a significant political problem for the regime -- they will have to deal with Navalnys legacy. But the way the Kremlin will try to address this challenge is not hard to predict, she added. I have no doubt that very soon well witness a significant wave of anti-Navalny repressions, raids after indignations in social networks, criminal cases and arrests, she said. Numerous observers made clear that whether or not the death of Navalny would bring any change, it would be one the darkest signs of a dark time. Navalny was fighting for a beautiful Russia of the future and was crushed by the terrible Russia of the past & present. A future for this Russia exists for one man only Putin, said Alena Epifanova, a research fellow at the German Council on Foreign Relations. He is ready to kill anyone who stands in his way. Today he proved it again. Mike Eckel contributed to this report. I first met Aleksei Navalny in the winter of 2009 in his sparsely furnished Moscow office. This was before he had broken onto the national scene in Russia as an opposition leader -- that would happen around two years later when he became a visible face of resistance amid massive public protests against fraud-plagued parliamentary elections and Vladimir Putin's return to the Kremlin after a stint as prime minister. Navalny had essentially abandoned formal politics after being banished from the liberal Yabloko party a couple of years earlier for his flirtations with right-wing forces. Instead, he had opted for a roundabout way into politics: buying shares in state-owned companies and then using his shareholder status to raise a ruckus over mismanagement and corruption. "My activities are directly aimed at changing the political situation in the country. I don't participate anymore in politics. I don't vote. But my battle for the oil-export market to belong to our Russian companies -- and not to a Swiss offshore company -- is essentially politics," he told me in that 2009 interview. Navalny was like a Bizarro Putin: tall, gregarious, freewheeling, and completely at ease speaking off the cuff. I ended up publishing pieces in two separate publications based on that interview -- a "double-dip" in freelance-journalist parlance -- and I recall telling one of my old colleagues at The Moscow Times afterward, "That dude could be president at some point." Rereading those two articles today, after reports of his death in an Arctic prison -- where he was incarcerated only after returning to Russia after recovering from a poisoning in which the Russian state was implicated -- I was struck at how relevant the issue of his personal security was even back then, when he was mostly unknown outside of Russian business circles and among hard-core political junkies. Asked to comment on accusations at the time that his shareholder activism -- thoroughly and often hilariously chronicled on his LiveJournal blog -- was just a scheme to get payouts from the companies, Navalny told me it would be "simply impossible" to use such a grift on state-owned energy giants like Rosneft or Gazprom. "Any attempt by me to get some money out of them will end in the best-case scenario with a few law enforcement agents jumping on me, screaming 'bribe!' and immediately arresting me, or in the worst-case scenario with someone quietly having me killed," Navalny told me. He acknowledged the personal risks, though he mostly seemed to brush them off with a grin and a quip. I recall him smiling when he told me that the most common question he's asked is, "Who's paying you to do this?" and then, after that, "When are you going to be killed?" The question of Navalny's personal safety also came up when I spoke on the phone to Sergei Guriyev, a prominent liberal Russian economist who is now the incoming dean of London Business School. At the time, Guriyev served as an independent director of the supervisory board of state-owned lender Sberbank, and he expressed both support for Navalny's corporate activism and worries over its potential repercussions. "My concern is that some of these guys may be pretty ruthless. In that sense, Mr. Navalny is very courageous," Guriyev told me. Navalny and I kept in periodic touch by e-mail over the next two years, although we never met in person again. As his political profile rose -- along with the number of criminal cases launched against him -- he faced a lot more demands for his time from the media. Around a year after my face-to-face interview with Navalny, Russian journalist Oleg Kashin was savagely beaten on the streets of Moscow and barely survived. I sent a note to Navalny about the incident. He replied: "Im f****ng stunned. It was Kashin who always told me to be more careful." Russian opposition politician Aleksei Navalny has died while in prison, according to a statement from the local department of the Federal Penitentiary Service, triggering outrage and condemnation from world leaders who said the Kremlin critic paid the "ultimate price" for his courage to speak out against the country's leadership. "On February 16, 2024, in penal colony No. 3, convict Aleksei Navalny felt unwell after a walk, almost immediately losing consciousness. The medical staff of the institution arrived immediately, and an ambulance team was called," the statement said. "All necessary resuscitation measures were carried out, which did not yield positive results. Doctors from the ambulance declared the convict dead. The causes of death are being established." Russian state-controlled media also quoted the statement as saying Navalny, 47, had died. "I don't know if we should believe the terrible news, the news we get only from official media because for many years we have been in the situation where we cannot believe Putin and his government as they are lying constantly," his wife, Yulia, said in a brief statement from Germany where she was attending the Munich Security Conference. "But if it is the truth, Putin and all his staff and everyone around him need to know that they will be punished for what they have done with our patriot, with my family, and with my husband. They will be brought to justice and this day will come soon," she added. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was quoted as saying President Vladimir Putin had been informed of the report of Navalny's death but that he has no official information on the cause of death. "It's very complicated to confirm the news that comes from a country like Russia," Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte also told RFE/RL as she attended the Munich Security Conference. "But, if you asked me whether I would be surprised if that's true, of course I would not, unfortunately, because we know that the regime in the Kremlin is an assassin regime, basically, who would go after their enemies as they understand it, after people with different opinions on the development of Russia and their relations to the rest of the world." A day earlier, Navalny did not appear to have any health issues when speaking by video link to a court hearing. Navalny spokeswoman Kyra Yarmysh said on X, formerly Twitter, that "we don't have any confirmation of [his death] yet." She added that Navalny's lawyer is now flying to the prison. "Most likely it is true. Navalny was murdered," said Ivan Zhdanov, blaming Russian President Vladimir Putin. "It is a political murder which will for sure be investigated." As the reports reverberated around the country and around the world, some people laid flowers at the buildings where Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK) was headquartered before the government shut it down after labeling the organization "extremist." Others gathered in front of Russian embassies in countries such as Georgia and Armenia, while vigils were being planned in many cities across Europe. "If they decide to kill me, it means that we are incredibly strong. We need to utilize this power, to not give up, to remember we are an enormous power that is being oppressed by these bad people. We dont realize how strong we actually are. The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good people to do nothing. So dont be inactive," Navalny said at the end of the Oscar-winning documentary that carried his name. U.S. national-security adviser Jake Sullivan told NPR in an interview just after the news broke that, if confirmed, Navalny's death would be a "terrible tragedy." "The Russian government's long and sordid history of doing harm to its opponents raises real and obvious questions here.... We are actively seeking confirmation," he added. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Navalny "paid for his courage with his life," while French Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne said in a post on X that the Kremlin critic's "death in a penal colony reminds us of the reality of Vladimir Putin's regime." European Council President Charles Michel said Navalny had made the ultimate sacrifice while fighting for the "values of freedom and democracy." Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski told RFE/RL that Navalny's only crime was to root out "the corruption [and] the thievery of the current Russian elite" and to have a dream of a better Russia that abides by the rule of law, lives in peace with its neighbors, and invests in its people. "That proved to be an unforgivable crime," Sikorski said, speaking with RFE/RL at the Munich Security Conference. He said the Russian state was responsible for Navalny's life and welfare "and therefore his death is the legal responsibility of the Russian state." Navalny, who last month marked the third anniversary of his incarceration on charges widely believed to be politically motivated, nearly died from a poisoning with a Novichok-type nerve agent in 2020, which he blamed on Russian security operatives acting at the behest of Putin. The man who once blasted Putin as "corrupt, cynical" in an interview with RFE/RL was detained on January 17, 2021, at a Moscow airport upon his arrival from Germany, where he was treated for the poisoning. He was then handed a 2 1/2-year prison sentence for violating the terms of an earlier parole during his convalescence abroad. The Kremlin has denied any involvement in Navalny's poisoning. In March 2022, Navalny was handed a nine-year prison term on charges of contempt and embezzlement through fraud that he and his supporters have repeatedly rejected as politically motivated. Later, Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation and his network of regional offices were designated "extremist" organizations and banned after his arrest, which led to another probe against him on extremism charges. In August last year, a court extended Navalny's prison term to 19 years and sent him to a harsher "special regime" facility from the maximum-security prison where he was held. Last month, Navalny was transferred to Polar Wolf, which is a "special regime" prison in Russia's Arctic region. Navalny's death, if confirmed, comes as Putin, who publicly has long refused to actually say Navalny's name, runs for another term facing no real opposition as those who were expected to be his main challengers -- including Navalny -- currently are either incarcerated or have fled the country, fearing for their safety. Russian elections are tightly controlled by the Kremlin and are neither free nor fair but are viewed by the government as necessary to convey a sense of legitimacy. They are mangled by the exclusion of opposition candidates, voter intimidation, ballot stuffing, and other means of manipulation. Meanwhile, the Kremlin's tight grip on politics, media, law enforcement, and other levers means Putin, who has ruled Russia as president or prime minister since 1999, is certain to win, barring a very big, unexpected development. Navalny married his wife, Yulia, in 2000. The couple has a son and a daughter. With reporting by Rikard Jozwiak and Vazha Tavberidze in Munich When Aleksei Navalny left a Moscow jail in August 2019 after serving 30 days for encouraging protests, the Russian opposition leader delivered the kind of message he had pushed relentlessly for a decade, earning himself a reputation as the most vocal critic of President Vladimir Putin. "The lies and falsifications are not enough," he told a group of reporters in his usual fast clip. "They have to arrest dozens, beat hundreds, and raid organizations." "This regime will come to seriously regret what it has done," said Navalny, a longtime anti-corruption fighter and Russia's most prominent opposition politician for over a decade. The Russian penitentiary service said on February 16 that Navalny had died after feeling ill and losing consciousness following a walk at IK-3, the harsh prison north of the Arctic Circle where he was transferred in late December. Navalny was sent to IK-3, known as Polar Wolf, to serve a 19-year sentence on an extremism conviction that he and his supporters say was politically motivated revenge for his anti-Kremlin activism. At that time, Navalny had been behind bars since January 2021, when he was arrested upon returning to Russia after recovering abroad from a nerve-agent poisoning that he said was a state-sponsored assassination attempt carried out by Russian security agents and approved by Putin. A lawyer by training, the charismatic and sharp-witted politician was shaped by the Internet and the street, using both mediums in his unrelenting and often innovative campaign against Putin's increasingly undemocratic government. Despite carrying the baggage of an uncomfortable early dalliance with Russian nationalism and statements deemed racist by many, he came to transcend easy labels through a singular and seemingly indefatigable focus on official corruption and an insistence on peaceful, legal methods to oppose the Kremlin. Navalny rose to national prominence as he became one of the leaders of major anti-government protests in 2011, when his viral blog posts exposing graft fueled public anger in the buildup to that year's parliamentary election. He called on voters to cast their ballots against the "party of crooks and thieves" in power, a term he coined to describe the ruling United Russia party that was immortalized in the opposition lexicon. The opposition movement gained more steam when Putin made the controversial decision to seek a third presidential term in the 2012 election. Tens of thousands of people attended protests between the December 2011 parliamentary vote, which was marred by widespread evidence of fraud, and Putin's inauguration in May 2012. Soon, Navalny expanded his muckraking campaign to launch the Anti-Corruption Foundation and a YouTube channel where he uploaded slick videos to a growing subscriber base, shedding light on the illicit activities of officials in Putin's government and inner circle. In 2017, the foundation's probe into then-Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev's wealth, which garnered tens of millions of views, became a catalyst for a wave of mass rallies that erupted across Russia that March. Navalny's personal charisma and social-media-savvy style quickly gained him a mass following, even though he was all but ignored by state media. For many years, Putin was unable or unwilling to pronounce Navalny's name aloud. But his early anti-immigrant comments, including YouTube videos in which he likened Central Asian labor migrants to harmful tooth cavities and residents of Russia's Muslim-majority North Caucasus to cockroaches, continued to dog him throughout his career, and some in opposition politics particularly in non-ethnic-Russian movements -- kept their distance from him. The nationalist tone of Navalny's early career and equivocal statements about Crimea following Russias occupation of the Ukrainian Black Sea peninsula in 2014 raised hackles among many in Ukraine, and his vehement condemnation of the full-scale invasion launched by Putin in 2022 did little to improve his reputation there. Navalny's rise was also impeded by Putin's growing authoritarianism and efforts to stamp out the opposition movement Navalny spearheaded, including the introduction of laws drastically reducing the scope for street protest and punishing Russians who voiced public criticism of the authorities. Some of Navalny's aides and allies fled Russia amid threats; others quit politics. Navalny remained in Russia and continued to expose graft, despite constant harassment of himself and his family by pro-government trolls, a concerted propaganda campaign to discredit and stigmatize him, frequent arrests and searches, and a seemingly endless string of criminal cases and other moves aimed at cowing him into submission. In 2017, during a visit to the Siberian city of Barnaul, an unknown assailant doused him with a bright green liquid, causing a chemical burn that damaged his vision. Several days later, he appeared his face stained green -- in a YouTube video where he promised nothing would keep him from shining light on corruption. "All I want to say is this: The Kremlin may think I'm not going to record videos with a green face, but I will -- it'll get me even more views," he said. "This definitely won't stop me." In 2019, while in detention yet again for leading an unauthorized protest, Navalny was hospitalized with what his doctor said was a "severe allergic reaction." Navalny and his aides suspected it was a case of deliberate poisoning. The incident was never resolved despite widespread calls for an official investigation. In the years after he gained prominence, and until his near-fatal poisoning in August 2020, Navalny was jailed at least a dozen times, spending hundreds of days locked up on charges he insisted were fabricated to cut short his efforts to incite protest. In 2013, he faced the threat of lengthy incarceration when he was sentenced to five years in prison in a fraud trial that was widely viewed as retaliation for his political activity. Amid protests, the authorities suspended the sentence and released Navalny, a stunning reversal that analysts and allies said was driven by the Kremlin's fear of turning him into a martyr and stoking mass demonstrations. Navalny received a suspended sentence again in 2014, after a trial in a separate case that he also contended was politically motivated. But his brother Oleg, who was not involved in politics, was sentenced to 3 1/2 years in prison. Navalny said his brother's incarceration made his battle with the Kremlin personal, fueling an anger that redoubled his commitment. Around this time, many in Russia began to consider him a viable challenger to Putin, a former KGB officer who has been present or prime minister since 1999. "Many think that Navalny is not a serious candidate for the Kremlin," opposition politician Leonid Gozman wrote in Vedomosti in 2015. "That's probably what Jaruzelski thought about Walesa, or South Africa's leaders about Mandela, or Kerensky about Lenin." Navalny sought to meet those expectations and tried to challenge Putin in the 2018 presidential election, establishing a network of campaign offices across the country. But he was barred from running due to his criminal convictions, and the campaign teams were reorganized into regional branches of his anti-corruption NGO, working to shed light on illicit activity at the local level. In the summer of 2019, Navalny backed a group of opposition figures seeking to participate in elections to the Moscow city assembly. Their exclusion from the vote led to weeks of protest in Moscow met by a sweeping clampdown that culminated in lengthy prison sentences for a number of activists and law enforcement raids of Navalny's regional offices. But that experience prompted Navalny and his team to seek new ways to break Putin's stranglehold on power and to launch a campaign dubbed Smart Voting, aimed at shattering the United Russia monopoly by concentrating the protest vote on rival candidates considered most likely to defeat its candidates. In an interview in the spring of 2020, Navalny told RFE/RL's Russian Service the coronavirus pandemic and the government's handling of it was accelerating a fall in Putin's popularity and creating opportunities for the opposition. "Just look at the government's ratings," he said. "We see their unprecedented decline, a decline that will continue. The government cannot do anything about it." Several months later, Navalny collapsed on board a flight to Moscow from Tomsk, where he was visiting local supporters. The plane was diverted to the city of Omsk, where his staffers learned that he had been poisoned. After pleading with the authorities for two days, his wife, Yulia Navalnaya, and Navalny's aides succeeded in securing his transfer for treatment in Berlin, where German experts determined he had been poisoned by a Novichok-type nerve agent. Open-source investigators Bellingcat issued findings that Navalny had been the target of an assassination attempt by a team of Federal Security Service (FSB) operatives. Navalny spent almost five months recuperating and working on a major investigation into a $1.36 billion Black Sea palace that he alleged ultimately belonged to Putin. That investigation was released upon Navalny's return to Moscow on January 17, 2021, when he was arrested upon arrival at Sheremetyevo airport. His decision to return to Russia was controversial, with some lauding his courage and others questioning his surrender to seemingly inevitable imprisonment. Russia was rocked by two consecutive weekends of mass protests for Navalny's release that led to thousands of arrests, but Navalny was nevertheless sentenced to two years and eight months in prison on February 2, 2021, for breaking the rules of the parole imposed during his fraud trial. "However much [Putin] tries to portray himself as a geopolitician, a great world leader, he resents me because he'll go down in history as a poisoner," Navalny said in a blistering speech from his defendant's cage. "The main goal of this trial is to scare a huge number of people. That's how it works. They jail one person to scare millions." Navalny was sent to a strict-regime prison in the Vladimir region east of Moscow. Almost immediately he and his associates began complaining of a deliberate campaign to undermine his health. Having been designated an escape risk, he was awakened hourly every night and was denied access to his doctor. He said he had crippling back pain and had all but lost the use of his right leg. He was hospitalized during a hunger strike in April 2023, abandoning the protest on the advice of his doctors. During his years in prison, officials repeatedly punished him for trivial alleged infractions. For his part, he used his legal expertise to clog the system with outlandish requests, publishing the stilted official rejections he received. At the same time, the government continued to file charges against him and to add time to his prison term. In March 2022, he was given a nine-year prison term for contempt of court and corruption. In June 2021, his Anti-Corruption Foundation and other organizations tied to him were officially banned as extremist by the Russian government. As a result, more of his associates fled Russia or faced harsh criminal prosecution. In August 2023, Navalny was handed a 19-year sentence in a "special-regime" prison -- the harshest category -- after being convicted of inciting and financing "extremist activity." He denounced the sentence as "Stalinist." Nonetheless, throughout his imprisonment and at his numerous trials, he steadfastly insisted he was not afraid and urged Russians also to overcome their fear of Putin's repression. Long in progress, the Kremlin's clampdown on dissent escalated with Navalny's arrest in January 2021. The authorities turned the screws even tighter a little over a year later, when Russia launched the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. In a social-media post on the first anniversary of the unprovoked attack, Navalny said Putin "has unleashed an unjust war of aggression" and dismissed Putin's justifications as "ridiculous pretexts." He said that "tens of thousands of innocent Ukrainians have been murdered" and that "war crimes have been committed." He called for the restoration of Ukraine's internationally recognized 1991 borders and for Russia to "look for acceptable ways to compensate for the damage done to Ukraine." "We will have to reimburse Ukraine for all the damage caused by Putin's aggression," he concluded. "We have hit rock bottom." Many in Ukraine remained wary or critical of Navalny, distrusting his public comments on the war and doubting his dedication to Ukrainian sovereignty. He was widely praised in the West, however. In October 2021, he was awarded the European Parliament's Sakharov Prize for his relentless fight against "the corruption of Vladimir Putin's regime." "This cost him his liberty and nearly his life," then-European Parliament head David Sassoli said. Former RFE/RL correspondent Matthew Luxmoore contributed to this report I'm Steve Gutterman, the editor of RFE/RL's Russia/Ukraine/Belarus Desk. Welcome to The Week In Russia, in which I dissect the key developments in Russian politics and society over the previous week and look at what's ahead. Familiar narratives and a severely skewed version of history were on display once again in President Vladimir Putin's interview with Tucker Carlson. There were also some moments that shed additional light on his motives in the invasion of Ukraine and other matters. Here are some of the key developments in Russia over the past week and some of the takeaways going forward. 'Largely Fictional' For some, the biggest takeaway from Tucker Carlson's interview with Russian President Vladimir Putin could be summed up in a single word: Boring. Partly because Putin started off with a long history lecture riddled with falsehoods and factual errors that did little, for many ears, to make it more interesting. It spawned multiple memes mocking what one commentator called a "largely fictional" account that stretched back to the 9th century. Ninth -- that's not a typo. At one point, Carlson reassured Putin that his lengthy sojourn into the past was "not boring," but many who watched the interview -- or wrote about it -- disagreed. Another potential source of tedium: Putin's re-reiteration of several of his well-worn narratives -- most of them, in this case, meant to justify Russia's aggression against Ukraine over the last decade, from the seizure of Crimea in 2014 to the full-scale invasion that will hit the two-year mark this month. Carlson and the Kremlin posted the interview on the Internet on February 9. In addition to what Bloomberg Opinion columnist Marc Champion described as Putin's "usual string of half-truths and outright falsehoods about the war in Ukraine," it featured some of his familiar bugbears, from Lenin to NATO. But while there was nothing much new -- as there often isn't in Putin's interviews, speeches, and other public statements -- there were some revealing remarks, comments that seemed to shed light on Putin's motives in the war against Ukraine and other matters. Resentment And 'Obsession' Despite Putins criticism of NATO and its enlargement, for example, his focus on the past added to the already voluminous evidence that he is obsessed with Ukraine and that, as Champion put it, he invaded the country "out of the apparently sincere belief that he's retaking lands that rightfully belong to Russia." One could argue with the suggestion that Putin sincerely holds that belief, but it may not matter much -- in any case, the remarks seemed to throw the thinking behind the invasion into sharper relief. "Resentment over NATO's expansion played a part for sure, but it was a supporting role," Champion wrote. Also of note: Resentment over the Western alliance taking in former Warsaw Pact states and ex-Soviet republics is not the same as a genuine belief that it poses a threat -- let alone an imminent threat -- to Russia's security. 'Hitler Had No Choice' Another telling remark -- one that seems particularly striking in the context of the unprovoked invasion of Ukraine -- came in his comments on World War II, which began when Germany invaded Poland days after reaching an agreement with Moscow to carve up parts of Eastern Europe in a secret annex to the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact in 1939. By refusing to cede territory that Hitler wanted to Germany, Poland "forced Germany to begin the Second World War," Putin said, adding that Poland "turned out to be intractable. Hitler had no choice in implementing his plans other than to start precisely with Poland." "The idea that the victim of the attack serves as its instigator by forcing the hand of the aggressor is central to all of Putin's explanations for Russia's war in Ukraine," Masha Gessen wrote in The New Yorker. "To my knowledge, though, this was the first time he described Hitler's aggression in the same terms." Striking, particularly given the enormous focus Putin has placed on the Soviet role in World War II, and given the Russian state's refusal to countenance any comparison between Stalin's Soviet Union and Hitler's Germany. Jailed Journalists Another moment that seemed revealing came near the end of the two-hour interview, when Carlson asked about Evan Gershkovich -- who, along with Alsu Kurmasheva of RFE/RL, is one of two American journalists jailed in Russia last year and still being held on charges that they and their employers say are unfounded. Asked whether he was prepared to free Gershkovich as a "goodwill gesture," Putin repeated the Russian claim that the U.S. journalist was "caught red-handed" in an act of espionage, without providing evidence, and said Russia was open to -- and involved in -- negotiations with an eye to a prisoner swap. Nothing new there. But Putin also clearly identified one Russian held in the West as a desired candidate for an exchange -- a former Federal Security Service (FSB) officer who is in prison in Germany after being convicted of fatally shooting a Georgian former separatist fighter in Russia's North Caucasus in a park in Berlin in broad daylight in 2019. And of Gershkovich, the only American journalist arrested on espionage charges in Russia since the Cold War and the Soviet collapse, Putin said that it "makes no sense, more or less, to hold him in prison in Russia." The comments were seen as the clearest sign yet that Putin and his government view U.S. and other Western citizens held in Russia as bargaining chips for potential prisoner swaps. "Russian President Vladimir Putin is using Gershkovich as a pawn, holding him hostage in order to gain leverage over -- and extract a ransom from -- the United States," The Wall Street Journals parent company said in September. That's it from me this week. If you want to know more, catch up on my podcast The Week Ahead In Russia, out every Monday, here on our site or wherever you get your podcasts (Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Pocket Casts). Yours, Steve Gutterman P.S.: Consider forwarding this newsletter to colleagues who might find this of interest. Send feedback and tips to newsletters@rferl.org. KYODO NEWS - Feb 17, 2024 - 10:24 | All, Japan Unseasonably warm weather in northern parts of Japan have caused iconic winter sights to melt away this week, causing ice deposits on trees to no longer appear so monster-like, and snow huts to be capped with blue sheets. While Hokkaido and the northeastern Japan regions will likely be affected by cold air at the end of this month, the Japan Meteorological Agency forecasts temperatures in early March to likely be higher than usual. Due to warm air flowing in from the south, temperatures rose across Japan over the past days, reaching levels typically seen in April or May. On Thursday, 27 observations points, mainly in northeastern Japan, recorded all-time high temperatures for February, including Sendai in Miyagi Prefecture at 21.1 C. In the Zao mountain range spanning Miyagi and Yamagata prefectures, much of the snow covering trees has melted away despite mid-February being the usual peak viewing period, according to an official from the Zao Onsen tourism association. The scarce snowfall experienced this year "occurs once every 20 years or so," the official said. In Yokote, Akita Prefecture, one of the areas in Japan with typically the heaviest snowfalls, temperatures exceeded 13 C on Wednesday, followed by rain the next day. The annual "kamakura" snow hut festival was exposed to wind and rain, damaging the smooth surfaces of the huts and prompting organizers to cover them with blue sheets for protection. "This is unprecedented. I hope people don't think this is what kamakura is supposed to look like," said Katsuo Kitajima, a craftsman with around 30 years of experience. A tourist from Taiwan expressed disappointment, saying that the scene was not as expected, although it was still beautiful. At Taroshi Falls in Hanamaki, Iwate Prefecture, an annual event last Sunday to measure the thickness of the frozen waterfall to predict rice yields ended with the result "unmeasurable," due to insufficient icicle formation. In Otaru, Hokkaido, temperatures above 10 C have caused snow huts housing lanterns that illuminate a path beside a canal to collapse, while participants in a scheduled snowball fight in Mutsu, Aomori Prefecture, on Monday used rolled-up newspapers instead and shifted the venue indoors. BEIJING, Feb. 16 (Xinhua) -- China's inclusive finance sector maintained rapid loan expansion in 2023 as the country stepped up credit support for the real economy, a central bank report showed. China's outstanding balance of small and micro loans reached 29.4 trillion yuan (about 4.14 trillion U.S. dollars) as of the end of 2023, up 23.5 percent from the end of 2022, according to the report from the People's Bank of China. By the end of last year, the outstanding loans extended to rural households for production grew 18 percent year on year to 9.24 trillion yuan, while the outstanding student loans reached 218.4 billion yuan, up 22.4 percent year on year. The report also showed that the country's outstanding agriculture-related loans in yuan and foreign currencies reached 56.6 trillion yuan by the end of 2023, up 14.9 percent from the end of the previous year. Ooru Peru Bhairavakona movie OTT platform Release Date Update Ooru Peru Bhairavakona is a Telugu movie Ooru Peru Bhairavakona movie OTT Platform Release Date Update: Ooru Peru Bhairavakona is a Telugu movie released on Feb 16, 2024 in your nearby cinemas. "Ooru Peru Bhairavakona movie" is a heartwarming thriller starring Varsha Bollamma and Kavya Thapar and directed by Vi Anand. "Ooru Peru Bhairavakona" is a heartwarming movie set in a village called Bhairavakona. Advertisement It tells the story of a young person who is trying to find their way in life. Along the way, they meet different people in the village and learn important lessons about love, friendship, and belonging. Directed by Vi Anand, the film captures the beauty of rural India with its scenic views and lively atmosphere. Through the ups and downs of village life, the characters in "Ooru Peru Bhairavakona" discover the true meaning of community and family. With its simple yet powerful storyline and relatable characters, this movie is sure to touch the hearts of audiences everywhere. Whether you're looking for a heartwarming tale or just want to experience the charm of village life, "Ooru Peru Bhairavakona" is a movie worth watching. Advertisement Ooru Peru Bhairavakona Movie OTT Platform Release Date Update: The makers of Ooru Peru Bhairavakona' have not yet confirmed any OTT release date as of now. However, there might be further announcements regarding the streaming of the movie online after its theatrical release. Thundhu Movie OTT Release Update Thundhu movie is malayalam movie Thundhu Movie OTT Platform Release Date Update: 'Thundu' is a Malayalam cop comedy film released on Feb 16, 2024 in your nearby cinemas. "Thundhu" is an thriller comedy starring Unnimaya Prasad, Gokulan, Raffi, Shaju Sreedhar, Johny Antony, and Vineeth Thattil and directed by Riyas Shereef. "Thundhu" is an comedy-drama film that promises to entertain audiences with its heartwarming storyline and hilarious moments. Set in a small town, the movie follows the misadventures of three friends Rahul, Ankit, and Sameer who dream of making it big in the world of entrepreneurship. Advertisement As they embark on their journey to start their own business, the trio encounters a series of comical obstacles and challenges that test their friendship and resolve. From quirky characters to unexpected setbacks, "Thundhu" delivers laughs and lessons in equal measure. "Thundhu" is filled with memorable moments and relatable characters that will resonate with audiences of all ages. With its blend of humor, heart, and hijinks, the film is sure to leave viewers with smiles on their faces and warmth in their hearts. Get ready to join Rahul, Ankit, and Sameer on a hilarious adventure filled with laughter, friendship, and a whole lot of fun. "Thundhu" is a feel-good movie that reminds us that sometimes the best journeys are the ones we take with our closest friends. Advertisement Thundhu Movie OTT Platform Release Date Update: You can watch the film on 'Amazon Prime Video'. Delhi Alipur fire: 11 killed, 4 injured in massive blaze at paint factory Delhi Police said that the fire broke out due to a blast, probably caused by chemicals kept in the factory. Delhi Alipur fire news: As many as 11 people were killed while four were injured in a massive fire that broke out at a paint and chemical godown in outer Delhi's Alipur on Thursday evening. The fire department stated, The fire was in two paint and chemical godowns, resulting in the death of 11 persons and 4 injured. The deceased have been moved to Babu Jagjeevan Ram Hospital and the four injured persons have been moved to Raja Harish Chandra Hospital. Advertisement The Delhi Police said that the fire broke out due to a blast, probably caused by chemicals kept in the factory. In the meanwhile, nearby houses and shops also caught fire. An unidentified Delhi Fire Services (DFS) official informed the news agency ANI that a call about the incident was received at 5.25pm after which at least 22 fire-tenders rushed to the spot. The fire at Delhi's Alipur was brought under control by 9 pm, the fire official said. Advertisement The incident took place at around 5:30 pm. Everyone gathered here after hearing an explosion, an eyewitness, identified as Sumit Bharadwaj told ANI. "We tried a lot to douse the fire. Around 7-8 fire tenders (initially) reached here and started the fire fighting operation..." Rescuers work at the site where the slab of a prefabricated building in a mall complex under construction collapsed in northwest Florence, Tuscany region, Italy, on Feb. 16, 2024. At least two workers died and three others were injured after the slab of the building collapsed here on Friday, local authorities said. (Xinhua) ROME, Feb. 16 (Xinhua) -- At least two workers died and three others were injured after a building collapsed in Florence, Tuscany region, on Friday, local authorities said. Rescuers believed at least three more workers were buried in the rubble, Tuscany regional governor Eugenio Giani told local media. He said rescue operations were going on. Firefighters said they were called in at around 9 a.m. local time (0800 GMT). It was the slab of a prefabricated building in a mall complex under construction that collapsed in northwest Florence. Eight people were reportedly working at the site when the incident occurred. Rescuers work at the site where the slab of a prefabricated building in a mall complex under construction collapsed in northwest Florence, Tuscany region, Italy, on Feb. 16, 2024. At least two workers died and three others were injured after the slab of the building collapsed here on Friday, local authorities said. (Xinhua) Chandigarh to host 11th International Puppet Festival UT administrator to inaugurate the festival at 10.45am on Feb 17 Chandigarh International Puppet Festival 2024: Chandigarh is all set to host the 11th International Puppet Festival this year where wonderful stories will be depicted by the artists from around the world through the beautiful art of puppetry. The department of cultural affairs will hold the 11th edition of the International Puppet Festival in collaboration with Tagore Theatre Society from Feb 17 to 21 at Tagore Theatre. The UT administrator will inaugurate the festival at 10.45am on Feb 17. Advertisement The 5-day festival will witness captivating puppetry performances by artists from Russia on Feb 17, France on Feb 18, Brazil on Feb 19, USA on Feb 20, and Sri Lanka on Feb 21. Two different shows for children and public will also be showcased at 10:30 AM and 6:30 PM daily, respectively. The festival will also be featuring a live demonstration of puppet making and the best part about this 5-day long festival is that the entry ticket for all the days is free for everyone. (For more news apart from Chandigarh International Puppet Festival 2024, stay tuned to Rozana Spokesman) Bharat Bandh Today There was no breakthrough in farmers' meeting with Centre. Bharat Bandh Today Latest News Update: Several farmers' unions have called for a 'Bharat Bandh' as the protest at Shambhu and Khanauri borders entered day four today. In view of the farmers' protest, large gatherings have been banned in Delhi-NCR as Section 144 has been imposed. On the other hand, the farmers have vowed to intensify the protest, with the Noida-based Bharatiya Kisan Parishad extending support to the nationwide strike. Third round of meeting, which was held for over five hours, between the leaders of protesting farmers' unions and three Union ministers got no breakthrough, however, it reportedly ended in a positive manner. Likewise, another round of meeting is scheduled to be held on Sunday (February 18). Advertisement 'Bharat Bandh', which started at 6 am today, will remain in effect till 4 pm. The farmers will be participating in a massive 'chakka jam' across major Indian roads from 12 pm to 4 pm while petrol and diesel would also remain closed during these hours as petrol pump dealers association has also supported the call for bandh. It is pertinent to mention that Punjab Chief Minister and AAP leader Bhagwant Mann expressed solidarity with the protesting farmers. He even criticised the use of drones and putting up of barbed fences on the state's borders with Haryana. He also criticised the suspension of internet services in three Haryana districts. The Centre and farmer unions held the third round of talks on Thursday after the two previous rounds of dialogue remained inconclusive on February 8 and 12 before the farmers' 'Delhi Chalo' agitation began on Tuesday (February 13). The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is awarding $970 million from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to improve 114 airports across the U.S. This was announced by Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg when he visited Charlotte, North Carolina, kicking off the Biden Administration's Investing in America tour. The funding will be used to modernize airport terminals nationwide, equipping them with faster baggage systems and larger security checkpoints to meet growing air travel demand. These investments will also increase gate capacity, and improve accessibility for individuals with disabilities. Nine grants will address the needs of aging air traffic control towers. "Under this administration, we are doing more to improve the travel experience than ever before, from expanding consumer protections to modernizing the physical infrastructure," said Buttigieg. An amount of $35 million has been earmarked for Washington Dulles International Airport in Virginia, where a 14-gate, 400,000 sq. ft. terminal building, including connections to the Aerotrain and Metrorail, will be constructed. Kahului Airport in Hawaii has been granted $8.6 million. This project funds the construction of a new two-story security screening checkpoint facility at the south end of the ticket lobby (South TSA Checkpoint). For the Terminal A security screening expansion project, $7.5 million will go to Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport in Kentucky. A grant of $31 million to Los Angeles International Airport in California will be invested for a combination of new, extending, widening, and utility improvements of surrounding roadways. This also includes underground Low Impact Development (LID) storm water containment systems. Nine grants are awarded to airports to refurbish their airport owned airport traffic control towers. For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com Business News Tata Motors Ultra Trucks Arrive in South Africa Ultra T.9 and T.14 Models Cater to Diverse Applications Tata Motors in collaboration with its esteemed distributor, Tata Africa Holdings Limited, proudly announces the official launch of its Ultra range of smart trucks in South Africa. The unveiling of the Ultra T.9 and T.14 models signifies a groundbreaking moment in the countrys commercial transportation sector, bringing forth a new era of safety, efficiency, and sustainability. Tata Motors Ultra Trucks Arrive in South Africa The Ultra series, meticulously designed to meet the evolving needs of cargo mobility, offers versatility for a wide array of applications, including bakery, FMCG, white goods, agriculture, and construction. Engineered with a focus on safety, productivity, and fuel efficiency, the Ultra range is poised to make a significant impact on the logistics landscape in South Africa. One of the key highlights of the Ultra trucks is their robust construction, featuring a walk-through cabin, power steering, dashboard-mounted gear lever, and booster-assisted clutch, ensuring a safe and fatigue-free driving experience. The trucks are equipped with Tata Motors globally proven turbocharged diesel engines, providing best-in-class power and torque output. The Ultra T.9 and T.14, with 3.3L and 5.0L engines respectively, are designed to handle heavy loads over long distances and challenging terrains. Notably, the trucks come with parabolic suspension for rugged and uninterrupted operations. Adding a technological edge, Tata Motors offers the Fleet Edge connected vehicle system for efficient fleet management, enhancing overall productivity. Mr. Anurag Mehrotra, Head of International Business at Tata Motors Commercial Vehicles, expressed his enthusiasm about the launch, stating, The Ultra range represents a new landmark in freight transportation in South Africa. Built on the internationally recognized Ultra platform, these trucks are engineered to cater to diverse applications, delivering higher performance, vehicle utilization, uptime, and more revenues. Mr. Len Brand, Managing Director of Tata Africa Holdings Limited, echoed this sentiment, emphasizing the commitment to innovation and reliability in the South African commercial vehicle landscape. We are excited about the potential these new offerings bring and the positive impact they will have on our presence in the region, he stated. Ultra Trucks Set to Make a Mark in South Africas Commercial Vehicle Landscape The Ultra trucks are a result of extensive testing in South Africa to ensure they meet the specific requirements of local fleet operators, combining power, fuel efficiency, safety, and driver comfort. With a robust network of 90 touchpoints, Tata Africa Holdings Limited aims to provide comprehensive support to customers, reinforcing their dedication to delivering on the uptime promise. As part of Tata Motors commitment to holistic customer solutions, the company offers a range of vehicle lifecycle management solutions, including Annual Maintenance Contracts, Extended Warranty, Fleet Management Services, and various value-added services. Easy vehicle financing options further contribute to complete peace of mind for customers, ultimately leading to higher profitability. Tata Motors, with over seven decades of excellence in commercial vehicle manufacturing, has a strong presence in more than 44 countries across ASEAN, SAARC, Middle East, Africa, and Latin America. The introduction of the Ultra range in South Africa is a testament to Tata Motors dedication to advancing commercial transportation globally, offering state-of-the-art solutions tailored to meet the diverse needs of its customers. While the 100% import duty for cars encourages local manufacturing, newer policies may adopt a more flexible approach towards EV imports Last year, India had emerged as the worlds third largest auto market, after China and the US. The Indian automotive space has huge unlocked potential, especially in the EV segment. Tesla is looking at opportunities in India, but has strongly opposed the high import duty taxation regime. Possibility of reduced 15% import duty for EVs Talks between Tesla and the government have been going on for several months. While the company is willing to invest around USD 2 billion in India, it wants concessions on the import duty. The current tax structure of 100% import duty for cars valued over USD 40,000 (approx. Rs 33 lakh) is way too high, according to Tesla. For cars below USD 40,000, the import duty is 60%. Tesla wants to use the CBU route, at least for the initial period. Tesla has been negotiating that import duty be reduced to 15%. While the government has also taken a tough stand, it appears that a more flexible import policy for EVs could be announced soon. As per ET Auto report, the new policy will allow reduced import duty on the condition that the OEM commits investments for setting up local manufacturing. To safeguard its interest, the government is likely to ask for bank guarantees from the OEM. The relaxation in import duty will be valid for a period of 2-3 years. If the OEM fails to provide investment for local manufacturing after the relaxation period, the government will have the option to encash the bank guarantees. The exact amount of bank guarantees is yet to be finalized. Bank guarantees will ensure that only OEMs that are serious about long-term presence in India get the benefits of reduced import duties. Other global brands can also benefit While Tesla may be credited for nudging policymakers to adopt a more flexible approach, other leading global automotive brands can also benefit. A recent example is Ford that seems to be planning a re-entry in India. Ford had recently trademarked Mustang Mach-E electric compact crossover SUV in India. Just like Tesla, Ford may also benefit from the new taxation policy being drafted for EV imports. Bad news for local OEMs? As the full details of the new EV import policy is not available, it is difficult to determine the impact on homegrown automakers. The new policy is likely to have adequate provisions to ensure that locally manufactured EVs continue to offer more value to consumers. The Indian auto industry will be looking at a level-playing field and not a system that provides an unfair advantage to carmakers like Tesla. Companies like Mahindra and Tata Motors have made massive investments to boost their EV business. The new EV policy should incentivize local manufacturing, which will bring investments, create jobs and increase technical know-how. More clarity will emerge when one gets to read the details of the upcoming EV import policy. Source Volkswagen and Mahindra Charge Ahead in E-Mobility Partnership Mahindras INGLO Platform to Roll Out Electric SUVs from December 2024 In a landmark move towards sustainable electric mobility, Volkswagen Group and Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. (M&M) have inked a groundbreaking supply agreement. The agreement solidifies Mahindras commitment to equip a specific range of its electric platform, INGLO, with components from Volkswagens Modular Electrification Toolkit (MEB) and unified cells. Sourcing 50 GWh Battery From Volkswagen This strategic collaboration marks a pivotal step forward in the joint vision for e-mobility between the two automotive giants. The comprehensive deal encompasses the supply of crucial electric components and unified cells, demonstrating the depth of commitment to advancing electric vehicle (EV) technology. These electric components from Volkswagens MEB platform will populate Mahindras Born Electric INGLO platform. The agreement covers both supply of certain components and Volkswagens unified cells from MEB platform. What started as a partnering agreement and a term sheet in 2022 between Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd and Volkswagen Group, has now evolved into an active collaboration that could show expansion in the future. Both companies have agreed to run the supply agreement for years to follow. The total energy capacity sourced from VW over the years might account for as much as 50 GWh. This may accelerate Indias electric mobility adoption and will benefit both companies along the way. As of now, only Volkswagen Group brands like Volkswagen, Audi, Skoda and SEAT/CUPRA use Volkswagens MEB platform. These are Volkswagens internal brands. Mahindra is set to be the first external partner to use ground-breaking unified cells technology from Volkswagen. Other external partner in the race to source MEB components is Ford. Mahindra INGLO SUVs Launch Timeline Out Mahindra has revealed it will launch five all-electric SUVs based on INGLO platform. These are BE.05, BE.07, BE.09, XUV.e8 and XUV.e9. The press release also mentioned these INGLO platform-equipped e-SUVs will launch starting from December 2024. The first INGLO platform-equipped vehicle to launch is highly likely to be XUV.e8, which has been spotted testing on multiple occasions. At Mahindras Future Scape event held in Johannesburg, South Africa, the company presentations demonstrated INGLO platform populated with BYDs Blade cells. Where Platform Business is concerned, BYDs Blade cells are a primary rival for Volkswagens MEB unified cells. Mahindra is likely to be collaborating with different battery vendors depending upon the target market owing to availability, supply and market acceptance. After all, Mahindra has announced that the INGLO based vehicles will be a key stepping point in expanding the brands presence in international business, touching more lives globally. SHIJIAZHUANG, Feb. 16 (Xinhua) -- With an increasing number of new energy vehicles (NEVs) hitting the roads during the Spring Festival travel rush, China has sprung into action to ensure a care-free ride for NEV owners. The Spring Festival, which fell on Feb. 10 this year, is China's biggest traditional festival. This year's Spring Festival travel rush started on Jan. 26 and will end on March 5. In the Dingzhou expressway service zone in north China's Hebei Province, personnel from the State Grid Baoding Power Supply Company are examining the temporary charging poles. From Feb. 9 to Feb. 15, this busy NEV charging station recorded an average charging volume of 5,400 kWh per day, marking a rise of nearly 85 percent from the same period last year. Anticipating a surge of return traffic as the Spring Festival holiday draws to an end, State Grid Baoding Power Supply Company installed two more 120-kW chargers in the Dingzhou service zone at the side of the expressway leading to Beijing. "We have placed mobile charging pods on stand-by and increased charging spaces at high-demand electric vehicle charging stations along expressways, and we have also prepared sufficient charging cards for emergency use by drivers in need in order to reduce the queuing time for NEV owners," said Guo Zhanwu, head of State Grid Hebei Electric Vehicle Service Company. To guarantee access to NEV charging during the Spring Festival travel rush, east China's Jiangsu Province has increased the number of chargers installed at expressway service zones across the province to 1,690, a surge of 96 percent year on year. In addition, for the first time, these charging facilities have all been supplied with green electricity, namely electricity converted primarily from solar energy and wind power. The supply of green electricity is sufficient to charge at least 125,000 NEVs. Drivers of NEVs who used charging services within Jiangsu Province during the Spring Festival period received a text message expressing gratitude for adopting "green travel." One message reads: "You have charged 42.1 kWh of green electricity, equivalent to saving 36.7 kg of CO2." In east China's Anhui Province, State Grid Anqing Power Supply Company had expanded the capacity of 19 expressway charging stations in its service region by the end of last year, doubling the number of charging spaces to eight in each service zone, and adding two mobile charging robots at a high-demand service zone. Ensuring care-free NEV journeys means providing easy access to charging infrastructure not only throughout the journey, but also on arrival at the traveler's hometown, be it in a big city or a small village. "We came back for the Spring Festival reunion, and I find it astonishing that there are more and more charging stations, even in the county," said Zheng Xiaoning, a villager from Tiantangzhai Township, Jinzhai County in the city of Lu'an, Anhui Province. Jinzhai County boasts 208 charging poles across 36 different sites. Drivers like Zheng can easily find the closest one using a mobile phone app. Data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers shows that in 2023, the production and sales of NEVs in China exceeded 9.58 million and 9.49 million units, respectively, ranking first globally for nine consecutive years. The complete charging infrastructure also injects strong impetus into China's NEV industry. Data shows that in 2023, more than 3.38 million new units of charging infrastructure were built in China, which means that one was completed every 9.31 seconds, on average. By the end of last year, there were more than 8.59 million units of charging infrastructure in China, up 65 percent year on year. BAGHDAD, Feb. 16 (Xinhua) -- The Iraqi security forces said Friday that they have dismantled a drug trafficking network and seized more than 2 million narcotic pills in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad and the western province of Anbar. Acting on intelligence reports, a security force affiliated with the Iraqi Intelligence Service arrested some major drug traffickers linked to an international network after raiding their hideouts in Baghdad, according to a statement from the Security Media Cell, a media outlet affiliated with the Iraqi Joint Operations Command. The security force seized about 2 million narcotic pills, which were intended for distribution across Iraq, the statement said, without giving further details on the number of the individuals arrested. The Iraqi Military Intelligence Department said in a separate statement on Friday that it seized about 6,000 narcotic pills in an operation in the Rutba area in the Anbar Province, some 400 km west of Baghdad. The Iraqi government has been cracking down on drug trafficking as it is one of the main ways to fund terrorism in the country. However, chaos and conflicts that swept the country since the U.S. invasion in 2003 have hindered the Iraqi government from effectively addressing the drug threat to Iraqi society. by Li Huizi WELLINGTON, Feb. 16 (Xinhua) -- Six items of giant lantern artworks were showcased at a three-day Happy Chinese New Year Festival in New Zealand's Christchurch, which attracted tens of thousands of visitors, making it the largest Lunar New Year celebration in the South Island. Lantern artworks took center stage at the event on Feb. 9-11 to celebrate the Spring Festival, which fell on Feb. 10, or the zodiac Year of Dragon. Local Kiwis posed for photos in front of a dragon-shaped installation, which was a giant electric lantern with the name "Double Dragons Playing with Pearl," donated by the Chinese Consulate-General in Christchurch. According to traditional Chinese interpretation, "Double Dragons Playing with Pearl" embodies the "life consciousness" of ancients, representing the recognition, understanding and development of the endless cycle of life. Chinese Ambassador to New Zealand Wang Xiaolong said the Year of Dragon holds a very special place in the cycle of life and time for the Chinese people, as they see themselves "descendants of the dragon," which symbolizes strength, wisdom and achievement. Wang said he was delighted to see enormous interest shown by people of different communities and from all walks of life in New Zealand for the Chinese New Year, a major traditional Chinese festival and an important component of the Chinese culture. Besides the dragon-shaped lanterns, visitors to the Happy Chinese New Year Festival were first greeted by a panda lantern when entering the venue. The "Nihao China" and "Kia ora Christchurch" lanterns at the entrance were donated by the China Cultural Center in Wellington. The cartoon panda image and ancient-style seals with Chinese characters on it highlighted rich cultural elements. The architecture of palace has always been a mainstay in the Chinese culture on display. At the festival, the Chinese palace lantern was a photo spot that could not be missed. The octagonal shape not only embodied classical Chinese beauty in their form but also symbolized splendor and glory, auspiciousness and happiness. The Christchurch International Airport also presented a special gift to the festival, a giant lantern shaped like an aircraft from the China Southern Airlines which provides an important air route connecting Christchurch and Guangzhou. Anna Khayrullina from Timaru, a city about 160 km away from Christchurch, joined the line of buying collapsible paper lanterns at the festival, saying she wanted to use the lanterns to decorate home. Many people carried lighted paper lanterns at the festival, which resembled the ancient Chinese way of celebrating the Spring Festival, bringing hope to the coming year. The icy dwarf planets Eris and Makemake have surfaces bearing methane ice of unknown origin. According to an analysis of data from the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope, Eris and Makemake have rocky cores that underwent substantial radiogenic heating and may still be warm/hot enough to make methane. We see some interesting signs of hot times in cool places, said Dr. Christopher Glein, a planetary researcher at Southwest Research Institute. I came into this project thinking that large Kuiper Belt objects (KBOs) should have ancient surfaces populated by materials inherited from the primordial Solar Nebula, as their cold surfaces can preserve volatiles like methane. Instead, Webb gave us a surprise! We found evidence pointing to thermal processes producing methane from within Eris and Makemake. Using Webb, Dr. Glein and his colleagues made the first observations of isotopic molecules on the surfaces of Eris and Makemake. These so-called isotopologues are molecules that contain atoms having a different number of neutrons. They provide data that are useful in understanding planetary evolution. The astronomers measured the composition of the dwarf planets surfaces, particularly the deuterium (heavy hydrogen, D) to hydrogen (H) ratio in methane. Deuterium is believed to have formed in the Big Bang, and hydrogen is the most abundant nucleus in the Universe. The D/H ratio on a planetary body yields information about the origin, geologic history and formation pathways of compounds containing hydrogen. The moderate D/H ratio we observed with Webb belies the presence of primordial methane on an ancient surface. Primordial methane would have a much higher D/H ratio, Dr. Glein said. Instead, the D/H ratio points to geochemical origins for methane produced in the deep interior. The D/H ratio is like a window. We can use it in a sense to peer into the subsurface. Our data suggest elevated temperatures in the rocky cores of these worlds so that methane can be cooked up. Molecular nitrogen (N 2 ) could be produced as well, and we see it on Eris. Hot cores could also point to potential sources of liquid water beneath their icy surfaces. If Eris and Makemake hosted, or perhaps could still host warm, or even hot, geochemistry in their rocky cores, cryovolcanic processes could then deliver methane to the surfaces of these planets, perhaps in geologically recent times, said Dr. Will Grundy, an astronomer at Lowell Observatory. We found a carbon isotope ratio (13C/12C) that suggests relatively recent resurfacing. After NASAs New Horizons flyby of the Pluto system, and with this discovery, the Kuiper Belt is turning out to be much more alive in terms of hosting dynamic worlds than we would have imagined, Dr. Glein said. Its not too early to start thinking about sending a spacecraft to fly by another one of these bodies to place the Webb data into a geologic context. I believe that we will be stunned by the wonders that await! The study was published in the journal Icarus. _____ Christopher R. Glein et al. 2024. Moderate D/H ratios in methane ice on Eris and Makemake as evidence of hydrothermal or metamorphic processes in their interiors: Geochemical analysis. Icarus 412: 115999; doi: 10.1016/j.icarus.2024.115999 Staff members handle parcels at an express mail distribution center of China Post Group Co., Ltd. in Daoxian County, central China's Hunan Province, Nov. 12, 2023. (Photo by He Hongfu/Xinhua) "All over the world, we see at the present a trend for global protectionism. China's message for keeping open economies should be much appreciated," said Bernard Dewit, chairman of the China-Belgium Chamber of Commerce. BRUSSELS, Feb. 16 (Xinhua) -- World major brands have expressed optimism about the potential of the Chinese market, as China's economy continues to grow, beating expectations, and their sales in China significantly increase. Germany's direct investment in China achieved a record high last year, according to a study by the German Economic Institute (IW) based on data from the German Federal Bank. In 2023, Germany's direct investment in China reached 11.9 billion euros (12.7 billion U.S. dollars), marking a 4 percent rise compared to the previous year, said the study. Since 2021, German direct investment in China has consistently reached new highs, with the data for 2023 once again breaking historical records, said Juergen Matthes, a foreign trade expert at the IW, noting that multinational corporations, in particular, are increasingly focused on expanding their investments and maintaining growth in China. The study also indicates that in 2023, German companies' direct investment in China accounted for 10 percent of Germany's total foreign investment, marking a significant increase. The cumulative investment in China over the past three years has matched the total investment in the six years from 2015 to 2020. In 2023, Bosch Group's sales in China reached 139.1 billion yuan (about 19.5 billion U.S. dollars), a 5.2 percent year-on-year growth, with nearly 58,000 employees in the country. Despite various challenges and uncertainties in 2023, Bosch China achieved sustained and robust growth in 2023 while the intelligent mobility business was the primary engine of its development in China, said Xu Daquan, president of Bosch China. China continues to be a key innovation and research hub for Bosch Group in addition to being a significant market. Bosch intends to maintain its stronghold in the Chinese market, make ongoing investments improve local manufacturing and research and development skills, grow local alliances, and provide more effective customer and market services while fostering company expansion, said Xu. John Pearson, the global chief executive officer of DHL Express, said in an interview with Xinhua that DHL is actively involved in and benefits from the economic development and industrial transformation in China. DHL's business in China grows together with the local market and partners, achieving mutual success through collaboration, he noted. DHL will keep pace with the rapid development of e-commerce in China by investing more in sustainability towards a greener future, said Pearson. A recent article released by DHL highlighted that the sheer size of China's economy and its role in global trade make it too important to ignore for any international business. A flurry of new policies aimed at boosting economic recovery should support manufacturing and supply chain resilience. As the country steps up its international competitiveness, suggesting expanded opportunities for businesses, both export and import businesses continue to find compelling opportunities in China, said the article. "All over the world, we see at the present a trend for global protectionism. China's message for keeping open economies should be much appreciated. Protectionism has never brought additional value in the long term. These last 40 years the progressive openness of China has benefited itself as well as the rest of the world," said Bernard Dewit, chairman of the China-Belgium Chamber of Commerce. "The challenge is now, on the one hand, to keep our economies open while becoming greener and, on the other hand, to avoid increased social gaps as well as internally and internationally with a certain number of countries left behind," said Dewit. China's advocacy for "equal and orderly world multipolarity" is in line with the United Nation's philosophy, and shows that China wants to play a positive and active role in a peaceful and orderly development in the world at a time when tensions are present in many parts of our planet, he added. A house is seen damaged after an Israeli airstrike in Nabatieh, Lebanon, on Feb. 15, 2024. Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati on Thursday condemned the killing of seven people from one family in the southern city of Nabatieh in Israeli attacks one day earlier. (Photo by Ali Hashisho/Xinhua) BEIRUT, Feb. 15 (Xinhua) -- Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati on Thursday condemned the killing of seven people from one family in the southern city of Nabatieh in Israeli attacks one day earlier. A statement released by the Lebanese Council of Ministers said that Mikati had asked Lebanon's foreign minister to submit an urgent complaint against Israel to the UN Security Council over "the persistent Israeli aggression, the killing of civilians, and the massive destruction caused by Israeli attacks." Meanwhile, Lebanese security and medical sources told Xinhua on Thursday that the death toll from Israel's Wednesday night attacks on several border areas increased to eight, with six injured, and the civil defense teams are still searching for casualties under the rubble. The sources pointed out that the six wounded are still receiving treatment in hospitals, and three of them are in unstable condition. The Lebanon-Israel border has been witnessing increased tension since Oct. 8, 2023, after Lebanese armed group Hezbollah fired dozens of rockets toward Israel in support of the Hamas attack on Israel the previous day, prompting Israel to respond by firing heavy artillery toward southeastern Lebanon. The confrontations between Hezbollah and Israel have killed 285 people on the Lebanese side, including 193 Hezbollah members and 55 civilians, according to Lebanese security sources. A house is seen damaged after an Israeli airstrike in Nabatieh, Lebanon, on Feb. 15, 2024. Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati on Thursday condemned the killing of seven people from one family in the southern city of Nabatieh in Israeli attacks one day earlier. (Photo by Taher Abu Hamdan/Xinhua) A house is seen damaged after an Israeli airstrike in Nabatieh, Lebanon, on Feb. 15, 2024. Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati on Thursday condemned the killing of seven people from one family in the southern city of Nabatieh in Israeli attacks one day earlier. (Photo by Ali Hashisho/Xinhua) LONDON, Feb. 16 (Xinhua) -- The ruling Conservatives of the United Kingdom (UK) lost two stronghold seats to the main opposition Labour Party on Friday during the first parliamentary by-elections in what will be a general election year. In the Kingswood constituency near Bristol in South West England, Labour candidate Damien Egan overturned an 11,220 Conservative majority. His 11,176 votes gave him a majority of 2,501 over his main Conservative opponent. Hours later at Wellingborough in Central England, Labour's Gen Kitchen, a charity sector worker, was the winner, demolishing the 18,540 majority the Conservatives won in 2019. The swing of 28.5 percent was one of the biggest in decades from the Conservatives to Labour. Kitchen's 13,844 votes were enough to win the seat for Labour with a comfortable majority of 6,436 over the second-placed Conservative candidate. The double blow for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak came just hours after it was announced that the UK economy was in a technical recession. While it was bad news for Sunak and his party, Labour leader Keir Starmer was delighted to gain two scalps just months away from a general election. In a statement after the results were declared, Starmer said, "These are fantastic results that show people want change and are ready to put their faith in a changed Labour Party to deliver it." "By winning in these Conservative strongholds we can confidently say that Labour is back in the service of working people and we will work tirelessly to deliver for them," he added. If opinion polls prove accurate, Starmer is on course to become the Labour Prime Minister before the end of this year. Professor Iain Begg from the London School of Economics told Xinhua: "It looks increasingly likely that by the end of this year, we'll see a Labour government. You really cannot see a credible pathway (in) which the Conservatives can improve their fortunes." Turnout in both by-elections was less than 40 percent, much lower than the average 70 percent of people who traditionally vote in general elections. To add to Sunak's woes, the newly formed Reform UK, seen by political commentators as an alternative home for disaffected Conservatives, came third in both by-elections, scoring its best-ever performance. "It is very hard to see a scenario under which these results do not point to the end of this Conservative government," Begg added. "The Labour Party is not exactly rising enormously, but they're showing steadiness which they didn't have in the past." Analysts at Berenberg hiked their target price on drugmaker GSK from 16.50 to 18.20 on Thursday, stating the group had delivered "a strong performance year-to-date". "We update our forecasts to reflect higher sales growth primarily from vaccines (Arexvy launch ramp strength) and HIV (long-acting sales growth ahead)," said Berenberg. "GSK's continued commitment to earnings growth ahead of sales this year, despite a significant tax rate increase, is supportive of the ongoing margin expansion thesis." GSK also raised its mid-term sales and operating profit growth guidance and increased its 2031 sales target to more than 38.0bn, with management now expecting to hit its previous 2031 target, of more than 33.0bn, five years earlier. "These upgrades reflect a strong underlying business, internal pipeline progress and incremental business development," said Berenberg. Citi upgraded B&Q and Castorama owner Kingfisher on Thursday to 'buy' from 'neutral' as it argued the UK housing recovery supports a re-rating. The bank said Kingfisher looks "well positioned to benefit from a recovery in the UK housing market". "Ahead of the FY24 results, we think investor sentiment remains cautious, but we may be close to the end of the downgrade cycle, and early signs of UK housing market recovery may drive more constructive investor sentiment from here," it said. JPMorgan Cazenove struck a cautious note on the outlook for Auto Trader on Thursday as it took a look at the UK automotive retail sector. "With all eyes on retailer dynamics, we see growing risk to retailer operating metrics as falling used car prices challenge profit pools," it said. "With an accelerated decline in UK used car prices, falling 8% YoY in January, there remains a growing number of vehicles being priced below their market value leaving a 30m lost profit potential for retailers through January alone." Against this backdrop, JPM said the key risk for Auto Trader remains downside risk to retailer numbers, and that it expects industry dynamics to become increasingly competitive through 2024 with falling prices driving pressure to margins/returns - currently at all-time highs - and potentially triggering consolidation/closures. "Despite the recent underperformance over the past six months we continue to find relative valuation unattractive with the stock trading on 16x EV/EBITDA 25E for +6% CAGR25-27E versus Classified Peers on 11x for +10% CAGR," said the bank, which kept its 'underweight' rating and 623.0p target price on the stock. "While we stay cautious on Classifieds through 2024 - we see scope for Auto Trader to underperform as concerns build on retailers, with downside risk to company-consensus 2025E." RBC Capital Markets upgraded Transact owner IntegraFin Holdings on Thursday to 'outperform' from 'sector perform' and lifted its price target on the stock to 330.0p from 280.0p. The Canadian bank said that amid the shifting sands of the relatively new Consumer Duty regime, IntegraFin stands out as the best-positioned UK platform. "We see IHP as the business most compatible with the spirit of the Consumer Duty regulation that continues to be a source of uncertainty for the UK wealth sector," it said. "This is evidenced by the group's customer-centric policy of passing on interest earned on client cash, as well as the long-term commitment to reducing client charges. As a result, we see IHP as facing a fundamentally lower risk profile to earnings versus listed platform peers (Hargreaves Lansdown/and AJ Bell) that have generated material revenues and profits from interest on client cash." RBC added that the stock's current valuation screens as attractive relative to peers. "We believe IHP's superior income composition, lower regulatory risk and preferable market exposure merit a premium rating versus closest peer AJ Bell," it said, adding that the stock's underperformance and de-rating year-to-date was unwarranted, creating an attractive entry point. French nuclear operator EDF said on Friday it had swung back into the black, boosted by higher electricity prices. The state-controlled firm, which runs Europes largest fleet of nuclear plants, saw sales ease to 139.7bn in 2023, from 143.5bn a year previously. But net income surged 28bn to 10bn, while earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation came in at 39.9bn, up from the previous years losses of 5bn. EDF said: "The gradual recovery of nuclear power generation in France, the high price environment in Europe and the absence of regulatory measures of the kind introduced in 2022 were the main explanations for the exceptional improvement in EBITDA." French nuclear production rose by 41.4 terawatt hours, EDF said, adding that it expected it to rise further in 2024. Net debt was cut by 10bn to stand at 54.4bn as at 31 December. Luc Remont, chief executive, said: "2023 marks the return of the companys operational performance at a better level, after a year of industrial difficulties and exceptional regulation unfavourable effects in 2022. "With these good results, EDF has met its financial targets and reduced its financial debt." However, the firm booked a 12.9bn impairment charge on the delayed Hinkley Point C nuclear project in Somerset, as costs rose and the schedule of works lengthened. Remont told reporters that EDF was in discussion with both the British government and other investors about financing for its Sizewell C project in Suffolk. EDF wants the government to contribute more money to both Sizewell C and Hinkley Point. Housebuilding in London is grinding to a halt, housing associations have warned the government, with the number of affordable homes being built plummeting by three-quarters in the last 12 months. In a letter to the housing secretary, Michael Gove, the G15, which represents the capitals 11 largest housing associations, said his policies did not go far enough to increase supply and called for an injection of billions of pounds into an affordable homes building programme. Guardian The Independent is in talks to take control of BuzzFeed and HuffPost in the UK and Ireland, as part of a strategic partnership that aims to boost the fortunes of two strikingly different players in the UK media landscape. BuzzFeed UK was once looked upon with envy by legacy publishers who coveted its reach with younger audiences, but its star has faded after huge losses at its parent company. Free online news publishers are facing a torrid financial time as social networks such as Facebook are no longer sending as many readers, while advertisers are cutting spending. Guardian BT has been accused of failing to invest enough money into the UKs full-fibre broadband network by the boss of a rival telecoms company. Rajiv Datta, chief executive of Nexfibre, which is building its own full-fibre network, accused BT of behaving like a typical monopoly by failing to invest quickly enough in the next generation of broadband technology. He said: When you have somebody that has the dominant market share and has had the benefits of being the incumbent all these years, not investing in that core infrastructure is a typical behaviour of a monopoly. Telegraph Deutsche Bank has become the latest big company to crackdown on working from home, ordering managers back to the office four days a week. The German investment bank, which employs around 6,000 people in London, has told staff they will need to be in the office at least two-thirds of the time. More senior employees will need to be in four days a week. Telegraph Global investors turned their backs on so-called ethical funds last year, withdrawing more than $10 billion amid claims of greenwashing. Between 2020 and 2022, investors set aside six times more capital for funds claiming to support companies with high ethical, social and governance (ESG) standards than for traditional equities. But the tide turned on the sector last year, according to data from Calastone. The Times ULAN BATOR, Feb. 16 (Xinhua) -- At least 611,924 heads of livestock have died across Mongolia so far this winter, due to the extreme wintry weather known as "dzud," local media reported on Friday, citing the country's State Emergency Commission (SEC). The dzud is a Mongolian term to describe a severely cold winter when a large number of livestock die because the ground is frozen or covered by snow. Among the country's 21 provinces, Khentii, Dornod, Sukhbaatar and Dornogovi in the east, as well as Arkhangai in the central west, registered the highest rates of animal death, the SEC said in a statement. In addition, at least 13,500 herder households have been trapped in the snow, and 38,400 km of roads have been closed due to the snow, it said. Mongolia, one of the last surviving nomadic countries in the world, has recently elevated its disaster preparedness to high alert due to the harsh winter and the livestock loss. The number of livestock in Mongolia stood at 64.7 million at the end of 2023, according to the National Statistics Office. Rajeev Chandrasekhar, the Union Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology, disclosed plans for a forthcoming semiconductor packaging facility in Assam, with an investment of Rs 25,000 crore. He also indicated that the proposal from the Tata Group was being reviewed. "I want to share with you today that Assam is soon going to have a Rs 25,000 crore semiconductor packaging plant come up in the state. It is a proposal from the Tatas that has to be evaluated", he added. Chandrasekhar was talking at the Digital India Future Skills summit in Guwahati. Last December, the Chief Minister of Assam, Himanta Biswa Sarma, unveiled the investment intentions of the Tata Group for establishing a semiconductor facility within the state. In a post, Sarma had said, Tata Group has submitted an application to set up a semiconductor processing plant in Assam with an investment of Rs 40,000 crore. This will be a game changer". The investment announcement came after the state cabinet approved a semiconductor policy in August last year. During his speech at the inaugural Digital India Future Skills Summit, Minister Chandrasekhar made the announcement in collaboration with the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) and the National Institute of Electronics and Information Technology (NIELIT) in Guwahati. The one-day summit anticipates the attendance of over 1,000 delegates and participants, comprising prominent industry leaders, experts, and individuals from academia. Addressed the first-ever Digital India Future Skills Summit, with the participation of global tech giants and shared how this opens up huge opportunities for students and young Indians to grab, succeed and pave the way for the creation of a talent pool that will power the future of Tech and Tech companies", said Chandrasekhar in a post. According to the official press release, the summit will feature more than 20 strategic partnerships between NIELIT and companies such as Intel, HCL, Microsoft, Kindryl, IIM Raipur, IIITM Gwalior, Wipro, and several others. Logicknots, a software startup, announced a collaboration with the National Skill Development Council (NSDC) and the Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati to enhance semiconductor design and verification education. A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed in the presence of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and Union Minister of State for Skill Development, Entrepreneurship, Electronics, and IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar, according to a statement released. As per the statement, the collaboration aims to introduce online courses aimed at training future semiconductor design engineers in the country. With the global semiconductor market projected to exceed USD one trillion by 2030, Logicknots' endeavor pledges to address the significant skills shortage within the industry. Logicknots' Founder Hemant Vats said, "Our collaboration is set to redefine semiconductor education, making it more accessible and aligned with industry needs, thereby contributing to India's positioning as a semiconductor powerhouse". Logicknots' Co-Founder Rohit Karajgi stated that this partnership marks a pivotal moment for semiconductor education in India. Equity markets are expected to open positively on Friday, February 16th, 2024, following gains in overseas markets. Gift Nifty futures were quoted at around 22,107 at 7:30 AM, indicating a likely gap-up of over 100 points on the Nifty50 index. These are the stocks to keep an eye on today. Infosys: Infosys, which faced the loss of a billion-dollar deal in December, started the year 2024 with positive news by securing two significant contracts. According to industry executives, one of the recent contracts is worth $300 million and has been signed with Singapore-based Pacific International Lines. This contract will run until 2027. The other major deal was signed on 31st January with Irish food retailer Musgrave for a seven-year period. Under this deal, Infosys will automate Musgrave's IT functions using AI and cloud solutions. In the quarter ending in December, Infosys announced a total contract value of $3.2 billion, which is a decline from $7.7 billion in the same quarter of the previous year. However, this still includes a net new of 71 percent. Coal India: On Thursday, the state-owned company signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Haryana Power Purchase Centre for the supply of 800 megawatts (MW) of electricity from Mahanadi Basin Power Ltd. This MoU serves as a basis for a future power purchase agreement and will aid Haryana in meeting its increasing energy needs, as per the statement released by Coal India. Vedanta: Promoters of mining and resources major Vedanta offloaded a 1.76 percent stake in the company for Rs 1,737 crore on Thursday through a bulk deal on BSE, data shows. The stake was sold by Finsider International Co. Ltd, a promoter entity, for a weighted average price of Rs 265.14 per share. This translates to a discount of 5 percent over Wednesdays closing price. Vedanta shares closed 4 percent lower on BSE on Thursday at Rs 268 apiece. NBCC: The Chairman and Managing Director of the state-owned construction firm, KP Mahadevaswamy, mentioned to CNBC-TV18 on Thursday that the company is expected to achieve its revenue target of Rs 10,000 crore in FY24, following a strong third-quarter performance in the current financial year. Mahadevaswamy further added that the public sector undertaking is well-positioned to meet its revenue target, which may further extend to Rs 13,000 crore in the next financial year. In Q3FY24, NBCC reported a revenue of Rs 2,412.6 crore, which is an increase of 13 percent from the year-ago period. Additionally, the net profit of the company grew by 58.9 percent to Rs 113.16 crore in the December quarter year-on-year. Axis Bank: On Thursday, senior BJP leader Subramanian Swamy filed a case in the Delhi High Court, accusing Axis Bank of a scam worth nearly Rs 5,100 crore in the process of selling and buying shares of Max Life Insurance Company. Max Life is a joint venture between Max Financial Services and Axis Bank, a private lender. On 6 February, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai) approved a proposal by Axis Bank to buy another 7 percent stake in Max Life for Rs 1,612 crore. Consequently, the Axis group entities will now collectively own 19.02 percent of the insurer, up from the current less than 13 percent. Yes Bank: Global investment firm The Carlyle Group on Thursday sold a 1.3 percent stake, amounting to 39 crore shares, in the private sector lender for Rs 1,057 crore through an open market transaction on BSE. According to the bulk deal data available on BSE, the shares were disposed of at an average price of Rs 27.10 apiece. Meanwhile, Morgan Stanley Asia Singapore Pte acquired more than 30.63 crore equity shares, representing a 1.06 percent stake in Yes Bank. The shares were purchased at the same price, taking the deal size to Rs 830.08 crore. HDFC Bank: The private bank plans to launch the Home Saver product in April and Home Refurbishment loans in the coming months, said a senior bank official on Thursday. The Home Saver product is like an overdraft facility and will directly compete with the State Bank of Indias Maxgain home loan scheme. HDFC Ltd offered a Home Refurbishment loan before its merger with HDFC Bank, and it will be relaunched soon. One 97 Communication: It is believed that It is believed that Paytm Payments Bank's exit from the UPI platform may not have a significant impact on the cashless transaction ecosystem. This is because most users have multiple backend accounts that are not affected by the central bank's restrictions. Only about one-sixth of the 90 million Paytm UPI users exclusively use the app for transactions. Moreover, around 70 percent of the merchants who use Paytm services have their accounts outside of Paytm Payments Bank. However, according to a report by Macquarie Capital Securities, Paytm's revenues are expected to decline across various segments due to the potential exodus of customers. Cipla: On Thursday, a major drug company announced its partnership with CSIR-Central Drug Research Institute to develop a new and safe ophthalmic formulation to treat fungal keratitis. The collaboration aims to use the expertise and resources of both organizations to create an effective drug for fungal keratitis. According to the Mumbai-based drug maker, over 1.2 million cases of fungal keratitis are reported worldwide every year, with a higher incidence in tropical countries. Indian Hotels Company: The Tata Group has recently teamed up with Kolkata's Ambuja Neotia Group to expand its brand portfolio. This partnership has been formed to promote Tree of Life Resorts & Hotels, which was recently acquired by Ambuja Neotia Group. The boutique hotel chain, based in Gurgaon, was acquired by Ambuja Neotia Group in November last year for an undisclosed amount. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Costco is famous for its chicken bakes, sundaes and budget-friendly hot dog/soda combo. But some new reports indicate that the warehouse chain is adding a new grab-and-go item to its food court menu -- and not every shopper is happy about the change. According to the Costco Insider account, this new sandwich will have turkey on a roll topped with Swiss cheese, sun-dried tomato spread, greens, and Dijon mustard, the Daily Meal has reported. Costco Insider also noted that the sandwich will cost $6.99, which has some shoppers concerned. Calling the price point outrageous for a few cents worth of bread, turkey, and cheese, user comments suggested that the new offering deviates from the brands usually generous portions and bargain food deals. Its introduction -- rumored to come later this month -- follows the removal of the beloved churro, which was recently replaced by a warm 750-calorie chocolate chip cookie at many Costco locations across the country. Costco did not respond to a request for comment about if and when the food court menu changes would reach the Staten Island location. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. Since Hamas massacred hundreds of civilians in Israel in an attack on Oct. 7, 2023, prompting an Israeli invasion of Gaza, there has been a surge in antisemitic incidents across the United States and right here at home in New York City. Antisemitic incidents skyrocketed in the three months following the attack. Preliminary data shows that from Oct. 7, 2023, to Jan. 7, 2024, 3,291 incidents of antisemitism were recorded by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) in the U.S., a 361% increase compared to the same period in 2022. The three-month tally is greater than the total number of incidents recorded in any year of the last decade, with 2022 being the only exception with a total of 3,697 antisemitic incidents, as noted by the ADL. This translates to an average of 34 antisemitic incidents a day since Oct. 7, 2023. The American Jewish community is facing a threat level thats now unprecedented in modern history, ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt said. Its shocking that weve recorded more antisemitic acts in three months than we usually would in an entire year. According to the ADL, these incidents include assault, vandalism, verbal or written harassment, and rallies expressing antisemitic rhetoric, expressions of support for terrorism against Israel and/or anti-Zionism. Of these incidents, at least 500 occurred on college campuses, 256 were reported in K-12 schools, and at least 634 incidents were reported against Jewish institutions. HATE IN NEW YORK CITY In narrowing the scope to the urban hub of New York City, the trend remains prevalent. Data recorded by the NYPD reveals that in 2023, there were a total of 669 hate crimes resulting in 360 arrests. In filtering the data to analyze hate crimes against the Jewish community, we can see that such incidents made up nearly half of all hate crimes in the five boroughs. In 2023, there were 325 confirmed incidents of hate crimes against the Jewish people which resulted in 99 arrests, according to the NYPD. The data shows that 158 confirmed incidents took place from Oct. 9 - Dec. 30, 2023. The hate was not limited to the other boroughs. Staten Island bore 12 confirmed hate-crime incidents against the Jewish community in 2023; half took place in the confines of the NYPDs 121st Precinct. Half of the Staten Island incidents also occurred in the same timeframe of Oct. 9 through Dec. 30, 2023. HATE ON STATEN ISLAND While confirmed incidents of antisemitic hate crimes for Staten Island amount to only a dozen in comparison to the citywide total of 325, this year alone has already held its share of reported hate crimes. The latest of these incidents took place on Monday, when a man allegedly made anti-Jewish comments to a 25-year-old victim and struck him in the head with a metal bat in Mariners Harbor. The man has since been arrested and charged with assault as a hate crime, assault, criminal possession of a weapon, aggravated harassment and menacing, according to the NYPD. While the incident did not take place on the Island itself, a migrant who claims to live in a Staten Island shelter faces hate crime charges after allegedly assaulting a Long Island homeowner and attempting to make off with a pair of Israeli flags. Back in January, an unknown man allegedly ripped down an Israeli flag outside of Young Israel Synagogue on Forest Hill Road in Willowbrook. In response to recent events, both Scott Maurer, CEO and executive vice president of Council of Jewish Organizations (COJO) of Staten Island, and COJO President Mendy Mirocznik articulated a statement on behalf of the organization addressing the disturbing increase in antisemitic incidents within the Staten Island Jewish community and across the nation. COJOs statement powerfully critiques the societal and institutional tolerance of threatening and intimidating behavior under the guise of free speech. It calls attention to the concerning reluctance of leaders in esteemed educational institutions to outright condemn antisemitic hate speech, the statement says. This highlights a broader societal failure to adequately address and denounce actions and rhetoric that contribute to a hostile environment for Jewish communities. RESPONSE FROM OFFICIALS, COMMUNITY LEADERS Since the terror of Oct. 7, 2023, community leaders and officials have spoken out against the attack on Israel and the spike in hate crimes, among them District Attorney Michael E. McMahon. Ensuring that all Staten Islanders feel safe as they go about their daily lives will always be my top priority, and that includes preventing and prosecuting hate crimes, McMahon said. We believe, as do the vast majority of Staten Islanders, that what makes us different makes us stronger. Hate crimes are among the most insidious offenses that occur on Staten Island, as they represent an ignorance and hate that cannot be tolerated against any group or person simply because of who they are. We have long-maintained a policy that anyone indicted on a hate crime charge must plead guilty to that charge or we will take the case to trial, and we have an airtight partnership with the NYPD Hate Crimes Task Force to quickly identify and apprehend the perpetrators of these terrible crimes. In response to hate crimes, McMahon founded the Staten Island Hate Crimes Task Force alongside Maurer as co-chairman, and dozens of diverse community leaders. This group does incredible work in our communities through education and cross-cultural experiences, including our Multi-Cultural Food Festival set to return this spring, that aim to eradicate intolerance through exposure to the different people that make Staten Island what it is, McMahon added. Unfortunately, as the incident and apparent hate crime in Mariners Harbor reminds us, there is still much work to be done. The call to action for all peaceful individuals to rally in condemnation of antisemitism and to recognize the pervasive silence that often accompanies these acts is a crucial step toward fostering a more inclusive and just society, the statement by COJO said. COJOs statement is not just a reflection of the pain and struggle experienced by the Jewish community in Staten Island and beyond but also a clarion call for a collective stand against hatred and for the promotion of understanding, respect, and justice for all. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. Leaders from the Jewish community, politicians and members of many faiths joined together at Borough Hall in St. George on Friday to condemn antisemitism on Staten Island, the rest of New York City and the nation. An antisemitic bat attack in Mariners Harbor and a sharp rise in antisemitic incidents throughout New York City and the country since the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas in Israel prompted the news conference sponsored by the Staten Island Council of Jewish Organizations (COJO). From left, former NYPD Lt. Terry Byrne, Scott Maurer the CEO/executive vice president of COJO, Mendy Mirocznik, president of COJO, and Lt. Robert Delaney. (Staten Island Advance/Jan Somma-Hammel)Staten Island Advance There is no room for hate in our world, there is no room for hate in this borough, said Scott Maurer, CEO/executive vice president of COJO and co-chair of the Staten Island Hate Crimes Task Force. Mendy Mirocznik, president of COJO, praised the NYPD for its swift investigation that he said led to the arrest within 24 hours of Obadiah Lashley, 29, of the 100 block of Harbor Road in Mariners Harbor, in connection with the attack that occurred on Monday at about 2:30 p.m. on Grandview Avenue. Rabbi Michael Howald of Temple Israel Reform Congregation of Staten Island in Randall Manor said the victim was wearing a yarmulke when he was assaulted. In New York City, antisemitic incidents skyrocketed in the three months following the Oct. 7 attack. Preliminary data shows that from Oct. 7, 2023, to Jan. 7, 2024, 3,291 incidents of antisemitism were recorded by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) in the U.S., a 361% increase compared to the same period in 2022. Orit Lender, CEO of the Joan & Alan Bernikow Jewish Community Center in Sea View, noted that although Jews make up only about 2% of the U.S. population, they were the targets of about half of the religiously motivated hate-crimes in 2022. If before Oct. 7 antisemitism was a slow-burning fire, its now a five-alarm blaze that requires all of us to douse its flames, said Marisa Bearak, assistant director of the American Jewish Committee New York. Antisemitic incidents are at an all-time high in the United States and Jewish-Americans are scared. (Staten Island Advance/Jan Somma-Hammel)Staten Island Advance If before Oct. 7 antisemitism was a slow-burning fire, its now a five-alarm blaze that requires all of us to douse its flames, said Marisa Bearak, assistant director of the American Jewish Committee New York. Antisemitic incidents are at an all-time high in the United States and Jewish-Americans are scared. Her organization issued its annual report about the state of antisemitism in America this week and found that almost half of American Jews changed their behavior due to fear of antisemitism in 2023. A staggering 63% of American Jews feel less secure living in the United States than a year ago. Bearak said that one in four American Jews has been the target of antisemitism in the last year with younger American Jews being particularly vulnerable. Rabbi Howald was in Washington, D.C., last weekend with about 350 reform-congregation teenagers and the rabbi said that each and every one of them expressed to the boroughs representatives in Congress their fear of antisemitism. The teens, Rabbi Howald said, are afraid, they feel they have to diminish themselves, they feel they have to hide. These adolescents believe they are under attack in their high schools and on the streets of New York City and throughout the state, he said. When you hear teenagers, who should be enjoying their lives, speak out about how theyre afraid to walk the streets of our city, its shocking, Rabbi Howald said. Rev. Karen Jackson Pershing, left, the co-chair of the Staten Island Inter-Religious Leadership, looks on as Rabbi Michael Howald of Temple Israel Reform Congregation of Staten Island speaks at Borough Hall, St. George, on Friday, Feb. 16, 2024. (Staten Island Advance/Jan Somma-Hammel)Staten Island Advance LEADERS TAKE AIM AT ANTISEMITISM District Attorney Michael E. McMahon, founder of the Staten Island Hate Crimes Task Force, was unable to attend the news conference but issued a statement that the bat attack speaks to the terrible truth that hate and ignorance still persist in the hearts and minds of too many Staten Islanders. Anyone indicted on a hate crime charge must plead guilty to that charge or prosecutors will take the case to trial. The D.A.s office has an airtight partnership with the NYPD and their Hate Crime Task Force to quickly identify and apprehend the perpetrators of these terrible crimes. When antisemitism stands up, we must smack it down, said Borough President Vito Fossella in a video broadcast at the news conference. On Staten Island time and again we have joined together when antisemitism rears its ugly and evil head. Whether it be on Oct. 7 in Israel or a street corner in Mariners Harbor, we will speak out and condemn those who attack innocent people only because they are Jewish. Hate only wins if we let it, Lender said. Stand up with us in building a world where diversity isnt just accepted, its celebrated and where hate is unwaveringly rejected because the answer to hate is love. Scott Maurer, left, the CEO/executive vice president of COJO and co-chair of Staten Island Hate Crimes Task Force, listens as Assemblyman Michael Tannousis speaks against an antisemitic bat attack in Mariners Harbor. (Staten Island Advance/Jan Somma-Hammel)Staten Island Advance Assemblyman Michael Tannousis, (R-East Shore/South Brooklyn), used the word despicable to describe the hate crime in Mariners Harbor. America is supposed to be a country where you can live in peace, where you dont have to worry about being targeted because of your religion, because of what you look like, because of your sexual orientation. Thats what makes us so great. Its fair to say that my district includes the heart of the Jewish community in Willowbrook, said Councilman David Carr (R-Mid-Island). Im here today to show my solidarity with the Jewish community on Staten Island and with all communities that could be victims of hate. Hate has no place in civil society. Antisemitism is the most pernicious form of hate in human history. Maurer and other leaders encouraged people to speak out against the murders, rapes and other alleged atrocities committed against Jews, innocent civilians, on Oct. 7, and advocate for the release of the hostages. This is insanity what has happened, Maurer said of the Oct. 7 attack. We were stricken with acts that even the Holocaust survivors have said theyve never seen anything like this before. We need as a community to stand up against these acts. He noted that in addition to the 6 million Jews who died in the Holocaust, another 5 million people were killed based on factors such as their skin color, sexual orientation or other religion. We are the barometer of what happens with hate in this world, Maurer said about the Jewish community. I cannot stress this enough: Your silence is deadly, your silence is deafening. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. A Staten Island man has admitted guilt in a botched burglary at the home of another man in his neighborhood. Daniel Hession, 30, of Sunnyside, pleaded guilty last week in state Supreme Court, St. George, to second-degree burglary in connection with a series of incidents at the same residence. Hes scheduled to be sentenced Feb. 29 before Justice Lisa Grey to three and a half years in prison followed by five years of post-release supervision in satisfaction of the charges against him. Authorities say that on the night of March 22, Hession broke into the victims Sunnyside residence masked, and armed with a loaded gun. After a brief physical altercation, the victim was able to disarm the defendant. Two days later, authorities allege, Hession returned to the residence without a mask and assaulted the same person. We deeply appreciate our partners in the NYPD and the focused, diligent efforts of Assistant District Attorney Nicole Juliano who made certain this defendant was held fully responsible for his series of criminal acts with a multi-year prison sentence, said a newsletter issued by District Attorney Michael E. McMahon. Hessions attorney, Michael Giordano, said his client accepts his mistakes and has used this time to better himself everyday. He said Hession and the complainant knew each other for several years prior, and the complainant contacted his client after the incident during which they spoke for several minutes without the assistance of law enforcement. He also turned himself in before even being contacted by police and cooperated with the investigation, including making a full statement, said Giordano, who was retained by the defendant. Hession has no prior convictions. Notwithstanding, and as evident by his guilty plea, my client takes full responsibility for his actions. He has received an outpouring of support from family and friends. Daniel has a full life ahead of him and we are confident that he will live a productive life moving forward. The Staten Island Zoos Leia the lemur is on the mend, thanks the doctors at Schwarzman Animal Medical Center (AMC), New York Citys only Level 1 Animal Trauma Center and the worlds largest veterinary teaching hospital. Nine-year-old Leia, a ring-tailed lemur at the Staten Island Zoo, was born at Idaho Falls Zoo at Tautphaus Park in 2014 and came to the Staten Island Zoo in 2016. During one of her routine wellness exams, the zoos vet staff noted an irregularly shaped left kidney. After a point-of-care ultrasound, the staff identified a mass effect on the kidney, which was also impacting Leias red blood cell percentage. In October, Dr. Dennis Slade, a senior veterinarian specializing in internal medicine at AMC, generously donated his time and expertise to perform a referral ultrasound at the zoo to further visualize the mass and take a sample to submit to the lab. This sample returned as a probable mesenchymal tumor. Following this prognosis, Leia was sent to AMCs radiology service for a CT scan, so that the surgical team could assess the extent of the tumor as well as plan how to remove it. In November, AMCs Senior Veterinarian and Service Head of Surgical Service 2, Dr. Daniel Spector , and his team were able to fully remove the tumor, and Leia returned home and was reunited with her three young babies (named after Jedis!) Han, Wicket, and Chewie the same day. Since then, Leias bloodwork has normalized, and she is back to enjoying her favorite activities at the zoo, like soaking in the sun, snacking on bamboo and mulberry, or eating her favorite food, cooked sweet potatoes. As of yesterday, she is doing well. Photos of Leia the Lemur, who enjoys visitors at te Staten Island Zoo. (Coirtesy: Schwarzman Animal Medical Center)Credit: Schwarzman Animal Medical Center On Feb 10, the Staten Island Zoo mourned the loss of a beloved black-handed spider monkey, Grandpa. Grandpa, descendant of the original group of spider monkeys at the Zoo, was just a few weeks shy of his 52nd birthday, according to the Zoos Instagram. During his time at the Zoo, Grandpa has provided more than a thousand visitors with a deeper perspective on his species and conservation of primates in the wild, the post states. YANGON, Feb. 16 (Xinhua) -- Myanmar earned over 7.82 billion U.S. dollars from the manufactured goods export from April. 1 to Feb. 9 of the current fiscal year 2023-24, according to the Ministry of Commerce on Friday. During the cited period, the country's manufactured goods export earned over 2.8 billion dollars from the government sector and over 4.9 billion dollars from the private sector. The ministry's figures indicate that manufactured goods export earnings were down compared to over 9.7 billion dollars recorded in the corresponding period last year. Among the country's export products, manufactured goods export generates the most revenue, followed by agriculture products and fishery products. As of Feb. 9 of this fiscal year, Myanmar has earned over 12.477 billion dollars from the country's total exports. Myanmar mainly exports agricultural, animal and marine products, minerals, forest products and manufactured goods to its foreign trade partners, including China, Thailand, Bangladesh and India, according to the ministry. If youre planning your next beach summer getaway, but are fearful to travel to destinations like the Bahamas and Jamaica, because of their Level 2 & 3 travel advisories, respectively, there are still numerous islands in the Caribbean worth considering. The U.S. Dept. of State has issued a warning to travelers recently to reconsider travel to both the Bahamas Jamaica due to a recent uptick in crime. There are four warning levels, with the current Jamaica warning now set at the third level, nearly the highest. The Travel Advisory states there has ben a rise in violent crimes in Jamaica, stating home invasions, armed robberies, sexual assaults, and homicides, are common. Sexual assaults occur frequently, including at all-inclusive resorts. The State Dept. highlighted the prevalence of violent crimes in Jamaica, such as home invasions, armed robberies, sexual assaults, and homicides, noting that incidents occur frequently, even within all-inclusive resorts. Additionally, it pointed out that local law enforcement often struggles to effectively address serious criminal activities. In terms of medical care, there are disparities in emergency services and hospital care across the island, with response times and quality of care potentially differing from U.S. standards. The Bahamas is listed at Level 2 (out of four), which urges travelers to exercise increased caution, which has not change in its January 26 update. We remain a level 2 alongside most tourism destinations, said Bahamas Prime Minister Phillip Edward Davis, in a statement to CNN. The incidents described in the January 2024 US Embassy crime alert do not reflect general safety in The Bahamas, a country of sixteen (16) tourism destinations, and many more islands. So, which Carribean Islands are safe? According to the U.S. Department of State, the following islands are considered safe, at Level 1, when it comes to traveling: Anguilla Antigua and Barbuda Aruba Barbados British Virgin Islands Cayman Islands Curacao Dominica Grenada Montserrat Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Saint Maarten The following Carribean destinations are considered a Level 2, according to the State Dept., when it comes to traveling: Costa Rica Dominican Republic Panama Turks and Caicos Islands FOUR LEVELS OF TRAVEL ADVISORIES According to the State Dept, these are the four levels of travel advsories, and their explanations: Level 1 - Exercise Normal Precautions: This is the lowest advisory level for safety and security risk. There is some risk in any international travel. Conditions in other countries may differ from those in the United States and may change at any time. Level 2 - Exercise Increased Caution: Be aware of heightened risks to safety and security. The Department of State provides additional advice for travelers in these areas in the Travel Advisory. Conditions in any country may change at any time. Level 3 - Reconsider Travel: Avoid travel due to serious risks to safety and security. The Department of State provides additional advice for travelers in these areas in the Travel Advisory. Conditions in any country may change at any time. Level 4 Do Not Travel: This is the highest advisory level due to greater likelihood of life-threatening risks. During an emergency, the U.S. government may have very limited ability to provide assistance. The Department of State advises that U.S. citizens not travel to the country or to leave as soon as it is safe to do so. The Department of State provides additional advice for travelers in these areas in the Travel Advisory. Conditions in any country may change at any time. Four Camden County middle school students were treated at a hospital this week after they consumed what a school official said were marijuana gummies. A student at Phifer Middle School in Pennsauken brought the gummies from home on Wednesday, Valentines Day, and shared them with three other students either before school or sometime during the morning, according to Pennsauken Schools Superintendent Ronnie Tarchichi. Those students later appeared lethargic and glassy eyed, and the school nurse evaluated them, the superintendent said. If we see anything, we want to make sure that theres further medical evaluation per our policies, so we sent them to a medical facility, Tarchichi said, adding that the students have fully recovered. The three students given the gummies were back to school, he said Friday, and the sixth-grader who brought the items to school was disciplined per district policy. While the student who brought the gummies to school was affected after consuming the substance, the childs symptoms did not appear as significant as the others, showing us that the student probably consumed this before, the superintendent noted, adding that he believes the youth knew the gummies werent just candy. Exactly what the kids consumed remains under investigation, Pennsauken Police Chief Phil Olivo said Friday. They were treated medically. Were waiting on the results of their testing from the parents to see what the substance was, the chief said. No unconsumed gummies were recovered, Olivo said. As for whether anyone will face charges in the incident, the chief said that remains under investigation. Recreational marijuana use in New Jersey including in gummy form was legalized for adults over 21 in 2022. Tarchichi expressed frustration over the prevalence of drugs like these. The district already has metal detectors and book bag searches at its high schools, and it will now add similar security measures at the middle school following this weeks incident, Tarchichi said. Part of the issue here is, parents shouldnt be keeping that kind of thing in their house where kids can get to it, Tarchichi said, and we shouldnt have this breakout of marijuana dispensaries everywhere you go, including near schools. Theres one not even half a mile from one of our schools and theyre building another one real close to the Merchantville School, which is a K-8 school. He called the Wednesday incident disappointing and pledged to spread awareness about the dangers to children. Why would you build a marijuana dispensary within a half mile of a school? Its just morally wrong, Tarchichi said. Municipalities are only interested in making money and theyre forgetting there are kids here. Municipalities should be more responsible because the lives of children matter more than them making money. He issued a letter to parents about the incident that included stark warnings about the dangers of consuming substances from questionable sources and said he plans to provide more information to the community about the prevalence of marijuana products that appear marketed toward children. We dont know how any student is going to react to THC (the active ingredient in marijuana), Tarchichi said, adding that many marijuana gummy products are packaged in wrappers that resemble popular candy brands. Its just irresponsible on so many levels. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued a warning to taxpayers this week ahead of Presidents Day weekend. Call volume to the agency typically skyrockets around the holiday as the April 15 tax day approaches, and IRS Acting Commissioner Doug ODonnell warned taxpayers Wednesday that they might face challenges getting information this weekend. The IRS continues to see improvements this tax season compared to previous years, including better phone service, he said. With the calendar advancing, millions of people turn their attention to taxes during this period. To avoid potential delays, we encourage people to check IRS.gov first, which can provide much of the same information instantly to taxpayers. The IRS recommended that during the two-week February period following Presidents Day, taxpayers turn first to the self-help tools available online, and to e-file and choose direct deposit to get their refunds as quickly as possible. The IRS website can help taxpayers file and pay taxes, find information about their accounts, determine eligibility for tax credits and get answers to tax questions. According to the IRS, about 98% of taxpayers file their federal income tax returns electronically, and they can find step-by-step help to file their personal federal income tax return. Those with incomes of $79,000 or less last year can also use the IRS Free File Guided Tax Software through Oct 15, according to the agency. Additionally, a new pilot program called Direct File gives eligible taxpayers a new choice to file their 2023 federal tax returns online, for free, directly with the IRS Weve worked hard to provide better taxpayer service for people this filing season with more options to reach the IRS in convenient ways, said IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel. We want taxpayers to have access to the help they need around the clock. IRS.govs expanded tools and information make that easier for taxpayers, especially during this peak period for IRS phone lines around Presidents Day. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. An independent commission tasked with drawing New Yorks legislative lines submitted its new congressional maps Thursday to the state legislature, but it will likely face an uphill battle. The New York Independent Redistricting Commissions (NYIRC) new maps closely resemble district lines drawn by a court-appointed cartographer in 2022 when the lines should have been finalized. That appointment of a special master followed a chaotic redistricting process that saw the state legislature take over when the prior iteration of the NYIRC failed to produce maps. Courts tossed the state legislatures maps for unfairly favoring Democrats, and the court-appointee, Dr. Jonathan Cervas of the Institute for Politics and Strategy at Carnegie Mellon University, drew maps that have been widely credited with giving Republicans control of the House of Representatives. With a Democratic stranglehold on Albany politics, legislators and Gov. Kathy Hochul are likely to question maps that dont clearly favor their party -- and the NYIRC district lines submitted Thursday do not. Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-Staten Island/South Brooklyn), for instance, expressed support for the lines drawn around her district, which mirror the map drawn by Cervas. I am pleased that the bipartisan redistricting commission chose to retain the current map for our congressional district, and I urge our representatives in the state legislature to vote to approve these lines, which are unchanged from the district map drawn by the independent special master last year, she said. The people of New Yorks 11th district deserve consistency not partisan political gerrymandering. One of the politicians favored by Cervas maps, Malliotakis cruised to a cushy 24-point victory over former Rep. Max Rose, in a rematch of their 2020 contest when Rose lost by a six-point margin. The current district connects Staten Island, the citys most conservative borough, with like-minded portions of Brooklyn. An analysis from non-profit news organization THE CITY found that if the maps the state Senate drew remained in place with Staten Island connected to more liberal Park Slope, Roses hometown that the former congressman couldve squeaked back into office with a 4,000-vote win. An official Democratic challenger for Malliotakis has yet to emerge in this years race. New Yorkers enshrined the NYIRC in the state constitution through a 2014 ballot proposal, but it passed with a stipulation that map drawings be returned to the state Senate if the commission failed to pass a set of maps. While Democrats in the state legislature will need to remain unified to block the maps, the district lines have already drawn pushback from New York Democratic Party Chair Jay Jacobs. We owe it to the public to carefully review these maps, especially in light of serious concerns being raised by various communities of interest, he said. The fact that Lee Zeldin who undermined the foundation of our democracy by trying to overturn the will of the voters on January 6 endorsed this map should give us all pause and require a thorough examination, which the legislature will now do. Communities of interest are groups that share enough social and economic interests to warrant consideration in the drawing of district lines. Lee Zeldin is a former Long Island congressman, a Republican who challenged Hochul in the 2022 gubernatorial race. The National Weather Service issued a report at 11:50 p.m. on Thursday for snow squalls and showers until Friday at 3 a.m. for Steuben, Schuyler, Chemung, Tompkins, Tioga, Broome, Delaware and Sullivan counties. "Scattered snow showers and isolated snow squalls will continue to move east southeast heading into the overnight across Northeast Pennsylvania and the Southern Tier of New York. These snow showers and squalls will contain gusty winds with temperatures falling just below freezing. A light accumulation of snow is also occurring leading to slick spots. Slow down and allow extra time to reach your destination, watch for quick changes in visibilities as well," says the weather service. Rainy day rules: How to stay safe in heavy precipitation Rain can turn roads into hazards. Stay informed and follow these tips from the weather service to ensure safety during heavy rainfall: Beware of rapid water flow: During heavy rain, avoid playing near culverts or drainage ditches, where swift-moving water can pose a serious risk. Maintain safe driving distances: The two-second rule for following distance is your ally in heavy rain. Extend it to four seconds to ensure safe spacing in adverse conditions. Slow down and drive with care: On wet roads, reducing your speed is crucial. Ease off the gas pedal gradually and avoid abrupt braking to prevent skidding. Choose your lane wisely: Stick to the middle lanes to minimize the risk of hydroplaning. Outer lanes are more prone to accumulating water. Visibility matters: Enhance your visibility in heavy rain by turning on your headlights. Watch out for vehicles in blind spots, as rain-smeared windows can obscure them. Watch out for slippery roads: The first half-hour of rain is when roads are slickest due to a mix of rain, grime, and oil. Exercise heightened caution during this period. Keep a safe distance from large vehicles: Large trucks and buses can reduce your visibility with tire spray. Avoid tailgating and pass them swiftly and safely. Mind your windshield wipers: Overloaded wiper blades can hinder visibility. If rain severely limits your sight, pull over and wait for conditions to improve. Seek refuge at rest areas or protected spots. When stopping roadside, position your vehicle as far off the road as possible, ideally beyond guardrails. Keep your headlights on and activate emergency flashers to alert other drivers. By following these safety measures, you can significantly reduce risks and ensure your well-being when heavy rain pours down. Stay informed about weather conditions and heed advice from local authorities to make your journey safe and sound. Advance Local Weather Alerts is a service provided by United Robots, which uses machine learning to compile the latest data from the National Weather Service. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. The latest forecast for Friday nights anticipated storm calls for 1-3 inches of snow in New York City. The encroaching clipper has prompted the New York City Emergency Management department to issue a citywide travel advisory that will remain in effect from 10 p.m. Friday night through 1 p.m. Saturday. As of the time of publication, the current forecast calls for 2 inches of light to moderate snow spanning across the five boroughs. The greatest accumulation of precipitation will concentrate on Staten Island, which can expect up to 3 inches of snow. The bulk of the snowfall from the quick-moving storm, will accumulate on city streets between 3 and 6 a.m. Saturday, according to the Emergency Management department. NYCEM has activated the Citys Winter Weather Emergency Plan. We will be issuing a Travel Advisory for NYC tonight into tomorrow afternoon. The latest forecast calls for 2 inches of snow citywide with 23 of inches in Staten Island, with snow beginning as early as 10PM. https://t.co/cPnwJeRNdB NYC Emergency Management (@nycemergencymgt) February 16, 2024 While the snow will taper off around daybreak on Saturday, a few flurries can linger into the afternoon hours. And although significant impacts are not anticipated, slippery roadways and reduced visibility could result in minor travel disruptions. Light winds out of the north at 5 to 10 mph will give way to gusts of 25 to 30 mph Saturday afternoon, as noted by the Emergency Management department. Temperatures will hit the low 30s Friday evening before climbing into the mid to upper 30s on Saturday, allowing for snow to melt throughout the day. However, with temperatures dropping back to below freezing Saturday night, patches of ice could form on untreated surfaces. Additionally, NYC Emergency Management activated the citys Winter Weather Emergency Plan in advance of the storm. This plan entails conducting coordination calls with the National Weather Service (NWS), city and state agencies, and utility partners. The plan also makes sure that staff is bolstered for Watch Command and the Emergency Operations Center. Alternate side parking regulations will be suspended on Saturday, however, payment at parking meters will remain in effect throughout the city, according to the Emergency Management department. DSNY SNOW ALERT The Department of Sanitation (DSNY) issued a snow alert Friday afternoon. DSNY has issued a Snow Alert for Fri., Feb. 16 at 10pm. Current forecasts call for 1-2 of snow; it's possible southern parts of NYC may see more. Salt spreaders will pre-salt roadways & bike lanes this evening - no more "forgotten" streets. More: https://t.co/941arHlUy9 pic.twitter.com/HQlxtHEAU1 NYC Sanitation (@NYCSanitation) February 16, 2024 As part of the preparations, select high spots, side streets, and bike lanes will be pre-salted. When snow does begin to fall, Sanitation will deploy over 700 salt spreaders to salt on every street, highway, and bike lane in the city, as reported by NYC Emergency Management. Salt spreaders will pre-salt roadways & bike lanes this evening - no more forgotten streets, the Sanitation said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter. The Sanitation Department will also utilize Bladerunner 2.0, which will identify areas requiring attention and enable the agency to make adjustments as needed. Support the Peninsulas only locally-owned newspaper. Subscribe! Subscribing annually brings you big savings. We also offer monthly and weekly subscriptions. Premium Subscription As low as $8.25 per month Premium Includes: Access to the Daily Journals e-Edition: a digital replica of our daily newspaper including crossword puzzles, games, comics, classifieds and ads. The ability to download a digital replica of the Daily Journal for offline reading. The ability to clip & download articles or images to share with others. Access to the last 90 days of e-Editions with search, downloading and clipping options. Unlimited access to our award-winning online content Commenting access on all stories as a valued member of the DJ community ISTANBUL, Feb. 16 (Xinhua) -- Turkiye and Saudi Arabia should seize opportunities to strengthen cooperation in certain areas of mutual interest, Turkish Minister of Treasury and Finance Mehmet Simsek said on Friday. Speaking at the Turkiye-Saudi Arabia Investment and Business Forum held in Istanbul, Simsek said tourism and construction sectors are among the most promising areas of cooperation between the two countries. Turkiye, with significant knowledge, experience, and resources in the tourism sector, can help realize Saudi Arabia's goals in this domain, the minister said. "Our tour operators can organize tours and take tourists to Saudi Arabia," he said, adding that cooperation in this field is a win-win for both countries. Simsek noted that another area of cooperation with the kingdom is the construction sector. "The construction of some of the world's largest projects has already started in Saudi Arabia, and we want to be a part of it," he said. Saudi Arabia's Investment Minister Khalid Al Falih and Tourism Minister Ahmed Al Khateeb attended the one-day forum. ANKARA, Feb. 16 (Xinhua) -- The Turkish National Intelligence Organization "neutralized" a senior member of the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) in a cross-border operation in northern Syria, the state-run TRT broadcaster reported Friday. Turkiye sees the YPG as the Syrian branch of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which has been listed as a terrorist organization by Turkiye, the United States and the European Union, and has rebelled against the Turkish government for more than three decades. Fatma Sakana, who was "neutralized" in the operation, reportedly joined the PKK in Iran in 2006 and was involved in the PKK's activities in the rural areas of the southeastern Sirnak province in Turkiye between 2010 and 2012. She later joined the group's branches in Syria and Iraq. Sakana was allegedly among the perpetrators of an attack by the PKK in Sirnak in 2012, which killed 10 Turkish soldiers, anonymous security sources told the TRT. Turkish authorities often use the term "neutralize" in their statements to imply the alleged "terrorists" have either surrendered, been killed, or been captured. The Turkish military has launched multiple operations since 2016 in northern Syria in order to create a YPG-free zone along the border with the neighboring country. Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. Save articles for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time. Got it Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size When David West Read an Emmy-winning writer and executive producer on the hit comedy Schitts Creek was asked to pitch a musical based on the work of Swedish songwriting powerhouse Max Martin, little did he know he would soon be lying in a dark room with a concussion. Lorinda May Merrypor as Juliet in the musical & Juliet. Credit: Daniel Boud It was 2016 and I had hit my head on the underside of a kitchen cabinet, Read says, laughing. And I was suffering from dizziness and had some vision problems and was basically lying in the dark and not looking at screens. So I used that time to listen to Max Martin there are worse things you can do in the dark and it was in that concussed and somewhat groggy state that I came up with the musical. Now, some would say, unkindly, that a lot of musicals sound as if they were created when the writer was concussed, but Read had Martins music on his side; big pop hits such as Baby One More Time (Britney Spears), I Want It That Way (Backstreet Boys), Teenage Dream (Katy Perry), Its My Life (Bon Jovi) and Cant Feel My Face (The Weeknd). & Juliet writer David West Read (left) with Swedish songwriting superstar Max Martin. With the best jukebox musicals, you find what is unique to that artist and let the story grow out of that, says Read. So, because Max has been writing pop songs for 30, 35 years, and because Max has a particular, Swedish tone, which he has said is sometimes described as dancing with tears in your eyes its sad songs that make you feel good. And it felt like so many of his songs are about heartache and heartbreak and young love, which led me to the ultimate story of heartbreak and young love, which is Romeo and Juliet. Advertisement And so we have & Juliet, which reimagines the end to Shakespeares well-known tragedy and asks: What if Juliet didnt die? What if, instead of killing herself upon discovering Romeos lifeless body, she ran away to Paris? And what if she did it while belting out Kelly Clarksons Since U Been Gone? I really give a lot of credit to Max, says Read. He was so open to it Hey, were going to take all of your lifes work and were going to put it into Shakespeare, and people are going to be speaking in rhyming couplets and dancing around in Shakespearean costumes and singing Baby One More Time. Amy Lehpamer as Anne and Rob Mills as William Shakespeare in & Juliet. Credit: Daniel Boud And he was so on board with that because I think he knew he didnt want to do something expected. He didnt want to do the story of a pop star or the story of a boy band, it had to be something that felt really out of the box and creatively exciting to him. When it premiered on Londons West End in 2019, & Juliet was an instant hit, picking up three Laurence Olivier Awards, including best actress in a musical. It opened on Broadway in 2022 and then a year later in Melbourne. Now, after more than 200 performances, the Australian production comes to Sydney with Lorinda May Merrypor as the titular heroine. Lorinda May Merrypor (middle) leads the & Juliet cast in a mash-up of Ariana Grandes Problem and The Weeknds Cant Feel My Face. Credit: Daniel Boud Im just running and jumping up and down the whole time, says Merrypor. For a while there I had shin splints. And I was like, Why do I have shin splints? Then I see videos of myself, jumping and running around on stage, and Im like, Oh, that makes sense. Advertisement And the best bit is she doesnt have to die in this one. Exactly! says Merrypor. I just get to run around and pretend to go to Paris and dance on top of bars and swing on chandeliers. As you can guess, Merrypors Juliet is not the tear-stained young girl popularly imagined think Claire Danes in Baz Luhrmanns Romeo + Juliet. Instead, this Juliet has enough smarts to imagine a life for herself that is not dictated by Romeo (who has been described as a charming peak himbo f---boy in one review) or her family. My Juliet is just so bubbly, which comes a lot from my personal personality, says Merrypor. Romeo, played by Blake Appelqvist, has been reimagined as a peak himbo f---boy. Credit: Daniel Boud & Juliet is Merrypors first lead role, one that has given her just as much confidence on stage as off. Ive grown so much personally just from getting to play Juliet, says Merrypor. I was always a bit quiet, wouldnt stand up for myself, a little bit shy, but getting to tell this story every night, of someone who really takes agency of her own story and one of my favourite lines of hers is I really love me and I think by saying that every day, it really starts to become true. Apart from being her first lead role, Merrypor also carries the weight of representation. A Kuungkari and South Sea Islander woman from Rockhampton in Queensland, Merrypor has been inundated with fans saying how much it means to see an Indigenous woman in a leading role. Advertisement Im getting messages from mothers, telling me how much their kid just lit up when I was on the stage, and kids are going home and saying to their parents, I want to be a performer, I want to do singing lessons or dancing lessons now. And thats so, so special to me because when I was younger I didnt have someone to look up to like that. I just had a delusional belief that Oh, its going to happen, I just gotta keep going. And lucky enough, it did. Juliet (Lorinda May Merrypor) and Angelique (Casey Donovan). But the impact of having that representation there, it definitely instils so much belief I try not to think too deeply about it too much because I will cry all the time. But any time I get one of those messages, or I meet some young kids at the stage door, it feels so, so heartwarming. And if you think standing on stage regurgitating a Britney Spears song is easy, or writing a musical around pre-written songs is a breeze, both Read and Merrypor are here to disagree. Some people might think its easier to do a jukebox musical because the songs have already been written, says Read. I think its extremely difficult to do well because you have nothing but constraints. I chose not to change any of the lyrics in the songs, aside from the pronouns, and trying to make those lyrics fit the story is like a puzzle, and its a puzzle that I find really interesting and exciting. Merrypor agrees: [The songs] have been so expertly linked to the story that I almost forget they were sung before, they feel so true to the story. There are a few moments, in particular Since U Been Gone, that it feels like it was written for the musical. It feels like Im telling Juliets story, rather than just standing here and singing a song [everybody knows]. Advertisement Palawa playwright Dylan Van Den Berg has pulled off a remarkable triple feat at this years Australian Writers Guild Awards (AWGIES), winning both categories for which he was nominated and then going on to be awarded the $100,000 David Williamson prize for most outstanding script among all the category winners. I didnt really know what to say other than trying to convey gratitude and also being stoked to be recognised by other writers, he said after the ceremony in Sydney. Its the only award that is judged solely by writers on the scripts themselves. So its really remarkable to be recognised by peers. Dylan Van Den Berg accepts the prestigious David Williamson prize. Credit: Van Den Berg won the Community and Youth Theatre category for Ngadjung and the Original Stage Play category for Whitefella Yella Tree, which also earned him the David Williamson Prize for Excellence in Writing for Australian Theatre. Van Den Berg will receive $20,000 from the Williamson award money, while the remainder goes to Griffin Theatre Company, which produced Whitefella Yella Tree. In the case of Loy Yang A, the power station will remain open until 2035. In NSW, Liddell recently closed its doors last year, but the government is in discussions with Origin Energy to keep Eraring open possibly beyond its 2025 timeframe. Rather than wait, many communities and individuals have opted to take matters into their own hands, investing in solar panels on rooftops or household batteries to reduce costs and their environmental footprint. In some cases, microgrids are providing entire communities with energy certainty. A microgrid is a small network of electricity users with a local source of supply that can be attached to the centralised system but allows them to operate independently. Microgrids are nothing new. The first public electricity system rolled out in Tamworth in 1888, when the town switched on 21.5 kilometres of electrical street light, the first of its kind anywhere in Australia. Sydney would turn its first electrical light on 15 years later. In Victoria, microgrid towns include Yackandandah in Victorias northeast, Mallacoota and Phillip Island. Meanwhile, Bawley Point and Kioloa on NSW South Coast became the first community to get a microgrid from Endeavour Energy and the NSW government last year. The microgrid links about 340 household rooftop solar and home battery systems, serving about 1000 customers. After the 2019 bushfires, Bawley Point resident Luci Somers (left) was considering leaving the community, but a microgrid will help keep the power on should a blackout or natural disaster occur again. Credit: Endeavour Energy During an outage, the microgrid will be activated, drawing electricity stored in household batteries to keep the lights on across the communities while power is restored. Bawley Point resident Luci Somers the decision to join the grid was a no-brainer. Shed gone through the Black Summer Bushfires when the entire community had lost power and water. Just a few months after, the town was devastated by torrential rain, and the town lost access to clean water, again. Somers was living in survival mode, putting out buckets to catch rainwater in case they lost access again and she was considering leaving the coastal community. Until the microgrid. Through that whole bushfire, even though it was terrible, the best feeling that came out of it was that we all helped each other, we supported each other in the aftermath. That process continued through setting up the microgrid. We are contributing to being more sustainable and self-sufficient if anything like that happens again, she said. Just a few months ago, when the south coast was inundated by rain and the lights went out, the microgrid kicked in. Although only for a short time, Somers said it was exciting to see it work. Time has, for the most part, helped heal Somers, but having reliable energy that can keep the town online through wind, hail, fire and flood has been life-changing. Director of Climate Energy Finance Tim Buckley, a public interest think tank, said Tuesdays blackout shows why it is important the energy market diversify, particularly as climate change escalates and extreme weather becomes more extreme and more frequent. Our power system needs to factor this in as part of sensible adaptation. Victoria, like Australia, is on notice. We need to plan and build in energy system resilience as a key priority, and invest in a modern, flexible grid that is future-proofed, he said. Buckley added that thermal coal power plants were not part of that solution, instead they were the problem. Australias world-leading distributed rooftop solar and battery residential systems can be built in a day, or for commercial properties, a month, at speed and scale, he said. He added that to ensure there was greater energy resilience, there had to be more financial incentives to reassure both the industry and consumers that they would be supported in their decision to install batteries or solar panels. Solar panel installation has rapidly increased over the years much faster than hydro, wind or solar water heaters. Data from the Clean Energy regulator notes that since 2020, there have consistently been more than 300,000 small-scale solar installations a year, with a total of 3.6 million installed since 2001. In comparison, 1.6 million solar water heaters have been installed in the past 22 years, and 424 wind systems. Loading Monash University faculty of engineering associate professor Behrooz Bahrani said relying on microgrids or going off-grid may not be suitable across the country, but made sense in some regional communities. This is because they can be cheaper to build, run and maintain than traditional distribution lines that rely on fossil fuel-intensive projects, where if one thing goes wrong, power goes out across the entire area. Household rooftop solar or battery offers a diversified source of energy. You have thousands or millions of small generators that are all interconnected to each other and this increases resilience. That is a good thing, he said. There are also different types of energy sources which all add to the reliability of the grid. You dont want to put all your eggs in one basket. Bahrani added as extreme weather became more frequent and intense, and as global warming continued, communities needed to be more energy-prepared and resilient. While new projects were addressing this, he said it was not happening at the pace needed. This was because many of the decisions about what type, where and when to build new renewable energy projects were financially motivated, Bahrani said. Loading They do not take into account the bigger threat: climate change. We need to take it more seriously. We need to not only look at these renewables as a financially viable project, we should look at these projects as quickly as possible if we are to make sure to sustain life, he added. The problem is we have never gone through a transition like this before, we dont know what can happen if we dont invest enough now. Could you make the switch? Australias 3.5 million rooftop solar installations are pumping out so much energy on sunny days that theyre sending wholesale electricity prices into negative territory, forcing large-scale wind and solar farms, as well as coal plants, to reduce generation. Over the past 30 days, rooftops contributed 14.6 per cent to the grid. Bundled together with other renewables such as solar farms, wind and hydro, they generated 42 per cent of the countrys energy over the same period, according to OpenNEM.org.au. If youre curious about how you might be able to go off-grid, or at least install solar panels, solar water heaters or small-scale wind systems, the federal government provides financial incentives. Solar panels on a roof. Credit: Eamon Gallagher Bahrani added its not just a government issue: rather everyone has a role to play. We need to look at how much energy we consume and if we can reduce how much we use. Meanwhile, Nottingham said while it might seem overwhelming for people who wanted to make the switch, it was easier than they might think. Zero! Boring! Almost as boring as being asked, every time you decline a drink: why? If theres one person more boring than a drinker, its the drinker who asks why youre not drinking. Actually, theres someone even more boring: the non-drinker answering that question. I cant say Im pregnant, nor that Ive fallen off a planter box once too often. I have no excuses, other than heart and brain health. By that stage of the explanation, the previously inquisitive drinker has drifted away for a refill. Loading Febfast and lent (and Dry July) are not about proper alcoholism, which is a disease and cannot be cured by merely stopping for a month to raise sponsorship or brownie points in the hereafter. Nor does serious alcoholism spawn a social movement which, inadvertently, I have joined. The hashtag #SoberCurious is one of the most-searched on social media: 240 million searches in 2022 steepling to 608.2 million in 2023. #SoberTok (whatever that is) had 1.4 billion views on TikTok (whatever that is) last year. Locally, the Australian of the Year nominee Chris Raine founded the Hello Sunday Morning organisation in 2010 to challenge young drinkers to go sober. In its 14 years, it has picked up 127,000 registered members. Youth really is wasted on the young. Transitioning from mild drinking to no drinking is, today, a thing. But if its just a step from riding the tailgate of the wagon to jumping aboard if youre saying hello to Sunday morning when you never fully said goodbye what does this thing mean? Has non-drinking improved my life? Do I sleep better, have I lost weight, am I mentally sharper, is my skin clearer, am I less angry, anxious and tired? Have I stopped making a fool of myself, near planter boxes or elsewhere? Let others be the judge, but alas, the cautious social drinker becoming a social non-drinker is eliminating non-existent symptoms of a disease they never had. And it is undeniably dull. Theres only so much mineral water and so much Heaps Normal you can drink before your life becomes an endless treadmill between table and toilet with few laughs in between. There are only so many fruit juices you can get for $24, under the list called Our Killer Mocktails, before you lose as much self-respect as a drinker. I never craved a drink when I did drink, but sometimes I do now. Not-drinking (I cant even bring myself to call it sobriety; to be sober, you must first have been drunk, or a drunk) does seem boring when you begin to yawn and check your watch at 9pm and the main course hasnt even arrived. Loading Is sacrifice the point? Febfast and lent stipulate giving up something you enjoy. I never really enjoyed alcohol; I never had the knack for it. I quite like not-drinking, so maybe I should sacrifice my precious sobriety and spend February drunk. Doesnt seem quite the point. Speaking of fake, I could join the currently fashionable ranks of the sober who fill the gap with cannabinoids, ketamine, and micro-doses of psilocybin all of which sound interesting to me but I havent been invited to that party yet. Im not sure if my cardiologist or neurologist, who set this accursed ball rolling, would approve. Given all these absences of improvement, why would you stop drinking in the first place? The neurologist convinced me that it might not seem like much now, but giving up drinking would be a significant investment in my future. Her advice ended up with an MRI, an EEG and a CT that showed a mild form of epilepsy caused, probably, by multiple head knocks in childhood. That, together with two open-heart surgeries, seemed a good reason to do something to pay it forward, health-wise, into later life. Loading Like all long-term investments, however, it requires superhuman patience and promises to pay off with a slightly unpleasant reward in smugness. When Im 75 and all my friends are dependent on sleeping pills and getting treatment for colorectal cancer, I can sit back and say, See? Alcohol! When a man my age falls off a planter box, I can say, from an upright position, Id only have the medication to blame. Each scenario is a meagre payoff. Each sounds like virtue signalling. Each sounds a bit like extremism, which after all is only another form of intoxicant. The last time I saw the neurologist, at a social function, she was tossing back a couple of champagnes. Doctor, heal thyself! I said. No, thats another lie. In reality, I was pleased to see that she lives by moderation and commonsense rather than zero-tolerance. Zero-tolerance, wrote Martin Amis (a serious drinker who died last year at 73 from oesophageal cancer), means zero thought. An absolutist response to every issue is the last thing society needs, especially today. Light drinking switching to non-drinking or preventative sobriety might be a thing right now, but I suspect its not the thing it thinks it is. As every authentic drinker knows and as many non-drinkers are blind to its the extremist temperament that kills long before the physical diseases take hold. The inner battle is only partly about health; its real weight is in drawing the line between extremism and moderation. The response to extremism that gives us a future is not more extremism. 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 At a Ryde council meeting this week, only one number mattered: 43,090. Thats the number of new homes council staff say could be built in the municipality under the state governments reforms to boost housing density. Just soak this one stat in, said councillor Sophie Lara-Watson. That would include potentially up to 107,000 more people an increase in Rydes current population of 83 per cent. Her Liberal colleague Trenton Brown was more blunt: Were almost doubling the people in our LGA. The figures are alarming. But are they realistic? They were calculated this way: Ryde has 10,992 individual lots that are zoned for low-density residential and large enough to be converted into manor homes (usually four dwellings) under the governments policy. If all were redeveloped in that way, 43,000 new dwellings, with an average 2.5 residents each, would be created. Recognising this is unlikely, the council also models a conservative take-up rate of 50 per cent, or 21,500 new homes. That is still many more than Ryde which has undergone rapid transformation and met its housing completion targets has delivered in the past 20 years. In contrast, the government says its changes to low- and mid-rise housing might yield 110,000 additional dwellings across the state by 2030. Planning Minister Paul Scully said: The councils projections of take up rates are beyond ridiculous. No reasonable person thinks that any planning reforms will see every single person in a local government area sell up or demolish their homes. By July 1, the government will furnish each NSW council with a new set of targets stipulating how many dwellings they are expected to deliver, and over what timeframe. Meanwhile, however, speculation abounds about what these reforms will mean in practice. Advertisement In Ku-ring-gai, community groups are mobilising to fight the governments changes to planning controls. Credit: Michael Koziol The politics Significant changes to the planning system will always be politically fraught, especially in a council election year. Responses run the gamut from eager acceptance to outright hostility. Many councils sympathise with the governments aim to build more homes, but object to a one size fits all approach. Some, such as Ryde, are bandying about exaggerated claims as to the impacts. Premier Chris Minns seems determined to hold his nerve. Principally, his team is convinced of the policys merit and, politically, they believe demographics are on their side, as millennials come to dominate the citys voting base and demand action on housing affordability. Its going to be a painful journey and Minns knows it. On Thursday, he was flanked by five Sydney mayors for a press conference in the inner suburban Forest Lodge designed to demonstrate density done well and demonstrate cross-party support for the reforms. This doesnt have to be adversarial, Minns said. There were some reports last week that the government was at odds and determined to pick a fight with the mayors and local governments of Sydney. Thats the last thing we want to do. NSW Premier Chris Minns flanked by Sydney mayors on Thursday afternoon. Credit: Rhett Wyman Advertisement Thats debatable. Since coming to office in March, the government has laid the groundwork for these changes, speaking endlessly about the need to boost supply, and the exodus of key workers and young people from Sydney as prices rise. At times it has also lashed out at councils, with Minns complaining about anti-development mayors who only say no, or hell no. Were not afraid of that fight, were prepared to take it on, he said in June. This week, Housing Minister Rose Jackson accused some mayors of ridiculous, low-rent nonsense and Nimbyism. The plan The reforms were finalised shortly before Christmas. Eight major transport hubs were selected to become priority high-growth areas and the government will rezone and draw up master plans for these. Another 31 suburbs will have new planning controls applied within 400 metres of the train station to permit apartments up to six storeys. Controls will also change around numerous other train stations, light rail stops and town centres. Within 800 metres of these, any land zoned as medium-density must allow apartments, and land zoned as low-density must allow multi-dwelling housing such as terraces, townhouses or two-storey apartment blocks. On medium-density land, councils wont be able to refuse apartment blocks of up to six storeys (within 400 metres of a station) or four storeys (between 400m-800m of a station) on the basis of height alone. All low-density residential land in NSW will have to permit subdivisions and dual occupancies. Advertisement While media coverage focused on the 39 train stations selected for more intense change, it is the less flashy but further-reaching changes to low and mid-rise housing which have arguably caused the most angst and generated the most pushback. The changes are complex, even for experts. Planning Department secretary Kiersten Fishburn and her deputy Monica Gibson have been on a whistle-stop tour, running workshops with councils to explain the details. Councils have held public forums. Mayors are on talkback radio. Around the state, residents are trying to get their heads around planning lingo: SEPPs, setbacks, R2 and R3 zones, minimum lot sizes and non-refusal standards. The councils The mayors who joined Minns on Thursday from Parramatta, Blacktown, Penrith, Campbelltown and the premiers home turf, Georges River collectively cover more than 1.2 million Sydneysiders. Notably, all were men, and four of the five are from the west the engine room of the citys housing growth. Missing from the love-in was anyone from the north shore, eastern suburbs or inner-city the exact parts of Sydney the state government would like to do more. Also absent and not invited was Darcy Byrne, the long-serving Labor mayor of Inner West council, which itself is a case study in how the politics of the issue are shifting. A popular but expensive place to live, the inner west is ground zero of the housing debate. More than 40 per cent of the municipality has some form of heritage protection. There were 1678 new homes built there in 2017-18, at the end of the last boom. In the year to June, that figure was just 231, and the forecast is for 500 to 800 homes a year for the next few years. Advertisement Inner West Council, among several others, met this week to debate its response. Staff had prepared a draft submission detailing significant concerns that the government plans would bypass its strategic planning work, apply cookie-cutter controls and degrade the character of the municipality. Consequently, council strongly opposes the application of these reforms in the inner west, the draft report said, while arguing the council was committed to unlocking housing opportunities using its own framework. However, the Labor majority led by Byrne voted the report down, instead passing a motion that underlined the seriousness of the housing supply crisis, endorsed higher density near transport hubs, and sought meetings with Planning Minister Paul Scully to discuss positive collaboration. I want to see us play a constructive role, Byrne said. I dont agree with everything that the government has put forward. But I also dont think that we should deal ourselves out of the discussion by simply saying no. I think we owe our community something more sophisticated and more impactful than just saying no. I think we owe our community something more sophisticated and impactful: Inner West Labor mayor Darcy Byrne. Credit: Dion Georgopoulos The motion also called on Minns to do more directly, such as create a state-owned company to build homes for sale and the private rental market (Landcom has dabbled in this), expedite an audit of government land that could be used for housing, and invest a large sum in public housing akin to Victorias $5.3 billion Big Build of 2020. Serious funding for social housing remains a challenge the Minns government has not tackled. Advertisement Pelegrini, from Brazil, moved to Australia with her husband in 2016 and studied nursing and aged care while also working in a massage parlour that provided paid sexual services, where she met Tran in early 2020. The parlour was forced to close due to COVID-19 lockdowns, but Pelegrini remained in contact with clients directly to pay the bills, the court heard. Lonergan said: Application of the terms dating or friendship or romance does not adequately reflect the complexities of the relationship between the offender and Daiane. Pelegrini separated from her husband in April 2020 and had been in a relationship with another man at the time of her death. Pelegrinis sister, in a victim impact statement, described her as a determined, brave and beautiful woman who was terribly missed and who cannot write anything more in the book of her life. Tran sent hundreds of harassing phone calls and texts to Pelegrini between June and August 2020, including in excess of 60 sexually explicit messages over a 10-hour period in July to which she had replied no is no and over is over, Lonergan said. A charge of using his phone to menace, harass and offend was taken into account upon sentence. Pelegrini had repeatedly blocked Tran on WhatsApp, over which he told her she was his first proper girlfriend and said he loved her, according to the agreed facts. Police outside Daiane Pelegrini's Oatlands apartment complex. Credit: Rhett Wyman Tran showed up uninvited at Pelegrinis gym and the beach, and in bank transfers to her wrote Can you unblock me and forgive me please. Days before her death, Pelegrini and her partner had contacted police about Tran, however when officers attended the unit hours later, he had gone. Pelegrini sent Tran a photograph of a police car at her home and a message reading, Just to let you know you cant come anymore. On the day of her murder, Tran climbed over the gate of her unit intending to frighten her when she returned home, and saw her with her partner, the judge said. As Pelegrini went into her bedroom to get a jacket, she was attacked by Tran, and her partner was struck when he tried to pull Tran away before running from the unit to get help. Pelegrini suffered more than 20 wounds including to her sexual organs and a 15-centimetre injury to her abdomen. Police found her alive but bleeding, surrounded by blood-soaked walls and floor. After surrendering, Tran was asked by police how many times he had used the knife, and replied, Im not sure, I lost count, I almost fainted in there when I saw the blood. He said Pelegrini had begged him to call an ambulance. Up to 100 residents facing eviction from an industrial estate in Melbournes inner west have had their bid to remain in their homes bolstered by a small but significant change to the planning scheme by the state government this week. Planning lawyers said the amendment which mean councils must recognise existing use rights after 15 years would have major implications statewide on issues including squatters and where people live or businesses operate in areas that are not zoned for that use. Techno Park Drive residents Vincent Schirripa, Arnie Hindhaugh, Lara Week, Nida and Matt Robinson Credit: Luis Ascui Last year The Age revealed a messy planning dispute at Techno Park Drive in Williamstown where several apartment blocks which have housed refugees and migrants since World War II sit adjacent to an ExxonMobil fuel storage site on Kororoit Creek Road. The federal government-owned estate was sold to private buyers in the late 1980s and rezoned as an industrial area meaning people could no longer lawfully live there. The information was tenuous. The suspected killer had confessed to his brother, who had told an acquaintance, who called the police. It was hearsay at best and a dead-end at worst. But the unexpected phone call almost three decades after the brutal killing of Geelong mother of two Annette Steward was enough for cold case homicide detectives to reopen the case. Victoria Polices cold case homicide investigators, Detective Sergeant Sol Solomon and Detective Senior Sergeant Paul Scarlett. Credit: Justin McManus Cold case homicide detectives step in when all hope of solving a case is lost. The unit within Victoria Police is staffed with some of the states most experienced detectives, who often spend years poring over evidence searching for clues to crack the states forgotten crimes. The caller claimed the person who strangled and bludgeoned Steward to death with an iron inside her home in 1992 was an unemployed man with a history of drug use living in Western Australia. His name was Darren Chalmers. She said the hospital employed a small number of senior registered nurses who cared for patients and their babies on the post-natal ward. This was part of its strategy to address the global midwifery workforce shortage, she said. One experienced midwife who works at the Malvern hospital claimed there was at times only one midwife to six nurses in the post-natal ward. The midwife said she was aware of an incident where a nurse had pricked a babys fingers instead of their heel for the heel prick test, which is conducted to screen newborns for rare diseases. A shortage of midwives is placing pressure on maternity hospitals. Credit: Louise Kennerley The midwife also claimed that an emergency alarm had gone off in a birthing suite, but because there were no available back up midwives in the postnatal ward, there was a delay in responding to the patient. The hospital refuted these allegations. My biggest concern is that women are not being cared for properly, said the midwife, who did not want to be identified because it could jeopardise her employment. A shortage of midwives statewide is fuelling the problem at Cabrini, according to La Trobe University researcher Robyn Matthews. There are 9140 registered midwives in Victoria just 500 more than there were a decade ago according to Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia data. Loading And only around 5000 of these midwives are working in the profession. Burnout is rife, with a large study of Victorian midwives conducted by Matthews finding that one in three plan to leave the profession within five years. Matthews, who also works as a midwife at a public hospital, recently published new research which revealed 100 per cent of midwifery managers in private maternity hospitals in Victoria said their services had inadequate midwifery staffing levels. This compared with 70 per cent of managers in public maternity hospitals, according to the study published in the journal Women Birth. Managers reported staff shortages ranging from one to 19 full-time equivalent midwives. Matthews said it was concerning that nurses were being used to plug rostering gaps. If you want to be a midwife have to do a three-year undergraduate degree or a four-year double degree we have a lot of extra skills that are not covered in general nursing, she said. If you are going private you deserve midwives, you are paying extra. Why wouldnt you get the best possible care? The Cabrini Hospital in Malvern. Credit: Luis Enrique Ascui The Victorian Health Department is currently reviewing regulations governing private hospitals and investigating whether midwife-to-patient ratios should be introduced. Australian Private Hospitals Association chief executive Michael Roff said mandatory ratios were a blunt tool and there was no evidence of any material changes in patient outcomes or safety benefits based on their use. The appropriate level and skill mix of nursing staff will differ across health services and service profiles based on acuity and overall activity, he said. Loading Roff said the private hospital sector was experiencing the worst financial circumstances in living memory due to years of health fund benefit indexation failing to keep up with cost increases. Many private hospitals are now operating at a loss and we have seen a number of hospitals close around the country including in Victoria. Implementation of nurse-to-patient ratios will further enhance the financial pressures of private health services. Australian College of Midwives chief midwife Alison Weatherstone said nurses were increasingly being used to plug rostering gaps in maternity wards due to midwife shortages. MOSCOW, Feb. 16 (Xinhua) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin approved on Thursday the construction of a high-speed railway (HSR) between Moscow and St. Petersburg, said Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov. "The basic design has been agreed upon. The details of the future document will be quickly finalized," Peskov said. The country needs high-speed routes to increase railway capacity, ease airport congestion and boost the domestic tourism industry, Putin said during a special meeting held on Thursday to discuss the HSR line. At the meeting, Putin called for a long-standing discussion on this topic and asked for prepared proposals on the sources and mechanisms of financing, the deadlines and stages of work and the conditions for attracting investors and development institutions. Earlier, Russian Transport Minister Vitaly Savelyev said that the HSR project would require over 600 billion rubles (about 6.5 billion U.S. dollars) from the federal budget. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said that Moscow, along with other interested regions, would participate in financing the HSR project. Russia currently does not have any railway that is specially designed for high-speed movement with a speed of more than 250 km/h. The idea of building highways exclusively for high-speed trains was first considered in the late 1960s. In 1992, a joint-stock company was established for the HSR project between Moscow and St. Petersburg, which was initially planned to be completed in 2000, but the plan was scrapped in 1998. I found [him] to be a person with a wealth of information regarding a number of serious crimes [that] included murder, conspiracy to murder, armed robberies and a plan to use explosives against the Richmond Police Station, said Anderson. Jones provided information on six armed robberies that had been carried out by a team of gunmen known as the Flemington Crew, responsible for a series of raids on banks. He provided information that could only be known by an insider, including where they swapped cars, cut holes in cyclone fences, jobs where shots were fired at police, and where guards were injured. Graeme Jensen, in black, Victor Peirce, in suit jacket, and Jed Houghton, right. Credit: The Age Jones said the gang was run by a team of four. Police would later find Jones was accurate, and the crew was led by Victor Peirce, Graeme Jensen, Peter McEvoy and Jedd Houghton. The second-tier soldiers included Victors half-brother Trevor Pettingill, Anthony Farrell and car thief Gary Abdallah. But there was another gang pulling jobs led by NSW prison escapee Russell Cox that included Mark Moran, later gunned down in Melbournes underworld war, and the little-known Santo Mercuri. While Anderson was convinced Jones could help crack multiple crimes and destroy a prodigious armed-robbery gang, he was being thwarted from above. He discussed the case with a colleague. We believed a taskforce should be set up to investigate the matter further. Three days later after his first visit, Anderson returned to prison with a senior officer, and despite inside details provided by the informer from handwritten notes, the senior officer was not impressed by [Jones] and he believed a lot of what [he] had to say could be jail talk. At that meeting, Jones identified future targets, including the State Bank in Preston and a raid on the Armaguard van at the Coles store at Barkly Square, Brunswick. Three weeks later, three armed robbers pulled the Barkly Square job that began the chain of events resulting in Walsh Street. On July 11, nine months after Jones first offered to inform on the gang, a member of the armed-robbery squad went to Beechworth Prison to interview him. It was too late. It was the day of Barkly Square. A source inside Armaguard had already for 10 per cent of the takings provided information on six robberies worth $500,000. This time the details were exaggerated. It was supposed to be worth $200,000 and easy pickings. Instead, the July 11 job netted only $33,000 and went horribly wrong when security guard Dominik Hefti refused to give up the cash tin. During the struggle Hefti, 31, was fatally shot in the chest and leg but managed to return fire, shooting one of the robbers through the hand. The injured gunman ran to the car park where he dragged a woman from her Nissan Pulsar and drove off leaving a trail of blood. The other two escaped in their own getaway car. The armed robbery squad concluded (wrongly) that Jensen was the gang member who killed Hefti, and on October 11 they attempted to arrest him at Narre Warren. Three cars with eight detectives attempted a box intercept at the local shopping strip, but it failed, and when Jensen attempted to drive away he was shot dead. Police had already killed two associates of the Flemington Crew Mark Militano in January 1987, and Frank Valastro five months later. The crew had discussed a two for one revenge plot, where they would kill two members of the armed-robbery squad. The front page after the Walsh St killings. Credit: The Age But after Jensens death, they decided on a random attack on police. They stole a Holden Commodore and planted it in the middle of a quiet South Yarra road Walsh Street knowing residents would call the police. When the night shift Prahran van heard the call, Steven Tynan and Damian Eyre volunteered to attend the scene, where they were ambushed and shot dead. It was 13 hours after Jensen was shot by police. It would be years later that police using groundbreaking DNA technology would establish that Heftis killer was Mercuri, a sausage-maker turned gunman. It was Coxs group, not the Flemington Crew. Police received credible information that a professional hitman planned to kill Anderson. The SOG began preparing to raid the hitmans Euroa property and Victor Peirce in Richmond. The date was set for August 25. On August 23, Anderson was told the raids would not go ahead because a senior officer would not authorise the SOG for the Euroa property or Peirces address in Richmond. Peirce was the driving force behind Walsh Street. If he is in custody, it doesnt happen. With more insight, perhaps they would have used the SOG for the Jensen arrest, which almost certainly would have avoided the fatal shooting. Nearly five years after the Hefti murder, when police went to arrest the dangerous Mercuri, the same senior officers stubbornly refused to authorise the use of the SOG, until assistant commissioner Frank Green intervened saying, Thats what they are there for. Mercuri was arrested without incident. Two months after Walsh Street, Anderson wrote a report about the failure to efficiently use Jones, saying he believed it could have thwarted Walsh Street, as the main offenders would have already been in custody. I have felt very sad at this great loss and wonder if this tragedy may have been prevented by more effective and expedient handling of this inquiry. I felt that from the onset of this inquiry there was a lack of direction. A taskforce would have been efficient and had the support of all officers, who would have allowed the SOG to be used when required. All the offenders would have been arrested (before Walsh Street). Two Walsh Street suspects, Jedd Houghton and Gary Abdallah, were shot dead by police in separate incidents. Victor Peirce, Peter McEvoy, Trevor Pettingill and Anthony Farrell were charged and acquitted of the Walsh Street murders. Wendy Peirce, Victors wife, later told me they were the offenders. Victor George Peirce in 1991. It [Walsh Street] was spur of the moment, we were on the run. Victor was the organiser. He just said, They deserved their whack. It could have been me. At the scene itself, It was more Jedd and Macca (McEvoy) than the others. Jedd was the trigger man, he had the shotgun. McEvoy has always maintained his innocence. One Walsh Street weapon was a Japanese KTG shotgun, the same gun used by Houghton in a Flemington Crew armed robbery. The weapon was recovered buried and wrapped in plastic near the Melbourne Zoo. The then-joint head of the Walsh Street taskforce, John Noonan, said the revelations in the Anderson report was further evidence of incompetence and just more proof that there needs to be an inquest. Victorias energy safety watchdog found 50 examples in which key electricity transmission lines in the states west had missed targets for maintenance or reassessment, as authorities work to restore power following Tuesdays catastrophic storms. The report, published in November, found the company in charge of maintaining the states transmission network had repeatedly failed to keep up with works on ageing transmission infrastructure. Power lines came down in the You Yangs, south-west of Melbourne, following wild wind gusts. Credit: Jason South Energy Safe also inspected 73 towers along four key transmission lines and identified a major safety concern around what it described as an uncertain timeframe to deliver works on ageing towers earmarked for replacement in the state's south-west. The energy safety watchdog also found additional defects on the transmission lines and called on AusNet Services to prioritise rectification. The audit also found 11 cases in which AusNet had failed to properly prioritise maintenance work. A political fight is brewing over new rules to punish badly behaved MPs, more than two years after the then-Morrison government agreed to create a federal watchdog to police politicians behaviour. The scope of the long-delayed Independent Parliamentary Standards Commission should be outlined in draft legislation due at the end of February, according to Minister for Women Katy Gallagher, but MPs across the political divide are split on whether the body should have the power to suspend or sanction politicians or just make recommendations to the parliament. Minister for Women Katy Gallagher has been in talks with opposition and crossbench MPs in the Parliamentary Leadership Taskforce. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen Finding agreement between the major parties on legislative details would prove tricky, Gallagher said in a Senate hearing this week, because of politicians sensitivities about setting up a powerful agency policing their actions. Because this is a politically charged environment, it is different from a lot of workplaces and I think people are naturally cautious about setting up systems where people can be brought before it and punished, Gallagher said. 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 The Australian Hotels Association function was not a particularly boozy affair. The powerful industry groups welcome-back event for politicians was held on the Wednesday of the first sitting week of the year in the Speakers Courtyard in Parliament House between 6pm and 7.30pm. Drinks were served by waitstaff, catch-ups were arranged, gossip was shared. The buzzers rang to send politicians back into the chambers and the event wound up. Among the guests was Nationals MP Barnaby Joyce, but his behaviour at the event didnt draw much attention. Only a few remembered seeing him there. It was much later that night, around 11.30pm, when he became the talk of the nation, lying on his back on the footpath outside a late-night kebab stand, his feet on a planter box. Passers-by filmed him muttering obscenities into his phone, sent the footage to the Daily Mail, and reignited debate about federal parliaments workplace standards and culture. Opposition veterans affairs spokesman Barnaby Joyce and Nationals leader David Littleproud during question time at Parliament House in Canberra on Thursday. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen The crux of the debate is this: Does Canberra still have a drinking problem or does it have a Barnaby Joyce problem? Joyce says no, he simply mixed prescription medication and alcohol and was woozy and fell off the planter box while talking to his wife Vikki. If Id known I was being filmed, Id have got up a lot quicker, he texted several journalists in the gallery. Advertisement Rather than retreat into his shell after the embarrassment, the Nationals MP gave a defiant performance in the House seven days later, delivering a Joycean stream-of-consciousness speech about how the cost-of-living crisis was hurting his New England constituents. Loading The opposition veterans affairs spokesman railed about people in the bush doing it tough, how theyd be hit by the governments tough new fuel emissions standards for cars, the loss of baseload power in the electricity grid, a woman in his seat who had gone vegetarian because she couldnt afford to buy meat, the power of big supermarkets and big unions. When people go to an election, they look for honesty and authenticity, he thundered. Love him or hate him, Joyce is one of the best-known politicians in parliament, a frequent guest on TV talk shows and a lightning rod for debate about the newsworthiness of a politicians private life ever since then-prime minister Malcolm Turnbull introduced a bonk ban inspired by Joyces marriage break-up and subsequent relationship with the staffer who is now his wife. Member for Warringah Zali Steggall asked the prime minister whether he would introduce random drug and alcohol testing for MPs. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen Liberal leader Peter Dutton and Nationals leader David Littleproud were among those leading calls for Joyce to take a break after his fall, while enemies in the always-fractured Nationals party room were quick to background against him, too. By standing up in the House, Joyce was sending the message that he was fine, functioning, and not going anywhere. Advertisement Independent MP Zali Steggall pointedly asked Prime Minister Anthony Albanese during question time whether he would introduce random drug and alcohol testing for MPs and their staff due to the apparent ongoing issues with too much alcohol consumption. Albanese demurred, noting the MPs genuine concern but arguing that parliamentarians were held accountable by their constituents every three years. I dont want to see us be in a position where we say that we are unable to act like adults, and to have that the suggestion which is made. So I understand why she makes it, the member for Warringah, but its not something that I have supported, he said. Joyce who declined to speak to this masthead for this piece has no plans to take a break. I dont take advice from people in Canberra. I take advice from my wife, my close friends, and my local GP. I do not listen to the views of people in this crazy boarding school they call parliament, he told his local paper, The Northern Daily Leader. And he directly addressed suggestions that he has a drinking problem, telling Sky News on Thursday night: No, I dont [have a drinking problem] and I affirm that I have a problem if you mix alcohol with medication and that was shown in brilliant form. Advertisement Only one Labor MP West Australian backbencher Tania Lawrence criticised Joyce, alluding to him in a speech to the House as a Sir Les Patterson type, but the public response was not particularly sympathetic. Someone drew a chalk outline on the path where he lay, someone else affixed a gold plaque to the planter to mark the event (unfortunately, it had the wrong date), and within a week, the site was being reviewed on Google Maps as a great spot to get phone reception 10 centimetres from the ground. Much of the public commentary assumed that parliament was as bad as it ever was, a great white booze hall on the hill. But in reality, the culture has sobered up since then-sex discrimination commissioner Kate Jenkins landmark Set the Standard report into Parliament Houses workplace culture was released in late 2021, following Brittany Higgins rape allegation. Jenkins made 28 recommendations to raise the standards of the federal parliament, including a yet-to-be-formalised alcohol policy. Goldings view. Credit: Matt Golding But while the tap hasnt been turned off, the volume of alcohol downed on the premises has dried up considerably. Fundraising events in the building which could offer an opportunity for a boozy night have been banned, though functions, such as the ones Joyce attended, are still held but end early in the evening. Staff who want to enter the building after 11pm and before 5am now have to sign a form, too, rather than just swiping their pass, and there has been a 40 per cent reduction in the amount of alcohol consumed at the annual Midwinter Ball. Advertisement Speaker Milton Dick says the federal parliament is the peoples house, and we must continue to ensure the parliament and workplace adapt and change with the environment outside of the building too. We know there have been issues in the past. Over the last two years, weve been working incredibly hard to ensure we have the best standards within the parliament, from our members and senators, and to the staff, to ensure the culture improves. But this is an ongoing process, he said. While the Greens have moved their end-of-year party out of the building and Dutton and Albaneses Christmas drinks are now brief stand-up affairs, the Nationals are considered the party least worried about mixing booze and business. Loading As recently as this week, after the Joyce video was everywhere, a handful of Nationals MPs were spotted in their party room after a long sitting day uncorking a bottle or two. But a senior Nationals MP, who asked not to be named so they could speak freely, insists the party has smartened up and entered the 21st century. All the parties have changed their behaviour and thats because of Jenkins, there is a deeper awareness now, the MP said. Advertisement The head of Operation Sovereign Borders has delivered a thinly veiled rebuke to Peter Dutton after the opposition leader accused Labor of losing control of the nations borders. It came after the arrival of a boatload of 30 Pakistani nationals at a remote Indigenous community along Western Australias Kimberley coast. Australian Border Force has confirmed it is undertaking an operation in the states north-west after locals in Beagle Bay, about 100 kilometres north of Broome, discovered a group wandering down a road near the township, while another group was found near the water. Beagle Bay broadcaster Henry Augustine said the commotion was a bit of excitement for the small township. House hunters hoping for an inner Sydney home on a budget will find the most affordable properties in a string of inner west and inner south suburbs. But they will still need relatively deep pockets, and could halve their outlay by looking to an inner-suburban unit instead. The inner west and south offer some of the cheapest house prices in inner Sydney. Credit: Steven Siewert Even in Tempe, the most affordable suburb within 10 kilometres of the Sydney CBD, the median house price was $1.55 million last year, on Domain data, just short of Sydneys record median of almost $1.6 million. It was followed by Arncliffe at about $1,576,000, St Peters at $1.6 million and Botany at $1,625,000. It comes as the NSW Productivity Commissioner this week warned of the need for more higher-density development to avoid the risk of Sydney becoming a city with no grandchildren, given an exodus of people aged 30 to 40 amid declining housing affordability. The Godwar region of Rajasthan is home to a landscape so majestically preternatural, you might think youre in a scene from Star Wars. It is characterised by the oldest surface rocks in India 850-million-year-old granite with what feels like an ancient, pulsating presence. Weather carved hillocks feature deep, dark caves and crevices, and in upper parts, smooth plateaus, in some cases the size of playing fields. At ground level, smaller piles sit swamped by scrub, like little rock huts in disguise. Our safari vehicle has come to a sudden halt. In one of these huts, our guide has spotted a lounging sub-adult leopard. We are so close to him I can see the rise and fall of his belly as he breathes, and Im able to admire the detail in each and every one of the unique rosettes that pattern it. Up so close you can see them breathe. His eyes are wide and unblinking, alert but not seemingly alarmed. We opt to keep it that way and bid a retreat. Washington: A former FBI informant has been charged with lying about US President Joe Biden and his sons involvement in business dealings in Ukraine, a claim that resulted in a criminal probe into Hunter Biden. In a statement, Special Counsel David Weiss, who is leading the probe, said a federal grand jury had indicted Alexander Smirnov, 43, on charges of making a false statement and creating a false and fictitious record in relation to an FBI probe. Smirnov faces a maximum penalty of 25 years in prison if convicted. Hunter Biden, son of President Joe Biden, talks to reporters at the U.S. Capitol in Washington in December. Credit: AP Ukrainian energy company Burisma Holdings and Hunter Bidens role at the company have been heavily scrutinised following unproven claims from Republican former president Donald Trump and others that Democrat Joe Biden improperly tried to help his sons business interests. The White House has denied the claims. Smirnov was arrested on Wednesday at Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas, Nevada, after arriving from overseas, Weiss said. It was not immediately clear whether Smirnov had an attorney. PHILIPSBURG:--- On February 9th, 2024, the management of Carnival Cruises, which also includes the cruise ship AIDA out of Germany organized a tour for members of the Emergency Services of St. Maarten and welcomed paramedics of the Ambulance Department, Medical doctors from SMMC, Ambulance Chief, Fire Chief & Assistant Fire Chief including a representative of the Office of Disaster Management aboard their ship. This was done under the direction of Dr. Stefan Luhrs, an emergency doctor from Germany who visits the island frequently, Ambulance Chief Cylred Richardson, and Ambulance Medical Advisor & Medical Manager Dr. Jacqueline Thompson-Cole of the Ambulance Department of Ministry Public Health, Social Development & Labor. The management of Carnival Cruises expressed their gratitude and appreciation for having members of St. Maartens Emergency Services aboard the AIDA cruise ship where discussions also took place on emergency procedures and in particular medical evacuations. Following the visit aboard the cruise ship, the medical crew of the cruise ship also paid a courtesy visit and tour of both St. Maarten Medical Center, Ambulance Department and the Fire Department for which they were delighted of the quality materials, equipment and accommodation. The medical crew also expressed their gratitude to St. Maartens Emergency Services for conducting a well-coordinated transfer of two of their patients earlier that day. The aim of the Emergency Services is to continue to foster and enhance a better working relationship with all cruise ships visiting the island in an effort to establish direct lines of communication and coordination that will have positive outcomes with transfers when most needed. Therefore, further dialogue, collaboration & cooperation will continue. Israeli security forces investigate the scene after a shooting attack at a bus stop near the southern Israeli city of Kiryat Malakhi, on Feb. 16, 2024. The shooting attack in southern Israel killed two people and injured four others on Friday afternoon, according to Israeli police and emergency services. (Ilan Assayag/JINI via Xinhua) JERUSALEM, Feb. 16 (Xinhua) -- A shooting attack in southern Israel killed two people and injured four others on Friday afternoon, according to Israeli police and emergency services. A gunman opened fire at several people at a bus stop near the southern Israeli city of Kiryat Malakhi, injuring six, until he was "neutralized" by an armed civilian on the site, the Israel Police said in a statement. The Kaplan Hospital in southern Israel announced later that two of the victims were declared dead upon arriving at the hospital. Among the other four people injured, two are in serious condition and two in moderate condition, according to the Magen David Adom emergency service. Israeli security forces investigate the scene after a shooting attack at a bus stop near the southern Israeli city of Kiryat Malakhi, on Feb. 16, 2024. The shooting attack in southern Israel killed two people and injured four others on Friday afternoon, according to Israeli police and emergency services. (Ilan Assayag/JINI via Xinhua) Israeli security forces investigate the scene after a shooting attack at a bus stop near the southern Israeli city of Kiryat Malakhi, on Feb. 16, 2024. The shooting attack in southern Israel killed two people and injured four others on Friday afternoon, according to Israeli police and emergency services. (Ilan Assayag/JINI via Xinhua) Israeli security forces investigate the scene after a shooting attack at a bus stop near the southern Israeli city of Kiryat Malakhi, on Feb. 16, 2024. The shooting attack in southern Israel killed two people and injured four others on Friday afternoon, according to Israeli police and emergency services. (Ilan Assayag/JINI via Xinhua) Israeli security forces investigate the scene after a shooting attack at a bus stop near the southern Israeli city of Kiryat Malakhi, on Feb. 16, 2024. The shooting attack in southern Israel killed two people and injured four others on Friday afternoon, according to Israeli police and emergency services. (Ilan Assayag/JINI via Xinhua) The full moon of February, called the Snow Moon, will occur in the eastern U.S. during the morning of Feb. 24, about a day before reaching apogee, the farthest point from Earth in its orbit creating a "minimoon," a full moon that is slightly smaller than average. The full moon happens when the moon is exactly on the opposite side of the Earth from the sun. Most of the time the moon is illuminated by the sun's light. Once in a while, the moon's orbit carries it within the shadow of Earth. February's full moon will miss the Earth's shadow, because the moon's orbit is tilted by five degrees to the plane of the Earth's orbit, and therefore Earth won't be directly between the sun and the moon. While this full moon might be classed as a "minimoon" that isn't a recognized astronomical term; it just describes the fact that the moon looks a bit smaller. The size difference isn't enough for any but the most conscientious observers to notice; the size difference is around 10%. Minimoons, and their counterparts, the supermoons, occur because the orbit of the moon isn't perfectly circular. At its nearest, the moon is 360,000 kilometers (224,000 miles) from Earth, and at the farthest it is 405,00 kilometers (251,655 miles) from our planet. Related: Full moon names for 2024 (and how they came to be) TOP TELESCOPE PICK: (Image credit: Celestron) Looking for a telescope to see the features of the full moon up close? We recommend the Celestron Astro Fi 102 as the top pick in our best beginner's telescope guide. Don't forget a moon filter! The moon becomes officially full for observers on the East Coast of the U.S. on Feb. 24 at 7:30 a.m. Eastern Standard Time (1230 UTC), according to the U.S. Naval Observatory. The moon sets that morning at 6:58 a.m. in New York City, so at the moment when it is officially full the moon will be below the horizon. Moonrise is at 5:55 p.m. The moon will be in the constellation Leo. Moonrise on Feb. 24 will be about 14 minutes after sunset (which happens at 5:41 p.m., per the USNO). Timing of lunar phases depends on one's time zone (because it depends on the moon's position relative to Earth, not one's position on the Earth's surface). So to catch the moment when it becomes full one must go westward; in Chicago the full moon is at 6:30 a.m. Central Time on Feb. 24 and the moon sets at 6:55 a.m. In San Francisco, the full moon will be at 4:30 a.m. and moonset is at 7:10 a.m. Going east, the just-full Moon will be below the horizon until one gets to the longitudes of western China or Bangladesh. In Dhaka, the moon rises at 5:54 p.m. local time and the moon reaches full phase at 6:15 p.m. Through binoculars or a small telescope the full moon will appear so bright that it can be hard to spot detail. That is due to the lack of shadows to give any contrast; we are seeing the lunar surface at noontime on the moon. The Sun (from the perspective of a person standing on the moon) would be directly overhead. That said, moon filters are available that can make some features stand out better. If one waits a few days after the full moon or observes a few days before, shadows will appear that show the lunar topography and surface features better. Being in the constellation Leo, the Moon will be about 12 degrees north of the celestial equator; this puts it a bit higher in the sky for Northern Hemisphere sky watchers. In New York, for example, the moon will be at an altitude of about 63 degrees when it crosses the meridian on Feb. 24 at 12:01 a.m., and at 58 degrees when it does so the next night at 12:42 a.m. Hobart, Tasmania, is at 39 degrees south; about as far below the equator as New York City is above it (New York is at 40 degrees North), and there the Moon (which reaches full phase at 11:30 p.m. local time on Feb 24) will cross the meridian at 1:32 a.m. on Feb. 25 at an altitude of 34 degrees. The Moon will appear highest in the sky in locations at about 12 degrees North. For example in Willemstad, Curacao, the nearly full moon will rise at 6:16 p.m. February 23; it will cross the meridian at 12:40 a.m. on Feb. 24 with an altitude of 87.5 degrees and set that morning at 7:02 a.m. (the moon reaches full phase there at 8:30 a.m., after it sets). An illustration of the Full Snow Moon as it will appear on Feb. 24, 2024. (Image credit: Chris Vaughan/Starry Night) Visible planets By late February, at the latitude of New York City, the sky will be fully dark at about 7 p.m. The moon will be almost due east, about 11 degrees high. For almost the whole night Jupiter will be the lone visible planet; it becomes visible soon after sunset, and will appear about halfway between the zenith and the horizon in the southwest. The planet sets by about 11:05 p.m. in New York. Other planets won't be visible until just before sunrise; In New York Mars doesn't rise until 5:30 a.m. on Feb. 25; Venus rises only two minutes later. As sunrise is at 6:37 a.m. one can find them by using Venus as a guide, since it will just clear the horizon enough to see as the sky is getting light, and the planet should remain visible until about a half hour before sunrise; at that point Venus will be about 5 and a half degrees above the southeastern horizon. Mars will be just above and to the right of Venus. Mercury and Saturn are both too close to the sun to be seen against the glare. As one moves towards the equator Venus and Mars rise a few minutes earlier and the angle their paths make with the horizon is more vertical, so they will be higher in the sky at sunrise. In Miami, for example, Venus rises at 5:29 a.m. and Mars at 5:25 a.m. local time on Feb. 25, while sunrise is at 6:48 a.m. That puts Venus about 10 degrees high a half hour before the sun comes up. In Quito, where sunrise on Feb. 25 is at 6:23 a.m., Venus rises at 4:46 a.m. and by 5:53 a.m. is 15 degrees high in the southeast; Mars will be above it and to the right. Constellations The full moon will share the sky with a number of bright winter constellations. For Northern Hemisphere mid-latitude observers, Orion is visible the first half of the night, starting the evening high in the south by 7 p.m. Near Orion are Taurus and Gemini, with Taurus on the right and above Orion and Gemini to the left and above it. To the southeast (left and below) of Orion is Canis Major, the Big Dog, home to Sirius, the brightest single star in the sky. All three constellations are bright enough that they don't get overwhelmed by the full moon, even in urban areas. In the mid-southern latitudes, the sky gets darker later as it is still the summertime, but by 10 p.m. when the moon is in the northeast, the Southern Cross will be rising in the southeast and about a third of the way from horizon to zenith. Below the Cross one can see Hadar and Rigil Kentaurus (the latter also known as Alpha Centauri) marking the Centaur. High in the south, at 68 degrees in altitude, is Canopus. The brightest star in Carina, the Keel of the legendary Argo. Moon Legends While the Old Farmer's Almanac refers to the February full moon as the Snow Moon, Native nations in the Americas had a number of traditional names for that particular full moon. According to the Ontario Native Literacy Project, the Ojibwe (or Anishinaabe) peoples called February's full moon Mikwa Giizis, the Bear Moon. The Cree called it the Kisipisim, or the Great Moon, because "animals do not move around much, and trappers have little chance of catching them." The Tlingit of the Pacific Northwest call the February full moon S'eek Dis, or Black Bear Moon, while the Haida called it Hlgitun Kungaay, or "Goose moon," according to the Tlingit Moon and Tide Teaching Resource published by the University of Alaska at Fairbanks. In the southeast of what is now the United States the Cherokee called the second lunation of the year the Bone Moon. In the southern hemisphere, February is during the summer, and the Maori of New Zealand described the lunar month in February to March (as measured between the successive new moons, with the full moon halfway between) as Poutu-te-rangi or "the crops are now harvested," according to the Encyclopedia of New Zealand. EU rules policing digital content kick in Saturday Brussels, Feb 16 (AFP) Feb 16, 2024 Digital companies will have nowhere to hide after the EU's landmark content law enters into full force from Saturday, with the risk of heavy fines for any violations. The new rules, known as the Digital Services Act (DSA), kicked in last year for the world's largest platforms, including Facebook and TikTok, but will now apply to all except the smallest companies. When the European Union proposed the law in 2020, the objective was simple: to tame the wild west online, where Brussels felt companies were not doing enough to block illegal content or acting sufficiently to protect consumers. Brussels has already bared its teeth, showing the tech titans that it means business. There have been a wave of probes launched by the European Commission to quiz the largest platforms on how they are addressing an array of concerns from consumer protection to children's activity online. So far, the EU has launched formal infringement proceedings against tech billionaire Elon Musk's X, formerly Twitter, over "illegal content and disinformation". Punishment for violations of the DSA will be harsh. Those that breach the rules could be fined up to six percent of their global annual turnover, or even banned in the EU for serious and repeated violations. The EU will officially be able to hit companies with sanctions, including fines, for any violations from Saturday. But beyond the prospect of fines, Alexandre de Streel of the think tank Centre on Regulation in Europe (CERRE), said the law aimed ultimately to change the culture of digital firms. "The DSA is a gradual system, everything is not going to change in one minute and not on February 17," he said. "The goal isn't to impose fines, it's that platforms change their practices." - Enforcement across the bloc - Keeping an eye on firms will be a duty split between the commission, with its team of more than 120 experts, and EU states. As an example of their new obligations, platforms that offer shopping services must act swiftly to stop the sale of counterfeit products and block repeat fraudsters. The EU also prohibits targeted advertising for children and seeks to make it easier for users to report illegal content, complain and seek compensation for rule breaches. The commission will supervise the largest platforms but states will need to set up "digital services coordinators" to monitor the smaller firms. Firms with fewer than 50 staff and a turnover of less than 10 million euros ($10.8 million) will be exempted from the most burdensome rules. - Challenges - The law entered into force in August for "very large" platforms owned by Google's Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, TikTok parent ByteDance, Facebook owner Meta and Microsoft. The EU believes these platforms must do more since their size and reach means they have greater responsibilities to address the higher risks to users. The 22 platforms facing more stringent rules include booking.com, Google Search, Instagram, Snapchat and X as well as three major porn platforms. They are obliged to be more transparent, giving access to researchers to scrutinise the platforms as well as publishing yearly risk assessments at their own cost. The new law has already seen its share of controversy. The DSA has faced a slew of legal challenges from Amazon and Zalando over their designations as "very large" firms, and from Meta and TikTok over a fee to pay for enforcement. Meta paid around 11 million euros while TikTok refused to say how much it paid. aro-raz/ec/rlp Meta Alphabet Inc. Amazon.com France, Germany block EU deal on scaled-back app worker law Brussels, Feb 16 (AFP) Feb 16, 2024 France and Germany on Friday refused to back a watered-down agreement on controversial EU rules covering app workers in the gig economy, European diplomats said. The European Union's objective was to bring in bloc-wide rules that supporters hoped would improve conditions for app workers in the gig economy by reclassifying some as employed. But the latest text scaled back those efforts, by scrapping any formal list of criteria and letting states decide how to classify workers. For any approval, there needed to be a qualified majority of 15 out of 27 EU nations, representing at least 65 percent of the bloc's population. During a meeting of member states' ambassadors in Brussels, the EU's two most populous countries, France and Germany, blocked the text with the support of Estonia and Greece, denying the qualified majority, diplomats told AFP. There were concerns that the text did not harmonise rules across Europe and would create legal uncertainties, a French diplomat said. "Unfortunately, the necessary qualified majority voting wasn't found," Belgium, which holds the rotating EU presidency, said on social media. "We'll now consider the next steps," it added. EU diplomats said the presidency would not give up. "Why would they? There are 23 countries supporting this deal," one said. Others were sceptical, saying time is running out to find a new compromise and complete the legislative process before June's European elections. - Macron blamed - The draft rules have been a source of controversy since the European Commission first proposed the text in 2021. Member states and the European Parliament struck a first agreement on the draft text in December 2023 but days later, a France-led blockade stopped the deal in its tracks. EU negotiators returned to the table and reached a new deal last week. The original text agreed in December said that if a worker met two out of five criteria, it will be presumed they are an employee, giving them access to benefits like sick pay. The idea was to end the practice of courts across Europe handing down decisions that varied wildly. Workers' groups slammed the failure to reach an an agreement on even the latest watered-down text. "Millions of precarious platform workers with little or no rights will remain at the mercy of unscrupulous platforms," the European Transport Workers' Federation said. Left-wing French MEP, Leila Chaibi, accused French President Emmanuel Macron of defending Uber's interests. "To the very end, Macron will have torpedoed this directive and prevented millions of workers from having any rights and until the end he will have defended the interests of Uber," she told AFP. - 'Legal uncertainty' - The industry welcomed the failure to back the text. The rejection "confirms that member states do not want to approve a deal that would have created more legal uncertainty for the hundreds of thousands of ride-hailing drivers in Europe," said Aurelien Pozzana, Move EU chair. Move EU is a European association of ride-hailing platforms representing companies including Uber and Bolt. "It is now high time to pause the discussions and assess after European elections if there is any support for this text for which no agreement has been found in three years," Pozzana said. "Today EU countries recognised that the proposed text directly contradicted what platform workers say they want," an Uber spokesperson said. The EU parliament believes at least 5.5 million people could be wrongly classified as self-employed. There are around 28 million gig workers dependent on online platforms in Europe, with the number expected to rise to 43 million in 2025. aro-raz/del/gv CANBERRA, Feb. 16 (Xinhua) -- Australia, Canada and New Zealand have called for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza. According to a joint statement by prime ministers of the three countries on Thursday, they expressed "grave concern" over indications that Israel was planning a ground offensive into Rafah, a Palestinian city in southern Gaza Strip. A military operation into Rafah would be catastrophic, as about 1.5 million Palestinians are taking refuge in the area, the statement said. "With the humanitarian situation in Gaza already dire, the impacts on Palestinian civilians from an expanded military operation would be devastating. We urge the Israeli government not to go down this path. There is simply nowhere else for civilians to go," it said. "An immediate humanitarian ceasefire is urgently needed," it said, stressing that a sustainable ceasefire is necessary to finding a path toward securing lasting peace for Israelis and Palestinians. New AI-video tool by maker of ChatGPT worries media creators Paris, Feb 16 (AFP) Feb 16, 2024 A new artificial intelligence tool that promises to create short videos from simple text commands has raised concerns along with questions from artists and media professionals. OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT and image generator DALL-E, said Thursday it was testing a text-to-video model called "Sora" that can allow users to create realistic videos with simple prompts. The San Francisco-based startup says Sora can "generate complex scenes with multiple characters, specific types of motion, and accurate details of the subject and background," but admits it still has limitations, such as possibly "mixing up left and right." Here are early reactions from industries that could be affected by the new generative artificial intelligence (AI) tool: - Studios - Examples of Sora-created clips on OpenAI's website range widely in style and subject, from seemingly real drone footage above a crowded market to an animated bunny-like creature bouncing through a forest. Thomas Bellenger, founder and art director of Cutback Productions, has been carefully watching the evolution of generative AI image generation. "There were those who felt that it was an unstoppable groundswell that was progressing at an astonishing rate, and those who just didn't want to see it," said Bellenger, whose France-based company has created large scale visual effects for such touring musicians as Stromae and Justice. He said the development of generative AI has "created a lot of debate internally" at the company and "a lot of sometimes visceral reactions". Bellenger noted that Sora has yet to be released, so its capabilities have yet to be tested by the public. "What is certain is that no one expected such a technological leap forward in just a few weeks," Bellenger said. "It's unheard of." He said whatever the future holds, they'll "find ways to create differently". - Video games - Video game creators are equally likely to be impacted by the new invention, with reaction among the sector divided between those open to embracing a new tool and those fearing it might replace them. French video game giant Ubisoft hailed the OpenAI announcement as a "quantum leap forward" with the potential to let players and development teams express their imaginations. "We've been exploring this potential for a long time," a Ubisoft spokesperson told AFP. Alain Puget, chief of Nantes-based studio Alkemi, said he won't replace any artists with AI tools, which "only reproduce things done by humans". Nevertheless, Puget noted, this "visually impressive" tool could be used by small studios to produce more professionally rendered images. While video "cut scenes" that play out occasionally to advance game storylines are different from player-controlled action, Puget expects tools like Sora to eventually be able to replace "the way we do things." - Truth vs Fiction - Basile Simon, a former journalist and current Stanford University researcher, thinks there has been "a terrifying leap forward in the last year" when it comes to generative AI allowing realistic-looking fabrications to be rapidly produced. He dreads the idea of how such tools will be abused during elections and fears the public will "no longer know what to believe". Julien Pain of French TV channel FranceInfo's fact-checking program "Vrai ou Faux" (True or False) says he's also worried about abuse of AI tools. "Until now, it was easy enough to spot fake images, for example by noticing the repetitive faces in the background," Pain said. "What this new software does seems to be on another level." While OpenAI and US tech titans may promote safety tools, such as industry-wide watermarks that reveal AI-created imagery, "what about tomorrow's competitors in China and Russia?", he posited. - Advertising - The Fred & Farid agency, which has collaborated with the Longchamp and Budweiser brands and where a studio dedicated to AI was opened in early January, anticipates that "80 percent of brand content will be generated by artificial intelligence". "Creative genius" will no longer be limited by production skills thanks to generative AI tools, one enthusiast contended. Stephanie Laporte, chief executive and founder of the OTTA advertising and influencer agency, believes the technology will "force the industry to evolve". She also anticipates ad companies with lean budgets will resort to AI tools to save money on workers. A possible exception, she believes, is the luxury segment, where brands are "very sensitive to authenticity" and "will probably use AI sparingly". reb-adm-kf-mch-gc/des Israel sends troops into 'besieged' Gaza hospital Gaza Strip, Palestinian Territories, Feb 15 (AFP) Feb 15, 2024 Israel sent troops into a hospital in war-torn Gaza on Thursday where it said hostages may have been held, as medics warned the key medical facility was operating in "near impossible" conditions. The raid came after days of intense fighting between troops and Hamas militants around the Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis -- one of the largest medical sites in southern Gaza, and one of the territory's few hospitals that are still operational. Israel, which has accused Hamas militants of using hospitals for military purposes, said it was carrying out a "precise and limited operation" at the facility with "no obligation" for patients or staff to evacuate. Israeli army spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said there was "credible intelligence from a number of sources, including from released hostages, indicating that Hamas held hostages at the Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis and that there may be bodies of our hostages" there. The health ministry in Hamas-ruled Gaza reported that thousands of people who had sought refuge in the complex, including patients, have been made to leave in recent days. It has called the situation at Nasser "catastrophic", with staff unable to move bodies to the morgue because of the risks involved. Footage on social media, which AFP could not independently verify, shows rescuers trying to move patients from the hospital's orthopaedic ward, after it was reportedly hit, to safer rooms. Using mobile flashlights, rescuers were seen dragging a patient on a bed, while some others carried another sick person in a blanket amid fallen debris. Medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF) described a "chaotic situation" in the hospital after it was shelled early Thursday, killing and wounding multiple people. "Our medical staff have had to flee the hospital, leaving patients behind," MSF said, with one employee unaccounted for and another detained by Israeli forces. The World Health Organization has described Nasser hospital as a critical facility "for all of Gaza", where only a minority of hospitals are even partly operational. - Gaza pounded - Roughly 130 hostages are still believed to be in Gaza after the October 7 attack on Israel by Hamas militants, which resulted in the deaths of about 1,160 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures. Dozens of the estimated 250 hostages seized during the attack were freed in exchange for Palestinian prisoners during a week-long truce in November. Israel says 30 of those still in Gaza are presumed dead. At least 28,663 people, mostly women and children, have been killed in Israel's assault on the Palestinian territory, according to the health ministry. Israel launched more deadly strikes on southern Gaza on Thursday, after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insisted it would push ahead with a "powerful" operation in the overcrowded city of Rafah for "complete victory". - 'No safe place' - Hundreds of thousands of people have been driven into Rafah, seeking shelter in a sprawling makeshift encampment near the Egyptian border. "We were displaced from Gaza City to the south," said Ahlam Abu Assi. "(Then) they told us to go to Rafah, so we went to Rafah. "We can't keep going and coming," she added. "There is no safe place for us." Britain joined Australia, Canada and New Zealand Thursday in warning Israel not to launch a ground offensive in the city. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak told Netanyahu in a telephone call that Britain was "deeply concerned about... the potentially devastating humanitarian impact of a military incursion into Rafah," his office said. In Cairo, efforts to secure a ceasefire entered a third day, with mediators from the United States, Qatar and Egypt trying to broker a deal to halt the fighting and see the release of the remaining hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel. CIA director Bill Burns made an unannounced visit to Israel Thursday for talks with Netanyahu and the head of Israel's Mossad intelligence agency, David Barnea. Barnea had already held talks with Burns and Egyptian and Qatari representatives in Cairo on Tuesday, before a Hamas delegation visited on Wednesday. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he believed an agreement was still "possible". "We're very focused on it and I believe it's possible," he said on a visit to Albania. Families of the hostages protested outside the defence ministry in Tel Aviv to put pressure on the government to agree a new prisoner exchange. In one of the biggest demonstrations yet, some protesters handcuffed themselves to one another and also to ministry railings. - 'Drop delusional demands' - Netanyahu's office said it did not receive "any new proposal" from Hamas about releasing hostages, and Israeli media reported that the country's delegation would not return to negotiations until Hamas softens its stance. While he did not comment directly on the reports, Netanyahu said: "I insist that Hamas drop their delusional demands and, when they drop these demands, we can move forward." Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas, who heads the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority, has urged Hamas to "rapidly" agree to a truce and stave off further tragedy. With regional tensions high, Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah movement said it had fired dozens of rockets into northern Israel, after Israeli strikes on Wednesday killed 15 people, including one of its commanders. The Israeli military said it had killed Hezbollah commander Ali al-Debs, his deputy and another fighter. Since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war, the Iran-backed Hezbollah movement has traded near-daily fire with Israeli troops, with tens of thousands displaced on both sides. burs-kir/srm Russia developing 'troubling' anti-satellite weapon: White House Washington, Feb 15 (AFP) Feb 15, 2024 Russia is developing a space-based anti-satellite weapon that is "troubling" for the United States but poses no immediate threat to people on Earth, the White House said Thursday. The announcement came a day after a wave of speculation sparked by US lawmakers making a cryptic warning of an unspecified but serious national security threat to the country. Moscow denied the "malicious" and "unfounded" claims, describing them as a White House ploy to try to pass a multi-billion-dollar Ukrainian war aid package stalled in Congress. "I can confirm that it is related to an anti-satellite capability that Russia is developing," National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters in a briefing at the White House. "This is not an active capability that's been deployed. And though Russia's pursuit of this particular capability is troubling, there is no immediate threat to anyone's safety," he said. Kirby confirmed that the Russian weapon was "space-based" but would not comment on reports in US media that it was either nuclear-capable or nuclear powered. But he said it would breach the 1967 Outer Space Treaty, which both Russia and the United States are parties to -- and which bans the deployment of nuclear weapons in space. The weapon could pose a lethal risk to astronauts in low orbit, along with potentially disrupting vital military and civilian satellites, he added. "We are not talking about a weapon that can be used to attack human beings or cause physical destruction here on Earth," said Kirby. US President Joe Biden had been kept informed and had ordered officials to reach out to Moscow over the weapon, although it had not responded yet. Concern had gripped Washington since Republican House Intelligence Committee chairman Mike Turner issued a public statement on Wednesday referring to a "serious national security threat" and calling on Biden to "declassify all information relating to this threat." - 'Tricks' - White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan was holding a closed-door meeting with congressional leaders on Thursday to brief them about the developments. The early disclosure by lawmakers however irked the White House, with Kirby saying they were working out whether US intelligence sources and methods had been compromised. Democrat Biden and the Republican-led House are at an impasse over a White House request for $60 billion in military aid to help Ukraine's defense against the Russian invasion entering its third year. Republican House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson -- who has repeatedly warned he will not address allies' security until America's immigration system is shored up -- is refusing to bring the Senate-passed bill to the floor for a vote. Kirby said Ukraine's embattled frontline town of Avdiivka was "at risk of falling into Russian control," partly due to a lack of ammunition. Moscow dismissed the claims about the technology, calling them a US attempt to denigrate Russia and push through the Ukraine funding. Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the White House was "trying to get Congress to vote on the appropriations bill any way it can," the state-run TASS news agency reported. "It's obvious. Let's see what tricks, so to speak, the White House is going to pull," he was quoted as saying. Kirby said the Kremlin's comments were "bollocks." The West has accused Russia of reckless nuclear rhetoric after President Vladimir Putin said he was prepared to use a nuclear weapon if he felt an existential threat. The Outer Space Treaty, which both Russia and the United States are parties to, bans the deployment of nuclear weapons in space. The row meanwhile came as Putin said he preferred the "predictable" Biden over Donald Trump in November's US presidential vote. "Mr Putin should just stay out of our elections," added Kirby. Egypt building 'enclosure' for displaced Gazans in Sinai: report, NGO Cairo, Feb 16 (AFP) Feb 16, 2024 Egypt is constructing a walled camp in the Sinai Peninsula to receive displaced Palestinian civilians from the Gaza Strip, a US media report and an Egyptian human rights monitor said on Friday. But Israel, which is waging a four-month-old war against Hamas militants in the territory, said it had no plans to move civilians there, as it prepares an offensive in Rafah, in Gaza's far south. The Wall Street Journal said an eight-square-mile (21-square-kilometre) "walled enclosure" was under construction on the Egyptian side of the border. The compound was part of "contingency plans" if ceasefire talks in Cairo failed and could accommodate more than 100,000 people, it added. The Sinai Foundation for Human Rights, an Egyptian NGO, released a report this week that it said showed construction of the compound to receive Palestinian refugees "in the case of a mass exodus". AFP reviewed satellite pictures taken on Thursday of the area in northern Sinai, showing machinery building a wall along the Egypt-Gaza border. The area is highly secure and closed to journalists. A comparison of satellite photos taken on February 10 and February 15 shows land having been graded. North Sinai governor Mohamed Shousha has denied Egypt is preparing "an isolated area in Sinai" to receive refugees. The construction work was to assess houses destroyed during upheaval in recent years to "properly compensate" owners, he said Thursday. The Sinai Foundation for Human Rights said two contractors told it construction firms had been tasked with building the gated area, "surrounded by seven-metre-high walls". The site lies on the "rubble" of Egyptian homes "demolished" during the state's war against Islamist insurgents in northern Sinai over the past decade, it said. Sources in Sinai told AFP the area was being prepared in case of a breach of the Gaza border, which Egypt has fortified with additional walls and buffer zones since Israel's war with Hamas began. "The area will be readied with tents" and humanitarian assistance would be delivered inside, said one source who spoke on condition of anonymity. - Warning - Egypt, which controls the Rafah border crossing from Gaza, has repeatedly warned against any "forced displacement" of Palestinians from Gaza into the Sinai desert. President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has said if that happened it could jeopardise the peace treaty Egypt signed with Israel in 1979. UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi expressed understanding for Egypt's opposition to any mass exodus. "It would be catastrophic for Palestinians... to be displaced again," Grandi told the BBC on Friday. "It would be catastrophic for Egypt from all points of view, and more important than anything else, a further refugee crisis would be almost the nail in the coffin of a future peace process already." Some 1.4 million people -- more than half the population of Gaza -- are currently crammed into the city of Rafah on the Egyptian border, after escaping intense Israeli bombardment elsewhere in the territory. But the Israeli military is facing growing calls not to go into the city, because of fears it could lead to heavy civilian casualties and worsen an acute humanitarian crisis. In Tel Aviv on Friday, Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said Israel had "no intention of evacuating Palestinian civilians to Egypt". "We respect and value our peace agreement with Egypt, which is a cornerstone of stability in the region as well as an important partner," he added. Of military action in Rafah, Gallant said: "We are thoroughly planning future operations in Rafah, which is a significant Hamas stronghold." He said operations would not target civilians, who are facing "unprecedented" levels of "near famine-like conditions", according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization. Israel has besieged the Gaza Strip since October 7, when Hamas fighters launched a deadly assault on border communities in southern Israel. Some 1,160 died, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures, while about 250 were taken hostage. Israel estimates that some 130 are still in Gaza but 30 may be dead. According to the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza, at least 28,775 people have been killed in the territory since the start of the war. BEIJING, Feb. 16 (Xinhua) -- The People's Bank of China (PBOC), the country's central bank, has signed bilateral currency swap agreements with more than 40 foreign central banks or monetary authorities, according to a PBOC report. At present, 31 bilateral currency swap agreements are in force, with a total scale of about 4.16 trillion yuan (about 586 billion U.S. dollars), the report said. Bilateral currency swaps between central banks are financing arrangements in which one country's central bank can exchange its own currency for another. The swap funds can be used to support bilateral trade and investment activities, helping save exchange costs and reduce exchange rate risks. The currency swap agreements China signed have played a positive role in boosting market confidence and maintaining regional and global financial stability, according to the report. KIGALI, Feb. 16 (Xinhua) -- The African Development Bank (AfDB) and Rwanda have launched a Center of Excellence for Aviation Skills project to meet national and international aviation training standards and industry demand. The 26.6-million-U.S.-dollar project is in line with Rwanda's national development strategy, Vision 2050, which underpins the need for core skills and competencies as a prerequisite for the country to achieve upper-middle-income status by 2035 and a high-income status by 2050, the Rwanda Development Board (RDB) said in a statement Thursday. The five-year project will also contribute to the African Union's 50-year continental development blueprint, Agenda 2063, which envisages an Africa with well-educated citizens and skills revolution underpinned by science, technology, and innovation, the statement said. RDB Chief Executive Officer Francis Gatare described the project as a unique investment that will usher in a new era of opportunity and progress for Rwanda's aviation sector. "By establishing a cutting-edge center of excellence, we are not only building infrastructure; we are nurturing talent, fostering innovation, and charting a course towards sustainable development," he said. "We are optimistic the center will position Rwanda as a beacon of excellence in the skies of Africa and beyond, propelling the economy to new heights." AfDB Country Manager for Rwanda Aissa Toure said the center is aligned with one of the bank's priority areas, geared to improving skills and financial capabilities to foster growth. Once Baldurs Gate 3 and Spidey were done, there wasnt much left for the rest of the pack. Still, a variety of games won prizes in their respective genres: Street Fighter 6 nabbed fighting game of the year, Xbox exclusive Forza Motorsport was crowned racing game of the year, and Cocoon won the award for top indie game. The latter is currently available on Xbox Game Pass, the subscription service that lets you play games on Xbox consoles, laptops and mobile. Among the new charges is the alleged rape of a woman in her 70s in her home in the Algarve, the sexual abuse of a girl aged at least 14, and a 2004 rape at knifepoint of a young woman in her own home, an act he is said to have videotaped. Lord Cameron, who was at the Munich Security Conference on Friday, told broadcasters: There should be consequences because theres no doubt in my mind that this man was a brave fighter against corruption, for justice, for democracy, and look what Putins Russia did to him. Its just as varied a scene in Scotland, according to Sean Fennelly, The Balvenies brand ambassador: The real variety in Scotch whisky is to be found in single malts. There are roughly 130 malt distilleries scattered across Scotland and its islands, each with a totally unique character, so finding the ones that resonate with you is part of the fun. I love holding tastings where Glenfiddich and The Balvenie are tried side-by-side. Drams from two whisky distilleries from the same street, in the same tiny (population 1600) Speyside town of Dufftown, that nevertheless taste completely different. SANAA, Feb. 16 (Xinhua) -- A British maritime security agency reported a new missile attack on a commercial vessel near Yemen's port city of Hodeidah on Friday, the second attack in less than 24 hours. "The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency received a report of an incident in the vicinity of 70 nautical miles north west of al-Mukha (south of Yemen's Hodeidah port city). The master reports the vessel was attacked by a missile and reports an explosion in close proximity," the UKMTO said in a statement on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter. "The military authorities are responding," it said, referring to the U.S.-British maritime forces tasked to protect vessels from Houthi missile attacks in the Red Sea. It noted that the vessel and crew were reported safe. Since last November, Yemen's Houthi group has been carrying out attacks in the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandab Strait on ships linked to Israel, in a move to show its solidarity with Hamas fighting with Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip since last October. In response, the United States and Britain have launched airstrikes and missile attacks on Houthi targets in Yemen since Jan. 12. The Houthis have vowed to retaliate by expanding attacks on ships, including American and British commercial and military vessels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. LONDON, Feb. 16 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese Embassy in Britain on Thursday expressed firm opposition to British Foreign Secretary David Cameron's remarks comparing the Red Sea to the Taiwan Strait. Responding to Cameron's remarks that he would urge China to support "freedom of navigation" in relevant areas, an embassy spokesperson said: "It is completely wrong for the British side to compare the Red Sea to the Taiwan Strait. We firmly oppose it." "Taiwan is an inalienable part of China's territory. According to UNCLOS (the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea) and Chinese laws, the waters of the Taiwan Strait, extending from both shores towards the middle of the Strait, are divided into several zones including internal waters, territorial sea, contiguous zone, and the Exclusive Economic Zone. China has sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction over the Taiwan Strait," the spokesperson said. "At the same time, we respect the lawful rights of other countries in relevant waters. We firmly oppose any country stirring trouble in the Taiwan Strait and undermining our sovereignty and security in the name of 'freedom of navigation'," said the spokesperson. The Red Sea is an important international trade route for goods and energy. It is important to ensure the security of international sea lanes, said the spokesperson. "We do not want to see tensions escalate in the Red Sea. We hope that all relevant parties will play a constructive and responsible role in safeguarding the security of the Red Sea region." Romanian Foreign Affairs Minister Luminita Odobescu, reacting on Friday to the death of Russian opposition politician Aleksei Navalny, said that he will remain a symbol of the fight for freedom and democracy. "Shocked by Alexei Navalny's death. There should be no doubt about responsibility of Putin's regime. Navalny remains a symbol for the fight for freedom, liberty and democracy. Deepest condolences to his family. Romania stands united with those who strive for justice and freedom against autocracy," the Romanian chief diplomat wrote on X (formerly Twitter), agerpres reports. MEP and former European Commissioner Dacian Ciolos also took to social media to deplore the death of the jailed Russian opponent."The death of Russian dissident Aleksei Navalny shows that in a dictatorial society the system can kill you without anyone being held accountable for the crime. May God rest Navalny in peace, the one who had the strength to stand up to Putin to the very end. The supporters of Putinist rhetoric in Romania, Simion and Sosoaca, should at least have the decency to stop using the words 'freedom' and 'democracy' in the propaganda they spread in a country that found its way to the West with the price of blood," Ciolos wrote on Facebook on Friday.In his turn, Deputy Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies Dan Barna said that "Aleksei Navalny was murdered because he opposed Putin's tyranny.""This is yet another moment when the Kremlin dictator shows his contempt for people, democracy and any idea of freedom. The free world must stay united to defeat this criminal. Now more than ever it is important to support Ukraine, because dictators like Putin don't understand 'democracy' other than by physically taking out those who dare think differently than their official propaganda," Barna wrote on X. The minister of National Defense, Angel Tilvar, had, on Friday, a meeting with the chairman of the Lockheed Martin company, Jim Taiclet, on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, in which context he spoke of the priority of equipping the Romanian army with the latest equipment. According to a press release from the Ministry of National Defence (MApN), the topics on the agenda of the talks concerned the implementation stage of the ongoing endowment programs with this company, both through Government-to-Government and commercial contracts, agerpres reports. The quality of the cooperation, as well as the high-tech products already in the Romanian Army's equipment, were appreciated, such as the F-16 Fighting Falcon multi-role aircraft, the C-130 Hercules tactical transport aircraft, the multiple high-range missile launchers - HIMARS, missiles for the PATRIOT systems, as well as various types of radars, the source said."Equipping the Romanian Army with state-of-the-art equipment is a priority for my team and we will continue to look for the most effective solutions in this direction. In an extremely competitive world and in a field in a dynamic continuum, we must have the ability to adapt, including by embracing new technologies, digitization and research on the defense dimension," Minister Tilvar said.The two officials agreed that the standardization of digitization at the NATO level and the intensification of the pace of implementation of new technologies in the field of defense represent current and important topics.The minister of National Defense emphasized the importance of respecting the agreed schedule regarding the deliveries of purchased equipment, taking into account Romania's position on NATO's Eastern Flank and on the Black Sea.The Romanian official welcomed the efforts of the American company to develop in our country, in Bacau, through the Aerostar company, the Maintenance Center for the HIMARS system. He also highlighted the maintenance of F16 aircraft belonging to the Romanian Air Force, through the same Romanian company.In this context, Angel Tilvar reiterated our country's decision to purchase 32 F-35 aircraft, an "extremely important" step, approved by the Romanian Parliament, underlining the importance of continuous cooperation for the success of this endeavor, including from the perspective of industrial cooperation. With Donald Trump's recent NATO comments igniting a political firestorm among the alliance's members and further US funding for Ukraine looking set to be rejected in the Republican-led lower house, European leaders call for stronger European efforts to ensure the security of the continent. Donald Trump, former US President and the presumptive Republican nominee for the November US election, said at a campaign event that he would 'encourage' Russia 'to do whatever the hell they want' to NATO countries that are not spending enough on defence. Trump's comments about the US-led military alliance - brash even by his standards of long-term NATO-bashing - drew alarm from allies and fierce condemnation from the White House with US President Joe Biden condemning the comments as 'dumb' and 'shameful'. NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg warned that 'any suggestion that allies will not defend each other undermines all of our security, including that of the US'. EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said that 'NATO cannot be an r la carte military alliance', adding that it was either existing or not existing. Spanish Minister of Defence Margarita Robles said that the alliance 'will not accept any act that could involve a violation of the minimum rights included in international law and in the UN Charter of Rights'. Diplomats from multiple NATO countries insist that keeping the United States on board remains fundamental to deterring the threat from Russia. But they remain sanguine about how genuine Trump's threats are, arguing the alliance emerged from his first term unscathed. 'Unprecedented rise' in defence spending, doubts over future US aid for Ukraine Stoltenberg said on Wednesday that 18 of the alliance's 31 countries are set to hit their defence spending target this year. Spurred on by Russia's all-out invasion of Ukraine in 2022, last year saw an 'unprecedented rise' of 11 percent in spending by European members and Canada, the NATO chief added. Overall, he said European allies and Canada will have added more than $600 billion to their defence spending since they set the two-percent goal of their GDP a decade ago. The United States still accounts for the vast bulk of combined defence spending by NATO members. 'We should leave no room for miscalculation or misunderstanding in Moscow about our readiness and our commitment, our resolve to protect allies,' Stoltenberg said. NATO Deputy Secretary General Mircea Geoana stated in early February: 'We will continue to support Ukraine. This is not the time to become pessimistic about what will happen in this war, which will be two years old in a few days. We have the resources, we have the will to make Ukraine succeed. It is very important that we remain united and continue to support this country, because their fight is our fight, their security also protects our security.' Moscow's full-scale war on Ukraine has served as a wake-up call for European countries and saw NATO turn the two-percent figure into a minimum requirement rather than a goal. Key players such as Germany have ramped up their spending and are set to meet the target this year. Spain aims to reach two percent by 2029. Spanish Minister of Defence Robles said the government was making an 'extremely important effort' in terms of defence investment, adding that the 2023 budget was 'a very high increase' in comparison to the year before. Celebrating its 20th NATO membership anniversary this year, Slovenia's defence expenditure is estimated to reach 1.31 percent of its GDP. The country plans to raise defence spending to two percent by 2030. The modernisation of the Slovenian Armed Forces gained momentum in recent years but investment plans were impacted by the catastrophic floods last year. On Thursday, Stoltenberg said he was welcoming the uptake in defence investments by the European allies but also that this was not an alternative to NATO but a way to strengthen it. The NATO chief underlined that the strength was to have Europe and North America in NATO together. While there is a focus on NATO's own defence spending, the pressing issue of support for Ukraine was also on the table at the meeting on Wednesday. The US Senate a day before approved long-delayed funding for Ukraine's war effort, but the package looks set to be rejected by the Republican-led lower house. Doubts over the future of US aid come as Ukraine says its forces are being outgunned in the face of a slow-moving Russian advance along the front line. Nine months before Joe Biden stands for reelection in November, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken takes part in the Munich Security Conference alongside Vice President Kamala Harris. He faces an uphill climb to quell doubts on US leadership. The conference which starts on Friday brings together the world's elite defence policy makers each year and is seen as a barometer on transatlantic relations. 'It's very clear to me wherever I go, and when I speak to people, that people watching the US appear very nervous,' said Comfort Ero, head of the International Crisis Group think-tank. 'I think the US is still seen as an influential player - both positively and negatively - internationally. But I think increasingly there's alarm, there's concern, there is uneasiness, about the uncertainty, the unpredictability, just the polarisation, the division,' she said. Calls for stronger European stance on security within NATO On Monday, European Parliament President Roberta Metsola said more needed to be done in terms of individual countries' defence spending, but Europe would send a 'clear message irrespective of who will lead the next American administration' that the EU is 'strong enough to be able to defend each other'. 'The biggest asset of the West against Putin is our unity. The last thing we should do is to throw that away,' Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo reacted to Trump's comments. However, De Croo acknowledged that Europe has the responsibility to take its security in its own hands. 'In the years to come we have to build a stronger European pillar within NATO.' While Belgium is among those with the worst track record on defence spending in years, De Croo insists that this trend has been reversed. 'Year after year, Belgium is spending more money on defence now,' the prime minister said. 'But we also have to look at the way this spending is happening, so as to make sure that our own industry, in Belgium and in Europe, will be able to grow as well.' In late January, Bulgarian defence minister Todor Tagarev stressed that 'the European Defence Industrial Strategy should outline effective ways to overcome the EU's dependencies on raw materials, energy and critical technologies, as well as introduce measures and instruments to increase the production of defence products, promote innovation and competitiveness of the defence sector'. Emmanuel Macron (r), President of France, receives Donald Tusk, Prime Minister of Poland, at the Elysee Palace. Polish Prime Minister Tusk travelled to Paris and Berlin to try to re-establish important alliances at diplomatic level. Photo: Aurelien Morissard/AP/dpa France-Germany-Poland: Revived Weimar triangle 'new boost' for EU Earlier this week, new Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk visited German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Berlin and French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris to coordinate foreign policy cooperation between the countries and ramp up security cooperation in Europe. Scholz also said at the joint press conference that Germany and Poland were working together. Solidarity and joint action were indispensable. The German chancellor said: 'Especially at a time when Russia's imperialism is threatening our common security in Europe. That is why we stand up for each other in the EU and in NATO.' Tusk emphasised that the EU was superior to Russia in economic and financial terms. 'It is certainly not the lack of money that will decide the fate of this war, this confrontation between Russia and Ukraine.' However, Tusk added, greater determination is needed to use Europe's wealth for security and defence. Macron praised Tusk and his government as 'trusted, pro-European partners' who are 'clear on European security'. He also reiterated calls to strengthen the European defence industry. 'This is what will also make it possible to make Europe a security and defence power complementary to NATO, the European pillar of the Atlantic alliance,' he said. In January, the French president called on European countries to get ready to back Ukraine in case Washington decides to pull the plug on aid. Separately, newly appointed French Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne hosted German counterpart Annalena Baerbock and Radoslaw Sikorski of Poland just outside Paris. The meeting, held in the so-called Weimar Triangle format, included a discussion on deepening foreign policy and security cooperation. The format is an alliance the three nations created in 1991 in order to work together on European issues. Scholz hailed the revived partnership of the trio as 'very important to all of us', calling for 'new momentum' behind the Weimar Triangle to provide a 'new boost' to the European Union. Europe needs another 'life insurance' policy in addition to NATO, Sejourne said, following the comments by Trump. 'Yes, we need a second life insurance, not in substitution to or against NATO but in addition' to the alliance, he said. Sejourne insisted that it was necessary to build on the European element of NATO and build up its own defence industry and 'buy European within the framework of our defence industries and prepare in the event of conflict'. 'We need to take care of the security of Ukrainians, and that means taking care of our security, and yes, I think we need a union of defence and security, with joint purchases and pooling our forces,' Annalena Baerbock added. This article is published weekly. The content is based on news by AFP, Agerpres, Belga, BTA, CTK, dpa, EFE, Europa Press, STA agencies participating in the enr. GAZA, Feb. 16 (Xinhua) -- At least 20 Palestinians were killed and several others wounded in Israeli airstrikes on various areas in the Gaza Strip on Friday, according to Palestinian medical sources, while the Israeli army announced the death of two soldiers in the ongoing battles. Meanwhile, the Gaza-based health ministry announced the deaths of four patients in the intensive care unit due to a lack of oxygen caused by the power outage at the Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip. The ministry said the Nasser Hospital is witnessing a "catastrophic situation" due to the lack of medical capabilities and the imminent depletion of fuel within the next 24 hours. Hamas rejected the Israeli army's claim that the hospital was used for military purposes, saying it was a lie to justify the "war crimes." Meanwhile, the Israeli army announced the killing of 2 soldiers during fightings that took place south of the Gaza Strip in the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of soldiers killed since the beginning of the war to over 570, with 2909 others injured, according to a website affiliated with the Israeli Ministry of Defense. Education is the only long-term sustainable way in which anti-Semitic incidents can be stopped, according to Education Minister Ligia Deca. She says that the resurgence of and anti-Semitic incidents and rhetoric in the European Union, in the United States and around the world is reminiscent of some of the "darkest" periods in history and is "against the standards" of a democratic society. "I had the honour to be invited to the round table 'Remembrance and Memory Tools to Stem the Surge in Antisemitism and Holocaust Denial,' hosted by Andrei Muraru, ambassador of Romania to the United States of America, with the participation of representatives of the American Congress and members of the diplomatic corps accredited in Washington. The resurgence of anti-Semitic incidents and rhetoric in the European Union, in the United States and throughout the world reminds us of some of the darkest periods in history and is contrary to the standards of a democratic society. Education is the only long-term sustainable way in which we can stop anti-Semitic incidents, and I was glad I was able to reconfirm Romania's commitment to education to prevent and combat anti-Semitism," Deca wrote in a social media post on Friday. She believes that it is important for young people to know historical facts, and especially to defend themselves from hate speech and false messages. In her view, all forms of oppression must be condemned. Deca visited the US February 12-15. The European Commission has concluded that Blue Air's restructuring plan was not capable of restoring the airline's long-term viability and it is therefore incompatible with EU State aid rules. Romania must now recover from Blue Air illegal State aid amounting to approximately EUR 33.84 million (RON 163.8 million), the commission reported on Friday. In April 2023, the European Commission opened an in-depth investigation to assess whether a restructuring plan for Blue Air and the aid measures implemented to support this plan were in line with EU State aid rules, in particular with the Guidelines on rescue and restructuring aid to non-financial undertakings in difficulty (the R&R Guidelines). Blue Air had been experiencing financial difficulties since 2019. In August 2020, the European Commission approved two measures in favour of the airline: an around EUR 28 million (approximately RON 137 million) public guarantee to cover the damage directly caused by the coronavirus outbreak; and an around EUR 33.84 million (RON 163.8 million) public guarantee on a rescue loan intended to partly cover Blue Air's liquidity needs for the following six months. Romania agreed that if the public guarantee on the rescue loan was not terminated after six months from the first aid payment which took place in October 2020 it would submit either a liquidation plan or a comprehensive restructuring plan for Blue Air to the Commission. In April 2021, Romania submitted a restructuring plan which was subsequently up-dated several times. In November 2022, Romania reimbursed the loan and took a 75% shareholding in Blue Air after the airline suspended operations in September 2022. Following its in-depth investigation opened in April 2023, the European Commission has concluded that the restructuring plan for Blue Air was not feasible, coherent and sufficiently far-reaching to restore the airline's long-term viability within a reasonable timeframe and without unduly distorting competition in the single market. This was corroborated by Blue Air's inability to maintain operations and its request in March 2023 to enter into insolvency proceedings. The restructuring plan has not been updated following the cessation of operations or the opening of the in-depth investigation. Measures to support an inadequate and unrealistic restructuring plan that is not backed by sufficient market funding from investors beyond the rescue period are illegal under EU state aid rules. Romania must now recover from Blue Air the unlawful State aid amounting to EUR 33.84 million (RON 163.8 million) plus interest. "Public support for companies under difficulties needs be backed up by viable plans to ensure that the restructuring is successful without unduly distorting competition. After an in-depth investigation, we have confirmed that the restructuring plan and the measures implemented for Blue Air are not in line with EU state aid rules. Romania must now recover the aid to restore competition in the internal market for air transport services," says Margrethe Vestager, executive vice-president in charge of competition policy. Meteorologists warn that there is a high risk, level four out pf five, of avalanches at an altitude of over 1,800 meters in the Fagaras, Parang, Sureanu, Tarcu and Godeanu mountains, according to the snow conditions bulletin sent to AGERPRES Friday. Below the altitude of 1,800 meters there is a significant risk, level three out of five, of avalanches in the Fargaras, Parang, Sureanu, Tarcu and Godeanu mountains, agerpres reports. A large avalanche occurred on Thursday in the tourist area of Balea Lac, at an altitude of over 2,000 metres in the Fagaras Mountains, but no one was injured, as tourists were in their huts at the time, according to Sibiu Salvamont mountain rescuers.Also at Balea Lac, the thickest snow layer of a weather station in Romania is maintained at 1.7 m, according to meteorologists. Lanes for vehicles registered in the European Union will become functional at several checkpoints in Romania, according to Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu. "Today, we are meeting one of the essential requests of hauliers: lanes for vehicles registered in the European Union become functional. Yesterday, traffic opened on such a lane at the Calafat customs, and starting today such lanes are in place at Nadlac 2 and Bors 2. The Giurgiu customs will follow soon, and so our hauliers will have priority over hauliers from Ukraine or Turkey," Ciolacu told a government meeting on Friday You cant tell a book by its cover, but you might by its author. Four mystery writers who have already proved their way with whodunnits have new books out this week, and every one is worth a read. A.J. Finn created a sensation in 2018 with The Woman in the Window, and then got caught up in a controversy when he was accused of (and later admitted) lying about elements of his life and background. That didnt keep the book from selling millions of copies, and it shouldnt keep readers who like a tale well told from getting their hands on Finns new offering as soon as possible. In End of Story, mystery writer Sebastian Trapp has three months to live. Come tell my story, he urges fellow writer and longtime pen pal Nicky Hunter, who drops everything to move into Trapps San Francisco mansion and try to extract that story from him. What Trapp doesnt want to talk about: the disappearance 20 years earlier of his first wife and young son, in what came to be called the most baffling literary vanishing act since Agatha Christies 11 days on the lam in 1926. Christie was found quickly, though. Hope and Cole Trapp didnt leave a trace. Who knows what really happened? Who is lying? And, maybe, are the missing mother and son still alive? This may sound like standard-issue stuff, but beyond that framework, Finn has crafted a book that is fresh, intelligent and best of all delightfully witty. Joining in the narration, along with writer Nicky, is Madeleine Trapp, the dying authors middle-aged daughter, whose wry takes on happenings in the house can make us laugh even as darkness is looming. Madeleine has a unique voice, but so does every character in End of Story, as readable for its word play, literary references and commentary on detective fiction as for its plot. Dont be lulled into thinking End of Story is one of those cute cozy mysteries, though. When one character is warned, youre not scared enough, thats actually a warning to us, the readers, as well. Blindsides abound, as Finn traps us in a maze that seems entirely built of dead ends. When the truth finally emerges, theres only one possible response; Whew. I didnt see that coming. The wait hasnt been nearly so long for the latest from B.A. Paris, who has reliably turned out eight mysteries in eight years, including the best-selling The Therapist (2021) and The Prisoner (2022). In Paris new psychological thriller, The Guest, Brits Iris and Gabriel whose marriage is already stressed come home from a failed weekend away to find that their French friend Laure has moved into their house and is sleeping, Goldilocks style, in their bed. Laure has left her husband, Pierre, after learning that he fathered a child with another woman. Surely their friends will patch things up, the reluctant hosts believe, but Laure stays and stays, even as a sense of foreboding settles over the peaceful country setting and bodies begin to pile up. By the end, its almost possible to figure out the who, as one of the few left standing, if not the why. But Paris thoughtfully fills the gaps with a full confession that will have you saying of course! Village in the Dark is only Iris Yamashitas second novel, after last years City Under One Roof. That one introduced Point Mettier, Alaska, where the few hundred inhabitants live in a single condo building. Readers discovered that odd living situation, the Davidson Condos, dubbed the DavCo, along with Anchorage police Detective Cara Kennedy. Cara remains on long-term leave following the disappearance of her husband and little boy on a camping trip. After finding a weird clue, she is back in Point Mettier and again tangling with a criminal motorcycle gang. In Village in the Dark, Cara reunites with J.B., the local cop who helped bring her out of mourning in the first book. We also get to know Ellie, the crusty manager of the few rented motel rooms in the DavCo, and Mia, who grew up in a tiny village but comes to play a huge part in the story. Yamashita makes every effort to fill new readers in on what went before, for a sequel that will be most appreciated by those whove read the first book. (Do. Its good.) And lets hope for a third down the road. Kelley Armstrong wrapped up her outstanding series of Rockton mysteries two years ago and moved the central characters to a new settlement hidden away deep in Canadas Yukon. But The Boy Who Cried Bear, the second in the Havens Rock series, soon proves that moving doesnt mean avoiding trouble. As in Rockton, Havens Rock is a place for people who need to hide, but the new inhabitants are endangered, not dangerous or so protagonists Casey Duncan and Eric Dalton hope. But with children now among the residents, new problems arise, especially after a troubled boy vanishes in the woods. Even for a fan of the series, The Boy Who Cried Bear gets off to a slow start and sometimes feels like a slog through the forest. There isnt yet the lively sense of community in Havens Rock that there was in Rockton. But a personal subplot for Casey and Eric, the towns married detective and sheriff, makes the trek more than worth it. If you read last weeks Old Car Column about the mystery Buick, you may have caught the error in the photo caption. The Buick is located at Cardinal Buick GMC, not at David Taylor Belleville CDJR. My apologies dear readers, but back to the story. As you know, two weekends ago I went window shopping hoping to find a customers fifties or sixties car in the service department of either David Taylor Belleville CDJR or Cardinal Buick-GMC, located directly across from one another on Illinois 15 in Belleville. That did not happen. However, I did find the beautiful mid-to-late twenties or early thirties Buick you saw in last weeks OCC. After calling around looking for some help identifying this spectacular car, I still dont have the answers. While you cant buy that Buick from Cardinal Buick-GMC, you can buy a new Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram or a vintage railroad passenger car! Thats right, a vintage railroad passenger car. A few years back, the Oliver C. Joseph dealership changed ownership becoming David Taylor CDJR. Oliver C. Joseph was a fan of railroad and train stuff including models, memorabilia and more! The more included a genuine Pullman sleeping car which he had on display at his original dealership in downtown Belleville. When he built his new dealership on Route 15, the Pullman was moved to its new home along with the other railroad memorabilia. If you live on a residential property like an estate, you may be a candidate for the Pullman which is being offered for sale at $500,000. Oh sure, thats quite a sum, but think what a stunning lawn ornament it would make sitting in your backyard! It would make for some grand parties and be the talk of your neighborhood! As a plus, you could move your mother-in-law into it to always have her nearby! If interested, I would advise getting a quote from a moving contractor to check out what the move might set you back. Whether or not you might consider a purchase, the Pullman car is worth a trip to David Taylors dealership just to get a look at this impressive piece of railroad history. It has been totally refurbished as needed including the dining area, staterooms, kitchen and more. Ive never seen anything quite like it! FIN MAN UPDATE: Late word is that David Taylor is willing to give this Pullman car to anyone who can move it out of the dealership! This information was provided by one of the salesmen. I recommend that you confirm this with Mr. Taylor, of course. As you might imagine, it would be nothing short of a mammoth project. FIN MAN SIDE BAR: My dream car at 16 years old was the newly released 1963 Corvette coupe with the split rear window in Riverside Red. Now with six more decades on my odometer, I have changed my dream car to the 2024 Jeep Grand Wagoneer! Not only is it a looker, but the available McIntosh sound system is awesome, having a large black Plexiglas face plate with huge VU meters swinging to your favorite tunes. Now all I need is an extra $150,000 with nothing better to do with it. Hey, thats $385,000 less than the Pullman sleeper car! Tri-Power Trivia will return next week, I promise. The news and editorial departments of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and no role in the creation or display of this content. For more information, contact marketing@post-dispatch.com WENTZVILLE The leader of General Motors Wentzville plant is leaving St. Charles County to head up the companys Factory ZERO in Michigan GMs first fully dedicated electric vehicle assembly plant. Lamar Rucker, plant executive director of the Wentzville facility, took on the role in January of 2020. He led the Wentzville plant through the pandemic, and through the bulk of the $1.5 billion upgrade that readied the facility to make the latest models of the companys midsize trucks. The plant employs around 4,000 people but at times during the renovation, there were 6,000 to 7,000 on site. Last year Rucker oversaw the launch of those trucks the Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon. Over the summer, Rucker publicly addressed the electric vehicle transition an issue that was on the minds of many GM workers, at a plant that only manufactures gas-powered trucks and vans. Rucker said he imagines sites that only make internal combustion engine cars now will eventually go through a transitional period into the EV market. But, he emphasized, internal combustion engine cars like the ones made in Wentzville are still a major contributor to the company, and will remain relevant for years to come. Diana Forbes, spokesperson for the Wentzville GM plant, confirmed Ruckers departure. She said a successor has not yet been chosen. Wentzville Mayor Nick Guccione said Friday that he was happy for Rucker, but sad to see him go. He described Rucker as a great communicator, who diligently kept the city informed throughout important moments, like the plant renovation and the tumultuous UAW strike last year. He stood out, said Guccione, who has served as the citys mayor for more than a decade. Its bittersweet to see him go. Aisha Sultan Columnist and features writer Follow Aisha Sultan 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 Missouri lawmakers have revealed to the nation the depths of Republican cruelty in their never-ending crusade against womens reproductive choices. Democratic state senators recently tried to create an exception for rape and incest victims to Missouris draconian abortion ban. Sen. Sandy Crawford, who voted against the exception (along with every other Republican present), credited God for the pregnancies that result from rape and incest. What an insult to God. Sandy, many people dont believe in a God who would want a raped 10-year-old girl to suffer even more and risk death giving birth to her rapists baby. Dont impose your cruel understanding of God on the rest of us. Republican Sen. Rick Brattin went even further, saying that forcing rape victims to carry a pregnancy and give birth may be the greatest healing agent you need in which to recover from such an atrocity. Save that twisted healing for yourself, Rick. When a perpetrator rapes a person, they are robbing the victim of power and choice. Forcing a survivor to bear a child after a sexual assault again robs her of power and choice, replicating the same dynamic. Every survivors healing journey is unique and should only be decided by that survivor, said Emily Stoinski, community education coordinator for Safe Connections, a nonprofit that provides services to survivors of sexual and domestic violence. Safe Connections CEO Cynthia Danley said the organization would gladly provide education and training for lawmakers about how to reduce the impact and incidence of sexual assault and support survivors in healing. Missouri state legislators also need a science teacher to explain to them how babies are made. Theres apparent confusion among the ranks of those most eager to legislate womens bodies. For instance, GOP Sen. Bill Eigel objected to an amendment aiming to protect sexual assault victims 12 years old and younger from being forced to carry a rape pregnancy to term. A 1-year-old could get an abortion under this, Eigel said. A Democratic colleague, Sen. Doug Beck, had to break it to Bill that a 1-year-old cant get pregnant. A man who lacks basic knowledge about human reproduction should not be making laws regulating it. These ignorant comments may seem ridiculous, but the laws being debated impact millions of women and girls. When Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022, 14 states enacted total or near-total abortion bans, like Missouris. Nine of those states lack an exception for rape and incest victims. Researchers recently calculated the likely number of pregnancies resulting from rape in those 14 states since the Supreme Courts decision. The results were startling. The paper, published by JAMA Internal Medicine, estimated that more than 64,000 pregnancies were caused by rape between July 1, 2022, and Jan. 1, 2024, in states with abortion bans. The researchers analyzed national data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Preventions survey on intimate partner sexual violence from 2016 to 2017, and also relied on a Bureau of Justice Statistics survey on criminal victimization. They used state-level crime data from FBI reports to help calculate the number of rapes per state, although rape is a highly underreported crime. Texas is estimated to have had the highest rate of rape-related pregnancies at 26,313, and Missouri came in second with an estimated 5,825. What a distinction to be known as a place where rape victims are revictimized by the state. Theres an effort to mitigate the harm from these laws. A coalition of civil liberties and reproductive rights organizations, Missourians for Constitutional Freedom, is working to get signatures for a statewide ballot initiative to restore abortion access in the state up to the point of fetal viability. The coalition has until May 5 to collect signatures. Its an opportunity for women to reclaim our rights, safeguard our children and support sexual assault survivors. Tony Messenger Metro columnist Follow Tony Messenger Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Save Manage followed notifications Close Followed notifications Please log in to use this feature Log In Don't have an account? Sign Up Today Kurtis Watkins is losing faith in the criminal justice system. My life does not seem real to me, Watkins wrote me in an email recently. Its like Im in a bad dream that keeps playing. Every day I wake up in this cell. That cell is in the Jefferson City Correctional Center. Watkins has been there since January 2016, when he was convicted of assault in a St. Louis shooting in which nobody died. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison, in part because he had previously been convicted of a gun crime and marijuana possession. The shooting was in the Dutchtown neighborhood, after a party in which a couple of people got in a dispute. Watkins, who is Black, was convicted based on the testimony of a white police officer, Steven Pinkerton, who was the only witness to put Watkins near the crime scene. The first trial ended in a hung jury, in part because Pinkerton testified he was unsure he could identify Watkins as the shooter. By the second trial, Pinkerton was 100 percent sure, according to court records. An all-white jury convicted Watkins of nine felony counts. Watkins says he has an alibi he was at a friends house but his public defender never investigated or asked the friend to testify. Nobody at the party could identify Watkins, or even knew him. The co-defendant, one of the actual shooters, says he doesnt know Watkins. Watkins happened to be walking to the liquor store that night, he says, when police picked him up. Pinkerton later identified him, even though Watkins didnt really match the description of the shooter other than the color of his skin. Since his conviction, Watkins has gone through various appeals in Missouri courts. His latest lawyer, Jonathan Sternberg, an experienced appellate attorney from Kansas City, calls the process Watkins has endured like something out of Kafka, a reference to the 19th-century philosopher who wrote about absurd situations. At every turn, something has gone wrong, Sternberg says. And not just normal wrong, but bizarrely wrong. The first defense attorney should have presented the alibi evidence but didnt. The first appellate attorney should have tracked down the witnesses. Sternberg has now done that. And all of the witnesses except for the police officer say Watkins is innocent. Theres no forensics that connects Kurtis to this crime. Theres nothing, Sternberg says. No one can identify Kurtis as the person at the scene. The latest bizarre turn came last month at the Missouri Court of Appeals. The three-judge panel ruled against Watkins in part, it said, because Sternberg failed to produce a document a letter saying the alibi witness wouldnt testify at an evidenciary hearing. The online court docket indicates the document was, indeed, delivered to the court. The letter is important, Sternberg argues, because it says nothing about whether the alibi witness would testify at a trial. In the meantime, Sternberg has taken the witness deposition. And the witness says Watkins was with him that night. Sternberg is asking the Court of Appeals to re-hear the case or send it to the Missouri Supreme Court. Growing up, watching movies or hearing about people being wrongfully convicted of a crime they did not have nothing to do with I knew it was a thing, but I never thought in a million years it would happen to me, Watkins wrote me. They took me away from my wife and my kids, and still to this day my children keep asking me when Im coming home. Watkins case comes after the exoneration of Lamar Johnson in a murder, and a move this month to vacate the murder conviction of another St. Louis man, Christopher Dunn. The Johnson and Dunn cases show that courts, while agonizingly slow, can move toward justice when its clear errors were made. But that means little for the man stuck behind bars, wondering how long hell be there. Its not the most consequential case to the public, but it sure is to Kurtis, Sternberg says. This one should be easy. Hes innocent. ST. LOUIS The lawyer for a man who drew national media attention last year for his involvement in a downtown crash that severed a young girls legs is arguing his client cant get a fair trial in St. Louis because of a similar crash this week that killed two women visiting from Chicago. Daniel Rileys lawyer, Dan Diemer, asked the judge to move the trial out of St. Louis because Riley was swept up last year in the publicity surrounding an effort to remove former St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kimberly M. Gardner from office, and since then hes served as the publics example of dangerous driving downtown. He shouldnt be tried in the press, but he was, Diemer said at a hearing Thursday where he previewed his clients case. Riley was charged last year after police said he was speeding in downtown St. Louis and caused a crash that pinned out-of-town 16-year-old pedestrian Janae Edmondson between two cars. Both of her legs were amputated. Riley was out on bond at the time in a years-old pending robbery case despite violating the conditions of his release dozens of times. Critics called the case an example of Gardners failures and intensified calls for her removal. She eventually stepped down in May. And Rileys name was brought up again after a mother and daughter visiting downtown St. Louis from Chicago were killed in a crash caused by a driver who was speeding and running red lights. The incident came almost a year to the day that Edmondsons legs were amputated. Riley was set to appear in court Thursday, but he asked to be taken back to jail shortly after arriving in the courtroom. Multiple journalists, including a Post-Dispatch photographer, were present. Diemer agreed to handle the hearing himself and fill Riley in later. Diemer also asked that Rileys trial, scheduled to begin March 4, be postponed because he said prosecutors have been slow to turn over evidence, including data about the Audi that Riley was driving at the time of the crash. Diemer also said the fresh publicity garnered by Wednesdays story may endanger his clients right to a fair trial. His name was put right there next to that story, Diemer said. Prosecutors, however, said they promptly turned the data over to Diemer and were ready to proceed with trial. Assistant Circuit Attorney Adam Field said the prosecution planned to have many out-of-town witnesses likely including Edmondson and her parents come to St. Louis from Tennessee for that date. Diemer also asked for the trial to be moved elsewhere because he believed people had unfairly made up their minds about Rileys guilt even though there were serious questions in the facts of the case. For example, prosecutors say Rileys vehicle was going roughly 20 miles per hour over the speed limit on Feb. 18, 2023 when it collided with a Chevrolet Malibu and hit a parked car, pinning Edmondson between two of the vehicles. Diemer, however, said there is evidence to suggest that the Malibu was also speeding and actually struck the back of the Audi that Riley was driving. The driver of the Malibu also did not have a valid license, he said. Judge Michael Noble said he would not push the trial back nor grant Diemers motion to move the case to a different venue. Noble said jurors who are called during Rileys case will be required to fill out a questionnaire about their knowledge of the case to weed out people who had already made up their minds. There are procedures to make sure the jury is not unduly influenced, Noble said. The underlying robbery case in which Riley was out on bond is also still pending. He is accused of stealing a gun from a retired St. Louis police sergeants son during a confrontation in 2020, but Diemer said there are serious questions about that case, too. He said it took until October 2023 for prosecutors to turn over a bill of sale for the gun at issue. He says it raises questions about how the sergeants son came into possession of the weapon in the first place. Ultimately, Diemer said, his client has been unfairly villainized for a tragic, tragic accident. I want Daniel to have a fair trial, he said. TEHRAN, Feb. 16 (Xinhua) -- Iran's police have arrested two individuals for involvement in a deadly "terrorist" attack last December on a police headquarters in the southeastern Iranian province of Sistan and Baluchestan, the official news agency IRNA reported on Friday. The two, identified as members of the Jaish al-Zulm "terror" group that claimed responsibility for the attack in Rask County, were arrested following the police forces' technical and intelligence monitoring, IRNA quoted Iran's police spokesman Saeed Montazer-al-Mahdi as saying, without specifying the date of the detentions. Eleven policemen were killed and seven others injured on Dec. 15, 2023, in the attack on the police headquarters in Rask. Montazer-al-Mahdi said four other members of the "terrorist" group had been detained over the past weeks for involvement in the same attack. The Jaish al-Zulm group is a separatist cell that Iran says is linked with al-Qaeda and has carried out several "acts of terror" against Iranian security forces and civilians over the past years. ST. LOUIS St. Louis prosecutors late Thursday charged a 22-year-old from Kirkwood in the deaths of a mother and daughter who were killed by a driver speeding downtown. Monte Henderson, of the 400 block of Meacham Street, faces two counts of first-degree involuntary manslaughter and two counts of armed criminal action. The incident took place early Wednesday at 18th and Olive streets, in the Downtown West neighborhood, and was recorded on surveillance footage. According to court documents, the video shows a Jeep Grand Cherokee entering the intersection, running a red light, and striking two pedestrians. Data retrieved from the car showed it was traveling more than 70 miles per hour before running the red light. Henderson has no priory felony convictions. The deaths were the latest of several deadly, high-profile crashes caused by reckless driving in St. Louis. About one year earlier, a teenage girl visiting downtown St. Louis for a volleyball tournament was hit by a speeding driver. The 17-year-old Tennessee resident, Janae Edmondson, had both legs amputated after the crash. No one came to the door late Thursday at the house on Meacham. Jesse Bogan of the Post-Dispatch contributed to this report. RIVERVIEW A 34-year-old man was shot and killed here Thursday evening. Officers were called about 7 p.m. to the 200 block of Chambers Road by a ShotSpotter activation, police said. They found James Teague Jr., who had been shot, police said. He was taken to the hospital where he later died. Riverview police asked St. Louis County police to investigate. Police said Teague lived in the same block where officers found him. WASHINGTON COUNTY, Mo. A sheriffs deputy has applied for DWI charges against the prosecuting attorney here more than six months after the attorney crashed into a cross statue and police said they found an almost-empty bottle of liquor under his front seat. In court documents, Cpl. Joshua Weseman said he didnt apply for charges at the time because he was intimidated by John Jones IVs position and influence as the countys elected prosecuting attorney. He said he also feared retribution in future cases he worked on, and his supervisors advice was to report the incident as a basic crash. Jones released a statement Thursday saying he would welcome a professional and transparent investigation from the Missouri Highway Patrol. I would also welcome an outside audit of sheriffs office policies and procedures to ensure that future potentially sensitive investigations are processed in a manner that ensures public confidence in the results, he wrote. Jones, 37, called police on the evening of July 5 and said he had crashed into a cross statue at the Rural Parrish Workers of Christ, near Missouri Highway CC and Cannon Mines Road in the Cadet area of Washington County. He said he wasnt injured and had already called a tow truck, but that he didnt want to leave because of the property damage. Cpl. Joshua Weseman arrived at the crash site, he wrote in a police report, and found Jones 2008 Chevrolet Suburban stuck in a ditch in front of the church. Jones was sitting in the front seat with a contusion on his head, Weseman wrote. He told the corporal he did not need medical treatment. The prosecuting attorney said he was talking on the phone with his wife when he turned onto Cannon Mines Road from State Highway CC and swerved to miss a deer in the road, Weseman said. He went off the road into a ditch, hit the cross statue, and got stuck in the churchs driveway. When Wesemean showed up, he said, Jones dropped his wallet and fumbled while trying to pull out his ID and insurance information. The cop said he could smell alcohol on Jones, who had glassy, red eyes and was slurring his words slightly. Weseman gave Jones a ride home while another deputy stayed at the scene with the towing company, he wrote. That deputy later told Weseman about the almost-empty bottle of Captain Morgan underneath the front seat. At the time of the incident I took the advice of my supervisor and reported the incident as an accident only, Weseman wrote in a memo to Washington County Sheriff Zach Jacobsen. I realized I have compromised my integrity as a law enforcement officer by my actions I failed to investigate further after observing several indicators which were common of a driver operating a vehicle while (intoxicated). On Jan. 29, Weseman asked prosecutors to charge Jones with one count of DWI. Jacobsen did not immediately return a call for comment. Editors note: This headline has been updated to correct that the officer has applied for the charges, but the prosecutor has not been charged yet. The woman came to St. Louis to be with her then-boyfriend, St. Louis City SC star Indiana Vassilev. But she liked it here and eventually came FLORISSANT Its been about six months since four adults and two toddlers checked out of a Quality Inn here and seemingly vanished without a trace. They left behind baffled family members and a houseful of personal belongings. They never used their credit or debit cards again. Theres no indication they had cash savings, and the money their family sent them via money-sharing apps sits in their accounts unclaimed. Their social media pages lie dormant. Authorities have received only two tips from people who thought theyd seen the group even after Berkeley police Maj. Steve Runge went public with the investigation last month and said they had joined a cult led by a self-proclaimed prophet and convicted sex offender. Both tips were unfounded. They have to turn up somewhere, Runge said in January. This cannot be the only case of missing people in this country tied to this cult. The missing people drew national attention, and interest burned hot for a few days. But there hasnt been a whisper of news since then. The group disappeared just a few days before the beginning of a separate trial against Rashad Jamal, the leader of the unnamed, nationwide, online-focused cult thats aimed at Black and Latino people. Jamal was convicted and sentenced in Georgia on charges of child molestation and child cruelty and is serving an 18-year prison sentence. In his videos, posted to tens of thousands of followers on YouTube and various social media platforms, he encourages people to go off the grid and create a total disconnection from family and friends. In interviews over the past month, family members said thats exactly what happened with the six people who disappeared from St. Louis County: St. Louis-area residents Mikayla Thompson, 25; her sisters cousin, 36-year-old Makayla Wickerson; Wickersons 3-year-old daughter Malaiyah Wickerson; as well as Naaman Williams, 30, of Washington, D.C.; Gerielle German, 27, of Horn Lake, Mississippi; and her 3-year-old son Ashton Mitchell. The families told similar stories. Their relatives grew distant, then cut ties altogether. They abandoned jobs and adopted new names, and their behavior became increasingly strange. Runge, the detective leading the case, talked to several followers of the cult, and they told him the group was off preparing for their imminent rapture and ascension. When pressed for more information, they wouldnt give it. You eventually have to come out and get food and get toiletries and get household items that you need to be able to live, said Mariah Williams, a relative of both Thompson and Wickerson. I hope they are somewhere here so we can get them back and give them the help that they need. Cutting ties Jamal has posted thousands of hours of videos in the past few years, many of which involve him speaking into the camera, alone, about polygamy and anti-government conspiracy theories. He garnered some notoriety as a rapper about eight years ago. But his fame exploded upon founding a subscription website called the University of Cosmic Intelligence. Before his arrest, Jamal posted regularly to a YouTube page by the same name, in addition to his personal social media pages. In an interview with the Post-Dispatch from jail last month, he vehemently denied he was a cult leader. Im just giving you my opinion on a plethora of different subjects: from metaphysics to quantum physics to molecular biology to marine biology to geography to Black history to world history, he said. That doesnt make me a cult leader. But followers flocked to hear his online lectures and to apply them to their own lives. Family members said Thompson changed her phone number and withheld it from relatives. German left her husband of less than two months, moved to St. Louis and stopped talking to her mother. Wickerson cut off her family, quit her job at banking giant JP Morgan, and insisted that her 3-year-old daughter was actually her mother. Most said they needed to follow their ancestors, and they were seen staring at the sun for hours by neighbors at Wickersons rental home in Berkeley. They would lie sometimes unclothed in the uncut grass outside the home. They hugged trees, meditated, buried pennies and did martial arts on couch cushions. As they distanced themselves from relatives, the group became closer. Its not entirely clear when, exactly, they all came to live in Wickersons home. But they stopped paying rent sometime in February, and they were evicted in July just before going missing. Relatives have pieced together some of what happened. Thompson, one of the St. Louis-area residents, took an interest in tarot cards around the time the COVID-19 pandemic hit, said her mother and Mariah Williams, a relative of both Thompson and Wickerson. She built a small business charging people for readings and selling metaphysical objects like crystals, candles and other homemade items. Thompson then connected with Wickerson, the other St. Louis-area resident. Wickerson paid Thompson for tarot readings, Mariah Williams said, and shortly after that Wickerson began cutting off her family. Meanwhile, Wickerson quit her job and changed her number early last year. She deleted her social media accounts, creating new ones under her goddess name Intuahma Aquaman Auntil something all four did at some point, a common practice among Jamals followers. I feel like she has been brainwashed, manipulated, or whatever you want to call it into doing the things that she was doing. Because thats not how she presents herself, Mariah Williams said. She was always one of those people who cared for themselves. She kept her job she and her daughter always had what they wanted and needed. She was very family-oriented. Thompson, meanwhile, didnt have such strong family ties. She was assaulted by another family member when she was a teenager, family members said, and shed had an on-and-off relationship since then with her mother, Felicia Thompson. Mariah Williams, who shares a father with Mikayla Thompson and met her for the first time in 2013, said she was the only family member who seemed to have a solid rapport with the 25-year-old. But even their relationship began to crack in 2022, and by the end of February 2023, the women were no longer talking. Still, her mom said, things seemed to be going fine for Mikayla Thompson. She was a typical young person just trying to navigate life as an adult and a new mom. But then she met that guy, Felicia Thompson said. The cosmic war room That guy 30-year-old Naaman Williams moved from Washington, D.C., to St. Louis sometime in late 2022. He and Mikayla Thompson, who goes by the goddess name Antu Anum Ahmat, appeared to post their first Facebook live video together on Dec. 16, 2022. They posted more than 20 videos together after that, most titled The Cosmic War Room. They discussed concepts that echoed Jamals teachings: Black people are gods and goddesses; the FDA tampers with all food to harm people; six suns are orbiting Earth; the moon isnt real, and neither is time. I just did a 13-hour trip there to retrieve my god, Thompson said of Naaman Williams during one of their first videos. Mind you, all this (expletive) is happening, and it aint even been a month. The two said they were soul mates. Naaman Williams also posted about Jamal, as did Thompson. Both referred to him as their godbrother. Like many of Jamals followers, Naaman Williams insisted the leader was not guilty of child molestation, and he called for Jamals release from prison. Naaman Williams family could not be reached. German, the woman who moved to St. Louis from a suburb of Memphis, was the last of the four adults to move into Wickersons rental house in Berkeley on Graham Lane. Her husband, Steven Mitchell, said she had taken an interest in Jamals videos online, but he thought it would just be a phase. Germans mom, Shelita Gibson, said she also began talking to a man on Facetime for hours on end in the months before her move. Runge later confirmed the man was Naaman Williams. Gibson said he was the reason why she was adamant about leaving. Less than two months after she married Mitchell, whom she had dated for about six years, German packed her things and their 3-year-old son Ashton. She left their home in a Memphis suburb and headed to her moms house in a nearby town. German told her husband she was going there to take care of her mom and grandmother who had health issues. But the mother said her daughter told her she was coming over because Mitchell wasnt taking care of their family, and she was tired of doing it all. The more and more the story has unfolded, prior to it hitting the news, I realized that it was a manipulative move, Gibson said. And I dont know if it was planned all by herself, just so she could make her exit and not be stopped. I really dont have answers to that. Two weeks later, Germans brother and sister-in-law gave her a ride from her mothers house to St. Louis. German told her mom that her ancestors were telling her to go there. She took 3-year-old Ashton with her, but she left behind her 4-year-old daughter, whose father is not Mitchell. I was crying and really upset the day she left, Gibson said. When the son and daughter-in-law dropped German off at the Berkeley home, Gibson said the woman at the home would not let anyone but German inside. The last time Gibson heard from her daughter was July 15. German had texted her mom asking for money two days in a row. When she requested money on the third day, even though German said she had a job, Gibson asked her daughter what was going on. German replied: I knew not to ask. I knew you wouldnt do it. Never mind, goodbye. German and the rest of the group went missing a few weeks later. The craziest thing Ive ever investigated Neighbors of Wickersons home in Berkeley, near Lambert International Airport, said the missing people were well known on Graham Lane. Their behavior got especially strange once German moved in over the summer. Wickerson quit her job in early 2023 and by May her landlord, an Arizona company, filed for eviction. The company said she owed at least three months of rent, and the eviction notice was served on July 27. Runge, the detective, said police searched the home on Aug. 14, the day after they were reported missing. The group left food in the microwave, dishes in the sink and laundry in the washer. Their valuables were still in the home, including a closet full of expensive womens shoes. Police tracked their debit cards and found they had used them at a 7-Eleven convenience store and a Dollar Tree on Dunn Road near Interstate 270. The group stayed at a Quality Inn in Florissant from Aug. 2-6, Runge said, and hotel employees told police they seemed happy and healthy. Runge said he was unable to get surveillance footage of the group in the hotel lobby. Now, investigators are seeking warrants for the groups cellphone data. Those warrants could take months to get approved, Runge said. In the meantime, they continue to ask the public for tips. We dont have any idea where they are, Runge said. This is the craziest thing Ive ever investigated. <&rule> CLAYTON More donors have filed to block Webster University from using scholarship funds to meet the schools loan obligation. St. Louis County Circuit Court Judge Stanley J. Wallach will rule this spring whether the donors have a legal standing against Websters plan to tap into all $37 million of private donations. Wallach made no decision at a hearing Friday. He said he wants the Missouri Attorney Generals Office to file its position on the matter before the case proceeds. This is a serious situation, Wallach said. Webster wants to use restricted endowment funds, which are earmarked for scholarships, research and professorships, in order to meet the liquidity ratio on a loan it obtained to construct new science and business buildings on its main campus in Webster Groves. But now several donors have filed suit against the school to prevent it from using their funds for anything other than scholarships. The school is under pressure to improve that ratio, its lawyers said Friday, after a report this week from Moodys credit agency downgraded Websters bond rating further into junk status. Moodys warned that Webster is at risk of default if it doesnt improve its liquidity. This is about the students, attorney Brian Kaveney said. We want to put Webster in a better situation financially. Were not asking to move money out of Webster. Over the past decade, Webster has lost more than $160 million, including a $37 million deficit at the end of the 2022-23 school year. Yet its board of trustees continually awarded raises to then-Chancellor Beth Stroble and President Julian Schuster that made the two among the highest-paid university leaders in the St. Louis region. The schools problems compounded over the past year when Webster was sued for allegedly not paying rent at its satellite campus in downtown St. Louis. It also reported in its latest audit that nearly $2 million was misappropriated. School officials have said that the missing money is related to an ongoing review of a former employee who has not been affiliated with the university for months. Four of its leaders, including Stroble and CFO Richard Meyer, have since resigned. Moodys downgraded Websters bond rating from Ba3 to B1 due to the colleges debt and its reliance on a $40 million loan in which endowment funds were used as collateral for its liquidity. This week, former trustee Mary Alice Dwyer-Dobbin and Jane and Bruce Robert filed their objections to Webster using their donations for anything other than their endowed scholarships and professorships joining the suit filed Monday by Jack and Sherry Schreiber, whose scholarships have more than $100,000. Dwyer-Dobbins donations have established several scholarships and an endowed professorship worth more than $1 million today, according to court records. They gave millions of dollars for students and professors, said Jay Kanzler, attorney for the Schreibers and Dwyer-Dobbin. Not for cars, trips and bonuses. KIRKWOOD The Kirkwood City Council on Thursday rejected a historic church's request to permanently close part of a downtown street in order to unite its campus. The council voted 6-1 to deny the request from St. Peter Catholic Church, which had asked the city to close a block of West Jefferson Avenue, one of the main east-west roads through Kirkwoods commercial district. The closure would have connected the church and parking lot, south of Jefferson, to its school and playground, north of the street. In return, the church offered to build a cul-de-sac for neighboring homes, pathways for pedestrians to cross the church campus, more street parking, and offered to open its parking lot to the public for free for at least 10 years. The church offered to split maintenance costs with the city. But a council majority said Thursday they ultimately didn't see a public benefit that justified losing public control of Jefferson. "I just don't feel that there is sufficient or compelling reason, or reasons, to do this tonight," Councilwoman Nancy Luetzow said. The majority included Councilwoman Kara Wurtz, one of two parishioners of St. Peter on the council. Wurtz said she strongly supported closing streets to cars to encourage pedestrian use and more green space. But closing Jefferson for public parking wouldn't be a fair trade for residents, she said. "In terms of land value, the tradeoff of this city asset for more parking spots is nowhere close to equal in terms of usage or dollars," Wurtz said. "Vacating a city owned street in the heart of downtown means we vacate the ability to control how that space is used for our Kirkwood community as a whole." Mayor Tim Griffin, also a parishioner of St. Peter, cast the lone vote to advance the plan. But he withheld final approval unless St. Peter agreed to major changes, including paying the entire cost of the parking lot maintenance. Griffin also said Kirkwood would have to sign off on any parking changes and that St. Peter would pay the city the money it would have spent on street parking, instead. "I don't think it's a great proposal, but I can get to the point where it's the right proposal," Griffin said. Unifying the church campus would allow it to grow, thereby attracting members and new residents to Kirkwood, and improve walkability in the area, Griffin said. "St. Peter is an institution that has been here longer than the city of Kirkwood, and if it does well, Kirkwood does well," Griffin said. Church leaders had said the plan would eliminate a street crossing for its students and provide the city more parking to meet demand from downtown visitors. More than 300 people signed a petition supporting the church's request. But dozens of opponents said closing Jefferson would push traffic onto other busy roads. And they said it would set a bad precedent for a city to give public land to a private institution without a sale. Several had called on Griffin and Wurtz to recuse themselves from the vote. Council members said Thursday that they expected any impact on traffic to be minimal. And concerns about safety for kids crossing Jefferson could be met through other alternatives, like renovations to the existing crosswalk and traffic lights, they said. "There are so many other proposals we could look at," Councilwoman Liz Gibbons said. St. Peter, at 243 West Argonne Drive, has more than 6,500 congregants and about 500 students at its school, the fourth-largest in the archdiocese. The new church lot would have roughly the same number of parking spaces as it has now, 143. St. Peter would also pay to turn 15 parallel spaces on Clay into 42 diagonal spots. Kirkwood leases St. Peters parking lot for regular public access for about $36,000 a year. Residents in southern parts of the St. Louis region reported hearing thunder during Friday afternoons snowstorm. The phenomenon, dubbed thundersnow, happens when lightning is accompanied by thunder claps during snowfall, said Melissa Byrd, a National Weather Service meteorologist in St. Louis. The phenomenon is relatively rare in this area, and in the U.S. is more common near the Great Lakes and Great Plains. It can be heard only within two to three miles of lightning, experts say, and it happens when air temperatures are unstable and moisture is abundant. Byrd said the NWS office saw posts online about the thundersnow in the St. Louis region, and a co-worker in south St. Louis County also heard it. The NWS posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, about the thundersnow just after 1 p.m., and several people replied saying they heard the thundersnow. They included people living in Crestwood, Ste. Genevieve, St. Louis Princeton Heights neighborhood, and Freeburg and Edwardsville in Illinois. While snow accumulations remained at the initial level 1 to 3 inches NWS meteorologists said the snow fell faster than anticipated. Byrd said she expected the snow to taper off between 3 and 6 p.m., from west to east. Temperatures will remain steady in the mid-30s during the day and drop into the high teens at night. The snow caused multiple crashes throughout the region, and authorities advised people not to drive if they could avoid it. A Winter Weather Advisory was in effect until 6 p.m. St. Louis sees rare snowfall in an otherwise warm winter Does everyone, regardless of race or income, have equal access to lead-free drinking water? A forthcoming conclusion in a federal civil rights complaint out of Providence, Rhode Island, could shed light on that very question. The case highlights the potentially discriminatory nature of utilities requiring customers to share in the cost of replacing privately owned lead service lines. The civil rights complaint, filed in January 2022 by groups like the Environmental Defense Fund and the Childhood Lead Action Project, alleges that Providence, Rhode Islands water utility, which services about 600,000 customers, is discriminatory because they required residents to pay for the private side of the pipe replacement. The practice places a heavier burden on poor residents who struggle to afford their share of such replacements, and the complainants hope the case will have national implications. It's a problem that is playing out throughout the country, with especially high incidence in the Midwest, which has the highest concentration of lead pipe inventory in the nation. The prohibitive cost of lead remediation puts poor residents at greater risk. Data shows households in low-income zip codes signed up for the Providence Water's cost-sharing program at a much lower rate than their wealthier counterparts. Other studies and data throughout the country have also demonstrated how inequitable it can be when utilities require low-income families to pay for their half of the pipe replacement. In a March 2020 Washington, D.C. study, researchers found wealthier residents were more than two times more likely to pay for full replacements. The study found programs that expect customers to pay to have their lead lines fully replaced put low-income and Black people at greater risk for exposure. Researchers found much lower rates of full lead service line replacements in D.C. wards and census tracts with lower median household incomes and higher percentages of Black residents. The Providence case remains pending, but Providence Water has since told Lee Enterprises they are committed to ramping up a program that offers free, full replacements for eligible households in economically disadvantaged areas. Grant funding tied to the program requires that disadvantaged neighborhoods be prioritized. There is a likelihood that funding will dry up eventually. And, if that occurs, Providence Water said they plan to go back to offering a 10-year loan program to customers. A spokesperson for the utility said Providence Water believes this is a very economical option. But the civil rights complainants argue that after grants are depleted, thousands of residences will remain exposed to lead through (lead service lines) unless customers can finance the private-side replacement or Providence Water changes its practices. DeeAnn, community organizer with Childhood Lead Action Project, said doing the right thing should not be dependent on funding availability. She said the organization wants the EPAs Office of External Civil Rights to send a clear message when making a decision in this case. We want it to be clear and for the precedent to be set: That its discriminatory and racist, she said. She said if customers are charged for replacements, families that can't afford it will most certainly postpone -- or worse, the pipes will remain in the ground indefinitely, leaving everyone in the house potentially exposed to lead. Numerous utilities, including Providence Water, have argued they are only responsible for the pipe from the water main to the curb and that the homeowner or landlord is responsible for the rest. Chicago's lead problem Increasingly, water utilities big and small are recognizing the need to assist low-income families. In many cases, it may be the only way to reach a near 100% replacement rate. Chicagos Department of Water Management is just one example offering free lead pipe replacements for qualifying low-income households. However, that program will only be sustainable if theres enough money to back it. Households below 80% of the area median income are eligible. Andrea Cheng, water management commissioner in Chicago, told Lee Enterprises last fall that the program was fueled by $15 million in Community Development Block Grant dollars, and the plan is to continue the program for years to come. This is all promising news for the affordability of lead line remediation in Chicago. Still, the price tag of $8 billion to $10 billion to replace all of the citys 400,000 lead service lines remains far higher than whats available in the citys coffers or grant funding. Its the right thing to do to try to keep this as free as possible and to try and keep advocating for funding, no matter how challenging it may be, said Cheng. While money is always a concern for a decades-long project of this scope, Megan Vidis, spokeswoman for the city water department, said Chicago intends to pay for full replacements for qualifying low-income families while working with state and federal governments to secure future funding. More than 2,000 lead lines have been replaced, free of charge, via the city's replacement programs, and the city has waived permit fees in cases where families want to pay for their own, the department reports. The water department is also providing free lead line replacements to licensed child daycare centers in low-income neighborhoods with a $4 million grant from the IEPA, but outreach has been difficult. The Chicago Water Department also recently closed on a low-interest $336 million WIFIA loan from the EPA, giving the city five years worth of public-side funding. A continuing struggle Despite Chicago's efforts, some residents have struggled to complete their applications for a free, full lead line replacement, according to Gina Ramirez, a Southeast Side resident who also works for the National Resource Defense Council. Ramirez said Chicagos low-income application process was full of headaches and outrageous document requirements for her mother. Nearly two years after she first submitted it, her 67-year-old mothers application was approved last February. Her lead lines were replaced in July. Her mother is disabled and lives on a fixed income. It only took a day. (We waited) two years for one afternoon, Ramirez said. Ramirez said her mothers application was rejected numerous times. The website kept crashing. Their persistence is the only reason they finally got the project approved. They wanted a deed to her house. They wanted her utility bills. They wanted my nephews report card. They wanted a copy of her valid photo ID, she said. The city has since worked with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to dramatically reduce the amount of necessary paperwork, a spokeswoman said. Ramirez said she, too, discovered she has lead pipes in her Southeast Side residence. Because she doesnt qualify for the low-income assistance program, she said she will have to come up with the money on her own to replace them. In November, the EPA published a draft proposal for new drinking water standards. Environmental justice advocates had been hopeful that the federal agency would outright ban cost-sharing programs like the one carried out by Providence Water, but instead, the agency said the issue was a matter of state and local law. EPA is encouraging water utilities to cover the full cost of replacement, citing federal funding availability. Additionally, federal civil rights laws, including Title VI incentivize systems to achieve full replacement outcomes that do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, or national origin, the EPA said. EPA confirmed on Feb. 13 that it has yet to release any decision or reach a resolution in the Providence, Rhode Island, case. "EPA and Providence Water are currently engaged in the Informal Resolution Agreement process. As this is a pending matter, we cannot comment further," the agency said. With an IRA, EPA engages the recipient Providence Water in this case in negotiations toward "a potential path for resolving the issues" that the agency's External Civil Rights office had agreed to investigate, according to EPA's Case Resolution Manual. During this process, the complainants will have a chance to provide input. Once EPA finalizes an agreement, officials will monitor Providence Water to ensure compliance until they've fulfilled the terms of the agreement. Earlier this month, attorneys general in 12 states and Washington D.C. called on EPA to amend its drinking water standards to ensure low-income families aren't left behind in the country's plan to replace lead pipes in the next decade. "Without a requirement that water systems provide funding or create a funding strategy for when homeowners are unable to pay for their portion of the replacement, there is a very serious risk ... that lead service lines will remain in place in low-income and other at-risk communities," the coalition wrote in its public comment to EPA. Each day the St. Louis Post-Dispatch runs obituaries that show the prevalence of Alzheimers and dementia. Its estimated that one in three seniors dies from Alzheimers. In 2022, my dad, Herbert Lee Wilson, was one of those obituaries. My dad was the type of man who loved knowledge and was rarely seen without a book in his hand. That's why seeing the impact Alzheimer's had on him was especially devastating for us as his family. Its also what continues to inspire us to become advocates on behalf of those living with this insidious disease and in support of their families. I recently traveled with more than 100 other advocates as part of the Alzheimers Association Memory Day in Jefferson City. We spoke with multiple legislators, including state Rep. Travis Wilson of St. Charles, to ask for their support for legislation to establish a statewide dementia service coordinator position. Not only would such a position coordinate resources to help better serve families like ours, it would save the state money by eliminating duplication of services. More than 25 states already have or are in the process of establishing dementia service coordinators, including Kansas and Arkansas. I appreciate the legislators, including Rep. Wilson, who listened to our collective stories and urge them to support the more than 120,000 Missourians and their families who could benefit from their action. Jocelyn Fields St. Charles KINSHASA, Feb. 16 (Xinhua) -- An extraordinary mini-summit on the security situation in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is scheduled for Friday in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, ahead of the 37th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the Heads of State and Government of the African Union (AU), according to the DRC government. Tina Salama, spokesperson for DRC President Felix Tshisekedi, said on Friday via X, formerly Twitter, that the mini-summit is convened by Angolan President Joao Lourenco, the designated mediator, on the peace and security situation prevailing in the eastern DRC. The security situation remains volatile around Goma, the capital of the DRC's eastern province of North Kivu, due to ongoing fighting between the army and rebels of the March 23 Movement (M23), as the latter has launched multiple offensives since last week. The Angolan president was appointed by the Southern African Development Community and the AU as mediator for the de-escalation of the situation in the eastern DRC. February 16, 2024: After two decades of development the U.S. Armys new XM-AMP Advanced Multi-Purpose 120mm tank round is finally ready to be issued for use by 120mm M1 tank guns. The new shells replace several other types of 120mm shells. The XM-AMP was considered stable enough in 2020 to be test fired by troops. Covid19 delayed that for a year and two tank crews were finally able to fire the AMP in late 2021. That was considered a success, but more development was required before the AMP was certified safe and reliable enough for regular use. By 2013 the AMP had been tested and demonstrated that it worked, but it was still not rugged and reliable enough. The army admitted that at least five years of development and testing was needed to make it suitable for service. That several years is turning into a decade. Part of the delay was adding some new features and modifying the shell design to prevent failures by one of the several different features the tank gunner can select before firing. For decades the army has been developing multi-purpose shells, but by the late 1990s that meant two functions. AMP was a lot more ambitious as it was designed to replace four different shells: the current multipurpose for bunkers and light armored vehicles M830A1 and its improved version M908, the HEAT shaped charge anti-tank shell, and the M1028 shotgun shell. The AMP was designed to have instant, delayed, and airburst detonation. This allows the gunner to quickly select the type of detonation that is best able to take out personnel, light armor, or structures. AMP can penetrate reinforced concrete walls and kill or wound troops more than 500 meters away. Currently there are similar shells like the DM11 used by the German Army, Hungary, and U.S. Marine Corps since 2009 that are effective against personnel and structures. The DM11 was used in Iraq and Afghanistan. The DM11 is one of several new multi-purpose tank gun shells, and these shells have proved very useful. These new shell designs are better at killing infantry, and destroying bunkers and buildings than tanks and began to appear in the 1990s. There were still a lot of older shells that were somewhat multipurpose. Over 19,000 American M830A1 multipurpose 120mm tank gun rounds were modified to become M908 shells, which are more lethal against bunkers, buildings, and unarmored vehicles. In addition, there is the M1028, a 120mm shotgun shell containing 1,100 10mm tungsten balls, which can kill or wound at up to 700 meters. This shell and the M908 are what American M-1 tanks used most frequently in Iraq. Israel pioneered the use of multi-purpose tank gun ammunition and has been using their versions heavily in Palestinian areas for over a decade. These multipurpose shells make tanks much more useful in urban fighting. Hostile gunmen often take cover in buildings or trees and crops. The multipurpose shells can knock down buildings, and the M1028 can clear out anyone sniping at you from lighter structures or vegetation. The AMP will be able to detonate behind obstacles as well, killing troops who were usually safe from tank gun fire in the past. AMP is also effective against most armored vehicles but will only damage most tanks. Tank crews will still have to carry AP armor piercing shells. Fighting during World War II between 1939 and 1945 demonstrated that most tank fire was not at other tanks but at structures and troops. The biggest danger to tanks is still anti-tank mines, large roadside bombs and infantry armed with a variety of anti-tank guided missiles and advanced shoulder-fired rockets with warheads that can do serious damage to a tank. The explosions can also damage a tanks track- laying system and immobilize the tank until the damage is repaired. An immobilized tank is the target of more attacks and all this lethal attention often leads to the destruction of the tank. February 16, 2024: The war in Ukraine has destroyed most of the major weapons Russia has accumulated over the last two decades. In addition, about 400,000 troops have been lost, many of them when their tanks or other armored vehicles were destroyed. As of February 2024, Russia has lost 6,400 tanks and 12,000 other armored vehicles. Artillery losses have also been heavy with 9,500 howitzers, guns and large caliber mortars lost. Some of the large caliber guns literally wore out their barrels and were considered combat losses. About a thousand MLRS (Multiple Launcher Rocket Systems) were destroyed by enemy artillery or missiles. The most common Russian MLRS is the BM-21, which is a truck mounted launcher that carries 40 122mm rockets. These can be launched in small numbers or all at once and can travel up to 20 kilometers. Range is determined by the angle the launcher is raised to when the rockets are fired. Since the rockets are unguided, firing many rockets at once will cover a large area with exploding rockets. This can be used to halt or disrupt an enemy attack or support a Russian offensive by causing extensive damage and casualties to enemy forces. These truck mounted MLRS systems are a favorite target for long range Ukrainian missile attacks. Russia has also lost 7,200 UAVs and 1,900 cruise missiles of various types. Another disabling loss was 16,000 trucks used to transport supplies, including fuel, as well as troops or casualties moved to rear area field hospitals. Russian fuel trucks are a prime target for Ukrainian armed UAVs because without fuel, Russian vehicles, especially tanks, are immobilized. Russia has lost over 300 helicopters and fixed wing aircraft as well as 670 anti-aircraft systems. Russian efforts to replace these losses and rebuild its military required upgrading and reviving the Russian defense industry. This is complicated by the high cost of new weapons. Most Russian defense manufacturers, survivors of the post-Cold War slump, cannot build weapons at a price the Russian military can afford. This is because most of these firms have survived on export sales, where higher quality and more expensive weapons are in demand. This problem is most acute with big-ticket items like tanks, nuclear submarines, and combat helicopters. Moreover, Russia exported many of its latest tanks via licensing deals, for manufacture overseas, mainly in India. Nuclear submarine manufacturing was kept on life-support, barely functioning, for over two decades. Helicopter gunships get few export sales and are expensive. The cost of Russian weapons sold to the Russian military is complicated by two other problems. One issue is that consolidation since the 1990s has left, in many cases, a single manufacturer for many weapon types. Another issue is corruption in Russian industry, government, and the military. This drives prices up and is very resistant to anti-corruption efforts. All this has resulted in the Russian military increasingly calling for the purchase of more foreign weapons. This is considered politically unacceptable and, due to hard currency issues, financially unwise. Some purchases have been allowed, but not nearly as much as the generals and admirals want. Since Russia invaded Ukraine in early 2022, Western sanctions have eliminated sources for most weapons imports. Iran and North Korea are the exception, but they expect to be paid and that has cost Russia over $30 billion so far for Iranian cruise and ballistic missiles along with munitions and artillery weapons and some ballistic missiles from North Korea. Currently Russian weapons manufacturers cannot deliver weapons fast enough to replace all the losses. Russia also has an increasingly more difficult time mobilizing manpower. Military age men in Russia consider service in Ukraine a high risk undertaking which few Russian troops survive. These those who survive are often wounded, many badly enough to be disabled and no longer fit for military service. Because of this Russia is unable to replace all it troops lost to death or disability in combat. Meanwhile Russian defense manufacturers have their own problems. For example, in the 1990s Russia sought to rebuild its Cold War era helicopter industry. The first move was putting all Russian helicopter companies into one firm: Russian Helicopters. To accomplish this, the government bought most of the shares in six companies. As part of this effort, the Russian military was to order more helicopters. The Russian helicopter companies need all the help they can get. Total annual production of all these companies had collapsed to less than a hundred helicopters in the 1990s, mostly for export. Twenty years ago, annual production passed a hundred again, and it continued to grow, but not enough to keep manufacturers profitable. Many firms have been staying alive by producing spare parts and refurbishing older aircraft. Thousands of helicopters produced by Russian manufacturers are still in service, and they needed spares, upgrades, and maintenance services. But now there are more new models coming out, the Russian armed forces are buying again, and the export market is booming. But the Russian military customers are being offered helicopters at rapidly, and frequently, increasing prices. The buyers are not happy with this, and the government is demanding changes. The Russian military is not satisfied with the cheaper, upgraded Cold War models. These are the only ones that are sold at affordable prices. For example, in 2007 Russia decided to replace its 250 Mi-24 helicopter gunships with 300 of the more recent Mi-28s. The Mi-24 is a twelve ton chopper based on the Mi-8/17 transport. The U.S. did the same thing with the AH-1, developing it from the UH-1 Huey. But rather than adopt the two seater, one pilot behind the other approach of the AH-1 and AH-64 Apache, the Mi-24 could still carry troops or cargo in the back and was not as nimble as the AH-1. The 11 ton Mi-28 looks more like the AH-64. That's because, by the end of the 1960s, the Russians realized that the AH-1 design was superior. Like the AH-64, the Mi-28 is expensive. For several years, there has been intense competition to decide which of its two new helicopter gunship designs, the Ka-50 and Mi-28N to standardize on. The 2007 decision settled the matter. About 50 Mi-28s were bought in the next three years, with all 300 in service within five years. The Mi-28N is a more capable helicopter, costing about the same as the earlier $15 million AH-64A. The Russians know that their weapons sell much better when a rock bottom price is offered. But you can't make a profit at those low prices. During the Cold War, the communist government was not bothered by unprofitable prices, because profit was not considered important. That's the main reason the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, and now Russian firms pay attention to profit. The first version of the Mi-28N was shown in 1996, although the manufacturer, Mil, wasn't ready to offer it for sale until 2004. Worse, when the Mi-28 went up against the AH-64 in a competition to determine which new gunship India would buy, the AH-64 was found to be decidedly superior. Moreover, the AH-64 has an extensive combat record that the Russian helicopter gunship lacks. Another market niche that Russia has always been strong on is heavy lift models like the Mi-26 Halo. This helicopter can transport 20 tons for 550 kilometers or 15 tons for 900 kilometers. Russia has also continued production of the Mi-24, as the export-oriented Mi-35M. This is the Mi-24 with a lot of the electronics, engines, and other features of the Mi-28. But Russian helicopter companies have had the most export success, during the last two decades, by selling Cold War favorites like the Mi-17 transport. But the Russian military believes it will take them a decade or more to replace the losses they have already suffered in Ukraine. That war isnt over yet, and Russia continues to lose tanks, aircraft and other equipment that is increasingly short supply. February 16, 2024: Israel continues fighting Hamas gunmen in Gaza while also searching for more hostages. Three hostages were recently rescued from an apartment in the Gaza town of Rafah. Over a hundred hostages are still missing and believed to be held by Hamas in various Gaza locations. Israel gave peace a chance and that didnt work and is now trying belligerence. The IDF (Israeli Defense Forces) are again fully mobilized at great cost to the Israeli economy. There had been a brief, limited and now ended demobilization after it became apparent that Hezbollah in Lebanon had no present intention of bombarding Israel with its arsenal of a hundred thousand plus missiles and unguided rockets. Israeli troops continue operations in Gaza to eliminate the Hamas presence there and rescue hostages. Several months after the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack from Gaza into southern Israel, Hamas was on the defensive but still held over 200 of these hostages. The initial attack killed about 1,400 Israelis and foreigners living in Israel. Hamas took about 200 Israelis and foreigners hostage and still holds about a hundred. Hamas is again allegedly planning to negotiate with Israel to release hostages in return for Israel releasing imprisoned Palestinians. The IDF (Israeli Defense Forces) mobilized several hundred thousand reservists to fight Hamas in Gaza. The Israeli air force provides most of the firepower used against Hamas in Gaza. Hamas sought to protect itself by using Palestinian civilians as human shields. That didnt work, partly because Israel warned the Palestinian civilians to evacuate the combat zone. Most did, but some of those who didnt became casualties. IDF efforts to prevent Hamas fighters from mingling with the Palestinian civilians and escaping the IDF were often successful. Hamas built about 500 kilometers of tunnels under Gaza over the last decade. Israeli troops have sealed as many entrances as they can find but there are still plenty left, and Hamas still uses those to fire rockets into Israel. This gives Israeli forces an incentive to find and seal as many tunnel entrances as possible. It will be difficult to find and seal them all because Hamas have been clever in how they construct tunnel exits and, as long as the rocket fire continues, that means tunnel exits remain and are in use. Israel began flooding tunnels with sea water in November 2023. They used the flooding carefully to avoid drowning any of the hostages out. The main goal of the flooding was to drive Hamas out of their tunnels. Israel is reluctant to send troops into the tunnels because Hamas has the advantage down there and can quickly install explosive traps and ambush sites. Israel has sent remotely controlled bomb disposal robots into the tunnel and discovered many of the deadly preparations Hamas has prepared for an Israeli incursion. Hamas is well protected in their tunnels and believes Israel will not expose its troops to the heavy losses they would suffer if the fighting were continued inside the tunnels. Israel went ahead and used their technology to map and monitor Hamas activity in the tunnels. This tech was developed over the last few decades to deal with Hamas tunnels in Gaza and Hezbollah tunnels on the Lebanon border. The ability of Hamas to hold out in the tunnel network is limited and it may be that part of Israels strategy here is to wait Hamas out until most of its remaining forces have to surface and surrender before eradicating the remainder. Israeli troops have more control on the surface and use that to try and halt Hamas rocket attacks on Israel or armed Hamas men from leaving Gaza. Israel wants to dismantle any military capabilities Hamas has. Because of the tunnels and hostages, that will take time. Meanwhile Israeli forces have taken control of areas in Gaza where over two million Palestinians civilians live, and Israeli troops will stay for a long time. Palestinians call this an armed occupation and Israel agrees with that. Israel justifies the occupation as necessary because of the threat from armed Hamas members. Until 2005, Israel occupied Gaza with troops. When Israeli forces withdrew in 2005 it was with an understanding that the Israeli military would return in force if the Palestinians did not control the violent radical Palestinian groups in Gaza, including Hamas and several Islamic terrorist groups. The radicals were kept in check for 18 years but during that time they stole much of the foreign aid sent to Gaza, including millions of dollars in cash, to prepare for an attack on Israel. That began on October 7th and the fighting continues, with Hamas on the defensive and determined to continue this resistance as long as possible. On December 15 a gun battle between Hamas and Israeli troops led to the accidently shooting of three Israeli hostages that Hamas had with them. The continuing fighting in Gaza puts the Israeli troops in a difficult position since armed Hamas members often take shelter among civilians or, in this case, some hostages who were Israelis. The Israeli hostages were captured by Hamas during the October 7th fighting and were among the hostages Hamas hoped to trade for the release of more Palestinian terrorists still in prison. The Israeli army went on the offensive in Gaza on October 27 and so far, a hundred Israeli soldiers have been killed and about 600 wounded. About 18,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, most of them civilians. By early 2024 Israel has discovered many hostages it believed to be alive had been killed during the continuing fighting between IDF forces and Hamas gunmen. At the same time Hamas refuses to allow Palestinian civilians to leave the combat zone, needing them to involuntarily serve as human shields for Hamas gunmen. If Palestinian civilians are killed, they are considered involuntary martyrs to the cause of defending Islam and destroying Israel. Hamas is hated by most Palestinians because of these cynical practices. Palestinians consider Hamas more of a danger to Palestinians than a protector. Outside the combat zone Hamas manages to portray itself as heroic fighters against the wicked Israeli defense forces. TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / February 16 , 2024 / Velox Energy Materials Inc. (TSXV:VLX) ("Velox" or "the Company") advises that it's Corporate Secretary, Sarah Wilson, has resigned effective from 16 February 2024. The Company is pleased to announce the appointment of Ms Silfia Morton and Ms Karien Slabbert as the new Joint Corporate Secretaries of Velox Energy Materials Inc. Ms Wilson is thanked for her contribution to the Company during her time as Corporate Secretary. Ms Silfia Morton is a Chartered Accountant with a Master's degree in commerce, specializing in financial management, financial reporting and risk compliance and management. Ms Morton has served as Chief Financial Officer and Company Secretary for a number of ASX listed and unlisted public companies and has previously spent twelve years as senior audit manager at one of the leading international Audit, Tax & Advisory firms, where she was focused on engagements across the mining, technology and manufacturing sectors. Silfia's experience includes expertise in matters of corporate governance and compliance support, as well as managing and executing corporate transactions including assets acquisitions and disposal, capital raisings, IPOs, and ASX listings. Ms Karien Slabbert is a Company Secretary with Source Governance, a national outsourced company secretarial provider and has over 14 years' experience in the legal industry, with a background in litigation, commercial and corporate law. She has been a director of a law firm, managed corporate operations and a Company Secretary, through which she has developed a strong business acumen and skills ranging from risk management, compliance, strategy development and sound corporate governance practices. Karien has experience working with regulators and has worked with boards of both listed and unlisted companies. Ms Morton and Ms Slabbert are both based in Perth, Western Australia. Release approved by the Chief Executive Officer and President of Velox Energy Materials Inc, Simon Coyle. Please visit our website at www.veloxenergymaterials.com.au for further information. Investor Relations Contacts Andrew Rowell Investor Relations - Australia M: +61 400 466 226 Email: [email protected] SOURCE: Velox Energy Materials Inc. View the original press release on accesswire.com Leading Cybersecurity Program Management Practice Named Top Technology Provider for Forward-Thinking SecOps, Risk Management, and Strategic Cybersecurity Planning Solutions PHOENIX, AZ / ACCESSWIRE / February 16, 2024 / ArmorPoint, LLC, a leader in innovative cybersecurity solutions, has been named by CRN Magazine to its MSP 500 and Security 100 lists for 2024. CRN, a brand of The Channel Company, is known throughout the IT industry as the top trusted source for IT channel news, analysis and insight delivered online and in print. "Managed services are pivotal for businesses of every size, ensuring operational efficiency and the agility needed for growth," states Jennifer Follett, VP of US Content and Executive Editor at CRN. "The 2024 MSP 500 list features solution providers who are pushing the boundaries with their managed services offerings, helping their clients maximize their IT spend and focus on core business operations for future success." The MSP 500 list is dedicated to recognizing those companies that significantly support businesses by providing managed services crucial for improving efficiency, streamlining IT operations, and enhancing return on investment. The Managed Security 100 category spotlights MSPs with cloud-based security, services and expertise. ArmorPoint's selection for the Security 100 category underscores the company's commitment to delivering advanced security program management solutions tailored to the specific needs of its clients. Understanding that cybersecurity must be adaptable to suit various business needs, ArmorPoint focuses on delivering personalized, agile defense strategies and tools to guide their clients--no matter where they're at on their cyber resilience journey. "We are thrilled to be recognized by CRN on both the MSP 500 and Security 100 lists," says David Trapp, CEO of ArmorPoint. "This distinction is a testament to our team's relentless dedication to excellence and innovation in cybersecurity. At ArmorPoint, we are committed to not just meeting, but exceeding the unique security needs of our clients, helping them navigate their cybersecurity journeys with confidence. This recognition fuels our drive to continue pushing the boundaries of what's possible in cybersecurity solutions." The MSP 500 list will be featured in the February 2024 issue of CRN and online at www.crn.com/msp500. About ArmorPoint ArmorPoint, LLC provides proactive solutions for cyber resilience, not just reactive tools. Specializing in integrated cybersecurity program management, ArmorPoint delivers deep expertise fused with their innovative technology to continuously assess and mature your security posture, transforming cybersecurity from a defensive necessity to a strategic asset driving competitive advantage. To learn more, visit armorpoint.com. About The Channel Company The Channel Company enables breakthrough IT channel performance with our dominant media, engaging events, expert consulting and education, and innovative marketing services and platforms. As the channel catalyst, we connect and empower technology suppliers, solution providers and end users. Backed by more than 40 years of unequalled channel experience, we draw from our deep knowledge to envision innovative new solutions for ever-evolving challenges in the technology marketplace. www.thechannelco.com MEDIA CONTACT Ashley Capps Chief Marketing Officer, ArmorPoint [email protected] Kristin DaSilva The Channel Company [email protected] Contact Information Ashley Capps Chief Marketing Officer [email protected] (602) 282-3090 SOURCE: ArmorPoint, LLC View the original press release on newswire.com. NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / February 16, 2024 / BCM One, a leading provider of NextGen Communications and Managed Services for IT leaders and resellers, announced today that CRN, a brand of The Channel Company, has named BCM One to its Managed Service Provider (MSP) 500 list in the Elite 150 category for 2024. The annual MSP 500 list is divided into three sections: the MSP Pioneer 250, recognizing companies with business models weighted toward managed services and largely focused on the SMB market; the MSP Elite 150, recognizing large, data center-focused MSPs with a strong mix of on- and off-premises services; and the Managed Security 100, recognizing MSPs focused primarily on off-premises and cloud-based security services. Jennifer Follett, VP of US Content and executive Editor CRN, The Channel Company, emphasized the significance of managed services for businesses at various scales, stating, "Managed services provide a route for businesses of all sizes to maintain efficiency and adaptability throughout their growth journey. The solution providers featured in our 2024 MSP 500 list are introducing cutting-edge managed services portfolios to the market, enabling their clients to achieve success by optimizing their IT budgets. This allows businesses to allocate resources strategically, concentrating on mission-critical tasks that drive future success." "We are honored to be recognized as a CRN MSP Elite 150," stated Geoff Bloss, CEO of BCM One. "The complexity of business infrastructures is only growing. Our value is to allow organizations to benefit from modern technologies while at the same time delivering enhanced efficiency, reduced burden on IT, and increased ROI. The MSP 500 list will be featured in the February 2024 issue of CRN and online at www.crn.com/msp500. ### ABOUT BCM ONE Founded in 1992, BCM One is the leading NextGen Communications and Managed Services provider. Serving over 20,000 customers worldwide and 5,000+ channel partners, BCM One offers telecom solutions supporting the critical network infrastructure of global businesses including: Enterprise Teams, Global Managed Connectivity, UCaaS, SIP Trunking, Managed SD-WAN, Security-as-a Service and Technology Expense Optimization. BCM One prides itself on its long-standing client relationships backed by their mission statement, "To Provide a World-Class Experience with Every Human Interaction." To learn more about BCM One, visit www.bcmone.com. ABOUT THE CHANNEL COMPANY The Channel Company enables breakthrough IT channel performance with our dominant media, engaging events, expert consulting and education, and innovative marketing services and platforms. As the channel catalyst, we connect and empower technology suppliers, solution providers and end users. Backed by more than 40 years of unequaled channel experience, we draw from our deep knowledge to envision innovative new solutions for ever-evolving challenges in the technology marketplace. www.thechannelco.com 2024 The Channel Company LLC. CRN is a registered trademark of The Channel Company, LLC. All rights reserved. Contact Information Paula Como Kauth Chief Marketing Officer [email protected] SOURCE: BCM One View the original press release on newswire.com. CALGARY, AB / ACCESSWIRE / February 16, 2024 / CannaPharmaRx, Inc. (OTC PINK:CPMD), a future leader in ultramodern, highly efficient cannabis production facilities announced today that it has entered into a strategic Supply Agreement (the "Agreement") with Cantek Holdings ("Cantek"), one of Israel's leaders in import and distribution of medical grade cannabis. This agreement will provide direct access to Israel's burgeoning consumer demand. Under the terms of the Agreement, CannaPharmaRx will supply Cantek with a minimum of 1,000 kgs of product annually. Having secured all necessary export and import permits and licenses, the initial shipment of cannabis to Cantek, under the Agreement, will begin late Q1 2024. Cantek is one of the leading Medical Cannabis enterprises in Israel, with a foothold across the entire value chain of the medical cannabis industry in Israel. Cantek holds strategic partnerships with prominent pharmacy chains, distribution companies, clinics and is deeply involved with Israel's growing medical cannabis patient community. Recently passed legislation bolstered the demonstrated market demand and regulatory support for high quality cannabis and is expected to significantly grow the medical cannabis industry. CannaPharmaRx plans to continue to leverage its recent successes as it further develops its cannabis markets internationally in key markets. The company is now strategically positioned in some of the largest cannabis markets in the world. "We are excited about our strategic relationship with Cantek, a leader in the Israeli market. This Agreement provides our company with a great opportunity to expand our cannabis brands and industry leading science in one of our key international markets of focus. Today's announcement validates our position in the world's cannabis market, and we consider this Agreement to be a major step forward towards making certain our product is pre-sold prior to beginning each planting and harvesting," commented Dean Medwid, CEO of CannaPharmaRx. About CannapharmaRx, Inc. CannapharmaRx is focused on the acquisition and development of state-of-the-art cannabis grow facilities in Canada. CPMD is in discussion with other companies regarding potential acquisitions. CannapharmaRx's business strategy is to become a leader in high quality and low-cost production of cannabis through the development, acquisition, and enhancement of existing facilities. CannapharmaRx is committed to operating high-quality facilities utilizing the latest technology in combined heat and power generation to ensure being a low-cost producer of cannabis. Safe Harbor Statement Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information or Statements This press release contains forward-looking information or statements. All statements that are or information which is not historical facts, including without limitation, statements regarding future estimates, plans, programs, forecasts, projections, objectives, assumptions, expectations, or beliefs of future performance, are 'forward-looking information or statements.' Forward-looking information or statements can be identified by the use of words such as 'plans,' 'expects,' or 'does not expect,' 'is expected,' 'estimates,' 'intends,' 'anticipates,' or 'does not anticipate,' or 'believes,' or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results 'may,' 'could,' 'would,' 'might' or 'will' be taken, occur or be achieved. With respect to forward-looking information and statements contained herein, Management of CannapharmaRx has made numerous assumptions, including, among other things, assumptions about general business and economic conditions. Such forward-looking statements are based on assumptions and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors that may cause actual results, events, or developments to be materially different from any future results, events, or developments expressed or implied by such forward-looking information or statements. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking information or statements. 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 forward-looking information or statements. CannapharmaRx assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking information or statements, even if new information becomes available as a result of future events, new information, or for any other reason except as required by law. Contact Information: Brokers and Analysts Chesapeake Group (410) 825-3930 SOURCE: Cannapharmarx, Inc. View the original press release on accesswire.com TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / February 15, 2024 / Galway Metals Inc. (TSXV:GWM);(OTCQB: GAYMF) (the "Company" or "Galway") is pleased to announce that its Board of Directors has appointed Peter Gula as a Director, effective immediately. Mr. Gula is a Professional Engineer who brings over 35 years of mining industry experience to the Board. "On behalf of the Board of Directors, I am delighted to welcome Peter to Galway," stated Robert Hinchcliffe, President and Chief Executive Officer of Galway. "I have had the opportunity to get to know Peter well over the last few years, as he has led two internal scoping studies for our Estrades project and I am confident that he will complement our existing Board with his excellent technical and project leadership experience, as well as his vast network of industry contacts." Mr. Gula brings experience from all phases of the mining project life cycle, from scoping studies through to the commissioning of mines, as well as the management of operations. He has held key leadership roles in mine management, production, technical services, and project management. Mr. Gula's career included a 30-year tenure with Placer Dome Inc. (later Goldcorp Inc.), where he held several senior roles, including Mine General Manager of the Musselwhite Mine. Mr. Gula later joined North American Palladium Ltd. as the Director of Mining, until the company was acquired by Impala Platinum Holdings Limited, at which time he was appointed the Director of Strategy and Business Planning, and later served as the Vice President Technical Services and Projects. Mr. Gula is currently consulting with Stantec, supporting major mining companies in the execution of a wide range of capital projects and studies. Mr. Gula received his Bachelor of Science, Mining Engineering degree from Laurentian University. Mr. Gula's appointment to Galway Metals' Board of Directors is subject to TSX Venture Exchange approval. About Galway Metals Inc. Galway Metals is a Canadian mineral exploration and development company focused on advancing its 100%-owned, high-grade, open-pitable flagship Clarence Stream gold project in southwest New Brunswick. Clarence Stream is an emerging gold district with an exploration strike length of approximately 65 kilometres and widths of up to 28 kilometres in certain areas. Galway Metals also has 100%-ownership in the Estrades project, a former producing high-grade, gold-rich polymetallic VMS mine in the northern Abitibi of western Quebec. Led by a management team with a proven track-record of creating shareholder value having sold Galway Resources for US$340 million, Galway Metals is focused on creating value for all its stakeholders. For additional Information on Galway Metals Inc., Please contact: Robert Hinchcliffe, President & Chief Executive Officer Telephone: 1-800-771-0680 Email: [email protected] Website: www.galwaymetalsinc.com Look us up on Facebook, Twitter or Link Cautionary Statement Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Toronto Stock Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release. No stock exchange, securities commission or other regulatory authority has approved or disapproved the information contained herein. This News Release includes certain "forward-looking statements" which are not comprised of historical facts. Forward-looking statements include estimates and statements that describe the Company's future plans, objectives or goals, including words to the effect that the Company or management expects a stated condition or result to occur. Forward-looking statements may be identified by such terms as "believes", "anticipates", "expects", "estimates", "may", "could", "would", "will", or "plan". Since forward-looking statements are based on assumptions and address future events and conditions, by their very nature they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Although these statements are based on information currently available to the Company, the Company provides no assurance that actual results will meet management's expectations. Risks, uncertainties and other factors involved with forward-looking information could cause actual events, results, performance, prospects and opportunities to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Forward-looking information in this news release includes, but is not limited to, the addition of Mr. Gula to the board of directors of the Company. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from such forward-looking information include, but are not limited to approval by the TSX Venture Exchange. Although the Company believes that the assumptions and factors used in preparing the forward-looking information in this news release are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on such information, which only applies as of the date of this news release, and no assurance can be given that such events will occur in the disclosed time frames or at all. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, other than as required by law. SOURCE: Galway Metals Inc. View the original press release on accesswire.com MONTREAL, QC / ACCESSWIRE / February 16, 2024 / Gildan Activewear Inc. (TSX: GIL)(NYSE: GIL) ("Gildan" or the "Company") is pleased to share that it has been included in CDP's Leadership band for its 2023 climate change disclosures for the fourth time. In addition, Gildan was also included in the Sustainability Yearbook 2024 by S&P Global for the 12th consecutive year, based on S&P Global's Corporate Sustainability Assessment (CSA) in 2023. "Gildan's inclusions in CDP's Leadership band and the S&P Global's Sustainability Yearbook highlight the Company's strong commitment to sustainable practices," said Vince Tyra, President and CEO of Gildan. "I am impressed by the breadth and depth of the Company's ESG efforts and proud that Gildan continues to be recognized by these important organizations for our ongoing efforts to make apparel with respect." "These recognitions are the result of the extensive work to drive our Next Generation ESG strategy across our entire operations," said Peter Iliopoulos, Senior Vice-President of Taxation, Sustainability, and Governmental Affairs at Gildan. "I am proud of the dedication and commitment of our people around the world who are further integrating ESG across our business operations, as one of the key drivers of Gildan's success." CDP's 2023 Climate Change Disclosure - Gildan received an A- for its climate change disclosure in 2023, placing the Company in CDP's Leadership band and above the apparel design sector average of B. The Company is among the 30% of organizations included in the group that reached the Leadership level.1 Specifically, Gildan was a top performer on its Scope 1 and 2 GHG emission performance, risk management processes, risk and opportunity disclosures, and emission reduction initiatives. CDP is a global non-profit charity that runs the global environmental disclosure system for investors, companies, cities, states, and regions to manage their environmental impacts. Over 23,000 organizations around the world disclosed data through CDP in 2023. Click here to explore the scores. S&P Global's Sustainability Yearbook 2024 - Gildan was included by S&P Global as a Sustainability Yearbook member based on its 2023 CSA score. The Company was one of six companies in the Textiles, Apparel, and Luxury Goods industry sector included this year, and the only North American company recognized in this industry sector. The Yearbook is a comprehensive report distinguishing some of the world's leading companies for their demonstrated sustainability initiatives and practices. Inclusion in the Yearbook is based on the S&P Global 2023 CSA scores, which uses a rigorous methodology to determine companies' sustainability performance. To be listed, an organization must score within the top 15% of their industry and must achieve a CSA score within 30% of their industry's top-performers. As of December 22, 2023, only 8% of companies made the CSA Yearbook, out of the 9,400 companies considered for inclusion. Click here to explore the scores. 1. Specific to climate change. About Gildan Gildan is a leading manufacturer of everyday basic apparel. The Company's product offering includes activewear, underwear and socks, sold to a broad range of customers, including wholesale distributors, screenprinters or embellishers, as well as to retailers that sell to consumers through their physical stores and/or e-commerce platforms and to global lifestyle brand companies. The Company markets its products in North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and Latin America, under a diversified portfolio of Company-owned brands including Gildan, American Apparel, Comfort Colors, GOLDTOE, and Peds. Gildan owns and operates vertically integrated, large-scale manufacturing facilities which are primarily located in Central America, the Caribbean, the United States, and Bangladesh. Gildan operates with a strong commitment to industry-leading labour, environmental and governance practices throughout its supply chain in accordance with its comprehensive ESG program embedded in the Company's long-term business strategy. More information about the Company and its ESG practices and initiatives can be found at www.gildancorp.com. Investor inquiries: Jessy Hayem, CFA Vice-President, Head of Investor Relations (514) 744-8511 [email protected] Media inquiries: Genevieve Gosselin Director, Global Communications and Corporate Marketing (514) 343-8814 [email protected] Gildan Included in CDP's Leadership Band and in S&P Global's Sustainability Yearbook View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from Gildan Activewear on 3blmedia.com. Contact Info: Spokesperson: Gildan Activewear Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/gildan-activewear Email: [email protected] SOURCE: Gildan Activewear View the original press release on accesswire.com Chimeric Bait Receptors for Combatting Brain Cancers and Neurodegenerative Diseases Can Be Delivered via Programmed Microglial Cells LONDON, UK / ACCESSWIRE / February 16, 2024 / Hemogenyx Pharmaceuticals plc (LSE:HEMO), the clinical stage biopharmaceutical group, announces that it has demonstrated in vivo that its proprietary Chimeric Bait Receptor ("CBR") can be delivered into the brain via programmed microglial cells for the potential treatment of brain cancers and certain neurodegenerative diseases. Delivery of therapeutics across the blood-brain barrier is one of the most difficult problems in the treatment of brain cancers and certain neurodegenerative diseases. Our scientists at have developed a method of transplantation of human hematopoietic (blood) stem cells ("HSC") that allows their engraftment and differentiation into microglial cells (immune cells that reside in the brain) in the brains of immune-compromised mice. The Company believes that autologous HSCs that are genetically modified to make CBR and transplanted back to a patient could give rise to microglial cells in the patient's brain. Such microglial cells that have been armed with CBR could potentially be able to find and phagocytose (ingest and destroy) either brain cancer cells or abnormal protein aggregations (e.g., amyloid plaques in Alzheimer's). The Company's approach described above may offer a number of benefits: (1) it could deliver CBR therapeutics across the blood brain barrier; (2) CBR-armed microglial cells may not be rejected as they are autologous/patient-derived; (3) CBR-armed microglial cells may provide long-term protection of the brain against cancer or protein aggregations because microglial cells live for a long time; and (4) autologous HSC, which are self-renewing, could become an almost unlimited source of CBR-armed microglial cells for the patient. This is a further indication of the growing range and versatility of CBR as a potential tool against a variety of difficult to treat and deadly conditions. Research continues on CBR and the Company intends to increase its focus on this once HEMO-CAR-T has entered clinical trials. Dr Vladislav Sandler, CEO & Co-Founder of Hemogenyx Pharmaceuticals, commented: "This major breakthrough in the method of delivery of our CBR into the brain is a unique tool that may allow us to successfully tackle some of the most difficult and often incurable human diseases. As we broaden the scope of use for our CBR platform, we are eager to continue its development." Market Abuse Regulation (MAR) Disclosure Certain information contained in this announcement would have been inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of Regulation No 596/2014 (as it forms part of UK domestic law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018) until the release of this announcement. Enquiries: Hemogenyx Pharmaceuticals plc https://hemogenyx.com Dr Vladislav Sandler, Chief Executive Officer & Co-Founder [email protected] Peter Redmond, Director [email protected] SP Angel Corporate Finance LLP Tel: +44 (0)20 3470 0470 Matthew Johnson, Vadim Alexandre, Adam Cowl Peterhouse Capital Limited Tel: +44 (0)20 7469 0930 Lucy Williams, Duncan Vasey, Charles Goodfellow About Hemogenyx Pharmaceuticals plc Hemogenyx Pharmaceuticals is a publicly traded company (LSE: HEMO) headquartered in London, with its US operating subsidiaries, Hemogenyx Pharmaceuticals LLC and Immugenyx LLC, located in New York City at its state-of-the-art research facility. The Company is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical group developing new medicines and treatments for life-threatening diseases. Hemogenyx Pharmaceuticals is developing several distinct and complementary product candidates, as well as a platform technology that it uses as an engine for novel product development. This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution of this information may apply. For further information, please contact [email protected] or visit www.rns.com. SOURCE: Hemogenyx Pharmaceuticals PLC View the original press release on accesswire.com ADDIS ABABA, Feb. 16 (Xinhua) -- China-Africa cooperation in education and vocational training is "very important" and a critical enabler for human capital development in Africa, a senior African Union (AU) official has said. Speaking to Xinhua on Wednesday, Albert Muchanga, the AU commissioner for Economic Development, Trade, Tourism, Industry and Minerals, expressed his high expectations with regard to further strengthening China-Africa ties in human capital development in line with China's continued commitment to supporting African countries in talent development. "China and Africa are cooperating very, very well. We have continuous engagements and there are frameworks for collaboration," Muchanga told Xinhua on the sidelines of the 44th Ordinary Session of the Executive Council of the AU on Feb. 14-15 at the AU headquarters in Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian capital. "A lot of our young students are benefiting through scholarships, studying in China. Some of them are attending universities and others are in technical and vocational colleges," he said. "It (China-Africa cooperation in the education sector) is very important, and we encourage it to continue," the AU commissioner said, underscoring the critical role of cooperation with China in augmenting Africa's human capital, particularly the continent's burgeoning youth population, to ultimately contribute to Africa's socio-economic development. By 2030, nearly one in two young people globally will be African, but the evolving population dynamics are not matched with vital skills for Africans to fully participate in a changing workforce, said Claver Gatete, executive secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa. Speaking of the recent promises made by the Chinese government to further strengthen its support to African countries in talent development, Muchanga commended China's continued support of Africa as the continent embarks on tapping into its demographic dividend potential. "It is going to further develop," Muchanga said, referring to the future prospects of the ever-expanding China-Africa cooperation in the education and vocational training sector. "When African and Chinese leaders met in August last year, one of the three areas emphasized was human capital development. So, the collaboration is going to increase," he said. At the China-Africa Leaders' Dialogue in August last year in Johannesburg, South Africa, China announced that it would launch the Plan for China-Africa Cooperation on Talent Development, aiming at training 500 principals and high-caliber teachers of vocational colleges, and 10,000 technical personnel with both Chinese language and vocational skills for Africa every year. This year's AU summit was held under the theme "Educate an African fit for the 21st Century: Building resilient education systems for increased access to inclusive, lifelong, quality, and relevant learning in Africa." According to the AU, the theme recognized the need to intensify continental efforts aimed at bridging the gaps towards the attainment of Africa's education-related objectives as outlined in the AU's 50-year continental development blueprint, Agenda 2063. ITRCC drives toward 50% carbon emissions reductions by 2030 ELKHART, IN / ACCESSWIRE / February 16, 2024 / Today, ITR Concession Co. LLC (ITRCC), the maintainer and operator of the Indiana Toll Road, announced the successful completion of a project to construct solar energy systems at 14 locations across the Toll Road. ITRCC Solar Panels Solar Panel Installation at ITR Concession Co. LLC in Elkhart, IN. The project was advanced in collaboration with Solscient Energy, a turn-key provider of solar energy generation solutions based in Toledo, Ohio. The project, known as Project Soleil, is designed to generate enough solar energy to service over one-third of the Toll Road's electricity needs and is expected to reduce annual carbon emissions by approximately 900 metric tons. In October 2021, ITRCC first committed to an aggressive 50% reduction in scope 1 and 2 carbon emissions by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2050. These efforts have been supported via the development of "Science Based Targets" and align with the goals outlined in the Paris Agreement, an international treaty on climate change. Project Soleil is ITRCC's biggest single step so far toward achieving these critical climate goals. "What comes across loud and clear through our work with ITRCC over the past year is how seriously they are taking their own role in the energy transition," said Granger Souder, Co-founder of Solscient Energy. "Their embrace of critical steps to move toward renewables in their operations sets an example for others across the country to replicate." At each of the 14 locations, the solar array installations have been designed to provide 100% of each building's energy needs, including maintenance barns and toll plazas. Together, the project will produce almost 2,000 megawatt hours (MWh) of electricity annually. Any energy generated by the solar panel arrays over and above specific ITRCC facility needs is sent back out onto the grid to power local neighborhoods. "I believe our commitment to sustainability isn't just about reducing our carbon footprint; it's for a cleaner future for generations to come. Together, we're not just powering our operations; we're illuminating a path towards a more sustainable tomorrow," said Alyssa Staley, ITRCC Executive. About ITR Concession Co. LLC Established in 2006, ITR Concession Company LLC (ITRCC) responsibilities are detailed in the Concession and Lease Agreement with the Indiana Finance Authority, such as the construction, maintenance, repair, and operation of the 157-mile Indiana Toll Road. Headquartered in Elkhart, the Toll Road spans northern Indiana, linking Chicago with the Eastern Seaboard. Designated as part of Interstate 80/90, the Toll Road serves as a vital transportation link in the Midwest. Contact Information Yvette Leyva Communications Specialist [email protected] 5742614028 SOURCE: ITR Concession Company LLC View the original press release on newswire.com. GAZIANTEP, TURKEY / ACCESSWIRE / February 16, 2024 / Karbon, a leading blockchain-based platform focused on sustainability and carbon offsetting, is thrilled to announce a groundbreaking initiative aimed at combating climate change and promoting environmental responsibility. Karbon, a leading blockchain-based platform focused on sustainability and carbon offsetting, is thrilled to announce a groundbreaking initiative aimed at combating climate change and promoting environmental responsibility. In light of the urgent need for collective action to address the escalating climate crisis, Karbon is taking proactive steps to harness the power of blockchain technology and decentralized finance (DeFi) to drive meaningful change. Through its innovative platform, Karbon enables individuals, businesses, and organizations to offset their carbon emissions effectively while contributing to the development of a sustainable future for all. With this initiative, Karbon seeks to: 1. Reduce Carbon Footprint: By facilitating carbon offsetting initiatives, Karbon empowers users to mitigate their carbon footprint and contribute to global efforts to combat climate change. 2. Promote Environmental Responsibility: Karbon fosters a culture of environmental responsibility by incentivizing sustainable practices and rewarding conscious actions that support eco-friendly initiatives. 3. Drive Innovation: Leveraging blockchain technology and token economics, Karbon pioneers innovative solutions for carbon offsetting and sustainability, driving positive environmental impact on a global scale. 4. Forge Partnerships: Karbon collaborates with government agencies, environmental organizations, and industry partners to amplify its impact and promote collective action towards a greener, more sustainable future. In addition to its core mission of combating climate change, Karbon remains committed to transparency, accountability, and ethical business practices. The platform adheres to strict regulatory compliance standards and prioritizes user privacy and data security. "We are excited to launch this transformative initiative to address one of the most pressing challenges of our time," said Ufuk, CEO of Karbon. "At Karbon, we believe that by harnessing the power of blockchain and decentralized finance, we can create a more sustainable future for generations to come. Together, we can make a real difference in the fight against climate change." For more information about Karbon and its initiatives, please visit website About Karbon: Karbon is a blockchain-based platform dedicated to sustainability and carbon offsetting. Through its innovative solutions, Karbon empowers individuals and organizations to mitigate their carbon footprint and contribute to global efforts to combat climate change. With a mission to create a greener, more sustainable future, Karbon leverages blockchain technology and decentralized finance to drive positive environmental impact on a global scale. Media Contact Organization: Karbon Finance Contact Person: Bunyamin Website: https://karbon.finance Email: [email protected] City: Gaziantep Country: Turkey SOURCE: Karbon Finance View the original press release on accesswire.com VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / February 16, 2024 / Infinitum Copper Corp. (TSXV:INFI)(OTCQB: INUMF) ("Infinitum" or the "Company") is pleased to report that it has applied for a mining permit to the environmental authority ("SEMARNAT") in Mexico following receipt of successful metallurgical test work. Mining Permits A Mining Impact Assessment ("MIA") was recently completed and has now been submitted to the Secretaria de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales ("SEMARNAT"). SEMARNAT is the Mexican government department responsible for the issue of mining permits. La Adelita has seen historic artisanal mining focused around the adit on the eastern flank of the Cerro Grande anticline. As mining has traditionally taken place in the Cerro Grande area and the Company expects to access the mineralised body through the existing adit the permitting process is not expected to be overly complex. Metallurgical Test Work The Company has also recently received the results of metallurgical tests from Servicio Geologico Mexicano ("SGM"). Approximately 20 kilograms of material with a head grade of 1.88% Cu, 1.05 g/t Au and 74 g/t Ag was delivered to SGM in Chihuahua in Late 2023. Flotation tests demonstrated that the material is amenable to standard flotation process with 77% Au recovered, 86.14% Ag and 85.21% Cu. The material has a high specific gravity of 3.485. "We are very pleased with the results of the metallurgical test work. With these results in hand we will look to find an offtake partner among the many operating mines in the surrounding area. Using historic drilling in the Cerro Grande area we will look to follow the mineralised body from the adit back towards known mineralised zones. Approaching the mineralised body from underground will further develop our understanding of the La Adelita mineralization" says Matt Hudson, President and CEO of Infinitum Copper. Qualified Person Steve Robertson, Chairman of the Company, has acted as the Qualified Person as defined in National Instrument 43-101 for this disclosure and supervised the preparation of the technical information in this release. Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation. The forward-looking information contained in this press release represents the expectations of the Company as of the date of this press release and, accordingly, is subject to change after such date. Forward-looking information is based on, among other things, opinions, assumptions, estimates and analyses that, while considered reasonable by the Company at the date the forward-looking information is provided, are inherently subject to significant risks, uncertainties, contingencies and other factors that may cause actual results and events to be materially different from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking information. The risks, uncertainties, contingencies, and other factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking information may include, but are not limited to, risks generally associated with the Company's business, as described in the Company's Filing Statement dated February 11, 2022. Readers should not place undue importance on forward-looking information and should not rely upon this information as of any other date. While the Company may elect to, it does not undertake to update this information at any particular time except as required in accordance with applicable laws. INFINITUM COPPER CORP. Matt Hudson Chief Executive Officer [email protected] SOURCE: Infinitum Copper View the original press release on accesswire.com Prestige Auto Spa NJ is proud to announce that the business now offers specialty oil changes for European cars using high-grade Motul oil. The European oil change is a new service offered in addition to Prestige Auto Spa NJ's regular oil changes, window tinting, ceramic coating, and car washes. TOMS RIVER, NJ / ACCESSWIRE / February 16, 2024 / Prestige Auto Spa NJ is pleased to announce the company's newest service, premium European oil changes using high-grade Motul oil. European manufactured cars require specialty motor oil that domestic vehicles do not need, making car maintenance more difficult for owners of these vehicles. With Prestige Auto Spa NJ now offering oil changes for European cars, residents in and around Toms River, NJ, can now take care of their European-manufactured cars at a location they trust. Prestige Auto Spa NJ Prestige Auto Spa NJ front entrance "We are offering the highest grade oil for European cars, Motul, at Prestige Auto Spa NJ," said operating partner Jeff Kovatch. "All our mechanics are expertly trained and experienced in providing oil changes for European cars, as well as providing light mechanical work. We understand that the community is looking for a local and cost-effective alternative to automotive dealerships for this service, and our team is happy to provide a solution." European-manufactured vehicles differ from those domestically made and have different performance standards, making routine car care harder to come by. The European Automobile Manufacturers' Association recognizes that a European engine is different than an American-built engine in both design and operating conditions, thus requiring a different lubricating standard. By offering oil changes for European cars, Prestige Auto Spa NJ is broadening its availability to local Toms River, NJ, residents. European vehicles that Prestige Auto Spa NJ can now service with Motul oil changes include: BMW Benz Audi Porsche Land/Range Rover Volvo Volkswagon For European-manufactured cars, Prestige Auto Spa NJ offers premium Motul engine oil. Universally recognized for over 160 years, Motul provides excellent protection for European engines. Motul oil is also commonly used in European motorsports for high-performance racing. Prestige Auto Spa NJ is one of the most trusted car wash and auto service businesses in Toms River, NJ. Recently celebrating its second year in business, Prestige Auto Spa NJ offers unlimited monthly car wash memberships as well as additional car care services. Residents in the area are happy to support a locally-owned and operated business over private equity-owned oil and lube franchises that simply care about profits and how many jobs are completed a day. Prestige Auto Spa NJ offers affordable services as well as support for the local job market with careers for those interested in the automotive industry. Those interested in learning more about Prestige Auto Spa NJ or who are interested in European oil changes in Toms River, NJ, are invited to visit the car wash at 883 Fischer Blvd, Toms River, NJ 08743. Inquiries can be made by calling (732) 929-2914 during business hours. About Prestige Auto Spa NJ Prestige Auto Spa NJ opened on October 15, 2021, and is led by operating partners Jeff Kovatch and Sal Branchizio. The car wash specializes in car washes, fast oil changes, detailing, ceramic wrap, tinting, brake caliper painting, fleet accounts, tire rotation, battery replacement, headlight restoration, and more. To learn more about Prestige Auto Spa NJ, call (732) 929-2914. Contact Information Jeff kovatch Operating Partner [email protected] +1 (732) 929-2914 SOURCE: Prestige Auto Spa NJ View the original press release on newswire.com. " Think Research Corporation shareholders to receive cash payment of $0.32 per Common Share, representing a 100% premium to the closing price of the Common Shares on February 15, 2024 and a 75% premium to the 30-day volume-weighted average trading price of the Common Shares " Special Committee and Board (excluding any interested directors) unanimously determined the Transaction is in the best interests of the Company, and the Board (excluding any interested directors) has recommended that shareholders vote in favour of the Transaction " Certain shareholders, including Chief Executive Officer, Sachin Aggarwal, to roll their equity ownership " Shareholders holding 48.21% of the Common Shares have agreed to support the Transaction " Think Research Corporation will continue to execute on its strategy of delivering knowledge-based digital health software solutions as a private company upon the completion of the Transaction TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / February 16, 2024 / Think Research Corporation (TSXV:THNK) ("Think" or the "Company"), a company focused on transforming healthcare through digital health software solutions, today announced that it has entered into an arrangement agreement (the "Arrangement Agreement") with Beedie Investments Ltd. ("Beedie Capital"), a multi-strategy direct investment platform managing alternative investments for one of the largest private companies in Western Canada, pursuant to which Beedie Capital will acquire all of the common shares in the capital of the Company (the "Shares"), other than those Shares owned by Beedie Capital and other shareholders comprised of certain directors and executive officers of the Company as well as other persons (such shareholders, collectively, the "Continuing Shareholders"), for cash consideration of $0.32 per Share (the "Consideration") (collectively, the "Transaction"). The Consideration represents a 100% premium to the closing price of the Shares on the TSX Venture Exchange (the "TSXV") on February 15, 2024, the last trading day immediately prior to the announcement of the Transaction, and a 75% premium to the 30-day volume-weighted average price ("VWAP") of the Shares on the TSXV for the period ended February 15, 2024. As of the date hereof, the Continuing Shareholders, collectively, beneficially own or control an aggregate of 21,706,567 Shares (representing approximately 27.4% of the issued and outstanding Shares on a non-diluted basis). "The Think team is pleased that Beedie Capital has demonstrated its confidence in the Company through this Transaction, the Consideration of which reflects a strong endorsement of the Company's value. Beedie Capital has a deep understanding of our business and we look forward to working with them to continue executing on our plan to accelerate growth and provide digital solutions to clinicians worldwide," said Think Research's Chief Executive Officer, Sachin Aggarwal. "In addition, the Transaction eliminates the financial and administrative burden of continuing as a reporting issuer in what is already a challenging market environment." Richard Wells, an independent director of the Think board of directors (the "Board") and Chair of the Special Committee, said, "After a comprehensive process and careful deliberation, supported by external professional advisors, the Special Committee considers that the Transaction represents the best available path forward for the Company, its shareholders, lenders, employees and other stakeholders. This Transaction provides a cash premium and immediate liquidity to holders of Shares and the Board is unanimous in its belief that this Transaction is in the best interests of all Think shareholders." Special Committee and Board Recommendations The Arrangement Agreement was approved unanimously by the Board (with any interested director abstaining from voting due to his or her participation in the Transaction as a Continuing Shareholder), after taking into account, among other things, the unanimous recommendation of a special committee (the "Special Committee") of the Board comprised of Richard Wells, Cindy Gray and Jeffrey Orridge, each an independent director of the Company. The Special Committee and the Board (with the abstention of any interested directors) determined that the Transaction is in the best interests of the Company and the Board recommends that holders of Shares (other than Beedie Capital and the Continuing Shareholders) vote in favour of the Transaction at the Meeting (as defined below). In making its determination to unanimously recommend approval of the Transaction to the Board, and in the Board's determination to approve the Transaction, the Special Committee and the Board considered the following factors, among other things: " Compelling Value and Immediate Liquidity - the all-cash Consideration provides shareholders with immediate value and is of particular benefit given the limited trading volume, the financial challenges facing the Company and the lack of liquidity in the Shares. The Consideration represents a 100% premium to the closing price of the Shares on the TSXV on February 15, 2024, the last trading day immediately prior to the announcement of the Transaction, and a 75% premium to the 30-day VWAP of the Shares on the TSXV for the period ended February 15, 2024; " Fairness Opinion - the Special Committee received an oral fairness opinion from Canaccord Genuity Corp. ("Canaccord"), which opinion concluded that, based upon and subject to the assumptions made, procedures followed, matters considered, limitations and qualifications set out therein, the Consideration to be received by the shareholders (other than Beedie Capital and the Continuing Shareholders) pursuant to the Transaction is fair, from a financial point of view, to the shareholders. A written copy of the fairness opinion will be included in the materials sent to shareholders in connection with the Meeting; " Go-Shop Provision - the Arrangement Agreement includes a go-shop provision, during which time the Company, with the assistance of Canaccord, will be permitted to actively solicit, evaluate and enter into negotiations with respect to a potential Superior Proposal (as defined in the Arrangement Agreement) for a 30-day period, as more particularly described below; " Support for the Transaction - each of the Continuing Shareholders and certain other shareholders, directors that hold Shares and certain officers of the Company has entered into a voting support agreement, pursuant to which they have agreed to, among other things, vote their Shares, which represent approximately 48.21% of all of the Shares, in favour of the Transaction at the Meeting; " Arrangement Agreement and "Fiduciary Out" - the Arrangement Agreement is the result of a comprehensive negotiation process that was supervised by the Special Committee, as advised by independent and highly qualified legal and financial advisors, and resulted in terms and conditions that are reasonable in the judgment of the Special Committee and the Board, including a customary "fiduciary out" that will enable the Company to enter into a Superior Proposal in certain circumstances; " Break Fee - the break fee payable by the Company equal to $1,065,943 is reasonable in the circumstances and only payable in customary and limited circumstances; and " Minority Vote and Court Approval - the Transaction must be approved not only by at least two-thirds (66%) of the votes cast by shareholders, but also by a majority of the minority in accordance with Multilateral Instrument 61-101 - Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions ("MI 61-101"), and by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice (Commercial List). Transaction Details Pursuant to the terms of the Arrangement Agreement, Beedie Capital will acquire all of the Shares, other than those Shares owned by Beedie Capital and the Continuing Shareholders, for a purchase price of $0.32 per Share, payable in cash. The Transaction is to be effected by way of a court-approved plan of arrangement under the Business Corporations Act (Ontario) and is expected to close in the second quarter of 2024, subject to shareholder, court and regulatory approvals and other closing conditions customary to transactions of this nature. Completion of the Transaction is not subject to any financing condition. The Arrangement Agreement includes a go-shop period extending until March 16, 2024 (the "Go-Shop Period"), during which time the Company, with the assistance of Canaccord, will, subject to the requirements and limitations set forth in the Arrangement Agreement, be permitted to actively solicit, evaluate and enter into negotiations with third parties that express an interest in acquiring the Company with a view to obtaining a potential Superior Proposal. Following the expiry of the Go-Shop Period, the Company will be subject to customary non-solicitation covenants with customary "fiduciary out" provisions that entitle the Special Committee and the Board to consider and, subject to certain conditions, accept a Superior Proposal if Beedie Capital does not match such Superior Proposal. If the Arrangement Agreement is terminated under certain circumstances, including circumstances in which the Company terminates the Arrangement Agreement to accept a Superior Proposal prior to approval of the Transaction by shareholders, a termination fee equal to $1,065,943 is payable by the Company to Beedie Capital. There can be no assurance that a Superior Proposal will be made as a result of the go-shop process or otherwise, and the Company does not intend to disclose developments with respect to the go-shop process or any interest received by third parties during the Go-Shop Period, unless and until the Special Committee and the Board make a determination requiring further disclosure. A special meeting of holders of Shares to consider and, if deemed advisable, approve the Transaction (the "Meeting") is expected to be held in early April 2024. In order to be approved by holders of Shares at the Meeting, the Transaction will require the approval of: (a) at least two-thirds (66 %) of the votes cast at the Meeting in person or by proxy by holders of Shares; and (b) a simple majority of the votes cast at the Meeting in person or by proxy by holders of Shares (other than Shares required to be excluded under MI 61-101 and applicable TSXV rules). Additional details regarding the Transaction, the background to the Transaction, the reasons for the Board and Special Committee's recommendations of the Transaction, and how Company shareholders can participate in and vote at the Meeting, will be set out in the Company's management information circular and other proxy-related materials to be prepared, filed and sent to the Company's shareholders in connection with the Meeting. Copies of the Arrangement Agreement and the management information circular for the Meeting will be filed with Canadian securities regulators and will be made available on the SEDAR+ profile of the Company at www.sedarplus.ca. Shareholders of the Company are urged to read those and other relevant materials when they become available. Upon closing of the Arrangement, the Purchaser intends to cause the Shares to be delisted from the TSXV and will submit an application to cease to be a reporting issuer under applicable Canadian securities laws. Voting Support Agreements In connection with the Transaction, the Continuing Shareholders and certain other shareholders, and all directors who hold Shares and certain officers of the Company, who hold, in aggregate, 38,194,731 Shares (representing approximately 48.21% of the issued and outstanding Shares (on a non-diluted basis)), have entered into voting support agreements with Beedie Capital, providing for such shareholders to vote all Shares owned by them in favour of the Transaction. Advisors Canaccord Genuity Corp. is acting as financial advisor to the Special Committee. Cassels Brock & Blackwell LLP is acting as independent legal advisor to the Special Committee. Stikeman Elliott LLP is acting as legal advisor to the Company. Dentons Canada LLP is acting as legal advisor to Beedie Capital. Early Warning Information In connection with the Arrangement Agreement, in addition to the voting support agreement described above, Beedie Capital and the Continuing Shareholders have entered into a framework agreement dated as of the date hereof, which sets forth certain covenants and agreements between Beedie Capital and the Continuing Shareholders as it relates to the Transaction, the Shares held by the Continuing Shareholders and the relationship of such parties immediately following closing of the Transaction. It is intended that, immediately following the Transaction, the Company will make an application to cease to be a reporting issuer under Canadian securities law. Both immediately before and immediately after the execution of the Arrangement Agreement, Beedie Capital held or exercised control or direction over (i) 2,934,900 Shares, representing approximately 3.7% of the issued and outstanding Shares (on a non-diluted basis), (ii) assuming the conversion in full of the aggregate principal amount outstanding under the non-revolving term convertible loan facility made available by Beedie Capital to the Company (the "Convertible Loan") of $21 million using the applicable conversion price as of the respective dates of each advance under the Convertible Loan, an aggregate of 43,078,065 Shares, representing approximately 36.1% of the issued and outstanding Shares (on a partially-diluted basis), and (iii) assuming the conversion in full of the principal amounts outstanding under the Convertible Loan together with the remaining $4 million of subsequent advances thereunder at a conversion price of $0.20 per share, representing a 25% premium above the closing price of the Shares on the TSXVas of February 15, 2024, an aggregate of 63,039,057 Shares, representing approximately 45.25% of the issued and outstanding Shares (on a partially-diluted basis). Following the completion of the Transaction, Beedie Capital will own approximately 72.6% of the issued and outstanding Shares. An early warning report will be filed by Beedie Capital in accordance with applicable securities laws and will be available on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca or may be obtained directly from Beedie Capital upon request at 604-436-7888. Beedie Capital's head office is located at Suite 900 - 1111 West Georgia St., Vancouver, BC, V6E 4M3. Forward Looking Information This press release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward-looking information may be identified by statements including words such as: "anticipate," "intend," "plan," "budget," "believe," "project," "estimate," "expect," "scheduled," "forecast," "strategy," "future," "likely," "may," "to be," "could,", "would," "should," "will" and similar references to future periods or the negative or comparable terminology, as well as terms usually used in the future and the conditional. Statements including forward-looking information may include, without limitation, statements regarding the rationale of the Special Committee and the Board for entering into the Arrangement Agreement, the expected benefits of the Transaction, the timing of various steps to be completed in connection with the Transaction, and other statements that are not material facts. Forward-looking information is based on assumptions that may prove to be incorrect, including but not limited to, that the parties will receive, in a timely manner and on satisfactory terms, the necessary court, shareholder and regulatory approvals, and that the parties will otherwise be able to satisfy, in a timely manner, the other conditions to the closing of the Transaction. The Company considers these assumptions to be reasonable in the circumstances. However, there can be no assurance that such assumptions will reflect the actual outcome of such items or factors. By its nature, forward-looking information involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties, changes in circumstances and other factors that are difficult to predict and many of which are outside of the Company's control which may cause actual results to differ materially from the any future or potential results expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking information include, among others, (i) the possibility that the Transaction will not be completed on the terms and conditions, or on the timing, currently contemplated, and that it may not be completed at all, due to a failure to obtain or satisfy, in a timely manner or otherwise, required shareholder, regulatory and court approvals and other conditions of closing necessary to complete the Transaction or for other reasons; (ii) the possibility of adverse reactions or changes in business resulting from the announcement or completion of the Transaction; (iii) risks relating to the Company's ability to retain and attract key personnel during the interim period; (iv) the possibility of litigation relating to the Transaction; (v) the potential of a third party making a Superior Proposal; (v) risks related to diverting management's attention from the Company's ongoing business operations; and (vi) other risks inherent to the business carried out by the Company and factors beyond its control which could have a material adverse effect on the Company or its ability to complete the Transaction. The Company has assumed that the risk factors referred to above will not cause such forward-looking statements and information to differ materially from actual results or events. The reader is cautioned to consider these and other factors, uncertainties and potential events carefully and not to put undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Other than as specifically required by applicable Canadian law, the Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after the date on which such statement is made, whether as a result of new information, future events or results, or otherwise. About Think Research Corporation Think Research Corporation is an industry leader in delivering knowledge-based digital health software solutions. The Company's focused mission is to organize the world's health knowledge so everyone gets the best care. Its evidence-based healthcare technology solutions support the clinical decision-making process and standardization of care to facilitate better health care outcomes. The Company gathers, develops, and delivers knowledge-based solutions globally to customers including enterprise clients, hospitals, health regions, healthcare professionals, and / or governments. The Company has gathered a significant amount of data by building its repository of knowledge through its network and group of companies. The Company licenses its solutions to over 14,200 facilities for over 320,000 primary care, acute care, and long-term care doctors, nurses and pharmacists that rely on the content and data provided by the Company to support their practices. Millions of patients and residents annually receive better care due to the essential data that the Company produces, manages and delivers. In addition, the Company collects and manages pharmaceutical and clinical trial data via its BioPharma Services subsidiary. BioPharma Services is a leading provider of bioequivalence and Phase 1 clinical research services to pharmaceutical companies globally. The Company's other services include a network of digital-first primary care clinics and medical clinics that provide elective surgery. Visit www.thinkresearch.com for more details. About Beedie Capital Beedie Capital is a multi-strategy direct investment platform that manages the alternative investments for Beedie, one of the largest private companies in Western Canada. It deploys capital using a flexible, evergreen mandate, and applies a highly agnostic approach to the duration, structure and size of its investments. Beedie Capital combines the strategic capabilities of an institutional investment platform with the flexibility and entrepreneurial mindset of a privately owned business. Beedie Capital invests in any sector, with a core focus on Technology, Tech-enabled Services, and Metals and Mining, and seeks to grow its invested capital alongside the enterprise value of its investments. For further information on Beedie Capital, please visit www.beediecapital.com. For further information, please contact: Mark Sakamoto Executive Vice President Think Research Corporation Direct: 416-388-7119 [email protected] 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. SOURCE: Think Research View the original press release on accesswire.com TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Saying that the University of Toronto is failing to provide a living wage, contract educators, contract instructors, teaching assistants, and post-doctoral researchers have voted 94.4 percent in favour of a strike if their employer does not take action to address the rising cost of living. We do the vast majority of teaching at the University of Toronto, but get paid less than other educators teaching the same courses. Instructors and the workers who teach labs, mark papers and foster the universitys world-class learning environment cant even afford to live in the city they teach in, said Eriks Bredovskis, president of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Local 3902. Nearly 8,000 academic workers, along with maintenance, caretakers, groundskeeping, residence and foodservice staff represented by CUPE Local 3261, will be in a legal strike position in early March. Academic workers are seeking improvements to compensation that had been restrained for years by the Ford governments unconstitutional Bill 124. As well, CUPE 3902 is pressing the university on inequalities faced by groups of workers who are paid less even though they do the same work as others on campus. The union members are also demanding the university be a leader in Toronto by providing its most precarious workers with affordable sustainable access to transit something that exists at most Canadian universities. Public transit is vitally important for working people, especially as the difference between our incomes and the cost of living are pushing us to live further and further from our workplace, said Bredovskis. What we are advocating for benefits workers and students alike. Our working conditions are their learning conditions. :PC/COPE491 View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240216628754/en/ For more information, contact: Craig Saunders, CUPE Communications | 416-576-7316 | [email protected] Source: CUPE PARIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Regulatory News: In accordance with its policy in favor of employee shareholding, TotalEnergies SE (the Corporation) (Paris: TTE) (LSE: TTE) (NYSE: TTE) is implementing its annual capital increase reserved for employees and former employees of the TotalEnergies company (the Company). Through this operation, TotalEnergies SE intends to continue involving its employees in the Companys growth. Employee shareholders, within the meaning of Article L. 225-102 of the French Commercial Code and article 11 par. 6 of the Articles of Association of TotalEnergies SE, held 7.4% of TotalEnergies SEs share capital as of December 31, 2023. The sixteenth resolution of the Shareholders Meeting held on May 26, 2023 granted the Board of Directors (the Board) the authority to decide, within a maximum period of 26 months, to carry out one or more capital increases of ordinary shares without preferential subscription rights, not to exceed 1.5% of the share capital at the date of the Board meeting deciding on the operation and reserved to members of a savings plan pursuant to the provisions of Articles L. 225-129 et seq., L. 225-138 and L. 225-138-1 of the French Commercial Code and Articles L. 3332-1 to L. 3332-9 and L. 3332-18 to L. 3332-24 of the French Labor Code. The Board, pursuant to the above-mentioned authorization, decided during its meeting on September 21, 2023, to carry out, in 2024, a new share capital increase reserved for employees and former employees of the Company pursuant to the following conditions: Maximum number of shares to be offered and total amount of the offer: 18 million shares with a nominal value of 2.50 each, representing a total nominal amount of 45 million, which is the equivalent of 0.72% of the share capital as of the date of the Boards decision. Description of the newly issued shares: same category as existing TotalEnergies shares with immediate dividend rights. The rights attached to the newly issued shares are the same as the rights attached to the existing shares of the Corporation, and are described in the Articles of Association of TotalEnergies SE. Listing of the newly issued shares on Euronext: on the same line as existing TotalEnergies shares (ISIN code FR0000120271), from their issuance. American Depositary Receipts admitted to trading on the New York Stock Exchange may be issued in exchange for the new shares. Share subscription price: equal to price corresponding to the average of the closing prices of the TotalEnergies shares on Euronext over the 20 trading sessions preceding the date of the decision setting the opening date for the subscription period, reduced by a 30% discount, and rounded off to the highest tenth of a euro. The subscription price will be definitively fixed before the beginning of the subscription period. Indicative timeline (subject to the Chairman and CEOs decision): - Determination of the subscription price: April 25, 2024; - Subscription period: from April 29, 2024 to May 14, 2024 (included). Please refer to the appendix to this press release for further information on this operation. ____ About TotalEnergies TotalEnergies is a global multi-energy company that produces and markets energies: oil and biofuels, natural gas and green gases, renewables and electricity. Our more than 100,000 employees are committed to energy that is ever more affordable, more sustainable, more reliable and accessible to as many people as possible. Active in nearly 130 countries, TotalEnergies puts sustainable development in all its dimensions at the heart of its projects and operations to contribute to the well-being of people. @TotalEnergies - TotalEnergies - TotalEnergies - TotalEnergies Cautionary Note The program, reserved to eligible employees and retirees of the Company, will be implemented in France as well as in certain foreign countries, including the United States, where the shares offered in the United States will be registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Shares and FCPE units offered outside the United States will not be registered with the SEC. In particular, the units of the below-mentioned FCPEs cannot be offered or sold in the United States directly or indirectly (or in its territories or possessions), or for the benefit of a "U.S. Person", as defined in American regulations. Persons wishing to subscribe to units in these FCPEs, will have to certify, when subscribing, that they are not "U.S. Persons". The definition of "U.S. Person" is available on the FCPE Management Company's website (www.amundi.com). This press release is produced for information purposes only and does not constitute an offer for the sale or the subscription of securities. Moreover, this press release should not be distributed in the countries where the offering remains subject to approval of the local authorities. The offer will be issued only in the countries where the local administrative and regulatory procedures have been implemented (in particular, the registration procedures, notification, granting of authorizations and/or applicable exemptions and the information or the consultation of the representatives of the employees). This press release represents the document required to qualify for the exemption from the requirement to publish a prospectus as defined in Articles 1 4i) and 5h) of the Regulation (UE) 2017/1129 of June 14, 2017. Appendix to the press release on February 16, 2024 Issuer: TotalEnergies SE Information related to TotalEnergies SE is available on its website (www.totalenergies.com) and more specifically in its 2020 Universal Registration Document, the French version of which was filed with the Autorite des marches financiers (AMF) on March 24, 2023 under the registration number D. 23-0144 and is also available free of charge at the head office of TotalEnergies SE. Scope of the reserved offering: corporations and Beneficiaries Approximately 115,000 beneficiaries are eligible to participate in the 2024 capital increase. Subject to compliance with regulations and required administrative approvals being obtained in the different countries, this capital increase will be reserved to employees and former employees of the Corporation and its French and non-French subsidiaries, the capital or voting rights of which, as of the opening date for the subscription period, are directly or indirectly held at more than 50% by TotalEnergies SE (the Subsidiaries), members of the PEG-A: - employees of TotalEnergies SE and its Subsidiaries: who have at least 3 months of employment with the Company as of the last day of the subscription period; and - former employees of TotalEnergies SE or the Subsidiaries, if they: have left the Company due to retirement or early retirement; had made at least one payment in the PEG-A before termination of their employment; still have assets invested in the PEG-A, and, thus, are members of the plan. Matching contribution Employees subscribing to the offering will benefit from a matching contribution in the form of a free allotment of additional shares, determined based on the amount of the personal contribution and within the limits of ten free shares per employee and within the maximum amount of the offering set by the Board at its meeting on September 21, 2023. Subscription terms and conditions The beneficiaries will have the opportunity to subscribe via employee shareholding funds (FCPEs) created for the needs of this offering and which have been approved by the AMF. In the countries where this option is not available the shares will be directly subscribed. Voting rights attached to the shares subscribed through an FCPE will be exercised by the Supervisory Board of such FCPE. With respect to the shares subscribed directly by employees, the voting rights will be exercised by the subscribers individually. Maximum subscription Pursuant to Article L. 3332-10 of the French Labor Code, the amount of the payments made each year by an employee as part of a savings plan (excluding matching contribution and profit-sharing schemes, i.e., interessement and participation) cannot exceed one quarter of the employees gross annual salary. Lock-up period for the units or shares Pursuant to Article L. 3332-25 of the French Labor Code, shares or FCPE units subscribed in this offering must be held during a lock-up period of five years, except for certain early release cases provided for by Articles L. 3324-10 et R. 3324-22 of the French Labor Code. For beneficiaries who are not French tax residents, the list of early release cases may be adapted due to legal provisions applicable locally. Rule for reduction of subscription requests The capital increase will be fulfilled by the total number of shares subscribed directly by employees and via the FCPEs. If the total number of subscribed shares exceeds the maximum number of shares offered by the Board of Directors at its meeting on September 21, 2023 (18 million shares, including shares allotted as an immediate employer contribution), the subscriptions will be cut back in the following manner: - all subscription undertakings will be fully honored up to the subscription average, defined as the quotient between the maximum number of shares offered by the Board and the number of subscribers, - subscriptions undertakings that exceed the subscription average will be fulfilled in proportion to the number of subscription undertakings not yet fulfilled with the reduction being made as follows: the reduction will be carried out on a pro rata basis according to the subscription undertakings; and the reduction will be carried out first on the portion of the offer paid in cash, then on the portion paid with salary advance and then, when applicable, on the portion paid with profit-sharing schemes. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240216347292/en/ TotalEnergies Media Relations: +33 (0)1 47 44 46 99 l [email protected] l @TotalEnergiesPR Investor Relations: +33 (0)1 47 44 46 46 l [email protected] Source: TOTALENERGIES SE Strategic investment will accelerate deployment of the Capture Compressor OKLAHOMA CITY--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Capture Energy, LLC (Capture or the Company), a provider of unique systems designed to improve the efficiency and environmental footprint of oil & gas production facilities, announced a growth capital investment from Black Bay Energy Capital (Black Bay), a private equity firm focused on the energy and chemical sectors. This represents another partnership between Black Bay and Dallas Watson, the Founder and CEO of Capture. Black Bays growth investment will enable the Company to rapidly increase the production and distribution of the Capture Compressor, a patent-pending equipment offering designed to eliminate emissions associated with pneumatic control valves and other associated infrastructure. The Capture Compressor addresses a major pain point in the oil & gas industry today how to achieve emissions reduction goals from production facilities in a cost efficient and operationally sound manner. Captures goal is to assist operators with their sustainability objectives, reduce capital requirements, and maintain operational flexibility, said Dallas Watson, CEO of Capture. With the Capture Compressor, clients wont need to procure expensive instrument air compressor systems and backup battery systems; our patent-pending solution creates high volumes of compressed air by utilizing the energy already available on location. Our system requires zero electricity and produces zero emissions. As oil & gas producers increase their focus on meeting decarbonization efforts, technologies like the Capture Compressor will be critical to achieving these sustainability targets in a capital-efficient manner. Environmental regulations, including the recently released OOOOb standards from the EPA, are also demanding abatement solutions that can be scaled very quickly with this growth capital investment, Capture should be well-positioned to serve the surging needs of its clients, said Guy Cook, Partner at Black Bay. Captures product offering can be deployed across all producing regions within the United States marketplace. About Capture Capture Energy, headquartered in Oklahoma City, is a technology-driven provider of patent-pending equipment solutions for oil & gas production facilities. Captures flagship product, the Capture Compressor, is designed to reduce producers emissions footprint without sacrificing operational efficiency or project economics, powered by energy already created on location no electricity required, and zero emissions released. Capture was founded by Dallas Watson and is a portfolio company of Black Bay Energy Capital. https://capturecompression.com/ About Black Bay Black Bay is a private equity firm that invests equity capital in partnership with entrepreneurial management teams who are building high-growth companies in the energy and chemical industries. Black Bays strategy is to target companies with innovative products and services that help their clients to reduce costs, improve operations, and achieve sustainability initiatives. The firms objective is to drive success through a relentless commitment to establishing and cultivating a true partnership with portfolio company management teams, and a belief that deeply rooted partnerships generate outsized returns by fostering collaboration and creativity. Black Bay is currently investing out of its second fund and has approximately $500+ million of assets under management. For more information, please visit www.blackbayenergy.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240216238824/en/ Dallas Watson (405) 568-6484 Source: Capture Energy Pamela Fletcher appointed as director; Sandra Phillips Rogers will not stand for reelection WILMINGTON, Del.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- The Chemours Company (Chemours) (NYSE: CC), a global chemistry company with leading market positions in Titanium Technologies, Thermal & Specialized Solutions, and Advanced Performance Materials, today announces two upcoming changes to its Board of Directors. Director Sandra Phillips Rogers has announced her decision not to stand for reelection and will serve out the remainder of her current term. Pamela Fletcher will join the Chemours Board as a director, effective March 1, 2024. I want to thank Sandra for her valuable insights and dedicated service to the Board and the shareholders of Chemours. We will all miss her thoughtful contribution, said Dawn Farrell, Board Chair. I am pleased to welcome Pam Fletcher to the Board. She is a proven leader with a wealth of experience pairing innovation and sustainability, whose knowledge and experience will be valuable additions to an already diverse group of directors. Pamela Fletcher is the former Senior Vice President and Chief Sustainability Officer of Delta Airlines where she accelerated the companys decarbonization effort through a holistic approach that applied innovation to achieve sustainability gains in both the aviation fleet and ground support fleet. Prior to joining Delta, Fletcher had a stellar career of over 17 years with General Motors Company (GM) where she served as Chief Engineer of the Chevrolet Volt Propulsion System, Executive Chief Engineer for Autonomous and Electrified Vehicles and New Technology, Vice President of GMs Global Electric Vehicle Programs, and most recently served as Vice President, Global Innovation. Fletcher also previously held positions with McLaren Engines, Inc., Fisher Guide, Inc., and Ford Motor Company. She serves on the Board of Directors and Audit Committee for Lumentum Holdings LLC, and was previously a director of Coherent, Inc. On behalf of our Chemours team I want to thank Sandra for her tremendous contribution and extend a very warm welcome to our new Board member, Pam Fletcher, said Mark Newman, Chemours President and CEO. Pams wealth of experience as an engineer and business leader, her legacy of innovation, and her deep roots in developing sustainable solutions are outstanding additions to an already strong and seasoned Board. About The Chemours Company The Chemours Company (NYSE: CC) is a global leader in Titanium Technologies, Thermal & Specialized Solutions, and Advanced Performance Materials providing its customers with solutions in a wide range of industries with market-defining products, application expertise and chemistry-based innovations. We deliver customized solutions with a wide range of industrial and specialty chemicals products for markets, including coatings, plastics, refrigeration and air conditioning, transportation, semiconductor and consumer electronics, general industrial, and oil and gas. Our flagship products are sold under prominent brands such as Ti-Pure, Opteon, Freon, Teflon, Viton, Nafion, and Krytox. The company has approximately 6,600 employees and 29 manufacturing sites serving approximately 2,900 customers in approximately 120 countries. Chemours is headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware and is listed on the NYSE under the symbol CC. For more information, we invite you to visit chemours.com or follow us on Twitter @Chemours or LinkedIn. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240216449620/en/ INVESTORS Brandon Ontjes VP, Financial Planning & Analysis, and Investor Relations +1.302.773.3300 [email protected] Kurt Bonner Manager, Investor Relations +1.302.773.0026 [email protected] NEWS MEDIA Thom Sueta Communications Director +1.302.773.3903 [email protected] Source: The Chemours Company Fisker has now signed four dealer partners in the US, with additional signings expected in the coming weeks. New dealers signed are Ourisman Fisker, Classic Fisker, and Long Island Fisker, in addition to the previously announced Mills Automotive Group. Collectively, these dealers will be selling vehicles in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Maryland, New York, and New Jersey at seven locations. Fisker has received interest from over 250 dealers in North America and the rest of the world regarding our new Dealer Partnership model. The Dealer Partnership model is proving attractive to dealers as they are gaining access to an American EV-only brand with a unique business approach. On January 4, Fisker announced a strategic shift from direct sales to a Dealer Partnership model which will enable it to significantly scale for Fisker Ocean deliveries and higher volume production of additional future models. LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Fisker Inc. (NYSE: FSR) (Fisker), driven by a mission to create the worlds most emotional and sustainable electric vehicles, announced today that it has signed a total of four dealer partners in the US as it undertakes a strategic shift in its business model. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240215727857/en/ Fisker CEO Henrik Fisker and Mike Domenicone, Principal and owner of Classic Fisker, signing at NADA in Las Vegas. (Photo: Fisker Inc.) Dealers joining the Dealer Partnership program are the Mills Automotive Group, Ourisman Fisker, Classic Fisker, and Long Island Fisker. Im excited by the rapid progress of the Dealer Partnership model, which we announced just over a month ago, Chairman and CEO Henrik Fisker said. The dealer partners we have signed up so far share a commitment to the future of electric vehicles and to their communities, many of which they have served for multiple generations. I believe our customers will find that each of these dealer partners plan to provide top-level service and ongoing relationship building for owners of the class-leading and award-winning Fisker Ocean SUV. Mills signed up to be Fiskers first dealer partner in the US at the companys inaugural dealer open house on January 31 and will open three Fisker dealerships in Charlotte and Raleigh, NC (Triad Fisker); and Greenville, SC (Stateline Fisker). Ourisman Fisker and Classic Fisker both signed at the National Automobile Dealers Association Show in Las Vegas earlier this month, and Long Island Fisker signed this week. Ourisman Fisker, part of a fourth-generation dealership group, will be located in Rockville, MD, in the Washington, DC area. Classic Fisker will open a location in Atlanta, Long Island Fisker plans to open a location in that region of New York state and another in New Jersey. Altogether, these dealer partners intend to open seven locations. On January 4, 2024, Fisker announced that it would engage in a strategic shift from direct sales to customers in North America to an innovative Dealer Partnership model. The model combines the goal of offering its customers no-haggle pricing on Fisker vehicles (where permitted) and superb service while also providing dealer partners with larger market territories, so they can maintain pricing without concern for local competition. Taken together, these goals represent a win-win-win for customers, dealers, and Fisker. The transition to dealer partners aligns with Fiskers asset light business model, which enables the company to significantly scale for Fisker Ocean deliveries and higher volume production of additional future models. Fisker has received interest from over 250 dealers in North America and the rest of the world since announcing its strategic shift. Fisker is currently delivering the all-electric Ocean SUV, which starts at $38,999, in the US, Canada, and Europe. In the US, the Ocean has an EPA range of up to 360 mi 1, which is the longest range of any new electric SUV in its class 2. The Fisker Ocean has the lowest published carbon footprint of any electric SUV, uses over 110 lbs. of recycled and bio-based materials, is built at a carbon-neutral facility, and integrates rooftop solar panels, adding up to 1,500 miles/year of range 3. 1 EPA estimated range. Mid-size SUVs. Measurements conducted with standard 20 wheels. Actual results may vary for many reasons, including driving conditions, wheel size, state of battery charge, and how the vehicle is driven and maintained. 2 Mid-size SUVs in comparable price segment. 3 Based on Fisker simulations. Ideal conditions assume solar irradiation of 5.4 kWh/m2/day and steady commuter driving. Actual results vary with conditions such as external environment and vehicle use. About Fisker Inc. California-based Fisker Inc. is revolutionizing the automotive industry by designing and developing individual mobility in alignment with nature. Passionately driven by a vision of a clean future for all, the company is on a mission to create the worlds most sustainable and emotional electric vehicles. To learn more, visit Fiskerinc.com and enjoy exclusive content across Fisker's social media channels: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, and LinkedIn. Download the revolutionary new Fisker mobile app from the App Store or Google Play. Forward-Looking Statements This press release includes forward-looking statements, which are subject to the safe harbor provisions of the US Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements may be identified by words such as feel, believes, expects, estimates, projects, intends, should, is to be, or the negative of such terms, or other comparable terminology and include, among other things, the quote from our chief executive officer, any potential future automotive original equipment manufacturer (or equipment or part manufacturer) transactions and other future events that involve risks and uncertainties. Such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements contained herein due to many factors, including, but not limited to: Fisker's limited operating history; Fisker's ability to enter into additional manufacturing and other contracts with Magna or tier-one suppliers in order to execute on its business plan; the risk that OEM and supply partners do not meet agreed-upon timelines or experience capacity constraints; Fisker may experience significant delays in the design, manufacture, regulatory approval, launch and financing of its vehicles; Fisker's ability to execute its business model, including market acceptance of its planned products and services; Fisker's inability to retain key personnel and to hire additional personnel; competition in the electric vehicle market; Fisker's inability to develop a sales distribution or dealership network; and the ability to protect its intellectual property rights; and those factors discussed in Fisker's Annual Report on Form 10-K, under the heading Risk Factors, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC), as supplemented by Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, and other reports and documents Fisker files from time to time with the SEC. Any forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which they are made, and Fisker undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this press release. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240215727857/en/ European Media: [email protected] US Media [email protected] Customer service: [email protected] Fisker Inc. Communications: Matthew DeBord VP, Communications [email protected] Franziska Queling Regional Head of Public Relations, Europe [email protected] Investor Relations: Eric Goldstein Head of Investor Relations [email protected] Source: Fisker Inc. NEW DELHI, Feb. 16 (Xinhua) -- India's main opposition the Indian National Congress (INC) party said Friday that its bank accounts have been frozen by the income tax department just two weeks ahead of the announcement of the country's general elections. The party's treasurer Ajay Maken described the move as an "assault on democracy". "Two days back we were informed that the cheques we were issuing were not being honoured by banks," Maken told a press conference. "When we investigated the matter, we were told all the accounts of the country's main opposition party have been frozen." According to Maken, the money in the party's accounts had come through online crowdfunding and membership fees. INC chief Mallikarjun Kharge blamed the government for freezing the party's bank accounts. "Intoxicated with power, the Modi government has frozen the accounts of the country's largest opposition party -- the Indian National Congress -- just before the Lok Sabha (parliament) elections," Kharge in a statement said. INC lawmaker Vivek Tankha, however, said that the party approached the Income Tax Appellate Authority over the issue. The authority said that "there will be only a lien on the bank account. There are no restrictions. The party can operate its accounts," according to the lawmaker. NEW YORK & BROWNSVILLE, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Today, Texas LNG, a four million tonnes per annum (MTPA) liquefied natural gas (LNG) export terminal to be constructed in the Port of Brownsville, and a subsidiary of Glenfarne Energy Transition, LLC (Glenfarne), a global energy transition leader providing critical solutions to lower the worlds carbon footprint, announced it has selected Gulf LNG Tugs of Texas, LLC (Gulf LNG Tugs), a consortium of Suderman & Young Towing Company, Bay-Houston Towing, and Moran Towing Corporation to build, deliver and operate tugboats under a long term agreement to assist LNG carriers arriving at the facility. In line with Texas LNGs Green by Design approach, the tugboats will be among the most modern, low-emissions tugboats available to serve a facility of Texas LNGs size. Brendan Duval, CEO and Founder of Glenfarne Energy Transition, said: The Texas LNG team undertook a comprehensive process to identify a marine service provider that not only matches our commitment to environmental stewardship, but also provides our customers with reliable, cost-effective marine services. We are pleased to have Gulf LNG Tugs on board as a partner and look forward to the jobs and local content they will bring to both Texas LNG and the local Rio Grande Valley community. In a joint statement from Gulf LNG Tugs partners: Gulf LNG Tugs is excited to be providing marine services in a long-term partnership with Texas LNG. We are proud to be the exclusive tug operator for LNG vessels to yet another successful LNG project in the Port of Brownsville and look forward to expanding our operations in the port and our presence in the Rio Grande Valley community. Texas LNG is ideally situated for consistent and reliable maritime operations, with low probability of storm impact, consistent operating temperatures, and a location in a protected port. Texas LNG is also designed to be one of the lowest-emitting export terminals on the planet, providing reliable, responsibly sourced U.S. LNG to help fuel the global energy transition to renewables and reinforce energy security. This news follows Texas LNGs recent announcement that it signed a Heads of Agreement (HOA) with EQT Corporation (EQT) for natural gas liquefaction services for 0.5 MTPA of LNG, and additionally announced partnerships with Baker Hughes and ABB to help develop the terminal, representing more than half a billion dollars worth of equipment selections for Texas LNG to date. Texas LNG expects to close its project financing later this year with construction commencing shortly thereafter. About Texas LNG Texas LNG is a 4 MTPA LNG export facility to be constructed in the Port of Brownsville, Texas and a subsidiary of global energy transition leader, Glenfarne Energy Transition, LLC. Texas LNG is led by an experienced team committed to creating one of the greenest LNG facilities in the world through electric motor drives resulting in the cleanest, lowest emitting LNG exports from the U.S. Additional information about Texas LNG may be found on its website at www.texaslng.com. About Glenfarne Energy Transition Glenfarne Energy Transition, LLC is a subsidiary of Glenfarne Group, LLC, a privately held energy and infrastructure development and management firm based in New York City and Houston, Texas, with offices in Dallas, Texas; Panama City, Panama; Santiago, Chile; Bogota, Colombia; Barcelona, Spain; and Seoul, South Korea. Glenfarne Energy Transition aims to address the here and now global energy transition through three core businesses: Global LNG Solutions, Renewables, and Grid Stability. The companys seasoned executives, asset managers, and operators develop, acquire, manage, and operate energy infrastructure assets throughout North and South America. For more information, please visit www.GlenfarneEnergyTransition.com About Gulf LNG Tugs Gulf LNG Tugs of Texas, LLC, is a joint venture formed to provide tug services for Texas LNG under a long-term tug services agreement. It is owned by: Bay-Houston Management, LLC., in Houston, Texas; Moran Towing Corporation, in New Canaan, Connecticut; and Suderman & Young Towing Company, in Houston, Texas. It is the fourth JV formed by the ownership team to provide tug services to a Gulf Coast LNG project. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240215715369/en/ Kris Cole [email protected] (310) 652-1411 Source: Texas LNG TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Kontrol Technologies Corp. (Cboe CA:KNR) (OTCQB:KNRLF) (FSE:1K8) (Kontrol or the Company) provides a corporate update for February 2024. New Ethylene Oxide (EtO) Analyzer Orders The Company has received multiple new EtO analyzer orders for USA customers as it continues to expand its solutions for the Ethylene Oxide market. Beginning in 2023 and year to date the Company has received 14 EtO analyzer orders. This was a new market for the Company in 2023 and is an example of organic growth through innovation. Each analyzer includes hardware, software, and real-time monitoring. Following the press release dated March 23, 2023, the Company is pleased to announce that it has finalized its Government funding report with positive results for its Dry Kilne probe (Kilne probe) technology. The Company has received a total of $130,000 in funding to support the development of its new technology. Over a 5-month period of continuous operation the Companys Kilne probe was able to operate with 70 percent less power consumption, 90 percent less facility footprint and 90 percent improvement in unscheduled downtime as compared to traditional technology in the market. "We are extremely pleased with the results of the Kilne probe technology and will be sharing those with our addressable market as our technology can deliver lower operating costs and improved facility performance. We will now focus on scaling with our customers, says Paul Ghezzi, CEO of Kontrol. The environmental and process monitoring of emissions is critical in industries, both for production (quality of finished products), reducing green house gases (GHG) and harmful emissions, but also fuel savings which reduces consumption of natural gas, coal, and alternative fuels. Cement plants are one of the major contributors to GHG emissions globally. Enhanced monitoring and management may improve operating efficiency and lead to GHG emission reductions. Forbearance Agreement The Company is in compliance with its Forbearance Agreement and is working closely with its secured lender. The Company is in discussions with multiple Schedule A Banks as it continues to deleverage and reduce its secured debt obligations. In 2023 and into 2024 we had a primary focus on deleveraging and right sizing the balance sheet. As we look at our growth plans for 2024, we believe we are in a good position to negotiate long-term lending terms which will support future growth including potential tuck-in acquisitions. We will take the appropriate time in Q1, 2024 to evaluate the best debt solution for the Company, continues Ghezzi. The Company anticipates a transition to a traditional lending agreement in Q1 2024. Kontrol Technologies Corp. Kontrol Technologies Corp., a Canadian public company, is a leader in smart buildings and cities through IoT, Cloud and SaaS technology. Kontrol provides solutions and services to its customers to improve energy management, monitor continuous emissions and accelerate the sustainability of all buildings. Additional information about Kontrol Technologies Corp. can be found on its website at www.kontrolcorp.com and by reviewing its profile on SEDAR at www.sedarplus.ca Neither IIROC nor any stock exchange or other securities regulatory authority accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Forward-Looking Statements This news release contains forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws. All statements contained herein that are not clearly historical in nature may constitute forward-looking information. In some cases, forward-looking information can be identified by words or phrases such as may, will, expect, likely, should, would, plan, anticipate, intend, potential, proposed, estimate, believe or the negative of these terms, or other similar words, expressions, and grammatical variations thereof, or statements that certain events or conditions may or will happen, or by discussions of strategy. Forward-looking information contained in this press releases includes, but is not limited to, the following: the potential benefits of winding up Global; the future operations of the Company; and the Companys ability to meet its contractual obligations to make payments under the FBA. Where Kontrol expresses or implies an expectation or belief as to future events or results, such expectation or belief is based on assumptions made in good faith and believed to have a reasonable basis. Such assumptions include, without limitation, that the Company will have sufficient financial and other resources to fulfil expectations with respect to future operations and meet contractual payment obligations, deliver future emission monitoring solutions and products to be offered by Kontrol for its potential customers; that the future success of any of Kontrols products; and that demand will continue for continuous emission monitoring technology and the success of the High-Temperature Dry Kiln technology and for the Companys products in particular. Accordingly, undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements and the forward-looking statements contained in this press release are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. The forward-looking statements contained herein are made as at the date hereof and are based on the beliefs, estimates, expectations, and opinions of management on such date. Kontrol does not undertake any obligation to update publicly or revise any such forward-looking statements or any forward-looking statements contained in any other documents 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 information, except as required under applicable securities law. Readers are cautioned to consider these and other factors, uncertainties, and potential events carefully and not to put undue reliance on forward-looking information. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240216470070/en/ Kontrol Technologies Corp. Paul Ghezzi CEO [email protected] 11 CiderMill Road Vaughan, ON L4K 4B6 Tel: (905) 766.0400 Source: Kontrol Technologies Corp. Mercedes-Benz USA hosted Week of Caring with Childrens Healthcare of Atlanta to support young patients and families. More than 250 MBUSA employee volunteers participated in giveback activities throughout the week. Mercedes-Benz USA recently announced a multi-year commitment to support Childrens Healthcare of Atlanta Arthur M. Blank Hospital, as part of MBUSAs national corporate social responsibility initiative, Driving Your Future, which aims to empower the next generation. ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Yesterday, Mercedes-Benz USA (MBUSA) concluded their Week of Caring with Children's Healthcare of Atlanta (Childrens) to bring comfort and joy to patients and their families. The week-long giveback initiative brought together over 250 MBUSA employee volunteers to participate in a variety of activities to brighten and uplift patients spirits. Week of Caring served as the MBUSA employee kick-off event to celebrate the recently announced multi-year partnership with Childrens Healthcare of Atlanta, specifically through the support of Arthur M. Blank Hospital. MBUSA is pleased to support a unique opportunity to provide new possibilities for generations of children to come. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240216533997/en/ Mercedes-Benz USA collaborates with Childrens Healthcare of Atlanta for Week of Caring. (Photo: Business Wire) To kick off the week, employee volunteers gathered at MBUSA headquarters to make no-sew blankets, which will provide comfort and warmth to patients and hospital visitors. Additionally, they crafted customized empowerment bracelets and delivered heartfelt, hand-written letters for patients and families in need of encouragement. Ending the week on a high note, MBUSA employee volunteers were on-site at Scottish Rite Hospital, serving breakfast to hospital patients and their families and hosting a love-themed patient party to spread positivity and excitement. Week of Caring, which is part of MBUSA's national corporate social responsibility mission, Driving Your Future, underscores the brand's dedication to supporting and empowering the next generation and making a lasting and meaningful impact in communities in need. At Mercedes-Benz USA, we believe in the power of compassion and community to make a difference. Through our dedicated multi-year commitment with Childrens Healthcare of Atlanta, we are committed to supporting the invaluable services they provide to ensure childrens wellbeing in Georgia and beyond and our Week of Caring initiative is a testament to that promise. Dimitris Psillakis, President and CEO of MBUSA We are grateful to work alongside organizations like Mercedes-Benz USA to create moments of hope and healing within our community. Their unwavering commitment, dedicated team, compassionate volunteers, and generous support has brought immeasurable joy and comfort to our patients and their families. Emily Crowley, Development Officer, Childrens Healthcare of Atlanta As the only freestanding pediatric healthcare system in Georgia, Childrens Healthcare of Atlanta is dedicated to help make sure all children have access to the specialized care they need. For more information on how MBUSA supports its communities, please visit: http://www.mbusa.com/en/corporate-social-responsibility. For more information on Childrens Healthcare of Atlanta, please visit https://www.choa.org/. About Mercedes-Benz USA: Mercedes-Benz USA (MBUSA), headquartered in Atlanta, is responsible for the distribution, marketing and customer service for all Mercedes-Benz products in the United States. MBUSA offers drivers the most diverse lineup in the luxury segment with 18 model lines ranging from the sporty GLA SUV to the flagship S-Class and the dynamic all-electric vehicles from Mercedes-Benz. MBUSA is also responsible for Mercedes-Benz Vans in the U.S. More information on MBUSA and its products can be found at www.mbusa.com and www.mbvans.com. Accredited journalists can visit our media site at media.mbusa.com. Driving Your Future is Mercedes-Benz USA's corporate social responsibility initiative to support educational programs that empower the next generation. As part of our commitment to positively impact communities where employees live and work, MBUSA has partnered with Safe Kids Worldwide and Junior Achievement USA to create and support programs focused on technology and sustainability, career readiness, and injury prevention to help the next generation succeed. To learn more about Driving Your Future, please visit www.mbusa.com/en/corporate-social-responsibility. About Children's Healthcare of Atlanta As the only freestanding pediatric healthcare system in Georgia, Childrens Healthcare of Atlanta is the trusted leader in caring for kids. The not-for-profit organizations mission is to make kids better today and healthier tomorrow through more than 60 pediatric specialties and programs, top healthcare professionals, and leading research and technology. Childrens is one of the largest pediatric clinical care providers in the country, managing more than one million patient visits annually at three hospitals, Marcus Autism Center, the Center for Advanced Pediatrics, urgent care centers and neighborhood locations. Consistently ranked among the top childrens hospitals by U.S. News & World Report, Childrens Healthcare of Atlanta has impacted the lives of kids in Georgia, across the United States and around the world for more than 100 years thanks to generous support from the community. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240216533997/en/ Anna McGregor, [email protected] Lauren Alford, [email protected] Source: Mercedes-Benz USA LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- The Digital Revolution Awards has announced Microsoft as the first of its sponsors for its 2024 edition. Now into its fourth year, the awards recognize brilliance in the cloud technology community, celebrating individuals and organizations that are helping lift up the industry. And now, Microsoft will be supporting the Outstanding Contribution to the Microsoft Community category. The award recognizes individuals whove gone above and beyond to inspire and empower users and businesses of all kinds to accomplish more by using Microsoft Cloud products. The Digital Revolution Awards has become a prestigious event for Microsoft customers and professionals that work with our products around the world, said Rob Smithson, UK Business Applications Lead at Microsoft. It offers a perfect chance to celebrate what they have achieved using cloud technology and were delighted with this new partnership. Were thrilled to welcome Microsoft on board for this years awards, added Kashif Naqshbandi, Chief Marketing Officer and co-founder of the Digital Revolution Awards. As one of the most recognizable names in cloud technology, their knowledge and expertise of what success looks like in the ecosystem is unparalleled. For the individuals and organizations taking part in this years awards, either as nominees or sponsors, this is a really exciting announcement. Last years Outstanding Contribution to the Microsoft Community awards were won by Gregor Suttie (UK and Global), Thomas Maurer (DACH), and Bradley Wyatt (North America). From hosting podcasts or tutorial videos and writing courses, to speaking at or arranging events that help benefit others, the category offers the opportunity to celebrate the unsung heroes who make the cloud a better place to live and work through their passion and advocacy. Speaking on Microsofts decision to join the awards as sponsor for 2024, Naqshbandi added: I think this is recognition that the Digital Revolution Awards are one of the ultimate accolades for those in the cloud, and we look forward to celebrating those whove made a profound impact on the Microsoft community during our awards ceremonies and fundraising later this year. As well as raising money for incredible causes around the world through its unforgettable awards ceremonies, the Digital Revolution Awards also highlight a range of topics where individuals and organizations are achieving true brilliance in giving back through cloud technology. These include Outstanding Contribution to the Earth, Tech For Good and Diversity Ally of the Year. Founded in 2020 by Tenth Revolution Group as a way to shine a light on the tech industry as it kept many people and businesses going during the pandemic, the Digital Revolution Awards has become a fixture in the calendar for some of the industrys biggest and brightest names in the process. This years shortlists will be revealed on March 15, with the awards ceremony and fundraiser for the UK taking place in May. The awards global show will be broadcast live online in June. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240215746378/en/ Media Enquiries: Jamie Mercer E: [email protected] W: digitalrevolutionawards.com Source: Digital Revolution Awards HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Tellurian Inc. (Tellurian) (NYSE American: TELL) announced today that the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has issued an extension to its order authorizing the construction of Tellurians Driftwood LNG facility near Lake Charles, Louisiana. As extended, the order requires construction to be completed by April 18, 2029. Tellurian applied for the extension last year to ensure it had enough time to complete the construction of all five plants of the facility. When completed, the facility will have a capacity of ~27.6 million tonnes per annum (mtpa). This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240214672559/en/ Driftwood LNG January 2024 (Photo: Business Wire) Chief Executive Officer Octavio Simoes said, Tellurian thanks FERC for working with our team to ensure the safe construction of Driftwood LNG. FERC has been diligent in its oversight, having visited the site 19 times already, and provided careful examination of this extension request. We have invested over a billion dollars into Driftwood LNGs development, we have our approval to export and all applicable construction permits, and we are eager to provide the world with liquefied natural gas exports. About Tellurian Inc. Tellurian intends to create value for shareholders by building a low-cost, global natural gas business, profitably delivering natural gas to customers worldwide. Tellurian is developing a portfolio of LNG marketing and infrastructure assets that includes an ~ 27.6 mtpa LNG export facility and an associated pipeline. Tellurian is based in Houston, Texas, and its common stock is listed on the NYSE American under the symbol TELL. For more information, please visit www.tellurianinc.com. Follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/TellurianLNG CAUTIONARY INFORMATION ABOUT FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of U.S. federal securities laws. The words anticipate, assume, believe, budget, estimate, expect, forecast, initial, intend, may, plan, potential, project, proposed, should, will, would, and similar expressions are intended to identify forward- looking statements. Forward-looking statements herein relate to, among other things, the capacity, timing, and other aspects of the Driftwood LNG project. These statements involve a number of known and unknown risks, which may cause actual results to differ materially from expectations expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements. These risks include the matters discussed in Item 1A of Part I of the Annual Report on Form 10-K of Tellurian for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022, filed by Tellurian with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC) on February 22, 2023, and other Tellurian filings with the SEC, all of which are incorporated by reference herein. The forward-looking statements in this press release speak as of the date of this release. Although Tellurian may from time to time voluntarily update its prior forward-looking statements, it disclaims any commitment to do so except as required by securities laws. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240214672559/en/ Media: Joi Lecznar EVP Public and Government Affairs Phone +1.832.962.4044 [email protected] Investors: Matt Phillips Vice President, Investor Relations Phone +1.832.320.9331 [email protected] Source: Tellurian Inc. PARIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Regulatory News: In accordance with Article 5 of EU Regulation n 596/2014 (Market Abuse Regulation), detailed information is available on the website of Tikehau Capital (Paris: TKO): https://www.tikehaucapital.com/fr/shareholders/regulatory-information Disclosure of shares repurchases from 9 February 2024 to 15 February 2024 Name of the issuer Issuer Identity Code (LEI) Trading Day ISIN Aggregated volume per day (number of shares) Weighted average price per day Market (MIC Code) TIKEHAU CAPITAL 969500BY8TEU16U3SJ94 09/02/2024 FR0013230612 2,000 21.5671 XPAR TIKEHAU CAPITAL 969500BY8TEU16U3SJ94 12/02/2024 FR0013230612 539 21.4119 XPAR TIKEHAU CAPITAL 969500BY8TEU16U3SJ94 13/02/2024 FR0013230612 1,331 21.3479 XPAR TIKEHAU CAPITAL 969500BY8TEU16U3SJ94 14/02/2024 FR0013230612 1,223 21.1216 XPAR TIKEHAU CAPITAL 969500BY8TEU16U3SJ94 15/02/2024 FR0013230612 1,295 21.0051 XPAR TOTAL 6,388 21.3091 View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240216292323/en/ Tikehau Capital Source: Tikehau Capital Provides continuity and stability for the life and annuity ecosystem Plans to further invest in the assets to elevate the experience for carriers, advisors, and consumers GREENWICH, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Zinnia Corporate Holdings (Zinnia or the Company), an Eldridge business and leading life and annuity insurance technology services company, today announced it will acquire the Life and Annuity Assets (the L&A Assets) of Ebix, Inc. (Ebix), a supplier of software solutions. The L&A assets will further position Zinnia as a partner of choice in the life and annuity industry, expanding its offerings with insurance focused CRM & agency management, market-leading research, quoting, illustration, and order entry tools, and a comprehensive underwriting platform, which will simplify experiences for advisors and their clients. The acquisition of the Ebix Life and Annuity Assets is transformative for Zinnia, said Michele Trogni, Zinnia Chief Executive Officer. The complementary nature of our solutions will enable us to better serve carriers, distributors, and consumers, expanding our reach as we build the modern rails of the insurance industry. We are thrilled to welcome the Ebix L&A employees to Zinnia and look forward to what we can achieve together for our clients. In a rapidly expanding life and annuity sector, this acquisition allows Zinnia to power growth and simplify insurance from product development through distribution and claims. Upon closing, Zinnia will expand its offerings with the addition of SmartOffice, Vital Sales Suite, Winflex, AnnuityNet, LifeSpeed, TPP (The Policy Processor), as well as products and services provided by the consulting organization. Ash Sawhney, President of Ebix Insurance Solutions North America, will join Zinnia heading up the newly formed Life and Annuity Exchange Solutions business, reporting to Trogni. Joining him will be members of the Ebix Life and Annuity senior leadership team and all L&A employees globally. This is a great outcome for our business, added Ash Sawhney. Zinnias commitment to invest in our products, people, and customer solutions will significantly advance our product roadmaps, which will only serve to benefit the entire industry. Zinnia has a clear vision for the future, and together, we will digitize the end-to-end processing of life and annuity products. We are looking forward to the synergies that can be generated from the new integrated Zinnia and Ebix Life and Annuity organization to improve the agility and digitization of our business integration with our distribution partners, noted Sean Grindall, VP and Head of Financial Institution Distribution at USAA Life Company. Global operations across the Ebix L&A Assets will continue as usual for customers and partners through the closing and integration process. On February 15, 2024, Zinnia received Court approval to acquire Ebix L&A Assets after being named the winning bidder. The transaction is expected to close in early March, subject to standard closing conditions. Advisors Milbank LLP is serving as Zinnias legal counsel alongside financial advisors Citi and RBC Capital Markets. C Street Advisory Group is serving as strategic communications advisor to Zinnia. Ebix is represented by Sidley Austin LLP as legal counsel, AlixPartners, LLP and Huron Consulting Group served as financial advisors, and Jefferies LLC as its investment banker. About Zinnia Zinnia, an Eldridge business, simplifies insurance; delivering comprehensive solutions for the industry's most critical needs and creating the modern rails of the insurance industry, better enabling carriers and advisors to build, sell, and service insurance, ultimately helping more people get the coverage they need and the service they deserve. Zinnia's business lines include Carrier Solutions, providing digital third-party administration services, Distributor Solutions, offering technology & professional services for advisors, and the Policygenius consumer marketplace. Zinnia is also backed by funds managed by KKR, a leading global investment firm. To learn more about Zinnia, please visit https://zinnia.com/. About Ebix North American Life & Annuity Assets The Ebix Life & Annuity (L&A) division automates the life and annuity sales process from CRM, agency management, research, quoting, illustration, order entry, underwriting, policy issuance and post-issue processing. Backed by an exceptional team, the L&A division has set the standard for excellence and innovation in the industry for over two decades and is trusted by the most prominent financial institutions in the industry. With more than $128 billion of annuity premiums and over 20 million quotes, illustrations, and applications for life insurance each year, the L&A division serves as the premier platform supporting the end-to-end sales lifecycle. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240216132074/en/ Media Prosek Partners [email protected] Source: Zinnia Corporate Holdings Ashford Hospitality Trust, Inc. (NYSE: AHT) ("Ashford Trust" or the "Company") today announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to sell the 144-room Residence Inn located in Salt Lake City, Utah (the "Hotel") for $19.2 million . The sale is expected to be completed in early March and is subject to normal closing conditions. The Company provides no assurances that the sale will be completed on these terms or at all. When adjusted for the Company's anticipated capital expenditures, the sale price represents a 4.6% capitalization rate on 2023 net operating income, or 18.2x 2023 Hotel EBITDA . Excluding the anticipated capital spend, the sale price represents a 6.0% capitalization rate on 2023 net operating income, or 14.0x 2023 Hotel EBITDA . All of the proceeds from the sale are expected to be used to pay down debt. "We are pleased to announce the signed agreement to sell the Residence Inn Salt Lake City at a very attractive cap rate," commented Rob Hays , Ashford Trust's President and Chief Executive Officer. "We continue to have several assets in the market at various stages of the sales process and look forward to providing more updates in the coming weeks." Ashford Hospitality Trust is a real estate investment trust (REIT) focused on investing predominantly in upper upscale, full-service hotels. Brown-Forman Corporation (NYSE: BF-A,BF-B) announced the sale of its cooperage in Trinity, Alabama, to Independent Stave Company (ISCO). The cooperage will continue to make barrels for the Jack Daniel Distillery as part of a strategic relationship between the companies. ISCO will rename the cooperage from the Jack Daniel Cooperage to the Alabama Cooperage upon closing, expected by May 1, 2024. We believe that barrels are more than a container for our whiskey, theyre an important ingredient. This agreement helps ensure a steady supply of the same high quality barrels at a competitive price to Brown-Forman and Jack Daniels, said Tim Nall, Chief Global Supply Chain and Technology Officer. ISCO will continue to craft American White Oak barrels using the same meticulous process that we have for generations, keeping the quality and taste of Jack Daniels Tennessee Whiskey consistent around the world. "We are grateful to Brown-Forman for the opportunity to craft barrels of the highest quality for their iconic brand, Jack Daniels. Alabama Cooperage will be a great addition to our existing network of mills and cooperages, said Independent Stave Company CEO Brad Boswell. We will utilize our 112 years of industry experience to manufacture barrels to the exacting standards they have been adhering to in Trinity, Alabama, since it opened in 2014. Our team looks forward to welcoming the employees in Trinity to the Independent Stave Company family. Previously, Brown-Forman sold stave mills in Alabama, Ohio, and Tennessee, to ISCO. Like these prior transitions, current cooperage employees will be offered employment by Independent Stave Company. Brown-Forman will maintain ownership and operation of the long-standing Brown-Forman Cooperage in Louisville, Kentucky. The Cooperage produces approximately half of the barrels for the Brown-Forman portfolio of brands and enables ongoing barrel research, development, and innovation for brands and new expressions. Canadian Pacific Kansas City (NYSE: CP) (CPKC) today filed a Notice of Dispute with the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service requesting the appointment of a Federal Conciliation Officer to assist CPKC and both the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC) Train & Engine (T&E) division and the TCRC - Rail Canada Traffic Controllers (RCTC) division in reaching negotiated collective agreements. The TCRC - T&E represents CPKC's roughly 3,200 locomotive engineers, conductors and train and yard workers, and the TCRC - RCTC represents approximately 80 rail traffic controllers, all in Canada . This is a process available under the Canada Labour Code to help employers and unions achieve negotiated collective agreements. Since September 2023 , CPKC has been negotiating in good faith with the TCRC - T&E and TCRC - RCTC. CPKC has offered both a fair and balanced agreement with wage and benefit increases and more schedule predictability and quality of life improvements for its T&E employees. The latest collective bargaining negotiation session took place the week of January 29, 2024 . Both CPKC and Union leadership remain far apart on the issues. CPKC has an excellent track record of successful collective bargaining with its unions. However, Federal Conciliation has been required in nine of the 10 collective bargaining rounds of negotiations between the TCRC - T&E and CPKC since 1993. CPKC is and will remain focused on, and committed to, arriving at a negotiated outcome that is in the best interests of its employees and their families, its customers, its shareholders and the overall Canadian economy. Everyone benefits when the railway can continue providing essential rail service, delivering goods across Canada and supporting the import and export of goods internationally. Phillipa Harrison, managing director of Tourism Australia, speaks during an interview with Xinhua in Sydney, Australia, Feb. 6, 2024.(Xinhua/Ma Ping) SYDNEY, Feb. 16 (Xinhua) -- China is expected to reclaim the top spot in Australia's international tourism industry "in the very near future," chief of the Australian government's tourism promoting agency has said. "We certainly know that Australia has a lot to offer Chinese travelers and our industry and the Australian public love to welcome Chinese guests to Australia," Phillipa Harrison, managing director of Tourism Australia, told Xinhua in a recent interview. "So we know that we will rebuild the market and it will be our number one market again sometime in the very near future," she said. In 2019, China was already the top market in Australia's international tourism sector, with 1.4 million Chinese tourists visiting Australia each year, Harrison said, adding that the number of Chinese tourists has increased month by month and returned to about 45 percent of pre-pandemic levels in November last year. Noting the Spring Festival holidays, Harrison said, "This is always our busiest time of year. So we always see a spike in travel over the lunar new year, which is fantastic." When Australia reopened 12 months ago, there wasn't a lot of aviation capacity, but it was different this year, Harrison said. "This is really the first New Year where we've been fully open, and there is really good aviation capacity into Australia," she said. "So we're excited to see more Chinese arriving." Harrison said that Chinese tourists are welcome to Australia for the Spring Festival, and there are many celebrations around Australia. "There are lots and lots of local celebrations and certainly Australians love getting involved with the lunar new year festival," she said. Tourism Australia has a very long-term view with China and has been there for more than 20 years, Harrison said. "It is a very important market for us. We're working very hard on re-growing our numbers." "So we have marketing promotions going. We have our big 'Come and Say G'day' campaign which we launched in Chengdu in June," Harrison said. She said she was very positive about the Chinese market and was "really delighted to see that more and more Chinese are coming back to enjoy everything that Australia has to offer." "It's not a matter of if. It's a matter of when we rebuild the market," she said. FILE PHOTO: Boeing logo is seen at the company's technology and engineering center in Sao Jose dos Campos, Sao Paulo state, Brazil October 10, 2023. REUTERS/Gabriel Araujo/File Photo WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Boeing and its Seattle-area machinists union will open negotiations on a new contract on March 8, a union spokesperson said on Friday. Formal negotiations between the U.S. planemaker and its largest union District 751 of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers were set to begin in early February, but the start date was pushed back at Boeing's request after a Jan. 5 in-flight cabin blowout on a 737 MAX 9. IAM District 751's contract agreement with Boeing ends at midnight on Sept. 12. The union, which represents about 31,000 workers in the area around Puget Sound, Washington, will be looking to obtain wage increases of around 40% over the three- to four-year life of the contract and will propose reinstating pensions, which were phased out in a 2014 deal, IAM District 751 President Jon Holden said in a recent interview with Reuters. It will also seek a commitment from Boeing to build its next airplane in the Puget Sound area, Holden said. "That's the commitment our members have earned." Labor makes up less than 15% of the total cost of a Boeing aircraft, with engineering, support and manufacturing jobs built into that figure, Boeing Chief Financial Officer Brian West said during an investors conference on Tuesday. Asked about Boeing's strategy for negotiations, West said, "We fully expect to get to a point that we have an agreement and work constructively with our partners in the IAM." (Reporting by Valerie Insinna; editing by Jonathan Oatis) ATLANTA, Feb. 16, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Astra Plastic Surgery, an acclaimed North Georgia-based cosmetic and reconstructive surgery practice, is welcoming Dr. Pallavi Kumbla to its staff of seasoned physicians and surgeons at its Alpharetta and Cumming locations. With the practices dedication to excellence, patients can choose Astra Plastic Surgery and its strong roster of providers with confidence. Dr. Kumbla specializes in advanced cosmetic and reconstructive procedures involving the breast and body. She studied under renowned breast surgical oncologists and plastic and reconstructive surgeons who specialize in the treatment of complex reconstructive trauma patients. Dr. Kumbla trained alongside several prominent plastic and reconstructive surgeons performing complex craniofacial, hand, microsurgery, and aesthetic surgery, learning the comprehensive spectrum of plastic and reconstructive surgery. During fellowship training, she focused on the latest non-surgical and surgical aesthetic techniques under the mentorship of some of the leading aesthetic plastic surgeons in the country. As a result, Dr. Kumbla is able to share her immense knowledge and skill with Astra Plastic Surgery patients. Our mission at Astra Plastic Surgery is to provide excellent care and a commitment to advancing the art and science of plastic and reconstructive surgery, says Dr. Christopher Killingsworth, founder and managing partner of Astra Plastic Surgery. With the addition of Dr. Kumbla, were continuing to meet that goal in a big way. In addition to providing exceptional care to her patients and performing the latest surgical techniques, Dr. Kumbla has continued to advance her field by co-authoring breast reconstruction chapters in prestigious surgical textbooks. These include Fischers Mastery of Surgery and Bland and Copeland's The Breast: Comprehensive Management of Benign and Malignant Diseases. To schedule an appointment with Dr. Kumbla at either the Alpharetta or Cumming locations of Astra Plastic Surgery, call 678-208-6008 or visit AstraPlasticSurgery.com. Astra Plastic Surgery was established in 2012, recognizing the need for both cosmetic and reconstructive surgery in the North Atlanta area. Our locally acclaimed staff provides exceptional results with compassion and integrity. With three locations in Georgia, we are dedicated to addressing all your cosmetic concerns and helping you achieve your aesthetic goals using innovative techniques. Interviews are available upon request. Contact: Jon Waterhouse | Lenz, Inc. 404-373-2021[email protected] A photo accompanying this announcement is available at:https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/7b454c4f-38a5-4e58-9db7-b2614fb69bc7 Dr. Pallavi Kumbla Astra Plastic Surgery, an acclaimed North Georgia-based cosmetic and reconstructive surgery practice, is welcoming Dr. Pallavi Kumbla to its staff of seasoned physicians and surgeons at its Alpharetta and Cumming locations. Source: ASTRA PLASTIC SURGERY, LLC CHICAGO, Feb. 16, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Patient ID Now, a coalition of leading healthcare organizations, including the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA), applauds the introduction of the Patient Matching and Transparency in Certified Health IT (Match IT) Act of 2024 by Representative Mike Kelly (R-PA) and Representative Bill Foster (D-IL) today in the US House of Representatives. The MATCH IT Act would address the problem of patient misidentification within the healthcare ecosystem while improving patient safety and privacy. The bill would create an industry standard definition for the term patient match rate to allow measurement of patient match rates across the healthcare system and would improve standardization of patients demographic elements entered into certified health IT products to ensure patients are accurately matched with the correct medical record. Patient misidentification within the US healthcare system has long threatened patient safety and privacy and is a driver of unnecessary costs to patients and providers. The inability of clinicians to ensure patients are accurately matched with their medical records has caused medical errors and even patient deaths. Patients often undergo unnecessary repeated medical tests because of the inability to ensure accurate matches to their medical records. According to Black Book Research, the expense of repeated medical care due to duplicate records costs an average of $1,950 per patient inpatient stay and more than $1,700 per emergency department visit. Thirty-five percent of all denied claims result from inaccurate patient identification, costing the average hospital $2.5 million and the US healthcare system more than $6.7 billion annually. The American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) commends Representatives Mike Kelly and Bill Foster for prioritizing patient safety and for continuing to champion the issue of patient matching, said AHIMA President and Board Chair, Mona Calhoun, PhD, MS, Med, RHIA, FAHIMA. The MATCH IT Act would help decrease rates of misidentification, improve patient privacy and patient care through a standardization of patient information, and allow records to be matched more accurately. AHIMA looks forward to the passage of this critical legislation. Here is what leaders of other coalition member organizations said about the recent legislation: On behalf of our members, which include chief information officers and other digital health leaders from hospitals and healthcare providers across the globe, we appreciate the leadership of Representatives Mike Kelly and Bill Foster in introducing the MATCH IT Act. This bill will make a meaningful impact on patient misidentification through the standardization of patient information and builds off important work by CHIME and the other organizations in the Patient ID Now coalition to improve patient matching. Cassie Ballard, Director of Congressional Affairs, CHIME HIMSS is a proud supporter of the MATCH IT Act, which would improve patient safety and enhance care coordination by tackling a critical issue affecting our healthcare ecosystem - patient misidentification, said HIMSS President & CEO Hal Wolf. We applaud Representatives Mike Kelly and Bill Foster for their continued leadership on this important issue and urge Congress to prioritize patient safety by passing this important legislation. Craig Richardville, MBA, CHCIO, Chief Digital and Information Officer at Intermountain Health, offered Intermountain Healths strong support for the MATCH IT Act of 2024, saying, [T]his legislation will address our nations current inability to consistently and accurately identify patients to their health records. Improved standardization of patient demographic data will lead to more accurate patient matching, which in turn will produce advances in patient safety, more complete information for clinical care, and cost savings from reducing the need for repeated medical care, among other benefits. Intermountain Health salutes long-time congressional champions on patient matching, Representatives Mike Kelly of Pennsylvania and Bill Foster of Illinois. ### About Patient ID Now Patient ID Now is a coalition of healthcare organizations representing a wide range of healthcare stakeholders committed to advancing a nationwide strategy to address patient identification through legislation and regulations. Founding members include the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA), the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME), Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society, Inc. (HIMSS), and Intermountain Health. SADDLE BROOK, N.J., Feb. 16, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Bulldog Investors, LLP (Bulldog) announced that it has filed a lawsuit against the bankruptcy trustee for Industrial Human Capital, Inc. (the SPAC) (former ticker: AXH) to declare that public stockholders are not required to return funds previously held in trust and properly distributed to stockholders after the redemption of the SPACs Class A common stock. In letters to stockholders, the bankruptcy trustee has stated an intent to pursue such funds to satisfy claims of creditors of the SPAC. The lawsuit seeks a judgment from the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Florida declaring that the trust fund was never subject to creditor claims and, in any event, public stockholders are protected by law from claw back lawsuits. Phillip Goldstein, a managing partner of Bulldog, stated: Investors need assurance that a SPACs trust fund, which is a critical component of its structure, is protected from creditor claims caused by the SPACs managers. We hope this lawsuit will provide that assurance to the market. The action is captioned Bulldog Investors, LLP v. Robert A. Angueira, solely in his capacity as Chapter 7 Trustee of the Bankruptcy Estate of Industrial Human Capital, Inc., No. 24-01027. Morris Kandinov LLP is representing Bulldog in the litigation. About Bulldog Investors, LLP: Bulldog is an SEC-registered investment adviser that manages closed-end funds and separately managed accounts. (www.bulldoginvestors.com) Contact: InvestorComJohn Glenn Grau, (203) 972-9300 ext. 110[email protected] Source: Bulldog Investors, LLP MONTREAL, Feb. 16, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today, CN (TSX: CNR) (NYSE: CNI) filed for a notice of dispute in its negotiations with the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC) to support the parties in achieving a negotiated settlement. The TCRC represents approximately 6,000 conductors, conductor trainees, yard coordinators and locomotive engineers across CNs network in Canada. CN strongly believes that an agreement can be achieved through the collective bargaining process and remains committed to working with the TCRC to reach an agreement that is good for the employees, for CN and for Canadas supply chain. CN continues its efforts to modernize its railway in a manner that will deliver the best possible service to our customers, while providing our employees with better work conditions and better work/life balance. Recent regulatory changes have challenged crew availability and CN is proposing to address that issue through a modernization of the compensation model. A strong supply chain is good for all stakeholders, the economy, and our employees. Pat Whitehead, Executive Vice-President and Chief Network Operating Officer. About the notice of disputeAlso known as conciliation, the notice of dispute is a request made to the Canadian Minister of Labour by either party during a negotiation to appoint a conciliation officer to assist the parties in reaching an agreement. About CNCN 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. CN's network connects Canadas Eastern and Western coasts with the U.S. South through an 18,800-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. Contacts: Media Investment Community Jonathan Abecassis Stacy Alderson Director Assistant Vice-President Public Affairs and Media Relations Investor Relations (438) 455-3692 (514) 399-0052 [email protected] [email protected] Source: Canadian National Railway Company VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Feb. 15, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- DMG Blockchain Solutions Inc. (TSX-V: DMGI) (OTCQB US: DMGGF) (FRANKFURT: 6AX) (DMG or the Company), a vertically integrated blockchain and cryptocurrency technology company, announces that it has established a relationship with Sygnum Bank, a Swiss bank specialized in servicing crypto-native companies, as a strategic banking partner providing US$9 million (equivalent) in a credit facility to increase its operational capacity ahead of the upcoming Bitcoin halvening expected in April 2024. The primary use of proceeds is for the purchase of 4,550 T21 190 TH/s bitcoin miners from Bitmain Technologies for US$12,103,000 (US$14/TH/s), which was previously announced in December 2023. With a first financing tranche of US$5.6 million already disbursed, DMG has been able to fulfill part of its payment obligation to Bitmain without the need to liquidate its bitcoin holding. DMG believes that modest amounts of debt enable it to better optimize its balance sheet, especially as it can help maintain its healthy bitcoin holding as well as lower its weighted average cost of capital, both of which should be positive for shareholders. In addition to this US$9 million credit facility, DMG intends to use some of its existing cash towards the purchase of these miners from Bitmain. The loan is interest bearing at an annual rate of 7.8% for an indefinite term. Sygnum has the right to terminate the agreement at any time, at which time the loan would be due immediately. The loan is secured against the Companys digital currency assets of 237.8 BTC, which are pledged and deposited with Sygnum. Because the collateral is subject to fluctuations in value, the Company may be required to provide additional collateral in order to restore the security margin on the loan. DMG may repay the amount of debt outstanding at any time. DMGs CEO Sheldon Bennett commented, We are very happy to announce this partnership with Sygnum as a strategic banking partner. We look forward to working closely with Sygnum Bank, as its mission includes decarbonization of the Bitcoin ecosystem, a value which we very much share. Nestor Palao, Sygnum Banks Head of DLT & Corporate Clients commented, As we see our footprint in the Bitcoin mining ecosystem growing and including several leading publicly listed players, Sygnum is pleased to work with DMG Blockchain Solutions in providing tailored service for its banking and lending needs and support growth in carbon-neutral crypto asset mining. About Sygnum Sygnum is a global digital asset banking group, founded on Swiss and Singapore heritage. Sygnum empowers professional and institutional investors, banks, corporates and digital ledger technology (DLT) foundations to invest in digital assets with complete trust. The team enables this through our institutional-grade security, expert personal service and a portfolio of regulated digital asset banking, asset management, tokenization and B2B services. In Switzerland, Sygnum holds a banking license and has CMS and Major Payment Institution Licenses in Singapore. The group is also regulated in the established global financial hubs of Abu Dhabi and Luxembourg. Sygnums crypto-native team of banking, investment and digital asset technology professionals are building a trusted gateway between the traditional and digital asset economies that we call Future Finance. To learn more, please visit www.sygnum.com. Sygnum media contactDom Castley, CMOT +41 58 508 21 01, [email protected]Sygnum Bank AG, Uetlibergstrasse 134a, 8045 Zurich, Switzerland About DMG Blockchain Solutions Inc. DMG is an environmentally friendly vertically integrated blockchain and cryptocurrency company that manages, operates, and develops end-to-end digital solutions to monetize the blockchain ecosystem. DMGs sustainable businesses are segmented into two business lines under the Core and Core+ strategies and unified through DMGs vertical integration. For more information on DMG Blockchain Solutions visit: www.dmgblockchain.comFollow @dmgblockchain on X and subscribe to DMG's YouTube channel. For further information, please contact: On behalf of the Board of Directors, Sheldon Bennett, CEO & DirectorTel: 516-222-2560Email: [email protected]Web: www.dmgblockchain.com Investor Relations Contact:CORE IR 516-222-2560 For Media Inquiries:Jules AbrahamCORE IR917-885-7378[email protected] Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Service Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release. Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information This news release contains forward-looking information or statements based on current expectations. Forward-looking statements contained in this news release include statements regarding DMGs use of the credit facility, the purchase of new miners, DMGs strategies and plans, the expected increase in realized hashrate in the coming months, developing and executing on the Companys products and services, increasing self-mining, efforts to improve the operation of its mining fleet, the launch of products and services, events, courses of action, and the potential of the Companys technology and operations, among others, are all forward-looking information. Future changes in the Bitcoin network-wide mining difficulty rate or Bitcoin hash rate may materially affect the future performance of DMGs production of bitcoin, and future operating results could also be materially affected by the price of bitcoin and an increase in hash rate mining difficulty. Forward-looking statements consist of statements that are not purely historical, including any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations, or intentions regarding the future. Such information can generally be identified by the use of forwarding-looking wording such as "may", "expect", "estimate", "anticipate", "intend", "believe" and "continue" or the negative thereof or similar variations. The reader is cautioned that assumptions used in the preparation of any forward-looking information may prove to be incorrect. Events or circumstances may cause actual results to differ materially from those predicted, as a result of numerous known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors, many of which are beyond the control of the Company, including but not limited to, market and other conditions, volatility in the trading price of the common shares of the Company, business, economic and capital market conditions; the ability to manage operating expenses, which may adversely affect the Company's financial condition; the ability to remain competitive as other better financed competitors develop and release competitive products; regulatory uncertainties; access to equipment; market conditions and the demand and pricing for products; the demand and pricing of bitcoins; security threats, including a loss/theft of DMG's bitcoins; DMG's relationships with its customers, distributors and business partners; the inability to add more power to DMG's facilities; DMG's ability to successfully define, design and release new products in a timely manner that meet customers' needs; the ability to attract, retain and motivate qualified personnel; competition in the industry; the impact of technology changes on the products and industry; failure to develop new and innovative products; the ability to successfully maintain and enforce our intellectual property rights and defend third-party claims of infringement of their intellectual property rights; the impact of intellectual property litigation that could materially and adversely affect the business; the ability to manage working capital; and the dependence on key personnel. DMG may not actually achieve its plans, projections, or expectations. Such statements and information are based on numerous assumptions regarding present and future business strategies and the environment in which the Company will operate in the future, including the demand for its products, the ability to successfully develop software, that there will be no regulation or law that will prevent the Company from operating its business, anticipated costs, the ability to secure sufficient capital to complete its business plans, the ability to pay off any outstanding debt (including credit facilities), the ability to achieve goals and the price of bitcoin. Given these risks, uncertainties, and assumptions, you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. The securities of DMG are considered highly speculative due to the nature of DMG's business. For further information concerning these and other risks and uncertainties, refer to the Companys filings on www.sedarplus.ca. In addition, DMGs past financial performance may not be a reliable indicator of future performance. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include, failure to obtain regulatory approval, the continued availability of capital and financing, equipment failures, lack of supply of equipment, power and infrastructure, failure to obtain any permits required to operate the business, the impact of technology changes on the industry, the impact of Covid-19 or other viruses and diseases on the Company's ability to operate, secure equipment, and hire personnel, competition, security threats including stolen bitcoins from DMG or its customers, consumer sentiment towards DMG's products, services and blockchain technology generally, failure to develop new and innovative products, litigation, adverse weather or climate events, increase in operating costs, increase in equipment and labor costs, equipment failures, decrease in the price of Bitcoin, failure of counterparties to perform their contractual obligations, government regulations, loss of key employees and consultants, and general economic, market or business conditions. Forward-looking statements contained in this news release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking information. The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as of the date of this news release. Except as required by law, the Company disclaims any intention and assumes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. Additionally, the Company undertakes no obligation to comment on the expectations of or statements made by third parties in respect of the matters discussed above. Source: DMG Blockchain Solutions Inc. VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Feb. 15, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- EnWave Corporation (TSX-V:ENW | FSE: E4U) (EnWave, or the "Company") announced today it will report its financial results for the first quarter ended December 31, 2023 on Thursday, February 22, 2024 after market close. The financial statements and MD&A will be available on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca and on the Companys website in the late evening Vancouver time. The Company has scheduled a conference call to discuss the results for Q1 2024 and business outlook on Friday, February 23, 2024 at 7:00 a.m. Pacific Time (10:00 a.m. Eastern Time). Brent Charleton, Chief Executive Officer and Dylan Murray, Chief Financial Officer will present EnWaves results and host a question and answer period. Conference Call Details: Date: February 23, 2024 Time: 7:00am PST / 10:00am EST Participant Access: 1-877-407-2988 (toll free number) Webcast: https://event.choruscall.com/mediaframe/webcast.html?webcastid=FMVSPFrv About EnWave EnWave is a global leader in the innovation and application of vacuum microwave dehydration. From its headquarters in Delta, BC, EnWave has developed a robust intellectual property portfolio, perfected its Radiant Energy Vacuum (REV) technology, and transformed an innovative idea into a proven, consistent, and scalable drying solution for the food, pharmaceutical and cannabis industries that vastly outperforms traditional drying methods in efficiency, capacity, product quality, and cost. With more than fifty royalty-generating partners spanning twenty-six countries and five continents, EnWaves licensed partners are creating profitable, never-before-seen snacks and ingredients, improving the quality and consistency of their existing offerings, running leaner and getting to market faster with the companys patented technology, licensed machinery, and expert guidance. EnWaves strategy is to sign royalty-bearing commercial licenses with food producers who want to dry better, faster and more economical than freeze drying, rack drying and air drying, and enjoy the following benefits of producing exciting new products, reaching optimal moisture levels up to seven times faster, and improve product taste, texture, color and nutritional value. Learn more at EnWave.net. EnWave Corporation Mr. Brent Charleton, CFAPresident and CEO For further information: Brent Charleton, CFA, President and CEO at +1 (778) 378-9616E-mail: [email protected] Dylan Murray, CPA, CA, CFO at +1 (778) 870-0729E-mail: [email protected] Safe Harbour for Forward-Looking Information Statements: This press release may contain forward-looking information based on management's expectations, estimates and projections. All statements that address expectations or projections about the future, including statements about the Company's strategy for growth, product development, market position, expected expenditures, and the expected synergies following the closing are forward-looking statements. All third-party claims referred to in this release are not guaranteed to be accurate. All third-party references to market information in this release are not guaranteed to be accurate as the Company did not conduct the original primary research. These statements are not a guarantee of future performance and involve a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking 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: EnWave Corporation SATO CORPORATION Stock Exchange Release 16 February 2024 at 4.15 pm EEST NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN OR INTO THE UNITED STATES, CANADA, AUSTRALIA, HONG KONG, SOUTH AFRICA, SINGAPORE, JAPAN, NEW ZEALAND OR ANY OTHER JURISDICTION IN WHICH THE RELEASE OR DISTRIBUTION WOULD BE UNLAWFUL. Subscription period of SATO Corporations (the Company) rights offering (the Offering) expired on 14 February 2024. According to the final result, a total of 28,279,377 new shares in the Company were subscribed for in the Offering, which corresponds to approximately 99.90 per cent of the 28,308,533 new shares in the Company offered in the Offering. The subscription price was EUR 7.07 per new share. The Offering will generate for the Company gross proceeds of approximately EUR 200 million. The proceeds raised in the share issue will be entered in full in the Companys reserve for invested non-restricted equity. The Board of Directors of the Company has today, on 16 February 2024, decided on the approval of the subscriptions made in the Offering in accordance with the terms and conditions of the Offering. As the Offering was almost fully subscribed, no unsubscribed offer shares were offered for subscription in a secondary offering. The Offering will increase the number of shares in the Company by 28,279,377 shares from the current 56,783,067 to 85,062,444 shares. The new shares correspond to approximately 33.25 per cent of all shares in the Company after the completion of the Offering. The new shares will be registered with the Trade Register maintained by the Finnish Patent and Registration Office on or about 20 February 2024. The new shares will carry the right to receive dividends and other distributions of funds by the Company, if any, and to other shareholder rights in the Company as of the registration of the shares with the Trade Register and in the shareholders register of the Company maintained by Euroclear Finland Ltd on or about 21 February 2024. SATO CORPORATION For more information, please contact: Antti Aarnio, President and CEO, phone: +358 20 134 4200 Markku Honkasalo, CFO, phone: +358 20 134 4226 www.sato.fi/en CC: Euronext Dublin, main media, www.sato.fi/en SATO Corporation is an expert in sustainable rental housing and one of Finlands largest rental housing providers. SATO owns around 25,000 rental homes in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area, Tampere and Turku. SATO aims to provide an excellent customer experience and a comprehensive range of urban rental housing alternatives with good access to public transport and services. We promote sustainable development and work in open interaction with our stakeholders. SATO invests profitably, sustainably and with a long-term view. We increase the value of our assets through investments, divestments and repairs. In 2023, SATO Groups net sales totalled EUR 288.4 million, operating profit EUR -113.6 million and profit before taxes EUR -185.8 million. The value of SATOs investment properties is around EUR 4.9 billion. www.sato.fi IMPORTANT INFORMATION This release is not an offer for sale of securities in the United States. Securities may not be sold in the United States absent registration with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission or an exemption from registration under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended. The Company does not intend to register any part of the Offering in the United States or to conduct a public offering of securities in the United States. The distribution of this release may be restricted by law, and persons into whose possession any document or other information referred to herein comes should inform themselves about and observe any such restrictions. The information contained herein is not for publication or distribution, directly or indirectly, in or into the United States, Canada, Australia, Hong Kong, South Africa, Singapore, Japan or New Zealand. Any failure to comply with these restrictions may constitute a violation of the securities laws of any such jurisdiction. This release is not directed to, and is not intended for distribution to or use by, any person or entity that is a citizen or resident or located in any locality, state, country or other jurisdiction where such distribution, publication, availability or use would be contrary to law or regulation or which would require any registration or licensing within such jurisdiction. This release is only being distributed to and is only directed at (i) persons who are outside the United Kingdom or (ii) investment professionals falling within Article 19(5) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005 (the Order) or (iii) high net worth companies and other persons to whom it may lawfully be communicated, falling within Article 49(2)(a) to (d) of the Order (all such persons together being referred to as Relevant Persons). Any securities mentioned herein are only available to, and any invitation, offer or agreement to subscribe for, purchase or otherwise acquire such securities will be engaged in only with, Relevant Persons. Any person who is not a Relevant Person should not act or rely on this release or any of its contents. This release does not constitute a prospectus within the meaning of Regulation (EU) 2017/1129 (the Prospectus Regulation) and, as such, does not constitute or form part of, and should not be construed as, an offer to sell, or a solicitation or invitation of any offer to buy, acquire or subscribe for, any securities or an inducement to enter into investment activity. No part of this release, nor the fact of its distribution, should form the basis of, or be relied on in connection with, any contract or commitment or investment decision whatsoever. The information contained in this release has not been independently verified. No representation, warranty or undertaking, expressed or implied, is made as to, and no reliance should be placed on, the fairness, accuracy, completeness or correctness of the information or the opinions contained herein. The Company or any of its respective affiliates, advisors or representatives or any other person, shall have no liability whatsoever (in negligence or otherwise) for any loss however arising from any use of this release or its contents or otherwise arising in connection with this release. Each person must rely on their own examination and analysis of the Company, its subsidiaries, its securities and the transactions, including the merits and risks involved. TORONTO, Feb. 16, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Fredonia Mining Inc. (TSXV: FRED) (the Company or Fredonia) is pleased to announce the closing of its previously announced non-brokered private placement, consisting of a total of 17,554,480 units of the Company (each, a Unit, and collectively the Units), at a price of $0.05 per Unit for aggregate gross proceeds to the Company of $877,724 (the Offering). The Company did not pay any bonus, finders fee, commission, or agency fee in connection with the Offering. Each Unit consisted of one common share of the Company (each, a Common Share, and collectively the Common Shares) and one-half of one Common Share purchase warrant (each whole warrant, a Warrant and collectively the Warrants). Each Warrant entitles the holder thereof to acquire one Common Share at a price of $0.10 per Common Share for a period of two years from the closing date of the Offering. The Company intends to use the net proceeds of the Offering for working capital and for general corporate purposes. The Units were offered and sold by private placement in Canada to accredited investors within the meaning of National Instrument 45-106 Prospectus Exemptions and to other exempt purchasers in jurisdictions outside Canada. The securities issued in the Offering will be subject to applicable hold periods in Canada imposed under applicable securities legislation, including a hold period of 4 months and one day from the date of issuance, expiring on June 16, 2024. The Offering constituted a related party transaction with respect to the Company within the meaning of that term pursuant to Multilateral Instrument 61-101 of the Canadian Securities Administrators Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions (MI 61-101), as Mr. Estanislao Auriemma, the Chief Executive Officer and a director of the Company, purchased 1,881,040 Units in the Offering and Mr. Ricardo Auriemma, a director of the Company, purchased 2,687,200 Units in the Offering. All insiders participated in the Offering on the same commercial terms as arms length investors. MI 61-101 provides that related party transactions are, in the absence of an exemption therefrom, subject to the requirement to obtain a formal valuation for the subject matter of the related party transaction and minority shareholder approval of the related party transaction (which approval must exclude any votes attached to Common Shares held by the participating related party). The Company relied on the exemptions from the formal valuation and minority approval requirements of MI 61-101 provided for in subsections 5.5(b) (Issuer Not Listed on Specified Markets) and 5.7(1)(b) (Fair Market Value Not More Than $2,500,000) of MI 61-101, respectively. A material change report with respect to the Offering was filed less than 21 days before the closing date, which was reasonable and necessary in the circumstances for the Company to take advantage of available financing opportunities. Additional information with respect to the Offering and the insider participation therein is available in the material change report filed on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca. No securities offered in the Offering have been, nor they will be, registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the U.S. Securities Act), or any U.S. state securities laws, and may not be offered or sold in the United States without registration under the U.S. Securities Act and all applicable state securities laws or compliance with the requirements of an applicable exemption therefrom. This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy securities in the United States, nor may there be any sale of these securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful. About Fredonia Fredonia indirectly owns a 100% interest in certain license areas (totaling approximately 18,300 ha.) (collectively, the Project), all within the Deseado Massif geological region in the Province of Santa Cruz, Argentina, including the following principal areas: El Aguila (approximately 9,100 ha.), Petrificados (approximately 3,000 ha.), and the flagship, advanced El Dorado-Monserrat property (approximately 6,200 ha.) located close to AngloGold Ashantis Cerro Vanguardia mine, subject to a 1.5% net smelter return royalty on the EDM project, and a 0.5% net profits interest on Winki II, El Aguila I, El Aguila II and Hornia (ex Petrificados). For further information, please visit the Companys website at www.fredoniamanagement.com or contact: Omar Salas, Chief Financial Officer, Direct: +1-416-846-7807, Email: [email protected]. Forward-looking Information Cautionary Statement This news release contains forwardlooking information within the meaning of the applicable Canadian securities legislation that is based on expectations, estimates, projections and interpretations as at the date of this news release. The information in this news release about the use of the proceeds from the Offering and the prospects of the Project, and any other information herein that is not a historical fact may be forward-looking information. Any statement that involves discussions with respect to predictions, expectations, interpretations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions, future events or performance (often but not always using phrases such as expects, or does not expect, is expected, interpreted, managements view, anticipates or does not anticipate, plans, budget, scheduled, forecasts, estimates, believes or intends or variations of such words and phrases or stating that certain actions, events or results may or could, would, might or will be taken to occur or be achieved) are not statements of historical fact and may be forward-looking information and are intended to identify forward-looking information. This forward-looking information is based on reasonable assumptions and estimates of management of the Company, at the time such assumptions and estimates were made, and involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties or other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Such factors include, among others, volatility in the trading price of the Common Shares, Fredonias ability to complete further exploration activities, property interests, the results of exploration activities, risks relating to mining activities, the global economic climate, metal prices, dilution, environmental risks, changes in the tax and regulatory regime, and community and non-governmental actions, and managements discretion with respect to use of proceeds. Although the forward-looking information contained in this news release is based upon what management believes, or believed at the time, to be reasonable assumptions, the Company cannot guarantee that actual results will be consistent with such forward-looking information, as there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended, and neither Company nor any other person assumes responsibility for the accuracy and completeness of any such forward looking information. The Company does not undertake, and assumes no obligation, to update or revise any such forward looking statements or forward-looking information contained herein to reflect new events or circumstances, except as may be 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. Source: Fredonia Mining Inc. TACOMA, Wash, Feb. 16, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- As previously announced, on December 11, 2023, Harbor Custom Development, Inc. (OTC PK: HCDIQ, HCDPQ, HCDWQ, HCDZQ) (collectively with certain of its wholly owned subsidiaries described below, the Company) voluntarily filed for protection under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code in the Western District of Washington at Tacoma. The Company today announced its plan to continue to wind down its operations and voluntarily liquidate all of its assets through an approved Chapter 11 Plan. The Company has retained Keen-Summit Capital Partners LLC, a leading real estate brokerage and investment banking firm based in New York, NY, to manage the sale of its premier multi-family real estate portfolio, which represents a rare opportunity to invest in one of the Pacific Northwests thriving real estate markets. Keen-Summit has a well-deserved reputation for handling complex real estate transactions. Shelly Crocker, the Companys Chief Restructuring Officer stated, "Our decision to partner with Keen-Summit is a strategic step towards maximizing value on our multi-family portfolio under a Chapter 11 Plan. The multi-family portfolio includes four projects: Belfair View Apartments in Belfair, WA; Bridgeview Trail Apartments in Port Orchard, WA; Meadowscape Apartments in Olympia, WA; and Pacific Ridge Apartments in Tacoma, WA. An auction has yet to be scheduled. Stalking horse offers are being considered. Additional details are available in a virtual data room at HarborCustom-BankruptcySale.com . For direct inquiries, contact Keen-Summit Capital Partners, 646-381-9222. The sale is subject to court approval. The Company explored the possibilities of restructuring its business to continue as a going concern, but unfortunately, has found no viable plan to do so. Subject to approval of the Bankruptcy Court, the Company now intends to complete an orderly wind-down of its business, including sales of its remaining assets in Washington, California, Florida, and Texas, to maximize any potential recovery for the Companys creditors. The Companys holdings near Semiahmoo, Washington will also be put on the market shortly. The Company believes it is unlikely that the liquidation process will result in any material return to its equity shareholders. The Company plans to submit a Chapter 11 Plan proposing liquidation of its assets to the Bankruptcy Court for approval in late February. Additional Information Resources for the Companys creditors and equity interest holders can be found by visiting the website at https://cases.creditorinfo.com/hcdi, including court filings and other documents related to the Chapter 11 process. Aditi Paranjpye at Cairncross & Hempelmann, P.S. is serving as lead bankruptcy legal counsel to the Company. About Harbor Custom Development, Inc. Harbor Custom Development, Inc. is a real estate development company which is now in the process of winding-down its operations and liquidating all of its assets pursuant to a proposed Chapter 11 Liquidation Plan, subject to Bankruptcy Court approval. Forward-Looking Statements Certain statements in this press release may be considered forward-looking statements, including statements with respect to the Companys pursuit of bankruptcy protection and approval of a Chapter 11 Liquidation Plan. Forward-looking statements generally relate to future events and can be identified by terminology such as may, should, could, might, plan, possible, strive, budget, expect, intend, estimate, believe, predict, potential, pursue, aim, goal, mission, anticipate or continue, or the negatives of these terms or variations of them or similar terminology. Such forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties, and other factors which could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based upon estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable by the Company and its management, are inherently uncertain. The Companys actual results may differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of certain risks and other factors, which include the following: risks and uncertainties relating to the Companys Chapter 11 cases, including but not limited to, the Companys ability to obtain Bankruptcy Court approval with respect to motions in the Chapter 11 cases, the effects of the Chapter 11 cases on the Company and on the interests of various constituents, Bankruptcy Court rulings in the Chapter 11 cases and the outcome of the Chapter 11 cases in general, the length of time the Company will operate under the Chapter 11 cases, risks associated with any third-party motions in the Chapter 11 cases, the potential adverse effects of the Chapter 11 cases on the Companys proposed Chapter 11 Liquidation Plan and increased legal and other professional costs necessary to execute the Companys Chapter 11 Liquidation Plan if approved; the conditions to which the Companys cash collateral is subject and the risk that these conditions may not be satisfied for various reasons, including for reasons outside of the Companys control; the consequences of the acceleration of the Companys debt obligations and the trading price and volatility of the Companys common stock, and the risks and uncertainties set forth in the sections entitled Risk Factors and Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements in the Companys Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the third quarter ended September 30, 2023 and Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022, and other documents filed by the Company from time to time with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made. Readers are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking statements, and the Company assumes no obligation and does not intend to update or revise these forward-looking statements other than as required by applicable law. Investor Relations [email protected] 866-744-0974 ULAN BATOR, Feb. 16 (Xinhua) -- The Mongolian government on Friday decided to provide 21.5 billion Mongolian Tugriks (6.3 million U.S. dollars) to help provinces and nomadic herders affected by the extreme wintry weather. The money will be spent on the burial of livestock carcasses, disinfection, the delivery of food and health packages to nomadic herders suffering from the harsh winter, and the purchase of gasoline to transport essential items to rural areas among others, said Sainbuyan Amarsaikhan, the country's deputy prime minister and head of the State Emergency Commission (SEC). Almost all provinces of Mongolia have experienced harsh weather conditions this winter, and over 80 percent of the country has so far been blanketed by snow, according to the country's weather monitoring agency. Around 612,000 head of livestock have died across the Asian country so far this winter due to the extreme weather, according to the SEC. Mongolia is one of the world's last surviving nomadic countries. The promotion of livestock husbandry is seen as the most viable solution to diversify the landlocked country's mining-dependent economy. The number of livestock in Mongolia stood at 64.7 million at the end of 2023, according to the National Statistics Office. BALTIMORE, Feb. 16, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Global all-domain defense provider HII (NYSE: HII) announced today that 10 employees from its Newport News Shipbuilding, Ingalls Shipbuilding and Mission Technologies divisions were recognized for achievements in the science, technology, engineering and math fields during the 38th annual Black Engineer of the Year Award (BEYA) STEM Conference. The conference is taking place this weekend at the Convention Center in Baltimore, Maryland. I am extremely proud of our awardees that represent some of our best talent across all three of our companys divisions, said Edmond Hughes, HIIs executive vice president and chief human resources officer, who attended the conference. These awardees are helping to build a culture of innovation within HII and represent the value that HIIs engineering team brings to making our company stronger in support of national security missions. Thank you and congratulations to all our winners! One employee receiving special recognition at this years conference received the Technical Sales & Marketing award, which recognizes efforts in the development of product lines and marketing plans on a national scale. This employees efforts revolutionized federal acquisitions, fostering a new generation of innovation in the defense sector. He is: Victor Deal, account director and program manager, Mission Technologies Images accompanying this release are available at: https://hii.com/news/hii-black-engineers-beya-honored-2024/. Six other HII employees received the Modern-Day Technology Leader award, which recognizes efforts in shaping the future of engineering, science and technology. They are: Seth Fitch, ship design manager, Newport News Shipbuilding Scott Moses, designer, Newport News Shipbuilding Nathan Riles, IT software engineer, Newport News Shipbuilding Walter Williams, program production director, Newport News Shipbuilding Marques Moulds, logistics engineer, Ingalls Shipbuilding Terance Neal, nuclear engineer, Mission Technologies Three other employees received the Science Spectrum Trailblazer award, which recognizes efforts in creating new paths for others in science, research, technology and development. They are: Anthony Snow, test engineer manager, Ingalls Shipbuilding MarQuis Bryant-Morgan, nuclear engineer, Mission Technologies Harry Johnson, IS technology director, Mission Technologies Paul C. Harris, executive vice president and chief sustainability and compliance officer at HII, was a speaker during the awards presentation. Harris shared that these employees are exceptional leaders who play a crucial role in HIIs mission to protect peace and freedom worldwide. It's an honor to be here among the next generation of STEM leaders, embracing diversity and recognizing those who have shaped the STEM landscape, Harris said. These individuals not only embody ethics, integrity, and responsibility but also excel in their challenging roles at HII. Congratulations to all the honorees, whose dedication and innovation inspire us to reach new heights in the ever-evolving world of technology. About HII HII is a global, all-domain defense provider. HIIs mission is to deliver the worlds most powerful ships and all-domain solutions in service of the nation, creating the advantage for our customers to protect peace and freedom around the world. As the nations largest military shipbuilder, and with a more than 135-year history of advancing U.S. national security, HII delivers critical capabilities extending from ships to unmanned systems, cyber, ISR, AI/ML and synthetic training. Headquartered in Virginia, HIIs workforce is 44,000 strong. For more information, visit: HII on the web: https://www.HII.com/ HII on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TeamHII HII on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/WeAreHII HII on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/WeAreHII Contact: Danny Hernandez [email protected] (202) 264-7143 A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/6524ac8d-cf6e-45f2-bdbe-a91d2871b79e Shelton, CT, Feb. 16, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Hubbell Incorporated (NYSE: HUBB) will host an investor conference on Tuesday, June 4, 2024 beginning at 8:30 AM ET and concluding at 12:00 PM ET. The purpose of the meeting is for senior management to provide an overview of the business as well as to discuss the Company's outlook with institutional investors and security analysts. The event will be held at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, New York. The live audio of the conference and accompanying materials will also be available and can be accessed by visting Hubbell's website. You can access this information by going to www.hubbell.com and selecting "Investors" from the options at the bottom of the page and then "Events/Presentations" from the drop-down menu. The audio will be archived 24 hours after the event. About Hubbell Hubbell Incorporated is a leading manufacturer of utility and electrical solutions enabling customers to operate critical infrastructure safely, reliably and efficiently. With 2023 revenues of $5.4 billion, Hubbell solutions electrify economies and energize communities. The corporate headquarters is located in Shelton, CT. Contact Dan Innamorato Hubbell Incorporated 40 Waterview Drive PO Box 1000 Shelton, CT 06484 (475) 882-4292 BURNABY, British Columbia, Feb. 15, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- INTERFOR CORPORATION (Interfor or the Company) (TSX: IFP) announced today that it will indefinitely curtail its sawmill operations in Philomath, Oregon. This curtailment is in response to persistent high log costs in the region and ongoing weak lumber market conditions. Sawmill production will be curtailed immediately followed by an orderly wind-down of operations, which is expected to be completed by the end of the first quarter of 2024. The Philomath sawmill produces a mix of kiln-dried and green Hemlock and Douglas-fir dimensional lumber and timbers and has an annual capacity of 220 million board feet. This was a difficult decision to make, but is necessary in light of the evolving operating and market environment, said Bruce Luxmoore, Executive Vice-President of U.S. Operations. We recognize the impact this decision will have on our employees, who have contributed so much to the business over the years. The Company will continue to operate its three U.S. Northwest stud mills located in Molalla, Oregon, Longview, Washington and Port Angeles, Washington. In addition, Interfor announced today plans to temporarily reduce lumber production at its British Columbia operations by approximately 30 million board feet in the first quarter of 2024. These curtailments are due to a combination of weak market conditions, low log inventory levels and unseasonably warm weather that continues to negatively impact log deliveries across many areas of British Columbia. The Company will continue to monitor market conditions across all of its operations and adjust its production plans accordingly. FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS This release contains information and statements that are forward-looking in nature, including, but not limited to, statements about the Companys log procurement and lumber production. A statement Interfor makes is forward-looking when it uses what is known today to make a statement about the future. Such forward-looking statements are based on Interfors current expectations and certain assumptions, including assumptions regarding log and lumber prices. Statements containing forward-looking information may include words such as: will, could, should, believe, expect, anticipate, intend, forecast, projection, target, outlook, opportunity, risk or strategy. Readers are cautioned that actual results may vary from the forward-looking information in this release, and undue reliance should not be placed on such forward-looking information. Risk factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking information in this release are described in Interfors annual Managements Discussion and Analysis under the heading Risks and Uncertainties, which is available on www.interfor.com and under Interfors profile on www.sedarplus.ca. Material factors and assumptions used to develop the forward-looking information in this release include the availability and cost of logs; and market conditions. Unless otherwise indicated, the forward-looking statements in this release are based on the Companys expectations at the date of this release. Interfor undertakes no obligation to update such forward-looking information or statements, except as required by law. ABOUT INTERFOR Interfor is a growth-oriented forest products company with operations in Canada and the United States. The Company has annual lumber production capacity of approximately 5.0 billion board feet and offers a diverse line of lumber products to customers around the world. For more information about Interfor, visit our website at www.interfor.com. Investor Contacts: Rick Pozzebon, Executive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer(604) 689-6804 Mike Mackay, Vice President, Corporate Development & Treasury (604) 689-6846 Media Contact: Svetlana Kayumova, Senior Manager, Corporate Affairs & Communications(604) 422-7329[email protected] Source: Interfor Corporation SAN DIEGO, Feb. 16, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- KULR Technology Group, Inc. (NYSE American: KULR) (the "Company" or "KULR"), a global leader in sustainable energy management, today announced that the Company received a letter (the Letter) from the staff of NYSE American LLC (the Exchange) stating that the Companys securities performance of trading price is below compliance criteria pursuant to Section 1003(f)(v) of the NYSE American Company Guide, which the Exchange determined to be a 30-trading day average of less than $0.20 per share. The Companys continued listing is predicated on it demonstrating sustained price improvement within a reasonable period of time, which the Exchange has determined to be no later than August 12, 2024, or otherwise effecting a reverse stock split of its common stock. KULR intends to cure the stock price deficiency and to return to compliance with the Exchange continued listing standards. Receipt of the Letter from the Exchange has no immediate effect on the listing or trading of KULRs common stock on the Exchange, and does not affect KULRs business, operations or reporting requirements with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. About KULR Technology Group Inc.KULR Technology Group Inc. (NYSE American: KULR) is a leading energy management platform company offering proven solutions that play a critical role in accelerating the electrification of the circular economy. Leveraging a foundation in developing, manufacturing, and licensing next-generation carbon fiber thermal management technologies for batteries and electronic systems, KULR has evolved its holistic suite of products and services to enable its customers across disciplines to operate with efficiency and sustainability in mind. For more information, please visit www.kulrtechnology.com. Safe Harbor Statement This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of offers to buy any securities of any entity. This release contains certain forward-looking statements based on our current expectations, forecasts and assumptions that involve risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements in this release are based on information available to us as of the date hereof. Our actual results may differ materially from those stated or implied in such forward-looking statements, due to risks and uncertainties associated with our business, which include the risk factors disclosed in our Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 28, 2023, as may be amended or supplemented by other reports we filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission from time to time. Forward-looking statements include statements regarding our expectations, beliefs, intentions, or strategies regarding the future and can be identified by forward-looking words such as anticipate, believe, could, estimate, expect, intend, may, should, and would or similar words. All forecasts are provided by management in this release are based on information available at this time and management expects that internal projections and expectations may change over time. In addition, the forecasts are entirely on managements best estimate of our future financial performance given our current contracts, current backlog of opportunities and conversations with new and existing customers about our products and services. We assume no obligation to update the information included in this press release, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Investor Relations:KULR Technology Group, Inc.Phone: 858-866-8478 x 847Email: [email protected] Source: KULR Technology Group, Inc. Naples Florida, Feb. 16, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Music Licensing, Inc. (OTC: SONG), operating under the brand Pro Music Rights, proudly announces significant achievements and market impact as revealed in its 2023 year-end audit, scheduled for completion today. As the fifth public performance rights organization (PRO) established in the United States, Music Licensing, Inc. has rapidly solidified its position as a leading force in the industry. Our extensive licensee network includes prominent entities such as TikTok, iHeart Media, Triller, Napster, 7Digital, Vevo, and many others, reflecting the trust and recognition garnered by Pro Music Rights. With an estimated market share of 7.4% in the United States, Music Licensing, Inc. represents over 2,500,000 works, showcasing a diverse catalog featuring renowned artists from various genres. Notable names such as A$AP Rocky, Wiz Khalifa, Pharrell, and Young Jeezy, among others, contribute to our rich portfolio, alongside emerging talents and Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) Created Music. Furthermore, Music Licensing, Inc. (OTC: SONG) proudly holds royalty stakes in musical works by iconic figures including Elton John, Lil Nas X, Miley Cyrus, and Lil Wayne, reinforcing our commitment to supporting both established and emerging artists. "We are thrilled to unveil the results of our 2023 year-end audit, which underscore Music Licensing, Inc.'s significant growth and impact within the industry," said Jake P. Noch, Chief Executive Officer at Music Licensing, Inc. "Our robust portfolio, diverse licensee base, and strategic partnerships position us for continued success in the dynamic landscape of music licensing and performance rights." The completion of the 2023 year-end audit marks a pivotal moment for Music Licensing, Inc., as it aims to showcase its financial performance and strategic positioning in the market. The company anticipates that these results will shed light on its true value proposition and highlight potential opportunities for growth and investment. About Music Licensing, Inc. (OTC: SONG) (ProMusicRights.com) Music Licensing, Inc. (OTC: SONG) a diversified holding company, also known as Pro Music Rights, is the 5th public performance rights organization (PRO) to be formed in the United States. Its licensees include notable companies such as TikTok, iHeart Media, Triller, Napster, 7Digital, Vevo, and many others. Pro Music Rights holds an estimated market share of 7.4% in the United States, representing over 2,500,000 works that feature notable artists such as A$AP Rocky, Wiz Khalifa, Pharrell, Young Jeezy, Juelz Santana, Lil Yachty, MoneyBagg Yo, Larry June, Trae Pound, Sause Walka, Trae Tha Truth, Sosamann, Soulja Boy, Lex Luger, Trauma Tone, Lud Foe, SlowBucks, Gunplay, OG Maco, Rich The Kid, Fat Trel, Young Scooter, Nipsey Hussle, Famous Dex, Boosie Badazz, Shy Glizzy, 2 Chainz, Migos, Gucci Mane, Young Dolph, Trinidad James, Chingy, Lil Gnar, 3OhBlack, Curren$y, Fall Out Boy, Money Man, Dej Loaf, Lil Uzi Vert, and countless others, as well as Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) Created Music. Additionally, Music Licensing, Inc. (OTC: SONG) owns royalty stakes in musical works by artists such as Elton John, Lil Nas X, Miley Cyrus, Lil Wayne, XXXTentacion, Halsey, and numerous others. Forward-Looking Statements: This press release contains certain 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, which are intended to be covered by the safe harbors created thereby. Investors are cautioned that, all forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, including without limitation, the ability of Music Licensing, Inc. & Pro Music Rights, Inc. to accomplish its stated plan of business. Music Licensing, Inc. & Pro Music Rights, Inc. believes that the assumptions underlying the forward-looking statements contained herein are reasonable, any of the assumptions could be inaccurate, and therefore, there can be no assurance that the forward-looking statements included in this press release will prove to be accurate. In light of the significant uncertainties inherent in the forward-looking statements included herein, the inclusion of such information should not be regarded as a representation by Pro Music Rights, Inc., Music Licensing, Inc., or any other person. Non-Legal Advice Disclosure: This press release does not constitute legal advice, and readers are advised to seek legal counsel for any legal matters or questions related to the content herein. Non-Investment Advice Disclosure: This communication is intended solely for informational purposes and does not in any way imply or constitute a recommendation or solicitation for the purchase or sale of any securities, commodities, bonds, options, derivatives, or any other investment products. Any decisions related to investments should be made after thorough research and consultation with a qualified financial advisor or professional. We assume no liability for any actions taken or not taken based on the information provided in this communication Contact: [email protected] SOURCE: Music Licensing, Inc. Source: Music Licensing, Inc. NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO THE UNITED STATES OR THROUGH U.S. NEWSWIRE SERVICES Vancouver, British Columbia, Feb. 16, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- NevGold Corp. (NevGold or the Company) (TSXV: NAU) (OTCQX: NAUFF) (Frankfurt:5E50) is pleased to announce closing of a second and final tranche of a non-brokered private placement financing (see previous News Releases dated December 20, 2023 and January 5, 2024) of 2,656,250 common shares of the Company (the Common Shares) issued at a price of C$0.32 per Common Share for gross proceeds of C$850k (the Offering). The Company increased the total size of the Private Placement to $2.35 million gross proceeds due to investor interest. A total of 7,343,750 Common Shares were issued under the first and second tranches for $2.35 million gross proceeds. NevGold CEO, Brandon Bonifacio, comments: It is positive to see further demand for our no-warrant financing with strong participation from existing and new shareholders. The financing proceeds will be directed to high-potential opportunities at Nutmeg Mountain and other strategic efforts in the adjacent Hercules Copper District in Washington County, Idaho. We look forward to commencing field work which will lead to a very active 1H-2024 for the Company. The NevGold platform has made significant advances since our initial public listing in June-2021, and we will continue to build on our oxide, heap-leach gold resource base in the Western USA, while considering other value-generating opportunities for shareholders. The Company intends to use the aggregate net proceeds raised from the Offering for general working capital purposes and advancing strategic efforts at the Nutmeg Mountain Project and in the surrounding Washington County, Idaho district. NevGold paid a cash finders fee of C$25,920 and issued 81,000 non-transferable finders warrants (the Finder Warrants) to an arms length finder in connection with the second closing tranche. Each Finder Warrant entitles the holder thereof to acquire one Common Share at an exercise price of C$0.32 per share until February 16, 2025. All securities of the Company issued in connection with the second tranche of the Offering are subject to a hold period expiring on June 17, 2024 in accordance with applicable securities laws. The Offering is subject to the final approval of the TSX Venture Exchange (the TSXV). Robert McKnight (the "Insider"), Executive VP and Chief Financial Officer of the Company, has purchased an aggregate of 93,750 Common Shares under the second tranche of the Offering. The Insider participation in the Offering therefore constitutes a "related-party transaction" within the meaning of TSXV Policy 5.9 and Multilateral Instrument 61-101 Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions ("MI 61-101"). The Company is relying on exemptions from the formal valuation and minority security holder approval requirements of the related-party rules set out in sections 5.5(a) and 5.7(a) of MI 61-101 as the fair market value of the Insiders participation does not exceed 25% of the market capitalization of the Company. The Company did not file a material change report more than 21 days before the closing of the second tranche of the Offering as the details of the Offering and the participation therein by each "related party" of the Company were not settled until shortly prior to the closing of the second tranche of the Offering, and the Company wished to close the Offering on an expedited basis for sound business reasons. The Company obtained approval by the board of directors of the Company to the Offering. No materially contrary view or abstention was expressed or made by any director of the Company in relation thereto. Shares for DebtAdditionally, the Company is pleased to announce that it has entered into a debt settlement agreement dated February 15, 2024 to settle outstanding debt in the amount of C$135,000 (the Debt) owing to an arms-length creditor by issuing to the creditor an aggregate of 421,875 Common Shares at a price of C$0.32 per Common Share (the Shares-for-Debt Transaction). The NevGold Board of Directors has determined that it is in the best interests of the Company to settle the outstanding Debt by the issuance of Common Shares to preserve the Companys cash for ongoing operations. Closing of the Shares-for-Debt Transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including the approval of the TSXV. The Company intends to close the Shares-for-Debt Transaction as soon as practicable. The Common Shares to be issued pursuant to the Shares-for-Debt Transaction will be subject to a hold period of four (4) months and one (1) day from the date of issuance. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD Signed Brandon Bonifacio, President & CEO For further information, please contact Brandon Bonifacio at [email protected], call 604-337-4997, or visit our website at www.nev-gold.com. About the CompanyNevGold is an exploration and development company targeting large-scale mineral systems in the proven districts of Nevada and Idaho. NevGold owns a 100% interest in the Limousine Butte and Cedar Wash gold projects in Nevada, and the Nutmeg Mountain gold project in Idaho. Please follow @NevGoldCorp on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, and YouTube. 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 that are based on the Companys current expectations and estimates. Forward-looking statements are frequently characterized by words such as plan, expect, project, intend, believe, anticipate, estimate, suggest, indicate and other similar words or statements that certain events or conditions may or will occur. Forward looking statements in this news release include, but are not limited to, statements regarding regulatory approval of the Offering, regulatory approval of the Shares for Debt Transaction, exploration and development plans of the Company and use of proceeds from the Offering. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from estimated or anticipated events or results implied or expressed in such forward-looking statements. Risks, uncertainties, and other factors that could cause the Companys plans to change include risks related to regulatory approval of the Offering, regulatory approval of the Shares for Debt Transaction, changes in demand for and price of gold and other commodities and currencies, and changes or disruptions in the securities markets generally. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it is made and, except as may be required by applicable securities laws, the Company disclaims any intent or obligation to update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and accordingly undue reliance should not be put on such statements due to the inherent uncertainty therein. Source: NevGold Corp. TORONTO, Feb. 16, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- EV charger solutions provider Rocket EV is showcasing Melitron EV chargers at the 2024 Canadian International Auto Show taking place February 16 to 25 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. The EV chargers are on display in the Grand Touring Automobiles Rolls-Royce exhibit - booth #714716 in the South Hall; and the Pfaff Automotive Partners Porsche exhibit - booth #M300-11 in the North Hall. Rocket EV is the EV charger solutions provider to both luxury automotive dealership groups. Rocket EV, Canadas leading EV charger installer for residences and businesses, is at the Show promoting Melitron EV chargers and Rocket EVs EV charger program for Canadian automotive dealerships. The program simplifies the selection and installation of chargers for new EV owners, with free site consultations, all-in-one pricing, financing, fast delivery and installation. On exhibit at the Show are Melitron commercial EV chargers featuring high definition digital displays that are ideal for businesses to advertise and create engaging, interactive digital experiences. Residential EV charger models are also available. As a leader in the EV Industry, Rocket EV is constantly searching for best-in-class technology to enhance the experience for both our automotive dealer and commercial partners, said Gerry De Luca, Founder and President at Rocket EV. Melitron's technology represents the future of multi-functional EV charging and we are excited to partner with them. "We look forward to working with Rocket EV to drive the evolution of EV solutions through automotive dealerships across Canada," said Mike Turner, President and CEO at Melitron. EV chargers are part of Melitrons lineup of durable technology products. The Company also manufactures fully customizable indoor and outdoor digital signage, kiosks and metal enclosure systems for leading brands. The Canadian International Auto Show features more than 650,000 square feet of exhibits, displays and attractions, and draws an annual attendance of over 350,000. It is the largest automotive expo in Canada. For tickets to the 2024 Canadian International Auto Show, visit https://autoshow.ca. For more information about Rocket EV EV charging services, visit www.rocketev.ca. For more information about Melitron EV chargers, visit www.melitron.com/ev-chargers. A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/1fe837ac-5222-438a-8930-c292d2dba770 Melitron EV Chargers at the 2024 Canadian International Auto Show Canadian EV charger solutions provider Rocket EV is showcasing Melitron EV chargers at the 2024 Canadian International Auto Show from February 16 to 25 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. Source: Melitron Corporation Tokyo, Japan and Cambridge, UK, 16 February 2024 Sosei Group Corporation (Sosei Heptares or the Company; TSE: 4565), today announces that at a meeting held on 15 February 2024, its Board of Directors resolved to change the corporate names of the Company and its subsidiaries and the location of the head office of the Company. At the same meeting, the Board resolved to merge Idorsia Pharmaceuticals Japan Ltd ("IPJ") and Sosei Co. Ltd., both of which are wholly owned consolidated subsidiaries of the Company, and to change the corporate name of IPJ as the surviving company. The Board also resolved to submit a proposal on the Partial Amendments to the Articles of Incorporation to the 34th Ordinary General Meeting of Shareholders scheduled to be held on 27 March 2024 (details below). Change of corporate names of the Company and its subsidiaries Reason for change In July 2023, the Company acquired all the issued shares of IPJ and made it a wholly owned subsidiary with the strategic goal to expand the Companys operations in Japan. As IPJ and Sosei Co. Ltd., also a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company, plan to merge as of the effective date 1 April 2024 as described in 3 below, the Company has decided to use the event to adopt a unified corporate brand and corporate name for the Group, including all subsidiaries. The name Nxera derives from the words Next and Era to express the Companys determination to be a leader in the next era of science and healthcare. Nxera will be a technology enabled pharma company that will challenge the status quo in its pursuit of better treatments for patients in need across multiple therapeutic areas. New corporate names Current name New name Sosei Group Corporation Nxera Pharma Co., Ltd. Idorsia Pharmaceuticals Japan Ltd Nxera Pharma Japan Co., Ltd. Idorsia Pharmaceuticals Korea Co., Ltd Nxera Pharma Korea Co., Ltd. Heptares Therapeutics Ltd. Nxera Pharma UK Limited Pronounced in English /nex/ /era/ Pronounced in Japanese /nexa/ /era/ Date of change 1 April 2024 (planned) * The change is subject to the approval of a partial amendment to the Articles of Incorporation at the Ordinary General Meeting of Shareholders. Change of location of head office of the Company Reason for the change Considering the merger between the subsidiaries as described in 3 below, the Companys head office will be moved to the same location as the head office of IPJ (Minato-ku, Tokyo) to accelerate business integration and enhance operating efficiencies. New location 9-7-2 Akasaka Minato-ku Tokyo 107-0052 Japan Date of change 1 April 2024 (planned) * The change is subject to the approval of a partial amendment to the Articles of Incorporation at the Ordinary General Meeting of Shareholders. Merger of wholly owned consolidated subsidiaries Purpose of the Merger Since the acquisition of IPJ in July 2023, the Company has been pursuing integration synergies and decided to merge IPJ and Sosei Co. Ltd to accelerate business integration and enhance operating efficiencies. Schedule of the Merger 15 February 2024 Approval of the Merger Agreement by the Board of Directors (the Company) 19 February 2024 Approval of the Merger Agreement by the Board of Directors (Sosei Co. Ltd) 20 February 2024 Approval of the Merger Agreement by the Board of Directors (IPJ) 20 February 2024 (planned) Execution of the Merger Agreement by the merging companies 27 March 2024 (planned) Approval of the Merger Agreement at the Meeting of Shareholders (the merging companies) 1 April 2024 (planned) Effective date of the Merger (Merger date) Merger format The Merger will be an absorption-type merger with IPJ as the surviving company and Sosei Co. Ltd. as the non-surviving company. Partial amendments to the Articles of Incorporation Reason for the amendments This is to amend Article 1 (Corporate Name) and Article 3 (Head Office) of the current Articles of Incorporation to make the change of corporate name of the Company mentioned in 1 and the change of the location of the Company mentioned in 2 above. This is also to amend the number of directors specified in Article 19 of the existing Articles of Incorporation from not more than ten (10) to not more than twelve (12) directors to allow for future flexibility to enhance the supervisory function of the Board as the Company grows. Details of amendments The following table shows the current Articles of Incorporation and proposed Articles of Incorporation after amendments. Current Articles of Incorporation Proposed amendments CHAPTER 1 GENERAL RULES (Corporate Name) Article 1. The name of the Company shall be Sosei Group Kabushiki Kaisha, and shall be Sosei Group Corporation in English. Article 2. (Omitted) (Head Office). Article 3. The Head Office of the Company shall be located in Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, Japan. Articles 4 through 18 (Omitted) (Number of Directors) Article 19 The Company shall have no more than ten (10) Directors. Articles 20 through 42 (Omitted) (New provisions) CHAPTER 1 GENERAL RULES (Corporate Name) Article 1. The name of the Company shall be Nxera Pharma Kabushiki Kaisha, and shall be Nxera Pharma Co., Ltd. in English. Article 2. (Same as the current provision) (Head Office). Article 3. The Head Office of the Company shall be located in Minato-ku, Tokyo, Japan. Articles 4 through 18 (Same as the current provisions) (Number of Directors) Article 19 The Company shall have no more than twelve (12) Directors. Articles 20 through 42 (Omitted) (Supplementary Provisions) 1. The changes to Article 1 (Corporate Name) and Article 3 (Head Office) of the current Articles of Incorporation shall take effect from 1 April 2024 (the Effective Date). 2. These Supplementary Provisions shall be deleted after the Effective Date. ENDS Enquiries: Sosei Heptares Media and Investor Relations Kentaro Tahara, VP Investor Relations and Corporate Strategy Shinichiro Nishishita, VP Investor Relations, Head of Regulatory Disclosures Maya Bennison, Communications Manager +81 (0)3 5210 3399 | +44 (0)1223 949390 | [email protected] MEDiSTRAVA Consulting (for International Media) Mark Swallow, Frazer Hall, Erica Hollingsworth +44 (0)203 928 6900 | [email protected] Forward-looking statements This press release contains forward-looking statements, including statements about the discovery, development, and commercialization of products. Various risks may cause Sosei Group Corporations actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements, including: adverse results in clinical development programs; failure to obtain patent protection for inventions; commercial limitations imposed by patents owned or controlled by third parties; dependence upon strategic alliance partners to develop and commercialize products and services; difficulties or delays in obtaining regulatory approvals to market products and services resulting from development efforts; the requirement for substantial funding to conduct research and development and to expand commercialization activities; and product initiatives by competitors. As a result of these factors, prospective investors are cautioned not to rely on any forward-looking statements. We disclaim any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. CALGARY, Alberta, Feb. 16, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- News Release TC Energy Corporation (TSX, NYSE: TRP) (TC Energy or the Company) has today filed with Canadian securities authorities: Audited Consolidated Financial Statements for the year ended Dec. 31, 2023 with related Managements Discussion and Analysis (Annual Report); and The Companys Annual Information Form for the year ended Dec. 31, 2023. In addition, TC Energy filed its Form 40-F for the year ended Dec. 31, 2023 with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. Copies of the filed documents are available at sedarplus.ca, sec.gov (for the Form 40-F) and in the Investors section of the Company website at tcenergy.com. Shareholders may request a paper copy of the audited Consolidated Financial Statements, free of charge, by calling the Company at 1.800.661.3805. About TC EnergyWere a team of 7,000+ energy problem solvers working to move, generate and store the energy North America relies on. Today, were taking action to make that energy more sustainable and more secure while innovating and modernizing to reduce emissions from our business. Along the way, we invest in communities and partner with our neighbours, customers and governments to build the energy system of the future. TC Energys common shares trade on the Toronto (TSX) and New York (NYSE) stock exchanges under the symbol TRP. To learn more, visit us at TCEnergy.com.FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATIONThis release contains certain information that is forward-looking and is subject to important risks and uncertainties (such statements are usually accompanied by words such as "anticipate", "expect", "believe", "may", "will", "should", "estimate", "intend" or other similar words). Forward-looking statements in this document are intended to provide TC Energy security holders and potential investors with information regarding TC Energy and its subsidiaries, including management's assessment of TC Energy's and its subsidiaries' future plans and financial outlook. All forward-looking statements reflect TC Energy's beliefs and assumptions based on information available at the time the statements were made and as such are not guarantees of future performance. As actual results could vary significantly from the forward-looking information, you should not put undue reliance on forward-looking information and should not use future-oriented information or financial outlooks for anything other than their intended purpose. We do not update our forward-looking information due to new information or future events, unless we are required to by law. For additional information on the assumptions made, and the risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ from the anticipated results, refer to the most recent Quarterly Report to Shareholders and Annual Report filed under TC Energys profile on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca and with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission at www.sec.gov. -30- Media Inquiries:Media Relations[email protected] 403-920-7859 or 800-608-7859 Investor & Analyst Inquiries:Gavin Wylie / Hunter Mau[email protected]403-920-7911 or 800-361-6522 PDF available: http://ml.globenewswire.com/Resource/Download/3ecfbaf9-8c84-4fa3-a7ef-cfc18bf875eb Source: TC Energy Corporation NEW YORK, Feb. 15, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Bragar Eagel & Squire, P.C., a nationally recognized shareholder rights law firm, is investigating potential claims against Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) on behalf of long-term stockholders following a class action complaint that was filed against Wells Fargo on June 28, 2022 with a Class Period from February 24, 2021 to June 9, 2022. Our investigation concerns whether the board of directors of Wells Fargo have breached their fiduciary duties to the company. In 2020, Wells Fargo expanded its so-called Diverse Search Requirement, also referred to as a diverse slate hiring policy, requiring that at least 50% of interview candidates must represent a historically underrepresented group with respect to at least one diversity dimension (including race/ethnicity, gender, LGBTQ, veterans, and people with disabilities) for most posted roles in the U.S. with total direct compensation greater than $100,000 per year. In addition, at least one interviewer on the hiring panel must represent a historically underrepresented group with respect to at least one diversity dimension. On May 19, 2022, the New York Times published an article entitled At Wells Fargo, a Quest to Increase Diversity Leads to Fake Job Interviews. Citing discussions with seven current and former Wells Fargo employees, including Joe Bruno, a former executive in the Companys wealth management division, the article reported, in relevant part, that [f]or many open positions, employees would interview a diverse candidate, but that often, the so-called diverse candidate would be interviewed for a job that had already been promised to someone else. The article further reported that Mr. Bruno was fired after complain[ing] to his bosses about the practice. On this news, Wells Fargos common stock price fell $-.44 per share, or 1.04%, over two trading sessions, closing at $41.67 per share on May 20, 2022. On June 6, 2022, Reuters published an article entitled Wells Fargo Pauses Diverse Slate Hiring Policy after Reports of Fake Job Interviews. The article reported that Wells Fargo is pausing a hiring policy that requires recruiters to interview a diverse pool of candidates, after the New York Times reported such interviews were often fake and conducted even though the job had already been promised to someone else. The same article also reported that [t]he bank also plans to conduct a review of its diverse slate guidelines, Chief Executive Officer Charles Scharf told staff on Monday, according to a memo seen by Reuters. Then, on June 9, 2022, the New York Times published an article entitled Federal Prosecutors Open Criminal Inquiry of Wells Fargos Hiring Practices. The article reported that federal prosecutors are investigating whether Wells Fargo violated federal laws by conducting fake job interviews in order to meet the Companys Diverse Search Requirement. The article also revealed that, since the New York Times May 19, 2022 article focusing on the banks wealth management business, another 10 current and former employees have shared stories about how they were subject to fake interviews, or conducted them, or saw paperwork documenting the practice, and that sham interviews occurred across multiple business lines, including its mortgage servicing, home lending and retail banking operations. That same day, Wells Fargo issued a press release entitled Wells Fargo Response to New York Times Article, which confirmed that [e]arlier this week, the [C]ompany temporarily paused the use of its diverse slate guidelines, and that, [d]uring this pause, the [C]ompany is conducting a review so that hiring managers, senior leaders and recruiters fully understand how the guidelines should be implemented and so we have confidence that our guidelines live up to their promise. Following these disclosures, Wells Fargos common stock price fell $3.68 per share, or 8.62%, over the following two trading sessions, closing at $38.99 per share on June 13, 2022. The complaint alleges that, throughout the Class Period, Defendants made materially false and misleading statements regarding the Companys business, operations, and compliance policies. Specifically, Defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (i) Wells Fargo had misrepresented its commitment to diversity in the Companys workplace; (ii) Wells Fargo conducted fake job interviews in order to meet its Diverse Search Requirement; (iii) the foregoing conduct subjected Wells Fargo to an increased risk of regulatory and/or governmental scrutiny and enforcement action, including criminal charges; (iv) all of the foregoing, once revealed, was likely to negatively impact Wells Fargos reputation; and (v) as a result, the Companys public statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times. If you are a long-term stockholder of Wells Fargo, have information, would like to learn more about these claims, or have any questions concerning this announcement or your rights or interests with respect to these matters, please contact Brandon Walker or Marion Passmore by email at [email protected] , by telephone at (212) 355-4648, or by filling out this contact form . There is no cost or obligation to you. About Bragar Eagel & Squire, P.C.: Bragar Eagel & Squire, P.C. is a nationally recognized law firm with offices in New York and California. The firm represents individual and institutional investors in commercial, securities, derivative, and other complex litigation in state and federal courts across the country. For more information about the firm, please visit www.bespc.com . Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes. Contact Information: UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 15 (Xinhua) -- A UN-backed study released on Thursday estimates that Ukraine's recovery and reconstruction efforts in the aftermath of the crisis will cost 486 billion U.S. dollars over the next decade, marking an increase from the 411 billion dollars projected a year ago. The updated Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment (RDNA3), a collaborative effort by the Ukrainian government, the World Bank Group, the European Commission, and the United Nations, assesses the damages incurred since the onset of the crisis on Feb. 24, 2022, up until the end of December last year. The report also emphasizes the importance of reforms and policies to encourage private sector participation and ensure an inclusive and sustainable recovery, providing a detailed analysis of the impact on vulnerable populations and communities. JAKARTA, INDONESIA - Media OutReach Newswire - 16 February 2024 -The first VinFast dealers in Indonesia include BAM, GCC, and GSU, with headquarters in Jakarta; MCA, based in Medan; and Majesty, headquartered in Batam. These agreements will help VinFast quickly establish its brand presence and link to local customers.Indonesian dealers are expected to start selling the VF 5, VF e34, VF 6, and VF 7 models later this year following their official launches in the market. Pricing and sales details, including order times and after-sales policies, will be officially announced in the first half of 2024.VinFast aims to expand its electric vehicle distribution network this year to cover all major cities in Indonesia. This move demonstrates VinFast's determination to quickly become the preferred electric vehicle brand for Indonesian consumers, as well as illustrates its global vision, including the goal of promoting the zero-emission transportation revolution for a green future for everyone.Hashtag: #VinFast The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. About VinFast VinFast a member of Vingroup envisions driving the advancement of the global smart electric vehicle revolution. Established in 2017, VinFast owns a state-of-the-art automotive manufacturing complex with globally leading scalability that boasts up to 90 percent automation in Hai Phong, Vietnam. Strongly committed to the mission of a sustainable future for everyone, VinFast constantly innovates to bring high-quality products, advanced smart services, seamless customer experiences, and pricing strategy for all to inspire global customers to jointly create a future of smart mobility and a sustainable planet. Learn more at: https://vinfastauto.id. New Delhi, India--(Newsfile Corp. - February 16, 2024) - BLS International is pleased to share the news that its respected Joint Managing Director, Shikhar Aggarwal, has been recognized as one of the NSE-500 businesses' youngest CEOs. This distinguished award, published in the pages of the Economic Times, demonstrates Aggarwal's outstanding strategic thinking and leadership abilities in leading the company to unanticipated heights. Shikhar Aggarwal; Joint Managing Director at BLS International Services Limited This accomplishment highlights Aggarwal's innovative leadership and demonstrates a larger paradigm shift in the corporate world. Aggarwal's recognition embodies BLS International's dedication to developing young talent and enabling them to succeed in leadership roles. BLS International is committedto welcoming new viewpoints and creative thinking. Aggarwal has been a strong leader at BLS International, guiding the company through tremendous development and expansion and securing its place as a global leader in tech-enabled services for citizens and governments. The company's success story has been greatly shaped by his ability to lead through difficult obstacles and seize new chances. Aggarwal's remarkable leadership abilities and noteworthy contributions to the organization's success are amply demonstrated by the Economic Times' recognition. Aggarwal's vision, tenacity, and outstanding leadership will surely be crucial in determining the future course of BLS International and solidifying its place as an industry leader as the company follows its current course of expansion and innovation. Shikhar Aggarwal is an example of how young professionals may have a significant influence on the corporate environment at a time when age is no longer a barrier to success. Aggarwal's will to motivate the company to pursue greater heights of brilliance is exemplary of the leadership of the future, fostering change and expansion. BLS International is delighted to congratulate Shikhar Aggarwal on his well-earned accolade. MEDIA CONTACT INFORMATION: Organization- BLS International Email - [email protected] Name - Ekta Bhaskar Address - 912, Indra Prakash Building, 21, Barakhamba Road, New Delhi - 110001 (India) Website - https://www.blsinternational.com/ To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/198024 Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - February 16, 2024) - Goldgroup Mining Inc. (TSX:GGA) (OTC Pink:GGAZF) (BMV SIX:GGAN.MX) ("Goldgroup" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has closed USD$100,000 of the previously announced convertible debt financing ("Convertible Debt"). The Convertible Debt is unsecured, bears interest at 12% per annum, will be repayable on June 15, 2025 and is convertible into units of the Company at CAD $0.10 per unit at a fixed FX rate of 0.76 USD to CAD at the election of the holder. Each unit will be comprised of one common share of the Company and one-half purchase warrant, with each full purchase warrant exercisable for one common share of the Company at an exercise price of $0.20 per warrant expiring June 15, 2025. No commissions were paid in connection with placement of the Convertible Debt and the proceeds will be used to improve the Company's Cerro Prieto heap leach gold mining operations and for general working capital requirements. TSX Venture Exchange Transition The Company also announces that, further to its previous news releases, the common shares of the Company will commence trading on the TSX Venture Exchange (the "TSX-V") effective at the opening of trading on Tuesday, February 20, 2024 under the same trading symbol "GGA". The Company will be delisted from trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange at the close of business on Friday, February 16, 2024. About Goldgroup Goldgroup is a Canadian-based mining Company that owns and operates the Cerro Prieto heap-leach gold mine located in the State of Sonora, Mexico and is led by a team of highly successful and seasoned individuals with extensive expertise in mine development, corporate finance, and exploration in Mexico. For further information on Goldgroup, please visit www.goldgroupmining.com On behalf of the Board of Directors Investor Relations Toll Free: 1-877-655-ozAu (6928) THIS PRESS RELEASE, PROVIDED PURSUANT TO APPLICABLE CANADIAN REQUIREMENTS, IS NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO UNITED STATES NEWS SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES. The TSX has neither reviewed nor accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction. Such securities have not been, and will not be, registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act"), or any state securities laws, and, accordingly, may not be offered or sold within the United States, or to or for the account or benefit of persons in the United States or "U.S. Persons", as such term is defined in Regulation S promulgated under the U.S. Securities Act, unless registered under the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws or pursuant to an exemption from such registration requirements. CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION Certain information contained in this news release, including any information relating to future financial or operating performance, may be considered "forward-looking information" (within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities law) and "forward-looking statements" (within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995). These statements relate to analyses and other information that are based on forecasts of future results, estimates of amounts not yet determinable and assumptions of management. Actual results could differ materially from the conclusions, forecasts and projections contained in such forward-looking information. These forward-looking statements reflect Goldgroup's current internal projections, expectations or beliefs and are based on information currently available to Goldgroup. In some cases forward-looking information can be identified by terminology such as "may", "will", "should", "expect", "intend", "plan", "anticipate", "believe", "estimate", "projects", "potential", "scheduled", "forecast", "budget" or the negative of those terms or other comparable terminology. Certain assumptions have been made regarding TSXV acceptance of the Company's listing application and timing of this acceptance. Many of these assumptions are based on factors and events that are not within the control of Goldgroup and there is no assurance they will prove to be correct. Forward-looking information is subject to a variety of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to materially differ from those reflected in the forward-looking information, and are developed based on assumptions about such risks, uncertainties and other factors including, without limitation: receipt of all required stock exchange and regulatory approvals,; the continued listing and trading of the Company's common shares; the continuing impact of COVID-19; the continuing impact of regulatory responses to COVID 19 on the employees, business and operations of the Company; uncertainties related to actual capital costs operating costs and expenditures; production schedules and economic returns from Goldgroup's projects; uncertainties associated with development activities; uncertainties inherent in the estimation of mineral resources and precious metal recoveries; uncertainties related to current global economic conditions; fluctuations in precious and base metal prices; uncertainties related to the availability of future financing; potential difficulties with joint venture partners; risks that Goldgroup's title to its property could be challenged; political and country risk; risks associated with Goldgroup being subject to government regulation; risks associated with surface rights; environmental risks; Goldgroup's need to attract and retain qualified personnel; risks associated with potential conflicts of interest; Goldgroup's lack of experience in overseeing the construction of a mining project; risks related to the integration of businesses and assets acquired by Goldgroup; uncertainties related to the competitiveness of the mining industry; risk associated with theft; risk of water shortages and risks associated with competition for water; uninsured risks and inadequate insurance coverage; risks associated with potential legal proceedings; risks associated with community relations; outside contractor risks; risks related to archaeological sites; foreign currency risks; risks associated with security and human rights; and risks related to the need for reclamation activities on Goldgroup's properties, as well as the risk factors disclosed in Goldgroup's Annual Information Form and MD&A and other public disclosure by Goldgroup. Any and all of the forward-looking information contained in this news release is qualified by these cautionary statements. Although Goldgroup believes that the forward-looking information contained in this news release is based on reasonable assumptions, readers cannot be assured that actual results will be consistent with such statements. Accordingly, readers are cautioned against placing undue reliance on forward-looking information. Goldgroup expressly disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, events or otherwise, except as may be required by, and in accordance with, applicable securities laws. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/198171 New York, New York--(Newsfile Corp. - February 16, 2024) - IB2, a green industrial technology company led by Romain Girbal, has reached a significant milestone by securing a substantial 8 million investment from Otium Capital. This investment aims to further IB2's innovative efforts in transforming the alumina industry towards greater environmental sustainability. Romain Girbal The investment signals a notable step forward for IB2 in its mission to revolutionize the alumina production sector by developing technology that enhances the processing of low-grade bauxite ores. This cutting-edge solution allows alumina refineries to process low-grade bauxite effectively, significantly minimizing waste and environmental impact in alumina production. Romain Girbal, Managing Partner of IB2, expressed enthusiasm about the collaboration, stating, "We are pleased to welcome Otium Capital as a strategic partner in IB2's journey toward sustainable industrial practices. This investment reinforces our commitment to reshaping the alumina industry with environmentally conscious technologies." Otium Capital's investment reflects confidence in IB2's innovative approach and underscores the potential of environmentally friendly innovations within the industrial sector. The funding will facilitate IB2's acceleration in technological advancements and expansion of its operations. "We recognize the significance of forward-thinking initiatives such as IB2 in promoting environmental sustainability within industries," commented Pierre Menard, Partner at Otium Capital. "Our investment in IB2 aligns with our vision of supporting innovative ventures that champion a more sustainable future." About IB2: IB2, founded by Yves Occello, specializes in green industrial technology for the alumina industry. The company focuses on developing eco-friendly solutions to process low-grade bauxite ores. Through innovative technology, IB2 aims to minimize waste and environmental impact in alumina production. Committed to sustainable advancements, IB2 also engages in community-oriented initiatives and environmental causes. Contact Information: Email: [email protected] Address: 846, Chemin Saint Pancrace, 84800 L'Isle sur la Sorgue, France Website: https://ib2-bauxite.com/en/home/ To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/197953 Santa Cruz, California--(Newsfile Corp. - February 16, 2024) - KindPeoples, a cannabis dispensary brand serving Santa Cruz County, is excited to announce the celebration of its 10th anniversary. KindPeoples Celebrates 10 Years of Service to the Santa Cruz Community To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/7482/198268_kindpeoples-10th-anniversary.jpg Established in 2014, KindPeoples has been a cornerstone of the Santa Cruz cannabis community, offering high-quality products, a customer-first approach to the dispensary shopping experience, and a commitment to cannabis education. In fact, the first adult-use cannabis sale in Santa Cruz took place at a KindPeoples dispensary. To mark this milestone, KindPeoples invites the community to join in a week-long celebration from February 12th to February 17th. Throughout the week, both the Ocean Street and Soquel Avenue locations will feature promotions, discounts, and brand activations. "We are incredibly proud to reach this milestone and express our gratitude to the Santa Cruz community for their unwavering support over the past decade," said Chelsea Burman, Senior Manager of Retail Operations at KindPeoples. "Our 10-year anniversary celebration is a testament to our commitment to providing top-quality cannabis products and fostering meaningful connections with our customers." As part of the celebration, KindPeoples will host a special event on Saturday, February 17th, at its Ocean Street location. The event will feature local discounts, brand activations, and deals all day long. Additionally, customers with a Santa Cruz local ID will receive exclusive perks with each purchase. "We are excited to celebrate this milestone with our loyal customers and the broader Santa Cruz community," added Burman. "Our anniversary event will be a celebration of our shared journey and a testament to the positive impact cannabis has had on our community." Throughout its 10-year history, KindPeoples has been dedicated to serving the Santa Cruz community with integrity and compassion. From supporting local artists to participating in environmental initiatives, KindPeoples remains committed to making a positive difference in the lives of its customers and the community at large. For more information about KindPeoples and its 10th anniversary celebration, please visit www.kindpeoples.com or contact Chelsea Burman at the provided email address below. About KindPeoples: KindPeoples is a cannabis dispensary with deep roots, serving the Santa Cruz community since 2014. With a commitment to providing a wide variety of quality products, commitment to putting our customers first, and providing cannabis education, KindPeoples aims to inspire meaningful connections with cannabis and promote wellness in the community. KindPeoples Locations: KindPeoples Ocean Street 533 Ocean Street Santa Cruz, CA 95060 Phone: (831) 515-4114 KindPeoples Soquel Avenue 3600 Soquel Ave Santa Cruz, CA 95062 Phone: (831) 471-8562 Media Contact: Chelsea Burman Senior Manager of Retail Operations KindPeoples Phone: (831) 471-8562 Email: [email protected] To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/198268 Edmonton, Alberta--(Newsfile Corp. - February 16, 2024) - Just in time for the month of love, Krystal Walter Matchmaking launches its 'Bachelor of the Month' feature, a bespoke matchmaking service for high-level professionals across Canada searching for meaningful relationships. According to Krystal Walter, founder and CEO of Krystal Walter Matchmaking, this discreet and tailored solution caters to elite professionals whose nuances and demands of professional lives often hamper personal relationships. Walter mentions, "With over 60% of high-level professionals citing work commitments as a barrier to finding love, we address this challenge head-on by providing easy yet personalized matchmaking options." 'Bachelor of the Month' simplifies their search for romantic love by highlighting a single each month, stating their line of work, interests, hobbies, and the ideal things they are looking for their partner. Walter adds, "This month, we are highlighting a successful Edmonton real estate investor who is looking for a woman that shares his enthusiasm for life and adventure." By prioritizing compatibility, lifestyle, and personal goals in its matchmaking process, 'Bachelor of the Month' creates opportunities for genuine connections and ensures singles find one that matches and is well-suited to their values, lifestyle, and relationship goals. For Walter, the launch of this platform also champions celebrating self-love and openness to new experiences among all singles. It encourages individuals to embrace bold, new approaches to finding love and putting oneself out there. Walter aims to spark connections through her 'Bachelor of the Month' campaign and empowers singles to approach love authentically and openly, setting it apart from the impersonal nature of online dating platforms. Please visit https://www.krystalwaltermatchmaking.com/ for more information. About Krystal Walter Matchmaking Krystal Walter Matchmaking is a premier bespoke matchmaking service founded in 2012 by Krystal Walter. Drawing on her personal experiences and previous career in commercial real estate, Walter developed a customized matchmaking approach that intimately understands each client's unique needs and preferences through comprehensive profiling. Her modern, meticulous, and personal touch facilitates matches for selective singles across Canada and the United States. Contact Details: Contact Person's Name: Krystal Walter Company website: https://www.krystalwaltermatchmaking.com/ Contact Email Address: [email protected] To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/198048 Calgary, Alberta--(Newsfile Corp. - February 16, 2024) - NCM Asset Management Ltd. ("NCM"), the manager of a strategically focused group of public mutual funds, alternative investment funds, and related products and services, announced plans to merge NCM Balanced Income Fund (the "Terminating Fund") into NCM Growth & Income Portfolio (the "Continuing Fund"), subject to securityholder and regulatory approval. The proposed merger is designed to simplify and streamline NCM's platform for advisors and investors. NCM announced that the special securityholder meeting (the "Meeting") of the Terminating Fund called to consider the proposed merger has been scheduled on or about May 7, 2024. If the requisite approval is obtained, it is anticipated that the proposed merger will be implemented on or about May 16, 2024. In advance of the Meeting, a notice-and-access document will be mailed on April 8, 2024 to securityholders of record as at March 29th, 2024. The notice-and-access document will describe the various ways in which securityholders can obtain a copy of a management information circular that contains full details of the proposed changes. The notice-and-access document and management information circular will also be available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. A meeting of the Independent Review Committee ("IRC") of the funds was held on February 12th, 2024 to review the proposed merger and the IRC determined that the proposed merger, if implemented, will achieve a fair and reasonable result for the funds. Pursuant to the proposed merger, the Continuing Fund will acquire all or substantially all of the net assets of the Terminating Fund and securityholders of the Terminating Fund will exchange their units of the Terminating Fund for the corresponding series of units of the Continuing Fund such that securityholders of the Terminating Fund will become securityholders of the Continuing Fund. As soon as reasonably possible following completion of the proposed merger, the Terminating Fund will be terminated. All costs and expenses associated with the proposed merger will be borne by NCM. Securityholders of the Terminating Fund will have the right to redeem securities of, and make switches out of, the fund up to the close of business on the business day prior to the effective date of the applicable proposed merger. Please visit www.ncminvestments.com for more details about NCM and its investment products. For the complete disclosure record of the NCM Group of Funds, please visit www.sedar.com . About NCM - NCM Asset Management Ltd. For over 20 years, NCM has been one of Canada's leaders in actively managed investment products. With a family of actively managed funds, NCM has earned multiple awards recognizing its investment success. NCM is an independent Canadian investment firm with offices in Calgary and Toronto, distributing retail mutual funds and related products and services to Canadian investors, through a third party distribution channel. (www.ncminvestments.com) For further information or assistance, please contact: NCM - NCM Asset Management Ltd. Dealer & Client Services Attention: Brad Dimitroff Toll Free: 1-877-431-1407 Dome Tower - Suite 1850, 333 - 7th Avenue S.W., Calgary, AB T2P 2Z1 Email: [email protected] | Website: www.ncminvestments.com To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/198321 Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - February 16, 2024) - Tiidal Gaming Group Corp. (CSE: TIDL) (the "Company" or "Tiidal") announces that it has agreed to issue an aggregate of 800,000 common shares (each, a "Share") at a deemed price of $0.05 per Share as full and final payment of debt in the aggregate amount of $40,000 (the "Debt Settlement") for certain unpaid remuneration for services performed by Tiidal's Chief Executive Officer (the "Insider") and a consultant of the Company. The Debt Settlement with the Insider constituted a "related party transaction" within the meaning of Multilateral Instrument 61-101 - Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions ("MI 61-101"). The issuance of the Shares to the Insider, however, was exempt from the valuation requirement of MI 61-101 by the virtue of the exemption contained in section 5.5(b) as the Company's Shares are not listed on a specified market and from the minority shareholder approval requirements of MI 61-101 by virtue of the exemption contained in Section 5.7(1)(a) as the value of the Shares issued under the Debt Settlement did not exceed 25% of the Company's market capitalization. All securities issued in connection with the Debt Settlement will be subject to a statutory hold period expiring four months and one day after the date of issuance. ABOUT TIIDAL GAMING Tiidal Gaming is a reporting issuer in the Provinces of Ontario, British Columbia and Alberta and its Shares are listed for trading on the Canadian Securities Exchange under the symbol "TIDL". Carlo Rigillo Chief Executive Officer e: [email protected] t: 647-400-4794 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. Cautionary Statements This news release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws. All statements contained herein that are not clearly historical in nature may constitute forward-looking information. In some cases, forward-looking information can be identified by words or phrases such as "may", "will", "expect", "likely", "should", "would", "plan", "anticipate", "intend", "potential", "proposed", "estimate", "believe" or the negative of these terms, or other similar words, expressions and grammatical variations thereof, or statements that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" happen, or by discussions of strategy. Forward-looking information is based upon certain material assumptions that were applied in drawing a conclusion or making a forecast or projection, including management's perceptions of historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments, as well as other considerations that are believed to be appropriate in the circumstances. Any such forward-looking information is based on information currently available to Tiidal and is based on assumptions and analyses made in light of Tiidal's experience and perception of historical trends and current conditions. While the Company considers these assumptions to be reasonable based on information currently available to management, there is no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Readers are cautioned that actual results may vary from the forward-looking information, and undue reliance should not be placed on such forward-looking information. By their nature, forward-looking information is subject to inherent risks and uncertainties that may be general or specific and which give rise to the possibility that expectations, forecasts, predictions, projections or conclusions will not prove to be accurate, that assumptions may not be correct and that objectives, strategic goals and priorities will not be achieved. A variety of factors, including known and unknown risks, many of which are beyond our control, could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking information in this news release. Additional risk factors can also be found in Tiidal's financial statements and management's discussion and analysis, which are available under Tiidal's profile on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca. Unless otherwise indicated, the forward-looking statements in this news release are based on the Company's expectations at the date of this news release. Readers are cautioned to consider these and other factors, uncertainties and potential events carefully and not to put undue reliance on forward-looking information. Tiidal undertakes no obligation to update or revise such forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, estimates or opinions, future events or results or otherwise, except as required by applicable law. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/198200 Vesta Capital announces the completion of its sale of Waterford, a 344-unit multifamily property in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Tulsa, Oklahoma--(Newsfile Corp. - February 16, 2024) - Vesta Capital is pleased to announce the successful sale of the Waterford Multifamily Asset in Tulsa, bought in 2018 for $23.56 million. The Waterford community experienced a remarkable revitalization thanks to Vesta Capital's investment, with strategic upgrades that enhanced resident living experiences and propelled its market value. The recently completed $32.336 million divestment yielded a 21.8% total project return and project equity multiple of 1.92x, the real estate investment firm said. For more information, visit https://www.vestarealproperty.com. Vesta Capital Announces Successful Sale Of Waterford Multifamily Asset In Tulsa To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/10324/198018_9000bcabb4663b98_002full.jpg With the recent announcement, Vesta Capital wants to demonstrate its commitment to creating vibrant communities. The company's property management knowledge, applied across 10,000+ units in Arkansas, Kansas, and Oklahoma, ensures residents enjoy quality living experiences. The founder and CEO of Vesta Realty and Vesta Capital Mark Kulick said: "Waterford wasn't just an investment; it was a labor of love. We poured our hearts into nurturing this community, and watching it flourish has been a personal triumph. From day one, we knew it held immense potential, and seeing it realized is truly humbling." The CEO also believes that the successful sale of Waterford in 2024 and previously the sale of Sycamore Farms in 2023, both of which are over 300-unit apartment complexes, confirms Vesta Capital's ability to identify, acquire, and optimize high-performing assets, even in difficult economic times. Furthermore, by concentrating on multifamily assets in Oklahoma, Kansas, and Arkansas, Vesta Capital has developed strong relationships with regional lenders and investors, the team says. Building this network helps it pinpoint lucrative investment opportunities before they become widely available. About Vesta Capital Founded as a private entity, Vesta Capital invests in and manages multifamily properties located in Oklahoma, Kansas, and Arkansas. With a strong emphasis on underwriting standards and market conditions, Vesta purchases properties that can potentially provide high returns for investors. The company's portfolio has grown to over 9,600 units valued at more than $925 million, positioning it as a significant player in its local market. "Looking ahead, we plan to leverage our financial strength and market knowledge to offer exciting new investment opportunities and further refine our property management practices, ensuring continued success for all stakeholders," Kulick added. Interested individuals can find more details by visiting https://www.vestarealproperty.com. Contact Info: Name: Mario Gipson Email: [email protected] Organization: Vesta Capital Address: 6911 S 66th E Ave Suite 100, Tulsa, OK 74133, United States Website: https://www.vestarealproperty.com/ To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/198018 Paid press release content from The Financial Capital. The StreetInsider.com news staff was not involved in its creation. Capital Century Investments steps further in bringing sustainable strategies. Capital Century Investments, a leading name in the world of financial management, continues to make waves in the industry by showcasing its commitment to sustainable investment strategies. In an era where environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors are gaining prominence, Capital Century Investments stands out as a pioneer in responsible and ethical investment practices. Capital Century Investments unwavering dedication to sustainability is evident in its latest series of investment initiatives, which focus on companies and projects that prioritise environmental conservation, social responsibility, and ethical governance. The company firmly believes that these principles not only contribute to a better world but also provide solid long-term returns for its investors. Jeremy Heart, CEO of Capital Century Investments, stated, "At Capital Century, we recognise the importance of aligning financial success with responsible investment practices. Our commitment to sustainability goes beyond a mere trend; it is deeply embedded in our corporate ethos. We believe that by investing in companies that prioritise ESG factors, we not only contribute to a sustainable future but also enhance the value we deliver to our clients." Capital Century Investments sustainable investment portfolio has consistently outperformed market benchmarks, demonstrating that responsible investing is not just morally sound but also financially prudent. The company's diverse range of investments includes renewable energy projects, eco-friendly technology firms, and socially responsible enterprises, all carefully selected to create a well-balanced and high-performing portfolio. In addition to its success in sustainable investing, Capital Century Investments has recently expanded its philanthropic efforts, establishing the Capital Century Foundation. The foundation focuses on supporting initiatives that address pressing global challenges, such as climate change, poverty alleviation, and education. By actively engaging in community and environmental projects, Capital Century Investments aims to make a positive impact beyond the financial markets. Simon Davis, Head of Sustainable Investments at Capital Century, highlighted the company's approach, saying, "Our team at Capital Century is passionate about integrating sustainability into every aspect of our investment process. We conduct thorough research and due diligence to identify companies that not only meet our financial criteria but also align with our values of environmental stewardship and social responsibility." Capital Century Investments success in the sustainable investment arena has also attracted attention from industry experts. The company recently received the "Sustainable Investment Pioneer" award at the prestigious Financial Excellence Awards ceremony. This recognition further solidifies capital Century's position as a trailblazer in the financial sector, setting the standard for responsible investment practices. As part of its ongoing commitment to transparency, Capital Century Investments regularly publishes detailed reports on the environmental and social impact of its investments. These reports provide investors with valuable insights into the positive contributions their portfolios make to a sustainable future. The company believes that transparency is key to building trust and fostering long-term partnerships with its clients. Looking ahead, Capital Century Investments remains dedicated to pushing the boundaries of sustainable investing. The company is actively exploring innovative technologies and emerging markets that align with its commitment to environmental, social, and governance principles. By staying at the forefront of industry trends and continuously evolving its strategies, Capital Century aims to deliver sustained value to its clients while making a positive impact on the world. Contact Info: Name: Jeremy Email: Send Email Organization: Capital Century Website: https://capitalcenturyinvestments.com/ Disclaimer: This press release is for informational purposes only. Information verification has been done to the best of our ability. Still, due to the speculative nature of the blockchain (cryptocurrency, NFT, mining, etc.) sector as a whole, complete accuracy cannot always be guaranteed. You are advised to conduct your own research and exercise caution. Investments in these fields are inherently risky and should be approached with due diligence. Release ID: 89092227 In the event of any inaccuracies, problems, or queries arising from the content shared in this press release, we encourage you to notify us immediately at [email protected]. Our diligent team will be readily available to respond and take swift action within 8 hours to rectify any identified issues or assist with removal requests. Ensuring the provision of high-quality and precise information is paramount to us. People wait outside the Parliament while the bill on same-sex marriage is debated in Athens, Greece, on Feb. 15, 2024. Greece's parliament approved a landmark bill allowing same-sex civil marriage on Thursday, granting same-sex couples the right to wed and adopt children. (Xinhua/Marios Lolos) ATHENS, Feb. 15 (Xinhua) -- Greece's parliament approved a landmark bill allowing same-sex civil marriage on Thursday, granting same-sex couples the right to wed and adopt children. A majority of 176 lawmakers in the 300-seat parliament voted in favor of the bill, entitled "equality in civil marriage," Greek national broadcaster ERT reported. A total of 254 participated in the roll call vote. "We are here to deal with an existing social reality together, with responsibility, putting an end to an inequality that is serious for our democracy," Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said, addressing the plenary shortly before the roll call vote. The new law also grants same-sex couples full parental rights for both partners, but not the use of assisted reproduction methods. Legal systems are adapted internationally in response to trends in societies and same-sex marriage is legal already in 36 countries worldwide, the premier stressed. There are already parents in same-sex couples who cannot legally care for their children, pick them up from school or accompany them to hospital, he added. However, recent opinion polls showed that the Greeks were divided on the reform. Even when the bill was voted on, opposite groups were both in demonstrations on Thursday. "In a Christian Orthodox country, we should not allow the ratification of something that goes against the teachings of the Bible," Dionisis Makris told Xinhua during a protest of conservative groups near the parliament. "Today is a day of joy and celebration for equality of human beings," said Rafaela, a member of the LGBT+ community which organized another gathering outside the parliament. Greece legalized civil partnerships among same-sex couples in 2015. People wait outside the Parliament while the bill on same-sex marriage is debated in Athens, Greece, on Feb. 15, 2024. Greece's parliament approved a landmark bill allowing same-sex civil marriage on Thursday, granting same-sex couples the right to wed and adopt children. (Xinhua/Marios Lolos) People wait outside the Parliament while the bill on same-sex marriage is debated in Athens, Greece, on Feb. 15, 2024. Greece's parliament approved a landmark bill allowing same-sex civil marriage on Thursday, granting same-sex couples the right to wed and adopt children. (Xinhua/Marios Lolos) DUBLIN , Feb. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The "11th Annual Strategic Internal Communications - East Cultivating a Culture of Connection: Strategic Internal Communications Strategies To Foster The New Employee Experience In 2024" conference has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. Join from July 16th - July 18th in beautiful Boston , as the hosts bring together industry experts and communication professionals from around the world to discuss the latest trends, insights, and best practices in internal communications. As businesses continue to adapt to a rapidly changing world, internal communication has become more critical than ever. Our conference is designed to equip you with the tools and strategies you need to effectively communicate with your employees and foster a culture of connection within your organization. Through a mix of peer case studies, panel discussions, and interactive workshops, you'll gain valuable insights into how to create compelling employee engagement programs, leverage technology to enhance internal communication and overcome common communication challenges. Don't miss this incredible opportunity to connect with your peers, learn from industry experts, and gain the skills and knowledge you need to take your internal communication strategy to the next level. Register today for the 11th Annual Strategic Internal Communications - East Conference! In this 3-Day Conference, you will have the opportunity to catch up with your peers, and learn about the challenges they're facing and the tactics they're using to overcome them. The communications world has been flipped upside down these past two years and this conference will outline practical and tactical solutions to help you: Importance of communication in fostering a culture of connection within an organization Best practices for crafting an effective internal communications strategy Strategies for leveraging technology to enhance internal communication and employee engagement The role of storytelling in communicating company culture and values Effective communication during times of change and crisis Measuring the effectiveness of internal communication efforts Building a strong employer brand through effective internal communication The role of leadership in driving a culture of connection and effective internal communication Creating engaging employee experiences through effective communication and connection Addressing common communication challenges and barriers within organizations. Benefits Of Attending This Conference Attending the 11th Annual Strategic Internal Communications - East Conference can offer numerous benefits to communication professionals, including: Gaining valuable insights and best practices from industry experts and peers Learning about the latest trends and technologies in internal communication Discovering new strategies for fostering employee engagement and connection Networking with other communication professionals, building relationships and expanding professional connections Acquiring new skills and knowledge to enhance your internal communication strategy Staying up-to-date on industry developments and emerging best practices Having the opportunity to ask questions and receive feedback from experts Enhancing your personal and professional brand by attending a prestigious industry event Experiencing the vibrant and diverse city of Boston Returning to work with fresh perspectives and ideas to apply to your organization For more information about this conference visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/y0zruc About ResearchAndMarkets.com ResearchAndMarkets.com is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends. Media Contact: Research and Markets Laura Wood , Senior Manager [email protected] For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470 For U.S. /CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900 U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907 Fax (outside U.S. ): +353-1-481-1716 Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/539438/Research_and_Markets_Logo.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/11th-annual-strategic-internal-communications-east-conference-boston-united-states---july-16-18-2024---strategic-internal-communications-strategies-to-foster-the-new-employee-experience-in-2024-302063999.html SOURCE Research and Markets Bill Strengthens Worker Protections from Assaults PHOENIX , Feb. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Teamsters Local 104, which represents 1,400 transportation workers across all industries, is applauding the passage of Arizona House Bill 2742 out of the State House Judiciary Committee. The bill aims to protect transit, airline, and rail workers by significantly increasing the criminal penalty for assaulting them. "The advancement of this bill for our members marks another significant step toward acknowledging the severity of crimes committed against transportation workers," said Karla Schumann , Secretary-Treasurer of Local 104. "This legislation directly confronts the critical issue of aggravated assault against transit, airline, and rail employees, underscoring the inherent dangers they encounter daily while serving the public. We express our deepest appreciation to Representative Consuelo Hernandez for her leadership and dedication in introducing HB2742, and to the Arizona State House Judiciary Committee for recognizing the urgency of this issue and for swiftly passing this important legislation out of committee." Ahead of the bill's passage out of committee, members of Local 104 and other transit workers traveled to the Capitol to share their personal experiences of violence in their workplaces. Some reported experiencing attacks that included being struck with fire extinguishers, rocks, hammers, knives, and closed fists. HB 2742 has strong bipartisan support and the endorsement of many transit, airline, and rail employers. The bill now awaits a vote in the Arizona House of Representatives. "State legislators must now pass this bill and have it signed into law as soon as possible. Local 104 will continue to advocate for legislation that safeguards our transportation members, ensuring they can perform their duties without fear of violence or harm," Schumann said. Teamsters Local 104 represents workers throughout Arizona . For more information, go to teamsterslocal104.com or follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/ibtlu104. Contact: Matt McQuaid, (202) 624-6877 [email protected] View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/arizona-teamsters-applaud-committee-passage-of-legislation-to-protect-transit-workers-302064476.html SOURCE Teamsters Local 104 The December editions of Technology Magazine , AI Magazine and Data Centre Magazine includes interviews with leading experts and executives from AWS, Fujtisu and Etix Everywhere. LONDON , Feb. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- BizClik, the UK's fastest-growing publishing company, has published the latest editions of Technology Magazine , AI Magazine and Data Centre Magazine . These publications are highly regarded within the Tech, AI, and Cloud sectors for their in-depth reports and interviews with prominent figures in the respective industries. Technology Magazine This month's edition features an extensive lead interview with Matt Schwartz of AWS about driving cloud innovation with SAP. "We see consistently that customers with the most complex performance, security and reliability requirements bet on AWS, including SAP themselves" says Schwartz. The edition also contains extensive interviews with key thought leaders from J.P. Morgan, SAP, The Georgia Institute of Technology, and more, and takes a look at the Top 10 Technology Leaders. AI Magazine This month's edition features an extensive lead interview with Krista Griggs from Fujitsu about how the company is leading digital transformation in fintech. "Keeping pace with the rate of innovation can be a challenge my job isn't necessarily delivering that change, but rather moving blockers out of the way" says Griggs. The edition also contains extensive interviews with key thought leaders from TELUS, GFT Group, Iron Mountain , and more, and takes a look at the Top 10 AI Startups. Data Centre Magazine This month's edition features an extensive lead interview with Louis Blanchot , Group CEO at Etix Everywhere, about how the edge data centre pioneer and leader is taking its successful formula from France to Southeast Asia . "Edge data centres provide customers with access to a lot of solutions to develop their hybrid cloud infrastructure, but also what we see is that there are more and more services that require low latency - for example, autonomous vehicle, IoT, streaming, gaming, all these new trends," says Blanchot. The edition also contains extensive interviews with key thought leaders from Iron Mountain , IXAfrica, Leading Edge Data Centres, and more, and takes a look at the Top 10 Data Centre Consultants. You can visit Technology Magazine , AI Magazine and Data Centre Magazine for daily news and analysis of the ever-changing technology industry. About BizClik BizClik is one of the fastest-growing digital media companies in the UK , host to a growing portfolio of industry-leading global brands and communities. BizClik's expanding portfolio includes Technology, AI, FinTech, InsurTech, Supply Chain, Procurement, Energy, Mining, Manufacturing, Healthcare, Mobile, Data Centre, Cyber, and Sustainability. For more information, please visit our website . View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/bizclik-media-launches-december-editions-of-technology-magazine-ai-magazine-and-data-centre-magazine-302064305.html SOURCE BizClik VALLETTA, Malta , Feb. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- At Kindred Group plc's ("Kindred" or the "Company") extraordinary general meeting held on 16 February 2024 (the "EGM") 42.16 percent in nominal value of the total shares/Swedish depository receipts ("SDRs") in issue were represented at the meeting and 99.97 percent of the shares/SDRs represented (42.14 percent of the total shares/SDRs in issue) voted in favor of the Board of Directors' proposal to amend the Company's current Memorandum and Articles of Association to, inter alia, include squeeze-out rights for an offeror. In accordance with Article 135 of the Companies Act (Cap. 386 of the Laws of Malta ) the adoption of the resolution required approval by not less than 75 percent of the nominal value of the shares/SDRs represented and entitled to vote at the EGM and at least 51 percent of the nominal value of the total shares/SDRs in issue and entitled to vote at the meeting. As these requirements were not met, the Board of Directors is to convene a second extraordinary general meeting (the "Second EGM") within 30 days to take a fresh vote on the proposal to amend the Company's current Memorandum and Articles of Association in accordance with the rules set out in Article 135(1)(b) of the Companies Act (Cap. 386 of the Laws of Malta ). The Board of Directors' proposal to amend the Company's current Memorandum and Articles of Association will be adopted at the Second EGM if 75 percent or more of the shares/SDRs represented and entitled to vote at the Second EGM vote in favor of the proposal. Should more than 50 percent of the nominal value of the total issued shares/SDRs having the right to vote at the Second EGM be represented at the meeting, a simple majority in nominal value of such shares/SDRs so represented shall suffice for the adoption of the resolution. Board of Directors Kindred Group plc CONTACT: For more information: Patrick Kortman , Interim CFO, +46 723 877 438 Linda Lyth , Investor Relations Manager, +46 767 681 337 [email protected] The following files are available for download: https://mb.cision.com/Main/824/3930336/2610652.pdf Bulletin from Kindred Group plc's Extraordinary General Meeting https://news.cision.com/kindred-group/i/kindred-ma-nsberg-2,c3268562 Kindred ma nsberg 2 View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/bulletin-from-kindred-group-plcs-extraordinary-general-meeting-302064024.html SOURCE Kindred Group AMSTERDAM , Feb. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Bybit , one of the world's top three crypto exchanges by volume, today reaffirms its commitment to providing exceptional services to the Netherlands' crypto community by deepening its partnership with SATOS, a Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASP) license holder accredited by De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB). Despite recent regulatory developments, Bybit Powered by SATOS continues to offer its diverse range of services to Dutch users and discloses its plan to establish a local office in Amsterdam to provide more localized support and crypto expertise to the country. Bybit Powered by SATOS prioritizes trust, safety, and security by protecting our users' assets, offering the most extensive range of trading pairs, engaging with communities, and delivering innovative products to Dutch users. Through the strategic partnership, users in the Netherlands can continue to enjoy: Effortless Fiat Deposits and Withdrawals: Seamless transitions between EUR and cryptocurrencies remain a breeze. Robust Trading Opportunities: Dive into a diverse trading ecosystem with 300+ trading pairs featuring the trendiest coins in the market. Enhanced Security: At the heart of our alliance lies a commitment to ensuring the utmost protection of users' crypto assets, bolstered by security and safety custody with Fireblocks. "We are committed to providing a safe trading environment for all our users and understand the importance of complying with local regulations," said Ben Zhou, co-founder, and CEO of Bybit. "Our partnership with SATOS allows us to continue offering our services to Dutch users by meeting all regulatory requirements." Fueled by the partnership, Bybit Powered by SATOS has witnessed remarkable growth in revenue, experiencing a consistent doubling month by month since last June. This substantial growth underscores the success of our collaborative efforts and our unwavering dedication to serving the Dutch market. Establishment of Amsterdam Office Bybit Powered by SATOS recognizes the potential of the regulated market in the Netherlands . With a conducive regulatory environment and a growing interest in crypto assets, we see promising opportunities for expansion. The company plans to establish a permanent office in Amsterdam in the coming few months. This initiative will not only ensure adherence to local regulations but also enable us to better serve the Dutch crypto community. This open culture has always been our ethos, and supporting builders alike has consistently been our mission. In addition to providing support and expertise, this office will also open its doors to all crypto enthusiasts who are seeking a co-working space. This collaborative environment will foster creativity, networking, and knowledge-sharing among members of the crypto community, further strengthening the bonds within the industry. #Bybit #TheCryptoArk About Bybit Powered by SATOS In June 2023 , Bybit formed a strategic alliance with SATOS, one of the oldest crypto service providers operating in the Netherlands and Belgium since 2013. This partnership is a testament to our commitment to providing the best services to our users in line with regulatory guidelines, and ensuring the delivery of high-quality services to our users. Bybit is one of the world's top three cryptocurrency exchanges by volume with 20 million users. Established in 2018, it offers a professional platform where crypto investors and traders can find an ultra-fast matching engine, 24/7 customer service, and multilingual community support. Bybit is a proud partner of Formula One's reigning Constructors' and Drivers' champions: the Oracle Red Bull Racing team. About Bybit Bybit is one of the world's top three cryptocurrency exchanges by volume with 20 million users. Established in 2018, it offers a professional platform where crypto investors and traders can find an ultra-fast matching engine, 24/7 customer service, and multilingual community support. Bybit is a proud partner of Formula One's reigning Constructors' and Drivers' champions: the Oracle Red Bull Racing team. For more details about Bybit, please visit Bybit Press . For media inquiries, please contact: [email protected] For more information, please visit: https://www.bybit.com For updates, please follow: Bybit's Communities and Social Media Discord | Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn | Reddit | Telegram | TikTok | X | Youtube View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/bybit-deepens-partnership-with-satos-a-vasp-license-holder-establishing-local-office-with-open-door-policy-for-crypto-enthusiasts-302063061.html SOURCE Bybit VIENNA , Feb. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Constantia Flexibles ("Constantia" or the "Company"), a global packaging manufacturer and portfolio company owned by an affiliate of One Rock Capital Partners, LLC ("One Rock"), today announced an agreement to acquire approximately 57% of the shares of Aluflexpack AG ("Aluflexpack") from Montana Tech Components AG ("MTC") and Xoris GmbH. In parallel, Constantia will launch an all cash public tender offer for all publicly held registered shares of Aluflexpack (the "Offer"). The Offer is subject to certain terms and conditions, including the outcome of the regulatory process. The material terms and conditions of the Offer are described in the pre-announcement of the Offer which has been published today and is available at https://afp-tender-offer.com . The Board of Directors of Aluflexpack has unanimously resolved that it will recommend to the shareholders to accept the Offer. "I am delighted to welcome Aluflexpack to Constantia this acquisition fits perfectly in our Vision 2030 strategy as a strong packaging player in Europe and globally," said Pim Vervaat , Constantia's Chief Executive Officer. "We believe the combination of our businesses represents a great strategic and cultural fit that will allow us to better serve our customers through an enhanced sustainable product range supported by a fully integrated technology portfolio whilst extending our geographical reach." Johannes Steurer , CEO of Aluflexpack, said, "Over the last decade, Aluflexpack transformed itself into one of the foremost flexible packaging companies in Europe . Our current standing and accomplishments are also a result of the support and commitment demonstrated by MTC. We deeply appreciate this partnership, which was a pillar of support over the years and instrumental in facilitating our expansion projects as well as investments in our people, leading technology and innovation. Together with a new partner, we will continue to work on our strategy in order to create the best possible value for our customers, employees and all stakeholders, and drive innovation projects and our sustainability agenda. We look forward to our partnership with the team at Constantia Flexibles." "With the acquisition by Constantia Flexibles, Aluflexpack can take a significant next step in growth, leverage core competencies and consolidate expertise in the packaging sector," added Dr. Michael Tojner, CEO of MTC and former majority owner of Aluflexpack. "We are proud of a success story for us as an international industrial group, a strategic realignment, an IPO and now a new ownership structure fully focused on packaging. From the beginning, I saw the great potential of this company in the packaging segment. In total, more than 360 million euros have been invested in organic and inorganic growth since 2013. Together with the strong management and the motivated employees, we have succeeded in making Aluflexpack a global player in the field of flexible packaging solutions." Jefferies is acting as exclusive financial advisor and Latham & Watkins LLP and Bar & Karrer as legal advisors to Constantia in the context of this transaction. MP Corporate Finance is acting as exclusive financial advisor to MTC and Xoris GmbH and Walder Wyss and Freshfields as legal advisors to MTC and Aluflexpack. This press release is for informational purposes only and does not constitute an offer to buy or a solicitation of an offer to sell any securities of Aluflexpack and it does not constitute a prospectus or a similar notice within the meaning of articles 35 et seqq. or advertising within the meaning of art. 69 of the Swiss Financial Services Act. Complete terms and conditions of the offer will be set forth in the offer prospectus which is expected to be published on or around 2 April 2024 (the "Offer Prospectus"). Holders of shares in Aluflexpack are urged to carefully read the Offer Prospectus because it contains important information about the offer. This announcement is not for publication, release or distribution in or into or from any jurisdiction where it would otherwise be prohibited and does not constitute an offer of securities for sale in such countries. Please also refer to "Legal Disclaimers" below. ABOUT CONSTANTIA FLEXIBLES Constantia is a producer of flexible packaging, headquartered in Vienna . Based on the guiding principle of 'People, Passion, Packaging', over 7,150 employees manufacture packaging solutions at 28 sites in 15 countries. Many international companies and regional market leaders from the consumer and pharma industries choose the sustainable and innovative products of Constantia Flexibles. Sustainability is a top priority in product development at Constantia Flexibles: the company was rated Level A- by Climate Change Leadership (CDP) and Gold by EcoVadis in 2022. For more information, visit www.cflex.com. ABOUT ALUFLEXPACK AG Aluflexpack produces flexible packaging solutions for various consumer end markets. Its long-lasting customer relationships are underpinned by well-established industry insights, flexibility in customer service and development competence. Headquartered in Reinach ( Aargau ), Switzerland , Aluflexpack has production facilities in Switzerland , France , Poland , Turkiye and Croatia . It had 1,584 employees as of 30 June 2023 . For more information, visit www.aluflexpack.com . ABOUT ONE ROCK CAPITAL PARTNERS, LLC One Rock makes investments in companies with potential for growth and operational improvement using a rigorous approach that utilizes highly experienced Operating Partners to identify, acquire and enhance businesses in select industries. The involvement of these Operating Partners is designed to afford One Rock the ability to conduct due diligence and consummate acquisitions and investments in all types of situations, regardless of complexity. One Rock works collaboratively with company management and its Operating Partners to develop a comprehensive business plan focused on growing the enterprise and its profitability to enhance long-term value. For more information, visit www.onerock.com . FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS This announcement contains forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are information of a non-historical nature or which relate to future events and are subject to risks and uncertainties. No assurance can be given that the transactions described herein will be consummated or as to the ultimate terms of any such transactions. Constantia undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information or future events or for any other reason. LEGAL DISCLAIMERS IMPORTANT ADDITIONAL INFORMATION This release is for informational purposes only and does not constitute, or form part of, any offer or invitation to sell or issue, or any solicitation of any offer, to purchase or subscribe for any registered shares or other equity securities in Aluflexpack, nor shall it form the basis of, or be relied on in connection with, any contract therefor. This release is not part of the offer documentation relating to the tender offer. Main terms and conditions of the tender offer have been published in today's pre-announcement of the tender offer, and full details including terms and conditions will be published in the tender offer prospectus. Shareholders of Aluflexpack are urged to read the tender offer documents, which are or will be available at https://afp-tender-offer.com. CERTAIN OFFER RESTRICTIONS The tender offer will not be made, directly or indirectly, in any country or jurisdiction in which the tender offer would be considered unlawful or otherwise violate any applicable laws or regulations, or which would require Constantia Flexibles GmbH or any of its subsidiaries to change or amend the terms or conditions of the tender offer in any way, to make an additional filing with any governmental, regulatory or other authority or take additional action in relation to the tender offer. It is not intended to extend the tender offer to any such country or jurisdiction. Any such document relating to the tender offer must neither be distributed in any such country or jurisdiction nor be sent into such country or jurisdiction and must not be used for the purpose of soliciting the purchase of securities of Aluflexpack by any person or entity resident or incorporated in any such country or jurisdiction. The communication is not being made by, and has not been approved by, an authorized person for the purposes of Section 21 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 in the United Kingdom . Reference is made to the pre-announcement of the tender offer published today for full offer restrictions and an overview of certain key differences with U.S. tender offer procedures and laws. NOTICE TO U.S. HOLDERS Shareholders of Aluflexpack in the United States (" U.S. Holders") are advised that the registered shares of Aluflexpack are not listed on a U.S. securities exchange and that Aluflexpack is not subject to the periodic reporting requirements of the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act"), and is not required to, and does not, file any reports with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") thereunder. The tender offer will be made for the registered shares of Aluflexpack, an Austrian company whose shares are listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange Ltd., and is subject to Swiss disclosure and procedural requirements, which are different from those of the United States . The tender offer will be made in the United States pursuant to Section 14(e) of, and Regulation 14E under, the Exchange Act, subject to the exemption provided under Rule 14d-1(c) under the Exchange Act for a tier 1 tender offer (the "Tier 1 Exemption"), and otherwise in accordance with the requirements of Swiss law. Accordingly, the tender offer will be subject to disclosure and other procedural requirements, including with respect to withdrawal rights, settlement procedures, waiver of conditions and timing of payments that are different from those applicable under U.S. tender offer procedures and laws. U.S. Holders are urged to consult with their own legal financial and tax advisors (including with respect to Swiss law) regarding the Offer. As permitted under the Tier I Exemption, the settlement of the tender offer will be based on the applicable Swiss law provisions, which differ from the settlement procedures customary in the United States , particularly as regards to the time when payment of the consideration is rendered. The Offer, which will be subject to Swiss law, will be made to U.S. Holders in accordance with the applicable U.S. securities laws, and applicable exemptions thereunder, in particular the Tier I Exemption. To the extent the tender offer is subject to U.S. securities laws, those laws only apply to U.S. Holders of Aluflexpack's shares and will not give rise to claims on the part of any other person. It may be difficult for U.S. Holders to enforce their rights and any claim they may have arising under the of U.S. federal securities laws, since Aluflexpack is located in a non- U.S. jurisdiction, and some or all of their officers and directors may be residents of a non- U.S. jurisdiction. U.S. Holders may not be able to sue Aluflexpack or its officers or directors in a non- U.S. court for violations of the U.S. securities laws. Further, it may be difficult to compel Aluflexpack and its affiliates to subject themselves to a U.S. court's judgment. Neither the SEC nor any securities commission of any State of the U.S. has (a) approved or disapproved of the tender offer; (b) passed upon the merits or fairness of the tender offer; or (c) passed upon the adequacy or accuracy of the disclosure in the pre-announcement. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offence in the U.S. MEDIA CONTACT Julia Kaufman Prosek Partners [email protected] View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/constantia-flexibles-to-acquire-a-majority-of-shares-of-aluflexpack-ag-and-announces-public-tender-offer-for-remaining-shares-302063747.html SOURCE One Rock Capital Partners, LLC BIRMINGHAM, Ala. , Feb. 15, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Encompass Health Corp. (NYSE: EHC) today announced preliminary plans to build a freestanding, 60-bed inpatient rehabilitation hospital in Avondale, Arizona . The hospital will be located within The District at Crystal Springs development at the southwest corner of Avondale Boulevard and McDowell Road . The hospital will serve patients recovering from debilitating illnesses and injuries, including strokes and other neurological disorders, brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, amputations and complex orthopedic conditions. In addition to 24-hour nursing care, the hospital will offer physical, occupational and speech therapies to restore functional ability and quality of life. Care will be provided by highly specialized nurses, therapists and physicians. The hospital will feature private patient rooms, a spacious therapy gym with advanced rehabilitation technologies and an activities of daily living suite, dining room, pharmacy and therapy courtyard. "We are excited to bring much-needed inpatient rehabilitation services to Maricopa County ," said Kim Steward , president of Encompass Health's West region. "The hospital will provide high-quality, compassionate and individualized care close to home, helping patients regain the strength and function needed to return to the community at their highest level of independence." The hospital will be part of Encompass Health's national network of rehabilitation hospitals, and it will be Encompass Health's seventh hospital in Arizona . About Encompass Health Encompass Health (NYSE: EHC) is the largest owner and operator of rehabilitation hospitals in the United States . With a national footprint that includes 161 hospitals in 37 states and Puerto Rico , the Company provides high-quality, compassionate rehabilitative care for patients recovering from a major injury or illness, using advanced technology and innovative treatments to maximize recovery. Encompass Health is ranked as one of Fortune's World's Most Admired Companies and Modern Healthcare's Best Places to Work in Healthcare. For more information, visit encompasshealth.com, or follow us on our newsroom, Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Forward-Looking Statements Statements contained in this press release which are not historical facts, such as those relating to the likelihood, timing and effects of the completion of this hospital project, are forward-looking statements. In addition, Encompass Health may from time to time make forward-looking public statements concerning the matters described herein. All such estimates, projections, and forward-looking information speak only as of the date hereof, and Encompass Health undertakes no duty to publicly update or revise such forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. Such forward-looking statements are necessarily estimates based upon current information and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Encompass Health's actual results or events may differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of a variety of factors. While it is impossible to identify all such factors, factors which could cause actual results or events to differ materially from those anticipated include, but are not limited to, the regulatory review and approval process, any adverse outcome of various lawsuits, claims, and legal or regulatory proceedings that may be brought by or against the Company; the possibility this project will experience unexpected delays; the ability to successfully complete this project consistent with Encompass Health's growth strategy, including realization of anticipated revenues and avoidance of unforeseen exposure to liabilities; disease outbreaks, including the speed, depth, geographic reach and duration of the spread; the actions to be taken by Encompass Health in response to disease outbreaks; changes in the regulation of the healthcare industry at either or both of the federal and state levels; competitive pressures in the healthcare industry and Encompass Health's response thereto; the hospital's ability to maintain proper local, state and federal licensing; potential disruptions, breaches, or other incidents affecting the proper operation, availability, or security of Encompass Health's information systems; Encompass Health's ability to attract and retain nurses, therapists, and other healthcare professionals in a highly competitive environment with often severe staffing shortages and the impact on Encompass Health's labor expenses from potential union activity and staffing shortages; changes, delays in (including in connection with resolution of Medicare payment reviews or appeals), or suspension of reimbursement for Encompass Health's services by governmental or private payors; general conditions in the economy and capital markets; and other factors which may be identified from time to time in Encompass Health's SEC filings and other public announcements, including Encompass Health's Form 10-K for the year ended Dec. 31, 2022 and Form 10-Q for the quarters ended March 31, 2023 , June 30, 2023 , and September 30, 2023 . Media contact: Kennedi Spurling | 205-970-5912 [email protected] Investor Relations contact: Mark Miller | 205-970-5860 [email protected] View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/encompass-health-announces-preliminary-plans-to-build-a-60-bed-inpatient-rehabilitation-hospital-in-avondale-arizona-302063523.html SOURCE Encompass Health Corp. New ring carriers are photo-degradable and break down when exposed to UV light ROCHESTER, N.Y. , Feb. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The Genesee Brewery recently announced a shift to eco-friendly, sustainable ring carriers on all six packs of 12 oz. and 16 oz. cans of Genesee beer. These carriers are now made using 50 percent post-consumer recycled (PCR) plastic and break down when exposed to UV light. "At Genesee, we are always looking for ways to mitigate our impact on the environment. Shifting to more sustainable packaging is a step forward," said Mike Duemmel , director, Genesee Brewery. "We will continue to look at innovative solutions to decrease our waste. We have aspirations to become a zero-waste facility and continue to make small, but meaningful improvements in sustainability." The carriers are produced by Hi-Cone, a leading supplier of multi-packaging systems for beer, soft drink, and general products industries around the world. The company plans to deliver a 100 percent recyclable, compostable, or biodegradable alternative for ring carriers by 2025. Genesee Brewing Co. is part of FIFCO USA, a triple bottom line company committed to improving its environmental footprint with a focus on reducing its use of water and energy, while decreasing carbon emissions and diverting waste to landfills. Each year, FIFCO USA measures a number of environmental factors in its brewing and manufacturing operations and sets goals to reduce impact. In addition, FIFCO USA uses volunteerism and investment to help deliver positive contributions to the environment, like reducing litter, promoting clean waterways, restoring natural habitats, planting trees and plants, and enhancing nature for its employees, partners and consumers. About the Genesee Brewery Established in 1878, the Genesee Brewery, New York state's oldest brewery, makes the classic Genesee Value line of beers, Genesee Specialty and Seagram's Escapes. The Genesee Brewery also manufactures beer and other alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages under contracts on behalf of other companies. Genesee Value: Genesee's Value line of beers includes Genesee Beer , Light, Black, N.A. and Ice. Genesee Specialty: Genesee Specialty is a premium line of beer with character. The lineup includes Spring Bock, Ruby Red Kolsch , Cran Orange Kellerbier, Oktoberfest , and Citrus Pils. MEDIA CONTACT: Tanner Jubenville [email protected] (585) 730-2851 View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/genesee-brewery-transitions-from-plastic-to-eco-friendly-ring-carriers-302063465.html SOURCE Genesee Brewing Company - A week-long technology demonstration for clients including Mercedes-Benz and BMW to be held at the Swedish winter testing ground starting from the 29th - Demonstrating braking and steering safety technology performance under harsh winter conditions such as snow and ice - Enhancing technological perfection based on core competencies in essential vehicle engineering fields to continuously expand global orders SEOUL, South Korea , Feb. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Hyundai Mobis (KRX: 012330) is set to conduct winter tests by inviting practical engineers from global automakers to its Swedish winter testing ground. It aims to showcase the performance of core safety technologies in braking and steering under challenging winter road conditions such as snow and ice, thereby securing customer trust and expanding future order opportunities. Hyundai Mobis announced on the 16th that it would host the "MOBIS Winter Driving Experience" for global clients over a week starting from the 29th at the winter testing ground in Arjeplog, Northern Sweden . The event will feature technology displays, real-vehicle tests of electronic braking and steering innovations, and next-generation electrification technologies, including the in-wheel system. Engineers from global automakers including Mercedes-Benz and BMW, are expected to attend the event. This marks the first time Hyundai Mobis has hosted a large-scale winter technology demonstration event targeting numerous global clients. For the event, Hyundai Mobis plans to deploy ten vehicles to allow client engineers to experience the performance of core safety technologies directly. The goal of the winter testing event is for customers to personally test and confirm the effectiveness of vehicle braking and steering control technologies, which are critical to passenger safety, under extreme winter driving conditions such as snow and ice. The winter testing ground in Arjeplog, Northern Sweden , features harsh environmental conditions with an average temperature of -15C, dropping to as low as -40C, and has a variety of tracks such as multipurpose test track, hill test track, steering pad, and urban driving course for conducting intensive tests on braking stability, body control performance, and turning capabilities. Notably, the event will also introduce the in-wheel system, which is considered a next-generation electrification technology. The in-wheel system, which involves fitting a drive motor inside each wheel for direct control, offers improved driving efficiency and stable body posture and turning performance. This is the first time the in-wheel system will be demonstrated to global automakers at the winter testing ground. Opening up a high-intensity technology testing site to numerous clients for direct demonstration reflects Hyundai Mobis's confidence in its core safety auto component technology. Hyundai Mobis is developing its products through thorough verification in extreme environments based on its mass-production capabilities in essential engineering fields such as braking and steering, which are critical for vehicle safety. Besides the Swedish winter testing ground, Hyundai Mobis also operates a winter testing ground in Heihe, Heilongjiang Province , China , and utilizes a winter testing ground in New Zealand during the summer to continuously perform performance verification and reliability evaluation of mass-produced and advanced development of auto components in winter conditions throughout the year. Hyundai Mobis plans to hold regular customer-invitation technology events at the winter testing ground. Moving beyond simple technology displays to provide opportunities for clients to experience technologies directly, it aims to seek business collaboration opportunities and actively expand its customer network. Following a record foreign order achievement of $9.22 billion (approximately 12.2 trillion KRW ) from global automakers last year, Hyundai Mobis intends to further strengthen its engagement with global clients and continuously expand its international orders this year. About Hyundai Mobis Hyundai Mobis is the global no. 6 automotive supplier, headquartered in Seoul, Korea . Hyundai Mobis has outstanding expertise in sensors, sensor fusion in ECUs and software development for safety control. The company's products also include various components for electrification, brakes, chassis and suspension, steering, airbags, lighting, and automotive electronics. Hyundai Mobis operates its R&D headquarters in Korea , with four technology centers in the United States , Germany , China and India . For more information, please visit the website at http://www.mobis.co.kr/ Media Contact Choon Kee Hwang : [email protected] Myong Sun Song : [email protected] View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/hyundai-mobis-invites-global-clients-for-winter-testing-302063864.html SOURCE Hyundai Mobis SEOUL, South Korea, Feb. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Hyundai Motor Company today welcomed Fitch Ratings' (Fitch) upgrade of the company's Long-Term Issuer Default Ratings (IDRs) and senior unsecured ratings to A- with a stable outlook from a previous rating of BBB+. The rating upgrade reflects the continued improvement in Hyundai Motor's brand strength and market position in key markets, Fitch said in its report. Geographical and product diversification as well as improved profitability and cash generation, and large liquidity buffers were also taken into consideration, it added. "We are pleased to see the recent upgrades by major global credit rating agencies," said Seung Jo Lee , Senior Vice President, CFO and Head of Planning & Finance Division at Hyundai Motor Company. "Hyundai will continue to enhance financial soundness, while further strengthening our global competitiveness and profitability." Furthermore, Fitch cited that the A- rating reflects Hyundai Motor's steadily improving business profile in recent years. Fitch also outlined how the brand's key market positions have been improved, with robust market position in the electric vehicle (EV) segment in the US and Europe . Hyundai Motor also received an upgrade of the company's corporate rating to A3 with a stable outlook from Moody's Investors Service last week. About Hyundai Motor Company Established in 1967, Hyundai Motor Company is present in over 200 countries with more than 120,000 employees dedicated to tackling real-world mobility challenges around the globe. Based on the brand vision 'Progress for Humanity,' Hyundai Motor is accelerating its transformation into a Smart Mobility Solution Provider. The company invests in advanced technologies such as robotics and Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) to bring about revolutionary mobility solutions, while pursuing open innovation to introduce future mobility services. In pursuit of sustainable future for the world, Hyundai will continue its efforts to introduce zero emission vehicles equipped with industry-leading hydrogen fuel cell and EV technologies. More information about Hyundai Motor and its products can be found at: https://www.hyundai.com/worldwide/en/ or Newsroom: Media Hub by Hyundai View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/hyundai-motor-welcomes-fitch-ratings-upgrade-to-a--302063979.html SOURCE Hyundai Motor Company Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (R), also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, shakes hands with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken during their meeting on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference in Munich, Germany, on Feb. 16, 2024. (Xinhua/Ren Pengfei) MUNICH, Germany, Feb. 16 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Friday called for a sound, steady and sustainable development of China-U.S. ties. Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, made the remarks during a meeting here with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference. During the meeting at the request of Blinken, the two sides had candid, substantive and constructive discussions. Wang said President Xi Jinping and President Joe Biden had a successful meeting at the end of last year, where they exchanged in-depth views on strategic, overall, and directional issues related to the China-U.S. relations and reached important consensus. Wang said the most important task for both sides currently is to follow the strategic guidance of the two heads of state to turn the "San Francisco vision" into a reality, so as to promote a sound, steady and sustainable development of bilateral relations. KANAZAWA, Japan , Feb. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- In a study recently published in Nature Genetics, researchers from Nano Life Science Institute (WPI-NanoLSI), Kanazawa University explore chromatin accessibility, i.e., endogenous access pathways to the genomic DNA, and its use as a tool for gene editing. Our DNA is protected from unwanted external modifications by forming structures called nucleosomes that consist of threads of DNA wound around chunks of special proteins known as histones. This unique coiled shape prevents the access of undesirable molecules to a cell's DNA. However, for vital genetic functionssuch as DNA repairthe right set of proteins require access to these DNA fragments. This phenomenon known as 'chromatin accessibility' involves a privileged set of protein molecules, many of which are still unknown. Now, researchers from Nano Life Science Institute (WPI-NanoLSI), Kanazawa University, led by Yusuke Miyanari, have used advanced genetic screening methods to unravel chromatin accessibility and its pathways. For the investigation the team used a combination of two technologiesCRISPR screening and ATAC-see. While the former is a method to suppress the function of a desired set of genes, the latter is a means to identify which ones are essential for chromatin accessibility. Thus, using this method all genes playing a crucial role in chromatin accessibility could be pinned down. With the help of these assays, novel pathways and individual players involved in chromatin accessibility were uncoveredsome playing a positive role and some negative. Of these, one particular protein, TFDP1, showed a negative effect on chromatin accessibility. When it was suppressed, a significant increase in chromatin accessibility was observed, accompanied by nucleosome reduction. A deeper dive into the mechanism of TFDP1 revealed that it functions by regulating the genes responsible for production of certain histone proteins. The team then focused their study towards exploring biotechnological applications of their findings. After suppressing TFDP1, two different approaches were tried. The first approach involved gene editing using the CRISPR/Cas9 tool. This revealed that deletion of TFDP1 made the gene editing process easier. Now, most chromatin accessibility occurs in nucleosome-depleted regions or NDRs. However, by suppressing TFDP1 chromatin accessibility occurred not only in NDRs but across other regions as well. Secondly, the depletion of TFDP1 aided the process of converting regular cells into stem cells, a massive step forward in cellular transformation. This study identified new chromatin accessibility pathways and channels for exploring its potential even further. "Our study shows the significant potential to manipulate chromatin accessibility as a novel strategy to enhance DNA-templated biological applications, including genome editing and cellular reprogramming," conclude the researchers. Background CRISPR screening: CRISPR screening is a large-scale tool used to find genes involved in a particular function. In this method, genes from the entire genome can be deleted one at a time to investigate which ones play a role in any target pathway. The mechanisms and roles of the genes narrowed down are then understood further using biological assays. In this study the genes identified by CRISPR screening were subjected to ATAC-see to confirm their involvement with chromatin accessibility. ATAC-see: Transposase-Accessible Chromatin with visualization (ATAC-see) is a technique whereby accessible DNA locations can be visualized and quantified. ATAC-see involves using an enzyme to insert fluorescent proteins into the DNA at accessible sites. This technique works within nucleosome-depleted regions but also beyond these regions. Hence, when such sites were visualized after running CRISPR screening, the researchers could understand which genes were affecting chromatin accessibility directly. Reference Satoko Ishii , Taishi Kakizuka, Sung-Joon Park , Ayako Tagawa , Chiaki Sanbo , Hideyuki Tanabe , Yasuyuki Ohkawa , Mahito Nakanishi , Kenta Nakai , Yusuke Miyanari. Genome-wide ATAC-see screening identifies TFDP1 as a modulator of global chromatin accessibility. Nature Genetics, 2024. Published Feb 15, 2024 DOI 10.1038/s41588-024-01658-1 https://www.nature.com/articles/s41588-024-01658-1 Related figures https://nanolsi.kanazawa-u.ac.jp/wp/wp-content/uploads/Fig.-1-1.png Figure 1. a. Screening results of the players involved in chromatin accessibility analyzed by ATAC-see. b. Successful reprogramming to stem cells (indicated by presence of TRA-1-60) after depletion of TFDP1 (right). 2024 Ishii, et al., Nature Genetics Contact Hiroe Yoneda Senior Specialist in Project Planning and Outreach NanoLSI Administration OfficeNano Life Science Institute (WPI-NanoLSI) Kanazawa University Kakuma-machi, Kanazawa 920-1192, Japan Email: [email protected] Tel: +81 (76) 234-4555 About Nano Life Science Institute (WPI-NanoLSI), Kanazawa University Understanding nanoscale mechanisms of life phenomena by exploring "uncharted nano-realms." Cells are the basic units of almost all life forms. We are developing nanoprobe technologies that allow direct imaging, analysis, and manipulation of the behavior and dynamics of important macromolecules in living organisms, such as proteins and nucleic acids, at the surface and interior of cells. We aim at acquiring a fundamental understanding of the various life phenomena at the nanoscale. https://nanolsi.kanazawa-u.ac.jp/en/ About the World Premier International Research Center Initiative (WPI) The WPI program was launched in 2007 by Japan's Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) to foster globally visible research centers boasting the highest standards and outstanding research environments. Numbering more than a dozen and operating at institutions throughout the country, these centers are given a high degree of autonomy, allowing them to engage in innovative modes of management and research. The program is administered by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS). See the latest research news from the centers at the WPI News Portal: https://www.eurekalert.org/newsportal/WPI Main WPI program site: www.jsps.go.jp/english/e-toplevel About Kanazawa University As the leading comprehensive university on the Sea of Japan coast, Kanazawa University has contributed greatly to higher education and academic research in Japan since it was founded in 1949. The University has three colleges and 17 schools offering courses in subjects that include medicine, computer engineering, and humanities. The University is located on the coast of the Sea of Japan in Kanazawa a city rich in history and culture. The city of Kanazawa has a highly respected intellectual profile since the time of the fiefdom (1598-1867). Kanazawa University is divided into two main campuses: Kakuma and Takaramachi for its approximately 10,200 students including 600 from overseas. http://www.kanazawa-u.ac.jp/e/ View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/kanazawa-university-research-chromatin-accessibility-a-new-avenue-for-gene-editing-302063805.html SOURCE Kanazawa University ATLANTA , Feb. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Southern Linc Director of Legal and Regulatory Affairs Michael Rosenthal has been elected the 2024-2025 chair of the board of directors of the Utility Broadband Alliance (UBBA), a collaboration of utilities and solution providers dedicated to championing private broadband networks for critical infrastructure industries. Rosenthal was elected along with other officers at a recent board meeting. "Southern Linc was a founding member of UBBA, and we share their goal of championing the advancement of private networks to better meet the connectivity demands of the utility industry," stated Rosenthal. "I am looking forward to the work we can do to make progress on broadband initiatives for our members." Southern Linc, a Southern Company subsidiary, designed, built, and actively manages the highly reliable, highly secure LTE network Known as CriticalLinc for Southern's electric utilities. The network provides over-the-air encryption from devices to towers and supports encryption from towers to the network's core data centers for data and voice applications. Southern Linc also delivers LTE voice and data services to a wide range of businesses and public sector agencies across Alabama , Georgia , southeastern Mississippi , and the Florida panhandle. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/michael-rosenthal-named-2024-2025-chair-of-the-utility-broadband-alliance-board-of-directors-302064162.html SOURCE Southern Linc WASHINGTON , Feb. 15, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- During a ceremony at NASA Headquarters in Washington Thursday, Uruguay became the 36th country to sign the Artemis Accords. NASA Administrator Bill Nelson participated in the signing ceremony for the agency, and Omar Paganini , foreign minister, signed the Artemis Accords on behalf of Uruguay . The accords establish a practical set of principles to guide space exploration cooperation among nations. Also participating in the event were: NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy Karen Feldstein , associate administrator for NASA's Office of International and Interagency Relations , associate administrator for Kevin Sullivan , U.S. Department of State deputy assistant secretary , deputy assistant secretary Andres Augusto Duran Hareau, Uruguayan ambassador to the U.S. Heide Fulton , U.S. ambassador to Uruguay "NASA welcomes Uruguay as the newest member of the Artemis Accords family," said Nelson. " The United States and Uruguay share a commitment to democracy and peace, and now, we expand these principles in the cosmos to commit to the safe and transparent exploration of space." The Artemis Accords were established in 2020 by the United States together with seven other original signatories. Since then, the Accords signatories have held focused discussions on how best to implement the Artemis Accords principles. "We are honored to have the opportunity to introduce space cooperation as a new chapter in the robust bilateral agenda between Uruguay and the U.S. ," said Paganini. "We are sure that this signing ceremony is not an end in itself, but the beginning of a new bilateral track based on knowledge-intensive activities and new opportunities for our people." The Artemis Accords reinforce and implement key obligations in the 1967 Outer Space Treaty. They also strengthen the commitment by the United States and signatory nations to the Registration Convention, the Rescue and Return Agreement, as well as best practices NASA and its partners support, including the public release of scientific data. More countries are expected to sign the accords in the months and years ahead, which are advancing safe, peaceful, and prosperous activities in space. Learn more about the Artemis Accords at: https://www.nasa.gov/artemis-accords View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/nasa-welcomes-uruguay-foreign-minister-for-artemis-accords-signing-302063619.html SOURCE NASA With Expansion, the Organization Begins Search for New Office Space in Nashville TN NASHVILLE Tenn. , Feb. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Operation Song, the 501(c)(3) non-profit that pairs veterans and active-duty military with professional songwriters to tell their stories through song, announces the appointment of Jon Foti as Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Foti assumes the role after serving as the CEO of the Dale K. Graham Veterans Foundation and he brings a wealth of experience in non-profit leadership, veterans affairs, and a strong commitment to serving the veteran and military community. Operation Song CEO Jon Foti will oversee the expansion of partnerships in the music industry and veterans organizations. In this newly created role, Foti leads Operation Song into its second decade, overseeing fundraising development and the expansion of partnerships within the music industry and veterans organizations. Currently, Foti is leading the non-profit's search for new office space in Nashville, TN to accommodate its growth. Army veteran and CEO of Operation Song, Jon Foti states, "It's an honor to join Operation Song and connect gifted songwriters with veterans, for whom self-expression can be challenging. As a nation we often forget the impact of service but in giving veterans a voice, we ensure that all Americans remember the sacrifices our freedoms are reliant on." In creating the country's largest catalogue of songs about the camaraderie, bravery, and heroism of service, Operation Song envisions a song for every veteran. The cathartic songwriting process helps turn memories into lasting mementos and offers veterans a way to process and share their experiences and emotions. Participating veterans write with songwriters during in-person retreats or virtual songwriting sessions, hear their stories performed in public at Operation Song's benefit concerts across the country, receive a recorded copy of their song, and join a catalogue of over 1,600 songs on the organization's Bandcamp page. Navy veteran & Operation Song Board President , Bob Leonard states "Operation Song is expanding our ability to inspire every veteran to tell their story through the expressive power of songwriting. Jon's proven leadership with veterans' non-profits will allow us to be more strategic in our efforts to reach more veterans in more places across this country as we enter into our second-decade as an organization. It's also our intent to broaden our involvement with the veterans we serve by creating a community resource network through our Operation Song 'alumni' program that gives our veterans access to Operation Song on a regular basis regardless of where they live. The ultimate goal; ensure every veteran has the opportunity to inspire every American through song." Jon Foti graduated from the University of Tampa as a Distinguished Military Graduate and joined the US Army as a 2nd Lieutenant in 2012. His first assignment was the 101st Airborne Division at Ft. Campbell, KY as a flight line Platoon Leader of a Blackhawk Helicopter Air Assault Company. Deployed to Afghanistan in 2015, Jon served as a combat aviator and Battle Captain for the Aviation Taskforce's Command and Control Center. In 2018, Jon transitioned into private aviation management in Colorado while completing his Masters in Aeronautics from Embry Riddle Aeronautical University. In 2019 Jon worked as a Wounded Warrior Fellow for the U.S. House of Representatives conducting congressional inquiries into the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Defense. In 2020, Jon became the CEO of the Dale K. Graham Veterans Foundation, based in Norman, OK. There, Jon led a team in the service of 5,000 veterans per year, mostly in the VA claims and benefits application process and fundraised millions of dollars to expand veterans services nationwide. Operation Song's Board of Directors includes leaders in Nashville's music, healthcare, and technology sectors. In addition to board president Bob Leonard , the board is comprised of Dennis Buchanan , Kevin M. Doherty, Joe Forte , Danielle Lauber , Cindy Morgan , Debbie Respess , Jeff Rice , Jason Rose , Andy Sale , Mike Sistad , and Storme Warren . ABOUT: Nashville -based non-profit organization, Operation Song is a 501 (c)(3) that empowers veterans, active-duty military members, and their families across the US to tell their stories through the process of songwriting. Founded in 2012 by Grammy, Dove, and 11-time ASCAP award winning Bob Regan ( Keith Urban , Trisha Yearwood , Reba McEntire , Hank Williams Jr ., Randy Travis ), Operation Song has produced over 1,600 songs at year-round retreats and songwriting sessions and inspired other organizations to adopt similar missions. For more information, please visit operationsong.org. MEDIA CONTACT: Tiffany Shipp [email protected] 917-992-5819 View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/national-veterans-non-profit-operation-song-appoints-jon-foti-as-ceo-302064362.html SOURCE Operation Song WOODCLIFF LAKE, N.J. , Feb. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- PDI Inc. has been awarded a Top Workplaces 2024 honor by NJ.com Top Workplaces. This list is based solely on employee feedback gathered through a third-party survey administered by employee engagement technology partner Energage LLC. The confidential survey uniquely measures the employee experience and its component themes, including employees feeling "Respected & Supported," "Enabled to Grow," and "Empowered to Execute," to name a few. "We are thrilled to be named a Top Workplace in NJ," said Sandra Valentin , Senior Director of Human Resources for PDI. "This achievement is a testament to the dedication, hard work, and positive energy our associates bring every day. We have something very special at PDI--a commitment to excellence, collaboration, and an inclusive workplace culture that has made our organization a truly remarkable place to work and develop. We are committed to ensuring PDI remains a place where our associates and customers feel valued, supported, and inspired." "Earning a Top Workplaces award is a badge of honor for companies, especially because it comes authentically from their employees," said Eric Rubino , Energage CEO. "That's something to be proud of. In today's market, leaders must ensure they're allowing employees to have a voice and be heard. That's paramount. Top Workplaces do this, and it pays dividends." Founded in 1977, PDI has a strong heritage of innovation and commitment to partners, sustainability, and the community. PDI spearheaded the development of many of the industry's most important infection prevention solutions, including the first alcohol prep pad and germicidal disposable wipe. PDI's trusted portfolio of products are used daily with patients, restaurant and hospitality customers and staff. That's why PDI has the #1 disinfectant wipe in healthcare1, the #1 hand wipe in healthcare1 as well as the #1 brand, Sani Professional, in food service wipes2. In 2019, PDI acquired a majority share of Tru-D Smart UVC, a pioneer in the UVC disinfection industry, and maker of the first UVC robot. ABOUT PDI INC. PDI is dedicated to leading the fight against preventable infections in healthcare, foodservice and our communities. Driven by a commitment to research, quality and service, PDI provides innovative products, educational resources, training and support to help prevent infections and save lives. Because of what we do every day, someone's Mother, Brother, Father, Son, Sister, Aunt, Uncle, Child or Lover won't get sick, die or suffer. Company Contact PDI [email protected], 845-792-5397 https://www.wearepdi.com AWARDS ABOUT ENERGAGE Making the world a better place to work together.TM Energage is a purpose-driven company that helps organizations turn employee feedback into useful business intelligence and credible employer recognition through Top Workplaces. Built on 18 years of culture research and the results from 27 million employees surveyed across more than 70,000 organizations, Energage delivers the most accurate competitive benchmark available. With access to a unique combination of patented analytic tools and expert guidance, Energage customers lead the competition with an engaged workforce and an opportunity to gain recognition for their people-first approach to culture. For more information or to nominate your organization, visit energage.com or topworkplaces.com. 1 Market leadership claims based on Q3 2023 Clarivate data. 2 Market leadership claims based on Q2 2023 Kline & Company data View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/nj-advance-media-names-pdi-inc-a-winner-of-the-new-jersey-top-workplaces-2024-award-302063672.html SOURCE PDI Joint pilot program encourages railroaders to confidentially report safety concerns ATLANTA , Feb. 15, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE: NSC), the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET), and the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers Transportation Division (SMART-TD), along with the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), signed an agreement Thursday to participate in the FRA's Confidential Close Call Reporting System (C3RS). The signing ceremony was held at the Atlanta offices of the U.S. Department of Transportation. With attendees from Norfolk Southern, union, and FRA leadership, the ceremony officially kicked off the one-year partnership. Norfolk Southern is the only Class I railroad participant in the program, which the company committed to in 2023. As part of the C3RS pilot program, covered Norfolk Southern employees can report safety concerns confidentially. Railroaders at the company's Atlanta ; Elkhart, Indiana ; and Roanoke, Virginia locations will participate in the pilot. Reports will be reviewed by a joint committee composed of Norfolk Southern and labor representatives, who will identify and implement safety improvements with the FRA's guidance. About Norfolk Southern Since 1827, Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE: NSC) and its predecessor companies have safely moved the goods and materials that drive the U.S. economy. Today, it operates a customer-centric and operations-driven freight transportation network. Committed to furthering sustainability, Norfolk Southern helps its customers avoid approximately 15 million tons of yearly carbon emissions by shipping via rail. Its dedicated team members deliver more than 7 million carloads annually, from agriculture to consumer goods, and Norfolk Southern originates more automotive traffic than any other Class I Railroad. Norfolk Southern also has the most extensive intermodal network in the eastern U.S. It serves a majority of the country's population and manufacturing base, with connections to every major container port on the Atlantic coast as well as to major ports in the Gulf of Mexico and Great Lakes . Learn more by visiting www.NorfolkSouthern.com. About the BLET The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen represents nearly 51,500 professional locomotive engineers and trainmen throughout the United States employed in both freight and passenger rail. Founded in 1863, BLET is the oldest union in the United States . The BLET also is the founding member of the Rail Conference, International Brotherhood of Teamsters. For more information visit the union's website at www.BLET.org. About SMART-TD SMART Transportation Division is comprised of approximately 125,000 active and retired members who work in a variety of different crafts in the transportation industry. These crafts include employees on every Class I railroad, Amtrak, many shortline railroads, bus and mass transit employees and airport personnel. More information about the union is available at www.smart-union.org. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/norfolk-southern-blet-smart-td-and-fra-sign-landmark-c3rs-safety-agreement-302063540.html SOURCE Norfolk Southern Corporation SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. , Feb. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- DocuCopies.com, a leading provider of online printing services, is thrilled to announce the winners of their highly anticipated annual pet photo contest. After receiving an overwhelming number of outstanding entries, the competition was fierce, but a diverse array of beloved pets emerged victorious. The contest, held at the end of 2023, showcased the unconditional love and charm of pets from all walks of life, including cats, dogs, a goat, a sheep, a rabbit, and even an emu. The winning entries have been compiled into an enchanting calendar, now available to customers for free with orders over $500 or for viewing online at https://www.docucopies.com/pet-photo-contest/. "We're absolutely thrilled with the enthusiasm and creativity displayed by our customers in this year's pet photo contest," says Roe Pressley , who first championed the contest idea back in 2020. "It's heartwarming to see such a diverse range of pets bringing joy to people's lives, and it's equally rewarding for everyone involved at DocuCopies.com." The cover stars of the calendar, an adorable goat-and-sheep duo, won "Best in Show" and $100 in free printing for their family. The winners of each month's photo received $50 in free printing services. This year marks the fourth anniversary of the contest, and its popularity continues to grow. At DocuCopies.com, the winners are determined through a fair and impartial process. Employees participate in a rank-choice voting system to select the most deserving entries, ensuring a fun and engaging experience for all involved. "We believe in celebrating the special bond between humans and their furry, feathered, or scaled companions," adds Pressley. "The pet photo contest not only brings joy to our customers but also helps foster a sense of community and camaraderie among our team members." With a commitment to excellence in online printing services, DocuCopies.com remains dedicated to providing high-quality products and strengthening connections with customers through innovative initiatives like the annual pet photo contest. For more information about DocuCopies.com and their range of printing services, including calendar printing, visit https://www.docucopies.com/. About DocuCopies.com: DocuCopies.com, a trusted online printing company since 2003, is known for its high-quality products and exceptional customer service. With a wide range of printing options, including book printing, flyers, brochures, and more, DocuCopies.com is committed to helping customers bring their creative visions to life affordably. Contact: Roe Pressley Vice President, Customer Relations DocuCopies.com (877) 222-4842 [email protected] View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/pawsitively-perfect-docucopiescom-unveils-winners-of-annual-pet-photo-contest-302063704.html SOURCE DocuCopies.com IntraCare elevates its standing in the Arizona healthcare market with three new partnerships in the month of December 2023 , bringing an additional 16 Primary Care Professionals on board. The collaborations with Atembis, LLC; Sun Lake Family Physicians, LLC; and Family Practice Specialists have established IntraCare as one of the fastest-growing Management Services Organizations (MSOs) in the Southwest region. CARROLLTON, Texas , Feb. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- IntraCare, a prominent Texas -based MSO, gained record growth in the month of December 2023 upon signing partnership agreements with three medical entities in Arizona . This adds another 16 care practitioners to IntraCare's provider network. The strategic partnerships with Atembis, LLC; Sun Lake Family Physicians, LLC; and Family Practice Specialists are a significant step towards achieving IntraCare's objective to own and operate more than 27 primary care clinics, supported by 91 partner and 425 affiliate primary care providers. As a result of this expansion, IntraCare is better positioned to meet the requirements of a continually evolving healthcare industry, across diverse communities. Partner practices will benefit from a significant increase in service outreach and more senior patients will gain access to value-based care. The centralization of administrative and management functions will standardize care management delivery across the three new clinics, bringing them on par with the IntraCare network of health centers. Meanwhile, physicians, advanced practice providers, and clinical staff will be able to concentrate on providing excellent care and health support services. Atembis, LLC, founded by Andrew Carroll , MD, FAAFP, is counted among Arizona's leading healthcare establishments. Dr. Carroll has served as State Chair for Arizona to the American Medical Association's Organized Medical Staff Section, and is a respected public personality, having appeared regularly on local and national media to share much-needed healthcare information during the COVID-19 pandemic. Arizona's longstanding healthcare facility Family Practice Specialists has delivered comprehensive care since 1969, the same year family practice was officially recognized as a medical specialty. The clinic's on-site laboratory is certified by the Department of Health and Human Services' Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA) and has been conferred the Award of Excellence by the Commission on Laboratory Accreditation. Kenneth Paige , DO, has practiced medicine in the Sun Lakes community since 1998, and co-founded Sun Lakes Family Physicians, LLC, in 2001 with Jennifer McDonald , MD. The clinic's knowledgeable and friendly healthcare providers have been commended by their patients for well-rounded treatment and management of both acute and chronic health conditions. "I am immensely grateful to our partners for the trust they have placed in IntraCare," said Anwar Kazi , Chief Executive Officer of IntraCare. "Each of them has been an independent provider for a significant period, averaging over 15 years. Their performance in Value-Based Care programs has been exemplary, consistently focusing on enhancing patient satisfaction while managing costs and improving quality of care. They have also demonstrated remarkable growth in their senior patient panels." "As we move forward, we are excited to work alongside our new providers to integrate IntraCare's unified technology and care management platforms." "In closing," Kazi added, "I am thrilled to share some extraordinary news that emerged over the weekend. IntraCare has forged a significant partnership, marking a major milestone in our journey. We eagerly anticipate sharing more details about this development soon, as we believe it will significantly bolster our mission and capabilities." IntraCare has always emphasized its values of leading with integrity, caring with compassion, and working in collaboration with the communities it serves. It remains committed to providing a high standard of administrative and management support to its partner clinics while ensuring their independence of spirit is upheld. As a result, IntraCare MSO has seen remarkable growth of 500% in 2023 and is poised to further extend its reach with a network expanding rapidly across Texas and Arizona . About IntraCare MSO IntraCare's partnership track began its journey as an MSO at the end of 2022 with just two healthcare providers and achieved rapid growth and success within a remarkably short period of time. Today, IntraCare MSO works with 91 partnered and 425 affiliated Primary Care Providers. The company provides its partners with a suite of clinical and billing services, population health program solutions, and risk contracts. IntraCare MSO is headquartered in the heart of the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex and is currently operational in four states, with plans to expand further. To know more, visit https://theintracare.com View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/record-making-partnerships-intracare-continues-to-strengthen-presence-in-arizona-as-three-more-clinics-sign-on-in-december-302064213.html SOURCE IntraCare JACKSONVILLE, Fla. , Feb. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- SourceFuse , a strategic digital transformation company helping businesses evolve through cloud-native technologies, today announced that CRN, a brand of The Channel Company, has named SourceFuse to its prestigious Managed Service Provider (MSP) list in the Security 100 category for 2024. The MSP 500 list compiled by CRN serves as a comprehensive guide to identifying and recognizing the top Managed Service Providers (MSPs) in North America . This recognition emphasizes the company's commitment to prioritizing cloud infrastructure security, safeguarding against cybersecurity vulnerabilities. Being a HIPAA compliant company and ISO 27001 certified company , SourceFuse is able to implement robust security throughout its solutions, embedding cloud Security Services and advanced expertise built on strategic partnerships with global cybersecurity leaders. "Being named in the Security 100 category of CRN's 2024 MSP 500 list is a tremendous honor and a testament to our team's dedication to cybersecurity excellence ," said Vaidant Singh , CMO at SourceFuse. "Our cloud managed services empower organizations to optimize their IT infrastructure, enhance agility, and scale securely. By partnering with us , businesses gain the freedom to focus on their core competencies while we handle the complexities of cloud management, enabling them to thrive in today's dynamic digital landscape." SourceFuse's placement in the Security 100 category validates its unparalleled security expertise, unwavering commitment to innovation, and client-centric approach. The list can be viewed here at CRN's 2024 MSP Top 500 List . The annual MSP 500 list is divided into three sections: the MSP Pioneer 250, recognizing companies with business models weighted toward managed services and largely focused on the SMB market; the MSP Elite 150, recognizing large, data center-focused MSPs with a strong mix of on- and off-premises services; and the Managed Security 100, recognizing MSPs focused primarily on off-premises and cloud-based security services. Jennifer Follett , VP of US Content and executive Editor CRN, The Channel Company, emphasized the significance of managed services for businesses at various scales, stating, "Managed services provide a route for businesses of all sizes to maintain efficiency and adaptability throughout their growth journey. The solution providers featured in our 2024 MSP 500 list are introducing cutting-edge managed services portfolios to the market, enabling their clients to achieve success by optimizing their IT budgets. This allows businesses to allocate resources strategically, concentrating on mission-critical tasks that drive future success." With cyberattacks and cloud managed services constantly evolving, you need a reliable partner by your side. SourceFuse's inclusion in CRN's MSP 500 proves we're a trusted leader in cybersecurity, keeping your business secure. Ready to partner with the best? Let's Talk . About SourceFuse About The Channel Company The Channel Company enables breakthrough IT channel performance with our dominant media, engaging events, expert consulting and education, and innovative marketing services and platforms. As the channel catalyst, we connect and empower technology suppliers, solution providers and end users. Backed by more than 40 years of unequaled channel experience, we draw from our deep knowledge to envision innovative new solutions for ever-evolving challenges in the technology marketplace. www.thechannelco.com . Media Contact Vaidant Singh CMO, SourceFuse +1-800-578-3873 [email protected] Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2341763/CRN_MSP.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/sourcefuse-recognized-on-crns-2024-msp-500-list-302064068.html SOURCE SourceFuse Southwest nearly doubles footprint of hangar and modernizes spaces where Technical Operations Employees maintain the carrier's fleet DALLAS , Feb. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE: LUV) is celebrating the completion of a multi-year, $100 million project, which nearly doubles the size of the airline's maintenance hangar at Phoenix Sky Harbor . The 90,000-square foot expansion adds three new aircraft bays to the facility, allowing the airline to work on up to five aircraft simultaneously and brings more maintenance shops to support the nearly 500 Southwest Technical Operations Employees based at Sky Harbor . The project also included a larger facility for members of the airline's Provisioning and Ground Support Equipment Maintenance Teams that opened in 2020. "The Safety-first work to support a continuous renewal of our fleet benefits our entire network and the community," said Andrew Watterson , Chief Operating Officer at Southwest Airlines. "Investing in our Arizona -based People by equipping them with the latest tools, enhanced processes, and functional spaces is one of the most impactful investments we can make at Southwest Airlines and our future in Phoenix ." The expanded hangar has also achieved Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver certification. The expansion incorporated sustainable design features including the use of recycled content in over 30% of the building materials; the installation of high-reflectance roof and surrounding paving materials to reduce heat island effect; and the selection of building products from manufacturers with verified environmental performance. Southwest Airlines first opened a Technical Operations base at Sky Harbor in 1986. In 1993, the airline moved into a new maintenance hangar facility to support its growth throughout the western half of the United States . Today, the carrier's Phoenix -based Technical Operations Teams accept new aircraft deliveries to prepare them to enter revenue service and maintain aircraft as part of daily and scheduled maintenance programs. In addition to Phoenix , Southwest operates hangar facilities in Atlanta , Chicago ( Midway ), Dallas (Love Field ), Denver , Houston (Hobby), and Orlando . Construction is underway on a new hangar facility at Baltimore/Washington International Airport , which is anticipated to open in 2025. Decades-Long Partnership Leads to Runway for Future Success Southwest began serving Sky Harbor in January 1982 with 13 daily flights. Today, the carrier offers up to 220 departures a day, providing nonstop service to 60 destinations across the United States and Mexico 1. In 2022, the airline expanded its operations to operate from 32 gates including a new eight-gate concourse built to support Southwest's growth. The concourse included a new baggage handling system, more concessions, and Employee-support spaces. The airline's local workforce of more than 5,400 People share a passion for making the Phoenix area a great place to live, work, and visit. In 2023, Southwest Employees volunteered more than 10,000 hours while supporting more than 200 organizations focused on improving the quality of life for those who call Arizona home. "We are grateful to Southwest Airlines for believing in Phoenix and going above and beyond to plant roots in our community, whether it's through expanded operations or countless volunteer hours with local organizations," said Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego . " Phoenix is proud to be a major service market for Southwest and we stand ready to continue welcoming millions more passengers to the Valley of the Sun!" To download high-resolution images and broadcast-quality b-roll of Southwest's new Technical Operations facility, please visit the Southwest Airlines Newsroom at swamedia.com/phoenixhangar. ABOUT SOUTHWEST AIRLINES CO. Southwest Airlines Co. operates one of the world's most admired and awarded airlines, offering its one-of-a-kind value and Hospitality at 121 airports across 11 countries. Southwest took flight in 1971 to democratize the sky through friendly, reliable, and low-cost air travel and now carries more air travelers flying nonstop within the United States than any other airline2. Based in Dallas and famous for an Employee-first corporate Culture, Southwest maintains an unprecedented record of no involuntary furloughs or layoffs in its history. By empowering its nearly 75,0003 People to deliver unparalleled Hospitality, the maverick airline cherishes a passionate loyalty among more than 137 million Customers carried in 2023. That formula for success brought industry-leading prosperity and 47 consecutive years4 of profitability for Southwest Shareholders (NYSE: LUV). Southwest leverages a unique legacy and mission to serve communities around the world including harnessing the power of its People and Purpose to put communities at the Heart of its success. Learn more by visiting Southwest.com/citizenship. As the airline with Heart, Southwest has set a goal to work toward achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050. Southwest has also set near-term targets and a three-pillar strategy to achieve its environmental goals. Learn more by visiting Southwest.com/planet. 1Based on flight scheduled published through Nov. 2, 2024 , as of Feb. 16, 2024 . 2Based on U.S. Dept. of Transportation quarterly Airline Origin & Destination Survey since Q1 2021 3Fulltime-equivalent active Employees 41973-2019 annual profitability View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/southwest-airlines-celebrates-expanded-technical-operations-facility-in-phoenix-302064425.html SOURCE Southwest Airlines Co. Given the market volatility of the past few years, it's nice to see that growth stocks are roaring back and looking red hot in 2023 and 2024. Huge gains for companies including Nvidia, Microsoft, and Apple have helped push the S&P 500 index up approximately 20% over the last 12 months. Meanwhile, the even more technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite index is up roughly 32% across the stretch. As impressive as the recovery for companies with growth-oriented valuations has been, there are still stocks in today's bull market that look quite cheap, especially when evaluated based on their earnings performance and long-term expansion potential. If you're looking for attractively valued growth plays to load up on in 2024, read on to see why two Motley Fool contributors identified Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOGL)(NASDAQ: GOOG) and StoneCo (NASDAQ: STNE) as top buys at today's prices. Alphabet stock is still cheap Parkev Tatevosian: Alphabet, the parent company of Google and YouTube, has stock trading at a relatively cheap valuation considering the lucrative businesses it operates. The company makes its money primarily from advertising. Marketers are attracted to the wide reach of its ad-supported products and its ability to target specific types of customers. Over the last decade, Alphabet's annual revenue has grown from $66 billion in 2014 to $307 billion in 2023 (a 365% increase). Much of that revenue ends up making its way to the company's profitable bottom line. Over those same years, Alphabet's operating income soared from $16.5 billion to $84.3 billion (an even better 411% increase). Alphabet's customers -- marketers and advertisers -- get excellent returns on their spending with Alphabet because they get targeted access to the billions of folks that use Google Search, Gmail, and YouTube. The evidence of that is in Alphabet's continued revenue and profit expansion. If the returns were not attractive, advertisers would not keep coming back. Story continues GOOG PE Ratio (Forward 1y) Chart To make the case for Alphabet stock more compelling, it is selling at a cheap valuation compared to its three-year average. Alphabet's forward price-to-earnings ratio of 18.8 is typically reserved for companies demonstrating limited growth, skinnier margins, and a less fortified business. Investors could do worse than adding Alphabet shares to their portfolios while they are cheap. StoneCo stock is dirt cheap compared to its growth Keith Noonan: StoneCo is a Brazilian financial-technologies company that provides payment processing services and retail-management software to small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs). Unfortunately, the company also made an ill-fated push into providing loans to SMBs that wound up tanking its valuation. Due to its reliance on insufficient and inaccurate data from Brazil's national registry system, the company wound up extending loans to businesses that weren't actually creditworthy. This problem was made worse by pandemic-related headwinds that resulted in an increase in business closures. StoneCo was left holding the bag, and it took large losses due to the poor quality of its loan portfolio. Even after some recent gains, the fintech stock is still down roughly 82% from its high. But there's a silver lining for investors today -- and seizing on the opportunity could deliver huge wins for your portfolio. STNE PE Ratio (Forward) Chart Today StoneCo is trading at roughly 14 times this year's expected earnings and roughly 2 times expected sales. Here's the kicker: The company has resolved the issues with its credit business and is posting very strong growth thanks to its payment-processing business. In the third quarter, the company's revenue increased 25% year over year. Meanwhile, non-GAAP (adjusted) earnings per share were up 302%. On a pure price-to-earnings basis, StoneCo is valued like a company that could only grow profits at a mid-single-digit rate annually over the next decade. But there are good reasons to think that won't be the case. StoneCo has continued to attract new payments customers and increase the fees it takes for processing transactions at encouraging rates. This suggests that demand for its services remains high, and the company's management forecasts that it will manage to grow adjusted net income at a 31% compound annual growth rate from 2024 through 2027. If StoneCo were to grow its earnings at just half of management's projected rate, I think the stock would be cheap on a fundamental basis at today's prices. If the company manages to meet or exceed its target for earnings growth, shares could deliver explosive upside. I've been loading up on StoneCo stock in 2024, and believe that its risk-reward profile is very attractive at current valuation levels. Should you invest $1,000 in Alphabet right now? Before you buy stock in Alphabet, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now and Alphabet wasnt one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Stock Advisor provides investors with an easy-to-follow blueprint for success, including guidance on building a portfolio, regular updates from analysts, and two new stock picks each month. The Stock Advisor service has more than tripled the return of S&P 500 since 2002*. See the 10 stocks *Stock Advisor returns as of February 12, 2024 Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Keith Noonan has positions in StoneCo. Parkev Tatevosian, CFA has positions in Alphabet. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet and StoneCo. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. 2 Ridiculously Cheap Growth Stocks to Buy Hand Over Fist in 2024 was originally published by The Motley Fool MONMOUTH COUNTY, N.J. , Feb. 15, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Successful leaders can often point to a few individuals who've made a profound difference in their careers, and SPARROW Executive Jets (SEJ) President and Founder Jacquie Dalton is no exception. When reflecting on a unique career path that took her from the racetrack to the runway, she can easily identify key people who changed the course of her life at different stages of her journey. Although those influencers may not call themselves mentors, that's the role they play, according to Tom Martin , founder of the Martin Center for Mentorship and Communication at the College of Charleston. "Our belief at the Martin Center is mentorship is key in developing thriving careers, not only in communication, but all areas of endeavor. Jacquie Dalton's life experience is true testimony for that belief," said Martin. Dalton recently sat down with Martin for an episode of his Mindful Mentoring podcast to discuss the importance of mentoring relationships in her life and how they helped lead her to her current role as an aviation company founder and president. She also offered insights to listeners on how to approach the roles of mentor and mentee more effectively. Listen to the podcast now. Mentors Who Made a Difference Dalton's journey to becoming an aviation executive was not a traditional one. Her fascinating career began in thoroughbred horse racing and included stints in marketing, charity work, and racehorse breeding, before she found success in private aviation. She credits mentors for helping her along this unusual path, which culminated in founding her own executive jet charter company, SEJ, in 2020. For example, when Dalton, as a 17-year-old high school dropout, was first drawn to a jockey career, New Jersey horse trainer John Forbes and his assistant Pat McBurney first gave her the opportunity and support to train and compete. She describes their mentorship as essential to providing the support she needed to become one of the country's first female thoroughbred jockeys in a male-dominated field. "I really didn't have any experience that would give them any reason to think that I could be a jockey other than being short and having the desire to do so, but I worked really hard. I did everything I could to show that I had a drive to do something with my life and earn the opportunities to work and do more," she said during the podcast interview. "I just felt that if I showed I was willing to work hard, I could earn my way. And I did and I was fortunate. [But] no matter how driven I was, if Pat, in particular, wasn't willing to reward me for that effort, and take me on, I would not have had the opportunity to grow the way that I did." Other supporters provided encouragement and opportunities when Dalton left racing to pursue her GED at community college and her studies at Northwestern University, where she graduated magna cum laude, as well as when she first got into the aviation business. "I feel fortunate that I wound up in aviation, because it's very similar to the racing world. I always say that selling charter and running charter flights is the closest I could ever get to riding racehorses, so it's a very good fit for me. I was doing aircraft acquisitions and refurbs, and fulfilling these flights, and really learning 'boots on the ground' how to do what I was doing," she said. "My mentor wound up being a gentleman named Rick Kay. He was appreciative of flying privately, and he had high expectations. He really taught me to be of service to somebody at a level so far beyond where I was at in my own life, and it's one of the things that I most enjoy about jet charter," she continued. "I think of all of my clients as mentors to me. They're all quite successful, and it's really a privilege to learn from them and support their flying and be a be a part of their company growth." Helpful Tips for Mentors and Mentees Dalton believes that one of her strengths is having a passion for helping other people grow and be successful. She continually pushes herself to learn and share what she's learning with others. Mentoring others is a way for her to accomplish this and give back to the next generation of young professionals. On the podcast with Martin, she shared several insights for mentors and mentees alike on how to engage in successful mentorship. For example, for those taking on a new mentee, she recommends making sure you are willing and able to serve in a good capacity to your mentee, and vice versa. "It should always be something that's fulfilling and rewarding, and not draining," Dalton said. She advises young professionals looking for a mentor to be persistent and work hard. "Really prove and show how much you want to learn," she said, noting that when she was younger, "I didn't really understand how much of a value it was. I was always appreciative, but I didn't realize the amount of responsibility that sat with my mentors at the time, and what a gift it was that they were giving me." Listen to the Full Podcast For more of Dalton's insights on mentoring, and to hear more about her career journey, listen to the full podcast: Episode Three of Mindful Mentoring With Tom Martin . As an outgrowth of the Martin Center for Mentorship in Communication, the Mindful Mentoring podcast explores the science of mentorship with successful leaders, business executives, students and others to learn how mentoring shaped, or is shaping, their personal and professional lives. About SPARROW Executive Jets SPARROW Executive Jets (www.sparrowjets.com) delivers unparalleled private jet charter services with a singular focus on safety, quality, and convenience. We leverage real-time market awareness of jet charter inventory, management companies, and global aircraft manufacturer trends to provide private jets for every global destination. For more news about SPARROW Executive Jets, visit www.sparrowjets.com/news. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/sparrow-founders-unique-career-offers-lessons-in-mindful-mentoring-podcast-302063639.html SOURCE SPARROW Executive Jets Nation's Premier Assisted Stretching Brand Continues Miami Expansion MIAMI BEACH, Fla. , Feb. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Stretch Zone , the nation's premier assisted stretching brand with a patented strapping system and proprietary tables, announces the opening of its newest location in the North Beach neighborhood of Miami Beach, FL. The new studio will be located on Miami Beach at 6804 Collins Ave. and open on Monday, Feb. 19 . Stretch Zone North Beach is co-owned by Marra Chinn Allen , a passionate businesswoman who was immediately drawn to the Stretch Zone franchising opportunity by the brand's philosophy. While this is Marra's first foray into franchising, she is already privy to opening a business in the thriving South Florida market, having previously owned a gluten-free vegan baking company in Miami . Knowing that her next business venture would also be related to health and wellness, Marra, who is partnering with her husband George, went to Stretch Zone and fell in love with the concept she could truly feel the difference after her first stretch. Immediately, she recognized the incredible potential in owning a Stretch Zone franchise and was particularly impressed by the business model, where passion is felt from top to bottom. North Beach , an affluent Miami Beach community with a plethora of businesspeople, influencers, athletes, and health and fitness enthusiasts, was the obvious choice for Stretch Zone's newest Miami location. "As the incoming co-owner of Stretch Zone North Beach, embarking on my first venture into franchising is a deeply personal and familial journey. This is a family venture, and my vision is to create a lasting legacy for my daughter, serving as a positive role model through the inspiring world of entrepreneurship," said Marra Chinn Allen . " Choosing Stretch Zone was not just a business decision; it's a project rooted in my passion for physical fitness and a belief in Stretch Zone's differentiated stretch methodology that supports healthy aging, mobility, and performance for all. North Beach is a dynamic community with a health-conscious demographic making it the perfect location to spread the joy of stretching and well-being. For me, it's more than just business; it's about making a positive impact on people's lives." For more information on Stretch Zone , its innovative approach to assisted stretching, and its new location in North Beach , please visit https://www.stretchzone.com/locations/north-beach-fl , or call 305-400-9987. About Stretch Zone Stretch Zone is a brand that was built with heart. Founded by Jorden Gold in 2004, Stretch Zone originated from Gold's desire to help his Pop-Pop regain mobility. Gold, who was working as a trainer at the time, utilized his background in the wellness space to begin stretching his grandfather, who had been bed-ridden due to age and a variety of health complications. He realized through this process that there was room to develop a new approach that amplified the benefits of assisted stretching. Gold spent months pioneering a proprietary training method that uses a table and straps to help achieve long lasting effects that truly impact daily life. With Gold's help, Pop-Pop went from being bed-ridden to using his walker to dancing at his grandchild's wedding in a matter of months. Gold knew how many lives could benefit from practitioner-assisted stretching and sought to begin introducing the concept nationwide through franchising. Revolutionizing how we all approach stretching, the brand is on a mission to improve the quality of life for communities by utilizing their proprietary tables and patented strapping system to assist in achieving long term results. With more than 330 locations open throughout 41 states, this brand has seen incredible growth since its start and has no plans on slowing their momentum, receiving national recognition for their growth in the 2023 Inc. 5000 and Entrepreneur's 2023 Fastest Growing Franchises. Stretch Zone is looking for experienced franchisees that are passionate about the health and wellness industry and are committed to making a positive impact in the communities they serve. For more information, please visit https://www.stretchzone.com/. Contact: Betty Anne Richardson | Franchise Elevator PR | [email protected] | (847) 945-1300 ext. 245 View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/stretch-zone-opens-newest-location-in-miami-beach-302064458.html RAPID CITY, S.D. , Feb. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- A contemporary U-Haul retail, moving and self-storage facility is coming to Rapid City thanks to the land acquisition of 7.5 acres on East Stumer Road . U-Haul Moving & Storage of Catron Blvd. is budgeted for completion by early 2025. The property will host a three-story building with more than 80,000 square feet, housing at least 900 indoor ADA-accessible self-storage rooms with high-tech security features at affordable price points. Plans also call for a separate warehouse for portable moving containers. Once the store is ready, customers will have access to truck and trailer sharing, moving supplies, towing equipment and professional hitch installation, U-Box containers, propane and more. Reserve equipment on the U-Haul app or contact Reservations at 1-800-GO-UHAUL. "U-Haul is in growth mode," stated U-Haul Company of Fargo president Shawn Odden , whose territory includes Rapid City . "This property was an attractive investment because it's located near the Ellsworth Air Force Base and the constantly growing Black Hills region." U-Haul intends to hire 12 Team Members to staff the new store. U-Haul will look to hire locally to promote job growth within the Rapid City community. U-Haul, honored as a Best for Vets leading veteran-friendly employer by The Military Times, actively recruits veterans and gives them preference in the hiring process. Find U-Haul careers at uhauljobs.com. U-Haul continues to benefit the environment through its shared-use business model. Truck and trailer sharing enables communities to share moving equipment so that families and individuals don't need to own large-capacity vehicles to transfer belongings. Sustainability initiatives like U-Haul Adaptive Reuse (the preserving and repurposing of existing buildings for new stores), truck modifications to improve fuel economy, and plastic Ready-To-Go Boxes that are shared hundreds of times before being recycled are among the many ways U-Haul promotes green business. U-Box Load Share, the Company's latest sustainability program, was just named the 2023 Best in Biz gold winner for the Most Environmentally Friendly Service of the Year. About U-HAUL Founded in 1945, U-Haul is the No. 1 choice of do-it-yourself movers with more than 23,000 rental locations across all 50 states and 10 Canadian provinces. The enhanced U-Haul app makes it easier for customers to use U-Haul Truck Share 24/7 to access trucks anytime through the self-dispatch and self-return options on their smartphones through our patented Live Verify technology. Our customers' patronage has enabled the U-Haul fleet to grow to 192,200 trucks, 138,500 trailers and 44,500 towing devices. U-Haul is the third largest self-storage operator in North America with 967,000 rentable units and 83.3 million square feet of self-storage space at owned and managed facilities. U-Haul is the top retailer of propane in the U.S. and the largest installer of permanent trailer hitches in the automotive aftermarket industry. Get the U-Haul app from the App Store or Google Play. Contact: Andrea Batchelor Jeff Lockridge E-mail: [email protected] Phone: 602-263-6981 Website: uhaul.com View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/u-haul-bringing-900-room-storage-facility-and-jobs-to-rapid-city-302064215.html SOURCE U-Haul International, Inc. AURORA, Colo. , Feb. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Vederra's modular factory in Aurora, CO , is taking a significant step towards addressing Colorado's affordable housing shortage with its commitment to "Housing for All" while contributing to the state's renewable energy objectives. Partnering with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Golden , Vederra is set to establish an innovative 110,000 sq ft factory dedicated to producing net-zero modular housing. This initiative is expected to have a positive impact on energy-efficient construction in Colorado , generating over 150 jobs and providing a practical solution to the state's pressing housing needs. Vederra is on track to deliver its first modular housing units in the 3rd quarter of 2024. Led by a seasoned team with over 57 years of combined experience designing and building modular housing in Colorado , Vederra will collaborate closely with affordable housing organizations to design energy efficient, affordable projects. Vederra will be the first factory in Colorado to be certified by the Department of Energy to provide Zero Energy Ready Homes , which will provide the state's affordable housing organizations access to federal rebates to further offset the cost of housing. Colorado's commitment to renewable energy, as championed by Governor Jared Polis' goal of achieving 100% renewable energy by 2040, has paved the way for legislative changes impacting home construction. Partnering with NREL, Vederra will lead Colorado with its energy efficient home building. The factory is poised to assist affordable housing organizations and developers in meeting and exceeding Colorado's ambitious energy goals while streamlining modular construction processes. Nathan Peterson , CEO, and Founder of Vederra, a long-time figure in the Colorado modular housing industry, emphasizes the importance of modular housing in addressing the housing shortage while prioritizing sustainability. He envisions this new factory as a crucial step toward providing affordable, environmentally conscious housing solutions for current and future Coloradans. For further information, please contact: Vederra https://www.vederra.com/ info@vederra.com (303) 285-0123 View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/vederra-modular---new-modular-factory---addresses-colorados-housing-crisis-with-affordable-sustainable-modular-homes-302063706.html SOURCE Vederra Experienced Executive to Drive Next Phase of Growth for Leading Franchise Platform of Best-in-Class Beauty and Wellness Brands DENVER , Feb. 15, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- WellBiz Brands Inc. ("WellBiz Brands"), the pre-eminent beauty and wellness franchise platform, today announced that Amanda Clark , a seasoned franchise industry executive, has been appointed Chief Executive Officer, effective March 12, 2024 . Ms. Clark succeeds Jeremy Morgan , who will transition from the business after seven years leading the company. Under Mr. Morgan's leadership, WellBiz Brands successfully acquired three category-leading brands and system-wide sales grew from $200 million to nearly $700 million . "After conducting a comprehensive search, it became clear that Amanda is the right leader to drive the next phase of growth for the WellBiz Brands platform and our world-class, experience-based consumer brands," said Mr. Morgan . "Amanda has deep expertise in franchising, a unique cross-functional operational background, and a proven record of delivering profitable growth and building lasting brands. I am confident WellBiz Brands is well positioned to enter a new chapter of success under her leadership." Ms. Clark joins WellBiz Brands from Papa John's International, Inc., where she was Chief Operating Officer for International and, earlier, Chief Development Officer. As International COO, Ms. Clark helped lead the delivery of more than 700 net new units and the completion of the two largest development deals in company history. Prior to Papa Johns , Ms. Clark served as Executive Vice President of Restaurant Experience at Taco Bell, overseeing the customer experience of Taco Bell's 7,000-plus restaurants, including design, consumer-facing technology, merchandising, customer marketing, new concepts, and company development. Earlier in her career, Ms. Clark worked for nearly 12 years at Procter & Gamble, where she held a variety of brand management and marketing roles, driving growth for some of the world's largest beauty and wellness brands. "I couldn't be more excited to work with such a talented team and industry-leading franchisee base," said Ms. Clark . "I am passionate about the beauty and wellness industry and inspired by this portfolio of female-focused brands that build confidence and foster well-being. We have an exciting journey ahead as we build on our momentum and strengthen the impact we can have for our customers, franchisees, and brands." In 2023, WellBiz Brands delivered a record year in systemwide sales across 900 studios, serving over seven million customers. The WellBiz Brands portfolio features category leaders including Drybar, Amazing Lash Studio , Radiant Waxing, Elements Massage, and Fitness Together. About WellBiz Brands Inc. WellBiz Brands Inc. is the pre-eminent beauty and wellness franchise platform catering to the needs of the affluent female consumer. The WellBiz Brands' portfolio features category leaders including Drybar, Amazing Lash Studio, Radiant Waxing, Elements Massage and Fitness Together. The company's cross-brand digital marketing program drives effective member acquisition strategies, creating a world-class membership ecosystem. WellBizONE system, a proprietary technology platform, enhances studio operations for franchisees, fueling member engagement and retention. With expertise in supply chain management, e-commerce and product innovation, WellBiz Brands provides franchisees with a leading edge. The company has received national recognition on lists such as the Inc. 5000 Fastest Growing Companies, Entrepreneur's Franchise 500 and Franchise Times Fast & Serious, among others. For more information, visit WellBizBrands.com. Media Contact: Stephen Reiff [email protected] View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/wellbiz-brands-inc-names-franchise-industry-veteran-amanda-clark-as-ceo-302063346.html SOURCE WellBiz Brands, Inc. PARIS , Feb. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Eighteen of Moldova's wineries attended Wine Paris & Vinexpo Paris 2024 in a historical premiere for the country, with visitor and exhibitor numbers climbing to 41,253 and 4,070 respectively in 2024. The three day event culminated in a Wine of Moldova masterclass hosted by H.E. the Ambassador of the Republic of Moldova to France , Corina Calugaru, Stefan Iamandi, Director of the National Vine and Wine Office, and journalist Robert Joseph , discussing the importance of Moldova's '10 Revolutionary Years of Building a National Wine Brand' . "What we are experiencing today is an opportunity. In the next decade, we might not speak of a revolution but of a transformation or reinvention, especially in the Moldovan wine industry," said Ambassador Corina Calugaru. She continued: " Moldova is a country of rich heritage with hardworking people. Our achievements in wine industry are a testament to political and international support, but most importantly, to the dedication of our wine producers and the resilience of our people. This, I believe, is the cornerstone of our progress." Meanwhile, Stefan Iamandi outlined the nation's continuing success in export markets, as premium Moldovan wines gain traction abroad. "After '10 Revolutionary Years of Building a National Wine Brand' Moldova's wine exports have tripled in value to western countries" he said. Robert Joseph also observed that "people have fallen in love with Moldovan wine and are telling other people about it, however, it's not easy to make your voice heard. So, Moldova really is just starting down the road." Participating wineries have described Wine Paris 2024 as a "great opportunity to stand alongside the biggest producers." Media Contact - Parascovia Ignat , [email protected], +373 22 105 560 Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2341916/Wine_of_Moldova.jpg Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2341917/Wine_of_Moldova.jpg Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2341918/Wine_of_Moldova.jpg Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2341919/Wine_of_Moldova.jpg Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2341920/Wine_of_Moldova.jpg View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/wine-of-moldovas-inaugural-appearance-at-vinexpo-paris-2024-302064250.html PALO ALTO, Calif. , Feb. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- WovenEarth Ventures held the final close of its first fund, WovenEarth Fund I at $152M on January 31st , hitting its hard cap. WovenEarth's mission is to seek attractive, risk-adjusted returns while moving compelled capital into US early-stage climate tech venture, providing highly diversified exposure to the sector via a focused, carefully crafted fund of funds with differentiated access. This new fund seeks to break down the barriers to investing in US early-stage climate tech, which remains difficult for many investors to enter due to the dynamic, technical, and emerging nature of the space. WovenEarth draws on the decades of experience that founder Jane Woodward has accrued building portfolios of early-stage risk in the energy industry. Jane is complimented by two partners, co-founder Mauricia Geissler , the former chief investment officer of Amherst College, and Denise Miller , an energy transition strategist, and four other team members as well as expert senior advisors. WovenEarth's inaugural institutional partners include three major university endowments Boston University, Northwestern University, The Pennsylvania State University along with Glenmede (representing a major foundation), Mortenson Family Foundation, and M.A. Mortenson Companies. Big Path Capital provided fundraising support. Since 2022, WovenEarth Fund I has invested with 13 US-based early-stage climate tech venture fund managers that are generalist investors focused on decarbonization, as well as managers that have domain-focused funds on specific climate tech sub-sectors such as wildfire, water, agriculture, or digital solutions. WovenEarth Fund I is largely committed to underlying funds and seeks to ultimately provide exposure to over 300 underlying portfolio companies. In addition, the fund also opportunistically coinvests directly in companies often with unique access. Jane has been an educator at Stanford for more than 30 years and investor education is central to WovenEarth's strategy. She brings her knowledge to WovenEarth investors through curated quarterly workshops featuring venture managers from WovenEarth's portfolio along with select portfolio companies. About WovenEarth WovenEarth's mission is to seek attractive, risk-adjusted returns while moving compelled capital into US early-stage climate tech venture, providing highly diversified exposure to the sector via a focused, carefully crafted fund of funds with differentiated access. Media & PR Contact Chris Allieri Mulberry & Astor [email protected] View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/wovenearth-ventures-closes-152m-us-early-stage-climate-tech-fund-of-funds-302064124.html SOURCE WovenEarth Ventures Emergency service members work at the site of a collapsed construction site in Florence, Italy February 16, 2024. Vigili del Fuoco/Handout via REUTERS FLORENCE, Italy (Reuters) -Five workers were killed and three seriously injured after a slab collapsed at a construction site in the Italian city of Florence, reviving concerns about work safety standards in the country. The workers died on Friday morning while building a supermarket for the Esselunga chain. Italian media said the victims were an Italian man, three Moroccans and a Tunisian. Firefighters pulled out three survivors, who were taken to hospital, and four bodies. On Saturday, they were trying to extract the last person still trapped under rubble, in operations they described as "complex". The president of the Tuscany region, which comprises Florence, said rescuers believed the last missing person was dead. "We can now say that there are five dead", Eugenio Giani told a local radio. Accidents on work sites are fairly common in Italy: the country had 601 workplace deaths in 2021, the second-highest figure in the European Union after France, according to the bloc's statistics agency Eurostat. The Cgil and Uil unions called a two-hour national strike on Feb. 21, blaming the excessive use of subcontracting for lowering wages, safety, training and working conditions on building sites. "We are tired of hearing words of condolence. Work and safety must be at the centre of political attention to implement concrete solutions, starting from the places most at risk such as construction sites", they said. Pope Francis on Saturday joined Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and other Italian officials in expressing grief for the Florence deaths, and called for "more efforts from those responsible for protecting workers". (Reporting by Silvia Ognibene; additional reporting by Angelo Amante and Alvise Armellini in Rome; editing by Giles Elgood) By Andrew Gray BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Joint European Union borrowing could help fund higher defence spending but governments would still have to make tough political choices to sustain it, Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo said. Many European governments have committed to increasing military spending in response to Russia's war in Ukraine and doubts about the U.S. commitment to European security via NATO, called into question again in recent days by Donald Trump. With many national budgets under strain, leaders including Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas, French President Emmanuel Macron and European Council President Charles Michel have floated the idea of special EU bonds for defence investment. "I think that's a sound idea and it's something that could help us in speeding things up," De Croo told Reuters in an interview. "But at some point, you need to be able to sustain it and you cant sustain it by borrowing all the time," said De Croo, who will be among the leaders at this weekend's Munich Security Conference, a major annual foreign and defence policy gathering. "You need stable financing this will demand some clear policy choices." Discussions on the idea are at an early stage, according to diplomats, with no detailed proposal on the table. To succeed, proponents will need to convince those traditionally sceptical of EU joint borrowing such as Germany, the Netherlands and Nordic nations. However, supporters of the idea point out that EU countries agreed to joint borrowing of hundreds of billions of euros just a few years ago to help recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. "It will not be easy, but as it has been done before, the precedent is there," said a European diplomat. EU industrial chief Thierry Breton last month broached the idea of a 100 billion euro European Defence Fund, though he said this would be up to the next European Commission due to be appointed at the end of this year. European defence spending has been on an upward curve since Russia first invaded Ukraine and seized Crimea in 2014. NATO said on Wednesday it expected defence spending by its European members would grow by $33 billion this year to $380 billion. NATO also said it expected 18 of its 31 members to meet its target of spending at least 2% of national GDP on defence, without naming them. Belgium will certainly not be among them. Last year, NATO estimated Belgium would spend 1.13 % of GDP on defence in 2023, second lowest among NATO members. The country is currently projected to hit the 2% target only in 2035. De Croo, a liberal who leads a multi-party government, said he would campaign in a general election in June to "drastically" speed up that timetable. ARMS PRODUCTION He also called for EU countries to cooperate more closely on arms production. He said the sector had been "very fragmented" as militaries preferred to buy from their own national suppliers rather than shop around. Some efforts to get EU nations and companies to team up have struggled. A joint procurement initiative to get 1 million ammunition rounds to Ukraine within a year would only reach half its target by the deadline, officials said last month. But De Croo insisted the overall picture was improving. "We see throughout Europe a lot is happening in cooperation between national players, in mergers," he said. On a long-running debate about the possibility of an EU army, De Croo said it was better to let integration among European militaries grow "organically" than try to impose a structure on 27 member countries. "Let countries that want to integrate and to work together, just let them do it," he said, citing close Belgian military cooperation with France and the Netherlands. "It will be at different speeds and different configurations. But that works much better than trying to build something on the level of 27, which is just going to take too much time." (Reporting and writing by Andrew Gray; Additional reporting by John Irish in Paris; Editing by Alex Richardson) U.S. President Joe Biden, left, meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, right, to discuss the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2023. Miriam Alster/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo By Jarrett Renshaw (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden on Thursday again told Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he should not proceed with military action in Rafah without a credible and executable plan to protect Palestinian civilians, the White House said. The call between the two leaders on Thursday was the second time in less than a week that Biden warned Netanyahu about moving into the southern part of the Gaza Strip without a plan to ensure the safety of some 1 million people sheltering there. They also spoke about ongoing hostage negotiations and Biden pledged to continue to work around the clock to help free the hostages, who have spent 132 days in Hamas captivity, according to the White House read out of the call. Israeli forces said on Thursday they had raided the biggest functioning hospital in Gaza, an incursion that raised fresh alarms over the fate of hundreds of patients and medical workers and the many displaced Palestinians who had sought shelter there from the war. Fighting at the hospital comes as Israel faces growing international pressure to show restraint, after vowing to press its offensive into Rafah, the last relatively safe place in Gaza. Earlier this month, Biden said Israel's military response in the Gaza Strip had been "over the top" and expressed grave concern over the rising civilian death toll in the Palestinian enclave. The war began on Oct. 7 when Iran-backed Hamas sent fighters into Israel, killing 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and seizing 253 hostages according to Israeli tallies. Israel's air and ground offensive has since devastated tiny, crowded Gaza, killing 28,663 people, also mostly civilian, according to health authorities, and forcing nearly all its more than 2 million inhabitants from their homes. (Reporting by Rami Ayyub and Jarrett Renshaw; Editing by Chris Reese and Stephen Coates) In this article we will take a look at the 20 Most Dangerous Countries that American Tourists Usually Visit. You can also go directly to the 10 Most Dangerous Countries that American Tourists Usually Visit. Recently, the U.S. Department of State issued travel advisories to provide guidance to American citizens regarding the safety and security situation in foreign countries. These advisories are based on various factors, including crime rates, political instability, terrorism threats, natural disasters, and public health concerns. When issuing travel advisories, the Department assesses information from multiple sources, including U.S. embassies and consulates, host governments, intelligence reports, and international organizations. As per news, The State Department also suggested that U.S. travelers steer clear of activities like boat tours with commercial recreational watercraft because they are not consistently regulated. But mainly, this warning was issued because 18 murders have occurred in Nassau since the beginning of 2024. However, recent news reports indicate that Jamaican and Bahamian officials are challenging the statement made by U.S. authorities regarding the safety of their countries for tourists. The pushback comes in response to travel advisories issued by the U.S. State Department, which raised concerns about crime rates and access to medical services in Jamaica and the Bahamas. The Jamaican Tourism Minister has refuted these claims, emphasizing that the country has implemented various measures to enhance visitor safety, including the deployment of additional security forces in tourist areas. Additionally, Bahamian officials have contested the portrayal of their nation, citing improvements in law enforcement efforts and investments in infrastructure to address safety concerns. These assertions align with efforts by both countries to promote tourism and assure travelers of their commitment to ensuring a safe and enjoyable experience. Story continues It is too soon to say what implications this may have on the countries that have been on the warning list but immediate impact of travel advisories on hotel stocks may vary depending on the timing and severity of the advisories, historical trends and industry analyses can provide insights into potential effects. Publicly traded hotel stocks with exposure to countries under travel advisories may experience declines in their stock prices following the issuance of advisories or negative news coverage regarding safety concerns. Stock price movements can reflect investor perceptions of heightened risk and uncertainty surrounding the affected markets. Hotel companies typically report financial data in their quarterly and annual financial statements, including revenue, occupancy rates, and Revenue Per Available Room for properties in various locations. Analysts and investors may scrutinize these financial statements for any indications of adverse impacts from travel advisories on the company's performance in affected markets. AMResorts (Owned by Apple Leisure Group), a subsidiary of Apple Leisure Group, operates several luxury resort brands, including Secrets Resorts & Spas, Dreams Resorts & Spas, and Sunscape Resorts & Spas. It operates properties in Jamaica, such as Secrets St. James Montego Bay and Secrets Wild Orchid Montego Bay. A decline in bookings and occupancy rates due to travel advisories can directly impact AMResorts' financial performance. Lower occupancy levels may lead to decreased revenue per available room (RevPAR), impacting the company's top-line growth and profitability. This could, in turn, affect the company's stock performance and investor sentiment. 20 Most Dangerous Countries that American Tourists Usually Visit Methodology To compile the list of the 20 Most Dangerous Countries that American Tourists Usually Visit, we shortlisted the top countries that American tourists usually visit from sources like Travel Advisory, Business Insider, U.S. News, Deseret News, and CBS News. And then we opted for a consensus approach relying on opinion threads from popular platforms Quora. A score point was given each time a country was mentioned as dangerous to travel to for American tourists and then all the points were added to give a total score to each country. Then the list of the 20 Most Dangerous Countries that American Tourists Usually Visit was ranked in ascending order (from least to more dangerous countries). By the way, Insider Monkey is an investing website that tracks the movements of corporate insiders and hedge funds. By using a similar consensus approach, we identify the best stock picks of more than 900 hedge funds investing in US stocks. The top 10 consensus stock picks of hedge funds outperformed the S&P 500 Index by more than 140 percentage points over the last 10 years. Whether you are a beginner investor or a professional one looking for the best stocks to buy, you can benefit from the wisdom of hedge funds and corporate insiders check details here. 20 Most Dangerous Countries that American Tourists Usually Visit 20. Aruba Score: 3 Aruba is known for its white-sand beaches and turquoise waters, and is a popular Caribbean destination with a relatively low crime rate of 27.5 per 100,000 people. 19. Saint Kitts and Nevis Score: 3 This dual-island nation offers lush rainforests, historic sites, and beautiful beaches. With a crime rate of 300.5 per 100,000 people, according to UNODC, travellers should exercise caution, especially in secluded areas. 18. Grenada Score: 3 Famous for its spice plantations and welcoming locals, Grenada is a picturesque island with a crime rate of 57.8 per 100,000 people. Visitors enjoy exploring historic forts, diving in clear waters, and sampling local cuisine. 17. Saint Lucia Score: 5 This country is known for its dramatic Pitons, lush landscapes, and luxury resorts. It has a crime rate of 29.6 per 100,000 people. Tourists indulge in outdoor activities, cultural experiences, and romantic getaways, however tourists must be careful when visiting Saint Lucia. 16. Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Score: 5 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is an island chain that offers secluded beaches, sailing adventures, and vibrant marine life. With a crime rate of 36.7 per 100,000 people, visitors should remain vigilant, especially in tourist areas. 15. Bahamas Score: 7 Travelers enjoy water sports, shopping, and exploring historic sites in the Bahamas. It is famous for its pink-sand beaches, vibrant coral reefs, and luxurious resorts, the Bahamas has a crime rate of 31.7 per 100,000 people. 14. Barbados Score: 7 Barbados offers people to savor rum cocktails, local cuisine, and cultural events. However, with its British colonial architecture, lively festivals, and pristine beaches, Barbados has a crime rate of 35.6 per 100,000 people. Therefore, caution is recommended, when visiting such places. 13. Jamaica Score: 8 Jamaica, situated in the Caribbean Sea, is renowned for its reggae music, vibrant culture, and stunning natural beauty. The crime rate here is higher - 46.2 per 100,000 people, which is why tourists are advised to be cautious of traveling here, despite the glory it has to offer. Tourists flock to Jamaica's sandy beaches, including Seven Mile Beach in Negril and Doctor's Cave Beach in Montego Bay, for sunbathing and water sports. They can explore the lush rainforests of the Blue Mountains, visit historic plantations such as Rose Hall, and indulge in local cuisine like jerk chicken and ackee and saltfish. However, at the moment, it is specifically advised for US citizens to not travel to Jamaica. 12. Puerto Rico Score: 8 Puerto Rico, a US territory in the Caribbean, offers a blend of Spanish and American influences, vibrant culture, and diverse landscapes. The crime rate here is reported to be 25.6 per 100,000 people. Tourists explore historic sites such as San Juan's Castillo San Felipe del Morro and El Yunque National Forest's lush rainforests. They can also relax on the beaches of Vieques and Culebra, hike to waterfalls in El Yunque, and enjoy authentic Puerto Rican cuisine like Mofongo and Lechon Asado. 11. Trinidad and Tobago Score: 8 Trinidad and Tobago, located off the coast of Venezuela, offer a mix of cultural diversity, natural beauty, and vibrant festivals. With a crime rate of 49.6 per 100,000 people, people come here to explore Trinidad's bustling capital, Port of Spain, for shopping and dining experiences. Trinidad and Tobago also offers cultural experiences like the Trinidad Carnival, the largest carnival in the Caribbean, and the Tobago Jazz Experience, featuring international and local artists. Click to continue reading and see the 10 Most Dangerous Countries that American Tourists Usually Visit. Suggested Articles: Disclosure: none. 20 Most Dangerous Countries that American Tourists Usually Visit is originally published on Insider Monkey. U.S. President Joe Biden meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Israeli war cabinet, as he visits Israel amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Tel Aviv, Israel, October 18, 2023. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein/File Photo WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Joe Biden said Friday he has had extensive talks with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in recent days in which he pushed for a temporary ceasefire. The Biden administration has been prodding Israel to undertake a humanitarian pause that would allow for the release of hostages still being held by Hamas, months after the Palestinian militant group's deadly Oct. 7 attack inside Israel. "I've had extensive conversations with the prime minister of Israel over the last several days, almost an hour each, and I've made the case, and I feel very strongly about it, that there has to be a temporary ceasefire to get the prisoners out, to get the hostages out," Biden told reporters at the White House. Biden on Thursday again told Netanyahu that he should not proceed with military action in Rafah without a credible and executable plan to protect Palestinian civilians, the White House said. (Reporting by Steve Holland; Writing by Doina Chiacu; Editing by Cynthia Osterman) FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks at the White House in Washington, U.S., February 8, 2024. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque By Steve Holland and Trevor Hunnicutt WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Joe Biden on Friday blamed Russian President Vladimir Putin for Alexei Navalny's death and warned there could be consequences, saying he was "not surprised" but "outraged" by the opposition leader's passing. "We don't know exactly what happened, but there is no doubt that the death of Nalvany was a consequence of something that Putin and his thugs did," Biden said at the White House after Russian prison officials announced that Navalny had died. "Russian authorities are going to tell their own story," Biden said. "But make no mistake. Make no mistake: Putin is responsible for Navalny's death." He also said he was "contemplating" additional steps to punish Russia in the aftermath of Navalny's death, paying tribute to the opposition leader for "bravely" standing up to Putin's government's "corruption" and "violence." "We're contemplating what else can be done," Biden said in response to questions from reporters. "We're looking at a whole number of options, that's all I'll say right now." Biden also told reporters that there was "no nuclear threat to the people of America or anywhere else in the world with what Russia is doing at the moment," even as Russia considered deploying anti-satellite technology in space. Russia has previously denied the claim. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on what possible steps against Russia were being evaluated. U.S. officials were still seeking more information about Navalny's death at a Russian penal colony north of the Arctic Circle, where he was dispatched less than two months ago. But the development, and Biden's reaction, has put a further chill into already bitter U.S.-Russian relations. The 47-year-old Navalny had been a leading critic of Putin, and Biden had said after meeting Putin in Geneva in June 2021 that Nalvany's death would risk devastating consequences for Putin. Biden and Putin remain deeply at odds over Russia's invasion of Ukraine two years ago, over which Russia has been sanctioned by the United States and other Western nations, and Biden is urging Republican hardliners in the U.S. Congress to support additional funding to pay for more weaponry for Ukraine's military. Russia has figured prominently on the campaign trail as Biden seeks reelection in November. His expected Republican opponent, former President Donald Trump, triggered bipartisan outrage last week by saying he would do nothing to defend NATO allies from Russia unless they paid a greater share for the common defenses. The top Republican in Congress, House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson, has not put a Senate bill including $95.34 billion in security assistance for Ukraine and Israel, international humanitarian aid and resources to help allies in the Indo-Pacific up to a vote. After Navalny's death, Johnson said the U.S. and its allies should use "every means available to cut off Putin's ability to fund his unprovoked war in Ukraine and aggression against the Baltic states." "History's watching the House of Representatives. The failure to support Ukraine at this critical moment will never be forgotten," Biden said. In Munich for a major security conference, Vice President Kamala Harris vowed that the U.S. would never retreat from its NATO alliance obligations put in place after World War Two, contrasting Biden's approach to global engagement with presidential election hopeful Trump's isolationist views. She also met with Alexei Navalny's wife Yulia on the margins of the conference and "expressed her sorrow and outrage" over reports of her husband's death, a White House official said. Biden's presidential reelection campaign on Friday released a new minute-long advertisement blasting Trump for abandoning NATO. They planned to target the ad to 2.5 million American voters in the closely contested election states of Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania who trace their ancestry to the NATO states bordering Russia. (Reporting by Steve Holland and Trevor Hunnicutt; Additional reporting by Ismail Shakil, Gabriel Araujo and Doina Chiacu; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Jonathan Oatis) By Elizabeth Piper LONDON (Reuters) -Britain's Labour Party dealt a crushing blow to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's Conservatives on Friday, winning contests for two new lawmakers in votes that indicated the opposition party was on track to win a national election later this year. The double defeat underlined the flagging fortunes of the governing party and will do little to silence Sunak's critics, who fear the Conservatives could be trounced at the national election and want him to change course. The 43-year-old former investment banker has struggled to restore his party's fortunes despite recasting himself at various points over the past year as a bold reformer, a stable technocrat and now as someone who needs more time "to stick to the plan" because, he says, that plan is working. But with the Labour Party ahead in the polls, Sunak might feel the need to bend to the demands of some in his party to offer an increasingly disaffected electorate a more right-wing conservative agenda before the election. Labour was jubilant. "By winning in these Tory strongholds, we can confidently say that Labour is back in the service of working people and we will work tirelessly to deliver for them," Labour leader Keir Starmer said in a statement. "The Tories (Conservatives) have failed. Rishi's recession proves that. That's why we've seen so many former Conservative voters switching directly to this changed Labour Party." Labour overturned a hefty Conservative majority in the central English town of Wellingborough to win the parliamentary seat with 13,844 votes against 7,408 in what polling expert John Curtice described as the governing party's "worst ever by-election reverse." In another threat to Sunak's party, the candidate for the right-wing Reform Party won 3,919 votes, a sign, Curtice said, it had "now entered the electoral battle in a serious way ... that potentially adds to the Conservatives' difficulties". Addressing that threat, Conservative Party Chairman Richard Holden told Times Radio a vote for Reform was a vote for Labour. "I don't think what we're seeing is that big switch to Labour ... but I think you are seeing Conservative voters, not at this stage willing to come out at the moment and support the government." In Kingswood, southwestern England, Labour won with 11,176 votes against 8,675 for the Conservative candidate. Reform received 2,578 votes. PRESSURE ON SUNAK It appeared that the Conservatives had all but written off the two by-elections. While Labour sent many of its lawmakers and activists to campaign in both places, the Conservatives had a muted presence. The party has only won four out of 21 by-elections since the last national election in 2019. While so-called by-elections are often lost by the governing party, the scale of the defeat in two parliamentary seats the Conservatives have held for years piles pressure on Sunak, who became prime minister just over a year ago. The challenge from the Reform Party adds a new dimension. Senior Conservative lawmaker Jacob Rees-Mogg said at least in Kingswood, if Reform supporters had voted for the governing party as part of the "Conservative family", the Conservatives would have held the parliamentary seat. Few Conservatives believed they had any chance of winning in either place - the contest in Wellingborough was triggered after the former member of parliament was forced out over a bullying and harassment scandal, while in Kingswood, former minister Chris Skidmore resigned over Sunak's climate change policies. But some had hoped Labour might have been damaged this week when Starmer did not move immediately to censure a Labour candidate who was recorded espousing conspiracy theories about Israel and for scrapping a green investment target. But with turnout low, voters punished the governing party and Sunak, who is struggling to meet his election promises, including a vow to grow the economy. Data on Thursday showed it had slipped into recession in the second half of 2023. With many voters angry over a punishing cost-of-living crisis, long waiting times to use the state-run health service and strikes on public transport, Sunak is running out of time to close the gap with Labour. Polling expert Curtice said Labour's Starmer still looks "on course to be our next prime minister". (Reporting by Elizabeth Piper; editing by Miral Fahmy and Andrew Heavens) VINA DEL MAR, Chile (Reuters) - Scorched earth surrounds the 70 houses of the Villa Botania neighborhood, on the outskirts of Chile's coastal town of Vina del Mar. Wildfires earlier this month that swept through parts of Vina del Mar and Valparaiso killed at least 132 people, marking the South American nation's worst disaster since 2010. However, the Villa Botania neighborhood, which sits high on a hill surrounded by brush, was unaffected. Residents and officials say Villa Botania was saved due to a community project meant to reduce damages caused by wildfires. Before the flames crept close, the community cut back vegetation, pruned foliage and cleared trash surrounding the hilltop homes. They also brought in water to keep soil wet, and a wall and trench around the area kept the blaze from coming closer. Residents "are determined to do whatever they have to do" to protect their homes, said Leonardo Moder, the regional head of Chile's national forest authority Conaf. "Their efforts worked, because the fire did not affect their houses." Villa Botania is one of 27 communities involved in a Conaf fire safety program that aims to expand, Moder said. "We have to keep replicating it," he said. Due to the devastation elsewhere, many other neighborhoods have "woken up" to the need to take measures to protect themselves from wildfires, Moder added. "Given the destruction that occurred, they have to prepare for it," he said. (Reporting by Nicolas Cortes and Jorge Vega for Reuters TV; Additional reporting by Rodrigo Garrigo; Writing by Kylie Madry; Editing by Bill Berkrot) FILE PHOTO: Helpers fill bottles with milk to be distributed among people in need at a soup kitchen run by religious group Quisicuaba that is serving a growing number of Cubans struggling to make ends meet amid economic crisis, in Havana, Cuba January 15, HAVANA (Reuters) - Cuba is struggling to secure enough milk for children, a minister said, in the latest shortage putting strain on a decades-old subsidies scheme created by the late Fidel Castro. Milk deliveries for children aged 6 months to 2 years had been delayed this month, minister of interior commerce, Betsy Diaz, said late on Thursday, though she promised deliveries would begin shortly in smaller quantities for priority groups. Children with chronic illness, for example, will receive milk but at half their normal allotment, Diaz said. "What we must convey to mothers who are worried, rightly of course, is that we are working daily to find alternatives," Diaz said on Thursday's nightly newscast. Milk for children has long featured prominently as part of Cuba`s "rationbook" system introduced after the Castro's 1959 revolution to provide subsidized staples for all. That system, however, has been plagued in recent years by shortfalls, delays and disorder as economic crisis has handicapped the communist-run government's ability to make good on its commitments. Diaz said just three of Cuba's 15 provinces were currently producing enough liquid milk to satisfy demand as dairy farm output has plunged dramatically in recent years. The remaining provinces, forced to rely on comparatively pricey and often imported syrups and powdered milk, were seeing the worst shortages, she said. Cuba has long blamed a Cold War-era U.S. trade embargo, which restricts financial transactions with the island, for shortages. Some citizens have noted that small businesses, operating in Cuba since the government's 2021 decision to lift a ban on private companies, have little trouble importing milk despite the blockade and financial crisis. Diaz rejected that argument, noting that private businesses sell their milk at market value to recoup costs, while the government sells it at "extremely subsidized" prices. "The state, in advocating for social justice, delivers milk to everyone, but the milk available from (small private businesses) is not for everyone," she said. The government has said it hopes milk supply will increase in March. (Reporting by Dave Sherwood; Editing by Marguerita Choy) FILE PHOTO: Residents walk on cracked ground next to the village of San Roman de Sau, at Sau reservoir which was partially submerged, though it later re-emerged, as the Iberian peninsula is at its driest in 1,200 years Spain, January 31, 2024. REUTERS/Nac MADRID (Reuters) - Severe droughts and heatwaves in Spain could have a persisting impact on the domestic lenders' solvency by slowing down the economy and leading to more loan losses, the Bank of Spain Governor Pablo Hernandez de Cos said on Friday. Spain has logged its warmest January since records began in 1961 and last year was the country's second warmest, while a recent study showed parts of the Iberian peninsula were suffering from the driest period in 1,200 years. Scientists have linked scorching temperatures and dry and windy conditions in many parts of the world, including southern Europe, to climate change. De Cos said that the materialization of those risks would lead to a 0.2 percentage points reduction in the core tier-1 capital ratio of Spanish banks and would persist over a three-year horizon. "Bank capital consumption in this adverse scenario is mainly explained by higher impairment losses and lower net income generation, in line with lower economic activity", De Cos said at an event in the Balearic Islands. De Cos said banks would probably react by reducing their loan portfolios, which would mitigate the effect on solvency, but exacerbate the economic impact. "In any event, if droughts and heatwaves were to become recurrent, their negative impact on the solvency and profitability of the banking sector would be greater than the short-term effects identified in this analysis," he said. Findings were part of the results of various papers from the Bank of Spain. De Cos, who is also a member of the European Central Bank governing council, said that heat waves and droughts can occur simultaneously in several countries, posing additional risks. Last month, the ECB hinted it could make its monetary policy greener as part of a new push to take climate change into account in its work. (Reporting by Jesus Aguado; Editing by Tomasz Janowski) NAIROBI (Reuters) - Ethiopia has signed a preliminary agreement to develop infrastructure for data mining and artificial intelligence training operations, the government's strategic investment arm said. Ethiopian Investment Holdings (EIH) initially said in a social media post on Thursday that a memorandum of understanding for a $250 million project had been signed with a subsidiary of Hong Kong-based West Data Group, but it later removed references to the value of the deal and the identity of the company. The EIH, West Data Group and an official from the Information Network Security Administration, which oversees data mining in Ethiopia, did not respond to requests for comment about the deal. Bloomberg reported last week that Ethiopia has become a leading destination for bitcoin mining - which an Ethiopian official referred to in a statement to the news agency as "data mining" and "high-performance computing" - since the government authorised the practice in 2022. The report said bitcoin miners, whose computers compete to solve complex algorithms and consume large amounts of electricity, are attracted by low power costs in the East African nation. China banned crypto trading and mining in 2021 to control financial risks and reduce energy consumption. Ethiopia has about 5,200 MW of installed generation capacity, with around 90% of it coming from hydropower and the remaining 10% from wind and thermal sources. It is also finalising construction of the Grand Ethiopia Renaissance Dam (GERD), which has a projected installed capacity of 5,150 MW. About 40% of Ethiopia's 120 million people do not have access to electricity. (Reporting by George Obulutsa; editing by Aaron Ross and Jason Neely) FILE PHOTO: Small toy figures are seen in front of Google logo in this illustration picture, April 8, 2019. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo (This Feb. 15 story has been corrected to change the launch date from 'March' to 'spring' in paragraph 5) By Martin Coulter LONDON (Reuters) - Google is preparing to launch an anti-misinformation campaign across five countries in the European Union (EU), the company told Reuters ahead of the bloc's parliamentary elections and tougher new rules tackling online content. In June, EU citizens will elect a new European Parliament to pass policies and laws in the region and lawmakers fear the spread of misinformation online could sway voters. France, Poland and Germany accused Russia on Monday of putting together an elaborate network of websites to spread pro-Russian propaganda. Europe's Digital Services Act, which comes into force this week, will require very large online platforms and search engines to do more to tackle illegal content and risks to public security. From this spring, Google's internal Jigsaw unit which operates to tackle threats to societies, will run a series of animated ads across platforms such as TikTok and YouTube in five EU countries: Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, and Poland. Building on previous campaigns the company has tested in Germany and central Europe, Jigsaw said the new project was an opportunity to reach citizens in countries with some of the largest number of voters in the EU, utilising the company's local expertise in these regions. The ads will feature so-called "prebunking" techniques, developed in partnership with researchers at the Universities of Cambridge and Bristol, aimed at helping viewers identify manipulative content before encountering it. Viewers watching the ads on YouTube will be asked to fill in a short multiple-choice questionnaire, designed to gauge what they have learned about misinformation. "We've spent so much time having these really polarised debates. Our democracy is at stake, and the temperature just keeps getting higher and higher," said Beth Goldberg, head of research at Jigsaw. "Prebunking is the only technique, at least that I've seen, that works equally effectively across the political spectrum," Goldberg said. Other measures to control misinformation like fact checking can add to polarisation because they come after the information has already spread, she added. Last month, an investigation conducted by the EEAS (European Union External Action Service) uncovered 750 incidents of misleading information being deliberately spread by foreign actors, many voicing support for Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Jigsaw's ads will be translated into all 24 official EU languages, the company said. The campaign will run for at least one month, with a view to extend it based on reach and performance. Results from the campaign, including survey responses and the number of people reached, are expected to be published in summer 2024. (Reporting by Martin Coulter; Editing by Matt Scuffham and Elaine Hardcastle) FILE PHOTO: U.S. Representative Michael McCaul (R-TX) participates in a Republican-led forum on the possible origins of the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan, China, on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S. June 29, 2021. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst/File Phot WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Republican chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee said on Friday he supported funding for U.S.-allied Pacific Island nations as a way to counter the influence of China, and would push to include them in any supplemental security aid bill. "That's such a critical part of our countering the malign influence of China, with the island nations that they're buying off, as you know, one by one," Representative Michael McCaul said at meeting with journalists sponsored by the Christian Science Monitor. The Federated States of Micronesia, Marshall Islands and Palau agreed to new 20-year funding programs with the United States last year under which Washington provides economic assistance, while gaining exclusive military access to strategic swaths of the Pacific that China covets. But despite bipartisan support for the new programs, known as Compacts of Free Association, or COFAs, Congress has yet to approve the funding, even though the additional amount currently needed is a relatively small $2.3 billion, worrying the islands' leaders. McCaul said he has advocated for a $900 million package for COFA, but was open to other numbers. The U.S. Senate this week passed a $95 billion foreign aid supplemental spending bill for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan that did not include the COFA funding. McCaul said he would work to ensure the money was included in whatever is voted on in the House, likely in mid-March. "The House is going to want to have its own imprimatur on this. Right? We're not just going to rubber-stamp the Senate supplemental," he said. (Reporting by Patricia Zengerle; editing by Jonathan Oatis) PARIS (Reuters) - France and Ukraine on Friday signed a bilateral security agreement including pledges from Paris to deliver more arms, train soldiers and send up to 3 billion euros in military aid to Kivy this year to help the country in its war against Russia, the Elysee said. The French presidency said the accord, signed by Emmanuel Macron and his counterpart, Volodymyr Zelenksiy, includes the pledge by France to provide "up to" 3 billion euros ($3.24 billion) in additional military support to Ukraine in 2024. In the agreement, which followed similar deals Kiyv has reached with Britain and Germany, France also pledges to provide more military equipment, in particular for air defence. France, alongside other partners, will also help Ukraine make its defence capacities "increasingly interoperable with NATO", the Elysee said, adding: "This includes the development of a modern defence sector in Ukraine and a path to a future in NATO." ($1 = 0.9271 euros) (Reporting by Tassilo Hummel, Michel Rose; Editing by GV De Clercq) With over $200 billion in trailing-12-month sales, Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ: COST) is one of the largest retailers in the world. More than just a huge retailer, it has also provided its investors with huge returns. If you had bought just $10,000 when Costco went public in 1985, you'd have nearly $8 million today -- and over $12 million had you reinvested dividends along the way. I wish I could go back almost 40 years and pick up some Costco shares, and I'm sure you do too. But investors can't fixate on the past. They have to live in the present with an eye toward the future. And in that regard, here are three things investors need to know if they buy Costco stock today. COST Chart 1. The business model is surprising The first step to building an investment thesis is understanding the business model. And this is a little tricky for Costco investors. Costco has around 600 warehouse-style stores in the U.S. and nearly 900 around the world. These stores sell food, electronics, appliances, and more. And with over $200 billion in annual net sales, one might think that this was the business, just like any other retail chain. But it's not quite that simple. In reality, Costco barely breaks even with its retail business -- it's trying to offer low prices to please its customers, not pad its profits. This is why the company has gone to great lengths to keep its famous hot dog combo priced at $1.50, for example. It's about giving customers what they want as cheaply as possible. However, the Costco shopping experience isn't for just anyone -- it's for members only. And this is the company's real business: selling memberships. These memberships account for roughly three-quarters of its profits. Therefore, watching membership growth and retention is imperative for Costco's shareholders. 2. Growth opportunities still exist Management plays coy with how many Costco locations it's targeting. But I believe it's fair to say that even the company itself is surprised by how much room for growth there may be. Story continues For its fiscal 2024 (which started this past September), Costco expects to open 31 net new locations, up from just 23 in fiscal 2023. That's a fairly modest single-digit growth rate. That said, on its earnings call, management said that new U.S. locations still make up more than 50% of new openings, which is more than what it was expecting at this point. It's encouraging that Costco is finding more domestic opportunities than anticipated. Additionally, the company still has its sights set on international expansion. In the upcoming second quarter, for example, it plans to open its sixth location in China -- a country that could support many more stores yet. 3. The price today is steep Costco has a great business model and it still has opportunities for growth. But the final thing that investors need to know is that Costco stock isn't cheap in the slightest. In fact, from a price-to-earnings perspective, Costco stock is trading at its most expensive valuation in over 20 years -- and at about a 70% premium to its 20-year average. COST PE Ratio Chart The late great Charlie Munger loved Costco's business and it was one of only three stocks he owned directly, even though he was a renowned value investor. Therefore, he was willing to own a stock with a high valuation because of the quality. That's something to keep in mind. But as he once lamented to CNBC, "The trouble with Costco is it is 40 times earnings." My point is that Costco stock is expensive. But it's so high-quality that even Munger was willing to hold his stake at the high valuation. So it's certainly not a company to dismiss. Costco's valuation appears due for a pullback. Personally, I'm waiting until the investment becomes more attractively priced before buying shares. After all, this isn't the growth opportunity that it was in the 1980s. That said, investors should look to buy shares of high-quality companies and Costco is certainly that. This is why I'm not taking my eyes off of it anytime soon, even if I'm waiting for a better price. Should you invest $1,000 in Costco Wholesale right now? Before you buy stock in Costco Wholesale, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now and Costco Wholesale wasnt one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Stock Advisor provides investors with an easy-to-follow blueprint for success, including guidance on building a portfolio, regular updates from analysts, and two new stock picks each month. The Stock Advisor service has more than tripled the return of S&P 500 since 2002*. See the 10 stocks *Stock Advisor returns as of February 12, 2024 Jon Quast has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Costco Wholesale. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. 3 Things You Need to Know if You Buy Costco Stock Today was originally published by The Motley Fool FILE PHOTO: France's President Emmanuel Macron speaks as India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi listens during a meeting at The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Paris, France on July 14, 2023 NEW DELHI (Reuters) - A French national, who says she has worked as a journalist in India for more than two decades and is married to an Indian man, said on Friday a notice from New Delhi accusing her of writing articles damaging to the state meant she would have to leave. Vanessa Dougnac said Indian authorities sent her a notice last month saying articles she had written were malicious and asking her to give them reasons why they should not revoke her Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) card that allows her to live and work in India. "Today, I am unable to work and have been unfairly accused of prejudicing the interests of the state. It has become clear that I cannot keep living in India and earning my livelihood," Dougnac said in a statement on Friday. "The proceedings with respect to my OCI status have shattered me, especially now that I see them as part of a wider effort by the government of India to curb dissent from the OCI community." She did not explain further. Dougnac said she was fighting the accusations, but could not afford to wait for authorities to make a decision. India's federal home ministry and the foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters. Dougnac, who said she came to India 25 years ago and has worked in the country for 23 years as a journalist, has an OCI card through her marriage to an Indian citizen. The card grants foreign citizens a life-long multiple entry visa. French officials raised Dougnac's case during French President Emmanuel Macron's visit to India last month. "They (France) appreciate this understanding that the frame of reference in which we are looking at is the compliance of the rules," India's Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra told reporters at a press briefing in January when asked about the case. The French foreign ministry had no immediate comment on Friday. (Reporting by Krishn Kaushik, writing by Shilpa Jamkhandikar; editing by Barbara Lewis) BERLIN (Reuters) - The German government has approved the deployment of armed forces in a European Union naval mission in the Red Sea to protect merchant ships from attacks by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi militia, a government spokesperson said on Friday. Many commercial shippers have diverted vessels following attacks by the Houthis, who control much of Yemen and say they are acting in solidarity with the Palestinians as Israel and Hamas wage war in Gaza. "The ongoing escalation of violence and the threat to life and limb of the crews of ships, particularly in the southern Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandab Strait, require a robustly equipped military operation," the government spokesperson said during a regular press conference in Berlin. Germany's participation still hinges on parliamentary approval. A vote on the matter is scheduled for next Friday and is widely expected to go through. Parliamentarians are to receive a motion for a mandate running up till the end of February 2025 with an upper limit of 700 soldiers deployed, the spokesperson said. In early February, a German air defence frigate was sent to join the EU mission. France, Greece and Italy are among the countries that will participate in the mission, named Aspides, meaning protector. They will be mandated to protect commercial ships and intercept attacks, but not take part in strikes against the Houthis on land. (Reporting by Nette Nostlinger and Miranda Murray, Editing by Rachel More) FILE PHOTO: Same-sex couple, Naa Shika, 37, a fetish priestess, and her partner Kay, 27, a human rights activist, sit together during a discussion on the topic of Fiducia Supplicans, a Declaration approved by Pope Francis, that allows Catholic priests to By Maxwell Akalaare Adombila ACCRA (Reuters) - A Ghanaian legislator has asked parliament to replace jail terms for gay sex with non-custodial sentences including counselling, saying the anti-LGBT bill currently making its way through the legislature would only encourage sodomy in prisons. A coalition of Christian, Muslim, and Ghanaian traditional leaders have sponsored the legislation, which is favoured by most lawmakers and would punish the promotion of LGBT rights with up to 10 years in prison. Gay sex is already punishable in Ghana by up to three years in prison. Ruling-party lawmaker Alexander Afenyo-Markin said on Thursday that imprisoning people for LGBT offences would encourage sodomy in prisons and "worsen homosexuality and its promotion" in the West African nation, which he argued would defeat the bill's original intent. The bill, which was at its final stage before becoming law, also encourages those accused of homosexuality to submit to so-called conversion therapy, which claims to change sexual orientation, in exchange for reduced sentences. Afenyo-Markin, deputy leader of the ruling party in parliament, said in a motion for parliament to amend aspects of the legislation that he was "all for the bill", but that it must be reform-minded and humane. He said that jail would be ineffective in addressing a "behavioural problem". The LGBT community in Ghana already faces abuse and hostility and discussion of the proposed bill has heightened fears, activists say. While some MPs opposed the proposal to replace jail terms with non-custodial sentences, parliament voted for the bill to have another reading, where amendments can be made. The bill requires presidential assent to be effective. "At the end of the process, I will come in," President Nana Akufo-Addo said last year, without specifying if he would sign it or not. Promoters want the bill, seen as one of the harshest in Africa towards the LGBT community, passed by March. The United Nations said in 2021 the law would create "a system of state-sponsored discrimination and violence" against sexual minorities. In May 2023, Uganda signed one of the world's toughest anti-LGBT laws, including the death penalty for "aggravated homosexuality". Activists said it unleashed a wave of abuse against the LGBT community, while the World Bank suspended new funding to the country. (Reporting by Maxwell Akalaare Adombila; Editing by Bate Felix and Nick Macfie) ATHENS (Reuters) - Flights at the Greek airport of Heraklion on the island of Crete will be suspended for six days from Feb. 19 due to maintenance work, the country's civil aviation authority said on Friday. Heraklion airport is one of two serving domestic and foreign flights on Crete, a popular tourist destination in the Mediterranean Sea. The airport's two runways will be off service from 0830 GMT on Feb. 19 to 1300 GMT on Feb. 24 for tarmac maintenance, the Greek civil aviation authority said in a statement. Only emergency helicopter flights for the transport of patients will be allowed over that period, it added. (Reporting by Angeliki Koutantou; Editing by Jan Harvey) Members of the LGBTQ+ community and supporters celebrate in front of the Greek parliament, after the vote in favour of a bill which approved allowing same-sex civil marriages, in Athens, Greece, February 15, 2024. REUTERS/Louisa Gouliamaki By Renee Maltezou and Angeliki Koutantou ATHENS (Reuters) -Yolanda Kalantzi and Georgia Ampatzidou kissed when Greek lawmakers voted to allow same-sex civil marriages, then joined other couples on Friday making plans for their big days. The historic bill that parliament approved overnight also allowed same-sex couples to adopt children - another big step as Ampatzidou can now legally adopt their son. "When we heard that the bill passed we were deeply touched," said Kalantzi, who with Ampatzidou had travelled 500 km (300 miles) to be inside parliament for the vote. The couple have already booked a DJ and a photographer for their May wedding. "There is no return. I must have her," she said of her bride-to-be. "I felt vindicated that I count," Ampatzidou said of her legal right to adopt. The vote makes socially conservative Greece one of the first Orthodox Christian countries to allow such unions. "This is a milestone for human rights, reflecting today's Greece - a progressive, and democratic country, passionately committed to European values," Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said. He had urged lawmakers to pass the bill. The law, celebrated by dozens of people on the streets of Athens but opposed by the Orthodox Church and many right-wing politicians, will take a few days to become official. That has not stopped couples, many who have waited years to get married, to make the first steps. At least one same-sex couple in Athens printed a notice in a newspaper in Athens on Friday with details if their wedding, officials said, a public announcement required for all marriages under Greek law. They contacted the municipality of Nea Smirni in Athens last week asking for the necessary supporting documents, Constantinos Anagnostopoulos, a vice mayor in charge of civil marriages in the municipality told state TV. The vote was welcomed by dozens of countries. "We celebrate this historic moment together with the people, parliament and government of Greece," read a joint statement by 28 embassies in Greece, from the Netherlands to South Africa and Argentina. DIVIDED OPINION At home, the topic of same-sex marriage divides Greece, where the powerful Church and the right have long opposed reform. Residents of Athens expressed mixed opinions. "The concept of family has collapsed, we have individual rights, but these cannot be institutionalised and affect everyone in society," Eleni Parasi, a 50-year-old civil servant, said. Greece has lagged behind other EU countries on LGBT+ rights for decades, but made a string of reforms in recent years. In 2015, it allowed same-sex couples to form civil partnerships, and in 2017 gave legal recognition to gender identity. Two years ago it banned conversion therapy for minors aimed at suppressing a person's sexual orientation. Many in the LGBT+ community believe more needs to be done. The bill does not allow same-sex couples to use assisted reproduction methods. Surrogate pregnancies will also not be extended to LGBT people, though the bill recognises children already born through that method abroad. Still, the bill marked progress, 68-year-old pensioner Thimios Tsakonitissome said. "Since they wanted to be legal and get married, they did well and the bill was passed ... Let them be equal." (Reporting by Renee Maltezou and Angeliki Koutantou; Additional reporting Stamos Prousalis; editing by Edward McAllister, William Maclean and Andrew Heavens) CAIRO (Reuters) -Hamas' armed wing said on Friday that Israelis taken hostage by the militants on Oct. 7 had suffered many losses and that those that were alive were living in extremely difficult conditions. Hamas militants killed 1,200 people in southern Israel and abducted at least 250 in their October incursion, according to Israeli tallies. Israel has responded with a military assault on the Gaza Strip that has killed more than 28,000 Palestinians, according to the Hamas-run health ministry. During a week-long truce in late November, Hamas freed more than 100 Israeli and foreign hostages in exchange for Israel releasing about 240 Palestinian prisoners. "Losses amongst (Israeli hostages) have become many while other hostages live in extremely difficult conditions," Hamas' armed wing spokesman Abu Obeida said in an audio message. "We warned dozens of times about the dangers to which their hostages are being exposed. We didn't want the situation to reach this stage, but (Israel's) leadership ignored us," he said. "For months, we tried to protect and care for the lives of these hostages, as it is our top humanitarian goal to liberate our own prisoners and to realise the legitimate rights of our people." Israel's chief military spokesperson, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, said on Tuesday that 31 of the remaining hostages held by Hamas in Gaza were dead. Israel has said 136 hostages are still being held in Gaza. The Palestinian Prisoners Club, which documents and cares for all Palestinian detainees, issued a statement on Tuesday saying the number of Palestinians who have been arrested since Oct. 7 had reached 7,000. (Reporting by Ahmed Tolba, Nidal Al Mughrabi, Writing by Adam Makary; Editing by Alison Williams and Nick Macfie) A sign with an image of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny is seen as people attend a vigil held in front of Russian embassy in Berlin after his death, Germany, February 16, 2024. REUTERS/Liesa Johannssen BERLIN/VILNIUS (Reuters) -Hundreds of protesters, many of them Russian emigres, gathered in cities across Europe and beyond on Friday to express their outrage over the death of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny. Often gathering outside Russian embassies, they chanted slogans critical of Russian President Vladimir Putin, whom they blamed for the activist's death, holding up signs calling him a "killer" and demanding accountability. Putin's most formidable domestic opponent, Navalny fell unconscious and died on Friday after a walk at the Arctic penal colony where he was serving a three-decade sentence, prison authorities said. In Berlin, a crowd of 500 to 600 people, according to police estimates, gathered on the city's Unter den Linden boulevard, chanting in a mixture of Russian, German and English. Some chanted "Putin to the Hague", referring to the international criminal court investigating possible war crimes committed in Ukraine. Police used barriers to close off the road between the Russian embassy and the crowd. "Alexei Navalny is the leader of the Russian opposition and we always kept hope in his name," said a Russian man draped in a blue-and-white anti-war flag, giving his name only as Ilia. In Lithuania, formerly run from Moscow but now a member of NATO and the European Union and home to a sizeable community of emigres, protesters placed flowers and candles by a portrait of Navalny. "He was always with us, so it is all surreal," said Lyusya Shtein, 26, a Pussy Riot activist who has lived in Vilnius since leaving Russia in 2022. "None of us yet understand what happened". In Russia itself, prosecutors warned Russians against participating in any mass protest in Moscow. Police watched as some Russians came to lay roses and carnations at a monument to victims of Soviet repression in the shadow of the former KGB headquarters. Rights group OVD-Info, which reports on freedom of assembly in Russia, said that more than 100 people had been detained at rallies in memory of Navalny. Reuters could not immediately verify the report. Groups also gathered in Rome, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Sofia, Geneva and The Hague, among others. More than 100 protesters stood outside Russia's London embassy, holding placards that called Putin a war criminal, while in Lisbon hundreds held a silent vigil. Pavel Elizarov, a 28-year-old Russian living in Portugal, said Navalny had been "a symbol of freedom and hope." Near the Russian embassy in Paris, where around 100 protesters gathered, Natalia Morozov said Navalny had also been a symbol of hope for her. "It's hard for me to express my emotions, because I'm really shaken", said Morozov. "Now we no longer have hope for the beautiful Russia of the future". Navalny's death, if confirmed, leaves the scattered groups that oppose Putin without a figurehead, and no obvious candidate to marshal any discontent over his demise into mass protests. Navalny's wife, Yulia, was in Munich on Friday, where a vigil also took place. She told the Munich Security Conference she could not be sure her husband was dead because "Putin and his government... lie incessantly" but said that if confirmed she wanted them to know "they will bear responsibility." On the other side of the Atlantic, at a vigil outside the Russian consulate in New York City, Violetta Soboleva said she had volunteered for Navalny's presidential campaign in 2017. "I really believed that he's the one and he can lead Russia to a better future," said Soboleva, a Russian studying for her doctorate in New York. "And now we've lost this future forever." (Reporting by Rachel More in Berlin, Andrius Sytas in Vilnius, Tassilo Hummel and Yiming Woo in Paris, Sergio Goncalves and Miguel Pereira in Lisbon, Aleksandra Michalska in New York, and Hannah Ellison and Peter Nicholls in London; writing by Tassilo Hummel and Rosalba O'Brien; editing by Barbara Lewis and Cynthia Osterman) FILE PHOTO: The interface of Indian payments app Paytm is seen in front of its logo displayed in this illustration picture taken July 7, 2021. REUTERS/Florence Lo/Illustration//File Photo By Swati Bhat and Ira Dugal MUMBAI (Reuters) -India's Paytm Payments Bank has been given more time by the central bank to wind down its operations, while its parent company has signed on a new banking partner to try to keep some of its popular products running and survive its current crisis. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in January ordered Paytm Payments Bank, an associate of One 97 Communications (OCL) - also known as Paytm, to stop accepting any fresh deposits in its accounts, or wallets, from Feb. 29. That deadline was extended to March 15, the RBI said on Friday. "The company (Paytm) has shifted its nodal account to Axis Bank (by opening an escrow account) to continue seamless merchant settlements as before," Paytm said in a release. Paytm QR codes, soundbox and card machines will continue to work as before, even beyond March 15, the company added. The action against Paytm Payments Bank was triggered by what RBI officials called persistent non-compliance with regulations. Earlier this week, India's financial crime fighting agency began looking into details of overseas transactions on the platform. RBI said the deadline extension was to allow customers, including merchants, "a little more time" to make alternative arrangements. "No further deposits or credit transactions or top ups shall be allowed in any customer accounts, prepaid instruments, wallets, FASTags, National Common Mobility Cards, etc after March 15, 2024," it said. Separately, the RBI also issued a detailed set of customer clarifications. The regulator said customers can withdraw or use funds from their Paytm Payments Bank accounts and wallets until the time those funds are exhausted but they cannot add any fresh funds after March 15. Customers who receive their salaries or other transfers including government subsidies into these accounts have to make alternate arrangements by mid-March. Merchants using Paytm's QR codes for accepting payments can continue to do so if these QR codes are linked to accounts other than those held by Paytm Payments Bank. The bank has nearly a fifth share of India's toll collections through a product called FASTag. The RBI said these FASTags cannot be recharged or topped up after March 15. Non-executive chairman of Paytm Payments Bank Vijay Shekhar Sharma has met with RBI officials and the finance minister seeking to lobby against the crackdown, but RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said on Monday that there would be no review of its decision. (Reporting by Swati Bhat; Editing by Sharon Singleton and Mark Potter) A woman rests with children, as Palestinian arrive in Rafah after they were evacuated from Nasser hospital in Khan Younis due to the Israeli ground operation, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in the southern Gaza Strip, February 15, 202 By Nidal al-Mughrabi CAIRO (Reuters) -Gaza's largest functioning hospital was under siege on Friday in Israel's war with Islamist group Hamas, leaving patients and doctors helpless in the chaos as warplanes struck Rafah, the last refuge for Palestinians in the enclave, officials said. Israeli forces remained in Nasser Hospital in the town of Khan Younis after raiding it early Thursday. The Gaza Health Ministry said five intensive care patients died on Friday due to power outages and lack of oxygen supply caused by the attack. Israel said it moved into the hospital because Hamas militants were hiding there. The Israeli military said on Friday its troops detained more than 20 militants in the hospital who participated in the Oct. 7 attacks on Israel and dozens of others for questioning. Hamas denies there were militants in the hospital, describing the claim as "lies aimed to cover up for destroying hospitals." The Gaza Health Ministry said the hospital lost power and remained without electricity on Friday, jeopardising patient care. But the Israeli military said it repaired one generator and provided another, ensuring "all vital systems continued to operate." Two pregnant women gave birth on Friday under tough conditions -- no water, no food and no way of warming them up in cold weather, said ministry spokesman Ashraf Al-Qidra. The ministry said Israeli forces inside Nasser Hospital forced women and children into the maternity department, which it turned into a military area. Women were not allowed to take any of their belongings. According to the ministry, Israeli soldiers stopped an aid convoy outside the hospital, which was unable to deliver supplies. The military said it provided aid including baby food and water. The incursion at the hospital raised alarm about patients, medical workers and displaced Palestinians sheltering there. "There are still critically injured and sick patients that are inside the hospital," said Tarik Jasarevic, spokesperson for the World Health Organization, which said its staff was trying to reach the hospital after the Israeli raid. "There is an urgent need to deliver fuel to ensure the continuation of the provision of life-saving services." About 10,000 people were seeking shelter at the hospital earlier this week, but many left either in anticipation of the Israeli raid or because of Israeli orders to evacuate, the Gaza Health Ministry said. Israel said its soldiers found ammunition and weapons in the hospital, as well as medication bearing names of some hostages. At least two released Israeli hostages have said they were held in Nasser, which Hamas has denied. The war began when Iran-backed Hamas sent fighters into Israel on Oct. 7, killing 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and seizing 253 hostages, according to Israeli tallies. Israel's air and ground offensive has since devastated much of Gaza, killing 28,775 people, also mostly civilians according to Palestinian health authorities, and forcing nearly all of its more than 2 million inhabitants from their homes. There is mounting international concern the humanitarian crisis in Gaza could worsen sharply if the Israeli military decides to storm the southern border city of Rafah, where more than half of the densely populated enclave's people are taking shelter in anticipation of a major attack. An Israeli air strike hit two houses in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on Friday, killing 10 people and wounding several others, health officials said. Rida Sobh, mourning the death of her sister in one of the Rafah strikes, said the house had been totally destroyed in the midnight attack, which also killed all her sister's children, her aunt, husband and cousin. "Rafah is not safe. Everywhere in the Gaza Strip is a target. Don't say that Rafah is safe. From Beit Hanoun to Rafah, it is all dangerous." (Additional reporting by Gabriella Tetrault-Farber, Adam Makary and Maayan Lubell; Writing by Michael Georgy; Editing by Sharon Singleton and Cynthia Osterman) ABIDJAN (Reuters) - Ivory Coast's Coffee and Cocoa Council (CCC) has helped the national police to seize three trucks loaded with 1,500 bags of cocoa beans on the border with Guinea, the regulator's managing director said on Friday. Low farmgate prices compared with neighbouring countries have made the West African nation, the world's top producer of the main ingredient in chocolate, a target for smugglers from neighbouring Liberia and Guinea where beans fetch higher prices. A kilogram of cocoa currently costs between 1,600 CFA francs and 1,700 CFA francs ($2.63-$2.80) in Guinea and Liberia due to the rise in global prices, according to cooperatives and buyers based in Ivory Coast's western region, on the border with those countries. That compares with 1,000 CFA francs a kilogram in Ivory Coast, where the price is fixed and guaranteed throughout the year. Global cocoa prices have hit record highs in recent months amid worries about a bean deficit this season and with concerns growing for the next. In the cocoa growing regions, the concern over shortages has fuelled a scramble for beans and smuggling. The CCC regulator said collaboration with security forces resulted in last week's seizure of 100 tons of cocoa. It reported the trucks to the police, who stopped them in the town of Sipilou, 4 km (2.5 miles) from Guinea. "We have made a firm commitment to reduce cocoa smuggling to neighbouring countries this year, and we are determined to succeed in this mission," CCC CEO Yves Brahima Kone told Reuters. Ivory Coast and neighbouring Ghana, the world's second biggest producer, have said smuggling hampers their effort to meet their yearly production target. In October, Kone promised to tackle the issue. "This year, despite the high price in both countries compared to Ivory Coast, there is less leakage... People are really finding it hard to get cocoa out of Ivory Coast," said Abel Gbale, a cocoa buyer in Danane, the country's last major town before the borders with Liberia and Guinea. Amadou Konate, a cocoa buyer based in Man, the main city in western Ivory Coast, said cocoa producers earn nothing from smuggling and the middlemen pocket all the money. ($1 = 607.2500 CFA francs) (Reporting by Ange Aboa; Writing by Anait Miridzhanian; Editing by Bate Felix and Frances Kerry) SolStock / iStock.com The state of Florida is famous for many things sunshine, beaches, tourism, senior living, hurricanes which means it is ripe for side gigs that take advantage of what Floridians value the most. Some of the best side gigs in Florida might take a small amount of money to get started, but most simply require you put in the effort marketing your services. Net Worth Floridians: How Much to Be Poor, Middle-Class, or Rich in Florida Find: 6 Unusual Ways To Make Extra Money (That Actually Work) Heres a look at seven side gigs that work especially well in the Sunshine State. Sponsored: Owe the IRS $10K or more? Schedule a FREE consultation to see if you qualify for tax relief. 1. Run Errands for the Elderly Florida remains the No. 1 retirement destination in the U.S. which means it has a large senior population. One way to earn extra money is to get a side hustle running errands for older folks. This might include picking up groceries or prescriptions, driving seniors to places they need to go or checking on homes while seniors are out of town. Startup costs are minimal, and you can expect to charge an average of $30 an hour, according to the Senior Errand Service website. 2. Weatherproofing Homes There has been a noticeable rise in the frequency and severity of storms in Florida, which has created even more demand for home weatherproofing services. This work typically includes boarding up windows, sealing potential water entry points, reinforcing doors and cleaning gutters and downspouts. 3. Storm Repairs Along the same lines, once a storm has passed, theres usually a lot of cleanup and repair work to take care of. If you are handy with tools, you can get a side gig repairing storm damage and clearing out debris. 4. Rent Your Extra Space If you have a spare room in your home, you can make extra money renting it out to tourists especially if you live near travel hotspots like Orlando or Miami. You can do this on your own or through services such as Airbnb. The latter option might be preferable to ensure guests are properly vetted. Story continues 5. Fishing Guide Another thing Florida is known for is its fishing both freshwater and saltwater. If you have expertise in fishing and boating, you can get a side gig as a fishing guide for established companies or on your own. 6. Watersports Instructor Many tourists visiting Florida for the first time want to take a stab at kayaking, windsurfing, sailing or snorkeling. If you have experience in these areas, you can earn good money teaching the proper techniques. 7. Real Estate Investor Florida is one of the hottest real estate markets in the country and likely to remain that way as more people move to the state from elsewhere. Because of high demand, real estate can be pricey in the Sunshine State. But you dont necessarily have to make a large financial commitment to get started. One way to keep your initial outlay low is by investing in a Real Estate Investment Trust, which lets you buy shares in properties. You can also invest through platforms like Fundrise, which might require as little as $500 to get started, according to Penny Hoarder. More From GOBankingRates This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: 7 Side Gigs Just for Floridians A fiber boat with migrants arrives at the port of Arguineguin, on the island of Gran Canaria, Spain, February 8, 2024. REUTERS/Borja Suarez/File photo MADRID (Reuters) - The number of migrants boarding rickety boats from West Africa and reaching Spain's Canary Islands has risen seven-fold so far this year from the same period of 2023, Interior Ministry data showed on Friday. A total of 11,704 irregular migrants reached the Atlantic Ocean archipelago between Jan. 1 and Feb. 15, compared with the 1,602 who arrived in the same period in 2023, the ministry said. If the current trend were to continue, the islands could receive 70,000 migrants this year after breaking a record in 2023 with 39,910 arrivals, archipelago regional head Fernando Clavijo told El Pais newspaper on Friday. Mauritania has recently become a major point of departure for migrants headed to Europe, sending eight out of 10 of the dinghies that reached the archipelago in January, Spanish officials say. Last week the EU granted Mauritania a 210 million euro ($225 million) package to manage migration, humanitarian aid and opportunities for youth. Clavijo said one of his main challenges is handling the approximately 5,500 migrants under 18 years old who have arrived and who can't be redistributed throughout Spain as easily as adults migrants. On Friday, a court in Gran Canaria island ordered the release from remand of a migrant accused of being a dinghy skipper after tests determined he was underage. Frontex head Hans Leijtens told Reuters last week that the Atlantic route to the Canary Islands was the busiest irregular route from western Africa into the EU, representing almost a half of the total of nearly 14,000 arrivals last month. Rights group Walking Borders says 6,007 people lost their lives on the route last year. ($1 = 0.9314 euros) (Reporting by Emma Pinedo; Editing by Aislinn Laing and Frances Kerry) Palestinians shelter at the border with Egypt, amid fears of an exodus of Palestinians into Egypt, as the conflict between Israel and Hamas continues, in Rafah southern Gaza Strip February 16, 2024. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa RAFAH (Reuters) - For Palestinians forced from their homes by Israel's Gaza offensive, reports that Egypt is bracing for the possibility of a Palestinian exodus have only hardened their fears of being driven off the land entirely. Deep-seated concern that Palestinians could be forced from the Gaza Strip has loomed large for both the Palestinians and their Arab neighbours ever since Israel launched its devastating assault in response to the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas. Now, as Israel says it will attack Rafah, contingency plans which sources say are being made in Egypt to accommodate Palestinians - if it comes to it - are deepening such worries, though Egypt denies making any such preparations and Israel says it has no intention of deporting Palestinians from Gaza. "If we went to Egypt, who can guarantee our return to our country?" said Elfat al-Nahhal, among the displaced in Rafah. "We will repeat the story of 1948," she said, referring to the displacement of 700,000 Palestinians who were expelled or fled their homes during the war of Israel's creation. Palestinians remember this as the "Nakba", or "catastrophe". Already displaced several times since October, she ruled out leaving: "We are here and that's it." Four sources told Reuters that Egypt had begun preparing an area at the Gaza border which could accommodate Palestinians in case an Israeli offensive on Rafah prompts an exodus across the frontier, emphasising this was a contingency step. The head of Egypt's State Information Service said the sources' accounts had "no basis in truth". Egypt has repeatedly raised the alarm over the possibility that Israel's Gaza offensive could displace Palestinians into Sinai - something Cairo says would be completely unacceptable. The warnings have been echoed by other Arab states, notably Jordan, which borders the West Bank and took in many of the Palestinians displaced in 1948 and by the 1967 Middle East war, when Israel occupied the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The United States has repeatedly said it would oppose any displacement of Palestinians out of Gaza. The Israeli government has said the offensive aims to destroy Hamas, not force out Palestinians. Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said on Friday Israel has no plans to deport Palestinians from Gaza and will find a way to not harm Egypt's interests. But some Israeli ministers have advocated the resettlement of Palestinians outside Gaza. Two Israeli officials contacted by Reuters on Friday declined to comment on the report of Egypt's contingency plan. Israel has said its army is drawing up a plan to evacuate civilians from Rafah to other parts of the Gaza Strip. FEARING 'A SECOND NAKBA' Currently living in a tent in Rafah, Um Zaki said she had nowhere to go with her five children, having already fled twice. "Maybe they will force us into Sinai by sending the tanks in, some people will not think twice and will climb the wall to save their lives and their children, and no one should blame them," the 49-year-old told Reuters by phone. "This isnt what I fear. I am afraid it will be a second Nakba and that we will not return to Gaza," she added. "In 1948 Arab countries assured our parents in Jaffa and elsewhere it would be a matter of days before they returned and here we are, 75 years of displacement," she said. "Will there be a deal at the last minute to save Rafah, save the Gaza Strip? I only hope the miracle happens." Israel says it must go into Rafah to wipe out the "last bastion" of Hamas, the Palestinian Islamist group behind the Oct. 7 attack into Israel in which militants killed 1,200 people and abducted around another 250, according to Israeli tallies. The Israeli offensive waged in response has laid waste to swathes of the Gaza Strip and killed more than 28,000 people, according to health authorities in Hamas-run Gaza. The U.N.'s High Commissioner for Refugees told Reuters on Friday that a spillover of refugees from Rafah into Egypt would be a disaster and that Egyptian authorities had made clear that Palestinians should be assisted in the enclave. "It would be a disaster for the Palestinians ... a disaster for Egypt and a disaster for the future of peace," Filippo Grandi told Reuters on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference. U.N. aid chief Martin Griffiths said on Thursday it was an "illusion" to think people in Gaza could evacuate to a safe place and warned of the possibility of Palestinians spilling into Egypt if Israel launches a military operation in Rafah. He called this scenario "a sort of Egyptian nightmare". (Additional reporting by Henriette Chacar in Jerusalem and John Irish in Munich; Writing by Tom Perry, Editing by William Maclean) FILE PHOTO: A view of damaged buildings, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in Gaza, in this still image taken from video released February 15, 2024. UNRWA/Handout via REUTERS/File photo By Riham Alkousaa BERLIN (Reuters) - Pro-Palestinian activists have filed criminal charges against a German politician for suspected incitement of hate and denial of war crimes in Israel's war in Gaza, they said on Friday. The charges against Volker Beck, a former member of parliament and the head of the German-Israeli Society, were brought by Palestinian solidarity groups Palestine Speaks and Jewish Voice for Just Peace in the Middle East. "This is the first step in holding public figures who publicly make genocidal statements legally accountable," the group wrote on its Instagram. The charges, filed at five prosecutor offices across Germany, cite Beck's statements on social media, in opinion pieces and media interviews in which he expressed support for Israel's military operation in Gaza, calling for making humanitarian aid conditional on Hamas freeing Israeli hostages. Beck rejected the claims as "nonsense". "There is no genocide in Gaza and I do not advocate genocide," he told Reuters, adding that he had filed complaints against the groups for defamation. "These people have a disturbed relationship with the rule of law if they believe that many complaints lead to more investigations." Germany has staunchly defended Israel's right to defend itself since the Hamas attacks on Oct. 7, underscoring its duty to stand by the country's side in atonement for the Holocaust in which six million Jews died. The government has faced accusations - including from prominent Jewish residents in Germany - of allowing guilt to blinker its response to Israel's retaliation, which has caused a humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Berlin has shifted towards a more critical stance of its ally as the Palestinian civilian death toll has mounted, stressing the need for Israel to adhere to international law. The International Court of Justice last month ordered Israel to take all measures within its power to prevent its troops from committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, in a case brought by South Africa. Israel has denied allegations of genocide. (Reporting by Riham Alkousaa and Rachel More, Editing by Rachel More and Nick Macfie) Servicemen of the a battalion 'Da Vinci's wolves' of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, named of nom-de-guerre of their commander Dmytro Kotsiubailo, Hero of Ukraine, who was killed in a fight against Russian troops, prepare a new recruiting center for opening, By Dan Peleschuk KYIV (Reuters) - A year after the founding commander of Ukraine's Da Vinci Wolves Battalion was killed fighting Russian forces, his portrait adorns an airy new recruitment office in Kyiv casting a watchful eye over would-be members. With its military ranks wearing thin, Ukraine is struggling to overhaul mobilisation and broaden recruitment as the second anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion approaches. For the Da Vinci Wolves, led by war hero Dmytro "Da Vinci" Kotsiubailo until his death near the eastern town of Bakhmut last March, it means relying on a well-honed public image to attract new recruits. "We're looking particularly for people who want to fight, want to join our unit (and) understand what they're headed for," said the unit's new commander, Serhii Filimonov, while unveiling the office recently. They also want to show draft-eligible Ukrainians that it is possible to choose where and with whom they serve, part of a broader official effort to improve military enlistment. Ukraine failed to make significant gains in a counteroffensive launched last June and faces Russian assaults along much of the front line. Its mobilisation drive has been complicated by corruption allegations and frequent media reports of heavy-handed draft officers barging into homes or pulling men off buses. Parliament is considering a bill that would lower the draft age to 25 from 27 and toughen punishment for evasion. The defence ministry has also turned to private recruiters for help. The Da Vinci Wolves, a volunteer force that has fought across much of the front, is running its own recruitment as it reforms under the 59th Motorized Brigade and hopes to attract new members through its reputation as an experienced and motivated fighting unit. Kotsiubailo had fought Russian forces since 2014 as part of a nationalist unit and was named a Hero of Ukraine in 2021 by President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who attended his funeral. His call sign was a nod to his art education. Filimonov, who is also well-known in Ukraine as a nationalist leader and activist, said the battalion contained other public figures - from actors to politicians - with large followings who "carry weight in society". "Thanks to this, we're able to communicate what we want through the internet," Filimonov told Reuters, adding that Kotsiubailo's legacy is central to attracting recruits. Some other high-profile units, such as the 3rd Separate Assault Brigade, have invested similarly in recruitment, producing sleek media content and hosting events to popularise army service. 'THE BEST' The Da Vinci Wolves have received more than 1,000 applications and are seeking around 500 new members, Filimonov said. Service members in other units have also shown interest in transferring, he added. Candidates include Anatoliy Kvasha, 48, who said he wanted a greater say over where he ended up after facing bureaucratic headaches at his local draft office. "I just don't trust draft officials, however good or bad they might be," said Kvasha, who has expertise as a mechanic. Recruiters said they would be mindful of how they communicate with newcomers who arrive at their office in central Kyiv, just steps away from European embassies. "If you see a person is tense and it's uncomfortable for them... then of course you need to draw them in a bit so they relax - so that I understand them and they understand me," said private first class Maksym Kyrychenko. Candidates must pass an interview and medical exam before they are sent for training. The battalion has also opened an office in the western city of Lviv. Another potential recruit, who asked to be identified only as Andriy, said he was drawn to the battalion because he respected the peacetime activism of some of its current members. "I want to be with those who are motivated, the best," he said. (Reporting by Dan Peleschuk; additional reporting by Anna Voitenko; Editing by Timothy Heritage and Toby Chopra) (Reuters) - Following are reactions in Russia and abroad to the death of jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, reported on Friday by prison authorities in the Yamalo-Nenets region where he had been serving his sentence. RUSSIAN OFFICIALS KREMLIN SPOKESMAN DMITRY PESKOV Peskov said President Vladimir Putin had been told about Navalny's death. The reaction of Western leaders to the death was unacceptable and "absolutely rabid", Peskov said later. RUSSIA'S INVESTIGATIVE COMMITTEE The committee said it had launched a procedural probe into the death. NAVALNY FAMILY, AIDES, SUPPORTERS NAVALNY'S WIFE, YULIA NAVALNAYA, SPEAKING IN MUNICH "We cannot believe Putin and his government because they lie incessantly. But, if it is indeed true, then I would like to say the following: Putin and all those who work for him, his entire entourage, his friends, I want them to know that they will not go unpunished. They will be punished for what they have done to our country, for what they have done to my family, for what they have done to my husband." NAVALNY'S MOTHER, LYUDMILA NAVALNAYA, QUOTED BY RUSSIAN NEWSPAPER NOVAYA GAZETA AS SAYING ON FACEBOOK "I don't want to hear any condolences. We saw him in prison on the (Feb) 12, in a meeting. He was alive, healthy and happy." NAVALNY'S DEPUTY, IVAN ZHDANOV, ON X Zhdanov said relatives of Navalny should be notified of his death within 24 hours, but no notifications had been made. RUSSIAN NEWSPAPER EDITOR AND NOBEL PEACE PRIZE LAUREATE DMITRY MURATOV Speaking to Reuters, Muratov called the death "murder" and said he believed prison conditions had led to Navalny's demise. FOREIGN LEADERS AND OFFICIALS U.S. PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN "Russian authorities are going to tell their own story. But make no mistake. Make no mistake, Putin is responsible for Navalny's death... "We don't know exactly what happened, but there is no doubt that the death of Nalvany was a consequence of something that Putin and his thugs did." U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE ANTONY BLINKEN, SPEAKING IN MUNICH "His death in a Russian prison and the fixation and fear of one man only underscores the weakness and rot at the heart of the system that Putin has built. Russia is responsible for this." FRENCH PRESIDENT EMMANUEL MACRON "In today's Russia, free spirits are put in the Gulag and sentenced to death." GERMAN CHANCELLOR OLAF SCHOLZ "I met Navalny here in Berlin when he was trying to recover in Germany from the poisoning attack and also talked to him about the great courage it takes to return to his country. And he has probably now paid for this courage with his life." GERMAN FOREIGN MINISTER ANNALENA BAERBOCK, ON X "Like no one else, Alexei Navalny was a symbol for a free and democratic Russia. That is precisely the reason he had to die." UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT VOLODYMYR ZELENSKIY, SPEAKING TO REPORTERS IN MUNICH "It is obvious: he was killed by Putin, as thousands of others were tortured and martyred by this one 'creature'. Putin does not care who dies as long as he keeps his position. And that is why he should not keep anything. Putin should lose everything and answer for what he has done." UN SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTONIO GUTERRES Said he was shocked and urged a "full, credible and transparent investigation". AUSTRALIAN PRIME MINISTER ANTHONY ALBANESE, ON X "Australia mourns the tragic death of Alexei Navalny, a courageous force for democracy in Russia. His treatment was unforgivable, and our thoughts are with his family and with the people of Russia." AUSTRALIAN FOREIGN MINISTER PENNY WONG, ON X "His heroic opposition to Putins repressive and unjust regime inspired the world. We hold the Russian Government solely responsible for his treatment and death in prison." UN SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR ON TORTURE ALICE EDWARDS Said she and several U.N. independent experts had urged the Russian government to end Navalny's punitive prison conditions, called for an investigation into "credible allegations of torture against Mr. Navalny", and urged authorities to ensure he got medical treatment. "That our appeals to the Kremlin were ignored so blatantly, and with such disregard for human life is a tragedy for Mr. Navalny, his family and supporters. It is also a bleak day for the rule of law, free expression and human rights." BRITISH PRIME MINISTER RISHI SUNAK, ON X "This is terrible news. As the fiercest advocate for Russian democracy, Alexei Navalny demonstrated incredible courage throughout his life." SWEDISH PRIME MINISTER ULF KRISTERSSON ON X: "The Russian authorities, and President Putin personally, are responsible for Alexei Navalny no longer being alive." EU COUNCIL PRESIDENT CHARLES MICHEL, ON X "Alexei Navalny fought for the values of freedom and democracy. For his ideals, he made the ultimate sacrifice. The EU holds the Russian regime solely responsible for this tragic death." EUROPEAN COMMISSION PRESIDENT URSULA VON DER LEYEN AND EU FOREIGN POLICY CHIEF JOSEP BORRELL "He was slowly murdered by President Putin and his regime, who fear nothing more than dissent from their own people. "We will spare no efforts to hold the Russian political leadership and authorities to account." NATO SECRETARY-GENERAL JENS STOLTENBERG "We need to establish all the facts, and Russia needs to answer all the serious questions about the circumstances of his death." DUTCH PRIME MINISTER MARK RUTTE, ON X "Navalny fought for democratic values and against corruption. He had to pay for his struggle with death while he was held under the harshest and most inhumane conditions." LATVIAN PRESIDENT EDGARS RINKEVICS, ON X "Whatever your thoughts about Alexei Navalny as the politician, he was just brutally murdered by the Kremlin. That's a fact and that is something one should know about the true nature of Russia's current regime." CZECH FOREIGN MINISTER JAN LIPAVSKY Russia "has turned into a violent state that kills people who dream of a better future, like Nemtsov or now Navalny - imprisoned and tortured to death for standing up to Putin. Rest in peace". REPUBLICAN U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CONTENDER NIKKI HALEY "Donald Trump continues to side with Vladimir Putin - a man who kills his political opponents, holds American journalists hostage, and has never hidden his desire to destroy America." (Reporting by Reuters bureaus; Compiled by Frances Kerry; Editing by Gareth Jones and Rosalba O'Brien, Raju Gopalakrishnan) South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol speaks on the government budget at the National Assembly in Seoul, South Korea, 25 October 2022. JEON HEON-KYUN/Pool via REUTERS/file photo SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korean security guards were acting within the law when they removed a man who was heckling President Yoon Suk Yeol as he was making a speech at a university graduation ceremony, the president's office said on Friday. Videos widely shared on X showed several members of Yoon's security detail muzzling and removing the man, who appeared to be a student, from the ceremony at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science & Technology (KAIST). The man could be heard protesting against cuts to the research and development budget under the Yoon administration as the president was making vows to support researchers. "The Presidential Security Service removed a heckler to ensure safety within a security area and order in the venue," a spokesperson for Yoon's office said in a statement. The action was "inevitable" and in accordance with the law, and security principles, the spokesperson added. Keywords such as "KAIST graduation ceremony" and "budget cuts" were trending on X in South Korea on Friday, and the incident drew criticism from opposition politicians and several ordinary Koreans. "Apologize, President," South Korea's main opposition party leader, Lee Jae-myung, wrote in a post on X. South Korea's National Assembly passed a national research and development budget of 26.5 trillion won ($19.86 billion) in December for 2024, down 15% from the previous year, drawing backlash from researchers and students. Minor progressive Jinbo Party lawmaker Kang Sung-hee was also dragged out of a venue by Yoon's bodyguards last month at an event the president was attending. Kang was shouting and not letting go of the president's hand, an official at Yoon's office said at that time. ($1 = 1,334.3700 won) (Reporting by Hyunsu Yim; editing by Miral Fahmy) Israeli personnel work near a tractor at the scene of an incident in Tel Aviv, Israel February 15, 2024. REUTERS/Susana Vera/file photo REEM JUNCTION, Israel, (Reuters) -A man shot two people dead and wounded four others at a bus stop in southern Israel on Friday, emergency services said, in what Israeli media described as a suspected Palestinian attack. The assailant was shot dead by an armed civilian who was at the scene, authorities said. Israel's Haaretz newspaper and other outlets identified the shooter as a Palestinian man from East Jerusalem, but police said the investigation was placed under a court-sanctioned gag order and declined to confirm his identity to Reuters. The Palestinian militant group Hamas, which led the deadly Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel, praised Friday's shooting as "a natural response" to Israel's devastating war in Gaza and called on more Palestinians to take up arms. The Israeli offensive against Hamas in Gaza has killed more than 28,700 Palestinians, according to Palestinian health authorities, laid much of the enclave to waste and displaced most of its 2.3 million population. Israel says its goal is to destroy Hamas after the group's fighters burst through the Gaza border on Oct. 7 killing 1,200 people and taking 253 hostage. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Friday's attack showed that the "entire country is a front and that the murderers, who come not only from Gaza, want to kill us all." He vowed to continue the Gaza war until "total victory" over Hamas, which is sworn to Israel's destruction. Israel's far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, speaking at the scene of Friday's shooting, pledged to increase distribution of firearms to civilians who have been arming themselves in record numbers in the wake of the Oct. 7 attack. (Reporting by Amir Cohen in Reem junction, Roleen Tafakfi and Maayan Lubell in Jerusalem and Henriette Chacar in Tel Aviv; Editing by James Mackenzie, William Maclean, Emelia Sithole-Matarise and Hugh Lawson) A satellite image shows an overview of an oil spill from a capsized barge off the shore of Tobago Island, Trinidad and Tobago, February 14, 2024. Maxar Technologies/Handout via REUTERS/ File photo By Curtis Williams PORT OF SPAIN (Reuters) -An oil spill that has stained Tobago's coastline in the Caribbean is entering into Grenada's waters and could impact neighboring Venezuela, Tobago's Chief Secretary Farley Augustine told Reuters on Thursday. Eight days after Trinidad and Tobago's Coast Guard first spotted the oil from a capsized vessel whose owner and origin have not been confirmed, portions of the stain have moved about 144 km (89 miles) into the Caribbean Sea at a rate of 14 km per hour, Augustine said. "It has now entered Grenada's territorial waters," the official said, following a fly-over by Trinidad and Tobago's Air Guard, which confirmed the distance the spill has gone and countries possibly impacted. Trinidad and Tobago and Grenada's foreign affairs ministries did not reply to requests for comment. Authorities in Grenada, Panama, Aruba and Guyana have been contacted by Trinidad and regional group Caricom for information as part of an investigation about the vessel's origin, intended destination and ownership, and an accompanying tugboat. According to preliminary research, the ship departed Panama bound for Guyana, officials in Trinidad have said. Guyana's Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo told reporters on Thursday that Trinidad has requested information from Guyana on the ship's destination. "If we have any capacity, then we are willing to share with our neighbors." Venezuela, which said on Wednesday it was monitoring the spill, has been in touch with Trinidad to coordinate response action. Trinidad's Energy Minister Stuart Young met Venezuela's Vice President Delcy Rodriguez in Caracas on Thursday, her office said on social media, but the purpose of the meeting was not disclosed. UNPLUGGED LEAK The overturned vessel continues to leak fuel, but the situation is now under control with a 40-feet (12 m) perimeter supported by booms around the wreckage, Augustine said. "We are unable to plug the leak and unless we have information on how much fuel is in the barge or what exactly it contains we cannot move forward, except containment and skimming," he added. Trinidad's national security ministry said on Wednesday that it remains unknown whether any lives were lost in the incident. A tugboat and a barge under names disclosed by Trinidad's government were identified in satellite pictures taken three days before the incident in the Caribbean Sea, reviewed by TankerTrackers.com. According to the monitoring service, the vessels were heading to St. Vincent and the Grenadines. First responders and volunteers have been trying to contain the spill and reduce its impact on Tobago's wildlife. Birds and marine animals have been impacted, so authorities continue rescue and cleaning efforts to return them to their habitat, Chief Secretary Augustine said. (Reporting by Curtis Williams in Port of Spain; Additional reporting by Marianna Parraga in Houston, Kiana Wilburg in Georgetown and Vivian Sequera in Caracas; Editing by William Maclean and Jamie Freed) FILE PHOTO: An aircraft of the national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines taxis behind a Vietjet aircraft at Noi Bai airport in Hanoi, Vietnam December 23, 2020. Picture taken December 23, 2020. REUTERS/Kham/File Photo By Tim Hepher (Reuters) - A UK judge has ordered Vietnam's VietJet to refrain from interfering in the export of jets repossessed by a leasing firm in the latest twist to a dispute that has put one of the fastest-growing aviation markets under the spotlight. FW Aviation (FWA) has taken possession of four Airbus A321 jets with the airline's agreement after claiming that the airline is in default for non-payment of rent since 2021. But the lessor, part of London-based FitzWalter Capital, accused VietJet in an online hearing on Friday of seeking to thwart the process by interfering behind the scenes with efforts to export one of the passenger jets from Vietnam, where all four jets remain on the ground. The dispute has been playing out in courts in London, Singapore and Hanoi and is seen as a test case for lessors' rights in Vietnam, which has hundreds of Airbus and Boeing jets on order, as well as for wider international leasing rules. "We have a right to possession and control of this aircraft and that extends to the ability to export it," FWA's lawyer Akhil Shah told London's High Court. VietJet lawyer Alexander Milner denied the airline was seeking to take proactive steps to block exports, and put forward detailed legal and jurisdictional arguments stating why VietJet could not be held accountable in the UK court for a matter between FWA and Vietnam's customs authorities. Leasing represents about half the world's fleet and the ability of lessors to move planes from one place to another in the event of default is a key component of the 2001 Cape Town Convention, which underpins the aircraft leasing industry. Airlines in member countries that are deemed to break the rules can face higher financing rates for their future fleets. Granting the order, Judge David Foxton questioned whether a distinction could be drawn between possessing an aircraft and being able to export it, and drew comparisons with currency controls or restrictions on exports of Old Master paintings. FWA claimed that VietJet had liaised behind the scenes with Vietnamese authorities and obtained unexplained photographs of letters between the lessor and Vietnam's customs authority. Milner said the claimants had been quick to interpret innocent acts as attempted interference. VietJet could not immediately be reached for comment. Vietnam is the latest battleground over lessor rights after disputes in India and Russia. The Aviation Working Group, a UK-based entity that monitors financing laws on behalf of planemakers and lessors, last year placed Vietnam on a watchlist over its adherence to the Cape Town treaty and reaffirmed the move in October. India is also on watch amid a dispute between the airline Go First and lessors. Airlines argue it is crucial for procedures to be carried out correctly as the export of a valuable jet is irreversible. (Reporting by Tim Hepher; editing by David Evans) GENEVA (Reuters) -The U.N. human rights office urged the Russian authorities on Friday to ensure that a credible investigation is carried out into the death of prominent opposition figure Alexei Navalny in a penal colony. Navalny collapsed and died on Friday after a walk at the "Polar Wolf" Arctic penal colony where he was serving a three-decade jail term, the Russian prison service said. "If someone dies in the custody of the state, the presumption is that the state is responsible a responsibility that can only be rebutted through an impartial, thorough and transparent investigation carried out by an independent body," U.N. Human Rights Office spokesperson Liz Throssell said. "We urge the Russian authorities to ensure such a credible investigation is carried out." Russia's Investigative Committee said it had launched a procedural investigation into the death. "We call on the Russian authorities to end the persecution of politicians, human rights defenders and journalists, among others," Throssell said. "All those who are held or have been sentenced to various prison terms in relation to the legitimate exercise of their rights, including the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and expression, should be immediately released and all charges against them." (Reporting by Gabrielle Tetrault-Farber; Editing by Alison Williams and Timothy Heritage) Investors are often guided by the idea of discovering 'the next big thing', even if that means buying 'story stocks' without any revenue, let alone profit. But as Peter Lynch said in One Up On Wall Street, 'Long shots almost never pay off.' Loss making companies can act like a sponge for capital - so investors should be cautious that they're not throwing good money after bad. If this kind of company isn't your style, you like companies that generate revenue, and even earn profits, then you may well be interested in Datasonic Group Berhad (KLSE:DSONIC). While this doesn't necessarily speak to whether it's undervalued, the profitability of the business is enough to warrant some appreciation - especially if its growing. See our latest analysis for Datasonic Group Berhad How Quickly Is Datasonic Group Berhad Increasing Earnings Per Share? If a company can keep growing earnings per share (EPS) long enough, its share price should eventually follow. Therefore, there are plenty of investors who like to buy shares in companies that are growing EPS. Shareholders will be happy to know that Datasonic Group Berhad's EPS has grown 18% each year, compound, over three years. If the company can sustain that sort of growth, we'd expect shareholders to come away satisfied. Careful consideration of revenue growth and earnings before interest and taxation (EBIT) margins can help inform a view on the sustainability of the recent profit growth. The music to the ears of Datasonic Group Berhad shareholders is that EBIT margins have grown from 27% to 30% in the last 12 months and revenues are on an upwards trend as well. Both of which are great metrics to check off for potential growth. In the chart below, you can see how the company has grown earnings and revenue, over time. To see the actual numbers, click on the chart. In investing, as in life, the future matters more than the past. So why not check out this free interactive visualization of Datasonic Group Berhad's forecast profits? Story continues Are Datasonic Group Berhad Insiders Aligned With All Shareholders? It should give investors a sense of security owning shares in a company if insiders also own shares, creating a close alignment their interests. Datasonic Group Berhad followers will find comfort in knowing that insiders have a significant amount of capital that aligns their best interests with the wider shareholder group. Given insiders own a significant chunk of shares, currently valued at RM345m, they have plenty of motivation to push the business to succeed. That holding amounts to 26% of the stock on issue, thus making insiders influential owners of the business and aligned with the interests of shareholders. Does Datasonic Group Berhad Deserve A Spot On Your Watchlist? For growth investors, Datasonic Group Berhad's raw rate of earnings growth is a beacon in the night. Further, the high level of insider ownership is impressive and suggests that the management appreciates the EPS growth and has faith in Datasonic Group Berhad's continuing strength. On the balance of its merits, solid EPS growth and company insiders who are aligned with the shareholders would indicate a business that is worthy of further research. We should say that we've discovered 2 warning signs for Datasonic Group Berhad that you should be aware of before investing here. Although Datasonic Group Berhad certainly looks good, it may appeal to more investors if insiders were buying up shares. If you like to see companies with insider buying, then check out this handpicked selection of Malaysian companies that not only boast of strong growth but have also seen recent insider buying.. Please note the insider transactions discussed in this article refer to reportable transactions in the relevant jurisdiction. Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned. U.S. Col. Ross Walker, Commander of KFOR Regional Command East speaks during an interview with Reuters at camp Bondsteel in Sojevo, Kosovo February 15, 2024. REUTERS/Valdrin Xhemaj By Fatos Bytyci LEPOSAVIC, Kosovo (Reuters) - U.S. peacekeeping troops in Kosovo are well equipped and stand ready to prevent violence in the country's ethnically divided north, often the scene of armed clashes in which most recently a policeman was killed, a commander told Reuters. NATO has reinforced its presence with another 1,000 troops after violence last September during which the policeman was killed in a shootout between Kosovo police and gunmen who entered from Serbia. More than 570 U.S. soldiers serve under the NATO-led mission, which in total has around 4,500 troops deployed. "We are well prepared, well trained and equipped to react to anything that could happen here right now," Colonel Ross Walker, commander of U.S. soldiers from the Texas Army National Guard, told Reuters in an interview. "Even though we stand ready to react to anything, our wish and desire is to always do things through a peaceful dialogue first." Some of the U.S. soldiers are based at Nothing Hill camp close to the northern town of Leposavic and patrol routes that link both Kosovo and Serbia. They park their unarmoured white trucks close to the border with Serbia and then walk near the metal bars that until recently held signs signalling the border line between Kosovo and Serbia. They patrol on foot and carry only pistols, a sign that things have been calm recently. Nevertheless, in December Kosovo's Prime Minister Albin Kurti said armed men backed by Serbian security agencies were being trained to launch more attacks in his country, which Serbia denied. Western diplomats and some analysts warn that the most recent tensions over Kosovo's decision to ban the use of the Serbian dinar could further fuel tension in the north, where some 50,000 Serbs refuse to recognise the Pristina government and see Belgrade as their capital. Pristina's central bank on Feb. 1 said the Serbian dinar used to pay pensions, social benefits and finance education and the healthcare system in Serb areas was illegal. Kurti said the measure was to stop cash crossing the border in bags and instead get money moving through bank accounts and then withdrawn in officially recognised euros. Local media reported that a white van carrying cash in dinar was stopped on Wednesday at the border entering Kosovo, prompting concern among the Serb population over whether they would receive their pension payments. Western countries have called on Kosovo to delay implementation of the decision to ban the dinar. The move has angered the United States, Kosovo's main ally. "If we are not treated as a partner we may not treat him (Kurti) as a partner," Jim O'Brien, the U.S. State Department's Assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs, told Voice of America this week. (Reporting by Fatos Bytyci; Editing by Ivana Sekularac and Hugh Lawson) FILE PHOTO: The logo of NATO is seen at a meeting of the North Atlantic Council in the NATO defence ministers' session together with Sweden as the invitee, at the Alliance's headquarters in Brussels, Belgium February 15, 2024. REUTERS/Johanna Geron/File P BUDAPEST (Reuters) - A bipartisan U.S. Congressional delegation will visit Hungary on Sunday as pressure grows on Budapest to ratify Sweden's NATO membership when parliament reconvenes after its winter break. Hungary is the only NATO country not to ratify Sweden's application, a process that requires the backing of all members, souring relations with the United States and raising concerns among its allies. Sweden applied to join NATO in May 2022 in a historic shift in policy prompted by Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who has better ties with Russia than other EU states and most NATO members, says his government backs Sweden joining the alliance, but the legislation nevertheless remains stranded. The U.S. Embassy said in a statement on Friday the senators would travel to Hungary "on a mission focused on strategic issues confronting NATO and Hungary". Sweden's NATO accession is an issue that directly affects the United States' national security and also the security of the alliance as a whole, U.S. Ambassador David Pressman said this month. Sweden's NATO bid could be ratified when parliament reconvenes in late February, the ruling Fidesz party's parliamentary group has said. Sweden's foreign minister said on Wednesday that he expects that Hungary to approve the application soon. (Reporting by Krisztina Than; Editing by Nick Macfie) By Humeyra Pamuk MUNICH (Reuters) -U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris said the death of Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny in an Arctic penal colony on Friday, if confirmed, would be a further sign of the brutality of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Reports of Navalny's death shook the annual Munich Security Conference where leaders are gathered to bolster unity in the midst of Russia's two-year-old invasion of Ukraine. U.S. President Joe Biden has dispatched Harris to the Munich conference in recent years, and on Friday he was headed to East Palestine, an Ohio town that has struggled with the aftermath of a fiery train derailment a year ago. Harris emphasized that the U.S. would never retreat from its NATO alliance obligations put in place after World War Two, contrasting Biden's approach to global engagement with presidential election hopeful Donald Trump's isolationist views. "Our commitment to build and sustain alliances has helped America become the most powerful and prosperous country in the world," she said. "To put all of that at risk would be foolish." Harris voiced skepticism of Russia's official explanation that Navalny fell unconscious and died after a walk at the penal colony. "Let us be clear, Russia is responsible," she said, adding it would be "a further sign of Putin's brutality" if the death is confirmed. Speaking before Harris, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that if reports of Navalny's death were accurate, they underscored Russia's "weakness and rot." Shortly after Harris' remarks, Alexei Navalny's wife Yulia took the stage to a standing ovation and called on foreign powers to unite and fight the "horrific regime" in Russia. Harris met with her on the margins of the conference and "expressed her sorrow and outrage" over reports of her husband's death, a White House official said. Biden had warned Putin after meeting the Russian leader in Geneva in June 2021 that Russia would risk "devastating" consequences if Navalny died in prison. Since then, U.S. relations with Russia have been in a steep downturn over the Ukraine war. NATO QUESTIONS Harris and Blinken attended the gathering less than a week after Trump, the frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination, said he would not defend NATO allies who failed to spend enough on defense from a potential Russia invasion. Biden is likely to face Trump in November in what looks like a tight rematch of their 2020 contest. Trump's NATO comments have shocked Europe and Trump-supporting Republicans in Congress are blocking aid for Ukraine's defense against Russia. Harris is scheduled to meet U.S. lawmakers, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Israeli President Isaac Herzog and Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani. Harris, whose remarks were direct and forceful, is being watched for her ability to lead amid questions over Biden's age as he seeks a second term. He is 81 and Trump is 77. "Make no mistake, the American people will meet this moment, and America will continue to lead," Harris said, remarks intended to reassure Europeans that Biden will be re-elected. Biden's presidential re-election campaign on Friday released a new minute-long advertisement blasting Trump for abandoning NATO. They planned to target the ad to 2.5 million American voters in Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania who trace their ancestry to the NATO states bordering Russia. Russia's invasion of Ukraine has brought war to a continent that has spent decades trying to forge peace, underwritten by U.S. security commitments to the NATO military alliance that Trump has threatened to jettison. The number of NATO nations meeting a defense spending target of 2% of GDP has doubled since Biden became president in 2021, Harris said. Russia, meanwhile, has suffered more than 300,000 casualties in the Ukraine war and depleted its military's stockpile, she said, calling it an "utter failure for Russia." Failing to stand up to Russia could mean its "imperialist authoritarian" leader invades other countries, she said, criticizing an isolationist mentality that is "dangerous, destabilizing and indeed short-sighted." The Senate approved a $95.34 billion military aid package for Ukraine and other countries on Tuesday, but the funding may never be put up for a vote in the Republican-controlled House of Representative because of Trump's opposition. (Additional reporting and writing by Steve Holland and Trevor Hunnicutt in Washington, Editing by Heather Timmons, Timothy Heritage, Chizu Nomiyama and Daniel Wallis) FILE PHOTO: Palestinians gather near a house hit by an Israeli strike, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip February 16, 2024. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa/File Photo By Stephanie van den Berg THE HAGUE (Reuters) - A record 52 states will present arguments about the legal consequences of Israel's occupation of the Palestinian territories at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the U.N.'s highest legal body. The ICJ's six days of hearings starting on Monday come after the U.N. General Assembly asked the court in 2022 for an advisory, or non-binding, opinion on the occupation. While Israel has ignored such opinions in the past, it could add political pressure over its ongoing operation in Gaza, which has killed 28,775 people, mostly civilians. It is part of a Palestinian push to get international law institutions such as the ICJ to examine Israel's conduct which has become more urgent since the Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas in Israel and Israel's military response in the Gaza Strip. "Politically, this will help in achieving a two-state solution. We are using the platform of the largest judicial body to advance our cause," Omar Awadallah, a senior official in the Palestinian Foreign Ministry, told journalists at a briefing before the hearings. Israel captured the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem - areas of historic Palestine which the Palestinians want for a state - in a 1967 war. It withdrew from Gaza in 2005, but, along with neighbouring Egypt, still controls its borders. It is the second time the U.N. General Assembly has asked the ICJ, also known as the World Court, for an advisory opinion related to the occupied Palestinian territory. In July 2004, the court found that Israel's separation wall in the West Bank violated international law and should be dismantled, though it still stands to this day. The International Court of Justice is set for the first time to broadly consider the legal consequences of Israels nearly six-decades-long occupation and mistreatment of the Palestinian people, said Clive Baldwin, senior legal adviser at Human Rights Watch. Governments that are presenting their arguments to the court should seize these landmark hearings to highlight the grave abuses Israeli authorities are committing against Palestinians, including the crimes against humanity of apartheid and persecution. The advisory opinion proceedings are separate from the genocide case that South Africa filed at the World Court against Israel for its alleged violations in Gaza of the 1948 Genocide Convention. In late January the ICJ in that case ordered Israel to do everything in its power to prevent acts of genocide in Gaza. The outcome of the advisory opinion would not be legally binding but would carry "great legal weight and moral authority," according to the ICJ. The precise question put to the court is to give an opinion on the legal consequences of Israel's "occupation, settlement and annexation ... including measures aimed at altering the demographic composition, character and status of the Holy City of Jerusalem, and from its adoption of related discriminatory legislation and measures." The general assembly also asked the 15-judge panel of the ICJ to advise on how those policies and practices "affect the legal status of the occupation" and what legal consequences arise for all countries and the United Nations from this status. The court will hear over 50 states and three international organisations over six days of hearings including the United States, Russia, China and South Africa. While Israel has filed a written statement with the court, it has not asked to participate in the hearings. On Monday proceedings will start with submissions from the Palestinian authorities. (Reporting by Stephanie van den Berg; Editing by Josie Kao) FORM 6-K SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Washington, D.C. 20549 Report of Foreign Private Issuer Pursuant to Rule 13a-16 or 15d-16 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 For 16 February 2024 Commission File Number: 001-10306 NatWest Group plc Gogarburn, PO Box 1000 Edinburgh EH12 1HQ ________________________________________________ (Address of principal executive offices) 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 __ X __ Form 40-F _____ This report on Form 6-K, except for any information contained on any websites linked in this report, shall be deemed incorporated by reference into the company's Registration Statement on Form F-3 (File No. 333-261837) and to be a part thereof from the date which it was filed, to the extent not superseded by documents or reports subsequently filed or furnished. 16 February 2024 NatWest Group plc Paul Thwaite appointed as NatWest Group CEO The Board of NatWest Group plc has appointed Paul Thwaite as Group Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director with immediate effect. This follows his appointment on an initial 12-month basis in July 2023. Led by Chair Designate Rick Haythornthwaite, the NatWest Group Board has undertaken a rigorous and competitive search process, with support from a leading external search firm. Rick Haythornthwaite, Chair Designate of NatWest Group said: Paul has shown an unrivalled understanding of this business, our customers, and the opportunities for growth. We are both ambitious for this organisation and I fully expect his potent blend of NatWest knowledge and thoughtful, imaginative approach to leadership to prove key to forging success in the rapidly changing landscape of banking. The Board agreed that he was the outstanding candidate and the right person to shape the future of NatWest. Paul Thwaite, NatWest Group CEO said: I want to thank the Board for their support and the opportunity they have given me. Its an honour to lead what, I believe, is a great business, which plays a vital role in the lives of the 19 million customers we serve. With that, comes a great sense of responsibility to succeed for our customers, colleagues, and shareholders. Our customers needs and expectations are changing at pace, as they engage with emerging technology, adapt to new social trends, and build ever more resilience to a fast-evolving world. I believe that NatWest, with its heritage, leading customer businesses, deep regional connections and financial strength, can be a trusted partner to customers during a period of change. It is an exciting time for our sector and our bank. I am confident we can shape the future of NatWest to deliver its full potential. Howard Davies, NatWest Group Chairman said: I am very pleased with the outcome of the process Rick ran. I have worked closely with Paul over the last seven months and am confident that he has all the skills needed to lead the bank forward. Paul has also been appointed as CEO and Executive Director of NatWest Holdings Limited, The Royal Bank of Scotland plc and National Westminster Bank Plc. Paul previously served as a director of Motability Operations Group plc from 30 September 2016 to 1 March 2021. There are no other matters to disclose under Listing Rule 9.6.13 Remuneration arrangements for Paul Thwaite Paul Thwaites remuneration arrangements have been set in accordance with the Directors' Remuneration Policy approved by shareholders. The remuneration package includes a base salary of 1,155,660 per annum, a fixed share allowance set at 100% of salary, standard benefit funding of 26,250 per annum and a pension allowance of 10% of salary on the same basis as the wider workforce. Variable pay will consist of an annual bonus subject to performance, with a maximum opportunity of 100% of salary delivered equally in cash and shares and a Restricted Share Plan award with a maximum opportunity of 150% of salary delivered in shares. Paul will be required to build up and maintain a minimum shareholding equal to 500% of salary. The remuneration package for the NatWest Group CEO continues to represent pay restraint in comparison to the market. Any further increases will be reviewed annually, subject to satisfactory performance and development in role. Further details of Pauls remuneration arrangements are set out in the 2023 Directors Remuneration Report. For further information contact: NatWest Group Investor Relations: Claire Kane Director, Investor Relations +44 (0) 20 7672 1758 NatWest Group Media Relations: +44 (0) 131 523 4205 LEI: 2138005O9XJIJN4JPN90 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. Kyle Anderson, a member of the Kolligian family, congratulates Maj. Brady Augustin after presenting him the 2022 Koren Kolligian Jr. Trophy at the Pentagon in Arlington, Va., Feb. 7, 2024. (Eric Dietrich/U.S. Air Force) NAPLES, Italy At 10,000 feet in the skies above Aviano Air Base in Italy and with the left main landing wheel missing from his F-16CM Fighting Falcon, Maj. Brady Augustin had a big decision to make. The 2009 graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy could have chosen to eject. The $27 million jet would have crashed and potentially hurt others on the ground. Or, he could attempt a risky gear-up landing at the base. That choice had to be made quickly the planes fuel was running low. Augustin, then an F-16 flight instructor for the 31st Operations Support Squadron, ultimately landed the jet on its belly during the March 2022 incident, the Air Force said in a statement earlier this month. It was an incredibly unusual circumstance that had a lot of different ways that it could have gone poorly quickly, Augustin said in the statement. But we were able to salvage (it into) a somewhat normal crash landing and save an airplane, and we all made it home that night. A U.S. Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon lands at Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany in 2020. Maj. Brady Augustin landed an F-16 on its belly during a March 2022 incident where the plane lost its left main landing wheel. Augustin received the 2022 Koren Kolligian Jr. Trophy for his efforts, during a ceremony at the Pentagon on Feb. 7, 2024. (Preston Cherry/U.S. Air Force) Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David W. Allvin speaks with Maj. Brady Augustin and Adelaide Augustin after the pilot was awarded the 2022 Koren Kolligian Jr. Trophy at the Pentagon, Arlington, Va., Feb. 7, 2024. The flight safety award recognized Augustins feat of airmanship for safely performing a gear-up landing in his F-16 fighter aircraft after losing a wheel during takeoff. (Eric Dietrich/U.S. Air Force) The 2022 Koren Kolligian Jr. Trophy is displayed before being presented to Maj. Brady Augustin at the Pentagon, Feb. 7, 2024. The flight safety award recognized Augustins feat of airmanship for safely performing a gear-up landing in his F-16 fighter aircraft after losing a wheel during takeoff. (Eric Dietrich/U.S. Air Force) Augustin was lauded for his skill, composure and resilience under pressure, receiving the 2022 Koren Kolligian Jr. Trophy during a ceremony at the Pentagon on Feb. 7. The trophy is named for an Air Force pilot who was declared missing after the T-33 Shooting Star he was flying disappeared off the California coast in September 1955. During takeoff in March 2022, Augustin felt the F-16 settle to the left. Unable to safely abort, he took off and assessed the situation, according to the statement. Thinking the left landing wheel had simply blown out, Augustin coordinated a conference call with multiple agencies. They determined he should land the plane with the help of an arresting cable, the Air Force said. But that idea quickly fizzled when crews on the ground subsequently found the aircrafts main left landing wheel on the runway. Augustin was ordered to abort the planned landing and conduct a low pass in front of the bases air control tower, according to the statement. That visual inspection confirmed the wheel on the runway was from the F-16 Augustin was flying. He was given two options: eject or attempt a gear-up landing, the Air Force said. Maj. Augustin showed incredible skill and ingenuity in a difficult and dangerous situation, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Allvin said in the statement. Allvin added that Augustin was calm, cool, and collected exactly what we have come to expect from our aviators and those who receive the trophy. An F-16 Fighting Falcon assigned to the 35th Fighter Squadron takes off from Kunsan Air Base, South Korea, Sept. 27, 2023. (Karla Parra/U.S. Air Force) Col. Matthew Gaetke first arrived at the home of the 8th Fighter Wing in South Korea 15 years ago as an Air Force captain assigned to fly the F-16 Fighting Falcon. Today, he is back at Kunsan Air Base, this time as wing commander. Since that first tour, Gaetke has logged 2,200 flight hours, most of them in the F-16, which turned 50 on Feb. 2. The thing that you see in pictures of the F-16 thats hard to appreciate is just how good the office window is, he said during an interview Tuesday, referring to the bubble canopy that gives pilots of the multirole fighter a wide view of the world around them. Having that window in some amazing sunrises or seeing your wingman silhouetted against the morning sun on a thunder cloud theres things that you see that you wish you could describe for folks. Retired Air Force Lt. Col. Dan Hampton pilots an F-16 Fighting Falcon in this undated photo. (Dan Hampton) Kunsan was the first U.S. air base overseas to receive the F-16, now a respected fighter the world over with a proven combat record. A prototype developed by General Dynamics first flew on Jan. 20, 1974, an unplanned flight to avoid an accident on the runway at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. The prototype took to the skies again less than two weeks later for its first official flight. The Air Force took delivery of its first F-16 in August 1978, according to a 2003 news release from current maker Lockheed Martin. Today, approximately 3,100 F-16s are in service in 25 countries, with a 113-jet backlog on orders for six countries for the newest version, the Block 70/72, according to Lockheed Martin. The fourth-generation warplane, built as a simplified fighter with reduced size, costs and weight, can pull up to nine Gs, more than most other fighters, according to the Air Force. About 40 F-16s occupy the Kunsan flightline today. The compact fighter is the backbone of the 7th Air Force, headquartered at Osan Air Base, whose mission is to defend South Korea from North Korea, wing spokeswoman Capt. Kaylin Hankerson said by email Thursday. As tensions increase on the Korean Peninsula with each ballistic missile test or artillery round fired by the North, the F-16 has flown increasing numbers of sorties, including alongside U.S. allies. On Oct. 22, for example, two U.S. F-16s, two South Korean F-15K Slam Eagles and two Japanese F-2s escorted an Air Force B-52H Stratofortress bomber in the three countries first combined airpower demonstration. F-16 Fighting Falcons assigned to the 80th and 35th Fighter Squadrons taxi before take-off at Kunsan Air Base, South Korea, Dec. 1, 2023. (Karla Parra/U.S. Air Force) Modernized The fourth-generation F-16 makes up about 50% of the Air Force fleet and has flown in every major U.S. conflict since 1974. The Fighting Falcon, also known as the Viper by its pilots, is easily upgraded with new equipment to face evolving threats, according to Dan Hampton, a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel and former F-16 pilot who earned four Distinguished Flying Crosses with Valor in Kosovo, Iraq and the first Gulf War. Whats made it so successful is that its so adaptable, he said by phone Saturday. The jet was designed with modular components that could be replaced with the latest technology, Hampton said. Modifying jets used to involve pulling them into the factory and ripping their guts out, he said. The F-16, however, was designed so extraordinarily well in the beginning that when new technology came along, when things needed to be added, essentially all you did was pull the boxes out, Hampton said. An F-16A Fighting Falcon flown by the Thunderbirds aerial demonstration team from 1983-1992 is on display in the Hill Aerospace Museum at Hill Air Force Base, Utah. (Todd Cromar/U.S. Air Force) In 2022, the Air Force started one of the largest modernization efforts in its history with $6.3 billion in improvements to 608 F-16s. The project included 22 upgrades, including installation of the Active Electronically Scanned Array radar and jam-resistant communications systems used by U.S., NATO and other allied forces. The first F-16 that flew 50 years ago looks nothing like these F-16s that we have on the ramp out here, Gaetke said. The cockpit looks very different than it did when I was here the first time 15 years ago. Diverse but challenging The F-16 upgrades bore fruit, particularly during the onset of the 2003 Iraq War, when the fighters struck surface-to-air missile sites and provided close-air support. A few days into the war, many of the U.S. F-15E Strike Eagles initially designed to focus on air-to-air combat were sent home because the F-16s could do everything they were doing, Hampton said. The F-16s ability to provide air-to-air and air-to-ground support made it an all-around beast in combat, he said. The American F-16s in Iraq would go out and purposefully pick a fight with surface-to-air missiles and all the things that other airplanes avoid like the plague, Hampton said. The F-16s diverse but challenging mission set appeals to some pilots, Gaetke said. Although older than the fifth-generation F-35 Lightning II stealth fighter, the Fighting Falcons evolution over the past decades keeps it relevant in the Air Force. The F-16s provide a great introduction to the fighter mentality and many of its pilots at Kunsan go on to fly F-35s, Gaetke said. An entrance to Fort Cavazos, Texas. (Rose L. Thayer/Stars and Stripes) AUSTIN, Texas A Fort Cavazos soldier charged with murder and another charged as an accomplice in a shooting death will face separate courts-martial in May at the central Texas Army base, according to court records. Officials at the 1st Cavalry Division have declined to link the two mens charges or specify from whose death the charges stem. But both soldiers are charged with crimes from incidents that occurred on the same dates at Fort Cavazos, and both were listed on the Armys online docket on the same day last month. Spc. Nicholas Lowery is charged with unpremeditated murder and two counts of obstructing justice, according to the 1st Cavalry Division, which released the document on Thursday that outlines the charges against Lowery. He is accused of shooting a sergeant in the head with a handgun on or about Aug. 26 or 27, according to the court document. He is also accused of tampering with physical evidence at the scene and then lying about the shooting on Aug. 27 and again on Sept. 7. The name of the sergeant who Lowery is accused of killing is redacted from the charge sheet. Lowery is due in court April 5 for a motions hearing. While the docket does not list an arraignment date for him, it does indicate he has pleaded not guilty and will face a jury trial May 6-10. No attorneys were listed for him. Spc. Rene Heber is charged with accessory to murder after the fact, accessory to involuntary manslaughter after the fact and obstructing justice, according to the 1st Cavalry Division. He was arraigned Feb. 1 before military judge Col. Maureen Kohn. Heber is accused of knowing that another specialist shot a sergeant in the head and killed him on or about Aug. 27 while on post and lied about it, according to his charge sheet. The name of the specialist and the victim are redacted from the document. Heber again lied to law enforcement about the shooting on Sept. 7, according to the document. Heber is also accused of tampering with physical evidence at the crime scene. He is due in court on April 15 and has a jury trial scheduled to begin May 20. He pleaded not guilty and is in pretrial custody. The Army Criminal Investigation Division declined to comment on the case because the investigation is still ongoing. Lowery and Heber are assigned to Bravo Company of the 553rd Division Sustainment Support Battalion within the 1st Cavalry Division Sustainment Brigade, according to court documents. A third soldier assigned to that brigade died on the day listed in the mens charging documents, according to his obituary. The family of 30-year-old Sgt. Alfredo Martinez told Univision in August that the soldier died Aug. 27 of a gunshot wound at Fort Cavazos. Two soldiers were with Martinez at the time and they initially told authorities Martinez shot himself, according to the Spanish-language news outlet. However, the family said they did not agree with the initial assessment that Martinez would have shot himself. The family declined last week to speak about the case. Martinez was buried in the Fort Bliss National Cemetery in El Paso, according to his obituary. The San Antonio Express-News reported he was a test, measurement and diagnostic equipment maintenance support specialist assigned to the 1st Cavalry Division Sustainment Brigade. He enlisted in 2017, according to the newspaper. He was one of four soldiers to die within a three-week span at Fort Cavazos, which sparked scrutiny from media outlets and the Brandon Caserta Foundation. Focused on suicide prevention, the foundation is led by Patrick and Teri Caserta, the parents of a Navy sailor who died by suicide in 2018. The couple also helped pass legislation in 2021 to allow troops to seek a mental health evaluation outside the chain of command. The Army had not yet complied with the new law in August but announced implementation the following month. Fort Cavazos officials have not responded to a request for an update on the cause of death for the other three soldiers. At the time of the deaths, base officials said early indications showed the soldiers likely died by suicide. The Texas National Guard will spend nearly $131 million to build a forward operating base near the states border with Mexico to house up to 1,800 troops serving on a mission to deter illegal activity, Gov. Greg Abbott announced Friday, Feb. 16, 2024. (Office of Gov. Greg Abbott) AUSTIN, Texas The Texas National Guard will spend nearly $131 million to build a forward operating base near the states border with Mexico to house up to 1,800 troops serving on a mission to deter illegal activity. Gov. Greg Abbott made the announcement Friday alongside Maj. Gen. Thomas Suelzer, commander of the Texas National Guard, at a podium backed by a row of Guard troops armed with assault rifles and wearing body armor. The contract was awarded Feb. 9 to the company Team Housing Solutions for Forward Operating Base Eagle Base Camp with a completion date of Sept. 7, according to the states online contract records. A presentation created by New Braunfels-based company shows a camp similar to those already housing troops at the border just on a larger scale. The facilities proposed are modular buildings, trailers and tents. The presentation compares the facilities to those already in operation at other camps the company maintains for the National Guard, such as Camp Walker in Laredo and Camp Alpha in Del Rio. Troops at the new base will still rely on trailer-based toilets and showers, as they do in the other camps. There will be one toilet per seven soldiers, according to the presentation. The executive trailer rooms boast in-suite bathrooms. However, Abbott said Friday the camp will improve conditions for our soldiers and focused mainly on the location reducing their travel time to work. Before now, National Guard have been scattered across this entire region in cramped quarters away from fellow soldiers and Guard, sometimes traveling long distances to be able to do their job, he said. It was unclear Friday whether the camps already in operation along the border will remain open once the new base is fully operational. Abbott began sending troops to the border on a state mission nearly three years ago. Known as Operation Lone Star, troops work with state police to deter illegal activity between legal ports of entry. At its peak, the mission had roughly 10,000 troops assigned to it but that number has decreased over time. The Texas Military Department also stopped releasing the number of troops working at the border. The state legislature has provided Operation Lone Star more than $10 billion during that time. That price tag includes aspects of the mission that are outside the scope of the Guard, such as the governors program that buses migrants out of state. The new base is needed to expand and sustain the states effort, Abbott said. Those efforts have come in opposition to the federal governments border operations in recent months, pitting Abbott against President Joe Biden in at least two border-related court cases. Texas sued the Department of Homeland Security in October for cutting coiled wire barriers placed by Guard troops near the border, calling it destruction of state property. Customs and Border Protection responded it has an obligation under federal law to detain and process any people who reach U.S. soil or act when conditions put migrants at risk. The case is ongoing. Meanwhile, the Department of Justice sued Texas last month to challenge a new state law it deems unconstitutional. The law creates two new state crimes that attempt to regulate immigration something the courts have ruled is the job of the federal government, not the states. The law is set to go into effect next month. The new base camp is about 6 miles from Shelby Park in Eagle Pass, a city-owned park recently seized by the Texas National Guard, who have blocked federal immigration agents from entering. The entire 47-acre park is enclosed with wire barriers, according to media reports. Abbott said Friday that illegal border crossings into the riverfront park have dropped from between 3,000 to 5,000 a day to less than 1% of that. He touted the razor wire as the reason. Having the soldiers located right here right by the river, theyre going to have the ability to more quickly be able to construct that razor wire barrier, he said. The camp will be built on 80 acres near Eagle Pass and will have 300 beds available by mid-April, Suelzer said. It will add 300 beds every 30 days until complete and has a surge capacity to house up to 2,300 troops when needed. Soldiers will have individual 118-square-foot rooms, a dining facility able to seat 700 troops at a time, a fitness center, recreation, laundry facilities, wireless internet and medical care. It also will have weapons storage, vehicle maintenance bays and a helipad. By contrast, Camp Walker sits on 22 acres and sleeps 700 troops in double-occupancy rooms. Aside from the housing announcement, Suelzer announced the Guard will add more wire barrier north and south of Eagle Pass, add three more boats to its operations on the Rio Grande and expand its drone program and radar truck capabilities. Marine Corps poolees conduct exercises at Skyline High School in Mesa, Arizona, in April 2022. (Brennan J. Beauton/U.S. Marine Corps) AUSTIN, Texas A Texas teenager who said a Marine Corps recruiter sexually abused her while she was high school senior eager to enlist filed a $5 million claim Thursday against the service because officials had been warned the recruiter posed a threat. In an 11-page complaint filed through the Federal Tort Claims Act, the teenager described how Gunnery Sgt. Christopher Champagne, who oversaw her pre-enlistment program in Decatur, Texas, coerced her into a sexual relationship, isolated her from her peers and tried to control her life. During much of the recruiters months-long pursuit of her that began in September 2022, she was a 17-year-old who had recently moved to Texas and was looking to be part of a community, according to the complaint. Stars and Stripes does not name victims of sexual assault. My client was looking forward to spending her life serving her country as a Marine. But her faith in the Marines has been shattered because she was sexually abused by her recruiter someone she thought she could trust, said Christine Dunn, the womans attorney. The filing is a first step toward a lawsuit against the Marine Corps, the Navy and the Defense Department, Dunn said. Law requires that claims against a federal agency must first go through an administrative process that affords the agency six months to investigate. Then a lawsuit can be filed in court. Champagne in October self-published a memoir about his actions toward the poolee, a Marine Corps term for people who intend to enlist but have not yet become a recruit or attended basic training. In the book, he described his immediate attraction to the young woman and referred to her arrival in his office as a gift, according to the complaint. He also wrote he exercised plenty of risky behavior throughout his career. The Naval Criminal Investigative Service confirmed Thursday that it is conducting a thorough investigation into Champagne. Out of respect for the investigative process, NCIS will not comment further while the investigation remains ongoing, the agency said in a statement. The Marine Corps did not immediately respond Thursday with information on Champagnes status in the service. Officials previously told media outlets that he was under investigation and had been removed from his position following publication of the memoir, which is no longer available for purchase online. As a poolee, the woman attended workouts at the recruiting stations where other Marines in the office saw Champagnes inappropriate and controlling behavior toward her but did nothing, according to the complaint. Other Marines also knew Champagne hired the poolee to babysit his daughter, which is not allowed. When the woman tried to separate herself from Champagne, he began to show up at her home, where she lived with her parents, send her messages threatening to harm himself if she didnt respond and created fake social media accounts to try and talk to her, according to the complaint. She and her family notified Marine Corps recruiting officials, NCIS and local law enforcement of his behavior. Military investigators did not take her seriously, she said. During this time, I was contacted by NCIS personnel who each time asked me if I felt safe with my spouse. I told each person that I was not married, nor did I live with Mr. Champagne, yet they continued to be confused and incorrect about the facts of my case, the woman wrote in the complaint. Dunn said she is not aware of any criminal proceedings against Champagne from military or civilian officials. By Federico Maccioni DUBAI (Reuters) - Advisory and forensic accounting firm Ankura Consulting said on Friday it had launched a custom, generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) tool developed in partnership with Microsoft-backed firm and ChatGPT creator OpenAI. The tool, called NoraGPT, is being used in Ankura's secured environment to ensure data protection for staff and clients, it said in a statement. The platform has human-like features such as long-term and "forever" memory capabilities, which align with Ankura's own AI solutions. It will also help with file management. "Just speaking internally, it's going to impact every aspect, every functional area that we have," Ankura CEO Kevin Lavin told Reuters. Lavin expects AI tools to be applied to various fields such as fraud detection, safety and security, as well as to boost client intake. "It's going to be a lot more," he added. He also said that AI would have a significant impact on revenues and generate internal cost savings initially in the range of 25% across the board, including reducing subcontractors and slowing new hiring. SAUDI FOCUS Ankura has over 2,000 employees and serves more than 3,000 clients across 55 countries. It set up a turnaround and restructuring practice for the Middle East out of its Dubai office last April, joining other advisory firms expanding their operations in the region. Asked about operations in the Middle East, Lavin said that the region has been served primarily from London and Dubai, but the firm's current office in Riyadh "will be the centre of what we do". "Saudi Arabia it's just such a growing market and there's a need for things that we do. And, you know, we'd like to participate in that." Several companies have been adopting generative AI to boost efficiency and cut costs, including Nokia and , even as experts flag potential legal and ethical concerns (Reporting by Federico Maccioni; editing by Miral Fahmy) Firefighters demonstrate EMILY the Emergency Integrated Lifesaving Lanyard on the Nishiki River in Iwakuni, Japan, on Feb. 13, 2024. (Jonathan Snyder/Stars and Stripes) MARINE CORPS AIR STATION IWAKUNI, Japan Swimmers in trouble near this U.S. base south of Hiroshima may soon find EMILY coming to their rescue. Gathered late Tuesday morning near the famous Kintaikyo Bridge over the Nishiki River, the Marines deployed EMILY the Emergency Integrated Lifesaving Lanyard to show off its maneuverability, speed and ease of use in a simulated rescue. Members of the Iwakuni City Fire Department joined in. EMILY is a water rescue device thats just another tool we can use in emergency situations during swift water flooding, Heath Bichel, special operations chief for the Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni Fire Department, told Stars and Stripes at the event. A three-person water-rescue team from the department demonstrated EMILY, but one person may easily operate the device, Bichel said. Among its other advantages, EMILY saves the time a human team needs to don water rescue suits, he said. This limits the lifesaving hazard. They can literally remotely control this and send it out, Bichel said. Firefighters demonstrate EMILY the Emergency Integrated Lifesaving Lanyard on the Nishiki River in Iwakuni, Japan, on Feb. 13, 2024. (Jonathan Snyder/Stars and Stripes) EMILY was introduced in 2010 by Hydronalix of Green Valley, Arizona, for rescues at beaches and oceans and from rivers and floods, according to the company website. At just over four feet long and a foot wide, it weighs 26 pounds, with a 1.2-kilowatt motor with a 14-minute run time. The swift water EMILY is capable of 25 mph with a 3-mile range at full power on a single charge. It comes with rescue rope and a river rescue helmet, according to the companys website. The fire department acquired two swift water EMILYs in August, and after some training and operation guidance the watercraft were put into service in November, Bichel said. At the demonstration, Tadashi Matsumae, diving unit leader for the city fire department, saw firsthand what the EMILY can do. I think it was a great training and interesting from the beginning to the end as it involved valuable and practical equipment, which has not been equipped domestically, he said. Firefighters demonstrate EMILY the Emergency Integrated Lifesaving Lanyard at the Nishiki River in Iwakuni, Japan, on Feb. 13, 2024. (Jonathan Snyder/Stars and Stripes) The Marine Corps has also purchased EMILY for bases in Hawaii and Okinawa, Bichel said. The device can vary in cost between $8,000 to $16,000, depending on the model, Bichel said. The air station is ready to deploy the rescue device to the city if needed, he said. There is a mutual aid agreement and kind of a trust that we have, if needed, we would definitely be able to supply, he said. Stars and Stripes reporter Hana Kusumoto contributed to this report. A lance corporal serving at Marine Corps Air Station, Iwakuni, Japan, has received a suspended sentence for punching a 76-year-old woman in November 2023. (Pixabay) MARINE CORPS AIR STATION IWAKUNI, Japan A Japanese court on Friday sentenced a U.S. Marine to a suspended, two-year prison term for assaulting two Japanese people, one a 76-year-old woman, in November. Lance Cpl. Manuel Joshua Gomez, 21, a motor vehicle operator with Wing Support Squadron 71 at MCAS Iwakuni, will be returned to the United States but until then is confined to the base south of Hiroshima, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing spokesman Maj. Rob Martins told Stars and Stripes by email Friday. Judge Soshi Okada suspended Gomezs sentence for four years, meaning he will serve no time unless he reoffends in Japan during that period. We respect the decision of the court, and we take this matter very seriously, Martins said. Gomez had been drinking when he encountered the woman around 4 a.m. on the street in the Marifu area of Iwakuni city, according to the verdict summary from Yamaguchi District Court. He pushed the woman to the ground, then punched her several times in the face with his right fist, the summary states. The woman suffered a compression fracture of a vertebrae and bruises to her face, which required one month of treatment, according to the verdict read by Judge Soshi Okada in court. Gomez pleaded guilty Jan. 23 in Yamaguchi District Court in Iwakuni, according to the Chugoku newspaper. Prosecutors had requested two years imprisonment with hard labor. The woman fled and a man, 55, who witnessed the assault approached Gomez, who punched him in the face, leaving a bruise on the mans right cheek, according to the verdict. The assault on two victims was dangerous and vicious, with no extenuating circumstances, Okada said in court. However, he suspended the sentence because Gomez admitted to the offenses, apologized to the victims, expressed intention to compensate the victims, and has no prior criminal record, according to the summary. The actions for which Lance Cpl. Gomez was convicted are contrary to our values, and we expect our service members to be upstanding members of the community, Martins said. U.S. Navy SEALs and special warfare combatant-craft crewmen train with Cypriot underwater demolition command forces near Limassol, Cyprus on Jan. 25, 2024. The SEALs wrapped up three weeks of training Feb. 14. (Bill Carlisle/U.S. Navy) Navy SEALs operating in the eastern Mediterranean said that drills carried out off the coast of Cyprus were a signal to adversaries that attacks in the eastern Mediterranean will be opposed with plenty of force. The comments, delivered Wednesday after several weeks of training, come amid ongoing tensions with Iran and its proxies in a region roiled by the war in Gaza. Capt. Bill Gallagher, Naval Special Warfare Group 2 commander, said his teams collaboration with Cypriot forces sends a clear message. Through joint endeavors, we fortify our capabilities and make clear that any aggression will be met with a swift, unyielding response, Gallagher said in a statement. Since the start of Israels war with Hamas in Gaza, Cyprus has turned into a hub for U.S. and other allied special operations teams. Commandos from Germany, the Netherlands and United Kingdom were some of the forces dispatched to the country, where they were put on standby in the aftermath of Hamas Oct. 7 terror attack on Israel. U.S. Navy special operators conduct close quarters combat training in an urban environment with Cypriot underwater demolition command forces near Limassol, Cyprus, on Jan. 30, 2024. (Bill Carlisle/U.S. Navy) U.S. Navy SEALs and special warfare combatant-craft crewmen conduct live-fire weapons training with Cypriot forces near Limassol, Cyprus, on Jan. 29, 2024. (Bill Carlisle/U.S. Navy) The United States also moved numerous military assets to the region, ranging from Navy warships in the Mediterranean to Air Force cargo planes in Greece and special operators in Cyprus. The type of training being carried out by special operators can pose risks for the troops involved. In November, five U.S. Army Special Operations troops died in a helicopter crash off the coast of Cyprus, where they were taking part in a refueling training mission. The crew members were part of the Armys 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, a unit responsible for getting special operations teams to hot spots. The SEALs and special warfare combatant-craft crewmen, operating from Limassol, Cyprus, wrapped up three weeks of training Wednesday. The sailors and their Cypriot counterparts took part in drills intended to hone skills needed in covert missions and search and seizure operations at sea, the Naval Special Warfare Group 2 statement said. This relationship serves as a powerful deterrent, showcasing a united front against potential threats to regional and maritime security in the area, the statement said. Gino Sorbillo defied convention at his family's original pizzeria in Naples, Italy, creating a pineapple pizza. Despite the uproar over a topping long considered forbidden by Italians, patrons have shown a willingness to try the pineapple pizza. (Alison Bath/Stars and Stripes) Until recently, there have been two unbreakable pizza rules in Naples. First, it must be eaten immediately after it comes out of the oven. You dont wait for others at the table to get theirs or you risk diminishing the joy that comes with a Neapolitan pie. The second rule is that pineapple is vietato, or prohibited. But one of Italys most famous pizza chefs brazenly cast that tenet aside in a December Instagram post challenging fellow Italians to give pineapple on pizza a chance. Surely 99% of the Neapolitan Pineapple Pizza skeptics have never tried it, Gino Sorbillo wrote Dec. 30. Try asking (them) have you ever eaten it? The backlash was swift and certain. I have unfollowed you, wrote one of 449 respondents. Many questioned Sorbillos loyalty to Italian culture, tradition and cuisine. One asked whether he would sell his mother. With that in mind, I recently visited his shop on Via dei Tribunali, in the heart of Naples historic Centro Storico. Established in 1935 by Sorbillos grandparents, the pizzeria has grown into a chain of international restaurants. There are five more in Naples and 14 others elsewhere, including in Rome, Milan, Miami and Tokyo. Another is planned to open soon on Italys famed Amalfi coast. The interior of the original Sorbillo pizzeria in Naples, Italy, features natural stone and wood and is decorated with modern lighting. (Alison Bath/Stars and Stripes) I recommend the historic Tribunali location, with its eye-catching architectural elements and lively street scene. The interior boasts natural stone and wood finishes with modern lighting and decorative touches. The cozy first floor has tables tightly nested in the main dining area and an adjacent room. Additional seating is upstairs. We sat at an eating bar situated by a large picture window that looked out onto the street. My dining companion reminded me of another rule: Dont come before 7:30 p.m. or the pizza oven wont be hot enough. We were just in time. Sorbillos menu is solely devoted to pizza. Traditional favorites such as Margherita or marinara accompany more complex offerings with specialty cheeses and meats, such as mortadella, prosciutto and pancetta. Theres even a vegan pizza with cheese made from tofu. But pizza con ananas, or pineapple pizza, isnt listed. I ordered that one. The waiter gave me a knowing chuckle. I smiled and nodded. It was a sort of secret handshake in the spirit of the old speakeasies during Prohibition. My friend ordered the Ciro, which features a sauce made with tomatoes grown on the slopes of Mount Vesuvius, parmigiano Reggiano cheese and oregano. The Ciro arrived first, and it didnt disappoint. The traditional paper-thin Neapolitan crust was lightly charred, giving the pizza a slight smokiness. The Ciro, which includes a sauce made with tomatoes grown on the slopes of Mount Vesuvius, is one of the many pizzas offered at Sorbillo in Naples, Italy. (Alison Bath/Stars and Stripes) The absence of the traditional mozzarella topping only enhanced enjoyment of the perfectly seasoned tomato sauce. My dining companion quickly devoured every bite, save one for me. My pizza arrived a few moments later with a caramelized pineapple ring in the center. A few other pineapple pieces were scattered on top of the pie, which was blanketed with smoked provolone, a dusting of pecorino cheese and a few basil leaves. The smoky and salty cheeses balanced the sweetness of the fruit with the basil, offering freshness to each bite. It was flavorful without being cloying. There was nothing American about it. It was pure Neapolitan genius. We asked one of our waiters what he thought of the pizza. He shrugged his shoulders before quickly leaving the table, our question unanswered. Its a touchy subject, my friend said. It should be noted that the pineapple pizza currently is available only at the Via dei Tribunali location. Later, the cashier told us Sorbillo sells about 50 pineapple pizzas each day. Thats a small portion of the more than 1,000 pies baked daily at the location, but its still popular, he noted. As one Instagram commenter said: Bravo, Gino! The original Sorbillo pizzeria was founded in 1935 on Via dei Tribunali in Naples' Centro Storico neighborhood. The business has grown into an international chain. (Alison Bath/Stars and Stripes) Sorbillo Address: Via dei Tribunali 32, Naples, Italy Hours: Noon-3:30 p.m.; 7-11:30 p.m., Monday through Saturday. Closed Sundays. Prices: 4.50-10 euros for most pizzas; 2-5.50 euros for water, soda and glasses of beer and wine; 9-14 euros for half-liters or full bottles of wine Information: Phone: +39 081 446 643; online: www.sorbillo.it Matisse Invitation to the Voyage, an exhibition coming to Basel, Switzerland, in September, will be the first Henri Matisse retrospective in Switzerland and the German-speaking world in almost 20 years. (The Baltimore Museum of Art: The Cone Collection) High upon the inexhaustible list of reasons to visit one of Europes great cities is to check out its wonderful museums. When whats on show isnt part of a permanent collection, its important to act fast or miss it. Heres a list of just some of the years most anticipated temporary exhibitions across Europe, in chronological order: Amsterdam, Netherlands: The Rijksmuseum has dedicated a show to a major figure of the Dutch Golden Age with its exhibition Frans Hals, on now through June 9. The exhibition centers on the artists easygoing and animated style that earned him a reputation as a forerunner of impressionism. In addition to Hals most famous work, The Laughing Cavalier, some 50 of the artists works depicting children, lovers, market salespeople and the happily inebriated await inspection. Online: rijksmuseum.nl/en/whats-on/exhibitions/frans-hals Ostend, Brussels and Antwerp, Belgium: The 75-year anniversary of the death of the Flemish artist James Ensor will be marked by a number of exhibitions, activities and events. In Ostend, the seaside city in which Ensor was born and spent most of his life, the Mu.ZEE Oostende hosts an exhibition of its native sons still life paintings through April 14. In Brussels Bozar Centre for Fine Arts, James Ensor: Maestro shines a light on not only his art but his writings and musical composition with an anthology consisting of some 100 works; the show runs Feb. 29-June 23. In Antwerps KMSKA, Ensors wildest dreams. Beyond Impressionism, Ensors works will be displayed alongside his contemporaries, sources of inspiration and successors Sept. 28-Jan. 19, 2025. Online: visitflanders.com/en/ensor2024 Paris, France: The Musee dOrsay takes visitors on a journey through time with its exhibition Paris 1874: Inventing Impressionism, running March 26-July 14. The collection of works on display is a nod to an 1874 privately organized exhibition featuring works by Renoir, Monet, Pissarro, Cezanne, Degas, Morisot and Sisley and other artists. Although the show was sparsely attended and widely mocked in reviews, today its considered a vital part of the birth of the Impressionist movement. The display of some of the paintings and sculptures featured in the officially organized Salon organized that same year seeks to re-create the visual shock caused by the works exhibited by the Impressionists. Online: musee-orsay.fr/en/whats-on/exhibitions/paris-1874-inventing-impressionism London, UK: Tate Modern shines a spotlight onto the groundbreaking work of an early 20th century circle of Munich-based artists through an exhibition titled Expressionists: Kandinsky, Munter and The Blue Rider, set to run April 25-Oct. 20. At the start of the 20th century, the work of a circle of friends and close collaborators known as The Blue Rider managed to transform modern art through their experimentation with color, sound and light. This story of their friendship and mutual support as told through art features more than 130 works including paintings, sculptures and photographs. Online: tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-modern/expressionists Basel, Switzerland: The Kunstmuseum Basel will be home to When We See Us: A Century of Black Figuration in Painting May 25-Oct. 27. Following its debut in Cape Town, South Africa, the exhibition explores Black self-representation and consciousness from pan-African and pan-diasporic perspectives. The show, whose title is a riff on the 2019 Netflix mini-series about the wrongful conviction of the Central Park Five, features more than 200 works produced by Black artists working globally over the course of the past century and organized around the themes of The Everyday, Joy and Revelry, Repose, Sensuality, Spirituality, and Triumph and Emancipation. Online: kunstmuseumbasel.ch/en/exhibitions/2024/when-we-see-us Oslo, Norway: The Munch Museum, a 13-floor space overlooking the citys waterfront, has announced the May 25 launch of an exhibition titled Edvard Munch: Horizons. The show explores the artistic currents that shaped Europe between 1880 and 1950, a timespan that roughly corresponds to the Norwegian artists career. Munchs work will be hung alongside that of artists including Emil Nolde, Oscar Kokoschka, Gabriele Munter, Alexej von Jawlensky, Raoul Dufy and others, bringing his output into the context of European Modernism. Online: munchmuseet.no/en/exhibitions/edvard-munch-horizons London, UK: The National Gallery will stage Van Gogh: Poets and Lovers, a major retrospective devoted to one of Europes best-known artists, Vincent Van Gogh, from Sept. 14-Jan. 19, 2025. The exhibition teases out how the Dutch painter was inspired by poets, writers and artists, particularly during the time he spent in the cities of Arles and Saint-Remy in southern France. Among the more than 50 works to be displayed are Starry Night Over the Rhone, The Yellow House, Wheat Field with Cypresses and Sunflowers. Online: nationalgallery.org.uk/exhibitions/van-gogh-poets-and-lovers Basel, Switzerland: The Fondation Beyeler stages a show around a leading figure in modern art with Matisse Invitation to the Voyage, coming Sept. 22-Jan. 26, 2025. The first Henri Matisse retrospective in Switzerland and the German-speaking world in almost 20 years rounds up some 80 works highlighting the development and diversity of the artists oeuvre. The show, whose title makes reference to a poem penned by Charles Baudelaire, is conceived as a journey through Matisses work and life, in which travel played an important part. Online: fondationbeyeler.ch/en/exhibitions/henri-matisse London, UK: The Royal Academy of Arts explores the relationship between three preeminent artists of the Italian Renaissance in the exhibition titled Michelangelo, Leonardo, Raphael. Florence, c. 1504 from Nov. 9-Feb. 16, 2025. The show teases out the rivalry between Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci, as well as the influence both figures had on the younger Raphael. Online: royalacademy.org.uk/exhibition/michelangelo-leonardo-raphael A nurse stands inside the NICU at Egypts New Administrative Capital hospital, east of Cairo, where all of the babies who were evacuated from Gaza were taken for emergency medical care. (Sima Diab/for The Washington Post) CAIRO For nearly a month, Shaima Abu Khater didnt know what had happened to her newborn daughter. By the time Kinda arrived on Oct. 30 more than a month before her due date Abu Khaters home in northern Gaza had been destroyed by an Israeli airstrike, she said. Israel was signaling it planned to target al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, where she gave birth. The fates of more than three dozen premature babies, including her daughter, hung in the balance. Abu Khater, along with the rest of al-Shifas obstetrics department, was transferred to another hospital immediately after delivering, as fighting got nearer. Kinda, whom she saw only briefly, remained behind in an incubator. The weeks that followed were hellish. I used to cry every day, she said. She learned from the radio that Israeli soldiers had besieged al-Shifa. The hospital had run out of fuel to power the incubators; babies were dying. She and her husband, Samer Lulu, 28, couldnt get through to medical staff there. Finally, in the third week of November, news came from relatives in Jordan, who had seen a list online of babies evacuated from al-Shifa: Kinda was alive, and in Egypt. She was among 31 newborns, wrapped in aluminum blankets and medical scrubs, spirited to relative safety by a United Nations and Palestine Red Crescent Society mission under extremely intense and high-risk security conditions, the World Health Organization said. Eight of the original 39 premature babies died before the rescue, according to Palestinian health officials. Three stayed in southern Gaza. Shaima Abu Khater shows her daughter, Kinda Lulu, 3 months, to doctors in the neonatal unit at the hospital on Feb. 4, 2024. (Sima Diab/for The Washington Post) The 23 infants who were evacuated to Egypt and survived face a future full of uncertainty. Some have been reunited with their parents, but remain vulnerable. Others appear to be alone in the world, their families dead or unreachable raising vexing questions about who is responsible for their care, and what will happen to them when the war is over. Abu Khaters journey to her daughter began with a harrowing trip south during a week-long pause in the fighting in late November. The couple slept in the streets of southern Gaza until Abu Khater but not her husband was cleared to cross into Egypt in early December. Kinda had a liver infection and intestinal problems. She couldnt eat, and she survived on intravenous fluids. But as the weeks passed in this gleaming hospital in Egypts new administrative capital outside of Cairo, she grew healthier and stronger. This month, Kinda graduated from the incubator. I felt like a mother, Abu Khater, 23, said of their reunion, cradling the baby tiny and wide-eyed in her hospital room. Before, I didnt feel like a mother. Down the hall, in two rooms lined with bassinets, eight babies lay unclaimed. They are known only by their mothers names, taken from tags affixed to their ankles at birth. For at least two of them, news reports and social media posts provide clues to the tragedies that marked their early days: Ibn Fatima el-Hersh (the son of Fatima el-Hersh), sleeping facedown in a striped onesie, was the sole survivor of an airstrike that killed 11 of his family members in October. He was pried from his mothers womb before she succumbed to her injuries at a hospital in northern Gaza, according to news reports at the time. It is unknown whether Ibn Fatima el-Hersh has any surviving family members. News reports say 11 of his family members, including his mother, died of injuries from an airstrike. (Sima Diab/for The Washington Post) The son of Halima Abderrabo cant open his right eye, which was injured in an attack. A photo of his medical file, shared on social media, shows a handwritten note: The family members are martyrs. When the babies arrived at the hospital, medical staff thought they had less than a 20 percent chance of survival, according to Khaled Rashed, a neonatal doctor. They were severely dehydrated, very sick and couldnt breathe on their own. Most weighed around three pounds. They had acquired infections during the journey, causing sepsis, the great killer of newborns, he said. Five of the 28 babies have died since reaching Egypt. All the staff here did their best to preserve their lives, and praise be to God, succeeded with these babies, Rashed said last week, surveying a nursery full of sleeping infants. Five mothers, whose contact information Gaza health workers had tracked down and scrawled on a list, accompanied their babies to Egypt, according to Osama el-Nems, a nurse from Gaza who arrived with them and remained here for nearly two months. We left our phone numbers everywhere for the childrens families to communicate with us, he said. During the truce in November, eight additional mothers and a father got in touch and were later approved to travel to Egypt. Nearly all of the babies in the Cairo area hospital are now out of intensive care. They take bottles and breathe on their own. They are putting on weight. Azhar was able to reunite with her father. (Sima Diab/for The Washington Post) A nurse prepares Azhar for feeding at the hospital. Azhars father was able to travel to Egypt and reunite with her. (Sima Diab/for The Washington Post) For the eight who remain unclaimed, no one seems to know where their parents are, or if they are even still alive. Hospital staff say they have little information to go on and it is not their job to investigate. After nearly three months of caring for them, all the nurses are their mothers now, the hospitals general manager, Ramzy Mounir Abdelazim, said. Nurse Wafaa Ibrahim, 24, said shes come to recognize glimmers of their personalities: The daughter of Sandous al-Kurd, a smiley baby with a dusting of reddish hair, is the most vocal (Shell yell and scream until she is fed). The daughter of Heba Salah whose father was able to come to Egypt but is staying an hours drive away needs affection and tenderness, Ibrahim said as she rocked the crying baby to quiet. I dont know what will happen to them, she said. Im scared for them. Hundreds of other children have been evacuated from Gaza to Egypt for medical treatment, according to the Palestinian ambassador in Cairo, Diab Allouh. Very few arrived alone, he said, but conceded, We dont have a detailed list. Ongoing fighting, patchy communications and the collapse of governance in the Gaza Strip have complicated attempts to locate relatives of unaccompanied children from Gaza, aid organizations and Palestinian authorities say. Israeli bombings have wiped out or displaced whole extended families, rendering the search more challenging. The Palestinian Authority formed a committee to tackle the issue, but the results are very modest, Ahmad Majdalani, the Ramallah-based minister of social development, said in a WhatsApp message. While groups like UNICEF the United Nations childrens agency Save the Children and the International Committee for the Red Cross have vast experience with family tracing in conflict settings, they say its the first time the need has arisen in Gaza, where strong family networks have largely protected children during past conflicts. The reunions between parents and babies in Egypt nine in total were largely the products of word of mouth, dangerous journeys and a lot of luck. Hala Arouq holds her daughter, Massa, in the neonatal unit after they were reunited in Egypt. (Sima Diab/for The Washington Post) Massa, on a hospital bed next to her mother. (Sima Diab/for The Washington Post) When Israeli forces surrounded al-Shifa, Hala Arouq, 24, lost touch with the staff tending to her premature daughter, Massa. She didnt know any of the babies had been evacuated until her husbands family in Turkey got in touch with the news. Arouq and her husband couldnt get past an Israeli checkpoint to reach Massa in southern Gaza. An employee at the Emirati hospital there called Arouq for permission to evacuate the baby to Egypt. After two weeks of waiting, she was allowed to travel to Cairo with her 3-year-old son, Bakr, in tow. Nour al-Banna, 30, learned her twin girls, Leen and Layan, had been rescued from al-Shifa from her sister-in-law, who happened to work for the Gaza health ministry and saw the babies names on a list. Al-Banna had been desperate to reach them for weeks. But she was stuck in the south, the route north cut off by Israeli soldiers. It was cold and dangerous. No cars were allowed, she said. I thought, It is over, they are gone. I wont have children, she recalled. When she heard about their evacuation, al-Banna rushed to Rafah to be with her twins, then traveled with them to Egypt. A nurse holds one of Nour al-Bannas twins while soothing the other. (Sima Diab/for The Washington Post) Ibn Halima Abderrabo cant open his right eye, which was injured in an attack. (Sima Diab/for The Washington Post) Doctors say most of the babies are nearly healthy enough to be discharged from the hospital. But they have nowhere to go. Some of the infants were sent last month to a child-care facility in Cairo with their mothers. Twin babies caught a cold there and both later died in hospitals; their deaths underscored the infants fragility and put a pause on further releases. Allouh said the babies will stay in the hospital for now. An Egyptian official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive topic, said Egypt would continue to care for them until coordination with concerned Palestinian authorities regarding their future is done. The Egyptian ministries of health and social solidarity did not respond to requests for comment. UNICEF has advocated for family placements, rather than institutional care. If we succeed in contacting their families, those babies will grow normally, with no neurological deficit, Rashed, the doctor in Egypt, said. In December, the Palestinian Ministry of Social Development in Ramallah issued a moratorium on the adoption of children from Gaza without the ministrys permission. Its very early to speak of this now, to treat these children as orphans, Allouh, the ambassador to Egypt, said. After the war, we will start looking for their families. Hajar Harb in London and Sima Diab in Cairo contributed to this report. If you subscribed to and streamed AMC+ or any of its other video networks you may have an award coming your way. You may have already gotten an email about the settlement in a class action suit filed against AMC Networks, which operates AMC+, as well as the Acorn TV, AllBlk, HiDive Shudder and Sundance Now streaming services. Several subscribers to AMC+ and the other services filed the suit in January 2023, charging the company with disclosing subscribers personally identifiable information "PII" to other parties via third-party tracking technology without users' consent. AMC Networks and attorneys for the subscribers reached a settlement agreement in December and the settlement administrator recently began emailing possible settlement class members. Danai Gurira as Michonne in the upcoming AMC series "The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live." Listeria outbreak: Salad kit from Bristol Farms now included in recalls AMC will pay $8.3 million to create a settlement fund and will quit using or modify the use of tracking technologies so as they will not violate the Video Privacy Protection Act, which prohibits video services from knowingly disclosing consumers' PII to others without their consent. AMC denies any violation in the settlement, but the parties have agreed to the settlement to avoid trial. How do I know if I am part of the AMC Networks class action settlement class? If you subscribed to any of the services and watched content from Jan. 18, 2021, through Jan. 10, 2024, you are eligible. Most have probably gotten an email. If you haven't seen the email, check junk mail folders, too. If you still cannot find the email, you can submit a claim by April 9 directly on the settlement website (www.amcvppasettlement.com), or download a claim form on the site to send in. Giancarlo Esposito (Gus Fring) and Jonathan Banks (Mike Ehrmantraut) in the AMC series "Better Call Saul." How much could the settlement award be? The settlement notes that the final payment amount cannot be calculated until after the plaintiffs' settlements are awarded, court-approved attorneys fees and expenses are determined, and other costs are paid following the May 16 final-approval hearing. Story continues However, with a potential settlement class of 11.4 million subscribers that's how many subscribers AMC Networks had at the end of 2023 the award could amount to less than $1. The semi-good news? The settlement gives all those whose claims are submitted and approved a one week subscription to AMC+. The alternate option, as one person on Reddit suggests: "Everybody should send a letter in and decline the money. And start a bigger class action and sue for more. Really make these companies pay for illegally selling our information. $8.3 million is chump change for them." AMC VPPA settlement This embedded content is not available in your region. AMC Settlement Agreement by Mike Snider Follow Mike Snider on X and Threads: @mikesnider & mikegsnider. What's everyone talking about? Sign up for our trending newsletter to get the latest news of the day This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: AMC class action lawsuit settlement email. What it means President Joe Biden. (Ting Shen/Bloomberg) President Joe Bidens top attorneys exchanged confrontational letters with top Justice Department officials before and after last weeks explosive report from special counsel Robert K. Hur, contending that Hurs comments openly, obviously, and blatantly violate Department policy and practice. The letters, obtained by The Washington Post, show that Bidens legal team was deeply upset over the tone of the report, which it reviewed before its public release. The document created political shock waves by describing Biden as an elderly man with a poor memory and calling his practice of keeping notebooks that contained sensitive information totally irresponsible. Among other things, Bidens lawyers argued that Hur had no reason to assemble a 388-page report in the first place. Justice Department regulations dictate that if no charges are filed, the special counsel should send a confidential summary to the attorney general explaining that decision, they said. The letters highlight the conflict that has erupted between the presidents team and Attorney General Merrick Garland, who is now accused by Bidens attorneys of breaking the departments norms after being appointed to reestablish them following the Trump presidency. The White House Counsels Office and Bidens personal lawyer, Bob Bauer, initially raised their objections in letters to Hur. Ultimately, they sent a scathing letter directly to Garland, Hurs supervisor and one of Bidens highest-profile Cabinet nominations. That letter a last-ditch appeal sent Feb. 7, the day before Hurs report was released to the public was especially impassioned, suggesting that the special counsel was making the same mistake that FBI Director James B. Comey did in 2016, when he sharply criticized Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton in the course of announcing that she would face no criminal charges. Mr. Hurs criticism of President Biden mirrors one of the most widely recognized examples in recent history of inappropriate prosecutor criticism of uncharged conduct, Bidens lawyers wrote. The FBI and DOJ personnels criticism of uncharged conduct during investigations in connection with the 2016 election was found to violate long-standing Department practice and protocol. That election resulted in the presidency of Donald Trump, who is now seeking to recapture the White House. Hur is expected to testify before the House Judiciary Committee on March 12, possibly his first public appearance after releasing the report, and he may face some of the same questions raised by Bidens attorneys. In its letter to Garland, Bidens team objects strongly to Hurs use of the presidents inability to recall specific dates to reach the sweeping conclusion that his memory was significantly limited. Hur cited that conclusion in explaining that he was not prosecuting Biden for mishandling classified documents in part because a jury would probably find him an appealing, if forgetful, senior citizen. We object to the multiple denigrating statements about President Bidens memory which violate longstanding DOJ practice and policy, the lawyers wrote to the attorney general. While the special counsel is entitled to note that Biden could not remember specific facts, they added, a global and pejorative judgment on the Presidents powers of recollection in general is uncalled for and unfounded. Garland did not respond directly. Instead, on the day that Hurs report was released, Associate Deputy Attorney General Bradley Weinsheimer, the Justice Departments senior career official, wrote back standing by its wording. The identified language is neither gratuitous nor unduly prejudicial because it is not offered to criticize or demean the President, Weinsheimer wrote to Bidens legal team. Rather, it is offered to explain Special Counsel Hurs conclusions about the Presidents state of mind in possessing and retaining classified information. But Bidens lawyers complained that the report repeatedly cited the presidents memory in a derisive fashion, even though Hurs interaction with Biden was limited to a five-hour interview in which he encouraged the president to do his best to recall events from years ago. The lawyers also protested that Hurs report did not point out that his questioning of Biden took place the day after the Oct. 7 attacks in Israel, when Hamas militants surged across the Gaza border and slaughtered some 1,200 Israelis, igniting a conflagration in the Middle East. Bauer and White House counsel Edward Siskel, who jointly wrote the letter to Garland, did not only complain about Hurs depiction of Bidens memory. They also voiced frustration at a part of the special counsels report focusing on personal notes that Biden took and kept with him upon leaving the vice presidency related to classified information. Hur had pointedly quoted a statement by Biden that Trump was totally irresponsible for keeping top secret documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Fla. Mr. Bidens emphatic and unqualified conclusion that keeping marked classified documents unsecured in ones home is totally irresponsible because it may compromise sources and methods applies equally to his own decision to keep his notebooks at home in unlocked and unauthorized containers, Hur wrote. Bidens attorneys objected to that statement, saying the practice of keeping personal diaries was in line with former presidents and vice presidents and nothing like Trumps willful retention of sensitive documents and alleged refusal to return them. To criticize President Biden for a practice that his predecessors openly engaged in, a practice that the Justice Department has in the past acknowledged and declined to investigate, a practice that is not charged conduct, exemplifies the reasons why a bipartisan consensus arose to change the prior report writing function, they wrote. That referred to one of the biggest points of contention between Bidens circle and the special counsels team whether it was appropriate for Hur to write a lengthy report repeatedly criticizing Biden when he had concluded that no criminal charges were merited. Bidens lawyers note that Congress decided in 1999 not to renew the independent counsel statute, a controversial post-Watergate law, amid widespread criticism of its requirement that independent prosecutors produce exhaustive final reports. Those reports often enumerated an individuals alleged wrongdoing without any need to prove it in court. Still, Hur is hardly alone; special counsels have continued to issue lengthy reports in the past two decades when charges were not filed. Among the best-known is special counsel Robert S. Mueller IIIs report in 2019 that examined whether the Trump or his aides colluded with Russia or obstructed justice. Before Bidens legal team contacted Garland, it lodged several complaints with Hurs office. It wrote to the attorney general, on the eve of the reports release, after becoming frustrated that Hurs office was not heeding its complaints. Garland was tasked with overseeing Hurs investigation while granting him more freedom than an ordinary Justice Department lawyer. In their letters to Hur, Bidens lawyers sought the opportunity to review and comment on a draft of his report. They argued that lengthy, detailed public reports can cause serious harm to their subjects even if they do not result in criminal charges. We do wish to underscore how important it is under these circumstances to allow the Presidents lawyers the opportunity to review a draft of your report to address potential inaccuracies or unfair characterizations and conclusions, White House special counsel Richard Sauber wrote in an Oct. 31 letter. He added: Given that the President, through counsel, has no opportunity to test any of the evidence discussed in the report, the Presidents lawyers should have a meaningful opportunity to review and provide comment on the report before it becomes public. Once Bidens lawyers did receive the report, they had vigorous objections. Treating the handling of personal notes on classified information as a potential crime, they wrote at one point, runs the substantial risk of causing irreparable harm to the Offices of the President and Vice President by deterring future Presidents and Vice Presidents from using diaries and notes in the context of the most stressful and important jobs in the world jobs that also require nearly continuous interaction with sensitive national security information. But it is the back-and-forth over Bidens memory that stands out. Weinsheimer, the Justice Department official, said in his letter that Hurs report provided significant detail on why he decided not to prosecute, including his conclusions on whether Biden acted willfully in possessing classified information. The language to which you object goes directly to these issues, Weinsheimer wrote, adding: For these reasons, inclusion of the identified language in the report and the report itself fall well within the Departments standards for public release. Weinsheimer called the comparison between Hur and Comey inapt in part because they held different government positions with different powers. Special Counsel Hurs report is readily distinguishable from Director Comeys press conference, he asserted. When the report was released later that day, it kicked up an enormous political storm. Republicans criticized Hur for not prosecuting Biden, and they eagerly seized on the depiction of the president as an elderly man with a diminished mental capacity. Following several days of furor during which Republicans called for Biden to step aside and Democrats attested to Bidens sharpness and pointed to Trumps own frequently confusing language Sauber and Bauer fired off one more letter to the Justice Department on Monday. They dismissed the argument that Hurs role was nothing like Comeys. That assertion, they said, reflects a disturbing lack of concern about the harm that the policy seeks to avoid. An uncharged person, in this case the President of the United States, cares not about the particular title or role of the Department official who publicly excoriates him with critical comments about uncharged conduct. The unfairness is equally profound. Overall, they added, we fundamentally disagree with your assessment that the comments contained in Special Counsel Hurs report were consistent with Department policy and practice. They surely were not. A Southwest Airlines plane is prepared to push back from the gate as another taxis toward a gate at Santa Barbara Municipal Airport on Aug. 11, 2023, in Santa Barbara, Calif. (Smiley N. Pool/TNS) (Tribune News Service) A fight that broke out mid-air on a Southwest Airlines flight to Hawaii is raising alarms about bad behavior on airplanes. Two passengers had an altercation onboard Southwest Flight 1288 from Oakland to Lihue, according to Hawaii News Now. A passenger told the Hawaii news station that the two men were detained after the flight. Not too long after, the Department of Transportation reiterated its stance on unruly passengers on social media. In videos posted on social media, two passengers can be seen raising their fists at each other and punching in the aisle while a flight attendant and other passengers try to stop the fight. The flight landed at its destination on Monday at the scheduled time, despite the altercation. Our reports indicate that two customers became disruptive onboard flight 1288 on Feb. 12 from Oakland to Lihue, a Southwest spokesman said in an email. We commend our crew and customers for their professionalism in defusing this situation. Our number one priority is the safety and well-being of our customers and employees. The flight landed safely at its scheduled destination and local authorities met the aircraft upon arrival. Southwest deferred any additional comments to law enforcement. Passengers engage in fights on aircraft multiple times in a year. During the pandemic, transportation officials saw a spike in unruly passenger cases into 2021, as pandemic restrictions loosened and more people began flying. Some of the cases are very serious and lead to crew members or other passengers getting hurt. This month, a man was sentenced to six months in prison for assaulting a Southwest flight attendant in Austin back in 2022. In January, another passenger allegedly assaulted an American Airlines flight attendant, forcing pilots to divert the flight and then later kicking a police officer in the groin, court documents show. Others can be silly or attract internet attention but still comes with consequences. Theres the woman who went viral in November for pulling her pants down on a Philadelphia-bound Frontier Airlines flight out of Orlando. But most notably and recent was a Dallas woman who went viral for an altercation with another passenger and demanded to get off an American Airlines flight in July. She was later banned from the Fort Worth-based airline. The Federal Aviation Administration can fine passengers up to $37,000 per violation for unruly passenger cases. Last year, there were 2,031 reports of unruly passengers in the U.S. As of Feb. 11, the FAA has received 206 reports of unruly passengers. 2024 The Dallas Morning News. Visit dallasnews.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Laura DeSimone, the executive director of the Missile Defense Agency, signs a board Nov. 29, 2023, at Schriever Space Force Base, Colo. (Tiana Williams/U.S. Space Force) The Missile Defense Agencys top civilian engaged in affairs with at least two subordinates while working for the Defense Department and helped one get promoted, according to a report by the department inspector general. Laura M. DeSimone, MDAs executive director, misused her public office for the private gain of a subordinate who was promoted while engaged in a yearslong personal and sexual relationship with DeSimone, the report concluded. Investigators also found DeSimone misused government communications devices to conduct the affair, and she used poor judgment in engaging in an affair years earlier with another subordinate. The Pentagon IG launched the investigation in 2021 after anonymous tips to the Defense Department hotline accused DeSimone of an inappropriate relationship and of sexually harassing a different subordinate. The inspector general did not corroborate sexual harassment claims, according to the report published Tuesday. The investigation in this matter underscores the importance of individuals coming forward when they see what they believe to be evidence of wrongdoing, Robert Storch, the departments inspector general, said in a statement. Its a great example of the crucial role whistleblowers serve in helping us detect and investigate misconduct by senior DOD officials. DeSimone denied any wrongdoing. She admitted to investigators to having consensual sexual relationships with both subordinates, the first from about 2005 to about 2007, and the second from about 2018 through 2022. She told investigators that the subordinates initiated the physical relationships in both cases, and she was uninvolved in any decisions that impacted their careers. DeSimone has worked for the Defense Department since 1990, spending more than two decades working for the Navy before joining Missile Defense Agency in 2011, according to the Pentagon. She was named the agencys acting executive director in November 2019 and officially made its top civilian in October 2020. It was not immediately clear Friday what punishment, if any, DeSimone could face from the investigation. Air Force Lt. Gen. Heath Collins, MDAs director since December, will make the decision, according to the Pentagon. Missile Defense Agency leadership is reviewing the findings of the IG report and will then decide what actions, if any, are appropriate to take, said Navy Cmdr. Timothy Gorman, a Pentagon spokesman. He declined further comment on the issue. DeSimone told investigators that the more recent relationship was a private matter that had no impact on either individuals job. She said she believed no one was aware of their affair, however witnesses told investigators that they were aware of the pairs relationship and believed DeSimone was hooking up the subordinate with a promotion. One witness described the situation as awkward and said everyone just looked away. Despite DeSimones denial of involvement in the promotion decisions, investigators found email and instant message records indicated DeSimone was the force driving the decisions. The probe also found DeSimone and the subordinate misused their government phones sending more than 2,000 text messages and spending more than 100 hours on the phone between August 2018 and October 2020. More than 60% of the text messages and some 36% of the calls were outside of typical office hours, including on holidays and weekends, the IG found. Only after the inspector general initiated the probe in early 2021 did DeSimone reveal the relationship to then-MDA Director Vice Adm. Jon A. Hill because she assumed it would be brought forward through the investigation, she told investigators. Among the investigation findings, it recommended the Defense Department establish a policy for self-reporting any intimate relationships with others in the office. Investigators found no evidence DeSimone sexually harassed her subordinate in the earlier affair. She admitted to the consensual sexual relationship with the subordinate while they worked at the Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division in Virginia. However, investigators wrote DeSimone exercised poor judgment by engaging in a sexual relationship with one of her subordinates. Rep. Matt Rosendale, R-Mont., urged the Department of Veterans Affairs on Thursday, Feb. 15, 2024, to obtain patient consent before using artificial intelligence as a clinical tool for the diagnosis and treatment of medical conditions. (U.S. Air Force) WASHINGTON Rep. Matt Rosendale urged the Department of Veterans Affairs on Thursday to obtain patient consent before using artificial intelligence as a clinical tool for the diagnosis and treatment of medical conditions. Vast amounts of patient data is already culled from medical records and fed into AI models under development for the Veterans Health Administration, he said. Youre utilizing AI, and youre not disclosing it to the veterans. Youre not giving them a choice. And that is dangerous. It truly is. Its dangerous and its dishonest, said Rosendale, R-Mont., chairman of the House Committee on Veterans Affairs subpanel on technology modernization. He emphasized a process needs to be implemented so veterans learn how their health care information might be used in AI applications and they can give their prior approval. This is an important topic and one that the VA must get right, said Rosendale, who spoke during a hearing on health that looked at AI applications in VA hospitals and clinics. Rosendale asked VA officials at the hearing when they planned to put a notification and consent procedure in place for veterans who are patients. Charles Worthington, the VAs chief technology officer, said the issues are being addressed in an ethics group at the Veterans Health Administration that is seeking to understand the best approach to take. The VA panel is likely to issue recommendations, though Worthington could not provide details Thursday on when its work would be complete. This is a new topic, and I dont believe we have a specific timeline, he said. But we are very aware of this as a priority. But Rosendale did not seem satisfied. I will reiterate. This needs to be a high priority. Youre utilizing AI and the veterans need to be aware of that and they need to give consent, he said. Worthington described the use of AI as a generational shift in how computers are used in health care settings. Data from veterans medical records is used in algorithms for new AI tools that fulfill a variety of health care uses. AI models are deployed to scan medical images and other data to help doctors with early identification of health care risks and the detection of diseases. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, R-Iowa, chairwoman of the House VA Committees subpanel on health, said while AI holds great promise, the reality is that it is a new, developing technology. We are still figuring out what is possible and practical. She said a potential use for AI is in the diagnosis of sepsis in hospital patients. Sepsis, which is an infection that spreads throughout the body, is life-threatening without proper diagnosis and immediate treatment. Worthington said there are about 100 examples of AI uses that are either under development or operational at VA health care settings. VA is incorporating AI technology into veterans health care to enhance diagnostic accuracy and efficiency, and to predict cancer risks and adverse outcomes, he said. Worthington said the VA is taking a measured approach in scaling AI-related solutions to ensure the applications are safe, secure and effective. Health care applications can also include computerized scans of medical records for identifying veterans at risk of suicide and computerized tools to detect pre-cancerous growths in patients undergoing colonoscopies. The VA uses software called REACH-VET to scan medical records and identify veterans who might be at risk of suicide. Since its inception in 2017, the initiative has successfully identified over 117,000 at-risk veterans, Worthington said. The clinical program has been associated with increased attendance at outpatient appointments. He said regular outpatient health care for veterans at risk of suicide often results in less need for more intensive hospital stays and emergency room visits. But he also said the VA will need to provide technical information that explains to patients how the effective development of AI depends on the collection of their data. Were going to need to do work to make that understandable to veteran patients that they can understand how the VA is using their data in creating those AI models, Worthington said. Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Salman Akram Raja on Friday alleged that the election rigging was carried out at the offices of the returning offices in the election 2024. Normally, one talks of rigging at polling stations where the accusation is that the rival candidates carried out the rigging, he said during a press conference in Islamabad where the PTI presented Forms 45 before the international media to show alleged rigging in the election of 2024. He called the election results an assault on the democracy of Pakistan, saying factitious Forms 47 were created which had nothing to do with the underlying vote that had been cast on February 8. Raja alleged that the Froms 47 delivered at the RO offices were tampered with and discarded. Completely fictitious results were created in at least 90 National Assembly constituencies. The lawyer said that the election in Pakistan would become a farce if the state officials responsible for safeguarding the election can be won over. If this is not reversed then it spells death for democracy in Pakistan, Raja added. Earlier, PTI Spokesman Raoof Hasan claimed that his party won 177 seats of the National Assembly as he said that the results in Form 47 were in contrast with those of Form 45. He said that there was also a huge difference in the numbers of votes polled for NA and provincial assembly seats. The number of rejected votes, in a few cases, exceeded the margin of victory, he added. PTIs Seemabia Tahir also played a video of alleged rigging in the Feb 8 polls. PTIs Shandana Gulzar gave a presentation on alleged rigging in the Feb 8 polls, saying that the party got 1.25 million votes in Karachi but did not get a single seat. Jamaat-i-Islami received 700,000 votes and not a single National Assembly seat in Karachi, she added. Gulzar went on to add that at 3am on Feb 9, the PTI had won 154 seats in the National Assembly while the PML-N and PPP had won 47 each. Toss some lighter fluid on the performance of the flame-grilling, Whopper-focused Burger King. After years of misfires, it appears Restaurant Brands International (QSR) is finally turning the corner at its most iconic brand, amid a series of investments. Moments after the company capped off an investor day at the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday, Restaurant Brands CEO Josh Kobza told Yahoo Finance Live that BK's comeback is real and better operations are a huge ingredient. The proof of the turn is in the special sauce or results of the company's latest quarter. Burger King US saw a 6.4% same-store sales growth in the fourth quarter, compared to a 5% increase a year ago. The Whopper maker also boasted an increase in customers for the first time since Q2 2021. For all of 2023, Burger King's US same-store sales rose 7.5%, versus a mere 2.2% gain the year prior. Perhaps more importantly, Burger King US grew its franchisee profitability by nearly 50% as underperforming restaurants were closed and traffic trends improved. A sign advertising the soy-based Impossible Whopper is seen outside a Burger King in New York, Aug. 8, 2019. (Shannon Stapleton/REUTERS/File Photo) (Reuters / Reuters) Execs credit the improvement at BK to several factors. First, aggressive marketing efforts around new menu items such as the Royal Crispy Wrap. The company also launched a catchy campaign this month to award a contestant $1 million for creating the next take on the Whopper. Secondly, early benefits from millions of dollars being spent to support remodeled, more futuristic-looking restaurants. And lastly, less discounting on the famed Whopper. Collectively, the initiatives are referred to internally as Reclaim the Flame. "The strong performance in BKs franchisee profitability (up ~46% [year over year]) validates our hypothesis that the Reclaim the Flame acceleration is gaining momentum," Bernstein analyst Danilo Gargiulo told Yahoo Finance. Burger King is Restaurant Brands' largest chain in the US at 6,778 locations, followed by Popeyes and Firehouse Subs. The franchise is also the largest for the company overseas at 12,240 sites, far ahead of Tim Horton's, with 1,308 locations in its home market of Canada. Story continues As a sign of confidence, Restaurant Brands announced in mid-January it would buy Carrols Restaurant Group (TAST) for about $1 billion in cash. Carrols owns about 1,022 Burger King restaurants across 23 states, as well as 60 Popeyes stores. Ownership of Carrols should allow Restaurant Brands to more directly invest in important initiatives such as remodels, Restaurant Brands executive chairman Patrick Doyle told Yahoo Finance Live. The quarterly results from Burger King US come as the company noted sales gains across its portfolio. Despite the progress, Restaurant Brands shares have continued to underperform the broader market. Over the past year, its shares are up 14%, compared to a 23% gain for the S&P 500. Wall Street would like to see several boxes checked by Restaurant Brands before getting more bullish, Gargiulo says. That includes picking up the pace of growth overseas and improving BK's performance in the key market of China. Another factor is uncertainty on the speed of Burger King's remodels in the US, "with the shift in Reclaim the Flame budget from remodels to refresh potentially signaling lower appetite from franchisees to remodel," Gargiulo added. Brian Sozzi is Yahoo Finance's Executive Editor. Follow Sozzi on Twitter/X @BrianSozzi and on LinkedIn. Tips on deals, mergers, activist situations, or anything else? Email brian.sozzi@yahoofinance.com. Click here for the latest stock market news and in-depth analysis, including events that move stocks Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance Aaron Berry (24) and his accomplices were then involved in a high-speed car chase along the M50, where the tills were discarded. A man who was part of a gang of four people who smashed the front window of a premises before making off with a number of tills has been jailed for four months. Aaron Berry (24) and his accomplices were then involved in a high-speed car chase along the M50, where the tills were discarded. He was identified from CCTV cameras, but his accomplices have not been identified. Judge David McHugh sentenced Berry to four months in prison, describing the incident as high-handed and quite a crime. The defendant, of Labre Park in Ballyfermot, admitted burglary at Awesome Walls in Finglas on June 11, 2019. Garda Louise Moran told Blanchardstown District Court that four individuals broke into the indoor climbing facility by using a hurley to smash the front window. The men made their way to the back of the premises, where they took the tills and left the scene. Gardai pursued the men along the M50, where the tills were discarded, and Berry was later identified from CCTV. Defence solicitor Simon Fleming said Berry was no professional and no criminal mastermind, and in relation to this incident he went along with others who were more seasoned than him, and they had escaped. Mr Fleming said this incident took place nearly five years ago, when Berry was just 19 years old, and he had not been in trouble since. The defence solicitor asked the judge to be lenient, saying the defendant suffered with mental health problems and lived at home with his parents. Mr Fleming asked the judge to consider suspending the sentence, but Judge McHugh said he had considered the matter fully and he refused to suspend it. Kelly Joseph (32) is alleged to have left the injured party with a cut to the lip in the assault. Kelly Joseph is charged with assault causing harm to a woman. Photo: Irishphotodesk.ie A driver allegedly got out of her car and struck another woman in the face while they were parking in the grounds of a GAA club, a court heard. Kelly Joseph (32) is alleged to have left the injured party with a cut to the lip in the assault. Ms Joseph has pleaded not guilty and has sought a hearing date in relation to the allegation. Judge David McHugh adjourned the case to a date in November for hearing. The accused, with an address at Mill Park in Clondalkin, is charged with assaulting another woman causing her harm at Round Towers GAA Club, Convent Road in Clondalkin on February 2, 2023. Blanchardstown District Court heard that the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) had directed summary disposal in the district court on the charges. Outlining the allegations for jurisdiction purposes, Sergeant Maria Callaghan alleged that there was a verbal argument between two females. Sgt Callaghan alleged that Ms Joseph then got out of her vehicle and hit the injured party in the face. Sgt Callaghan told the court that the alleged injured party suffered a cut to her lip, which was bleeding. She did not require any medical treatment, the sergeant said. Judge McHugh noted the location of the alleged assault at Round Towers GAA club, and he asked Sgt Callaghan if she had information about the background to the matter. Sgt Callaghan said the court documents did not mention the GAA, and it was believed that the incident took place following a disagreement about parking vehicles. Judge McHugh said he would accept jurisdiction to deal with the case, which will now remain in the district court, which has lower sentencing powers than the higher courts. Defence solicitor Simon Fleming said that he had already received the statements in relation to the allegation. Mr Fleming told the court that his client was seeking a hearing date in relation to the assault charge. Mr Fleming was previously assigned on free legal aid. Pleading for leniency, his solicitor said OToole had been in the throes of addiction. Cillian OToole, 34, of Trooperstown, Roundwood, Co Wicklow outside court in Dublin. Photo: Collins A MOTORIST admitted drinking vodka and taking cocaine shortly before he drove on the wrong side of a road and crashed into a bus in Dublin, a court heard. Cillian OToole, 34, of Trooperstown, Roundwood, Co Wicklow, was disqualified from driving for two years and fined 900 after pleading guilty to a drink driving offence and careless driving in connection with the incident with the Dublin Bus vehicle on November 21 at Greenhills Road, Dublin 12. Judge Treasa Kelly heard at Dublin District Court that he told a garda who attended the scene that he drank vodka an hour beforehand and had taken cocaine 30 minutes ago. The father of two provided a specimen which showed a low level of alcohol and that he was slightly over the fixed penalty notice limit. Pleading for leniency, his solicitor said OToole had been in the throes of addiction. The court was shown letters from a treatment centre and was told OToole had relapsed but is clean now. His lawyer submitted evidence to show he was providing weekly urine samples for drug-use screening. The court heard gardai recovered CCTV from the bus, and it showed the accused turning at a Lidl supermarket and making a U-turn, but he came out on the wrong side of the road and collided with the Dublin Bus. Judge Kelly said it was a serious matter and which could have been a lot worse. OToole, who made no reply when charged, had five prior convictions for traffic offences, a theft offence for making off without payment, and one for drug possession. Caroline Joyce (42) was now stabilised on medication and was holding her hands up to the theft, her lawyer said. A mum identified on CCTV cameras stealing makeup palettes from a pharmacy was suffering with mental health problems at the time, a court heard. Caroline Joyce (42) was now stabilised on medication and was holding her hands up to the theft, her lawyer said. Judge David McHugh ordered Joyce to pay compensation to the pharmacy. If the money is paid next month, the judge said he would impose a three-month sentence suspended for two years. The defendant, with an address at Ratoath Cottages in Finglas, admitted stealing eight make-up palettes, valued at 35 each, totalling 280, from Bradleys Pharmacy, Blanchardstown Shopping Centre on February 11, 2019. Sergeant Maria Callaghan told Blanchardstown District Court the make-up was not recovered and Joyce was identified from CCTV footage. The court also heard gardai searched Joyces home in Finglas on June 18, 2019, and found various items of clothing, worth 462, some of which still had their security tags. Sgt Callaghan said that when questioned, Joyce had no explanation for having the clothes. Defence solicitor Mervyn Harnett said his client was a single mother with three children, all in their teens. Mr Harnett said Joyce suffered from depression, but was now on medication and her condition had stabilised. Garda Shane Kennedy objected to bail due to the seriousness of the case, and he expressed concerns over possible witness interference. MASKED men threatened a terrified Dublin mother they would "knock her teeth out" after mistakenly demanding she pay a 20,000 drug debt, a court has heard. Stephen Joyce, 27, of Ratoath Road, Dublin 11, was accused of demanding money with menaces and threatening to kill or cause serious harm on August 30 last year. He appeared at Dublin District Court yesterday when Judge Treasa Kelly set his bail at 40,000. Mr Joyce was arrested earlier this week after the Director of Public Prosecutions directed trial on indictment in the Circuit Court, which has wider sentencing powers. Garda Shane Kennedy objected to bail due to the seriousness of the case, and he expressed concerns over possible witness interference. A contested bail hearing was told that two men arrived at the woman's home last May, and her husband answered after they "banged" on the door. They were looking for a man called "Casper" but were told he did not live there. Judge Kelly heard they gave her husband a "burner phone", and one of them said, "If you do not give me 20,000, I'm going to fire the house." The court heard they returned on August 29 wearing balaclavas and were again looking for Casper. The woman was at work but received a notification from her doorbell system and could see they were talking to her husband. Judge Kelly was told they returned a day later and spoke to the woman who was allegedly told, "I'll put you in the back and break your teeth". It was claimed they sought the payment again. The garda also said there was CCTV evidence and that the woman had no involvement with criminality. He raised concerns that the same people kept looking for money after going to the wrong house. The woman gave evidence remotely from a Garda station, and over the video link, she said she was terrified for herself and her family. Defence solicitor Andrew Molony said his client acted as a carer for his mother, who had health problems. He also submitted that refusing bail could result in his client spending two years in custody pending trial. Mr Molony proposed that Mr Joyce be released on bail with strict conditions. Judge Kelly noted the accused had the presumption of innocence, but she set bail in his bond of 20,000, and ordered that a 20,000 independent surety also had to be approved. She ordered him to provide the garda with his phone number and, once bail has been taken up, to have no contact with the woman, obey an 11 pm 6 am curfew, sign on daily at a garda station, stay out of parts of north Dublin, and notify of any address change. The judge granted legal aid and remanded him in custody with consent to bail to appear again next week. The offences on conviction can carry maximum sentences of either 14 or ten years. Mr Joyce has yet to indicate a plea. State prosecutors want him jailed for seven and a half years A man accused of raping an Irish student on Spains Costa Blanca has gone on trial. State prosecutors want him jailed for seven and a half years if he is found guilty of the sex attack and a separate drugs offence. Police found an indoor cannabis farm inside his home after going to arrest him following a complaint from his alleged victim, who was in Alicante on an Erasmus study programme. She was due to give evidence via video link yesterday but it was put back to next week because of technical problems. Her alleged sex attacker insisted after going on trial at the Audiencia Provincial Court in Alicante they had consensual" sexual relations but he didnt penetrate her as she told police in her initial complaint. Officers were alerted the day of the alleged sex attack on June 17 2022 and discovered 48 cannabis plants inside a room at his home after going to arrest the suspect. He and his female accuser met up in a bar after chatting online. Public prosecutors said in a pre-trial indictment which did not fully name the defendant he invited her for a drink at his home after a short motorbike ride and proceeded to kiss her and try to take her clothes off once they were there before she told him she didnt want sex. They said: Despite that the man insisted and forced himself on her. The 48 plants were in a wardrobe said to have had ventilation and artificial light. The alleged sex attacker said in court they engaged in kissing and fondling which was consensual but denied taking the Irish student's clothes off, pushing her against a sofa and forcing himself on her. He agreed to answer questions from the public prosecutor as well as his defence lawyer. He also denied telling the police officers who arrested him he planned selling the drugs he was growing. It is by far the largest seizure of the deadly drug in the history of the State Former Sinaloa cartel boss Joaquin Guzman Loera aka 'El Chapo' Guzman is escorted by Mexican police as he is escorted to US The worlds most dangerous drug cartel, who have senior facilitators based in Co Kerry, are suspected of being behind a plot to export 33m of crystal meth. Gardai seized over 540kg of the substance in a container at Cork Port on Friday, by far the largest seizure of the deadly drug in the history of the State. Gardai are investigating if the crystal meth was produced in a lab in Ireland by the Kerry gang. The drugs are believed to have been controlled by the notorious Sinaloa cartel the European operation of which is headed by Kerryman Morris OShea Salazar. According to sources, the crystal meth was being exported from Ireland and destined for Australia where they could have made up to three times the value of the drug in Ireland. This is being controlled by the Sinaloa cartel in Mexico the drugs were due to be exported from Ireland, a source told the Sunday World. The Munster based gang who have been working with the Mexican cartel have been watched for a long time. It will be a huge blow to them and while the investigation is in its early stages there can be no doubt that this has caused serious damage to them. Morris O'Shea Salazar from Kerry heads the Sinaloa Cartel's European operation No crystal meth lab has yet been discovered as part of this investigation, the source added. Gardai have confirmed that two men aged in their 40s are in custody in relation to the bust and they are being held at a garda station in Co Kerry. This includes a prominent businessman who was arrested in Tralee and another suspect who was arrested nearby. The other man arrested is suspected of being involved in directing huge shipments of cocaine into Dublin Port for a number of years. He is considered a close associate of Morris Salazar OShea, a 33-year-old Irish-Mexican citizen who has managed to rise to the top of the Sinaloa Cartel despite being raised in Killorglin, Co Kerry. The arrested man is the son of a Co Kerry political figure and answers directly to OShea Salazar according to information obtained by international investigators. The man, who is in his 40s, is known to gardai but now poses as a legitimate businessman. On Friday night, a motor business was also raided as part of the massive garda investigation. "Following a joint operation at Cork Port between An Garda Siochana and Revenues Customs Service, a substantial drugs seizure was made this morning, a garda spokesperson said this evening. Gardai along with Revenue Officers seized 546kg of a synthetic drug, with an estimated value of 32.8 million. Garda personnel from the Kerry Divisional Drugs Unit, Cork and a number of Garda units were involved in the operation. Follow up searches were conducted in Kerry and Cork which resulted in the arrests of two men and the seizure of two firearms. The spokesperson added: The men, both aged in their 40s are currently detained at Garda Stations in the Southern Region under Section 50 of the Criminal Justice Act 2007. Investigations are ongoing. Former Sinaloa cartel boss Joaquin Guzman Loera aka 'El Chapo' Guzman is escorted by Mexican police as he is escorted to US As revealed in an exclusive Sunday World investigation last weekend, the same gang who previously answered directly to infamous Mexican narco Joaquin El Chapo Guzmans son, conspired to smuggle up to 6,000kg of cocaine into Europe in just one year. Gardai originally announced details of the major operation which was led by detectives from Kerry in a statement on Friday afternoon. Multiple garda units spent a number of hours searching a retail premises on Friday morning in Co Kerry where they made one of their arrests as part of detailed investigations into the drug seizure. Following a joint operation at Cork Port between An Garda Siochana and Revenues Customs Service, a substantial drugs seizure was made this morning, Friday, 16th February 2024, a garda spokesman said earlier. It is understood to be a synthetic drug, pending analysis. Morris O'Shea Salazar is wanted in Chile A number of follow up searches were conducted in Kerry and Cork resulting in the arrests of two men. The men, both aged in their 40s are currently detained at Garda Stations in the Southern Region under Section 50 of the Criminal Justice Act 2007, he added. Crystal methamphetamine is an illegal drug that is not widely used by addicts in Ireland. It is a colourless, odourless form of d-methamphetamine, a powerful and highly addictive synthetic stimulant. The Co Kerry gang involved in the drugs seizure are long term targets for gardai including national units such as the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB). A kilo of crystal meth is understood to cost the equivalent of around 200,000 in Australia meaning that the Sinaloa cartel and their Kerry based associates were due to make huge profits from the hundreds of kilos of the deadly drug that was seized at Cork Port. Last weekend, it was revealed that intelligence documents from Spain detailed how the suspected mastermind of Fridays massive drugs bust, Morris OShea Salazar, is in charge of the drugs trafficking ring for the group which has major Irish connections. Although he was born in Mexico, OShea Salazar was raised in Killorglin, Co Kerry, where he went to school. The DEA, Spanish police and Chilean law officials have named former social welfare recipient Morris OShea Salazar as the head of the gang. He is accused of running logistics for the cartel based out of a luxury apartment in Barcelona. Chilean officials have now issued an extradition warrant for OShea Salazar and have named him in court proceedings. His mother and uncle are behind bars in relation to drug shipments. Serial offender gets six years for gun offence and for attack on shopkeeper A criminal jailed after being caught red-handed with an improvised shotgun was previously involved in a vicious feud with notorious gangster David Reilly which saw the pair open fire at each other. Andrew Smith (38), of Oranmore Road, Ballyfermot, Co. Dublin, was jailed for six years this week after a court heard how he was caught with the slam gun hidden in a couch at his home in June 2021. Gardai also found three shotgun cartridges, including one which had already been discharged from the improvised firearm. Gardai told his sentencing hearing at Dublin Circuit Court, where Smith also pleaded guilty to assaulting a Chinese shopkeeper who he called a f***ing ch**k, that Smith gave no reason to them as to why he had the gun. David Reilly However, Smith took to the stand and told how he had been warned of a threat to his life and his mother had to have a bullet-proof door installed in her home after she had been stabbed at the house in 2017. The Sunday World can reveal how that incident was linked to a vicious feud between Andrew Smith and notorious Ballyfermot gangster David Reilly, who is a leading member of a west Dublin gang along with veteran criminal Derek Dee Dee ODriscoll. Gardai have said in court that Reilly was a suspect in a number of murders connected to other feuds in west Dublin. The feud between Reilly and Smith led to several serious incidents, including gun attacks, petrol bombings and the stabbing of Smiths elderly mother. Weeks before the stabbing incident, Smith and Reilly opened fire on each when they came across each other in Ballyfermot, but neither man was injured. Reilly also carried out a vicious knife attack on Smith in July 2018 when he chased Smith into a house and slashed him in the face with a Stanley knife and shouted: Im going to cut your sisters throat. Reilly was jailed for three years for that incident and Smith claimed they the feud was over and the pair had shook hands ahead of Reillys sentencing in 2019 two years before Smith was caught with the gun. Smith still had the scars on his face from the knife attack when he appeared in court this week. He previously said that he and Reilly had been best pals growing up. I grew up with him. He was my best friend, he said. His ma used to put on a fry. He did his thing and I did mine. I got a girlfriend. We didnt part on bad terms. However, the pair became enemies after a row between Reilly and Smith several years ago exploded in violence in 2015. The dispute was sparked after Smiths innocent sister gave evidence which saw two of Reillys young associates jailed for a gun attack on Smiths mothers home. Smiths sister Lena later told the Sunday World how the family came under repeated attack. Smiths pensioner mother Bridie was attacked in a vicious stab attack in her home in Ballyfermot on New Years Day in 2017. Gardai believe associates of Reilly carried out the attack. Speaking afterwards, Lena said: Her mind was gone after the attack. They didnt just stab my mother that morning, they kicked her around the hall. Andrew Smith said this week that the attack had a traumatic effect on his mother and the court heard she now has Alzheimers. In a series of other incidents associates of Reilly also carried out petrol bomb attacks on homes and vehicles of Smiths relatives. They were also behind a gun attack on Lena outside her Ballyfermot home in April 2017. Minutes before the attack, Lena spotted Reilly in a car near her home. Andrew Smith gave gardai no explanation for while he had the firearm when he was arrested. Speaking this week, he said: It was just left in the house. I didnt know it was there. I dont do robberies or anything like that. After being cross-examined he later accepted the weapon was his. Smith was sentenced to four years for the firearm offence. He was given an extra two years for a violent attack on a shopkeeper. The court heard Smith had been released from Mountjoy Prison shortly before he visited a shop on Ballybough Road in Dublin on November 20, 2018, and stole items before assaulting and racially abusing a Chinese shopkeeper. Smith has 94 previous convictions and was jailed for two-and-a-half years in 2015 for assault causing harm and two years in 2009 for violent disorder. He also has convictions for theft, drugs offences, possession of a knife, criminal damage, public order and traffic offences. The assault causing harm related to a horrific attack on a pensioner in Ballyfermot in 2015. The grandmother said she needed four or five stitches to her lip, had a busted nose, two black eyes, a lump to the side of her head and a sore shoulder following the attack which happened after she was coming home from Mass. Malaysia Marine and Heavy Engineering Holdings Berhad (KLSE:MHB) last week reported its latest full-year results, which makes it a good time for investors to dive in and see if the business is performing in line with expectations. Results overall weren't great; even though revenues of RM3.3b beat expectations by 19%, statutory losses ballooned to RM0.30 per share, substantially worse than the analysts had expected. The analysts typically update their forecasts at each earnings report, and we can judge from their estimates whether their view of the company has changed or if there are any new concerns to be aware of. We thought readers would find it interesting to see the analysts latest (statutory) post-earnings forecasts for next year. See our latest analysis for Malaysia Marine and Heavy Engineering Holdings Berhad After the latest results, the consensus from Malaysia Marine and Heavy Engineering Holdings Berhad's four analysts is for revenues of RM3.11b in 2024, which would reflect a perceptible 5.9% decline in revenue compared to the last year of performance. Earnings are expected to improve, with Malaysia Marine and Heavy Engineering Holdings Berhad forecast to report a statutory profit of RM0.029 per share. In the lead-up to this report, the analysts had been modelling revenues of RM2.93b and earnings per share (EPS) of RM0.03 in 2024. So it's pretty clear consensus is mixed on Malaysia Marine and Heavy Engineering Holdings Berhad after the latest results; whilethe analysts lifted revenue numbers, they also administered a minor downgrade to per-share earnings expectations. There's been no major changes to the price target of RM0.64, suggesting that the impact of higher forecast revenue and lower earnings won't result in a meaningful change to the business' valuation. There's another way to think about price targets though, and that's to look at the range of price targets put forward by analysts, because a wide range of estimates could suggest a diverse view on possible outcomes for the business. The most optimistic Malaysia Marine and Heavy Engineering Holdings Berhad analyst has a price target of RM0.94 per share, while the most pessimistic values it at RM0.51. This is a fairly broad spread of estimates, suggesting that analysts are forecasting a wide range of possible outcomes for the business. Story continues Of course, another way to look at these forecasts is to place them into context against the industry itself. We would highlight that revenue is expected to reverse, with a forecast 5.9% annualised decline to the end of 2024. That is a notable change from historical growth of 21% over the last five years. By contrast, our data suggests that other companies (with analyst coverage) in the industry are forecast to see their revenue decline 5.4% annually for the foreseeable future. The Bottom Line The most important thing to take away is that the analysts downgraded their earnings per share estimates, showing that there has been a clear decline in sentiment following these results. Fortunately they also upgraded their estimates, with Malaysia Marine and Heavy Engineering Holdings Berhad's revenue performing well and in line with the wider industry. The consensus price target held steady at RM0.64, with the latest estimates not enough to have an impact on their price targets. Following on from that line of thought, we think that the long-term prospects of the business are much more relevant than next year's earnings. At Simply Wall St, we have a full range of analyst estimates for Malaysia Marine and Heavy Engineering Holdings Berhad going out to 2026, and you can see them free on our platform here.. Plus, you should also learn about the 1 warning sign we've spotted with Malaysia Marine and Heavy Engineering Holdings Berhad . Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned. Hes been for two years in solitary confinement, so of course he is not healthy. Christian Brueckner, centre, stands next to his lawyers at the start of his trial at Braunschweig district court (Julian Stratenschulte/dpa via AP) Christian Brueckner is on trial in Germany accused of rape and sexual assault (Julian Stratenschulte/dpa via AP) The trial of Madeleine McCann prime suspect Christian Brueckner over multiple rape charges was suspended this morning after social media remarks made by one of the judges became public. Handcuffed Brueckner (47) appeared in court looking gaunt and grey wearing a blue jacket and purple shirt to face three rape charges and two sexual assault charges. Prosecutors allege Brueckner raped three women and twice sexually molested children in Portugal. His alleged victims include an Irish woman who alleged he raped her when she was 20 and working as a holiday rep in Portugal in 2004. Christian Brueckner, centre, stands next to his lawyers at the start of his trial at Braunschweig district court (Julian Stratenschulte/dpa via AP) He is also charged with raping and abusing a teenage girl and an elderly woman at his house in Praia da Luz between December 2000 and June 2006. The charges Brueckner faces at Braunschweig Regional Court are not related to Madeleine, who he is suspected of abducting 17 years ago. Bruckners lawyer manage to get the trial suspended after just nine minutes today after proving that one of the judges had made some highly charged remarks about former President of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro. He said the woman had written kill the b*****d now and "kill the devil", on social media. The judge decided her colleagues remarks meant that lay judge could not preside over the case because of the social media posts. After the trials suspension, Brueckners lawyer told waiting media: Hes been for two years in solitary confinement, so of course he is not healthy, in reference to the German mans sickly appearance. Speaking outside court on Friday about the accusations that led to the adjournment, Fulscher said: "Such a lay judge has no business participating in a fair criminal trial. German media reported that lawyers also cited the lay judge's work as a child psychologist as a potential source of bias in a case involving the sexual abuse of several children. Madeleine McCann, left, and Christian Brueckner. Brueckner, for his part, is defiant. He has called the trial ridiculous, telling MailOnline: I hope they will find some answers to their questions soon. It has been reported Brueckner was transferred to Schnedebruch prison, near Hannover, for the duration of the trial after he complained of ill-treatment by guards at his previous prison Oldenburg, in northern Germany, where he was in a secure isolated unit. My situation didn't change at all. I just moved prison. I'm still totally isolated. Since more than two years now. I'm still not allowed to talk with anybody else than to my lawyers and to my punishers [guards], he told the Daily Mail. Brueckner faces further allegations heard that he masturbated in front of a girl at a playground in Messines in June 2017 and did the same on Salema beach, Portugal, in April 2007. The industry is trying to get kids hooked for next 50 years, according to Tanaiste A warning has been issued to parents in the UK about the dangers of unregulated vapes after two children fell ill - with one losing consciousness. Police said a number of children had become unwell after using vapes believed to be contaminated with toxins. They experienced dizziness and heart palpitations before one passed out. The old trick of the tobacco industry was kids went in to buy sweets, you had cigarettes next to the sweets. You now have the vapes next to the sweets with different flavours, said Tanaiste, Micheal Martin. The politician described the increase in the number of Irish children using vapes as shocking. Im very anti-vapes generally, he said. UK Police have said that parents need to "be vigilant". Most of the vape products on sale in the UK are the same as in Ireland. Tanaiste Micheal Martin Photo: Steve Humphreys The legal age to use vapes in Ireland is now 18 but in some cases "irresponsible retailers have failed to uphold this rule". "Not only is this illegal but it also presents a real health issue to young people who could become very unwell by these unregulated products, said police. The Tanaiste said clearly the objective is to get young people hooked and to have an industry for the next 50 years. Mr Martin suggested there is no proper due diligence on what goes into these products and he said there needs to be far better, from a health perspective, analysis of the products in terms of their harmful impacts. Reacting to the British Governments plans to curb usage, he said: I welcome any means to crackdown on the sector. I just think its shocking the number of young people who are on the vapes now and it seems to me to be the replacement for the cigarettes. Selling vapes to children in Ireland is an offence which carries a penalty of a fine of up to 4,000 and up to a six-month jail term. However, there are many different ways youngsters can get their hands on the dangerous products. Late last year, Gardai used forensic experts to establish the contents of seized vaping products after four young students at a Cork school fell ill while smoking on the premises. The boys, aged 14 and 15, became ill at Colaiste an Chraoibhin in Fermoy after smoking a vape on the school grounds. The alarm was raised after teachers were alerted to a medical incident and ambulance crews and gardai attended the scene. The boys appeared to be very unwell and were treated on site by ambulance personnel. Just one vaping product was used by the four boys at the time of the incident, according to Garda sources. It is believed a dangerous substance was ingested through the vape and following initial Garda inquiries, a number of searches were conducted at businesses and residences in the Cork region. Shannon and her son are currently staying in an 18sqm room in a homeless hub in Ballyfermot after they had to move out of their rented accommodation last October. A woman whose mother died in a homeless hostel says she is devastated to end up in shelter with her traumatised son who has severe ADHD. Shannon McDonald (24), from Tallaght, Dublin, spent part of her childhood in homeless accommodation and told of the trauma of seeing other residents being taken away in body bags from overdoses and other issues. She managed to get out of the situation as a child when she went to live with her aunt. As an adult, Shannon got a rented home of her own in Tallaght but, through no fault of her own, found herself homeless last year when she had to leave the property. Shannon and her son are currently staying in an 18sqm room in a homeless hub in Ballyfermot after they had to move out of their rented accommodation last October. Shannon has explained that her son suffers very badly with ADHD and his issues are getting worse in the homeless hub as his life has been uprooted since he moved there. Im cracking up I really dont know what to do, she said. Hes biting himself, banging his head off walls, he tore my nail off my finger and tore me by the head. This is something he has never done in his life. I think he is acting out because of what has happened. Hes so traumatised. Shannon believes she is falling through cracks in the system due to red tape. She said, because the case workers operating at the hub are linked to the Dublin City Council area, they said they cant help her as she is from the South Dublin County Council area. We had a three-bedroom house. He had his own bedroom and his own sensory room. His home is after being taken away. Shannon had been living in Tallaght which comes under South Dublin County Councils area but was initially offered a place at a homeless hub in Cabra on the northside which comes under Dublin City Councils area. She said she turned that down as she was unfamiliar with the area, the only support she has is from an aunt who lives in Tallaght and her son goes to school in Rathcoole. Shannon said she never wanted for her son to spend time in homeless accommodation, and she experienced that herself as a child. My own mother passed away in homeless accommodation at 39 in Judge Darleys [homeless hostel in Dublin]. They were trying to put me there as well. Its called Phoenix Lodge now and they were trying to put me there as well and I was saying, do you not realise my ma passed away in there at 39? They would have known all this. I said, you are trying to put me in somewhere where my ma passed away. Are you thinking straight? She said her own experience of growing up homeless meant she never wanted that for her son. I grew up in a homeless hub. They werent called homeless hubs back then, they were B&Bs. When I was young, I witnessed people being taken out in body bags. That is not something for a six or seven-year-old to witness. I even witnessed my ma overdosing in front of me. My auntie took me on when I was 13. Only for her [who knows what would have happened to me]. She was my saviour. Now its like history is repeating itself. After Shannon said she wasnt staying in Phoenix House, she was offered a place in a homeless hub in Ballyfermot. Its closer than the rest of places they were trying to put me and better than the place where my ma died in. So I said Ill take Ballyfermot. However, she said she was hoping it would be a very temporary measure as her son is struggling to cope there. They put me in a homeless hub ran by Dublin City Council, so all the key workers and support workers here are setting up meetings and when I go down they say you are South Dublin County Council. We cant do anything for you, she claimed. Im getting no support for counsellors. I am a 24-year-old girl trying to be a sole carer of her four-year-old child who is traumatised with ADHD. Not one person is helping me. I am at breaking point. I just want stability back for my son. A spokesperson for the Dublin Region Homeless Executive (DRHE) said: Families in the Sarsfield Road hub have access to support from the Focus Family Homeless Action Team, in addition to a Housing Support Officer who provides housing advice and explores options with them. Gardai had sealed-off a wooded area of a North Dublin park as part of the search efforts this week Garda look on as the cadaver dog searches Santry Park for clues into the disappearance of Jon Jonsson from Iceland Picture Credit: Frank McGrath Gardai investigating disappearance of an Icelandic man have confirmed that searches of a Dublin park did not yield any further information on the whereabouts of Jon Jonsson. Gardai had sealed-off a wooded area of a North Dublin park as part of the search efforts this week. The search was being conducted as part of the investigation into the disappearance of Jon Jonsson (41) who was last seen alive five years ago. This week, gardai began carrying out searches of Santry Demesne having previously received two anonymous letters about his disappearance. Gardai have now confirmed they did not recover anything of significance from the site. And they are appealing to the author or authors of the letters to make direct contact with them. They added; Any contact will be dealt with in the strictest confidence. Mr Jonsson had visited Ireland with his fiancee for a poker tournament and was staying at the Bonnington Hotel on the Swords Road in Whitehall. Garda look on as the cadaver dog searches Santry Park for clues into the disappearance of Jon Jonsson from Iceland Picture Credit: Frank McGrath The last confirmed sighting of Mr Jonsson was in the area at around 11am on February 9, 2019. Investigators at Ballymun have so far generated over 270 lines of inquiry and taken numerous statements while also trawling hours of CCTV footage. Jon Jonsson is described as being 6 ft tall and of medium build with short brown hair. When last seen, he was wearing a black padded jacket. Gardai are continuing to appeal for anyone else with information in relation to Mr Jonssons disappearance to contact them. The missing mans brother, David Karl Wiium, last week thanked gardai for carrying out inquiries into the anonymous correspondence. I would really like to underline the importance of what has just been said and how important it is to Jons family that the investigation keeps going on and people with any knowledge stepping forward with any information they might have. He also expressed his thanks on behalf of the family for the help and love they have received from the Irish people over the last five years. It had been speculated that there was a growing split within the loyalist camp. Leader of the Democratic Unionist Party Jeffrey Donaldson talking to the media at the Stormont Building Loyalist Communities Council chairman David Campbell denied there was a split within the Loyalist council when asked by reporter Hugh Jordon. Mr Campbell, went on to say that the Loyalist council meet earlier next week to discuss the DUP deal. The Loyalist Communities Council has said a big YES! to Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, the Sunday World can reveal. Representatives of the three main paramilitary groups the UVF, UDA and Red Hand Commando met formally last week to give the green light to the return to power-sharing at Stormont. It had been speculated that there was a growing split within the loyalist camp. And insiders expected at least one of the paramilitary groups represented on the LCC to hold out for the complete removal of the so-called Irish Sea border. The unusual trading arrangement which hardline unionists claimed left Northern Ireland outside the UK had been introduced as a result of Britains Brexit negotiations with the EU. But in the end, rumblings of support for any dissenting voices on the LCC disappeared. Calls for disruptive action on the streets during a cost-of-living crisis have failed to materialise. Eyebrows had been raised in political circles last week when DUP leader Sir Jeffrey opted to brief LCC representatives on his Safeguarding the Union document, even before meeting with members of his own party. But when the group met midweek to deliver a final verdict on the Donaldson deal, all of the loyalist paramilitary bosses supported the DUP leader. Irish Sea border protest posters reflect loyalist anxiety in Northern Ireland Defending his actions prior to the second anniversary of his decision to collapse the political institutions at Stormont, Sir Jeffrey insisted: Ive a lot to show for my actions. Last week, when speaking to the Sunday World, LCC chairman David Campbell maintained rumours of a loyalist split were wide of the mark. Speaking at his County Antrim farm, Mr Campbell told our reporter: There is no split. Its nonsense. Mr Campbell also said he expected a press release outlining the LCCs decision would be sent out, but at the time of going to print, nothing has been forthcoming. One loyalist observer with an insight into paramilitary thinking last night said: In the end, the LCC came to the conclusion that Sir Jeffrey had done his very best for the unionist people of Northern Ireland. It was his powerful speech in the House of Commons in the Mother of Parliaments which swung the pendulum in his favour and away from his detractors. Leader of the Democratic Unionist Party Jeffrey Donaldson talking to the media at the Stormont Building People had listened to the opposition, but they offered very little in the way of viable alternatives. For two years unionists attended rallies and protests, but in the end they were beginning to turn on each other. He added: At least Sir Jeffrey offered a positive way forward and thats what the ordinary people were looking for. Historian Dr Aaron Edwards who lectures at the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst said he wasnt surprised to learn the LCC had opted to back the DUP leader. He said: Weve known for some time the vast majority of paramilitary leaders support stability. Yes, there was grassroots unease. But there is little point in bringing people onto the streets for a fight that is unwinnable, he added. Hundreds of Bay of Plenty and South Waikato high school students have been formally welcomed to Toi Ohomai as participants in the institutes Secondary Tertiary Programme. Record numbers of high school students have joined the initiative which is supported by Toi Ohomai and the Trades Academy. The partnership sees students take their first steps into vocational career pathways. Pohiri were held at various Toi Ohomai campuses to welcome the akonga as they embarked on their learning journey. Toi Ohomai STP courses are designed to align with industry requirements in the best possible way by modelling an approach within authentic learning environments for the students. Classes as delivered by industry professionals while in realistic settings for the subjects. The STP was established at Toi Ohomai in 2017 and has continued to grow. In 2023, the institute had 877 students from 35 high schools enrolled in STP courses, of those, 36 per cent enrolled into full time study in 2024. Toi Ohomai Associate Dean Dan Taylor oversees the STP partnerships and says it was exciting to be able to officially welcome these students to Toi Ohomai. This programme gives akonga an introduction into their chosen career path. They learn here at Toi Ohomai as well as continuing their studies at their high school. We have seen great successes with this programme and many of the akonga have gone on to employment in their chosen industry. One of the benefits of STP is the exposure they get to career opportunities in the vocational space outside their secondary school setting. Check out our website for more information about STP or email stp@toiohomai.ac.nz. A Bay of Plenty beach community is split over the rules for quad bike use at the Waiotahe Drifts subdivsion, with those in favour saying it could save lives. The issue came to the fore at a Opotiki District Council meeting last week when around 13 people filled the council chambers in support of four speakers. It comes after bollards and signs blocking vehicle beach access were illegally removed over summer, with the damage reported to police. Opotikis mayor and district councillors are hoping that a community meeting will result in a solution. In December, after residents raised concerns about quad bikers, the council directed staff to investigate options to provide legal vehicular access through an established boardwalk. This drew the ire of some residents who said the reason they bought property in the subdivision was because the resource consent stipulated that vehicle access to the beach was not permitted. At last weeks meeting, Waiotahe Drifts residents Sharon Oxley and Ross Palmer presented the council with a letter signed by 15 others in support of sticking to the status quo. Mrs Oxley said they also supported council enforcing restrictions by tracking down offenders, replacing vandalised signs and bollards and providing clear guidance to residents and other beach users regarding the rules. She said unchecked use raised significant safety concerns, damaged the dunes and impacted the quality of life of many residents. Mr Palmer said he was disappointed the council hadnt nipped the issue in the bud years ago by enforcing the rules. He said if people had read the resource conditions, they would have know they couldnt ride their quad bikes wherever they wanted. "I wouldnt have bought a section next to a place that allowed motor vehicles. I bought that section because it was a pedestrian walkway. Waiotahe Drifts property owners Graham Thompson and Mike Gallagher both spoke in support of vehicle access to the beach. Mr Thompson said he was disappointed an activity that created a great family environment and helped everyone access fishing was considered wrong. A lot of them are elderly folk who are not so able to walk down there ... or families taking their kids down to play on the beach. He said he has used his quad bike to get his boat to the beach on several occasions when people needed rescuing. One day someone came close to drowning because we couldnt get a vehicle through there once the bollards went up. Council planning and regulatory group manager Gerard McCormack recommended maintaining the status quo. His report outlined the substantial regulatory processes that would be needed to allow vehicles to access the beach through the boardwalk. These included obtaining resource consent through the Bay of Plenty Regional Council, amending the district councils current bylaw and making changes to the Opotiki Reserve Management Plan. A planning consultant would need to be engaged. The changes could be publicly notified and possibly end up in the Environment Court. The cost to council could be anywhere between $50,000 and $200,000, could take several years and was unlikely to be approved under current legislation. Councillor Barry Howe said that in his view, people moved to Opotiki because of the fishing and the beaches. Were a food-gathering community and its pretty obvious to me that we need to come to a compromise here so people can access the beach to fish. You cant carry these kontiki and the modern fishing sophisticated gear mean they need vehicles to access the beach." A footpath connecting Waiotahe Drifts Boulevard to the boardwalk has also been subject to vandalism and quad bike use. He said people needed to work together. Its a waste of time working against one another. A public meetings a way to do it. Councillor Tom Brooks pointed out the wording of the conditions of the resource consent only prevent vehicular access except to designated areas. So, obviously theres provision here to designated areas for vehicular access; its just a matter of where that could be. I think a public meeting would be really good as a way of coming together to try to work out a solution. Mayor David Moore suggested the issue be left on the table pending a community meeting, which was agreed to by all councillors. LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air. A small Rotorua school that fought plans to allow higher buildings in its neighbourhood after finding human poo, drug paraphernalia and sanitary pads on its grounds is celebrating a win. Rotorua Seventh-Day Adventist School attributed the problems which also include incidents of a man with his hand in his underpants and children being sworn at to residents of a nearby motel that was being used for emergency housing. School leaders spoke out against Rotorua Lakes Councils Plan Change 9 at public hearings last year, sharing their concerns for the privacy of vulnerable children. The plan proposed greater housing intensification by allowing medium-density living across most of the urban area, and high-density living (six-storey buildings) in and near the city centre and commercial centres. Medium-density enabled three storeys and up to three houses on one section, depending on criteria such as section size. Fenton Court Motel, Seventh-Day Adventist Schools next-door neighbour, was in a zone that could be built up to 24m under the proposed plan. Principal Lanea Strickland and other school representatives opposed the plan using similar arguments and examples to those school leaders raised during 2022s emergency housing resource consent hearings. Strickland told the panel her concerns included possible long-term viewing of students on the property by residents that the school would not know about. There was an incident where a man stood at an open upper window in his underpants with his hand in them. Children had been sworn at from the windows, and litter in the playground included human poo and drug paraphernalia. A neighbour began helping to clear the area before children arrived. On Wednesday, the councils Community and District Development Committee voted to support the hearing panels recommendations for the plan, which included not allowing any future development of the Fenton St motel above its current 12m height. The panels report said it would be inappropriate to allow for it to reach the 24m its zone would otherwise enable. Considering the graphic and disturbing evidence of the appalling behaviour of the special housing tenants, keeping it to 12m would enable the school to provide for its social and cultural wellbeing, and particularly for health and safety, now and into the future, the report said. Strickland shared her joy at the decision with Local Democracy Reporting, saying the school was grateful to have been listened to, despite it being Rotoruas smallest school. Rotorua's Seventh-Day Adventist School borders what used to be an emergency housing motel. Photo / Laura Smith. She understood the motel returned to tourism at the beginning of the year, and so the news was an extra blessing. She said things at the school had returned to normal, and the panels recommendation was a safeguard. This decision has meant we are able to keep our children safe having the confirmation has absolutely been the best thing for our school. We are very grateful. The changes made for a positive future, she said. The school is flourishing. Other changes the panel recommended were to constrict the high-density zone closer to the city centre, to extend the Marae Protection Overlay around Mataatua Marae to 40m, restricting residential activity at ground-floor level in the city centre, and to implement other controls particular to areas like at the school. The plan change would have a final review before being publicly notified with an operative date. Fenton Court Motel was approached for comment. What councillors said at the meeting There was division among councillors making the decision. Some, including chairwoman Sandra Kai Fong, considered the plan would ensure we will have a city we can be proud of and was the product of extensive community consultation. Mayor Tania Tapsell called it a step in the right direction for solving the housing crisis in Rotorua. Councillor Lani Kereopa believed there is no protection afforded to existing papakainga [housing on Maori land]. She said there was harm in non-residential activity being allowed to happen in these areas. While to a certain extent, the end goal is for hapu to live peacefully within our own restored papakainga communities, supported by our own circular economies when I look at the disaster of Tarewa Rd where there is childcare and health facilities taking up the majority of space in what should be a papakainga residential area. She said nothing in the plan acknowledged the existence of papakainga communities that were there 1000 years before the council came into existence. Kereopa said protecting those communities from intensification and urbanisation was why she stood for council, but she did not believe it fitted in with current council systems and policy. LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air. MPs have heard arguments both for and against allowing competitive shooters to use outlawed semi-automatic firearms. The weapons were banned in a sweeping gun crackdown implemented six days after the March 15 terror attacks in 2019. Five years on, politicians have now heard a petition asking lawmakers to allow competitive shooters to own these weapons again. Petitioner Niru Wijesundara says New Zealanders have been competing on an unequal footing since the gun crackdown. "They would never consider doing those horrendous acts because they're quite passionate about the sport and they would ensure the future generations would continue to have access to these weapons for strictly sport competition purposes." Wairarapa man Phil Dunlop from Pistol New Zealand spoke about the cost and difficulty of shipping and using equipment he cannot practise with in his own country. "I was invited to compete in a mini rifle match by the British team... and again we're restricted to 10 round magazines here where there's no restriction in the UK. "I can buy magazines over there but my point is this is sort of a little draconian where countries with a reputation for strict gun control like the UK have more liberal laws than us." The police opposed the petition - arguing it would introduce unacceptable risk. Superintendent Richard Wilson says the proposed law change could give criminals, gangs and terrorists access to high-powered guns by either stealing them off unsuspecting licence holders or getting them from the "very few" corrupt licence holders. "These would carry a really high street value and black market value, should they be able to make it that way. Internationally, there is a direct correlation between mass shootings and these types of firearms being available in ready circulation." The police pointed out tragic cases involving high powered guns were not limited to March 15. In 2017, Northland man Quinn Patterson murdered his property manager and her daughter with a semi-automatic gun, illegally supplied by a licensed firearm owner. In 2020, constable Matthew Hunt was murdered with a semi-automatic weapon during a routine traffic stop in West Auckland. Federation of Islamic Association president Abdur Razzaq says it's not worth the risk and there's no evidence New Zealand is performing worse in international events as a result of tougher gun laws. "The risk just does not outweigh the gains and the gains are for one or two individuals. These are not national events." The Council of Licensed Firearms Owners is not behind the petition but says the organisation does support it. Council chair Michael Dowling argues the risk can be managed - as is currently being done with existing firearm holders. Asked by Labour's Deborah Russell why anyone would want to shoot the likes of an AR15 - Dowling says the reasons vary. "It could be nostalgia, it could be that they used that in services, in police or in Defence, and they want to continue with the training and the programmes they used to have for shooting competitively. "For me, I'm interested in the history and the mechanisms." MPs will now write a report which the Minister in Charge of Firearms - ACT's Nicole McKee - says she's looking forward to receiving. It is likely the petition's proposed law changes will also be considered when the coalition government rewrites the Arms Act. -Anneke Smith/RNZ. The head of the Transport Agency ordered the only line about a partnership with Maori removed from a short press release she issued about relegating the name 'Waka Kotahi' to second place. NZTA chief executive Nicole Rosie's instruction has been revealed in more than 100 pages of emails released under the Official Information Act. It came shortly after Rosie stressed to staff and the board that partnering with Maori was vital and would "expand"; and days after Transport Minister Simeon Brown told Waka Kotahi to change its "branding and communication in media" as soon as possible. Brown first ordered the name change to make English in late November, although this was was verbal only. The emails show that NZTA had expected a follow-up in writing, but the Public Service Commission told RNZ this week that it had given on directives because "we have not received any direction from the government regarding the use of te reo". A media query in December asked for the agency's response to Maori complaints and a media manager sent a draft to Rosie to approve. In the last of four paragraphs it said: "We will continue to build our cultural capability as an organisation, and to work with Maori as partners to build strong, meaningful and enduring relationships to achieve mutually beneficial outcomes." The media person described it as a line "about partnership building", and said they had made sure "BLANK has that". A few minutes later Rosie emailed back a single line: "No we wsnt [sic] that removed." Three days before the 'partnership' line was dropped, Rosie emailed a staffer upset at the name change: "I want to assure you that the organisation remains absolutely committed to continuing to build our cultural competency and our partnership with Maori. "Our work in this space will continue and be expanded." She had told the board that staff were worried, so she would "reinforce" the commitment to a Maori partnership strategy. The media query had sought comment on the charge that Maori mana was being trampled on. Waka Kotahi said on Wednesday that the media query asked for a specific response about concerns raised by Ngai Te Rangi Settlements Trust about NZTA's response to the English-first policy. "The advice from the CE was simply intended to ensure that the response was specifically addressed to the question raised in the media query - which was about the process followed in amending our naming convention," it told RNZ. It had separately responded to Ngai Te Rangi Settlements Trust, it said. It is common for RNZ to receive statements from public agencies that both specifically address a question and also emphasise where the agency stands and what it values - for instance, when the query is about an accident or breach, to state they take safety or security very seriously. Waka Kotahi has never been the agency's legal name. While the Cabinet in 2022 approved that name, it was never put through in law, and its legal name remains the 'New Zealand Transport Agency'. Waka Kotahi was gifted by iwi to it in 2008, but given much greater prominence from 2019 on. The emails show Rosie told the board in a 30 November memo: "The government's direction is limited to our name and logo change." But she also said: "This is far deeper than a name and will have significance for many well beyond a discussion of whether the Maori name should come first. "Staff have raised questions and concerns about this name change and what it means for our ongoing partnership, therefore we will reinforce our ongoing commitment to our Maori strategy, Te Ara Kotahi." However, [ https://www.nzta.govt.nz/assets/About-us/docs/te-ara-kotahi-our-maori-strategy-august-2020.pdf the strategy] - which repeatedly refers to partnership with Maori - would be refreshed this year "in line with the incoming government's objectives". The emails show mixed messages about how fast the name change should go. Brown announced it publicly on 4 December and three days before that Rosie said: "He has ... asked us to provide him with PPE that is branded NZTA" and change messaging. By contrast, the bulk of emails talk about a gradual change to PPE, car signage and stationery - as things carrying the Waka Kotahi name first wear out and are replaced, to keep costs down. The directions from the Minister had all been verbal. Any agencies waiting for written directives have still not had them, the PSC response suggests. The upset staffer had emailed Rosie in November that she was ''deeply saddened by government's decision". "You and most of the staff have embraced this initiative to bring the language into everyone's daily life, and I love it! "I am insulted that the names gifted to us by Iwi now have no relevance, and I think it's a slap in the face for them, too." Rosie had circulated this to her senior leadership, saying the email summarised how many of its people would feel. "Waka Kotahi and moving together also forms the bases of our strategy, values and guiding stars - so have meaning and application well beyond the name." Other emails from managers discussed how "it's possible that we may be saying that it's fine to use Waka Kotahi for internal use"; and that "You can use Aotearoa New Zealand if you'd like to. Use Aotearoa New Zealand in full the first time you mention it, then use Aotearoa alone every other time you mention it." At one stage, a fleet administrator asks if the old name that puts Maori first, will need to be removed from five new Mitsubishis being kitted out. The Public Service Commission told RNZ on Wednesday it had not issued any direction on te reo, to any agencies. -Phil Pennington/RNZ. Antero Resources Corporation (NYSE:AR) Q4 2023 Earnings Call Transcript February 15, 2024 Antero Resources Corporation isnt one of the 30 most popular stocks among hedge funds at the end of the third quarter (see the details here). Operator: Hello, and welcome to the Antero Resources Fourth Quarter 2023 Earnings Conference Call and Webcast. [Operator Instructions] A question-and-answer session will follow the formal presentation. [Operator Instructions] As a reminder, this conference is being recorded. It's now my pleasure to turn the call over to Brendan Krueger, Vice President of Finance. Please go ahead, Brendan. Brendan Krueger: Thank you. Good morning, everyone. Thank you for joining us for Antero's fourth quarter 2023 investor conference call. We'll spend a few minutes going through the financial and operating highlights, and then we'll open it up for Q&A. I would also like to direct you to the homepage of our website at www.anteroresources.com, where we have provided a separate earnings call presentation that will be reviewed during today's call. Today's call may contain certain non-GAAP financial measures. Please refer to our earnings press release for important disclosures regarding such measures, including reconciliations to the most comparable GAAP financial measures. Joining me on the call today are Paul Rady, Chairman, CEO and President; Michael Kennedy, CFO; Dave Cannelongo, Senior Vice President of Liquids Marketing and Transportation; and Justin Fowler, Senior Vice President of Natural Gas Marketing. I will now turn the call over to Paul. Paul Rady: Thanks, Brendan. Good morning, everyone. I'll start my comments on Slide number 3 of our presentation, titled Drilling and Completion Efficiencies. 2023 was a transformational year for Antero as our operating performance made significant advances. Our drilling and completions teams set a number of company and industry records throughout the year. As an example, days per 10,000 feet of lateral drilled averaged 5.5 days in 2023, a decline of 14% since 2019. On the completion side, 2023 completion stages per day averaged nearly 11 stages a day, 35% improvement compared to the 2022 average and more than an 80% increase from 2019 levels. The result of these operational improvements was significantly shorter cycle times, as shown on the bottom of the page. Story continues These cycle times reflect the total number of days it takes on average from first spudding a pad to turning that entire pad to sales. Since 2019, our cycle times have decreased by an impressive 65% and averaged just 160 days in 2023, shorter cycle times means higher capital efficiency of course. In addition, our well performance continues to improve. This operating momentum is highlighted by the fact that while targeting a maintenance capital program this last year, our volumes actually grew 6% in 2023 compared to 2022. Most importantly, these capital efficiencies and well productivity gains drive a reduced maintenance capital budget. Now let's turn to Slide number 4 titled, Efficiencies Translate to Lower Maintenance Capital in 2024. In 2024, we expect production to be flat, averaging between 3.3 and 3.4 Bcf equivalent a day. Meanwhile, our drilling and completion capital is expected to be down over 25% compared to the prior year. Our maintenance capital budget midpoint of $675 million to -- is over $225 million below the $909 million that we spent in 2023. The operating efficiency gains captured in 2023 allowed us to drop one drilling rig at the end of last year and then to drop a completion crew at the beginning of this year. We now plan to average two drilling rigs and just over one completion crew for our maintenance capital program in 2024. Also contributing to our reduced capital budget is a lower base decline rate. As we enter year four of our maintenance capital program, our decline rate is substantially lower in the mid- to low 20% range. This low decline rate requires less capital to hold production flat. In addition, our land capital budget midpoint of $88 million is down over $60 million compared to 2023. In total, this will result in $275 million to $300 million of reduced capital spending compared to last year while maintaining the same production level. This significant reduction in capital highlights the high-quality asset base at Antero and the flexibility that we have. As we look ahead to 2024, these significant capital savings, combined with the recent increase in NGL prices, is expected to generate free cash flow during the year. This positive free cash flow generation is expected to occur despite being unhedged in today's challenging natural gas price environment. This positive free cash flow outlook is even more impressive when considering that the current strip is at the lowest natural gas price for any calendar year outside of the COVID year in the last 25 years. Now, to touch on the current liquids and NGL fundamentals, I'm going to turn it over to our Senior Vice President of Liquids Marketing and Transportation, Dave Cannelongo for his comments. Dave Cannelongo: Thanks, Paul. The macro picture for NGLs has improved materially this winter due to a combination of strong domestic demand and consistently high export levels despite the challenges seen in the global waterborne shipping environment. Focusing on propane, as a result of the strong exports and winter weather, inventories have declined by 45 million barrels since October. In just a few months, propane stocks have moved from the high end of the five-year range to five-year average levels, as shown on Slide number 5. This return of propane inventories to the historical average has tightened the market and driven bullish sentiment with C3+ NGL prices as a percent of WTI increasing from 43% last fall to 57% today, driven largely by propane prices rising to above $0.90 a gallon. Slide number 6 illustrates the strengthening relationship we've seen between WTI and C3+ NGLs in recent months as Antero's NGL price has increased from $38 per barrel on average during 2023 to over $43 per barrel currently. In addition to the strong domestic fundamentals, propane exports have continued to impress. Last year was a record year for propane exports, which averaged 1.62 million barrels per day for the full year 2023, as shown on Slide number 7. 2024 has also started off strong with exports averaging 1.72 million barrels per day year-to-date, an increase of nearly 200,000 barrels per day, above the same weeks last year. These strong exports are occurring despite major volatility in global shipping routes, including restrictions on passage through the Panama Canal and rising geopolitical risks in the Middle East affecting passages through the Suez Canal and Red Sea. The Baltic LPG rate, which is a metric of the shipping cost of liquefied petroleum gas on a VLGC or very large gas carrier, increased to record levels at the end of 2023, primarily due to limitations on Panama Canal transits that resulted in shipping capacity being tied up in longer routes around the Cape of Good Hope as shown on the graph on the right of Slide number 8. However, this trend has reversed recently as the effects of the Panama Canal restrictions on LPG carriers have eased with Canal passages increasing in January, as a result of the global shipping reshuffling. Additionally, last year was a banner year for VLGC new build deliveries with 41 deliveries in 2023, as seen on the graph on the left of Slide number 8 which is more than double the typical yearly delivery. VLGC supply is expected to continue to grow in 2024 with 21 more ships being delivered. These deliveries are occurring at the right time in the market with U.S. LPG export growth and the current challenges facing global shipping that have increased transit times in altered routes. As a reminder, Antero exports over 50% of our C3+ production, skewed heavily towards propane and butane directly out of the Marcus Hook terminal in Pennsylvania and has the ability to price our barrels on international indices. Antero will benefit from the current lower shipping rates by being able to capture more of the spread between domestic and international pricing for propane and butane. Also, Antero's export volumes are not impacted by potential constraints at the Gulf Coast export docks, which are at high utilization rates with current export levels and limited capacity expansions expected until 2025. A fleet of tanker trucks transporting oil and natural gas, amidst the backdrop of open fields. I'll conclude my remarks this morning acknowledging that with these fundamentals I have just discussed, 2024 is poised to be yet another year in which our exposure to NGL pricing will be a supportive differentiator when compared to other natural gas producers. With that, I'll turn it over to our Senior Vice President of Natural Gas Marketing, Justin Fowler to discuss the natural gas market. Justin Fowler: Thanks, Dave. I will start on Slide number 9 titled, Growing Global LNG market. This is a slide that we have shown in the past but is updated to reflect the potential impacts from the recent pause on LNG facility approvals from the U.S. government. Regardless of the duration of this pause, we expect very little impact on LNG demand growth into the end of this decade. In fact, only three LNG facilities in our stack chart could be impacted. You see those highlighted by the red boxes. The remaining projects still result in over 10 Bcf of incremental demand by the end of 2027. This would bring the current U.S. LNG export capacity of 14.5 Bcf per day to nearly 25 Bcf per day during that time. This is a substantial demand increase that we expect to tie U.S. natural gas prices more closely to the higher international prices. Antero is uniquely positioned to benefit from these higher expected U.S. natural gas prices, particularly prices linked to LNG demand growth near Henry Hub. Next, let's turn to Slide number 10 titled, Not All Transport to the U.S. Gulf Coast is Equal. As a reminder, we sell substantially all of our natural gas out of basin, including approximately 75% to the LNG corridor. Our firm transportation portfolio provides us with direct exposure to growing LNG demand along the Gulf Coast and importantly, into Tier 1 pricing points along the LNG corridor. This slide illustrates the significant benefit in selling our gas at Tier 1 Gulf Coast pricing. Based on the current strip, Tier 1 prices reflect increasing premiums to NYMEX in 2025 and beyond, including the TGP 500 Index, which represents 30% of the 2.0 Bcf per day of Antero directed Gulf firm transportation, where premiums have increased to $0.29 above NYMEX in 2026. Antero also delivers to ANR Southeast and Columbia Gulf Onshore points, which represents an additional 60% of premium delivery that over time will also appreciate with the current LNG export buildout. Meanwhile, there are a number of peers that sell their gas in Tier 3, which is currently trading almost $0.25 back of NYMEX in both 2025 and 2026. Further, we think Tier 3 pricing could continue to widen as LNG facilities are placed in service and Tier 1 pricing pushes higher. Yellow stars on the map highlight Antero sales points, which were strategically negotiated to bring our volumes directly to the LNG doorstep. As depicted in the pie chart on the top left-hand side of the slide, Antero sell 90% of its gas at Tier 1 pricing. This compares to the average of our peers, which sell 67% of their Gulf directed volumes in Tier 2 and Tier 3 pricing. Looking ahead over the next two years as LNG export capacity increases by nearly 6 Bcf, we expect Antero sales points to be priced even higher first NYMEX at these LNG facilities as they compete for supply. The premium received at these sales points could also see further upside due to the delays on certain downstream pipelines that had previously been expected in the Haynesville by the end of this year. Delays into 2025 or 2026 would make our already existing firm transportation that much more valuable in the growing LNG market. Lastly, I would like to touch on power burn demand trends. Slide number 11 titled, Power Burn Demand Continues to Outperform. This slide illustrates color burn demand over the last 10 years. Continued coal to natural gas switching, along with higher electrification demand for everything from electric vehicles to high-powered AI data centers leads to increasing natural gas power generation demand. Despite the majority of forecast that you see, which project flat or even lower power burn demand, power burn demand in 2024 is once again outperforming expectations. We believe there has been a structural shift toward reliable, clean and affordable natural gas that will continue to increase power burn demand annually going forward. This demand growth, combined with rising LNG and Mexico exports creates a significantly higher base demand level than we have ever experienced in the past. While there are certainly near-term storage challenges, we expect these fundamentals will provide support to natural gas prices and lead to periods of higher prices in the coming years. With that, I will turn it over to Mike Kennedy, Antero's CFO. Michael Kennedy: Thanks, Justin. First, I'd like to discuss our multi-decade inventory position. Turning to Slide number 12 titled AR Has the Largest Low Cost Inventory. This chart compares inventory positions across our natural gas peer group based on data from a third-party report. Antero has the most sub $2.75 per Mcfe drilling inventory at 22 years. It is important to note that this inventory comparison is after our peers have spent a combined $30 billion on acquisitions over the past three years. In contrast, through our organic leasing efforts, we have invested $340 million over that time to acquire targeted drilling locations within our development footprint. On average, we have been able to add locations for less than $1 million per location through this program. This is less than half of the nearly $2 million average cost per location for the peer acquisitions. In 2023, Antero organically added over 100 premium core locations at an average cost per location of less than $1 million, more than offsetting its 2023 drilling program. Next, I'd like to go a little deeper on the capital efficiency improvements that Paul touched on in his comments. The chart on Slide number 13 compares capital efficiency of the natural gas peer group or the amount of capital required to achieve production targets. Antero has the lowest capital per Mcfe of its peer group at just $0.55 per Mcfe. This is 40% below the peer average of $0.92 per Mcfe. This capital efficiency measure is important when comparing asset quality and operating capabilities of each company. The scatter plot on Slide number 14 really magnifies the peer-leading capital efficiency at Antero. This chart shows the year-over-year change in production on the y-axis and the year-over-year change in drilling and completion capital on the x-axis for the natural gas peers. These estimates are based on company guidance for those that have announced 2024 guidance and consensus estimates for those that have not. When you compare the production targets for the drilling and completion capital invested to deliver that production, we are by far and away the most capital-efficient operator in Appalachia. Let's turn to Slide number 15 titled Free cash Flow Breakeven, which summarizes the benefits of our combined capital efficiency gains and high NGL exposure. Beginning at the top left-hand side of the slide, our total capital budget, drilling and completion plus land capital is expected to be down nearly $300 million in 2024 compared to last year. Moving down to the bottom left-hand side of the slide, the 2024 NGL strip is more than $3 per barrel higher than in 2023. As a rule of thumb, every dollar change in NGL prices results in $40 million change in cash flow. Thus, higher NGL prices in 2024 drive $135 million increase in cash flow. In combination, the result is approximately $430 million of incremental cash flow in 2024 compared to 2023 from our capital efficiencies and NGL focus and more than offset the weakness in the natural gas market, even while being unhedged. Turning to Slide number 16. This slide compares free cash flow breakeven levels. Our low maintenance capital requirements and high exposure to liquids results in the lowest unhedged free cash flow breakeven price among our natural gas peers. As we look ahead, we believe Antero is best positioned to create significant shareholder value. We have product diversity as the largest NGL producer and exporter of LPG, the highest exposure of natural gas production to the LNG demand center and the lowest amount of hedge volumes, which creates substantial leverage to rising Henry Hub prices. In addition, our realized prices have basis upside due to our premium sales points along the LNG fairway. Finally, we are the most capital efficient natural gas producer in the U.S. with the lowest free cash flow breakevens. Combination of downside protection from our liquids production, a strong balance sheet and lowest breakeven price combined with the upside exposure through our takeaway to the LNG demand center, places Antero on a significant competitive advantage as we move towards the substantial increase in demand expected from near-term LNG projects. With that, I will now turn the call over to the operator for questions. See also 20 Popular Brands That Use Shopify and 15 Top Performing European Stocks So Far in 2024. To continue reading the Q&A session, please click here. A Fire Plan outlines the particular fire risk conditions that exist or are likely to exist for a specific area, the local policies and procedures for the management of these conditions and sets out how Fire and Emergency will use its fire control powers. Each Fire Plan outlines, specific to each local area, things like: - what indicators Fire and Emergency NZ will consider when deciding to change to prohibited or restricted fire seasons, or prohibited activities which can be a high risk of causing a wildfire - how firebreaks might be used to reduce the fire risk - information about environmental factors that are relevant to our work to reduce risks from fire and to manage the potential impacts if one occurs. Fire Plans are developed for each of the following areas: -Auckland -Northland -Waikato -Bay of Plenty -Tairawhiti -Taranaki -Manawatu-Whanganui -Hawkes Bay -Wellington -Chatham Islands -Nelson Tasman -Marlborough -West Coast -Canterbury -Otago -Southland Fire and Emergency New Zealand Wildfire Specialist Graeme Still says it is important for people in their local areas to have their say as this will directly impact how fire is managed in their area. "We really want to hear from people about what they think of their local Fire Plan. "Getting this local knowledge is going to be crucial for us as we continue to develop these plans." The public can have their say on the proposed Fire Plans on our website to consultation page or by emailing fireplans@fireandemergency.nz. The consultation opened today and will close on 14 March 2024, at 5pm. Following this, our District teams will review all feedback and final Fire Plans will be published on our website by 22 July 2024. More than 95 per cent of cervical cancer is caused by Human Papillomaviruses more commonly known as HPV. Toi Te Ora Public Health, Te Whatu Ora medical officer of health Dr Phil Shoemack says Human Papillomaviruses are a common group of contagious viruses that are spread through skin-to-skin contact, including sexual contact. There are different types of HPV. Some of these types can cause genital warts, cervical cancer, and oral cancer. Phil says the best way to prevent HPV infection is to get the HPV vaccine. Vaccine The vaccine is highly effective at preventing infection from the common, high-risk HPV types that cause genital warts, cervical cancer, and oral cancer. In New Zealand, the HPV vaccine is free for everyone aged nine to 26 years old, including non-residents less than 18 years old. The vaccine is available at most schools and is usually given in year 7 or 8. People can also get vaccinated by their doctor, nurse or hauora/health provider. Tamariki/children aged nine to 14 years need two doses of the vaccine, Phil says. Rangatahi/youth aged 15 years or older need three doses of the vaccine. The younger a person is when they get the vaccine (once they are eligible from age nine), the better their immune response will be. Cervical screening Cervical screening is a method used to identify a HPV infection around the cervix so that it can be treated before it progresses to cervical cancer, says Phil. Most people infected with HPV will not have any symptoms and will not be aware they are infected which is why cervical screening is important. Wahine and people with a cervix should have regular cervical screening tests from age 25 to 69. Routine screening is every 5 years, although you may need screening more often in some circumstances or if HPV is detected in results. Cervical screening can be done as a simple vaginal swab that people can choose to do themselves, or as a cervical sample, taken from a persons cervix by a healthcare provider. A nurse, doctor or health care provider can assist with the self-swab if necessary. Symptoms If you are experiencing any symptoms of HPV you should see a medical professional as soon as possible. Symptoms of HPV appear at a later stage of infection. For genital warts, symptoms include raised areas, growths, or bumps of skin around the genital area. Symptoms of cervical cancer include abnormal vaginal bleeding such as bleeding between menstrual periods, bleeding after sexual intercourse, or bleeding after menopause. Symptoms may also include abnormal vaginal discharge, or pain in the pelvis or abdomen. Anyone experiencing these symptoms should see their doctor, nurse or hauora provider. For more about HPV infection and the HPV vaccine see here. For more about Cervical Screening and HPV testing see here. This Saturday, Coastguard Tauranga will officially welcome its newest fleet member - the state-of-the-art TECT Rescue. Built by Q-West Boat Builders and designed by Teknicraft, this 14.8m foil-supported catamaran vessel is nothing less than a game changer for the busiest Coastguard Unit in the Bay of Plenty region. Replacing its predecessor, the new TECT Rescue vessel comes equipped with an array of impressive features to enhance the volunteers lifesaving mahi. Some of the features include: A cruising speed of 28 to 30 nautical miles per hour to reduce Coastguard Tauranga's response times, including by 40 minutes to Mayor Island. Electronically controlled unit injectors to ensure low exhaust emissions and better fuel economy, making it a more economical vessel to run. A draft of 0.7m which is ideal for voluntesaers to reach vessels needing assistance in shallow water. One of the features that is of particular interest is its ability to generate search patterns at the push of a button," says Coastguard Tauranga board chair Scott Lee. Our Incident Management Team can draw up this feature on land and then send it to the vessel's navigation equipment, he says. The helm person can even initiate Autopilot, and the vessel will steer the search pattern course by itself. This will increase our ability to fulfil our aim of saving lives on the water and helping anyone whenever we can - better, stronger, faster!" The significant investment of $2.7 million in this brand-new rescue vessel highlights a strong commitment to enhancing its efficiency and versatility in maritime rescue operations. Recognising the ever-changing demands of coastal emergencies, every aspect of the vessel's design and features has been carefully tailored to meet these varied requirements. The generous contributions of the Tauranga Maritime Trust, Grassroots Trust Central, Lottery Grants Board, as well as TECT. Zespri, Tauranga City Council, The Lion Foundation, NZCT, Mackay Strathnaver Trust, Pub Charity, Port of Tauranga, Eves, Pak n Save Cameron Road, First Mortgage Trust, Craigs Investment Partners, EMAC Electrical, Brian Scantlebury, Lions International, Trevelyans, among others, have been instrumental in bringing this project to life. Their support reflects a shared commitment to saving lives on the water and ensuring that Coastguard Tauranga possesses the resources necessary to respond swiftly and decisively to any emergency. Coastguard Tauranga has always been a high-performing Unit that goes beyond the call of duty to save lives on the water, says Coastguard New Zealand CEO, Callum Gillespie. The new vessel is a significant milestone for the Tauranga community and ensures that they can continue their lifesaving mahi for many years to come. In the past year alone, Coastguard Taurangas 69 volunteers responded to 23,662 radio calls and assisted more than 350 people to get home safely. Volunteers contributed a massive 8,135 hours, with 217 hours exclusively dedicated just to incidents. This commitment is complemented by many hours of practical training, ensuring the crew's skills are finely tuned when responding to incidents. With favourable weather forecasts extending into autumn, the introduction of TECT Rescue is a significant boost for Coastguard Tauranga and the Bay of Plenty community, reinforcing their dedication to ensuring everyone can enjoy the water safely and with confidence. One lane is blocked on State Highway 29, Kaimai Range. NZTA Waka Kotahi say that due to a fallen tree between Ruahihi Rd and Omanawa Rd, one lane on SH29 is blocked on Saturday morning. Motorists are advised to expect delays and pass the scene with care. The road hazard was first reported at around 2am. At the scene? Phone 0800SUNLIVE or email newsroom@thesun.co.nz SH 29 Tauranga to Te Poi (Kaimai Ranges) Direction Both Directions Location(s) 029-0021/04.89 Lower Kaimai Event Type Road Hazard Event Description Fallen tree/s across highway Event Comments Due to a fallen tree between Ruahihi Rd and Omanawa Rd, one lane is blocked. Expect delays and pass the scene with care. Angel Mengibar Granada Friday, 16 February 2024, 07:31 Compartir Copiar enlace WhatsApp Facebook X LinkedIn Telegram A herd of horses appeared in the vicinity of the Sierra Nevada ski resort in Spain's Granada province to the surprise of visitors and workers earlier this week. The group of wild horses, mares and foals, spotted near the High Performance Centre, are known to inhabit the area and at least a dozen of them were seen grazing in the area around Hoya de la Mora. Carlos Rodriguez / Sierra Nevada Experience "They don't have owners, but they are controlled. They are usually seen from certain slopes of the resort, but it is unusual to find them so close to visitors," souces from Cetursa, operator of the ski resort, told SUR's sister newspaper Ideal. Carlos Rodriguez / Sierra Nevada Experience The Sierra Nevada ski resort reopened its facilities on Tuesday after it was forced to close on Monday due to the storm in the area. Staff worked fast to clear the mud that cascaded down some of the slopes following downpours last weekend. SUR in English Gibraltar Friday, 16 February 2024, 13:45 Compartir Copiar enlace WhatsApp Facebook X LinkedIn Telegram A sixty-six-year-old British national was sentenced to 20 months' imprisonment on charges of fraud and 20 months on charges relating to money laundering on Tuesday this week. The woman, an in-house accountant for a local company, was found to have made 67 unauthorised transactions from clients' accounts between August 2022 and April 2023. As a result, the company lost almost 44,000 pounds. She has already spent seven months on remand so will be imprisoned for another 13 months. SUR in English Gibraltar Friday, 16 February 2024, 13:42 Compartir Copiar enlace WhatsApp Facebook X LinkedIn Telegram The Minister for Culture Christian Santos met with Miss Gibraltar, Faith Torres, in his office on Wednesday to wish her luck in the Miss World competition. Faith, a twenty-three-year-old biomedical assistant, was crowned Miss Gibraltar in 2022. She is flying to Delhi in India to take part in the 72nd Miss World pageant which will be held in the Jio World Convention Centre. Thirty-three contestants are taking part in the event on 9 March. Jennie Rhodes Malaga Friday, 16 February 2024, 15:56 Compartir Copiar enlace WhatsApp Facebook X LinkedIn Telegram Monday 11 February marked the 50th anniversary of the official opening of the Spanish Cultural Institute in Dublin. Behind this idea was Jose Antonio Sierra, a graduate in Philosophy and Arts, Journalism and Social Psychology, working as a Spanish teacher at the city's famous Trinity College at the time. Jose Antonio had previously spent time working in Lyon (France), Brighton and the Isle of Wight. Speaking to SUR in English ahead of the anniversary, Jose Antonio, who is now 87 and lives in Malaga, explained that he arrived in Ireland in September 1968. "I went to Ireland to work as a Reader in Spanish at Trinity College Dublin and to write about the importance of the Spanish language in Ireland and the influence of the Irish schools in Spain on the historical relations between the two countries." He went on to say, "I soon realised that Spanish newspapers were only sold in a supermarket in the centre of Dublin, that Spanish language teaching books were not from Spanish publishers and that my students had very little knowledge of Spain." So, with the support of both Spanish and Irish governments, his idea to create a cultural reference point for the two countries in Dublin was born. Official invitations were sent out from the Spanish ambassador in Ireland at the time and the Instituto Cultural Espanol de Dublin was inaugurated on 11 February 1974 at 58 Northumberland Street. Official statement The ceremony was presided over by the then Irish Minister of Education, Richard Burke, who spoke in English, Irish and Spanish. In his speech Burke referred to Spain as a "distant haven of hope for oppressed Irishmen in the past". An official statement from the Ministry of Education said, "Today hundreds of Spaniards come to Ireland. These are mostly young people who want to perfect their knowledge of English and who find Ireland the most congenial place in which to do so." The statement went on to read, "We hope the warmth of our welcome will compensate to some extent for any deficiencies in our climate." As well as the Spanish language, the institute promoted, collaborated in or organised nearly 200 concerts of Spanish music until it was attached to the Instituto Cervantes in 1991. The Instituto Cervantes is the public institution created in 1991 which currently has centres in 45 countries around the world and is comparable with the UK's British Council. Thanks While no special events are taking place to mark the milestone, Jose Antonio has extended his personal thanks "to all the staff of the Spanish Cultural Institute for their help and collaboration in helping the Institute to fulfil its aims and act as a cultural bridge between Spain and Ireland for 20 years." He hopes to travel to Dublin to meet up with friends and former colleagues he keeps in touch with this spring. Jose Rodriguez Camara Torremolinos Friday, 16 February 2024, 14:12 Compartir Copiar enlace WhatsApp Facebook X LinkedIn Telegram Torremolinos council is to revamp Plaza de La Nogalera, the square where the rail station is and one of the town's main meeting points. The work, which has a budget of 3.2 million euros, has just been put out to tender. Plans to make the area greener and more pedestrian friendly have been negotiated with local businesses and residents. The hope is to have it finished by spring 2025. Blockchain developer Aptos Labs has partnered with Jambo, an African technology firm, to launch a Web3-enabled phone named JamboPhone. The JamboPhone, which targets customers in Africa, Southeast Asia and Latin America, is priced at US$99 and is now available in over 40 countries, according to a press release. The phone comes with a pre-installed blockchain wallet for Aptos, a layer-1 blockchain and the Jambo App, an information platform that includes educational content on Web3 applications such as decentralized finance and gaming. Aptos cryptocurrency (APT) dropped 6.1% in the past 24 hours to US$9.81, according to CoinGecko data. Aptos and Jambos announcement comes during Solanas second mobile phone campaign. Solana, the blockchain whose native token SOL currently ranks as fifth fifth-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, recently raised US$45 million after its second smartphone model crossed 100,00 pre-orders. Saga, Solanas first phone that was designed to provide a seamless interface for cryptocurrency transactions and decentralized applications, was initially criticized for its US$1,000 price tag. However, Saga owners were compensated with complementary crypto assets, including ones that were later airdropped. Brexpats in Spain president Anne Hernandez dies The Mijas Costa resident, at the helm of the organisation since it began in 2016, died in hospital after a short illness SUR in English Malaga Friday, 16 February 2024, 15:11 | Updated 15:29h. Compartir Copiar enlace WhatsApp Facebook X LinkedIn Telegram Brexpats in Spain International has announced this Friday, 16 February, that the organisation's president, Anne Hernandez, has died in hospital after a short illness. "RIP. Anne. You will be sorely missed. Our deepest sympathy goes to the family," said vice-president Richard Hill on social media. The retired university lecturer had been at the helm of Brexpats in Spain since it was founded in 2016 to keep British residents informed of their rights and responsibilities prior to the UK's exit from the EU. Anne, a well-known Mijas Costa resident, was awarded an MBE for services to British nationals in 2021, an award that she received from British Ambassador Hugh Elliott last year. "A celebration of Annes life and work will be held at a later date," said the vice-president. "Brexpats in Spain will continue to provide our services as Anne would have wished." SUR in English Mijas Friday, 16 February 2024, 08:38 | Updated 12:42h. Compartir Copiar enlace WhatsApp Facebook X LinkedIn Telegram Investing in property in the south if Spain has been a dream for people around the world for decades, and Mijas is one of the most sought-after destinations. Investing in property could be complicated for a foreigner but experts at the SUR in English roundtable event this Friday at La Zambra Resort, Mijas Golf, discussed the current situation in the market and cleared up some of the questions affecting buyers and investors. Speaking before the debate, Mayor of Mijas Ana Mata, spoke of how the municipality was still a favourite location for thousands of foreign residents and home owners, with its three clear zones: Pueblo, Costa and Las Lagunas. She stressed how the local town hall welcomed investors, both property buyers and those wanting to start a business. Panelists at the event were: Lourdes Burgos, town planning councillor at Mijas town hall; Marc Elliott de Lama, owner and founder of Fluent Finance Aborad S. L; Juan Jose Millan, CSO of Wyndham Costa del Sol; David Sanchez, CEO Investments/Sales at Arkitech; and Juan Goni Uriarte, CEO of Klic Arquitectos, who discussed a variety of issues, moderated by SUR in English journalist Jennie Rhodes. The general view was unmistakeable: property is a good investment for foreign buyers. Reasons for buying are varied, either as a holiday home, a main residence or as a base for a digital nomads. The experts discussed issues such as the golden visa, the time taken to obtain building licences, the changing profile of investors, obtaining mortgages in Spain and sustainable properties, among others. Watch the full event in the video at the top of this page. Maria Albarral Marbella Friday, 16 February 2024, 08:12 Compartir Copiar enlace WhatsApp Facebook X LinkedIn Telegram Joakim Broberg, the stepson of Marbella mayor Angeles Munoz, could face 22 years in prison for his alleged involvement in drug trafficking operations between Spain and northern Europe. The court indictment, seen by Europa Press and which involves 28 other alleged criminals, points to Broberg as one of the alleged leaders of the network. The public prosecutor's office is demanding an 11-year sentence for Broberg "heading" the alleged criminal organisation, four years for bribery and seven years for money laundering and Broberg could also face a fine of 30 million euros According to the public prosecutor's office, during 2019, Broberg and Roberto Bayona, another of the accused, "made deliveries of marijuana from Spain to France". While the former "acted as the boss and was in charge of maintaining contacts with suppliers and clients", Bayona "carried out personal interviews, follow-ups and shuttle services as necessary". The following year, Broberg "maintained contacts with different substance suppliers such as the one known in EncroChat as Canaryegg, in order to supply himself with drugs coming from Morocco and which would arrive by boat to Spain". Broberg "maintained contacts with Rafael Gallego, a local police officer in Marbella, who provided him with restricted information for police use only, in exchange for cash", according to the public prosecutor's office. In order to hide the origin of the funds with which "he carried out his business and investment activities", Broberg collaborated with his now deceased father, Lars Gunnar Broberg, who was also indicted in this case. To carry out the alleged money laundering operations, Broberg had as his "base of operations" two real estate offices in the Plaza de Marbella shopping centre, according to the public prosecutor's office. It was in October 2022 when judge Manuel Garcia Castellon, indicted some 30 people, including Broberg and his father, for forming part of the drug-running organisation. The public prosecutor's office warned that the crime of bribery allegedly attributed to Broberg and the local policeman from Marbella should be tried by a jury. Political opposition Opposing political groups in Marbella have not wanted to comment about the case. However, socialist party councillor Pepe Bernal demanded explanations from the Partido Popular Marbella mayor about "the two companies belonging to her stepson that were invoicing the town hall for an amount of around 1.5 million euros". "Mrs Munoz now has an opportunity after the public prosecutor's report to explain what relations the Marbella town hall has with these companies belonging to her stepson and her now deceased husband, who have only and exclusively been contracted with Marbella town hall and not with other institutions," he said. Chus Heredia Malaga Friday, 16 February 2024, 14:03 Compartir Copiar enlace WhatsApp Facebook X LinkedIn Telegram Spain's government has published in the BOE (official state bulletin) a plan to declare 10 points along the N340 coastal road from Malaga to Almeria as 'places of memory' to remember those who were killed as they tried to flee Malaga in February 1937 during Spain's Civil War in an episode known as 'La Desbanda'. There are differences of opinion among researchers, but the number of people who fled is believed to be around 300,000 and were mainly women, children and the elderly. Associations and political parties have long campaigned to have points along the N340 officially recognised as 'places of memory'. The resolution was signed by Zoraida Hijosa, director general for victim support and promotion of democratic memory, in accordance with Law 20/2022 on Democratic Memory. The 10 sites to be recognised are: Penon del Cuervo-Paseo de los Canadienses, in honour of Canadian doctor Norman Bethune; El Cantal tunnels in La Cala del Moral, Rincon de la Victoria, where there are still remains of cannon fire; Torre del Mar lighthouse for the heroism of lighthouse keeper Anselmo Vilar Garcia who kept the light switched off on the nights of 6 and 7 February, saving thousands of refugees from being bombed. He was shot two days later; Parque de la Memoria in Velez-Malaga, with a work by the artist Rogelio Perez Cuenca, which pays tribute to the victims; Puente Viejo (old bridge) Maro, where many civilians were shot at from boats; Guadalfeo where a bridge was destroyed and many drowned as they attempted to swim across the river; Fuerte de Carchuna, where 308 Asturian miners were freed in May 1938; Castel de Ferro-Gualchos, where Norman Bethune and Hazen Sise helped the refugees; Adra, where photographs of the refugees were taken before a bombing on 10 February and Parque Nicolas Salmeron in Almeria city, which was the end of the journey for those who survived the ordeal. Neil Hesketh Malaga Friday, 16 February 2024, 13:28 Compartir Copiar enlace WhatsApp Facebook X LinkedIn Telegram The northwestern region of Galicia votes on Sunday for its new regional parliament. Currently the region is led by the conservative Partido Popular (PP) under Alfonso Rueda. Prior to Rueda, Galicia was headed by the now national leader of the PP, Alberto Nunez Feijoo, until 2022. The PP has run Galicia for all but four years since 1990. Opinion polls show the PP on course to be the largest single party again with the doubt remaining of whether they will secure enough regional MPs to repeat their majority. Opinion polls are also showing a fall in seats for the Socialist PSOE and a big rise for the nationalist BNG party under Ana Ponton. Campaigning in the election has partly focused on national issues including the current agricultural industry protests and the central government coalition's plans to grant an amnesty to those involved in the illegal Catalan independence process of 2017. The PP's Nunez Feijoo was under pressure last weekend over the suggestion he too considered an amnesty for Catalan rebels "for 24 hours", a comment which some in his party fear could influence the vote of its traditional supporters in Galicia. Meanwhile the BNG Galician nationalists were in the headlines later this week over their decision to join the Basque and Catalan left-wing separatist parties, Bildu and ERC, on a joint ticket at June's elections to the European parliament again. SUR Malaga Friday, 16 February 2024, 13:32 Compartir Copiar enlace WhatsApp Facebook X LinkedIn Telegram The minister of the Interior has said he has not considered resigning after the death last Friday of two Guardia Civil officers when the boat they were in was rammed by a bigger drug-trafficking vessel off Barbate in Cadiz province. Eight people were subsequently arrested including the six people that were on the powerboat. The minister, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, has been under fire all week from opposition parties PP and Vox over, what they claim, is underspending on protection for Guardia Civil fighting against increasingly sophisticated drug smuggling operations off the Andalusian coast. In videos shared on social media, the police issued several warnings to the traffickers who had anchored at Barbate to take shelter from a storm, even firing into the air. The officers placed their much smaller inflatable boat in their path but the smugglers rammed into the patrol vessel deliberately. Miguel Angel Gonzalez, 39, and David Perez, 43, died as a result of the impact. Two colleagues were seriously injured. Tracked towards Sotogrande Following the attack, the powerful rigid inflatable vessel, a type which is banned in Spain, was located on radar heading eastwards along the coast. The gang landed by Sotogrande where some got off but police were waiting for them. They arrested three of the boat's crew and two other men who were waiting in a vehicle at the scene to pick them up. The narco-boat then sailed on along the coast, with three people still onboard. The drug-running gang took a gamble near La Alcaidesa in La Linea, where they ran the boat aground to try to flee on foot. But the three were arrested by Guardia Civil officers who were waiting for them. A minute's silence was widely held at town halls and other public buildings across Spain in memory of the two dead officers. The government has backed the minister, saying that faced with the drug-trafficking challenge, Fernando Grande-Marlaska is the best person for the job. Tony Bryant Ronda Friday, 16 February 2024, 11:10 | Updated 12:22h. Compartir Copiar enlace WhatsApp Facebook X LinkedIn Telegram One of Andalucia's most established rockabilly bands, The Howling Ramblers, will bring their distinctive style of rocking blues, bob and stomp to the Heaven Irish Tavern in Ronda (Calle Virgen de los Remedios) on Saturday, 17 February. The concert is part of their current 2024 Tour, which will take them to Seville, Madrid and Algeciras, before heading off to France, Gibraltar and the UK. The name of the five-piece retro band, which was formed in 2016, is a tribute to blues legend Howling Wolf, and country icon Hank 'the rambling man' Williams. The group, which has attracted a large following due to their driving music and energetic stage presence, have performed at numerous live music venues all over Spain, along with appearances at some of the region's most coveted rock and roll gatherings, including Blues at Moonlight (Benalmadena), and the Rockin' Race Jamboree (Torremolinos). The quintet, who have shared stages with some of the genre's most celebrated performers, have also appeared at popular festivals outside Spain, including the Roll Over Beethoven Fest (Finland) and the Bethune Retro and Tarbes Fest (France). The band was signed by Sleazy Records, one of the most important rockabilly music labels in Europe, and they have since released four albums. Their repertoire for the free concert in Ronda, which starts at 7pm, will highlight songs from these recordings. Current Print Subscribers will be prompted to either login to their current site user account or to create a new one. A confirmation email will be sent when a new user account is created, which must be confirmed within three days in order to provide uninterrupted online access through your Print Subscription. Once the email address is confirmed please provide your Account Number to activate your Print Subscription Service. Australian United Investment Company Limited (ASX:AUI) will pay a dividend of A$0.17 on the 15th of March. Based on this payment, the dividend yield will be 3.7%, which is fairly typical for the industry. Check out our latest analysis for Australian United Investment Australian United Investment's Earnings Easily Cover The Distributions We aren't too impressed by dividend yields unless they can be sustained over time. Prior to this announcement, Australian United Investment was paying out 92% of earnings and more than 75% of free cash flows. This is usually an indication that the focus of the company is returning cash to shareholders rather than reinvesting it for growth. EPS is set to grow by 0.1% over the next year if recent trends continue. Assuming the dividend continues along recent trends, our estimates say the payout ratio could reach 94%, which is definitely on the higher side, but we wouldn't necessarily say this is unsustainable. Australian United Investment Has A Solid Track Record Even over a long history of paying dividends, the company's distributions have been remarkably stable. Since 2014, the dividend has gone from A$0.295 total annually to A$0.37. This implies that the company grew its distributions at a yearly rate of about 2.3% over that duration. Slow and steady dividend growth might not sound that exciting, but dividends have been stable for ten years, which we think makes this a fairly attractive offer. Dividend Growth May Be Hard To Achieve Some investors will be chomping at the bit to buy some of the company's stock based on its dividend history. Unfortunately, Australian United Investment's earnings per share has been essentially flat over the past five years, which means the dividend may not be increased each year. Australian United Investment's earnings per share has barely grown, which is not ideal - perhaps this is why the company pays out the majority of its earnings to shareholders. When the rate of return on reinvestment opportunities falls below a certain minimum level, companies often elect to pay a larger dividend instead. This is why many mature companies often have larger dividend yields. Story continues In Summary In summary, while it's good to see that the dividend hasn't been cut, we are a bit cautious about Australian United Investment's payments, as there could be some issues with sustaining them into the future. We can't deny that the payments have been very stable, but we are a little bit worried about the very high payout ratio. Overall, we don't think this company has the makings of a good income stock. Market movements attest to how highly valued a consistent dividend policy is compared to one which is more unpredictable. At the same time, there are other factors our readers should be conscious of before pouring capital into a stock. For example, we've picked out 1 warning sign for Australian United Investment that investors should know about before committing capital to this stock. If you are a dividend investor, you might also want to look at our curated list of high yield dividend stocks. Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned. Oneida, N.Y. A Central New York man has been accused of the murder and rape of a woman in Germany 45 years ago after DNA linked him to the killing, prosecutors said. James Patrick Dempsey, 66, of Oneida, is being extradited to Germany after the DNA snatched from his trash provided a one in 270 quadrillion match to DNA found at the 1978 scene of Barbel Gansaus murder, prosecutors said in an extradition complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York. Dempsey, who was arrested last Friday, had been stationed in Germany as a U.S. soldier. He was 20 years old at the time of the murder. Solvay, N.Y. -- A Syracuse man was sentenced to prison Friday for the murder of a man inside a Solvay home after a judge rejected his request to withdraw his guilty plea. Curtis Hudgins, 34, previously pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and was promised a sentence of 20 years to life. He was set to be sentenced in December but the case was delayed after he requested to withdraw his plea. Hudgins admitted to fatally shooting Richard L. Anderson at least three times at close range on Sept. 24, 2022, inside a home at 313 Charles Ave. in Solvay. Police have said that the shooting was the result of a domestic incident between Hudgins and the woman who lived there. On Friday, Judge Ted Limpert said that Hudgins stated that he was not in the correct state of mind to plead guilty because he was being held in solitary confinement in jail. Limpert ruled that he could not withdraw his plea because at the time he was specifically asked whether he had any mental impairments that would affect his ability to understand the proceedings or make an informed decision. After the ruling, the court proceeded with Hudgins sentencing. Andersons mother appeared in court to address Hudgins and read a letter from his oldest son. His mother said that Anderson is the second child she has lost to tragedy after her daughter died in a fire 16 years ago. She said that while she knew her son wasnt perfect, he did not deserve to be murdered. In a letter, Andersons son wrote that he and his grandmother would never heal from this pain. He described the horror of having to see his father dying in a hospital bed. Hudgins chose not to address the court before sentencing. Limpert did not offer Hudgins any words before issuing the sentence. He honored the plea agreement and sentenced Hudgins to 20 years to life in prison. Hudgins attorney, Chuck Keller, informed the court Hudgins would be filing an appeal. Around 11:34 a.m., police were notified of a possible shooting with injuries at 313 Charles Ave in Solvay Saturday, Sept. 24, 2022. Anne Hayes | ahayes@syracuse.com Staff writer Anne Hayes covers breaking news, crime and public safety. You can reach her at ahayes@syracuse.com. Michael Flatleys Lord of the Dance 25th anniversary tour has cancelled its upcoming show in Central New York. The performance was originally scheduled for Tuesday, Nov. 14, at the Stanley Theatre in Utica before organizers postponed it to March due to unforeseen circumstances. Syracuse, N.Y. -- Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon joined nonprofit housing groups Thursday to preview 134 units of new affordable housing that are under construction or soon will be -- in Syracuse. The county is providing $2.8 million to help pay for the new homes. Thats a small part of the roughly $60 million total cost, but housing developers say they need every penny. FILE PHOTO: FILE PHOTO: Chinese tourists sample wine at McGuigan Winery in the Hunter Valley, located north of Sydney FILE PHOTO: FILE PHOTO: Chinese tourists sample wine at McGuigan Winery in the Hunter Valley, located north of Sydney By Peter Hobson and Lewis Jackson CANBERRA (Reuters) - Australian wine makers have shipped millions of bottles of wine to Hong Kong in a bet that China will soon lift tariffs on Australian wine and revive a trade worth hundreds of millions of dollars, according to industry figures and trade data. Australia sent wine worth almost $800 million to China in the year to November 2020, when Beijing responded to a call in Canberra for an inquiry into the origins of COVID-19 by blocking imports. But China has been lifting trade barriers on other goods as relations improve and Australian officials and industry expect a review of the wine tariffs begun by Beijing last year will lead to their removal next month. Australia's government said in December it was confident the tariffs would be lifted in early 2024. In November, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was the first Australian leader to visit China in seven years, hoping to improve relations. A diplomatic confrontation over a suspended death sentence given by a Chinese court to an Australian writer should not imperil progress on trade, Australia's trade minister said this week. Trade data show that Australian wine makers sent almost 2.5 million litres worth $65.5 million to Hong Kong in December, up from around 685,000 litres a month in recent years and the most since September 2019. Among those shipping to Hong Kong is DMG Fine Wine, whose brands include Handpicked and House of Arras. Chief executive William Dong said DMG typically sold 1-2 containers of wine a year in Hong Kong but now had 10 in the territory, each containing around 12,000 bottles. Most of the wine is earmarked for China, he said. "We're hoping the door to China will open and everything will go in ... We are getting everything ready to go." Hong Kong is a trade hub and potential staging post for deliveries into mainland China. It did not impose tariffs on Australian wine. SHRINKING MARKET The shipments to Hong Kong are far below the roughly 10 million litres of wine a month that Australia sent to China before the tariffs. Story continues The number of shippers was also smaller, with Industry body Wine Australia saying there were 531 exporters to Hong Kong in December, 138 more than a year earlier but less than the 2,366 who exported to mainland China in December 2019. China's appetite for wine has fallen in recent years -- part of a global trend of declining alcohol consumption compounded in China by a change in preferences towards beer and spirits -- and rival exporters such as France and Chile have taken Australia's share of the market. The loss of sales to China has contributed to a severe oversupply in Australia, where the amount of wine in storage has risen to more than two billion litres. But Australian wine makers said they were optimistic that they can become the biggest shipper into China again within a few years. "Lots of Chinese customers view Australian wine positively," said Richard Burch, who said his company Burch Family Wines had sent around 1,500 bottles to Hong Kong to be used as samples for distributors in China if tariffs are lifted. While less wine is being sold, Chinese drinkers are moving towards more expensive bottles, preserving margins for wine makers. The average value of Australian wine sent to China rose from roughly $4 a litre in 2016 to $10 in late 2020, and the bottles shipped to Hong Kong in December were worth on average around $26.50 a litre, customs figures accessed using Trade Data Monitor show. The value of wine sent to Australia's two other main export markets, Britain and the United States, is between $1 and $3 a litre. The chief executive of Australia's largest wine maker, Treasury Wine Estates, said China was a "significant growth opportunity" for Treasury's higher-priced Penfolds wines. Tim Ford said Treasury had not shipped wine for China to Hong Kong. "What we plan to ship in this year ahead is sitting in the warehouses here in Australia," he told analysts on Thursday. Other major producers of wine in Australia including Casella Family Brands, Australian Vintage and Pernod Ricard did not respond to requests for comment. Announcing its agreement with Canberra to resolve the wine tariff dispute last October, China's commerce ministry said China was willing to meet Australia halfway through dialogue and consultation and to jointly promote the healthy development of economic and trade relations. (Reporting by Peter Hobson and Lewis Jackson; Additional reporting by Casey Hall; Editing by Kim Coghill) (Photo : (Credits: EPFL/TNE Laboratory)) Researchers have developed a device enabling individuals with amputations to experience natural temperature sensations through their prosthetic limbs, adding a human touch to social interactions. The new "MiniTouch" system uses off-the-shelf electronics, can be integrated into commercially available prostheses, and does not require surgery. The setup incorporates a temperature sensor that covers the prosthetic hand's index finger pad and a thermode that heats or cools in the socket that connects the prosthesis to the residual arm stump. Phantom limb refers to the sensation of feeling and experiencing an amputated limb. Despite the absence of the physical limb, people often perceive its presence due to residual neural pathways in the brain. This phenomenon can include sensations like touch, motion, and even thermal perception. "In some specific areas of the residual arm, when we apply a cold or hot stimulus, the sensation is perceived there, directly on the skin, but it's kind of projected, it's perceived as coming from the phantom hand, from the missing hand," said Jonathan Muheim, a doctoral student at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne, Switzerland, and co-author of the study, in an interview with Tech Times. "These sensations are very realistic; it's like it's their biological arm." Muheim and his colleagues tested MiniTouch on a 57-year-old amputee to see if it could be a valuable tool for temperature perception. The system has two main components: a thin-film sensor and a thermal display. The thin sensor is placed on the fingertip of a prosthetic hand and collects thermal information that is then integrated and sent to the thermal display, which is in contact with the skin of the residual limb. In the first test, the amputee was asked to use a thermal prosthetic hand to interact with bottles of cold, ambient, or hot water, all of which appeared identical. The participant accurately perceived the temperature in each case, achieving the same success rate as when using his intact hand. In addition, the researchers assessed the participant's sensitivity to subtle thermal nuances by having him explore copper, glass, and plastic surfaces while blindfolded. Using the thermal prosthetic hand, the participant distinguished between these materials 67% of the time, demonstrating comparable accuracy to his intact arm. Further tests examined the amputee's ability to discriminate between a human arm and a prosthetic arm through tactile sensation. Again blindfolded, the participant was instructed to touch real and artificial arms, using a softer silicone hand for comparison. When MiniTouch was on, the participant correctly identified the type of arm he touched in 80% of trials. This result is significant because it shows that MiniTouch can help amputees feel people's temperatures, improving their ability to connect with loved ones. "Temperature is connected with effective touch," explained Giacomo Valle, a researcher at the University of Chicago who wasn't involved in the study. "So, when you interact with another person, if you touch their hand, their body, and you feel their temperature, you can create more intimate connections," he adds. In a final assessment, the researchers observed how the thermal device helped detect temperature changes while manipulating objects. The participant was asked to move cubes between boxes, where the cubes varied in temperature, and the boxes represented hot and cold zones. When the MiniTouch system was active, the participant consistently placed more than half of the blocks correctly across all sessions. Conversely, performance dropped when the system was deactivated. The researchers behind the study say their technology is technically ready, but more safety testing is needed before it reaches clinics. They also want to explore how the system could be useful to people other than amputees. "Now that we have this device, we're trying to see if it can help us understand thermal sensation more broadly in other populations as well," Muheim explains. "For example, in healthy people, and also in other clinical populations that have sensory problems, such as stroke patients." Valle told Tech Times that he hopes the technology will reach patienst soon. "Thermal sensation is a part of the sensory experience that has been completely missing from available prosthetics," he says. "This is the first time we've seen this kind of thermal feedback in a prosthetic." But Valle cautioned that the device may only work for some. "My only concern is that not all amputees have this residual sensation in the stump," he added. "Maybe this is a solution, but not everyone can really experience it." Barbara Pinho is a freelance science journalist. Her work work has appeared in New Scientist, Chemistry World, Discover, Chemistry & Industry News, National Geographic. Her website is https://www.barbarapinho.com/ 2024 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. A recent study by the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics found that individuals living alone are more likely to report feelings of depression compared to those residing with others. The impact is particularly evident for solitary individuals lacking sufficient social and emotional support. Based on 2021 National Health Interview Survey data, the study shows the rise in U.S. single-person homes. Between 2012 and 2022, 4.8 million Americans lived alone, rising to 37.9 million. According to NPR, analysis revealed over 6% of those living alone reported depression feelings, contrasting with 4% among those living with others. Emotional Support's Significance Highlighted Social scientist Kasley Killam, not involved in the study, emphasized the significance of feeling supported, aligning with broader evidence indicating the pivotal role of social and emotional support in overall health and well-being. Laryssa Mykyta, the study's author, highlighted positive aspects, with 93% of individuals living alone reporting either no depression or low depressive feelings. The survey gauged respondents' social and emotional support levels, showcasing a stark contrast. Those living alone with minimal support were more prone to depression, while those with support exhibited no significant difference in depression reports, irrespective of living arrangements. (Photo : OLIVIER DOULIERY/AFP via Getty Images) In this photo illustration, a teenager poses for a picture with a laptop in Arlington, Virginia, June 11, 2021. The research emphasizes the importance of social and emotional support for mood and well-being. Social isolation and loneliness, now public health hazards, increase the risk of diabetes, depression, dementia, heart disease, and death. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, major depression is a common mental condition in the U.S. that may impair everyday functioning. The 2021 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) found that 21.0 million U.S. adults, or 8.3% of the population, had a major depressive episode in the prior year. Adult women (10.3%) had a greater incidence than men (6.2%). The CDC reported that over 49,000 Americans committed suicide in 2022, a 3% rise from the previous year. The CDC's National Center for Health Statistics statistician and research lead, Sally Curtin, called this amount the highest ever reported in the nation. Read Also: Expert Links Increase in Teen Depression With Social Media Usage Doomscrolling, Negative Impact of Social Media on Mental Health TechTimes previously reported a study stating that increased internet usage might signify isolation, while despair and anxiety can cause social retreat. Research shows that passively consuming others' internet information might increase mental health issues, such as loneliness, inadequacy, and missing out. Online decisions affect digital experiences, and viewing disturbing information may increase stress and anxiety. "Doomscrolling," or repeatedly scrolling through bad social media posts, increased during the epidemic, causing worry, tension, and sadness. Continuous bad news affects sleep, depletes energy, and raises cortisol, affecting mental and physical health. Experts advice that online behaviors must be identified and managed to improve well-being. Screen time applications may limit digital platform use, promoting deliberate online use. Being aware of physiological sensations helps people comprehend how digital information affects them emotionally. Moreover, it is important to note that emotional well-being requires awareness of unfavorable content's effects throughout constant scrolling. Related Article: Fighting Misinformation: Harvard Experts Tap Social Media Influencers for Mental Health Campaign 2024 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. The US military, under the Missile Defense Agency, recently sent out their hypersonic missile-tracking satellites to orbit via SpaceX's renowned launch vehicle, the Falcon 9, last Wednesday. These payloads began their journey in Florida's Space Coast on Valentine's Day, with the capability to monitor threats sent by other nations, especially with the smaller and elusive hypersonic projectiles. A total of six satellites were launched by SpaceX, centering on two prototypes, which would all be part of the testing program starting later this year. SpaceX Launches the US Military's Hypersonic Missile-Tracking Satellites Valentine's Day 2024 was a busy day for SpaceX as it launched two missions for the Falcon 9 in two different launch pads, one in Florida and the other in California, to deliver payloads to orbit. The Florida launch was known as the USSF-124 mission of the US Space Force and the Department of Defense, carrying a total of six satellites to deliver. The mission was a success and it delivered the two prototypes for the Missile Defense Agency and four satellites of the US Space Force. SpaceX brought these hypersonic missile-tracking satellites to orbit, with the US military's satellites capable of tracking the hypersonic missiles which fly more in the Earth's atmosphere and are harder to track compared to traditional ones. Read Also: SpaceX Starship for US Military's Upcoming 'Dangerous' Missions Under Government Control Monitoring Hypersonic Projectiles: Testing Later This Year The Space Development Agency (SDA) calls these satellites the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture (PWSA). According to Ars Technica, they are set to go under testing later this year, capable of tracking the missiles and sharing information about their flight path to the surface. The tracking information will be shared as early warnings to help interceptors shoot them down. These four satellites from SDA will soon be part of the prototype constellation known as Tranche 0. Moreover, Tranche 1 will soon be launched by SDA with the help of SpaceX and United Launch Alliance (ULA). Space Force's Missile-Tracking Satellites Back in 2023, Space Force asked for a massive budget that is meant to develop its hypersonic missile-tracking satellites from the US government, one that would help them proceed with creating the technology for defense. The US Space Force asked for $16 billion for this project, one that would be part of its five-year development of the satellites. Later that December, it was reported that the Space Force, specifically with the Space Development Agency, had begun its production of the missile-tracking satellite. The hypersonic missile-tracking satellites are expected to be available come 2025, with L3Harris, its contractor, looking at 16 satellites to deliver for the SDA and Space Force, after it passed the critical design review. The latest developments for the United States' defense see six satellites in orbit now, one that is capable of tracking the innovative hypersonic missiles that may be undetected without this technology. Soon, the US Space Force, SDA, MDA, and the Defense will come to test the satellites this year, and more of the PWSA to arrive in the future and bolster the efforts in hypersonic missile tracking. Related Article: SpaceX Shifts Incorporation to Texas in Elon Musk's Latest Move Post Tesla Ruling 2024 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Meta plans to shift the burden of Apple's 30 percent fee onto advertisers for boosted Facebook and Instagram posts. This fee applies exclusively to Meta's iOS apps. (Photo : FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP via Getty Images) A photograph taken during the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos on January 18, 2024, shows the logo of Meta, the US company that owns and operates Facebook, Instagram, Threads, and WhatsApp. Boosting, Avoiding Apple Service Charges Following Apple's 2022 App Store policy update, which extended the 30 percent cut on digital purchases to boosted posts, Meta has opted to transfer this additional cost to advertisers. Commencing later this month in the US and subsequently in other markets later in the year, Engadget reported that Apple will take charge of billing for boosted posts within the apps. Consequently, advertisers will face higher costs when promoting posts on the Instagram and Facebook iOS apps due to the imposition of the 30 percent fee. To circumvent Apple's fee, advertisers can opt to utilize the mobile web or desktop platforms instead. Meta asserts that its options are limited, as it must adhere to Apple's regulations or eliminate the boosted post feature from its iOS apps altogether. Expressing concern for small businesses, Meta emphasized in a blog post that removing the ability to boost posts could hinder their visibility and deprive them of a valuable promotional tool. Explaining the Changes Meta is faced with a decision: adhere to Apple's directives or eliminate boosted posts from our applications. Removing the option to boost posts isn't ideal, as it could adversely impact small businesses by reducing visibility and potentially depriving them of a valuable promotional tool. As stated in its press release, Meta's commitment is to provide businesses with flexible and convenient solutions to navigate this transition and optimize their advertising investments. In line with this goal, we've explored alternative methods for boosting posts. Advertisers now have the option to utilize Facebook.com and Instagram.com via desktop or mobile web browsers to boost their content. This enables them to access all the same features available when boosting posts from the iOS apps, while bypassing the Apple service fee. Also Read: Apple Changes Policy in the EU, iPad Not to Get Sideloading, and MORE; Why? A significant change spurred by Apple's update involves adjustments to the payment process for advertisers boosting posts via Facebook and Instagram iOS apps. Unlike the previous method where charges were incurred post-boost, iOS users will now be mandated to make upfront payments and preload funds into their accounts for boosting posts. Should advertisers opt to add prepaid funds via the Facebook or Instagram iOS apps, they'll be subject to the Apple service charge. Alternatively, if they choose to preload funds through their payment settings on desktops or mobile web browsers, they can utilize these funds for boosting content across various platforms, including the iOS apps, without facing additional fees. This revised payment mechanism, along with the accompanying Apple service charge, is initially being implemented in the US, with other markets slated to follow suit later this year. Related Article: Meta Introducing Android App Downloads via Facebook Ads: What It Means 2024 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Eric McCandless / ABC Shark Tank businesswoman and real estate mogul Barbara Corcoran knew former President Donald Trump way back in his New York real estate days. View: 7 Key Signs Youve Reached Financial Freedom Read: 6 Unusual Ways To Make Extra Money (That Actually Work) What was Trump like as a real estate salesman? In an interview with Business Insider, Corcoran shared more insight into Trumps sales technique and what made it great for doing business. Sponsored: Owe the IRS $10K or more? Schedule a FREE consultation to see if you qualify for tax relief. Inside Look at Trumps Sales Technique At IGNITION 2018, Corcoran said she spent a lot of time with Trump because they were raising their respective companies parallel to one another at the time. I can tell you hes the best salesman Ive ever met in my life, said Corcoran. Corcoran used an example of Trump selling the Plaza Hotel, a deal she and several other brokers were all hungry to make. Instead of pitching the Plaza to interested investors, Corcoran said he buried it and talked about the land masses on the Hudson River and the buildings that would be there. Related: Im a Multimillionaire 3 Ways I Maintain a Frugal Lifestyle To Stay That Way The investors, Corcoran said, did not appear to be interested in this information. They simply wanted to buy the Plaza. At the time, Trump was also near bankruptcy. I watched him and I thought he was so off, said Corcoran. As it turned out, Trump wasnt off at all. The investors bought the land, according to Corcoran. Trump: Genius at Understanding Your Weakness How did he do it? He is a genius at picking out the vulnerability of someones personality, said Corcoran. He can smell it, sense it and trust it. As an example, Corcoran said if you walked into a business meeting with Trump and said something anything to him, he would be able to see what your weakness is and play into it. Corcoran acknowledged its a certain gift shes never seen with anyone else. She even referenced this technique as something he knew how to do just so during the 2016 United States presidential election. Story continues As she closed, Corcoran circled back to emphasizing Trumps excellence in making deals. He is a phenomenal salesman I have to say. He could sell anything and he did. More From GOBankingRates This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: Barbara Corcoran: Why Donald Trump Is the Best Salesman Ive Ever Met A recent scientific inquiry has illuminated a novel function of the fluid-filled sac enveloping our lungs, unveiling its involvement in combating influenza infections. (Photo : kalhh from Pixabay) Pneumonia happens to almost all severe cases of COVID-19. Combating Influenza Infections Researchers have identified specialized immune cells known as macrophages within this lung cavity, recognized for their role as virus-eating cells. These macrophages swiftly migrate into the lungs during influenza infections, contributing significantly to the neutralization of viruses. Lead researcher Juliet Morrison from the University of California, Riverside (UCR), underscored the significance of these virus-eating cells, highlighting their capacity to engulf bacteria, viruses, cancer cells, and dying cells. Interesting Engineering reported that Morrison expressed surprise at the discovery of these cells in the lungs, noting that this phenomenon had not been previously observed. When foreign threats invade the lungs, these vigilant macrophages promptly exit the cavity, swiftly navigating to the lungs where they spring into action, quelling inflammation and halting the progression of the illness. Traditionally viewed as a protective cushion, the fluid-filled reservoir surrounding the lungs takes on a new role as a critical player in lung health, as revealed by this study. The research emphasizes the importance of examining the internal dynamics of the lung and considering its external environment. Unexpected behaviors of cells outside the lung can significantly impact lung health and disease. Comprising three main cavities enveloping the heart, abdominal organs, and lungs, the pleural cavity was traditionally considered a safeguard against lung collapse. Yet, this study suggests a broader perspective, suggesting it may function as a distinct organ with profound implications for lung health. Exploring Types of Immune Cells The study aimed to explore the types of immune cells present in the lungs during influenza infections. To achieve this, researchers analyzed existing data on genes associated with lung function from studies involving mice, both infected and uninfected. They utilized an algorithm to sift through the vast dataset and predict the changes in lung cell composition during infections. UC Riverside reported that this analysis hinted at the possibility of an unidentified source of cells in the lungs, prompting further investigation. Subsequent experiments involved studying mouse models to track the movement of macrophages in the lungs and assess the effects of their removal. Observations following the removal of macrophages revealed increased disease severity and inflammation in the lungs. Through these experiments, the researchers uncovered the unexpected phenomenon of macrophages entering the lungs through the pleural cavity. Also Read: Human Artificial Lungs Now Being Developed! And Lizards Could Help Researchers to Create Them After making this groundbreaking finding, the research team is now focused on uncovering the proteins responsible for signaling macrophages to migrate into the lungs during infections. The identification of these protein signals holds immense potential for the development of novel treatments. As published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, these treatments could involve enhancing either the quantity or the effectiveness of macrophages in combating lung infections. Such therapeutic approaches are anticipated to bolster the body's immune defenses against infections without relying on antiviral medications. The researchers emphasize that this approach could offer a more durable and efficient treatment for influenza. Related Article: Magnetic Nanoparticles To Prevent Lung Cancer! Triggering Anti-Cancer MicroRNA! Efficiency, Safety, and Other Details 2024 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. NASA and SpaceX have rescheduled the launch date for the Crew-8 mission to no earlier than March 1, marking an adjustment to the previously planned timeline. This decision follows the successful launch of the Intuitive Machines IM-1 lander, which took place early Thursday morning from Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on a mission to land on the moon. The Crew-8 Mission of NASA Astronauts The Crew-8 mission will see NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick, Michael Barratt, and Jeanette Epps, alongside Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin, embark on a journey aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft from Launch Complex 39A. According to NASA, the mission's objectives include conducting research, technology demonstrations, and maintenance activities aboard the International Space Station (ISS). This mission marks the eighth crew rotational mission with SpaceX to the ISS and the ninth human spaceflight under NASA's Commercial Crew Program. The crew will travel to the ISS aboard the Dragon spacecraft named Endeavour, which is currently undergoing a refurbishment for its fifth flight. Having previously supported several missions, including NASA's Demo-2, Crew-2, and Crew-6, as well as Axiom Space's Axiom Mission 1, the Dragon spacecraft has undergone extensive refurbishment, including the installation of new components such as the heatshield, parachutes, pod panels, Draco engines, and nosecone. Read Also: NASA Curiosity Rover: Watch a Martian Day's Timelapse and See What its Like on the Next-Door Planet 9th Human Spaceflight Mission Supported by SpaceX Dragon Recent SpaceX activities include the completion of Dragon's propulsion system checkouts at the company's processing facility in Cape Canaveral, Florida. The spacecraft will soon be stacked on its trunk and transported to SpaceX's hangar at Launch Complex 39A for integration with the rocket. Crew-8 represents the ninth human spaceflight mission supported by a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft and the eighth crew rotation mission to the ISS since 2020 as part of NASA's Commercial Crew Program. In preparation for the mission, Crew-8 astronauts underwent the Crew Equipment Interface Test, where they familiarized themselves with the Dragon spacecraft's interior, performed leak checks, and completed communications checkouts. Additionally, they toured Kennedy's Launch Complex 39A, underwent emergency training, and ascended the launch pad's tower to observe the Florida spaceport's panoramic view. The Crew-8 mission, initially targeted for mid-February this year, is part of NASA's ongoing efforts to utilize commercial partnerships for crew transportation to the ISS, furthering the agency's goals of expanding human presence in space. Related Article: NASA's Hubble Space Telescope Captures 'Butterfly Nebula' In Stunning Motion | Fun Facts About This Beautiful Space Butterfly 2024 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Washington lawmakers and regulators are delving into the complexities of regulating the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the healthcare sector, with the recognition that the task ahead is formidable and riddled with challenges. According to KFF Health News, Dr. Bob Wachter, Chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of California-San Francisco, acknowledged the enormity of the challenge, expressing concerns about the potential for overregulation that could stifle innovation in the field. Policymakers Are Lagging Behind The rapid influence of AI in healthcare is already evident, with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approving around 692 AI products. These AI systems are utilized for various tasks, ranging from patient scheduling and staffing decisions to aid in interpreting medical images like MRIs and X-rays. Wachter occasionally seeks informal advice from AI models like GPT-4 for intricate medical cases. Despite AI's growing impact, government regulations are struggling to keep pace with advancements in the field. According to Michael Yang, Senior Managing Partner at OMERS Ventures, policymakers are lagging behind, attributing this gap to the rapid evolution of AI technology. Regulators are confronted with the challenge that unlike traditional drugs, AI systems evolve over time, necessitating flexible governance frameworks, KFF Health News reported. Efforts are underway at various levels, with the White House and several health-focused agencies working on regulations to ensure transparency and privacy. Congress has also shown interest, which is evident from the recent Senate Finance Committee hearing on AI in healthcare. The burgeoning regulatory landscape has sparked increased lobbying activities, with a significant surge observed in organizations advocating for AI-related policies. TechNet, a prominent trade group, has launched a multimillion-dollar initiative to educate the public about the benefits of AI through TV advertisements and other mediums. Read Also: Can ChatGPT Be Accurate in Clinical Decision Making? New Study Has a Surprising Answer Regulating AI in its Early Stage Bob Kocher, a partner at venture capital firm Venrock and former Obama administration official, told KFF Health News about the complexity of regulating AI in its early stages. He underscored the challenges healthcare professionals may face in adopting AI solutions, mainly due to concerns about liability and the unfamiliarity of using AI for clinical decision-making. Data analysis by Capital Economics reveals that a moderate percentage of healthcare businesses, at 6.1%, consider integrating AI into their operations in the next six months, highlighting the gradual adoption of AI across the sector. However, with the integration of AI into healthcare comes the recognition of potential risks to patients. AI systems, like any medical product, can introduce novel risks, including the generation of inaccurate information. Wachter shared a story in which an AI model fabricated a convincing note citing non-existent research, underscoring the need for robust oversight and validation protocols in AI applications within healthcare settings. Related Article: Majority of Americans Not Comfortable With AI's Presence in Healthcare, Survey Says 2024 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. China is on high alert as cybersecurity threats from India increase significantly, according to recent reports. While the United States is frequently mentioned as a major cybersecurity threat, a Beijing-based security expert reveals that many attacks come from South Asian countries, particularly India. Surge of Cyber Threats from India The focal point of concern revolves around a notorious group of hackers known as "Bitter." This group, suspected to have Indian origins and potentially backed by the state, has been actively targeting government, military, and nuclear sectors, both in China and Pakistan. Though not the most sophisticated, their methods, including spear phishing and watering hole attacks, have proven to be highly effective in breaching security measures. The South China Morning Post reports that attacks orchestrated by Bitter have been ongoing since at least November 2013, shedding light on their political motives and strategic targeting. Recent cyber offensives, including one intercepted in December targeting the Chinese military, bear striking resemblances to previous attacks, indicating a consistent modus operandi. Despite the gravity of these cyber threats, the responses from the foreign ministries of both China and India have been notably absent. "Contrary to popular belief that China's cyber threats mainly come from the United States, professionals in the field point out that a significant number of attacks originate from South Asian countries," the unnamed expert told SCMP. Read Also: UK's Largest NHS Trust Probes Ransomware Assault Amid Rising Wave of Cyberattacks Indian iPhone Hacking Incident Meanwhile, tensions have previously emerged between Apple and the Indian government following Apple's warnings to independent Indian journalists and opposition politicians about potential iPhone hacking attempts. The Washington Post reported at the time that the cyberattacks directed at opposition leaders were state-sponsored. In addition to these geopolitical tensions, India has faced its own cybersecurity challenges. A data breach in 2022 affecting over 600,000 individuals has brought attention to the prevalence of cyber threats in the country. The stolen data, priced at an average of 490 ($6) per individual, underscores the lucrative nature of cybercrime. Moreover, a study by a known cybersecurity firm identifies India as the worst-hit nation by bot malware, accounting for 12% of all data available on bot marketplaces. These platforms serve as hubs for cybercriminals to sell stolen information, exacerbating the cybersecurity landscape in the region. In contrast, a Chinese expert recently highlighted China's own vulnerability to cyberattacks after exposing a recent attack originating from IP addresses traced to the Philippines. Global Times reported that despite attempts to breach Chinese systems, the majority of these attacks have been unsuccessful. The surge in cybersecurity threats emanating from India poses a significant challenge for China and underscores the need for heightened vigilance and cooperation in cybersecurity. Stay posted here at Tech Times. Related Article: India Has 600,000 Bot Malware Victims, Stolen Data Costs About $6 Each - Report 2024 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Scientists recently discovered that what was thought to be a remarkable 280-million-year-old dinosaur fossil with preserved soft tissues is actually a fake. This discovery, reported by University College Cork, sheds light on a decades-long mystery and calls into question our understanding of ancient reptiles. Fake Dinosaur Fossil The fossil, Tridentinosaurus antiquus, was discovered in the Italian Alps in 1931. Initially hailed as a critical specimen for understanding early reptile evolution, its body outline appeared dark against the surrounding rock, leading experts to believe it had preserved soft tissues. However, new research led by Dr. Valentina Rossi of University College Cork, Ireland, has revealed an astonishing truth: the fossil's well-known preservation is mostly just black paint on a carved lizard-shaped rock surface. Dr. Rossi and her team's findings, which were published in the journal Palaeontology, sent shockwaves through the scientific community. The discovery calls into question previous assumptions about Tridentinosaurus antiquus and emphasizes the importance of exercising caution when interpreting fossils. The Truth About the Fossil Dr. Rossi notes that fossil soft tissues are rare, but when found, they can provide valuable biological information. However, the experts' analysis revealed that the texture and composition of the material did not resemble genuine fossilized soft tissues. Using advanced scientific techniques such as ultraviolet photography and microscopic analysis, the researchers discovered the truth about the fossil's deceptive appearance. Preliminary investigations revealed that the entire specimen had been coated with a paint-like material, which was likely done to improve its visual appeal. This discovery has dispelled decades of speculation about the reptile's classification and geological history. While the fossil's soft tissues may have been fake, all hope is not lost. The bones of the hindlimbs, particularly the femurs, appear genuine despite being poorly preserved. The researchers also discovered tiny bony scales known as osteoderms, which resembled crocodile scales, on what appeared to be the animal's back. Despite the disappointment of discovering a forgery, this study demonstrates the effectiveness of modern analytical paleontology. Using rigorous scientific methods, researchers solved a century-old mystery and cleared the record on Tridentinosaurus antiquus. Dinosaur Hoax on Facebook In related news, misconceptions about dinosaurs have recently spread on the social media platform Facebook. One post claimed that dinosaurs were invented in the nineteenth century to validate Darwin's theory of evolution, but experts have refuted this. According to AFP fact-checking, historical evidence from ancient civilizations shows that large fossil discoveries predate the nineteenth century, casting doubt on the idea of a dinosaur hoax. Experts emphasize the validity of dinosaur discoveries, citing thousands of complete and nearly complete skeletons discovered worldwide. Museums, including the Melbourne Museum, have confirmed the authenticity of dinosaur fossils, dispelling any doubts about the existence of these ancient creatures. While the Tridentinosaurus antiquus fossil may have been a forgery, the scientific community remains committed to learning the truth about Earth's prehistoric past. Stay posted here at Tech Times. Related Article: What Killed the Dinosaurs After the Asteroid Impact? Scientists Finally Have an Answer 2024 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Ivanti Connect Secure and Policy Secure endpoints have been left vulnerable to a series of security flaws, posing significant risks to organizations relying on these products for secure access and policy management. In the latest report, there are five security flaws that hit Ivanti's servers. Severity and Impact of the Flaws The vulnerabilities, including CVE-2024-22024, CVE-2023-46805, CVE-2024-21887, CVE-2024-21893, and CVE-2024-21888, range from high to critical severity. We have added improvements to our Ivanti Connect Secure VPN scans to better detect unpatched versions vulnerable to CVE-2024-22024 (~3900 found) & CVE-2024-21887 (~ 1000 found). IP data shared in https://t.co/qxv0Gv5ELc CVE-2024-22024 geo breakdown: https://t.co/nL8g8wSL50 pic.twitter.com/PuosKSfYhk Shadowserver (@Shadowserver) February 14, 2024 According to Bleeping Computer, they encompass authentication bypass, server-side request forgery, arbitrary command execution, and command injection issues, creating avenues for unauthorized access and malicious exploitation. Related Article: Prudential Financial Confirms Hackers Stole Employee, Contractor Data in Recent Breach Exploitation by Threat Actors Some of these vulnerabilities have already been exploited by nation-state actors, underscoring the urgency of addressing these security gaps. Threat actors have been leveraging these flaws to compromise Ivanti endpoints, with potential repercussions for affected organizations. Immediate Action Required Of particular concern is CVE-2024-22024, an XML External Entity (XXE) vulnerability affecting the SAML component of Ivanti Connect Secure, Policy Secure, and ZTA gateways. This flaw enables unauthorized access to restricted resources, posing a critical risk to sensitive data and network integrity. Despite the lack of confirmed exploitation, scanning activities targeting CVE-2024-22024 have surged, signaling imminent threats. Organizations are urged to promptly apply available security updates or implement mitigations to safeguard their systems from potential exploitation. Extent of Vulnerable Endpoints Recent reports indicate a concerning number of Ivanti endpoints remaining susceptible to these security vulnerabilities. Thousands of endpoints have been identified as vulnerable, with notable concentrations in the United States, highlighting the global impact of these flaws. Patch Adoption Challenges Despite the availability of security updates, patch adoption rates remain suboptimal, leaving a significant portion of Ivanti servers exposed to exploitation. This highlights the challenges organizations face in implementing timely remediation measures, compounded by the rapid disclosure of vulnerabilities. Heightened Risk and Prolonged Exposure The accelerated disclosure timeline has left administrators with limited preparation time, exacerbating the risk of prolonged exposure to these vulnerabilities. Without expedited patching efforts, Ivanti systems are susceptible to exploitation, presenting threat actors with a wide array of potential targets. To wrap it up, the critical security flaws affecting Ivanti Connect Secure and Policy Secure endpoints demand immediate attention and proactive measures to mitigate risks effectively. Organizations must prioritize patching and vigilance to defend against evolving cyber threats and safeguard their digital assets. In another cybersecurity-related report, Goldfactory, a group of Chinese threat actors, is using deepfakes to deploy a banking trojan. The cybercriminals do this to steal the precious information of the victims. Read Also: Expert: China on High Alert as India's Cybersecurity Threats Surge 2024 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Recent reports from a prominent Chinese blogger with 1.7 million followers have hinted at Apple's exploration into folding screen technology. According to the blogger, prototypes of folding screens developed by Apple have encountered challenges in meeting the company's stringent testing standards. For this reason, the foldable project has been paused in the meantime. Apple's Folding Screen Prototypes Display suppliers Samsung and LG have been actively involved in providing folding screen samples to Apple for evaluation. These samples, ranging in size from 7 to 8 inches, have been under consideration for potential integration into future Apple devices. However, the specific focus of Apple's folding screen endeavors, whether for an iPhone or iPad, remains undisclosed. Related Article: Apple is Testing Foldable iPhones But Face Challenges, Coming Later than Expected The Debate Over Design Debate swirls within the tech community regarding the optimal design for Apple's folding device. While some advocate for a compact form factor akin to the iPhone Pro that expands into an iPad mini-sized display, others envision a different configuration. Preferences vary widely, which means this is an important piece of the puzzle that the Cupertino giant is hiding. If that's the case, there's a need to address the consumer demand for this product in the future. Challenges Faced by Prototypes Reports indicate that Apple currently possesses at least two active folding screen prototypes designed in a clamshell configuration. However, concerns have arisen regarding the visibility of a crease along the fold. This imperfection poses a significant obstacle as Apple strives to deliver a seamless user experience. Status of the Project The Chinese blogger, Fixed Focus Digital, suggests that Apple has temporarily suspended its folding screen project due to unsuccessful test results. While the iPhone maker continues to invest in research and development, recent setbacks have prompted a pause in the project's advancement. This innovation might be present in the rumored iPhone Flip. According to Ming-Chi Kuo, a reputable tech analyst, the device will have an 8-inch display. News About Apple's Folding Screen Seems Quite Sketchy Opinions diverge on the implications of this development. According to 9to5Mac, some view it as a routine aspect of Apple's meticulous testing process. Conversely, others speculate that the company may be exploring alternative approaches to folding screen design, necessitating a hiatus in the project's timeline. As Apple navigates the complexities of folding screen technology, the company remains dedicated to achieving excellence in its product offerings. While challenges persist, Apple must push itself to the limit to attract more users. To do that, there's a need for a huge improvement to happen-something that will leave them starstruck for a moment. Read Also: Apple's Future Foldable iPhone May Withstand Drops-How? 2024 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. (Photo : JASON REDMOND/AFP) For decades, Google has been the top search engine, providing answers to a wide range of needs, but with AI chatbots on the rise, its future dominance is uncertain. This week, reports revealed that the dominant AI research laboratory, OpenAI, has started developing a web search product. An unnamed source familiar with the company's project confirmed the plans to The Information but did not reveal if the product would be separate from OpenAI's popular ChatGPT AI chatbot. The source did note the product is expected to be partly powered by Bing. Some have speculated that a web search product developed by OpenAI could be a direct rival to Google, which has held control of web search since it overtook Yahoo and others as the top search engine in the early 2000s. However, experts suggest that could take time. While tools like ChatGPT swiftly took the world by storm in recent years, Ed Watal, the founder of Intellibus and a professor of artificial intelligence at New York University, told Tech Times in an interview that web search control will likely be gradual with Google dominating search for the foreseeable future. However, that is not to say Google won't be dethroned eventually, as the tech giant knocked out Yahoo, Alta Vista, and others that existed before, he said. "There should be a future search engine, always," Watal said, adding that it is hard to predict when. OpenAI is not the first AI research laboratory to explore launching a web search product. In August 2022, perplexity.ai was launched, focusing on search-based queries rather than conversational responses like previously developed AI systems. While its popularity has remained relatively low - garnering around 10 million monthly users compared to 1.5 billion monthly users for Google - the search engine has been valued at around $520 million since its launch, according to TechCrunch. Microsoft also introduced an AI-supported search engine through its Copilot chatbot, which has been a standout feature on its search engine Bing since early February 2023. The chatbot allows users to ask questions and receive human-sounding responses with links to sources. Unlike the free version of ChatGPT, Copilot is directly connected to the internet and can provide the most up-to-date information in its answers. Just one month after the launch, Microsoft announced it reached over 100 million daily active users of the AI-supported Bing search engine. Despite OpenAI's success with ChatGPT - which has been considered the fastest-growing application, gaining an estimated 100 million monthly users in just two months - Watal and other experts believe the company only has a slight chance at making a dent in Google's regular search base. Watal estimated that OpenAI may have around a 30% chance of gobbling up market share as history and current business models heavily favor Google. He explained that Google's search is tiered with navigational queries, basic knowledge questions, as well as transaction-focused queries - all of which create Google revenue just from certain clicks. Meanwhile, AI has primarily thrived in research queries. While Google is also heavily used for research, he noted that the company doesn't make much active money off queries other than search behavior. Watal suggested that if OpenAI could harness these searches and ensure they are aligned with transactions, they may be able to make a dent. Bernard Marr, a generative AI expert and author of the upcoming book "Generative AI in Practice," agreed that to pass Google, AI systems will need to appeal to a broad audience and be accessible. However, he noted that their strengths of immediate, conversational, and often nuanced and personal responses give companies like OpenAI an advantage. "While OpenAI is trying to integrate better search functionality into ChatGPT, Google is working on its own AI-enhanced search," he told TechTimes. Dev Nag, CEO and founder at QueryPal and a former Senior Engineer at Google, told TechTimes that for an AI system to surpass an engine like Google, it would need to do so across multiple aspects of the value chain. Nag indicated that Bing has failed to beat Google, so there is no clear evidence that a similar-looking search engine can take the top spot. Instead, he suggested something entirely new may throw off the tech giant. "It's more likely that Google will get disrupted by a tool that changes the entire paradigm of 'search in a text box' to something quite different, such as a tool that doesn't require the user to leave their existing communication channels but sits within them and is able to detect questions, understand the user's recent activity, predict future needs, and suggest the right data at the right time," he said. As the technology continues to develop, Nag warned that AI laboratories like OpenAI have a fierce battle ahead of them if they seek to come out on top. "The ability to experiment on 9 billion daily Google searches is a laboratory that no one else in the world has access to," he said. "The economies of scale in search, both on hardware and learnings, are still underappreciated by the world outside of Google, and new vendors need to climb a steep wall to overcome this advantage." Callie Patteson is a freelance journalist jointly based out of Amsterdam, Netherlands and New Hampshire. Previously, she worked as a national politics reporter for the New York Post as well as an Associate Breaking News Editor for the Washington Examiner. Her website is https://www.calliepatteson.com. 2024 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Technology juggernauts, including Adobe, Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft, OpenAI, and TikTok, have voluntarily committed to adopting "reasonable precautions" to prevent the misuse of artificial intelligence (AI) tools for disrupting democratic elections globally. The announcement was made by tech executives during the Munich Security Conference, where they unveiled a new voluntary framework designed to address AI-generated deepfakes aimed at misleading voters. According to AP News, 13 additional companies, such as IBM and Elon Musk's X, are also endorsing the accord. While the voluntary framework carries a predominantly symbolic weight, its objective is to counter the escalating threat posed by realistic AI-generated images, audio, and video capable of manipulating the appearance, voice, or actions of political figures, election officials, and other key stakeholders. (Photo: Johannes Simon/Getty Images)FEBRUARY 16: NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg (R) and Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission listen as Markus Soder, Minister-President of Bavaria (C) speaks during the 2024 Munich Security Conference on February 16, 2024 in Munich, Germany. The conference is bringing together political and defense leaders from all over the world. It is taking place as Russia's war in Ukraine will soon enter its third year, and the conflict in Gaza continues to grind on. Immediate Response Against Misinformation Although the signatory companies are not committing to an outright ban or removal of deepfakes, they have outlined methods to detect and label deceptive AI content on their platforms. The accord underscores the importance of sharing best practices among the signatories and committing to "swift and proportionate responses" when deceptive content starts circulating. The Munich Security Conference agreement is crucial considering the 2024 national elections in over 50 countries. The accord's symbolic aspect belies its collaboration among key technological companies to address AI-generated content. The tech companies involved in the agreement to combat AI-generated election threats are emphasizing transparency, educating users about deceptive AI content policies, and safeguarding various expressions, including educational, documentary, artistic, satirical, and political content. Previously highlighted by TechTimes, the risks associated with AI in elections have become a global concern, particularly after the World Economic Forum's "Global Risks Report 2024" identified AI-derived misinformation and disinformation as a top-10 risk for the coming years, surpassing concerns about climate change, war, and economic instability. Read Also: Sony, Seagate Enter Partnership: Transforming Data Storage With Laser Diode Innovation In July, a voluntary commitment by the same tech firms, along with a few others, was made following a White House meeting. The businesses pledged to identify and flag false AI material on their platforms. Critics Say Accord Not Enough While the accord has garnered support, some pro-democracy activists and watchdogs may find the commitments vague and lacking in enforceability. The absence of specific requirements appears to be a compromise aimed at accommodating a diverse range of companies in the agreement. With no federal legislation regulating AI in politics in the U.S., technology companies find themselves largely self-governing and under increasing pressure from regulators and the public to take stronger measures against misinformation, including AI-generated content. While the accord is viewed as a positive step, experts stress the need for social media companies to implement additional actions, such as building content recommendation systems that prioritize accuracy over engagement. Meanwhile, Washington legislators and regulators are also tackling the difficult chore of regulating AI in healthcare, acknowledging the problems ahead. Venture capital company Venrock partner Bob Kocher, a former Obama administration official, on the difficulty of regulating early AI. He noted that healthcare practitioners may struggle to implement AI solutions due to liability concerns and the unfamiliarity of employing AI for clinical decision-making. Related Article: SpaceX Shifts Incorporation to Texas in Elon Musk's Latest Move Post Tesla Ruling 2024 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. In today's highly digital business environment, application programming interfaces (APIs) have become essential to the modern web ecosystem, enabling developers to access data from different sources securely and reliably. APIs allow developers to share data and functionality across applications and have become critically important in recent years. Businesses are increasingly leveraging resources to understand how APIs work, harness their full potential, and use them to improve their customer experience, automate processes, and drive innovation. In fact, in the 4th annual State of APIs Report, it was found that 70 percent of enterprises utilized more APIs in 2023 than in 2022. Mobile network operators are also lining up to add value to and monetize their investments in 5G (and 6G) infrastructure and offering APIs to enterprises, such as exposing location-based data to enrich mobile applications. This newfound reliance on APIs has kickstarted a desire for API innovation, with the Linux Foundation CAMARA project leading the way. CAMARA is an open-source project within the Linux Foundation to define, develop, and test the APIs. CAMARA collaborates closely with the GSMA Operator Platform Group to align API requirements and publish API definitions and APIs. CAMARA APIs expose telco network capabilities, enabling seamless access and facilitating application-to-network integration. These are pivotal functions for delivering enhanced and service-tailored customer experiences in the 5G era. However, the demand for API innovation has gone beyond CAMARA as enterprises begin to develop applications that work in unison with CAMARA to bolster the availability and accessibility of unique, network-aware APIs. Recently, Shabodi, an Application Enablement Platform (AEP) provider unleashing advanced network capabilities in LTE, 5G, 6G, and Wi-Fi 6, announced they have launched the industry's first enterprise reference implementation of the Linux Foundation's CAMARA API. Any application built using CAMARA APIs can now be deployed in an enterprise setting. This enables applications built for Mobile Network Operator (MNO) environments to leverage private enterprise 5G networks. "The untapped potential in 5G and other advanced networks is programmability in the 5G Core," said Vikram Chopra, CEO and co-founder of Shabodi. "This capability opens the floodgates for enterprise-ready applications to utilize advanced network services across multiple architectures and infrastructure." For example, a drone application performing video surveillance can be enabled to become network-aware and leverage an enterprise Private 5G network by utilizing Shabodi's Enterprise CAMARA API reference implementation. This will allow the application to use network services such as quality of demand (QoD), location, device identification, and security APIs in private 5G enterprises and service provider network domains. The application can seamlessly leverage service provider CAMARA API Provider Implementation (PI) and Shabodi's enterprise networks Reference Implementation (RI) without being refactored. "Developers of network-aware applications can dynamically request advanced network services to accelerate enterprise innovation and create new monetization models," continued Chopra. "Working with the open-source community has been a tremendous experience, and we are proud to be the first network-aware application enablement platform to enable a reference implementation of CAMARA's API for enterprise adoption." Due to diverse interfaces from various network equipment providers and the complexity of interacting with networks, developing network-aware applications has been challenging. By leveraging Shabodi AEP's simplified APIs, now including a reference implementation for CAMARA APIs, enterprise applications easily consume network services and optimize network resources. This delivers a better user experience, enhanced ROI, and new monetization strategies. "It's great to see open-source collaboration in action," said Arpit Joshipura, general manager, Networking, Edge and IoT, the Linux Foundation. "Shabodi's CAMARA-based API is a great example of how organizations can tap collective resources to create APIs that benefit the entire ecosystem. In this case, CAMARA is used to enable enterprise applications to better optimize and consume resources across the network, ultimately creating new monetization models." "Developers building applications on Shabodi's AEP do not need to know about the underlying radio network or the core network APIs because our AEP fills that knowledge gap, offering a faster way to create innovative applications and services," said Harpreet Geekee, Chief Technology Officer and co-founder at Shabodi. "We are empowering the advanced network developer community to do what they do best solve complex industry and business problems." Shabodi will demonstrate its AEP capabilities through various network-aware applications at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona on February 26-29, 2024, in the Canadian Pavilion, Booth #7G61. Click here to learn more. Edited by Greg Tavarez yipengge / Getty Images/iStockphoto Low-income households which need assistance paying monthly rent may qualify for Section 8 Housing. Although 38 million people in the U.S. lived in poverty in 2022, USAFacts noted that just over 9 million people receive housing subsidies through the HUDs Section 8 program. See: 6 Groceries Frugal People Buy in Winter Find: Owe Money to the IRS? Most People Dont Realize They Should Do This One Thing Section 8 Housing is a term derived from Section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937. The program offers financial subsidies to landlords who offer rental units to low-income people at below-market rents. Section 8 accounts for about 80% of housing units and participants in HUD housing assistance programs, USAFacts reported. According to the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), which oversees and funds the program, eligibility is based on your households total annual gross income and family size. Read: 10 Expenses Most Likely To Drain Your Checking Account Each Month Sponsored: Owe the IRS $10K or more? Schedule a FREE consultation to see if you qualify for tax relief. Project-Based Rental Assistance vs. Housing Choice Vouchers The HUD offers two types of Section 8 Housing: Project-Based Rental Assistance (PBRA): PBRA provides subsidies to private building owners who rent at below-market rates to eligible tenants. The government and building owners agree on a rental rate based on the HUDs estimates of fair rent price for the market and adjusted for low-income tenants based on their resources. Tenants must contribute 30% of their monthly income toward rent or a minimum of $50, whichever is higher. Housing Choice Vouchers (HCV): Under the HCV program, public housing agencies (PHAs) receive funds from the HUD to administer vouchers directly to low-income renters for a percentage of rental costs. HCV is a tenant-based program, and renters are not limited to specific buildings. However, the housing must meet health and safety standards, and the building owners must agree to receive a portion of the tenants rent from a voucher. Story continues According to USAFacts, over 2 million people received PBRA in 2022, and the average annual income was $14,405. Each year, about 40% of subsidized rental units are reserved for households with extremely low incomes, or incomes lower than 30% of the local median income. In 2022, 5.2 million people received HCV, and recipients had an average annual income of $16,610. The maximum amount of the voucher is determined by the fair market rate for housing in the area and the familys household income. Every year, 75% of new households accepted into the program qualify as extremely low-income. Youll be put on a waiting list once you apply and qualify for Section 8 Housing. According to Eligibility.com, HCV applicants are likely to wait on the list for up to two years, unless you have waiting list priority. PHAs may choose to put some eligible applicants at the top of the list if they are extremely low income, homeless, living in a shelter, have a disability or are elderly or a veteran, Benefits.com reported. More From GOBankingRates This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: Beyond Food Stamps: Over 9M Americans Qualify for Section 8 Housing Do You? sturti / Getty Images In 2024, its easier than ever to find out how much a specific role pays before you have the first call with the hiring manager. Over a dozen states, cities and counties, including New York, have recently passed pay transparency laws. Learn: The 5 Levels of Wealth and How To Get There Explore: 6 Unusual Ways To Make Extra Money (That Actually Work) In these areas, employers of a certain size must display pay ranges on all open jobs. If you live in an area where pay transparency laws arent passed yet, sometimes politely asking at the beginning of the interview process is all it takes. Once you learn the salary range, you can use the information to build your case and negotiate for the highest end of the range, according to CNBC. Sponsored: Owe the IRS $10K or more? Schedule a FREE consultation to see if you qualify for tax relief. Let the Employer Explain and Use Their Words To Negotiate Chanelle Howell, 31, is a New York City-based recruiter whos interviewed hundreds while working for Goldman Sachs, Bridgewater Associates, and through her own consulting company. She explained a smart trick you can use to negotiate the highest end of the salary range. Lets say an advertised range for a particular role is $80,000 to $130,000. One of the first things you should ask the recruiter or hiring manager is what differentiates a $80,000 candidate from a $130,000 candidate. You might get answers such as the number of years of direct experience, how expert the candidate is in regards to the required skills for the role, what projects theyve handled, or whether they have experience managing direct reports. Once you understand what theyre looking for from the highest-paid candidate, you can take that information and shape what skills and accomplishments you can discuss based on your background. The idea here is to repeat these qualities throughout the interview so you can sell yourself as the strongest candidate. Getting the employer to give you the answers first is key to negotiating the highest offer you deserve. Story continues More From GOBankingRates This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: Get a Bigger Paycheck at Your Next Job Expert Swears One Interview Tactic Succeeds Time and Time Again They simply had nowhere to evolve: a Russian paleontologist on the progress of scientific ideas about dinosaurs A business manager suspected of having ordered the attack on an elected official from Saint-Denis Tigrane Seydoux, the Frenchman behind the fashionable Italians in Madrid in which you always have to visit the bathroom Energy transition: The experts say so, the Court of Auditors says so Jordi Evole apologizes to Camela in Lo de Evole for an article he wrote in 2000 Organ donation registry: how does it work? Answers to the most important questions Annoyed by a kissing couple: woman attacks the person sitting next to her on the train A man who was drunk on a train and threatened to hit a police officer has been detained by the railway police The Police open an investigation in Andorra after the Investigative Team's report on OnlyFans: "If they are minors, the better" The Spanish Society of Allergology predicts an intense Spring for those allergic to grass pollen in the center and southwest of the peninsula The "egg-beating" trend brings new opportunities to the traditional poker industry in small towns in Zhejiang Guangxi's 15 cultural tourism projects plan to attract investment in Guangdong with a total investment of more than 80.7 billion yuan A Blaugrana nightmare and the bogeyman Joao Felix: "It was a game for him, he made a difference" NBA: Victor Wembanyama and Gregg Popovich confirm the Spurs will come to Paris next season Defeat in the FA Cup: Klopp breaks off interview I have no nerves for you Defeat in the FA Cup: Klopp breaks off interview I have no nerves for you 9th day of the Grand Sumo Spring Tournament New entrant with only one winner Takafuji 9 consecutive wins IN PICTURES - Football: discover the new Blues jerseys for Euro 2024 and the Olympics For the fifth time in a row: Medvedev lost again to Alcaraz in the Masters final in Indian Wells Badminton Akane Yamaguchi "Shidamatsu" pair and others are guaranteed to participate in the Paris Olympics The first batch of imported exhibits of the 135th Canton Fair entered the country smoothly Yen exchange rate: The yen depreciates to the low 149 yen level to the dollar, due to speculation regarding monetary policy. Daihatsu's name announced by the FTC: ``We were waiting, but we will set up a forum for discussions.'' La Unio denounces the second detection of Moroccan strawberries with hepatitis A in nine days Without unnecessary risks: the ruble has risen in price on the Moscow Exchange following the results of the presidential elections in Russia The "wave of rework" after the Spring Festival has driven the rental market in Guangzhou to heat up rapidly In the first two months, the total foreign trade import and export value of Kashgar, Xinjiang increased by 90% year-on-year. The head of the NATO PA, Shcherba, called on the alliance to mentally move on to the time of military threat In light of the confrontation with Israel... where has the Hezbollah-Free Patriotic Movement alliance reached? Messi did not play during his visit to Hong Kong, causing controversy. The organizer issued a 50% refund to the audience. Main threatened in Cote-d'Or: Nicole Belloubet in support of teachers and students still in shock Cdiscount smashes the price of this Bissell upright vacuum cleaner with this huge discount of 270 euros Niger: why the American military base in Agadez is strategic for the United States France: Emmanuel Macron receives the Crif for his 80th birthday, in a context of war in Gaza To deter dissolutions that can be seen as aimed at maintaining power Oshima, former Speaker of the House of Representatives Why does time fly quickly when we are having fun and slow down when we are bored? The Director General of the South African Foreign Ministry will visit Kyiv as part of the diplomatic search for a solution to the conflict Civil servants will have the salary increase after Easter and before the Budgets are approved Niger: what follow-up after the denunciation of the military agreement between Niamey and Washington? TikTok is at the heart of the US election season Putin: all traitors fighting against Russia will be identified by name and they will not be given peace Urgent | Al Jazeera obtains exclusive photos showing the Qassam tracking the movements of officer in the Shaldag unit, Yitzhar Hoffman, before he was killed by a snipers bullet. War in Sudan: community kitchens to help each other during Ramadan Communities 2019 - Privacy The information on this site is from external sources that are not under our control.The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them. Getty Images/ Neilson Barnard Stanley Druckenmiller's company dumped Alphabet and Amazon last quarter, 13F filings show. The firm increased its stake in Microsoft, while buying call options on Nvidia. Druckenmiller has increasingly focused on AI stocks since 2023. Stanley Druckenmiller's firm has ditched Alphabet and Amazon, boosting bets on two other mega-cap champions instead, a Security and Exchange Commission filing disclosed on Wednesday. The billionaire investor's Duquesne Family Office stake in Microsoft increased 6.7% last quarter, becoming the firm's top holding. Though its exposure to Nvidia fell 29%, it loaded up on call options for the chipmaker, worth over $242 million in notional value. It's a sign Druckenmiller's bullishness on artificial intelligence stocks remains undeterred. In June of last year, the investor outlined plans to hold Nvidia for two years, a suggestion that was out-of-line amid mounting overvaluation concerns. Eight months later, the semiconductor manufacturer has risen nearly 90%, and this week it has overtaken both Amazon and Alphabet to become the third most valued company in the US. Its meteoric rise is the result of its products proving vital to helping the AI industry grow. Duquesne's focus on Nvidia and Microsoft is at least a year in the making, after the office snapped up a collective $430 million in both companies in early 2023. Bullishness on Microsoft also stems from its AI initiatives, with the firm implementing the technology in its cloud and software services. Its latest earnings report saw revenue surpass expectations, and its shares have already climbed over 8% this year. "AI is very, very real and could be every bit as impactful as the internet," Druckenmiller previously said at the 2023 Sohn Investment Conference. Read the original article on Business Insider Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) is now trading above $50,000 for the first time since December 2021. That's a huge milestone for the world's most popular cryptocurrency, and the best sign to date that Bitcoin is finally back after a long, painful crypto winter. The big question is just how much higher Bitcoin can go this year. While the new consensus seems to be that it is headed higher, there are several scenarios for how it might play out. Let's take a closer look. Scenario 1: Bitcoin continues to trade around $50,000 While it's certainly impressive that Bitcoin just broke through the $50,000 level, this is exactly what was supposed to happen when the Securities and Exchange Commission approved the new spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in January. The arrival of a new Bitcoin investment product with the blessing of government regulators meant a huge influx of funds from investors, and all of that new money was bound to push up the price of the crypto sooner or later. Gold coin with Bitcoin symbol on it. Image source: Getty Images. Based on the initial euphoria around the spot Bitcoin ETF narrative, both BlackRock (NYSE: BLK) and Fidelity Investments have pulled in nearly $3 billion from investors, and there has been a steady influx of new money across nearly a dozen different spot Bitcoin ETFs. Clearly, both retail and institutional investors are looking for access to the price upside of the digital currency. As long as investors decide to cap their crypto allocation to around 1%, though, it will likely continue to trade around $50,000. Scenario 2: Bitcoin hits a new all-time high above $70,000 And that brings us to our second scenario: Bitcoin hits a new all-time high above the $69,000 level, which it reached in November 2021. Most likely, the ETF narrative by itself is not enough to send the crypto to that level. But there's another event that could: the upcoming Bitcoin halving, now scheduled for mid-April. These halving events only take place once every four years, and they tend to lead to spectacular breakout rallies. In a halving event, the reward paid out to Bitcoin miners is reduced by one-half, and that leads to greater scarcity. In three previous halving cycles (2012, 2016, and 2020), this change to the coin supply has led to a steep rise in its price. Story continues It was on the basis of the previous halving event (in May 2020) that Bitcoin soared to an all-time-high, so it's not out of the question that the April 2024 halving event could have a similar result. In fact, some analysts think that Bitcoin is already in its pre-halving rally. Just keep in mind that it typically takes 12 to 18 months for the token to hit a new high after a halving, so it might take until early to mid-2025 before it surges past the $69,000 mark. Scenario 3: Bitcoin surges through $100,000 on the way to $1 million Lastly, there's the super-bullish scenario of Bitcoin skyrocketing past $100,000 on its way to $1 million. This is what some very smart investors think could happen next. For example, Standard Chartered (OTC: SCBF.F), a multinational British bank, thinks that Bitcoin will hit $100,000 by the end of the year. And Cathie Wood of Ark Invest thinks that it could eventually top $2 million per coin by 2030. For that to happen, a lot would have to go right. For one, institutional investors would have to crank up their Bitcoin allocations. As Ark Invest recently acknowledged, it would take an allocation of 19.4% of their asset base from institutional investors to make this scenario happen. At the same time, Bitcoin would need to continue to gain in overall market adoption and become more mainstream as a form of payment. More uses and more adoption mean greater demand. And all of that new demand could push up Bitcoin to truly incredible levels. The takeaway for Bitcoin investors The big takeaway from all this is to focus on the long-term outlook, not all the short-term twists and turns. Trying to time a Bitcoin price movement is difficult, if not impossible. Just look at all the experts who predicted that the crypto would immediately soar in value after spot Bitcoin ETFs were approved. Instead, it immediately sank to the $40,000 level. Over the long run, I can't think of a better buy-and-hold investment than Bitcoin. Now that it has the approval of both Wall Street and government regulators, it could be ready for another spectacular rally. Should you invest $1,000 in Bitcoin right now? Before you buy stock in Bitcoin, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now and Bitcoin wasnt one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Stock Advisor provides investors with an easy-to-follow blueprint for success, including guidance on building a portfolio, regular updates from analysts, and two new stock picks each month. The Stock Advisor service has more than tripled the return of S&P 500 since 2002*. See the 10 stocks *Stock Advisor returns as of February 12, 2024 Dominic Basulto has positions in Bitcoin. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Bitcoin. The Motley Fool recommends Standard Chartered Plc. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Bitcoin Just Hit $50,000 for the First Time Since December 2021. Where Does It Go From Here? was originally published by The Motley Fool Ottawa, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - February 16, 2024) - BluMetric Environmental Inc. (TSXV: BLM) ("BluMetric" or "the Company"), a full-service environmental consulting and engineering cleantech firm, announced today that it has signed an amendment to an existing service agreement for Canada's Department of National Defence Reverse Osmosis Water Purification Units (ROWPU). The amendment includes a $5.3 million increase to the scope of work, to be completed in calendar year 2024, which includes on-call field service, support, and maintenance of the water treatment systems. "The revised contract serves as a testament to the trust the Department of National Defence has in our capacity to deliver Mission Ready Water solutions," said Scott MacFabe, CEO of BluMetric. "Providing robust service and support is essential for missions relying on a resilient cleantech system that delivers water under a variety of challenging circumstances. In addition, these types of contracts are becoming a more important part of our overall growth strategy as we build a larger base of recurring and higher margin revenues." About BluMetric Environmental Inc. BluMetric Environmental Inc. is a publicly traded environmental consulting and engineering company with expertise across professional and trade disciplines and technologies that allow for the design, fabrication and delivery of sustainable solutions to environmental and water challenges. BluMetric has more than 180 employees operating in ten offices and over 40 years of expertise. Headquartered in Ottawa, Ontario, BluMetric's team of industry experts serves Commercial and Industrial, Military, Mining and Government clients. For more information, visit www.blumetric.ca or please contact: Scott MacFabe, CEO BluMetric Environmental Inc. Tel: 1-877-487-8436 Email: smacfabe@blumetric.ca Dan Hilton, CFO BluMetric Environmental Inc. Tel: 1-877-487-8436 Email: dhilton@blumetric.ca Story continues Brandon Chow, Principal & Founder Otis Investor Relations Inc. Tel: 1-647-598-8815 Email: brandon@otisir.com Forward-Looking Statements Some of the statements in this press release, including those relating to the Company's quarterly and annual results, future products, opportunities and cost initiatives, strategies, and other statements that are predictive in nature, that depend upon or refer to future events or conditions, or that include words such as "expects", "anticipates", "intends", "plans", "believes", "estimates", or similar expressions, are forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. Forward-looking statements include, without limitation, the information concerning possible or assumed future results of operations of the Company. These statements are not historical facts but instead represent only the Company's expectations, estimates, and projections regarding future events. By their nature, forward-looking statements require us to make assumptions and are subject to inherent risks and uncertainties. We caution readers of this news release not to place undue reliance on our forward-looking statements as a number of factors could cause actual results or conditions to differ materially from current expectations. Please refer to the risks set forth in the Company's most recent annual MD&A and the Company's continuous disclosure documents that can be found on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca. The Company does not intend, and disclaims any obligation, except as required by law, to update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/198172 U.S. Rep. Troy Carter: Special legislative session on crime will make our communities less safe Rick Gallot was born, reared and schooled in 71245 the City of Grambling and Grambling State University ZIP code. He served on the Grambling City Council, as a Louisiana state representative and senator, and worked as an attorney. In 2016, he was appointed president of his alma mater.He recently left the job he thought he might have for at least 20 years to become the University of Louisiana System president. In his new job, he leads a nine-institution system with about 90,000 students, including Grambling State.That leaves GSU without a leader who has known, breathed and loved GSU all his life. Industrial property global giant Goodman will look at increasing its power bank in coming years as it works with tenants to make is vast portfolio as energy efficient and on top of the technology wave as they demand. The use of robotics and artificial intelligence is growing at a rapid rate as companies themselves try and keep up with the constant changes in technology. Goodman will focus on developing high-tech energy-efficient warehouses, most of which will be high-rise due to the scarcity of land. The Goodman warehouse facility in Alexandria, in Sydneys inner city, is the first multi-storey warehouse in South Sydney. Credit: Janie Barrett Known as digital infrastructure, the industrial property juggernaut said close to 37 per cent of all its global projects currently under construction are data centres. This is expected to be worth about $80 billion in the next five to seven years. The facilities will be located across 12 major cities. Of this $80 billion, about $50 billion will be real estate developed and owned by Goodman and its partners upon completion. One of the joint leaders of Network 10 owner Paramounts Australian operations has exited the company after three years with the media giant. Jarrod Villani, who joined the company in early 2021, was appointed co-lead alongside Tens long-time chief content officer Beverley McGarvey. McGarvey will stay on as sole boss in Australia. Paramounts chief content officer Beverley McGarvey and departing chief operating officer Jarrod Villani. Credit: Flavio Brancaleone The company announced a swath of global redundancies on Thursday. Appointed as chief operating and commercial officer and co-lead, Villani was responsible for Paramounts commercial activities and strategy in both Australia and New Zealand. The greatest show on Earth or at least the highest-grossing in history came to Melbourne on Friday, as Taylor Swifts Eras Tour officially launched with the first of three sold-out concerts at the MCG. The US singer-songwriters sixth major concert tour in which the 34-year-old plays music from her entire catalogue across a three-and-a-half-hour set full of costume and set changes last year became the first ever to cross the $US1 billion ($1.54 billion) threshold. Audrey Dwyer, 14, Frances Ardley, 14, May Ardley, 16, and Meredith Whitaker, 16, are all from Yarraville and all outside the MCG before seeing their first Taylor Swift show. Credit: Penny Stephens The US leg, which continues throughout this year, is alone expected to generate $US2.2 billion in ticket sales. In Melbourne, an estimated 270,000 people will attend the three shows at the MCG, paying as much as $1249.90 for the top-of-the-line Its Been A Long Time Coming VIP package, or as little as $65.90 for the limited-view seats that were unexpectedly released for the supposedly long-since sold-out shows this week. Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Remove items from your saved list to add more. You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Good Food and Melbourne Food & Wine Festival have teamed up to give away a fun food-filled trip, including flights, accommodation and lots of excellent eating. NOTE: Entries for this competition have now closed To celebrate the exciting new partnership between Good Food and the 2024 Melbourne Food & Wine Festival, weve joined forces to give you the chance to win the ultimate foodie getaway for two, including flights and tickets to the hottest events in this years program. The 2024 Festival runs from March 15 to 24, and includes more than 400 events across 10 days, ranging from free events to dinners by Michelin-starred international chefs, many of them collaborating with hometown heroes. Melbourne Food & Wine Festival is presented by La Trobe Financial and Visit Victoria. With so many options to choose from, the Good Food team have compiled their pick of the program, from splurge to budget options. Dr Georgia Carroll, a self-confessed Swiftie and sociologist who specialises in fan and celebrity studies, says while people have always dressed up for concerts, its become far more widespread in recent years. Coming out of the gloomy years of lockdown, she thinks the tour is a way for fans to experience a communal feeling where theyre all just having fun and dont have to be afraid of judgment in these happy spaces. Retail chain Spotlight has taken advantage of the soaring demand, launching dedicated marketing campaigns, new products and DIY guides for concert-goers. Its been really impressive, she says of the burgeoning craft movement. I joined a couple of Facebook pages myself just so that I could see what the trend was and get a feel for it, and its blowing my mind really. For retailers, the surge in DIY fashion whether for friendship bracelets or sequins has been huge. Anne Copeland, owner of Sparkle & Co Crystals, a Melbourne-based supply store with an online platform, says she has noticed a huge increase in demand for crafts in the past six months. According to Copeland, blue the defining colour of Swifts most recent album, Midnights has been the most popular colour by far with a 200 per cent increase in sales of blue crystals. She has tripled her stock orders. Swift has sparked a DIY movement among fans eager to pay tribute to their beloved pop star many of whom had never touched a sewing machine before. Armed with glue guns, thread and enough rhinestones to fill an arena 50 times over, many Swifties are painstakingly making their concert outfits from scratch. For many, this means recreating a look beat-for-beat, while others are putting their own creative twist on a Taylor classic. While Taylor Swift mania has been heating up over the past few weeks in Australia, for many fans, the anticipation over the stars arrival has been a long time in the making. Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time. Galvin and her fiance Julia Duncan were originally set up by a friend due to their shared love of Taylor Swift. The pair have been working together on their costumes for months. For Galvin, 31, who will be attending two nights of the Eras tour in Sydney, making her outfits has also been a labour of love. For Danielle Galvin, a fat lived experience peer support advocate living in Brisbane, the upcoming Eras tour will be her first time seeing Swift live. Despite being a long-time fan, she grew up in Cairns and says she did not always have the financial means to see the pop star live. The trend of dressing up which Australian fans have witnessed for months as Swift has toured the northern hemisphere has continued to snowball. Now, Carroll says, dressing up and donning recognisable symbols from Swifts visual universe is a way for fans to build relationships with one another and feel like theyre part of a community. Being plus size, Galvin says she chose to hand make both her outfits because finding costumes that fit properly can be difficult and expensive. Duncan made the base of the bodysuit from scratch for Galvin, a decision the pair made after seeing issues other fans had when making theirs. On her Lover bodysuit alone, Galvin estimates shes used between 40,000 and 50,000 rhinestones. Galvin has recreated two of Swifts onstage looks for the Eras tour that debuted during her American performances. The Lover bodysuit a Versace bodysuit encrusted with pastel sequins, and Reputation bodysuit a one-legged black catsuit with red sequinned snakes. Theyre two very distinct, different kind of personalities. So I thought that would be fun, she says. Their individual skill sets Galvins as a keen crafter, and Duncans as a hobby sewer have made them the perfect team to realise their handmade looks. Its been a really fun project of love between us because we get to collaborate and make all four of our costumes together, says Galvin. They were brought up with her from the beginning, he continues. I mean, just when they were learning to talk, they were learning to sing Taylor Swift songs in the car. Since the birth of his children and Swifts steady rise to the global megastar she is today, Sloan no longer feels this way. Having kids gave permission to be an all-out Swiftie you could hide behind them. I was probably around 32 when that song [Love Story] came out. Liking Taylor Swift at the time was frowned upon; she was like that little kids pop star ... so you had to keep it on the quiet, says Sloan, although he notes he did walk down the aisle to You Belong With Me when he married his husband in 2009. Steven Sloan, a 46-year-old father of three from Geelong, has been a Swift fan since the release of Fearless in 2012, but until having kids says he was a closet fan. Steven Sloan and son Rupert in their handmade shirts. The Stephen name patch is a reference to Swifts song Hey Stephen . Credit: Jason South She adds, I wanted to show people that regardless of what body size you are, you can still dress up even if you dont look like Taylor. Its really important for me to represent that. For his part, Sloan loves Swifts ability to bring people together. I just believe its a really safe space, and people can be outside of their comfort zone. Theyre surrounded by like-minded people. I mean, Taylor Swift is the definition of community, really. For his two other children, Sloan has made a pink dress and Reputation-inspired costume (their outfits were not complete at the time of this interview). Rupert is excited to wear something that represents Taylor Swift, and loves that the star plays her own instruments and writes her own songs. Instead, Sloan found a fabric printed with illustrations of Swift in her different eras, which he made into matching shirts for him and his nine-year-old son Rupert. Theyre kind of the same style that Alan wears in the Barbie movie, which feels very current, he says. The stay-at-home dad, who is no stranger to sewing, says he initially recreated the glittery ringmaster ensemble Swift wore at the 2012 MTV Europe Music Awards and on her 2013 RED tour but ultimately decided theyd be too uncomfortable in a hot arena environment. The revenge dress Camille Lescai on the steps of the Sydney Opera House wearing her recreation of Swifts 2022 Oscar de la Renta dress. Credit: Janie Barrett For Camille Lescai a 32-year-old retail strategist from Sydney, her concert outfit is something of a revenge dress. Last year, Lescai was the target of relentless online trolling after posting a TikTok of her pink wedding dress, which many deemed unconventional for its colour (the video went so viral her story was picked up by Australian news outlets). Lescai chose to recreate Swifts red carpet look from the 2022 MTV VMAs, a lavish Oscar de la Renta mini dress dripping in silver chains and crystals with Lorraine Schwartz jewels. Loading Fittingly, the look was worn during Swifts Reputation-era, a period in which the star sought to take back control of her own narrative following a years-long feud with Kanye West and the Kardashian family. Reputation, of course, is her favourite album. I definitely am a Reputation girl through and through because Im very petty. I think petty Taylor is my favourite. I just think thats relatable. Thats where I identified with Look What You Made Me Do, where I take back that power or when people call you out, you go are you really going to stand by what you said? Camille Lescai took inspiration from Swifts 2022 MTV VMAs red carpet look and the music video for her song Look What You Made Me Do. Credit: Getty/YouTube She decided to learn to sew specifically to make this outfit to wear to the Eras Tour practising by making a dress for the Barbie movie, among other things. Like many other endeavouring Swifties, Lescai crowdsourced tips for the construction of her garment on TikTok. [I realised] Oh, Im actually really good at sewing, she says. Now I have this entire skill, all thanks to Taylor Swift. What has she learned from the DIY experience? Youre allowed to give things a go, and its okay if things are imperfect, she says. I really love the craftiness that has come out of this Taylor Swift movement. I think a lot of people feel pressure and think if its not 100 per cent perfect, its not worth doing. But I completely disagree with that. One of the biggest monocultural moments Ive felt in a long time Katy Humm from Geelong has recreated three of Swifts iconic concert looks: the Reputation, Midnights (pictured wearing) and Lover bodysuits. Credit: Jason South Twenty-seven-year-old Katy Humm started working on her concert outfits before tickets for the Australian leg of Swifts tour even went on sale. The Geelong-based small business owner says her love affair with the pop star began when she received the Fearless album for Christmas in 2008. Echoing a sentiment described by many Millennial and Generation Z fans, Humm feels like she came of age with Swift. As she grew up, her music changed, and the topics of her songs changed they became a little bit more serious and adult. I felt like I was growing with her, and so I didnt really have that growing out of something that you might typically have. Humm recreated three of Swifts Eras tour looks the Lover, Midnights and Reputation bodysuits, as well as the Karma fringe jacket all of which started popping up on social media in March 2023. Being such early days, Humm says there werent many other fans starting to recreate her outfits, but she eventually befriended two US fans over social media who were able to offer tips. She has since made two extra bodysuits for friends. Humm has spent over $5000 on her three costumes. She says its hard to estimate how many hours shes devoted to the project, but guesses the total is easily somewhere in the hundreds. Humm, who has ADHD, says the project was a way to keep herself occupied. Im not somebody that can, on the weekends, just sit down and watch TV. I need to do something to my hands ... Im always doing some sort of craft anyway. In todays landscape of infinite subcultures, Humm says the Eras tour offers a rare moment for community. Its a monocultural moment, and because of streaming and stuff, we dont really get monocultural moments any more. The Eras tour and the Barbie movie are the two biggest monocultural moments Ive felt in a long time. The designer and the muse Fashion designer Jacob Aquilina recreated the Lover bodysuit for friend Alex Mackintosh. Credit: Edwina Pickles For friends Alex Mackintosh, 27, and Jacob Aquilina, 25, the idea to recreate one of Swifts iconic looks started as a joke when the pair were working together. But as the US leg of the Eras tour started to be broadcast across social media, the idea took shape. I just got so inspired by everything, and as a fashion designer, I just loved the looks and really connected through her fashion, says Aquilina. With Mackintosh as his muse, Aquilina got to work on a painstaking recreation of Swifts Lover bodysuit. For Mackintosh, a Sydney-based social media manager and diehard Swiftie, the phenomenon of dressing up for concerts is not new. A fan since she was 11, Mackintosh has been to every single one of Swifts tours since Fearless, recreating many of her iconic looks. For her, Taylor Swift was an escape. Growing up, I didnt have any friends. I was very heavily bullied. And the one thing for me is, I found Taylor Swift and the community because I was online at a very young age. Ive always loved make-up and dressing up ... and now its a trend which is really funny because you feel like, you know, you were made fun of for doing it. This is not Aquilinas first time working with sparkles the young designer created a custom jacket for Sam Smith when they performed in Australia in 2018 but its certainly his biggest project so far. He says the bodysuit took 350 hours, over 20,000 diamantes and months of fittings and collaboration with Mackintosh. Aquilina will be wearing a white Dion Lee corset, which he has customised with the same sequins used on Mackintoshs bodysuit. Playing the role of the humble designer, hes kept his look simple I want her to have her moment, he says. Its their first concert. I want them to have the entire experience Siblings Byron, 10, and Emahlia, 7 rocking the Swift-inspired outfits their mum made for them. Credit: Jason South While some adults pass on their love of Taylor Swift to their children, for single mum Emma Madley, currently studying a Bachelor of Health Science, it was the other way around. Based in Melbourne, Madley says it was her seven-year-old daughter Emahlia and 10-year-old son Byron who passed on the Swiftie bug. Once I started to actually listen to her albums, I was like, wow, shes actually really amazing, shes so relatable, I feel like her music touches on points in everyones life, she says. I always say to my friends, I wish I had been so invested in her as I am now when I was a teenager, because the things that you go through as a teenager relationships, boyfriends, friends her music just touches on all of it. The 34-year-old has recreated Swifts Lover bodysuit for Emahlia, who loves what her mum has made. Shes obsessed with it. Its hanging on her door at the moment and she literally just walks out and looks at it. Smiles and goes, oh, thats so cute. She does that like 10 times a day Emahlia says shes looking forward to having a really fun time at the concert and loves Swift because shes really good at singing. For her older brother Byron, who loves that Swift sings about what shes been through, Madley has made a Reputation-inspired outfit. Loading Its their first concert that theyre going to, and Im a single parent. Im massive on when we get to do things like this. I want them to have the entire experience. As a parent, Madley is happy for her kids to look up to Swift as a role model. The Swiftie community is probably one of the most beautiful communities Ive ever come across. And thats one of the reasons why Im really excited about taking them to the concert, just being in that atmosphere of like-minded, kind people. I just fully believe in immersing that into them and allowing that to be their influence. This is what they love, and I feel like, as parents, our job is to support their interests. In addition to making her childrens outfits, Madley has crafted some boxes in which to preserve them after the concert. Hopefully, they can keep them for the rest of their lives and be able to reflect back, and theyll have the memories from the concert attached to the outfit. For Madley, her own concert outfit is the last thing on her mind. Ive focused on getting their outfits done first, and then mine will just be whatever I can pull together. All the fans on TikTok are so supportive Jacquie Addison spent seven months creating her Karma jacket and Midnights bodysuit. A fan since the 2008 Fearless era, Adelaide-based Jacquie Addison made a promise to herself that if she managed to get her hands on an impossible ticket, she would embrace the opportunity to go all out and replicate one of Swifts tour outfits. Speak Now is her favourite album, but the costume choice was simple: the Oscar de la Renta Midnights bodysuit, first created with 5300 hand-embroidered crystals and beads and Karma jacket. Addisons version was the first time she created anything on this scale, bejewelling manually across seven months to get it as close to Swifts costume as possible. I just slowly paced myself as I didnt want to rush it or make any mistakes it was roughly $1000 all up as well I recently worked out, says the 24-year-old, who is attending night three in Melbourne. Inspired by a line in Swifts Youre On Your Own, Kid, Addison is joining the many fans making beaded friendship bracelets. She is mostly sticking to making joke bracelets with funny quotes Taylor has said over the years, including her favourite, Yes Whale. For Addison, seeing TikTok trends and tour outfits from her US legs also was a major influence in giving her enough confidence to wear a bodysuit for the first time to a concert. Many others are making them seem normal. The Eras Tour is such a wholesome, friendly place where you can dress how you want without feeling unease or being unsafe, adding she has received a lot of positive feedback from Swifties on Tiktok. Theyre loving the outfit and asking for tips on how I made it, especially the karma jacket, all the fans on TikTok are so supportive. Make the most of your health, relationships, fitness and nutrition with our Live Well newsletter. Get it in your inbox every Monday. The barrister acting for Ben Roberts-Smith in his high-stakes defamation appeal has cautioned a court against amateur sleuthing as he urged a trio of judges to overturn a devastating decision dismissing the war veterans lawsuit. Sydney silk Bret Walker, SC, who has acted in a string of high-profile appeals, delivered submissions in reply on Friday after The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald argued the Full Court of the Federal Court should not overturn Justice Anthony Besankos decision delivered last year. It marked the final day of the 10-day appeal and the court reserved its decision. Ben Roberts-Smith leaving the Federal Court in Sydney in 2021. Credit: Rhett Wyman Besanko found last June that the newspapers had proven to the civil standard on the balance of probabilities that Roberts-Smith was complicit in the murder of four unarmed prisoners while on deployment in Afghanistan between 2009 and 2012. This is lower than the criminal standard of beyond reasonable doubt. Roberts-Smith maintains his innocence. Walker said the heart of our case was that weight is to be given to the presumption of innocence and exactness of proof is expected. In this case, you certainly dont have that, Walker told the three-judge bench of the evidence marshalled by the newspapers. JetBlue Airways announced Friday that two independent directors would join its board as part of a deal with activist investor Carl Icahn. Jesse Lynn, the general counsel of Icahn Enterprises, and Steve Miller, a portfolio manager at Icahn Capital, will join JetBlues board as non-voting observers during the carriers annual shareholder meeting in the spring. After the meeting, Lynn and Miller will join JetBlues board as full voting members. Icahn reported a nearly 10% stake in JetBlue on Monday, saying in a regulatory filing he believed the companys stock was undervalued. We appreciate the constructive engagement we have had with JetBlues board and leadership team, Icahn said. We very much look forward to working with them in the future. Earlier on Friday, JetBlue and Icahn were reportedly nearing a settlement to avoid a proxy fight, according to The Wall Street Journal. The two board seats were part of that settlement. JetBlue and Icahn also reached a deal on a customary standstill, voting commitments, and other provisions as part of the agreement, according to a filing Friday. Icahns stake in JetBlue marks his first activist campaign since short seller Hindenburg Research accused the activist investor of running a Ponzi-like scheme to pay dividends, according to Reuters. The attack hindered Icahns ability to make new bets and caused him to lose billions of dollars in net worth. JetBlue has been struggling to turn a profit after losing its merger with Spirit and the Northeast Alliance. S&P Global Ratings downgraded JetBlues credit rating on Thursday, citing financial performance that had weakened considerably. New JetBlue CEO Joanna Geraghty said the carriers main focus is restoring profitability, with or without a Spirit merger. Part of her plan to bolster JetBlues finances includes increasing capacity on popular leisure routes and cutting costs. Building on our distinct brand and unique value proposition, we are focused on delivering value to our shareholders and all of our stakeholders, and we welcome the contributions of our new board members as we move forward with that common goal, Geraghty said in a statement. Story continues Airlines Sector Stock Index Performance Year-to-Date What am I looking at? The performance of airline sector stocks within the ST200. The index includes companies publicly traded across global markets including network carriers, low-cost carriers, and other related companies. The Skift Travel 200 (ST200) combines the financial performance of nearly 200 travel companies worth more than a trillion dollars into a single number. See more airlines sector financial performance. Read the full methodology behind the Skift Travel 200. Get breaking travel news and exclusive hotel, airline, and tourism research and insights at Skift.com. Victorias state power system must be fit for purpose, and by todays standards, this means building it to withstand the effects of a changing climate. The CSIRO and Bureau of Meteorology have warned of a spike in unpredictable weather events in years to come, and these same agencies also warned, together with the Australian Energy Market Operator, of increased risks to transmission from severe winds. Loading The states ability to withstand these damaging windstorms will hinge on the grids capacity to keep power running to communities which are fleeing dangerous conditions; these are times when they will need it most. Yet, much of the states transmission towers and lines were built more than half a century ago, when climate change was unknown and a power outage didnt cause as much social and economic disruption as it will today. On Friday, The Age exposed key vulnerabilities in the states old transmission towers. Eleven extreme wind events had knocked out 45 Victorian towers since 1959, with an AusNet Services report finding half of the states towers, which average nearly 60-years-old, were nearing the end of their design life. All failed structures were built to historical design standards with inadequate strength to withstand convective downdraft winds occurring during extreme storm events, says the report. Today, Annika Smethurst reports that Victorias energy safety watchdog found the company in charge of maintaining the states transmission network repeatedly failed to keep up with maintenance on the ageing transmission network in the states west. Loading There is clearly much to be done. Over the next weeks and months, the Victorian government will need to work with power and telecommunication companies, the Australian Energy Regulator and the Australian Energy Market Operator, to investigate how Tuesdays storm shut off power for half a million properties. These investigations should find ways to make the grid more robust in the face of future storms, and ensure better back-up power sources and safeguards are in place to avoid outages and cuts to telecommunication services during natural disasters. Whether Loy Yang tripped too early or too easily a function set to protect the plant from permeant damage and keep the system stable should be considered. There are several obvious reforms the government could act on now to prepare for the next crisis. The first is decentralising the grid, so the state is not so dependent on Loy Yang A. There is a pressing environmental imperative to switch from coal to renewables, but relying more on solar and wind farms that are distributed across the state will also make the system less vulnerable to the cascading outages we saw this week. Next, it seems prudent to investigate the costs and benefits of lowering power lines underground in high-risk areas. Doing this across the board is too costly and would make many new renewable projects unviable, but a targeted roll-out in high-risk areas could be wise as has been done in South Australia. Power outages continue to plague those living in the regions, with the Euroa area suffering extensive outages earlier this month after wild weather lashed the region. The government should look to equip these communities with microgrids, extra emergency generators and battery storage, satellite services, a refuge centre and water purifiers. Federal and state governments are funding projects like these, but they should be ramped up. Energy Minister Lily DAmbrosio has struck a defensive posture. Shes bemoaned inconsistencies in the approach, described the storm as unique and suggested the states issues were more about neighbourhood street trees landing on lower capacity lines. For decades, the souvenir teaspoon was a little stainless steel and enamel piece of Australiana that would remind travellers of our wide brown land when they had a cuppa back home. We made teaspoons to celebrate Ayers Rock (not Uluru), Apollo Bay, The Man From Snowy River and even the Healesville Sanctuary, symbolised by a little silver platypus. A slice of Australiana. Credit: Simon Normand For artist Simon Normand, those sometimes striking, sometimes tacky reminders of the towns that dot the bush or the beach hide something darker. They are all beautiful locales with horrible histories, said Normand, 60, an artist who has travelled to Arnhem Land to engage with local Aboriginal cultures for decades. They can be beautiful looking, but when we open them up they can be not so beautiful. One of her first media interviews was with a group of female journalists, to whom she declared her support for abortion reform, contraceptive advice, the legalisation of marijuana, and wages for housewives. It was a sensation in 1973. Germaine Greer with Margaret Whitlam at the Lodge in December 1972. Credit: Fairfax Media One of the reporters drew a contrast between Whitlam and a stream of previous prime ministers wives. Dame Pattie (Menzies) said little, the journalist wrote. Zara (Holt) said a lot but achieved little. Bettina (Gorton) was intellectually bright but evasive and Sonia (McMahon) was uninvolved. Margaret Whitlam is the first female resident of The Lodge wholl go in with guns blazing. This was at least a bit unfair to the former spouses. Dame Pattie Menzies was a woman of her time, long before womens liberation. It remains difficult to imagine her husband, Bob Menzies, with all his patrician pretence, maintaining his prolonged hold on power without her constant support. Unlike the Chifleys, Robert and Pattie Menzies lived permanently at The Lodge. Credit: Fairfax Media Dame Zara a fashion designer and world traveller whose connections proved valuable to Harold Holts political career sought to sweep away the conservative Menzies period. She replaced all the drapes in The Lodge, installed an emerald green carpet and shocked the establishment by having all the dark varnished mountain ash panelling scraped and painted glossy white. She had only two years to do it before her husband disappeared while swimming at Cheviot Beach near Portsea during an outing with his mistress. Bettina Gorton employed cold fury to defend her indiscreet prime minister husband John Gorton from a political smear after he took a young journalist, Geraldine Willesee, to a late-night party at the US embassy in Canberra. Loading Far from being evasive, she wrote an acidic poem directed at her husbands accuser, Liberal backbencher Edward St John, and sent it to the press gallery. St John was portrayed as The Member with the Serpents tongue/The haggard cheek, the hungering eye/The poisoned words that wildly fly. St John was expelled from the Liberal Party. Sonia McMahon may have been politically uninvolved, but who could blame her? Her husband Billy McMahon, 25 years her senior, is considered by many to have been among the most peculiar and least trustworthy of prime ministers. Lady Sonia in her famed dress at the White House. Still, when Sonia McMahon wore a white dress slit high on both thighs to a reception in the White House in 1971, photographs of McMahon, accompanied by her husband and US president Richard Nixon, made world headlines, and even ostensibly serious political commentators from Washington to Canberra kept the story running for days. Little wonder that the following year Margaret Whitlam agonised about the role of a prime ministers wife. Whitlam, apart from speaking her mind on controversial subjects, wrote a regular magazine column, made herself available for radio chat shows, supported the arts, numerous charities and educational endeavours and strode beside her husband almost everywhere he travelled. At her height of 188 centimetres and his 194 centimetres, they made an imposing couple. Tamie and Malcolm Fraser, with their children, meet ABBA backstage at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl in March 1977. Credit: The Age A special super-sized bed had to be installed at The Lodge, which proved useful when the Whitlams were replaced in 1975 by the 193-centimetre Malcolm Fraser and his wife Tamie. Tamie Fraser, it happened, was a significant asset for her often wooden husband, and took to the campaign trail in 1975 in his stead when he became ill. So successful was her effort that Liberal strategists ensured she took prominent roles in the 1977, 1980 and 1983 campaigns. She was a prime ministerial spouse of style. Ten years after Zara Holts wild decorating, Fraser took The Lodges reception rooms back to classic cream-painted walls and replaced the green floor covering with a white Berber carpet. Meanwhile, Margaret Whitlams style had worked wonders with much of the Australian public, despite a confected backlash when it was reported she was earning from her media jobs more than $36,000 a year when her husband was being paid as PM including all allowances $56,500. Whitlam called her critics vultures, freeloaders and intruders. Jodie Haydon has the advantage of living in a time when few would bat an eyelid at the knowledge she has a career and life of her own shes long been a financial services professional. Prime minister Kevin Rudds wife, Therese Rein, ploughed that field years ago. She was the first prime ministerial spouse to earn a serious income from business while her husband was in office. She made millions as the founder of an international employment services agency. Even so, the Australian arm of her company was sold to ensure there was no perceived conflict of interest when Rudd became prime minister in 2007. Prime minister Tony Abbotts wife Margaret, a long-time businesswoman, remained a director of her Sydney childcare centre after her husband became prime minister. She stayed in Sydney with her daughters when her husband was in Canberra. Lucy Turnbull at The Lodge in January 2016. Credit: Andrew Meares Political spouses are conscripts, not volunteers, she recalled last year. I tried to be a supportive spouse, be there as a mother, but the reality was a juggling act, so I decided that my daughters needed a mother with them. Malcolm Turnbulls wife Lucy already had an impressive career behind her when her husband became PM in 2015. A lawyer, businesswoman and philanthropist, she had been absorbed in politics herself as lord mayor of Sydney from 2003-04 and as deputy lord mayor for the previous four years. Famously, she made clear she was an independent woman, declaring, we are not in the era of Stepford Wives any more. Her husband, however, made it equally clear he relied utterly upon her by saying he had a much clearer sense of Lucy and me than I do of me. Annita and Paul Keating with their children at The Lodge in 1992. Credit: Palani Mohan Prime minister Scott Morrisons wife, Jenny, remained a Kirribilli House homebody. She stayed far from the spotlight, the Morrisons two daughters being driven each day to and from school in the southern area of Sydney the shire that had been the Morrisons home for much of their married life. Annita Keating, overshadowed by her husband Paul Keatings prime ministerial visions and symphonic passions, contented herself with devotion to their four children, patronages of arts institutions and a dance company, and a growing interest in photography. Only when Keatings parliamentary career was over and the couples 23-year marriage expired did Annita Keating declare shed found an independent identity as an artist. Prime minister Julia Gillard never married hairdresser Tim Mathieson, who was her partner during her years at The Lodge. He became a patron of Mens Sheds as he struggled to distinguish himself. The relationship ended two years ago, before Mathieson was convicted and fined $7000 for sexual assault against a former friend. John Howard with wife Janette, his most trusted adviser, at Parliament House. Credit: Fairfax Photography John Howards wife Janette lived at Kirribilli House during her husbands prime ministership, raising their three children through their teens. Though she rarely ventured into the public realm, apart from accompanying her husband on official visits and campaigns, Janette Howard was considered by many close observers to be such a trusted and acute adviser to John Howard that she was the real power behind his throne. Margaret Whitlam, however the woman who many consider defined what it was to serve as a modern prime ministers partner reserved scorn for Janette Howard. Three decades after leaving The Lodge, Whitlam wrote that Janette Howard is useless in terms of how little she really gives the community. Loading Nevertheless, Whitlam is one of only two spouses of Australian prime ministers to be declared by the National Trust to be National Treasures. The other is Hazel Hawke. Both women won their way by forging their own path rather than simply being seen as appendages to their husbands careers, though Hazel Hawke stood by her husband Bob through his numerous infidelities, only for him to leave her after his prime ministership was done. I want to call on the whole world community [ . . . ] to get together and defeat this evil, this horrific regime we have in Russia right now. This regime and Vladimir Putin should be held personally responsible for all the horrible things they have been doing to my country, Russia, in recent years. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese shared his sadness describing Navalny as a courageous force for democracy in Russia. His treatment was unforgivable, and our thoughts are with his family and with the people of Russia, Mr Albanese said. Russias presidential elections are set for March, with Putins increased crackdown on political dissent likely to eliminate protests of a rigged election to return him to power until 2030. Navalny was arrested in January 2021 after returning to Moscow from Berlin, where he had spent months recovering from a near-fatal poisoning that he said was ordered by Putin. Yulia Navalnaya, wife of Russian Alexei Navalny, speaks during the Munich Security Conference. Credit: AP Western leaders were quick to suggest that Navalnys death was caused by the Russian government, with Britains Foreign Secretary David Cameron saying Putin should be accountable for what had happened. No one should doubt the dreadful nature of his regime, he said. Putins Russia fabricated charges against him, poisoned him, sent him to an arctic penal colony and now he has tragically died. Anthony Blinken, the US Secretary of State, said that if reports of the death were accurate, they only underscore Russias weakness and rot. Loading European Council president Charles Michel said Navalny made the ultimate sacrifice and that the EU holds the Russian regime solely responsible for this tragic death, while German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said his death was a terrible sign of how Russia had changed. Putin, who appeared on state television on Friday morning talking to students and workers at a factory in the Chelyabinsk region of the Ural mountains, has yet to comment, although his spokesman said he had been informed. Maria Zakharova, the foreign ministry spokeswoman, lambasted the international outcry. The immediate reaction of the leaders of Nato countries to the death of Navalny in the form of accusations towards Russia is self-incriminating, she said. There are no medical test results yet, and the West is already making conclusions. The prison in the town of Kharp in the Yamalo-Nenets region of Russia, some 1900km from Moscow. Credit: AP Serving a 19-year sentence on charges of extremism, he was moved in December from his former prison in the Vladimir region of central Russia to a special regime penal colony the highest security level of prisons in Russia above the Arctic Circle. His allies decried the transfer to a colony in the town of Kharp, in the Yamalo-Nenets region about 1900 kilometres north-east of Moscow in yet another attempt to force Navalny into silence. The remote region is notorious for long and severe winters. Kharp is about 100 kilometres from Vorkuta, whose coal mines were part of the Soviet gulag prison-camp system. Loading Following reports of his death Navalnys exiled team of supporters said they had no confirmation of this for now, his spokesperson Kira Yarmysh wrote on social media site X. She said a lawyer for Navalny was travelling to the remote prison colony where he was transferred last year. We have no grounds to believe state propaganda, Leonid Volkov, Navalnys chief of staff, wrote on X. If its true, then its not Navalny died, but Putin killed Navalny, nothing else. But I dont believe them for a second. Alexei Navalny was arguably Vladimir Putins fiercest critic. Credit: AP Navalnys lawyer was travelling to the prison, Volkov added. Leonid Sobolev, a member of Navalnys legal team, told independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta that the activist last saw a lawyer on Wednesday. Everything was fine then, Sobolev said. Navalny had continued to exchange regular messages with supporters through letters despite his sentence and he continued to regularly speak out against Putins invasion of Ukraine. The Kremlin had attempted to cut Navalny off even further by arresting several of his lawyers last year on charges of being part of an extremist group, which carry a sentence of up to six years in prison. It also repeatedly punished him by holding him in solitary confinement on 27 separate occasions, most recently from Wednesday. Navalny this week had posted on social media a message to his wife, Yulia: Baby, I know that everything with you is like in the song there are cities between us, airport landing lights, blue snowstorms and thousands of kilometres. But I feel you by my side every second and I love you all the more. Loading Navalnys popularity increased after the leading charismatic politician, Boris Nemtsov, was shot and killed in 2015 on a bridge near the Kremlin. Whenever Putin spoke about Navalny, he made it a point to never mention the activist by name, referring to him as that person or similar wording, in an apparent effort to diminish his importance. Bill Browder, an American-born British financier and Putin critic, said it was likely the Kremlin would attempt to cover up the circumstances of Navalnys death. Navalny was fine yesterday, Browder, who led the Magnitsky global sanctions campaign against Russian official told The Times. We should expect a full Magnitsky-style cover-up from the Russian government in short order. I can almost predict the language they will use natural causes, no sign of violence, unexpected death etc. Alexei Navalny was Russias most prominent opposition figure, an anti-corruption investigator whose exposes targeted President Vladimir Putin and his inner circle. His detention and subsequent imprisonment in 2021 upon his voluntary return from Germany, where he was recuperating from a nerve-agent attack he blamed on the Kremlin, sparked the biggest unauthorised protests Putin has ever faced. Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny heads to attend a meeting in Russias Central Election commission in Moscow, Russia in December 2017. Credit: AP In March 2022, he was convicted in a new case that would have brought his total time in prison to about 12 years. The US and European Union demanded the release of Navalny, who reportedly died in prison at age 47. What happened to Navalny? Navalny fell sick during a walk at the remote maximum-security prison camp in the Arctic where he was last held, and medical staff were unable to revive him, the prison authorities said on February 16. In December, friends and lawyers for Navalny, whod been previously held in a prison outside Moscow, raised alarm on social media that they had lost contact with him. He later emerged in the Arctic camp, ending nearly three weeks in which his whereabouts were unknown. Western leaders decried Navalnys death, with many placing responsibility squarely on the Kremlin. 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 East Palestine, Ohio: One year after a freight train full of hazardous chemicals derailed near her home in regional Ohio, Ashley McCollum is still too scared to return. The 34-year-old mother has lived in a hotel in a neighbouring town since March, haunted by memories of the fiery crash that forced residents to evacuate as almost 400,000 litres of cancer-linked gases seeped into the air, soil, and creeks. Ashley McCollum in the hotel room that she, her son and partner share with their dogs Jif and Darby at the Best Western in Columbiana, Ohio. Credit: Joe Appel Weve had maybe a handful of home-cooked meals since weve been gone because all we have is a microwave and a mini fridge, McCollum tells me as she sits in the subsidised Best Western hotel room she shares with boyfriend, her seven-year-old son and two dogs. But honestly, Id rather be here than in town. Every time I went back Id have some kind of reaction. I would have rashing, I would have excessive bowel movements, stomach cramping, eyes burning, a chemical taste in my mouth, lips tingling, ear pain Now Im terrified to go home. I dont want to be forced to live somewhere only to find out in 10 years that the whole town was contaminated. Portions of a Norfolk Southern freight train that derailed in East Palestine, Ohio in February 2023. Credit: AP Advertisement Twelve months after one of the worst chemical rail disasters in recent history, the former factory hamlet of East Palestine is divided over what should happen next. The Environment Protection Authority has conducted numerous tests for contamination in and around the town and is adamant that the region is safe. Toxin-laced dirt and limestone have been dug up to make way for fresh soil, as Norfolk Southern, the train operator responsible, embarks on the final phase of the cleanup. The town mascot and a mural honouring veterans in the centre of East Palestine. Credit: Joe Appel On Friday, US President Joe Biden visited the community for the first time to assure the towns 4700 residents, most of whom supported Donald Trump at the last election, that they have not been forgotten. Biden toured the site of the accident, which forced residents to abandon their homes. While there are acts of God, this was an act of greed that was 100 per cent preventable, he said. Advertisement But the mushroom cloud that once hung over East Palestine has been replaced with a shadow of uncertainty, fear, and distrust. On one side are residents who believe there are still risks and want ongoing support: health care, indoor air and water testing, and financial aid. They say that more should be done to hold Norfolk Southern to account, and are frustrated that things such as relocation funding, which helped locals like McCollum pay for food and lodging over the past year, are ending this month. Some locals are still finding chemical sheen in creeks, while others insist they can still smell chemicals after it rains. A chemical sheen on the surface of Sulphur Run downstream from the derailment site in East Palestine, Ohio. Credit: Joe Appel And some hope that East Palestine is a wake-up call for broader reform, such as better rail safety standards and a ban on the use of vinyl chloride, a colourless gas that is linked to higher risks of cancer, which was one of the toxic materials that derailed that night. The rail transport of vinyl chloride actually puts millions of people at risk across 2000 miles of tracks, says Beyond Plastics director Jess Conard. Advertisement But if we dont change the way that we transport it, and we dont assist and identify the people that are impacted, whats the point? Stigma of a toxic town On the other side of the divide are those who say that the worst effects of the train derailment are long gone. Some question if residents are just trying to make money from the towns misfortune, pointing to court cases where locals have been charged with trying to defraud the Norfolk Southern of recovery assistance money. And many worry that it will be hard to attract people back to East Palestine if it continues to carry the stigma of a toxic town. East Palestine village manager Chad Edwards. Credit: Joe Appel When I first came here in November, people kept saying: dont drink the water, but the water is fine, says the newly appointed village manager, Chad Edwards, whose job is to foster economic development. Advertisement Im not discounting anybody that was here on that day (of the derailment) who say they were exposed, and there are different effects on different people. But I can tell you right now that this town is not poisoned. The greatest comeback in American history Among those keen to move on is Dianna Elzer, who owns a greenhouse with her husband Don on the edge of town, as well as a hot dog shop and ice creamery on the main strip. Business owners like the Elzers did it tough in the aftermath of the derailment: there were fewer visitors, and those who lived in East Palestine didnt want to buy things such as plants or vegetables due to concerns about contaminated soil. Even the goodwill of donations had an impact because its hard to sell water and cleaning products if everybodys donating it. Dianna Elzer, who owns Sutherin Greenhouse with along with her husband in East Palestine. Credit: Joe Appel Now, things are gradually picking up, says Elzer. In a bid to make things right Norfolk Southern has invested $US103 million into community support, including $US25 million in direct assistance for families affected and a $US500,000 grant for economic development. Advertisement CF Industries Holdings (NYSE:CF) Full Year 2023 Results Key Financial Results Revenue: US$6.63b (down 41% from FY 2022). Net income: US$1.53b (down 54% from FY 2022). Profit margin: 23% (down from 30% in FY 2022). The decrease in margin was driven by lower revenue. EPS: US$7.89 (down from US$16.46 in FY 2022). All figures shown in the chart above are for the trailing 12 month (TTM) period CF Industries Holdings EPS Misses Expectations Revenue was in line with analyst estimates. Earnings per share (EPS) missed analyst estimates by 4.3%. Looking ahead, revenue is expected to decline by 3.4% p.a. on average during the next 3 years, while revenues in the Chemicals industry in the US are expected to grow by 4.3%. Performance of the American Chemicals industry. The company's share price is broadly unchanged from a week ago. Risk Analysis You should learn about the 1 warning sign we've spotted with CF Industries Holdings. 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. A Volkswagen ID.6 X is displayed at the Auto Shanghai show, in Shanghai (Reuters) - Volkswagen on Friday said group deliveries rose 13.3% in January to 698,200 vehicles, with China the leading growth region. The German automaker's sales in China jumped 43%, while the group saw the biggest decline in its "Asia-Pacific Rest" region with 16.3%. Sales rose by 8.2% in Central and Eastern Europe. The strong growth in the Chinese market was partly thanks to a very low base in January last year, which was heavily influenced by COVID restrictions, VW said. In addition, the Chinese New Year holiday season was at the end of January in 2023. (Reporting by Paolo Laudani, editing by Kirsti Knolle) The Wyoming Cultural Trust Fund board will meet on February 23. This board meeting will focus on updates and grantee reports. This public meeting will be held in person at the Historic Governors Mansion, Carriage House, 300 E. 21st Street, Cheyenne. A Google Meet option is also available. The meeting will begin at 8:30 a.m. and conclude by approximately 3 p.m. An executive session may be held if necessary. To participate via the Google Meet option: Meeting ID meet.google.com/zqj-atsb-nsp Phone Number (US) +1 470-485-0728 PIN: 950 387 528# The Wyoming Cultural Trust Fund board meetings are open to the public. The board meeting agenda is available on the WCTF website, www.wyoculturaltrust.com. Please feel free to contact the WCTF Program Coordinator, Renee Bovee at renee.bovee@wyo.gov or 307-777-6312 with any questions. Coca-Cola HBC (LON:CCH) Full Year 2023 Results Key Financial Results Revenue: 10.2b (up 11% from FY 2022). Net income: 636.5m (up 53% from FY 2022). Profit margin: 6.3% (up from 4.5% in FY 2022). The increase in margin was driven by higher revenue. EPS: 1.73 (up from 1.13 in FY 2022). All figures shown in the chart above are for the trailing 12 month (TTM) period Coca-Cola HBC EPS Misses Expectations Revenue was in line with analyst estimates. Earnings per share (EPS) missed analyst estimates by 9.9%. Looking ahead, revenue is forecast to grow 5.1% p.a. on average during the next 3 years, compared to a 3.9% growth forecast for the Beverage industry in the United Kingdom. Performance of the British Beverage industry. The company's shares are up 12% from a week ago. Risk Analysis You should learn about the 2 warning signs we've spotted with Coca-Cola HBC. 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. Luxco to launch El Mayor Tequila in UK and Europe Four varieties of El Mayor Tequila will arrive in the UK and Europe from March, brand distributor Luxco has announced. The brands Blanco, Reposado, Anejo, and Cristalino Tequilas are all distilled at the Destiladora Gonzalez Lux (DGL) in Mexico. The distillery is run by the Gonzalez family, who boast a legacy of 150 years in Tequila. At the helm of the brand is master distiller and brand ambassador Grace Gonzalez, who works with her father, master distiller Rodolfo Gonzalez, on the range of 100 per cent agave Tequilas produced at DGL. El Mayor Tequila will be distributed by Lightbox Brands in the UK and Perola GmbH in Germany, two of the high-demand European Tequila markets on which the brand is focusing. Greg Mefford, international sales director at Luxco, said: Launching a new product range to market, particularly within a different category, is always a thrill but the exciting European Tequila landscape makes the introduction of El Mayor even more significant. Premium Tequila is experiencing a meteoric rise as people start to realise the spirits true provenance and qualities, over previously being pigeonholed as a slammer drink. Consumers thirst for the agave spirit provides the ideal time for education on how Tequila is intended to be enjoyed sipped and savoured as the authentic Mexican way of drinking, mixed into beautiful celebratory cocktails, and paired with incredible foods. Were excited to place El Mayor front and centre within this next chapter of Tequilas history. 16 February 2024 - Lucy Schofield While it was a bit of a laugh at the start, with many Kiwis poking fun at the sightings, New Zealand Food Safety deputy director-general Vincent Arbuckle is concerned about the risks these fury and feathered pals could have on us. 2023 sees drastic decline in fire incidents in State forests By Kaushik Bhattacharya Maharashtra witnessed a drastic decrease in forest fire incidents in 2023 as compared to the previous four years, reveals the data shared by Forest Department in response to an application under Right to Information (RTI) Act filed by city-based activist Abhay Kolarkar. Among 15 circles in the State, Gadchiroli tops the chart with the highest 31,207 ha land destroyed by forest fires in five years from 2019 to 2023. Gadchiroli also witnessed the highest number of fire incidents that is 10,198 in five years. However, the highest property loss was recorded in Kolhapur circle with Rs 51.73 lakh in these five years. The seven circles of Vidarbha region -- Chandrapur, Gadchiroli, Nagpur, Nagpur (Wild Life), Amravati, Yavatmal and Melghat -- witnessed destructino of the highest 77,800 ha land in forest fires between 2019 and 2023. Dhule (43.36 lakh), Nashik (42.11 lakh), and Thane (40.38 lakh) recorded highest amount of property losses along with Kolhapur in these five years. During this period, total 37,403 incidents of forest fires were reported. In these incidents, total 1,28,315 hectares of forest area was gutted and the department bear a loss of Rs 3.16 crore in five years, reveals the official data. All seven circles in Vidarbha region put together reported 19,153 incidents in which 77,800 hectares of area was lost. The loss in Vidarbha region alone is 60.63 per cent of the total loss in State. In 2023, a total of 5,274 fire incidents happened in Maharashtra which was the lowest in the five years. Similarly, 12,921.60 hectares of land was ruined in fire in 2023, which was again lowest in five years. As lesser forest land was destroyed, the total losses were also were lower as compare to five years. The fire incidents in Maharashtra forests takes place due to human interference. These incidents mainly takes place between February and April when the villagers enter forest area for collection of Tendu leaves and Mahua flowers, Ajinkya Bhatkar, Honorary Wildlife Warden, Nagpur told The Hitavada. Forest areas having tendu units are set on fire, in the belief that this gives better yield. Whereas, in Western Maharashtra, most of the fires are for collection of apta leaves, said Bhatkar. Forest department taking many steps to stop fire incidents in forest areas. Regular patrolling by field staff, awareness among villagers, use of motor boats in rivers for controlling timber smuggling in bordering areas, cash rewards for informers etc. are some steps that the department adopted to stop fire incidents. NC to contest LS polls on its own: Farooq Abdullah SRINAGAR, THE National Conference, biggest regional party of Jammu and Kashmir, on Thursday announced it would contest the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections and possible Assembly polls in the Union Territory on its own. This was announced by the party chief and Lok Sabha MP Farooq Abdullah here. It comes as yet another setback to the I.N.D.I.A. bloc as well as the regional PAGD alliance. Elections will happen and I think both Assembly and Parliament elections will be held together. As far as seat sharing is concerned, I want to make it clear that the National Conference will contest elections on its own. There are no two views about it, Abdullah told reporters here. The decision of the National Conference also signals an end to the Peoples Alliance on Gupkar Declaration (PAGD), which was formed ahead of the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019. Earlier, the regional grouping had indicated that it will fight elections jointly. Omar Abdullah clarifies: NC in talks with Cong for three LS seats, is part of I.N.D.I.A. bloc: The National Conference is a part of the I.N.D.I.A. grouping and will continue to be, party leader Omar Abdullah clarified on Thursday and said it is in talks with the Congress for an arrangement in three of the six Lok Sabha seats in Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh. Omar Abdullahs statement came shortly after NC chief Farooq Abdullah told reporters that the party would contest the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections and possible assembly polls in the Union Territory on its own. We were a part of the I.N.D.I.A. alliance and we still are. Things have been taken out of context. The main idea of the grouping is to defeat the BJP for there is no point in sailing in two boats, Omar Abdullah said with his father, Farooq Abdullah, by his side. Referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modis visit to the Union Territory next week, he said, We will also get to know how much development has happened in Jammu and Kashmir. He said the Prime Minister should start his theory of one nation, one election from Jammu and Kashmir. PM thanks Qatari Emir forrelease of 8 jailed Indians DOHA : PRIME Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday thanked Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin HamadAl-Thani for the release of eight Indian nationals, who were sentenced to death after being arrested here in August 2022. Modi held wide-ranging talks with the Qatari Emir primarily focusing on significantly expanding India-Qatar ties in areas of trade, energy, investment and new technology. Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra said at a media briefing that Modi thanked the Emir for his support for the welfare of the Indian community in the Gulf nation. The Prime Minister thanked the Emir for his support for the welfare of the Indian community, and in this regard, expressed his deep appreciation to the Emir for the release of eight Indian nationals of AlDahra company. We are extremely gratified to see them back in India, Kwatra said. Modi arrived in this Qatari capital city last night after concluding a two-day visit to the United Arab Emirates. The Navy veterans were on October 26 given death sentences by Qatars Court of First Instance. The Court of Appeal in the Gulf nation on December28 commuted the capital punishment and sentenced themto jail terms for varying durations. In December, PrimeMinister Modi met the Qatari Amir on the sidelines of theCOP28 Summit in Dubai anddiscussed the well-being of the Indian community inQatar. The former Indian Navypersonnel apparently facedcharges of espionage, but neither the Qatari authorities norNew Delhi made the chargesagainst them public. Kwatra said the discussionsbetween Modi and the Emirfocused on a wide range of areas of bilateral cooperationincluding trade partnership, investment cooperation andenergy ties. The two leadersspoke about the need for strategic investments and strategicpartnerships in the fields of energy and technology, he said. The Foreign Secretary saidModis visit to Doha laid thebasis for taking India-Qatarrelationship to a much higherlevel across various domains, the two sides are looking at using investment as a vehicleto build long-term strategicpartnership. RIGHT INTENT WITH the leaders and thinkers from over 120 countries in the audience, Indian Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi expressed the right intent and gave mantra for shaping the future governments, at the World Government Summit in Dubai. He delivered the right message, in tune with the aspirations of the better educated and inter-connected world. There were several messages in his speech. The most important were two -- governments should be inclusive and free from corruption, minimum government and maximum governance. He gave the message of inclusion on the second day of his visit to the UAE, close after the inauguration of the first Hindu stone temple in Abu Dhabi. This had a special significance as the temple inauguration in Abu Dhabi marked a historic moment as far as inclusion is concerned. Also, it hinted at reshaping of the global idea of inclusion, which was largely looked at from the tinted glasses of the Western worldview. The idea of inclusion also referred to governments being free from corruption. That Mr. Modi has helmed making governance more transparent through digital push and launching financial inclusion schemes with great success, made his message more convincing. The other idea of minimum government and maximum governance is a mantra applied in India in the past few years. As a result, despite massive reforms in a variety of domains from tax to education, different sectors have become dynamic. The Indian systems have taken a leap from government interference to governance intervention. There is a fine difference between both. Previously, the Government used to impose own notions to the extent of interference on social, cultural, economic, industrial, scientific pursuits and markets. In the past few years, a lot of things have changed. Those feeling culturally marginalised have started expressing themselves freely. Markets are evolving through competition and innovation. Scientific pursuits have gained new momentum. Social groups are more expressive. Economic growth is visible internationally. Industrial output is increasing. All these have happened with the Government adopting need-based intervention approach. The digital push has made the systems more transparent. It has increased the accees to services for the people and also has reduced time, money, and energy required to get works done. The digital payments revolution has come in for appreciation from different countries of the world. This has accelerated the evolution of Indian society into a fast-paced community. It has created the ease of operations, living, mobility, and innovation. As a result, the societal attitude is changing from old ideas of income by all means to entrepreneurship, business, and ethical money through multi-tasking. All these aspects have ensured strong placement for India when the world economic order is undergoing a shift and newer powers are assuming importance. There are several other aspects including strengthening of democratic set-up, pitching for legal and electoral reforms, freedom of fact-based expression through social media, and creating conducive atmosphere for newer pursuits of aspiring young Indians. The world has been a witness to these changes and emergence of India at global stage as a major player. As far as shaping the future Governments is concerned, what matters the most is a strong and visionary leadership with right intent. India has such a leadership now. That is why, the world is keen on listening to Indian leadership sharing the ideas and intent. Because, shared values can bring about positive changes for everyone. It is usually uneventful when a single insider buys stock. However, When quite a few insiders buy shares, as it happened in The Colonial Motor Company Limited's (NZSE:CMO) case, it's fantastic news for shareholders. While insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether. See our latest analysis for Colonial Motor The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Colonial Motor Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider purchase was by Executive Director Graeme Gibbons for NZ$810k worth of shares, at about NZ$9.00 per share. So it's clear an insider wanted to buy, even at a higher price than the current share price (being NZ$8.79). While their view may have changed since the purchase was made, this does at least suggest they have had confidence in the company's future. We always take careful note of the price insiders pay when purchasing shares. It is generally more encouraging if they paid above the current price, as it suggests they saw value, even at higher levels. Over the last year, we can see that insiders have bought 278.00k shares worth NZ$2.5m. But they sold 45.00k shares for NZ$396k. In the last twelve months there was more buying than selling by Colonial Motor insiders. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date! Colonial Motor 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 Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by 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. Colonial Motor insiders own 73% of the company, currently worth about NZ$211m based on the recent share price. I like to see this level of insider ownership, because it increases the chances that management are thinking about the best interests of shareholders. Story continues So What Does This Data Suggest About Colonial Motor Insiders? The fact that there have been no Colonial Motor insider transactions recently certainly doesn't bother us. But insiders have shown more of an appetite for the stock, over the last year. With high insider ownership and encouraging transactions, it seems like Colonial Motor insiders think the business has merit. So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. Every company has risks, and we've spotted 1 warning sign for Colonial Motor 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. Rs 1,886.91 crore Budget outlay for NMRDA Staff Reporter Maharashtra Government has approved an outlay of Rs 1,886.91 crore for Nagpur Metropolitan Region Development Authority (NMRDA) for the next financial year. NMRDA has been entrusted with the responsibility of overseeing planned development in the 700 villages which are rappidly getting urbanised. Chief Minister Eknath Shinde chaired a meeting of Urban Development Department (UDD) at Sahyadri Guest House, Mumbai, on Thursday, wherein NMRDA budget was taken up for discussion. Deputy Chief Minister and Nagpur's Guardian Minister Devendra Fadnavis was also present at the meet. The focus of NMRDA outlay is on strengtgthening underground sewerage system for 25 villages under Phase-II of Amrut Yojana for which a sum of Rs 716 crore has been earmarked. Under this, all the existing pipelines would be replaced to meet the modern standards. As per details, the underground sewerage system is going to be laid in South B and East A section and it is envisaged that total length of the pipelines will be 500 km. The scheme will have four sewerage treatment plants and one pump house. During the meeting, the Chief Minister directed NMRDA to expedite the ongoing development works. NMRDA has also taken-up regularisation work in the area along side the city limits where residential localities have come-up in large numbers. Further another agenda on the meeting was about sanction to Phase-III development of various works at Koradi Jagdamba Temple, Deekshabhoomi development, Cancer Hospital, basic civic amenities in Hingna area. The budget of Rs 1186.91 crore also envisages paying the compensation to flood victims, taking-up road development projects, Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, construction of sewerage treatment plant at Shree Kshetra Dhapewada and development of tourism facilities at various places in district. The Cancer Hospital project has been in pipeline since long and is going to be located in Government Medical College and Hospital campus. Now NMRDA has started the basic work for the hospital that would help the cancer patients, especially those belonging to economically weaker sections of society, to get affordable treatment. Similarly, development works at Deekshabhoomi have started and are in full swing. Chief Secretary Dr Nitin Kareer, Commissioner, NMRDA, Manoj Kumar Suryawanshi and other officials were also present at the meeting. SC orders SBI to disclose donors, amount, recipients NEW DELHI SCRAPPED Electoral bonds unconstitutional IN A landmark verdict delivered within hand-shaking distance of the Lok Sabha polls, the Supreme Court on Thursday scrapped the Modi Governments electoral bonds scheme of anonymous political funding, terming itunconstitutional and ordering disclosure of the names of the purchasers, value of the bonds and their recipients. Holding that the 2018 scheme was violative of the constitutional right to freedom of speech and expression and right to information, a fivejudge constitution bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud did not agree with the Centres contention that it was meant to bring about transparency and curb black money in political funding. Ordering closure of the scheme forthwith, the top court also directed the State Bank of India, the authorised financial institution under the scheme, to submit by March 6 the details of electoral bonds purchased since April 12, 2019 till date to the Election Commission, which will publish the information on its official website by March 13. Under the electoral bonds scheme, ruling parties can coerce people and entities to contribute, the apex court said and rejected aserroneous the Centres argument that it protects confidentiality of the contributor which is akin to the system of secret ballot. The electoral bond scheme and the impugned provisions to the extent that they infringe upon the right to information of the voter by anonymizing contributions through electoral bonds are violative of Article 19(1)(a) (freedom of speech and expression) of the Constitution, said the bench, also comprising Justices Sanjiv Khanna, B R Gavai, J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, in its verdict delivered months ahead of the Lok Sabha polls. The Lok Sabha polls are likely in April-May this year. In its two separate but unanimous verdicts cumulatively spanning 232 pages, the top court also directed the SBI to share details, including the date of purchaseofeachelectoralbond, the name of the purchaser ofthe bond and the denominationoftheelectoralbond purchased. SBI shall submit the details of political parties which have received contributions through electoral bondssincetheinterimorder of this court dated April 12, 2019 till date to the ECI. SBI mustdisclosedetailsofeach electoral bond encashed by political parties which shall include the date of encashmentandthedenomination of the electoral bond, the benchsaid.OnApril12,2019, theapex court hadissuedan interim order directing that theinformationaboutdonationsreceivedanddonations which will be received must besubmittedbypoliticalparties totheECina sealedcover. The court ordered that uncashed electoral bonds, which are within the validity period of 15 days, shall be returnedbythepoliticalparty or the purchaser to the issuing bank which in turn shall refund the amount to the purchasers account. Thejudgementreferredto the annual audit reports of political parties from 2017- 18 to 2022-23 which showed party-wise donations received through such bonds. The BJP received Rs 6,566.11 crore during this period, while the Congress gotRs1,123.3crore.TheTMC received in its kitty Rs 1,092.98 crore during the same period. The CJI, who authored a 152-pagejudgementforhimself and onbehalf ofJustices Gavai, Pardiwala and Misra, said, The electoral bond scheme, the proviso to section 29C(1) of the RepresentationofthePeople Act1951(asamendedbysection137ofFinanceAct2017), section 182(3) of the Companies Act (as amended by section 154 of the Finance Act 2017), and section 13A(b) (as amended by section 11 of Finance Act 2017) are violative of Article 19(1)(a) and unconstitutional. It said the deletion of a provision in the Companies Act permitting unlimited corporate contributions to political parties wasarbitrary andviolative of Article 14 (right to equality) of the Constitution. Trains hit as farmers BLOCK rail tracks in Punjab LUDHIANA/HOSHIARPUR : SOME trains on the DelhiAmritsar route were diverted on Thursday after farmers squatted on tracks at many places in Punjab over the Haryana Polices action against Delhi Chalo protesters. Farmers also staged dharnas at several toll plazas and forced authorities to not charge the commuters a toll fee. Bhartiya Kisan Union (Ekta Ugrahan) and BKU Dakunda (Dhaner) had given the call for a four-hour rail roko protest at several places in Punjab. Farmers began their stir around 12 pm by squatting on rail tracks at several places. The demonstrations are likely to continue till 4 pm. As farmers are sitting on the railway tracks at several places on the main Delhi- Amritsar route, railway authorities diverted the routes of the trains via Chandigarh (for Delhi side) and Lohian Khas (for AmritsarandJalandharside). A spokesperson of Indian Railways said Shatabdi and Shan-e-Punjab Express trains coming from Delhi were terminated at the Ludhiana railway station. Meanwhile, on the call of Samyukta Kisan Morcha, farmers also staged demonstrations at several toll plazas to protest against the use of tear gas by Haryana Police when farmers demanding minimum support price were marching towards national capital on Tuesday.Theyalsoforcedthe toll authorities to let go the commuters without charging them a toll fee. 3UNIONMINISTERSHOLD TALKSWITH FARM UNION LEADERS: Three Union Ministers held a third round of talks with the leaders of protesting farmer unions in Chandigarh on Thursday, amida standoffbetweenthe protesters and security personnel at two points on the Punjab-Haryana border. Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann also joined themeetingattheMahatma Gandhi State Institute of Public Administration in Sector 26 here. Union Agriculture and Farmer Welfare Minister Arjun Munda, Commerce andIndustryMinisterPiyush Goyal and Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai represented the Centre at the meeting. The talks were underway till late at night. Vijays Party: A Challenge By KALYANI SHANkAR TAMIL superstar Thalapathy Vijay launched his political party, Thamizhaga Vetri Kazhagam, last week. He declared that his party will only contest the 2026 Assembly polls in Tamil Nadu, not the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. The question is whether he will succeed. After the launch of his party, Vijay said, I have one more film I have signed, and I will finish it and ultimately involve myself in politics. I have been preparing myself for my political journey for a long time. I will devote myself to the people of Tamil Nadu. This is the only way I can give back to my people. This is a typical argument that many politicians use to present themselves as genuine do-gooders. Successful actor-turned-politicians in Tamil Nadu included M.G. Ramachandran, J Jayalalithaa, M. Karunanidhi, C.N. Annadurai, and Captain Vijayakanth. Shivaji Ganesan, Sarathkumar, Napoleon, and S. S. Rajendran were unsuccessful. MGR had a strong base in the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and got the party votes till he launched AIADMK in 1972. Jayalalithaa, on the other hand, was known for her anti-DMK stance and gained popularity on that platform. Kamal Haasan founded his political party, Makkal Needhi Maiam, in 2018. Unfortunately, his party won no seats in the 2019 and 2021 elections. On the other hand, Vijayakanth showed promise at the start of his political career in 2005 but could not sustain it. He passed away recently. Thalapathi (General) Vijay is a well-known actor from the Udayar community and a Christian. He is rumoured to earn around Rs. 150 crore per film . Vijay plans to run for the position of Chief Minister in the 2026 Assembly elections. He has sufficient time to gain the publics trust as an alternative to the ruling DMK and AIDMK. His primary opponent in the generational shift is Udayanidhi, a minister and the son of the current Chief Minister, M K Stalin. Vijays political party plans to adopt a political philosophy incorporating the ideas of three significant figures. While B.R. Ambedkar advocated for Dalits rights, Periyar was a well-known social reformer. Kamaraj was an advocate for the backward class. Notably, Vijay has decided not to use the term Dravida in his partys name. Vijay aims to win voters support from different political parties, including the ruling DMK and the primary Opposition AIADMK. The others in the race are Naam Tamilar Katchi (NTK), Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), PMK, Makkal Needhi Maiam, and VCK. He must lure voters from all these parties to win the election. In the past, Vijays political support included the India Against Corruption movement in 2011. He also backed the pro-jallikattu protests in 2017. He met with the families of the victims of the Thoothukudi incident in 2018. On the other hand, despite public expectations for decades, Rajinikanth is now out of the picture. Vijay has an advantage in Tamil Nadu, a State obsessed with films. He is young, a crowd-puller, and his timing is right. Additionally, his Tamil identity gives him an edge over Rajinikanth, whose Marathi roots and BJP/RSS ties have sparked controversy in the Dravidian-dominated state. Vijays success hinges on his communication skills and how he defines his partys ideology. He must effectively contrast it with the Dravidian doctrine of DMK and AIADMK parties and adopt an aggressive posture. Vijay must declare which political party he is contesting against. Is it the DMK, AIADMK or the national parties? As a newcomer, his best bet is to oppose the ruling Government, the DMK. This strategy worked for J. Jayalalithaa, who positioned herself against the DMK and its leader, Karunanidhi. This ultimately led to her success as a politician. Can Vijay win over rival parties and overcome DMKs anti-incumbency sentiment? DMK and AIADMK have a 50-year history of alternating power with a strong 30% vote base for each.. DMK prioritises infrastructure, while AIADMK focuses on populist schemes. Vijays party will impact other players regardless of the election result. To ensure his success in the 2026 Assembly election, Vijay needs to focus on setting up booth committees. Since DMK and AIADMK already have a solid voter base, he needs to motivate his rural supporters to become actual voters. Theres a rumour that his party is getting support from the BJP in exchange for help in 2026. He needs to address it. Its premature to predict what the future holds for Vijay. His success will depend on whether he can build a solid fan base like MGR or N.T. Rama Rao, who both had good political advisers - something Vijay currently lacks. He is yet to build his party. Although the road ahead will be challenging, Vijay can overcome obstacles through hard work and dedication. (IPA) Comprehensive SWOT analysis based on DuPont's latest SEC 10-K filing. Financial overview highlights DuPont's robust patent portfolio and global market presence. Strategic evaluation of DuPont's operational risks and growth opportunities. Forward-looking insights into DuPont's sustainability goals and market strategies. On February 15, 2024, DuPont de Nemours Inc (NYSE:DD), a global leader in specialty chemicals, released its annual 10-K filing, offering a detailed view of its financial performance and strategic direction. As a company that emerged from the DowDuPont merger, DuPont has established a strong presence in various industries, including electronics, automotive, and construction. The filing reveals a company with a solid financial foundation, boasting an aggregate market value of approximately $33 billion as of June 30, 2023. With a global workforce of about 24,000 employees and a significant patent estate of around 12,700 patents and applications, DuPont's financial health is underpinned by its innovative capabilities and expansive market reach. Decoding DuPont de Nemours Inc (DD): A Strategic SWOT Insight Strengths Robust Intellectual Property Portfolio: DuPont's extensive patent estate, comprising approximately 12,700 patents and applications, is a testament to its commitment to innovation and a significant competitive advantage. With 78 percent of these patents having a remaining term of more than 5 years, DuPont ensures the longevity of its technological edge. This intellectual property not only protects the company's unique products and processes but also provides opportunities for licensing and cross-industry leverage, contributing to a diverse and resilient revenue stream. Global Market Presence: DuPont's operations span across 50 countries, with international sales accounting for 68 percent of net sales in 2023. This global footprint allows DuPont to tap into various markets, mitigate risks associated with regional economic fluctuations, and benefit from a broad customer base. The company's strong position in the Asia Pacific region, particularly in China, underscores its strategic market penetration and potential for future growth in emerging markets. Story continues Weaknesses Dependence on Raw Material Suppliers: DuPont's reliance on third-party suppliers for raw materials can lead to vulnerabilities, such as supply chain disruptions or price volatility. While the company does not typically operate against a significant backlog, limited instances of backlog due to raw material availability have occurred. These situations can impact production schedules and financial performance, highlighting the need for a more robust supply chain strategy to mitigate such risks. Operational Risks and Cybersecurity Threats: DuPont's centralized and local information technology networks are critical to its operations. However, the company acknowledges the potential for disruptions caused by cybersecurity threats, which could lead to loss of proprietary information, legal liabilities, and operational setbacks. Despite efforts to enhance protective measures, the evolving nature of cyber threats poses a continuous challenge to DuPont's operational integrity. Opportunities Advancements in Sustainability: DuPont's 2030 Sustainability Goals, including its commitment to achieving carbon-neutral operations by 2050, align with global trends towards environmental responsibility. By focusing on sustainable solutions, DuPont can capitalize on increasing demand for eco-friendly products and practices. This strategic direction not only enhances the company's brand reputation but also opens up new markets and customer segments that prioritize sustainability. Emerging Market Growth: With a significant portion of revenue generated from international operations, DuPont is well-positioned to leverage growth opportunities in emerging markets. The company's presence in the Asia Pacific region, especially in China, provides a platform for expansion and increased market share. By tailoring its product offerings and innovation efforts to meet the specific needs of these markets, DuPont can drive revenue growth and diversify its global presence further. Threats Competitive Market Conditions: DuPont operates in a highly competitive industry where product innovation, pricing strategies, and customer preferences rapidly evolve. The company must continuously adapt to maintain its market position and profitability. Failure to respond effectively to these competitive pressures could result in market share loss and reduced financial performance. Regulatory and Geo-Political Risks: As a global entity, DuPont is subject to various international regulations, including environmental laws and data protection standards. Changes in regulatory landscapes or geopolitical tensions can affect the company's operations and strategic decisions. DuPont must navigate these complexities to ensure compliance and minimize potential adverse impacts on its business. In conclusion, DuPont de Nemours Inc (NYSE:DD) exhibits a strong competitive position, bolstered by its extensive patent portfolio and global market presence. However, the company faces challenges related to its dependency on raw material suppliers and the ever-present threat of cybersecurity breaches. Opportunities for growth lie in DuPont's commitment to sustainability and potential expansion in emerging markets. Nonetheless, the company must remain vigilant against competitive pressures and regulatory changes that pose threats to its operations. By strategically leveraging its strengths and addressing its weaknesses, while capitalizing on opportunities and mitigating threats, DuPont is poised to maintain its status as a leader in the specialty chemicals industry. This article, generated by GuruFocus, is designed to provide general insights and is not tailored financial advice. Our commentary is rooted in historical data and analyst projections, utilizing an impartial methodology, and is not intended to serve as specific investment guidance. It does not formulate a recommendation to purchase or divest any stock and does not consider individual investment objectives or financial circumstances. Our objective is to deliver long-term, fundamental data-driven analysis. Be aware that our analysis might not incorporate the most recent, price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative information. GuruFocus holds no position in the stocks mentioned herein. This article first appeared on GuruFocus. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. purchased a new position in Chevron Co. (NYSE:CVX Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 151,684 shares of the oil and gas companys stock, valued at approximately $25,577,000. Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in CVX. Windsor Advisory Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Chevron by 24.0% in the third quarter. Windsor Advisory Group LLC now owns 3,720 shares of the oil and gas companys stock valued at $627,000 after purchasing an additional 720 shares in the last quarter. Dechtman Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Chevron in the second quarter valued at about $648,000. Altrius Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Chevron by 2.1% in the third quarter. Altrius Capital Management Inc now owns 21,333 shares of the oil and gas companys stock valued at $3,597,000 after purchasing an additional 434 shares in the last quarter. Tsfg LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Chevron by 5.3% in the third quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 3,473 shares of the oil and gas companys stock valued at $586,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Berkeley Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Chevron by 13.1% in the second quarter. Berkeley Capital Partners LLC now owns 14,333 shares of the oil and gas companys stock valued at $2,255,000 after purchasing an additional 1,661 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.87% of the companys stock. Get Chevron alerts: Wall Street Analyst Weigh In Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Chevron from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. Scotiabank cut Chevron from a sector outperform rating to a sector perform rating and set a $170.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. Bank of America upgraded Chevron from a neutral rating to a buy rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $190.00 to $200.00 in a research note on Monday, October 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Chevron from a market perform rating to an outperform rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $184.00 to $182.00 in a research note on Thursday, November 2nd. Finally, Mizuho dropped their price objective on Chevron from $215.00 to $195.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 14th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve 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 target price of $180.95. Chevron Stock Performance NYSE CVX traded up $0.97 on Friday, reaching $155.43. The stock had a trading volume of 2,875,683 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,738,232. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $148.58 and a two-hundred day moving average of $154.34. Chevron Co. has a 1-year low of $139.62 and a 1-year high of $172.88. The company has a market cap of $293.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.13. Chevron (NYSE:CVX Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, February 2nd. The oil and gas company reported $3.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.19 by $0.26. The company had revenue of $47.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $50.93 billion. Chevron had a return on equity of 15.24% and a net margin of 10.63%. Chevrons quarterly revenue was down 16.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $4.09 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Chevron Co. will post 13.03 EPS for the current year. Chevron Increases Dividend The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 16th will be issued a dividend of $1.63 per share. This is a positive change from Chevrons previous quarterly dividend of $1.51. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.19%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 15th. Chevrons dividend payout ratio is 53.17%. 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. Further Reading Want to see what other hedge funds are holding CVX? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Chevron Co. (NYSE:CVX Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Chevron Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Chevron and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Motorola Solutions Inc's robust market position and innovative solutions in public safety and enterprise security. Challenges in supply chain management and competitive pressures in the technology sector. Opportunities for growth through strategic acquisitions and expanding product offerings. Threats from cybersecurity risks and complex regulatory environments. On February 15, 2024, Motorola Solutions Inc (NYSE:MSI) filed its annual 10-K report, revealing a comprehensive overview of the company's financial health and strategic direction. As a global leader in public safety and enterprise security, MSI continues to innovate and expand its offerings to over 100,000 customers across more than 100 countries. The company's financial tables indicate a solid performance, with a focus on land mobile radios, radio network infrastructure, surveillance equipment, and dispatch software. With a significant portion of revenue stemming from government agencies and a growing presence in the private sector, MSI's financial stability is underscored by its diverse customer base and commitment to safety and security. Decoding Motorola Solutions Inc (MSI): A Strategic SWOT Insight Strengths Market Leadership and Brand Reputation: Motorola Solutions Inc (NYSE:MSI) has established itself as a leader in the field of communications and analytics, particularly in the public safety sector. The company's strong brand, built on nearly a century of innovation and customer collaboration, has resulted in a loyal customer base that trusts MSI for its reliable and advanced technology solutions. With a market capitalization of approximately $43.0 billion as of June 30, 2023, MSI's financial strength is evident, providing it with the resources to invest in research and development, as well as strategic acquisitions. Technological Innovation and Product Portfolio: MSI's commitment to technological advancement is a key strength, with a product portfolio that includes land mobile radios, radio network infrastructure, and surveillance equipment. The company's focus on integrating these technologies to work together enhances customer outcomes, as seen in the example of a school setting where various MSI technologies collaborate to ensure safety. This integration of products and services positions MSI as a comprehensive solutions provider in its market. Story continues Weaknesses Supply Chain Vulnerabilities: Despite its strong market position, MSI faces challenges in supply chain management. The company's reliance on timely delivery of quality materials, parts, and components from suppliers means that any disruption could negatively impact its ability to meet customer demands. In 2023, MSI reduced inventory levels in response to supply chain constraints, which could potentially affect its operational efficiency and customer satisfaction. Competitive Pressures: The technology sector is highly competitive, and MSI operates in markets where rapid innovation is crucial. The company must continuously invest in research and development to maintain its competitive edge. Additionally, MSI's acquisitions carry the risk of integration challenges and the need to retain key employees, which could affect its ability to quickly adapt to market changes and customer needs. Opportunities Strategic Acquisitions and Market Expansion: MSI has a history of making strategic acquisitions to fill product or technology gaps, as evidenced by the acquisition of IPVideo Corporation in December 2023. These acquisitions not only enhance MSI's product offerings but also provide opportunities to enter new markets and segments, potentially leading to increased revenue streams and market share. Advancements in Cloud and Cybersecurity Services: The company's focus on cloud-based and hybrid solutions, along with cybersecurity services, positions MSI to capitalize on the growing demand for secure and scalable technology solutions. As organizations increasingly move towards digital transformation, MSI's expertise in these areas presents significant growth opportunities. Threats Cybersecurity Risks: MSI's extensive reliance on information systems exposes it to cybersecurity threats, which could lead to significant disruptions and financial losses. The company's role as a provider of mission-critical communications systems further heightens this risk, as any compromise of sensitive information could have serious implications for MSI and its customers. Regulatory Challenges: Operating in a global market, MSI must navigate complex and changing laws and regulations related to privacy, data protection, and cybersecurity. Compliance with these regulations incurs costs, and any failure to adhere to legal obligations could result in liabilities and damage to the company's reputation. In conclusion, Motorola Solutions Inc (NYSE:MSI) exhibits a strong market presence and a commitment to innovation that positions it well within the public safety and enterprise security sectors. However, the company must address supply chain vulnerabilities and competitive pressures to maintain its leadership. Opportunities for growth through strategic acquisitions and advancements in cloud and cybersecurity services are promising, but MSI must remain vigilant against cybersecurity risks and regulatory challenges. Overall, MSI's strategic focus and financial stability suggest a positive outlook, with careful navigation of the identified threats and capitalization on the available opportunities. This article, generated by GuruFocus, is designed to provide general insights and is not tailored financial advice. Our commentary is rooted in historical data and analyst projections, utilizing an impartial methodology, and is not intended to serve as specific investment guidance. It does not formulate a recommendation to purchase or divest any stock and does not consider individual investment objectives or financial circumstances. Our objective is to deliver long-term, fundamental data-driven analysis. Be aware that our analysis might not incorporate the most recent, price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative information. GuruFocus holds no position in the stocks mentioned herein. This article first appeared on GuruFocus. Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL Get Free Report) has earned an average rating of Moderate Buy from the fourteen ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, nine have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $92.79. WELL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada downgraded Welltower from an outperform rating to a sector perform rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $92.00 to $97.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 28th. StockNews.com raised Welltower from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report on Wednesday, November 1st. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on Welltower from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Friday, January 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Welltower from a neutral rating to an overweight rating and lifted their target price for the company from $92.00 to $99.00 in a research note on Monday, December 18th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Welltower from $86.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an in-line rating in a research note on Monday, November 27th. Get Welltower alerts: Check Out Our Latest Research Report on Welltower Welltower Price Performance Shares of NYSE:WELL opened at $93.74 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 3.37, a quick ratio of 3.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. Welltower has a 1 year low of $65.18 and a 1 year high of $94.63. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $89.23 and a 200 day simple moving average of $86.07. The firm has a market cap of $51.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 195.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.07. Welltower (NYSE:WELL Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 13th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.94 by ($0.79). Welltower had a return on equity of 1.15% and a net margin of 3.94%. The firm had revenue of $1.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $1.72 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.83 earnings per share. Welltowers revenue was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Welltower will post 3.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. Welltower Announces Dividend The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 23rd will be paid a $0.61 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 22nd. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.60%. Welltowers dividend payout ratio is presently 508.33%. Hedge Funds Weigh In On Welltower Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in Welltower by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 6,372 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $522,000 after buying an additional 119 shares during the period. Profund Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Welltower by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Profund Advisors LLC now owns 7,632 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $625,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Welltower by 21.2% in the 4th quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 691 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Lcnb Corp raised its holdings in Welltower by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. Lcnb Corp now owns 4,935 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $399,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cresset Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Welltower by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 5,044 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $485,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.61% of the companys stock. Welltower Company Profile (Get Free Report Welltower Inc (NYSE:WELL), a real estate investment trust ("REIT") and S&P 500 company headquartered in Toledo, Ohio, is driving the transformation of health care infrastructure. Welltower invests with leading seniors housing operators, post-acute providers and health systems to fund the real estate infrastructure needed to scale innovative care delivery models and improve people's wellness and overall health care experience. See Also Receive News & Ratings for Welltower Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Welltower and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. B2Gold Corp. (NYSEAMERICAN:BTG Free Report) (TSE:BTO) Analysts at Raymond James issued their Q4 2023 EPS estimates for B2Gold in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, February 13th. Raymond James analyst F. Hamed anticipates that the basic materials company will post earnings of $0.07 per share for the quarter. Raymond James currently has a Outperform rating and a $4.50 price objective on the stock. The consensus estimate for B2Golds current full-year earnings is $0.30 per share. Get B2Gold alerts: Several other research firms also recently commented on BTG. CIBC downgraded shares of B2Gold from an outperform rating to a neutral rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $4.20 to $3.60 in a report on Thursday, January 25th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of B2Gold from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Monday, November 20th. Three equities 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 has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $5.57. B2Gold Price Performance NYSEAMERICAN:BTG opened at $2.54 on Friday. B2Gold has a one year low of $2.43 and a one year high of $4.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.42 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a fifty day moving average of $3.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 2.18. B2Gold Announces Dividend The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 18th. Investors of record on Monday, December 4th were paid a $0.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 1st. This represents a $0.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.31%. B2Golds dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.54%. Hedge Funds Weigh In On B2Gold Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BTG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in B2Gold by 4.6% during the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,343,623 shares of the basic materials companys stock worth $10,757,000 after purchasing an additional 103,507 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. lifted its position in B2Gold by 13.7% during the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 199,062 shares of the basic materials companys stock worth $914,000 after purchasing an additional 24,045 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in B2Gold by 5.5% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 577,840 shares of the basic materials companys stock worth $2,652,000 after purchasing an additional 30,187 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its position in B2Gold by 30.3% during the first quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 39,711 shares of the basic materials companys stock worth $181,000 after purchasing an additional 9,229 shares during the period. Finally, Cetera Advisor Networks LLC lifted its position in B2Gold by 52.9% during the first quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC now owns 26,750 shares of the basic materials companys stock worth $123,000 after purchasing an additional 9,250 shares during the period. 51.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. About B2Gold (Get Free Report) B2Gold Corp. operates as a gold producer with three operating mines in Mali, the Philippines, and Namibia. It operates the Fekola Mine in Mali, the Masbate Mine in the Philippines, and the Otjikoto Mine in Namibia. The company also has an 25% interest in the Calibre Mining Corp.; and approximately 19% interest in BeMetals Corp. Further Reading Receive News & Ratings for B2Gold Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for B2Gold and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich lessened its position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A Free Report) by 7.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 45,372 shares of the medical research companys stock after selling 3,391 shares during the period. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurichs holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $5,074,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at about $393,291,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 939.8% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,296,512 shares of the medical research companys stock valued at $256,796,000 after buying an additional 2,075,649 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 79.4% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,145,767 shares of the medical research companys stock valued at $620,414,000 after buying an additional 1,835,413 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 120.8% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,596,227 shares of the medical research companys stock valued at $290,310,000 after buying an additional 1,420,430 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Findlay Park Partners LLP bought a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies during the 3rd quarter valued at about $107,097,000. Get Agilent Technologies alerts: Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays upped their target price on Agilent Technologies from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an underweight rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. UBS Group lowered Agilent Technologies from a buy rating to a neutral rating and cut their price target for the stock from $163.00 to $125.00 in a report on Friday, November 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Agilent Technologies from $128.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Thursday, December 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $140.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $160.00 to $145.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $137.44. Agilent Technologies Price Performance Shares of NYSE A opened at $134.72 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $133.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $122.24. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $96.80 and a 1-year high of $150.16. The firm has a market cap of $39.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a current ratio of 2.61, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 20th. The medical research company reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.04. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 28.24% and a net margin of 18.15%. The firm had revenue of $1.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.53 earnings per share. The businesss revenue for the quarter was down 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.48 earnings per share for the current year. Insider Activity at Agilent Technologies In related news, CEO Michael R. Mcmullen sold 62,467 shares of Agilent Technologies stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.00, for a total transaction of $8,120,710.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 306,206 shares of the companys stock, valued at $39,806,780. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Agilent Technologies news, CEO Michael R. Mcmullen sold 2,751 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.00, for a total transaction of $357,630.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 306,206 shares in the company, valued at $39,806,780. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael R. Mcmullen sold 62,467 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.00, for a total value of $8,120,710.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 306,206 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,806,780. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 95,929 shares of company stock valued at $12,730,599. Agilent Technologies Profile (Free Report) Agilent Technologies, Inc provides application focused solutions to the life sciences, diagnostics, and applied chemical markets worldwide. The company operates in three segments: Life Sciences and Applied Markets, Diagnostics and Genomics, and Agilent CrossLab. The Life Sciences and Applied Markets segment offers liquid chromatography systems and components; liquid chromatography mass spectrometry systems; gas chromatography systems and components; gas chromatography mass spectrometry systems; inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry instruments; atomic absorption instruments; microwave plasma-atomic emission spectrometry instruments; inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry instruments; raman spectroscopy; cell analysis plate based assays; flow cytometer; real-time cell analyzer; cell imaging systems; microplate reader; laboratory software; information management and analytics; laboratory automation and robotic systems; dissolution testing; and vacuum pumps, and measurement technologies. Featured Articles Receive News & Ratings for Agilent Technologies Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Agilent Technologies and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich lessened its position in Dell Technologies Inc. (NYSE:DELL Free Report) by 3.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,353 shares of the technology companys stock after selling 672 shares during the quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurichs holdings in Dell Technologies were worth $1,471,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Banco Santander S.A. increased its holdings in shares of Dell Technologies by 61.7% in the 3rd quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 106,778 shares of the technology companys stock worth $7,357,000 after purchasing an additional 40,750 shares in the last quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V. increased its holdings in shares of Dell Technologies by 154.8% in the 3rd quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V. now owns 79,068 shares of the technology companys stock worth $5,447,000 after purchasing an additional 48,036 shares in the last quarter. MRP Capital Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Dell Technologies by 105.5% in the 3rd quarter. MRP Capital Investments LLC now owns 35,389 shares of the technology companys stock worth $2,438,000 after purchasing an additional 18,164 shares in the last quarter. Versor Investments LP purchased a new position in shares of Dell Technologies in the 3rd quarter worth $2,089,000. Finally, Rheos Capital Works Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Dell Technologies in the 3rd quarter worth $34,795,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 38.10% of the companys stock. Get Dell Technologies alerts: Dell Technologies Stock Performance DELL opened at $82.72 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $58.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.90. The stocks 50 day moving average price is $78.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $70.60. Dell Technologies Inc. has a one year low of $35.96 and a one year high of $86.90. Dell Technologies Announces Dividend Dell Technologies ( NYSE:DELL Get Free Report ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 30th. The technology company reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.42. The firm had revenue of $22.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.01 billion. Dell Technologies had a negative return on equity of 150.29% and a net margin of 2.92%. Dell Technologiess quarterly revenue was down 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.01 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Dell Technologies Inc. will post 5.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 23rd were given a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, January 22nd. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.79%. Dell Technologiess dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.88%. Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on DELL shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Dell Technologies from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Friday, December 1st. TD Cowen raised their price target on Dell Technologies from $58.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a research note on Friday, December 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on Dell Technologies from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Dell Technologies from $78.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Friday, December 1st. Finally, Raymond James lifted their target price on Dell Technologies from $68.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Friday, December 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $78.80. Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on DELL Insider Buying and Selling at Dell Technologies In other news, Director Iv (Gp) L.L.C. Slta sold 239,112 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Friday, January 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.43, for a total value of $18,992,666.16. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 293,812 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $23,337,487.16. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 48.60% of the companys stock. Dell Technologies Company Profile (Free Report) Dell Technologies Inc designs, develops, manufactures, markets, sells, and supports various comprehensive and integrated solutions, products, and services in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and internationally. The company operates through two segments, Infrastructure Solutions Group (ISG) and Client Solutions Group (CSG). Featured Articles Want to see what other hedge funds are holding DELL? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Dell Technologies Inc. (NYSE:DELL Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Dell Technologies Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Dell Technologies and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. BlackRock Virginia Municipal Bond Trust (NYSEAMERICAN:BHV Get Free Report) shot up 0.4% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $10.80 and last traded at $10.78. 795 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 76% from the average session volume of 3,290 shares. The stock had previously closed at $10.73. BlackRock Virginia Municipal Bond Trust Trading Down 0.3 % Institutional Trading of BlackRock Virginia Municipal Bond Trust Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in BlackRock Virginia Municipal Bond Trust by 37.2% during the 1st quarter. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. now owns 4,975 shares of the companys stock valued at $98,000 after purchasing an additional 1,350 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC bought a new position in BlackRock Virginia Municipal Bond Trust during the 2nd quarter valued at about $111,000. UBS Group AG grew its holdings in BlackRock Virginia Municipal Bond Trust by 62.3% during the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 12,681 shares of the companys stock valued at $147,000 after purchasing an additional 4,867 shares during the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its holdings in BlackRock Virginia Municipal Bond Trust by 322.9% during the 2nd quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 13,110 shares of the companys stock valued at $141,000 after purchasing an additional 10,010 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its holdings in BlackRock Virginia Municipal Bond Trust by 10.5% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 14,272 shares of the companys stock valued at $162,000 after purchasing an additional 1,361 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Virginia Municipal Bond Trust Company Profile (Get Free Report) Blackrock Virginia Municipal Bond Trust is a closed-ended fixed income mutual fund launched by BlackRock, Inc It is managed by BlackRock Advisors, LLC. The fund invests in fixed income markets of United States. It primarily invests in the investment grade municipal bonds exempt from federal income taxes and Virginia personal income taxes. Recommended Stories Receive News & Ratings for BlackRock Virginia Municipal Bond Trust Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for BlackRock Virginia Municipal Bond Trust and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Causeway Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of iShares MSCI India Small-Cap ETF (BATS:SMIN Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 43,758 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $2,762,000. Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of iShares MSCI India Small-Cap ETF by 8.8% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 23,200 shares of the companys stock worth $1,303,000 after purchasing an additional 1,871 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its stake in shares of iShares MSCI India Small-Cap ETF by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 346,102 shares of the companys stock worth $19,434,000 after purchasing an additional 9,200 shares during the last quarter. Equitable Holdings Inc. bought a new stake in shares of iShares MSCI India Small-Cap ETF in the 1st quarter worth approximately $222,000. Prudential Financial Inc. lifted its stake in iShares MSCI India Small-Cap ETF by 8.1% in the first quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 330,435 shares of the companys stock valued at $18,554,000 after purchasing an additional 24,700 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Flow Traders U.S. LLC grew its holdings in iShares MSCI India Small-Cap ETF by 233.2% during the first quarter. Flow Traders U.S. LLC now owns 27,555 shares of the companys stock valued at $1,547,000 after purchasing an additional 19,284 shares during the period. Get iShares MSCI India Small-Cap ETF alerts: iShares MSCI India Small-Cap ETF Price Performance Shares of BATS SMIN traded up $0.72 during trading on Friday, reaching $73.20. 135,281 shares of the stock traded hands. The company has a 50-day moving average of $71.07 and a 200-day moving average of $66.03. iShares MSCI India Small-Cap ETF has a 52-week low of $40.25 and a 52-week high of $55.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $347.70 million, a P/E ratio of 23.34 and a beta of 0.69. iShares MSCI India Small-Cap ETF Company Profile The iShares MSCI India Small-Cap ETF (SMIN) is an exchange-traded fund that is based on the MSCI India Small Cap index, a market-cap-weighted index of the bottom 14% of companies traded on Indian stock markets. SMIN was launched on Feb 8, 2012 and is managed by BlackRock. Featured Articles Want to see what other hedge funds are holding SMIN? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for iShares MSCI India Small-Cap ETF (BATS:SMIN Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for iShares MSCI India Small-Cap ETF Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for iShares MSCI India Small-Cap ETF and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Consolidated Edison (NYSE:ED Get Free Report) had its price objective cut by stock analysts at Royal Bank of Canada from $94.00 to $93.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a sector perform rating on the utilities providers stock. Royal Bank of Canadas price objective would indicate a potential upside of 5.95% from the stocks previous close. Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Consolidated Edison from $88.00 to $86.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Consolidated Edison from $84.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an underweight rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 29th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH assumed coverage on shares of Consolidated Edison in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. They issued a neutral rating and a $92.50 target price for the company. KeyCorp raised shares of Consolidated Edison from an underweight rating to a sector weight rating in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Consolidated Edison from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an underweight rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 21st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $88.54. Get Consolidated Edison alerts: Get Our Latest Research Report on ED Consolidated Edison Price Performance Shares of NYSE ED traded down $0.44 during trading on Friday, reaching $87.78. The company had a trading volume of 951,953 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,853,679. Consolidated Edison has a 52 week low of $80.46 and a 52 week high of $100.92. The stock has a market cap of $30.30 billion, a PE ratio of 13.00, a PEG ratio of 8.21 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.98. The businesss 50 day moving average price is $90.64 and its 200-day moving average price is $89.78. Consolidated Edison (NYSE:ED Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The utilities provider reported $1.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $3.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.70 billion. Consolidated Edison had a net margin of 15.57% and a return on equity of 8.16%. Consolidated Edisons revenue for the quarter was down 14.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.81 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Consolidated Edison will post 5.03 earnings per share for the current year. Institutional Trading of Consolidated Edison A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Consolidated Edison by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,992,887 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $722,372,000 after buying an additional 43,516 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its stake in shares of Consolidated Edison by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 6,352,837 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $577,917,000 after buying an additional 151,811 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of Consolidated Edison by 8.2% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,484,026 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $383,519,000 after buying an additional 340,239 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in shares of Consolidated Edison by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,221,543 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $361,069,000 after buying an additional 72,915 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Consolidated Edison by 89,231.2% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,145,861 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $395,142,000 after purchasing an additional 4,141,220 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.53% of the companys stock. About Consolidated Edison (Get Free Report) Consolidated Edison, Inc, through its subsidiaries, engages in the regulated electric, gas, and steam delivery businesses in the United States. It offers electric services to approximately 3.6 million customers in New York City and Westchester County; gas to approximately 1.1 million customers in Manhattan, the Bronx, parts of Queens, and Westchester County; and steam to approximately 1,530 customers in parts of Manhattan. Read More Receive News & Ratings for Consolidated Edison Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Consolidated Edison and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Alior Bank (OTCMKTS:ALORY Get Free Report) and Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY Get Free Report) are both financial services companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, institutional ownership, profitability, earnings, analyst recommendations, valuation and risk. Insider & Institutional Ownership 42.0% of Royal Bank of Canada shares are owned by institutional investors. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth. Get Alior Bank alerts: Profitability This table compares Alior Bank and Royal Bank of Canadas net margins, return on equity and return on assets. Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets Alior Bank N/A N/A N/A Royal Bank of Canada 12.59% 15.21% 0.82% Earnings and Valuation Gross Revenue Price/Sales Ratio Net Income Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Ratio Alior Bank N/A N/A N/A C$1.48 1.40 Royal Bank of Canada $56.26 billion 2.45 $11.02 billion $7.79 12.57 This table compares Alior Bank and Royal Bank of Canadas top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation. Royal Bank of Canada has higher revenue and earnings than Alior Bank. Alior Bank is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Royal Bank of Canada, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks. Analyst Ratings This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for Alior Bank and Royal Bank of Canada, as provided by MarketBeat.com. Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score Alior Bank 0 0 0 0 N/A Royal Bank of Canada 1 1 2 0 2.25 Royal Bank of Canada has a consensus price target of $131.50, suggesting a potential upside of 34.26%. Given Royal Bank of Canadas higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Royal Bank of Canada is more favorable than Alior Bank. Summary Royal Bank of Canada beats Alior Bank on 9 of the 9 factors compared between the two stocks. About Alior Bank (Get Free Report) Alior Bank S.A. provides banking products and services to individuals, businesses, and enterprises in Poland. The company offers personal and savings accounts; investment loans; mortgage; and insurance services. It also offers bills and cards, trade finance, deposits, internet banking, and treasury related products and services. In addition, the company provides commercial bonds, pension, and investments fund services, as well as operates trading platforms. Alior Bank S.A. was founded in 2008 and is based in Warsaw, Poland. About Royal Bank of Canada (Get Free Report) Royal Bank of Canada operates as a diversified financial service company worldwide. The company's Personal & Commercial Banking segment offers checking and savings accounts, home equity financing, personal lending, private banking, indirect lending, including auto financing, mutual funds and self-directed brokerage accounts, guaranteed investment certificates, credit cards, and payment products and solutions; and lending, leasing, deposit, investment, foreign exchange, cash management, auto dealer financing, trade products, and services to small and medium-sized commercial businesses. This segment offers financial products and services through branches, automated teller machines, and mobile sales network. Its Wealth Management segment provides a suite of wealth, investment, trust, banking, credit, and other advice-based solutions and strategies to high net worth and ultra-high net worth individuals, and institutional clients; asset management products to institutional and individual clients; and asset and investor services to financial institutions, asset managers, and asset owners. The company's Insurance segment offers life, health, home, auto, travel, wealth, annuities, property and casualty, and reinsurance advice and solutions; and business insurance services to individual, business, and group clients through its advice centers, RBC insurance stores, and mobile advisors; digital platforms; and independent brokers and partners. The company's Capital Markets segment offers advisory and origination, sales and trading, lending and financing, and transaction banking services to corporations, institutional clients, asset managers, private equity firms, and governments. The company was founded in 1864 and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada. Receive News & Ratings for Alior Bank Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Alior Bank and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Element Solutions Inc (NYSE:ESI Get Free Report) CEO Benjamin Gliklich sold 61,667 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.20, for a total transaction of $1,430,674.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 704,395 shares in the company, valued at $16,341,964. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Benjamin Gliklich also recently made the following trade(s): Get Element Solutions alerts: On Thursday, February 15th, Benjamin Gliklich sold 6,579 shares of Element Solutions stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.20, for a total transaction of $152,632.80. Element Solutions Trading Up 2.8 % ESI opened at $23.84 on Friday. Element Solutions Inc has a twelve month low of $17.08 and a twelve month high of $23.86. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $22.58 and a 200 day simple moving average of $20.71. The company has a quick ratio of 2.59, a current ratio of 3.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 108.36, a P/E/G ratio of 3.78 and a beta of 1.31. Element Solutions Dividend Announcement Institutional Inflows and Outflows The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st will be issued a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.34%. Element Solutionss dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 145.45%. Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Guggenheim Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Element Solutions by 2.6% in the second quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 236,989 shares of the companys stock worth $4,550,000 after acquiring an additional 5,982 shares during the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. increased its stake in shares of Element Solutions by 2.5% in the third quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 4,495,759 shares of the companys stock valued at $88,162,000 after buying an additional 110,620 shares during the period. Blue Zone Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Element Solutions by 5.6% in the third quarter. Blue Zone Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 167,135 shares of the companys stock valued at $3,278,000 after buying an additional 8,897 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can acquired a new position in shares of Element Solutions in the second quarter valued at approximately $631,000. Finally, Chartwell Investment Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Element Solutions by 45.1% in the third quarter. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC now owns 489,961 shares of the companys stock valued at $9,608,000 after buying an additional 152,240 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 91.05% of the companys stock. Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth Several research firms have commented on ESI. TheStreet downgraded shares of Element Solutions from a b rating to a c rating in a report on Wednesday, October 25th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Element Solutions from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Thursday, January 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $22.60. View Our Latest Report on Element Solutions About Element Solutions (Get Free Report) Element Solutions Inc operates as a specialty chemicals company in the United States, China, and internationally. The company operates in two segments, Electronics, and Industrial & Specialty. The Electronics segment researches, formulates, and sells specialty chemicals and materials for various types of electronics hardware products. Further Reading Receive News & Ratings for Element Solutions Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Element Solutions and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY Get Free Report) have been given an average rating of Moderate Buy by the eighteen analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and sixteen have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $648.25. Several research analysts recently weighed in on LLY shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Thursday, November 9th. They issued a hold rating and a $535.00 price objective on the stock. TheStreet cut shares of Eli Lilly and Company from a b rating to a c+ rating in a research report on Monday, December 4th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an overweight rating and set a $815.00 price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Wednesday. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $525.00 to $675.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Monday, October 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $700.00 to $825.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Get Eli Lilly and Company alerts: View Our Latest Research Report on LLY Insider Buying and Selling Institutional Inflows and Outflows In related news, major shareholder Lilly Endowment Inc sold 78,573 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $648.07, for a total value of $50,920,804.11. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 99,333,810 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $64,375,262,246.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink . In the last ninety days, insiders sold 195,055 shares of company stock valued at $125,254,657. 0.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders. A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 71,611,201 shares of the companys stock valued at $41,743,601,000 after buying an additional 1,035,599 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 33,878,417 shares of the companys stock valued at $15,888,300,000 after buying an additional 642,274 shares during the period. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 26,949,773 shares of the companys stock valued at $15,709,466,000 after buying an additional 89,720 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,205,501 shares of the companys stock valued at $7,111,568,000 after buying an additional 338,077 shares during the period. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 12,545,572 shares of the companys stock valued at $6,738,605,000 after buying an additional 83,915 shares during the period. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors. Eli Lilly and Company Price Performance NYSE LLY opened at $757.09 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $718.71 billion, a PE ratio of 130.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.32. Eli Lilly and Company has a 52 week low of $309.20 and a 52 week high of $764.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59. The firms 50-day simple moving average is $632.88 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $588.29. Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The company reported $2.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.19. Eli Lilly and Company had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 50.78%. The firm had revenue of $9.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.95 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.09 earnings per share. The companys revenue for the quarter was up 28.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Eli Lilly and Company will post 12.5 earnings per share for the current year. Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 8th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 15th will be issued a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.69%. This is a positive change from Eli Lilly and Companys previous quarterly dividend of $1.13. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 14th. Eli Lilly and Companys dividend payout ratio is currently 89.66%. Eli Lilly and Company Company Profile (Get 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. Further Reading Receive News & Ratings for Eli Lilly and Company Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Eli Lilly and Company and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. PPG Industries Inc showcases robust global presence with manufacturing facilities in over 70 countries. Despite high raw material costs, PPG managed to decrease operating costs by over $500 million in 2023. The company faces challenges such as geopolitical uncertainty and competitive pressures in the coatings industry. PPG's commitment to innovation and sustainability remains a key driver for future growth opportunities. On February 15, 2024, PPG Industries Inc (NYSE:PPG), a global leader in the production of coatings and specialty materials, filed its annual 10-K report, revealing a year of strategic maneuvers and financial resilience. With a heritage of innovation and sustainability, PPG has cemented its position as a top-tier coatings provider, serving a diverse range of end-users. Despite the volatility of raw material costs, which have remained high historically, PPG successfully reduced its operating costs by more than $500 million in 2023. The company's global footprint, with less than half of its sales coming from North America, underscores its expansive market reach. As we delve into PPG's SWOT analysis, we'll explore the company's internal dynamics and external market position to provide investors with a comprehensive understanding of its potential. Decoding PPG Industries Inc (PPG): A Strategic SWOT Insight Strengths Global Market Leadership and Diversified Portfolio: PPG Industries Inc stands out as a global powerhouse in the coatings industry, with a presence in more than 70 countries. This extensive reach allows the company to mitigate risks associated with regional economic downturns and capitalize on growth opportunities worldwide. PPG's diverse product offerings cater to a wide array of end-uses, including industrial equipment, automotive, aerospace, and consumer products, which helps stabilize revenue streams against market fluctuations. In 2023, the company's non-U.S. operations contributed to 63% of total net sales, highlighting its international market strength. Story continues Innovation and Sustainability Focus: PPG's commitment to research and development is a cornerstone of its competitive advantage. The company's focus on creating sustainable and innovative products aligns with global macro trends, positioning it as a first-choice partner for customers seeking environmentally friendly solutions. PPG's proactive approach to leveraging core technology platforms and customizing products for end-use applications has led to a history of successful product launches, driving profitable growth. Operational Efficiency and Cost Management: Despite the challenges of high raw material costs, PPG demonstrated remarkable operational efficiency by reducing its operating costs significantly in 2023. The company's strategic initiatives to secure multiple sources of supply and its focus on alternative raw materials that support the circular economy have contributed to a competitive cost position and ensured the ongoing security of supply, crucial for meeting customer demand and maintaining profitability. Weaknesses Raw Material Cost Vulnerability: PPG Industries Inc's reliance on a wide variety of raw materials, including petroleum-derived components and titanium dioxide, exposes the company to price fluctuations that can impact profitability. Although PPG managed to decrease operating costs in 2023, the ongoing volatility in raw material prices remains a concern. The company's ability to offset these costs through pricing strategies or operational efficiencies will continue to be tested in the face of market unpredictability. Geopolitical and Economic Risks: PPG's extensive global operations expose it to geopolitical and economic uncertainties, including trade protection measures, foreign exchange fluctuations, and regional conflicts. The ongoing wars in Ukraine and Israel, as well as tensions between China and the United States, could disrupt supply chains or affect demand for PPG's products, potentially impacting the company's financial performance. Competitive Industry Landscape: The coatings industry is highly competitive, with several large firms operating globally. PPG must continuously innovate and adapt to maintain its market share and customer base. The pressure to remain competitive could lead to reduced margins or compel the company to reduce prices, which could adversely affect profitability. Opportunities Expansion into Emerging Markets: PPG Industries Inc has the opportunity to further expand its footprint in emerging regions, capitalizing on growing demand for coatings and specialty materials. The company's strategic acquisitions, such as the Comex acquisition, demonstrate its intent to strengthen its presence in high-growth markets, offering a pathway to increased sales and market share. Advancements in Sustainable Products: As global emphasis on sustainability intensifies, PPG's focus on developing eco-friendly products presents significant growth opportunities. The company's investment in sustainable raw materials and renewable energy for its operations positions it to meet the evolving preferences of environmentally conscious customers and regulatory requirements, potentially opening new market segments. Technological Innovations: PPG's ongoing investment in research and development positions it to lead in technological advancements within the coatings industry. By aligning product development with industry trends and customer needs, PPG can introduce cutting-edge solutions that address unmet market needs, driving future growth and customer loyalty. Threats Supply Chain Disruptions: PPG Industries Inc's reliance on a complex supply chain for raw materials and logistics makes it susceptible to disruptions that could impact its ability to produce and deliver products. While the company has made strides in improving raw material and logistics availability, unforeseen events such as natural disasters, public health crises, or geopolitical conflicts could pose significant risks to its operations. Foreign Currency Exchange Rate Fluctuations: With a significant portion of its business outside the United States, PPG is vulnerable to foreign currency exchange rate risks. Fluctuations in currency values can affect the company's financial results, and while derivative financial instruments are used to hedge against these risks, they cannot fully eliminate the potential adverse effects on PPG's financial condition. This article, generated by GuruFocus, is designed to provide general insights and is not tailored financial advice. Our commentary is rooted in historical data and analyst projections, utilizing an impartial methodology, and is not intended to serve as specific investment guidance. It does not formulate a recommendation to purchase or divest any stock and does not consider individual investment objectives or financial circumstances. Our objective is to deliver long-term, fundamental data-driven analysis. Be aware that our analysis might not incorporate the most recent, price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative information. GuruFocus holds no position in the stocks mentioned herein. This article first appeared on GuruFocus. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM Free Report) by 24.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,841,714 shares of the companys stock after buying an additional 958,894 shares during the quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. owned 0.31% of Philip Morris International worth $448,246,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in PM. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Philip Morris International during the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. PCA Investment Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Philip Morris International during the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Philip Morris International during the 3rd quarter worth about $36,000. Spotlight Asset Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Philip Morris International during the 2nd quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Legacy Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Philip Morris International during the 3rd quarter worth about $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.70% of the companys stock. Get Philip Morris International alerts: Philip Morris International Stock Up 1.1 % PM traded up $0.94 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $89.92. 1,961,877 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,086,033. The firm has a market capitalization of $139.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.63. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 1-year low of $87.23 and a 1-year high of $102.00. The firms 50 day moving average price is $92.93 and its 200-day moving average price is $93.27. Philip Morris International Announces Dividend Philip Morris International ( NYSE:PM Get Free Report ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $1.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $1.44 by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $9.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.99 billion. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 8.53% and a negative return on equity of 116.29%. The firms revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.39 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 21st were given a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 20th. Philip Morris Internationals payout ratio is 103.59%. Analyst Ratings Changes A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Societe Generale upgraded shares of Philip Morris International from a sell rating to a hold rating and set a $87.50 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on shares of Philip Morris International in a research note on Thursday, November 16th. They issued a neutral rating and a $95.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Wednesday, November 29th. Finally, UBS Group downgraded shares of Philip Morris International from a buy rating to a sell rating and cut their price objective for the company from $105.00 to $86.50 in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $105.40. Get Our Latest Research Report on Philip Morris International Insider Activity at Philip Morris International In related news, insider Wilde Frederic De sold 10,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.25, for a total value of $942,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 198,447 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $18,703,629.75. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders. 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. Featured Stories Receive News & Ratings for Philip Morris International Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Philip Morris International and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. trimmed its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT Free Report) by 7.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 27,872 shares of the healthcare product makers stock after selling 2,216 shares during the quarter. Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C.s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $2,713,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ABT. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the second quarter worth about $28,000. Halpern Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the third quarter worth about $26,000. CGC Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the second quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, FWL Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Institutional investors own 73.70% of the companys stock. Get Abbott Laboratories alerts: Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance NYSE ABT traded up $0.87 on Friday, hitting $114.51. 913,586 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,198,667. The company has a current ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The businesss 50 day moving average price is $111.24 and its 200-day moving average price is $104.01. The company has a market capitalization of $198.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.75. Abbott Laboratories has a 52-week low of $89.67 and a 52-week high of $115.83. Abbott Laboratories Increases Dividend Abbott Laboratories ( NYSE:ABT Get Free Report ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 24th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts consensus estimates of $1.19. The firm had revenue of $10.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $10.19 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 14.27% and a return on equity of 20.84%. The companys revenue for the quarter was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.03 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.61 earnings per share for the current year. The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 12th were issued a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 11th. This is an increase from Abbott Laboratoriess previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. Abbott Laboratoriess dividend payout ratio is 67.48%. Analyst Ratings Changes Several brokerages recently weighed in on ABT. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $112.00 to $107.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 19th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $123.00 to $126.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $116.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Wednesday, December 13th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an outperform rating and set a $128.00 target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $120.00. Check Out Our Latest Report on Abbott Laboratories Insider Activity In related news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 42,500 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.50, for a total transaction of $4,781,250.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 65,027 shares of the companys stock, valued at $7,315,537.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 15,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.00, for a total transaction of $1,620,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 65,027 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,022,916. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 42,500 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.50, for a total value of $4,781,250.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 65,027 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $7,315,537.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.10% of the companys stock. Abbott Laboratories Company 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. Featured Stories Receive News & Ratings for Abbott Laboratories Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Abbott Laboratories and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX Get Free Report) and Sartorius Aktiengesellschaft (OTCMKTS:SUVPF Get Free Report) are both medical companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, dividends, risk, earnings, analyst recommendations, valuation and profitability. Analyst Ratings This is a breakdown of recent recommendations for Becton, Dickinson and Company and Sartorius Aktiengesellschaft, as reported by MarketBeat.com. Get Becton Dickinson and Company alerts: Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score Becton, Dickinson and Company 0 1 5 0 2.83 Sartorius Aktiengesellschaft 0 0 0 0 N/A Becton, Dickinson and Company currently has a consensus target price of $279.17, indicating a potential upside of 16.33%. Given Becton, Dickinson and Companys higher possible upside, equities analysts clearly believe Becton, Dickinson and Company is more favorable than Sartorius Aktiengesellschaft. Institutional and Insider Ownership Earnings and Valuation 86.7% of Becton, Dickinson and Company shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.3% of Becton, Dickinson and Company shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term. This table compares Becton, Dickinson and Company and Sartorius Aktiengesellschafts revenue, earnings per share and valuation. Gross Revenue Price/Sales Ratio Net Income Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Ratio Becton, Dickinson and Company $19.49 billion 3.56 $1.48 billion $4.22 56.86 Sartorius Aktiengesellschaft N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A Becton, Dickinson and Company has higher revenue and earnings than Sartorius Aktiengesellschaft. Profitability This table compares Becton, Dickinson and Company and Sartorius Aktiengesellschafts net margins, return on equity and return on assets. Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets Becton, Dickinson and Company 6.44% 13.57% 6.56% Sartorius Aktiengesellschaft N/A N/A N/A Summary Becton, Dickinson and Company beats Sartorius Aktiengesellschaft on 8 of the 8 factors compared between the two stocks. About Becton, Dickinson and Company (Get Free Report) Becton, Dickinson and Company develops, manufactures, and sells medical supplies, devices, laboratory equipment, and diagnostic products for healthcare institutions, physicians, life science researchers, clinical laboratories, pharmaceutical industry, and the general public worldwide. The company operates in three segments: BD Medical, BD Life Sciences, and BD Interventional. The BD Medical segment provides peripheral intravenous (IV) and advanced peripheral catheters, central lines, acute dialysis catheters, vascular access technology, vascular care and preparation products, needle-free IV connectors and extensions sets, closed-system drug transfer devices, hazardous drug detections, hypodermic syringes and needles, anesthesia needles and trays, enteral syringes, and sharps disposal systems; IV medication safety and infusion therapy delivery systems, medication compounding workflow systems, automated medication dispensing and supply management systems, and medication inventory optimization and tracking systems; and prefillable drug delivery systems. The BD Life Sciences segment offers specimen and blood collection products; automated blood and tuberculosis culturing, molecular testing, microorganism identification and drug susceptibility, and liquid-based cytology systems, as well as rapid diagnostic assays, microbiology laboratory automation products, and plated media products; and fluorescence-activated cell sorters and analyzers, antibodies and kits, reagent systems, and solutions for single-cell gene expression analysis, as well as clinical oncology, immunological, and transplantation diagnostic/monitoring reagents and analyzers. The BD Interventional segment provides hernia and soft tissue repair, biological and bioresorbable grafts, biosurgery, and other surgical products; surgical infection prevention; peripheral intervention products; and urology and critical care products. The company was founded in 1897 and is headquartered in Franklin Lakes, New Jersey. About Sartorius Aktiengesellschaft (Get Free Report) Sartorius Aktiengesellschaft provides bioprocess solutions and lab products and services worldwide. It offers multi-parallel, benchtop, single-use, stainless steel, cell culture, rocking motion, and microbial bioreactors, as well as software apps for bioreactors and cell culture shake flask; fermenters; cell culture media products; cellcelector flex, incubator flowbox, nanowell arrays, and capillaries and tips; fluid management products; microbiology products; and membrane filters, glass and quartz microfibre filters, syringeless and in-line filters, lab chromatography, and filters and blotting papers. The company also provides live-cell analysis systems, reagents and consumables, and live-cell imaging and analysis software; equipment manufacturer membranes and devices, weigh cells, and data analytics, as well as connectivity, and pipetting and dispensing modules; electronic and mechanical pipettes, pipette tips, bottle-top dispensers, and pipette controllers and accessories; process automation platform and software, sensors and analyzers, biomolecule analysis tools, and data analytics software; chromatography consumables, columns, and systems; and detection systems, sensor chips and consumables, systems, biosensors and kits, compliance tools, and systems software. Further, it offers water purification systems; lab balances, pipette calibration, mass comparators and metrology, moisture analyzers, equipment manufacturer cells, weights and weight sets, paint mixing solutions, and weighing accessories; and process filtration. Further, it provides bioprocess consulting and engineering, media and process, instrument, system service and support, and validation services. It serves the life science research, biopharmaceutical manufacturing, pharmaceutical quality control, cell and gene therapy, and applied industries. Sartorius Aktiengesellschaft was founded in 1870 and is headquartered in Gottingen, Germany. Receive News & Ratings for Becton Dickinson and Company Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Becton Dickinson and Company and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. trimmed its holdings in JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM Free Report) by 15.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 442,193 shares of the financial services providers stock after selling 83,811 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. accounts for approximately 4.3% of Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A.s portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest position. Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A.s holdings in JPMorgan Chase & Co. were worth $64,127,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Macroview Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 7,833.3% during the 3rd quarter. Macroview Investment Management LLC now owns 238 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 235 shares in the last quarter. Briaud Financial Planning Inc acquired a new position in JPMorgan Chase & Co. during the 3rd quarter valued at about $40,000. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 290.9% during the 3rd quarter. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 387 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 288 shares during the period. Legacy Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in JPMorgan Chase & Co. during the 3rd quarter valued at about $58,000. Finally, Robbins Farley raised its position in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 29.5% during the 3rd quarter. Robbins Farley now owns 421 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $61,000 after buying an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. 68.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors. Get JPMorgan Chase & Co. alerts: Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. from a hold rating to a buy rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $140.00 to $190.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 9th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $192.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $177.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $232.00 to $238.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $179.11. JPMorgan Chase & Co. Price Performance Shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. stock opened at $178.69 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $170.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $155.85. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30. JPMorgan Chase & Co. has a 1-year low of $123.11 and a 1-year high of $180.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $514.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.09, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.14. JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 12th. The financial services provider reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.73 by ($0.69). The business had revenue of $38.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $39.73 billion. JPMorgan Chase & Co. had a net margin of 20.70% and a return on equity of 17.80%. The companys quarterly revenue was up 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.57 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that JPMorgan Chase & Co. will post 15.87 earnings per share for the current year. JPMorgan Chase & Co. Dividend Announcement The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 4th were issued a $1.05 dividend. This represents a $4.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.35%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co.s payout ratio is 25.89%. Insider Transactions at JPMorgan Chase & Co. In other JPMorgan Chase & Co. news, insider Ashley Bacon sold 3,368 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.73, for a total value of $561,546.64. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 205,461 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,256,512.53. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other JPMorgan Chase & Co. news, insider Ashley Bacon sold 3,368 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.73, for a total value of $561,546.64. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 205,461 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,256,512.53. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jennifer Piepszak sold 1,649 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.59, for a total transaction of $274,706.91. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 34,467 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $5,741,857.53. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 39,072 shares of company stock valued at $6,297,103. 0.79% of the stock is owned by insiders. JPMorgan Chase & Co. Company Profile (Free Report) JPMorgan Chase & Co operates as a financial services company worldwide. It operates through four segments: Consumer & Community Banking (CCB), Corporate & Investment Bank (CIB), Commercial Banking (CB), and Asset & Wealth Management (AWM). The CCB segment offers deposit, investment and lending products, cash management, and payments and services to consumers and small businesses; mortgage origination and servicing activities; residential mortgages and home equity loans; and credit cards, auto loans, leases, and travel services. Recommended Stories Receive News & Ratings for JPMorgan Chase & Co. Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for JPMorgan Chase & Co. and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Korea Investment CORP raised its stake in shares of Jacobs Solutions Inc. (NYSE:J Free Report) by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 443,777 shares of the companys stock after purchasing an additional 4,840 shares during the period. Korea Investment CORPs holdings in Jacobs Solutions were worth $60,576,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Jacobs Solutions by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,998,808 shares of the companys stock valued at $1,929,175,000 after acquiring an additional 250,587 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Jacobs Solutions by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 7,809,642 shares of the companys stock valued at $928,488,000 after acquiring an additional 85,152 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Jacobs Solutions by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 6,322,072 shares of the companys stock valued at $751,631,000 after acquiring an additional 30,360 shares during the last quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Jacobs Solutions by 12.6% in the 1st quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 4,717,432 shares of the companys stock valued at $554,345,000 after acquiring an additional 529,557 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Jacobs Solutions by 8.1% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,049,450 shares of the companys stock valued at $558,055,000 after acquiring an additional 304,996 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.77% of the companys stock. Get Jacobs Solutions alerts: Insider Activity at Jacobs Solutions In other Jacobs Solutions news, Director Ralph E. Eberhart sold 3,500 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.86, for a total value of $454,510.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 26,754 shares in the company, valued at $3,474,274.44. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, SVP William B. Allen, Jr. sold 1,500 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Monday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.50, for a total transaction of $194,250.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 28,150 shares of the companys stock, valued at $3,645,425. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Ralph E. Eberhart sold 3,500 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Monday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.86, for a total transaction of $454,510.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 26,754 shares in the company, valued at $3,474,274.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 17,166 shares of company stock valued at $2,201,482 over the last ninety days. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders. Jacobs Solutions Stock Up 0.7 % J stock traded up $1.06 during trading on Friday, hitting $148.36. 236,202 shares of the companys stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 796,735. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.30, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.73. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $133.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $132.93. The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. Jacobs Solutions Inc. has a 1 year low of $109.00 and a 1 year high of $148.51. Jacobs Solutions (NYSE:J Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 6th. The company reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.56 by $0.46. The company had revenue of $4.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.02 billion. Jacobs Solutions had a net margin of 4.20% and a return on equity of 14.57%. Jacobs Solutionss revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.67 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Jacobs Solutions Inc. will post 8.06 EPS for the current year. Jacobs Solutions Increases Dividend The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, February 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.78%. This is a positive change from Jacobs Solutionss previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 22nd. Jacobs Solutionss dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.57%. Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth A number of research analysts recently commented on J shares. Benchmark reaffirmed a buy rating and issued a $160.00 price target on shares of Jacobs Solutions in a report on Wednesday, November 22nd. Raymond James downgraded shares of Jacobs Solutions from an outperform rating to a market perform rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a buy rating and issued a $150.00 price objective on shares of Jacobs Solutions in a research note on Tuesday, November 21st. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Jacobs Solutions from $151.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, KeyCorp assumed coverage on shares of Jacobs Solutions in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. They issued a sector weight rating for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $152.11. Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on Jacobs Solutions Jacobs Solutions Company Profile (Free Report) Jacobs Solutions Inc provides consulting, technical, engineering, scientific, and project delivery services for the government and private sectors in the United States, Europe, Canada, India, Asia, Australia, New Zealand, the Middle East, and Africa. It operates through Critical Mission Solutions, People & Places Solutions, Divergent Solutions, and PA Consulting segments. Featured Stories Want to see what other hedge funds are holding J? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Jacobs Solutions Inc. (NYSE:J Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Jacobs Solutions Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Jacobs Solutions and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Korea Investment CORP lessened its position in shares of RTX Co. (NYSE:RTX Free Report) by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 802,568 shares of the companys stock after selling 29,714 shares during the quarter. Korea Investment CORP owned about 0.06% of RTX worth $57,761,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in RTX. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC bought a new position in RTX during the third quarter worth about $28,000. Quarry LP bought a new position in RTX during the first quarter worth about $28,000. Legacy Financial Group LLC bought a new position in RTX during the third quarter worth about $35,000. VitalStone Financial LLC boosted its holdings in RTX by 136.5% during the second quarter. VitalStone Financial LLC now owns 369 shares of the companys stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 213 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Milestone Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in RTX during the third quarter worth about $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.06% of the companys stock. Get RTX alerts: RTX Stock Down 0.5 % Shares of NYSE:RTX traded down $0.42 during trading on Friday, hitting $91.37. 1,316,613 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,695,028. The stock has a market cap of $121.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.89. RTX Co. has a fifty-two week low of $68.56 and a fifty-two week high of $104.91. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $86.54 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $82.20. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. RTX Dividend Announcement RTX ( NYSE:RTX Get Free Report ) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $19.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.74 billion. RTX had a return on equity of 10.34% and a net margin of 4.64%. The firms revenue was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.27 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that RTX Co. will post 5.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 23rd will be paid a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 22nd. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.58%. RTXs dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 105.36%. Insider Activity at RTX In related news, insider Shane G. Eddy sold 35,456 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.19, for a total value of $3,233,232.64. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 6,741 shares in the company, valued at approximately $614,711.79. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, insider Shane G. Eddy sold 35,456 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.19, for a total transaction of $3,233,232.64. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 6,741 shares in the company, valued at approximately $614,711.79. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Neil G. Mitchill, Jr. sold 1,545 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.36, for a total value of $142,696.20. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 49,894 shares of the companys stock, valued at $4,608,209.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 37,680 shares of company stock worth $3,438,681 in the last ninety days. 0.11% of the stock is owned by company insiders. Analyst Ratings Changes A number of brokerages have issued reports on RTX. DZ Bank cut RTX from a hold rating to a sell rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $79.00 to $68.00 in a report on Friday, October 27th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on RTX from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. TheStreet upgraded RTX from a c rating to a b- rating in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut RTX from a hold rating to a sell rating and cut their price objective for the company from $79.00 to $68.00 in a report on Friday, October 27th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reissued a neutral rating and issued a $94.00 target price (up previously from $88.00) on shares of RTX in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $91.71. Get Our Latest Stock Report on RTX RTX Profile (Free Report) RTX Corporation, an aerospace and defense company, provides systems and services for the commercial, military, and government customers worldwide. It operates through four segments: Collins Aerospace, Pratt & Whitney, Raytheon Intelligence & Space, and Raytheon Missiles & Defense. The Collins Aerospace Systems segment offers aerospace and defense products, and aftermarket service solutions for aircraft manufacturers and airlines, as well as regional, business, and general aviation; and for defense and commercial space operations. Read More Want to see what other hedge funds are holding RTX? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for RTX Co. (NYSE:RTX Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for RTX Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for RTX and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Prudential PLC grew its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 10.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 44,881 shares of the payment services companys stock after acquiring an additional 4,307 shares during the quarter. Prudential PLCs holdings in American Express were worth $6,696,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Tyler Stone Wealth Management bought a new stake in American Express in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. BluePath Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in American Express in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. RVW Wealth LLC bought a new stake in American Express in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Brown Shipley& Co Ltd bought a new stake in American Express in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $49,000. Finally, WFA of San Diego LLC bought a new position in shares of American Express during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $52,000. Institutional investors own 83.08% of the companys stock. Get American Express alerts: Insider Buying and Selling In related news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.65, for a total transaction of $1,431,455.85. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,522,816.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other American Express news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.65, for a total value of $1,431,455.85. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,388 shares in the company, valued at $2,522,816.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Laureen Seeger sold 84,420 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.98, for a total value of $17,979,771.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 57,512 shares of the companys stock, valued at $12,248,905.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 193,055 shares of company stock worth $40,064,664 in the last three months. 0.12% of the stock is owned by insiders. Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth Several research firms have recently weighed in on AXP. TD Cowen began coverage on American Express in a research report on Wednesday, November 1st. They set a market perform rating and a $158.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on American Express from $220.00 to $226.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Robert W. Baird downgraded American Express from a neutral rating to an underperform rating and set a $190.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Monday, January 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised American Express from a neutral rating to an overweight rating and boosted their target price for the company from $167.00 to $205.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt started coverage on American Express in a report on Wednesday, December 20th. They set a neutral rating for the company. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Express has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $189.00. View Our Latest Stock Analysis on AXP American Express Stock Up 0.5 % Shares of AXP stock traded up $1.05 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $213.58. The stock had a trading volume of 658,353 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,480,788. American Express has a 12-month low of $140.91 and a 12-month high of $214.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $154.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.23. The firms 50-day moving average is $190.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $168.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.60. American Express (NYSE:AXP Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 26th. The payment services company reported $2.62 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $2.64 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $16 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 30.99% and a net margin of 13.84%. The companys revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.07 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that American Express will post 12.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. American Express Dividend Announcement The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 9th. Investors of record on Friday, January 5th were paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.12%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 4th. American Expresss dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.41%. About American Express (Free Report) American Express Company, together with its subsidiaries, provides charge and credit payment card products, and travel-related services worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Global Consumer Services Group, Global Commercial Services, and Global Merchant and Network Services. Its products and services include payment and financing products; network services; accounts payable expense management products and services; and travel and lifestyle services. Further Reading Want to see what other hedge funds are holding AXP? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for American Express (NYSE:AXP Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for American Express Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for American Express and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Scorpio Tankers (NYSE:STNG Get Free Report) released its earnings results on Wednesday. The shipping company reported $2.75 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $2.62 by $0.13, Briefing.com reports. The firm had revenue of $336.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $335.70 million. Scorpio Tankers had a net margin of 40.78% and a return on equity of 23.05%. The businesss revenue was down 31.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $4.24 EPS. Scorpio Tankers Trading Up 0.1 % Shares of STNG stock traded up $0.06 on Friday, reaching $70.44. 381,088 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,569,083. The stock has a market cap of $3.91 billion, a PE ratio of 7.08 and a beta of 0.22. Scorpio Tankers has a one year low of $40.34 and a one year high of $72.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $64.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $57.05. Get Scorpio Tankers alerts: Scorpio Tankers Increases Dividend The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.27%. This is an increase from Scorpio Tankerss previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. Scorpio Tankerss payout ratio is presently 14.08%. Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth STNG has been the subject of several recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a buy rating and issued a $90.00 price target on shares of Scorpio Tankers in a research report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Scorpio Tankers from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. StockNews.com raised Scorpio Tankers from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Scorpio Tankers from $89.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $74.86. View Our Latest Report on STNG Hedge Funds Weigh In On Scorpio Tankers Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BlackRock Inc. lifted its stake in Scorpio Tankers by 1.9% in the third quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 3,068,462 shares of the shipping companys stock valued at $128,998,000 after buying an additional 55,817 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Scorpio Tankers by 2.3% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,578,947 shares of the shipping companys stock valued at $55,136,000 after buying an additional 57,184 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP lifted its stake in Scorpio Tankers by 5.8% in the first quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 1,072,792 shares of the shipping companys stock valued at $60,409,000 after buying an additional 58,571 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its stake in Scorpio Tankers by 2.9% in the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 956,815 shares of the shipping companys stock valued at $53,878,000 after buying an additional 27,300 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its stake in Scorpio Tankers by 19.0% in the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 930,715 shares of the shipping companys stock valued at $19,899,000 after buying an additional 148,367 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.82% of the companys stock. About Scorpio Tankers (Get Free Report) Scorpio Tankers Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the seaborne transportation of refined petroleum products in the shipping markets worldwide. As of March 23, 2023, its fleet consisted of 113 owned, finance leased, or bareboat chartered-in tankers, including 39 LR2, 60 MR, and 14 Handymax with a weighted average age of approximately 7.2 years. Further Reading Receive News & Ratings for Scorpio Tankers Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Scorpio Tankers and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON Get Free Report) updated its FY 2024 earnings guidance on Wednesday. The company provided EPS guidance of 5.100-5.400 for the period, compared to the consensus EPS estimate of 5.340. The company issued revenue guidance of -. Sonoco Products also updated its FY24 guidance to $5.10-5.40 EPS. Analyst Ratings Changes A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on SON. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Sonoco Products from $55.00 to $50.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 19th. StockNews.com raised shares of Sonoco Products from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 28th. Finally, TheStreet cut shares of Sonoco Products from a b- rating to a c+ rating in a research report on Wednesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $60.00. Get Sonoco Products alerts: Get Our Latest Stock Report on Sonoco Products Sonoco Products Price Performance NYSE SON traded down $1.01 during trading on Friday, hitting $56.20. 213,280 shares of the companys stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 395,442. The company has a current ratio of 1.89, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The company has a market cap of $5.51 billion, a PE ratio of 11.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 0.69. Sonoco Products has a fifty-two week low of $49.98 and a fifty-two week high of $63.74. The stocks 50 day moving average price is $56.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $55.51. Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The industrial products company reported $1.02 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.04 by ($0.02). Sonoco Products had a return on equity of 22.79% and a net margin of 7.00%. The business had revenue of $1.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.61 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.27 EPS. The firms revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Sonoco Products will post 5.55 EPS for the current year. Sonoco Products Announces Dividend The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 28th will be paid a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 27th. Sonoco Productss dividend payout ratio is currently 42.50%. Institutional Inflows and Outflows Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SON. BlackRock Inc. increased its position in Sonoco Products by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 11,631,791 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $709,539,000 after purchasing an additional 76,945 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Sonoco Products by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,740,557 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $609,312,000 after purchasing an additional 179,779 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its position in Sonoco Products by 13.4% during the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 8,240,829 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $515,546,000 after purchasing an additional 972,157 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in Sonoco Products by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 2,566,627 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $151,481,000 after purchasing an additional 32,230 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in shares of Sonoco Products by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,135,507 shares of the industrial products companys stock worth $130,266,000 after buying an additional 54,808 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.20% of the companys stock. About Sonoco Products (Get Free Report) Sonoco Products Company, together with its subsidiaries, designs, develops, manufactures, and sells various engineered and sustainable packaging products in North and South America, Europe, Australia, and Asia. The company operates through two segments: Consumer Packaging and Industrial Paper Packaging. Read More Receive News & Ratings for Sonoco Products Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Sonoco Products and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies (NYSE:WAB Get Free Report) released its earnings results on Wednesday. The transportation company reported $1.54 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $1.58 by ($0.04), Briefing.com reports. The company had revenue of $2.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.48 billion. Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies had a net margin of 8.42% and a return on equity of 10.41%. The businesss revenue was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.30 earnings per share. Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies updated its FY24 guidance to $6.50-6.90 EPS and its FY 2024 guidance to 6.500-6.900 EPS. Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Trading Up 0.7 % NYSE:WAB traded up $0.90 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $134.86. 247,613 shares of the companys stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,072,561. Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies has a 12-month low of $91.89 and a 12-month high of $137.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.64, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 0.61. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $128.25 and a 200-day moving average price of $116.50. Get Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies alerts: Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Increases Dividend The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 8th. Investors of record on Friday, February 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.59%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 22nd. This is an increase from Westinghouse Air Brake Technologiess previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. Westinghouse Air Brake Technologiess payout ratio is currently 15.04%. Insider Buying and Selling at Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Hedge Funds Weigh In On Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies In other Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies news, Director Brian Hehir sold 5,470 shares of Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.80, for a total transaction of $742,826.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 23,065 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $3,132,227. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink . In related news, VP Kristine Kubacki sold 1,141 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.19, for a total value of $131,431.79. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 3,052 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $351,559.88. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink . Also, Director Brian Hehir sold 5,470 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.80, for a total value of $742,826.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 23,065 shares in the company, valued at $3,132,227. The disclosure for this sale can be found here . Insiders own 1.22% of the companys stock. Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Neuberger Berman Group LLC raised its stake in Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies by 10.1% during the 3rd quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 287,515 shares of the transportation companys stock valued at $23,389,000 after buying an additional 26,351 shares during the last quarter. State of Tennessee Treasury Department raised its stake in Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies by 13.8% during the 1st quarter. State of Tennessee Treasury Department now owns 115,233 shares of the transportation companys stock valued at $11,645,000 after buying an additional 13,949 shares during the last quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies in the 1st quarter worth $1,092,000. Eudaimonia Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies in the 1st quarter worth $366,000. Finally, Quantitative Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies in the 2nd quarter worth $314,000. 90.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors. Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth WAB has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Stephens boosted their price target on Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies from $153.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Thursday. Susquehanna upped their target price on Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a positive rating in a report on Thursday. KeyCorp upped their target price on Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies from $133.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Thursday. TD Cowen increased their price target on Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies from a hold rating to a buy rating and increased their price target for the company from $115.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $142.36. Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Company Profile (Get Free Report) Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Corporation provides technology-based locomotives, equipment, systems, and services for the freight rail and passenger transit industries worldwide. The company operates in two segments, Freight and Transit. The Freight segment manufactures and services components for freight cars and locomotives; builds, rebuilds, upgrades, and overhauls locomotives; supplies railway electronics, positive train control equipment, and signal design and engineering services; services locomotives and freight cars; and provides heat exchange and cooling systems, and components and digital solutions. See Also Receive News & Ratings for Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Rollins Inc showcases a robust financial position with a market capitalization of over $10 billion as of mid-2023. The company's strategic focus on operational efficiency and customer loyalty underpins its competitive edge in the pest control industry. Rollins Inc's commitment to innovation and employee development is reflected in its proprietary technologies and award-winning training programs. Despite a strong market presence, Rollins Inc must navigate the challenges of a competitive landscape and potential supply chain disruptions. On February 15, 2024, Rollins Inc, a global leader in pest control services, filed its 10-K report, offering a comprehensive view of its financial health and strategic direction. With a market capitalization exceeding $10 billion as of June 30, 2023, and a widespread operational network, Rollins Inc stands as a formidable player in the industry. The company's financial tables reveal a solid foundation, with a significant increase in revenue growth in key markets such as Canada, Australia, and the United Kingdom. This financial overview sets the stage for a deeper SWOT analysis, providing investors with a clear picture of Rollins Inc's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats as they consider the company's potential for sustained growth and market leadership. Decoding Rollins Inc (ROL): A Strategic SWOT Insight Strengths Market Leadership and Brand Recognition: Rollins Inc's portfolio, headlined by the renowned Orkin brand, commands significant market share and brand equity in the pest control industry. The company's near-national coverage in the U.S. and Canada, coupled with its international presence, underscores its status as a market leader. The Orkin brand, in particular, is synonymous with quality and reliability, contributing to a loyal customer base and recurring revenue streams. The company's strategic investments in proprietary technologies, such as the Branch Operating Support System (BOSS), enhance service delivery and customer experience, further solidifying its competitive position. Story continues Employee Training and Development: Rollins Inc's commitment to employee development is evidenced by its state-of-the-art Rollins Learning Center and recognition as a top workplace. The company's focus on nurturing talent through comprehensive training programs not only fosters a skilled workforce but also enhances service quality. This investment in human capital translates to higher customer satisfaction and retention rates, which are critical for long-term success in the service industry. Weaknesses Market Competition and Fragmentation: Despite its strong position, Rollins Inc operates in a highly competitive environment with low barriers to entry. The company faces stiff competition from other large players like Rentokil and Ecolab, as well as numerous regional companies. This competitive landscape requires continuous innovation and strategic marketing to maintain and grow market share. Additionally, the fragmented nature of the industry poses challenges in standardizing service quality and maintaining pricing power. Supply Chain Vulnerabilities: Rollins Inc's reliance on a vast network of suppliers for pest and termite treatment products introduces potential risks related to supply chain disruptions. While the company has taken proactive measures to mitigate these risks, including hosting a Supplier Summit to enhance strategic relationships, any prolonged disruptions could impact service delivery and customer satisfaction. Opportunities International Expansion: Rollins Inc's international operations have shown promising growth, particularly in Canada, Australia, and the United Kingdom. The company's strategic objective to expand its global footprint presents opportunities to tap into new markets and diversify revenue sources. By leveraging its established brands and expertise, Rollins Inc can capitalize on the growing demand for pest control services worldwide. Acquisition Strategy: Rollins Inc's history of successful acquisitions has contributed to its growth trajectory. The company's ability to identify and integrate high-quality businesses offers a pathway to expand its service offerings and geographic reach. With a disciplined acquisition strategy, Rollins Inc can continue to consolidate its market position and drive organic growth. Threats Seasonality and Climate Change: The pest control industry is subject to seasonal fluctuations, with higher revenue typically seen in the spring and summer months. Rollins Inc's profitability is influenced by these seasonal patterns, which could be further exacerbated by climate change. Unpredictable weather conditions and changing pest behaviors may require the company to adapt its service strategies and could impact financial performance. Regulatory and Environmental Concerns: Rollins Inc must navigate a complex regulatory landscape, with stringent requirements for pesticide use and disposal. Environmental concerns and public scrutiny of chemical treatments could lead to tighter regulations, impacting operational practices and costs. The company's ability to innovate with eco-friendly solutions and maintain compliance will be crucial in mitigating these risks. In conclusion, Rollins Inc (NYSE:ROL) exhibits a strong financial and strategic position, underpinned by its market leadership, brand recognition, and commitment to employee development. However, the company must continue to address the challenges posed by a competitive landscape, supply chain vulnerabilities, and regulatory pressures. By capitalizing on opportunities for international expansion and strategic acquisitions, Rollins Inc can reinforce its market dominance while navigating the threats of seasonality and environmental concerns. The company's forward-looking strategies, including investments in technology and a focus on operational efficiency, position it well to leverage its strengths and opportunities for sustained growth. This article, generated by GuruFocus, is designed to provide general insights and is not tailored financial advice. Our commentary is rooted in historical data and analyst projections, utilizing an impartial methodology, and is not intended to serve as specific investment guidance. It does not formulate a recommendation to purchase or divest any stock and does not consider individual investment objectives or financial circumstances. Our objective is to deliver long-term, fundamental data-driven analysis. Be aware that our analysis might not incorporate the most recent, price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative information. GuruFocus holds no position in the stocks mentioned herein. This article first appeared on GuruFocus. China calls on members of neutrality group to promote global governance Xinhua) 09:15, February 16, 2024 Zhao Leji, chairman of the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, addresses a virtual meeting of parliamentary leaders of the Group of Friends of Neutrality members via video, at the invitation of Dunyagozel Gulmanowa, chairperson of the National Assembly (Mejlis) of Turkmenistan, Feb. 15, 2024. (Xinhua/Yue Yuewei) BEIJING, Feb. 15 (Xinhua) -- China's top legislator Zhao Leji on Thursday called on member states of the Group of Friends of Neutrality to jointly promote the development of the global governance system in a more just and equitable direction. Zhao, chairman of the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, made the remarks when addressing a virtual meeting of parliamentary leaders of the Group of Friends of Neutrality members via video, at the invitation of Dunyagozel Gulmanowa, chairperson of the National Assembly (Mejlis) of Turkmenistan. Since its establishment more than three years ago, the Group of Friends of Neutrality has committed itself to promoting international peace, security and sustainable development, and has become a useful platform for practicing multilateralism and promoting win-win cooperation, Zhao said. Hailing Turkmenistan's important and constructive role in international and regional affairs as a permanently neutral state established by the United Nations, as well as the initiator of the group, Zhao said China is willing to work with the group's members to promote the effective implementation of the three global initiatives proposed by China and to build a community with a shared future for humanity. Zhao also called on all parties to firmly uphold the international system with the UN at its core and the international order based on international law, to practice genuine multilateralism, and increase the representation and voice of developing countries in international affairs. Noting that China and Turkmenistan are good friends, partners and brothers, Zhao said bilateral relations have been continuously upgraded since the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries 32 years ago. China-Turkmenistan relations enjoy great potential for development, Zhao said, adding that China is ready to join hands with Turkmenistan to implement the important consensus reached by the top leaders of the two countries, continue to firmly support each other on issues concerning each other's core interests, deepen mutually beneficial cooperation, and enrich cultural and people-to-people exchanges. The Group of Friends of Neutrality was established in August, 2020 on the initiative of Turkmenistan. China is one of the 18 founding nations. (Web editor: Peng Yukai, Liu Ning) Vladimir Voronkov, UN under-secretary-general for the Office of Counter-Terrorism, speaks at a Security Council briefing at the UN headquarters in New York on Feb. 15, 2024. The UN's top counter-terrorism official on Thursday emphasized the need for international cooperation and a comprehensive strategy to effectively combat the global threat of terrorism, advocating a multilateral approach that goes beyond the use of force. (Eskinder Debebe/UN Photo/Handout via Xinhua) UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 15 (Xinhua) -- The UN's top counter-terrorism official on Thursday emphasized the need for international cooperation and a comprehensive strategy to effectively combat the global threat of terrorism, advocating a multilateral approach that goes beyond the use of force. "Force alone is not the answer," said Vladimir Voronkov, under-secretary-general for the Office of Counter-Terrorism, during his address to the UN Security Council. He underscored the necessity of "comprehensive responses, firmly grounded in political strategies, anchored in international law, and based on all-of-government and all-of-society approaches." Referring to the secretary-general's report on the persistent threat posed by Da'esh, also known as ISIL, Voronkov said that despite significant strides in diminishing the group's operational capabilities, it continues to pose a serious threat, especially in conflict zones. "The prolonged delay in announcing a new leader following the killing of his predecessor was indicative of internal challenges within the group," Voronkov pointed out. He also noted the success of member states' efforts in countering terrorist financing, with Da'esh's financial reserves now estimated to be between 10 million U.S. dollars and 25 million dollars, significantly lower than in previous years. The counter-terrorism chief also acknowledged the progress made in combating Da'esh affiliates in various regions, including Afghanistan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Egypt, and Mozambique. However, he warned of the potential for Da'esh's resurgence, evidenced by increased attacks in Iraq and Syria since November, which underscore the group's enduring resilience. Voronkov highlighted the challenges in West Africa and the Sahel, where Da'esh and its affiliates continue to exploit local disputes and the complex security environment to further their agenda. In his concluding remarks, Voronkov reiterated the UN's dedication to counter-terrorism efforts and called on member states to be mindful of the unintended consequences of certain measures. He stressed the importance of ensuring that counter-terrorism strategies are grounded in international law, including human rights and humanitarian law. VeriSign Inc's dominance in domain name registry with .com and .net TLDs. Strategic focus on maintaining internet infrastructure and DNS services. Challenges in cybersecurity and competitive domain name registry market. Opportunities for growth in global e-commerce and internet usage trends. On February 15, 2024, VeriSign Inc, a global provider of domain name registry services and internet infrastructure, released its annual 10-K filing, revealing a focused strategy on its core registry business. With an aggregate market value of $15.9 billion as of mid-2023, VeriSign Inc continues to be a formidable player in the domain name system (DNS) industry. The company's financial health is underscored by its operation of two of the thirteen global internet root servers, a critical component for internet traffic routing. The divestiture of its Security Services business in 2018 has allowed VeriSign Inc to concentrate on its registry services, which support the majority of global e-commerce through the .com and .net top-level domains (TLDs). Decoding VeriSign Inc (VRSN): A Strategic SWOT Insight Strengths Market Dominance and Brand Recognition: VeriSign Inc's strength lies in its unparalleled position as the sole registry for .com and .net domains, which are foundational to the global e-commerce infrastructure. The company's brand is synonymous with trust and reliability in internet navigation, a reputation built over years of consistent service. This brand equity translates into a competitive advantage, as evidenced by the company's substantial market capitalization and the sheer volume of transactions processed by its servers daily. Technical Infrastructure and Expertise: VeriSign Inc's operational excellence is a key strength, with a robust infrastructure that includes secure data centers and a global constellation of DNS servers. The company's technical prowess ensures high availability and security, which are critical for maintaining the DNS's integrity. VeriSign's commitment to R&D further solidifies its leadership in the industry, allowing it to stay ahead of evolving cyber threats and internet standards. Story continues Weaknesses Regulatory and Pricing Constraints: VeriSign Inc's pricing power is limited by its agreements with ICANN, which impose restrictions on the fees it can charge for .com and .net domain registrations. This regulatory environment constrains the company's ability to rapidly adjust prices in response to market conditions, potentially impacting profitability and growth. Reliance on Specific TLDs: The company's focus on a select few TLDs, while a source of strength, also represents a concentration risk. Any shifts in market preferences or regulatory changes affecting these TLDs could disproportionately affect VeriSign's business. Diversification into additional TLDs or internet services could mitigate this weakness. Opportunities Global Internet Growth: The continued expansion of the internet, particularly in developing markets, presents significant opportunities for VeriSign Inc. As more businesses and individuals seek online presence, the demand for domain registrations is expected to rise, potentially driving growth for the company's registry services. Technological Advancements: Innovations in internet infrastructure, such as the adoption of new DNS protocols or the expansion of IDN TLDs, offer avenues for VeriSign to enhance its service offerings. By leveraging its R&D capabilities, VeriSign can develop new products and services that cater to the evolving needs of the internet community. Threats Cybersecurity Risks: As a guardian of critical internet infrastructure, VeriSign Inc faces persistent threats from cyberattacks, including DDoS attacks and social engineering. Despite robust security measures, the sophistication and frequency of these threats pose a constant challenge to the company's operations and reputation. Competitive Pressures: The domain name registry market is highly competitive, with numerous gTLD and ccTLD registries vying for market share. VeriSign must continuously innovate and demonstrate the superiority of its services to maintain its market position against emerging competitors and alternative online identity solutions. In conclusion, VeriSign Inc's SWOT analysis reveals a company with formidable strengths in market dominance and technical infrastructure, balanced by regulatory constraints and reliance on a few key TLDs. Opportunities for growth are abundant, given the global expansion of the internet and technological advancements. However, VeriSign must navigate the threats posed by cybersecurity risks and competitive pressures to sustain its leadership in the domain name registry space. The company's strategic focus on its core registry business and commitment to R&D positions it well to capitalize on these opportunities while mitigating its weaknesses and threats. This article, generated by GuruFocus, is designed to provide general insights and is not tailored financial advice. Our commentary is rooted in historical data and analyst projections, utilizing an impartial methodology, and is not intended to serve as specific investment guidance. It does not formulate a recommendation to purchase or divest any stock and does not consider individual investment objectives or financial circumstances. Our objective is to deliver long-term, fundamental data-driven analysis. Be aware that our analysis might not incorporate the most recent, price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative information. GuruFocus holds no position in the stocks mentioned herein. This article first appeared on GuruFocus. In a truly educational call on the Dave Ramsey Show, David from Dallas, Texas, brought forward a financial dilemma that many younger individuals face. At 29 years old and fresh off a divorce, David moved from Switzerland where he had a steady job back to the United States. He's been living with friends full-time while pondering what to do with the rest of his life. After letting David vent, Ramsey, who is known for his blunt and straightforward financial advice, showed a bit of his lighter side. The caller expressed concerns about his lack of transferable skills to the job market, despite his employment overseas, leading to a direct question from Ramsey, "Did you suck?" Don't Miss: If the average American household is a millionaire, why do people feel so broke ? Average retirement income in America has been revealed Will you make enough each month? After replying "No, I don't think so," Ramsey finished his thought. "So, you know how to edit and do social media, that's a valuable skill. Never again are you allowed to say that you don't have any valuable skills." Ramseys response illuminates a crucial point the importance of recognizing and valuing your abilities. This interaction sheds light on the need for young individuals to reassess their skill sets positively, emphasizing that adaptability and skills in areas like social media and editing are indeed valuable in todays job market. Ramsey believes that these skills are so valuable that David shouldn't have any trouble finding employment. Trending: The average American couple has saved this much money for retirement How do you compare? "You can do social media and you can edit videos, and you're in freaking Dallas, Texas," he said. "Theres about a bazillion things you can do there that will earn you fifty to a hundred thousand dollars a year starting tomorrow." Davids journey from a stable job in Switzerland to searching for work in the U.S. mirrors the uncertainty many experience during life transitions. Story continues Ramseys direct approach encourages individuals to see their capabilities in this case social media and editing as marketable assets. This guidance boosts confidence and challenges the notion of helplessness in a competitive job market. The conversation highlights a key lesson for anyone facing financial difficulties: the value of seeking advice from a financial adviser. Consulting a professional can help create a personalized plan focused on paying off debt and achieving financial stability. An adviser provides tailored guidance based on your unique situation, ensuring your path to financial freedom is strategic and realistic, avoiding risky bets that could worsen your financial situation. Read Next: Are you rich? Heres what Americans think you need to be considered wealthy. For many first-time buyers, a house is about 3 to 5 times your household annual income Are you making enough? *This information is not financial advice, and personalized guidance from a financial adviser is recommended for making well-informed decisions. Chris Bibey has written about personal finance and investment for the past 15 years in a variety of publications and for a variety of financial companies. He is not a licensed financial adviser, and the content herein is for information purposes only and is not, and does not constitute or intend to constitute, investment advice or any investment service. While Bibey believes the information contained herein is reliable and derived from reliable sources, there is no representation, warranty or undertaking, stated or implied, as to the accuracy or completeness of the information. "ACTIVE INVESTORS' SECRET WEAPON" Supercharge Your Stock Market Game with the #1 "news & everything else" trading tool: Benzinga Pro - Click here to start Your 14-Day Trial Now! Get the latest stock analysis from Benzinga? This article 'Did You Suck?' Dave Ramsey Is Blunt With His Advice For Unemployed Caller 'There's About A Bazillion Things You Can Do There That Will Earn You Fifty To A Hundred Thousand Dollars A Year Starting Tomorrow' originally appeared on Benzinga.com 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. Allied Analytics LLP The significant impacting factors in the digital signage market include a rise in demand for bright and power-efficient display panels, rapid digitalization, decline in demand for traditional billboards, and increase in demand for 4K & Ultra-HD devices. In addition, emerging display technologies such as micro-LED & quantum dots and an increase in preference of electronic giants toward large-screen displays are projected to offer remunerative opportunities to the digital signage market. Wilmington, Delaware, Feb. 16, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Allied Market Research published a report, titled, Digital Signage Market by Offering (Hardware, Software, and Service), Product (Single Screen Display, Video Wall, and Kiosk), Location (Indoor and Outdoor), End User (Retail, Education, Healthcare, Corporate, Stadiums, Government, and Others): Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2023-2032. According to the report, the global digital signage market was valued at $23.6 billion in 2022, and is projected to reach $50.6 billion by 2032, registering a CAGR of 8% from 2023 to 2032. Download Research Report Sample & TOC: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/request-sample/1028 (We look forward to quickly to provide the Report Analysis needed for your Business Success) 233 Pages 181 Tables 56 Charts Prime determinants of growth The digital signage market is influenced significantly by factors such as increase in need for vivid and energy-efficient display panels, the swift transition to digital platforms leading to a decline in traditional billboard demand, and a growing market for 4K and Ultra-HD devices. Nonetheless, the adoption of widescreen alternatives such as projectors is anticipated to impede market growth. On the other side, the emergence of advanced display technologies such as micro-LED and quantum dots, coupled with the preference of electronic industry leaders for large screen displays, is expected to present lucrative opportunities for the digital signage market. Story continues Report coverage & details: Report Coverage Details Forecast Period 20222032 Base Year 2022 Market Size In 2022 $23.6 Billion Market Size In 2032 $50.6 Billion CAGR 8% No. Of Pages in Report 233 Segments Covered Offering, Product, Location, End User, And Region. Drivers Rise In Demand for Bright and Power-Efficient Display Panels Rapid Digitalization and Decline in Demand for Traditional Billboards Increase In Demand For 4K And Ultra-HD Devices Opportunities Emerging Display Technology Such as Micro-LED And Quantum Dots Increase In Preference of Electronic Giants Toward Large Screen Displays Restraint Deployment Of Widescreen Alternatives Such as Projectors COVID-19 Scenario The COVID-19 pandemic impacted the digital signage market, causing disruptions in the supply chain and production processes. Fluctuating demand and economic uncertainties have influenced market dynamics. Despite challenges, the market is expected to recover gradually with the stabilization of global economic conditions. The hardware segment to maintain its leadership status throughout the forecast period. By offering, the hardware segment held the highest market share in 2022, accounting for nearly three-fourths of the global digital signage market revenue and is estimated to maintain its leadership status throughout the forecast period, as it is known for its small size & flexibility, and it is widely used in consumer electronics sector for smartphones, laptops and others. The kiosk segment to maintain its leadership status throughout the forecast period. By product, the kiosk segment held the highest market share in 2022, accounting for more than two-fifths of the global digital signage market revenue and is estimated to maintain its leadership status throughout the forecast period. In addition, the kiosk segment is projected to manifest the highest CAGR of 8.99% from 2023 to 2032 owing to an increase in installation of kiosk on public transports and commercial sectors. The indoor segment to maintain its leadership status throughout the forecast period. By location, the indoor segment held the highest market share in 2022, accounting for more than half of the global digital signage market revenue and is estimated to maintain its leadership status throughout the forecast period. In addition, the outdoor segment is projected to manifest the highest CAGR of 8.59% from 2023 to 2032. The others segment to maintain its leadership status throughout the forecast period. By end user, the other segment which includes real estate, IT, and industrial sector held the highest market share in 2022, accounting for more than one-fifth of the global digital signage market revenue and is estimated to maintain its leadership status throughout the forecast period. Digital signage is widely used in the IT sector for video conferencing, collaborations, and presentations. In addition, these digital screens can display real time information & events, internal corporate news, and meeting time schedules. Large real estate firms use display screens for promotion of their brands and internal communication. Inquiry before Buying: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/purchase-enquiry/1028 North America to maintain its dominance by 2032. By region, North America held the highest market share in terms of revenue in 2022, accounting for more than one-third of the global digital signage market revenue. Middle East and Africa is expected to witness the fastest CAGR of 11.22% from 2023 to 2032, owing to continuous expansion of telecommunication and digital networks, particularly the deployment of 5G technology. Leading Market Players: - NEC Corporation Sony Corporation LG Electronics Samsung Electronics Panasonic Corporation ViewSonic Corporation Volanti Displays iSEMC (HHSD) Koninklijke Philips N.V. Planer System Inc The report provides a detailed analysis of these key players of the global digital signage market. These players have adopted different strategies such as partnership 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. Key Benefits for Stakeholders This report provides a quantitative analysis of the digital signage market report, current trends, estimations, and dynamics of the digital signage market analysis from 2022 to 2032 to identify the prevailing digital signage market opportunity. Market research is offered along with information related to key drivers, restraints, and opportunities. Porter's five forces analysis highlights the potency of buyers and suppliers to enable stakeholders to make profit-oriented business decisions and strengthen their supplier-buyer network. In-depth analysis of the digital signage market segmentation assists to determine the prevailing market opportunities. Major countries in each region are mapped according to their revenue contribution to the global digital signage market overview. 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 digital signage market trends, digital signage companies, market segments, application areas, and market growth strategies. Digital Signage Market Key Segments: By Product: Single Screen Display Video wall Kiosk By Offering: Hardware Software Service By End User: Education Healthcare Corporate Stadiums Government Retail Others By Region: North America (U.S., Canada, Mexico) Europe (Germany, UK, France, Spain, Italy, Rest of Europe) Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, India, South Korea, Australia, Rest of Asia-Pacific) LAMEA (Brazil, Saudi Arabia, UAE, South Africa, Rest of LAMEA) Trending Reports in Semiconductor and Electronics Industry: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/digital-signage-market Narrow Pixel Pitch LED Displays Market was valued at $1.5 billion in 2021, and is projected to reach $7.1 billion by 2031, growing at a CAGR of 16.7% from 2022 to 2031. LED Video Walls Market Size, Share, Competitive Landscape and Trend Analysis Report: Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2023-2032 North America Digital Signage Market Share, Competitive Landscape and Trend Analysis Report: Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2022-2032 Europe Digital Signage Market Size, Competitive Landscape and Trend Analysis Report: Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2022-2032 Japan Digital Signage Market: Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2022-2032 About Us: Allied Market Research (AMR) is a full-service market research and business-consulting wing of Allied Analytics LLP based in Portland, Oregon. Allied Market Research provides global enterprises as well as medium and small businesses with unmatched quality of "Market Research Reports 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 Us: David Correa 1209 Orange Street, Corporation Trust Center, Wilmington, New Castle, Delaware 19801 USA. Int'l: +1-503-894-6022 Toll Free: +1-800-792-5285 UK: +44-845-528-1300 India (Pune): +91-20-66346060 Fax: +1-800-792-5285 help@alliedmarketresearch.com Bigger agenda behind CCpur protest Reminiscent of 2015 uproar | Eerily reminiscent of the now withdrawn three Bills of 2015, which sought to protect the indigenous people of the land. Back in September 2015, the State Assembly passed the Protection of Manipur People Bill, 2015, Manipur Land Revenue and Land Reforms (Seventh Amendment) Bill, 2015 and Manipur Shops and Establishments (Second Amendment) Bill, 2015 and in no time Churachandpur went up in flames, resulting in the death of nine people in police action. Fast forward to 2024 and a similar situation unfolded in the same town on February 15 and while the official line for the protest is the suspension of a police Head Constable after he was found supping with armed persons in the midst of the ongoing violent conflict between the Meiteis and the Kukis, many have started reading between the lines questioning whether it is logical to see any connect between the suspension of the police official and such a large scale violence. It is along this line that the discerning folks have started putting two and two together to surmise that it could be a ploy to destroy all possible records following the public announcement of Chief Minister N Biren that anyone found entering Manipur after 1961 and settling here would be detected and deported. That many of the Kuki-Zo community come within the understanding of refugees is a given with even NSCN (IM) leader Thuingaleng Muivah having gone on record to state that they are not indigenous to the land and are refugees. There should be no argument over the fact that the Nagas understand the politics of the Kukis better than anyone else and it was only recently that the Meiteis opened their eyes to the fact that many of them entered the State of Manipur on the sly. The Sangai Express has already illustrated this point but a repeat is in line here-It was with a reason why the United Naga Council objected to the burial of a late Kuki scholar in Kangpokpi as he was not a native of the land having arrived from Myanmar earlier. A fact which was underlined by a report which The Sangai Express received from Kangpokpi at that time during the peak of the Covid pandemic. Again to repeat another point, it was no one else but a Kuki gentleman by the name Paolienlal Haokip who in a write up in a publication of the Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies on May 3, 2002, talked about how 20,000 Kukis entered Manipur after being driven out of Myanmar in 1967. The said writer in the same article went on to talk about how more entered Manipur and the other North Eastern States during the August 1998 uprising in Myanmar. The Sangai Express has already referred to the said article not once, but twice in the last few days, just to illustrate why the apprehension of illegal immigrants is real, very real. In the same article Mr Haokip went on to state how the drug trade became an easy avenue to make quick money. From here it can be easily inferred why the talk of narco terrorism is real. Back in 2015, the violent protest against the three Bills rested on the premise that the Hills Area Committee was not consulted and the Governor never gave her assent to the said Bills. Fast forward to 2024 and the official reason cooked up for the violent protest is the suspension of a police official. Nothing can get more farcical than this. If the Tribal Solidarity Rally of May 3, 2023 rested on the false premise of the demand that the Meiteis be granted the Scheduled Tribe status, Churachandpur has taken the lie one more step by citing the violent protest on February 15, 2024 as due to the suspension of the said police official. The lies continue, the false narrative continues and making things all that more farcical is the allegation that Imphal has not taken any action against the Meitei police personnel found supping with the armed groups in the valley areas. Not surprising and the lies will continue for the May 3 rally rested and started off on a pack of lies and this was followed by the victim stories that were churned out with so much finesse that even the ongoing clash was sought to be interpreted along religious divide. That there could be a bigger agenda behind the violence at Churachandpur should be clear to all for this has come close on the heels of the announcement of the Chief Minister that all those found entering Manipur after 1961 would be packed off. This cannot be just a coincidence. New Delhi need to seriously take a look at this and question why the Kuki-Zos have opposed the decision to do away with the Free Movement Regime and fence the Indo-Myanmar border. KYKL celebrates MYL raising day | IMPHAL, Feb 16: The proscribed KYKL today celebrated the 20th raising day of its armed wing Meeyamgi Yawol Lanmee (MYL) at the outfits Central headquarters, battalion headquarters, Central unit command, units and different locations of Kangleipak and beyond. The main function was held at the Central headquarters with the outfits Chairman unfurling the partys flag, conveyed a press release issued by the outfits publicity and research secretary Y Yaiphaba. Offering of tributes to all those who had laid down their lives in the course of the revolutionary movement and speeches by the outfits Chairman and the chief of the army staff were the main highlights of the function. In his speech, the Chairman stated that the chaotic situation seen today in Kangleipak is a result of the alleged forced annexation of Kangleipak by India and subsequent establishment of a puppet Government while the real political and economic power are wrested by New Delhi. While the puppet Government has been dancing to the tune of their New Delhi masters, a society of spineless and dispirited is being created in Kangleipak, the Chairman said. The chief of army staff asserted that all revolutionary cadres/combatants must abide by the military discipline. If one cannot uphold the military Today Sunny with gusty winds developing this afternoon. High 68F. NW winds at 5 to 10 mph, increasing to 20 to 30 mph. Higher wind gusts possible. Tonight A clear sky. Low near 35F. Winds W at 10 to 15 mph. Tomorrow Mostly sunny skies. High 64F. Winds NW at 10 to 20 mph. EDF revealed last month that Hinkley is likely to be delayed until 2029 - AFP EDF, the French state-owned power giant, has been forced to write-off 12.9bn (11bn) over its investment in the UKs Hinkley Point C nuclear power station. Luc Remont, chief executive, said on Friday that EDF was in talks with the UK government over the long-term financing of Hinkley, and the planned Sizewell C project. Were obviously having talks with the British government on both projects, he said. The writedown comes amid a row between Britain and France over who should pay for the ballooning cost of the power plant which is currently under construction in Somerset. Last month EDF revealed that Hinkley is likely to be delayed until 2029 or even 2031, and the price could hit as much as 46bn in todays money. That compares with the initial budget of 18bn and a scheduled opening in 2025. Despite the writedown, EDF posted a 10bn profit for 2023, compared to a 17.9bn loss a year earlier after several reactors had to be shut down for repairs and as the energy crisis gripped the world. EDF has said many of the extra costs associated with Hinkley were caused by the UK government insisting on expensive extra safety measures after the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster. Such issues have led to new tensions with the French government whose finance minister Bruno Le Maire has told Claire Coutinho, the UK energy secretary, that Britain will have to stump up extra cash for the project. Britain insists EDF must pay. The contracts around Hinkley put the onus on EDF to complete construction without any UK bailouts. However, Britain is also relying on EDF to build the planned Sizewell C reactor in Suffolk, adding an extra dimension to negotiations. Centrica chief executive Chris OShea, which has a 20pc minority stake in EDFs UK nuclear operations, on Thursday confirmed that his company is discussing co-financing Sizewell C. Mr Remont said: Were having talks with the British government and other investors to set up the financing of Sizewell C. Story continues EDF emphasised its concern over its UK investments, pointing out that it had spent 3.6bn last year but earned only 3.4bn on which it also paid a 600m tax bill. While it returned to profit last year, the company, which runs all of the UKs existing nuclear stations, is still carrying 54bn in net debt. Mr Remont said Hinkley could still be profitable for EDF despite the extra costs and delays, adding that the company wanted to complete it as soon as possible. EDFs financial performance improved last year as most of its reactors came back online, with French nuclear production increasing by 41.4 terawatt-hours (TWh) to 320.4 TWh. Earnings were boosted further because the increased output coincided with historically high electricity market prices. The group said it expects nuclear power output to rise again in 2024. Mr Remont said in a statement: EDF has managed a turnaround in 2023, notably thanks to a rebound of its nuclear output. With these good results, EDF has met its financial targets and reduced its financial debt. EDF may benefit from a further rebound in its French nuclear production in the coming years as it progresses with checks and repairs of its reactor fleet. Stress corrosion cracks first uncovered in late 2021 have affected pipes at more than a dozen of its 56 atomic units. Output is also due to get a boost in coming months from the startup of a much-delayed new reactor at Flamanville in northwestern France. However, Mr Remont has warned that the groups cash flows will come under pressure again as annual investment rises to about 25bn in a few years, up from 19.1bn last year. That is because the French government wants it to build at least six new nuclear plants and to adapt the countrys grid for rising solar and wind generation. Mr Le Maire has said EDF must focus on new nuclear projects in France where several new nuclear stations are needed to replace those approaching end of life. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 3 months with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. Country United States of America US Virgin Islands United States Minor Outlying Islands Canada Mexico, United Mexican States Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Cuba, Republic of Dominican Republic Haiti, Republic of Jamaica Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe The Reserve Bank of India has further extended the date to stop all transactions for Paytm Payments Bank till March 15 on Friday. Along with this, the central bank has released a set of Frequently Asked Questions where it has come up with the detailed answers on what will work and what not, once the Payments Bank ceases to operate. For Current and Savings account holders Advertisement According to the RBI statement, the savings or current account holders with Paytm Payments Bank can continue to withdraw or transfer funds from this account after March 15, 2024. They can also continue to use a debit card to withdraw or transfer funds upto the available balance in your account. However, after March 15, users will not be able to deposit money into their account with Paytm Payments Bank. Also, no credits or deposits other than interest, cashbacks, sweep-in from partner banks or refunds are allowed to be credited. Deposits maintained with partner banks The existing Deposits of Paytm Payments Bank customers maintained with partner banks can be brought back (sweep-in) to the accounts with Paytm Payments Bank, subject to the ceiling on balance prescribed for a Payments Bank, the RBI said in a statement. Notably, the ceiling is prescribed at Rs 2 lakh per individual customer at the end of day. Such sweep-ins for the purpose of making available the balances for use or withdrawal by the customer will continue to be allowed. However, no fresh deposits with partner banks through Paytm Payments Bank will be allowed after March 15, 2024, the RBI said. What will happen with salary and EMI linked with Paytm Payments Bank? After March 15, the users will not be able to receive any salary credits into account with Paytm Payments Bank. It is suggested that you make alternative arrangements with another bank before March 15, 2024 to avoid inconvenience, RBI said. For the EMIs of loan, which is automatically paid through the account with Paytm Payments Bank, the auto debit mandates will continue to be executed till there is balance available in your account. After March 15, 2024, credit or deposit in your accounts will not be allowed. However, the EMI of any loan which is automatically paid through an account with a bank other than Paytm Payments Bank, can continue. OTT subscription, electricity bills and rewards As mentioned earlier too, the refunds, cashbacks, sweep-in from partner banks or interest are permitted credits into your account even after March 15, 2024. Withdrawal/debit mandates, such as National Automated Clearing House (NACH) mandates, will continue to get executed till there is balance available in your account. For OTT subscriptions, the withdrawal/debit mandates through automatic UPI mandates will continue to get executed till there is balance available in your account. However, after March 15, 2024, both the above activities will not be allowed. What will happen with the Paytm Wallet? RBI clarified that the users can continue to use, withdraw or transfer to another wallet or bank account upto the balance available in the wallet. However, after March 15, users will not be able to top-up or transfer money into the wallet or receive any credits, other than cashbacks, or refunds into this wallet. Refunds and cashbacks are allowed to be credited. For merchants using QR code For a merchant accepting payments using a Paytm QR code, Paytm soundbox or Paytm POS terminal, linked to another bank account, not with Paytm Payments Bank, users can continue to use this arrangement even after March 15. For those who accept payments using a Paytm QR code, Paytm soundbox, Paytm POS terminal linked to bank account or wallet with Paytm Payments Bank, merchants will not be able to receive any credit into your bank account or wallet with Paytm Payments Bank other than refunds, cashbacks, sweep-in from partner banks or interest after March 15. Bollywood actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui recently expressed his desire to take on more substantial roles in films, praising the movie Oppenheimer for its unique approach to casting. In a candid interview, Siddiqui reflected on the dichotomy of major and minor roles in the Indian film industry, asserting that hes ready to transition away from minor roles and embrace characters with greater depth and significance. Siddiqui pondered the common aspiration among actors to tackle larger roles, questioning whether established stars would be willing to take on minor characters in their films. Drawing inspiration from Oppenheimer, where prominent actors portrayed minor roles, Siddiqui highlighted the unconventional yet effective style of filmmaking that prioritizes character over star power. He remarked, Every actor dreams of stepping into bigger shoes. Minor roles may mark the beginning of a journey, but the ultimate goal is to delve into meatier characters. Nawazuddin Siddiquis sentiments underscored a shift towards a more nuanced approach to casting and storytelling in Bollywood. Advertisement In addition to praising the casting choices in Oppenheimer, Siddiqui also commended the film for its emphasis on meaningful conversations. He lamented the tendency in Hindi cinema to prioritize dialogue delivery over genuine dialogue, citing the abundance of impactful lines in Bollywood dialogues. Acknowledging the cultural significance of song sequences in traditional Hindi films, Siddiqui emphasized the importance of authentic conversations in cinematic narratives. He remarked, Dialogue-driven scenes require a different level of skill and authenticity, which we sometimes overlook in favor of dramatic one-liners. Siddiquis critique resonated with a growing sentiment within the industry, highlighting the need for a more balanced approach to dialogue delivery and character development in Bollywood films. As an actor celebrated for his versatility and depth, Siddiquis advocacy for a shift towards more substantive roles and authentic storytelling carries considerable weight within the industry. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and other leaders of the party on Friday slammed the BJP-led government at the Centre, accusing that it has frozen the accounts of the countrys largest Opposition party and called it an assault on democracy. Notably, the accusation of the Congress against the government comes ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. In a post on X, Kharge wrote, Power drunk Modi government has frozen the accounts of the countrys largest Opposition party the Indian National Congress just before the Lok Sabha elections. This is a deep assault on Indias democracy. Advertisement Attacking the ruling dispensation, the Congress chief further said, The unconstitutional money collected by the BJP would be utilised by them for elections, but the money collected by us through crowdfunding shall be sealed.That is why I have said that there wont be any elections in the future. Kharge, who is also the Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha, appealed to the Judiciary to save the multi-party system in this country and protect Indias democracy. He also said the party will take to the streets and fight strongly against this autocracy of the incumbent government. Echoing similar sentiments, Congress leader and MP Rahul Gandhi in a post on X while taking a jibe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, Dont be afraid Modi ji. We have never bowed down before dictatorship, nor will we ever bow down. He also said every Congress worker will fight tooth and nail to protect the countrys democracy. Informing the same, Congress Treasurer Ajay Maken at a press conference at the party headquarters, claimed that the accounts of the Congress as well as its Youth wing have been frozen and asserted that the democracy is under attack. Democracy has completely ended in India. All the accounts of the countrys main Opposition party, Congress, have been frozen. Not only Congress party, the accounts of the Youth Congress have also been frozen. Maken claimed that the issue was related to 2018-19 for which the Income Tax department has asked for a recovery of Rs 210 crore from the party and added that the first reason was that the filing of the IT returns were delayed by 40-45 days. Since 2019 was an election year, the Congress party submitted the receipts of Rs 199 crore which were spent on the elections. Of this amount Rs 14.40 lakh had been deposited in cash by some Congress MPs and MLAs from their salaries. It was shocking that the IT department had imposed a penalty of Rs 210 crore on the cash deposit of Rs 14.40 lakhs, he said. However, later in a post on X, Maken wrote, On our petition, the Income Tax Department and the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) has said that we have to ensure that Rs 115 crores have to be kept in the banks. This 115 crore is the lien marked in the bank accounts. We can spend an amount over and above that. This means that Rs 115 crore have been frozen. This Rs 115 crore is much more than what we have in our Current accounts, added Maken. While Congress MP Rajya Sabha MP Vivek Tankha in a post on X said, Indian National Congress can operate its accounts with a lien of the IT Dept thereon. Direction by ITAT Delhi. Prayer for interim relief will be heard on Wednesday. Meanwhile, Congress general secretary in-charge of organisation KC Venugopal said, The Income Tax Department has frozen the INCs accounts without any reason and the government has once again tried to murder democracy. But, we will not be bogged down by these relentless attacks all PCCs will be holding massive protests against this action tomorrow (17th February) outside Income Tax Department offices in all state capitals. We will not surrender we will not let the power drunk regime silence the peoples power, he said. Chief Economic Advisor V Anantha Nageswaran on Friday said the de-risking economies from the Chinese supply chain is not going to be a quick process for the world and will take much longer than thought. When we talk of de-risking the China supply chain, we should be under no illusion that it is not something that can be achieved at the speed with which you can put out a tweet. It is going to take much longer, Nageswaran said while speaking at the Indian Institute of Management-Kozhikodes inaugural annual conference on macroeconomics, banking, and finance. Chinas involvement in global trade is such that any diversification of supply chains is going to be extremely difficult for other countries. In fact, when countries try to do so, it only results in rerouting of Chinese products, he said. Advertisement Vietnams exports to the US and imports from China have surged since the US-China trade tensions emerged in 2018. At the same time, Vietnams imports from China went up, and, if you look at the data for Thailand, Mexico, etc, the same story emerges, he highlighted. Speaking on globalisation, he said, In terms of global trade volumes, it is very difficult to disentangle the effects of economic slowdown and the fact that there could be trade restrictions, both of the tariff variety and non-tariff variety. Of course, countries are focussing on friend-shoring and reshoring, all those things are definitely happening. So, it is not that we are in the golden era of globalisation. But, based on trade data, it is difficult to make out the case that we are definitely becoming more fragmented, he added. Nageswaran said he wasnt sure if the world was becoming more fragmented even though the general commentary says that is the case. The farmers stir entered day four on Friday with all eyes now on the next round of talks to be held on Sunday between the farmer unions and the Union ministers. The farmers continued their protest at the Punjab- Haryanas Shambhu and Khanauri borders, while there were reports of confrontation between them and police at the Shambhu where tear gas was used to disperse the agitating farmers who tried to move towards the barricades. Haryana Police on Friday once again appealed that all must cooperate to maintain the law and order situation and said that some people are trying to provoke the police at Shammbhu border despite assurance given by them for peaceful protests. Advertisement The police also said that some anti- social elements are trying to create disturbance under the name of protest, trying to take undue advantage. Meanwhile, as a mark of support to their brothers who are staying put at the Punjab- Haryana border, the Bharat Bandh was observed at various places in Punjab and Haryana and also at places in Uttar Pradesh. People faced issues and inconvenience at places in Punjab and Haryanas Hisar as the buses also stayed of the roads in support to the bandh call given by the Samyukta Kisan Morcha. The farmers also held demonstrations at several places in Punjab while the markets were shut in support of the demands made by farmers which includes a legal guarantee of the Minimum Support Price (MSP) for crops. In support of the agitating farmers, reportedly, some toll plazas were made free for a couple of hours while farmers gathered there to show their support to the ones at the Shambhu border. Farmer leader Gurnam Singh Charuni from Kurukshetra has said that tolls will be free between 12- 3 and there will be a tractor march at the Tehsils on Saturday and on Sunday, a meeting of Khaps, farmers, and labor unions has been called at the Brahma Sarovar park in Kurukshetra. Meanwhile, stepped up security measures were in place across the national capital, especially at the borders in view of the farmers march proposed by their unions and the call of the Bharat Bandh given by them. Following the meeting of farmers that took place on Thursday, Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Arjun Munda had told reporters that the meeting ended on a positive note and the issues will be discussed in detail at the meeting on Sunday evening. He had said that both sides will find a solution peacefully. The third round of talks between Union ministers and farmer leaders was held in Chandigarh which was also attended by Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant SIngh Mann. The agitating farmers had begun their march starting from Punjab towards the national capital on February 13, however, were stopped by the police personnel at the Punjab- Haryanas Shambhu and Khanauri border points. Other than the legal guarantee for the MSP, the unions are also wanting the implementation of the recommendations by the Swaminathan Commission. Haryana police have advised the commuters to plan their journeys as per the advisories and opt for railways instead of roads while travelling to Delhi and Chandigarh in view of the protests. Good morning, Broadsheet readers! Judges from the New York Court of Appeals could revisit Harvey Weinstein's previous convictions, funding for women-led health startups spiked more than 2,000% in 2023, and a Delaware judges decision striking down Elon Musks pay package puts Tesla chair Robyn Denholm in the spotlight. Have a restful weekend. - Pay package. Late last month, a Delaware court struck down Elon Musk's $55.8 billion Tesla pay package in response to a shareholder lawsuit that claimed the proposal breached fiduciary duty to investors. Chancellor Kathaleen McCormick's decision enraged the Tesla CEO, who has said he plans to reincorporate Tesla in Texas rather than stay in Delaware. But McCormick's decision didn't only target Musk. Another figure in her 200-page document is Robyn Denholm, Tesla's board chair. Denholm, an Australian former telecom exec who is also a partner at Canva investor Blackbird, became chair of Tesla's board in 2018 after Musk was forced to step down from the role as part of an SEC settlement. At the time, the SEC said Musks removal as chairmanand the appointment of an independent successorwas intended to prevent further market disruption and harm to Teslas shareholders. Denholm has served on Tesla's board since 2014. McCormick struck down Musk's pay package because she determined the process that led to its approval was deeply flawed, pinning most of that blame on the board and its compensation committee. Musk's pay was the largest ever proposed for an executive at a publicly traded company, she found. She argued that several decision-makers were "beholden to Musk" because of personal relationships and sky-high compensation. Denholm, in particular, is called out for earning $280 million from sales of Tesla options in 2021 and 2022. McCormick repeatedly cites Denholm's testimony that the money was "life-changing" compared to the $3 million a year she earned beforehand. Story continues Robyn Denholm, chair of Tesla Inc., during the South by Southwest (SXSW) Sydney festival in Sydney, Australia, on Monday, Oct. 16, 2023. The event is the first iteration of SXSW to be held outside North America and is expected to attract around 27,000 visitors and inject A$24 million ($15.4 million) into New South Wales state economy, according to the government. Photographer: Brent Lewin/Bloomberg via Getty Images Tesla and Denholm haven't respond to requests for comment. McCormick's decision prompted all kinds of reactionsMusk's fury, Denholm's silence so far, and others' defense of the chair. ARK Invest's Cathie Wood, a major Tesla investor, defended Denholm after the ruling as a "professional of unquestionable integrity. Two weeks after the decision, shareholders and others are still waiting to find out what it will mean for them. In the meantime, the situation provides a fascinating look at one of the trickiest jobs in corporate America. When Musk was forced to step down as Tesla's chair, some questioned whether any incoming chair would be able to effectively oversee one of the world's richest men. Denholm was cast as a kind of "adult in the room," a role that women in Silicon Valleystarting with Sheryl Sandberghave often been slotted into. (It's a dynamic Musk seems to seek outsee: Linda Yaccarino at X and Gwynne Shotwell at SpaceX.) And governing Muska CEO who this week posted, "boobs just rock, it's a fact"is arguably a challenge levels beyond overseeing another eccentric CEO. As recently as 2022, Denholm was praised by another judge as an "independent, powerful and positive force" in a lawsuit over Tesla's 2016 acquisition of SolarCity. So what changed? During the SolarCity acquisition, Denholm was only a directornot chair. In the years since, Musk has become even more of a wildcard, with his attention diverted to his purchase of Twitter. And the spotlight on Denholm's decision-making has grown brighter. Charles Elson, a retired professor at the University of Delaware who specializes in corporate governance, argues that directors should never sell stock. He believes the recent court decision damages the reputations of Tesla's directors and says the board will need to be "refreshed." "No one should have taken that kind of money," he says of the board's compensation. "At that point, it begins to compromise your independence." And, he tells me, this episode provides some insight for other boards overseeing headstrong CEOs. "Stand your ground," he advises. "You have to represent the investors." Emma Hinchliffe emma.hinchliffe@fortune.com @_emmahinchliffe The Broadsheet is Fortune's newsletter for and about the world's most powerful women. Today's edition was curated by Joseph Abrams. Subscribe here. This story was originally featured on Fortune.com The main accused in Haldwani mob unrest on February 8 is eluding Uttarakhand Police even as the latter is patting its back with the arrest of 42 persons allegedly involved in the violence leading to four deaths. Abdul Malik, considered to be the main accused of Banbhulpura violence, as claimed by the police, and his son have remained elusive despite repeated raids carried by the cops acorss within the state and outside. Uttarakhand Police is clueless about his whereabouts. Unable to trace Malik and his son Abdul Moid, the Nainital Police on Thursday issued look out notice again them. Father and son duo has already been indicted and booked for inciting violence, rioting, attacking police and under other relevant charges. Advertisement Police first pronounced Abdul Malik as the main accused 3-4 days back and then issued look out notice against him and his son. This despite repeated attempts by several police teams working within the state and other parts of the country to hunt down the accused. According to the Nainital district officials police teams have been sent to Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Haryana and other states where malik and his son are likely to hiding. Teams have conducted several raids in these states but they remained empty handed. Nainital SSP Prahlad Meena informed that besides look out notice, security forces along Nepal borders in Uttarakhand have also been sounded alert as Malik is likely to sneak into other side of the border. Apart from Malik and his son, the Uttarakhand Police is looking for some other accused absconding from the day of violence. Meanwhile Police have arrested 42 persons accused of Banbhulpura mob attack and inciting violence when an anti-encroachment team of Haldwani Municipal Corporation had gone to erase an illegally built madarsa and other structures at Malik-ka-Bagicha government land. The mob attacked and injured more than 250 policemen and burnt down Banbhulpura police station on February 8 leading to complete break down of law and order in the town. Curfew was imposed in entire town for two days. Besides state police and PAC four companies of CRPF sent by the central government are still deployed in the town. A meeting of the Kerala University Senate convened on Friday to nominate a representative for the search panel to find a new vice-chancellor ended in chaos with the interference of State Higher Education Minister R Bindu. In a surprise move, the minister dropped in and chaired the meeting in her capacity as pro-chancellor even though it is not customary for the higher education minister to attend a senate meeting. Bindu proposed a resolution to defer the nomination process in the wake of a Bill passed by the state assembly to change the structure of the search committee, which is under the Presidents consideration. Advertisement Without any discussion, the minister declared the resolution as passed and called off the meeting amid huge protests by pro-UDF and governor-nominated senate members. This led to an altercation between the minister and the interim Vice-Chancellor Mohanan Kunnummal. The vice-chancellor asserted that he summoned the meeting as the chairman of the senate and that the minister had no locus standi to preside over the meeting or read the agenda. Even though Left-backed senate members walked out of the hall after the minister declared the meeting over, pro-UDF and chancellor-nominated senate members stayed put. The two sections then proposed their respective nominees to the search panel. While former vice-chancellor of the Kerala University of Health Sciences MKC Nair was the choice of the chancellor-nominated members, the pro-UDF members proposed the name of former VC of Sanskrit University MC Dileep Kumar. The vice-chancellor is set to submit the names proposed by both sections and also give a detailed report on the meeting to the chancellor The Indian Army on Friday morning opened fire to bring down Pakistani quadcopters that had entered the Indian airspace and were hovering simultaneously at two sensitive places along the Line of Control (LOC) in the Poonch district of Jammu division. However, these quadcopters flew back to the Pakistan-occupied J&K after briefly hovering at Balnoi in Mendhar and Gulpur Sectors, officials said. These quadcopters (a type of helicopter or multicopter that has four rotors) were noticed hovering between 6.30 am to 7 am. Advertisement A massive search operation has been launched at both places to ensure there were no weapons or drugs dropping by these quadcopters. Pakistani agencies have been using quadcopters to drop weapons, drugs, IEDs and Indian currency for terrorists along the LoC and the International Border. Official statement from the Army is awaited. Poonch and Rajouri districts along the LoC have become drugs smuggling routes to Punjab and the money was being used for terror funding, sources said and added that several drug smugglers of Punjab have been nabbed in the area during the past. In a major setback to Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayans daughter Veena Vijayan (Veena T), the Karnataka High Court on Friday dismissed the petition filed by her, seeking to stay the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) probe into the financial dealings of her firm, Exalogic Solutions. Justice M Nagaprasanna, who pronounced the verdict on the petition on Friday said that a copy of the order would be released on February 17. As the Serious Fraud Investigation Office, which is probing the financial dealings of Exalogic Solutions, the firm owned by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayans daughter Veena Vijayan, as well as the Cochin Minerals and Rutile Ltd (CMRL) and the Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation (KSIDC), began its probe with lightning speed, the Exalogic Solutions on February 8 approached the Karnataka High Court seeking to stay the Central probe agencys investigation against it. The firms petition also sought that the inquiry order dated January 31 of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs be quashed. Advertisement The contention of the petitioner company, Exalogic Solutions, was that the Central government is under prohibition to order an investigation through SFIO under Section 212 of the Companies Act in the larger public interest when a prior probe, ordered earlier through the Inspectors of the Registrar of Companies (RoC) under Section 210 of the Act, has not reached its logical conclusion. The Ministry of Corporate Affairs informed the Karnataka High Court that it ordered an investigation by the SFIO since the CMRL, engaged in sourcing beach sand minerals along the Kerala coast, had made illegal payments to the extent of Rs 135 crore to various political functionaries of Kerala state and certain other entities, including Exalogic Solutions. It directly affects the public interest, the ministry pointed out. The investigation was not only ordered against Exalogic Solutions but also against the CMRL and the Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs had told the court. The Ministry of Corporate Affairs had also informed the court that once an investigation is entrusted to SFIO, all other probes into the affairs of the company cease. It also stated that the SFIO probe would not impact the functioning of Exalogic Solutions as the company had obtained dormant status in December 2022. The Ministry of Corporate Affairs had on 31 January issued an order handing over the probe into the affairs of Exalogic Solutions, as well as Cochin Minerals and Rutile Ltd (CMRL) and the Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation Industrial, to the Serious Fraud Investigation Office. A six-member team is authorised to probe the matter, with Deputy Director M Arun Prasad as the investigating officer. The Income Tax Interim Settlement Board has established that Rs 1.72 crore was given to Veena Vijayans firm, Exalogic Solutions, by the CMRL without rendering any services. Ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Friday claimed that the Narendra Modi-led government at the Centre has frozen the accounts of the party and called it an assault on the countrys democracy. In a post on X, Kharge wrote, Power drunk Modi government has frozen the accounts of the countrys largest Opposition party the Indian National Congress just before the Lok Sabha elections. This is a deep assault on Indias democracy. Attacking the ruling dispensation, the Congress chief further said, The unconstitutional money collected by the BJP would be utilised by them for elections, but the money collected by us through crowdfunding shall be sealed. That is why I have said that there wont be any elections in the future. Advertisement Kharge, who is also the Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha, appealed to the Judiciary to save the multi-party system in this country and protect Indias democracy. He also said the party will take to the streets and fight strongly against this autocracy of the incumbent government. Meanwhile, Congress Treasurer Ajay Maken at a press conference at the party headquarters, claimed that the accounts of the Congress as well as its Youth wing have been frozen and asserted that the democracy was under attack. Democracy has completely ended in India. All the accounts of the countrys main Opposition party Congress have been frozen. Not only Congress party, the accounts of the Youth Congress have also been frozen, he said. Maken claimed that the Income Tax department has asked for a recovery of Rs 210 crore and added that the money that are in the accounts are of online crowdfunding of the party and membership drive of the youth wing. The Congress partys accounts have not been frozen, our countrys democracy has been frozen, he pointed out. When two weeks are left for the announcement of elections, at such a time the accounts of the principal Opposition party have been frozen. What does the government want to show ? Maken asked. He stressed that this was a matter of grave concern. Residents of Palam 360 expressed their displeasure over the unkempt promises of AAP government in Delhi. They said despite the assurance of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, the demands of the people of the rural belt have not been met as yet. Addressing a press conference here on Friday, Palam 360 pradhan and a rural leader Surender Solanki demanded that the issues of the rural people of Delhi be discussed during the ongoing budget session and the resolved through legislation passed and forwarded to the Lieutenant Governor by the Assembly for approval. The representative of Delhis rural belt has also asked the CM to revise the circle rate and sent the proposal forward to the LG so that relief be given to the people belonging to Delhis villages. Advertisement Chaudhary Solanki highlighted the prominent demands of Delhis rural belt saying that section 81 and 33 be removed and old cases be quashed, mutations be started in rural belt and others. He said the CM had earlier assured to the rural representatives that the government would call for a session and work on the issues and demands of the rural belt and further forward them to the Centre for approval. Four months have passed since, but nothing was done so far, Solanki added, making an appeal to the CM to fulfill the promises made to the people of Delhis rural belt. Rural leaders, including Chaudhary Naresh Pradhan Ladosarai 96, Chaudhary Dhara Singh Pradhan Bawana 52, Chaudhary Suresh Shokeen Pradhan Nangloi 9 and Rohtas Pradhan Peeragarhi, were present on the occasion along with Chaudhary Surender Solanki of Palam 360. The Indian Youth Congress on Saturday staged a protest against the BJP-led government at the Centre over freezing of the bank accounts of the opposition party. Members of the Congress youth wing under the leadership of its national president Srinivas BV held the demonstration outside its office here. Addressing the members, the IYC national president said, Democracy has completely ended in India. The Modi government has destroyed democracy by locking the bank accounts of the countrys largest opposition party, Congress. Advertisement First the Prime Minister sent ED, IT, CBI after the Opposition leaders, arrested many, and broke the political parties. Now the bank accounts of the Congress party and the Indian Youth Congress have been frozen just before the elections.If it is not an attack then what is it ?, he said. Attacking the ruling dispensation, Srinivas said, The bank accounts of BJP should be frozen because they have deposited unconstitutional corporate bonds in their accounts, which are unconstitutional according to the Supreme Court. We have money raised by workers through online donations in our accounts. Income Tax and how can the Modi government freeze it? It is clear from this step that democracy is no longer in our country. It seems that an attempt is being made to bring one party system in the country, the IYC chief said. He added that every Youth Congress worker will fight tooth and nail to protect Indias democracy. The on-going farmers protest has become a flashpoint in the national political discourse, highlighting the deep-seated issues surrounding agricultural policies. The contrasting narratives presented by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the opposition, particularly the Congress, underscore the complexity of the challenges faced by farmers and the divergent paths proposed for their resolution. The BJP, defending its stance, asserts an unwavering commitment to farmers, citing policies aimed at their welfare. The party emphasises initiatives such as health cards, low-interest loans, and increased Minimum Support Price (MSP) on various crops. However, the opposition, notably the Congress, paints a starkly different picture, decrying what it labels the governments cruelty, barbarity, repression, and oppression against farmers. At the heart of this controversy is the demand for a legal guarantee to MSPs. Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, during his Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, announced the partys commitment to providing this legal safeguard if it assumes power after the elections. The question arises ~ are MSPs the panacea to the agrarian crisis, and why has implementation been a contentious issue? MSPs, designed to ensure farmers receive a minimum price for their produce, has been a longstanding demand. The Swaminathan Commission recommended MSP as a legal right for farmers, a proposal now reiterated by the Congress. Advertisement The farmers argue that without this legal guarantee, their hard work might not translate into fair compensation. However, the BJP questions the timing of this promise, asking why the Congress did not implement it during its tenure, or why it does not do so in states it rules. The Delhi Chalo (March to Delhi) protest, led by Kisan Mazdoor Morcha and Samyukt Kisan Morcha, unfolds against a backdrop of tear gas shells, barricades, and heightened security. This paints a distressing picture of a nation divided on how to address the concerns of those who feed it. The opposition argues farmers voices are being stifled, comparing the capital to a police cantonment to suppress dissent. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) join the chorus of criticism, condemning the Centres treatment of farmers. The AAP government in Delhi denies permission to convert Bawana stadium into a temporary jail, asserting farmers constitutional right to protest. In this maelstrom of conflicting narratives, it is crucial to recognise the plight of farmers themselves. The agriculture sector forms the backbone of Indias economy, and the well-being of farmers is inextricably linked to the nations prosperity. The protests, while a manifestation of discontent, also present an opportunity for a comprehensive dialogue on agricultural reforms. A collaborative effort is needed to address the systemic challenges facing farmers, ensuring a sustainable and prosperous future for Indian agriculture. The Delhi Chalo protest is not merely a clash of political ideologies but a plea to prioritise the well-being of those who toil in the fields to nourish the nation. Shunning politics, all stakeholders must join hands to find solutions. A state judge has ordered former President Donald Trumps criminal trial on alleged hush money payments to start on March 25 in the middle of the Republican Party primaries while in Atlanta, uncertainty over the prosecutors conduct clouded the timeline of a case charging him with election interference. Justice Juan Merchan of the New York State Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed Trumps attempts to have the charges thrown out and denied requests to have the trial start later. Trump faces 34 charges, including that he falsified business records to cover up payments to porn star Stormy Daniels to silence her after she alleged that she had an affair with him. Advertisement The trial is scheduled to start a week before the primary elections in New York and four other states with 17 more to follow and Trumps lawyer asserted that it amounted to election interference because he would be spending time preparing for the case instead of campaigning. Outside the courtroom, Trump said, They want to keep me nice and busy so I cant campaign so hard. With less than nine months to the presidential elections, Trump is snared in a web of local and federal cases involving about 90 charges including attempts to overthrow the 2020 election result, election interference, defamation, fraud and violation of official secrets laws. Meanwhile, he has to face primaries and caucuses, the intraparty elections to pick the Republican Party nominee for president, before the partys convention in mid-July that will formalise the nomination which he is assured of, despite a continuing challenge from Nikki Haley, a one-time member of his cabinet. On Thursday in Georgia states Atlanta, a tawdry courtroom scene unfolded over allegations that the local prosecutor who brought charges of election interference against Trump was involved in a romantic relationship with one of the lawyers she hired to prosecute the case. If it is established that the prosecutor Fani Willis was involved with the lawyer, Nathan Wade, who had received payments of about $650,000 for the case before he was hired, it could amount to a conflict of interest and lead to her being ordered off the case. If that happens, another prosecutor would have to take up the case, delaying the trial. The allegations against Willis were brought up by a lawyer for one of Trumps co-defendants in the election interference case charging him and others with trying to overturn the states election result. Both Willis and Wade have not denied their affair, but said that it started after Wade was hired as a special prosecutor hence was not motivated by the relationship and that they shared the expenses for trips they took together, meaning Willis did not benefit from the payments to him. Both of them were grilled by defence lawyers who brought up their personal and financial matters. In the Washington case accusing Trump of trying to overturn the election result, Federal Judge Tanya Chutkan, who is hearing set the trial date for March 4, but that hinges on a challenge by Trump to the Supreme Court. It will have to adjudicate Trumps claim that as he was the President on that day, he has immunity in the case. If the court does not summarily dismiss the appeal and takes it up for hearings, the federal case will be on hold till it is resolved. That case charges Trump with instigating the January 6, 2021 riots during which his supporters overran the Capitol to prevent Congress from approving President Joe Bidens election. Trump is facing a trial date of May 20 in the official secrets case where he is accused of illegally taking away with him classified documents after leaving office and keeping them. Last week, a federal judge in New York refused Trumps request to declare a mistrial in the case of defamation that awarded damages of $83.5 million. In that case, he was found to have defamed a woman by repeatedly saying that he had not assaulted her, even though a court had ruled that he had in a civil case brought by the woman. The Supreme Court is also hearing an appeal against a ruling by Colorado courts that he could not be on the ballot in the state because he was involved with his supporters who attacked the Capitol on January 6, 2021, and this amounted to an insurrection. The US Constitution forbids those who participated in insurrections from holding offices. Hindu-American Tulsi Gabbard, a 2020 Democratic presidential candidate, has spoken to Republican frontrunner Donald Trump and his advisors about the countrys foreign policy, keeping her options as the former Presidents 2024 running mate open, media reports suggested. The first Hindu in the US Congress left the Democratic Party in 2022, calling it an elitist cabal of warmongers and accusing its leadership of cowardly wokeness. Now, with the country likely set for a Trump-Joe Biden rematch in 2024, the talks with Gabbard focused on how the Defence Department should be run in case of a second Trump term, The Washington Post reported. Advertisement Also, with Trump telling his advisors and donors time and again that his personnel choices at the Pentagon cost him, there were broader conversations on how Trump 2.0 would manage things differently. A military veteran, who served in the Iraq war between 2004 and 2005 for the Hawaii Army National Guard before entering Congress, Gabbard has long been critical of US intervention overseas and has also blamed Russias invasion of Ukraine on Bidens failed foreign policy. She appeals to Republicans who are skeptical of intervention overseas, which is now a majority of Republican voters, GOP strategist Andrew Surabian told Newsweek. While appearing on Fox News Fox & Friends recently, the former Hawaii representative said she would be open to a conversation with Trump on running as his 2024 running mate. Id be open to that conversation. My mission in life is to serve our country and serve the American people and find the best way to be able to do that, Gabbard said. Gabbard recently inked a deal with Elon Musk to host a show on X to defend free speech, saying she will be sharing stories of those whose voices have been silenced. Trump, bulldozing his way to grab the crucial GOP nomination for the 2024 presidential race, is yet to announce his vice-presidential pick. While media speculation throws up several candidates, Trump has said very little about whom he or she he has shortlisted or even what qualities hes looking for in a potential candidate, media reports said. In an ambitious push to redefine the electric vehicle (EV) landscape, Tesla is gearing up for what CEO Elon Musk describes as a challenging production ramp-up for its next-generation, mass-market EV. Codenamed Redwood, this affordable electric car is slated to enter production in 2025 at Teslas Texas Gigafactory, signaling a significant leap toward making sustainable transportation accessible to a wider audience. During the companys recent earnings call, Musk issued a stark warning to Tesla workers, preparing them for an intense manufacturing process that diverges sharply from conventional methods. In a move that underscores the gravity of Teslas production goals, Musk announced that engineers and workers would need to be sleeping on the line, a testament to the companys commitment to innovation and efficiency. This approach is not entirely new to Tesla, as past endeavors have seen employees sleeping on factory floors to meet demanding production deadlines, a practice Musk has participated in during critical ramp-up periods. Don't Miss: This Los Angeles startup is closing a real estate market gap worth hundreds of billions and you can invest in it with as little as $100 . This startup is accepting investors for as little as 25 cents whats the catch? Teslas forthcoming vehicle, expected to be priced below $30,000, is a response to the growing competition from Chinese EV manufacturers such as BYD Auto Co. Ltd., which recently surpassed Tesla as the worlds largest producer of electric vehicles. Despite not yet selling cars in the U.S., BYDs focus on affordability has put pressure on Tesla to accelerate its mission of widespread EV adoption. The Redwood project is ambitious, incorporating a tremendous amount of new revolutionary manufacturing technology, Musk told Business Insider. This technology is poised to set a new benchmark in the automotive industry, promising to be head and shoulders above any other manufacturing technology that exists anywhere in the world. Musks confidence in Teslas innovative manufacturing techniques underscores the companys relentless pursuit of excellence and its vision for the future of transportation. Story continues Trending: Copy and paste Mark Cubans startup investment strategy according to his colorful portfolio. However, Teslas aggressive production strategies have raised concerns about the impact on workers well-being. Past reports from Teslas Fremont, California, factory highlighted instances of employees working long hours under challenging conditions, leading to injuries and allegations of workplace abuse. An investigation found that Teslas plant had significantly more safety violations compared to other U.S. car factories, alongside higher injury rates and shorter training periods. As Tesla prepares for the production of its most affordable EV yet, the company finds itself at a crossroads. Balancing the drive for unparalleled innovation with the need to ensure a healthy and safe working environment for its employees will be crucial. As the EV market continues to evolve, Teslas ability to adapt and refine its production processes will not only shape the future of electric vehicles but also redefine the standards of manufacturing excellence in the automotive industry. Read Next: "ACTIVE INVESTORS' SECRET WEAPON" Supercharge Your Stock Market Game with the #1 "news & everything else" trading tool: Benzinga Pro - Click here to start Your 14-Day Trial Now! Get the latest stock analysis from Benzinga? This article Elon Musk Says Tesla's New Affordable EV Might Have Workers Spending All Night On The Production Lines As Project Redwood Looks To Produce Teslas With a Price Tag Under $30,000 originally appeared on Benzinga.com 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. Saint-Laurent, CA (H4T1V6) Today Snow showers early will give way to a mixture of rain and snow showers for the afternoon. High 41F. Winds WSW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 50%.. Tonight Rain and snow showers this evening. Overcast overnight. Low 26F. Winds WNW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of precip 50%. Tyson Slocum is the director of Public Citizens Energy Program. He wrote this for InsideSources.com . Jeff Eshelman is the president and CEO of the Independent Petroleum Association of America. He wrote this for InsideSources.com . It seemed like a bold move in 2018 when Erie native Jeremy Young moved his technology company, Federal Resources Corp., from northern Virginia to Erie. Young's fledgling firm had annual sales of $7 million at the time. But he was predicting big things, suggesting that revenues could reach $75 million within a few years. It seemed like an ambitious goal in a town not known as a high-tech center. Now, five years later, Federal Resources has topped $100 million in annual revenues. And Young the 48-year-old son of an Erie firefighter and a mother who started her own housecleaning services is eyeing even loftier goals. Jeremy Young, CEO of Erie-based Federal Resources Corp., speaks May 18, 2021 at Mercyhurst University. He announced that his company is the new sponsor of the cyber labs at Mercyhurst University. The company has won contracts worth $881 million Eventual revenues of $250 million a year aren't out of reach, Young said. The company, which has its headquarters at 440 W. Eighth St., is trending in the right direction. Federal Resources ranks 710th on the Inc. 5000 list of the nation's fastest-growing private companies with combined growth of 827% over the last three years. And sales are still growing. Jeremy Young, CEO of Federal Resources The U.S. Department of State announced in December that it would award a series of contracts to Federal Resources worth $881 million over the next five years for software, hardware and support services. Young said he's gratified and excited by the company's success. But the experience is not entirely unfamiliar. "This is the first time being the CEO and doing it with my own company," he said. "But this is the fifth time in my career of going from zero to $100 million. I was always doing it for someone else. But you have a bit of a roadmap." A graduate of Clarion University, Young served as vice president of cybersecurity for DLT Solutions in Herndon, Virginia, where sales topped $100 million during the 18 months he spent there. A corporate career that began with Hewlett-Packard in 1999 included executive roles at a handful of other companies. Young had every reason to count himself as a success in those earlier roles. But he found himself dreaming of moving back to Erie to run a business of his own. Story continues He wanted his company to be nimble and free from the processes that can constrain big companies. But he also wanted to borrow ideas from the world of corporate America. "Every one of my experiences have positives to it," he said. "What you try to do is to take those positives and create my own thing." A big little company There aren't many $100 million companies operating from renovated buildings along West Eighth Street. FRC has about 80 employees nationwide, including about 40 at 440 W. Eighth St. The rest are scattered, including at the company's new office in northern Virginia. The number of employees is smaller than the sales volume might suggest. Much of the company's work is done by subcontractors. Even so, Federal Resources "brings a different dollar to Erie," Young said. In other words, money that Federal Resources pays to local vendors and to its employees is money that might not otherwise have found its way to this corner of Pennsylvania. The goal is more growth That doesn't mean Young is content with the status quo. "The people we have in house and the talent we have been bringing in is great." Young said. "But at the end of the day, I want to have more. We are working on next ventures and projects. We are looking at how do we grow to $250 million, how do we create 500 jobs and how do we make it more advantageous for young talent to stay." Federal Resources has been working since May 2021 to help develop some of that talent as the sponsor of the Federal Resources Corporation Cyber Education Center at Mercyhurst University. More: Erie's Federal Resources announces sponsorship of cyber labs at Mercyhurst University The company, which provides internships for computing, intelligence studies and business students, has hired a number of Mercyhurst students for full-time jobs. Federal Resources, which operates a network operations center at Mercyhurst, also plans to operate a technology-focused incubator within that space. The relationship has been good for Erie and Mercyhurst, said Sam McCrimmon, vice president for advancement and external relations at Mercyhurst. More: Erie's Federal Resources moves into new building, sets sights on $250 million in sales "Jeremy Young has had the vision to grow Erie into a leading technology corridor, even moving his corporate headquarters to Erie to directly affect this vision," McCrimmon said. "Mercyhurst University is proud to be part of this and to support this vision through our partnership with FRC, faculty, staff and students." James Grunke, CEO of the Erie Regional Chamber and Growth Partnership, likes the jobs that FRC has created. And he also appreciates the exposure the company provides for Erie by hosting a conference here every two years. "Jeremy Young is a great example of what we want in our community," Grunke said. In Erie for good Young is especially firm on one point. Whatever impact this technology company will have on Erie and its workforce, it will not be temporary. There are simply no plans to decamp for the suburbs of Washington, D.C., or anywhere else for that matter. "We are here to be the mothership," he said. "That is our function." There are challenges associated with that decision. "It was always easier to stay in D.C.," he said. "But it's always been the intention to have the lion's share of the company be here." The challenges of doing business from Erie include air travel, especially since United Airlines discontinued direct flights from Erie to Washington Dulles International Airport in March 2022. But the company is making it work. Young said Erie-based employees make regular car trips to Washington, D.C. "We have always looked a little wonky, being a federal solutions provider in Erie, Pennsylvania," he said. But Young said he's committed to that mission. "I am from here," he said. "It was always our mission to be up here, doing exactly what we have been doing." He said there's been nothing to make him regret that decision. "We keep getting good people," he said. "What I love about that is we have a great work ethic. Over the last six years, I have seen our folks start their families, buy homes, vacation, all of that stuff." Most of the people he's hired in Erie are from Erie, including Chief Financial Officer Doug Campbell, a former classmate of Young at both Blessed Sacrament and Cathedral Preparatory School. And while Federal Resources seems to have outgrown its office, the company is looking for another in Erie's West Bayfront community. The offices of Federal Resources are located at 440 W. Eighth St. in Erie. "It's much more personal than other jobs in my career," Young said. "There is just more to it because it's Erie. It's like you have a chip on your shoulder to prove everyone wrong." Contact Jim Martin at jmartin@timesnews.com. This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Erie PA's Federal Resources Corp. expects growth to continue A study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has shed light on a concerning trend in drug use associated with overdose deaths in the United States. The study, published on Thursday, is the most extensive of its kind, providing valuable insights into the methods of drug consumption that have led to tragic outcomes. According to the lead author of the study, Lauren Tanz, the research was prompted by reports from California indicating an increase in the prevalence of smoking fentanyl as opposed to injecting it. This shift in drug consumption habits is particularly alarming as illicit versions of the potent painkiller fentanyl are implicated in a significant number of overdose deaths in the US. While early research suggests that smoking fentanyl may pose a slightly lower risk of fatality compared to injecting it, both methods carry a substantial overdose risk. Tanz emphasized the importance of assessing whether a shift towards smoking fentanyl will ultimately reduce overdose deaths. The study aims to provide crucial insights into this evolving public health concern. Fentanyl, known for its notorious potency, has been increasingly mixed with heroin and other drugs in powder form, contributing to the overdose epidemic in the US. Traditionally, fentanyl has been predominantly injected, but there has been a noticeable rise in individuals smoking the drug. Alex Karl, a researcher at RTI International, explained that people often heat the powder on tin foil or in a glass pipe and inhale the vapor, highlighting the evolving consumption patterns. The study, which analyzed data from death certificates, toxicology reports, and input from coroners and medical examiners, revealed a significant shift in the methods of drug consumption linked to overdose deaths. Between 2020 and 2022, the percentage of overdose deaths with evidence of smoking rose by 74%, while the percentage of deaths with evidence of injection fell by 29%. Additionally, the study noted an increase in deaths with evidence of snorting, though not as pronounced as smoking-related deaths. Despite the challenges of precisely determining the percentages of deaths resulting from smoking, injecting, snorting, or swallowing drugs, the study found that smoking accounted for 23% of the deaths for which a method was identified, followed by injections at 16%, snorting at 16%, and swallowing at 14.5%. The data, encompassing input from the District of Columbia and 27 states, is considered representative of national trends. It revealed that smoking was the most common route of drug consumption in the West and Midwest, while being closely tied with injecting in the Northeast and South. While the study provides valuable insights, it is not without limitations. Alex Karl pointed out the challenges of ascertaining the exact method of drug consumption in cases where no witness is present. Additionally, distinguishing between smoking and snorting can be challenging, as investigators may mistake a straw used for smoking fentanyl as evidence of snorting. The Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) has called for a Bharat Bandh on February 16 in view of the farmers' protest that entered day four on Friday. BKU leader Pawan Khatana said during the Bharat Bandh called by his union, farmers have been asked to strike their work for one day to press the government for demands. "Farmers have been asked to shun work in farms or not go to markets for any purchases tomorrow. Traders and transporters have also been exhorted to join the strike tomorrow," Khatana told PTI. The Noida-based Bharatiya Kisan Parishad (BKP) has also extended support to Friday's Bharat Bandh. The farmers' march would stay put at the two borders of Punjab and Haryana on Friday. Meanwhile, the third round of meetings held on Thursday night between the farmers' leaders and the Union Ministers also ended in a stalemate. Union Agriculture Minister Arjun Munda, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai sat down with the farmer unions. Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann also joined the meeting at the Mahatma Gandhi State Institute of Public Administration in Sector 26 in Chandigarh. The meeting, which started at around 8:45 pm, lasted for around five hours. #WATCH | Union Ministers Piyush Goyal, Arjun Munda, Nityanand Rai and Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann hold a meeting with farmer leaders, in Chandigarh. (Video: CM Bhagawant Mann PRO) pic.twitter.com/3mCx30DXbd ANI (@ANI) February 15, 2024 After the meeting, Munda told reporters that the talks took place in a good atmosphere and there was positive discussion. "Today, a very positive discussion happened between the government and the farmers' unions. Focusing on the topics highlighted by the farmers' union, we have decided that the next meeting will take place on Sunday at 6 pm... We all will find a solution peacefully...," Munda told reporters. Mann said a detailed discussion between farmer leaders and the government took place and a consensus was reached on several issues. "Since the Punjab farmer is affected the most, I came forward as chief of the state. Detailed discussions took place on all the issues. I took up the issue of internet suspension in three districts and its impact on students who are taking their exams. What is their fault? The farmers showed shells fired at them. We said the farmers should not be treated like this," he added. He further said that assurances were obtained from the Centre to tell the Haryana government to exercise restraint. "We have told them to tell the Haryana government not to fire ammunition in our jurisdiction," he said. The farmers were represented by SKM (Non-Political) leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal and Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee general secretary Sarwan Singh Pandher. Haryana Police, on Friday, fired tear gas shells to disperse protesting farmers when they moved towards the barricades at the Shambhu border near Ambala, a day after talks between Union ministers and farmer leaders remained inconclusive. The fresh confrontation comes on the fourth day of the farmers' 'Delhi Chalo' march, called by the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha, to press the government to accept their demands, including a legal guarantee of minimum support price (MSP) for crops. Amid the impasse, the Union ministers and farmer leaders will meet on Sunday for the fourth round of talks. The two sides met on February 8, 12 and 15 as well but those talks remained inconclusive. The Haryana Police on Friday released a series of video clips of several farmers purportedly pelting stones and attempting to provoke the security personnel at the Shambhu border. In its post on X, the police asserted that "ruckus" cannot be allowed under the guise of the farmers' movement. They said that 25 security personnel18 of Haryana Police and seven paramilitary force jawanswere injured in these clashes. In one of the videos shared by the Haryana Police on X, many young protesters with faces covered could be seen hurling stones at the security personnel. In another video, protesters could be seen collecting stones to throw at the security personnel. Meanwhile, farmer leaders spearheading the 'Delhi Chalo' call claimed that the Haryana security personnel used "force" against protesters by hurling tear gas shells and firing rubber bullets at them, leaving many injured. Farmer leader Sarwan Singh Pandher accused the Centre of trying to "suppress" the voices of the protesters, claiming social media accounts of farmers and YouTubers have been suspended. The farmers from Punjab began their march to Delhi on Tuesday but were stopped by security personnel at Shambhu and Khanauri points on Punjab's border with Haryana. The protesters have stayed put at the two border points since then. On the fourth day of the protest, a 63-year-old farmer, who was among the protesters at the Shambhu border, died of a heart attack on Friday. According to officials, Gian Singh, from Punjab's Gurdaspur district, complained of chest pain in the morning and was taken to the Civil Hospital in Punjab's Rajpura. From there, he was rushed to Rajindra Hospital in Patiala where doctors declared him brought dead. Talking to reporters on Friday, Pandher said during the meeting with Union ministers a day ago, "we raised the issue of the suspension of Internet and Twitter (now X) handles of farmer leaders". Also alleging that the government has suspended the accounts of around 70 YouTubers who were showing the farmers' protest, he said it appears "the government wants to suppress our voice." Pandher said during the talks, they raised the issue of the use of "force" against farmers by the paramilitary personnel who fired tear gas shells at the protesters. He claimed that around 70 farmers have sustained serious injuries. The farmer leader said the talks with the Union ministers were held in a positive atmosphere and various demands of the protesters, including a law on MSP and debt waiver, were discussed. The government said they wanted to continue talks, Pandher said, adding that their 'Delhi Chalo' call still stands and the protesters were staying put at the Punjab-Haryana border so that a solution emerges through talks. On Thursday, Pandher said during the meeting with ministers they raised the issue of tear gas shelling by the paramilitary forces on farmers at the Shambhu and Khanuri border points. He said they showed the shells to the ministers during the meeting. Farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal demanded the release of farmers who were either arrested or detained by the Haryana police. Union Agriculture and Farmer Welfare Minister Arjun Munda, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai represented the Centre at Thursday's meeting. Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema also joined the meeting. After the five-hour-long talks on Thursday night, Munda said, "We will find a solution by sitting together." Meanwhile, farmers owing allegiance to different factions held demonstrations at several places in Punjab and Haryana in response to a call for a 'Bharat Bandh' by a farmers' body, causing inconvenience to commuters. Though there was a partial response to the bandh in Haryana, markets and commercial establishments at several places in Punjab remained shut. Protesters blocked national highways in Punjab's Pathankot, Tarn Taran, Bathinda and Jalandhar. They also laid siege to several toll plazas in both the states. In Haryana's Hisar, bus services of the state roadways remained paralysed as the Haryana Roadways staff supported the call for 'Bharat Bandh'. Punjab Roadways, Punbus and PRTC Contract Workers' Union also supported the bandh call while private operators did not ply buses. Besides a legal guarantee of MSP, the farmers are demanding the implementation of the Swaminathan Commission's recommendations, pension for farmers and farm labourers, farm debt waiver, no hike in electricity tariff, withdrawal of police cases and "justice" for the victims of the 2021 Lakhimpur Kheri violence, reinstatement of the Land Acquisition Act, 2013, and compensation to the families of the farmers who died during a previous agitation in 2020-21. Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, on Friday, slammed the opposition parties and said the state government was not bankrupt and such claims were only "negative propaganda" by political opponents. In fact, the budget outlay for 2024-25 has increased to Rs 3.71 lakh crore compared to last years Rs 3.23 lakh crore. My government spent Rs 36,000 crore for the five guarantee schemes Shakti, Anna Bhagya, Gruhajyoti, Gruha Lakshmi, and Yuva Nidhilast year. This year, we will be spending Rs 52,000 crore. The opposition parties are calling these pro-people schemes as freebies, but we believe these schemes will have an economic and social impact as they put money into the hands of the poor, said Siddaramaiah, who beat his own record in the state by tabling his 15th state budget. In the 3.5-hour-long budget speech, Siddaramaiah blamed the Centre, accusing it of meting out injustice to the state by denying Karnataka its rightful share of the Central grants despite the state ranking second in GST collections. This led to the BJP and the JD(S) boycotting the budget session. Siddaramaiah blamed the unscientific implementation of GST, increase in cesses and surcharges and change in allocation formula for the injustice meted out to the state by the central government and said it had adversely affected the financial strength of all the states in the country. While introducing Goods and Services Tax, the Union government had assured that there would be growth of 14 per cent and states would be compensated in case of shortage in revenue growth. At a projected growth rate of 14 per cent, the estimated GST tax collection would be Rs 4,92,296 crore from 2017 to 2023-24. But the GST revenue collection was only Rs 3,26,764 crore and the Centre released only Rs 1,06,258 crore as compensation to the state, causing a loss of Rs 59,274 crore to the state due to unscientific implementation of GST in last seven years, said Siddaramaiah. Further, the CM claimed that the change in the method of calculating state income and the use of 2011 Census instead of 1971 one resulted in heavy loss to the progressive states. The state had to get Rs. 2,77,350 crore had the allocation formula proposed by the 14th Finance Commission was to continue. But the state received only Rs 2,15,253 crore. So, during the six-year period of the 15th Finance Commission, the loss to the state under devolution of Central taxes is estimated to be Rs 62,098 crore. The 15th Finance Commission, in its first report for 2020-21, recommended to provide Rs 5,495 crore special grants and Rs 6,000 crore for the development of Bengaluru in the final report. But the Central government has rejected these recommendations. Even though the previous BJP government in the state claimed the existence of a double-engine government in the state, it was unable to obtain Rs 11,495 crore of special grants from the Centre. If cesses and surcharges are shared with the states, a total of Rs 11,34,301 crore was available for devolution for all states. Due to non-sharing of cesses and surcharges by the Union government, the state suffered a loss 45,322 crore in last 7 years, added Siddaramaiah, who also demanded to know why the 25 BJP MPs were staying silent over the issue. Later, the CM, during a press conference, dared the state BJP to prove that his government had failed to fund the five guarantees and other crucial development work in the state. He also dubbed the BJPs walk-out as unparliamentary behaviour. Key Insights The projected fair value for General Electric is US$171 based on 2 Stage Free Cash Flow to Equity Current share price of US$148 suggests General Electric is potentially trading close to its fair value Analyst price target for GE is US$149 which is 13% below our fair value estimate Does the February share price for General Electric Company (NYSE:GE) reflect what it's really worth? Today, we will estimate the stock's intrinsic value by projecting its future cash flows and then discounting them to today's value. The Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) model is the tool we will apply to do this. It may sound complicated, but actually it is quite simple! Companies can be valued in a lot of ways, so we would point out that a DCF is not perfect for every situation. If you still have some burning questions about this type of valuation, take a look at the Simply Wall St analysis model. Check out our latest analysis for General Electric What's The Estimated Valuation? We use what is known as a 2-stage model, which simply means we have two different periods of growth rates for the company's cash flows. Generally the first stage is higher growth, and the second stage is a lower growth phase. To start off with, we need to estimate the next ten years of cash flows. Where possible we use analyst estimates, but when these aren't available we extrapolate the previous free cash flow (FCF) from the last estimate or reported value. We assume companies with shrinking free cash flow will slow their rate of shrinkage, and that companies with growing free cash flow will see their growth rate slow, over this period. We do this to reflect that growth tends to slow more in the early years than it does in later years. A DCF is all about the idea that a dollar in the future is less valuable than a dollar today, so we discount the value of these future cash flows to their estimated value in today's dollars: 10-year free cash flow (FCF) forecast 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 2031 2032 2033 Levered FCF ($, Millions) US$6.07b US$7.52b US$8.77b US$9.31b US$9.73b US$10.1b US$10.5b US$10.8b US$11.1b US$11.4b Growth Rate Estimate Source Analyst x8 Analyst x7 Analyst x4 Analyst x3 Est @ 4.55% Est @ 3.87% Est @ 3.40% Est @ 3.06% Est @ 2.83% Est @ 2.67% Present Value ($, Millions) Discounted @ 7.1% US$5.7k US$6.6k US$7.1k US$7.1k US$6.9k US$6.7k US$6.5k US$6.2k US$6.0k US$5.7k ("Est" = FCF growth rate estimated by Simply Wall St) Present Value of 10-year Cash Flow (PVCF) = US$64b Story continues We now need to calculate the Terminal Value, which accounts for all the future cash flows after this ten year period. For a number of reasons a very conservative growth rate is used that cannot exceed that of a country's GDP growth. In this case we have used the 5-year average of the 10-year government bond yield (2.3%) to estimate future growth. In the same way as with the 10-year 'growth' period, we discount future cash flows to today's value, using a cost of equity of 7.1%. Terminal Value (TV)= FCF 2033 (1 + g) (r g) = US$11b (1 + 2.3%) (7.1% 2.3%) = US$242b Present Value of Terminal Value (PVTV)= TV / (1 + r)10= US$242b ( 1 + 7.1%)10= US$122b The total value, or equity value, is then the sum of the present value of the future cash flows, which in this case is US$186b. To get the intrinsic value per share, we divide this by the total number of shares outstanding. Relative to the current share price of US$148, the company appears about fair value at a 13% discount to where the stock price trades currently. The assumptions in any calculation have a big impact on the valuation, so it is better to view this as a rough estimate, not precise down to the last cent. dcf The Assumptions The calculation above is very dependent on two assumptions. The first is the discount rate and the other is the cash flows. If you don't agree with these result, have a go at the calculation yourself and play with the assumptions. The DCF also does not consider the possible cyclicality of an industry, or a company's future capital requirements, so it does not give a full picture of a company's potential performance. Given that we are looking at General Electric as potential shareholders, the cost of equity is used as the discount rate, rather than the cost of capital (or weighted average cost of capital, WACC) which accounts for debt. In this calculation we've used 7.1%, which is based on a levered beta of 1.047. Beta is a measure of a stock's volatility, compared to the market as a whole. We get our beta from the industry average beta of globally comparable companies, with an imposed limit between 0.8 and 2.0, which is a reasonable range for a stable business. SWOT Analysis for General Electric Strength Debt is not viewed as a risk. Weakness Dividend is low compared to the top 25% of dividend payers in the Industrials market. Opportunity Annual earnings are forecast to grow for the next 3 years. Good value based on P/E ratio and estimated fair value. Threat Annual earnings are forecast to grow slower than the American market. Moving On: Whilst important, the DCF calculation is only one of many factors that you need to assess for a company. The DCF model is not a perfect stock valuation tool. Rather it should be seen as a guide to "what assumptions need to be true for this stock to be under/overvalued?" If a company grows at a different rate, or if its cost of equity or risk free rate changes sharply, the output can look very different. For General Electric, we've compiled three fundamental elements you should look at: Risks: Consider for instance, the ever-present spectre of investment risk. We've identified 2 warning signs with General Electric , and understanding these should be part of your investment process. Future Earnings: How does GE's growth rate compare to its peers and the wider market? Dig deeper into the analyst consensus number for the upcoming years by interacting with our free analyst growth expectation chart. Other Solid Businesses: Low debt, high returns on equity and good past performance are fundamental to a strong business. Why not explore our interactive list of stocks with solid business fundamentals to see if there are other companies you may not have considered! PS. Simply Wall St updates its DCF calculation for every American stock every day, so if you want to find the intrinsic value of any other stock just search here. Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Karnataka High Court on Friday dismissed Kerala chief ministers daughter Veena Vijayans plea against SFIO probe in connection with monthly wage case. Exalogic, a now-defunct IT company owned by Veena Vijayan, daughter of Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan, had appealed to the Karnataka High Court recently asserting that an investigation by the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) into alleged illegal financial transactions between Exalogic and the mining company CMRL is unwarranted. In the petition, Exalogic sought to annul the January 31 order issued by the Union of India, which instructed the SFIO to investigate the transactions between the company and the CMRL. Hearing the plea on February 12, the High Court had directed Veena Vijayan to cooperate with the investigation. The court also instructed SFIO not to take any drastic actions against Exalogic in this case until a verdict is pronounced. According to CMRL's statement before the Income Tax Interim Board for Settlement, CMRL disclosed that it had disbursed Rs 1.72 crore to Exalogic Solutions Pvt Ltd, owned by T. Veena, daughter of the chief minister. Additionally, CMRL stated that it had made cash payments totalling over Rs 134.27 crore to politicians, bureaucrats, media, and police personnel in the five years preceding its submission to the IT interim settlement board. The president of Thiruvananthapuram Press Club was booked by Kerala Police over alleged sexual harassment. According to Malayalam media reports, M Radhakrishnan is accused of sexually harassing a young woman publically in the capital city on February 3, Saturday. The complaint accused M Radhakrishnan of making sexually charged comments at a two-wheeler-borne woman. The Press Club President is also accused of abusing her, The Fourth News said in a report. In her complaint filed before the Cantonment Police, the woman said it was around 7:45 PM on Saturday that the incident took place. Based on her complaint, the cops initiated a probe by checking around 7 CCTV cameras near the location. She reportedly mentioned that the man wore and dhoti and arrived on a motorbike. Her complaint mentioned the registration number of the accused man's bike, the report added. The CCTV visuals helped the police to identify Radhakrishnan, who was reportedly summoned to the police station. According to the news report, the Thiruvananthapuram Press Club president confessed that he was involved in an argument with the complainant on the said date. However, he denied having sexually harassed the woman. In 2019, Radhakrishnan was arrested and remanded for trespassing into the house of a woman colleague. His alleged involvement in another sexual harassment job had cost the senior journalist his job, The Fourth added. The police will soon file a report in the court after implicating M Radhakrishnan. Two persons have reportedly been killed and dozens injured after a mob attempted to storm the Churachandpur SP office in Manipur on Thursday night. The fresh clashes happened after a head constable of the district police was suspended after the visuals of him with armed men went viral in the state. Though the Manipur police is yet to confirm the deaths, reports quoting district hospital officials identified the deceased as Churachandpur residents Letlalkhuol Gangte and Thanggunlen Haokip. They died of gunshot wounds, reported Hindustan Times. How many more people have to die for the supreme powers in Delhi to wake up and take responsibility for the injustice that are taking place in Manipur? This came after one Kuki Police constable was suspended for taking photos with "village volunteers".#Manipur #ManipurViolence pic.twitter.com/WyFSSyqy0G Patrick O Haokip (@PatrickOHaokip) February 15, 2024 The violence erupted on Thursday evening when 300400 attempted to storm the government complex housing the SP and DC offices, torching vehicles and ransacking government property. The mob set on fire several buses and trucks used by security forces, PTI quoted an official. Eyewitnesses said the trouble started in front of the Churachandpur SP office around 7.40 pm just after the suspension order by SP Sivanand Surve went viral in various social media groups. The accused head constable Siamlalpaul was kept under suspension with immediate effect until further orders after the video of him with "armed men" and "sitting together with village volunteers" went viral on social media. "This tantamount to very grave misconduct being a member of the disciplined police force," a police order said. "A departmental inquiry is being contemplated against Siamlalpaul of Churachandpur district police, as a clip has gone viral on social media showing him making a video with armed men on February 14," the order added. Meanwhile, Churachandpur-based Indigenous Tribal Leaders Forum (ITLF) called for a shutdown in the district on Friday in view of the violence and deaths. Protesters demanded the reinstatement of the head constable in the service, alleging that his suspension was "unfair". The Manipur police also suspended internet services in Churachandpur district for five days following the violence. "There is apprehension that some anti-social elements might use social media extensively for transmission of images, posts and video messages inciting the public, which might have serious repercussions for the law and order situation..There is imminent danger for loss of lives/ damage to public or private property and widespread disturbances to public tranquillity and communal harmony as a result of inflammatory material and false rumours," the notification said. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, on Friday, alleged that the Narendra Modi government brought the 'Agniveer' scheme in order to spend the defence budget for the benefit of a major business house. Speaking at the Mohania in Kaimur district of Bihar, bordering Uttar Pradesh, a region from where youngsters are known to enrol in the armed forces on a large scale and where there were large-scale protests against the Agniveer scheme two years ago, he claimed that the government wants youngsters to become contractual labourers. The Congress leader is in the state for his 'Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra'. "...They (Centre) don't want to use defence budget for the training and security of jawans. You will neither be recruited in the Army nor in Railways or in any public sector units. Why? The government wants you to become contractual labourers," the Congres leader said. "They have given the name 'Agniveer' but he is a contractual labourer. That is the truth. They can sack him, throw him out anytime they want, without asking him, without pension or any help." The 'Agnipath' scheme was launched in June 2022 to recruit aspirants below the officer's rank' cadre of the three services for a period of four years as 'Agniveers'. Earlier in the day, addressing the 'Kisan Nyay Panchayat' in Bihar's Rohtas district, Gandhi said the Congress will accept long-pending demands of farmers and ensure a legal guarantee to minimum support price (MSP) of crops if the INDIA bloc comes to power in the general elections. "If the INDIA bloc comes to power after the general elections, we will give a legal guarantee to MSP. Whenever farmers have asked for something from Congress, it has been given to them. Be it loan waiver or MSP, we have always protected the interests of cultivators and will do so in the future," Gandhi said. The Bharatiya Janata Party and Congress has deputed teams to Sandeshkhali in West Bengal on Friday. The six-member BJP team led by Union Minister Annapurna Devi said they will be visiting victims families. Union Minister Annapurna Devi told presspersons, Six members of the BJP committee are going to Sandeshkhali today. No civilised society will allow what is happening in Sandeshkhali. We want to listen to the story of the victims of Sandeshkhali. The way atrocities are being done against women in the state, the govt here is corrupt and useless. The state government awards the accused." Devi added that they want to meet the families of the victims in Sandeshkhali and get all the details of the incident. Union ministers Pratima Bhoumik, Annapurna Devi, who is the committee's convener, Sunita Duggal, Kavita Patidar, Sangeeta Yadav and Brij Lal, a former Uttar Pradesh DGP, are members of the panel. Union Minister Pratima Bhaowmick charged hundreds of Sheikh Shahjahan are being nurtured by Mamata Banerjee. West Bengal's Sandeshkhali, which has been rocked by protests over alleged atrocities on villagers by TMC leaders, continued to remain tense on Friday even as a BJP central team and a Congress delegation are scheduled to visit the area during the day. The police have been patrolling the area and have put up barricades to stop the visit of political leaders to the area, apprehending that it might worsen the situation. "We hope the police won't stop us from visiting the area. The state government is trying to hide the truth. What is going on in Sandeshkhali is a spine-chilling," Annapurna Devi said. Leader of the Congress party in Lok Sabha and state unit president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury is also scheduled to visit the area this afternoon. A large number of women in the locality accused Trinamool Congress strongman Shajahan Sheikh and his supporters of "land-grab and sexually assaulting" them under coercion. Shajahan has been absconding after a mob, allegedly affiliated with him, attacked Enforcement Directorate officials who had gone to search his premises in connection with a ration scam on January 5. The TMC declined to attach much importance to the visits and said that such political trips are "aimed at vitiating the situation". "The BJP should send teams to Uttar Pradesh, where crimes against women are rampant. And for the Congress, it is a B-team of the BJP in Bengal," TMC leader Kunal Ghosh claimed. Meanwhile, a PIL has been filed in the Supreme Court seeking a court-monitored CBI or SIT probe into the violence in West Bengal's Sandeshkhali village. The plea filed by lawyer Alakh Alok Srivastava also seeks compensation for victims of the Sandeshkhali violence and action against officials of the West Bengal Police for alleged dereliction of duty. -with PTI inputs. To mark the second anniversary of the United States Indo-Pacific Strategy, the US Department of State organised a briefing with Afreen Akhter, deputy assistant secretary of state in the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs, and Camille Dawson, deputy assistant secretary of state in the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, for select journalists from the region, on February 16. Akhter spoke about the US's sustained public and private sector engagement across the Indo-Pacific, which has grown by leaps and bounds over the past decade. Trade, aid, remittances and FDI have grown by around 20 per cent, going up to $24.5 trillion. "This really shows how the United States has evolved from being an aid provider to an investment partner, particularly as many of the economies have really grown in the region, she said. Apart from trade and commerce, the Biden administration is also focused on issues of governance and democracy. The South Asia Governance Fund provides grants to civil society organisations across Bangladesh, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and the Maldives, supporting the development of democratic institutions, independent media and the rule of law. The US is also beefing up its diplomatic presence in the region through new embassies and regional multilateral platforms. Last year, Washington opened a new embassy in the Maldives with its first-ever resident ambassador. Security partnership is yet another area of focus, especially maritime security and domain awareness. "In Sri Lanka, for instance, we have provided three Coast Guard cutters, and we recently announced four new patrol boats to the Maldives," said Akhter. India is a key partner, playing an important role in the US scheme of things in the Indo-Pacific. Both countries are working on an initiative to advance regional resilience to counter transnational threats. The Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment is a joint platform aimed at deploying a multibillion-dollar climate infrastructure fund. The initiative will fund multiple projects, including 40,000 public e-buses through an innovative payment security mechanism financed by the two governments and partners in philanthropy. Dawson spoke about the attempt towards global democratic renewal through the Summit for Democracy and also the attempts to ensure accountability on human rights abuses in countries such as China, North Korea and Myanmar. The threat posed to the rules-based global order by powerful autocratic regimes has grown manifold in the past few years. "In 2023, we launched inaugural dialogues on human rights and gender equality with partners such as ASEAN, the ROK (South Korea), Australia, and Japan. And we have continued our unwavering support for a return to a path to inclusive democracy in Burma, including by providing humanitarian assistance." The US hosted a Trilateral Leaders Summit at Camp David last year, along with the leaders of Japan and South Korea, to deepen security, economic, and technology cooperation. Washington is also working with the QUAD (United States, India, Australia and Japan) on initiatives ranging from delivery of vaccines to maritime domain awareness tools to providing scholarship and educational opportunities for students and professionals. While the two deputy assistant secretaries sounded bullish about the Indo-Pacific partnership, it has to be kept in mind that there are concerns that need urgent answers. The Biden administration has not been able to formulate a trade policy for the region to compensate for President Trumps withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Trump, who could return to the White House early next year, has already declared that the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF), the only trade-related initiative by the Biden administration for the region, would be "dead on day one." As free trade is not an area which enjoys bipartisan support, it could hamper Washington's efforts to deepen its engagement with the region. During the interaction, THE WEEK pointed out that the growing tendency shown by Congress to adopt a more isolationist foreign policy could be another major challenge. The Congress has been largely dysfunctional throughout the last year, especially with regard to foreign policy. The latest Ukraine bill, which is unlikely to get past the House in its present form, is a case in point. This is an election year and such isolationist tendencies are only going to harden. Akhter, however, said that the Indo-Pacific Strategy that the Biden-Harris administration put forward was not the first Indo-Pacific strategy; the Trump administration, too, had an Indo-Pacific strategy, revealing an element of bipartisan consensus. There are a lot of similarities between the two strategies if you look at them. And I think what this means is that across the parties, across the political spectrum here in Washington, there is broad and longstanding support for the Indo-Pacific, she said. And you see that not just reflected in these strategies and these documents, but also in resourcing. If you look at the FY24 budget bills passed in both the House and the Senate, which are ruled by different parties, they both include earmarks for the Indo-Pacific that are quite high. So that really demonstrates that in terms of policy and in resources, there is an enduring commitment to the Indo-Pacific that crosses party lines and that crosses administrations." Imprisoned Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has died, say media reports. He was 47. Navalny, who was known to be a fierce critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin, was serving a 19-year jail term. He was moved to Arctic penal colony, which is considered to be one of the toughest prisons, located in a region that is notorious for long and severe winters. According to the prison service, he "felt unwell" on Friday and "almost immediately lost consciousness." "The emergency doctors declared the prisoner dead. Cause of death is being established," the prison statement read. According to Reuters, Russia's Investigative Committee launched a procedural probe into the death. The press secretary Navalny, Kira Yarmysh, in a social media post said she is unable to confirm his death, and Navalny's lawyer was travelling to the prison where the Russian leader was serving his sentence. Leonid Volkov, an aide to Navalny, too said they are unable to confirm his death. "Russian authorities publish a confession that they killed Alexei Navalny in prison. We do not have any way to confirm it or to prove this isn't true," he wrote on X. Navalny, sentenced to prison on charges of extremism, had been in prison since January 2021, when he returned to Moscow after recuperating in Germany from nerve agent poisoning that he blamed on the Kremlin. Before his arrest, he campaigned against official corruption, organised major anti-Kremlin protests and ran for public office. The US has warned Ukraine that the key eastern town of Avdiivka could soon fall into Russian control as Ukrainian forces on the ground run out of artillery ammunition. Avdiivka, a gateway to nearby Donetsk, has been witnessing fierce fighting for the weeks as Russia seeks to encircle the embattled town to seize full control of the two provinces that make up the industrial Donbas region. "The Ukrainian city of Avdiivka is at risk of falling to Russian forces," White House spokesperson John Kirby said on Thursday. "Avdiivka could fall largely because the Ukrainian forces on the ground are running out of artillery ammunition. Russia is sending wave after wave of conscript forces to attack Ukrainian positions," he said. "And because Congress has yet to pass the supplemental bill, we have not been able to provide Ukraine with the artillery shells that they desperately need to disrupt these Russian assaults. Russian forces are now reaching Ukrainian trenches in Avdiivka, and they're beginning to overwhelm Ukrainian defences," Kirby added. Kirby's remarks comes as Ukraine said its troops were withdrawing from some parts of the eastern town to better positions after months of heavy fighting. "In Avdiivka a manoeuvre is underway in some places to withdraw our units to more advantageous positions, in some places to force (the Russians) out of positions," Ukrainian military spokesman Dmytro Lykhoviy said in televised comments. "Therefore the key announcement with regards to all this is that supplies to Avdiivka and evacuations from there are difficult." He said the military had activated a "reserve logistics artery" that had been prepared in advance.One of Ukraine's most prominent fighting units, the Third Assault Brigade, said it had been rushed to Avdiivka to reinforce Kyiv's troops there. Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Vlodomyr Zelenskyy is visiting Berlin and Paris where he is expected to sign security pacts with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron. This is also his first foreign trip since he replaced his popular army chief and reshuffled his military command, a big gamble at a difficult juncture in the war that he said was needed to face shifting battlefield challenges. Though Zelenskyy is likely to sign pacts with both countries, the details of the agreements are not yet known. But, Kyiv has said it wants to use the first deal signed with Britain in January as a framework, reported Reuters. The report added that the deal with France included economic and financial elements and was not restricted to military ones. "The logic behind it is support for Ukraine over the long term, in order to make Russian aggression fail," one French official told Reuters. "Some figures will be mentioned in the deal," the official said, stressing that the quality of the material provided to Ukraine was at least as important as the quantity. German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said his country envisaged 3.5 billion euro for ammunition supplies this year and would deliver three to four times more in 2024 compared to 2023. Amid instances of attacks on Indian students in the US, the White House on Thursday said there was no excuse for violence based on race, gender or any other factor in the US. The response from the coordinator for Strategic Communications at the National Security Council in the White House, John Kirby, comes as several cases of deaths and attacks on Indian students were reported from the US over the last few weeks. On recent attacks on Indian students and concerns among parents to send their children to the US, Kirby said US President Joe Biden and his administration have been working very hard to try to thwart and disrupt these kinds of attacks. "There's no excuse for violence, certainly based on race or gender or religion or any other factor. That's just unacceptable here in the United States and the President and his administration have been working very, very hard to make sure we're doing everything we can to work with state and local authorities to try to thwart and disrupt those kinds of attacks and make it clear to anybody who might consider them that they'll be held properly accountable," he told reporters. Over the last few weeks, several Indian students were attacked in the US, including a 41-year-old Indian-origin man who was beaten to death by a homeless man. Police identified the victim as Vivek Taneja of Alexandria, Virginia. He was attacked on February 2 at a store he worked and succumbed to his injuries five days later. Recently, another Indian student faced a brutal attack in Chicago. Syed Mazahir Ali was attacked by four miscreants while on his way home. Videos on social media that surfaced showed Ali bleeding heavily as he described the horrific incident. Ali's case was raised by his wife who wrote to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar. Three other students were also found dead in US universities over the last few months. Shreyas Reddy Beniger, a student at the Linder School of Business in the US state of Ohio, was found dead on his campus while Neel Acharya of Purdue University, Indiana, was confirmed dead days after being reported missing on January 28. Akul B Dhawan, an 18-year-old at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, was also found dead last month, with signs of hypothermia. According to reports, Alexei Navalny, Russia's top opposition leader and President Vladimir Putin's harshest critic, died in prison on Friday. In a span of a decade, the 47-year-old lawyer went from being the Kremlins biggest foe to Russias most prominent political prisoner. He was serving a 19-year sentence at a high-security prison, often in solitary confinement. FULL REPORT | Imprisoned Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny dies Here is a timeline of Alexei Navalny's life and struggles under the Putin regime. June 4, 1976: Alexei Navalny is born in Moscow. 1997: Graduates from Russias RUDN university, where he majored in law. Earns a degree in economics in 2001 while practising as a lawyer. 2010: Founds RosPil, an anti-corruption project run by a team of lawyers for exposing violations and contesting them in court. 2011: Establishes the Foundation for Fighting Corruption, which will become his teams main platform for exposing alleged graft among Russias top political ranks. March 2012: Following President Vladimir Putins reelection, mass protests break out. Navalny accuses key figures, including then-Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov and Chechnyas strongman leader, Ramzan Kadyrov, of corruption. July 2012: Russias Investigative Committee charges Navalny with embezzlement. Navalny claims the allegations are politically motivated. July 2013: A court in Kirov convicts Navalny of embezzlement but later suspends his sentence. February 2014: Navalny is placed under house arrest in connection with the Yves Rocher case and banned from using the internet. His blog continues to be updated regularly, presumably by his team, detailing alleged corruption by various Russian officials. December 2016: Navalny announces he will run in Russias 2018 presidential election. April 27, 2017: Unidentified assailants throw a green disinfectant in his face, damaging his right eye. December 2017: Russias Central Electoral Commission bars him from running for president over his conviction in the Kirovles case, a move condemned by the EU as casting serious doubt on the election. Aug. 20, 2020: On a flight from the city of Tomsk, where he was working with local activists, Navalny falls ill and the plane makes an emergency landing in nearby Omsk. Hospitalized in a coma, Navalnys team suspects he was poisoned. Aug. 22, 2020: A comatose Navalny is flown to a hospital in Berlin. 2 days later, German authorities confirm Navalny was poisoned with a Soviet-era nerve agent. After he recovers, he blames the Kremlin. Jan. 17, 2021: Navalny is arrested upon his return to Russia, with authorities alleging his recuperation abroad violated the terms of his suspended sentence in the Yves Rocher case. His arrest triggers some of the biggest protests in Russia in years. Feb. 2, 2021: A Moscow court orders Navalny to serve 2 years in prison for his parole violation. While in prison, Navalny stages a three-week hunger strike to protest a lack of medical treatment and sleep deprivation. June 2021: A Moscow court outlaws Navalnys Foundation for Fighting Corruption and about 40 regional offices as extremist, shutting down his political network. Close associates and team members face prosecution and leave Russia under pressure. Navalny maintains contact with his lawyers and team from prison, and they update his social media accounts. March 22, 2022: Navalny is sentenced to an additional nine-year term for embezzlement and contempt of court. He is transferred to a maximum-security prison in Russias western Vladimir region. March 12, 2023: Navalny, a film about the attempt on the opposition leaders life, wins the Oscar for best documentary feature. Aug. 4, 2023: Navalny is convicted of extremism and sentenced to 19 years, and he says he understands he's "serving a life sentence, which is measured by the length of my life or the length of life of this regime. Dec. 25, 2023: Navalny's allies say he's been located in a prison colony in the town of Kharp, north of the Arctic Circle, notorious for long and severe winters. Feb. 16, 2024: Russia's Federal Penitentiary Service says Navalny died in prison at the age of 47. It says he felt unwell after a walk and collapsed. An ambulance arrived but could not resuscitate him. (Data courtest: The Associated Press) Related searches: russian opposition leader, Alexei Navalny dies, Alexei Navalny, russia, opposition to Vladimir Putin in Russia, navalny, russia ukraine, prigozhin, navalny russia, navalny news, polar wolf prison, war in ukraine, navalny movie, putin, navalny documentary, russia Key Insights Using the 2 Stage Free Cash Flow to Equity, Genus fair value estimate is UK17.71 Genus' UK17.80 share price indicates it is trading at similar levels as its fair value estimate Analyst price target for GNS is UK31.72, which is 79% above our fair value estimate How far off is Genus plc (LON:GNS) from its intrinsic value? Using the most recent financial data, we'll take a look at whether the stock is fairly priced by projecting its future cash flows and then discounting them to today's value. We will take advantage of the Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) model for this purpose. Models like these may appear beyond the comprehension of a lay person, but they're fairly easy to follow. We generally believe that a company's value is the present value of all of the cash it will generate in the future. However, a DCF is just one valuation metric among many, and it is not without flaws. If you still have some burning questions about this type of valuation, take a look at the Simply Wall St analysis model. View our latest analysis for Genus The Method We use what is known as a 2-stage model, which simply means we have two different periods of growth rates for the company's cash flows. Generally the first stage is higher growth, and the second stage is a lower growth phase. To start off with, we need to estimate the next ten years of cash flows. Where possible we use analyst estimates, but when these aren't available we extrapolate the previous free cash flow (FCF) from the last estimate or reported value. We assume companies with shrinking free cash flow will slow their rate of shrinkage, and that companies with growing free cash flow will see their growth rate slow, over this period. We do this to reflect that growth tends to slow more in the early years than it does in later years. A DCF is all about the idea that a dollar in the future is less valuable than a dollar today, and so the sum of these future cash flows is then discounted to today's value: Story continues 10-year free cash flow (FCF) forecast 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 2031 2032 2033 Levered FCF (, Millions) UK30.1m UK52.3m UK56.0m UK58.7m UK60.9m UK62.9m UK64.6m UK66.1m UK67.6m UK68.9m Growth Rate Estimate Source Analyst x4 Analyst x4 Analyst x3 Est @ 4.80% Est @ 3.85% Est @ 3.19% Est @ 2.72% Est @ 2.40% Est @ 2.17% Est @ 2.01% Present Value (, Millions) Discounted @ 6.6% UK28.2 UK46.1 UK46.2 UK45.5 UK44.3 UK42.9 UK41.4 UK39.7 UK38.1 UK36.5 ("Est" = FCF growth rate estimated by Simply Wall St) Present Value of 10-year Cash Flow (PVCF) = UK409m The second stage is also known as Terminal Value, this is the business's cash flow after the first stage. For a number of reasons a very conservative growth rate is used that cannot exceed that of a country's GDP growth. In this case we have used the 5-year average of the 10-year government bond yield (1.6%) to estimate future growth. In the same way as with the 10-year 'growth' period, we discount future cash flows to today's value, using a cost of equity of 6.6%. Terminal Value (TV)= FCF 2033 (1 + g) (r g) = UK69m (1 + 1.6%) (6.6% 1.6%) = UK1.4b Present Value of Terminal Value (PVTV)= TV / (1 + r)10= UK1.4b ( 1 + 6.6%)10= UK752m The total value is the sum of cash flows for the next ten years plus the discounted terminal value, which results in the Total Equity Value, which in this case is UK1.2b. To get the intrinsic value per share, we divide this by the total number of shares outstanding. Relative to the current share price of UK17.8, the company appears around fair value at the time of writing. Valuations are imprecise instruments though, rather like a telescope - move a few degrees and end up in a different galaxy. Do keep this in mind. dcf The Assumptions The calculation above is very dependent on two assumptions. The first is the discount rate and the other is the cash flows. You don't have to agree with these inputs, I recommend redoing the calculations yourself and playing with them. The DCF also does not consider the possible cyclicality of an industry, or a company's future capital requirements, so it does not give a full picture of a company's potential performance. Given that we are looking at Genus as potential shareholders, the cost of equity is used as the discount rate, rather than the cost of capital (or weighted average cost of capital, WACC) which accounts for debt. In this calculation we've used 6.6%, which is based on a levered beta of 0.899. Beta is a measure of a stock's volatility, compared to the market as a whole. We get our beta from the industry average beta of globally comparable companies, with an imposed limit between 0.8 and 2.0, which is a reasonable range for a stable business. SWOT Analysis for Genus Strength Debt is not viewed as a risk. Weakness Earnings declined over the past year. Dividend is low compared to the top 25% of dividend payers in the Biotechs market. Expensive based on P/E ratio and estimated fair value. Opportunity Annual earnings are forecast to grow faster than the British market. Threat Dividends are not covered by cash flow. Revenue is forecast to grow slower than 20% per year. Moving On: Valuation is only one side of the coin in terms of building your investment thesis, and it is only one of many factors that you need to assess for a company. The DCF model is not a perfect stock valuation tool. Preferably you'd apply different cases and assumptions and see how they would impact the company's valuation. If a company grows at a different rate, or if its cost of equity or risk free rate changes sharply, the output can look very different. For Genus, there are three additional items you should further research: Risks: Consider for instance, the ever-present spectre of investment risk. We've identified 1 warning sign with Genus , and understanding it should be part of your investment process. Future Earnings: How does GNS's growth rate compare to its peers and the wider market? Dig deeper into the analyst consensus number for the upcoming years by interacting with our free analyst growth expectation chart. Other Solid Businesses: Low debt, high returns on equity and good past performance are fundamental to a strong business. Why not explore our interactive list of stocks with solid business fundamentals to see if there are other companies you may not have considered! PS. The Simply Wall St app conducts a discounted cash flow valuation for every stock on the LSE every day. If you want to find the calculation for other stocks just search here. Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned. The White House on Thursday said it received intelligence that Russia was developing a space-based anti-satellite weapon but said it poses no immediate threat. Adding that the weapon was currently not operational, White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said the US officials are analysing the information they have on the emerging technology and have consulted with allies and partners on the matter. "This is not an active capability thats been deployed, and though Russias pursuit of this particular capability is troubling, there is no immediate threat to anyones safety," Kirby said on Thursday. On whether the weapon was nuclear-capable or nuclear-powered, Kirby just said that the weapon was "space-based" but refused to add more details. "Were not talking about a weapon that can be used to attack human beings or cause physical destruction here on Earth," he said. However, the latest weapon could pose a lethal risk to astronauts in low orbit, along with potentially disrupting vital military and civilian satellites, Kirby said. The threat came to light after Mike Turner, chairman of the House of Representatives Intelligence Committee, issued an unusual warning about a serious national security threat and called on Biden to declassify all information relating to this threat. If the allegations are true, then it would be a breach of the 1967 Outer Space Treaty, which prohibits the deployment of nuclear weapons or any other kinds of weapons of mass destruction into orbit or to station weapons in outer space in any other manner. More than 130 countries have signed the agreement, including Russia and the US. However, Moscow hit out at the US claims, calling them "malicious fabrication". Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov: "Its obvious that Washington is trying to force Congress to vote on the aid bill by hook or by crook. Lets see what ruse the White House will use." In 2020, the US and UK had alleged that Russia tested an anti-satellite weapon in space. According to the US, Russia conducted a "non-destructive test of a space-based anti-satellite weapon". However, Russia dismissed the accusations as "propaganda". The Russian foreign ministry also called on the US and the UK to "show professionalism and to sit down for talks instead of some propagandistic information attacks." Sometimes, it's best for some storylines to be left alone. Madame Web's is one like that. Sony studios, it seems, is trying hard to get more from the fringe characters around Spiderman. They are trying to catapult a hero from the margins of the Marvel universe a la Venom and Morbius. The movie, which stars Dakota Johnson in the lead role, and Sydney Sweeney, Isabela Merced and Celeste O'Connor, is slower than most origin stories. Even as the first half ends, Johnson hasn't manifested any powers or moves that could wow the audience. Johnson's lack of emoting doesn't help much either. The other three actors seem more promising when it comes to emoting. The villain, portrayed by Tahar Rahim, too, lacked the pizzazz Marvel fans are used to. The movie begins with Cassie (Johnson), a paramedic discovering that she has the ability to see the future. It then moves on to how her fate might be connected to the three teens, Julia, Anya and Mattieplayed by Sweeney, Merced and O'Connor respectively. Despite a mystery 'ceiling guy', the plot doesn't thicken, nor does it keep you hooked. The movie certainly won't meet the expectations of Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) fans, who are used to exemplary fight scenes and stunning reveals. Perhaps, a non-linear narration could have worked better for the movie; it could have kept the audience guessing. The direction by S.J. Clarkson doesn't live up to the expectations, considering she's directed series like Jessica Jones, Marvel's The Defenders and the Emmy-winning Succession. The camera work by Mauro Fiore wasn't shoddy, but there seemed to be no need for the upside down and titled shots, especially not since Johnson wasn't swinging tower-to-tower like Peter Parker. And even while the narration seemed slow, it seemed as if the makers tried to squeeze in a lot of events in the film introducing Madame WebJohnson's trip to Peru, for instance. With a mix of folklore (Las Aranas or mythical spider people) and urban heroes, and a villain that fits at least one trope, the movie could have been amazing. However, with pre-dated Spiderman outfits and a 30-something chaperoning three teens across town, it became a version of 'what if Disney made a Marvel movie'. There's not much humour in the film either. The costume department, however, deserves a pat on its back, for exacting early 2000s fashion like racer backs, cropped sweatshirts and ripped jeans. The film can be avoided though; it was heavily disappointing for the MCU fan in me. Film: Madame Web Director: S.J. Clarkson Cast: Dakota Johnson, Sydney Sweeney, Isabela Merced, Celeste O'Connor and others Rating: 2/5 The award honors a total of 24 partner institutions and educators from India under the Partner of the Year, Educator of the Year, and Special Awards categories BENGALURU, India, Feb. 15, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- UiPath (NYSE: PATH), a leading enterprise automation software company, today announced the winners of the 2024 UiPath Academic Alliance India Awards, at the 2024 UiPath Academic Summit held in Bengaluru, India. The award honors top institutions and educators who have played a significant role in impacting India's automation education and ecosystem development. This year, 24 partner institutions and educators have been recognized respectively under the Partner of the Year, Educator of the Year and Special Awards categories. Rajesh Nambiar, Director of Academic and Learning Alliances, APJ, UiPath said: "Automation will play a crucial role in unlocking the transformative potential of AI at work. For AI to deliver real value in India, building a strong ecosystem with an automation-ready workforce will be critical. Through the 2024 UiPath Academic Alliance India Awards, we are acknowledging the contributions of our partners and recognizing their impact on India's automation education and ecosystem development." The 2024 UiPath Academic Alliance India Awards winners are: Partner of the Year: Recognize partner institutions for their excellence in citizen development, curriculum integration, automation literacy, strategic alliances, social impact, and innovation. Automation Literacy Acropolis Institute of Technology and Research, Indore Social Impact ICT Academy, Chennai Innovation Mangalore Institute of Technology & Engineering, Mangaluru Rising Star BNM Institute of Technology, Bengaluru Curriculum Integration PSGR Krishnammal College for Women, Coimbatore High Impact Social Projects JECRC University, Jaipur Strategic Alliance FutureSkills Prime A MeitY nasscom initiative Citizen Developer Efforts Sri Krishna College of Engineering and Technology (SKCET), Coimbatore Best Student Group Rajalakshmi Engineering College, Chennai Educator of the Year: Awards educators who have positively impacted their students, through outstanding teaching skills and innovative teaching methods. It also honors those who commit to academic research, engage in community outreach and service-learning projects, and actively engage in continuous learning. Professional Development Shilpa Prabhu Patil, East Point Group of Institutions Mentorship Dr. Preethi Harris, Sri Ramakrishna Engineering College Community Engagement Dr. Priya Jadhav, Symbiosis Institute of Technology Pune Research and Publications Dr. Ganeshayya Shidaganti, M S Ramaiah Institute of Technology Student Impact Pavithra Ragunathan, KGiSL Institute of Technology Leadership in Education Bhuvaneswaran B, Rajalakshmi Engineering College Curriculum Innovation Sidiq Sherif, ICT Academy Teaching Excellence Dr. Gireesh Kumar, Manipal University Jaipur Special awards were also given out to top institutions and educators for their contributions to advancing the automation education and ecosystem development, through the UiPath Academic Alliance Program. Automation Education Accelerator: Recognizes the exceptional contributions to accelerate and advance automation education with the UiPath Academic Alliance Program. Honeywell Special Jury Partner: Presented to an exceptional educational institution that has demonstrated outstanding commitment, innovation, and impact in collaboration with the UiPath Academic Alliance Program. Model Institute of Engineering and Technology, Jammu Automation Education Advocate: Recognizes individuals who raised awareness, promoted collaboration, and drove initiatives that contribute to the growth and improvement of education in the field of automation. Dr. S N Chandrashekara, Principal, C Byregowda Institute of Technology, Kolar, Karnataka Dr. Devi Thirupathi, Former Professor and Head - Department of Computer Applications Bharathiar University, Coimbatore Dr. M Kannan, Professor and Head of Computer Science & Engg, Mahendra Engineering College, Namakkal Dr. Prakash Sheelvanth, Senior Vice President, East Point Group of Colleges, Bengaluru Distinguished Alumnus: Honors individuals who graduated from a partner institution and leveraged UiPath technologies to drive positive change. These individuals have demonstrated excellence in automation practices and contributed to the education and mentorship of aspiring automation professionals. Aswin Bhaskar, Senior RPA Developer, Billennium India The UiPath Academic Alliance envisions a workforce fluent in automation technologies and empowered to find engaging, creative and strategic careers. Institutions that join the Alliance are provided free courses, free access to UiPath software for students and educators, and the ability to network with the highly active community of global automation professionals and users. UiPath first rolled out the Academic Alliance program in India in January 2019. Within 3 years, the ecosystem has established thriving partnerships with over 1,000 academic institutions in India's vocational and higher education sector, impacting more than 350,000 students with the help of over 1,250 educators. To learn more about the UiPath Academic Alliance, please visit: https://www.uipath.com/rpa/academic-alliance About UiPath UiPath (NYSE: PATH) is on a mission to uplevel knowledge work so more people can work more creatively, collaboratively, and strategically. The AI-powered UiPath Business Automation Platform combines the leading robotic process automation (RPA) solution with a full suite of capabilities to understand, automate, and operate end-to-end processes, offering unprecedented time-to-value. For organizations that need to evolve to survive and thrive through increasingly changing times, UiPath is The Foundation of Innovation. Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2341141/UiPathAwardWinners.jpg Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2341148/UiPath_Logo.jpg (Disclaimer: The above press release comes to you under an arrangement with PRNewswire and PTI takes no editorial responsibility for the same.). PTI PWR PWR Islamabad, Feb 16 (PTI) A leading but disgruntled right-wing Pakistani politician has accused the top military leaders of toppling the government of Imran Khan in 2022. Maulana Fazlur Rehman of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) claimed during a Samaa TV talk show on Thursday night that the "former army chief Gen (rtd) Qamar Javed Bajwa toppled the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf's (PTI) government." Recalling the no-confidence motion against the PTI founder, Rehman said: "The PPP was moving the no-confidence motion against the PTI. Gen Bajwa and Faiz Hameed were in touch with us at the time of no-confidence motion." "Gen Bajwa, Faiz Hameed asked all parties to do this (bringing a vote of no-confidence motion), he claimed. The channel reported on its website that Rahman told the host in response to a question: "Someone should stand up to the establishment and say it is doing wrong". "The protest will continue until things are settled, as the establishment has nothing to do with politics. As a result of this protest, there will be a revolution," Rehman maintained. Rehman said, "The state institutions are respectable, but why come into politics?" "If the establishment thinks that the elections were transparent, then the narrative in line with the May 9 mayhem is buried," Rehman added. Speaking about talks with the PTI, Rehman said: "There is a difference of mind with the PTI that can be resolved." He also criticised the PML-N for announcing its plan to form a coalition government with the help of other parties, including the Pakistan Peoples Party. The present parliament has no future, as the decisions and policies in the parliament will come from somewhere else," he said. Rehaman had traditionally been close to the establishment but has become weary after suffering a devastating defeat in the elections. His opponents allege that being a seasoned politician, Rehman may be in search of some role in the future government by attacking the Army. On February 10, 2022, Pakistan's then-Prime Minister Imran Khan was ousted from power after losing a no-confidence vote in his leadership. The vote was held after opposition parties brought a motion against him, following days of high drama. The vote took place after the country's Supreme Court ruled in favour of opposition parties and said that 71-year-old Khan had acted unconstitutionally. The vote made Khan the first Pakistani prime minister to be ousted by a no-confidence motion, with opposition parties securing 174 votes in the 342-member house in support of the no-confidence motion. London, Feb 16 (PTI) British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak suffered two heavy blows to his leadership ahead of a general election later this year as the Opposition Labour Party overturned strong Conservative majorities to win by-elections in England on Friday. Labours Dan Egan won the House of Commons seat of Kingswood, south-west England, and the partys Gen Kitchen won Wellingborough, in the East Midlands region of England. The results reflect double trouble for the British Indian leader as the Conservatives had won both seats by decisive margins at the last general election under Boris Johnson in December 2019. Another emerging trend saw the far-right Reform UK the re-organised anti-immigration Brexit Party coming third, ahead of the Liberal Democrats and Green Party, piling further pressure on the Conservatives on contentious issues such as migration. The latest results from this weeks polls are the ninth and 10th by-election defeats for the Tory-led government since the 2019 general election. The by-poll in Kingswood was held after Tory leader Chris Skidmore resigned as an MP in protest over Sunak's green policies. Labour's Egan managed to overturn his majority of more than 11,000 in the seat. In Wellingborough, the voter followed Tory MP Peter Bone being recalled by his constituency over claims of bullying and sexually inappropriate behaviour, which he denies. Labours Kitchen overturned his majority of more than 18,000 to win the seat with a swing of 28.5 per cent the second highest of all time. The Kingswood and Wellingborough results show that people want change and are ready to put their faith in a changed Labour Party to deliver it, said Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer. The Tories have failed, Rishi's recession proves that. Labour is back in the service of working people, he said. The twin defeats will come as a major blow for the governing Tories as they prepare for a general election, which Sunak, 43, has indicated will be held in the second half of the year. The party, which has already been trailing Labour in opinion polls, sought to downplay the significance of the by-election result as a vote of discontent against the Tories. Conservative MP and former minister in Boris Johnsons Cabinet Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg told the BBC the Kingswood result was "not as bad as I'd expected" as Tory voters appeared to have stayed at home. He suggested more could turn out at a general election, which he said "focuses people's minds in a different way to a by-election". He insisted that support for Sunak's leadership was "solid" and "by-elections don't change that". However, news of the economy falling into recession earlier this week and this double poll blow will rattle the Sunak-led Tories as the scale of anti-incumbency becomes clear. The party will be concerned not only by having lost these seats, but also by the scale and manner of its defeats. Its share of the vote fell by a whopping 37.6 points in Wellingborough, the biggest drop the party has ever suffered in a by-election it was defending, writes pollster Sir John Curtice, Professor of Politics at Strathclyde University. However, these were by-elections where voters' discontent with the Conservatives was seemingly not matched in equal measure by its enthusiasm for Labour, he said. The results also provide some relief for Keir Starmer after a challenging week for the Labour leader, having scaled back his party's green investment plan and been embroiled in an antisemitism crisis. Cairo, Feb 16 (AP) Sudan's armed forces have ordered an investigation into a video that purportedly shows some of its troops carrying the severed heads of members of the rival paramilitary faction in the country's civil war, the military said on Friday. The military released a statement that denounced the shocking content of the video, which has recently gone viral on social media platforms in Sudan, and vowed to hold its troops accountable if they were proven to be the perpetrators. The video shows a group of men in military uniform carrying two severed heads believed to be of members of the Rapid Support Forces paramilitary group. The men seemingly rejoice and chant God is Great! and You brought it onto yourselves." Sudan plunged into chaos last April when clashes erupted in the capital Khartoum, between the Sudanese military, led by Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan, and the RSF, commanded by Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo. The violence soon spread to different parts of the East African countries, killing at least 12,000 people and forcing 1.5 million refugees to flee into neighbouring countries. The graphic video has elicited a stir among Sudan's pro-democracy activists and politicians. Putting the heads of war victims on display- whether military or civilian victims- reflects moral, political and religious bankruptcy, Yassir Arman, a member of an umbrella group of pro-democracy factions wrote on Friday on X, the social platform formerly known as Twitter. For nearly 10 months, regional partners in Africa have been trying to mediate an end to the conflict, along with Saudi Arabia and the United States, which facilitated several rounds of unsuccessful, indirect talks between the warring parties. Burhan and Dagalo are yet to meet in person since the conflict began. This crime takes the war to another level that cannot be contained," Khaled Omar Youssef, Vice-Chairman of the Sudanese Congress Party wrote on X in reference to the video.(AP) RUP RUP Washington, Feb 16 (PTI) United States' Indian-American Deputy Secretary of State Richard Verma will be on a six-day long official visit to India, Sri Lanka and Maldives next week to strengthen bilateral ties with the nations, along with reaffirming America's enduring commitment to a free, open, secure, and prosperous region. Verma, who is currently the Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources, and the second senior post in the State Department, will travel to India, Maldives, and Sri Lanka from February 18-23 to strengthen America's cooperation with each of these key Indo-Pacific partners. Shortly following the two-year anniversary of the US Indo-Pacific Strategy, his trip will reaffirm the United States enduring commitment to a free, open, secure, and prosperous region, a media release said. In New Delhi, Verma will meet with senior government officials, business leaders, and entrepreneurs to advance the US-Indian global strategic partnership on a full range of issues, including economic development, security, and technology, said the official statement. From India, Verma will travel to Male to meet with senior officials and advance shared priorities in increasing economic cooperation and promoting maritime security. He will also tour the planned office space for a new US Embassy in Male, which will help further increase people-to-people ties between the United States and Maldives. Verma will conclude his trip in Colombo. His meetings with senior officials will support US-Sri Lankan defence and maritime security cooperation. He will visit the Port of Colombo's West Container Terminal, where the United States is supporting Sri Lanka's ongoing economic recovery through USD 553 million in financing to transform Colombo into a regional shipping hub. Finally, he will meet with civil society leaders to hear their perspective on democratic governance in Sri Lanka and with government officials to voice US support for the protection of free speech and open discourse, a statement said. Kabirdham, Feb 16 (PTI) Two persons have been arrested in Chhattisgarhs Kabirdham district with more than a tonne of ganja valued at about Rs 2 crore, an official said on Friday. The drug was being transported from Odisha to Uttar Pradesh. Acting on a tip-off, law enforcement officials intercepted a truck laden with tur dal husk on National Highway 30 within the jurisdiction of the Chilpie police station on Thursday. A search led to the discovery of 1,032 kg of cannabis, worth Rs 2.06 crore, in 41 sacks that had been hidden inside the consignment, he said. Two men from Rajasthan, identified as Anil Choudhary (29) and Atendra Jaat (45), were transporting the contraband from Odisha to Agra in UP, he said, adding that a case has been registered against them under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. Patna, Feb 16 (PTI) Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) president Lalu Prasad on Friday said his "doors were always open" for Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, his arch rival who recently ended a short-lived alliance and returned to BJP-led NDA. Prasad, who has maintained a stoic silence ever since his party suffered loss of power as a result of the JD(U) president's volte face, was responding to queries from journalists. The two leaders were on Thursday seen warmly shaking hands inside the Vidhan Sabha premises where Prasad, who stays mostly indoors since his kidney transplant operation two years ago, had gone to boost the morale of Manoj Jha and Sanjay Yadav, both of whom filed nomination papers as RJD candidates for Rajya Sabha elections. When Prasad was asked whether the bonhomie indicated that he was still open to rapprochement with Kumar, who has ditched him for the second time, causing his son and heir apparent Tejashwi Yadav to lose the deputy CM's post on both occasions, the RJD supremo replied "let him come back. Then we will see (jab aaenge tab dekha jaaega)". When pressed further, as to whether the doors were still open for the former ally, Prasad, who has known Kumar since their days as student leaders in the 1970s, replied "these are always open (khula hi rahta hai)". "Lalu ji says the doors are still open. He should know that the famous padlock of Aligarh has been placed on the doors. Our leader Nitish Kumar has clearly said whenever RJD has shared power with us, it has engaged in corruption. There is no question of going back", asserted JD(U) chief spokesman and MLC Neeraj Kumar. New Delhi, Feb 16 (PTI) Union Minister Anurag Thakur on Friday wondered how Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann would respond to the farmers agitation when the AAP had once demanded that the state governments pick up the tab for giving the minimum support price (MSP). Talking to reporters here, Thakur said the next round of talks with the agitating farmers scheduled to be held on Sunday will be cordial and the farmers will not resort to violence and vandalism. He reminded the AAP leadership that they wanted the state government to make payments towards MSP when the Congress was in power at the Centre. "When there was a Congress government at the Centre, Arvind Kejriwal used to demand that the Punjab government make MSP payouts to the farmers. Bhagwant Mann also used to raise a lot of questions. Now, Mann is the chief minister. Will he respond to this (Kejriwal's) demand?" the senior BJP leader asked. The information and broadcasting minister said the Punjab government should maintain law and order in the state and expressed hope that farmers will not resort to violence and vandalism. Thakur said the government has had a good round of talks with the farmers leaders and the next round of talks will be held on Sunday. "I am fully confident that the talks will be cordial on Sunday as well and we will work towards a resolution of the issues," he said. Thakur said no government at the Centre has done as much for the farmers as the Narendra Modi government has done. "In 2013-14, when the UPA government was in power, the agriculture budget was Rs 27,662 crore. Now the agriculture budget under the Modi government is more than Rs 1.25 lakh crore. We have transferred Rs 2.81 lakh crore directly to the bank accounts of more than 11 crore farmers through Kisan Samman Nidhi," Thakur said. He said the total purchase of wheat, paddy, pulses and oilseeds was Rs 5.5 lakh crore during the Congress-led UPA regime, adding the Modi government has spent Rs 18.39 lakh crore towards procurement. "If you compare our performance in any other area, the Congress will look completely pale in that too," Thakur said. By Foo Yun Chee BRUSSELS (Reuters) -Europe's attempt to give workers at Uber, Deliveroo and other online platforms more social and labour rights failed a second time after France and three other countries abstained from voting on the watered-down political deal. Belgium, the current holder of the rotating EU presidency, is unlikely to muster enough support for yet another attempt, especially as the European Parliament which has to endorse a final deal, gradually winds down ahead of elections in June. Still, it was doubtful whether the weaker provisional agreement would have benefited gig workers as it stripped out key criteria determining whether a worker was an employee, in effect maintaining the status quo which is currently based on national laws and court rulings. EU lawmakers and Belgium had clinched the deal last week, the second attempt after a December agreement failed to get the support of France and several other EU governments. "The final compromise deal on the Platform Work Directive was put forward for endorsement by ambassadors at Coreper," Belgium's EU representation said on X social media. Coreper refers to the ambassadors' meeting. "Unfortunately the necessary QMV (qualified majority voting) wasn't found," it said, adding that it will now consider the next steps. France, Greece, Estonia and Germany refrained from voting, EU diplomats said. That in effect torpedoed the political deal. Uber, which had lobbied against the draft rules, said any proposal must weigh drivers' and couriers' differing requirements. "While the future of the Directive is now uncertain, what remains clear is that any EU-wide rules must maintain the independence platform workers prefer while giving them the protections they deserve," an Uber spokesperson said. The European Transport Workers' Federation was scathing of the EU countries' failure to find a consensus. "The failure of member states has dashed hopes that an EU directive would help end bogus self-employment and give platform workers employment contracts," the lobbying group said. Story continues "The well-funded and highly politically connected platform lobby has used its influence in Brussels and in member states to stop any form of regulation at the EU level." The European Commission had proposed the draft rules in 2021, with an estimated 40 million gig economy workers in the European Union in mind. (Reporting by Foo Yun CheeEditing by Tomasz Janowski and David Evans) New Delhi, Feb 16 (PTI) A PIL was filed in the Supreme Court seeking a court-monitored CBI or SIT probe into the violence in West Bengal's Sandeshkhali village. The plea filed by lawyer Alakh Alok Srivastava also seeks compensation for victims of the Sandeshkhali violence and action against officials of the West Bengal Police for alleged dereliction of duty. The plea also seeks transfer of the probe and subsequent trial outside West Bengal. Besides it seeks an inquiry by a three-judge committee as done in the Manipur violence case. Sandeshkhali, a village in North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal, has been witnessing protests over allegations of sexual abuse of women by a local TMC leader. Several women in the region have accused the local Trinamool Congress strongman Shajahan Sheikh and his supporters of land-grab and sexually assaulting them under coercion. Shajahan has been absconding after a mob, allegedly affiliated to him, attacked Enforcement Directorate officials who has gone to search his premises in connection with a corruption case. Bengaluru, Feb 16 (PTI) The High Court of Karnataka on Friday dismissed a petition filed by Exalogic Solutions, in which Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayans daughter Veena Vijayan is a director. The company had challenged the investigation into its affairs by the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO). The Union Ministry of Corporate Affairs had asked the SFIO to investigate the company, which the firm had challenged in the High Court. Justice M Nagaprasanna dismissed the petition. Thane, Feb 16 (PTI) Two undertrials were booked on Friday for allegedly clashing with each other in Taloja jail a day earlier, a Navi Mumbai police official said. Ajinkya Shinde (32) and Kisan Bhosle (30) engaged in a scuffle in which the latter broke his jaw after being hit on the face with a bucket, the official said. They have been charged with voluntarily causing hurt, using dangerous weapon and other offences, the official added. Jim Marchant, a Republican contender for the Senate in Nevada, has been perpetuating antisemitic conspiracy theories over the past two years, Jewish Insider reports. Marchant, who is seen as an outsider in the race for the Republican nomination, has lagged in fundraising behind notable figures such as Army veteran Sam Brown and former U.S. Ambassador to Iceland Jeff Gunter. Despite this, his assertions, echoing centuries-old antisemitic tropes about a secretive group of Khazarians, the cabal, globalists, and central bankers manipulating global events, have drawn significant attention. Marchants statements suggest a belief in a secret power structure that has manipulated global and U.S. politics for centuries, a narrative he has shared in various public forums since 2022. In one notable instance, he claimed just last month that Theyve taken control of everything through the money system it started with the Khazarians. This group, he alleges, has had a sinister agenda spanning thousands of years, targeting historical figures like Presidents Abraham Lincoln, John F. Kennedy, Ronald Reagan, and Richard Nixon due to their opposition to this shadowy plan. The Khazarians, a historical group from Eastern Europe, have long been the subject of debunked theories that falsely link them to modern Ashkenazi Jews, suggesting a fabricated lineage to delegitimize Jewish connections to Israel. Such narratives have been utilized by various figures, from white supremacist antisemites to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. He has also criticized current Senator Jacky Rosen, who is Jewish, accusing her of acting under the influence of globalist corporations and the cabal to suppress the U.S. economy, technology, and healthcare sectors. His use of terms like globalists and cabal in relation to Jewish individuals mirrors antisemitic tropes of secret control and dual loyalty, as noted by the American Jewish Committee (AJC). Additionally, Marchant has brought George Soros, the World Economic Forum, and its chairman Klaus Schwab into his conspiracy narratives, labeling them puppets of a more extensive control scheme and suggesting they are not human based on alleged unspeakable actions against children. Marchant has advocated for a reset of U.S. foreign policy, including ending all foreign aid, and has previously faced backlash for similar conspiracy-laden rhetoric during his 2022 campaign for Nevada secretary of state. His claims extend into the realm of QAnon conspiracy theories, alleging internal battles within the intelligence community and tens of thousands of military personnel operating as sleeper cells within the U.S. (YWN World Headquarters NYC) A trucks fuel tank exploded early Thursday in a neighborhood south of downtown Los Angeles, sending a fireball into the air and injuring nine of the 10 firefighters responding to the blaze, including two critically, fire officials said. All nine Los Angeles firefighters were rushed to Harbor-UCLA Medical Center and were stabilized, and one of the critical patients had to be intubated and airlifted to a burn unit at Los Angeles General Medical Center, said Dr. Molly Dean, a trauma surgeon. Of the others who were injured, four suffered moderate injuries and three had minor injuries, Dean said. Frankly, its remarkable that none of them are more severely injured after watching the footage, Deane said. Most people should do fairly well. The driver of the truck escaped injury after noticing something was awry with the big rigs tractor and stepped away to call 911, officials said. The tractor was fueled by compressed natural gas carried in two 100-gallon (378-liter) tanks, one of which exploded six minutes after firefighters arrived on the scene in Wilmington. The neighborhood is 18 miles (29 kilometers) south of downtown, near the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. Deane spoke outside the medical center at a news conference with the fire chief and Mayor Karen Bass, who said it was a difficult day in Los Angeles. TV news helicopter video showed charred and mangled parts of the truck with a small flame still burning along with discarded firefighting gear where the injured crew members were initially treated. The ball of flame was as high as these telephone poles, and it actually did explode one of the transformers nearby, fire Capt. Erik Scott said, adding that the second fuel tank was still off-gassing, and therefore theres a minor threat. The blast occurred adjacent to an industrial area separated from a neighborhood by a wide street and a rail line. No homes were in danger, Scott said, though a large perimeter was set up after the explosion, and some 160 firefighters responded. Today is a day, I think, where all of us can take a moment to recognize how intrinsically dangerous firefighting can be, said fire Chief Kristin Crowley. She said her department would review their response. This team is highly trained, and it will look at every single aspect of this incident and gather the opportunities for improvement and lessons learned, she said. (AP) IDF Spokesman Daniel Hagari announced in a Thursday night press conference that Israeli troops have detained numerous terror suspects in a raid at Nasser Hospital in southern Gazas Khan Younis. The IDF said it raided the hospital based on intelligence indicating that hostages were previously held there, with the possibility of additional captives bodies concealed within the medical facility. Among those detained at the hospital include a Hamas ambulance driver who participated in the October 7 onslaught, another suspect who admitted to having taken part in the attacks, and a PFLP operative, Hagari said. Troops also discovered weapons, including explosives and mortars, within the hospital premises. Of note, a rocket was launched from Nasser Hospital towards IDF troops in Gaza last month. The IDF alleges that Hamas utilizes the hospital for various military purposes, housing a command room, intelligence and interrogation facilities, as well as a police station. The IDF released footage from the interrogation of a captured Hamas operative, who claimed that at least 10 hostages were held at Nasser Hospital. Testimonies from released hostages also corroborate their captivity at the hospital. (YWN World Headquarters NYC) Al Jazeera, which was recently outed by Israel as having a journalist on its staff who is also a Hamas commander, has issued a statement denying the allegations. The Network condemns the accusations against its journalists and recalls Israels long record of lies and fabrication of evidence through which it seeks to hide its heinous crimes, Al Jazeera said in a statement that might as well have been written by Hamas itself. At a time when its correspondents and field crews are making great sacrifices to cover what is happening in Gaza, Al Jazeeras employment policies stipulate that employees are not to engage in any political affiliations that may affect their professionalism, and to adhere to the controls and directives contained in the Networks code of ethics and code of conduct, Al Jazeera added. Al Jazeera ensures that all its journalists and correspondents adhere to the editorial standards. Of course it does. Except for the employee here and there (and there and there) who happen to be terrorists. (YWN World Headquarters NYC) Hamas has rebuffed an Israeli proposal to release 1,500 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for the release of all hostages held within the Gaza Strip. Despite the rejection, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken addressed the ongoing negotiations, expressing optimism about the possibility of reaching a resolution but acknowledging significant hurdles. Were now in the process with our counterparts from Qatar, from Egypt, from Israel, in working on that and working very intensely on that with the goal of trying to find an agreement, and I believe that it is possible, Blinken said during a news conference in Albania. However, Blinken highlighted the complexity of the situation, saying, There are some very, very hard issues that have to be resolved. But were committed to doing everything we can to move forward and to see if we can reach an agreement. The remarks came following recent talks involving the US, Egypt, Israel, and Qatar aimed at brokering a ceasefire in Gaza. The negotiations concluded without a breakthrough earlier this week. When asked about the possibility of a ceasefire before the start of the month of Ramadan on March 10, Blinken noted challenges stemming from Hamas initial response, which included clear non-starters, while still leaving room for potential progress. (YWN World Headquarters NYC) Amid escalating tensions between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Joe Biden, the two leaders held a 40-minute phone conversation on Thursday night. The call followed Netanyahus meeting with CIA chief William Burns, Israels war cabinet, and the full national security cabinet earlier in the evening. An official from the Prime Ministers Office said the discussion centered around various pressing issues including hostages, Rafah, the overall conflict with Hamas, and the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Following his conversation with Biden, Netanyahu released a statement reiterating Israels stance on the Palestinian statehood issue. My positions can be summarized in the following two sentences, Netanyahu wrote in a tweet, Israel categorically rejects international dictates regarding a permanent settlement with the Palestinians. Such an arrangement will be reached only through direct negotiations between the parties, without preconditions. The prime minister emphasized, Israel will continue to oppose the unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state. Such recognition in the wake of the October 7 massacre would give a huge reward to unprecedented terrorism and prevent any future peace settlement. (YWN World Headquarters NYC) Kibbutz Nir Oz announced on Thursday evening that Yair Yaakov, Hyd, 59, who was abducted from his home on the kibbutz was murdered by Hamas on October 7th and his body is being held in Gaza. Yaakovs wife Meirav Tal, and his children, Or, 17, and Yagil, 13, were also abducted on October 7th and were released in November. He is also survived by his daughter, Shir, 21. His children have been very worried about their father, who they thought was still alive in Gaza, and have been eagerly anticipating his return. Hashem Yikom Damo. (YWN Israel Desk Jerusalem) This photo taken on Feb. 15, 2024 shows a scene at the booth of Chinese automaker BYD during the Indonesia International Motor Show 2024 at Jakarta International Expo in Jakarta, Indonesia. The exhibition kicked off here on Thursday and will last until Feb. 25. (Xinhua/Zulkarnain) People visit the booth of Chinese automaker Chery during the Indonesia International Motor Show 2024 at Jakarta International Expo in Jakarta, Indonesia, Feb. 15, 2024. The exhibition kicked off here on Thursday and will last until Feb. 25. (Xinhua/Zulkarnain) This photo taken on Feb. 15, 2024 shows a scene at the booth of Chinese automaker Chery during the Indonesia International Motor Show 2024 at Jakarta International Expo in Jakarta, Indonesia. The exhibition kicked off here on Thursday and will last until Feb. 25. (Xinhua/Zulkarnain) This photo taken on Feb. 15, 2024 shows a scene at the booth of Chinese automaker Wuling during the Indonesia International Motor Show 2024 at Jakarta International Expo in Jakarta, Indonesia. The exhibition kicked off here on Thursday and will last until Feb. 25. (Xinhua/Zulkarnain) A Porsche car is exhibited during the Indonesia International Motor Show 2024 at Jakarta International Expo in Jakarta, Indonesia, Feb. 15, 2024. The exhibition kicked off here on Thursday and will last until Feb. 25. (Xinhua/Zulkarnain) This photo taken on Feb. 15, 2024 shows a scene at the booth of German automaker BMW during the Indonesia International Motor Show 2024 at Jakarta International Expo in Jakarta, Indonesia. The exhibition kicked off here on Thursday and will last until Feb. 25. (Xinhua/Zulkarnain) A year ago, Wang Yi, China's top diplomat, stopped off in Munich in what was billed as a "European charm offensive", to be rounded off with a trip to Moscow. At an annual security conference in the Bavarian city, Wang launched a thinly veiled rebuke of the United States for its stance on the Ukraine war. "Some forces might not want to see peace talks materialise," the Chinese foreign minister said, adding that "they don't care about the life and death of Ukrainians, the harms on Europe ... they might have strategic goals larger than Ukraine itself". 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. On Friday, as Wang touches down in Munich to speak at the same forum, observers anticipate Washington will be the elephant in the room again. Wang is widely expected to meet US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on the sidelines of the meeting. During a speech on Saturday lunchtime and at bilateral meetings with Western officials, Wang is expected to pitch Beijing as a responsible global player, as large parts of Europe recoil at the potential return of ex-US president Donald Trump to the White House. Immediately after his speech, a panel with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock will take the stage. But it was not confirmed whether Wang would meet his counterparts. Trump more than once this week suggested the US would not defend a Nato ally if it was attacked by Russia, defying a stipulation of the transatlantic security group's charter. The former American president's assertion dominated political discourse in Europe this week and is likely to loom over the diplomatic proceedings in Munich this weekend. Story continues "The key question for all these upcoming meetings is not if but how actively Wang will push Beijing's mantra about US unreliability in response to European alarm about Trump," read a note from the Mercator Institute for China Studies (Merics), a German think tank. The Chinese foreign ministry said Wang's speech on Saturday would focus on "China's propositions on building a community with a shared future for mankind and advocating an equal and orderly multipolar world". Wang is, however, slated to meet a string of foreign ministers including Britain's David Cameron and the EU's chief diplomat, Josep Borrell, before heading to France and Spain for meetings with his counterparts there. Analysts believe the Chinese envoy will try to find openings for Beijing's interests amid European panic over a possible second Trump presidency. Former US president Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally in Conway, South Carolina, on Feb. 10. His potential return to the White House has raised concern among some European leaders. Photo: AFP/Getty Images/TNS alt=Former US president Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally in Conway, South Carolina, on Feb. 10. His potential return to the White House has raised concern among some European leaders. Photo: AFP/Getty Images/TNS> "The Munich Security Conference is often a space for China to not only have bilateral meetings with European and American leaders but also to provide calibrated messages on its global ambitions," said Abigael Vasselier of Merics. "This year's meeting will definitely be the place to watch to learn about China's current views on European security and the future of the transatlantic partnership." Trump aside, Wang will land in an increasingly war-weary Europe, with the Russian invasion of Ukraine ticking towards its second anniversary. In contrast to a year earlier, cracks have appeared in EU unity on the conflict, largely down to the stance of China's closest friend in Europe, Hungary. In Brussels on Wednesday, Budapest was again the only one of 27 member states to oppose a new package of sanctions designed to hobble Russia's war machine. Reports indicated Hungary specifically objected to the listing of three mainland Chinese and one Hong Kong entity on an EU blacklist for helping Russian firms evade EU sanctions and access dual-use goods made in Europe. Last year, there was still some hope in Europe that Beijing could help broker a ceasefire in Ukraine. But these days EU expectations are more measured. Compared to last year, there is little chatter of a meeting between Ukrainian and Chinese officials. The Munich Security Index, a survey released ahead of the summit, showed a majority of Ukrainians saw China as a "threat" rather than an "ally". "Nobody expects Beijing to intervene positively, but with Trump on the horizon, we will more and more see leaders managing their personal relations with China so that they don't start actively helping Russia," said a senior EU diplomat, who spoke on condition of anonymity. Meanwhile, on the other dominant geopolitical issue of the day, the Middle East, the bloc is profoundly divided. Ireland and Spain this week demanded the EU review its trade deal with Israel, saying its bombardment of Gaza did not satisfy the agreement's human rights tenets. As other members stand by Israel's right to defend itself, tensions within the bloc have mounted. And since the Hamas attacks on October 7 sparked the current crisis, Beijing has been a staunch supporter of Palestine, repeatedly calling for an immediate ceasefire. Relatives and supporters of Israeli hostages held in Gaza since the Oct. 7 attacks by Palestinian Hamas militants light flares and block a road in Tel Aviv on Thursday during a demonstration calling for their release. Photo: AFP alt=Relatives and supporters of Israeli hostages held in Gaza since the Oct. 7 attacks by Palestinian Hamas militants light flares and block a road in Tel Aviv on Thursday during a demonstration calling for their release. Photo: AFP> It has positioned itself along with much of the Global South in United Nations votes pertaining to the conflict, and in Munich can be expected to echo Palestine's point of view. Insiders anticipate the Middle East will also be a core focus of EU dialogue in Munich, but with little margin for Beijing to reap benefits over these geopolitical issues. "In foreign affairs it may look like Europe has lots of divisions, but they are not big enough for China to exploit," said Miguel Otero of the Elcano Royal Institute, a Madrid-based think tank. Instead, it is thought that Wang will funnel his efforts into bolstering ties with major countries still eager to engage China, even as the broader EU-China relationship stumbles amid trade grievances and Beijing's close ties with Moscow. As the EU debates whether to take action over cheap Chinese solar panels, the Centre for China and Globalisation a Beijing think tank, is organising a side event in Munich urging the EU, US and China to embrace "trilateral climate cooperation". "The Chinese hope is that outreach towards major member countries - Germany, France, Italy, Spain - will keep EU policy on a friendly track," said Pascal Abb of the Peace Research Institute in Frankfurt. "They have enjoyed recent Chinese overtures like visa-free business travel and are also natural proponents of 'strategic autonomy', which China has encouraged in the interest of preventing US-EU alignment." In Spain, for example, a debate is under way as to whether and how to invite Chinese investment into its electric-vehicle sector. "China sees Spain as a reasonable actor in Europe at a time of a change in attitudes towards China in the EU, particularly in the east and north," said Otero. "In Spain, China is still seen as a partner that we have to work with." Observers view France, meanwhile, as playing a two-sided game. It too is open to Chinese investment in hi-tech industries, including electric vehicles and batteries, even as it teeters on the cusp of a trade spat with Beijing. It was Paris that urged the European Commission to investigate subsidies in the Chinese electric-vehicle sector, spurring a retaliatory probe into subsidies in its brandy sector. The flare-up comes while Paris prepares for a state visit from Chinese President Xi Jinping later this year, according to various sources, as the governments toast 60 years of bilateral ties. "It would be very easy to antagonise China, but largely counterproductive," said Marc Julienne of the French Institute of International Relations in Paris. "It is understandable that France wants to retain good ties with China, the world's second-most powerful economy," he added. "But it is also legitimate to try and protect French and European interests." 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 2024 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Copyright (c) 2024. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Two people were killed and four others were wounded two of them critically in a Friday shooting attack at the Reem Junction bus stop in southern Israel. The victims were transported to Assuta Hospital in Ashdod and the Kaplan Hospital in Rehovot. One of the murdered victims was identified as 23-year-old Yishai Gertner, a bochur from Modiin Illit who was heading to learn at Yeshiva Meor HaTalmud in Malachi when he was killed. The terrorist was shot dead by an armed civilian. Police say the attacker arrived at the bus stop in a car before opening fire. A search of the area was underway to ensure no additional terrorists were present. Prime Minister Netanyahu released a statement saying that they want to kill us all. I send heartfelt condolences to the families of those who were murdered in the terrorist attack at Reem Junction, and am praying for the wounded. This attack reminds us that the entire country is on the frontline and that the murderers, who come not only from Gaza, want to kill us all. We will continue to fight until total victory, with all our might, on every front, everywhere, until we restore the security and quiet for all citizens of Israel. (YWN World Headquarters NYC) Soaring demand: Airbus said it will hand out an extra 1 per share on top of its regular payout of 1.80 Airbus will pay a special dividend this year as it cashes in on the crisis at rival Boeing. The worlds largest commercial plane maker said it will hand out an extra 1 per share on top of its regular payout of 1.80 a share. Its cash pile has topped the 9billion threshold, which is a trigger for returning more cash to shareholders. The French group saw bumper demand last year, with 2,094 aircraft ordered, up from 820 in 2022. It expects to deliver about 800 commercial aircraft this year, up 65 on 2023. Chief executive Guillaume Faury said: We progressed on our production ramp-up against a backdrop of an operating environment that remains complex and affected by supply chain challenges and geopolitical conflicts so thats quite an achievement. Airbus posted an 11 per cent rise in revenues to 56billion and a 4 per cent rise in profit to 5billion. Arch-rival Boeing is grappling with its latest crisis after part of a door on a 737 Max detached at 16,000ft last month. US authorities have stopped Boeing increasing output of its 737 Max 10 planes while it probes the manufacturing processes. Guilty: Former Goldman Sachs analyst Mohammed Zina was convicted on six counts of insider trading and three counts of fraud A Former Goldman Sachs analyst has been found guilty of insider trading. Mohammed Zina, 35, was convicted at Southwark Crown Court on six counts of insider trading and three counts of fraud. The City watchdog said the verdict in the trial, which initially included his brother, sent a clear message to fraudsters. As part of the Goldman Sachs conflicts resolution group, Zina had inside information over possible mergers and acquisitions that the bank was advising on. He traded in stocks using this information between July 2016 and December 2017, making a profit of 140,486. Among stocks he traded were Arm Holdings, Punch Taverns, Shawbrook, HSN and Snyders-Lance, part funded by three loans he fraudulently obtained from Tesco Bank. The loans came to 95,000. He will be sentenced today. His brother, Suhail Zina, 36, a former Clifford Chance lawyer, was acquitted after fraud charges were dropped and there was insufficient evidence on the insider dealing charges. Steve Smart, a joint executive director of enforcement and market oversight at the Financial Conduct Authority, said: Mohammed Zina tried to cheat the market for his own personal gain by cynically trading on inside information. This conviction sends a clear message that economic crime is on our radar and we will take action to uphold the integrity of UK markets. Nearly 230million was wiped off the value of an animal genetics company after it warned that turmoil in the Chinese pig and dairy markets will hit profits. Ahead of its interim results next week, FTSE 250 group Genus said it could make as little as 58million in profit for the 12 months to the end of June. Just three months ago, it said it was on course to meet the 73million pencilled in by analysts. Shares tumbled 16.2 per cent, or 344p, to 1780p in response. That reduced the value of Genus by 227million, leaving it worth 1.2billion. Genus sells genetically enhanced semen, embryos and breeding cattle and pigs to help farmers produce high-quality meat and milk. Profits hit: FTSE 250 group Genus sells genetically enhanced semen, embryos and breeding cattle and pigs to help farmers produce high-quality meat and milk Business has been disrupted in China, home to the worlds largest pork market, which has been affected by outbreaks of disease. Londons main markets held firm even as the UK fell into recession last year. The FTSE 100 rose 0.4 per cent, or 29.13 points, to 7597.53 and the FTSE 250 was up 0.5 per cent, or 95.73 points, to 19,099.62. Coca-Cola HBC, the drinks bottler and seller of Fanta, Costa Coffee and Monster Energy, extended its gains yesterday following two broker upgrades. It came a day after the company reported record profits for the third year in a row amid soaring demand. Shares, which gained 8 per cent on Wednesday, increased 2.4 per cent, or 58p, to 2440p. Another riser was Ithaca Energy up by 5.3 per cent, or 6.8p, to 136.2p after the North Sea producer reported solid results for 2023 with production in line with forecasts and business costs slightly lower than expected. Data analytics firm Relx hiked its annual dividend following a strong year. Stock Watch - DSW Capital A slowdown in dealmaking after the Christmas break sent DSW Capital tumbling. The group, which helps professionals set up their own businesses, said revenues in January and this month were lower than forecast after some M&A deals were delayed and others fell through. It hoped to make around 1.1million to 1.4million of profit in the 12 months to the end of March but now expects between 600,000 and 700,000. Shares, which listed at 100p in 2021, fell 20.7 per cent, or 12.5p, to 48p. The payment will rise 8 per cent to 58.8p a share after revenues rose 7 per cent to 9.2billion in 2023 while profits were up 9 per cent to 2.3billion. Relx, which runs more than 400 events around the world, including the London Book Fair and MCM Comic Con, added that it wants to buy back 1billion of shares in 2024. However, the stock slid 0.7 per cent, or 22p, to 3314p. GSK completed its takeover of a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company which is developing treatments for adult patients with severe asthma. The blue-chip firm last month agreed to buy Aiolos in a deal worth up to 1.1billion. The companys shares dropped 0.3 per cent, or 5p, to 1663p. The City was divided when it came to Kingfisher. Analysts at Jefferies downgraded their rating on the B&Q and Screwfix owner, saying that continuing challenges in France are likely to hinder growth. But their counterparts at Citigroup were much more optimistic, urging its clients to buy the stock, given that the retailer should benefit from a recovery in the UK housing market. That sent Kingfisher up 3 per cent, or 6.6p, to 225.1p. Following a tough first half, housebuilder MJ Gleeson flat at 500p said that there were positive signs of a recovery in demand alongside improving mortgage rates. The group sold 125 fewer homes in the six months to the end of December, while revenues fell 11.4 per cent to 151.5million and profits by 55.3 per cent to 7.2million. Airline and package holiday company Jet2 said that it is expecting higher annual profits as holidaymakers jet off for city breaks, take advantage of an earlier Easter and enjoy some sunshine this summer. The group is forecasting profits of between 510million and 525million for the year to the end of March up from 480million and 520million. Its shares flew up 2.6 per cent, or 34p, to 1360p. Profits at British Gas have surged tenfold as the group claws back money that it lost during the energy crisis. British Gas owner Centrica said profits hit 751million last year, up from 72million in 2022. Chris OShea, chief executive of Centrica, said the firm benefited from a one-off boost during the first six months of the year when it cashed in on being one of the several energy firms that the regulator Ofgem allowed to recoup costs. Suppliers were forced to protect households against price rises throughout 2022 when they reached record highs after Russias invasion of Ukraine. It meant British Gas was pushed to sell energy below the wholesale price to its 7.5m customers, hurting its balance sheet. Boost: Chris O'Shea (pictured), boss of British Gas's parent company Centrica, hailed a strong performance over the past year But changes at the end of 2022 increased how much profit suppliers could make allowing its parent firm Centrica to recover some of the costs incurred. Centrica has suggested this boosted profits by around 500million. Nonetheless, overall profits at the parent firm still fell by 17 per cent last year to 2.8billion. This was above analyst estimates but down from the record 3.3billion it made in 2022, while many British households struggled to keep up with sky-high bills. Aarin Chiekrie, equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: Centricas turnaround looks to be nearly complete, with the group making great strides over the past three years. There was a strong recovery at British Gas. And the FTSE 100 company, which produces and trades energy as well as selling directly to households, was still eager to sweeten shareholders. Centrica plans to increase its full-year dividend by a third to 4p per share, worth 144million, rewarding hundreds of thousands of retail investors. Although this helped to buoy Centrica shares, which rose 1.3 per cent, or 1.8p, to 136.2p, it also sparked fury among critics. Simon Francis, from campaign group End Fuel Poverty Coalition, said: These profits are still astronomical for a firm providing the energy people need to stay warm and safe. These huge profits are one of the reasons households had to cut back so much on their spending, sending Britain crashing into a recession. Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: Centrica is still raking in astonishingly high profits off the back of exorbitant bills nearly double what they were three years ago. There is no point beating around the bush: the only way to stop households and businesses being ripped off by the profiteers in our energy supply chain is public ownership. Nevertheless, OShea signalled that shareholders were likely to keep reaping benefits despite the uncertain backdrop. As you would expect, sharply lower commodity prices and reduced volatility will naturally lower earnings in comparison to 2023 as we return to a more normalised environment, he said. Our performance over the past year has reinforced our confidence in delivering against our medium-term sustainable profit ambitions and continuing to create value for shareholders. In a bid to soften the blow to households, it said it would also provide 40million of extra support to customers struggling with their bills. Shares in one of Britains oldest merchant banks crashed to their lowest level for nearly 30 years as it reels from an investigation into the car finance market. On a brutal day for the company and its investors, Close Brothers tumbled 22.5 per cent, or 89.6p, to 308.4p after it scrapped its dividend and warned of significant uncertainty over the regulatory probe into the industry. Shares in the group, which dates back to 1878, are down by 60 per cent since the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) last month launched an investigation into the potential mis-selling of car loans. That has wiped 690million off its value and left the stock at its lowest level since 1996. Concerns are mounting that Close Brothers and others in the industry, including Lloyds, Barclays and Santander, face a hefty bill if the FCA rules customers were charged too much for car loans between 2007 and 2021. Investigation: Close Brothers tumbled 22.5% after it scrapped its dividend and warned of significant uncertainty over the regulatory probe into the industry The cases surround discretionary commission arrangements used by the motor finance industry before they were banned in 2021. Martin Lewis, the consumer champion behind Money Saving Expert, has warned that lenders could face a similar bill to the 50billion in costs and compensation they paid over the mis-selling of payment protection insurance (PPI) scandal. Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said: Banking has a habit of being embroiled in scandals. Just as the dust settles on one scandal, along comes another, and that cycle has been repeating for decades. It looks like were on the cusp of a new one and the potential fines and compensation could be huge. In an update yesterday, Close Brothers said: There is significant uncertainty about the outcome of the FCAs review, and the timing, scope and quantum of any potential financial impact on the group cannot be reliably estimated at present. The board considers it prudent for the group to further build capital strength. Therefore, the group will not pay any dividends for the current financial year, and the reinstatement of dividends in the 2025 financial year and beyond will be reviewed once the FCA has concluded its process and any financial consequences for the group have been assessed. City analysts at Berenberg said: Clearly, this is a significant blow for Close Brothers which has historically prided itself in a sustainably growing dividend. Car loans make up about a fifth of lending at Close Brothers almost 2billion. Although this is dwarfed by the 15billion of loans Lloyds made, City analysts think it is in a better position to absorb the bill due to its size. Shares in Lloyds, which owns Black Horse, the UKs largest car finance lender, are down around 12 per cent since the FCA probe was launched. Announcing the investigation on January 11, the FCA said: If we find there has been widespread misconduct and that consumers have lost out, we will identify how best to make sure people who are owed compensation receive an appropriate settlement in an orderly, consistent and efficient way. Analysts at Royal Bank of Canada believe the industry could face a bill of 16billion, with Close Brothers in line for a 200million hit and Lloyds 2billion. Insisting there is no certainty regarding any potential financial impact as a result of the FCAs review, Close Brothers said that the business continues to perform well. The company expects profits of 94million for the six months to the end of January, compared with 117.5million in the same period a year earlier. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Terreno Realty (NYSE:TRNO Free Report) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report released on Tuesday. A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on TRNO. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on Terreno Realty in a research note on Thursday, December 7th. They set an overweight rating and a $71.00 price target for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Terreno Realty from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on Terreno Realty from $80.00 to $70.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 10th. Mizuho lowered their price target on Terreno Realty from $67.00 to $52.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 5th. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price objective on Terreno Realty from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a report on Monday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Terreno Realty presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $64.88. Get Terreno Realty alerts: Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on TRNO Terreno Realty Trading Up 1.6 % Terreno Realty Dividend Announcement NYSE TRNO opened at $62.99 on Tuesday. Terreno Realty has a 12 month low of $50.42 and a 12 month high of $65.13. The stock has a market cap of $5.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.80 and a beta of 0.80. The stocks fifty day moving average price is $61.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $58.91. The company has a current ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 2.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.86%. Terreno Realtys dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 99.45%. Insider Transactions at Terreno Realty In other news, CAO Melinda Weston sold 1,500 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.06, for a total transaction of $93,090.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 15,683 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $973,286.98. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CAO Melinda Weston sold 1,500 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.06, for a total transaction of $93,090.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 15,683 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $973,286.98. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Leroy E. Carlson sold 5,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.77, for a total value of $293,850.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 34,871 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,049,368.67. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.20% of the companys stock. Hedge Funds Weigh In On Terreno Realty Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of TRNO. Norges Bank bought a new position in Terreno Realty in the 4th quarter valued at $49,505,000. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado grew its position in Terreno Realty by 91,086.2% in the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 713,076 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $44,688,000 after acquiring an additional 712,294 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Terreno Realty by 18.7% during the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,642,466 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $270,935,000 after buying an additional 574,544 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. grew its position in shares of Terreno Realty by 7.1% during the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 8,279,766 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $534,873,000 after buying an additional 549,823 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley grew its position in shares of Terreno Realty by 177.2% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 828,334 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $47,107,000 after buying an additional 529,563 shares in the last quarter. Terreno Realty Company Profile (Get Free Report) Terreno Realty Corporation ("Terreno", and together with its subsidiaries, "we", "us", "our", "our Company", or "the Company") acquires, owns and operates industrial real estate in six major coastal U.S. markets: Los Angeles, Northern New Jersey/New York City, San Francisco Bay Area, Seattle, Miami, and Washington, DC We invest in several types of industrial real estate, including warehouse/distribution (approximately 76.3% of our total annualized base rent as of September 30, 2023), flex (including light industrial and research and development, or R&D) (approximately 3.8%), transshipment (approximately 6.7%) and improved land (approximately 13.2%). See Also Receive News & Ratings for Terreno Realty Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Terreno Realty and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Royal Bank of Canada reissued their outperform rating on shares of TFI International (NYSE:TFII Free Report) in a report published on Monday, Benzinga reports. Royal Bank of Canada currently has a $155.00 price target on the stock. A number of other research firms also recently commented on TFII. Susquehanna decreased their price objective on shares of TFI International from $155.00 to $140.00 and set a positive rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 25th. National Bankshares cut their price objective on shares of TFI International from $191.00 to $178.00 and set a sector perform rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of TFI International in a research report on Monday, January 29th. They issued a buy rating and a $175.00 price objective for the company. CIBC upped their price target on shares of TFI International from $147.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Monday, December 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of TFI International from $133.00 to $132.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 21st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $156.28. Get TFI International alerts: View Our Latest Analysis on TFII TFI International Price Performance Shares of TFII opened at $145.54 on Monday. TFI International has a twelve month low of $100.96 and a twelve month high of $145.87. The firms fifty day simple moving average is $131.87 and its 200-day simple moving average is $126.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.05, a PEG ratio of 3.78 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. TFI International (NYSE:TFII Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 9th. The company reported $1.71 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.04. TFI International had a net margin of 6.71% and a return on equity of 20.92%. The firm had revenue of $1.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.95 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.72 EPS. TFI Internationals revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that TFI International will post 7.72 EPS for the current fiscal year. Institutional Inflows and Outflows Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. CDAM UK Ltd lifted its position in TFI International by 6.9% during the 4th quarter. CDAM UK Ltd now owns 381,912 shares of the companys stock valued at $51,932,000 after purchasing an additional 24,730 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in TFI International by 11.8% during the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 355,237 shares of the companys stock valued at $40,483,000 after purchasing an additional 37,443 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in TFI International by 9.8% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 277,978 shares of the companys stock valued at $31,698,000 after purchasing an additional 24,872 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. lifted its position in TFI International by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 171,301 shares of the companys stock valued at $23,378,000 after purchasing an additional 4,113 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi raised its position in shares of TFI International by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 161,222 shares of the companys stock valued at $17,286,000 after acquiring an additional 9,262 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.32% of the companys stock. About TFI International (Get Free Report) TFI International Inc provides transportation and logistics services in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. The company operates through Package and Courier, Less-Than-Truckload (LTL), Truckload (TL), and Logistics segments. The Package and Courier segment engages in the pickup, transport, and delivery of items. Further Reading Receive News & Ratings for TFI International Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for TFI International and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Magna International (NYSE:MGA Free Report) (TSE:MG) had its price objective trimmed by BMO Capital Markets from $67.00 to $65.00 in a report published on Monday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Other analysts have also issued research reports about the company. UBS Group increased their price objective on Magna International from $59.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Magna International from $59.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Monday, November 6th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Magna International from $58.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 29th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on Magna International from $61.00 to $60.00 and set a sector perform rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Magna International from a buy rating to a neutral rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $73.00 to $58.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $64.00. Get Magna International alerts: Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on MGA Magna International Stock Up 2.7 % Magna International stock opened at $55.61 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 1.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 1.06. Magna International has a fifty-two week low of $46.71 and a fifty-two week high of $65.27. The stocks fifty day moving average is $56.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $55.60. Magna International (NYSE:MGA Get Free Report) (TSE:MG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 9th. The company reported $1.33 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.46 by ($0.13). Magna International had a net margin of 2.83% and a return on equity of 13.15%. The business had revenue of $10.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.44 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.91 earnings per share. The firms revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Magna International will post 6.61 EPS for the current fiscal year. Magna International Increases Dividend The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 23rd will be paid a $0.475 dividend. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.42%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 22nd. This is an increase from Magna Internationals previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. Magna Internationals dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.60%. Hedge Funds Weigh In On Magna International A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Barometer Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Magna International in the 4th quarter valued at $106,000. Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Magna International by 39.4% in the 4th quarter. Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC now owns 189,810 shares of the companys stock valued at $11,214,000 after acquiring an additional 53,695 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. raised its stake in shares of Magna International by 11.8% in the 4th quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 18,437 shares of the companys stock valued at $1,089,000 after acquiring an additional 1,949 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its stake in shares of Magna International by 576.7% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 3,079 shares of the companys stock valued at $182,000 after acquiring an additional 2,624 shares during the period. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Magna International by 50.8% in the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,611 shares of the companys stock valued at $154,000 after acquiring an additional 879 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.21% of the companys stock. About Magna International (Get Free Report) Magna International Inc designs, engineers, and manufactures components, assemblies, systems, subsystems, and modules for original equipment manufacturers of vehicles and light trucks worldwide. It operates through four segments: Body Exteriors & Structures, Power & Vision, Seating Systems, and Complete Vehicles. Featured Articles Receive News & Ratings for Magna International Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Magna International and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE:BHLB Get Free Report) Director Michael Zaitzeff sold 20,718 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.73, for a total value of $470,920.14. Following the transaction, the director now owns 156,209 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $3,550,630.57. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Michael Zaitzeff also recently made the following trade(s): Get Berkshire Hills Bancorp alerts: On Monday, February 12th, Michael Zaitzeff sold 29,062 shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.09, for a total value of $671,041.58. On Wednesday, February 7th, Michael Zaitzeff sold 19,660 shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.20, for a total value of $436,452.00. On Monday, January 29th, Michael Zaitzeff sold 51,910 shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.18, for a total value of $1,307,093.80. On Wednesday, January 31st, Michael Zaitzeff sold 20,028 shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.73, for a total value of $495,292.44. Berkshire Hills Bancorp Price Performance Shares of NYSE:BHLB opened at $22.72 on Friday. Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. has a 1-year low of $18.07 and a 1-year high of $30.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $24.01 and a 200-day moving average price of $21.96. The company has a market capitalization of $992.18 million, a PE ratio of 14.20 and a beta of 0.91. Institutional Investors Weigh In On Berkshire Hills Bancorp Berkshire Hills Bancorp ( NYSE:BHLB Get Free Report ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The savings and loans company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.49 by ($0.02). Berkshire Hills Bancorp had a net margin of 11.24% and a return on equity of 9.48%. The company had revenue of $142.15 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $109.05 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.64 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. will post 2.07 EPS for the current fiscal year. Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BHLB. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 22.4% during the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 8,833 shares of the savings and loans companys stock valued at $256,000 after buying an additional 1,617 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 16.2% during the first quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 8,357 shares of the savings and loans companys stock valued at $242,000 after buying an additional 1,162 shares during the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. boosted its position in shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 2.9% during the first quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 47,577 shares of the savings and loans companys stock valued at $1,378,000 after buying an additional 1,329 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. boosted its position in shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 14.9% during the first quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 14,862 shares of the savings and loans companys stock valued at $431,000 after buying an additional 1,932 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can boosted its position in shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 66.2% during the first quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 31,848 shares of the savings and loans companys stock valued at $936,000 after buying an additional 12,684 shares during the last quarter. 82.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors. Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth BHLB has been the subject of a number of research reports. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Berkshire Hills Bancorp from a sell rating to a neutral rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Berkshire Hills Bancorp from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a sector perform rating and issued a $26.00 price objective on shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp in a report on Friday, January 26th. StockNews.com downgraded Berkshire Hills Bancorp from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler upgraded Berkshire Hills Bancorp from an underweight rating to a neutral rating and set a $24.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $25.00. Check Out Our Latest Report on BHLB Berkshire Hills Bancorp Company Profile (Get Free Report) Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Berkshire Bank that provides various banking products and services. It offers various deposit accounts, including demand deposit, interest-bearing checking, regular savings, money market savings, time certificates of deposit, and retirement deposit accounts; and loans, such as commercial real estate, commercial and industrial, consumer, and residential mortgage loans. See Also Receive News & Ratings for Berkshire Hills Bancorp Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Berkshire Hills Bancorp and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Shares of SSP Group plc (LON:SSPG Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus rating of Buy from the four ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is GBX 317.50 ($4.01). Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Shore Capital reaffirmed a house stock rating on shares of SSP Group in a report on Thursday, December 14th. Barclays reaffirmed an overweight rating and issued a GBX 290 ($3.66) price objective on shares of SSP Group in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Get SSP Group alerts: View Our Latest Report on SSPG SSP Group Stock Up 0.8 % SSP Group Cuts Dividend Shares of LON SSPG opened at GBX 226.40 ($2.86) on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 535.27, a current ratio of 0.48 and a quick ratio of 0.66. The stock has a market capitalization of 1.81 billion, a PE ratio of 22,460.00, a P/E/G ratio of -0.77 and a beta of 1.79. SSP Group has a one year low of GBX 175.70 ($2.22) and a one year high of GBX 283.20 ($3.58). The businesss fifty day moving average price is GBX 227.28 and its 200-day moving average price is GBX 219.05. The company also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 1st will be paid a dividend of GBX 2.50 ($0.03) per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 1st. This represents a yield of 1.17%. SSP Groups dividend payout ratio is currently 30,000.00%. Insider Buying and Selling In other SSP Group news, insider Jonathan Davies sold 150 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of GBX 236 ($2.98), for a total value of 354 ($447.08). In the last 90 days, insiders have bought 167 shares of company stock valued at $37,571. Company insiders own 0.46% of the companys stock. About SSP Group (Get Free Report SSP Group plc operates food and beverage outlets in North America, Europe, the United Kingdom, Ireland, the Asia Pacific, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and internationally. The company operates outlets at airports, railway stations, motorway service areas, hospitals, and shopping centers. It also operates sandwich shops, cafes, bars, and restaurants. Further Reading Receive News & Ratings for SSP Group Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for SSP Group and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Utz Brands, Inc. (NYSE:UTZ Get Free Report) major shareholder Series R. Of Um Partners, Llc sold 1,035 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.03, for a total transaction of $19,696.05. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 148,965 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $2,834,803.95. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Major shareholders that own at least 10% of a companys stock are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC. Utz Brands Trading Up 3.0 % Shares of UTZ stock opened at $19.17 on Friday. Utz Brands, Inc. has a 12-month low of $11.17 and a 12-month high of $19.19. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The firms 50 day moving average is $16.62 and its 200 day moving average is $14.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 91.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 0.97. Get Utz Brands alerts: Utz Brands Announces Dividend The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 4th. Investors of record on Monday, December 18th were issued a $0.057 dividend. This represents a $0.23 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 15th. Utz Brandss dividend payout ratio is currently 109.52%. Wall Street Analyst Weigh In UTZ has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC initiated coverage on shares of Utz Brands in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. They set a buy rating and a $20.00 target price for the company. Stephens raised shares of Utz Brands from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and reduced their price target for the company from $18.00 to $16.00 in a research report on Monday, October 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Utz Brands in a research report on Wednesday, October 25th. They set a buy rating and a $15.00 price target for the company. Mizuho initiated coverage on shares of Utz Brands in a research report on Wednesday, December 20th. They set a buy rating and a $19.00 price target for the company. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of Utz Brands from $19.00 to $17.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 10th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Utz Brands currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $16.92. View Our Latest Report on Utz Brands Institutional Investors Weigh In On Utz Brands Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Delta Asset Management LLC TN purchased a new position in shares of Utz Brands during the 2nd quarter worth $41,000. Point72 Middle East FZE purchased a new position in shares of Utz Brands during the 4th quarter worth $41,000. KB Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Utz Brands during the 1st quarter worth $50,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Utz Brands by 120.2% during the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 3,464 shares of the companys stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 1,891 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in shares of Utz Brands by 87.1% during the 2nd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 3,465 shares of the companys stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 1,613 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 49.01% of the companys stock. About Utz Brands (Get Free Report) Utz Brands, Inc operates as a snack food manufacturing company. It offers a range of salty snacks, including potato chips, kettle chips, tortilla chips, pretzels, cheese snacks, pork skins, pub/party mixes, salsa and queso, ready-to-eat popcorn, veggies, and other snacks under the Utz, Zapp's, ON THE BORDER, Golden Flake, Good Health, Boulder Canyon, Hawaiian, TGI Fridays, TORTIYAHS!, and other brand names. Featured Stories Receive News & Ratings for Utz Brands Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Utz Brands and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Manulife Financial Co. (TSE:MFC Free Report) (NYSE:MFC) Research analysts at National Bank Financial issued their Q1 2024 earnings estimates for Manulife Financial in a report released on Wednesday, February 14th. National Bank Financial analyst G. Dechaine forecasts that the financial services provider will earn $0.89 per share for the quarter. The consensus estimate for Manulife Financials current full-year earnings is $3.60 per share. National Bank Financial also issued estimates for Manulife Financials Q2 2024 earnings at $0.87 EPS, Q3 2024 earnings at $0.90 EPS, Q4 2024 earnings at $0.90 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $3.86 EPS. Get Manulife Financial alerts: Several other equities research analysts have also commented on the stock. Cormark boosted their price objective on shares of Manulife Financial from C$29.00 to C$31.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 12th. Evercore increased their target price on Manulife Financial from C$26.00 to C$30.00 and gave the company an in-line rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Manulife Financial from a market perform rating to an outperform rating and raised their price objective for the stock from C$31.00 to C$35.00 in a research note on Thursday. TD Securities increased their target price on Manulife Financial from C$34.00 to C$35.00 and gave the stock an action list buy rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Scotiabank increased their target price on Manulife Financial from C$30.00 to C$35.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of C$32.09. Manulife Financial Trading Up 8.7 % TSE MFC opened at C$33.35 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 56.70, a quick ratio of 2.58 and a current ratio of 22.91. Manulife Financial has a one year low of C$23.69 and a one year high of C$33.42. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of C$29.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of C$26.70. The firm has a market cap of C$60.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.76, a PEG ratio of 11.85 and a beta of 1.10. Manulife Financial Increases Dividend The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.80%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 27th. This is an increase from Manulife Financials previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Manulife Financials dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.83%. About Manulife Financial (Get Free Report) Manulife Financial Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides financial products and services in Asia, Canada, the United States, and internationally. The company operates through Wealth and Asset Management Businesses; Insurance and Annuity Products; and Corporate and Other segments. The Wealth and Asset Management Businesses segment offers investment advice and solutions to retirement, retail, and institutional clients through multiple distribution channels, including agents and brokers affiliated with the company, independent securities brokerage firms and financial advisors pension plan consultants, and banks. Featured Stories Receive News & Ratings for Manulife Financial Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Manulife Financial and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. PagerDuty, Inc. (NYSE:PD Get Free Report) CFO Howard Wilson sold 8,893 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.09, for a total value of $223,125.37. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 507,672 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $12,737,490.48. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Howard Wilson also recently made the following trade(s): Get PagerDuty alerts: On Friday, January 12th, Howard Wilson sold 5,000 shares of PagerDuty stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.27, for a total transaction of $131,350.00. On Wednesday, January 10th, Howard Wilson sold 33,782 shares of PagerDuty stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.68, for a total transaction of $867,521.76. PagerDuty Stock Down 0.2 % Shares of PagerDuty stock opened at $24.49 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $23.97 and a 200-day simple moving average of $22.98. PagerDuty, Inc. has a 52-week low of $19.18 and a 52-week high of $35.33. The firm has a market cap of $2.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -29.87 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.65, a current ratio of 2.75 and a quick ratio of 2.75. Analyst Ratings Changes PagerDuty ( NYSE:PD Get Free Report ) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 30th. The company reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.06. PagerDuty had a negative net margin of 18.00% and a negative return on equity of 22.87%. The firm had revenue of $108.72 million during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $107.70 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.31) earnings per share. The companys revenue was up 15.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that PagerDuty, Inc. will post -0.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. TD Cowen lowered PagerDuty from an outperform rating to a market perform rating and dropped their price target for the company from $29.00 to $23.00 in a research report on Friday, December 1st. Morgan Stanley reissued an equal weight rating and issued a $30.00 price target on shares of PagerDuty in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Bank of America started coverage on shares of PagerDuty in a report on Thursday, December 14th. They set a buy rating and a $30.00 price target for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of PagerDuty from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 1st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, PagerDuty currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $27.00. View Our Latest Stock Report on PD Hedge Funds Weigh In On PagerDuty Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Qsemble Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of PagerDuty during the 3rd quarter worth about $972,000. California Public Employees Retirement System grew its holdings in PagerDuty by 3.0% during the third quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 150,906 shares of the companys stock valued at $3,394,000 after purchasing an additional 4,335 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. acquired a new position in PagerDuty during the second quarter valued at approximately $782,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of PagerDuty by 9.0% in the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 740,372 shares of the companys stock valued at $16,651,000 after purchasing an additional 60,913 shares during the period. Finally, Scout Investments Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of PagerDuty in the third quarter worth $5,347,000. 89.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. PagerDuty Company Profile (Get Free Report) PagerDuty, Inc engages in the operation of a digital operations management platform in the United States, EMEA, the Asia Pacific, and Japan. The company's digital operations management platform collects data and digital signals from virtually any software-enabled system or device and leverage powerful machine learning to correlate, process, and predict opportunities and issues. See Also Receive News & Ratings for PagerDuty Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for PagerDuty and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HTH Free Report) Zacks Research boosted their Q1 2024 earnings per share estimates for Hilltop in a research note issued on Thursday, February 15th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now expects that the financial services provider will post earnings of $0.27 per share for the quarter, up from their prior forecast of $0.26. The consensus estimate for Hilltops current full-year earnings is $1.50 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Hilltops Q2 2024 earnings at $0.36 EPS, Q3 2024 earnings at $0.41 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $0.57 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $1.99 EPS. Get Hilltop alerts: A number of other research firms also recently commented on HTH. Raymond James upgraded Hilltop from an underperform rating to a market perform rating in a report on Friday, January 5th. TheStreet raised Hilltop from a c+ rating to a b- rating in a research report on Friday, November 24th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Hilltop from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report on Friday, October 20th. Hilltop Trading Up 2.4 % HTH opened at $31.57 on Friday. The stocks 50-day moving average price is $33.22 and its 200 day moving average price is $30.69. Hilltop has a 12-month low of $26.78 and a 12-month high of $35.66. The firm has a market cap of $2.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.68 and a beta of 1.13. Hilltop (NYSE:HTH Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 26th. The financial services provider reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.04. Hilltop had a return on equity of 5.20% and a net margin of 7.00%. The company had revenue of $290.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $296.89 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.39 earnings per share. The firms revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Institutional Trading of Hilltop Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio boosted its holdings in Hilltop by 12.4% during the third quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 3,860 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $96,000 after acquiring an additional 425 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG raised its position in Hilltop by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 64,239 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $1,928,000 after purchasing an additional 432 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in Hilltop by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 107,313 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $3,778,000 after purchasing an additional 432 shares during the last quarter. Teza Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Hilltop by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. Teza Capital Management LLC now owns 9,114 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $258,000 after acquiring an additional 449 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of Hilltop by 31.5% in the 1st quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,888 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 452 shares during the period. 54.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. Insider Transactions at Hilltop In other news, CAO Keith E. Bornemann sold 2,500 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.04, for a total transaction of $75,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 9,722 shares of the companys stock, valued at $292,048.88. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 28.90% of the companys stock. Hilltop Increases Dividend The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 9th. This is a boost from Hilltops previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. Hilltops payout ratio is currently 40.24%. Hilltop Company Profile (Get Free Report) Hilltop Holdings Inc provides business and consumer banking, and financial products and services. It operates through three segments: Banking, Broker-Dealer, and Mortgage Origination. The Banking segment offers savings, checking, interest-bearing checking, and money market accounts; certificates of deposit; lines and letters of credit, home improvement and equity loans, loans for purchasing and carrying securities, equipment loans, agricultural and commercial real estate loans, and other loans; and commercial and industrial loans, and term and construction finance. Read More Receive News & Ratings for Hilltop Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Hilltop and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO Free Report) by 100.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,570 shares of the companys stock after purchasing an additional 1,285 shares during the quarter. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P.s holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S were worth $234,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC. A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of NVO. Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S by 100.3% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 23,419,405 shares of the companys stock worth $2,129,761,000 after purchasing an additional 11,727,507 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S by 1,514.6% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 3,785,560 shares of the companys stock worth $602,435,000 after purchasing an additional 3,551,104 shares in the last quarter. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. increased its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. now owns 6,755,654 shares of the companys stock worth $614,359,000 after purchasing an additional 3,377,827 shares in the last quarter. Everett Harris & Co. CA grew its stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 98.6% during the 3rd quarter. Everett Harris & Co. CA now owns 6,539,202 shares of the companys stock worth $594,675,000 after acquiring an additional 3,246,806 shares in the last quarter. Finally, WCM Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 88.3% during the 3rd quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 6,528,911 shares of the companys stock worth $594,000,000 after acquiring an additional 3,061,251 shares in the last quarter. 6.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors. Get Novo Nordisk A/S alerts: Analyst Ratings Changes NVO has been the subject of several research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an overweight rating and set a $140.00 price target on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. They set an overweight rating and a $120.00 price target for the company. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Monday, December 4th. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on Novo Nordisk A/S in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. They issued a neutral rating for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $121.25. Novo Nordisk A/S Trading Down 1.3 % NYSE NVO opened at $121.72 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $546.22 billion, a PE ratio of 45.00, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. Novo Nordisk A/S has a 12 month low of $67.66 and a 12 month high of $123.34. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $107.42 and a 200-day moving average of $87.41. Novo Nordisk A/S Increases Dividend The firm also recently declared a Semi-Annual dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.664 per share. This is an increase from Novo Nordisk A/Ss previous Semi-Annual dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 22nd. This represents a yield of 0.9%. Novo Nordisk A/Ss dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.92%. About Novo Nordisk A/S (Free Report) Novo Nordisk A/S, a healthcare company, engages in the research, development, manufacture, and marketing of pharmaceutical products worldwide. It operates in two segments, Diabetes and Obesity care, and Rare Disease. The Diabetes and Obesity care segment provides products in the areas of insulins, GLP-1 and related delivery systems, oral antidiabetic products, obesity, glucagon, needles, and other chronic diseases. Read More Want to see what other hedge funds are holding NVO? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Novo Nordisk A/S Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Novo Nordisk A/S and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, February 14th, Zacks reports. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 12th will be given a dividend of 0.006 per share by the basic materials company on Monday, March 25th. This represents a $0.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 11th. Hecla Mining has raised its dividend payment by an average of 15.4% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 1 consecutive years. Hecla Mining has a dividend payout ratio of 20.0% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Hecla Mining to earn $0.14 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.03 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 21.4%. Get Hecla Mining alerts: Hecla Mining Trading Up 5.2 % Shares of HL stock opened at $3.62 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.71. Hecla Mining has a 1 year low of $3.33 and a 1 year high of $7.00. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $4.29 and a two-hundred day moving average of $4.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.24 billion, a PE ratio of -24.13 and a beta of 2.19. Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hecla Mining Hecla Mining ( NYSE:HL Get Free Report ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The basic materials company reported ($0.04) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.02) by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $160.69 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $151.51 million. Hecla Mining had a negative net margin of 11.69% and a negative return on equity of 0.27%. The firms quarterly revenue was down 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.02 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Hecla Mining will post 0.05 EPS for the current year. Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Private Advisor Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Hecla Mining during the 1st quarter worth approximately $91,000. WINTON GROUP Ltd bought a new position in shares of Hecla Mining during the 1st quarter worth approximately $77,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lifted its position in shares of Hecla Mining by 13.1% during the 3rd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 19,026 shares of the basic materials companys stock worth $75,000 after buying an additional 2,200 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its position in shares of Hecla Mining by 177.2% during the 1st quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 11,595 shares of the basic materials companys stock worth $73,000 after buying an additional 7,412 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV bought a new position in shares of Hecla Mining during the 4th quarter worth approximately $67,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 59.00% of the companys stock. Analysts Set New Price Targets A number of research analysts have commented on HL shares. HC Wainwright lowered their target price on Hecla Mining from $9.00 to $8.75 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 8th. TD Securities lowered their target price on Hecla Mining from $7.00 to $6.50 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 8th. StockNews.com upgraded Hecla Mining to a sell rating in a research note on Friday, November 17th. Finally, National Bank Financial reiterated an outperform market weight rating on shares of Hecla Mining in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Hecla Mining has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $6.43. Check Out Our Latest Analysis on Hecla Mining Hecla Mining Company Profile (Get Free Report) Hecla Mining Company, together with its subsidiaries, provides precious and base metal properties in the United States and internationally. The company mines for silver, gold, lead, and zinc concentrates, as well as carbon material containing silver and gold for sale to custom smelters, metal traders, and third-party processors; and dore containing silver and gold. Read More Receive News & Ratings for Hecla Mining Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Hecla Mining and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Invesco Quality Municipal Income Trust (NYSE:IQI Free Report) during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 18,721 shares of the financial services providers stock, valued at approximately $157,000. Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. CWM LLC raised its holdings in shares of Invesco Quality Municipal Income Trust by 191.8% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,313 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 2,835 shares in the last quarter. Kistler Tiffany Companies LLC acquired a new stake in Invesco Quality Municipal Income Trust during the 2nd quarter worth $48,000. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. acquired a new stake in Invesco Quality Municipal Income Trust during the 2nd quarter worth $51,000. Nelson Van Denburg & Campbell Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in Invesco Quality Municipal Income Trust during the 4th quarter worth $94,000. Finally, Nomura Holdings Inc. acquired a new stake in Invesco Quality Municipal Income Trust during the 1st quarter worth $100,000. Get Invesco Quality Municipal Income Trust alerts: Invesco Quality Municipal Income Trust Trading Up 0.7 % Shares of NYSE:IQI opened at $9.60 on Friday. The companys fifty day moving average price is $9.48 and its 200 day moving average price is $9.06. Invesco Quality Municipal Income Trust has a 12 month low of $8.05 and a 12 month high of $10.00. Invesco Quality Municipal Income Trust Announces Dividend Invesco Quality Municipal Income Trust Profile The firm also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 16th will be given a dividend of $0.0403 per share. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 15th. (Free Report) Invesco Quality 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 Deutschland GmbH, INVESCO Asset Management Limited, INVESCO Asset Management (Japan) Limited, Invesco Hong Kong Limited, INVESCO Senior Secured Management, Inc, and Invesco Canada Ltd. Further Reading Want to see what other hedge funds are holding IQI? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Invesco Quality Municipal Income Trust (NYSE:IQI Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Invesco Quality Municipal Income Trust Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Invesco Quality Municipal Income Trust and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Sienna Senior Living Inc. (TSE:SIA Get Free Report) declared a monthly dividend on Thursday, February 15th, TickerTech reports. Investors of record on Thursday, February 29th will be paid a dividend of 0.078 per share on Friday, March 15th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.68%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 28th. Sienna Senior Living Stock Performance Shares of SIA stock opened at C$12.19 on Friday. Sienna Senior Living has a 1-year low of C$9.87 and a 1-year high of C$12.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 254.64. The company has a market capitalization of C$889.50 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -46.64 and a beta of 1.15. The stocks fifty day simple moving average is C$11.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is C$11.26. Get Sienna Senior Living alerts: Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on SIA shares. National Bankshares lowered their price target on Sienna Senior Living from C$13.50 to C$13.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 24th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Sienna Senior Living from C$14.00 to C$13.00 and set a sector perform rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 20th. Finally, CIBC reduced their price objective on Sienna Senior Living from C$13.00 to C$12.50 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 13th. 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. Recommended Stories Receive News & Ratings for Sienna Senior Living Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Sienna Senior Living and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, February 14th, Zacks reports. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st will be given a dividend of 0.65 per share by the financial services provider on Friday, March 15th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.63%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 29th. This is a positive change from Walker & Dunlops previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. Walker & Dunlop has increased its dividend by an average of 20.5% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 5 years. Walker & Dunlop has a payout ratio of 50.2% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Walker & Dunlop to earn $4.68 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.52 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 53.8%. Get Walker & Dunlop alerts: Walker & Dunlop Price Performance WD opened at $98.86 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.33 and a beta of 1.56. Walker & Dunlop has a 1 year low of $61.06 and a 1 year high of $113.67. The firms fifty day moving average price is $100.30 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $86.40. Analysts Set New Price Targets Walker & Dunlop ( NYSE:WD Get Free Report ) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.04 by $0.38. The business had revenue of $274.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $276.76 million. Walker & Dunlop had a return on equity of 9.13% and a net margin of 11.03%. Walker & Dunlops revenue for the quarter was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.41 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Walker & Dunlop will post 4.32 EPS for the current year. A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods downgraded Walker & Dunlop from an outperform rating to a market perform rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $85.00 to $105.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 13th. StockNews.com upgraded Walker & Dunlop from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report on Thursday, November 16th. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an outperform rating and issued a $130.00 price target on shares of Walker & Dunlop in a research note on Friday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Walker & Dunlop currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $117.50. Read Our Latest Analysis on Walker & Dunlop Insider Activity at Walker & Dunlop In other Walker & Dunlop news, President Howard W. Smith III sold 20,000 shares of Walker & Dunlop stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.61, for a total transaction of $1,852,200.00. Following the transaction, the president now directly owns 197,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,244,170. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Walker & Dunlop news, EVP Richard M. Lucas sold 10,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.98, for a total value of $919,800.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 136,290 shares of the companys stock, valued at $12,535,954.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, President Howard W. Smith III sold 20,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Friday, December 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.61, for a total transaction of $1,852,200.00. Following the sale, the president now owns 197,000 shares in the company, valued at $18,244,170. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 130,000 shares of company stock worth $12,945,700. Corporate insiders own 5.47% of the companys stock. Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walker & Dunlop Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Belpointe Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Walker & Dunlop by 360.0% during the 1st quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 345 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 270 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd raised its stake in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 5,066.7% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 310 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 304 shares during the last quarter. First Manhattan Co. bought a new position in Walker & Dunlop in the first quarter worth about $65,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its stake in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 171.9% during the first quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,082 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $83,000 after purchasing an additional 684 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 20.1% during the second quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,933 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $153,000 after purchasing an additional 324 shares in the last quarter. 77.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. Walker & Dunlop Company Profile (Get 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. See Also Receive News & Ratings for Walker & Dunlop Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Walker & Dunlop and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain expects to unionize at least one nonunion plant this year, possibly more. In fact, in the next week or so, Fain told the Detroit Free Press, the union will announce other nonunion automaker plants where 30% and 50% of the workers have signed cards to unionize. It already has reached the 30% level at Mercedes-Benz and Hyundai plants in Alabama and 50% at Volkswagen Chattanooga in Tennessee. Fain said all he needs is one plant where 70% of the workers have signed cards, then take it to a vote and win. That would provide the momentum to win more, he said. But unionizing auto plants in the South has been a daunting challenge. Fain said if the union doesn't get a win, don't count him out. UAW President Shawn Fain speaks to the media in Chattanooga, Tenn., on Monday, Dec. 18, 2023. Fain visited the Volkswagen plant with workers, community and faith leaders, and CALEB (Chattanoogans in Action for Love, Equality, and Benevolence). The group delivered a letter to Volkswagen management, "demanding the company end its union-busting and intimidation." "Anything worthwhile, its worth the work," Fain said in a telephone interview Thursday. "I believe well see success in the near term and I think well see a victory in the near term. But were in this for the long haul. Were not going to walk away from this. This is our mission. This isnt about the UAW, its not about me. Its about the working class people and getting their fair share for the product they produce. Fain and the UAW are in a key moment. The union is riding high after big contract wins against the Detroit Three automakers last fall as well as a swell in labor activism and public support for unions in the past year. According to the Labor Action Tracker, a collaboration between Cornell University's Industrial Labor Relations School and the University of Illinois' Labor and Employment Relations School, labor activism has steadily risen in recent years. The number of work stoppages last year increased by 9% to 470 strikes compared with 433 strikes in 2022. The database showed that high-profile strikes, which includes the SAG-AFTRA strike and the UAW's Stand-Up Strike, composed about 350,000 of the 539,000 striking workers last year. "We havent seen in many years, really decades as favorable an environment related to unions and as positive an image related to unions that were seeing right now," said Harley Shaiken, a labor expert and professor emeritus at the University of California-Berkeley. "All of that coming together is favorable for the UAW. But favorable and success (in organizing) are not the same thing. Still, this is the moment. Story continues Thousands motivated? To be determined. The union launched its effort to organize nonunion automakers last November after it achieved what is widely considered a record contract win amid a historic targeted strike strategy against Ford Motor Co., General Motors and Stellantis the owner of Jeep, Ram, Chrysler, Dodge and Fiat. The new contracts with the Detroit automakers included substantial wage gains and a return of some concessions made in past bargaining, such as cost-of-living adjustments. Fain said the contracts motivated thousands of nonunion autoworkers. Striking Ford Motor Co. employees represented by the UAW and Local 900 picket on the sidewalk across the entrance to Gate 9 at the Michigan Assembly in Wayne blocking independent truck drivers from getting into the plant on Friday, Sept. 15, 2023. A member of the Teamsters told the truckers that the strikers would remain all day and that it would be impossible for them to pull in for their deliveries or pickups. "We were literally getting cards turned in when we were on our strike," he said. "Workers were finding an old sign-up sheet we had from 2017 online and workers were sending cards in from multiple different companies. I think thats a great sign at how eager they are to get their fair share." Now the UAW has a webpage UAW.org/join where nonunion employees can sign cards to unionize. The drive covers nearly 150,000 autoworkers across 13 automakers including electric carmakers Tesla and Rivian. The union has other backing too, including a group of 33 U.S. senators who sent letters to CEOs of nonunion automakers last month urging them not to interfere in organizing efforts. That came after the union filed unfair labor practice charges in January against Honda in Indiana, Hyundai in Alabama and Volkswagen in Tennessee accusing each of illegally union-busting as workers organize to join the UAW. Fain accompanied a delegation of VW workers and community and faith leaders last month as they delivered a letter to management. In reaction to the UAWs charges against the automaker, spokespeople for the targeted automakers refuted claims of union-busting and said the companies support workers' rights. The turbulent history at VW So far, VW has the most workers signed up. Earlier this month the UAW said half of the nearly 4,000 employees at Volkswagens Chattanooga, Tennessee, plant signed cards. At the end of January, the union said more than 10,000 autoworkers across the 13 nonunion companies had signed the cards. Volkswagen Chattanooga hit the 50% milestone within 60 days of the union's start of the organizing drive. Fain said the union will announce soon other plants that are closing in on 50%. "We want to organize all of them," Fain said. "There are organizers everywhere and there are organizing committee people in these plants. Were tracking and assessing where people are and appointing resources." Volkswagen Chattanooga is the German automakers only assembly plant in the United States. The UAW has said when 70% of the workforce there has signed cards, an organizing committee made up of plant workers will demand that the company recognize the union. If it does not, the UAW will file the cards with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and take it to a plant vote. The speed of getting to 50% at VW Chattanooga signals to some labor experts that the UAW may succeed there first. But it won't be easy. This is an important moment. There are factors aligning to help the union from the labor market to favorable rulings by the NLRB to public opinion of the union," said Peter Berg, a professor of employment relations and director of the School of Human Resources and Labor Relations at Michigan State University. "When that happens, the companys resistance increases. With any sort of rise in power, comes the rise in resistance." 'Companies are afraid' Fain is aware of that resistance. The biggest challenge he faces, he said, is company pressure when trying to unionize new factories. "Companies are afraid of workers actually having a say in their workplace and being treated with dignity. Were seeing the companies respond," Fain said. "The companies are always trying to spin this narrative that they dont want unions intimidating workers." Fain said the companies are the ones intimidating workers with "closed-door meetings, lying to them by putting out misinformation and threatening to close the plant" if they organize. Weve got to stop being afraid of these companies," Fain said. "Were not going to change anything unless we stand up and fight for whats ours." Still, the UAW has a history of trying and failing to organize Volkswagens Chattanooga plant. The first union vote there was in 2014 and the union felt confident a clear majority of the workers favored the union, Shaiken told the Detroit Free Press previously. But the Republican leadership in Tennessee mounted a major campaign to vote no and it succeeded. In 2019, the UAW again narrowly lost the vote to unionize at that plant, Shaiken said. Alabama workers show interest Last month, Mercedes-Benz workers in Alabama went public with a campaign to join the union after 30% of the workforce signed cards. Organizers there listed workers' concerns over stalled pay and benefits at the plant as reasons to unionize. The plant in Tuscaloosa, which was founded in 1995, produces a half-dozen Mercedes-Benz models, including the GLE and GLS SUVs, and has 6,300 employees, according to the company. On Feb. 1, the UAW said 30% of workers at Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama had signed cards. Workers quoted in a release cited concerns about pay and the toll the work had on their health as reasons to organize. Hyundai builds its Tuscon, Santa Fe SUV, Santa Cruz sporty pickup, and gas and electric versions of Genesis GV570 at the plant, according to the company website www.hmmausa.com. It employs about 4,000 people, the company fact sheet said. Fain said the union is inching closer to 50% at Mercedes-Benz and "moving along nicely" at Hyundai in terms of getting more cards signed. "Theyre on the rise. I dont want to get into the numbers yet, but I believe well be at 50% very shortly at one of those," Fain said. "We have another (automaker) approaching 30%." More: UAW targets Hyundai over child labor allegations ahead of $730M rail car contract They said it couldn't be done Since becoming UAW president earlier last year, Fain said, he heard he could never regain a cost-of-living adjustment or be able to bargain for retirees. He did both. Ive been told a lot of things we cant do and weve done all those things," Fain said. "I 100% believe we can win in the South. The workers in the South are no different than the workers in the North or anywhere else in this world. Theyre fed up with the massive inequality in this world and being left behind. The only way theyre going to change that is by organizing. Without a union, you have no rights." UAW president Shawn Fain sits at his office desk for a portrait at the UAW Solidarity House in Detroit on Friday, Dec. 1, 2023. Fain also believes the union will get these plants to a vote "quicker than people think" because workers are not fooled by the "UAW bump" raise some carmakers gave last year. Shortly after the UAW won wage gains of 25% across 4-year contracts with the Detroit automakers, Nissan, Honda, Hyundai, Toyota and Volkswagen all offered raises of 9% to 14% to their U.S. workforces. It has been reported by CNBC that even Tesla was planning a 10% raise for some employees. The UAW has "boots on the ground" engaging with workers at the nonunion plants daily, he said. Were going to hold rallies and different things. Theres different milestones that we have," Fain said. "Ill do visits and speak with workers. At the end of the day, its the organizing committees on the ground and the people we send in there working together and community groups working with us because they want to see better for workers in their communities." And there is the success of last fall. "We would be foolish not to tell Volkswagen workers, If you had the Ford agreement, youd get a $23,000 profit-sharing check this year. But instead youre getting zero,' " Fain said. "Thats a pretty strong statement." Success so far UAW membership is far below its 1979 peak of 1.5 million. The union currently counts almost 400,000 active members and 580,000 retired members. But the UAW has had a recent organizing win in the auto industry. On Jan. 30, nearly 400 workers at Antolin Interiors USA in Howell voted to join UAW Local 163, Region 1A, the union said in a statement. Antolin Interiors makes instrument panels and door panels for Ford, GM, Stellantis, and PACCAR Engine Company. The workforce there launched the organizing drive last October, "after years of disrespect and unacceptable working conditions," the UAW said. Antolin workers voted to join the UAW "to be on common ground, to work together rather than against each other, and to gain more respect," said Jarrod Yost, a shipping and receiving worker at Antolin, in a UAW-issued statement. Antolin did not respond to a request for comment. More: GM's Barra calls 2024 'year of execution' as she looks to reverse regrets of 2023 More: Letter indicates GM and UAW closing in on dates for $50,000 buyout program More wins like that would be a "massive shift" for the union, Fain said. Labor experts say it would be more monumental than that, it would ring a bell across the economy. "If he succeeds, it will be transformative for the UAW," Shaiken said. "Just a victory at VW, which is the most likely at this point, sets a standard that the transplants can be organized and that will redefine conventional wisdom and open up continuing possibilities elsewhere in the auto industry, but in other industries as well. Contact Jamie L. LaReau: jlareau@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @jlareauan. Read more on General Motors and sign up for our autos newsletter. Become a subscriber. This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: UAW Fain expects to unionize at least 1 nonunion plant in 2024 Revolution Bars Group plc (LON:RBG Get Free Report) shares hit a new 52-week low on Wednesday . The company traded as low as GBX 2.40 ($0.03) and last traded at GBX 2.80 ($0.04), with a volume of 1593871 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at GBX 2.60 ($0.03). Revolution Bars Group Price Performance The companys 50-day moving average price is GBX 4.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is GBX 4.15. The company has a current ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 81.70. The company has a market cap of 7.02 million, a P/E ratio of -27.50 and a beta of 2.75. About Revolution Bars Group (Get Free Report) Revolution Bars Group plc operates premium bars located in towns or city center high streets in the United Kingdom. Its bars provides food and drink products. The company operates bars and pubs under the Revolution, Revolucion de Cuba, Peach, Playhouse, and Founders & Co brand names. Revolution Bars Group plc was founded in 1991 and is headquartered in Ashton-Under-Lyne, the United Kingdom. See Also Receive News & Ratings for Revolution Bars Group Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Revolution Bars Group and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Portland General Electric (NYSE:POR Get Free Report) issued an update on its FY24 earnings guidance on Friday morning. The company provided EPS guidance of $2.98-3.18 for the period, compared to the consensus EPS estimate of $3.06. Portland General Electric also updated its FY 2024 guidance to 2.980-3.180 EPS. Portland General Electric Stock Down 0.4 % POR opened at $40.65 on Friday. The companys 50-day moving average price is $42.03 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $42.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. Portland General Electric has a twelve month low of $38.01 and a twelve month high of $51.58. The stock has a market cap of $4.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.46, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.58. Get Portland General Electric alerts: Portland General Electric (NYSE:POR Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, February 16th. The utilities provider reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.88 by ($0.21). The business had revenue of $725.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $740.21 million. Portland General Electric had a return on equity of 7.33% and a net margin of 7.28%. Portland General Electrics revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.70 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Portland General Electric will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year. Portland General Electric Dividend Announcement Wall Street Analyst Weigh In The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.475 per share. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.67%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 21st. Portland General Electrics dividend payout ratio is 85.97%. POR has been the subject of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Portland General Electric from $52.00 to $45.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 20th. UBS Group raised Portland General Electric from a neutral rating to a buy rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $47.00 to $45.00 in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Bank of America downgraded shares of Portland General Electric from a buy rating to a neutral rating and reduced their price target for the company from $55.00 to $43.00 in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Portland General Electric from $47.00 to $45.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. Finally, Mizuho lowered their target price on Portland General Electric from $42.00 to $40.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $45.89. View Our Latest Report on Portland General Electric Hedge Funds Weigh In On Portland General Electric Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Portland General Electric by 8.1% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,268,761 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $489,739,000 after purchasing an additional 848,958 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Portland General Electric by 21.8% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,067,961 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $334,647,000 after buying an additional 1,087,996 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its position in Portland General Electric by 5.1% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,615,988 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $170,996,000 after buying an additional 174,695 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Portland General Electric by 7.8% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,163,031 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $154,641,000 after acquiring an additional 228,283 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Portland General Electric by 1,022.6% during the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 3,105,863 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $145,448,000 after purchasing an additional 2,829,184 shares during the period. Portland General Electric Company Profile (Get Free Report) Portland General Electric Company, an integrated electric utility company, engages in the generation, wholesale purchase, transmission, distribution, and retail sale of electricity in the state of Oregon. It operates six thermal plants, three wind farms, and seven hydroelectric facilities. As of December 31, 2022, the company owned an electric transmission system consisting of 1,255 circuit miles, including 269 circuit miles of 500 kilovolt line, 413 circuit miles of 230 kilovolt line, and 573 miles of 115 kilovolt line; and served 926 thousand retail customers in 51 cities. See Also Receive News & Ratings for Portland General Electric Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Portland General Electric and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Mandalay Resources (TSE:MND Get Free Report) will announce its earnings results after the market closes on Thursday, February 22nd. Mandalay Resources Stock Down 0.7 % TSE MND opened at C$1.47 on Friday. Mandalay Resources has a 52 week low of C$1.30 and a 52 week high of C$2.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.25. The businesss fifty day simple moving average is C$1.77 and its 200-day simple moving average is C$1.77. The firm has a market cap of C$136.53 million, a PE ratio of 18.38 and a beta of 0.58. Get Mandalay Resources alerts: Analyst Ratings Changes Separately, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on Mandalay Resources from C$3.50 to C$3.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 18th. Mandalay Resources Company Profile (Get Free Report) Mandalay Resources Corporation, a natural resource company, engages in the acquisition, exploration, extraction, processing, and reclamation of various mineral properties. It explores for gold, silver, and antimony deposits. The company holds a 100% interest in the Costerfield gold-antimony mine covering an area of 7,540.78 hectares (ha) located in Central Victoria, Australia; and the Bjorkdal gold mine that comprises 9 mining concessions and 19 exploration permits located in Vasterbotten County in northern Sweden. Further Reading Receive News & Ratings for Mandalay Resources Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Mandalay Resources and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF (BATS:EFV Free Report) by 19.4% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 377,976 shares of the companys stock after acquiring an additional 61,458 shares during the period. Kestra Advisory Services LLCs holdings in iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF were worth $18,494,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cibc World Market Inc. lifted its position in shares of iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF by 5.8% during the first quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 41,773 shares of the companys stock valued at $2,100,000 after purchasing an additional 2,299 shares in the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. grew its stake in shares of iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF by 12.3% in the first quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 15,000 shares of the companys stock worth $754,000 after purchasing an additional 1,640 shares during the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL lifted its holdings in shares of iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF by 78.1% during the first quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 38,808 shares of the companys stock valued at $1,951,000 after purchasing an additional 17,015 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp purchased a new position in shares of iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF in the first quarter worth $16,807,000. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. boosted its position in iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF by 13.9% in the first quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 450,991 shares of the companys stock worth $22,667,000 after purchasing an additional 55,103 shares during the last quarter. Get iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF alerts: iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF Price Performance BATS:EFV opened at $51.40 on Friday. iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF has a 1 year low of $49.15 and a 1 year high of $59.57. The company has a market cap of $17.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.51 and a beta of 0.84. The stocks 50 day simple moving average is $51.53 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $49.94. About iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF (the Fund), formerly iShares MSCI EAFE Value Index Fund, is an exchange-traded fund (ETF). The Fund seeks to provide investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of the MSCI EAFE Value Index. The Index is a subset of the MSCI EAFE Index and constituents of the Index include securities from Europe, Australasia (Australia and Asia), and the Far East. Featured Articles Want to see what other hedge funds are holding EFV? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF (BATS:EFV Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Curtiss-Wright (NYSE:CW Get Free Report) issued an update on its FY24 earnings guidance on Wednesday morning. The company provided earnings per share guidance of $10.00-$10.30 for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share estimate of $10.07. The company issued revenue guidance of $2.96-$3.01 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $2.97 billion. Curtiss-Wright also updated its FY 2024 guidance to 10.000-10.300 EPS. Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Curtiss-Wright from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, December 14th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Curtiss-Wright from $243.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Curtiss-Wright from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 15th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Buy and a consensus target price of $237.75. Get Curtiss-Wright alerts: Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on CW Curtiss-Wright Stock Performance Shares of Curtiss-Wright stock traded up $1.48 during trading on Friday, reaching $237.85. The companys stock had a trading volume of 14,863 shares, compared to its average volume of 149,551. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $222.61 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $210.66. The firm has a market cap of $9.10 billion, a PE ratio of 25.69 and a beta of 1.18. Curtiss-Wright has a fifty-two week low of $157.72 and a fifty-two week high of $238.73. The company has a current ratio of 1.99, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. Curtiss-Wright (NYSE:CW Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The aerospace company reported $3.16 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $2.92 by $0.24. The business had revenue of $785.79 million for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $737.09 million. Curtiss-Wright had a net margin of 12.46% and a return on equity of 17.00%. The companys quarterly revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.92 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Curtiss-Wright will post 10.01 EPS for the current year. Curtiss-Wright Announces Dividend The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 28th will be paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.34%. Curtiss-Wrights dividend payout ratio is currently 8.70%. Hedge Funds Weigh In On Curtiss-Wright Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Curtiss-Wright during the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Curtiss-Wright in the 4th quarter worth about $43,000. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in shares of Curtiss-Wright by 91.3% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 350 shares of the aerospace companys stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Curtiss-Wright by 40.2% in the 1st quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 453 shares of the aerospace companys stock worth $80,000 after buying an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Atlas Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Curtiss-Wright in the 4th quarter worth about $88,000. 80.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. About Curtiss-Wright (Get Free Report) Curtiss-Wright Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides engineered products, solutions, and services to the aerospace, defense, general industrial, and power generation markets worldwide. It operates through three segments: Aerospace & Industrial, Defense Electronics, and Naval & Power. Featured Articles Receive News & Ratings for Curtiss-Wright Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Curtiss-Wright and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. trimmed its position in RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:RNR Free Report) by 1.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 11,046 shares of the insurance providers stock after selling 119 shares during the period. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.s holdings in RenaissanceRe were worth $2,186,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC. A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in RenaissanceRe by 8.1% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 14,404 shares of the insurance providers stock valued at $2,283,000 after purchasing an additional 1,083 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can increased its holdings in RenaissanceRe by 7.1% in the first quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 15,536 shares of the insurance providers stock valued at $2,461,000 after purchasing an additional 1,025 shares during the period. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS increased its holdings in RenaissanceRe by 5.6% in the first quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 16,119 shares of the insurance providers stock valued at $2,555,000 after purchasing an additional 861 shares during the period. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can increased its holdings in RenaissanceRe by 5.1% in the first quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 24,034 shares of the insurance providers stock valued at $3,914,000 after purchasing an additional 1,163 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in RenaissanceRe by 2.3% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 679,383 shares of the insurance providers stock valued at $107,689,000 after purchasing an additional 15,215 shares during the period. 91.84% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors. Get RenaissanceRe alerts: RenaissanceRe Price Performance Shares of NYSE RNR opened at $228.71 on Friday. RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd. has a fifty-two week low of $174.22 and a fifty-two week high of $235.14. The stock has a market cap of $11.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.46, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 1.45 and a current ratio of 1.40. The firms 50-day simple moving average is $208.46 and its 200 day simple moving average is $204.11. RenaissanceRe Increases Dividend RenaissanceRe ( NYSE:RNR Get Free Report ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The insurance provider reported $11.77 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $8.13 by $3.64. RenaissanceRe had a net margin of 28.04% and a return on equity of 26.93%. The business had revenue of $1.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $1.83 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $7.33 EPS. The firms revenue for the quarter was up 17.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd. will post 34.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th will be given a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.68%. This is a boost from RenaissanceRes previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. RenaissanceRes dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 2.97%. Wall Street Analyst Weigh In A number of analysts recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group increased their price objective on RenaissanceRe from $229.00 to $238.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. TheStreet upgraded RenaissanceRe from a c rating to a b- rating in a report on Monday, October 30th. Citigroup began coverage on RenaissanceRe in a report on Wednesday, November 22nd. They set a buy rating and a $251.00 price target for the company. TD Cowen began coverage on RenaissanceRe in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. They set a market perform rating for the company. Finally, Evercore ISI began coverage on RenaissanceRe in a report on Thursday, December 14th. They set an underperform rating and a $200.00 price target for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, RenaissanceRe currently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $240.90. Check Out Our Latest Analysis on RenaissanceRe Insiders Place Their Bets In other RenaissanceRe news, CFO Robert Qutub sold 2,500 shares of RenaissanceRe stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.56, for a total transaction of $586,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 70,424 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $16,518,653.44. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other RenaissanceRe news, CFO Robert Qutub sold 2,500 shares of RenaissanceRe stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.56, for a total transaction of $586,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 70,424 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $16,518,653.44. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP David E. Marra sold 1,000 shares of RenaissanceRe stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.05, for a total transaction of $209,050.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 80,449 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,817,863.45. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 5,130 shares of company stock valued at $1,167,479 in the last 90 days. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders. RenaissanceRe Profile (Free Report) RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, provides reinsurance and insurance products in the United States and internationally. The company operates through Property, and Casualty and Specialty segments. The Property segment writes property catastrophe excess of loss reinsurance and excess of loss reinsurance to insure insurance and reinsurance companies against natural and man-made catastrophes, including hurricanes, earthquakes, typhoons, and tsunamis, as well as winter storms, freezes, floods, fires, windstorms, tornadoes, explosions, and acts of terrorism; and other property class of products, such as proportional reinsurance, property per risk, property reinsurance, binding facilities, and regional U.S. Featured Stories Want to see what other hedge funds are holding RNR? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:RNR Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for RenaissanceRe Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for RenaissanceRe and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Aviva PLC lessened its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSEAMERICAN:LNG Free Report) by 2.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 191,421 shares of the energy companys stock after selling 5,170 shares during the period. Aviva PLC owned 0.08% of Cheniere Energy worth $31,768,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC. A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC lifted its holdings in Cheniere Energy by 1.6% in the second quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC now owns 46,378 shares of the energy companys stock valued at $7,066,000 after buying an additional 729 shares during the period. Banco Santander S.A. lifted its holdings in Cheniere Energy by 54.4% in the third quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 22,267 shares of the energy companys stock valued at $3,695,000 after buying an additional 7,845 shares during the period. Choate Investment Advisors acquired a new position in Cheniere Energy in the third quarter valued at $295,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Cheniere Energy by 5.0% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 557,350 shares of the energy companys stock valued at $92,498,000 after buying an additional 26,406 shares during the period. Finally, SCP Investment LP lifted its holdings in Cheniere Energy by 111.1% in the third quarter. SCP Investment LP now owns 3,800 shares of the energy companys stock valued at $631,000 after buying an additional 2,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.86% of the companys stock. Get Cheniere Energy alerts: Analyst Ratings Changes Several equities research analysts have recently commented on LNG shares. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Cheniere Energy from $187.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Friday, December 15th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy from $192.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Cheniere Energy from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, November 9th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Buy and an average price target of $198.70. Cheniere Energy Trading Up 2.1 % Cheniere Energy stock opened at $158.87 on Friday. The businesss 50 day moving average price is $162.80. The company has a quick ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.02. The company has a market cap of $37.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.14, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.96. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a 1-year low of $135.30 and a 1-year high of $183.46. Cheniere Energy Dividend Announcement The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 23rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 6th will be issued a $0.435 dividend. This represents a $1.74 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.10%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 5th. Cheniere Energys payout ratio is 3.44%. 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. Further Reading Receive News & Ratings for Cheniere Energy Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Cheniere Energy and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:SMFG Get Free Report) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $10.65 and last traded at $10.64, with a volume of 210975 shares. The stock had previously closed at $10.39. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Price Performance The companys 50 day moving average price is $9.91 and its 200 day moving average price is $9.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.08, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.06. The company has a market cap of $71.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.56. Get Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group alerts: Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (NYSE:SMFG Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The bank reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $14.95 billion for the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group had a net margin of 9.71% and a return on equity of 7.27%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Inc. will post 0.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. Institutional Trading of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group About Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank of Montreal Can bought a new position in shares of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,870,000. XY Capital Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group during the third quarter worth about $6,678,000. Capricorn Fund Managers Ltd acquired a new stake in Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $9,065,000. Signaturefd LLC lifted its stake in Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 180,041 shares of the banks stock valued at $1,773,000 after acquiring an additional 9,894 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ieq Capital LLC boosted its position in Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group by 29.4% during the 3rd quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 19,163 shares of the banks stock worth $189,000 after acquiring an additional 4,358 shares during the last quarter. 1.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. (Get Free Report) Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides banking, leasing, securities, credit card, and consumer finance services in Japan, the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and Oceania. It operates through Wholesale Business Unit, Retail Business Unit, Global Business Unit, and Global Markets Business Unit segments. Read More Receive News & Ratings for Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. WCG Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of iShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF (BATS:USMV Free Report) by 47.3% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 43,029 shares of the companys stock after acquiring an additional 13,818 shares during the quarter. WCG Wealth Advisors LLCs holdings in iShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF were worth $3,114,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Valmark Advisers Inc. grew its position in shares of iShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF by 5.5% during the 2nd quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 221,653 shares of the companys stock worth $16,475,000 after buying an additional 11,610 shares during the period. Facet Wealth Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of iShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,228,000. Archford Capital Strategies LLC grew its position in shares of iShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF by 6.5% during the 2nd quarter. Archford Capital Strategies LLC now owns 14,714 shares of the companys stock worth $1,117,000 after buying an additional 899 shares during the period. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of iShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $3,855,000. Finally, Meridian Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of iShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF by 17.2% during the 2nd quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,644 shares of the companys stock worth $568,000 after buying an additional 1,124 shares during the period. Get iShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF alerts: iShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF Trading Up 0.7 % BATS USMV traded up $0.56 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $80.65. The companys stock had a trading volume of 3,241,347 shares. The companys 50 day simple moving average is $78.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $75.73. iShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF has a twelve month low of $47.44 and a twelve month high of $55.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.17 and a beta of 0.75. iShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF Profile The iShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF (USMV) is an exchange-traded fund that is based on the MSCI USA Minimum Volatility (USD) index. The fund tracks an index of US-listed firms selected and weighted to create a low-volatility portfolio subject to various constraints. USMV was launched on Oct 18, 2011 and is managed by BlackRock. Featured Articles Want to see what other hedge funds are holding USMV? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for iShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF (BATS:USMV Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for iShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for iShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Shares of Lufax Holding Ltd (NYSE:LU Get Free Report) gapped up prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $2.44, but opened at $2.53. Lufax shares last traded at $2.56, with a volume of 710,161 shares changing hands. Wall Street Analyst Weigh In A number of equities analysts have recently commented on LU shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Lufax from $3.00 to $4.80 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Bank of America lowered Lufax from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $6.95. Get Lufax alerts: Get Our Latest Report on LU Lufax Price Performance The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $2.70 and a 200-day moving average price of $3.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.48 billion, a PE ratio of 10.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 1.59 and a current ratio of 1.59. Lufax (NYSE:LU Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 13th. The company reported $0.04 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.20 by ($0.16). Lufax had a return on equity of 0.93% and a net margin of 2.23%. The business had revenue of $1.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $1.16 billion. Sell-side analysts forecast that Lufax Holding Ltd will post 0.43 EPS for the current fiscal year. Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lufax A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of LU. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Lufax during the first quarter worth about $1,994,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Lufax by 6,974.1% during the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,657,613 shares of the companys stock valued at $9,233,000 after acquiring an additional 1,634,181 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in Lufax by 101.3% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,052,247 shares of the companys stock valued at $5,861,000 after acquiring an additional 529,594 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in Lufax by 157.7% during the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 66,732 shares of the companys stock valued at $372,000 after acquiring an additional 40,839 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Citigroup Inc. raised its position in Lufax by 409.6% during the first quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 418,953 shares of the companys stock valued at $2,334,000 after acquiring an additional 336,739 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 17.40% of the companys stock. About Lufax (Get Free Report) Lufax Holding Ltd operates a technology-empowered personal financial services platform in China. The company offers loan products, including unsecured loans and secured loans, as well as consumer finance loans. It also provides wealth management platforms, such as Lufax (Lu.com), Lu International (Singapore), and Lu International (Hong Kong) to the middle class and affluent investors to invest in products and portfolios; retail credit facilitation services platform that offers small business owners with lending solutions; and technology empowerment solutions for financial institutions. Read More Receive News & Ratings for Lufax Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Lufax and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. The logo of The Carlyle Group is displayed at the company's office in Tokyo By Ron Bousso LONDON (Reuters) -Gabon's national oil company has agreed to acquire Carlyle's Assala Energy after it used its right to preempt the sale of the business for $1.3 billion to France's Maurel & Prom, the firms said on Friday. Maurel & Prom had agreed in August to acquire Assala Energy for $730 million, a deal which also included rolling over a $600 million credit facility. But following a military coup in the west African country in late August, the Gabonese national oil firm sought to exercise its preemptive right on the acquisition in November. The French energy company Maurel & Prom said the new purchase agreement to Gabon Oil Company "supersedes" the deal it had made with the private equity giant. Carlyle said the terms of the new deal were "materially the same". The office of Gabon's presidency said the deal would allow the country to secure and manage its natural resources, and boost its finances. Maurel & Prom shares were down 0.9% at 1033 GMT. Carlyle's non-U.S. energy arm CIEP first invested in Assala in 2017 when it acquired Shell's ageing operations in Gabon for $628 million. Gabon produces about 200,000 barrels a day (bpd) of crude oil, making it the second-smallest OPEC producer. Assala has increased its production in the African country by 30% since the 2017 acquisition to 45,000 bpd, and has also boosted the size of its oil and gas reserves by 160% through exploration, Carlyle said last August. (Reporting by Gaelle Sheehan and Ron Bousso; Editing by Himani Sarkar and Jan Harvey) China Merchants Port Holdings Company Limited (OTCMKTS:CMHHY Get Free Report) shares hit a new 52-week low on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $13.19 and last traded at $13.19, with a volume of 0 shares. The stock had previously closed at $13.19. China Merchants Port Price Performance The business has a fifty day moving average price of $13.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $14.06. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. China Merchants Port Company Profile (Get Free Report) China Merchants Port Holdings Company Limited, an investment holding company, operates as a port operator in Mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and internationally. The company operates through Ports Operations, Bonded Logistics Operations, and Other Operations segments. It engages in the container, and bulk and general cargo terminals; logistic park operation, ports transportation, and airport cargo handling activities; and property development and investment. Featured Articles Receive News & Ratings for China Merchants Port Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for China Merchants Port and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Procore Technologies (NYSE:PCOR Get Free Report) had its price objective raised by stock analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from $64.00 to $90.00 in a report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus price objective suggests a potential upside of 22.38% from the companys previous close. PCOR has been the subject of several other research reports. Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of Procore Technologies from $85.00 to $75.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 3rd. KeyCorp upped their target price on shares of Procore Technologies from $77.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Procore Technologies from a buy rating to a hold rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $90.00 to $55.00 in a research note on Thursday, November 2nd. Oppenheimer cut shares of Procore Technologies from an outperform rating to a market perform rating in a research note on Thursday, November 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Procore Technologies from $76.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $77.60. Get Procore Technologies alerts: Check Out Our Latest Analysis on Procore Technologies Procore Technologies Stock Down 1.4 % Insiders Place Their Bets Shares of Procore Technologies stock traded down $1.05 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $73.54. The company had a trading volume of 1,216,121 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,003,826. The companys 50-day moving average is $69.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $64.95. Procore Technologies has a twelve month low of $48.11 and a twelve month high of $76.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 1.50. The company has a market cap of $10.55 billion, a P/E ratio of -44.91 and a beta of 0.67. In other Procore Technologies news, CEO Craig F. Jr. Courtemanche sold 29,514 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.95, for a total transaction of $1,651,308.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 813,493 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,514,933.35. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, Director Nanci Caldwell sold 9,270 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.00, for a total value of $695,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 64,280 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,821,000. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Craig F. Jr. Courtemanche sold 29,514 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.95, for a total transaction of $1,651,308.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 813,493 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $45,514,933.35. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 327,920 shares of company stock worth $20,664,363. 39.20% of the stock is owned by insiders. Hedge Funds Weigh In On Procore Technologies A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. California Public Employees Retirement System increased its holdings in Procore Technologies by 31.8% during the 3rd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 139,326 shares of the companys stock valued at $9,101,000 after acquiring an additional 33,590 shares in the last quarter. Lisanti Capital Growth LLC purchased a new position in Procore Technologies during the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,922,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Procore Technologies during the 3rd quarter valued at about $7,328,000. J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Procore Technologies by 180.0% during the 3rd quarter. J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 75,635 shares of the companys stock valued at $4,940,000 after acquiring an additional 48,626 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cadian Capital Management LP increased its holdings in Procore Technologies by 302.5% during the 2nd quarter. Cadian Capital Management LP now owns 2,773,123 shares of the companys stock valued at $180,447,000 after acquiring an additional 2,084,166 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.10% of the companys stock. Procore Technologies Company Profile (Get Free Report) Procore Technologies, Inc provides a cloud-based construction management platform and related software products in the United States and internationally. The company's platform enables owners, general and specialty contractors, architects, and engineers to collaborate on construction projects. It offers Preconstruction that facilitates collaboration between internal and external stakeholders during the planning, budgeting, estimating, bidding, and partner selection phase of a construction project; and Project Management, which enables real-time collaboration, information storage, design, BIM model clash detection, and regulation compliance for teams on the jobsite and in the back office. Featured Stories Receive News & Ratings for Procore Technologies Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Procore Technologies and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Korea Investment CORP reduced its position in The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW Free Report) by 7.1% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,088,837 shares of the financial services providers stock after selling 83,774 shares during the quarter. Korea Investment CORPs holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $59,777,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rafferty Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Charles Schwab by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 498,969 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $27,393,000 after acquiring an additional 22,199 shares in the last quarter. WCG Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Charles Schwab by 4.4% during the third quarter. WCG Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 112,817 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $6,271,000 after buying an additional 4,716 shares in the last quarter. Moser Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Charles Schwab by 45.6% in the third quarter. Moser Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,275 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $180,000 after purchasing an additional 1,025 shares during the period. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich grew its holdings in shares of Charles Schwab by 4.4% in the third quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 1,007,861 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $55,332,000 after purchasing an additional 42,169 shares during the period. Finally, Lord Abbett & CO. LLC lifted its position in Charles Schwab by 23.4% in the third quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 2,891,911 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $158,766,000 after buying an additional 549,294 shares during the last quarter. 81.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. Get Charles Schwab alerts: Charles Schwab Stock Down 0.6 % Charles Schwab stock traded down $0.40 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $64.23. The company had a trading volume of 1,886,668 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,226,327. The stock has a market cap of $113.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.44, a PEG ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.99. The Charles Schwab Co. has a 1 year low of $45.00 and a 1 year high of $81.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The business has a fifty day moving average of $65.62 and a 200 day moving average of $60.06. Charles Schwab Announces Dividend Charles Schwab ( NYSE:SCHW Get Free Report ) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.04. Charles Schwab had a net margin of 26.90% and a return on equity of 22.07%. The business had revenue of $4.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.49 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.07 earnings per share. The companys revenue for the quarter was down 18.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that The Charles Schwab Co. will post 3.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 9th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 8th. Charles Schwabs dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.37%. Analyst Ratings Changes A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on shares of Charles Schwab in a research report on Friday, December 1st. They issued a sell rating and a $52.00 target price on the stock. Raymond James reduced their price target on shares of Charles Schwab from $78.00 to $75.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a neutral rating and set a $71.00 price target (up previously from $70.00) on shares of Charles Schwab in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut shares of Charles Schwab from an outperform rating to a market perform rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $75.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 18th. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a market outperform rating and set a $77.00 price target on shares of Charles Schwab in a research report on Thursday, January 18th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seven have issued 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 $69.69. Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on Charles Schwab Insider Buying and Selling at Charles Schwab In other news, Chairman Charles R. Schwab sold 16,390 shares of Charles Schwab stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.94, for a total transaction of $1,047,976.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 61,331,688 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $3,921,548,130.72. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, Chairman Charles R. Schwab sold 16,390 shares of Charles Schwab stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.94, for a total transaction of $1,047,976.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 61,331,688 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,921,548,130.72. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Peter B. Crawford sold 4,000 shares of Charles Schwab stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.49, for a total value of $257,960.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 37,611 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $2,425,533.39. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 43,760 shares of company stock valued at $2,731,159. 6.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders. 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. See Also Want to see what other hedge funds are holding SCHW? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Charles Schwab Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Charles Schwab and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Nu Skin Enterprises, Inc. (NYSE:NUS Get Free Report) was up 5.2% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $14.64 and last traded at $14.54. Approximately 310,173 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 56% from the average daily volume of 698,948 shares. The stock had previously closed at $13.82. Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth NUS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. TheStreet lowered shares of Nu Skin Enterprises from a c rating to a d+ rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 1st. DA Davidson cut their target price on shares of Nu Skin Enterprises from $29.00 to $21.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 5th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $23.67. Get Nu Skin Enterprises alerts: View Our Latest Stock Report on NUS Nu Skin Enterprises Trading Down 0.7 % Nu Skin Enterprises Cuts Dividend The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The businesss 50-day moving average is $18.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $20.19. The firm has a market cap of $678.40 million, a P/E ratio of 81.17 and a beta of 1.17. The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 6th. Investors of record on Monday, February 26th will be given a dividend of $0.06 per share. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.75%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 23rd. Nu Skin Enterprisess dividend payout ratio is presently 866.71%. Insider Activity at Nu Skin Enterprises In related news, Director Andrew D. Lipman sold 2,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.39, for a total transaction of $38,780.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 33,225 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $644,232.75. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders sold a total of 6,000 shares of company stock valued at $110,100 in the last quarter. Insiders own 2.00% of the companys stock. Institutional Inflows and Outflows Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Nu Skin Enterprises by 66.4% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 460,697 shares of the companys stock worth $9,771,000 after purchasing an additional 183,769 shares during the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Nu Skin Enterprises by 581.2% in the third quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 78,860 shares of the companys stock valued at $1,673,000 after acquiring an additional 67,284 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new position in shares of Nu Skin Enterprises in the second quarter valued at approximately $21,804,000. Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC bought a new position in shares of Nu Skin Enterprises in the third quarter valued at approximately $124,000. Finally, Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund bought a new position in shares of Nu Skin Enterprises in the third quarter valued at approximately $626,000. Institutional investors own 73.62% of the companys stock. Nu Skin Enterprises Company Profile (Get Free Report) Nu Skin Enterprises, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, develops and distributes various beauty and wellness products worldwide. It offers skin care devices, cosmetics, and other personal care products, including ageLOC LumiSpa and ageLOC LumiSpa iO, ageLOC Body Spa; and nutricentials skin care products. Featured Stories Receive News & Ratings for Nu Skin Enterprises Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Nu Skin Enterprises and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV Free Report) by 1.7% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 377,320 shares of the insurance providers stock after purchasing an additional 6,317 shares during the quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.s holdings in Travelers Companies were worth $61,620,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Travelers Companies by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,074 shares of the insurance providers stock valued at $562,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Equitable Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in Travelers Companies by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter. Equitable Holdings Inc. now owns 2,816 shares of the insurance providers stock valued at $489,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Thomasville National Bank raised its holdings in Travelers Companies by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. Thomasville National Bank now owns 1,563 shares of the insurance providers stock valued at $255,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Money Concepts Capital Corp raised its holdings in Travelers Companies by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Money Concepts Capital Corp now owns 3,646 shares of the insurance providers stock valued at $596,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Smith Moore & CO. increased its position in Travelers Companies by 4.4% during the 2nd quarter. Smith Moore & CO. now owns 1,785 shares of the insurance providers stock valued at $310,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.12% of the companys stock. Get Travelers Companies alerts: Insider Transactions at Travelers Companies In other news, CFO Daniel S. Frey sold 38,000 shares of Travelers Companies stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.55, for a total transaction of $8,076,900.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 14,810 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,147,865.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CFO Daniel S. Frey sold 38,000 shares of Travelers Companies stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.55, for a total transaction of $8,076,900.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 14,810 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,147,865.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Vice Chairman William H. Heyman sold 4,500 shares of Travelers Companies stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.06, for a total value of $967,770.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 255,178 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $54,878,580.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 110,045 shares of company stock worth $23,391,963 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.29% of the companys stock. Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades TRV has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Janney Montgomery Scott initiated coverage on shares of Travelers Companies in a research report on Wednesday, December 20th. They set a buy rating and a $215.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com raised shares of Travelers Companies from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. HSBC assumed coverage on shares of Travelers Companies in a research report on Thursday, December 28th. They set a hold rating and a $203.00 target price for the company. Oppenheimer assumed coverage on shares of Travelers Companies in a research report on Thursday, November 16th. They set a market perform rating for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Travelers Companies from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Travelers Companies presently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $201.38. Check Out Our Latest Analysis on Travelers Companies Travelers Companies Price Performance Shares of NYSE:TRV opened at $219.06 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stocks fifty day simple moving average is $198.96 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $178.31. The Travelers Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $157.33 and a 1-year high of $219.62. The stock has a market cap of $50.03 billion, a PE ratio of 17.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.58. Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 19th. The insurance provider reported $7.01 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.10 by $1.91. Travelers Companies had a return on equity of 13.68% and a net margin of 7.23%. The business had revenue of $10.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $10.18 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.40 EPS. The businesss revenue was up 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that The Travelers Companies, Inc. will post 17.68 EPS for the current fiscal year. Travelers Companies Dividend Announcement The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th will be paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.83%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 7th. Travelers Companiess payout ratio is 31.27%. Travelers Companies Company Profile (Free Report) The Travelers Companies, Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides a range of commercial and personal property, and casualty insurance products and services to businesses, government units, associations, and individuals in the United States and internationally. It operates through three segments: Business Insurance, Bond & Specialty Insurance, and Personal Insurance. Featured Stories Want to see what other hedge funds are holding TRV? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Travelers Companies Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Travelers Companies and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Korea Investment CORP raised its holdings in shares of Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C Free Report) by 5.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,247,569 shares of the companys stock after buying an additional 58,843 shares during the period. Korea Investment CORP owned about 0.07% of Citigroup worth $51,313,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in C. Carmel Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Citigroup in the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Citigroup by 73.8% during the third quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 683 shares of the companys stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 290 shares during the last quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Citigroup during the first quarter worth $28,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Citigroup by 75.0% during the third quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC now owns 700 shares of the companys stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Union Savings Bank bought a new position in shares of Citigroup during the second quarter worth $30,000. 69.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors. Get Citigroup alerts: Citigroup Price Performance C traded down $0.16 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $55.05. 3,349,344 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 18,975,250. The company has a market capitalization of $105.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.76, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.52. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $52.53 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $46.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52. Citigroup Inc. has a 52-week low of $38.17 and a 52-week high of $57.95. Citigroup Announces Dividend Citigroup ( NYSE:C Get Free Report ) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 12th. The company reported ($1.16) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $0.73 by ($1.89). The company had revenue of $17.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $18.71 billion. Citigroup had a return on equity of 6.49% and a net margin of 5.88%. The firms revenue for the quarter was down 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.10 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Citigroup Inc. will post 5.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 23rd. Investors of record on Monday, February 5th will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 2nd. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.85%. Citigroups payout ratio is presently 53.13%. Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth Several research firms have commented on C. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Citigroup from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Citigroup from $59.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 2nd. BMO Capital Markets lowered shares of Citigroup from an outperform rating to a market perform rating and set a $57.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. TheStreet upgraded shares of Citigroup from a c+ rating to a b- rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 13th. Finally, HSBC upgraded shares of Citigroup from a hold rating to a buy rating and increased their price objective for the company from $42.00 to $61.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat, Citigroup has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $57.03. Check Out Our Latest Research Report on Citigroup About Citigroup (Free Report) Citigroup Inc, a diversified financial services holding company, provides various financial products and services to consumers, corporations, governments, and institutions in North America, Latin America, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. It operates through three segments: Institutional Clients Group (ICG), Personal Banking and Wealth Management (PBWM), and Legacy Franchises. Featured Articles Want to see what other hedge funds are holding C? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Citigroup Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Citigroup and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Baillie Gifford & Co. trimmed its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL Free Report) by 1.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,173,359 shares of the basic materials companys stock after selling 16,969 shares during the period. Baillie Gifford & Co. owned approximately 0.41% of Ecolab worth $198,767,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Ecolab by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,229,633 shares of the basic materials companys stock valued at $1,864,760,000 after acquiring an additional 141,180 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its position in shares of Ecolab by 58.0% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 5,510,224 shares of the basic materials companys stock valued at $802,069,000 after acquiring an additional 2,023,685 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Ecolab by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,632,979 shares of the basic materials companys stock valued at $862,321,000 after acquiring an additional 21,107 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in shares of Ecolab by 4.0% during the 2nd quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 3,730,373 shares of the basic materials companys stock valued at $696,424,000 after acquiring an additional 144,420 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Ecolab by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,079,882 shares of the basic materials companys stock valued at $543,784,000 after acquiring an additional 32,366 shares during the last quarter. 73.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. Get Ecolab alerts: Ecolab Stock Up 0.0 % Ecolab stock traded up $0.08 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $216.55. 284,731 shares of the companys stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,175,938. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The stock has a market cap of $61.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.08. Ecolab Inc. has a 1-year low of $153.87 and a 1-year high of $221.55. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $199.32 and a two-hundred day moving average of $184.92. Ecolab Increases Dividend Ecolab ( NYSE:ECL Get Free Report ) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The basic materials company reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $3.94 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.92 billion. Ecolab had a net margin of 8.96% and a return on equity of 19.36%. The businesss quarterly revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.27 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.37 EPS for the current fiscal year. The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 19th were given a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.05%. This is an increase from Ecolabs previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 18th. Ecolabs dividend payout ratio is presently 47.60%. Insiders Place Their Bets In other news, Director David Maclennan purchased 800 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Friday, December 1st. The stock was bought at an average cost of $191.53 per share, for a total transaction of $153,224.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 16,070 shares of the companys stock, valued at $3,077,887.10. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director David Maclennan purchased 800 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Friday, December 1st. The stock was bought at an average cost of $191.53 per share, for a total transaction of $153,224.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 16,070 shares of the companys stock, valued at $3,077,887.10. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Nicholas J. Alfano sold 6,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.63, for a total transaction of $1,137,780.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 9,717 shares of the companys stock, valued at $1,842,634.71. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.04% of the companys stock. Analyst Ratings Changes ECL has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Ecolab from $212.00 to $227.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a research report on Wednesday. Bank of America raised shares of Ecolab from an underperform rating to a neutral rating and boosted their target price for the company from $185.00 to $216.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. Raymond James initiated coverage on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Thursday, November 30th. They set an outperform rating and a $210.00 target price on the stock. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $184.00 to $232.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $193.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research note on Wednesday. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ecolab currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $216.88. Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on Ecolab About Ecolab (Free Report) Ecolab Inc provides water, hygiene, and infection prevention solutions and services in the United States and internationally. The company operates through Global Industrial, Global Institutional & Specialty, and Global Healthcare & Life Sciences segments. The Global Industrial segment offers water treatment and process applications, and cleaning and sanitizing solutions to manufacturing, food and beverage processing, transportation, chemical, metals and mining, power generation, pulp and paper, commercial laundry, petroleum, refining, and petrochemical industries. Further Reading Receive News & Ratings for Ecolab Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Ecolab and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Prudential PLC trimmed its position in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC Free Report) by 15.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 227,479 shares of the financial services providers stock after selling 42,659 shares during the quarter. Prudential PLCs holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $9,295,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,049,693,000. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 129,312.1% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 26,287,479 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $1,085,410,000 after acquiring an additional 26,267,166 shares during the period. Capital International Investors lifted its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 69.1% during the 2nd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 61,833,769 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $2,638,987,000 after buying an additional 25,268,032 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 1,478.6% in the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 8,390,611 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $406,609,000 after buying an additional 7,859,100 shares during the period. Finally, Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board acquired a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company during the first quarter worth approximately $345,861,000. 72.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors. Get Wells Fargo & Company alerts: Analysts Set New Price Targets A number of brokerages recently commented on WFC. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a hold rating and set a $51.00 price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Tuesday, January 9th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $54.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. Odeon Capital Group lowered Wells Fargo & Company from a buy rating to a hold rating and set a $48.80 target price for the company. in a research note on Thursday, January 18th. Barclays boosted their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $54.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $51.00 to $50.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Wells Fargo & Company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $51.43. Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance Shares of NYSE WFC traded down $0.04 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $52.00. 6,285,909 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 18,151,748. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $48.90 and a two-hundred day moving average of $44.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $188.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.80, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.88. Wells Fargo & Company has a one year low of $35.25 and a one year high of $52.45. Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 12th. The financial services provider reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $1.16 by ($0.30). Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.40% and a net margin of 16.60%. The company had revenue of $20.48 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.30 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.67 earnings per share. Wells Fargo & Companys revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Wells Fargo & Company will post 4.72 EPS for the current fiscal year. Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 2nd will be paid a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 1st. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.69%. Wells Fargo & Companys payout ratio is presently 29.05%. Wells Fargo & Company Company Profile (Free Report) Wells Fargo & Company, a diversified financial services company, provides banking, investment, mortgage, and consumer and commercial finance products and services in the United States and internationally. It operates through four segments: Consumer Banking and Lending; Commercial Banking; Corporate and Investment Banking; and Wealth and Investment Management. Featured Stories Receive News & Ratings for Wells Fargo & Company Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Wells Fargo & Company and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. trimmed its stake in RTX Co. (NYSE:RTX Free Report) by 2.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 30,912 shares of the companys stock after selling 712 shares during the quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.s holdings in RTX were worth $2,225,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC acquired a new position in RTX during the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of RTX in the first quarter worth $28,000. Legacy Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of RTX in the third quarter worth $35,000. VitalStone Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of RTX by 136.5% in the second quarter. VitalStone Financial LLC now owns 369 shares of the companys stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 213 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Milestone Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of RTX in the third quarter worth $37,000. Institutional investors own 79.06% of the companys stock. Get RTX alerts: RTX Stock Up 0.4 % Shares of NYSE RTX opened at $91.80 on Friday. The firms 50-day simple moving average is $86.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $82.20. The company has a market cap of $121.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. RTX Co. has a 12-month low of $68.56 and a 12-month high of $104.91. RTX Dividend Announcement RTX ( NYSE:RTX Get Free Report ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $19.93 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.74 billion. RTX had a net margin of 4.64% and a return on equity of 10.34%. The firms quarterly revenue was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.27 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that RTX Co. will post 5.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 22nd. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.57%. RTXs payout ratio is presently 105.36%. Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. DZ Bank downgraded shares of RTX from a hold rating to a sell rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $79.00 to $68.00 in a research note on Friday, October 27th. TheStreet upgraded shares of RTX from a c rating to a b- rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of RTX from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 25th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of RTX from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of RTX from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $91.71. Get Our Latest Report on RTX Insider Buying and Selling at RTX In other RTX news, COO Christopher T. Calio sold 367 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.63, for a total transaction of $33,995.21. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 56,707 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,252,769.41. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other RTX news, COO Christopher T. Calio sold 367 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.63, for a total transaction of $33,995.21. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 56,707 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,252,769.41. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Shane G. Eddy sold 35,456 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.19, for a total value of $3,233,232.64. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 6,741 shares of the companys stock, valued at $614,711.79. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 37,680 shares of company stock worth $3,438,681. Company insiders own 0.11% of the companys stock. RTX Company Profile (Free Report) RTX Corporation, an aerospace and defense company, provides systems and services for the commercial, military, and government customers worldwide. It operates through four segments: Collins Aerospace, Pratt & Whitney, Raytheon Intelligence & Space, and Raytheon Missiles & Defense. The Collins Aerospace Systems segment offers aerospace and defense products, and aftermarket service solutions for aircraft manufacturers and airlines, as well as regional, business, and general aviation; and for defense and commercial space operations. Read More Want to see what other hedge funds are holding RTX? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for RTX Co. (NYSE:RTX Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for RTX Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for RTX and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. WESCO International, Inc. (NYSE:WCC Get Free Report) was the target of a significant decline in short interest during the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,410,000 shares, a decline of 13.0% from the January 15th total of 1,620,000 shares. Approximately 3.2% of the companys shares are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 337,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.2 days. Wall Street Analyst Weigh In WCC has been the subject of several analyst reports. KeyCorp decreased their target price on shares of WESCO International from $185.00 to $165.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on shares of WESCO International from $185.00 to $175.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada downgraded shares of WESCO International from an outperform rating to a sector perform rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $202.00 to $173.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of WESCO International from $203.00 to $170.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of WESCO International from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Wednesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given 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 price target of $178.83. Get WESCO International alerts: Check Out Our Latest Analysis on WCC WESCO International Price Performance Shares of NYSE:WCC traded up $1.79 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $149.23. 337,830 shares of the companys stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 553,959. WESCO International has a 52 week low of $121.90 and a 52 week high of $195.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 2.48. The companys fifty day simple moving average is $172.81 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $157.22. The company has a market cap of $7.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 2.11. WESCO International (NYSE:WCC Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The technology company reported $2.65 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.86 by ($1.21). The firm had revenue of $5.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.59 billion. WESCO International had a return on equity of 17.01% and a net margin of 3.42%. The businesss quarterly revenue was down 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $4.13 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that WESCO International will post 15.7 EPS for the current fiscal year. WESCO International Announces Dividend The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 29th. Investors of record on Friday, December 15th were given a dividend of $0.375 per share. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 14th. WESCO Internationals payout ratio is presently 11.08%. Insider Activity In other news, EVP Nelson John Squires III sold 3,490 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.00, for a total value of $663,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 54,385 shares of the companys stock, valued at $10,333,150. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Nelson John Squires III sold 3,490 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.00, for a total value of $663,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 54,385 shares of the companys stock, valued at $10,333,150. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Hemant Porwal sold 13,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.12, for a total transaction of $2,003,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,089 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $2,171,396.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.60% of the companys stock. Hedge Funds Weigh In On WESCO International Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in WESCO International by 6.8% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 657,472 shares of the technology companys stock worth $117,727,000 after acquiring an additional 41,589 shares during the period. First Hawaiian Bank increased its position in WESCO International by 2.1% during the third quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 5,501 shares of the technology companys stock worth $791,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares during the period. Amalgamated Bank increased its position in WESCO International by 16.1% during the third quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 34,221 shares of the technology companys stock worth $4,922,000 after acquiring an additional 4,733 shares during the period. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC boosted its stake in WESCO International by 2.6% during the third quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC now owns 54,985 shares of the technology companys stock worth $7,908,000 after buying an additional 1,390 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New York State Teachers Retirement System acquired a new stake in WESCO International during the second quarter worth $2,392,000. Institutional investors own 99.15% of the companys stock. About WESCO International (Get Free Report) WESCO International, Inc provides business-to-business distribution, logistics services, and supply chain solutions in the United States, Canada, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Electrical & Electronic Solutions (EES), Communications & Security Solutions (CSS), and Utility and Broadband Solutions (UBS). See Also Receive News & Ratings for WESCO International Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for WESCO International and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Jirapong Manustrong / Getty Images/iStockphoto Even though the U.S. government says there are millions of jobs available right now, people are falling victim to ghost jobs. Angela Champ, an HR executive, career and leadership expert, and the author of The Squiggly Line Career, said, Ghost jobs are fake, unavailable or long-expired job postings that are listed on job boards. Learn: Grant Cardone: Heres How To Become Rich If Youre Earning an Average Salary Next: 6 Unusual Ways To Make Extra Money (That Actually Work) Unfortunately, when people apply to a job thats non-existent, its not only a waste of time but also a lost opportunity to secure a job they need to start making money. Heres more on the mystery of ghost jobs and five ways you can avoid them during your job search. Sponsored: Owe the IRS $10K or more? Schedule a FREE consultation to see if you qualify for tax relief. Why Do Ghost Jobs Exist? Champ said there are many reasons why ghost jobs exist. See: 10 Ways to Double Your Income With ChatGPT Adhering to Internal Posting Policies Champ said one reason ghost jobs exist is if the company is required by an internal policy to post all jobs even when they already have a candidate in mind. In other words, Champ shared, they only post the job to satisfy the policy requirement. They have no intention of considering external hires, she said. Posting To Receive Funding Another reason a job applicant might encounter a ghost job is because the company is receiving government or other funding in exchange for creating jobs, Champ said. She explained, They post positions that dont exist in order to get the funding. Gauging the Labor Market Another self-serving reason a company might post a ghost job is for curiositys sake. The company doesnt have an open position but wants to gauge the labor market and see what sorts of candidates are out there, Champ said. Appeasing Overworked Employees The company is under pressure by internal employees to hire more people due to being short-staffed, and so [they] post a position to give the employees false hope that the company is planning to hire more people, Champ explained. This tactic works for a short period of time, until the employees realize that no one is being interviewed or hired despite the posting being up for weeks or months. Story continues The Posting Is Evergreen According to Champ, this means that the company keeps a posting live indefinitely to have access to candidates when and if they finally need someone. The Posting Is Related to a Scam The posting is fake and may be part of a larger scam to take advantage of desperate candidates seeking work, said Champ. Ways To Avoid Ghost Jobs Fortunately, there are ways to avoid ghost jobs, if you are vigilant. Research the Company Champ suggested that before applying to postings, candidates should take some time to research the company and ensure its not a ghost job. Look up the companys web site and check their careers section, she suggested. Have the postings been up for a long time? Look on LinkedIn to see if you can find a company page or any employees working for that company. Does the company page have any posts about the companys activities? Are the employees posting regularly about their work? Check Glassdoor to see if other candidates have identified this company as a ghost job poster. Evaluate the Details of the Job Posting Champ said that another way to identify a ghost job is if the posting doesnt have a job description but lists lots of company perks, such as wages, bonus, benefits, paid time off (PTO), vacation and the like solely with the purpose of enticing candidates to apply. Check How Long the Job Posting Has Been Open Another sign of a ghost job, according to Champ, is a posting that has been open for more than 30 days for an entry-level role or more than 60 days for a more senior role. Check the posting date to see if this might be an evergreen or fake job ad, she said. Avoid Requests for Money From Recruiters or Representatives Champ said if a posting invites candidates to apply and is immediately followed by a message from a recruiter or company representative asking the applicant to invest into or pay a sum of money to be considered for the next stage or to access company information, its a sign of a ghost job. Be Wary of Postings That Dont Reveal the Company Name Champ said if you encounter a posting where the company name is kept confidential and there is no third-party recruitment firm working on the posting, its a sign of a ghost job. More From GOBankingRates This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: What Are Ghost Jobs? (And 5 Ways To Avoid Them) Valmont Industries, Inc. (NYSE:VMI Get Free Report) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest in the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 495,800 shares, a decrease of 14.6% from the January 15th total of 580,600 shares. Approximately 2.4% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 169,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.9 days. Valmont Industries Price Performance Shares of VMI stock traded down $1.43 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $229.41. The stock had a trading volume of 49,339 shares, compared to its average volume of 147,382. Valmont Industries has a 12-month low of $188.63 and a 12-month high of $335.60. The company has a market cap of $4.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.05. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $229.66 and a 200 day simple moving average of $230.96. The company has a current ratio of 2.49, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. Get Valmont Industries alerts: Analyst Ratings Changes VMI has been the subject of several research analyst reports. TheStreet downgraded Valmont Industries from a b rating to a c rating in a report on Wednesday, October 25th. StockNews.com raised Valmont Industries from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. Northcoast Research downgraded Valmont Industries from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a report on Thursday, October 26th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Valmont Industries from $264.00 to $266.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Finally, DA Davidson raised Valmont Industries from a neutral rating to a buy rating and increased their price target for the stock from $230.00 to $290.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Valmont Industries has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $278.00. Institutional Inflows and Outflows Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Belpointe Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Valmont Industries by 7.6% during the first quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 607 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $194,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Valmont Industries by 6.0% during the second quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 790 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $230,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Valmont Industries by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,796 shares of the industrial products companys stock worth $405,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its stake in Valmont Industries by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 9,110 shares of the industrial products companys stock worth $2,188,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its stake in Valmont Industries by 6.7% in the 2nd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 825 shares of the industrial products companys stock worth $241,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.15% of the companys stock. Valmont Industries Company Profile (Get Free Report) Valmont Industries, Inc produces and sells metal products in the United States, Australia, Brazil, Denmark, and internationally. The company operates through two segments: Infrastructure and Agriculture. It manufactures and distributes steel, pre-stressed concrete, composite, and hybrid structures for lighting, transportation, and telecommunications equipment, as well as electrical transmission, distribution, substations, and renewable energy generation equipment; and provides coatings services to preserve metal products. Further Reading Receive News & Ratings for Valmont Industries Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Valmont Industries and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Prudential PLC trimmed its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS Free Report) by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 84,452 shares of the financial services providers stock after selling 4,894 shares during the period. Prudential PLCs holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $6,897,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MS. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 77.3% in the third quarter. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc now owns 328 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. RVW Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 810.8% in the third quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 337 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, West Branch Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. 83.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors. Get Morgan Stanley alerts: Analysts Set New Price Targets MS has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a neutral rating and set a $87.00 price objective (down previously from $94.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 9th. TheStreet lowered Morgan Stanley from a b rating to a c+ rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a market perform rating and set a $91.00 price objective (down previously from $102.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised Morgan Stanley from an underperform rating to a peer perform rating in a research note on Friday, October 20th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $94.56. Morgan Stanley Stock Up 1.0 % MS traded up $0.85 during trading on Friday, reaching $86.52. The stock had a trading volume of 3,032,350 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,755,632. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $69.42 and a one year high of $100.02. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.70. The stocks 50 day moving average is $88.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $83.81. The company has a market capitalization of $142.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.44. Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.06. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 10.33% and a net margin of 9.49%. The firm had revenue of $12.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.77 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.31 earnings per share. The companys revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 6.36 earnings per share for the current year. Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 31st were issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, January 30th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.93%. Morgan Stanleys payout ratio is presently 65.76%. Insider Activity In related news, CFO Raja Akram sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.56, for a total transaction of $584,920.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 97,634 shares of the companys stock, valued at $8,158,297.04. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.13, for a total transaction of $841,300.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 323,490 shares of the companys stock, valued at $27,215,213.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.56, for a total value of $584,920.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 97,634 shares in the company, valued at $8,158,297.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 208,155 shares of company stock worth $18,149,314 over the last three months. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders. About Morgan Stanley (Free Report) Morgan Stanley, a financial holding company, provides various financial products and services to corporations, governments, financial institutions, and individuals in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. It operates through Institutional Securities, Wealth Management, and Investment Management segments. Recommended Stories Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MS? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Morgan Stanley Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Morgan Stanley and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. WCG Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS Free Report) by 28.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 15,537 shares of the financial services providers stock after buying an additional 3,471 shares during the period. WCG Wealth Advisors LLCs holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $1,279,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MS. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 77.3% in the 3rd quarter. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc now owns 328 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. RVW Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 810.8% in the 3rd quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 337 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, West Branch Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. 83.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors. Get Morgan Stanley alerts: Analyst Ratings Changes A number of analysts recently commented on MS shares. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a sector perform rating and issued a $85.00 target price on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Thursday, December 21st. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from an underperform rating to a peer perform rating in a research note on Friday, October 20th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $102.00 to $116.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a market perform rating and issued a $91.00 target price (down from $102.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $106.00 to $107.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley currently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $94.56. Insider Buying and Selling In related news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.30, for a total transaction of $8,730,000.00. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 350,000 shares in the company, valued at $30,555,000. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.30, for a total transaction of $8,730,000.00. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 350,000 shares in the company, valued at $30,555,000. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 50,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.93, for a total transaction of $4,396,500.00. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 400,000 shares in the company, valued at $35,172,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 208,155 shares of company stock worth $18,149,314. Company insiders own 0.26% of the companys stock. Morgan Stanley Stock Up 0.8 % Shares of MS traded up $0.67 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $86.34. 2,708,076 shares of the companys stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,710,593. The company has a market cap of $141.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.44. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $69.42 and a fifty-two week high of $100.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.70, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.76. The stocks 50-day moving average is $88.70 and its 200-day moving average is $83.81. Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $12.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $12.77 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 9.49% and a return on equity of 10.33%. The businesss quarterly revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.31 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 6.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 31st were paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, January 30th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.94%. Morgan Stanleys payout ratio is 65.76%. Morgan Stanley Company Profile (Free Report) Morgan Stanley, a financial holding company, provides various financial products and services to corporations, governments, financial institutions, and individuals in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. It operates through Institutional Securities, Wealth Management, and Investment Management segments. Further Reading Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MS? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Morgan Stanley Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Morgan Stanley and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Korea Investment CORP lessened its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 579,709 shares of the payment services companys stock after selling 8,685 shares during the period. Korea Investment CORP owned 0.08% of American Express worth $86,487,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp raised its holdings in American Express by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 30,320,053 shares of the payment services companys stock valued at $5,281,753,000 after buying an additional 507,042 shares during the period. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in American Express by 118,198.3% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 13,732,068 shares of the payment services companys stock valued at $2,028,913,000 after buying an additional 13,720,460 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in American Express by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 12,503,902 shares of the payment services companys stock valued at $1,847,452,000 after buying an additional 35,760 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in American Express by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,817,376 shares of the payment services companys stock valued at $1,878,460,000 after buying an additional 214,837 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in American Express in the 4th quarter valued at about $911,554,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.08% of the companys stock. Get American Express alerts: American Express Stock Performance Shares of American Express stock traded up $1.39 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $213.92. 777,935 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,484,627. American Express has a 1 year low of $140.91 and a 1 year high of $214.25. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71. The business has a 50-day moving average of $190.38 and a 200-day moving average of $168.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $154.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.23. American Express Announces Dividend American Express ( NYSE:AXP Get Free Report ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 26th. The payment services company reported $2.62 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.64 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $16 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 30.99% and a net margin of 13.84%. American Expresss revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.07 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that American Express will post 12.83 EPS for the current fiscal year. The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 5th were given a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 4th. American Expresss payout ratio is 21.41%. Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays lifted their target price on American Express from $216.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Monness Crespi & Hardt assumed coverage on American Express in a research report on Wednesday, December 20th. They issued a neutral rating for the company. Piper Sandler Companies raised American Express to a neutral rating and set a $151.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 24th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on American Express in a research report on Wednesday, November 1st. They issued a market perform rating and a $158.00 target price for the company. Finally, DZ Bank downgraded American Express from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, American Express presently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $189.00. View Our Latest Analysis on AXP Insiders Place Their Bets In other American Express news, Vice Chairman Jeffrey C. Campbell sold 21,008 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.33, for a total value of $3,536,276.64. Following the sale, the insider now owns 125,646 shares of the companys stock, valued at $21,149,991.18. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other American Express news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.65, for a total value of $1,431,455.85. Following the sale, the insider now owns 12,388 shares of the companys stock, valued at $2,522,816.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Vice Chairman Jeffrey C. Campbell sold 21,008 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.33, for a total value of $3,536,276.64. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 125,646 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,149,991.18. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 193,055 shares of company stock worth $40,064,664. 0.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders. American Express Company Profile (Free Report) American Express Company, together with its subsidiaries, provides charge and credit payment card products, and travel-related services worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Global Consumer Services Group, Global Commercial Services, and Global Merchant and Network Services. Its products and services include payment and financing products; network services; accounts payable expense management products and services; and travel and lifestyle services. Read More Want to see what other hedge funds are holding AXP? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for American Express (NYSE:AXP Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for American Express Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for American Express and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Phoenix Holdings Ltd. grew its holdings in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR Free Report) by 41.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,684 shares of the insurance providers stock after buying an additional 5,430 shares during the period. Phoenix Holdings Ltd.s holdings in Progressive were worth $2,603,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of PGR. Markel Corp raised its position in shares of Progressive by 4.1% in the first quarter. Markel Corp now owns 750,750 shares of the insurance providers stock valued at $85,578,000 after buying an additional 29,750 shares during the last quarter. Roundview Capital LLC increased its position in Progressive by 0.8% during the first quarter. Roundview Capital LLC now owns 49,086 shares of the insurance providers stock worth $5,595,000 after purchasing an additional 381 shares during the last quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. increased its position in Progressive by 3.9% during the first quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 6,693 shares of the insurance providers stock worth $763,000 after purchasing an additional 254 shares during the last quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. increased its position in Progressive by 8.0% during the first quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 3,081 shares of the insurance providers stock worth $351,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in Progressive by 103.5% during the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,022 shares of the insurance providers stock worth $800,000 after purchasing an additional 3,571 shares during the last quarter. 83.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. Get Progressive alerts: Wall Street Analyst Weigh In Several research firms recently issued reports on PGR. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Progressive from $111.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an underweight rating in a research report on Monday, November 20th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Progressive from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and increased their target price for the stock from $144.00 to $176.00 in a research note on Monday, December 18th. Raymond James lowered shares of Progressive from an outperform rating to a market perform rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 12th. Roth Mkm increased their target price on shares of Progressive from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Progressive from $158.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Progressive presently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $169.22. Insider Activity In related news, insider Andrew J. Quigg sold 1,210 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.26, for a total value of $196,334.60. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 27,247 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,421,098.22. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Progressive news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 5,939 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.24, for a total transaction of $1,005,116.36. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 465,737 shares in the company, valued at approximately $78,821,329.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Andrew J. Quigg sold 1,210 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.26, for a total transaction of $196,334.60. Following the sale, the insider now owns 27,247 shares in the company, valued at $4,421,098.22. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 114,862 shares of company stock valued at $18,747,693 in the last ninety days. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders. Progressive Stock Up 0.9 % PGR stock traded up $1.72 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $190.96. 790,546 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,196,160. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a current ratio of 0.35. The Progressive Co. has a 1-year low of $111.41 and a 1-year high of $191.92. The stocks 50-day simple moving average is $168.93 and its 200 day simple moving average is $153.70. The company has a market cap of $111.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.35. Progressive (NYSE:PGR Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The insurance provider reported $2.96 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $2.43 by $0.53. The business had revenue of $16.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $16.10 billion. Progressive had a net margin of 6.28% and a return on equity of 21.10%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.52 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Progressive Co. will post 8.62 earnings per share for the current year. Progressive Announces Dividend The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 19th were issued a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 18th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.21%. Progressives payout ratio is 12.92%. About Progressive (Free Report) The Progressive Corporation, an insurance holding company, provides personal and commercial auto, personal residential and commercial property, general liability, and other specialty property-casualty insurance products and related services in the United States. It operates in three segments: Personal Lines, Commercial Lines, and Property. Recommended Stories Want to see what other hedge funds are holding PGR? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Progressive Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Progressive and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. China's increased appetite for metals and minerals to power its industries is fuelling a boom in Chinese investments and construction deals in Africa, after years of slowdown partly caused by the coronavirus pandemic. African countries that have a Belt and Road Initiative cooperation agreement with China saw a 47 per cent jump in Chinese construction contracts and a 114 per cent increase in investments last year compared with 2022, according to the China Belt and Road Initiative Investment report for 2023 by the Griffith Asia Institute at Griffith University in Brisbane, Australia. The increase in 2023 saw Africa become the largest recipient of Chinese engagement, worth US$21.7 billion, overtaking Middle Eastern countries which saw US$15.8 billion in engagement. 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. Meanwhile, East Asian belt and road countries expanded their intake of Chinese investments by 94 per cent to US$6.8 billion in 2023, according to the report, which was produced in collaboration with the Green Finance & Development Centre of the Fanhai International School of Finance at Fudan University, Shanghai. Observers expect the upward trend for Chinese investments in Africa to continue, though they say they will not reach the same levels that were seen a decade ago. Powering the recovery is the race for raw minerals that are vital in the global transition to green energy. Major players in this transition are the electric vehicle, battery and renewable energy industries, referred to as the "New Three" by the report's author Professor Christoph Nedopil Wang, a director at Griffith Asia Institute. He said the jump in belt and road investments in Africa has been "driven by the metal and mining sector" - such as in Botswana, where China's MMG Ltd, which is controlled by the state-owned China Minmetals Corp, acquired Khoemacau copper mine owned by Cuprous Capital for US$1.88 billion in November last year. Story continues Other resource-rich African countries including the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Namibia, Zimbabwe and Mali have all witnessed a rush by China to secure minerals, in particular raw materials such as cobalt and lithium which are essential for making electric vehicle batteries and electronics. As well as leading the charge for vital minerals, Chinese companies have also won construction deals in energy, railways, roads and real estate in various African countries. Nedopil Wang said these construction deals have been fuelled by the transport industry, such as in Tanzania, where Chinese companies are building major railways. Last year, China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation and China Railway Construction Corporation won a second contract worth US$2.2 billion to build the sixth phase and final portion of a 2,561km (1,591 mile) standard gauge railway (SGR) in Tanzania, according to the China Global Investment Tracker by the American Enterprise Institute. The Chinese companies will build the 506km line connecting the towns of Tabora in the mid-west of the country with Kigoma, on Lake Tanganyika near the Burundi and DRC borders. In 2021, the two Chinese entities were also appointed to construct the fifth phase of the SGR line, about 250km long, connecting the town of Isaka with Mwanza, the second-largest city in Tanzania. Meanwhile, Chinese companies, including China National Petroleum Corp, China Energy Engineering Corporation, and China Communications Construction Company, last year won construction projects worth US$930 million in Tanzania. Plus Chinese firm Weihai Huatan is investing US$110 million to build the East Africa Commercial and Logistics Centre there. Nedopil Wang, who is also a director at Green Finance & Development Centre, said the top destinations for investment and construction engagement were Tanzania, the DRC, Nigeria, Botswana, Algeria, Zimbabwe and Ethiopia. In particular, in Zimbabwe, billions of dollars have been pumped into the production and processing of lithium, while in the DRC, which is the world's largest producer of cobalt and a major source of copper, massive investments have been made by Chinese companies. Chinese firm JCHX Mining, China Molybdenum, which is China's largest producer of molybdenum, used to make alloys, and Contemporary Amperex Tech, the world's largest battery producer, last year announced plans to invest more than US$4 billion in the DRC, according to China Global Investment Tracker data. Chinese construction schemes in Africa, particularly to upgrade or build infrastructure, increased in 2023. Photo: Xinhua alt=Chinese construction schemes in Africa, particularly to upgrade or build infrastructure, increased in 2023. Photo: Xinhua> In Algeria, too, Chinese companies, including State Construction Engineering, China National Petroleum Corp and China Communications Construction won construction projects worth US$1.2 billion last year. Nedopil Wang predicts a further recovery of belt and road investments and construction contracts in 2024. He said there is a clear need for investments to boost growth in support of the green transition both in China and in belt and road countries. "This provides great opportunities for mining and minerals processing deals, technology deals such as electric vehicle manufacturing, battery manufacturing and green energy," Nedopil Wang said. What's more, he said, continuing post-Covid investments by global banks, including development finance institutions such as the World Bank, Asian Development Bank and AIIB, will provide infrastructure opportunities for Chinese contractors. But the Griffith Asia Institute's report only talks about construction and investment, and does not comment on Chinese financing. Yun Sun, co-director of the East Asia Programme and director of the China Programme at the Washington-based Stimson Centre, said: "As China reopens, investment will resume, but loans have always been the more significant portion of Chinese financing." Sub-Saharan geoeconomic analyst Aly-Khan Satchu said that Chinese investments are rebounding after a period of slowdown. "The China-Africa engagement is self-evidently not the fair-weather variety but long-term and strategic," he said. "China increased its lending to those countries which were diligent about paying their debts during the recent tough times in a type of quid pro quo. "I expect a further acceleration as African countries find it easier to access funds [such as Ivory Coast and Benin Eurobonds] and China continues to look at a longer term horizon." Mark Bohlund, a senior credit research analyst at REDD Intelligence, said Chinese lending to Africa is likely to pick up, but it will remain well below the levels that were seen in 2010-2015. He said this is primarily because most African governments are now managing considerably higher debt loads, both to domestic and external creditors, and are unable to absorb much new lending. "So I expect new debt disbursements to be connected to principal repayments on previous loans for countries like Angola, Cameroon and Kenya, which already owe Chinese creditors significant sums," Bohlund said. This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP's Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright 2024 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Copyright (c) 2024. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. A 15-year-old girl has died in a two-car crash in Co Tipperary. The collision happened around 6.45pm on the R503 at Rearcross. The girl, who was a passenger in one of the cars, was pronounced dead at the scene. The three other occupants of that car a man in his 20s, a woman in her 20s, and another girl in her mid-teens and the female driver of the second car were transported by ambulance to Limerick University Hospital for assessment. Their injuries were not deemed life-threatening. The girl who died has been taken to the mortuary at Limerick University Hospital where a post-mortem examination will be carried out. The road remained closed on Thursday night to facilitate examination by Garda Forensic Collision Investigators. Gardai have appealed for witnesses to come forward. Additionally, anyone with camera footage, including dashcam, from the area at the time is requested to provide it to the Garda. SkyQuest Technology Consulting Pvt. Ltd. SkyQuest projects that the global rich communication services market will attain a value of USD 30.97 billion by 2031, with a CAGR of 17.6% during the forecast period (2024-2031). The primary objective of the RCS market is to revolutionize and enrich the landscape of messaging services, reshaping how people communicate. Traditional SMS messaging is constrained by its inherent limitations, particularly in multimedia functionality and interactive elements. RCS steps in to bridge this gap, ushering in a new era of dynamic and interactive messaging. Westford, USA, Feb. 16, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- According to SkyQuest, the global rich communication services market encompasses advanced messaging services that transcend the limitations of traditional SMS messaging. RCS introduces enhanced features, including high-quality media sharing, group messaging capabilities, read receipts, and interactive content. This innovative technology is meticulously designed to deliver a significantly more prosperous and engaging communication experience for users, paving the way for a more dynamic and interactive way of connecting. Browse in-depth TOC on the "Rich Communication Services Market Pages - 157 Tables 66 Figures 75 The global rich communication services market unfolds a realm of substantial opportunities for both growth and innovation. This technology has the potential to establish itself as a universally embraced messaging standard with an increasing number of mobile network operators and device manufacturers coming together to standardize and advocate for RCS. This collaborative effort and support from industry stakeholders can pave the way for the widespread adoption of RCS, fostering a more seamless and enriched messaging experience for users across the globe. Get a sample copy of this report: https://www.skyquestt.com/sample-request/rich-communication-services-market Prominent Players in Global Rich Communication Services Market AT&T Deutsche Telekom Google Huawei Technologies Mavenir Systems NTT DoCoMo Orange Samsung SK Telecom Vodafone China Mobile Verizon TATA Communications Ericsson RIM SoftBank Telstra Telenor KDDI O2 Story continues A2P Segment to Dominate Market due to its Versatility, Convenience, and Extended Shelf Life A2P segment has emerged as the dominant force in the global rich communication services market, commanding an impressive market share of more than 74.0% in 2022. Furthermore, it is anticipated to sustain its robust growth trajectory throughout the forecast period. North America has assumed a pioneering role in the clean label movement, with consumers in the region demonstrating a robust preference for natural and organic products. Compelling factors in the global rich communication services market support North America's demand for rich communication services. Among these is the rising health consciousness among consumers, who seek products that align with their commitment to well-being and nutritional awareness. Browse summary of the report and Complete Table of Contents (ToC): https://www.skyquestt.com/report/rich-communication-services-market P2A Segment to Witness Significant Growth due to their Unique Advantages P2A segment is poised for substantial growth, with a projected CAGR surpassing 40.0% in the global rich communication services market over the upcoming seven years in 2022. P2A messaging encompasses exchanging messages initiated by customers seeking to interact with businesses, brands, or organizations. Asia Pacific is emerging as one of the most promising and financially rewarding regions for the global rich communication services market, with a projected CAGR exceeding 35.0% during the forecast period in 2022. This remarkable growth trajectory can be attributed to a confluence of factors, including the rising disposable income levels in the region and a substantial increase in smartphone users. A comprehensive analysis of the major players in the global rich communication services market has been recently conducted in this report. The report encompasses various aspects, including collaborations, mergers, innovative business policies, and strategies, providing valuable insights into key trends and breakthroughs in the market. Furthermore, the report scrutinizes the market share of the top segments and presents a detailed geographic analysis. Lastly, the report highlights the major players in the industry and their endeavours to develop innovative solutions to cater to the growing demand. Speak to Analyst for your custom requirements: https://www.skyquestt.com/speak-with-analyst/rich-communication-services-market Key Developments in Global Rich Communication Services Market In 2022, Vodafone made a significant announcement, revealing its plans to introduce RCS (Rich Communication Services) support for its customers in the United Kingdom. This strategic move by Vodafone aligns with a broader initiative led by the GSMA, the global mobile operator's association, aimed at championing RCS as the natural successor to traditional SMS messaging. In 2022, Deutsche Telekom made a noteworthy declaration by unveiling its intention to implement RCS support for its customers in Germany. This development marks a significant milestone, as Deutsche Telekom became Germany's first major mobile operator to initiate RCS support. Key Questions Answered in the Global Rich Communication Services Market Report What specific growth drivers are projected to impact the market during the forecast period? List the top companies in the market and explain how they have achieved their positions of influence. In what ways do regional trends and patterns differ within the global market, and how these differences shape the market's future growth? Related Reports in SkyQuests Library: Global Smartphone TV Market Global Business Rules Management System Market Global Private Cloud Services Market Global Management Decision Market Global Micro Server IC Market About Us: SkyQuest Technology is leading growth consulting firm providing market intelligence, commercialization and technology services. It has 450+ happy clients globally. Address: 1 Apache Way, Westford, Massachusetts 01886 Phone: USA (+1) 617-230-0741 Email: sales@skyquestt.com LinkedIn Facebook Twitter Notice that the local rate of killing continues to steadily rise following an arctic blast that temporarily paused the numbers. Last year the count was at 17 on this date. In less than a week we've added nearly a half dozen homicides to the local count. Here is the report and more news coverage that follows: Homicide 11200 block of Booth This morning around 12:30 AM officers were dispatched to the 11200 block of Booth Avenue on a reported shooting. While officers were in route, multiple additional calls reporting a sound of shots were called in. When responding officers arrived on scene, an adult male victim was located in the front yard of a residence suffering from apparent gunshot wounds. EMS responded to the scene and transported the victim to an area hospital where he later died from his injuries. Officers were then summoned to a nearby residence stating more people had been shot. Officers entered the home where they located a teenage male unresponsive suffering from gunshot wounds. EMS responded to render aid for the victim where he was pronounced deceased on scene. An additional adult male victim was located inside the residence suffering from non-life-threatening gunshot injuries. He was taken to the hospital and is being treated. The preliminary investigation is believed there was a social gathering between several people and a disturbance broke out, resulting in gunfire. The circumstances surrounding the disturbance are being investigated. We do not currently have anyone in custody. Homicide detectives have responded to the scene and will begin gathering evidence and collecting witness statements. This incident is being investigated as a homicide and is considered ongoing at this time. If anyone was in or around the area at this time and saw or heard anything they are asked to contact Homicide detectives directly at 816-234-5043 or the TIPS Hotline anonymously at 816-474-TIPS there is a reward of up to $25,000 for information submitted anonymously to the TIPS hotline. We are committed to assisting victims of violent crimes through use of Missouris Protection Program for Victims/Witnesses of Violent Crime. Funding for temporary, or even permanent relocation, may be available but is subject to pre-approval by the States administering agency. We are working with Partners for Peace in all our homicide investigations to monitor risks for retaliation and provide social services to affected residents. ################# Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com links . . . Two fatally shot at social gathering in Ruskin Heights area Witnesses or those with information can contact homicide detectives directly at 816-234-5043 or the TIPS Hotline anonymously at 816-474-TIPS. 2 dead, 1 injured after social gathering leads to shooting in Kansas City Two people are now dead after a shooting happened near Grandview between Ruskin Way and East 114th Street in Kansas City. Two people killed, one injured in overnight homicide Kansas City Police say two people were killed and a third person injured in a homicide in the 11200 block of Booth Avenue. The traditional mass shooting gun debate song and dance has a few additional steps that apply specifically Kansas City and deserve mention this evening. In this cowtown our progressive friends denounce Republican control of Jeff City which (thankfully) prevents more restrictive gun policies. Meanwhile, GOP leaders admonish violence in "blue cities" which serves as a convenient distraction away from historic fentanyl deaths, garbage highways, substandard schools and 3rd-world healthcare confronting conservative rural Missouri. Here's one part of the refrain and more links to the discussion that, tragically, we'll probably have again this year . . . "Its possible to imagine Kansas City anguished by chronic gun violence and freshly angered by Wednesdays nightmarish Super Bowl rally clamping down on guns. If only it could. "State lawmakers and the governor of Missouri see guns more as a tool of self-defense than as the source of carnage. They put laws in place that bar Kansas City, Jackson County or anywhere else in the state from imposing local gun control." Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com links . . . Some Kansas Citians look for gun control after the Super Bowl parade, but state law limits get in the way After witnessing a deadly mass shooting, Kansas City-area lawmakers say they're ready to fight the state over local gun control. Missouri gun laws in focus after Super Bowl rally shooting The shooting at the Chiefs' parade has put a spotlight on Missouri gun laws, which the Giffords Law Center deems the third weakest in the US. After Kansas City mass shooting, Missouri Democrats demand stricter gun laws * Missouri Independent Missouri elected officials reacted with horror to the mass shooting that shattered Kansas City's Super Bowl joy but differed about a path forward on gun violence. 'It just makes me wanna scream': Kansas City parents navigate speaking to children about tragedy According to Children's Mercy Hospital, 11 children were injured at Wednesday's parade. This has left many parents in the metro wondering, when and how to talk to their kids about the tragedy. What to Know About the Gun Laws in Kansas City, Missouri Missouri was ranked 38th in the U.S. states for gun law strength by Everytown for Gun Safety, a gun violence prevention organization. Opinion | America's leaders are just playing pretend about gun safety In August, Missouri Gov. Mike Parson chastised the mayors of Kansas City and St. Louis, the state's largest cities, for proposing two new gun safety laws. What to know about Kansas City's homicide rate, Missouri gun laws after Chiefs' parade shooting Kansas City homicides reached a record high in 2023 and Missouri has some of the most lax gun laws in the country. Opinion | America's leaders are just playing pretend about gun safety In August, Missouri Gov. Mike Parson chastised the mayors of Kansas City and St. Louis, the state's largest cities, for proposing two new gun safety laws. You decide . . . In the following days, he will sign a ministerial decision on the extension of the temporary protection status for another year, until March 2025, according to the EU's decision Greek Migration and Asylum Minister Dimitris Kairidis met on Friday with the Ukrainian Minister of the Cabinet of Ministers Oleh Nemchinov, ANA reports. The Greek minister was briefed on the situation in Ukraine and, after expressing Greece's support for the Ukrainian people's struggle, he presented in detail the Greek government's policy in terms of providing temporary protection to the Ukrainian citizens currently in Greece. The total number of registered Ukrainians under temporary protection is 27,000 but the total number of Ukrainians in Greece is much higher. Another 4,500 Ukrainians of all ages participated in the integration program "HELIOS" of the Migration and Asylum Ministry which provides rent subsidy, Greek language lessons, as well as vocational training and healthcare. RELATED TOPICS: Greece, Greek tourism news, Tourism in Greece, Greek islands, Hotels in Greece, Travel to Greece, Greek destinations, Greek travel market, Greek tourism statistics, Greek tourism report Photo Source: Wikimedia Commons License: CC-BY-SA Copyright: Alex Khristov The organization of a business mission to Ukraine in 2024 is among the immediate plans of the Athens Chamber of Commerce and Industry, as well as the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding which will officially reflect the frameworks and the pillars of cooperation with the respective Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Ukraine, the President of ACCI Sophia Kounenaki-Efraimoglou stated, ANA reports. "What I can reassure you is that on the Greek enterprises' side, the interest is high," she said at the 6th meeting of the Greece-Ukraine Joint Interministerial Working Team that was held on Thursday in Athens. RELATED TOPICS: Greece, Greek tourism news, Tourism in Greece, Greek islands, Hotels in Greece, Travel to Greece, Greek destinations, Greek travel market, Greek tourism statistics, Greek tourism report Photo Source: Wikimedia Commons License: CC-BY-SA Copyright: Groubani Metropolitan Chrysostomos of Patras, a hierarch distinguished for his articulate discourse on ecclesiastical and social matters, always speaking with love and frankness, in his interview with The National Herald, opened his heart and spoke about the Greek-American Community with words of goodwill, love, honor, and appreciation. Responding to the question, Your Eminence, what do you believe about the Greek-American Community? What are we to you? Metropolitan Chrysostomos said: You are our soul and our heart. We love you; we live with the thought of you, with our love for your persons. Indeed, I come from Arcadia, from a village near Tripoli called Louka, where in the 1960s and earlier, and certainly later, many people left my village and went to Chicago and New York, to Canada and Australia. It is a nostalgia for the faces that we hold in our hearts, and I believe that you have made Greece proud, you glorify it through the values you serve, through our Orthodox Faith and Tradition, and of course, you have beautified the World and, as the Holy Gospel says, salted and enlightened it. We love you very much, we rejoice, we are proud. Abroad, there is another Greece, and we always pray for you, may God keep you well, your families, and your children, and you maintain the Greek language, the Orthodox Faith, and the Hellenic-Christian ideals. Greece, with its spirit, is everywhere. RELATED TOPICS: Greece, Greek tourism news, Tourism in Greece, Greek islands, Hotels in Greece, Travel to Greece, Greek destinations, Greek travel market, Greek tourism statistics, Greek tourism report Photo Source: Wikimedia Commons License: CC-BY-SA Copyright: Jean Housen Are you thinking about venturing alone into new places? Taking this step can open up a range of unexpected rewards. Finding time for oneself might seem indulgent in our society, but as a solo traveler, you realize its importance. This form of travel lets you dive into different cultures, meet interesting people, and create lasting memories, all according to your wishes. As a solo traveler, every decision, from the paths you explore to the meals you enjoy, is entirely up to you. This freedom empowers and transforms you. You learn to rely on your instincts, welcome spontaneous decisions, and enjoy moments of solitude. This guide will show you the hidden benefits you can gain as a solo traveler. Here are they. Discovering Self-Reliance As a solo traveler, one of the most significant benefits you gain is self-reliance. When you are on your own in a new place, you become the sole decision-maker. From choosing where to eat to deciding which landmark to visit next, these decisions strengthen your ability to rely on yourself. This self-reliance goes beyond travel. It seeps into your everyday life, making you more confident in your abilities to make choices and stand by them. Cultivating Flexibility and Adaptability Traveling alone teaches you to be flexible and adaptable. Without a group's schedule, you learn to easily navigate changes and unexpected situations. If a train is delayed or a museum is closed, you quickly learn to adapt and find an alternative. This skill is invaluable for a solo traveler and in all aspects of life, helping you manage unforeseen circumstances with a calm and adaptable mindset. Unmatched Freedom of Choice The freedom of traveling solo is unmatched. You have the liberty to plan your day exactly how you want it. Want to spend hours in a bookstore or museum? Go for it. Prefer to rest one day and trek the next? That is your choice. As a solo traveler, you are not bound by anyone else's preferences or schedules, allowing you to truly tailor your travel experience to your own tastes and interests. Related Article: 5 Best Safety Tips for First Time Solo Travelers Opportunities for Meaningful Connections While solo travel means you start your journey alone, it often leads to meaningful connections. Without the usual travel companions, you are more likely to strike up conversations with locals or fellow travelers. These interactions can lead to lasting friendships and a deeper understanding of the cultures you are visiting. For a solo traveler, these connections are often more authentic as they stem from a place of genuine curiosity and openness. Personal Growth and Discovery Traveling alone offers a unique opportunity for personal growth. You face challenges and learn to overcome them independently, which fosters a sense of achievement and confidence. Furthermore, solo travel often leads to self-discovery. Away from the daily grind and familiar surroundings, you have the chance to reflect on your life, your choices, and your future. For a solo traveler, these moments of reflection are invaluable and often lead to significant personal perspectives. Immersion in Local Cultures Solo travel offers a deeper immersion in local cultures. With no one to distract you, you are more likely to observe local customs, engage in local activities, and even pick up parts of the language. This immersion gives you a richer, more authentic travel experience and broadens your understanding of the world and its diverse cultures. Boosting Creativity and Inspiration Traveling alone can also be a significant boost to your creativity. New experiences, cultures, and environments stimulate your mind, offering fresh perspectives and ideas. A solo traveler finds that their most creative thoughts and inspirations come when they explore new places on their own, free from the usual distractions of daily life. So, if you are contemplating your first solo trip or are a seasoned solo adventurer, each journey offers new lessons, experiences, and growth opportunities, making solo travel a uniquely enriching experience. Read Also: Here Are the Things You MUST KNOW If You're Going to the US as a Solo Female Traveler Celebrate Ramadan with Iftar Al Malika at Queen Elizabeth 2 Hotel in Dubai (TRAVPR.COM) UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - February 16th, 2024 - Experience the essence of Ramadan in unparalleled style aboard the historic Queen Elizabeth 2 Hotel in Dubai. As the holy month approaches, we are excited to present our exceptional Ramadan offerings, including the one-of-a-kind Iftar Al Malika, exclusive events, and the Ramadan Staycation, designed to create unforgettable moments for you and your loved ones. Immerse yourself in the rich flavors of Arabic cuisine complemented by an array of international favorites at Lido Restaurant, indulge in our unique staycation package, and organize magnificent bespoke event gatherings. The Queen Elizabeth 2 becomes a vibrant epicenter of cultural and culinary celebration, seamlessly blending tradition and heritage to offer an extraordinary Ramadan experience. Iftar Al Malika Embark on an extraordinary gastronomic journey this Ramadan with our lavish Iftar Al Malika at the Lido Restaurant. The sumptuous Ramadan Iftar buffet in Dubai features an array of food stations offering a variety of traditional delicacies that showcase the best of Middle Eastern cuisine as well as international favourites. Highlights include lamb ouzi with oriental rice, an assortment of specialty dishes, succulent grills, wide selection of mezzes, and exquisite desserts. Price: AED 159 per person Venue: Lido Restaurant at Queen Elizabeth 2 Hotel Time: 6.30 PM 9-30 PM AED 90 per child aged 6 to 11 years old. Children below the age of six years dine with our compliments. Prices are in AED and are inclusive of 10% service charge, 7% municipality fees and 5% VAT. For more details and bookings Phone: +971 4 526 8040, Email: dining.qe2@accor.com Group Iftar & Suhoor For a personalised and unique Iftar or suhoor experience, celebrate the Holy Month of Ramadan with your family and friends in one of the most luxurious and historic indoor or outdoor venues. The prestigious Queen Elizabeth 2 hotel in Dubai awaits with a delicious group Iftar dining offer. A selection of bespoke menus is available; featuring an extravagant array of traditional and international dishes. Share this unforgettable experience with your loved ones and dive into our sumptuous feast at the only floating hotel in Dubai. For more details and bookings Email: events.qe2@accor.com QE2 Ramadan Staycation Enjoy a unique Ramadan staycation with your loved ones this holy month. Stay worry-free with a full 24-hour stay starting at your preferred check-in time and a complimentary upgrade to a sea-view room. With sohour served every morning in the comfort of your room and a delicious buffet after dark, celebrate Ramadan onboard the QE2. Offer includes: Complimentary upgrade to a sea-view room of the same category booked Iftar in Lido Restaurant In-room Sohour or buffet breakfast in Lido Restaurant 24-hour staycation (Check out 24 hours after your check-in) Room rates start from AED 499 Terms & Conditions: Rates are inclusive of 7% municipality fees, 10% service charge, 5% VAT and Tourism fee. Rates quoted are per room per stay, subject to availability and change without notice. Valid: 11 March 2024 11 April 2024 Book Now https://www.qe2.com/en/special-offers/ramadan-staycation/ -End- About Queen Elizabeth 2 Hotel, Managed by Accor Queen Elizabeth 2 Hotel, managed by Accor, is a historic gem and the only floating hotel in emirates. Located in Port Rashid, in close proximity to Dubais main attractions and shopping malls, its 447 renovated rooms and suites are carefully decorated, offering a peaceful retreat in which to relax and unwind. Guests can experience a culinary journey with innovative menus onboard the QE2. The hotels dining outlets include Lido - an all-day dining restaurant; The Golden Lion the oldest pub in Dubai; The Pavilion - an alfresco lounge; and the Queens Grill serving Afternoon Tea. For those seeking an event with a difference, the iconic QE2 offers multiple one-of-a-kind venues in Dubai. Included in its facilities are unique indoor and outdoor event spaces. Whether you are planning a birthday bash, an anniversary party, a wedding celebration, or any other social or corporate functions, the QE2 provides an inspiring and impressive backdrop that will delight your guests. For reservations & Inquiries Call +971 4 526 8888 or email Reservations.qe2@accor.com Or visit https://www.qe2.com For Media Inquiries contact: Hina Bakht Managing Director EVOPS Marketing & PR Mob: 00971 50 6975146 Tel: 00971 4 566 7355 Hina.bakht@evops-pr.com ### Kinross Gold Corporation (NYSE:KGC) Q4 2023 Earnings Call Transcript February 15, 2024 Kinross Gold Corporation isnt one of the 30 most popular stocks among hedge funds at the end of the third quarter (see the details here). Operator: Good morning. My name is Krista, and I'll be your conference operator today. At this time, I would like to welcome everyone to the Kinross Gold's Fourth Quarter and Year End Results Conference Call. All lines have been placed on mute to prevent any background noise. After the speaker's remarks, there will be a question-and-answer session. [Operator Instructions] Thank you. I would now like to turn, the conference over to Chris Lichtenheldt, Vice President of Investor Relations. Chris, you may begin your conference. Chris Lichtenheldt: Thank you, and good morning. With us today, we have Paul Rollinson, President and CEO, and from the Kinross Senior Leadership Team, Andrea Freeborough, Claude Schimper, Will Dunford, and Geoff Gold. For a complete discussion of the risks and uncertainties, which may lead to actual results differing from estimates contained in our forward-looking information, please refer to Page 2 of this presentation. Our news release dated February 14, 2024. The MD&A for the period ended December 31, 2023, and our most recently filed AIF, all of which are available on our website. I will now turn the call over to Paul. Paul Rollinson: Thanks, Chris, and thank you all for joining us. This morning, I will provide an overview of our fourth quarter and full year results, discuss our outlook for the business going forward, and review our achievements in the area of ESG. I will then hand the call over to Andrea, to discuss our financial performance and guidance, Claude to review our operating performance, and Will to discuss our projects, exploration initiatives, and resource update. Looking back, we have a strong 2023, and successfully delivered on our targets and are well-positioned for another strong year ahead. Our operations are performing well. Our projects are advancing on schedule and on budget. Our exploration program, is delivering value. Story continues We are generating substantial free cash flow, and our balance sheet is in excellent condition, and continues to delever. With respect to the fourth quarter, we had a strong finish to the year, resulting in full year production in the top half of our guidance range, and costs at the low end of our guidance range. A strong performance on costs was primarily driven by transparency on inflation that was incorporated into our targets. Our focus on operational performance, with strong production contributing to cost results and favorable trends on grade within our portfolio as we ramped up higher grade operations. As always, we will remain focused on cost control in 2024. However, we are expecting a modest increase, which Andrea will discuss shortly. The strong performance on cost was underpinned by our three highest margin assets, Tasiast, La Coipa and Paracatu. Tasiast and Paracatu, are two top tier assets together accounted for approximately 1.2 million ounces. Adding in La Coipa, these three assets accounted for just over two-thirds of our production and an AISC of approximately $1,000 per ounce. At Tasiast, we deliver record throughput, and strong production in Q4, driving record full year production. Tasiast was our largest production contributor for the full year. Tasiast, was also our highest margin mine, and largest free cash flow generator in 2023. At Latin America Coipa, we also saw very strong margins and free cash flow. We are pleased with how the operation is performing. At Paracatu, we had another year of steady production highlighted, by strong mill performance and record recoveries. And while Q4 grades were lower as planned, it was the highest throughput quarter in recent years. In the US, we delivered a successful year with both production and costs across the U.S. operations, performing well against our targets. At Round Mountain, we approved the Phase S open pit expansion, securing strong production through the decade and bringing clarity to the future at Round Mountain. Also at Round Mountain, we are making good progress on our planned next stages of production, Phase X underground and the Gold Hill satellite opportunity. Turning now to projects, our mill expansion at Tasiast and restart of La Coipa are completed in 2023, as was the construction of our solar power plant at Tasiast. In Alaska, construction of the Manh Choh project is essentially complete and is on budget and on schedule for initial high-grade production in the second half of the year. At Great Bear, we continue to make excellent progress. Looking back to the time of the acquisition just two years ago, we started with no declared resources. Today, we have approximately 2.8 million ounces of high-grade M&I and an incremental 3.3 million of high-grade inferred ounces. In 2023, we added more than 1 million ounces of growth to the LP underground resource from the initial resource we declared last year, which continues to support our view of a large, long-life, high-grade mining complex. Additionally, we continue to hit new high-grade intercepts. As outlined in yesterday's release, we recently intersected nearly 390 grams per ton across a true width of 3.5 meters at a vertical depth of nearly a kilometer. I would note that this hole was not captured in our year-end resource update. Ongoing drilling on the property continues to demonstrate that this is a world-class deposit in a Tier 1 location. In addition to drilling success, other areas of the project are also advancing well, which Will is going to elaborate on later on this call. Before moving to our outlook, I'd like to comment on our year-end reserve and resource update. As expected, our year-end reserves decreased over the prior year, primarily due to depletion. As work advances on our new projects, we are upgrading the quality of our resource through the addition of higher margin ounces. Our measured and indicated resources remain stable at year-end at approximately 26 million ounces, while our inferred resources grew by approximately 1 million ounces, driven by the substantial increase at Great Bear. Moving to our outlook, we are reaffirming our stable production profile. 2024 is expected to resemble last year with production in CapEx, at similar levels. However, costs are expected to increase modestly, as a result of inflation. Production mix and mine sequencing. Our production outlook for 2025 of 2 million ounces remains consistent with previous guidance, and we are introducing another year of production guidance at 2 million ounces in 2026. Looking further ahead, we continue to expect production to remain around the 2 million ounce level, through the end of the decade. Maintaining production at this level, will require the approval of some of our pipeline projects, including underground opportunities at Round Mountain and Curlew, and open pit mine life extensions at La Coipa. We will continue to advance these initiatives and will update you on our progress as we move forward. With respect to capital allocation, we remain focused on debt repayment. We reduced our debt level in 2023, and our balance sheet is in excellent shape. We believe a continuation of debt reduction remains an optimal use of excess cash. We will also continue paying our competitive dividend of $0.03 per share quarterly. Before turning over to Andrea, I'd like to comment on some of our achievements in ESG. In 2023, we once again demonstrated a strong commitment, to ESG by operating responsibly and advancing our strategy, across this important area. Our 2023 Sustainability and ESG Report, which we will publish in May, will provide a detailed review on our ESG performance and initiatives throughout the year. Some highlights from this past year include the construction of the solar power plant at Tasiast, which helps move us closer to our goal of reducing emissions intensity by 30% by 2030. In the area of social, we made approximately $10 million of monetary, and in-kind contributions through site investments, including to the University of Atacama's research station near our La Coipa mine in Chile, and establishing the Kinross Alaska Future Leaders Scholarship at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. The goal of this scholarship, is to advance the inclusion of underrepresented people, within the resource industry. With that, I'll now turn the call over to Andrea. Andrea Freeborough: Thanks, Paul. This morning, I'll review financial highlights from the quarter and full year, provide an overview of our balance sheet, and discuss our guidance and outlook. As Paul noted, we finished the year with production of just over 2.1 million ounces, exceeding the midpoint of our guidance range. In the fourth quarter, we produced 547,000 ounces. Q4 sales of 565,000 ounces were slightly above production, due to timing. Our Q4 cost of sales of $976 per ounce and AISC of $1,353 per ounce, were higher, compared to the prior quarter, as expected, primarily due to lower production at Paracatu. Full year cost of sales of $942 per ounce was below the $970 guidance midpoint, driven by strong cost performance across the portfolio. Costs of Paracatu were on plan in 2023, and are expected to increase in 2024 due to lower planned production. Margins were strong at $998 per ounce sold in Q4 and $1,003 per ounce sold for the full year. Our adjusted earnings per share was $0.11 in Q4, and $0.44 for the full year. Adjusted operating cash flow, was $407 million in Q4, and approximately $1.7 billion, for the full year. Attributable CapEx, was $298 million in Q4, and $1.05 billion, for the full year. Attributable free cash flow in Q4, was $117 million, and for the full year was $560 million. Turning to the balance sheet, we finished the year having further strengthened our financial position. After repaying $190 million of debt in the quarter, we ended the year with approximately $350 million in cash and approximately $1.9 billion of total liquidity. Our net debt improved to $1.9 billion at year end, from $2 billion at Q3. We repaid the $50 million outstanding on our revolving credit facility in October, and then the $140 million balance on our Tasiast loan in December. The Tasiast loan was repaid early with cash generated from the Tasiast operation, resulting in interest savings of approximately $35 million, assuming current rates, over the original term to 2027. Our trailing 12-month net debt to EBITDA ratio, continued to trend lower as we finished the year just above one-time. In 2023 as a whole, we reduced our total debt by approximately $360 million. As Paul mentioned, we aimed to further delever our balance sheet in 2024, as we plan to allocate excess free cash generated this year, against the 2025 term loan. The term loan will be re-classified to current in our Q1 financials given its maturity in March 2025. Turning to our guidance and outlook, as Paul indicated, 2024 is expected to look similar to 2023, as our portfolio continues to generate, strong and stable returns. We are forecasting production in the range of 2.1 million ounces, remaining consistent year over year. For costs, we're guiding $1,020 per ounce for cost of sales, and $1,360 per ounce, for all-in sustaining costs. Expected cost of sales, of $1,020 per ounce, is up approximately 5%, compared with our $970 per ounce guidance from 2023. The expected increase is driven by three factors. Modest inflation, which has subsided, compared with recent years, but has not gone away. Sales mix with slightly more of our production coming from our U.S. operations, which operate with higher costs, and a temporarily lower production, and therefore higher cost year, compared to [Curlew] mine plan. Attributable capital expenditures guidance of $1.05 billion for 2024, is in line with 2023. Approximately $550 million of this CapEx is expected to be non-sustaining in 2024. Production is expected to be higher in the second half of the year, as Manh Choh comes online. Cash flow is also expected to be stronger in the second half, as a result of the protection profile, as well as our typical timing of payments, related to taxes in the first half of the year. Our 2025 production guidance of 2 million ounces remains unchanged from our guidance update last year. Looking ahead to 2026, as Paul noted, we've introduced another year of production guidance of 2 million ounces in line with 2025, and in line with our expectation, for production of approximately 2 million ounces, through the decade. Based on currently approved projects, attributable CapEx is expected to be $850 million in 2025 and $650 million in 2026. However, as we continue to approve additional projects to sustain our production level, we expect CapEx will ultimately remain stable around $1 billion. I'll now turn the call over to Claude to discuss our operations. Claude Schimper: Thank you, Andrea. Last quarter, I began by sharing the details of our Homegrown Safety Excellence Program, where we are taking a genuine bottom-up approach, to fostering our safety culture. The program has now been delivered to over 6,000 employees and business partners worldwide, with 44 different nationalities participating. We are proud of this program and will be relentless, in keeping safety as our core piece, of our operating philosophy. Moving on to our operations, as Paul highlighted, we delivered a strong end to the year, achieving our full year targets, on both production and costs. I'm pleased to say, this is a testament to the strong focus, and dedication to operational excellence that, our team demonstrated over the course of the year. Our two cornerstone operations, Tasiast and Paracatu, had another year of significant production. These two assets provided over half of our ounces and drove meaningful cash flow for our business. In 2023, we continued to advance our projects at Tasiast and La Coipa, which was successfully completed prior to the New Year. At Tasiast, we achieved record full year production 621,000 ounces, benefiting from strong throughputs and grades. In the fourth quarter, the mill demonstrated high throughput over the prior quarter, reaching a quarterly average rate of approximately 22,000 tons per day, driving a strong final quarter of production of 161,000 ounces. Cost of sales of $645 per ounce in the fourth quarter, was the lowest in the portfolio. Tasiast was our lowest cost producer in 2023, with a cost of sales of $661 per ounce. Aerial shot of a mine entrance, the bedrock of the company's gold and silver extraction. We are anticipating another strong year from Tasiast, with production guided to be around 610,000 ounces, as higher throughput is offset by a lower planned grade. Margins are anticipated to be robust again this year, with cost of sales expected to be $670 per ounce. At the Tasiast solar power plant, construction is now complete, with the first power being delivered in December. We will be ramping up the plant throughput in the first half of the year. Paracatu had another year of substantial output, with full year production of 588,000 ounces. Production in Q4 was lower than Q3, as previously indicated, due to mine sequencing resulting in lower grades. The mill performance in Paracatu continues to be a standout, with excellent throughput and recovery performance in Q4. Production in 2024, is expected to be lower and cost higher, as the mine sequencing continues to transition, through lower grade portions of the pit, before moving back into higher grades next year. At La Coipa, strong operating performance continued in Q4, with record quarterly production of 74,000 ounces, which was driven by higher throughput and strong grades. The full year production of 260,000 ounces exceeded the top end of guidance, while costs of $681 per ounce came in below the low end of guidance, driving strong free cash flow. La Coipa is expected to have another strong year, with a target of 250,000 ounces and a cost of sales of $800 per ounce. Moving to the U.S. assets, we had a strong final quarter, with production of 184,000 ounces and a cost of sales of $1,304 per ounce, both improving over the prior quarter. Full year production of 684,000 ounces, and a cost of sales of $1,318 per ounce was achieved. Production across the US assets is expected to increase this year to 730,000 ounces and a cost of sales, of $1,330 per ounce. The increased production, is due to the expected contribution from Manh Choh in the second half of the year, and higher production from Bald Mountain on higher planned ore stacking rates and higher grades. At Fort Knox, Q4 production of 84,000 ounces increased over the prior quarter, mainly due to higher mill throughput. At Manh Choh, construction is essentially complete, and the mining activities, including ore mining and stockpiling, have commenced. Construction of the mill modifications at Fort Knox also continues to progress. Construction of the conveyors and associated buildings, along with the interior piping and mechanical installations, will continue throughout the first quarter. Pre-commissioning and operational readiness team is preparing for pre-commissioning activities. At Bald Mountain, Q4 production of approximately 44,000 ounces, improved over the prior quarter on higher grades, helping drive lower cost of sales. In 2024, Bald Mountain is expected to have a stronger year, with grades increasing in the back half of the year on mine planning. At Round Mountain, production of approximately 56,000 ounces, was lower over the prior quarter, due to fewer ounces recovered from the leach pads, while costs decreased due to the lower input costs, and timing of inventory movement. As Paul mentioned, our work at Round Mountain is advancing on plan. Stripping of Phase S has commenced, and the operations team is in place. Detailed engineering of the pad expansion has been completed, and construction activities are on track. Production from Phase S remains on schedule, to begin in the second half of 2025. Round Mountain is expected, to produce at a level similar to 2023, with production coming from ongoing mining at Phase W2. With our projects complete and the operational momentum we are seeing across all our mines, we are well positioned to deliver another strong year in 2024. With that, I will now pass the floor over to Will. Will Dunford: Thanks, Claude. I'll start by expanding on Round Mountain, provide updates on Curlew, Great Bear, and our exploration initiatives, before ending with a few comments on our year-end resource update. At Round Mountain, in addition to our ongoing work on the open pit phases, that Claude discussed, we continue to focus on exploring and studying our higher-grade, potentially higher-margin underground opportunities at Phase X and Gold Hill. We are progressing well with the exploration decline at Phase X, having developed 1,475 meters to-date, which is over half of the planned development for the initial exploration decline. This has put us in closer proximity to the target mineralization for Phase X, allowing us to commence exploration drilling along the periphery of the target earlier this year. This drilling has already hit a high-grade, narrow vein with coarse, visible Gold, something we have seen throughout our history at Round Mountain, which has ultimately led to positive reconciliation, and we are pleased to see this trend continuing at depth. We will continue development of the exploration decline in parallel, with the exploration and definition drilling, and will be in a position to start definition drilling of the primary Phase X targets by Q2. At Gold Hill, infill drilling from the bottom of the open pit and exploration drilling from surface continue to advance as planned. Stepping back, we remain excited about the underground opportunities at Round Mountain. We see the potential for Phase X to come online in late 2026, or early 2027, and Gold Hill to come online towards the end of the decade, extending production at Round Mountain into the next decade. Moving to Curlew Basin, our results continue to trend well and support further work on the asset. Through 2023 exploration, we increased the size of the inferred resource by 34%, as we confirmed extensions and continuity within several key zones of mineralization. We have now delineated approximately 400,000 ounces, of measured and indicated, and 700,000 ounces of inferred resources, with strong grades of around 6 grams per ton. You will recall last quarter, we released results of hole 1,168 with 14 meters at 16.5 grams per ton, down dip at the Roadrunner zone, which was both wider and higher grade than our existing resource. As you can see on the slide, at the end of the year, we received assay results from a few more standout intercepts, showing higher grade, and wider potential in the Stealth zone, including ST-1312, which showed 27 meters at over 12 grams per ton. These higher grade results are not included in this current resource update. Our focus this year will be to follow-up on this higher grade, wider mineralization encountered, both at Roadrunner and Stealth, and to continue advancing exploration efforts to expand the higher margin, wider, more continuous zones within our existing resource. We continue to study Curlew, to optimize the potential value, and determine the best path forward for this asset. Moving on to Great Bear. As Paul indicated, our 2023 drilling program exceeded our expectations, delivering a significant resource addition of more than 1 million ounces. The year-over-year increase was primarily driven, by higher grade underground additions, to the inferred resource at depth, enabled by the success of directional drilling. This resulted in a 45% increase to the inferred resource, and a 28% increase in the inferred grade. The significant inferred grade increase was driven by the new underground resource, having come in at a higher average grade of 6 grams per ton, driving the overall inferred resource to 4.5 grams per ton. The total project resource now stands at approximately 2.8 million ounces of measured and indicated, and 3.3 million ounces of inferred resources. As a reminder, the scope of 2023's drilling program was primarily, to add underground resources at depth in the main LP zone. To execute on this plan, we introduced directional drilling, which was very effective, allowing us to meaningfully increase the underground resource at LP. As you can see on the slide, our primary resource additions came from new, higher grade underground resources, between the 500 and 1,000 meters levels, showing a significant extension to the LP zone. These extensions clearly continue, to demonstrate our thesis of this orogenic deposit, continuing with strong grades at depth. You can also see on the slide that we continue to intercept high-grade mineralization, beyond our current resource additions at depth. Of particular note is hole BR-843, shown with a star just to the left of center, which intersected 389 grams per tonight, over a minable width of 3.5 meters. Given the timing of this drilling, this intercept didn't make it into this resource update, but this hole, along with all the other assays we see, continues to support our view that this will be a high-quality, long-life underground mine following the initial open pit. While the LP zone, represents the bulk of our resource expansion, we also saw some growth at Hinge and Limb, more classic Red Lake-style deposits. And as noted last quarter, we saw multiple high-grade intercepts at Hinge, from the directional drilling well below the current resource, again showing potential for future extensions at depth. Hinge and Limb continue to show potential to supplement production from the LP zone in the future and demonstrate the significant optionality of our land package. Looking to this year's exploration program, our strategy will be similar to last year's, with our primary focus on further expanding, the mineralized zones at LP, including both the central LP area, and extensions at Discovery and Viggo. We will also continue to look for additional deposits along strike and for expansions of our Red Lake-style mineralization at Hinge and Limb. The 2024 program, will be comprised of approximately 120 kilometers of drilling. Our program, will continue the targeted expansions of the underground resource. However, it's worth noting, because planned drilling will be deeper, progress on resource additions is expected to be more modest, than realized in 2023. Moving to other areas at Great Bear. As a reminder, we are advancing across two key streams. The AEX underground decline, through which we plan to obtain a bulk sample, and perform definition and infill drilling in the LP zone, and the main project, which includes the mine, mill and related infrastructure required for production. For the AEX decline, the mining lease for the main AEX surface footprint has been received, providing us with the necessary surface and mining rights to develop AEX, subject to obtaining the required provincial permits. Feasibility level design and engineering, is now complete. The surface design for AEX is shown here on the slide, and detailed engineering for the AEX infrastructure is well underway. Provincial permitting of the AEX remains on track. Procurement for long-lead items such as the camp, power infrastructure, and water treatment is underway, and we are targeting a potential start of the surface construction, for AEX in the second half of the year, subject to receipt of permits, and potential start of the underground decline in mid-2025. For the main project, we will continue to advance technical studies, including engineering and field test work campaigns. The results of this work will be outlined in our PEA, planned for the second half of the year. The initial project description has been submitted to the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada, formally commencing the federal assessment process. The detailed project description is expected to be formally submitted shortly. The comprehensive baseline study program, encompassing air, noise, hydrogeology, geochemistry, archaeology, water quality, and several other categories, continues to advance. These studies underpin our Indigenous consultation and permitting efforts. Our exploration team was very active in 2023. In addition to the drilling success at Great Bear, we also saw strong developments from within our portfolio of brownfield and greenfield prospects. Our brownfields program, which accounts for approximately 90% of our exploration budget, consisted of more than 200 kilometers of drilling last year, taking place primarily within the footprint of existing mines and projects, where we are targeting higher-grade, potentially higher-margin deposits, and possible extensions within our current 31.38 merits. As detailed in a press release, this program demonstrated notable results across several locations. Having already discussed Round Mountain, I'll start with our other U.S. assets. At Fort Knox, the program focused primarily on two main areas, proximal growth around the Fort Knox pit, and on deeper underground targets within the Dandelion and Shear Zone. At Manh Choh, near-mine exploration work took place at six targets, and the exploration program, was expanded to include several new targets identified, near the mine road corridor. At Bald Mountain, drilling focused on near-term resource growth, which resulted in an addition to the reserve. Moving to Tasiast, RC drilling testing for extensions of the north satellite area successfully intersected mineralization, and proved the continuity of a known structure along the primary greenstone belt. Drilling this year will look to further explore on-trend of this mineralization. In addition, deep drilling planned for this year, will begin targeting extensions at West Branch, Piment and Prolongation, with the aim of supporting an underground mining scenario at Tasiast. Moving to Chile, our brownfields drilling program uncovered potential pore-free mineralization approximately 8 kilometers due north of our mine facilities. At La Coipa, we completed approximately 15 kilometers of drilling to test the extent of near-surface oxide mineralization, proximal to current and historic pits. In Brazil, recent drilling of soil anomalies, primarily to the Northwest of Paracatu have revealed similar-style mineralization in grades in the same post packages. Further drilling at several untested soil targets will take place this year. Moving to our greenfields program, approximately 52 kilometers of drilling, was completed across Manitoba, Nevada, and our JV project in Northern Finland. Our large Snow Lake land package in Manitoba, continued to show exciting potential, for high-grade gold mineralization, associated with shear-hosted quartz veinings. In Nevada, RC drilling was completed across several prospective properties with the potential for low- sulphidation epithermal, Carlin-style gold mineralization. In Finland, we continue to advance exploration on the Launi East property alongside our joint venture partner. Moving to our broader reserve and resource update, as Paul mentioned, our reserves declined this year, as we are in a phase of resource growth focused on adding higher-grade ounces at earlier-stage projects, such as Great Bear, Curlew, and the Round Mountain Undergrounds. Our measured and indicated resources, remained stable at approximately 26 million ounces, and inferred resources were up more than 1 million ounces, driven by the previously discussed high-grade additions at Great Bear and Curlew. We are excited by the significantly higher grade of these inferred resources, increasing the quality of our overall resource base, and providing potential for future high-margin production. I will now turn it back to Paul. Paul Rollinson: Thanks, Will. After delivering on our commitments in 2023, we intend to carry this momentum into 2024. Our business is well-positioned to deliver another strong year, both operationally and financially. And looking forward, we remain excited about our future. We have a strong production profile. We are generating significant cash flow. We have an investment-grade balance sheet. We have a competitive dividend. We have an exciting pipeline of exploration and development opportunities, across several attractive jurisdictions. And we are very proud of our commitment to responsible mining that continues, to make us a leader in ESG performance within the industry. With that, operator, I'd like to open up the line to questions. See also 15 States with the Best Healthcare in the US and 12 Best European Dating Sites Without Payment. To continue reading the Q&A session, please click here. Those people are our people too. The words of UNC Senator David Nakhid, following the deadly Ice fog not often a part of northern life Photo by Ned Rozell A man walks a Fairbanks street during an ice-fog episode in January 2012. An old friend a character not seen in these parts for a few years showed up last week in Fairbanks. Ice fog. Ice fog is a surface cloud composed of water we emit into the air all the time; it only becomes visible when the cold hammer comes down hard and hangs around for a bit. Last week, when Fairbanks temperatures dipped in places to minus 50 F, there was enough ice fog for Rick Thoman to draw a little blip on a bar graph. Thoman is with the Alaska Center for Climate Assessment and Policy at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Ice fog showed up on his graph for the first time in about a decade because the air was finally cold enough for long enough. In the late 1960s through the early 1990s, a glaciologist named Carl Benson slowly chased this phenomenon around Fairbanks and got to know it like no one else. He wrote a few classic papers back then. In one, he calculated how much water all the sled dogs in Fairbanks exhaled during a typical winter day. (Combined, all 2,000 of them pumped a half ton of water vapor into the air.) Photo by Ned Rozell Downtown Fairbanks is blanketed in ice fog beneath the exhaust of a coal-fired power plant in January 2012. Benson, now an emeritus professor at the Geophysical Institute, described the mystery of ice fog in a 1969 story he wrote for his friends at the California Institute of Technology, where he had attended college. Ice fog has a magic number minus 30 F. It does not form until air gets that cold, and it dissipates when the temperature rises above that. Ice fog is produced when the water vapor output from urban environments meets an air mass which is too cold to dissolve it and cold enough to crystallize the condensed vapor into tiny air crystals, Benson wrote back then for the surely baffled urban-California audience. Those ice crystals waft to the ground, latching onto air-pollution particles on the way down. Benson also explained a chemical-reaction oddity that happens as we drive. When our engines burn gasoline, the actual mass of water ejected as vapor from the exhaust is 1.3 times greater than the mass of gasoline burned. Though cars trailing their own cotton-candy clouds is a striking visual and is the main cause of limited driving visibility, Benson found that a major contributor of water vapor in the late 1960s was the liquid cooling water for power plants. Today, a major contributor is an open portion of the Chena River warmed by power-plant cooling water. Graphic courtesy of Rick Thoman. This graphic shows how a January/early February 2024 cold snap in Fairbanks measured up against the past in its production of ice fog, which forms at about minus 30 F. In a paper published in fall 2023, Lea Hartl of the Alaska Climate Research Center wrote that from 1950 to 1980 Fairbanks averaged more than two weeks worth of days with ice fog each year. When she examined the 30 years from 1990 to 2020, she found that ice fog was in place for only about 6 days each year, on average. Why? Hartl wrote that the main reason is that even though we get a taste of ice fog now and then there are much fewer days in which Fairbanks experiences temperatures below that magic minus 30 F. * * * As temperatures warmed enough here in mid-February to make our water vapor invisible again, I saw a robin on the UAF campus. Though robins spend winters along Alaskas southern coast and on Kodiak Island, they usually migrate south from Interior Alaska in the fall. This bird, probably the same one reported on the eBird citizen-science site in January and earlier in February, has perhaps survived on the frozen fruits of chokecherry trees like the one in which it was perched when I saw it. Whatever the robin was eating, the bird made it through a few weeks of ice-fog inducing temperatures. Salute! Since the late 1970s, the University of Alaska Fairbanks' Geophysical Institute has provided this column free in cooperation with the UAF research community. Ned Rozell is a science writer for the Geophysical Institute. It is necessary to strengthen alliances and partnerships to ensure they are capable of protecting life in both the present and the future. President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky said this his address at the opening of the international exhibition Crossroads: Sweden Ukraine through a 1000 years, Ukrinform reports, referring to the presidents website. "Your Majesties, Ladies and Gentlemen, Dear Friends! I am grateful for your attention to Ukraine and our people, and for your crucial support in our fight for freedom. This battle lasts for centuries, sometimes flaring up in fierce confrontations, and at other times pausing, as if freezing, only to ignite again later. This battle is not between nations or ideologies but represents a struggle between two sides of the human soul one that respects life and sees others as equals, and other that only respects itself, taking others as threats. Every continent and era have suffered from the outbreaks of this battle. Sometimes life prevailed, in other times, a disrespect for all the living was above. Exhaustion from losses has sparked a dream of eternal peace, prompting nations to learn how to extend periods of peace. Some have succeeded, while others have simply been unlucky with their neighbors. Ukraine never desired the ongoing war, which feels anachronistically out of place in the 21st century, reminiscent of the 19th or even the 17th century. The unprovoked and criminal Russian aggression is a reflection of the evil part of the human soul that seeks dominance, showing contempt for life, and failing to learn from history despite frequently invoking it. Our nations, Ukrainian and Swedish, had to defend against such an evil before. Weve seen how other nations, under the influence of the worst in human nature, like Russia today, have waged wars against the freedom of others. However, Europe has learned to overcome this to subject the evil that can arise within the human soul to rules of peace, conscience, and respect for others. Europe has learned to build peace, and we must preserve this experience the architecture of cooperation in Europe and the Atlantic space that works for our collective security. We must strengthen our alliances and partnerships to ensure they are capable of protecting life in both the present and the future, making the 21st century distinct from the 19th or 17th marked by peace. A reliable, lasting peace that no revanchist can destroy. Dear Sweden! It depends on us what life will be like, how history will be remembered and what history books and exhibitions will speak in the times of our children and their children. Will it be a life of respect and serenity, or Europe bleeding again because of the sick ambitions of some evil soul? We must teach Russia to respect others and force it to seek a path to peace. It is possible. Remember history marks not those who had it easy and surrendered, but those who faced difficulties and still withstood. Together, Ukrainians and Swedes have a common history for over a thousand years, preserving our culture and way of life, learning to value peace. And we will overcome these current challenges with dignity, courage, and cooperation. We will not let anyone else write our history. Thank you, Sweden!" As reported by Ukrinform, on February 16, President Zelensky is visiting Germany and France for talks with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron. On February 15, the Swedish Army Museum in Stockholm opened the exhibition "Crossroads: 1000 Years of Common History of Sweden and Ukraine," the largest part of which consists of relics from the collection of the Vasyl Tarnovsky Chernihiv Historical Museum (35 in total). Photo credit: Presidents Office Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said that opposition Russian politician Alexei Navalny was likely killed by Putin, like thousands of other tortured people. Zelensky said this during a joint briefing with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Berlin on Friday, according to an Ukrinform correspondent. "It's just emerged that Alexei Navalny died in a Russian prison. He was likely killed by Putin, like thousands of others who were tortured because of this one creature. Putin doesn't care who dies, as long as he keeps his positions. And that's why he doesn't have to keep anything," he said. Zelensky said that Putin must lose everything and answer for what he has done. Scholz, in turn, said that Germany had been stunned by the news of Navalny's death. "This is shocking and depressing news," Scholz said. He noted that he had met with Navalny in person when he was undergoing treatment in Berlin after the poisoning. Navalny's desire to return to Russia obviously cost him his life, the politician added. According to the chancellor, it has now finally become clear what kind of regime is ruling in Russia: everyone who expresses any criticism or stands on democratic positions is forced to fear for their lives. "This is terrible, as a sign of how Russia has changed... It has not been a democracy for a long time," Scholz said, adding that yseveral ears ago in Russia, in his opinion, it was still possible to see a positive development in the direction of democracy. Read also: Zelensky says Germany is leader in strengthening Ukrainian air defenses On February 16, Russia's Federal Penitentiary Service announced that opposition Russian politician Alexei Navalny had died in a penal colony in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous District. Photo: President's Office Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and French President Emmanuel Macron have signed a security agreement between Ukraine and France. Ukrinform offers the full text of the agreement. Agreement on security cooperation between Ukraine and France Ukraine and France, hereinafter referred to individually and respectively as the "Ukrainian Participant" and the "French Participant" and jointly as the "Participants", Reaffirming their solidarity in the face of the armed aggression by the Russian Federation against Ukraine in violation of international law, the Charter of the United Nations, the Helsinki Final Act and the Charter of Paris; Reaffirming Ukraine's inherent right of self-defence, in accordance with Article 51 of the Charter of the United Nations; Recognising that Russia's illegal and unprovoked large-scale invasion of Ukraine is a threat to international peace and security and a flagrant violation of international law, including the United Nations Charter; Reaffirming their unwavering commitment to the strategic objective of a free, independent, democratic and sovereign Ukraine, within its internationally recognised borders as of 1991, capable of defending itself and deterring any future aggression; Recognising the importance of the fundamental principles for a just and lasting peace laid out in Ukraine's Peace Formula, in line with international law; Reaffirming their deep commitment to democratic principles, the rule of law, good governance, respect for fundamental freedoms and human rights; Reaffirming the objective of Ukrainian accession to the European Union and the fact that the security of Ukraine is an integral part of European security and the Euro-Atlantic region; Recalling the historic decisions of the European Council of 23 June 2022 and 14 December 2023 to grant Ukraine the candidate status and open accession negotiations with Ukraine, underlining that enlargement is a geo-strategic investment in peace, security, stability and prosperity; Considering the Joint Declaration of Support for Ukraine adopted in Vilnius on 12 July 2023 by the G7 Leaders that 25 countries have since endorsed as of February 16 2024; Have jointly determined to strengthen their bilateral long-term security cooperation by pursuing the measures set out in this Agreement: I. Introduction The Participants confirm that they support the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognised borders as of 1991. They wish to reaffirm the sovereign right of each State to freely choose its security arrangements. With this Agreement, Ukraine and France will deepen their cooperation and partnership, which are based on their common interests in the defence of international law and order, peace, and the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms. The Participants reaffirm that Ukraine's security is integral to Euro-Atlantic and global security. France confirms that Ukraine's future membership of NATO would make an effective contribution to peace and stability in Europe. The Participants will coordinate and strengthen joint efforts to support Ukraine's accession to NATO. The main components of the long-term security commitments provided to Ukraine by France in this Agreement are as follows: provision of comprehensive assistance to Ukraine for the protection and the restoration of its territorial integrity within its internationally recognised borders, as well as economic recovery and reconstruction; prevention and active deterrence of, and counter-measures against, a new aggression by the Russian Federation; support for Ukraine's integration into European and Euro-Atlantic institutions, including by supporting Ukraine's accession to the EU and interoperability with NATO. II. Cooperation in the security field 1. General cooperation in strengthening Ukraine's security The French Participant will provide military and civil assistance to enable Ukraine to defend its sovereignty, its independence and its territorial integrity in the face of the aggression by the Russian Federation, bilaterally through agreements and through the institutions and organisations to which it is a party. The French Participant will contribute to building the military capabilities, the resilience and the economic stability of Ukraine, so as to discourage any future aggression. In order to more effectively ensure the realisation of this cooperation, the Ukrainian Participant will continuously and effectively maintain and develop its ability to resist an armed attack, with the assistance of the French Participant. 2. Cooperation in strategic communication and in the fight against foreign interference and manipulation of information The Participants recognise that the Russian Federation continues to manipulate information in support of its war on Ukraine and will seek to continue to mutually support each other's efforts to counter Russian digital interference and manipulation of information as well as propaganda globally. The French Participant will assist Ukraine in joining collective instruments for countering foreign interference and manipulation of information. The Participants will collaborate to improve Ukraine's capabilities to counter foreign interference and manipulation of information, primarily Russian propaganda and disinformation campaigns, exchange experience and promote the development of joint educational and training programmes for information integrity professionals. 3. Cooperation in the sphere of cyber security The Participants will work together to enable Ukraine to detect, deter and disrupt any cyber aggression, cyber espionage, including through greater cyber resilience and critical infrastructure protection from cyber attacks, while supporting the modernisation and reform of Ukraine's security architecture, and through the provision of international technical assistance to Ukraine. The Participants will work together to raise the cost of the irresponsible use of cyber capabilities by the Russian Federation and other hostile state and non-state actors against the Participants. They will also increase their operational cooperation in the fight against cybercrime. The Ukrainian Participants will work towards deepening Ukraine's cooperation with EU and NATO structures on cybersecurity. 4. Protection of critical infrastructure The French Participant will contribute to the development of Ukraine's critical infrastructure protection capabilities, including by military means, prioritising, but not limited to, modern air defence capabilities. The Participants will explore joint educational and training programmes for critical infrastructure protection specialists. The Participants will strengthen their cooperation in the field of improved resilience and preparedness of both government and civil entities, including through information sharing, exchanges on best practices and experience feedback. The Participants will also deepen their cooperation on assessing vulnerabilities of vital supply chains, retro-engineering of critical goods and services, the constitution of strategic stockpiles, as well as the corresponding logistic issues. The French Participant will work with Ukraine to identify sources of funding to develop the protection and resilience of critical infrastructure, including through the grant facility for reconstruction and restoration of critical infrastructure set up by the French Participant for Ukraine. 5. Intelligence and Counterintelligence Cooperation The Participants will continue and will strive to deepen their cooperation in the field of intelligence and counterintelligence in accordance with the framework based on bilateral agreements, without prejudice to their national interests and in compliance with the legislation of each Participant. 6. Cooperation in the sphere of combating serious and organised crime The Participants will take actions to counteract the activities of SOC, in particular individuals and groups that are trying to infiltrate across Ukrainian society, have criminal influence in certain regions, including the temporarily occupied ones, and are actively used as a tool of hybrid warfare to counteract the processes of recovery and reconciliation in Ukraine. In order to counter the activities of SOC, the Participants will take measures to: conduct joint operations to detect and suppress SOC; analyse the criminal situation in the countries and identify the main risks from SOC; identify and trace the proceeds and instrumentalities of SOC in view of facilitating seizure and, where appropriate, confiscation; create joint working groups and joint investigation teams of prosecutors and other parties, based on identified needs; facilitate the provision of training and sharing of best practice. The above measures are not exhaustive, and the Participants may pursue other forms of cooperation to achieve their goals in combating SOC. . Cooperation in the event of future armed attack Any future Russian invasion would violate the UN Charter and fundamental principles of international law, and would grievously undermine Euro-Atlantic security, including that of France. In the event of future Russian armed attack against Ukraine, at the request of either of the Participants, the Participants will consult within 24 hours to determine measures needed to counter or deter the aggression. In those circumstances, and acting in accordance with its legal and constitutional requirements, the French Participant would provide Ukraine with swift and sustained security assistance, modern military equipment across all domains as necessary, and economic assistance; impose economic and other costs on Russia; and consult with Ukraine on its needs as it exercises its right to self-defence enshrined in Article 51 of the UN Charter. In order to ensure the widest and most effective collective response to any future armed attack, the Participants may amend these provisions in order to align with any mechanism that Ukraine may subsequently agree with its other international partners, including the participants in the Joint Declaration of 12 July 2023. IV. Cooperation in the military and defence industry 7. Defence and military cooperation The Participants will work together and with other partners of Ukraine to ensure that the Ukrainian defence and security forces are able to fully restore Ukraine's territorial integrity within its internationally recognised borders as of 1991, as well as to increase Ukraine's resilience so that it is sufficient to deter and defend against future attacks. This will include, but is not limited to, working together so that Ukraine's military and non-military security institutions are able to perform effectively to European and Euro-Atlantic standards and are fully accountable to the Ukrainian people, Parliament and Government. The Participants will work together on ensuring a sustainable force capable of defending Ukraine now and deterring Russian aggression in the future, through the continued provision of security assistance and modern military equipment, across the land, air, sea, space and cyber domains prioritising, but not limited to: air defence, artillery, long-range firepower, armoured vehicles, air force capabilities and other key capabilities. The French Participant will, alongside other international partners, help Ukraine to enhance its ability to deter and defend against external aggressors by developing modern Future Defence Forces that are increasingly interoperable with NATO and contribute to NATO forces. This includes the development of a modern defence sector in Ukraine, and a pathway to a future in NATO. The French Participant will assist Ukraine with preservation of its qualitative defence and military capabilities amid rapid, uncertain and challenging regional political and security transformation. In the military field, without prejudice to their position in the context of Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine, the Participants propose to establish cooperation enabling the Ukrainian Participant to develop comprehensive military capabilities in the following fields, which are not exhaustive: Military equipment, including through industrial cooperation, and particularly in the fields of artillery and air defence, but also in the fields of armoured vehicles, maritime security, military medical support, information technologies and mine clearance; Training of the Ukrainian defence and security forces, in a national capacity and in the European framework, including train-the-trainers programme, specialised training in fields such as artillery, air defence, armoured vehicles, air forces and maritime security, new technologies and mine clearance; Initial support and support for the launch of maintenance by manufacturers, on the ground where necessary; Structural support for reform of the defence sector; Support for cyber defence and resilience initiatives, including to address hybrid threats; Assistance to the Ukrainian system of medical support for the treatment and rehabilitation of Ukrainian servicepersons; Support to the development of the Ukrainian defence and security forces including, but not limited to: future force design, a move towards NATO concepts and operating procedures, command and staff training, combined exercises, and enhanced compatibility and interoperability with NATO Allies; Support for border protection and defence, its engineering and fortification, surveillance, monitoring of enemy troop movements, post-war reconstruction of border infrastructure, demining and disposal of explosive ordnance. The French Participant will support plans and governance structures for Capability Coalitions in the framework of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group, by playing a leading role in the coalitions on Artillery and Air Defence, and by participating in the coalitions on Air Force and Maritime Security, and other coalitions, to which the French Participant may contribute, both to deliver the future force and to bring more coherence to the provision of capability in the current war. The bilateral fund for security and defence assistance to Ukraine, in good coordination with the European Peace Facility, will help support these cooperation efforts in the relevant fields. France provided Ukraine with a total of 1.7 billion in military aid in 2022 and of 2.1 billion in 2023. In 2024, France will provide up to 3 billion euros in additional support. The Participants will seek to ensure that Ukraine's military capabilities are at such a level that, in the event of external military aggression against France, Ukraine is able to provide effective military assistance. The terms, format and scope of such assistance will be determined by the Participants. The French Participant will continue its support to Ukraine for the ten-year duration of this Agreement. 8. Defence industry cooperation The Participants will strive to cooperate in the field of the defence and security industry, including with the objective of promoting cooperation between their defence industries and strengthening standardisation and interoperability of their defence equipment. The Participants will seek, as far as possible, to develop an industrial partnership involving French and Ukrainian defence businesses and, as far as possible, free of restrictions from third parties. The French Participant will contribute to the development of Ukraine's defence industrial base, including through French investments, the localisation of production in Ukraine as well as joint production for manufacturing of priority weapons and ammunition. The Participants will facilitate the creation of joint ventures, including for maintenance and repair of weapons and military equipment. The French Participant will work with Ukraine to identify funding sources required to enable the development of Ukraine's defence industrial base and to encourage investments into new capacities. The Participants will work together to address existing defence materials supply chain bottlenecks impeding developing capacity and capability of both France and Ukraine for manufacturing of priority weapons and ammunition. To that purpose, the French Participant will work with its Defence industry and Ukraine to strengthen the supply chain for critical materials required for manufacturing of ammunition and other priority weapons, in particular large calibre ammunition. The Participants will work together to strengthen protection of the transferred technologies and intellectual property rights. The Participants will promote the exchange of information on their respective defence related research and development efforts in order to implement joint projects and programs to develop new armament and equipment. With this objective, the dialogue between the Ministry of Armed Forces of France and the Ministry of Strategic Industries of Ukraine will be strengthened. The dialogue between the Direction Generale de l'Armement and the Defence Procurement Agency will also be enhanced, in line with the Letter of Intent signed between the two organisations during the visit of France's Minister of Armed Forces in Kyiv in September 2023. The French Participant will support Ukraine's efforts to integrate its defence industry into NATO and EU defence and security frameworks. V. Cooperation in the civil field 9. Humanitarian assistance The French Participant will continue its humanitarian assistance to fulfil the immediate needs of the Ukrainian population in the face of the armed aggression by the Russian Federation. It will also contribute, alongside its partners, to the economic recovery, reconstruction and modernisation of Ukraine, in order to restore and strengthen its economic stability, reduce its dependencies and vulnerabilities and build a more solid, innovative, sustainable and resilient economic and industrial base, particularly in the context of negotiations for the accession of Ukraine to the European Union. The French Participant will seek to continue over time the support underway for Ukraine, including in the transport, energy, agriculture, water, humanitarian mine clearance, critical infrastructure, digital, housing and health sectors. The French Participant will use the economic and financial instruments at its disposal, in cooperation with all relevant international organisations and its partners. 10. Support to Ukraine's reform agenda The French Participant welcomes the decision to open accession negotiations with Ukraine and commends the substantial progress that Ukraine has made towards meeting the objectives underpinning the accession process. The Ukrainian Participant will strive to continue its ambitious reform path, particularly in the framework of its European Union accession process, to meet the obligations required for EU membership. The Ukrainian Participant will continue its systemic reforms in the defence and security sectors, including as regards civil control of the armed forces and the efficiency and transparency of the defence institutions and defence industry of Ukraine. It will strive to deepen the key reforms in the fields of justice and rule of law, the fight against corruption and money laundering, the modernisation of its state apparatus, decentralisation, the protection of the rights of persons belonging to minorities, transparency and good governance in both the economic sector and the defence and security sector. The implementation of these reforms will contribute to strengthening democracy, respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, and the modernisation and resilience of the Ukrainian economy. The French Participant reaffirms its intention to fully support the objective of Ukraine's accession to the European Union. With this in mind, the French Participant will provide technical support for the implementation of the necessary reforms, particularly as regards the rule of law, justice sector reform, the fight against corruption, the modernisation of the state apparatus, decentralisation, transparency and civil control in the defence sector, including demining. To this end, the French Participant will provide for the deployment of technical experts embedded in the Ukrainian administration. 11. Ukraine's recovery and reconstruction The French Participant will strive to continue fostering the involvement of private companies, local government bodies and non-governmental organisations in the reconstruction process, following on from the actions launched at the Conference for Ukraine's Resilience and Reconstruction that was organised in Paris on 13 December 2022. The Participants recognise the need to unite efforts aimed at protecting the population and territories of Ukraine from the negative consequences caused by mines and undetonated explosive ordnance. To this end, the French Participant will make use of the appropriate bilateral tools, in good coordination and optimising as far as possible the leverage effect with European and private sector funds, including in the framework of the European Union's Ukraine Facility which aims at preparing Ukraine for future membership of the Union by supporting its accession process. The Ukrainian Participant will continue the implementation of all the reforms required in the framework of its European Union accession process and the Ukraine Plan. The French Participant will support Ukraine to plan for the reintegration of temporarily occupied territories, to contribute to the vital stabilisation and socioeconomic renewal, particularly in liberated and frontline areas and areas bordering Russia, to promote an inclusive social recovery and to meet the needs of the most vulnerable, including through work to support women, social protection systems and veterans. 12. Compensation for losses, injuries and damages caused by Russian aggression The Participants reaffirm the Russian Federation must pay for the long-term reconstruction of Ukraine. Consistent with France's legal system, Russian sovereign assets in France's jurisdiction remain immobilised until the Russian Federation has paid for damage it has caused to Ukraine. The French Participant, working with its partners, will continue to explore all lawful routes consistent with applicable contractual obligations and in accordance with EU and international law through which Russian assets could be used to support Ukraine. As a priority, the Participants will continue to work together, along with G7 states and others, towards the establishment of a compensation mechanism to provide compensation for damage, loss or injury caused by Russia's aggression, as envisaged by the Statute of the Register of Damage Caused by the Aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine adopted by the Resolution of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe CM/Res(2023)3. In this regard, the Participants will explore appropriate options for the financing of a compensation mechanism to provide prompt and adequate compensation to victims of aggression. 13. Sanctions The Participants recognise the value of sanctions in restricting the Russian Federation's and other aggressor-states' access to the finance, goods, technology and services it is utilising in its aggression, in bearing down on Russia's revenue streams, and to deter future attacks. The Participants will continue to work to ensure that the costs to Russia of its aggression continue to rise, including through sanctions and export controls. While the Russian Federation's aggression towards Ukraine continues, the French Participant will remain committed, in the European framework, to pursuing robust sanctions against sectors of the Russian economy and those in the Russian Federation and outside who are supporting or profiting from the war, or assisting in sanctions circumvention in third countries. The French Participant will also take determined action with partners to tackle all forms of sanctions circumvention as well as to reinforce its own domestic resilience against Russia-linked illicit finance and elites. The Participants will provide each other with up-to-date appropriate information on the grounds for sanctions and other relevant information, in compliance with relevant obligations and national laws. 14. Accountability The Participants reaffirm their commitment to holding the Russian Federation accountable for causing losses or damage to individuals and entities, as well as to the state of Ukraine, as a result of its internationally unlawful acts in Ukraine or against Ukraine, including its aggression in violation of the Charter of the United Nations. The Participants reaffirm that there must be no impunity for war crimes and other atrocities and that the Russian Federation must bear the legal responsibility, including making reparation for any damage caused by such acts, which will also help deter future attacks and support Ukraine's recovery. The Participants will seek to hold to account those responsible for war crimes and other international crimes, committed in or against Ukraine in the context of Russia's war of aggression, consistent with international law, including by supporting the work of the Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine and the International Criminal Court to ensure allegations of war crimes are fully and fairly investigated by independent, effective and robust legal mechanisms. The Participants will continue their engagement in the "Core group on options for the establishment of a tribunal on the crime of aggression against Ukraine". VI. Implementation of cooperation The Participants will implement this cooperation in accordance with their international and national obligations, as well as France's European commitments. The Participants will, if necessary, designate authorised bodies for the development and implementation of bilateral agreements in accordance with the areas of cooperation specified in this Agreement. The Participants will inform each other through diplomatic channels of the competent authorities responsible for implementing this Agreement. These authorities will conduct consultations in order to discuss, make the necessary decisions and take the required actions within the framework of this Agreement. The authorised bodies of the Participants can conclude executive and technical agreements on specific areas of cooperation within the framework of the implementation of this agreement. VII. Timeframe and other provisions This Agreement is valid for ten years from the date of its signature. In accordance with the G7 Joint Declaration of 12 July 2023, the Participants intend this Agreement to remain in effect as Ukraine pursues its path to future membership in the Euro-Atlantic community. In the event that Ukraine becomes a member of NATO before the end of this Agreement, the Participants will decide on its future status. This Agreement may be terminated by either Participant by giving written notice of its intention to terminate the Agreement to the other Participant. This Agreement shall be terminated six months from the date of receipt of such notice. This Agreement may be amended and supplemented by mutual agreement of the Participants, which shall be made in writing. This Agreement will come into effect immediately upon signature. Signed in Paris on 16 February 2024, in duplicate, in the French and Ukrainian languages. For Ukraine: President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky For France: President of the French Republic Emmanuel Macron | By Laura Lee Turner Station resident Keith Hill is thrilled. After attending a free eviction rights seminar at Lexington Market hosted by the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law, he figured out that his landlord has been overcharging him by 2 percent on late fees. I want my money ASAP, Hill said as he texted his landlord after the session. (From L-R) Law students Robert Ayers, Dustin Koller, and Colin Forrest and Beverly Winstead, JD, director, Low Income Taxpayer Clinic. Hills good news came as part of Maryland Carey Laws Lexington Market Day, which took place Feb. 1 on the upper level of the newly renovated market. Law students and their clinical advisors hosted free information sessions for the community including: Know Your Rights: Criminal Law Know Your Rights: Eviction Law Medical Decision-Making: Documenting Your Wishes About Medical Treatment What to Expect for the 2023 Tax Filing Season Know Your Rights: School Suspension and Expulsion Hill credits second-year Maryland Carey Law student Nick Gallo with his mini-windfall. During the eviction law seminar, Gallo shared that landlords can only legally charge a 5 percent late fee. Hills landlord was charging 7 percent. Im glad I could help, Gallo said. Housing law is notoriously nuanced, and we want people to get a better idea of how the process works. Clinical instructor Dan Rosenberg, JD, agrees. We want people to know how to advocate for themselves and know their rights. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, said Rosenberg, who teaches the Eviction Rights Clinic. At the end of the day, Hill has a few more dollars in his bank account and, most important, knowledge that will prevent him from being taken advantage of in the future. Lots of time rights get violated because you dont know, Hill said. Youve got to search for information, especially when its free. TEHRAN, Feb. 16 (Xinhua) -- Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and his Saudi counterpart Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud on Friday held a phone conversation, during which they vowed to expand bilateral cooperation and jointly slammed Israel over the situation in the Gaza Strip. The Iranian foreign minister criticized the Israeli "crimes" against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, as well as Israel's threats and actions against Rafah, Gaza's southernmost city, which shelters more than 1.3 million displaced Palestinians. "We do not consider war as a solution, but if the issue is not immediately resolved politically, the negative consequences of Israel's continued genocide on the security and stability of the region will be inevitable," Amir-Abdollahian said, stressing the necessity for the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to hold an emergency meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers to discuss the ongoing situation in Gaza. The Saudi foreign minister welcomed his Iranian counterpart's proposal to hold an emergency meeting of the OIC's Council of Foreign Ministers to stop Israel's "genocide," slamming Israel for ignoring international calls to end the crisis in Gaza. The two ministers also underlined the necessity to expand bilateral cooperation in different economic and trade areas and, particularly, between the two countries' private sectors within the framework of international law, as well as the importance of continuing bilateral contacts and consultations. Israel has been fighting with Hamas in the Gaza Strip since Oct. 7, after the group launched a surprise attack on southern Israel that killed about 1,200 people. So far 28,775 Palestinians have been killed by the ongoing Israeli attacks on Gaza, the Hamas-run health ministry said on Friday. Since Monday, Israel has launched airstrikes against Rafah and indicated that it is set to launch a ground operation in the city. Klaytn Merges With Finschia, Launches New Foundation in Abu Dhabi South Korea's Klaytn and Abu Dhabi's Finschia blockchains have finalized a merger, paving the way for the creation of "Project Dragon," a new, integrated mainnet billed as the biggest Web3 ecosystem in Asia. This follows overwhelming support from both chains' governance members, reversing an initial rejection in January. The merger proposal garnered a resounding 90% approval from Klaytn's South Korean community and a near-unanimous 95% from Finschia's Abu Dhabi-based stakeholders. This shift in sentiment showcases the potential benefits envisioned by both communities. The combined entity, headquartered in Abu Dhabi, boasts an impressive footprint: a potential user base exceeding 250 million (powered by LINE and Kakao integration), over 420 decentralized applications (DApps), 45+ governance partners, and 450+ Web3 resources. Renowned industry players like Kakao, Binance, and Quantstamp from Klaytn, and SoftBank and CertiK from Finschia, will come together on the governance board. Technical details are still under wraps, but the new chain will be compatible with both Ethereum and Cosmos, while existing KLAY and FNSA coins will be replaced by a single, unified token. Klaytn further outlined its vision for the future, prioritizing infrastructure development to attract institutional investors and launching native stablecoins to fuel innovation within the Asian blockchain ecosystem. Dozens of dairy products are being recalled for possible listeria contamination after they were distributed nationwide to retailers like Trader Joe's and Costco. Here's where those products were sold in Wisconsin, and what to do if you've purchased them: What dairy products are being recalled for listeria? California-based Rizo-Lopez Foods recalled more than four dozen dairy products for risk of listeria, including enchiladas, dips and dressings at stores like Costco, Trader Joe's, among others. The Food and Drug Administration and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention started investigating the contamination after the Hawaii State Department of Health reported a sample of Rizo-Lopez Foods-manufactured Rizo Bros Aged Cotija with listeria. The outbreak has resulted in 26 illnesses and 23 hospitalizations and two deaths across 11 states, none of which were in Wisconsin, according to the CDC. The FDA has a list of recalled items on their website. Gina Giacobassi breaks down a box during a shift at Trader Joe's. What products are recalled at Trader Joe's? The following items from Trader Joe's have been recalled due to potential contamination with Listeria monocytogenes: The recall of more than 4 dozen dairy products for possible contamination with listeria has been expanded to include enchiladas, bean dip, dressings and sauces sold at stores including Albertson's, Costco and Trader Joe's. Chicken Enchiladas Verde (sku 58292) Cilantro Salad Dressing (sku 36420) Elote Chopped Salad Kit (sku 74768) If you've purchased any of these products, discard them or return them to a Trader Joe's location for a full refund. Trader Joe's Wisconsin locations: Brookfield: 12665 W. Bluemound Rd. Madison: 1810 Monroe St. Glendale: 5600 N Port Washington Rd. What products are recalled at Costco? Costco locations in Wisconsin are recalling the Southwest Chicken Wrap with sauce from the Service Deli between Oct. 27 and Feb. 6 due to possible contamination of listeria. If you've purchase this product, you can return it to a Costco location for a refund. You can find a list of Costco locations in Wisconsin on their website. You can go to https://customerservice.costco.com/ or contact Costco at 800-774-2678 with questions. Story continues What products are recalled from Whole Foods? Whole Foods Market recalled the following products due to possible contamination of listeria: 365 Whole Foods Market Ricotta Part Skim: 9-94824-63052; all dates through 4/02/2024 365 Whole Foods Market Ricotta Whole Milk: 9-94824-96245; all dates through 4/02/2024 Whole Foods Market Wisconsin locations: Milwaukee: 2305 N Prospect Ave Wauwatosa: 11100 W Burleigh St. Madison: 4710 Madison Yards Way What should you do if you bought a product recalled for listeria? Examine your refrigerator and freezer to make sure you don't have any recalled products, and do not consume them. You can return recalled products to the store for a refund. Clean any areas the recalled products touched to avoid any cross-contamination. What is listeria infection? Listeria, which can be found in soil, water and animal feces, is a food borne bacterial illness that is most commonly caused by eating improperly processed deli meats and unpasteurized milk products. The bacteria can survive refrigeration and freezing. If you develop infection, symptoms include fever, chills, muscle aches, nausea and diarrhea. Symptoms can take a few days after you've eaten contaminated food, but it can take up to 30 days or more before the first signs and symptoms start. Most listeria infections can be treated with antibiotics. This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Costco, Trader Joe's recalls cheese, dairy for listeria contamination In a collective effort, seventy-five administrators and professors from over 60 institutions have joined forces to implore the United States Education Department to reconsider its recent proposal regarding the billing of students for books and supplies. Issued on Wednesday after the department's second negotiation round, the letter articulates apprehension about the potential adverse effects on initiatives like inclusive access, deeming them a "critical instrument for enhancing the affordability of higher education across a wider spectrum of Americans." Academic Unity: Opposition to Proposed Changes The Education Department has put forth a proposal aimed at discontinuing a 2016 policy that permitted colleges and universities to automatically include charges for books and supplies as part of tuition and fees. This policy change had given rise to the inclusive access procurement model, which the department now seeks to curtail. In the letter, representatives from the academic institutions argue that inclusive access programs have played a crucial role in making higher education more financially accessible. The signatories request swift action from the Education Department to preserve these options for course materials by maintaining the existing rules. Additionally, they suggest that the department take into consideration the feedback received during the negotiation sessions for the next draft of language in the process. READ ALSO: Biden Administration's Shift in Textbook Procurement Policies Sparks Debate and Divergent Perspectives Inclusive Access Programs: A Crucial Tool for Affordability Critics of the inclusive access model contend that it lacks transparency, poses challenges for students attempting to opt out, and fails to generate cost savings. Under the current regulations, institutions are obligated to offer course materials at rates below the market average. However, officials from the Education Department revealed during the recent rule-making session that monitoring compliance with this requirement is a complex task. While the department's proposed changes would eliminate the automatic billing of students for books and supplies, representatives from educational institutions proposed additional safeguards during the negotiations. These new measures include an annual certification ensuring that materials are offered at prices below the market average and the establishment of clear requirements outlining how students can opt out of these programs. The upcoming and final round of negotiations is scheduled to commence on March 4, providing an opportunity for stakeholders to further discuss and refine the proposed changes. Negotiations and Counter-Proposals: Seeking a Middle Ground In response to the concerns raised by the academic community, the Education Department has yet to indicate whether it will reconsider its stance on the proposed modifications. The debate revolves around finding a balance between ensuring affordability for students and addressing the challenges associated with the inclusive access model. Proponents of the inclusive access model argue that it streamlines the process for students to access required course materials and can result in cost savings when implemented efficiently. However, opponents insist that without proper oversight and transparency, it may lead to unintended financial burdens on students. As the final round of negotiations approaches, it remains to be seen whether the Education Department will heed the calls of the academic community or proceed with its proposed changes. The outcome of these discussions will undoubtedly shape the future landscape of how colleges and universities bill students for essential course materials, impacting the accessibility and affordability of higher education for countless individuals. RELATED ARTICLE: Biden Administration Proposes Rule to Safeguard Students: No More Fees on College-Sponsored Deposit Accounts In the realm of higher education finance, fiscal year 2023 brought a notable uptick in endowment returns, signaling a rebound from the previous year's downturn. Despite this recovery, these returns still fall short of the remarkable heights observed in fiscal year 2021. Solid Rebound in Endowment Returns According to the latest study conducted by the National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO) and Commonfund, endowment returns surged by 7.7 percent in fiscal year 2023. This marks a significant reversal of fortunes after experiencing an 8 percent decline in the preceding fiscal year. READ ALSO: Historic $100 Million Gift Elevates Spelman College and Breaks Records for HBCUs Released today, the endowment report highlights that institutions faced initial challenges in fiscal 2023 but rebounded notably in the latter part of the year. This resurgence is attributed to the robust performance of public equity markets globally, particularly in the final nine months of the fiscal year. However, despite this improvement, the current returns still fall considerably short of the exceptional performance witnessed in fiscal year 2021 when the average endowment soared by 35 percent. Performance Analysis and Institutional Rankings The report, based on data from 688 institutions with a combined endowment value of $839 billion, underscores the performance disparities among various institutions. While the largest endowments, including those of Harvard University, the University of Texas system, Yale University, Stanford University, and Princeton University, maintained their top positions, the overall returns for megawealthy institutions remained sluggish in fiscal year 2023. However, noteworthy exceptions include the University of California (UC) system, which secured a place in the top 10 with a robust return of 14.7 percent, propelling its endowment to $17.7 billion. Similarly, Duke University and Johns Hopkins University outperformed their peers, achieving endowment returns higher than 7.7 percent. Endowment Spending and Philanthropic Trends The study also sheds light on endowment spending trends, indicating an across-the-board increase in spending rates. Private institutions, on average, directed 5% of their endowment funds, whereas public counterparts allocated 4.1%. Notably, a significant portion of endowment spending, nearly 48 percent, was directed towards student financial aid. Moreover, philanthropic contributions to endowments totaled $13.3 billion in fiscal year 2023, reflecting a slight decrease from the previous year. However, nearly two-thirds of colleges reported receiving donations earmarked for diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, despite facing scrutiny from conservative lawmakers in some states. Looking Ahead: A 50-Year Retrospective and Future Outlook This year's report also marks the 50th anniversary since NACUBO began tracking college endowments. Over this period, the study has evolved significantly, reflecting changes in investment strategies, responsible investing practices, and emerging trends such as environmental, social, and governance (ESG) considerations. As the financial landscape continues to evolve with advancements in digital currencies and artificial intelligence, NACUBO and Commonfund Institute anticipate further changes and challenges in the management of college endowments. Despite uncertainties, both organizations remain committed to analyzing and monitoring these developments to ensure the long-term financial sustainability of institutions of higher education. The findings from the fiscal year 2023 endowment report provide valuable insights into the financial health of colleges and universities across the country. While the rebound in endowment returns is a positive development, institutions must remain vigilant and adaptable to navigate the evolving financial landscape effectively. With prudent management and strategic planning, institutions can continue to leverage their endowments to support their educational missions and drive long-term success. RELATED ARTICLE: Donors Take Legal Action Against Webster University's Endowment Reclassification The Iowa House Education Committee has recently given its approval to the Higher Education Reform Act of 2024, a sweeping legislative proposal designed to bring about significant changes across various facets of higher education in the state. The bill, officially named House File 2327, is set to move forward to the House floor for more extensive deliberation and consideration. Legislative Overhaul and Amendments House File 2327, in its amended form, covers an array of critical areas impacting Iowa's educational landscape, encompassing community colleges, public institutions, and private universities. The bill is a response to concerns raised by Republican lawmakers who argue that a growing lack of trust in higher education is linked to rising costs and what they perceive as diversions, with specific mention of concerns about diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. READ ALSO: Iowa State University Reacts to DEI Recommendations: Pronoun Disclosure Optional Amidst Debate Key amendments within the bill include measures to cap in-state tuition and fee increases at 3%, ensuring a level of predictability for students entering state universities during the upcoming academic year. Additionally, the legislation mandates a comprehensive study by state universities to identify strategies for cost reduction while maintaining current tuition and fee levels. Debates and Concerns While the bill secured support from Republican representatives, their Democratic counterparts expressed reservations about the potential financial implications for state universities. Questions arose regarding the sustainability of tuition caps and the potential impact on universities' ability to adequately support their programs. A noteworthy point of contention was the inclusion of the Classic Learning Test (CLT) as an alternative standardized assessment for university admission. Critics, including Representative Sharon Steckman, raised concerns about the adequacy of the CLT, highlighting worries about its content and effectiveness in comparison to established standardized tests such as the ACT and SAT. Provisions Impacting Institutions and Students The bill introduces several provisions aimed at enhancing transparency and accountability within Iowa's higher education institutions. Notably, it mandates increased oversight over university hiring practices, requiring approval from the Iowa Board of Regents for certain positions directly reporting to university presidents. Furthermore, the legislation calls for the establishment of a presidential selection committee to recommend candidates for open president positions at state universities. The identities of these candidates would remain confidential from the public, sparking discussions about the balance between transparency and the need for a confidential selection process. The bill also addresses concerns surrounding diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, directing universities to review and potentially eliminate related offices and positions. This directive aligns with previous recommendations by the Iowa Board of Regents, fueling debates over the delicate balance between promoting inclusivity and reducing administrative costs. Private University Closure Procedures In addition to reforms impacting public institutions, the bill includes provisions outlining closure procedures for private universities. Private colleges undergoing closure would be required to notify the Iowa Department of Education promptly and provide detailed plans for student, faculty, and staff support during the transition. As the bill progresses to the House floor, additional debates and amendments are anticipated. Lawmakers will grapple with the nuanced intricacies of higher education reform, navigating the challenges and opportunities presented by this ambitious legislative initiative. RELATED ARTICLE: US Colleges Grapple With Closure Threat; Mergers and Transformations Emerge as Survival Strategies Pakistan remained committed to facilitating fully regulated movement of people and goods across the Pakistan-Afghanistan border based on norms of interstate relations, the spokesperson, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said on Friday ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 16th Feb, 2024) Pakistan remained committed to facilitating fully regulated movement of people and goods across the Pakistan-Afghanistan border based on norms of interstate relations, the spokesperson, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said on Friday. In response to media queries regarding remarks of Deputy Interim Foreign Minister of Afghanistan, she said, Any self-serving and fanciful claims regarding the legality and sanctity of the Pak-Afghan border cannot change the facts of geography, history and international law. " She said the Afghan side will be well advised to address Pakistans genuine security concerns than try to divert public attention by such unfortunate public pronouncements. "Pakistan remains committed to facilitating fully regulated movement of people and goods across the Pakistan-Afghanistan border based on norms of interstate relations. We will continue to take steps to this end," she added. , , , , (@Abdulla99267510) Prime Minister's Special Representative for Religious Harmony Hafiz Muhammad Tahir Mahmood Ashrafi says the government is committed to provide the best facilities to the Hujjaj. ISLAMABAD: (UrduPoint/UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News-Feb 16th, 2024) The private Hajj Tour Operators will start booking for Hajj from today. This was stated by Prime Minister's Special Representative for Religious Harmony Hafiz Muhammad Tahir Mahmood Ashrafi while addressing a news conference in Islamabad. He said the government is committed to provide the best facilities to the Hujjaj. The last date for booking is 24th of this month. Just a day earlier, Caretaker Minister of Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony Aneeq Ahmad said his ministry is taking concrete steps to provide maximum facilities to Hajj pilgrims. Addressing the training workshop for Hajj pilgrims in Lahore today, he urged the people to be careful in performing the Hajj manasik. He said Hajj workshops are being organized across the country to train intending hujjaj. Aneeq Ahmad said Hajj pilgrims are representatives of Pakistan and they should remember the country in their prayers at Maidan-e Arafat. Key Insights Avolta's estimated fair value is CHF36.45 based on 2 Stage Free Cash Flow to Equity Avolta's CHF35.16 share price indicates it is trading at similar levels as its fair value estimate Analyst price target for AVOL is CHF48.86, which is 34% above our fair value estimate How far off is Avolta AG (VTX:AVOL) from its intrinsic value? Using the most recent financial data, we'll take a look at whether the stock is fairly priced by projecting its future cash flows and then discounting them to today's value. We will use the Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) model on this occasion. There's really not all that much to it, even though it might appear quite complex. Companies can be valued in a lot of ways, so we would point out that a DCF is not perfect for every situation. For those who are keen learners of equity analysis, the Simply Wall St analysis model here may be something of interest to you. View our latest analysis for Avolta The Method We're using the 2-stage growth model, which simply means we take in account two stages of company's growth. In the initial period the company may have a higher growth rate and the second stage is usually assumed to have a stable growth rate. To begin with, we have to get estimates of the next ten years of cash flows. Where possible we use analyst estimates, but when these aren't available we extrapolate the previous free cash flow (FCF) from the last estimate or reported value. We assume companies with shrinking free cash flow will slow their rate of shrinkage, and that companies with growing free cash flow will see their growth rate slow, over this period. We do this to reflect that growth tends to slow more in the early years than it does in later years. A DCF is all about the idea that a dollar in the future is less valuable than a dollar today, so we need to discount the sum of these future cash flows to arrive at a present value estimate: 10-year free cash flow (FCF) estimate 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 2031 2032 2033 Levered FCF (CHF, Millions) CHF285.0m CHF383.5m CHF344.0m CHF302.5m CHF479.5m CHF501.6m CHF518.0m CHF530.1m CHF539.0m CHF545.5m Growth Rate Estimate Source Analyst x5 Analyst x4 Analyst x3 Analyst x2 Analyst x2 Est @ 4.62% Est @ 3.27% Est @ 2.33% Est @ 1.67% Est @ 1.21% Present Value (CHF, Millions) Discounted @ 8.7% CHF262 CHF325 CHF268 CHF217 CHF317 CHF305 CHF290 CHF273 CHF255 CHF238 ("Est" = FCF growth rate estimated by Simply Wall St) Present Value of 10-year Cash Flow (PVCF) = CHF2.7b Story continues We now need to calculate the Terminal Value, which accounts for all the future cash flows after this ten year period. For a number of reasons a very conservative growth rate is used that cannot exceed that of a country's GDP growth. In this case we have used the 5-year average of the 10-year government bond yield (0.1%) to estimate future growth. In the same way as with the 10-year 'growth' period, we discount future cash flows to today's value, using a cost of equity of 8.7%. Terminal Value (TV)= FCF 2033 (1 + g) (r g) = CHF545m (1 + 0.1%) (8.7% 0.1%) = CHF6.4b Present Value of Terminal Value (PVTV)= TV / (1 + r)10= CHF6.4b ( 1 + 8.7%)10= CHF2.8b The total value, or equity value, is then the sum of the present value of the future cash flows, which in this case is CHF5.5b. To get the intrinsic value per share, we divide this by the total number of shares outstanding. Compared to the current share price of CHF35.2, the company appears about fair value at a 3.5% discount to where the stock price trades currently. Remember though, that this is just an approximate valuation, and like any complex formula - garbage in, garbage out. dcf The Assumptions We would point out that the most important inputs to a discounted cash flow are the discount rate and of course the actual cash flows. You don't have to agree with these inputs, I recommend redoing the calculations yourself and playing with them. The DCF also does not consider the possible cyclicality of an industry, or a company's future capital requirements, so it does not give a full picture of a company's potential performance. Given that we are looking at Avolta as potential shareholders, the cost of equity is used as the discount rate, rather than the cost of capital (or weighted average cost of capital, WACC) which accounts for debt. In this calculation we've used 8.7%, which is based on a levered beta of 1.854. Beta is a measure of a stock's volatility, compared to the market as a whole. We get our beta from the industry average beta of globally comparable companies, with an imposed limit between 0.8 and 2.0, which is a reasonable range for a stable business. SWOT Analysis for Avolta Strength Debt is well covered by cash flow. Weakness Earnings declined over the past year. Interest payments on debt are not well covered. Shareholders have been diluted in the past year. Opportunity Annual earnings are forecast to grow faster than the Swiss market. Current share price is below our estimate of fair value. Threat Revenue is forecast to grow slower than 20% per year. Moving On: Although the valuation of a company is important, it is only one of many factors that you need to assess for a company. DCF models are not the be-all and end-all of investment valuation. Rather it should be seen as a guide to "what assumptions need to be true for this stock to be under/overvalued?" If a company grows at a different rate, or if its cost of equity or risk free rate changes sharply, the output can look very different. For Avolta, we've compiled three relevant elements you should explore: Risks: As an example, we've found 3 warning signs for Avolta (2 make us uncomfortable!) that you need to consider before investing here. Future Earnings: How does AVOL's growth rate compare to its peers and the wider market? Dig deeper into the analyst consensus number for the upcoming years by interacting with our free analyst growth expectation chart. Other High Quality Alternatives: Do you like a good all-rounder? Explore our interactive list of high quality stocks to get an idea of what else is out there you may be missing! PS. The Simply Wall St app conducts a discounted cash flow valuation for every stock on the SWX every day. If you want to find the calculation for other stocks just search here. Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned. Gaza Strip, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 16th Feb, 2024) The health ministry in Gaza said four patients died Friday due to lack of oxygen at one of the war-torn Palestinian territory's few operating hospitals that had been raided by Israeli forces. "The generators of the complex stopped and the power was cut off," the ministry said, raising fears over the fate of six other patients in intensive care and three children in a nursery at the Nasser hospital in the southern city of Khan Yunis. "We hold the Israeli occupation responsible for the lives of patients and staff considering that the complex is now under its full control," it said in a statement. The military when contacted by AFP said it was checking the report of fatalities at the hospital. A witness, who declined to be named out of fear for their safety, said army snipers shot "at anyone who moved inside the hospital" and that "military vehicles surrounding" it also opened fire. On Thursday the ministry said hundreds of people, including patients and medical staff, had still been inside the hospital complex. Braunschweig, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 16th Feb, 2024) The prime suspect in the long-unsolved case of missing British toddler Madeleine McCann will go on trial in Germany on Friday charged with a host of unrelated sex crimes. The 47-year-old German, identified by authorities as Christian B., was revealed as a suspect in June 2020. It was a major bombshell for the "Maddie" investigation, one of the highest-profile missing persons cases in history. Friday's highly anticipated trial opening will mark the first time he has appeared in public since then. German prosecutors have yet to charge Christian B. over Madeleine's disappearance, but in October 2022 he was charged with five separate counts of rape and child sex abuse allegedly committed in Portugal between 2000 and 2017. The charges came about as a direct result of investigations into the "Maddie" case, Christian Wolters, a spokesman for the prosecution in Brunswick, told AFP. Christian B. is already behind bars in Germany for raping a 72-year-old US tourist in 2005 in Praia da Luz -- the same Portuguese seaside resort where Maddie went missing two years later. If found guilty in the new trial, he could face another sentence of between five and 15 years, a spokeswoman for the court in Brunswick told AFP. However, if cleared, he could be freed from jail as soon as 2026, according to Wolters. The trial will last around four months with 29 hearings in total, according to the court. Three-year-old Madeleine went missing from her family's holiday apartment in Praia da Luz in Portugal's Algarve region in May 2007 while her parents dined at a nearby tapas bar. Despite a huge international manhunt and global media attention, no trace of her has been found and no one has been charged over her disappearance. German prosecutors have said they have "concrete evidence" that Madeleine is dead, but the case has since rumbled on without any major breakthroughs. Investigations are continuing in the Maddie case, Wolters told AFP, but "it is currently unclear whether charges will be filed or not". In the trial opening on Friday, Christian B. has been charged with two child sex offences and three rapes. In one case, he is accused of sexually assaulting a 10-year-old German girl on a beach in April 2007, just weeks before Madeleine McCann went missing. In another, prosecutors say he exposed himself in front of an 11-year-old Portuguese girl at a playground. He is also accused of sexually assaulting two women and a teenage girl and filming the incidents. In one case, prosecutors accuse him of entering the holiday apartment of a woman aged between 70 and 80, tying her up and raping and beating her. In the second, he is said to have tied a girl aged around 14 to a wooden post in his own home in Portugal, beat her with a whip and forced her to perform sexual acts. In the third, he is accused of entering a young woman's apartment via her balcony in 2004 while she was sleeping, threatening her with a knife and raping her several times. Prosecutors had previously said that the victim was a 20-year-old Irish woman. Evidence in the trial will include witness statements as well as notebooks seized from Christian B., according to Wolters. Handwritten notes and sketches in the notebooks offer insights into "his sexual fantasies", he said. The trial and the Maddie investigation share common witnesses, Wolters added, but "other than that, they are completely separate procedures". Christian B.'s lawyer, Friedrich Fuelscher, said his client was planning to initially remain silent during his defence, but this "does not mean (he) has anything to hide". "The prosecution is on shaky ground with regard to all the charges," Fuelscher told AFP. If he gets a fair trial, Christian B. "can only be acquitted", Fuelscher said. "However, ensuring a fair trial will also be the greatest difficulty of this trial: the media's prejudgement of the accused is unprecedented," he said. (@ChaudhryMAli88) UNITED NATIONS, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 17th Feb, 2024) Pakistan has called on the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) to shift its attention to economic, social and cultural rights instead of "disproportionately" focusing on human rights situations in developing countries. "The Council and human rights mechanisms should also address historical and current phenomena such as racial discrimination, xenophobia, social inequalities, Islamophobia, and hate crimes," Ambassador Munir Akram said in a discussion on the future of the Geneva-based Council. "While some situations are prominently projected and amplified at the HRC; other, more serious situations -- Jammu & Kashmir -- are ignored," he said, underscoring the need for avoiding double standards in addressing rights situations at the U.N. The 47-member Council, armed with more powers, was created in 2006 following the failures of its predecessor -- the 1946 Human Rights Commission. "Today," the Pakistani envoy said, "the HRC is also the target of serious criticism and suffers from many of the same deficits as the Commission; in particular due to the Councils political biases, selective and partial approach, and structural issues which seriously jeopardize its credibility." "There is a greater emphasis on civil and political rights, while economic, social and cultural rights as well as the right to development get short shrift," Ambassador Akram told participants. The Councils agenda, he noted, has been overloaded with some subjects that should be dealt with by the UN's specialized agencies. "There is a concerted effort by Western countries to impose norms which are clearly incompatible with the national laws and cultures of other countries --- sexual orientation, gender identity," the Pakistani envoy said, pointing out that some of its mechanisms as also the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights are largely staffed by nationals from developed countries. "There is a need to rationalize the entire human rights structure the agenda, meetings and special sessions, mandate holders and the High Commissioners Office." Pakistan, he said, believes that the promotion of human rights is a shared responsibility that can only be achieved through an objective, transparent, non-selective, constructive, non-confrontational and non-politicized manner. "There is a need to strengthen cooperation, technical assistance and support to the developing states on human rights issues at their request, in a non-confrontational and cooperative manner," Senegal plunged further into the unknown on Friday after the top constitutional body overturned President Macky Sall's contentious decision to postpone this month's presidential election Dakar, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 16th Feb, 2024) Senegal plunged further into the unknown on Friday after the top constitutional body overturned President Macky Sall's contentious decision to postpone this month's presidential election. It is yet to be seen how and when the vote will now take place, with Sall so far offering no comment on the historic ruling by the Constitutional Council. His staff told the media they had "taken note" of the decision, without questioning the verdict, which cannot be appealed. Sall's last-minute move to postpone the February 25 poll triggered Senegal's worst crisis in decades, sparking widespread outcry and prompting deadly protests in what is often seen as a bastion of stability in coup-hit West Africa. Parliament later approved the delay until December 15, but only after security forces entered the building and removed some opposition lawmakers who opposed the bill. The vote paved the way for Sall -- whose second term is due to expire in April -- to remain in office until a successor was installed, probably not before 2025. Three people have been killed during demonstrations against the delay, with security forces repressing attempts to mobilise. Opposition and civil society groups called for fresh protests on Friday and Saturday. The Constitutional Council's decision late Thursday to overturn the vote delay was praised by opposition figures. They had decried Sall's move as a "constitutional coup", saying his party feared defeat at the ballot box for its candidate Prime Minister Amadou Ba. The Constitutional Council said it was "impossible to organise the presidential election on the initially scheduled date" but invited "the competent authorities to hold it as soon as possible". The constitutional body also reiterated the fixed nature of the five-year presidential term. Sall's term in office officially expires on April 2 and the head of state has repeatedly said he will not stand for a third term. - 'Historic' - The Constitutional Council in January approved 20 candidates to run in the presidential election. It now remains to be seen whether the same list of candidates will be put forward again, and when the vote would take place -- it is widely understood it cannot be held on February 25. Babacar Gueye, a constitutional expert and coordinator of a civil society collective which opposed the vote delay, described the Council's decision as "historic". "The Council did not set a deadline, it simply said 'as soon as possible'. This means both quickly and under the right conditions," said Gueye, one of the organisers of the Aar Sunu Election (Let's protect our election) collective. Senegal has faced growing calls from major international partners to organise the vote as soon as possible. If it does not take place before the end of Sall's current mandate, the president of the National Assembly, who will act as interim president, has 90 days to organise the election, Gueye said. Sall, who has been in power since 2012, said he called off the vote over disputes about the disqualification of potential candidates and concern about a return to unrest seen in 2021 and 2023. Government spokesman Abdou Karim Fofana said the Council had seemed to leave room for manoeuvre. "There are institutions... if the Constitutional Council and the National Assembly have different points of view, he (the president) must be able to have the high ground," he told French radio station RFI. Faced with mounting public anger, Sall previously expressed a desire to find ways of obtaining "appeasement and reconciliation". Fofana said the president's offer of dialogue still stands. But Amadou Ba, the representative of detained opposition figure Bassirou Diomaye Faye, said that "Macky (Sall) must organise the presidential election before the end of his mandate," the Walf daily reported. Several detained government opponents were released from prison late on Thursday, AFP journalists saw. Souleymane Djim, a member of the collective of families of political prisoners, put the number of released at 64. The government denies there are political prisoners in Senegal. New Delhi, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 16th Feb, 2024) Two people were shot dead in India's restive northeast when a mob attempted to storm a police building, demanding the reinstatement of an officer who took a selfie with a militia group. Manipur state on India's border with Myanmar has since last year been riven by ethnic conflict that has claimed the lives of at least 200 people. The latest incident took place Thursday in Churachandpur district, where police said on social media that a crowd of up to 400 people mobbed the office of the local police superintendent. A statement from the state's Indigenous Tribal Leaders Forum (ITLF) said security forces had shot dead two protesters, with 25 other people seriously injured. ITLF spokesman Ginza Vualzong had earlier told AFP that three people had died in the violence. Security personnel responded "appropriately by firing tear gas shells to control the situation," state police said on social media platform X. Broadcaster NDTV reported that the crowd was demanding the reinstatement of a constable who had been suspended for taking a photo with "armed miscreants". State authorities also reimposed an internet shutdown in the district for five days, according to a notice issued Friday. Manipur has been fractured along ethnic lines since the outbreak of violence last May between the predominantly Hindu Meitei majority and the mainly Christian Kuki community. Rival militias have set up blockades in parts of the state to keep out members of the opposing community. Longstanding tensions between the two groups have revolved around competition for land and public jobs, with rights activists accusing local leaders of exacerbating ethnic divisions for political gain. Human Rights Watch has accused state authorities in Manipur, which is governed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's party, of facilitating the conflict with "divisive policies that promote Hindu majoritarianism". USM Accelerated BSN Pathway First Cohort Earns 100 Percent Pass Rate Fri, 02/16/2024 - 09:47am | By: Gabriela Shinskie The University of Southern Mississippi (USM) College of Nursing and Health Professions Accelerated BSN (ABSN) inaugural cohort achieved 100 percent pass rate on the first attempt of the National Council Licensure Examination(NCLEX) exam. Makayala Beach, Kelcey Couevas, Robin Holman, and Brianna Puff comprised the first cohort of the unique pathway, earning their nursing pins while leading the way for other students to obtain a BSN degree in 12 months. The program continues to grow with the second and third cohort already enrolling 34 students. Dr. Lachel Story, dean of USMs College of Nursing and Health Professions, applauded each students performance throughout the programs intense curriculum. Achieving the gold standard outcome for nursing graduates, a 100 percent pass rate on NCLEX on the first attempt, means the students are getting a quality education, Dr. Story said. While the program is compressed, the students are getting the critical elements they need to be safe, competent nurses. Graduates of this program will help us meet the workforce needs across Coastal Mississippi. The program launched in January of 2023 at the Gulf Park campus, providing a unique way for students to earn a BSN degree in one year from an accredited university that includes a hybrid in-person and online format. Students enrolled in this degree option are eligible to bypass some typical BSN requirements because they have already earned a degree. Brianna Puff, a native of Hattiesburg, knew the program would be challenging as she balanced family obligations and career goals. With a toddler at home and expecting a baby girl soon, she was grateful for the experiences and friends she made along the way. Dean Story and all the professors were so accommodating and encouraging, Puff. It truly made all the difference in my success. Puffs persistence paid off as she completed the program, earning her nursing pin. She was also confident in her classmates ability to succeed and praised the programs faculty for their dedication in preparing the class for a career in the medical field after graduation. I felt like I needed a stable career where I still have a role in serving my community, and this nursing program did that for me, Puff said. Her plans include working in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), labor and delivery. Michelle Toepfer, instructor and coordinator of the ABSN program, was impressed by the students hard work. Brianna did not miss a beat, Toepfer said. She had her baby girl and was back in class the following week. Couevas, a native of Gautier, Miss., found the program extremely rewarding. During one of her long shifts at work, she was researching options in the medical field to enhance her career and stumbled upon information about the ABSN program. She found it was a good fit, as she wants to continue to provide rewarding service as a nurse. And although parts of the program are online, Couevas said her professors were readily available and prepared them for the exam. All of our professors were great, she continued. They held everyone together, and Ive also made some great friends throughout the program. Toepfer attributes the passing success to the programs faculty and staff. The success of achieving a 100 percent pass rate for the first cohort can be attributed to rigorous curriculum design, dedicated faculty support, personalized student mentorship, and a culture of collaboration and determination among students, fostering a conducive learning environment and ensuring comprehensive preparation for NCLEX, Toepfer said. Learn more about USMs nursing program and scholarship opportunities by calling 601.266.5445. Louisiana-Pacific (NYSE:LPX) Full Year 2023 Results Key Financial Results Revenue: US$2.58b (down 33% from FY 2022). Net income: US$178.0m (down 80% from FY 2022). Profit margin: 6.9% (down from 23% in FY 2022). The decrease in margin was driven by lower revenue. EPS: US$2.47 (down from US$11.39 in FY 2022). All figures shown in the chart above are for the trailing 12 month (TTM) period Louisiana-Pacific Revenues and Earnings Beat Expectations Revenue exceeded analyst estimates by 1.7%. Earnings per share (EPS) also surpassed analyst estimates by 4.4%. Looking ahead, revenue is forecast to grow 5.7% p.a. on average during the next 3 years, compared to a 4.3% growth forecast for the Forestry industry in North America. Performance of the market in the US. The company's shares are up 1.3% from a week ago. Risk Analysis What about risks? Every company has them, and we've spotted 1 warning sign for Louisiana-Pacific you should know about. 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. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Saturday that there is no point continuing the Gaza truce talks calling Hamas' demands "delusional," and adding that a diplomatic deal could only be reached through direct negotiations without any preconditions. Speaking with reporters, Netanyahu said he had sent negotiators for truce talks in Cairo, as requested by U.S. President Joe Biden, but stated the talks are at an impasse. Hamas released a statement Saturday, saying chief Ismail Haniyeh has blamed Israel for a lack of progress in achieving a cease-fire deal in Gaza. Hamas will not accept anything less than a complete cessation of hostilities, Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, and a "lifting of the unjust siege," Haniyeh said, as well as a release of Palestinian prisoners serving long sentences in Israeli jails. Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani expressed caution on the progress of the negotiations. "The pattern in the last few days is not really very promising, but as I always repeat, we will always remain optimistic and will always remain pushing," he said at the Munich Security Conference. Sheik Mohammed, who is also foreign minister, said the two main sticking points are the humanitarian conditions in Gaza and the number of Palestinians who would be released in exchange for hostages held by Hamas. "I believe in this agreement we are talking at a bigger scale, and we still see some difficulties on the humanitarian part of these negotiations," he said. Talks involving officials from Qatar, Egypt, Israel and the United States so far have not yielded a deal for a pause in the fighting. Khan Younis hospital arrests The Israeli military said Saturday that its forces have arrested more than 100 people suspected of "terrorist activity," during a raid at the Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, the largest functioning hospital in Gaza. The Israel Defense Forces said that's where they found weapons and "medications with the names of Israeli hostages," and they killed gunmen near the hospital. The Israeli army said its troops entered the hospital after receiving what it said was "credible intelligence" that hostages abducted in the October 7 terror attack had been held there and that the bodies of some may still be inside the medical facility. The IDF has denied allegations that its soldiers targeted the hospital's generators and insisted it made every effort to keep the hospital supplied with power, including bringing an alternative generator. Tarik Jasarevic, a World Health Organization spokesperson, decried the Israeli operation Friday, saying, "Patients, health workers and civilians who are seeking refuge in hospitals deserve safety and not a burial in those places of healing." Doctors Without Borders also said its medics had been forced to flee and leave patients behind, with one employee unaccounted for and another detained by Israeli forces. Israel posted a video online allegedly showing a U.N. relief worker loading the limp body of a shot Israeli man into the back of an SUV and driving away from a southern Israeli village during Hamas' October 7 cross-border attack. A man appearing in the video is purportedly identified as Faisal Ali Mussalem Al Naami, a social worker in the Gaza Strip with the United Nations Relief Works Agency, or UNRWA. The video also was reported by The Washington Post. UNRWA denies wrongdoing, describing its role as relief only. Jonathan Fowler, an UNRWA spokesperson, said in response to the video: "It is not possible for UNRWA to verify the footage or photographs and ascertain who the person is. We were not presented with any evidence from the Israeli authorities." Israel says some UNRWA staff took part in abductions and killings during the October 7 rampage that sparked the Gaza war, prompting a number of countries to halt funds for the Palestinian aid agency. Airstrikes, Humanitarian aid New airstrikes in central Gaza on Saturday killed more than 40 people, including children, and wounded at least 50, according to Associated Press journalists and hospital officials. David Satterfield, the Biden administration's special Middle East envoy for humanitarian issues, said delivery of humanitarian aid into Gaza has been disrupted because of Israeli strikes and increasing lawlessness at entry points for the urgently needed aid. Satterfield said Israeli officials have not presented "specific evidence of diversion or theft" of U.N. assistance but noted the militants have their own interests in using "other channels of assistance ... to shape where and to whom assistance goes." In Rafah, bad weather has compounded the dire living conditions for more than half of Gaza's 2.3 million population sheltering in the southern Gaza city. An estimated 1.4 million Palestinians, more than half of Gaza's population, have crammed into Rafah, most of them displaced by fighting elsewhere in the territory. Hundreds of thousands are living in sprawling tent camps. Gaza's Health Ministry says nearly 29,000 people most of them women and children have died since Israel declared war on Hamas, following the October 7 Hamas attacks on Israel in which approximately 250 people were taken hostage and 1,200 were killed. Since then, 100 hostages were released during a weeklong cease-fire in November. Some information for this story came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters. More than 100 people have been detained across Russia after venturing to lay flowers at floral tributes to opposition leader Alexey Navalny, according to an Associated Press report Saturday. The flower memorials were later removed by workers supervised by police, the news agency said. OVD-Info, a Russian human rights group, said in a statement that Navalny had been transferred to one of Russias harshest prisons located beyond the Arctic Circle. During 37 months of detention, Navalny spent 296 days in a brutal punishment cell, the statement said. In such conditions, there was no need to poison or kill through violent means they simply had to wait. U.S. President Joe Biden reacted Friday to the news of Navalnys death, by directly blaming Russian President Vladimir Putin and using the death to scold the U.S. House of Representatives for holding up funding for Ukraine. Russian prison officials say Navalny, a fierce foe of the Russian president, died in the Russian Arctic labor camp where he was imprisoned. The official statement has not been independently confirmed. Russian media quoted officials of the Federal Prison Service saying medical staff had been called but were unable to resuscitate the 47-year-old Navalny. In a statement in the Oval Office at the White House, Biden praised Navalny for his courage in continually standing up to Putin, even after he was poisoned, treated overseas and then imprisoned when he returned to Russia. "He could have lived safely in exile," following an assassination attempt in 2020, Biden said. "Instead, he returned to Russia knowing he'd likely be imprisoned, or even killed, if he continued his work. But he did it anyway. Because he believed so deeply in his country." Biden said Russian officials will tell their own story, but said, "Make no mistake: Putin is responsible for Navalny's death." He said Navalny's death is a reminder of the stakes of this moment and once again appealed to the U.S. House of Representatives to vote on the bipartisan aid package approved this week by the U.S Senate. Biden said "history is watching" the House of Representatives. "The failure to support Ukraine at this critical moment will never be forgotten," he said. U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, speaking Friday at the Munich Security Conference, also blamed Putin for Navalnys death. This would be a further sign of Putins brutality, she said. Whatever story they tell, let us be clear, Russia is responsible. House Speaker Mike Johnson said in a statement Friday that Putin is "a vicious dictator" and that if Navalny's death is confirmed, "this action is emblematic of Putin's global pattern of silencing critics and eliminating opponents out of fear of dissent." He called for opposition against Russia but did not specifically address military aid to Ukraine. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told VOA's Russian Service on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference that Navalny's death "is a horrible tragedy, and his imprisonment was also a horrible tragedy." Russia's Federal Penitentiary Service reported Navalny felt sick after a walk Friday and lost consciousness. It said his cause of death is "being established." Konstantin Boikov, a psychiatrist and human rights activist, told VOA's Russia Service that Navalny appeared to be healthy before his death. "We are looking at a young man, slender, who doesn't have a history of heart conditions," he said. Navalny was serving a 19-year sentence on charges of extremism. He was moved from his former prison in the Vladimir region of central Russia to a maximum-security penal colony in the town of Kharp, in the Yamalo-Nenets region, about 1,900 kilometers (1,180 miles) northeast of Moscow, above the Arctic Circle. In a post on the social media platform X shortly after the announcement, Navalny's chief of staff, Leonid Volkov, and his spokesperson, Kira Yarmysh, wrote they had no confirmation of his death. The post said Navalny's lawyer was on his way to Kharp and promised a report as soon as they received information. Navalny's wife, Yulia, told the Munich Security Conference Friday that if the news of Navalny's death is true, "I want Putin, his entire entourage, Putin's friends, his government to know that they will bear responsibility for what they did to our country, to my family, to my husband." She said she considered canceling her appearance at the conference, "but then I thought what Alexey would do in my place. And I'm sure he would be here." Navalny had been behind bars since January 2021, when he returned to Moscow after recuperating in Germany from nerve agent poisoning that he blamed on the Kremlin. Since then, he received three prison sentences, all of which he rejected as politically motivated. Natan Sharansky, a Soviet dissident and later Israeli politician, told VOA's Russian Service, "Navalny has probably done more than anyone else in the world to expose the methods the [Russian] regime uses to deal with dissidents." Sharansky said that he experienced torture when he was imprisoned in Russia during the 1970s and 1980s but that the authorities were not trying to kill him. "They wanted to fight me! But back then the international opinion was still somewhat important to them. Today Putin has nothing to lose, so he can afford to kill off his opponents," Sharansky said. Praise for Navalny's bravery poured in from Western leaders and others who have opposed Putin's leadership. The opposition leader's health had deteriorated recently, and the cause of death remains unknown, but many world leaders said they held Russian authorities ultimately responsible for his death. Speaking on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Navalny has been a strong voice for freedom and democracy for many years. He said NATO and NATO allies have long called for his release. Stoltenberg said all the facts must be established and Russia has serious questions to answer. During a joint news conference in Berlin alongside German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was typically blunt when reacting to the reports of Navalny's death. "Obviously he was killed by Putin," Zelenskyy said. "Like thousands of others who have been tortured, tortured because of this one creature. Putin doesn't care who dies." Zelenskyy said Putin must lose everything and be held accountable for his actions. Scholz said Navalny "has probably now paid for this courage with his life." In Britain, the government said it was summoning the Russian Embassy to make clear that it held Russian officials "fully responsible" for Navalny's death. Sergey Lagodinsky, a German lawyer and politician of the Alliance 90/The Greens party, argued that "the international community hasn't done all it could have to save Navalny's life." Speaking to VOA's Russian Service, he said, "I think we all knew that it was very likely, the end of this torture [of Navalny] would be quite sad." VOA's Russian Service contributed to this report. Some information for this report came from The Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse. The Burundi government this month adopted a bill to abolish prison sentences for journalists over ethics complaints. The new bill instead recommends fines of between $350 (1,000,000 Burundi Francs) and $523 (1,500,000 Burundi Francs) for media workers determined to have violated journalism ethics. The National Communication Council monitors the media and refers cases to a judge if it believes a journalist or media outlet has violated ethics. A judge then determines the fine based on the gravity of the alleged offense. A majority of media workers welcomed the move, but some have reservations about the changes. Others say that if Burundi is serious about press freedom it should release Floriane Irangabiye, a commentator and program host of Radio Igicaniro, who is serving a 10-year sentence. Authorities detained Irangabiye in August 2022, and a court in January 2023 convicted her of endangering the integrity of Burundis national territory. The media bill was adopted unanimously at a February 9 Cabinet chaired by President Evariste Ndayishimiye. The spokesperson for the Burundi government, Jerome Niyonzima, later told reporters, To be on the same page with other advanced democracies with regard to news writing and news reporting, it is imperative to abolish the prison time punishment, and instead impose a heavy fine to anyone who goes against journalism ethics. Niyonzima used to work in journalism, including as a freelancer for VOA. The Burundi Journalists Alliance (BJA) welcomed the decision. This decision definitely demonstrates that the country has made strides with regard to the promotion of free speech, said Melchior Nicayenzi, who is part of the alliance. We can never say that journalists are perfect. They can make mistakes like other people. However, when they make mistakes while trying to get to the bottom of a story, they should not belong to prison. Journalists and human rights activists have been advocating for the eradication of the old law governing media for over 12 years. Some media organizations in Burundi were skeptical of the decision, questioning whether it may have been taken to appease advocates of the free press who are pushing Burundi to free Irangabiye. Prosecutors in Irangabiyes case said the journalist and her guests on a radio show had criticized the government and accused them of repressing citizens rights, the Committee to Protect Journalists reported at the time. Christine Kamikazi, who has also been jailed for journalism ethics-related charges, is also skeptical of the bill. Some questions persist in my mind. Will the practice of arresting journalists and jailing them prior to conducting [an] investigation, prevail or is [the] investigation coming first, prior to jailing journalists? she asked. In 2019, when Kamikazi was working for the newspaper Iwacu, she and three colleagues were arrested in Bubanza province. Authorities charged them with endangering state security and for collaborating with rebel groups. The group were finally freed in December 2020 under a presidential pardon. Alexandre Niyungeko, of the Burundi Union of Journalists, also has reservations. Nothing reassures us that, even if implemented, the law will be applicable right away nor do we have to be naive and think that the press freedom is a given right to journalist, going forward, he said. Niyungeko says that if a government is truly interested in promoting press freedom, it has first of all to free jailed journalists. Before the bill becomes law, it must go through several more steps. The communications minister will oversee changes to the 2018 media law, and when that is finalized, the bill will go to both chambers, and then the president, to be signed. This story originated in VOAs Central Africa service. As Washington and Beijing move cautiously to mend frayed relations, China is working to boost people-to-people ties, which saw a dramatic decline during the COVID pandemic. Since last fall, China has hosted mayors from more than two dozen sister cities amid a renewed push to rebuild contacts with the 284 cities and states that Beijing says it maintains. The push kicked off with a visit by California Governor Gavin Newsom to China and began picking up steam around the time of last years meeting between President Joe Biden and Xi Jinping. Xi, the Chinese president, is also spearheading an effort to bring 50,000 students to China over the next five years. Last month, a group of high school students from Muscatine, Iowa, visited China. Another group from Tacoma, Washington, will visit its sister city of Fuzhou in southern Fujian province in March. Xis push for more sister-city engagement comes as the number of students studying in China dropped to just 350 in 2022 compared with around 15,000 six or seven years ago. The number increased slightly to 700 in 2023. It also comes as foreign businesses in China are struggling with slumping confidence, a slowing economy and unpredictable official behavior, including raids and the expansion of an anti-spy law. Some worry that the push is part of an effort to regain control of the narrative and draw attention away from bigger concerns such as Chinas military aggression toward Taiwan or in the South China Sea, or its human rights abuses and handling of Xinjiang, Tibet and Hong Kong. Others see it as a necessary part of keeping the lines of communication open and building understanding. In October, Kim Norton, the mayor of Rochester, Minnesota, joined one of the first groups to visit. He told VOA that memories of the trip are still fresh in his mind, and that many sister city relationships were rekindled during the visit. "It was a great experience. Everyone we met was very nice to us," Norton said. "I really enjoyed meeting the Chinese people, experiencing Chinese cities and understanding the local culture and issues related to climate change." Others who participated in the visit included Jim Brainard, the retired mayor of Carmel, Indiana; Barbara Buffaloe, mayor of Columbia, Missouri; Lee Harris, mayor of Shelby County, Tennessee; Chokwe Lumumba, mayor of Jackson, Mississippi; and Robyn Tannehill, mayor of Oxford, Mississippi. During the visit, which was organized by the United States Heartland China Association, a sister city contract was signed twinning Carmel, Indiana, with Xiangyang in Hubei Province. The mayoral delegation visited five cities: Hong Kong, Wuhan, Nanjing, Suzhou and Shanghai; test-drove electric vehicles produced by China Lantu Company; met with students from Wuhan University; watched a performance of the Suzhou Symphony Orchestra; and participated in the China International Import Expo. Jessica Bissett, director of leadership programs at the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations, said local government level exchanges have become a new trend. "When U.S.-China relations are tense, state and provincial governments, especially municipal governments, have more leeway to decide what kind of exchanges and cooperation are best for local economic development," she said. "Governors, mayors, their biggest responsibilities are to grow their economies and to make sure that their constituents have enough jobs and that they can have the best quality of life as possible, said Bissett. So ... if U.S.-China economic relations would benefit their constituents, their towns, their states or their cities, then they're going to look into potential opportunities." She said that for Chinese local governments, last year's economic downturn has also created incentive for such exchanges. She added that the U.S. State Department is also happy to see this kind of active exchange between local governments. "The State Department now has a special unit that is focusing on sub-national relations, Bissett said. I think they would be encouraging things that are happening right now. VOAs Mandarin Service reached out to the Chinese Embassy in Washington for comments but did not receive a response. Given the heightened national security concerns in both countries, pushing forward local government level cooperation has its challenges. Li Jing, director of an investment institution in Shandong Province who requested that a pseudonym be used so he could speak more freely with VOA Mandarin, said that before the U.S.-China trade war, he often helped to invite U.S. local government officials, entrepreneurs, university scholars and well-known young entrepreneurs visit Shandong Province. He said he would help Chinese to make capital investments in American companies, and American companies to establish operations in China and participate in project development. Such delegations used to be held several times a year, he said. Due to the U.S.-China trade war and the pandemic, such delegations were suspended for several years. Last year, he wanted to restart such activities but encountered many difficulties. "Some [U.S.] companies were worried that after taking Chinese capital, their market development in the U.S. and other Western countries will be hindered, and they may even be sanctioned by the Western governments," he said. "Some American university professors are also worried about the consequences of cooperation with China. It may affect their work in the U.S." He said that although most Americans he contacted were still interested in the Chinese market, they were also worried about the national security risks of cooperating with the Chinese government or accepting Chinese capital. Gordon Chang, a distinguished senior fellow at the Gatestone Institute think tank, believes that such exchanges should be stopped. "China's Communist Party is determined and relentless. It uses every point of contact with America to take down our country. That means every point of contact, no matter how innocent looking, is dangerous to us," Chang said. Some have already responded to those concerns. Shortly after retired Carmel Mayor Jim Brainard visited China and signed a new sister city relationship with Xiangyang, the citys new mayor, Sue Finkham, announced this month that it was withdrawing its membership from the United States Heartland China Association, or USHCA, citing concerns about the groups close ties to the Chinese Communist Party. Carmel, however, has not ended its sister city relationship with Xiangyang. USHCA declined to respond to several requests from VOA for comment. Mayor Norton said that while international politics was not the focus of his visit to China, the delegation cooperated with the U.S. State Department and the U.S. Embassy in China, understood the matters that needed attention in international relations, and ensured that the relationship between the local governments of the two countries would not cause conflicts at the level of national interests. Bissett said local governments should be cautious about cooperation in high-tech and intellectual property fields. However, she said the two countries shouldn't use national security as an excuse to scrutinize everything. We need to give people more credit when they choose to engage with China and go on these trips and have faith in them that they can make the distinction for themselves, she said. Adrianna Zhang contributed to this report. This story originated in VOA's Mandarin Service. Chinas inauguration of a new scientific research station in Antarctica last week has renewed debate about the purpose and impact of the rapid expansion of Chinese presence on the continent. Situated on Inexpressible Island near the Ross Sea, Qinling Station is Chinas fifth scientific outpost and third research station on the continent that can operate year around. The station covers 5,244 square meters (6,272 square yards) and can house up to 80 people during summer months, according to Chinese state broadcaster CGTN. Qinling Station is near the U.S. McMurdo Station and just south of Australia. A Center for Strategic and International Studies report published last April said its position could allow China to collect signals intelligence from U.S.-allied Australia and New Zealand as well as gather telemetry data on rockets launching from newly established space facilities in both countries. Some analysts say while Qinling Station is built for scientific purposes, some of its capabilities may be inherently dual-use. China can potentially leverage some of those resources and capabilities for military or intelligence gathering purposes, Brian Hart, a fellow with the China Power Project at CSIS, told VOA by phone. He said China continues to build more Antarctic research bases because it views the icy continent as part of the strategic frontiers. Since it is an area that is further from Chinas immediate periphery, Beijing wants to be on the cutting edge and be perceived as a global leader thats on par with the U.S., Hart said, adding that Chinas long-term goal is to have a voice in Antarctic governance by cementing a foothold there by establishing scientific research bases. In response to concerns about China potentially collecting intelligence on Australia and New Zealand through the station, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said the base is built and operated in full compliance with international rules and procedures. The station will contribute to humanitys scientific understanding of the Antarctic, provide a platform for joint scientific exploration and coordination between China and other countries and help advance peace and sustainable development in the region, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wen-bin said during the daily press conference February 7. Despite Beijings reiteration that the station abides by the rules of the Antarctic Treaty, which outlaws the military use of the continent, some experts say Chinas pattern of building its research stations across Antarctica raises legitimate questions about its significant presence on the continent. Chinas pattern of building Antarctic research bases raises questions about whether it is committed to the principles of the Antarctic Treaty and whether it plans to potentially assert a claim to Antarctica, Donald Rothwell, professor of international law at Australian National University, told VOA by phone. Since China has expressed the ambition to become a great polar power, Rothwell said, Chinas rapid expansion of research bases in Antarctica aligns with that goal. Over the last decade, China has sought to be seen as a serious state actor in polar affairs, he said. China is gaining credibility as a serious Antarctic state through its scientific research program and its engagement in the Antarctic Treaty system, Rothwell added. The day that China announced the opening of Qinling Station, Chinese President Xi Jinping said the completion of the building of the research base would provide a strong guarantee for scientists in China and around the world to continue to explore the mysteries of nature and bravely ascend the peak of science. He also called for better understanding, protection and utilization of the polar regions to make new and greater contributions to the benefit of humanity and the building of a community with a shared future for humanity. While the Qinling Station has begun operation, Hart said, more elements with potential dual-use capabilities may be added in the future. The capacity for this station to support habitation is already up and running, but there are more elements of the overall facility that will be built out in the future, he told VOA. The main one for potential dual-use applications is the antennas and other electronic equipment that can support communication with Chinas satellites, Hart said. In a 2022 report on Chinas military and security developments, the U.S. Department of Defense said that Chinas strategy for Antarctica includes the use of dual-use technologies, facilities and scientific research, which are likely intended, at least in part, to improve PLA [Peoples Liberation Army] capabilities. The report also indicated that Chinas facilities on the continent can be reference stations for its dual-use BeiDou satellite navigation network, which is Beijings alternative to the U.S.-controlled global positioning system. Hart said that while Chinese scientists are doing legitimate work in Antarctica that should not be curtailed, its important to emphasize what kind of capabilities their research stations will have and how those capabilities could be beneficial to the Chinese government and Chinese military. Its important that Antarctica remains a nonmilitarized space, he told VOA. Some analysts say a way to ensure Antarctica remains nonmilitarized and that the interests of Antarctic Treaty members are guaranteed is to rely on existing inspection regimes. There should be "a concerted effort to use the inspection regimes that are available in Antarctica to ensure that facilities are not used for military activities or contrary to the Antarctic Treaty, Tony Press, an expert on Antarctic affairs at the University of Tasmania, told VOA in a video interview. Singapore will play host to Asia's biggest air show next week for the first time since the end of COVID border restrictions, with regional travel rebounding and the military side of the show bristling with defensive systems and nervous arms buyers. An expected full return of civil demand in Asia is being tested by an industry-wide supply crunch and macroeconomic headwinds, however especially in the world's second-largest aviation market, China while geopolitical tensions have put weapons in the spotlight. "Supply chain issues are limiting the ability of many airlines to upgrade their fleets and service their aircraft," said Association of Asia Pacific Airlines head Subhas Menon. The biennial show will feature the first trip outside Chinese territory for China's first homegrown passenger jet, COMAC's narrow-body C919. With the dominant two plane manufacturers, Airbus and Boeing, struggling to ramp up production and meet demand for new planes, and Boeing struggling with a string of crises, air show attendees will be watching how the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China, or COMAC, positions itself as a viable alternative. Many inside the industry caution that only four C919s are in service in China; the plane is only certified by Chinese regulators; and the C919 relies on international supply chains. Nevertheless, China's aviation authority has said it would promote the plane internationally this year and pursue European Union Aviation Safety Agency certification. "We have also seen a growing trend where clients are including the C919 option in their fleet evaluation," said Adam Cowburn of Alton Aviation Consultancy. COMAC will be one of two commercial plane makers flying their planes alongside Airbus. Boeing will not send a commercial aircraft to the show this year. It is the first major international industry event since last month's blowout of a door plug on a 737 MAX 9 pushed Boeing into its second safety crisis in five years and sent images of a fuselage with a gaping hole whizzing across the globe. Analyst Sash Tusa of U.K.-based Agency Partners said that in the past, the industry rarely discussed aviation safety in public, on the assumption that any mention would undermine confidence. "But this omerta no longer seems to apply," he added in a note. Environmental impact Singapore will invite industry delegates to discuss aviation's environmental impact and will reveal a plan for making Singapore's aviation sector sustainable. In November, the global aviation industry agreed to lower fuel carbon emissions 5% by 2030, toward a goal of "net zero" carbon emissions by 2050. "For the industry to meet its Fly Net Zero ambitions by 2050, Asia will be a key driver given that it will continue to remain the largest aviation market," Cowburn said. A massive ramp-up in sustainable aviation fuel, or SAF, production is the current hope for meeting these targets, but it costs three to five times more than traditional jet fuel and there are concerns about how to sustainably meet demand. "That awareness of aviation's climate impact has been rising, and the questions about this industry's license to operate have been increasingly raised without there being a credible path of tackling that problem," said Sami Jauhiainen of refiner Neste, which started refining SAF in Singapore last year. Defense needs Some new freighters are also in demand, delegates said. Amid spiraling tensions over Taiwan, disputes over South China Sea sovereignty and a spike in North Korean missile tests, regional defense budgets are rising. Systems from small drones to complex sub-hunting aircraft will be on display. The war in Ukraine, which has seen extensive use of high-end air defenses, and repeated attacks on Red Sea shipping, may also spur interest in systems that can intercept missiles and drones, as well as intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance platforms used to keep tabs on adversaries. No Russian companies are listed among the exhibitors at the air show. Six air forces will stage flying demonstrations, including the United States and India. The democratic process in sub-Saharan Africa is not off to a good start in what is supposed to be a busy election year. The small island nation of Comoros was the first to host presidential elections in 2024. Incumbent president Azali Assoumani - a former military officer who first came to power in a coup in 1999 - won a fourth term. Sahel Region Election results were immediately rejected by the opposition, triggering violent protests that killed one and injured 25. Next on the list was supposed to be Mali, followed by Senegal, but elections were postponed in both countries. Mali is ruled by Assimi Goita and right? a military junta that overthrew a democratically elected government in 2020. At the time, Goita promised to return the country to civilian rule but eventually had a second coup months later, forcing out the chosen transitional civilian leaders. Edgar Githua of the United States International University-Africa told VOA OK? that elections may not take place in Sahel countries that have recently experienced coups. "Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, have promised they are going to transition, they will not ... All these military juntas are trained military soldiers, they do not know how to govern. The learning curve to learn how to govern is too long. Earlier this month, in an unprecedented move, Senegalese President Macky Sall announced that elections will be delayed because of allegations of corruption in election-related cases and the disqualification of some leading candidates. Some in the opposition called the delay a constitutional coup, though in July, Sall said he would not seek a third term after deadly clashes protesting his possible run for another term. Lloyd Kuveya, of the University of Pretoria law school in South Africa told VOA it seems like Sall wants to stay a little longer. Can we really trust Macky Sall? Everybody knows that his intentions were going for a third term, and if it hadnt been for the protests of the people of Senegal, I am quite sure he wouldve gone ahead to change the constitution. On Thursday, Senegal's top election authority, the constitutional council, ruled that delaying the elections was not in line with the constitution. It is not clear if elections will still be held as previously planned on February 25, as many candidates had suspended their campaigning due to the postponement. Senegal has been seen as a beacon of democracy in a region plagued by coups as Momadou Thior, Senegalese journalist and political analyst recently told VOA. We witnessed, in 2000, the first change in power with the opposition leader then named Abdoulaye Wade defeating the incumbent President [Abdou] Diouf, who was in power for 20 years, and 12 years later, the current president, Macky Sall, defeating the same Abdoulaye Wade after 12 years in power. East Africa In East Africa, Rwanda has had the same president since 2000. While some analysts credit Paul Kagame for bringing unity and economic development to Rwanda after the countrys OK? genocide, others question his popularity within the country. "Rwanda is the paradox of Africa. Paradox of Africa because the Rwandese themselves are afraid to talk about their own elections. If you have a vote where 98% votes for one candidate, that is a red flag. Nobody is that popular in this world," Githua said. He said Kagame will once again win the elections with over 90% of the vote in his favor but said he is more worried about the post-Kagame era. Rwandese democracy is not mature because we've had some very negative experiences of past leaders who've tried to run against Kagame, the system kind of muzzles them. ...The bigger question for me in Rwanda is not even the elections they will have right now. Are they ready for that political landscape if Paul Kagame says he's walking away? A 2022 Human Rights Watch report said the space for political opposition, civil society, and media remained closed in Rwanda. Southern Africa In South Africa, the African National Congress has been governing since 1994, when Nelson Mandela was elected president following the end of apartheid in the early 1990s, but there may not be business as usual, Kuveya says. The ANC will win the elections but not with an outright majority. Itll be below 50[%],OK? and therefore, the African National Congress must brace for coalition politics although they are saying there will never be [a] coalition, they are going to win outright. He said allegations of corruption, scandals, and disunity within the ANC as former president Jacob Zuma recently said he will vote for a different party - are already helping the opposition, including the Economic Freedom Fighters party led by Julius Malema, a former ANC youth leader. More than six months into a battle of wills between Facebook and the Canadian government, the biggest losers so far appear to be small local news outlets in Canada. That was not the goal when the government introduced its Online News Act last year, requiring large social media companies to compensate Canadian news organizations for their original content that is posted and shared on the digital giants' platforms. Google eventually reached a deal in November, under which it contributes $73.6 million a year to be distributed among Canadian news publishers. But Facebook's parent company, Meta, responded by blocking all news sharing on its platforms in Canada, saying there was therefore no entities who deserved compensation. There is little evidence that the largest Canadian media companies have been seriously hurt by the boycott, which was initiated in August 2023, and Facebook itself appears to have registered no measurable loss in traffic or users. But small local news outlets that relied heavily on Facebook to attract audiences to their own websites say they are suffering. 'They destroyed small media' "I think this ban will last quite some time," said Rene J. Roy, a co-founder of Wreckhouse Press, a small local news outlet and publisher in the eastern province of Newfoundland. "As a result, the Canadian government has done more damage to Canadian media than they were hoping to. I think they destroyed small media. "As a result, our business will not survive six months," Roy said in an interview with VOA. "It's certainly not a good feeling to know the Canadian government is responsible for this. It's not all on them, it's on Facebook and it's on Yahoo and Google." While the Facebook ban is just one of several factors affecting small news outlets, it has contributed to a difficult time for local media in Canada. A recent study prepared for Toronto Metropolitan University's School of Journalism found that 36 local news outlets closed across the country during the first 11 months of 2023. Of those, 29 were community newspapers and seven were privately owned radio stations. April Lindgren, the principal investigator for the Local News Research Project, which conducted the study, told the Canadian Press news agency that 516 local radio, TV, print and online news operations have shut down in 345 communities across Canada since 2008. "During that same time period, 215 new local news outlets launched in 152 communities. Just one of those came in 2023," Lindgren said. One of the most immediate impacts of the Facebook ban came during record wildfires that raged across much of Canada last summer, just weeks after the Facebook action commenced. Suddenly, endangered residents found themselves unable to turn to the social media platform for the latest news on the spread of the fires and potential rescue efforts. Roy, the Wreckhouse editor, pointed out that in a small community like his, residents have few options for obtaining local information. "It used to be we were one of the most popular [internet] pages in our region," he said. "Due to the ban, we've lost, I would say, 60% of our online presence. We don't have anywhere near the reach we once had, and we've also found our print readership has plummeted." In fact, Wreckhouse Weekly published its final print edition this week. Other publishers reached by VOA were less pessimistic but acknowledged they have been hurt. "Luckily, we'd been doing OK, but we certainly noticed that our growth in our membership program slowed," said Jeanette Ageson, publisher of the Tyee, a widely read progressive online news outlet based in the western province of British Columbia. "Even before the news ban Facebook was stepping away from news quite a bit," Ageson told VOA. "Before 2022, in peak COVID times, more than 20% of our traffic would be coming from Facebook, and by the time Facebook did the ban, our traffic from Facebook was down to 7%, so we'd already adjusted." 'Incorrect premise' Meta spokesperson Lisa Laventure referred VOA to a public statement published on August 1 in which it announced the introduction of the ban. "We have been transparent and have made it clear to the Canadian government that the legislation misrepresents the value news outlets receive when choosing to use our platforms," it said. "The legislation is based on the incorrect premise that Meta benefits unfairly from news content shared on our platforms, when the reverse is true. News outlets voluntarily share content on Facebook and Instagram to expand their audiences and help their bottom line. In contrast, we know the people using our platforms don't come to us for news." Meta appears to have assessed its users' habits correctly. According to an independent study commissioned by the Reuters news agency shortly after the ban was imposed, the action had almost no immediate impact on usage of Facebook by Canadians. "Daily active users of Facebook and time spent on the app in Canada have stayed roughly unchanged since parent company Meta started blocking news there at the start of August," Reuters reported, citing data shared by Similarweb, a digital analytics company. Six months later, the future looks discouraging to people such as Amy Romer, a freelance journalist published in major Canadian newspapers and magazines. "It's frightening, particularly for independent journalism outlets, to think how they will reach their audiences, when they relied so heavily on social media," Romer told VOA. "I've heard it suggested that folks should print out news stories, or QR codes and pin them up in their local communities. It's like returning to the dark ages. "As a freelancer primarily working with smaller, independent news outlets, this is a scary time for me." Russia's top opposition politician Alexey Navalny, who died Friday in an Arctic prison according to Russia's penitentiary service, survived a poisoning attack in 2020 only to be sentenced to 19 years in a penal colony. Here are 10 key dates in his campaign against Russian President Vladimir Putin: 2007: Anti-corruption campaigner Navalny begins buying shares in state-owned oil giants to access company reports and scour them for evidence of corruption, which he documents on his blog. The same year he is excluded from the liberal opposition party Yabloko for taking part in "nationalist activities". December 2011: Leads election protests Navalny sets up the Anti-Corruption Foundation, which gains a huge following with exposes about the vast riches amassed by Kremlin elites. In the winter of 2011-2012, he leads huge protests after parliamentary elections won by Putin's United Russia party, a vote marred by allegations of fraud. July 2013: Embezzlement conviction He is convicted of defrauding the government in the Kirov region of 16 million rubles ($500,000) in a timber deal while acting as an advisor to the governor. He denies the charges, claiming they are an attempt to silence him. September 2013: Moscow mayoral bid Navalny finishes a strong second behind Kremlin-backed incumbent Sergei Sobyanin in the race for mayor of Moscow. His calls for a recount are dismissed. March 2017: Medvedev 'duck' expose Navalny's video about the lavish lifestyle of then prime minister Dmitry Medvedev, which includes a claim that one of his estates has a duck house in the middle of a pond, sparks rallies. December 2017: Barred from presidential election He is blocked from running for president against Putin because of his embezzlement conviction. He urges Russians to boycott the vote, which nonetheless sees Putin secure a fourth term. August 2020: Poisoning Navalny is hospitalized on August 20, 2020, in Siberia and placed in a medically induced coma after losing consciousness during a flight. He is transferred to a hospital in Berlin, where tests show he was poisoned with Novichok, a Soviet-era nerve agent. He accuses Putin of being behind his poisoning, which the Kremlin denies. January-February 2021: Arrested and jailed He returns to Moscow, where he is detained shortly after landing at the airport. Tens of thousands of people demonstrate across Russia for his release. In February, he is handed a two-and-a-half-year sentence for breaching the conditions of a suspended sentence while recuperating in Germany, and sent to a penal colony. August 2023: 19 year sentence Navalny's sentence is increased to nine years after a conviction on new charges of embezzlement and contempt of court. A gaunt Navalny, who has experienced major weight loss in prison, is then sentenced to an additional 19 years at a harsher "special regime" facility on charges of "extremism". He goes missing for over two weeks in December 2023, before being located in a remote penal colony north of the Arctic Circle. February 16, 2024: dies in prison Navalny dies at the Arctic prison colony, Russia's federal penitentiary service says in a statement. It says Navalny lost consciousness after going for a walk and could not be revived by medics. "The causes of death are being established," it said. Contemplating bankruptcy': This Florida woman had $500K in the bank and a mortgage-free home. Now shes broke thanks to her husband and joining a surge of Americans facing bankruptcy Warren Buffett once said the most important decision you can make is who you choose to marry. In Kyle Rebolledos case, this couldnt be more true. The 41-year-old Florida woman took to TikTok to detail how her husband completely decimated their savings. Rebolledo said she had everything in 2021: a mortgage-free home, $500,000 in the bank and zero credit card debt. But now, thats all gone. Im contemplating bankruptcy, she revealed. She wouldn't be alone: bankruptcy filings in the U.S. surged by 18% in 2023, according to a study from bankruptcy data provider Epiq AACER. In total, the study concluded, filings rose to 445,168 last year up from 378,390 in 2022. Don't miss Rebolledo added in a follow-up video that shes in this situation because her husband spent all their money and he not only ticked her off, but the Feds as well. She said her ex was described by authorities as a con artist and had been arrested for financial crimes. Though Rebolledos situation is a severe case, financial infidelity isnt all that uncommon. Nearly half of people in relationships admitted to financial deceit including hiding outstanding credit card balances and expensive purchases according to a recent survey from Bread Financial. So, what can you do to ensure your significant other doesn't commit financial infidelity? Be careful with cryptocurrency Rebolledo still isnt sure how her husband managed to spend all their money. But she said in another video that she thinks he might have lost it by investing in cryptocurrency. Story continues Crypto has become a common financial secret within relationships. Bread Financials survey revealed that 16% of people (12% of men and 4% of women) admitted to hidden crypto ownerships. Though the survey didnt delve into the whys, its likely because cryptocurrency is often considered a risky investment and respondents didnt want to risk upsetting their partners. Charlie Munger, the late right-hand man of Warren Buffett, famously bashed crypto at a 2023 conference, stating that it had too much hype. He even called for an outright ban of it in a Wall Street Journal op-ed, calling it a gambling contract. Cryptocurrencies are a particularly volatile investment. Although some have gone bullish on the commodity such as CNBCs Jim Cramer there are still plenty of skeptics. This is likely due to the unstable nature of the crypto market. In 2022, CNBC reported that Bitcoin had dropped more than 60%, alongside a huge nose-dive of the entire cryptocurrency market amidst the FTX implosion. Because crypto is considered so risky, it may be contentious between two people in a relationship, making it a prime candidate for a hidden financial decision. A good way to ensure that your partner doesnt blow all your money on crypto is by discussing both of your investment risk tolerances. That way, you can talk about what is considered an acceptable investment for the two of you and to avoid any secret ones down the road. Read more: No landlord? No problem! Explore hassle-free real estate investments Dont let go of control Rebolledos husband took complete control of their finances. Shed assumed he was paying the credit card bills on time, but he never paid them at all. Because her name was on several of the cards, she said her credit score dropped from 740 to the mid-500s. Plus, she mentioned in yet another video that theyd never had a joint account until 2022 11 years after they got married. There was almost no financial transparency in their relationship. A lack of openness around money may be a sign of financial infidelity. Bread Financials survey discovered that 48% of respondents uncovered a surprise when they started sharing one or more bank accounts with their partner. Though some found good news, others found frivolous spending habits, bad credit scores and financial mismanagement. Consider asking your partner to show you their financial status and to show them yours. You want to avoid the kind of financial surprises that Rebolledo found after her husbands arrest. What to read next This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind. Malawi's parliament has allowed the government to proceed with its program to send 10,000 laborers to work on farms and industries in Israel. The parliament approved the program Feb. 15, 2024, after a government fact-finding mission to Israel to evaluate the living conditions of some 700 Malawians already employed there. Presenting the report in parliament, leader of the fact-finding mission Joyce Chitsulo said the delegation had several engagements in Israel including a meeting with Israeli cabinet ministers, a visit to Israel's parliament, and a meeting with labor agents and the workers. "On their part, the Malawian workers generally indicated that they were working according to their contracts and were being treated well. As such the delegation encourages both government and Malawian youths to take advantage of job opportunities available in Israel," Chitsulo said. The visit followed reports that some Malawian workers were running away from Israeli farms for various reasons. "The workers reported that in some farms, Malawian workers were facing challenges, particularly pay differences, overtime pay and some routine issues of sanitation facilities in some cases, which were being addressed when reported," Chitsulo said. She said the challenges were largely because the workers were not well informed on what to expect in Israel before they left Malawi. Malawi began promoting work in Israel last year with the goal of generating more foreign exchange revenue. Finance Minister Simplex Chithyola Banda said this week that $735,000 has already been transferred to Malawi through the Israel labor export arrangement. Currently, Malawians are recruited through agents in Malawi and Israel who have agreements with Israeli farmers in need of workers. Chitsulo said the government needs to set up a more comprehensive program. "Considering that there is competition from other countries to export labor to Israel, it is imperative for the government of Malawi to expedite the process of signing [a] government-to-government agreement that would guide formal operationalization of labor export," she said. The lawmakers in Malawi have supported the recommendations, saying doing so will help provide opportunity for those living in rural areas. Until now, most workers going to Israel have come from urban areas. Bertha Mackenzie Ndebele, the lawmaker for Balaka west in southern Malawi, said, "We have a lot of young men and women who are loitering around, but they have finished school but have nothing to do. As Balaka west, we are happy to join the other women who are in Israel." However, labor activists say involving politicians in recruiting the workers is wrong. "In constituencies there are people of different political affiliations," said Luther Mambala, former president of the Malawi Congress of Trade Unions. "What will happen to those people who do not belong to the party of that particular MP [member of parliament]? Definitely, they will be trumped down. And they will not access that kind of opportunity because they belong to a different party." Mambala said it would be better if the Ministry of Labor set up employment bureaus to recruit workers on their merits. Malawi was expected to send 10,000 laborers to work in Israel but according to the leader of the delegation, Chitsulo, Israeli authorities told them that Israel could employ up to 100,000 Malawians. Police in Malawi have seized mobile phones and laptops from at least 14 journalists working at the state-run Malawi Broadcasting Corporation or MBC. The journalists are suspected of running a fake Facebook account bearing MBCs name, where they allegedly posted false and anti-government stories. Press freedom groups have faulted the police for invading the journalists privacy. A spokesperson for the Malawi Police Service, Peter Kalaya, told VOA that the probe is in response to complaints from the management of the Malawi Broadcasting Corporation. "In the process of the investigations, we secured a search warrant in the court of law which we have used to confiscate electronic gadgets from suspects," he said. "And the gadgets include phones and laptops." Kalaya declined to reveal the exact number of people being investigated and how they were identified for allegedly committing cybercrimes. However, local media reports say that 14 journalists associated with MBC, including some who have left the channel, have had their devices searched. MBC Public Relations Manager Chisomo Mwamadi refused to comment on the investigation, saying the channel has left everything in the hands of police. Greyson Chapita, former controller of news for MBC TV in Blantyre, is among the suspects. He told VOA that on Wednesday, police officers forced him to log into all his devices which have access to the internet. "They searched my laptop," he said. "They were so much into my Facebook account. They did not check my emails, but they looked for the passwords and Facebook recovery in the system and other emails that were in the system. They check close to 20 minutes, and they took some screenshots." Chapita said police returned his devices after one of the police investigators said they did not find what they were looking for. Chapita said he stopped accessing all online platforms for MBC long before he stopped working at the state-run media organization. "In fact, that was four years ago," he said. "I have nothing to do with MBC anymore. And for them just invading my privacy just like that you know, torturing us, traumatizing my 12- year-old daughter. You know being accused of running a fake Facebook account, thats absurd. I am a church elder at my church. How are people going to look at me? I am so bitter." Some journalists who had their devices confiscated refused to give their names for fear of reprisals but told VOA they fear police will gain access to confidential information they shared with news sources. "This is something which is worrying because it puts them at a vulnerable position because everything that the police might access or even the management at MBC might access which they were not supposed to access can be used to harm their careers, can be used to harm their sources," said Golden Matonga, chairperson for the Media Institute for Southern Africa in Malawi. However, national police spokesperson Kalaya said journalists are not immune from any type of police investigation. "Some of the people we are following up are not employees of the MBC," he said. "And you cannot run away from a criminal investigation just because you are a journalist or because you are in this or that profession. No person is above the law." Kalaya said police will keep confidential all the private information they find in the confiscated phones and laptops. He said the equipment will be returned after the police are done with their investigation. Media watchdogs are demanding an investigation into the death in military custody of a journalist in Myanmar. Myat Thu Tan, a contributor to the local online outlet Western News, was shot and killed on January 31 while in military custody in the town of Mrauk-U in Myanmars Rakhine State, according to reports. The journalists body was found, along with six other political prisoners, buried in a bomb shelter, after the Arakan Army, an ethnic armed organization, overran the military camp on February 5. Local media said the bodies showed signs of torture. The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists, or CPJ, on Friday called for an independent investigation into the killing and for the perpetrators to be held accountable. We strongly condemn the murder of journalist Myat Thu Tan and call on Myanmar authorities to identify and prosecute those responsible, Shawn Crispin, CPJs senior Southeast Asia representative, said in a statement. A culture of impunity has taken deep root in Myanmar since the 2021 democracy-suspending coup. The junta must stop killing, and start protecting, journalists, Crispin said. Myanmars military stands accused by the United Nations and human rights groups of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity around the country since the February 2021 coup. The country ranks ninth in the world in terms of impunity in journalist killings, according to the CPJ. Myanmars military did not immediately reply to VOAs request for comment. Myat Thu Tan was arrested at his home in Mrauk-U in September 2022 and held in pretrial detention under a broad provision that criminalizes incitement and the spread of false news. The arrest was linked to his critical Facebook posts, according to reports. The journalist, known also as Phoe Thiha, reported for several news outlets, including at one time, the Democratic Voice of Burma, or DVB. Shortly after the February 2021 coup, the military revoked DVBs license. Its team now works from exile. The journalists arrest and killing highlight the grave security threats facing reporters in Myanmar, where the military has cracked down hard on the media in the past three years. DVBs executive director Aye Chan Naing discussed those threats in an interview with VOA earlier this month. The most challenging situation that we are facing is security for our journalists, Aye Chan Naing said. Dozens of journalists have been detained since the coup, and others have gone into exile or work under the radar. Myanmar currently is ranked second only to China for the number of journalists detained for their work. It had at least 43 in custody at the time of CPJs latest census of imprisoned journalists. Myat Thu Tan is the fourth journalist to die while in military custody in Myanmar since 2021. Stephen Boitano contributed to this report. Satellite images published Friday confirm construction is underway on what appears to be a large security enclosure in Egypts Sinai Peninsula adjacent to Gaza, prompting suspicions that Egypt is preparing to receive an influx of Palestinian refugees from the Gaza Strip. The images, published by The Associated Press and The New York Times, lend credence to a report this week from the Sinai Foundation for Human Rights, which quoted local contractors saying they had been hired to build a large, enclosed area with 7-meter-high (23-feet-high) walls. The Egyptian government has not commented publicly on the reports. The satellite images show a large stretch of graded land and construction on what appears to be a high concrete wall. Reports on the size of the planned enclosure range from 5 square kilometers (3.11 square miles) to 20 square kilometers (12.4 square miles). A contractor and an engineer, who spoke and provided photos of the work to The New York Times, said they had begun work on February 5 and started on the wall two days ago. The Sinai Foundation, an independent nongovernmental organization monitoring and documenting human rights conditions in the Sinai Peninsula, said in its report Monday that the work was undertaken by local companies and subcontracted by the Sons of Sinai construction company owned by businessman Ibrahim Al-Arajani. It said the work is intended to create a high-security gated and isolated area near the borders with the Gaza Strip, in preparation for the reception of Palestinian refugees in the case of (a) mass exodus. The foundation quoted Muhannad Sabry, a researcher on Sinai affairs and security in Egypt, saying the work provides serious signs that Egypt may be preparing to accept and allow the displacement of the population of Gaza to Sinai, in coordination with Israel and the United States. The AP said that satellite images, taken Thursday by Maxar Technologies, show cranes, trucks and what appear to be precast concrete barriers being set up along a road some 3.5 kilometers (2.2 miles) west of the border with Gaza. The news agency cited a Wall Street Journal report that quoted unnamed Egyptian officials describing an 8-square-mile (13-square-kilometer) walled enclosure being built in the area that could accommodate over 100,000 people. The AP said the Egyptian government did not respond to its requests for comment Friday, and there has been no public acknowledgment of the work by the government. Cairo has insisted since the beginning of Israels military offensive in the Gaza Strip that it would not allow Palestinian civilians threatened by the war to seek refuge in Egypt, citing security concerns. The area has seen several kidnappings and terrorist incidents in recent years. Analysts also suspect that Egypt is motivated by fears that if the Palestinians were allowed across the border, Israel would not let them back into Gaza once the war ends. Such fears are not without foundation. Israels Misgav Institute for National Security and Zionist Strategy issued a paper early in the war saying the conflict presented a unique and rare opportunity to evacuate the whole Gaza Strip. Hard-line officials within Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus government have also raised that possibility, according to the AP, although Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant was quoted by the agency Friday as saying his government has no such plan. The state of Israel has no intention of evacuating Palestinian civilians to Egypt, Gallant told reporters. We respect and value our peace agreement with Egypt, which is a cornerstone of stability in the region as well as an important partner. Nevertheless, concern is rising over the fate of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who have been pushed by the war into a small area on the Gaza side of the Rafah gate into Egypt. Israel has warned that offensive operations in the Rafah area could begin soon. Even if Israel does not try to force the Palestinians into Egypt, experts have warned of the possibility that mobs could storm the border crossing to escape the fighting, which began with a deadly Hamas terror attack into Israel on October 7. "Undoubtedly [Egyptian President Abdel Fatah al-Sissi] is worried that Israel will bomb the wall at Rafah, causing a flood of hungry and terrified Palestinians to sweep into Egypt, said Joshua Landis, head of the Center for Middle East Studies at the University of Oklahoma Noting that Egypt is already struggling to feed its 100 million citizens, Landis told VOA that by building an extra containment wall, Egypt is announcing to the world and Israel that it will not become the solution to Israel's Palestinians problem." Palestinian fears of being pushed into the Sinai desert were posted on social media platform X, formerly Twitter, Thursday by Gaza-based journalist, Bisan Owda. We will die in the desert because of hunger. If they displace us to north of Egypt to Sinai desert, we will just die. We will die, she said in an audio recording. Israeli forces searched the grounds of southern Gazas Nasser Hospital hospital Friday, a day after raiding the complex. The hospitals generators stopped working after the raid, the Hamas-controlled Gazan health ministry said, and five patients in intensive care died when their oxygen was cut off. Israels military said it took control of the hospital because it had intelligence that there were Israeli hostages and hostages bodies in the hospital. So far, no hostages or their bodies from the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel have been found at the site, according to Israeli military officials. Gazas health ministry has accused the Israelis of disrupting the care of the hospitals patients when they raided the building. The Israelis have denied that claim. Meanwhile, Egypt is building a wall near its border with Rafah, the southern Gazan location teeming with over a million Palestinians who have been forced out of their homes by the Israeli offensive. Satellite pictures reveal that Egypt is also bulldozing land in the area. Israel has announced it plans to launch an invasion into Rafah. Egypt has said it would not open its border to Gazans, but news of the wall and the adjusting of the ground could indicate that Egypt may be ready to reverse that decision. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu posted on social media early Friday that recognition of a Palestinian state would give a huge reward to unprecedented terrorism. His comments came after talking with U.S. President Joe Biden and an Israeli Cabinet meeting, as well as a Washington Post report that the United States and its Arab allies plan to promote a two-state resolution to the ongoing Middle East conflict. Israel outright rejects international dictates regarding permanent arrangements with the Palestinians, Netanyahu posted on X, formerly Twitter. He wrote that any arrangements with the Palestinians will be reached only through direct negotiations between the parties, without preconditions. In southern Israel, six people were wounded in a shooting at a bus stop Friday. The shooter was killed by police. At least two victims are reported to have died. Some information for this story came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters. At the beginning of the year, as western Japan reeled from an earthquake that killed more than 200 people and damaged tens of thousands of homes, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un sent Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida a message of "sympathy and condolences." Kims message, published in North Koreas main newspaper, was brief and in many ways unextraordinary. However, it was also unusually conciliatory, given that the two countries have no formal ties and that North Korean state media propagandists regularly lob fiery insults at Japanese leaders. More than a month later, North Korea is now giving more hints that it may be willing to improve relations with Japan, although many analysts are skeptical that will happen. In a statement late Thursday, Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of North Koreas leader, cautiously praised the "positive" statements of Kishida, who last week told Japanese lawmakers it is "extremely important" that he take the initiative to build top-level ties with Pyongyang. "I think there would be no reason not to appreciate his recent speech as a positive one, if it was prompted by his real intention to boldly free himself from the past fetters and promote the DPRK-Japan relations," Kim said, using an abbreviation for Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea, North Koreas official name. Kim, who insisted the comments reflect only her "personal view," also seemed to refer to Kishidas oft-stated desire to hold a summit with her brother. However, she said, a Kishida visit to Pyongyang would only be possible if Japan stopped objecting to North Koreas nuclear and missile programs and does not raise the "already settled" issue of North Koreas abductions of Japanese nationals. Japan may find it difficult to accept those conditions. On Friday, Yoshimasa Hayashi, the Japanese governments top spokesperson, would not say how Tokyo views Kims comments, but he said Japan cannot accept that the abduction issue has been resolved. "We remain unchanged Japan intends to comprehensively resolve pending issues, such as nuclear and missiles and the abductions," Hayashi told reporters. Abductions a big obstacle The abduction issue has for decades been a barrier to improving Japan-North Korea relations. Japan says North Korea abducted 17 Japanese citizens as part of efforts to train its spies in Japanese language and culture in the 1970s and 80s. North Korea has only ever admitted to kidnapping 13 Japanese nationals. In 2002, North Korea issued an apology and returned five of those who had been abducted, while claiming the others had already died. Many in Japan continue to believe that some of the victims of the effort are still alive. Public opinion polls consistently suggest the abduction issue is a top priority for Japanese voters, Jeffrey J. Hall, a Japanese politics specialist at the Kanda University of International Studies, said. "Almost every single Japanese conservative politician wears blue label pins on a daily basis to signal their belief that the abductee issue is extremely important and has not been adequately resolved," Hall told VOA. "Kishida cannot simply sidestep the issue and hold a bilateral summit that only focuses on other issues," he added. Any progress on the abductions issue could provide Kishida a much-needed boost. The approval rating for his Cabinet is just 25%, according to a recent poll by public broadcaster NHK, amid economic woes and a ruling party scandal related to political funds. Challenges ahead However, very few analysts predict Tokyo and Pyongyang will find a path forward in large part because former North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, father of Kim Jong Un, declared the abductions issue resolved. "Its very hard for the administration in North Korea to go back on that," said Christopher Green, a Korea specialist and assistant professor at Leiden University in the Netherlands. "As we can see in Kim Yo Jongs statement, the North Koreans are already setting out their stall clearly, saying that the abductions issue must not be central, because it has already been dealt with," Green added. North Korea, though, may still find it worthwhile to engage Japan because it may believe it can "force open some cracks" in the recently expanded trilateral cooperation among the United States, Japan, and South Korea, according to Green. "If by some very unlikely turn of events the long-standing issues in their bilateral relationship can be resolved, so much the better. If not, well they still caused angst between Tokyo and Seoul, and Pyongyang will find a way to blame the perfidious Japanese for the failure. It is a win-win for the North; or at least there is no chance of Pyongyang losing," he added. Under conservative President Yoon Suk Yeol, South Korea has pursued closer relations and defense ties with Japan, Koreas former colonial ruler. However, the convergence among South Korea, Japan, and the United States remains fragile, reflecting lingering differences over shared history and U.S. political volatility, according to Robert Ward, senior fellow for Japanese security studies at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London. "Kishida will be mindful to keep both Seoul and Washington abreast of developments with Pyongyang to reduce the risk of undesirable surprises," Ward told VOA. "Kishida will be visiting Seoul in March and Washington in April these would be important signalers of alignment between the three, particularly if a Kishida-Kim meeting goes ahead," Ward added. So far, there are no public signs of tension in the trilateral relationship. Jung Pak, a senior U.S. State Department official, told reporters Thursday that Washington supports Japans attempts to engage North Korea. South Korea and Japan are also "closely communicating" on the issue of North Korea and any future dialogue with Pyongyang, according to a South Korean official at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs who was quoted Friday by South Koreas Yonhap news agency. Any contact between Japan and North Korea should be made in a way that would "help promote the peace and stability of the Korean Peninsula," the South Korean official was quoted as saying. Russia is developing an anti-satellite weapon, the White House confirmed Thursday, after a lawmaker sounded an alarm over what he described as a serious national security threat. While White House officials say it could land Moscow in violation of a treaty banning weapons of mass destruction in space. They said it is not an urgent threat, and urged Americans not to panic, as lawmakers met behind closed doors to discuss the issue. Anita Powell reports from Washington. The space-based weapon U.S. intelligence believes Russia may be developing is more likely a nuclear-powered device to blind, jam or fry the electronics inside satellites than an explosive nuclear warhead to shoot them down, analysts said on Thursday. The intelligence came to light on Wednesday after Representative Mike Turner, Republican chair of the U.S. House of Representatives intelligence committee, issued an unusual statement warning of a "serious national security threat." A source briefed on the matter told Reuters that Washington had new intelligence related to Russian nuclear capabilities and attempts to develop a space-based weapon, but added that the new Russian capabilities did not pose an urgent threat to the United States. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken echoed this view on Thursday, saying "this is not an active capability." Analysts tracking Russia's space programs say the space threat is probably not a nuclear warhead but rather a high-powered device requiring nuclear energy to carry out an array of attacks against satellites. These might include signal-jammers, weapons that can blind image sensors, or -- a more dire possibility -- electromagnetic pulses (EMPs) that could fry all satellites' electronics within a certain orbital region. "That Russia is developing a system powered by a nuclear source ... that has electronic warfare capabilities once in orbit is more likely than the theory that Russia is developing a weapon that carries a nuclear explosive warhead," said Daryl Kimball, executive director of the Arms Control Association advocacy group. A 2023 U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency report said Russia is developing an array of weapons designed to target individual satellites and may also be developing "higher-power systems that extend the threat to the structures of all satellites." The Kremlin on Thursday dismissed a warning by the United States about Moscow's new nuclear capabilities in space, calling it a "malicious fabrication." The nuclear threat Non-nuclear anti-satellite weapons have existed for years. Russia in 2021 followed the United States, China and India by testing a destructive anti-satellite missile on one of its old satellites, blasting it to thousands of pieces that remain in Earth's orbit. Exploding a nuclear weapon in space would be another matter entirely. Brian Weeden, an analyst at the Secure World Foundation, said Russia would undermine its credibility if it detonated a nuclear weapon in space, a possibility with profound implications for both military and commercial satellites. "The Russians have spent 40 years in the U.N. bashing America about wanting to weaponize space, and place weapons in space and pledging that they would never do it," Weeden said. "If they do [detonate a nuclear device in space], theyd lose everything. All the countries that are supporting them on Ukraine and getting around sanctions, boom," he added. James Acton, a nuclear expert at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace think tank, said for Russia to put a nuclear weapon in orbit would be a "blatant violation of the Outer Space Treaty." The 1967 treaty, to which the United States and Russia are parties, bars signatories from placing "in orbit around the earth any objects carrying nuclear weapons or any other kinds of weapons of mass destruction." Violating the treaty, Acton said, would further undercut efforts to revive U.S.-Russian arms control after Russia's 2023 decision to suspend participation in the New START treaty, which caps the number of strategic nuclear warheads each can deploy. Analysts said anti-satellite weapons could cripple military and commercial communications, undermining the armed forces' ability to operate as well as global positioning systems (GPS) that everyone from Uber drivers to food delivery services use. "The Russians think we're blind if we don't have access to our satellites and it's probably true," said a former U.S. intelligence official. "Our ability to rely on satellites is a major advantage in a potential confrontation but also a major vulnerability." President Macky Sall of Senegal said Friday he will comply with a ruling from Senegal's Constitutional Council, which a day earlier rejected his plan to postpone the presidential election. The president's office issued a statement that said, "The head of state will conduct necessary consultations to hold the presidential election as soon as possible." Sall had come under pressure both at home and abroad to reverse his decision to delay the election for some 10 months. Earlier Friday, the West African regional bloc ECOWAS urged him to follow the court's order, saying "all stakeholders in the electoral process [should] comply with the decision of the Constitutional Council." The election was originally set for February 25. Sall, whose second term ends in April and has said he is not running for a third, declared this month that he was postponing the vote and won approval from parliament to move it to December. But on Thursday, Senegal's Constitutional Council ruled that the National Assembly's decision to move the election was "contrary to the constitution." On the social media platform X, the Bureau of African Affairs of the U.S. Department of State applauded the decision, saying that they are "Glad to see the Constitutional Council's decision to put Senegal back on track for a timely presidential election." Many Senegalese who oppose Sall welcomed the decision to cancel the delay. Khalifa Sall, an opposition leader, said, "The president has no choice: on April 2, he'll have to go." Khalifa Sall has referenced recent events as an "institutional coup," and added that although many hoped that the council would decide a new election date, it ultimately falls upon the current government. Sall's attempt to delay the vote generated protests across the country, and at least three people were killed in clashes between police and demonstrators. Some information for this report came from The Associated Press and Reuters. From the time he first emerged as a threat to the rule of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny was subjected to an unremitting series of attacks from Russian authorities, ranging from dubious prosecutions to a well-documented poisoning. In each case, authorities in Moscow sought to deflect the blame onto the United States and its Western allies a pattern they continued following reports of Navalny's death on Friday. On August 20, 2020, Navalny fell into a coma aboard a passenger plane flying from the Russian city of Tomsk to Moscow, forcing his flight to make an emergency landing in the city of Omsk, where he was hospitalized. He was subsequently airlifted to Germany. Navalny's spokeswoman said he was poisoned, possibly by a cup of tea he drank at a Tomsk airport cafe. And while the Russian doctors who treated him in Omsk said there was "no trace" of poison in his blood or urine, the German doctors who subsequently treated him said their tests showed he had been poisoned. In September 2020, German officials said there was "unequivocal proof" Navalny had been poisoned with the nerve agent Novichok, a Soviet-era chemical weapon. In December 2020, an investigation conducted jointly by U.K.-based investigative website Bellingcat and Russia's investigative website The Insider, in cooperation with Germany's Der Spiegel and CNN, concluded that a special team from Russia's Federal Security Service had poisoned Navalny using Novichok. That same month, Putin, during his annual year-end news conference, brushed away the Bellingcat/Insider allegations, saying that if the FSB had targeted Navalny, it would have "finished the job." "This is not some kind of investigation; this is the legalization of materials from the American special services," Putin said. "That means in this case the patient of the Berlin clinic [Navalny] is supported by U.S. intelligence services." Putin's spin found echoes in some of the initial comments by Russian officials after it was announced Friday that the 47-year-old anti-corruption crusader had died at the harsh Arctic Circle prison camp he was transferred to last December. In a post on Telegram, Vyacheslav Volodin, speaker of the State Duma, the lower house of the Russian parliament, wrote: "The cause will be determined by forensic experts and the investigation. "But when, without waiting for results, accusations and statements from politicians and heads of unfriendly states sound like carbon copies, the question must first be answered: who benefits from Navalny's death today? "Absolutely obvious: "those who imposed more than 19 thousand sanctions against Russia, aiming to tear its economy to shreds; "those who are losing the war in Ukraine; "those who are not supported by their own population and have no chance of winning elections, but at the same time want to retain power by any means; "those who are eager to seize the gold and foreign exchange resources of our country; "those who want to destroy Russia are doing everything to stop its development. "All of them, their names are well known: from the Secretary General of NATO and the US leadership to [German Chancellor Olaf] Scholz, [United Kingdom Prime Minister Rishi] Sunak and [Ukrainian President Volodymyr] Zelensky, are the perpetrators of Navalny's death. It is they, who have made a huge number of failed decisions and cling to their positions, who benefit from his death." Vasily Piskarev, who heads the Duma's commission on foreign interference, took to Telegram to declare his complete agreement with Volodin: "Washington and Brussels, who are trying with all their might to weaken our country, prevent its victory, and interfere in its internal affairs, now, just a few minutes after the news of Navalny's death, publicly declare that they know its causes. Although there has been no forensic examination or investigation yet. "There is a well-known expression in Latin: is fecit, cui prodest. Committed by the one who benefits." Also on Telegram, Margarita Simonyan, the editor-in-chief of Russian state broadcaster RT, addressed those she said were already accusing the Russian government of "assassinating" Navalny, writing: "I will not even begin to explain to them that everyone has long forgotten him [Navalny], that there was no point in killing him, especially before the elections, because it is beneficial to exactly the opposite forces." Russia's next presidential election is scheduled for March. Navalny came in second in the 2013 Moscow mayoral elections, and his supporters said the investigations launched against him for a variety of alleged crimes, including fraud and embezzlement, were politically motivated. In December 2016, Navalny officially announced that he would run as a candidate in Russia's March 2018 presidential election. A year later, in December 2017, Russia's Central Election Commission declared that Navalny was ineligible to run for president because of a prior criminal conviction. In August 2023, he was sentenced to an additional 19 years in prison for alleged "extremism," bringing his total sentence to more than 30 years. Tax season which started Jan. 29 can trigger a lot of emotions. While some Americans may already be planning their next vacation or paying down debt thanks to the refunds they expect to get, others might feel anxiety. Read: The 7 Worst Things You Can Do If You Owe the IRS See: Owe Money to the IRS? Most People Dont Realize They Should Do This One Thing Indeed, a new GOBankingRates survey found that a whopping 13% of Americans say they are worried they wont have enough money to cover their taxes. Yet, experts argued that if thats the case, the best path forward is to not panic but to act fast and address the issue head-on. Dont delay. Whatever your situation is, putting action off likely will make matters worse, said Michael Micheletti, chief communications officer at Unlock. Resolve to figure out your options as soon as possible. Consulting a tax advisor who can advise on options is a smart step for most people. Sponsored: Owe the IRS $10K or more? Schedule a FREE consultation to see if you qualify for tax relief. File on Time As Adam Brewer, tax controversy attorney at AB Tax Law, explained, if you dont have the money to cover your taxes, you still need to file on time. The penalty for filing late is way more painful than the penalty for paying late, he said. Indeed, Unlocks Micheletti explained that the penalty for failing to file a return or request an extension is 5% of your owed taxes per month, which is 10 times the penalty for failure to pay, which is 0.5% per month, plus interest on the outstanding taxes that are owed. The interest is calculated as the federal short-term rate plus 3% and it compounds daily, he said. So a $5,000 tax bill on a return that was filed on time, but paid three months late, would result in a $75 late-payment penalty plus interest. That same tax bill with an unfiled return would result in a $750 penalty plus interest. For most taxpayers, the deadline to file their federal tax return, pay any tax owed or request an extension to file is Monday, April 15, 2024, according to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Taxpayers living in Maine or Massachusetts have until April 17, 2024, due to Patriots Day and Emancipation Day, and taxpayers residing in a federally declared disaster area have additional time to file. Story continues Learn: Trump-Era Tax Cuts Are Expiring How Changes Will Impact Retirees Understand Extensions If you cant file on time, you can request a six-month extension until Oct. 15 this year, Micheletti said. Yet, you need to be aware that getting an extension to file doesnt grant you an extension on payment and youll still owe a monthly failure-to-pay penalty if you dont pay. Occasionally, however, the IRS exempts taxpayers from penalties for reasonable cause, he said. Some reasonable causes include death in the family, natural disaster, divorce, active military duty or severe illness. Look At Installment Plans An installment plan would allow you to pay off an outstanding balance over time and you can request it online. Once your online application is complete, youll receive immediate notification of whether your payment plan has been approved without having to call or write to the IRS, according to the agency. The plans include short-term and long-term plans. Short-term payment plans have a 120-day period or less and the total amount owed is less than $100,000 in combined tax, penalties and interest. You would still owe interest on the unpaid balance, and a failure-to-pay penalty of 0.5% per month, up to a maximum of 25%, said Mark A. Luscombe, JD, LL.M, CPA, principal analyst, Wolters Kluwer Tax and Accounting Division North America. As for long-term payment plans, the payment period is longer than 120 days, paid in monthly payments, and the amount owed is less than $50,000 in combined tax, penalties and interest, according to the IRS. If you think that you could come up with the money to pay the tax in a short period of time, you could consider making the payment with a credit card if you can pay off the credit card balance before significant interest charges are incurred, Luscombe said. Look At Offers in Compromise If you do not believe that you will have the resources to pay the tax balance due, you may request an Offer in Compromise from the IRS, Luscombe said, noting that this can result in a reduction of the amount you owe to the IRS. The IRS will review the information submitted to evaluate income, expenses and ability to pay, he added. Not surprisingly, the criteria are stringent and the IRS only approves around one-third of Offer in Compromises requested, Luscombe said. Make Changes Finally, experts argued that you should try to figure out what went wrong so it doesnt happen again for 2024. Too many people that owe money for taxes wait until October to file and dont make any changes for the current tax year, said AB Tax Laws Brewer. If you owe for 2023, then you will probably owe for 2024 if you dont make a change. Figure out what went wrong, then either adjust your withholding or make estimated tax payments so you arent stuck with another tax bill this time next year. And whatever you do, dont ignore a tax bill and take the steps you need to reduce the burden of payments instead. The IRS has broad authority to collect on tax debt through bank levies and wage garnishment, so ignoring the bill could add a much greater burden to your day-to-day finances than a payment plan might, said Dana Miranda, author of the Healthy Rich newsletter. More From GOBankingRates This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: Im a Tax Expert: 5 Things You Must Do If You Dont Have Money To Cover Your Taxes The Biden administration is now focusing on implementing its goals for the Indo-Pacific, said analysts, as a White House strategist who initiated policies for the region moves to the State Department. Kurt Campbell, who served as Indo-Pacific coordinator for the White House National Security Council, initiated strategies that moved allies and partners to cooperate on challenges across the region, from counterbalancing China's rise to offsetting North Korea's threats. He is going to a new position at the State Department. He takes on the role of the deputy secretary of state, a position vacant since July when Wendy Sherman retired. The Senate confirmed Campbell on February 6 after President Joe Biden nominated him for the position in November. Campbell's position as the Indo-Pacific coordinator will be left unfilled, the Financial Times reported on February 6. Experts said that if the Biden administration did not fill the Indo-Pacific position, it would be a signal that Washington was now focusing on implementing the strategies Campbell set in place. "Important initiatives such as the Indo-Pacific strategy and the Camp David summit are among the results of the decision by the incoming Biden administration to create a brand-new position of Indo-Pacific coordinator," said Daniel Russel, who served as the assistant secretary of state for East Asia and Pacific affairs during the Obama administration. "Now that those and other initiatives have been launched and that interagency coordination on Indo-Pacific policy has matured, the administration's challenge is in implementation and the need for a 'coordinator' in the White House has diminished," Russel said Tuesday via email. He is the vice president for International Security and Diplomacy at the Asia Society Policy Institute. Biden appointed Campbell as the White House Indo-Pacific coordinator in January 2021. Creation of the position came amid China's increasing assertiveness in the region. Campbell was instrumental in bringing together South Korea and Japan for a summit with the U.S. at Camp David in August. The two moved beyond their historical animosity and agreed to work together against China's regional aggression and North Korea's missile launches. Campbell led the inaugural meeting of the Nuclear Consultative Group held in July in Seoul to strengthen the bilateral alliance and reassure South Korea of U.S. nuclear deterrence in the region. He also revamped the informal transregional agreement known as the QUAD among Australia, India, Japan and the U.S. in March 2021 and played a key role in creating a trilateral security partnership among Australia, the U.K. and the U.S., or AUKUS, in September 2021. China views both as security ties threatening its rise to dominance in the region. Patrick Cronin, the Asia-Pacific security chair at the Hudson Institute, said via email on Tuesday that Campbell's "central role over the past three years in defining strategies to compete [with], cooperate [with], and confront China marks a clear path for engaging allies and partners, dealing with China, and helping the U.S. negotiate from strength." Cronin continued, "His absence as Indo-Pacific coordinator will be significantly mitigated by his presence at the State [Department] and the outstanding team he has left at the White House to help carry out a vision he helped to mold." But concerns remain about the unfilled position for a region fraught with rising threats from North Korea and coercive moves by China, according to some analysts. Dennis Wilder, senior director for East Asia at the White House's National Security Council during the George W. Bush administration, said via email, "The Biden administration should reconsider its decision not to keep the position at a time when there is so much uncertainty about North Korea and China's intentions." North Korea's state media KCNA said on Thursday that the country tested new surface-to-sea missiles under the supervision of leader Kim Jong Un the day before. It was the regime's fifth cruise missile test this year as Pyongyang threatens to take more aggressive moves against South Korea. China continues to antagonize its neighbors in South China Sea with maritime maneuvers to assert its claim of sovereignty over disputed territories. Aside from security issues, Wilder, currently a senior fellow for the Initiative for U.S.-China Dialogue on Global Issues at Georgetown University, said, "A major priority left undone in the Biden Indo-Pacific strategy is trade policy." Wilder said via email on Wednesday, "The IPEF [Indo-Pacific Framework] attempt to deal with this issue is stalled by congressional resistance because of concerns over the labor, human rights and climate change policies of partner nations. The administration must find a way to balance the robust security alliances and partnerships with an equally effective set of regional economic policies." The IPEF includes four pillars: trade; supply chains; clean energy, decarbonization and infrastructure; and tax and anti-corruption. Biden launched the IPEF in Tokyo in May 2022 to set up sustainable common standards among countries in the region. The IPEF partners including South Korea and Japan account for 40% of the global economy. China, not an IPEF member, perceives it as an ineffective effort to reduce its economic influence. He Weiwen, a senior fellow at the Center for China and Globalization, told the official Global Times in 2023, "The IPEF is neither a trade agreement nor an economic community. It's just a framework, meaning that it will have no real efficacy." Ukraine's military said it is retreating from the southeastern city of Avdiivka amid a Russian barrage, adding that the decision provided no strategic advantage for Russia. Ukraine's commander-in-chief, Oleksandr Syrskyi, posted on Facebook that the troops were moved "to avoid encirclement and preserve the lives and health of service personnel." "In a difficult battlefield situation, when only ruins and a pile of broken bricks remain from the fortification, our priority is to save the soldiers' lives," Oleksandr Tarnavskyi, the commander of Ukraine's southeastern sector, wrote on Telegram. He said that Ukrainian units pulled back with minor losses. Tarnavskyi described the Avdiivka sector as "the hottest" on the entire front line, which stretches about 1,000 kilometers. Later Friday, Tarnavskyi said that heavy fighting continued and that Russia kept on "practically wiping the city from the face of the earth." He also claimed that on Friday alone Ukrainian forces repelled more than 30 Russian attacks. A video from Avdiivka, shared by Ukraine's Third Separate Assault Brigade on Friday, shows soldiers taking cover from heavy Russian shelling in the dim dungeons of a large local coking plant, warming themselves and helping the wounded. Another video shows state border guard soldiers in a badly damaged building, calling the current situation an all-around defense. Reuters was not able to confirm battleground reports. Capturing the eastern city is seen as key to Moscow's aim of securing full control of the two provinces that make up the industrial Donbas region and could hand Russian President Vladimir Putin, who recently underlined its significance, a battlefield victory as he seeks reelection next month. 'The clock is ticking' During a White House press briefing, U.S. President Joe Biden stressed the significance of continuing U.S. military support for Ukraine against Russia and noted that though a bipartisan Senate voted in favor of funding Ukraine's war against Russia, the House of Representatives has not yet done so. "History is watching the House of Representatives. That failure to support Ukraine at this critical moment will never be forgotten. It's going to go down the pages of history. It really is, it's consequential. The clock is ticking. And this has to happen. We have to help now. You know, we have to realize what we're dealing with," Biden said. Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a new long-term security pact with France on Friday, calling it "an ambitious, very substantive security agreement." "This is not an alternative to the United States. We are all together, and this union is necessary to defeat Russia," Zelenskyy told reporters alongside French President Emmanuel Macron. The 10-year security pact with France includes commitments by Paris to deliver more arms, train soldiers and send up to $3.2 billion (3 billion euros) in military aid to Ukraine in 2024. "Our commitment to Ukraine will not weaken," Macron told a joint news conference, adding that the "Kremlin regime" had entered a new phase that was now clearly showing more aggression toward European countries. "By helping our Ukrainian partner, we are investing in our security," said the French president. Ukraine, Germany sign pact Earlier Friday, during a visit to Berlin, the Ukrainian president and his German counterpart, Chancellor Olaf Scholz, signed a similar 10-year security pact ensuring Germany's continuing military support of Ukraine. Berlin also committed to sanctions and export controls against Russia and to keeping Russian assets frozen. "The document's importance cannot be overestimated. It makes clear that Germany will continue to support an independent Ukraine in its defense against the Russian invasion," Scholz said. "And if in the future there is another Russian aggression, we have agreed on detailed diplomatic, economic and military support." Berlin also has prepared another immediate military aid package worth $1.2 billion that includes 36 howitzers, 120,000 rounds of artillery ammunition, and two more air-defense systems. Scholz described the long-term security accord as a "historic step." It's Ukraine's second such bilateral agreement after one signed last month with Britain. The meetings came amid a flurry of international gatherings this week, including the Munich Security Conference on Saturday that Zelenskyy is scheduled to attend. Several bilateral meetings on the sidelines are planned, including with U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris. Russia has fired at least 24 North Korean ballistic missiles at Ukraine since December 30, in strikes that have killed at least 14 civilians, Ukraine said Friday in a preliminary assessment. Andriy Kostin, Ukraine's prosecutor general, said Kyiv had preliminarily identified the ballistic missiles as the North Korean KN-23/24, adding that of the 24 missiles fired, only two had been "relatively" accurate. "The accuracy of the missiles is questionable," he said. Ukraine said Thursday a wave of Russian missiles targeted several Ukrainian regions, while in the Russian city of Belgorod officials said a Ukrainian attack killed at least five people. Vyacheslav Gladkov, the Belgorod regional governor, said another 18 people were hurt in the Ukrainian attack. Russia's Defense Ministry reported destroying 14 rockets in the Belgorod area, which is near the border with Ukraine and has been the site of repeated Ukrainian attacks. Ukrainian officials said the Russian missiles fired Thursday killed at least seven people and damaged multiple buildings. A following attack killed four more people. Officials in the city of Zaporizhzhia reported four people wounded, with damage to a school and a shop from the Russian attack. Russian missiles also targeted the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, where officials said air defenses were able to shoot down all the missiles and that there were no reported injuries. Some information for this report came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters. Ukraine says it will strategically redeploy troops to the Avdiivka area to strengthen itself against extremely critical conditions. The town now has fewer than 1,000 residents, despite its prewar population of 32,000. "The 3rd Assault Brigade confirms that it was urgently redeployed to strengthen Ukrainian troops in the Avdiivka area," the brigade said on Telegram. "The situation in the city ... is extremely critical. ... The enemy's forces on our section have approximately seven brigades," the message said. The area in the Donetsk oblast is at risk of falling into Russian control as forces surround three sides of the town, blocking all nonalternative supply routes for the Ukrainians. Russia has been trying to capture the town since October. By late January, Russian troops had reached the city's outskirts. If Moscow were to breach the Ukrainian line, it would be the most significant territorial gain since last May. Russia has placed about 50,000 troops on the Avdiivka front, with its tactical groups growing in number. "In Avdiivka a maneuver is underway in some places to withdraw our units to more advantageous positions, in some places to force [the Russians] out of positions," Ukrainian military spokesperson Dmytro Lykhoviy said in televised comments. According to Maksym Zhorin, the deputy commander of the unit, the intensity of the conflict surpassed previous battles, with Kyiv's forces facing significant numerical and firepower disadvantages there. The troops are tired after fighting for almost two years with sparse artillery resources. "The battles in Avdiivka are many times more hellish than the hottest battles of this phase of the war, which were in Bakhmut," a brigade commander noted. Bilateral agreement France and Ukraine are set to sign a bilateral security agreement Friday when Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visits Paris. French President Emmanuel Macrons office announced the development Thursday but did not provide details about the deal. During Zelenskyys visit, Macron will reaffirm Frances determination to continue to provide unwavering support to Ukraine and the Ukrainian people, over the long term and with all its partners, the French presidency said. Zelenskyys office said he would also travel Friday to Germany for talks with Chancellor Olaf Scholz. The meetings come amid a flurry of international gatherings this week, including the Munich Security Conference on Saturday that Zelenskyy is due to attend. NATO defense chiefs met Thursday in Brussels to discuss how to sustain their support for Ukraine in its battle against a full-scale Russian invasion that began nearly two years ago. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Thursday that allies needed to increase their defense production to ensure that Ukraine gets the weapons, the supplies, the ammunition it needs. Stoltenberg said he also expected the U.S. Congress to agree on a new support package for Ukraine. U.S. funding ran out in December. The NATO chief told reporters that supporting Ukraine is not a charity. Supporting Ukraine is an investment in our own security. Ukrainian skills hailed Stoltenberg also said Thursday that a Ukrainian attack that destroyed a large Russian navy landing ship in the Black Sea showed the impact of support for Ukraines military. Just yesterday, the Ukrainians were able to strike successfully a Russian naval ship, and this demonstrates the skills and the competence of Ukrainian armed forces, also in conducting deep strikes behind Russian lines, Stoltenberg told reporters. The Ukrainian military identified the Russian ship as the Caesar Kunikov and said it was in the waters near the Crimean city of Alupka at the time of the attack. When asked about the attack Wednesday, the Kremlin would not comment. Ukrainian forces have destroyed several ships in Russias Black Sea fleet since Russia invaded. Ukraine said Thursday that a wave of Russian missiles targeted several Ukrainian regions, while in the Russian city of Belgorod, officials said a Ukrainian attack killed at least five people. Vyacheslav Gladkov, the Belgorod regional governor, said another 18 people were hurt in the Ukrainian attack. Russias Defense Ministry reported destroying 14 rockets in the Belgorod area, which is near the border with Ukraine and has been the site of repeated Ukrainian attacks. Ukrainian officials said the Russian missiles fired Thursday killed at least seven people and damaged multiple buildings. A following attack killed four more people. Officials in the city of Zaporizhzhia reported four people wounded, with damage to a school and a shop from the Russian attack. Russian missiles also targeted the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, where officials said that air defenses were able to shoot down all of them and that there were no reported injuries. The Ukrainian air force said Russia launched a total of 26 missiles, with Ukrainian air defenses destroying half of them. Some information for this report came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse, Radio Free Europe and Reuters. The U.N. secretary-general told the Munich Security Conference Friday that the current global order is not working and that millions of ordinary people are paying a terrible price. Today we see countries doing whatever they like, with no accountability, Antonio Guterres told the annual gathering on pressing global security challenges. He said if countries fulfilled their obligations under the United Nations Charter, every person on earth would live in peace and dignity. The problem is that many governments are ignoring these commitments, he said. The war in Gaza Of the war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip, Guterres said nothing can justify Hamas terror attack on October 7, but neither does it justify Israels military response and the collective punishment of the Palestinian people. The situation in Gaza is an appalling indictment of the deadlock in global relations, Guterres said. The level of death and destruction is shocking in itself. The war is also spilling over borders across the region and affecting global trade. The Hamas-run Gaza health ministry says nearly 29,000 Palestinians have been killed since Israel launched its military offensive following the killing of 1,200 people inside Israel in the October 7 attacks. He reiterated international concerns that Israel is planning a full-scale ground incursion in the southern Gaza town of Rafah, which is sheltering fleeing Palestinians and is the center of the humanitarian aid operation. An all-out offensive on the city would be devastating for the 1.5 million Palestinian civilians who are already on the edge of survival, the U.N. chief warned. The war in Ukraine February 24 will mark two years since Russias illegal invasion of Ukraine. The war has forced 6 million Ukrainians to seek safety in other countries, while 14.6 million people inside the country need humanitarian assistance. Two years in, the cost in human lives and suffering is appalling and the impact on the global economy has been particularly devastating for developing countries, Guterres said. The war triggered a surge in food and fuel prices that hit poorer countries that had not yet economically recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic. We desperately need a just and sustainable peace for Ukraine, for Russia and for the world, the secretary-general said, a peace in line with the U.N. Charter and international law, which establishes the obligation to respect the territorial integrity of sovereign states. Other conflicts and troubles Guterres also urged regional and global powers to pressure parties involved in conflicts across Africa, the Middle East and Asia to negotiate peace. Beyond current conflicts, he said, the international community needs to strengthen the global peace and security architecture to better deal with current threats and challenges. Those who drafted the U.N. Charter did not conceive of the climate crisis, artificial intelligence or cyber weapons, he said. Guterres also pressed for reform of the global financial architecture, saying that it is badly out of date, dysfunctional and unfair, and that it has failed the worlds poorest countries. They will owe more in debt service this year than their public spending on health, education and infrastructure combined, he said of struggling countries, adding there is still no effective debt relief mechanism. All this is a development emergency with deep implications for global security, he said. He urged scaled-up climate action, repeating his calls for the gradual phaseout of fossil fuels. Guterres plans to convene a Summit of the Future in September on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly meetings, which will aim to chart a path forward on some of these issues. A United Nations study revealed Friday that approximately two-thirds (67%) of women in Afghanistan fear the rights crisis would intensify if the country's Taliban government is granted formal international recognition. The report comes ahead of Sunday's U.N.-convened conference in Qatar, where member states and regional organizations' special envoys on Afghanistan will discuss the global engagement approach with the Taliban. De facto Afghan authorities have been invited to the event, but have linked their participation to being received as official representatives of the country by U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who will host the two-day event in the Gulf state's capital, Doha. "Women expressed dread and anxiety when asked to consider the possibility of international recognition of the DFA (de facto authorities)," according to the report jointly prepared by U.N. Women, the International Organization for Migration, and the U.N. Assistance Mission in Afghanistan. "Under the current circumstances, it could exacerbate the women's rights crisis and increase the risk that the DFA would reinforce and expand existing restrictions targeting women and girls," the report said. The findings are based on interviews the U.N. agencies conducted online and in-person with 745 women across the 34 Afghan provinces between January 27 and February 8. The Taliban have enforced their strict interpretation of Islamic law since they retook control of Afghanistan in August 2021, banning most Afghan women from work and girls from receiving an education beyond the sixth grade. The curbs have primarily deterred foreign governments from formally recognizing the government in Kabul. The U.N. report said that women requested the international community not to recognize the Taliban unless they reverse the restrictions, warning that the hardline rulers' track record on women's rights shows "they cannot be trusted to improve the current situation." The interviewees stated that the best way for the world to improve the rights situation in Afghanistan was to link international aid "to better conditions for women, and to facilitate opportunities for women to talk directly with the Taliban." The recent Taliban clampdown on women for alleged non-compliance with the Islamic dress code, or hijab, has left women feeling unsafe. "While most have always observed the hijab, the style of enforcement involving the use or threat of force contributed to normalizing uncertainty in their daily lives and future opportunities. These issues have compounded [their] deteriorating mental health," according to the U.N. study. Amnesty International demanded Friday that the Doha meeting must mark an end to impunity for human rights abuse under the Taliban. The watchdog group noted in its statement that "discriminatory restrictions on the rights of women and girls, with the apparent aim of completely erasing them from public arenas" have intensified in recent months. Deprose Muchena, senior director at Amnesty International, said the meeting participants should insist that the Taliban immediately reverse all restrictions curtailing the rights of women and girls and release all those arbitrarily arrested and unlawfully detained. "The international community cannot continue to take a 'business as usual' approach vis-a-vis the human rights situation in Afghanistan," Muchena said. The Taliban rejected criticism of their governance as Western propaganda to malign their Islamic ruling system in Afghanistan. They maintain their policies are strictly in line with local culture and Islamic law, ruling out any compromise on them. Amnesty International and nine other organizations wrote a letter to Guterres last week, urging him to ensure Afghan civil society, including women human rights defenders, are full participants in the Doha meeting and that women's rights are central to all discussions. Human rights groups have documented a steady increase in the Taliban's restrictions on women and girls and other human abuses, which they warn "may amount to the crimes against humanity of general persecution." The new national security threat that sent some in Washington into a tizzy and sparked calls urging Americans not to panic, is a new Russian anti-satellite capability, the White House confirmed Thursday, again emphasizing there is no immediate threat to life or limb. White House National Security spokesperson John Kirby declined to go into details about the emerging Russian capability but said that U.S. intelligence agencies have been tracking Russias pursuit of such systems for a while, and that Washington has been reaching out to allies on next steps. "This is not an active capability that's been deployed," Kirby told reporters. "And though Russia's pursuit of this particular capability is troubling, there is no immediate threat to anyone's safety." "We are not talking about a weapon that can be used to attack human beings or cause physical destruction here on Earth," he added. The explanation, and the effort to reassure the public, came just more than 24 hours after a leading U.S. lawmaker took to social media, demanding U.S. President Joe Biden declassify intelligence so the American public and U.S. allies could formulate a response. Republican Representative Mike Turner, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, issued a statement Wednesday warning of "a serious national security threat." "I am requesting that President Biden declassify all information relating to this threat so that Congress, the Administration, and our allies can openly discuss the actions necessary to respond," Turner added. But both the White House and Pentagon on Thursday downplayed the need for that type of urgency, while conceding the Russian advancement is cause for concern. "We're taking this potential threat very, very seriously," Kirby said, adding that U.S. intelligence agencies have been aware of Moscows pursuit of what he described as a "space-based" anti-satellite capability for "many, many months, if not a few years." "But only in recent weeks now has the intelligence community been able to assess with a higher sense of confidence exactly how Russia continues to pursue it," he said. U.S. defense officials, likewise, emphasized the emerging Russian capability does not come as a surprise. "We are tracking what this is," said Pentagon press secretary Major General Pat Ryder. U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin "is part of the national security team that's been briefing the president," Ryder told reporters, adding that there is still a gap between Russias ambitions in space and what it is currently capable of doing. "It's not an immediate threat. It's not an active capability. It has not been deployed," he said. For its part, Russia on Thursday dismissed the U.S. allegations about an anti-satellite capability as a "malicious fabrication." Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov accused Washington of engaging in a ruse to get U.S. lawmakers to spend more funds. "It is obvious that the White House is trying, by hook or by crook, to encourage Congress to vote on a bill to allocate money, this is obvious," Peskov told reporters in Moscow. Despite some consternation among some White House officials and members of Congress about the way the public was alerted to the threat, there is general agreement in the U.S. that the danger is real. The top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, Representative Jim Himes, said Wednesday the threat is "a significant one." And the leading Democrat and top Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee noted they have been tracking developments "rigorously," describing the matter as serious. Some arms control experts warn that the ramifications of a new Russian anti-satellite capability could be far-reaching. "This would affect the global economy, the society writ large," said Daryl Kimball, director of the Arms Control Association. "China would be deeply concerned. India would be extremely concerned countries that Russia has better relationships with than they do with us," Kimball told VOA. "So, I think there would be stinging rebuke. That might be enough to encourage Russia to back down." U.S. intelligence agencies have been warning for years that Russia and China have been pursuing "a full range of anti-satellite weapons," noting that the development and use of such systems "could degrade U.S. intelligence gathering abilities." One of the most recent declassified U.S. intelligence assessments warned that Moscow continues to "field new anti-satellite weapons to disrupt and degrade U.S. and allied space capabilities." Russia "is developing, testing, and fielding an array of nondestructive and destructive counterspace weapons including jamming and cyberspace capabilities, directed energy weapons, on-orbit capabilities, and ground-based ASAT [anti-satellite] capabilities," the Office of the Director of National Intelligence wrote in its 2023 Worldwide Threat Assessment report. But U.S. officials appear to acknowledge that the new Russian capability takes those ambitions a step further. The NSCs Kirby, while briefing reporters at the White House, said the capability the Kremlin is pursuing "would be a violation of the Outer Space Treaty to which more than 130 countries have signed up, including Russia." That treaty, which entered into force in 1967, prohibits nations from placing into space "any objects carrying nuclear weapons or any other kinds of weapons of mass destruction," and further bans the installation of such weapons on celestial bodies. For now, Kirby says the White House intends to keep most of the information classified, while working with allies on how to respond. He said the U.S. has also reached out to Moscow, though there have yet to be any real conversations on Russias attempts to achieve the new space-based anti-satellite capability. As for the U.S. lawmaker who ignited the initial clamor, he said after being briefed by top White House, Pentagon and intelligence officials late Thursday that he is satisfied, for now, with the U.S. approach. "We all came away with a very strong impression that the administration is taking this very seriously and that the administration has a plan in place," Turner said. "We look forward to supporting them as they go to implement it." Still, top U.S. officials warned of a possible fallout from Turners decision to take his concerns public, saying that intelligence agency sources and methods may have been compromised. "We're asking ourselves that very question right now," said Kirby. "We're working our way through that analysis right now with the intelligence community." Some information in the report came from Reuters. VOAs Katherine Gypson and Anita Powell contributed to this report. The United States does not see signs of an "imminent" war by North Korea despite "incredibly dangerous" activities in recent months and its refusal to engage in diplomatic talks with the U.S., a top U.S. official told reporters Thursday. Jung Pak, the State Department's senior official in charge of North Korea affairs, said U.S. officials "are always watchful for any kind of activity" by Pyongyang and will continue to work with Japan and South Korea to bolster extended deterrence, aiming to shape North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's "calculus" regarding the initiation of direct military action. "Fundamentally, I don't think Kim's posture has changed. We don't see any signals of any direct action, military action," Pak said. "I don't see an imminent or direct attack at this point," she said. Earlier this week, North Korea carried out its fifth cruise missile launch of the year, which came just days ahead of a joint U.S.-Japan missile defense training exercise scheduled for next week. In Tokyo, a Japanese official issued a cautionary statement regarding North Korea's escalating capabilities. "By launching missiles from various platforms such as submarines and vehicle-mounted launch pads, we believe North Korea is making it difficult to identify and detect signs [of its activities] to strengthen its surprise attack capabilities," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi told a Thursday press conference. Last month, Pyongyang said it test-fired a solid-fuel intermediate-range missile, equipped with a hypersonic warhead, into waters between the Korean Peninsula and Japan. State Department official Pak said the U.S. estimated there were 69 ballistic missile tests by North Korea in 2022, and 30 ballistic missile tests last year. Russian plans to launch a new, space-based anti-satellite weapon system that could potentially wreak havoc on Earth are not set in stone, according to U.S. President Joe Biden, who suggested Friday that there was a still a chance to persuade Moscow to change course. Word of the new Russian threat began spreading Wednesday after a top U.S. lawmaker issued a statement warning of a serious national security threat and demanded Biden declassify the intelligence so the American public, Congress and U.S. allies could better formulate a response. Suggestions the new Russian system made use of either nuclear power or nuclear weapons sparked additional concern. But Biden said that such fears were overblown and that the danger was not imminent. There is no nuclear threat to the people of America or anywhere else in the world with what Russia is doing at the moment, Biden told reporters at the White House. There is no evidence that they have made a decision to go forward with doing anything in space, he said. We found out there was a capacity to launch a system into space that could theoretically do something that was damaging, Biden added. Hadnt happened yet, and my hope is it will not. "Private engagement" White House officials on Thursday described the Russian anti-satellite system as a capability that had not yet been deployed, and they pushed back against demands to release additional details. The intelligence community has serious concerns about a broad declassification of this intelligence, said national security communications adviser John Kirby. They also assess that starting with private engagement, rather than immediately publicizing the intelligence, could be a much more effective approach. We've reached out to the Russian side, but we have not secured actual conversations at this point, Kirby added. A report in Russias Tass news agency Friday, citing a Kremlin spokesperson, denied Washington had tried to talk to Russian officials. Russia on Thursday dismissed the U.S. allegations as a "malicious fabrication, with Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov accusing Washington of a ruse to get U.S. lawmakers to approve a bigger budget. U.S. intelligence agencies have been warning for years that Russia and China have been pursuing a full range of anti-satellite weapons, noting that the development and use of such systems could degrade U.S. intelligence-gathering abilities. One of the most recent declassified U.S. intelligence assessments warned that Moscow continues to field new anti-satellite weapons to disrupt and degrade U.S. and allied space capabilities. Russia is developing, testing and fielding an array of nondestructive and destructive counterspace weapons including jamming and cyberspace capabilities, directed-energy weapons, on-orbit capabilities and ground-based ASAT [anti-satellite] capabilities, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence wrote in its 2023 Worldwide Threat Assessment report. Space-based advantages Some analysts have likewise cautioned that any Russian advanced anti-satellite technology could have far-ranging impacts on the U.S., and U.S. troops in particular. Our military gets a lot of advantage from our space-based capabilities things like GPS that allow us to navigate and conduct precision operations, put bombs exactly on targets very effectively, said Todd Harrison, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute who focuses on defense and space policy. [If] an adversary can take space away from us and deny us the ability to use those space systems, they would negate one of our biggest advantages, Harrison told VOA. But U.S. lawmakers briefed on the intelligence late Thursday voiced confidence in the U.S. approach. We all came away with a very strong impression that the administration is taking this very seriously and that the administration has a plan in place, said House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Turner, whose statement sparked much of the tumult. We look forward to supporting them as they go to implement it, he added. VOAs Patsy Widakuswara, Katherine Gypson and Anita Powell contributed to this report. Some information came from Reuters. A week after Pakistans general elections delivered a hung parliament, runners-up are poised to form a coalition government while the winners continue to protest the results. Observers say the election delivered surprises for all stakeholders. In the February 8 polls, no single party succeeded in winning a simple majority in the National Assembly. The lower house of Pakistans bicameral parliament has 266 general seats, with another 70 reserved for women and minorities. A party or coalition needs 169 seats to form a government. Candidates backed by former Prime Minister Imran Khans Tehreek-e-Insaf Party, or PTI, won 93 seats. They were forced to run as independents after the party lost its battle for a unified electoral symbol. Three-time former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharifs Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz), or PMLN, came second with 75 seats. The Pakistan Peoples Party or PPP, led by Asif Zardari and Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, the husband and son of slain Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, finished third with 54 seats. With Khan so far refusing to build an alliance with Zardaris PPP, the latter has agreed to throw his weight behind a coalition government led by PMLN. As poll results are challenged in courts and coalitions are cobbled together, here are some key takeaways from the South Asian nations 12th general elections: Faith in democracy Data show that while turnout was almost 48%, about 60.6 million Pakistanis, more than ever before, came out to vote. Speculation about possible election delays, a slow start to the campaign season, a military-backed crackdown against Khans party, and a low level of trust in the electoral process left many questioning whether voters would show up on election day in sizable numbers. I think, contrary to predictions that [a] lackluster election campaign would lead to voters being disenchanted and not engaged enough with the political process ... voters did come out in sufficiently large numbers, which showed their faith in the democratic process and their belief that their vote did matter, former Pakistani diplomat Maleeha Lodhi told VOA. Political analyst Zahid Hussain called this a vote for democracy and against repression. I think they [voters] were angry and they wanted to see a change, he told VOA. That anger, observers say, was primarily aimed toward the military establishment, which has a history of manipulating Pakistans political landscape. Both Sharif and Khan have accused the top brass of forcing them out of office. "The kind of vote that the PTI-supported candidate got is a message to the establishment that their policies are not acceptable at the common-person level," Hasan Askari Rizvi, a Lahore political analyst, told VOA. Still, both Rizvi and Hussain said they believed the establishments meddling in politics would not end. I dont think the establishment is capable of learning anything different, Hussain said. As results came in after a delay of nearly 15 hours amid widespread allegations of rigging, Pakistans Army Chief General Asim Munir issued a statement calling on all to move on from the politics of anarchy and polarization. Sharifs political career Prior to the election, Sharif was seen as the establishments favorite. However, he lost to a PTI-backed candidate in one of two constituencies where he was a candidate, and his win in his stronghold of Lahore against a PTI stalwart was controversial. Sharif has nominated his younger brother, Shahbaz Sharif, to lead a coalition government in the center and his daughter Maryam Nawaz as the chief minister of Punjab, the largest province. Sharifs party rejects any suggestion that not taking a prominent role in the incoming setup means the 74-year-old leaders political career is over, saying he will lead decision-making. But Hussain said Sharif was damaged by the election result. His political career may not have ended, but his legacy will not survive for a very long time. His party is completely dependent on the military support, said Hussain, adding that this election marked the beginning of the decline of Sharifs party, which now completely revolves around the Sharif family. Lesson for Khan After losing the vote of no-confidence in 2022, Khans party quit parliament instead of sitting on opposition benches. While his street agitation won public support, he failed to force early elections as his rift with the powerful military grew. I think the lesson that they [Khans party members] have learned is not to walk out of parliament which may be a good thing. Maybe that begins to moderate the very extreme position that PTI has taken in the past, said Lodhi, who believes forming the opposition in the next parliament may not be a setback for the party. If they are willing to work inside parliament, and they are willing to work as part of the democratic process, I think that might help this party also return to mainstream politics, Lodhi said. Stability not in sight Protests continue across Pakistan, with PTI and several other parties claiming their mandates were stolen. Pakistans interim government has rejected international calls for investigating allegations of rigging, saying the electoral process was a sovereign internal affair. Caretaker of Information Minister Murtaza Solangi told local media that weather and security issues led to delays in tallying the votes. In its report, the Free and Fair Election Network, or FAFEN, an Islamabad observer group, said many election officials failed to follow rules or make necessary arrangements to gather results in a timely manner. More than a dozen people have died in postelection violence. The newly elected parliament will be sworn in in the next two weeks. The house will then elect its leader, who will serve as the prime minister. Both Lodhi and Hussain worry that a coalition of runners-up may not bring the political stability that this nation of 241 million people needs to tackle its deepening economic crisis and soaring terrorism threat. "A minority government with no legitimacy will not survive for a very long time, despite the backing of the establishment, Hussain said. Zimbabwean Vice President Constantino Chiwenga threatened a gay and lesbian group Thursday for offering university scholarships to underprivileged students. Chiwenga, who is serving as acting president while President Emmerson Mnangagwa is out of the country, said in a statement that the LGBTQ community is alien, anti-life, un-African and un-Christian. He condemned an advocacy group, the Gays and Lesbians of Zimbabwe, for offering the scholarships and urged young Zimbabweans to snub the offers. He accused the group of making an insidious attempt to advance foreign interests by enticing Zimbabwes less-privileged youths into the LGBTQ communitys activities. The government sees such scholarship offers as a direct challenge on its authority and thus will not hesitate to take appropriate measures to enforce national laws and to protect and defend national values, Chiwenga said. There was no immediate word from Mnangagwa, who is in Dubai, on whether he agreed with his deputys statement or whether it was authorized. Zimbabwean officials did not respond to VOAs request for comment. Chesterfield Samba, director of Gays and Lesbians of Zimbabwe, said Friday that his organizations board was still digesting the vice presidents statement. Some Zimbabweans had strong reactions on both sides to the vice presidents statement. Oliver Mutambara, 36, said, I would like to thank the acting president for the clear message that we are not going to accept those scholarships. We should remember that we are a multireligious community, we have the Christian community, which is the largest chunk. And from our principles, we do not condone such practices. He continued, We are going to seek permission very soon from our government to act upon those people or bring down their banners and act accordingly to them. Lloyd Damba, spokesman for Zimbabwes opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change, did not entirely disagree with the vice presidents statement. As a Christian nation, the Christian community believes that man can only marry a woman and, based on that, I think he is correct in this sense," Damba said. Also, he said, "I think [Chiwenga] is basing his communique [on] the laws of the land do not permit such things. Treasure Basopo, 28, expressed a different view, arguing that the Gays and Lesbians of Zimbabwe has been a legal organization in the country since 1990. He criticized Chiwenga, a former army general before he became a vice president in 2017 after the military coup that ousted former President Robert Mugabe. He is a man of misplaced priorities, excitable character," Basopo said. "General Chiwenga must first give reference to section 78 of the constitution, which talks of people of same sex being banned from getting into a marriage. But the constitution is silent about the conduct and activities of these people before marriage. Speaking to VOA, Sally Ncube, a representative for rights group Equality Now in southern Africa, called on the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission and other such institutions, as well as the Southern African Development Community, to ensure Harare protects the rights of everyone in the country. The statement in tone is contrary to Zimbabwes commitment and obligations under international law to uphold the rights of all, including its LBGTQ citizens," Ncube said. "The government must not only refrain from making discriminatory statements, but actively work toward creating an environment that respects and protects diverse identities within its nation. Millions of seniors today collect a monthly benefit from Social Security. For many people, that income makes it possible to cover their expenses in the absence of a steady paycheck from work. If you plan to rely at least somewhat heavily on Social Security to cover your living expenses in retirement, it's important to know what monthly benefit to expect. In a recent Nationwide survey, though, 36% of retirees said they receive less income from Social Security than they anticipated. And that's a problem because now, at least some of the people in that boat might be stuck in an unfavorable financial situation. It's really important to know how much income to expect out of Social Security for your retirement. Thankfully, there's a very simple way to get that information. Image source: Getty Images. Check your earnings statements regularly Each year, the Social Security Administration (SSA) issues workers an earnings statement containing a summary of their wages. That statement also includes an estimate of your monthly benefit in retirement. Of course, the estimate you'd get at age 30 may not be as accurate as the estimate you'd get at age 50. That's because your monthly Social Security benefit will be calculated based on your wages during your 35 highest years of earnings. The further along you are in your career, the more spot-on your estimate will likely be. Still, it's a good idea to check your earnings statement every year -- not just to get an estimate of your monthly Social Security benefit, but also to make sure your wages aren't underreported. If it's inaccurate in that department, you'll want to follow up with the SSA to help ensure that your monthly benefit doesn't shrink because of a reporting mistake. If you're wondering how to get a copy of your earnings statement, it couldn't be easier. Just create an account on the SSA's website and access it there. Once you turn 60, your earnings statement should also show up in the mail. But you definitely don't want to wait until age 60 to first get an estimate of your monthly Social Security benefit. Rather, it's important to know what that number looks like early on so you can figure out how much of a nest egg you'll need to build to supplement your Social Security income. Story continues Benefit cuts are the wild-card factor As helpful as it may be to get an estimate of your future Social Security benefit now, you need to account for the possibility of benefit cuts. Social Security is facing a financial shortfall that may force the program to slash benefits by around 20%. Hopefully, lawmakers will find a way to avoid Social Security cuts. But to be safe, you may want to take your most recent estimate of your monthly benefit and reduce it by 20%. What that'll probably do is light a fire under you to save even more. And that's a good thing. All told, it's important to know what monthly income to expect from Social Security in retirement so you're not caught off guard. Incidentally, in the aforementioned survey, 9% of retirees said they actually receive more Social Security than they expected, which, for them, is a pleasant surprise. But you're better off going into retirement with an accurate number in your head. The $22,924 Social Security bonus most retirees completely overlook If you're like most Americans, you're a few years (or more) behind on your retirement savings. But a handful of little-known "Social Security secrets" could help ensure a boost in your retirement income. For example: one easy trick could pay you as much as $22,924 more... each year! Once you learn how to maximize your Social Security benefits, we think you could retire confidently with the peace of mind we're all after. Simply click here to discover how to learn more about these strategies. View the "Social Security secrets" The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. More Than 1 in 3 Retirees Get Less Social Security Than Expected. Here's an Easy Way to Avoid an Unpleasant Surprise. was originally published by The Motley Fool The National Assembly published late yesterday in the Hansard that Zimbabwes opposition Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC), had filled its vacant parliamentary committee positions following the recalling of chief whip Amos Chibaya and several others by the self-proclaimed interim secretary general of the party, Sengezo Tshabangu, who claimed that all the dumped parliamentarians were no longer CCC members. According to the latest edition of the parliamentary publication, The Hansard, Speaker Jacob Mudenda announced that Clifford Hlatywayo was now the official leader of the opposition in the House of Assembly and deputized by Chinjai Kambuzuma. Sessel Zvidzai is the new partys chief whip in the Senate and his deputy is N. Ndlovu. The party filled other parliamentary portfolio positions left vacant by recalled CCC lawmakers, who were barred by the High Court to contest in two by-elections under the opposition following Tshabangus application to block them from participating in the polls. Asked why they were still using the name CCC in the National Assembly following the party being dumped by founding leader Nelson Chamisa, last month, Hlatywayo said the party in parliament was under the leadership of Jameson Timba, who was co-opted as the interim caretaker chairman of the CCC. Hlatywayo told VOA Studio 7 that these are official positions filled by CCC lawmakers and this has nothing to do with the so-called Tshabangu side of the party. Comment was not immediately available from Tshabangu who sacked the CCC lawmakers. Photo: HBO Night Country has brought True Detective back from the brink. Like a microbial terror unearthed from the Arctic permafrost, the show has reawakened with fresh urgency under the creative leadership of writer and director Issa Lopez. Setting is a big part of the energy injection, with the series relocating from southern, sunbaked scenes-of-the-crime to Ennis, Alaska, a town shrouded in polar night. Its a fitting stage for Lopezs baroque horrors (corpsicle, anyone?), but its also ripe with environmental threat and the hint of cosmic terror. That outer weirdness is also where Lopez recaptures so much of what made season one a pinnacle of prestige TV. Night Country evokes the same off-kilter tonality; it pursues the same philosophical tug-of-war between nihilism and tired idealism; it poses the same implication of something otherworldly lurking behind the human atrocity. And, just like that first season, its literary as hell. Season one was heavily indebted to the weird mythologies of Ambrose Bierce and Robert W. Chambers. Night Country spirals back to that same lore, but also includes subtle references to Cormac McCarthys Blood Meridian, The Exorcist, and Virgina Woolf, among others. So if youre lamenting the end of this winters best television, have no fear: here are a dozen books to help preserve its dark, icy spell. The Beautiful Thing That Awaits Us All, by Laird Barron $15 $16 now 6% off $15 Laird Barron may now write his stories from the safe haven of upstate New York, but he spent his boyhood in Alaska. That frozen, frontier mind-set underpins much of his work, which ranks among the absolute top tier of modern cosmic horror. He is one of few true heirs to the fiction writers that inspired True Detective, complete with his own loosely assembled mythos. Any Barron collection would be a fitting companion to Night Country, but The Beautiful Thing That Awaits Us All is his most acclaimed. Tales like Blackwoods Baby, The Carrion Gods in Their Heaven, and The Men From Porlock evoke a backwoods nightmare-scape of human brutality with roots in old gods and ancient rites. No contemporary writer is quite so adept at melding the noirish and the weird. One of these days, they will have to base a season of True Detective on a Barron story. $15 at Amazon Buy $15 at Amazon Buy Dark Matter, by Michelle Paver $22 $22 The oppressive polar dark is put to such good use in Night Country that it makes you wonder why more scary stories dont use it. Part of the reason may be because Michelle Paver has made it her own. Dark Matter is an Edwardian ghost story with an unbeatable conceit. What if you were alone in the Arctic and your only place of refuge was haunted? Paver squeezes every drop of anxiety from this premise, with a Poe-like focus on the pressure of solitude. Is there a ghost, or is the protagonist going mad in his loneliness? In the end, it barely matters: The dark and the cold are their own presence, proof enough of the regions animosity toward the living. $22 at Amazon Buy $22 at Amazon Buy The Tenderness of Wolves, by Stef Penney $17 $19 now 11% off $17 Stef Penneys prize-winning novel is an historical mystery set in the wilds of 1860s Canada. When the body of a trapper is found with a cut throat and scalped head, it brings together a number of invested parties, and raises the spectre of past disappearances out in the cold. Its a book of journeys through an inhospitable landscape, and though the characters are interesting, its Penneys grasp of the hostile world that really sings. This is doubly, triply impressive because the author wrote the book from a warm seat in the British Library. Agoraphobia meant she was unable to travel to Canada for on-site research. I suspect that, rather than hindering Penneys imagination, her terror of wide-open places is a big part of why this book works so well. $17 at Amazon Buy $17 at Amazon Buy Never Whistle at Night, edited by Shane Hawk and Theodore C. Van Alst Jr. $13 $17 now 24% off $13 One of the smartest choices Issa Lopez made in Night Country was to make the Indigenous population of Ennis, Alaska, so central to the narrative. The protesters cries that we were here first pointed to more than just industrial and ecological unrest. There are millennia of history and mystery that predate the arrival of the Tuttle empire, sediments of knowledge and belief that (final revelations notwithstanding) appear firmly interwoven with whatever the hell is going on. All of this is to say that your postNight Country reading should feature some Indigenous voices, and Never Whistle at Night is a fantastic place to start. Its a rich stew from some of the best Native writers currently working in the field. Stories range from the folkloric to the gritty and urban, but bonus points to the opener, Mathilda Zellers Kushtuka, which takes us straight back to Alaska for a nightmarish tale of monsters calling the unwary out into the snow. $13 at Amazon Buy $13 at Amazon Buy The Only Good Indians, by Stephen Graham Jones $11 $17 now 35% off $11 Characters in Night Country keep saying Shes awake. I have no idea who or what theyre referring to yet, but every time I hear it, I think of the Elk-Headed Woman that prowls through The Only Good Indians. Shes a terrifying monster, ruthlessly hunting and haunting the four protagonists as punishment for the sins of their youth. Come to think of it, I hope she is in the show! Indians was the breakout book for Stephen Graham Jones, the foremost figure in the Native American horror boom. Its slippery and unexpected and shares a lot of Night Countrys juxtapositions industrial versus rural, traditional versus modern, the odd versus the everyday. On top of that, its just a great story with one of the craziest climactic showdowns youll ever read. I only hope Issa Lopez is as daring in her conclusion. $11 at Amazon Buy $11 at Amazon Buy Dead Mountain: The Untold True Story of the Dyatlov Pass Incident, by Donnie Eichar and J. C. Gabel $11 $16 now 31% off $11 For all that Ive stressed the shows literary references, its greatest inspiration is in a stranger-than-fiction story about young Soviet hikers who suffered an unexplained fate in the Ural Mountains back in 1959. Think missing tongues, irradiated corpses, cursed mountains, and lights in the sky. Its enough for a week of Wiki-hole burrowing, but Donnie Eichars investigative account is easily the best place to start. Its one of those nonfiction books that genuinely reads like a thriller, filled with newly released case documents and transcripts of the victims own diaries. We may never know what happened to those poor hikers, but Dead Mountain lays out all of the possible scenarios and leaves you with the sense that there are things about the wilderness that should remain unexplained. $11 at Amazon Buy $11 at Amazon Buy 30 Days of Night, by Steve Niles and Ben Templesmith $26 $35 now 26% off $26 Every winter, the town of Barrow is plunged into a monthlong night. What does any thinking horror writer do with that scenario? They add vampires! Its a concept so blatantly brilliant that it makes said horror writers slap their foreheads and seethe, How did I not think of that? In this graphic novel, the fight between invading vamps and the everyday heroes becomes an apocalyptic showdown in microcosm. The story has since expanded with numerous spin-offs and continuations, but the original three-episode run is now collected in a single volume. Fans of graphic novels know this is a classic, but if you havent ventured beyond prose before, its a wonderful place to start. $26 at Amazon Buy $26 at Amazon Buy Bear Season, by Gemma Fairclough $8 $8 Bear Seasons publicity team must have been thrilled with their timing. Set to be released only days after the final episode airs, Faircloughs book is here to tick boxes for anyone wanting more unexplained Alaskan shenanigans. When a British student goes missing during an academic trip to Anchorage, the mystery spawns a whole industry of speculation. Bear Season is presented as a faux-investigative answer, piecing together theories and evidence as to what befell the missing Jade and the truth about the woman who is convicted of her murder. Its a slight yet complex novella: half pseudo-academic theory, half Angela Carteresque tale of feminine transformation, wholly unique. $8 at Amazon Buy $8 at Amazon Buy Moon of the Crusted Snow, by Waubgeshig Rice $15 $18 now 17% off $15 Fictional apocalypses tend to be very pale. When the shit hits the fan, its generally white people who wander the ruins of empire, wondering where all the Starbucks went. In Moon of the Crusted Snow, Waubgeshig Rice ponders a double question: How would a remote Native community cope in the end times, and after centuries of very real death and displacement would they even notice? Its a grim novel not a million miles in tone from Cormac McCarthys The Road and Rice tells his story in an unadorned style befitting the cruelty and cold. If, like me, you watched Night Country and worried over how easily Ennis could be cut off by a downed phone line or blocked road, Moon of the Crusted Snow will give you a twitch. Its a book centred on isolation, the persistent doubt that the world even exists beyond the nearest snowy horizon. $15 at Amazon Buy $15 at Amazon Buy Among the Living, by Tim Lebbon $15 $17 now 12% off $15 The mutated fingerprints of John Carpenters The Thing are all over Night Country and its dead scientists. Tim Lebbons new novel is poised perfectly between that paleobiological nightmare and Night Countrys environmental conspiracy. On a remote Arctic island, rare-mineral excavators release a pathogen from the ice that transforms the infected into well, lets just say zombies. Its more complex than that, but you know the drill. What follows is a race against time and geography to contain the virus and survive. In tone and pace, Among the Living it couldnt be more of a departure from Night Countrys brooding dread; once this book revs up, it barely touches the breaks. But if Enniss ecological battle stoked your despair about our disregard for the planet, Lebbon will give you a much grislier reason to be afraid. $15 at Amazon Buy $15 at Amazon Buy The Woman Who Married a Bear, by John Straley $1 $1 The Alaska of John Straleys long-running Cecil Younger Mysteries is full of distinct character; barrooms erupt into regular fistfights, old crimes lie unresolved, and hints of an older tradition thrum behind everything. You can see why I thought of it for this list. Where Straleys work differs is in its dark whimsy and sunnier good humor. In this, the first of the series, Straleys newly sober PI is engaged by an elderly Tinglit woman who refuses to allow her sons murder to become a cold case. What follows is an inadvertent road trip across Alaska in pursuit of the truth. The investigative procedural seems an oddly clinical way to depict a place as grand as Alaska, but between the crimes and the corruption, Straley smuggles in a sense of state as a place thats lived in, not just looked at. $1 at Amazon Buy $1 at Amazon Buy All the White Spaces, by Ally Wilkes $15 $19 now 21% off $15 Photo: Publisher So far, weve kept heading north. Ally Wilkes takes us down to the southernmost reaches of the Earth for a showdown with a truly inexplicable evil. All the White Spaces is a period piece aboard an Antarctic expedition, in the waning years of the age of exploration. What her beleaguered characters find down there is kept almost wholly veiled, but it exerts its pull on them in insidious ways, drawing them out into the ice, fracturing their fragile morale. Wilkess choice to tell her story through the eyes of a trans man is an interesting twist on chauvinistic colonial expedition just as Issa Lopez has unpicked the machismo of detective fiction through her central female pairing. This one shares Night Countrys elusiveness and its grit, driving home both the spiritual terror and the very bodily horror of the long cold. $15 at Amazon Buy Photo: Glen Wilson/Prime Video Im never going to make something where its like, Heres a good person, heres a bad person, and this is how youre supposed to feel about them, says Lulu Wang, the writer, director, and creator of the gorgeous and quietly searing Amazon miniseries Expats. These words are at the heart of The Farewell writer-directors Hong Kongset show, based on a novel by Janice Y.K. Lee and adapted by Lee, Wang, Alice Bell, Vera Miao, and Gursimran Sandhu with care and intrigue. Starring Nicole Kidman, Sarayu Blue, and Ji-young Yoo as, respectively, the grief-stricken Margaret, the successful yet frustrated Hilary, and the guilt-ridden Mercy three complicated expatriates living in different social realities in Hong Kong Expats follows their individual tales as the trios fates collide through an unspeakable tragedy, gradually widening its lens across the citys diverse corners. When Nicole Kidman brought me the book, I saw this rich tapestry of a world of women of all different backgrounds, Wang recalls. I saw it as an opportunity to expand. I am an expat when I travel to Hong Kong and Asia. But Im also an immigrant from Asia. And I really wanted to look at the intersection of all these different identities of people who are searching for home, which is not just a physical place. Within that expansion, two things remain constant throughout Expats: Wangs uncompromising commitment to maintaining her characters thorny qualities, and a deeply cinematic demeanor thats achieved through long takes, thoughtful reflections, gleaming nighttime shots, and an assured handle on the passage of time. That cinematic vein is so palpable that New Yorks Film at Lincoln Center screened a series of movies that inspired Wang in her Expats journey, all handpicked by Wang. She broke down her selections and discussed how each of these movies informed Expats themes around privilege, grief, motherhood, guilt, and more. Play (Ruben Ostlund, 2011) One of Triangle of Sadness filmmaker Ruben Ostlunds lesser-known works, the controversial Play about a group of Black teens intimidating white and Asian kids via role-playing asks the audience to abandon absolutes. Its about perspective, says Wang. About holding multiple truths at once. It requires a lot of critical thinking. Ostlunds static, watchful framing in Play was an inspiration for Wang, who is similarly observant and nonjudgmental about her own complex characters. People often think portraying something is equivalent to judgment. But the film is about the prejudices that you are bringing [to it]. I love that its complicated and messy. With Expats, thats what I wanted to do its about people being people. Can we accept others and ourselves in all the degrees of being human? Wangs play on perspective is especially on display in the shows upcoming sixth and final episode, Home, with long conversations among Margaret, Hilary, and Mercy edited to purposely obscure whos talking to whom. I wanted to show that all three women have a shared experience, Wang explains. Theyve all been hurt, and theyve all hurt others. And theyre talking to the audience as well. I love when cinema forces the audience to engage. What I wanted to do, which Play does so brilliantly, is make the audience complicit and hold the mirror up to themselves. The Helper (Joanna Bowers, 2017) While Expats is mostly from the point of view of Margaret, Mercy, and Hilary, the shows feature-length fifth episode, Central, confidently shifts gears by following the perspectives of Puri (Amelyn Pardenilla) and Essie (Ruby Ruiz), the Filipina helpers of Hilary and Margaret. In crafting the duos respective journeys, Joanna Bowerss documentary about Hong Kongs live-in housekeepers employed by the citys richest families was instrumental for the writers detailed understanding of these domestic-worker communities, with their Sunday picnics, diverse artistic talents, and daily hardships. The book doesnt go that deep into these two women. So watching this documentary, we were able to get a little bit more insight on how the system works, Wang says. The documentary follows a singing group and influenced [our portrayal of] the amount of joy in the community. All the singing, dancing, and talent that isnt shown to the world Its the way that they survive being away from their families and living these lives that are full of sacrifice. On their days off, they can actually do something for themselves. The writers room also made sure that Puri and Essie were pronouncedly different characters in well-defined ways. We didnt want to make them this one type, and The Helper influenced that a lot. A White, White Day (Hlynur Palmason, 2019) Icelandic filmmaker Hlynur Palmason (Godland) starts A White, White Day, his enigmatic portrait of immense grief, with a long shot of a car driving through an icy landscape. That inspired one of the shots in episode two, explains Wang, referring to a hypnotic one-take sequence of Margaret driving down from her elite neighborhood called the Peak. It was Wangs cinematographer, Anna Franquesa-Solano, who recommended the film as a reference point in its unsentimental but still emotional handling of the passage of time. Wang was taken by Palmasons study of grief as a journey that makes people behave in irrational, even unlikeable ways. When you go into sentimentality, it has the opposite effect and the audience doesnt feel as much, Wang says. When you have the space to feel more, it lingers for a long time. Thats what A White, White Day does so brilliantly. Dont Look Now (Nicolas Roeg, 1973) Its just a classic movie about grief, very difficult to watch, says Wang of Nicolas Roegs influential genre outing that lent DNA to many a psychological thriller that followed. Its use of visual metaphors and imagery, and the set piece with the girl in the red coat Tonally, it was an inspiration. Dont Look Nows impact particularly shows in episode three, when we witness Margarets psychological spiraling: One minute, her social niceties as a wealthy American in Hong Kong fall away, and the next, she irrationally searches a deceased neighbors apartment for clues about her sons disappearance. When youre devolving and coming apart, your reality shifts, Wang reflects. Because grief can be so disorienting, youre not sure if what youre seeing is real. And that was something that we wanted to give to Margaret. So much of the show is about privilege, and even though Margaret has an awareness and doesnt want to be one of those ugly Americans who treat people a certain way, grief turns her into that. We Need to Talk About Kevin (Lynne Ramsay, 2011) To Wang, when you have a show about different perspectives, each character thinks theyre in a different story, a different movie of their own. Mercy thinks shes in Gilmore Girls, she says with a chuckle. Shes coming of age. And maybe Hilary thinks shes in a romantic drama. But Margaret? She lives in a psychological thriller. And so We Need to Talk About Kevin and its central character Tilda Swintons Eva, a mother navigating the dark truths about her strange son presented a link in her mind with all its ambiguities. She is a mother who is seeing something but has a hard time convincing others. And she herself isnt even sure of what shes seeing, because society says youre not supposed to feel that way. I just love the gray area of this movie. Is she a good mother? Is she a bad mother? Its not one or the other. Nashville (Robert Altman, 1975) Wang admits she had a hard time choosing between Nashville and Shortcuts another ensemble-driven Robert Altman classic with both movies being huge inspirations for all of her work. But in the end, Nashville won. Because its named after a city and about a group of people in a particular place at a particular time, with a political backdrop, she says, explaining its parallels to Expats. I wish that we still had films like this I think about how difficult Nashville would be to get made today unless youre like one of the six directors in Hollywood. So in a way, Wang made her own Nashville in series form, noting that its the kind of filmmaking she strives for. Its not a film thats driven by plot the pacing of it is like, you get to just live in the world. It requires the audience to exercise patience and be immersed without knowing what the point is. And yet when we get there, you feel totally satisfied. [While] Im not getting the financing, the resources to tell those stories about an ensemble of people, I definitely hope to make more films like that. Joshua: Teenager vs. Superpower (Joe Piscatella, 2017) In 2014, teenager Joshua Wong played a key, mobilizing part in Hong Kongs fight to preserve its autonomy from China. With a leadership role in the citys Umbrella Movement, which sent thousands of kids to the streets in protest, Wong is the key figure of Joshua: Teenager vs. Superpower, a powerful documentary that informed the political backdrop of Expats fifth episode and one of its principal characters, the politically active teenager Tony (Will Orr). Its a film about young people and their tenacity, Wang explains. I wanted to capture that resilience. But seeing it through the lens of 2024, theres a sadness to it, she continues. My family left [Beijing] in 1989. My parents had a lot of friends who were students and participated [in the 1989 student protests]. And it makes you wonder, what is it for? And so I wanted to tell it through the lens of the mother who is like, Its not worth it. And yet in contrast, when you watch Joshua, the determination of these young people is just so inspiring. Mother (Bong Joon Ho, 2009) In addition to the grief-stricken Margaret, Expats follows several mothers throughout, including Hilarys overbearing mom, Brinder (Sudha Bhuchar), whom we get introduced to in episode four, and Wen (Maggie Lee), Tonys concerned mother who is a key figure in episode five. So Bong Joon Hos Mother about a woman on a desperate quest to clear her sons name from a murder hes framed for was top of mind for Wang, especially in considering the extreme scope of motherly love that can lead one to behave in severe ways. What would you call that film? A thriller? A drama?, she ponders. It exists somewhere in between. And I love when genre tools are used within dramatic storytelling. Thats what I wanted Expats to be: not a whodunit or horror, but filled with elements of dread, tension, and intrigue. In portraying the complex layers of motherhood, particularly in episode four when Hilary is stuck in an elevator with her visiting mom and her neighbor, the writers room reached for their own experiences with women they know well. Brinder was very much Gursimrans story. And I saw so much of my mom in hers. Because it was such a warm writers room, we were all telling our own stories and Id be like, Okay, thats gotta go in there. Twilights Kiss (Ray Yeung, 2019) A gentle and romantic film about two septuagenarian men secretly falling in love for the first time, Twilights Kiss (Suk Suk) portrays different shades of Hong Kong in its quieter and less glamorous corners. This was only one of the Hong Kongset films that Wang and the team of writers watched to understand the city a little better, especially in the early days of scripting when Wang couldnt go to Hong Kong due to the pandemic. Its just a really tender, beautiful film that feels very local. And we wanted to represent some characters who were local, Wang says, referring to the likes of Charly (Bonde Sham), whom Mercy befriends and has a romantic connection with, as well as Tony. My Love, Dont Cross That River (Jin Mo-young, 2014) Charming, disarming, and heart-swelling, this documentary one of South Koreas most successful films of all time lovingly portrays an old couples 76-year union thats to come to an end soon. It was the films immense tenderness that spoke to Wang the most. Thats something that we didnt want to let go of. Even though Expats has thriller elements and is about psychological spiraling, we wanted to make sure that there was still love between friends, between Margaret and Clarke [her husband played by Brian Tee] I think both My Love and Suk Suk really represent how life is both long and so short, so fragile. We can get caught up in things, but at the end of the day, we just need to remember to love each other. Works by Neil Gaiman and R.F. Kuang were deemed ineligible by the Hugo Awards Selection Committee. Photo-Illustration: Vulture; Photos: Andrew Toth/WireImage, Craig Brown/Alamy The Hugo Awards are facing a controversy of intergalactic proportions. According to emails leaked on February 14, the volunteer body that administered the 2023 Hugo Awards appeared to have directly engaged in self-censoring the nominees over political concerns about the host country, China. The emails allege members of the Hugo administration team succeeded in keeping certain books off-ballot because they wanted to operate under Chinese laws related to content and censorship, Hugo-nominated sci-fi author Jason Sanford and Hugo-winning fan writer Chris M. Barkley wrote in a special report on February 14. In addition to the regular technical review, as we are happening in China and the *laws* we operate under are different we need to highlight anything of a sensitive political nature in the work, Dave McCarty, division head of the Hugo Awards Selection Executive Department, wrote in an email dated June 5, 2023. Talk about the call coming from inside the house. Following a round of voting that left four writers, including former Hugo Award winner Neil Gaiman and Babels R.F. Kuang, out of competition during the latest awards season, fans are accusing the Hugos of being book-award thieves. Considered one of the most prestigious awards in the sci-fi and fantasy realm, the Hugos dole out fan-voted honors to books, TV, film, and video games at the annual World Science Fiction Convention. Anyone who is a member of the current or previous Worldcon can submit five nominations per category and vote in the final ballot. Even the location of each years Worldcon is based on majority opinion. Last years controversial event landed in Chengdu, China, on October 21, 2023, after fans voted for the host city two years prior. There were concerns that a couple thousand people from China purchased memberships [in the World Science Fiction Society] that year to vote for Chengdu, Sanford told Esquire in February. It was unusual, but it was done under the rules. Below, everything we know about the censorship controversy threatening to destabilize the institution, from the disqualified authors responses to the fallout within the sci-fi and fantasy community. What ignited the Hugo Awards controversy? When the Hugos took place in Chengdu last October, it wasnt immediately clear that the something was amiss. Shit hit the fan months later, when the awards committee finally released its long-awaited nominating statistics. The volunteer body typically releases the numbers the same evening as the ceremony, or within days of the event, but for this year, the stats didnt arrive until 91 days after the event, per Esquire. Finally released on January 20, 2024, the reports showed that Kuangs Babel, an episode of Gaimans The Sandman, Iron Widow novelist Xiran Jay Zhao, and fan writer Paul Weimer all received more than enough preliminary votes to be finalists for awards, yet an asterisk denoted each of their works as ineligible for award consideration. McCarty antagonized critics in multiple Facebook comments that day amid a fan uproar over the artists apparent disqualification. He first shared last years nominating statistics to the public and derisively attempted to shield the Hugos from criticism. Are you slow? he responded to a comment asking him why certain works were deemed ineligible based on the World Science Fiction Societys constitution. Clearly you cant understand plain English in our constitution, he wrote to another, per Esquire. Speculation that the Chinese government played a role in censoring the votes grew. Comic-book writer Gaiman has previously voiced criticisms of the government for incarcerating writers. Both Kuang and Zhao were born in China and now live in the West, and their books tackle social issues in allegorical fantasy worlds. However, McCarty denied the notion in a Facebook post in the days following the release of the nominating-statistics release. Nobody has ordered me to do anything he wrote per the Guardian on January 24. There was no communication between the Hugo administration team and the Chinese government in any official manner. What exactly did the emails reveal? Based on leaked information from committee member Diane Lacey obtained by Barkley and Sanford, the censorship occurred at the selection committees own behest. Its not necessary to read everything, but if the work focuses on China, taiwan, tibet, or other topics that may be an issue *in* China that needs to be highlighted so that we can determine if it is safe to put it on the ballot (or) if the law will require us to make an administrative decision about it, wrote McCarty, per Barkley and Sanfords report. In one email, the group considered Kuangs Babel and Silvia Moreno-Garcias The Daughter of Doctor Moreau, noting that both works discuss China. Babel has a lot about China. I havent read it, and am not up on Chinese politics, so cannot say whether it would be viewed as negatives of China, Hugo Awards administrator Kat Jones said in one message, while Daughter talks about importing hacienda workers from China. I have not read the book, and do not know whether this would be considered negative. Only Daughter made it to the final ballot. Jones was the overall administrator of the 2024 Worldcon before resigning on February 14, according to a statement. An email sent June 7, 2023, goes into detail about the concerns for the Best Fan Writer category, painstakingly summarizing details about potentially problematic authors mentions of China in tweets, articles, and, of course, their works. The dossier even dives into the authors travel history to countries that have issues with China. Weimer, who was ultimately deemed ineligible, was under scrutiny for what the committee thought to be a trip to Tibet Brief Twitter mention of Hong Kong and reference to Tianenmen [sic] Square and worries over what it means to host a Worldcon in Chengdu. Weimer, who was up for Hugos in 2020, 2021, and 2022 in the Fan Writing category, told Barkley and Sanford he never even traveled to Tibet. I was afraid that in the end this was going to come down to soft or hard or some kind of censorship once things started leaking out, Weimer said in the report. I mean, they came up with a dossier on all of us and went through stuff from ten years ago? I mean, I honestly think that the Hugo Committee are cowards. I would like to hope that if I was in the position of Dave McCarty and the others, Id have simply said we cant hold the awards under these conditions and just cancel the fucking things rather than going through political dossiers. This is the worst possible outcome. Zhao, who was deemed ineligible for the Best New Writer Award, was named for two possible issues: (1) their book Iron Giant [sic] is described as reimaging [sic] the rise of Chinese Empress Wu Zetian; (2) they are described on Wikipedia as an internet personality. Multiple other artists received scrutiny for China-related content in the emails, including Barkley, Sanford, Bitter Karella, O. Westin, Alex Brown, Camestros Felapton, Alasdair Stuart, Naseem Jamnia, and Sue Lynn Tan. We were told to vet nominees for work focusing on China, Taiwan, Tibet, or other topics that may be an issue in China and, to my shame, I did so, Lacey wrote in a statement dated January 25, per Barkley and Sanford. Understand that I signed up fully aware that there were going to be issues. I am not that naive regarding the Chinese political system, but I wanted the Hugos to happen, and not have them completely crash and burn. How did the writers respond to their alleged censorship? R.F. Kuang shared a statement on Instagram on January 22, calling the situation embarrassing overall. After clarifying to fans that she did not decline a nomination, as no nomination was offered, she offered a sharp criticism of the Hugos. Until one is provided that explains why the book was eligible for the Nebula and Locus awards, which it won, and not the Hugos, I assume this was a matter of undesirability rather than ineligibility, she wrote. Excluding undesirable work is not only embarrassing for all involved parties, but renders the entire process and organization illegitimate. Pity. Zhao called for their followers to make a fuss about this to get us some answers after they got disqualified for political reasons probably in a video posted on social media February 1. Whats next for the embattled Hugos? Worldcon Intellectual Property, the nonprofit that runs the World Science Fiction Society, announced resignations in the immediate aftermath to the scandal on January 30, Publishers Weekly reported. Dave McCarty and board chair Kevin Standlee resigned from their respective positions, with the former censured for his public Facebook comments. Chengdu Worldcon administration member Ben Yalow, who co-chaired the 2023 event and was set to work on this years event in Glasgow, is no longer listed on the 2024 Glasgow staff page. He and his fellow co-chair Chen Shi were censured for their actions. I acknowledge the deep grief and anger of the community and I share this distress, the current chair of Glasgow 2024, Esther MacCallum-Stewart, said in a statement on February 14. She added that the committee would be taking steps to ensure transparency and to attempt to redress the grievous loss of trust in the administration of the awards. While the upcoming Worldcon has apologized for the failings of the previous years convention, the 2023 iteration of the event has not directly apologized for its handling of the awards. Vulture reached out to the Hugos for comment. Weep Week No, youre crying. Photo-Illustration: Vulture; Photo: Getty; Video: Giphy When Bob Dylan dropped a 17-minute track about the JFK assassination during the pandemic, I teared up listening to it. My feeling at the time, in the throes of 2020, was that the song was a masterpiece to such an extent that I became momentarily angry at a family member for reacting to it with a thumbs-down emoji. Four years later, I cant say that Murder Most Foul has stayed in my rotation, but that initial listen epitomizes a regular pop-culture occurrence for me: the experience of getting emotional when an older artist returns to familiar creative ground and somehow manages to make something new and singularly them. Its a feeling I get most often when watching the work of an older filmmaker, and last year was riddled with that particular brand of emotional landmine: From Hayao Miyazakis The Boy and the Heron to Martin Scorseses Killers of the Flower Moon to Michael Manns Ferrari, 2023 was the year of octogenarian legends drilling further into the themes theyve spent their lives excavating. In Ferrari, theres a moment when Enzo Ferraris wife, Laura, throws the death of their son in her husbands face during an argument, prompting him to explode into a rant about how he tried to engineer a solution to the illness, to outsmart the disease by controlling the inputs and outputs of Dinos body. The scene has an emotional thrust of its own, but it hits harder when considered alongside the rest of Manns work, because what could possibly be more Mannian than a tightly wound man desperately trying to impose cold logic onto something as incomprehensible as a childs death? Unlike a Michael Mann protagonist, I shed a tear. While that phenomenon has a well-established spot in my personal canon of things that make me cry, I recently discovered a new variation on it while rewatching 1973s Mean Streets, which Scorsese made when he was only 30. It was during a fight scene that does not seem to outwardly qualify as a tear-jerker: A brawl breaks out among a dozen or so young aspiring gangsters in a New York City pool hall because someone gets called a mook, and no one else can agree on what exactly a mook is. (Im a mook? Whats a mook? You cant call me a mook.) A single punch gets thrown and all hell breaks loose, with every guy in the bar rushing toward the action. The Marvelettes Please Mr. Postman, which was previously playing on a jukebox in the corner, takes over the soundtrack while Scorseses shaky handheld camera chases after various characters as the fight spills across the bar. Amid the fracas, I was surprised to find myself welling up. Within the movies tragic coming-of-age arc, the scene does carry a certain poignancy: This is, ultimately, a playground fight, where everyone is awkwardly slapping and hitting each other, as if unsure of how to play the role of gangster. (I got a bad hand! Harvey Keitels Charlie whines when hes about to get hit, as if mercy rules apply.) These guys will face real consequences soon enough, but for now, a fight can still end with both sides sharing a drink. That impending loss of innocence could drive a viewer to tears, I suppose, but what I experienced was closer to what my co-worker Alison Willmore has called a Spectacle Cry, in which a scene makes you cry not because of its emotional appeal, but because it bowls you over with, as she puts it, the sheer majesty, ambition, or craft of what youre seeing. The pool-hall fight scores points in all three of those categories, and I can only conclude it made me cry because watching it feels like catching a glimpse of the next 50-plus years of Scorseses career. Its all there in only his third feature film, from the petty gangsters who are quick to violence to the Motown needle drop to the ability to make Robert De Niro look like the coolest guy alive, even when hes spiraling out of control as Johnny Boy and doing goofy faux kung-fu moves on top of a pool table. The scene vibrates with the energy of a young, scrappy filmmaker, and the movie around it feels stuffed to the seams with ideas, as if Scorsese desperately packed them all in there in case he never got another shot at directing. Of course, hed go on to spend the next half-century exploring questions of mortality and how supposedly God-fearing men lie to themselves to avoid confronting their own guilt, and hed find countless ways to make De Niro look cool (and not so cool) along the way. But to watch Mean Streets now is to observe something fundamental in Scorseses artistry its seeing the start of a through-line thats traceable across the last five decades of pop culture. The knowledge that Scorsese already had the template in 1973 for a lifetime worth of great, singular work is almost too much to handle. And there I go, tearing up again just thinking about it. Morgan Stanley Morgan Stanley Investment Management has asked the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for permission to seek a multi-share class structure for its exchange traded funds, based on a model first offered by the Vanguard Group in 2000. In the SEC filing dated Jan. 29, Morgan Stanley IM contended that such an arrangement "would permit investors who prefer an ETF structure to gain access to established funds investment strategies" and thus represents "an attractive investment opportunity." The move comes just weeks after Morgan Stanley introduced its 12th ETF since joining the exchange-traded space in less than a year ago. Yet how the SEC proceeds with the applications from MSIM and three other applicants seeking the same relief remains unclear. Though Vanguards patent on issuing ETF shares as a class for its existing mutual funds expired in May 2023, the SEC has expressed concerns about whether the companys structure unfairly made its ETF shareholders subsidize mutual fund shareholders. This much is certain: Morgan Stanleys application signals its effort to expand its share of the ETF market. Bloomberg reported in May that $100 billion in added gains went to clients as a result of Vanguard class structure. But with Vanguard no longer in the drivers seat, the door opened in the second half of 2023 for three firms to apply for similar relief. Dimensional Fund Advisors and F/m Investments did so in August, followed by Fidelity in October. A fourth, the U.S. arm of Australias Perpetual Group, sought relief in February 2023, just prior to the expiration date. Vanguard Orders The filing references to "the Vanguard Orders," granted by the SEC between 2000 and 2007, which allowed Vanguard to dominate market share in the ETF space. As one of the major sponsors of index-based ETFs, Vanguard has "more than $2 trillion in assets invested through exchange-traded classes, representing almost 30% of all ETF assets in the United States," according to the Morgan Stanley IM application. Story continues Morgan Stanley stated that the funds will be chosen where the Adviser believes the multi-class structure is in the best interest of the ETF Class and Mutual Fund Class individually, and the Fund as a whole. The company also noted that it continues to see demand for ETFs to help investors meet their distinct financial goals and look for opportunities to grow their lineup with innovative strategies that offer choice, value, and new opportunities to help meet their evolving needs. Morgan Stanley launched its ETF platform in February 2023 with six Calvert-branded ETFs. Morgan Stanley presently has 12 ETFs totalling more than $600 million in total assets. The largest of these, the Calvert US Large-Cap Core Responsible Index ETF (CVLC), has assets of $260 million and seeks positive global change through an index composed of common stocks of the 1000 largest U.S. companies. Its expense ratio is 0.15%. Earlier this month, MSIM introduced its Eaton Vance Floating-Rate ETF (EVLN), comprised of no less than 80% in floating-rate credit investments; to date, the fund has assets totalling $21 million and an expense ratio of 0.60%. Permalink | Copyright 2024 etf.com. All rights reserved Key Insights Institutions' substantial holdings in Motorola Solutions implies that they have significant influence over the company's share price 50% of the business is held by the top 19 shareholders Analyst forecasts along with ownership data serve to give a strong idea about prospects for a business A look at the shareholders of Motorola Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:MSI) can tell us which group is most powerful. We can see that institutions own the lion's share in the company with 86% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk). Since institutional have access to huge amounts of capital, their market moves tend to receive a lot of scrutiny by retail or individual investors. Therefore, a good portion of institutional money invested in the company is usually a huge vote of confidence on its future. Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about Motorola Solutions. Check out our latest analysis for Motorola Solutions What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Motorola Solutions? Institutions typically measure themselves against a benchmark when reporting to their own investors, so they often become more enthusiastic about a stock once it's included in a major index. We would expect most companies to have some institutions on the register, especially if they are growing. As you can see, institutional investors have a fair amount of stake in Motorola Solutions. This implies the analysts working for those institutions have looked at the stock and they like it. But just like anyone else, they could be wrong. 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 Motorola Solutions, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too. Investors should note that institutions actually own more than half the company, so they can collectively wield significant power. Hedge funds don't have many shares in Motorola Solutions. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is The Vanguard Group, Inc. with 12% of shares outstanding. In comparison, the second and third largest shareholders hold about 8.2% and 7.4% of the stock. Story continues Looking at the shareholder registry, we can see that 50% of the ownership is controlled by the top 19 shareholders, meaning that no single shareholder has a majority interest in the ownership. 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 plenty of analysts covering the stock, so it might be worth seeing what they are forecasting, too. Insider Ownership Of Motorola Solutions The definition of company insiders can be subjective and does vary between jurisdictions. Our data reflects individual insiders, capturing board members at the very least. Company management run the business, but the CEO will answer to the board, even if he or she is a member of it. Most consider insider ownership a positive because it can indicate the board is well aligned with other shareholders. However, on some occasions too much power is concentrated within this group. Our data suggests that insiders own under 1% of Motorola Solutions, Inc. in their own names. As it is a large company, we'd only expect insiders to own a small percentage of it. But it's worth noting that they own US$159m worth of shares. Arguably recent buying and selling is just as important to consider. You can click here to see if insiders have been buying or selling. General Public Ownership The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 13% stake in Motorola Solutions. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run. Next Steps: I find it very interesting to look at who exactly owns a company. But to truly gain insight, we need to consider other information, too. To that end, you should be aware of the 1 warning sign we've spotted with Motorola Solutions . If you are like me, you may want to think about whether this company will grow or shrink. Luckily, you can check this free report showing analyst forecasts for its future. 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. Legal Landscape of Same-Sex Marriage in Italy Societal Attitudes Towards Same-Sex Marriage Despite this progress, a divide persists between urban and rural areas, with cities like Rome, Milan, and Florence exhibiting higher levels of acceptance. This disparity reflects a broader European pattern, where attitudes towards LGBTQ+ rights can vary significantly. The Role of Religion and Culture The Path Forward Challenges and Limitations No Adoption Rights: Same-sex couples in civil unions are not permitted to adopt children jointly. Stepchild adoption within a civil union remains a contested issue debated in courts. Italy has experienced a. Although Italy was among the first in the European Union toin 1890the road to full legal equality forremains incomplete.As of the latest updates in 2023, Italy acknowledgesbut falls short of legalizing. The civil unions law of 2016 marked a pivotal advancement for, offering same-sex couples many legal protections akin to those of heterosexual marriages, albeit through a different legal status.This legislation allows for the formation of, bestowing rights and responsibilities similar to marriage, including, and. However, it notably excludes full marital rights, such as the joint adoption of children, highlighting a significant area of contention withinand its political landscape.The Italian public's perspective onandhas seen a noteworthy shift, with a growing acceptance among Italians. This change is part of a larger trend towards inclusivity and recognition ofacross Western societies.Religion significantly influences the Italian debate on. The, deeply embedded in, traditionally opposes. Nonetheless, evolving attitudes within the Church point to a gradual shift, though the official doctrine remains unaltered.Cultural influences also play a critical role in shaping the discourse on. Traditional views on family and marriage are evolving, propelled by the increased visibility ofand their rights in media and public discourse.The journey towardsin Italy is one of gradual change.continue to champion full marriage equality, leveraging both domestic and international platforms to support their cause. Thealso play a vital role, influencing national debates, including Italy's stance onThere are crucial differences between civil unions and marriage in Italy: Foreign Marriages: Same-sex marriages officiated abroad are not recognized as legal marriages in Italy. They are automatically downgraded to civil unions. Ongoing Debate and Societal Attitudes The debate around. Proponents of change argue that full equality and the opportunity to adopt are basic human rights for all couples.Conservative views and the strong influence of the Catholic Church within Italy create roadblocks.surveys indicate growing support for same-sex marriage, but this has not yet translated into concrete legislation.is at the forefront of ongoing legal and societal evolution. While therepresents a significant step forward, the quest for fullpersists. Ascontinue to evolve andadapt, Italy stands at a pivotal point, mirroring global trends towards inclusivity and the recognition of.Ph: Fabrizio Maffei / Shutterstock.com. But the headlines zeroed in on Wilkinsons role in delivering the speech. Hand up if youve caused court chaos, screamed Sydneys The Daily Telegraph on June 22, 2022, after ACT Chief Justice Lucy McCallum ruled Lehrmanns criminal trial should be delayed because the publicity surrounding the speech had jeopardised his right to a fair trial. Bruce Lehrmann outside the Federal Court in Sydney on Tuesday. Credit: Kate Geraghty Wilkinson, slated to be a prosecution witness in the criminal trial, had publicly endorsed Higgins credibility by telling the crowd the Logies honour in truth belongs to Brittany to a 26-year-old womans unwavering courage, McCallum said. Prominent barrister Dr Matt Collins, KC, then president of the Australian Bar Association, appeared on Sevens Sunrise program and described the speech as ill-advised. Full support but record uncorrected Ten would issue statements on June 22 and 24, 2022, indicating its full support for Wilkinson and noting inaccurate and unfair media reporting, without specifying the inaccuracies. But internal documents show Smithies was worried that going further might land them back before the judge. Brittany Higgins outside the Federal Court in November. Credit: Kate Geraghty On June 23, Wilkinson emailed Smithies and others thanking them for their ongoing and absolutely unwavering support and said she was trying really hard to hold it together. She said she had met with a representative from a security team and was feeling so much better as she remained every paps [paparazzis] number one target. In October 2022, she emailed Smithies that her strong preference was for then ACT Director of Public Prosecutions Shane Drumgold to issue a statement about the Logies warning that never happened. Thomson Geer partner Marlia Saunders, also acting for Ten, emailed on October 24 that she had had a positive conversation with Drumgold and he seemed very sympathetic to Lisas position but he would be hamstrung before any verdict. Tens lawyers continued to attempt to engage with Drumgold about the issue in December, documents show. Wilkinson told the court on Tuesday she was left begging Ten to make clear publicly that they had asked me to give the speech, they had been involved in legalling that speech right up until ... the afternoon of the Logies, and it had been approved by its CEO and head of network communications. Lehrmanns criminal trial would ultimately proceed in October 2022, but it was aborted within weeks due to juror misconduct. A fresh trial did not proceed owing to concerns about Higgins mental health. He has always maintained his innocence. McGarvey emailed Wilkinsons agent, Nick Fordham, on November 16, 2022, and said she wanted to clarify an apparent misapprehension that Wilkinsons removal from The Project was linked to harsh and unfair commentary following the Higgins interview. She said Ten wanted to take The Project in a new direction with a particular focus on our key younger demographics. Persistent narrative scotched A persistent narrative that Wilkinson ignored a warning by Drumgold not to deliver a speech before the trial, slated to start eight days later on June 27, would not be scotched for a year. Evidence given at the ACT board of inquiry into the Lehrmann prosecution made clear she had not been told not to deliver the speech. Ten did not make a submission to the inquiry to Wilkinsons dismay, she told the Federal Court but she briefed a team of lawyers headed by Sydney silk Sue Chrysanthou, SC, to make her own submission. Mounting tensions A fresh fissure emerged in Wilkinsons relationship with Ten when Lehrmann launched defamation proceedings against the network and the presenter on February 7 last year. The Logies speech would be relied upon as a factor supporting his bid for aggravated damages. Wilkinson told the Federal Court she first became aware of the lawsuit when she saw the front page of The Australian on February 8, headlined: Recklessly indifferent to truth: Lehrmann sues Lisa for damages. The headline seized on a boilerplate allegation, levelled against both Ten and Wilkinson, that they were recklessly indifferent to the truth or falsity of the rape allegation. Lehrmanns lawyers made an identical allegation against News Corp, owner of The Australian, in a separate lawsuit filed at the same time over an interview with Higgins published on news.com.au. That suit was settled in May last year. Reputation rehabilitation Ten opted to brief Collins, a seasoned media barrister, to act for the network and Wilkinson in defence of the defamation suit, a decision that disquieted Wilkinson because of his earlier criticism of the Logies speech. Lisa Wilkinson and her barrister Sue Chrysanthou, SC, outside the Federal Court in Sydney last year. Credit: Kate Geraghty Wilkinson met Chrysanthou and solicitor Anthony Jefferies, a partner at Gillis Delaney, at the Cremorne home she shares with husband and Sydney Morning Herald columnist Peter FitzSimons on February 11. Loading She said in her affidavit that Chrysanthou, who has acted in a string of high-profile defamation cases against media outlets, advised that it was in her best interests legally, reputationally, professionally and personally to have a separate team. The move stuck in Tens craw, and Wilkinson alleged McGarvey told her in June that she had chosen the last lawyers in Australia with whom she wanted to work. Smithies said in an email to Fordham on February 15 that the network respected Wilkinsons decision but Chrysanthou routinely acts in opposition to the network in defamation cases and would not have been their choice. Arnold Bloch Leibler partner Leon Zwier, Higgins solicitor, wrote in an email on March 7 to Saunders and others that he was not prepared to work with Lisas current senior Counsel, under any circumstances. Zwier had represented actor Eryn-Jean Norvill when she gave evidence in Geoffrey Rushs successful defamation case against The Daily Telegraph. Chrysanthou acted for Rush. While media outlets are typically obliged to indemnify their journalists for liabilities arising out of their employment, including covering any defamation damages award, a dispute arose about whether this would extend to paying for Wilkinsons separate team. On June 7, McGarvey emailed Smithies and others at Ten, saying she had called Wilkinson for a welfare check. She was almost immediately upset and started talking about her legal fees and how she would have to sell her house [if Ten did not cover the costs], McGarvey said. I would say her tone was almost hysterical. The lawyers invoices at that point totalled $20,000, McGarvey wrote, and Wilkinson is still getting paid by us on full salary and lives in a lavish multi-million dollar home with a pool and a tennis court and harbour views so I hope this is not a real risk. She believes the Logies was the moment it became untenable for her and she blames us for that. Argument cactus Ten would eventually claim that it was unreasonable for Wilkinson to retain separate lawyers and, accordingly, it had no obligation to pay any part of her legal bills a position it abandoned on Wednesday after it became clear, in Lees words, that it was cactus. Wilkinsons legal costs are now estimated at more than $2 million. Ten had argued in pointed submissions that Wilkinson had formed the view ... that this [defamation] proceeding represented an opportunity to rehabilitate or otherwise improve her reputation. The protection and advancement of Ms Wilkinsons reputation at large is outside the scope of the indemnity, the submissions said, and their interests in vigorously defending the lawsuit were otherwise wholly aligned. But Lee found it was reasonable for Wilkinson to retain her own lawyers because there were differences in the interests the presenter and her employer sought to protect. He will be required to examine the conduct of Ten and Wilkinson separately in parts of the case, including in relation to a defence of qualified privilege, which protects publications of public interest where a publisher has acted reasonably. It is possible Lee may make different findings against each of Ten and Wilkinson relating to their reasonableness. While Wilkinson emerged triumphant on Wednesday, it remains to be seen precisely how much of her legal bills Ten will be ordered to cover. This will involve a closer examination at a later date of precise amounts charged for specific tasks. The precedent Cash-strapped media outlets and journalists observed Wilkinsons fight with an eye to any precedent, but Perth-based defamation lawyer Dr Michael Douglas said: In most cases, journalists will be happy with the same lawyers as their employer because their employer will pay any damages, so it doesnt really matter. This case is unusual in that Lisa Wilkinsons reputation as a journalist is at issue. It goes to the heart of the case. Shes had her name dragged through the mud by certain sectors of the Australian media, and she has a real interest in having her reputation defended even if it goes against the interests of her employer. Douglas said Wilkinsons case was unique because her relationship with her employer was already strained and she has not returned to a role on air, although she remains employed by Ten. Mining giant Rio Tinto has dragged a former contractor to court as it prepares to confront a damages claim levelled by the family of an employee who died at its iron ore mine near Paraburdoo. Channar Mining, the joint venture behind the Pilbara operation, as well as two Rio Tinto subsidiaries, have accused Perth-based recruitment agency WorkPac of breaching a 2017 supply contract. Daniel Patterson died in 2018 when his truck crashed at a mine site near Paraburdoo. According to a writ lodged in the Supreme Court this week, Rio Tinto claims the labour hire firm is liable to pay damages for failing to secure insurance in breach of the deal. The writ indicates that insurance would have shielded the miner from liability in the District Court damages claim launched by the widow and child of former employee Daniel Leslie Patterson. MYT Netherlands Parent B.V. (NYSE:MYTE) Q2 2024 Earnings Call Transcript February 15, 2024 MYT Netherlands Parent B.V. isnt one of the 30 most popular stocks among hedge funds at the end of the third quarter (see the details here). Operator: Greetings, and welcome to the Mytheresa Second Quarter of Fiscal 2024 Earnings Conference Call. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. Today's call is being recorded and we have allocated one hour for prepared remarks and Q&A. It is now my pleasure to introduce your host, Martin Beer, Mytheresa's Chief Financial Officer. Thank you, sir. Please begin. Martin Beer: Thank you, operator, and welcome, everyone, to Mytheresa's Investor Conference Call for the second quarter of fiscal year 2024. With me today is our CEO, Michael Kliger. Before we begin, we would like to remind you that our discussions today will include forward-looking statements. Any comments we make about expectations are forward-looking statements and are subject to risks and uncertainties, including the risks and uncertainties described in our annual report. Many factors could cause actual results to differ materially. We are under no duty to update forward-looking statements. In addition, we will refer to certain financial measures not reported in accordance with IFRS on this call. You can find reconciliations of these non-IFRS financial measures in our earnings press release, which is available on our Investor Relations website at investors.mytheresa.com. I will now turn the call over to Michael. Michael Kliger: Thank you, Martin. Also from my side a very warm welcome to all of you and thank you for joining our call today. We will today comment on the results and performance of our second quarter of fiscal year 2024. We are pleased with our results in a challenging macro environment with positive revenue growth and positive adjusted EBITDA in the second quarter will not only surpassed market expectations but also outperformed almost all competitors. As expected, we continue to see slow demand for aspirational customers across all geographies and high promotional intensity in the market due to excess stock of fall winter merchandise. However, these macro headwinds actually allowed us to demonstrate the fundamental strength of our business model. Story continues We grew the company's top line and strengthened our bottom line. We achieved double-digit revenue growth in the United States. We reached a record average order value of 672 LTM and posted a gross profit margin of 50% in the second quarter. Our resilient business model and our clear focus on the high spending wardrobe-building top customers allow us to win market share in the current market environment, and we are thus well positioned to benefit and accelerate when market conditions will improve. I want to highlight today's three key messages to you. First, the excellent growth prospects for digital luxury has not changed at all. And if anything, has become better for a player like us scoping so well with the current headwinds. Second, our clear focus on big-spending wardrobe-building top customers enabled us to generate solid growth in the second quarter and makes us a key partner for all our brands in their own clienteling efforts. Third, we continue to evolve and innovate our business model so that we are prepared for future growth and business demand. Market share gains, resilient financials, best-in-class customer economics and ongoing innovation for future growth make us clearly stand out in the current market environment. Let me now comment in more detail on these three highlighted areas for today. First, the excellent growth prospects for digital luxury have not changed at all. According to the latest Bain-Altagamma research study, the global luxury fashion market grew by 4% in 2023, with the online share dropping to 20% from 21% in 2022. However, the forecast for 2030 in the overall market expanding by effect of 1.5 times and the online share increasing to 30% to 33% by that year. That would create a digital luxury TAM of over 170 billion. In the meantime, the long expected consolidation process of only the fit is surviving in the digital luxury multi-brand sector is happening and Mytheresa is one of the main winners. Second, our clear focus on big-spending wardrobe-building top customers enabled us to generate solid growth in the second quarter of fiscal year 2024. We grew our net sales by plus 8.3% on a constant currency basis compared to Q2 of fiscal year 2023. This solid growth is above market performance and above peers, which mostly shrank. It is highly noteworthy that the United States generated again an outstanding growth was plus 17.4% in terms of net sales compared to Q2 of fiscal year 2023. The United States continues to be a significant growth driver for Mytheresa and the market accounted for 19.9% of total net sales in the second quarter of fiscal year 2024 Our top customer base grew by plus 15.6% compared to Q2 of fiscal year 2023. In the United States, our top customer number even increased by plus 47.6% in the second quarter. A further evidence of our focus on top customers is that our average order value increased once more by plus 5.4% to a new record high of 672 LTM in Q2 fiscal year 2024 compared to fiscal year 2023. Our clear focus on big-spending wardrobe-building top customers makes us the highly desired partner for luxury brands in their own clienteling efforts. The second quarter saw again mainly high-impact campaigns and exclusive product launches, demonstrating our strong relationships and the support from our brand partners. All of them further increased our brand awareness, brand equity and positioned us globally as the leading digital luxury platform. We launched exclusive capsule collections with Givenchy and Victoria Beckham only available at Mytheresa. We launched exclusive ski and uprisky collections with Chloe, Bogner and Pucci x Fusalp. And we partnered with Loro Piana for the second time to launch the cooling collection only available at Loro Piana and Mytheresa. One special highlight to mention is the launch of an exclusive global digital campaign in collaboration with Brunello Cucinelli featuring Robot Montgomery and Greta Bellamacina, which outperformed across all media channels. This partnership is one of the most desired luxury brands shows how relevant and beneficial such joint activations are for our customers. Please see our investor presentation for more details on our brand collaborations. We also hosted again, exclusive events for our top customers, providing them with money-can-buy experiences. Examples of such events in the second quarter included the celebration of the Givenchy Capsule Collection Paris with the CEO and Creative Director of Givenchy present and a two-day experience in Vienna with Miu. We also hosted our top customer events in L.A. and New York City. Furthermore, we ran our highly successful pop-up installation in Los Angeles in December. Together with our partner, Flamingo Estate, we created a life-sized replica of the estate fully made out of ginger-bread, including a Mytheresa dream closet. The Holiday House created a truly immersive physical luxury shopping experience. We hosted over 4,000 registered visitors over the course of three weeks. For the opening night, we proudly welcomed guests such as Nicky Hilton, Elijah Wood, Chrissy Teigen, John Legend. Please see our investor presentation for more details on this unique pop-up experience. Third, in the second quarter of fiscal year 2024, we also continued to drive innovation for future growth and business demands. We successfully ramped up operations in our new 55,000 square meter Leipzig distribution center with almost 30% of all customer orders already served from there at the end of December. Because of the direct adjacency to the international airfreight hub of DHL Express, our customers now benefit from significantly later cut-off times for international deliveries. As part of our strategic global partnership with DHL Express, we also recently signed a multiyear agreement that will provide us with access to sustainable aviation fuel, SAF under the GoGreen Plus service from DHL. We are the largest global e-commerce platform based in Germany, investing into SAF to reduce CO2 emissions. Please see our investor presentation for more details on the SAF agreement. Finally, I'm also very proud to announce that Mytheresa is one of the first luxury brands already present with its own app on the just launched Apple Vision Pro. Staying true for our strategy of taking customers on true money-can-buy experiences, the Mytheresa app will take users on an immersive digital luxury shopping experience to Carpe Italy and Paris. With all the above, it should come as no surprise that we are pleased with our performance in the second quarter of fiscal year 2024. We believe that our results demonstrate the strength and consistency of our business model, delivering profitable growth. We see ourselves as a clear winner in the consolidation of the luxury e-commerce space. We are thus also well-positioned to benefit from the tremendous growth prospects when market conditions will improve. To capitalize on these prospects, we are actively evaluating opportunities to support and accelerate our investments in future business growth. This also supports our strong confidence in our medium term growth trajectory and profitability levels despite the short-term uncertainties in the macro environment right now. And now I hand over to Martin to discuss the financial results in detail. Martin Beer: Thank you, Michael. In line with what we saw in preceding quarters, we are again pleased with our top line performance in the quarter with net sales growth of plus 8.3% at constant currency. This comes in a challenging macro environment and with persistent heavy promotions from peers. In line with our guidance for this quarter, we achieved profitable growth with a plus 4% adjusted EBITDA margin. As January and February so far are well in line with our expectations, we continue to guide towards a solid and profitable growth at the lower end of our guidance. In addition, we are pleased with our well-executed inventory management and plus 19 million operating cash flow in the quarter. We ended the quarter with 85 million unused credit lines from our existing Rover, which we were able to increase by 50% from 60 million to 90 million to capture growth opportunities. A smartly dressed woman browsing a selection of designer clothing in an upscale retail store. Now review our financial results for the second quarter of fiscal year 2024, ended December 31, 2023, and will provide supplementary details on certain key developments that affected our performance throughout the quarter. Unless otherwise stated, all numbers refer to euro. In the second quarter of fiscal year 2024, we grew GMV by 5.9% on a constant currency basis. On a nominal basis, GMV grew by 1.5% to 219.1 million as compared to 25.9 million in the prior year period. Once again, our top customer focus played an essential role in driving growth. Net sales grew by 8.3% on a constant currency basis in this quarter. On an IFRS basis, net sales increased by 3.6% to 197 million as compared to 190.1 million in the prior year period. We continue to have seven brands operating seamlessly under the CPM in our collaborative efforts with brand partners, we can offer them complete flexibility by providing both models, wholesale and CPM. From a regional perspective, we experienced a solid performance in Europe with a 55.7% share of net sales in the quarter versus 56.3% previous year. Europe in total grew by 2.4%. The Impressive continued growth in the US of 17.4%, pushed the net sales share to now 19.9% versus 17.6% in the prior year quarter. In Rest of World, we saw overall stability with a slightly declining share from 26.1% to 24.5%, mainly due to softer demand in APAC. We expect a continuation of these trends going forward, continued stable growth in Europe, impressive outperformance in the US and overall stability in Rest of World. As mentioned by Michael, our average order value increased by a remarkable 5.4% to an industry-leading 672 and this is based on our performance of the last 12 months, so a continued trend for us in the last quarters and years. In absolute terms, the increase in AOE translates to an additional 35 per ship order and improves our order economics. Our commitment to full price selling is also visible at gross profit level with consistently industry leading gross profit margin of around 50% in this quarter. Even though our gross profit margin continues to be affected by continuous promotional environment, the margin slippage during the second quarter narrowed as expected to 490 basis points from 740 basis points in Q1. If you consider only the operational gross margin, then the margin slippage is at 300 basis points in the quarter, down from 400 basis points in Q1. As the operational gross margin slippage is driven by fall/winter 2023 overstock in the market, we expect the operational gross margin slippage to reduce further in the coming quarters, in line with lower additional financial effects from inventory depreciation, CPM share, and shifts between quarters. In total, gross profit was 98.3 million compared to 104.2 million in the prior year period. The gross profit margin in the quarter was at 49.9%, up from 42.5% in Q1, but down from 54.8% in the previous year quarter. Adjusted shipping and payment costs during the three months ended December 31 increased by 4.2 million, or 14.9% to 32.5 million. The increase in adjusted shipping and payment cost ratio from 13.1% to 14.8% in Q2 was mainly due to a higher share of sales in countries where we pay all the duties for our customers, such as the U.S. and an overall growing sales presence outside Europe. The successfully implemented changes in our payment and custom setup will mostly offset further cost increases, and therefore, we target to achieve stability and the cost ratios in the upcoming quarters. Amid the aforementioned macroeconomic conditions, our focus has remained dedicated to the acquisition of high potential customers. Continuing the strategy from our preceding quarter, we focused our marketing efforts on the most promising new customer acquisition and top customer retention strategies and aligned our marketing efforts with an overall softer market sentiment. As a consequence, marketing expenses decreased by 5.3 million to 23.5 million during the second quarter. The marketing cost ratio decreased by 260 basis points to 10.7% from 13.3% in the prior year quarter. Adjusted selling, general and administrative expenses grew by 6.2 million to 33.9 million during the second quarter of fiscal year 2024. The adjusted SG&A cost ratio increased by 270 basis points to 15.5% as compared to 12.8% in the prior year quarter. The surge is mainly due to an increase in personnel costs for operational staff, especially at our new warehouse in Leipzig. With our continuous efforts to decrease SG&A costs, we target a decrease of the SG&A cost ratio in H2 of fiscal year 2024 versus H1 of fiscal year 2024. In the second quarter of fiscal year 2024, we achieved profitable growth with an adjusted EBITDA margin of 4.0% at $7.9 million. This comes despite a continuously challenging microenvironment and is above market expectations. It again shows the resilience of our business model and our successful focus on the sweet spot of high-end luxury. Depreciation and amortization expenses increased only modestly during the second quarter by 1 million from 2.8 million or 1.3% of GMV to 3.8 million or 1.8% of GMV, driven by right-of-use asset depreciation related to the new warehouse in Leipzig. For Q2 of fiscal year 2024, profitability is also demonstrated on an adjusted operating income or adjusted EBIT, as well as adjusted net income level. Adjusted EBIT during the quarter was at 4.1 million and an adjusted EBIT margin of 2.1%. Adjusted net income stood at $3.1 million with an adjusted net income margin of 1.5%. Let's take a look at the cash flow statement. In Q2 of fiscal year '24, we had a positive operating cash flow of 18.5 million. This compares to a negative 27.1 million operating cash flow in the preceding year quarter. The increase in cash flow was anticipated and was mostly due to reduced inventory order volume at targeted levels of trade payables. CapEx or investing cash flow in the quarter was only at 1.4 million, as the CapEx for the new warehouse in Leipzig will come to an end in this fiscal year. Looking ahead to fiscal year '25 and beyond, we expect CapEx to stay below 1% of GMV, in line with our targeted performance in our business model. We continue to successfully execute our inventory management. We gradually reduced our inventory growth levels from plus 56.5% in June '23 to 44.4% in September '23 and now plus 33.1% year-over-year growth in December '23. If we would net out the effect from early deliveries of spring/summer '24 compared to previous year, growth is at plus 21% end of January 2024. And we are seeing a continuation of the decrease also in February. At the end of January 2024, days inventory outstanding were at 278 days, net of this effect, and compared to 317 days end of June 2023. We expect to achieve our target at 260 days inventory outstanding by the end of fiscal year '25. This inventory level and strategic path on inventory management is in line with our luxury positioning and successful inventory strategy over the last five years with superior gross profit margins achieved. Given our plus 18.5 million positive operating cash flow, we only had a very small utilization of our revolving credit facilities of 4.9 million end of December '23. We nevertheless increased our revolving credit facilities by 50% from 60 million to 90 million to capture additional growth opportunities. With the utilization of only 4.9 million end of December, the non-utilized part amounted to 85.1 million of borrowing capacity or in other words, over 94% unused borrowing capacity. We are in discussions with our primary banks about replacing our revolving credit facilities with a syndicated loan facility with a longer term. We believe the new credit facility will be in place in the next couple of months and that it will give us even more flexibility. Remember, besides the revolving card facilities, we do not have any other bank debt and with an equity ratio of 61%, a strong balance sheet. With all the above, it comes as no surprise that we are very confident with our strategic positioning. We have implemented appropriate measures to align with market dynamics and steer the company towards profitability in the midst of a visibly challenging and consolidating environment. The performance during the first weeks of our third quarter is encouraging and instills confidence in us that our assumption of a slowing promotional environment in H2 of our fiscal year is true leading to improvements in the top and bottom line. We, therefore, again, confirm our guidance for the full fiscal year 2024 at the lower end of the guided ranges of GMV and net sales growth between 8% to 13%, gross profit growth between 8% to 13% and an adjusted EBITDA margin between 3% and 5%. We remain very confident in the medium and long-term outlook for our business. We're gaining market share and have completed two major infrastructure milestones. We will just benefit more quickly and over proportionally when the luxury market recovers from the current economic challenges. Our market position is getting stronger every month. Our medium targets remain at the level that we have always guided, double-digit growth rates at a high single-digit profitability level. And with this, I will now turn the call back over to Michael for his concluding remarks. Michael Kliger: Thank you, Martin. We are pleased with our second quarter of fiscal year 2024 earnings results. We are very pleased to see ourselves well positioned to achieve our fiscal year 2024 guided targets based on the first weeks of trading for the third quarter, as just mentioned. We are extremely pleased with the medium-term outlook for the company given the very positive projections for the digital luxury sector and our competitive strengths versus most other players. We believe that Mytheresa offers the best digital luxury shopping experience for big spending consumers and true luxury brands. And with that, I ask the operator to open the line for your questions. See also 13 Overlooked Tax Deductions for Retirees That Could Save Them Money and 20 Most Dangerous Countries that American Tourists Usually Visit. To continue reading the Q&A session, please click here. The World Customs Organization (WCO) Secretary General, Ian Saunders, welcomed the official opening of the Regional Intelligence Liaison Office (RILO) Asia/Pacific on 6 February 2024, in Tokyo, Japan. The ceremony attracted over 150 participants, including Heads of Member Customs Administrations from Asia and the Pacific, Global RILO Network partners, international partner organizations, stakeholders from the private sector. The ceremony started with a video address by the Prime Minister of Japan, Fumio Kishida, followed by a video address from WCO Secretary General Ian Saunders. In his message, Secretary General Saunders underscored the pioneering role of the RILO Asia/Pacific and its success in supporting Member administrations in the fight against illicit trade across the region and globally. He expressed his expectation for the Offices enhanced role in data and intelligence analysis to further guide enforcement actions and bolster collaborative efforts. Following the opening ceremony, Secretary General Saunders chaired a high-level roundtable for the WCO Asia/Pacific region, focusing on the Enhancement of Data/Intelligence Analysis and Cooperation Networks. He emphasized the vital need for improved analytical capabilities and collaborative networks to tackle the dynamic challenges in Customs enforcement. The roundtable discussions covered various enforcement-related topics, such as risk management, intelligence sharing, and the application of cutting-edge technologies, offering significant insights for policy deliberation among attendees. In the margins of the event, Secretary General Saunders engaged in bilateral meetings with Heads of Customs Administrations of the Asia/Pacific region, including Japan as a new host administration of RILO AP and of the event, to foster continued and more meaningful engagement from Members. He also visited the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), meeting with its President, Dr. Akihiko Tanaka, to discuss concrete collaborative projects between the two Organizations aimed at further assisting Members in their modernization efforts. Their discussions reaffirmed the ongoing partnership on initiatives such as the Master Trainer Programme. Additionally, Secretary General Saunders toured the newly inaugurated RILO Asia/Pacific Office, receiving updates on its objectives and forthcoming projects. He motivated the Offices personnel to pursue new initiatives. The events marked a significant step forward in strengthening international cooperation and collective efforts to combat illicit trade in the Asia/Pacific region. Supporters listen to a speech of Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, on Feb. 16, 2024. Nasrallah on Friday said Israel will pay a heavy price for killing women and children in airstrikes on Nabatieh and al-Sawaneh in southern Lebanon, local TV channel al-Manar reported. (Xinhua/Bilal Jawich) BEIRUT, Feb. 16 (Xinhua) -- Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah on Friday said Israel will pay a heavy price for killing women and children in airstrikes on Nabatieh and al-Sawaneh in southern Lebanon, local TV channel al-Manar reported. "The enemy should anticipate this response as we do not tolerate any harm to civilians," Nasrallah said in a televised speech, noting that the response would be an escalation of resistance efforts as Israel has crossed a red line by targeting civilians. Nasrallah assured that the attacks against Israel from southern Lebanon will not stop until the conflict in the Gaza Strip ends. According to Nasrallah, Hezbollah launched dozens of Katyusha rockets and several Falaq rockets at the northern Israeli city of Kiryat Shmona a day earlier as an initial response to the attacks on Nabatieh and al-Sawaneh. In his speech, Nasrallah accused the United States of the bloodshed taking place in Gaza and Lebanon, saying the weapons Israel used in these attacks come from Washington. The Lebanon-Israel border has been witnessing increased tension after Lebanese armed group Hezbollah fired dozens of rockets toward Israel in support of the Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7 last year, prompting Israel to respond by firing heavy artillery toward southeastern Lebanon. Over the past few days, Israeli attacks in southern Lebanon have intensified, resulting in the rise of deaths among both civilians and Hezbollah fighters. The confrontations between Hezbollah and Israel have killed 293 people on the Lebanese side, including 200 Hezbollah members and 56 civilians, according to Lebanese security sources. Supporters listen to a speech of Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, on Feb. 16, 2024. Nasrallah on Friday said Israel will pay a heavy price for killing women and children in airstrikes on Nabatieh and al-Sawaneh in southern Lebanon, local TV channel al-Manar reported. (Xinhua/Bilal Jawich) A supporter listens to a speech of Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, on Feb. 16, 2024. Nasrallah on Friday said Israel will pay a heavy price for killing women and children in airstrikes on Nabatieh and al-Sawaneh in southern Lebanon, local TV channel al-Manar reported. (Xinhua/Bilal Jawich) A Montclair home once owned by the co-founder of New Jersey's oldest law school is back on the market. The circa-1878 slate-roofed home at 95 South Mountain Ave. was listed earlier in February for $2.2 million. The Second Empire-style home has been fully renovated and is exceptional, even amid its prestigious neighborhood, said listing agent Susan Horowitz from West of Hudson Real Estate. A century ago, the home was bought by Richard D. Currier from the daughters of the original owners, John Weeks and his wife, Imogene Frost, The Montclair Times reported. Currier, a Connecticut native, was an attorney and the author of legal textbooks. More notably, he was the founder of the New Jersey Law School, the forerunner of today's Rutgers Law School-Newark. The Second Empire home at 95 South Mountain Ave. in Montclair was purchased in 1924 by Richard D. Currier, the founder of the New Jersey Law School. The school was eventually folded into what is now Rutgers School of Law-Newark. From 30 students in its first year, 1908, the law school would grow to more than 2,300 students by the end of 1926 and become one of the largest in the nation. Currier would later start two more schools in New Jersey. All three in 1935 merged with Newark University and were ultimately incorporated into Rutgers University. Currier graduated from Yale University, then attended Boston University and New York law schools before opening his own legal firm at 28 Whitehall St. in lower Manhattan. He stayed in New York City for six years before leaving for Newark in 1908. Local: Montclair cop honored for saving man's life while off duty in West Orange Once there, Currier founded the for-profit New Jersey Law School alongside Percival G. Barnard and Charles Mason, Rutgers University records show. Currier was the school's president and a professor of law. Barnard was its secretary and dean. Mason joined as faculty, but became dean in 1909 and served in that post for nearly 20 years. He was succeeded in 1928 by then-Montclair Township Attorney George S. Harris. When it opened, the law school's only requirements for admission were an age of at least 18 and good moral character. A desire for accreditation later changed those standards. It also spurred Currier to open the Seth Boyden School of Business in 1929 and to convert the law school's prelegal department into the nonprofit Dana College in 1930 to serve as pipelines for New Jersey Law School. Story continues The Second Empire home at 95 South Mountain Ave. in Montclair was purchased in 1924 by Richard D. Currier, the founder of the New Jersey Law School. The school was eventually folded into what is now Rutgers School of Law-Newark. The school's first classes were held on the fourth floor of the Prudential Insurance Company Building, but the school by the end of 1915 had found its own home in a Victorian townhouse at 33 East Park St., Rutgers records show. Further growth would see it move to the former Ballantine Brewery at 40 Rector St. In 1915, the school had 175 students, including 12 women, according to a September 1915 report in the Newark Star-Eagle. Currier then was living about a mile north of 95 South Mountain Ave. In 1914, he moved to 21 Highland Ave. By the end of the decade, Currier was living at 12 Bradford Place. A few years later, Currier bought 42 Myrtle Ave. Real estate snapshot: Did North Jersey home prices increase in January? In early 1924, after 10 years in Montclair, Currier purchased 95 South Mountain Ave. He bought the home then with 12 rooms and two bathrooms for $30,000, The Montclair Times reported. The next month, he took out building permits for alterations, the newspaper said. Currier had the property's old stable converted into a three-bedroom home that today boasts its own pool. He also had an all-new three-bedroom home built in 1932 in the French Country style, according to Montclair Times reports. Meanwhile, he maintained a home in Shaftsbury, Vermont, where he managed a farm and a summer camp for girls called Camp Avalon. The Second Empire home at 95 South Mountain Ave. in Montclair was purchased in 1924 by Richard D. Currier, the founder of the New Jersey Law School. The school was eventually folded into what is now Rutgers School of Law-Newark. His former home at 95 South Mountain Ave. today features seven bedrooms and five bathrooms. Fully renovated and modernized, it has smart home controls, electric vehicle charging and a massive kitchen with premier appliances. There is a private home office, a formal living room and a formal dining room. The primary suite has a soaking tub, walk-in shower and walk-in closet. First-floor living spaces benefit from oversized windows and high ceilings. There are also seven fireplaces, custom woodwork and hardwood floors. Currier stepped down from the law school's presidency in 1934 and replicated the decision at Dana College two years later when it merged with Newark University. Currier died in June 1947 at 69, leaving behind his estate, his wife, Adele, and three children. The next year, the estate was divided into three residential lots: 91, 95 and 99 South Mountain Ave., said legal notices in The Montclair Times. This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Montclair home of oldest NJ law school founder listed for $2.2M Allied Analytics LLP The oilfield services market is experiencing significant growth attributed to the escalating demand for energy and increase in oil & gas exploration activities. Exploration activities have significantly boosted the demand for oilfield services to minimize investment losses and increase profits for respective companies. Adapting to fluctuating oil prices, aligning with environmental policies, and embracing innovative solutions will be crucial for companies operating in the oilfield services market to stay resilient and capitalize on emerging opportunities in this rapidly transforming landscape. Wilmington, Delaware, Feb. 16, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Allied Market Research published a report, titled, Oilfield Services Market , by Type (Equipment Rental, Field Operation, and Analytical & Consulting Services), Application (Onshore and Offshore), Service (Workover & Completion Services, Production Services, Drilling Services, Subsea Services, Seismic Services, and Processing & Separation Services): Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2023-2032." According to the report, the oilfield services market was valued for $113.7 billion in 2022 and is estimated to reach $161.1 billion by 2032, exhibiting a CAGR of 3.6% from 2023 to 2032. Download PDF Brochure: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/request-sample/971 Prime determinants of growth Increase in energy demand, expansion of oil and gas exploration, and environmental regulations fuel the growth of the oilfield services Market. High costs and technical complexities, and market consolidation present a significant hurdle to their market penetration. Furthermore, the infrastructure upgrades of the energy sector will provide substantial opportunities to expand the oilfield services market. Report coverage & details: Report Coverage Details Forecast Period 20232032 Base Year 2022 Market Size in 2022 $113.7 Billion Market Size in 2032 $161.1 Billion CAGR 3.6% No. of Pages in Report 256 Segments Covered Type, Application, Service, and Region Drivers Environmental regulations Surge in energy demand Increase in oil and gas exploration activities Restraints High costs and technical complexities Market consolidation Opportunities Infrastructure upgrades Impact Scenario Stringent environmental regulations significantly impact the operations of the oilfield services market, especially in major countries committed to mitigating ecological harm. In the U.S., the Environment Protection Agency (EPA) enforces strict guidelines such as the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act, governing emissions, waste disposal, and water usage in oil & gas activities. Compliance involves employing advanced drilling methods and eco-friendly fluids to reduce ecological disruptions during extraction. Similarly, Canada upholds rigorous standards through agencies such as the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act (CEAA), focusing on environmental assessments, habitat protection, and site remediation post-extraction. Norway's renowned environmental policies are upheld by its petroleum industry, abiding by stringent regulations mandating thorough environmental assessments and emission controls. Within the EU, directives such as the Industrial Emissions Directive and REACH regulations impose controls on emissions, chemicals, and waste, compelling companies to invest in eco-conscious practices. The emerging markets such as Brazil and China prioritize environmental protection in oil & gas operations, implementing regulations emphasizing impact assessments, emissions reduction, and post-extraction remediation efforts. Story continues The field operation segment to maintain its leadership status throughout the forecast period Depending on type, the field operation segment held the highest market share in 2022, accounting for nearly half of the global oilfield services market revenue, and is estimated to maintain its leadership status throughout the forecast period. Moreover, the equipment rental segment is projected to register a CAGR of 4.14% from 2023 to 2032. This is attributed to the fact that rental services are crucial for meeting evolving industry needs. Equipment rental in the oilfield services market involves the leasing of specialized machinery and tools crucial for exploration, drilling, and production activities in the oil & gas sector. The growth of the segment is further driven by increase in exploration activities, capital conservation, high operational efficiency, surge in global energy demands, implementation of stringent environmental regulations, and technological advancements. Procure Complete Report (256 Pages PDF with Insights, Charts, Tables, and Figures) @ https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/checkout-final/oilfield-services-market The onshore segment to maintain its leadership status throughout the forecast period On the basis of application, the onshore segment was the largest shareholder in 2022, accounting for more than three-fourths of the global oilfield services market revenue, and is estimated to maintain its leadership status throughout the forecast period. The offshore segment is projected to register a CAGR of 3.78% from 2023 to 2032. This is attributed to the fact that the offshore sector is undergoing significant changes due to technological advancements, shift toward renewable energy sources, and automation. Moreover, deepwater exploration is booming, revealing previously inaccessible reserves. Automation and digitalization have improved safety and efficiency are a key factor that impact the development of the market. The growing global energy demand drives exploration, fostering innovation in drilling and resource diversification. The production service segment to maintain its leadership status throughout the forecast period By service, the production service segment held the highest market share in 2022, accounting for more than one-fourth of the global oilfield services market revenue, and is estimated to maintain its leadership status throughout the forecast period. The seismic service segment is projected to register a CAGR of 4.93% from 2023 to 2032. This is attributed to the fact that seismic services are crucial in understanding subsurface landscapes and potential hydrocarbon reservoirs. In addition, advancements in 3D and 4D seismic surveys are revolutionizing exploration strategies, improving imaging precision, and increasing success rates. This trend aligns with exploration efforts in challenging terrains like deep water reserves and unconventional shale formations. Furthermore, the demand for specialized seismic services is increasing due to the shift toward environmentally conscious survey techniques. With escalating global energy demands, seismic services are poised for substantial growth. The integration of big data analytics and artificial intelligence promises increased efficiency and informed decision-making in exploration and reservoir management. North America to maintain its dominance by 2032 North America held the highest market share in terms of revenue in 2022, accounting for more than two-fifths of the global oilfield services market revenue, and is likely to dominate the market during the forecast period. However, Asia-Pacific is expected to witness the fastest CAGR of 4.0% from 2023 to 2032. The Asia-Pacific oilfield services market is undergoing significant changes due to technological advancements, energy demands, and a growing focus on offshore exploration. The countries such as China and South Korea are enhancing drilling methods and production, while countries like India and Japan are increasing exploration. Environmental consciousness and stricter regulations are further driving the growth of the market in the region. For Purchase Inquiry: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/oilfield-services-market/purchase-options Leading Market Players: - Schlumberger Limited Halliburton Company Baker Hughes Inc. Weatherford International Ltd. National Oilwell Varco, Inc. Asian Energy Services Limited TechnipFMC plc Superior Energy Services Inc. China Oilfield Services Limited Expo group The report provides a detailed analysis of these key players in the global oilfield services market. These players have adopted different strategies such as new product launches, collaborations, expansion, joint ventures, and agreements 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 highlight the competitive scenario. Trending Reports in Oil & Gas Industry: Drilling and Completion Fluids Market : Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2023-2032 Oil and Gas Separator Market : Global Opportunity Analysis and Forecast, 2023-2032 Gas Lift System Market : Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2023-2032 Geophysical Services Market : Forecast, 2021-2031 Oilfield Auxiliary Rental Equipment market : Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2020-2030 Well Intervention Market : Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2021-2030 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 " 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 us: David Correa 1209 Orange Street, Corporation Trust Center, Wilmington, New Castle, Delaware 19801 USA. Int'l: +1-503-894-6022 Toll Free: +1-800-792-5285 Fax: +1-800-792-5285 help@alliedmarketresearch.com Web: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/reports-store/energy-and-power Follow Us on | Facebook | LinkedIn | YouTube When City Council member Mark Bunker was elected in 2020, he said it was the beginning of a shift in the norms of Clearwater government. He was the first candidate in decades to make the Church of Scientologys impact on downtown central to his campaign. And he routinely brings up allegations of human trafficking and financial fraud against Scientology during council meetings topics previously avoided on the dais. Now in his bid for a second term in Seat 2, Bunker faces two opponents in the March 19 election Lealman Fire District Capt. Ryan Cotton and marketing executive Mike Mastruserio each with their own ideas for how the city should approach Scientology. All three candidates say their priorities go beyond downtown, but Bunkers focus on Scientology in his first term has made the topic a point of debate. There are a lot of people who think I talk too much about Scientology, Bunker said at a Morningside-Meadows neighborhood meeting in January. But frankly I think we should all be talking about Scientology. They have held our downtown hostage. Since 2017, limited liability companies controlled by Scientology parishioners have gradually purchased at least 200 properties within walking distance of the downtown waterfront, according to a Tampa Bay Times analysis of property records. But most of the storefronts, buildings and lots remain vacant. In a statement to the Times, Scientology spokesperson Ben Shaw stated: I do not know anything about 200 property purchases since 2017. He then compared downtown purchases to Disneys acquisition of land in Orlando for Disney World. Of course, the Church is not proposing a Disney World, Shaw said. But we are proposing an entire downtown redevelopment. City Manager Jennifer Poirrier is in discussions with Scientology officials about a potential agreement for church-controlled properties to be activated, but a deal has not yet been presented publicly. Mastruserio said he considers revitalizing downtown the citys most pressing issue. In a campaign flyer, he stated: Scientology continues to hurt our citys reputation, handicap our overall development, especially downtown. Story continues He said Bunker has not done enough to address Scientologys impact. Mastruserio wants to put mobile retail stores in trucks or buses in front of empty storefronts controlled by parishioners as a workaround. For 50 years we talked about doing different things and have done nothing, Mastruserio said at a Feb. 7 candidate forum. I want to be the person who leads the fight to take back our streets in downtown. Bunker, however, said hes taken action by reaching out to the FBI about the property purchases, which he calls an orchestrated effort by Scientology leader David Miscavige to sabotage downtown. Miscavige has created a problem only he can solve, Bunker said at the forum. He said he has a unique understanding of the organizations policies as hes spent 25 years supporting people who say they have been harmed by Scientology. Rebecca Kaufman, an attorney representing Scientology, said in a statement to the Times that nothing came of (Bunkers) unfounded claims. An FBI spokesperson declined to answer whether the agency investigated Bunkers complaint. Any statement that the Church is hampering or sabotaging downtown is false, said Shaw, the church spokesperson. The Church operates within the law in all its activities, he added. Cotton has declined to say whether he believes Scientology is involved in the acquisition of vast tracts of real estate. Unlike his opponents, he has avoided bringing up Scientology in his campaign literature. He said he wants to see downtown Clearwater become bigger than St. Pete and that good Christian leadership has taught him to work through issues with others. I think that you just need to treat them like any other organization, Cotton said of Scientology at the Feb. 7 forum. Work with them when you can but work around them if you cant, because we need to get this downtown revitalized. But the candidates agree the race is about more than Scientology. Over his four-year term, Bunker said hes been part of an effort to shift power from the political and business establishment and towards residents and neighborhoods. That, he said, most recently has included his advocacy for a state plan to eliminate one travel lane in each direction of the mostly residential portion of Drew Street and add a center turn lane to address safety problems. Like the chamber of commerce, Mastruserio and Cotton oppose the project, citing concerns about traffic flow. Bunker, 67, has been endorsed by the unions representing police and fire employees, which he said shows he is advocating for issues beyond Scientology. The Pinellas County Democratic Party also backed Bunker. He considers affordable housing the citys most pressing issue. As vice president of his daughters marketing firm, Proforma N & M Communication, Mastruserio, 70, said that business background gives him the ability to make change in the city. He has the backing of the business community through the endorsement of the chamber of commerces political action committee. Since moving to Clearwater from Cincinnati in 2014, Mastruserio said hes volunteered with various organizations and events, which has given him an understanding of the communitys needs. His campaign has focused on supporting small businesses and economic development throughout the city. We have to be doers, not talkers; we have to get out and get the work done, Mastruserio said. As a working father with two young children, Cotton, who will turn 36 on Monday, said he is trying to usher a younger generation with new ideas to a City Council that has largely been filled with retirees over the decades. Hes centered his campaign on fiscal responsibility and has been endorsed by the Pinellas GOP. Cotton said upgrading infrastructure is the most pressing issue, and the city must prioritize being more resilient. We need to invest our tax dollars more wisely. We need to make sure that its going to the things that arent so pretty, that we dont see every day, Cotton said at a recent forum. He is also the son-in-law of sitting City Council member David Allbritton. If elected, Cotton would serve with his father-in-law for two years until Allbritton leaves office due to term limits. At the Feb. 7 forum, Mastruserio raised concern that one family could control 40% of the council. There is no law preventing in-laws from serving together in office. But Floridas open meetings law prohibits elected officials from discussing city business in private. Barbara Petersen, executive director of the Florida Center for Government Accountability, told the Times that in-laws would have to take extra precautions. Citizens will be watching carefully for even a whiff of private conversations, and sometimes perception can be just as damning as the facts, Petersen said. Cotton said following the Sunshine Law at home with Allbritton would not be a challenge. Cotton said he takes ethical responsibility seriously and would value public trust as an elected official. It comes down to my character and integrity, Cotton said, and separating work from home. OpenAI is reportedly building its own search product to take on Google (GOOG, GOOGL). But the ChatGPT creator is going to need a lot more help if it hopes to make even a slight dent in the search giants armor. According to the Information, OpenAI is hard at work on developing a search product infused with generative AI capabilities that would be partially powered by Microsofts (MSFT) Bing. Microsoft has invested billions in OpenAI and uses some of the companys technologies to run its Copilot AI software offerings for Microsoft 365 and Windows. In February 2023, Microsoft announced it was going to go after Googles search dominance with a new version of its Bing search engine powered by OpenAIs GPT technology. But here we are in February 2024, and Microsoft is no closer to cutting into Googles market share. At the time, Microsoft said just 1% of search advertising market share was worth $2 billion in annual revenue. CEO Satya Nadella called it a new day in search and said that the AI-powered version of Bing represented a new paradigm for search. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, left, appears onstage with Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella at OpenAI's first developer conference on Nov. 6, 2023. (Barbara Ortutay/AP Photo, File) (ASSOCIATED PRESS) But a year later Microsofts Bing efforts seem to have stalled. The companys search engine had a market share of just 3.43% in January 2024, up less than 1% from the same time last year, according to StatCounter. Google, meanwhile, controls 91.46%, down less than 1% from last year. Flipping the script with an OpenAI product that runs on Bing will face the same hurdles. Although, theres the chance that ChatGPTs popularity will carry the search offering further than Bing could. But its not just the fact that Google is so popular. The company is also integrating generative AI into its search product. The feature puts AI-generated responses to searches at the top of the screen directly below the search box. The traditional list of search links show up below the generative AI box. And while Microsoft has enjoyed a healthy advantage over Google in terms of the speed with which its been bringing generative AI products to market, Google isnt far behind. Story continues Subscribe to the Yahoo Finance Tech newsletter. (Yahoo Finance) Microsoft continues to lead in the enterprise space thanks to generative AI products built into its productivity software and various cloud computing offerings. But on the search front, its still all Google all the way. And even if OpenAI popularized the generative AI craze, the company has a long way to go if it hopes to take down the search giant. Daniel Howley is the tech editor at Yahoo Finance. He's been covering the tech industry since 2011. You can follow him on Twitter @DanielHowley. Click here for the latest technology news that will impact the stock market. Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance Councillors have approved a material contravention of the County Development Plan to facilitate the construction of a 25-unit housing development in Claremorris. The project at Elm Park on the Ballyhaunis Road came up for decision at last weeks meeting of Claremorris-Swinford Municipal District Council. The private development was described as a good housing mix of bungalows, semi-detached and maisonettes together with connection to all existing site services, access roads, multi-games area and open spaces. The motion for a material contravention was proposed by Cllr Tom Connolly and seconded by Cllr Richard Finn. It required support from seven of the 10 councillors with the following members voting in favour of the material contravention: Cllr Gerry Murray, Cllr John Caufield, Cllr John Cribbin, Cllr Richard Finn, Cllr Tom Connolly, Cllr Damien Ryan, Cllr Patsy OBrien, Cllr Michael Burke and Cllr Adrian Forkan. Cllr Finn said he was pleased with the decision, adding that the project represented "more progress" for Claremorris. After the number of houses that were built last year in the town we are happy to see another 25-house development being granted by Mayo County Council and the planners." Good manners, like good tailoring, always stay in fashion. Though the precise protocols may shift with the cultural winds, the principles remain steadfast - consideration, respect, and dignity. And yet, over decades of well-intentioned informality, we have neglected propriety with unexamined abandon. Why have we seemingly lost our ability to mind our Ps and Qs? In bygone days, the rules were more transparent. A child learned which fork to use when, how to address their elders properly and when to invite further familiarity. Breaches could be policed and judged against a common standard that allowed little room for misinterpretation. But in our modern world of shifting mores and casual relationships, it has become necessary to intuit the appropriate protocols based on contextual clues. And therein lies our present difficulty. When strict etiquette dissolves into subtler social nuance, confusion and missteps abound. The tendency towards informality began as a democratising impulse, breaking down outdated hierarchies and making space for a broader spectrum of voices. An admirable aim, but the unintended consequence has been a suspension of basic courtesies once considered non-negotiable. In our eagerness to put outdated mannerisms to bed, we have tossed standards of conduct out with the bathwater. The difficulty lies in where to draw the line between stuffy ceremony and outright incivility. Must we have a dinner seating chart, or can guests scrum for their preferred chair? Is a handwritten thank you note obligatory, or will an emoji-filled text message suffice? When does relaxed become simply rude? We are left to muddle through murky waters with neither a chart nor a compass to guide us. Our shifting cultural paradigms have muddied the waters further. A globalised world brings differing sensibilities into close contact, sometimes resulting in crossed signals. The brusque New Yorker may take umbrage at lingering Midwestern pleasantries. The tactile Mediterranean might offend the more reserved Scandinavian. There is ample opportunity for the unintentional offence without a basis of shared etiquette. We would do well to reacquaint ourselves with the lost arts of decorum before we slide down the slippery slope into total informality. Illustration: Conor McGuire For example, the Japanese practice of bowing holds great significance, with depth and duration conveying respect. Yet the casual American may breeze through with a cursory nod, inadvertently causing grave insult. Likewise, the Chinese emphasis on family hierarchy often perplexes Westerners who use informal, first-name terms for elders. In India, the casual "thumbs up" gesture is considered rude, while the shoe's sole pointed at another is a grievous insult across much of the Middle East. Russians might perceive smiles between strangers as insincere, whereas Latin Americans would welcome such warmth. Even within Europe, regional quirks abound. Belgians consider it proper to greet women with three kisses, while for Germans, a handshake suffices. Slurping noodles in Italy shows appreciation, but in Britain, it elicits dismay. Knowing when to toast again or refrain again relies on local customs. Navigating these intercultural exchanges requires nuanced etiquette attuned to diverse perspectives. Without it, well-meaning overtures can unwittingly bruise national pride and fray diplomatic ties. A misplaced thumbs-up or ill-timed grin says more about ignorance than ill intent, but the impact remains the same. The intricacies of etiquette have challenged travellers and diplomats since ancient times. The Biblical book of Ruth outlines polite customs meant to ease tensions between the Israelites and Moabites, such as gleaning rules that provided for the poor and vulnerable. Ruth's culturally attuned conduct paved her way as a foreign daughter-in-law. Greek philosophers like Plato and Aristotle devoted extensive treatises to proper comportment and conduct. In his Laws, Plato discussed appropriate modes of speech, dress, amusement and decorum across various life stages. Aristotle's Nichomachean Ethics examined the central role etiquette plays in moral virtue. Codes of courtly behaviour were also developed in ancient Persia, Egypt, and Mesopotamia to facilitate diplomacy and hierarchy. Imperial China produced meticulous guides detailing proper rites, ceremonies and protocols befitting each level of the Confucian social order. From bowing depths to banquet seating arrangements, etiquette served as the lifeblood of the bureaucracy. Even the examination system testing applicants for civil service emphasised poetry, rhetoric and ceremonial knowledge as essential governance skills. While the specifics have changed, these early societies shared the goal of smoothing social intercourse through established norms. We could recover that diligent attention to etiquette's role in moral conduct, social order and international relations. Our fast-paced modern lives leave little room for lingering ceremony, yet the core value of mutual regard remains timeless. While excessive obsequiousness can lead to distorted and unearned deference, the polar opposite can see a degradation that permeates all areas of life, including service areas, the arts and politics. Balancing contemporary priorities with time-tested principles poses an ongoing challenge. But by studying how past cultures navigated etiquette's nuances, we gain perspective on the present. Cherished courtesies withstand the test of time even as fashions fade. The wisdom of history can guide us as we shape etiquette's new chapter. We must recognise the role technology has played in unravelling the social fabric. Smartphones and social media seduce us into lazy, abbreviated communication. A text replaces a telephone call, an email supplants a handwritten note, and a 'Like' stands for meaningful encouragement. We hide behind screens, evading the vulnerability of sincere human connection. Lost in the digital wilderness, we have misplaced common courtesy. The litany of poor form is sadly all too familiar - the lateness explained away by traffic or oversleeping, the RSVP that never materialises, and the distracted glance at a mobile screen during the conversation. While not intended as outright discourtesy, such habitual thoughtlessness speaks to an erosion of conscientiousness, a taking for granted rather than genuine regard. Some may argue that manners are mere artifice and we are better off doing away with pretence. But etiquette, at its core, is an outward expression of an inward spirit of care. Rules served a purpose when laid down, preserving dignity, smoothing discourse, and conferring respect. Though traditions evolve, this essence must be kept to maintain a civil society. Standards slip slowly, one small surrender at a time, until 'politeness' becomes quaint and archaic. We would do well to reacquaint ourselves with the lost arts of decorum before we slide down the slippery slope into total informality. For manners maketh man, as the adage goes. And women, too, in case I am accused of neglecting etiquette myself. We need not return to the days of strict Codes of Conduct enforced with pearl-clutching zeal. But neither should we discard all notions of decorum as oppressively fusty. Like so many things, the answer lies somewhere in the middle - adapting traditions to our times while retaining their core of thoughtfulness, honouring diverse customs, finding common ground, and using technology to connect meaningfully instead of conveniently hiding. We have nothing to lose in infusing modern life with the classic spirit of respect, dignity and grace that constitutes true courteousness. As our societies evolve, the principles of considerate conduct remain timeless. We would do well to preserve them before we tumble irretrievably down the slippery slope, finding ourselves strangely devoid of that most precious of human qualities - simple kindness. Today Partly sunny, breezy, and noticeably colder; gusty winds add a chill. A sprinkle or flurry possible, mainly north and west. Tonight Partly cloudy, windy, and cold. Brisk winds add a chill. There could be an early flurry, especially north and west. Tomorrow Partly sunny but brisk and chilly with wind chills near or below freezing for much of the day. A sprinkle or flurry possible, mainly north and west. Alexei Navalny, who crusaded against official corruption and staged massive anti-Kremlin protests as President Vladimir Putins fiercest foe, died Friday in the Arctic penal colony where he was serving a 19-year sentence, Russias prison agency said. He was 47. The stunning news less than a month before an election that will give Putin another six years in power brought renewed criticism and outrage from world leaders toward the Russian president who has suppressed opposition at home. After initially allowing people to lay flowers at monuments to victims of Soviet-era repressions in several Russian cities, police sealed off some of the areas and started making arrests. More than 100 people were detained in eight cities, including Moscow, St. Petersburg, Murmansk in the Arctic Circle, Krasnodar and Rostov-on-Don in the south of Russia, according to the OVD-Info monitoring group. Shouts of Shame! were heard as Moscow police rounded up more than a dozen people including one with a sign reading Killer near a memorial to political prisoners, the group said. But there was no indication Navalnys death would spark large protests, with the opposition fractured and now without its guiding star, as an associate put it. Russia's Federal Penitentiary Service reported Navalny felt sick after a walk Friday and lost consciousness at the penal colony in the town of Kharp, in the Yamalo-Nenets region about 1,900 kilometers (1,200 miles) northeast of Moscow. An ambulance arrived, but he couldn't be revived; the cause of death is "being established, it said. Navalny had been jailed since January 2021, when he returned to Moscow to face certain arrest after recuperating in Germany from nerve agent poisoning he blamed on the Kremlin. He was later convicted three times, saying each case was politically motivated. After the last verdict, Navalny said he understood he was serving a life sentence, which is measured by the length of my life or the length of life of this regime. Hours after his death was reported, Navalnys wife, Yulia Navalnaya, made a dramatic appearance at a security conference in Germany where many leaders had gathered. She said she had considered canceling, but then I thought what Alexei would do in my place. And Im sure he would be here, adding that she was unsure if she could believe the news from official Russian sources. But if this is true, I want Putin and everyone around Putin, Putins friends, his government to know that they will bear responsibility for what they did to our country, to my family and to my husband. And this day will come very soon, Navalnaya said. Praise for Navalnys bravery poured in from Western leaders and others opposing Putin. Navalnys health has deteriorated recently and the cause of death may never be known, but many of them said they held Russian authorities ultimately responsible particularly after the deaths of many Kremlin foes. U.S. President Joe Biden said Washington doesn't know exactly what happened, "but there is no doubt that the death of Navalny was a consequence of something Putin and his thugs did. Navalny could have lived safely in exile but returned home despite knowing he could be imprisoned or killed because he believed so deeply in his country, in Russia. In Germany, Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Navalny has probably now paid for this courage with his life. Standing beside Scholz, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy whose country is fending off Russia's invasion said: Putin doesnt care who dies in order for him to hold onto his position. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Putin was told of Navalnys death. The opposition leader's spokeswoman, Kira Yarmysh, said on X, formerly known as Twitter, that the team had no confirmation yet. Russias main state TV channel interrupted its newscast to announce the death, while other broadcasters carried only terse reports. The Russian SOTA social media channel shared video of Navalny reportedly in a prison courtroom on Thursday laughing and joking with the judge via video link on one of several hearings about conditions in jail. Navalny was moved in December from a central Russia penal colony to the special regime facility the maximum security level. His allies decried the transfer to the remote Arctic colony as yet another attempt to isolate and silence Navalny. Before his arrest, Navalny campaigned against official corruption, organized major anti-Kremlin protests and ran for public office. In Putins Russia, political activists often faded amid factional disputes or went into exile after imprisonment, suspected poisonings or other repression. But Navalny grew consistently stronger and reached the apex of the opposition through grit, bravado and an acute understanding of how social media could circumvent the Kremlins suffocation of independent news outlets. He faced each setback whether a physical assault or imprisonment with intense devotion and sardonic wit. When authorities put Navalny in a tiny cell because of minor infractions allowing access to a narrow exercise yard only in the early morning he joked: Few things are as refreshing as a walk in Yamal at 6:30 in the morning." Navalny ally Lyubov Sobol told The Associated Press that Russia's repressive climate makes any rallies over his death risky, and "people could get long prison terms for taking part in a peaceful protest. In the absence of a guiding star" like Navalny, she said, "people will have an even greater fear of repressions, seeing the governments impunity. A woman laying flowers for Navalny at a Moscow memorial said he was the last beacon of hope for anything to change, and that hope died today. So the only thing I want to do now is cry, I have no more words. She identified herself only by her first name, Elmira, for fear of repression. Navalny was born in Butyn, about 40 kilometers (25 miles) outside Moscow. He received a law degree from Peoples Friendship University in 1998 and did a fellowship at Yale in 2010. He gained attention by focusing on corruption in Russias murky mix of politicians and businesses; one of his early moves was buying a stake in oil and gas companies to become an activist shareholder and push for transparency. His work had pocketbook appeal to Russians widespread sense of being cheated, carrying stronger resonance than abstract concerns about democracy and human rights. He was convicted in 2013 of embezzlement on what he called a politically motivated prosecution and was sentenced to five years in prison, but the prosecutors office surprisingly demanded his release pending appeal. A higher court later gave him a suspended sentence. A day before the sentence, Navalny registered as a candidate for Moscow mayor. The opposition saw his release as the result of large protests over his sentence, but many observers attributed it to a desire by authorities to add a tinge of legitimacy to the race. Navalny finished second, an impressive performance against an incumbent who was backed by Putins political machine and was popular for improving Moscows infrastructure. Navalnys acclaim increased after the leading charismatic politician, Boris Nemtsov, was shot and killed in 2015 on a bridge near the Kremlin. Whenever Putin spoke about Navalny, he made it a point to never utter his name, referring to him as that person or similar wording, in an apparent effort to diminish his importance. In opposition circles, Navalny was often viewed as having an overly nationalist streak for supporting the rights of ethnic Russians he backed the annexation of the Crimean Peninsula by Moscow in 2014 although most nations viewed it as illegal but he was able to mostly override those reservations via investigations conducted by his Fund for Fighting Corruption. Although state-controlled TV ignored Navalny, his investigations resonated with younger Russians via YouTube and posts on his website and social media accounts. The strategy helped him reach the hinterlands far from the political and cultural centers of Moscow and St. Petersburg and establish a strong network of regional offices. His work broadened from focusing on corruption to criticism of the political system under Putin. He was a galvanizing figure in protests of unprecedented size against dubious national election results and the exclusion of independent candidates. Navalny got attention using pithy phrases and a potent image. His description of Putins power-base United Russia as the party of crooks and thieves gained instant popularity. In 2017, after an assailant threw green-hued disinfectant in his face, seriously damaging an eye, Navalny joked that people were comparing him to the superhero the Hulk. Much worse was to come. While in jail in 2019 for an election protest, he was hospitalized for what authorities called an allergic reaction, but some doctors said it appeared to be poisoning. A year later, he fell severely ill on a flight to Moscow from the Siberian city of Tomsk. The plane made an emergency landing in the city of Omsk, where he spent two days in a hospital before being flown to Germany for treatment. Doctors there determined he had been poisoned with a strain of Novichok similar to the nerve agent that nearly killed former Russian spy Sergei Skripal in 2018. Navalny was in a medically induced coma for about two weeks. The Kremlin vehemently denied it was behind the poisoning, but Navalny challenged that with an audacious move: releasing the recording of a call he said he made to an alleged member of the Federal Security Service, or FSB, who purportedly carried out the poisoning and then tried to cover it up. The FSB called the recording a fake. Russian authorities then announced that while in Germany, Navalny had violated the terms of a suspended sentence in one of his convictions and that he would be arrested if he returned home. Navalny and his wife nevertheless flew to Moscow on Jan. 17, 2021. On arrival, he told waiting journalists he was pleased to be back, walked to passport control and into custody. Last month, he explained why he returned, saying: I dont want to give up either my country or my beliefs. Just over two weeks after his return, he was tried, convicted and sentenced to 2 years in prison. That sparked massive protests reaching to Russias farthest corners and saw police detain over 10,000 people. As part of a massive opposition crackdown that followed, a Moscow court in 2021 outlawed Navalnys Foundation for Fighting Corruption and about 40 regional offices as extremist, a verdict that exposed members of his team to prosecution. When Putin sent troops to invade Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, Navalny strongly condemned it in social media posts from prison and during his court hearings. Less than a month after the war began, he received another nine-year term for embezzlement and contempt of court in a case he said was fabricated. Last August, he was convicted of extremism and sentenced to 19 years in prison. When a film called Navalny about his story won an Academy Award for best documentary in 2023, his wife told the ceremony: My husband is in prison just for telling the truth. My husband is in prison just for defending democracy. Alexei, I am dreaming of the day you will be free and our country will be free. Besides his wife, he is survived by a son and a daughter. READING, Pa. The Berks County Board of Commissioners on Thursday briefly reported on their attendance at the National Association of Counties Legislative Conference in Washington D.C. earlier this week. Commissioner Michael Rivera said the commissioners had the opportunity to meet with the senior staff of Pennsylvania Senators John Fetterman and Bob Casey Jr. "We brought to them five points that we wanted them to hear us on and that we felt were important," Rivera said. "One is the mental health crisis. One of the things we spoke about there is how with Medicare, it is very difficult to find providers to provide mental health services under Medicare." "That's because of the rigorous red tape they have to go through to be able to do that and also because reimbursement of Medicare is not the same as Medicaid or other private insurance," Rivera explained. "Health care providers do not take Medicare, and that is a federal issue." He said the commissioners also discussed bills that would help improve mental health in jails, the importance of making broadband available to everyone and Next Generation 911. "We also discussed PILT (Payment In Lieu of Taxes of Federal Land)," Rivera said. "Sixty-two percent of counties in the United States have federal land on them." "Here in Pennsylvania, we have federal land mostly under the U.S. Forestry Service, and we have some of it here in Berks County," Rivera explained. "And we're asking that the program be reauthorized for the next year, and that's because although the counties did not receive any taxes for the land, the county still must provide services for those. And we also asked for a long-term solution for sustainability for those lands." The program provides federal payments to help local governments offset losses in property taxes. Also, the commissioners noted that they will conduct a town hall for the Boyertown communities on Feb. 20 at 6:30 p.m. at the Boyertown Community Library at 24 North Reading Ave. READING, Pa. - A Reading-based shelter is getting a big boost. Hope Rescue Mission announced Thursday that it's getting a $750,000 grant from the Federal Home Loan Bank of Pittsburgh, with Customers Bank as their sponsor bank. Officials say the money will help enhance the shelter's new location on South Ninth Street. They say that site offers support for 11 men who have graduated from the Hope onsite program to independent living. "This grant will create transformative opportunities for the men who have successfully completed our onsite program. It is a significant step towards ensuring that they have the resources and environment they need to build a brighter future," said Rob Turchi, CEO of Hope Rescue Mission. OLEY TWP., Pa. - The Oley Valley School Board voted 5-4 to rescind a contract with the Pennsylvania Rivers Chapter of the American Red Cross Wednesday night, effectively ending the chapter's ability to use the middle school and high school in the event of an emergency or disaster situation. The Red Cross responded, in part, saying: "Facility agreements with partners change for various reasons, year over year. The Red Cross is respectful of these decisions and continues to be grateful to local partners who open their doors to community members in times of disaster." "After listening to the Red Cross presentation, I thought a compelling argument was made. But after filtering through more information, there are points of concern," said school board member Mary Harris. She expressed concern involving the American Red Cross and international issues. "The nature of our facility, dealing with children, and the current climate of controversy, border security and American immigration, I find best to err on the side of caution. I learned that the Red Cross is facilitating illegal immigration, providing maps to the U.S. and information about traveling to the southern border," said Harris. In response to those comments, The Red Cross pointed to information on its website regarding pamphlets handed to migrants in Mexico and Central America. The Red Cross says it and its partners "neither prevents nor encourages migration. We aim to help prevent and mitigate the humanitarian consequences that migration can bring, including separation and loss of family contacts, disappearances, serious medical issues and even death." "There must be law and order and we must facilitate that. Otherwise, what does that teach our children," Harris said. The Red Cross says facility agreements help it select from a variety of facilities in a time of disaster or emergency. SPRING TWP., Pa. Four students at Penn State Berks are getting their dance shoes ready for the university's biggest benefit event. The students seniors Sydney Bankert and Samantha Hagenbush, both kinesiology majors, and sophomores Manali Desai, a finance major, and Mariem Hanna, a civil engineering major are traveling to State College to take part in the annual THON fundraiser. The event raises money for families fighting pediatric cancer, and the participating students will have to dance for 46 hours. Hagenbush said she joined the dance marathon after seeing last year's event. "All the preparation, all the fundraising and things that we do on campus," she said, "whether that's our pie-in-the-face fundraiser, our cuts for kids or any of that off-campus restaurant food organizations that we have fundraisers with." Those events, sponsored by Berks Benefitting THON, raised nearly $17,000 this year. THON will get underway at 6 p.m. on Friday. In 2023, THON raised a record $15,006,132, adding to the more than $203 million that's been raised since 1977 for Four Diamonds at Penn State Health Children's Hospital. The money supports children and their families fighting pediatric cancer. PHILADELPHIA Twelve new families have filed a class action lawsuit against Lehigh Valley Health Network and the doctor accused of falsely diagnosing families with child abuse. The 233-page lawsuit was filed Tuesday by attorney Francis Malofiy, of Francis Alexander LLC, in the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas. None of the 12 families are named as plaintiffs in three suits filed late last month. 2:17 Lawsuit: Mom lost custody of 5 kids due to LVHN doctor's false child abuse diagnosis The attorney who filed the lawsuit says to his knowledge, this is the first civil complaint in Pennsylvania against Dr. Debra Esernio-Jenssen. Pediatrician Dr. Debra Esernio-Jenssen, of LVHN's John Van Brakle Child Advocacy Center, is the first defendant listed in the lawsuit, followed by LVHN itself and various affiliates of the network. 2nd lawsuit filed against LVHN, doctor accused of false child abuse diagnoses An Easton couple has filed the second civil complaint against Lehigh Valley Health Network and Dr. Debra Esernio-Jenssen, who has been accused of intentionally misdiagnosing children as victims of abuse from their parents. Esernio-Jenssen is accused of systematically overdiagnosing children with a rare condition called Munchausen syndrome by proxy, in which a child's caretaker makes up fake symptoms to make the child appear sick. She is also accused of falsely accusing parents of child abuse which has led to some parents losing custody of their children or serving prison time, the lawsuit alleges. The lawsuit lists a total of 17 causes of action against Jenssen, LVHN and other defendants. Among these causes are corporate negligence, medical professional liability (multiple causes), interference with parental rights, fraud and invasion of privacy. For months we've been hearing horror stories from families who said they were given a misdiagnosis of child abuse at Lehigh Valley Health Network by Esernio-Jenssen. Like Katrina Manning, a nurse who spoke about her story at the Lehigh County Commissioner's meeting last August. Her husband James Johns was accused of child abuse until a genetic test revealed her child had brittle bone disease. "CYS badgered me to file for divorce... in order to keep custody of my children, and consistently reminded me that I had a professional license to protect. James was incarcerated from March 16 of 2022 until April 28 of 2022 on a laundry list of felony charges. He was promptly released from jail on April 28, the very same day we received the genetic results," said Manning at the Commission meeting. Manning's family is one of the 12 now suing LVHN. Their attorney, Francis Malofiy, said the suit is not just for those families, it's for everyone who needs to bring their kid to the ER. "Your child bumps their head and you take them to the ER in Lehigh Valley, and guess what? You could be accused of child abuse. Is that fair? No, what does it do? It stifles people from seeking medical treatment and care," said Malofiy. Malofiy said he has evidence showing LVHN never should have hired Esernio-Jenssen in the first place. "We have almost 20 years of judges and courts condemning Doctor Jensen, condemning her opinions, condemning her conclusions," said Malofiy. In response to the lawsuit, LVHN sent us a statement, saying in part "Like all healthcare providers and caregivers in Pennsylvania, we are required by law to report suspected child abuse and we take this responsibility seriously. Early recognition of abuse can be lifesaving and our clinicians remain committed to caring for and protecting our patients." The families are seeking an unspecified amount in damages and legal fees, but Manning hopes the case leads to reform. "No stone should be left unturned when investigating cases like ours. The system is playing with people's lives," said Manning in the August Commission meeting. Malofiy told us he has another lawsuit that he just filed Friday with even more families suing the hospital system claiming they received a misdiagnosis. That is expected to be accepted by the court on Monday, and he said there could still be more families that come forward in the future. Whitehall couple lost custody of newborn due to LVHN pediatrician's false diagnosis, lawsuit says Another civil complaint has been filed against Lehigh Valley Health Network and one of its pediatricians, who has been accused of intentionally misdiagnosing child abuse. LVHN statement LVHN issued the following statement Friday morning in response to the lawsuit: "While we cannot comment on specific details of active litigation, we share the following statement: At Lehigh Valley Health Network, we are guided by our mission to heal, comfort, and care for the people of our community. As health care professionals, we bear the responsibility of keeping children safe and healthy, which includes reviewing and reporting suspicions of child abuse and neglect. Like all healthcare providers and caregivers in Pennsylvania, we are required by law to report suspected child abuse and we take this responsibility seriously. Early recognition of abuse can be lifesaving and our clinicians remain committed to caring for and protecting our patients." Parents' Medical Rights Group statement Kim Steltz, co-founder of the Parents' Medical Rights Group Greater Lehigh Valley Chapter and one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit, issued the following statement: "We are pleased litigation has commenced to establish accountability for the widespread harm caused to families and children stemming from false accusations of child abuse. We have full confidence in the entire legal team being led by Francis Malofiy, Esq. of Francis Alexander LLC to prosecute, defend, and seek justice for the many families who have been injured by Dr. Debra Esernio-Jenssen and her colleagues, the Child Advocacy Center (CAC), and the Lehigh Valley Health Network (LVHN). We support and applaud the brave families including the 24 children who are using their voices to ensure this harm in our community never happens again. No more silence. Families with similar stories can share them at www.ChildInterrupted.com." ALLENTOWN, Pa. PPL Corp.'s 2023 earnings per share reached the high end of the utility's forecast as the company managed its way through a year of weather challenges. Allentown-based PPL also raised its quarterly dividend 7.3%, to 25.75 cents per share from 24 cents. "Despite mild weather, heightened storm activity and challenging macroeconomic factors, we delivered on all of our commitments to shareowners in 2023," PPL Chief Executive Officer and President Vincent Sorgi said in Friday's earnings statement. For the full-year 2023, "ongoing" (adjusted) earnings were $1.18 billion, or $1.60 per share. Sorgi had forecast a range of $1.55 to $1.60. Adjusted earnings exclude non-recurring items. Fourth-quarter adjusted earnings per share were 40 cents, exceeding the average estimate of 38 cents of two industry analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research. In the year-ago quarter, adjusted earnings were 28 cents per share. PPL also announced a forecast for 2024 of earnings per share of $1.63 to $1.75. At the $1.69 midpoint, that represents a 7% boost over the midpoint of the company's 2023 EPS target. The company also extended its forecast of 6% to 8% annual EPS and dividend growth through at least 2027. Under Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), 2023 earnings were $1.00 per share and fourth-quarter EPS was 15 cents. GAAP does not allow for exclusions for unusual or one-time items. The company will hold an 11 a.m. conference call to discuss its results with the investment community. PPL serves about 3.5 million electricity and natural gas customers in Pennsylvania, Kentucky and Rhode Island. Shares in the company are traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol PPL. The closing price Thursday was $26.46, giving the company a market capitalization of $19.5 billion. Shares rose about 1.5% in early trading as of 8:40 a.m. In the last 52 weeks, the shares have traded as high as $29.14 and as low as $22.20. Jennifer Schorn is now the District Attorney for Bucks County. She was appointed to replace her former boss, Matt Weintraub, who left to become a common pleas judge, but she's certainly not new to the office. She's worked as a prosecutor for the DA since 1999. In her office, you'll see an assortment of odd objects, like a hard hat. They're reminders of some of the cases she's most proud of prosecuting, like the 2004 homicide of Adam Brundage. "Based on the confession and the cooperation then that we were able to leverage, we were able to bring his remains home to his family. That was remarkable," said Schorn. Remains found in a quarry are pictured outside her office. On her cabinets is another picture of Barbara Rowan, a cold-case murder from 1984 that was finally solved in 2017 with the conviction of 57-year-old George Shaw. "Barbara's father took that photograph off and handed it, with tears in his eyes, and that's why it will always remain on my bookshelf," said Schorn. Shortly after her promotion last month, Schorn had another major homicide on her hands. Justin Mohn is accused of killing and decapitating his father, then fleeing in his father's car. "It was obviously a scary period of time before he was in our custody, worrying God help us what else could have, may have occurred, but thankfully that didn't. So it was definitely, it was a first," said Schorn. Schorn vows to get a conviction in that case, and hopefully in every other homicide case in the county. "We are going to pursue every violent crime the way we should and make sure that the community remains safe. So that's obviously paramount. We cannot let what's happening in Philadelphia happen in Bucks County," said Schorn. Schorn will serve at least the remainder of Weintraub's term through January of next year, unless she is elected in November to continue in the position. Like an ice cream truck delivering a cold infusion on a hot summer day: Newly elected Montgomery County Commissioner Neil Makhija wants to bring that idea to voting. "Today everyone's so used to being able to call an Uber or have an Amazon delivery on the spot. But we really think government should be as accessible and as easy to deal with," he said. The Jim Thorpe native Makhija, an elections law professor at U-Penn, proposes using a mobile truck to go to voters' homes, fixing mistakes flagged by the county, on mail-in ballots, prior to election day. He says currently only 10% of ballots are cured, with 1,000 being tossed and not counted each election cycle. "You know, you are actively reaching out to that voter because you have their registered address, and you can confirm that it's that person," he said. "This isn't something that we want people to expect, we're doing a lot of work on the education side on the front end to make sure they don't make the errors in the first place. This is really the last resort," he added. However, Monroe County's Director of Elections Sara May-Silfee, whose office also reaches out to those with mistakes, questions the security of a mobile truck, especially if it got into an accident. "They have to take you to the hospital, let's say, you know, are the ballots just sitting there in the truck?" she said. Makhija says it's no different from the post office picking up at your mailbox, and county officials would be with ballots at all times. There is no state law for how local election boards handle a mail-in ballot with errors. Schuylkill County, for example, doesn't reach out to those with minor errors on their mail-in ballot. Kyle Miller, Pennsylvania policy strategist for Protect Democracy, a national nonprofit, says that non-uniformity aids voter uncertainty. "That ultimately drives down voter participation. If folks aren't, they don't think their vote is going to be counted," he said. As for Makhija, he's hoping his idea is a go for the general election. "I want to make sure that everyone votes and that's true, whether they're Democrats or Republicans or independents," he said. As of now they are working to see how the idea would work, how much staff they would need, and the cost. WASHINGTON, D.C. A bipartisan group of House members including Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) have proposed roughly $66 billion for a bill to support both border security and America's allies abroad. Border policies Known as the "Defending Borders, Defending Democracies Act," the bill would tighten immigration laws by automatically rejecting migrants who cross the U.S.-Mexico border without proper paperwork for one year. The bill does provide for some "humanitarian" exceptions to this policy. The bill prevents federal funds from being used to transfer migrants between detention centers unless for the adjudication of their immigration case, and would re-implement a Trump-era policy requiring migrants and asylum seekers to remain in Mexico while awaiting their court hearings. "Securing ones borders is necessary to preserving ones democracy and, therefore, necessary to maintaining world order and world peace. As the worlds oldest and strongest democracy, the United States primary responsibility must be to secure its own borders," Fitzpatrick said in a press release. Foreign aid Fitzpatrick continued: "But we also have an obligation to assist our allies in securing their borders, especially when they come under assault by dictators, terrorists, and totalitarians. Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan are all freedom-loving democracies, they are our allies, and we must assist them in protecting their borders just as we must protect our own. We can, and must, achieve all of the above." The proposed bill also includes $47.7 billion in aid to Ukraine, $10.4 billion for Israel, $4.9 for U.S. allies in the Pacific to combat Chinese aggression and $2.4 billion for U.S. military operations to combat Iran-backed militias in the Middle East. Along with Fitzpatrick, the bill is co-sponsored by Reps. Jared Golden (D-Maine), Don Bacon (R-Neb.), Ed Case (D-Hawaii), Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.), Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D-Wash.), Lori Chavez-DeRemer (R-Oreg.) and Jim Costa (D-Calif.). VANCOUVER, BC, Feb. 16, 2024 /CNW/ - PanGenomic Health Inc. ("PanGenomic Health" or the "Company") (CSE: NARA) (AQSE: NARA) announces changes to its board of directors. PanGenomic Health Inc. logo (CNW Group/PanGenomic Health Inc.) The Company announces the resignation of Vincent Lum as a director of the Company. Mr. Lum, the previous CEO and a co-founder of PanGenomic Health, will continue to serve as the CEO, President, Executive Chair and a director of the Company's subsidiary, MUJN Diagnostics Inc. The Company is pleased to announce the appointment of Francisco Kent Carasquero as a director of the Company. Mr. Carasquero previously served as the VP Finance and a director of the Company and has acted as a corporate finance consultant to the Company since its listing on the Canadian Securities Exchange. About PanGenomic Health PanGenomic Health is a precision health company that has developed a self-care digital platform to deliver personalized, evidence-based information about natural treatments. The Company's initial focus is to support mental health. Registered as a British Columbia benefit company, PanGenomic Health's mission is to promote and improve the health and wellness of people and society by providing a technology platform that identifies plant-based solutions tailored to the health profile of each individual. This news release includes certain statements that may be deemed "forward-looking statements", including statements respecting the services to be provided by PanGenomic Health and the consideration to be paid to PanGenomic Health. The use of any of the words "anticipate", "continue", "estimate", "expect", "may", "will", "would", "project", "should", "believe" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward looking statements. Although PanGenomic Health believes that the expectations and assumptions on which the forward-looking statements are based are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on the forward-looking statements because PanGenomic Health can give no assurance that they will prove to be correct. Since forward-looking statements address future events and conditions, by their very nature they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. These statements speak only as of the date of this News Release. Actual results could differ materially from those currently anticipated due to a number of factors and risks including various risk factors discussed in PanGenomic Health's disclosure documents which can be found under PanGenomic Health's profile on www.sedarplus.ca. Story continues The Canadian Securities Exchange has neither approved nor disapproved the information contained herein and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release. SOURCE PanGenomic Health Inc. Cision View original content to download multimedia: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/February2024/16/c5687.html Still smiling after 40 years A reunion after 40 years is reason to smile for the graduating Wits dentists of 1984 Forty-five years to the day (15 February) a group of 60 young students took up their seats at the Wits Dental School to start their academic journey to become the dentists who would be the graduating class of 1984. Of the original class, 45 went on to graduate as dentists. Fast forward to the present day, and a group of around 20 former students, along with former lecturers and lab technicians gathered for a reunion breakfast to remember the past and celebrate the present. I was so green; I was a boy from Bloemfontein and did not know anything about the big city. I will never forget that first day in class, when the PA to the head of school, Louise Gerber, walked in with her bright red hair and piercing blue eyes. She knew all our names and she looked right at me, and said Cahi, spit out your chewing gum, I never want to see you chewing gum again in this dental hospital, recalls Dr Norman Cahi. Cahi, went on to be class president, president of the Students Dental Council and served on the Students Representative Council. Today, he, his brother Emile and his daughter Chelsea (all Witsies) run a leading dental and prosthodontics practice in Parktown North. He stayed in touch with many of his former classmates, but he said that some people slipped off the radar as they moved out of the profession or emigrated. Facebook has been amazing, it has meant that we have been able to find some of our classmates that we had not heard from for decades and to catch up on our successes, our stories, news about our family, children and now even our grandchildren, he adds. The breakfast reunion included a virtual gathering of former classmates living abroad. It was for reconnection and reminiscing but there was a special nod to the professors, lecturers and technicians who were part of their journey to becoming the successful professionals that they are today. I know that I swore that I would never walk through those revolving doors of the Lawson Centre Building [the Wits Dental Hospital building] but it was the best five and half years of bonding and getting to know you all. We also had the best professors and lecturers who moulded us. They are stalwarts and stars, and we salute you, says Cahi. Dr Linda Greenwall, who was Cahis classmate, went on to become a specialist in dental whitening. Today she splits her time between London and Cape Town and is also heavily focused on the Dental Wellness Trust, a charity that she founded in 2011 to bring dental services and dental wellness to the most vulnerable in Cape Town and in the United Kingdom. She explains: Forty years was about the right time to let whatever bygones be bygones and to come together to celebrate our achievements and to pay tribute to our teachers. They formed us, shaped us and challenged us. Greenwall, who is a third-generation dentist, says that her education at Wits was second to none and that it was a badge of honour when she first arrived in London, as the Wits Dental School was internationally renowned. She said even when lecturers were seemingly harsh, it was for honing precision and striving for excellence. We were challenged, and we were guided to remain curious. I remember one time when I had made a wax tooth, but it got thrown out of the window by the lecturer. I kept working on it and going back to him each time until he finally said, thats better, she recalls. For Dr Sam Nudelman, who went on to qualify as a dentist and a medical doctor, he remembers having to come to class in a tie and pressed white shirt with a white lab jacket. If you were not dressed properly, you were sent out. It was incredibly old school and strict, but it was about nurturing commitment and discipline - like being on time for a 7am lecture. Former lecturer Professor Bill Evans also spoke at the gathering. He laughed remembering the stragglers and latecomers to his class but said the reunion was a moment of deep pride. He says: It is wonderful to come together today but for a teacher the greatest of privileges is to see when a student has superseded you, gone far ahead. I am so proud today. Peter Bezuidenhoudt, the Director of Fundraising and Development at Wits University explained the need for a new Wits Dental Hospital. We are making great strides in pre-clinical training the new Phantom Heads Laboratory is world-class and equipped with the latest technology and equipment to ensure that our students receive the best possible training. The new Zola Wits Dental Clinic is serving members of the Soweto community who now have access to leading edge facilities and dental care. The Zola Wits Dental Clinic is a refurbished and re-equipped 15-chair, state-of the-art facility for community-based training and clinical services in Zola, Soweto, officially launched in September 2023. This flagship Wits Centenary project was made possible by a generous donation from the Stanley and Marion Bergman Foundation. The clinic has a staff complement of at dentists, oral hygienists, dental assistants, and specialist dentists on a rotational basis, supervising around 12 students per rotation. Key Insights Significantly high institutional ownership implies Pennon Group's stock price is sensitive to their trading actions The top 16 shareholders own 51% of the company Insiders have been buying lately A look at the shareholders of Pennon Group Plc (LON:PNN) can tell us which group is most powerful. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are institutions with 75% ownership. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn). Since institutional have access to huge amounts of capital, their market moves tend to receive a lot of scrutiny by retail or individual investors. As a result, a sizeable amount of institutional money invested in a firm is generally viewed as a positive attribute. In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Pennon Group. View our latest analysis for Pennon Group What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Pennon Group? Institutions typically measure themselves against a benchmark when reporting to their own investors, so they often become more enthusiastic about a stock once it's included in a major index. We would expect most companies to have some institutions on the register, especially if they are growing. Pennon Group already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. 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 Pennon Group, (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. Pennon Group is not owned by hedge funds. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is Lazard Asset Management LLC with 9.5% of shares outstanding. Impax Asset Management Group Plc is the second largest shareholder owning 4.8% of common stock, and BlackRock, Inc. holds about 4.7% of the company stock. Story continues After doing some more digging, we found that the top 16 have the combined ownership of 51% in the company, suggesting that no single shareholder has significant control over the company. While studying institutional ownership for a company can add value to your research, it is also a good practice to research analyst recommendations to get a deeper understand of a stock's expected performance. There are 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 Pennon Group While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. Company management run the business, but the CEO will answer to the board, even if he or she is a member of it. 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. Our data suggests that insiders own under 1% of Pennon Group Plc in their own names. It's a big company, so even a small proportional interest can create alignment between the board and shareholders. In this case insiders own UK2.1m worth of shares. Arguably, recent buying and selling is just as important to consider. You can click here to see if insiders have been buying or selling. General Public Ownership The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 24% stake in Pennon Group. While this size of ownership may not be enough to sway a policy decision in their favour, they can still make a collective impact on company policies. Next Steps: I find it very interesting to look at who exactly owns a company. But to truly gain insight, we need to consider other information, too. Case in point: We've spotted 3 warning signs for Pennon Group you should be aware of, and 2 of them are potentially serious. If you are like me, you may want to think about whether this company will grow or shrink. Luckily, you can check this free report showing analyst forecasts for its future. 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. Barnes Group (NYSE:B Get Free Report) updated its FY 2024 earnings guidance on Friday. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of 1.550-1.800 for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of 1.710. The company issued revenue guidance of $1.6 billion-$1.7 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $1.7 billion. Barnes Group also updated its FY24 guidance to $1.55-1.80 EPS. Analysts Set New Price Targets B has been the topic of several recent research reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of Barnes Group from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Barnes Group from $23.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. Finally, Oppenheimer reduced their price target on shares of Barnes Group from $48.00 to $30.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 30th. Get Barnes Group alerts: Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on Barnes Group Barnes Group Price Performance B stock traded up $0.72 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $37.26. The companys stock had a trading volume of 68,295 shares, compared to its average volume of 365,529. The stock has a market cap of $1.89 billion, a PE ratio of 77.70, a P/E/G ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a current ratio of 2.37, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. Barnes Group has a fifty-two week low of $18.79 and a fifty-two week high of $47.36. The companys 50 day moving average is $32.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $32.26. Barnes Group (NYSE:B Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 16th. The industrial products company reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $415.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $420.47 million. Barnes Group had a net margin of 1.81% and a return on equity of 6.64%. The businesss revenue was up 32.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.52 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Barnes Group will post 1.59 EPS for the current year. Barnes Group Announces Dividend The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 8th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 21st. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.72%. Barnes Groups payout ratio is currently 136.17%. Hedge Funds Weigh In On Barnes Group A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co NY boosted its position in Barnes Group by 9.9% in the 4th quarter. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co NY now owns 3,164 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $129,000 after buying an additional 286 shares during the period. State of Wyoming raised its stake in Barnes Group by 7.9% during the 2nd quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 4,401 shares of the industrial products companys stock worth $186,000 after acquiring an additional 322 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio raised its stake in Barnes Group by 9.6% during the 3rd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 4,574 shares of the industrial products companys stock worth $132,000 after acquiring an additional 402 shares in the last quarter. Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP increased its stake in Barnes Group by 2.3% in the second quarter. Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP now owns 19,347 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $602,000 after purchasing an additional 427 shares during the period. Finally, Advisor Group Holdings Inc. increased its stake in Barnes Group by 15.0% in the first quarter. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. now owns 4,191 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $168,000 after purchasing an additional 546 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.03% of the companys stock. Barnes Group Company Profile (Get Free Report) Barnes Group Inc provides engineered products, industrial technologies, and solutions in the United States and internationally. It operates in two segments: Industrial and Aerospace. The Industrial segment offers precision components, products, and systems used by various customers in end-markets, such as mobility, industrial equipment, automation, personal care, packaging, electronics, and medical devices. Featured Articles Receive News & Ratings for Barnes Group Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Barnes Group and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. CNH Industrial (NYSE:CNHI Free Report) Equities researchers at William Blair issued their Q1 2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for CNH Industrial in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, February 14th. William Blair analyst L. De. Maria forecasts that the company will earn $0.27 per share for the quarter. The consensus estimate for CNH Industrials current full-year earnings is $1.57 per share. William Blair also issued estimates for CNH Industrials Q2 2024 earnings at $0.42 EPS, Q3 2024 earnings at $0.38 EPS, Q4 2024 earnings at $0.45 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $1.65 EPS. Get CNH Industrial alerts: CNH Industrial (NYSE:CNHI Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The company reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.42. CNH Industrial had a return on equity of 30.08% and a net margin of 9.60%. The firm had revenue of $6.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.50 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.36 earnings per share. The companys revenue was down 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the company. The Goldman Sachs Group raised CNH Industrial from a neutral rating to a buy rating and set a $19.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. UBS Group lowered their price target on CNH Industrial from $20.00 to $15.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on CNH Industrial from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Monday, December 4th. StockNews.com lowered CNH Industrial from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, TheStreet lowered CNH Industrial from a b- rating to a c+ rating in a research report on Monday, December 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $15.15. Get Our Latest Report on CNHI CNH Industrial Price Performance Shares of NYSE:CNHI opened at $12.34 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 6.72, a current ratio of 8.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.10. CNH Industrial has a twelve month low of $9.77 and a twelve month high of $17.06. The stocks 50 day moving average is $11.86 and its 200-day moving average is $12.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.05, a PEG ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 1.66. Institutional Inflows and Outflows Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of CNH Industrial during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. First Manhattan CO. LLC. bought a new position in shares of CNH Industrial during the 1st quarter worth $38,000. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its stake in shares of CNH Industrial by 437.9% during the 2nd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 3,292 shares of the companys stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 2,680 shares during the period. Alta Advisers Ltd purchased a new stake in CNH Industrial during the 3rd quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in CNH Industrial by 6,664.2% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,585 shares of the companys stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 3,532 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 39.93% of the companys stock. About CNH Industrial (Get Free Report) CNH Industrial N.V., an equipment and services company, engages in the design, production, marketing, sale, and financing of agricultural and construction equipment in North America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, South America, and the Asia Pacific. The company operates through three segments: Agriculture, Construction, and Financial Services. Recommended Stories Receive News & Ratings for CNH Industrial Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for CNH Industrial and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Community Healthcare Trust Incorporated (NYSE:CHCT Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 325,700 shares, a growth of 20.8% from the January 15th total of 269,700 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 179,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.8 days. Wall Street Analyst Weigh In Several brokerages have weighed in on CHCT. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on Community Healthcare Trust from $50.00 to $40.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 2nd. Evercore ISI lowered Community Healthcare Trust from an outperform rating to an in-line rating and lowered their price target for the company from $36.00 to $32.00 in a report on Thursday, November 2nd. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price target on Community Healthcare Trust from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $37.50. Get Community Healthcare Trust alerts: Check Out Our Latest Research Report on CHCT Community Healthcare Trust Stock Up 1.2 % Community Healthcare Trust Increases Dividend NYSE:CHCT opened at $27.92 on Friday. Community Healthcare Trust has a 1-year low of $24.50 and a 1-year high of $41.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $772.83 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 132.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 0.65. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $26.42 and a 200 day simple moving average of $28.83. The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th will be given a dividend of $0.458 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 16th. This is a positive change from Community Healthcare Trusts previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $1.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.56%. Community Healthcare Trusts dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 866.67%. Institutional Investors Weigh In On Community Healthcare Trust A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio boosted its position in Community Healthcare Trust by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 36,411 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $970,000 after acquiring an additional 971 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its position in Community Healthcare Trust by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 223,019 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $5,941,000 after acquiring an additional 12,763 shares during the period. Barclays PLC raised its stake in shares of Community Healthcare Trust by 151.7% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 48,373 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $1,288,000 after purchasing an additional 29,153 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Community Healthcare Trust by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,898,621 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $77,219,000 after purchasing an additional 24,166 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Community Healthcare Trust by 47.3% during the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 343,986 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $9,164,000 after purchasing an additional 110,450 shares in the last quarter. 89.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. Community Healthcare Trust Company Profile (Get Free Report) Community Healthcare Trust Incorporated is a real estate investment trust that focuses on owning income-producing real estate properties associated primarily with the delivery of outpatient healthcare services in our target sub-markets throughout the United States. As of September 30, 2023, the Company had investments of approximately $1.05 billion in 191 real estate properties (including a portion of one property accounted for as a sales-type lease and one property classified as held for sale). Read More Receive News & Ratings for Community Healthcare Trust Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Community Healthcare Trust and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Shares of Employers Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EIG Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The company traded as high as $46.78 and last traded at $45.21, with a volume of 33752 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $43.32. The financial services provider reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.40. Employers had a net margin of 14.13% and a return on equity of 10.56%. The business had revenue of $225.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $215.38 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.25 earnings per share. Employerss revenue for the quarter was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. Get Employers alerts: Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades Separately, StockNews.com cut shares of Employers from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Friday, October 27th. Hedge Funds Weigh In On Employers Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in Employers by 55.0% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 93,757 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $3,746,000 after purchasing an additional 33,282 shares during the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp acquired a new position in Employers during the 2nd quarter valued at $410,000. LSV Asset Management raised its stake in Employers by 18.7% during the 3rd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 207,700 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $8,298,000 after purchasing an additional 32,700 shares during the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund acquired a new position in Employers during the 3rd quarter valued at $608,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in Employers by 33.4% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 169,086 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $6,755,000 after purchasing an additional 42,378 shares during the last quarter. 78.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. Employers Trading Up 5.6 % The stock has a market cap of $1.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.80 and a beta of 0.22. The companys fifty day simple moving average is $40.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $39.49. Employers Company Profile (Get Free Report) Employers Holdings, Inc, through its subsidiaries, operates in the commercial property and casualty insurance industry primarily in the United States. The company operates in two segments, Employers and Cerity. It offers workers' compensation insurance to small businesses in low to medium hazard industries under the Employers and Cerity brands. Further Reading Receive News & Ratings for Employers Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Employers and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH Free Report) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 82,004 shares of the healthcare conglomerates stock, valued at approximately $41,346,000. Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Robbins Farley acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. NewSquare Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 340.0% during the 3rd quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 66 shares of the healthcare conglomerates stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $35,000. WFA of San Diego LLC acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Annapolis Financial Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 38.6% during the 3rd quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC now owns 79 shares of the healthcare conglomerates stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.69% of the companys stock. Get UnitedHealth Group alerts: Insider Buying and Selling In other news, Director Stephen J. Hemsley sold 66,081 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $550.39, for a total value of $36,370,321.59. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 635,528 shares of the companys stock, valued at $349,788,255.92. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.35% of the stock is owned by insiders. UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance Shares of NYSE:UNH traded down $0.38 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $520.50. The stock had a trading volume of 896,119 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,041,244. The company has a market capitalization of $481.42 billion, a PE ratio of 21.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.54. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $522.88 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $518.04. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1 year low of $445.68 and a 1 year high of $554.70. UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 12th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.98 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $94.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $92.13 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 6.02% and a return on equity of 26.39%. The businesss quarterly revenue was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $5.34 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth A number of research firms recently weighed in on UNH. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an outperform rating and set a $596.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an overweight rating and issued a $591.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Friday, January 19th. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $584.00 to $581.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Stephens reissued an overweight rating and issued a $605.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $587.00 to $579.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $575.79. Read Our Latest Research Report on UNH UnitedHealth Group Company Profile (Free Report) UnitedHealth Group Incorporated operates as a diversified health care company in the United States. It operates through four segments: UnitedHealthcare, Optum Health, Optum Insight, and Optum Rx. The UnitedHealthcare segment offers consumer-oriented health benefit plans and services for national employers, public sector employers, mid-sized employers, small businesses, and individuals; health care coverage, and health and well-being services to individuals age 50 and older addressing their needs; Medicaid plans, children's health insurance and health care programs; and health and dental benefits, and hospital and clinical services, as well as health care benefits products and services to state programs caring for the economically disadvantaged, medically underserved, and those without the benefit of employer-funded health care coverage. Further Reading Want to see what other hedge funds are holding UNH? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for UnitedHealth Group Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for UnitedHealth Group and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Korea Investment CORP trimmed its position in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA Free Report) by 13.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 227,579 shares of the companys stock after selling 36,794 shares during the quarter. Korea Investment CORP owned about 0.09% of HCA Healthcare worth $55,980,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in HCA Healthcare by 14.8% during the second quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. now owns 303 shares of the companys stock worth $1,021,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank raised its stake in HCA Healthcare by 0.4% during the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 11,206 shares of the companys stock worth $2,756,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in HCA Healthcare by 1.4% during the second quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,332 shares of the companys stock worth $1,011,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. raised its stake in HCA Healthcare by 4.0% during the second quarter. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 1,186 shares of the companys stock worth $360,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wetherby Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 0.9% in the first quarter. Wetherby Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,672 shares of the companys stock valued at $1,496,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. 62.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. Get HCA Healthcare alerts: Analyst Ratings Changes Several research analysts have recently issued reports on HCA shares. TheStreet downgraded HCA Healthcare from a b- rating to a c+ rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 25th. Stephens reissued an overweight rating and set a $280.00 target price on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research report on Friday, November 10th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $267.00 to $254.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 26th. Mizuho cut their price target on HCA Healthcare from $325.00 to $275.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 25th. Finally, Raymond James increased their price target on HCA Healthcare from $300.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $304.26. HCA Healthcare Price Performance NYSE:HCA traded up $2.15 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $309.81. The stock had a trading volume of 225,516 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,170,439. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $283.63 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $263.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $82.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.65. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a one year low of $215.96 and a one year high of $314.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 35.07, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.18. HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The company reported $5.90 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $5.05 by $0.85. The business had revenue of $17.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $16.51 billion. HCA Healthcare had a return on equity of 996.30% and a net margin of 8.07%. The businesss quarterly revenue was up 11.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $4.64 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 20.45 earnings per share for the current year. HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th will be paid a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.85%. This is a boost from HCA Healthcares previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 14th. HCA Healthcares dividend payout ratio is presently 12.64%. HCA Healthcare announced that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 30th that permits the company to buyback $6.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 7.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the companys board believes its shares are undervalued. Insider Buying and Selling In other HCA Healthcare news, SVP Chad J. Wasserman sold 652 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $312.04, for a total value of $203,450.08. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 290 shares of the companys stock, valued at $90,491.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Michael S. Cuffe sold 3,200 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.79, for a total transaction of $981,728.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 24,929 shares of the companys stock, valued at $7,647,967.91. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Chad J. Wasserman sold 652 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $312.04, for a total value of $203,450.08. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 290 shares in the company, valued at $90,491.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 13,620 shares of company stock valued at $4,188,812 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.60% of the companys stock. About HCA Healthcare (Free Report) HCA Healthcare, Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides health care services in the United States. It operates general and acute care hospitals that offers medical and surgical services, including inpatient care, intensive care, cardiac care, diagnostic, and emergency services; and outpatient services, such as outpatient surgery, laboratory, radiology, respiratory therapy, cardiology, and physical therapy. Featured Stories Receive News & Ratings for HCA Healthcare Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for HCA Healthcare and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. HF Sinclair Co. (NYSE:DINO Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, February 14th, Zacks reports. Investors of record on Monday, February 26th will be paid a dividend of 0.50 per share on Tuesday, March 5th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.28%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 23rd. This is an increase from HF Sinclairs previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. HF Sinclair has a dividend payout ratio of 31.3% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect HF Sinclair to earn $6.48 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.80 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 27.8%. Get HF Sinclair alerts: HF Sinclair Stock Performance Shares of DINO opened at $60.91 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 2.13. HF Sinclair has a twelve month low of $37.12 and a twelve month high of $62.20. The firms 50 day moving average price is $55.48 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $55.63. The firm has a market cap of $10.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.27, a PEG ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.28. Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades Separately, UBS Group raised shares of HF Sinclair from a neutral rating to a buy rating and lifted their price target for the company from $64.00 to $73.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $63.70. Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on HF Sinclair Insider Buying and Selling In related news, Director James H. Lee sold 2,643 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Monday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.30, for a total transaction of $138,228.90. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 65,919 shares in the company, valued at $3,447,563.70. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, EVP Vaishali S. Bhatia sold 18,465 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.24, for a total value of $1,001,541.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 51,924 shares in the company, valued at $2,816,357.76. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director James H. Lee sold 2,643 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.30, for a total transaction of $138,228.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 65,919 shares in the company, valued at $3,447,563.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.35% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders. Hedge Funds Weigh In On HF Sinclair Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of DINO. Vanguard Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of HF Sinclair in the first quarter valued at about $566,029,000. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of HF Sinclair in the first quarter valued at about $539,533,000. State Street Corp bought a new stake in HF Sinclair during the first quarter worth about $308,240,000. Invesco Ltd. bought a new stake in HF Sinclair during the first quarter worth about $102,959,000. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP bought a new stake in HF Sinclair during the first quarter worth about $81,253,000. 89.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. About HF Sinclair (Get Free Report) HF Sinclair Corporation operates as an independent energy company. It produces and markets gasoline, diesel fuel, jet fuel, renewable diesel, specialty lubricant products, specialty chemicals, specialty and modified asphalt, and others. The company also owns and operates refineries located in Kansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming; and markets its refined products principally in the Southwest United States and Rocky Mountains, Pacific Northwest, and in other neighboring Plains states. Featured Articles Receive News & Ratings for HF Sinclair Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for HF Sinclair and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE:BHLB Get Free Report) Director Michael Zaitzeff sold 20,718 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.73, for a total value of $470,920.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 156,209 shares of the companys stock, valued at $3,550,630.57. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Michael Zaitzeff also recently made the following trade(s): Get Berkshire Hills Bancorp alerts: On Monday, February 12th, Michael Zaitzeff sold 29,062 shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.09, for a total value of $671,041.58. On Wednesday, February 7th, Michael Zaitzeff sold 19,660 shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.20, for a total value of $436,452.00. On Monday, January 29th, Michael Zaitzeff sold 51,910 shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.18, for a total value of $1,307,093.80. On Wednesday, January 31st, Michael Zaitzeff sold 20,028 shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.73, for a total value of $495,292.44. Berkshire Hills Bancorp Stock Performance Shares of NYSE:BHLB opened at $22.72 on Friday. Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. has a twelve month low of $18.07 and a twelve month high of $30.65. The firm has a market cap of $992.18 million, a PE ratio of 14.20 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 0.96. The business has a fifty day moving average of $24.01 and a 200-day moving average of $21.96. Wall Street Analyst Weigh In Berkshire Hills Bancorp ( NYSE:BHLB Get Free Report ) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The savings and loans company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $0.49 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $142.15 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.05 million. Berkshire Hills Bancorp had a net margin of 11.24% and a return on equity of 9.48%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.64 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. will post 2.07 EPS for the current fiscal year. A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. StockNews.com cut Berkshire Hills Bancorp from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a sector perform rating and set a $26.00 price objective on shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp in a report on Friday, January 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Berkshire Hills Bancorp from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. Piper Sandler upgraded Berkshire Hills Bancorp from an underweight rating to a neutral rating and set a $24.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Berkshire Hills Bancorp from a sell rating to a neutral rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $25.00. Read Our Latest Research Report on BHLB Institutional Trading of Berkshire Hills Bancorp Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lazard Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Berkshire Hills Bancorp in the first quarter worth about $35,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Berkshire Hills Bancorp in the first quarter worth about $57,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. acquired a new stake in Berkshire Hills Bancorp in the first quarter worth about $57,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its position in Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 304.1% in the first quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,538 shares of the savings and loans companys stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 1,910 shares during the period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 14.3% in the second quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 4,120 shares of the savings and loans companys stock worth $85,000 after purchasing an additional 514 shares during the period. 82.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. Berkshire Hills Bancorp Company Profile (Get Free Report) Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Berkshire Bank that provides various banking products and services. It offers various deposit accounts, including demand deposit, interest-bearing checking, regular savings, money market savings, time certificates of deposit, and retirement deposit accounts; and loans, such as commercial real estate, commercial and industrial, consumer, and residential mortgage loans. See Also Receive News & Ratings for Berkshire Hills Bancorp Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Berkshire Hills Bancorp and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. WCG Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in iShares National Muni Bond ETF (NYSEARCA:MUB Free Report) by 21.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,316 shares of the exchange traded funds stock after buying an additional 2,209 shares during the period. WCG Wealth Advisors LLCs holdings in iShares National Muni Bond ETF were worth $1,263,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of MUB. Register Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in iShares National Muni Bond ETF during the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in iShares National Muni Bond ETF during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. PCA Investment Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in iShares National Muni Bond ETF during the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. First Manhattan Co. acquired a new stake in shares of iShares National Muni Bond ETF during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, CNB Bank acquired a new stake in shares of iShares National Muni Bond ETF during the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Get iShares National Muni Bond ETF alerts: iShares National Muni Bond ETF Price Performance Shares of iShares National Muni Bond ETF stock traded down $0.20 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $107.79. 1,674,805 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,363,223. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $108.00 and a 200 day simple moving average of $105.50. iShares National Muni Bond ETF has a twelve month low of $100.78 and a twelve month high of $108.82. About iShares National Muni Bond ETF iShares National AMT-Free Muni Bond ETF (the Fund), formerly iShares S&P National AMT-Free Municipal Bond Fund, is an exchange-traded fund (ETF). The Fund seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance of the S&P National AMT-Free Municipal Bond Index (the Index). See Also Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MUB? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for iShares National Muni Bond ETF (NYSEARCA:MUB Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for iShares National Muni Bond ETF Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for iShares National Muni Bond ETF and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Jianpu Technology (NYSE:JT Get Free Report) and System1 (NYSE:SST Get Free Report) are both small-cap business services companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, earnings, dividends, profitability, institutional ownership, risk and valuation. Volatility & Risk Jianpu Technology has a beta of 0.4, meaning that its stock price is 60% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, System1 has a beta of 1.41, meaning that its stock price is 41% more volatile than the S&P 500. Get Jianpu Technology alerts: Earnings & Valuation This table compares Jianpu Technology and System1s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation. Gross Revenue Price/Sales Ratio Net Income Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Ratio Jianpu Technology $143.49 million 0.12 -$18.02 million ($0.32) -2.47 System1 $826.65 million 0.22 -$373.46 million N/A N/A Profitability Jianpu Technology has higher earnings, but lower revenue than System1. This table compares Jianpu Technology and System1s net margins, return on equity and return on assets. Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets Jianpu Technology -4.68% -11.21% -4.97% System1 -36.83% -39.90% -14.44% Institutional & Insider Ownership 12.0% of Jianpu Technology shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 56.7% of System1 shares are held by institutional investors. 40.1% of Jianpu Technology shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 28.3% of System1 shares 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. Analyst Ratings This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for Jianpu Technology and System1, as provided by MarketBeat.com. Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score Jianpu Technology 0 0 0 0 N/A System1 0 0 1 0 3.00 System1 has a consensus target price of $6.00, indicating a potential upside of 212.50%. Given System1s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe System1 is more favorable than Jianpu Technology. Summary System1 beats Jianpu Technology on 6 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks. About Jianpu Technology (Get Free Report) Jianpu Technology Inc. operates a platform that provides online discovery and recommendation services for financial products in the People's Republic of China. The company's platform allows users to access to financial products, including loans, credit cards, insurance products, and other financial products. It recommends financial products to individual users and assists the financial service providers in targeting users with specific characteristics based on the users' financial needs and profile, as well as the products offerings and risk appetite of the financial service providers. The company also provides big data and system-based risk management, advertising and marketing, and other services primarily to financial service providers. It operates its platform under the Rong360 brand name. The company was founded in 2011 and is headquartered in Beijing, China. About System1 (Get Free Report) System1, Inc. provides omnichannel customer acquisition platform services through its proprietary responsive acquisition marketing platform in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, the Netherlands, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Owned and Operated Advertising, Partner Network, and Subscription. The company engages in the provision of acquiring traffic to its owned and operated websites, as well as revenue-sharing arrangements and related services. It also operates MapQuest, a web-based navigation software that delivers turn-by-turn direction services to users; Info.com, a metasearch engine that consumers can use to search for relevant information; HowStuffWorks, a commercial website focused on helping people solve problems in their daily lives by using various types of digital media to easily breakdown and explain complex concepts, terminology and mechanisms; Startpage, a private search engine that allows users to browse and search the Internet in complete privacy; and CouponFollow for coupon destinations for online shoppers. In addition, the company sells security software solutions comprising antivirus, adblock, and safe browsing software as a service subscription consisting of real-time antivirus protection, safe browsing, adblocking, blocking of malicious websites, and data breach monitoring to end-user customers, as well as provides additional add-on services. The company is based in Los Angeles, California. Receive News & Ratings for Jianpu Technology Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Jianpu Technology and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. DUBLIN, Feb. 15, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Porcelain Enamel Coatings Market by Type (Powder, Liquid), End use (Residential, Commercial), Application (Pot, Pan, Baking Dish, Stove, Oven & Cooker, Sanitaryware and Plumbing, Water Heater, Room Heater), and Region - Global Forecast to 2028" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. Research and Markets Logo The porcelain enamel coatings market size is projected to reach USD 1.9 billion by 2028 at a CAGR of 2.7% from USD 1.7 billion in 2023. Asia pacific is estimated to account for the largest share in terms of value of the porcelain enamel coatings market in 2022. The key companies profiled in this report are A.O. Smith Corporation (US), AkCoat (Turkey), Vibrantz technologies (US), Tomatec co., ltd. (Japan), Capron Manufacturing Company (US), Nolifrit (China). Asia pacific is likely to account for the largest share of porcelain enamel coatings market in terms of volume. Asia-Pacific region is home to some of the world's most populous countries, including China and India. The sheer size of the population in this region translates to a high demand for a wide range of products, including those that use porcelain enamel coatings. These coatings are extensively employed in various industries, such as construction, automotive, consumer goods, and more, to meet the needs of this vast consumer base. The rapid industrialization and urbanization seen in many Asia-Pacific countries have fueled extensive construction activities. Porcelain enamel coatings find widespread use in architectural elements like building facades, signage, and interior fixtures due to their durability, weather resistance, and aesthetic appeal. As more cities and urban areas develop, the demand for these coatings continues to grow. Asia-Pacific region is also witnessing substantial growth in the production of household appliances, cookware, and sanitary ware. Porcelain enamel coatings are favored for their hygienic properties, heat resistance, and aesthetic appeal in these applications. As living standards improve and consumer preferences evolve, there is a continued need for such products, further boosting the demand for these coatings. Story continues Water Heater is projected to be the fastest growing application segment of porcelain enamel coatings market. Water heaters operate by heating water to high temperatures, and porcelain enamel coatings can withstand these extreme heat levels without warping, discoloring, or emitting harmful fumes. This heat resistance ensures the safety and longevity of water heaters, providing consumers with a reliable and durable solution for their hot water needs. porcelain enamel coatings contribute to the energy efficiency of water heaters. These coatings can enhance the heat transfer efficiency of heating elements, ensuring that water heats up quickly and retains its temperature for extended periods. This energy efficiency not only reduces operating costs for consumers but also aligns with global efforts to conserve energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The heat resistance, energy efficiency, aesthetic appeal, and durability of porcelain enamel coatings make them a driving factor in water heater applications China, by country is forecasted to be the largest market of porcelain enamel coatings during the forecast period. China's massive population drives substantial demand for a wide array of products and applications that rely on porcelain enamel coatings. This includes everything from consumer goods like kitchen appliances and sanitary ware to architectural elements and industrial equipment. The Chinese government's emphasis on sustainability and environmentally friendly practices has led to the increased adoption of porcelain enamel coatings. These coatings have a longer lifespan and can be recycled, aligning with China's environmental goals and contributing to their continued popularity in various industries. China's rapid urbanization and ongoing infrastructure development contribute significantly to the demand for porcelain enamel coatings. As cities expand and modernize, there is a consistent requirement for durable and visually appealing coatings for architectural components like building facades, bridges, and commercial structures. Porcelain enamel coatings are valued for their longevity, resistance to weathering, and capacity to offer customizable aesthetic options, making them a preferred choice for construction projects in the country. Premium Insights Increasing Demand from Asia-Pacific to Drive Market During Forecast Period Powder Coatings to Record Higher CAGR from 2023 to 2028 Stove, Oven, & Cooker to be Largest Application Segment During Forecast Period Commercial Segment to be Largest End-Use Industry During Forecast Period Stove, Oven, & Cooker Segment and China Accounted for Largest Shares in 2023 Market to Witness Higher Growth in Emerging Economies India to Emerge as Lucrative Market for Porcelain Enamel Coatings Market Dynamics Drivers Population Growth and Rapid Urbanization Rise in Food Restaurants Restraints Complex Application Process Opportunities Increased Use in Emerging Applications Challenges Stringent Regulatory Policies Companies Mentioned A. O. Smith Corporation A.J Wells & Sons Akcoat Archer Wire International Corporation Capricorn Coatings and Colours Capron Manufacturing Company Cherokee Porcelain Enamel Corporation Hunan Noli Enamel Co. Ltd. (Nolifrit) Pemco International Riess Kelomat GmbH RoEsch Inc. Tomatec Co. Ltd. Vibrantz Technologies For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/edteyh 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 press@researchandmarkets.com For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470 For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900 U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907 Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716 Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/539438/Research_and_Markets_Logo.jpg Cision View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/porcelain-enamel-coatings-market---global-forecast-to-2028----opportunities-in-increased-use-in-emerging-applications-302063342.html SOURCE Research and Markets Kestra Advisory Services LLC trimmed its position in shares of iShares Russell Mid-Cap Value ETF (NYSEARCA:IWS Free Report) by 20.7% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 169,976 shares of the companys stock after selling 44,481 shares during the quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLCs holdings in iShares Russell Mid-Cap Value ETF were worth $17,735,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Worth Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of iShares Russell Mid-Cap Value ETF during the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of iShares Russell Mid-Cap Value ETF during the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Ambassador Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of iShares Russell Mid-Cap Value ETF during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of iShares Russell Mid-Cap Value ETF by 128.9% during the 2nd quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 293 shares of the companys stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 165 shares during the period. Finally, Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO bought a new position in shares of iShares Russell Mid-Cap Value ETF during the 3rd quarter valued at $37,000. Get iShares Russell Mid-Cap Value ETF alerts: iShares Russell Mid-Cap Value ETF Price Performance NYSEARCA IWS opened at $117.33 on Friday. iShares Russell Mid-Cap Value ETF has a 1-year low of $97.40 and a 1-year high of $117.94. The businesss fifty day moving average price is $114.97 and its 200-day moving average price is $109.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.62 and a beta of 1.08. About iShares Russell Mid-Cap Value ETF iShares Russell Mid-Cap Value ETF (the Fund), formerly iShares Russell Midcap Value Index Fund, is an exchange-traded fund (ETF). The Fund seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance of the Russell Midcap Value Index (the Value Index). The Value Index measures the performance of the mid-capitalization value sector of the United States equity market. See Also Want to see what other hedge funds are holding IWS? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for iShares Russell Mid-Cap Value ETF (NYSEARCA:IWS Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for iShares Russell Mid-Cap Value ETF Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for iShares Russell Mid-Cap Value ETF and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Korea Investment CORP lifted its stake in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW Free Report) by 34.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 304,559 shares of the specialty chemicals companys stock after purchasing an additional 78,683 shares during the quarter. Korea Investment CORP owned 0.12% of Sherwin-Williams worth $77,678,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in Sherwin-Williams in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Union Savings Bank purchased a new position in Sherwin-Williams in the third quarter worth about $28,000. Lee Financial Co bought a new stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams during the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. BluePath Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams during the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, First Capital Advisors Group LLC. bought a new stake in Sherwin-Williams during the second quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Institutional investors own 75.87% of the companys stock. Get Sherwin-Williams alerts: Sherwin-Williams Price Performance SHW traded down $0.40 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $312.11. The companys stock had a trading volume of 660,834 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,536,613. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 12 month low of $205.43 and a 12 month high of $314.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.25. The businesss 50-day moving average price is $305.16 and its 200-day moving average price is $277.48. The stock has a market cap of $79.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.14. Sherwin-Williams Increases Dividend Sherwin-Williams ( NYSE:SHW Get Free Report ) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.80 by $0.01. Sherwin-Williams had a net margin of 10.36% and a return on equity of 74.72%. The firm had revenue of $5.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $5.23 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.89 EPS. The businesss revenue was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 11.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 26th will be paid a dividend of $0.715 per share. This represents a $2.86 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.92%. This is a positive change from Sherwin-Williamss previous quarterly dividend of $0.61. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 23rd. Sherwin-Williamss payout ratio is presently 26.16%. Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth Several brokerages have recently weighed in on SHW. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $310.00 to $280.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $295.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, December 14th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $274.00 to $312.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded shares of Sherwin-Williams from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a report on Monday, January 8th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $285.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $311.22. View Our Latest Analysis on Sherwin-Williams Insider Buying and Selling at Sherwin-Williams In related news, SVP Mary L. Garceau sold 923 shares of Sherwin-Williams stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $292.65, for a total transaction of $270,115.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 21,363 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $6,251,881.95. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, COO Heidi G. Petz sold 6,699 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.24, for a total transaction of $1,944,317.76. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 14,718 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $4,271,752.32. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Mary L. Garceau sold 923 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $292.65, for a total transaction of $270,115.95. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 21,363 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $6,251,881.95. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.55% of the companys stock. Sherwin-Williams Company Profile (Free Report) The Sherwin-Williams Company engages in the manufacture, distribution, and sale of paints, coating, and related products to professional, industrial, commercial, and retail customers. It operates through three segments: The Americas Group, Consumer Brands Group, and Performance Coatings Group. The Americas Group segment offers architectural paints and coatings, and protective and marine products, as well as OEM product finishes and related products for architectural and industrial paint contractors, and do-it-yourself homeowners. Featured Stories Receive News & Ratings for Sherwin-Williams Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Sherwin-Williams and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Nokia Oyj (NYSE:NOK Get Free Report) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 19,380,000 shares, a decrease of 8.1% from the January 15th total of 21,090,000 shares. Currently, 0.4% of the companys shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 15,540,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.2 days. Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nokia Oyj Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in NOK. Capital Management Associates Inc purchased a new position in Nokia Oyj during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Tieton Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Nokia Oyj during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Nokia Oyj during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp bought a new stake in shares of Nokia Oyj during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC bought a new stake in shares of Nokia Oyj during the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,000. 5.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors. Get Nokia Oyj alerts: Nokia Oyj Price Performance Shares of NYSE:NOK opened at $3.52 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The stocks fifty day simple moving average is $3.46 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $3.59. Nokia Oyj has a 1-year low of $2.94 and a 1-year high of $4.97. The stock has a market cap of $19.83 billion, a PE ratio of 29.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.09. Analysts Set New Price Targets Nokia Oyj ( NYSE:NOK Get Free Report ) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The technology company reported $0.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.14 by ($0.03). Nokia Oyj had a net margin of 2.99% and a return on equity of 7.60%. The business had revenue of $6.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $6.66 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.16 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Nokia Oyj will post 0.37 EPS for the current fiscal year. Several analysts have recently commented on NOK shares. BNP Paribas started coverage on shares of Nokia Oyj in a research report on Friday, January 12th. They set a neutral rating for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Nokia Oyj from a buy rating to a neutral rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $5.10 to $3.40 in a research report on Monday, December 18th. Citigroup reiterated a sell rating on shares of Nokia Oyj in a report on Friday, December 15th. Barclays cut Nokia Oyj from an equal weight rating to an underweight rating in a report on Friday, January 19th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut Nokia Oyj from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Friday, December 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $5.06. Check Out Our Latest Analysis on Nokia Oyj About Nokia Oyj (Get Free Report) Nokia Oyj provides mobile, fixed, and cloud network solutions worldwide. The company operates through four segments: Network Infrastructure, Mobile Networks, Cloud and Network Services, and Nokia Technologies. It offers products and services for radio access networks and microwave radio links for transport networks, and solutions for network management, as well as network planning, optimization, network deployment, and technical support services. See Also Receive News & Ratings for Nokia Oyj Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Nokia Oyj and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Nu Skin Enterprises, Inc. (NYSE:NUS Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, February 14th, Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 26th will be paid a dividend of 0.06 per share on Wednesday, March 6th. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 23rd. Nu Skin Enterprises has raised its dividend by an average of 1.3% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 23 years. Nu Skin Enterprises has a dividend payout ratio of 65.5% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Nu Skin Enterprises to earn $2.51 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.56 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 62.2%. Get Nu Skin Enterprises alerts: Nu Skin Enterprises Stock Down 20.7 % NUS opened at $13.82 on Friday. The businesss fifty day moving average is $18.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $20.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.62. The company has a market cap of $682.85 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 76.78 and a beta of 1.17. Nu Skin Enterprises has a one year low of $13.37 and a one year high of $44.55. Analyst Ratings Changes Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. DA Davidson decreased their target price on Nu Skin Enterprises from $29.00 to $21.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 5th. TheStreet cut Nu Skin Enterprises from a c rating to a d+ rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Nu Skin Enterprises currently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $23.67. Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on Nu Skin Enterprises Insider Buying and Selling at Nu Skin Enterprises In other news, Director Andrew D. Lipman sold 2,000 shares of Nu Skin Enterprises stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.39, for a total value of $38,780.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 33,225 shares in the company, valued at $644,232.75. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 6,000 shares of company stock worth $110,100 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 2.00% of the companys stock. Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nu Skin Enterprises A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC grew its position in Nu Skin Enterprises by 37.1% during the second quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 809 shares of the companys stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 219 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Nu Skin Enterprises during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in Nu Skin Enterprises by 118.2% during the 3rd quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,150 shares of the companys stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 623 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new stake in Nu Skin Enterprises during the 1st quarter worth approximately $83,000. Finally, Point72 Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in Nu Skin Enterprises during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $144,000. 73.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors. Nu Skin Enterprises Company Profile (Get Free Report) Nu Skin Enterprises, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, develops and distributes various beauty and wellness products worldwide. It offers skin care devices, cosmetics, and other personal care products, including ageLOC LumiSpa and ageLOC LumiSpa iO, ageLOC Body Spa; and nutricentials skin care products. Featured Stories Receive News & Ratings for Nu Skin Enterprises Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Nu Skin Enterprises and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Phoenix Holdings Ltd. raised its holdings in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR Free Report) by 41.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,684 shares of the insurance providers stock after buying an additional 5,430 shares during the quarter. Phoenix Holdings Ltd.s holdings in Progressive were worth $2,603,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PGR. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Progressive in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $840,885,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Progressive in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $802,968,000. Meritage Group LP acquired a new stake in Progressive in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $229,590,000. Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in Progressive by 25.4% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 6,721,345 shares of the insurance providers stock valued at $871,826,000 after buying an additional 1,361,665 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parnassus Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Progressive by 102.9% during the 3rd quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 2,131,601 shares of the insurance providers stock worth $296,932,000 after purchasing an additional 1,080,834 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.66% of the companys stock. Get Progressive alerts: Insider Transactions at Progressive In related news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 5,939 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.24, for a total value of $1,005,116.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 465,737 shares in the company, valued at $78,821,329.88. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, insider Andrew J. Quigg sold 4,052 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.28, for a total value of $665,662.56. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 25,769 shares in the company, valued at $4,233,331.32. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 5,939 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.24, for a total value of $1,005,116.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 465,737 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $78,821,329.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 114,862 shares of company stock worth $18,747,693 over the last 90 days. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders. Progressive Price Performance PGR traded up $1.72 during trading on Friday, hitting $190.96. The companys stock had a trading volume of 790,546 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,196,160. The stock has a market capitalization of $111.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.35. The Progressive Co. has a 12 month low of $111.41 and a 12 month high of $191.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The firms 50 day moving average price is $168.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $153.70. Progressive (NYSE:PGR Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The insurance provider reported $2.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $2.43 by $0.53. The company had revenue of $16.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.10 billion. Progressive had a return on equity of 21.10% and a net margin of 6.28%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.52 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that The Progressive Co. will post 8.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. Progressive Announces Dividend The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 19th were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 18th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.21%. Progressives payout ratio is currently 12.92%. Wall Street Analyst Weigh In Several analysts have recently weighed in on PGR shares. Barclays lifted their price objective on Progressive from $111.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an underweight rating in a report on Monday, November 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Progressive from $140.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Tuesday, November 7th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Progressive from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Progressive from $158.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Finally, HSBC began coverage on Progressive in a research note on Thursday, December 28th. They issued a hold rating and a $164.00 price target on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $169.22. Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on Progressive Progressive Company Profile (Free Report) The Progressive Corporation, an insurance holding company, provides personal and commercial auto, personal residential and commercial property, general liability, and other specialty property-casualty insurance products and related services in the United States. It operates in three segments: Personal Lines, Commercial Lines, and Property. Recommended Stories Want to see what other hedge funds are holding PGR? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Progressive Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Progressive and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Phoenix Holdings Ltd. bought a new position in Ingersoll Rand Inc. (NYSE:IR Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 30,911 shares of the industrial products companys stock, valued at approximately $1,970,000. Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in Ingersoll Rand during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Pacifica Partners Inc. bought a new stake in Ingersoll Rand during the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. bought a new stake in Ingersoll Rand during the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Ingersoll Rand by 1,566.7% during the 2nd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 450 shares of the industrial products companys stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 423 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clearstead Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Ingersoll Rand by 348.2% during the 3rd quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 493 shares of the industrial products companys stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 383 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.54% of the companys stock. Get Ingersoll Rand alerts: Insider Transactions at Ingersoll Rand In related news, insider Andrew R. Schiesl sold 13,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.89, for a total transaction of $934,570.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 45,263 shares in the company, valued at $3,253,957.07. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.83% of the stock is currently owned by insiders. Analyst Ratings Changes Several brokerages have recently issued reports on IR. Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of Ingersoll Rand from a hold rating to a buy rating and set a $73.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 24th. Cfra raised their target price on shares of Ingersoll Rand from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research note on Thursday, November 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Ingersoll Rand from $73.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 19th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Ingersoll Rand from $79.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Monday, December 11th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Ingersoll Rand from $78.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $75.27. Read Our Latest Stock Report on IR Ingersoll Rand Stock Up 3.4 % Shares of IR stock traded up $2.98 during trading on Friday, reaching $90.77. The companys stock had a trading volume of 1,915,455 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,587,417. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $78.63 and a 200-day moving average price of $70.81. The company has a quick ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 2.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The company has a market cap of $36.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.43. Ingersoll Rand Inc. has a one year low of $51.84 and a one year high of $92.32. About Ingersoll Rand (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. Featured Articles Want to see what other hedge funds are holding IR? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Ingersoll Rand Inc. (NYSE:IR Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Ingersoll Rand Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Ingersoll Rand and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Prudential PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB Free Report) by 17.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 116,824 shares of the oil and gas companys stock after buying an additional 17,547 shares during the period. Prudential PLCs holdings in Schlumberger were worth $6,811,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SLB. BluePath Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Schlumberger during the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Schlumberger during the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Schlumberger during the second quarter valued at about $27,000. MCF Advisors LLC raised its position in Schlumberger by 1,355.9% during the third quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 495 shares of the oil and gas companys stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 461 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO purchased a new stake in Schlumberger during the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Institutional investors own 79.43% of the companys stock. Get Schlumberger alerts: Schlumberger Trading Up 0.0 % Shares of NYSE SLB traded up $0.02 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $48.60. The companys stock had a trading volume of 1,693,949 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,092,229. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.32. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $50.35 and a 200-day simple moving average of $54.72. Schlumberger Limited has a 12 month low of $42.73 and a 12 month high of $62.12. The stock has a market cap of $69.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.64, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.61. Schlumberger Dividend Announcement Schlumberger ( NYSE:SLB Get Free Report ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 19th. The oil and gas company reported $0.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $0.84 by $0.02. Schlumberger had a net margin of 12.68% and a return on equity of 21.97%. The company had revenue of $8.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.96 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.71 EPS. The firms revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 4th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 6th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.06%. Schlumbergers dividend payout ratio is presently 34.25%. Analyst Ratings Changes SLB has been the topic of a number of research reports. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Schlumberger from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Schlumberger from $69.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Monday, January 22nd. Barclays decreased their price objective on Schlumberger from $77.00 to $74.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 22nd. Raymond James lifted their price objective on Schlumberger from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Monday, October 23rd. Finally, Susquehanna reiterated a positive rating and issued a $77.00 price objective on shares of Schlumberger in a report on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Schlumberger has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $70.67. Read Our Latest Analysis on SLB Insider Buying and Selling at Schlumberger In other Schlumberger news, insider Gavin Rennick sold 6,675 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Monday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.88, for a total transaction of $352,974.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 39,958 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,112,979.04. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, insider Gavin Rennick sold 6,675 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Monday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.88, for a total value of $352,974.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 39,958 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,112,979.04. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Kevin Fyfe sold 20,223 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.05, for a total value of $1,052,607.15. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 31,198 shares of the companys stock, valued at $1,623,855.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 135,116 shares of company stock worth $6,923,671. Insiders own 0.23% of the companys stock. About Schlumberger (Free Report) Schlumberger Limited engages in the provision of technology for the energy industry worldwide. The company operates through four divisions: Digital & Integration, Reservoir Performance, Well Construction, and Production Systems. The company provides field development and hydrocarbon production, carbon management, integration of adjacent energy systems; reservoir interpretation and data processing services for exploration data; and well construction and production improvement services and products. Featured Articles Want to see what other hedge funds are holding SLB? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Schlumberger Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Schlumberger and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Weyerhaeuser (NYSE:WY Get Free Report) saw a large decrease in short interest during the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 5,390,000 shares, a decrease of 17.8% from the January 15th total of 6,560,000 shares. Currently, 0.7% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 3,750,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.4 days. Weyerhaeuser Stock Up 1.6 % Shares of NYSE:WY opened at $33.42 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $24.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.06 and a beta of 1.43. The firms 50-day simple moving average is $33.39 and its 200-day simple moving average is $32.09. The company has a quick ratio of 2.22, a current ratio of 2.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. Weyerhaeuser has a fifty-two week low of $27.65 and a fifty-two week high of $35.14. Get Weyerhaeuser alerts: Weyerhaeuser (NYSE:WY Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 26th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.16 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.82 billion. Weyerhaeuser had a net margin of 10.93% and a return on equity of 7.36%. The firms revenue was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.24 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Weyerhaeuser will post 1.03 earnings per share for the current year. Weyerhaeuser Increases Dividend Insider Buying and Selling at Weyerhaeuser The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, March 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.39%. This is an increase from Weyerhaeusers previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. Weyerhaeusers payout ratio is currently 66.09%. In other news, CEO Devin W. Stockfish sold 29,008 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.54, for a total transaction of $1,001,936.32. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 711,070 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,560,357.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CEO Devin W. Stockfish sold 29,008 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.54, for a total transaction of $1,001,936.32. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 711,070 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,560,357.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Denise M. Merle sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.01, for a total transaction of $262,575.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 140,694 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $4,925,696.94. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 39,278 shares of company stock worth $1,355,847. Insiders own 0.27% of the companys stock. Institutional Trading of Weyerhaeuser Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its holdings in shares of Weyerhaeuser by 18.3% in the third quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 425,848 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $13,057,000 after purchasing an additional 65,808 shares in the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Weyerhaeuser by 21.7% in the third quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 9,910 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $304,000 after buying an additional 1,767 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. raised its position in shares of Weyerhaeuser by 2.3% in the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 61,774,884 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $2,070,076,000 after buying an additional 1,385,408 shares during the last quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp raised its position in shares of Weyerhaeuser by 0.5% in the second quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 153,565 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $5,146,000 after buying an additional 790 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can acquired a new position in shares of Weyerhaeuser in the second quarter valued at approximately $24,916,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.54% of the companys stock. Analysts Set New Price Targets WY has been the subject of several recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an outperform rating and issued a $39.00 price target on shares of Weyerhaeuser in a research report on Monday, January 29th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Weyerhaeuser from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. TheStreet lowered shares of Weyerhaeuser from a b- rating to a c+ rating in a report on Friday, October 27th. Finally, Raymond James lowered shares of Weyerhaeuser from a strong-buy rating to a market perform rating in a report on Monday, November 27th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $37.80. Read Our Latest Research Report on WY Weyerhaeuser Company Profile (Get Free Report) Weyerhaeuser Company, one of the world's largest private owners of timberlands, began operations in 1900. We own or control approximately 11 million acres of timberlands in the U.S. and manage additional timberlands under long-term licenses in Canada. We manage these timberlands on a sustainable basis in compliance with internationally recognized forestry standards. Featured Stories Receive News & Ratings for Weyerhaeuser Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Weyerhaeuser and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Aviva PLC grew its position in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY Free Report) by 5.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 389,579 shares of the companys stock after purchasing an additional 21,450 shares during the quarter. Aviva PLC owned approximately 0.08% of Sysco worth $25,732,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vontobel Holding Ltd. raised its stake in Sysco by 166.0% during the 1st quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 16,127 shares of the companys stock worth $1,338,000 after acquiring an additional 10,065 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Sysco by 6.9% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 258,746 shares of the companys stock valued at $21,068,000 after purchasing an additional 16,772 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its position in shares of Sysco by 12.9% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 22,139 shares of the companys stock valued at $1,808,000 after purchasing an additional 2,522 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Sysco by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 659,712 shares of the companys stock valued at $53,865,000 after purchasing an additional 6,711 shares during the period. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its stake in Sysco by 54.8% during the 1st quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 833 shares of the companys stock worth $68,000 after buying an additional 295 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.60% of the companys stock. Get Sysco alerts: Analysts Set New Price Targets SYY has been the subject of several research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Sysco from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. StockNews.com cut shares of Sysco from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Sysco from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of Sysco in a report on Thursday, October 19th. They issued a buy rating and a $75.00 target price for the company. Finally, Stephens raised their price target on Sysco from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $85.44. Sysco Trading Up 0.5 % NYSE SYY opened at $79.37 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.17. Sysco Co. has a 52-week low of $62.24 and a 52-week high of $82.89. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $75.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $71.51. Sysco (NYSE:SYY Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The company reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.01. Sysco had a return on equity of 105.22% and a net margin of 2.69%. The business had revenue of $19.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.32 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.80 EPS. The companys revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Sysco Co. will post 4.3 EPS for the current year. Insiders Place Their Bets In other news, Director Sheila Talton sold 2,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.76, for a total value of $157,872.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 12,782 shares in the company, valued at approximately $917,236.32. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.58% of the companys stock. Sysco Company Profile (Free Report) Sysco Corporation, through its subsidiaries, engages in the marketing and distribution of various food and related products to the foodservice or food-away-from-home industry in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, and internationally. It operates through U.S. Foodservice Operations, International Foodservice Operations, SYGMA, and Other segments. See Also Receive News & Ratings for Sysco Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Sysco and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Korea Investment CORP decreased its holdings in shares of The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW Free Report) by 7.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,088,837 shares of the financial services providers stock after selling 83,774 shares during the period. Korea Investment CORP owned about 0.06% of Charles Schwab worth $59,777,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Charles Schwab by 54.2% in the second quarter. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC now owns 135,940 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $7,705,000 after acquiring an additional 47,792 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Charles Schwab by 21.4% in the second quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 3,839 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $218,000 after acquiring an additional 677 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Charles Schwab by 43.2% in the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 551,682 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $30,287,000 after acquiring an additional 166,316 shares during the last quarter. Act Two Investors LLC bought a new position in Charles Schwab in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $13,488,000. Finally, 180 Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Charles Schwab by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 32,214 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $1,769,000 after purchasing an additional 1,843 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.61% of the companys stock. Get Charles Schwab alerts: Analysts Set New Price Targets Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a neutral rating and issued a $71.00 price objective (up previously from $70.00) on shares of Charles Schwab in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on shares of Charles Schwab in a report on Friday, December 1st. They set a sell rating and a $52.00 target price for the company. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Charles Schwab from $68.00 to $64.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 18th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a market outperform rating and set a $77.00 target price on shares of Charles Schwab in a report on Thursday, January 18th. Finally, Citigroup lowered shares of Charles Schwab from a buy rating to a neutral rating and decreased their price target for the company from $75.00 to $70.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Charles Schwab currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $69.69. Charles Schwab Stock Down 0.6 % Shares of Charles Schwab stock traded down $0.40 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $64.23. 1,886,668 shares of the companys stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,226,327. The company has a 50 day moving average of $65.62 and a two-hundred day moving average of $60.06. The Charles Schwab Co. has a fifty-two week low of $45.00 and a fifty-two week high of $81.32. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The stock has a market cap of $113.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.44, a P/E/G ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.99. Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.68 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.04. Charles Schwab had a net margin of 26.90% and a return on equity of 22.07%. The company had revenue of $4.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.49 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.07 EPS. The companys quarterly revenue was down 18.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that The Charles Schwab Co. will post 3.39 EPS for the current fiscal year. Charles Schwab Announces Dividend The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, February 9th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 8th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.56%. Charles Schwabs dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.37%. Insider Activity at Charles Schwab In related news, Director Carolyn Schwab-Pomerantz sold 12,208 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.28, for a total value of $748,106.24. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 1,722,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $105,548,672. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Charles Schwab news, General Counsel Peter J. Morgan III sold 7,162 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.72, for a total value of $434,876.64. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Carolyn Schwab-Pomerantz sold 12,208 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.28, for a total transaction of $748,106.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,722,400 shares in the company, valued at $105,548,672. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 43,760 shares of company stock worth $2,731,159. Insiders own 6.60% of the companys stock. Charles Schwab Profile (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. See Also Receive News & Ratings for Charles Schwab Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Charles Schwab and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. President Biden unveils student debt forgiveness scheme for Americans facing hardship just weeks after canceling another $5 billion in student debt. Does this plan stand a chance? President Joe Biden is not backing down in his quest to free Americans from their student debt shackles. Just weeks after canceling almost $5 billion in student loan debt for thousands of public servants and low-income borrowers, the Biden Administration has announced a new proposal to expand forgiveness to those facing financial hardship. Dont miss This could be one of President Bidens biggest student debt cancelation moves yet as alluded to by the Department of Education under secretary James Kvaal, who said the plan is to give breathing room to as many student loan borrowers as possible. Heres who stands to benefit. Hardship proposal In the wake of the Supreme Courts decision to stamp down his original student debt relief plan last summer, President Biden has unveiled a string of targeted debt cancelation programs for specific groups of Americans. This latest plan could have a very significant impact, depending on how the Department of Education chooses to define financial hardship. In the proposed regulatory text which is due for a debate in a rulemaking session on Feb. 22 and 23 several factors are outlined that could be used to identify hardship, such as: A borrowers relative loan balance and payments compared to their total income; If a borrower has high-cost burdens for essential expenses like health care or child care; Borrowers who have seen their loans grow larger because of snowballing interest; and If a borrower is considered highly likely to be in default in two years. Story continues The text also specifies that the U.S. Secretary of Education may consider other factors to determine if borrowers are experiencing a type of hardship that would qualify for debt relief, but it does not elaborate on what those additional factors may be. As a result, the White House could not give an estimate for how many Americans might be eligible for relief if this regulation is approved. Read more: Thanks to Jeff Bezos, you can now cash in on prime real estate without the headache of being a landlord. Here's how $4.9 billion debt wiped out This drive for a fresh batch of student debt relief comes shortly after Washington canceled another $4.9 billion in student loan debt for an additional 73,600 borrowers. That debt relief was made possible through fixes to the income-driven repayment (IDR) forgiveness and Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) programs President Biden described as broken and preventing borrowers from getting relief they were entitled to under the law. It will wipe out $3.2 billion of student debt held by 43,900 teachers, nurses, firefighters and other people who have given 10 years of public service. It will also cancel $1.7 billion in debt held by 29,700 borrowers who have been in repayment for at least 20 years but never got the relief they earned through income-driven repayment plans. So far, the Biden-Harris administration has forgiven $136.6 billion in student loans for more than 3.7 million Americans. That total could balloon if this hardship proposal is passed but it will need to make it through the rulemaking process and any legal challenges before any additional relief could be dished out. What to read next This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind. Viad Corp (NYSE:VVI Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 202,000 shares, a growth of 13.9% from the January 15th total of 177,300 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 88,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.3 days. Approximately 1.0% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Institutional Trading of Viad Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BlackRock Inc. grew its stake in shares of Viad by 0.4% in the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 3,251,400 shares of the business services providers stock worth $115,881,000 after acquiring an additional 11,979 shares in the last quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Viad by 0.5% in the third quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 1,826,931 shares of the business services providers stock worth $47,866,000 after acquiring an additional 8,983 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Viad by 1.4% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,339,382 shares of the business services providers stock worth $42,298,000 after acquiring an additional 18,766 shares in the last quarter. Blue Grotto Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Viad by 22.8% in the first quarter. Blue Grotto Capital LLC now owns 814,540 shares of the business services providers stock worth $29,030,000 after acquiring an additional 151,137 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cannell Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Viad by 23.6% in the first quarter. Cannell Capital LLC now owns 777,467 shares of the business services providers stock worth $27,709,000 after acquiring an additional 148,282 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.45% of the companys stock. Get Viad alerts: Viad Trading Down 0.8 % Viad stock traded down $0.26 during trading on Friday, hitting $33.46. The company had a trading volume of 27,786 shares, compared to its average volume of 78,672. Viad has a 1-year low of $17.09 and a 1-year high of $37.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.25. The companys 50 day simple moving average is $34.40 and its 200-day simple moving average is $30.43. The stock has a market cap of $699.98 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -177.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.96. Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades A number of brokerages recently weighed in on VVI. TheStreet lowered shares of Viad from a c rating to a d+ rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of Viad from $36.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Viad currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $42.00. Read Our Latest Stock Report on Viad About Viad (Get Free Report) Viad Corp operates as an experiential leisure travel, and live events and marketing services company in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates, Netherlands, and Iceland. It operates through Pursuit, Spiro, and GES Exhibitions segments. The Pursuit segment offers vertically integrated attractions and hospitality in destinations with a collection of attractions, lodges, and sightseeing tours. Recommended Stories Receive News & Ratings for Viad Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Viad and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. WCG Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 38,061 shares of the financial services providers stock, valued at approximately $2,921,000. Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale raised its position in shares of Aflac by 13.5% in the third quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 349,749 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $27,105,000 after buying an additional 41,531 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Financial Strategies LLC raised its stake in Aflac by 3.1% in the third quarter. Legacy Financial Strategies LLC now owns 37,360 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $3,001,000 after purchasing an additional 1,114 shares in the last quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P lifted its position in Aflac by 17.7% during the third quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 969 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $74,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC purchased a new position in Aflac in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $3,382,000. Finally, Fiera Capital Corp increased its holdings in shares of Aflac by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 7,085 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $544,000 after buying an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. 66.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors. Get Aflac alerts: Insider Buying and Selling In other news, CFO Steven Kent Beaver sold 3,114 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.71, for a total value of $257,558.94. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 20,914 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $1,729,796.94. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders. Aflac Trading Down 0.2 % Shares of NYSE:AFL traded down $0.17 on Friday, hitting $80.00. The company had a trading volume of 352,217 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,226,270. The firms 50-day simple moving average is $81.80 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $79.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a quick ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. Aflac Incorporated has a 1 year low of $60.20 and a 1 year high of $86.20. Aflac (NYSE:AFL Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.47 by ($0.22). The firm had revenue of $3.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $4.44 billion. Aflac had a return on equity of 17.59% and a net margin of 24.92%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.29 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. Analyst Ratings Changes Several brokerages recently issued reports on AFL. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Aflac from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Aflac from $61.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a sell rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 9th. Evercore ISI cut shares of Aflac from an in-line rating to an underperform rating and upped their price objective for the company from $76.00 to $78.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Aflac from $82.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Aflac from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Thursday, November 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $80.36. View Our Latest Report on AFL 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. Recommended Stories Receive News & Ratings for Aflac Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Aflac and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Wealthsource Partners LLC decreased its holdings in Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY Free Report) by 10.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,589 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock after selling 2,572 shares during the quarter. Wealthsource Partners LLCs holdings in Bristol-Myers Squibb were worth $1,253,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Northwest Capital Management Inc purchased a new position in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Coppell Advisory Solutions Corp. purchased a new position in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb during the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Live Oak Investment Partners purchased a new position in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. 74.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors. Get Bristol-Myers Squibb alerts: Insiders Place Their Bets In related news, CEO Christopher S. Boerner bought 3,071 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 28th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $48.86 per share, for a total transaction of $150,049.06. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 79,384 shares of the companys stock, valued at $3,878,702.24. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Christopher S. Boerner acquired 3,071 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 28th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $48.86 per share, with a total value of $150,049.06. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 79,384 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,878,702.24. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Christopher S. Boerner purchased 2,000 shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 5th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $49.78 per share, with a total value of $99,560.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 82,672 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,115,412.16. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders acquired 13,571 shares of company stock valued at $672,994. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders. Wall Street Analyst Weigh In A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on Bristol-Myers Squibb from $81.00 to $69.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald cut Bristol-Myers Squibb from an overweight rating to a neutral rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $68.00 to $55.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 15th. BMO Capital Markets cut Bristol-Myers Squibb from an outperform rating to a market perform rating and set a $60.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Friday, October 27th. Barclays lowered their price target on Bristol-Myers Squibb from $60.00 to $51.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 27th. Finally, TheStreet cut Bristol-Myers Squibb from a b- rating to a c+ rating in a report on Thursday, November 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $61.17. Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on Bristol-Myers Squibb Bristol-Myers Squibb Trading Up 0.4 % Bristol-Myers Squibb stock traded up $0.21 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $49.65. The companys stock had a trading volume of 3,044,792 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,561,788. Bristol-Myers Squibb has a one year low of $47.58 and a one year high of $71.98. The stock has a market cap of $100.40 billion, a PE ratio of 12.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a 50 day moving average of $50.45 and a 200-day moving average of $54.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.18. Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 2nd. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $1.55 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $11.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $11.19 billion. Bristol-Myers Squibb had a return on equity of 50.33% and a net margin of 17.83%. The firms quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.82 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Bristol-Myers Squibb will post 6.52 EPS for the current year. Bristol-Myers Squibb declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, December 7th that permits the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the biopharmaceutical company to purchase up to 2.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the companys leadership believes its stock is undervalued. Bristol-Myers Squibb Increases Dividend The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 5th were paid a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 4th. This is a boost from Bristol-Myers Squibbs previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.83%. Bristol-Myers Squibbs dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.18%. 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. Further Reading Want to see what other hedge funds are holding BMY? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Bristol-Myers Squibb Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Bristol-Myers Squibb and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Ameriprise Financial, Inc. (NYSE:AMP Free Report) Research analysts at Zacks Research upped their Q1 2024 earnings per share estimates for Ameriprise Financial in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, February 14th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now forecasts that the financial services provider will post earnings of $7.86 per share for the quarter, up from their previous estimate of $7.65. The consensus estimate for Ameriprise Financials current full-year earnings is $34.05 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Ameriprise Financials Q3 2024 earnings at $8.44 EPS, Q4 2024 earnings at $8.65 EPS, FY2024 earnings at $33.16 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $8.71 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $9.31 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $9.98 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $36.57 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $40.94 EPS. Get Ameriprise Financial alerts: Several other research firms have also issued reports on AMP. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Ameriprise Financial from $440.00 to $445.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Ameriprise Financial from $394.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Evercore ISI lowered Ameriprise Financial from an outperform rating to an in-line rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $385.00 to $400.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Ameriprise Financial from $400.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Ameriprise Financial from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 29th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $422.83. Ameriprise Financial Price Performance Shares of NYSE AMP opened at $397.80 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $40.26 billion, a PE ratio of 16.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.36. Ameriprise Financial has a fifty-two week low of $275.09 and a fifty-two week high of $402.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.56. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $382.16 and a 200-day moving average of $352.39. Ameriprise Financial (NYSE:AMP Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The financial services provider reported $7.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.67 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $3.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $3.90 billion. Ameriprise Financial had a return on equity of 77.39% and a net margin of 16.27%. The firms quarterly revenue was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $6.94 earnings per share. Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ameriprise Financial Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. BOKF NA increased its stake in Ameriprise Financial by 12.7% in the 2nd quarter. BOKF NA now owns 12,334 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $4,097,000 after buying an additional 1,390 shares in the last quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp grew its position in shares of Ameriprise Financial by 11.3% during the second quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 24,433 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $8,116,000 after purchasing an additional 2,480 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its position in shares of Ameriprise Financial by 74.9% during the second quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 553,481 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $183,843,000 after purchasing an additional 236,944 shares in the last quarter. ING Groep NV bought a new position in shares of Ameriprise Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at about $4,248,000. Finally, Amalgamated Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Ameriprise Financial by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 30,245 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $9,971,000 after acquiring an additional 1,806 shares during the last quarter. 82.62% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors. Insider Activity at Ameriprise Financial In other Ameriprise Financial news, CEO James M. Cracchiolo sold 9,948 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $365.86, for a total transaction of $3,639,575.28. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 157,103 shares in the company, valued at approximately $57,477,703.58. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO James M. Cracchiolo sold 2,493 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $401.11, for a total value of $999,967.23. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 196,598 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $78,857,423.78. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO James M. Cracchiolo sold 9,948 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $365.86, for a total value of $3,639,575.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 157,103 shares in the company, valued at $57,477,703.58. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 58,231 shares of company stock worth $22,416,334 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.73% of the companys stock. Ameriprise Financial Dividend Announcement The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 9th will be paid a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 8th. Ameriprise Financials dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.78%. Ameriprise Financial Company Profile (Get Free Report) Ameriprise Financial, Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides various financial products and services to individual and institutional clients in the United States and internationally. It operates through four segments: Advice & Wealth Management, Asset Management, Retirement & Protection Solutions, and Corporate & Other. Read More Receive News & Ratings for Ameriprise Financial Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Ameriprise Financial and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Future Market Insights Global and Consulting Pvt. Ltd. Sales of Protective Films Soar with its Growing Applications in Diverse Sectors. FMI Analysts Predict Global Protective Film Market to be Worth more than US$ 8.7 billion by 2034 End. Protective Film Market Surge in demand for screen protectors & weather-resistant films driven by consumer electronics & manufacturing industries. NEWARK, Del, Feb. 16, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The global protective film market value in 2024 is estimated to be around US$ 3.8 billion, nearly US$ 2.4 billion in 2019. As per the revised industry estimates, the global sales of protective films are expected to rise at an 8.6% CAGR from 2024 to 2034. The net worth of the global protective film industry is forecasted to reach almost US$ 8.7 billion by the end of this projection period. Higher demand for screen protector films to preserve screens, surfaces, and components throughout manufacture and transit is driving up market growth. The market for consumer electronics is expected to keep growing, favoring the innovations and demand for electronic protective films through 2034. The growing need for films that guarantee safety and compliance in industries, particularly in manufacturing consumer products, and adhering to rules requiring protective measures is likely to boost the market. The growing requirement for protective films to preserve surfaces of products from diverse industries throughout manufacture, shipping, and assembly is expected to drive the sales of weather-resistant films. Click to Request Sample Report and Drive Impactful Decisions: https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-19041 Key Takeaways from the Protective Film Market Study Report The United States protective film market is expected to thrive at a CAGR of 8.8% from 2024 to 2034, concluding at a valuation of US$ 1.6 billion. The demand for protective films is anticipated to rise at 9.2% per year in the United Kingdom, taking its market value near US$ 351.4 million by 2034. China is predicted to increase its protective film production by 8.9% year until 2034 and close the overall industry value to US$ 1.4 billion by 2034. Japan and South Korea are two other remarkably growing markets in Asia that are poised to witness 10.6% and 9.9% CAGRs, respectively, through 2034. Story continues Competitive Landscape for the Protective Film Market Participants The overall market is highly competitive, with many global and regional protective film manufacturers operating at different levels of the industry. Material innovation and collaboration with manufacturers using protective films for consumers remains the key strategy for established and emerging market players. Besides packaging and electronics, surface protection is becoming more important in many new sectors like automotive, transportation, building, and construction, which has encouraged the emergence of new market players. The emerging industry for solar panels is another lucrative segment where screen protector films are used widely to avoid damage during manufacture, handling, and installation. says a Senior Consultant Ismail Sutaria in Packaging at Future Market Insights (FMI). Unlock Success with Our Proven Methodology! Start Now and Transform Your Business: https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/request-report-methodology/rep-gb-19041 Recent Developments by the Protective Film Industry Players In May 2023, German materials manufacturer Covestro established a new production line for high-performance thermoplastic polyurethanes (TPUs) in Taiwan. The firm also introduced its new DesmopanUP (Ultimate Protection) TPU series during the inauguration of the new production line. These TPUs have been designed to produce paint protection films (PPF) and provide excellent resilience, versatility, and attractiveness while shielding automobile surface coatings from challenging environmental factors. In August 2022, BASF introduced its invisible Thermoplastic Polyurethane (TPU) Paint Protection Film (PPF) for the Asia Pacific market under the product brand RODIM. An accelerated UV test spanning 3,000 hours demonstrated the RODIM TPU PPF's remarkable resilience against the extremities of nature. Moreover, the film has outstanding self-healing capability with minor scuffs or scratches since TPU is used in its construction. Key Companies Profiled Avery Dennison Corporation AEP Industries, Inc. Bishof + Klein SE & Co. AG Antalis International American Packaging Corporation American Biltrite, Inc. Automated Packaging Systems, Inc. Advanced Barrier Extrusions Advanced Extrusions, Inc. Atlas Packaging & Chemical, Inc. Barton Jones Packaging, Ltd. Your dream purchase is just a click away. Buy now and make it yours: https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/checkout/19041 Key Segments Covered by Protective Film Industry Survey Report By Product Type: Adhesive Coated Self-coated By Application: Building and Construction Automotive Electronics Packaging Transportation Other Applications By Film Type: Polyethylene (PE) Polypropylene (PP) Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) Other Film Types By Region: North America Latin America Europe East Asia South Asia and Pacific Middle East and Africa (MEA) Author Ismail Sutaria (Lead Consultant, Packaging and Materials) has over 8 years of experience in market research and consulting in the packaging & materials industry. Ismails strength lies in identifying key challenges faced by the client and offering logical and actionable insights to equip the clients with strategic decision-making power. Ismail has been an instrumental part of several transformational consulting assignments. His key skills include competitive benchmarking, opportunity assessment, macroeconomic analysis, and business transformation advisory. Ismail is an MBA holder in Marketing and has a Bachelors Degree in Mathematics. Explore Trending Reports of Packaging About Future Market Insights (FMI) Future Market Insights, Inc. (ESOMAR certified, recipient of the Stevie Award, and a member of the Greater New York Chamber of Commerce) offers profound insights into the driving factors that are boosting demand in the market. FMI stands as the leading global provider of market intelligence, advisory services, consulting, and events for the Packaging, Food and Beverage, Consumer, Technology, Healthcare, Industrial, and Chemicals markets. With a vast team of over 5000 analysts worldwide, FMI provides global, regional, and local expertise on diverse domains and industry trends across more than 110 countries. Contact Us: Nandini Singh Sawlani Future Market Insights Inc. Christiana Corporate, 200 Continental Drive, Suite 401, Newark, Delaware - 19713, USA T: +1-845-579-5705 For Sales Enquiries: sales@futuremarketinsights.com Website: https://www.futuremarketinsights.com LinkedIn| Twitter| Blogs | YouTube Weather Alert ...Elevated Fire Danger Today and Tuesday... ...Hard Freeze Expected Tonight... The combination of very dry air and northwest winds gusting up to 20 mph will create an elevated risk of uncontrolled fire spread this afternoon. Relative humidity values will fall to 20 to 35%, with the lowest humidity levels over the Ozark Foothills of southeast Missouri. A more substantial fire danger is expected Tuesday, as southwest winds increase significantly, with gusts of 25 to 40 mph forecast Tuesday afternoon. Relative humidity values Tuesday afternoon will fall to 25 to 35%. If you are planning outdoor burning today and Tuesday, use extra caution and have fire suppression equipment ready. Tonight, very cold and dry surface high pressure will allow temperatures to drop into the middle and upper 20s throughout the region. Although the growing season has not officially started, tender vegetation could be impacted by these cold temperatures. Please take necessary actions to protect any tender vegetation tonight. Container ships berth at Singapore's Pasir Panjang container terminal on Jan. 31, 2024. The non-oil domestic exports (NODX) in Singapore expanded 16.8 percent in January from a low base a year ago, following the 1.5 percent decline last December, according to the government agency Enterprise Singapore Friday. (Photo by Then Chih Wey/Xinhua) SINGAPORE, Feb. 16 (Xinhua) -- The non-oil domestic exports (NODX) in Singapore expanded 16.8 percent in January from a low base a year ago, following the 1.5 percent decline last December, according to the government agency Enterprise Singapore Friday. Total exports of the city-state increased 16.7 percent year-on-year in January, and total imports grew 11.1 percent, Enterprise Singapore said. NODX to Singapore's top markets as a whole expanded in January. The Chinese mainland, China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, and the United States were the top contributors to the growth, the data showed. NODX to the Chinese mainland expanded 101.3 percent in January, driven by significant growth in specialized machinery, non-monetary gold, and measuring instruments. The oil domestic exports of Singapore grew 6.2 percent in January, according to the agency. Container ships berth at Singapore's Pasir Panjang container terminal on Jan. 31, 2024. The non-oil domestic exports (NODX) in Singapore expanded 16.8 percent in January from a low base a year ago, following the 1.5 percent decline last December, according to the government agency Enterprise Singapore Friday. (Photo by Then Chih Wey/Xinhua) Unveiling the Dividend Dynamics of Rockwell Automation Inc Rockwell Automation Inc (NYSE:ROK) recently announced a dividend of $1.25 per share, payable on 2024-03-11, with the ex-dividend date set for 2024-02-16. 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 look into Rockwell Automation Inc's dividend performance and assess its sustainability. What Does Rockwell Automation Inc Do? Warning! GuruFocus has detected 4 Warning Signs with ROK. High Yield Dividend Stocks in Gurus' Portfolio This Powerful Chart Made Peter Lynch 29% A Year For 13 Years How to calculate the intrinsic value of a stock? Rockwell Automation is a pure-play automation competitor that is the successor entity to Rockwell International, which spun off its former Rockwell Collins avionics segment in 2001. As of fiscal 2021, the firm operates through three segments--intelligent devices, software and control, and lifecycle services. Intelligent devices contains its drives, sensors, and industrial components, software and control contains its information and network and security software, while lifecycle services contains its consulting and maintenance services as well as its Sensia JV with SLB. Rockwell Automation Inc's Dividend Analysis A Glimpse at Rockwell Automation Inc's Dividend History Rockwell Automation Inc has maintained a consistent dividend payment record since 1986. Dividends are currently distributed on a quarterly basis. Rockwell Automation Inc has increased its dividend each year since 2002. The stock is thus listed as a dividend achiever, an honor that is given to companies that have increased their dividend each year for at least the past 22 years. Below is a chart showing annual Dividends Per Share for tracking historical trends. Breaking Down Rockwell Automation Inc's Dividend Yield and Growth As of today, Rockwell Automation Inc currently has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.71% and a 12-month forward dividend yield of 1.79%. This suggests an expectation of increased dividend payments over the next 12 months. Story continues Over the past three years, Rockwell Automation Inc's annual dividend growth rate was 5.00%. Extended to a five-year horizon, this rate increased to 5.80% per year. And over the past decade, Rockwell Automation Inc's annual dividends per share growth rate stands at 8.90%. Based on Rockwell Automation Inc's dividend yield and five-year growth rate, the 5-year yield on cost of Rockwell Automation Inc stock as of today is approximately 2.27%. Rockwell Automation Inc's Dividend Analysis The Sustainability Question: 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 2023-12-31, Rockwell Automation Inc's dividend payout ratio is 0.41. Rockwell Automation Inc's profitability rank, offers an understanding of the company's earnings prowess relative to its peers. GuruFocus ranks Rockwell Automation Inc's profitability 9 out of 10 as of 2023-12-31, suggesting good profitability prospects. The company has reported positive net income for each of year over the past decade, further solidifying its high profitability. Growth Metrics: The Future Outlook To ensure the sustainability of dividends, a company must have robust growth metrics. Rockwell Automation Inc's growth rank of 9 out of 10 suggests that the company's growth trajectory is good relative to its competitors. Revenue is the lifeblood of any company, and Rockwell Automation Inc's revenue per share, combined with the 3-year revenue growth rate, indicates a strong revenue model. Rockwell Automation Inc's revenue has increased by approximately 13.00% per year on average, a rate that outperforms approximately 67.13% 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, Rockwell Automation Inc's earnings increased by approximately 15.50% per year on average, a rate that outperforms approximately 56.35% of global competitors. Lastly, the company's 5-year EBITDA growth rate of 7.20%, which outperforms approximately 47.83% of global competitors. Next Steps Considering Rockwell Automation Inc's robust dividend payments, consistent dividend growth rate, manageable payout ratio, strong profitability, and promising growth metrics, investors may view the company as a potentially attractive option for dividend income. The commitment to returning value to shareholders, along with a solid financial foundation, positions Rockwell Automation Inc favorably for future dividend sustainability and growth. For those seeking to diversify their portfolio with high-dividend yield stocks, GuruFocus Premium users can leverage the High Dividend Yield Screener to identify other companies with similar dividend profiles. This article, generated by GuruFocus, is designed to provide general insights and is not tailored financial advice. Our commentary is rooted in historical data and analyst projections, utilizing an impartial methodology, and is not intended to serve as specific investment guidance. It does not formulate a recommendation to purchase or divest any stock and does not consider individual investment objectives or financial circumstances. Our objective is to deliver long-term, fundamental data-driven analysis. Be aware that our analysis might not incorporate the most recent, price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative information. GuruFocus holds no position in the stocks mentioned herein. This article first appeared on GuruFocus. New report highlights ongoing challenges at Betsi Cadwaladr despite leadership improvements A new report by Auditor General for Wales has detailed the progress made by Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board a year after it was put into special measures. It comes 12 months after the Auditor General published a report in the public interest that described a worrying level of dysfunctionality within the board at Betsi. The report highlighted a need for immediate action to address fractured working relationships between the health boards senior leaders that were fundamentally compromising the boards ability to tackle the substantial challenges the organisation faces. Following significant changes to the board membership over the last 12 month a follow-up report published this week describes a board that is now more stable. The appointment of a new Chief Executive is highlighted as a positive step forward along with a noted improvement in working relationships among senior leaders. The report also indicates that the dysfunctionality previously observed within the board is no longer evident. However despite the improvements Wales largest health board continues to grapple with fundamental challenges, especially as it remains in special measures. One aspect highlighted is the urgent need to finalise substantive appointments to the board to ensure its full capacity. Additionally, efforts are ongoing to strengthen the Executive Team and address ongoing personnel issues within the Finance Department. Further action in a number of areas is still needed including work to build a cohesive and high performing executive team and to move as quickly as possible to a position where the board has a full complement of substantive executive directors and independent members. Governance structures that were stood down in 2023 following the resignation of the previous independent members need to be built back up and the issues that led to the suspension of staff in the finance team need to be resolved, the the Auditor General states. The report highlights the need for the organisation to develop its internal capacity and resilience to sustain improvement without requiring continual external support. Auditor General, Adrian Crompton said: Its assuring to see that the dysfunction within the health boards senior leadership that we described last year is no longer present. There is now a need for the board to build upon this progress and provide the unified organisational leadership that is needed to address the significant and on-going challenges facing the health board. Chair of Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board, Dyfed Edwards said: I welcome this report which acknowledges the progress the health board has made over the past year. I fully understand that there is much more to be done as we continue on our improvement journey in order to ensure excellent healthcare services for the people of north Wales. I see the Audit Wales report as a milestone to show we are moving in the right direction. Over the last 12 months we have worked to create stability and a positive and supportive culture within the health board, whilst focusing on quality of service provision and reaching out to patients and the public we serve. We now have a firm foundation to build on, with a new Chief Executive and new Board members in place who are committed to improving our governance, our financial management and ultimately improving our focus on quality and the experience of the patient and their families. I am grateful for the support of our partners and Government in all our efforts. Responding to Audit Wales report on Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board, Plaid Cymru spokesperson for Health and Social Care, Mabon ap Gwynfor MS said: While we welcome the progress that has been made to improve Betsis board compared to a year ago, this report shows that Betsi should never have been taken out of special measures in the first place. It was a premature and convenient decision by Labour to show progress in health services across north Wales for electioneering purposes, only to place the health board back into special measures two years later after a series of failings. However, the Labour Government must now work with the health board and provide clear timescales for the outstanding actions to be completed to appoint a full board of Executive Directors and Independent Members. We need clear evidence that the Government has learnt its lesson and that we can move past the normalisation of dysfunctionality and falling standards thats taken place at Betsi over the years. Labour must commit to avoiding taking the board out of special measures prematurely which would undo the progress that has been made, and to be transparent about how they act upon advice provided by the other parties to the tripartite process. Ultimately, their priority must now be to deliver for the people of north Wales. Shadow Minister for North Wales, Darren Millar MS, said: The Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board is nearing yet another anniversary in special measures, but patients and staff are yet to see the improvements they have been promised by Labour Ministers. Report after report highlights problems yet the Welsh Government seems incapable of getting to grips with the failings and problems they expose. We need an independent inquiry into the mess in our NHS in North Wales to restore public confidence and deal with these issues once and for all. [email protected] Celebrity Pilgrims set off from Flint Castle on spiritual north Wales journey A team of celebrity pilgrims have set off from Flint Castle on a spiritual journey across North Wales. As part of the upcoming sixth series of Pilgrimage, set to air on BBC Two and iPlayer next month, seven well known celebrities of diverse faiths and beliefs are undertaking a 220km trek, exploring the spiritual path that traces the legacy of Celtic early Christian saints. Their trip, part Pilgrimage: The Road to Wild Wales, will culminate at the mystical Bardsey Island, known as the Island of 20,000 saints. The cast includes a mix of personalities, each bringing a unique perspective to the pilgrimage. Participants range from Michaela Strachan, who draws spiritual inspiration from nature, to Spencer Matthews, in search of deeper life meanings. Theyre joined by Sonali Shah, raised in a Jain household; Eshaan Akbar, a lapsed Muslim; Amanda Lovett, a devoted Catholic; Tom Rosenthal, who describes himself as areligious; and Christine McGuinness, who is broadly spiritual. Initiating their two-week expedition on foot and by bus, the group sets off from Flint Castle, positioned on the Dee Estuarys bank. Their journey meanders along the coastal path to Greenfield Valley, marking the official commencement of their pilgrimage. This route, established in 2011, weaves through the breathtaking landscapes of Eryri and the North Wales coast, passing historic churches dedicated to sixth and seventh-century saints. As they trek along the rugged terrain, including the ascent of Mount Snowdon, the pilgrims confront physical and spiritual challenges, from carrying their backpacks to seeking shelter in basic accommodations like caravans and climbers huts. The pilgrimage promises not just a test of endurance but an opportunity for introspection and personal growth. The celebrities share their motivations for joining the pilgrimage, from Matthews quest for religious understanding to McGuinness desire for new experiences following her autism diagnosis. The journey offers Strachan meditation in motion, Lovett a chance for self-discovery, Akbar an unexpected adventure, Shah a deeper exploration of faith, and Rosenthal a break from the ordinary to ponder existential questions. This series, acclaimed for its fresh take on religious programming, is part of the BBCs Easter schedule, inviting viewers to reflect alongside the pilgrims. The journeys profound impact is echoed by BBCs Daisy Scalchi and CTVCs Caroline Matthews, highlighting the personal transformations experienced through the shared adventure. [email protected] Local charity to host its biggest fundraising event to date at Wrexham AFC and Notts County game A local charity set up in memory of its founders daughter is set for their biggest fundraising event to date with a bucket collection at Wrexham AFCs home game against Notts County. Boxes of Sunshine was launched by Kev and Lynsey Hill in September 2022 as a way to honour and keep their youngest daughter Kirstens memory alive after she sadly died of Leukemia in November 2021. In the two years preceding Kirstens sudden death, she suffered with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. A condition which causes extreme fatigue, muscle and joint pain and brain fog. It robbed our vibrant young daughter of her independence and left her virtually housebound, said Lynsey. When we were thinking of ways to keep Kirstens memory alive, we wanted to do something to help other young people who suffer with chronic illness or long term health conditions, and so Boxes of Sunshine was born. The charity sends out postal gift boxes to young people living with chronic illnesses or long term health conditions, anywhere in the UK. In their first year alone the charity sent out over 200 boxes. Tomorrow (Saturday 17 February) Kev and Lynsey, along with family and friends, will host their biggest fundraising event to date with a bucket collection at the Wrexham AFC home game against rivals Notts County. Kev said: It will be a great opportunity not only to raise vital funds for our charity, but to raise awareness of who we are and what our charity does. You can nominate a young person to receive a box at www.boxesofsunshine.co.uk/nominate or sponsor a box (or make a donation of any size) at www.boxesofsunshine.co.uk/sponsor-a-box You can also support Boxes of Sunshine on their Instagram or Facebook by following @boxesofsunshine.co.uk [email protected] Volunteers needed to safeguard detainee wellbeing as Independent Custody Visitors The Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner (OPCC) North Wales is calling on members of the public to step forward as volunteers for the Independent Custody Visitors (ICVs) programme. This unique volunteer role offers individuals a chance to provide crucial oversight of detainees treatment and conditions in police custody across North Wales. Independent Custody Visitors play a vital role in the justice system by conducting unannounced visits to police custody suites. These visits aim to ensure that detainees needs are met, their rights are upheld, and their treatment is fair and humane. Volunteers are expected to carry out a minimum of 10 visits annually, offering an independent assessment of the welfare and conditions experienced by detainees. The recruitment drive is currently open, with a closing date set for 20 March 2024. Successful applicants will receive comprehensive training in mid-July to prepare them for their responsibilities. The OPCC is particularly keen on increasing the diversity of its volunteer base. Welsh speakers and individuals from black and ethnic minority communities are encouraged to apply, supporting the OPCCs commitment to inclusivity and reflecting the diverse population of North Wales. From April to December 2023, ICVs have made a total of 89 visits, demonstrating the programmes active engagement in safeguarding detainee welfare. Currently, there are 24 dedicated volunteers across the region contributing to this essential oversight function. Andy Dunbobbin, the North Wales Police and Crime Commissioner, highlighted the importance of the ICV scheme, stating, Having Independent Custody Visitors is hugely beneficial, as the welfare of individuals in custody is important for us all. Ensuring a fair and effective criminal justice system is a key priority in my plan for fighting crime in North Wales. Reflecting on her decade-long experience as an ICV, Vicki Cooper said: Each visit is different and can take about 2-3 hours. The training I initially received was excellent, and it gave me the confidence to start visiting. Being an ICV fits well into my working life and allows me an opportunity to meet other ICV colleagues. The programme not only offers a chance to contribute to the communitys welfare but also provides a platform for volunteers to engage with people from diverse backgrounds, enriching the volunteer experience with a variety of perspectives. Volunteering as an ICV is an unpaid role, but the OPCC reimburses all travel expenses, ensuring that volunteers are supported in their commitment to this important work. For those interested in becoming a part of this programme and for more information on how to apply, please visit the OPCC North Wales website. [email protected] NRW gives update on progress at Hafod Landfill after recent inspection Natural Resources Wales (NRW) have issued an update following an inspection at a local landfill site blamed for a stench blighting a village. Last month it was reported that the operator of the Hafod site in Johnstown had been hit with an enforcement notice for breaching its environmental permit. Member of the Senedd Ken Skates and local councillor David A Bithell met senior Natural Resources Wales (NRW) representatives in December to discuss residents complaints about foul smells from the Hafod site in Johnstown. Enovert was later issued with an enforcement notice for contraventions of its operating permit which included odour and landfill gas management requirements. The notice, issued to the company on December 21, also ruled Enovert had failed to suitably manage levels of leachate contaminated liquids. Hafod Landfill update On 31 January NRW Officers completed a further inspection. This was to check compliance with the enforcement notice served on the site operators. They had been asked to improve landfill gas control and to reduce the potential for offsite odour. 1/5 pic.twitter.com/kYJDsZQWkV Cyf Naturiol Cymru GD | Natural Res Wales NE (@CyfNatCymGD) February 15, 2024 In a series of posts on X Natural Resources Wales confirmed that a further inspection took place at Hafod Landfill on January 31. NRW said: On 31 January NRW Officers completed a further inspection. This was to check compliance with the enforcement notice served on the site operators. They had been asked to improve landfill gas control and to reduce the potential for offsite odour. We identified a fair amount of temporary capping work had been done on Cell 5a. The operator had been unable to fully cap the western flank due to bad weather. An extension to complete the work was granted until 8 March when our officers will return to assess compliance. Additional measures to improve landfill gas control are in the process of being implemented by the operator, including the drilling and installation of new gas collection wells. The operator is confident that this work will be completed by 16 February. The operator is conscious that localised landfill gas odours may be observed while this work is completed and is taking steps to reduce as much as possible. NRW officers will continue to inspect the site and ensure they meet the requirements of their Environmental Permit. Residents are encouraged to report any odours on 0300 065 3000 or via the NRW online report it form. Any issues relating to health concerns should be reported to Public Health Wales on 02920 227 744. [email protected] Two thirds of public unaware of life-saving whooping cough vaccine for pregnant women Two thirds of public unaware of life-saving whooping cough vaccine for pregnant women. Following the recent warning from health experts that whooping cough is circulating more widely this year, a survey conducted by Public Health Wales revealed the majority of respondents were unaware that pregnant women are eligible to get vaccinated against the disease. The latest results from the Public Health Wales Time to Talk Public Health panel survey found that 65 per cent of the public are unaware that pregnant women are eligible for vaccination against pertussis (whooping cough), a bacterial infection of the lungs and breathing tubes, that can cause serious complications in the very young. Rates of six in one vaccination, which offers protection from whooping cough for children at eight, 12, and 16 weeks old in Wales, remain high, but in the last year, rates of vaccination in pregnancy have fallen from over 80 per cent to 70 per cent. Most pregnant women in Wales still receive their vaccination for whooping cough, but Public Health Wales said it is concerned that not as many women are being vaccinated at a time when rates of the disease are increasing. Whooping cough spreads easily and can sometimes cause serious health problems. Its important for babies and children to be vaccinated against whooping cough, but pregnant women can help protect their babies by getting vaccinated themselves ideally from 16 weeks up to 32 weeks of pregnancy, although vaccines can be administered up until labour. Vaccinating pregnant women is highly effective in protecting a newborn baby from developing whooping cough in the first weeks of their life as immunity will pass to the baby through the placenta, providing passive protection before they are old enough to be vaccinated themselves at eight weeks old. Time to Talk Public Health results also highlighted an awareness of the importance of vaccines in pregnancy in Wales with 67 per cent of respondents agreeing that vaccinating pregnant women was either very important (50 per cent) or somewhat important (17 per cent). Survey respondents were also asked if they were aware that pregnant women can receive vaccines for flu and Covid-19. 56 per cent of respondents said they were aware that pregnant women are eligible for flu vaccination, and 54 per cent for Covid-19 vaccination. Both vaccines are safe and protect mother and baby from infection, and further information can be found on the Public Health Wales website. Dr Chris Johnson, Consultant Epidemiologist and Head of the Vaccine Preventable Disease Programme, said: Babies under six months old are most at risk from whooping cough, a highly contagious disease that is spread by breathing in small droplets in the air from other peoples coughs and sneezes. It can be very serious and lead to pneumonia, permanent brain damage, or in some cases death. Vaccination in pregnancy protects a baby in the first few weeks of their life, before they receive their first routine immunisation at eight weeks old. We urge all pregnant women and parents of babies and young children to ensure they take up their offer of vaccination when given, or to ask their GP, midwife, or health visitor if they believe they may not have had it. Information about vaccinations in pregnancy Public Health Wales (nhs.wales) [email protected] WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange could be on a plane to the United States within days. This was the stark warning by his wife Stella at the start of a briefing organised by the Foreign Press Association in London Thursday. She was joined by WikiLeaks Editor Kristinn Hrafnsson and Reporters Without Borders Director Rebecca Vincent. Assange, an Australian citizen, faces charges under the US Espionage Act with a potential 170-year sentence for exposing American war crimes and other human rights abusesmost infamously during the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. In a hearing next Tuesday-Wednesday in the UK High Court, he will seek leave to appeal an order for his extradition. The platform and audience, including reporters, at the Foreign Press Association event in London, February 15, 2024 Stella explained, It is the final hearing, if it doesnt go Julians way; there is no possibility to appeal to the Supreme Court or anywhere else in this jurisdiction. A decision in Assanges favour would lead to a full appeal hearing some time in the future. Summarizing what is at stake, Hrafnsson said Assanges extradition would have dark and serious implications for press freedoms all around the world. If Assange can be prosecuted by the United States then no journalist anywhere is safe. We are seeing, creeping upon us, an attack on press freedom worldwide. It is like a disease Julian Assange has been the canary in the coalmine. Hrafnsson pointed to the National Security Act passed in the UK last December, which is very much inspired by the US Espionage Act. If the judges rule against Assange, Stella told reporters, he will apply to the European Court of Human Rights for a Rule 39 order to stop an extradition, as well as the full application bringing up all the points weve raised over the years that Julians human rights have been comprehensively violated, systematically violated for years and years. But, she warned, Rule 39 has been the subject of a lot of news stories recently; we all know the governments position in relation to deportations. And this is of course a huge concern. The government has been considering options to sidestep or totally ignore its obligations under the European Convention of Human Rights in connection with its policy of deporting asylum seekers to Rwanda. Stella added that the High Court Judges can announce their decision the same day [as the hearing closes, on Wednesday] and then say that their written argument would come out in due coursethats happened before. We are of course extremely worried that the decision could be taken immediately and that the Home Office would move to extradite him very quickly. Hrafnsson commented, There are people who have been brought straight from the courthouse straight to the airport to be flown out on an extradition plane. More details were given about the abusive conditions in which Assange is meanwhile being held in the UK on behalf of the US government. Stella explained that Julian has still not been granted permission to appear in court in person, as he has requested so that he can ask for clarification and consult with his lawyers in court. His request was denied at his previous public hearing, where he was given access via videolink, like a spectator. The last time Assange was able to leave Belmarsh prison even to go to court was the 6th of January 2021. Inside Belmarsh, he is kept in a 3x2 metre cell for over 22 hours a day. He was sick for a week over Christmas, and it was only after the intervention of the [Australian] High Commissioner that he was actually able to see a doctor. His health is in decline, mentally and physically. His life is at risk every single day he stays in prison. Vincent added that, during a visit with Assange after his illness, I was very concerned by the state of his health. At that stage he had coughed so much he had broken a rib and was in a lot of pain. His situation is pretty grim now. Describing his continued detention and extradition as a matter of life or death, she referred to the statement of the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture Dr. Alice Edwards, who released a statement last week warning of dire consequences for Mr Assanges health and wellbeing. Edwards predicted a high likelihood that any form of isolation and solitary confinement, especially prolonged solitary confinement, will have an irreparable impact of Mr Assanges psychological and even, potentially physical health. Conditions in the US would be even worse, with Stella denouncing the hypocrisy of the so-called US assurances that Assange will be well treated, which served as the pretext for the High Court to overturn the initial ruling against extradition on grounds of the high risk of suicide. Referring to misreporting, which was not just misleading but malicious, of these facts, she said, These are not assurances. For one, they are conditional. They do not stop the US from doing anything. In fact, they license the US to put him the very conditions that [lower court judge Vanessa] Baraitser found would drive him to kill himself Who determines what conditions Julian will be in if hes extradited to the United States? The intelligence agencies. The very same intelligence agencies that plotted to murder him. Julian will be put in a hole if he is extradited. There is no doubt about that. He will be put in a hole so far and deep in the ground that I dont think Ill ever see him again. And after 13 years of enduring abuse and torture, do you really think a person can survive that? Stella also referenced the recent treatment of Joshua Schulte, alleged to have been the source behind the Vault 7 leaks of CIA cyberespionage tools published by WikiLeaks in 2017. Schulte was just sentenced to 40 years. I mean think about what that means. Its a mafia move. Ahead of and during his trial, he was held under special administrative measures, which is a euphemism for torture. According to Hrafnsson, WikiLeaks itself would also be hampered in actually operating in the United States. Lawyers have advised WikiLeaks staff not to travel to the United States. The reason, he explained, was the declaration by former CIA Director Mike Pompeo that WikiLeaks is considered a non-state hostile intelligence service. This was a highly thought out legal definition which we now know was defined to justify the plan to kidnap or assassinate Julian Assange. In his concluding remarks, Hrafnsson stressed the fight to bring the case to an end immediately, pointing to the punishment by process Assange was being made to endure in an obviously deliberate attempt to wear him down through years of legal proceedings and abuse. The original request for an appeal went in to the courts in September 2022. It took 10 months for the judge, Justice Swift is his name, to come up with two-and-a-half pages of no argument: simply, I read all through this, I dont see any grounds for appeal. And now we are here, eight months later This gives you a sense of the time frame. Five years. While he lingers and slowly dies in prison. Assanges hearing begins Tuesday morning next week. The Socialist Equality Party and the World Socialist Web Site encourages it readers and supporters to join us at the protest outside the Royal Courts of Justice in Central London. Tens of thousands of Indian peasant farmers are continuing their Dilli Challo (Lets go to Delhi) protest in the face of a massive state security crackdown directed by the countrys far-right, Hindu supremacist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government. Protesting farmers gather near Shambhu border that divides northern Punjab and Haryana states, almost 200 km (125 miles) from New Delhi, India, Wednesday, Feb.14, 2024. On that day, protesting Indian farmers clashed with police for a second consecutive day as tens of thousands of them tried to march to the capital New Delhi to demand guaranteed crop prices for their produce. [AP Photo/Rajesh Sachar] To prevent the farmers from taking their protest to Indias national capital, police and paramilitaries have blockaded major roads between Haryana and Punjab, the state where the farmers agitation is centered, since Tuesday. Two border crossings between Haryana and the Delhi National Capital Territory have also been shut down. At least a hundred farmers have been injured in clashes with security forces, who have used lathi (baton) charges, rubber bullets, water cannon and copious amounts of tear gas, some of it dropped by drones, to beat back the protesters. On Thursday, Haryanas BJP state government ordered that a shutdown of all cell phone and mobile internet services in seven of the states 22 districts be extended through Saturday. Led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the BJP central government has not only categorically rejected the farmers key demands. It is determined to use the full might of the state to prevent them from getting anywhere near the capital. Modi and his chief henchman, Home Minister Amit Shah, fear that anything like a reprise of the 2020-2021 farmers agitationduring which tens of thousands of farmers and their families encamped on the outskirts of Delhi for over a yearcould disrupt the BJPs campaign to win a third successive five-year term in government in the national elections slated for this spring. The previous Dilli Challo ended with the Modi government forced to make a tactical retreat and repeal three recently adopted pro-agribusiness reform bills. It did so only after a year during which it attempted to starve the protesters out, and probed whether they could be goaded into a violent confrontation without igniting mass protests among workers and rural toilers across India. As part of the deal to end the 2020-21 protest, the government agreed to establish a committee to look into the farmers demand for a government-guaranteed minimum support price (MSP) for basic crops. That committee has met some three dozen times. However, the MSP is no closer to implementation, as the government dismisses it as unaffordable. Farm incomes, meanwhile, continue to be squeezed by rising input costs (including for fuel and fertilizer), the parcellation of agricultural plots among succeeding generations and the vicissitudes of global agricultural markets and capitalist-driven climate change. As of Thursday evening, tens of thousands of farmers and farm labourers were encamped on the Punjab-side of the Punjab-Haryana Shambhu border crossing, which lies some 200 kilometres (125 miles) from Delhi. Directly in front of them was a veritable war-zone: thousands of heavily-armed security forces and a multi-layered blockade, consisting of large granite blocks, heavy machinery and transport containers, and large stretches of coils of concertina barbed wire. Large spikes or nails were also strewn on the highway to puncture the tires of any tractor that might attempt to break through. The farmers have been instructed by farm union leaders to stay put pending the outcome of talks with the government. According to news reports, when those talks broke up in the early hours of Friday morning, both government and farm union representatives claimed significant progress, although their remarks suggested this was more on the possibility of the government granting a farm debt waiver than it adopting the MSP. Union Agriculture Minister Arjun Munda called the talks very positive and said the two sides had agreed to meet again on Sunday. Kisan Mazdoor Morcha (Working-Farmer Front) Coordinator Sarvan Singh Pandher said, If the commitments made during the meeting are translated into action, it would be highly beneficial for the farmer. Underscoring that the heads of the farmer unions, who tend to be drawn from the more prosperous and politically connected farmers, are angling for a deal with the Modi government, they are stressing the supposed non-political character of their agitation. Indian big business, for its part, stands full-square behind the Modi government in its opposition to the farmers MSP demand. It views the demand as cutting across its push to increase profit extraction from the agricultural sector, by developing large agribusinesses at the expense of small farmers; and it fears any further retreat by the government in the face of farmer protests could serve to galvanize opposition within the working class. In a February 13 editorial, the Times of India bluntly declared that the legal guarantee of MSP is a bad idea and should be buried for good. It recommended instead that any meeting of government and farm union leaders should focus on solving issues such as withdrawal of police cases from earlier protests and release of seized tractors, things that the government had previously promised to do. In the run-up to Thursdays talks, BJP ministers and supporters continued to smear the protests, by suggesting they were a tool of the opposition parties and had been infiltrated by elements intent on violence. Defending its suspension of mobile and internet services and blockading of the border with Punjab, the BJP Haryana state government told the Punjab and Haryana High Court that the farmers unions are hell bent on fomenting chaos in north India and that the farmers agitation is instilling a sense of fear among the people of the state. This protest seems political, said Pramod Chaudhary, a member of the governments MSP committee and leader of the BJP-aligned Bharatiya Kisan Sangh. There are, he continued, concerns about the spread of violence, just like we witnessed last time at the Red Fort. This latter point was an inflammatory reference to a BJP government-instigated clash with farmers in Delhi in January 2021 that it subsequently exploited to spread the lie that the agitation was being manipulated, if not led, by pro-Khalistanis (that is advocates of a separate Sikh state.) Since the 1960s, Indias central government has set minimum support prices during each growing season for more than 20 crops. However, the MSP, which in any event applies only to government purchases, is for most crops only nominal. Dr. Ranjith Ghuman, a noted economist and professor at Guru Nanak Dev University in Amritsar told The Hindu that the past track record shows only three to four crops, mainly wheat, paddy and cotton, and at times pulses, were being procured at MSP while the remaining crops were being procured at much below the MSP. The farmers are demanding that the recommendation made by the government-appointed 2004-2006 National Commission on Farmers for a true minimum price guarantee be implemented. Headed by Mankombu Sambasivan Swaminathan, a renowned agriculturist who is considered to be a leader of Indias Green Revolution, the commission said the MSP should be at least 50 percent more than the weighted average cost of production. It further stipulated that the cost of production should include the cost of all inputs and the cost of renting the land, even if tiller-owned, leading it to be dubbed the C2+50 percent formula. The Swaminathan Commission was established by the Congress Party-led, Stalinist-backed United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government shortly after the shock defeat of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance in the May 2004 election. But the UPA, which pressed forward with privatization, deregulation and other pro-investor reforms, made short shrift of the MSP proposal. UPA Agriculture Minister and senior Congress Party leader K.V. Thomas said it could, distort the market, adding, a mechanical linkage between MSP and cost of production may be counter-productive in some cases. Suddenly, in the midst of this weeks farmers agitation, the Congress Partyin a transparent attempt to boost their sagging electoral fortuneshas declared that if they form Indias next government they will implement legislation guaranteeing an MSP based on the Swaminathan Commission formula for all farmers. This is patently a fraud. The Congress Party today heads a right-wing electoral bloc, the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance or INDIA, that is no less committed to continued pro-investor reform and the anti-China Indo-US military-strategic partnership than Modi and his BJP. Congress and its allies also connive with the Hindu right, as exemplified by the prominent participation in their bloc of the pro-Hindutva and fascistic Shiv Sena. None of this prevents the three Stalinist parliamentary partiesthe Communist Party of India (Marxist) or CPM, the Communist Party of India (CPI) and the Maoist CPI (Marxist-Leninist) Liberationfrom working might and main to channel the working class and rural toilers behind the INDIA bloc and its efforts to provide the bourgeoisie with an alternate right-wing government. In January the CPM-led Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) announced that it was joining with the farm unions to hold a Grameen Bandh, or rural shutdown, this Friday, February 16. The bandh is supposed to popularize a series of demands that in some way address the immense social crisis confronting rural masses. These include enactment of the MSP and an expansion of the MGNREGA program that is supposed to guarantee 100 days of minimum-wage menial labour to one member of every rural family per year, but has been massively cut back by the Modi government as part of its austerity drive. As they did during the 2020-21 farmers movement, the Stalinists are seeking to limit workers to supporting the farmers, while they stump for votes for the INDIA alliance. While they wave red flags and hold up portraits of Lenin and Marx, the Stalinists function as an integral part of the Indian bourgeois political establishment to suppress the class struggle. As such, they are bitterly opposed to mobilizing the working class, whose ranks have massively expanded over the past three decades, as an independent political force, rallying the peasant farmers and the even more brutally exploited agricultural labourers behind it in an offensive against the Modi government and capitalism in India. A shooting at the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl victory rally left one person dead and up to 30 injured on Wednesday, as one million people gathered to celebrate in Kansas City, Missouri. Two juveniles are currently being held in custody but have not been charged as of this writing. A third suspect was released on Thursday after police determined that they were not involved in the shooting. A person is taken to an ambulance following a shooting at the Kansas City Chiefs NFL football Super Bowl celebration in Kansas City, Missouri, on Wednesday, February 14, 2024. [AP Photo/Charlie Riedel] While the motive for the shooting has not been determined, police have stated that it was not an act of terrorism or extremism, instead stemming from a dispute between several people that ended in gunfire. In an interview with CBS, shooting victim Jacob Gooch Sr. said that he overheard an altercation between two people just before the shooting. He reportedly heard a woman tell one of the shooters, dont do it, not here; this is stupid. He added, My daughter said that some lady was like holding him back, and people had started backing up, and then he pulled it out and just started shooting and spinning in a circle. Gooch was shot in the ankle, while his wife was shot in the calf and his son was also injured. A total of 30 people were injured with roughly half of them children. The University Health Truman Medical Center reported that eight of the 12 patients admitted were released as of Thursday afternoon, while Childrens Mercy Kansas City said that of the 12 victims admitted, 11 were children, nine of whom had gunshot wounds. Nine of the 12 patients were discharged as of Thursday, according to hospital officials. The three remaining patients were children, who were all expected to fully recover. The one person killed during the shooting was identified as 44-year-old Lisa Lopez-Galvan, a DJ at local radio station KKFI and a mother of two. The radio station issued a statement on Wednesday on her death saying, This senseless act has taken a beautiful person from her family and this KC Community. The investigation of the shooting is ongoing. Kansas City police said they have recovered a number of firearms, and investigators will be analyzing bullets and shell casings to determine which guns were used in the shooting and if they were used in any other shootings in the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) administration weapons database. The latest mass shooting in the US has received its fair share of thoughts and prayers from various political figures. The White House issued a statement from Biden stating, We have to decide who we are as a country. For me, were a country where people should have the right to go to school, to go to church, to walk the streetand to attend a Super Bowl celebrationwithout fear of losing your life to gun violence. Jill and I pray for those killed and injured today in Kansas City and for our country to find the resolve to end this senseless epidemic of gun violence tearing us at the seams. Such words from Genocide Joe ring hollow. Not only is he directly supporting the genocide of the Palestinian people in Gaza, but his appeals to personal choice in the epidemic of gun violence in the United States ignores the worsening social crisis that he has overseen in his decades in federal office. There were 182 homicides in Kansas City in 2023, one of the highest rates among American cities with 36 murders per 100,000 people against a national average of 6.3 murders per 100,000 people. In 2021 it was the city with the fifth highest murder rate in the country. This is part of a rising wave of gun violence across the US. According to the CDC, 2021 had more gun-related deaths than any other year on record, totaling 48,830 deaths. More than half of these (54 percent) were from suicide. Roughly 80 percent of murders involved a firearm, the highest percentage since 1968. Deaths from firearms have rapidly climbed in recent years, especially during the pandemic, with murders from guns increasing 45 percent between 2019 and 2021 alone. Included in this is a stark increase in the number of gun deaths among children and teenagers, which rose 50 percent from 1,732 in 2019 to 2,590 in 2021. Murder and suicide rates are now rapidly approaching their peaks from the 1970s, while the number of mass shootings in the US continues to grow. According to the Gun Violence Archive, there were 656 mass shootings in 2023, compared to 272 in 2014, in which at least four people were injured or killed. Mass murders, which involve four or more people being shot and killed, have risen from 17 in 2014 to 40 in 2023. Already in 2024, nearly 2,000 people have been killed in gun-related incidents. The epidemic of violence in the United States is tied to the rise in social inequality and poverty. In Kansas City, 15 percent of people are living below the federal poverty line, higher than the national average of 12.6 percent. But perhaps more influential is the brutal violence of American capitalism. US imperialism has waged war nearly without interruption for more than 30 years, while police have murdered more than 1,000 people each year. That a personal dispute could turn into a mass shooting event at a major celebration is a testament to the callousness of capitalist society. Human lives are reduced to objects to be used and discarded as seen fit by the ruling class. This pathological ruling class mindset, which has culminated in the policy of mass death during the pandemic and the genocide in Gaza, is producing the social disease of endemic violence. The shooting in Kansas City and the broader crisis of violence in the United States is ultimately the responsibility of capitalist barbarism, which, in its ceaseless pursuit of profits and power, has created the conditions for such a tragedy to occur. Palestinians displaced by the Israeli air and ground offensive on the Gaza Strip walk through a makeshift tent camp in Rafah on the border with Egypt, Saturday, Jan. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Fatima Shbair) Confirming the genocidal statements issued over recent months by Israels far-right government, reports released Thursday revealed that Egypt is constructing a massive walled enclosure in northern Sinai to host Palestinians forcibly expelled from Gaza. The news comes as Israel makes the final preparations for a bloody ground offensive into Rafah, where some 1.5 million people are crammed together and being denied the basic necessities for human life. According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, the eight-square-mile compound is a contingency plan in the event Palestinians succeed in breaching the reinforced border. Egypt has constructed a concrete wall along the border and deployed additional troops and tanks over recent weeks as Israels brutal onslaught has moved further south. The Sinai Foundation for Human Rights, a London-based organisation monitoring developments in Egypts Sinai Peninsula, noted Wednesday that construction of the camp began on Monday and is expected to take 10 days. The goal of the construction project, which is being overseen by military intelligence officials, is to build a gated area, surrounded by 7-meter-high walls. The Egyptian dictatorship of General Abdel Fatah al-Sisi has long been publicly hostile to accepting Palestinian refugees in Sinai. The Cairo regime fears they could become a security risk as it combats Islamist militants in the region, and that Hamas, whose origins were in the Muslim Brotherhood, could strengthen the Brotherhood in Egypt. More fundamentally, the al-Sisi regime fears the consequences for social stability of its complicity in the expulsion of the Palestinians becoming public in a country where the plight of the Palestinians enjoys broad sympathy among Egyptian workers, who remain bitterly hostile to the bloody dictatorship that drowned the Egyptian revolution in blood. The far-right Israeli government led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has, more or less openly, been declaring for months its intention to forcibly expel the Palestinians from Gaza, a war crime under international law. In October, just two weeks after Israel launched its bombardment of Gaza, a leaked document from the Ministry of Intelligence called for Israel to evacuate the civilian population to Sinai. A paper entitled Options for a policy regarding Gazas civilian population released on 13 October suggested that the mass expulsion of the Palestinians to Sinai could be accompanied by the creation of a sterile zone on the Egyptian side of the border. The return of the population to activities/residences near the border with Israel should not be allowed. In addition, a security perimeter should be established in our territory near the border with Egypt, the report stated. In November, far-right Finance Minister Bezalil Smotrich appealed for the voluntary emigration of the Gaza Arabs to the countries of the world, describing this as the right humanitarian solution. Israel has sought to achieve its goal of depopulating Gaza both by the use of ruthless military force and the denial of humanitarian aid to produce mass hunger and the rampant spread of disease. This is culminating in the looming ground assault on Rafah, which Israeli officials once proclaimed a safe zone for the Palestinian population. US imperialism is working behind the scenes to facilitate the transfer of the Palestinians to the Sinai. Head of the CIA William Burns was in Cairo before travelling on to Israel this week, ostensibly to discuss the release of the remaining hostages. President Joe Biden urged Netanyahu on Sunday not to launch a ground invasion of Rafah until a credible plan for the evacuation of the civilian population was in place. The news that Egypt is building a massive walled compound reveals that Bidens professed concern for civilian casualties in Rafah was much more likely a declaration of US support for the Palestinians mass expulsion from Gaza to Sinai. American imperialisms unreserved support for Israels genocide, which has included the supply of the 2,000-pound bombs that have devastated Gaza, is bound up with its geopolitical ambitions. The destruction of Gaza has provided Washington with a useful pretext to substantially expand its military operations throughout the Middle East in preparation for a direct military clash with Iran. Over the past month, Washington and its allies have launched missiles against the Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen and Tehran-aligned militias in Iraq and Syria. The US ruling class aims, with the resort to imperialist barbarism, to consolidate its dominance over the energy-rich and strategically important region against its rivals, China and Russia. For their part, the European imperialist powers, led by Germany and France, have deployed their own military resources to the region as they seek to secure their share of the booty. Washington has given Israel a free hand to attack and destroy all infrastructure necessary for human life in Gaza, including water treatment facilities, schools and universities, and hospitals and medical facilities. Israeli soldiers stormed the Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis Thursday, effectively putting out of action the largest medical facility in the southern Gaza Strip. The brutal scenes of tanks firing on patients and soldiers forcing medical personnel and the injured into one part of the hospital provide yet further confirmation of the savagery and criminality of the Israeli regime, which has already repeatedly assaulted hospitals in the course of its four-month genocide on the Palestinians. The raid follows similar barbaric actions at the Al-Nassr and Al-Shifa hospitals in Gaza City in November, and Amal Hospital in Khan Younis last week. On each occasion, Israel has justified the murderous attacks, which are crimes under international law, with bogus claims about the presence of terrorists or terrorist infrastructure within the medical facility. Having surrounded and bombarded the facility for many days, the Israeli forces confined hundreds of people, including over 90 medics and 190 patients, into an old building at the medical complex. Hundreds of patients and displaced people were driven from the site by the Israel Defence Forces (IDF), which fired on them and demolished parts of the hospital building. According to Palestinian Health Ministry spokesperson Ashraf al-Qudra, The Nasser Medical Complex is witnessing a catastrophic, worrying situation because of the dwindling medical capacity as fuel is set to run out in the next 24 hours, which directly threatens the lives of patients, including six on respirators in intensive care and three children in incubators. As it presses ahead with its genocide in Gaza, Israel is also recklessly escalating the war on its northern border with Lebanon. Thursday was the deadliest day for the conflict between the two countries, which has included daily exchanges of fire between the IDF and Hezbollah since 7 October. A total of 10 civilians and three Hezbollah members were killed in a dozen Israeli air strikes on various targets south of the Litani River. In the most provocative action, Israeli troops unleashed sustained machine gun fire on the village of Kfar Kila in a sweep operation. The drastic intensification of fire across the border increases the danger of an all-out war between the two countries, which would mark a further escalation of the regional conflagration between US imperialism and its allies on the one side, and Iran and its regionally aligned forces on the other. If Israel and its imperialist sponsors get away with the mass expulsion of the Palestinians to Egypt, it will go down in history as one of the 21st centurys greatest crimes and represent a major step towards a bloodbath engulfing the entire Middle East. However, the past four months have not only demonstrated the savagery of the imperialists and the Israeli regime, but also the widespread hostility to war and genocide among the millions of workers and young people around the world who have participated in demonstrations. The urgent task is to provide this movement with the socialist and internationalist programme necessary to mobilize the working class in the major imperialist centres and throughout the Middle East in political struggle against war and capitalist barbarism. The Health Workers Rank-and-File Committee (HWRFC) in Australia has received more statements protesting the victimisation, doxxing and possible deregistration of scores of medical practitioners who have spoken out against the ongoing war crimes being committed by the Israeli military in Gaza. The HWRFC passed a resolution on January 17 pledging to defend all victimised medical practitioners and calling on workers, students and youth in Australia and internationally to send statements denouncing these bullying pro-Israeli military slanders. According to recent reports, at least 39 health workers are currently being investigated by the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) after being falsely accused of antisemitism by Zionist forces. All they did was condemn war crimes. Appeals by the victimised doctors and health workers to AHPRA, the Medical Board of Australia, and Australias Human Rights Commissioner, and a petition initiated by the Australian Islamic Medical Association and ANZ Doctors for Palestine, signed by almost 7,500 medical practitioners, have been ignored by government and medical authorities. The Albanese Labor government, which aggressively supports Israels genocidal attacks on the Palestinians in Gaza, is fully aware of the victimisation and doxxing of pro-Palestine health workersthe doctors petition was launched in Decemberbut has said nothing. That was until last week, when the Labor government suddenly became concerned about the leaking of the contents of a secret WhatsApp group titled J.E.W.I.S.H Australian creatives and academics. The group, which had been organised by pro-Zionist elements, was established to support the extreme-right Netanyahu regime and to target pro-Palestine activists. On Monday, Prime Minister Albanese told the media that releasing information about the WhatsApp group was antisemitic and that his government was planning to introduce new legislation that would ban doxxing. While few details have been released about the planned laws, Labor is preparing measures that will constitute a far-reaching attack on democratic rights and ban any exposure of the sort of witch-hunting activities that have been carried out against pro-Palestine health workers and others determined to expose the war crimes committed in Gaza. The HWRFC urges all medical practitioners to speak out against the victimisation of their colleagues and other workers to send statements and letters of support. This week we received two letters from Australian health workers and a powerful statement from health staff in Sri Lanka. The Sri Lankan statement was sent after a two-day national strike by tens of thousands of public hospital workers for increased allowances. It opposes Israels ethnic cleansing attacks on Palestinians in Gaza and explains the repressive measures that have been instituted by the Sri Lankan government to ban doctors and other health workers from exposing the disastrous impact of government cuts on the public health system. Statements have already been published from NHS Fightback in Britain, the convenor of the Pathology Rank-and-File Workers group in Australia, the Australian and New Zealand Doctors for Palestine, and a Queensland public hospital doctor. Please send statements to the Health Workers Rank-and-File Committee here. * * * Health Workers Action Committee in Sri Lanka We, members of the Health Workers Action Committee in Sri Lanka, are dedicated to opposing the IMF-dictated austerity measures imposed by the Wickremesinghe government and the betrayal of workers struggles for their rights by the official trade unions. We express our solidarity with our colleagues in Australia who have faced persecution by Zionists for their opposition to the Israeli aggression in Gaza under the leadership of Netanyahu, with the support of the Western imperialist powers. Kandy Hospital workers protest against the Rajapakse government on 28 April 2022. The placard calls for the formation of workers' action committees In Gaza, over 35,000 people, including over 30,000 civilians and more than 300 healthcare workers, have been killed in Israels genocidal war. The deliberate destruction of hospitals and healthcare facilities has exacerbated the humanitarian crisis. In Sri Lanka, the 26-year-long communal war waged by successive governments against the separatist LTTE resulted in the loss of hundreds of thousands of lives of Tamils, Sinhalese, and Muslims, and severely impacted the living conditions of many more. According to UN estimates, at least 40,000 Tamil civilians were killed during the final months of the war. As healthcare workers in Sri Lanka, we have witnessed the anti-democratic attacks by the government on workers over the past few decades, especially those who speak out about the healthcare crisis in Sri Lanka due to austerity measures of the government. Those who have raised concerns have been targeted, with their jobs suspended. Currently, the government is attempting to suppress the exposure of the healthcare sectors crisis by imposing anti-democratic laws. Last year, university students, staff members, and some media workers in Sri Lanka protested against the genocide in Gaza. The Wickremasinghe government has agreed to deploy naval ships to the Red Sea ostensibly to protect commercial vessels from attacks by Houthi rebels, who are pressuring Israel and its allies to halt the war in Gaza. The members of the Health Workers Action Committee in Sri Lanka vehemently oppose and condemn the targeting and harassment of doctors and other healthcare workers who speak out against the Israeli militarys brutal attacks on the Palestinian people in Gaza by Zionists. Healthcare professionals must speak out against any actions that jeopardise civilian lives, including the recent events in Gaza. Despite our diverse backgrounds, our profession is committed to upholding the sanctity of human life and promoting health for all. We offer our support to the defense campaign conducted by the Health Workers Rank-and-File Committee in Australia and will encourage health workers and other sections of workers in Sri Lanka to organise and join this campaign to protect our targeted health workers in Australia. John Mackay, New South Wales public hospital clinical scientist The genocide in Gaza is a war crime and one that has changed the consciousness of masses of workers and young people around the world as evidenced by the significant and weekly protests worldwide. Doctors and health workers are speaking out against the killing of 30,000 or more Palestinians in Gaza, almost half of them children, because they cannot and will not remain silent about these crimes and the direct involvement of governments in the US, Canada, the UK, Germany, France, Australia and others in this barbarity. Health workers by virtue of their chosen profession have earned their place to play a leading role in this fight to defend life and humanity. Their decision to oppose the Gaza genocide is not antisemitism, as claimed by the Zionist forces, but a genuinely humane and internationalist response against the mass murder and barbaric destruction being carried out by the Israeli military. It is, moreover, a clear expression of the fact that there is mass global opposition to militarism and war. This strikes fear into governments, which are preparing future, even more horrendous, military conflicts and are determined to silence and stamp out this mass antiwar sentiment. This is what is behind the Zionists use of the complaint processes of AHPRA and Australian government agencies that are supposed to uphold public health and medical standards to target and victimise health workers. The refusal of the health unions and other medical bodies to oppose the Gaza genocide and to defend our rights must also be exposed. This disturbing development constitutes a direct assault on freedom of speech, not just of medical practitioners but all sections of the working class, and must be vigorously opposed. I urge health workers to speak out and defend our victimised colleagues. Our response to these attacks cannot be to retreat but to fight back with a loud voice and unifying action to oppose the Gaza genocide and imperialism, the social system that has produced this catastrophe and which is driven by private profit and operates in complete disregard for human need, human life and public health. Protesters pack London's Whitehall on Feb. 15, 2003, during a march to Hyde Park, to demonstrate against a possible war against Iraq [AP Photo/Alastair Grant, File] I am old enough to remember the invasion of Iraq in 2003 by the United States and its allies, including Australia, and all the blatant lies told about weapons of destruction to justify the destruction of that country and one million Iraqi citizens. Twenty years on Im not prepared to allow even more sinister crimes to be committed or to remain silent to the danger of a third world war. Mark Stapleton, a health worker from Brisbane, Queensland I am a retired registered nurse and deplore not only the genocide in Gaza but also the Western governments (including Australias) support for this war and also the war against Russia and China using Ukrainian and Taiwanese blood. I absolutely support health workers right to speak out about war crimes without being labelled antisemitic. The Australian government, unions and media should support these health workers against hostile actions by lobby groups. As Israels fascist government prepares to launch a massive ground invasion to take over Rafah city, discussions are now under way about setting up 15 campsiteseach with around 25,000 tentsacross the southwestern part of the Gaza Strip, to house the million-plus Palestinians that have taken refuge in the city. These tent cities are to be funded by the United States and Arab despots and operated by the butcher of Cairo, Egypts Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. Egypt and other Arab regimes are in effect providing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with the ability to claim he has assured the safe passage he said he would provide so that the planned ground invasion could take place. As Netanyahu again declared as Israel mounted a massive aerial bombardment of the city, his real goal is total victorywhich means killing as many Palestinians as possible and driving the rest into the desert. President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi (left) shakes US President Joe Biden's hand at the GCC+3 summit in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, July 16, 2022. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is in the background. That such proposals could even be discussed with the Arab regimes confirms that their collusion with Israels genocidal offensive against Gaza, from day one, has now become direct participation in its ethnic cleansing through a second Nakba. Israel has already killed at least 29,000 people, mostly women, children and the elderly, buried thousands more under the rubble, and displaced approximately 86 percent of Gazas population1.7 million out of 2.3 million people. The majority are now sheltering in Rafah, close to the border with Egypt where they face famine, lack access to clean water and medical care and the imminent prospect of extermination. Egypt: Israels border guard Egypt, the most populous Arab state with 104 million people and the key frontline state, has for decades played a criminal role as a direct accomplice in Israels suppression of the Palestinians and its de facto border guard. Since signing a peace treaty with Israel in 1979, Cairo has extended its ties with Tel Aviv, importing natural gas from Israel for refining and re-export, coordinating security over their shared border and the Gaza Strip, maintaining Israels blockade on Gaza, and strictly limiting the movement of people and goods across its borders after Hamas took control in 2007. Egypt stood by when Israel launched murderous assaults on the besieged enclave in 2008-9, 2012, 2014, the 2018-19 Great March of Return and 2021. When the Gaza offensive started in October, Israels wartime proposal to push Gazas 2.3 million Palestinians into Egypts Sinai desert was met with a furious response from Cairo. However, this was not out of any concern for the Palestinians but because of what El-Sisi called Gaza's existential threat to Egypt's national security. If a million Gazans crossed the border, he warned, this would lead to a resurgence of Islamist militancy in Sinai. When El-Sisi refers to a resurgence of Islamist militancy, he means a renewal of the mass popular opposition known as the 25 January Revolution, which in 2011, at the height of the Arab Spring, ended Mubaraks personal rule. On July 3, 2013, the junta was able to resume power in a military coup thanks to the political bankruptcy of the bourgeois liberal opposition and their pseudo-left appendages in the Revolutionary Socialists, who provided leading personnel for the anti-Islamist Tamarod movement through which the military and its billionaire backers prepared the political ground for the coup. El-Sisi has brutally crushed all dissent ever since and the last thing he wants is millions of displaced and angry Palestinians to act as the focus for broader political opposition to his regime, to US imperialism and all its allies in the region. The army has already fortified the concrete border wall with Gaza, installing barbed wire to prevent the Palestinians from crossing into the Sinai and deploying troops and 40 tanks along the border. El-Sisi, speaking at a press conference on October 18 with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Cairo, argued that Israel could move Gazas Palestinians to Israels Negev desert instead of Sinai until Israel is capable of defeating Hamas and Islamic Jihad. Afterwards, Palestinians could return to their homeland. Reports are circulating, citing the Sinai Foundation for Human Rights, that Egypt is constructing an eight-square-mile walled enclosure in northern Sinai to host Palestinians forcibly expelled from Gaza, though this is described as a contingency plan in the event Palestinians succeed in breaching the reinforced border. But wherever the de facto concentration camps being discussed are eventually established, Egypt and the other Arab regimes involved are giving a greenlight for mass murder in Rafah. On Sunday, with breathtaking cynicism Egyptian officials, responding to these latest proposals for tent cities, told Israel that they would not object to a military operation in Rafah as long as it is conducted without harming Palestinian civilians. Army Radio also said that Egypt had emphatically denied reports it might pull out of its 1979 Camp David treaty if Israel attacked Rafah. All the oil-rich despots are working openly with Israel to enable it to pursue its genocidal war, even deepening their ties to ensure Israel can continue the war without hindrance. They cover their treachery with crocodile tears over the plight of the Palestinians in Gaza, support for South Africas case against Israel at the International Court of Justice and appeals for an urgent meeting of the toothless UN Security Council that is subject to Washingtons veto to prevent Israel from causing an imminent humanitarian disaster for which everyone who supports the aggression is responsible. Jordan: Repressing Palestinian protests Jordan has played the most open role in repressing popular opposition to Israel. It shares a long border with Israel and is home to over 2.2 million registered Palestinian refugees driven there by wars between 1947 and 1967, and their descendants. Around half of its 11 million population are of Palestinian descent, of whom around two thirds have been granted citizenship, but they face discrimination, while nearly 400,000 still live in 10 refugee camps. Jordan has maintained a cold peace with Israel following a US Clinton administration-brokered normalization treaty in 1994. The Jordanian government has banned protests along its border with the West Bank and clamped down on protests against Israels war on Gaza. According to Human Rights Watch (HRW), it has arrested or harassed over 1,000 pro-Palestine protesters who have called for the Jordanian government to take action against Israel. Lama Fakih, HRWs Middle East director, said, Jordanian authorities are trampling the right to free expression and assembly to tamp down Gaza-related activism. Last week, the authorities arrested activist Khaled al-Natour, after he shared posts calling for the lifting of the blockade on Gaza, as part of the governments heightened crackdown on pro-Palestine activists, under a controversial new cybercrime law. According to Amnesty International, the vaguely worded law, passed in August, gives the government huge latitude to crack down on free speech and has been used to arrest and charge at least six political activists for their social media posts expressing pro-Palestinian sentiments or criticizing the authorities policies towards Israel and advocating for public strikes and protests. Arab regimes keeping Israels economy running Jordan, along with several other Arab states, is also playing a central role in keeping Israels economy functioning during the war. According to Israels television Channel 13, the United Arab Emirates-based PureTrans FZCO and Israel-based Trucknet, which provides logistics technology for the Arab shipping companies, are transporting vital goods, including food, plastics, chemicals and electronic devices and components, between Dubai's Jebel Ali port and Haifa port, via roads passing through Saudi Arabia and Jordan. The route was established prior to the Gaza offensive. In June, Miri Regev, Israels Minister of Transportation and Road Safety, announced plans to develop the route, stating on X/Twitter that the overland transportation of the goods will shorten the time by 12 days and greatly reduce the existing waiting time due to the wire problem. We will do it and we will succeed. In September, Trucknet signed a shipping agreement with the UAE and Bahrain. The plans also include a railway line, yet to be agreed, linking the UAE and Israel, with a high-speed train service between Israels northern city of Beit Shean and southern port of Eilat on the Red Sea. The route has assumed greater strategic significance since October and especially because of Houthi attacks on Israeli-linked shipping in the Red Sea, helping Israel circumvent the shipping blockade and cutting the 14-day sea route around the Cape to four days. Acutely conscious of the mass opposition within its already restive population to Israels genocidal war, Jordan denied that goods were being transported to Israel via its territory. But television reports showing trucks from the UAE crossing Jordanian territory to reach Israel exposed this lie, sparking anger and demonstrations against Jordans shameful land bridge to Israel. Screenshot from Middle East Eye YouTube video of "A special report by Israeli television Channel 13 on Tuesday reveals how Israel is using the land route [in green] that begins from Dubai and passes through Saudi Arabia and Jordan to transport cargo in order to bypass the Houthi blockade in the Red Sea." The Dubai-Haifa land corridor was in fact first mooted in 2017 by Israels transport minister Yisrael Katz and highlighted at the signing in 2020 of the Abraham Accords with the UAE and Bahrainand later with Sudan and Morroccothat ended the participants long-standing economic boycott of Israel. It made apparent Israels economic ties with the Gulf states that had long been kept under wraps. The Accords not only signified the ditching of their long-defunct adherence to securing a two-state solution, even as Netanyahu threatened to annex one third of the West Bank, illegally occupied by Israel since the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. It crucially paved the way for trade and investment deals with Tel Aviv, particularly in arms, technology and cyberware, and Israels broader economic integration into the region begun clandestinely after the 1993 Oslo Accords. Saudi Arabia and the planned war against Iran Bahrain could only sign up to the Accords with the tacit consent of its paymaster in Saudi Arabia. Riyadh is now directly involved in the Dubai-Haifa corridor as part of its efforts to extract as many concessions as possible from Washington, including a defence agreement, commitment of security support, arms and fighter jets and help with a civilian nuclear program, even as it expanded its economic and political links with China to strengthen its bargaining position. The land corridor is a key concern for the US and European imperialist powers. It is aimed at positioning the Israeli port of Haifa as a major gateway to Europe, altering the political and economic map of the region by bypassing the Red Sea and furthering Israel's integration into the Gulf states economies. Haifa would be the linchpin of the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC), a major transport infrastructure project aimed at integrating India, the Gulf and Europe while avoiding Iran, which would bring India closer to US imperialism and counter Chinas Belt and Road Initiative. Omans Salalah Port, which has extensive ties with India, could also become part of the new network. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment & India-Middle East-Europe Economics Corridor event during G20Summit, in New Delhi on September 9, 2023. [Photo: Prime Minister's Office (GODL-India)] The project, which excludes Turkey, the largest non-oil economy in the Middle East, has aroused Ankaras wrath, with government officials saying that the most suitable route for east-west trade passes through Turkey not Greece. It also undermines Egypts Suez Canal, which is already suffering financial losses from the diversion of shipping round the Cape, intensifying its economic and social crisis. The Arab regimes now account for one quarter of Israels $12.5 billion defence exports. Leaders from the UAE have also reiterated their commitment to the Abraham Accords, with UAE presidential foreign affairs adviser Anwar Gargash telling a conference in Dubai last month, The UAE has taken a strategic decision, and strategic decisions are long-term. The bilateral flow of goods has exploded, expanding from $11.2 million in 2019 to $2 billion, excluding software, from January to August 2023, according to Israels UAE ambassador. The UAE-Israel partnership deal that came into force last year lowered tariffs with the aim of increasing bilateral trade to $10bn within five years. While far less than Israels trade with the European Union and Turkey, this is nevertheless far more than Israels trade with Egypt and Jordan. As Israeli CEOs told the Financial Times, amid the Gaza genocide it has been business as usual, with new investment plans going ahead and the UAEs airline continuing its flights to Tel Aviv even as others cancel theirs. While Saudi Arabia was never a frontline state in the Arab Israeli conflict, in October 1973 it led the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) ban on the export of oil to those countries that had supported Israel during the October 1973 Arab-Israeli War. The war began after Egypt and Syria launched a surprise attack on Israel in an ultimately unsuccessful attempt to recover the territories lost in the 1967 war. Only Iraq and Libya did not take part in the oil embargo that was lifted in March 1974, by which time the price of oil had risen nearly threefold, massively increasing the oil states wealth and reactionary political influence in the region. Fifty years later, there has been no mention of a similar embargo in defence of the 2.3 million Palestinians in Gaza, indicating the monarchies backing for Israels war, paid for and planned by the Biden administration, to assert US hegemony over the resource-rich region and suppress all opposition to Washington and its regional allies and to their own regime. A Palestinian walks through the destruction by the Israeli bombardment in the Nusseirat refugee camp in Gaza Strip, January 16, 2024 [AP Photo/Adel Hana] Israels war on Gaza has done nothing to derail Washingtons long-running efforts to broker a normalization deal between Israel and Saudi Arabia. A potential Saudi-Israel deal is a crucial part of its bid to settle the Gaza conflict with Riyadh indicating its willingness to proceed with discussions. For their part, the US and UK have consolidated the reversal of their previous opposition to Riyadhs war to unseat the Houthis in Yemen, launching hundreds of aerial strikes on the Houthis in response to their attacks on shipping linked to Israel aimed at putting pressure on Israel to end its war and blockade of Gaza. The Arab regimes, whose populations hold them in contempt, have made a pact with the devil: support for Israeland by implication US imperialismin return for Washingtons commitment to back their security in the event of a new Arab Spring or mass movement to unseat them, and to wage war against Iran, which has backed opposition forces to their rule, as part of its preparations for war on China. Are you an autoworker? Fill out the form at the end of the article to join the fight against job cuts. Stellantis reported profits of $20 billion in 2023, an 11 percent rise over 2022. The United Auto Workers phony stand up strike had a relatively small impact on the companys second-half profits, which came in at $10.96 billion compared to $12.16 billion the year before. CEO Carlos Tavares speaking at the companys Software Day presentation last December (Stellantis Media) Based on this windfall of profits, company executives announced they would pay a $1.66 a share dividend to stockholders and launch a $3.2 billion stock buyback programdoubling last years $1.6 billion handout to top shareholders. Despite the higher earnings, Stellantis is reducing its average profit-sharing payout to US hourly workers to $13,860, down from $14,760 in 2022. Only some 38,000 of Stellantis 43,000 workers will receive profit sharing, since the UAW reportedly agreed to exclude temporary workers or supplemental employees (SE). According to the Detroit News, Lower paid supplemental employees, unlike their temporary-worker counterparts at General Motors Co. and Ford Motor Co., aren't eligible for this year's profit sharing. Prior to the new contract last year, supplementals represented 12% of Stellantis' 43,000-person unionized U.S. workforce, though the UAW won language to roll over those workers to full-time after nine months of employment. This directly contradicts the claims made by the UAW in the contract highlights it provided workers last fall, which stated: Supplemental Employees Eligible for Profit-Sharing, Tuition Assistance and Dependent Scholarship. UAW contract "highlights" claim "Supplemental Employees Eligible for Profit-Sharing" [Photo: UAW] To get its pro-company contract passed, the UAW bureaucracy did not just lie about temporaries getting profit-sharing. It also claimed these dues-paying members would be rolled over to full-time status after nine months of service. Instead, the UAW agree to the termination of more than 2,300 of the 5,219 supplemental workers employed by the company, which is in the process of firing them now. North American net profits were $8.271 billion. The company said it had lost less than $800 million in profits due to the UAW strike. In a press release, Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares said, Todays record financial results are proof that we have become a new global leader in our industry and will remain rock solid as we look to a turbulent 2024. Thanks to our flexible technology and product roadmap, we are prepared to address the various scenarios that could arise and to continue delivering on our Dare Forward 2030 targets. Tavares said he expected 2024 would be better than 2023, which he said was even better than OK in terms of profit. The Stellantis CEO claimed, These profit sharing and variable payout programs are more than a reflection of our employees performance and achievements, they are the fair recognition of their commitment to succeed as one team. This is a bald-faced lie. In fact, wealthy investors, who do none of the labor, reap the lions share of the rewards. The companys stock buyback program for top executives and wealthy shareholders well exceeds its profit sharing and production bonus payouts to production and white-collar workers. If profits were divided equally among all of Stellantis 240,000 global workforce, it would amount to some $80,000 apiece. The report of record profits by Stellantis has further infuriated workers who are facing a renewed cost-cutting campaign in the wake of the sellout 2023 UAW contract. Hannah, a fired Stellantis Warren Truck supplemental employee and member of the newly formed Rank-and-File Committee to Fight Job Cuts, said, The UAW said the temporary workers were going to get profit sharing. We expected 110 percent to get it after Stellantis announced its profits. Instead, they are denying us profit-sharing checks even though we made their profits last year. The workers who are getting these checks are not getting their real worth. Fains stand up strike had no real effect on the companys bottom line. We wanted to walk out all together, but the UAW leaders robbed us of our right to strike. We really wanted to stand up to the company, but we were deprived of our rights. A veteran worker at the Stellantis Toledo Assembly Complex said, The strike just cost them pennies when you compare it to the total numbers. We have a problem with them announcing the profit sharing and at the same time a $3 billion stock buyback. That money is being taken from us. They tried to pacify us by waiting until after Ford and GM announced their profit sharing, but ours should have been $14,000 to $16,000. Conversations are happening all over the plant. Workers are demanding the shop chairman step down. He has been totally silent. The only answer he ever gives is we are working on it. That is a code word for doing nothing. The supplementals get nothing, but those profits didnt happen because of the full-timers alone, the Toledo Jeep worker said. The profit report comes as Stellantis is accelerating its Dare Forward 2030 cost-cutting drive in its transition to electric vehicles. This has included the summary firing of hundreds of temporary workers in the US. Stellantis recently laid off the third shift at its Detroit Assembly Complex-Mack plant, laying off 2,445 workers, including 750 supplementals, many of whom will never be rehired. On Monday, Stellantis is carrying out 1,225 job cuts at the Toledo Assembly Complex. The UAW claimed 900 supplementals at the plant would be converted to full-time. Instead, the company is choosing from a company-wide pool of temps who will be assigned to Toledo and rolled over without any regard to corporate hiring dates. Of these, only 372 will remain in Toledo, while 500 are being transferred to the Jefferson plant in Detroit where other workers will lose their jobs. The list came out of the temp workers being rolled over, and 80-90 percent are being sent to the parts sequencing plant in Detroit by Jefferson Assembly, the Toledo Jeep worker told the WSWS. It is a 45- to 50-minute drive out of the way. That plant is closing soon, and everyone will be permanently laid off. Everyone knows it. It is unbelievable. The union knew this. They had to. The destruction of jobs in the US is part of a global cost-cutting campaign. In Italy, workers recently walked out over Stellantis plans to cut 2,455 workers at the Mirafiori plant in Turin amid threats to close the entire facility. Stellantis is also cutting the jobs of 600 contract workers at its Mulhouse plant in eastern France. Tavares has made it clear that the transition to EV production will require huge cost-cutting and attacks on workers. While the company made money on EV production in 2023 in contrast to Ford and General Motors, its sales price for EVs are still not competitive with Tesla and Chinese EV makers. We are working very, very hard to bring the profit margins of electrified vehicles to the same level as ICEs, Tavares said. He added, Our mission is to reduce costs as quickly as necessary to absorb the additional costs of electrification and sell EVs at the same price as combustion-engine cars because the Chinese know how to do it. Stellantis Warren Truck workers who are facing job cuts report for the second shift on February 9, 2023. All the global automakers are engaged in this battle to eliminate jobs and cut labor costs. The implications were concretely spelled out in a statement issued by Ford CEO Farley in remarks Thursday. He said in relation to the transition to electric vehicle production, We have to think carefully about our (manufacturing) footprint in a clear threat to close plants and shift production to lower cost factories in Mexico, as Farley said other automakers had. Farley claimed the UAWs decision to strike the Kentucky Truck Plant in Louisvillewhich only lasted two weekshad changed our relationship with the UAW. In fact, the UAW contracts have given Ford and other automakers a green light to gut the jobs and living standards of autoworkers. After venting about the supposed high costs of the UAW sellout contract, Farley said Ford planned to cut $2 billion worth of costs this year, which would fully offset the cost of the UAW contract. Ford made $10.4 billion in profits last year and handed over $6.8 billion to its shareholders in stock buybacks and increased dividends. Meanwhile, 58,000 UAW members are being forced to share the equivalent of less than 9 percent of the companys free cash flow. The company and the union are doing people wrong, and the sad part is that it was premeditated, a worker at the parts distribution center in Centerline, Michigan, told the WSWS. She added that no one had worked at her facility for the past seven weeks as Stellantis prepares to outsource the work. No one follows up with you, and when they do, they dont have an answer. They are going on 8 weeks of layoffs at the casting plant in Kokomo, Indiana, and these things are just on top of the bigger news with Warren Truck and Toledo. I do remember during negotiations that Stellantis said they were going to cut tens of thousands of jobs. I guess they werent lying, and of course, they are going to do everything their greedy hands can do to not give what people earned. Hannah added, The UAW officials are going along with these job cuts and all they were concerned about was preserving their own positions at the members expense. They knew the mass firings of the temporary workers were coming and they concealed this from us. Id like to find out what Fain, Boyer and the rest of them got to sell us out. The Rank-and-File Committee to Fight Job Cuts issued our open letter to speak the truth and to fight to get our jobs back and stop the layoffs. Workers have to step away from the UAW apparatus and take up the fight ourselves. Other workers supported our strike. But they didnt do so to see us lose our jobs after the contracts were signed. The Italian workers are standing up, and we have to fight here too. There has to be a world movement to defend our jobs. To wage the defense of jobs and living standards, workers must expand the network of rank and file-based organizations, which operate independently of the bureaucratic union apparatus. These rank-and-file committees are fighting to transfer power and decision making from the UAW bureaucracy to workers on the shop floor. They are affiliated with the International Workers Alliance of Rank-and-File Committees (IWA-RFC), which unites workers across national boundaries to defend jobs and living conditions. For more information on the rank-and-file committees and the fight against job cuts, fill out the form below. The death of a worker at an Amazon fulfillment centre in Talbotville, near London, Ontario on January 14 has prompted an investigation by the provincial Ministry of Labour. People stand in the lobby for Amazon offices in New York [AP Photo/Mark Lennihan] A fire alarm necessitated the evacuation of the facility into the bitter cold at approximately 11:10 p.m. while employees were working on the night shift. Fire crews responded and, according to the company, allowed workers back into the facility less than 20 minutes later. However, Environment Canada reported wind-chill values of -25 Celsius at the time. About an hour later, Paulo DeSouza Bezerra collapsed near his work station. It remains unclear if exposure to severe cold was directly related to his death. Emergency crews were unable to save Bezerras life. According to his obituary, he succumbed to a heart attack. Bezerra, 50, who emigrated from Brazil, leaves behind his wife of 25 years and a young son. A coworker who was at the scene of the tragedy disputed the length of time employees were out in the cold, saying it was longer than the time reported by the company. While Amazon said employees were provided with cold-weather kits as they exited the building, including blankets, hats, gloves and socks, the same coworker said there were not enough blankets for everyone. Additionally, the worker said some workers tried to stay warm inside a vehicle, but a supervisor ordered them out twice. Amazon has not disclosed what function Bezerra performed at the facility. However, one worker said the Talbotville facility is a high-pressure workplace with strict performance targets. Speaking to the London Free Press, the worker described the job of picker as relentless, with the target to handle 350 items per hour. Those who receive shipments at the facility must handle items that can be very heavy over 10-hour shifts. Workers are discouraged from leaving their work stations unless absolutely necessary and even then for no more than five minutes. There are constant appeals to sign up for overtime shifts. The highly automated Talbotville fulfillment centre is, in fact, one of the flagship operations in Amazons global network. Spread over 2.8 million square feet on four floors, the facility dedicates 75 percent of that space to robotics to process and sort packages, largely for delivery in the Greater Toronto Area. The facility utilizes Amazons Sparrow robots, which are able to identify, sort, pick up and place items with great precision and accuracy. These robots still require human intervention for some functions, but the capitalist necessity to maximize the machines efficiency drives the pace of operations. The facility provides a perfect example of how technological developments that could reduce the burden of grueling work for human beings is used, under the control of the capitalist profit system, to intensify the exploitation of workers in order to extract ever higher profits for Amazon. This dynamic has been at work since the beginning of the capitalist era, which was set into motion in conjunction with the industrial revolution. What seems particularly portentous about the current situation is how the state of affairs for the working class increasingly resembles that of Victorian industrialism. The concessions granted by the ruling class in the face of bitter working class struggles and on the basis of the post-war boom in North America that allowed workers some degree of social progress are well and truly over. As at the height of Victorian industrial exploitation, tycoons like Jeff Bezos, Amazons founder and former CEO, sit atop unprecedented fortunes gleaned from the use of advances in technology to intensify worker exploitation, driving many to early graves. As is typical, the Amazon facility was hailed by governments at all levels as a great boon for Southern Ontario that would replace what was once a thriving industrial operation that offered well-paid, secure positions and which generated scores of spinoff jobs. The fulfillment centre was constructed on the site of the former Ford Talbotville assembly plant, which closed in 2011 after 44 years. That plant, which once employed some 3,600 workers, has been replaced by a distribution centre that offers low-paid precarious work handling goods manufactured in another part of the world where pay and working conditions are even more advantageous to the profit-seekers. What was originally touted as an exciting enterprise with dazzling technology that would employ more than 2,000 workers is in fact a warehouse that pays subsistence wages and provides minimal benefits to about 1,000 workers. That the site is only being leased by Amazon from a local construction company suggests that there is little in the way of long-term commitment to the community or the workers. The closure of the Ford plant in a county with a population in the tens of thousands resulted in a dire loss of tax revenue to the township, county and province of over $2 million annually for 11 years. Several proposals for the site failed to materialize before the decision by Amazon to establish a facility at the location was finalized. All levels of government in the region have promoted the new warehouse as a significant contribution to the renewal of economic activity, even though it falls far short of the industrial potential of decades ago. Savage attacks on wages and working conditions, tax cuts for business and austerity for workers have hollowed out the prospects for the working class in Ontario in a race to the bottom in the name of global competitiveness. This process has been overseen by trade union-backed Liberal governments, frequently with support from the New Democrats, as well as the Progressive Conservatives. The union bureaucracies have worked tirelessly to smother working class resistance to the decimation of Ontarios industrial landscape. In nearby St. Thomas, the massively government-subsidized Volkswagen-owned battery company PowerCo SE will soon begin construction on a plant to produce batteries for electric vehicles. Its backers have similarly promised thousands of well-paid high-tech jobs, but it will almost certainly never live up to the corporate hype. Amazon has been welcomed with open arms by governments everywhere it goes. But in Ontario, as elsewhere, its disdain for workers has been well documented. The incidence of workplace injuries at Amazons warehouses reported by Ontarios Workplace Safety And Insurance Board (WSIB) tripled over a four year periodfrom 432 injury claims in 2019, to 570 in 2020, 980 in 2021 and 1,330 in 2022. Of those, 22 percent were lower back injuries and 62 percent were sprains and strains. These figures more than lend credence to the description of the relentless pressure to process orders on the warehouse floor. In an industry that promises next-day or even same-day delivery, workers are pushed increasingly hard to process orders such that safety is neglected to meet production demands. The amount WSIB ordered Amazon to pay out in connection with those injury claims increased from $1 million in 2019 to more than $4 million in 2022. This is of course a small price to pay for driving productivity when measured against the $30 billion net income for the corporation in 2023. Added to this is the fact that the WSIB is based on an insurance model in which premiums from employers are calculated according to the number of claims made to the Board. This gives Amazon, and every other employer in the province, incentive to conceal or downplay every workplace incident. In fact, a report by the Toronto Star found that Amazon challenged almost 80 percent of serious injury claims, contending no proof of accident, an unclear mechanism of injury or a pre-existing condition. Additionally, there was a huge discrepancy when comparing the number of injuries Amazon reported to US and Canadian officials. Regardless of how Amazon tries to portray itself as an employer, whether to its own employees, government agencies or the general public, the growing number of injuries and worker deaths at the companys facilities testifies to the harshness of the worlds largest online retailer. Paulo Bezerras GoFundMe page joins a growing list of Amazon employees that includes Jerrold Dejean, who died at a South Carolina fulfillment centre; Jose Rodriguez, a San Antonio Amazon driver who was attacked by a pit bull; an Amazon driver in Corpus Christi raising money for a prosthetic leg to make his deliveries more bearable; and many more in a list that brings to mind the characters in Dickens industrial horror stories. The Biden administration confirmed Thursday the statement by House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Turner the previous day, alleging that his committee had been briefed on a new anti-satellite capability that Russia is developing, but denied that there was any significant threat to the United States. While Turner set off a 24-hour furor in Washington with his revelation, accompanied by a demand that the White House declassify and make public certain details of the new space weapon, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said, This is not an active capability thats been deployed. And though Russias pursuit of this particular capability is troubling there was no immediate threat to anyones safety, he added. We are not talking about a weapon that can be used to attack human beings or cause physical destruction here on Earth. In particular, the White House disputed Turners suggestion that Russia was deploying a nuclear weapon in outer space, which would be in violation of numerous treaty obligations. Instead, Kirby said, Russia was preparing to deploy an anti-satellite weapon powered by an onboard nuclear reactor. The US government has launched nuclear-powered satellites into space, but only for longer-term missions to the furthest reaches of the solar system, where solar radiation is too weak to convert into electrical power. Russia has previously launched satellites powered by fission reactors. Despite media claims that the White House was furious over Turners revelation, as well as his demand that the administration declassify information on the subject, the letter which Turner issued was based on bipartisan consultation, and was co-signed by the ranking Democrat on the committee, Jim Himes of Connecticut. Another Democratic member of the committee, Jason Crow of Colorado, a veteran of special operations forces who fought in Afghanistan, called the supposed Russian satellite one of numerous volatile threats facing the United States. This is something that requires our attention, he told the New York Times. Theres no doubt. Its not an immediate crisis, but certainly something that we have to be very serious about. Turner announced his committee would brief all members of the House in closed-door sessions on Thursday and Friday. The House Intelligence Committee voted Monday to carry out the briefing about a destabilizing foreign military capability. The letter ignited a firestorm of media coverage, with sensational headlines that appeared aimed at touching off popular panic, modeled on those that accompanied the reports on a Chinese spy balloon a year agoa weather balloon that was shot down by the Pentagon over the Atlantic coast after it traversed Alaska, Canada and the continental US. Fascistic Republicans in the House Freedom Caucus accused Turner, a supporter of US military aid to Ukraine, with seeking to stampede the House into approving the legislation just passed by the Senate, which provides $95 billion in supplemental military spending, including $60 billion for the proxy war against Russia in Ukraine. Florida Republican Matt Gaetz accusing Turner of gaslighting the country, while Andy Ogles of Tennessee demanded an investigation of the Intelligence Committee chairman. Former Trump White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney, an ex-congressman, echoed these claims, saying, Thats the only thing that seems to tie up with the facts so far, that Mike Turner wants more money for Ukraine, and hes decided to do this to scare people into voting for it. This was not just right-wing paranoia. The New York Times, in its report Thursday, cited unnamed officials who said Mr. Turner was making more of the new intelligence than would ordinarily have been expected, perhaps to create pressure to prod the House to take up the supplemental funding request for Ukraine that the Senate passed this week. It is possible, but unlikely, that Turner and the Biden White House are performing an elaborate maneuver in support of the Ukraine funding bill, but there is little doubt that the administration is desperate to push through the legislation, given the precarious military-political position of the right-wing government in Kiev. House Speaker Mike Johnson has blocked consideration of the Ukraine military aid bill because of opposition from far-right Republicans and ex-president Donald Trump, the front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination. Making the incident even murkier, Turner made his revelation only hours before White House national security advisor Jake Sullivan was to brief the so-called Gang of Eight, the top leaders of both parties in Congress, as well as the intelligence committee chairs and ranking members in both houses, on the supposed threat of Russian satellite-killers in space. Senate Intelligence Chairman Mark Warner, a Virginia Democrat, and Vice Chairman Marco Rubio, a Florida Republican, issued a joint statement declaring that their committee had been rigorously tracking this issue from the start, but warning about the danger of disclosing sources and methods that may be key to preserving a range of options for U.S. action. Turners disclosure came only a few hours before the Pentagon used Elon Musks SpaceX company to launch a missile-tracking system into orbit, a prototype for a plan to replace the large, easily targeted communications satellites on which the military currently relies with hundreds of smaller satellites distributed throughout low-Earth orbit, according to defense industry reports. The furor comes amid intensifying conflict between the White House and the Republican-controlled House, not only over the Ukraine aid bill, but over passage of a budget for Fiscal Year 2024, which is already more than four months old. The House is recessing Friday for two weeks, not returning until February 28, only two days before the expiration of funding for several federal departments, and only two weeks before the expiration of funding for the entire government. The prospect of another federal shutdown, or an across-the-board cut in spending under the budget deal agreed by Biden and then House Speaker Kevin McCarthy last June, only underscores the mounting political instability in the United States. St. Paul Public Schools Superintendent Joe Gothard has been named National Superintendent of the Year by the American Association of School Administrators. Gothard, who has led Minnesotas second-largest school district since 2017, received the award Thursday night at the associations annual conference. It comes just two weeks after he was named one of three finalists for the superintendency in his hometown of Madison, Wis., and as St. Paul teachers authorized a strike for the fourth time since 2018. The award is presented to school system leaders who make a positive difference in students lives and ensure the safety and wellness of their communities. Other evaluation criteria include professionalism, community involvement and communication. A St. Paul high school student or a student attending the high school from which Gothard graduated will be eligible for a $10,000 college scholarship. In October Gothard was named Minnesota Superintendent of the Year by the Minnesota Association of School Administrators, qualifying him for the national award. The state association noted Gothards transformative change for SPPS with American Rescue Plan (ARP) spending to create an Innovation Office that supported initiatives across the district. Before leading St. Pauls public schools, Gothard was the superintendent of the Burnsville-Eagan-Savage School District for four years. He started his career as a biology teacher in Madison. Related Articles Protests against the genocide in Gaza were held in major Australian cities last weekend, coinciding with four months of the Israeli offensive. The weekly mass rallies are now the longest that have been held in the country since at least the anti-Vietnam War movement. Last weekends protests coincided with a new stage of the genocide, as Israel launches an offensive on Rafah, the southernmost city of the strip. Having been forced through bombardment and threats to the south, the oppressed Palestinians are now facing an onslaught aimed at a final solution. A notable feature of the Sydney protest, attended by several thousand, was an organised contingent of health workers numbering around thirty. Health staff have been doxxed and subjected to malicious regulatory complaints by Zionists for speaking out against the mass murder of their Gazan colleagues. Health workers at Sydney mass protest against Gaza genocide, February 11, 2024. The health staff contingent was organised independently of the unions, which have done nothing to oppose the historic war crimes, including repeated Israeli assaults on hospitals, or to defend their victimised members. WSWS reporters spoke to some of those in attendance. In Sydney, Jamahl, who has just finished high school and plans to study medicine, said: Equally as horrible as whats happening in Gaza is the way that not so much the Western people, but the Western governments stand around and watch it happen, and even worse, in some cases they support it. They pay for Israel, they support Israel with their funds. As well as that they take away funds that support Gaza, from the Palestinian people that are struggling. Speaking on the attempted victimisation of health workers and other witch hunts orchestrated by pro-Israeli Zionists, he commented: I think thats the extension of whats been happening within the government, and in Gaza itself. Youre not allowed to speak in Gaza, and in Australia, people dont let you speak freely either. But if you speak out, trying to support people who have no representation in their country, you are instantly descended upon and attacked. Jamahl said this had to be opposed. One of the many hearts of Australia is the doctors and the nurses. Everyone that works in healthcare, everyone that keeps everyone running. Theyre quite an important force. Theyre the ones who have seen and felt the most for the people, because they see many different people day by day. They help people in extreme situations. They know, I think, almost the most about what people need, and so their opinions, their support, is one of the most important perspectives that we need. He noted that in Gaza, health workers were being systematically targeted by Israel, which has murdered at least 340 of them. I think its a deliberate effort to cut off, like I said before the hearts of the country. Without healthcare workers, the people themselves wont be able to survive. Its the healthcare workers that perform surgeries, perform amputations for all those people that have been struck by the bombings. They provide all the aid, all the support, and so by targeting them, Israel is trying to effectively stop the people in Gaza from being able to regenerate and keep going. Harris, a worker originally from Pakistan, condemned the Labor government for supporting the genocide. Their response is very unfortunate. I thought Labor is supposed to be a left-wing party, for the workers, but theyre not acting on anything, not doing anything. In fact, many of the western Sydney electoral seats are won by Labor, where a lot of people overwhelmingly have the view that Israel is on the wrong side, but it doesnt look like Labor is really interested in any action. A WSWS reporter noted that Labors backing for Israel was bound up with its alignment with US imperialism, including in advanced preparations for a catastrophic war against China. Harris responded, I actually happened to watch that documentary by John Pilger who recently passed away. It warned of The coming war on China and explained how the mainstream media is trying to generate consensus for such a war. Since that film was made, the Labor government has agreed to buy nuclear-powered submarines for $368 billion, clearly directed against China. It looks like Australia is probably tied itself to the US overall imperial interests and preparing for a wider conflict with China. In Melbourne, Pavani, who is retired, said: I came because children are dying. The killing must stop. It has to do with economic interests, like the sale of arms and armaments. I think it was Eisenhower who first warned us about the US militarisation. It also pays governments to be able to have the ability to do clandestine things against their own citizens if necessary. Israel has been allowed to experiment with weapons in Palestine, which could be used more broadly. Politicians act in their own interests. Once we nominate them into positions, everything they promised us flies out the door and then its all about getting as much as you can, the aggrandizement of power, of money, of whatever advantage they can get. When the whole banking crisis happened in 2008, people came out in protest and nothing changed, because it wasnt enough. Politicians are not going to actually change their actions until the numbers are larger, until there are more voices saying enough, none of this is sufficient. Phillip said: Id never vote Labor again. Its pathetic, theyre not all that different from the Liberal Party. Labor has become a non-labour party. On the Greens, he added: Theyre probably going to be bought off by the same interests as Labor has. Theres no doubt that lobbying and the role of money in elections plays a very big part. Certainly in America. I can see that in the United States youve got to have the support of the Israeli lobby to get a seat in Congress. And its the same here. Phillip Phillip pointed to the hypocrisy of the US and its allies. In conducting a proxy war against Russia in Ukraine, they have denounced the Russian regime for carrying out bombings and other acts of war. What the Palestine situation has done, the Israeli attack on Gaza, its called into question the whole Ukrainian situation. So that is blowing up in Americas face. Its interesting that people are saying its basically the same operation. Its the American hegemony. They cant stand any alternative. The whole American hegemony aims to discredit any alternative to capitalism. I think the younger people are waking up to what has been going on. Theyre getting their information from alternative media. If you go on YouTube, for example, theres a whole host of information and actually a lot of the blogs that are critical of Israel are run by Jewish people in America, people like Norman Finkelstein. Surely you cant be accused of anti-Semitism when youre a Jew. Sophia, a 26-year-old waitress, stated: Im just horrified at the ongoing genocide in Gaza. Every day I follow Palestinian coverage on Instagram and everyday Im seeing more and more atrocities. Coming to protest seems like something small that I can do. On Rafah she said: Its horrific, thats where the refugee camps are. Thats where people were fleeing to, and now theyre going to attack there as well. It makes a mockery of democracy that the Western governments are supporting these atrocities. There are people worldwide, in these Western countries, like here, that are coming out week on week to say to the government This isnt what we agree with. Condemn this genocide! And then the governments of these Western countries are continuing to support Israel. I mean I dont know enough about it to say with confidence, but I just feel like its all wrapped up in money and power and influence. I think if there is a way to create solidarity internationally there needs to be a counterweight definitely to private interests and the interest of capital. It can be hard to maybe imagine, maybe I havent given enough thought to what the alternative would look like. World Socialist Web Site reporters in New Zealand recently spoke with Rick Sahar, the son of two Holocaust survivors, about his decision to speak out publicly against Israels genocidal war against the people of Gaza. Rick Sahar Sahar lived in Israel as a young man and since moving to New Zealand in 1981 has had a long career as an entertainer and performer. For several years he worked as a volunteer for the Holocaust Centre of New Zealand, helping to educate people about the genocide of the Jewish people during World War II. He is one of many Jewish people across the world who have spoken out against the actions of the Netanyahu regime and joined protests against Israels ethnic cleansing and mass murder of Palestinians. The prominent participation of Jews in protests against the war exposes the lie, repeated incessantly in the media and by politicians, that the Israeli state represents the Jewish people and that any opposition to it constitutes antisemitism. In January, Sahar addressed a protest in Wellingtonone of dozens held across New Zealand since Israels bombardment of Gaza beganwhere he said: I condemn the intentional murdering and maiming of innocent people by Israel in Gaza and in the West Bank. Collective punishment was used by the Nazis and was condemned after the Holocaust amid cries of never again, and yet it is happening again. Born in the US city of Detroit, Sahar was one of four children of two survivors of the Holocaust in Poland. At home we didnt speak at all about the Holocaust. My mother was still very distressed by it all, she was traumatised, he said. Many years later, his father told him that he had a first wife and twin boys in Oswiecim, Poland, all of whom were killed at Auschwitz in 1944. Because his father had some medical skills as a barber, he was sent to work in the adjacent Birkenau camp, where he would treat cuts and bruises, breaks and things like that, and that kept him alive because he was able to speak German as well. It was only later in life, after moving to New Zealand, that Sahar began to research his parents history. I became more involved in my own heritage of how my people were impacted by the Nazis, and thats when, after I put together a bit of research, I was asked to present it at the Holocaust Centre as one of their speakers for adult education. That was really hard to do the first time, to present my parents survival story. I learnt how to deal with that and I went presenting it at high schools around the country and other adult groups. Sahar was elected to the board of the Holocaust Centre, an institution founded in 2007 in Wellington to promote awareness and education about the Holocaust. In 2020, Sahar was recognised for his work bringing together Polish and Jewish people through shared events with the Centre and the Polish Embassy by being awarded the Gold Cross of Merit from the Republic of Poland. He told the WSWS that he initially felt that Israel had a place in the work of the Centre, but his views changed over time. I started realising how it was limiting our choices and decisions, impacting on who we can see that human rights are being taken away from, because Israel has a different idea on that. Certain instances there led to me resigning from the board and getting more involved now in the Palestinian cause. I feel its important for me to speak out about Palestinian rights and the atrocities that I see are being perpetrated by Israel in Gaza and the West Bank, he said. There are so many war crimes in Gaza being perpetrated by Israeli armed forces. Its all detailed there in the media how the Gazans are being impacted by the siege. I see it as a genocide thats being committed. And, you know, you cant wait to the end and then call it a genocide. Its in the process of happening, it definitely qualifies as a genocide. Ibrahim Hasouna, center, lost eight family members, including three children, after his home was bombed home the day before in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip. Tuesday, Feb. 13, 2024. [AP Photo/Fatima Shbair] Asked what he thought was motivating Israels actions, he said: Its in retaliation for the 7th of October. Its anger, revenge against all Palestinians, who they see as below them, as the perpetrators. He added that Netanyahu had selected people with similar views to be part of his war cabinet, especially those right-wing religious representatives, who to me are not Jewish, they dont represent the beauty of beliefs that exist in Judaism as they do in other religions. They dont represent Judaism to me. He criticised the United States-led bombing of the Houthis in Yemen, which New Zealand military personnel are actively assisting. He said the Houthi militias were attacking shipping in the Red Sea in response to the bombardment of Gaza. If the US was really interested in trade they would make sure that the bombing stops, they wouldnt supply the armaments for Israel. Sahar said he recently wrote to Foreign Minister Winston Peters opposing the decision to stop funding for the United Nations agency UNRWA, which provides food and aid for starving people in Gaza. Israels done an incredibly successful campaign of vilifying UNRWA, he said. Theres no reason for that other than their paranoia as to whether or not any assistance can be made through UNRWA to Hamas. He said it was ridiculous that the alleged participation of a handful of UNRWA employees in the October 7 operation could be the basis for stopping the aid to just over 2 million people. Theyve relied on this aid ever since the siege was implemented. Everyone relies on aid there. So its a travesty to stop funding UNRWA and things are just going to get worse and worse, even after the International Court of Justice finding that Israel is committing acts that could be considered a genocide. They didnt call it a genocide but they said it may be leading to that. Israel is taking no notice and is increasing its bombing of Gaza, and also environmentally impacting it with the flooding of the tunnels, which is something horrible for whoever will be there again, because its ruining any kind of chance of there being water from wells, groundwater, pure water to drink. Theyre destroying so much infrastructure. It also really angers me how they go into the West Bank and destroy the infrastructure there, as well. Its just so spiteful and its not in my name. Speaking about the dehumanisation of Palestinians, Sahar described it as a caste system within [Israels] borders and outside its borders against Palestinian people. Within Israel, Palestinians who live there are definitely a second-class people, and the ones in the territories that they have been exiled to are at least second- or third-class, and they really are hated. The sadness I have is that Israel theoretically started as, according to the tenets of Zionism, a light unto the nations and to make peace with the other countries around them, and to accept all people. I think they confused the issue by calling it a Jewish state and a democracy. Its not possible to do both. You have to allow for other religions and other peoples if youre a democracy. He said Israel had to come to terms with its past by accepting the wrongs that have been committed, and how they are the perpetrators in this disaster thats happened of displacement, of persecution, of killing, murdering people. This was the only way to have reconciliation and peace. I think the best thing thats happened recently is South Africas bringing the case [accusing Israel of genocide] to the International Court of Justice. I just wish Israelis would see that too. Sahar praised the small number of young Israelis, including the outspoken Tal Mitnik, who have opposed conscription and refused to fight in Gaza. He explained how he had become disillusioned with Zionism while living in Israel during the 1970s. I served in the Israeli army, I was conscripted because I had to be in order to stay in Israel. I was there for 11 years, and after two-and-a-half years they said: you either have to leave the country or become a citizen. After an incident that occurred while he was on reserve duty in the West Bank, Sahar said he felt he could no longer stay in Israel. Our commander called me and two other soldiers into his office and he addressed me. He said: Rick, heres the name and address of a suspected PLO [Palestine Liberation Organisation] operator nearby. I want you to go to him with these two soldiers, arrest him and bring him here. And I didnt think about it, I just said: Im not doing that. He said: What? I said: I refuse to do this. He said: Oh, youre refusing an order? I said: Yes, Im here to protect, not to go out and arrest. As punishment, Sahar was confined to guard duty for three weeks, four hours on, four hours off. Thats where I sat and thought and knew that I couldnt serve in the army again because I was going in a different direction in my beliefs about what was going on in Palestine. He also described an earlier incident that led him to question the role of the military and the occupation. I had an experience in Bethlehem on an earlier reserve duty on what happened to be Easter Sunday. Im there in the square with other soldiers, full kit, and these beautiful families of Palestinian people were walking by in their lovely clothes on their way to church, and I said: Happy Easter! And they couldnt look at me, they couldnt acknowledge me. And then I remembered who I am, what I represent. I suddenly realised: Im the occupying force here, and it could even be seen as intimidation, me calling out and wishing them a happy Easter. That was very sad for me. I used to believe, when I was in Israel, for a little while, that the only way to security is through armed forces, that the only way to have a lasting peace is to fight. Ever since Ive been here and been more objectively viewing the situation in Israel, I know for sure that peace is only possible through negotiations and showing a willingness to forgive the other, and to accept one another. Sahar mentioned that he had two grown-up daughters living in Israel, one of whom was among tens of thousands of people evacuated from the area near the border with Lebanon soon after 7 October, as Israel ratcheted up tensions with Hezbollah in Lebanon. She was able to pack her car, all the things that they needed, and to drive to a known destination, which eventually happened to be a tourist resort near the Dead Sea. So 80,000 people were removed and put into different resorts and safe places away from the fighting in sharp contrast to the ongoing forced evacuations [in Gaza] to crowded areas without proper amenities to sustain healthy life, he said. Sahar criticised the very limited media coverage of the anti-genocide protests in New Zealand. Many have gone completely unreported, and oppositional voices within the Jewish community have not been highlighted. He mentioned that members of Alternative Jewish Voices, a Wellington-based group of anti-Zionist Jews, and Dayenu: New Zealand Jews Against Occupation, had written to the media and their letters had not been published in any form. Its disappointing, he said. The Israeli embassy has done a thorough job of influencing the press, I think. Sahar concluded by thanking the WSWS for its coverage and for interviewing him. Protests have erupted across Senegal after President Macky Sall announced on February 3 the indefinite postponement of presidential elections scheduled for February 25. Protests are continuing, with calls for demonstrations in the capital, Dakar, and other major cities after the Constitutional Council voided Salls election decree. On February 3, Sall cited conflicts between the judiciary and the legislature as well as the banning of key candidatures to declare that Senegal cannot afford another crisis. The government had banned many candidates, including both Ousmane Sonko of the middle class African Patriots of Senegal for Work, Ethics and Fraternity (PASTEF) party and Karim Wade of the Sengalese Democratic Party (PDS), the son of the previous president, Abdoulaye Wade. Sall called for an open national dialogue to create conditions for a free, transparent and inclusive election. He proposed to remain in power until elections could be held no earlier than this December, in an extra-constitutional grab for power. It marked the first time since 1963, three years after Senegals formal independence from France, that presidential elections were postponed. Throughout this era, the Senegalese regime has served as an instrument of French, US and NATO imperialist policy in Western Africa. Salls regime has been the center of French plotting to invade Mali, Niger and other Sahel countries who sought alliances with Moscow after France withdrew from its 20132022 war in Mali. The opposition parties initially refused to take action against Salls power grab, organizing protests of only a few dozen people that were rapidly dispersed by police. We must find new strategies with disparate actions across the country, an unnamed politician close to the PASTEF-PDS coalition told Le Monde on February 7. Union bureaucrats said that they were considering a general strike, but that they could not call one. Cheikh Diop of the National Federation of Workers of Senegal (CNTS) said: The struggle to preserve an electoral process that respects the Constitution is imposed upon us. Creating a balance of power does not exclude a general strike, but we must take the time to go to the rank and file to get organized. Mass protests erupted however on February 9 in Dakar and across the country after calls for protests spread across social media. The Sall regime, which organized a wave of arrests before the protests, launched a bloody crackdown in which security forces shot and killed at least two young men, as well as firing upon dozens of journalists. Nevertheless, protests continued, notably in Dakar, in Ziguinchor where Sonko and the PASTEF have an electoral base, and in the northern city of Saint Louis where a student had been killed. Photos circulated of demonstrators brandishing the Russian flag, to oppose Salls collaboration with Paris against Mali, Niger and other Sahel countries seeking alliances with Moscow. The French government, which is infamous for its relentless violence against social protests at home, issued a statement effectively endorsing Salls rationale for his attempted coup. France reiterates its appeal to the authorities to organize the presidential election as quickly as possible, French Foreign Ministry spokesman Christophe Lemoine said in a communique. Lemoine also called on Sall to make a proportionate use of force against protesters opposed to his coup attempt. The protests have also panicked Senegals official bourgeois opposition parties, who are working to bolster the regime. On February 11, former Senegalese presidents Abdou Diouf and Abdoulaye Wade issued an open letter appealing to Sall for national dialogue. They called on the Senegalese people to put an end to our differences and political crises. They told the youth to stop violence immediately. Sall has cut off mobile internet connections in Senegal and banned a nationwide protest called for Tuesday that the opposition parties then called off. Nonetheless, protests have continued in Senegal and also in the Senegalese diaspora internationally. WSWS reporters interviewed protesters at a march in Paris against Salls coup attempt. Mustafa said: We cannot accept this, so we are here to show our anger, to show to Macky Sall the great dictator that we do not agree. Sall had promised us a government in which everyone would feel better, where there would be equity and the justice system would be impartial. But we see that justice is served in his interests. The balance sheet of Macky Sall is negative, he has failed, he leads Senegal and there have been 80 people killed in demonstrations while he was president. He continued, Income from natural resources are never redistributed to the population. From every standpoint Macky Sall has failed. It is disgusting, we dont want him anymore. Sall put the French back in position in the region, Mustafa added. But we are in solidarity with the Malians who were mobilized to demand the end of Frances war in their country. Mendy speaks to the WSWS in Paris at a protest against President Macky Sall's attempted coup in Senegal. Mendy also criticized Sall for trying to join a French-backed alliance threatening to attack Mali, Niger and other nearby Sahel states to bolster French imperialist interests in the region. Mendy said, I would be surprised if Senegal joined the military alliance. You see already, in Mali, they dont want the French and are allied to the Russians. This debate is starting to interest many people in Senegal. We would rather have the Russians as allies than the French, who have been in Senegal for so many years since independence in 1960. Of course were not against France being present in Africa, but it must be equitable. We must be able to benefit from the resources we have. We are not against France, but we are against Frances policies. Mendy noted similarities with the ongoing, NATO-backed Israeli onslaught against the Palestinians in Gaza: The people of Gaza are victims. The Israelis are heavily armed, the Palestinians only have stones, so you see that its a totally unequal fight. He explained, France does not want the natural wealth of Senegal to escape its control. They have lost Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso, other countries. Now they are basing their policies on Senegal, and President Macky Sall is complicit in that. As far as I am concerned, it is Macron who is pulling Macky Salls strings. The struggle for democratic rights and against the prevailing, grotesque levels of social inequality can only proceed by a revolutionary struggle to transfer power to the working class and implement socialist policies. This struggle must be waged across the artificial national borders drawn up by the imperialist powers in Africa, and with workers in France and other imperialist powers. This requires a struggle for Marxist internationalism, that is, for Trotskyism, against bourgeois nationalist forces that seek to subordinate workers to the local capitalist elites. The bitter lessons of the revolutionary uprisings of Egypt and Tunisia in 2011, as well as many other recent struggles across Africa, must be drawn. The political parties that promised to build a flourishing capitalist democracy proved to have no perspective besides hoodwinking the masses, and serving as a cover for reestablishing the dictatorships the workers had just brought down. Currently, the Sall and Wade political dynasties are maneuvering with PASTEF to try to bring protests back under the control of the political establishment. Karim Wade announced on February 14 that PASTEF leader Ousmane Sanko is in negotiations with President Macky Sall to rapidly obtain his freedom and that of other people imprisoned with him. Echoing Sall, Wade said this would permit the holding of elections on December 15 with a democratic, open, transparent and inclusive poll to select the next president. PASTEF portrays itself as radical, but it is a pro-capitalist party speaking for layers of the affluent middle class, hostile to socialism and workers power. It describes itself as a party of young managers of the Senegalese public administration, the private sector, the professions, teaching circles and businessmen who, for the most part, have never been active in politics. It promotes a pragmatic doctrine, which does not identify itself with any historically known ideology: socialism, communism, liberalism, etc. The essential precondition to defend democratic rights and stop the spread of war and dictatorship, across Africa and internationally, is to build a revolutionary Marxist vanguard in the working class, opposed to bourgeois nationalism, and fighting to bring the working class to power and build socialism. Artificial intelligence is stabilizing the stock market. Yuichiro Chino/Getty Images Super Micro Computer is one of the best-performing AI stocks right now, and Bank of America thinks it can keep surging. The tech company has seen its stock soar 938% over the past year on strong demand for its AI-server products. Here's why Bank of America initiated Super Micro Computer with a "Buy" rating and a $1,040 price target. Super Micro Computer stock has soared 938% over the past year, and Bank of America believes the rally can continue. The bank initiated Super Micro Computer with a "Buy" rating and set a $1,040 price target on Wednesday, suggesting potential upside of about 10% from current levels. Shares of Super Micro jumped as much as 11% in response to the report. Super Micro Computer sells AI-enabled servers and has seen its business explode over the past year, with more than 50% of its revenue tied to accelerators like GPUs, according to the bank. "We expect the market for AI servers to grow, on average, 50% CAGR over the next three years, vs. historical growth of the overall server market (5.5% CAGR over the past 17 years), and we expect Super Micro's revenue to grow even faster driving market share gain," Bank of America analyst Ruplu Bhattacharya said. Super Micro Computer's favorable market position comes from its establishment as an early launch partner for Nvidia, AMD, and Intel for CPUs and GPU accelerators, according to the note. One of the company's biggest advantages is building server technology from the ground up and in a highly customized way. "Super Micro's forte is building server technology from the ground up, and designing its own chassis, motherboard and other components. This allows it to develop the highest performing customized solution for clients. That's a key competitive advantage in our view, as is its ability to quickly incorporate new designs and reduce time-to-market," Bhattacharya explained. The company's ability to quickly incorporate new designs and technologies into its AI-enabled servers should propel its revenue and profit growth over the next few years, with Bank of America's estimates well ahead of consensus estimates. Story continues For example, Bank of America expects Super Micro Computer to generate $35.66 in earnings per share in 2025, about 26% above Wall Street estimates of $28.24. These high earnings growth estimates mean that as long as Super Micro Computer delivers, its stock isn't outlandishly overvalued, even when considering its sky-high rally. The company's market valuation has soared from $5 billion last year to $54 billion today. "Most of this re-rating relates to Super Micro beating Street expectations and raising guidance during F2Q24; as well as investors' current preference for AI-related names," Bhattacharya said. On a forward twelve-month price-to-earnings basis, Super Micro Computer trades at about 34x, which is in line with Nvidia's current valuation and only slightly above Microsoft's 30x and Amazon's 31x forward price-to-earnings multiples. Read the original article on Business Insider The Teamsters were voted out by a group of Keurig Dr Pepper workers in Wisconsin. (Photo: Shutterstock) (Editors note: a statement from Anheuser Busch received after the articles original publication has been added.) The Teamsters have been ousted from representing a group of beverage drivers in Wisconsin while a much larger strike in the beverage world looms. The union also ended a strike against U.S. Foods in recent weeks with a contract that even the Teamsters for a Democratic Union, a group within the union that is often critical of elected leadership, hailed as a victory. The events occurring in such a short period of time are testimony to the fact that the largest union representing transportation workers swings back and forth between victory and defeat. And while there have been more victories than defeats of late, the ouster of the Teamsters by three separate groups of workers of Keurig Dr Pepper in Wisconsin was notable in that it was coordinated across more than one facility. Votes to decertify the Teamsters have tended to come at individual facilities, like the vote last year to oust the union at the Miami area warehouse of XPO Logistics (NYSE: XPO), the site of the first contract XPO signed with the Teamsters. The National Right To Work Committee, which works alongside workers looking to decertify existing unions, said workers and drivers and warehouse workers in Oshkosh, Eau Claire and Tomah voted late last month to decertify the Teamsters at those facilities. Whats notable about the decertification is not just that it occurred at three locations but that the union had been in place for many years, according to Ray Cotts, a Keurig Dr Pepper worker who began the process that led toward decertification. Union decertification often takes place among workforces where a representation vote is followed by a lengthy unsuccessful negotiations to produce a contract. Union critics will often cry that decertification votes occur after management drags its feet in negotiating a contract, and then rank-and-file workers see their paychecks shrink due to union dues deductions without any benefits to show for it. Story continues But that was not the case in Wisconsin, according to a statement released by the Right To Work Committee on Cotts behalf. Local 200 has been representing us for the entire 20 years Ive been working here, and in that entire time, weve had four contracts, Cotts said in the statement. All four have been poor. Constantly getting five-year contracts, which are of no benefit to us employees. Poor vacation, poor pay, subpar benefits, no real job protections. Our contract wages were way below standard for our industry. That defeat is set against a landscape for the Teamsters that would otherwise be leaning toward successes, but with a big battle coming soon. The Teamsters wrapped up 2023 the year it signed a new deal with UPS that consensus held was a big win for the union with several smaller contract and representation victories. Celebrating a deal at a big food processor After a strike, the Teamsters recently signed a new contract at food distributor US Foods (NYSE: USFD). The strike, which began in early January and lasted roughly three weeks at the companys warehouse outside Chicago, eventually saw sympathy picket lines go up at other US Foods facilities. Details of the contract were not available. But when the end of the strike and the new deal were announced, the union said it had achieved significant wage increases, enhanced health benefits, improved pension contributions, and critical safety measures all without any concessions. In addition, US Foods has retracted its proposal to weaken the standard for terminating our drivers for accidents. The normally critical Teamsters for a Democratic Union said of the contract with US Foods that the company had agreed to significant wage increases, enhanced health benefits, higher pension contributions, and enhanced safety measures. Members gave up no concessions and defeated a company demand to make it easier to fire drivers for accidents. US Foods did put out a public statement about the deal, saying it was a five-year agreement. The contract build[s] on the highly competitive offerings drivers in Bensenville, Ill., currently receive, and includes safety enhancements aligned with the very high priority the company places on associate safety. Victory at a Ryder unit The Teamsters also recently won a small representation election at a unit of Ryder System (NYSE: R). According to a National Labor Relations Board posting, workers at the Perrysburg, Ohio, facility of Ryder Integrated Logistics voted in late January to be represented by Teamsters Local 20. The vote was 23-11. (The workers affected total 41. Vote totals can differ from the number of eligible workers due to some workers not voting.) The NLRB summary of the vote described all the eligible workers as drivers. A Ryder spokeswoman said Ryder Integrated Logistics is part of the companys Supply Chain Solutions segment but can also provide dedicated transportation services through Ryders Dedicated Transportation Solutions segment. The spokeswoman said the company has about 3,700 union members out of 31,900 hourly employees. They are organized by the Teamsters as well as the International Association of Machinists and the United Auto Workers. A potentially huge strike at Anheuser-Busch The next big showdown for the union is coming at Anheuser-Busch, where a strike has been authorized by the workers after the current contract expires March 1. So far, the two sides cannot agree on whether negotiations are even ongoing; according to a news report from a television station in St. Louis, the headquarters city of Anheuser-Busch, the company says talks are occurring, but the union says they are not. (A page on the companys website devoted to the Teamsters negotiations does not provide a recent update on the state of negotiations.) A statement sent to FreightWaves from the brewer did not directly address the state of negotiations. Since the bargaining cycle started in September, Anheuser-Busch has consistently and diligently worked to secure a contract that recognizes and rewards our hardworking employees and prioritizes long-term security for the best jobs in the beer industry; as a precautionary measure, we have a robust continuity plan in place to ensure we will continue bringing our industry-leading brands to our valued customers and consumers across the country, the statement said. Anheuser-Busch says there are more than 5,000 Teamsters members employed by the company in the U.S. Not all are drivers; workers in the breweries are Teamsters members as well. Teamsters General President Sean OBrien, never one to mince words, said in a recent statement that a strike at Anheuser-Buschs refineries appears imminent and unavoidable. This company has got to get its priorities straight, OBrien said in a posting on the Teamsters website. With its actions during negotiations this week, Anheuser-Busch made clear it is hellbent on destroying American jobs. They can throw billions of dollars at Super Bowl ads and Wall Street, but they cant seem to bargain a contract that respects the Teamsters who do the real work inside these breweries. They have a harsh reality awaiting them when Anheuser-Busch breweries are empty, and Teamsters are on the streets. More articles by John Kingston Teamsters celebrate NLRB decision in STG Logistics, see path to greater unionization Drivers oust Teamsters at Home Depot subsidiary in California A first for Werner: Small group of workers votes to unionize The post Teamsters ousted at Dr Pepper Wisconsin, face off against Anheuser-Busch appeared first on FreightWaves. Key Insights Raymond James Financial to hold its Annual General Meeting on 22nd of February Salary of US$750.0k is part of CEO Paul Reilly's total remuneration The total compensation is 122% higher than the average for the industry Raymond James Financial's EPS grew by 25% over the past three years while total shareholder return over the past three years was 60% Under the guidance of CEO Paul Reilly, Raymond James Financial, Inc. (NYSE:RJF) has performed reasonably well recently. In light of this performance, CEO compensation will probably not be the main focus for shareholders as they go into the AGM on 22nd of February. However, some shareholders may still be hesitant of being overly generous with CEO compensation. See our latest analysis for Raymond James Financial Comparing Raymond James Financial, Inc.'s CEO Compensation With The Industry At the time of writing, our data shows that Raymond James Financial, Inc. has a market capitalization of US$24b, and reported total annual CEO compensation of US$35m for the year to September 2023. That's a notable increase of 98% on last year. While this analysis focuses on total compensation, it's worth acknowledging that the salary portion is lower, valued at US$750k. In comparison with other companies in the American Capital Markets industry with market capitalizations over US$8.0b, the reported median total CEO compensation was US$16m. Hence, we can conclude that Paul Reilly is remunerated higher than the industry median. Furthermore, Paul Reilly directly owns US$30m worth of shares in the company, implying that they are deeply invested in the company's success. Component 2023 2022 Proportion (2023) Salary US$750k US$688k 2% Other US$34m US$17m 98% Total Compensation US$35m US$18m 100% On an industry level, around 9% of total compensation represents salary and 91% is other remuneration. Raymond James Financial has chosen to walk a path less trodden, opting to compensate its CEO with less of a traditional salary and more non-salary rewards over the last year. If non-salary compensation dominates total pay, it's an indicator that the executive's salary is tied to company performance. Story continues A Look at Raymond James Financial, Inc.'s Growth Numbers Raymond James Financial, Inc.'s earnings per share (EPS) grew 25% per year over the last three years. In the last year, its revenue is up 8.4%. Shareholders would be glad to know that the company has improved itself over the last few years. It's good to see a bit of revenue growth, as this suggests the business is able to grow sustainably. Looking ahead, you might want to check this free visual report on analyst forecasts for the company's future earnings.. Has Raymond James Financial, Inc. Been A Good Investment? Boasting a total shareholder return of 60% over three years, Raymond James Financial, Inc. has done well by shareholders. As a result, some may believe the CEO should be paid more than is normal for companies of similar size. In Summary... Raymond James Financial prefers rewarding its CEO through non-salary benefits. The company's decent performance might have made most shareholders happy, possibly making CEO remuneration the least of the concerns to be discussed in the upcoming AGM. Still, not all shareholders might be in favor of a pay raise to the CEO, seeing that they are already being paid higher than the industry. While CEO pay is an important factor to be aware of, there are other areas that investors should be mindful of as well. We've identified 1 warning sign for Raymond James Financial that investors should be aware of in a dynamic business environment. Important note: Raymond James Financial is an exciting stock, but we understand investors may be looking for an unencumbered balance sheet and blockbuster returns. You might find something better in this list of interesting companies with high ROE and low debt. 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. Some investors rely on dividends for growing their wealth, and if you're one of those dividend sleuths, you might be intrigued to know that Thomson Reuters Corporation (TSE:TRI) is about to go ex-dividend in just three days. The ex-dividend date is one business day before the record date, which is the cut-off date for shareholders to be present on the company's books to be eligible for a dividend payment. It is important to be aware of the ex-dividend date because any trade on the stock needs to have been settled on or before the record date. This means that investors who purchase Thomson Reuters' shares on or after the 20th of February will not receive the dividend, which will be paid on the 8th of March. The company's upcoming dividend is US$0.54 a share, following on from the last 12 months, when the company distributed a total of US$2.16 per share to shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, Thomson Reuters has a trailing yield of 1.4% on the current stock price of CA$214.14. If you buy this business for its dividend, you should have an idea of whether Thomson Reuters's dividend is reliable and sustainable. So we need to investigate whether Thomson Reuters can afford its dividend, and if the dividend could grow. View our latest analysis for Thomson Reuters Dividends are typically paid out of company income, so if a company pays out more than it earned, its dividend is usually at a higher risk of being cut. Fortunately Thomson Reuters's payout ratio is modest, at just 34% of profit. Yet cash flow is typically more important than profit for assessing dividend sustainability, so we should always check if the company generated enough cash to afford its dividend. Fortunately, it paid out only 50% of its free cash flow in the past year. It's positive to see that Thomson Reuters's dividend is covered by both profits and cash flow, since this is generally a sign that the dividend is sustainable, and a lower payout ratio usually suggests a greater margin of safety before the dividend gets cut. Story continues Click here to see the company's payout ratio, plus analyst estimates of its future dividends. Have Earnings And Dividends Been Growing? Businesses with strong growth prospects usually make the best dividend payers, because it's easier to grow dividends when earnings per share are improving. Investors love dividends, so if earnings fall and the dividend is reduced, expect a stock to be sold off heavily at the same time. It's encouraging to see Thomson Reuters has grown its earnings rapidly, up 121% a year for the past five years. Thomson Reuters is paying out less than half its earnings and cash flow, while simultaneously growing earnings per share at a rapid clip. This is a very favourable combination that can often lead to the dividend multiplying over the long term, if earnings grow and the company pays out a higher percentage of its earnings. The main way most investors will assess a company's dividend prospects is by checking the historical rate of dividend growth. In the last 10 years, Thomson Reuters has lifted its dividend by approximately 3.8% a year on average. It's good to see both earnings and the dividend have improved - although the former has been rising much quicker than the latter, possibly due to the company reinvesting more of its profits in growth. The Bottom Line Is Thomson Reuters worth buying for its dividend? Thomson Reuters has grown its earnings per share while simultaneously reinvesting in the business. Unfortunately it's cut the dividend at least once in the past 10 years, but the conservative payout ratio makes the current dividend look sustainable. There's a lot to like about Thomson Reuters, and we would prioritise taking a closer look at it. So while Thomson Reuters looks good from a dividend perspective, it's always worthwhile being up to date with the risks involved in this stock. To help with this, we've discovered 2 warning signs for Thomson Reuters (1 makes us a bit uncomfortable!) that you ought to be aware of before buying the shares. Generally, we wouldn't recommend just buying the first dividend stock you see. Here's a curated list of interesting stocks that are strong dividend payers. 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. Act of Dishonour (2010) is a drama about how life looks in Afghanistan through the eyes of a young beautiful woman named Mena. Wondering where to stream the movie? Heres how you can watch and stream Act of Dishonour (2010) via streaming services such as Amazon Prime Video. Is Act of Dishonour (2010) available to watch via streaming? Yes, Act of Dishonour (2010) is available to watch via streaming on Amazon Prime Video. Act of Dishonour is a family drama directed by Nelofar Pazira. The storyline revolves around Mena, a young beautiful bride-to-be who lives in a remote village in Afghanistan. She has a beautiful but limited bond with her fiance Rahmat. However, her quiet life wrapped in conservative local customs changes after she comes across a Canadian film crew. What happens next and how Mena thrives is all about the movie. Act of Dishonour features Abdul Ghafar Qoutbyar, Marina Golbahari, Masood Serwary, and others playing different roles. Watch Act of Dishonour (2010) streaming via Amazon Prime Video Act of Dishonour (2010) is available to watch on Amazon Prime Video. An on-demand American subscription-based video streaming service is Amazon Prime Video. You can watch via Amazon Prime Video by following these steps: Go to Amazon Prime Video Select Sign in and Create your Amazon account Sign up for a Prime Video membership: $14.99 per month or $139 per year with an Amazon Prime membership $8.99 per month for a standalone Prime Video membership Amazon Prime is the online retailers paid service that provides fast shipping and exclusive sales on products, so the membership that includes both this service and Prime Video is the companys most popular offering. However, you can also opt to subscribe to Prime Video separately. Act of Dishonours (2010) synopsis is as follows: In a land beset by endless strife, nothing must get in the way of the preservation of honor even if that means sacrificing a loved one. Mena, a young, beautiful bride-to-be, lives in a small, remote village in northern Afghanistan, a harsh landscape that still shimmers with breathtaking colors. Respecting the deeply conservative local customs, she and her fiance, Rahmat, have little contact yet cherish a special bond. NOTE: The streaming services listed above are subject to change. The information provided was correct at the time of writing. This year marks the 50th anniversary of John Carpenters feature-length directorial debut. ComingSoon will cover each of the horror masters Movies Neil Bolt 12 hours ago Acclaimed director James Cameron has rather passionately shot down the idea of a supposed nine-hour Avatar 3 cut. While speaking Movies Spencer Legacy 12 hours ago A major star is returning for Only Murders in the Building Season 4, as Meryl Streep has been revealed to TV Spencer Legacy 12 hours ago The official Napoleon Apple TV+ release date for Ridley Scotts newest historical drama has been revealed, after over two months Movies Maggie Dela Paz 12 hours ago Read more The post Act of Dishonour (2010) Streaming: Watch & Stream Online via Amazon Prime Video appeared first on ComingSoon.net - Movie Trailers, TV & Streaming News, and More. If you missed Aidan Bryant's crazy, good performance on America's Got Talent: Fantasy League which aired Monday, February 12, I've got you covered. The Top 10 All-Star artists on NBC's reality TV show competed one last time for the title and a shot at winning $250,000. On this AGT spin-off, judges Simon Cowell, Heidi Klum, Howie Mandel and Mel B mentored their dream teams of 10 acts which they drafted themselves from 40 former AGT winners, finalists, viral sensations and fan favorites. Golden Buzzers and steals along the way made the show even more exciting. The Top 10 acts performed in the following order: Pack Drumline [Team Simon], contortionist Sofie Dossi [Team Heidi], musician Kodi Lee [Team Howie], dance/acrobatic group V. Unbeatable [Team Heidi], hand balancers Ramadhani Brothers [Team Howie], South African dancer Musa Motha [Team Simon], aerialist, contortionist, acrobat Aidan Bryant [Team Mel], hand-shadow puppetry artist Shadow Ace [Team Howie], skating duo Billy and Emily England [Team Mel] and singing group Sainted [Team Simon]. Aerialist Aidan Bryant, AGT Season 16 runner-up and AGT: All Stars champion Bryant's mom, Pam Bennett of Prince George, was seated in the audience cheering her talented son on. I can only image the excitement and fear she must experience during his performances. During high school, my oldest child was on a competitive climbing team, bouldering and roped climbing. The USA Climbing competition requires athletes to wear harnesses and helmets. In Salt Lake City, Utah, my teen, almost to the top of a wall, vanished from my recording device. Spectators exploded with gasps. Another parent told me Ally's head smacked the wall extremely hard on the way down. I had to fight my way through the anxious crowd to reach my child. She was taken to the hospital, diagnosed with a concussion, and not able to compete the rest of the weekend. Since Bryant performs without a net or protective gear, I consider the self-taught aerialist's acts extremely dangerous. His high-speed spinning is beyond amazing! How is he able to walk a straight line afterward? If I spun like that, I'd wobble and tumble over before I even took my first step. "Aidan always amazes me. I love seeing him perform, but it does scare me a little when he does his drops from so high up over a very hard stage," Bennett said. "His last straps performance when he drops head first and the straps land at his ankles honestly, I think that is the scariest trick that he does." Will Bryant, AGT Season 16 runner-up and AGT: All Stars champion, win again? It's in the voters' hands now. The audience who viewed the Finals performances cast their votes to determine who will be crowned the 2024 AGT: Fantasy League champion. The winner will be revealed during the AGT: Fantasy League finale results show which airs Monday, February 19 at 8 p.m. on NBC. Watch it the following day on Peacock. Bryant is headed to Hawaii next month to perform in the Super American Circus's thrilling and exciting new show presented by Tuffy Nicholas. There will be seven shows in Honolulu at The Blaisdell Arena on March 22, 23 and 24 and additional shows in Hilo on March 8, 9 and 10, shows in Kona on March 15, 16 and 17, shows on Maui on March 29, 30 and 31, and shows on Kauai on April 6, 7 and 8. Visit superamericancircus.com for more information. I asked Bryant how he will spend the AGT: Fantasy League prize money if he wins. He said, "I will open up my own circus center/studio." Follow Bryant on Facebook @AidanBryant, on X @AidanBryantAGT and Instagram @aidanb.ryant. Read this story at Progress-Index.com to watch his spectacular Finals performance. Body twisted in unimaginable ways AGT: Fantasy League: Aerialist Aidan Bryant earns Golden Buzzer, advances to Finals 'I was overwhelmed and humbled' Petersburg native wins International Photographic Competition, $10,000: Mom subject Kristi K. Higgins aka The Social Butterfly, an award-winning columnist, is the trending topics and food Q&A reporter at The Progress-Index voted the 2022 Tri-Cities Best of the Best Social Media Personality. Have a news tip on local trends or businesses? Contact Kristi (she, her) at khiggins@progress-index.com, follow @KHiggins_PI on X and @socialbutterflykristi on Instagram. Your support is vital to local journalism. Please subscribe. This article originally appeared on The Progress-Index: Aidan Bryant's plans for AGT: Fantasy League prize money if he wins In this piece, we will take a look at the top 16 aircraft manufacturers in the world. If you want to skip our introduction to the global aircraft industry and the latest trends, then you can take a look at the Top 5 Aircraft Manufacturers In The World. The aircraft industry, just like consumer technology, has been making a lot of news over the past couple of months. This is because, at least when the Western world is concerned, there are only two primary aircraft manufacturing companies whose jets are capable of supporting large scale commercial operations. These are the U.S. aerospace giant The Boeing Company. (NYSE:BA) and its European counterpart Airbus SE (EPA:AIR.PA). Together, the duo dominates the industry for commercial aviation that is led globally by players the likes of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) and United Airlines Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:UAL). What this means is that aircraft manufacturing has to be precisely managed and carefully monitored to ensure that the stringent requirements of a large tube of aluminum traveling at more than half the speed of sound at thousands of feet in the air are met. On this front, the global aviation industry was shocked when a Boeing 737 Max aircraft's door blew out while it was cruising at altitude. Well, what blew out wasn't technically a door. Instead, it was a door plug that budget airlines use to make room for extra seats, and subsequent investigations revealed that a refurbishment oversight had led to the plug missing crucial bolts that would have held it in place. For Boeing stock, the news naturally wasn't greeted well by investors who had already stood by the firm during its recent lowest after crashes that claimed the lives of hundreds of people. The stock is down 18.8% year to date, even while its European rival's shares have appreciated by more than 5% this year so far. The nature of the aviation industry means that since Boeing supplies a substantially larger number of aircraft to airlines than it would have had there been multiple other manufacturers when its production lines stopped due to industry scares or inspection requirements, the impact is significant. Story continues In the aftermath of the 737 Max incident, the company shared the impact of the pressurization it faced from regulators and customers in February. Boeing outlined that its aircraft deliveries had shrunk by a third in January, and led the firm to deliver 27 airplanes in January. Had the 737 Max incident not occurred, then Boeing's deliveries might have sat at 38 planes - a fact that underscores the potential impact on a quarterly income statement from a handful of bolts and a lack of oversight. This is particularly painful for Boeing, an established stock that does not pay dividends since it stopped them in the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic. Yet, the firm's size means that it nevertheless did manage to keep up with Airbus when it came to delivering jets. Airbus's January deliveries stood at 30 planes, and for Boeing, despite the fact that deliveries and orders predictably slowed down, it did manage to make inroads into China in 2024. The firm shared in February 2024 that it has delivered three 737 Max's to China, which had suspended Boeing's imports in 2019. Of course, while commercial aviation dominates the global aviation industry when it comes to size, it is only one portion of the pie. Boeing also makes aircraft for the U.S. military, and along with planes made by Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE:LMT), these are capable of both stretching the limits of physics and ferrying service members globally. However, on this front, its Lockheed and Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) are more prominent. While Boeing's B-52 Stratofortress, an aircraft named after the literal Stratosphere, is nothing short of a modern engineering marvel capable of delivering fear equally just as well as it can deliver armaments, it's Lockheed and General Dynamics's F-16 Fighting Falcon that is the backbone of the global defense aviation industry. But Boeing, Lockheed, Airbus, and Northrop are not the only major aircraft companies. The final segment of this multi billion dollar industry, expected to be worth $626 billion by the end of this decade, is the one that's the most glamorous. This is the private jet industry, and it is dominated by players such as the formidable Brazilian firm Embraer and the well known Gulfstream Corporation. For a detailed look at this particular sub segment of the global aviation industry, you can check out 15 Biggest Private Jet Companies in the World. So, which companies are at the top when it comes to global aircraft manufacturing? We took a look, and the notable aircraft stocks in this list are Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE:LMT), Airbus SE (EPA:AIR.PA), and Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC). Top 15 Aircraft Manufacturers In The World An aerial view of a cargo plane taking off from a commercial airport, reflecting the company's overnight air cargo services. Our Methodology To make our list of the top aircraft manufacturing companies in the world, we first made a list of all publicly traded companies that make aircraft. Then, the largest privately held or state owned aircraft manufacturing companies were added to the mix, and the final list was ranked by their latest revenue estimate. Top 16 Aircraft Manufacturers In The World 16. Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China, Ltd. (COMAC) Latest Available 12 Month Revenue Est.: N/A The Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China, Ltd., also called COMAC, marks an apt start to our list of the biggest aircraft manufacturing companies in the world. This is because it is one of two arms of the Chinese aircraft manufacturing industry, and represents the complex nature of the sector. COMAC was created in 2008, as part of consolidation in the Chinese aerospace sector that also led to the creation of the largest aircraft manufacturer in the world. It joins Airbus SE (EPA:AIR.PA), Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE:LMT), and Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) in our list of the biggest aircraft manufacturers in the world. 15. Embraer S.A. (NYSE:ERJ) Latest Available 12 Month Revenue Est.: $777 million Embraer S.A. (NYSE:ERJ) is the well known Brazilian aircraft manufacturer. It is one of the leading players in global aviation and represents the strength of Brazil's industrial and technology base which has prospered no matter who rules the country. Embraer S.A. (NYSE:ERJ)'s shares are also traded on the NYSE exchange due to Brazil's proximity to America, and the billions of dollars in capital that the American stock market allows most companies to raise. Looking at hedge funds, as of Q3 2023 end, 14 out of the 910 hedge funds profiled by Insider Monkey had bought a stake in Embraer S.A. (NYSE:ERJ). Richard Oldfield's Oldfield Partners was the firm's biggest hedge fund investor due to its $22 million stake. 14. Korea Aerospace Industries, Ltd. (KSE:047810.KS) Latest Available 12 Month Revenue Est.: $2.37 billion Korea Aerospace Industries, Ltd. (KSE:047810.KS) is a South Korean company headquartered in Sacheon-si, South Korea. It is a diversified aerospace company with a sizeable presence in both aircraft manufacturing and satellite production. A sizeable portion of its equity is owned by public Korean entities, and the country's advanced industrial status has enabled Korea Aerospace Industries, Ltd. (KSE:047810.KS) to also plan its own fifth generation stealth fighter aircraft. 13. Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (NSE:HAL.NS) Latest Available 12 Month Revenue Est.: $3.33 billion Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (NSE:HAL.NS) is an Indian company headquartered in Bengaluru, India. It is a diversified aircraft manufacturer that engages in the production of both fixed wing and rotary aircraft. A deepening U.S. partnership with India can serve Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (NSE:HAL.NS) well as American companies help it with complex areas of manufacturing such as jet engines. It held the financial fort during its third quarter, with the latest results showing that net income had grown by 9%. 12. Public Joint Stock Company United Aircraft Corporation (MCX:UNAC.ME) Latest Available 12 Month Revenue Est.: $4.94billion Public Joint Stock Company United Aircraft Corporation (MCX:UNAC.ME) is the biggest aircraft manufacturing company in Russia. Owned by the Russian state, it has a historic place in global aviation as it has contributed significantly to the design of Soviet and modern era Russian aircraft which are among the few in the world that are capable of holding their ground (or should we say air?) in front of the leading edge fighter jets manufactured by Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE:LMT) and the French aeronautics giant Dassault Aviation societe anonyme (EPA:AM.PA). 11. Saab AB (publ) (STO:SAAB-B.ST) Latest Available 12 Month Revenue Est.: $4.82 billion Saab AB (publ) (STO:SAAB-B.ST) is a Swedish aircraft manufacturer headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden. It is known all over the world for its Gripen aircraft, which is one of the most capable fourth generation fighter aircraft platforms in the world. Along with the Eurofighter Typhoon, the Saab AB (publ) (STO:SAAB-B.ST) Grippen forms the backbone of European air defense. 10. Dassault Aviation societe anonyme (EPA:AM.PA) Latest Available 12 Month Revenue Est.: $6.54 billion Dassault Aviation societe anonyme (EPA:AM.PA) is the French aircraft manufacturer that can rightly count itself among the most advanced companies of its kind. Dassault Aviation societe anonyme (EPA:AM.PA) is one of few companies in the world whose 4.5th generation stealth fighter aircraft, the Dassault Rafale, can take to the skies on a moment's notice. 9. Bombardier Inc. (TSX:BBD-B.TO) Latest Available 12 Month Revenue Est.: $8 billion Bombardier Inc. (TSX:BBD-B.TO) is another well known global aircraft manufacturing company. It is known primarily for its business jets that enable the global elite to jet away to far flung destinations for their business and pleasure needs. 2023 was a great year for the firm as the aviation industry continued to recover in the post pandemic era. During the year, Bombardier Inc. (TSX:BBD-B.TO)'s revenue grew by a strong 16% annually, marked by an equally strong growth in the aftermarket for its business jets. 8. Textron Inc. (NYSE:TXT) Latest Available 12 Month Revenue Est.: $13.4 billion Textron Inc. (NYSE:TXT) is an American company that makes and sells a variety of aircraft to serve the needs of the business and defense aviation industries. Like other aircraft manufacturers, it is also performing well on the financial front as Textron Inc. (NYSE:TXT) has beaten analyst EPS estimates in all four of its latest quarters. During 2023's September quarter, 27 out of the 910 hedge funds covered by Insider Monkey's research had held a stake in Textron Inc. (NYSE:TXT). Mario Gabelli's GAMCO Investors was the firm's biggest investor due to its $131 million stake. 7. Leonardo S.p.a. (BIT:LDO.MI) Latest Available 12 Month Revenue Est.: $16.08 billion Leonardo S.p.a. (BIT:LDO.MI) is an Italian firm headquartered in Rome, Italy. It is a diversified aviation company with ownership stakes in several firms. This list includes Eurofighter, whose Typhoon aircraft forms the backbone of the European air forces. 6. Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) Latest Available 12 Month Revenue Est.: $39.2 billion Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) is an American defense contracting giant that also has a historic presence in the aircraft manufacturing industry. Its predecessor Grumman's F-14 Tomcat has been one of the most capable platforms in fighter jet history, and these days, Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) has its eyes set on America's next generation bomber. During Q3 2023, 35 out of the 910 hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey had bought Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC)'s shares. Dmitry Balyasny's Balyasny Asset Management was the biggest shareholder due to its $204 million stake. Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE:LMT), Airbus SE (EPA:AIR.PA), and Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) are some of the biggest aircraft manufacturers in the world. Click here to continue reading and check out Top 5 Aircraft Manufacturers In The World. Suggested articles: Disclosure: None. Top 15 Aircraft Manufacturers In The World is originally published on Insider Monkey. Alexei Navalny, the fiercest foe of Russian President Vladimir Putin who crusaded against official corruption and staged massive anti-Kremlin protests, died in prison Friday, Russias prison agency said. He was 47. The Federal Prison Service said in a statement that Navalny felt unwell after a walk on Friday and lost consciousness. An ambulance arrived to try to rehabilitate him, but he died. More from The Hollywood Reporter Navalnys spokeswoman Kira Yarmysh said on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, that the politicians team had no confirmation of his death so far and that his lawyer was traveling to the town where he was held. Daniel Rohers 2022 documentary Navalny told the story of the opposition leaderss battle against Putin. It won the best documentary Oscar in 2023. Navalny, who was serving a 19-year sentence on charges of extremism, was moved in December from his former prison in the Vladimir region of central Russia to a special regime penal colony the highest security level of prisons in Russia above the Artic Circle. His allies decried the transfer to a colony in the town of Kharp, in the Yamalo-Nenets region about 1,900 kilometers (1,200 miles) northeast of Moscow, as yet another attempt to force Navalny into silence. The remote region is notorious for long and severe winters. Kharp is about 100 kilometers (60 miles) from Vorkuta, whose coal mines were part of the Soviet gulag prison-camp system. Navalny had been behind bars since January 2021, when he returned to Moscow after recuperating in Germany from nerve agent poisoning that he blamed on the Kremlin. Before his arrest, he campaigned against official corruption, organized major anti-Kremlin protests and ran for public office. He had since received three prison sentences, all of which he rejected as politically motivated. In Putins Russia, political opponents often faded amid factional disputes or went into exile after imprisonment, suspected poisonings or other heavy repression. But Navalny grew consistently stronger and reached the apex of the opposition through grit, bravado and an acute understanding of how social media could circumvent the Kremlins suffocation of independent news outlets. He faced each setback whether it was a physical assault or imprisonment with an intense devotion, confronting dangers with a sardonic wit. That drove him to the bold and fateful move of returning from Germany to Russia and certain arrest. Navalny was born in Butyn, about 40 kilometers (25 miles) outside Moscow. He received a law degree from Peoples Friendship University in 1998 and did a fellowship at Yale in 2010. He gained attention by focusing on corruption in Russias murky mix of politicians and businesses; one of his early moves was to buy a stake in Russian oil and gas companies to become an activist shareholder and push for transparency. By concentrating on corruption, Navalnys work had a pocketbook appeal to Russians widespread sense of being cheated, and he carried stronger resonance than more abstract and philosophical concerns about democratic ideals and human rights. He was convicted in 2013 of embezzlement on what he called a politically motivated prosecution and was sentenced to five years in prison, but the prosecutors office later surprisingly demanded his release pending appeal. A higher court later gave him a suspended sentence. The day before the sentence, Navalny had registered as a candidate for Moscow mayor. The opposition saw his release as the result of large protests in the capital of his sentence, but many observers attributed it to a desire by authorities to add a tinge of legitimacy to the mayoral election. Navalny finished second, an impressive performance against the incumbent who had the backing of Putins political machine and was popular for improving the capitals infrastructure and aesthetics. Navalnys popularity increased after the leading charismatic politician, Boris Nemtsov, was shot and killed in 2015 on a bridge near the Kremlin. Whenever Putin spoke about Navalny, he made it a point to never mention the activist by name, referring to him as that person or similar wording, in an apparent effort to diminish his importance. Best of The Hollywood Reporter Alexi Navalny, one of the fiercest critics of Russian president Vladimir Putin and leader of the Russian opposition, died in prison on Friday according to the BBC. He was 47. Navalny was serving a 19-year prison term for offenses many deemed politically motivated. He was moved to an Arctic penal colony in 2021, and the prison service said Navalny felt unwell after a walk on Friday before he almost immediately lost consciousness, according to a statement. The emergency doctors declared the prisoner dead. Cause of death is being established, it continued. Navalnys spokesperson said on X that while the prison service announced Navalnys death, they have not confirmed his death yet themselves. As of early Friday morning, his lawyer was currently en route to the prison. Vice president Kamala Harris addressed Navalnys death at an event on Friday morning. This is of course terrible news that were working to confirm, she said, before expressly stating that Russia is responsible for his death. If confirmed, this would be a further sign of Putins brutality. Whatever story they tell, let us be clear: Russia is responsible. Vice President Kamala Harris says it's terrible news that Alexei Navalny has died and Russia is responsible for his death. WATCH pic.twitter.com/sZQKcXpXRQ Simon Ateba (@simonateba) February 16, 2024 In August 2020, Navalny was poisoned and an ensuing investigation determined the culprits were agents from Russias Federal Security Service. In response to his poisoning, the United States, UK and European Union imposed sanctions on senior Russian officials. A lawyer by trade, Navalny was leader of the Russia of the Future party and a harsh critic of Putin who regularly called on Russians to unite against the Russian president. In 2012, the day after Putin was inaugurated, Navalny was arrested at an anti-Putin rally and given a 15-day sentence. He was the subject of the 2023 documentary Navalny, which won the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature. Director Daniel Roher told TheWrap in February 2023 that Navalny was the only prisoner in the Russian penal system to be in perpetual solitary confinement, adding that he was in a dangerous position. We know that in the last month, Roher continued, hes lost about 17 pounds. Every week theres a new little torture device and last week, they installed ultra bright lights in the prison cell. So its really painful, awful. Navalny said in August he was sitting on a life sentence, and the U.S. State department responded to Navalnys extended sentence by calling it an unjust conclusion. For years, the Kremlin has attempted to silence Navalny and prevent his calls for transparency and accountability from reaching the Russian people. By conducting this latest trial in secret and limiting his lawyers access to purported evidence, Russian authorities illustrated yet again both the baselessness of their case and the lack of due process afforded to those who dare to criticize the regime, the departments statement read. The post Alexi Navalny, Putin Critic and Russian Opposition Leader, Dies at 47 appeared first on TheWrap. Crunchyrolls A Sign of Affection and its popularity are indications that the audience, at the end of the day, resorts to romantic anime series just as much as they indulge in action, thriller, and sci-fi. Hence, ComingSoon has curated a list of four best romance anime series like A Sign of Affection, for those who look forward to watching more such anime. Kimi ni Todoke: From Me to You Kimi ni Todoke: From Me to You is a shojo romance anime series set in Japans Hokkaido prefecture. The series ran from 2009 to 2011 and spans over two seasons as of now. The third season will premiere in 2024 on Netflix. The animes plot revolves around Sawalo Kuronuma, a 15-year-old high school student. Though she has a sweet and shy disposition, she is often misconceived as being appalling due to her bullies tendency to name-call her after a ghost from The Ring series. As such, her classmates call her Sadako, making it difficult for her to make friends. Sawako admires the most popular boy in her class, Shouta Kazehaya, who pushes her to participate in a test of courage. Eventually, the two come closer to each other as both acknowledge the positive changes they have brought into each others lives. Toradora! Toradora! is another one of the best romance anime series like A Sign of Affection. Based on a light novel, the storys complication lies in its characters personalities and peoples misconceptions about them. While Ryuuja Takasu is a gentle boy who loves doing housework, his face often intimidates others. Conversely, Taiga Aisaka is bold and intimidating, but her small build makes people believe she is soft and fragile. The two misunderstood characters cross paths one day only to discover that they have crushes on each others best friends. This romantic comedy has 25 episodes in total and is famous for its dramatic narrative. Additionally, the awards jury from the 13th Japan Media Arts Festival, 2009, recommended Toradora, adding to its feats in popular culture. Horimiya Another title from the romantic comedy genre is Horimiya, which is, again, based on two high school students with contrasting characters. The anime series has two seasons and is adapted from Daisuke Hagiwaras HERO manga. It follows the dynamic between Kyouki Hori and Izumi Miyamura. While the former is perfect in every sense from being pretty to academically brilliant the latter appears reserved and doesnt make his presence known as much. On a fateful day, the two cross paths and realize that they are both different from how other students commonly perceive them. Beneath Horis perfect demeanor is her inability to socialize due to her involvement in housework. Likewise, Izumis meek nature conceals his mildly rogue side with tattoos and piercings. As the two get to know each other, they spend most of their time together, finding things that nobody else knows about. Golden Time Golden Time is another romance anime series like A Sign of Affection, based on Yuyuko Takemiyas light novel. It is a 24-episode-long series which aired from October 2013 to March 2014. The main focus of this narrative is Banri Tada, who meets a devastating accident followed by a complete memory wipe-out. As he struggles to remember his history, he meets his friend, Mitsuo Yanagisawa. Eventually, he understands that he has to move on and starts a new life in Tokyo. At his new college, Banri meets Kouko Kaga. As he spends time together with Banri, he realizes that luck has given him a new chance at life. He could make friends again and fall in love, restarting a journey of unforgettable memories. With this realization, he moves on in an attempt to build a beautiful life for himself. The post Anime Like A Sign of Affection: Kimi ni Todoke, Horimiya & More appeared first on ComingSoon.net - Movie Trailers, TV & Streaming News, and More. Brian Wilson, the co-founder of the "Beach Boys," team has filed to place the legendary musician under a conservatorship. According to court documents, obtained by The Blast, a woman is listed on the filing who is an agent for Brian's touring company, along with a longtime publicist. The filing says he is suffering from a "major neurocognitive disorder (such as dementia)." The famous record producer has a history of mental health issues and it is believed he won't be able to take care of himself and treat the illness. 'Beach Boys' Star Brian Wilson Suffering From Dementia In the filing, Wilson's team is seeking legal authority to help him with his medical care. Specifically, we're told Wilson is currently suffering from Dementia and is being treated for the disorder. It appears the case revolves around his ability to properly treat the illness. The documents state, "The (proposed) conservatee does NOT have the capacity to informed consent to the administration of medications appropriate to the care and treatment of major neurocognitive disorders (including dementia.)" Adding, "The deficits in mental function assessed...significantly impair the (proposed) conservatee's ability to understand and appreciate the consequences of giving consent to the administration of medications for the care and treatment of major neurocognitive disorders." The court documents point out that "because of medical inability, the proposed conservatee is not able to attend the court hearing" on the subject. A "capacity" filing within the case says that his "fear, depression, helplessness" are all "severely inappropriate." A doctor concluded, "He is easily distracted, often even when aware of surroundings, and its purpose. Often makes spontaneous irrelevant or incoherent utterances. Has very short attention span and while unintentionally disruptive, is frequently unable to maintain decorum appropriate to the situation." He is currently taking medication to "slow the progression of the illness." MEGA The conservatorship filing points out that his wife passed way on January 30, 2024, and she was handling his "daily living needs." At this point, they claim, "Mr. Wilson is unable to properly provide for his own personal needs for physical health, food, clothing, or shelter." As for why the "team" filed the documents, it states, "Mr. Wilson has an Advance Health Care Directive naming Mrs. Wilson his agent for his health care. However, Mr. Wilson's Advance Health Care Directive did not name a successor agent. Accordingly, a conservator of the person needs to be appointed for Mr. Wilson due to Mrs. Wilson's passing and the lack of a successor agent named in his Advance Health Care Directive. Jean Sievers is Mr. Wilson's longtime publicist and manager, and LeeAnn Hard is Mr. Wilson's longtime business manager. They have had a close relationship with Mr. and Mrs. Wilson for many years, and Mr. Wilson trusts them. Ms. Hard is not requesting the appointment of a conservator of the estate because Mr. Wilson has a trust, his assets are held in trust, and Ms. Hard is trustee of his trust." In the end, the hope is that "Mr. Wilson will remain in his home, and it is Ms. Siever's and Ms. Hard's intent to ensure that all of Mr. Wilson's daily living needs are satisfied and he has the best possible care while remaining in his home." At this point, a hearing will be held to determine if a judge agrees to place the legendary 'Beach Boys' star under a conservatorship. Court records indicate a hearing is set for April 26, 2024. Mega The legendary musician has long been diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder and bipolar disorder, which has only worsened over time. Wilson's case is reminiscent of Jay Leno filing a conservatorship over his wife, Mavis after she was diagnosed with Alzheimer's. The music genius' struggles date way back to the 1960s when he began to succumb to the pressure of being the lead composer of the Beach Boys and shockingly retired from music. However, unknown to many Wilson had been fighting demons since he was a child thanks to his abusive father, who allegedly physically abused him until he endured damage in his ear. Unfortunately, just when he was at the peak of his career, the Hawthorne native began going on a downward spiral following a nervous breakdown. Wilson abandoned touring to focus on recording, resulting in him birthing history-making records for The Beach Boys. However, alongside the explosive creativity came a decline in his mental health. He was battling depression, and his mental health diagnosis manifested itself in auditory hallucinations. It also didn't help that Wilson began experimenting with LSD and other drugs alongside abusing alcohol and an eating disorder. As a result of his reclusion, Wilson was introduced to a psychologist named Eugene Landy who subjected him to "24-hour therapy" treatment that included "boot-camp-level exercise regimens, a padlocked refrigerator and, on some mornings, an icy splash of water to get him out of bed." View this post on Instagram A post shared by Brian Wilson (@brianwilsonlive) Although his experience with Landy was positive at first, causing him to return to normal, Landy soon became controlling and inserted himself in all areas of Wilson's life becoming his business partner, record producer, and occasional songwriting collaborator. There was also the issue of Landy charging Wilson exorbitant amounts as high as $20,000 monthly for Wilson's therapy treatments. During an interview when asked if Landy was too controlling, Wilson said: "I thought so, but there was nothing I could do about it and I eventually gave in to it. He definitely helped me. It cost over a hundred thousand dollars he charged a hell of a lot per month." Wilson continued with Landy despite the red flags, relapsing in the 1970s and eventually overdosing in 1982. Finally, in 1989, Wilson was free from the shackles of Dr. Landy when the State of California Board of Medical Quality revoked his professional license due to "Wilson's psychological dependency on Landy." Wilson Lost His Wife Melinda Who Helped Him Through His Mental Illness MEGA Wilson's conservatorship comes just a month after he lost a major support system in his life his wife Melinda Kay Ledbetter Wilson. Melinda passed away on January 30, 2024, and Wilson mourned her demise in a poignant social post. "My heart is broken. Melinda, my beloved wife of 28 years, passed away this morning. Our five children and I are just in tears. We are lost. Melinda was more than my wife. She was my savior," he began. "She gave me the emotional security I needed to have a career. She encouraged me to make the music that was closest to my heart. She was my anchor. She was everything for us. Please say a prayer for her. Love and Mercy, Brian." Melinda, who met her husband at a Los Angeles Cadillac dealership in 1986, was very critical in releasing Wilson from the shackles of Landy. "He was having a lot of problems when I met him, Melinda said of Mr. Landy. "I think originally he did help; he helped Brian lose weight, and he helped Brian care about himself physically again. But then, as time went on, he became very captive of Brian, where Brian was primarily a prisoner." Days before the news of the conservatorship, Rolling Stone revealed that a country record by the 81-year-old and his longtime Beach Boys manager, Fred Vail, is set for release sometime next year. The project titled "Cows in the Pasture" was shelved for over five decades before its expected release. As the Israel-Hamas war continues to rage in Gaza, repercussions are being felt at the Berlinale, which looks to be one of the most politically charged editions in recent history. Several filmmakers have already canceled their participation to the festival in protest of Germanys attitude towards Palestinian voices, while more than 50 Berlinale workers have signed an open letter this week demanding a ceasefire in Gaza and asking that the festival leadership take a stronger institutional stance on what the statement calls the current assault on Palestinian life and calling on the festival to take a stance that is consistent with those taken in response to other events that have struck the international community in recent years. More from Variety The war in Gaza followed Hamas attacks on Israel on Oct. 7, which resulted in approximately 1,200 deaths and 250 hostages taken. As the death toll continues to rise, with nearly 30,000 Palestinians killed in Gaza a region governed by Hamas since 2006 many attendees are drawing parallels with Russias war in Ukraine. They argue that the Berlinales muted response to the conflict in Gaza is reflective of a double standards. When the war in Ukraine began, or when there were demonstrations happening against the regime in Iran last year, they showed endless support to these causes, yet Gaza is now being totally ignored, says Berlin-based Palestinian director and artist Kamal Aljafari (Paradiso, XXXI, 108, An Unusual Summer). Last year, the fests strong focus on Ukraine included an opening night video address by the countrys president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, eight Ukrainian titles or films related to Ukraine in various sections, special events at the EFM and Berlinale Talents, free market and festival accreditations to Ukrainian filmmakers and even Berlinale pin-on badges and magnets to provide widespread visibility for the cause among Berlinale attendees. This years program does include two films from Israel and Palestine, Amos Gitais politically minded Israeli drama Shikun and the Palestinian documentary by an activist collective, No Other Land, about mass expulsions of Palestinians from the West Bank. Many people working in the Arab film sector said they would boycott the festival or stage protests if it showed solidarity with Israel. We have to see what happens at the Berlinale first before making any statement or taking any action, says one industry representative who asked not to be named. In general, its not about boycotting when it comes to cultural activities. It is about having most of the people working in culture agreeing on a certain direction. We are not asking them to express solidarity with Palestine, but we need to know because we cannot be silent if they express solidarity with Israel, the person says, adding that festivals should encourage discussions and find wider consensus rather than set a single political direction. In January, Canadian director and video artist John Greyson, Indian-American filmmaker Suneil Sanzgiri and Ayo Tsalithaba, a Canada-based visual artist from Ghana and Lesotho, withdrew their works from the Berlinales Forum Expanded section. Speaking to Variety, Berlinale artistic director Carlo Chatrian notes that Forum Expanded related more to art and reflected a slightly different community of artists. I dont want to undermine that, but its a bit different when it comes to production companies or producers and filmmakers. Im in contact with filmmakers and they are all eager to come because they consider the festival as a great platform actually to discuss things. And the best [way] to discuss [things] is through cinema. We know that we have artists that consider it not the right fit to come to Germany, Chatrian adds. We respect the decision. We still believe that the festival is a great place for dialogue and we want to keep it as a place for dialogue. Pointing to Shikun and No Other Land, Chatrian says, We dont shield away this content; they are part of the festival. Germanys Nazi past has made unwavering support for Israel a political commandment for all of the countrys major parties, including the far-right AfD, and that view affects funding institutions and cultural events, observers note. Ahead of opening night festivities, the Berlinale staged a demonstration defending democracy to highlight their decision to disinvite AfD members. By disinviting the AfD, the Berlinale has clearly positioned itself against the right-wing extremism in Germany, the festival said in a statement. Nick Vivarelli contributed to this story. Best of Variety Sign up for Varietys Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Stephen Colbert, briefly, seemed uncharacteristically favorably disposed toward Donald Trump during his Thursday monologue, declaring that whatever the verdict ends up being in the ex-presidents New York civil fraud trial on Friday, it will be unfair. To me, he quickly clarified. Because I dont have a show tomorrow. Colbert also offered up a public service announcement in response to the myriad criminal offenses Trump is accused of: This is fed up. We concur. You can watch the clip, courtesy of an early preview of his monologue from tonights The Late Show, right here now. It was an insane day for America because it was a regular day for Donald Trump, Colbert said. He had not one but two criminal trials today, one in New York, one in Georgia at the exact same time. The only way to follow all the action was to have multiple TVs. Thats why I watch all the proceedings today at a Buffalo Wild Wings. I had the hot habeas jalapeno bombers, Colbert added. Theres this Tomorrow, Judge Engoron is expected to issue a verdict in Trumps $370 million trial. And I will tell you right now, whatever he rules I believe the verdict is unfair to me, because I dont have a show tomorrow and Justice delayed is punch lines denied, Colbert quipped. That led into Colberts PSA. Those three, those three are just today and tomorrow. Hes also facing January 6 trial in Washington DC. The classified documents case in Florida, Colorado trying to throw them off the ballot for insurrection, and his appeal in the verdict of the E. Jean Carroll defamation case in which a jury has already found that Trump committed sexual assault. And yet despite all this, people want to hire this maniac to be president, Colbert explained. In light of all that, in the light of all that Id like to make a brief Public Service Announcement: This is fed Up. The post Colbert Says Trumps Impending Fraud Verdict Is Unfair but Only Because I Dont Have a Show Tomorrow | Video appeared first on TheWrap. Parkway Central Park in Arlington will remain closed until Tuesday, the city of Arlington said Getty A coyote was caught in a North Texas park on Thursday, Arlington city officials said The animal may be linked to a series of attacks on three children over three separate days in the last week The coyote tested negative for rabies, the city told PEOPLE on Friday A coyote that may have been responsible for attacking three children and was captured at a North Texas park on Thursday has tested negative for rabies, authorities said Friday afternoon. In a news release obtained by PEOPLE, the city of Arlington said two more coyotes were observed in an area "surrounding" Parkway Central Park early Friday morning. "Following these reports, the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Wildlife Services surveyed the park overnight," the news release stated. "USDA staff did not observe any coyotes within the park space, but they did observe two coyotes in the surrounding area. The coyotes did not display any concerning behavior at that time, and the USDA staff does not consider them a threat to the public at this time." "Out of an abundance of caution, Parkway Central Park, 600 Van Buren Drive, will remain closed to the public until Tuesday, Feb. 20," officials added. Related: Rhode Island Hiker Kills Rabid Coyote with Bare Hands After Being Bitten on the Leg During Attack Officers with the Arlington Police Department and Arlington Animal Services caught the coyote inside the park at about 7:30 a.m. Thursday after deploying a non-lethal baton round, CBS affiliate KTVT and Fox affiliate KDFW reported. "We saw the coyote on the back side. He went back around and then he came out," Sgt. Eric Belisle, with the Arlington Police Department, told KTVT. "Then he charged us and that's when I hit him with the less lethal." The officer, who has encountered "hundreds of coyotes" on the job, went on to call this "very unusual behavior." 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. Authorities said they are not sure whether the coyote was the one who attacked the children on three separate occasions, beginning last Saturday. After the initial attack, two more children were bitten on Tuesday and Wednesday at the park, which is adjacent to Jones Academy, a fine arts and dual-language school in the Arlington Independent School District. Related: 5 Injured, Including 2 Children, After Car Crashes Into Emergency Room Lobby The coyote captured on Thursday was euthanized and then transported to Texas Health and Human Services in Austin where it underwent rabies testing. In the three separate coyote encounters, each child was treated for injuries and then released from the hospital, The Dallas Morning News reported. For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter! Read the original article on People. Weve all heard the cliche of an actors most personal role yet. But thats actually the case for Cynthia Erivo, who plays a Liberian refugee in the understated Drift (in theaters now in New York and Los Angeles, expanding nationwide through February and March). The drama follows Jacqueline (Erivo) as she lives on the streets of a Greek coastal town and warily befriends an American tour guide (Alia Shawkat). As they grow closer, Jacqueline reveals the weight of her devastating past, which is told in a haunting, eleventh-hour monologue. Based on Alexander Maksiks 2013 novel A Marker to Measure Drift, the story resonated deeply with Erivo, 37, whose mother fled violence as a teenager during the Biafran War in Nigeria. Thats one of the things that stuck with me: just how determined my mom was to survive, Erivo says. She wanted to be protector of her brothers and sisters, as well as her mother. I wanted that to be part of Jacquelines personality: Shes determined to take care of her family. The helplessness comes from when she cant. Cynthia Erivo felt closer to her mom after making new film 'Drift' Jacqueline (Cynthia Erivo, right) learns to let her guard down around Callie (Alia Shawkat) in "Drift." Erivo was born in London after her parents moved from Nigeria to the U.K. in their early 20s. Her mom never spoke about what happened until she was an adult. Im always amazed by how much she went through and dealt with before she got to me, Erivo says. Making this project helped me put myself in her shoes a bit. She has not seen the film yet, but I hope she sees a little of herself in it. Drift, which Erivo also produced, is anchored by a remarkably quiet turn from the actress. We've seen her do much bigger performances, but this one, its very delicate and restrained, director Anthony Chen says. Shes got such an amazing face and conveys so much emotion with so little. Cynthia Erivo earned Oscar nominations for best actress and best original song ("Stand Up") for "Harriet." She previously embodied legendary powerhouse Aretha Franklin in Genius, and will next play the misunderstood witch Elphaba in Wicked (in theaters Nov. 27), a "Wizard of Oz prequel co-starring Ariana Grande as Glinda. The much-anticipated movie musical unveiled its first trailer during the Super Bowl and could catapult Erivo to another stratosphere of fame. Honestly, I have no idea (how I feel about that). I just have to take it one day at a time, Erivo says. I hope people see themselves in the movie and realize that not fitting in is fantastic. For me, thats the main aim of this. I loved playing (Elphaba). I felt very protective of her. She recalls real 'fear and horror' shooting intense scenes "You just have to throw yourself into it," Cynthia Erivo says of playing Jacqueline. "It's really vulnerable, but that's the beauty in it." Erivo felt similarly close to Jacqueline, although at times, found the experience of shooting "Drift" to be viscerally upsetting. During one flashback sequence, Jacqueline and her family try to fend off gunmen who storm into their home. What most people don't realize is that your body doesn't know you're pretending, Erivo says. So when I'm being dragged through the house and I'm watching something horrific, fear and horror are real emotions I was experiencing. Erivo has portrayed multiple trauma survivors, from her Tony Award-winning performance as Celie in Broadways The Color Purple, to her Oscar-nominated role as Harriet Tubman in the 2019 film Harriet. Im trying to be better at not taking these characters home with me, but I dont think I am, Erivo says. I was really bad when it came to Celie. That line between me and her just got thinner and thinner and thinner. And I may have had acute depression when I did Harriet toward the end. I had a mini-breakdown. She says having a really good therapist helped her through Drift, as did physical activity such as yoga, Pilates and running. She also makes playlists for every character she plays: Jacquelines compilation included music by Laura Mvula, Yebba and Veronica Swift. After I play a character, I try not to listen to that for a little bit, just so I can move away from it, Erivo says. Then if I come back to that playlist, Im not having massive flashbacks of what I experienced. How Michelle Yeoh inspired her on the set of the 'Wicked' movie Cynthia Erivo finished shooting "Wicked" last month, which was as "intense as you can possibly imagine." With Drift, Erivo continues to carve out a lane for herself as a producer. Coming up, shes producing and starring in a film version of Jodie Comers one-woman play Prima Facie. Shes also curious to try her hand at directing after shooting the two-part Wicked. Wandering around the set in head-to-toe emerald makeup, she would always stop to observe crew members and learn about their jobs. Chatting between takes with co-star Michelle Yeoh, she asked me randomly, So when are you going to start directing? Erivo recalls. My head blew off because I hadnt mentioned anything; Im green at this moment. And she was like, I can see it. So if Michelle Yeoh thinks that of me and shes worked with everyone I might have to start considering it seriously. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Cynthia Erivo discusses 'Drift' movie, 'Wicked' co-star Michelle Yeoh Disclaimer: This article contains mentions of murder. Reader discretion is advised. Dateline NBCs upcoming episode will explore the case against Ganesh Remy Ramsaran after his wife Jennifer Ramsarans murder. The episode titled The Perfect Life will air on the network on Friday, February 16, 2024, at 9 p.m. ET. The synopsis says, More than a decade after a New York mother of three is murdered, the story takes an unexpected turn as a twist emerges that leads to an unforeseen conclusion. Jennifer Ramsaran left the house on December 11, 2012, and never returned. Her body was found months later, in February 2013. Following this, all suspicion fell on her husband, Remy Ramsaran. The Evening Sun stated that police learned about his affair with Jennifers close friend, Eileen Sayles, and suspected that he murdered her because of the affair. They believed he also wanted to collect insurance money. Detectives found blood evidence while investigating Jennifers murder that linked Remy to the crime. They arrested him in May 2013 and charged the accused with second-degree murder. Remy maintained his innocence and stood trial in 2014, which resulted in a conviction. He was initially sentenced to 25 years to life, but a judge granted him a retrial in October 2022. Eventually, Remy accepted a deal and pleaded guilty to manslaughter, receiving 22 years in prison, per WNBF. According to the New York Department of Corrections, Ganesh Remy Ramsaran is now serving time in the Clinton Correctional Facility. How was Ganesh Remy Ramsaran linked to Jennifer Ramsarans murder? He had the perfect life. And then his wife disappeared Watch Friday at 9/8c on a new 2-hour #Dateline with @CanningAndrea on NBC. pic.twitter.com/uBqGhOHa6k Dateline NBC (@DatelineNBC) February 16, 2024 According to Oxygen, after reporting Jennifer missing, Remy Ramsaran told authorities that he tracked her phone to an area outside town. During a search, while police failed to find any evidence, he returned with the phone, undamaged. He claimed to have found it in an overgrown area near a bridge in Plymouth. The Daily Star reported that Remy later explained in an interview that he used GPS technology to locate the phone. Days after Jennifers disappearance, her father found the couples abandoned minivan outside a Norwich apartment complex. Months later, on February 26, 2013, her unclothed body was found off a remote road in the town of Pharsalia. At the time, Ganesh Remy Ramsaran had told police that he suspected Jennifer was having an affair and that her rendezvous with that person went wrong. However, police found no evidence of an extramarital romance and learned that she spent most of her free time playing online fantasy games with a man named Rob. They did not consider him a suspect, per Oxygen. Detectives then started investigating Remy and learned about his affair with Jennifers close friend, Eileen Sayles. Moreover, Remy had initially told police that he went for a run after the victim left their house the morning she went missing. However, his alibi began to fall apart when authorities found no surveillance footage of him on the route that he claimed to have taken. Moreover, investigators found blood evidence on the couples mattress as well as on Remys sweatshirt, the one he wore that same day. Oxygen reported that former Chenango County DA Joseph McBride said, In our theory of the case, he actually killed his wife at home, and cleaned up for a few hours. They believed that after committing the crime, Remy dumped all evidence, including Jennifers body, her phone, and their van. Was Remy Ramsaran convicted of Jennifers murder? According to The Daily Star, authorities arrested Ganesh Remy Ramsaran in connection with Jennifer Ramsarans murder in May 2013. They arrested Remy nearly three months after the discovery of Jennifers body, but he maintained his innocence. He was facing second-degree murder charges and stood trial in 2014. A jury found him guilty of the count, following which he received a prison sentence of 25 years to life. However, a judge granted Remy a retrial in October 2022 based on inadequacies in his previous defense, per WNBF. He then accepted a deal and pleaded guilty to a reduced count of manslaughter. Special Prosecutor Ben Bergman claimed that his guilty plea marked the revelation of the true details about the murder. The outlet reported that as part of the plea deal, Remy acknowledged his involvement in Jennifers death. Following this, Remy accepted a sentence of 22 years in prison and also waived his right to an appeal. According to the New York Department of Corrections, he is currently serving time in the Clinton Correctional Facility. Dateline NBC airs Jennifer Ramsarans murder by her husband, Ganesh Remy Ramsaran, on February 16, 2024. The post Dateline NBC: Where Is Jennifer Ramsarans Husband Ganesh Remy Ramsaran Now? appeared first on ComingSoon.net - Movie Trailers, TV & Streaming News, and More. Abhay Deols most talked-about romantic drama, Dev D, recently hit its 15-year milestone. Considered one of the best to come out of Bollywood, the movie features exceptional cinematography and out-of-this-world music that blends perfectly with the story. Anurag Kashyap wrote and directed the movie alongside Ronnie Screwvalas UTV Spotboy (now UTV Motion Pictures) and Bindass as producers. Dev D is a modern-day take on Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyays classic Bengali novel Devdas. P.C. Barua and Sanjay Leela Bhansali have previously adapted the novel for the screen. The movie also stars Mahie Gill, Kalki Koechlin, Dibyendu Bhattacharya and Manoj Bakshi, among others. It revolves around Dev, who finds solace in drugs and alcohol after breaking up with his childhood love, Paro. Soon he falls in love with a prostitute, Chanda. It was released theatrically on February 6, 2009, and is available to stream on Netflix. Check out the trailer for the movie: Dev D Ending: What happens with Leni? After Paro gets engaged to Bhuvan in Dev D, Dev overhears a conversation and discovers that Sunil lied about Paro. He realizes he has made a mistake, and soon Paro gets married to Bhuvan. Meanwhile, a schoolgirl from a rich family, Leni, falls prey to a leaked MMS video released by her boyfriend. She is the daughter of the High Commissioner of Canada and often gets unwarranted attention due to her clothes. After her father comes across her viral video, he kills himself, and her mother leaves the country without her. Her fathers family traumatizes Leni, threatening to kill her and bury her in the fields. She decides to leave home and move to Delhi. When her friends refuse to support her, she meets a pimp, Chunni, who offers to help her out with her education in exchange for her body for prostitution. Does Paro return? Leni agrees and she uses Chanda as her professional name. She studies during the day and works at night with high-paying customers. However, one day Dev enters her room and falls on her bed. He has now turned to drugs to forget the pain of losing Paro. He later contacts Rasika and takes her to his hotel. But when Rasika realizes that all Dev wanted was to have sex, she leaves. Paros family brushes off Dev when he tries to contact her. So, he starts meeting Chanda frequently to try and get over Paro. Later, when Paro visits Dev, he learns that she is now married to an old man with 2 kids. Paro admits to being happy with Bhuvan and refuses to have sex with Dev, something she wanted to do back when she loved him. She advises Dev to go back home and handle his dads business and factories. What does Dev do with the money? Dev returns to Chanda and starts thinking that he may be in love with her. But Chanda tells him that he shouldve apologized to Paro and not let his ego get in the way of his love. Eventually, Chanda also falls for Dev over his story with Paro. Although Chunni advises Dev not to fall for Chanda, he realises he really is in love with her. But soon, reality hits both of them, as Chanda is a prostitute and has customers that she could not refuse. This pushes Dev to go on another one of his drug adventures, which results in him killing 7 people with his car in his drunken haze. His father, who was supporting him financially, dies from the shock of the news. While under custody, he is released to attend his fathers funeral. Even his brother cuts him off from the inheritance and lends him some money to hire a lawyer. But Dev uses the money to travel across the country. Does Dev find Chanda? At the end of Dev D, when Dev runs out of money, he returns to Delhi and tries to get in touch with Chanda. He learns that she has left the brothel. He later finds her at a Momo stand they used to visit frequently during the good days and decides to get back together. Chanda helps Dev get back on his feet and start life afresh. Stream Dev D on Netflix. The post Dev D Ending Explained & Spoilers: How Does Abhay Deols Movie End? appeared first on ComingSoon.net - Movie Trailers, TV & Streaming News, and More. In this article, we will list the top 20 companies with the most cash reserves. If you want to skip our detailed discussion about cash hoarding by nonbanking US firms, go to 7 Companies With the Most Cash Reserves. A recent research by Harvard Business Review revealed that nonbanking US companies have increased their hoards of cash significantly post-pandemic. Traditionally, financial institutions such as banks keep large sums of cash in hand because they are in the business of lending money. It does not make any apparent sense for nonbanking companies to hoard large piles of cash and collect only interest when cash could be invested for larger profits. According to the latest figures, the total cash reserves of the nonbanking US companies are a whopping $6.9 trillion, nearly equivalent to the GDPs of Germany and India combined. Today, cash represents $1 out of every $5 of total assets held by nonbanking US firms. As we dig a little deeper, the reasons for keeping cash reserves become clearer. According to analysts, companies are hoarding cash because it helps them avoid premature failures that might decimate shareholder value. It allows them greater investment and operational flexibility. Economies around the world are increasingly becoming knowledge-based. The 'winner-take-all reward' model is quite prevalent in industries around the world. So, nonbanking firms are hoarding cash to utilize now-or-never opportunities. Cash also provides a cushion to bridge the timing mismatch between cash generation and sudden cash needs. In simple terms, it gives the firms the flexibility to quickly capitalize on profitable opportunities. However, there is more to this story. Maintaining and building flexibility to capitalize on profitable opportunities is one side of the coin when it comes to hoarding cash. Higher cash reserves allow the companies to avoid taxes since they can only be collected on profits made by investments. The premise of investing cash in profitable investments rather than collecting only interest does not factor in the tax rate applied to those profits. Story continues So, it would only make sense for companies to invest rather than hoard cash if the investment is significantly net positive, including tax. Even if the investment is net positive after taxation but without a significant margin, it makes more sense for companies to keep the cash in hand for a small cost and utilize it when a one-of-a-kind opportunity arises. Then, there is also an exception of firms with subjective valuation. These firms might struggle to access capital quickly, and so keep a large proportion of their assets as cash in hand. It is quite interesting to note that multinationals whose value is generated primarily by their intellectual property are hoarding cash. Research by the professors at Kellogg School of Management found that reserves of Apple, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), Alphabet, Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG), and Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) accounted for 92% of cash reserves that they could document. Naturally, all of these are tech companies and are also part of our top tech companies list. All three companies are extensively involved in research and development. In fact, last year Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) held off increasing the salaries of its employees, citing investment in AI as one of the reasons. It is worth noting that two of these companies, Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) and Alphabet, Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) are in competition with each other for the development of AI models. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) has invested heavily in Open AI, whereas Alphabet, Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) has invested in Antropic. It is quite apparent that both companies see the AI revolution as one of a kind opportunity that they want to capitalize on. In 2018, Apple, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) set an ambitious goal to reach a net cash neutral position where any cash in hand is balanced by its total debt. However, last year, the company took drastic steps to decrease the pile of idle cash it was sitting on. Apple, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) returned much of the cash to shareholders in the form of share buybacks and dividends. It is worth noting here that despite all of the cash hoarding by nonbanking US companies, the financial sector and banking institutions have the most cash. This is apparent in our list as an overwhelming majority are financial institutions. With that backdrop, let's look at the top 20 companies with the most cash reserves. Top 20 Companies With the Most Cash Reserves A bank teller in a full-service office, counting and organizing cash. Methodology For our list of the top 20 companies with the most cash reserves, we researched online for companies with significant 'cash on hand' in their balance sheets. Then, we sorted the companies according to 'cash on hand', the higher this figure, the higher the company ranks on our list. By the way Insider Monkey is an investing website that tracks the movements of corporate insiders and hedge funds. By using a similar consensus approach we identify the best stock picks of more than 900 hedge funds investing in US stocks. The top 10 consensus stock picks of hedge funds outperformed the S&P 500 Index by more than 140 percentage points over the last 10 years (see the details here). Whether you are a beginner investor or a professional looking for the best stocks to buy you can benefit from the wisdom of hedge funds and corporate insiders. 20 - Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS) Cash On Hand - $287.13 B Headquartered in London, UK, Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS) is a British multinational investment bank and financial services company. It offers several financial services to consumers, small businesses, and larger financial institutions. The Bank also offers a variety of private banking, advisory, and investment services. It is also committed to innovation, which is evident in its partnership with IBM to explore the potential of generative AI. 19 - MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Cash On Hand - $292.39 B MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) is 19th on our list of the top 20 companies with the most cash reserves. The company provides insurance, annuities, and employee benefit programs. MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) also provides auto and home insurance through its partnership with Farmers Insurance's GroupSelect Auto Insurance. 18 - China Life Insurance Company Limited (HKG:2628) Cash On Hand - $307.44 B China Life Insurance Company Limited is the only overseas wholly-owned subsidiary of China Life Insurance (Group) Company. It has a strong presence in Hong Kong, Macau, and Singapore. The company provides insurance solutions and investment services, which include, group life insurance, individual life insurance, travel insurance, and investment insurance. 17 - HSBC Holdings plc (NYSE:HSBC) Cash On Hand - $309.50 B HSBC Holdings plc (NYSE:HSBC) is 17th on our list of the top 20 countries with the most cash reserves. It is a holding company for the HSBC group and provides a variety of international banking and financial services. Some of the services offered by HSBC Holdings plc (NYSE:HSBC) include retail and commercial banking, insurance solutions, and mortgages. 16 - Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) Cash On Hand - $317.28 B Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) is 16th on our list of the top 20 companies with the most cash reserves. It is one of the leading providers of insurance, retirement planning, and investment management services. Some of the other services that Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) offers are health insurance, administration, and asset management. 15 - Banco Santander S.A. (BME:SAN) Cash On Hand - $336.00 B Banco Santander, S.A., known commercially as Santander, is a multinational Spanish bank with its headquarters in Santander, Cantabria. It offers several financial products and services for individuals. Some of the services that the bank offers include including accounts, cards, loans, mortgages, pension plans, investment funds, and insurance. 14 - Citigroup, Inc. (NYSE:C) Cash On Hand - $342.02 B Citigroup, Inc. (NYSE:C) is 14th on our list of the top 20 companies with the most cash reserves. It is an American multinational investment bank and financial services corporation. Citigroup, Inc. (NYSE:C) offers a range of financial services for both, individual and corporate customers. Some of the services that it offers include investment banking, retail brokerage, corporate banking, and cash management products and services. 13 - Axa S.A. (ETR: AXA) Cash On Hand - $342.53 B Axa is a France-based holding company that operates as an insurance company. It offers a broad range of products and services, including life and non-life insurance, pension and saving products, and financial and asset management services. 12 - Japan Post Bank Co., Ltd. (TYO:7182) Cash On Hand - $416.85 B Japan Post Bank is one of the leading financial institutions in Japan. The bank offers several financial products and services through Japan's nationwide network of post offices. 11 - Japan Post Holdings Co., Ltd. (TYO:6178) Cash On Hand - $429.56 B Japan Post Holding is a publicly traded Japanese conglomerate. It is headquartered in Kasumigaseki, Chiyoda, Tokyo. The company is involved in the postal and logistics business, financial window business, banking business, and life insurance business. 10 - Mizuho Financial Group, Inc. (TYO:8411) Cash On Hand - $434.40 B Mizuho Financial Group is 10th on our list of top 20 companies with the most cash reserves. It is a Japanese financial holding company that offers several financial services through its subsidiaries. Some of the financial services that its subsidiaries offer include general banking, securities brokerage, trust banking, and asset management. Mizuho Financial Group is one of the largest financial institutions in the world. 9 - BNP Paribas (EPA:BNP) Cash On Hand - $507.68 B Headquartered in Paris, France, BNP Paribas is a multinational universal bank and financial services holding company. It was formed in 2000 as a result of a merger between Banque Nationale de Paris and Paribas. BNP Paribas is one of the largest banking groups in Europe. 8 - Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Inc. (TYO:8316) Cash On Hand - $517.65 B Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group is 8th on our list of the top 20 companies with the most cash reserves. It is a Japanese banking holding company headquartered in the Otemachi district of Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. The company was formed in December 2002, through a share transfer from Sumitomo. Click to continue reading and see Top 7 Companies With the Most Cash Reserves. Suggested articles: Disclosure: none. Top 20 Companies With the Most Cash Reserves is originally published on Insider Monkey. A recent civil trial sought to determine Trump's penalty for inflating the value of his assets, after he was previously found liable of fraud Shannon Stapleton-Pool/Getty Former President Donald Trump attends closing arguments in his New York civil fraud trial on Jan. 11, 2024 Donald Trump has been ordered to pay $354.9 million in penalties following a lengthy civil fraud trial that tore into his finances. Judge Arthur Engoron filed the 92-page ruling on Friday, which also barred the former president from serving as an officer or director of any New York corporations or legal entities for three years, and restricted him and the Trump Organization from applying for loans from New York-chartered financial institutions during the same time frame. The ruling comes just three weeks after a New York jury ordered Trump to pay $83.3 million in damages to former Elle columnist E. Jean Carroll for defamatory statements he made about her in 2019. Related: Donald Trump Storms Out of Trial with Secret Service 'Chasing' Behind, Prompting Courtroom Gasps: Report Shannon Stapleton-Pool/Getty In addition to penalizing Trump on Friday, Engoron demanded more than $4 million each from his adult sons, Donald Jr. and Eric who are barred from holding top leadership positions at New York businesses for two years and $1 million from ex-Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg, who cannot hold an officer or director position for three years and is permanently barred from having financial control over a New York business. In September, Engoron ruled that Trump committed fraud while building his real estate empire, with the subsequent trial serving to determine his punishment. Michael M. Santiago/Getty Donald Trump arrives for the final day of his civil trial on Jan. 11, 2024 The case against Trump was brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James, whose office sued him with an allegation that the former president with the help of his adult sons and senior executives at the Trump Organization falsely inflated his net worth by billions of dollars to secure more favorable loan terms and lower insurance premiums. Related: Donald Trump Jr. Tells Courtroom Sketch Artist to 'Make Me Look Sexy' During Fraud Trial James' office claimed in a press release that "from 2011-2021, Mr. Trump and the Trump Organization knowingly and intentionally created more than 200 false and misleading valuations of assets on his annual Statements of Financial Condition to defraud financial institutions." The attorney general sought to have Trump fined at least $370 million in penalties and restricted from doing business in the state. Related: Judge Tells Donald Trump's Attorneys to 'Control Him' as Former President Lashes Out in Court Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images/Bloomberg via Getty New York Attorney General Letitia James attends closing arguments in Donald Trump's civil trial on Jan. 11, 2024 Since leaving office in 2021, the former president has been mired in a number of legal issues and investigations on various fronts, including into his political conduct and business affairs. Four of those investigations have led to indictments the first one making him the only U.S. president to face criminal charges, and the next two further distinguishing him as the only president to face federal charges. Still, Trump who hopes to return to the White House in 2025 is polling well among Republican voters and appears the front runner to earn the party's presidential nomination in July. For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter! Read the original article on People. Disclaimer: This article contains mentions of murder and assault. Reader discretion is advised. An episode of Evil Lives Here will feature the interactions between Chalene Brook Leaser, a victim of Gary Simmons sexual assault, and Lori, his ex-wife, who was subject to domestic violence for years during their marriage. The episode will be aired on ID on Sunday, February 18, 2024, at 9 p.m. ET. The Circuit Court of Jackson County, Mississippi, found Gary Simmons guilty of rape, kidnapping, and capital murder on August 29, 1997. Jeffrey Wolfe was shot and killed at Simmons home in the early morning of August 13, 1996. Simmons and Timothy Milano, who was his brother-in-law, allegedly owed Wolfe drug money, which Wolfe went to collect. Milano was also convicted of murder and kidnapping. At that time, Wolfe had been dating Charlene Brook Leaser. She accompanied him on his visit to Gary Simmons home in Mississippi. Wolfe allegedly told Leaser that he had a gun on him. However, authorities never recovered the said weapon. A co-worker named Charles Jenkins claimed to have seen Simmons sharpening his knives, wrapping them up, and leaving with them from Wayne Lees Grocery, where he was a butcher. When asked about it, Simmons reportedly told him that he might have to skin something out. When Wolfe and Leaser went to Simmons house to get the money, Gary Simmons was alone. Timothy Milano joined them later. They were reportedly smoking marijuana, and Leaser was at the kitchen table when she heard gunshots. She then ran and saw that Milano was holding a gun and had shot Wolfe, who was lying dead. Following this, Simmons raped Leaser. He allegedly offered Milano to rape her as well, but he declined, according to court records. When was Gary Simmons executed? Reportedly, after Milano shot Jeffrey Wolfe, Simmons allegedly used his knives to cut the body into pieces. As per Gulf Live, the body was dumped near Simmons Moss Point home. On the other hand, Leaser briefly fell asleep after the incident before a telephone ring awakened her that no one noticed. Realizing that the house might be empty, she grabbed a knife and ran across the street to a neighbors house, requesting help. Although Debbie Seab, the neighbor, did not let Leaser in, she contacted the authorities. When police arrived at the crime scene after receiving a call from the neighbor, they found that Gary Simmons had borrowed a boat from another neighbor. The boat had blood on it. Various body parts of Wolfe, which contained bullet casings, were found in the bayou. Investigation revealed that Timothy Milano shot Wolfe five times in the back, once in the chest and once under the left arm. Associated Press reported that following Gary Simmons arrest, he was sentenced to death for the 1996 murder of Jeffrey Wolfe. He also received separate life sentences for the kidnapping and rape charges. Timothy Milano, who was already a convicted drug dealer, was sentenced to life in prison. Although the court saw Milano as the one who pulled the trigger, Simmons was allegedly the one behind the crimes. Gary Simmons was executed by lethal injection at the Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman. He was 49 years old on June 20, 2012, when he died. Simmons was 33 years old when he was charged with rape, murder, and kidnapping, while Timothy Milano was just 21. The upcoming episode of Evil Live Here will be aired on ID on Sunday, February 18, 2024, at 9 p.m. The post Evil Lives Here on ID: What Was Gary Simmons Convicted Of? appeared first on ComingSoon.net - Movie Trailers, TV & Streaming News, and More. Claim: Angelina Jolie said, "Arabs and Muslims are not terrorists. The world should unite against Israel." Rating: Rating: Misattributed On Nov. 20, 2023, X user Dr. Anastasia Maria Loupis (@DrLoupis) who in the past was identified as a medical doctor by ResearchGate.net and has promoted anti-transgender rhetoric and COVID-19 vaccine misinformation posted (archived) a quote meme that claimed Oscar-winning actor Angelina Jolie had once posted or said, "Arabs and Muslims are not terrorists. The world should unite against Israel." However, Snopes found no credible evidence that Jolie ever said these words, nor did she say anything that closely resembles the sentiment. The quote was first reported (archived) as being fake by BBC Verify journalist Shayan Sardarizadeh. A rumor claimed that Angelina Jolie said Arabs and Muslims are not terrorists and that the world should unite against Israel. A Community Note was added to the post by other users who clarified that the quote was fake. Loupis did not appear to take any responsibility for misleading her more than 1.1 million followers, just as she didn't take responsibility for previously promoting a false rumor that claimed Microsoft announced plans to disable computers of users who shared "non-mainstream content" online. Snopes contacted Jolie via her open messages on Instagram to ask if she had any reaction about the fake quote being promoted online. We will update this article if a response is received. In this story, we'll lay out all of the facts regarding the history of the quote, as well as Jolie's genuine thoughts regarding the Israel-Hamas war. 2015: Another Quote Meme with Jolie's Photo The fake quote has appeared online for many years alongside Jolie's name. For example, a search of Google found a similar quote meme that was tweeted (archived) in 2015. Angelina Jolie:Arabs and Muslims are not terrorists,The world should unite against Israel Courtesy: #PassTheKnowledge pic.twitter.com/buvWGs2qLb Mr.Shams (@imshamss) July 11, 2015 Another person replied (archived) to the tweet to ask for proof that Jolie said this but received no response. 2009: 'I Got This in an Email' One clue to the origins of this quote appeared in a Jan. 18, 2009, blog entry (archived) on Israellycool.com. An author with the blog said that a user on an internet forum mentioned that an email message was circulating at the time. The Israellycool.com author called it the "funniest fake Hollywood views on Middle East conflict of the day." The fake Jolie quote was included in the list: Dear Friends, I got this in an email. No source was available (gee, I wonder why- ed.). "If Arabs are strong enough, they will destroy the whole world, Therefore we should annihilate them." - Keanu Reeves "Arabs are dirtier creatures than animals and we Jews are the chosen people. There is no comparison." - Harrison Ford "I don't know much about the subject but the war should end to stop the bloodshed on both parts." - Sandra Bullock "Take a look at Israel's history and you would know who the terrorist is." - Al Pacino "Humanity seized to exist when Israel was established." - Dustin Hoffman "WE are living now in a jungle where the strong eats the weakest. We are not better than the Arabs to despise them." - Ralph Fiennes "The Arabs are the source of terrorism. They don't spare anyone without attacking them. I hope that Israel destroys all of them." - Tom Cruise "Israel means war and destruction and we Americans are behind this war. I am ashamed of being American." - Anthony Hopkins "Both sides are wrong and the killing must be stopped." - Will Smith "Bush, Sharon, Blair and Rice are names that history will d*mn." - George Clooney "Arabs and Muslims are not terrorists. The world should unite against Israel." - Angelina Jolie "Arabs are a burden on the world and should be annihilated." - Richard Gere "We are talking from a point of strength, what if we were the weak ones?" - Sean Connery "Zionists are the source of destruction. I wish I could fight against them." - Mel Gibson Snopes found no evidence whatsoever that any of these quotes were real. The author on Israellycool.com added, "Actually, the Mel Gibson quote I can believe" an apparent reference to disparaging remarks that Oscar-winning actor Mel Gibson had previously made about Jewish people. 2006: 'A Poll' of '15 Prominent Hollywood Stars' According to Google, the oldest-known posting of the fake Jolie quote was in an Aug. 23, 2006, article on IkhwanWeb.com (archived). The article also included some of the same fake quotes posted by Israellycool.com in 2009. The IkhwanWeb.com website bills itself as the Muslim Brotherhood's official English website. The article cited "a poll conducted [that] included 15 prominent Hollywood stars" but did not include any sources. This appeared to be similar to the purported email that was mentioned by Israellycool.com in 2009. Snopes contacted the staff of IkhwanWeb.com via email and will update this story if we receive a response. Jolie's Genuine Thoughts about the Israel-Hamas War Leaving aside the fake quote that mentioned Jolie's name, the actor truly has made remarks about the Israel-Hamas war. In an Oct. 28, 2023, Instagram post that contained three slides of text, Jolie called Hamas' Oct. 7 attack in Israel "an act of terror" and said she was "praying for the immediate, safe return of every hostage, and for the families who carry the unimaginable pain of a murder of a loved one." She also said that Hamas' attack "cannot justify the innocent lives lost in bombing a civilian population in Gaza," and added that she believed, "Humanity demands an immediate ceasefire." Days later, in another Instagram post on Nov. 1, Jolie posted a picture of the bombed Jabalia refugee camp and said, in part, "By refusing to demand a humanitarian ceasefire and blocking the UN Security Council from imposing one on both parties, world leaders are complicit in these crimes." Sources: Al-Mughrabi, Nidal, and Emily Rose. "Israel Strikes Dense Gaza Camp, Says It Kills Hamas Commander." Reuters, 31 Oct. 2023, https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/hamas-says-it-fires-israeli-troops-pressing-gaza-ground-assault-2023-10-31/. "Angelina Jolie." Instagram, https://www.instagram.com/angelinajolie/. Lange, David. "Operation Cast Lead Sun Jan 18th, 2009." Israellycool.com, 18 Jan. 2009, https://www.israellycool.com/2009/01/18/operation-cast-lead-sun-jan-18th-2009/. "Mel Gibson Addresses Accusations of Anti-Semitism." ABC News, 12 Oct. 2006, https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/LegalCenter/story?id=2557656&page=1. "Survey: Over Half of Hollywood Stars against Israeli Aggression." IkhwanWeb.com, 23 Aug. 2006, https://ikhwanweb.com/survey:-over-half-of-hollywood/. Tugtekin, Elif. "Angelina Jolie Decries Global Injustice, How Some Groups Have Rights and Others Have None." Anadolu Agency, 22 Dec. 2023, https://www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/angelina-jolie-decries-global-injustice-how-some-groups-have-rights-and-others-have-none/3090268. EXCLUSIVE: Giannina Scott has optioned the rights to journalist Mat Youkees book proposal Children Of The Jungle: The True Story Behind the Survival of Four Children in the Amazon. Giannina brought the project to Scott Free, who is producing, under her Cara Films banner, alongside Ridley Scott and Scott Free President Michael Pruss. There are no other attachments at this time and its not set-up at a studio yet. The story follows the June 2023 rescue of June 2023 rescue of four indigenous children Lesly, Soleiny, Tien, and Cristin after forty days in the Colombian Amazon has been heralded as one of the great survival stories. Through interviews with the family, members of the indigenous and military search teams, and elders from Colombias Amazonian communities, Forty Days In The Jungle tells this remarkable story in the words of its fascinating and complex characters. It goes further, however, in investigating the brutal history, resilient culture and current struggles of Colombias indigenous communities. By shining a light on the historical context preceding the crash and the aftermath of the childrens rescue, the book demonstrates that 13-year-old Lesly and her siblings were survivors even before they set foot on flight HK2803. More from Deadline The book will be October 15th, 2024 by Scribe Publications in the US, UK and all English language territories. Youkee is a freelance journalist and professional investigator who has reported on Latin America from his base in Bogota, Colombia, since 2010. He has an extensive on-the-ground knowledge of Colombia and a wide network of relationships in the region having worked on complex investigations with international consultancies, government organizations and private clients. He has written regularly about indigenous rights issues in Latin America during his reporting for media outlets including The Guardian, The Economist, The Telegraph, Americas Quarterly and Foreign Policy.. The deal was negotiated by Justin Brown on behalf of Scott Free and Kayla Grogan and Maria Cardona Serra of Aevitas Creative Management, the latter of whom also handled the publishing deal with Scribe. Sign up for Deadline's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. The speculated romance between Gisele Bundchen and her jiu-jitsu trainer Joaquim Valente is not dying down, with a new source claiming the pair got intimate on Valentine's Day. The love rumors have been floating around since the former Victoria's Secret Angel ended her marriage to NFL superstar Tom Brady in 2022. Although she previously denied romantic ties to Valente, the pair were reportedly spotted locking lips on Wednesday. Gisele Bundchen Allegedly Deeply In Love With Her Jiu-Jitsu Instructor Valentine's is a day for lovers to express affection, and insiders recently alleged that Bundchen got passionate about her feelings for the jiu-jitsu trainer. The rumored couple enjoyed a romantic night in their Miami neighborhood. MEGA According to the source, Theyre deeply in love and frequently spend time together. During their V-Day outing, the pair flaunted their speculated relationship by sharing a hot kiss, per the insider's claims. Another informant alleged that [Theyve been] discreetly been seeing each other since the summer. Valente has been regularly photographed with Bundchen and her kids on multiple trips to Costa Rica and their native country of Brazil. He has also been seen with the family on their vacations, enjoying intimate activities like paddleboarding, strolling on the beach, jogging, and riding horses, among other scenes. Weeks after Bundchen and Bradys divorce announcement, Valente was spotted with the model and her children on a trip to Costa Rica. However, a source at the time said: [Joaquim] and his two brothers are Gisele and the kids martial arts teachers. They are not dating. Similarly, Bundchen denied the dating rumors with a cryptic Instagram post in 2023 following a viral sighting with the jiu-jitsu instructor. She dropped the quote: Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth. Nonetheless, the dating rumors didn't dissolve, with another insider telling Page Six the pair have allegedly been together for at least a year. The source claimed the couple had been spotted leaving each others places and walking her dog together. MEGA Inside Gisele Bundchen's Relationship With Her Jiu-Jitsu Trainer Before their alleged Valentine's Day kiss, Bundchen and Valente were last seen enjoying a trip in Costa Rica ahead of Thanksgiving in November 2023. The group was photographed having a relaxing lunch in a picturesque tropical setting. As stated, Valente is Bundchen's jiu-jitsu trainer, and they first met when she signed her children up for lessons at his family-owned gym in Miami. She eventually joined the classes and raved about her excitement to practice self-defense in an Instagram post. She shared a video of herself practicing with Valente alongside the caption: I believe the more tools we have in our toolbox, the better. I feel stronger, more confidence, and empowered since I started practicing self-defense. I feel its an important skill for all, but specially for us women. Thank you, @ValenteBrothers, for being awesome teachers and for making training so much fun, Bundchen concluded. This wasn't her first time raving about Valente's classes, as she previously confessed he inspired her to start learning jiu-jitsu. Initially, I wasnt even considering it for myself, to be honest with you, she recalled in a 2022 interview, adding: But when I brought him to the first class and started talking with Joaquim, I realized that it was much more than self-defense and became interested in the philosophy. It felt very much in line with what I believe in and look for in my life and how I have a path to develop and become the best version of myself then I was hooked, she declared. MEGA Her jiu-jitsu lessons led to more sightings with Valente and, eventually, the dating rumors. However, she refuted the speculations in a 2023 cover story for Vanity Fair, describing Valente as someone she enjoys spending time with. In her words: Hes our teacher and, most importantly, hes a person that I admire and that I trust. Its so good to have that kind of energy, to have my kids around that type of energy. As for the dating speculations, Bundchen lamented: I think, at this point, unfortunately, because Im divorced, Im sure that theyre going to try to attach me to anything. She noted she was grateful to know Valente and his brothers, declaring, They have become great friends, and Joaquim especially. Nathan Carman was a suspected murderer who died while awaiting trial. NBC Connecticut recently reported that Netflix is working on a documentary about the case he was involved in. According to CBS News, in 2023, guards at a county jail in Keene, New Hampshire, discovered Nathan Carmans lifeless body in a cell he solely occupied. One of his attorneys, David Sullivan, stated that their client wrote a note to his lawyers before his demise. Sullivan noted, We believe that Mr. Carman left us a note that we look forward to receiving in trying to make some sense of a very tragic situation. Aside from him, fellow attorney Martin Minnella said, We had spoken to him yesterday. He was in good spirits. We were meeting with some experts today over Zoom at 12 oclock. We were prepared to start picking a jury on Oct. 10 and we were confident we were going to win. Its just a tragedy, a tragedy. At the time of his death, Nathan Carman was 29 years old. What was Nathan Carman accused of? NBC Connecticut reported that Nathan Carman was accused of allegedly killing his mother, Linda Carman, on the seas off the coast of Rhode Island in 2016 during a fishing trip. Unfortunately, officials were unable to recover her body, and they soon presumed she was dead. Prosecutors reportedly stated that Nathan murdered Linda because he was going to inherit a huge sum of money. Nathan was also accused of allegedly shooting and killing his grandfather, John Chakalos, in 2013. However, the eight-count indictment did not charge him with murder. Last year, he pleaded not guilty to fraud and first-degree murder in her death, as per CBS News. After Nathans death, his three surviving aunts released a statement that said that they were in deep shock by the incident. They said to have been deeply saddened about the news and its impact on the tragic events surrounding the last several years. The post What Happened to Nathan Carman? appeared first on ComingSoon.net - Movie Trailers, TV & Streaming News, and More. "The depth of my pain is unrelenting and indescribable," the former 'Real Housewives of Salt Lake City' star tells PEOPLE Chris Haston/Bravo via Getty Jen Shah Jen Shah is opening up about her life behind bars. On Feb. 17, 2023, the former Real Housewives of Salt Lake City star reported to FPC Bryan Prison in Texas to begin serving what is currently set at a 5-year, 6-month prison sentence for her role in a long-running nationwide telemarketing scheme. Now, one year later exactly, Shah, 50, reflects on the ways the past 12 months have changed her in a candid piece shared exclusively with PEOPLE. In it, she notes the role therapy, her faith and her fellow inmates have played in her journey. She also reveals the advice given to her by her husband of nearly 30 years, Sharrieff, with whom she shares sons Sharrieff Jr., 29, and Omar, 19. Related: Everything to Know About 'Real Housewives' Star Jen Shah's Fraud Case With Shah's words come the first official photo of her, taken in September during a Barbie-themed hair competition. The picture was snapped as Shah and fellow inmate Ashley Rhea Johnson ("AJ"), 37, posed in front of a Barbie box. Both were in costume, Shah as "Adventure Barbie" and Johnson as "Slumber Party Barbie." (Johnson, of Houston, Texas, provided permission to have her photo included in this piece). See the full picture and read Shah's passage for PEOPLE, printed in its entirety, below: Jen Shah Ashley Rhea Johnson and Jen Shah I have been away from my family for one year. The depth of my pain is unrelenting and indescribable. However, throughout this painful process, God has substantially increased my humility, gratitude, and courage. Upon entering FPC Bryan, I wholeheartedly believed that no one was suffering as badly as I was. I quickly recognized that so many women are here battling and overcoming circumstances far worse than mine. Their resilience inspires and truly humbles me. Recognizing that God continues to bless me not withstanding my wretched and unpredictable surroundings; expressing sincere gratitude has been my most effective coping mechanism. Despair and depression are companions that strive to capture my undivided attention every single day. Praying five times a day helps keep these and other emotional serpents at bay. I am most grateful for the aspects of my life that have never left me: My Family and Faith. Thank you God. In my daily prayers, I ask God for the courage to realize I am worthy of a second chance. Through the countless therapy sessions and classes I have taken, I am finding the courage to set my fear and guilt aside. My husband tells me every morning that I have to fight for my happiness. He said it takes unimaginable courage to smile, and find joy and laughter despite my circumstances. This photo was taken nearly eight months after I surrendered. My husband's advice finally settled into my heart and I found the courage to smile, find genuine joy and laughter by participating in a Barbie Hair Show Competition as "Adventure Barbie". My Barbie team and I razzle-dazzled the Real Hair Updo category with a fully choreographed routine to Latto's "Big Energy!" It brought me so much joy to put smiles on my fellow inmates faces. (And yes, we won our category.) There is still so much I must learn while I am here at FPC Bryan, I am grateful God has given me a better foundation to appreciate his unwavering love and blessings to fight for that moment of happiness each day. Jen Shah Instagram Jen Shah with her two sons and husband, Coach Shah Shah was arrested back in March 2021 along with her assistant Stuart Smith. Both were charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud in connection with telemarketing, as well as conspiracy to commit money laundering. Though she proclaimed her innocence to federal prosecutors initially going as far as filling a request to have the charges dismissed in August 2021, which was denied Shah eventually entered a guilty plea in July 2022. She was sentenced to 6.5 years in prison, but that was reduced by a year last March. "I am sorry. My actions have hurt innocent people," said Shah at her sentencing. "I want to apologize by saying, I am doing all I can to earn the funds to pay restitution." Related: Jen Shah Has 'Bonded' with Elizabeth Holmes in Prison: 'They're Friends,' Rep Says (Exclusive) It was a move that came much to the shock of her RHOSLC costars, many of whom had stood behind her. They've since continued to discuss Shah on season 4 of the show, despite her not being a cast member. Chad Kirkland/Bravo 'The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City' season 1 cast: Lisa Barlow, Mary Cosby, Heather Gay, Jen Shah, Whitney Rose, Meredith Marks Meanwhile, Shah's husband has steadily stood by his wife's side. He even contacted 50 of her closest friends and family to help her celebrate her 50th birthday in October, a move he said left her in tears. "Just know that Jennifer was showered with love and she was comforted today on this special day," Sharrieff later said in a video shared to his Instagram account. "We appreciate every single person who's praying for us, who has sent beautiful thoughts our way and who continue to love us unconditionally. We love you right back." Related: Jen Shah's Husband Says She 'Cried Tears of Joy' to Receive 50th Birthday Well-Wishing in Prison (Exclusive) Shah's attorney Priya Chaudhry has said she is "determined to make restitution to those whose lives she has impacted." "Jen Shah's resolve to make her victims whole and to turn her life around is unyielding," read a statement to PEOPLE given in February 2023. "She is committed to serving her sentence with courage and purpose, fueled by her desire to make amends for the hurt she has caused and to help others in her new community." Chaudhry added: "Her path ahead will be filled with challenges, but with the unwavering love and support of her family and friends, Jen is prepared to face these challenges head-on and emerge from this experience a better person who makes a positive impact on others." Never miss a story sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up to date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City can be streamed in full on Peacock. For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter! Read the original article on People. Lisa Lopez-Galvan was shot at the end of the Chiefs' Super Bowl parade in Missouri on Wednesday Lisa Lopez-Galvan/Facebook Lisa Lopez-Galvan Lisa Lopez-Galvan, the woman who was killed during Wednesday's mass shooting at the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl parade, is being remembered for her role as a dedicated mother to her two children. On Thursday, Lopez-Galvans brother Beto Lopez paid tribute to his sister as he told CNNs Anderson Cooper she was, a very loving, caring, and devoted mother. We have tragic situations like this one that occur unfortunately way too often and a lot of time individuals get lost as just statistics or numbers, Lopez said. She did a lot for this community and the Kansas City area, raising money for a lot of charitable events and organizations, and its something well be very proud of forever. Lopez-Galvan was shot at the end of the Chiefs parade in Kansas City, Missouri. The 43-year-old's friends confirmed her death to The Kansas City Star this week. The publication reported that Lopez-Galvan, a local radio DJ, had died during surgery after suffering a gunshot wound to her abdomen. Lisa Lopez-Galvan/Facebook Lisa Lopez-Galvan Related: Patrick Mahomes, Drue Tranquill Ask Fans to 'Pray' After 1 Dead, Multiple Shot at Chiefs Super Bowl Parade According to CNN, Lopez-Galvan was celebrating the Chiefs 2024 Super Bowl win with family members, including her husband Mike, son Marc and daughter Adriana when she was fatally shot. Three other family members, including Lopez-Galvans son Marc, were also injured in the shooting, per the publication. In a statement shared with CNN Thursday, Lopez-Galvans family said they were heartbroken at her death and described her as an amazing mother, wife, daughter, sister, aunt, cousin, and friend to so many. Lisa leaves behind her husband of 22 years, Mike, and two children, Marc, and Adriana, the statement continued. We ask to please keep our family in your prayers as we grieve the loss of Lisas death while also supporting our other loved ones who were impacted in this senseless act. Lopez-Galvans employer, KKFI 90.1 FM, also shared a statement on Facebook confirming Lopez-Galvans death. It is with sincere sadness and an extremely heavy and broken heart that we let our community know that KKFI DJ Lisa Lopez, host of Taste of Tejano lost her life today in the shooting at the KC Chiefs' rally, the statement read. Lisa Lopez-Galvan/Facebook Lisa Lopez-Galvan Related: 'I Saw 2 People Bleeding': Witnesses Describe Terror, Confusion During Shooting Near Chiefs Super Bowl Parade Our hearts and prayers are with her family. We encourage anyone who feels they saw something to reach out to law enforcement at 816 234 5111. This senseless act has taken a beautiful person from her family and this KC Community, it concluded. A GoFundMe page has been set up to help Lopez-Galvans family following her death, with donations reaching over $174,000 as of Friday morning. On Friday, two $50,000 donations were made to the page under the name Taylor Swift. Swift, 34, is dating Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce and attended the Super Bowl on Sunday but was not present at the parade. Speaking at a press conference Thursday, Kansas City Police Chief Stacey Graves said the shooting, which also injured 22 people, is believed to have stemmed from a dispute and was not terrorism-related. 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. There was no nexus to terrorism or homegrown violent extremism, Graves said. This appeared to be a dispute between several people that ended in gunfire. The age of the victims ranges from 8 to 47, and at least half of those injured were under 16, Graves said. At a press conference the previous day, Graves had said three people were detained and are "under investigation for today's incident." Following the shooting, many Chiefs players involved in the parade spoke out about the incident on social media and sent prayers to the victims involved. Praying for Kansas City , wrote Patrick Mahomes in a post shared on X (formerly known as Twitter), while Travis Kelce also shared his heartbreak. I am heartbroken over the tragedy that took place today, wrote tight end Kelce, 34, on X. My heart is with all who came out to celebrate with us and have been affected. KC, you mean the world to me. For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter! Read the original article on People. $, a.k.a. rappers Ye and Ty Dolla $ign, released their debut album "Vulture 1" on Feb. 9. (Evan Agostini / Invision / Associated Press; Jordan Strauss / Invision / Associated Press) Rolling Loud California announced Thursday that its adding a fourth night to its May festival at Hollywood Park. Kanye West and Ty Dolla $ign, who released their collaborative album Vultures 1 on Feb. 9 under the moniker $, are teaming up for the new opening-night performance Thursday, Mar. 14. According to a news release from Rolling Loud, all current three-day pass holders for the festival will be given complimentary access to the Thursday night performance via an RSVP link sent on behalf of Rolling Loud. New purchasers, however, must purchase a full three-day pass to attendpasses are available on the festival's websiteand all single-day pass holders will receive an email Friday, Feb. 16, with a link giving the option to upgrade to a three-day pass. Read more: Hip-hop festival Rolling Loud will throw first-ever concert at Inglewood's Hollywood Park Vultures 1, Yes first wide release on his new independent label YZY, briefly disappeared from Apple Music on Thursday before returning to the streaming platform just hours later. The platform has not provided an explanation for the temporary removal. Since its release, the album has stirred accusations of violating independent distribution outlet Fuga's service terms and using unauthorized samples including from Ozzy Osbourne, who voiced his opposition on X, and Donna Summer. Still, as of Wednesday, Vultures 1 had four songs in the top 10 on Spotifys US Daily Top 200 and five in Apple Musics real-time top 10 with Carnival, leading the pack. The track, featuring Playboi Carti and Rich the Kid, has garnered attention for its provocative Taylor Swift name-drop. Read more: Kanye West apologizes to Jewish community for his antisemitic 'outbursts' The festival is receiving a mixed response with its Instagram post announcing the surprise show. You expect us to call off work for another day and get another day for our hotels. Way to ruin everyones plans, one user commented, with Rolling Louds official account responding Come Thursday for free, youll feel better about it. Getting a free show and complaining is wild, another user commented. In addition to $, Rolling Loud California 2024 is headlined by Nicki Minaj whom the news release said performs on Pink Friday, an ode to her most recent album Post Malone, and Future X Metro Boomin. Read more: Lil Uzi Vert 'never said' they were doing Rolling Loud. Now they're out as a headliner Sign up for L.A. Goes Out, a weekly newsletter about exploring and experiencing Los Angeles from the L.A. Times. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. JAKARTA, Feb. 16 (Xinhua) -- A total of 27 poll workers died throughout Indonesia's 2024 general election, according to the health ministry on Friday. The ministry's spokesperson Siti Nadia Tarmizi said they died before, during and after the vote, based on reports the ministry received from Feb. 10 to 15. "The main cause is heart attacks, the number of cases reached nine," stated Tarmizi. Other causes are vehicle accidents (4), septic shock (2), acute respiratory distress syndrome (1), and hypertension (1), while 10 are in the process of being confirmed. Central Java is the province with the highest number of deaths of poll workers, seven cases, followed by East Java and West Java with five cases each. Indonesia's general elections on Wednesday involved more than 204 million voters through 823,220 stations with more than 5.74 million poll workers, according to the General Election Commission. Cases of poll workers who died in the 2019 general elections reached 894. To prevent deaths, the government has implemented health screening and requires a maximum age limit of 55 for poll workers. (Bloomberg) -- Follow Bloomberg India on WhatsApp for exclusive content and analysis on what billionaires, businesses and markets are doing. Sign up here. Most Read from Bloomberg Struggling fintech firm Paytm agreed on a new banking partnership with Axis Bank Ltd., giving Indias answer to PayPal a better shot at staying in business after a raft of regulatory concerns. Lender Axis will step in to replace affiliate Paytm Payments Bank as the backbone for Paytms merchant payments settlement business, the company said Friday. Paytm Payments Bank, until recently Paytms key partner, is facing regulatory action that threatens much of its operations. The pact is a victory for Paytms billionaire founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma, who is trying to stabilize his business after the surprise curbs by regulators shocked the company and Indias fintech industry. Axis, one of Indias top banks, gains payments volume by riding on the ubiquitous Paytm QR codes and card machines by a brand name thats synonymous with digital transactions in the country. Paytm has seen its shares lose more than 50% of their value since regulators late last month ordered Paytm Payments Bank to halt its key operations, citing non-compliance. The restrictions were a blow to Paytms reputation and prompted analysts to speculate that digital payments customers may defect to rivals such as Walmart Inc.-owned PhonePe. Read more: Macquarie Says Paytm Faces Serious Risk of Customer Exodus Axis Bank will become Paytms so-called nodal account, used for clearing merchant transactions. The partnership will likely boost the confidence of merchants on the Paytm platform as they will continue to receive settlements without disruptions. Story continues Paytm still likely needs further partners, including to help run peer-to-peer transactions. Earlier Friday, Indias banking regulator gave Paytm Payments Bank until March 15 before it needs to wind down much of its business. The Paytm banking affiliate has operated functions such as payments and digital wallets for the broader Paytm empire. Paytm Payments Bank is 49% owned by Paytm, whose official name is One97 Communications Ltd. Sharma personally owns the remaining 51%. The Reserve Bank of India suspended much of the tightly regulated payments banks business partly because of its questionable dealings with the broader fintech company. --With assistance from Anup Roy. (Updates with detail on Paytms structure in eighth paragraph) Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2024 Bloomberg L.P. Hunter Ball attempts to ride Cooper and Scruggs Bucking Bulls' Show Me during the 2nd round of the Professional Bull Riders R Unleash the Beast event Jan. 27 in Houston, Texas. When Hunter Ball is at the DCU Center on Feb. 24 and 25, at least a couple of 2,000 pound bulls will be trying to throw something off their backs. Namely, Hunter Ball 5' 7'', 140 pounds. But Ball, 24, didn't seem too worried about the prospect when speaking on the phone recently. "When the bull starts bucking on you, you get excited ... It's a lot of fun," he said. That's one of the reasons Ball is a professional bull rider, one of about 40 who will be at the DCU Center for the "Worcester Rumble," also known as PBRs (Professional Bull Riders) Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour, at 7 p.m. Feb. 24 and 2 p.m. Feb. 25. The event will showcase what has been called the ultimate showdown of man vs. beast in one of the most exciting live sporting events to witness. "The adrenaline gets going. Especially when you do it right, accomplish what you set out to do, it's a great feeling," Ball said. During the course of trying to ride a 2,000 pound bull, you can't take the bull by the horns. The rider has only a braided rope to hold on to with one hand, while the other hand has to stay in the air. "We're not supposed to touch the bull or ourselves," Ball said. As judges award points for different stylistic considerations, the rider has to stay on a bull for at least eight seconds. The rider wants a raging bull as opposed to a sleepy one. Among the things judges are looking for is "how high the bull jumps and kicks," Ball said. Hunter Ball during the second round of the Unleash the Beast Professional Bull Riders series last year in Indianapolis. Photo by . Photo credit must be given on all uses. Bull riding has Velocity in Worcester Worcester audiences have taken to the Worcester Rumble, and the Feb. 24 and 25 event will mark the eighth time the Velocity Tour has travelled to DCU Center. Organizers said that following the "overwhelming enthusiasm and demand for PBR Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour events in Worcester, including single-day sold out shows the past four years, the organization expanded the competition to be two days in February 2024. PBR Worcester will be met with added significance as the PBRs lone event in Massachusetts during the 2024 individual season." PBR is celebrating its 31st anniversary since 20 cowboys broke away from the traditional rodeo with the belief that bull riding could be a standalone sport. Since their trailblazing initiative, the PBR has grown into a global phenomenon. Hunter Ball rides Captain Sparrow of Halpain Bucking Bulls No. 2 for 87 points during the Round 3 (Short-Go) of the Professional Bull Riders Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour event in Lexington, Kentucky. 'It's gonna be a good show' There are three PBR series touring in in the U.S. Unleash the Beast, Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour and Touring Pro Division. Riders on the Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour are competing for points that can get them to the top level Unleash the Beast tour. The 2024 PBR World Finals will begin in Fort Worth at Dickies Arena, on May 10-13, for Eliminations, featuring the Top 40 riders from the Unleash The Beast standings, joined by the five invited riders advancing via the Velocity Tour Finals. At the time of being interviewed, Ball had logged four Top-10 finishes on the Velocity Tour so far in the early stages of the 2024 season, while also being invited to appear at two premier Unleash The Beast events. Ahead of coming to the DCU Center for the first time in his riding career, the easy-going sounding but tough-riding Ball said "I'm very excited. I've been having a great year. It's gonna be a good show." The 40 competitors will vie for points, each trying to stay atop a bull in initial rounds on Feb. 24 and 25. The top 10 or 12 point-getters then will head into a short-round, third bill on Feb. 25 that will determine the event winner. Ball's goal is to end the 2024 season in the Top Ten riders on the Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour which would promote him to Unleash the Beast. He was currently 13th. "I'm trying not to look at it too much," he said of the standings. Ball is from rural Carsonville, Michigan, and his interest in bull riding dates to when he was seven-years-old and would climb aboard beef calves at his grandfather's farm. "My grandpa had a cattle ranch. I was always around the horses and cattle," he said. He rode at county fairs, and then Nathan Muxlow of the nearby Muxlow Cattle Company, who has an associated training school for bull riding, gave Ball some valuable training working from riding beef calves to bulls. "He helped me a lot," Ball said. Ball advanced to being a college competitor while he was a student athlete at Fort Scott Community College in Fort Scott, Kansas, and made the College National Finals Rodeo. Bull riding got him "a college degree and college rodeos. It's done a lot for me," Ball said. He's been a PBR rider "going for about four years," starting in the Touring Pro Division. Ball said he's single and can see himself riding until he's about 31 or 32. "I love being with my buddies, traveling the country." Bull riding can be dangerous, of course, and one time Ball said he "broke my jaw pretty bad and busted some teeth out." Other than that, however, he's stayed fairly injury free. "I'm pretty grateful for staying pretty healthy. Nothing too bad," he said. PBR Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour Worcester Rumble When: 7 p.m. Feb. 24 and 2 p.m. Feb. 25 Where: DCU Center, 50 Foster St., Worcester How much: Tickets start at $20. Ticketmaster.com This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Worcester Rumble - Professional Bull Riders tour comes to DCU Center The documentary television series Life Below Zero, which is abbreviated as Life Below Zero on the title card, follows the daily and seasonal activities of subsistence hunters who inhabit isolated regions of Alaska. National Geographic broadcasts the BBC Studios-produced program. November 10, 2020, was the debut of Season 16, which ran until January 12, 2021. Heres how you can watch and stream Life Below Zero Season 16 via streaming services such as Disney Plus & Hulu. Is Life Below Zero Season 16 available to watch via streaming? Yes, Life Below Zero Season 16 is available to watch via streaming on Disney Plus & Hulu. Alaskans struggle in the last days of summers fertility to obtain limited food and opportunities under the shadow of winter. Denise Becker and Andy Bassich deal with the unexpected loss of a crucial resource. During the summer, Andy and his brother are taken to live with their uncle on an unidentified island. During their holiday, the brothers set out on a quest to locate the familys misplaced wealth. The show stars James Franzo, Agnes Hailstone, and Sue Aikens. Watch Life Below Zero Season 16 streaming via Disney Plus Life Below Zero Season 16 is available to watch on Disney Plus. The home of Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, and National Geographic streaming content is Disney Plus. Disney Plus offers you access to thousands of titles for a top-notch viewing experience, ranging from iconic tales to original, exclusive material. You can watch via Disney Plus by following these steps: Visit DisneyPlus.com Select Sign Up Now Enter your email and password Select a subscription plan $7.99 per month (Basic) $13.99 per month or $139.99 per year (Premium) Enter your payment information The Disney Plus Basic plan allows users to stream the services content with ads, while the Premium plan lets users stream with no ads and download content to supported devices. There are also a variety of bundle packages, scaling from Bundle Duo Basic, which pairs Disney Plus with Hulu for $9.99 per month, to the Disney Bundle Trio Premium for $19.99 per month, which bundles Disney Plus, Hulu, and ESPN Plus. Watch Life Below Zero Season 16 streaming via Hulu Life Below Zero Season 16 is available to watch on Hulu. Hulu is an American subscription streaming service owned by The Walt Disney Company. It launched on October 29, 2007. You can watch via Hulu by following these steps: Go to Hulu.com/welcome Select Start Your Free Trial Choose a plan: $7.99 per month or $79.99 per year (With Ads) $17.99 per month (No Ads) Hulu (With Ads) is the cheapest option, providing users access to Hulus streaming library with commercials. Hulu (No Ads) is the services premium option, providing access to its library without any advertisements. There are also several bundles available with Hulu that pair the service with Disney Plus and ESPN Plus, along with Live TV plans that also include many live TV channels. The synopsis of Life Below Zero is as follows: People living in Alaska talk about their daily struggles and explain the different techniques they use to survive in a sub-zero-degree environment. NOTE: The streaming services listed above are subject to change. The information provided was correct at the time of writing. This year marks the 50th anniversary of John Carpenters feature-length directorial debut. ComingSoon will cover each of the horror masters Movies Neil Bolt 12 hours ago Acclaimed director James Cameron has rather passionately shot down the idea of a supposed nine-hour Avatar 3 cut. While speaking Movies Spencer Legacy 12 hours ago A major star is returning for Only Murders in the Building Season 4, as Meryl Streep has been revealed to TV Spencer Legacy 12 hours ago The official Napoleon Apple TV+ release date for Ridley Scotts newest historical drama has been revealed, after over two months Movies Maggie Dela Paz 12 hours ago Read more The post Life Below Zero Season 16 Streaming: Watch & Stream via Disney Plus & Hulu appeared first on ComingSoon.net - Movie Trailers, TV & Streaming News, and More. Theyre still working and pursuing what they believe in, despite constantly being challenged and criticized, a spokesperson for the couple reportedly said Andrew Chin/Getty Meghan, Duchess of Sussex and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex attend Invictus Games Vancouver Whistlers 2025's One Year To Go Winter Training Camp on February 14, 2024 in Whistler, British Columbia. Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are not standing down. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are hitting back at critics who say that the couple is trying to reclaim their royal status through their recent rebranding, which prominently features their Sussex titles on their new website, and their appearance in Canada for the countdown to the 2025 Invictus Games. Earlier this week, The Telegraph published an article stating that Meghan and Harry had "three days to prove they can behave" during their trip to Canada. In response to the criticism in the U.K. press, a representative for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex reportedly told The Mirror: Weve heard time and time again that certain opportunities are make or break for the couple. Theyre still here. Theyre still working and pursuing what they believe in, despite constantly being challenged and criticized, the statement continued. This couple will not be broken. Earlier this week, the couple launched their new website, Sussex.com. The site encompasses the latest news about the couple, bios for Harry, 39, and Meghan, 42, as well as links to their Archewell Foundation organization and Archewell Productions hub. Related: Meghan Markle and Prince Harry Are Using Sussex as Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet's Last Names Karwai Tang/WireImage Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex attend the Invictus Games One Year To Go Event on February 14, 2024 in Whistler, Canada. The homepage features a photo of Meghan's coat of arms, which incorporates Prince Harry's crest, and under it the homepage reads: "The office of Prince Harry & Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex." PEOPLE also learned this week that the couple adopted their titles as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex as the last name for their son, Prince Archie, 4, and daughter, Princess Lilibet, 2, who were previously known as "Master Archie Mountbatten-Windsor" and "Miss Lilibet Mountbatten-Windsor. Buckingham Palace previously announced that Prince Harry and Meghan would no longer use their His/Her Royal Highness titles after they stepped back from their roles as working members of the royal family in 2020. Though they could still be referred to formally as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. Prince Harry and Meghan are currently in Canada for the Invictus Games Vancouver Whistler 2025's One Year to Go celebrations. In an interview with Good Morning America on Friday from Whistler, Harry addressed his relationship with his family and his father King Charles' recent cancer diagnosis. Related: All the Best Photos from Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's Trip to Canada for the Invictus Games Countdown Look, I love my family. The fact that I was able to get on a plane and go and see him, and spend any time with him Im grateful for that," Harry said. Karwai Tang/WireImage Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex attend the Invictus Games One Year To Go Event on February 15, 2024 in Whistler, Canada. As for whether King Charles' diagnosis could have a "reunifying effect" on the royal family, Harry, who is connecting with Invictus Games competitors and their families this week, said: "Absolutely. Yeah, I'm sure. Throughout all these families, I see it on a day-to-day basis, the strength of the family unit coming together." He also shared that he has "other trips planned that would take me to the U.K. or back to the U.K., so I'll stop in and see my family again." The couple were photographed bundled up in winter gear for the below-freezing temperatures, holding hands as they made their way to speak with athletes in adaptive skis and their guides. During their trip, Prince Harry even got to experience a taste of the competition when he got into an adaptive ski and tried a run for himself. He even braved the skeleton track at the Whistler Sliding Center, laying head-first on his stomach on the skeleton-bobsled to fly down a frozen track. Meghan, who excitedly filmed Harry's run on her phone. For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter! Read the original article on People. Naked and Afraid is a reality series that premiered on the Discovery Channel in the United States. The eighth season, spanning from July 30, 2017, to August 20, 2017, comprised 10 episodes. Heres how you can watch and stream Naked and Afraid Season 8 via streaming services such as HBO Max. Is Naked and Afraid Season 8 available to watch via streaming? Yes, Naked and Afraid Season 8 is available to watch via streaming on HBO Max. In the opening episode of Naked and Afraid Season 8, Lost at the Sea, two survivalists face an extraordinary challenge as they find themselves stranded at sea. In Naked and Afraid Season 8, Michael Brown takes on the role of the narrator. The show is executively produced by David Garfinkle, Jay Renfroe, Jim Morton, David Story, and Sean Foley. Watch Naked and Afraid Season 8 streaming via HBO Max Naked and Afraid Season 8 is available to watch on HBO Max. Warner Bros Discoverys streaming service, Max, offers a diverse range of both mainstream and underrated content, catering to a wide audience with varied preferences. The platform serves as a hub for numerous beloved franchises, encompassing iconic properties from DC Comics, such as Batman and Superman, to renowned universes like Lord of the Rings and the magical world of Harry Potter. You can watch via Max, formerly known as HBO Max, by following these steps: Go to HBOMax.com/subscribe Click Sign Up Now Choose your plan: $9.99 per month or $99.99 per year (with ads) $15.99 per month or $149.99 per year (ad-free) $19.99 per month or $199.99 per year (ultimate ad-free) Enter your personal information and password Select Create Account Max With Ads provides the services streaming library at a Full HD resolution, allowing users to stream on up to two supported devices at once. Max Ad-Free removes the services commercials and allows streaming on two devices at once in Full HD. It also allows for 30 downloads at a time to allow users to watch content offline. On the other hand, Max Ultimate Ad-Free allows users to stream on four devices at once in a 4K Ultra HD resolution and provides Dolby Atmos audio and 100 downloads. Naked and Afraid synopsis is as follows: What happens when you put two strangers sans clothes in some of the most extreme environments on Earth? Each male-female duo is left with no food, no water, no clothes, and only one survival item each as they attempt to survive on their own. NOTE: The streaming services listed above are subject to change. The information provided was correct at the time of writing. This year marks the 50th anniversary of John Carpenters feature-length directorial debut. ComingSoon will cover each of the horror masters Movies Neil Bolt 13 hours ago Acclaimed director James Cameron has rather passionately shot down the idea of a supposed nine-hour Avatar 3 cut. While speaking Movies Spencer Legacy 13 hours ago A major star is returning for Only Murders in the Building Season 4, as Meryl Streep has been revealed to TV Spencer Legacy 13 hours ago The official Napoleon Apple TV+ release date for Ridley Scotts newest historical drama has been revealed, after over two months Movies Maggie Dela Paz 13 hours ago Read more The post Naked and Afraid Season 8 Streaming: Watch & Stream Online via HBO Max appeared first on ComingSoon.net - Movie Trailers, TV & Streaming News, and More. Netflixs upcoming film My Name is Loh Kiwan put out a brand-new trailer, raising anticipation among viewers. The film will premiere on Friday, March 1, 2024, on the streaming platform. Led by Song Joong-Ki and Choi Sung-Eun, the story follows a North Korean defector trying to seek refugee status in Belgium. He crosses paths with a woman who has completely given up on life. With an intriguing premise, the film is one of the most anticipated works of the year. The newly released trailer documents the intense relationship between North Korean defector Loh Kiwan (Song Joong-Ki) and a former national athlete, Marie (Choi Sung-Eun). Although the two meet at the lowest point in their lives, they help each other through their worst moments. The movie tells the story of struggle, perseverance, and an unexplainable bond between two intense individuals. Viewers will have to tune in to watch their story unfold. My Name is Loh Kiwan trailer teases Song Joong-Ki & Choi Sung-Euns intense first meeting The trailer for the upcoming Netflix Korean film My Name is Loh Kiwan begins with the central character, Loh Kiwan, introducing himself. He talks about making it far by enduring all the hell in his life. Meanwhile, a Netflix report gives context about Loh Kiwans story. After escaping from China, the North Korean defector hopes to fulfill his mothers dying wish. She wanted him to find a place where he could live on his own terms, with his own name. After his mothers death, Loh Kiwan sets foot in Belgium with whatever he has left. Although he tries to earn refugee status and start his life again, he discovers that the application itself might take a few months. With no means to earn and no place to live, he faints, exhausted. This is when he crosses paths with Marie, who steals his wallet. Meanwhile, as per Netflixs report. Marie used to represent the Belgian national shooting team. However, her life turns upside down as her inner demons and mental health struggles get the best of her. Eventually, Loh Kiwan finds Marie, ordering her to give him his wallet back. He further explains that the money in the wallet came from selling his mothers corpse. From then on, the two begin to bond over shared traumas and experiences. Marie reveals that she also lost her mother during the winter, just like Loh Kiwan. She continues to suffer from bouts of mental health issues and tries to kill herself several times. However, Loh Kiwan rescues her every time. Meanwhile, her father, Yoon Sung (Cho Han-Cheul), asks Kiwan to stay away from Marie. Explaining that his daughter is mentally unstable, he wishes for a more stable man, unlike Kiwan, to be with Marie. Just like Kiwan rescues Marie, the latter fights against officials to ensure he stays back. In a conversation, she explains that Kiwan would die if he returned to where he came from. The rest of the trailer documents their increasing closeness and the will to save each other from their respective traumas. To witness their journey, dont forget to tune in to My Name is Loh Kiwan on Friday, March 1, 2024, on Netflix. The post My Name Is Loh Kiwan Trailer: Song Joong-Ki, Choi Sung-Eun Help Each Other Survive appeared first on ComingSoon.net - Movie Trailers, TV & Streaming News, and More. Director Daniel Roher is making no secret who he blames for the death behind bars of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, focus of his 2023 Oscar-winning documentary Navalny. [Russian President Vladimir] Putin is responsible for his death. That much is clear, he told Deadline. The particulars of how and those sorts of questions I dont think we know yet, but to me, its obvious who is responsible. More from Deadline Russias Federal Penitentiary Service announced Friday that Navalny, 47, had died in a prison in the Arctic Circle, saying he fell ill after taking a walk in the facility. Navalny had been under lock and key at various prisons in Russia after he returned to his homeland in 2021 from Germany, where he had undergone emergency treatment after a near-fatal poisoning attack (an assassination attempt also widely blamed on the Kremlin). Just a day earlier, Navalny had made a court appearance by video from prison, appearing healthy and even making jokes with court officials. In time, we will learn the details of Navalnys death, Roher predicted. One thing you can count on is the Russian security service as being completely inept and moronic, as we saw in the documentary. And so sooner or later well figure out the details. And sooner or later Putins going to get whats coming to him in this life or the next. And I hope its sooner than later. Alexei Navalny is miked up to secretly record a conversation with his suspected poisoner in Navalny. Christo Grosev is in foreground. In the documentary, from CNN Films and streaming service Max, Navalny investigates his own poisoning, with help from Bellingcat journalist Christo Grosev. In one extraordinary scene, Navalny impersonates a Russian official in a call to a Kremlin-connected chemical weapons agent, tricking him into confessing details of the murder plot. In one of the emotional highlights from the Oscar telecast last March, Roher and the films producers accepted the Academy Award alongside Navalnys wife, Yulia Navalnaya, and the couples two children. After dedicating the award to Navalny and all political prisoners around the world, Roher invited Yulia to speak. Yulia Navalnaya, flanked by her children, speaks at the 2023 Academy Awards. Director Daniel Roher is to her far left. My husband is in prison just for telling the truth. My husband is in prison just for defending democracy, she told the Oscar audience. Alexei, Im dreaming of the day when you will be free and our country will be free. Stay strong. Navalny emerged as a threat to Putins autocratic rule in the 2000s by crusading against Kremlin corruption, a campaign that earned growing public support. His charisma and ability to connect with ordinary Russians contrasted with Putins buttoned-down authoritarian style. Roher believes Navalnys political movement will not perish with him. Navalny I think Alexei designed his organization to live on and continue in the event of his death, he said. And it is my hope that this tragedy only lights a fire under the asses of every good Russian who supported Navalny, anyone who has sympathies for the opposition. Its really sad. I hope that Navalnys name becomes synonymous with courage and the resilience that he has shown for the last few years for his entire professional life. And to that point, I hope that when the beautiful Russia of the future finally does come, history will remember him as a pivotal figure in the fight for freedom. Roher said he got the news of Navalnys death early this morning. We have a new baby in the house, so were getting up at night a lot. My wife woke me up at 4 in the morning and she told me that Navalny only had died, he said. I just was like, Oh God, no, no, no, no, no, no. Dont be true. Dont be true. It seemed, How could this be possible? Why now? Why today? Why in this moment? I called immediately Christo Grosev I said, Is it true? And he said, Its true. And I think I was in shock. Alexei Navalny in Moscows City Court on May 24, 2022 Navalnys family and supporters had consistently expressed concerns about the conditions under which he was held in prison, often in solitary confinement, and whether he had access to proper medical care. Regarding his death, Roher said, Anyone whos followed the Navalny story or is aware of who he is, this is something that has sort of been a possibility for Alexei. And in spite of that, I still am gutted and shocked. What may never be adequately answered is why Navalny chose to return to Russia in 2021 from effective exile in Germany. In the film, it appears he was motivated by a sense of moral obligation to be with his people. We were afraid of what might happen [when he returned], Roher said. The future was uncertain. We werent sure what would happen when he arrived in Russia. And, of course, now our worst fears have actualized. The director said Navalnys decision to go back to Russia is a point that is for history to litigate. Its easy, with hindsight being 20-20, for us to examine and perhaps even criticize that decision. But at the end of the day, Im not in a place to speculate on why or if he should have done that. All I can speak to is the sadness that I feel and the pain that Im sure his family is feeling. This is a loss for the world and it really does feel like the light has gone out today. Best of Deadline Sign up for Deadline's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Nkechi Diallo, formerly known as Rachel Dolezal, has addressed recent news that she was fired from her position at an Arizona school district due to her OnlyFans account. She took to her Instagram Story on Friday, writing, Keep on Living, alongside a selfie. In a follow-up post to her IG Story, she wrote, People asked how they can support. Show some love with an order from my art website. She also included a link to RachelDolezal.com. An Instagram story screenshot featuring Rachel Dolezal promoting her art website with options: Gallery, Exhibits, Original Art, Store, More, Contact On Wednesday, news surfaced that she had been terminated from Catalina Foothills School District in Tucson, Arizona, where she had been contracted to work in an after-school teaching position from August 2023 until May 2024. She had been let go when it was found out that she had a social media page that linked out to her OnlyFans. "We only learned of Ms. Nkechi Diallo's Only Fans social media posts yesterday afternoon," wrote Julie Farbarik, the school district's director of alumni and community relations. "Her posts are contrary to our district's 'Use of Social Media by District Employees' policy...and our staff ethics policy. She is no longer employed by the Catalina Foothills School District." As Dolezal, Diallo was mired in controversy when it was discovered in 2014 that she had been self-identifying as a Black woman. She had staked much of her life on her identity, previously serving as NAACP president of the Spokane, Washington chapter, becoming a civil rights activist, attending Howard University, and teaching African American studies at Washington State University. In 2018, the Netflix doc, The Rachel Divide, chronicled Diallos identity crisis. In 2017, she also confessed to being white and shared that she started viewing herself as a Black woman in 2006. More on this Otis is a huge horror movie fan, but being stuck in small and confined spaces still gives him the biggest fright. WrestleZone Managing Editor Bill Pritchard recently spoke with Otis about his affinity for the horror genre. Otis and Chad Gable gave us some slasher recommendations at SummerSlam, and Otis had a few more picks in mind. Check out [Eli Roths 2023 film] Thanksgiving. Yeah, Thanksgiving for sure. Anything on Shudder. Oh, I got it right at the top of my head. I mess this up all the time with Gable, I tell him the title.. When Evil Lurks, the Spanish horror movie. Amazing. Theres subtitles, [so] I gotta read it a lot, but try that please. Pritchard asked if he enjoyed The Black Phone, the 2021 hit Scott Derrickson film that starred Ethan Hawke. Eh, I like the character idea. I love the soundtrack, obviously. Theres a throwback with the Dazed and Confused soundtrack. I thought the ending was not as much carnage. I thought the fight shouldve been dig underneath a little bit, kind of grit but it was a good film. It wasnt one of my favorites, though. Up in the air Pritchard pointed out how the movie was adapted from a short story by Joe Hill, the pen name of horror master Stephen Kings son, Joseph. Otis then noted how a trip to Kings home in Maine got put on hold, and why it was not a fun experience for him. I was very excited one time, we were going to a show in Bangor and we were gonna see Stephen Kings house. We were gonna check it out there, but we got stuck in the air. It was a security breach and I was in a small plane for four hours. Yeah, it ruined my day. Its a little juicy, yeah, like you said. [Im pretty calm] as long as its not too hot. If its hot and confined, I start losing my mind, Otis quipped. Gable would know this. Check out our full interview with Otis below: The post Otis Got Stuck On A Small Plane For Four Hours, It Ruined His Day appeared first on Wrestlezone. (R-L) Josh Brolin as laconic patriarch Royal Abbott with his "Outer Range" sons Lewis Pullman (Rhett Abbott) and Tom Pelphrey (Perry Abbott). "Outer Range" fans rejoice. Season 2 is coming earlier than expected. Star and executive producer of the series, Josh Brolin, in a recent interview with Collider has hinted when Season 2 of the fantasy thriller will release on Prime Video. "Outer Range" debuted on Prime Video in April 2022 and followed Brolin as Royal Abbott, "a rancher fighting for his land and family, who discovers an unfathomable mystery at the edge of Wyoming's wilderness," according to Prime. "A thrilling fable with hints of wry humor and supernatural mystery, 'Outer Range' examines how we grapple with the unknown," says Prime about the series. Josh Brolin is Season 1 of Prime Video's "Outer Range". Cowboy up: Josh Brolin's 'Outer Range' shows TV is still wild about Westerns after 'Yellowstone' Here's everything you need to know about the upcoming season of the sci-fi thriller. When is Season 2 of 'Outer Range' releasing? Season 2 of "Outer Range" is expected to release in May of this year, Brolin told Collider. Prime Video has not yet announced a release date for the series. What will 'Outer Range' Season 2 be about? Though Season 1 of "Outer Range" ended on a cliffhanger, Brolin told Collider that the focus of the new season won't be on that only. I think the character development is more, and I think you get answers for the sci-fi mystery that was created," Brolin said. "Not necessarily all the answers, but you get destinations. Ill put it that way. You get destinations. Josh Brolin is Season 1 of Prime Video's "Outer Range". The actor also told Collider that he directed one of the episodes of Season 2 and was "very happy" to do so. As for the new season, Brolin said that "it looks incredible," and he is "very, very happy with it". "Not that I was totally disappointed with the first season, I just felt like we were finding ourselves, and I feel like we found ourselves now," added Brolin. A scene from Season 1 of Prime Video's "Outer Range". 'Outer Range' Cast Josh Brolin Imogen Poots Lili Taylor Tamara Podemski Lewis Pullman Tom Pelphrey Noah Reid Shaun Sipos Isabel Arraiza Olive Abercrombie Will Patton Season 1 of Prime Video's "Outer Range". Saman Shafiq is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at sshafiq@gannett.com and follow her on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter @saman_shafiq7. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Outer Range' Season 2: Josh Brolin teases release date Prince Harry and Meghan Markle relocated to her home state of California in 2020 after stepping back as senior members of the royal family Chris Jackson/Getty Prince Harry at the 2023 Invictus Games The thought of becoming a United States citizen has crossed Prince Harry's mind. The Duke of Sussex, 39, spoke with Good Morning America's Will Reeve this week during the Invictus Games Vancouver Whistler 2025's One Year to Go celebration in Canada. Reeve asked how he was enjoying life in the U.S., as Harry and Meghan Markle relocated to her home state of California in 2020 after stepping back as working members of the royal family. "It's amazing," Prince Harry said. "I love every single day." Reeve asked if Harry felt American, to which he laughed and said, "Do I feel American? Um, no. I don't know how I feel." Prince Harry said he had "considered" becoming a U.S. citizen, but it wasn't a "high priority." Referring to the Invictus Games Winter Training Camp he was focused on this week, Prince Harry said, "I'm here standing next to this with these guys and the American citizenship is a thought that has crossed my mind but certainly not something that is a high priority for me right now." EXCLUSIVE: Prince Harry to @ReeveWill on visiting King Charles after cancer diagnosis: I love my family. The fact that I was able to get on a plane and go see and spend anytime with him, Im grateful for that. https://t.co/yDp82WU7Bk pic.twitter.com/lO0cebeO9i Good Morning America (@GMA) February 16, 2024 Related: Meghan Markle Borrows Phone to Snap a Photo of Prince Harry Sit-Skiing to 'Show the Kids' After Meghan and Prince Harry announced their engagement in November 2017, PEOPLE confirmed that she planned to become a citizen of the United Kingdom after their royal wedding. Although she didn't complete the rigorous process, the Duchess of Sussex talked about the difficulty of the U.K.'s citizenship exam on an episode of her Archetypes podcast. Chris Jackson/Getty Meghan said, "That citizenship exam is so hard! I was studying for it, and I remember going, 'Oh my goodness.' I would ask my husband, 'Did you know this? Did you know this?' And people went, 'Oh, I had no idea.' " As explained on the government website, the "Life in the U.K." test gives hopefuls 45 minutes to answer 24 questions about British customs and traditions, a mandatory part of the application process to become a citizen. Andrew Chin/Getty Meghan Markle and Prince Harry in Canada on Feb. 14, 2024 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! Prince Harry has returned to the U.K. on several occasions over the past three years, most recently flying to his home country following the news of his father King Charles' cancer diagnosis earlier this month. When asked how he first learned about his father's cancer diagnosis on Good Morning America, Harry replied, "I spoke to him. And I jumped on a plane and went to go see him as soon as I could." Look, I love my family. The fact that I was able to get on a plane, go and see him, and spend any time with him Im grateful for that," Harry said in the interview, which aired Friday morning. When asked about his outlook on the state of his father's health, he said, "That stays between me and him." For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter! Read the original article on People. A judge's ruling on Friday in Donald Trump's civil fraud trial deals a severe blow to the former president, who is now barred from running the New York-based company that for decades has served as the hub of his global business empire. In a 92-page decision, New York Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron barred Trump from serving as an officer or director of any corporation or other legal entity in the state for three years, while his sons, Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr., were banned for two years, according to the ruling. Trump and The Trump Organization were also ordered to pay penalties of $354 million in what is one of the stiffest corporate sanctions in New York history. Engoron ruled last fall that Trump and his company, the Trump Organization, "repeatedly" violated state fraud law by systemically misrepresenting the value of some of his properties and his overall net worth. That enabled his business to obtain loan rates and other financial terms that they otherwise wouldn't have received, New York Attorney General Letitia James had claimed in filing suit against Trump. More specifically, James' allegations included falsifying business records, issuing false financial statements and insurance fraud. James' office claimed that Trump's misrepresentations led to the company collecting $370 million in "ill-gotten gains." Friday's ruling also appoints Judge Barbara Jones to continue in her role as an independent monitor of Trump's businesses for at least three years. It orders the addition of an independent director of compliance at the Trump Organization, with Engoron ruling that this person will be responsible for "ensuring good financial and accounting practices." "[T]he more evidence there is of defendants' ongoing propensity to engage in fraud, the more need there is for the Court to impose stricter injunctive relief," Engoron wrote in his verdict. "This is not defendants' first rodeo." Story continues Trump is expected to appeal. The decision comes just weeks after a federal jury ruled that Trump must pay $83.3 million in damages for defamatory statements he made denying that he sexually assaulted the writer E. Jean Carroll. Trump is also facing numerous additional legal cases. "These bills are really racking up for Trump," said CBS News legal analyst Katrina Kaufman shortly before the verdict was announced. James "asked for a lifetime ban on Trump in New York's real estate industry, which is huge for him. This is where he started as a businessman." Trump and his legal team had long expected a defeat, with the former president decrying the case as "rigged" and a "sham" and his lawyers laying the groundwork for an appeal before the judgment was even issued. In 2023, Engoron found that Trump and his company overstated the valuations of many properties by hundreds of millions. The judge cited the Palm Beach, Florida, real estate assessor's valuation of his Mar-a-Lago club at as low as $18 million an amount on which Trump paid local property taxes. At the same time, Trump valued the property at as much as $714 million on his annual statements of financial conditions. Separately, Trump also faces charges in four criminal proceedings. The first trial, which centers on a payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels in 2016, is scheduled to begin in Manhattan on March 25. He has pleaded not guilty in all four cases. Russell Simmons has officially been hit with another lawsuit. Former Def Jam executive Drew Dixon is suing Simmons for defamation for calling her a liar after she leveled claims of sexual assault against him in the past, per Rolling Stone. Dixon worked as a Def Jam A&R executive from 1993 until 1995 and is seeking compensatory and punitive damages. The suit stems from the Def Jam co-founder suggesting that his accusers are twisting the definition of sexual assault, saying in a December interview: Yeah, [rape is] a serious word, but I think theyve changed the meaning. He also insinuated that his accusers were just thirst[ing] for fame. The court papers claim that Simmons has gone on a concerted and malicious campaign to discredit Ms. Dixon and to so damage her reputation and this defamation has exacerbated the paralyzation of Ms. Dixon professionally. US entrepreneur and writer Russell Simmons attends City of Hopes 2023 Spirit of Life Gala at the Pacific Design Center in West Hollywood, California, October 18, 2023. The news of this defamation suit broke just two days after he was sued by another former Def Jam employee for rape earlier this week. A music producer who worked for the label in the late 1990s alleged she was sexually assaulted by the famous music executive. The lawsuit was filed under New Yorks Adult Survivors Act and the New York City Gender Motivated Violence Act. The official complaint described an incident where Simmons allegedly raped the Jane Doe in his apartment, additional violating comments made afterwards at another occasion, and more. Ms. Doe was horrified, the suit read. She realized not only was he unapologetic towards her personally, he did not appreciate that the assault was wrong. More from VIBE.com Chef Alex Hanesakda will debut SapSap's Ubon smoker concept at a pop-up at Amorphic Beer, 3700 N. Fratney St., on Feb. 17, 2024. SapSap, a pop-up serving Laotian food from chef Alex Hanesakda, will debut its new Ubon concept this weekend at Amorphic Beer, 3700 N. Fratney St. From 4 to 8 p.m. Feb. 17, SapSap will serve Lao dishes with a smoky twist, a fusion of Southeast Asian cuisine and American barbecue. Dishes will include lemongrass chicken wings with sticky rice and Laotian hot sauce ($15); Lao-style riblets marinated in hoisin, brown sugar and garlic, and served with sticky rice and Laotian hot sauce ($15); smoked brisket fried rice ($16); Lao-style ribeye steak served with sticky rice and Laotian hot sauce ($18); and side orders of sticky rice ($3). Pre-orders are encouraged and can be made online at sapsapeatsmke.com. Some dishes will be available to purchase on-site, but the brisket fried rice and Lao-style ribeye steak are available for pre-orders only. SapSap has been offering popular pop-up dinners around the Racine and Milwaukee areas for years and operated a standalone restaurant in Mount Pleasant from 2021 until it closed last summer. Hanesakdas Ubon concept was named after the Thai refugee camp where he was born. Ubon reflects the resilience and untold stories of the Lao people, tales that, to this very day, often remain in the shadows, overlooked by mainstream narratives, textbooks, neighboring countries, and the impacts of ethnic cleansing, Hanesakda shared in a social media post. We aim to share our Laod story, illuminating these hidden chapters and tribes, and bringing them into the light through the power of food. During the pop-up event, Amorphic will donate a portion of its beer sales to organizations aimed at clearing cluster bombs in Laos, where more than 80 million are estimated to remain since the Vietnam War. This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: SapSap will serve Lao-barbecue fusion at Amorphic Beer pop-up The two surviving skiers were transported to a local hospital with "serious, not expected to be life-threatening injuries," according to an Alaska State Troopers news release Cooper Landing Emergency Services Photo from the scene An avalanche in Alaska has left two backcountry skiers injured and one dead after they fell down a mountain on Tuesday. The three men were ascending a slope on John Mountain in the Kenai Mountains when they "triggered an avalanche that propagated 100-200 feet above them," the Chugach National Forest Avalanche Information Center stated in a preliminary report. The avalanche was approximately "150 feet wide and ran for 700 vertical feet," according to the center's report. Cooper Landing EMS Deputy Chief Clay Adam told The Anchorage Daily News that the avalanche "broke loose" and carried the men "800 to 1,000 feet down." After being swept away, two of the skiers were able to "self-rescue." Related: Where Is Rachel Dolezal Now? What to Know About the Former NAACP Leader Now Known as Nkechi Diallo Cooper Landing Emergency Services First responders at the scene The third skier, identified as 28-year-old Anchorage resident Joseph Allen, was dug out of the avalanche by his friends, who performed "life-saving measures, which were ultimately not successful," said the Alaska State Troopers in a news release, Allen was pronounced dead at the scene, according to an update on Facebook by Cooper Landing Emergency Services. The two surviving skiers were transported to a local hospital with "serious, not expected to be life-threatening injuries," per the organization. "CLES would like to remind anyone who engages in backcountry recreational activities to please check the local avalanche conditions before setting out. Always be prepared with the appropriate safety gear regardless of how safe and experienced you might be! These victims had all the necessary safety gear and it still proved deadly," they added in their update. Related: Horseback-Riding Couple Struck By Truck While Searching for Missing Boy Cooper Landing Emergency Services Photo of snow in the area On the day of the accident, the Chugach National Forest Avalanche Information Center issued a warning on Facebook, noting that there was "high danger due to very strong east winds impacting the mountains." "Widespread natural wind slab avalanches were likely occurring last night and are expected to do so through today. These could break in a buried weak layer, making larger avalanches that could run further than expected. Travel in avalanche terrain is not recommended," their post read. Following the incident on Tuesday, the shared another post on Wednesday. that read, in part, "These are extremely difficult times and our deepest condolences go out to the friends and family of the deceased." 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. According to the Colorado Avalanche Information Center, eight people have died in avalanches during the 2023-2024 season. For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter! Read the original article on People. Hollywood actor Bill Skarsgard was reportedly arrested and sentenced for marijuana possession at an airport in Sweden. The actor was ordered to pay a four-figure fine, after which he could move on from the arrest. Bill has featured in major films like "John Wick: Chapter 4," "Castle Rock," and "Barbarian." He comes from a long line of Swedish film royalty, starting with his father, Stellan Skarsgard, and brother, Alexander Skarsgard. His remaining four siblings, Gustaf, Sam, Valter, and Eija, are also big names in the Swedish film industry. They were all born to Stellan and his ex-wife, My, who were married for 32 years and divorced in 2007. Bill Skarsgard Was Arrested For Marijuana Possession MEGA Four months ago, Bill Skarsgard was arrested for possession of 2.43 grams of cannabis at Arlanda Airport in Stockholm. However, the news has only just spread online because he was convicted and sentenced on Wednesday after pleading guilty to the possession charges. The 33-year-old "It" actor pled guilty in the paperwork he submitted to the court, which the judge used to decide on his sentence. Bill was able to avoid jail time or probation and was instead sentenced to pay a four-figure fine. According to a report, the fine is 40,000 Swedish krona, which is approximately $3,821 when converted to US Dollars. Compared to his massive net worth, the fine is a minor sentence, as once he pays, the marijuana possession drama will be behind him. Bill Skarsgard Comes From Swedish Acting Royalty MEGA Bill has built a name for himself in the American and Swedish film industry with acting credits in massive projects. He famously portrayed Pennywise, the killer clown, in iconic horror films, "It" and "It: Chapter Two." Bill has also acted in movies like "John Wick: Chapter 4," "Barbarian," "Hemlock Grove," and "Castle Rock." Aside from his major acting credits, Bill is also well known for his family, who are major players in Hollywood and the Swedish film industry. His father, Stellan Skarsgard, brother Alexander Skarsgard, and Bill himself are the most popular. Stellan is known for his stellar performance in films like "Mamma Mia," "Good Will Hunting," "Pirates of the Caribbean," and "Chernobyl." Alexander is also well known for his work in hit films like "Zoolander," "Legend of Tarzan," "Succession," "Godzilla vs. Kong," and "True Blood." Bill and Alexander have four other siblings, who are also big names in the acting industry in Sweden. This includes their three brothers, 43-year-old Gustaf, 41-year-old Sam, 28-year-old Valter, 28, and one sister, 31-year-old Eija. All six Skarsgard kids were born to Stellan and his ex-wife, actress My Skarsgard. Stellan and My were married for 32 years, had their kids, and eventually divorced in 2007. Stellan later had more kids with his second wife, Megan Everett, including their first boy, Ossian, who was born in 2009. The couple later had a second boy, Kolbjorn, born in 2012. Bill Skarsgard Stars In New Film 'Boy Kills World' MEGA The actor is the lead in the upcoming film, "Boy Kills World," which was recently acquired by Lionsgate and Roadside Attractions, per Deadline. In the film, Skarsgard plays the role of Boy, a deaf-mute who has a vivid imagination and an inner voice that he adopted from his favorite video game as a child. Boy vows to get revenge against Hilda Van Der Koy (Famke Janssen), the insane matriarch of a corrupt post-apocalyptic dynasty that murdered his family and left him voiceless, deaf, and orphaned. Roadside Attractions Co-Presidents Howard Cohen and Eric d'Arbeloff gushed about the film, noting that they were "blown away by the crazy action sequences and the terrific cast." Lauren Bixby of Lionsgate also praised the film, saying: "From the opening frames, 'Boy Kills World' catapulted the Lionsgate team into a completely bonkers world masterfully created by Sam Raimi, Roy Lee, Bill Skarsgard and the incredibly dynamic cast and crew." The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974) is a crime thriller movie set in a New York station that focuses on a train operator whose train is taken over by four armed guys. They then proceed to hold everyone on board hostage for ransom. Heres how you can watch and stream The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974) via streaming services such as Amazon Prime Video and AMC Plus. Is The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974) available to watch via streaming? Yes, The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974) is available to watch via streaming on Amazon Prime Video and AMC Plus. The movie follows a man who uses his intellect and wit to get the passengers out to safety. Furthermore, the gang leader lays out a clever escape plan for the protagonist. The cast of the movie includes Walter Matthau, Robert Shaw, Martin Balsam, Hector Elizondo, Earl Hindman, James Broderick, Dick ONeill, Lee Wallace, and Tom Pedi. Watch The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974) streaming via Amazon Prime Video The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974) is available to watch on Amazon Prime Video. Amazon Prime Video is a video-on-demand streaming platform that features TV series and movies produced by Amazon and third-party content providers. You can watch via Amazon Prime Video by following these steps: Go to Amazon Prime Video Select Sign in and Create your Amazon account Sign up for a Prime Video membership: $14.99 per month or $139 per year with an Amazon Prime membership $8.99 per month for a standalone Prime Video membership Amazon Prime is the online retailers paid service that provides fast shipping and exclusive sales on products, so the membership that includes both this service and Prime Video is the companys most popular offering. However, you can also opt to subscribe to Prime Video separately. Watch The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974) streaming via AMC Plus The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974) is available to watch on AMC Plus. AMC Plus is a subscription-based video content streaming service that allows access to live feeds and program libraries of AMC Networks, along with exclusive original content. The content can be accessed on smartphones, laptops, tablets, smart TVs, and other streaming devices. You can watch via AMC Plus by following these steps: Go to AMCPlus.com Create a username and password Choose your plan: $8.99 per month $83.88 per year Users can also subscribe to AMC Plus as a channel via Amazon Prime Video if they are current subscribers to Amazons service. The Taking of Pelham One Two Threes synopsis is as follows: In New York, armed men hijack a subway car and demand a ransom for the passengers. Even if its paid, how could they get away? NOTE: The streaming services listed above are subject to change. The information provided was correct at the time of writing. If youre wondering where to stream House of Gucci online, then you have come to the right place as we Movies Joon Dutta Roy 24 mins ago If youre wondering where to stream My Cousin Vinny online, then you have come to the right place as we Movies Joon Dutta Roy 45 mins ago This year marks the 50th anniversary of John Carpenters feature-length directorial debut. ComingSoon will cover each of the horror masters Movies Neil Bolt 5 hours ago Acclaimed director James Cameron has rather passionately shot down the idea of a supposed nine-hour Avatar 3 cut. While speaking Movies Spencer Legacy 6 hours ago Read more The post The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974) Streaming: Watch and Stream Online via Amazon Prime Video and AMC Plus appeared first on ComingSoon.net - Movie Trailers, TV & Streaming News, and More. Two teenagers have reportedly been charged in connection to the devastating mass shooting that happened during the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl victory parade. According to the Jackson County Circuit Court's family court division, the two teenagers are being held at the Juvenile Detention Center on charges of possessing a firearm and resisting arrest. The tragic event led to the death of one individual with over 20 people, including children, injured. Two Teenagers Held In Juvenile Detention Over Chiefs Rally Shooting MEGA The two teenagers who were arrested in connection to the shooting at the Kansas City Chiefs rally have been charged with possession of a firearm and resisting arrest. According to the Kansas City Star, both teenagers are being held in Juvenile Detention, where they may be required to attend a certification hearing to decide whether or not they will be tried as adults, depending on the nature of the criminal accusations brought against them in family court. Among the crimes for which a certification is necessary include murder and first-degree assault. The unfortunate shooting incident occurred early Wednesday, after the Super Bowl, as thousands of Chiefs supporters gathered to celebrate their team's win over the San Francisco 49ers. Numerous individuals were forced to seek shelter as shots were fired on the western side of Union Station. One person was reported dead, with over 20 injured. According to multiple reports, the shooting likely happened due to a disagreement between the two suspected shooters and was not necessarily a targeted attack. Chiefs Fans Who Tackled Shooter Speaks Out Breaking Video of Heroic Kansas City fans tackling one of the shooters pic.twitter.com/cAxL9Kox8d Fantasy Fanatics (@FFB_Fanatics) February 14, 2024 Chiefs fan Paul Contreras has spoken out after heroically tackling one of the suspected shooters at the tragic mass shooting to the ground. During a conversation with KETV news, Contreras spoke about the intensity of the moment and how he wasn't thinking about it and only acted on impulse. He said, "One guy was hollering and saying, 'stop him, catch him, tackle him,' whatever, and he's just bent on running. And out of nowhere, I hear that guy hollering, so I'm just like, 'Okay, well, I'm right here.'" Contreras continued, "I didn't think about it. I really just... reaction. I didn't hesitate; it was just, 'Just do it.' So I went to go tackle him, and another gentleman did the same thing, and as I was tackling him, I saw his weapon either fall out of his hand or his sleeve 'cause he was wearing a long jacket." He shared that after spotting the weapon, it struck him that they needed to "take this guy down," so he and another individual made sure to hold the alleged shooter in place while calling for the cops. According to Contreras, it felt like forever before the police came to arrest the alleged shooter, but it actually only took a few seconds. Wondering where to watch Wander online? We have all the streaming details right here. Wander is a 2020 American thriller film that focuses on two conspiracy theorists and their investigation of a murder in the small town of Wander, New Mexico. Heres how you can watch and stream Wander via streaming services such as Amazon Prime Video. Is Wander available to watch via streaming? Yes, Wander is available to watch via streaming on Amazon Prime Video. The story follows Arthur Bretnik, a paranoid and traumatized detective and conspiracy enthusiast whose daughter died in a car crash. He takes on a job to look into the mysterious killing of a young woman in Wander, New Mexico, which he suspects was a hidden homicide. He gets more obsessed with the case as he thinks that the killing is linked to the same secret plot that took his daughters life years before. The film was directed by April Mullen and written by Tim Doiron. The main cast includes Aaron Eckhart as Arthur Bretnik, Katheryn Winnick as Elsa Viceroy, Heather Graham as Shelly Luscomb, Tommy Lee Jones as Jimmy Cleats, Raymond Cruz as Sheriff Luis Santiago, Brendan Fehr as Nick Cassidy, Roger Dorman as Leiland Ashgrave, and Nicole Steinwedell as Tanya. Watch Wander streaming via Amazon Prime Video Wander is available to watch on Amazon Prime Video. Amazon Prime Video is a streaming video service by Amazon. Prime Video benefits are included with an Amazon Prime membership. Prime Video offers exclusive content and Amazon Original series. You can watch via Amazon Prime Video by following these steps: Go to Amazon Prime Video Select Sign in and Create your Amazon account Sign up for a Prime Video membership: $14.99 per month or $139 per year with an Amazon Prime membership $8.99 per month for a standalone Prime Video membership Amazon Prime is the online retailers paid service that provides fast shipping and exclusive sales on products, so the membership that includes both this service and Prime Video is the companys most popular offering. However, you can also opt to subscribe to Prime Video separately. Wanders synopsis is as follows: After getting hired to probe a suspicious death in the small town of Wander, a mentally unstable private investigator becomes convinced the case is linked to the same conspiracy cover up that caused the death of his daughter. NOTE: The streaming services listed above are subject to change. The information provided was correct at the time of writing. This year marks the 50th anniversary of John Carpenters feature-length directorial debut. ComingSoon will cover each of the horror masters Movies Neil Bolt 1 hour ago Acclaimed director James Cameron has rather passionately shot down the idea of a supposed nine-hour Avatar 3 cut. While speaking Movies Spencer Legacy 2 hours ago A major star is returning for Only Murders in the Building Season 4, as Meryl Streep has been revealed to TV Spencer Legacy 2 hours ago The official Napoleon Apple TV+ release date for Ridley Scotts newest historical drama has been revealed, after over two months Movies Maggie Dela Paz 2 hours ago Read more The post Wander Streaming: Watch & Stream Online via Amazon Prime Video appeared first on ComingSoon.net - Movie Trailers, TV & Streaming News, and More. Nkechi Diallo, who was previously known as Rachel Dolezal, first sparked controversy when she identified as Black despite being the daughter of White parents Anthony Quintano/NBC/Reuters/Landov Rachel Dolezal in an appearance on the Today show. Nkechi Diallo, formerly Rachel Dolezal, returned to the public eye after first sparking controversy in 2015. The former NAACP official was accused of lying about her race in June 2015 after claiming she was Black when she was actually born to a White mother and father. Her parents, Ruthanne and Larry Dolezal, first outed her to local media, telling the Spokane Spokesman-Review that their daughter started to disguise herself after her family adopted four African-American children. Its very sad that Rachel has not just been herself, Ruthanne, who hadnt spoken to her daughter in years at the time, said. Her effectiveness in the causes of the African-American community would have been so much more viable, and she would have been more effective if she had just been honest with everybody. Diallo vehemently denied the accusations, telling the paper that the question was not as easy it seems. Theres a lot of complexities and I dont know that everyone would understand that, she said, before adding, Were all from the African continent. Years later, Diallo changed her name and, in February 2024, was fired from her teaching post in a Tucson, Arizona, school district after administrators found her OnlyFans account. From her original controversy to where she ended up in the years since, heres everything to know about where the woman formerly known as Rachel Dolezal is now. How did Diallo first spark controversy? Nicholas K. Geranios/AP Rachel Dolezal before June 2015. In June 2015, Diallos local paper in Spokane, Washington, broke the news that she was not Black as she claimed to be. At the time, Diallo was the leader of her areas chapter of the NAACP. Unfortunately, she is not ethnically by birth African American, Larry, her father, told The Washington Post. She is our daughter by birth. And thats the way it is. Diallo denied her parents accusations, claiming that they may not have even been her true biological parents. Instead, she pointed to Albert Wilkerson, a Black man, as her potential father, though he denied those claims. Up to this point, I know who raised me, Diallo said in an interview with NBC Nightly News. I havent had a DNA test. Theres been no biological proof that Larry and Ruthanne are my biological parents. She added that despite a birth certificate with both Larry and Ruthannes names on it, she was still doubtful as to her biological heritage. Im not necessarily saying that I can prove theyre not but I dont know that I can actually prove they are, she continued. I mean, the birth certificate was issued a month and a half after Im born. Certainly there were no medical witnesses to my birth. It was in the woods. Her family rebutted that everyone in Diallos life could vouch that the Dolezals were indeed her parents, and her grandparents were even present for her birth. Larry told PEOPLE at the time that if she were to take a DNA test, he was positive it would prove her relation to him. If someone will take her up on that bluff, she will readily be proven to be our biological daughter, Larry wrote in a statement to PEOPLE. Diallo was outed when investigative reporter Jeff Selle of Idahos Coeur dAlene Press noticed that she had once again filed a report of a racially motivated hate crime, which he flagged happened many times in the past and the claims were never substantiated. There hadnt been a string of hate crimes until she shows up, Selle told PEOPLE. And now with them allegedly happening in Spokane, I said, This looks fishy. He did some digging and tracked down her parents, and from there, the story took off. What did her family say about the controversy? Dolezel Family/Splash News Rachel Dolezal with her husband and family, including her parents Ruthanne and Larry, as well as her four younger siblings. Though they were initially hesitant to speak out, Larry and Ruthanne remained firm in their claims that Diallo was their daughter and that she had no Black lineage. Shes not being rational in what she is saying, Ruthanne told the Seattle Times. Larry added, She has so much to offer and so many positive experiences, its not necessary that she would lie. Her advocacy doesnt justify or excuse her for misrepresenting her ethnicity. One of Diallo's siblings, Ezra, who is Black, told Buzzfeed that his sisters claims that she was another race were basically blackface, before adding that she had asked him to cover for her in the past. She just told me, Over here, Im going to be considered Black, and I have a Black father. Dont blow my cover, he said. He theorized that the reason he thinks she lied is because when she was a student at Howard University, she felt discriminated against for being White. He elaborated that Diallo used to tell them that teachers would treat her differently and act like they didnt want her there. Ezra said Diallos claims that her parents were abusive were untrue and that she was treated really well growing up. Like Selle, he also didnt believe she had been the subject of racist attacks. She made herself into a martyr on purpose for people to feel sorry for her and to help her, he said. Its like what psychologists call self-hating, he continued. She had no reason not to like herself being White. She was an awesome artist and she could have accomplished everything she did, if she had stayed exactly the same. Ezra confirmed that he was estranged from his sister at the time and that she had no contact with their parents either. What happened to her after she was caught? Erica Parise/Warner Bros. Rachel Dolezal in a television appearance. Diallo resigned as president of her chapter of the NAACP and she also lost her part-time teaching job at Eastern Washington University in the wake of the controversy. Ive got to figure it out before Aug. 1, because my last paycheck was like $1,800 in June, Diallo told Vanity Fair five weeks after the scandal unfolded. [I lost] friends and the jobs and the work and oh, my God so much at the same time. However, she doubled down on her claims and continued to state that she identified as Black, tracing her earliest memories of Black experiences during an interview with the Today show. Diallo explained that she identified racially as human and culturally as Black. I was drawing self-portraits with the brown crayon instead of the peach crayon, she said of her childhood years. Thats how I was portraying myself. In her interview with Vanity Fair, Diallo said she didnt think she mislead anyone or purposely deceived anyone, despite making false claims about the identity of her father and asking her brother to cover for her. If people feel misled or deceived, then sorry that they feel that way, but I believe thats more due to their definition and construct of race in their own minds than it is to my integrity or honesty, because I wouldnt say Im African American, but I would say Im Black, and theres a difference in those terms, she said. Looking to the future, Diallo said she was working on changing her custody agreement with her ex-husband so she could leave Spokane as well as thinking about writing a book. She also was making money by styling Black hair, taking appointments for braids and weaves three times a week. Why did she change her name? (Colin Mulvany/The Spokesman-Review/AP Rachel Dolezal after her race controversy came to light. Diallo legally changed her name in March 2017 from Rachel Dolezal to Nkechi Amare Diallo, which has African roots, per Reuters. In an interview with The Guardian the same month, Diallo opened up about how she was struggling to find her footing after being outed as White. She explained that she was unable to find a new job, even something like working at a supermarket, after applying to over 100. She said that she applied to a job where she used to teach but her former colleagues pretended they didnt know her. After turning down her only offers in reality TV and pornography, Diallo was using food stamps to pay for herself and her kids and relied on her friend to help her with rent, telling the outlet she expected to be homeless within a month. I really felt like I needed to change my legal name in order to be seen for my qualifications and experience rather than just seen for the tabloid publicity that I got in 2015, she shared on the Today show the same month. When applying for a job, people were just seeing Rachel Dolezal and not paying attention to the wide-ranging experience and qualifications that I do have. What happened since the scandal? The cover of Rachel Dolezal's book, "In Full Color: Finding My Place In a Black and White World." Two years after her life was uprooted, Diallo wrote a memoir, In Full Color: Finding My Place in a Black and White World, however, she struggled to find a publisher willing to see it through. You know, the book was a difficult one to write, for sure, she told Savannah Guthrie on the Today show. But I felt like it was kind of a little bit forced upon me as far as just the need to tell the whole truth about my life and the full story. Diallo also welcomed a son that year, she revealed, so her focus was on feeding her family, but that has been a challenge since all the media attention. But I am 100% committed to providing for my kids, she added. And finding my way back to the activism work that I am so passionate about. Years later, in 2021, Diallo appeared on the Tamron Hall Show where she opened up about how her struggles continued, even after moving to Tucson, Arizona, in 2020. She said she had to create her own work from braiding hair to painting, and even making pep talks on Cameo, a website where people can pay celebrities or influencers to record a message. I started with applying to all the things I was qualified for and after interviews and getting turned down I even applied to jobs that didnt require degrees being a maid at a hotel, working at a casino I wasnt able to get any of those jobs either, she said on the show. Where is Diallo now? Tyler Tjomsland/The Spokesman-Review/AP Rachel Dolezal after her controversy came to light. In February 2024, Diallo once again made headlines as she was fired from her job as a teacher in the Catalina Foothills School District in Tucson after administrators learned of her OnlyFans account. We only learned of Ms. Nkechi Diallo's OnlyFans social media posts yesterday afternoon, Julie Farbarik, a spokeswoman for the Catalina Foothills Unified School District #16, said in a statement to PEOPLE. Her posts are contrary to our district's Use of Social Media by District Employees policy and our staff ethics policy. She is no longer employed by the Catalina Foothills School District. Per the Arizona Daily Star, Diallo was hired as an after-school instructor on Aug. 9, 2023, with a contract that was set to expire on May 24, 2024. She worked with students in the K-5 grade levels and was also a substitute teacher. For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter! Read the original article on People. Following Friday's report of Russian opposition leader and political prisoner Alexei Navalny's death at a Siberian penal colony under suspicious circumstances, top Biden administration officials swiftly responded by emphasizing that the Kremlin was clearly to blame for the demise of Russian President Vladimir Putin's most vocal critic. But fulfilling President Joe Biden's 2021 vow to the Russia leader that Navalny's death in prison would result in "devastating" consequences for Russia will likely pose a steep challenge to the administration as it attempts to calibrate a response that is both impactful and avoids significant escalation with Moscow. During remarks on Navalny's reported death, Biden seemed to downplay the significance of imposing the stiff repercussions he threatened during his summit with Putin in Geneva. "That was three years ago. In the meantime, they faced a hell of a lot of consequences," Biden said, referring to Russia's military losses and the "great sanctions" imposed "across the board" resulting from Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. "And we're contemplating what else can be done," he continued. PHOTO: Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny attends a rally in Moscow, Russia, Feb.24, 2019. (Tatyana Makeyeva/Reuters) MORE: Biden speaks on reported death of Alexei Navalny: 'Putin is responsible' The administration has few reasonable options left in its toolbox. Even though Navalny has been jailed in Russia since early 2021, repeatedly allegedly mistreated, and even went missing for three weeks in late 2023, two U.S. officials familiar with the matter say the administration had not prepared any measures to be imposed if additional harm befell him. PHOTO: A person holds flowers and a portrait of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny at the monument to the victims of political repressions following Navalny's death, in Saint Petersburg, Russia Feb.16, 2024. (Reuters) The officials say the U.S. is now weighing additional sanctions against human rights violators connected to his imprisonment. The Biden administration has deployed similar sanctions as recently as August, when it announced financial penalties and visa restrictions against four Russians accused of playing a part in Navalny's 2020 poisoning on a flight to Moscow. The Biden administration also issued a slate of sanctions connected to the attempted assassination in 2021. Separate from Navalny, the U.S. has also levied sanctions against Moscow in response to its wrongful detention of American citizens and other foreign nationals in recent years, and it coordinated with allies to impose sweeping measures against Russia's defense industrial complex, energy exports, its financial sector and other industries following the country's invasion of Ukraine. Despite the extensive suite of sanctions and trade restrictions, Russia's economy has continued to grow -- with Moscow finding new trade avenues for its oil in partners like India and the United Arab Emirates, as well as to China for a steady supply of vital imports. PHOTO: President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the reported death of Alexei Navalny from the Roosevelt Room of the White House, Feb. 16, 2024, in Washington. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images) During his remarks on Friday, Biden sought to depict the Kremlin's treatment of Navalny as further evidence of Putin's cruelty. "What has happened to Navalny is yet more proof of Putin's brutality. No one should be fooled, not in Russia, not at home, not anywhere in the world," he said. Making that point to lawmakers in Washington is of urgent importance to the president, as he attempts to push a national security funding package that would provide badly needed assistance for Ukraine's war efforts through the Republican-controlled House. "This tragedy reminds us of the stakes in this moment. We have to provide the funding so Ukraine can keep defending itself against Putin's vicious onslaughts and war crimes," he said. Other administration officials in Germany for the Munich Security Conference delivered the administration's first public reactions to news of Navalny's death on Friday, attempting to strike what officials described as a calibrated tone -- underscoring Moscow's culpability but emphasizing that the U.S. had not yet independently verified the developments. "First and foremost, if these reports are accurate, our hearts go out to his wife and to his family," Secretary of State Antony Blinken said, adding that Navalny's death in detention would underscore "the weakness and rot at the heart of the system that Putin has built." "We'll be talking to many other countries concerned about Alexei Navalny, especially if these reports bear out to be true," Blinken continued. Vice President Kamala Harris, also in Munich, said the U.S. was still "working to confirm" the reports of Navalany's death. "Whatever story they tell, let us be clear, Russia is responsible," she said. PHOTO: Yulia Navalnaya, wife of late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, attends the Munich Security Conference in Munich, Feb. 16, 2024. (Thomas Kienzle/AFP via Getty Images) Blinken and Harris met privately with Navalny's wife, Yulia, who also spoke at the conference. She initially expressed skepticism over the news of her husband's demise, which was announced in a statement from Russia's prison service that claimed he collapsed after a walk and could not be revived, although "all necessary resuscitation measures were carried out" by medical teams. Two administration officials said the U.S. had not received any recent communication on Navalny from Moscow through private channels between countries, but that they saw no evidence the Russian reports were false. US weighs response to Navalny's reported death originally appeared on abcnews.go.com When it comes to experiencing Black history in the United States, its nearly impossible to narrow it down to just a few destinations. The truth is that Black history and culture is deeply woven throughout every city and hamlet across the country. That said, there are significant eras like the Civil Rights Movement, the Harlem Renaissance and Reconstruction that stand out in our nations memory as times when African Americans fought for basic human rights, created society-shifting works of art and made history in the process. This Black history month, while its important to stand in reverence at the places where history was made, its also important to support the Black-owned businesses and Black-led preservation efforts that exist today in these destinations. Below, we detail 11 places to experience Black history and culture in all its vibrance, some in places you may expect, while others that may surprise you. Memphis, Tenn Memphis is one of those cities where Black culture shines. Its everywhere; splashed across beautiful murals throughout the city, in the hip hop and blues heard in lounges and of course, the incredible soul food. The city is also infamously where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated during the height of the Civil Rights Movement, and his last moments as well as the decades long struggle for civil rights is immortalized at the National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Motel. The powerful museum is a difficult but necessary experience, charting both the pain and pride of African Americans throughout enslavement, the violence of Jim Crow and the celebratory Black is Beautiful movement. A visit to nearby Clayborn Temple and I Am A Man plaza, where sanitation strikers gathered in 1968 in preparation for the march to be led by Dr. King, is a must-see, especially to honor the 1300 names engraved on the sculpture. On your trip, dont miss the fried catfish plate at The Four Way, one of the only restaurants to serve Black and white diners during the 1960s, and a carefully crafted cup of coffee at the Anti-Gentrification Cxffee Club. New Orleans, Louisiana Black history in New Orleans starts in Treme, the only place in America during the slavery era where Black people and other people of color purchased land and homes with regularity since 1783. All Bout Dat Tours offers tours through Treme, visiting Congo Square, where the enslaved often held healing drum circles (and where jazz was created); Louis Armstrong Park, where youll find several sculptures honoring NOLA music history; and a visit to various Black-owned businesses like Community Book Center and Domino Sound and Record Shack on Bayou Road. For the best in Creole cuisine, stop by the historic Dooky Chases restaurant or The Munch Factory (a favorite of Beyonce and Jay-Z). Rest your head at the newly restored Dew Drop Inn (opening March 1), a legendary Black-owned music venue that hosted musicians like Ray Charles and Fats Domino, is now a mid-century modern 17-room boutique hotel with rooms named after the icons that walked its hallowed halls. New York, New York The Apollo Theater. The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. The Studio Museum. There are so many incredible places to experience Black history and culture in New York City, and those few are all in one neighborhood. Harlem is a globally-respected cradle of Black culture, mainly due to the glamourous cultural explosion that was the Harlem Renaissance during the 1920s and 1930s. The era and neighborhood redefined Black identity through music, literature and art, and the effects of the movement are still felt today throughout New Yorks five boroughs. For a taste of the past, visit the Louis Armstrong House Museum in Queens to view his personal collection of 1600 recordings, and back in Harlem, take a stroll through the neighborhoods stunning brownstone-lined streets, particularly Strivers Row, a collection of beautifully-preserved 19th-century townhouses popular among Harlems Black elite of the 1920s. Tulsa, OK Tulsa is home to one of the most important Black landmarks in the United States: the historic Greenwood District once known as Black Wall Street. In 1921, the thriving Black business district was destroyed by a violent white mob in 1921 during the horrific Tulsa Race Massacre, and the quest for reconciliation and reparations has been a long and constant fight. However, as a visitor, there are several ways to understand the legacy of this district, especially at Greenwood Rising, where guests can interactively explore the district before and after the massacre. At the Greenwood Cultural Center, visitors can tour the Mabel B. Little Heritage House, the only house built in the Greenwood District from the 1920s that still remains. Part of honoring Black Wall Street is to visit the businesses carrying on its legacy, like the Black Wall Street Liquid Lounge coffee shop and Fulton Street Books & Coffee which features majority BIPOC and marginalized authors. Topeka, Kansas This year on May 17th marks the 70thanniversary of the landmark Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka Supreme Court decision that made racial segregation illegal in U.S. public schools. The Topeka community plans to commemorate the historic event with a homecoming celebration luncheon for former students and educators of Topekas four former African American elementary schools. Visitors can experience Brown v Board of Education National Historic Park, where one of the former schools, Monroe Elementary, has been transformed into a museum that details the case and its legacy. Walk through the school that feels frozen in time with both White and Colored signs to mark the period of segregation. Montgomery, Alabama For many, Montgomery is considered the birthplace of Americas 20th century Civil Rights Movement thanks to the courage of Rosa Parks and the Montgomery bus boycott of 1955. Its also where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. made a national name for himself as pastor of Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church, where he served from 1954 to 1960. The church, a key stop on the National Civil Rights Trail, was also the meeting site to organize the boycott. Theres nearly an overwhelming amount of Black history experiences to have in Montgomery, from the Rosa Parks Museum to The Legacy Museum and Freedom Rides Museum, but each and every one is integral to understanding the continuing struggle for equal rights in this country. A tour with Montgomery Tours, led by self-proclaimed child of the Civil Rights Movement and lifelong resident, Jake Williams, is a great place to start. No trip to the deep south is complete without excellent food, so make sure to fuel up every morning at Gregs Breakfast Bar. Washington, D.C Any Black culture-centered visit to Washington, D.C. has to start at what locals lovingly call The Blacksonian, also known as the National Museum of African American History and Culture located on the National Mall. Since its opening in 2016, this museum has swiftly become one of the most popular in the Smithsonian Institution collection, charting the richness and diversity of the African American experience. Deeper into the heart of the city, take a stroll along Black Broadway on a walking tour led by local author and journalist, Briana Thomas to see vibrant murals and visit celebrated spots like Lincoln and Howard Theaters, and Bens Chili Bowl restaurant. Want an insider tip? DCs monuments are stunning at night, and the white granite-made Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial absolutely glows in the evening. Birmingham, Alabama Although Montgomery may have been the place where the Civil Rights Movement began, Birmingham was its center. The city saw some of the most violent moments of the era, including at the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church where four young girls were killed in a racist bombing while attending Sunday school. This and other events galvanized the movement on a national scale, and today, places like the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute and moving sculptures of peaceful demonstrators being attacked by police dogs in Kelly Ingram Park work to ensure that visitors never forget what happened there. Also in Birminghams Civil Rights District is the A.G. Gaston Hotel, the only hotel to offer first-class lodging and dining to African American travelers from 1954 onward. Visitors can now tour the beautifully restored space, a favorite meeting place for several civil rights leaders. Atlanta, Georgia Since the mid-19thcentury, Atlanta has been a center of Black higher education, entrepreneurship and culture. Celebrated historically Black colleges, Morehouse College for men and Spelman College for women, are based there, and have produced some of Americas foremost leaders including Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Senator Raphael Warnock, novelist Alice Walker and politician Stacey Abrams. Dr. King was also born and raised in Atlanta, and visitors can explore his family church of Ebenezer Baptist Churchand visit his gravesite at The King Center. One lesser known museum in Atlanta that should be on everyones list is the Madame C.J. Walker Museum, all about the nearly unbelievable story of the first self-made millionaire in the United States. Lowcountry, South Carolina South Carolinas Lowcountry includes the popular destinations of Charleston, Bluffton and Hilton Head Island, all places significant to the Gullah Geechee people, descendants of West and Central Africans who were enslaved and bought to the lower Atlantic states to work on coastal plantations. Because their enslavement was relatively isolated, they maintained many of their indigenous African traditions that are still alive today. Take a Gullah Heritage Tour in Hilton Head to see family compounds, former schoolhouses and Mitchelville Freedom Park, the first self-governed freepersons town in the United States. Gullah cuisine is also an interesting mix of southern staples and the freshest seafood, so make sure to try it at Ruby Lees on Hilton Head Island. Marylands Eastern Shore Marylands Eastern Shore is home to one of the most interesting historic byways in the country dedicated to an American hero. The Harriet Tubman Bywaywinds for 125 miles through Maryland and Delaware before ending in Philadelphia, but many of the sites detailing Tubmans early life of enslavement, and where she returned to bring others to freedom are in Maryland. Must visit stops include The Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Visitor Center thats filled with exhibits and borders Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge, which was once the same terrain Tubman had to traverse on her journeys. Theres also Bucktown General Store, where as a teenager Tubman received a head injury from a slave overseer that affected her for the rest of her life. Because Maryland is home to the majority of stops on the byway, we suggest you bunk down at The Wildset hotel in nearby St. Michaels along the Chesapeake Bay. When it comes to experiencing Black history in the United States, its nearly impossible to narrow it down to just a few destinations. The truth is that Black history and culture are deeply woven throughout every city and hamlet across the country. That said, there are significant eras such as the Civil Rights Movement, the Harlem Renaissance, and Reconstruction that stand out in our nations memory as times when African Americans fought for basic human rights, created society-shifting works of art, and made history in the process. This Black History Month, while its important to stand in reverence at the places where history was made, its also important to support the Black-owned businesses and Black-led preservation efforts that exist today in these destinations. Below, we detail 11 places to experience Black history and culture in all its vibrance, some in places you may expect, while others that may surprise you. Here, the best places to travel to learn about black history. Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is one of those cities where Black culture shines. Its everywhere; splashed across beautiful murals throughout the city, in the hip hop and blues heard in lounges and, of course, the incredible soul food. The city is also infamously where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated during the height of the Civil Rights Movement. His last moments as well as the decades-long struggle for civil rights are immortalized at the National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Motel. The powerful museum is a difficult but necessary experience, charting both the pain and pride of African Americans throughout enslavement, the violence of Jim Crow and the celebratory Black is Beautiful movement. Nearby Clayborn Temple and I Am A Man plaza, where sanitation strikers gathered in 1968 in preparation for the march to be led by Dr. King, are both must-sees, especially to honor the 1300 names engraved on the sculpture. On your trip, dont miss the fried catfish plate at The Four Way, one of the only restaurants to serve Black and white diners during the 1960s, and a carefully crafted cup of coffee at the Anti-Gentrification Cxffee Club. benedek - Getty Images New Orleans, Louisiana Black history in New Orleans starts in Treme, the only place in America during the slavery era where Black people and other people of color purchased land and homes with regularity since 1783. All Bout Dat Tours offers tours through Treme, visiting Congo Square, where the enslaved often held healing drum circles (and where jazz was created); Louis Armstrong Park, where youll find several sculptures honoring NOLA's musical history; and a visit to various Black-owned businesses like Community Book Center and Domino Sound and Record Shack on Bayou Road. For the best in Creole cuisine, stop by the historic Dooky Chases restaurant or The Munch Factory (a favorite of Beyonce and Jay-Z). Rest your head at the newly restored Dew Drop Inn (opening March 1). The legendary Black-owned music venue (that hosted musicians like Ray Charles and Fats Domino) is now a mid-century modern 17-room boutique hotel with rooms named after the icons who walked its hallowed halls. by Jonathan D. Goforth - Getty Images New York, New York The Apollo Theater. The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. The Studio Museum. There are so many incredible places to experience Black history and culture in New York City, and those few are all in one neighborhood. Harlem is a globally respected cradle of Black culture, mainly due to the glamorous cultural explosion that was the Harlem Renaissance during the 1920s and 1930s. The era and neighborhood redefined Black identity through music, literature and art, and the effects of the movement are still felt today throughout New Yorks five boroughs. For a taste of the past, visit the Louis Armstrong House Museum in Queens to view his personal collection of 1600 recordings, and back in Harlem, take a stroll through the neighborhoods stunning brownstone-lined streets, particularly Strivers Row, a collection of beautifully preserved 19th-century townhouses popular among Harlems Black elite of the 1920s. Busa Photography - Getty Images Tulsa, Oklahoma Tulsa is home to one of the most important Black landmarks in the United States: the historic Greenwood District once known as Black Wall Street. In 1921, the thriving Black business district was destroyed by a violent white mob in 1921 during the horrific Tulsa Race Massacre. As a visitor, there are several ways to understand the legacy of this district, especially at Greenwood Rising, where guests can interactively explore the district before and after the massacre. At the Greenwood Cultural Center, visitors can tour the Mabel B. Little Heritage House, the only house built in the Greenwood District from the 1920s that still remains. Part of honoring Black Wall Street is to visit the businesses carrying on its legacy, like the Black Wall Street Liquid Lounge coffee shop and Fulton Street Books & Coffee which features majority BIPOC and marginalized authors. Davel5957 - Getty Images Topeka, Kansas May 17th, 2o24 marks the 70th anniversary of the landmark Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka Supreme Court decision that made racial segregation illegal in U.S. public schools. The Topeka community plans to commemorate the historic event with a homecoming celebration luncheon for former students and educators of Topekas four former African American elementary schools. Visitors can experience Brown v Board of Education National Historic Park, where one of the former schools, Monroe Elementary, has been transformed into a museum that details the case and its legacy. Walk through the school that feels frozen in time with both white and colored signs to mark the period of segregation. DutcherAerials - Getty Images Montgomery, Alabama For many, Montgomery is considered the birthplace of Americas 20th-century Civil Rights Movement, thanks to the courage of Rosa Parks and the Montgomery bus boycott of 1955. Its also where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. made a national name for himself as pastor of Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church, where he served from 1954 to 1960. The church, a key stop on the National Civil Rights Trail, was also the meeting site to organize the boycott. Theres nearly an overwhelming amount of Black history experiences to have in Montgomery, from the Rosa Parks Museum to The Legacy Museum and Freedom Rides Museum, but each and every one is integral to understanding the continuing struggle for equal rights in this country. A tour with Montgomery Tours, led by self-proclaimed child of the Civil Rights Movement and lifelong resident, Jake Williams, is a great place to start. No trip to the deep south is complete without excellent food, so make sure to fuel up every morning at Gregs Breakfast Bar. Sean Pavone - Getty Images Washington, D.C. Any Black culture-centered visit to Washington, D.C. has to start at what locals lovingly call The Blacksonian, also known as the National Museum of African American History and Culture located on the National Mall. Since its opening in 2016, this museum has swiftly become one of the most popular in the Smithsonian Institution collection, charting the richness and diversity of the African American experience. Deeper into the heart of the city, take a stroll along Black Broadway on a walking tour led by local author and journalist, Briana Thomas to see vibrant murals and visit celebrated spots like Lincoln and Howard Theaters, and Bens Chili Bowl restaurant. Want an insider tip? D.C.s monuments are stunning at night, and the white granite-made Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial absolutely glows in the evening. Tim Brown - Getty Images Birmingham, Alabama Although Montgomery may have been the place where the Civil Rights Movement began, Birmingham was its center. The city saw some of the most violent moments of the era, including at the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church where four young girls were killed in a racist bombing while attending Sunday school. This and other events galvanized the movement on a national scale, and today, places like the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute and moving sculptures of peaceful demonstrators being attacked by police dogs in Kelly Ingram Park work to ensure that visitors never forget what happened there. Also in Birminghams Civil Rights District is the A.G. Gaston Hotel, the only hotel to offer first-class lodging and dining to African American travelers from 1954 onward. Visitors can now tour the beautifully restored space, a favorite meeting place for several civil rights leaders. philfoster440 - Getty Images Atlanta, Georgia Since the mid-19th century, Atlanta has been a center of Black higher education, entrepreneurship and culture. Celebrated historically Black colleges, Morehouse College for men and Spelman College for women, are based there, and have produced some of Americas foremost leaders including Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Senator Raphael Warnock, novelist Alice Walker and politician Stacey Abrams. Dr. King was also born and raised in Atlanta, and visitors can explore his family church of Ebenezer Baptist Church and visit his gravesite at The King Center. One lesser-known museum in Atlanta that should be on everyones list is the Madame C.J. Walker Museum, all about the nearly unbelievable story of the first self-made millionaire in the United States. Photography by Steve Kelley aka mudpig - Getty Images Lowcountry, South Carolina South Carolinas Lowcountry includes the popular destinations of Charleston, Bluffton and Hilton Head Island, all places significant to the Gullah Geechee people, descendants of West and Central Africans who were enslaved and bought to the lower Atlantic states to work on coastal plantations. Because their enslavement was relatively isolated, they maintained many of their indigenous African traditions that are still alive today. Take a Gullah Heritage Tour in Hilton Head to see family compounds, former schoolhouses and Mitchelville Freedom Park, the first self-governed freepersons town in the United States. Gullah cuisine is also an interesting mix of southern staples and the freshest seafood, so make sure to try it at Ruby Lees on Hilton Head Island. Daniela Duncan - Getty Images Marylands Eastern Shore Marylands Eastern Shore is home to one of the most interesting historic byways in the country dedicated to an American hero. The Harriet Tubman Byway winds for 125 miles through Maryland and Delaware before ending in Philadelphia, but many of the sites detailing Tubmans early life of enslavement and where she returned to bring others to freedom are in Maryland. Must-visit stops include The Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Visitor Center thats filled with exhibits and borders Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge, which was once the same terrain Tubman had to traverse on her journeys. Theres also Bucktown General Store, where as a teenager Tubman received a head injury from a slave overseer that affected her for the rest of her life. Because Maryland is home to the majority of stops on the byway, we suggest you bunk down at The Wildset hotel in nearby St. Michaels along the Chesapeake Bay. VW Pics - Getty Images You Might Also Like NEW YORK Donald Trump and former top executives of his family business were found liable for large-scale fraud Friday, ordered to pay back more than $368 million in illegal gains and barred from the real estate industry for three years a crushing ruling from Judge Arthur Engoron that demolishes the former presidents decadeslong legacy as a major-league developer in his native New York City. In his ruling, Engoron found Trump, his sons, Eric and Don Jr., and former top Trump Organization executives Allen Weisselberg and Jeffrey McConney liable for multiple fraud claims in state Attorney General Tish James sweeping case against his family real estate empire. Engoron permanently barred Weisselberg and McConney from financially controlling a New York company. The pair and Trump are barred from leading a state business for three years. The Manhattan Supreme Court justices decision, which comes after a court-appointed monitor reported Trumps businesses were being less than forthcoming while under review, ordered Trump, his convicted chief financial officer Weisselberg, and former company controller McConney barred from the real estate industry for life and locked out the Trump sons for two years. During the trial, Trump lawyers argued inaccuracies in the yearly statements tallying the value of assets like Mar-a-Lago and his Wall Street skyscraper were accidental and that the paperwork wasnt under his purview. They sought to pin the blame on the companys outside accountants. Before the AGs three-month trial began, Engoron found Trump and his co-defendants liable for repeated and persistent fraud based on the bogus numbers. The remaining claims centered on their intent and the methods they employed. The devastating judgment comes just weeks after a jury in a separate case found Trump owed writer E. Jean Carroll $83.3 million for defaming her when he was president. That added to the $5 million he already owes for sexually assaulting and defaming her after he left the White House. Attorneys for the GOP front-runner and James office did not immediately return calls seeking comment. _____ Victorious might look shiny-new, tied to her superyacht dock at this weeks Miami International Boat Show. But it took more the 18 years to get here. Rewind to 2006. The steel-and-aluminum shell of a 252-foot explorer yacht is sitting in a shipyard in Santiago, Chile, with no money to complete. Kiwi serial yacht owner and billionaire Graeme Hart puts in an offer, and has the yacht towed to his native New Zealand for completion. After two years of work, Hart switches his attention to his new superyacht project, the 380-foot Kleven-built explorer called Ulysses. Eight years later, he sells the yacht in 2016 to Turkish entrepreneur Vural Ak. After having the yacht towed to Istanbul, Ak he creates a shipyard, appropriately called AKYacht. The yard extends the hulls length 18 feet and creates a beautiful interior. Victorious is finally completed in 2021. The following year it receives a 2022 Robb Report Best of the Best award. After three years of circling the globe, Victorious is now looking for a new owner, with an asking price of $129 million. Best of Robb Report The Red Sea crisis might throw a wrench in seasonal sales at U.S. and European fashion brands alike. Abercrombie & Fitch and Gap Inc. are two major apparel retailers that could be impacted by the rerouting of shipments around Africa, namely due to the potential risks that come with late delivery of spring-summer fashion collections, according to a report from credit ratings firm Moodys Investors Service. More from Sourcing Journal Seasonal goods are more exposed, said Christina Boni, senior vice president of corporate finance at Moodys. That timing is more relevant than if youre bringing in basics, and you have stockpiles of khakis that people can wear in the spring and in the fall. The type of product matters. European retailers have more immediate exposure than those in the U.S., in that they heavily rely on the Suez Canal to source seagoing imports from Asia. The extended delays could trigger significant markdowns and excess inventories for brands sourcing goods that are timed to different weather patterns or fashion trends. Companies like Adidas and Next have already noted in public earnings calls that imports that would typically go through the Red Sea are now seeing delays by as much as three weeks. The irony is we actually have products right now where the sell-through is so good with certain retailers that we cant deliver [them], said Adidas CEO Bjrn Gulden on the sportswear companys Feb. 1 earnings call. According to PortWatch data shared in the Moodys report, the number of vessels that sailed around Africas Cape of Good Hope skyrocketed to 1,449 in the first 27 days of the year, up from 907 in the year-ago period. This voyage takes an estimated 10-to-14 extra days at sea compared to a trip through the Suez Canal. The report said apparel and footwear, furniture, consumer electronics and arts and crafts are all categories with high exposure to the Red Sea skirmishnot just from a delay standpoint, but from a cost perspective amid freight rates that have more than doubled since the Houthi attacks in the waterway began. For some of these retailers that have lower revenue-generating product with high volume, that percentage of freight to them is more impactful on their bottom lines, because its a higher percentage of their overall costs, said Boni. The impacts of these costs, and any potential hits to margins, might not be felt until later in the year, regardless of how long the maritime disruptions last, Boni told Sourcing Journal. Over time, as freight rates are renegotiated, and people have to negotiate contracts at higher levels, eventually, thats going to factor into higher costs for freight, said Boni. But theres a delay in that. You dont see that day one, because you capitalize that into your inventory. As you turn your inventory, then ultimately, those costs flow through your P&L. Its not immediatejust because rates go up today doesnt mean all of a sudden, retailers pay higher rates. On top of having the power to negotiate contract rates, the larger companies with relatively more sophisticated supply chains are best positioned to pivot faster and have more leverage to gain priority with shipping companies. The Moodys report also briefly touched on the home goods and furnishing category, saying that At Home and Bobs Discount Furniture are already contending with lower demand and are vulnerable to future increases in cost structure. Crocs, Skechers see Europe delays, but otherwise business as usual Thus far, two top footwear brands have been relatively unfazed by the Red Sea disruptions. Crocs is seeing a couple weeks delay to its EMEA business, but hasnt seen a material change to its freight rates despite the major escalations in spot rates across December and January. Obviously, we dont know how this is going to play out, but at this point, [the Red Sea diversions] have not been a material impact to our business, said Crocs chief financial officer Anne Mehlman in a Thursday earnings call. Skechers chief operating officer David Weinberg said in a Feb. 1 earnings call that as far as Europe is concerned, were no different than anybody else. But he said the comfort footwear seller already had brought in a lot of goods prior to the end of December, counteracting any potential inventory concerns from the delays. While Weinberg conceded that Skechers had issues in the U.S. related to backups in the West Coast stemming from Panama Canal congestion, he said right now, we seem to be in pretty good shape and that the company is shipping very well in our major markets. Alongside these brands, Moodys also expects some European labels to come out largely unscathed due to local production and nearshoring. The financial services company named Hugo Boss, Isabel Marant and Golden Goose as top fashion brands less likely to be affected by the Red Sea crisis. We saw this during Covidwe saw the vulnerability of supply chains to being beholden to imports in a faraway place, said Boni. Theres a lot more talk about nearshoring and getting products into the U.S. from Mexico, as opposed to getting product from Asia. Editors Note: Sign up to CNN Travels Unlocking Italy newsletter for insider intel on Italys best loved destinations and lesser-known regions to plan your ultimate trip. Plus, well get you in the mood before you go with movie suggestions, reading lists and recipes from Stanley Tucci. Buyers from all over the world are snapping up charming old houses in isolated villages in Italy. Theyre all motivated by different goals, but they have one thing in common: They all seek a retreat, somewhere they can escape to and live the rural idyll. Chicago-based saxophonist Joshua Shapiro, 48, embarked on the quest for la dolce vita as the first step toward a change of life. His long-term goal is to move away from the United States, which he believes is taking a broad political shift that troubles him. In 2022, he bought a small, abandoned apartment in the village of Latronico, deep in the southern region of Basilicata, for 22,000 euros (roughly $23,600), after reading CNN Travels article about the clever housing program launched to attract migrants and stop depopulation. For now, he drops in and out as he finalizes his homes makeover. In the future, he can see himself making the big leap to relocate permanently. Im ready for the next chapter in my life. Being a freelance saxophonist, mainly playing jazz and commercial, is not without challenges, and as taste and demand for what I do is notably decreasing [in the US], it might be in much higher demand in Europe, Shapiro tells CNN Travel. For him, buying a dilapidated property in an unusual Italian spot is political, too. I dont like the political situation in the US the shift to the right. A huge swath of the electorate believes in another version of democracy, and how all this could pan out is a huge problem, he says. Shapiro played his saxophone on his first trip to Latronico. - MC Newman Shapiro visited Latronico on a trip to Italy after the pandemic the third time hed traveled to the country, and the first time in 20 years. He took along his saxophone, which he played from a house that he rented while his newly purchased home was being worked on. Villagers have fond memories of hearing jazz melodies in the winding alleys at night. What drew him to Italy was a tenuous link he wanted to revive his grandfather had been stationed in Florence during World War II. Latronico is hardly Florence, though its a five-hour drive from Rome, and three from the nearest international airport, Bari. Shapiro admits the remote location weighed heavily on him as he journeyed to this pristine corner of Basilicata. He never expected it to be in such an out-of-the-way place, without any direct train connection. My goal was to look around, see what was affordable, and what was being offered in terms of properties. With the assistance of deputy mayor Vincenzo Castellano, who handles the housing program, I picked the easiest option for me, he says. Twists and turns His apartment is on the second floor with an independent entrance. - Courtesy Joshua Shapiro His second-floor apartment, which has its own external staircase and independent entrance, is 800 square feet, with two bedrooms and a panoramic balcony. It needed a thorough makeover, on which Shapiro has so far spent around 10,000 euros (roughly $10,730). Despite the excitement of buying a cheap home, the adventure he embarked on had a series of unexpected twists. He had to put in new windows, re-tile it, and patch cracks in the walls. It also had to be furnished Shapiro says that there was initially hassle figuring out which furnishings were going to be included with the house sale. Shapiro recalls initial cultural clashes over the odd furniture he found inside. He expected the house to come with the furniture that was in the listing photos, to have one less thing to worry about at the start. But he says there was either a miscommunication or misunderstanding about this issue with the owners. In the United States, he says, the purchase contract would have stipulated what furniture was included with the apartment, but in Latronico, it was never quite clear. It was never clear what furniture would be left for him. - Courtesy Joshua Shapiro As it was, some furniture was left for him, but it was worn out or not really usable, so he ultimately had to get rid of most of it. I was not expecting some things I found, like the bed was so old and decrepit. This became a contentious issue at the time, but we have very amicably resolved this situation while learning valuable lessons along the way, he says. Many empty homes featured on the local website where owners meet buyers are sold or rented with furniture, but what eventually ends up being left inside is usually negotiated between parties. Having viewed it briefly before buying, Shapiro expected the home to be in better shape. It needed a new roof, that was a big surprise. The kitchen was totally exposed to the sky, I had to add a downspout, and there was some junk inside the house which had to be thrown away. Latronico is in a remote, unspoiled part of Italy. - Gianniblues/Alamy Stock Photo Shapiro also repainted and patched up some walls and there was more work to do to make it fully habitable. There were a number of surprises and things I did not expect, like having to redo the bathroom, add a new hot water heater, and fix a moisture problem inside one bedroom. I was somewhat surprised at the work that needed to be done mostly due to the assumptions that I made about the condition simply due to the fact that it was being lived in prior to my purchase. I discovered later that the former occupants tolerated quite a bit of the deficiencies of the place. A difficult habit Shapiro was taken round by the deputy mayor. - Courtesy Joshua Shapiro There was also a bizarre encounter when he first went to take a peek inside the house he had just bought. Accompanied by Castellano, the deputy mayor, Shapiro says he was surprised to find it had tenants inside a group of elderly nuns. There were these three nuns who had been living there for some time; they were tenants of the former owners. When I came, they wouldnt let me in, shocked by the idea that an American guy could walk around their house. Luckily everything was solved. The nuns, reassured by Castellano that they wouldnt end up homeless, eventually left. They were given alternative housing by the town council. Despite these initial hurdles, Shapiro says he immediately fell in love with Latronicos laid-back, slower-paced lifestyle the opposite of what he was used to in the United States. The village is tiny, set in a remote mountainous area. I live in a big city of millions of people. Latronico is a place I can envision being very creative in, playing, writing music, he says. He says everyone has bent over backwards to be nice and been welcoming, bar a few sideline stares at the stranger in our midst although he thinks that was mainly because of the language barrier. Not knowing Italian has not been easy for him, he says. Shapiro, like all other foreign buyers in Latronico, is exempted from paying property and waste disposal taxes for five years, a measure recently introduced by the town hall to lure new buyers from abroad. And despite the unexpected building costs hes incurred, he is ecstatic to have had the opportunity to grab a home for what he considers a bargain price. In Chicago, he says, a condo costs $200,000 plus property taxes. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com Larry Farrish Jr. might be the most caring bus driver in America. Farrish, who drives on a route in Louisville, Kentucky, is going viral for his act of kindness after he noticed one boy he picks up, Levi, was having a rough morning. Normally when I pull up, hes standing there waiting for me with a big smile, but on this day, he was sitting on the ground with a jacket over his head, Farrish told Today.com. I asked him, Hey buddy, whats going on? Whats wrong? Levi, who is in first grade at Engelhard Elementary School, told Farrish it was Pajama Day in his class, but he didnt have any PJs to wear to school. Farrish watched as Levi sat away from his friends on the bus because he was so upset about not being able to participate. I thought, I gotta fix this,' Farrish said. So after he finished his bus route that morning, he went to Family Dollar and picked up two sets of pajamas. Then, he went back to Levis school. I said, You were hurting this morning, you were crying, so I got you these pajamas,' he said, adding that Levi hugged his new PJs to his chest. He was so excited you shouldve seen how his face lit up. Levi said that Mr. Larry, as the kids call him, made his whole day brighter. I can tell Mr. Larry is nice and his heart is filled with joy, Levi said. When he got me the pajamas, I did a happy cry. Before he was a bus driver, Farrish worked as a correctional officer and a truck driver. But he said driving kids is his calling. Ive been driving buses for seven years. Its my passion because I get to build bonds with the children, he explained. I truly love every minute of it. And now hes rightfully being recognized for going above and beyond and showing how much he cares for the kids. Jefferson County Public Schools posted about him on Facebook, where tons of parents shared how much Mr. Larry means to their kids. Mr. Larry is the absolute best. We were blessed with him as our bus driver for 4 years. Top notch human, one parent wrote in the comments. Costco shoppers have seemingly countless food options to enjoy at the wholesale store's food court. And while they may vary by Costco location, you will likely find anything from hot dogs, chicken bakes and pizza to smoothies, sundaes,and churros. Certain food court items are exclusive to specific regions, such as the Costco chicken sandwich you can only find in New Zealand food courts. Costco may be preparing to add yet another menu item for its customers to enjoy. What's this potential new offering? A turkey and Swiss sandwich. In a Reddit thread titled "New Costco Food Court Turkey Sandwich?," a Redditor posted what seems to be a flyer with an image of a turkey and Swiss sandwich mentioned as a new food court item. The Costco Insider Instagram account also posted this image with a caption noting that the sandwich could arrive at Costco food courts by the end of February. Costco has not confirmed this new menu item, but details about the sandwich and its cost have surfaced on both platforms. Read more: All The Benefits Of A Costco Membership Costco's Alleged New Sandwich May Cost $6.99 Flyer for Turkey and Swiss sandwich - costcoinsider / Instagram According to the Costco Insider account, this new sandwich will have turkey on a roll topped with Swiss cheese, sun-dried tomato spread, greens, and Dijon mustard. Costco Insider also noted that the sandwich will cost $6.99, which has some shoppers concerned. This wouldn't be new territory for Costco, as it was only a year ago when it released a new food court sandwich with a price causing a backlash. In the Reddit thread, users shared their disappointed reaction to the cost of the alleged new food court item. One user's comments suggest that Costco may be overvaluing the current turkey sandwich. The user called the $6.99 price "A terrible deal for a few cents worth of bread, turkey, and cheese." Another poster shared that $6.99 may be better spent elsewhere on other food options. "Spending $7-10 on a boring cold sandwich at a food counter with no sides or drink in a store is crazy. For the price of this, you could get an entire value meal at a fast food joint or a burrito." The suggestion to make it cheaper seems to be echoed by most commenters on the thread. Time will tell if this turkey and Swiss sandwich will arrive at Costco food courts at this hotly contested price. Read the original article on Daily Meal. Celebrating the launch of new designer collections, lines and stores, Katie Holmes made several appearances during this years fall New York Fashion Week. Running from Feb. 9 to Wednesday, Holmes dressed for the week in eye-catching luxury looks. From her brightly colored Prada satin midi skirt worn to the brands makeup and skin care line launch party to her traditional navy blue Chanel tweed ensemble worn for the brands celebration dinner, Holmes merged her own casual aesthetic with luxury designer pieces to step out for the occasion in style. More from WWD Ahead, WWD is breaking down some of Holmes best looks from fall 2024s New York Fashion Week. Chanel dinner Katie Holmes at the Chanel dinner. Holmes wore a classic tweed ensemble as she arrived at Chanels dinner celebration on Feb. 7 in honor of the brands Watches & Fine Jewelry Fifth Avenue flagship opening. The star, dressed in head-to-toe Chanel, sported a navy cashmere cardigan with utilitarian pocket details and a pair of matching navy trousers in the same textured material. Prada launch Katie Holmes at the Prada party. To celebrate the launch of Pradas new makeup and skin care line, Holmes arrived to the brands star-studded party on Feb. 9 wearing an eye-catching skirt and cardigan combination. The actress arrived wearing a gray sweater, adorned with sparkling diamond buttons, a chartreuse satin midi skirt and a pair of pointed-toe black slingback heels. Alice + Olivia fashion show Katie Holmes at the Alice + Olivia fall 2024 show. During the Alice + Olivia fall 2024 fashion show on Feb. 10, Holmes arrived wearing a colorful ensemble to view the brands new collection. Mixing denim, Holmes styled a pair of wide-leg jeans with a denim blouse, a black turtleneck and khaki blazer. To finish off her look the star paired her black square-toe sandals with neon pink ankle socks. Ulla Johnson fashion show Katie Holmes at the Ulla Johnson fall 2024 show. Holmes attended the Ulla Johnson fall 2024 fashion show on Feb. 11 in a look from the brand. The star wore a lace-trimmed silk top with a lace-trimmed silk midi skirt. Michael Kors fashion show Katie Holmes at the Michael Kors fall 2024 show. Holmes embraced the sheer trend during Michael Kors fall 2024 fashion show on Feb. 13. Joining a number of celebrity guests at the front row, Holmes arrived in an all-black ensemble, including a sheer lace bodysuit, maxiskirt and oversize blazer. Blake Lively at Michael Kors RTW Fall 2024 as part of New York Ready to Wear Fashion Week held on February 13, 2024 in New York, New York. Kelsea Ballerini at Michael Kors Fall 2024 ready-to-wear show Rachel Brosnahan at Michael Kors Fall 2024 ready-to-wear show View Gallery Launch Gallery: Celebrities Front Row at Michael Kors Fall 2024 Ready-to-Wear Show Photos Best of WWD It was back in October when Miami-based real estate developer Terra broke ground on The Well Bay Harbor Islands. The health-focused residential tower and office building is the first of its kind in the country, and naturally, its slated to feature next-level holistic amenities for the self-care-obsessed. Think Eastern healing treatments and thermal experiences, including what will be the citys first-ever caldarium, of which Robb Report got first glimpse. For those who dont spend a considerable amount of time studying the Roman Empire, a caldarium is a ceramic-tiled warming room that often appeared in ancient bathhouses. At The Well Bay Harbor Islands, the beautifully designed chamber will be co-ed and heated by steam to a temperature of 100 to 120 degrees Fahrenheit. New renderings indicate the curvacious space will have a plunge bath in the center, surrounded by heated walls, floors, and benches. More from Robb Report New renderings reveal Miamis first caldarium at The Well Bay Harbor Islands. Here, residents and members will have the opportunity to socialize while also boosting circulation, reducing inflammation, and promoting relaxation. Additionally, The Well Bay Harbor Islands will offer a halotherapy steam room that uses citrus aromas to support lymphatic drainage. There will also be a saunarium with multi-tiered seating, an energizing cold plunge, and an infrared and sound dome. Community is not just about being together but about creating an environment where wellness flourishes collectively, said Kane Sarhan, co-founder and chief creative officer of The Well. We are passionate about creating thoughtfully designed wellness spaces that nurture health and healing. The eight-story glass-walled building has 66 residences and 22,000 square feet of amenities. Designed by Arquitectonica with interiors by Meyer Davis, the eight-story luxury development will sport 66 residences starting at $1.3 million and over 22,000 square feet of amenities, including a state-of-the-art fitness center (similar to The Well New York), a rooftop pool, and a signature restaurant serving up organic eats, of course. The complex, which is already 50 percent sold, is set to open in early 2025. We believe in building more than just structures; we are developing an entire community devoted to well-being and are immensely proud of this unmatched project, explained David Martin, CEO of Terra. The Well Bay Harbor Islands is a lifestyle choice for those who value health and want to live and work alongside others who match that mindset. Click here to see all the photos of The Well Bay Harbor Islands. the well bay harbor islands Best of Robb Report Sign up for Robb Report's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Click here to read the full article. When it comes to pairing your steak with a drink, you'll be forgiven for jumping straight to the wine list. While the right red or even white, according to one expert wine can elevate a steak, Jessie Massie posits that the right beer can take you there as well. Massie, executive chef at the Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. Taproom in Mills River, North Carolina, spoke all things steak-and-beer with Mashed. Based on her advice, finding the right beer is just as precarious as getting the perfect wine pairing. If you were hoping to crack open a can of your state's favorite beer and still enjoy a gourmet experience, you might be a bit disappointed. In general, according to Massie, you'll need "dark, roasted malt beers to stand up to the flavors of rich meaty dishes." To follow that recommendation, you'll probably want to put the Bud Light back in the fridge for this one and get yourself a stout or a dark ale. You want your beer pairing to go glove-to-glove with the steak, not be instantly overpowered by it. As Massie explains, "A rich beer layered with multiple flavors and that has a touch of refinement can level up a steak experience." Read more: Cuts Of Steak, Ranked Worst To Best Use Different Beers For Different Cuts For A True Match steak on plate with beer - Debbismirnoff/Getty Images When speaking to Mashed, Jessie Massie had a lot to say about the importance of matching your cut to your beer of choice. Dark beers may be better in a broad sense but when it comes to a grilled ribeye with heaps of charred veggies, for example, Massie actually recommends "a quaffable yet flavorful beer like a Hazy IPA or an approachable Pale Ale." This is in the interest of matching the beer to the full "sensory experience", not just the meat. Fatty cuts in particular work with lighter, more crisp beers, as they "help cut through fattiness to refresh the palate", according to Massie. Dark beers reign supreme when it comes to more tender cuts, however. Massie recommends dark beers with lean cuts like New York strip or skirt steak as she described a delectable combination of "a tender filet cut seared to perfection," which would then be "complimented well by a mature barrel-aged beer, like a barrel-aged stout." Regardless of which cut of steak you choose, you'll have myriad options for which beer to enjoy. To cut through the chaff when selecting your beer, Massie says it's important to "pay attention to the malt character" as a sign of a high-quality brew. Honestly, it's a bit difficult to even consider the bouquet-smelling, slow-sipping experience of pairing steak with wine when Massie describes the steak-and-beer combo like that. Read the original article on Mashed. A financial columnist for New York Magazine has gone viral after she admitted to being scammed out of $50,000 from someone posing as a CIA agent. Charlotte Cowles, a writer living in New York City, recently shared how she was conned into thinking she was the victim of identity theft in an essay published in The Cut on 15 February. The first-person essay, titled The Day I Put $50,000 in a Shoe Box and Handed It to a Stranger, has since sparked much discourse online about scams. Cowles began by explaining that she received a phone call from an Amazon customer service agent, who said there was fraud on her account. While Cowles didnt notice any unusual activity on her Amazon account, she said she was connected to an investigator allegedly from the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) who knew her Social Security number, her Brooklyn address, and the names of her family members and two-year-old son. The man, who said his name was Calvin Mitchell, told Cowles that she was in imminent danger with 22 bank accounts, nine vehicles, and four properties registered to her name. He also claimed that her bank accounts were used to wire more than $3m overseas, and there were warrants out for her arrest linked to cybercrimes, money laundering, and drug trafficking. The scammer convinced her not to tell anyone about their conversation, including her husband, over fears he was behind her identity theft. He transferred her to someone purporting to be a CIA agent named Michael Sarano, who instructed Cowles to withdraw $50,000 from her bank account so they could freeze her assets. She was told to put the cash in a shoe box, tape it shut and label it with her name, case number, address, a locker number he had read out to her, and her signature before texting a picture of the box to him. When an undercover CIA agent arrived outside her Brooklyn home that evening, she put the shoe box filled with $50,000 cash in the back seat of the SUV. The alleged CIA agent then texted Cowles a photo of a Treasury check made out to her for $50,000, saying that a hard copy of the check would be hand-delivered to her in the morning. When she tried to set up an appointment with the Social Security office to receive a new Social Security number, a woman told her over the phone that Michael [was] busy and he will call [her] in the morning. Upon realising that she was the victim of a scam, Cowles told the woman: You are lying to me. Michael was lying. You just took my money and Im never getting it back. I felt violated, unreliable; I couldnt trust myself, Cowles wrote. I considered keeping the whole thing a secret. I worried it would harm my professional reputation. I still do. She added: If I had to pinpoint a moment that made me think my scammers were legitimate, it was probably when they read me my Social Security number. Since it was published on 15 February, Cowles essay has received much attention online. Taking to X, formerly Twitter, many users debated whether its easy or difficult to fall for a scam. NBC reporter Kat Tenbarge defended Cowles from critics, emphasising how emotions can run high in the midst of a scam. Everyone who reads this thinks they would never fall for a scam like this, but the truth is you would, Tenbarge wrote on X. You just have no idea how you will react when your emotions are toyed with to this level. Everyone is capable of being abused, manipulated, and scammed. Everyone who reads this thinks they would never fall for a scam like this, but the truth is you would. You just have no idea how you will react when your emotions are toyed with to this level. Everyone is capable of being abused, manipulated, and scammed.https://t.co/FjKTiN9eBy Kat Tenbarge (@kattenbarge) February 15, 2024 Some people used it as an opportunity to teach others about the warning signs of a scam, like one person who posted: THE FTC DOES NOT DEAL WITH FRAUD OR HAVE BADGE NUMBERS. Theres no gentle way to say this but I feel like it might be cool to teach people scam avoidance and instill in them that it CAN be prevented more instead of this it can happen to anyone thing that sometimes veers into helpless coddling, another user pointed out. This is The Cut's FINANCIAL ADVICE COLUMNIST! They gave someone $50,000 in cash because they got called by "Amazon" about fraud on their account, who then, I kid you not transferred them to the "FTC"! THE FTC DOES NOT DEAL WITH FRAUD OR HAVE BADGE NUMBERS https://t.co/lGJxoAemYU https://t.co/gTJcu0TxA6 pic.twitter.com/VcsJEs4owq Ed Zitron (@edzitron) February 15, 2024 Theres no gentle way to say this but I feel like it might be cool to teach people scam avoidance and instill in them that it CAN be prevented more instead of this it can happen to anyone thing that sometimes veers into helpless coddling. Sophia Benoit (@1followernodad) February 15, 2024 Others simply explained they wouldnt fall victim to a scam because they have no money, or would never answer calls from an unknown number. One reason the $50,000 scam wouldnt work on me is because I dont have $50,000, said one person, while another user said: Shocked to discover how many of yall are still picking up phone calls from numbers you dont recognise in 2024. One reason the $50,000 scam wouldnt work on me is because I dont have $50,000 Tarence Ray (@tarenceray) February 16, 2024 Shocked to discover how many of yall are still picking up phone calls from numbers you dont recognize in 2024 Comorienne (@_ShamGod) February 15, 2024 In 2022, the FTC found that young adults - including Gen Xers, Millennials, and Gen Zers ages 18 to 59 - were 34 per cent more likely than older adults to report losing money to fraud. Most recently, US adults lost a record $10bn to fraudsters in 2023, according to the FTC. These types of scams related to investments, business decisions, romance, and government service. In fact, scams mimicking government officials and services - such as the one in Cowles story - grew 15 per cent from 2022 to 2023. The Independent has contacted Cowles for comment. It's time to consider whether a juicier burger is worth the extra risk. Getty Images No one raises an eyebrow about ordering a steak cooked medium, but one government agency is warning against eating burgers served anything less than well-done. Ruokavirasto, the Finnish food safety agency, says that ground beef patties that are only cooked to medium-rare or medium internal temperatures (less than 140F) are at risk for carrying the Shiga toxin-producing E.coli bacteria known as STEC. Food Safety News reported that the agency performed a simulation to determine the number of E. coli illnesses that would result if burger patties were cooked at different temperatures. Their results determined that if 12% of all burger patties were served medium meaning an internal temperature of around 55C or 131 F then there would be 100 burger-related illnesses for every 100,000 residents in Finland annually. If the burger patties were fully cooked, then there would be three illnesses for every 100,000 people, and the agency suggests that those illnesses would be caused by cross-contamination in the kitchen. The agency expanded on their data even further, adding that if every ground beef patty in the country was cooked to perfection meaning an internal temperature of at least 60C or 140F then 178 people in Finland would become ill from eating those burgers every year. But if the burger patties were all served to only medium levels of doneness, then that number would increase to 5,370 illnesses annually. The actual numbers are on the lower end of the spectrum: Ruokavirasto reported that there were fewer than 300 STEC-related illnesses reported in 2022. (In addition, 5% of Finns who were infected with E. coli between 2001 and 2020 reported that they had eaten raw or undercooked meat before developing symptoms.) 'We cook food in part to kill off all these harmful bacteria that can make us ill or even kill us. You need to raise the temperature to lethal levels, at least 71C or higher, for long enough to kill any bacteria that are living in the food, Dr Kimon-Andreas Karatzas, an associate professor of food microbiology at the University of Reading, told the Daily Mail. If you eat rare burgers, there is a much higher chance that any disease-causing bacteria inside will not have been heated up enough sufficiently to kill them, so they can still be alive and may then multiply in your body, making you potentially very sick. In 2021, Finnish authorities had to issue a warning after an outbreak of E. coli infections was connected to burger patties. At the time, Ruokavirasto encouraged any restaurant that served its hamburgers medium or medium-well to warn customers about the potential risk for E.coli, to ask every adult customer how they wanted their burger cooked, and only to serve fully cooked burgers to children. For more Food & Wine news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter! Read the original article on Food & Wine. Tyler Technologies (NYSE:TYL) Full Year 2023 Results Key Financial Results Revenue: US$1.95b (up 5.5% from FY 2022). Net income: US$165.9m (up 1.0% from FY 2022). Profit margin: 8.5% (down from 8.9% in FY 2022). The decrease in margin was driven by higher expenses. EPS: US$3.95. All figures shown in the chart above are for the trailing 12 month (TTM) period Tyler Technologies Meets Expectations Revenue was in line with analyst estimates. Earnings per share (EPS) was also in line with analyst expectations. Looking ahead, revenue is forecast to grow 7.9% p.a. on average during the next 3 years, compared to a 13% growth forecast for the Software industry in the US. Performance of the American Software industry. The company's shares are up 1.4% from a week ago. Risk Analysis What about risks? Every company has them, and we've spotted 1 warning sign for Tyler Technologies you should know about. 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. One of Sheins many foes has struck again. In an effort to derail the reported U.S. IPO that the fast-fashion mogul seeks, Senator Marco Rubio, R-FL, wrote a letter to Gary Gensler, commissioner of the U.S. Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) requesting that it require extraordinary disclosures from Sheinor block the IPO proceedings altogether. More from Sourcing Journal In the letter, Rubio shared his concerns over reports that Shein had approached Beijings watchdog to get approval for a U.S. IPO. News reports indicate that Shein approached regulators in the Peoples Republic of China (PRC) to gain approval of its IPO. This revelation makes virtually certain that the Chinese government will censor Sheins filing documents to hide pertinent information from U.S. regulators and investors about the extent and nature of its operations in the PRC, as well as the risks of doing business in the PRC, he said in the letter. He argued that, though the e-commerce giant shifted its headquarters to Singapore in 2022, it still has serious roots in China, noting its employee base there and its ties to the Chinese government. Despite those ties, the Christian Siriano collaborator has been working to expand its presence in North America. It recently opened a new office just outside of Seattle in Bellevue, Wash. The senator, who helped to author the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA), which bars goods wholly or partially made in Chinas Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) because of the regions use of slave labor, has long been an adversary of the Singapore-based company. In the past, he has slammed Sheins use of the de minimis loophole, a backdoor policy exception which allows the e-commerce juggernaut to import packages worth less than $800 without scrutiny from the Department of Homeland Security or Customs and Border Protection. In his most recent gripe, Rubio urged the SEC to put a number of stipulations on a potential IPO. If the senator had it his way, Shein would be required to acknowledge that a majority of its operations are in China and the company is subject to the whim of the Chinese government and, by extension, the CCP; admit that it has sold apparel made with cotton from the XUAR; note that it has infringed the copyrights of its competitors in the apparel industry, and is subject to protracted and costly legal disputes about the same and more. Shein has said it no longer sources cotton from China, though it has been linked to forced labor in the past. It is currently involved in a number of copyright infringement suits, including one from Victorias Secret-backed apparel company For Love and Lemons and another from fast-fashion brand Uniqlo. Rubio said if the SEC chooses not to mandate the company to disclose the information he outlinedor if Shein refuses to meet the demand of the disclosuresthen the regulatory entity should block the Gen Z favorites IPO completely. The legislator said his interest lies partly in protecting American investors from a company that could go under because of risks affiliated with doing business in China. These disclosures are true and essential for anyone to fairly appraise the risk of investing in Shein. It is reasonable to ask whether any company so closely tied to an adversary nation should be able to raise funds in our capital markets, but as long as they are, transparent and exhaustive disclosures are the minimum price of admission. If Shein refuses to make these disclosures, then I urge you to protect U.S. investors by blocking Sheins IPO, Rubio wrote in his letter. As Rubio and others continue to debate the merit of a Shein IPO, once reportedly valued at $60 billion but now reportedly worth closer to $45 billion, the fast-fashion e-tailers competitors have only ramped up their game. The Financial Times reported this week that Temu, a direct competitor of Shein, has been snatching up suppliers that Shein severed ties with. The ultra-low goods purveyors have a high degree of competitionand animositybetween them, especially as lawsuits between the two continue. Shein did not return Sourcing Journals request for comment. Years ago, while visiting Florence, Italys famed Uffizi gallery, screenwriter David Hemingson found himself captivated by the famed painting of the holy family known as the Doni Tondo. That wouldnt be noteworthy, given the work's notoriety, except for its role in inspiring The Holdovers" and the three lonely people at its heart. Like Michelangelos masterpiece, The Holdovers, directed by Alexander Payne, is a period piece set inside a memory bubble. The film rewinds to December 1970 and the cusp of Christmas break for Barton, an Ivy League feeder school for boys in suburban Massachusetts. While most students head home, the kids who cannot remain on school grounds, supervised by raspy classics teacher Paul Hunham (Paul Giamatti), the least suited for the job. Paul is not a people person, preferring to draw meaning from the ancient Romans and Greeks instead of connecting with the people around him. Somehow he wrangles a group of five surly boys until one of their rich fathers comes through and whisks away four. The doubly abandoned remainder, the moody Angus Tully (Dominic Sessa), is miserable to be stuck with his teacher and the schools head cook Mary Lamb (DaVine Joy Randolph). Trade these three for Joseph, Mary and the infant Jesus, and . . . to be honest the parallels still might not be all that clear. Both Paul and Hemingson might implore us to look a little more closely, though. In an analogous sense, it boils down to: Can I make a family at Christmas from these three very broken, very different people? Hemingson told Salon in a recent Zoom interview. I wanted to enfranchise all of these characters and have it be almost the Holy Family. Only in this Christmas scene, father and child do not like each other, and the mother is grieving a son who was killed in the Vietnam War. But all of them are hurting in ways they only come to understand by spending time alone, together. The Holdovers treads that ambiguous middle ground between comedy and drama as these three grieving people slowly grow on each other, drawing comfort from their company. Helping this along is another inspiration taken from the Doni Tondo, in that Hemingson thinks of Bartons temporarily vacant Barton school grounds as a biodome. Boarding school is almost like a hermetically sealed environment, with very distinct rules and hierarchies, he said. There's been a long sort of romantic history with boarding schools and the production value is always good at boarding schools. So I think it's a combination of the hermetically sealed sort of environment and the rules, which also give rise to drama. Hemingons movie joins a cadre of critically acclaimed and award-nominated movies about prep school life Dead Poets Society, Goodbye, Mr. Chips and Rushmore, to name a few. Hes also drawing from what he knows, having attended a place like Barton, only not as one of the rich kids. He was a scholarship student. Before writing The Holdovers, series TV was Hemingsons main medium. He served as a writer and executive producer on such shows as American Dad and Just Shoot Me! and created the 2019 ABC series Whiskey Cavalier. This feature was originally intended as a pilot pitch before Payne got hold of it, Hemingson said. But regardless of which format the story would have taken, "I really didn't want to do Dead Poets Society, he stressed. Instead, Hemingson consciously positioned The Holdovers to examine class and race. He confesses to putting a bit of himself in Angus and Paul, although the main inspiration for Giamattis character was Hemingsons uncle Earl (to whom he gives credit for inspiring lines like, For most people life is like a henhouse ladder: s**tty and short). The Holdovers Mary, meanwhile, is a tribute to his mother, who was a nurse. Mary views spending her first holiday without her son Curtis at Barton as a way of remaining close to him. Curtis was drafted into the Army while his classmates went on to Ivy League schools because, as Mary tells Paul, he had the grades but she didnt have the money to send him where he wanted to go. I wanted to write something powerful about the maternal experience, and my mother was my touchstone, Hemingson said. From there he began thinking about what life was like for the working-class people he grew up with, and about the truth of the people who worked at my prep schools. And most of them were Black and Eastern European women. Mary, he explains, is his effort to acknowledge how different life was for the Black kids he grew up with. I remember looking around and noticing that basically poor kids and kids of color were the ones shipped off to Vietnam or getting killed in a disproportionate way. Then I started doing research into it and I realized exactly how disproportionate it was. So I did that historical research, Hemingson continued, and I decided to frame Marys journey kind of as a thought experiment: what would happen to my mom if I had been killed?" Want a daily wrap-up of all the news and commentary Salon has to offer? Subscribe to our morning newsletter, Crash Course. Taking this unconventional route into what looks like a standard prep school reminiscence earned The Holdovers multiple Academy Award nominations, including best picture; best actor for Giamatti, who has already won a Golden Globe and a Critic's Choice Award for his performance; best film editing; and a best original screenplay nod for Hemingson. Randolphs Oscar nomination for best supporting actress also follows Globe and Critics Choice wins for her portrayal of Mary, a performance that travels between gentle stoicism, worn-in laughs and, when Mary reaches her breaking point, a sorrow that turns her inside out. Because it wasn't my lived experience, it was really important for me to create as much space as possible for DaVine to step in and bring her experience to it as an actor, and as a woman and a Black woman, Hemingson said. I very much wanted to make sure that . . . she had the latitude to do it. And she did an incredible job. Asked what the screenplay Oscar nomination means to him, Hemingson visibly choked up. It's thrilling, he said. Like, I just think of my mom and how I wish she was around to see it. "The Holdovers" is streaming on Peacock. The Hugo Awards, the most prestigious science fiction and fantasy literary awards in the book community, has recently been blanketed in scandal. It all began when esteemed sci-fi authors like Neil Gaiman, R.F. Kuang, Xiran Jay Zhao and Paul Weimer were no longer eligible as finalists for the awards even though they had earned enough votes to be considered finalists. This week, leaked emails from the event committee suggested that several of the authors were excluded from the shortlists last year for flagged comments or works that could potentially have been seen as sensitive and offensive to China, where the awards were held for the first time last year. The contradictory data that showed that the authors were eligible for the awards but left off the ballots without explanation has sparked concerns that the awards have been tainted by censorship. The scandal has resulted in a member of the 2024 Worldcon committee resigning and has put the prestigious book awards reputation at stake. Here's a breakdown of the Hugo Awards controversy and the fallout that followed: Chengdu, China chosen for awards location The annual awards, run by members of the World Science Fiction Society who vote for their favorite works authors across a handful of categories, were held in Chengdu in October at the global sci-fi convention Worldcon, which is held in a different city every year. However, the 2023 location for Worldcon and the Hugos was not met with open arms from some sci-fi and fantasy writers who had signed an open letter protesting the choice, which was voted on by members of the convention. In the open letter, the collective of authors asked the committee to "revoke the 2023 Worldcon bid to Chengdu, China," protesting against the alleged abuses of Uyghurs and other Muslim minority groups in China that the country has long denied. "As science fiction and fantasy authors, we imagine brave new worlds in our fiction. We challenge power, authority and the status quo, where grave injustices may be perpetrated without accountability or reparation. We write underdogs and outsiders who disrupt power structures and overthrow cruel overlords," the letter read. "So often, our characters make unthinkable sacrifices, and undertake impossible quests to bring down tyrants and oppressive regimes," the letter continued. "They do so for a chance at a just and more inclusive future, where their people no longer suffer violence and discrimination." The outcry from the authors was not enough for the event location to be moved. The nomination stats released to backlash Months after the awards, the voting body released the nomination statistics that show which authors made finalist rounds. According to Esquire, the voting body usually releases the numbers the same night as the ceremony or within days of the event. In a break with tradition, this year the stats weren't made public . . . until three months after the awards. On Jan. 20, the statistics reported that "Babel" by Kuang (one of Salon's favorite books of 2022), an episode of "The Sandman" by Gaiman, "Iron Widow" by Zhao, and Weimer had all received more than enough votes to be finalists for the awards. But after a first round of voting, the writers were disqualified with an asterisk noting that each of their works was "ineligible" for awards consideration. When Dave McCarty, division head of the Hugo Awards, posted the report to his Facebook, he was met with a barrage of criticism from authors, fans and finalists. In the comments of the post, he said to a person asking why certain works were deemed ineligible to the World Science Fiction Society (WSFS) constitution, Are you slow? He wrote to another person, Clearly you cant understand plain English in our constitution. Even Gaiman questioned the nomination process, commenting on the post, Is there anyone who could actually explain WHY 'Sandman' episode 6 was ineligible? McCarty later apologized for inappropriate, unprofessional, condescending comments but did not address the censorship theories bubbling up online. People speculated that the exclusion happened because both Kuang and Zhao were born in China and now live in the West, Kuangs main character is queer, Zhao is non-binary and all the authors have criticized the Chinese Communist Party and/or its policies at some point in the past. On Instagram, author Kuang shared a statement calling the situation embarrassing. She continued to say that she did not decline a nomination, as no nomination was offered." https://www.instagram.com/p/C2aTcbMLn49/?hl=en She wrote that until a reason is given that "explains why the book was eligible for the Nebula and Locus awards, which it won, and not the Hugos, I assume this was a matter of undesirability rather than ineligibility. Excluding undesirable work is not only embarrassing for all involved parties, but renders the entire process and organization illegitimate. Pity. In a video posted on Zhao's page, they told their followers to make a fuss about this to get us some answers after they got disqualified for political reasons probably." https://www.instagram.com/reel/C20eolsyHkC/ McCarty and a director resign from the Hugo Awards Following, the blowback from the ineligible authors, the nonprofit that owns the Hugo Awards released a statement saying that McCarty and Kevin Standlee, the chair of its board of directors, both resigned from the organization. The statement also said that the organization has censured McCarthy for his public comments that have led to harm of the goodwill and value of our marks and for actions of the Hugo Administration Committee of the Chengdu Worldcon that he presided over. Also, two other members of the awards committee, Ben Yalow and Shi Chen, were censured, for actions of the Hugo Administration Committee of the Chengdu Worldcon that [they] presided over. Leaked emails show censorship This week saw the release of leaked emails from committee member Diane Lacey, which were gathered by Hugo-nominated sci-fi author Jason Sanford and Hugo-winning fan writer Chris M. Barkley. Their special report showed that members of the Hugo administration kept certain books off-ballot because they wanted to follow Chinese censorship laws. Its not necessary to read everything, but if the work focuses on China, Taiwan, Tibet, or other topics that may be an issue *in* China . . . that needs to be highlighted so that we can determine if it is safe to put it on the ballot (or) if the law will require us to make an administrative decision about it, wrote McCarty, the report showed. In addition to the regular technical review, as we are happening in China and the *laws* we operate under are different . . . we need to highlight anything of a sensitive political nature in the work, McCarty wrote in an email dated June 5, 2023. Another email showed the group talking about Kuang's novel "Babel" and "The Daughter of Doctor Moreau" by Silvia Moreno-Garcia. The committee noted that while both works discuss China, Kuang's book has a lot about China. I havent read it, and am not up on Chinese politics, so cannot say whether it would be viewed as negatives of China, Hugo Awards administrator Kat Jones said. Jones has resigned as an overall administrator from this year's awards and Worldcon. While Moreno-Garcia's book mentions "importing hacienda workers from China. I have not read the book, and do not know whether this would be considered 'negative.'" "The Daughter of Doctor Moreau" made it to the final ballot, which ultimately disqualified Kuang for taking place in China. Weimer, another author who was deemed ineligible, was questioned for what the committee thought was a trip to Tibet. Brief Twitter mention of Hong Kong and reference to Tiananmen [sic] Square." Weimer said in the report that he had never been to Tibet. I was afraid that in the end this was going to come down to soft or hard or some kind of censorship once things started leaking out, Weimer said. Ultimately for author Zhao, they were disqualified because their novel "Iron Widow" was apparently flagged for being a reimagining of the rise of the Chinese Empress Wu Zetian. The fallout of the scandal Following the leaked emails, the members running this year's Hugo Awards in Glasgow released an apology and new rules for the upcoming awards. The chair of the 2024 awards Esther MacCallum-Stewart said, "I unreservedly apologize for the damage caused to nominees, finalists, the community, and the Hugo, Lodestar, and Astounding Awards. I acknowledge the deep grief and anger of the community and I share this distress." She continued that "Glasgow 2024 do not know how any of the eligibility decisions for the Hugo, Lodestar and Astounding Awards held at the 2023 Chengdu World Science Fiction Convention were reached. We know no more than is already in the public domain." However, the awards will abide by new rules for the 2024 nominations and are taking "steps to ensure transparency and to attempt to redress the grievous loss of trust in the administration of the Awards." Firstly, "when our final ballot is published by Glasgow 2024, in late March or early April 2024, we will also publish the reasons for any disqualifications of potential finalists, and any withdrawals of potential finalists from the ballot. "Full voting results, nominating statistics and voting statistics will be published immediately after the Awards ceremony on 11th August 2024," the statement said. Ultimately, "the Hugo administration subcommittee will also publish a log explaining the decisions that they have made in interpreting the WSFS Constitution immediately after the Awards ceremony on 11th August 2024." Kanye West and Bianca Censori Kanye West and his wife, Bianca Censori, recently stepped out for a dinner date, and the Yeezy architectural designer was rocking a look different from her norm. In new photos captured while the pair was out and about on Wednesday, Feb. 14, the 29-year-old was fully covered from head to toea major departure from one of her most recent scantily-clad ensemblesdonning a black leather outfit. The snaps show her and the Donda artist getting into a vehicle, and some of Censori looking to be stepping into an eatery, where fans can catch more details of her outfitan ankle-length trench coat paired with her frequented thong sandal boots. West, for his part, kept it consistent with his classic uniform, sporting an all-black look with a jacket and cargo pants. Another capture found the "Jesus Walks" rapper biting into a sandwich while waiting for his lady to load into their vehicle. See the photos here. The couple looked to be headed out to enjoy a Valentine's Day outing in none other than the romantic European destination of Italy. Their exact location is unclear, however, the city of Venice, specifically, is directly linked to Cupid, and known for its history of romanticism and eroticism, being nicknamed the "city of love," according to a Venice tour blog. West and Censoriwho tied the knot in an intimate ceremony in Dec. 2022are known for turning heads when they step out, with the latter often putting her bod on full display in risque fashion ensembles. Recently, the 46-year-old hitmaker defended his propensity to post immodest photos of his wife on social media, but shortly after, his eldest daughter with Kim Kardashian, North West, sparked concern among fans when she drew a picture of the duo, in which the native Australian was depicted wearing nearly no clothing. Next: Kanye West and Wife Bianca Censori Wear Puzzling Matching Outfits to the Super Bowl Borealis, also known as "Bo," is the newest addition to the Louisville Zoo. Born at the Toledo Zoo, the polar bear made his way to Louisville as Qannik, the zoo's existing female polar bear, has entered a cooperative breeding program. The Louisville Zoo has introduced a new polar bear to its Glacier Run exhibit. Born at the Toledo Zoo, Borealis also known as Bo" was named for the Aurora Borealis and comes from the Henry Vilas Zoo in Madison, Wisconsin. The bear has made Louisville his new home as Qannik, the zoo's existing female polar bear, is now part of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums cooperative breeding program, Louisville Zoo stated in a release. Breeding recommendations are an important part of ensuring the species future," Louisville Zoo Director Dan Maloney said. "As a wild-born bear, Qanniks genes are not represented anywhere within in the zoo population. Her contribution to the health of the species will be vital." We are beary excited to introduce Borealis, also known as "Bo!" This 1,000-pound, 5-year-old male polar bear arrived at the Louisville Zoo from Henry Vilas Zoo and will soon join Qannik on habitat rotation as a part of a breeding recommendation. More at https://t.co/9nJjcb9MyH. pic.twitter.com/DXZwoUJm3X Louisville Zoo (@LouisvilleZoo) February 16, 2024 Qannik came to the Louisville Zoo in 2011 after being rescued in Alaskas North Slope. Because of her "wild-born" status, she wasn't able to join the breeding program, but after negotiations between U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, along with the AZA and U.S. Fish and Widlife Services, she was allowed to join the program this year. Dr. Paul is pleased and proud to help Louisville Zoo, the State Zoo of Kentucky, and Qannik, who has quickly become a fan-favorite of our team," said Rob Givens, state director for Sen. Paul. "We are super excited by the prospect of her becoming a mom and look forward to continuing our assistance with such a worthwhile cause. Maloney thanked the senator for his assistance. We are hopeful for the future with this much-anticipated breeding recommendation coming to fruition," he said. "This precious and iconic North American species needs our attention. It will be a well-planned, carefully orchestrated, closely monitored, and hopefully successful breeding process between Qannik and Bo. More: 20 horses to watch as 2024 Kentucky Derby prep season begins to heat up This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Meet Bo, Louisville Zoo's new polar bear, breeding mate for Qannik A 36-year-old man, Robert Cavern, has been sentenced for throwing a dog against a wall in Ohio. Additionally, he prevented a healthcare worker from leaving his residence after witnessing the appalling act of animal cruelty. He pleaded guilty in a pretrial hearing last Thursday, Feb. 8. Man sentenced for throwing dog against wall, assaulting woman Robert Cavern, a Niles resident, has received sentencing for hurling a dog against a wall and unlawfully restraining a healthcare worker, as WFMJ reports. Eventually, he admitted guilt to charges related to unlawful restraint and misconduct involving companion animals, resulting in a nine-day jail term. Moreover, Cravel was fined $500 and is now prohibited from possessing any animal. A court official stated that three days of the jail term were due to a probation violation, as per WKBN First News. Moreover, the court ordered him to stay on probation for a year. Earlier this month, the authorities arrested Craven following a report from a caregiver of his elderly mother. The healthcare worker informed the authorities that Craven, in a fit of anger, threw the family dog against a hallway wall, inadvertently causing his mother to collide with the wall. According to the police, the incident unfolded at a residence on Pleasant Avenues 100 Block. In addition, they explained that Craven showed his agitation over his mothers failure to clean up after the pet dog. The healthcare worker observed a red mark on Cravens mother. However, the report does not mention the dogs condition. Furthermore, she told the police that Craven instructed the worker to stay in the house. He didnt want her to report the incident to the authorities. Fortunately, she was able to exit the home after a few hours when Craven dozed off on the couch, and his mother retired to her room. The post Ohio Man in Jail for Throwing Dog, Injuring Woman appeared first on DogTime. If you've ever been anywhere near a moose, you know how big they are. They're intimidating animals, and I'm not sure why anybody would want to feed a wild one, but apparently, it's an issue in Alaska. Kyle Lee is the owner of @Alaskan Salmon Company and has a friendly female moose that comes right up to his door. He shared a video of him feeding her that caught the attention of the Alaskan State Troopers. At the end of January 2024, Kyle invited a State Trooper Devoe to explain that feeding these wild animals is illegal, and some of the other reasons that people shouldn't do it. This makes a lot of sense, right? I know @Kyle was feeding the moose a carrot, something she might come across in the wild, but other people may feed her stuff she shouldn't be eating, like junk food. But the next reason is the best one. When moose and other wild animals correlate food with people, they can get upset if people don't have it and attack...something I would not want to be on the receiving end of! Related: Alaskan Moose Joins Soccer Team on Practice Field in Wild Video Wild Animals Helping Themselves to People Food I think it's cool that he got a ticket and decided to share his newfound knowledge with others, but I am curious how much the ticket cost him. @Florida Coast Naturals laughed, "Im hoping this informative video got you out of the ticket LOL!" but @Megan Ashton chimed in with, "Theres about nothing that could get you out of a ticket when youve done something illegal regarding wildlife in Alaska. We dont play about that." And while this did happen up in Alaska, the warning applies to all of the states. People feed these animals and they get used to having human food, and then they get more brazen with their attempts to get our food. Check out this bear that stole a family's Door Dash right off the porch! Raccoons have done the same thing, and while it's funny to see, it can also be scary to know that you have little thieves wandering around. This man found a bear rummaging around in his trash cans, and his reaction will make you laugh out loud! Having to deal with neighborhood bears is one thing I'm glad we don't have to do where we live! I'll admit that I do feed the birds and (inadvertently) the squirrels in our yard, but I wouldn't attempt to feed any of the deer that wander through. I couldn't imagine opening my front door and finding one waiting for a meal! Even if I wanted to, these deer are so skittish that I don't think I could get close enough, and I'm not about to try to find out! 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. A 34-year-old stranger in Upper West Side, New York, kicked a rescue dog on the street following a nasty confrontation between him and the dogs owner. The violent act left the 5-pound pup yelping in pain. Stranger kicks dog in NYC, blames altercation on dog owner The shocking incident occurred on Saturday, Feb. 10 at around 2:50 p.m. as the dogs owner, Jen Floyd, was walking her 3-year-old Chihuahua named Knox on the street. Floyd said that a man glued to his phone while walking almost stepped on her dog, prompting her to call out the distracted stranger, the New York Post reported. He was not looking at all where he was going, Floyd narrated. So he was about to step on my dog by accident, so I said, Hey, watch out for my dog youre about to step on him, she added. According to Floyd, the man didnt take her sentiments kindly. He paused and stared at her before brutally kicking Knox on the side. The former animal welfare worker said her dog started crying and screaming from the painful kick. He kicked him as hard as he [could] a few feet back, a furious Floyd stated. Floyd recorded the entire confrontation with her phone and posted the clip on her Instagram account. She contacted 911 to report the distressing incident. Shockingly, the man went to the police the next day and filed a complaint against Floyd, accusing her of being the aggressor. The man further alleged that Floyd physically assaulted him and even broke his phone. In response, Floyd also filed a report countering the mans allegations. Unfortunately, the man has yet to be arrested, given the varying account of events presented to authorities. Floyd expressed disappointment that her poor pup might not get justice. She, however, continues to expose the man for launching an unprovoked attack on her dog. Were just trying to spread the word since there dont seem to be any legal repercussions, Floyd told the media. We want people to be aware of this man and that he might be a danger. The post Stranger Kicks Chihuahua on New York Street appeared first on DogTime. "Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links." There are so many great Easter movies out there, but the very best ones celebrate the true meaning of the holiday: the resurrection of Jesus Christ. For Christians, this holiday is a time to give thanks and praise to Jesus for sacrificing his life for the sins of the world. So after you participate in special Easter traditions, like attending a church service or reading Easter Bible verses, keep the worship going by watching one of the religious Easter movies on this list. We've rounded up the best Christian films ever made, from biblical epics like The Ten Commandments and The Greatest Story Ever Told to modern classics like The Passion of the Christ and Mary Magdalene. If you have Netflix, you won't even have to worry about renting a flick this holidaywe found three great Easter movies on Netflix, including a delightful musical that even the toughest-to-please members of your family (your teenagers ) will love. No matter how well you know the story of Jesus' life, you're bound to learn something new and compelling, especially from unique tellings of the resurrection story like Mary Magdalene and Risen. After you're done watching, be sure to check out the rest of our favorite Easter movies for more seasonal fun. The Ten Commandments This epic biblical film tells the story of Moses and how he was chosen to receive the Ten Commandments and lead the Israelites out of Egypt. With breathtaking visuals and a timeless narrative, it remains a cinematic classic that captivates audiences with its grandeur. Shop Now The Ten Commandments amazon.com $16.99 Amazon The Passion of The Christ Directed by Mel Gibson, this film is a powerful portrayal of the final hours of Jesus Christ's life. It delves into his emotional and spiritual journey while exploring the themes of sacrifice, faith, and redemption. Shop Now The Passion of The Christ amazon.com $9.99 Amazon Son of God If you're looking for a depiction of Jesus' full life rather than his final hours, consider Son of God. It tells Jesus' story from birth to resurrection, bringing the gospel to life in a powerful and accessible way. Shop Now Son of God amazon.com $9.99 Amazon I Can Only Imagine This heartfelt film chronicles the inspiring true story behind the creation of the hit Christian song of the same name. Viewers will be enthralled by the transformative journey of Bart Millard as he discovers healing and purpose through creating the iconic song "I Can Only Imagine." Shop Now I Can Only Imagine netflix.com $2018.00 Netflix A Week Away This delightful musical follows a troubled teen named Will as he embarks on a life-changing Christian summer camp, filled with friendship, self-discovery, and a toe-tapping musical numbers. Shop Now A Week Away netflix.com $2021.00 Netflix Come Sunday Come Sunday tells the story of Bishop Carlton Pearson as he challenges traditional Christian beliefsand grapples with the consequences. Based on true events, this film explores the ideas of faith, friendship, and staying true to yourself. Shop Now Come Sunday netflix.com $2018.00 Tina Rowden Jesus Christ Superstar This 1973 film adaptation of the hit rock opera portrays the last week of Jesus Christ's life through a contemporary musical lens. With striking visuals and vibrant musical performances, this film offers a compelling interpretation of the best story ever told. Shop Now Jesus Christ Superstar amazon.com $14.69 Mary Magdalene It's Mary Magdalene as you've never seen her before. This touching film captures her unique perspective as she plays a pivotal role in the events leading up to the crucification and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Shop Now Mary Magdalene amazon.com $16.19 Risen This truly unique telling of the resurrection story follows a Roman military tribune as they investigate the disappearance of Jesus' body after the crucifixion. Shop Now Risen amazon.com $7.99 Amazon The Greatest Story Ever Told Here's another biblical epic chronicling the life of Jesus. This one features a star-studded cast and focuses on the profound impact of Jesus' teaches and the significant moments that have shaped Christianity. Shop Now The Greatest Story Ever Told amazon.com $14.99 You Might Also Like If the image itself isnt unappetizing enough, the description might put you off. South Korean researchers have made a hybrid rice variant, infused with cow muscle and fat cells, creating a bright pink grain that is one part plant and one part meat. The team hopes to eventually create a cheaper and more sustainable source of protein, with a much lower carbon footprint than actual beef. But please: change the color. TMA (Yonsei University) The meat cells grow both on the surface of the rice grain and inside of the grain itself. After around ten days, you get the finished product. The study, published in Matter, suggests the rice grains taste like beef sushi, which is made of cow and rice. So yes, that tracks. Mat Smith The biggest stories you might have missed The best robot vacuums on a budget for 2024 Ayaneo's NES-inspired mini PC is more than a retro tribute Marvels X-Men 97 will pick up from where the 90s animated series left off You can get these reports delivered daily direct to your inbox. Subscribe right here! Function meets fashion. TMA (Engadget) Boses $299 Ultra Open Earbuds sit outside of your ear canal and clip onto the ridge of your ear to stay in place. Due to the open nature of the design, active noise cancellation (ANC) is moot. Open-type earbuds have become increasingly popular, mostly for the allure of all day wear by allowing you to stay in tune with your surroundings, so Bose developed this model that fixes all the issues of its previous design. They seem more of a fashion accessory than a wearable, however. Continue reading. Not Starfield or Indiana Jones, however. On the latest episode of the Official Xbox Podcast, Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer said the company is bringing four of its games to "the other consoles." Contrary to previous rumors, Starfield and Indiana Jones and the Great Circle are not coming to PS5 or Switch for now. Reports have suggested that Hi-Fi Rush, Sea of Thieves, Halo and Gears of War may appear on Nintendo and Sony hardware. Both of those consoles have a far larger install base than Xbox Series X/S, which are estimated to have shipped a combined 27 million units, compared with 54.8 million PS5s and nearly 140 million Switches. Continue reading. Its still in testing before being offered to the public. OpenAI on Thursday announced Sora, a brand new model that generates high-definition videos up to one minute in length from text prompts. Sora, which means sky in Japanese, wont be available to the general public any time soon. Instead, OpenAI is first offering it to a small group of academics and researchers who will assess harm and its potential for misuse. The company said on its website: The model understands not only what the user has asked for in the prompt, but also how those things exist in the physical world. Other companies including Meta, Google and Runway, have either teased text-to-video tools or made them available to the public. Still, no other tool can generate videos as long as 60 seconds. Continue reading. The UAW is threatening to call a labor strike next week at the Kentucky Truck Plant in Louisville if local contract issues aren't resolved, according to a union news release issued Friday. The plant builds the highly profitable Super Duty trucks. This same plant was shut down for part of the 2023 strike that targeted the Detroit Three during contract negotiations. The UAW threat to strike comes within 24 hours of Ford CEO Jim Farley discussing with industry analysts how disruption of truck production during the 2023 strike was a "watershed moment" that changed the relationship that Ford felt it had built with the union. He noted that Ford was the only Detroit Three automaker that didn't build its most profitable trucks outside the U.S. Nearly 9,000 UAW members would be affected if a strike is called, the UAW said. "After Ford Motor Company has failed to reach a local agreement with UAW Local 862 at Kentucky Truck Plant more than five months past the contract deadline, UAW Vice President Chuck Browning has requested authorization from UAW President (Shawn) Fain to set a strike deadline at Kentucky Truck Plant for 12:01 a.m., Friday, February 23rd," the news release said. "The core issues in Kentucky Truck Plants local negotiations are health and safety in the plant, including minimum in-plant nurse staffing levels and ergonomic issues, as well as Fords continued attempts to erode the skilled trades at Kentucky Truck Plant." A 2023 Super Duty coming off the production line at the Kentucky Truck Plant in Louisville on Feb. 12, 2023, with Ford worker Sandy Stevens. Todd Dunn, president of UAW Local 862 which represents Kentucky Truck workers, told the Detroit Free Press that Ford has been notified of the intent to strike if things aren't addressed. He said this is not the first time local contract issues have resulted in such strike notification and he's hoping the local issues are addressed after months of negotiation. "It's an appropriate protocol that's been utilized in the past. I will get my readiness plan together," he said. "We've done this, right? We've executed very successfully. I facilitate the needs of the request and be prepared. That's what I'm doing, nothing more and nothing less." Story continues Dunn said, "There are collective bargaining issues that the company has been made aware of, in the local agreement. There's issues that are outstanding." Todd Dunn, president of UAW Local 862 in Louisville, represents 20,000 active and retired union members. The Army combat veteran led 9,000 or so Kentucky Truck workers on strike during the 2023 contract fight. About 150,000 autoworkers at Ford, General Motors and Stellantis won historic raises and contract improvements in national negotiations last year. "UAW members at Kentucky Truck played a leading role in the Stand Up Strike that secured those victories," the UAW said in its news release. In addition to the national contracts, UAW members negotiate local agreements around plant-specific issues, the UAW said. Along with Kentucky Truck Plant, there are 19 other open local agreements across Ford, along with several open local agreements at GM and Stellantis, the UAW said in its release. Ford spokeswoman Jessica Enoch released a statement Friday afternoon that said, "Negotiations continue and we look forward to reaching an agreement with UAW Local 862 at Kentucky Truck Plant. More: Ford CEO: UAW strike on Kentucky truck plant 'changed' relationship going forward Contact Phoebe Wall Howard: 313-618-1034 or phoward@freepress.com. Follow her on X at @phoebesaid This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: UAW threatens strike on Ford Kentucky Truck Plant in a week Iron Mike stands out on the ice of frozen White Lake in northern Langlade County. Every year people enter an ice-out contest, making their best guess as to when the ice will melt and Mike will get dunked in the water. WHITE LAKE - Every year about this time, he's out there out on the ice, wearing a high-visibility vest, a wide smile and a hat, giving passersby a friendly little wave. The White Lake locals are used to Iron Mike being on the lake in the late winter and early spring. But newcomers and those just driving through often spot Iron Mike and get a little worried, especially when the days warm up and the ice thins. "Every single year we have people spot him and come in to the Village Hall and tell us that there is someone standing out there. They're afraid that he's going to fall through the ice," said Carol Blawat, the clerk/treasurer of the village of White Lake, located about 20 miles east of Antigo in Langlade County. "We tell them, yeah, we want him out there and we want him to fall through the ice. It sounds cruel." Then Blawat, or whoever is talking to the concerned visitor, will explain that Iron Mike is made of metal and wood. He is the focal point of the town's ice-out contest, in which people guess when Iron Mike will go under. The White Lakers then will hit up the visitor for $5 to make their own guesses. A winner can get up to $500, depending on how many people guess, and the entire enterprise is designed to raise money for the firework show the little town puts on during its Fourth of July celebration. A group of men install the original Iron Mike out on the ice of White Lake. The ice out contest originated in the 1950s with Norman "Mike" Berg, a World War II and Korean War veteran who became a civic leader and volunteer. RELATED: A winter lover's lament: No snow or cold, now what do I do? White Lake's ice-out contest is one of dozens of similar grassroots affairs held each winter across Wisconsin, or really anywhere people get antsy for spring after a long, dark, cold season. Sometimes people put mannequins or other human forms on the ice. Sometimes people put cars or trucks out there. Some places even have one trusted, detail-oriented person with time on his hands out by a lake with binoculars, watching for the moment when all the ice is gone. (This happened in White Bear Lake, Minnesota, for years.) The New London Fish and Game Club organizes an ice-out system that's somewhat similar to White Lake's Iron Mike. The club puts a couple mannequins named Pete and Joe in a 14-foot aluminum boat on the ice of the Wolf River, and when the boat floats downstream, it trips a clock. This year Pete and Joe were freed at 1:54 p.m. on Feb. 9. Meanwhile, Iron Mike is standing tall (as of this writing, on the afternoon of Feb. 14). Iron Mike tradition in White Lake dates back 50 years White Lakers started putting Iron Mike out on the ice 50 or 60 years ago, Blawat said. The original idea is credited to resident Norman "Mike" Berg, who designed, built and named the first Iron Mike, and, according to the White Lake Area Historical Society, the ice-out contest "spanned decades." Berg was a White Lake native who had a deep impact on the community at the time, according to the historical group: "After serving as a Marine in WWII and the Korean conflict, he became a strong civic leader for local vets, the school, the village, the county and his church." Blawat doesn't know exactly when or why the original Iron Mike tradition ended. But she has vague recollections of when it was reborn back in 2015. Village officials were in a meeting talking about the Fourth of July and how expensive fireworks are. White Lake is proud of its fireworks display, Blawat said. During a brainstorming session, someone remembered the original Iron Mike fundraiser and suggested it be started again. A local craftsman built a new Iron Mike, and Blawat was recruited to oversee the project. It all is very low tech and quite low key, Blawat said. But a list of rules was created. Because no one really wanted to watch over Iron Mike during all hours of the day, the group came up with a clever way to determine when he sinks into the drink. "We get some cheap little clocks, the kind you get at Wal-Mart, and we put them in Mike," Blawat said. "They run on batteries, and they stop when they get wet." As soon as is reasonably possible, some workers from the village's public works department fish Iron Mike off the bottom of White Lake and check the clocks, and thus find the official winning time. The system has worked well for eight years. "We've had no brawls, no fights. Everybody has a good time with it," Blawat said. More: Smith: They may be dummies but New London mannequins are in step with modern ice science Close Iron Mike observers will notice he looks a little different this year than he has in the past. That's because last year, Mike's head, which is carved from wood, came off when he got dunked. There was a search for it, Blawat said, because no one wanted the head to be found by kids or anyone who might be freaked out. They found the head on the shore. To keep things fair, the village board will put an end to the guessing about two weeks before they reckon the ice will go out. For the record, the earliest Iron Mike fell through the ice in the modern version of the contest was March 25, 2021. The latest was May 3, 2018. Last year, he fell on April 15. Keith Uhlig is a regional features reporter for USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin based in Wausau. Contact him at 715-845-0651 or kuhlig@gannett.com. Follow him at @UhligK on X, formerly Twitter, and Instagram or on Facebook. This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: White Lake, Wisconsin, beckons spring with Iron Mike ice-out contest "Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links." This story is a collaboration with Biography.com. On February 16, 1923, Howard Carter, guided by the flickering light of oil lamps, ventured into the depths of a long-hidden subterranean burial site that he and his benefactor uncovered in Egypts storied Valley of the Kings. While exploring its innermost chamber, Carter discovered what many would consider the holy grail of an archaeologists quest: the undisturbed, sacred tomb of the ancient boy pharaoh known as King Tut. Carters incredible find turned a youthful monarch who, according to Biography, achieved little during his brief reign, into the most famous pharaoh of modern times. But did Carters discovery also unleash a terrible affliction that claimed the lives of several men on his team? Recent research, unmasking layers of myth, suggests that the notorious curse of King Tut might be anchored in realities far more scientific than supernatural, with a possible kernel of truth hidden amidst ancient dust and mysterious hieroglyphs. To unravel the science and secrets of the ancient tomb, we must journey back to the source: the tale of King Tuts curse and the sequence of improbable events surrounding the man who, unwittingly, may have set it in motion. Setting the Scene In a dimly lit space adorned with a sign that reads, Field Expedition. Season 1921. British Museum, three men toil away on the findings of the day. After assembling bits of pottery, and examining a sarcophagus, the archaeologists turn to a casket emblazoned with gold. They take notice of a remarkable component of the casket: an unbroken seal of a pharaoh. Before the eager men can break it, one takes note that the casket also bears a curse: Death, eternal punishment, for anyone who opens this casket, in the name of Amon-Ra, the King of the Gods. But the leader of the expedition brushes aside such superstitions, and his hot-headed protege is eager to open the casket, unknowingly damning them all to a nightmarish fate. This is the dramatic opening scene of 1932s The Mummy, which followed Universals previous two monster movies from the year before: Dracula and Frankenstein. While those flicks came from the pages of Bram Stoker and Mary Shelley, Universals newest menacing monster was instead based on a true story. LMPC - Getty Images Seeking a suitable vehicle for star Boris Karloff following Frankensteins success, Universals head of production, Carl Laemmle Jr., brought in writer John L. Balderston to pen a script about Italian cultist Alessandro Cagliostro. But Balderston shifted the focus to a topic of the occult, an area he knew much better, transforming a narrative about a charlatan from the 18th century into a ripped-from-the-headlines horror storyone that gave the story of a mummys curse an immortality all its own. In fact, these ripped-from-the-headlines elements originated from Balderston himself. Ten years earlier, he had been the very journalist for the New York World who reported on Howard Carters historic unsealing of King Tuts tomb. Who Was Howard Carter? Born into a modest family in Kensington, London in 1874, Howard Carter was a sickly child who found his purpose in the world of art. Under the tutelage of his father, Samuel, a successful artist, Carter was homeschooled, honing his skills with pencil and brusha talent that would ultimately pave his way to the sands of Egypt and into the annals of archaeological legend. Getty Images Carter didnt develop a desire to explore distant lands until he was a teenager, when his dad painted the portrait of William Tysen-Amherst, described by Biography as a well-known Egyptologist. The Tysen-Amherst estate housed an extensive collection of Egyptian artifacts, obtained (or perhaps plundered) during the British occupation of Egypt that was happening at that time. Carter was instantly captivated by Tysen-Amhersts private museum. He frequently spent time at the estate and became a self-taught Egyptologist, in hopes of someday discovering Egyptian relics of his own. Universal History Archive - Getty Images That opportunity soon came because of his artistic skills and lack of formal education. As Biography notes, at age 17, Carter headed to Egypt in 1891 to assist the Egypt Exploration Funds excavation of the Middle Kingdom tombs at Beni Hassan. Why the undereducated, inexperienced Carter? As author Daniel Meyerson suggests in In the Valley of the Kings, [Carters] services could be obtained cheaply, which was just what the recently founded Egyptian Exploration Fund needed. They could not afford to hire another expensive gentleman-scholar. Carter joined archaeologists as they journeyed through sites such as Amarna, Deir el-Bahari, Thebes, Edfu, and Abu Simbel, creating detailed illustrations of their discoveries, since photographic technology at the time wasnt sufficiently advanced for the task. For years, Carter chronicled these sites, developing celebrated and innovative techniques for capturing wall reliefs. But would the aspiring archaeologist ever get an expedition of his own to lead? Enter, in 1907, the wealthy English aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who was fascinated by Egyptology and had the deep pockets to fund British excavations of Egypt, as Meyers describes: To dig with any success (to excavate, in the polite lingo), one needed knowledge. And one needed money- a great deal of it. Thus, they often came in pairs, the archaeologists and their sugar daddies. They were famous couplesinseparables for all their differences of temperament and background. For someone like Carter, a figure like Lord Carnarvon offered the essential financial backing and encouragement to ultimately take the helm of excavation projects. And for Carnarvon, as Meyerson writes, the potential rewards from these ventures were far greater than what he could pull in at the racetracks and roulette tables of their usual watering holes. Hulton Archive - Getty Images In 1914, Lord Carnarvon received a license to dig at a site where it was believed the tomb of King Tutankhamun rested, and hired Carter for the job. Tutankhamun, colloquially known as King Tut, was the 12th pharaoh of the 18th Egyptian dynasty, in power from approximately 1332 to 1323 B.C.E. Tutankhaten was just nine years old when he assumed power, and died at age 19 from a gangrene infectionpossibly the result of a broken leg. The outbreak of World War I delayed Carters search for King Tuts tomb by several years, until the fateful day finally arrived in 1922. On November 4, 1922, a boy who worked as a water fetcher on the excavation started to dig in the sand with a stick. He found a stone step and called Carter over. Carter's crew found a flight of steps that led down to a sealed door and a secret chamber. On November 26, 1922, Carter and Lord Carnarvon entered the tomb, where they found an immense collection of gold and treasures. On February 16, 1923, Carter opened the innermost chamber and found the sarcophagus of King Tut. It was the discovery of a lifetime: a fully intact tomb, the likes of which had never been discovered before. But for many of the team members, this historic find came at the ultimate price: their lives. What Is the Mummys Curse? Its indisputable that, for some of those connected to the exploration of King Tuts tomb, death arrived under tragic and sudden conditions. Among the most notable was the expeditions financier, who met an untimely end after a seemingly innocuous incident turned fatal. Archive Photos - Getty Images Lord Carnarvon suffered a mosquito bite while in Egypt, and one day during shaving, he accidentally cut the bite, leading to an infection. He succumbed to blood poisoning on April 5, 1923. While no proof ever linked Carnarvons death to a supernatural curse, the odd circumstances and timing of his passing sparked a captivating story that quickly captured the publics fascination. Just two weeks before Carnarvons untimely demise, Marie Corelli, an English novelist, wrote a letter cautioning the Lord that the most dire punishment follows any rash intruder into a sealed tomb, citing a rare book in her possession. That letter found its way into the New York World, the workplace of John L. Balderston, who would one day write the screenplay for The Mummy. Building upon the supernatural buzz, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle began to weave tales of Egyptian curses into his spiritualism lectures. He further stoked the flames of the curse theory by attributing Lord Carnarvons premature death to an elemental tasked with protecting King Tuts tomb. As storytellers, Corelli and Doyle crafted the narrative of a curse as the cause of death. And soon, others kept adding more characters to the story. As film historian Paul M. Jensen observes in the documentary Mummy Dearest: A Horror Tradition Unearthed: If anybody died who was even distantly related to anybody who was around when the tomb was opened, this would be news. This would be indirect evidence of the curse at work. Several other untimely deaths tied to King Tuts tomb fueled the notion of a curse. George Jay Gould I, the son of railroad robber Jay Gould, passed away from fever on May 16, 1923, following his visit to the tomb, with some blaming the curse for his illness. A.C. Mace, a member of Carters excavation crew, died from complications of pleurisy and pneumonia on April 6, 1928. Captain Richard Bethell, who worked as Carters secretary, was smothered to death while in bed at a Mayfair club on November 15, 1929. Theories around his mysterious death ranged from the curses vendetta to accusations involving Satanists. Adding to the legend of the mummys curse is the strange tale of Sir Bruce Ingham, a friend of Carters. After using a mummified hand he received from Carter as a paperweight, his house mysteriously burned down. Getty Images Conspiracy theorists have attempted to connect Carters own death to the alleged curses influence, despite Carter succumbing to lymphoma on March 2, 193916 years after the presumed curse claimed its initial victim. But it didnt really matter how the math worked out. This notion of a curse was so influential that after Lord Carnarvons death, Benito Mussolini, who had a gifted mummy on display, ordered its removal to avoid a brutal death at the hands of an ancient curse. The legend of the mummys curse outlived the spiritualist mania of the early 20th century, kept alive through films and novels looking for a horror hook. It was embraced by those espousing xenophobic views toward the Egyptians, as well as by critics of British colonial grave-robbing, serving as a potent metaphor for the eras transgressions. And as a very different Hollywood movie, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, would wryly observe about the way we like our history: When the legend becomes fact, print the legend. The Legacy of King Tuts Tomb The Western worlds obsession with Ancient Egypt, known as Egyptomania, wasnt sparked solely by Howard Carters famous discovery of King Tuts tomb, and didnt fade with his passing. Despiteor maybe even fueled bythe tales of a curse linked to disturbing the tomb, the public eagerly gathered to witness King Tuts relics whenever they were exhibited across the country. Bettmann - Getty Images When The Treasures of Tutankhamun toured the United States in the late 1970s, actor Steve Martin crafted a satirical novelty song for Saturday Night Live that lampooned the crass commercialism that was intricately tied to the discovery and display of King Tuts treasures. It contained lines like, Now, if Id known/Theyd line up just to see you/Id trade in all my money/And bought me a museum, and the biting, He gave his life for tourism. Today, displays of ancient remains continue to turn a profit. A recent touring exhibition, The Mummies of Guanajuato, raised modern safety concerns that could shed light on a scientific basis for the century-old concept of a mummys curse. As PopMech previously reported, theres a proper protocol for displaying mummies that requires precise sealinga system experts worry The Mummies of Guanajuato tour may have disregarded. This protocols purpose is clear: to protect visitors from Aspergillus flavus, a fungal mold from ancient tombs that poses a serious threat to lung health. In 1973, a glaring example of this mummy-adjacent infection unfolded when explorers entered the tomb of King Casimir IV in Poland. Within months following the visit, 10 out of the 12 visitors to the tomb, which had been sealed since the 15th century, tragically passed away. Aspergillus flavus can damage the immune system, working its way from the lungs to the rest of the body. While it cant be proven that this specific fungus infected the now long-dead men associated with the curse of King Tut, some have noted that Carnarvon, Gould, and Mace all displayed symptoms consistent with an infection from Aspergillus flavus. Throughout his life, Howard Carter remained skeptical of curses. While the literati of London attributed those untimely deaths to evil spirits, the self-taught son of a painter called that all tommy-rot. Of his role in such myth-making, Carter declared, the sentiment of the Egyptologist... is not one of fear, but of respect and awe... entirely opposed to foolish superstitions. Bettmann - Getty Images A century later, what would Carter think, not of curses, but of a fungus lying dormant, waiting to latch onto those who burst into sealed tombs that were never intended to be opened? And how does Carters notion of respect and awe reconcile with artifacts taken from an occupied country, now displayed in museums of former colonial nations and paraded worldwide in commercial exhibits? Perhaps the more frightening reality of what befell Carter and his men isnt that an ancient curse punished them for their tenacious exploration. Rather, maybe its that through a disease picked up during a plunder for profit, these men, in effect, gave their lives for tourism. You Might Also Like The resort, Treeful, even has a slide from the sauna into the Genka River. Courtesy of Treeful Treehouse Sustainable Resort When Satoru Kikugawa was a boy, he read a book called I Want a Big Tree, where the protagonist searched for a huge tree to build a tree house. The childhood tale had such a profound effect on him that a few years back, he found himself scouring northern Okinawa for the biggest tree, eventually landing on a massive Akagi among the virgin forests. As soon as he saw it, he hugged it and realized, This is it! After starting construction in 2014, that exact tree has become the host of the Spiral Tree House, one of two accommodations currently available for stays at his Treeful Tree House sustainable resort in Nago, Okinawa, which opened in 2021. Courtesy of Treeful Treehouse Sustainable Resort Courtesy of Treeful Treehouse Sustainable Resort With a winding staircase leading up to the Spiral Tree House, nature and comfortable living are perfectly merged in the forest with 360-degree views of the Japanese islands jungle, complete with a relaxing deck space with string lights and decorative pillows. The tree house also has two hammocks, two yoga mats, a mini fridge and freezer, a compost toilet, air conditioning, and a semi-double bed. Sitting in a nearby tree is the other tree house, the AeroHouse, which is a sustainable luxury rental, designed by architect Tadashi Murai and decorated by interior designer Yasuhiro Koichi. The spacious setting with large open windows has an equipped kitchen with a microwave, oven, fridge, and freezer, as well as a wine cellar, day bed, king bed, shower, toilet, and even a washing machine. Courtesy of Treeful Treehouse Sustainable Resort Courtesy of Treeful Treehouse Sustainable Resort Currently under construction is a third tree house, dubbed the Trophy Tree House, which will have a Japanese tea room theme and be equipped with two futons, a flushable toilet, and a rooftop viewing area. Perhaps the highlight of the property is the Indigo Sauna Tree House, available for groups of up to six people for three hours. After warming up in the sauna with floor-to-ceiling windows, hop right onto the slide to cool off in the Genka River below. Repeat the cycle as many times as youd like, and also find Zen in the relaxation and spa rooms. Every wooden piece supporting this tree house is painted with Okinawan indigo dye. The slit-style structure, using thin rods with gaps, allows natural sunlight to fill the entire tree house during the day. Courtesy of Treeful Treehouse Sustainable Resort Recent guests also rave about the on-site food, including the option to indulge in the fireside dinner on an open grill with menu items like Agu pork shabu-shabu and Okinawa soba noodle; Agu pork and Okinawa Motobu beef mixed sukiyaki; or seafood BBQ and Okinawan Jushi steamed rice. Most importantly, sustainability is the core pillar of the resort: the tree house itself is carbon-negative without any use of fossil fuels, depending only on renewable energy from Okinawa Electric Powers Uchina CO2 Free Menu. All of the structures are also built higher to depend on natural sunlight and allow the nature below them to thrive. We consider that we are renting the space on the tree, the resort explained on its site, noting that water, waste, and building materials are also approached with the environment top of mind. Above all, Treeful Tree House is about allowing guests to connect with its stunning natural scenery. At Treeful, you can find many ways to relax in nature and forget about the fast-paced daily lives we live in, the resort said. For more Travel & Leisure news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter! Read the original article on Travel & Leisure. Tamara Weston is a freelance writer and producer. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband and two kids. One evening last week while I was somewhere in between bath time and asking my kids to brush their teeth for the 10th time, my first-grade parent WhatsApp chat started blowing up. As I quickly scrolled to the top of the conversation, I noticed a lot of Yes!!! and Thank you!!! comments. Parents agreeing and responding enthusiastically to something in a school chat? This could not wait. As it turns out, a father with years of experience working with tech companies like Google and Meta proposed we take a pledge as a group of parents to delay our children from getting on social media. I challenge everyone in this class to be the parents of the kids who are the last to get on social media, he wrote to our group. The plan was simple: If we all agree exposing our children to Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat the usual suspects is ultimately harmful, given concerns that it can negatively impact mental health, body image, self-esteem and more, then lets band together and hold the line, at least until middle school. This wasnt about limiting the use of devices or even screen time (thats a battle were already fighting); it was about ensuring that the content our children consume is chosen with intention rather than by an algorithm that doesnt have their best interests and mental well-being in mind. And the most effective way to do that is to stay in control for as long as possible. The benefit of deciding as a group to restrict our kids from social media is that we can collectively hold each other accountable. But we all have to do our part for the system to succeed; if even a few families dont participate, it becomes a slippery slope and more will eventually want to follow because, well, its just easier when you have one less thing to worry about as a parent. Sticking together is key, the organizing parent explained. While we wont be able to control every environment (such as extracurriculars, family gatherings, camp), it will certainly help to know that school is a safe place where no child will feel excluded for not being on social media. And for us parents, it will simply be easier to avoid caving to pressure when our children likely start asking to go online in the next five to six years if we form a united front now (though that timeline sounds like wishful thinking to me). I immediately loved the idea (cue three thumbs-up emojis, three flexed-bicep emojis). The plan to keep our kids off social media was generally well received by other parents, too though those with older children did argue that FOMO (fear of missing out) can be a real struggle as kids get closer to their teens and see their peers setting up TikTok accounts when they cannot. (For some of these families, allowing a middle schooler to join just one platform, with supervision, has been a happy compromise.) I recently heard someone refer to social media as the tobacco industry of our children's generation. Everyone uses it, theres a ton of money to be made from it, and while we know consuming it cant be great for our health, it hasnt been around long enough for any of the data to make a significant impact on Washington. The U.S. Surgeon General warned just last year that 13-year-olds were still too young to be on social media, and yet thats exactly the user minimum age requirement for platforms like Instagram, TikTok and Snapchat. Sure, theyre coming up with ways to implement more restrictions for underage users, but it takes an incredibly vigilant parent to ensure those hold up. Despite it seeming like a lofty ambition, my fellow first-grade parents are far from alone in the effort to curb their childrens exposure to social media. These partnerships formed by like-minded parents and bound by a social contract or pledge are becoming more popular within schools and across communities, with some even broadening the scope to include a limit on technology in general until their children reach a certain age. For some the goal is eighth grade; for others, its waiting until after high school graduation. As these movements continue to grow in popularity, were also seeing institutions join in, like high schools that completely ban cellphones on campuses. Progress is indeed possible. While Im typically skeptical of a one-size-fits-all approach to solving or mitigating challenges surrounding my childrens well-being, a grassroots-type of parent-led approach feels like our best bet right now to building consumption guardrails intended to truly put our kids first. But Im realistic about this. I cant expect my kids to go along with any plan for our family if I dont lead by example. If I want my kids to care less about social media or devices in general, then I have to do the same. If our kids saw us spending less time with our heads down and our thumbs scrambling, theyd probably stop asking about it, or at least, theyd ask less, right? The thought of adding social media as a topic to my mental list of things to worry about at night when my kids are asleep makes me want to ignore it completely. But we cant afford to be lazy about this. We know too much. We have the capacity to be real agents of change in this conversation, and I think its a responsibility we, as parents, should be eager to own. Brandyn Costa, moderator and member of Akron Citizens' Police Oversight Board, listens to Anthony Finnell, the board's pick for the position of police auditor, answer a question during a town hall hosted by the board Wednesday night at Ellet Community Learning Center. The Akron Citizens' Police Oversight Board's pick for independent police auditor spent his wedding anniversary Wednesday in the Ellet Community Learning Center's auditorium, talking to dozens of residents about what qualifies him for the job and fielding questions including queries about his sudden withdrawal from posts in Oakland and Seattle. Anthony Finnell is positioned to assume the role once his contract receives approval from a two-thirds majority of the nine-member Citizens' Police Oversight Board. The independent police auditor provides external and internal oversight and review of the Akron Police Department's policing practices, according to the job posting. Since 2016, Finnell has served in various roles with the National Association for Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement (NACOLE) and is its current president. He also works as an independent consultant in the fields of civilian oversight of law enforcement policy and procedures, investigations and community-based policing and security. Previously, he worked at FBI headquarters in Washington; the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department; in Chicago as supervising investigator for the city's Independent Police Review Authority; executive director of the Citizens Police Review Board in Oakland, California; and in Seattle as the auditor for the Office of the Inspector General. His stints in Oakland and Seattle have drawn scrutiny because of the circumstances of his exit from those roles. Sylvia Trundle, retired Akron Police captain, sitting with her husband, Marc, asks a question of Anthony Finnell, the Akron Citizens' Police Oversight Board pick for the position of police auditor, during a town hall hosted by the board Wednesday at Ellet Community Learning Center. Finnell addresses employment history questions Retired Akron police captain Sylvia Trundle asked Finnell what happened in Oakland and Seattle to trigger his abrupt departure from both cities. In Oakland, he told the city's police commissioners they would not have access to investigative files, including during closed session meetings, and they fired him. He sued the city for wrongful termination. Oakland City Council settled the lawsuit, awarding $40,592 to Finnell but admitting no wrongdoing. Finnell said that what the commissioners asked him to do was a violation of state law that could have resulted in a civil penalty or even a criminal offense. "I chose, based on the advice of three different attorneys, to stand on the principal and not violate the law," Finnell said. "At a public meeting, they asked a very direct question and I answered with a very short 'no.'" In Seattle in the wake of George Floyd's murder by Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin a whistleblower claimed Finnell he insufficiently reviewed evidence in cases that he certified, triggering an investigation. Finnell said the Office of the Inspector General was deluged with complaints about the Seattle Police Department from people worldwide watching the department's conduct during the unrest following Floyd's death and felt compelled to submit complaints. There was a time limit in which complaints had to be reviewed, but no policy in place to guide auditors through the review process. One of his fellow auditors felt that he was being lenient on police, and kicked the complaint up the ladder to his bosses, who dismissed it, Finnell explained. He said he resigned prior to a comprehensive internal review conducted by the inspector general's office so that he and his wife could return to Indianapolis. Managing responsibilities Kemp Boyd, chairman of the Akron Citizens' Police Oversight Board, listens to Bob Hoch, former Ward 6 Akron council member, ask a question of Anthony Finnell, the board's pick for the position of police auditor, Wednesday during a town hall event. Former Ward 6 Councilman Bob Hoch asked Finnell if he would be willing to resign his presidency of NACOLE if juggling his duties with NACOLE and the police board got to be too much. Finnell said he is confident he can fulfill his obligations both to NACOLE and to Akron's police board. However, if it gets to be too much, he said he is prepared to resign from NACOLE. He also dispelled rumors that he would be commuting back to Indianapolis every weekend; Finnell said his intent is to move to Akron. Getting the board ready to do business Ward 5 Councilman Johnnie Hannah asked Finnell about how he plans to move the board forward and how he intends to get the board members on the same page. Finnell said his first priority is to fully staff the auditor's office. He'd also like to meet with each individual board member to have frank conversations about their priorities something he's already started doing. Finnell also said that he'd like to use the resources available at his disposal as president of NACOLE for the benefit of Akron's police board. "What I'd like to do with the board is offer my experience and expertise as they make their decisions off my input," Finnell said, "as they make their decisions on which direction they'd like to go. The timetable for his approval is unclear; there is currently a vacancy on the police oversight board, and proposed rules for how the board operates are pending approval from Akron City Council, which will not meet Monday because of the Presidents Day holiday. The Citizens' Police Oversight Board next meets on Wednesday. Contact reporter Derek Kreider at DKreider@Gannett.com or 330-541-9413. This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Akron police auditor nominee addresses questions at community forum Alexei Navalny latest: UK first country to issue sanctions over brutal killing of Putin critic in prison The UK has frozen the assets of six Russian prison bosses in charge of the Arctic penal colony where opposition leader Alexei Navalny died. Western leaders say the blame for Mr Navalnys death lies with the Russian authorities, including Vladimir Putin. Yulia Navalnaya, Mr Navalnys wife, has said she believes her husband was poisoned with Novichok. Those responsible for Navalnys brutal treatment should be under no illusion - we will hold them accountable, UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron said. The UK is the first country to impose sanctions in response to his death, the Foreign Office said. It comes as the Salekhard City Court, the city in which Mr Navalnys body was supposedly transferred after his death, said it will consider the demand of his mother to have his body returned on 4 March. Elsewhere, Vladimir Osechkin, founder of the human rights group Gulag.net claimed to The Times that he believed the Russian authorities kept Mr Navalnys body out in the cold for hours before killing him, potentially with one punch to the heart. Claiming that former prisoners from the Arctic region had previously told of such deaths. The details of Mr Navalnys death are still unclear. Key points Cameron to set out consequences for Russia over Navalny's death Lyudmila Navalnaya urges Vladimir Putin to return her sons body Kremlin opens new criminal case against Alexei Navalnys brother Oleg X briefly suspends Yulia Navalnayas account Thank you for following our live coverage 17:26 , Holly Evans We are now ending our live coverage of Alexei Navalnys death and ongoing reactions from around the globe. Thank you for following, check our homepage here for all the latest updates. Tens of thousands demand Russian authorities release Navalnys body 17:00 , Holly Evans More than 75,000 people have sent letters to the Russian investigative committee demanding that Alexei Navalnys body is returned to his family, according to a human rights group. Mr Navalnys mother, Lyudmila Navalnaya, 69, demanded the return of her sons body yesterday, making a direct plea to Vladimir Putin outside the Polar Wolf penal colony where the Russian opposition figure was killed. Tens of thousands have written to demand Navalnys body is returned to his family (AP) But Russias investigative committee have said they plan to hold his body for two weeks to carry out examinations into his death. Mr Navalnys wife has said the investigators are using this time to cover the traces of their alleged murder by Novichok poisoning. Russian human rights group OVD-Info said it has recorded 76, 207 letters sent to the investigators committee calling for Mr Navalnys release. Navalny issued chilling warning about second Trump term in final letters from prison 16:30 , Holly Evans Alexei Navalny issued a chilling warning about what a second presidential term for Donald Trump could mean in one of his final letters before he died in an Arctic prison last week. The New York Times, which has collected together some of the late Russian dissidents correspondence from jail, Navalny worked hard to stay in touch with global politics from his cell at the Polar Wolf penal colony, around 1,000 miles northeast of Moscow. The staunch opponent of Vladmir Putin also read voraciously from Tolstoy, Dostoyevsky, Chekhov and Solzhenitsyn to occupy his mind and prevent himself from sinking into despair amid the brutal conditions in which he was held. Read the full article here: Navalny issued chilling warning about second Trump term in final letters from prison White House to hit Russia with major sanctions in response to Navalnys death 16:00 , Holly Evans The White House has announced that a new package of sanctions against Russia is set to go into effect following the death of opposition leader Alexei Navalny in a Siberian prison camp. The administration said the package would be released on Friday. This comes after President Joe Bidens comments to reporters on Monday that he was considering new sanctions. We already have sanctions, but we are considering additional sanctions, yes, he said. Read the full article here White House to hit Russia with major sanctions in response to Navalnys death Trump says his $355m fraud penalty is a form of Navalny 15:30 , Holly Evans Donald Trump has said that being hit with a $350m judgement following his recent high profile fraud case was a form of Navalny, in reference to the jailing and apparent murder of the late Russian dissident. The former president said that the ruling by New York judge Arthur Engoron who he described as a nut job was a form of communism or fascism. On Friday, Judge Engoron found that Mr Trump, his sons, their Trump Organization associates and Trump properties were liable for tens of millions of dollars after defraudng banks and investors as part of a decade-long scheme to secure favourable financing terms for some of his brand-building properties. Read the full article here: Trump says his $355m fraud penalty is a form of Navalny Watch: Julian Assanges wife appears to compare WikiLeaks founder to Alexei Navalny 14:50 , Holly Evans Romanian foreign ministry summons Russian ambassador over Navalny's death 14:14 , Holly Evans The Romanian foreign ministry summoned the Russian ambassador over the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, it said on Wednesday. The ministry underlined the need for a transparent, independent investigation of Navalnys death, and said Russian authorities had a moral obligation to return his body to his family, it said in a statement. Alexei Navalny's mother files lawsuit with a Russian court demanding release of her son's body 13:30 , Tom Watling The mother of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has filed a lawsuit at a court in the Arctic city of Salekhard contesting officials refusal to release her sons body Alexei Navalny's mother files lawsuit with a Russian court demanding release of her son's body Britain sanctions leaders of Polar Wolf prison camp where Alexei Navalny died 13:00 , Tom Watling Britain has sanctioned the leaders of the Polar Wolf prison camp in Russia where opposition leader Alexei Navalny died. Days after Mr Navalnys death, the UK imposed travel bans and asset freezes on six individuals heading up the notoriously brutal FKU IK-3 prison camp. Britain is the first country to impose measures in response to the politicians death, which has been widely blamed on the Kremlin by western countries. Britain sanctions leaders of Polar Wolf prison camp where Alexei Navalny died Sunak says government considering all options for Putin after Alexei Navalnys death 12:40 , Tom Watling Rishi Sunak has confirmed the UK and its allies are considering all options to hold Russia and Vladimir Putin to account after the death of Alexei Navalny. He made the comments during a session of Prime Ministers Questions on Wednesday 21 February. [Navalny] died for a cause to which he dedicated his whole life - freedom, Mr Sunak said, calling his decision to return to Russia one of the most courageous acts of our time. Sir Keir Starmer also paid tribute to Navalny and shared his disgust over the 47-year-olds death. Sunak says government considering all options for Putin after Navalnys death Sunak and Starmer pay tribute to Alexei Navalny after Putin critics death 12:17 , Tom Watling Sunak and Starmer pay tribute to Alexei Navalny after Putin critics death UK sanctions heads of Arctic penal colony where Navalny died 12:00 , Tom Watling Britain has imposed sanctions on six individuals in charge of the Arctic penal colony where Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny died last week. Those sanctioned, including the head and five deputy heads of the penal colony, will be banned from the UK and have their assets frozen, British Foreign Secretary David Cameron said. Its clear that the Russian authorities saw Navalny as a threat and they tried repeatedly to silence him, Cameron said in a statement. Those responsible for Navalnys brutal treatment should be under no illusion - we will hold them accountable. Foreign Secretary Lord David Cameron (left) meets Foreign Minister Ruben Ramirez Lezcano at the Palacio Lopez in Asuncion during his visit to Paraguay (PA) Jailed Navalny team member issues first message since opposition figures death 11:53 , Tom Watling Jailed Russian opposition figure Lilia Chanysheva, a member of Alexei Navalnys team, has issued her first message following the death of the 47-year-old lawyer. Ms Chanysheva, who was detained in November 2021 on extremism-related charges, posted a picture of her and Mr Navalny together on Telegram. She was the first member of Mr Navalnys team to be arrested after his organisation was labelled extremist by the Putin regime. Censorship does not allow me to say everything I think about the death of Alexei Navalny, she wrote alongside the photo. My condolences to your loved ones and parents. Im grieving. Over the past few days, other jailed Russian activists have been issuing public messages of support for Mr Navalny, having heard about his death days after it actually happened. Lilia Chanysheva stands with Alexei Navalny prior to her arrest in 2021 (Telegram) Tens of thousands demand Russian authorities release Navalnys body 11:20 , Tom Watling More than 75,000 people have sent letters to the Russian investigative committee demanding that Alexei Navalnys body is returned to his family, according to a human rights group. Mr Navalnys mother, Lyudmila Navalnaya, 69, demanded the return of her sons body yesterday, making a direct plea to Vladimir Putin outside the Polar Wolf penal colony where the Russian opposition figure was killed. But Russias investigative committee have said they plan to hold his body for two weeks to carry out examinations into his death. Mr Navalnys wife has said the investigators are using this time to cover the traces of their alleged murder by Novichok poisoning. Russian human rights group OVD-Info said it has recorded 76, 207 letters sent to the investigators committee calling for Mr Navalnys release. In this grab taken from video, Lyudmila Navalnaya, mother of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, center, pay tribute to her son Alexei Navalny at the at the memorial to victims of political repression, in Salekhard (AP) Czech foreign ministry summons Russian ambassador over Navalny's death -news agency 10:50 , Tom Watling The Czech Foreign Ministry summoned the Russian ambassador over the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, CTK news agency has said. X/Twitter bans Alexei Navalnys widow Yulia Navalnaya for breaking its rules 10:10 , Tom Watling X, formerly known as Twitter, briefly banned the account of Alexei Navalnys widow. Yulia Navalnaya set up her account on Monday, days after Mr Navalnys death was announced. She has since used it to commit to holding Russian president Vladimir Putin to account. On Tuesday afternoon, however, the account disappeared. It was replaced with a message indicating that it had been suspended because it had broken the sites rules. X briefly bans Alexei Navalnys widow Yulia Navalnaya account by mistake Alexei Navalny's mother files lawsuit with a Russian court demanding release of her son's body 09:38 , Tom Watling The mother of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has filed a lawsuit at a court in the Arctic city of Salekhard contesting officials refusal to release her sons body, Russias state news agency Tass reported Wednesday.A closed-door hearing has been scheduled for March 4, the report said, quoting court officials.Lyudmila Navalnaya has been trying to retrieve her sons body since Saturday, following his death in a penal colony in Russias far north a day earlier. She has been unable to find out where his body is being held, Navalnys team reported.Navalnaya appealed to Russian President Vladimir Putin Tuesday to release her sons remains so that she could bury him with dignity. For the fifth day, I have been unable to see him. They wouldnt release his body to me. And theyre not even telling me where he is, a black-clad Navalnaya, 69, said in the video, with the barbed wire of Penal Colony No. 3 in Kharp, about 1,900 kilometers (1,200 miles) northeast of Moscow. In this grab taken from video provided by the Navalny Team on Tuesday. Feb. 20, 2024, Russian Opposition Leader Alexei Navalny's mother Lyudmila Navalnaya speaks, near the prison colony in the town of Kharp (AP) Who is Yulia Navalnaya the woman vowing to carry forward Navalnys battle against Putin 08:54 , Tom Watling Before the sudden death of her husband Alexei Navalny in a grim Arctic prison last week, Yulia Navalnaya had always played down the suggestion that she would one day take over as leader of Russias opposition. But on Monday, as the 47-year-old widow alternated between rage and grief, she gave a powerful speech signalling that she would be there to help lead a shell-shocked opposition a job fraught with danger. I want to live in a free Russia, I want to build a free Russia, said the mother-of-two in a video message. Stepping out of the shadow of her dead husband, she called on his supporters to share the rage and stand with her. Who is Yulia Navalnaya: Putins next political threat Trump says Navalny was 'brave,' but should not have returned to Russia 08:19 , Tom Watling Former US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that Alexei Navalny was a very brave man who probably should not have returned to Russia, without assigning any blame for the Russian opposition leaders unexpected death. Democratic President Joe Biden and other Western leaders have blamed Russian President Vladimir Putin for Navalnys death, as has Nikki Haley, who trails far behind Trump as his sole remaining rival for the Republican presidential nomination. Navalny is a very sad situation, and he is a very brave, he was a very brave guy because he went back. He could have stayed away, Trump said during a town hall interview with Fox News in South Carolina. And, frankly, he probably would have been a lot better off staying away and talking from outside of the country as opposed to having to go back in, because people thought that could happen and it did happen. And its a horrible thing, he said. The Kremlin has denied involvement in Navalnys death and said Western claims that Putin was responsible are unacceptable. Trump - who has expressed admiration for Putin both during his 2017-2021 White House tenure and afterward - continued to compare himself to Navalny, implying that they both had faced politically motivated prosecutions. But its happening in our country too, Trump said. We are turning into a communist country in many ways. And if you look at it - Im the leading candidate. I get indicted. On Sunday, Trump wrote in a Truth Social post that Navalnys death in an Arctic penal colony last week had made him more aware of what is happening in the United States. Trump did not elaborate, but he has frequently dismissed the 91 criminal charges against him as politically motivated, a claim prosecutors deny. Republican presidential candidate, former US President Donald Trump speaks during a Fox News town hall (Getty Images) Long Read | Alexei Navalny the man who knew too much 07:02 , Andy Gregory The reason why it all happened is one mans hatred and fear one man hiding in a bunker. I mortally offended him by surviving an attempt at my life he ordered. And then I committed an even more serious offence: I didnt go into hiding. And thats driving this thieving little man in his bunker out of his mind. So declared the accused from behind his courtroom cage as he prepared to be sentenced to jail. His crime was to have challenged the man in the Kremlin, Vladimir Putin, with the one tool remaining, the power of speech. That act of defiance exactly three years ago, was the beginning of the end of the life of Alexei Navalny. John Kampfner reports: Alexei Navalny the man who knew too much US pushing for complete transparency over Navalnys death, says White House 06:45 , Namita Singh Speaking to reporters on a conference call, White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said the United States is pressing Russia for complete transparency on how Alexei Navalny died last Friday. Whatever story the Russian government decides to tell the world, its clear that President Putin and his government are responsible for Mr Navalnys death, Mr Kirby said. The US embassy in Moscow has been seeking more information about Navalnys death, Mr Kirby said, but its difficult to get a point where you can be confident in what the Russians would say about his death. In video: Julian Assanges wife appears to compare WikiLeaks founder to Alexei Navalny 06:30 , Namita Singh Julian Assanges wife appears to compare WikiLeaks founder to Alexei Navalny Cameron to set out consequences for Russia over Navalny's death 06:01 , Namita Singh The UK is poised to set out its response to the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, with foreign secretary Lord Cameron telling Vladimir Putin: We match our words with actions. Lord David Cameron will also condemn Russias war in Ukraine and stress the need for nations to adhere to the rules-based international order when he speaks at a meeting of foreign ministers from the G20 nations in Rio on Wednesday. We need to adapt international rules and institutions to the challenges we face today. This means reforming the rules-based international order, not shattering it, said Lord Cameron as he takes aim at what he sees as a litany of hypocrisy from the Kremlin over Ukraine. The Kremlin pays lip service to concepts like sovereignty, while openly undermining them. Unlike Russia, we match our words with actions. Lord Camerons Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov is expected to be among the foreign ministers at the G20 gathering. Navalny's mother appeals to Putin to release her son's body so she can bury him with dignity 05:45 , Namita Singh The mother of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny appealed on Tuesday to president Vladimir Putin to intervene and turn her sons body over to her so she can bury him with dignity. Lyudmila Navalnaya, who has been trying to get his body since Saturday, appeared in a video outside the Arctic penal colony where Navalny died on Friday.For the fifth day, I have been unable to see him. They wouldnt release his body to me. And theyre not even telling me where he is, Ms Navalnaya said in the video, with the barbed wire of Penal Colony No 3 in Kharp, about 1,900km northeast of Moscow. In this grab taken from video provided by the Navalny Team on Tuesday. 20 February 2024 (AP) Im reaching out to you, Vladimir Putin. The resolution of this matter depends solely on you. Let me finally see my son. I demand that Alexeis body is released immediately, so that I can bury him like a human being, she said in the video, which was posted to social media by Navalnys team. Ms Navalnaya and her sons lawyers went to law enforcement agencies and the morgue where the body is believed to be held in the Arctic region, but were unable to get them to turn it over or say where it is. EU summons Russian envoy, demands independent investigation into Navalnys death 05:30 , Namita Singh The European Union summoned Russias representative to the EU and called for an independent international investigation into the death of opposition leader Alexei Navalny, the EUs diplomatic service said on Tuesday. It said Michael Siebert, a senior official in the European External Action Service, also urged Russia to release Navalnys body to his family without further delay at the meeting with Kirill Loginov, Russias acting permanent representative to the EU. A person lights a candle by a portrait of late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who died in a Russian Arctic prison, placed at the entrance of the Chancery of the Embassy of the Russian Federation in Pristina on 20 February 2024 (AFP via Getty Images) The EU side conveyed the EUs outrage over the death of the Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny, for which the ultimate responsibility lies with President (Vladimir) Putin and the Russian authorities, it said. Mr Siebert called upon Russia to allow an independent and transparent international investigation into circumstances of Navalnys death, it added. The Kremlin has denied involvement in Navalnys death and says Western allegations that Putin was responsible are unacceptable. Russias Investigative Committee says it has launched a procedural investigation into the death, and the Kremlin has said it does not bow to EU demands. More than 60,000 requests issued for Kremlin to release Navalnys body, monitoring group says 05:20 , Namita Singh Since Alexei Navalnys death, about 400 people have been detained across in Russia as they tried to pay tribute to him with flowers and candles, according to OVD-Info, a group which monitors political arrests. Authorities cordoned off some of the memorials to victims of Soviet repression across the country that were being used as sites to leave makeshift tributes to Navalny. Police removed the flowers at night, but more keep appearing. Peskov said police were acting in accordance with the law by detaining people paying tribute to Navalny. Over 60,000 people have submitted requests to the government asking for Navalnys remains to be handed over to his relatives, OVD-Info said. People came to lay flowers for Alexei Navalny at the Solovetsky Stone, a monument to political repression in Moscow (AFP via Getty Images) Navalny issued chilling warning about second Trump term 05:10 , Namita Singh Alexei Navalny issued a chilling warning about what a second presidential term for Donald Trump could mean in one of his final letters before he died in an Arctic prison last week. In one 3 December letter to Evgeny Feldman, a photographer who covered his attempted run for president in 2018 and now lives in exile in Latvia, Navalny wrote that he feared that if anything should happen to president Joe Biden a distinct possibility, he felt, given the Americans advanced age Trump will become president. To Navalny, a second Mr Trump term was a really scary prospect for the wider world. Joe Sommerlad has more: Navalny issued chilling warning about second Trump term in final letters from prison Trump needs Putins help and cant risk angering him 05:00 , Namita Singh Donald Trumps reaction to Alexei Navalnys death suggests he cant risk angering Russias Vladimir Putin, according to former Republican representative Liz Cheney. Ms Cheney noted on X on Monday afternoon that Donald Trump still wont condemn the [Aleksei] Navalny killing or blame Putin. At the same time, Trump is claiming Putin-style tyrannical immunity in his US Supreme Court briefs. She added that it seems like Trump thinks he needs Putins help with something and cant risk angering him. Read the full report: Trump needs Putins help and cant risk angering him, Liz Cheney suggests White House calls for 'complete transparency' over Navalnys death 04:50 , Namita Singh The White House on Tuesday issued a statement calling for complete transparency from Russia on how Alexei Navalny died last Friday. Whatever story the Russian government decides to tell the world, its clear that President Putin and his government are responsible for Mr Navalnys death, National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said. The US embassy in Moscow has been seeking more information about Navalnys death, Mr Kirby said, but its difficult to get to a point where you can be confident in what the Russians would say about his death. Russia sanctions will be broad, including sources of economic revenue, White House says 04:40 , Namita Singh The US will issue fresh sanctions on Russia that will cover a range of items, including the countrys defence and industrial bases along with sources of revenue for the economy, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said on Tuesday. The sanctions come in the wake of the death of opposition leader Alexei Navalny and the two-year Ukraine war. This grab taken from video shows flowers and a portrait of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny that Lyudmila Navalnaya, mother of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, put to pay tribute to her son at the at the memorial to victims of political repression, in Salekhard, 1,937 km northeast of Moscow, Russia (AP) White House preparing major sanctions against Russia 04:30 , Namita Singh The White House said it is preparing additional major sanctions against Russia in response to Alexei Navalnys death, with National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby saying the new package would be unveiled on Friday. He declined to detail them or share how they would expand on the already stiff measures the US and its allies have put on Russia. Mr Kirby said only that the sanctions, which coincide with the second anniversary of Russias invasion of Ukraine, will be specifically supplemented with additional sanctions regarding Mr Navalnys death. Arrests of Navalny mourners in accordance with law, says Peskov 04:10 , Namita Singh Since Alexei Navalnys death, about 400 people have been detained across Russia as they tried to pay tribute to him with flowers and candles, according to OVD-Info, a group that monitors political arrests. Authorities cordoned off some of the memorials to victims of Soviet repression across the country that were being used as sites to leave makeshift tributes to Navalny. Police removed the flowers at night, but more keep appearing. Women lay flowers at the Memorial to Victims of Political Repression to pay respect to Alexei Navalny in St Petersburg, Russia, Tuesday, 20 February 2024 (AP) Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said police were acting in accordance with the law by detaining people paying tribute to Navalny. Over 60,000 people have submitted requests to the government asking for Navalnys remains to be handed over to his relatives, OVD-Info said. Navalnaya urges EU not to recognise results of looming Russian elections 03:50 , Andy Gregory In her speech on Monday to the European Unions Foreign Affairs Council, Yulia Navalnaya urged EU leaders not to recognize the results of next months presidential election in Russia, to sanction more of Vladimir Putins allies, and to help Russians who flee the country. A copy of her remarks was released Tuesday by Navalny spokesperson Kira Yarmysh. Biden slams Trump for failing to criticise Putin over Navalnys death 03:30 , Namita Singh Joe Biden issued a blistering critique of Donald Trumps Truth Social post on Navalnys death, saying, Why does Trump always blame America? (Russian president Vladimir) Putin is responsible for Navalnys death. Why cant Trump just say that? The US president and other western leaders have blamed Mr Putin for Alexei Navalnys death, as has Nikki Haley, who trails far behind Mr Trump as his sole remaining rival for the Republican presidential nomination. President Joe Biden arrives at Los Angeles International Airport, Tuesday, 20 February 2024, in Los Angeles (AP) The Kremlin has denied involvement in Navalnys death and said Western claims that Mr Putin was responsible are unacceptable. Trump says Navalny was brave, but should not have returned to Russia 03:15 , Namita Singh Former US president Donald Trump said that Alexei Navalny was a very brave man who probably should not have returned to Russia, without assigning any blame for the Russian opposition leaders unexpected death. Navalny is a very sad situation, and he is a very brave, he was a very brave guy because he went back. He could have stayed away, Mr Trump said during a town hall interview with Fox News in South Carolina. And, frankly, he probably would have been a lot better off staying away and talking from outside of the country as opposed to having to go back in, because people thought that could happen and it did happen. And its a horrible thing, he said. Trump participates in a Fox News town hall with Laura Ingraham in Greenville (Reuters) Mr Trump - who has expressed admiration for Russian president Vladimir Putin both during his 2017-2021 White House tenure and afterward - continued to compare himself to Navalny, implying that they both had faced politically motivated prosecutions. But its happening in our country too, Mr Trump said. We are turning into a communist country in many ways. And if you look at it - Im the leading candidate. I get indicted. On Sunday, he wrote in a Truth Social post that Navalnys death in an Arctic penal colony last week had made him more aware of what is happening in the United States. Trump did not elaborate, but he has frequently dismissed the 91 criminal charges against him as politically motivated, a claim prosecutors deny. Watch: Alexei Navalny's mother demands Vladimir Putin returns her son's body 02:44 , Andy Gregory Opinion | Navalnys death has shown US House Speaker Mike Johnson up as a coward 01:34 , Andy Gregory Our Washington Bureau Chief Eric Garcia writes: Upon the news of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalnys death, House Speaker Mike Johnson denounced Vladimir Putin. As Congress debates the best path forward to support Ukraine, the United States and our partners must be using every means available to cut off Putins ability to fund his unprovoked war in Ukraine and aggression against the Baltic states, he said in a statement. Of course, Johnsons words would hold much more weight if he had actually put through the aid package for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan that the Senate passed on the floor of the House of Representatives. Indeed, as the Senate labored late into the night on Monday and into the wee hours of Tuesday to pass that aid bill, Johnson summarily killed the bill because it did not address immigration at the US-Mexico border. Despite his tough words, Johnson a political neophyte only elected to the House in 2016, who became Speaker after three other candidates for the job faltered before him has elected to appeal only to the most extreme elements of the GOP conference. Navalnys death has shown one Republican up as a coward Critics like Navalny need support against monster Putin, says Alexander Litvinenkos widow 00:39 , Andy Gregory Critics like Alexei Navalny need support from the West against the monster Vladimir Putin, Alexander Litvinenkos widow has said. Marina Litvinenkos husband, a prominent Putin critic and Russian defector, died in 2006 after becoming violently ill in London having been poisoned with radioactive polonium-210. A British inquiry found that Russian agents had killed Mr Litvinenko, probably with Putins approval, but the Kremlin denied any involvement. He is among the many Kremlin political critics, turncoat spies and investigative journalists who have been killed or assaulted in a variety of ways over the years. Ms Litvinenko branded Putin a monster and called on the West to help Russian opposition figures who are still alive. She told Sky News: I am more thinking about people living in Russia, they have more dangerous lives, but they are still working on the outside. They are in need of support, and we are living here in the West, we need to support these people in Russia. We need to do everything to save the lives of these people, otherwise Putins regime will achieve its result. Critics like Navalny need support from West, says Alexander Litvinenkos widow Who is Yulia Navalnaya the woman vowing to carry forward Navalnys battle against Putin Tuesday 20 February 2024 23:46 , Andy Gregory Before the sudden death of her husband Alexei Navalny in a grim Arctic prison last week, Yulia Navalnaya had always played down the suggestion that she would one day take over as leader of Russias opposition. But on Monday, as the 47-year-old widow alternated between rage and grief, she gave a powerful speech signalling that she would be there to help lead a shell-shocked opposition a job fraught with danger. I want to live in a free Russia, I want to build a free Russia, said the mother-of-two in a video message. Stepping out of the shadow of her dead husband, she called on his supporters to share the rage and stand with her. Filmed from a dimly lit room in an undisclosed location outside of Russia, the message in the video was both emotional and political. My colleague Namita Singh reports: Who is Yulia Navalnaya: Putins next political threat Julian Assange's wife appears to compare WikiLeaks founder to Alexei Navalny Tuesday 20 February 2024 22:40 , Andy Gregory Full report: Alexei Navalny mothers pleads for Putin to return her sons body Tuesday 20 February 2024 21:40 , Andy Gregory The mother of dead Russian dissident Alexei Navalny has issued a direct plea to Vladimir Putin for the release of her sons body so she can bury him with dignity. In a video filmed outside the Arctic penal colony where he died on Friday, Lyudmila Navalnaya, 69, said she had been trying to see him for five days but didnt even know where he was being kept. Let me finally see my son. I demand that Alexeis body be released immediately so that I can bury him in a humane way, she said from the village of Kharp, some 1,200 miles northeast of Moscow, where it is minus 10C. You can more in this full report of todays developments: Navalny mothers plea to Putin: Give me my sons body so I can bury him with dignity Navalny issued chilling warning about second Trump term in final letters from prison Tuesday 20 February 2024 20:34 , Andy Gregory Alexei Navalny issued a chilling warning about what a second presidential term for Donald Trump could mean in one of his final letters before he died in an Arctic prison last week. In one 3 December letter to Evgeny Feldman, a photographer who covered his attempted run for president in 2018 and now lives in exile in Latvia, Navalny wrote that he feared that if anything should happen to President Joe Biden a distinct possibility, he felt, given the Americans advanced age Trump will become president. To Navalny, a second Mr Trump term was a really scary prospect for the wider world. Doesnt this obvious thing concern the Democrats? he asked Mr Feldman, apparently incredulous that 81-year-old Mr Biden is pursuing a second term rather than yielding to a younger successor to take on Mr Trump. My colleague Joe Sommerlad has more in this report: Navalny issued chilling warning about second Trump term in final letters from prison EU summons Russias representative, calls for international probe into Navalny death Tuesday 20 February 2024 20:03 , Andy Gregory The European Union has summoned Russias representative to the bloc and called for an independent international investigation into the death Alexei Navalny. The EUs diplomatic service said a senior Brussels figure had also urged Russia to release Navalnys body to his family without further delay at the meeting with Kirill Loginov, Russias acting permanent representative to the EU. The EU side conveyed the EUs outrage over the death of the Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny, for which the ultimate responsibility lies with President Putin and the Russian authorities, it said. Italy summons Russian ambassador over Navalnys death Tuesday 20 February 2024 18:39 , Andy Gregory Italys foreign ministry has summoned the Russian ambassador over the death of opposition politician Alexei Navalny, a spokesperson for the ministry has said. Yulia Navalnaya hits back at Kremlin response to allegations of husbands killing Tuesday 20 February 2024 17:16 , Andy Gregory Yulia Navalnaya has responded after Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov sought to characterise her accusations that her husband had been poisoned as absolutely unfounded, insolent accusations about the head of the Russian state. In her most recent post on X/Twitter, Ms Navalnaya said: I don't care how the killers press secretary comments on my words. Give back Alexeis body and let him be buried with dignity, dont stop people from saying goodbye to him. And I really ask all journalists who may still ask questions: dont ask about me, ask about Alexei. Full report: White House to hit Russia with major sanctions in response to Navalnys death Tuesday 20 February 2024 16:59 , Andy Gregory The White House has announced that a new package of sanctions against Russia is set to go into effect following the death of opposition leader Aleksei Navalny in a Siberian prison camp. White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said existing sanctions will be specifically supplemented with additional sanctions regarding Mr Navalnys death. While he noted that the US doesnt yet know Mr Navalnys cause of death, Mr Kirby went on to put the blame Mr Putin, telling reporters: Regardless of the scientific answer, Putins responsible for it. My colleague Gustaf Kilander reports from Washington, DC: White House to hit Russia with major sanctions in response to Navalnys death US to announce major sanctions package this week Tuesday 20 February 2024 16:32 , Andy Gregory The US will announce a major package of Russian sanctions on Friday in response to the death of Alexei Navalny, the White House has said. The package will hold Russia accountable for what happened to Mr. Navalny and for its actions over the course of the war in Ukraine, national security spokesperson John Kirby told reporters. Alexei Navalnys mother Lyudmila Navalnaya lays flowers for her son Tuesday 20 February 2024 15:47 , Andy Gregory The mother of Alexei Navalny laid flowers for her son as she made a direct appeal to Vladimir Putin to release his body, reports my colleague Lucy Leeson. Lyudmila Navalnaya, 69, was seen laying a bouquet of white flowers next to a picture of her son. X says Yulia Navalnayas account was suspended by mistake Tuesday 20 February 2024 15:15 , Tom Watling Social media site X has claimed it suspended the account of Yulia Navalnaya after mistakenly flagging it as violating our rules. Our platforms defense mechanism against manipulation and spam mistakenly flagged @yulia_navalnaya as violating our rules, it wrote. We unsuspended the account as soon as we became aware of the error, and will be updating the defense. They did not clarify in what way they mistakenly believed Ms Navalnaya had broken the rules. Our platform's defense mechanism against manipulation and spam mistakenly flagged @yulia_navalnaya as violating our rules. We unsuspended the account as soon as we became aware of the error, and will be updating the defense. Safety (@Safety) February 20, 2024 Protests, poisoning and prison: The timeline of Alexei Navalnys life and his opposition to Vladimir Putin Tuesday 20 February 2024 15:10 , Tom Watling Alexei Navalny, a thorn in the side of the Kremlin and Russias most prominent political dissident, has died in prison at the age of 47. Navalny, a fierce critic of Russian president Vladimir Putin, had been sentenced to 19 years in a penal colony around 40 miles of the Arctic Circle in charges widely thought to be politically motivated. The 47-year-old felt unwell after a walk at the jail and lost consciousness. An ambulance arrived to try to rehabilitate him, but he died, according to prison authorities. Protests, poisoning and prison: The life of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny Poland summons Russian ambassador over Navalny death Tuesday 20 February 2024 14:42 , Tom Watling Polands Foreign Ministry has said it had summoned Russias ambassador over the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. The ministry called on Russian authorities to take responsibility for the death of Alexei Navalny and conduct a full and transparent investigation to determine the circumstances and cause of his death, the ministry said in a statement. Watch: Alexei Navalnys mother makes direct plea to Vladimir Putin to release sons body Tuesday 20 February 2024 14:05 , Tom Watling Alexei Navalnys mother has issued a video appeal directly to Vladimir Putin for the release of her sons body. In a recorded message outside the Polar Wolf Arctic Circle penal colony on Tuesday (20 February), Lyudmila Navalnaya said: I appeal to you, Vladimir Putin, because the solution to this problem depends only on you. Let me finally see my son. I demand that Alexeis body be released immediately so that I can bury him in a humane way. Russian authorities have said they will not return Mr Navalnys body for two weeks while they continue investigating his death. Alexei Navalnys mother makes direct plea to Vladimir Putin to release sons body Yulia Navalnayas X account restored Tuesday 20 February 2024 13:34 , Tom Watling Yulia Navalnayas X account has been restored just minutes after it was suspended. The wife of Alexei Navalny created an account on Monday, quickly amassing nearly 100,000 followers. Russia opens a new criminal case against Alexei Navalnys brother -Tass Tuesday 20 February 2024 13:23 , Tom Watling Russia has initiated a new criminal case against Oleg Navalny, the brother of dead Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, the Tass state news agency reported on Tuesday. TASS did not say under which article of the criminal code the case had been opened, but said police were searching for Oleg Navalny. who was already on the wanted list in connection with another matter. In 2014, Oleg Navalny was sentenced to 3.5 years in prison for fraud in a case Kremlin critics said was trumped up and designed to pile pressure on his late brother. X/Twitter bans Alexei Navalnys widow Yulia Navalnaya for breaking its rules Tuesday 20 February 2024 13:17 , Tom Watling X, formerly known as Twitter, has banned the account of Alexei Navalnys widow. Yulia Navalnaya set up her account on Monday. She has since used it to commit to holding Russian president Vladimir Putin to account. X/Twitter bans Alexei Navalnys widow Yulia Navalnaya for breaking its rules Alexei Navalny the man who knew too much Tuesday 20 February 2024 13:05 , Tom Watling For a decade and more, he and his team deployed a mix of tenacity and mockery to probe the Mafia-style financial links between those at the top of Russian politics, security and business, writes John Kampfner. Frozen out of state-controlled mainstream media, Navalny used every digital platform and every social media channel available to shine a light on Putins corrupt regime, surviving multiple poisonings and incarceration until he was finally and inevitably silenced by his greatest foe... Alexei Navalny the man who knew too much X, formerly Twitter, suspends Yulia Navalnayas account Tuesday 20 February 2024 12:57 , Alexander Butler X, formerly Twitter, has suspended the account of Alexei Navalnys widow. It is unclear why the social media network has removed her profile. Yulia Navalnaya joined the platform on Monday, where she vowed to carry on the work of her husband and hold Russian president Vladimir Putin to account. Mrs Navalnaya accused Putin of killing her husband with novichock poison and said evidence would be provided over the next few days. The Kremlin denied any involvement in his death. X, formerly Twitter, has suspended the account of Alexei Navalnys widow Yulia Navalnaya (X) Alexei Navalnys widow meets with European Council president in Brussels Tuesday 20 February 2024 12:37 , Tom Watling European Council president, Charles Michel, met with the widow of Alexei Navalny in Brussels on Monday 19 February, where she is also due to meet EU Foreign Affairs Ministers. Yulia Navalnaya vowed to continue her late husbands fight against the Kremlin while authorities denied his mother access to a morgue where Mr Navalnys body is believed to be held after his death last week at an Arctic penal colony. Russian authorities said that the cause for his death on Friday at age 47 is still unknown. Mr Navalny had been jailed since January 2021, when he returned to Russia after recuperating in Germany from poisoning with a Novichok-type nerve agent that he blamed on the Kremlin. Alexei Navalnys widow meets with European Council president in Brussels Critics like Navalny need support against monster Putin, says Alexander Litvinenkos widow Tuesday 20 February 2024 12:07 , Tom Watling Critics like Alexei Navalny need support from the West against the monster Vladimir Putin, Alexander Litvinenkos widow has said. Marina Litvinenkos husband, a prominent Putin critic and Russian defector, died in 2006 after becoming violently ill in London having been poisoned with radioactive polonium-210. A British inquiry found that Russian agents had killed Mr Litvinenko, probably with Putins approval, but the Kremlin denied any involvement. He is among the many Kremlin political critics, turncoat spies and investigative journalists who have been killed or assaulted in a variety of ways over the years. Critics like Navalny need support from West, says Alexander Litvinenkos widow Navalnys mother makes direct plea to Vladimir Putin for her sons body to returned Tuesday 20 February 2024 11:42 , Tom Watling The mother of Alexei Navalny has made a direct plea to Vladimir Putin for her son to be returned. In a video released on YouTube, Lyudmila Navalnaya, 69, standing outside the Polar Wolf Arctic Circle penal colony where Mr Navalny died, said: I appeal to you, Vladimir Putin, because the solution to this problem depends only on you. Let me finally see my son. I demand that Alexeis body be released immediately so that I can bury him in a humane way. Yulia Navalnaya makes renewed plea for her husbands body to be returned Tuesday 20 February 2024 11:26 , Tom Watling The wife of Alexei Navalny has made a renewed demand for her husbands body to be returned to her to be buried with dignity. Addressing comments by Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, in which she called Yulia boorish for her accusations that they had murdered her husband with Novichok, Ms Navalnaya said: I dont care how the killers press secretary comments on my words. Give back Alexeis body and let him be buried with dignity, dont stop people from saying goodbye to him. And I really ask all journalists who may still ask questions: dont ask about me, ask about Alexey. , - . , . , : , . Yulia Navalnaya (@yulia_navalnaya) February 20, 2024 Read Yulia Navalnayas full speech at the EU Foreign Affairs Council Tuesday 20 February 2024 11:15 , Tom Watling You can read the full Yulia Navalnaya speech at the European Union Foreign Affairs Council below. 1/10 We publish the full text of Yulia Navalnaya's @yulia_navalnaya speech at the EU Foreign Affairs Council yesterday. Dear Mister High Representative, dear ladies and gentlemen, Thank you for the opportunity to speak. I wish this meeting were under different circumstances. pic.twitter.com/XK8A76YiYJ (@Kira_Yarmysh) February 20, 2024 Who is Yulia Navalnaya the woman vowing to carry forward Navalnys battle against Putin Tuesday 20 February 2024 11:00 , Tom Watling Before the sudden death of her husband Alexei Navalny in a grim Arctic prison last week, Yulia Navalnaya had always played down the suggestion that she would one day take over as leader of Russias opposition. But on Monday, as the 47-year-old widow alternated between rage and grief, she gave a powerful speech signalling that she would be there to help lead a shell-shocked opposition a job fraught with danger. I want to live in a free Russia, I want to build a free Russia, said the mother-of-two in a video message. Stepping out of the shadow of her dead husband, she called on his supporters to share the rage and stand with her. Who is Yulia Navalnaya: Putins next political threat Moscow court rejects jailed US journalists appeal Tuesday 20 February 2024 10:45 , Tom Watling Jailed US journalist Evan Gershkovich has appeared in a Moscow Court today to appeal the extension of his pre-trial detention - but it has been rejected. The rejection of the latest appeal by the journalists lawyers means he is set to remain behind bars until at least 30 Marc, which would mark more than a year since he was taken into custody on an allegation of espionage that the WSJ and the US government vehemently deny. The Moscow City Court having considered the appeal against the ruling on the extension of the period of detention in respect of Evan Gershkovich left the court ruling unchanged and the appeal without satisfaction, a statement read. Gershkovich will remain in custody until March 30. US journalist Evan Gershkovich, arrested on espionage charges, looks out from inside a defendants cage before a hearing to consider an appeal on his extended pre-trial detention, at the Moscow City Court in Moscow on 20 February, 2024 (AFP via Getty Images) Putin did not watch Yulia Navalnaya's video statement, Kremlin says Tuesday 20 February 2024 10:33 , Tom Watling Russian President Vladimir Putin did not watch Yulia Navalnayas video statement, but her assertion that her late husband Alexei Navalny was poisoned with a Novichok nerve agent is unfounded, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said. Asked about Navalnayas claim that Putin had killed her husband, Peskov said that he would not comment given that Navalnaya had recently been widowed. But Peskov said that in general accusations that Putin was responsible for Alexei Navalnys death were absolutely unfounded and obnoxious. Russian President Vladimir Putin gestures while speaking at a news conference following a meeting of the State Council at the Kremlin in Moscow, (Sputnik) Wife of jailed Russian opposition figure praises superhuman Yulia Navalnaya Tuesday 20 February 2024 10:15 , Tom Watling The wife of jailed Russian opposition figure Vladimir Kara-Murza has praised the superhuman effort of Alexei Navalnys spouse, Yulia Navalnaya, following the death of her husband. Evgenia Kara-Murza, whose husband is currently serving a 25-year sentence in a Siberian penal colony in conditions near identical to what Alexei Navalny had been subjected to, applauded Yulia for her fortitude and resilience. Walking through hell with your head held high and a firm belief in your strength requires almost superhuman effort, she wrote on X, sharing a speech by Ms Navalnaya. Like millions of people, I mourn with Yulia Navalnyana and admire her fortitude and resilience. And I share her rage. Walking through hell with your head held high and a firm belief in your strength requires almost superhuman effort. Like millions of people, I mourn with @yulia_navalnaya and admire her fortitude and resilience. And I share her rage. https://t.co/fnOsfvF04l Evgenia Kara-Murza (@ekaramurza) February 20, 2024 CCTV appears to show Alexei Navalnys body being transported in midnight convoy Tuesday 20 February 2024 10:00 , Tom Watling CCTV cameras appear to show a Russian convoy transporting Alexei Navalnys body from prison to a morgue. The camera footage filmed overnight on 16 and 17 February, the same day as Navalnys death, has been released by the Russian media outlet. Cameras show the convoy crossing the Ob River south of Labytnangi, which is the only road between the Kharp prison and the Salekhard morgue, where its reported the politicians body is being held. Mr Navalnys mother, Lyudmila Navalnaya, and his lawyers say they have been denied entry to the morgue to see his body. CCTV appears to show Alexei Navalnys body being transported in midnight convoy Appeal of Alexei Navalnys wife could prolong his legacy, says friend of family Tuesday 20 February 2024 09:38 , Tom Watling The appeal of Alexei Navalnys wife to continue the fight of her dead husband has rejuvenated a Russian dissident community still mourning the loss of its figurehead, a friend of the Navalny family has told The Independent. On Monday, in a nine-minute video message laced with rage, Yulia Navalnaya, 47, said she would continue the fight of her husband for a free Russia and called on supporters to oppose President Vladimir Putin with greater fury than ever. Grigori Chkhartishvili, the Russian-Georgian novelist who earlier this month was charged by a Moscow court in absentia for justifying terrorism, said Yulias message was encouraging. Many were in despair after Alexeis death, the prevailing mood was there is no hope now, he said. Yulias appeal changed the tide completely. Now everyone is full of hope and energy again. If she really goes into politics it might make a big difference. It would mean that killing Alexei would prove to be Putins mistake. He added: Yulia has two potential capabilities. She is the only figure who can unite the divided opposition factions. And whats even more important she appeals on personal level to many Russians who are now politically indifferent. Because she is attractive, emotional, because she is a woman, and because her story is powerful. Well see soon whether her declaration was made on the spur of the moment or whether it was in earnest. I hope it is the latter. Leading Kremlin critic Alexei Navalnys widow Yulia Navalnaya takes part in a meeting of European Union foreign ministers in Brussels, Belgium, on 19 February 2024 (AFP via Getty Images) Jailed Russian opposition figure says he found out about Navalnys death yesterday Tuesday 20 February 2024 09:00 , Tom Watling A jailed Russian opposition politician has expressed his anger over the death of Alexei Navalny, having found out only yesterday. Ilya Yashin was jailed for eight-and-a-half years in December 2022 for spreading false information meant to discredit the Russian army, under a law introduced after Russia launched its invasion. His arrest came after statements he made on his YouTube channel about war crimes allegedly committed by Russian forces in the Kyiv suburb of Bucha. Mr Yashin wrote on X: News comes slowly to the camp barracks, and I only learned about the death of Alexei Navalny yesterday. Its hard to convey my shock. Its hard to gather your thoughts. The pain and horror are unbearable. Alexey Navalny was my friend. So does Boris Nemtsov. We did a common cause and dedicated our lives to making Russia peaceful, free and happy. Now both my friends are dead. I feel a black emptiness inside. And, of course, I understand my own risks. Im behind bars, my life is in Putins hands, and its in danger. But I will continue to stick to my line. Standing over Boriss body in February 2015, I vowed to myself not to be afraid, not to give up and not to run. Nine years later, mourning Alexei, I can only repeat this oath. Russian opposition activist and former municipal deputy of the Krasnoselsky district Ilya Yashin gestures, smiling, as he stands in a defendant's cubicle in a courtroom, prior to a hearing in Moscow, Russia, on Dec. 9, 2022 (AP) Major Simon McMahon was on track for a promotion to Colonel - KTD MEDIA A British Army major told one of his subordinates to stop acting like a rape victim after he turned down a drink. Major Simon McMahon, 36, who was described as a brilliant officer being fast-tracked for a promotion to Colonel, made the remark to a male non-commissioned officer while drunk at an event in the sergeants mess at Episkopi barracks. The military court in Catterick heard that Major McMahon, the British Armys Officer Commanding of the Cyprus Joint Police Unit, also entered a heated discussion with the units Regimental Sergeant Major earlier that night. Major McMahon is said to have then attempted to coerce the NCOs into continuing drinking in the mess, telling one male colleague to stop acting like a rape victim. Wing Commander Biedla said: During the evening Major McMahon told a colleague to stop being a pussy because he did not want to continue drinking and then added: Dont be a rape victim. Major Simon McMahon admitted misconduct through alcohol - KTD MEDIA The female colleague was spoken to about Major McMahons conduct towards her and chose not to pursue a complaint against him, but several witnesses gave accounts of his behaviour to police on the base. Bob Scott, representing Major McMahon, told the court: For the head of police in this unit to be acting in this manner - well, hes mortified, he is embarrassed to the hilt. Thank goodness it only took place in the mess. The court heard that McMahons job is a high pressure and relentless post which affected his behaviour that night. Mr Scott said: In relation to his behaviour, he tells me he had far too much to drink. He was not struggling with it, but the pressure of the work he was doing had an effect and it all came to fruition at the same time with the drinking of alcohol. Senior officers in Cyprus paid glowing testimonies to the officer, who has 14 years service after graduating from The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. McMahon was described as simply brilliant, displaying limitless energy and genuinely altruistic by top brass. However, Judge Advocate Andrew Smith told him: You have the prospect of early promotion to Lieutenant Colonel and Colonel. You are someone with a potentially spectacular career ahead of you and you behaved in this way. This is a significant black mark on your military career going forward. He said the court martial panel had considered dismissing Major McMahon, who admitted misconduct through alcohol. Instead he was sentenced to the loss of two years seniority, which means a drop in wages, loss of pension and stalls his chances of promotion. Judge Advocate Smith told McMahon: As the senior RMP in your unit, to be using those terms is both worrying and depressing and one of the most serious aspects of your misconduct. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 3 months with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. A bison herd in Ukraine is on the brink of extinction - can a matchmaking service save them? Bison in a national park east of Kyiv are at risk of dying out unless a male can be sent their way. The female herd in Zalissia National Nature Park lost all their males after Russias full-scale invasion of Ukraine began two years ago. Now WWF is fundraising to cover the costs of transporting a hairy bison suitor from the Vinnytsia region west of Kyiv. Relocating any animal, even a domestic one, requires careful preparation and time. Relocating Europe's largest land animal will require a year of coordinated action and an initial 10,000, says Dr Bohdan Vykhor, CEO of WWF Ukraine. The bison need our help. How many bison are left in Europe? European bison were almost wiped out by rampant hunting in the 17th to 19th centuries. By 1900, there were only two populations left in the wild; one in the Biaowieza Forest bordering Belarus and Poland, and one in the western Caucasus mountains running along Russias southern border with Georgia. Both herds were wiped out by 1927, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), with the species clinging to survival in a few European zoos. But successful reintroductions have helped these majestic animals make a comeback in Europes natural forest landscapes, where they contribute to healthy and diverse ecosystems. European bison are now free-ranging in Poland, Lithuania, Russia, Ukraine and Slovakia, and their population has increased to around 7,000. Biaowieza is back to being a stronghold for Europes biggest herbivore, with some 1,000 bison roaming the primaeval forest. Its from here that eight animals were translocated to Zalissia National Nature Park in 1967. Ukraines bison herds have suffered under Russias invasion The Zalissia subpopulation is one of seven in Ukraine, and had 21 adults before the war broke out. There are around 400 bison in total across the country. Russias full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 has brought new threats to the wild animals at a time when they were regaining a foothold on the land. Their home, along with the adjacent villages, was an area of intense fighting in the first months of the war. In March 2022, a significant portion of the 148 square kilometre fenced area of the reserve was destroyed. All four adult male bison were killed, says WWFs Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) arm. According to the European Wilderness Society, bison are very vulnerable and helpless in terms of saving their lives under rocket fire due to their lumbering size and reactive behaviours. Large mammals like bison are also under threat from land mines. 300 km to love and saving bison A European bison (Bison bonasus) in Eriksberg game park, Sweden. - Ola Jennersten / WWF Sweden WWFs mission, announced on Valentines Day, is to find mates for the endangered female herd in Zalissia. Two male bison from the Vinnytsia region west of Kyiv can save the herd, the wildlife experts say. But for them to do this, the animals have to travel roughly 300 km around Kyiv - a difficult journey that they cannot do alone. WWF Ukraine is working on obtaining a permit from the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine before the work can begin, as bison are in Ukraines Red Book of threatened species. The charity is planning to translocate the bison by September, in collaboration with scientists who will choose the males and the method of capture. Vets are also needed to monitor the animals, construct cages and stock up on food, which all comes at a cost. But with donors help, theyre hoping to deliver the answer to the herds prayers by December. Why are bison so valuable for the environment? The European bison is one of the most threatened large mammals in the world, and it is protected at the European level. WWF is working to reintroduce bison in the region, says Irene Lucius, regional conservation director for WWF CEE. After a long absence, this can not only revive populations of this threatened species but also enrich and restore remaining wild landscapes in Europe. While browsing in search of food, bison help create a mosaic of forested areas and grasslands - a landscape highly valued for its biodiversity and resilience in the face of climate change. Bison can also help other animals on their rewilding journeys. If their habitat is actively preserved, bison can maintain ecological corridors on a large scale - aiding the migration of large carnivores like brown bears, wolves and lynx. A missing person poster along with flowers and teddy bears are placed on the porch of Athena Brownfield's home in Cyril on Jan. 19, 2023. ANADARKO The death penalty is being sought in the case of the 4-year-old girl who died at her home in Cyril on Christmas Day 2022 of malnutrition and illness. A caretaker, Alysia Adina Adams, 32, is charged with first-degree murder in the girl's death. She is accused of willfully torturing Athena Brownfield to death by putting her in a closet and depriving her of proper nutrition and water. Caddo County District Attorney Jason Hicks filed a notice of his decision on punishment on Wednesday. He listed two reasons Alysia Adams "should be put to death." The DA alleged first she "knowingly created a great risk of death to more than one person." That reason involves the victim's older sister, who was left alone at the home for days. He alleged as the second reason that the murder was "especially heinous, atrocious or cruel." Defense attorney Al Hoch declined comment Thursday because a judge has barred any statements to the press. How rare is the death penalty for women in Oklahoma? Oklahoma has executed only three women, according to historical records. All three were put to death by lethal injection in 2001. More than 200 men have been executed since statehood. Oklahoma now has only one female death row inmate, Brenda Andrew. Her last appeal was filed in January at the U.S. Supreme Court. Her attorneys told justices she "has steadfastly maintained her innocence of her husbands murder." Facing the death penalty in a triple murder case is Keegan Harroz, an Oklahoma City attorney. A heart is hung from barbed wire Jan. 19, 2023, near where the body of 4-year-old Athena Brownfield was found near Rush Springs. The search for Athena Brownfield ended with the discovery of her body in a buried backpack A massive search for Athena began on Jan. 10, 2023, after a postal carrier found her older sister, Adina, wandering around outside the home in Cyril. The carrier notified police. The sister, then 5, said she had been at the house alone and was tired of it. The town is about 70 miles southwest of Oklahoma City. The highly publicized search ended tragically. Agents with the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation recovered Athena's remains Jan. 17, 2023, in the Rush Springs area. Her body was found inside a zipped black backpack buried in a shallow grave in a field, according to an autopsy report. The body weighed only 23 pounds. Prosecutors initially thought the girl had been beaten to death based on statements Alysia Adams made about her husband. The husband, Ivon Neil Adams III, was charged with first-degree murder because of those statements. Alysia Adams was at first charged only with child neglect. Prosecutors changed the charges in December after the autopsy found no evidence of assault. Athena Brownfield The girl died from malnutrition complicated by COVID-19 "and a couple of other viruses," the district attorney said in court Dec. 12. Ivon Adams, 37, is now charged with second-degree murder in Athena's death. The punishment for that crime is 10 years to life in prison. He still faces a felony count of child neglect that accuses him of leaving Athena's sister without any supervision in January. He also faces a new felony count unlawful removal of a dead body accusing him of burying Athena's body in rural Grady County. Alysia Adams also still faces a felony count of child neglect over Athena's sister. Prosecutors have added to her case a misdemeanor count of obstruction of a public officer. She is accused in the obstruction count of hindering the investigation when she told the OSBI her husband had beat Athena. "Said information ... after further investigation was discovered to be false," prosecutors said. The OSBI is now investigating allegations Alysia Adams had a sexual relationship with a jailer in Caddo County. She has been moved to the Grady County jail. The girls had been left by their mother with Ivon and Alysia Adams in April 2021, the OSBI said. The mother and Alysia Adams are related. The mother, Jasmin Adina Kay Brownfield, 28, of Stillwater, was charged in May with two counts of child neglect by abandonment. This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: AG seeking death penalty for woman accused of killing Athena Brownfield BROWNSVILLE People in West Tennessee interested in working at the BlueOval City campus got a chance Thursday and will again Friday to find out what opportunities could be a good fit for them. BlueOval SK part of BlueOval Citys future $5.6 billion campus in Stanton kicked off its 2024 Hiring Roadshow in Tennessee on Thursday at Livingstons Soda Fountain and Grill, 60 S. Washington Ave. on Brownsvilles town square. The event continues from 7 a.m.-1 p.m. Friday at Livingston's. The BlueOval SK plant will produce advanced batteries for future Ford and Lincoln electric vehicles. It will employ about 2,500. Also at BlueOval City, Ford is building an assembly plant to make electric trucks. It will employ 3,300. Tyler Stegall, talent and acquisition manager for BlueOval SK, told The Commercial Appeal that the company intends to get out in the communities in West Tennessee and recruit people for positions at the battery plant. With Brownsville only about 15 to 20 minutes away from the BlueOval City campus in Stanton, it was the ideal place to start. We wanted to get out in the local community, and where the heart of the town is and just talk to people about who we are, the jobs that we have and how they can get involved, Stegall said. We want to hire locally, and we want West Tennesseans to come out and work at BlueOval SK. Were targeting all of the Memphis market as well as Northern Mississippi also and Arkansas." What jobs are available at BlueOval SK? A BlueOval SK recruitment poster can be seen as recruiters and other BlueOval SK staff speak with people interested in applying during a hiring event at Livingstons Soda Fountain and Grill in Brownsville, Tenn., on Thursday, February 15, 2024. Stegall said the plan is to employ 2,500 workers at BlueOval SKs battery plant. He said the companys website currently has more than 30 job opportunities posted. However, Stegall explained the objective of the hiring event in Brownsville was to promote what he described as BlueOval SKs high-volume roles, which are the positions where the company plans to hire the most people. Those jobs include production operators, maintenance technicians, associate maintenance technicians and quality operators. He said pay for production operators starts at $21 an hour. Stegall also stated there are two opportunities on BlueOval SK's maintenance team, where someone can make up to $37.50 per hour. The qualifications include being a certified maintenance technician or electrician, having years of experience in the role and having a journeymans card, which is a credential or certification that shows the completion of a certain level of training and education in a trade. Story continues If someone is interested in maintenance, its a great opportunity to get some good experience, grow your career and to get to the top of the pay scale and make some good money," Stegall said. Stanley McNeil, a human resources recruiter with BlueOval SK, speaks with a man interested in jobs at BlueOval City during a hiring event at Livingstons Soda Fountain and Grill in Brownsville, Tenn., on Thursday, February 15, 2024. Stegall said interested job candidates shouldn't be deterred because of their educational background or experience level. We want people to know that they dont have to have formal education other than your high school diploma or GED to qualify for these jobs and people dont have to have experience in manufacturing, he said. We are committed to upskilling our workforce and to training people, so they can be successful in these jobs. If a person has never been in manufacturing or work for a plant before, dont be scared to apply. FORD IN TENNESSEE: Former military recruiter now leads Ford's quest to hire veterans at BlueOval City in TN Who was applying for jobs at BlueOval SK? Human resources representatives from BlueOval SK sat at tables inside Livingstons dining room Thursday to answer about jobs at BlueOval SK and help people submit their applications online. Jason Langston and Anthony Hendrix speak with Marquita Valadez, a human resources recruiter with BlueOval SK, during a hiring event at Livingstons Soda Fountain and Grill in Brownsville, Tenn., on Thursday, February 15, 2024. BlueOval SK will employ 2,500 at its battery plant on the BlueOval City campus in Stanton, Tenn. Production is expected to start in 2025. Anthony Hendrix, 19, was among the job applicants. Hendrix attends the Tennessee College of Applied Technology (TCAT) in Jackson and the BlueOval City campus is about 5 minutes from where he lives. Hendrix said he applied for a position in maintenance. He used to work in maintenance at a local factory for four months after graduating from school, before deciding to increase his skills and attend TCAT. Hendrix believes BlueOval's arrival is going to open up a lot of job opportunities for younger people. In addition to the battery plant, Ford will have A lot of these factories around here already have their main staff, which are like the older guys pretty much, Hendrix said. BlueOval is going to open up for a lot of the younger guys." WEST TENNESSEE: Federal officials visit BlueOval SK after granting joint venture $9.2 billion loan Shun Dean has been working at chemical plant Teknor Apex in Brownsville since December. Dean said he came out to apply for a production operator position at BlueOval SK. He said his past experience included six years as a production operator at Unilever Ice Cream plant in Covington. I have a lot of knowledge in factory, and I feel like, I would be a great fit at BlueOval, Dean said. I think having BlueOval come to this region is much needed because its not too many jobs like this in this area, and its really going to help grow areas like Brownsville and other surrounding areas. Marquita Valadez, a human resources recruiter with BlueOval SK, looks over hiring materials with people interested in jobs during a hiring event at Livingstons Soda Fountain and Grill in Brownsville, Tenn., on Thursday, February 15, 2024. BlueOval SK will employ 2,500 at its battery plant on the BlueOval City campus in Stanton, Tenn. Production is expected to start in 2025. When will production start at BlueOval SK? BlueOvalSKs battery plant at BlueOval City is currently under construction in Stanton. Construction is on schedule with battery production slated to begin 2025. Corey Davis is the Collierville and Germantown reporter with The Commercial Appeal. He can be reached at Corey.Davis@commercialappeal.com or 901-293-1610. This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: BlueOval SK jobs in TN: What to know about hiring for battery plant An Alabama contractor faces embezzlement charges after Florida deputies said he misappropriated a customers payments. The contractor was taken into custody after using hundreds of thousands of dollars of the customers money for his own purposes rather than payments on a house he was hired to build, according to a Feb. 16 Walton County Sheriffs Office news release. The arrest comes almost two years after the customer gave the 59-year-old money, deputies said. An Alabama man hired the Dadeville contractor in March 2022 to build him a new house for his family in Santa Rosa Beach, according to the sheriffs office. He paid him almost $1 million for the project, deputies said. But after a few months, the customer noticed the homes construction was coming to a halt and thousands of dollars were disappearing, the sheriffs office said. The status of the homes construction caused the man to hire a different contractor, deputies said. He also reported his previous contractor to the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation, according to deputies. The department then contacted the Walton County Sheriffs Office in August 2023 to look into the claim, deputies said. Further investigation revealed the man embezzled $262,130 of construction payments from the customer, deputies said. That amount was never returned to the customer because the contractor told deputies he didnt know where the money was, according the sheriffs office. A warrant was issued for the contractors arrest Feb. 1 after the initial investigation concluded, deputies said. He was charged with embezzlement for misappropriating money, the sheriffs office said. After multiple failed attempts to have the man turn himself in to the authorities, the Tallapoosa County Sheriffs Office had to take him into custody Feb. 9. He was extradited to the Walton County Jail and placed under a $15,000 bond, according to the sheriffs office. Santa Rosa Beach is about 40 miles northwest of Panama City Beach. Fake attorney scammed sisters in moms wrongful death suit and stole $40,000, cops say Risky gas station heroin sold online as mood enhancer made man $2.2 million, feds say Roofing company owner defrauded customers of $100,000 in North Carolina, cops say PATERSON The Arizona company hired to use artificial intelligence to analyze city police body-camera videos said it found a major improvement in professionalism in cops encounters with civilians. The company, Truleo, issued a press release this week announcing a 50% decrease in cops use of unprofessional language when dealing with the public, a 337% increase in officer professionalism, and a 59% rise in cases in which community members expressed gratitude to law enforcement officers. Truleo said those changes were found in its AI analysis of police body-camera videos for the last three months of 2023 compared with the same time frame in 2022. Paterson police headquarters at the Frank X. Graves Jr. Public Safety Complex in April 2021. Activists, experts are skeptical Social justice activists expressed skepticism about the Truleo assertions, saying the numbers didnt seem to match those in recent internal affairs reports on complaints about police officers. Law enforcement expert Richard Rivera also expressed reservations about the Truleo report. Essentially, officers were put on notice to abide by the camera policy and then were on their best behavior, said Rivera, a South Jersey police director and retired West New York cop who provides expert testimony in court cases involving law enforcement internal affairs functions. Rivera said the software Truleo is using for its AI analysis is new and not fully validated. Paterson is an experiment for Truleo, and the agency is being used for corporate promotional literature, Rivera said. The case study does not state how a city police department shares citizen encounters with its corporate partner and how that data is stored, used or sold. This is concerning and needs to be explained. What did Paterson officials say? Truleos original press release on Tuesday did not include any statements from the Paterson Police Department. On Wednesday, law enforcement officials released comments from Patersons state-appointed officer in charge of the department, Isa Abbassi. Truleos body worn camera technology is being used as an important tool to evaluate officer conduct and professionalism during police interactions, Abbassi said. This data will help the Paterson Police Department achieve its goal of providing effective public safety services to the people of Paterson. Officers have been receptive to the technology and are rising to the challenge to further increase professionalism as they go about their duties protecting and serving the people of Paterson. Paterson Mayor Andre Sayegh, who has opposed the state takeover of the Police Department, did not respond when asked for comment about Truleos findings. Public safety: NJ attorney general taps Paterson activist as community liaison for Police Department More from Paterson Press: Officials silent on convicted cop Kevin Patinos future job status When did Paterson cops start using body cameras? Paterson was last among New Jerseys major cities to equip its cops with body cameras. The first 25 recording devices were distributed to Paterson police in January 2021. State attorney general guidelines require cops to record most encounters with civilians, such as when they take someone into custody or respond to residents' quality-of-life complaints. Truleo said the number of times Paterson cops activated their body cameras increased by 50% between October and December 2023, compared with the previous year. The company also asserted that the number of times police officers properly introduced themselves to civilians they encountered rose by 58%. "I am immensely proud of our partnership with Officer in Charge Abbassi and the Paterson PD," Anthony Tassone, co-founder and CEO of Truleo, said in the companys press release. "They are fulfilling the promise they made to their community and deserve to be celebrated for their professionalism and commitment to training." But Paterson Black Lives Matter leader Zellie Thomas isnt ready to celebrate just yet. He said that at first glance the decrease in cops use of inappropriate language may seem substantial. But when compared with the recently released 2023 internal affairs summary, things arent adding up, Thomas asserted. The activist noted that the IA report said there were fewer than 50 sustained complaints against city police officers in 2023. At the same time, Thomas pointed out, the Truleo report found 50 instances of unprofessional language by cops in a span of three months. Accountability is still not happening, the BLM leader said. Meanwhile, Rivera, the law enforcement expert, cited what he described as various deficiencies in the Truleo report. For example, he said, the case study does not seem to account for police officers interactions with Spanish- and Arabic-speaking residents. Rivera also noted that the report does not say how often police supervisors reviewed subordinates' body-camera videos, one of the requirements under the Attorney General's Office standards. He also pointed out that IA reports showed an increase in complaints about officers demeanor such as when they used foul language or were rude during public interactions. Despite increased BWC (body-worn camera) scrutiny and introduction of Truleo software, the outcomes were the same, Rivera said. Joe Malinconico is editor of Paterson Press. Email: editor@patersonpress.com This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Paterson NJ: AI analysis examines police officer behavior WASHINGTON Former President Donald Trumps lawyers on Thursday lashed out at special counsel Jack Smith after he opposed Trumps request that the Supreme Court delay a trial into whether he tried to steal the 2020 election. In Trumps final brief before the Supreme Court will consider that delay, his lawyers told the court Smith has created the appearance of partisanship. As before, there is no mystery about the Special Counsels motivation, they wrote. Commentators across the political spectrum point to the obvious the Special Counsel seeks to bring President Trump to trial and to secure a conviction before the November election in which President Trump is the leading candidate against President Biden. That goes against the Justice Departments longstanding prohibition against prosecutors timing their actions to influence an election, the lawyers said. While Trump has long alleged that the four sets of criminal trials he faces are simply a roadblock for his reelection campaign, there is no evidence federal or state officials are targeting the former president's White House bid. Trump wants the Supreme Court to keep his trial on hold while he appeals a lower courts ruling that found hes not immune from prosecution. Unless the court limits the amount of time Trump has to file his appeals, the process is unlikely to be completed in time for a trial before the November election. Trump, the likely Republican presidential nominee, has sought to delay his four federal and state criminal cases until after the election. If voters return Trump to the White House while the trail is still pending, he could ask the Justice Department to dismiss pending federal cases. Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump speaks at a caucus night rally in Las Vegas, Thursday, Feb. 8, 2024. In Trumps initial request to the court on Monday, his lawyers suggested Smith is answering to Biden, his ultimate boss. They made that charge despite the fact that special counsels are appointed from outside the Justice Department to avoid any such conflicts. Smith told the court Wednesday the public interest in a timely trial is at its zenith. "The conduct alleged in the indictment is of unparalleled gravity," Smith wrote. "There is a national interest in seeing the crimes alleged in this case resolved promptly." Trump has pleaded not guilty to four federal charges in the case three for conspiracy and one for obstruction for falsely claiming election fraud and trying to overturn the legitimate 2020 election results. While former presidents have broad immunity from civil lawsuits for official actions taken while serving in the White House, Trump has attempted to claim sweeping immunity from criminal prosecution. Trump lawyer John Sauer has argued a president would have to be impeached and convicted in a Senate trial before he could be charged with crimes, including murdering a political rival, accepting bribes or committing treason. Without immunity from criminal prosecution, Sauer told the court, the presidency as we know it will cease to exist because political rivals could seek to punish a president for contentious policy decisions. A three-judge panel of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals this month definitively rejected Trumps argument in a unanimous opinion. But the panel kept on hold the trial originally scheduled for March while Trump asked the Supreme Court to weigh in. Hes already facing a March trial in New York on charges he falsified business records to cover up payments to women. Trials are also possible on election interference charges in Georgia and on whether Trump mishandled of classified documents after leaving the White House. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Donald Trump asks Supreme Court to delay trial for immunity appeal El Paso County District Attorney candidate Nancy Casas - D Age: 49 Please describe your personal and professional background. I was born in El Paso. I attended YISD schools and graduated from J.M. Hanks High School. Ireceived my BA at UTEP with a major in Political Science and a minor in History and my JD at theUniversity of Iowa. I started my legal career as a paralegal for Legal Aid. I advocated on behalf of clients to obtainadministrative benefits and assisted the lawyers prepare for court. My desire to help the clientsin a greater capacity inspired me to go to law school. After my return from law school, I workedas a staff attorney at Legal Aid. I helped victims of domestic violence and victims of DeceptiveTrade Practice in their civil actions. After Legal Aid, I worked at the El Paso District AttorneysOffice where I was assigned to the misdemeanor and felony courts, and intake. As a felonyattorney, I was placed in a specialty unit- The Drug Taskforce. I remained there for seven years. Iwas considered a subject matter expert on drug prosecution. I took an opportunity to workoverseas as a prosecutor with the European Union Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo whereMentored, Monitored, and Advised local prosecutors in the Rule of Law. I received nationalsecurity clearance from the US State Department. After Kosovo, I was hired as a internationalTrainer for the Rule of Law in Latin American Countries (Panama, Peru, Guatemala, Mexico,Honduras) to train prosecutors and law enforcement to advocate in a system modeled to ours.When I came back to the U.S., I returned to the District Attorney Office and was placed in theIntake Division to prepare Felony and Misdemeanor criminal cases for the trial courts andpresentment to the grand juries and handle the presentation of cases through DistrictAttorneys Information Management System (DIMS). I developed and implemented a trainingprogram for law enforcement officers throughout El Paso County, Culberson County, andHudspeth County in all aspects of case presentation to District Attorneys Office, generalinvestigation, report writing, and trial preparation. I became a certified TCOLE traininginstructor. Additionally, I trained junior attorneys in the District Attorneys InformationManagement System (DIMS) preindictment process and intake procedures. I finished my termwith the District Attorneys Office as a Principal Attorney. Upon finishing my term with the District Attorneys Office, I got an opportunity to continueserving the El Paso community at the El Paso County Attorneys office. My first assignment wasthe General Counsel Unit where I provided general counsel services on a variety of civil mattersincluding contract review, drafting contract, issuance of formal and informal legal opinions, andadvising on open government requirements. Currently, I am a Principal Attorney in the CriminalUnit for the County Attorneys office. Throughout the two decades of my career, I havementored students considering careers in law. Being involved in the El Paso community is important to me. Professionally, I am a member ofthe Texas District and County Attorneys Association, El Paso Womens Bar Association, and theEl Paso Bar Association. I am an active member is several civic organizations - Texas MasterNaturalist, LULAC Council #9, Rotary Club of El Paso, El Paso Womens Executive Lions Club.I have held the fiduciary, strategic, and generative responsibility as a board member at LasAmericas Immigrant and Advocacy Center, Boys and Girls Club, Jewish Federation, Rotary Cluband the Salvation Army. I hold a part of the strategic and generative responsibility of AdvisoryCouncil member for Young Womens Leadership Academy, and Community Advisory memberfor UMC Nurse Family Partnership Department. I am part of the organization committee forWineFest for Rotary of El Paso, WaterStation for Zaragoza Rotary, and 321 Changemakers forProgress 321. My community involvement also to is raise awareness of El Pasos beauty. I lead hikes at theFranklin Mountains. I have created training groups for bike runs, 5Ks, and triathlons. I gatheredgroups to attend plays, and sporting events. How do you earn a living? Do you plan to continue if elected? I currently work with the County Attorneys Office. Please describe your education. Where did you get your high school diploma? What higher education degrees and certificates have you earned from where? I graduated from Hanks High School, attended EPCC, and graduated from UTEP with a Bachelorsof Arts in Political Science (major) and History (minor). I graduated from University of Iowa witha Juris Doctorate. I am a licensed attorney in good Standing with the Texas State Bar sinceNovember 2000. What experiences in leadership do you have that qualify you for this position? If your actions, make some dream more, learn more, do more, and become more, you havebecome a leader- John Quincy Adams. My action have done just that when my intern at theDistrict Attorneys Office said he wanted to become an attorney after working with me. I guidedhim and wrote his letter of recommendation for law school. After he graduated from law schooland passed the bar, he became my colleague at the District Attorneys office. At that moment, iknew I was no longer just a line attorney but a leader at the District Attorneys office and withinthe community. In Kosovo, I become a line manager to a culturally diverse unit of 16 people who were notunited and having difficulties in meeting its mandate. I had one year to implement changes.When I left the team was united and meeting all its mandates from the European Union. Have you ever been arrested or charged with a crime? Have you ever had a civil judgmentagainst you? Have you ever been in arrears on local, state or federal taxes? If so, pleaseprovide an explanation. I am a model citizen and a community leader. I have never been in the above situations. If elected, would you have any potential conflicts of interest that you are aware of thatwould impair your ability to serve? Please explain what they are and how you would avoidthe conflict. I am not aware of any potential conflicts of interest. What does transparent government mean to you? Will you be personally accessible toanswer questions while in office? Yes I will be available and believe in an open society. Im a First Amendment proponent andbelieve the more a community knows about government the better for the greater good. I alsobelieve that the media plays an important role in democracy and keeping government officialshonest. There will be times when sensitive information on investigations will be held close tothe vest, but overall, I have no problems talking with reporters or editors. Issue related questions What do you feel are the largest challenges facing the El Paso District Attorneys Office? As District Attorney, what would you do to address those challenges? The District Attorney needs to improve communication with the public, victims, victim advocacygroups, criminal defense bar, courts, media, and law enforcement agencies. As District Attorney,I plan to listen to the concerns and become a part of discussions among stakeholders andcommunity members. The District Attorneys office continues to have a high turnover rate. As District Attorney, I planto recognize, retain, and recruit talent. I plan to foster an office culture where employees feelappreciated and a valued part of a team. A team that will be efficient. Why are you the best candidate for this office? I am the most experience candidate and I already have experience with local law enforcementas a former trainer of officers and attorneys internationally and locally. I bring 24 years oflitigation experience, 23 years of being an attorney, 21 years as a prosecutor. I bring a broadrange of prosecutorial experience. I have served in different prosecutorial roles: court roomline attorney, grand jury attorney, intake attorney, Jail Magistrate attorney, specialty prosecutor,subject matter expert in drug prosecution and investigation, administrator, and trainer. Born andraised in El Paso, Texas, I have a deep commitment to improve the safety of our community. Ihave been a board member for Las Americas Immigrant and Advocacy Center, Boys and GirlsClub, and Jewish Federation, and Rotary Club. I am currently a board member for SalvationArmy and for Young Womens Leadership Network. I am an active member of the Lions Club,Rotary Club, Lulac #9, Texas Master Naturalist. What are your top three priorities? Prosecution of violent criminals Establishing connections with community- law enforcement, victim advocate groups, Courtand court staff, defense bar, County and City Departments, media Addressing the back log of cases through enhancing the district attorneys office morale andstaffing. What role does the district attorney play? Is it more administrative position or litigation position? The mandated responsibility of the District Attorneys Office is to prosecute crimes committedagainst society. In doing so, a district attorneys office must have the trust of the community, itmust have high values, integrity and credibility. It must have strong leadership and focus andinsight. The state of Texas, like all other states in the union, has created agencies to protectresidents from crime and criminals. The mandate then is not a difficult concept. The districtattorney in each county has been given the legal authority to prosecute those who break thelaw. That is the basic charge. The district attorney is a prosecutor first. To accomplish that though, a district attorney must also administer an annual budget, take careof its employees and make sure the office works effectively. The district attorney must create ateam that focuses on the administration of the agency and one that focuses on the prosecutionof criminals, the protection of victims and make sure the legal requirements of the law arefollowed. Both are extremely important to have an agency that will have stability and a future. Ifeither part breaks down, the integrity of the agency will suffer. Therefore, I plan to be a leader who balances litigation and administration to create an efficientteam. What are your plans and strategies to address the large backlog of cases currently pendingin the El Paso justice system? What types of cases would you prioritize? The unit that handles the receiving of cases from law enforcement agencies has to bestrengthened and improved. Cases cannot go into the courts if they are not first entered intothe system and reviewed. It is the start of the chain. I was part of that system in the past andknow how to enhance it. How do you plan to handle low level misdemeanors such as marijuana possession? Marijuana possession is still a crime in Texas. There is a difference between personal use anddistribution of large amounts. The trend nationally is to be light on personal use and treat thosecases with a soft hand. I would work with police agencies on what priority they will place onsuch cases. I am cognizant of the consequences for someone convicted of personal use: one canlose a job or not get hired for testing positive for marijuana use. Drunken driving appears to be abigger problem in El Paso. I intend to work with policing agencies to crack down on drunkendrivers. Do you plan on continuing to seek the death penalty against the El Paso Walmart massshooter? Due to the gag order issued by Judge Medrano, I cannot comment specifically on this case.Overall, our city needs resolution on cases and if a case merits it after careful consideration thedeath penalty, then our office will seek it. A number of El Paso Police officers where recently arrested on criminal charges; how should these cases be handled? Would you be open to plea agreements that result in reduced charges? All persons should be held accountable when they commit a crime. Plea agreements in all casesshould be considered based on how strong the evidence is against the officer. I have no problemwhatsoever prosecuting an individual who violates the public trust including crimes by city/county employee, council member, business leader. How can the District Attorneys Office address border crime? How important is building relationships with law enforcement? Border crime is a broad category. Do you mean burglaries, drug trafficking, violent crimes,human trafficking, or crossing illegally? Of course, I will prosecute all of them. If police bring me a case, I will review all the evidenceand decide if there is enough for a successful prosecution. I will work with the different police agencies on all cases. It will come down to the priority apolice agency places on the cases.The police and the district attorneys office have to utilize alltheir resources efficiently and maintain community trust and safety. What must be done to regain the El Paso communitys trust after the resignation of former District Attorney Yvonne Rosales? Bringing back credibility and integrity to the District Attorneys Office is not a short-termsituation. It will take time to bring stability, hire prosecutors, assure victims we are on their side,be open with the community and work with policing agencies. I intend to make sure we havehigh standards, ethical values and make sure the office is proud of the important job we aredoing. I also will be open with the community. I will create teams of professionals and empowerthem to make the right decisions. I will ensure that our $20 million budget is used accordinglyand work closely with the budget administrator closely and make decisions together and applyfor federal and state grants.. Im a team builder, and with the right team, we will bring solidstability, integrity and credibility to the District Attorneys Office. The candidates' responses are being published largely as they were submitted. This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: El Paso County District Attorney candidate: Nancy Casas Mohammed Abosheriah was ordered to evacuate his city in northern Gaza to a safe zone with his family three months ago. While on the evacuation route with his parents, wife and nine children, he was pulled aside by Israeli forces, stripped and handcuffed. His family pleaded for soldiers to let him go. They told the family to wait for him at the next checkpoint. Abosheriah never returned. My family has contacted the Red Cross and other organizations to give us any kind so news whether he is alive or dead, said his cousin, Adam Abosheriah, of Springfield. Everybody fears if you have a family member abducted they will be dead. Newark, NJ -- February 15, 2024 -- Ruwayda, Najla Khass and Dina Sayedahmed, CAIR-NJ Communications Managero and others who are concerned for relatives in Gaza took part in a press conference held by CAIR at their office in Newark. Abosheriah stood with other Palestinian Americans on Thursday afternoon in Newark to publicly implore elected officials to call for a cease-fire and end the bombardment of Gaza. Many of their loved ones have been killed. Others are starving or sheltering in safe zones that are no longer safe, where bombs have struck and new evacuation orders are expected. They pleaded for help as the situation grows more desperate. Cease-fire negotiations have stalled again as Israel warns of a ground invasion in Rafah, the city in southern Gaza where more than a million displaced people fled to avoid fighting. Families on the brink of starvation Najla Khass of Piscataway said her family is on the brink of starvation as Israel blocks most aid from entering the Gaza Strip. "They are not letting enough food trucks into Gaza and my family is living on one meal a day, she said. They also cannot access needed medications, said Khass, adding that 40 of her family members have died so far in bombings. She and others said family members were eating grass and animal fodder to survive, or had one sandwich to fill their day. Israel has said it limits aid to prevent Hamas from diverting it for military purposes, but humanitarian organizations say the restrictions amount to collective punishment against a civilian population. Newark, NJ -- February 15, 2024 -- Adam Abosheriah holds a photo of his cousin who lives in Gaza and has been abducted. He and others who are concerned for relatives in Gaza took part in a press conference held by CAIR at their office in Newark. Khass' uncle, 85, is living in a tent on the street in Rafah, the southern city where about 1.4 million Palestinians are sheltering many of whom have been evacuated from northern cities. While Americans watched the Super Bowl on Sunday, she watched videos of bombs in Rafah. People fear more violence as Israeli leaders warn of a ground invasion in the crowded city. How can they expect the injured, the disabled, the elderly, to evacuate again? Khass said. A ground invasion is needed to root out Hamas militants hiding in Rafah, according to Israel. The United States and aid organizations have warned that an invasion could result in a humanitarian catastrophe. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has asked security officials to draft plans to evacuate civilians Rafah before expanding military operations there. It remains unclear where they can go. Israel's war on Gaza Strip: Mapping the devastation Abosheriah said his family was also huddled in tents in Rafah, afraid to enter buildings that could tumble on top of them during airstrikes. In total, 104 members of his family, including his father, mother and brother, have been killed in Gaza, he said. Now, his surviving family hopes that they will hear from his cousin and several other relatives who have been detained. Israel has said that mass detention of men in Gaza was needed to determine if any of them were connected to Hamas. Images of groups of men stripped, handcuffed and kneeling have sparked outrage, while rights groups raise concerns about arbitrary detention and beatings. Abosheriah said he had reached out to his congressman, Rep. Thomas Kean Jr., about 10 times to talk about his family's plight and a cease-fire. He said he had not gotten a response. Look through 'a lens of humanity' Newark, NJ -- February 15, 2024 -- Najla Khass holds a photo of her uncle who lives in Gaza. The picture shes holding up is her uncle who has been displaced and is living in a tent in Rafah. She and others who are concerned for relatives in Gaza took part in a press conference held by CAIR at their office in Newark. The current fighting was triggered Oct. 7, when Hamas launched a surprise attack in southern Israel that killed nearly 1,200 people, while another 240 were taken hostage. Nearly 30,000 people in Gaza have been killed, according to health authorities, with thousands more missing under the rubble. Cease-fire negotiations in Cairo halted on Wednesday. Israel pulled its delegation, blaming Hamas for a lack of new proposals. The talks were aimed at halting fighting in Gaza and freeing the more than 100 remaining hostages. Israel and Hamas have disagreed on release of imprisoned Palestinians and on the length of a cease-fire, the Associated Press reported. Local: In Tenafly, weekly march keeps focus on Edan Alexander and other Hamas hostages Selaedin Maksut, executive director of the New Jersey chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, urged people to think about the Palestinians who have been killed not just as statistics, but through a lens of humanity. These are real people, mothers who are losing their children, fathers who are being taken away from families, children who are dying under the rubble, he said. Each of these stories impact people here in New Jersey and across the country. These are Palestinian Americans, residents of New Jersey, who are calling on our elected officials to demand that action be taken immediately. A cease-fire now is necessary to save lives that are remaining in Gaza. Gaza has been destroyed but there are still families there looking for help. This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Israel-Hamas war: Families implore officials for a cease fire Florida Highway Patrol troopers arrested a convicted felon found in possession of weapons and neo-Nazi memorabilia on Thursday. While conducting traffic enforcement in the area of Interstate 10 near mile marker 10 in Escambia County, FHP troopers observed an individual driving a white Chevy Avalanche with Texas tags following a dump truck too closely. Troopers pulled the vehicle over and discovered weapons, including handguns, ammunition and antisemitic memorabilia. Ronald Lee Murray Jr., 42, of Cypress, Texas, was arrested Thursday, Feb. 15, 2024, during a traffic stop in Escambia County. A convicted felon, Murray was allegedly found in possession of handguns, ammunition and antisemitic memorabilia. The driver, identified as Ronald Lee Murray Jr., 42, of Cypress, Texas, was confirmed to be a convicted felon with multiple felony convictions out on bond in Orange County, Florida. Orange County court records indicate Murray is currently facing a misdemeanor count of display image on building without owner consent. Murray also holds no valid Florida driver's license. Ronald Lee Murray Jr., 42, of Cypress, Texas, was arrested Thursday, Feb. 15, 2024, during a traffic stop in Escambia County. A convicted felon, Murray was allegedly found in possession of handguns, ammunition and antisemitic memorabilia. Passengers within the vehicle were released, and Ronald Lee Murray Jr. was arrested and transported to the Escambia County Jail without bond on charges of driving while license suspended or revoked and possession of a weapon/ammunition by a convicted felon. The investigation remains active and ongoing; additional information is not available at this time. This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Ronald Lee Murray arrested for Nazi memorabilia, possession of weapon The top Republican with oversight of foreign affairs will travel to Saudi Arabia next month to push forward a deal to establish ties with Israel and Saudi Arabia that was upended in the wake of Hamass Oct. 7 attack. Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas), chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said hell be traveling to Saudi Arabia in March for discussions on U.S. security agreements with Saudi Arabia that would pave the way for Riyadh to normalize relations with Israel. Ill be traveling to Saudi in March to discuss the security agreement thats possible with the Saudis, and Israel and the United States, McCaul said during a discussion Friday morning hosted by the Christian Science Monitor. The administration, and lawmakers from both sides of the aisle in Congress believe following through on normalizing ties between Riyadh and Israel could help lead to an end to Israels war in Gaza and the establishment of a Palestinian state. I know that the Saudis are interested in getting this done as soon as possible. In fact I think there will be a draft document prior to my trip in March, which makes the timing very critical, McCaul said. As part of a deal to open ties with Israel, Saudi Arabia has asked for military commitments from the U.S. This includes the signing of a mutual defense pact; ensuring U.S. weapons sales to Saudi Arabia; and for the U.S. to approve and provide assistance to Saudi Arabia for a civil-nuclear power program. Its not clear if the U.S. will agree on all of these measures. Some lawmakers have raised concern over having a mutual defense pact with the country, guaranteeing weapons sales to a kingdom accused of human rights abuses, and whether a civil nuclear program could be weaponized. Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has publicly rejected the establishment of a Palestinian state, but McCaul said theres flexibility in his position, given the benefits that would come from ties with Saudi Arabia. You could go down as a wartime [prime minister] or you could go down as [prime minister] who finally, brought peace to the Middle East. And theres a real possibility if you have the Saudis sign up which, no one ever thought this would happen and then the Muslim nations would follow suit with Israel. That isolates Hamas, and it isolates Iran, and it provides the best conditions for peace, McCaul said. The only thing the Saudis want out of that is a way to allow the Palestinian people to self-govern in that territory [of West Bank and Gaza]. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Netflix has released its latest true-crime documentary titled Lover, Stalker, Killer, which explores the shocking case of a twisted love triangle that turned deadly. Released on 9 February, the film tells the story of Dave Kroupa, a single father of two who, after getting out of a long-term relationship in 2012, is ready to re-enter the dating game. New to Ohama, Nebraska, Kroupa created a dating profile and connected with Shanna Liz Golyar, a single mother and animal lover from Persia, Iowa. The two began casually seeing each other, with Kroupa telling Golyar that he was not looking for anything serious. And she seemed ok with that. Who was Cari Farver? Kroupa then met another woman: Cari Farver, a single mother from Macedonia, Iowa. After the pairs first date, they returned to Kroupas apartment. As Farver was leaving the next day, she ran into Golyar, who said that she was dropping by to collect a few of her things. This encounter would change the rest of their lives forever. Farver and Kroupa continued seeing each other over the next couple of weeks until suddenly, Farver vanished. Though she was nowhere to be found, Kroupa and Golyar began receiving threatening texts from Farvers phone. In one message, Farver accused Kroupa of ruining her life. Golyar also claimed that Farver had warned her to stay away from Kroupa. Lover, Stalker, Killer on Netflix (Netflix) Farvers mother, Nancy Raney, said she, too, received strange messages, including one from Farver informing her that she had moved to Kansas for a new job and would arrange to pick up her 14-year-old son, Max. What happened to Cari Farver? For weeks, Farver remained absent from her familys life. She missed her sons 15th birthday, her fathers funeral and Thanksgiving, according to a 2020 report by ABC News. Farver stayed missing for several years before an Iowan sergeant investigator, James Jim Doty, took an interest in the case in the spring of 2015. Doty and investigator Ryan Avis re-examined the evidence and came to the conclusion that Farver had not been the one sending any of the threatening or strange texts after her November disappearance she was being impersonated. It wasnt until authorities got ahold of Golyars phone and found photos of Farvers car, along with dozens of logins to fake email accounts, that the case was cracked. They eventually stumbled across a photo of Farvers dead body on Golyars tablet and discovered that Golyar had murdered Farver in November 2012 and had stolen her phone, posing as her digitally for years. Lover Stalker Killer on Netflix (Netflix) Where is Liz Golyar now? In December 2016, Golyar was found guilty of first-degree murder. She is currently serving a life sentence at the Nebraska Correctional Center for Women. Where is Dave Kroupa now? Kroupa now leads a quiet life, living in rural Nebraska with his partner, Maggie Hover. Lover, Stalker, Killer is out on Netflix. GENEVA (Reuters) -The head of the World Trade Organization warned on Friday that it could be difficult to strike deals at a major ministerial meeting later this month given a spate of upcoming elections, recessions and wars in Ukraine and Gaza. Trade ministers gather for a meeting in Abu Dhabi from Feb. 26-29 where they will try to broker global trade agreements, including on reforming the 29-year-old body's hobbled dispute system and cutting fishing subsidies. "It's going to be a bit tough because the conference is taking place at a difficult conjuncture," WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala told reporters in Geneva, describing negotiating positions as far apart. "We are facing a lot headwinds, economic and political headwinds. You will understand it's not going to be easy." However, she said she felt she thought some outcomes were still possible which might include the second part of a deal on cutting subsidies for fishing that are emptying the world's oceans and a road map for agriculture talks. One of the challenges is multiple elections this year, she said, in comments which included the United States' November election where polls show former President Donald Trump leading. "As you know elections do influence the way people negotiate," she said. During his presidency, Trump launched a trade war with China, blocked the WTO's ability to adjudicate trade disputes and threatened to withdraw from the 164-member organisation. Asked how the WTO would prepare for a possible return of Trump, Okonjo-Iweala said: "We will continue to strengthen ourselves... We will try to show why it is important to stay with WTO terms." (Reporting by Emma Farge, Editing by Rachel More and Toby Chopra) Russia must face consequences for the death of Alexei Navalny, leaders from around the world have said pointing the finger squarely at the Kremlin as being responsible for the brutal murder of Vladimir Putins fiercest critic. Navalny, 47, had recently been moved to a jail near the Arctic Circle where he was serving a sentence of almost two decades on charges that supporters and much of the international community believe were trumped up in order to silence him. It was the prison service that announced the news. And in a defiant statement at the Munich Security Conference, Navalnys wife Yulia warned Mr Putin and his friends that they will not go unpunished. I dont know whether to believe the news, the terrible news that we are receiving only from the state sources in Russia, she said, adding that Mr Putin and his government are always lying. Navalnys team said his lawyer was urgently flying there, but could not confirm the reports of his death. However, Yulia added: If this is true, I want Putin, his entire entourage ... his government to know that they will bear responsibility for what they did to our country, to my family, to my husband. The federal prison service said in a statement that Navalny had felt unwell after a walk on Friday and lost consciousness. An ambulance arrived to try to rehabilitate him, but he died, the statement added. US president Joe Biden said he was outraged when he heard of the anti-corruption campaigners death, and blamed Mr Putin for Navalnys demise. He described Navalny as having bravely stood up to the corruption, the violence and all the bad things that Putins government was doing. President Biden added: Even in prison, he was a powerful voice for the truth, recalling how Navalny could have stayed in exile after a poisoning attempt in 2020 by Russian security services. Instead, he returned to Russia, knowing hed likely be imprisoned or even killed if he continued his work. He did it anyway, because he believed so deeply in his country and Russia ... but make no mistake, Putin is responsible for Navalnys death, said Mr Biden. British foreign minister David Cameron said Mr Putin should be held accountable. There should be consequences, because theres no doubt in my mind, this man was a brave fighter against corruption, for justice, for democracy. We should hold Putin accountable for this, Mr Cameron said, speaking to reporters in Munich, where he is attending the international security conference. Navalny was brutally murdered by the Kremlin, said Latvian president Edgars Rinkevics in a post on X, formerly Twitter. Thats a fact and that is something one should know about the true nature of Russias current regime. Leaders from Germany, France, and other European nations all painted a similar picture. The EU holds the Russian regime solely responsible for this tragic death, said EU Council president Charles Michel. Alexei Navalny, 47, has died in jail, Russian authorities have said (Reuters) Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, whose country is fighting off an invasion by Mr Putins forces, said: It is obvious: he was killed by Putin, as thousands of others were tortured and martyred by this one creature. Putin does not care who dies as long as he keeps his position. And that is why he should not keep anything. Putin should lose everything and answer for what he has done. Navalny had strongly condemned the invasion of Ukraine in social media posts both from prison and during his court hearings. On Thursday, Navalny gave testimony by videolink to a court hearing. On the television screen, he peered through a barred window, laughing and cracking jokes about his depleting funds and the judges salary, asking if the judge could warm up his bank account. Local reports said that the court session was convened after an argument with a prison officer who had tried to confiscate Navalnys pen. The opposition leader wrote on social media later on Thursday that he had been given 15 days in solitary confinement. It was his last such message. The Kremlin said it had no information about Navalnys death, but that Mr Putin had been informed. Mr Putin recently launched a presidential campaign for his fifth term in office, with the election due to be held next month. He is already the longest-serving leader in Moscow since Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin. The Independent Daily Edition on 28 December last year (The Independent) Navalny was jailed and charged in multiple cases when he returned to Russia in 2021 after being treated in Germany for nerve-agent poisoning that he blamed on the Kremlin. In December last year, The Independent pleaded for his release with a Daily Edition front page that demanded: Free Navalny from his Polar Wolf prison colony hell. Fingers will no doubt point at the Kremlin. Russian newspaper editor and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Dmitry Muratov described Navalnys death as murder, and said he believed that prison conditions had led to his demise, while exiled Russian businessman and Kremlin critic Mikhail Khodorkovsky said Mr Putin was responsible. Speaking to The Independent, Bill Browder, a Putin critic who has felt the threat from the Kremlin himself, said: Lets make no mistake, Putin assassinated Alexei Navalny. He did so because Alexei Navalny was brave enough to stand up to Putin. He did so because Navalny offered the Russian people an alternative to kleptocracy and repression. This is a tragic day for Navalny and his family but also for Russia and the hope for a better future. Navalnys disappearance was not altogether an unusual event for one who has challenged Russias brutally powerful leadership. Others include Boris Nemtsov, who was killed with four bullets to his back in Moscow in 2014 when he was organising protests against financial corruption and Russian intervention in Ukraine. Or, more recently, Yevgeny Prigozhin and his senior commanders, whose plane was blown out of the sky following the failed coup by their Wagner mercenaries. Russias Investigative Committee has launched a procedural inquiry into Navalnys death, with the UN calling for a transparent investigation. Navalny and his wife Yulia leaving Germany in 2021 (AFP via Getty) Navalnys latest 19-year sentence was premised on charges of extremism, and was the most recent in a series of sentences. He went missing for three weeks in December while being moved from his previous prison in the Vladimir region of central Russia to a special regime penal colony the highest security level for Russian prisons above the Arctic Circle. He came to fame and became a target for the Kremlin after accusing Mr Putin and the hierarchy around him of corruption and abuse. The president, he said, is a madman and his ruling party are crooks and thieves. Navalny urged people not to simply complain about the malaise in Russia but to take action: Everyone says corruption is everywhere, but for me, it seems strange to say that and then not try to put the people guilty of corruption away. As support for his actions grew, he did not hesitate to aim at the top, accusing Mr Putin of running a system of feudal patronage with fabulous rewards. A documentary he presented Putins Palace: The Story of the Worlds Biggest Bribe investigated the building of a 1.35bn luxury mansion, allegedly for the president, in the Krasnodar region. The Kremlin denied the claim but the video racked up more than 110 million views internationally. Navalny, pictured in 2017, was a vocal critic of Vladimir Putin (Getty) Navalny also pointed to the activities of the security apparatus and the plight of Russians pushing back against the state. We have grown accustomed to injustice in Russia; people are constantly being arrested unlawfully, he said. He also foresaw the inevitable retribution he would face, saying: I am on the very blackest part of the black list. Over the years, Navalny faced physical attacks, repeated arrests, investigations, and criminal proceedings. The assassination attempt, via novichok poisoning in Russia, resulted in his being evacuated to Germany in a coma for life-saving treatment. His family and lawyers have previously said he was suffering from an acute, undiagnosed stomach illness while in prison, and that this, along with general deprivation, had led to alarming weight loss and fainting spells. He had returned to Russia following the poisoning, despite warnings from allies and friends that it would be highly dangerous to do so. He was arrested at the airport, put before a court, and sentenced to two and half years of a formerly suspended jail term for alleged fraud. Police officers detain Navalny after he registered as a mayoral election candidate in July 2013 (Reuters) This was just a holding move by the government prosecutors. In August 2022, he was sentenced to nine years in prison after being found guilty of spending public donations to his Anti-Corruption Foundation on extremism and personal needs. A year later, he was sentenced to a further 19 years on a raft of extremism charges. There were further charges, too this time of vandalism. If the authorities thought that prison would keep Navalny quiet, they were mistaken. A lawyer himself, with a dedicated legal team backing him, he has filed suits to obtain adequate medical care, an end to the bugging of rooms where he met with visitors, and an end to broadcasts of Mr Putins speeches into his cell. Russias most prominent inmate has also given interviews in prison, laying out the conditions he has faced. Describing the violence and repression of a penal colony, he told The New York Times: You might imagine tattooed musclemen with steel teeth carrying on with knife fights to take the best cot by the window. You need to imagine something like a Chinese labour camp, where everybody marches in a line and where video cameras are hung everywhere. There is constant control and a culture of snitching. Putin never referred to Navalny by name (Sputnik) On other occasions, Navalny spoke about the mistreatment he had suffered: I now understand why sleep deprivation is one of the favourite tortures of the special services. No traces remain, and its impossible to tolerate. He had to cope with the lingering effects of the novichok poisoning with barely any medical help in prison. It [has] got to the point where its hard to get up from the bed, and it hurts a lot. The prison doctor saw me and started dispensing two ibuprofen pills but did not tell me what my diagnosis is ... If I place my weight on my right leg, I fall right down. Ive got used to my right leg lately, and Id hate to lose it. In concentrating on corruption, Navalnys work had a pocketbook appeal to Russians widespread sense of being cheated, and it carried a stronger resonance than more abstract and philosophical concerns about democratic ideals and human rights. He was also among the opposition leaders involved in mass protests against Mr Putins rule from 2011 to 2013. Navalny was convicted in 2013 of embezzlement in what he called a politically motivated prosecution, and was sentenced to five years in prison, but the prosecutors office later surprisingly demanded his release pending appeal. A higher court later gave him a suspended sentence. Navalny, centre, attending a rally in Moscow in 2018 (AP) The day before that sentence was given, Navalny had registered as a candidate for Moscow mayor. The opposition saw his release as the result of large protests in the capital against his sentence, but many observers attributed it to a desire on the part of the authorities to add a tinge of legitimacy to the mayoral election. Navalny finished second an impressive performance against the incumbent, who had the backing of Mr Putins political machine and was popular for improving the capitals infrastructure and aesthetics. When Mr Putin spoke about Navalny, he made it a point to never mention the activist by name, referring to him as that person or similar wording, in an apparent effort to diminish his importance. It did little to dilute Navalnys appeal. Navalnys spokesperson, Kira Yarmysh, said that even if Navalny was dead, his movement and aims would live on. We are convinced that we will be victorious in the end, Yarmysh said. Russia is our country, it belongs to us and we need to return it to us. Mr Netanyahu was called out of a security cabinet meeting to take a 40-minute call from US president Joe Biden the second in six days Even for Benjamin Netanyahu, an unscheduled knock on the door from the director of the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) will likely have come as a shock. Yet on Thursday evening, William Burns strode into the HaKirya military complex in central Tel Aviv for words with the embattled Israeli leader. A few hours later, Mr Netanyahu was called out of a security cabinet meeting he was chairing to take a 40-minute call from US president Joe Biden the second in six days. The pressures mounting, an Israeli defence source said about the visit from Mr Burns, who had spent the days before in Cairo with Arab leaders and fellow spooks trying to bring the war in Gaza to an end. So far, Mr Netanyahu has undermined or flatly rejected all US-brokered attempts at ending the conflict, saying that only total victory will suffice. The US and its lead diplomat Antony Blinken have been knocked back often publicly at every turn. After the call with Mr Biden, Mr Netanyahu released a statement in the middle of the night insisting that Israel would not be pressured into accepting a Palestinian state. Israel will continue to oppose the unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state. Such recognition in the wake of the Oct 7 massacre would give a huge reward to unprecedented terrorism and prevent any future peace settlement, he said. The US cannot even secure the delivery of its own aid into Gaza, despite being Israels most important ally and providing the government with more than $3 billion every year. White House tries to wield stick A shipment of flour has been blocked at the border, held up by hard-Right finance minister Bezalel Smotrich, who says he will not allow it to fall into the hands of Hamas. The White House has tried to wield a stick over Mr Netanyahu. It is ramping up sanctions against Israeli extremists and encouraging partners in the UK and Europe to follow suit. References to international law and by extension the World Court in The Hague are becoming more frequent, as are conditions on US arms exports. Mr Biden privately refers to Mr Netanyahu as an a--hole and is reportedly considering going public with his dissatisfaction. But as the White House appears unwilling to press the nuclear button and stop arms supplies to Israel, none of these moves have seen Mr Netanyahu budge so far. So, a significant carrot is now being dangled in front of the Israeli leader, according to Israeli sources. Specifically, the US is offering him the chance to become the face of a new alliance against Iran, formed with the US and several Gulf nations. Mr Netanyahu would become the USs point person in the great geopolitical fight of the coming years a globally important role that would see him go down in history not just as the man who let Oct 7 happen. Theres even talk of the Israeli presidents office offering Mr Netanyahu immunity from the corruption charges he faces if he bites. Taking the plunge Prof Manuel Trajtenberg, executive director of the Institute for National Security Studies, said US officials had been consulting with those who know Mr Netanyahu on the likelihood of him taking the plunge. It seems crazy that he wouldnt do it because its the only way he can salvage his place in history, said Prof Trajtenberg. Otherwise, he will go down as one of the worst figures in Jewish history. But its not clear if he will take it. He is isolated and the window is very narrow just two months, perhaps, before the US election cycle really kicks in. The deal being worked on in Cairo goes far beyond a ceasefire in Gaza. It envisages hostage exchanges over a month or more to build confidence. In parallel, an Arab-supported rebuilding and governance plan would be activated. However, this, together with security guarantees from Gulf states including Saudi Arabia against Iran, are contingent on Israel supporting the creation of a Palestinian state. According to the Washington Post, the US and its Arab partners could publish their blueprint including a firm timeline for a Palestinian state in the next few weeks. It is said to include elements Israel has previously refused, including evacuation of West Bank settlements, a Palestinian capital in East Jerusalem, and a combined security apparatus and government for the West Bank and Gaza. From outside Israel, the deal on offer may look like a no-brainer, promising as it does both a solution to the Palestinian problem and a united front against Iran; but within Israel the idea of peace is scoffed at by Left and Right. To my Israeli ear this is so funny it makes me love you a little bit, said the Israeli author and activist Alon Mizrahi, when asked if he thinks a peace deal is possible. It is like a child asking the most naive and out-of-context question. No one here is interested in peace. Its the opposite. Moment of truth Yet still hope remains. Prof Trajtenberg says that after four months of war and a total of more than 30,000 dead, including more than 1,500 Israeli citizens and troops, the moment of truth is approaching for Mr Netanyahus fragile governing coalition. He does not need to hold elections until October 2026, but Gadi Eisenkot and Benny Gantz, former IDF chiefs from the opposition National Unity Party who prop up the current war cabinet, are poised to step down if the current hostage negotiations collapse. If they were to leave, political analysts say they would lead national protests demanding fresh elections something a majority of Israelis support, say pollsters. We need to stop lying to ourselves, to show courage and to work towards an extensive deal that will bring the hostages home. Their time is running out, and every day that goes by is putting their lives in danger, Mr Eisenkot was quoted as telling his ministerial colleagues in January. Mr Netanyahu is also vulnerable from the Right. Mr Smotrich, of the Religious Zionist Party, and ultranationalist Itamar Ben Gvir, of the Otzma Yehudit party, are threatening to collapse the coalition and spark new elections if a peace deal of any sort is done. The final element of pressure comes from the IDF and Israels wider defence establishment. There is no love lost between Mr Netanyahu and this grouping, Israels most powerful lobby, not least because the prime minister has sought to blame it for the events of Oct 7 and has allowed his cronies to verbally abuse senior generals. It is into this maelstrom the CIA director walked on Thursday night. He and Mr Biden know there is not enough time to wait for new elections in Israel to seal a deal and are pressuring Mr Netanyahu to act. The stick has so far failed. They can only hope the carrot is big enough for him. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 3 months with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. A 48-year-old Lansing man has pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter in the killing last fall of Andrew Glenn Wiley, according to a news release from the Leavenworth County Attorneys office. Robert F. Quasa pleaded guilty in the shooting death of the 29-year-Wiley, which happened while Quasa was teaching Wiley how to clean a gun. On Nov. 3, officers responded to a home in Lansing where they found Wiley suffering from a gunshot wound. Efforts to save his life were unsuccessful and he was pronounced dead, according to the news release. According to court documents, Quasa and a group of men had visited a gun range earlier in the day to shoot guns. They returned to Quasas home and were cleaning guns when Quasas handgun fired, striking Wiley with a single round. Quasa told officers he was teaching Wiley how to clean guns and while demonstrating how to remove a bullet from the chamber, the handgun just went off, according to the news release. Owning or handling a gun carries a great responsibility that cannot be understated, Leavenworth County Attorney Todd Thompson said. As we all know, misuse of a firearm can kill someone. Quasa is scheduled to be sentenced at 1 p.m. on March 13. North Carolina health officials ordered the removal of all children from a nature therapy program in the Appalachian Mountains on Friday, nearly two weeks after a pre-teen suspiciously died there less than 24 hours after he arrived. The program, Trails Carolina, was warned earlier this week that it could not accept any new children into its program and now, the state says its taken temporary custody of its children until they can be returned to their families. The development adds to the mystery surrounding the death of a 12-year-old New York boy, who was found to be bruised and not breathing in a Trails Carolina cabin on the morning of Feb. 3. First responders said the boy, who was not named, was cold to the touch and had undergone rigor mortis by the time they arrived to assist him. He also was said to have bruising under his eye. A forensic pathologist determined the boys death did not appear to be natural, the Transylvania County Sheriffs Office said in a statement, adding to the list of red flags surrounding the death. Making matters worse, deputies said Trails Carolina had not completely cooperated with their probesomething the organization refuted in a statement. The death at Trails Carolina is tragic and concerning, health officials said in a news release. We extend our deepest sympathies to the family and loved ones of the child who died, and commit to them that we are conducting a thorough investigation with our county partners and will take every appropriate step based on the outcome of our and other investigations. 12-Year-Old Child Dies Hours After Arriving at Wilderness Camp The sheriffs office has not shared a cause of death for the 12-year-old, but, citing an affidavit, the Associated Press reported that the camp gave investigators a version of what it says occurred. A counselor told detectives that after the boys arrival, he became loud and irate, refusing to eat his dinner. The affidavit said the counselor claimed the boy had calmed down and ate snacks eventually, and went to sleep on his bunkhouses floor in a sleeping bag that had an alarm on its zipper that triggered when someone tries to exit. Inside the same cabin were four adults and other minors in the program, the affidavit said. The counselor said the boy had a panic attack around midnight, but went back to sleep. He was allegedly checked on at 3 a.m. and 6 a.m., but was stiff and cold to the touch when he was found dead at 7:45 a.m. on the morning of Feb. 3. Trails Carolina characterizes itself as a therapeutic camp in Lake Toxaway, about 35 miles southwest of Asheville. Its website says its a wilderness therapy program helping teens and adolescents ages 10-17 who struggle with mental health challenges. The program has come under fire over more than this childs death in recent months. In a federal lawsuit filed Feb. 9, a former camper said she was 12 when she told staffers that another child was sexually assaulting fellow campers. The lawsuit claims counselors at Trails Carolina did nothing to stop the alleged assaults. The most upsetting part for me is the trauma I experienced was preventable, that former camper, now 20, told The Charlotte Observer. Those claims came on the heels of a similar federal lawsuit that was filed in 2023. In that suit, a former camper alleged counselors didnt do enough to prevent an older camper from sexually assaulting her in 2019, despite her repeated requests for help. Trails Carolina did not release a statement about its latest lawsuit to the Observer, nor did it publicly address the state effectively closing its entire program on Friday. Read more at The Daily Beast. Get the Daily Beast's biggest scoops and scandals delivered right to your inbox. Sign up now. Stay informed and gain unlimited access to the Daily Beast's unmatched reporting. Subscribe now. After months of flirting with a potential third party presidential campaign in 2024, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) announced on Friday he will not run for the White House, a move that will relieve fellow Democrats who saw the senator as a guaranteed spoiler candidate. "I am not going to be a ... spoiler, whatever you want to call it, Manchin reportedly said at a speech in Morgantown, West Virginia. I just don't think it's the right time. No Labels Launches Controversial 2024 Campaign With No Ideas With several independent and third party candidates already running alongside President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump, Manchin was one of the last potential late entrants who had not announced their plans. The conservative Democrat, who announced last year he would not run for re-election to the U.S. Senate, had previously done campaign-style events with No Labels, the centrist group that is promising to spend big in hopes of putting a third-party alternative on the November ballot. Upon retiring from the Senate, Manchin said that he planned to travel the country and listen to voters as part of an undefined project to advance a compromise-oriented political approach. Just a day before he announced he wouldnt seek the White House, Manchin appeared to tease a run during the first of two stops in Cleveland as part of his listening tour. Joe Manchin Says Trump Will Destroy U.S. Democracy if He Wins in 2024 Everything is on the table, nothing is off the table, he said of a potential 2024 run. Im still evaluating all that. Super Tuesday pretty much would be a deadline, tells you where you are, if theres a possibility or not. However, Manchin also remained adamant about how he didnt want to help Trump secure a second term by being a spoiler candidate, and insisted he would only run if he could win. He has also issued stark warnings about the prospect of another Trump administration. At a recent New Hampshire stop in January, Manchin told CNN he didnt even know what the plan was for No Labels. I dont think anybody knows, Manchin said. I think its changing day by day, hour by hour. Read more at The Daily Beast. Get the Daily Beast's biggest scoops and scandals delivered right to your inbox. Sign up now. Stay informed and gain unlimited access to the Daily Beast's unmatched reporting. Subscribe now. Joe Biden appealed directly to Republican holdouts to pass a major package of funding for Ukraine on Friday, warning history is watching. The US president spoke from a White House podium following the death of Alexei Navalny, the Russian dissident, whom he praised as a powerful voice against Vladimir Putin. He angrily criticised the House of Representatives for taking a two-week break while a major package of military aid, including $61 billion (48 billion) for Ukraine, remained stalled in Congress. Its about time they step up, dont you think? Instead of going on a two-week vacation, he told reporters during the hastily convened address. His voice rose as he repeated: Two weeks, theyre walking away. Two weeks. What are they thinking? My God, this is bizarre, and its just reinforcing all of the concern and almost I wont say panic but real concern about the United States being a reliable ally. This is outrageous. Asked if the events of the last few days would help secure passage of the spending for Kyiv, Mr Biden said: I hope to God it helps. He added: But I mean, the idea we need anything more [to happen] to get [aid] to Ukraine... What are these guys doing? In addition to Navalnys death, US officials warned Russia is formulating plans for a nuclear weapon in space, deemed by US intelligence to pose a major national security threat. Mr Bidens comments were echoed by Mike Pence, the former US vice president, who urged his Republican colleagues to put aside politics and help Kyiv. America is the leader of the free world. If America is not leading the free world, the free world is not being led, Mr Pence said. Mr Navalny died in his Arctic jail on Friday - MAXIM SHEMETOV/REUTERS Ammunition shortages A major $95 billion (75 billion) foreign security bill for US allies including Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan passed the US Senate with bipartisan support following months of negotiation this week. However, Mike Johnson, the Republican Speaker of the House, has so far refused to commit to bringing the bill to a vote in the chamber - a requirement of its final passage. Mr Johnson, whose position is under threat from hardliners in his party, suggested he was more focused on pursuing further Russian sanctions. As Congress debates the best path forward to support Ukraine, the United States, and our partners, must be using every means available to cut off Putins ability to fund his unprovoked war in Ukraine and aggression against the Baltic states, he said. Meanwhile, the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee said on Friday that it could be several weeks before the chamber considers a package of funding for Ukraine amid a broader debate over federal spending that could trigger a US government shutdown. I dont want to speak for the speaker, but I do think he wants to get through [that] first, Michael McCaul told journalists at a breakfast hosted by the Christian Science Monitor. American military support is seen as increasingly vital for Ukraine as its troops suffer from crippling ammunition shortages across almost the entirety of the front lines. The Putin critic had been serving a 19-year sentence under brutal conditions - ALEXEY PAVLOVSKY/AFP Putin must feel a reaction European governments have failed to hit their own targets for increased arms production, leaving them unable to make up for any shortfall in US support. Frustrated colleagues in the House have attempted to bypass Mr Johnson by drafting their own bipartisan proposal to support US allies. The proposal would strip provisions for humanitarian aid, and therefore the size of the Senates bill, in a bid to make it more palatable to conservative hardliners. I think this is a good spot to be if youre Republican its fiscally more responsible, one of the backers, Nebraska congressman Don Bacon, told NBC News. Ben Wallace, the former defence secretary, said Western governments had to respond to Navalnys death by doubling down on their support for Ukraine. For every action, Putin must feel a reaction, he said, urging Congress to sign off on US aid for Kyiv, Germany to donate long-range Taurus cruise missiles and for the tightening of punitive sanctions on Moscow. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 3 months with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. An ex-convict from Florida knew her son was dead and buried in a large wooden box in her Gulfport home for weeks but told Mississippi police she wanted to keep the ruse going about her sons demise as long as she could to avoid any trouble, Gulfport police Det. Justin Clifton said. The woman, who has used a series of aliases, but now goes by the name of Jeri Lynn Roby,kept up her lies and more after relatives in Florida repeatedly called Roby to find out the whereabouts of their loved one and Robys son, John Allen Gaither, 42. Gaithers relatives started getting worried after they didnt hear from Gaither after Dec. 10, Clifton said, because he usually checked in with family almost daily. They were concerned for him because it was unlike him, and he has never disappeared for any length of time, Clifton said. Over the next couple of weeks, the family grew more concerned after Roby dished out a series of lies about her sons whereabouts, forged her sons handwriting in a letter to his relative saying he was OK, sent bogus texts and pictures of him from his phone and more, Clifton said. Harrison County prosecuting attorney, Herman Cox, seated far left, looks as Gulfport Police Detective, Justin Clifton, reviews his notes during a preliminary hearing in the first-degree murder case of Jerri Lynn Roby before Justice Court Judge Albert Fountain in February. Margaret Baker/mbbaker@sunherald.com The family also knew Roby had killed before, in Florida in 1993 when she shot Christina Racey in the back of the head and kept her body in a car for days before Robys capture. She later served time for manslaughter in that killing and was free and living in Gulfport with Gaither at the time of his disappearance. At the time of the Florida murder, Roby went by the name of Jerri Lynn Isreal. During a preliminary hearing in Gulfport in February, Clifton outlined a series of evidence in the case, including how police connected Roby to the killing of her son after finding Gaithers body inside a wooden Armour-style box behind a makeshift wall, boarded-up door, and a window sealed shut in a room at Robys home on 6th Street. Gaither died of a gunshot wound to the back of the head, the detective said. Inside his makeshift grave, Clifton said, police found Gaither covered in some of his clothes along with sand and mulch that police traced back to purchases Roby had made during two different trips caught on camera footage from Home Depot, including one trip to the store with her boyfriend, Robert Wayne Tannehill, 86. Tannehill has since been arrested on a charge of hindering prosecution, though more charges could follow. The detective said Roby likely used the sand and mulch and layers of polyurethane plastic wrapped around the box and other things she had purchased to try to conceal the smell of her sons decomposing body. Clifton said he and other investigators collected evidence during the investigation to show that Gaithers last known sighting was Dec. 10. Those sightings included camera footage and time stamps that showed Gaither spent some of that morning at the storage unit where he kept cars to work on and a second stop at Ollies on Pass Road, where he bought a red tote and some cleaning supplies for vehicles. Jerri Lynn Roby, aka Jeri Lynn Isreal, aka Jeri Lynn Gaither , aka Jerri Lynn Wynn, aka Jerri Lynn King. Harrison County Adult Detention Center A search of his bank accounts, Clifton said, showed Roby started making withdrawals from Gaithers account after he went missing, though she did have authorization to use the accounts. Those withdrawals included the maximum $500 limit for withdrawals from some ATMs and a $5,000 withdrawal Roby made after cashing a check that she had written to herself on the account. After hearing that evidence and more details about the investigation, Justice Court Judge Albert Fountain found enough evidence to bind the case to a grand jury for indictment. At the hearing, Harrison County prosecuting attorney Herman Cox successfully argued that Roby, now 67, should remain jailed without bond because she is a danger to the public and a proven flight risk, since she already jumped bail after her first arrest for murder in Florida in 1993. Camera footage, digital receipts, and missing money At the hearing, other evidence came out about what police learned during the weeks-long investigation that started with the Dec. 22 missing person report filed by Gaithers stepmother and other relatives. Because of Robys lack of cooperation, repeated lies meant to stall the investigation and steer police in other directions, and that his body was hidden, it wasnt until Jan. 18 that Clifton said he and other Gulfport police officers finally found Gaithers body lying face-down with his head on pillow in his makeshift grave. When police first went to her home, Clifton said Roby told them, just like she had told relatives, that Gaither had driven to Louisiana to sell or purchase a car and hadnt returned. When police asked for consent to search outside the home and in a garbage can that hadnt been emptied and more, he said Roby acted like she was going to cooperate at first, then asked the police officers to leave, saying she had to meet a friend and they would have to come back later. Before the police officers left, they looked in her outdoor garbage, Clifton said, and found one of the Home Depot receipts. Then, he said, Gulfport police went to a storage facility on Highway 49 in Gulfport, where relatives said Gaither often went to work on cars he stored there. Eventually, he said, police realized that the blue Ford Fusion that Gaither drove was still sitting in the yard at Robys home. They searched the car, and none of the tools were missing, and there was the receipt from Ollies inside. An Uber trip, a drug cartel and the Rio Grande As Gulfport police gathered more and more information contradicting information Roby had provided, Clifton said her stories kept changing. When Clifton confronted Roby about how her son didnt drive to Louisiana in his blue Ford Fusion because it was still parked at the home, Roby had a new story. This time, she told police he had taken an Uber instead of his car to Louisiana to sell a vehicle, but a police review of Gaithers ride-sharing records showed that he had not used Uber or any other ride-sharing service at the Gulfport home. Then came more stories. One was that Gaither had met an Asian woman on a dating website and left the country, he said. Another was that Gaither had gone to Mexico to try to save a girl from a drug cartel and his phone fell in Rio Grande during the escape. After that, he said, Gaithers relatives started getting strange text messages from Gaithers phone they knew had not come from him. As Clifton continued the investigation, he said other things started happening. Suddenly, he said, Gaithers relatives said they were receiving more bogus texts from Gaithers phone. As Gulfport police neared the day they would find Gaithers body, Robys actions became even more erratic. She called the Police Department and left a message saying her son had suddenly shown up at the 6th Street home in the middle of the night with a Hispanic female, grabbed some cash out of the freezer, and left in an unknown vehicle and that she didnt know how to contact him because he didnt have a phone. A trip to Florida, a bogus call and more After Gulfport police found Gaithers body, Roby said she hadnt told the truth about what happened because she thought she would be arrested for having been a convict in a home with a gun. Instead of admitting to any wrongdoing, Clifton said, Roby said her son was the one who shot himself in the back of the head, but that it was an accident. When the shooting happened, Clifton said, Roby said blood started pouring out of his head like a waterfall. Roby said she didnt call for help because she feared being arrested and wanted to keep the ruse going as long as she could. Eventually, he said, Roby gave police the .380-caliber semi-automatic handgun that was used to kill her son. She got it out from under the drivers seat of her car. She also admitted to some of her lies. She said she was the one who mailed the bogus letter to Gaithers stepmom and forged his handwriting. She said she had driven to Florida to send it because she thought police would believe it was her son. Clifton said police found hundreds of pages of letters at Robys home, where police could see she had been practicing how to forge her sons handwriting. In other admissions, Clifton said, Roby told him that at one point she had her boyfriend called Gaithers brother on Gaithers phone. She said he was supposed to act like he was Gaither. When the call was made, Clifton said, Gaithers brother knew it wasnt him, told the boyfriend he was calling the police, and hung up. Roby griped to police about her boyfriends call to the brother, Clifton said. She said she gave him one little task, and he messed it up, Clifton said, adding that Roby claims her boyfriend had also helped her seal up the window near her sons makeshift grave and went to Home Depot two or three times to buy the sand, mulch, and other items. She made other admissions, he said, but when he tried to get her to tell him what the motive was for Gaithers death, Roby said, Thats what a trial was for. As a trans woman at the helm of Nepals leading LGBTQ+ organization, I am proud of how far my country has come. But 20 years since the Supreme Court confirmed our rights and 17 years since the Court ordered the government to allow us our legal gender change, I fear the situation for our community is lurching slowly backward. In 2004, the Nepal Supreme Court threw out a case attempting to shut down the Blue Diamond Society (BDS), Nepals oldest and largest LGBTQ+ rights organization. At the time, I was a volunteer at BDS. We had confidence in the court system, and in 2006, we took a case to the Supreme Court, pushing for our rights as people to be recognized by law. The Yogyakarta Principlesa document articulating how international human rights law related to sexual orientation and gender identity had been published; we asked the Court to consider ordering the government to apply the Principles in Nepali law. On the day of the final hearing, I sat in the chamber and listened to the lawyers present their arguments. At one point, one of the justices asked if there was anyone from the sexual and gender minority community in the chamber. I was nervous, but I stood up and told my story. I explained how our lives were difficult because the law didnt recognize or protect us. I talked about how meaningful this case was for us. I said we deserved to have our rights protected by the government. In 2007, the Court issued its landmark judgment. It ordered the government to audit all Nepali laws to examine how they discriminated based on sexual orientation and gender identity, to establish a committee to study same-sex marriage possibilities, and to let trans people declare their gender on legal documents. We had won. It was an enormous moment for us. Today, as executive director of BDS, I travel across Asia and around the world, teaching people how we made changes in Nepal and using Nepal as an example of how litigation can impact social and political changes. But at the same time, at home, I am frustrated at how delays in implementing that decision and some others that followed it have meant that the reality for trans-Nepalis is very different from what the highest court declared it should be. Nepal is a unique and beautiful country in many ways. One of the fantastic things about the Supreme Courts action is that it reflected how Nepal had never been colonized by a foreign power. LGBTQ+ communities in other South Asian countries were struggling at the time and many still do against British colonial-era laws that criminalized aspects of their lives. Indias Supreme Court famously decriminalized same-sex relations in 2018, seventeen years after the case was filed. Because we didnt have a colonial history, we could push forward with progressive court orders that led the region on LGBT rights. But with implementation being so slow and haphazard, we still fight for our fundamental rights. In a new report, Human Rights Watch finds that only a tiny number of Nepalis have been able to change their gender on official documents after undergoing medical exams - ones that included doctors touching their genitals to prove they had surgery. Disturbingly, this is all happening without a law or policy on how doctors do these medical processes invading peoples medical privacy. Since gender-affirming surgeries arent available in Nepal, this means these people have to save money and travel abroad. Our community is largely economically disempowered, so many will never have that opportunity. It also means that trans people who dont want surgery or who cant have it for health reasons will never be able to change their legal gender. The Nepal government should follow the Courts order and make an accurate, clear, and simple policy to enable trans people to use an administrative procedure to change their legal genderto male, female, or otheras they see fit. We need to shift this process away from conversations about whether our bodies conform to some idea of what gender should look like and move toward a sense of dignity for us, taking pride in our country being a leader in the global LGBTQ+ movement once again. Manisha Dhakal is the Executive Director of the Blue Diamond Society. Visit bds.org.np to learn more about the organization. Want to share an opinion on an issue? Have an inspiring personal story to tell? Learn more by visiting advocate.com/submit. Over the past two years, 3M sold nearly 25,000 different products that contain PFAS, the "forever chemicals" that will soon be largely illegal in Minnesota. While the company has reformulated nearly one-third of those products mostly sandpaper and tape that didn't use much to begin with 3M expects to lose out on more than $1 billion in annual sales as it phases out PFAS production by the end of next year. Even as regulations and litigation drive PFAS toward extinction, there are no replacements for all its uses. Companies are sprinting to find suitable substitutions in thousands of consumer products, including dental floss and raincoats, that rely on the highly functional chemicals. "Safe, economically-feasible alternatives are not there; they're not readily available," said Allison Lange Garrison, a product liability and complex litigation attorney at Nilan Johnson Lewis. "So to say PFAS could simply be swapped out that's a really tall order." Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances are a family of chemicals pioneered by 3M that have shaped modern life over the past 70 years. Consumer products rely on PFAS to make items waterproof, stain-resistant, flame-retardant, non-stick, lubricated and heat-transferring. PFAS is used to help mold plastics, etch semiconductor chips and smother dangerous fuel fires. Those advances, while functional and convenient, have come at a great cost to the environment and human health. The properties that make PFAS chemicals so useful nearly unbreakable molecular bonds cause them to linger in the environment indefinitely, and in human blood streams for years. A growing body of scientific research has linked the chemicals with some cancers, developmental problems and reduced immune response. "We lived for thousands of years without this stuff. Do we need it?" said Susan Richardson, a University of South Carolina scientist who has studied PFAS for decades. "Maybe new products won't be quite as great as products with PFAS. But I've got faith in the smart chemists out there that they'll come up with something that's not harmful to people and the environment." Story continues The clock is ticking, as Minnesota next year will ban intentionally added PFAS in 11 product categories, including carpeting, cosmetics, cleaning products and cookware. That's in addition to a ban on PFAS in food containers that went into effect last month. By 2032, nearly all PFAS uses will be outlawed in the state. There are some exceptions, especially in medical devices, where PFAS will be allowed indefinitely. Minnesota's PFAS policy is called Amara's Law, after Amara Strande, one of many east metro residents who for years unknowingly drank water contaminated with PFAS chemicals that were dumped near a 3M plant. Strande died from a rare form of liver cancer last year, and spent her final months advocating for the ban. Where to find PFAS One of the most recognizable uses of PFAS is on nonstick pans the chemicals help scrambled eggs or seared steaks slip smoothly off cooking surfaces. But the cookware industry was already preparing to shift to new coatings, said David Dalquist, chief executive of Minneapolis-based Nordic Ware, the cookware maker. California already requires bakeware and cookware brands to report if they use several different chemicals, including some types of PFAS. It's made consumers more aware of the materials coating their kitchen tools. "We said look, we're going to have to make changes here," Dalquist said. "Let's get out ahead of this thing." Minneapolis-based Target had a similar idea when it pledged in 2017 to get PFAS out of textiles by 2022. The retailer missed that goal and is now aiming for a 2025 deadline, the same as Minnesota's law, to remove PFAS from "owned brand products including but not limited to textiles, formulated, cosmetics, beauty and cookware items," according to the company's sustainability report. At Nordic Ware's factory in St. Louis Park, the company stamps giant aluminum sheets into jelly roll pans, injects polypropylene plastic into molds that become cupcake trays, and sprays nonstick coatings on a slow-moving assembly line of twirling cake pans. The company's trademarked Bundt cake molds and some other products never contained PFAS. But the PFAS formulation PTFE, often sold as Teflon, has been used for stovetop cookware, helping release proteins from the cooking surface, according to Jennifer Dalquist, David's daughter and the company's head of marketing. Nordic Ware is now aiming to remove PFAS from all operations by the end of March, and it has launched two lines of stovetop pans without them. But some retailers have been hesitant to accept the new ceramic-coated products, Jennifer Dalquist said, since earlier versions were infamous for chipping and flaking. "You show them something that we're proud to put our name on, and they're like, 'Hmm, I'm not sure we're ready for that yet,' " she added. A risky business Many industries facing PFAS bans in Minnesota are already well aware of greater scrutiny on the chemicals, said Tom Johnson, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency's government relations director. "This is happening at a nationwide and a global scale," he said. "Shareholders are concerned about liability with PFAS." By May 2025, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is requiring manufacturers to take inventory of all the PFAS in their products, processes and supply chains as the federal agency moves toward stricter regulation. Several countries in Europe have proposed near-total PFAS restrictions, and the European Union might be just a few years away from a continent-wide ban, Lange Garrison said. Last year, 3M agreed to pay $6 billion to settle PFAS claims brought by municipal water suppliers, which are now struggling to filter the chemicals out of water supplies. The company could face another $10 billion to $30 billion in other PFAS liabilities down the road, analysts predict. With or without a ban, PFAS is looking toxic from a business perspective. "Notwithstanding how difficult and painful this is that you'll be diverting R+D dollars away from innovation to evolving your supply chain there's a business case to be made for switching," Lange Garrison said. "The time is now to get that process started." 3M says the hunt for alternatives is ongoing, and researchers have developed "a new technology that can be used to manufacture certain tapes that are used in a wide variety of automotive, aerospace, consumer and construction applications," the company told the Star Tribune. Where there aren't alternatives or feasible innovations, there will be tradeoffs in what products can offer and how much they cost. That may be the case with new firefighting foam that Richardson, the University of South Carolina scientist, will be studying for the U.S. Navy to ensure they are PFAS-free. She said the PFAS-based foam is "superior to anything out there, especially for fuel fires, and it saves a lot of lives," and the same goes for firefighter protective gear enhanced with PFAS. "Maybe these new firefighting foams are almost as good, or good enough." Health, safety and society Some exceptions to Minnesota's PFAS ban are written into the law, such as medical devices regulated by the Food and Drug Administration. But industry groups argue that some uses can never be replaced. "The 21st century economy is pretty much reliant on PFAS compounds in one fashion or another," said Kevin Fay of the Sustainable PFAS Action Network, or SPAN. The group was founded by Honeywell and Intel. Semiconductor chips, which power most modern electronic devices, are made using PFAS chemicals sometimes including 3M products, like Novec fluid. "The chemistry is a critical part of the etching process for the chips," Fay said. "It's what allows them to put billions of nodes onto a chip in those small sizes." The MPCA will write a rule over the next few years to exempt other PFAS uses that, in the words of state law, are essential to "health, safety or the functioning of society." The agency is asking the public now how it should structure this new rule. Johnson declined to comment on whether semiconductor chips or any other product might be a candidate for a future exemption. By 2032, those "unavoidable uses" will be the only ones allowed in Minnesota. SPAN, meanwhile, wants a federal rule to bring more uniformity to how the chemicals can be used across the country, one that would group the chemicals based on health risk, how they behave and how easily they escape into the environment, Fay said. There are some differences fluoropolymers are essentially high-performance plastics, and make up products like bands for the Apple Watch. Surfactants, like the legacy PFAS formulations PFOA and PFOS, were more commonly used as coatings, and continue to be found all over the planet, even though the manufacture of some has been phased out in the United States. But in Minnesota, the definition of PFAS written into the law is intentionally broad, Johnson said. Just one carbon-fluorine bond in a molecule subjects it to the state's regulation. "It's based on sort of the opposite look," Johnson said. "What is essential? And everything else falls away." Police sirens One person was taken into custody by police after school officials learned about a threat against a high school in Jewell the latest in a spate of such cases since fatal shootings Jan. 4 at Perry High School. School officials sent a letter to parents of students at South Hamilton High School alerting them to the threat and the arrest. Officials learned Thursday morning learned of a conversation that contained a threat against the high school, Superintendent Heather Holm said in the statement. They contacted authorities and the person who allegedly made the threat was placed in custody, Holm said. She clarified in a follow-up statement that the suspect who was taken into custody did not have a weapon on campus. Jewell Police Chief David Turpen declined to comment on the case. Police deal with other recent Iowa school-related threats On Feb. 4, a bomb threat interrupted an Iowa High School Speech Association competition in Ankeny. Police later determined it was a non-credible threat, based on interviews with the people involved. On Feb. 9, a Pleasant Hill student faced terrorist threat charges for allegedly making threats toward a classmate. Both came a month after the Perry school shootings. Dylan Butler, a 17-year-old student there, shot and killed 11-year-old Ahmir Jolliff, a student at the adjacent middle school, fatally wounded Perry High School Principal Dan Marburger and injured two other staff members and four students before taking his own life. Jose Mendiola is a breaking news reporter for the Register. Reach him at jmendiola@dmreg.com. This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Officials: Alleged threat against Jewell high school results in arrest LAS VEGAS (KLAS) Newly obtained photos show the aftermath of a stabbing allegedly carried out by Jesus Ayala, the same teen accused of a deadly crime spree in Las Vegas in the summer of 2023. A grand jury indicted Jesus Ayala for three additional charges in January in connection with the stabbing near Washington Avenue and Jones Boulevard in June 2023. The charges include attempted murder with the use of a deadly weapon, battery with the use of a deadly weapon resulting in substantial bodily harm, and attempted robbery with the use of a deadly weapon. WARNING: The following photos are graphic and may be disturbing. Discretion is advised. Las Vegas Metropolitan police arrested Ayala, 18, on Aug. 14, 2023, shortly after retired California police chief Andy Probst, 64, was killed while riding his bicycle. Ayala was 17 at the time. Video recorded from inside a car, which previously went viral, appeared to show retired California police chief Andy Probst being intentionally hit. Probst died. Police said Ayala was the driver while his co-defendant, Jzamir Keys, who was 16 at the time, was the passenger. In an incident earlier that morning, police said the teens intentionally hit another cyclist while Keys was the driver and Ayala was the passenger. The 72-year-old man survived. Police said the teens had also stolen at least three cars that day and committed both hit-and-run crashes in stolen cars. Ayala had a history in the juvenile system, as first reported by the 8 News Now Investigators. However, in Nevada, juveniles charged with murder can be certified as adults, meaning the case is moved to the adult system. Ayala was identified as a suspect in the June stabbing after his arrest in connection with the deadly crime spree. When speaking with police from jail, Ayala denied any involvement in the stabbing, police said. The victim said he was taking out the trash when the group approached him and demanded his belongings. They began beating him and then stabbed him. He received injuries to his face, near his ear, and five stab wounds to his back, according to grand jury transcripts. He is also left with scarring. Cell phone records placed Ayala near the scene of the stabbing, according to the FBI, which assisted in the investigation. Police said they found a bloody knife while investigating the crime scene. Detectives also located video from an incident the day after involving a stolen car and several of the same teenagers, documents stated. A jury trial is scheduled for Ayala for Sept. 16. A jury trial for Keys is scheduled for Nov. 12. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KLAS. The man who wants to be Washingtons first Republican governor in 40 years was once so careless with his law enforcement-issued revolver that it wasnt returned until after he was arrested for felony gun theft. Misipati Semi Bird, who had previously served seven years as a U.S. Marine, misplaced the gun twice during the few months in the 1990s when he worked as a reserve deputy for the Yakima County Sheriffs Office. The first time, the loaded .357 Smith and Wesson along with some sheriffs office keys were left inside his personal car when it was repossessed in Sunnyside. The second time, Bird didnt return the countys gun and two uniforms after he left the department. It took more than 17 months for sheriffs officials to track him down and to get the revolver back, show police and court records obtained by the Tri-City Herald under Washingtons Public Records Act. Bird says it was all a misunderstanding. But the records show that Yakima and Benton county officials were clearly frustrated in 1995 and 1996 when he didnt know exactly where the gun was and didnt seem concerned about finding and returning it. Semi Bird, a Richland COP candidate, was one of the first to throw his name into the race for Washington state governor. Missing revolver The Smith and Wesson Model 13 was discovered missing in 1995 when the Yakima County Sheriffs Office conducted a routine weapons audit. Bird had left his reserve deputy position more than a year earlier. The discovery led to months of phone calls, a registered letter and a visit by a Benton County sheriffs deputy to Bird at his job at a Pasco car dealership. When Bird still didnt find and return the weapon, Yakima County prosecutors charged him with the Class B felony and issued an arrest warrant. Bird told the Herald last week that he was falsely accused of something he did not do. Bird maintains that he did not steal the gun, it had just been misplaced among his roommates belongings while the pair were moving. How could I steal a weapon from a sheriffs department that Im volunteering for? he said. In the end, after Bird was criminally charged, it was his former roommates mother who found the revolver and returned it. Then Yakima County Sheriff Doug Blair came the 85 miles to the Tri-Cities to retrieve it in October 1996. Bird, now 62, doesnt talk much about his time in law enforcement, and his time with the Yakima Sheriffs Office is not listed on his campaign website. He is running as a Republican this year to replace Washingtons Democratic Gov. Jay Inslee, who is stepping down after a decade as the states chief executive. While aspects of Birds life have been publicly vetted including his 1984 court martial for striking a sergeant and his illegal vote on COVID masking that got him recalled in 2023 from the Richland School Board the newly released records paint an unsettled time in Birds life after he left the Marine Corps. Richland School Board members Kari Williams, Audra Byrd and Semi Bird, from left, listen to the arguments during a 2022 court hearing on a petition to recall them from office. Growing up in Washington Bird was raised in Seattle as one of seven children to a single mother and dropped out of high school at 17 to join the military. He spent eight years in the Marines before using the G.I. Bill to earn a college degree and then was working in various jobs in business and finance. In 1993, Bird, then 32, was living in Sunnyside and began volunteering as a reserve deputy for Yakima County. In May that year, he was issued the Smith and Wesson. Blair recently told the Herald that reserves, despite being unpaid volunteers, still must undergo extensive physical and firearms training before being issued a gun. Two months later in July 1993, Sunnyside police contacted the Yakima County Sheriffs Office to report that Birds personal car was repossessed. Inside, theyd found a loaded .357 revolver and holster, along with a Yakima County flotation coat, handcuffs and sheriffs office keys. Sheriffs officials took the items and, records show, Bird retrieved them a month later. A few months later, he apparently left the agency but he didnt return his gun or two sheriffs uniforms. He had been terminated as a reserve but had not turned in the pistol or holster, said one report. Bird told the Herald he left voluntarily to take a finance director job for a company in Oregon. His roommates parents had sold the home they were renting in the Tri-Cities, so both packed their things and left. County officials told the Herald they no longer have a record of why Bird left because personnel records for reserve deputies, who are not paid employees, are kept only for six years after someone leaves. At the time, Yakima Deputy Stephan Sutliff wrote in a report that he tried to find Bird to retrieve the gun but had no success. So in October 1995 he contacted Lt. Charles Kistler with the Benton County Sheriffs Office for help. A few days later, a Benton County deputy found Bird and went to visit him at work at McCurley Chevrolet in Pasco. Bird told the deputy that he left the pistol and uniforms with his roommate to return to the sheriffs office for him. (The deputy) told him ... it was his responsibility to return it not his roommates, said the report. Two days later, the Yakima deputy sent Bird a registered letter requesting the return of the items that belong to YSO. Gubernatorial candiate Semi Bird posted this photo from his June 24, 2023 campaign stop in the town of Newport to one of his social media accounts. Moving mix-up Bird told the Herald he remembers telling investigators that it was a mix up with moving boxes and that he would do his best to locate and return the items as soon as possible. He said he also offered to pay to replace the missing items. When my roommate found that he had mistakenly taken my box, he ensured that the items would be returned directly to the department, Bird told the Herald. His roommate was living in Kansas City, Mo., and his mother was in Seattle. The reports are unclear where the box with the gun was located. Three months later, in January 1996, a Yakima detective again called Bird about the revolver. I spoke with Bird by phone and he advised that his roommate had left the gun in storage with his mother after he left for Kansas, read the incident report. Bird advised that he could obtain the gun within the next few weeks. I advised him that the returning of the gun is long overdue. The detective then told Bird to get the gun that day or arrange to get it returned. He said if it wasnt taken care of before 5 p.m., he would request an arrest warrant. Two weeks later, Yakima Detective Dave Johnson wrote: I have not been contacted by Semi since we last talked. A warrant request was requested for 1st Degree Theft of a Firearm. A Yakima County Superior Court judge signed off on the warrant and bail was set at $2,000. Six months later, on Aug. 30, 1996, a Benton County deputy arrested Bird in Pasco and he was taken to Yakima County. A Tri-Cities bail bond company posted $2,000 bail bond the same day, and he appeared in court on Monday, Sept. 9. The judge released him on his own recognizance. Nearly two months after Birds arrest, Yakima County reported the guns retrieval. Sheriff Blair picked it up in Kennewick from Joyce Stoddard, the mother of Birds former roommate. She told police at the time, according to records, that, Her son moved to Kansas City and left the box in storage. She moved to Seattle and left the box in storage. Bird attempted contact with her, but the people who lived in her residence would not give him her phone number in Seattle. When she moved back to the Tri-Cities, she removed a number of boxes out of storage and when she was unpacking found the weapon. The charges were ultimately dropped in December 1996. After his stint working in Oregon, Bird moved back to the Tri-Cities to work. He eventually enlisted with the Washington Army National Guard in May 2001 after finishing college. When he was 40, Bird joined the U.S. Army on active duty following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and eventually became Special Forces. In 2016, he went to work as a behavioral science specialist doing workforce training and leadership development with the U.S. Department of Energy, Washington State University and for his own company, Team Concepts Training Services. In November 2022 after less than a year serving on the Richland School Board Bird announced plans to join the open 2024 race for Washington governor. This embedded content is not available in your region. A satellite image shows new construction and earth grading works along the Egypt-Gaza border near Rafah - MAXAR TECHNOLOGIES/via REUTERS Israel will launch an operation in Rafah unless its hostages are freed, an Israeli minister has warned. Benny Gantz, an opposition leader and a member of Israels war cabinet, said: There will not be a ceasefire of even one day until the hostages are returned. The fighting will continue until our goals are achieved. It can continue even in the month of Ramadan. Either the hostages will be returned, or we will extend the fighting to Rafah. Emmanuel Macron, the French President, on Friday said an operation in Rafah would trigger an unprecedented humanitarian disaster. Israel has said its army is drawing up a plan to evacuate civilians from Rafah to other parts of the Gaza Strip. 04:00 PM GMT Today's liveblog is now closed Thanks for following todays liveblog. We will be back tomorrow with all the latest updates. 03:40 PM GMT Macron says recognising a Palestinian state 'not a taboo' for France President Emmanuel Macron said on Friday that recognising a Palestinian state was not a taboo for France in his first such comments since the start of the war in Gaza. The recognition of a Palestinian state is not a taboo for France, he said at a joint press conference in Paris with Jordans King Abdullah II. His comments come after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected a plan for international recognition of such a state, following reports of such an initiative in The Washington Post. The US newspaper reported that US President Joe Bidens administration and a small group of Arab nations were working out a comprehensive plan for long-term peace between Israel and the Palestinians. 03:10 PM GMT Pictured: Displaced Palestinians camp near the border fence between Gaza and Egypt Displaced Palestinians camp near the border fence between Gaza and Egypt - MOHAMMED ABED/AFP 02:38 PM GMT Israel will pay 'with blood' for Lebanon attacks, warns Hezbollah Israel will pay with blood for killing civilians in Lebanon earlier this week, the head of Hezbollah has warned. Hassan Nasrallah vowed that his groups response to Israels attacks would be an increase in resistance, warning Hezbollah has missiles that can reach Israels far south. It comes after Israeli fighter jets launched the deepest airstrikes yet on Lebanon earlier this week, reigniting fears of a regional war. At least 15 people were killed, including 10 civilians. Nasrallah said Israel could have avoided killing civilians in southern Lebanon. The enemy will pay with blood for every woman and child killed by cross-border fire in Lebanon, he said in a televised address. 02:23 PM GMT Israel has no intention to deport Palestinians from Gaza, says foreign minister Israel has no plans to deport Palestinians from the Gaza Strip, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz told the Munich Security Conference on Friday. We have no intention to deport any Palestinians out of the Gaza Strip, Katz said, adding that Israel did not want to rule Gaza after it ends its war against the Palestinian military group Hamas that has been governing the territory. 01:54 PM GMT Netanyahu rejects US plan for Palestinian state Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected a US plan for a Palestinian state, saying it would be a huge reward for Hamas. The Israeli prime minister rallied against international dictates regarding a permanent settlement with the Palestinians. His comments come after the Washington Post reported that the United States was advancing plans to establish a Palestinian state. The Post quoted US and Arab officials who said that reaching a ceasefire agreement would be the key to launching the plan. Netanyahu added: Such recognition in the wake of the October 7 massacre would give a huge reward to unprecedented terrorism and prevent any future peace settlement. 01:50 PM GMT Israel will coordinate with Egypt on Palestinian refugees, says foreign minister Israel will coordinate with Egypt on Palestinian refugees and will find a way to not harm Egypts interests, Israels foreign minister Israel Katz said on Friday. The state of Israel will have to deal with Rafah because we cant just leave Hamas there, Katz said on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference. When asked where refugees in Rafah would go, he suggested Gazas second city Khan Younis, but said that Israel would coordinate with Egypt to ensure Cairos interests were not harmed. We will coordinate with Egypt, he said. 01:21 PM GMT Pictured: Israeli officials work in aftermath of shooting attack Israeli officials work at the scene of what Israel's police describe as a suspected shooting attack - AMIR COHEN/REUTERS 12:50 PM GMT Macron: Israeli assault on Rafah would cause 'unprecedented humanitarian disaster' Emmanuel Macron has said that an Israeli operation on Rafah in the besieged Palestinian territory of Gaza would trigger an unprecedented humanitarian disaster. An Israeli offensive in Rafah could only bring about an unprecedented humanitarian disaster and would be a turning point in this conflict, he said at a joint press conference in Paris with Jordans King Abdullah II. The French president also said the human death toll from the war in Gaza is intolerable. 12:16 PM GMT Two dead in attack on southern Israel Two people have been killed in a shooting in southern Israel, according to reports. The Kaplan hospital confirmed the death of the two victims after the attack [see post at 12:02]. More follows 12:02 PM GMT Six wounded in suspected 'terror attack' in southern Israel A gunman opened fire at a crowded bus stop in southern Israel on Friday, wounding six people, in what Israeli police said was a suspected terror attack. Police said the incident happened in the southern town of Kiryat Malakhi, adding the suspected gunman was neutralised by a civilian at the scene. Eli Levy, a police spokesman, told Army Radio that a suspected shooter fired at people at a bus station at Masmiya junction, wounding several of them. 11:28 AM GMT Russia invites Hamas and other Palestinian factions for talks Russia has invited Hamas and other Palestinian factions including Fatah to Moscow for talks on the Israel-Hamas war and other issues in the Middle East, an official has said. Moscow, which for years tried to court good relations with all major players in the region, has grown increasingly critical of Israel and its Western backers amid the ongoing war in Gaza. Russia has invited around a dozen Palestinian groups to Moscow for inter-Palestinian talks from February 29, the state-run TASS news agency reported, citing Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov. We invited all Palestinian representatives - all political forces that have their positions in different countries, including Syria, Lebanon and other countries in the region, said Bogdanov, who is President Vladimir Putins special envoy for the Middle East. They include Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, alongside representatives of Fatah and the broader Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). 11:01 AM GMT Pictured: US actress Susan Sarandon (C) speaks to media beside a group of people advocating in support of Palestine US actress and activist Susan Sarandon (C) speaks to members of the news media beside a group of people advocating in support of Palestine - MICHAEL REYNOLDS/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock/Shutterstock 10:34 AM GMT Palestinian spillover into Egypt's Sinai would be disaster, says UNHCR chief The UNs High Commissioner for Refugees said that a spillover of refugees from Gazas Rafah into Egypts Sinai would be a disaster and that Egyptian authorities had made clear that Palestinians should be assisted in the enclave. It would be a disaster for the Palestinians ... a disaster for Egypt and a disaster for the future of peace, Filippo Grandi told Reuters on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, an annual gathering in the southern German city. When asked whether Egyptian authorities had contacted the UNHCR about possible contingency plans he said: The Egyptians said that people should be assisted inside Gaza and we are working on that. 10:20 AM GMT British-Qatari aid arrives in Rafah Our UK-Qatar joint aid consignment has arrived in Rafah. The family-sized tents, distributed by @UNICEF, are providing vital shelter to those in desperate need. Israel must take steps to significantly increase the flow of aid into Gaza. pic.twitter.com/ecFJuyziNH Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (@FCDOGovUK) February 16, 2024 10:11 AM GMT World Health Organisation trying to get access to Gaza hospital after raid The World Health Organisation (WHO) said it was trying to get access to biggest functioning hospital in Gaza, the Nasser Hospital, after an Israeli raid. There are still critically injured and sick patients that are inside the hospital, WHO spokesperson Tarik Jasarevic said. There is an urgent need to deliver fuel to ensure the continuation of the provision of life-saving services... We are trying to get access because people who are still in Nasser medical complex need assistance. Israels military called the raid on Nasser Hospital precise and limited and said it was based on information that Hamas militants were keeping hostages in the facility, with some bodies of captives possibly there. 09:44 AM GMT Pictured: A satellite image shows new construction and earth grading works along the Egypt-Gaza border near Rafah A satellite image shows new construction and earth grading works along the Egypt-Gaza border near Rafah [see post at 08:32]. A satellite image shows new construction and earth grading works along the Egypt-Gaza border near Rafah - MAXAR TECHNOLOGIES/via REUTERS 09:28 AM GMT Four intensive care patients die at Gaza hospital The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said four patients died Friday due to lack of oxygen at one of the war-torn Palestinian territorys few operating hospitals that had been raided by Israeli forces. The generators of the complex stopped and the power was cut off, the ministry said, raising fears over the fate of six other patients in intensive care and three children in a nursery at the Nasser hospital in the southern city of Khan Yunis. We hold the Israeli occupation responsible for the lives of patients and staff considering that the complex is now under its full control, it said in a statement. The storming by Israeli troops of southern Gazas main hospital brought chaos to hundreds of staff and patients inside. The IDF was searching the facility, where the military said it believes the remains of hostages abducted by Hamas might be located. Daniel Hagari, a spokesman for the Israeli army,said there was credible intelligence from a number of sources, including released hostages, indicating that Hamas held hostages at the Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis and that there may be bodies of our hostages there. 08:43 AM GMT 'Hostage deal still possible,' says US Anthony Blinken has said he believes a hostage deal is still possible, but admitted that very hard issues remain. Asked whether an agreement could be reached on a break in hostilities before Ramadan begins on March 10, the US Secretary of State said an earlier response from Hamas on a potential deal had included some clear non-starters but offered the possibility of working toward an agreement. Were now in the process with our counterparts from Qatar, from Egypt, from Israel, in working on that and working very intensely on that with the goal of trying to find an agreement and I believe that it is possible, Mr Blinken said at a news conference during a visit to Albania. There are some very, very hard issues that have to be resolved. But were committed to doing everything we can to move forward and to see if we can reach an agreement, he said. 08:36 AM GMT Pictured: Israeli troops in Gaza The Maglan and Egoz Units of the Commando Brigade are operating in dense areas and terrorist hubs in western Khan Younis - Israel Defense Forces Footage of the Commando Units Activity in western Khan Younis - Israel Defense Forces Israel conducting a military operation in Gaza Strip - IDF/GPO/SIPA/Shutterstock/Shutterstock 08:33 AM GMT Israel faces fresh US calls against attack on Rafah Israel faced renewed calls from key ally the United States on Friday against launching a large-scale attack on Gazas southern city of Rafah, where nearly 1.5 million Palestinians are trapped. Benjamin Netanyahu has insisted he would push ahead with a powerful operation in the overcrowded city to achieve complete victory over Hamas. The White House said Joe Biden had spoken by phone with Netanyahu late Thursday, urging him not to carry out an attack on Rafah without a plan to keep civilians safe. Hundreds of thousands of people have been driven into Rafah, seeking shelter in a sprawling makeshift encampment near the Egyptian border. The city now hosts more than half of Gazas population, with displaced people crammed into less than 20 percent of the territory, according to UN humanitarian agency OCHA. 08:32 AM GMT Egypt reportedly setting up area at Gaza border which could be used to shelter Palestinians Egypt is preparing an area at the Gaza border which could accommodate Palestinians in case an Israeli offensive into Rafah prompts an exodus across the frontier, four sources said, in what they described as a contingency move by Cairo. Egypt, which denied making any such preparations, has repeatedly raised the alarm over the possibility that Israels devastating Gaza offensive could displace Palestinians into Sinai - something Cairo says would be completely unacceptable- echoing warnings from Arab states such as Jordan. The United States has repeatedly said it would oppose any displacement of Palestinians out of Gaza. One of the sources said Egypt was optimistic talks to clinch a ceasefire can avoid any such scenario, but is establishing the area at the border as a temporary and precautionary measure. Three security sources said Egypt had begun preparing a desert area with some basic facilities which could be used to shelter Palestinians, emphasising this was a contingency step. 08:29 AM GMT Good Morning Good morning, and welcome to todays liveblog. We will be guiding you through all the latest updates. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 3 months with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. President Joe Biden on Friday squarely cast blame on Russian President Vladimir Putin for the reported death of imprisoned Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. The U.S. has not independently confirmed Navalnys death, but Biden said he has no reason not to believe its true, and that it offers yet more proof of Putins brutality. Make no mistake, Putin is responsible for Navalnys death, Biden said in a speech from the White House. We dont know exactly what happened, but there is no doubt that the death of Navalny was the consequence of what Putin and his thugs did. Biden described Navalny, 47, as brave, principled and dedicated to building a Russia where the rule of law existed and applied to everybody. President Joe Biden delivers remarks at the White House on the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny on Friday. President Joe Biden delivers remarks at the White House on the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny on Friday. Throughout Navalnys pursuit of democracy, Putin had him poisoned, he had him arrested, he had him prosecuted for fabricated crimes. He sentenced him to prison, he was isolated in prison even all that didnt stop him from calling him out for his lies. Even in prison, he was a powerful voice for the truth, Biden said. His courage will not be forgotten. Vice President Kamala Harris also called out Putin and his regime. If confirmed, this would be a further sign of Putins brutality, she said of Navalnys death in a speech at the Munich Security Conference in Germany, which Navalnys wife attended. Whatever story they tell, let us be clear, Russia is responsible. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan also reacted with criticism of Putin, citing his governments history of suppression and brutality. Vice President Kamala Harris on Friday said Navalny's death, if confirmed, would offer Vice President Kamala Harris on Friday said Navalny's death, if confirmed, would offer "a further sign" of Russian President Vladimir Putins "brutality." Russias responsible for this, Blinken told reporters. The fear of one man only underscores the weakness and rot at the heart of the system that Putin has built. If its confirmed, it is a terrible tragedy, Sullivan separately told NPR. Given the Russian governments long and sordid history of doing harm to its opponents, it raises real and obvious questions about what happened here. European leaders were also quick to blame Putin and describe Navalny as a martyr for democracy. Russia has some very serious questions to answer, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters. Alexei Navalny has been a strong voice for freedom, for democracy for many years and NATO and NATO allies have called for his release for a long time. Protesters hold posters with a portrait of Navalny and a sign that reads Protesters hold posters with a portrait of Navalny and a sign that reads "Putin is a killer" during a protest in front of the Russian embassy in Berlin on Friday. European Council President Charles Michel also slammed Russia. The [European Union] holds the Russian regime for sole responsible for this tragic death, he said in a statement. Alexei Navalny fought for the values of freedom and democracy. For his ideals, he made the ultimate sacrifice. Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics didnt mince words while reacting to reports of Navalnys death, calling it a murder. Whatever your thoughts about Alexey Navalny as the politician, he was just brutally murdered by the Kremlin, he posted on social media. Thats a fact and that is something one should know about the true nature of Russias current regime. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz similarly hailed Navalnys selflessness and courage while condemning Russia. An image of Navalny is seen alongside floral tributes near the Russian Embassy in London following news that the jailed Russian opposition leader has died. An image of Navalny is seen alongside floral tributes near the Russian Embassy in London following news that the jailed Russian opposition leader has died. He stood up for democracy and freedom in Russia and apparently paid for his courage with his life, Scholz said in a statement. This terrible news shows once again how Russia has changed and what kind of regime is in power in Moscow. Navalnys wife, Yulia Navalnaya, reportedly received a standing ovation while speaking at the Munich Security Conference and urging the international community to stand together against Russias government. Whatever your thoughts about Alexey Navalny as the politician, he was just brutally murdered by the Kremlin.Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics I would like to call upon all the international community, all the people in the world, we should come together and we should fight against this evil, Navalnaya said, according to The Washington Post. We should fight this horrific regime in Russia today. Russias Federal Prison Service said Navalny died Friday after losing consciousness at a penal colony while serving out a 19-year sentence on extremism charges. A Russian foreign ministry spokesperson criticized Western governments for being so quick to cast blame on the Kremlin before forensic medical data has been made available. See more responses below: In today's Russia, free spirits are sent to the Gulag and condemned to death. Anger and indignation. I pay tribute to the memory of Alexei Navalny, his dedication, his courage. My thoughts go out to his family, loved ones, and to the Russian people. Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) February 16, 2024 Alexey, we will never forget you. And we will never forgive them. Donald Tusk (@donaldtusk) February 16, 2024 Alexei @navalny's death is yet another dark reminder of the rogue regime were dealing with and why Russia and all those responsible must be held accountable for each of their crimes. My condolences. Thinking of all those who still sit behind bars for their political views. Kaja Kallas (@kajakallas) February 16, 2024 Reports of Alexei Navalnys death are tragic and horrifying. An unwavering advocate for Russian democracy and freedom, his courage was unparalleled. To be clear: He should never have been imprisoned to begin with. Let this be an important reminder that we must continue to Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) February 16, 2024 This is terrible news. As the fiercest advocate for Russian democracy, Alexei Navalny demonstrated incredible courage throughout his life. My thoughts are with his wife and the people of Russia, for whom this is a huge tragedy. https://t.co/AQvQQW5GBh Rishi Sunak (@RishiSunak) February 16, 2024 Related... Sacramento Councilman Eric Guerra is the owner of at least $10,000 in Chevron stock, public documents show. As a board member of Californias leading air quality regulator, climate advocates say the investment raises questions around conflicts of interest. Guerra, whos running for re-election to the council this year, was appointed by Gov. Gavin Newsom to the California Air Resources Board in January 2023. The following month, Guerra submitted a financial disclosure form to the city showing he holds Chevron stock valued between $10,000 and $100,000. He owned the Chevron shares when he was first elected to the council in 2015 but their value was lower than the $2,000 minimum required under state disclosure laws, according to a note he wrote in a later tax filing reporting the stock. In 2017, he first reported the stock, as well as a handful of other investments in major companies such as AT&T and Apple.. As one of the worlds largest multinational fossil fuel companies, Chevron is also a top political spender in the state capital. Last year, the company headquartered in Northern California spent $11.1 million to influence state politics and policy. As a member of the Air Board, Guerra votes on major climate policies that have a significant impact on the fossil fuel giants business. Some environmental advocates say that position should put the politician under greater scrutiny. People need to have confidence in our decision makers, especially ones that are really working on these issues, said Mike Young, political director for California Environmental Voters. He weighs in on a lot of these really enormous programs that are of national and international importance and it really behooves him to avoid any semblance of conflict. He pointed to a precedent set by Mary Nichols, former chair of the Air Board, who sold her stock in Chevron and other oil companies when she was appointed to the position in 2007 by former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Guerra defended his environmental track record. I have been a consistent vote for the environment, social justice, and climate change throughout my time on City Council and the California Air Resources Board, Guerra said in a statement through a campaign spokesman. I have been a fervent advocate of CARBs Advanced Clean Fleets and making California refineries cleaner, as well as voting against a proposed Chevron station in North Natomas in 2020 (...) which is why the Sierra Club has endorsed me in every one of my campaigns, including this year. Councils rejection of the Natomas Chevron station, which was unanimous, occurred in December 2020. As part of the project, the developer also applied to build two drive-through restaurants. No other Sacramento council member or Air Resources board member reported in their statements of economic interest, also known as Form 700, owning stock in fossil fuel companies. California accuses Chevron of pollution Nine months after Newsom appointed Guerra to the Air Board, Newsom announced a major state lawsuit against the worlds top five largest oil subsidiaries, including Chevron. The lawsuit alleges 50 years of deception, cover-up, and damage that have cost California taxpayers billions of dollars in health and environmental impacts, a September news release stated. For more than 50 years, Big Oil has been lying to us covering up the fact that theyve long known how dangerous the fossil fuels they produce are for our planet, Newsom said in the release. It has been decades of damage and deception. Wildfires wiping out entire communities, toxic smoke clogging our air, deadly heat waves, record-breaking droughts parching our wells. California taxpayers shouldnt have to foot the bill. California is taking action to hold big polluters accountable. The 16-member Air Boards mission, according to its web page, is to promote and protect public health, welfare, and ecological resources through effective reduction of air pollutants while recognizing and considering effects on the economy. In the year since Guerra was appointed to the board, it has passed major policies including one that set strict emission standards for medium and heavy-duty vehicles. Guerra voted in favor of the program. The board is also expected to consider reforms this year to the states flagship climate program called cap-and-trade, which is meant to cut carbon emissions by allowing industry such as oil refineries to purchase and trade permits to pollute. Guerra also has $2,000 to $10,000 of stock in chemical company DuPont, according to his December 2023 form. He also has Stock in DuPont and Dow Chemical. In November 2022 the state of California sued DuPont and other companies alleging their products contained a group of chemicals known as PFAS for decades despite knowing they cause cancer and developmental defects. He also has accepted donations from industries that are actively lobbying the Air Board. He received $1,500 from Visalia-based California Dairies Inc. in 2024; $500 each from from L and D Landfill Limited Partnership and Atlas Disposal Industries LLC in 2023. In addition to the Air Board, Guerra also sits on the Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District board. That entity, according to its website, is responsible for monitoring air pollution within the Basin and for developing and administering programs to reduce air pollution levels below the health-based standards. A man is accused of robbing a Florida bank one day after being released from an eight-year prison sentence on bank robbery charges, federal officials said. The man, a 60-year-old from Orlando, was released from Putnam County Correctional Facility on June 1, 2022, after serving eight years, according to a Feb. 14 news release from the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Middle District of Florida. He was accused of robbing a Wells Fargo on Orange Blossom Trail in Orlando years ago, the attorneys office said. He also had previous robbery convictions in 1995, 2006 and 2013, officials said. The attorneys office called him a serial bank robber. One day after he was released, the man walked into a Truist bank June 2 on the same street as the Wells Fargo and told an employee he had a gun and it was a robbery, officials said. He demanded $150,000 and told the employee it would be a bloodbath if he wasnt given the money, officials said. Bank employees handed over $30,000 before the man took an employees car keys and drove off, officials said. One week later, on June 9, the man walked into a SouthState bank in Kissimmee, about 25 miles south of Orlando, according to the attorneys office. He again said he had a gun and that it was a robbery, then demanded $50,000, which employees gave him, federal officials said. He stole an employees car keys again, officials said. He was caught later that day in the stolen vehicle with the money, according to the attorneys office. While in custody, the man told investigators he was mentally incompetent and unable to stand trial, officials said. In May, he wrote a letter to a family member while claiming to be contacting an attorney and said he was just pretending in order to manipulate, trick and fool the doctors and court system, according to the attorneys office. The man pleaded guilty to one count of bank robbery Sept. 26, according to the release. On Feb. 14, the man was sentenced to 25 years in federal prison and forfeiture of $30,000 from the robberies that had not been recovered, federal officials said. Sniper shoots accused bank robber holding knife to hostages throat, Florida cops say 71-year-old accused of 5th bank robbery is arrested with $64,000 in cash, CA cops say Accused bank robber forgets to demand money because hes high, feds say. Give me the Accused armored car robber out on early release robs another armored car, feds say Barbara Espinosa minced no words as a blogger, radio show host as a GOP activist in Maricopa County. Barbara Espinosa was a firecracker to the end. The last time I saw the longtime Republican Party activist, blogger and radio host, she was in a hospital bed, hooked up to a breathing machine. She had trouble talking, but the 86-year-old native Texan could still crack jokes and tell ribald stories for her visitors, of whom I was one of many. She had fallen at her home where she lived alone with her beloved Shih Tzu, Lucy. Transported to the hospital, she was diagnosed with pneumonia and got progressively worse. On Jan. 16, her body gave out on her. She was 86. Espinosa was a staunch Republican Barbara was such a force of nature, I thought shed never die. The month before, Id driven with her up to Wickenburg for a celebration of life for another Arizona GOP blogger of renown, Florence Frosty Taylor, editor of the widely read Republican Briefs newsletter. Barbara walked with the aid of a rollator, but she was in her element, smiling and swapping tall tales. Republicans dominated the crowd. Barbara would introduce me to her fellow GOPers, saying, Hes a Democrat, while rolling her eyes with a look of semi-disgust. I reminded her that I was now a registered independent. She harrumphed that it was, at least, an improvement. A successful realtor and a past president of the Scottsdale Realtors association, Barbara reveled in Republican politics, raising money and campaigning for Texas Governor Rick Perry, both Bush presidents and John McCain, though she soured on McCain in later years. In the late 90s, she took on deep-pocketed interests by opposing a plan to convert the Scottsdale Galleria into a taxpayer-supported megadevelopment with museums, restaurants and Venetian-like canals. She chaired Save Old Scottsdale, a grassroots campaign against the fat cats, and won, with voters rejecting the project at the polls, 54-46. But she was willing to cross party lines She ran for Scottsdale City Council a couple of times and lost, but she remained a Republican precinct committeeman and maintained influence in the party through her blog, American Freedom by Barbara and a radio show with former GOP state party chair Randy Pullen, Hair on Fire. Despite being a rock-ribbed Republican, she was willing to cross party lines if she thought it was the right thing to do. In 2014, she took a dislike to Republican gubernatorial candidate Doug Ducey. So, she endorsed and donated money to Duceys Democratic foe, Fred DuVal, now chair of the Arizona Board of Regents. The Maricopa County Republican Committee censured her for the line-crossing. Espinosa was defiant. Not a snowballs chance in Hell will I fall in line, she told Phoenix New Times. She worshipped Donald Trump. She was virulently anti-abortion, anti-immigration (last name aside), anti-Obamacare, and she could be insensitive when it came to matters of race, as someone from her generation, raised in the South, could be. To her credit, she enthusiastically befriended and backed Black Republicans running for office, such as former Paradise Valley Mayor Vernon Parker. Friends are more important than politics In an age where people talk openly of civil war and our political discourse is so blackened with hate, Barbara and I should never have been friends. Yet, friends we were. She liked me, and I liked her. I enjoyed hearing her stories of things shed seen and people shed known while living in Dallas, and later in Tucson and Phoenix. She witnessed the assassination of JFK, dated gambler Binny Binions son, hobnobbed with LBJ, knew oil magnate H.L. Hunt, met Joe Bonnano and Elvis. When I visited her last, she regaled me with a story Id heard many times before but loved hearing again. In the early 60s, Barbara frequented Jack Rubys nightclub in Dallas, where Ruby, the future assassin of Lee Harvey Oswald, inevitably made the rounds. Imitating Ruby, she made a motion like opening a suit jacket, saying, Im Jack Ruby, wanna buy a watch? His coat was lined with them, she said. Are there things shes said that I cannot defend? Yes. She would certainly say the same of me. Still, what Barbara taught me is that some things are more important than politics, friendship being one. This is, admittedly, an antiquated worldview. But for our countrys survival, I hope its one we embrace anew. Stephen Lemons is a freelance journalist in metro Phoenix. Reach him at stephenlemons76@yahoo.com. This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Barbara Espinosa was the firecracker friend we all wish we had Week to date, shares of Shopify (NYSE: SHOP) were down 9.6% as of 10:20 a.m. ET on Friday, according to data provided by S&P Global Market Intelligence. The stock fell following the e-commerce company's fourth-quarter business update. Revenue grew 24% year over year in the quarter, but Wall Street investors didn't like the company's outlook for higher operating expenses, which implies lower margins than expected. Is Shopify stock a buy? The post-earnings dip could be a good buying opportunity, as the company's quarter was solid all around. If Shopify can continue to sustain a 20% or more top-line growth rate, shareholders should see a nice return on their investment in the years to come. Management expects revenue to grow in the low-20% range in the first quarter of 2024, which is good news. However, TD Securities analyst Daniel Chan noted that the company's guidance for an increase in operating expense may signal lower-than-expected margins in the coming quarters. That might explain the stock's stumble this week. It's also worth noting that Shopify stock climbed 54% over the last year, so a good earnings report was likely expected by market participants. Sometimes if growth companies don't offer a much better outlook than expected, it can lead to a mild sell-off. The expense guidance shouldn't be that concerning since Shopify also expects free-cash-flow margin to sequentially improve in each quarter through 2024. This is while the company is releasing innovative new artificial intelligence (AI)-powered tools for merchants and shoppers. It's a testament to the value of its e-commerce solutions that it added 35% more merchants to its platform from outside North America in 2023. Shopify clearly still has a lot of room for growth. Where to invest $1,000 right now When our analyst team has a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they have run for two decades, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has more than tripled the market.* Story continues They just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy right now and Shopify made the list -- but there are 9 other stocks you may be overlooking. See the 10 stocks *Stock Advisor returns as of February 12, 2024 Why Shopify Stock Was Down This Week was originally published by The Motley Fool In the early hours of the morning on Black Friday in 2023, Virginia Heye's Kia was stolen for the second time since she's owned it. That day, Louisville Metro Police officers found her car and towed it to Metro's impound lot on Frankfort Avenue, said Valerie Vogedes, Heye's daughter. People typically had to pay a tow charge, handling charge and a fee for every day their car sits in the lot. However, those who could show proof their vehicles were stolen have fees waived and a 21-day amnesty period for picking their car up from the lot. People had to prove their car was stolen by supplying a police report. Only then could the car be taken off the tow lot premises without fees. But Heye had a mix-up with her police report including a mishap that required officers to redo the report, Vogedes said and was initially charged more than one thousand dollars for exceeding the tow lot's 21-day grace period. "That was money my mom didn't have," Vogedes said. "So they said, 'Well, we can't release the car without the payment.'" After a series of phone calls and complaints, Vogedes was able to get her mother's fee waived with the help of Councilman Dan Seum Jr. and an LMPD officer, but not all are so lucky. Seum has heard of multiple instances where those with stolen vehicles are "victimized again" with fees after being unable to retrieve their cars during the amnesty period due to extenuating circumstances. Another person's car, for example, was so damaged it couldn't be driven off the tow lot another tow truck would have had to come to pick it up. "(He) didn't have the money to get it towed," Seum said. "And while he was fighting his insurance company, three weeks had lapsed and a friend finally loans him the money to get his car out of the lot and went up there and they were going to charge him $1,200 and were putting it on the auction block." Around the same time Vogedes and her mother were trying to get her car out of the lot, Councilwoman Paula McCraney received a call from Deputy Chief Steve Healy, who was concerned about this policy. By the end of the call, McCraney said she believed these people "were absolutely being victimized" again in the process of retrieving their stolen vehicles. She then approached the Jefferson County Attorney's Office to discuss solutions and begin drafting a revision to the law, she said. Seum was also working on a resolution to this issue. Ultimately, Seum, McCraney and four other council members co-sponsored an ordinance that will remove fees for people whose stolen vehicles end up in the tow lot under specific conditions including hospitalization, military leave and other special circumstances. It will also allow people whose requests were denied for special circumstances to appeal them to the Chief of Police or "his or her designee" for reconsideration. "I do realize that not collecting some of these fees may cost us a little bit of money at the end," Healy said at a Public Safety Committee meeting Feb. 7. "But I believe these individuals that have had their car stolen, they've already been victimized and its already a traumatic event for them and if they have situations out of their control I think we should have the autonomy to waive those fees." It passed unanimously out of committee and went before the full Metro Council Thursday night, where it was approved on the consent calendar. In Louisville, nearly 20 vehicles are reported stolen each day and half of those are either a Kia or Hyundai, The Courier Journal previously reported. Reach reporter Eleanor McCrary at EMcCrary@courier-journal.com or at @ellie_mccrary on X, formerly known as Twitter. This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Louisville Metro Council expands amnesty laws for stolen cars Prosecutors from the Tarrant County Election Integrity Task Force are considering three cases of alleged electoral fraud from 2023 for presentation to a grand jury, according to the teams lead prosecutor. In an exclusive interview with the Star-Telegram, Glynis McGinty, the head of the district attorneys arm of the task force, said the sheriffs office referred three of more than 70 complaints it received in 2023. Tarrant County voters cast a total of 156,220 ballots in state and local elections, according to county records. There were more than 1.25 million registered voters in Tarrant County in 2023. McGinty did not provide details about the three possible cases, citing the ongoing investigations by DA investigators, and could not give a timeline of when they might be brought before a grand jury. The types of complaints the task force received included people taking pictures at polling sites, people being within 100 feet of the polling site, just those types of concerns, she said. She did not say how many DA investigators are working on the cases, but said that their work on other cases has not been affected by the task forces investigations. As prosecutors in general, we are used to juggling cases, McGinty said. The sheriffs department did not immediately respond to a request for comment on its side of the investigations. McGintys message to voters during the upcoming elections is if you see something, say something. James Slattery, an attorney with the Texas Civil Rights Project, said that such messaging can be very dangerous and reckless and encourage people to accuse others of baseless crimes. Weve seen in recent years conspiracy theories arise from people looking at the election process, not understanding what theyre seeing, and reading into the process their own biases, their own preconceived worries, their own inclinations to believe that theres a problem in elections, Slattery said. People of color are most likely to be affected by such initiatives, he added. McGinty did not agree that her messaging could lead to voter intimidation. My job is to prosecute violations of the election code if it is brought to my office or referred to me from the sheriffs department, she said. Tarrant County Judge Tim OHare fulfilled a campaign promise to form the task force last February. In April, he encouraged Republican voters to take advantage of low voter turnout while discussing the task force at a meeting hosted by the True Texas Project. Californians who have moved to Texas might wonder why they have not seen DUI or DWI checkpoints on the streets of their new home. The checkpoints are regular occurrences along roads in the Golden State. Texas, along with 11 other U.S. states, sees the checkpoints as a violation of the individuals right against unreasonable searches and seizures as outlined in the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. However, what is reasonable is a question the Supreme Court has grappled with for more than two hundred years, the website findlaw.com states. This lingering query has left states to use localized determinations of what the constitutional provision means. To curtail confusion, three states Oregon, Rhode Island and Washington have written their official antipathy to the checkpoints in their constitutions. More trending stories: Texas to 'spring forward': When daylight saving time begins How Texas became a hotbed for chupacabra sightings. Is there truth to another mountain lion sighting in Glen Rose? Texas, in its interpretation of the U.S. Constitution, has deemed the idea of checkpoints violates the Fourth Amendment. Here is the text of the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution: The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized. Supreme Court rules DUI, DWI checkpoints do not violate rights At these checkpoints, officers may stop every vehicle or use a predetermined pattern to stop vehicles, such as every third vehicle. They will then look for signs of impairment, such as slurred speech, the smell of alcohol, or erratic driving behavior. If they suspect a driver is under the influence, they may ask them to perform field sobriety tests or take a breathalyzer test. While some people argue that sobriety checkpoints are an infringement on their rights, the Supreme Court has ruled that they are constitutional as long as they are conducted properly. The goal of these checkpoints is to deter drunk driving and keep roads safe for all motorists. In Michigan v. Sitz, Chief Justice William Rehnquist wrote: This case poses the question whether a States use of highway sobriety checkpoints violates the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution. We hold that it does not, and therefore reverse the contrary holding of the Court of Appeals of Michigan. If a driver is found to be under the influence at a sobriety checkpoint, they may face criminal charges, license suspension, and other legal consequences. It is always best to plan ahead and designate a sober driver or use a ride-sharing service if you plan on drinking alcohol. DUI, DWI checkpoints cut down on impaired driving, per CDC In Texas, law enforcement officers are not allowed to set up random sobriety checkpoints to check drivers for signs of intoxication. Instead, officers must have reasonable suspicion that a driver is impaired before pulling them over and conducting field sobriety tests. Some argue that sobriety checkpoints are an effective way to deter drunk driving and save lives. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention agrees with the premise that checkpoints are a good way to cut down on impaired driving. The goal of sobriety checkpoints is to increase the perceived likelihood that impaired driving will be identified and penalized, leading to a reduction in impaired driving, the CDC writes on its website. But opponents believe that they are an invasion of privacy and violate individual rights. Critics also argue that sobriety checkpoints are not as effective as other methods of combating drunk driving, such as increased patrols and public awareness campaigns. Ultimately, the decision to use sobriety checkpoints is left up to each state, and Texas has chosen not to implement them. Instead, law enforcement officers in Texas rely on other methods to identify and apprehend drunk drivers, such as increased patrols, saturation patrols, and tips from the public. States that do not allow DUI/DWI checkpoints These 10 U.S. states do not allow the checkpoints, with three states having written provisions in their constitutions. Alaska Idaho Michigan Minnesota Montana, but by statute, safety check roadblocks are possible. Oregon, it is illegal under state constitution. Rhode Island, it is illegal under state constitution. Texas, it is deemed Illegal under Texas interpretation of U.S. Constitution. Washington, it is illegal under state constitution. Wyoming An additional two states allow it with certain conditions: New Hampshire, allows it only with judicial approval. South Carolina, allows it with judicial approval. Rep.-elect Tom Suozzi (D-N.Y.), third from right, marches in the Lunar New Year parade on Saturday in Flushing, Queens, alongside Rep. Grace Meng (D-N.Y.). Rep.-elect Tom Suozzi (D-N.Y.), third from right, marches in the Lunar New Year parade on Saturday in Flushing, Queens, alongside Rep. Grace Meng (D-N.Y.). Much of the coverage of Democratic Rep.-elect Tom Suozzis victory in a special election on Tuesday has focused on the way it might serve as a model for how Democrats including President Joe Biden can run on immigration. But some of the post-game analyses have flattened out Suozzis positioning, highlighting his support for a tough border bill killed by Republicans in the lead-up to the election and ignoring the nuances of his campaign. In fact, Suozzi and his allies invested significant resources in outreach to both Asian and Muslim immigrant communities. And the moderate Democrat, who previously represented the district from 2017 to 2023, paired his calls for tougher border enforcement with support for a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers and recipients of temporary protected status. Ill work across the aisle to do what our leaders havent secure our border. Close the routes used for illegal immigration, but open paths to citizenship for those willing to follow the rules, and pay a fee to help finance it all, Suozzi said in one of two immigration-focused TV ads. Sure enough, the business-friendly New Democrat Coalition, which backed Suozzi and has invited him to rejoin them upon his return to the House, released an immigration policy framework on Thursday that combines tougher enforcement with citizenship pathways for Dreamers and TPS recipients. The pundit class also missed something about Suozzis Republican opponent, Nassau County Legislator Mazi Melesa Pilip. For all the gripes about her right-wing positions alienating swing voters, she apparently had the greatest difficulty turning out the Republican base and her identity as a woman of color probably had something to do with it. Suozzi relied heavily on support from Meng, New York City's sole Asian American representative in Congress. Suozzi relied heavily on support from Meng, New York City's sole Asian American representative in Congress. The Democrats Finally Woke Up On Asian Outreach One in four residents of New Yorks 3rd District is Asian American. Those residents are themselves deeply diverse: Chinese Americans, Korean Americans, Indian Americans, Pakistani Americans and Bangladeshi Americans all call the district home. For a long time, many Democrats took Asian American voters for granted, committing only limited resources to reaching out to them. Suozzi and his allies, however, left no stone unturned in courting Asian American voters. The Democrats finally woke up and figured it out, said Larry Levy, executive dean of the National Center for Suburban Studies at Hofstra University. They couldnt ignore Asians and just assume that every time [former President Donald] Trump dissed Asians, they would show up for Democrats. Together with neighboring Rep. Grace Meng (D), New York Citys only Asian American member of Congress, Suozzi laid out a multi-pronged plan early on to both consolidate support among East and South Asian voters and turn them out to vote for him when the time came. The campaign hired a dedicated Asian American and Pacific Islander outreach director. It printed campaign materials in multiple Asian languages. Suozzi gave regular interviews to the districts dozen-plus Asian-focused media outlets. A lot of voters knew Tom already and the stances that hes taken.Rep. Grace Meng (D-N.Y.) And Suozzi showed up attending numerous Lunar New Year events, and occasionally trying his hand at a Mandarin turn of phrase. The Mandarin-language news outlet SinovisionNet did a full news segment on Suozzis late-January visit to a Bayside dim sum spot, where he declared his shrimp dumpling to be haoshi a good thing. A lot of these new voters liked how direct he was. He acknowledges how things are bad or good, Meng said. They felt that he was very practical. In particular, Suozzis massive margin of victory in the Queens section of the district, which contains 20% of the districts voters, suggests his entreaties to East Asian American voters made a big difference. Suozzi carried the Queens part of the district by more than 20 percentage points, compared with his Democratic predecessor Robert Zimmermans 4-point edge in that more Democratic part of the district in 2022. Zimmermans failure to run up the score in Queens contributed to his 8-point loss to the now-expelled former Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.). Suozzis strong showing in the districts Queens region also cuts against recent GOP successes in New York Citys densest East Asian enclaves. Bayside, for example, which is home to many Korean American and Chinese American voters in New Yorks 3rd, was among the areas that shifted significantly to the right in 2022. The burning issues pushing East Asian voters rightward violent crime and threats to the citys selective magnet schools were not as salient this year. And Suozzi, a moderate who challenged New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) from the right in 2022, was not one of the progressives whose views on educational equity and criminal justice reform had turned Asian American voters away from the Democratic Party. A lot of voters knew Tom already and the stances that hes taken, Meng said. Suozzi (standing, fourth from left) courted the South Asian community as well as the East Asian community. Suozzi (standing, fourth from left) courted the South Asian community as well as the East Asian community. It Wasnt Easy: Keeping The Faith With Muslim Voters When Suozzi thanked various constituencies in his district during his victory speech Tuesday night, he got granular with different Asian nationalities acknowledging his support from the Chinese American, Korean American and Indian American communities. Then he turned to the Pakistani and Bangladeshi American communities and the Muslim community writ large, which, in his district, is more or less synonymous with those two groups. I want to thank the Pakistanis and Bangladeshis who stuck with me in this race despite how difficult it was throughout this process, Suozzi said, eliciting cheers from the crowd. And the Muslim community that stuck with me in this race! And it wasnt easy. Suozzi was alluding to the coolness of many Muslim voters toward the Democratic Party because of Bidens staunch support for Israels war with Hamas in Gaza, which has resulted in the deaths of more than 30,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children. Suozzi knows whereof he speaks: Pro-Palestine protesters interrupted his victory speech more than once before they were quickly removed. In truth, there is not much daylight, if any, between Suozzi and Biden on U.S. policy toward Israel and Palestine. But Suozzi, who previously represented a district with roughly the same boundaries and was Nassau County executive before that, has relationships with Muslim leaders and a history of delivering for the community on constituent matters. In the special election, his campaign had a dedicated Muslim outreach coordinator who identified a universe of 18,000 Muslim voters in the district using an algorithmic analysis of last names. The coordinator recruited a team of 300 volunteers within the community to knock doors and make phone calls to those voters. Those volunteers message: Pilip would simply offer a redux of Santos amateurish and irresponsible governance. Convincing Muslim voters that Suozzi would be marginally better than Pilip on Israel-Palestine was made easier by Pilips service in the Israel Defense Forces, and her harsher tone when discussing Palestinians. Tom Suozzi was advocating for a two-state solution. He wants peace in the Middle East, said Imran Pasha, an Indian American software engineer from Levittown who was among the 30 most active volunteers of the Muslim outreach effort. I didnt hear that from Mazi. Pilip did not completely ignore the Muslim community, meeting with the American Pakistani Public Affairs Committee, which declined to endorse a candidate in the race. And there are a number of prominent Muslims in Nassau Countys Republican government, including Chaudhry Akram, a top adviser to county Executive Bruce Blakeman. But Pilip lacked Suozzis level of grassroots support. With how extreme the Republicans are talking about the Middle East conflict, the Israel-Hamas conflict, doing negative [advertising] on Republican candidates works with Arab and Muslim voters.Trip Yang, Democratic strategist The Suozzi campaigns Muslim outreach efforts also got a boost from the AAPI Victory Fund. The liberal Asian American super PAC mounted a low-cost, high-value campaign of advertising, direct mailers and robocalls targeted exclusively at South Asian and Arab American voters. The groups mailers in Hindi, Urdu, and Arabic tied Pilip to Santos and Trump. One particular item, written in English, Arabic and Urdu to target the districts Arab American and Pakistani American communities, referenced Trumps travel ban on majority-Muslim countries and threats of a Muslim registry, alongside Pilips words praising the former president. Another mailer, in the same three languages, quoted Pilips comments to an Israeli newspaper: I know there will be a handful of Muslims who wont like seeing [me] running for Congress, it will deter them. With how extreme the Republicans are talking about the Middle East conflict, the Israel-Hamas conflict, doing negative [advertising] on Republican candidates works with Arab and Muslim voters, said Trip Yang, the Democratic strategist who ran AAPI Victory Funds initiative in the special election. You dont necessarily need a Democrat calling for a cease-fire, but you do need to do negative on the Republican. At the same time, Suozzis refusal to countenance stricter conditions on U.S. aid to Israel, and his decision to visit the Jewish state during his campaign, kept him in the good graces of major pro-Israel groups, and likely limited the attrition of non-Orthodox Jews who had the option of voting for a Jewish candidate. Democratic Majority for Israel, a major pro-Israel super PAC that has defeated a number of left-wing Israel critics, spent a relatively modest sum boosting Suozzi in local Jewish community news outlets, and touted his victory as proof that being pro-Israel is not only wise policy but also winning politics. Republican nominee Mazi Melesa Pilip addresses supporters in East Meadow, New York, on Wednesday night after conceding the race to Suozzi. Republican nominee Mazi Melesa Pilip addresses supporters in East Meadow, New York, on Wednesday night after conceding the race to Suozzi. Republicans Second-Guess Pilip When Nassau County Republican Party Chairman Joe Cairo picked Pilip, a Nassau County legislator whod flipped a Democrat-held seat, as the GOP nominee for New Yorks 3rd in mid-December, it seemed like a stroke of genius. How would Democrats run against a Black Jewish woman Pilip is an Ethiopian-born Israeli immigrant much less one who promised to oppose a national abortion ban? But after Pilip lost to Suozzi by 8 percentage points, far more than both public and internal polls had predicted, a Long Island Republican strategist now wonders whether Pilip was the right fit for the district. The GOP strategists reservations are not exactly the same as those of Pilips moderate and liberal critics who fault her for failing to clarify the full spectrum of her views on abortion policy, gun control and immigration. Instead, the strategist, who requested anonymity so as not to jeopardize professional relationships, argued that Pilip, a registered Democrat, failed to elicit enough turnout from the Republican base in strongholds like Massapequa, Farmingdale and Levittown. While Pilip took heat from Democrats for warming to Trump toward the end of the race, she initially refused to say whom she voted for in 2020, and ruled out supporting Trump if he were convicted of a crime (a stance she later reversed). Her position on President Trump probably hurt her, the Nassau GOP strategist said. I would say identity politics definitely played a role in the usually Republican parts of this district.A Long Island Republican strategist Asked whether Pilips identity as a Black woman with a thick foreign accent hurt her particularly in contrast to an Italian American member of local political royalty the GOP strategist was diplomatic. I would say identity politics definitely played a role in the usually Republican parts of this district, the strategist said. Pilips quandary speaks to the challenges of getting support from a Republican base that is less flexible than its Democratic counterpart. Suozzi was comfortable distancing himself from Biden and Democrats still showed up to vote for him. I would like the president to do a better job regarding immigration, Suozzi told CNN in a Feb. 4 segment. And while Suozzi said in that interview that he approved of a lot of things Biden has done, he blanched when asked whether he would welcome Biden to campaign for him. I can pretty much guarantee that the president is not going to be coming here, he said. Related... A Tri-Cities man who has been accused of a string of threats against lawmakers, including a former president, has been hit with a slew of new charges. Taylor Taranto, the armed Tri-Cities man arrested outside of former President Barack Obamas D.C. home last summer has been indicted on new charges related to the incident, threats to bomb federal buildings and his participation in the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection. Taylor Taranto is seen clashing with Capitol police during the riot at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, in this image included in court documents. Taranto is circled in yellow. David Walls-Kaufman, his codefendant in a lawsuit for wrongful death of MPD Officer Jeffrey Smith is circled in red. Taranto, 38, of Pasco, has been in the D.C. Metropolitan Jail since last July when he was arrested while allegedly attempting to scout access points to the Obamas Kalorama neighborhood home. His arrest came after an alleged series of threats to bomb a federal building and attempts to intimidate lawmakers over the handling of the Jan. 6 Committee. Federal investigators found multiple weapons in Tarantos van. Now it appears hes facing additional charges in connection with those weapons, the threats to use his van as a bomb and his role in the Jan. 6 riots. New documents filed in D.C. District court Wednesday show Taranto has now been indicted on a total of 16 charges. Some of those charges are aggravators or enhancements to an existing charge because Vice President Mike Pence was present. The new charges are part of a superseding indictment, which means they were added as new information came to light. In all there are five new charges. Three for weapons, one for bomb threats and the last is a felony charge added to his list of Jan. 6 charges. Federal prosecutors say that Taranto was not the legal registered owner of a semi-automatic 9 mm Scorpion CZ short barrel rifle and was also in possession of an illegal high capacity magazine. He was also charged for illegally carrying the weapon and a pistol without a license. High capacity magazines were banned in March 2022 in Washington state, and the ban was upheld by a federal appeals court last year. They have been banned in D.C. since 2008. Taranto was documented traveling between D.C. and the Tri-Cities for various protests for much of the two and a half years following the Jan. 6 riots. These images from court filings show the firearms federal agents say they found in Taylor Tarantos van. He has also been charged with false information and hoaxes for threatening to use his van to blow up a federal building on a livestream in the days before his arrest. These threats, along with entering elementary school grounds in an alleged attempt to intimidate a member of congress who lived nearby, and threatening to blow up former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, led investigators to ask for a warrant and begin searching for Taranto. The last new charge is for felony obstruction of an official proceeding. He faces several federal charges related to the riot including: disorderly conduct in a Capitol building; parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building; disruptive conduct related to attempting to stop the certification of electorate votes; and entering and remaining in restricted areas of a Capitol building. The charges also now have enhancements because Pence was present, according to court documents listing pending counts against Taranto. Tarantos attorneys have not yet filed responses to the new charges, but his trial is tentatively scheduled to begin in July. Taylor Taranto is seen motioning toward scaffolding outside of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, in this image included in court documents. Mission to hell These new charges are the first developments in the case since Taranto was denied bail last year because a judge believed he was a danger to lawmakers. Taranto allegedly believed he was on a one-way mission to hell, and had a contract to kill Vice President Kamala Harris, according to court documents obtained by the Herald last September. While much of the previously reported on threats were included in earlier documents, the September 2023 filings included information about threats that had not yet been made public and were apparently intended to be blacked out but could still be read. The document noted Tarantos actions on Jan. 6, his attempts to enter two D.C. area schools to intimidate members of Congress who lived nearby, his threats to blow up a federal building and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and his arrest when he tried to get into Obamas home. They also included new details of specific threats and calls for violence. D.C. District Court Judge Carl Nichols wrote that his decision to deny Taranto bail was in part based on information provided by investigators that showed Taranto allegedly exchanging messages on Telegram plotting to kill politicians. Telegram is a website popular with right-leaning groups thats meant to be an alternative to Twitter. Taranto allegedly told another user, who has not been identified, that, We have to kill everyone who got in my way, and I need you to seek vengeance against them. The document also alleges that Taranto believed he had a contract to kill Kamala Harris. In May 2023, Taranto allegedly discussed implanting an explosive tooth into the vice presidents mouth. The document says Taranto then stated, This is the biggest contract I have ever satisfied, We have to kill them all, Payout is in the hundreds of millions. Taylor Taranto is seen entering the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, in this image included in court documents. Arrest out Obamas home When arguing bail Tarantos attorneys told the judge that he is suffering from PTSD and complex mental health issues, and needs to be treated. They had asked for him to be released to his wifes custody in the Tri-Cities and allow him to travel to the Seattle area for mental health treatment. Taranto is a U.S. Navy veteran and former webmaster for the Franklin County Republican Party. The organization told the Herald that they cut ties with Taranto in 2022 over his increasingly concerning behavior. Former President Trump said hes never met the man after photos of Taranto with a cutout of Trump began circulating on social media. Investigators say Taranto went to Obamas home after Trump had posted the address on social media. A photo gallery from a 2018 Franklin County, WA Republican dinner shows Taylor Taranto posing with a cutout of Donald Trump. Facial recognition technology used the photo to identify Taranto as being inside the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6 riot, according to the HuffPost.com. Taranto had been splitting his time between the Tri-Cities and attending various protests in D.C. Most recently he was seen at the Freedom Corner protest, which is a vigil outside of the D.C. Metropolitan Jail for Jan. 6 defendants. He also had posted videos of himself protesting for the Freedom Convoy before that. Most of his social media accounts were taken down late last year. Investigators noted that someone had been attempting to delete incriminating videos. According to the Gateway Pundit, the Freedom Corner group also cut ties with Taranto after he allegedly began saying Ashli Babbitt was a government plant. Court documents show Taranto was present in the Capitol building in a group with Babbitt when she was shot and killed trying to break through a door between rioters and lawmakers. Babbitts mother has been a central figure in the Freedom Corner vigil, according to social media reports. His relationship with other Jan. 6 defendants had apparently deteriorated to the point that his attorneys said Taranto was attacked in the jail after his arrest, because the other defendants believed he was an informant, due to his erratic behavior. Taranto has a well-documented history of accusing other Jan. 6 figures, like Ray Epps, of being government plants. After being kicked out of the Freedom Corner, Taranto seems to have began conducting livestreams discussing conspiracy theories and making threats to attack lawmakers. Investigators said that in early 2023 he began making threats toward lawmakers. Taranto allegedly threatened to use his van to bomb a National Institute of Standards and Technology building, claimed to have a detonator to set off the bomb, began attempting to harass and intimidate congressman Jaime Raskin, D-Maryland, who oversaw the House Select Committee on Jan. 6. He also allegedly threatened to blow up former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., because he was unhappy with him for not releasing more videos he believed would exonerate Jan. 6 defendants. After the threats to bomb the federal building, a warrant for his involvement in the Jan. 6 riots was obtained and federal agents began searching for Taranto. They found him a few days later after he began to livestream from the Kalorama neighborhood where former President Barack Obama lives. Taranto was making comments about getting a shot and trying to find tunnels and access points to the residence, according to investigators. When law enforcement arrived, Taranto allegedly began to run through a wooded area toward the house. A search of his van found multiple weapons and ammunition, as well as a Make Space Great Again hat that appeared to match one he was wearing in surveillance photos from the Capitol and video Taranto of took himself inside the building. Taranto is also facing a wrongful death civil lawsuit brought by the widow of a D.C. Metropolitan Police Officer who died by suicide just days after being injured in the riot. Taranto is accused of helping another Jan. 6 defendant attack the officer with a weighted metal cane Taranto brought to the Capitol. That defendant, David Walls-Kaufman has already been convicted for his role in the riot. NBC News Reporter Ryan Reilly spotted Taranto being asked to leave the federal courthouse for being disruptive during Walls-Kaufmans sentencing last June. That was about three weeks before his arrest. The civil case was put on hold after the original judge was elevated to a higher court, but was reassigned to a new judge in January and is expected to start moving forward again soon, according to court hearings scheduled for the case. Donald Trump railed against Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis on Thursday after she testified in a misconduct hearing which could see her kicked off the election interference case she brought against the former president. Willis forcefully pushed back against arguments from the lawyers representing Trump and his co-defendants in the case who say she should be disqualified from the proceedings over her relationship with Nathan Wade, a special prosecutor she hired to lead the case. The Georgia prosecutor denied that the relationship led to a conflict of interest or financial impropriety and accused the defense attorneys of lying about her. Fani Willis Goes Scorched Earth From Witness Stand Posting on Truth Social, Trump capitalized on the massive attention the extremely unusual hearing was attracting. Theyre talking about the Georgia Fani Scandal all over the World. In fact, by far, it is trending #1, he wrote. I cant believe the Georgia State Judiciary, or the Governor, can be happy about this humiliating embarrassment. He went on to claimin typical fashionthat Willis allegations against him amount to a FAKE CASE and that everybody sees it for what it is, a MAJOR LEAGUE SCANDAL! The legal pundits, experts, and scholars are all screaming that this Witch Hunt, which has hurt so many fine people and patriots, should be immediately terminated and permanently erased from everyones memory, he added. The stench of what has happened should shame Georgia no longer. It should get back to GREATNESS, and FAST!!! Read more at The Daily Beast. Get the Daily Beast's biggest scoops and scandals delivered right to your inbox. Sign up now. Stay informed and gain unlimited access to the Daily Beast's unmatched reporting. Subscribe now. The wild life of Alexey Navalny, who challenged Putin and appears to have died in prison Russian dissident Alexey Navalny became President Vladimir Putin's biggest opponent. He campaigned against fraud and corruption and ran in elections before he was jailed. On Friday, Russian officials said he had died suddenly in prison. Alexey Navalny, an outspoken critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin, has died in prison, according to Russian officials. Navalny, 47, had been a thorn in Putin's side for years first as an anti-corruption blogger, and later as an independent politician running and campaigning in local and national elections. Navalny often used humor to take on Putin. He dubbed Putin's political party United Russia "the party of Crooks and Thieves," and called Putin "a thieving little man in a bunker." In 2020, Navalny almost died after he was poisoned with a nerve agent, allegedly by Russian agents. He was flown to Germany for treatment. Once he recovered, Navalny returned to Russia knowing he would likely be imprisoned. He was locked in a remote penal colony that's typically reserved for those accused of violent crimes and incarcerated people serving life terms. Russia's prison agency said on Friday that he had died suddenly. Alexey Navalny was born on June 4, 1976, in Butyn, a town west of Moscow. Alexey Navalny during a rally over parliamentary elections in Moscow, Russia. Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP via Getty Images Navalny's father was a Red Army soldier, and his mother was an economist. Until he was 10, he spent his summers with his grandfather, who lived in the countryside near Chernobyl. But that came to an end in 1986 after the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. As he grew up, his family moved between military towns in the Moscow area. After failing to get into Moscow State University, Navalny went to Peoples' Friendship University of Russia where he studied law. He graduated in 1998. He wasn't particularly fond of his university education and found it uninspiring, recalling he once put $50 in the exam book to get a passing grade. Alexey Navalny poses in his office in Moscow. Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP He later earned a degree in economics, graduating in 2001. Navalny got his first taste of corruption working as a real estate lawyer. Alexey Navalny attending a meeting in Moscow. Yevgeny Feldman/AP "Working there taught me how things are done on the inside, how intermediary companies are built, how money is shuttled around," he told the New Yorker in 2011. During this period of his life, Navalny's friends described him as a right-wing "punk." In 1999, Navalny joined the Yabloko party, a liberal group his mother supported that formed after the Soviet Union collapsed. Alexey Navalny in his office in Moscow. Oxana Onipko/AFP via Getty Images The following year, Vladimir Putin was elected president. Soon after, debates and elections became infrequent and Yabloko became less relevant. Regardless, Navalny wasn't impressed with Yabloko's internal politics. He later told the New Yorker the party struggled to reconcile "normal people" and a radical group who had been political in the 1980s before the Soviet Union collapsed. Navalny clashed with the party when he posted several controversial videos, including a 2007 pro-gun rights video. Alexey Navalny speaks at a meeting in Moscow. Mikhail Metzel/AP In the video, he pretends to shoot an actor wearing a kaffiyeh who runs up to attack him. In 2007, Navalny was kicked out of Yabloko. Party members said it was because of his "nationalistic activities." He had also gone to nationalist marches that were attended by uninvited neo-Nazis. He argued it was worse to ignore the movement and that these events had regular people, too. His reasoning was later summed up by Daniel Roher, who directed the documentary, "Navalny." Roher told NPR Navalny had said, "How can I afford to alienate these crazy guys? Their goal is to get Putin out of power. And my goal is to get Putin out of power. Fine. We might as well join forces." In 2008, Navalny began to make a name for himself as an anti-corruption blogger. Alexey Navalny speaks to his supporters and media after his release from a detention center in Moscow. Mikhail Metzel/AP He used data and "relentless, paint-stripping contempt" to attack the government, as described by The New York Times. It helped that Russia was experiencing an internet boom at the time. By 2011, a quarter of Russian families had broadband internet. Navalny's videos were popular with a younger audience, attracted not by his ideology "but the confident challenge he mounts to the system," The New York Times said in a 2011 profile. He started buying stocks in state-owned companies, including oil and gas monopolies, so he could ask questions as a shareholder and see how the companies worked from within. Alexey Navalny takes part in a march at Strastnoy Boulevard in Moscow. Sefa Karacan/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images He soon found discrepancies. One company barely provided dividends but had donated $300 million to "charities" that no one could see. In another state-owned oil company, he discovered a $4 billion government corruption scheme. His report received one million views on the day it was published. When other companies refused to provide shareholder information, he sued them, and then republished the information on his blogs. Navalny was aware of how dangerous his work was. Alexey Navalny attends a rally in support of political prisoners in Prospekt Sakharova Street in Moscow. Sefa Karacan/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images In 2011, Nikolai Tokarev, the CEO of the state-controlled petroleum company Transneft, accused Navalny of being a Western agent working for the CIA. Navalny had just spent a year in the US studying at Yale University. In response to Tokarev's claim, Navalny provided his wife with a list of names to contact if he suddenly vanished. "They could arrest me at any moment," Navalny told The New York Times. That same year, he founded the Anti-Corruption Foundation, or FBK for short. Alexey Navalny speaks during an opposition rally in central Moscow. Alexey Sazonov/AFP/Getty Images Through the foundation, Navalny hired several activists who continued exposing corruption. The foundation's investigations took aim at the authority and reputations of officials across Russia. One of its most famous investigations was a short documentary on then-President Dmitry Medvedev's hidden wealth. The documentary played clips of his duck pond and huge shoe collection, according to the Conversation. In response to the foundation's work, the Kremlin later labeled it a "foreign agent" and "undesirable." During 2011 and 2012, Navalny's popularity grew as he campaigned to get people to vote for politicians running against Putin's party. Alexey Navalny was detained by Russian police officers during a protest in Moscow. Alexander Nemenov/AFP/Getty Images Navalny famously called United Russia the "Party of Crooks and Thieves." There were widespread protests across Russia after United Russia still won the most seats. In 2013, Navalny ran for mayor of Moscow. Alexey Navalny takes part in a televised debate with former Kremlin advisor Andrei Illarionov in Moscow. Misha Japaridze/AP Navalny ran a grassroots campaign meeting with voters outside metro stations and passing out posters. He didn't win, but he came second out of six candidates after winning 27% of the vote. It was the first time there had been an election for the city in nearly 10 years after mayoral elections were banned in Moscow in 2004. He told Foreign Affairs he hadn't wanted to run for office but was left with little choice. "When this system controls the courts, the prosecutor's office, and everything else on earth, you have to change the system itself, that's all," he said. During his mayoral run, Navalny was also on trial for embezzlement. Alexey Navalny behind bars in a police van after he was detained during protests in Moscow. Sergey Ponomarev/AP Navalny was accused of stealing about $500,000 from a timber company, despite the accusation being dismissed earlier after a European human rights court found procedural violations in the first trial. The case was reopened, and Navalny was found guilty and sentenced to five years in prison in 2013. Within hours, thousands of protesters who faced the risk of being arrested gathered in Moscow. His sentence was suspended and he was released the next day. Despite the conviction and loss of the election, all of the publicity transformed Navalny from "a widely followed blogger and activist into a respected orator and politician," Joshua Yaffa wrote for Foreign Affairs. The following year though, Navalny was accused of fraud alongside his younger brother, Oleg. Police officers detain Alexey Navalny after his visit to the city's election commission office to submit documents to get registered as a mayoral election candidate in Moscow. Vasily Maximov/AFP/Getty Images Navalny and his brother were accused of defrauding clients of a shipping company that they had started in 2008. Navalny was placed under house arrest meaning no access to phones, internet, or other people. During his house arrest, he kept busy by studying the internet in particular, memes and viral hits. Later in 2014, Navalny was convicted and given a suspended sentence of three and a half years. He was released in 2015 on the same day Time magazine released its list of the internet's most influential people. Navalny was on the list next to Justin Bieber and former President Barack Obama. Navalny's brother, Oleg, was convicted and given a three-and-a-half-year prison sentence. Alexey Navalny and his brother, Oleg Navalny. Dmitry Serebryakov/AFP/Getty Images It was seen as a tactic by the Russian government to keep Navalny under control. By 2020, Navalny himself had been to jail 13 times. The government didn't stop there. It froze his bank accounts and imposed hefty fines for hundreds of thousands of dollars, which he struggled to pay off. His critics also pointed to the fact that Navalny didn't have a clear idea of what he wanted Russia's future to look like. In general, Navalny said he hoped Russia would "resemble a huge, irrational, metaphysical Canada," but his main focus was on loosening Putin's grip on the country. In late 2016, Navalny announced his run for president for the 2018 election. Alexey Navalny is seen before his visit to the Russian Central Election Commission in Moscow. Evgeny Feldman for Alexei Navalny's campaign/Handout/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images Navalny was implicitly barred from running because he was a convicted felon, but that didn't stop him. He opened more than 80 political campaign offices across Russia and called for a nationwide boycott of the election. Putin was re-elected with 76.7% of the vote, according to Central Election Commission data. In August 2020, Navalny was on a flight back from Siberia where he had been campaigning when he suddenly collapsed. An empty stretcher that was believed to have carried Alexey Navalny into the German hospital. Markus Schreiber/AP Navalny said Russian agents had applied a nerve agent called novichok to his underpants. This was later backed up by the German government, although Putin denied the accusation. After international pressure, Navalny was allowed to be flown to Germany for treatment. He was in a coma for a fortnight. Even after he woke up, he had back pain and lost control of his legs. Navalny claimed he later managed to trick a Russian agent into confessing by calling and pretending to be an official demanding to know why the assassination had failed. In 2021, after he had recovered, Navalny decided to return to Russia. Alexey Navalny, who was arrested during an anti-corruption rally, gestures during an appeal hearing at a court in Moscow. Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP/Getty Images He was arrested as soon as he got off the plane. When news of his arrest got out, protests occurred across 180 different cities and towns. His foundation then released a video tying Putin to a 190,000-square-foot, billion-dollar palace he secretly owned, which was built with taxpayer funds. In May 2023, Business Insider published annotated diagrams of the palace. In June 2023, the Russian government reacted by banning the foundation and closing down 40 of its regional offices. Navalny was sent to a penal colony. Alexey Navalny on screen via a video link from his penal colony during court hearings at Russia's Supreme Court in Moscow. Natalia Kolesnikova/AFP/Getty Images In 2021, Navalny was sentenced to almost three years in a penal colony. Another nine years were added in 2022 for additional charges, and he was regularly locked in solitary confinement. In 2022, Navalny was on the cover of Time magazine, described as "The Man Putin Fears," and a CNN documentary about his life called "Navalny" won an Oscar for best documentary. Navalny's colleague, Maria Pevchikh, who is exiled from Russia, spoke about why the documentary was significant. "Putin wants Navalny to be irrelevant. We were aware that this film was life insurance," she told the Los Angeles Times. Despite international support, Navalny was moved to IK-6 prison, a remote penal colony that's typically reserved for those accused of violent crimes. A screen shows Alexey Navalny as he listens to his verdict at the IK-6 penal colony. Alexander Nemenov/AFP/Getty Images In August 2023, 19 more years were added to his sentence based on charges of extremism. Navalny said Putin's main "gripe" with him was that he would be remembered for poisoning Navalny. "We had Alexander the Liberator, Yaroslav the Wise, and we will have Vladimir the Underpants Poisoner," he said. Navalny did not give up hope and told his allies "not to lose the will to resist." Activists of the Russian community in Italy demonstrate for the freedom of Alexey Navalny and all Russian political prisoners. Simona Granati/Corbis/Getty Images "I understand perfectly that, as many political prisoners, I'm serving a life sentence, which is measured by the length of my life or the length of life of this regime," he said. In December, Navalny was found at a remote penal colony after his lawyers lost contact with him for three weeks. Alexey Navalny. Maxim Shemetov/Reuters Navalny's lawyers lost contact with him in early December 2023, before locating him in the IK-3 prison, which is above the Arctic Circle. His disappearance had sparked concerns particularly because he was ill, and needed an IV drip. The prison is known to be one of the toughest in Russia, and most inmates there have committed serious crimes. Navalny's chief of staff described his location as "the highest possible level of isolation from the world." Russian authorities announced on February 16, 2024, that Navalny had died suddenly. Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny during an opposition rally in Moscow, October 27, 2013. Maxim Shemetov/Reuters Russia's Federal Prison Service said on Friday that Navalny died suddenly after a walk. It said he felt unwell and almost immediately lost consciousness, and that medics were not able to revive him. A cause of death has not yet been established, it said. The president of the European Council said the EU holds Russia responsible for his death. Russian President Vladimir Putin. Artem Geodakyan/POOL/AFP via Getty Images The president of the European Council, Charles Michel, said that the EU holds the Russian regime solely responsible for Navalny's death. Michel said Navalny "fought for the values of freedom and democracy. For his ideals, he made the ultimate sacrifice." The secretary-general of NATO, Jens Stoltenberg, said that "Russia has serious questions to answer." Read the original article on Business Insider Karen Serfaty and Gianina Rossi, both engineers from Argentina, worked for U.S.-based companies over the past 10 years, and the same issue kept coming up: how to manage taxes while being a contractor in another country. Joining with San Francisco-based Josefina Van Thienen, who had worked at Microsoft building strategic partnerships with tech companies focusing in AI, they took a deeper look at the problem and found taxes werent the only problem when companies want to hire globally. When you're working from Europe, Asia or Latin America, you are usually getting paid in U.S. dollars, not your local currency, Serfaty, CEO, told TechCrunch. You try to go to your HR manager for help in sending the money to a bank account, and the answer is usually no. So the trio started Atlas, a work benefits tool for global companies to manage their contractor benefits from one place. Through Atlas, companies can offer benefits like tax management, health insurance and social perks to their entire headcount no matter where they are located. There is also a marketplace of benefits that can be customized to the company or contractor. They founded the company from Argentina in 2021. Latin America in general has become a hotbed of global remote talent, Serfaty said. The employee benefits market itself has experienced a lot of change and growth, especially during the global pandemic when there was a surge in remote hiring. Customers took note. Atlas is working with companies, including Mercury, Firstbase, Deel and Payoneer. The goal was to get three customers in a month or drop the project, and we secured five, Serfaty said. Those clients' accounts grew 5x in a year with us. Since launching the platform in March 2023, the company has designed proprietary features, incorporated hundreds of benefits and expanded their presence to cover 26 countries in the Americas and Europe. During that time, the company grew its revenue 2x and is close to an annual recurring revenue of $1 million. Investors noticed, too. Atlas is the latest company to raise some seed extension funding to the tune of $2.75 million. Hi Ventures (former ALLVP) led the round and was joined by Oskar Hjertonsson, founder of Cornershop. In total, the company raised close to $5 million with other backers, including Jason Calacanis and Pioneer, investing in the seed round. We are seeing a lot of traction from customers, including bigger customers, with no churn, so we're seeing a lot of stickiness, Serfaty said. The goal is to now grow our U.S.-based companies with global reach. Most of the world's largest tech companies, including Amazon, Google and Microsoft, have agreed to tackle what they are calling deceptive artificial intelligence (AI) in elections. The twenty firms have signed an accord committing them to fighting voter-deceiving content. They say they will deploy technology to detect and counter the material. But one industry expert says the voluntary pact will "do little to prevent harmful content being posted". The Tech Accord to Combat Deceptive Use of AI in 2024 Elections was announced at the Munich Security Conference on Friday. The issue has come into sharp focus because it is estimated up to four billion people will be voting this year in countries such as the US, UK and India. Among the accord's pledges are commitments to develop technology to "mitigate risks" related to deceptive election content generated by AI, and to provide transparency to the public about the action firms have taken. Other steps include sharing best practice with one another and educating the public about how to spot when they might be seeing manipulated content. Signatories include social media platforms X - formerly Twitter - Snap, Adobe and Meta, the owner of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. Proactive However, the accord has some shortcomings, according to computer scientist Dr Deepak Padmanabhan, from Queen's University Belfast, who has co-authored a paper on elections and AI. He told the BBC it was promising to see the companies acknowledge the wide range of challenges posed by AI. But he said they needed to take more "proactive action" instead of waiting for content to be posted before then seeking to take it down. That could mean that "more realistic AI content, that may be more harmful, may stay on the platform for longer" compared to obvious fakes which are easier to detect and remove, he suggested. Dr Padmanabhan also said the accord's usefulness was undermined because it lacked nuance when it came to defining harmful content. He gave the example of jailed Pakistani politician Imran Khan using AI to make speeches while he was in prison. "Should this be taken down too?" he asked. Weaponised The accord's signatories say they will target content which "deceptively fakes or alters the appearance, voice, or actions" of key figures in elections. It will also seek to deal with audio, images or videos which provide false information to voters about when, where, and how they can vote. "We have a responsibility to help ensure these tools don't become weaponised in elections," said Brad Smith, the president of Microsoft. On Wednesday, the US deputy attorney general, Lisa Monaco, told the BBC that AI threatened to "supercharge" disinformation at elections. Google and Meta have previously set out their policies on AI-generated images and videos in political advertising, which require advertisers to flag when they are using deepfakes or content which has been manipulated by AI. U.S. Senator Todd Young, R-Indiana, toured the Crown Point offices of pharmaceutical start-up Neurodon on Thursday as the company moves ahead with the development of drugs that it says will revolutionize the treatment of diseases like Alzheimers, Parkinsons, and diabetes. Founded in 2014, Neurodon is studying molecules that it says can address the root cause of a variety of health conditions by restoring calcium balance to cells, work that Young lauded as inspiring. Calcium serves as a signal for a variety of processes in the human body. Certain kinds of diseased cells, like those found in the brain of an Alzheimers sufferer or the pancreas of someone with diabetes, show an imbalance of the element, with too much calcium free-floating in the cell and too little in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) a multi-purpose cellular structure that serves as a calcium store in healthy cells. This imbalance, called ER stress, is known to contribute to an array of diseases that affect the brain, circulatory system, liver, and kidneys, among other parts of the body. Neurodon CEO Russell Dahl explained that the company can treat ER stress with a molecule that activates an enzyme called SERCA, a naturally occurring tool used by cells to move calcium into the ER. Now that sounds a lot simpler than it was, because pharma has been trying to do it forever, Dahl said. Studies on mice have proved promising, with the companys treatment demonstrating an ability to reduce the body weight of obese mice and improve the cognitive functioning of mice with neurological degeneration. Dahl noted that the benefits of the companys treatments persisted after researchers stopped dosing the mice, suggesting that Neurodons drugs could provide lasting relief for human patients. In 2020, Neurodon received a $2 million federal grant from the National Institute on Aging at the National Institutes of Health for its Alzheimers research. The company has worked closely with Purdue University, and has its office space in the universitys Northwest Indiana research park. Story continues Neurodon is in the process of an investigational new drug (IND) application with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for a diabetes treatment, and plans to begin an application for an Alzheimers drug candidate soon. IND approval is a prerequisite for clinical trials with human patients. Dahl said that the company is on track to begin the trials by 2025. The biggest barrier to the next step of Neurodons drug development process, Dahl told Young, is funding, a factor compounded by the companys location outside of traditional hubs of pharmaceutical industry innovation. He contrasted Northwest Indiana with Boston, San Francisco, and other areas home to myriad venture capital firms that specialize in the biotech sphere. We dont have money to do the clinical trial because thats going to be tens of millions of dollars, so were were aggressively fundraising right now, he said. I cant even think of a real major biotech-focused (venture capital firm) within a hundred miles of here. Young acknowledged Dahls concerns, but suggested that the company has the opportunity to reshape the regional economy through its success. I would hope you feel like a potentially really big fish now in a small pond, right? he said. Thats one advantage, I suppose, to staying. Dahl agreed. If we get IND-approved and go into clinic, itll put us on the map, Dahl said. My goal is to bring in some more biotech, make (the region) a biotech hub. Young has been a vocal advocate of moving production of semiconductors back to the United States, along with expanded federal funding for domestic scientific research and STEM education through the CHIPS in Science Act, which was signed into law in 2022. adalton@chicagotribune.com By Foo Yun Chee BRUSSELS (Reuters) -Europe's attempt to give workers at Uber, Deliveroo and other online platforms more social and labour rights failed a second time after France and three other countries abstained from voting on the watered-down political deal. Belgium, the current holder of the rotating EU presidency, is unlikely to muster enough support for yet another attempt, especially as the European Parliament which has to endorse a final deal, gradually winds down ahead of elections in June. Still, it was doubtful whether the weaker provisional agreement would have benefited gig workers as it stripped out key criteria determining whether a worker was an employee, in effect maintaining the status quo which is currently based on national laws and court rulings. EU lawmakers and Belgium had clinched the deal last week, the second attempt after a December agreement failed to get the support of France and several other EU governments. "The final compromise deal on the Platform Work Directive was put forward for endorsement by ambassadors at Coreper," Belgium's EU representation said on X social media. Coreper refers to the ambassadors' meeting. "Unfortunately the necessary QMV (qualified majority voting) wasn't found," it said, adding that it will now consider the next steps. France, Greece, Estonia and Germany refrained from voting, EU diplomats said. That in effect torpedoed the political deal. Uber, which had lobbied against the draft rules, said any proposal must weigh drivers' and couriers' differing requirements. "While the future of the Directive is now uncertain, what remains clear is that any EU-wide rules must maintain the independence platform workers prefer while giving them the protections they deserve," an Uber spokesperson said. The European Transport Workers' Federation was scathing of the EU countries' failure to find a consensus. "The failure of member states has dashed hopes that an EU directive would help end bogus self-employment and give platform workers employment contracts," the lobbying group said. "The well-funded and highly politically connected platform lobby has used its influence in Brussels and in member states to stop any form of regulation at the EU level." The European Commission had proposed the draft rules in 2021, with an estimated 40 million gig economy workers in the European Union in mind. (Reporting by Foo Yun CheeEditing by Tomasz Janowski and David Evans) In a little over a weeks time (February 26-29) around 85,000 or so attendees will descend upon the Fira de Barcelona for Mobile World Congress 2024. Over the past few years, the show has become arguably the most important mobile event of the year. Phone makers, telecoms and a variety of other tech vendors, journalists and analysts converge to discuss what the next year will hold for the industry. Like every other major in-person event, the last few years have been rocky for MWC. In 2019, the show hit 109,000 visitors -- not quite CES numbers (which hit ~175,000 that same year), but still an impressive turnout for what is ultimately a significantly more narrowly focused show. COVID hit the show hard for a few years (join the club). After many major vendor withdrawals and weeks of handwringing, the GSM Association (GMA) canceled the 2020 event. A significantly scaled back version of the event happened the following year, with a hard cap on attendance. 2022 saw the beginnings of a bounce back to 60,000 attendees, while last year hit 88,500. Organizers anticipate a similar figure for this years event. The number is still down significantly from the shows height, but MWC still qualifies as a large show. It's a good bit harder, however, to judge the shows current level of importance for the industry. This is due in no small part to some macro trends that have impacted pretty much every tech industry tradeshow. Even prior to the pandemic, large vendors had begun migrating to their own standalone events, so as to not get lost among the noise. COVID only expedited the trend, as companies were forced to figure out live event streaming. Some of the biggest industry names no longer have a major presence. Take Samsung, which has taken to announcing its new flagships during the once-slow weeks between CES and MWC. As we head into this years event, I would love to tell you that -- as with CES -- small, fascinating startups have rushed in to fill that void, but its not really the case. At least its nowhere near the degree of what weve seen from the Vegas event. There is a decent enough startup presence at MWC, though it takes the form of its own sister event. 4FYN (thats Four Years From Now) is celebrating its tenth year of existence in 2024. Hopefully that will translate into an exciting showing. The event is run by the same organization in the same venue. Ive come to think of it as the Mobile World Congress equivalent to CES Eureka Park: a big, cacophonous room full of startups. There are honestly worst ways to spend an afternoon for work. For the companies that participate on the show floor and in pitch-offs, its a chance to get an audience with MWCs large and engaged audience. For us, its an opportunity to check out smaller firms that might have otherwise flown under the radar. The event isnt exclusive to European startups, but they tend to dominate for reasons of proximity. Its a lot easier to swing over to Spain than it is to fly across an ocean and a continent or two in order to hang out in the neon pit of despair that is Las Vegas, Nevada. If youre planning to show off some interesting new tech, let us know here. Some of the trends I anticipate dominating the conversation include a continued focus on health-centered wearables, including newer form factors like the smart ring. Head-worn displays have always had something of a presence at the show. It seems to be among the bigger shows for HTC Vive, for instance. In the wake of Apples Vision Pro launch and Qualcomms commitment to AR and VR, I expect to be talking a lot about this once the show kicks off. MWC is also a fun show for concept devices. This is where Lenovo/Motorola shine. In fact, the more I think about it, the more Im convinced that Lenovo is having the most fun among the worlds major consumer electronics manufacturers. Expect everything to fold and/or slide. Some will be pure concepts, but Lenovos not afraid to release some truly, delightfully weird stuff. Theres even a transparent laptop currently rumored for the event. Speaking of rumors, Nothings mid-tier 2a handset is pegged for a March 5 release (albeit an apparently limited one here in the U.S.). Carl Peis old company, OnePlus, will also be present. Last years show found the company leaning into its own line of concept devices. This year, meanwhile, its rumored to be readying the release of the OnePlus Watch 2. More broadly speaking, expect AI everywhere at MWC, but be prepared to cut through the BS (dont worry, were here to help). Samsung broke the generative AI smartphone seal with the Galaxy S24 line, and now its going to be out in full form with applications ranging from helpful to ridiculous. Im cautiously optimistic about the proliferation of AI devices in the mold of the Humane Pin and Rabbit R1. As with CES, I anticipate robots getting a moment to shine at the event, albeit primarily from European companies this time out. Theres also the matter of that Xiaomi car. Above all, this is a big show for telecos, and yes, the 6G conversations have already begun. Remember before the inevitable deluge, however, that were still in the VERY early stage of development. No standard has been agreed upon and were likely ~four years out from actually seeing compatible devices. However, 5.5G/5G advanced is very much a reality being pushed by Chinese firms, in particular. Expect to hear a lot about this -- and other things -- from Huawei, which has spent the last several years slowly clawing its way back up after losing access to Google and Qualcomm products. Also very real and likely to be very present at this years show is Wi-Fi, which succeeds Wi-Fi 6E as the latest wireless standard. TechCrunch will be live and present at MWC, as well. Read more about MWC 2024 on TechCrunch HPs Presidents Day sale is already upon us, a few days ahead of the holiday to give you more time to shop the amazing offers. You can enjoy discounts of up to 65% on the laptop deals, desktop computer deals, printer deals, and other bargains that are available in the ongoing sale, but youre going to have to be quick. Some of these devices have limited stocks, so if you dont proceed with your purchase right away, you may miss out on the savings. Feel free to browse through all of the deals, but to help you out, weve highlighted our top picks below. See Deals What to buy in HPs Presidents Day sale The HP Victus 15L gaming PC on a desk. The cheapest laptop in HPs Presidents Day sale is also the one with the largest screen the HP Laptop 17z with a 17.3-inch display for only $300, following a $200 discount on its original price of $500. The device is powered by the AMD Athlon Gold 7220U processor, AMD Radeon Graphics, and 8GB of RAM. The laptop with the largest 65% discount, meanwhile, is the HP ZBook Firefly G10 Mobile Workstation, which is all the way down to $1,509 from $4,331 after a $2,822 discount. The powerful laptop is equipped with the 13th-generation Intel Core i7 processor, the Nvidia RTX A500 processor, and 64GB of RAM. For an affordable PC, check out the HP Pavilion Desktop, which is on sale for $460 instead of $700 for savings of $240. Its equipped with the AMD Ryzen 3 processor, AMD Radeon Graphics, and 8GB of RAM. Gamers on a budget, on the other hand, should take a look at the HP Victus 15L, a gaming desktop thats powered by the 12th-generation Intel Core i7 processor, the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 graphics card, and 16GB of RAM. From $1,400, its down to only $830 following a $570 discount. Other deals with impressively low prices in HPs Presidents Day sale include the HP Deskjet 4155e All-in-One Printer, which is down to just $60 from $100 after a $40 discount; the HP Smart Tank 5000 All-in-One Printer, which has its price slashed to $150 from $250 for savings of $100; and the 22-inch HP M22f dual monitor bundle for $170, for savings of $120 on their sticker price of $290. No matter what youve got an eye on in HPs Presidents Day sale, you shouldnt wait until the last minute of the holiday before you complete your transaction. Thats because were not sure if the stocks of the devices on sale will still be available by then, particularly the more popular ones. Whether you find one of our recommendations interesting, or if something catches your attention when youre looking at everything else with discounts, youre going to want to push through with your purchase as soon as possible. See Deals I'm a tech worker who got laid off twice in a year. I've made good money but I'm paranoid it will happen again. Amber Smith, 27, went into the tech industry after college. But she was laid off twice in the space of a year in the sector. She said she's made good money in tech, but it's a tough industry. This as-told-to essay is based on a transcribed conversation with Amber Smith, a 27-year-old from Des Moines, Iowa, about getting laid off from two tech job in her 20s. The following has been edited for length and clarity. Ive been laid off in the tech industry twice. I never wouldve expected this back when I was in college. I was a double major in business and economics. While I was doing my masters degree in business administration, I worked for a consulting company that helped recent graduates get into the tech world. I appreciated that there were a lot of different things you could do within tech and I decided to go work for a small company that did lighting for smart buildings. I started in June 2021 but I was laid off the following May. I got another job but was laid off for the second time within a year, in February 2023, when I had just turned 26. Both times were a shock, but I think I used those experiences to better myself and grow. I've learned a lot, gained a lot of experience, and made some good money , but I dont know if I would work in tech forever. The thought of whether Im going to get laid off is something Im worried about. After my first layoff, it kind of felt like I didnt have a support system At the company I started working for in June 2021, I was an agile coordinator, which is a combination of two roles, a scrum master, who generally runs the meetings, and a business analyst; who documents requirements for upcoming features that developers will work on and gets answers to their questions. It was a small company and people had to wear multiple hats and take on a lot of different responsibilities, which I really enjoyed. I was early in my career and wanted to learn. Because they were a relatively newer company, they werent set in their ways. There wasnt a lot of red tape to getting stuff done. I remember being very nervous on my first day. I was in a suit, but everyone else was dressed really casually. I felt like I stood out, but it was nice to know the company was relaxed and didnt care so much about what you wore to the office. I've worked at other places where it seems like everyone is really old and I'm the only young person, but here, there were other people in their early 20s. Smith started working for a company that did lighting for smart buildings in June 2021. Courtesy of Amber Smith. I had been there for about 11 months when I got the news I was being laid off . I started crying immediately. It kind of felt like I didnt have a support system. I had my parents, but asking them for money would be a worst-case scenario. I was worried about my health insurance. However, it was good that I didnt have children and didnt have to worry about supporting anyone else. I have a side hustle selling clothes on eBay and Poshmark , which was able to bring in some money while I was looking for a job. I didnt have to accept the first job that I saw. I could be a little picky. When I was laid off again, I knew that I could get through it because I had done it before Within two months of getting laid off, I got my next job at a financial technology company and started working again in July 2022. I was an associate product owner, working to determine what software features the development team would work on next. We had a lot of features we wanted to do, so I could plan out which were the most important for our 12-month road map. One day in February, after Id been working there for just over six months, I logged on to work, and my Slack wasnt working. I tried to create a ticket with the tech team but that didnt work either. So I went to my emails and saw a message informing me that it was my last day at the company. I cried again, much more this time. I was shocked that this could happen to me again, but at the same time, I understood that I was still very new at the company and they would ultimately be fine without me. It really sucked, but I knew that I could get through it because I had done it before. Immediately, I got on LinkedIn and posted that I was open to work and started updating my resume. By the time I had a layoff meeting with HR and my manager, I had already taken steps to move forward. I decided I would take some time to travel to Europe and to rest. I got my next job at an insurance company through a referral from a friends boyfriend and started in June 2023. Im a product owner now, which is a step up from my last position. I feel like Ive gained responsibility. Smith decided to travel to Europe after she was laid off for a second time. Courtesy of Amber Smith I wanted to continue in the tech space, at least for the time being The tech industry is still attractive to young people who want to make good money out of college. I was able to pay for grad school and build up my retirement savings and my emergency fund, so I think it set me down the right path that way. But tech is a tough industry right now. I think people need to be aware of the downsides, mainly the potential for layoffs . Even at my current job, Im still a little paranoid. When I was applying for jobs, one interviewer looked at my resume and asked if I was a job-hopper . It has been disappointing having to tell people about my layoffs. I also had to explain what happened when I went to networking events and family reunions. Ultimately, I think I made the best of each situation. Between the two companies I worked at before my current job, I was able to increase my salary a lot pretty early on in my career, from $78,000 to $95,000 a year. Both times I was laid off, I did think about my future career, asking, Is this a sign that I should change career paths and do something else? but I have experience in the tech world and get paid very well for someone my age. I wanted to continue in the tech space, at least for the time being. If I were to get laid off a third time, that might be my sign that its time to go do something else. Read the original article on Business Insider Mark Zuckerberg responds to 'Apple fanboys,' says his criticism of the Vision Pro isn't the same as Steve Ballmer laughing off the iPhone Mark Zuckerberg doesn't see his video dragging the Apple Vision Pro as being dismissive. The CEO said his video isn't the same as Steve Ballmer famously laughing off the iPhone back in 2007. Apple fans get mad "if you dare to question if Apple will lead in a new space," he added. Mark Zuckerberg drew the ire of some Apple fans after he ripped into the tech giant's $3,500 Apple Vision Pro in a video posted on Instagram earlier this week. But the Meta CEO doesn't believe he said anything out of line and doesn't think history will view the moment as similar to former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer famously laughing at the original iPhone's high price and lack of keyboard. "I don't think so," Zuckerberg told the Morning Brew Daily podcast. "First of all, I'm not laughing at them. I take Apple seriously." Zuckerberg said that just because he thinks the Vision Pro is inferior to his company's Quest 3, that doesn't mean he's dismissing Apple or failing to account for the idea that they'll likely be able to make improvements in future models. "I think it's a good company. They do good work," Zuckerberg said. "I'm just laying out the facts as I see them today," the CEO added, regarding his criticisms of the Vision Pro's high price tag and design trade-offs. "I'm not saying they're not going to improve, but hey, we're going to improve too. I actually think we'll probably improve faster. " He used the moment to share his thoughts on die-hard Apple fans. "I do think there's this whole vibe with Apple fanboys, which I find kind of a little funny, where a lot of people get upset if you dare to question if Apple will lead in a new space," Zuckerberg said. Zuckerberg said that competition can be a good thing, adding a sense of urgency to the Meta teams working on rival products. He's also not shying away from the fight. "I think we have a really good chance at winning, and I'm really committed to doing that," Zuckerberg said. "I'm a competitive person, I'm passionate about what we're doing. We're planning to win." Zuckerberg's thoughts on his video come after he said in it that the Quest 3 headset is superior to the Vision Pro. "I was surprised by how many trade-offs they had to make in the quality of the device in comfort and ergonomics and other aspects of the display and artifacts to get to that [higher resolution]," Zuckerberg said in regards to Apple's headset. Zuckerberg may not be alone in reaching that conclusion. Just weeks after the mixed reality headset hit the market, some customers have decided to return their devices. They complained about the device's heavy design, the motion blur accompanying the device's pass-through view, and a lack of killer apps a combination of factors they said just didn't justify the $3,500 price point. Business Insider's Jordan Hart said she began to feel she was running out of reasons to wear the headset after using it for a week. Meta didn't immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment ahead of publication. Read the original article on Business Insider Twenty tech companies working on artificial intelligence said Friday they had signed a pledge to try to prevent their software from interfering in elections, including in the United States. The signatories range from tech giants such as Microsoft and Google to a small startup that allows people to make fake voices the kind of generative-AI product that could be abused in an election to create convincing deepfakes of a candidate. The accord is, in effect, a recognition that the companies own products create a lot of risk in a year in which 4 billion people around the world are expected to vote in elections. Deceptive AI Election content can deceive the public in ways that jeopardize the integrity of electoral processes, the document reads. The accord is also a recognition that lawmakers around the world havent responded very quickly to the swift advancements in generative AI, leaving the tech industry to explore self-regulation. As society embraces the benefits of AI, we have a responsibility to help ensure these tools dont become weaponized in elections, Brad Smith, vice chair and president of Microsoft, said in a statement. The 20 companies to sign the pledge are: Adobe, Amazon, Anthropic, Arm, ElevenLabs, Google, IBM, Inflection AI, LinkedIn, McAfee, Meta, Microsoft, Nota, OpenAI, Snap, Stability AI, TikTok, TrendMicro, Truepic and X. The accord is voluntary and falls short of an outright ban on AI content in elections, as some people have called for. At 1,500 words, the document lists eight steps that the companies say they will take this year. The steps include developing new tools to distinguish AI-generated images from authentic content and being transparent with the public about notable developments. Free Press, an advocacy group that supports an open internet, said the pledge amounted to an empty promise because tech companies have been backsliding on previous commitments to election integrity they made after the 2020 election. The group called for more oversight by human reviewers. Voluntary promises like the one announced today simply arent good enough to meet the global challenges facing democracy, Free Press senior counsel Nora Benavidez said in a statement. Every election cycle, tech companies pledge to a vague set of democratic standards and then fail to fully deliver on these promises, she said. Rep. Yvette Clarke, D-N.Y., said she welcomed the tech accord and wants to see Congress build on it. Clarke has sponsored legislation to regulate deepfakes and AI-generated content in political ads. This could be a defining moment for this Congress, and this may be the one unifying issue where we can band together to protect this nation and future generations of Americans to come, she said in a statement. This year has been called the biggest year for democracy in history, with elections taking place in seven of the worlds 10 most populous countries. In addition to the U.S. election in November, there are upcoming nationwide votes in India, Russia and Mexico. There have already been elections this year in Indonesia, Pakistan and Bangladesh. A fake robocall claiming to be from President Joe Biden ahead of Januarys New Hampshire primary has caused widespread alarm about the potential for fake voices, images and video in politics. The Federal Communications Commission voted this month to outlaw robocalls that contain AI-generated voices. Individual tech companies have put in place their own measures. Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, said it would try to label AI-made images, although it warned last month that it didnt have the technical ability to do the same with audio and video generated by AI. Nick Clegg, president for global affairs at Meta, said the pledge is intended as a meaningful step from industry toward cracking down on deceptive content. But he said the work also requires effort by governments and civil society. With so many major elections taking place this year, its vital we do what we can to prevent people being deceived by AI-generated content, he said in a statement. The companies announced their accord at the Munich Security Conference, an annual event for world leaders to discuss an array of challenges. Attendants at the conference this weekend include Vice President Kamala Harris and Israeli President Isaac Herzog. The topic of generative AI dominated public and private discussions at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, in January. This article was originally published on NBCNews.com In July 2022, someone sent Google a batch of malicious code that could be used to hack Chrome, Firefox, and PCs running Microsoft Defender. That code was part of an exploitation framework called Heliconia. And at the time, the exploits used to target those applications were zero-days, meaning the software makers were unaware of the bugs, according to Google. Later in November 2022, Googles Threat Analysis Group, the companys team that investigates government-backed threats, published a blog post analyzing those exploits and the Heliconia framework. Googles researchers concluded that the code belonged to Variston, a Barcelona-based startup that was unknown to the public. It was a huge crisis at the time, mainly because we had stayed under the radar for quite a while, a former Variston employee told TechCrunch. Everyone believed that in the end wed be exposed by being caught [in the wild], but it was a leaker instead. Another former Variston employee said that the code was sent to Google by a disgruntled company employee and that after it happened, Varistons name and secrecy were burned. Google kept digging into Varistons malware. In March 2023, the tech giant's researchers found that spyware made by Variston was used in the United Arab Emirates. Last week, Google reported that it found Variston hacking tools used against iPhone owners in Indonesia. In the past year, more than half a dozen Variston employees have left the company, they told TechCrunch on the condition of anonymity, as they were not authorized to speak to the press because of nondisclosure agreements. Now, according to four former employees and two people with knowledge of the spyware market, Variston is shutting down. At the beginning of the 2010s, the public began to learn that there was a flourishing market where Western-based companies, such as Hacking Team, FinFisher, and NSO Group, were providing surveillance and hacking tools to countries and regimes all over the world with questionable or poor records of human rights, such as Ethiopia, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and many others. Since then, digital and human rights organizations like the Citizen Lab and Amnesty International have documented dozens of cases where government customers of these spyware makers were using those tools to hack and spy on journalists, dissidents, and human rights defenders. In the last few years, the offensive security industry has become more public and normalized. Some of these spyware makers and exploit developers openly advertise their services online, their employees disclose where they work on social media, and there are a few popular security conferences that openly cater to this industry, such as OffensiveCon and HexaCon. Variston, however, has always tried to fly under the radar. The companys only public-facing information is a barebones website where it vaguely describes what it does. Our toolset is built upon the vast cumulative experience of our consultants. It supports the discovery of digital information by [law enforcement agencies], reads Variston's website, in what is the only short mention of its work as a spyware and exploit maker for government agencies. Variston forbade employees from disclosing where they work, not only on LinkedIn, but also at cybersecurity conferences, according to the former employees who spoke to TechCrunch. a screenshot of Variston's website, which reads, "Your trusted partner At Variston we strive to offer tailor made Information Security Solutions to our customers. Our team consists of some of the industrys most experienced experts. We are a young but fast-growing company." featuring an iPhone photo. Variston's website. Image Credits: TechCrunch (screenshot) According to Spanish business records seen by TechCrunch, Variston was founded in Barcelona in 2018, listing Ralf Wegener and Ramanan Jayaraman as the founders and directors. While its website lists another address in the city, Variston most recently worked out of an office in the Barcelona neighborhood of Poblenou, inside a co-working space located one block from the beach. In October, a representative for the co-working space told TechCrunch that Variston was located there and had been for a couple of years. When TechCrunch visited Variston's office this week, a co-working space representative claimed Variston is still working there. The representative offered to take a message for Variston, saying they were not there that day but that they had been in the building that week. Neither Wegener nor Jayaraman responded to multiple emails from TechCrunch requesting comment about Variston. An email to Variston's public email address went unreturned. One of Variston's first moves in 2018 was to acquire Truel IT, a small zero-day research startup in Italy, according to Italian business records seen by TechCrunch. Since then, Variston grew to a company of around a hundred staff. Other than Heliconia, the companys exploitation framework for targeting Windows devices, Variston also developed exploits and hacking tools targeting iOS and Android. Varistons Android product was called Violet Pepper, according to the former employees. Even Truel ITs founders, who moved to work at Variston, do not disclose Variston as an employer on their LinkedIn profiles. According to the former Variston employees, this level of secrecy also applied to the identity of the companys customers except for its special relationship with Protect, a company based in the United Arab Emirates city of Abu Dhabi. Variston was a supplier of Protect, said a person with knowledge of Protects operations, who asked to remain anonymous because they were not authorized to speak to the press. It was an important relationship for both for a while. The companys work was going to the UAE, and that Protect was de facto the only customer," according to former Variston employees. The former employees told TechCrunch that Protect was funding all the operations at Variston, including the research and development side. One former Variston employee said once Protect pulled its funding from the development side in early 2023, Protect tried to force Variston employees to relocate. Then, when the funding for research stopped later in the year, Variston "closed shop," the person said. Contact Us Do you know more about Variston or Protect? From a non-work device, you can contact Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai securely on Signal at +1 917 257 1382, or via Telegram, Keybase and Wire @lorenzofb, or email. You also can contact TechCrunch via SecureDrop. At the beginning of 2023, Protect asked all Variston employees to move to Abu Dhabi. This is where Variston began to unravel, as most of Variston's staff did not accept the proposal. The former employees said management gave them two choices: "move to Abu Dhabi or get fired" and that there would be no exceptions. Protect bills itself as a cutting edge cyber security and forensic company. Much like Variston, Protect says little else on its website about what the company does. But Google's security researchers believe that Protect, also known as Protect Electronic Systems, "combines spyware it develops with the Heliconia framework and infrastructure, into a full package which is then offered for sale to either a local broker or directly to a government customer. That would explain how Varistons tools allegedly ended up being used in Indonesia. According to Intelligence Online, a trade publication that covers the surveillance and intelligence industry, Protect was launched after DarkMatter, a controversial UAE-based hacking company, was revealed to have employed Americans who then helped the UAE government spy on dissidents, political rivals, and journalists. As of 2019, Protect was headed by Awad Al Shamsi and was providing UAE government users with discreet access to foreign cyber technology, reported Intelligence Online. It's not known if Al Shamsi is still at Protect, and Al Shamsi did not respond to an email requesting comment. Protect did not respond to several other emails from TechCrunch. Varistons founders Wegener and Jayaraman also appear to have worked at Protect, at least as of 2016, according to public online records of encryption keys linked to their Protect email addresses seen by TechCrunch. Wegener is a veteran of the spyware industry. According to Intelligence Online, Wegener runs several other companies, some based in Cyprus and also co-owned by Jayaraman. Wegener used to work at AGT, or Advanced German Technology, a surveillance provider founded in Berlin in 2001 with an office in Dubai. In 2007, along with Italian spyware maker RCS Lab, AGT worked with the Syrian government to develop a centralized real-time country-wide internet monitoring system, according to news reports based on leaked documents and research by nonprofit Privacy International. Eventually, AGT did not provide the system to the Syrian government. Five years after it was founded, Variston is not a secret startup anymore. Three former employees said Google's report in 2022 blew the lid on Variston's secrecy. One of the employees said the Google report exposing Variston "might have been the beginning of the end" for the spyware maker. But another former Variston employee said the company like other spyware makers would have been exposed eventually. "It was bound to happen sooner or later, the person said. "It's quite normal." Natasha Lomas contributed reporting. An earlier version of this report misattributed Google's discovery of Variston's tools to Italy, Kazakhstan, and Malaysia due to conflation of an unrelated campaign. The story was updated to correct Google received the leaked tools in July 2022. These corrections were made due to editor's error. ZW. Jasper Kenzo Sundeen's reporting for the Yakima Herald-Republic is possible with support from Report for America and community members through the Yakima Valley Community Fund. For information on republishing, email news@yakimaherald.com. Yemenis shout anti-U.S. and Israel slogans during a protest held against the Israel's continued war on the Gaza Strip, and the U.S.-led airstrikes and sanctions against the Houthi group in Sanaa, Yemen on Feb. 16, 2024. (Photo by Mohammed Mohammed/Xinhua) SANAA, Feb. 16 (Xinhua) -- Warplanes of the U.S.-British coalition launched multiple airstrikes on Houthi targets in Yemen's Red Sea port city of Hodeidah on Friday, the Houthi-run al-Masirah TV reported. The strikes targeted Houthi camps in three districts, including the northern districts of Al-Zuhrah and Alluheyah, and Bait al-Faqih district, to the south of the port city, said the television without providing details on any casualties. Earlier in the day, a British maritime security agency reported a new missile attack on a commercial vessel near Yemen's port city of Hodeidah, the second attack in less than 24 hours. "The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency received a report of an incident in the vicinity of 70 nautical miles north west of al-Mukha (south of Yemen's Hodeidah port city). The master reports the vessel was attacked by a missile and reports an explosion in close proximity," the UKMTO said in a statement on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter. "The military authorities are responding," it said, noting that the vessel and crew were reported safe. On Thursday, the Houthis also launched a missile attack on what they described as a British commercial vessel in the Gulf of Aden. The Houthi group has vowed to continue launching missile attacks on Israel-linked vessels, as well as U.S. and British ships, in a move to show its solidarity with the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) fighting Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip since last October. A protestor holds a model of a Houthi missile during a protest held against the Israel's continued war on the Gaza Strip, and the U.S.-led airstrikes and sanctions against the Houthi group in Sanaa, Yemen, Feb. 16, 2024. (Photo by Mohammed Mohammed/Xinhua) Yemenis shout anti-U.S. and Israel slogans during a protest held against the Israel's continued war on the Gaza Strip, and the U.S.-led airstrikes and sanctions against the Houthi group in Sanaa, Yemen on Feb. 16, 2024. (Photo by Mohammed Mohammed/Xinhua) Yemenis take part in a protest held against the Israel's continued war on the Gaza Strip, and the U.S.-led airstrikes and sanctions against the Houthi group in Sanaa, Yemen on Feb. 16, 2024. (Photo by Mohammed Mohammed/Xinhua) Fredericksburg police recovered more than 800 fentanyl pills at a city apartment complex during a raid this week, police said. City police spokeswoman Sarah Morris said the citys Special Equipment Tactical Team executed a search warrant in the 600 block of Greenbrier Court early Tuesday morning. In addition to the pressed pills, Morris said police recovered about 300 grams of marijuana, drug paraphernalia and more than $10,000 in cash. Jaquan J. Mincy, 24, of Fredericksburg, was charged with possession or distribution of a weapon of terrorism containing fentanyl and possession of marijuana with the intent to distribute. He was placed in the Rappahannock Regional Jail under no bond. Morris said the arrest was the result of an extensive investigation by the citys vice and narcotics unit. She said Virginia State Police and the FBI Regional Narcotics Task Force assisted in the investigation. The Fredericksburg Police Department is committed to actively investigating the distribution and use of illicit drugs and arresting those offenders, Police Chief Brian Layton said. Im very proud ... of removing these dangerous drugs from our community. If you are sending a Letter To the Editor, please be sure to follow these rules: Letters have a firm 200-word limit and will be edited for grammar, clarity and accuracy. The person who signs the letter must be the author. Anonymous letters will not be considered. Letters must address the editor, not a third party. We will not print form letters, libelous letters, business promotions or personal disputes, poetry, open letters, letters espousing religious views without reference to a current issue, or letters considered in poor taste. Letters reflect the opinion of the writer. The Yakima Herald-Republic cannot verify the accuracy of all statements made in letters. Writers are limited to one published letter per calendar month. NEW YORK New York Attorney General Letitia James' lawsuit against the National Rifle Association and its former executives over years of questionable spending is nothing more than a political witch hunt, a lawyer for former NRA head Wayne LaPierre argued Thursday in a Manhattan courtroom. The NRA's lawyer, meanwhile, argued that the state's case showed that misconduct was committed against the powerful gun rights group, not by it. "If this was a case about corruption, it wasn't by the NRA," Sarah Rogers said in her closing remarks. James' office countered that the NRA and its officials were "caught with their hand in the cookie jar" and doing everything they could to deny, deflect and soften the blow. "Saying sorry now doesn't mean they didn't take the cookies," Assistant Attorney General Monica Connell said. The lawyers made their final appeals to jurors during a six-week trial in which James' office sought to prove that LaPierre and other NRA executives wildly misspent millions of dollars of the nonprofit's money on lavish perks for themselves, including private flights and vacations. LaPierre's lawyer P. Kent Correll argued during his closing arguments in state Supreme Court that James called the NRA a "terrorist organization" and campaigned on a promise to destroy it. "This is a story made up by a person with an agenda that wanted him off the field," Correll said as he criticized James, a Democrat, for not even being present in court Thursday. "If this case was so important, why wouldn't she be here?" Correll argued that LaPierre's penchant for private flights was necessary for safety reasons, given his prominence in the contentious gun debate. The costly flights were also not for his personal gain, but to raise huge sums of money for the organization and gun rights causes broadly, he said. "He acted in good faith and with honesty, sincerity and intention," Correll said. "There's no evidence that he received any benefits that he didn't deserve." But Connell, the state's lawyer, countered that if LaPierre truly had concerns for his safety, he should have raised them with the NRA's board and received approval for the expenses. Rogers said the organization worked to address problems soon after they came to light through whistleblower complaints. But Connell argued that the NRA isn't absolved of the misdeeds of LaPierre and others, especially since the organization allowed him to step down of his own volition and without any sanction. Many of the long-serving board members who enabled his actions either by looking the other way or outright covering for him still remain, she added. Lawyers for LaPierre's co-defendants, NRA general counsel John Frazer and retired NRA finance chief Wilson Phillips, argued that their clients acted in good faith and had not breached their duties to the organization, as James' office claimed. The trial cast a spotlight on the leadership, culture and finances of the NRA, founded more than 150 years ago in New York City to promote riflery skills. The group grew into a political juggernaut that influences federal law and presidential elections. LaPierre, who led the NRA's day-to-day operations since 1991, announced his resignation just days before the trial opened in early January. James filed the lawsuit in 2020 under her authority to investigate nonprofits registered in the state. Her office argues that LaPierre dodged financial disclosure requirements while treating the NRA as his personal piggy bank, liberally dipping into its coffers to pay for African safaris and other questionable purchases. LaPierre billed the NRA more than $11 million for private jet flights and spent more than $500,000 on eight trips to the Bahamas over a three-year span, state lawyers said. He also authorized $135 million in NRA contracts for a vendor whose owners showered him with free trips to the Bahamas, Greece, Dubai and India, and gave him access to a 108-foot yacht. At the same time, LaPierre consolidated power and avoided scrutiny by hiring unqualified underlings who looked the other way, routing expenses through a vendor, doctoring invoices, and retaliating against board members and executives who questioned his spending, according to state lawyers. LaPierre testified he hadn't realized the travel tickets, hotel stays, meals, yacht access and other luxury perks counted as gifts, even as he conceded he wrongly expensed private flights for his family and accepted vacations from vendors doing business with the NRA without disclosing them. State lawyers asked the court to order LaPierre and his-co-defendants to reimburse the NRA, including forfeiting any salaries earned while misallocating funds. They also want the men banned from serving in leadership positions at any charitable organizations conducting business in New York. Oliver North, best known for his central role in the Iran-Contra scandal of the 1980s, was among the prominent witnesses to take the stand. Another former NRA executive turned whistleblower, Joshua Powell, settled with James' office last month, agreeing to testify at the trial, pay the NRA $100,000 and forgo further involvement with nonprofits. The NRA, meanwhile, remains a strong but tarnished political force. In recent years, the advocacy group has been beset by financial troubles, dwindling membership, board member infighting and lingering questions about LaPierre's leadership. One city's surprising tactic to reduce gun violence: Solving more nonfatal shootings One city's surprising tactic to reduce gun violence: Solving more nonfatal shootings Other cities have woken up to Denver's example Farmers and ranchers in Butler, Colfax, Dodge, Douglas, Saunders and Washington counties will be receiving an estimated $57.3 million in cash-back dividends returned by Farm Credit Services of America (FCSAmerica) as part of the financial cooperatives patronage program. Eligible customer-owners were issued cash-back dividend checks the last week of January. This years cash-back dividend is equal to 100 basis points or a return of 1% of a customers eligible average daily loan balance with FCSAmerica. The 2024 payout equates to the following county-level distributions (amounts are rounded) The Board of Directors for FCSAmerica has also approved a cash-back dividend to be paid from the cooperatives 2024 net earnings, the amount of which will be determined in December. Since 2004, FCSAmerica has offered a patronage program and shared its success in the form of cash-back dividends. The cooperative has now returned more than $1 billion to farmers, ranchers and agribusinesses in Nebraska. Fremont Public Schools officials are planning to probe disparities in the costs students at different schools must pay for after school activities after FPS Board Member Mike Petersen criticized the fees students pay during Mondays meeting of the FPS Board of Education. Petersen called out the 21st Century after school program, but preemptively apologized to district Superintendent Mark Shepard because he was shocked and not happy that Shepard did not know about the pay difference kids at various elementary schools are charged to participate in the program. The 21st Century after school program has been in place at FPS schools for 12 years, the first five years of which were funded by a federal grant, Associate Superintendent Brad Dahl explained. The program allows children to engage in a range of activities after the school day is over and classes have ended. Many of the activities are educational in nature and intended to both entertain and teach children about assorted topics such as science, nature and other aspects of society. Dahl said any student who qualifies for free and reduced lunch in the district can participate in the program for free; however, those students who do not qualify are required to pay a monthly fee. Petersen said that he had recently become aware, after receiving complaints and probing the issue, that students at Washington Elementary School pay only $50 per month to participate in the program, but that students at Bell Field Elementary School pay four times that amount $200 per month. The program is a blessing, and it has been a blessing to my family. I think it is wonderful," he said. One thing I have preached to this administration repeatedly, is my concern for kids in the edge cases' ... the margins. I grew up a little bit on the wrong side of the tracks," he said. "I had free lunch at times, reduced lunch (costs) at times and full-priced lunch at times. I am really sensitive to socio-economic issues. Petersen then read through a series of household income statistics to explain which families do and do not qualify for the free and reduced lunch programs. The numbers tell me there are a great deal of edge cases (of family income levels), he said. If you are making $60,000 a year with a family of four, the difference between $200 and $50 is probably quite extreme. A couple of things that concern me that our superintendent did not even know when I brought this information to him, is, who did know? Was it ever thought about how a parent might have children in two different schools? I want to know, when we knew this was a potential issue, Petersen stressed to administrators. In addressing Petersen's comments, Dahl said that some fee disparities are due to which community partners help with the program, such as the Fremont Family YMCA and others. The 21st Century after school program is a highly regulated program. One of the requirements is to have community partner. One of the long-standing community partners is the Fremont (Family) YMCA, and they would operate certain 21st Center after school programs and (the district) would operate others, Dahl said. Those fees can be set different for kids based on their true costs. That is how we ended up with varying rates of pay from our community partners, and who was in charge and who was operating one after school program or another. Dahl said the after school program has been in place for more than 10 years, and is intended to enhance safety of children after school whose parents are working or not able to care for them in the immediate hours when the school day is over. The intent is to provide a place to go when kids parents are working, Dahl said. You point is well-taken, Mike, it is. That is how we got here. (Mark) Shepard would not have know about this because I oversaw that program, and I would have know if there were variance in the fees. But that is how the programs were structured." District officials met with staff and administrators from the YMCA recently, Dahl said, and are working on the issue Petersen is concerned about. Petersen demanded the district take action on the pay disparity before the beginning of the 2024-2025 school year. My expectations are and I need to know when school starts next year whether there is a few or not, and it is going to be applied fairly and consistently and is level, Petersen said. I need to know if that is the case when school starts next year, because, I have to tell you something. My closing thought is this, $150 a month if you are that tight is going to finance not a great car, but a car that is going to get you to work. It is a car payment if you are willing to buy a five- or six-year old car. That is the differences for families making that, the working poor. Shepard said that the district has long strived to better the experience of students via after school programs and promised to work with Dahl and other administrators to best address Petersens concerns and worries about the program and its costs. Uber a acceptat sa plateasca 178 de milioane de dolari soferilor de taxi din Australia Compania Uber a fost de acord sa plateasca 178,3 milioane de dolari soferilor de taxi din Australia, potrivit BBC. Este vorba despre o despagubire colectiva stabilita la finalul unui proces. Actiunea in instanta a fost deschisa [citeste mai departe] Stiri pe aceeasi tema - The European Commission (EC) approving the two-way contract for difference aid scheme will allow Romania to continue exporting energy and consolidate its status as a regional leader in the energy sector, Energy Minister Sebastian Burduja says. According to a press release issued by the Energy Ministry - Consiliul Concurentei analizeaza operatiunea prin care SD Worx People Solutions NV intentioneaza sa preia Romanian Software S.R.L. SD Worx People Solutions NV este un furnizor de solutii software inteligente destinate componentei de resurse umane, in special pentru gestionarea si salarizarea personalului - Consiliul Concurentei analizeaza operatiunea prin care SD Worx People Solutions NV intentioneaza sa preia Romanian Software SRL, anunta autoritatea de concurenta. SD Worx People Solutions NV este un furnizor de solutii software inteligente destinate componentei de resurse umane, in special pentru - Banca Transilvania signed on Friday a contract for the acquisition of 100% of OTP Bank Romania's shares, as well as other OTP Romania Group companies, including OTP Asset Management SAI and OTP Leasing Romania IFN, in a transaction worth EUR 347.5 million.According to a BT report submitted to the - Approximately 191,300 people, Romanian and foreign citizens, and over 53,100 means of transport carried out the control formalities, both in the direction of entry and exit, on Friday, through border points throughout the country.According to the Border Police, 79,310 people entered Romania, of which - Foreign affairs minister Luminita Odobescu Thursday through Friday will participate in the informal "Snow Meeting" on foreign policy and security issues, traditionally organised by Lithuania in Trakai.The event will bring together foreign ministers from EU and NATO countries, as well as senior officials - The Competition Council is analysing the transaction by which Intesa Sanpaolo S.p.A. intends to take over First Bank S.A, the competition authority announced on Friday.Intesa Sanpaolo S.p.A. is mainly active in the financial-banking sector, being the parent company of the Intesa Sanpaolo group. The - The Ministry of Finance published Romania's Green Bonds Framework, a reference document for the issuance of sovereign green bonds to finance expenditure on projects that contribute directly to Romania's environmental and sustainable development objectives.According to a Ministry of Finance press Supermarketurile investesc in educatie. Cu cinci lei, liceenii beau sampanie frantuzeasca 1. Piedone se simte atacat din toate partile, dar ne-a asigurat ca am lunetistii pe casa. Mai bine avea toate tiglele pe casa. Piedone, vrei sa ne distram? Am inteles ca urmeaza vreo doua zile friguroase, dar in [citeste mai departe] The opposition Democratic Coalition will submit a public-interest data request and file a lawsuit asking for access to documents in connection with the clemency case of the former deputy head of the Bicske childrens home, Olga Kalman, the spokesperson of the partys parliamentary group, said, adding that people had a right to know how the accomplice of the paedophile head of the childrens home could have been pardoned. Who submitted the pardon application, who pushed it through Katalin Novak and Judit Varga, who is moving the strings in the background, the opposition MP asked. Donath Demands Answers from Those 'Actually Responsible' for Presidential Pardon Affair Anna Donath, leader of opposition Momentum, demanded answers from those who are actually responsible for the affair around a presidential pardon granted to the deputy director of a childrens home who was found complicit in child abuse, at a demonstration in Budapest. Addressing protesters in front of the Castle District premises of the Prime Ministers Office, Donath said the system has failed from a moral standpoint, accusing the government of ignoring the protection of children. She said no responsibility had been taken in connection with the presidential pardon, adding that what had been done is a sin, rather than a mistake. She called for demonstrations to be held until those actually responsible take responsibility and until an explanation was given and the victims received an apology. Transtibiscan Reformed Church District Bishop Asks Balog to Resign Karoly Fekete, Bishop of the Transtibiscan Reformed Church District, asked Zoltan Balog to resign as president of the churchs Synod. Balog on Tuesday apologised for having supported a presidential pardon granted to the deputy director of a childrens home who was found complicit in child abuse. He said a meeting of the churchs officials had been attended by four-fifths of the officials and ended in a secret vote where 86% of those present expressed support for him. Fekete said in a statement on Wednesday that he had asked Balog at the meeting, with a theologically-based argument, to reconsider his decision and resign as president of the Synod in view of the situation. The majority of the deacons and chief elders present at the meeting gave a vote of confidence to Balog, who released a video message about the outcome of the vote, Fekete said, noting that he and Balog had spoken again on Wednesday. With all due respect to the outcome of the vote of confidence, today I once again suggested to Bishop Balog that he reconsider and resign from his position as synod president, Fekete said, adding that he trusted that keeping the unity of our church in mind, and consulting with the members of the Presidency Council, he will be willing to do so. He asked the members of the church communities and pastors to be patient until a decision is made. The Presidium of the Synod of the Reformed Church in Hungary, the four bishops and the three chief elders present did not take part in Tuesdays vote of confidence held in respect of Reformed Church Bishop Zoltan Balog, the president of the churchs Synod, Daniel Pasztor, the Synods vice president, has said. In contrast with press reports, the bishop of the Cistibiscan District said in a statement that he had not taken a position on whether Zoltan Balog should stay or go at the conference preceding the meeting of the deans and the chief elders. I will acknowledge and support the decisions of the president of the Synod in this situation, whatever they may be, Pasztor said. When Budapest Mayor was asked about the case of a childrens home in Bicske which has been embroiled in a child-abuse scandal, Karacsony said he had ordered an internal investigation regarding the role of the previous Fidesz city administration in connection with the home which operated in the capital until 2013. He said the Budapest municipality had received a very serious report in 2011 about events which were covered up by the citys administration at the time. Karacsony accused the metropolitan leadership of having failed to investigate reports concerning child-abuse allegations at the time, adding that this had been a serious omission. He also accused the administration of having misled the citys assembly representatives, insisting that its leaders had known about very serious doubts regarding the head of the orphanage. MTI Photo: Szilard Koszticsak You're very welcome to comment, discuss and enjoy more stories, via our Facebook page: Facebook.com/XpatLoopNews + via XpatLoops groups: Budapest Expats / Expats Hungary You can subscribe to our newsletter here: XpatLoop.com/Newsletters Do you want your business to reach tens of thousands of potential high-value expat customers? Then just contact us here! Shooting deaths of 2 people in Colorado college dorm being investigated as homicides, police say Police say the deaths of two people who were shot in a dorm room at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs will be investigated as homicides Internationally acclaimed Canadian singer/composer returns to Budapest on the evening of March 24, 2024, at 8 o'clock, so we can enjoy the eclectic Celtic, pop, and world music art of Loreena McKennitt at MVM Dome. The concert promises heartfelt music, peace, tranquility, spiritual silence, and a journey of memories guiding us to splendid fairytale landscapes. Expect the harmonious atmosphere of traditional Celtic music, rich in harmony, deeply experienced and lived songs, while savoring every moment of the balanced and unique performance. The artist draws inspiration from the musical treasures of the entire world. She travels through countries, delves into literary works, immerses herself in different cultures, and nourishes herself from traditional and classical roots. She effortlessly creates perfection, and we can witness this simple perfection. Loreena McKennitt will be accompanied by her fellow musicians during the tour concerts, including Brian Hughes on guitar, Arabian lute (oud), and Celtic bouzouki, Caroline Lavelle on cello, Hugh Marsh on violin, Dudley Philips on double bass, and Robert Brian on percussion instruments. "The Lost Souls" album is deeply infused with the atmosphere of Celtic folk classicism, undoubtedly creating a soothing and enriching feeling for the audience. - The Times UK The album "Lost Souls" was released on CD and 180-gram vinyl through all music services, including iTunes, Apple Music, and Spotify. In addition to her music career, Loreena McKennitt is a recognized member of several noteworthy humanitarian initiatives, such as: * The Cook-Rees Memorial Fund for Water Search and Safety * Falstaff Family Centre * Honorary Colonel of the Royal Canadian Air Force In 2004, the Governor General of Canada awarded her the country's most prestigious civilian honor, the Order of Canada, and in 2013, the French Republic appointed her a Knight of the National Order of Arts and Letters. Tickets: eventim.hu YORK Immediately upon entering one of Yorks most popping confectionaries, guests are welcomed with the overwhelmingly delicious smell of freshly-made popcorn. The flavor is never the same, but the warm, buttery feeling that seeps in is always accompanied with a smile. GoodyPop, located at 113 East Sixth St. in York, is a hub of ready-to-eat gourmet popcorn treats. The store has been in the family for two generations now and with the new owners, Katie and Miles Berg, have come new traditions. Gaining in popularity since just before Christmas, GoodyPops pay it forward board has taken the communitys good will and given it a delicious outlet. GoodyPop was started by my husbands parents, Katie said. His mom was retired and kind of wanted a fun little side gig. Janeen Berg, Miles mother, did her research and knew she liked popcorn and what was happening with the popcorn store in Wayne. Her husband, Keith, hopped on board and GoodyPop was officially born on Nov. 30, 2019. Before the building was ready for business, Katie and Miles helped renovate the existing site. According to the GoodyPop website, the lowered ceiling was removed, bringing the original tin ceilings back into the light. The brick walls were freed of the overbearing plaster and Keith and Janeen added some personal furnishings to give it the perfect touch. The 1890's wooden apothecary fixtures lining a wall of GoodyPop are from a drugstore Janeen and Keith owned in Laurel, the website reports. The children's table and chairs in the store are from a one-room school in Wayne County, attended by Janeen from kindergarten through eighth grade. Several of the antiques throughout the store are from their collection and family heirlooms. Other personal touches include a recipe found (and most likely perfected) by Janeen, for the stores most popular popcorn flavor buttery caramel. Other flavors, like Nicks Hot Chocolate and standard staples are also fan-favorites. Once open, it just exploded, Katie said of the business. It was a lot, and at the time my husbands dad was still working full-time as a pharmacist. So, when he finally retired it was still really busy here they decided they were ready to travel. After a bit of discussion Katie and Miles decided to keep it in the family and give it a whirl and continue offering popcorn to the community. We like seeing it here and I feel like a lot of people in York like having little specialty stores (like this), Katie added. And we get a lot of people from surrounding towns, even Lincoln and Omaha, (that say) We were coming through and we had to stop. Pop it forward Katie, the Berg face most frequently found in the shop, noted that the inspiration for the pay it forward wall in GoodyPop came from a stop at a brewery in Estes Park, Colorado. She and Miles were on vacation, and the spot in question had a pay it forward wall for beer. We had always thought about it and finally it was like, let's try it, Katie said. And after buying GoodyPop it just took a while to get going. Katie contracted a local high school student to build the chalkboard now housing the project, which is proudly displayed on one of the shops original brick walls. Katie drew on lines and the Pay it Forward headline. And then it kind of blew up more recently, she said. Which has been really fun to see. Especially over the holidays, people are giving and just wanted to pay it forward. Though GoodyPop got things going by filling the first ten spots on the board (back when it started), they havent had to since. Each of the 39 slots on the board are filled with different names, descriptors and categories. If a visitor to the shop comes in and fits one of the slots descriptions, they get a free bag of popcorn. (And after) they come in and claim one, they usually want to pay it forward, Katie said. They think it's fun to pick somebody else, like their teacher ... it kind of started with the York County Sheriffs Department which blew up into the York Police Department and the fire department. Getting a free bag of popcorn isnt always in the plan when visitors stop in, but everybody gets excited when they realize they are eligible to claim the popped prize. There isnt Katie said with a laugh when asked if there's an end in sight. I feel like I actually need to add more spaces because its completely full right now. PHOTOS: York Dukes wrestling state send off York Wrestling sent off its record-high number of state qualifiers on Wednesday afternoon. York wrestling send off Well-wishers give the York wrestling team a send off as grapplers head to Omaha for the state tournament. York Dukes wrestling state send off York Wrestling sent off their qualifiers for the state wrestling tournament on Wednesday afternoon. A record-setting 13 wrestlers, including 1 York Dukes wrestling state send off The crowd on Wednesday was boisterous and cheered after each qualifying wrestler's name was announced by York Middle School Principal Kenny Loosvelt. York Dukes wrestling state send off Fans of the York Dukes wished the wrestlers good luck on Wednesday at the end of the send-off. The tournament takes place Thursday through Sat York Dukes wrestling state send off The Dukes heard from different members of the York wrestling community - the coaching staff, parents, and administration were all represented. YORK The City of Yorks proposed bike trail featured heavily in the discussion at Thursday evenings York City Council meeting. A handful of residents asked questions of the councilors, mayor and city administrator about the status of the the trail route. A $15 million dollar federal grant is funding the trail. The specific agenda item at issue was the possible approval of a $14,839.19 agreement between the City of York and Olsson Inc. to alter a section of Olssons proposed design of the bike trail. City Administrator Sue Crawford explained that after coming up with a possible design for about 30% of the trail a portion on the North end of town the Olsson engineers had conducted a walking tour of a section near York Public Schools with YPS Superintendent Mitch Bartholomew. They found that the section as it had been proposed would have been more disruptive than necessary and could potentially be unsafe for kids since it was between two privacy fences. That section could be a bully trap, Crawford said. The City of York subsequently requested a change to the design, which would require redoing some engineering, Crawford said. The cost of redoing the engineering, as the agreement lays out, would be $14,839.19. Initially, some residents expressed concern on Thursday about what the approval of this agenda item meant and whether it signified that the city council was in fact moving forward with a design for the bike trail. However, the city administrator, the mayor and city councilmembers clarified that no part of the bike trail has been given final approval and that the trail was still in the design stage. Some other residents in turn expressed confusion and frustration about why $15,000 was needed to change the proposed route if the proposed route was just that a proposal. In response, Mayor Barry Redfern said of the bike trails route, We dont know where its going to go, but added that we do know that its going to go around the schools. Councilmember Jennifer Sheppard said that there was a lot of time before anything needed to get built: the council does not have to commit to a plan until 2026 and construction would not finish until 2028. Ultimately, the City Council agreed to table the approval of the approximately $15,000 agreement. The council plans to gain more information about the specific section of the trail design that would be altered, and reconsider the agreement with Olsson at the next meeting. Also at Thursdays council meeting, some of the residents also sought information about other sections of the proposed bike trail. In response to a residents concern about the bike trail going near their property, Redfern said that while it would impossible for it to never go near anybodys property, the city hopes that it will be as un-intrusive as possible. Dave Rasmussen expressed concern about the potential safety of parts of Olsson Engineerings latest proposed route for the bike trail, which it presented at an open house on Jan. 31. A final design will be presented to the public at a hearing sometime in the spring. Amy Lehman, meanwhile, asked that there be more information available online about the grant. In response, Crawford said that she would be in touch with the Nebraska Department of Transportation about sharing grant documents. While York City Council has final say about the design of the bike trail, the Nebraska Department of Transportation is administering the grant, Crawford said. Before the discussion about the bike trail design alteration, the council approved an agreement of $24,625 with Olsson Inc. to separately study the area of a proposed industrial park on West 25th Street and Highway 34/81. The city was able to acquire a grant for that development so it will receive approximately $50,000 worth of engineering for half of that, Crawford said. The City Council also approved its yearly audit on Thursday night. According to Marcy Luth from AMGL CPAs and Advisors, which conducted the audit, the audit went smoothly. Yorks sales tax is very strong, Luth noted, and it has been increasing in the last several years. She also noted that the City of York generally has a higher property tax valuation than comparable cities, but a lower property tax levy. While the City of York did as well as or exceeded AMGLs recommendations in almost every financial benchmark considered, Luth did note that York was $600,000 below its recommended budget stabilization level, though Luth said it was close to what AMGL recommended. Redfern said that the audit was on the website and that if people have questions, they should be sure to share them with the City Council. The council also approved an update to its property insurance contract, which now has a deductible of 2% up from 1% on buildings over $500,00 and a $10,000 deductible per building under $500,000 for wind and hail damage. The blanket limit was also increased to $109,855,039, up from $101,731,700. A cosmetic exclusion for roof damage from wind and hail was also added. Councilman Tony North noted the June 2022 hail storms and said that we should be pretty happy as far as a premium goes. Separately, the council also approved a $72,000 bid from Dostal Construction for the East Hill Playground Installation. Nebraska U.S. Sen. Pete Ricketts said he believes military aid to Ukraine supports Americas security interests, but he felt he couldnt vote for it this week without action first on the U.S. southern border. Thats the most pressing national security issue we have right now, Ricketts said of border security during a call with Nebraska reporters Wednesday. In a bipartisan vote early Tuesday, the Senate passed a $95 billion emergency defense spending bill that included $60 billion in aid for Ukraine, as well as billions for Israel and Taiwan. Among those supporting the bill in the 70-29 vote were 22 Republicans, including Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky. But most Republicans opposed it, including Ricketts and fellow Nebraskan Deb Fischer. The Senate decided to pass the military aid in a stand-alone bill after a bipartisan effort to link the aid to border security measures collapsed in the face of Republican opposition. Republicans said the border measures did not go far enough. GOP members also faced pressure to oppose the measure after Donald Trump, the presumed Republican presidential nominee, came out against it. Ricketts said he voted against the stand-alone bill in an effort to bring Democrats back to the negotiating table for more stringent border security measures. He blames President Joe Biden for the crisis at the southern border, which he said was caused when Biden rescinded measures Trump had taken as president to secure the border. But Ricketts also said the military aid including the Ukraine aid that some Republicans launched an hours-long filibuster against is critical. He said if Russian President Vladimir Putin is successful in conquering Ukraine, he wont stop there, possibly invading another neighboring country that the United States is committed under NATO to defend. That is World War III, Ricketts said. If we want to avoid sending our young women and men to Europe to fight in a war against Vladimir Putin, the way to do that is give Ukraine weapons they need to fight him now. Ricketts said the Ukraine aid is also often framed the wrong way. The weapons and ammunition that the United States provides as aid allows the U.S. military to refresh its own stocks and also rebuilds the nations industrial arms capacity. He said thats important at a time America faces numerous global threats. The fate of the Ukraine aid bill faces uncertainty in the House, as its unclear whether Republican Speaker Mike Johnson will even bring it up for a vote. Ricketts declined to speculate on whether there were any circumstances in which he would support Ukraine aid not linked to border security. In a tragic incident, an 80-year-old Air India passenger passed away, allegedly due to a shortage of available wheelchairs. This incident occurred as the passenger and his wife arrived in Mumbai from New York. Both individuals had requested wheelchair assistance upon their arrival. The deceased was identified as an individual of Indian descent holding a US passport. He and his wife had purchased economy class tickets for Air India flight AI-116 departing from New York on February 11, 2024. What Air India Says? The airline stated that the passenger's wife had been provided with a wheelchair, and staff had instructed the passenger to wait while they arranged for another one. However, he opted to walk alongside his wife to the terminal instead. Air India said, One of our guests flying from New York to Mumbai on 12th February fell ill while proceeding to clear immigration with his wife, who was in a wheelchair. Due to heavy demand for wheelchairs, we had requested the passenger to wait till he was also provided with wheelchair assistance but he opted to walk along with his spouse. Further explaining the situation, a spokesperson of Air India said, "As advised by the airport doctor attending to him after taking ill, the passenger was immediately rushed to the hospital, where he was declared to have passed away." New Delhi: On the eve marking the 394th birth anniversary of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, February 19, 2024, this cinematic masterpiece, titled The Pride of Bharat Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj will encapsulate the king's dynamism in its truest form. The film also marks Sandeep Singh's foray into his first high-budget commercial cinema as a director. The makers are leaving no stone unturned to make this film on a grand scale with the sets authentically reflecting the gloriousness and the charm of the Maratha era and the state-of-the-art technology capturing the essence of the larger-than-life command of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and his battle with the Mughals and the British. Interestingly, this is the first time that a film on Shivaji Maharaj will be made in several languages viz; Hindi, English, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Marathi. Sandeep Singh said, "It's taken me 23 years of hard struggle to build and create a position to debut as a director for my first mega-budget film - The Pride of Bharat - Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. There could be nothing better than this. I have been working on the script since 2019, five years of labour and love. I hope our audience will appreciate our film and the efforts invested in it." Singh added, "I have always been fascinated by Indian history. There could be no bigger Maharaj in this world other than Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. He was the Maharaj of Maharaj's." Talking Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj's relevance holding power even today, Sandeep Singh said, "Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj was crowned as a king very early during his growing up years. For his age, he was extremely sharp and intelligent and fitted the responsibility that came with the crown. His short stature underplayed his inner bravery and strength, while his acute mind came up with unique strategies to tackle the enemies effectively. For example, he deliberately used the tough terrains of the Western ghats to fight battles as the rough and uneven ghats made it difficult for the enemy to gain access to his territory. There's so much to learn from his life's story. All information about the ruler has been confined to amongst the Maratha region. I want the world to know about his achievements as a king." "Also, I am really surprised that till date there's been no Hindi film made on Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. How come no filmmaker thought of it? There's been no film on the legendary ruler in other languages too like Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and English. Ever since I got to know this, I did not want to let go of the opportunity to make a film on the great Maratha ruler." While the lead actors will be locked soon, the other team members comprise of director of photography Aseem Bajaj, director of choreography Ganesh Hegde, costume designer Sheetal Sharma, production designer Sandeep Sharad Ravade, and Kavish Sinha is the casting director of the film. Well-known composer Devi Sri Prasad has been roped in to score the music of The Pride of Bharat - Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. To pay respect and honour a tribute to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, the film will hit the theatres on January 23, 2026, when India will celebrate its 77th Republic Day - 26th January 2026. The Pride of Bharat - Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, helmed by Sandeep Singh as a director, is being presented by Immerso Studios and Legend Studios. New Delhi: Trouble seems to be far from over for Paytm after the RBI's order on curbs on Paytm Payments Bank (PPBL). Now, in a big update for Paytm FASTag Users, the road highway toll authority seemed to have removed Paytm Payments Bank from the list of authorised banks that can issue new FASTags. The road highway toll authority has recommended that users will have to take FASTags from approved banks, specifiying a list of 32 banks, however it has excluded Paytm Payments Bank from the list. This would mean that over 20 million Paytm FASTag users will have to now obtain new RFID stickers. The Reserve Bank of India had few days ago issued a crucial directive to Paytm Payments Bank (PPBL) ordering the lender to cease taking deposits or top-ups in any user accounts, wallets, FASTTags, and other instruments after February 29. Customers may, however, request a refund, cashback, or interest at any time. According to a statement from the central bank, the directive comes in response to ongoing serious supervisory concerns and chronic non-compliances. The RBI had immediately prohibited PPBL from accepting new clients on March 11, 2022. However, the Paytm group company PPBL remained silent over the RBI's directive against the bank. "No further deposits or credit transactions or top ups shall be allowed in any customer accounts, prepaid instruments, wallets, FASTags, NCMC cards, etc. After February 29, 2024, other than any interest, cashbacks, or refunds which may be credited anytime," the RBI said. Additionally, its users are allowed to take out or use the balances from any of their accounts, including current accounts, savings bank accounts, prepaid cards, FASTags, and National Common Mobility Cards, as long as they have the money available. "No other banking services, other than those ... Like fund transfers (irrespective of name and nature of services like AEPS, IMPS, etc), BBPOU and UPI facility should be provided by the bank after February 29, 2024," it added. Additionally, the RBI stated that One97 Communications Ltd. and Paytm Payments Services' "nodal accounts" must be closed as soon as possible and, in any event, no later than February 29, 2024. Despite owning a 49% share in Paytm Payments Bank Limited, One97 Communicationsthe firm that owns the Paytm brandclassifies the latter as an associate rather than a subsidiary. According to the RBI, all pipeline transactions and nodal accounts (pertaining to all transactions started on or before February 29, 2024) must be settled by March 15, 2024, at which point no more transactions would be allowed. New Delhi: Nike, a popular sportswear company, has announced its decision to lay off around two percent of its workforce, totaling more than 1,600 employees. This move aims to reduce expenses and allocate resources to key areas of investment. Internal Memo Reveals Layoffs In an internal memo obtained by The Wall Street Journal, Nike's Chief Executive John Donahoe communicated the company's strategy to prioritize investment in categories such as running, women's apparel, and the Jordan brand. (Also Read: Vibhor Steel Tubes IPO: Here's How To Check Allotment Status) Donahoe acknowledged the difficult decision of reducing staff and took accountability for the company's current performance. (Also Read: Moto G04 Launched In India: Check Price, Camera, Specifications, And More) Affected Employees The layoffs are anticipated to affect office-based employees rather than those working in stores, distribution centers, or the innovation team. As of May 31, 2023, Nike employed approximately 83,700 workers globally. Implementation Timeline The layoff process will commence on Friday, with a second phase expected to be completed by the end of the current quarter. This strategic restructuring follows Nike's announcement in December of plans to save up to $2 billion in costs over the next three years through organizational streamlining. Sales Performance Nike's decision comes amidst challenging sales figures, with only a one percent growth in sales reported through November 30 compared to the previous year. Notably, footwear sales in North America, Nike's primary market, experienced a five percent decline. Mumbai: Jet Airways founder Naresh Goyal, an accused in a money laundering case, has moved a plea before a special court here seeking interim bail for treatment of malignancy, which was revealed during tests conducted by private doctors. The court passed an initial order for setting up a medical board to examine Goyal's medical reports as ED sought time to respond to his interim bail plea. Last month, special judge for cases under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) M G Deshpande had allowed Goyal (74) to undergo medical tests by private doctors. In the plea moved on Thursday for interim bail, Jet Airways founder Goyal said malignancy was revealed during the tests undertaken by the private doctors. As per his medical records, Goyal has small tumours in his intestine (common location for small tumours), called 'Neuro Endocrine Tumours' (slow growing cancer). He also has a hiatus hernia of about 35 cm to 40 cm with severe reflux oesophagitis, which is a medical condition that occurs when the upper part of the stomach bulges through the diaphragm into the chest cavity. It is suggested that the stomach will have to be brought down and prevent acid reflux by long-term medication or surgery. His report also revealed a short segment of narrowing at the junction of the mid and lower esophagus, indicative of Barrett's esophagus, which is a pre-cancerous condition. Goyal's application said his biopsy was sent for histopathological analysis and immunohistochemistry. Based on the findings it is imperative Goyal undergoes a PET scan to determine the stage of malignancy, based on which doctors will be able to determine the line of treatment, including surgery and chemotherapy, the plea said. The doctors have advised an aggressive and immediate line of treatment to arrest any fatal issues that could arise in the applicant's case, the plea added. Special public prosecutor Sunil Gonsalves submitted that a medical board of J J Hospital be constituted as instructed by ED and Goyal's medical papers be referred to it for opinion, after which the ED will submit their reply with more clarity. Gonsalves said they (ED) are not experts to directly rely upon the various test results and the medical papers annexed to Goyal's application and give opinion and file reply accordingly. Goyal's lawyer said he has no objection but asserted the medical board must be set up at the earliest so that time consumed in the process does not affect the accused's health. After hearing both sides, the court said the dean of JJ Hospital is requested to constitute a medical board as requested by ED and examine Goyal thoroughly. The medical board should convey its candid opinion to the court by February 20, the judge said. The board shall ascertain the sickness and submit whether the proposed treatment based on medical papers of Goyal is available at JJ hospital, the court added. The businessman was arrested in September 2023 by the ED, which claimed he had laundered money and siphoned off loans to the tune of Rs 538.62 crore given to Jet Airways by Canara Bank. The money laundering case stems from an FIR of Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) against Jet Airways, Goyal, his wife Anita and some former executives of the now-grounded carrier in connection with the alleged bank fraud. New Delhi: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has provided clarity on the recent regulatory actions taken against Paytm Payments Bank (PPBL) by issuing a set of frequently asked questions (FAQs). These FAQs aim to address concerns and bring clarity to Paytm users amidst the business restrictions imposed on the bank. Some Of RBI's FAQs Are: Account Operations After March 15, 2024 Users with savings or current accounts with Paytm Payments Bank can continue to withdraw money and use their debit cards until March 15, 2024, within the available balance. (Also Read: BREAKING: BIG Relief To People! RBI Gives 15-Day Relaxation To Paytm) Restrictions on Deposits and Transfers: Deposits or transfers into Paytm Payments Bank accounts will not be permitted after March 15, 2024, except for specific credits such as interest, cashback, sweep-ins from partner banks, or refunds. (Also Read: Techie, With Rs 43 Lakh Salary, Seeking Job Where He Can Get High-Protein Food; Viral Story Amazes Netizens) Handling of Refunds and Credits: Refunds, cashbacks, sweep-ins from partner banks, or interest will still be credited into Paytm Payments Bank accounts even after March 15, 2024. Deposits with Partner Banks: Existing deposits with partner banks through 'sweep in/out' arrangements can be transferred back to Paytm Payments Bank accounts, subject to the prescribed balance ceiling. However, no fresh deposits with partner banks will be allowed after March 15, 2024. Salary and Government Transfers: Salary credits and government subsidies or direct benefit transfers linked to Aadhaar will not be accepted into Paytm Payments Bank accounts after March 15, 2024. Users are advised to make alternative arrangements with another bank to avoid disruption. Automatic Bill Payments: Withdrawal mandates for automatic bill payments will continue to be executed until there is a balance available in the account. However, users are urged to make alternative arrangements through another bank before March 15, 2024, to prevent inconvenience. Farmers' protests have entered the fourth day today and there is chaos at the borders leading to Delhi. Protests are continuing in Punjab, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh as the government is negotiating a mid-way path. The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha are spearheading the 'Delhi Chalo' agitation to put pressure on the Centre over their demands, including a law on minimum support price for crops and loan waivers. According to the protesting farmers, the centre promised them better crop prices, after which they ended the 2021 protest. They are demanding to enact a law guaranteeing a minimum support price (MSP) for all crops, as recommended by the Swaminathan Commission report. However, experts feel that such a move could prove detrimental to farmers instead of helping them. Dr Ashok Gulati, Agricultural economist & Distinguished Professor at ICRIER, said that MSP for all crops could be 'anti-farmer' as well. Explaining his argument further, Dr Gulati said, "Normally, the prices are decided by demand and supply. If the MSP is made legal, assuming that the production of a particular commodity is 100 but the demand is 70, then what will happen? Nobody will touch it and the remaining 30 will stay with the farmers. What can they do? Because, if one buys at a price lower than MSP, he may land behind bars." He also said that the implementation of MSP across the country for 23 commodities may be impossible. He said that the 23 commodities on which MSP is being demanded constitute only 28 per cent of the total agri produce of India. "That segment of agriculture which is flying high at a growth of 8-9 per cent is poultry- is there an MSP on it? Growth of fisheries is 7-8% per annum for the last 10-15 years. Is there an MSP for it? Milk is bigger than rice, wheat, and pulses put together. There is no MSP for it but is growing between 5-6% per annum. 72 per cent of agriculture is driven by market prices and not by MSP," he said. He said that to mitigate nature's risk, farmers can take crop insurance if they wish but they will have to pay a premium for it which is subsidized by the government. On being asked if MSP law demand is not met & on crashing prices of commodities, Dr Ashok Gulatis said, "For such crisis, there is price stabilisation fund. In such a situation, the government should come forward to either give compensation or procure." He further said, "Punjab is at least 20 years behind diversification and if they don't diversify, they are playing with the future generations of Punjab. Because the water table in Punjab is going down by more than a meter every year...They are way behind at least 20 years on that path. The leadership of Punjab has failed the peasants of Punjab..." He also said that despite wheat and rice having the MSP, only five to six states have managed to implement it fully. He cited the example of Bihar where the crop is sold 20-25% below MSP. Movie: Bob Marley: One Love Cast: Kingsley Ben-Adir, Lashana Lynch, Michael Gandolfini, James Norton, Umi Myers Director: Reinaldo Marcus Green Rating: 1.5/5 'Bob Marley: One Love' Review: A man who is regarded as a musical legend and a rebel icon, however his biopic, Bob Marley: One Love, comes across as nothing but a dour and confused montage of his life, with a haphazard mix of music and politics. Excited to witness the life and times of the man, who rose from humble beginnings to becoming a pop cultural messiah espousing the freedom of all people, one is left heavily disappointed. The film opens in 1976, when Bob Marley played by Marvels Kingsley Ben- Adir stands tall with his distinguished dreadlocks, is adamant to host a peace concert in Kingston, which is burning with political factionalism. His goal is to heal his war-torn country Jamaica and music is the balm that would bring calm to the people. However before the concert, there is a break-in into his compound, shoots his wife, Rita (Lashana Lynch), and attempts to assassinate him. Though lucky to escape a grievous tragedy, its a sign that the time has come for Marley to leave Jamaica. As he arrives in London along with his band the Wailers to find the sound that could help the world, we are given quick flashbacks to his youth. A young boy running from a burning field, being chased by a silhouette of a man on a horse who may or may not be the white father he never knew. We see him embracing the Rastafari which brought him a sense of belonging and purpose. He took to reggae, music that espoused the voice of the people and the beginnings of his journey. We cut back to London and when he and Wailers created Exodus the timeless album of all times, which articulated his philosophy that the world was free and belonged to everyone. However Reinaldo Marcus Green (King Richard), directorial nowhere gives you a satisfactory insight into the man who is regarded as an enigma. Marleys clear sense of purpose and cultural and political ideology continue to be revered, 42 years after his death at age 36 in 1981. From frayed copies of his records which are vintage collectibles, his posters adorning walls, and his face splashed across T-shirts sported by generations. The characters are just touched upon and dont grow on you. Even though Kingsley Ben-Adir evocatively portrays Marley, its obvious he is constrained by the choppy screenplay. What could have been a film with soul, makes you come out wondering, what was the point? One may as well watch grainy YouTube videos of Marleys performance, then sit through a narrative that is NO MUSIC NO CRY! New Delhi: Based on Cho Haejins novel I Met Loh Kiwan, the much anticipated Korean film My Name is Loh Kiwan tells the love story of a North Korean defector Loh Kiwan (Song Joong Ki) and a professional shooter Mari ( Choi Sung Eun). North Korean defector Loh Kiwan from North Hamgyong Province, arrives in Belgium, a place where he doesn't speak the language nor understand the customs, and has nothing to his name. But, there is a burning desire to survive, and he tries to seek refugee status from the Belgium government. He had an unpleasant encounter with Mari, a former Korean-born shooter who has lost her reason to live. The two find companionship and love in the hopelessness of their situation. The newly released poster features Loh Kiwan and Marie looking in different directions. The text reads, Unfamiliar land, daunting life, which hints at the harsh and cold reality that the two face at the most precarious moment of their lives in a strange country in Europe. Another text reads Do we deserve happiness? raising curiosity as to how Kiwan and Marie, who are opposites, with different destinies would be able to understand and comfort each other as they begin an arduously emotional journey. One of the most popular actors, Song Joong Ki once again showcases his versatility, in a heart-rending role. The Vincenzo star at the Cannes premiere of his critically acclaimed film Hopeless had revealed he was driven by the constant hunger for good roles and scripts, and that as an actor he was still a work in progress. Directed by filmmaker Kim Hee-jin known for her works such as The Negotiation, The Beauty Inside said I wanted to show and tell through Ki-wan that most of life is filled with pain, but that there is still a corner to live in sometimes,, hoping the audience would be able to empathise with these two characters. My Name is Loh Kiwan will premiere on March 1 on Netflix. Rewari: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday reiterated the "Ab Ki Baar, 400 Paar'' pitch while addressing a public rally in Haryana's Rewari during which he also sought people's blessings for his third term to make India the third largest economy in the world. The PM also highlighted the achievements of his government in the last ten years, including the historical moon landing event. "If the G20 summit was successful, it was because of your blessings. India's flag reached the moon where no one could; it happened with your blessings. In the last 10 years, India rose from 11th position to become the fifth largest economy in the world. In my third term, I need your blessings to make India the third-largest economy in the world in the coming years..," PM Modi said. "Ab Ki Baar 400 paar" for NDA," PM Modi said. #WATCH | Haryana: Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses a public event in Rewari, he says, "If the G20 summit was successful, it was because of your blessings, India's flag reached the moon where no one could, it happened with your blessings. In the last 10 years, India rose pic.twitter.com/GDTEQRFXsb ANI (@ANI) February 16, 2024 His visit to Haryana assumes significance ahead of the Lok Sabha elections due in April and May this year. Referring to the inaugural ceremony of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya in January, PM Modi said, "Just a short while ago, I got the opportunity to hand over development projects worth Rs 10,000 crores to Haryana, including Rewari AIIMS, a new rail line and metro line, and a museum...The blessing of Lord Ram is such that nowadays I get the opportunity to be associated with such holy work everywhere...," PM Modi added. #WATCH | Haryana: Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses a public event in Rewari, he says "...The country wished that a grand Ram temple should be built in Ayodhya, today the whole country is seeing Ram Lalla sitting in the grand Ram temple. The Congress people, who used to pic.twitter.com/Z9DqX3RtjL ANI (@ANI) February 16, 2024 Before his address, PM Modi inaugurated, dedicated to the nation, and laid the foundation stone for multiple development projects worth more than Rs 9750 crore in Haryana's Rewari. Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar felicitated PM Modi before his public address. CM Manohar Lal Khattar said, "...This is a special occasion when PM Modi is amongst us... When you (PM Modi) were the CM in Gujarat in 2013 and people were seeing you as the PM, you started your campaign from Rewari...Today, you are fulfilling the aspiration and dream of the people of Rewari by giving AIIMS to them..." "The Metro station project in Gurugram will not only help people from Gurugram or the country but also those foreign companies who are here to invest... In the last 10 years, the way you have guided us, especially after the Pran Pratistha (Ram Mandir), has increased trust in our leadership...," CM Khattar added. Earlier, the PM made a sharp attack on the Congress and stated that India failed to deliver under the "corrupt" rule of the grand old party while asserting that the "country is moving forward with confidence." "Congress is corrupt; it can't think of a future; India failed to thrive under Congress," the PM said ahead of the Lok Sabha elections due in April-May this year. PM Modi made these remarks while addressing a 'Viksit Bharat Viksit Rajasthan' programme via video conferencing. Lashing out at Congress, the PM further said, "After independence, today this golden period has come. India has this opportunity to leave behind all the disappointments from 10 years ago. India is moving forward now with confidence. Before 2014, there used to be only discussions of scams and bombings. People in India used to wonder what would happen to them and to the country. During the Congress regime, this was the atmosphere..." "Congress has only one agenda, anti-Modi, extreme anti-Modi. They spread such things against Modi, which divides the society. When a party gets trapped in the vicious circle of nepotism and dynasty politics, the same thing happens to it. Today everyone is leaving Congress, only one family is seen there" PM Modi added. New Delhi: In a surprising twist to the Bihar political drama, RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav said that he was willing to welcome back his former ally and current rival Nitish Kumar, who had ditched the opposition coalition last month to join hands with the BJP. Lalu Yadav, who had called Nitish Kumar a paltu (turncoat) after his sudden switch, told ANI, (J)ab aayenge toh dekhenge, khula hi rehta hai darwaaza (When he comes, we will see door is always open. The statement came days after the two veteran leaders met for the first time since the split at the Bihar Assembly, where Lalu Yadavs party was nominating its Rajya Sabha candidates. The meeting was seen as a sign of thaw in the strained relationship between the two, who have been friends and foes for decades, and have dominated the states politics since the 1970s. However, Nitish Kumar, who is now the chief minister of the BJP-JDU alliance, had made it clear last week that he had no intention of going back to the opposition camp, which he had accused of being corrupt and inefficient. He had told reporters, we (the BJP and the JDU) were together earlier (but) twice I went idhar, udhar (here, there). Now I have come (back). I will be there permanently now. Lalu Yadavs son, Tejashwi Yadav, who had served as the deputy chief minister under Nitish Kumar twice, had also lashed out at his former boss during the trust vote this week, and questioned his credibility and morality. The two leaders, who are often referred to as bada bhai, chhota bhai (big brother, little brother) in Bihar, have had a long and complex history of alliance and rivalry, dating back to their days as student activists. They had parted ways in the post-Mandal era, when they fought bitterly for the backward caste votes, and had reunited in 2013, when they formed the Mahagathbandhan (grand alliance) with the Congress to take on the BJP. The Mahagathbandhan had won the 2015 assembly polls, but Nitish Kumar had walked out of it in 2017, after corruption charges were levelled against Lalu Yadav and his family. He had then rejoined the BJP-led NDA, which he had left in 2013 over Narendra Modis prime ministerial candidature. Last month, Nitish Kumar had once again changed sides, and left the NDA to rejoin the Mahagathbandhan, citing ideological differences with the BJP. However, within weeks, he had switched back to the NDA, after he was reportedly unhappy with the Congress and the RJD over governance issues, seat-sharing arrangements, and social media attacks. His latest move had triggered a political storm in Bihar, and had exposed the fragility of the opposition unity ahead of the general elections. NEW DELHI: When the Income Tax department freezes someone's bank account, it is a financial issue. However, when the Income Tax department freezes the bank accounts of the Congress party to recover its dues, it becomes a political issue. That's exactly what happened today. When the Income Tax department froze the Congress's bank accounts, Congress labelled it as a ''freeze on democracy''. They proclaimed that the Narendra Modi government has shut down Congress's accounts. Interestingly, as soon as Congress began its political rhetoric, its bank accounts were unfrozen, and Congress's worries dissipated. Today, we will put Congress's income tax politics to the DNA test. This morning, the Congress party held a press conference during which its leader Ajay Maken made sensational allegations that under the Modi government's rule, ''democracy has been frozen''. Everyone thought that if the Congress party was making such a big accusation, something significant must have happened. But it turned out to be much ado about nothing. In reality, democracy wasn't frozen; only four bank accounts of the Congress party were frozen. Not all bank accounts were frozen, just four of them. Congress declared it as a freeze on democracy. Interestingly, at 11 am, Congress revealed through a press conference that its four bank accounts were frozen, and within an hour and a half, that is, by 12:30 pm., Congress's bank accounts were reactivated. According to Congress leader Ajay Maken, Congress was informed on February 14th that checks issued by Congress were not being honoured by banks. Upon inquiry with the bank, it was revealed that the bank accounts of the Congress party, including those of the Youth Congress, were frozen. The reason cited was that the Income Tax department has demanded a recovery of 210 crore rupees from Congress and Youth Congress. Due to non-payment, Congress's bank accounts were frozen. This issue is related to income tax. And matters related to income tax are financial issues. For this, Congress approached the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal on February 15th. Before the ITAT could order the removal of the freeze on Congress's accounts, Congress had already turned this financial issue into a political one. Why is Congress so agitated over the sealing of four bank accounts? If bank accounts are sealed, why is Congress so afraid of what will happen next? How will they fight elections? Congress dramatized the freezing of its bank accounts by calling it a freeze on democracy and claimed it was a conspiracy by the Modi government to stop Congress from contesting elections. But within an hour, Congress's bank accounts were reactivated, and ITAT provided relief to Congress. After going through this report, you must have understood how skilled Congress is at making a mountain out of a molehill. Now, we want to ask some questions to the country's oldest party, Congress. The question is, how did the freezing of Congress party's four bank accounts equate to a freeze on democracy? If Congress runs out of money to pay electricity bills, employee salaries, and for legal proceedings, does that mean democracy within India has ceased to exist completely? Even if Congress's bank accounts were sealed, does that mean that only one party's politics will remain in the country? Does Congress consider itself to be India and its bank accounts as India's democracy? Because according to Congress's logic, it seems like its bank accounts haven't been sealed; instead, democracy itself has been sealed. This case is a simple one for the Income Tax department, and the freezing of Congress's accounts was done while adhering to the complete legal process. The interesting thing here is that Congress's bank accounts were frozen when the Income Tax department was cracking down on tax evaders and those misusing electoral funds for money laundering purposes. In fact, it's not hidden from anyone that electoral funds are often misused for tax evasion and money laundering. In such a scenario, it would have been better if Congress had also revealed why the report of electoral funds received in 2018-19 was delayed by 45 days to the Income Tax department. Stay tuned to Zee News show DNA for a detailed analysis of the issue and Congress's politics on the Income Tax department's move. New Delhi: The Uttarakhand police on Friday shared the photos of nine rioters who are wanted for their involvement in the violent clashes that erupted in Haldwanis Banbhoolpura area over the demolition of an illegal madrasa earlier this month. The state government, through its X handle, posted the photos of the nine suspects who were allegedly part of the mob that assaulted the police teams. The Nainital Police have asked the public to provide any information about the whereabouts of these criminals and have given the contact details of several police stations. The government said, Whosoever gets to know about the whereabouts of these criminals can contact police stations and share information about them. The Banbhoolpura area of Haldwani had turned into a war zone on February 8, when the police went to demolish an illegal madrasa as per the court orders. The police had urged the people to stay calm, but a large mob surrounded the police station and set it on fire. Many of them pelted stones and threw petrol bombs at the cops, injuring more than 100 police personnel, journalists and municipal workers. The police teams, including women cops, had to take shelter in a police station, but that was also torched by the angry mob. The state government, led by Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, had swiftly taken action against the rioters and vandals who attacked the police and damaged public property, including police vans. The Chief Minister had also announced the setting up of a police station to instill fear in the minds of the rioters, a few days after the violence. Congress leader and party's Lok Sabha MP from Raebareli shifted to the Rajya Sabha from Rajasthan months ahead of the crucial Parliamentary elections. Speaking in Parliament, Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently said that some of the opposition members may move to another seat and some may even shift to the Rajya Sabha fearing defeat from their traditional seats in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. Now, Sonia Gandhi's switch to the upper house has given the BJP yet another weapon against Congress. A Jan Ki Baat survey in Raebareli has already indicated that a majority of the voters want a change there. This was aided by BJP's rising popularity after the inauguration of the Ram Temple. Congress might have sensed a tough fight at the seat after losing Amethi in 2019. As per reports, the party may field Priyanka Gandhi from the seat. But the damage has already been done. The BJP will play this up big time in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls as the party has already claimed that Sonia Gandhi took the decision fearing defeat. Now, the saffron party is likely to use this poll plank against Congress claiming that even their top leaders have quit polls and traditional seats as BJP's victory was certain. The Congress cadre, especially the grassroots workers, were already in a fix after the party decided not to attend the Ram Temple consecration ceremony. The move has already sent a message to Congress cadre that even its top leaders are not sure of their victory against the BJP and this will further demoralise them ahead of the polls. After Rahul Gandhi lost from Amethi and now Congress leaving its lone seat in Uttar Pradesh, the party is virtually leaderless in the state which is often said to path to power in Delhi. Congress may have decided to shift Sonia Gandhi to the Rajya Sabha thinking that a defeat from the traditional seat might put the party in bad light. However, the fact is, it's as bad a move as the skipping of the Ram Temple event. The party needs to change its poll strategy drastically if it wants to counter BJP otherwise, Mamata Banerjee's prophecy of the grand old party not winning even 40 seats could turn true. West Bengal, which has been witnessing violence and atrocities against women for the last few decades - first under the Left and now under Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress, is again on the boil over the Sandeshkhali incident and attack on the BJP leaders and a team of the Enforcement Directorate. The case of Sandeshkhali in the North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal has been under discussion for several days. Now, the Privileges Committee of the Lok Sabha has summoned the Chief Secretary of West Bengal, DGP, and other senior officers of the concerned district at 10:30 am on February 19. Several committees have toured the area, Section 144 has been imposed, protests continue, clashes have occurred, the High Court has taken a suo-moto cognisance, and along with it, there is growing tension between the BJP and the ruling party TMC in the state. The whole incident started with a clash. Now, the heat has increased from Kolkata to Delhi. Now, the question is- Can the DGP of West Bengal be summoned to the Lok Sabha for the violence? The Privileges Committee of the Lok Sabha has issued a notice to the Chief Secretary of West Bengal and other senior officials based on the complaint of West Bengal BJP President and Balurghat MP Sukanta Majumdar. Majumdar has alleged violation of special rights while alleging misconduct, cruelty, and causing serious injuries. According to the notice from the Lok Sabha Secretariat, the committee has asked the Chief Secretary Bhagwati Prasad Gopalika, Police Director Rajiv Kumar, District Magistrate Sharad Kumar Dwivedi of North 24 Parganas, Bashirhat Police Superintendent Hussain Mehdi Rahman, and Additional Police Superintendent Parth Ghosh to appear on February 19. After the prevention of the visit to Sandeshkhali, Majumdar got injured in a clash with the police personnel. BJP workers are protesting against the alleged atrocities on women by TMC leader Shahjahan Sheikh and his supporters. The Constitution has granted various rights to the Parliament and its members at different levels. The purpose behind this is to ensure that there is no hindrance to the Parliament and its members in fulfilling their duties. The basic essence of these rights is to protect the dignity, freedom, and independence of the Parliament. Violation of special rights means any action that prevents the Parliament or any of its members from performing their duties. The Speaker of the Lok Sabha forms the Special Rights Committee consisting of 15 members. This committee investigates whether there has been a violation of special rights or not. In the case of violence in Sandeshkhali, BJP MP Sukanta Majumdar from Balurghat has complained to the Special Rights Committee. In fact, if any Member of Parliament feels that he is being prevented from performing his duty, he can raise a case of violation of special rights. If the Special Rights Committee finds someone guilty, it can recommend punishment. As a penalty, the committee can warn the concerned person by issuing a notice or even sending him to jail. What is happening in Sandeshkhali? The village of Sandeshkhali in North 24 Parganas has become the centre of political turmoil for a month. There are serious allegations of sexual harassment against local Trinamool Congress leaders by women. There is a protest against it. It started on January 5 when the Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducted a raid at the Sandeshkhali residence of influential Trinamool Congress leader Shahjahan Sheikh in connection with the money laundering case involving millions of rupees in a ration distribution scam. During this, supporters of Shahjahan not only stopped ED officials from entering the house but also physically assaulted the team members of the Central Investigation Agency, running almost 74 km from the city to escape from the village. District Council member Shahjahan has been absconding since then. His associates claim that the area is largely under his control. After the incident of ED, a large number of women took to the streets, alleging that Shahjahan and his men forcibly occupied their land for shrimp cultivation and had been sexually harassing them for many years. Facing the media, many women narrated their ordeal by hiding their faces. New Delhi: A team of BJP MPs, including two union ministers, was prevented by the police from visiting Sandeshkhali in West Bengal on Friday, where villagers have been protesting against alleged atrocities by local TMC leaders. The six-member delegation, led by BJP president J P Nadda, was stopped at Rampur village on the way to Sandeshkhali block in North 24 Parganas district, citing prohibitory orders under Section 144 of CrPC. The BJP leaders staged a sit-in and accused the Mamata Banerjee government of shielding the culprits and suppressing the voice of the victims. We are here to meet the affected people and give them justice. The police are very quick to stop us, but they have failed to arrest Shajahan Sheikh and his goons, who are responsible for the violence, said Annapurna Devi, the union minister of state for education and the convenor of the team. Yesterday, Mamata Banerjee took to the floor of Assembly and defended Shahjahan Sheikh, maligned the women, who have been raped She was remorseless. This kind of depravity is the death knell for democracy in West Bengal. The CM, by her intervention, has prejudiced the police. pic.twitter.com/1MgCGWczqL Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) February 16, 2024 Shajahan Sheikh, a TMC strongman, has been on the run since January 5, when a mob, allegedly linked to him, attacked Enforcement Directorate officials who had gone to raid his premises in connection with a ration scam. Several women in Sandeshkhali have accused Shajahan and his supporters of grabbing their land and sexually assaulting them under duress. Pratima Bhoumik, the union minister of state for social justice and empowerment, said that the police were trying to protect the criminals and goons and that the law and order situation in Sandeshkhali was non-existent. We are union ministers and MPs, and there are certain protocols. The state police and the administration are not respecting those protocols. They are acting on the orders of the chief minister, who wants to hide the truth from the public, she said. The other members of the BJP team were Sunita Duggal, Kavita Patidar, Sangeeta Yadav, Brij Lal, a former Uttar Pradesh DGP, and Khagen Murmu. The delegation was formed by Nadda after he visited the state earlier this week and met the families of BJP workers who were allegedly killed or injured in the post-poll violence. The BJP has claimed that the TMC has unleashed a reign of terror on its supporters and workers after winning the assembly elections in May. The TMC, however, has dismissed the BJPs allegations as baseless and politically motivated. It has also questioned the need for the BJP team to visit Sandeshkhali, saying that the situation was under control and the police were taking action against the perpetrators of any violence. The police did the right thing by stopping the BJP delegation. It is trying to vitiate the atmosphere of the state. When the administration is doing everything to restore peace, the BJP is trying to disturb that for political gains, said TMC leader Santanu Sen. The BJP team, later in the day, will meet Governor C V Ananda Bose in Kolkata. Sandeshkhali has been witnessing protests for the seventh consecutive day on Thursday, with a large number of women demonstrators demanding the arrest of Shajahan Sheikh and his associates. As voters begin receiving ballots in their mailboxes for the upcoming March 5 presidential primary election, The Gazette has compiled a list of important upcoming dates voters should watch for. This list was compiled from the 2024 election calendar posted on the Colorado secretary of state's website. It includes important dates for the presidential primary as well as some deadlines relevant to the Nov. 5 general election. In primary elections, unaffiliated voters receive a ballot packet containing a Republican candidate ballot and a Democratic candidate ballot. However, unaffiliated voters may only vote and return one ballot, El Paso County Clerk and Recorder Steve Schleiker said this week. He advised unaffiliated voters to destroy and discard the other ballot. If unaffiliated voters return both ballots voted, neither ballot will be counted. Voters affiliated with a minor party in Colorado won't receive a presidential primary ballot, Secretary of State Jena Griswold's office said in a news release this week. Feb. 16 Last day to affiliate with the Republican Party or Democratic Party to vote in the March 9 party precinct caucuses. Last day to send out initial mail ballots for the March 5 presidential primary election. Feb. 20 First day to begin counting mail ballots received for the March 5 presidential primary election. No results will be disclosed until after 7 p.m. on Election Day. Feb. 26 Last day for an individual to submit a voter registration application and still receive a ballot in the mail for the March 5 presidential primary election. If the county clerk receives a voter registration application within the eight days before the presidential primary election, the clerk will process the application and inform the applicant they will not receive a mail ballot. To receive a ballot, the applicant must visit a Voter Service and Polling Center. The recommended last day an individual should return their ballot by mail for the March 5 presidential primary. Take care to affix proper postage when mailing your ballot. Feb. 26-March 5 The minimum number of required Voter Service and Polling Centers must be open for the March 5 presidential primary election. Feb. 27 First day the minimum number of required drop boxes must be open for the March 5 presidential primary. March 5: Presidential Primary Election Day Last day an individual can register to vote or update their voter record to be able to vote in the March 5 presidential primary. To register to vote, update their voter record and to receive a ballot the applicant must visit a Voter Service and Polling Center. The county clerk must receive all ballots by 7 p.m. March 5-9 Republican Party and Democratic Party precinct caucus day. March 13 Last day for ballots cast by military and overseas electors to be received by the county clerk so they can be counted in the March 5 presidential primary election. Last day for an elector to cure a signature discrepancy or missing signature, or to provide missing identification for mail or provisional ballot to be counted in the March 5 presidential primary election, by 11:59 p.m. March 14 Last day for the county clerk to complete verification and counting of provisional ballots for the March 5 presidential primary election. Featured Local Savings March 15 The county must finish tabulating all in-person and accepted mail ballots cast by voters registered in the county for the presidential primary election. First day interested parties can request and file for a recount, at their own expense, for the March 5 presidential primary election. The county clerk must determine the cost of the recount within four days of receiving the recount request, but no later than 24 days following the election. March 19 Last day to file major party candidate petitions. March 26-30 Last dates for major parties to hold county assembly. March 27 Last day to complete the canvass and submit official abstract of votes cast for the March 5 presidential primary to the secretary of state. Last day for interested parties to request and file a recount, at their own expense, of the March 5 presidential primary election. The county clerk must determine the cost of the recount within four days of receiving the recount request, but no later than 24 days following the election. March 29 Last day for the secretary of state to order a complete statutory recount of the presidential primary election. April 1 Last day to file minor party candidate petitions. April 5 Last day to submit draft ballot issues to the Title Board, by 3 p.m., if the issue is to appear on the Nov. 5 general election ballot. Last day to complete a statutory recount of any race in the presidential primary. April 9 Last day to complete a recount of the presidential primary election requested by an interested party. April 13 Last possible day for major parties to hold state assembly. April 17 Last day to hold a Title Board hearing for ballot issues that will appear on the Nov. 5 general election ballot. For more information on how to register to vote and how to vote in El Paso and Teller counties, click here. For more information about elections in El Paso County, visit epcvotes.com or contact the El Paso County Elections Department at 719-575-8683 or by email at elections@elpasoco.com. For more information about elections in Teller County, contact the Teller County Elections Department at tellercounty.gov/Elections, 719-689-2951 or email elections@co.teller.co.us. New Delhi: The Centre faced allegations of trying to suppress the voices of the protesting farmers, as the talks between the union ministers and the farmer leaders remained inconclusive on Friday. Farmer leader Sarwan Singh Pandher claimed that the government had suspended the social media accounts of farmers and YouTubers who were showing the farmers protest. He also said that the government had used force against the farmers who were marching towards Delhi to demand various rights, including a legal guarantee of minimum support price (MSP) for crops. The protesting farmers have been camping at Shambhu and Khanauri points on Punjabs border with Haryana for the fourth day, after they were stopped by the security forces who fired tear gas shells at them. Pandher said that around 70 farmers had suffered serious injuries in the clashes. The farmer leader said that he had raised these issues with the union ministers during the meeting on Thursday, and had shown them the tear gas shells as evidence. He said that the talks were held in a positive atmosphere, and that the farmers demands, such as a law on MSP, debt waiver, pension, and justice for the victims of the Lakhimpur Kheri violence, were discussed. However, the talks failed to reach a consensus, and the two sides agreed to meet again on February 18 for a fourth round of talks. Pandher said that the farmers Delhi Chalo call still stands, and that they were waiting for a solution through dialogue. Meanwhile, Haryana Police again resorted to tear gas shelling on Friday to disperse the farmers who tried to cross the barricades at the Shambhu border near Ambala. Farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal demanded the release of the farmers who were arrested or detained by the Haryana police. The farmers have been protesting against the Centres policies and demanding the implementation of the Swaminathan Commissions recommendations, no hike in electricity tariff, withdrawal of police cases, reinstatement of the Land Acquisition Act, 2013, and compensation to the families of the farmers who died during a previous agitation in 2020-21. New Delhi: Learning from failure is a pivotal aspect of the journey towards success, a lesson underscored by the remarkable tale of Pawan Gupta. His narrative serves as a testament to the power of perseverance and resilience in the face of adversity. Despite encountering setbacks, Pawan's unwavering determination propelled him forward on his quest for achievement. Hailing from a humble background in Agra, Pawan embarked on his academic journey in mechanical engineering, driven by aspirations that extended far beyond the confines of his circumstances. While studying at NIT Durgapur, the seed of ambition to crack the UPSC exam took root within him. However, the practicalities of financial independence led him to initially pursue a career in the automotive industry. Balancing his professional commitments with his aspirations, Pawan commenced his UPSC preparations in 2015. However, the road to success proved to be fraught with obstacles. Despite his persistent efforts, success eluded him for seven consecutive years. Nevertheless, each setback only served to fortify his resolve. His journey of resilience saw him navigating through multiple failed attempts, with each disappointment only fueling his determination to persevere. Despite facing initial failures in the prelims in 2015 and 2016, followed by another setback in 2017, Pawan refused to succumb to despair. The turning point arrived in 2018 when he finally tasted success, clearing both the Civil Services Examination (CSE) and the IFS preliminary exams. Seizing the opportunity, he momentarily diverted his path to explore other avenues, securing a position with Indian Railways. Yet, his ambition to join the prestigious Indian Foreign Service (IFS) continued to beckon him. Undeterred by subsequent setbacks in 2020 and a strategic withdrawal in 2021, Pawan remained steadfast in his pursuit. His resilience bore fruit in 2022 when he clinched victory, securing an All India Rank (AIR) of 90 in the UPSC examination, thereby realizing his long-cherished dream of joining the IFS. Today, Pawan Gupta stands as a beacon of inspiration, his journey underscoring the invaluable lesson that success often arises from the ashes of failure. His story serves as a reminder that in the face of adversity, perseverance and unwavering determination can pave the way for triumph against all odds. New Delhi: Rakul Preet Singh and Jackky Bhagnani are all set to tie the knot in Goa soon. The pre-wedding extravaganzas have begun and Rakul's entry for her dhol night at Jackky's place has gone viral. Groom-To-Be Jackky Bhagnani's house lit up for the big day, Rakul reached his house for their 'Dhol Night.' In the now-viral video, Rakul was seen arriving at Jackkys house with her family. This video has taken over social media and fans are excited. According to the sources, Rakul Preet Singh and Jackky Bhagnani will tie the knot on February 21 in Goa in an intimate ceremony in the presence of their family members and close friends. The couple had originally planned a destination wedding overseas but post Prime Minister Narendra Modi's call for families to host their wedding festivities within India, the couple changed the location. Also, Goa was the place where it all started and their romance flourished. "Choosing Goa is a sentimental decision for them and the wedding is going to be absolutely serene," quoted Pinkvilla. Talking about Jackky Bhagnani and Rakul Preet Singh, the duo has been together for a while now. Jackky is a producer of some much-awaited films such as Mission Raniganj, Ganapath Part 1, Bade Miyan Chote Miyan and so on. On the other hand, Rakul Preet Singh will next be seen in Meri Patni Ka Remake, Ayalaan and Indian 2. New Delhi: In what would bring the much needed ease for customers, India's largest lender State Bank Of India (SBI) has announced that the customers can now digitally enroll under Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY ) and Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY). "State Bank of India has brought another enabler for its customers towards enhancing convenience in enrolment under PMJJBY & PMSBY schemes," the bank said in a statement. How to digitally enroll under Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima - Customers can enroll under the schemes as per their convenience without visiting Branch or Customer Service Point. - The customer needs to key in the account number, date of birth on Jan Suraksha portal and to select the Bank. - The Certificate of Insurance is generated instantly on payment of premium. Introducing the service offering, Dinesh Khara, Chairman, SBI emphasized the banks efforts in leveraging technology to boost offerings that ensure customer empowerment and said, The facility will provide impetus to the Government of Indias drive of covering all eligible citizens under PMJJBY & PMSBY schemes, he said. The Narendra Modi Government had launched two insurance schemes --Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY) and Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY) in 2015 -- to provide insurance coverage to the people. What Is Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana? The Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana is an Accident Insurance Scheme offering accidental death and disability cover for death or disability on account of an accident. It would be a one-year cover, renewable from year to year. The scheme would be offered / administered through Public Sector General Insurance Companies (PSGICs) and other General Insurance companies willing to offer the product on similar terms with necessary approvals and tie up with Banks / Post office for this purpose. Participating banks / Post office will be free to engage any such insurance company for implementing the scheme for their subscribers. What Is Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY)? Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana offers a renewable one year life cover of Rs 2 lakh to all savings bank account holders in the age group of 18-50 years, covering death due to any reason. New Delhi: A woman working at a multinational company was tricked out of Rs 80 lakh by a man she met on a matrimonial app, who later faked his death. The woman met the man, who introduced himself as Sameer Chadha, on the app in 2019. They talked for months over the phone and online, where he claimed to be a successful professional with properties in Bangalore and Noida. Impressed by his persona, the woman considered marrying him. The man told her he quit his job and needed help paying off loans for his car and flat. (Also Read: Is Paytm FASTag Closed Or Still Working? Check RBI's New Directive) He convinced her to transfer Rs 80 lakh to him through Paytm between 2020 and 2023. The woman became suspicious when she saw the receiver's PAN card identified him as Lalit Sai Krishna during a payment. (Also Read: RBI Gives 15-Day Relaxation To Paytm: Check What You Can Do And What Can't) When she tried to contact him, she found her calls blocked, adding to her doubts. Eventually, she received messages claiming Sameer had passed away. Visiting the address he provided, she found only a liquor shop in Bengaluru. The cyber cell has started investigations into the case, as per the police spokesperson. (With IANS Inputs) With the upcoming launch of two satellites, Lockheed Martin expects to demonstrate how space can add to the military's global power to gather intelligence and act on it. The military's vision for its future Combined Joint All-Domain Command and Control is to "sense, make sense, and act" across land, sea, air, cyber and space a concept similar to tying together all the appliances in a smart home, but far more complex. Lockheed Martin Space in Littleton expects to push the concept forward with Pony Express 2, a pair of small satellites funded by the company, that will demonstrate new technology such as running applications in any software language and greater autonomy, said Maria Demaree, vice president and general manager for Lockheed Martin National Security Space. The satellites will be launched in the coming months, no sooner than March, a news release said. The Pony Express 2 mission will showcase how we can keep our warfighters connected from space across every domain even in the most austere and contested environments, she said in a news release. Through Lockheed Martin's HiveStar program, the satellites will transfer tasks among themselves without any human input, which will save military members time during fast-paced future conflicts, Demaree said. "You are not going to have time to do things by hand anymore," she said in an interview. Featured Local Savings The two new satellites will also have proactive troubleshooting and artificially intelligent software that will autonomously monitor spacecraft telemetry. The satellites could fly within a couple of kilometers of each other, using more efficient ion propulsion, which is unique for such cooperative operations, according to a news release. Once the concepts are proven, Demaree said, Lockheed Martin could build out the satellite constellation depending on interest from the military. Lockheed Martin's investment in constellations of small satellites that can be developed quickly is in line with the Department of Defense strategy to stop relying as much on satellites that weigh thousands of pounds and take many years to build. The Space Development Agency is fielding hundreds of small satellites intended to ensure that targeting a single one of the U.S. satellites would not be worth the effort in a conflict. Lockheed Martin is contracted to build satellites for the new constellations. This week a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched new missile detection, missile tracking and networked communications satellites into orbit as part of that effort. DENVER The American Civil Liberties Union is suing Childrens Hospital Colorado after it stopped gender-affirming surgeries on patients over 18, the organization announced on Wednesday. ACLU Colorado said that it filed the lawsuit on behalf of an 18-year-old transgender patient because it claims the hospitals policy violates Colorado anti-discrimination laws. The hospital announced in July of last year that it would stop providing gender-affirming surgeries to patients 18 years and up. Childrens Hospital Colorado never performed surgery on patients under 18. ACLU Colorado alleges this decision was made without warning, notice, or plans for ensuring continuity of care. Childrens Hospital Colorado could not comment on the lawsuit, stating that it had yet to be served any such litigation. The 18-year-old plaintiff, identified as Caden Kent, was previously treated at the hospital at the age of 16 and diagnosed with gender dysphoria at the time. After the diagnosis, he sought out and was given hormone replacement therapy, according to the suit. Read more at koaa.com. A formerly Muslim couple in eastern Uganda, parents of four young children, were slashed to death on Feb. 2, two months after putting their faith in Christ, sources said. Twaha Namwoyo, 38, and his 27-year-old wife, Nadiimu Katooko, were slain for their faith outside their house in Bulalaka village, Saala Parish, Kibuku Sub-County, Kibuku District, a neighbor said. I heard people talking and conversing loudly in Arabic and the Lugwere language, saying that Twaha is to reap the fruits of leaving Islam, the neighbor told Morning Star News on condition of anonymity. After a few minutes, I heard loud wailing coming out of Twahas house. The neighbor, a Christian, said his family locked the doors of their home, not knowing our fate. We kept awake the whole night in great fear. But thank God the attackers did not come to our house. Officers from the Kibuku central police station arrived and found the bodies with deep cuts, and that of Namwoyo with a swollen neck, possibly indicating strangulation. Their mutilated bodies were found outside, and the children ages 7, 5, 3 and 2 were locked inside the house, sources said. Police found several long Somali swords, knives and an axe at the scene, likely left as a warning to other Muslims considering conversion to Christianity, the neighbor said. Kibuku central police registered case No. CRB/10/2024 as a homicide. The neighbor did not recognize the assailants due to the darkness and said they could have been both local residents and outsiders. Many Muslims in Uganda speak Arabic. The couple had converted at a Christian center in Nampido village, said a friend who led them to faith. After visiting and praying with the family of Namwoyo for about six months, later my labor in Christ became a turning point for them to receive Jesus Christ on Dec. 5, 2023, the friend said. I continued discipling them in the Christian doctrines, but cautioned them to remain secret in their new-founded Christian faith. The attack was the latest of many instances of persecution of Christians in Uganda that Morning Star News has documented. Ugandas constitution and other laws provide for religious freedom, including the right to propagate ones faith and convert from one faith to another. Muslims make up no more than 12 percent of Ugandas population, with high concentrations in eastern areas of the country. 2023 Morning Star News. Articles/photos may be reprinted with credit to Morning Star News. https://morningstarnews.org. Morning Star News is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation that relies solely on contributions to offer original news reports of persecuted Christians. By providing reliable news on the suffering church, Morning Star News mission is to empower those in the free world to help and to encourage persecuted Christians that they are not forgotten or alone. The Colorado Economic Development Commission approved $1.9 million of tax incentives on Thursday for two unnamed companies looking to expand in El Paso County and potentially bring 300 jobs to the area. The largest incentive went to Project Da Vinci, a Colorado-based manufacturing company servicing the aerospace, medical, industrial and commercial industries. The commission voted to give $1.3 million in tax incentives over eight years on condition of 101 new full-time jobs with an average wage of at least $63,362. The company currently has 54 employees, all in Colorado. The manufacturing company is also weighing expanding into Tulsa, Okla., according to public records. The Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT) keeps company names confidential until paperwork is finalized but its description of Project Da Vinci matches word-for-word to a website for Colorado Springs-based Spectrum Advanced Manufacturing Technologies, Inc. Spectrum did not immediately respond for comment. The commission said it was important to keep the company tied to many leading Colorado industries in the state and support the areas manufacturing sector. The second company, Project Balloon, had to be reapproved after it didnt finish necessary paperwork for its tax incentives as it wanted to adjust its non-disclosure agreement with the state, the commission said. The EDC voted to give it nearly $670,000 in tax incentives over eight years. Featured Local Savings OEDITs description of Project Balloon matches the website for San Diego-based drone developer Kratos, which also has an existing presence in Colorado Springs. Kratos did not immediately respond for comment. The company specializes in military equipment such as drones and operating equipment for turbine technologies, cybersecurity, space, defense and rocket support. Project Balloon is considering expanding in the county to be close to Department of Defense operations in the area, according to public records. Its also considering Pennsylvania, according to paperwork filed with OEDIT. The potential expansion could bring 200 jobs to the area with an average wage of $112,000, the commission said. The company already has 5,000 employees, with 600 in Colorado. Colorado Springs Gazette freelance writer Wayne Heilman contributed to this report. Parents, teachers and advocates came out in droves Thursday evening in support and opposition as Academy District 20s Board of Education held preliminary talks to update security policies by allowing teachers and staff to carry concealed firearms at schools. D-20 board members, Superintendent Jinger Haberer, Deputy Superintendent Becky Allan and about 100 community members were present at a study session held at the districts administrative building. D-20 Safety and Security Director Rich Payne presented an overview of the districts security system in place and Director for Risk Management Peter Ristig compared the districts safety procedures using armed uniformed officers with an alternative utilizing armed nonuniformed staff. Ristig detailed that security guards wear uniforms and openly carry firearms to identify themselves to everybody and undergo psychological examinations, random drug tests and regular, ongoing training. He also pointed out differences between open and concealed carry approaches. Specifically, he noted that weapon retention, or how secure a firearm is in a holster, is greater with open carry holsters and concealed carry approaches might increase risks in schools where children and adults have easier and prolonged access to someone with a firearm. Because concealed carriers often use their personal weapons and ammo where districts allow them to carry on campus, he said this likely would not meet the same standards issued by the district and the Colorado Springs Police Department. Ristig added that the districts insurance plan would likely not renew its liability insurance if a nonuniformed armed staff approach were adopted. An unofficial survey conducted by the districts insurance broker estimated an approximate $400,000 increase due to higher deductibles and potential policy exclusions. $180,000 is spent on patrol officers, with four patrolling officers for the districts elementary schools, three patrol and one school resource officers at each high school and one armed officer at each middle school. Payne noted that its rare for the district to be fully staffed with officers on a given day due to time off and commitments with other agencies and that they often move around the district as needed. He added that the idea for nonuniformed armed staff dates back as far as two and a half years ago with various community members before board members became aware of this option. Its been a conversation behind the scenes and just (recently) kind of grew legs, he said. During the hourlong session, district administrators asked questions ranging from the resources available in the district, reallocating those resources and how successful other concealed-carry approaches have been with other nearby districts. Insurance and overall logistics were noted as reasons why districts with concealed carry policies such as D-3 and D-49 opted not to adopt an approach like the one being discussed. As the study session concluded, Payne made a final point of how what was being discussed is intended to only add to, not subtract from, what is available. Its to enhance the program we currently have in place, he said. Some members of the public approached board members individually after the session, but most segued toward the board meeting room for the regular meeting that followed shortly thereafter. Lines of people quickly formed outside the administrative building as seating accommodation was prepared ahead of the meeting. Sections of the meeting were paused to allow the passage of groups in attendance for specific agenda items due to the meeting room exceeding capacity. Among those in attendance included the Colorado chapter for Moms Demand Action, a nationwide group advocating for greater public safety measures to reduce gun violence and Advocates for D-20 Kids, a local advocacy group comprised of parents, teacher and students across the district. Two-hundred-fifty people tuned into the meeting virtually. Featured Local Savings Before the public comment period, board members made general comments to address everyone in attendance and let them know that they have received and read the messages received over the past week. Board director Lauren Yanez recounted a personal story involving gun violence and her family and reminded everyone that she was acting as an advocate for education. Im not here to push a political agenda, she said. Im here to listen to everyone. Out of the 30 public comments concerning school safety, 20 were opposed to adopting the concealed carry policy and 10 in favor. Each comment was followed by rounds of applause by those in the board room, echoed by applause from attendants outside the room. Students who commented were in opposition, stressing that gun violence is constantly on their minds while at school that resources should be invested into mental health programs rather than gun training. This will not fix anything. It will do nothing but make things worse, one student told the board if they adopted the policy. In a letter written to members of the Academy Education Association, the local teachers union shared results from a survey conducted throughout the district to gather staff feedback on the proposed action: - When asked if they would carry a gun in school, if given the option, 94% said they would not, 4% percent said they would and 2% were unsure. - 89% reported they would feel less safe, 4% safer and 7% unsure if licensed staff could carry firearms. - 86% reported they would be more likely to leave the district, 4% more likely to stay in the district while 10% said the decision would make no difference if staff were allowed to carry firearms in the schools. The will of the educators is evident: staff who work in Academy D-20 do not support arming educators with guns, the letter said. According to the letter, 145 staff members completed the survey. Other arguments against arming teachers and staff included adding additional training to their workload, fast response times by law enforcement in the past and trust in the security officers currently employed by the district. Those in favor of adopting a concealed policy included parents who had completed the FASTER Colorado training course that was mentioned in the discussions. One parent touted its emergency response training to be used in coordination with emergency responders in addition to its firearm training. They dont have to do it on a regular basis. Only during the moment, heaven forbid, when they have to, said one parent of the programs emergency response. During the work session and regular meeting, board members noted that it would be a while before a decision would be made either for or against updating this policy. As an information item on the boards agenda, no official action was taken at the meeting on whether to implement any sort of plan. During both meetings, board president Aaron Salt stressed to everyone attending that it would be some time before a final decision was made. This is the first part of a lengthy conversation, Salt said. By Annika Schmidt annika.schmidt@gazette.com Amid concerns over youth mental health, students in the Pikes Peak region have access to resources in schools that aim to provide support both inside and outside the classroom. Mental health resources in some El Paso County districts have expanded to meet growing demand for children and teens getting support at school. The Centers for Disease Control calls mental health among youths a growing problem, with one in three students reporting persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness in 2019. In Fountain-Fort Carson District 8 schools, there has been an uptick of students needing mental health services as a result of the pandemic, according to mental health director Lisa Zimprich. The districts busy staff of 50 mental health professionals including counselors, psychologists and social workers has grown in recent years, with more available to students in middle and secondary schools. We have added probably five or six mental health positions over the past few years just to be able to stay proactive with the services we provide, Zimprich said. These professionals provide mental health support at every level and the district works with community partners including the Army to bring therapists into schools. During the past school year, elementary school students in District 8 needed most support with emotional regulation and middle schoolers with social interactions and anxiety. Zimprich also said there was a notable increase of high schoolers needing help with anxiety and feelings of depression. Strategies have been introduced over the past few years to help students with emotional regulations and challenging life events. Signs of Suicide and Sources of Strength are two programs for prevention efforts in District 8 schools. Zimprich cited wait times for mental health services as an area of improvement that theyre addressing by working with an external agency starting this school year. Staff and parents will be connected to comprehensive mental health services based on insurance and preferences. Our hope is that students, families and staff will be able to access care more quickly than weve seen in recent years, Zimprich said. Over the last several years weve seen a significant increase in waiting lists and the amount of time people wait to get mental health service. Academy District 20 implemented its Social Emotional Learning programs around 2015 after what spokesperson Allison Cortez called a suicide cluster, when around a dozen students took their lives during the school year, Cortez wrote in an email. SEL programming for the largest district in El Paso County includes Riding the Waves to teach grades K-5 students healthy ways of coping with stress, how to ask for help and how to recognize when others may need support. Grades 6-12 have Signs of Suicide to recognize and respond to serious depression or suicidality in themselves or others and Sources of Strength, a program that supports students across social networks with a focus on positive messaging. RULER is also a system developed by Yale for all grade levels that teaches students how to recognize, understand, label, express and regulate emotions. Maureen Lang, District 20 executive director for learning services, was recognized in June for her work implementing the systemic approach to SEL. The programs started small, but they are all now very robust and throughout our district. We were very fortunate that when the pandemic hit, we already had solid supports in place, Cortez said. Cortez shared that the long-established Parent Academies have shifted focus in the past five years to more social, emotional and mental health supports. In recent years, virtual counseling services were made available to students in response to the pandemic and a summer counseling program was introduced in 2021. District 49 has mental health professionals on both a school and district level available to address mental health needs for its approximately 25,000 students, according to Jason White, coordinator for community care in the district. District 49s Multi-Tiered Systems of Support is a catch-all, White said, allowing schools to address more than one concern for an individual student. White said that there can be correlations between poor mental health and other academic, behavioral or emotional struggles. If these correlations are made, White said multiple branches of support are available to help students. Support from schools is driven by student data. White gave the example that if a student is struggling with mental health, professionals may watch test scores and respond accordingly. White said the district is working to make documentation more consistent and accessible across District 49 so that when students move between schools, existing records and care plans can be followed. Capturing Kids Hearts is a character-based curriculum that provides a framework for student interaction in District 49 schools. White said school staff are being proactive by instilling a sense of purpose within students about their academic efforts and encouraging connections between students and peers, educators and administrators. Featured Local Savings The most important thing were doing for student mental health is building and connecting relationships with students, White said. Without that, any of our tactics would be subpar. Relationships are first and foremost. White said his team has put a special focus on violence risk and suicide risk prevention, developing a process with their safety and security team to intervene, and connect students with the appropriate and qualified individuals. We also partner with community agencies and identify ways to cut through red tape to connect students or families with help, White said, including referrals to therapy and other resources. The directory is too numerous to list. White acknowledged the influence of the pandemic, sharing that the districts youngest students need more support with social expectations and following directions in part due to limited socialization during pandemic-related closures. However, White said social media is another significant influencer for student mental health in recent years. There is a lot of value that students place on themselves from external evaluation, he said. Harrison District 2 has made several recent changes to boost its support for student mental health, most recently partnering with Beacon Options Mental Health to create the Family Assistance Program, a resource hotline. Parents and caregivers who call 1-888-339-1025 can get help with their Harrison students emotional, behavioral health, social, educational and household needs from a trained specialist. This upcoming school year, District 2 is also adding a new department to all schools that will oversee its SEL curriculum and new Student Success Centers that were piloted during last school year. Each school will also have a full-time social worker in addition to psychologists and counselors. The district partners with the Mindfulness and Positivity Project to help students and staff adopt mindfulness in the classroom and beyond. They have connections to local therapists to support both students and parents. The district uses the Colorado Crisis Services Talk and Text Line to connect students with community resources including Pikes Peak Suicide Prevention, NAMI Colorado and Inside Out Youth Services. Widefield District 3 has also witnessed growing mental health demand despite having comprehensive programing for all grade levels and proactively addressing a pre-pandemic need for additional mental health staff. Were seeing more of a need for mental health support, said Lisa Humberd, District 3s executive director of special education services. District 3 schools have full-time social workers in nearly all their schools and full-time counselors based on the number of enrolled students in each school. The district has Social Emotional Learning opportunities for students of all ages, including 18-21-year-olds in post-high school educational programs. Student programs aim to provide a variety of mental health support including anger management, emotional identification, suicide prevention, as well as more targeted guidance with turning in assignments or friendship groups, Humberd said. For getting students professional mental health support, each school in the district has their own referral process. Mental health teams have weekly meetings to identify trends, which helps direct trainings for education staff during the school year. Colorado Springs District 11 has community resources for a variety of mental health services including crisis support, grief recovery, sobriety support and addiction recovery listed on its website. On-site counselors deliver responsive services for individual or group counseling, crisis management and drop-out prevention, according to the website. Inside Mitchell High School is a Peak Vista primary healthcare facility offering health services, including mental health services like on-site behavioral health providers and the opportunity to address psychological issues and life stressors. The center serves students, staff and families of not only Mitchell High School, but also other district feeder schools and neighborhood residents. The district is also in the process of hiring a new executive director to oversee the department that coordinates mental health resources for students, according to a spokesperson for the district. Snow accumulations came in a bit higher than the European forecast with 3-9 inches falling Thursday night, which is a good thing. The northern and central mountains benefited the most from the wave. Forecast: Snow will continue on Friday in the northern mountains most of the day, with resorts on the east side of the Continental Divide forecast to receive snow as the storm system pushes east. The National Weather Service in Grand Junction has issued a winter weather advisory in effect from Friday to 5 a.m. Saturday for the Elkhead, Park, Gore and Elk mountains, and the Flattops of north and central Colorado. Expect potential snow accumulations between 6-12 inches. Saturday is a transition day from the exiting storm late Friday night into Sunday's storm arrival. Sunday morning snow begins moving into western Colorado as another storm waves tracks across southern Wyoming and northern Utah. The ECMWF high resolution model forecast has another 3-8 inches falling in the northern and central mountains on Sunday, making for great storm riding on Sunday and soft snow for Monday. Presidents Day could be a left-over powder morning and should be sunny to partly cloudy across the state. Today's 24 hour snow total from Colorado resorts: Arapahoe Basin - 2" Aspen Mountain - 7" Aspen Highlands - 4" Beaver Creek - 7" Breckenridge - 9" Buttermilk - 3" Cooper - 5" Copper Mountain - 7" Crested Butte - 9" Featured Local Savings Echo Mountain - 0" Eldora Mountain - 3" Granby Ranch - 1" Hesperus - Closed for season Howelsen Hill - 3" Kendall Mountain - 2", open weekends Keystone - 6" Loveland - 5" Monarch - 3" Powderhorn - 2" Purgatory - 2" Silverton - 3" Snowmass - 5" Steamboat - 5" Sunlight - 2" Telluride - 2" Vail - 5" Winter Park - 6" Wolf Creek - 2" Earlier this month, the Denver Medical Examiners Office and the city's police department received a call about a "suspicious occurrence" at a Denver house. Authorities said the property owner had noticed boxes while cleaning the house after a tenant had been evicted. Inside the boxes were the cremated remains of people. In the backyard, officers found a hearse, and, when they checked it, they uncovered the body of a woman covered in a blanket. All told, more than 30 urns were found on the property, with dates ranging from 2012 to 2021, authorities said. The discovery in Denver occurred roughly four months after investigators with the Fremont County Sheriffs Office discovered nearly 200 improperly stored bodies at the Return to Nature Funeral Home in Penrose. That funeral home's co-owners, Jon and Cari Hallford, are now facing more than 200 felony charges in the case. On Friday, the Denver police said they issued an arrest warrant for 33-year-old Miles Harford, the former owner of Apollo Funeral and Cremation Services in Littleton. Harford had rented the house in the 2500 block of South Quitman Street, where the cremated remains were found, authorities said. Authorities said he is being investigated for abuse of a corpse, forgery and theft. Police believe Harford remains in the Denver metro area. The property's owner found the boxes of cremated remains in a crawl space, according to Major Crimes Division Commander Matt Clark. Six other urns were found in a U-Haul on the property. Some of the urns were empty, according to Clark. And when officers moved an abandoned hearse from the backyard, they found the body of a 62-year-old woman, the police said. Authorities believe the body was stored in the hearse shortly after her passing. The Denver Office of the Medical Examiner identified the woman as Christina Rosales. She died of natural causes on Aug. 31, 2022 and was 62 at the time, the office said. Rosales' family told authorities that Harford provided them what they believed to be her cremains, which have since been handed over to the medical examiner. The examiner's office is now investigating databases to return the cremation remains to families, Clark said. Officers warned that, because of the complexity of running DNA samples on cremated ashes, the examiner's office can only go as far as examining records and labels to determine their identities. Apollo Funeral and Cremation Services has been closed since September of 2022. The property owner of the former funeral home said there were no remains or suspicious materials in the building, according to investigators. Denver District Attorney Beth McCann said the theft and forgery charge deals with the alleged false death certificate related to the woman whose body was found inside the hearse and the the amount of money that Harford obtained from the family in "guaranteeing that he would then preform a cremation of the body, which we allege he did not do." Along with the forgery, theft and abuse of the corpse charges McCann expects to file shortly, the district attorney said she anticipates other charges following investigation. The police said Harford claimed he went through financial trouble at his business, leading him to storing the body and giving families alternate remains in lieu of those he couldn't afford to cremate. Investigators also claimed that he owed money to crematories in the metro Denver area, with some banning him from transactions outright. Investigators said some customers they contacted claimed to have ordered pieces of jewelry from Apollo Funeral but never received them. Featured Local Savings Harford's aunt, Donna Pilcher, said that she worked for the Apollo Funeral Home for six years until 2018 but had not spoken with Harford since. "I am just shocked, surprised, sad and my heart goes out to all of the families," said Pilcher. She said that things "went down" for the business ever since COVID hit. She said that she has been talking with some of the families, whom she knew when she was working for Apollo Funeral Home. They were concerned that they may have received the wrong cremains of their loved ones. "I cannot say that all the families I knew had correct cremains. Ive just had a couple call me today and I confirmed that they do have their correct cremains," she said. "It truly breaks my heart that this has happened," Pilcher said. The case is unique and difficult because of the "complexity of the case, but also the concern and sensitivity for the families that have been impacted," said Clark, the police commander. Denver investigators emphasized that the case is not related to the case in Penrose, where authorities discovered nearly 200 bodies after reported a foul smell coming out of a 2,500-square-foot building. At the state Capitol, Colorado's lawmakers are expected to tackle the regulation of the state's funeral industry, though no proposal has been officially introduced as of Friday. Colorado is the only state out of the 50 that does not require its funeral home and crematorium employees to receive any kind of professional training or education. Under current state law, there are no professional standards work in a funeral home or crematorium. Those facilities must be licensed as businesses, but that does not include any requirement about the experience or education of the employees. In lieu of licensing, the Colorado Funeral Directors Association maintains credentialing offered through the Colorado Funeral Service Board, which is run by the association. But thats a private matter, and the state doesnt require people who want to get into the funeral business to apply for those credentials. Among the likely legislation is putting into place recommendations from a previously-scheduled sunset review of the industry that was issued on Oct. 13, a week after the nearly 200 bodies were found allegedly improperly stored at the Return to Nature facility in Penrose, a city about 100 miles from Colorado's state Capitol in Denver. The sunset review the legislative process for considering regulations, which can lead to extending or even terminating an agency or program deals only with regulations for the industry, but calls for licensure and better regulation have grown louder after the incident at the Return to Nature facility, which was already closed. And likely topping that legislation list are licensure for practitioners and routine inspections. Lawmakers will also likely push for oversight to ensure that out-of-state entities that want to practice in Colorado are somehow vetted. Colorado's Department of Regulatory Agencies, the state's regulatory watchdog, has repeatedly rejected calls in the past for licensure or training for funeral service practitioners. The department persuaded then-Gov. Bill Owens to veto legislation in 2006 that would have put tougher standards in place for funeral service employees. Authorities are asking any clients of Apollo Funeral and Cremation Services who did not receive the cremated remains of a loved one or experienced "any irregularity" to call the Denver police at 720-913-6610. The building that housed the former Apollo Funeral and Cremation Services in Littleton is now a venue for weddings and memorial receptions, whose operator said Harford did not own the Littleton chapel at 13416 W. Arbor Place but rather leased it for funeral services and used it as his business address. Gabrielle Oldfield said that her church, Discover Community Church, has owned the building for a year-and-a-half. Oldfield said that Harford stopped using the building six months before the church bought it. She often receives phone calls from Harford's clients asking about funeral and cremation packages because they haven't been able to find him, she said. "I feel so badly for all these families," she said. Colorado Politics legislative reporter Marianne Goodland contributed to this report. A Colorado Springs man accused of shooting and killing a dog last week made his first appearance in court on Friday morning. Ryan Longo, 34, faces charges of aggravated cruelty to animals and menacing both felony-level charges after he allegedly shot and killed a dog on Feb. 5. According to previous reporting from The Gazette, officials learned the dog named Zoey was being walked at the time by a friend of the owners. Investigative efforts suggested Zoey had been involved in a previous altercation with another dog weeks earlier. According to police, it appeared Longo had been plotting revenge since. As soon as the person walking the dog identified her as Zoey, Longo shot the animal multiple times. Longo was found at his residence and was taken into custody without further incident. Zoey died as a result of her injuries, according to police spokesperson Caitlin Ford. Featured Local Savings During Longo's court appearance on Friday, he was informed by the prosecution that the terms of his bond no longer allowed him to own an animal, and Longo would have to give up his dog. Longo appeared in court out of custody after posting a $10,000 surety bond to be released from custody on Feb. 7, according to court records. Longo will make his next appearance in Colorado's 4th Judicial District Court on March 1 for an appearance of counsel. A shelter-in-place order has been lifted following the surrender of a suspect who barricaded inside of a Colorado Springs home for nearly three hours Thursday night. In a briefing with TV news media, a Colorado Springs police spokesperson said a male suspect fired multiple shots both inside and outside of the home before barricading inside. Family members who were also inside were able to safely leave the residence. The initial shelter-in-place alert went out on Peak Alerts around 6:20 p.m. The order was lifted shortly after 9 p.m. No injuries were reported. Featured Local Savings During the shelter-in-place order, the public was asked to avoid the area, stay indoors, and to lock and stay away from doors and windows. The University of Colorado Colorado Springs campus awoke to an emergency alert on Friday, after reports of shots fired in a school dorm led to the discovery of two people dead of apparent gunshots. Officials have not yet identified the two dead individuals or mentioned a suspect, however Colorado Springs Police Department spokesperson Ira Cronin said it is believed to be an isolated incident, and there is no active threat in the community. The CSPD posted on the social media site X Friday evening that the incident "does not appear to be a murder-suicide and both deaths are being investigated as homicides." Friday morning was foggy and chilly, just four days after a student had suddenly died of a medical emergency at the campus recreation center, when campus police received reports of shots fired in the Alpine Village student dorms shortly before 6 a.m. A spokesperson with UCCS confirmed that the shooting occurred in Crestone House, an apartment building for upperclassmen and international students within the Alpine Village housing complex on the north side of campus. Cronin said campus police gained access to the dorm at roughly 6:05 a.m. and discovered two people deceased, each with at least one gunshot wound. Sgt. Ward with the city's Stetson Hills police division said the department received a call to assist from UCCS at 6:11 a.m. By 6:21 a.m. the entire campus was placed on lockdown. Campus community members received the following instructions, "Lockdown! Lock interior doors. Turn out the lights. Move away from sight. Do not open the door. Maintain silence. Evade/Defend." Fifty minutes later, a second alert message: "Lockdown UPDATE NO active shooter, please continue to shelter in place on campus until further notice. Campus closed today." Only those in Alpine Village were asked to stay where they were, while officers investigated the scene, and by 9:37 a.m., they too were allowed to leave. A sudden stream of students could be seen leaving the Alpine Village dorms after the all-clear was given. Samuel and Evan, two freshman roommates living in the Alpine Village who didn't want their last names used, said they didn't "hear anything" at the time of the shooting and discovered the news through an alert on their cellphones as they were waking up. "It was really jarring, especially because we had just woken up," Evan said. "I obviously know that shootings do happen, but you never think it's going to happen here (UCCS). It feels like such a disconnected reality," Samuel said. Just before 10:30 a.m., CSPD's Metro Crime Lab had arrived on the scene. According to Cronin, UCCS requested investigative assistance from the department, and CSPD's homicide unit has assumed lead in the investigation. Featured Local Savings Cronin confirmed both deaths are being investigated as a homicide. "We are working this case diligently, and we are looking at every possibility. We will release more information when we can, and when it is helpful to the investigation," Cronin said. At an afternoon press conference city, county and police officials gave an update. District Attorney Michael Allen said that police would be "careful what they share" and that families were in the process of being notified. UCCS Chancellor Jennifer Sobanet thanked the campus for heeding the morning shelter-in-place warning and highlighted counselling services. "I can only imagine to our students and our staff how frightening that must have been and I thank you," she said. It was already a tragic week for UCCS, as Mia Brown, a senior in the nursing program, died suddenly of a medical emergency at the campus recreation center. UCCS freshman Luke Ming said he is feeling the emotional weight of the three deaths on campus this week. "It's very sad and there's a lot of grief. I do think a sense of community is important at a time like this, especially on such a small campus," Ming said. The campus will remain closed with all events and activities canceled for the weekend, according to the university's social media. Monday, Feb. 19, is set to be a "Day of Healing" with classes cancelled and community events for students and staff to gather. Contact the Writer: 719-636-0362 Editor's Note: Police have not mentioned the identity of a suspect in this shooting, or of any ongoing search for a suspect. A previous version of this story incorrectly conflated information from an unrelated incident involving Colorado Springs police taking a suspect into custody. The past year has seen a marked rise in persecution incidents in parts of Latin America, most notably Nicaragua, which some Christian leaders in the region have been following with growing concern. Under the authoritarian leadership of Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega, an increasing number of Catholic clergy has been subject to various forms of discrimination and persecution, including being exiled from the country. It resembles other countries that have seen authoritarian regimes target people of faith, such as Venezuela and Cuba. In 2023 alone, 275 attacks were carried out. We can say this last year was the year with the most attacks against the Church during the recent five-year period, Martha Patricia Molina, a Nicaraguan lawyer and author of the study Nicaragua: A Persecuted Church? who fled to the United States, told EL PAIS. Additionally, 176 religious men and women are not exercising their ministry in Nicaragua because they were expelled, prohibited from entering or sent into exile, she said. Molina was recognized with an International Religious Freedom Award from the U.S. State Department for her efforts of recording incidents of persecution against the church in Nicaragua. Roman Catholic churches and leaders are not the only ones suffering under the repressive regime, however. Evangelicals have also felt the increasing pressure and seen ministries and organizations forcefully closed by the government, among various other forms of oppression. According to a report from the Observatory of Religious Freedom in Latin America (OLIRE) covering the period from January to July 2023 that was shared with Christian Daily International, the severity of the situation has led to public criticism by civil society organizations, both national and international. Inter-American and global human rights bodies as well as representatives from various governments and religious communities have also begun to speak out against repressive measures targeting leaders and members of religious communities. These individuals have been victims of unjust prison sentences, loss of nationality, arbitrary arrests, unfounded criminal investigations, kidnappings, restrictions on worship both inside and outside religious sites, loss of legal status, mass closures of religious institutions and organizations, property confiscation, financial suffocation, expulsions of religious leaders from the country, and entry restrictions, OLIRE has reported. Additionally, there has been extensive surveillance of religious leaders, their families, and close associates, as well as police sieges of religious buildings, and monitoring and criminalization of defending ones faith on social media. Further hostilities are targeted at members of religious groups who, despite not holding official positions within these groups, are labeled as enemies of the government and harassed by their communities, paramilitary groups, and local police due to their affiliation with certain faith communities and their proximity to community leaders. The report also highlights the governments attempts to create an appearance of closeness and affinity with religious expressions, for example by organizing their religious festivities, and an apparent alignment with a sector of the Church (primarily evangelical). They aim to undermine the ecclesiastical authority of leaders within certain communities while promoting a mindset of acceptance and tolerance only toward those faith leaders who are not considered opponents. In other words, they manipulate religious references in their favor, attempting to establish a kind of para-state church, the report noted. Looking beyond Nicaragua, the report also highlighted Cuba and Venezuela as indicators how the religious freedom situation can deteriorate under comparable regimes. Observing what populist governments with communist ideologies, such as Cuba or Venezuela, have done in recent history to Christian institutions, dispossess properties, expelling missionaries, and imprisoning Church representatives, illustrates the notorious oppression by such authoritarian leadership. "In the case of Venezuela, the nature of the relationship between the government and religious denominations depends largely on their acceptance of the regime's directives," the OLIRE report states. The same is true in Cuba, where the Observatory notes that "any critic of the 'revolution' is considered an enemy of the government and a traitor. In this context, religious leaders and followers who, motivated by their doctrine of faith, raise their voices against the injustices of the regime, denounce human rights violations, or urge the government to guarantee the right to religious freedom, the right to manifest one's faith, the right to preach and spread the doctrine of faith, the right to obtain legal status, the right to construct and renovate buildings used for worship, among others, become targets of hostilities." Approached for comment by Christian Daily International regarding successes and setbacks related to religious freedom in the region, Latin Evangelical Alliance (AEL) President Pastor Juan Cruz Cellamare, commented, "We are working with all the national evangelical alliances that make up the AEL to promote agreements with governments, to promote procedures that have been effective in other countries, so that the right to religious freedom is not violated. He noted AELs partnership with OLIRE, which records media reports of incidents of violence and persecution not only against Christians but also against people of other faith or no faith. "Cases like Nicaragua, Venezuela, and Cuba are the most difficult to confront. But we are hearing of more and more cases of violence against those of us who believe in Jesus Christ and live according to biblical principles, Cellamare noted. Pointing to countries that have drifted to more progressive ideologies and values, he expressed concern about increasing challenges and at times also discrimination against people of faith who seek to hold onto Biblical values. Especially in states where the existence of God is denied, they are becoming more progressive and seek their rights at the expense of the rights of others. They claim to respect diversity of opinion, thought, and religious choice, but only for those who think like them. Christians are not included, he said. In a rare move in Pakistan, police discharged a 72-year-old Christian from a blasphemy case after the complainant admitted she had falsely accused him, sources said. Younis Bhatti, known as Bhagat, had been arrested and charged with desecrating the Quran under Section 295-B of Pakistans blasphemy statutes, which carries a mandatory life sentence, in village 211-RB, Jaranwala Tehsil, Faisalabad District, Punjab Province, on Saturday (Feb. 10). Sosan Fatima, a member of the Brethren house church founded by the Bhatti family, had accused him of forcing his way into her house when she was reading the Quran, assaulting her and tearing the Islamic scripture. In her complaint, Fatima also stated that Bhatti opposed the familys alleged conversion to Islam. Bhatti had provided Fatima free housing on his land, and she had objected to his plans to divide her home with another needy Christian family. He said that after police heard his statement, officers brought Fatima and her husband to the station the next night and questioned them in his presence. He added that police also made efforts to record the statements of other area Christians. After some time, Fatima broke down and confessed that she had falsely accused me, Bhatti told Christian Daily International-Morning Star News. She said that her husband and two other Christians had hatched this plan 10 days ago to stop me from dividing the property. Bhatti said police told him that they would remove his name from the First Information Report (FIR) but could not immediately release him due to the threat to his life. After the blasphemy allegations surfaced, announcements on mosque loudspeakers had incited more than 500 Muslims to protest, causing many area Christians to flee their homes. I cant thank God enough for rescuing me from this dangerous accusation, Bhatti said. Those who sought to implicate me in the fake case were instead booked under the same charges. This is how God works when you put your faith in Him fully. He also expressed his gratitude for the aid he received from a Christian rights organization. Fatima had told Khurrianwala Police that she and her husband, Samuel Masih, alias Amanat Ali, converted to Islam more than a year ago. Younis Bhatti said that his faith in Christ gave him the courage to face the false allegation boldly. Fatimas accusation was completely baseless. While its true that I had gone to her quarters on that day to discuss the matter of dividing the property, I did not step inside the premises, Bhatti told Christian Daily International-Morning Star News. Her husband was not at home at that time, and neighbors advised me to refrain from arguing with the woman in her husbands absence. Taking the advice, he went to a nearby village to meet a friend. I came to know about the issue a couple of hours later when someone informed me on the phone that Fatima had raised a clamor after I left, accusing me of desecrating the Quran, Bhatti said. He said the caller also told him that all Christian residents in the area had fled their homes after the announcements were made from mosque loudspeakers telling Muslims to gather and protest against the alleged blasphemy. I have always trusted the Lord with all my heart, and I knew He will not forsake me, Bhatti said. This faith encouraged me to return to my village instead of fleeing from the situation. When I reached there, I saw that around 500-600 Muslims were shouting slogans against me. He hid from the mob, fearing they would not hesitate to attack him, he said. I hid in a place where I could observe the situation discreetly and waited for Gods intervention, he said. I was continuously praying in my heart all this time. As soon as I saw the police arrive, I left my cover and ran towards them. I told them my name and said I wanted to surrender myself. Police escorted him out of the area amid the angry mob, he said. I came to know about Fatimas conversion claim when the police read out the FIR filed against me. I told them that I was innocent, and that there were eyewitnesses who would testify that no such incident had taken place at all, he said. Miracle Asher Sarfaraz, head of the group that provided legal aid to Bhatti, Christians True Spirit (CTS), said Bhattis discharge within two days was nothing short of a miracle. Its very rare for someone to win their freedom from this damning charge so quickly, he said. We laud the police for investigating the matter fairly and ensuring justice for the innocent Christian. Bhatti has reunited with his family, but we think it will not be safe for them to return to their home as yet. CTS was in constant contact with the relevant superintendent of police and shared their findings with him, he said. After the couple confessed to the conspiracy against Bhatti, the police official informed us on the phone that he was dropping the charge against the Christian, but that he would hand his custody to us as a safety measure, Sarfaraz said. Blasphemy suspects in Pakistan are usually held in custody until trial and appeals are exhausted, and blasphemy against Muhammad, the prophet of Islam, is punishable by death. Conviction often comes with little legal evidence. As a result, the blasphemy laws are often used as a weapon of revenge against both Muslims and non-Muslims to settle personal scores or to resolve disputes over money, property or business. In Pakistan, a mere allegation is enough to provoke a mob to riot and lynch those accused of blasphemy. At least 100 blasphemy accused have been extrajudicially killed from 1947 to 2023, according to various rights groups. Husbands Escape Fatimas husband, Amanat Ali, escaped on Wednesday (Feb. 14) in spite of a crippled leg, Sarfaraz said. We were sitting at the police station when we came to know that Fatimas husband Amanat, who had a crippled leg, had escaped from police custody when they were being taken to prison, he said. The police stopped their van at a tea stall and were enjoying the hot drink when Amanat, who was not fettered, jumped off the van and fled from the scene. He added that officers had already handed Fatima to judicial custody at the womens jail, but due to lack of time they had not taken Amanat to jail and were bringing him back to the station. The policemen ran in different directions searching for him, but he vanished, Safaraz said. Police were able to arrest Amanat after some hours, but his daring escape landed the negligent officials in hot waters, he said. The SP has suspended the team and also ordered the registration of a case against them. Sarfaraz said that the police had also detained two Christians named by the couple as their co-conspirators. These two men were also named as witnesses in the FIR against Bhatti, but they are pleading innocence, he said. We are pursuing the matter for a fair investigation. On Aug. 16, 2023, violent Muslim mobs ransacked and burned multiple churches and homes in Jaranwala over allegations that two Christian brothers had desecrated the Quran and written blasphemous content. Police investigations have revealed that a Christian named Pervaiz Masih entrapped the two brothers in the case because he suspected that the younger one was having an affair with his wife. Pakistan ranked seventh on Open Doors 2024 World Watch List of the most difficult places to be a Christian, as it was the previous year. 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. Follow him on Twitter(X): @GeorgeBrauchler. On Monday, Feb. 12, the Forest City Police Department began an investigation into a shooting incident that occurred over the weekend on the 100 block of North Fourth Street. The Forest City Police Department requested the assistance of the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation in the investigation. The incident occurred Feb. 10, but was not reported to the Forest City Police Department until 5:57 p.m. Feb. 12. The investigation resulted in the arrest of Jose Alberto Carrera Patino in the early morning hours of Feb. 13. Patino was charged with attempted murder under Iowa Code 707.11(1) and going armed with intent under Iowa Code 708.8. Patino was then held at the Winnebago County Jail on a $30,000 bond. No injuries were reported in this incident. The Forest City Police Department was assisted by the NCINT Special Operations Group, the Division of Criminal Investigation, and the Forest City Ambulance Service. Anyone with information regarding this case is asked to call the Forest City Police Department at (641) 585-2113 or the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation at (319) 217-1580. For decades, Carl Young had a secret. It wasn't a personal scandal or a hoard of riches. It wasn't a long-lost uncle or even a nefarious crime. His secret was his service to the United States. Carl Young joined the U.S. Army Reserve in the late 1950s while in his twenties. When called for active duty, he put in for an overseas assignment. He would keep quiet about it for more than 30 years. Young was stationed at Enewetak Atoll in the Marshall Islands during the United States' nuclear testing in the region. Operation Hardtack-I was a joint effort between the U.S. military and civilian contractors to test nuclear weapons developed through the Atomic Energy Commission's Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory and the University of California Radiation Laboratory. Threatened with a stint in Leavenworth Federal Prison if they spoke of the posting, the soldiers of Operation Hardtack did their duty without question and held the details of their service close to their vests. From April 28 to Aug. 18, 1958, Joint Task Force 7 directed Operation Hardtack-I to perform 35 nuclear tests in the Marshall Islands. Young witnessed 34 of those tests. "We had special clothes," he said. "They'd get you up at 5 a.m. and say there's a test. You got dressed, covered your eyes and they'd do the blast. You can't look or you go blind. By the time the plume was up about a mile or so into the atmosphere, they'd say, 'OK, you can look.'" Young came to his island service in the way many young men do: he was looking for adventure. He worked in the post office in Garner, and upon arrival at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, was immediately assigned to the post office there. Young couldn't see himself sorting mail in a windowless room for two years, so he put in for what he expected would be exciting overseas duty. "They gave me two choices. Fort Churchill Canada, or the Marshall Islands. Do you know where Fort Churchill is?" Young asked slyly. "It's straight north, next to the edge of the world. I picked the Marshall Islands." Young traveled from Fort Leonard Wood to San Francisco. There, he was woken up early to hop a plane to Hawaii. He rode alone on a cargo transport and on disembarking in the Pacific, his superiors realized he needed appropriate clothing. "I left out from Garner around this time of year (late winter), so I was still dressed in my heavy wool clothes. Once I got there, they gave me a T-shirt and some short pants and a set of rubber shoes, thongs," Young said. From there, it was straight to Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands, where, along with the other newly arriving soldiers and civilians, they would get their orders. Kwajalein still serves as a test facility, but now for missile technology. Young was given a photograph to commemorate his time on Enewetak. It depicts an underwater nuclear blast with a three-mile plume. A Japanese naval carrier is positioned in front of the blast, although it is three miles from the detonation. "We had to give up our cameras," Young explained. "My own family only knew I was somewhere in the Pacific." When Young wasn't on duty, he would entertain himself with deep sea diving and fishing. He still has the heavy-duty fishing pole strung with 90 pound test line he used to fish on the islands. "The line's probably no good now," he said with a hint of wistfulness. "But look, instead of eyes, it's so heavy duty it has rollers." Young may have whiled away plenty of hours fishing, but the tests they were conducting meant his catch wasn't fit for consumption. "Oh, we never even drank the water," he said. The soldiers' service was so secret they weren't allowed to tell their doctors they'd been exposed to radiation under threat of imprisonment. Not until 1996 did the government repeal the Nuclear Radiation Secrecy Act, releasing the service members from their oaths of silence. Young didn't have to hide his experiences in the service when he received a cancer diagnosis more than 15 years ago. He was able to tell his doctor what he had witnessed and that he had been exposed to radiation during his months in the Marshall Islands. Ironically, it was radiation therapy that treated his cancer. His face shows the ravages of not only the cancer, but the treatment that followed. The therapy burned holes through the skin of his nose and eyelids, damaging his tear ducts and nerves. But he's still a handsome man. Through conversation, his joy for North Iowa life and the people he shares it with are apparent. Upon his return home, he rejoined the Garner post office, making rounds in the town and on the gravel roads of his birthplace. At the time of his retirement from the postal service, he had 56 years of service under his belt. Not many folks asked questions after Young's return from the service, and he didn't mind that at all. "I couldn't have said anything about it anyway," he recalled. Carl Young received his Atomic Veterans Service certificate and medal on Dec. 7, 65 years after he left the Marshall Islands. Life in Garner has been good to Young. He and his brothers reside in a neighborhood they helped build. "I am one of seven brothers, and each of us served in the military," Young said. "Eventually we invested in a little land out southeast of town. My dad thought we'd go broke, but we made a go of it." Explainer: Why did U.S. House Republicans impeach homeland security chief over border crisis? Xinhua) 09:20, February 16, 2024 BEIJING, Feb. 15 (Xinhua) -- One week after a failed impeachment vote, the Republican-held U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday narrowly voted to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, making him the first cabinet member to be impeached in nearly 150 years. Mayorkas was impeached for "willful and systemic refusal to comply with the law" in enforcing border policy and for breaching public trust. "Alejandro Mayorkas deserves to be impeached, and Congress has a constitutional obligation to do so," House Speaker Mike Johnson said in a statement after the vote. Why did House Republicans push to impeach the homeland security secretary over the crisis at the southern border? What does this impeachment mean? What will happen next? WHY IMPEACHMENT? Immigrants have long tried to cross the U.S. southern border in search of a new life in the United States. Last December, the number of people arrested illegally crossing the border from Mexico into the United States reached a record high -- nearly 250,000. In fiscal year 2022, the U.S. Border Patrol encountered 2.2 million illegal border crossings. Illegal immigrants are flooding the southern border of the United States, and the number of illegal crossings far exceeds the capacity of border officials to handle them, sometimes leading to the temporary closure of border crossings. The surge of illegal immigrants has also had an impact on inland areas of the United States far from the border. Illegal immigrants heading to Democratic "sanctuary cities" such as Chicago, New York, Boston and Denver have strained city services there, prompting Democratic officials there to urge the Biden administration to take action. Republicans blame it all on "dereliction of duty" by Homeland Security Secretary Mayorkas and say he needs to step down because of it. They have frequently berated Mayorkas at hearings the House Homeland Security Committee has held on the border crisis since last year. Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives say Mayorkas is not detaining enough illegal immigrants while implementing a humanitarian parole program. They criticized the program as a violation of immigration laws by bypassing Congress and allowing in people who would otherwise not be eligible to enter the United States. So all of this adds up to a protracted border crisis that has reverberated across the country. Republicans believe it was entirely Mayorkas' fault and warranted his impeachment. WHAT DID MAYORKAS AND HIS SUPPORTERS SAY? The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) described the vote on Tuesday as advancing "without a shred of evidence or legitimate Constitutional grounds." Republican legislators claimed that Mayorkas had not fulfilled his duties. However, both the Department of Homeland Security and congressional Democrats have dismissed the endeavors to impeach Mayorkas as politically driven maneuvers. Mia Ehrenberg, a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security, said in a statement Tuesday that the impeachment was done "without a shred of evidence or legitimate Constitutional grounds." Calling the impeachment effort "bad politics and bad policy," Tom McClintock, one of the three Republicans who voted against the impeachment, stressed that House Republicans were attempting to overstep boundaries by advocating for Mayorkas' removal from office for implementing President Joe Biden's border policies. Democrats and many of their legal experts argue that this is an issue for voters to decide, not an issue that meets the level of "high crimes and misdemeanors" required to impeach a cabinet official. Biden on Tuesday slammed the House Republicans who voted in favor of impeaching Mayorkas, arguing that "history will not look kindly" on them, calling the two articles of impeachment filed against the DHS chief "baseless" in a statement released by the White House. The president argued that GOP lawmakers backing Mayorkas' impeachment would be better served passing legislation that would give his administration "the tools and resources needed to address the situation at the border." WHAT WILL HAPPEN NEXT? The U.S. Senate is expected to head to trial later this month after House Republicans impeached Mayorkas. But the threshold for Senate conviction is much higher than for House impeachment. While the House of Representatives needs only a simple majority to pass impeachment, the Senate must have an absolute two-thirds majority to convict. Mayorkas said he is ready to defend himself in the Senate if it comes to a trial. In the meantime, he says he is focused on his job now and won't be distracted by politics. House Republicans have attempted to leverage Mayorkas' impeachment to address their concerns regarding Biden's border policies. However, Republicans also played a role in killing a bipartisan agreement on border security and foreign aid. The Senate introduced a 118-billion-U.S.-dollar bipartisan border bill on Feb. 4 that was believed to overhaul the asylum system with tougher standards and faster enforcement and give the president new powers to deport immigrants immediately when the immigration department is overwhelmed by too many asylum claims. The bill will also increase funding by 20 billion dollars for border issues. The bill includes a new emergency authority that would allow the Department of Homeland Security to "shut down" the border if there are too many migrants trying to cross. U.S. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise said the Senate border bill, which includes a major overhaul of the country's immigration system, will not even receive a vote in the House. House Speaker Mike Johnson said that he would not submit the Senate bill to the House of Representatives for deliberation in its current form. He said the bill will only continue to allow a large number of illegal immigrants to enter the United States. (Web editor: Peng Yukai, Liu Ning) In a statement released last week, the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University shared data about the worldviews held by children between the ages of 8 and 12 years old. The Cultural Research Center contrasted the views of the preteens with those of parents of children younger than 13, pastors of Christian churches and teenagers. A prominent Christian researcher is warning that we are on the precipice of Christian invisibility in this nation, as new research shows that preteens are rejecting beliefs associated with a biblical worldview. In a statement released last week, the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University shared data about the worldviews held by children between the ages of 8 and 12 years old. The Cultural Research Center contrasted the views of the preteens with those of parents of children younger than 13, pastors of Christian churches and teenagers. The findings of the research are based on responses from 400 preteens collected in December 2022, 600 parents of children younger than 13 gathered in January 2022, 600 pastors of Christian churches collected in February 2022, 400 teenagers gathered in November and December 2022, and a January 2023 survey of 2,000 adults. When asked if they believed that Jesus Christ is the only way to experience eternal salvation, based on confessing your sins and relying only upon His forgiveness of your sins, just 36% of preteens answered in the affirmative. Thirty-four percent of parents and 54% of childrens pastors said the same. Twenty-five percent of preteens agreed that the Bible is the true word of God that should be a guide to knowing right from wrong, and living a good life. Significantly higher shares of parents (44%) and childrens pastors (62%) expressed agreement with the statement stressing the value of the Bible. Less than half of preteens (21%), parents (28%) and childrens pastors (36%) believed that there are absolute truths things that are right and things that are wrong, that do not depend on feelings, preferences, or circumstances those truths are unchanging and knowable. While similarly small percentages of preteens (27%) and parents (33%) agreed that the main reason to live is to know, love and serve God, with all of your heart, soul, mind, and strength, a majority of childrens pastors (56%) identified knowing, loving and serving God as the purpose of life. Only 17% of preteens defined real success in life as consistently obeying God, along with 19% of parents and 42% of childrens ministers. Additional findings about the views and spiritual lives of preteens included in the report state that 26% of children between the ages of 8 and 12 consistently consult the Bible when trying to determine right from wrong and that 21% of preteens surveyed believe turning to the Bible is the best way to distinguish right from wrong. In other cases, the views of preteens closely mirror those of adults. For example, 36% of preteens and 35% of adults believe that the means to eternal salvation is by confessing their sins and asking Jesus Christ to save them from the consequences of their sin. The research attributed the lack of a biblical worldview among preteens to the fact that adults shaping the opinions of the children also fail to embrace the biblical worldview. It measured the frequency of a biblical worldview among children between the ages of 8 and 12 at 2%. Among childrens pastors, that figure rises to just 12%. Reacting to the findings of the research, Arizona Christian University Cultural Research Center Director George Barna said that the worldview development of children is the existential challenge facing the American Church today. According to Barna, Because of the strong correlation between biblical worldview and genuine Christian discipleship, we are on the precipice of Christian invisibility in this nation unless we get serious about this crisis and invest heavily in fixing whats broken. The Cultural Research Center defines a biblical worldview as a means of experiencing, interpreting, and responding to reality in light of biblical perspectives. It measures biblical worldview based on responses to questions examining respondents beliefs about [the] Bible, Truth, and Morals, Faith Practices, Family and the Value of Life, God, Creation, and History, Human Character and Nature, Lifestyle Behavior, and Relationships, Purpose and Calling as well as Sin, Salvation, and God Relationship. If you follow the data, you learn that we have had a decreasing percentage of Americans embracing a biblical worldview since we started tracking this in the early 1990s. We have endured more than 30 years of consistent decline, with a very limited response by the Church, Barna added. The incidence of biblical worldview among adults has dropped to just 4%, and among parents of young children its just 2%. You cannot get much lower. Barna elaborated on the importance of focusing on worldview development at an early age: Children are intellectual and spiritual sponges in their preteen years. They are desperately trying to make sense of the world, their identity, their purpose, and how to live a meaningful and satisfying life. Parents, in particular, have a duty to focus on and invest in the development of their childs worldview, which is simply their decision-making filter for life. If parents do not fill that vacuum, other sources such as the media, the schools, and even the childs peers will influence that worldview construction, he warned. The childs worldview will inevitably develop. The critical questions are who will shape it and what four worldviews will be most forcefully and consistently proposed. Originally published by The Christian Post 26 heads of European cyber security authorities discussed the IT security situation in Munich. Luxembourg was represented by the High Commission for National Security (HCPN). BSI Cyber Security Directors' Meeting The fourth Cyber Security Directors' Meeting organised by the German Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) brought together a total of 26 directors from the European authorities responsible for cyber security to discuss current national, European and international cyber security challenges. The focus of this year's meeting was on the challenges posed by new EU legislation such as the NIS 2 Directive in relation to cybersecurity. In the interests of a coherent approach across Europe, the directors discussed, for example, how they would like to jointly tackle IT security incidents at multinational companies in the future. The directors' meeting, organised by the BSI in collaboration with the Munich Cyber Security Conference, offers participants the opportunity to discuss strategic options for action in terms of European cooperation once a year since 2020. Achievers High Point business executive and leadership author Bill McKenzie has had his recent bookEmbrace the Chaos, Enjoy the Journey: A Leadership Awakening for Students and Young Adultsreach 330,000 prison inmates in 2023 via a unique educational tablet designed specifically for prison inmates and their families. The EDOVO tablet contains only learning applications for incarcerated learners. McKenzie donated his manuscript to EDOVO in 2022. * * * * At its annual meeting in Durham on Feb. 12, the North Carolina Restaurant and Lodging Association Board elected Pinehurst Resort President Tom Pashley to serve as chairman for a one-year term. He was sworn in by the board of directors along with a new slate of officers, including Jason Smith from 18 Restaurant Group as vice chairman, Sheri Erhart from CMC Hotels as treasurer, Vinay Patel of SREE Hotels as secretary and Lance Trenary from the Golden Corral Corporation and Amber Moshakos from LM Restaurants as National Restaurant Association liaisons. Outgoing Board Chairman Burney Jennings from Biscuitville FRESH SOUTHERN will continue to serve on the executive committee as immediate past chairman. In addition to the executive committee, the board also welcomed four new members: Tad Dolbier from Tar Heel Capital in Boone, Debra Punke from Concord Hospitality in Raleigh, Jeff Chandler from Chandler Foods in Greensboro and Julia McGovern from Poppyseed Market in Raleigh. Other members: Andy Clark, US Foods; Tim Goss, Firehouse Subs; Cheetie Kumar, Ajja; Gonza Salamanca, Gonza Tacos Y Tequila; Billy Sewell, Platinum Corral; James L. Gratton, Marriott SouthPark Charlotte; Kelly Harrill, Koury Hospitality Hotels; Russ Jones, Davidson & Jones; Pinkesh Patel, ex-officio, AAHOA liaison; Nishith Patel, Beacon IMG; Ian Sauer, Summit Hospitality; and Doug Stafford, Griffin Stafford Hospitality. Steve Thanhauser, Angus Barn, serves as work force recruitment task force chairman. * * * * Three High Point University professors and nine HPU students in the Wanek School of Natural Sciences recently published their research in the American Chemical Societys peer-reviewed journal ACS Infectious Diseases. The article, Loratadine Combats Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus by Modulating Virulence, Antibiotic Resistance and Biofilm Genes, describes findings related to potential treatments against antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Chemistry and biology students Brianna Viering, Halie Balogh, Chloe Cox, Owee Kirpekar, Luke Akers, Victoria Federico, Gabriel Valenzano, Robin Stempel and Hannah Pickett co-authored the article with Heather Miller, Meghan Blackledge and Pamela Lundin, associate professors of chemistry. This was the first published article for many of the students. It was the second first-author paper for Viering, a recent biochemistry graduate, and resulted from National Institutes of Health-funded research secured by Miller and Blackledge. Last fall, the National Institutes of Health awarded Miller and her team nearly $440,000 to continue research on antibiotic resistant bacteria for three more years. The NIH grant was the second of its kind to be awarded to HPU. Miller and Blackledge first received funding on this project from the NIH grant in 2019. The grant money is being used to help HPU undergraduate students conduct summer research and purchase new instrumentation, reagents and services for laboratories. The end goal is to develop novel treatments to combat persistent and antibiotic resistant bacterial infections. * * * * Dr. Racquel Ingram, founding dean of the High Point University School of Nursing and the previous president of the North Carolina Board of Nursing, was recently accepted into the National League for Nursing LEAD program in the NLN Leadership Institute under the Center for Transformational Leadership. The yearlong NLN LEAD program provides an opportunity for national nurse leaders to engage with peers, explore organizational systems and leadership processes for building high-performing teams and develop a personal career plan to advance leadership and professional development. * * * * Dr. Rachel Phelps, assistant professor and simulation director at the High Point University School of Nursing, has written an article, Keeping Heart Failure in the Loop, to be published in the April/June 2024 edition of the Journal of Christian Nursing. This is her first article for the Journal of Christian Nursing, although she has been a member since 2013 of Nurses Christian Fellowship, the professional nursing organization that produces the journal. The article is based on a study she performed to provide heart failure patients with a technology-based resource, the GetWell Loop, and observe engagement rate within the system. The GetWell Loop is a tracking system that offers daily observations for patients and a direct line of contact with their cardiology outpatient office. This system is one way to increase a patients self-confidence in trusting the decisions they are making for their health are correct and decrease the rate of hospitalizations, said Phelps. In 2023, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 6.2 million adults have a heart failure diagnosis in the United States alone, with 26 million people worldwide. Phelps was drawn to learning about the heart during her undergraduate studies in nursing school and continued to focus on the needs of newly diagnosed heart-failure patients during her doctoral studies and years of work as a nurse in cardiac intensive care. * * * * Diversity Woman Magazine, a business magazine for professionals and executives recently announced its fourth annual ELITE 100 issue, a tribute to 100 top women leaders across the country. This year, Ursula Robinson, president/CEO of PACE of the Triad in Greensboro, was selected for this nationwide recognition. She and others created PACE of the Triad in 2011. Robinson is responsible for the overall development, direction, performance and strategic growth of the community-based health plan and human services agency. PACE of the Triad provides medical care and other support services including, but not limited to, dental care, medical transportation, home-based care, therapies and a social day center for aging adults. Robinson has been recognized for her work in diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging and has presented the subject on the state and national level. Robinson serves on the board of directors for Cone Health Foundation, NC PACE Association, National PACE Association, National PACE Diversity Council, NC LeadingAge Association, National LeadingAge Association and Thornwell Institute for abused and troubled children. Announcements Local junk removal company T.C.C. Junk Removal & Demolition will hold the grand opening of its first community thrift store, TCC Thrift, on Saturday at 135 Montlieu Ave. Inventory includes furniture, gym equipment, collectibles, jewelry and moreall items diverted from landfills. TCC Thrift will be open to the public from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Sundays beginning Saturday. They are not taking outside donations at this time. For information, call 336-916-9169 or email nik@tccjunkremoval.com. Awards DMJPS, a CPA and business advisory firm, has won ClearlyRateds Best of Accounting Award. This is the only award in the U.S. and Canada that recognizes firms that have proven they provide superior service quality based completely on the ratings given to them through third party validated survey responses. Award-winning firms lead their industry through their ongoing commitment to service excellence. * * * * The CAGC Construction Excellence Awards honor projects recognized by the CAGC Pinnacle Award Judges as projects of distinction. Locally, Revolution MillMill House, with C.T. Wilson Construction Company as the general contractor, won the award. Renovations to the historic Revolution Mill began back in 2013, with this final phasethe Mill Housefinishing up in 2023. This project was so special to CT Wilson that they now operate an office out of Revolution Mill to better serve their clients in the Triad market. * * * * Two local hospitality leaders received statewide recognition last night at the 2024 Stars of the Industry Awards, hosted by the North Carolina Restaurant and Lodging Association. Josh Cooke from Raise the Grade won Hospitality Supplier of the Year. Cooke has been a leader in providing education about the safe serving and handling of food in North Carolina for over a decade. Most notably, he and his team have created a network of educators across the state who have successfully trained more than 40,000 restaurant leaders to date. Kathy Baize from Biscuitville won Restaurant Employee of the Year. As assistant manager, Baize has been pivotal in fostering a welcoming culture at the franchises West Dixie Drive location in Asheboro. Known for her uncanny ability to remember the names of her guests and make a coworkers day, she inspires those around her to create meaningful interactions. Gifts Duke University School of Nursing alumna Bettye Martin Musham, a Guilford County native, has committed $8 million to the school to address the most pressing issues of wellness and prevention, to reduce health inequities, to develop community-based educational programs and to transform health care delivery. Her gift is the second-largest donation by an individual in the schools history and the largest ever for faculty, students and programs. Mushams gift, via her estate, allots $5 million to endow the William and Bettye Martin Musham Professorship and $3 million to endow the William and Bettye Martin Musham Fund. For information, visit tinyurl.com/88h6pcnb. On the Move Fellowship Hall has Heather Bland as the organizations new clinical director. Bland, who had served as one of two lead primary counselors at Fellowship Hall since 2021, was promoted to the position left vacant by Kelly Scaggs who was named president and CEO in December. Truliant Federal Credit Union has named Billy Baker to the new role of vice president of facilities and security. Share the Love campaign Partners Ending Homelessness has partnered with High Point University to launch the Share the Love Campaign, which runs through Feb. 29. To participate, purchase a backpack and fill it with snacks, hygiene products and winter necessities. The backpacks can be delivered to the Partners Ending Homelessness offices in High Point and Greensboro. Items may be donated without a backpack as well. To learn more about this campaign, check the nonprofits social media pages or contact them at info@partnersendinghomelessness.org. The nonprofit has been looking for new and creative ways to address homelessness. One such way has been to increase the number of Coordinated Entry Access Points in the community. In August, they were facilitating three access points. They are now operating nine access points with assistance from a variety of agencies, including Acts Ministries of High Point, Tiny House Community Development, the Interactive Resource Center, Greensboro Detention Center, High Point Detention Center, Guilford County Solution to the Opioid Problem, the City of High Points Community & Neighborhood Development Office and the City of Greensboros Cultural Art Center. These access points provide people experiencing homelessness with the opportunity to be assessed in a community-based location where multiple agencies are present. For more, call 336-553-2716. MPO invites comments The Greensboro Urban Area Metropolitan Planning Organization invites residents to comment on its MPO Ranking Methodology for identifying the highest-need transportation projects to be funded from 2026-2035. Comments are due by March 7. Each year, the MPO identifies new roadway, public transportation, bicycle, pedestrian, rail and aviation projects it would like constructed with state and federal funding. It ranks the most needed projects using an approved methodology. The NC Department of Transportation evaluates and scores eligible projects using a data-driven process to determine which receive funding. The MPOs Draft Project Ranking Methodology can be reviewed at www.guampo.org. Send comments about the evaluation process via this online survey at www.surveymonkey.com/r/rnkmethodology or by contacting City Transportation Planning Engineer Lydia McIntyre at 336-373-3117 or lydia.mcintyre@greensboro-nc.gov or via fax at 336-421-6171. Growing Greensboro The City of Greensboro Planning Departments 2023 summary of growth and development in Greensboro, called Growing Greensboro, is now available online at tinyurl.com/4znx36ad. Key findings include: 5,062 potential housing units were approved in 2023 through rezoning and the annexation process throughout the city. That brings the three-year total of potential housing units approved from 2021-23 to nearly 16,000. 92 percent of the potential housing units approved were for multi-family residential units. More people will be calling Greensboro home over the next few years as these projects come out of the ground, said City Planning Department Director Sue Schwartz. We are truly GreensBooming in every way. This growth report and many others are available on the planning departments population and statistics web page at tinyurl.com/ya8km82w. Find your ancestors The 14th Annual Family History Day of Discovery: Finding Joy in Our Heritage, sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, is set for 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. March 9 at 3719 Pinetop Road in Greensboro. Nine workshops and an exhibition hall will be available, including classes about Native American research, getting started with Hispanic research and surnames (taught in Spanish) and using best practices in a genealogical research. To sign up for the workshops, go to Triadgenealogy.com. The workshops are open to all, are free, and lunch will be served. For information about participating in the exhibit hall, email info@greensborofhc.com. No sales will be allowed but organizations, societies, nonprofits, etc. are welcome to distribute information. Digital kiosks featuring work of local artists Creative Greensboro has selected 10 local artists whose work will be featured on the 11 digital kiosks located throughout downtown Greensboro. This is the third year of the Downtown Arts program, which enhances Greensboro with original artwork. The first two works are currently on display. The Greensboro-based artists and their works of art chosen for program are: Bonaventure Ogbaugo, A Tale of Two Coasts (graphite pencil); Emilio Marz, Power (digital illustration); Dafne Sanchez Aguirre, Triscuit Munchies (watercolor); Jessica Bloch-Schulman, Double Bind II (ceramic); Emily McCollum, Riding the Wave (acrylic on canvas); Ronda Szymanski, Peony (paper collage on canvas); Joyce Williams, Bojangles (oil on canvas); Nancy Seay, Senorita Sashay (watercolor); Natalie Schorr, Exquisite Corpse 5 (mixed media collage); and Evan Bennett, Untitled (digital art). Each artist will have their artwork on display on the kiosks for a 10-week period over the next year. Ogbaugo and Marz are the first two artists featured. Their artwork A Tale of 2 Coasts and Power are on display in the electronic kiosks until April 23. The kiosks will display the artists name, artwork, the artworks title and medium and a QR code that viewers can use to learn more about the artists and their work. Each of the 10 selected artists receives a $500 honorarium. High Point University invites the community to attend a special presentation with Apple Co-Founder Steve Wozniak, who serves as HPUs Innovator in Residence, at 9:15 a.m. on Monday, Feb. 19, in Congdon Hall. His visit to campus is part of HPUs Centennial Anniversary celebration throughout 2024. The event is free and open to the public, but seats are limited. Registration is required at https://www.highpoint.edu/ai/. Known for pioneering the personal computer, Wozniak will discuss artificial intelligence and its future impact on education with Amy Holcombe, dean of HPUs Stout School of Education. Community members should enter HPUs campus at the entrance at the intersection of Qubein Avenue and North Centennial Street. Parking will be available in the parking deck on Stem Drive, behind Congdon Hall. Steve Wozniak is one of the worlds great innovators, and his ideas have reshaped the way we live our lives, HPU President Nido Qubein said. We appreciate having Steve Wozniak as a member of our HPU family, and were honored to have him speak to our faculty, staff, students and the entire High Point community. He shares his admiration for HPU everywhere he goes and is a true advocate for this university. Wozniak and fellow Apple Co-Founder Steve Jobs were in their early 20s and had no business experience or money when they started Apple in 1976. That same year, they built their first Apple computer, which helped popularize the personal computer and turned Apple into one of the worlds largest and most influential companies. Wozniak gave HPUs Commencement address in 2013, and he has served as the universitys Innovator in Residence since 2016. In this role, he has mentored HPU students in a wide variety of majors, including engineering, education and computer science. In 2016, Wozniak began working with a group of HPU students on a project to build a self-driving vehicle. More recently, he also worked with students to build and test a device that reads brainwaves. Among many other things, he has advised pharmacy and exercise science students on how to take an innovative idea that they have and implement it. Announcements Girl Scouts Carolinas Peaks to Piedmont is partnering together with Pisgah Astronomical Research Institute to celebrate the total solar eclipse happening in April 2024. Total Eclipse of Brevard invites all girls in kindergarten through 12th grades to spend the weekend at Camp Pisgah, the GSCP2P camp property in Brevard, to participate in a full schedule of activities in coordination with PARI. The highlight of the event will be an interactive, live Q&A with Girl Scout alum and retired NASA astronaut, Dottie Metcalf-Lindenburger, who will be traveling to Brevard from Seattle. There is also a Dinner and Q&A option available for those families that wish to just participate for the day and meet Metcalf-Lindenburger. The event takes place at Camp Pisgah April 5-7 and participants must be a registered Girl Scout to attend. To learn more about becoming a member, visit www.BeAGirlScout.org. Eagle Awards Logan Koch, son of Dianne and Michael Koch of High Point and a member of Troop 4, has earned his Eagle Award. For his project, he focused on pressure washing and painting High Point Central High Schools front sign. He also planted flowers near the sign and built two benches for the schools indoor/outdoor use. GREENSBORO Greensboro Police charged a 24-year-old man with first-degree murder Thursday in connection with the shooting death of a man in September, officers said. The GPD's Violent Criminal Apprehension Team arrested Kaleb Deaundre Horton in the Sept. 18 shooting death of James Tyler White of Greensboro. Horton is being held in the Guilford County Jail without bond, according to the release. Officers responded to the 1700 block of Luray Drive near Florida Street around 7:45 a.m. Sept. 18 and found White, 30, suffering from serious injuries that ultimately caused his death, police said in September. Police did not provide details about the weapon used or a motive in the shooting. This is a developing story. GREENSBORO City Manager Taiwo Jaiyeoba received no preferential treatment in the Greensboro Police Departments response to an alleged assault at his home on Dec. 28, the council concludes in a statement released Thursday afternoon. The statement comes after the council requested the limited release of police body-worn camera footage from the incident and viewed the videos this week. It is our collective opinion that the domestic disturbance was thoroughly investigated, the statement reads. Greensboro Police Department in consultation with the District Attorneys office determined that no charges were warranted. Furthermore, in our view, the City Manager did not receive preferential treatment. In the statement the council said that officers spent a considerable time interviewing the family on Dec. 28 and that a senior detective interviewed Jaiyeoba and his family over the course of the two days after the incident. Upon reviewing the video, it is apparent there was a family disagreement. It is unclear how the disagreement began. City Manager Jaiyeoba was the only person with a visible injury, read the statement. A paper police report, filed outside of the departments online database, said that Jaieyobas two daughters also each had an apparent minor injury. Greensboro Mayor Nancy Vaughan told the News & Record that Jaiyeobas two daughters claimed injuries that were not apparent on the video. The officer saw them in person, Vaughan said. Perhaps the officer saw something that was not evident in the video. Jaiyeoba appeared at council meetings in an arm sling after the incident. The councils statement does not mention footage requested from Dec. 29 recorded by three officers who responded to a request to escort two people to 10 Postbridge Court on or about Dec. 29 so that Jaiyeobas daughters could collect their belongings. In another 911 audio tape obtained by the News & Record from Dec. 29, the day after the incident, a caller requested a ride from the police back to her house after an incident that had occurred the previous night. Hi, Im seeing if cops can escort me and my sister back to our home to get our stuff, were not there currently, the caller said. And I also wanted to check and see if the police report from last night was filed. I was told yesterday by a police officer that we dont meet at the location, the police meet us at a location and then from there we go to that police so they can escort us. Jaiyeoba provided a statement to the News & Record in January on the incident. Parents often have disagreements with their adult kids, and my family is no different. Regretfully, after the Christmas holiday, police officers were called to my home. Please understand, this is a family matter, and I stress that fatherhood is the most important job to me. While we continue to work through this and find a path forward, I ask for the community to please respect my familys privacy. Not in lockstep Amiel Rossabi, the attorney for the Greensboro Police Officers Association, told the News & Record in January that he believes an arrest should have been made based on the allegations on the 911 call that night and the visible injury to the city manager. I understand there was a visible injury in terms of a shoulder, Rossabi said. This is an arrest every time. The only reason they wouldnt make the arrest is if the city manager called the (police) chief or the deputy chief. Rossabi appeared in a court hearing for the city councils request for the body camera footage and said he was representing five police officers involved with the incident. Rossabi told Judge Albright that the five officers pictured in the requested footage were not in lockstep with the councils request for limited release. (The GPOA) has taken a position consistently for five years that there should be a full unedited release with any request for body-worn camera footage, Rossabi said. After the hearing, Rossabi said he was concerned about the city councils interpretation of body-worn camera footage from the police. Im concerned about the council doing anything with body-worn camera footage, Rossabi said when asked about the limited release status of the councils request. They are seeking to confirm whether it was done correctly, not to determine whether it was done correctly. On Monday, there will be a court hearing for both the News & Records request for the body camera footage and the request of the Greensboro Police Officers Association. Critiquing a critique As a political observer and life-long student of world politics, Im compelled to address the assertions in Cal Thomas op-ed The Unmaking of a president (Feb. 13). While scrutinizing political leaders performance is crucial, it must be done with a commitment to accuracy, transcending partisan biases. This principle is paramount, regardless of ones allegiance to Biden or Trump. Attempting to draw parallels between Joe Biden and past presidents, as presented in Theodore H. Whites book, oversimplifies the dynamics of each presidency. Each leader is shaped by unique circumstances and personal qualities, rendering direct comparisons inadequate. Focusing solely on isolated incidents, such as misidentifying a foreign leader or stumbling during a news conference, fails to provide a meaningful evaluation of a presidents abilities. Such slip-ups are common among leaders and should not overshadow their broader actions and policies. Implying that Vice President Kamala Harris defense of President Biden reflects his incompetence lacks substance. Harris, like all members of any administration, Republican or Democratic, is duty-bound absent criminality to support the president, irrespective of personal opinions. Moreover, Thomas comments on the treatment of Biden and Trump by the justice system overlooks significant legal disparities between their respective cases and only serves to undermine the publics belief in the judicial process. Critiquing any presidents performance is valid. Baseless speculation and partisan rhetoric, however, only serve to deepen the political divide and detract from meaningful discussions. We need to demand more of our leaders, and critics. Edward Hanes Jr. Winston Salem Why block this bill? TV ads by Republicans seeking to win the primary are parroting Donald Trump on immigration. Trump has given the message to Republicans in Congress to block a bipartisan bill that would address much of the immigration chaos because he sees it as giving Biden and the Democrats a win. And GOP candidates are adopting Trumps plan. If they would just read what is in the bipartisan legislation, they would see that many things they want are in that bill. The bill funds more Border Patrol officers, calls for stricter standards to qualify for entry, pays for more judges to expedite processing so those not qualifying for asylum can be sent back and limits how many can come in along with the authority to shut down the border when that limit is exceeded. So, I suggest those voting in the Republican primary ask themselves why their GOP representatives are blocking a viable solution to a longstanding problem. In addition, do they really want to vote for candidates who wont acknowledge that their verbalized goals are in the bill but say nothing to acknowledge and support it? Jose Alvarez Greensboro How about Hitler?I listened in horror as U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson explained that Ukraine cant win the war so theres no point in supporting the effort as Putin wont stop until he wins. Is that our new approach from the House of Representatives? How about Hitler? He really wanted to keep going until he won and thank God we intervened. We are who we are because we keep our word with our allies. I find Johnsons comments shameful. Robyn Mixon Winston Salem Climate confusionI have to say, I didnt quite know what to make of your recent article about the climate. Despite an almost record-breaking cold spell in our country at the time, the article said that the entire planet actually is warming to almost dangerous levels. Of course, there is a lot of confusion among the national media concerning this. Within a few weeks, The New York Times ran headlines saying global warming/climate change was the cause of not much snow, a lot of snow or even possibly the end of snow. With contradictory headlines like these, is it any wonder some may be confused about how valid claims that we are in a climate emergency really are? Fred Pearlman Greensboro A sculpture depicting Maximilien Balot, a colonial officer from Belgium who was beheaded amid the 1930s uprising in Congo, has been briefly repatriated as per a loan deal between the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (VMFA) and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The loan was made in time for the Venice Biennale this year, as it will be showcased in the Netherlands' Dutch pavilion in hopes of generating a discourse surrounding colonialism and the art world's lack of attention on the issue. However, the artifact will not be physically present at the pavilion. Instead, video footage of the sculpture is streamed live from an art gallery in Lusanga, a town in the Kwil province of the country. The White Cube Gallery in Lusanga will hold onto the artifact for the full six-month run time of the festival, with public displays starting on April 20 through Nov. 24. . How the Loan Agreement Came to Be According to a public release by the Mondriaan Fund, the foundation which paid for the loan's costs and is responsible for the Dutch entry for this year's Biennale, the VMFA agreed to the loan after they were made aware of the pavilion's plans. This decision came after years of loan requests submitted by the Congolese Plantation Workers' Art League (CATPC). That said, the factor that finally pushed the request through was the Dutch artist and Foundation Facilitator, Renzo Martens, following his contribution as the designer of the Netherlands' pavilion for the 60th Venice Biennale in 2024. Of the artifact's loan and subsequent display, VMFA Director and CEO Alex Nyerges was quoted by the release saying: "The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts is delighted to partner with CATPC for this important exhibition. "The sculpture's appearance in Lusanga will be profoundly meaningful to the people in that region," he added. "The loan of a wooden sculpture from an American museum's collection to a museum in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is also of historic significance, and we hope it will inspire a new era of collaboration and partnerships between museums on both continents." Read Also: 'Picasso's Villa': Anders Osborne Celebrates His Own Redemption Amid 40 Years of Civil Unrest in New Album History of the 'Balot' Sculpture Indeed, the sculpture possesses significance as a cultural artifact, especially regarding Congo's history with colonialism. Balot, the soldier it depicts, was recorded to have been decapitated amid the 1931 uprising by the Pende people against the colonial rule of Belgium in Congo's Kwilu province. The revolt's catalyst can be traced following a sexual violence incident against a Pende woman, resulting in the deaths and torture of hundreds upon hundreds of Pende people. Following the vicious uprising, Balot's wife was recorded expressing an understanding as to why the revolt itself happened in the first place, despite her husband being slain in "the most horrible fashion." The sculpture was believed to have been created weeks after the soldier's deaths and after the colonial settlers were driven back. Its purpose was that of a "power object," or an artifact that is ritually charged with the spirit of the deceased it is depicting to harness the energies of his anger. The artifact, whose creator's identity remains unknown, was sold for $120 in 1972 to an American scholar named Herbert Weiss during his trip to Lusanga, who then consequently offered it to the VMFA in 2015. Read More: 'The Wiz' Musical Revival is Set to Wrap Up Its Pre-Broadway 13-City Tour in LA's Hollywood Pantages Theatre 2024 Classicalite All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. A 15-mile-long oversized-load convoy traveling northbound on Interstate 15 will be coming through the area tonight through Saturday morning, state officials said. The convoy of wide load trucks carrying wind turbine components from Dell to Shelby, accompanied by pilot cars and Motor Carrier Services vehicles, the Montana Department of Transportation said. The distance is about 340 miles. The convoy will be traveling on I-15 from 9 p.m. Friday to about 6 a.m. Saturday, state officials said. To limit the impact to the public, the loads will travel together. The public may contact Kaci Johnson 406-444-7205 or Brad Marten 406-444-0700 with questions or comments. Hometown Helena had its first meeting at its new location early Thursday, with nearly 40 people attending despite a fresh blanket of snow that hit overnight. The longtime Helena grassroots civics organization moved from the sixth floor of the Montana Club to the student center at Helena College, University of Montana, where it was greeted by college Dean and Chief Executive Officer Sandra Bauman, who regularly attends Hometown Helena meetings. The Montana Club was unable to serve as host anymore due to insurance issues. Bauman said members of the colleges facilities team had come in at 3:30 a.m. to shovel the snow. The weekly meetings are 7 a.m. Thursdays at 1115 N. Roberts St. Ramon Mercado, secretary of the Original Montana Club Cooperative, attended Thursday's meeting at Helena College. He apologized to members for them having to find a new location. The Montana Club is facing financial challenges and is now under voluntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy. "We are trying to get everything back on track," Mercado said. Republican U.S. Rep. Matt Rosendale dropped out of Montana's hotly contested U.S. Senate primary race Thursday, less than a week after he announced his bid, blaming the decision on Donald Trump's endorsement of his opponent. Hours after Rosendale announced his official candidacy, Trump endorsed his GOP primary opponent Tim Sheehy, a Belgrade-based businessman and first-time political candidate. "We weren't expecting that decision to come out Friday," said Aashka Varma, spokesperson for the congressman. When asked if the decision to suspend his Senate campaign was connected to Trump's move, Varma said "It has everything to do with that. There's no path to victory." Sheehy is also backed by Republicans Gov. Greg Gianforte, U.S. Sen. Steve Daines and the National Republican Senatorial Committee, a key body tasked with gaining Republican control in the U.S. Senate. "Matt, Montana is grateful for your service and for showing Washington, D.C. what it means to hold the line on reckless spending," Sheehy said in a tweet following the announcement. "I know working together well win this race and defeat Jon Tester." Sheehy faces incumbent Democratic Sen. Jon Tester in the general election. Republican Brad Johnson, former chair of the Public Service Commission and past Secretary of State, is also running though considered a long shot. This switch-up comes after Rosendale, the congressman representing eastern Montana, had been teasing a Senate bid for months. Following his decision to suspend his campaign, which was first reported by POLITICO, Rosendale issued a lengthy statement: Instead of one of those phony statements from politicians, heres my statement on why Im withdrawing my candidacy for the U.S. Senate. As everyone knows, I have planned to run for the U.S. Senate and to win both the primary and the general election. However, the day I announced, President Trump then announced that he was endorsing a different candidate. I have long been a supporter of the President, and remain so. But I have been forced to calculate what my chances of success would be with Trump supporting my opponent. This race was already going to be tough, as I was fighting against Mitch McConnell and the rest of the Republican establishment in Washington. But I felt like I could beat them, as the voters do not agree with them choosing who would be the next U.S. Senator from Montana. However, by my calculations, with Trump endorsing my opponent and the lack of resources, the hill was just too steep. I spoke with Sen. Daines earlier this week and we both agree that this is the best path forward for Republicans to regain the majority in the U.S. Senate. Over the next few days I will be back home in Montana with my family and will prayerfully consider what is next. It remains unclear if Rosendale will re-file for U.S. House. The deadline to do so is March 11. Rosendale ran for Senate against Tester in 2018 for the U.S. Senate seat and lost. But in Rosendale's other elections in the state, he has cruised to victory, sometimes garnering more votes than any other Republican on the ticket. "I think it's sad for the people in the state," Varma said. "We just don't have the money to run this thing." A Troy resident admitted to accusations that he tampered with evidence after he shot and killed a grizzly bear on his property in 2020, the U.S. Attorney's Office of Montana announced on Thursday. Othel L. Pearson, 80, was arraigned on two charges in federal court on Thursday, including tampering with evidence, a felony, and failure to report taking of a grizzly bear, a misdemeanor. He pleaded guilty to both charges, a news release from the U.S. Attorney's Office said. U.S. District Judge Donald W. Molloy presided. In court documents, Pearson is accused of shooting and killing the sow grizzly bear on Nov. 19, 2020, on his property using a .270 rifle. Pearson cut the GPS collar the bear was wearing and tossed it in the Yaak River. "Pearson also cut paws, ear tags and an identifying lip tattoo from the bear carcass," the news release stated. "Pearson then concealed the bears claws and an ear tag in a hollowed-out tree on National Forest System land near his residence." Meat harvested from the bear was also found in Pearson's freezer, according to the news release and court documents. "Pearson attempted to and did tamper with these identifying objects to impair the criminal prosecution for failing to report taking of a grizzly bear," the release stated. "Pearson killed the bear either in self-defense, in defense of others or unlawfully." Pearson didn't report killing the bear within five days to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, as is required by law, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. Pearson faces a maximum of 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release on the evidence tampering charge and a maximum of six months in prison and a $25,000 fine on the failure to report charge. However, a plea agreement filed in the case recommends Pearson serve a three-year probation sentence and pay an $8,000 fine, which is the restitution amount for illegally killing a grizzly under Montana state law. Pearson's sentencing is scheduled for June 6. "In exchange for guilty pleas, the United States agrees not to prosecute another individual in connection with the taking of the grizzly bear, and Pearson agrees to cooperate with the United States regarding the skull of a second grizzly bear discovered on National Forest System lands near his property," the release stated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Randy Tanner is prosecuting the case. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service conducted the investigation. Participants may register online ahead of time or at the door starting at 9:30 a.m. the day of the event. All Democrats registered to vote in Catawba County are invited to attend. Local electoral precincts are the grassroots building blocks that form the base of support for the Democratic Party. If you do not know your precinct or do not know if your precinct is organized, volunteers will be happy to help you find this information so you can participate with fellow Democrats in your area. The three Republican U.S. Congressional candidates that took the stage in Statesville on Thursday evening were united on at least one topic: none of them would have certified the 2020 election of Democrat Joe Biden as president of the United States. Congressional candidates Diana Jimison, Charles Eller and Brooke McGowan took part in a forum on the campus of Statesville Senior High School on Thursday. Candidates Grey Mills and Pat Harrigan did not attend. All five are vying to replace Patrick McHenry in the 10th Congressional District, which includes Hickory and Statesville and stretches up to Winston-Salem. McGowan, who said she was in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6, said she would not have certified the 2020 presidential election, referring to it as obviously a steal. Jimison, a nurse from Hickory, said she would not have certified the election and that she believes every state was red. Eller, who said he graduated from Statesville in 1980, said he would not have certified the election, adding that the election was rigged and stolen. Eller said he was also in Washington on Jan. 6 and called it one of the proudest days of my life. Each candidate received applause on the issue from the approximately 60 people in attendance. Republican Congressman Patrick McHenry did vote to certify the 2020 election. Multiple election audits across several states and an investigation by the U.S. Justice Department found no incidence of widespread voter fraud in the 2020 election. McGowan and Eller pledged to vote in favor of term limits. Jimison and Eller also supported cutting aid to Ukraine, with Jimison saying the United States must reel in the money given to other countries. What voters want to know For some of the voters gathered in Iredell County on Thursday, the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol in an attempt to overturn a U.S. election was not top of mind but removing Biden from office was a popular topic. John Taylor, 74, of Mooresville said Biden is wicked, listing him with Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin. Asked what makes Biden wicked, Taylor said, Hes in favor of transgender stuff and vaccine mandates. Taylor said he has lived in Mooresville for four years. He previously resided in Indianapolis, Indiana. Catawba County resident Joshua Holsclaw said this question was at the top of his list: How willing are candidates to preserve America? Holsclaw, a 23-year-old from Mountain View, said the answer comes down to freedom. To me, thats the pursuit of life, liberty and happiness, he said. He added he believes candidates should seek Gods will for our country. Clemmons resident Toni Settle was focused on the nations debt. She said she would ask candidates: How are you going to address our deficit problem and what is your solution? Nothing else matters, Settle, 74, said, if we dont get this corralled. We are not addressing it. Whats next? Early voting began on Thursday. Primary election day is March 5. The winner of the 10th Congressional District Republican primary will face Democrat Ralph Scott, Jr. in the general election. For years, Mrs. Cheng maintained good relationships with the leaders of every fleet in the coalition. She ran a tight ship (so to speak) and oversaw everything from monetary transactions to religious ceremonies. On her watch, the pirate alliance expanded like crazy. Of the 270 government-owned ships stationed at Tien-Pai, 266 fell under her control. By demanding regular patronage from sailing merchants, Mrs. Cheng's sailors profited off Canton's lucrative salt trade. As a matter of fact, the outlaws extracted so much revenue across their domain that Mrs. Cheng found it necessary to establish a network of land-based financial offices. Advertisement Her strategic mind was well-suited to warfare. Mrs. Cheng's fleets regularly embarrassed the navies of southern China. They grew notorious for kidnapping Chinese officials, blockading rivers and routing just about anybody who opposed their will. But that was to change. In 1809, China's increasingly agitated government borrowed well-armed vessels from the British East India Company and the Portuguese Navy. At the same time, it also offered amnesty to pirates who surrendered. "The offer was tempting to the leader of the Black Flag Fleet, who then forced a confrontation with the Red Flag Fleet," Murray says. While negotiating with the government, he turned over the captives from that inter-squadron battle as a gesture of goodwill. Before long, other units were defecting from Mrs. Cheng's confederation. She could read the writing on the wall. Blackbeard and other career pirates who kept plundering until the bitter end usually met horrible deaths, whether on the high seas or at the gallows. Mrs. Cheng decided to go a different route. On April 8, 1810 after an earlier round of peace talks failed she took a delegation of 17 pirate wives and children to the governor-general's office in Canton. Inside, Mrs. Cheng brokered a favorable amnesty deal. "[Chang Pao] was allowed to retain between 20-30 of his vessels for use in the salt trade and received an appointment in the Chinese water forces," Murray tells us. Most of the pirates who'd served under her were granted pardons as well. Chang Pao passed away in 1822 at 36. He was survived by his brilliant wife, who died peacefully in 1844 at the age of 69. Now That's Cool Mistress Ching, a character in Disney's "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End" who commands an enormous fleet, was reportedly inspired by Mrs. Cheng. Vincent van Gogh, with his life-spanning suffering both in career and personal matters, is the tortured artist's poster child. It's an unfortunate fact that only after his death at age 47 in 1890, by his hand, did the Dutch master achieve monumental economic and artistic success, which continues until today. Such is the case for his 1888 painting which was previously owned by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen and consequently sold for $117 million in 2022 at a Christie's New York auction. However, there is one particular piece that he was able to sell while he was still alive, which stands alone among his oeuvre under this category. A painting that will be showcased by Moscow's Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts. Van Gogh's 'The Red Vineyards Near Arles' The 1888 painting is the Dutch painter's only known sale to someone he is unrelated to, the deal of which he conducted following a public exhibition. The piece itself depicts its namesake located near Montmajour Abbey amid a grape harvest. Its orange hues represent the low-hanging sun that showered the landscape and the workers toiling on it in crimson hues. During the 1984 exhibition in New York's The Met Museum entitled "Van Gogh in Arles," the institution said: "His move from Paris to the Midi gave rise to bold experimentation in the use of color and to explorations of style and subject matter." According to the museum, this resulted in work that "[marked] the height of his artistic development and a turning point in the course of nineteenth-century Western art." The piece itself first made a public appearance during an annual exhibition's 1890 iteration, which was led by the Belgian art collective Les XX, or The 20. Anna Boch, one of the Belgian painters in this group, was the one who bought the "Red Vineyards" painting. Although which price point varies per source, the painting was believed to have been sold at either 350 or 400 francs. Anna's brother and artist Eugene Boch, once sat across Van Gogh during a portraiture, which the Dutch master painted the same year he did the "Red Vineyards." Van Gogh referenced this interaction when he wrote to his brother Theo, a letter that is currently held in the Van Gogh Museum's collection in Amsterdam. In the letter, he recalled that Anna paid the full "sticker price" even though she should have been given a "friend's price." Eventually, Van Gogh's only known sale found itself in a Paris art gallery, where it was consequently purchased by Ivan Morozov, a Russian art collector. The piece was then acquired by the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts after Morozov was nationalized during the Bolshevik Revolution, where it is currently being showcased. Although there are inklings that other pieces from Van Gogh's oeuvre were also sold before his untimely death, said paintings are still identified and their current location is equally obscured. Read Also: Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Loans Congolese Sculpture Depicting Maximilien Balot as a Venice Biennale Feature 2024 Classicalite All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. The names and Social Security numbers of about 57,000 Bank of America customers, including 3,258 in North Carolina, may have been exposed in a data breach, according to notifications from the N.C. and Maine attorney generals offices. The potential data that could have been stolen includes: first and last name; address; business email address; date of birth; Social Security number; and other account information. The N.C. AGs office said Thursday it was notified Feb. 2 by a customer-warning notice from Infosys McCamish Systems LLC of Atlanta. Yahoo Finance reported the cyberattack was done by a ransomware group known as LockBit. Infosys provides services for deferred compensation plans, including plans serviced by Bank of America in which customers based in Maine are participants. Infosys submitted to both AG offices an explanatory letter that could be sent to customers, which stated that out of an abundance of caution, we are notifying you about this incident and providing tools to help you protect against possible identity theft or fraud. Infosys said the data breach occurred Nov. 3 when an outside group gained access to its data systems. Infosys notified the bank on Nov. 24 that data concerning deferred compensation plans serviced by Bank of America may have been compromised, but that the banks own systems were not compromised. Infosys said a review was conducted by a third-party forensic firm to review its recovery plan. It said as of the time of the notice, it had found no evidence of continued threat actor access, tooling or persistence in the IMS environment. The group cautioned that it is unlikely that we will be able to determine with certainty what personal information was accessed as a result of this incident. Infosys said that the bank is providing a free two-year membership in an identity-theft protection service provided by Experian IdentityWorks. Activation of the membership is required at www.experianidworks.com/bac/. Other Triad-tied data breaches Bank of America is the latest corporation with ties to the Triad to experience a major data breach. VF Corp. reported Jan. 18 that hackers were able to steal the personal data of at least 35.5 million customers during a December cyberattack. The breach disrupted its distribution operations, including its ability to fulfill customer orders that played a role in lower quarterly sales. HanesBrands Inc. disclosed in a May 31, 2022, regulatory filing that it began experiencing a ransomware attack on May 24, 2022. Ransomware is a type of malicious software employed by hackers that can block access to a computer system until a ransom is paid. In recent years, the targets have shifted from individuals to governments, companies, nonprofits and health care systems. HanesBrands said the ransomware attack affected its global supply chain network and ability to fulfill customer orders for about three weeks. HanesBrands reported receiving at least $20.5 million in insurance compensation in 2023 for the 2022 ransomware attack that cost the manufacturer about $100 million in global sales. Atrium Health and Novant Health Inc. were notified in September of being victims of an apparent data breach by the Russian Clop cybercriminal group, according to media and healthcare industry reports. The breach occurred May 28-29 over the Memorial Day holiday period, involving software groups Progress Software and Microsoft subsidiary Nuance Communications, according to the companies. Although the breach was discovered on May 31, Nuance said that around July 10 it confirmed that certain individuals personal information was affected by the incident. Impacted customers were notified. Neither group has said how many North Carolina consumers have been affected. In February 2023, Pepsi Bottling Ventures LLC, which has more than 550 employees in Winston-Salem, disclosed a data breach affecting the personal information of its 2,300 workforce in five states. Alex Chambers: Thank you so much for doing this, Avi, I really appreciate it. Avi Forrest: Yeah, just happy to help. Alex Chambers: Alright, so you've got everything you need together? Avi Forrest: Yes, I do. Alex Chambers: Okay. Great, well I'm going to head off, leave you to it. Avi Forrest: Thanks. Okay. Listeners, Alex has been working super hard lately, and so he can take a small rest, he finally let me post an episode. But the thing is, I don't actually have anything. I'm sorry, okay? I just kept procrastinating and playing Pokemon and it just snuck up on me. Right, what can I do for an hour? Let's see. Okay, there's some books around here. Ellie Engel Saves Herself. Shoot, we already did an episode on that. Avi Forrest: This could be something. Tales by some guy named Erasmus Gould. Worth a shot, I guess. There's all kinds of crazy stuff here. Aliens, werewolves, witches, secret foundations. And I'm sure I'll find some way to tie this all up. I don't know, some interview with like a professor or something. Okay, this one's called Skalla Grimur. In ancient Norway, around the year 850, there was a man named Ulfr. Ulfr's a smart, well connected farmer-- Alex Chambers: ...smart, well connected farmer. He's doing well for himself and people admire him. But there is a bit of a problem. Adrian Whitacre: Everyone says about him, that every day, towards the evening, he grows bad tempered and you don't want to speak to him or cross him in the night. Alex Chambers: It's okay though. He goes to bed early and gets up early. Still-- Adrian Whitacre: People called him Kveldulfr which means night wolf. And they said that he was a shape shifter, and he was very shape strong, or very shifty. Alex Chambers: I mean, that's what people said. Adrian Whitacre: But who knows? Alex Chambers: In any case, for a long time, Ulfrs been feuding with the King of Norway. Eventually, the feud culminates in this one big battle. Kveldulfr and his son and their men decide to attack one of the king's big ships. There are over 50 men on the ship. Adrian Whitacre: And so, together, they board the ship. And Kveldulfr, in particular, when he boards the ship, he seems to go into, like a frenzy. He becomes frenzied like a wild animal. And some of his men, they also go into this frenzy, and together they sweep from one side of the ship to the other. They're unstoppable. No-one can touch them. And together, they kill all 50 men and they throw them into the sea, leAving only a couple of survivors to send the message. Alex Chambers: It had been said of those men who were shape shifters, that they go berserk. Adrian Whitacre: And they become so strong in this state, that they're completely untouchable. Alex Chambers: But once the battle frenzy passes, they lose all their strength. Adrian Whitacre: And this is what happened with Kveldulfr. Alex Chambers: So he calls over his son and his men, and says, "I don't usually feel this worn out. I'm completely drained." Adrian Whitacre: "This might be the end for me?" And he goes into such a state of weakness that he passes away soon after. Alex Chambers: Years go by. Because of the bad blood between him and the King, Kveldulfr's son, Skalla Grimur, has to leave Norway and go to Iceland. Adrian Whitacre: He sets up his own farm there in Iceland, and he starts a family. Alex Chambers: He has two sons, one of them is Egil. One day, Skalla Grimur and Egil, and one of Egil's friends, [PHONETIC: Thord, are out playing a ball game. Adrian Whitacre: And Egil and his friend Thord are on one side, and Skalla Grimur is on the other. Alex Chambers: Egil and Thord are doing pretty well. They're definitely ahead. But the game goes into the evening. It starts to get dark. Adrian Whitacre: And suddenly Skalla Grimur now has the upper hand. He seems to be getting stronger and stronger, as the sun sets and it gets darker. And he's also getting more violent. The game is getting more aggressive. It's getting more dangerous. Alex Chambers: It only gets worse. Suddenly, Skalla Grimur grabs Thord and throws him to the ground. Adrian Whitacre: So hard that it crushes him. Alex Chambers: And he dies. Adrian Whitacre: And then, he turns on his son. He turns on Egil. Alex Chambers: And he's coming at him, driven by this rage that somehow grew out of a ballgame, when a servant woman appears at the top of the hill. She was Egil's foster mother. Adrian Whitacre: And she also knows a little bit of the magic parts. She's a full [INAUDIBLE]. She's very wise in the ways of magic. She's very crafty. Alex Chambers: She shouts at Skalla Grimur. Adrian Whitacre: "You are shape shifting now Skalla Grimur," or maybe a better translation would be, "You're becoming an animal Skalla Grimur, at your son." Alex Chambers: Skalla Grimur hears her and turns from Egil and goes after her instead. She runs toward a cliff, and rather than letting the monstrous Skalla Grimur tear her apart, she leaps off the cliff into the water. And Skalla Grimur throws a huge rock down on top of her. Adrian Whitacre: Neither she nor the giant boulder are ever seen again. Alex Chambers: Egil and his father don't say a word to each other about what just happened. Avi Forrest: And in fact, they don't speak to each other at all for months afterward. Jeez, that's spooky. When was this book published? Whatever. This next story is called the Skeleton Harvester. The creature loped down the sidewalk, drawing the eyes of each pedestrian. Reilly Donaldson: I would say, like, the number one reaction is what-- Unknown female: [LAUGHS] Aah. Unknown male: What the hell? Unknown male: Someone. Unknown female: Oh. [LAUGHS] Reilly Donaldson: Like people screaming, "What the--?" or like, asking "What is that?" Unknown female: Sleep paralysis demon I think is the best way to put it. Unknown male: That's so scary, and you shouldn't do that anymore ever again. Reilly Donaldson: People always think that I'm using a voice modulator, and I'll usually point at my throat or at my chest and continue to gibber at them in skeleton tongue. [LAUGHS] So they understand that no, that's me. Unknown female: Tall and scary and-- Unknown male: [FOREIGN DIALOGUE] Unknown female: Kind of robotic. Unknown male: For me, I'd describe him as the bodyguard. Unknown male: You're my soul animal. Unknown male: Living art. Yeah. Unknown female: Yeah. And so friendly. Reilly Donaldson: So I have always sympathized with the monsters in monster movies [LAUGHS] just like what? But, at least it's an alien. Like dude, you have no respect [LAUGHS] for the first time you're carrying extraterrestrial life. Avi Forrest: Meet Reilly Donaldson. He's around seven feet tall with a pale owl shaped face. Things that look like feathers plume from his head, and he carries a stash of canisters that help him breathe in our atmosphere. Reilly likes to take walks around Bloomington every so often. You could say he's a people watcher. So, here we are, on a walk in the night. Avi Forrest: Oh. The dogs don't seem to like it. Avi Forrest: During the day, Reilly works for IU's university collections as an exhibition assistant/preparator. He makes the bases, hangers and stands that support various works of art. He also likes movies, and TV shows, especially science fiction and anime. Reilly Donaldson: Stuff like alien, aliens predator. When I was really young, before I could watch the scary stuff, you know, I loved movies like ET. Short Circuit. Avi Forrest: Basically, giant space robots with lasers and highly intelligent intergalactic aliens, also with lasers. Which I guess makes sense, given that according to him, he's a couple of million years old. Avi Forrest: So, wait, so where are you from? Reilly Donaldson: [STRANGE LANGUAGE]. Avi Forrest: Pointing to the sky-- Reilly Donaldson: [INAUDIBLE] Avi Forrest: Reilly is from two places. He was born in Indiana, which is on earth. And the other is sort of a long story. Reilly Donaldson: The Null species, the Skeleton Harvester is an alien known as the Null species. And they are unfathomably long lived super intelligent, telepathic aliens. Avi Forrest: Instead of Reilly, you would probably know him as the Skeleton Harvester, named for the calcium it needs to survive. Reilly Donaldson: Bones, super high in calcium, the creature has been seen dragging, like bones and dead corpses, not human corpses, but deer and animals. Avi Forrest: Don't worry, he's no threat to humans. Avi Forrest: I'd ask for advice, but I don't know, advice in your native tongue. Reilly Donaldson: Eliminate greed, eliminate war. Avi Forrest: So, why does Reilly enjoy strapping on stilts and scaring pedestrians? Well, the short answer is-- Reilly Donaldson: I'm an adult and I live in America, and so I'm gonna wear what I want. [LAUGHS] And if that means I wanna be a cryptid and walk around, and as long as I'm not hurting anybody, then tough. Avi Forrest: There's also a much longer response. Let's think of it this way. Reilly plus costume equals Skeleton Harvester right? That would make sense as sensical as a millions of years old alien can be. But, how do I say this? This is all much less A to B. So, can you put into a percentage of like you as a whole? What percentage is Skeleton Harvester? Reilly Donaldson: Mm. At this point, probably-- [LAUGHS] it's getting close to like 50:50. Avi Forrest: Reilly is the Skeleton Harvester, yeah. But the Skeleton Harvester is also Reilly. Like the two sides of a coin. Reilly Donaldson: A lot of big religions talk about everlasting soul and stuff like that. I don't particularly believe in souls. I don't believe that souls exist. I believe that humans are "intelligent mammals." Avi Forrest: Reilly describes himself as a trans-humanist, which is basically improving humanity with technology. Reilly Donaldson: So from like full synthetic humans to augmented humans, to hybrid humans with, you know, whatever DNA you want spliced into you. If you want some extra glowy bits, you can get some cuttlefish DNA spliced into you. And you could have some bioluminescence in your skin, which would be cool. Avi Forrest: You can't really get cuttlefish DNA in 2024. At least not in the mid-west. But Reilly was drawn to the next best thing. Reilly Donaldson: All of the sci-fi anime that you could probably mention. Sense of humor comes from stuff like Ghostbusters and the Goonies. So I'm like super into this goofy, weird parody, and just like fun for fun's sake. Avi Forrest: He got interested in art, and sci fi and anime. And manifesting his futuristic dreams into Styrofoam and cardboard. Reilly Donaldson: Even before I was in college, I was scaring kids at my mom's house here in town, in her neighborhood, like every year for Halloween. And it became a tradition and we'd do the yard up really crazy, and I would start making props and stuff for the yard. So I started with, you know, carving EPS foam and making your own tomb stones super easy. You know, I went to IU, and just took as many art classes as they would let me take basically. [LAUGHS] Reilly Donaldson: And loved the creative freedom of sculpture. I loved that I could go into sculpture classes, and the teacher was like, "Make what you want, and justify it." Avi Forrest: Trans-humanism is also like-- Reilly Donaldson: As lovely as the human form can be and as great as it can be, I realize its limitations. And I can see those limitations. I see the potential for technology to help us supersede those limitations and become something more than human. Avi Forrest: Have you ever thought about what it means to be a person? To be this strange little animal that's walking around, a dent collection of dust that's hurtling through space? Reilly Donaldson: Sentience is a strange biological loop, and our brains are nothing more than the most sophisticated biological computers that we have encountered. Avi Forrest: Does that make you feel trapped? Cornered into a strange little creature scuttling around the surface of an even stranger planet? Reilly Donaldson: I don't particularly think that there's souls or heaven or hell, or afterlife. So I think it's vitally important that [LAUGHS] we make the most of our very limited time on this earth. [LAUGHS] At most, you know, we got 80 to 90 years. If we're lucky we get a hundred, if we're super lucky and we're healthy. So, we have that much time to impress upon others around us the importance of using that time valuably and in a way that's positive for people around you, people in your life, and for yourself. Avi Forrest: I think we can all appreciate feeling stuck. Stuck in a job, a hometown, the closet. So we have stories, we have video games, music, books, giant robots fighting for alien supremacy. And we have cryptids, like Reilly . Reilly Donaldson: People always ask "Why?" I'm like, "Why not?" [LAUGHS] That's like my number one comeback. "Why not?" [LAUGHS] I'm hAving fun. I'm not hurting anybody. I'm getting great exercise. Avi Forrest: The reporter turned around for one last question. Avi Forrest: Do you have any last words I guess? Reilly Donaldson: [STRANGE LANGUAGE] Avi Forrest: Love and peace. Thank you, she said, as she walked off into the night. Avi Forrest: And the reporter was never seen again. Okay, that's kind of dark. Why do we even have this? You know what? Content is content. This next one's called Katla and Geirrid. Once, way back when, there were two rival witches. Alex Chambers: ...two rival witches. Adrian Whitacre: Their names are Katla and Geirrid. Alex Chambers: They're neighbors. Adrian Whitacre: And there's a young student who wants to learn from Geirrid. He goes every day to her house, and takes lessons. Alex Chambers: But to get to Geirrid's house every day, he has to pass Katla's house. Adrian Whitacre: And Katla is a much less popular person. She's harder to get along with, people don't like her. She's difficult. Alex Chambers: And every day when he passes Katla's house, she comes out and tries to convince him to be her student. Adrian Whitacre: And not go on to Geirrid's house. Alex Chambers: Katla's argument to the student isn't just about curriculum. There are sexual overtones too. Adrian Whitacre: She'll say, "She's an old woman. She, you know, can't give you what you want," and [UNSURE OF WORD] says, "Well you're an old woman too." [LAUGHS] And just goes right on by. Alex Chambers: Then, one night, the young student is on his way home from Geirrid's house. Katla comes out again, and warns him that he'd better spend the night at her house. Adrian Whitacre: She says, "There are many night faring spirits." Alex Chambers: He ignores her, and continues on his way. But the next morning, he's found badly injured. Adrian Whitacre: Something has torn up and bloodied his back and shoulders. In some places, he's been cut to the bone. He has been witch ridden. Alex Chambers: He's been attacked by a nightmare. Adrian Whitacre: A witch spirit, flying in spirit form, or an animal form. Katla then accuses Geirrid of being a [UNSURE OF WORD], a night rider or like a night attacking witch. Alex Chambers: People believe her, and they bring Geirrid to court. But, Geirrid has connections, she brings witnesses. These are important people, and they convince the court that she is no night witch. She's fine, nothing to worry about. And things go back to the way they were. Katla and Geirrid's rivalry has quieted down. Adrian Whitacre: But it's like simmering. Alex Chambers: And then Katla's son, Otter starts to get into trouble. He gets on the wrong side of some powerful people, and Katla hears they're coming to arrest him. Adrian Whitacre: Katla says to her son, "Okay, the men are coming. Sit here in front of me while I spin." And so, the men who are coming to arrest Otter come into Katla's house and they just see Katla, spinning wool with her distaff. So they leave. But then, when they get a little ways away from her house, they think to themselves, "Wait, was that the distaff? Is that what we actually saw? I think that was Otter." So they go back to the house again. Adrian Whitacre: But this time, they just see Katla and a goat. And they go away again. And they get a little ways away, and they think, "No, I realize now, that goat was Otter." And they go back a third time. And all they see is Katla and a pig. And so they go away again, and the third time they decide, "No, we need a magic worker to fight a magic worker." So they go and get Geirrid. Alex Chambers: On her way out the door, she grabs a sealskin bag. Adrian Whitacre: As Geirrid walks in, immediately she goes straight to Katla, and she puts the sealskin bag over Katla's head to obscure her eyes so that she can't see and use that to do magic. And then they're able to capture and arrest Otter. Alex Chambers: They find them both guilty. Katla and Otter. And the punishment is death. Katla and Otter are executed. Adrian Whitacre: Otter is, I think, hanged, and Katla is stoned to death with the bag over her head. Avi Forrest: The execution of a witch. Ugh, that's a lot of spirits and witches and murders. I think I need a break. Avi Forrest: Welcome back to Inner States. I'm Avi Forrest. I'm reading this strange book of dark tales I found in our recording studio. This next one looks pretty cool. It's called Secure, Contain, Protect. Back in the ancient year of 2008, the Foundation began its archive. Avi Forrest: "Foundation Database: Department of Containment. Secure Facility Dossier. Site identification code: USINBL-Site-81. Referred to in the rest of document as Site-81. The first anomalous activity documented at Site-81 was SCP-2812 [RADIO INTERFERENCE] and several humanoid entities which[RADIO INTERFERENCE] jaws stretched open [RADIO INTERFERENCE] severe cerebral hemorrhaging. Site-81 contains living quarters and dormitories for over 1,000 personnel, a robust Keter-class containment wing, and several subterranean wings, over an area of 9.69 sq km. The public, however, is not privy to the function of Site-81. In fact, few in Indiana have any idea such a place exists. The approved cover story for the facility is not one of a state-of-the-art research base, but a Bloomington Municipal Water Treatment facility." Ben Sisson: I think of these Sites as big jails for spooks and specters, right? The monsters and things that make you go crazy and whatever else, they take all these things, they put them in boxes, they put them underground. That's what a Site is. Avi Forrest: Remember Hector from Hector Loves Water Treatment? Hector Ortiz Sanchez: How I see myself is trying to be more knowledgeable. And that way, I will be one of the best. Avi Forrest: We did a whole story about his work at the Bloomington Water Treatment plant. Sorry, I meant the SCP Foundation, Site-81. And you know what? It was disappointing. We had this whole episode about the water treatment plant, but I guess the universe doesn't want us to have nice things, because later on we find out it's a secret, scientific organization housing some of the deadliest known phenomena. Ben Sisson: Yes, it's actually huge. You wouldn't know it just looking at it, but it goes all the way underneath Monroe. It's got eight or nine subterranean levels. It's crazy. Avi Forrest: Our entire story is shot. And, listen, I don't care about how many dangerous artifacts this SCP Foundation has, I think we deserve some answers after they wrecked our coolest, most water treatment-themed episode. Thankfully, SCP author, Ben Sisson, has been very helpful in explaining why we're in this mess. Ben Sisson: There exists in our world a secret paramilitary, pseudogovernmental society association, foundation, one might say, called the SCP Foundation. Avi Forrest: Okay, so, we're going to explain some insane things really quickly. One: other dimensions, monsters, mind control. That's all real. Ben Sisson: Different spooky monsters,you know, pretty standard fare, to haunted locations, to cursed artifacts. Avi Forrest: And, two: it's not actually real. Ben Sisson: I've written about, you know, buildings that hate you. And a lake, also near Bloomington, that is full of dead bodies, that might also not be dead, but, you know, create a compulsion effect that drives people into the lake. Avi Forrest: The SCP Foundation is a massive online writing project produced by hundreds of different users. The stories primarily unfold in pieces called articles. And they're usually structured like government documents. But the format is always fluctuating, with new ways to tell stories. Ben Sisson: I always tell people it's kind of a mix between the Men in Black and the X-Files. Avi Forrest: The SCP Foundation has become an online cult classic with a devoted fan base, especially for the video game adaptations. To put this cult appeal into perspective, according to YouTube culture and trends, in 2019, global viewership of videos related to the SCP Foundation topped one billion views. SCPs have even influenced a major video game release. In 2019, the video game, Control, puts players into a strange and hostile laboratory with hallways of dangerous artifacts. By November of 2022, the game sold over three million units. Jeez. Ben Sisson: This thing exists above and beyond governments. It simply exists so that the public can be protected and kept in the dark, literally and figuratively speaking. Avi Forrest: Basically, it's a secret organization designed to safeguard horrors beyond human comprehension. It's even in the name, SCP: Special Containment Procedures. But also Secure, Contain, Protect. Plus, it's collaborative, meaning anyone with a good enough story can submit an entry and be immortalized as an SCP canon. Ben Sisson: I am the site's number one overall rated author, I've been that for, I think, the last three or four years. Avi Forrest: Ben has written dozens of articles under the name DJKaktus, and has been voted the site's top author, and that's no small feat considering the sea of submissions the site handles. Ben Sisson: Really, what it comes down to is, you only need one good line. If you have one good line, you can do some stuff with that. Avi Forrest: Ben wrote a story about Site-81, a branch of the super secret SCP Foundation, and he chose to set it in Indiana? Yes, you might wonder why. Why not New York or California? Ben Sisson: I grew up in Plainfield, on the west side of Indianapolis, near the airport. Avi Forrest: The Midwest is slowly being recognized as a great setting for spooks. Stranger Things, for example, is set in Indiana. But it's still a slow process and flyoverstates have always been fighting for relevance. Ben Sisson: Even for somebody like me, who grew up in the most flyover of flyover states in a flyover town off the highway, that nobody recognized. People don't go to where I grew up. Even to me, those places have so much untapped potential for interesting stories. Avi Forrest: So, yes, I was surprised that we had a SCP Foundation headquarters set in a Bloomington Water Treatment plant. And do you know what? It's a long story. Avi Forrest: "SCP-2316 containment class: Keter. Warning: cognitohazard. Please repeat the following phrase slowly and clearly into your terminal microphone: "I do not recognize the bodies in the water." SCP-2316 manifests as a group of human corpses floating in a small group at the surface of the water. The identities of these corpses are [RADIO INTERFERENCE] though DNA testing has been inconclusive. Individual instances of SCP-2316 do not act on their own, but do seem to be able to act collectively as a single unit. The individual instances of SCP-2316 are unrecognizable, and you do not recognize the bodies in the water." Ben Sisson: My grandparents owned, for the longest time, property in French Lake, Indiana, and their property line was 100 acres, but it backed up to a lake. Avi Forrest: Ben was born in Indiana, and much of his work focuses on capturing the feeling of wild spaces and rural towns in the Midwest. Ben Sisson: This article, Bodies in the Water, Field Trip is based on that lake, specifically where we camped out there a lot when we were just kids. And, you'd wake up in the morning and you'd go down to the lake to go fish or something, and there would just be fog. And every so often, you'd see things floating around in there. I was one of the older of several cousins and we would always jerk around the younger cousins and talk about how, 'oh, there's dead bodies out there, ooh, watch out.' Avi Forrest: Growing up, Ben had plenty of adventures in the shadows of rural Indiana. Those experiences would inspire various tales for the SCP website. Ben Sisson: A buddy of mine, him and his family lived kind of on the outside of town, and there was a rock quarry, more like a gravel quarry, near his house we called the gravel pit. And, a couple of times, you know, when we were kids, we'd go out there and mess around in this gravel pit, and it's just this big hole in the ground. All we were doing was going out there and blowing stuff up, and so it wasn't really much of anything. But, being in places like that, especially when it gets dark, and when there aren't other people around, it does have a kind of liminal quality to it where it doesn't feel like a place that people are supposed to be. Or, you know, doesn't feel like a place where you are alone even when you're very clearly by yourself. Avi Forrest: The stories loosely track Ben's experiences growing up in Indiana, but they also show us a universal truth about writing fiction. It is really [RADIO INTERFERENCE] hard. Ben Sisson: If you want to tell a story the way that a story wants to be told, it is very easy to fall into the cycles of self-doubt and criticism, and it can be difficult sometimes to have the confidence to expose yourself like that, especially if you're writing about your own experiences, or the experiences of people in the place where you are. Avi Forrest: When I said the SCP project is collaborative, I meant that it relies on a collaborative editing process. If the story isn't successful enough, it can get taken down. Ben Sisson: And I came from one of those towns where I was the good writer kid. But I hadn't really ever been challenged on that. When I started writing for the Wiki, I suddenly was having to not just meet a certain quality standard, or else have the work deleted. Which is one of the things I really like about the Wiki in that it has a self-policing deletions policy where if the community doesn't like something you've written, they'll just delete it. If a certain percentage of people download a thing as opposed to upload a thing, it just disappears forever. Avi Forrest: According to the SCP website, in the decade and a half since it started, the number of articles written each year has quadrupled. It's hard to make a story stand out in all of that, even if users are just reading the new stuff. Ben Sisson: Telling stories is hard, right? Avi Forrest: For as much pressure this sort of model can exert, it does bring people together. For example, SCP-049. Ben Sisson: I hated that article, the original version of it, I hated it so much. I thought it was just kitschy and dumb and super clowny. Avi Forrest: The story was originally made by author, Gabriel Jade. But the SCP became more popular after it was rewritten, with the help of DJKaktus, or Ben. Avi Forrest: "SCP-049 is a humanoid entity, roughly 1.9 m in height, which bears the appearance of a medieval plague doctor. SCP-049 will become hostile, with individuals seized as being affected by the pestilence, often having to be restrained should it encounter such. If left unchecked, SCP-049 will generally attempt to kill any such individual. SCP-049 is capable of causing all biological functions of an organism to cease through direct skin contact." Ben Sisson: So, that article, SCP-049, it's very famous. I wrote an article called SCP-049J, which is a joke article, basically a parody of that article, called The Plague Fellow, and it was very much just like the Plague Doctor meme put into writing. And it did well. I still think it's maybe the funniest thing I've ever written. Gabriel Jade read that article and read a longer form criticism of 049 I'd put together. And he eventually came back to the site and asked me if I wanted to help him rewrite it. Avi Forrest: This post-revision Plague Doctor has become arguably one of the most recognizable faces of SCP fiction. It's the result of dedicated collaboration and creativity. But the writers don't usually get recognized. Ben Sisson: There's a gas station near my house I stop at sometimes on my way home, whenever I want to grab a drink, and one of the gas station attendants has a young son. And one time, when she and I were talking and I mentioned that I wrote for the website, she said, 'oh, my son loves that website' She goes,' he would love to meet you.' I said, 'well, have you read anything on the site? 'And he's like, 'I read 049', and I'm like, 'I wrote 049', and it was the coolest thing. I'd never had that moment, because there's nothing glamorous about writing for this website. It's not like being Stephen King. Avi Forrest: But maybe it's not about recognition. These thousands of articles are written by usernames, not recognizable people. Ben Sisson: And people generally don't know my real name. They know DJKaktus or Kaktus or that guy. They don't know Ben Sisson. That's me. You know, they don't attach those things together. So I don't walk down the street and people are like, 'oh, hey, you're that guy.' So, in the rare instances where you do have that kind of feedback, that is immensely gratifying. I can't imagine what it's like for people who experience that on a day-to-day basis. That's the kind of stuff that you would just get intoxicated on. Nobody should have that much power. Avi Forrest: The goal of the SCP Foundation is to trick you. They want you to believe all of the anomalies, artifacts, and gods in their basement are real. But it's not mean-spirited, it's play. The SCP Foundation might be a covert organization with the heavy task of saving the world. But the fiction project, the one moored in our reality, is an opportunity to play like we're kids again. Ben Sisson: When I was in elementary school, when I was six or seven years old, out behind our elementary school, we had a playground. And then behind that was a very thin woodline between the back of the school and the road. I mean, it couldn't have been more than 200 ft. And then there's another main road behind that. There's not a whole lot of interesting things that happen in a stretch of trees that thin, but there was one girl who I went to school with, who, to this day I cannot remember her name, but I know exactly what she looked like: she had red hair, she was, at the time to me, captivating, she had interesting ideas. And, she was one of those people who could look into a grove of trees that small and come up with fairy tales, in a way that I had never seen before in my life. Ben Sisson: So, we sat out there, you know, it was a pretty simple playground, there wasn't that much to do. But on one of the trees in this very shallow woodline behind the playground, there was a board that had been nailed to one of those trees, like if you had put a ladder into the side of a tree and nailed boards into it. There was one board up high, and the board was just a board. The board had a single nail in it. Every so often the board would spin in the wind and it would go one way or the other. And this girl had convinced myself and half of our class that that board was put up there by a witch and it was cursed, and the turning of the board meant something or other. And, did it make any sense? Absolutely not. It was making stuff up. But we were kids and she said it in a compelling enough way that we were all hooked. Avi Forrest: Maybe not everyone's a fan of incomprehensible nightmare treasures or psychic bodies in lakes, or plague doctors. But, even if it's just for a second, forget about the water treatment plant. Think about what's underneath that sprawling complex. What's swimming down in those concrete tunnels? What needs to be secured, contained, or protected? Next time you're walking by a lake, down a deserted road, think like you're seven again. Run through the grasses, have sword fights with tree branches. Look into that abandoned building and don't just see empty space. [RADIO INTERFERENCE] Imagine something is watching you back. Avi Forrest: And the reporter finished her story and recorded it in her awesome, amazing, beautiful voice. The end. Avi Forrest: That one was just okay. Anyway, how much time is left? Shoot, we need time. Let's take a break. Avraham Forrest: Welcome back to Inner States. These episodes usually have a theme or a discussion. Alex is usually so good at these things. What would Alex do? I really wish he was here right now, but that does give me an idea. After working with him for a while, I think I can do a decent impression... Welcome to Inner States. Shows, talking, themes. Heck yes, I think I can do this. Let's land this plane. Avraham Forrest: We usually have a guest. Whatever, let's just make someone up. Adrian Whitacre. Sounds good, sounds like a professor. A professor of literature, Adrian Whitacre. Alex would probably ask them something smart. Something like... What have you figured out about how people thought about bodily stability at that time? And what this shapeshifting reveals about that? Adrian Whitacre: This is one of the things that I think is most interesting about the Old Norse sources in particular, is they give us this window into a very different way of understanding embodiment and the relationship between your body and the environment that you're in. There seems to be what other scholars have called a permeability between the self and the environment where, there's not a hard and fast physical boundary around yourself. In fact there's a lot of continuity between what is your body and what is the environment that you're moving through. Alex Chambers: That makes me curious about how much control people had. This idea of the body with its hard boundaries, you're talking about how we tend to think of ourselves, our bodies now, in the 21st century. If you're more continuous with the environment, it also suggests to me on some level you have less control. It also seems that question of control seems tricky in some of these stories. Adrian Whitacre: Yes. I think, like in Egil's Saga, the werewolf heredity that I talked about, stands as a symbol of not being in control. It's that chaotic element that makes Egil a chaotic person in the saga, difficult to be around sometimes. And it expresses that there are things that can't be controlled or contained in the same way. Although, I think there's a distinction to be made between, something that I described in Egil's Saga, where there's a hereditary chaotic element in this family, and what you see in Eyrbyggja Saga with Katla and Geirrid who are described as wise women who were crafty in terms of magic. Alex Chambers: What you've just described to me seems to be a gender distinction. The witches and the women have control, and the men have less control. Does that play out? Adrian Whitacre: Yes. I would definitely say that that is a true observation about these sagas. Alex Chambers: This is making me think too about if the men are the ones who have less control over their violence and rage, on the one hand I feel that functions as a warning, potentially. Watch out for men. But at the same time it also functions as a justification, or excuse, like `Oh, these men who are committing this violence don't have control over themselves.' Is this just my 21st century sensibility, trying to put something on top of the 12th century? Adrian Whitacre: I could see it that way and in addition, other scholars have talked about how magic for women can be a substitute for social power. So if you don't have access to different kinds of institutional power or authorized violence that the men, especially upper class men around you do, and if you can't access it vicariously, through a husband or a son, to enact that kind of violence or revenge for you, then magic can be that gendered outlet, that allows you to circumvent those institutions and take that power into your own hands. Which explains why that magic can be so frowned upon, and how women who use that magic are seen as threatening. Because they are threatening. Not just to that individual that they are taunting in the form of a seal, but also to the social order that says, no, power has to flow only through men. Alex Chambers: So, how does thinking about werewolves and other shape shifters help us understand gender? Adrian Whitacre: The werewolf forces us to think about, what does it mean when your inner self doesn't match your outside self? Or, when allegedly, your inner self doesn't match your outside self? When we see a creature who looks like a wolf, who howls like a wolf, who maybe attacks like a wolf, and yet inside that creature is trying to be something else, or knows itself to be something else. I think those questions are very applicable to ideas of gender. Particularly ideas of being trans and that sense of, when people see me, they see one thing, but on the inside I see something else. I think that the werewolf is sometimes, it's trying deliberately to make us think about those ideas of inside and outside, the relationship between our body and our soul. And sometimes I think it's incidentally helping us think about those things. Where it's producing this model that could help us think about gender, but could also help us think about lots of different aspects of ourselves. Alex Chambers: And can you describe what you mean by gender? In the sense of, how does gender work as something that's both inside and outside? Internal and external? Adrian Whitacre: You might say there are two main aspects of how we experience gender. There's the way that people interact with you, and that's informed by all of these symbols of the body that we read in a gendered way. So, you're going to speak differently, or move through space differently, in relationship to someone, depending on whether you perceive them as a man, as a woman, as masculine, or feminine. You're going to relate to them in a different way. We might call that the external, or perceived sense of gender. A sense of gender that you get from other people, and from the way that they interact with you, or from what they want from you. On the other hand we might say there's another aspect of gender. One that we often talk about as internal. You might say, people see me as a woman, but I don't feel that way. There's something in me that doesn't respond to those things, that doesn't feel that feminine things resonate with me. Adrian Whitacre: That's not something that's coming necessarily from other people, but rather from an internal sense of who you are, and we might call that the internal aspect of identity. These two things are always in tension with each other. I don't think either of those things, 100 percent determines what your gender is. It's always this kind of push and pull. That's, I think, where the metaphor of the werewolf can help us think about that, because, the thing that's fascinating about the werewolf is that it's both at the same time. Alex Chambers: Okay, cool. One concern that I'm feeling about using the werewolf to think about gender and especially if there's a link with transness, is that the werewolf is monstrous. Adrian Whitacre: I definitely see where there can be a concern with, do we want our images of queerness or images of transness to be monstrous? To that I would say, they always have been. Images of monstrosity have always been used in a variety of ways, not just werewolves, to represent that. I think there's obviously a negative aspect to that. There's an idea that queerness is threatening, that it's dangerous, but I think also there's something in there that is about how it's disruptive. It's something that is, in fact, breaking social norms, and that that can be a good thing. That can be a redemptive thing, to smash those. Many other people have said that there's an identification with the monster that they can become a positive, cool thing. Werewolves are cool, and they represent how you can become something other, and that can be powerful as well. You can say that that power is threatening, or evil, or dark in some way, but it can also be something that is empowering in a positive sense. Avraham Forrest: Adrian Whitacre is an Assistant Professor of Literature at Eureka College. They wrote their dissertation on Medieval Werewolves. Avraham Forrest: You've been listening to Inner States, from WFIU in scenic Bloomington, Indiana. If you have a story for us, or if you've got some sound we should hear, let us know, at WFIU.org/innerstates. If you like the show, review and rate us on Apple or Spotify. What's even better, is sharing the show with a friend. This episode of Inner States was produced and edited by me, Avi Forrest, with support from Alex Chambers, Eoban Binder, Jillian Blackburn, Mark Chilla, LuAnn Johnson, Sam Schemenauer, Jay Upshaw, Payton Whaley and Kayte Young. Our cool as heck Executive Producer is Eric Bolstridge. Our theme song is by Amy Oelsner and Justin Vollmar. We have additional music from the artists at Universal Production Music. Special thanks this week to Adrian Whitacre, Reilly Donaldson and Ben Sisson, my own personal Stephen King. Time for some found sound. Avraham Forrest: That was Crows in Bloomington, 2024 edition, recorded by Amy Pickard. Until next week, I am the wonderful Avi Forrest. Cloud networking and security services provider Infoblox announced SOC Insights, an AI-driven security operations solution that boosts its DNS detection and response solution, BloxOne Threat Defence. Security analysts use the solution to jumpstart investigations and reduce response time by turning vast amounts of security events, network, ecosystem, and unique DNS intelligence data into a manageable set of immediate, actionable insights at AI speed, Infoblox said. SOC Insights enables cybersecurity teams to consolidate individual alerts into insights. Each insight provides access to device, event, and attacker infrastructure details and Infobloxs unique DNS intelligence data. SOC Insights is a game-changer for SecOps, allowing them to focus on what matters, especially when theyre up against limited budget and resources, Infoblox vice president, security, and product management Craig Sanderson. At Infoblox, we envision a future where AI-driven analytics and DNS-driven intelligence dramatically elevate SecOps efficiency, with SOC Insights setting the industry standard. With evolving technologies like generative AI and cloud and the continued cyber security skills shortage in Australia with a demand of more than 17,000 professionals by 2026, the growth of sophisticated attacks is now resulting in more business risk and exposure than ever, Infoblox said. Australia and New Zealands cyber security skills shortage is so great that it cant be solved by getting more people into the industry alone, said Infoblox managing director ANZ Scott Morris. SOC Insights delivers AI-driven insights in a way the industry hasnt seen before, aligning to the new Cyber Security Strategys call for real-time threat sharing to facilitate automated threat-blocking capabilities. Enhanced DNS intelligence will help under-pressure security teams block cyber-attacks before they impact people, government, or businesses by filtering, sorting, and prioritising threats for them while they focus on what matters. With SOC Insights, Infoblox BloxOne Threat Defence can help in eliminating critical SecOps team challenges such as: Cyber-attacks: Apply DNS threat intelligence to identify threats other tools will miss and proactively disrupt adversaries infrastructure to stop threats before they occur. Alert fatigue: Identify which events matter the most by narrowing down hundreds of thousands of alerts to a more manageable set of insights with actionable guidance to accelerate the investigation and remediation process. Lengthy incident response times: Eliminate wasted time collecting, filtering, and interpreting vast amounts of event, network, and unique DNS intelligence data to enable SecOps to quickly or automatically initiate response activities. Underutilised existing security ecosystem: Share AI-driven insights with correlated and filtered data to trigger automated responses, making other tools in the security stack more effective, further improving the efficiency of SOC tools and teams. By applying AI to vast amounts of DNS and network data, Infoblox provides security teams with proactive threat disruption, insightful analytics, and intelligent ecosystem integrations, said Moor Insights & Strategy vice president and principal analyst Will Townsend. Infoblox's SOC Insights represents a shift in how security operations centres can leverage AI to transform overwhelming volumes of data into precise, actionable intelligence, said The Futurum Group vice president and practice leader Steven Dickens. By integrating unique DNS intelligence with AI-driven analytics, SOC Insights not only streamlines SecOps workflows but also sets a new industry benchmark for proactive threat detection and response, ensuring that security teams can stay ahead of increasingly sophisticated cyber threats. With SOC Insights, Managed Security Service Providers (MSSPs) can help their customers improve their security posture, optimise their security investments, and streamline their operations. IT channel partners can also unlock new opportunities to sell or uplift other solutions in the Infoblox Security Ecosystem. SOC Insights is available in Australia and New Zealand now. GUEST RESEARCH: Nearly half of Australian businesses are likely to reduce their spend on decarbonisation initiatives if macroeconomic conditions worsen, according to Engie Impact, a sustainability and decarbonisation advisory firm. The finding is based on analysis of data from Engie Impacts latest Net Zero Report titled Aligning Corporate Vision with Decarbonisation Realities. The annual global report delves into corporate perspectives on decarbonisation transformation readiness, challenges to implementation and the major decarbonisation roadblocks companies must overcome to reach Net Zero. The study surveyed more than 500 senior executives from the worlds largest companies, each employing more than 10,000 people. Australian organisations surveyed ranged in annual turnover from US$500 million to over US$10 billion, and included businesses in the technology, finance, retail, mining, industrial manufacturing, healthcare, real estate, and food and beverage industries. Reducing spending on decarbonisation initiatives could severely hinder an organisations ability to set itself up for the future, said Engie Impact managing director and head of Australia James Ramsay. Now is not the time to Australian organisations to halt progress or investment. They just need to rethink how they measure the success of their decarbonisation strategy. Few Australian organisations see decarbonisation as a commercial imperative When asked to list their top two choices on how their organisation thinks about its carbon reduction commitments, just 29% of Australians listed decarbonisation as a commercial issue compared to 33% of global peers. Additionally, 58% of Australian businesses see financial ROI as a measure of decarbonisation success versus 44% globally. These responses are in line with findings from last years Net Zero report, which found that Australian organisations rank achieving long term cost savings as the top driver of their decarbonisation strategy and goals (44% of respondents), compared to the leading response from global counterparts in which safeguarding the future of our planet was the leading driver (47%). And Australia, despite its reputation as the lucky country, is not immune to global economic headwinds. While 67% of Australian respondents believe that their organisations current level of investment is sufficient in commitment to carbon reduction, 48% say they are likely to reduce their investment on decarbonisation activity if macroeconomic conditions worsen. Amid a requirement to be seen as good corporate citizens, and with the public and investors demanding change, spending less on decarbonisation in the near-term could prove detrimental to an organisation in the long-term, both from a commercial and reputational perspective, said Ramsay. Australian organisations down on confidence, skills and time to enact decarbonisation strategies When asked to what extent do you believe having a leading sustainability strategy with excellent execution will provide your company with a material competitive advantage versus your industry peers? just 16% of Australians responded to a large extent compared to 33% of global peers. This sentiment has declined drastically among Australian organisations within a year. When asked the same question for last years report, 52% of Australian organisations responded to a large extent compared to 30% of global peers. This is a huge drop in sentiment, but perhaps understandable when we look at the larger context, said Ramsay. Last years Net Zero report found that many Australian organisations had undertaken the quick wins required to decarbonise. Now, theyre at that next stage which can be more complex and more costly to undertake, particularly in hard to abate sectors. A lack of resources may also be inhibiting progress on decarbonisation strategies in Australia. When asked what the three biggest inhibitors of implementing decarbonisation initiatives at speed were within their organisations, the top responses for Australian organisations were organisational capacity/too many other priorities (42%) and lack of specialist skills and internal resources (42%). These were in contrast to the worlds response (33% and 29% respectively, ranked 2nd and 3rd globally), which cited constraints on budget/financial investment the biggest inhibitor (34% compared to Australias 32%). Furthermore, Australian organisations are far less confident than the rest of the world when it comes to their level of decarbonisation progress compared to their competition. When asked how they assess their progress compared to their competitors, 48% responded that theyre either far ahead or slightly ahead compared to 68% globally. If you combine all of these factors and findings, it becomes quickly apparent that Australian organisations, more than any others globally, are down on confidence when it comes to their ability to achieve climate targets, said Ramsay. Amid increased complexity and cost, it might be tough to see the light at the end of the tunnel. But taking a holistic approach to decarbonising an organisation, rather than relying on quick wins, is ultimately an imperative. There are changes many can make immediately to take that holistic approach, such as creating a portfolio of initiatives some which have 10-year cycles, others two years and helping the organisation, from the board down, understand the opportunity cost of not investing in decarbonisation at scale today. A full view of the path ahead, rather than a piecemeal approach to decarbonisation, is the only way to maintain confidence that the efforts being put forward are worth the investment of time and finances. The Engie Impact 2024 Net Zero Report Engie Impacts annual Net Zero Report identifies corporate decarbonisation readiness. The collective experience of the 516 organisational leaders in our 2024 Net Zero Report drills down on the most significant implementation barriers organizations are facing, and the approaches they are taking to overcome these challenges. The report involved executives from the worlds largest companies, each employing more than 10,000 people. To read the complete Engie Impact 2024 Net Zero Report, please click here. Australia's biggest telecommunications company, Telstra, has reported a billion dollars in profit for the first half of fiscal 2024, a rise of 11.5% over the corresponding period a year prior. The company's results for the period, release on Thursday, showed it had income of $11.7 billion, a rise of 1.2% year-on-year. Telstra chief executive Vicki Brady said in a statement overall momentum was good, driven by continued growth across mobile, fixed C&SB and infrastructure. Our mobiles business remains central to growth and continues to perform strongly, growing EBITDA almost $300 million in the half driven by more customers, ARPU growth and cost discipline, she said. Our Consumer & Small Business Fixed business more than doubled EBITDA largely due to productivity, and our Infrastructure businesses also grew, reflecting continued strong demand for our assets. Within our Enterprise Fixed business, Data & Connectivity is performing as expected; however NAS (network applications and services) is clearly a long way from where we need it to be. Brady said the company was conducting a detailed review of its domestic Enterprise business and had a clear set of immediate and significant actions to address performance, which were both cost- and revenue-based. We are undertaking a full review of the products and services we provide within our Enterprise business, and particularly our NAS portfolio, to make sure they both meet the current and future needs of our customers, and create shareholder value, she said. Given the performance in our NAS business, we are tightening our FY24 Underlying EBITDA guidance range to $8.2 to $8.3 billion. FY24 guidance across other measures is reaffirmed. We have remained disciplined on reducing our costs, particularly considering the external economic environment. This discipline during the half delivered $64 million core fixed cost out, and cumulatively we've delivered $105 million since FY22. We remain absolutely committed to capital discipline, and delivering our T25 Underlying EBITDA, EPS and ROIC growth ambitions. While were being challenged by cost pressure, we still expect to achieve the large majority of our cost out ambition by the end of FY25. SIGN UP FOR THE DAILY JWR UPDATE. IT'S FREE. Just click here. William Shakespeare wrote in "The Merchant of Venice," "The sins of the father are to be laid upon the children." In the centuries since, children continue to suffer for the bad conduct of their parents. Recently, in what appears to be a bit of a twist, a jury in Michigan found a mother criminally responsible for the crimes of her son. The charges, and conviction, of Jennifer Crumbley are unprecedented. According to NBC News, it was the first time a parent in the U.S. was held criminally responsible for a child's school shooting rampage. Ethan Crumbley shot and killed four students and injured seven others at Oxford High School in Oakland County, Michigan, on Nov. 30, 2021. In order to find Jennifer Crumbley guilty of four counts of involuntary manslaughter the jury had to find that she was extremely reckless and/or grossly negligent. Voluntary manslaughter does not require intent to harm or kill, but rather, as in Crumbley's case, could she have prevented something and did not? In Michigan gross negligence "is conduct that presents an unreasonably high degree of risk to others and by a failure to exercise even the slightest care in protecting them from it and that is sometimes associated with conscious and willful indifference to their rights." Can we expect that the parents of every kid who takes a weapon to school and harms someone will be in jeopardy of criminal prosecution? The facts of each case will determine the responsibility, if any, for the parents. However, in the wake of Crumbley's conviction, there will be a great deal of pressure on prosecutors to thoroughly investigate, and prosecute, parents for the role they played in some catastrophic crime. Jennifer Crumbley's conduct cried out for accountability. Initially Ethan Crumbley went to his parents for help. He confessed to hearing voices and having hallucinations. His parents failed to seek treatment on his behalf. Crumbley and her husband, James, helped Ethan buy a semiautomatic handgun just days before the shooting. Jennifer Crumbley took her son to a practice range to shoot the handgun. The gun was left unsecured in the house. On the morning of the shooting, Mom and Dad were summoned to the school regarding some alarming classroom drawings on Ethan's notebook. They refused to take Ethan out of school because of work commitments, and did not tell the school Ethan had a gun. Upon receiving an emergency text that there was an active shooter at Ethan's school his parents didn't immediately rush to school to see if their son was safe James went home to see if his son's gun and ammunition were in the home. Their first thought was that Ethan may be the shooter. I'm sure there were failings by parents of other school shooters. This verdict does not necessarily open every parent of a school shooter to be prosecuted. However, it may be a first step in holding parents responsible, generally, for the conduct of their children. What if a parent owns a gun, and their teenage daughter takes the gun and commits an armed robbery? Is that parent responsible for the child's conduct? Obviously, a jury decision in Michigan has no precedential value in any other courtroom in Michigan, let alone across the country. Heck, James Crumbley will be tried next month on the same four counts of involuntary manslaughter and may be found not guilty. This verdict charts a path forward for expanding the number of people to be blamed for a horrendous event like a school massacre. Horrified observers find comfort in pointing the finger at some person, or reason, for the senseless killing in this case it is poor parenting. To paraphrase Shakespeare, all parents may pay the price for the sins of some parents. The pain of losing a child is incomprehensible. The pain endured by parents of a child who takes the lives of other children is also crushing being blamed for their child's conduct would be catastrophic. SIGN UP FOR THE DAILY JWR UPDATE. IT'S FREE. Just click here. The following note was passed along to us by a dad whose kids attend a public school in Texas. It says (emphasis mine): Parents we need your help in keeping our children safe at the playground after hours and on the weekends. It is important that children are supervised at all times. We have had reports of children climbing on the outside of the play equipment which is really unsafe. Some children are trying to sit on top of the big slide. This is completely unacceptable behavior. We are reminding our children again today the same playground expectations apply in the afternoon, evening, and on weekends. They need to play safely and follow the expectations so they do not get hurt. If you are at the playground and notice unsafe behavior please remind them to play safely. Thank you for your help. Signed, the Overlords of Overprotection Well, not really. I suppose it was signed by the principal or superintendent. But as our secret source asks: Did these people not climb trees as kids? I grew up in the '80s and '90s and loved climbing trees. Kids want to climb on stuff. We are primates! Ah, but now we are primates with law degrees and an overactive sense of doom. "Do not get hurt." "Play safely." "Keep our children safe." "Unsafe behavior." "Really unsafe." In just 119 words, the school manages to use the word "safe" five times, suggesting the playground is a hellscape of danger. As hellscapes require an ever-present boo-boo squad, that's what parents are requested to become. So two thoughts. No. 1: This is why I try not to blame "helicopter parents" for hovering. They live in a culture that sees a climb up the slide as Free Solo 2. This kind of LSD-level distortion is reinforced through propaganda like this school note. It simultaneously inflates the possibility of danger AND turns the job of parent into something new and all-encompassing. In 2024 America, your child is unsafe anytime their heinie hits the mulch chips, so you must be with them lest that horror occur. Have a nice life! Bring snacks! And if you're not there, the school will receive "reports." No. 2: There's an alternative to outdoor play that does not require a parent giving up all their free time. In this alternate world, kids can hang out with friends, talk, joke, climb, slide, ride and play to their hearts' content. Heck, they can fly, and turn into dragons and meet real people from across the world. And it fits in their pocket! Every minute they are prohibited from playing in the real world is another minute they can be on a screen. If kids' real-world playtime is limited to parents' real-world free time, phones become their default playground. And it's default (ha, ha) of policies like this. Obviously, the school is worried about risk and lawsuits. And yet, it was just last week that polite, careful CANADA woke up from its own safety coma. After years of things like decommissioning beloved toboggan hills, requiring helmets on the playground and investigating parents who let their kids under-age-12 walk around unsupervised, the Canadian Paediatric Society announced that, actually, kids NEED "risky play." Why? Because their mental and physical health has been plummeting all the years they've been getting "safer." If a culture is trying to err on the side of safety, it cannot ignore the downside of prohibiting kids from playing at the local playground without a security detail. CHICAGO A former Illinois Department of Agriculture employee has been sentenced to a year in federal prison for groping five women during inspections of Chicago-area doggy day cares and lying about it in a lawsuit filed by one of the alleged victims. Jose Guillen, 43, of Melrose Park, pleaded guilty last year to obstruction of justice, admitting in a plea agreement with prosecutors that he intentionally touched (the victims) buttocks for purposes of his own sexual gratification and lied when he denied it under oath. U.S. District Judge Joan Lefkow imposed the one-year prison term Wednesday. According to prosecutors, Guillen groped five separate victims between 2019 and 2021 while working as an animal and animal products investigator, assigned to conduct on-site inspections of animal care facilities in Cook County. In 2021, Guillen knowingly lied during a sworn deposition in a federal lawsuit filed by one of the alleged victims, Leah Bindig, saying he had accidentally touched Bindigs buttocks during an on-site inspection as he was trying to break a fall. It was accidental, Guillen said during the deposition, according to a transcript included in the indictment. I accidentally had my hand, it went like in that direction. I have two left feet so obviously I, Im a little clumsy. He also falsely denied touching other alleged victims in the same deposition, according to the indictment. WBBM-Ch. 2 broke the story about the allegations against Guillen in 2021. Bindig, who owns Aeslin Pup Hub locations in Bucktown, Noble Square and Ukrainian Village, told CBS that Guillen backed her into a watercooler during an inspection in 2019 and asked to see a photo of her in a bikini. Surveillance video from the facility allegedly shows the encounter. Then he starts putting his hand on my shoulder, on my arm, on my back, Bindig told the station. Im being inspected. Im not being were not on a date. In asking for up to two years in prison, prosecutors said that after Guillen was charged, law enforcement found stored photographs of other women on his electronic devices that appeared to have been taken surreptitiously from behind at times while the women were bending over, such as to pick up something from the floor. None of these women consented to the defendants lecherous advances, Assistant U.S. Attorneys Amarjeet Bhachu and Diane MacArthur wrote in a recent filing. It was only when confronted by a series of accusers who were brave enough to step forward to put a stop to his misconduct that the defendant capitulated and accepted responsibility for his serial wrongdoing by pleading guilty. In a letter to the court, Guillen wrote he was terribly sorry for the pain he caused others and knows that only I am to blame. I know that I betrayed the trust that was placed in me by others, especially the persons whom I violated, Guillen wrote. I know that I cannot go back in time and change it all; if I could, I would. Guillen resigned from the Department of Agriculture after the allegations came to light. Photos: Illinois State Fair political days through the years 2012 State Fair 2012 State Fair 2015 State Fair 2015 State Fair 2015 State Fair 2007 State Fair 2008 State Fair 2008 State Fair 2009 State Fair 2012 State Fair 2012 State Fair 2005 State Fair 2004 State Fair 2003 State Fair 2003 State Fair 2006 State Fair 2007 State Fair 2012 State Fair 2018 State Fair 2012 State Fair 2021 State Fair 2021 State Fair A Lubbock Power & Light electrical substation is seen on July 14, 2022. Trace Thomas for The Texas Tribune LUBBOCK For nearly 25 years, much of Texas population has lived in cities that participate in the states open energy marketplace. But not the residents of Lubbock, who have been serviced exclusively by one electric company Lubbock Power & Light, the citys municipal provider. For more than a decade, residents have desperately wanted an open market, sharing their dissatisfaction with their bills. Residents now have what they long wished for Lubbocks electric market is open. Advertisement Article continues below this ad For several weeks leading up to the switch, which took place Thursday, provider fairs have become the manifestation of the states energy marketplace. The city has hosted rows and rows of energy companies at the Lubbock Civic Center. With each one, dozens of smiling salespeople greeted residents with brochures, sweepstake prizes and promises of free nights of electricity and other deals to save big bucks. However, with more than 30 companies to choose from, the process has been daunting, residents say. And the dream of finding a new low rate might not be fulfilled. Its surprising how many there are. Where did they all come from? asked Brenda King on her second trip to the electric fair. It feels like all the people from out of town and state are swarming us. Preparing for change The switch from a single municipal provider to the states open marketplace has been several years in making. Last year, the municipal electric company completed its integration into the state power grid managed by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, often referred to as ERCOT. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Texans have been critical of ERCOT and the stability of the grid since the February 2021 winter storm that left millions without power. Many Texans are still paying more each month for electricity because of the storm and will do so for many more years. Consumers in Lubbock are now facing the same thing consumers for the rest of ERCOT are facing, said Ed Hirs, an energy economics professor at the University of Houston. Texas established its open market in 1999. The market enables homeowners and renters to shop for energy like they do a cellphone plan with many, many more options. At the time the market opened, Lubbock was in the Southwest Power Pool, a grid operator governed by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. City leaders in 2015 sought to join the ERCOT grid when their contract with Xcel Energy expired, with one big benefit the move would eliminate the need to build a $700 million power plant to stay with SPP. Then in 2018, the City Council agreed to have the city join the states open marketplace. In the wake of the winter storm, some Lubbock residents expressed concern about the city joining the states independent power grid. Advertisement Article continues below this ad By then, however, the city had invested millions of dollars into the move since 2015, which was also the key to bringing competition to its community. Lubbock became the first major city to join the ERCOT market in nearly 25 years, marking the largest single transfer of customers in the organizations history. There have been costly hurdles along the way, including resolving the citys contract with Xcel and shutting down its usage on the SPP grid. But Matt Rose, LP&Ls chief public affairs officer, said Lubbock could be used as a test case for other cities that might want to do the same. Lubbock was uniquely situated to make this move, Rose said. For a city ready and willing to do this, it can be done. But if you were not in that position, from our opinion, it would be next to impossible. A choice to make To prepare for the switch, residents have gotten creative in researching their options, trying to find the best deal. Aside from the information at fairs, Lubbock residents started sharing and comparing what they were hearing from companies in social media groups. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Some retailers have also taken to local television with flashy commercials some that star a flexing armadillo and targeted ads to grab attention. Nicholas Bergfeld, a Lubbock resident and public policy adviser, said its hard for people to grasp because the marketplace, and its retailers, are well established. The way they advertise and how they engage are things Lubbock citizens have never seen, Bergfeld said. Bergfeld said residents should read between the lines when signing their contracts. He said there are providers with enticing incentives that draw consumers away from fixed rates, which could cost more in the end. For example, one company offers a plan where the two highest-usage days a week are free. In that plan, consumers would be charged a higher rate than if they chose a fixed-rate plan without extra perks. The average residential price per kilowatt-hour in Texas last November was 14.61 cents, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. LP&Ls current rate is in that range, but has fluctuated in recent years. As of Feb. 13, about 45% of customers had chosen a provider, according to Lubbock Power & Light. Residents had until Feb. 15 to choose a new electric provider or be randomly assigned one from three providers Reliant Energy, TXU Energy or Octopus Energy at midmarket rates for the next 90 days. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Regardless of which ones customers choose, Rose stressed that people can change providers at the end of their terms if theyre not satisfied. If you dont have a good experience with who you chose, you have the ability to choose another one when that contract expires, Rose said. Plans and perks As the deadline approached, Chuck Greenslade was among the Lubbock residents trying to narrow down his options in time. More choices are refreshing, he said, particularly after having high bills since moving to Lubbock from Denton in 2022. Greenslade and his wife tried to lower their electricity usage to drive down their bill. They would change the temperature for the house and adjust the light settings. They eventually switched to a window unit for their bedroom to regulate temperatures without driving up the bill. It didnt make much of a difference. Ive lived in a variety of places in Texas, Greenslade said. The cost of energy in Lubbock was the highest of anywhere Ive ever lived. Greenslade started to track some providers and their plans in a spreadsheet. Hes drawn toward the ones that offer some form of free energy hours, either on some nights or a weekend each month. He was leaning toward Reliant, a provider hes used in the past. A Winston-Salem teenager, who was killed by gunfire Thursday night, shot himself in his hand in March 2023 at Forsyth Technical Community College, leading to a lockdown of the campus. Officers found Shannon Howard James Pitts, 19, of Sink Street suffering from multiple gunshots shortly after 8 p.m. in the 1000 block of Goldfloss Street, police said. Pitts died at the scene. Officers also found Zyair Sebastian Mcnairy, 18, who lives on Forest Glade Road, suffering from a gunshot wound at the scene, police said. Mcnairy was taken to a local hospital for treatment of his injury, which is considered as non-life threatening, police said. Last year, Pitts participated with about 600 other high school students at a career event at Forsyth Tech on March 30, 2023. Pitts, then 18, was a student at Winston-Salem Preparatory Academy when he allegedly carried a concealed gun on a school bus from the school to Forsyth Tech. About 10 a.m. on that day, a college police officer reported shots fired in a second-floor restroom in the Strickland Center. Authorities found Pitts near the restroom with a gunshot wound to his left hand. The campus then went into lockdown for three hours until police determined that there was no threat of a mass shooting at Forsyth Tech. Pitts was charged with two counts of possessing a gun on educational property and two counts of carrying a concealed gun, court records show. He was scheduled to appear March 11 in Forsyth Superior Court. An arrest warrant accused Pitts of possessing a 9 mm PMF handgun, which is known as ghost gun because it has no series numbers. PMF stands for privately-made firearm, and they are usually made from kits purchased online. Detectives are investigating Thursdays night shooting. Anyone with information regarding this incident can call Winston-Salem police at 336-773-7700, Crime Stoppers at 336-727-2800 or its Spanish line at 336-728-3904. Finally, Friday. Eyes on the prize not the clock. To the unsuspecting, an old house near the edge of the Summit School campus looks a bit bit unruly. Some days, the entirety of the front porch is lined with bicycles of all sizes. The interior, two floors and several rooms, is filled with tools, tires, spare parts. After school and on weekend mornings, the house is part repair shop and part lab. Students volunteer rebuilding and rehabbing bikes for a nonprofit called the Twin City Bike Collective. The idea was is simple. Take in discarded and donated bicycles and fix them. New tires and brake pads. Maybe replace a rusty chain. When finished, volunteers often take truckloads of bikes to nonprofits and organizations that work with disadvantaged kids and families. Most of the time, we (donate) bikes in bunches to other groups that give them to kids. The Housing Authority and things like that, said Chris Culp, the founder and director of the bike collective. Its awesome pulling up in the truck and seeing the look on the kids faces. Culp, a teacher and the director of technology at Summit, took the idea from a friend who started the effort out of his garage - a spiritual descendant of a legendary Winston-Salem figure named Jesse Mule Powers. Powers, the son of a preacher, and a buddy named Richard Pinball Allen repaired and gave more than 1,200 bikes to kids in his Southside neighborhood between 1982 and 2014 when he surely earned his angels wings. I aint never seen an armored truck in a funeral procession, Powers said. You cant take it with you. Besides, I guess I enjoyed it more than the kids did. The same can be said for Culp. I think itll be what I do after I retire, he said. Lately, though, the bike collective has taken a turn in an unexpected but equally rewarding direction. In addition to delivering truckloads of bikes to eager kids, the collective has become a go-to for World Relief, an international agency with deep roots in the Triad that helps refugees resettle. Volunteers realized that reliable transportation ranked just behind shelter, clothing and food in order of necessity. World Relief is a great partner, Culp said. They do the vetting and tell us exactly what they need. They might call and say, Weve got a man, 58 who needs a way to work. That way we know what size and kind of bike to get. And every so often, word gets back to the Twin City Bike Collective about just how far a simple bike can take a new immigrant. In 2021, World Relief volunteer Peter Jennings texted Culp about a man named Fraidon Sultani, whod just arrived from Afghanistan. Sultani needed a way to his job and English as a Second Language classes. And the bike collective was happy to provide it. So nice. Very helpful, Sultani said. With an initial finger hold provided by a simple bicycle, Sultani, his wife and four kids have real hope for the proverbial better life. Its mind boggling what people go through to get here and what a difference (a bike) can make, Jennings said. It really is. 'No special treatment' GREENSBORO The verdict, at least as far as members of the City Council are concerned, is in and it couldnt be more clear. City Manager Taiwo Jaiyeoba received no preferential treatment, the council concluded Thursday, from Greensboro police officers called to his house Dec. 28 to investigate a report about domestic violence. To reach that decision, council members reviewed footage taken by officers body cameras. It is our collective opinion that the domestic disturbance was thoroughly investigated, reads a collective statement issued by council members. Greensboro Police Department in consultation with the District Attorneys office determined that no charges were warranted. Furthermore, in our view, the City Manager did not receive preferential treatment. A Readers Digest version of the incident and whats transpired to date reads this way: Police were called to Jaiyeobas house on Dec. 28 in reference to a family disorder. Subsequent reports released to the public listed the manager and two of his daughters as victims of an assault who suffered an apparent minor injury; the public report did not include a suspect. No arrests were made and Mayor Nancy Vaughan was quick to back Jaiyeoba, saying that she had not seen (or heard) anything that would cause her to question Jaiyeobas character or fitness to serve. Jaiyeoba wore an arm sling to council meetings afterward. Vaughan said that the body-cam video, in her opinion, did not show that his daughters had any apparent injuries. Fair enough. The City Council reached the same conclusion. In its statement, the council said that officers spent a considerable time interviewing the family on Dec. 28 and that a senior detective interviewed Jaiyeoba and his family over the course of the two days after the incident. Of course they did. Cops arent stupid. They knew exactly where they were going and who owned the house. Patrol officers no doubt ran the information up the chain of command a point noted by an attorney for the Greensboro Police Officers Association last month. I understand there was a visible injury in terms of a shoulder, attorney Amiel Rossabi told a colleague at The News & Record. This is an arrest every time. The only reason they wouldnt make the arrest is if the city manager called the (police) chief or the deputy chief. The mayor and council may well be correct in their conclusions. Theres no reason to think otherwise and theyve all reviewed body cam footage. Still, a Superior Court judge scheduled to hear Monday arguments about releasing the footage to the public should give extra weight to maintaining confidence in local government and police. Rank-and-file cops, smart ones, long ago realized that body-cams were an ally. Do the right thing and the video evidence will show that. Transparency and accountability demand a public release to prove no special treatment of a highly paid city official was provided. Her blank face in court spoke volumes. Jennifer Crumbley saw no problem handing her severely depressed 15-year-old a semiautomatic handgun as a Christmas present. Ethan soon after turned the gun on the student body of Oxford High, killing four. What makes this case both chilling and sickening is that Ethan had telegraphed his rapid unravelling, and his mother ignored it. He told her there was a demon in the house. He sent her desperate text messages that she did not address: Jennifer was reportedly off tending to her horses and a secretive six-month affair. The school called in both parents to discuss a violent drawing Ethan had made in math class. It showed a bleeding person and a gun and the words blood everywhere and the thoughts wont stop and help me on a math sheet. The parents failed to tell the school he had a gun. And they didnt take him home. They had jobs, you know. When the school told the parents that Ethan was found searching online for ammunition, Jennifer sent her boy a supportive text. It read: LOL (laughing out loud), Im not mad at you. You have to learn not to get caught. Jennifer failed to impress the jury with praise of her parenting skills and her sweet descriptions of family Thanksgiving dinners. She blamed Ethans father for not properly storing the weapon, but that also didnt get her off the hook. Jennifer was convicted on four counts of involuntary manslaughter and sentenced to life in prison. Her husband will soon be tried. What is going on? Americans have always owned guns for hunting, sport or self-defense. But todays politicized gun mania has turned deadly firearms into toys for children or fashion accessories. There was that infamous case of the 6-year-old who shot his elementary school teacher in Newport News, Va. His mother was sentenced to two years in prison for child neglect. How on earth did a first grader get access to a loaded gun? It was lying around the house. The gun obsession played a part in the horrific 2012 elementary school shooting in Newtown, Ct, that left 27 innocents dead. The killers divorced mother, Nancy Lanza, would go to bars at night bragging to the guys about her guns. Despite son Adams history of serious mental illness, she left the firearms strewn around their house. Today a jury probably would have locked her up and thrown away the key had Adam not murdered her first. Other lonely women have been known to seek company by making common cause with the male-dominated gun fixation. In Oregon, Laurel Harper participated in gun forums, alternating her topics between descriptions of her sons mental illness and her gun collection. She probably expected pats on the head when she told the fellas, I keep two full mags in my Glock case. And the ARs and AKs (semiautomatics) all have loaded mags. Wildly clueless, she criticized lame states that put limits on loaded firearms in the home. Her son Christopher Harper-Mercer had been involuntarily hospitalized for psychiatric treatment. He brought six guns to Umpqua Community College in Roseburg and slaughtered 10 people. After the massacre, Laurel told detectives that Christopher was mad at the world. Are parents who keep unsecured loaded weapons in homes shared with disturbed or very young children themselves mentally off? The argument can be made. But if police removed arms from adults without criminal records, the gun lobby would go crazy. Legal experts see the Crumbley case as the first to directly hold parents culpable for giving a child who turns guns on others access to weapons. But where did these parents come from? How about Hitler? I listened in horror as Sen. Ron Johnson explained that Ukraine cant win the war so theres no point in supporting the effort as Putin wont stop until he wins. Is that our new approach from the U.S. House of Representatives? How about Hitler? He really wanted to keep going until he won as well and thank God we intervened. We are who we are because we keep our word with our allies. I find Johnsons comments shameful. Robyn Mixon Winston Salem Critiquing a critique As a political observer and life-long student of world politics, Im compelled to address the assertions in Cal Thomas op-ed The Unmaking of a president (Feb. 13). While scrutinizing political leaders performance is crucial, it must be done with a commitment to accuracy, transcending partisan biases. This principle is paramount, regardless of ones allegiance to Biden or Trump. Attempting to draw parallels between Joe Biden and past presidents, as presented in Theodore H. Whites book, oversimplifies the dynamics of each presidency. Each leader is shaped by unique circumstances and personal qualities, rendering direct comparisons inadequate. Focusing solely on isolated incidents, such as misidentifying a foreign leader or stumbling during a news conference, fails to provide a meaningful evaluation of a presidents abilities. Such slip-ups are common among leaders and should not overshadow their broader actions and policies. Implying that Vice President Kamala Harriss defense of President Biden reflects his incompetence lacks substance. Harris, like all members of any administration, Republican or Democratic, is duty-bound absent criminality to support the president, irrespective of personal opinions. Moreover, Thomas comments on the treatment of Biden and Trump by the justice system overlooks significant legal disparities between their respective cases and only serves to undermine the publics belief in the judicial process. Critiquing any presidents performance is valid. Baseless speculation and partisan rhetoric, however, only serve to deepen the political divide and detract from meaningful discussions. We need to demand more of our leaders, and critics. Edward Hanes Jr. Winston Salem Protecting protections Many thanks to your new climate and environment reporter, Chaewon Chung, for covering Gov. Coopers recent executive order protecting millions of acres of the states natural areas, including ecologically vital wetlands, which provide crucial habitat for wildlife and naturally store massive amounts of carbon that would otherwise enter the atmosphere and worsen the climate crisis. Chung notes that the N.C. Farm Act of 2023 stripped the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality of some of its previous authority to protect wetlands, which is one of the reasons Gov. Cooper needed to issue this order. When the U.S. Supreme Court drastically reduced the number of EPA-protected wetlands last year, the N.C. General Assembly, spurred on by the states Homebuilders Association, likewise acted to prevent our state regulators from sticking to the higher standard previously enforced nationwide. Journal readers will remember that your previous climate reporter exposed the fact that the N.C. Homebuilders Association made generous and well-placed political contributions to ensure that the General Assembly would squash efforts to update our building codes codes which ensure greater safety in the face of worsening storms and set standards for energy efficiency that will help North Carolina reduce emissions. Insurance companies dont like these shenanigans, and neither should we, if we dont want to see our premiums shoot through the roof. Do we really want our politics manipulated by special interests looking to make a buck by sacrificing the natural beauty of our state and the safety of our homes? Matthew Mayers Winston-Salem Tuttle for judge Early voting in Forsyth County is fast approaching, with a number of candidates vying for support in local races. As a lifetime resident of Winston-Salem and a dedicated member of the Democratic Party, I am proud to support Lauren A. Tuttle for District Court judge. I believe she will serve with integrity and grace while ensuring that justice must be accessible to all, at all times. Its time; vote for Lauren A. Tuttle. Pat F. Kirkman Winston-Salem Minutes before her window to formally file for reelection closed, Nebraska state Sen. Julie Slama announced that she will not seek a second full term in the Legislature this year. The 27-year-old lawmaker from Dunbar and newly minted lawyer will instead begin a new chapter as a private attorney "and focus on the joys and responsibilities of being a new mom," she said in a statement posted to social media. "It has been the honor and privilege of my lifetime to serve my neighbors in Southeast Nebraska," Slama said, thanking her family and pointing to legislation she championed in her single full term as a senator, such as bringing voter ID requirements to Nebraska's elections and infrastructure upgrades throughout her district. "In January 2025, District 1 will have a new state senator," she wrote. "Until then I'm going to keep fighting the good fight for Southeast Nebraska in our Legislature." Slama's announcement marks a surprising end to her tenure in the Legislature, which began in 2019 when then-Gov. Pete Ricketts appointed the then-22-year-old law student to replace former Sen. Dan Watermeier, who resigned from the body after winning a seat on Nebraska's Public Service Commission. She ran for a full term in 2020, beating Janet Palmtag with 68% of the vote in a heated Republican primary that saw much of the state's GOP establishment back Slama over Palmtag, a long-time state party volunteer. Palmtag in 2021 sued the Nebraska Republican Party over political mailers the party sent to voters in the lead-up to the election that claimed Palmtag had "broke the law & lost her real estate license," neither of which were true. Slama, who did not return a phone call seeking comment Thursday evening, had given little public indication that she planned to end her political career before Thursday's announcement though she had repeatedly brought her young son, Clyde, to work with her this year, routinely carrying him with her on the legislative floor. And she had grown increasingly at odds with the new-age Nebraska GOP, which was taken over by conservative activists in 2022, when establishment party leaders loyal to Ricketts were unseated at a contentious state party convention since described as a "coup." In a speech on the legislative floor earlier this month, Slama called the Nebraska GOP "broke" and, almost immediately, faced attacks from nameless far-right accounts on X, the social media website more commonly known as Twitter. Her comments came as she and 25 other conservative state senators circulated a letter endorsing Nebraska's federal incumbents in a break with the state party, which withheld endorsements from the state's five congressional officeholders. Slama, too, had been critical of hyper-online conservatives who had taken to hurling personal attacks at the lawmaker over her support of establishment Republicans, including Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska's 2nd Congressional District. In response to one such attack from an anonymized social media account that suggested Slama wasn't sufficiently conservative and had "no maternal instinct" because she had utilized child care rather than watching her son herself, Slama quipped: "And we wonder why the Republican Party is struggling to draw young women voters?" As a lawmaker, Slama championed deeply conservative causes, helping usher in the age of voter ID requirements in Nebraska, where voters will be required to show a photo ID at the ballot box for the first time in May. In one memorable moment in last year's contentious legislative session, Slama, then pregnant with her son, left a local hospital May 19 and arrived visibly ill on the floor of the Legislature to cast the deciding vote to advance LB574, further restricting access to abortion in the state and banning gender-affirming surgeries for minors in a single vote. A bipartisan group of lawmakers formed a wall around Slama to shield her from TV cameras as she cast the consequential vote. Filing deadline otherwise quiet Slama's decision not to run for reelection marked the only surprise that accompanied Thursday's filing deadline for incumbents hoping to appear on May's primary ballot. The 10 other incumbent state senators who are eligible to seek office again this year have all filed to run in their respective districts, according to the statewide candidate list published by Nebraska's Secretary of State's Office. That includes five lawmakers Sen. Eliot Bostar of Lincoln, Sen. Rita Sanders of Bellevue and Sens. John Cavanaugh, Jen Day and Terrell McKinney of Omaha who entered the Legislature for the first time after winning elections in 2020. Four more senators Sen. Rob Dover of Norfolk, Sen. Kathleen Kauth of Omaha and Sens. Beau Ballard and Carolyn Bosn of Lincoln are incumbents but will run for their respective seats in the Legislature for the first time this year. Ricketts appointed Kauth and Dover to the body in 2022, while Gov. Jim Pillen picked Ballard and Bosn to fill vacant seats after he was elected governor in November 2022. Meanwhile, Sen. Ray Aguilar of Grand Island, the longest-serving member of the Legislature, will seek his fourth full term as a lawmaker this year. He was initially appointed to the body in 1999 and won the right to keep his seat in 2000, serving two terms that ended in 2008 before returning for his third full term in 2020. In Nebraska, state senators are only allowed to serve two consecutive terms in the Legislature but can return after waiting at least four years to run again. Thirteen lawmakers are term limited this year. Meet the Nebraska state senators making laws in 2024 Before he became a police officer, Ryan Dale wanted to be a pastor. But a sense of duty during a national crisis led the Kearney native to pursue a career in law enforcement that has spanned 20 years and several different roles at the Lincoln Police Department. And on Friday, he became LPDs newest assistant chief. Dale, the eldest of four siblings, laughed earlier this week when asked about his childhood, which also included stops in Oklahoma and South Dakota. I think I paved the way for my younger siblings, Dale said, smiling. I broke my parents so it would be easier for them. After graduating from high school in Pierre, South Dakota, Dale enrolled at Concordia University, the private Lutheran school in Seward. I thought I wanted to be a pastor, never thought of being a police officer at all, he said. But then 9/11 happened, and his future changed. Dale remembers watching the World Trade Center towers being hit and seeing all the first responders run toward the danger. That led to him pivoting career choices. I thought, I could do that; I can help in that way, Dale said. After doing some research on law enforcement opportunities, he applied to the Lincoln Police Department and became an officer on Dec. 4, 2003. At the time Dale was laser focused on helping people out in the field. He did not think past being a patrol officer. He was eventually promoted to captain in 2017 and, in 2020, took over the Lincoln/Lancaster County Narcotics Task Force. Dales stint at the helm of the plainclothes task force hasnt been without turmoil, however, as there have been two police shootings in recent years and a rash of fentanyl overdose deaths in 2021 that resulted in the arrest of the Nebraska State Patrols evidence technician and her boyfriend. The first shooting occurred on Nov. 24, 2021, when a Nebraska State Trooper on the task force which includes State Patrol troopers, LPD officers and deputies with the Lancaster County Sheriffs Office shot German Pedraza after a struggle for a gun. Pedraza died at a local hospital five days after the shooting. A grand jury cleared law enforcement of any wrongdoing. And on May 1, 2023, two members of the narcotics unit shot Chace Abney after he allegedly fired one round toward the officers. Abney died at a local hospital five days later. A grand jury also justified law enforcements use of force in that incident. In the summer of 2021, Dales narcotics unit led an investigation linking fentanyl-laced cocaine that caused unprecedented stretch of overdose deaths to a former state patrol evidence technician. Anna Idigima and George Weaver Jr., the owner of a Lincoln restaurant, were arrested in the theft of more than $1.2 million worth of narcotics from the patrols evidence facility, including $329,800 worth of cocaine, according to the State Patrol. If people are losing their lives, thats our biggest focus, obviously, and fentanyl is the cause of that, he said. Over the last few years, weve seen a larger supply of fentanyl coming into the community. He said the narcotics unit has changed a lot of their investigative strategies to try to intercept drugs, particularly fentanyl, before they even get to Lincoln. Weve tried to push our cases in a way that we can find out about drugs elsewhere ... and work with other agencies in other states, he said. Dale will be taking over for Assistant Chief Brian Jackson, who is retiring in May and will help Dale become familiar with his new role in the coming months. The promotion marks Acting Police Chief Michon Morrows first significant hire since taking over for former Police Chief Teresa Ewins more than six months ago. It remains unclear whether Mayor Leiron Gaylor Baird intends to remove the acting from Morrows title and make her the police chief. But there is currently no search for a replacement. Dale will take over Jacksons role as assistant chief of support, and Assistant Chief Jason Stille will remain in his current role as chief of operations. No replacement has been announced for the new commander of the Lincoln/Lancaster County Narcotics Task Force. Dale and his wife have five children three boys and two girls. My hobby is spending time with my kids and doing their things, he said. But Dales sense of helping others doesnt end when he takes off his uniform at the end of the day. He is a youth leader at his church, helping high school-aged kids learn life lessons. Last year, he and a group of students traveled to Mexico on a mission and helped build a house for a single mother and her child. The church plans to return to Mexico again in the future, this time to build three houses. I love doing that sort of thing, Dale said. It not only makes a difference to the people that youre helping, but then it changes the outlook for the kids that youre going with. Top Journal Star photos for February 2024 Today is Friday, Feb. 16, 2024. Let's get caught up. Keep scrolling for celebrity birthdays and a look back at this date in history. Plus, check out our daily news podcast: *** Putin critic Alexei Navalny has died in prison, officials say Alexei Navalny, the fiercest foe of Russian President Vladimir Putin who crusaded against official corruption and staged massive anti-Kremlin protests, died in prison Friday, Russias prison agency said. He was 47. The Federal Prison Service said in a statement that Navalny felt unwell after a walk on Friday and lost consciousness. An ambulance arrived to try to rehabilitate him, but he died. Navalnys spokeswoman Kira Yarmysh said on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, that the politicians team had no confirmation of his death so far and that his lawyer was traveling to the town where he was held. *** Takeaways from two Trump case hearings in New York and Georgia In Manhattan, a judge ruled that Donald Trumps hush-money case will begin on March 25, making it the first of his indictments to go to trial. So there are fewer than 40 days before he becomes the first former president in U.S. history to be tried on criminal charges. By that time, Trump could very well have won enough Republican delegates to be his partys presumptive nominee. In Atlanta, attorneys grilled a special prosecutor on the Georgia election interference indictment against Trump over the prosecutor's romantic relationship with Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, trying to get Willis and her office thrown off the case. Here are other takeaways from two courtrooms on Thursday: *** 5 patients die as oxygen runs out in Gaza hospital seized by Israeli forces, health officials say Five patients in intensive care died after their oxygen cut off in southern Gaza's main hospital that was stormed by Israeli troops, causing chaos for hundreds of staff and wounded inside, health officials said Friday. Troops were searching the complex where the military said it believes the remains of hostages abducted by Hamas might be located. *** MORE TOP STORIES *** TODAY IN HISTORY Today in history: Feb. 16 In 1959, Fidel Castro became premier of Cuba a month and a-half after the overthrow of Fulgencio Batista. Today in sports history: Feb. 16 In 1970, Joe Frazier retains his world heavyweight title with a fifth-round knockout of Jimmy Ellis. See more sports moments from this day in *** TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS Celebrity birthdays: Feb. 16 Andy Taylor Chloe Wepper Danielle Haim Elizabeth Olsen Ice-T John McEnroe LeVar Burton Lupe Fiasco Mahershala Ali Sarah Clarke Sen. John Ossoff A bill heard Thursday in the Legislature would give Nebraska environmental regulators the authority to deny a livestock operation a permit if it contributes to further groundwater contamination in Nebraska. Omaha Sen. Machaela Cavanaughs proposal (LB1258) would also allow the Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy to deny a permit to a confined animal feeding operation, or CAFO, if the applicant failed to install monitoring wells in nearby groundwater management areas. Cavanaugh told the Natural Resources Committee her bill took existing Department of Environment and Energy Regulations and would make them state law, which she said would give them teeth and make them more enforceable. The strengthening of statute will allow the department to make sure that the concentrated animal feeding operation is monitoring and reporting as their permits are renewed, she said, adding the reports would also be sent to the local Natural Resources District. LB1258 is one of several bills introduced in the Legislature this year seeking to address and reduce nitrate contamination in Nebraskas groundwater, which has been linked to pregnancy complications, birth defects and pediatric cancers. Studies have shown pregnant women who drink water laced with nitrates are at a higher risk for premature labor, miscarriages and anemia, while their babies experience higher rates of birth defects compared to the national average. Nebraska also has the seventh-highest rate of pediatric cancer of which nitrates have been pointed to as a cause in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and is the highest among states in the Midwest. Nitrates have also been connected to colorectal cancer, thyroid disease and other illnesses. Cavanaugh said her bill seeks to increase data collection about nitrates and would work in concert with another bill (LB1172) introduced by Sen. Brad von Gillern of Elkhorn that aims to expedite reporting from Nebraskas state cancer registry to researchers. We should work comprehensively to tackle this growing crisis, Cavanaugh told the committee. Several members of the committee said livestock facilities already must clear high hurdles before being granted a permit from state regulators, while others said the bulk of the problem originated elsewhere. Theyre really not the culprits here, said Sen. Mike Jacobson of North Platte. If youre really going to point to something, in my mind it is irrigated fields that were over-fertilized with nitrogen fertilizer in the '60s and '70s. Creating more regulations could force operations to close, Jacobson added, to which Cavanaugh assured him that was not her intent: There are nitrates coming into the water for a multitude of reasons. This is just one that comes to light that needs attention. Supporters of the bill, which included environmental groups and property owners, said it would help establish any link between the expansion of CAFOs throughout Nebraska and increased nitrates in the groundwater, which would give lawmakers the information needed to act to protect residents. Nancy Meyer, who lives near Cedar Bluffs, told the committee a poultry operation opened three and a half miles away from her home with little notice, leaving neighbors rushing to get information about the potential environmental impacts. The most important thing about this bill is that the standards for permitting any CAFO should be strict, consistent and enforced, she said, which would ensure operators are not cutting corners at the expense of the local area and its residents. A voting rights and public health advocacy group also backed the bill, saying it would protect Nebraskans in the future. With the monitoring well requirements, Nebraska will be able to stay ahead of any further degradation to its groundwater, said Rachel Gibson of the League of Women Voters of Nebraska. But some on the committee remained unconvinced. Both Jacobson and Sen. Tom Brandt of Plymouth asked if homeowners in urban areas who fertilize their lawns should also be subject to groundwater monitoring regulations. Jacobson said he believed efforts to control the nitrogen application rates, ensuring livestock facilities maintain liners on their lagoons and controlling runoff was a responsible way we can deal with this. We can monitor all we want to monitor, but if were saying were going to go in and shut down all these facilities because of nitrates that are still moving down through the soil, I think thats misguided, he said. No one testified in opposition to the bill on Thursday. Sen. Teresa Ibach of Sumner introduced a bill (LB1368) that creates the Nitrogen Reduction Incentive Act, which provides payments to farmers with the goal of reducing the amount of chemical fertilizer used by 15%. Farmers could be eligible to receive $10 per acre for each acre on which they document the reduction in chemical nitrates. Under Ibachs bill, a total of $5 million would be available each year through 2029. Ibach made LB1368 her priority bill this year. Lincoln Sen. Eliot Bostar, meanwhile, introduced a bill (LB1184) providing tax credits for Nebraskans who install reverse osmosis filtration systems at their homes if their drinking water measures more than 10 parts per-million for nitrate. Top Journal Star photos for February 2024 Claire Hao is a Hearst Fellow for the Houston Chronicle's business desk, where she is covering electricity, renewable energy and the Texas power grid. She also spends one day a week covering breaking and trending news. Claire can be reached at claire.hao@houstonchronicle.com. Claire spent her first-year fellowship rotation on the climate and environment team of The San Francisco Chronicle. She has previously interned on the news desks of Bloomberg Law and The Chicago Tribune as well as on the editorial board of The Washington Post. She is a 2022 graduate of the University of Michigan, where she was the 2021 editor-in-chief of her college paper The Michigan Daily. One of the FBI's most wanted cybercriminals, a Ukrainian national who was extradited to the U.S. from Switzerland in 2022, pleaded guilty to racketeering crimes this week in Nebraska federal court. Vyacheslav Igorevich Penchukov, 38, was indicted by a Nebraska grand jury more than a decade ago and had been an international fugitive prior to his extradition. Penchukov, also known as "Tank," led multiple cybercrime enterprises before and after his 2012 indictment, resulting in tens of millions of dollars in losses for companies, nonprofits and small businesses targeted by malware. On Thursday, Penchukov pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit racketeering and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. He will face up to 40 years in federal prison when he is sentenced in May. Penchukov's most well-known ransomware was known as "Zeus" or "Zbot," which operated from 2009 into the early 2010s. When a computer was infected with the Zeus malware, it would keep track of usernames, passwords and all other information entered in a bank's login page. Using this information, Penchukov and his co-conspirators would log in to the victim's bank accounts and make electronic payments to "money mules" across the world, who would then wire that money into overseas accounts controlled by other members of the enterprise. "(Penchukov) played a crucial leadership role in this scheme by directing and coordinating the exchange of stolen banking credentials and money mules," according to his plea agreement. At least two businesses in Nebraska and Iowa were targeted by Zeus malware in 2009 and 2010, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. In one case, a Council Bluffs business had nearly $60,000 removed from its account with the First National Bank of Omaha by someone posing to be an employee of the company. Two other Ukrainian men indicted alongside Penchukov in 2012 were extradited to the U.S. from the United Kingdom in 2014 on charges related to the Zeus ransomware. Multiple other men alleged to have been involved in the enterprise remain on the FBI's most wanted list. Beginning in 2018, according to the DOJ, Penchukov and co-conspirators began another scheme using a malware known as IcedID or Bokbot. Similarly to Zeus, the malware would collect online banking login information. It was activated after victims opened attachments in spam emails. One such IcedID attack in October 2020 targeted the University of Vermont Medical Center and resulted in at least $30 million in damages after "significant portions" of the hospital's computer networks were encrypted by hackers. According to Penchukov's plea agreement, he also kept a spreadsheet of the income received and expenses associated with operating the IcedID malware. The spreadsheet indicated IcedID netted more than $19.9 million in 2021 alone. Penchukov was arrested in Geneva, Switzerland, in 2022 and extradited to the U.S. last year. He initially faced federal charges in North Carolina related to the IcedID ransomware, but jurisdiction was transferred to Nebraska earlier this month. The FBI's Omaha office, as well as the FBI office in Charlotte, North Carolina, are continuing to investigate the case. In addition to U.S. Attorneys for Nebraska and North Carolina, multiple prosecutors with the U.S. Department of Justice's Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Division assisted in the prosecution. Top Journal Star photos for February 2024 UNION GROVE A group that helps struggling military veterans is inviting supporters to an open house Saturday to raise money for the organization. Ground Zero Veterans Outreach is hosting a We Love Our Vets celebration from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. at 1011 Main St. Organizers plan to serve pizza, chips, soda and cake. There also will be a silent auction of gift baskets donated by area businesses. The event will allow attendees to learn more about Ground Zero and to shop at the organizations thrift store, where all clothing will be half-priced. Greg Nowak, vice president of Ground Zero, said demand for the groups services is high, and the nonprofit is facing financial challenges. Were basically month-to-month, he said. The group also has set up a Go Fund Me page to raise money to support ongoing operations. Founded two years ago, Ground Zero helps veterans with housing, food and other basic supplies. Volunteers work to find homes or apartments for homeless veterans, and then deliver furnishings as needed to help a veteran get settled. The organization has been approached by more than two-dozen veterans this year, Nowak said. The groups name signifies that many former members of the military arrive at the Union Grove storefront with almost nothing in their pockets and nowhere else to turn. Ground Zero itself has suffered setbacks recently, including losing a warehouse that provided storage space for furniture and other materials. Proceeds from Saturdays event will help replenish the storage and furniture program. Christine Luxem, president and founder of the group, said that as the organizations services have expanded, so have the needs for expertise from mechanics, electricians and others. Luxem said she hopes people will visit Saturday to learn how they can contribute. I need a ton of people, she said. Weve got to do or die right now. 11 photos from the Veterans Day 2022 celebration at Memorial Hall Salutes 11:11 salute Veterans Dave, Krista, Zach, Matthew Smiling for the photo Dave, Matthew, Kaleb and Clyde Seats filled Dave Burgess's remarks Jenna, Natalie, Madelyn and Brooklyn Kaleb, Jaxon and Johnny The Gilmore Fine Arts Choir When the Republican-controlled Legislature adopted Gov. Tony Evers proposed legislative maps earlier this week, Democrats were skeptical of a provision in the GOP-authored bill that said the new maps couldnt be used until the general election later this year. Some saw in the provision an effort to protect Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, whos facing a recall effort. If that is successful, the vote might have to wait until the fall election since the state Supreme Court has declared the current maps unconstitutional. Im wondering if this doesnt have something to do with that recall, Sen. Mark Spreitzer, D-Beloit, said before the Senate approved the bill on Tuesday. Im wondering if Robin Vos didnt want to try to make sure that he can be recalled in his current district even though its unconstitutional, rather than a new one. But the provision did not come from the Republicans at all. It was inserted by the nonpartisan staff of the Legislative Reference Bureau who drafted the bill. In a memo to Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu, R-Oostburg, on Tuesday, Legislative Reference Bureau chief counsel Joseph Kreye said delaying the implementation of new maps for elections is standard practice. Applying new plans immediately to recall and special elections occurring before the general election would create quite a bit of confusion regarding representation, he said. For example, putting new maps in place before the next legislative election would result in overlap between the old districts and the new districts and raise the question as what legislator is representing what constituents. If the new maps applied immediately before most legislative seats were up for reelection, some districts could go without representation while others could have more than one legislator in a district, Kreye continued. Please note that it is not uncommon for there to be a gap from the adoption of a redistricting plan to when it first applies, Kreye said. This gap is often necessary to promote efficient and timely election administration. This is true even if a court renders the previous plan unconstitutional. When LeMahieus office asked the reference bureau to write the redistricting proposal last Thursday, its one-sentence request simply asked for a substitute amendment to an entirely different redistricting bill with maps that are identical to the governors maps. The approved boundaries, an amended version of Senate Bill 488, is identical in all respects to maps Evers proposed to the Supreme Court, according to the reference bureau. The bill that was amended originally called for the Legislative Reference Bureau to redraw the states maps using nonpartisan principles. That broad policy change, which had been stuck in the Senate since October, was thrown out entirely in favor of simply adopting Evers maps. The amendment was introduced on the Senate floor Tuesday without a public hearing or committee vote. Although the bill largely gave them what they wanted, some Democrats feared the measure was a Republican ruse to bypass the Wisconsin Supreme Court and ultimately give Republicans a new set of maps they could appeal in federal court. Legislative approval of the maps marked a dramatic political shift in Wisconsin where, for over a decade, Republicans benefitted from maps that experts say give the GOP a baked-in electoral advantage. Those maps, which determine which legislative district each voter gets to participate in, have helped hand Republicans a 22-10 supermajority in the Senate and a 64-35 majority in the Assembly. While Evers maps could shrink and even reverse those majorities, GOP lawmakers have found the governors maps to be more favorable for them than three other Democratic alternatives before the liberal-controlled Wisconsin Supreme Court. Given their alternatives, Democrats have called for Evers not to sign his own maps into law. But the governor has said he would sign the bill. Tuesdays vote came as the high court nears its deadline to choose new maps after declaring the current Republican-drawn maps unconstitutional in December. Wisconsin elections officials have said any new maps need to be in place by mid-March. When the court struck down the current maps, the four liberal justices comprising the majority said they would select new ones unless the Legislature did so first. If Evers signs the proposal into law, one of the parties involved in the court case could ask the court to dismiss the case as moot, UW-Madison Law School associate professor Robert Yablon said. The court called for new legislative maps that include contiguous districts that are equally populated; bounded by county, precinct, ward or town lines; are as compact as possible; comply with federal law, including the Voting Rights Act; preserve communities of interest; and reduce municipal splits. Additionally, the court called for maps that dont favor one party over another. That amounted to a major victory for Democrats, because experts say the current GOP maps were drawn to benefit Republicans. 1. Yes. It will be convenient and the fares are cheap. I plan to use the transit system often. 2. Yes. I have a vehicle, but I may still use the service now and then, especially in bad weather. 3. No. I dont use the current bus service, and I dont plan to use the micro-transit service either. 4. No. It may be fine in town, but it still involves a transfer for longer trips. That wont work. 5. Unsure. Its hard to say. It depends on how well the service works once its in place. Vote View Results Jennifer Lopez returns to San Antonio in July. Norman Jean Roy Jennifer Lopezs This Is Me Now The Tour will stop at the Frost Bank Center in San Antonio on July 5. Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday at livenation.com. A variety of presales will begin on Tuesday. The tour is named after Lopezs new album, This Is Me Now, which will be available to buy and stream on Friday. The album is a sequel to her 2002 hit This Is Me Then. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Lopezs tour also will be going to Houston, Dallas, Austin and Edinburg. Her last San Antonio appearance was in 2019, though her most famous performance here was staged in front of the Alamo for a scene from the 1997 movie Selena. FREMONT Nearly a dozen parents expressed frustration and anger at Monday's school board meeting after a recent brawl at Fremont Middle School and a false rumor about a possible school shooting a few days later. More than three dozen parents were at Monday's meeting and at least a dozen spoke during the public comment session. Many wanted to hear the boards response in the aftermath of a large fight among students on Feb. 5 at the middle school, as well as an unverified, false rumor of a potential school shooting later that week on Feb. 8, which led to 600 students being removed from the school that day by concerned parents. Fremont Superintendent Mark Shepard read a statement at the meeting, detailing the districts response to both incidents, as well as thanking parents who he said had flooded his office with comments in the past few days. In response to the incidents, the district has implemented a series of new safety measures at Fremont Middle School, which Shepard said he believes have dramatically improved security. Two parent-district feedback forums are also being offered on Feb. 20 and Feb. 22. Scott Timmerman, a substitute teacher in the Fremont Public Schools district, sought answers on who was responsible for the issues. Here we are, it has kind of hit the fan. People want answers and the blame game begins. So who is responsible? The parents, the school, the state, the teachers, the students? Maybe everyone here is responsible, Timmerman said. What are we going to do? My thought is, kick the troublemakers out of school. Clean house. We have to take care of things, and it is up to you. I am tired of seeing Fremont in the news. Kaitlin Edwards, who said she was a graduate of Fremont High School and longtime city resident, said her son a middle school student has become terrified of the environment at the school. Edwards claimed her son had been threatened in the past by other students, who she alleged were going to cut him with a knife. My child should not be scared to go into a place of learning, Edwards said. No child should be. One parent, who identified himself as Ryan Nelson, told the board that he was exploring transferring his daughter to another school district due to safety concerns. My daughter has been assaulted more than once. We have spent more than one night dealing with law enforcement all night because she personally reported a threat, as some of you on the board know, Nelson said. Thursday she was scared. I had to have somebody come pick her up because I work. She has not been to school since. Thursday, I put in a transfer to Arlington (schools). She will not be coming back to school or class, he said. Nelson asked if it was possible to restart COVID-era remote learning as an option for students whose parents were worried about their childrens safety. Other speakers, like mother Debbie Cusick, defended the school district and teachers, telling attendees her opinion may be unpopular. I think it is embarrassing that 600 parents showed up at the school and took their kids away based on rumors, Cusick said, noting that her child had never been scared while in classes. Shepard told the parents who attended Monday's board meeting that the false rumors of an alleged attack at the middle school were vigorously investigated by police and proven false and that information was widely and frequently shared with parents. He said after Monday's fight, school administrators looked at safety protocols and procedures and by Tuesday had implemented a new process for how students enter the building and where and when they wait in the morning. "It seems to have greatly strengthened our student safety, he said. Top Journal Star photos for February 2024 The La Crosse Regional Airport is on a downward trend for boarding passengers and available seats. The newest report from the airport shows Delta Airlines decision to terminate its La Crosse operations removed about one-third of the terminals passengers and availability. The airports latest report shows a loss of about 20,000 people boarding planes departing from the airport between 2022 and 2023, not including charter flights. With Deltas departure, the airport lost about 32,000 available seats from 2022 to 2023. This falls below early COVID-19 pandemic numbers. In 2020, the airport boarded about 44,000 passengers. In 2023, close to 41,500 passengers departed from the airport. In June, Delta Air Lines surprised officials when it suspended service from La Crosse to the Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport, citing a pilot shortage. That has left American Airlines, operating as Air Wisconsin in La Crosse, with daily flights to and from Chicagos OHare International Airport, as the primary commercial flight activity at the La Crosse airport. JD Roberts, airport business manager for La Crosse Regional Airport, said he is feeling good about filling seats in the near future. Were doing a lot of work, air service bubble-wise, to boost air service here in the area and get businesses involved, Roberts said. A lot of things in the hopper here are coming up. The load factor for planes only decreased by about 10%. This means that while total departing guests are down, planes are still flying with around the same capacity as before. Restaurant and shop sales are down close to half of their sales from 2022. The airport has one restaurant and one grab-and-go shop, both under the name Arrowhead. Sales at the airports fixed base operator Colgan Air Services took a significant hit between the two years. Parking revenue and fuel sales were also down from 2022 to 2023. Both parking and fuel decreased sales by about 30%. However, car rental sales increased by 12% between the years. A strategic planning session is scheduled Feb. 29 to address airport operations moving forward. Airport managers will meet with the La Crosse Area Economic Corp. and local businesses to discuss future air service in the region. A search for a new airport director is still underway, with several closed sessions meetings with the Aviation Board already wrapped up. Previous director Ian Turner left his position in January for a new position in Idaho Falls. Felony charges have been filed against a former village of Wilton clerk accused of making unauthorized purchases with village funds and attempting to erase evidence of her activity. Forty-year-old Leigha Lynn Barton of Wilton was charged in Monroe County Circuit Court with seven counts of identity theft to obtain money or credit, one count of tampering with public records and one count of misconduct in office. Barton was Wiltons clerk and treasurer from 2021 until her resignation last summer. According to the criminal complaint, village officials contacted police Sept. 7, 2023, concerning a possible theft of funds while Barton acted as clerk. Officials presented police with a list of 39 credit card charges totaling $3,119 that contained purchases outside normal village business. They include charges from Marcus Theaters, Texas Roadhouse and Expedia. The statements were from Dec. 1, 2022, to June 20, 2023. Village officials later discovered several Amazon invoices that were paid from the villages general fund from Dec. 5, 2022 to Dec. 19, 2022, totaling $432.53. Purchases included games, craft supplies, computer components and books. Village officials told police that Barton removed two items of computer equipment from the office without authorization in an attempt to erase data. A storage device connected to Bartons computer remains missing. Barton was interviewed by police Dec. 4, 2023. The complaint says she admitted mixing personal and village purchases on the credit cards but said she tried to pay them off by making cash deposits into the villages bank account. The investigator who conducted the interview told Barton there was nothing in the banks deposit records to indicate she was repaying the funds. The complaint says Barton later said she wanted to pay back the funds but had been under a great deal of stress and eventually gave up trying. When confronted about the missing storage device, she denied taking it nor knowing its whereabouts. Barton is free on a $10,000 signature bond. She has an initial court appearance set for Feb. 19. The Monroe County Sheriffs Office has arrested a suspect in the drug overdose death of a 41 year-old Sparta woman. Malik Guerra, 18, La Crosse, was charged in Monroe County Circuit Court with felony counts of first-degree reckless homicide/delivery of drugs and delivery of narcotics. Prosecutors allege Guerra had sold the victim the fentanyl that caused her death in November 2023. Judge Todd Zeigler ordered Guerra be held in the Monroe County Jail on a $10,000 cash bond with a condition that if released, he cant possess any controlled substance without a prescription. The investigation was led by the Monroe County Sheriffs Office and assisted by the West Central Metropolitan Enforcement Group, the La Crosse County Sheriffs Office and Wisconsin Probation and Parole. Guerra has an initial court appearance set for March 25. A 55-year-old La Crosse man faces multiple drug charges after he was arrested Jan. 28 for loitering overnight inside a La Crosse apartment complex. Raymond J. Bolstad was charged in La Crosse County Circuit Court with felony counts of possession of methamphetamine with intent to deliver, possession of fentanyl with intent to deliver, possession of cocaine with intent to deliver and bail jumping and misdemeanor counts of possession of marijuana, possession of an illegally obtained prescription and possession of drug paraphernalia. According to the criminal complaint, police were called around 3:30 a.m. to an apartment complex on 421 6th St. South, where a strange man was reported in the lobby. Police arrived at the scene and recognized the person as Bolstad, who had active warrants for his arrest. A search of Bolstad and his backpack allegedly found 82.9 grams of methamphetamine, eight grams of fentanyl, 6.2 grams of cocaine, 3.8 grams of marijuana and four sildenafil citrate tablets. Police also reportedly found four methamphetamine pipes, 53 gem bags and a digital scale. Bolstad is being held in the La Crosse County Jail on a $25,000 cash bond. Attempts to obtain defense counsel for Bolstad have been unsuccessful. His next court date is a March 18 calendar call. A color guard in front of a T-38 jet trainer prepares for the ceremony transferring leadership of the Air Education and Training Command from Lt. Gen. Marshall Brad Webb to Lt. Gen. Brian Robinson on Friday at Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph. Ronald Cortes / Contributor A formation of airmen watch as the colors are presented at the ceremony transferring leadership of the Air Education and Training Command from Lt. Gen. Marshall Brad Webb to Lt. Gen. Brian Robinson on Friday at Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph. Ronald Cortes / Contributor A T-38 jet trainer behind them, airmen in the color guard enter the hangar where Lt. Gen. Brian Robinson was to take command of the Air Education and Training Command from Lt. Gen. Marshall Brad Webb in a ceremony Friday at Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph. Ronald Cortes / Contributor The Air Force is sharpening its focus on China as the main threat to the United States, a shift that will bring a flurry of changes to one of the largest and oldest commands in San Antonio. Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall announced last week a sweeping revamp that will include the creation of the Space Futures Command to test concepts and technologies and design war games, envisioning space as a battlefield. Itll be comparable to the Armys Futures Command in Austin. The Air Force also will overhaul how airmen are trained and educated. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Thats where the Air Education and Training Command at Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph comes in. First up, a name change: AETC will become the Airmen Development Command. The other changes in store for the sprawling command on San Antonios Northeast Side are murkier, at least for the time being. But former Air Force Secretary F. Whitten Peters said the reorganization will put a greater emphasis on preparing airmen for the increasingly sophisticated threat posed by China. Theres going to be a lot more effort to add training not initial training, thats not going to change very much but to make sure that people actually are given more training about what the enemy threat is, what capabilities are to defeat the threat and how airmen need to operate in a near-peer competition, said Peters, who served under President Bill Clinton from 1997 to 2001. Both the Peoples Republic of China and Russia are deemed near-peer adversaries of the U.S. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The airmen and guardians we are developing right now will decide the outcome of this great power competition, and if necessary, the next fight. There is no time to lose, AETCs commander, Lt. Gen. Brian Robinson, said in a statement. We will continue to execute the core functions of AETC while simultaneously following through by building organizational efficiencies across the Air Force. To maintain the asymmetrical advantage, we must develop the right mix of airmen and guardians with the skills and competencies needed for high-end systems-of-systems combat roles and to ensure technical superiority, he said. Kendall introduced the planned reorganization at the Air & Spaces Forces Association Warfare Symposium recently in Aurora, Colo. He described it as one of the most extensive recalibrations in recent history for the Air Force and Space Force. The plan, the result of a far-ranging review that started in the fall, is made up of 24 initiatives. One of the biggest will be the creation of an Integrated Capabilities Command, which will serve as the Air Forces central planner. We need these changes now. We are out of time to re-optimize our forces to meet the strategic challenges in a time of great power competition, Kendall said. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Faster pace AETC is responsible for recruiting, aviation and technical training, and the continuing education of airmen. Its called the First Command because all Air Force careers begin at AETC. The command has 60,000 military, civilian and contract workers at 12 bases, 23 wings and 11 groups in 15 states. It also oversees recruiting in the U.S. and around the world. The Air Force will consolidate force development functions under what it describes as an expanded Airman Development Command to provide airmen a common, mission-focused development and training path. An Air Force spokesperson said the initiative would give ADC the authority to train and educate airmen from the beginning to the end of their service something it already does and ultimately allow the command to rapidly shift training priorities to deliberately develop airmen at the speed of need. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Its unclear when AETC will become ADC. One thing that wont change at the command is the rank of its leader. It will remain under a three-star general, despite recent rumors that a fourth star is in the offing which would bring more prestige and the possibility of more missions and personnel. We expect the existing institutional (Air Development Command) and service component commands and their current commanders to retain their current leadership footprint (3 or 4 star) and remain at their current locations, Air Force spokeswoman Ann Stefanek said in a statement. AETC had been a four-star command from 1992 to 2015. This will be far from the first shake-up at AETC, which was created during World War II and is older than the Air Force. It started as the Air Corps Flying Training Command on Jan. 23, 1942, but only three months later was redesignated the Army Air Forces Flying Training Command. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The Flying Training Command got a new responsibility, technical training, in 1943 and was redesignated yet again as the Army Air Forces Training Command. An AETC history states that by the time the war ended, the AAF Training Command had produced about 200,000 pilots, 48,000 navigators and air crew, 1.9 million technical training graduates and 2.8 million basic military training graduates. With the war over, the command got a new name: the Air Training Command, or ATC. That name hung around a long time, but in 1993 the ATC merged with Air University in Alabama, and became known as the Air Education and Training Command. One innovation has already taken root at AETC, pre-dating the revamp artificial intelligence-driven simulators that are expected to speed up the pace of instruction across a range of specialties, not just aviation. The command is also accelerating pilot training more broadly. Basic Air Force flying training was fixed at around 50 weeks for decades, going back to 1946. But a program tested over the past few years, called Pilot Training Next, cuts it to seven and a half months. More tech experts One major initiative will be the reintroduction of warrant officers in information technology and cyber operations, with the goal of maintaining leadership in those areas. Warrant officers have high-level technical skills and usually come from the enlisted ranks. AETC spokeswoman Marilyn Holliday said she did not know where those warrant officers would be based or trained. Warrant officers currently serve in the Army and Marines. Marine warrant officers serve as officer-level leadership specialists working in such jobs as tactical intelligence and data systems. Army warrant officers often fly helicopters and planes. Air Force warrant officers, however, wont fly because only officers in that service branch can be aviators. AETC historian Gary Boyd said master sergeants, senior master sergeants and chief master sergeants replaced warrant officers in the Air Force decades ago. But there was need for a highly proficient, technical officer again, which has brought it back, he said. A 2017 paper by four officers at the Air Command and Staff College in Montgomery, Ala., examined how warrant officers might bolster the Air Forces cyber capabilities. The Air Force inherited warrant officers from other military branches when it became a stand-alone service in 1947. But it phased out appointments to that rank in 1959. That decision has been hotly debated within the Air Force ever since. Re-establishing warrant officer ranks for technical career fields such as cyber operations would enable the Air Force to improve retention of highly skilled and talented individuals while reducing overall manpower spending, the officers wrote. The Air Force has difficulty competing with the private sector and even other government agencies in hiring and retaining experts in highly technical fields. As Kendall envisions the future, the Air Force will develop mission-ready airmen with training focused on a mix of skills needed for wartime mission readiness. The coming reorganization will also beef up leadership development and training at the Air Force Academy, Officer Training School and ROTC to better prepare new officers. AETC oversees some aspects of Officer Training School at Maxwell Air Force Base in Alabama and ROTC, and also provides instruction for a course called Airmanship 101 for the academys glider and parachute courses. Other initiatives will focus on improving readiness at Air Combat Command. The Air Force said it would conduct large-scale exercises and mission-focused training to rehearse for complex military operations. It also plans to incorporate no-notice/limited-notice operational readiness assessments and inspections in the Air Force and Space Force. The Wisconsin Department of Transportation is reviewing potential improvements to the three north-south state highway corridors through La Crosse, beginning with Highway 35. DOT will hold a public meeting on potential Highway 35 improvements from 4:30 to 6 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 20, in the La Crosse Public Library auditorium. The meeting will be conducted in an open house format. The meeting is part of a broader DOT review of three north-south corridors comprised of state highways 35, 53 and 16 in the city. DOT says public meetings for the other highway corridors will be scheduled for later this year. DOT is moving forward with plans to improve the corridors rather than build a new highway through the marshland on the North Side of the city, as previously proposed. The Highway 35 segment in La Crosse includes George Street, Lang Drive and West Avenue. Initial plans call for improving intersections and creating better access for bicyclists and pedestrians. After the meeting, DOT is expected to develop several alternatives before selecting a preferred alternative late this year. A complete environmental study is set to be complete by summer 2025. The Middleton-based headquarters of American Girl, the birthplace and longtime home of the hugely popular dolls whose life stories are drawn from American history, with outfits, accessories and books to match, will close by spring, parent company Mattel said Thursday. Founded in 1986 by Pleasant Rowland, American Girl quickly became an industry leader, raking in annual revenues of $300 million a year by the late 1990s. That gained the attention of large toymakers like Mattel, which bought the company in 1998 for $700 million. Rowland, who retired from American Girl in the summer of 2000, said she developed the brand after shopping for Christmas presents for her nieces in 1984 but finding only Barbie and Cabbage Patch dolls. American Girl quickly became a significant part of the identity of Madison and Middleton, and in 2021 the American Girl doll was inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame. In 1996, Rowland told the Wisconsin State Journal in an interview, I think weve changed the culture of girlhood in America. But while the brand continued to thrive American Girl sales hit a record $567.5 million in 2012 its local presence began to shrink as sales fell off. At its peak, the company employed about 600 people in Middleton. But by January 2022, it had 338 employees in Dane County, including a distribution center in DeForest. More job cuts followed in January 2022, with the loss of 55 jobs, and the companys stock has fallen more than 13% in the past two years. This month investor Barington Capital Group pushed Mattel to consider selling American Girl and Fisher-Price. In announcing the closure of the Middleton office, Mattel said it is centralizing most of American Girls brand marketing, product design and development, public relations and creative services to its headquarters in El Segundo, California. The dolls are produced in China. Roughly 30 local jobs will be eliminated, Mattel said, but about 220 Wisconsin American Girl employees will continue to work for the company either remotely or at the distribution center in DeForest. Mattel did not respond to requests for comment about which local jobs will be cut and what kinds of positions will be handled remotely. The company said the 30 affected employees are invited to apply for available positions in El Segundo. Nationally, the company reports more than 700 people work for the American Girl brand. Im deeply disappointed at the news of American Girls complete closure of its operations in Middleton, Kate Miller, Middleton Chamber of Commerce president said. For many years, Middleton has been proud to host American Girl, a brand that has brought joy to countless individuals and made significant contributions to our communitys economy and cultural landscape. Success fueled philanthropy Thursdays announcement is the second business closure this week tied to Rowland and her husband, Jerry Frautschi, who have loomed large in Madison-area philanthropy. Printing plant Sheridan Wisconsin, formerly known as Webcrafters, on Madisons East Side announced earlier this week it would also close this spring and eliminate more than 100 jobs. The company was formerly owned by Frautschi, a longtime supporter of the arts whose gift of $205 million paid for the Overture Center. Earlier this month, Frautschi donated $14.3 million to help build a visitor and education center at the Lakeshore Nature Preserve. Rowlands own giving has been focused on the Madison Childrens Museum and Monona Terrace Downtown. Rowland and Frautschi have given hundreds of millions of dollars to nonprofits and arts groups. Rowland gave millions to the MyArts Youth Center, the Boys & Girls Club of Dane Countys regional workforce center, One City Schools and more. Frautschi and Rowland gave $18 million to help build the new home for the Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestra. For 36 years, the Madison Children's Museum ran an American Girl Benefit Sale that attracted up to 7,000 people wanting to buy dolls and accessories. In all, about $25 million was raised to benefit the Madison Childrens Museum and other nonprofits through the American Girls Fund for Children. Quality time with quality toys American Girl started with a small line of historical dolls who each came with a book and her own story. In 1993, the company added Addy, its first Black doll, and in 1997 Josefina, the lines first Latina doll, was added, along with historical fiction books in English and Spanish. The first dolls were historical figures, and in 1995 the company rolled out a line of contemporary dolls as well as Bitty Babies for younger children. Rowland said at the time that she had a target market when she dreamed up American Girl: working mothers with a family income of more than $50,000 who shopped catalogs and wanted time with their girls to be quality time with quality toys. While Rowland largely keeps away from the spotlight, American Girl dolls are known around the world. American Girl Place, a store, restaurant and theater for dolls and their owners, opened to much fanfare in Chicago in 1998. At one point there were stores in a dozen cities, though a few have since closed. Register for more free articles. Sign up for our newsletter to keep reading. Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! Already a Subscriber? Already a Subscriber? Sign in Terms of Service Privacy Policy San Antonio police release new information about a Jan. 27 assault of an elderly man inside of a Dillard's at North Star Mall. San Antonio Police Department//Facebook San Antonio police said an incident at North Star Mall where an elderly man was dragged down an escalator stemmed from a confrontation on Jan. 27 inside of a Dillards dressing room. The man, who was not identified, went to the changing room to try on a sweater. When he went to open a handicapped changing room, he found that someone was in there. A small confrontation ensued between the man and the woman inside the changing room. He told police she said, Its a female changing room, and he responded, No, its a handicap changing room. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The man confirmed it was a handicapped changing room but decided to avoid confrontation again and went to another one, police said. Shortly after, the woman inside the changing room told her mom and a man about the confrontation. He then walked around the store looking for the elderly man. The elderly man was going up the escalator when the other man yanked him down, causing several injuries. The woman and her mother were also present at the time of the assault. Police said the woman and her family did not contact authorities and left the store after the incident. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The elderly man suffered a broken finger, head injuries, lacerations and bruising on his ribs. SAPD is still investigating the incident and asks the man and woman seen in the surveillance video to come forward and tell their side of the story. Detective Rodney Franklin promised they would not be arrested if they talked to the police. On 15 February Brazils Presidentslammed Israels actions in Gaza and said the international community had failed to prevent the war. End of preview - This article contains approximately 382 words. Subscribers: Log in now to read the full article Not a Subscriber? Choose from one of the following options Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny a sharp critic of President Vladimir Putin has reportedly died in a far-northern prison at the age of 47. Russias prison agency said Navalny collapsed and died Friday after taking a walk at a prison known as the Polar Wolf. The prison colony is in the settlement of Kharp, about 1,900 kilometers northeast of Moscow, in Russias Arctic area. Prison officials said Navalny fell unconscious almost immediately and was treated by medical workers who attempted to restart his breathing. But they said those efforts were unsuccessful and Navalny died shortly afterwards. A Russian government spokesman said President Putin had been informed of the death. Navalny's wife, Yulia, said she could not be sure her husband was dead because "Putin and his government...lie incessantly." Navalnys reported death comes as Putin prepares for an election that could keep him in power until at least 2030. For the past 10 years, Navalny has spoken out publicly and presented evidence of what he described as widespread government corruption. He also organized major anti-government protests and ran for public office. Navalny had been jailed since January 2021. That is when he returned to Moscow after a stay in Germany. He had been recovering there from a poisoning incident he blamed on Russias government. Since then, he has received three prison sentences. Navalny has denounced them all as political. Western leaders and others who have opposed Putins rule praised Navalny. The opposition leaders health had worsened recently. The true cause of death might never be known. Some world leaders said they hold Russian officials responsible. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said, if confirmed, Navalnys death underscores the weakness and rot at the heart of the system that Putin has built. Russia is responsible for this. Blinken was speaking while attending a security conference in Germany. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz told reporters at the same conference that Navalny has probably now paid for this courage with his life. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy standing by Scholz's side said, Putin doesnt care who dies in order for him to hold onto his position. Russian Nobel Peace Prize winner Dmitry Muratov told Reuters news agency he considers Navalnys death murder because prison conditions caused his death. Muratov runs a pro-democracy newspaper. He shared the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize for his work in support of freedom of expression in Russia. Yulia Navalny said, if her husband is in fact dead, Putin, and those around him "will be punished for what they have done to our country, for what they have done to my family, for what they have done to my husband." Im Bryan Lynn. The Associated Press and Reuters reported on this story. Bryan Lynn adapted the reports for VOA Learning English. _____________________________________________ Words in This Story unconscious adj. having lost consciousness: full mental capacity incessant adj. continuous, especially in a way that is annoying or unpleasant underscore v. to emphasize the importance of something rot n. decay of something courage n. the ability to control your fear in dangerous or difficult situations Hello! Welcome to Ask a Teacher. This week, we answer a question that relates not just to language, but also politeness and foreign policy. It comes from Hai in Vietnam. He writes, Question: I would highly appreciate it if you could let me know the meaning of this phrase: It sure as heck aint good. Hai , Vietnam. Answer: Dear Hai, Thank you for writing to us and providing a link to the place where you read the sentence. The quote that you asked about is from a January 31 press conference at the White House. The Press Secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre, invited spokesman John Kirby to answer questions from reporters. One reporter said the European Union had recently offered to give Ukraine only half of what it had been promised. The reporter asked: How bad is all this for the Ukrainian forces and do you see an impact on the battlefield already? Kirby gave this answer: It sure as heck aint good. And this is why we need the supplemental funding. There are three things an English learner needs to know to understand Kirbys answer. The first one has to do with the language that Kirby used. Heck Heck is in the class of words called euphemisms. They are words or expressions people use instead of saying something that might be offensive or could sound uneducated. Heck is a euphemism for the word hell. Kirby, like most government officials, is trying to use more formal language, but he also wants to bring attention to the serious nature of the problem. So, he uses heck instead of hell, a word that is much stronger. Hell, in many religions, is a very unpleasant place where bad people go. Aint The second thing learners need to know is the short form, aint. The contraction "ain't" is usually a short form of "am not," but it can also mean "is not" or "are not" as well as "have not" or "has not. In our example, Kirby could have said, It is not good. Like most informal contractions, we must tell you it is best to avoid "ain't" in all writing for school or work and in speech. For more information, see our Everyday Grammar on this subject, This Ain't It and Other Short Forms. Supplemental Kirby said: It sure as heck aint good. And this is why we need the supplemental funding. The United States Congress must approve all spending by the U.S. government. A supplemental funding request can be made to ask Congress to approve additional spending that has not been provided for in earlier spending legislation. I hope this helps you understand Kirbys comments, Hai. What question do you have about American English? Send us an email at learningenglish@voanews.com And thats Ask a Teacher. Im Jill Robbins. Dr. Jill Robbins wrote this lesson for VOA Learning English. ____________________________________________ Words in This Story politeness n. the quality of being mindful of the feelings of others impact n. influence or effect supplemental adj. something added to another thing in order to increase or improve it contraction n. a shortened form of a word or words Do you have a question for the teacher? We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section. In an effort to be proactive to the states growing problem with high nitrate levels in groundwater, state Sen. Teresa Ibach introduced LB 1368, the Nitrogen Incentive Reduction Act, in the 2024 legislative session. The bills public hearing Tuesday before the Unicamerals Agriculture Committee drew broad support from the states agriculture and conservation groups, who noted decreasing the use of commercial synthetic fertilizers would be a win-win for the states groundwater and farmers. Ibach noted the act encourages farmers to adopt efficient and sustainable practices to protect their natural resources. Nebraska farmers are leading the charge on sustainable agriculture initiatives that will make Nebraska a world-renowned leader and ensure we protect our land and water for generations to come, according to the bills text. As proposed, the program would provide an annual per acre incentive of no less than $10 per acre for any farmer who verifies through documentation with the Nebraska Department of Natural Resources that commercial fertilizer rates were reduced by 25 pounds per acre for nitrogen or 15% by incorporating a qualifying product in the farmers nutrient plans. A commercial fertilizer rate reduction from historic baseline use would need to be completed to qualify for the program. The bill further outlines that DNR would need to collaborate with the states Natural Resources Districts to add any new technology to the program as it becomes available. Ibach noted she and the bills co-sponsors are seeking $5 million in general fund requests for the per-acre incentives. I understand this is an off-budget year, so we are seeking funds from a variety of sources such as the Water Sustainability Fund, the Nebraska Environmental Trust and so forth, Ibach said. She added the bill would have a Dec. 31, 2029, sunset. If we can be first and fast, we wont need long term commitment as farmers seek to improve their bottom line, Ibach said. I ask the committee to consider making this a committee priority bill. This is the start of a bigger and more exciting discussion in the coming months. Among the bills eight in-person proponents was Hank Robinson, who spoke on behalf of the Ak-Sar-Ben Full Value Agriculture Initiative. Sustainability can mean many things, but it comes down to carbon intensity, nitrogen and water management. Anything that farmers and growers do that can reduce their reliance on synthetic fertilizers reduces carbon intensity (CI), Robinson said. We have a number of agribusinesses in Nebraska that help farmers reduce nitrogen use, the more these practices are adopted the more we reduce CI. Robinsons main suggestion to the committee was that the Ak-Sar-Ben Initiative would like to extend the impact beyond the 500,000 acres to be studied at the outset of this bill. Claudia Stevenson, natural resources and energy director of League of Women Voters, pointed out another reason to support the bill. Nebraska has the highest rate of pediatric cancer in the United States and research points to high nitrate levels in our drinking water as a potential cause, she said. Noting she comes from a background in working for the Natural Resources Conservation Service, Stevenson said concern with water quality comes from a background in working for the Natural Resources Conservation Service. Reducing nitrogen use is critical, she said. Katie Torpy, representing the Nature Conservancy, cited seasonal toxic algae blooms in Nebraska lakes as one of the reasons the conservancy was supporting the bill. The primary source of nutrients to feed the algae is agricultural. LB 1368 would help shift over application and mitigate risks to water, she said. Al Davis, lobbyist for the Nebraska Chapter of the Sierra Club, was in favor of LB 1368 because it incentivizes farmers to reduce nitrogen application. This is a great first step in trying to manage the problem of nitrogen contamination. Financial incentives can help and discover where the best results may be obtained, he said. Lyndon Bogt, general manager for the Central Platte NRD and a Nebraska Association of Resources Districts representative, noted the battle to cut back on nitrates and maintain sustainable crop yields over 9 million acres of Nebraska farm ground goes back 44 years. Many NRDs have worked with the University of Nebraska-Lincoln on proper timing and placement to reduce nitrogen use, Bogt said. He told the committee that current research trials for sensor-based imagery during the growing season have been introduced where nutrient application is spoon fed through center pivots, a process called fertigation. Participants in this program have seen an average reduction of 40 pounds per acre and up to a $25 per-acre increase in profitability, Bogt said. John Hansen, president of the Nebraska Farmers Union, said, We have been highlighting the problems of excess nitrogen application and growing nitrate levels in groundwater for decades. I worked for the Lower Elkhorn NRD for 14 years starting in the 1970s. All the drivers there are still there. We are still putting too much nitrogen on sandy soils. We look at this as a pilot project, as a way to modify behavior is through incentives and education. This is a good time to augment these and piggyback on some federal programs. Proponents noted there are two ways to address the growing nitrate problem, either through incentives or through regulations and LB 1368 provide another tool in the toolbox to encourage change through incentives. In her closing remarks Ibach noted, We dont want to mandate how farmers and ranchers manage their operations. What this does is identify ways for them to be better producers. Sustainable practices should become the norm. This is an investment in agriculture and Nebraskas future and can have an impact on the quality of our land and water and also on its value. LB 1368 allows our farmers to lead the way, be proactive and be in the drivers seat on this issue. At the conclusion of the hearing, it was noted that there were 10 proponents submitting online comments, two online opponents, no opposition in-person and one neutral testifier, but no neutral comments online. With the prosecutor calling him "cowardly" for continuing to deny the allegations, a Lincoln man has been sentenced to 25 to 35 years in prison for sexually abusing a first-grader. Jess McConnell, 31, was found guilty of first-degree sexual assault of a child at a bench trial last month but continued to deny the charge at his sentencing Wednesday. "I never did this," he said briefly when given a chance to say something during the hearing in a nearly packed courtroom. His attorney, Kurt Leffler, said McConnell asserted his innocence from the beginning and asked for the 20-year minimum on the charge. On the other side, Deputy Lancaster County Attorney Jason Cooper said McConnell, then 29, sexually assaulted the young girl "lots of times" according to her trial testimony. He said she was the youngest sex assault victim by far on his docket and had written her victim-impact letter to the judge in crayon. "Given her age, his conduct is beyond shocking," Cooper said. Lincoln police began their investigation into the allegations on June 9, 2022, after the girl told a relative who contacted the Child Advocacy Center. In an interview with investigators that followed, the 7-year-old said Jess McConnell had touched her inappropriately and sexually assaulted her on multiple occasions. She described the abuse in detail. At sentencing, Cooper said McConnell swore the girl to secrecy after the abuse, then when the allegations came out he beat the family's dog and threatened the girl's relatives. Cooper said taking responsibility is not only a first, necessary step toward reform but also toward giving the victim and her family peace of mind. "Instead, without an ounce of remorse, he brazenly denies his own grotesque conduct, proven in open court in his presence and beyond a reasonable doubt," he said. He said McConnell blamed others and recast himself as the victim, saying: "I should not have to go through this." "In denying the facts of this case, he has not only denied himself what little opportunity of redemption there is, but more importantly he has denied the victim the long overdue peace and reprieve she so righteously deserves," Cooper said. "He opted for self-preservation instead of candor and humility, which is frankly cowardly." In the end, Lancaster County District Judge Andrew Jacobsen sentenced McConnell to 25 to 35 years in prison. Photos: 2024 Nebraska state wrestling tournament Thursday Hours before Wednesday's set of public hearings on the future of legislative oversight of Nebraska's troubled prison and child welfare systems, Gov. Jim Pillen agreed to restore access to the Legislature's watchdogs tasked with investigating the systems. Pillen signed a memo of understanding Wednesday with representatives from the Legislature agreeing to restore much of the access to records and personnel that the executive branch stripped from the body's oversight offices last fall. The memo which will only take effect if the full Legislature votes to approve a resolution (LR298) calling for a study of the oversight system comes more than five months after the executive branch largely shut out the Office of the Inspectors General and the Office of Public Counsel, which were created by the Legislature to investigate the state's most troubled agencies. The offices lost nearly all access to facilities and records maintained by the Departments of Correctional Services and Health and Human Services after Nebraska's attorney general suggested the offices are unconstitutional in a nonbinding legal opinion his office released in August. If the Legislature passes LR298, the two departments would again provide the watchdog offices with broad access to records, data sets, policies, audio and video recordings and interviews with employees, as well as access to physical facilities. The two departments would resume notifying the inspectors general and public counsel when state employees or wards including prison inmates or children in HHS custody die or suffer serious injuries while in state custody or while in state-run facilities, among other incidents that would require notification. What (this) does is give them access now to what they need to do their work," said Sen. John Arch of La Vista, the speaker of the Legislature who signed and helped engineer the memo. The memo would not explicitly restore access to internal department computer systems that inspectors general previously had access to but calls on the departments to share information "in an efficient and timely way," which could include "secure terminals and/or electronic databases made available." The memo is a stopgap solution set to expire at the end of the 2025 legislative session, giving lawmakers more than a year to study the Legislature's newly controversial oversight system instead of rushing to restore oversight in this year's 60-day legislative session, Arch said. "Simply rushing to fix the inspector general issues, I believe, is shortsighted and could lead to serious unintended consequences," Arch told the Legislature's Executive Board on Wednesday at a public hearing on LR298. "It is simply not possible to do this work during a short session while also tackling the larger, more immediate issues currently before the Legislature," he said. LR298, which Arch introduced last week, would instead create a special committee to review the structure of in-place legislative oversight functions and publish a report with findings by Dec. 15 ahead of next year's legislative session. Julie Rogers, who serves as the state's public counsel, better known as the state ombudsman, and Dave Lopez, Pillen's chief of staff, both testified in support of the resolution at Wednesday's hearing and both endorsed the memo of understanding as a temporary solution to the oversight lockout. Rogers said the memo's terms would, in the meantime, allow her office and the inspectors general access to enough information to do their jobs, while Lopez said Pillen would instruct HHS and corrections officials to honor the agreement. Sen. Eliot Bostar of Lincoln the only member of the Executive Board who didn't co-sponsor a separate proposal from Arch that, if passed, would restore oversight to the prison and child welfare system through statute questioned the purpose of a memo that gives the Legislature oversight powers already written into state law. Bostar's grilling of the memo underscores inconsistencies that other lawmakers have pointed out repeatedly since the executive branch opted in August to follow Attorney General Mike Hilgers' opinion on the constitutionality of the oversight, rather than state law. While the memo depends on the Legislature's willingness to pass Arch's resolution to study the oversight system, lawmakers could circumvent that process altogether if they instead passed a separate proposal introduced by Arch. LB1321, which was also the subject of a public hearing Wednesday, would make clear the Legislature's "inherent power" to investigate the operations of the state's government and put that power in the hands of the inspectors general and public counsel. The proposal would allow inspectors still to have "access to all information and personnel necessary" to investigate the agencies and would require HHS and the state's prison system to provide such information "in the most efficient and timely way." And it would tweak the appointment process for the state's ombudsman and inspectors general in an apparent attempt to make clear that the Legislature's watchdogs are beholden to the Executive Board of the Legislative Council marking one attempt to appease the attorney general's constitutionality concerns. Rogers, too, testified in support of the bill, telling lawmakers that the August shutout of oversight marked the first time in more than 50 years that the Office of the Public Counsel had been denied access to information by a state agency. She was joined at the hearing on LB1321 by both of the state's inspectors general, including Jennifer Carter, who is tasked with keeping tabs on Nebraska's troubled child welfare system. Since August, she said, doing so has been impossible. "Our greatest struggle and concern is, at this point, we don't know whether or how many children have died in the state's care or custody (since then)," she said. "We don't know if it's the result of abuse or neglect. We don't know how many children have been seriously injured or what those causes might be." Numerous law enforcement officers including Douglas County Sheriff Aaron Hanson and Lincoln Police Investigator Matthew Franken, the vice president of the Lincoln Police Union lined up to oppose Arch's bill over a provision in the initial copy that would have eliminated the inspector general for child welfare's authority to provide oversight to juvenile probation. But Arch introduced an amendment to the bill before Wednesday's hearing that would restore the inspector general's oversight of that system, too a provision opposed by the state's court administrator, who raised some of the same constitutional concerns the attorney general did last year. "It is the judicial branch's opinion that such oversight contradicts Nebraska's State Constitution," State Court Administrator Corey Steel said, citing the document's "separation of powers" clause an argument that caught flak Wednesday from Bostar. "I'm trying to understand: so you're in support of the legislation that would provide the legislative branch oversight over the executive branch, presumably because you think that's allowed," Bostar said. "But if we were to have oversight over the judicial branch, then that becomes not allowed?" In response, Steel said he was only there to speak on behalf of the judiciary. "So I can't comment on that's up to the executive branch to come in and fight for what they feel is constitutionally allowed or not," he said. No one from Nebraska's executive branch testified at the hearing on LB1321. Top Journal Star photos for February 2024 The Legislature's Health and Human Services Committee put off a vote to confirm the new leader of Nebraska's largest state government agency Wednesday. The seven senators on the committee said they wanted more time to examine Steve Corsi's background before taking a vote on whether or not to refer his confirmation to the full Legislature. Corsi was appointed the CEO of the Department of Health and Human Services last August following Dannette Smith's resignation from that position. His first day as leader of the agency was Sept. 11, 2023. Omaha Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh, who sparred with Gov. Jim Pillen's pick during a Feb. 7 confirmation hearing, told her colleagues on the committee that her investigation into Corsi had turned up "a substantial amount of very concerning things." During an executive session Wednesday evening, Cavanaugh handed out a packet that included a timeline of events leading to Corsi's appointment, as well as several news articles outlining controversies in his previous positions. Corsi was employed at Epiphany Associates, a Utah-based consulting firm that was granted a no-bid contract with Nebraska on June 30, 2023, to look for cost-savings and efficiencies across state government, just days before he took over leadership at HHS. Pillen, through a spokeswoman, said last week Corsi was recommended to Nebraska by Epiphany Associates as a "transformative, cost-cutting new leader" for HHS. But Corsi's nine months with the consulting firm was not disclosed publicly until he appeared before the Health and Human Services Committee last week. The packet of information distributed by Cavanaugh, which also was shared with reporters, included a news article outlining concerns raised about the close relationship between Epiphany Associates' founder and the state of Utah. Kristen Cox, who founded the consulting firm in 2012, was a former director of Utah's Office of Budget Management. A September 2019 article from The Salt Lake Tribune indicated state officials had concerns about Cox using her position within state government to further her business interests. Another article from The Missouri Times in February 2018 detailed Corsi's time running the Department of Social Services, in which he was receiving paychecks from two different state agencies. Cavanaugh told the committee she had asked the state of Missouri, which is listed by Epiphany Associates as a client, what work the firm had done for agencies there, and was told that no contract between the two existed. On Wednesday, Cavanaugh reiterated her hesitation about Pillen's choice to lead HHS and said she believed more information about his work history would emerge before the confirmation could be taken up by the full Legislature. "I would like to see his nomination withdrawn by the governor," she said, "but that's far from happening." Other senators on the Health and Human Services Committee said they wanted more time to see what information Cavanaugh could compile and to examine the outcomes of more than a dozen lawsuits Corsi was named in during his time in leadership at various state agencies. Sen. Brian Hardin of Gering said previous leaders of HHS had been sued in their official capacity, adding he believed it was common for people in prominent leadership positions in the public and private sectors, but said he would examine the outcomes of those cases. Sen. Merv Riepe of Ralston, a swing vote on the seven-member committee, said he wanted time to understand why Corsi had left his previous position in Washington state before joining Epiphany Associates in January 2023. And Sen. Lynne Walz of Fremont said she would be "present, not voting" on the confirmation report at this time. Pillen, through a spokeswoman, stood by Corsi last week, saying he was "thrilled" with the new HHS chief's performance addressing critical staffing needs, identifying areas for federal reimbursement and locating funding for a youth rehabilitation center. Top Journal Star photos for February 2024 San Antonio police search a wooded area Thursday on the Northwest Side after receiving a tip connected with Lina Sardar Khil's disappearance two years ago. Salgu Wissmath/San Antonio Express-News San Antonio police search a wooded area Thursday on the Northwest Side after receiving a tip connected with Lina Sardar Khil's disappearance two years ago. Salgu Wissmath/San Antonio Express-News San Antonio police search a wooded area Thursday on the Northwest Side after receiving a tip connected with Lina Sardar Khil's disappearance two years ago. Salgu Wissmath/San Antonio Express-News San Antonio police search a wooded area Thursday on the Northwest Side after receiving a tip connected with Lina Sardar Khil's disappearance two years ago. Gabriella Ybarra San Antonio police said they've "exhausted all resources" in investigating a tip this week on the disappearance of Lina Sardar Khil. For two days, police searched a wooded area about a half-mile from where Lina went missing. Police and the FBI even brought in an excavator and equipment that can detect objects underground, according to KENS5. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Lina's father, Riaz Sardar Khil, also was at the scene Friday. Officer Ricardo Guzman said Thursday that police were responding to a tip about Lina, a 3-year-old Afghan refugee who went missing in 2021. Officers, a crime scene unit and a K-9 were dispatched to a wooded area between two apartment complexes off Bluemel Road. A Lancaster County Sheriff's Office deputy jumped into action earlier this month to save a dog from a frozen pond after the dog fell through thin ice and couldn't get out, officials said. On Feb. 4, the Sheriff's Office responded to a residence near the 4300 block of South 98th Street at about 9:15 a.m. on a report that a 1-year-old dog, Bear, had walked over a lightly frozen pond, fell through, and the owners were unable to reach her, Chief Deputy Ben Houchin said. Angela Paolini one of the owners attempted to reach Bear, but the pond's ice was giving way, causing her to fall in as well. Paolini pulled herself out but worried Bear would not last much longer in the frigid water. Deputies arrived within seven minutes of the call, Houchin said. "One of the most difficult things for me to watch was Bear in the middle of that pond fighting for her life," Deputy John Brady said. Brady was one of the first deputies to arrive at the scene. Brady remembers hearing Bear's cries for help disappear as she struggled to stay above water. Eventually, a Nebraska State Patrol trooper grabbed a nearby kayak for Brady, who was planning on using it as a way to carry Bear out of the water and as a flotation device for himself. Brady has experience with ice rescues during his time in the military and with the Hickman Fire and Rescue department. "I'm comfortable in that environment," Brady said. "And I knew we were going to do something (to save) her." The Sheriff's Office estimates Bear was in the water for more than half an hour. "I can't believe how long she struggled," Paolini said. Brady tried to make it out as far as possible, crawling before the ice broke, then was forced to swim the rest of the way with the kayak. After reaching Bear, Brady went underwater to get underneath Bear and place her inside the kayak. "I felt all seven feet of the pond," Brady said. Brady pulled the kayak with Bear inside back to shore. The first responders immediately tried to warm Bear up with blankets, but Brady received no blankets after emerging as if forgetting he was in the same chilly waters. "This is how you know we care about animals," Brady said with a smile. Paolini took Bear to a veterinarian and found no issues from her traumatic experience. "From now on, when ice is melting (Bear) will always be on a leash," Paolini said. Top Journal Star photos for February 2024 Cubas revolutionary leader Fidel Castro has become the countrys youngest ever premier. At the age of 32, he has been sworn in as Prime Minister in the Cabinet Room of the Presidential Palace in Havana. Dr Castro led the resistance against the seven-year military rule of President Fulgeneio Batista and commanded the 26 July Army, a guerrilla force that drove the old regime into exile on New Years Day. But this is the first time he has assumed administrative responsibilities within the new, provisional government. Cuban newspaper Revolution regarded as the voice-piece of the 26 July Army explained his appointment is to solve the problem of a dispersal of power, as many workers and industries have observed Castros pronouncements and not the governments since the revolution. According to the newspaper, now the government, the revolution and the people will take the same path. Dr Castro was on leave from his previous post as Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces when Dr Jose Miro Cordoba prime minister since 5 January and his cabinet resigned, without explanation, two days ago. As well as his supporters, a hoard of Cuban and foreign media witnessed Fidel Castro being sworn into office wearing his olive-green rebel army fatigues and sporting his trademark square cap and beard. He told them: We have great plans and we suffer when we cannot put these into effect rapidly, but technical preparations take time. He also denied he had any interest in taking over as president, saying legal moves to lower the age of eligibility for the post last week were the initiative of the incumbent president Manuel Urrutia Lleo. President Urrutia and Prime Minister Castro are old allies and are expected to work together to achieve revolutionary aims of economic reform and improved living standards for all Cubans. Courtesy BBC News In context Fidel Castro became patron of the Whiskers Club in Derbyshire, UK, on 23 February after promising not to shave his two-year-old beard until his country had a good government. The Cuban Cabinet refused to accept Dr Castros resignation on 18 July 1959, claiming President Urrutia was obstructing reforms, and the President was prompted to step down instead. Antagonism with the US grew and the Americans imposed economic sanctions on Cuba from 1960. Cuban alliance with the USSR led to the nuclear missile crisis in 1962. Dr Castro passed a new constitution and became president, secretary general of the Communist Party and commander-in-chief of the army in 1976. The float parade and performance organized by Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) made its debut on earlier this week, with 15 floats, 30 performance groups, and around 1,000 performers celebrating the festival with residents and tourists. Audiences lined the parade route to join in the festive celebrations. That evening, the Happy Chinese New Year fireworks performance lit up the sea opposite the Macao Tower, adding even more joy to the festival celebrations. Zhou, a mainland visitor, said Macau is rich in tourist programs and the city itself has a very good historical heritage, so children can also get to know different customs and history apart from having fun. Data from the MGTO showed that the average occupancy rate of hotel establishments reaches 90% within the first three days of the Chinese New Year. Mui, a Macau resident, told Xinhua that she had witnessed flows of visitors every day. Wealth comes with popularity, so I see a good sign of Macaus tourism industry and the overall economy this year, she said. Qu and his wife came here to celebrate Valentines Day, which falls on Wednesday. Having visited the heart-shaped tree near the Macao Science Center, made a wish under the bright fireworks, and wandered hand in hand on the streets of Fishermans Wharf in the festive atmosphere, they had an experience unforgettable for a lifetime. Xinhua Hong Kongs securities regulator has warned it may delist two companies formerly headed by jailed junket mogul Alvin Chau over concerns about its USD116 million sale of assets in Russia. Shares remain halted as the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) said it was concerned LET Group Holdings and Summit Ascent Holdings had not complied with rules requiring shareholders approval of the deal, the regulator said in a statement Wednesday, as cited in a Bloomberg report. The completion of the asset sale may leave both LET Group and Summit Ascent without sufficient assets to warrant their continued listing in Hong Kong, it said. The SFC said it has serious concerns about the conduct of the companies and their management, the report added. LET Group was formerly part of Chaus gambling empire Suncity Group before it re-branded in 2022 with Andrew Lo at the helm. Issues associated with Alvin Chau made its parent companys junket business evaporate. Covid dragged tourist foot flow to Hoiana in Vietnam, and the company lost direction of its business in Vladivostok due to sanctions related to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Angela Hanlee, a senior gaming and hospitality analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, as cited in the report. Staff Reporter Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng said it is necessary to be proactive to realize substantial progress in appropriate economic diversification in the Year of the Dragon. In his message for the Lunar New Year, Ho said the past Year of the Rabbit witnessed Macaus recovery from the pandemic and its robust development. The government implemented effective measures to lift Macau out of the pandemics shadow and set the stage for a rapid economic resurgence. The passage of amendments to the Law on Safeguarding National Security further strengthened efforts to protect national security. Ho also recalled several notable projects that were completed, including the trial operation of the Macao Union Hospital, the construction of elderly housing units and the Macau New Neighbourhood, and the inauguration of the LRT Barra Station. These achievements bolstered public confidence and contributed to the stability and harmony of society. The government reaffirmed its commitment to upholding national security and fostering patriotism and love for Macau. It also stressed the importance of economic recovery and the implementation of the 1+4 development strategy to achieve substantial progress in economic diversification. The growth of the Cooperation Zone and enhanced integration into the national development plan were identified as key priorities. Looking ahead to the new year, Ho said, we will prioritize the growth of the Cooperation Zone and meet the phased goals laid out in the Master Plan of the Development of the Guangdong-Macao Intensive Cooperation Zone in Hengqin at a faster pace; more efforts will also be made to conduct external exchange so that Macau can better integrate into the overall national development. Liu Xianfa, commissioner of Chinas Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the SAR, said in his New Year message that, in the past year, the SARs chief executive and government have united and led all sectors of society, achieving remarkable results in promoting the development of various undertakings. In the new year, Liu noted, the foreign affairs office will fully support Macau to govern according to law, actively help the SAR expand foreign exchanges and cooperation, firmly shoulder the responsibility of diplomacy for the people and diplomacy for Macau, and earnestly implement the purpose of serving the SAR. Sailors aboard the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower and its accompanying warships have spent four months straight at sea defending against ballistic missiles and flying attack drones fired by Iranian-backed Houthis, and are now more regularly also defending against a new threat fast unmanned vessels that are fired at them through the water. While the Houthis have launched unmanned surface vessels, or USVs, in the past against Saudi coalition forces that have intervened in Yemens civil war, they were used for the first time against U.S. military and commercial in the Red Sea on Jan. 4. In the weeks since, the Navy has had to intercept multiple USVs, including one yesterday [Macau time]. Its more of an unknown threat that we dont have a lot of intel on, that could be extremely lethal an unmanned surface vessel, said Rear Adm. Marc Miguez, commander of Carrier Strike Group Two, of which the Eisenhower is the flagship. The Houthis have ways of obviously controlling them just like they do the (unmanned aerial vehicles), and we have very little little fidelity as to all the stockpiles of what they have USV-wise, Miguez said. The Houthis began firing on U.S. military and commercial vessels after a deadly blast at the Al-Ahli hospital in Gaza on Oct. 17, a few days after the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war. The rebels have said they will continue firing on commercial and military vessels transiting the region until Israel ceases its military operations inside Gaza. The Eisenhower has been on patrol here since Nov. 4, and its accompanying ships have been on location for even longer, since October. In those months the Eisenhowers fleet of fighter and surveillance aircraft have worked non-stop to detect and intercept the missiles and drones fired by the Houthis at ships in the Red Sea, Bab-al-Mandeb strait and Gulf of Aden. The carriers F/A-18 fighter jets are also frequently launched to take out missile sites they detect before munitions are fired. As of yesterday, the carrier strike group, which includes the cruiser USS Philippine Sea, the destroyers USS Mason and Gravely, and additional U.S. Navy assets in the region including the destroyers USS Laboon and USS Carney have conducted more than 95 intercepts of drones, anti-ship ballistic missiles and anti-ship cruise missiles and made more than 240 self-defense strikes on more than 50 Houthi targets. We are constantly keeping an eye on what the Iranian-backed Houthis are up to, and when we find military targets that threaten the ability of merchant vessels, we act in defense of those ships and strike them precisely and violently, said Capt. Marvin Scott, commander of the carrier air wings eight squadrons of warplanes. But the USV threat, which is still evolving, is worrisome, Miguez said. Thats one of the most scary scenarios, to have a bomb-laden, unmanned surface vessel that can go in pretty fast speeds. And if youre not immediately on scene, it can get ugly extremely quick, Miguez said. That pace has meant the ships have spent four months at a constant combat pace with no days off with a port call. That takes a toll on sailors, the commander of the Eisenhower, Capt. Christopher Chowdah Hill said in an interview with The Associated Press aboard the Eisenhower. The ship keeps up morale by letting sailors know how important their job is and by giving them wi-fi access so they can stay connected with their families back home. I was walking through the mess decks the other day and I could hear a baby crying because someone was teleconferencing with their infant that they havent even met yet, Hill said. Its just extraordinary, that sort of connection. The destroyers dont have wi-fi because of bandwidth limitations, which can make it harder for those crews. Joselyn Martinez, a second class gunners mate aboard the destroyer Gravely said not being in touch with home and being in a fighting stance at sea for so long has been hard, but we have each others backs here. When a threat is detected, and an alarm sounds directing the crew to respond, it is like a rush of adrenaline, Martinez said. But at the end of the day, we just do what we come here to do and, you know, defend my crew and my ship. Yesterday, the U.S. confirmed carrying out four new strikes against the Houthis targeting anti-ship missiles, drones and a bomb-loaded drone boat that were prepared to be launched against ships in the Red Sea. BERNAT ARMANGUE, ABOARD THE USS DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER, MDT/AP Russia and China yesterday [Macau time] accused the United States and Britain of illegally attacking military sites used by Yemens Houthi rebels to launch missiles at commercial vessels in the Red Sea, disrupting global shipping. U.S. deputy ambassador Robert Wood and UK Ambassador Barbara Woodward countered that the Houthi attacks are illegal, and their proportionate and legal action against the Yemen rebels are being taken in self-defense. Woodward said the Houthi attacks are driving up the costs of global shipping, including the costs of food supplies and humanitarian aid in the region. But Russias deputy U.N. ambassador Dmitry Polyansky and Chinas U.N. envoy Zhang Jun argued that the U.N. Security Council never authorized military action against Yemen. The clashes came at a council meeting where U.N. special envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg said promising efforts to restore peace to Yemen have been slowed by rising regional tensions linked to the war in Gaza and in particular the military escalation in the Red Sea. Since November, the Houthi rebels have targeted ships in the Red Sea to demand a cease-fire in Israels offensive in Gaza. They have frequently attacked vessels with tenuous or no clear links to Israel, imperiling shipping in a key route for trade among Asia, the Mideast and Europe. In recent weeks, the United States and the United Kingdom, backed by other allies, have launched airstrikes targeting Houthi missile arsenals and launch sites for its attacks. Wood, the U.S. envoy, said American strikes in response to attacks on U.S. naval vessels, aim to disrupt and degrade the Houthis ability to continue their reckless attacks against vessels and commercial shipping in the Red Sea, the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, and the Gulf of Aden. Since 2014, he said, Iran has provided the Houthis with a growing arsenal of advanced weapons that they have used to target commercial ships, and Iran cannot deny its role in enabling and supporting the attacks carried out by the Houthis. Wood accused the Houthis of trying to apply a chokehold on global shipping through the Red Sea and urged all countries, especially those with direct channels to Iran, to press Irans leaders to rein in the Houthis and stop these lawless attacks. Russias Polyansky stressed that Moscow categorically condemns attacks and seizures of commercial vessels and () any attacks which impede freedom of navigation. He said Russia has conveyed messages to the Houthi leaders to focus on Yemens domestic agenda and pursue peace. Grundberg, the U.N. envoy, said that in late December the Houthis, who control the capital and much of the countrys north, and Yemens internationally recognized government committed to a nationwide cease-fire, measures to improve living conditions, and restarting an intra-Yemeni political process. But he said Yemens peace process cant be cordoned off from the events in the region, and the U.S. and UK attacks on Houthi targets, and the U.S. designation of the Houthis as a Specially Designated Terrorist Group are concerning. Despite potential complications, my work will continue no matter what, he said. It is therefore imperative that we protect the political space, that communication channels are kept open and that all actors remain actively engaged with my efforts. Russias Polyansky said the root cause of the current situation is Israels military offensive in Gaza following Hamas surprise attack in southern Israel on Oct. 7, which has provoked a chain reaction in the Middle East including by the Houthis. An immediate cease-fire in Gaza will help to stabilize the situation in the Red Sea, and the de-escalation in those waters will in turn unblock the efforts of the special envoy, Mr. Grundberg, Polyansky said. Yemens civil war began in 2014 when the Houthis swept down from their northern stronghold and chased the internationally recognized government from Sanaa. A Saudi-led coalition intervened the following year on behalf of the government and in time the conflict turned into a proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran. The war has devastated Yemen, already the Arab regions poorest country, and created one of the worlds worst humanitarian disasters. Edem Wosornu, the U.N. humanitarian offices director of operations, told the council that Yemen faces massive continuing needs. This year, she said, over 18 million people over half the countrys population will need humanitarian aid. The U.N. anticipates that 17.6 million people will be severely food insecure facing serious hunger, she said. Nearly half of all children under five face moderate to severe stunting of their growth and development. Last year, the U.N. received just 40% of its $4.3 billion humanitarian appeal, she said. This year, the Yemen appeal is more targeted and seeks $2.7 billion to reach 11.2 million people across Yemen. EDITH M. LEDERER, UNITED NATIONS, MDT/AP On the first day of the Chinese New Year, SJM Resorts, S.A. celebrated the advent of the Dragon Year with the SJM Lion Dance Parade at its iconic Grand Lisboa Macau and Grand Lisboa Palace Resort Macau, bringing together residents and tourists in a jubilant celebration. With the resonant beat of drums and the crackle of firecrackers, the energetic lion dancers made their way through the Grand Lisboa and Grand Lisboa Palace, extending New Year greetings to the assembled crowds, spreading festive joy and New Year wishes to citizens, visitors and businesses alike. Daisy Ho, managing director of SJM, remarked, SJM is delighted to welcome the Year of the Dragon with all residents and visitors of Macau, wishing everyone a vigorous and prosperous year! [] In the new year, SJM will continue to drive forward the revitalization plan of San Ma Lo District. Domatilia Caal, center, is consoled by her brother, Cornelio, on Wednesday, Dec. 6, in Austin at the site where her husband was killed in a violent trail of separate attacks on Tuesday. Jay Janner/Associated Press Shane James, the man accused of committing several deadly shootings spanning from San Antonio to Austin in December, had several run-ins with law enforcement in the years leading up to the shooting rampage. James, 34, is being held at the Travis County Jail, where he faces several charges related to the killings of four Austin residents: Emmanuel Pop Ba, 33; Sabrina Rahman, 25; Katherine Short, 56; and Lauren Short, 30. Police say James killed his parents, Phyllis James, 55, and Shane James Sr., 56, at their home in Bexar County. Charges related to their deaths are still pending. Advertisement Article continues below this ad He also is accused of injuring an Austin Independent School district officer and a cyclist. Shane James Jr., 34, was charged with capital murder of multiple people and booked into the Travis County Jail at 1:32 a.m. Wednesday, Dec. 6. Austin Police Department James, whose family members previously said he had a history of mental illness, shot his parents before traveling to Austin to commit the additional killings, according to police. Records show James had run-ins with the law on several occasions before the shooting, starting when he was stationed at Fort Hood with the U.S. Army. Fort Cavazos The Bernie Beck Gate is adorned with a sign announcing that the Army installation is now Fort Cavazos after a redesignating ceremony on Tuesday, May 9. Gen. Richard E. Cavazos was the Armys first Hispanic four-star general and a decorated veteran of the Korean and Vietnam wars. Billy Calzada/Staff photographer In June 2014, James was a first lieutenant in the U.S. Army at Fort Cavazos, formally known as Fort Hood. Military police responded to his residence on base after they received a report about an assault between James and a female family member, according to a military police report. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The report states that James got into an argument with the woman, leading to a fight. He reportedly grabbed the woman by the arms and broke her phone, preventing her from calling the police. The offense listed on the report is interference with an emergency phone call. No injuries were mentioned, but it states James was responsible for the assault. Its unclear if James faced any disciplinary action as a result of the incident. He was dishonorably discharged from the military in 2015. Austin According to an Austin Police Department police report from March 2018, then 28-year-old James took an Uber from his San Antonio residence on Port Royal Drive to Mosaic Church in Northwest Austin. Advertisement Article continues below this ad When he arrived, James asked to speak to a pastor, who then contacted authorities after James made troubling comments. An officer who spoke to James said James could not articulate why he chose to go to that particular church, according to the report. James told the officer that while traveling to the church, a woman named Tawny told him he was going to be gunned down. James stated he does not know Tawnys last name nor could he say how he knew her, the officer wrote in the report. I asked James if he could see Tawny right now, and he stated he could not. I asked James if Tawny was present, would I be able to see her, and he said probably not, the officer wrote. James told the officer he kept quarters duct-taped to the brim of his hat to protect his head. He said he needed protection from certain people but would not explain who, according to the report. He said he had no thoughts of harming whoever was after him, the report stated. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Two days later, an officer followed up with James, and he was cleared, according to the report Bexar County District Attorney Joe Gonzales and Sheriff Javier Salazar hold a news conference on at double fatal shooting in the 6400 block of Port Royal on Wednesday, Dec. 6. Ronald Cortes/Contributor Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar said deputies responded to seven calls for disturbances at the home southeast of Converse from April 2018 to August 2023. Advertisement Article continues below this ad April 24, 2018 Shane James Sr. told deputies his son had been missing for two days and left his phone. According to the offense report, James Sr. told police that James had schizophrenia and refused to take his prescribed medication. He was then added to the missing person database. May 9, 2018 A deputy contacted James more than two weeks later at his home. The deputy reported that James was in good health, had no injuries and just wanted to leave for a few days. He was removed from the missing person database. Jan. 6, 2022 Deputies were called to the home after they received a report about a family disturbance. According to a police report from the incident, James Sr. told police James was breaking items inside the home and became violent when he confronted him. Shane James Sr. said James pushed him several times against the wall and scratched him on the neck. He also stated James assaulted his mother and an unidentified family member who was also in the home. James mother told police she fell back and hit her head when he pushed James Sr. into her, according to the report. All three of James family members said they wished to press assault charges, and he was booked into the Bexar County jail. A judge then ordered James to have no contact with his family. A week later, a victims advocate told police the family members said James had mental health problems and did not deserve to be in jail. After he was released on March 7 upon posting bond, James cut off his ankle monitor the next day, triggering an arrest warrant. Aug. 20, 2022 Deputies were called to the home again after James family reported him having a mental health crisis. According to Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar, James was naked, had barricaded himself in his room and refused to let anyone in. Deputies had to speak to James through a crack in the door. At the time, deputies knew James was wanted on three warrants, but they could not force their way in because they were misdemeanor warrants, Salazar said. Deputies told James Sr. to call them if James came out so he could be arrested, but they never received a call back. Two Chinese fishermen have drowned while being chased by Taiwans Coast Guard off the coast of Taiwans Kinmen archipelago, the coast guard said Wednesday while accusing them of trespassing. The deaths are unusual despite the level of Chinese activity in the waters near Kinmen, which is closer to China than it is to Taiwans main island. Chinas Taiwan Affairs Office strongly condemned the deaths and called for an investigation, saying such a malicious event during the Spring Festival seriously hurts the feelings of compatriots on both sides of the Taiwan Strait. Both China and Taiwan are celebrating the Lunar New Year holiday. The statement accused the ruling Democratic Progressive Party in Taiwan of using all sorts of excuses to forcefully inspect Chinese fishing vessels, and using violent and dangerous methods towards Chinese fishermen. The unnamed Chinese vessel had been sailing about one nautical mile off the coast of an islet of Kinmen island, Taiwans Coast Guard Administration said in a statement. The Chinese vessel attempted to flee but capsized. Four fishermen fell into the water and two survived and are in good shape, while resuscitation efforts on the other two failed, the vice captain of the coast guard in Kinmen, Chen Jien-wen, told a local TV channel. The Coast Guard said the case has been reported to the Kinmen prosecutors office, and the fishermens families were being contacted via official channels. Taiwans head of the Mainland Affairs Council, Chiu Tai-san, who oversees the islands relations with the mainland, told reporters yesterday morning that we keep a certain level of contact with the other side and our Coast Guard, and will promptly let them know of related developments. Kinmen is in the Taiwan Strait that separates China and Taiwan. From some parts of the archipelago, the southern Chinese city of Xiamen is visible to the naked eye. Kinmen residents in recent years have reported seeing an increase in sand dredger vessels from China, which take sand from the ocean floor, as well as fishing ships, close to its coast. At times, dozens of the ships can be seen from the island, they say. MDT/AP Responses to the Wisconsin State Journals candidate questionnaire. The top two vote-getters in Tuesdays primary will square off in the general election April 2. Bill Baker Age: 62 Family: Married to Terri; four children; three grandchildren Job: Owner of The Baker Realty Group Prior elected office: None Other public service: Sun Prairie City Housing Committee Education: Business Administration from Virginia Commonwealth University Matthew Hill Age: 36 Family: Mom Renee; dad Paul; sister Jessica Job: Operations at American Family Insurance Prior elected office: None Other public service: Captain U.S. Army, Wisconsin National Guard, 14 years Education: Bachelors degree in political science and legal studies from UW-Madison, 2010 Santiago Rosas Age: 72 Family: Divorced Job: Small-business owner, Santa Rosa Services Prior elected office: Former Madison District 17 alderman for 14 years Other public service: Big Brothers and Big Sisters program, 35 years; co-founder of the state Latino Chamber of Commerce; founder of the first Latino radio program via WHA; participated in supporting the first womens studies program as well as the first Latino Studies program at UW-Madison. Education: Associate degree in Finance, Madison Area Technical College; bachelors degree in business administration, Lakeland College Q&A What unique expertise or experience would you bring to this office? Baker: Staying curious and seeking to understand. Listening is crucial: It helps grasp the speakers perspective. In a recent chat with a Sun Prairie resident opposing sidewalks in their area, I discovered their concern: The husband, an arborist, values trees over sidewalks and does not want to sacrifice the trees. Hill: I have nearly 14 years of leadership, management, and decision-making experience from the Army with the Wisconsin Army National Guard to include three deployments and two terms as a commander. Im currently a captain and set for a medical retirement in 2024. Over the last 10 years, I worked full-time for the Wisconsin National Guard in HR and operations. Rosas: I have 14 years experience in city government, was appointed to a number of committees, boards and commissions, and have a good track record of accomplishments in the 17th District. I am also bilingual in Spanish and can assist in translation to small Latino business. What is the most pressing problem facing the community, and how would you fix it? Baker: With a population of 38,000 and rising, prioritizing public safety is paramount. Adequate support for police, fire and EMS is crucial. Ill partner with Sun Prairie police for recruitment, education and community engagement. Additionally, Ill ensure fire/EMS have swift response times and proper equipment. Hill: Managing the growth of Sun Prairie. Over the last decade or so, Sun Prairie has become one of the fastest-growing communities in the greater Madison area. With that comes the problems of affordable housing, adequate policing and public infrastructure. We can address all three with prioritizing city efforts in those areas to attract families and businesses to come and continue to grow the city. Rosas: First, speeding in our local streets, especially next to our schools. There is a shortage of police staff for the city of Sun Prairie, and we need to redirect our budget to hire more police officers and bring them up to full staff. Second, during my campaign, I have learned that we need to do a better job in keeping our residents abreast of new developments. What do you most want for your community? Baker: Housing for all! I would add and preserve affordable housing units, expand housing choice, increase housing stability, improve the quality, accessibility, and attainability of housing. I will work to change zoning policies that would ease restrictions of development making housing affordable and reducing timelines. I will also work to strengthen tenant protections from unjust evictions. Hill: I want Sun Prairie to continue to grow and thrive in a safe and equitable manner. I want our community to embrace the changes that come along with a diverse and growing demographic. I want Sun Prairie to be the ideal destination for businesses, families and tourists to come, see and stay. Rosas: It is my passion to improve the quality of life for our citizens to live, work and play in a safe environment. It is my hope that with my experience I can represent and help people in the community. The former environmental coordinator for Didion Milling, the firm whose corn mill in Cambria exploded in 2017, killing five workers, was sentenced Friday to two years in prison and ordered to pay a $10,000 fine, after telling a judge he had lost his moral compass by going along with a culture at Didion of lying to regulators to skirt environmental and safety laws. In addition, two other supervisors were each sentenced to one year of probation by U.S. District Judge James Peterson, who on Thursday sentenced three other Didion managers, two of them to prison terms. None of the charges against any of those sentenced on Thursday and Friday, nor the charges to which the company itself pleaded guilty last year, directly involved the deaths of the five men from the buildup and ignition of explosive corn dust inside the Cambria mill. Instead, the case centered on fabrications in records that Didion furnished to state and federal regulators and lies told to investigators as they probed the explosion. Speaking to Peterson, Joseph Winch, 67, of Logansport, Indiana, told Peterson that after he started working at Didion in 2016, he tried to address compliance issues. But at a meeting with company CEO Riley Didion, he said, he was asked how much paying a fine would cost compared with the cost of complying with environmental and safety regulations. It was soul-crushing, Winch said. It just crushed my spirit at that point. But Winch went along with skirting regulations, wholly divergent with my moral compass of 30-plus years, he said. Im ashamed of it. I offer no excuses. He pleaded guilty in June to conspiracy to conceal environmental and safety violations from auditors and government agencies. In the prosecutions sentencing memorandum, U.S. Department of Justice attorneys Samuel Lord and Joel LaBissoniere said Winch took steps to thwart the successful prosecution of his co-defendants, particularly Derrick Clark, Didions vice president of operations, who on Thursday was sentenced to two years in prison. He sandbagged prosecutors, misled the Court, and lied to a federal jury in a bid to obtain the unwarranted acquittal of a co-defendant on serious charges, the memorandum states. Winchs efforts were unsuccessful, but they were calculated and seemingly motivated by misplaced animus towards the government, which underscores his failure to accept responsibility for his own actions. Peterson agreed, calling Winch literally shifty, agreeing to one set of facts at the time he entered guilty pleas while testifying differently during the trial of three Didion managers last year. He either lied at the plea hearing or he lied at the trial, Peterson said. The conspiracy Winch took part in showed, Peterson said, what happens when people work together and decide not to comply with regulations. The result is a disaster, he said. Peterson also sentenced former shift supervisors Joel Niemeyer, 41, of Baraboo, and Michael Bright, 38, of Merrill, each to one year of probation. He also fined Niemeyer $1,000. Peterson praised Bright, former night shift superintendent, for being the first to plead guilty, in March 2022, to criminal charges as a result of the investigation into the explosion. Bright pleaded guilty to making false entries in a sanitation log and a bag house pressure drop log. I just want to say that Im very sorry for what I did, Bright said. It was wrong for me in so many ways not saying anything, not standing up for what I believe in and do the right thing and tell the truth. Niemeyer, a former day shift superintendent who pleaded guilty to conspiracy to conceal environmental and safety violations from auditors and government agencies shortly before the trial against Clark and two others, provided key testimony at the trial that Peterson said was credible and important. While Niemeyers comments were mostly confined to a statement filed in court under seal, the former Marine admitted to Peterson in court that he should have questioned orders from Didion superiors that were not lawful. I should have been trying to step up for what was right, Niemeyer said. One sentencing in the Didion case remains, on March 19, for former night shift superintendent Nicholas Booker, 44, of Cambria. He pleaded guilty in April 2022 to also making false entries in the mills sanitation log and the bag house pressure drop log. Two Missouri men have been arrested in an armed home invasion in Dodge County in 2023, the Dodge County Sheriffs Office reported. The armed home invasion happened Jan. 28, 2023, at a residence on Indian Road in the town of Hustisford, Sheriff Dale Schmidt said in a statement. A man reported that two men came to his house, forced their way inside and told the victim they were law enforcement officers looking for a homicide suspect. One suspect remained with the man, while the other suspect searched the house and asked where the valuables were. Once the two men completed their search of the house, they fled in a white pickup truck, Schmidt said. The Dodge County Criminal Investigations Division spent more than a year trying to identify those involved using nearly every investigative tool possible, Schmidt said. In the past month, two Dodge County detectives were sent to southern Illinois and Missouri to conduct interviews and work with local police in attempts to locate Robert Ledbetter, 60, of Palmyra, Missouri, while Anthony Smith, 45, of Monroe City, Missouri, already was in custody on unrelated charges, Schmidt said. Ledbetter was arrested Tuesday on a Dodge County warrant, Schmidt said. The sheriffs office has referred Ledbetter for charges of robbery armed with a weapon, burglary to building or dwelling, impersonating a peace officer, false imprisonment. criminal trespass to dwelling and intimidation of victim, and Smith for charges of robbery armed with a weapon, burglary to building or dwelling, impersonating peace officer, false imprisonment, criminal trespass to dwelling, and intimidation of victim, Schmidt said. Ledbetter and Smith are in custody in Missouri and facing extradition back to Wisconsin for their initial court appearances, Schmidt said. A 17-year-old boy was shot in the head and killed in front of his family last November as he attempted to diffuse a verbal confrontation outside a South Omaha bar, according to testimony from an Omaha Police Department homicide detective Wednesday. On Wednesday, 18-year-old Zadik Motino appeared in court for a preliminary hearing. Motino is charged with second-degree murder, use of a firearm to commit a felony and possessing a firearm as a felon in connection with the Nov. 17 killing of Mauricio Chavez at the Sippin Sirens bar near 42nd and H Streets. According to testimony from Michael Young, an OPD homicide detective, Chavezs family had gathered at the bar for a birthday party on the evening of the killing. Chavez dropped his mom off earlier in the evening and came back to the bar at about 11 p.m. to pick her up. He entered the bar despite being underage, Young said, but he was not drinking. Shortly before the shooting, a group of five-or-so individuals most of whom were underage entered the bar. Motino was part of this group, according to Young. The group stood around a table and then went to play darts, where they were approached by a family member of Chavez. According to Young, another man in the group with Motino had assaulted Chavez at some point in the past. Chavezs cousin approached the group about the assault, and a verbal altercation ensued. It got so heated that the bartender eventually asked both groups to leave the bar out separate doors. Chavezs family left out the back door while Motino and the others in the group left out the front, Young said. For a moment, it seemed as if everyone was going their separate ways. But at a row of parking spots along H Street, another confrontation was brewing. About five people began to crowd around two of Chavezs female cousins as they tried to get in the car to leave the area. According to Young, both women told the group that they didnt want any trouble and they just wanted to go home. At the same time, Chavez was driving his mother and four other family members in a blue Kia away from the bar. As he drove down H Street, one of his cousins flagged Chavez down to have him help de-escalate the situation. Chavez stopped his car in the middle of H Street and began to exit the drivers seat. Within seconds of Chavez opening the car door, thirteen gunshots rang out. One of the shots hit him in the forehead. He was declared dead at the scene. The altercations both inside and outside the bar were captured on surveillance video with audio. According to Young, the video was high quality enough that officers could make out a very unique tattoo on the gunmans neck. In Motinos mugshot, a thick black line is visible on the side of his neck. Motino was arrested Dec. 1 in West Point, Nebraska, where he had fled to stay with his grandparents, according to Young. The gun used in the killing has not been recovered. Public defenders for Motino argued that manslaughter was a more appropriate charge than second-degree murder, given the squabble inside the bar that preceded the shooting. But Deputy Douglas County Attorney Brenda Beadle, the prosecutor on the case, scoffed at the suggestion. This is not a case of manslaughter, she said. If you want to up it to premeditated murder, that may be appropriate. When the Republican-controlled Legislature adopted Gov. Tony Evers proposed legislative maps earlier this week, Democrats were skeptical of a provision in the GOP-authored bill that said the new maps couldnt be used until the general election later this year. Some saw in the provision an effort to protect Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, whos facing a recall effort. If that is successful, the vote might have to wait until the fall election since the state Supreme Court has declared the current maps unconstitutional. Im wondering if this doesnt have something to do with that recall, Sen. Mark Spreitzer, D-Beloit, said before the Senate approved the bill on Tuesday. Im wondering if Robin Vos didnt want to try to make sure that he can be recalled in his current district even though its unconstitutional, rather than a new one. But the provision did not come from the Republicans at all. It was inserted by the nonpartisan staff of the Legislative Reference Bureau who drafted the bill. In a memo to Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu, R-Oostburg, on Tuesday, Legislative Reference Bureau chief counsel Joseph Kreye said delaying the implementation of new maps for elections is standard practice. Applying new plans immediately to recall and special elections occurring before the general election would create quite a bit of confusion regarding representation, he said. For example, putting new maps in place before the next legislative election would result in overlap between the old districts and the new districts and raise the question as what legislator is representing what constituents. If the new maps applied immediately before most legislative seats were up for reelection, some districts could go without representation while others could have more than one legislator in a district, Kreye continued. Please note that it is not uncommon for there to be a gap from the adoption of a redistricting plan to when it first applies, Kreye said. This gap is often necessary to promote efficient and timely election administration. This is true even if a court renders the previous plan unconstitutional. When LeMahieus office asked the reference bureau to write the redistricting proposal last Thursday, its one-sentence request simply asked for a substitute amendment to an entirely different redistricting bill with maps that are identical to the governors maps. The approved boundaries, an amended version of Senate Bill 488, is identical in all respects to maps Evers proposed to the Supreme Court, according to the reference bureau. The bill that was amended originally called for the Legislative Reference Bureau to redraw the states maps using nonpartisan principles. That broad policy change, which had been stuck in the Senate since October, was thrown out entirely in favor of simply adopting Evers maps. The amendment was introduced on the Senate floor Tuesday without a public hearing or committee vote. Although the bill largely gave them what they wanted, some Democrats feared the measure was a Republican ruse to bypass the Wisconsin Supreme Court and ultimately give Republicans a new set of maps they could appeal in federal court. Legislative approval of the maps marked a dramatic political shift in Wisconsin where, for over a decade, Republicans benefitted from maps that experts say give the GOP a baked-in electoral advantage. Those maps, which determine which legislative district each voter gets to participate in, have helped hand Republicans a 22-10 supermajority in the Senate and a 64-35 majority in the Assembly. While Evers maps could shrink and even reverse those majorities, GOP lawmakers have found the governors maps to be more favorable for them than three other Democratic alternatives before the liberal-controlled Wisconsin Supreme Court. Given their alternatives, Democrats have called for Evers not to sign his own maps into law. But the governor has said he would sign the bill. Tuesdays vote came as the high court nears its deadline to choose new maps after declaring the current Republican-drawn maps unconstitutional in December. Wisconsin elections officials have said any new maps need to be in place by mid-March. When the court struck down the current maps, the four liberal justices comprising the majority said they would select new ones unless the Legislature did so first. If Evers signs the proposal into law, one of the parties involved in the court case could ask the court to dismiss the case as moot, UW-Madison Law School associate professor Robert Yablon said. The court called for new legislative maps that include contiguous districts that are equally populated; bounded by county, precinct, ward or town lines; are as compact as possible; comply with federal law, including the Voting Rights Act; preserve communities of interest; and reduce municipal splits. Additionally, the court called for maps that dont favor one party over another. That amounted to a major victory for Democrats, because experts say the current GOP maps were drawn to benefit Republicans. American Girl to close its corporate offices in Middleton, cutting 30 jobs American Girl will close its Middleton corporate offices by spring, parent company Mattel said, and will cut 30 jobs as a result. The tornadoes that swept through the state were something previously unseen in Wisconsin. They came and went fairly quickly, but the storms caused 30 families to lose their primary residences and farmers to lose their cattle and barns. Mercifully, nobody was killed, thanks no doubt to the National Weather Service and the meteorologists at the Madison television stations who did a great job warning residents of the approaching severe storms. The weather service has said that the weather pattern El Nino is in part responsible for the mild temperatures. But climate change has contributed too, making winters warmer and storms more destructive. So its more important than ever that the community receives important information, both immediately when bad weather strikes and over time on the environmental impact of these changing patterns. When the first report of a tornado came through Feb. 8, State Journal reporter Chris Rickert wrote a breaking news bulletin for Madison.com. He continued to cover the storms throughout the night as the storms moved through the area. Early the next day, reporter Anna Hansen and photographers John Hart and Amber Arnold headed to the Rock County area to survey the storm damage. Thats where Hart found Marilyn Kueng sifting through the rubble of her home. Kueng, 83, was trying to get her cats into the basement when the tornado hit her home and blew off the roof. Kueng was buried in rubble but managed to call her daughter, who sent people to dig her mother out. She was unharmed, but her home was destroyed. Hart told that story in photos and video. It was important for readers to hear from Kueng for many reasons. People needed to see the destruction to understand how much help these residents would need. And it is always important to tell the survivor stories amid the loss and highlight those who came quickly to their aid. Arnold and Hansen found similar stories throughout the region. They covered major loss and an even greater resolve to rebuild. Reporters continue to cover the cleanup from the two tornadoes, which caused nearly $2.5 million in damage excluding agricultural damage. The State Journal will continue to spring into action to give you complete and accurate accounts of breaking news stories like the storms. You can find developing news on madison.com, the State Journal app and on Facebook and Twitter. If you want immediate updates, subscribe to our breaking news emails at madison.com/newsletters and enable alerts on the app. But well go beyond that. Well cover the effects of warming temperatures on everything from agriculture to lake quality. If temperatures continue to warm, we might see more February tornadoes in years to come. And a 2018 study found that winter tornadoes tend to be more destructive. Reporters have written about the effects on the local economy from a lack of snow on the ground and no ice on the lakes. Were committed to giving you more details on how businesses are affected. Well write about plans to combat climate change, and hold public agencies and businesses accountable to those plans. I would love it if we never had to cover tornado damage, or any tragedy that puts such a toll on families. But when breaking news does happen, well be there to keep you informed. An Omaha man said adrenaline took over in the moment when he tackled one of the suspects in the shooting at the Chiefs Super Bowl celebration in downtown Kansas City Wednesday. Paul Contreras, a 46-year-old from South Omaha who lives in Bellevue, said he and his three daughters traveled to Kansas City Wednesday morning to attend the Super Bowl parade and rally. The Nebraskans arrived in Kansas City around 9 a.m. and were enjoying the days festivities until they were preparing to leave the event around 2 p.m., Contreras said. Thats when they began to hear what they thought were fireworks outside Union Station. Twenty-two people were injured in the shooting, Kansas City Police Chief Stacey Graves said, and one woman died. At least half of those injured were children, Graves told. Three people were taken into custody but, as of Thursday afternoon, no one had been charged in connected with the incident. We see this young gentleman running for his life and another one running for his life and then just police officers just chasing them, Contreras told the Omaha World-Herald Thursday. So we knew, OK, those were not fireworks, those were gunshots. Then Contreras said he saw someone running and heard people yelling stop him. Contreras said he tackled the man from the back and saw a gun fall. Im like, Oh, man. This is serious, he said. Im like, OK, I gotta keep him down because hes got one gun, he may have another gun. Someone else jumped in and helped hold the man down until police could take over, Contreras said. Once police got there, officers handcuffed the man. Contreras said once police took over, he figured his job was done and he and his family headed back to Omaha. He said everything that unfolded is still sinking in. It happens so fast that you really dont know until you take a step back and be like, OK, what just happened? he said. Contreras said he just relied on his instincts in the moment he decided to take action. It was just a reaction, he said. You dont think about it, you just do it. One of his Contreras daughters, 23-year-old Alyssa Marsh-Contreras, captured a video shortly after her father jumped in to help in which he can be seen telling police We tackled him. Marsh-Contreras said she had been taking photos and videos all day documenting the celebration and her instinct was to hit record when she realized something serious was happening. It was no question that my camera needed to be pulled out, she said. The video has been widely shared on social media and many have called Contreras a hero. Contreras said hes OK with all of the attention, but it isnt his focus. I did what I did, not thinking that this is gonna be taken by storm or anything like that, he said. Contreras, who works for a local gas and water company, said hes been a Chiefs fan for a long time. My daughters as they grew up seeing me wear Chiefs shirts and hats and whatnot, they became Chiefs fans, he said. So were a Chiefs family. His daughters were disappointed they didnt go to the parade after last years Super Bowl win, so Contreras promised they would this year. Contreras said he was already expecting the celebration to be a once in a lifetime moment for him and his daughters. We got up yesterday morning all in good spirits, and we knew it was gonna be a memorable day, he said. It turned tragic, but were not gonna let that deter us. Were gonna remember the good times, all our pictures and listening to good music. The weather was perfect. It was a good day up until that point. This report includes material from the Associated Press. - Advertisement - There is a quiet revolution in Central Luzon. But unlike uprisings of the past, this one is peaceful and led by farmers armed with digital technology, relevant information, and the belief that agriculture is the path to wealth. You only need doctors when youre sick and lawyers when you have a court case, but you need farmers three times every dayfor breakfast, lunch, and dinner, says Marlene Bernadino, 56, the president of the Tabon San Jose Farmers Association, which has about 60 members in Pampanga province. A doser is used with the greenhouse irrigation network to inject fertilizers in precise amounts directly into the soil of each plant container Part of her optimism comes from the techniques and technologies she and other farmers have learned from a model farm set up by Taiwanese experts in horticulture on five hectares in Barangay Sapang Maragul, Tarlac City. The Taiwan Technical Mission (TTM) demonstration farm, inaugurated in December 2023, is home to several buildings, including two fully automated, climate-controlled greenhouses, each covering 604 square meters, that can withstand a category 5 storm; a post-harvest building where composting is done; a warehouse for cultivators, harvesters, compost shredders and other farm equipment; and staff housing for the three agricultural experts from Taiwan who live on the premises, and work with a team of about 20 locals. - Advertisement - Marlene Bernardino, president of the Tabon San Jose Farmers Association, talks about the techniques she and other farmers have learned from the TTM One of the greenhouses is dedicated to producing seedlings that can be quickly distributed after a natural disaster so farmers can recover quickly. The key to sustainability is profit, says Y.C. Peng, project coordinator at the farm, who says their priority is to help farmers improve their income by reducing the amount of chemicals needed, rotating crops to improve soil health, and planting vegetables that are off-season to get a better price. In costs, yield, and price, we want to help. Taiwan fully funds the farm through the International Cooperation Development Fund (ICDF) and operates in coordination with the Department of Agriculture (DA), in line with its Farm and Fisheries Clustering and Consolidation (F2C2) program. The demo farm in Tarlac is the 21st set up globally by Taiwan and the third in Southeast Asia, after Indonesia and Thailand. By Pengs reckoning, Taiwan has already invested about P60 million in the farm. The TTM works with farmer-beneficiaries such as Bernardino, whom the DA nominates. For some farmers, the partnership has already paid off. Our production has increased, says Jessica Bernardino, Marlenes daughter, speaking in Filipino. Y.C. Peng, an agricultural specialist and project coordinator at the farm, demonstrates how cherry tomatoes can be picked at one of the farms two greenhouses For example, for ampalaya, the average is about eight to 10 tons per hectare, but in our area, it has reached 15 tons per hectare. When it comes to income, some farmers have already been able to repair their house, buy equipment, and supplement their budget for daily expenses, she adds. The planting calendar is key A key to more efficient production is a planting or crop calendar that tells farmers what cultivation activities to do and when, based on several factors, including a 10-day weather forecast. Peng emphasizes that farmers should be able to do digital recording with a basic online tool so that all cultivation activities and sales data are traceable. Older farmers can ask their children to use these tools and this can link the generations, he adds. Children will better appreciate what their parents do. For farmers, the swings in the climate are a major problem, Jessica says. The AWS from Taiwan is very helpful and allows us to monitor the weather, soil moisture, and wind strength in our area, she says. Through monitoring, we know when we should fertilize, irrigate, and spray, the height of the planting bed, and when to adjust the waterway. AWS, short for automated weather station, consists of sensors for air temperature, humidity, illumination, wind speed and direction, soil temperature, soil humidity, and conductivity. Powered by a solar panel, the AWS automatically records data and uploads it through the internet. The three-hectare Tabon farm, which the TTM uses as its main training site, needs only one AWS. Digitalization will really enhance agriculture in the next generation, Peng says. Although AWS is important, it is only the hardware part. The farmers mindset and the capability to use digital tools will be the key. That is the software. Another area where farmers get help is identifying and dealing with pests that can significantly damage a crop. When it comes to pests, we dont spray right away, Jessica says. We have to find out what kind of insects should be killed For example, there are two different types of fruit fly melon fruit fly and mango fruit fly. Its the melon fruit fly that attacks vegetables like ampalaya and patola. In meetings with the TTM every Saturday, farmers learn ways to cut the pathogen life cycle, how to treat the soil, and how to make their own seedlings that are compatible with their crop calendar. In its first year, the TTM worked with 30 pioneer farmers in two clusters and provided seedlings to 40 other beneficiaries, Peng says. In its first three-year project that will last until 2025, it aims to help 45 pioneer farmers in three clusters so that they can see a 20 percent increase in their average income. But training doesnt end in the Philippines. Last year, the TTM sent seven delegatesincluding the Bernardinos and another member of their association, Marilou Encinaresto Taiwan to learn more about the business of farming. Tayo ang mga sosyal na farmers, nakapunta sa ibang bansa (Were the privileged farmers who get to visit another country), Encinares quips. Looking to the future The TTM Tarlac farm features two typhoon-resistant, automated greenhouse The planting calendar also considers when it is most profitable to plant a particular vegetable. Planting off-season can get you a good price, Peng says as he walks through an aisle of cherry tomatoes growing on the vine, next to several rows of bell peppers and regular tomatoes in the farms second greenhouse. Outside the greenhouse are multiple rows of okra, green and red. Marlene notes that intercropping, the cultivation of two or more crops simultaneously on the same fieldanother practice the TTM encouragedhas been very profitable. When the price of one crop is down, the other crop can make up for the losses, and you maximize the use of the land, she says. In this season, the Bernardinos say, the associations three-hectare farm grows ampalaya, pechay, mustasa, upo, okra, and patola. In the past, Jessica adds, farmers would mostly plant vegetables that were quick to grow, like pechay and mustasa. These were easy to maintain and could be sold for cash in 15 to 20 days. Today, with assistance from the TTM, some members are also growing various vegetables, including those that grow on the vine, like ampalaya and sitaw, especially when the price is high. The focus on profits helps with another phenomenonthe tendency among some of the younger generations to move away from farming. In our area, its not such a problem to encourage young people to farm, says Jessica, 35. They are interested in farming because they can see that there is money in farming. I hope this will not be lost and will carry on to the next generation. - Advertisement - The Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) is preparing the registration guidelines to help foreign pharmaceutical companies set up operations in the Philippines. PEZA director-general Tereso Panga said the agency was closely working with the Department of Health (DOH), Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Philippine Chamber of Pharmaceutical Industries (PCPI) in crafting the guidelines for the registration of pharma zones. In all these, we hope to see the pharma parks creating a platform for increased R&D, technology transfer, registration of local patents and a complete ecosystem that will enable the country to produce its own medicines and provide access to quality, affordable medicines, medical products and healthcare for all Filipinos, Panga said. PEZA is looking at increased medical and drug manufacturing-related investments with the creation of pharmaceutical economic zones. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., in a sectoral meeting on Tuesday, floated the idea of establishing pharma-zones as one-stop shops to make the drug application process more accessible and efficient. - Advertisement - The FDA said pharma-zones established in PEZA-controlled areas would enable the agency to immediately test and register medicines upon entry to the Philippines. These pharma ecozones will, in the future, boost local supply as well as provide business and capability building opportunities particularly for Filipino SMEs into manufacturing and tolling of drugs and food supplements, said Panga. We can contribute to the DTIs science, technology and innovation-driven industrialization strategy through the pharma zones that will seek to strengthen partnerships between global drug manufacturing companies and the local industry players with their integration into the ecozone and global value chains, Panga said. PEZA earlier signed a memorandum of agreement with the FDA to streamline the applications for permits and licenses of locators engaged in the manufacture of food, cosmetic, drugs and medical devices. The MOA will also ensure compliance of ecozone locators with the provisions of the Food and Drug Act of 2009 and other laws. Among the parties that are reportedly interested to invest in the Philippines is the Pakistan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association. There were also talks in 2017 between the Philippine and the Indian governments to set up manufacturing zones in the country for Indian pharmaceutical companies wanting to tap the ASEAN market. PEZA hosts 26 companies manufacturing medical equipment and devices like Terumo, Arkray Industry, Royale Life Pharma, JMS Healthcare and Philipcare Medical, with total investments of P25.489 billion supporting over 19,000 direct jobs. Ice-and-snow frenzy heats up Lunar Chinese New Year Xinhua) 09:26, February 16, 2024 SHENYANG, Feb. 15 (Xinhua) -- Li Yan, 32, who works in Shanghai, used to snap up a train ticket to his hometown, southwest China's Chongqing Municipality, as soon as the Spring Festival travel rush began. However, Li decided to change his destination to northeast China during this year's holiday of Spring Festival, or the Chinese Lunar New Year, which fell on Feb. 10, as the ice-and-snow tourism heated up across the country during this winter. "Every year, the festival activities at my hometown are similar -- having Lunar New Year's Eve dinner with families, visiting relatives, and meeting friends, and then the holiday is over," Li said. "I have never seen ice sculptures or heavy snow before, so I choose to enjoy the holiday in a different way this year by taking my family to the northeast." A report by Tuniu, a Chinese travel portal, showed that group tours to Harbin, capital of northeastern Heilongjiang Province, and Mohe, China's northernmost city, as well as Yabuli Ski Resort and Changbai Mountain, during the Spring Festival, had been almost not available by mid-December 2023, which were sold out about three weeks before the holiday in previous years. Meanwhile, some niche destinations in northeast China, such as Hegang, Qitaihe, Yichun, Jixi, and Heihe, have also become emerging tourist cities during the Spring Festival, attracting a multitude of youngsters. According to data from a major online travel agency, Tongcheng, among the popular destinations for railway travel during the festival travel season, Harbin climbed to the second place from the 16th in the same period in 2023. In terms of domestic airline service, the popularity of the route between Guangzhou, south China's Guangdong Province, and Harbin surged 288 percent year on year, while the one between Hangzhou, capital of east China's Zhejiang Province, and Harbin rose 110 percent. Besides, major cities in northeast China, such as Changchun and Shenyang, also witnessed a significant increase in passenger flow during the holiday compared with the same period last year. Public transport operators have made targeted adjustments in response to the new trend of this year's Spring Festival travel. The Shanghai Station launched more passenger trains to the northeast, adding more than 40,000 seats. Airlines have newly opened several routes linking east China's Shandong Province with the hotspots in the northeast, such as Shenyang, Dalian, Mudanjiang, and Yanji, and increased the flight frequency. According to the north branch of China Southern Airlines, the company enhanced the transport capacity of airline routes linking Shenyang and Shanghai, Hangzhou, as well as Guangzhou to meet demands and has adjusted some flights to wide-body aircraft. Industry insiders believe that behind the boom in ice-and-snow tourism this winter is the continued strength of China's ice-and-snow industry in recent years. According to a legacy report for the Beijing 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, from 2018 to 2020, the scale of fixed-asset investment projects in China's ice-and-snow tourism increased to nearly 900 billion yuan (about 126.7 billion U.S. dollars). The three northeastern provinces are speeding up the layout of the ice and snow economy. Jilin aims to develop ice-and-snow and summer leisure eco-tourism into trillion-yuan-level industries by 2025. The output value of the ice-and-snow equipment manufacturing industry in Liaoning is expected to reach more than 5 billion yuan. A number of national and provincial ski resorts, as well as a group of internationally competitive ice and snow enterprises and well-known brands, will be established in Heilongjiang. Cheng Chaogong, the chief researcher of the Tongcheng Research Institute, said that the ice-and-snow fever not only makes heading to northeast China for the Spring Festival holiday a new trend, bringing market benefits to the northeast, but also gives the outside world a new understanding of the region. If the locals can grasp the opportunity, it will inevitably turn the "traffic" into "profit" and promote the comprehensive development of the regional economy, Cheng added. (Web editor: Peng Yukai, Liu Ning) Stephanie Segura, 31, was arrested in connection with a robbery at a Northwest Side home last November. She has been charged with two counts of aggravated robbery. Bexar County Sheriff's Office San Antonio police said a 31-year-old woman was part of a group that held two people at gunpoint inside a home during a robbery on the Northwest Side last November. Stephanie Segura was charged with two counts of aggravated robbery after being identified as the driver of the getaway vehicle during a November robbery. According to the arrest affidavit, two men and a woman entered a home on Nov. 12 and held two men at gunpoint while they stole their property. Segura was in a vehicle a block away from the home. Advertisement Article continues below this ad A man who used to live at the residence told police that he had received text messages from his ex-girlfriend, who was listed as a possible suspect in the robbery, stating that she was going to come to his home and take back the things owed to her, according to the police report. At the time of the robbery, only two of the four people living at the home were present. Two roommates arrived at the home following the incident and saw that items had been stolen from their rooms. The items stolen include an Apple iPad, a Canon camera, a Dell Laptop, a Nintendo Switch, a guitar, video games, chargers and a phone. The three robbers involved were captured on the Ring doorbell camera and one of them was positively identified. A warrant was issued for one of the suspects, who was not identified in the affidavit and was charged with two counts of aggravated robbery, the affidavit states. He was interviewed by police and identified Segura. After the robbery, he said Segura and the other two robbers involved went to a location to look through the stolen property from the home. Advertisement Article continues below this ad He told police Segura was the driver of the vehicle during the incident. Police contacted pre-trial services to confirm another woman, who was wearing an ankle monitor, was inside the home during the robbery. Her location correlated with the surveillance video and GPS documentation. The woman, unidentified in the affidavit, was brought in for an interview on Jan. 25. She also identified Segura as the driver of the vehicle during the incident. A social media account was revealed during the interview that belonged to Segura. The woman admitted to messaging the account after the robbery to collect money from Segura, the affidavit states. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The woman described the items stolen from the home during the robbery, which matched what was listed in the police report of the incident. - Advertisement - MOBILE wallet GCash said Friday it obtained the approval of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to allow more Filipinos overseas to use the app with their international mobile numbers. Initially available in beta to users in the US, Canada, Italy, the UK, Australia and Japan, the BSPs approval paves the way for the full rollout of the service and expansion to 10 more countries. These include the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong, Spain and Germany. In 2024 and beyond, we are doubling down on our mission to serve our users beyond Philippine shores. With around 13 million Filipinos living abroad, we recognize and answer the need for them to be present for their families back home and remain in control of helping build the financial future of their loved ones, said Ren-Ren Reyes, president and CEO of G-Xchange Inc., the operator of GCash. GCash users in these 16 countries can sign up with their international mobile numbers with their Philippine passport or other Philippine Valid ID as proof of identity. - Advertisement - Once fully verified, they can finally support their families back home securely and seamlessly by sending money for free (GCash-to-GCash), paying for bills on time and instantly buying them load credits with just a few taps on the app. Thanks to BSPs support, we are now able to provide our kababayans across the globe access to financial services that would help alleviate difficulties in managing their finances and better support their families back home. We will soon be rolling out more services like savings, gifting vouchers, using their GCash for online payments, as well as more accessible ways to cash-in, said Paul Albano, general manager of GCash International. Aside from enabling overseas Filipinos to use GCash with their own international mobile number, the leading fintech company has also been expanding its global touchpoints in partnership with global payments platform Alipay+. The finance super app can be used to pay select merchants across countries like Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Macau in Asia as well as Qatar, the UAE, the US, and destinations in Europe such as France, Italy, Germany, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. The new GCash card, powered by international payments giant Visa, also gives users another cashless payment method when they travel abroad. The card can be used to pay in over 100 million merchants across 200 countries and territories. - Advertisement - Finance Secretary Ralph Recto invited investors to participate in public-private partnerships (PPPs) to address the Philippines long-standing water challenges. Recto recently briefed potential investors on investment prospects for PPPs under the Presidents Build Better More program, which consists of 198 high-impact infrastructure flagship projects (IFPs) worth P8.8 trillion (about $155 billion). Data showed that of the total, 44 projects focus on water resources with an indicative investment amount of P839.2 billion (about $14 billion). I invite you to take a closer look at these projects and uncover the myriad of opportunities awaiting your partnership with us, Recto said. Recto assured investors of President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr.s strong commitment to championing PPPs, as evidenced by the swift enactment of the PPP Code of the Philippines. - Advertisement - Along with the amendments to the Public Service Act, the PPP Code rolls out a red carpet to investors, offering a stable, predictable and competitive environment where high-quality PPP investments can thrive, he said. The PPP Code leverages over three decades of experience with the Build-Operate-Transfer Law and integrates best practices to streamline processes, reduce transaction costs and enhance the ease of doing business for PPPs. The implementing rules and regulations (IRR) of the law are in the final stages and will be released soon, he said. The Department of Finance said to further strengthen the PPP environment in the country, it has been refining the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises (CREATE) Act to better address investor concerns and tailor-fit incentives for more strategic investments. It said it is also advocating for the passage of the Department of Water Resources Bill to harmonize water policies, programs and projects and ensure the proper management and development thereof. At present, there are over 30 agencies with redundant roles managing the countrys water resources. Their overlapping functions result in disjointed planning and uneven policy execution. These ultimately impede the stability of the nations water supply, Recto said. The proposed department will serve as the primary agency responsible for the comprehensive and integrated water resources development and management in the Philippines. Recto also assured investors of the Philippines strong economic foundation, positioning it as the best place for investments. In the Philippines, we offer you an economy that is geared for a period of rapid expansion despite external headwinds, he said. The Philippines posted the strongest growth among major Asian economies in 2023 with a gross domestic product expansion of 5.6 percent. - Advertisement - The operation leading to the arrest of a woman believed to be a financier of international extremist group Al-Qaeda reinforces the governments whole-of-nation campaign against violent acts of terrorism. The Anti-Terrorism Council (ATC) issued this statement Thursday, Feb. 15, as it welcomed reports that an individual named Myrna Mabanza was captured and would soon face trial for violating the Terrorism Financing Prevention and Suppression Act of 2012 and the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020. Mabanzas arrest marks another positive note for the Philippines whole-of-nation campaign to address terrorism and terrorism financing that will reflect well on the countrys unyielding efforts to get out of the Financial Action Task Forces Grey List, the ATC said in a statement. The council chaired by Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin commended the efforts of all the offices and units involved in the successful operation. The 32-year-old Mabanza was arrested in Brgy. Pasil, Indanan, Sulu. Law enforcement authorities from the Philippine National Police (PNP), Armed Forces of the Philippines, National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (NICA), Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC), and the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) worked to serve her warrant of arrest. - Advertisement - Mabanza reportedly facilitated the transfer of funds from international financiers to local terrorist leaders including Isnilon Hapilon since 2016. She also allegedly enabled the travel of a representative of Indonesian terrorist group Jamaah Ansharut Daulah (JAD) from Indonesia to the Philippines for a meeting with Hapilon. - Advertisement - Updated on February 16 // 9:23PM A committee of the House of Representatives approved the increase in the pay and other benefits of midwives under the proposed amendments to the Philippine Midwifery Act being tackled by the chamber. One of the bills principal authors, Kabayan Party-list Rep. Ron Salo, in a statement welcomed the House committee on appropriations approval of the measure, calling it a very fitting gift to our midwives, who are among the frontliners in ensuring healthy Filipino babies and pregnant mothers. In the committee hearing, Salo stressed the crucial role of midwives in the delivery of healthcare and acknowledged the necessity to upgrade the practice of midwifery. The approval of the Appropriations committee is a significant step towards strengthening the practice of midwifery in the country. It is the midwives who are at the forefront of carrying out vital health services to pregnant mothers and their babies, especially in the rural and far-flung areas, and yet they are only considered as subprofessional and only receive a low entry-level salary despite the arduous nature of their work, said Salo. - Advertisement - Its high time to upgrade the standards and education in midwifery to broaden their job opportunities and equip them with the necessary skills and standards that meet the evolving needs of our nation, he added. Under the House committee-approved version of the bill, midwives working in the government will receive a Salary Grade 11 entry level, a substantial increase from the current Salary Grade 9. In addition, the institutionalization of clear guidelines and standards for midwifery education and practices is expected to ensure high-quality maternal care nationwide and possibly address the issue of mass exodus of healthcare workers in the country. Salo also thanked stakeholders particularly from Integrated Midwives Association of the Philippines, Midwives Foundation of the Philippines Incorporated, and the Philippine League of Government and Private Midwives (PLGPM). He also thanked his fellow legislators for supporting the cause such as Batanes Rep. Ciriaco Gato, Bulacan Rep. Salvador Pleyto, Bohol Rep. Kristine Alexie Tutor, and Marikina City Rep. Stella Luz Quimbo. Salo hopes that the bill will soon be approved by the chamber in plenary session, and will garner support from the Senate, paving the way for its eventual enactment. - Advertisement - Denies final appeal by govt agencies for exploration deal The Supreme Court has affirmed with finality its January 10, 2023 decision on the unconstitutionality of a tripartite partnership with Chinese and Vietnamese state-owned firms to explore a portion of the West Philippine Sea for oil and gas. In a resolution made public on Feb. 15, the High Court denied the motion for reconsideration filed by the Department of Foreign Affairs, Department of Energy, Philippine National Oil Company, and PNOC Exploration Corporation. The 2005 Tripartite Agreement for Joint Marine Seismic Undertaking (JMSU), first approved during the Arroyo administration, was among theChina National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), Vietnam Oil and Gas Corporation (PETROVIETNAM), and Philippine National Oil Company (PNOC). It was to cover 142,886 square kilometers in the WPS. According to thepetitioners, around 80 percent of the area covered by the agreement lay within the Philippines 200-nautical-mile Exclusive Economic Zone. The petition against the JMSU was filed in 2008 by then-Bayan Muna Party-List Reps. Satur Ocampo and Teodoro Casino, Anakpawis Rep. Crispin Beltran, Gabriela Womens Party Reps. Liza Maza and Luzviminda Ilagan, and Reps. Lorenzo Tanada III and Teofisto Guingona III. - Advertisement - The en banc resolution was written by Associate Justice Samuel Gaerlan, who also penned the 2023 decision. We reiterate that for JMSU to be valid, it must be executed and implemented under any of the modes under Section 2, Article XII of the Constitution, the decision read. The modes for oil exploration provided under the Constitutional provision are as follows: (1) directly by the State; (2) through co-production, joint venture or production-sharing agreements withFilipino citizens or qualified corporations; (3) through smalls-scale utilization of natural resources by Filipino citizens; and (4) through agreements entered into by the President with foreign-owned corporations involving technical or financial assistance for large-scale exploration, development, and utilization of minerals, petroleum, and other mineral oils. For obvious reasons, JMSU does not fall into the first three modes since it involves foreign-owned corporations, the SC said. As for the fourth mode, the High Court noted that the President may enter into agreements with foreign-owned corporations involving either technical or financial assistance for large scale exploration, development, and utilization of minerals, petroleum, and other mineral oils according to the general terms and conditions provided by law. Based on the foregoing, for an agreement/contract under the fourth mode to be valid, it must foremost be entered into by the President himself/herself. The text of the provision is clear. Here, the President is neither a party nor a signatory to the JMSU. The contracting party is PNOC represented by its President and Chief Executive Officer, the High Court said. Citing the separate and concurring opinion of Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo, the High Court said neither the PNOC nor the DOE is authorized to enter into agreements pertaining to large-scale exploration of natural resources in the exclusive economic zone. Only the President is given such authority, it added. For this reason alone, JMSU should be held unconstitutional. Despite last years earlier ruling of the Supreme Court, President Marcos said the Philippines will find a way to move the process forward for oil exploration projects in the West Philippine Sea. Its imperative for the Philippines to find a way to move the process forward so as to be able to assure ourselves of a fuel supply during that transition period, he said in an interview with NHK in December. Mr. Marcos admitted negotiations with China for joint oil and gas exploration in the WPS, particularly in Recto Bank (Reed Bank), have remained stalled. We are still in a deadlock right now We have been in negotiationsfor over three years now, and have made very little progress, the President added. Mr. Marcos said as far as the Philippines is concerned, Recto Bank is not in a conflict area. This is very clearly within our EEZ (exclusive economic zone). It iscertainly within our baselines, within the maritime territory of the Philippines. So, whatever it is that we will do in the future, it has to be consistent with that understanding, he said. In response, the Chinese Embassy in the Philippines affirmed that Beijing remains committed to pursuing the undertaking. Our position on joint development of oil and gas with the Philippines remains, the embassy said. Signed before China asserted its maximalist nine-dash line claim to nearly the entire South China Sea, which it formally submitted to a United Nations body in 2009, the 2005 tripartite agreement was a remnant of a calmer era, when the regions unresolved maritime and territorial disputes were mostly dormant. At the time, Manilas relationship with Beijing was in a buoyant state under the administration of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, who in 2005 hailed a golden age in bilateral relations. The agreement was nonetheless highly controversial in the country, and building domestic political pressure, along with the deterioration in relations between China and Vietnam, prevented the renewal and extension of the agreement, which expired in 2008. - Advertisement - Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco stressed the importance of a whole-of-nation approach in safeguarding the gains of the tourism industry, which will remain a vital economic sector for the Philippines in the years to come. By fostering a united front, the country can create a comprehensive strategy that addresses diverse facets of the tourism industry. By adopting a continuous whole of government approach, it is essential for us to deliberately capitalize on (our) strengths and competitive advantage, even as we explore the unexplored giving opportunities for emerging and lesser-known destinations to be promoted, to be developed, to be highlighted in our tourism portfolio, said Frasco at the opening of the 31st Travel Tour Expo and the 9th International Travel Trade Expo 2024 at the SMX Convention Center Manila, Pasay City last Feb. 2 to 4, 2024. Travel Tour Expo 2024, a marketplace for travel deals, exclusive discounts and discounted packages, hosted more than 200 exhibitors and 702 booths that included airlines, domestic and international travel agencies and tour operators, hotels, and resorts, cruise liners and shipping, merchandisers and more. Frasco extolled PTAA and other tourism stakeholders for their invaluable contribution to the travel industry and the governments collective nation building efforts. - Advertisement - For 2023, we managed to exceed expectations, by exceeding our international arrivals of 5.45 million international visitors amounting to international visitor receipts of over P482 billion, a massive contribution to our economy, said Frasco. Prior to the pandemic, the country welcomed 8.26 million international visitors in 2019, according to the Department of Tourism (DOT). In social media, the agency announced that there were 5.4 million international tourists arrivals in 2023, exceeding their target of 4.8 million for the year. Of the 2023 arrivals, 91.80 percent or 5,003,475 are foreigners while the remaining are 447,082 overseas Filipinos. More than 25 percent or 1,439,336 of the arrivals were from South Korea, followed by the United States with 903,299 tourists (16.57 percent) visiting the country; Japan with 305,580 (5.61 percent); Australia with 266,551 (4.89 percent); and China with 263,836 (4.84 percent). In a previous statement, Frasco said the tourism sector is poised for growth under the National Tourism Development Plan 2023-2028. It aims to surpass the countrys targets in international and domestic arrivals and receipts pegged at 7 million international visitors in 2024. Courtesy: DOT/Facebook Trends The rise in experiential travel, sustainable tourism, and revenge travel have reshaped the travel landscape. Seeking immersive, unique experiences that go beyond traditional sightseeing, recommendations from friends and expert advice from travel agents have made travel more seamless and personalized. These days, gig tripping and set jetting are among bywords in the travel industry. These two have helped usher in more bookings for our members, said Rowena Coloma, president and general manager of Travel Specialist Ventures, and a board member of the PTAA. Gig tripping is when Filipino travelers go abroad to watch concerts of their favorite artists, particularly those whose concert tour does not include Manila; for example, Taylor Swifts concert in Singapore, explained Coloma. Set jetting, meanwhile, is when Filipinos go abroad to see location shoots of their favorite dramas or movies. South Korea tops the list among countries for this. Among these spots are Lotte World, Namsan Tower, Itaewon and Han River. We also had several tourists who went to Switzerland this year to see Lake Brienz as featured in the popular Korean drama Crash Landing on You, added Coloma. Another trend that PTAA is hoping to capitalize on is B-Leisure where business and leisure travel come together. This is when business trips blend with cultural exploration. This is where Millennials and the Gen Z get to experience new places while attending conferences and, on the side, enjoy wellness retreats, Coloma said. PTAA hopes to promote sustainable adventures where travelers seek destinations with a commitment to responsible tourism practices like reducing the carbon footprint, reserving natural resources and supporting local communities. - Advertisement - New York, United StatesSeventy-seven of the 99 journalists killed in 2023 were casualties in the Israel-Hamas war, making the last 12 months the deadliest for the media in almost a decade, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday. Killings of reporters would have dropped globally year-on-year had it not been for the deaths in that conflict, the CPJ said, although fatalities were stable in Somalia and the Philippines. The toll is the highest since 2015 and an increase of nearly 44 percent on 2022s figures. In December 2023, CPJ reported that more journalists were killed in the first three months of the Israel-Gaza war than have ever been killed in a single country over an entire year, the CPJ said. The vast majority of the 77 journalists killed in the Israel-Hamas conflict72 of themwere Palestinian, the organization said. Three Lebanese and two Israelis were also killed. - Advertisement - Journalists in Gaza are bearing witness on the frontlines, said CPJ chief executive Jodie Ginsberg. The immense loss suffered by Palestinian journalists in this war will have long-term impacts for journalism not just in the Palestinian territories but for the region and beyond. Every journalist killed is a further blow to our understanding of the world. On February 7, the New York-based press freedom organization said the number of journalists killed in the Gaza conflict had risen to 85. CPJ has previously attacked what it calls persecution of journalists by Israeli forces, and is investigating whether a dozen journalists killed in the Gaza conflict were deliberately targeted by Israeli soldiers, which would constitute a war crime. Israel vowed to crush Hamas in response to the Islamist groups October 7 attack on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of about 1,160 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures. Militants also took around 250 people hostage, in the deadliest-ever attack in the country, and around 130 of them are believed to remain in Gaza, including 29 who are believed to be dead. At least 28,576 people, mostly women and children, have been killed in Israels retaliatory military offensive on Gaza, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run Palestinian territory. The greatest reductions in journalist fatalities were registered in Ukraine and Mexico, which both went from 13 killings to two. One of those killed in Ukraine was AFP journalist Arman Soldin. Soldin, 32, died when his reporting team came under fire near the eastern city of Bakhmut. The CPJ warned that Mexico, along with the Philippines and Somalia, was one of the worlds deadliest countries for the press. Compounding the situation, government agencies spy on reporters and rights defenders, and a significant number of journalists have had to leave their homes, and abandon their professions, due to violence, the CPJ report warned. - Advertisement - A NEW survey, commissioned by Kaspersky of 21,000 people worldwide, reveals shocking data about the extent of digital abuse. A third (34%) of respondents believe that Googling/checking social media accounts of a person you had started dating as a form of due diligence is acceptable and 41% admitted to doing so when they started dating someone Almost a quarter of respondents (23%) had experienced some form of online stalking from a person they were newly dating. Over 90% of respondents are willing to share passwords that could potentially allow their location to be accessed According to the study which interviewed 1,000 people in 21 countries around the world online daters are keen to take steps to protect themselves in the quest for love. - Advertisement - However, despite almost a quarter of respondents (23%) saying they had experienced some form of online stalking from a person they were newly dating, people are still vulnerable to an alarming rise in stalking and abuse on Valentines day from risks posed by location settings, data privacy and more broadly, oversharing. The types of abuse are varied, with well over a third (39%) of respondents having reported some form of violence or abuse from a current or previous partner: 16% of respondents had been sent unwanted emails or messages and perhaps most concerningly, 13% had been filmed or photographed without their consent. A further 10% admitted they had had their location tracked, 10% that their social media accounts or emails had been hacked, and worryingly, 7% having had stalkerware installed on their devices without their consent. Proportionally more female respondents had experienced some form of violence or abuse compared to male respondents (42% versus 36%). Concerningly, more of those currently dating had experienced violence or abuse compared to those in a long-term relationship (48% versus 37%). In fact, 34% of respondents said they worried about the prospect of being stalked online, and female respondents being slightly more concerned at the prospect than males (36% were worried compared to 31% of male respondents). The picture differs globally too, with more of those experiencing some form of online stalking being from parts of South and Central America and Asia 42% of respondents in India reported some form of online stalking, as did 38% in Mexico and 36% in Argentina. The Internet of things, or connected world is brilliant and offers a myriad of possibilities. But with opportunity comes threats and one of those threats of a connected world is the ease of access to traceable data which leaves us vulnerable to abuse, commented David Emm, Principal Security Researcher at Kaspersky. Whilst the blame for these horrific behaviors never lies with stalking victims, unfortunately there is still a burden upon them to take steps to minimize risks. I think its great that people are taking steps to verify identities online, but would encourage people to just stop and do a quick sense check on any information, passwords or data they share, to just think through how that information could be used in nefarious hands. Navigating online dating and virtual spaces can be challenging and its crucial for social media and dating apps to implement verification processes, which can help confirm that users profiles match their actual photos. To my knowledge, Bumble is the only dating app currently using this level of verification. I would love to see others adopting similar safety measures. Additionally, safety guides and resources should be readily accessible online in multiple languages, ensuring that vulnerable individuals have the necessary support without needing to register for an app, commented Emma Pickering, Head of Technology-Facilitated Abuse and Economic Empowerment, Refuge. The UKs Online Safety Act sets a precedent by regulating platforms to protect users. Given the pervasive nature of stalking and technology-facilitated abuse, we advise individuals to secure their online presence, including passwords and accounts. Those with concerns should contact local authorities or support services. In the UK, the National Domestic Abuse Helpline at 0808 2000 247 offers assistance she added. Kaspersky has created some top tips for staying safe while dating online below, for more details, please take a look at our safe dating guide or for further ways to stay safe from Stalkerware, please visit https://stopstalkerware.org/resources/ Keep passwords to yourself and make sure they are complex and unique If it seems too good to be true, it might just be if in doubt check! Take a moment to check your own digital privacy Think before you share the internet has long memory and sharing too much too soon can leave you vulnerable Create a safe plan if you move from digital to real worlds Consider using a comprehensive cyber security or VPN solution to protect yourself Kaspersky works with experts and organizations in the field of domestic violence, ranging from victim support services and perpetrator programs through to research and government agencies, to share knowledge and support both professionals and victims. Kaspersky is one of the co-founders of the Coalition Against Stalkerware, an international group dedicated to tackling stalkerware and combating domestic violence. Since 2021, Kaspersky has been a consortium partner of the EU project DeStalk, co-funded by the Rights, Equality, and Citizenship Program of the European Union. Kaspersky has also launched and maintains TinyCheck, a free, safe and easy-to-use tool to check devices for stalkerware and monitoring apps. Survey Details Arlington Research, on behalf of Kaspersky conducted 21,000 online interviews, 1,000 in each of the following countries: The UK, Germany, Spain, Serbia, Portugal, The Netherlands, Italy, France and Greece, The USA, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Peru, Colombia and Mexico, Asia-Pacific: China, Singapore, Russia, India and Malaysia. Respondents were aged 16 years and over. All were either in a long-term relationship (62% of the sample), dating someone (16%) or not currently dating/in a relationship but had been in the past (21%). Fieldwork took place between 3-17 January 2024. - Advertisement - TechLife Philippines officially welcomed media personalities and real-life power couple, Mikee Reyes and CK De Leon, as its first-ever brand ambassadors. The partnership marks an exciting milestone for both parties as it is the first brand-and-ambassador collaboration between the couple and the tech brand. Young, hard-working, and engaging, Reyes and De Leon are a fitting representation of TechLifes core principle, which is to Make Life Simple for every young Filipino by providing easy-to-use and reliable tech that enriches user experience. The new ambassadors, fondly called Tito and Sizzy by their supporters online, are popular digital creators known for their relatable content about lifestyle, career, and relationships. The duo has amassed a combined 1.8 million followers across major social media platforms. TechLife resonated with us because as individuals and as a couple, we value hard work and being efficient without losing sight of what makes us unique. We learned that TechLife integrates their principles in their products and they give the best value for money. Were glad to join the TechLife Fam in the mission to make life simple, the couple said. - Advertisement - The TechLife Fam can expect exciting projects and campaigns with Reyes and De Leon in the future in order to promote the brand and its products such as audio devices, smartphone accessories, home appliances, and other tech essentials. Were excited to start this new chapter and were glad to have Mikee and CK with us. Its the first time for TechLife to have ambassadors so were looking forward to seeing what we can achieve together, TechLife stated. To learn more about TechLife, check out any of the offline TechLife stores nationwide and make sure to be updated with announcements and new releases by visiting their official Facebook and TikTok page. MARION The McDowell Technical Community College Board of Trustees announced Friday that three finalists have been selected for the vacant position of president at McDowell Tech following the resignation late last summer of former president Dr. Brian S. Merritt. Merritt accepted a position as senior vice president and chief academic officer at the N.C. Community College System Office in Raleigh. Each of the current candidates has received preliminary approval by the N.C. State Board of Community Colleges to advance to the next stage in the search process. We appreciate the support of members of the McDowell Tech family and community as we move forward in the search process, said Gary Stroud, chair of the MTCC Board of Trustees. I especially appreciate the dedication and commitment of each of our trustees in identifying the very best candidates to continue the excellent leadership and progress being made at the college during this juncture in our history. Dr. Merritt left some big shoes to fill, but I am confident that the finalists we have chosen are prepared to keep that momentum rolling and lead us and our students to even greater personal and professional successes. The presidential finalists are (in alphabetical order): Dr. James J.W. Kelley Kelley currently serves as associate vice president for student services at the North Carolina Community System Office in Raleigh, setting the direction of student services programs and activities across the 58 community colleges in the N.C. Community College System. Prior to his current position, he served as vice president for student services at Randolph Community College in Asheboro, and division chair in Humanities and Social Sciences, director of admissions and counselor at Fayetteville Technical Community College in Fayetteville, N.C. Previously, Kelley also served as associate minister of education and counseling at Fayetteville Christian Church, professor of counseling at Winston-Salem Bible College, counselor at Lighthouse Youth Crisis Center in Cincinnati, Ohio, and sergeant/squad leader in the U.S. Quartermaster Corps, United States Army, Fort Bragg. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Bible from Johnson University (Knoxville, Tenn.), a Master of Arts in Counseling from Cincinnati Christian University (Cincinnati, Ohio), and a Doctor of Education in Management of Programs for Children, Youth and Families from Nova Southeastern University (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.). Dr. R. Chad Merrill Merrill currently serves as vice president of general administration at Blue Ridge Community College in Henderson County. Prior to this position, Merrill was vice president for technology and development, chief of staff/chief institutional advancement officer, dean of Transylvania campus and director of cooperative education (work-based learning) at Blue Ridge. In addition, he was coordinator of training support at JobLink Career Center and job training case manager and assistant to the financial aid director at the college. Earlier, Merrill was a university residence supervisor at the University of North Carolina at Asheville. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Literature and Language from the University of North Carolina at Asheville, a Master of Arts in Education (Two-year college administration) from Western Carolina University in Cullowhee and a Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership, also from Western Carolina University. Dr. Sheri L. Rowland Rowland currently serves as vice president for student affairs at Tallahassee Community College in Tallahassee, Florida. Prior to that time, she was assistant provost for student success, vice president for enrollment management and dean of admissions/enrollment management at Middle Georgia State University. Earlier in her career, she served as dean of enrollment management, director of the student success center, director of enrollment services and testing at Tallahassee Community College and director of enrollment services and research, coordinator of institutional research, coordinator of registration and coordinator of counseling at Gulf Coast Community College in Panama City, Florida. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and Master of Arts in Psychological Counseling from Southeast Missouri State University in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, and a Doctorate in Education from Florida State University in Tallahassee, Florida. In addition to selecting the three finalists named above, the board has scheduled a series of candidate forums where faculty, staff, students and community members can meet and ask questions of each candidate following a brief introduction of the finalist. Forums will be held in the Crane Resistoflex Auditorium of the Cedar Administration Building on the colleges main campus at 54 College Drive in Marion. Participants will be given an opportunity for feedback on each candidate after the forums. Candidates will tour the campus and meet with administrators during a working-lunch session, and will be interviewed separately by members of the board of trustees. Dates for the forums are as follows: (all forums will be held from 1-2 p.m. each day) Dr. James J.W. Kelley Monday, Feb. 26 Dr. R. Chad Merrill Tuesday, Feb. 27 Dr. Sheri L. Rowland Wednesday, Feb. 28 After the interviews have concluded, the McDowell Tech Board of Trustees will meet on Thursday, Feb. 29, to choose their final candidate to become the next MTCC President. The NC Community College State Board will provide the final approval of the selected candidate on March 15. Once the state board votes, the trustees will announce the name of the seventh president of McDowell Tech. The selection of a new president is one of the most consequential and important tasks delegated to community college trustees, said Stroud. We take that role very seriously and look forward to our candidate forums and the feedback we get from those who attend and participate. We hope to see you later this month. Calm Caterpillar founder Sarah Habib trained Uvalde CISD counselors on using Calm Corner Kits to encourage breathing exercises. Courtesy Sarah Habib As Uvaldes students enter the classroom next week, they will have a new tool available to them when they experience big emotions. Cincinnati-based company Calm Caterpillar is becoming part of the districts mission of trauma-informed care following the Robb Elementary School massacre with a donation of 166 Calm Corner Kits. The kits meant to create a soothing space in classrooms come with a seat cushion, sensory breathing ball, feelings flashcards and weighted caterpillar Calmee designed for guided breathing. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Helping children develop emotional regulation skills positively contributes to their ability to manage difficult situations, Nichole Henderson, Uvalde CISD director of recovery services, said in a news release. Calm Caterpillar founder Sarah Habib visited Uvalde on Thursday to train district educators on using the materials, which can be molded according to the age of the student. Little ones can practice Coyote breathing, named for the mascot, and older kids can throw the breathing ball back and forth with classmates. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Often for kids, breathing is like a nebulous concept, Habib said. When we give them something that they can hold, and they get tactile feedback about how to take a deep breath, it really allows them to focus in. Most importantly, the program provides materials for educators to model breathing work and emotional regulation instead of the well-intentioned ask for kids to calm down. For children who have experienced trauma at home or in their communities, breathing is a useful tool in reducing stress because it has been shown to decrease the bodys stress hormone. When we can take kids who have been in really traumatic experiences and introduce them to the power of breathing, we give them control over the anxiety and stress that theyre experiencing inside, Habib said. Republican primary Register of Deeds Name: Lydia Tilley Effler Address: 24 Willoughby Way, Marion, NC 28752 Date of birth: 03/24/1971 Occupation: Register of Deeds Education: Graduate of McDowell High, graduate of McDowell Tech Community College BLET, completed the Register of Deeds Class UNC School of Government. Numerous classes/workshops with the North Carolina Association of Register of Deeds and North Carolina Vital Records covering real estate, indexing, vital records, and notary public topics. What do you hope to accomplish as Register of Deeds? Serving as your current Register of Deeds has been one of my greatest honors. When I was sworn into the office the first policy, I implemented was customer service. That policy requires staff to keep the highest level of ethics and service. Immediately I started evaluating the needs of the office, with consultation of professionals, I set out to achieve several critical needs. Over the past three years, the Register of Deeds used automaton funds collected to enhance, update, or incorporate the following: Replaced the main servers that had surpassed their life cycle recommendation. Replaced and upgraded the six primary computer terminals. Replaced workstation monitors to enhance document review. Upgraded and enhanced the credit card processing terminals. Enhanced cloud security and backup capabilities. Upgraded and replaced highway right of way map books. Upgraded plat map storage to vertical cabinets. Preserved non-indexed maps. These enhancements were completed without additional burden on county taxpayers as they were completed using the automation fund as collected by North Carolina General Statute 161-11.3. In the next term, it is my plan to address some preservation items that are critical to preserving some of our most delicate records. Preservation is very expensive. With the automation fund that helps the office with computers, technology, and preservation, I have used less funds than what has been collected to allow the preservation of critical records while relieving the taxpayers burden on critical updates. This will require strategic planning to ensure we keep the necessary resources to expand technology and preserve our records in balance with the resources available. Service is always a priority and as I address critical preservation of our oldest records, I will continue to monitor and plan lifecycle replacement of equipment. Having servers that held all county records past recommended life cycle when I took office was not acceptable and as your Registrar, we immediately addressed replacement of the servers and will strategically plan to never allow equipment to be past lifecycle recommendations. I would like to thank the County Commissioners for assisting with updating several building items that included replacing an AC unit in the Military Records room that was not operational when I took office. These records are temperature sensitive and required by law to be locked up. With the AC unit not working the issue had to be addressed, and immediately the county provided the necessary repairs. The commissioners also provided for exterior updates and repairs that included painting, labeling and sealing the building. In addition, I personally wanted to make sure our American flag and North Carolina flag were displayed. My family had custom flag poles made and added to the front of the building at no expense to the county and as long as I serve, I will make sure those flags remain crisp and flying. I look forward to continuing working with the county manager and commissioners to provide you with peace of mind that your records are properly managed, equipment maintained, and available when you need them. As you can see, there has been a lot of work completed and more work to accomplish and thats why I humbly ask for your vote again in the primary and the general election. Please provide a general statement about yourself as you take office. My name is Lydia Tilley Effler, and I am a lifelong resident of McDowell County. I am a proud product of McDowell County Schools. I am married to Chet Effler, and he works for the State of North Carolina Department of Insurance as a director of criminal investigations. We have two daughters, Brenan, and Maggie. Brenan is married to Aaron Sigmon, and she works for Buncombe County Health and Human Services. Maggie is married to Jacob Frye, and she is a teacher with McDowell County Schools. My public service started in 1997, when Sheriff Jackie Turner hired me to serve as a records clerk. Over the years, I managed numerous public records that included concealed weapons permits, civil papers, inmate trust funds, case files, and inmate records. I served in various capacities with Sheriff Turner, Sheriff Greene, and Sheriff Buchanan until you overwhelmingly elected me as your Register of Deeds in 2020. Over the past 27 years of public service, I have learned a lot about McDowell County and your expectations of how a public servant should live their life. I start every day in prayer for the needs of others that I know and the needs of those I dont. I ask God to lay a blanket of protection around our community and heal those that are sick or in need. I strive every day to meet your expectations of service and responsibility in both my work and personal life. Over the past three years, the dedicated staff of the Register of Deeds office have conducted more than 36,000 transactions, including real estate, vital records, military records and business records. Together, we have successfully managed revenues exceeding 2.6 million dollars. As I stated in the prior question, we have carried out a lot of work and updated the office to meet the growing population we have experienced. Serving as your Registrar has been one of the greatest blessings in my life, and I am truly honored to continue in this role. As I embark on this journey of re-election, I kindly ask for your prayers for our office, as we strive to provide the best possible service to the community. Additionally, I humbly request your vote, as your support is essential in continuing the progress we have made together. Two people from McDowell County will face charges in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, for the abuse of a vulnerable adult, who was pronounced dead in McDowell. On Tuesday, Jan. 30, McDowell County Sheriffs Office deputies and McDowell EMS paramedics responded to a reported cardiac arrest at a residence in Nebo. The victim, Joseph Blevins, 46, was transported and pronounced dead at Mission Hospital McDowell. Dustin Lee Suttles, 36, and Katelyn Renee Elliott, 31, both of Nebo, were responsible for the care and well-being of Blevins. The investigation revealed Suttles, Elliott and Blevins had returned to Nebo on that date from Tennessee. DJan Vallini, public information officer with the McDowell Sheriffs Office, said the abuse of Blevins, who was mentally challenged, occurred in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, and then the three returned to McDowell County, where Blevins died. Once learning this information, the sheriffs office contacted Pigeon Forge Police Department and has been investigating jointly with them. Pigeon Forge Police have charged Suttles and Elliott with abuse of a vulnerable adult. Both have been arrested and are awaiting extradition to Pigeon Forge, according to a news release from the McDowell Sheriffs Office. A statement from the Pigeon Forge Police said the investigation is ongoing and no further information will be released at this time. Separate attacks by rebels on a gold mine in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) on Wednesday (14 February) saw at least 14 people killed, including two South African soldiers, amid escalating violence. Rebels from the CODECO armed group are reported to have also kidnapped at least 16 others at a gold mine near Djugu district in Ituri province. Meanwhile, the South African National Defense Force (SANDF) said on Thursday (15 February) that two of its soldiers had been killed and three were wounded by a mortar fire, the first fatalities since it deployed troops there. Efforts to reduce violence and help bring peace and security to the eastern DRC have seen the deployment of thousands of South African troops as part of a Southern African Development Community (SADC) mission to fight against armed rebel groups in the region. But violence has been on the rise in the conflict-hit region in recent weeks, with many blaming attacks on the M23, or March 23 Movement, rebel group, one of more than 120 armed groups operating in the territory, that has been fighting Congolese soldiers in the region for years. Kinshasa, backed by experts from the United Nations and the European Union, claims M23 is receiving military support from neighboring Rwanda, but Kigali denies the allegations. Meanwhile, protests against Rwanda and Western countries spread throughout eastern DRC on Thursday (15 February), with demonstrators accusing them of complicity with the M23 rebel group. M23, a largely Tutsi group, has been on the offensive over the past two years in North Kivu, with combat recently intensifying around the provincial capital, Goma. 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: Zuleida greets and speaks with municipal health workers and volunteers who are inspecting the Tabajaras favela for standing water where Aedes aegypti mosquitoes can breed, in an effort to stop the spread of dengue in the Copacabana neighborhood of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2024. Credit: AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo The small team of state public health workers slalomed between auto parts strewn across a Rio de Janeiro junkyard, looking for standing water where mosquitoes might have laid their eggs. They were part of nationwide efforts to curtail a surge in Brazil of the mosquito-borne illness of dengue fever during the country's key tourist season that runs through the end of February. Paulo Cesar Gomes, a 56-year-old entomologist, found some mosquito larvae swimming in shallow rainwater inside a car bumper. "We call this type of location a strategic point" because of the high turnover in items converging from all over, he said. "It's difficult not to have mosquitoes here." Earlier in the month, just days before Rio kicked of its world-famous Carnival festivities, the city joined several states and the country's capital in declaring a public health epidemic over this year's greater-than-normal number of cases of dengue. "We had more cases in January than any other January," Ethel Maciel, head of health surveillance at Brazil's Health Ministry, said in an interview with The Associated Press. So far this year, Brazil has recorded 512,000 cases nationwide, including both confirmed and likely casesnearly four times more than those registered in the same period a year ago. A young man rides his bike alongside a public health vehicle spraying insecticide during a fumigation campaign against dengue-promoting mosquitoes, in the Santa Maria neighborhood of Brasilia, Brazil, Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2024. Credit: AP Photo/Eraldo Peres There have been 425 deaths under investigation for dengue so far this year, with 75 confirmed, as compared with just over 1,000 for all of 2023. Dengue is a viral infection transmitted to humans through the bite of infected mosquitoes. Frequent rains and high temperatures, which accelerate the hatching of mosquito eggs and the development of larvae, make the famously hot city of Rio especially susceptible to outbreaks. Many who are infected never develop symptoms, but dengue can cause high fever, headache, body aches, nausea and a rash, according to the World Health Organization. While most get better after a week or so, some develop a severe form that requires hospitalization and can be fatal. Health workers like Gomes, equipped with masks and plastic gloves, meticulously combed the junkyard on a hot morning, gently kicking and shaking piled up auto parts looking for any trace of the Aedes aegypti mosquito that can spread dengue. Public health agents capture mosquitoes to take to a lab for analysis, at a scrapyard in Nova Iguacu, Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil, Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2024. Cities around Brazil, including Rio, have declared a public health emergency related to an outbreak of dengue fever just days ahead Carnival. Credit: AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo Whenever he saw standing water Gomes grabbed a hand pipette out of his bag and looked for larvae, which he collected in a white plastic container. Captured mosquitos and larvae are kept alive and brought to a city laboratory to be tested for dengue. At locations with positive tests, health agents spray the walls with a product that kills mosquitos and then monitor the location for weeks. Maciel, from the Health Ministry, said the first warning about a possible epidemic came in September. Brazil's leading research institute, the state-funded Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, or Fiocruz, came up with several scenarios indicating that Brazil could have as many as 4.2 million cases this year, up from 1.6 million in 2023. Maciel said the surge is due to excessive heat and intense rain, both possible effects of climate change or El Nino, a natural, temporary and occasional warming of part of the Pacific that shifts weather patterns across the globe. A municipal health worker empties a home's water container where mosquitos can breed, in an effort to eradicate the Aedes aegypti mosquito which can spread dengue fever, in the Tabajaras favela of the Copacabana neighborhood in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2024. Credit: AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo Maciel also cited the circulation of four dengue virus serotypes at the same time, one of which authorities had not seen in 15 years. In Rio, more than 80% of mosquito breeding sites are located in residential properties, health officials say. So, efforts to combat dengue must start in homes, and raising awareness is key, said Mario Sergio Ribeiro, a health surveillance official for Rio de Janeiro state. State officials launched a "10 minutes that save lives" initiative to encourage residents to inspect their homes, offices and places of worship for any standing water. Health workers and volunteers went door to door, pacing up and down the narrow streets of Rio's Tabajara working-class neighborhood, or favela, to spread the word. They distributed leaflets and climbed on rooftops, looking for containers with rainwater. Mosquitoes captured by public health agents at a scrapyard, are kept in a tube in a lab for analysis, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2024. Cities around Brazil, including Rio, have declared a public health emergency related to an outbreak of dengue fever just days ahead Carnival. Credit: AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo Mosquitoes captured by public health agents at a scrapyard, are analyzed in a lab in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2024. Cities around Brazil, including Rio, have declared a public health emergency related to an outbreak of dengue fever just days ahead Carnival. Credit: AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo Public health agents capture mosquitoes to take to a lab for analysis, at a scrapyard in Nova Iguacu, Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil, Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2024. Cities around Brazil, including Rio, have declared a public health emergency related to an outbreak of dengue fever just days ahead Carnival. Credit: AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo Children wait for dengue vaccines at a health center in the Ceilandia neighborhood on the outskirts of Brasilia, Brazil, Friday, Feb. 9, 2024. The vaccine is available only for children between 10 and 14 years old. Credit: AP Photo/Luis Nova A dose of the dengue vaccine is prepared for youths at a health center in the Ceilandia neighborhood on the outskirts of Brasilia, Brazil, Friday, Feb. 9, 2024. The vaccine is available only for children between 10 and 14 years old. Credit: AP Photo/Luis Nova Gabriela Rodrigues, second from right, suspected of having dengue fever, is attended at the Rodolpho Rocco Municipal Polyclinic in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2024. Credit: AP Photo/Bruna Prado A woman suspected of having dengue arrives to a military health clinic that was set up to attend dengue fever cases in the Ceilandia neighborhood, on the outskirts of Brasilia, Brazil, Friday, Feb. 9, 2024. Credit: AP Photo/Luis Nova One elderly woman, Vilza da Costa, told the AP she believes she contracted the disease. "It started with a fever, then my body was itching all over, weakness, and a lot of pain. I was in a very bad way," she said. "There are a lot of mosquitoes here." During Carnival, which ended Wednesday, health employees welcomed visitors with free repellent. A van with a giant crossed off mosquito and the words "Against Dengue Everyday" opened and closed the parades several nights, for millions of TV viewers to see. Maciel said the effect of Carnival will not be known for another week. Even though dengue is not transmissible from person to person, increased tourism can boost the spread of the disease to locations that had not been affected. It's not clear if the cases have reached a peak and now "are going to start going down, or if the worst-case scenario is indeed happening," Maciel said. 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Credit: CC0 Public Domain New findings from researchers at the University of British Columbia suggest that cannabis could play a role in addressing the ongoing opioid overdose crisis. The work is published in the journal Addictive Behaviors. The publication from Dr. Hudson Reddon, alongside UBC Okanagan's Dr. Zach Walsh and UBC Vancouver's Dr. M-J Milloy, observes that using cannabis is associated with decreased use of crystal methamphetamine among people at highest risk of overdose in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside. About 45% of the study's participants reported using cannabis to manage their cravings for stimulant drugs in the last six months, including powder cocaine, crack cocaine and methamphetamines. A notable reduction in crystal meth use was observed among those who used cannabis for craving management. This association was not significant for crack cocaine users. Dr. Reddon, the study's lead researcher, emphasized the potential of cannabis as a harm-reduction strategy. "Our findings are not conclusive but do add to the growing scientific evidence that cannabis might be a beneficial tool for some people who want to better control their unregulated stimulant use, particularly for people who use crystal meth," says Dr. Reddon. "This suggests a new direction for harm reduction strategies among people who use drugs." Dr. Walsh, a Clinical Psychology Professor at UBCO and a leading substance use researcher, highlighted the importance of further investigation: "While these findings are promising, they underscore the need for more comprehensive studies to understand the full potential of cannabis in the context of the overdose crisis." The research used data from a questionnaire administered to individuals concurrently using cannabis and unregulated drugs, including stimulants and opioids, in Vancouver. It is the latest in a series of studies investigating the potential of cannabis to address the overdose crisis led by Drs. Milloy and Walsh and other colleagues at the British Columbia Centre on Substance Use. Dr. Milloy is a research scientist at the BC Centre on Substance Use who holds the Canopy Growth Professorship in Cannabis Science. Their work is supported by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the United States National Institute on Drug Abuse. More information: Hudson Reddon et al, Cannabis use to manage stimulant cravings among people who use unregulated drugs, Addictive Behaviors (2023). DOI: 10.1016/j.addbeh.2023.107867 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: MART PRODUCTION from Pexels International experts have published recommendations for practice, policy and research that have the potential to reduce the occurrence of negative birth experiences and the development of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as a result of childbirth. Led by Professor Susan Ayers, Professor of Maternal and Child Health in the School of Health and Psychological Sciences at City, University of London (City), the practical recommendations in the paper include integrating principles of trauma-informed care across maternity settings and ensuring that women's rights are respected before, during and after birth. The authors also call for international guidelines to increase awareness of traumatic birth and perinatal mental health problems. Published in the journal Women and Birth, the implementation of these recommendations could potentially reduce traumatic births and PTSD worldwide and improve outcomes for women and families. Reducing birth trauma Previous studies have suggested that around 1 in 3 births are experienced as psychologically traumatic, and about 4% of women and 1% of their partners develop childbirth-related post-traumatic stress disorder (CB-PTSD) as a result. These figures can be even higher in low and middle-income countries, with previous studies revealing a 12% and 29% prevalence of CB-PTSD in Turkey and Iran, respectively. Traumatic birth experiences and subsequent CB-PTSD symptoms can cause substantial suffering and have major long-term health implications for women, their infants, and families. For example, CB-PTSD is often associated with depression and fear of subsequent births, reduced breastfeeding, disrupted mother-infant relationships, and it can put a strain on couples' relationships. Traumatic birth experiences can also affect health care attendants and professionals present and generate significant costs for health care systems, with possible economic consequences for society as a whole. As a result, the paper provides expert consensus recommendations for practice, policy, research and theory. International consultations Following its formation in 2019, the international group of researchers and clinicians from 33 countries carried out two consultations, one involving 63 members and another 43, to examine different aspects of traumatic birth and CB-PTSD. This included meetings with group leaders and stakeholders, which was then followed by review and feedback from 238 people with lived experience. As a result of the consultations, the researchers have developed a number of recommendations for practice, policy and research: Practice Care for women and birth partners must be given in ways that minimize negative birth experiences. This includes respecting women's rights to autonomy before, during, and after childbirth, and preventing maltreatment and obstetric violence. Principles of trauma-informed care need to be integrated across maternity settings. Policy National and international guidelines are needed to increase awareness of perinatal mental health problems, including traumatic birth and CB-PTSD, as well as evidence-based, practical strategies for detection, prevention, and treatment. Maternity care services need to offer routine screening for perinatal mental health and traumatic birth as part of family-centered, integrated care. Research Traumatic births may leave a long-term imprint on the mother and child, which needs to be taken into account in research and clinical practice. In-depth studies with representative and global samples are needed. Further research is required on the economic costs of traumatic birth and CB-PTSD. Professor Susan Ayers, the lead author of the paper, said, "The prevention of traumatic births and CB-PTSD is a global priority, consistent with the World Health Organization's call for every woman to have dignified, respectful maternity care. Despite recent efforts, too many women and birth partners are having negative birth experiences, and around 1 in 3 births are experienced as psychologically traumatic. "Traumatic births and childbirth-related PTSD have a substantial impact on women and their families, yet they are potentially avoidable and treatable, and our network has introduced recommendations for practice, policy and research, based on an international expert consensus. Evidence has identified modifiable factors, such as support during birth, which protect against the impact of potentially traumatic birth events. "Adoption and implementation of some or all of these recommendations have the potential to reduce the incidence of traumatic births and PTSD, and they could improve outcomes for women, infants, families, health services, and society. The recommendations should ideally be incorporated into a comprehensive, holistic approach to mental health support for all involved in the childbirth process." More information: Susan Ayers et al, Traumatic birth and childbirth-related post-traumatic stress disorder: International expert consensus recommendations for practice, policy, and research, Women and Birth (2023). DOI: 10.1016/j.wombi.2023.11.006 This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain Many Australians using Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) to conceive are paying for costly "add-on" treatments that lack high-quality evidence that they will improve their chances of taking home a healthy baby. The use of add-ons is hotly debated but they are widely used in Australia, with 82% of women attempting IVF who took part in a 2021 study published in the Human Reproduction reporting they had used at least one. They are by definition clinically inessential and not part of standard IVF care. Patients themselves are a major driver of demand for these interventions, says Macquarie University Professor of Bioethics in the Department of Philosophy, Wendy Lipworth. Professor Lipworth led and co-authored a study recently published in Reproductive BioMedicine Online that examined attitudes of 31 professionals working in ART from Australia and New Zealand. "Add-ons, by definition, are interventions that haven't gone through that process of evidence generation and are still being offered to patients. So that's what makes them controversial,"' says Professor Lipworth, who is also co-director of Macquarie University's Ethics and Agency Research Center. They include endometrial scratching, where the lining of the womb is "scratched" to make it more receptive to an embryo implanting. Studies on its benefit to people trying to conceive have been conflicting. Preimplantation genetic testing for certain chromosome abnormalities is another add-on which may reduce the chances of miscarriage, but not necessarily increase the chance of pregnancy. Some add-ons may have no more benefit than complementary or alternative therapies, but their use is justified because they do "no harm," says Professor Lipworth. Patients incur costs for most add-ons, which have a median price of $400, but can cost as much as $3,700. Do no harm The 31 ART professionals interviewed for the study uniformly shared the view that interventions known to be harmful should not be offered. However Professor Lipworth said there was a wide variety of motivations for giving add-ons to patients, including the justification that "as long as there's no harm to the patients and if they want it, then we should give it to them and there's nothing wrong with doing that." "That surprised me because that sounded a lot like you would expect someone working in complementary medicine to think, but not in conventional medicine where generally you want treatments to not only be safe but also to be effective," Professor Lipworth says. Professor Lipworth acknowledged that ART was a sensitive area of medicine, and that there was an ethical argument that doctors were merely respecting patients' wishes. "Patients who are seeking IVF are generally young, relatively healthy, often well educated, and they immerse themselves in a lot of information. They come to doctors asking for these things and I think it can be very difficult to say no." There was a view expressed in the study that add-ons could help keep people motivated to continue with "emotionally fraught" IVF cycles. "Instead of repeating what seems to be a doomed process, it can keep hope alivebut whether that's a good thing to do or not is questionable," says Professor Lipworth. Patients' desire to avoid regret, and doctors' sympathy with that feeling, was also identified in the study as a reason to give add-ons. "Patients want to avoid the regret that might follow from failing to do everything possible to secure a pregnancy,"' the study authors noted. Professor Lipworth said the systematic and widespread offering of add-ons has happened in a context of the privatization and commercialization of ART in Australia. "The more cynical view is that in some settings, there might be commercial drivers behind this, and add-ons might be a marketing tool, to differentiate one doctor from another." Balancing evidence with consumer demand Having examined the varied reasons by ART professionals for giving add-ons, Professor Lipworth would like to see more transparency from doctors about the evidence, or lack of, for efficacy. If add-ons are genuinely being offered to promote clinical innovation and experimentation, there should at least be rigor around data collection, which is currently not occurring. And there may be a need for regulation governing advertising of add-on treatments, as once they are on a clinic's website, patients will ask for them. Professor Lipworth said the study was important in clarifying the reasons behind the use of added interventions. The aim was not to strangle the ART industry or stifle consumer choice, but ultimately to ensure patients were paying for evidence-based treatment. Professor Lipworth said that it was important to strike the right balance between consumer demand, patient ethics and industry practice. "It's about how to work through those tensions." 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: Kobe University health scientists Izawa Kazuhiro, Kitamura Masahiro and their team showed that self-monitoring is an effective means to promote the physical activity in elderly people in need of long-term care support. They asked participants to set goals for increasing steps as well as light physical activity and decreasing time spent sitting, and to daily monitor their progress with an accelerometer and by recording it on a calendar. Once a week they received feedback on their progress from health practitioners. Credit: Kobe University Self-monitoring of physical activity with an accelerometer and feedback is an effective tool to improve physical activity in elderly people requiring long-term support. The Kobe University study is the first to show that with simple and safe means, the physical activity of this demographic can be improved, which is expected to help prevent serious illness and reduce costs for long-term care. Taking more steps and sitting less is well known as having a significant influence on a wide range of noncommunicable diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, orthopedic diseases, and stroke. This is particularly problematic in senior citizens who depend on long-term care, such as in day-care centers, as it is known that they take fewer steps and spend more time sitting than healthy people of similar age. The resulting higher risk of falling ill not only decreases health-related quality of life in these people but also stretches already scarce resources in health care systems. While it is known that self-monitoring can improve physical activity even among the elderly, the effectiveness of this approach has not been shown for this high-risk demographic. After an explanation of the importance of increasing physical activity and receiving an accelerometer, study participants who were encouraged to set goals, keep track of their progress and who received feedback increased the number of daily steps from an average of 1268 to 1683, the per-day duration of light physical activity from 277 minutes to 293 minutes, and decreased the time spent sitting from 547 minutes to 523 minutes per day. A control group who did not record their progress nor received feedback did not improve physical activity. Credit: Izawa Kazuhiro The Kobe University research team of health scientists IZAWA Kazuhiro and KITAMURA Masahiro filled this gap by conducting a comparative analysis with 52 long-term care patients at a daycare center in Japan on the effectiveness of self-monitoring of physical activity. They educated the participants on the importance of increasing physical activity and asked participants to wear accelerometers that record steps, sitting time, and activity of various intensities. The 26 participants in the intervention group were additionally asked to record their progress in a daily calendar and receive weekly feedback and advice. The results now published in the journal European Geriatric Medicine show that the intervention group took more steps, spent less time sitting, and were more engaged in light physical activity. The authors write, "The results of this intervention promoting physical activity in this target population were novel to this study. Older people with long-term care needs have reduced mobility and activity compared to healthy older people, so increasing physical activity is not easy." "However, goals such as increasing the number of steps can be easily understood and practiced, and reducing the time spent in sedentary behavior, such as by standing or taking a short walk, are activities that can be performed indoors and do not require high mobility." Study participants wore accelerometers for at least 10 hours per day, 5 days per week over a period of 5 weeks. The device captured steps taken per day and "metabolic equivalent values" every 10 seconds, which were used to calculate the time spent sitting and doing light, moderate or vigorous physical activity. Credit: Izawa Kazuhiro Since this was the first study to include not only steps in self-monitoring but also time spent sitting, it is possible that these two affected each other. The Kobe University researchers explain, "A previous study in healthy older people reported that moderate to vigorous physical activity increases when sedentary behavior decreases, which is somewhat similar to the findings in the present study." Izawa adds, "While traditional self-monitoring interventions have focused primarily on the number of steps taken, this study focused on both steps taken and sedentary behavior. As a result, we believe this may have facilitated their behavior change." While this study clearly shows the effectiveness of such simple measures as wearing an accelerometer, self-monitoring, and receiving feedback on one's progress on physical activity, its five-week period was too short to capture actual benefits on health-related quality of life. Izawa and Kitamura write, "The results of this study may serve as an important foundation for future research on promoting physical activity among older adults in need of assistance. In particular, self-monitoring interventions have been shown to contribute to improved physical activity and can be applied to care prevention strategies. Future studies should include larger samples, a broader range of activities, and long-term follow-up to verify the sustained effectiveness of the intervention." More information: Masahiro Kitamura et al, Effects of self-monitoring using an accelerometer on physical activity of older people with long-term care insurance in Japan: a randomized controlled trial, European Geriatric Medicine (2024). DOI: 10.1007/s41999-024-00935-w Shakespeares A Midsummer Nights Dream refers more than once to collective dreaming, a reason it lends itself well to a college production. The comedy with romantic subplots contains three worlds, all of which eventually collide, so there are quite a few strong parts to fill when compared with his tragedies. This is a show where we could feature quite a number of our students onstage in substantial roles, said Bernadette Sweeney, director and a professor of theater at the University of Montana School of Theatre and Dance. The production, which runs the next two weeks at the Montana Theatre, has 78 students involved, with 23 actors in the cast plus three understudies. Creating the three different realms makes for a lot of work for not only the actors, but the teams responsible for costumes, set design, lighting and music. First, theres a court of Athenians who have overlapping love interests among four young people. Then the Mechanicals, a group of laborers who are putting on a play (that's so bad it's good) in honor of a wedding between their social betters. Then there are fairies, who cause some havoc when humans happen to enter the forest. A big part of the storytelling is that characters function very differently in these different places, and then the comedy, of course, comes (when) they all make their way into the woods, Sweeney said. Making the worlds Scenic designer Jay Michael Roberts is working on the show as part of his masters degree. While studying architecture at Montana State University, he took a vocal performance class that eventually led him to graduate school here in theater design. The bones of the set on the schools main proscenium stage comprise four floor-to-ceiling "tree trunks" in front of an equally tall curvilinear projection screen. The widest tree trunk contains a hidden, curving stairwell for fairies to observe their mischief in action. The projection designs by Michael Post (also director of the school) vary from high-definition photographs of forest scenes (with the occasional sparkling flourish) or stark white Greek columns as the script requires. It's part of Roberts plan to give the audience a really magical scene change. The cast can get out into the audience through a runway that extends from the center of the stage out into the first five rows and terminates in a circular platform. Sweeney wanted to give the actors the experience of how much of Shakespeare is played out into the house, like when it was originally performed, Sweeney said. The fairies bear acoustic instruments playing original music by instructor Mark Plonsky with a sinister, Victorian woodland sound, as he described it. Character and language The language, naturally, is the draw. Divided into two halves and running about 2.5 hours with intermission, theres a lot of dialogue in this show that comes alive through the rehearsal process. This material was developed in performance, it's for performance, Sweeney said. It obviously has a great literary reputation and weight. But it's not primarily literature, it's live theater. And I think when you see it performed, an actor's had the experience of developing that body relationship with it, and bringing it in the live moment to the actual audience member who's sitting in front of them. That's when the work really becomes almost self-explanatory, she said. While it has soliloquies with lines like love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind, and therefore is winged Cupid painted blind, there are lots of jokes. One of the mechanicals, Nick Bottom (Blake Sowers), gets turned into a donkey, which does not pass without puns. Elise Clayton plays Helena, whos in the thick of the Athenian romantic plot. Her character is in love with Demetrius (Morgan Davis), who is in love with Helenas best friend Hermia (Lucy Schindler), who has eloped with Lysander (Andy Lottis). Thats before they end up in the woods, where the fairies make it all even more complicated. A senior studying for a BFA in acting, Clayton played the mischievous fairy Puck during her freshman year at a different college, before transferring here for its larger theater and dance program. After even more reading on Shakespeare, shes glad to have another chance to put the knowledge to use. With this role, she has several major soliloquies, like that one about Cupid. Those two were pretty challenging, because of the imagery and the philosophies inside of both of them, she said. She needed to unpack all of it, no matter how dense and ornate, in order to convey it properly. If you don't know what you're saying as the actor, then no one else is going to know, she said. In rehearsals, Sweeney said they worked to help the actors to access what are actually tricks and guides within the language to help the actor to remember, understand and give that understanding to the audience. The language also differentiates the many worlds. The formal characters like hers speak in iambic pentameter, while the mechanicals tradespeople often talk in prose. Sweeney had that group of actors rehearse once as though they were in a bar and they do have the casual ease of modern 20-somethings hanging out in their gestures and voices while leaving the language unaltered. Movement is a big part of the show, too, helping to fill the space on a large stage. Aiding on that front is assistant director Michael Beverley, a graduate student who oversaw last seasons adaptation of The Call of the Wild. A believer in Viewpoints, a movement-focused approach to theater, he and the cast worked together to create different types of physicality that help the audience differentiate the magical world from the real one. The result is poetic, close to dance with some footing in realism but not beholden to it, he said. You wouldnt see it in a television show or movie, which is part of the point. While Claytons character, Helena, is one of the upper-class Athenians and has a relatively realistic way of getting around the stage, she said the exercises helped her in ways that might not be obvious to the viewer. For instance, theyd practice veiling, where shed create the largest possible version of a gesture, then scale it down to where its more realistic. Sweeney said its just lovely to see how Michael was able to bring his embodied understanding of the work to this young group of actors, and to give them something that is useful to them afterward. If you go All performances are in the Montana Theatre in the PAR/TV Center. Tickets are $21-$25 general, $19-$21 children under 12 and seniors, $12-$15 for students, faculty and staff. Show dates Thursday, Feb. 15, 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 17, 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 18, 2 p.m. Accessible performance with open captioning; audio description. Thursday, Feb. 22, 7:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 23, 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 24, 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 25, at 2 p.m. The Missoula Health Board will likely propose new changes to the Seeley Lake Special Management Area this year after the county said nitrates in the groundwater have been running above state-approved levels. During its Feb. 15 meeting, the health board discussed the future of the town's sewage treatment, which has been county-managed since 2011. Last fall, the health department added restrictions on septic systems with no public process. "The circumstances changed again," said Jeanna Miller, an environmental health manager for the county, at Thursday's meeting. "Most specifically, that we received the first couple rounds of nitrate sampling data from the Seeley sewer district." Miller said the county's proposed changes will likely center on how it will approve future septic systems and change the boundaries of the SMA. She noted that the county will help out with groundwater monitoring, and will use the data to propose new rules over the district. These rules would have to be approved by the health board. Longtime problem Seeley Lake, roughly 50 miles northeast of Missoula and home to 1,500 people, does not have a sewer system. Voters denied a plan to install a sewer for the main town in 2021. Instead, individual residents must use septic tanks to dispose of wastewater. Nonprofits and government groups have monitored the groundwater in Seeley Lake for more than a decade. Data points to several wells inside the management area that have concerning amounts of nitrates in the ground. The county gets involved because the health department must approve all septic permits. It must also restrict activity to legal levels of water contamination, or it could be sued by the state of Montana. Miller said the health department imposed a new policy in December, which required new septic systems to meet a higher standard and required septic system additions for building expansions. The rule surrounding the change in policy requires the health department to take the best information to make case-by-case decisions on new septic, expansion and replacement systems. However, one part of the December policy change was reversed in January. The health department walked back its septic replacement policy. Special management area residents will be able to replace their old septic systems with a conventional system, instead of paying for a more expensive and efficient system. Miller said the department went too far with the decision. In the past, the county and landowners relied on third-party contractors to see if a specific property had a contamination problem, Miller said, adding that these new standards will make decisions on septic permits more consistent. Public shut out? Some residents brought concerns that there's been little public involvement and argued some parts of the special management area are less dense and should have a less restrictive policy. Nathan Bourne, a landowner in the special management area, said he was unable to participate in any public health department meetings, and said the health board needs to reign in decision-making to a more public process. "The issue ultimately is that the health department does not have the authority to create regulations," Bourne said at the meeting. "This board is who creates those regulations and state and other agencies." Bourne said the health board should reverse the recent policy changes and instead hold a public hearing on the regulations. Mandy Medford, a local engineer who works in Seeley Lake, called the situation a "judge-jury" decision, meaning that the people living in the area had no voice in the decision. He pushed back against some of the data on the management area. He said while more dense areas have bad nitrate levels, other parts of the management area reported acceptable levels of nitrates. "I don't know where this goes at the end of the day, but it seems like this needs to be more focused on fixing these antiquated septic systems," Medford said at the meeting. Miller said the county will start meeting with community groups like the Seeley Lake Community Council to get more of this information to the public. The Missoula Health Board meets on the third Thursday of each month. FILE - Russian opposition activist Alexei Navalny takes part in a march in memory of opposition leader Boris Nemtsov in Moscow, Russia on Feb. 29, 2020. Russia's prison agency says that imprisoned opposition leader Alexei Navalny has died. He was 47. The Federal Prison Service said in a statement that Navalny felt unwell after a walk on Friday Feb. 16, 2024 and lost consciousness. Pavel Golovkin/AP This photo taken from video released by Russian Federal Penitentiary Service via SOTAVISION shows Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny appears via a video link from the Arctic penal colony in Kharp, in the Yamalo-Nenetsk region about 1,900 kilometers (1,200 miles) northeast of Moscow, where he is serving a 19-year sentence, in Kovrov, Russia, on Feb. 15, 2024. Shortly after Navalny's death was reported on Friday Feb. 16, 2024, the Russian SOTA social media channel shared images of the opposition politician reportedly in court yesterday. In the footage, Navalny is seen standing up and is laughing and joking with the judge via video link. (Russian Federal Penitentiary Service via SOTAVISION via AP) AP FILE - Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, right, poses for press as he sits handcuffed in court in Moscow, Russia on March 30, 2017. Russias prison agency says that imprisoned opposition leader Alexei Navalny has died. He was 47. The Federal Prison Service said in a statement that Navalny felt unwell after a walk on Friday Feb. 16, 2024 and lost consciousness. STR/AP FILE - Russian opposition activist Alexei Navalny and his wife Yulia talk in a courtroom before the hearing in Moscow, Russia on April 23, 2015. Russias prison agency says that imprisoned opposition leader Alexei Navalny has died. He was 47. The Federal Prison Service said in a statement that Navalny felt unwell after a walk on Friday Feb. 16, 2024 and lost consciousness. Pavel Golovkin/AP FILE - A view of the entrance of the prison colony in the town of Kharp, in the Yamalo-Nenetsk region about 1,900 kilometers (1,200 miles) northeast of Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2024. Alexei Navalny, the fiercest foe of Russian President Vladimir Putin who crusaded against official corruption and staged massive anti-Kremlin protests, died in prison Friday Feb. 16, 2024 Russias prison agency said. He was 47. AP FILE - Alexei Navalny is seen behind the bars in the police van after he was detained during protests in Moscow, on May 8, 2012 a day after Putin's inauguration. Russias prison agency says that imprisoned opposition leader Alexei Navalny has died. He was 47. The Federal Prison Service said in a statement that Navalny felt unwell after a walk on Friday Feb. 16, 2024 and lost consciousness. Sergey Ponomarev/AP FILE - Police officers detain Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, left, in Moscow on July 10, 2013. Russias prison agency says that imprisoned opposition leader Alexei Navalny has died. He was 47. The Federal Prison Service said in a statement that Navalny felt unwell after a walk on Friday Feb. 16, 2024 and lost consciousness. Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP FILE - Police officers detain opposition leader Alexei Navalny during an unauthorized rally in Lubyanka Square in Moscow, Russia on Dec. 15, 2012. Alexei Navalny, the fiercest foe of Russian President Vladimir Putin who crusaded against official corruption and staged massive anti-Kremlin protests, died in prison Friday Feb. 16, 2024 Russias prison agency said. He was 47. Pavel Golovkin/AP Police officers detain a man laying flowers to Alexei Navalny at the Memorial to Victims of Political Repression in St. Petersburg, Russia on Friday, Feb. 16, 2024. Russian authorities say that Alexei Navalny, the fiercest foe of Russian President Vladimir Putin who crusaded against official corruption and staged massive anti-Kremlin protests, died in prison. He was 47. AP FILE - Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, center, attends a rally in Moscow, Russia, on Jan. 28, 2018. Alexei Navalny, the fiercest foe of Russian President Vladimir Putin who crusaded against official corruption and staged massive anti-Kremlin protests, died in prison Friday Feb. 16, 2024 Russias prison agency said. He was 47. Evgeny Feldman/AP FILE - Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny with his wife Yulia after his last rally in rain-soaked Moscow, Russia, on Sept. 6, 2013. Russias prison agency says that imprisoned opposition leader Alexei Navalny has died. He was 47. The Federal Prison Service said in a statement that Navalny felt unwell after a walk on Friday Feb. 16, 2024 and lost consciousness. Evgeny Feldman/AP FILE - Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny speaks to the media prior to a court session in Moscow, on Aug. 22, 2019. Alexei Navalny, the fiercest foe of Russian President Vladimir Putin who crusaded against official corruption and staged massive anti-Kremlin protests, died in prison Friday Feb. 16, 2024 Russias prison agency said. He was 47. Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP FILE - Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny prepares to speak to journalists outside a courtroom in Moscow, Russia, on March 13, 2013 after his appeal against the country's top investigative agency was rejected. Alexei Navalny, the fiercest foe of Russian President Vladimir Putin who crusaded against official corruption and staged massive anti-Kremlin protests, died in prison Friday Feb. 16, 2024 Russias prison agency said. He was 47. Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP FILE - Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, center, and his former colleague Pyotr Ofitserov, foreground, listen to judge in a court in Kirov, Russia, on July 18, 2013. Alexei Navalny, the fiercest foe of Russian President Vladimir Putin who crusaded against official corruption and staged massive anti-Kremlin protests, died in prison Friday Feb. 16, 2024 Russias prison agency said. He was 47. Dmitry Lovetsky/AP FILE - Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, right, embraces his wife Yulia, as he was released in a courtroom in Kirov, Russia, on July 19, 2013. Alexei Navalny, the fiercest foe of Russian President Vladimir Putin who crusaded against official corruption and staged massive anti-Kremlin protests, died in prison Friday Feb. 16, 2024 Russias prison agency said. He was 47. Dmitry Lovetsky/AP FILE - Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who submitted endorsement papers necessary for his registration as a presidential candidate, center, heads to attend a meeting in the Russia's Central Election commission in Moscow, Russia on Dec. 25, 2017. Navalny, the fiercest foe of Russian President Vladimir Putin who crusaded against official corruption and staged massive anti-Kremlin protests, died in prison Friday Feb. 16, 2024 Russias prison agency said. He was 47. Evgeny Feldman/AP FILE - Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny prepares himself prior his interview with The Associated Press in Moscow, Russia on Dec. 18, 2017. Alexei Navalny, the fiercest foe of Russian President Vladimir Putin who crusaded against official corruption and staged massive anti-Kremlin protests, died in prison Friday Feb. 16, 2024 Russias prison agency said. He was 47. Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP FILE - Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny waves from his office window in Moscow, Russia on April 1, 2010. Alexei Navalny, the fiercest foe of Russian President Vladimir Putin who crusaded against official corruption and staged massive anti-Kremlin protests, died in prison Friday Feb. 16, 2024 Russias prison agency said. He was 47. Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP FILE - Alexei Navalny speaks to supporters in Sokolniki park in Moscow, Russia on Aug. 25, 2013. Alexei Navalny, the fiercest foe of Russian President Vladimir Putin who crusaded against official corruption and staged massive anti-Kremlin protests, died in prison Friday Feb. 16, 2024 Russias prison agency said. He was 47. Evgeny Feldman/AP FILE - Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny gestures while speaking during his interview to the Associated Press in Moscow, Russia on Dec. 18, 2017. Alexei Navalny, the fiercest foe of Russian President Vladimir Putin who crusaded against official corruption and staged massive anti-Kremlin protests, died in prison Friday Feb. 16, 2024 Russias prison agency said. He was 47. Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP FILE - Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, with his wife Yulia, right, daughter Daria, and son Zakhar pose for the media after voting during a city council election in Moscow, Russia, on Sept. 8, 2019. Alexei Navalny, the fiercest foe of Russian President Vladimir Putin who crusaded against official corruption and staged massive anti-Kremlin protests, died in prison Friday Feb. 16, 2024 Russias prison agency said. He was 47. Andrew Lubimov/AP FILE - Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny appears on a TV screen during a live session with the court during a hearing of his appeal in a court in Moscow, Russia, on Jan. 28, 2021 with a mural of the Moscow Kremlin in the background. Alexei Navalny, the fiercest foe of Russian President Vladimir Putin who crusaded against official corruption and staged massive anti-Kremlin protests, died in prison Friday Feb. 16, 2024 Russias prison agency said. He was 47. Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP FILE - Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, 2nd right, addresses supporters and journalists after arriving from Kirov at a railway station in Moscow, Russia on July 20, 2013. Alexei Navalny, the fiercest foe of Russian President Vladimir Putin who crusaded against official corruption and staged massive anti-Kremlin protests, died in prison Friday Feb. 16, 2024 Russias prison agency said. He was 47. Dmitry Lovetsky/AP FILE - Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny gestures while speaking during his supporters' meeting that nominated him for the presidential election race in Moscow, Russia on Dec. 24, 2017. Alexei Navalny, the fiercest foe of Russian President Vladimir Putin who crusaded against official corruption and staged massive anti-Kremlin protests, died in prison Friday Feb. 16, 2024 Russias prison agency said. He was 47. Pavel Golovkin/AP A U.S. Secret Service uniformed police officer looks at a cardboard sign and flowers left outside the Russian Embassy as a women leaves after placing flowers outside the embassy fence, Friday, Feb. 16, 2024, in Washington. Alexei Navalny, who crusaded against official corruption and staged massive anti-Kremlin protests as President Vladimir Putins fiercest foe, has died in the Arctic penal colony where he was serving a 19-year sentence. That's according to Russias prison agency. He was 47. Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP The Russian Embassy sign is seen after being vandalized with a red liquid substance by a passerby wearing a mask, Friday, Feb. 16, 2024, in Washington. The vandalism happened after Alexei Navalny, who crusaded against official corruption and staged massive anti-Kremlin protests as President Vladimir Putins fiercest foe, died in the Arctic penal colony where he was serving a 19-year sentence. He was 47. Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP People lay flowers paying their last respect to Alexei Navalny at the monument, a large boulder from the Solovetsky islands, where the first camp of the Gulag political prison system was established, on Friday, Feb. 16, 2024. Russian authorities say that Alexei Navalny, the fiercest foe of Russian President Vladimir Putin who crusaded against official corruption and staged massive anti-Kremlin protests, died in prison. He was 47. Dmitry Serebryakov/AP A woman lays flowers paying the last respect to Alexei Navalny at the monument, a large boulder from the Solovetsky islands, where the first camp of the Gulag political prison system was established, on Friday, Feb. 16, 2024. Russian authorities say that Alexei Navalny, the fiercest foe of Russian President Vladimir Putin who crusaded against official corruption and staged massive anti-Kremlin protests, died in prison. He was 47. Dmitry Serebryakov/AP People lay flowers as they pay their last respect to Alexei Navalny at the monument to the victims of political repression in the Leninsky kindergarten in Kazan, Russia, Friday, Feb. 16, 2024. Russian authorities say that Alexei Navalny, the fiercest foe of Russian President Vladimir Putin who crusaded against official corruption and staged massive anti-Kremlin protests, died in prison. He was 47. AP Police officers detain a woman who laid flowers to pay her last respect to Alexei Navalny at the Memorial to Victims of Political Repression in St. Petersburg, Russia on Friday, Feb. 16, 2024. Russian authorities say that Alexei Navalny, the fiercest foe of Russian President Vladimir Putin who crusaded against official corruption and staged massive anti-Kremlin protests, died in prison. He was 47. AP Alexei Navalny, who crusaded against official corruption and staged massive anti-Kremlin protests as President Vladimir Putins fiercest foe, died Friday in the Arctic penal colony where he was serving a 19-year sentence, Russias prison agency said. He was 47. The stunning news less than a month before an election that will give Putin another six years in power brought renewed criticism and outrage from world leaders toward the Russian president who has suppressed opposition at home. After initially allowing people to lay flowers at monuments to victims of Soviet-era repressions in several Russian cities, police sealed off some of the areas and started making arrests. Advertisement Article continues below this ad More than 100 people were detained in eight cities, including Moscow, St. Petersburg, Murmansk in the Arctic Circle, Krasnodar and Rostov-on-Don in the south of Russia, according to the OVD-Info monitoring group. Shouts of Shame! were heard as Moscow police rounded up more than a dozen people including one with a sign reading Killer near a memorial to political prisoners, the group said. But there was no indication Navalnys death would spark large protests, with the opposition fractured and now without its guiding star, as an associate put it. Russia's Federal Penitentiary Service reported Navalny felt sick after a walk Friday and lost consciousness at the penal colony in the town of Kharp, in the Yamalo-Nenets region about 1,900 kilometers (1,200 miles) northeast of Moscow. An ambulance arrived, but he couldn't be revived; the cause of death is "being established, it said. Navalny had been jailed since January 2021, when he returned to Moscow to face certain arrest after recuperating in Germany from nerve agent poisoning he blamed on the Kremlin. He was later convicted three times, saying each case was politically motivated. After the last verdict, Navalny said he understood he was serving a life sentence, which is measured by the length of my life or the length of life of this regime. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Hours after his death was reported, Navalnys wife, Yulia Navalnaya, made a dramatic appearance at a security conference in Germany where many leaders had gathered. She said she had considered canceling, but then I thought what Alexei would do in my place. And Im sure he would be here, adding that she was unsure if she could believe the news from official Russian sources. But if this is true, I want Putin and everyone around Putin, Putins friends, his government to know that they will bear responsibility for what they did to our country, to my family and to my husband. And this day will come very soon, Navalnaya said. Praise for Navalnys bravery poured in from Western leaders and others opposing Putin. Navalnys health has deteriorated recently and the cause of death may never be known, but many of them said they held Russian authorities ultimately responsible particularly after the deaths of many Kremlin foes. U.S. President Joe Biden said Washington doesn't know exactly what happened, "but there is no doubt that the death of Navalny was a consequence of something Putin and his thugs did. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Navalny could have lived safely in exile but returned home despite knowing he could be imprisoned or killed because he believed so deeply in his country, in Russia. In Germany, Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Navalny has probably now paid for this courage with his life. Standing beside Scholz, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy whose country is fending off Russia's invasion said: Putin doesnt care who dies in order for him to hold onto his position. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Putin was told of Navalnys death. The opposition leader's spokeswoman, Kira Yarmysh, said on X, formerly known as Twitter, that the team had no confirmation yet. Russias main state TV channel interrupted its newscast to announce the death, while other broadcasters carried only terse reports. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The Russian SOTA social media channel shared video of Navalny reportedly in a prison courtroom on Thursday laughing and joking with the judge via video link on one of several hearings about conditions in jail. Navalny was moved in December from a central Russia penal colony to the special regime facility the maximum security level. His allies decried the transfer to the remote Arctic colony as yet another attempt to isolate and silence Navalny. Before his arrest, Navalny campaigned against official corruption, organized major anti-Kremlin protests and ran for public office. In Putins Russia, political activists often faded amid factional disputes or went into exile after imprisonment, suspected poisonings or other repression. But Navalny grew consistently stronger and reached the apex of the opposition through grit, bravado and an acute understanding of how social media could circumvent the Kremlins suffocation of independent news outlets. He faced each setback whether a physical assault or imprisonment with intense devotion and sardonic wit. When authorities put Navalny in a tiny cell because of minor infractions allowing access to a narrow exercise yard only in the early morning he joked: Few things are as refreshing as a walk in Yamal at 6:30 in the morning." Advertisement Article continues below this ad Navalny ally Lyubov Sobol told The Associated Press that Russia's repressive climate makes any rallies over his death risky, and "people could get long prison terms for taking part in a peaceful protest. In the absence of a guiding star" like Navalny, she said, "people will have an even greater fear of repressions, seeing the governments impunity. A woman laying flowers for Navalny at a Moscow memorial said he was the last beacon of hope for anything to change, and that hope died today. So the only thing I want to do now is cry, I have no more words. She identified herself only by her first name, Elmira, for fear of repression. Navalny was born in Butyn, about 40 kilometers (25 miles) outside Moscow. He received a law degree from Peoples Friendship University in 1998 and did a fellowship at Yale in 2010. He gained attention by focusing on corruption in Russias murky mix of politicians and businesses; one of his early moves was buying a stake in oil and gas companies to become an activist shareholder and push for transparency. His work had pocketbook appeal to Russians widespread sense of being cheated, carrying stronger resonance than abstract concerns about democracy and human rights. He was convicted in 2013 of embezzlement on what he called a politically motivated prosecution and was sentenced to five years in prison, but the prosecutors office surprisingly demanded his release pending appeal. A higher court later gave him a suspended sentence. A day before the sentence, Navalny registered as a candidate for Moscow mayor. The opposition saw his release as the result of large protests over his sentence, but many observers attributed it to a desire by authorities to add a tinge of legitimacy to the race. Navalny finished second, an impressive performance against an incumbent who was backed by Putins political machine and was popular for improving Moscows infrastructure. Navalnys acclaim increased after the leading charismatic politician, Boris Nemtsov, was shot and killed in 2015 on a bridge near the Kremlin. Whenever Putin spoke about Navalny, he made it a point to never utter his name, referring to him as that person or similar wording, in an apparent effort to diminish his importance. In opposition circles, Navalny was often viewed as having an overly nationalist streak for supporting the rights of ethnic Russians he backed the annexation of the Crimean Peninsula by Moscow in 2014 although most nations viewed it as illegal but he was able to mostly override those reservations via investigations conducted by his Fund for Fighting Corruption. Although state-controlled TV ignored Navalny, his investigations resonated with younger Russians via YouTube and posts on his website and social media accounts. The strategy helped him reach the hinterlands far from the political and cultural centers of Moscow and St. Petersburg and establish a strong network of regional offices. His work broadened from focusing on corruption to criticism of the political system under Putin. He was a galvanizing figure in protests of unprecedented size against dubious national election results and the exclusion of independent candidates. Navalny got attention using pithy phrases and a potent image. His description of Putins power-base United Russia as the party of crooks and thieves gained instant popularity. In 2017, after an assailant threw green-hued disinfectant in his face, seriously damaging an eye, Navalny joked that people were comparing him to the superhero the Hulk. Much worse was to come. While in jail in 2019 for an election protest, he was hospitalized for what authorities called an allergic reaction, but some doctors said it appeared to be poisoning. A year later, he fell severely ill on a flight to Moscow from the Siberian city of Tomsk. The plane made an emergency landing in the city of Omsk, where he spent two days in a hospital before being flown to Germany for treatment. Doctors there determined he had been poisoned with a strain of Novichok similar to the nerve agent that nearly killed former Russian spy Sergei Skripal in 2018. Navalny was in a medically induced coma for about two weeks. The Kremlin vehemently denied it was behind the poisoning, but Navalny challenged that with an audacious move: releasing the recording of a call he said he made to an alleged member of the Federal Security Service, or FSB, who purportedly carried out the poisoning and then tried to cover it up. The FSB called the recording a fake. Russian authorities then announced that while in Germany, Navalny had violated the terms of a suspended sentence in one of his convictions and that he would be arrested if he returned home. Navalny and his wife nevertheless flew to Moscow on Jan. 17, 2021. On arrival, he told waiting journalists he was pleased to be back, walked to passport control and into custody. Last month, he explained why he returned, saying: I dont want to give up either my country or my beliefs. Just over two weeks after his return, he was tried, convicted and sentenced to 2 years in prison. That sparked massive protests reaching to Russias farthest corners and saw police detain over 10,000 people. As part of a massive opposition crackdown that followed, a Moscow court in 2021 outlawed Navalnys Foundation for Fighting Corruption and about 40 regional offices as extremist, a verdict that exposed members of his team to prosecution. When Putin sent troops to invade Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, Navalny strongly condemned it in social media posts from prison and during his court hearings. Less than a month after the war began, he received another nine-year term for embezzlement and contempt of court in a case he said was fabricated. Last August, he was convicted of extremism and sentenced to 19 years in prison. When a film called Navalny about his story won an Academy Award for best documentary in 2023, his wife told the ceremony: My husband is in prison just for telling the truth. My husband is in prison just for defending democracy. Alexei, I am dreaming of the day you will be free and our country will be free. Former Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer is encouraging Montanans to run for the states utility commission, citing regulatory decisions that have hit consumers in the wallet. Schweitzer, speaking at a forum sponsored by Montana Conservation Voters, said the state Public Service Commission hasnt acted in the consumers interest for several years, seizing on an October decision by the five-member PSC that made residential and small business electric rates the highest in the region for customers of NorthWestern Energy. In October, the all-Republican commission approved a NorthWestern Energy settlement of base rates and power cost adjustments that by the utilitys estimate translated into a 28% increase over costs at the time the rate increase was initially sought, which was in August 2022. The increase is based on the average bill of a residential customer consuming 750 kilowatt hours a month. Two separate adjustments for power costs and credits, both filed in fall 2023 have offset the full impact of the settlement, as has a reduction in what NorthWestern charges customers for taxes. Northwestern Energy is the states largest monopoly utility, with more than 400,000 metered electric customers and 300,000 natural gas customers. The Public Service Commission, there's three seats that are coming up right now. And if we could put three people that are, whether they're Republicans or Democrats, if we could put three people on there that would start asking the tough questions, then we would have representation as ratepayers in Helena, Schweitzer said. Because right now, I can tell you, we have five members of the Public Service Commission that do not represent the ratepayers and they prove it every week, every month, and every day. The governor was joined by former PSC commissioner Tom Schneider, a Democrat, who said the commission isnt providing the counterbalance necessary to protect the captive customers of monopoly utilities. Customers of monopolies are legally recognized as captive, meaning they lack the free-market choice of shopping around for a better deal. The commission is charged with ensuring captive customers have reasonably priced, reliable electric and natural gas service, while utilities receive a fixed rate of return. While setting higher rates in October, Commissioner Ann Bukacek informed customers that the Commission was under no obligation to weigh consumer interests whenever the states consumer advocate, the Montana Consumer Counsel, was party to a case. Schneider said that point of view was misguided. The Consumer Counsel plays an important role, but they are not the decision maker. Theyre an advocate, an important advocate in the case. But she has totally misconstrued the basic responsibility of the commission, Schneider said. They have failed to recognize and to fulfill their responsibility to protect consumers. The 2024 election is an unusual cycle for commission seats. Although there are three positions on the ballot, only one incumbent is seeking reelection. Republican Jennifer Fielder, of Thompson Falls, is seeking a second, four-year term. Commissioner James Brown is running for state auditor and Tony ODonnell is term limited out. The boundaries of the districts are also entangled in lawsuit over alleged gerrymandering by Republicans in the 2023 Montana Legislature, who watered down the vote of Montanas more politically moderate cities by putting each in more than one district. In the parlance of gerrymandering, splitting up groups of voters who share party preferences, or community characteristics is known as cracking. Attorney Constance Van Kley, who represents voters challenging the redrawn maps, said its likely the court will decide in the next few weeks whether to prevent the Legislatures PSC map from being used in the 2024 election. A court decision would have to come before March 11, to give would-be candidates an idea of what the districts looked like and whether voter makeup of each would be competitive. This is the second election cycle in a row in which the fairness of PSC districts is being questioned. In 2022, a panel of federal judges concluded Montanas PSC districts violated the one person, one vote principle of the 14th Amendment. A recent ABC News special segment highlighted Anacondas ongoing recovery from a century of pollution tied to the smelting of copper ore from Butte. A text version accompanying the broadcast was headlined, Anaconda, Montana, turns the page on its environmental disaster. Butte, meanwhile, was described by ABC reporter Kayna Whitworth as a similar town with a very different story. Footage showed the notorious Berkeley Pit, along with a contaminated stretch of creek, the bleak hillsides at the Montana Resources mine and more. Both Anaconda and Butte remain on the EPAs National Priorities List as Superfund sites. At the Pit, audio captured the sound of alarms intended to discourage migrating waterfowl from a terminal plunge into the toxic stew. For the Anaconda piece of the broadcast, Whitworth interviewed Bill Everett, chief executive of Anaconda-Deer Lodge County, Charlie Coleman, former EPA remedial project manager for the Anaconda Smelter site, Luke Pokorny of Atlantic Richfield/BP and others. For Butte, Whitworth interviewed Evan Barrett, a longtime Superfund watchdog, Jim Fisher, a commissioner for Butte-Silver Bow County, and Bill Foley, a longtime sportswriter who has thrown his ball cap into the ring to run for the city-countys chief executive job. Foley described playing as a kid in a mine dump and the negative outcomes for his shoes. The consensus among those interviewed in the Mining City seemed to be, as former state legislator Fritz Daily often observes, Butte deserves better. The Butte and Anaconda Superfund sites differ in complexity and diversity of problems. Cleanup work in Butte has lagged and proceeded at a pace some would compare to an especially sluggish snail. Whitworth interviewed Aaron Urdiales, director of Superfund for the regional EPA. She cited the frustrations in Butte about the pace of cleanup. Urdiales said EPA is aware of the concerns in the Mining City. Butte is a top priority for us, he said. There has been longstanding perplexity in Butte about the much higher action level for lead in soils in Butte than Anaconda, with Buttes being 1,200 parts per million and Anacondas being 400 ppm. EPA has said the lead in Butte is less bioavailable than the lead in Anaconda but that argument hasnt been persuasive for many in Butte who note the vulnerability of children to any level of lead exposure. EPA recently announced it is lowering the agencys lead screening level nationally, but the trickle down impact for Butte is not yet clear. This week, EPA said it had reassigned two staff members serving Butte, including Nikia Greene, remedial project manager, and Dana Barnicoat, a community involvement coordinator. Two women will come on as remedial project managers. A lot of work has been completed at the Anaconda Smelter site and vicinity. The work continues. The same is true for the Clark Fork River, where the Montana Department of Environmental Quality has projected remediation will continue until 2038, by which date many people who work for EPA, DEQ and ABC News will be retired. An EPA Clark Fork Superfund Master Plan released in November 1990 predicted remedial action for the Clark Fork River would be complete by 1998. American voters don't agree on much these days, with a raft of issues cleaving Republicans and Democrats. But one issue mostly remains bipartisan: conservation of public lands and the natural environment. The 14th annual Conservation in the West Poll, conducted as part of Colorado College's 21-year-old State of the West project, revealed continuing agreement on a variety of conservation topics, from believing that more time spent outdoors is good for young people to heavily weighing candidates' positions on conservation issues when choosing whom to vote for. The vast majority of voters said that issues involving clean water, clean air, wildlife and public lands were important or very important to them when deciding which candidates to support. This year a total of 85% of voters said such issues were at least important, with 38% overall saying they were very important. That tracks with past election years 86% and 41% in 2022, 80% and 44% in 2020 and marks a slight increase from 2016 (75% and 31%). The strong consideration of conservation issues tracked across party lines, albeit unevenly, with 74% of Republicans, 87% of Independents and 96% of Democrats saying this year that conservation issues were an important factor in their voting. "Most of the things we poll on are so skewed by partisanship, you know, you would think people are on different planets," said pollster Lori Weigel. "This is not one of them." Across most of the results, pollster Dave Metz noted, "Whats striking here is both the breadth and the intensity of the support" from voters for conservation policies in the West. Another thing people agreed on is that they really, really love Yellowstone National Park. The overall results were weighted to reflect state populations. Nonetheless, Yellowstone was the runaway winner to a question asking respondents to name a specific natural place they loved visiting. The national park mostly in Wyoming but with slivers in Montana and Idaho received 179 mentions. Runner-up the Grand Canyon got 78; Glacier National Park placed third with 55. Weigel, of New Bridge Strategies, and Metz, of Fairbank, Maslin, Maullin, Metz & Associates (FM3), conducted the poll. They noted that theirs is a bipartisan collaboration: Outside of the project, New Bridge Strategies conducts polls and research for Republican politicians while FM3 does the same for Democrats. The college and polling firms jointly released this year's results on Wednesday. This year's poll included results from almost 3,400 people in eight intermountain Western states; it did not include the Pacific states of California, Oregon and Washington. The poll began with five states in 2011: Montana, Wyoming, Utah, Colorado and New Mexico. Pollsters added Arizona in 2012, Nevada in 2016 and Idaho in 2018. Some of the bipartisan support on specific issues or choices was newer. A strong majority of registered Democrats have long supported prioritizing conservation over energy production on public lands, but this year, for the first time, the poll found a majority of Republicans 52% agreed. The result was a record-high overall percentage of respondents choosing conservation over energy production. "This year we saw the widest margin for conservation that we have seen in this poll," Metz said. "The story here is really remarkable consistency. We see consistent prioritization of conservation by voters when it comes to public lands in the West." Another question attracted massive bipartisan support: 87% of those polled said children not spending enough time outside was a serious problem, with 51% overall calling it an extreme or very serious problem. Both figures topped numbers from when the question was asked in 2013 and 2015. And 93% said spending more time outside would help with young people's mental health 67% overall said it would help a lot. "Almost no one is dismissing it," Weigel said. "This one stretched across partisan lines, across state lines, virtually everyone was saying, yeah, this is something that we could do to really help the mental health crisis that were seeing in kids." Overall, the vast majority of those polled supported the six conservation policies polled on this year: 90% supported making oil and gas companies pay for cleanup and restoration; 89% supported combating light pollution to improve night sky visibility; 85% supported creating new national parks, monuments and refuges; 85% supported constructing more wildlife crossings; 80% supported achieving President Joe Biden's "30 by 30" goal; and 66% supported restricting oil and gas drilling only to places with a high likelihood to produce. Much of that support played out conversely, too, with respondents largely opposing efforts to remove environmental protections. Only 27% of those polled supported removing land protections to allow more drilling, and only 10% overall strongly supported that. Specifically, 71% of respondents said they opposed removing protections of national public lands, particularly national monuments, to allow drilling and mining. Opposition to such a move was strongest in states like Montana that had recent or ongoing fights over resource extraction in existing, new, expanded or proposed monuments. New Mexico, Montana and Arizona respondents registered the highest opposition to removal of protections, at 75%, 74% and 74% respectively. There remained sharp partisan divides on some issues, such as the impacts of climate change. Results were markedly different in more conservative states particularly the oil, gas and coal juggernaut Wyoming than in their less conservative Western counterparts. Overall, 66% of those polled said the effects of climate change on their state were at least significant, with 35% saying they were very significant. That's up from 62% and 29% in 2020. But the responses varied wildly by state. In Arizona, 70% of respondents said the effects of climate change were significant; the figure was 69% in both Nevada and Mexico. Montana was around average this year, with 64% saying the effects were significant and 33% calling them very significant. But in Wyoming, only 46% of respondents said the effects were significant, and only 24% thought they were very significant. That was similar to Idaho (50% and 20%). The results also varied by age, with older people less likely to say the impacts of climate change were significant. Among Generation Z, 82% of respondents said the impacts were significant; 73% of millennials said the same, along with 62% of Gen X and only 59% of baby boomers. "Generally those differences between states are aligned with partisanship," Metz said of climate change-related questions in the poll. And, "Theres a pretty clear correlation here with age." The broad and fervent support for conservation in the West persisted despite ongoing economic anxiety, pollsters noted. Weigel said last year, after the 13th annual poll, that economic stressors "have risen to the fore here." That poll showed 97% of respondents said rising cost of living was a serious concern; 89% described the cost of gasoline as a serious concern, too. Weigel and Metz said this year that respondents understand conservation measures can cost money, sometimes directly through taxes or fees and also indirectly, such as higher oil and gas production costs passed down to consumers. Weigel noted that voters in the states polled generally still show strong support in approving small tax increases to fund conservation efforts, so long as the funds are guaranteed to go solely to conservation. And, Metz added, "they tend to support them at levels that are pretty comparable to what we see in the polling." That may be, they said, because people seem to uniquely view conservation issues as more solvable than other problems confronting Americans. Weigel also pointed to a question this year that showed 57% of respondents sought out news on nature, wildlife or recreation. "I do think people are gravitating toward the solutions that are being offered and they want to do something," Weigel said. "Theres sort of an appetite for being informed and learning more." With conservation, Metz noted, "Theres more optimism that problems are solvable than on a lot of other issues that we poll. "People think we can figure it out," he said. "Thats not something that we see on every issue right now." The Carolina Textile District, Fonta Flora Brewery, Solid State Clothing, InnovaKnits, and Opportunity Threads are proud to announce their collaboration on the creation of the Marigold Beanie, a hat made in North Carolina and dyed using locally grown marigold flowers, has been recognized by Our State Magazine as the Style Category Winner of the Our State Magazine Made in NC Award. The Marigold Beanie is a product that showcases the strength of community partnerships and transparent supply chains. The project began in Morganton, NC with the Carolina Textile District (CTD), an organization that connects makers, designers, and entrepreneurs to a reliable domestic supply chain. CTDs mission is to revitalize the textile industry locally and support manufacturers by fostering collaboration and sustainable practices. COLLECTION, a project of the Carolina Textile District, focuses on showcasing the craftsmanship and materials coming out of the region. The Marigold Beanie project came about through conversations and connections between local project partners. InnovaKnits, a state of the art textile manufacturing company specializing in flat knit development out of Conover, knit the beanies. Fonta Flora Brewerys agricultural brewing program uses local and heirloom ingredients that are culturally significant to the region. The brewerys commitment to using local ingredients and collaborating with artists led them to be a natural fit for this project. Fonta Flora Brewery grew a crop of marigold flowers in 2023 at their Whippoorwill Farm location in Nebo to be used as a natural dye. Courtney Lockemer, brand manager and resident natural dye specialist of Solid State Clothing based in Burlington, played a pivotal role in bringing the collaboration together. Through discussions with CTDs director and representatives from Fonta Flora Brewery, the concept of using locally grown marigolds for natural dye emerged. The dye tests conducted in August confirmed the viability of marigolds as a beautiful and sustainable dye source. Solid State Clothing transformed the white beanies into a beautiful marigold yellow using flowers grown by Fonta Flora Brewery in western North Carolina. Opportunity Threads, a worker-owned cut and sew textile plant based in Morganton, sewed the branded tags on the brim of the beanies. We are excited to unveil the Marigold Beanie, which represents the power of collaboration and the possibilities that arise when values-aligned organizations come together, said Catherine Armstrong director of the Carolina Textile District. This project showcases the talent, creativity, and commitment to sustainability within our local community. The Marigold Beanie is a testament to the potential of local manufacturing and the positive impact it can have on job creation and economic growth. By supporting this collaborative project, customers contribute to the revitalization of the American textile industry and promote a more sustainable future. Learn more about the Marigold Beanie Project at https://createthecollection.com/. Marigolds Beanies are available online at: And in store locally at: Fonta Flora BreweryMorganton Tasting Room317 N. Green St., Morganton Fonta Flora BreweryWhippoorwill Farm6751 NC 126, Nebo The Industrial Commons647 Hopewell Road, Morganton. For more information about the Marigold Beanie and this exciting collaboration, contact Catherine Armstrong, director of the Carolina Textile District, at catherine@carolinatextiledistrict.com. NORTH MYRTLE BEACH It was only a few years ago that Garrett Huffman, 21, picked up a guitar, but hes quickly made an impression in the music world. Huffman, who previously lived in Burke County but moved to Gastonia with his family when his father took a job there, was named entertainer of the year at the Carolina Country Music Associations awards show on Jan. 20. He was also nominated for songwriter of the year. We were blessed enough to win that, Huffman said. We had a lot of amazing support up there in Morganton and all around that area, and then down here in Gastonia too. The award winner was decided by votes in a poll on Facebook. My whole mind went blank whenever I got up there on stage and they called my name out that I won, Huffman said. We were able to actually get the most votes so far ever recorded in the competition I think this is the ninth annual Country Music Awards in North and South Carolina, and weve gotten the most votes so far in it. What may be even more surprising for those unfamiliar with Huffmans music is that hes only been playing the guitar for a few years. Huffman told The News Herald it was his brother who first started taking guitar lessons, but he didnt like it too much and eventually the guitar fell to the wayside. During the pandemic, though, Huffman said he picked up the guitar and started teaching himself to play with videos on YouTube. I quickly just fell in love with songwriting and playing music and everything, Huffman said. I ended up playing my first show in May of 2021 and now, fast forward to today, Ive played about 315 now. Its been a crazy journey so far to say the least. In that time, Huffman has also been signed to a record label and a guitar maker. He signed with Willow Creek Guitars in March 2022, and signed a deal with Iron Gate Records in December 2022. Hes already penned 70 original songs. Its been really cool following the journey and all the little milestones weve made, seeing all the people weve met, where weve played at, Huffman said. Its just cool, kind of, looking back and seeing everything and how its all happened. Huffman said he is thankful for everyone who has supported his music career. We have an incredible support system out there, Huffman said. From the bottom of our hearts over here, just thank yall so much. Were just very blessed to have a lot of supporters up there. Most importantly, though, Huffman said he is grateful to God for this journey. God worked all that out, Huffman said. Looking back to the start about how all the pieces fell perfectly into place at the time. He said he has a lot of original music lined up for release this year, and hell be playing in the Valdese summer concert series this July. Hell be back in Morganton on Feb. 23 at Town Tavern, 315 Sanford Drive, for a concert from 7-9 p.m. For more information about Huffman, his music and a list of his future shows, visit www.garretthuffman.com. Happy Time Child Care has been given a provisional license until Sept. 30 due to an incident where a child tested positive for marijuana. A report from the Iowa Department of Human Services said that on Dec. 22, 2023, the department received a complaint about the business. It said a 3-year-old child had been acting lethargic and was taken to the emergency room and tested positive for marijuana. On Jan. 3, an unannounced inspection was performed. Inspectors interviewed the director, on-site supervisor, several staff members and reviewed camera footage. Several violations were documented. They included: A staff member admitted to using marijuana prior to bed on Jan. 3. The report says that staff member is no longer with the center. Staff members in the classroom not accurately documenting the childs behavior Three staff members knew something was wrong with the child around noon, but no one notified the parent until 4:48 p.m. A staff member left a vape pen containing marijuana accessible to the children of the center Staff did not provide careful supervision. According to the report, the 3-year-old did come into the childcare. On that day there were two primary staff members working. Another staff member came into the room around lunch time, left and returned later in the day. The report said the two staff members did not put personal belongings in the office as required. The child stated a staff member gave them a gummy. The staff member who gave the child the gummy was alone with the child on several occasions, but the camera footage was too grainy to see if the staff member gave the child anything. Both staff members reported the child was not acting normal, however the staff members did not share the concerns with management or the parent. A staff member notified the parent at 4:48 p.m. that the child was not acting normal. The child was taken to the emergency room and tested positive for THC. While on site, the inspectors arranged for the Muscatine Police Department and Muscatine County Sheriffs Office to bring out a drug dog to do a search. The drug dog did not find any additional concerns. The Department of Human Services did not report nor include our department in their investigation into this incident, Muscatine Assistant Police Chief Steve Snider said. Their findings are independent of ours. We initiated our own investigation surrounding the allegation made in December and found no probable cause that would substantiate charges against any individual employed by Happy Time Daycare. The report said the director has scheduled training that all staff is required to attend to ensure careful supervision of the children. The director will also ensure all staff belongings are not accessible by the children. The Journal emailed the business for comment, but no response was received. States Spending the Most on Childcare States Spending the Most on Childcare Daycare and preschool prices have risen much faster than the general market Residents of Alaska and Minnesota spend the most on childcare Minorities and low income households are disproportionately burdened by childcare costs 15. Pennsylvania 14. Tennessee 13. Florida 12. Louisiana 11. Georgia 10. Texas 9. South Dakota 8. North Dakota 7. Virginia 6. Iowa 5. Alaska 4. New York 3. Massachusetts 2. Alabama 1. North Carolina From weddings and graduations to grand birthday parties and spectacular holiday events, one of Muscatines oldest locations hopes to be the perfect spot for those in the community to hold and enjoy their event. This past January, the Overlook Ballroom, located at 101 West Mississippi Drive in Suite 101, part of the former Muscatine Hotel, came under new ownership. Already having big plans for the future, the team behind the OB said they intend to do what they can to make it a great event venue for the community. We look to host private events like weddings, receptions, birthdays, baby showers pretty much anything you could throw a party for, thats basically what were there for, Nicole Green, director of events and sales, said. Being right on the river, The Overlook Ballroom features amazing and beautiful views that ring true to its name, Green said, along with a unique layout for guests to take advantage of. This layout includes an all-window sunroom as well as a brick-solid wall that some may see as a good photo backdrop. Its a gorgeous interior, and its more catered towards smaller events, she said. Our capacity is about 150 people but with the sunroom, we can host up to about 175 people. As for the venues other services and unique features, Green shared that the OB offers its own in-house catering. Additionally, she and the owners are discussing possible renovations and additions for the location. Green said that she and the new owners all saw taking on the OB as a way to bring Muscatine another venue option. Ive been told that theres not too many places to book parties or even have your wedding reception, so we just wanted to bring a whole other event hall to Muscatine and add onto that variety," she said. Wanting to give the public a chance to check out the venue outside of needing to reserve it, the OB will soon be starting a supper club that will hold four annual dinners throughout the year as well as special holiday events, Green said. The first of these community holiday events will be an Easter Brunch that will be held on Sunday, March 31, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., which will feature plenty of treats and breakfast items for all ages. Kids under five years old will be able to eat free at the event while senior guests will receive a discounted meal. Were just trying to throw out a lot of opportunities for people to come and check us out, Green said. We want people to know that our whole objective is to create unforgettable experiences and memories for people and to make throwing an event something that they dont have to stress about. People wishing to reserve the OB for an event or who would like to reserve a spot at the upcoming Easter Brunch can email Green at TheOBReservations@gmail.com. Residents can also check out the OBs Facebook page for more information. 10 interior design books for small space inspiration 1. Never Too Small: Reimagining Small Space Living 2. Apartment Therapys Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces 3. Small Homes, Grand Living: Interior Design for Compact Spaces 4. Tiny Interiors: Compact Living Spaces 5. Country Living Tiny Homes: Living Big in Small Spaces 6. Bigger Living, Smaller Space: Resizing for a Clean & Cozy Home 7. Small Spaces, Big Appeal: The Luxury of Less in Under 1,200 Square Feet 8. Rental Style: The Ultimate Guide to Decorating Your Apartment or Small Home 9. Big Style in Small Spaces: Easy DIY Projects to Add Designer Details to Your Apartment, Condo or Urban Home 10. The Little Book of Living Small Authorities plan to detain the owner of the Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) tanker that exploded in Embakasi, resulting in the death of 7 people, for fourteen days while investigations into the incident are underway. Abraham Mwangi Nguyo, who had been evading authorities since the incident on the night of February 1, was arrested on February 12 when he voluntarily presented himself at the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) offices in Embakasi. Nguyos tanker exploded while delivering gas at the premises of Maxxis Energy Nairobi Limited. The investigation by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) includes cases related to murder, negligent acts causing harm as per section 244 of the Penal Code, and abuse of office, contravening the Anti-Corruption and Economic Crimes Act. In an affidavit submitted to Senior Principal Magistrate Martha Nanzushi of the Milimani Law Courts, Inspector Isaac Kariuki from Embakasi DCI offices reported that the identification process of the 10 individuals who perished in hospitals is currently underway, and the statements of survivors are yet to be recorded. The case is scheduled for mention on February 28, when investigators will provide an update on the progress made and specify the charges they intend to bring against Nguyo and others in custody. The Chief Executive Officer of the Kenya Film Commission (KFC), Timothy Owase, has announced that this years Kalasha International Awards will differ from previous editions. During a press conference on Wednesday, Owase stated that this years Kalasha will not function as an independent product; instead, it will integrate the festival, market, and awards. The event, scheduled for March 27 to 30, will be held at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre (KICC). The first two days we will have the Kalasha market and festival then on the final day we will have the awards, Owase said. I am inviting everyone to come and invite all other filmmakers to participate in the event to see to it that we all succeed. The KFC Boss mentioned that during the awards, they anticipate hosting over 1,000 people and will present awards in more than 39 categories across various segments. There will be a cash reward during the gala night. I will not however quote the figure, he said. RELATED Film Commission Responds to Sanaipei Tande over Unpaid Kalasha Awards Cash Owase also highlighted that the the Kalasha International Film and TV Awards will feature exhibitors, including workshops and conferences, providing opportunities for meaningful engagement. He further stated that other countries will have the chance to showcase their preferences, and a stakeholder forum will facilitate local producers and filmmakers in engaging with their counterparts from different countries. We expect that during the Kalasha market, you will have an opportunity to cut deals and get new partners from other countries and create an avenue for storytelling, he noted. During the Kalasha awards festival, we will have a lined up film showcase that will have films that people have not watched being filmed and premiered during this season, Owase added. On Thursday, Venezuela's government ordered the local United Nations office on human rights to cease operations and gave its staff 72 hours to leave, accusing it of supporting coup plotters and terrorist groups. Foreign Affairs Minister Yvan Gil announced the decision at a press conference held in the capital, Caracas. Venezuela Orders Suspension of UN Human Rights Office Gil said the international community has used the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights' local technical advisory office "to maintain a discourse" against Venezuela. The move came two days after the detention of prominent rights activist Rocio San Miguel. According to Gil, the UN rights office has adopted an "inappropriate role" and has become "the private law firm of the coup plotters and terrorists who permanently conspire against the country." He claimed the agency would not be able to "publicly rectify, before the international community, their colonialist, abusive and violating attitude of the United Nations Charter" before the decision was lifted. Venezuela's government released a statement saying it decided to suspend the UN rights office's operations and "carry out a holistic revision of the technical cooperation terms." The review is scheduled to occur over the next 30 days. It was not immediately clear if the Venezuelan government had informed the UN of its decision to close the office. UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said during his daily briefing on Thursday that he recently learned of the decision and would respond to media representatives. The UN human rights office has maintained operations in Venezuela since 2019. Prosecutors accused her of taking part in the recent alleged plan to kill President Nicolas Maduro, which the government has said was supported by the United States. In January, authorities declared that they had discovered five assassination schemes against Maduro, implicating rights activists, journalists, and the military. Read Also: Cameron Urges US Congress to Back Ukraine Funding Package on Eastern Europe Trip UN Rights Office Calls for San Miguel's Immediate Release On Tuesday, the UN rights office, based in Geneva, Switzerland, expressed "deep concern" about San Miguel. The office posted on X, formerly Twitter, to call for her immediate release and respect for her right to legal defense. The UN agency demanded respect for "due process guarantees, including the right to defense" in her case shortly before Gil's announcement on Thursday. Furthermore, the US has threatened to reimpose recently eased oil sanctions in response to Maduro's imprisonment of San Miguel during a crucial election year in which he has already blocked his main opposition rival. San Miguel is the founder of the NGO called Citizen Control, which investigates military and security-related matters, including the number of civilians killed or abused by security forces. She also provided specifics about the military's role in illegal mining operations and a recent army femicide. International rights organizations see the arrests as part of a coordinated effort to silence opponents and critics of the administration. Related Article: UK Labour Party Drops Support for Rochdale Candidate Over Israel Conspiracy Comments The government is being deliberate in addressing unemployment in the country, President William Ruto has said. He said the affordable housing programme, for example, is labour-intensive and has already employed more than 130,000 Kenyans. By the end of this year, it is estimated that 300,000 young people will be working in various construction sites. He also cited the ongoing establishment of ICT hubs in each of Kenyas 1,450 wards, saying hundreds of thousands of digital jobs will be created. The export of Kenyan workforce to countries far and near, and the development of Special Economic Zones and County Aggregation and Industrial Parks are other programmes that will expand opportunities for Kenyans. It would be irresponsible for us to spend KSh600 billion a year on the education of our youth without a plan on how to create jobs for them, he said. He was speaking at the construction launch of the 220-unit Makenji Affordable Housing Project in Kandara, Muranga County. The project will create more than 1,600 jobs and expand opportunities for the residents. President Ruto said the government is keen on enhancing access to water for domestic use, livestock and irrigation which will substantially increase the countrys agricultural productivity. The President commissioned the Ithanga Water Supply Project that will serve more than 20,000 households in Gatanga Constituency, Muranga County. In Maragua, the President also commissioned the Maragua Bulk Water Supply and Irrigation Project which has a daily capacity of 15 million litres. It will guarantee more than 30,000 households of constant water supply. Later in Othaya, Nyeri County, he launched the Changachicha Irrigation Project which will enhance the production of high-value commercial crops such as onions, tomatoes, carrots and vegetables, among others. Present were Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, Cabinet Secretaries Alice Wahome (Lands and Housing) and Zachary Njeru (Water), Muranga County Governor Irungu Kangata, MPs and MCAs. Some photos of President Rutos activities in Muranga county. The nonprofit that created Napa Porchfest said Thursday it was stepping away from the annual musical festival, silencing the popular event this summer. At the same time, Napa County Landmarks said the group is looking to hand over the work to some of its longtime organizers, giving the festival new life in 2025. Architect Juliana Inman, a then board-member of the nonprofit, was the driving force behind its 2011 debut. The group has been the main sponsor of the event every year since, except for a pandemic-related pause in 2020. The 2023 event, held on the last Sunday in July, drew more than 10,000 people to downtown Napa and areas surrounding Fuller Park. Hundreds of musicians performed outside 73 homes that year, the largest grouping in its history, Micah Malan, the festivals music director, said at the time. The cost of admission is zero, similar to dozens of similar ones that happen across the country each taking its inspiration from the one that started in Ithaca, New York in 2007. Putting it on, though, is not free. Napa County Landmarks Executive Director Christine Madrid French said the group decided to move away from the event to better focus on its core mission of historic preservation advocacy, policy and education. She said she was tasked with focusing and reinvigorating the groups mission when she took over in August of last year and moving away from Porchfest was necessary to do just that. It was a significant investment by our nonprofit, and we felt those resources could be better put to the other projects that we have, she said. For example, French said, in order for historically important buildings to survive, they have to be usable and contribute to the community. The region has many structures that fit such a description, she said, like the Gordon Building or the Napa Valley Opera House, but maybe some other buildings arent getting their best use, and we can help. She said Amy Linn the marketing and digital lead of the festival and Malan are working to create a separate nonprofit to take over Porchfest. Reached by phone, Linn confirmed this, but said that they are in the very early stages of getting the new organization together. Typically, wed already be signing up bands, and have the permits in place, and we dont have any of that, she said. Well put a pause on it this year, and hope to get it up in 2025. Linn said anyone interested in becoming a donor or a sponsor once the nonprofit has been officially established can send a note to info@napaporchfest.org. And, for those who dont want to wait for 2025, San Rafael is having its Porchfest in September. PHOTOS: Scenes from Napa Porchfest 2023 Rockin' out on the streets of Napa Porchfest 2023 18 Porchfest 2023 19 Porchfest 2023 20 Porchfest 2023 21 Porchfest 2023 22 Porchfest 2023 23 Porchfest 2023 24 Porchfest 2023 25 Porchfest 2023 26 Porchfest 2023 27 Porchfest 2023 28 Porchfest 2023 29 Porchfest 2023 30 Porchfest 2023 31 Porchfest 2023 32 Porchfest 2023 33 Porchfest 2023 34 Porchfest 2023 35 Porchfest 2023 36 Porchfest 2023 37 Porchfest 2023 38 Porchfest 2023 39 Porchfest 2023 40 Porchfest 2023 41 Porchfest 2023 42 Porchfest 2023 43 Porchfest 2023 44 Porchfest 2023 45 Porchfest 2023 46 Porchfest 2023 47 Porchfest 2023 48 Porchfest 2023 49 Porchfest 2023 50 Porchfest 2023 Porchfest 2023 Porchfest 2023 Porchfest 2023 Porchfest 2023 Porchfest 2023 Porchfest 2023 Porchfest 2023 Porchfest 2023 Porchfest 2023 Porchfest 2023 Porchfest 2023 Porchfest 2023 Porchfest 2023 Porchfest 2023 Porchfest 2023 Police have arrested a Sonoma County man in connection with a string of retail thefts, including in St. Helena. At 7 a.m. Wednesday police from multiple agencies served a search warrant near Santa Rosa at the home of Mamia Omanadze, 41. According to St. Helena Police Chief Chris Hartley, police found a firearm registered to a person not in the residence, along with an estimated $20,000 to $30,000 worth of suspected stolen merchandise, some of which still had tags attached. St. Helena Police Officer Colton Adams found a gold bracelet believed to have been stolen from ER Sawyer Jewelers in St. Helena, along with several other items believed to be from St. Helena businesses, Hartley said. Police believe Omanadze is the man local merchants call the "Visor Guy," who typically wears a visor when stealing merchandise. Omanadze was wanted in connection with felony theft and burglaries in St. Helena, Calistoga, Sebastopol and Sonoma County, Hartley said. Police from all four jurisdictions participated in serving the warrant. Omanadze was identified with the help of the St. Helena Police Department's Flock Automatic License Plate Readers in the weeks leading up to Wednesday's arrest, Hartley said. Omanadze was arrested on suspicion of grand theft and burglary and booked at the Sonoma County jail. PHOTOS: Training for an active shooter situation in St.Helena One of the more fraught things a newspaper or news outlet can do despite it being more-or-less expected are endorsements. Unlike public safety unions, labor coalitions, or trade and business groups all of which are, rightly or wrongly, presumed to have a particular bend newspapers are supposed to be unbiased. How, then, can we say one candidate is better than the other? Well, the hope (from this end) is that newspapers are seen as evenhanded, and the recommendations we provide are not intended to benefit one particular group of citizens or workers but all of us. Our recent set of endorsements which printed on Thursday are a good example of this. We tried, and I think we succeeded, in explaining our logic. If you disagree with us, it certainly doesnt hurt our feelings. Its more important that you understand why we did what we did. And to be clear, these endorsements came from the new makeup of the editorial board, whose members and function are more explained below. This is a time of great change in the county three of the five seats are up for election, and at least two of those winners will be first-time supervisors. In fact, if Belia Ramos, the one incumbent in the race, does not retain her seat, the two-most senior members of that board will have a grand total of four years of experience between them when the newly elected ones are seated in January 2025. It is also a moment of change for the Register itself. After service of a bit more than a year, we bid a fond farewell to almost all of the seven community members of the editorial board who worked with us on issues ranging from red-light cameras to the fate of Mayacamas Middle School to the reopening of Main Street in downtown Napa. I remain deeply impressed by their thoughtfulness and passion, and have invited all of them to continue writing in these pages under their own names. The new board is three members down from nine. It may grow by a person or two in the coming months, but I believe it functions better when the size is limited. Ive also asked each of these members to write regular columns to be printed on the opinion pages in addition to contributing to the unsigned, collective opinions. In case you're wondering why the membership has shrunk so dramatically, let me explain. My original intent was to have an editorial board that represented a wide range of experiences and occupations parents, nonprofit executives, wine industry folks, teachers, writers and creatives. My idea was that such a balanced group could best speak, as a whole, to the issues and controversies that we collectively face in Napa County. In a real sense, it worked exactly as intended. Our editorials on those hot-button topics honestly sparked conversations. But ones that were on softer topics, or ones about systemic problems rather than one specific ones landed with a thud, with only a few dozen people reading them. This was disheartening to the board, who had volunteered their time and experience, only to be essentially ignored. Part of this, also, was an availability issue. I couldnt ask my board to meet more than once a week, but news happens at any time. This meant our editorials were reacting to news sometimes a week after the fact blunting their impact. If we tried to be proactive in our words, they were ignored. I felt stuck. So I looked to my journalistic peers. Interestingly, very, very few papers have community members on their boards. Almost all that do limit that number to no more than three. Also, those board members often write under their own names, making their individual stands clear to the community at large an important bit of transparency. Such a structure would, by definition, involve more work for its members. Almost all of the former board members, due to work and family commitments, felt it would be too much for them to do well, and decided to step down. But we needed to revitalize our impact, and I felt the need to try this. You, as readers, will have to determine if it succeeded. Onto the introductions, which really involves (for now) one new person: Suzanne Besu Truchard, who ran for supervisor in 2022. She is a real estate broker, attorney and Carneros resident. Suzanne is the daughter of Cuban immigrants and moved to Napa County about 15 years ago. In addition to the Editorial Board, she sits on the board of Napa Little League and the Ole Health Foundation. She has a wide understanding of the issues facing the county and the Hispanic community, and, as the mother of school-age children, firsthand knowledge of the challenges and opportunities facing students and parents locally. In addition to myself, the other holdover from the previous iteration of the board is Kevin Courtney. Kevin has written his Napa Journal column for more than 30 years, and served as the Registers city editor (the person who oversees the news coverage) for 10. Im incredibly lucky to be able to have his voice on the board. Napa Journal will continue as it always has, but Kevin will also be contributing more news-focused work on these pages in the coming weeks and months. Im looking forward to what Kevin and Suzanne write individually as well as what we come up with collectively. And, finally, a huge thank you again to the former members of the board: Sarah Dowling, Lilea Duran, Annette D'ambrosio, Stephen Corley, Evy Warshawaski, Donna Altes, and Cindy Webber. You have all made my job so incredibly rich and rewarding. If you have any questions about all this, please reach out to devans@napanews.com. Id be happy to speak to you by phone or in person. Ambassador Mher Margaryan, Permanent Representative of Armenia to the UN, on Wednesday addressed at the UN Security Council Open Debate, entitled The impact of climate change and food insecurity on the maintenance of international peace and security, informed the Permanent Mission of Armenia to the UN. Margaryan stated as follows, in particular: The challenges stemming from environmental issues are complex and diverse, increasing the risks and vulnerabilities for global food systems and posing threats to the maintenance of international peace and security, with the use of food resources being increasingly exploited as a tool of coercion in situations of armed conflict. The use of starvation as a method of warfare represents a blatant violation of the international humanitarian law, as does the denial of humanitarian assistance to populations affected by conflict and crisis. In his briefing, the Secretary-General emphasized the need for all parties to conflicts to abide by the tenets of the international humanitarian law, yet we have seen constant violations of these and other humanitarian principles in different corners of the world, including in our region. Notably, we have come to observe the utilization and misappropriation of climate change and environmental agenda in our immediate neighborhood. For many months, Azerbaijan manipulated disingenuous environmental agenda to justify the imposition of a total blockade on a population of 120,000 people in Nagorno-Karabakh, in gross violation of the international humanitarian law. Notwithstanding the order of the International Court of Justice issued in February and reaffirmed in July 2023, which obliged Azerbaijan to take all measures at its disposal to ensure unimpeded movement of persons, vehicles and cargo along the Lachin Corridor in both directions, Azerbaijan has failed to implement the Courts legally binding Order, opting, instead, for manipulative misinterpretations in order to perpetuate the conditions of a man-made humanitarian crisis. The blockade, which was imposed on the ethnic Armenian population since December 2022, culminated in September last year with the use of deadly military action against civilian population, in realization of the criminal goal of conducting ethnic cleansing in Nagorno-Karabakh. We have been consistently alerting the UN and this very Council that, emboldened by the results of the use of force in the past, Azerbaijan has been seeking to normalize violence and aggression in order to engage in the acquisition of territories by force, to impose unilateral solutions and to resolve international disputes through military means. Azerbaijans repeated transgressions, including the armed attacks against Armenias territory in May 2021 and September 2022, have led to significant ecological damage. Those acts of aggression have brought about forest fires and land degradation and included an attack against a water reservoir with potentially devastating humanitarian and environmental consequences. Azerbaijan continues to justify its unlawful conduct with unfounded land mine accusations - a claim that has been twice rejected by the International Court of Justice. Armenia has made all the possible efforts to revisit and update the information it has in its possession regarding the presence and distribution of landmines in the territories, which, for many years, have been characterized by the dynamic of shifting control lines. Despite being under no legal obligation to do so, Armenia has recently presented a comprehensive package of the reviewed landmines data as a gesture of good will, and we have invited the relevant international partners to participate in the verification of the accuracy of all the available information. () In December 2023, as part of an agreement and as a confidence building measure, Armenia withdrew its bid to host COP29 and lifted objections for the nomination of Azerbaijan. We note that hosting this major international event on climate comes with a set of responsibilities and requires a spirit of constructive cooperation. Regrettably, we have come to observe further transgressions and violence, contrary to the spirit of the agreed arrangement. Only yesterday, on the night of 13 February, Azerbaijan conducted an armed attack against the territory of Armenia, which resulted in human losses. Such brazen transgressions demonstrate, time and again, that Azerbaijan has no intention of complying with the international law, as also evidenced by its consistent denial to comply with the eight provisional measures issued by the International Court of Justice in the period of 2021-2023. It is incumbent upon the UN Security Council, which is entrusted with the maintenance of international peace and security, to take effective measures and to ensure that justice can be served and that breaches of international law can be essentially prevented in the future. Manifestly, failure to do so only serves the interests of those who seek to undermine the viability of international law and to challenge the integrity and credibility of the international legal system. The United Nations has the ultimate responsibility to uphold compliance, ensure justice and accountability and to fight impunity, to the pursuit of which Armenia is fully committed. Videos of Armenia PM Pashinyan's meetings in Tavush Province to be publicized later, spokesperson says (PHOTOS) Young man throws stone at Armenia government building window Armenia premier meets with Kirants village residents of Tavush Province (PHOTOS) RFE/RL: Putin loses in Armenias Yerevan, wins in Gyumri in Russia presidential election High-tech minister on removing Russia TV channels from multiplex: Armenia's dignity is at core of decisions Kazakhstan FM considers it necessary to increase trade with Armenia Armenia, Kazakhstan FMs discuss new logistical opportunities Armenia 2041 Foundation launches Galvanizing Diaspora program Kazakhstan FM notes Armenias Crossroads of Peace projects importance for Middle Corridor Armenia, Kazakhstan FMs sign 2024/25 action plan Armenia PM is in Tavush Province, meeting with residents of Voskepar, Baghanis, neighboring villages Archaeologists find inscription of King Antiochus I of Armenian Yervanduni Dynasty, in Turkey Kazakhstan FM is in Armenia (PHOTOS) Rolls-Royce Ghost to be retired and replaced by new Alpina sedan Ardshinbank cardholders can now enjoy a 10% cashback! Withdrawal from lawsuits against Azerbaijan in international courts will cause irreparable damage to Armenia, Armenians EU Council to discuss assistance to Armenia, Armenian-Azerbaijani normalization 7,825 Karabakh residents who left Armenia since September 2023 have not returned, new data say Armenia to submit application for EU membership? Archaeologists discover where legendary British warship that disappeared in 17th century sank Large number of Russians came from Georgia to Armenia to vote in presidential election, envoy says Stoltenberg: NATO hopes to have stable peace between Azerbaijan, Armenia Belgorod attacked by two rockets during the day: there are dead and injured Media: Elon Musk's company is building a network of hundreds of spy satellites for US intelligence Shooting in Pennsylvania: at least three dead, gunman took hostages MEPs appeal to EU leadership to protect cultural heritage of Artsakh Armenians New talks between Israel and Hamas are scheduled in Qatar on Sunday India's national elections will be held from 19 April to 1 June Aliyev: Azerbaijan and Georgia have always supported each other's sovereignty Iran calls for formation of international coalition against Israel Biden told Aliyev of US commitment to peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan Stoltenberg will meet in Yerevan with the President and Prime-minister of Armenia Turkish Foreign Ministry issues anti-Russian statement on Crimea issue Zakharova: There is a historical answer to Armenia's doubts about sincerity of Russia's intentions Zakharova: Moscow discusses with Armenia dragging Yerevan into anti-Russian course Zakharova: Armenia's withdrawal from CSTO should be based on real needs of the country, not on "flirting" with West Amazon and Microsoft suspend their cloud products in Russia Dollar, euro lose value in Armenia Armenia deputy FM: There has been considerable regress regarding visa facilitation with EU Deputy FM: As landlocked country, Armenia recognizes vital importance of inclusive connectivity, open borders FM: Armenia made every effort to prevent de-Armenianization in Karabakh FM to reporters: You will be the first to know when Armenia intends to apply for EU membership Ararat Mirzoyan: All Armenia authorities have negotiated on territorial concessions to Azerbaijan FM: Deepening of Armenia's relations with the West, EU not directed against Russia Mirzoyan: Unprecedented number of senior French officials visited Armenia in 2023 Ararat Mirzoyan: Armenia, Azerbaijan are close to mutual understanding on recognition of 1991 borders Armenia made very active efforts to have minimal mutually acceptable wording with CSTO partners, FM assures FM: Georgia ready to contribute to process of establishing peace in South Caucasus Armenia FM: Events have occurred that have made it impossible to do certain things Armenia FM: Ultimate goal not materialized yet in relations with Turkey FM: There are international players interested in Armenia ceasing to exist Mirzoyan: No agreement between Armenia, Azerbaijan to withdraw international lawsuits against each other Armenia FM reiterates PM's arguments on handover of 4 villages in Tavush Province to Azerbaijan FM: Armenia still doesnt understand how CSTO partners present their area of responsibility in South Caucasus Mirzoyan: EU monitoring mission in Armenia has become factor of stability on Azerbaijan border Dennis Francis: UN hopes for signing of Armenia-Azerbaijan peace treaty FM: 23 Armenians still kept in custody in Azerbaijan Armenia FM: Still not many tangible results on fundamental issues, we are still negotiating with Azerbaijan European Commission official underscores provision of assistance to people affected by Karabakh conflict Peter Stano: Armenia can apply for EU membership MFA: Genocide prevention agenda is among Armenias priorities Russia holding presidential elections US intelligence warns of potentially devastating new pandemic Newspaper: Birth rate in Armenia 19% lower than last year Stoltenberg: NATO sought to maintain stronger relations with Armenia and Azerbaijan Georgian Prime Minister to visit Armenia Premier receives IMF Armenia mission chief Anne-Laurence Petel-led delegation to arrive in Armenia FM: Armenia looks into prospects of further deepening partnership with EU New technologies at the core of rural infrastructure development Russia is world leader in nuclear technology, Putin says Vardges Sureniants Salome painting returns to National Gallery of Armenia exhibition Dollar drops, euro rises in Armenia Sunak: There is historic opportunity to put an end to Azerbaijan-Armenia conflict Armenia authorities, who paid $6M for Snoop Dogg concert, still dont know when this postponed event will be held Deputy economy minister: Matter of opening India-Iran-Armenia trade corridor being discussed Armenia official: Trade with India amounted to $380M in 2023 ICC NCA head: India considers Armenia an important bridge to enter larger markets Anne-Laurence Petel welcomes resolution on EU-Armenia relations India ambassador: We are happy that our relations with Armenia are developing in defense sector also Indians are now 2nd largest community in Armenia after Russians, envoy says India-Armenia business forum kicks off in Yerevan Armenia parliament speaker on European Parliament resolution: We thank European partners for this important step PM: European Parliament resolution is another opportunity to discuss vision of Armenia's future Azerbaijans next target in Karabakh is Artsakh State University Russia deputy FM in Turkey, discusses process of normalizing Armenia-Azerbaijan relations 14-karat gold LEGO piece sells for over $18,000 Newspaper: Armenia to leave CSTO on Putin's reelection day? Young lords 1,200-year-old tomb with treasure discovered in Panama European Parliament resolution demands Azerbaijan troops withdrawal from Armenia territory European Parliament adopts resolution proposing to consider possibility of Armenia's candidacy for EU membership Russia MFA spox: We are concerned by Armenia leaderships sometimes offensive rhetoric on CSTO topics Armenia government plans to have Kapan city airport serve international flights as well Zakharova on Russian border guards removal from Yerevan airport: Hardly meets Armenia security interests Armenia defense minister, Austria envoy, military attache discuss enhancing cooperation (PHOTOS) Armenia official: Those 4 villages in Tavush Province are not in our administrative territorial division European Parliament passes resolution proposing to consider possibility of EU membership candidacy to Armenia The Kremlin comments on PM Pashinyan's statements about possibility of Armenia leaving CSTO US envoy to Armenia underscores empowering women to participate meaningfully at all levels of conflict prevention RFE/RL: Armenia ready to find solutions, including in most problematic areas of Tavush Province, government says Donald Trump's lawyers are now making their last appeal to delay the first criminal trial of the former U.S. president. Before them, the ex-POTUS himself also made his final pitch on Thursday, Feb. 15. The former American leader tried encouraging the U.S. Supreme Court to pause a trial over the election subversion charges, which were filed against by special counsel Jack Smith. Donald Trump claimed that there are "overwhelming reasons" why the criminal trial should not move forward in three months or less. Now, his lawyers also believe that the case should not go to trial. Donald Trump's Lawyers Make Final Appeal To Delay 1st Criminal Trial According to USA Today's latest report, Donald Trump's lawyers lashed out at special counsel Jack Smith for pushing for a speed trial and rejecting the former president's request to delay it. "As before, there is no mystery about the Special Counsel's motivation," said Trump's lawyers. "Commentators across the political spectrum point to the obvious," they added. Donald Trump's lawyers argued that Jack Smith only wants to push the criminal trial and secure a conviction against the former POTUS because he is the leading candidate against U.S. President Joe Biden. They further stated that what Jack Smith is doing goes against the U.S. Department of Justice's long-standing prohibitions against prosecutors who are timing their actions to influence U.S. elections. Donald Trump has been accusing the four sets of criminal trials against him of simply intervening with his reelection presidential campaign. However, critics said that the former president doesn't have evidence to prove that state and federal officials are targeting his White House bid. Read Also: Former President Trump Appears in Court on Hush Money Case Donald Trump's 1st Criminal Trial Already Scheduled Politico reported that Donald Trump's first criminal trial was already scheduled for Mar. 25, as ruled by Justice Juan Merchan on Thursday, Feb. 15. The judge denied the former president's efforts to delay the case, which alleges him of making hush money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels. This means that Donald Trump needs to attend the trial for around six weeks. Among the charges it faces are 34 felony counts of falsifying business records connected to the hush money payments. The ex-POTUS is accused of arranging these payments through an intermediary during the closing weeks of the 2016 presidential campaign. "The charged crimes strike at the heart of our democracy," said Jack Smith. "The public interest in a prompt trial is at its zenith where, as here, a former president is charged with conspiring to subvert the electoral process so that he could remain in office," he added. Read Also: Donald Trump Urges Supreme Court To Block Appeal Rejecting Former President's Immunity Claims War happens between the parties, which at least to some extent... I don't want to use the equivalent word, which will enable long military operations. The third President of Armenia, Serzh Sargsyan, told this to reporters outside a Yerevan court Friday. "I find it difficult to say about the size of our army's resources because I don't have exact information, but the fact that there is not that will, they are simply forcing our army to be even more impoverished; that is obvious. When, at the demand of your enemy, you promise within hours that you will conduct an investigation and find the culprits for some shooting, tomorrow, the next day when the Azerbaijanis press, our soldiers won't even want to resist because they can conduct an investigation, punish, etc. for that reason as well, he said. Regarding the remark that the previous Armenian authorities are accused of not having properly equipped the frontline in the 20 years of their tenure, Sargsyan said: "It's not just that. They say we didn't have weapons, ammunition, anything for 20 years, but it turns out that the Azerbaijanis were waiting for us to leave [power], then attack, then show that our positions are not properly equipped. Of course, the positions were properly equipped. We had everything not to have such tragic consequences in this war. Don't listen to people who don't know anything about the army. As for the claims that the incumbent Armenian authorities are equipping combat positions and carrying out an unprecedented engineering work, he responded: "You say [it], too." Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis testifies in the secret affair case that accuses her of having a relationship with a special prosecutor handling Donald Trump's criminal case. Willis took the stand on Thursday after a former friend disputed the timeline of the district attorney's relationship with Nathan Wade. The friend had described "hugging, kissing, just affection" happening as early as November 2021 between Willis and Wade. Fani Willis Takes the Stand The latter is the lead prosecutor in the Georgia election interference case against former United States President Trump. The remarks appeared to contradict claims that the two made in an earlier affidavit. The friend, identified as Robin Yeartie, first met Willis in college and worked in the district attorney's office until 2022. She testified as the two defendants faced misconduct allegations that could lead to Willis being disqualified from the case against the former president. In the district attorney's testimony, she sought to distance herself from Yeartie by saying that they had known each other for decades, but noting that "she betrayed our friendship." Willis also acknowledged this month that she had a personal relationship with Wade, but argued that it was not improper, as per NBC News. Nearly an hour into Willis' testimony, she grew frustrated when she was faced with the claim that her office had objected to turning over records. This suggests that the probe of her and Wade was a sideshow from the case at hand. In her statement, Willis said, "You're confused. You think I'm on trial. These people are on trial for trying to steal an election in 2020." The district attorney added that she is not on trial, no matter how hard others try to put her on trial. The district attorney drew a caution from the judge who was overseeing the case, who warned that if she continued to interrupt questions, he would "have no choice but to strike" her testimony. On the other hand, Wade, in his sworn statement, said he had "no personal relationship" with Willis before the Trump case. Read Also: Ohio Debates Death Penalty Revival with Proposed Nitrous Oxide Methods Secret Affair With the Special Prosecutor There was also talk of cash exchanging hands from Willis to Wade, where they store their money at home, CashApp usage, and their spending habits. These were all to get to the question of whether or not Willis benefited financially from putting Wade on her staff, according to CNN. The district attorney repeatedly claimed that the defense attorney's peddled lies. The hearing will continue on Friday with Willis still on the stand and the judge said that he does not plan to issue a ruling on that same day. If the defense can establish that Willis and Wade started a romance before the latter was hired, it would help the argument that they should be disqualified from the Trump case. Wade was supposedly paid more than $650,000 since being hired by Willis. Defense lawyers argued that he charged thousands of dollars to his credit cards for vacations with the district attorney. However, the latter said that she reimbursed him in the case for the trips that they took, said the New York Times. Related Article: Former President Trump Appears in Court on Hush Money Case WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Iraqs instability has dominated global headlines for years, but new Gallup data show that Iraqis see their country standing on firmer ground. Iraqis faith in their political and national institutions soared last year, including a record-high 56% who expressed confidence in the national government, which was formed in late 2022 after a year without one. This figure easily tops any previous measure since 2008, but it also stands out in the Middle East and North Africa region, where trust in national government is rare. Only Iranians (60%) and Jordanians (77%) are more confident than Iraqis are in their national government. ###Embeddable### Yet recent regional spillover from the war between Hamas and Israel may test Iraqis newfound confidence. The U.S. has responded to Iran-aligned groups attacks against U.S. targets with strikes against Iran-backed fighters in western Iraq. The head of the United Nations political mission in Iraq recently said that escalating regional violence risks undermining Iraqs progress toward stability, leaving the country on a knife edge. Majority of Iraqis Approve of Countrys Leadership and Prime Minister Last year was the first time since 2014 -- when the Islamic State launched an offensive in Iraq and seized large parts of territory, including Mosul -- that a majority (51%) of Iraqis have approved of their countrys leadership. ###Embeddable### Iraqis now take a more positive view of their leadership than is found in several other neighboring countries in the Middle East. In 2019 -- at the outset of the Tishreen protests -- the inverse was true: Just 13% of Iraqis approved of their countrys leadership, easily lower than in many neighboring countries in the region. ###Embeddable### However, these positive views are not shared across Iraq. Most of the improvement in Iraqis ratings of their leadership has come not from Iraqi Kurdistan, where 29% approve of the countrys leadership, but from elsewhere in Iraq, where 55% approve. Relatively new Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani also earned a strong approval rating (69%) among Iraqis in 2023, the highest Gallup has recorded for any Iraqi leader since it started tracking this measure in 2012. Al-Sudani assumed office in October 2022 after years of anti-government unrest, protests and violence. Iraqis younger than 30 -- the driving force behind mass protest movements starting in 2019 -- are equally as positive about al-Sudani (68%) as older Iraqis are. Notably, a majority of those living in Iraqi Kurdistan (55%) also approve of al-Sudanis job performance (compared with 71% in the rest of Iraq). Despite signs of political stability, long-standing challenges remain in the fabric of the Iraqi state. Eighty-six percent of Iraqis believe corruption is widespread in government -- one of the highest rates in the world. A further three-quarters (76%) believe that elections are not honest in Iraq, demonstrating the long road ahead to greater political legitimacy. Faith in Key Institutions Also Rises Iraqis faith in key state institutions continued to climb in 2023, reaching new highs or matching previous ones. Iraqis confidence in their local police rose to 82% last year, the highest total on record. Support for the military also reached 82%, equaling a previous record high from 2009. Confidence in the judicial system followed the same trend, albeit at a lower level: 57% of Iraqis had confidence in their judiciary, the highest total in over a decade. ###Embeddable### Positive Economic Signals Iraqis rising confidence in the apparatus of the state is matched by their views on the economy. In 2023, half of Iraqis felt that their local economy was getting better, compared with 32% who felt it was getting worse (18-point net optimistic). Overall, this is as optimistic as Iraqis have been about the trajectory of their local economy since Gallup started tracking this measure in 2013. ###Embeddable### Positive signs are also coming from the job market: 39% think it is a good time to find a job. Even though 59% think it is a bad time, this is still the most positive Iraqis have been about their job prospects in a decade. There are, however, significant regional differences in economic perceptions. Those living in Iraqi Kurdistan (24%) are less than half as likely as those in the rest of Iraq (55%) to believe the economy is getting better. Iraqi Kurdistan is also significantly less positive about the local job market (23% good time) than the rest of Iraq (42% good time). With two in five Iraqis struggling to afford food (39%) and shelter (40%), and the International Monetary Fund projecting a slowdown in Iraqs GDP growth in 2024 due to oil production cuts -- on which the economy is heavily reliant -- there is still considerable room for improvement in Iraqis economic perceptions. Bottom Line As the 21st anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq approaches, after years of conflict and civil war, Iraqis own perceptions paint a more positive picture than Gallup has captured since it started polling Iraq in 2006. Many of the aspirations laid out by those who advanced the Iraq War policy -- encouraging Iraqi democracy, sparking economic opportunity and empowering local governance -- seem now to be enjoyed by more and more Iraqis. However, not all Iraqis -- particularly those in Iraqi Kurdistan -- see their reality in the same way. These differences, alongside escalating tensions in the region and long-standing domestic challenges, act as reminders of how fragile the path to greater stability can be. To stay up to date with the latest Gallup News insights and updates, follow us on X. For complete methodology and specific survey dates, please review Gallup's Country Data Set details. Learn more about how the Gallup World Poll works. ###Embeddable### Friends of Catholic Education, a Frederick County-based nonprofit organization, presented its Teaching Award of Excellence at the organizations 24th Annual Teacher Appreciation Dinner. All four recipients of the award are graduates of Mount St. Marys University. Alexandra M. Albright, MAT19, a first-grade teacher at St. Thomas More Academy; Sarah M. Harrington, MAT18, a third-grade teacher at Mother Seton School; and Sarah E. Kubic, MAT23, a second-grade teacher at St. John Regional Catholic School, all earned a Master of Arts in Teaching degree from the Mount. Ann Coughlin, mathematics teacher and department chair at Saint Johns Catholic Prep, was granted a post-baccalaureate certificate in instructional leadership in 2022. Stacey Brown Hobbs, Ph.D., C85, chair and director of teacher education, gave the keynote address at the awards dinner, held February 4. Hobbs focused her remarks on the welcoming community found in Catholic schools. The Mounts Catholic school partners welcome the universitys teacher candidates and mentor them as they prepare for the profession. These schools also welcome Mount education graduates as teachers and leaders in their buildings, Hobbs said. Philippines awards San Miguel US$3 bln airport revamp A former US air force base, the airport served more than 45 million passengers last year. Photo: Shutterstock The Philippine government said on Friday it had awarded a multi-billion dollar contract to top Filipino conglomerate San Miguel Corp to upgrade Manila international airport ranked among some of the world's worst airports. Estimated to cost 170.6 billion pesos (US$2.87 billion), the 15-year project will also see San Miguel operate the airport. "The project is expected to improve passenger experience at the airport, achieve more efficient operations, and expand airport capacity," the transport department said in a statement. In 2022 and 2023 the oldest of the country's three international passenger terminals was named the world's worst airport by online travel website "The Guide to Sleeping in Airports" based on comfort, convenience, cleanliness and customer service. A former US air force base until 1948, the airport which was named after opposition leader Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino who was assassinated at the tarmac in 1983, served more than 45 million passengers last year. San Miguel is also building a 735 billion-peso New Manila International Airport on the north coast of Manila Bay, which will have a capacity to handle 100 million passengers per year. San Miguel began life more than 130 years ago as a brewery but has since branched out into such areas as petroleum, infrastructure, liquor and food. (AFP) The Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Raipur has welcomed five students from Russia as part of an academic exchange program, in an endeavour to enrich the global exposure of its students and foster cross-cultural understanding. Underscoring the significance of international collaborations in the field of business education, Professor Satyasiba Das, Dean-External Relations at IIM Raipur, highlighted the institution's commitment to providing its students with global opportunities. Professor Das said, "We have an agreement with 13 international partners and according to the agreement, their students study here for one term and likewise, our students can study in their universities. This student exchange programme results in global exposure to students and also provides an opportunity to understand culture, value system and operation of business," The dean provided additional details, mentioning that our network of 13 global collaborators spans across Europe, Mexico, Chile, South Korea, Australia, and New Zealand. Notably, Russia holds a prominent position as a significant academic partner, with their students currently enrolled in our academic programs this year. Additionally, students from IIM Raipur are pursuing studies in various countries, including France, Austria, and the United Kingdom. Emphasizing the multifaceted benefits of the exchange program, Prof. Das elucidated that exposure to global business practices, cross-cultural management, and international trade dynamics are integral aspects of modern MBA curricula. Speaking on the importance of international business education, Prof. Das underscored its role in global diplomacy and economic relations. "International business is a part of our curriculum (not just ours), it is a very big part of the MBA curriculum globally. The reason is cross-cultural management is a very important aspect of global business because people who are studying here also work in different countries", said Prof. Das. He added, "Similarly, various factors like supply chain management, management of trade, FDI and investment, all those things happen at an international level, so global business is very much important to people moving from one place to another place". Expressing their enthusiasm for the exchange program, the Russian students shared their positive experiences at IIM Raipur. Valery Morokishko from the Russian Federation described the program as an enriching and enlightening experience, despite the occasional language barrier. Morokishko said, "The student exchange programme is very interesting and a new experience, sometimes challenging for us because of the language barrier. India has a very interesting and bright culture and we are really enjoying visiting this institute. faculty members, translators, and gestures helped us to deal with the language barrier". She added, "Everybody here is very kind and helpful to us. The students and faculty members explain us a lot through examples. Every day we learn new things about India and Indian culture". (ANI) The World Bank (International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, IBRD, Aaa/AAA) marked another milestone in sustainable finance with the successful pricing of a USD 1.25 billion Sustainable Development Bond linked to the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR) Index maturing on February 23, 2027. According to the World Bank, this landmark transaction garnered significant interest from a diverse array of investors keen on supporting sustainable development initiatives while securing a high-quality credit investment. The issuance, managed by BMO Capital Markets, Scotiabank, and Wells Fargo Securities, saw an overwhelming response, with the book totaling USD 1.4 billion and over 30 orders. The 3-year SOFR-index linked note offers investors an attractive coupon of Compounded Daily SOFR +28 basis points, reflecting the prevailing market sentiment and investor appetite for innovative financial instruments. Jorge Familiar, Vice President and Treasurer at the World Bank, said, ""We are thrilled to return to the SOFR market in 2024 with a transaction that appealed to both returning and new SOFR investors. Our continued offering of SOFR-index linked bonds is just one example of our commitment to bring high quality, liquid products to the market that also offer investors an opportunity to support the World Bank's mission to end extreme poverty and boost prosperity on a livable planet." He highlighted the importance of the SOFR-index linked bonds in facilitating the World Bank's mission to alleviate poverty and promote prosperity on a sustainable planet. Investors' response to the issuance was robust and widespread, with banks, corporate treasuries, and corporates accounting for 49 per cent of the investor breakdown by type. Central banks and official institutions constituted 35 per cent, while asset managers, insurance companies, and pension funds represented 16 per cent of the investor base. Geographically, the Americas led the investor breakdown by region, contributing 50 per cent, followed by Europe, the Middle East, and Africa with 32 per cent, and Asia with 18 per cent. Commenting on the success of the transaction, lead managers of BMO Capital Markets, Scotia Bank and Wells Fargo Securities commended the World Bank's consistent leadership in the floating rate note (FRN) market. They praised the institution's strategic approach, highlighting the increasing demand for FRNs, the tenor of the issuance, and the use of the sustainable label as key factors contributing to the transaction's success. Sean Hayes, Head of US Syndicate, BMO Capital Markets, said, "The World Bank has once again accelerated the development of the SOFR floating rate product, attracting first-time buyers through this Sustainable Development Bond. As the only SSA borrower to issue a floating rate note (FRN) every year since SOFR inception, the regularity of World Bank in FRNs has both long-standing and new investors looking to their transactions as the true benchmark." Bob Nguyen, Global Head of Fixed Income Origination, Scotiabank, said, "Scotiabank was delighted to serve as a joint bookrunner on the World Bank's outstanding 3-year USD 1.25 billion floating rate note to support their sustainable development activities in member countries. The deal's success can be attributed to a number of factors, including the increasing demand for FRNs, strategic tenor, and use of the sustainable label. Congratulations to the World Bank team on today's terrific outcome." Carlos Perezgrovas, Head of SSA Origination, Wells Fargo Securities, said, "Another successful result from the World Bank in pricing the first USD 1 billion or greater SSA floating rate note in the primary market since World Bank's own 4-year SOFR index-linked benchmark in January 2023. The World Bank took advantage of pent-up demand, little competing supply, and a stable backdrop to price the tightest 3-year benchmark, fixed or floating, USD transaction of the year. World Bank affirms its position as a premier borrower in FRN product. Wells Fargo is delighted to be part of this trade." With the issuance of the USD 1.25 billion SOFR Index-Linked Floating Rate Bond, the World Bank reaffirms its position as a premier borrower in the FRN market, further advancing its sustainable development agenda while meeting investor demand for innovative financial products. (ANI) ATK Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], February 16: Anirban Majumder, a seasoned professional with 24 years of work experience in different multinationals has collaborated with Clever Fox Publishing to unveil a groundbreaking literary masterpiece. Titled "Beyond the Numbers: Elevating Sales Negotiation from Transactional to Transformational," this book promises to redefine the landscape of negotiation strategies. With a 24-year career, Anirban stands as the epitome of commitment in business development. A virtuoso at leading high-performing sales teams and excelling in intricate deal negotiations, his triumphs originate from a deeply ingrained customer-centric approach. Anirban's motivation and results-oriented ethos distinguish him, consistently exceeding targets and expanding frontiers. His diverse global experience in multinational corporations enriches his business strategy perspective. Recognised for nurturing and advancing sales teams, his leadership excels in relationship-building and delivering innovative value. His negotiation prowess, characterised by empathy and strategic insight, positions him as a formidable force in deal-making. Anirban's journey epitomises excellence, establishing him as a mentor and inspiration in sales, marketing, and negotiation. "Beyond the Numbers" excels in the realms of a typical deal-making manual; it is a transformative guide designed to turn negotiation into a life skill. Anirban Majumder's dedication and passion shine through, promising readers increased deal-closing insight and the development of qualities like confidence, empathy, and influential communication. The book's chapters are meticulously crafted, offering actionable insights and practical advice applicable to real-world sales negotiations. From the art of active listening to the science of objection handling, "Beyond the Numbers" leaves no stone unturned in the reader's quest to elevate their negotiation prowess. Anirban Majumder's extensive experience and commitment to customer-centric approaches make this book a valuable resource for management students, working professionals, and MSME owners, empowering them with the art of rapport, trust, and value creation. Anirban unravels the art of transformative sales negotiation in "Beyond the Numbers" through 12 insightful chapters. From understanding negotiation intricacies to post-negotiation satisfaction, the book covers topics like listening skills, deal closure, and handling challenges. Emphasising continuous improvement, it guides readers through complex scenarios, offering key takeaways, encouragement for ongoing enhancement, and insights on becoming a masterful sales negotiator. Structured with precision, the guide begins by highlighting the paramount importance of effective sales negotiations and progressively explores nuances, meticulous preparation, and trust-building for lasting relationships. Master the essentials of active listening, diverse negotiation strategies, objection handling, and price negotiation in this guide. Navigate complex sales scenarios, address challenges, and prioritise post-negotiation customer satisfaction with a continuous improvement approach, emphasising feedback, learning, skill development, and staying current with industry trends. 'Beyond the Numbers' concludes with a recap of key takeaways, encouragement for ongoing improvement, and parting thoughts on evolving into a masterful sales negotiator. Dive into each chapter for actionable insights and a transformative approach to sales negotiation mastery. "Beyond the Numbers" is not just a guide; it's a transformative journey for enhanced deal-closing skills and personal development. Crafted with precision, the chapters provide actionable insights, making them an invaluable resource for professionals, management students, and MSME owners. Anirban's dedication and global experience make it a must-read. Each chapter offers a transformative approach to sales negotiation mastery, establishing him as a mentor in sales, marketing, and negotiation. With "Beyond the Numbers," readers embark on a transformative journey, elevating their negotiation power for lasting success in the dynamic world of business. Praveen Raj, Director of Clever Fox Publishing, expressed honour in collaborating with Anirban Majumder on 'Beyond the Numbers.' This transformative guide not only redefines sales negotiation but also promises enhanced deal-closing skills and personal development. Anirban's dedication and global experience make it a must-read for professionals, management students, and MSME owners. 'Beyond the Numbers' reflects our commitment to delivering valuable resources that empower individuals in their professional endeavours. Anirban Majumder mentioned working on another book, with the title to be revealed soon. (ADVERTORIAL DISCLAIMER: The above press release has been provided by ATK. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of the same) BusinessWire India New Delhi [India], February 16: Leading home appliance and electronics brand, Haier Smart Home has been recognized as one of the world's most admired companies by Fortune Magazine for the 6th consecutive year. This new recognition comes in addition to Haier securing the World Fortune 500 ranking and Euromonitor's ranking as the #1 Global Major Appliance brand in the world. Fortune released the 26th edition of the World's Most Admired Companies, acknowledging global businesses celebrated for their robust corporate reputations. Teaming up with Korn Ferry, Fortune annually evaluates and ranks companies from a pool of 645 global enterprises with the highest revenue in 27 countries and diverse industries. Executives, directors, and analysts actively engage in industry surveys, contributing to the selection process. These companies stand out for their excellence in innovation, people management, use of corporate assets, social responsibility, quality management, financial stability, long-term investment value, and global competitiveness. Speaking on the accomplishment, NS Satish, President, Haier Appliances India, said, "Being recognized by Fortune Magazine as one of the World's Most Admired Companies instils a sense of pride and honour in each of us at Haier. This recognition is a testament of our commitment to creating innovative products inspired by what our customers need, and further helps us push the boundaries of innovation to make everyday life more convenient, safe and comfortable for millions across the world." Haier remains steadfast in its dedication to customer-inspired innovation, placing a strong emphasis on improving the customer experience and striving to create new growth opportunities in the IoT era. Haier is committed to working with its world-class ecosystem partners to continuously build upscale brand, scenario brand and ecosystem brand, and to set up IoT ecosystems in clothing, food, accommodation, travel, health, elderly care, biomedicine and education, and to tailor personalized smart life for users around the globe. (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) NewsVoir New Delhi [India], February 16: OK Play India Limited and global filtration solutions company MANN+HUMMEL, in association with the Indo-German Chamber of Commerce hosted a symposium to create awareness on air-pollution causes, effects and solutions in the national capital yesterday. The gathering brought together several senior dignitaries, government functionaries, NGOs, industry and academia to deliberate on solutions that can aid in tackling the incessant issue of air pollution. The symposium titled "Air-Pollution - its Causes, Effects, Prevention and Cure" was presided by senior delegates including Justice Swatanter Kumar, Former Judge Supreme Court of India by and Former Chairperson Former Chairperson National Green Tribunal, Tarun Kapoor, Advisor to the PM Narendra Modi, and Dr Hendrik Selle, Minister, Head of the Department of Economic & Global Affairs, German Embassy. The function was supported by the Indo-German Chamber of Commerce (IGCC). The esteemed Justice Swatanter Kumar, former Judge of the Supreme Court of India and Former Chairperson of the National Green Tribunal underscored the gravity of pollution as a global predicament. With an air of legal sagacity, he magnified the significance, contending that, in the vast tapestry of nations, India stands alone in grappling with the enormity of this environmental challenge. During the inaugural event, Tarun Kapoor, Advisor to PM Narendra Modi, emphasized the significance of the topic, and conveyed that India is progressively embracing electric vehicles (EVs) due to concerns related to energy security and the environment. He stated, "The government is now prioritizing the advancement of this sector, aiming not only to increase the presence of electric cars, buses, and two-wheelers on our roads but also to establish India as a global manufacturing hub for these vehicles." In the realm of medical expertise, Dr Gopi Chand Khilnani, Chairman of PSRI Institute of Pulmonary, delved into the profound impacts of pollution, emphasizing the quintessence of our existence: the quality of the air we respire. Dr Khilnani, with an air of clinical profundity, accentuated the trajectory of pollution levels, portraying it as an escalating phenomenon gradually encroaching upon the very fabric of our well-being. Extending support to India's National Clean Air Programme (NCAP), Dr Hendrik Selle, Minister. Head of the Department for Economic & Global Affairs, German Embassy, said, "We also have a Green & Sustainable Development Partnership with the commitment of 10 billion euros for ten years which also includes reducing air pollution in three Indian cities, which began in 2019." He stressed that, "Political actions cannot achieve these targets alone and called on private sectors to step in and deliver innovative solutions." The World Health Organization paints a grim picture, with around seven million people succumbing to polluted air yearly. Over 2 million Indians lost their lives to causes attributed to air pollution. Sudeesh Karimbingal - Managing Director MANN+HUMMEL India & Vice President Rest of Asia said, "I am thrilled to announce our partnership with OK Play India Limited., which will play an instrumental role in our efforts to expedite the introduction and adaptation of technology for the specific market needs, aligning with our Prime Minister's vision of "Design and Make in India." Airborne particulate matter is not a single pollutant but a mixture of many chemical species. Those with a diameter of 10 microns or less (PM10) are inhalable into the lungs and can trigger adverse health issues. When every breath is risky due to polluted air filled with tiny PM 2.5 particles, it's alarming. Air pollution is a primary global environmental concern, demanding immediate and strategic action. "We acknowledge and appreciate the prompt initiatives undertaken by the Indian government to address this crucial issue. We believe in the immense potential of India's growth story, and the Indo-German strategic partnership plays a pivotal role in achieving a sustainable and self-reliant future," added Harald Spath, President & GM Original Equipment, MANN+HUMMEL. Rajan Handa, Managing Director, OK Play India Limited, said, "We stand at a critical juncture in history, facing a challenge that knows no borders and spares no one - the menace of air pollution. This is not merely about a symposium or unveiling a new technology; it is about igniting a flame of change that spreads far and wide, touching the lives of every Indian. Today, Air pollution is not a distant problem confined to textbooks or news headlines; it is a stark reality that confronts us every day, permeating our homes, our streets, and our lungs. Air pollution knows no boundaries; it affects us all, indiscriminately. Therefore, a concerted effort, encompassing both governmental and private sector initiatives, is essential." OK Play India and MANN+HUMMEL introduced three pathbreaking products at the Symposium targeted at tackling the menace of air pollution. These include: * OurAir Mobile Air Purifiers: for healthier indoor air; reduce viruses, harmful gasses and allergens; catch >99.995% viruses with the integrated HEPA H14 filters - SARS-COV2 viruses including mutations + influenza and other viruses; can reduce unpleasant odour and harmful gases by using latest molecular filtration technology; have a positive effect on your bottom-line by reducing sick rate and increasing efficiency. * PureAir: solution for better air quality; nano fiber- enhanced filter elements with excellent filtration efficiency and best in class flow; resistance of capturing different types of fine dust; highly efficient clean air delivery rates (CADR) achieved by cutting age element design and state-of-the-art configuration (patent pending); the innovative PureAir fine dust filter box revolutionizes vehicle emissions, enhancing air quality outdoors and preventing measures like driving bans; can be adapted as a stationary system and installed in public spaces such as Metro, Bus Station and Convention Halls. * Filter Cube: powerful outdoor air purifiers for pollutant hotspots; helps improve air quality in places with high levels of air pollution such as traffic junctions or busy roads; also useful in particularly sensitive areas such as school yards, play grounds or outdoor food courts in order to efficiently reduce air pollutants. Available sensors record air and weather data as well as pollutant levels and transmit data to Cloud. Filter system controls itself depending on operating and ambient conditions and saves energy cost as the fan only runs when needed. Calling for active support from the government, Handa said, "We seek the government's support, not just in terms of regulations or incentives, but as a catalyst for transformative change." Attending the session on 'Prevention & Cure of Air Pollution', Pankaj Agarwal, Scientist & Divisional Head, Air Quality Management, Central Pollution Control Board, highlighted the measures taken by CPCB to mitigate dust such as MRS, anti-smog guns and fountains. He noted, "As a result of taking various initiatives, out of 131 non-attainment cities under the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP), 90 cities have improved their PM10 concentration, out of which 50 have met the target also." (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) New Delhi [India], February 16: Impetus Technologies (India) Pvt. Ltd., a leading global software products and services company, celebrated its people and their long-standing association with the organization in February 2024. The occasion reverently recognized and applauded 250 exceptional employees spanning across India and the United States. It was a powerful tribute to the unwavering dedication and impactful contributions of these outstanding individuals who have been steadfast members of the Impetus Group for durations ranging from 5 to 30 years. Spanning across Indore, Noida, and Bengaluru, these gatherings celebrated awardees and their families, recognizing their collective contributions and dedicated service to the organization. The ceremonies served to reinforce Impetus as the employer of choice in the dynamic Tech industry. Sanjeev Agrawal, CHRO, says, "These accolades honor the remarkable accomplishments of our team, highlighting a profound sense of unity with both the organization and the brand. We take pride in individuals who have entrusted us, shaping our identity and guiding us towards the future. Our team stands as our most valuable asset, motivating us to cultivate a workplace fostering innovation, promoting collaboration, and crafting outstanding employee experiences." (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) PRNewswire Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], February 16: In a significant stride towards ensuring equitable access to education, a 40-seater bus was handed over on February 9, 2024, to facilitate transportation of tribal children from remote areas to the Government Higher Secondary School in Gudalur. There are 450+ students enrolled out of which many come from distant, remote and tribal communities like Paniya, Kurumba and Kattunayakan. This initiative stems from a collaboration involving Samatvam Trust, United Ways of Chennai, and Microland Foundation, in association with the District Education Department. The school is at the border of Mudumalai Forest Reserve. Expressing pride while handing over the school bus, Smt. M Aruna I.A.S, District Collector and District Magistrate of Nilgiris, said, "This occasion marks a monumental step in bridging the gap in access to quality education for tribal children by providing safe, hassle-free transportation facilities. Doorstep pickup ensures no child is left behind in their pursuit of education." Kalpana Kar, Trustee, Microland Foundation, underscoring their commitment to collaborating in such initiatives stated, "We are honored to support one of the major objectives of the National Education Policy which helps supplement accessibility and help reduce dropout rates. Students from the school were coming from far-off places and had dropped out because of lack of access to transportation. The initiative aims to reach out to all those students coming from distant places thus acting as a bridge between access and aspirations. Committed social worker Ms. Radhika Shastry, instrumental in identifying the bus, graced the event and motivated the children to actively learn. "This bus represents a gateway to unlock your potential and achieve your dreams. Make the most of this opportunity and strive for educational excellence," she encouraged. Highlighting this collaborative effort, Meenakshi Ramesh, Chief Executive Director, United Ways of Chennai, said, "We are very proud to have played a small part in enabling this bus to be donated to Sreemadurai Government Higher Secondary School. This bus will help these children who live in hard-to-reach areas and mountainous areas to get to school conveniently and attend a full day and go back home safely. We thank Microland Foundation and Samatvam Trust for their support towards this initiative. We also thank the district administration, the Chief Education Officer of the Nilgiris district for their support." Geetha R, Chief Education Officer, Department of Education, Nilgiris has been instrumental in providing the necessary support. She quoted that "Access to education is not a privilege but a fundamental right for all students. The government is committed to assisting schools in every possible way to ensure uninterrupted education for every child. This bus will not only enable access to school but will contribute towards a significant milestone of improving attendance in government schools." The Education Dept. has been generous enough to agree to support with the resources required for vehicle maintenance, operational costs, and driver remuneration, exemplifying a successful public-private partnership. Equipped with modern amenities such as GPS, rear and front camera sensors, CCTV camera, and 7-inch display monitor connected with the sensors, the school bus will traverse remote villages, eradicating distance as a barrier to education. This collaborative endeavor underscores the transformative power of partnerships in fostering inclusive educational opportunities, particularly for marginalized communities. About Microland Foundation Microland Foundation is the CSR arm of Microland Limited, an IT services company. The foundation was established in 2016 with a commitment to a paradigm shift in the arenas of Employability, Health, Education, and Environment. In each of these thrust areas, the foundation has identified the intended impacts which are reflective of the needs of the communities they work with. Their projects leverage technology to deepen the impact and are not in silos but intersect with one another. All projects are guided by the principles of Incubation, Ownership, Replicability, and Scalability as an approach to enabling social change. About Samatvam Trust "Samatvam" means Equality. This vision of equality animating the makers of modern India, brought together yet another group of like-minded people in early 2020, to form Samatvam Trust. The Samatvam Trust is committed to: equalising access to knowledge across different strata of Indian society. This national goal, spelt out in Article 21A of the Indian Constitution, can be attained only by the provision of quality education, fostering scientific temper. In 1976, India became the first country to include in its Constitution "scientific temper with humanism" as a fundamental duty of all citizens. "It shall be the duty of every citizen of India to develop the scientific temper, humanism and the spirit of inquiry and reform." About United Ways of Chennai United Way of Chennai (UWC) is a registered society under the Societies Registration Act of Tamil Nadu 1975, in Chennai. UWC is a secular, non-partisan, non-political, non-profit, non-government organization dedicated to improving lives in Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, and Kerala. It identifies and addresses the long-term needs of vulnerable communities by bridging the gap between resourceful corporate entities and the societal issues through impactful interventions and volunteerism. UWC is a part of the United Way Worldwide (UWW). Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2340205/Microland_Foundation_School_bus.jpgPhoto - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2341752/Collector_CEO_MLF_Team.jpgPhoto - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2339431/Samatvam_Trust.jpgPhoto - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2339430/United_Way_of_Chennai_UWC.jpgLogo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2339432/Microland_Foundation_Logo.jpg (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) British-American filmmaker Christopher Nolan is open to making a horror film if the idea is good enough, as reported by Variety. On Thursday, Nolan spoke at an in-conversation session at London's British Film Institute (BFI) before a rapt, sold-out audience. Responding to an audience member's query about whether he would consider making a horror film, Nolan said, "Oppenheimer has elements of horror in it definitely, as I think is appropriate to the subject matter. I think horror films are very interesting because they depend on very cinematic devices, it is about a visceral response to things and so, at some point, I'd love to make a horror film. But I think a really good horror film requires an exceptional idea. And those are few and far between. So I haven't found a story that lends itself to that," Nolan said. "But I think it's a very interesting genre from a cinematic point of view. It's also one of the few genres where the studios make a lot of these films, and they are films that have a lot of bleakness, and a lot of abstraction. They have a lot of the qualities that Hollywood is generally very resistant to putting in films, but that's a genre where it's allowable," Nolan said. The filmmaker used 'Oppenheimer' as an example, stating that the centre of the film is very heavily heist-themed, and the third act is a courtroom drama. "The reason I settled on those two genres for those sections is they are mainstream genres in which dialogue, people talking, is inherently intense and interesting to an audience. That's the fun thing with the genre, you can play with a lot of different areas, wherein a different type of film you really wouldn't be allowed to," Nolan said. The talk, hosted by BBC broadcaster Francine Stock, spanned Nolan's whole career, with the filmmaker explaining many facets of his craft, including his writing and editing techniques, Variety reported. He also mentioned the importance of cinematography, particularly the Imax format, and composition in his work, praising Hoyte Van Hoytema and Hans Zimmer. The influence of his actors was also examined, particularly Heath Ledger's performance as the Joker in 'The Dark Knight.' Stock claimed that Nolan's Batman films foreshadowed the development of disruptive leaders in politics around the world. Nolan responded, "The intent was always to just be honest about presenting the things we were affected by, things we were worried about. Certainly, when I look back at 'Batman Begins,' there's a heavy emphasis on terrorism, obviously, post 911. It wasn't something we were consciously putting into the film. Certainly, the Joker from 'The Dark Knight' is all about fear and anarchy and the fear of rules breaking down and what that will do to society. 'The Dark Knight Rises' is very much fearful of fascism, demagoguery." (ANI) Actor-turned-politician Hema Malini on Friday paid a visit to the historic Ram Mandir in Ayodhya. After offering prayers at the temple, Hema Malini told ANI, "We had a good 'darshan'. All the arrangements are good here...Because of the temple, so many people are getting employment." The Pran Pratishtha ceremony of Lord Ram in the newly built Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Mandir in Ayodhya was held on January 22, led by rituals that were performed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. While addressing the dignitaries invited to the Pran Pratishtha ceremony, PM Modi said the unveiling of the Ram Lalla idol is not only a moment of triumph after a prolonged struggle but also one of humility. "This is not just a moment of celebration for us all but also one to reflect the coming of age of the Indian society. This occasion is as much about triumph as it is about humility. The world is replete with instances of countries that faced a lot of difficulties resolving historic wrongs and injustices. However, the way we untied the knots and resolved all outstanding issues gives us hope that our future is going to be more beautiful and fulfilling than our past," PM Modi said. The PM said that the construction of the temple, which some feared would set off a firestorm, now stands as a symbol of peace, patience, harmony and integration."There was also a time when some people used to say 'Ram Mandir bana toh aag lag jaegi' (the making of the Ram Temple would set off a firestorm). Such people lacked an understanding of the purity of our society, the spirit that binds us all. This majestic abode of Shri Ram Lalla will now stand as a symbol of peace, patience, mutual harmony and social unity. The construction of this temple did not set off a fire but exuded a positive energy that has been infectious for us all," he added. (ANI) Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde held a meeting with London Lord Mayor Michael Mainelli to discuss the possibility of collaboration between the state government and London administration over some development issues. The meeting was chaired by CM Shinde at Varsha Bungalow, the official residence of the state chief minister. Speaking after the meeting, London's Lord Mayor told ANI that they are hoping to develop many ways to cooperate with the Maharashtra government on several issues. "I am the 695th Lord Mayor of London and I am delighted to visit Delhi, Mumbai, and Pune. I was delighted that the CM hosted us to discuss how London can work with Maharashtra in the 'Connecting to the Prosper' theme. We have had a wide range of discussions from AI to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. We are hoping to develop many ways to cooperate with the government," he said. CM Eknath Shinde said that the Lord Mayor has also discussed naming an Artificial Intelligence centre in London on Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. "We discussed with the lord mayor how to strengthen the relations between Maharashtra and London because PM Modi's relations with the world are very positive. Topics like environment, Artificial Intelligence, Development, Industries, and Infrastructure were discussed in the meeting. Overall it was a positive meeting. He had also talked about renaming an AI centre in London after Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. He has described Mumbai Trans Harbor Link as a game changer project," CM Shinde said. Meanwhile, the Maharashtra government has decided to convene a special session of the state legislature on February 20 to discuss the demands for the Maratha reservation. "The cabinet meeting has given its nod to convene a one-day special session of the legislature on Tuesday, February 20, to discuss the various demands of the Maratha community. The cabinet meeting was presided over by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde," a note issued by the Chief Minister's office stated. The decision was taken at the weekly Cabinet meeting presided over by Shinde. (ANI) In a landmark step towards the health guarantee of everyone, Tripura Chief Minister Dr Manik Saha launched the Chief Minister Jan Arogya Yojana (CM-JAY) on Thursday, a health insurance scheme that will provide coverage of Rs 5 lakh to 4.15 lakh families in the state. The launch took place at Netaji Subhas Vidyaniketan, Agartala, where the Chief Minister expressed that this initiative is a gift from the double-engine government for the people of Tripura. "People who have not been covered under Ayushman Bharat or any other government insurance scheme will benefit from the Chief Minister Jan Arogya Yojana. Healthcare is now accessible and affordable to all. CM-JAY is a landmark step towards ensuring the health guarantee for everyone, enabling beneficiaries to receive medical benefits of up to Rs. 5 lakh," stated CM Saha. He acknowledged the difficulties people face during medical emergencies and emphasized the need to address this issue. Dr Saha who is also the Health Minister of Tripura has highlighted the success of the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana initiated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, covering around 5.12 lakh families out of 9.75 lakh families in the state. "People from different areas come to meet me for health-related issues. And from our end also we do help. However, we were facing challenges in reaching 100 percent saturation level, and that prompted us to take further action. In line with PM-JAY, we initiated the Chief Minister Jan Arogya Yojana to cover around 4.15 lakh people," explained CM Saha. He said that the primary goal is to provide comprehensive medical facilities and free insurance coverage to the people. The beneficiaries can seek treatment from both government and private hospitals within and outside the state. Additionally, free medicines will be provided for up to 15 days after discharge from the hospital. "In line with the PM's directives, we have also implemented similar provisions here. State government employees surrendering existing medical allowances and medical reimbursement will be included in the CM-JAY-2023 scheme. Today marks a historic day as we strive to enhance the health system in Tripura. Our government is committed to providing better and quality health care to all," Dr Saha added. During the event, the Chief Minister handed over CM-JAY 2023 Ayushman cards to 30 beneficiaries. In the program, Finance Minister Pranajit Singha Roy, Industry and Commerce Minister Santana Chakma, Tourism Minister Sushanta Chowdhury, Eminent Social Activist Rajib Bhattacharya, Chief Secretary JK Sinha, Additional CEO National Health Authority, Govt of India, Dr Basant Garg, Secretary Health and Family welfare Kiran Gitte and others were present. (ANI) Senegal's Constitutional Council overturned the decree signed by President Macky Sall that postponed the election for February 25 and rescheduled it for December 15, ruling that the moves were unconstitutional. According to the ruling, the National Assembly's move on February 5 to reschedule the vote for December 15 was "contrary to the constitution." Senegal Court Overturns Delay of Presidential Vote Opposition presidential candidates and lawmakers had filed several legal challenges to last week's parliamentary bill that extended Sall's term last week in what critics claimed amounted to an "institutional coup." Sall, who has been in power since 2012, caused a stir on February 3 when he announced that the elections would not go forward due to disagreements over the disqualification of possible candidates and concern about a repeat of the unrest between 2021 and 2023. He did not immediately make any public comments in response to the ruling. Parliament supported Sall's decision to postpone the election until December 15, but only after security forces stormed the building and removed some opposition MPs who opposed the bill. The election delay in one of the most stable democracies in West Africa led to violent protests that killed three people and arrested dozens. Senegal's major international allies also denounced the decision and urged the government to hold the vote as soon as possible, fearing violent unrest. On Friday, opposition and civil society organizations announced new calls for protests. Read Also: Biden Signs Memo To Protect Palestinians in US From Deportation for Humanitarian Reasons Violence Spreads in Senegal Amid Election Delay According to Al Jazeera, hundreds of protesters against the postponement of the presidential election that was supposed to take place on February 25 clashed with the security forces. Al Jazeera's Nicholas Haque reported from Dakar on Friday, saying that the police used tear gas on protesters to stop them from meeting and gathering to protest over the delay of the presidential election. Haque said that there have been running battles between protesters and security forces, and most of the demonstrators are 18-year-olds. He added that they were barely 12 when Sall came to power and noted they wanted to have a say in this election. According to Reuters, some protesters in the capital on Friday were seen waving Senegalese flags while others shouted slogans like "Macky Sall is a dictator." Teachers at Dakar's Blaise Diagne High School responded to the call for protest, and hundreds of students left class in the middle of the morning. Assane Sene, a geography and history instructor, said this was only the beginning of the conflict. Sene told the AFP news agency that if the government is stubborn, they must try different approaches. Furthermore, some critics also accused Sall of wanting to hold onto power, while the West African bloc and foreign powers have criticized the move as a breach of Senegal's democratic tradition. Related Article: Senegalese Police Crack Down on Protests Over Election Delay An advocate moved the Supreme Court seeking transfer of investigation and subsequent trial outside West Bengal in connection with the alleged sexual assault on women in Sandeshkhali. The plea has been moved by Advocate Alakh Alok Srivastava who also sought a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) or a Special Investigation Team (SIT) under the apex court monitoring. He called the incident deeply disturbing and expressed a reasonable apprehension that the free and fair investigation and trial of the instant case can not be done in West Bengal and hence, the same deserves to be transferred outside the state of West Bengal in the interest of justice. "The inaction of the local police authorities is evident from the fact that the said main accused Sheikh Shahjahan is absconding and has not been arrested till now. Furthermore, there are serious allegations of the local police authorities acting hand in glove with the said main accused Sheikh Shahjahan at the behest of the ruling dispensation and thus, it is further in the interest of justice to transfer the investigation of this case to Central Bureau of Investigation ("CBI") or a Special Investigation Team ("SIT") under the monitoring of this (Supreme Court) court," the plea stated. Advocate Alakh Alok Srivastava, in his PIL, also sought to form a Committee of three retired Judges of High Courts, in line with the committee formed in the Manipur atrocity case. He urged the top court to issue directions to grant compensation to the victims of the sexual assault in Sandeshkhali under the relevant victim compensation scheme and deploy central paramilitary forces for the protection of the witnesses/victims concerned. He also sought direction to conduct the trial in the case upon completion of the investigation, in a Fast-Track court in Delhi, in an expeditious and time-bound manner and issue direction to the West Bengal government to initiate stringent disciplinary action as well as penal action against the 'erring policemen'. Women in Sandeshkhali have been up in arms against the ruling TMC over the last few days, claiming excesses and atrocities by fugitive strongman Sheikh Shahjahan and his aides. (ANI) Amit Kumar was arrested by the police on Thursday with several arms and ammunition. According to the police, one semi-automatic pistol of .32 bore with 5 live cartridges has been recovered from the possession of Amit Kumar. "Team of special cell/NDR led by Inspector Shiv Kumar arrested wanted gangster Amit Kumar, an active associate of Satyawan alias Sonu Dariyapur gang. One semi-automatic pistol of .32 bore with 5 live cartridges recovered," the Delhi Police said. The officials further said that a case under relevant provisions of the law has been registered against Amit Kumar at Special Cell PS. Sonu Dariyarpur, who was involved in a shootout in which three persons, including an assistant sub-inspector and a "gangster" were killed in April, 2017, was arrested in September of the same year. (ANI) In a significant stride towards bolstering mental health infrastructure in India, Dr VK Paul, Member (Health) of NITI Aayog, inaugurated a pivotal two-day National Workshop on Mental Health on Thursday, which aims to bring together senior officers from all states, along with mentoring institutes for TeleMANAS, to address the issue in the country. Dr Paul also announced the merger of the KIRAN Mental Health Rehabilitation Helpline with TeleMANAS. According to the Ministry of Health, KIRAN Mental Health Rehabilitation Helpline has served over 1,27,390 callers since its establishment in September 2020 with Tele-Manas, the National Tele Mental Health Helpline. Tele-Manas, launched by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on World Mental Health Day on 10 October 2022, has witnessed an exponential rise in service seekers and has since handled 6,75,000 calls, the government said. "The merger between the two aims to optimize resources, enhance service quality, and address the increasing demand for mental health support in India by fostering a seamless transition and extensive public awareness about the merger process," the Health Ministry said. For the next three months, calls from KIRAN will be diverted to TeleMANAS and eventually, the first helpline will be phased out. Speaking at the event, Dr Paul said that the country needs a 'Jan Andolan' with government, NGOs, and the general public alike coming forward to sensitise people on mental health issues. "I appeal to everyone to come together on the mental health issues in the form of a 'Jan Andolan' in the interest of making India a healthy nation. "Everyone needs to be on board for the cause be it Government, Community, NGO, Individuals etc. then this cause can be won," he said. Dr Paul further said that the workshop will help find ways to redress mental health-related issues through a network of well-developed primary healthcare centres, the Ayushman Aarogya Mandir across the nation. "The robust system of Ayushman Arogya Mandir can play a crucial role and will be helpful in reaching to all across the nation," he added. (ANI) Former Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Prasad Yadav will share the stage with Congress MP Rahul Gandhi during a public meeting in Kaimur district on Friday as part of his ongoing 'Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra'. Gandhi will address a public meeting at Dhaneychha in the Durgawati block of Kaimur. After the rally, the Congress leader will leave for Uttar Pradesh the same day. This will be the first time when the RJD leader will be seen sharing the stage with Gandhi in Bihar since state Chief Minister Nitish Kumar severed his ties with INDIA bloc. On Thursday, the 'Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra' reached Bihar's Aurangabad. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday came out in praise of the Supreme Court over its verdict striking down electoral bonds, promising to conduct a financial survey across the country if voted to power in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. Addressing a public rally at Gandhi Maidan in Aurangabad on Thursday, Rahul said, "The OBCs, Dalits and backward classes, who constitute 73 per cent of the country's population, hold little or sway over the corporate world, industries, media, business forums or high courts. This is why I put forth the idea of holding a nationwide caste census if we are elected, as it would ensure a wider representation of the neglected communities across spheres and forums. The exercise will be akin to a social X-ray. It will also give us a fair impression of where each community stands in terms of their population." The Nyay Yatra arrived in Bihar days after Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who was at the forefront of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance, a coalition of opposition parties formed to take on the BJP at the Centre, dumped the Mahagathbandhan (grand alliance) and joined hands again with the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance. Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will also join the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra led by Rahul Gandhi as it enters Uttar Pradesh on Friday evening. She will join her brother in Chandauli in Uttar Pradesh after the yatra enters the state from Bihar. The East-West Manipur-Mumbai Yatra traverses 6,700 km through 15 states and aims to highlight the message of "nyay" (justice) while meeting common people on the way. (ANI) Congress MLA and former Rajasthan Cabinet Minister Mahendrajeet Singh Malviya is likely to join the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), delivering a major blow to the party in the state ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, according to the sources. According to sources, Malviya is not 'happy' with the Congress. Notably, Malviya did not come to Jaipur during the filing of the nomination papers of Sonia Gandhi as a Congress candidate from Rajasthan for the Rajya Sabha elections on February 14. Malviya currently represents the Bagidora Assembly seat in the Banswara district. As a tribal leader from southern Rajasthan, where the BJP is considered to have a stronger footing than the Congress, his inclusion can assume significance before the forthcoming Lok Sabha polls in the state. The Bagidora Assembly seat is part of the Mewar region, which largely spans the old districts of Bhilwara, Banswara, Chittorgarh, Pratapgarh, Rajsamand and Udaipur, before the reorganisation of districts on August 4. Malviya first became an MLA in 2008, defeating the Janata Dal (United)'s Jeetmal Khant by 45,000 votes. In 2003, Khant had defeated Malviya by 6,000 votes. Despite strong anti-incumbency in 2013, when the Congress was reduced to just 21 seats, Malviya had retained his seat by defeating the BJP's Khemraj Garasiya. He defeated Garasiya again in 2018. In 2020, Malviya's name had cropped up in an FIR lodged in connection with the attempt to topple the Ashok Gehlot government that year by Tonk MLA Sachin Pilot and his group of loyalist MLAs. The case pertained to purported audio clips, which were leaked during that year's political crisis, in which few people were heard saying that Malviya was with Pilot but has changed sides. (ANI) The Maharastra State Backward Class Commission submitted its report on the social and financial conditions of the Maratha community to Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Friday. The report was submitted by the Commission's Chairman, retired justice Sunil Shukre, in the presence of Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. The report will be presented in a cabinet meeting during the special assembly session called for February 20. On receiving the survey report, CM Shinde said, "This survey report will be presented in the cabinet meeting, and based on that, the government will take a decision. A special assembly session on the same subject has already been announced for February 20." "Seeing the way this survey work has been completed, our government is confident that based on educational, social, and economic status, this reservation will be able to stand the test of the Constitution and the law. We will be able to implement OBC reservations or any other reservation without causing any harm to the Maratha community." "We are confident that we will be able to provide a permanent reservation to the Maratha (community)," CM Shinde said. CM Eknath Shinde urged quota activist Manoj Jarnage to call off his fast. "The government had already made itself completely clear in the context of the Maratha reservation. Based on the Shukre Committee report, we will take forward the Maratha reservation. The issue of reservation in the context of Kunbi registration has already been taken forward, and work on it is already going on." "There was no need to go on fast. But unfortunately, this is happening. We would like to request that he withdraw his fast; the government is positively doing its work to meet the demands," CM Shinde said. The development comes after Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange Patil started another hunger strike at Antarwali Saarati village in Jalna district, demanding a special session of the state legislature be convened to discuss the issues related to the Maratha reservation. For the fourth time in less than a year, Patil began his indefinite hunger strike on February 10, demanding the inclusion of Marathas into the Other Backward Classes (OBC) to get a reservation. He has also been demanding to convert the draft notification on 'blood relatives' of Kunbi Marathas into law. The Maratha community, under the leadership of Jarange Patil, has been seeking reservations in education and jobs under the OBC category. The guarantee of reservation under the Kumbi category, however, finds objection within the Maharashta government, with senior leader Chhagan Bhujbal opposed to it. Patil had begun his agitation in Vashi, Navi Mumbai, outlining several demands, including Kunbi certificates for all Marathas, free education from kindergarten to postgraduate level, and reservation of seats for Marathas in government job recruitments. (ANI) Former Bihar Deputy Chief Minister and Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Yadav launched a fresh attack on Chief Minister Nitish Kumar while addressing the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra and said that the CM does not want to listen to anyone. "You all very well know how our CM is, he does not want to listen to anyone. He used to say 'I will die, but won't join BJP'...We decided to stay with Nitish ji, no matter how much we have to sacrifice, only to defeat BJP in 2024...' Hum logo ne ek thake hue mukhyamantri ko Niyukt kiya hai'..." said RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav. "He does not want to listen to anyone, but still, ours was a grand alliance government, and we wanted to be united with a big goal, We have to stop the powers that be, those who work to sow poison in the country, so this time at any cost, no matter how much we have to bear, no matter how much we have to sacrifice, we joined Nitish ji, so that BJP will be defeated in 2024. We will do the work of ousting BJP from power and we had appointed a tired Chief Minister, " added Tejashwi Yadav. Former Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav joined Rahul Gandhi in his 'Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra' on Friday in Bihar's Sasaram. The Yatra reaches it's final stage in Bihar and is scheduled to enter Uttar Pradesh later today. Yadav was seen driving Rahul Gandhi and other leaders in the lead jeep as the yatra made its way through Sasaram with the RJD leader acknowledging his ally in his post on x. This was the first time the RJD leader was seen sharing the stage with Gandhi in Bihar since state Chief Minister Nitish Kumar severed his ties with the INDIA bloc. "Today is the 34th day of Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra and Rahul Gandhi will have conversations with farmer leaders in Rohtas today...Today around 2:30 pm, Tejashwi Yadav and Rahul Gandhi will address a gathering in Kaimur and at around 5 pm, the yatra will enter Uttar Pradesh..." Senior Party leader and Rajya Sabha MP Jairam Ramesh said. Later in the day, at 4 pm, the Yatra will move into UP's Chandauli. It will be in UP till the evening of February 25 with a two-day break on February 22 and 23. Earlier on Thursday, Yatra reached Bihar's Aurangabad, where Gandhi came out in praise of the Supreme Court over its verdict striking down electoral bonds, promising to conduct a financial survey across the country if voted to power in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. The Nyay Yatra arrived in Bihar days after Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who was at the forefront of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance, a coalition of opposition parties formed to take on the BJP at the Centre, dumped the Mahagathbandhan (grand alliance) and joined hands again with the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance. Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will also join the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra led by Rahul Gandhi as it enters Uttar Pradesh on Friday evening. She will join her brother in Chandauli in Uttar Pradesh after the yatra enters the state from Bihar.The East-West Manipur-Mumbai Yatra traverses 6,700 km through 15 states and aims to highlight the message of "nyay" (justice) while meeting common people on the way. (ANI) Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh on Friday took a dig at the central government regarding its resistance against the ongoing farmers' protest on the Delhi border. Jairam Ramesh is presently in Bihar part of the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra led by Congress MP Rahul Gandhi which is now in its final phase. He criticised the way the central government has deployed heavy security to resist the protest. "It is a matter of great regret that the way the Modi government is treating the farmers, see tear gas is being thrown through tear gas drones, nails have been put in, it seems like you are in a war with the farmers and farmer organizations. They have been stopped from coming to Delhi and I say again and again that the speciality of the Modi government is this, "Chand daataon ka Samman aur Annadaataon ka Apamaan" (Respect for donors and disrespect for food providers)," Jairam Ramesh said while speaking to ANI in Bihar's Sasaram. Travelling on trucks and trolleys loaded with food, bedding and other supplies, the farmers began their "Delhi Chalo" march on Tuesday morning after talks with the government failed to yield a commitment on minimum prices for a range of crops. Speaking on the Sandeshkhali incident in West Bengal, the Congress leader said it is condemnable adding that politicisation of the incident is not right. "Atrocities on women anywhere, any violence is condemnable, it is unfortunate. It should be investigated and whatever legal action should be taken should be taken by the state government, as law and order is the responsibility of the state government, they should take it seriously and the politicisation of this issue is not right," he said. He further said that as the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra has reached Bihar, Rahul Gandhi will hold talks with the farmers in Rohtas and later will address a gathering in Kaimur along with former Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar Tejashwi Yadav. "Today is the 34th day of Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra and Rahul Gandhi will have conversations with farmer leaders in Rohtas today...Today around 2:30 pm, Tejashwi Yadav and Rahul Gandhi will address a gathering in Kaimur and at around 5 pm, the yatra will enter Uttar Pradesh," Jairam Ramesh said. He further affirmed the ongoing dialogue between the opposition parties part of the coalition, INDIA adding that the "formula to adopt is going on". "The formula that we have to adopt is going on and see, this is democracy, and being the spokesperson of the party, I would still like to say that talks are still going on between our leaders and between the leaders of different parties," the Congress leader said. Meanwhile, Tejashwi Yadav joined Rahul Gandhi in his 'Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra' in Bihar's Sasaram. The Yatra reached its final stage in Bihar and is scheduled to enter Uttar Pradesh later today. Yadav was seen driving Rahul Gandhi and other leaders in the lead jeep as the yatra made its way through Sasaram with the RJD leader acknowledging his ally in his post on x. Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will also join the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra led by Rahul Gandhi as it enters Uttar Pradesh on Friday evening. She will join her brother in Chandauli in Uttar Pradesh after the yatra enters the state from Bihar. The East-West Manipur-Mumbai Yatra traverses 6,700 km through 15 states and aims to highlight the message of "nyay" (justice) while meeting common people on the way. (ANI) Ahead of his visit to Haryana, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said that his government is committed to the development and expansion of infrastructure in Haryana. PM Modi took to social media platform 'X' to post, "Our government is committed to the development and expansion of infrastructure in Haryana. In this series, along with laying the foundation stone of AIIMS and the Gurugram Metro Rail project in Rewari today at around 1.15 pm, I will be getting the privilege of inaugurating and laying foundation stone of several projects. This will further enrich the health, rail and tourism sectors of the state." The Prime Minister is scheduled to inaugurate and lay foundation stone of over Rs 9,750 crore worth of development projects in Rewari later today. The Prime Minister is scheduled to lay the foundation stone of the Gurugram Metro Rail project, which will be developed at a cost of about Rs 5,450 crore. The project, with a total length of 28.5 kilometers, will connect Millennium City Centre to Udyog Vihar Phase-5 and merge into the existing metro network of Rapid Metro Rail Gurugram at Moulsari Avenue station near Cyber City, read a statement from the Prime Minister's Office (PMO). The project is an important step towards realising the Prime Minister's vision to provide citizens with world-class environment-friendly mass rapid urban transport systems. In line with the Prime Minister's vision to strengthen public health infrastructure across the country, the foundation stone of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Rewari. To be built at a cost of about Rs 1650 crore, AIIMS Rewari will be developed on 203 acres of land at village Majra Mustil Bhalkhi in Rewari. It will have facilities including the Hospital Complex with 720 beds, Medical College with 100 seats, Nursing College with 60 seats, AYUSH Block with 30 beds, residential accommodation for faculty and staff, hostel accommodation for UG and PG students, Night Shelter, Guest House, Auditorium, etc. (ANI) In a recently surfaced video, Iranian Navy Rear Admiral Shahram Irani asserted Iran's ownership of Antarctica, particularly the South Pole, stating the country's "property rights" in the region. Irani declared these intentions during a television broadcast last fall, emphasizing plans to conduct both military and scientific activities in Antarctica. Iran's Antarctic Ambitions "With regard to the South Pole, we have property rights there, and they belong to the public," Irani said. The navy commander also highlighted the dual purpose of Iran's ambitions in Antarctica. "Our plan is to raise the flag there, inshallah. It is not only military work but also scientific work that needs to be carried out," stated Irani. He expressed confidence that such endeavors would benefit Iran's scientific community, aligning with the guidelines set by the country's leadership. "Our scientists are getting ready for a joint operation, encompassing the efforts of all our people, in keeping with the guidelines of our leader, inshallah," he added. The announcement comes amid escalating tensions globally, with the Middle East witnessing increased turmoil due to Iran's involvement in various conflicts. The declaration of ownership over Antarctica by Iran's Navy commander has raised concerns, especially considering recent actions by Iranian-backed militias resulting in fatalities, including the deaths of three US soldiers in Jordan. Questions have arisen regarding the potential use of unfrozen Iranian funds, amounting to $6 billion, for establishing a military base in Antarctica. Joe Biden's decision to release Iranian funds was met with strong disapproval, with critics arguing that it provided access to resources potentially linked to the Hamas attacks on Israel on October 7. However, the US State Department clarified that these funds are strictly earmarked for humanitarian purposes, such as purchasing food, medicine, and agricultural products, and cannot be utilized for activities in Antarctica. Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi criticized the constraints imposed by the Biden administration, stating that the assets would be utilized "wherever we need it." Military and intelligence analysts have emphasized the risks associated with Iran's expansionist agenda, urging heightened vigilance from the international community, particularly concerning nuclear threats. Read Also: Iranian Oil Minister Claims Sabotage Struck Country's Main Gas Pipeline Antarctic Treaty and Territorial Claims While Iran's naval ambitions extend beyond the Middle East, with previous reports suggesting plans for a military presence at the Panama Canal, the assertion of ownership over Antarctica raises significant legal and geopolitical questions. The intricacies of claiming interests in Antarctica, as highlighted by experts, underscore the importance of existing treaties and international agreements governing the region. In response to queries regarding Iran's potential claims in Antarctica, Jennifer Dyer, a retired commander of US Naval Intelligence, highlighted the limitations imposed by the Antarctic Treaty. Signed by numerous countries, including major global powers, the treaty prohibits territorial claims made after 1961, effectively challenging Iran's assertions. The treaty affirms that Antarctica is designated exclusively for peaceful and scientific activities. Seven nations, including the United Kingdom, Chile, Argentina, France, Australia, New Zealand, and Norway, have asserted territorial claims over Antarctica. Nonetheless, the majority of other countries do not acknowledge these claims. The international community, including signatories to the Antarctic Treaty, closely monitors Iran's actions and their potential implications for global stability. Related Article: U.S. Deems Iran-Backed Militia as Mediocre Prime Minister Narendra Modi reteirated the "400 pitch" during his address to a public event in Haryana's Rewari on Friday while seeking their blessings for his third term to make India the third largest economy in the world. He also highlighted the achievements of his government in the last ten years, including the historical moon landing event. "If the G20 summit was successful, it was because of your blessings. India's flag reached the moon where no one could; it happened with your blessings. In the last 10 years, India rose from 11th position to become the fifth largest economy in the world. In my third term, I need your blessings to make India the third-largest economy in the world in the coming years..," PM Modi said. "Ab Ki Baar 400 paar" for NDA," PM Modi said. The visit assumes significance ahead of the Lok Sabha elections due in April and May this year. Referring to the inaugural ceremony of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya in January, PM Modi said, "Just a short while ago, I got the opportunity to hand over development projects worth Rs 10,000 crores to Haryana, including Rewari AIIMS, a new rail line and metro line, and a museum...The blessing of Lord Ram is such that nowadays I get the opportunity to be associated with such holy work everywhere...," PM Modi added. Before his address, PM Modi inaugurated, dedicated to the nation, and laid the foundation stone for multiple development projects worth more than Rs 9750 crore in Haryana's Rewari. Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar felicitated PM Modi before his public address. CM Manohar Lal Khattar said, "...This is a special occasion when PM Modi is amongst us... When you (PM Modi) were the CM in Gujarat in 2013 and people were seeing you as the PM, you started your campaign from Rewari...Today, you are fulfilling the aspiration and dream of the people of Rewari by giving AIIMS to them..." "The Metro station project in Gurugram will not only help people from Gurugram or the country but also those foreign companies who are here to invest... In the last 10 years, the way you have guided us, especially after the Pran Pratistha (Ram Mandir), has increased trust in our leadership...," CM Khattar added. (ANI) A bench of justices, Bela M Trivedi and Pankaj Mithal, directed the release of Souvik Bhattacharya on bail. The court was hearing the bail plea of Souvik Bhattacharya. Both Manik Bhattacharya and his son Souvik are facing probes in matters connected to alleged irregularities in teacher recruitment in West Bengal. Meanwhile, a team of the Enforcement Directorate conducted raids on close associates of former West Bengal education minister and jailed ruling Trinamool Congress leader Partha Chatterjee in Kolkata, as per sources. Sources said that raids were conducted in connection with the teacher recruitment scam at multiple locations. In 2022, Partha Chatterjee was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with the School Service Commission (SSC) scam in West Bengal on July 23. The arrest of Chatterjee followed Rs 21 crore in cash and jewellery worth above Rs 1 crore being recovered from the Kolkata residence of Arpita Mukherjee, a close aide of the former education minister. (ANI) The Congress government in Telangana has brought a resolution in assembly on Friday to conduct a Caste census in the state. The caste census was among the guarantees promised by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to the people of Telangana. An official statement issued by the State Government said," This House resolves to take up a comprehensive door-to-door household survey (Socio, Economic, Educational, Employment, Political and Caste Survey (KULA GANANA) of entire Telangana State as per the decision of the Council of Ministers of 4" February 2024 so as to plan and implement various Socio, Economic, Educational, Employment and Political opportunities for the amelioration of Backward Classes, SC and ST citizens of the State and other weaker sections of the State." Backward Class Welfare Minister Ponnam Prabhakar initiated the resolution in the State Legislative Assembly on Friday to conduct a caste census in Telangana. This census will gather caste data for targeted welfare & equitable resource distribution. "According to the decision taken by the Telangana Cabinet on February 4, to formulate and implement various social, economic, educational, employment and political opportunities plans for the advancement of backward classes, schedule castes, schedule tribes and other weaker sections, the Government has decided to conduct a comprehensive household caste enumeration family survey for political employment" Minister Ponnam Prabhakar said in a post on X. "This is an unprecedented moment. Today is unforgettable in my life He came into politics from the weaker sections who came into politics from the student stage. Many times our party leader Rahul Gandhi has mentioned caste enumeration. Accordingly, we will move ahead with useful information regarding the welfare of all. This caste census is under the purview of the central government but we are conducting the caste enumeration in view of the conditions in the states. Through this survey it is expected that justice will be done to SC, ST, BC and other weaker sections in the state Thank you to our CM Revanth Reddy and Deputy CM Bhatti for giving me the opportunity" Ponnam Prabhakar added. While campaigning for the Telangana Assembly Polls which took place last year, Rahul Gandhi had said that the most pressing issue in India right now is the caste census. Congress Working Committee (CWC) had also adopted a resolution on October 9 promising a nationwide caste census as part of the decadal census, if it comes to power in the Centre. It said that the 50 per cent cap on reservations will also be removed through legislation. Congress had won an absolute majority in Telangana for the first time since the state was founded, winning 64 of 119 seats. (ANI) The Delhi High Court on Friday reprimanded the Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights (DCPCR) for filing a petition against LG based on a press release that was never issued by the LG's Office. Justice Subramonium Prasad said that the whole petition is based on a press which was not issued by the LG's Office. "You (DCPCR and one of the former members) have acted irresponsibly," Justice Prasad said. Justice Prasad also said that when you are alleging against a constitutional functionary you have to be more serious. "Where did you get this press release from which is not in public domain," Justice Prasad asked the counsel for DCPCR. The court noted that an affidavit was filed on January 23, 2024, filed by response which stated that no such press release was issued. The bench also noted that petitioner Ranjana Prasad is no longer working in the office of DCPCR. The bench asked whether she wished to maintain the petition. The High Court directed to File an affidavit by an officer in the office of the Commission after ten days. The matter has been listed on February 29, for further hearing. The LG Delhi had filed an affidavit before the Delhi High Court stating that No Order was passed by him to stop funding of Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights (DCPCR). The said affidavit has been filed under the order of Justice Subramonium Prasad of January 19, 2024. An Affidavit was filed by the LG Delhi in the Delhi High Court stating that no order was issued to stop funding of DCPCR. It is also stated that no press release of November 9, 2023, was issued or signed by the LG or his secretariat as asserted by the petitioner. The Delhi High Court on January 19, 2024, was informed that no order was passed by the LG Delhi to stop funding of the Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights (DCPCR). The High Court is hearing a petition which claimed that the funding of DCPCR was stopped by the LG. This matter was transferred to the Delhi High Court by the Supreme Court. The counsel for LG had stated that No order was passed by the LG Delhi to stop funding of Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights (DCPCR). He also stated that there is no such press release issued by the LG which is asserted by by the counsel for DCPCR. The counsel for the LG had further stated that as of date the petitioner's commission is in excess of funds of more than 5 crores. "It is something serious if it's true because the petition gives it a political colour," the Court had remarked. The High Court had directed the counsel to put the facts stated in the court in an affidavit. Earlier the petitioner commission had approached the Supreme Court on December 15, 2023, alleging that its money had been frozen by the LG. The Supreme Court had questioned the filing of the petition before it. It was ordered to be transferred to the Delhi High Court. (ANI) The Supreme Court on Friday directed the inclusion of a woman judicial officer in an existing committee looking into the safety and condition of women prisoners in each district in West Bengal. A bench of justices Hima Kohli and Ahsanuddin Amanullah passed the direction in a matter. The court also directed that the committee should also include superintendents of women jails wherever possible. The court said that a senior lady judicial officer in the district may be included as part of the committee to give a fair assessment of the available security measures, hygiene measures, health care infrastructure, and welfare of women prisoners in jails and barracks in each district. Amicus curiae and senior advocate Gaurav Agarwal have recently filed an affidavit in the matter related to women getting pregnant in jails in West Bengal. Recently, the Supreme Court has taken cognizance of the allegations that women were getting pregnant in jails in West Bengal. In the last four years in the jails in West Bengal, around 62 children were born and most of the women prisoners were already pregnant at the time they were brought to the jails, while in some cases, the women prisoners had gone out on parole and returned back expecting the child, the report filed by Amicus disclosed. He has also recommended various measures for prison reform. Responding to the court's query, amicus apprised the Supreme Court that he has received information from ADG & IG Correctional Services, West Bengal, on February 10, wherein it was stated that "for the last 4 years of all child births in the jails in West Bengal, which indicates that there were 62 children born in the jails in West Bengal during the last 4 years. It appears that most of the women prisoners were already expecting at the time they were brought to the jails. In some cases, the women prisoners had gone out on parole and returned back expecting." Amicus urged the top court to issue directions to the senior most lady judicial officer in the district who may be requested to assess the available security measures in the women jails and barracks. Amicus also suggested examining the availability of sufficient women personnel for the purposes of security and welfare of the women prisoners, as well as the availability of regular health check-ups of the women at the time of admission and at periodic intervals. He also recommended filling up posts or strengthening the health care infrastructure for women in jail. Amicus also apprised the top court about his discussions with jail authorities of Rajasthan, Haryana and Delhi, wherein he came to know the female jails have only women officials and only at the periphery and at the gates, some men personnel are deployed. However, no men are allowed to go inside these women jails unless required, like visiting a male doctor or male officials accompanied by a women guard. (ANI) Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday addressed the youth and hit out at the BJP-led central government saying that this government wants them to become contractual labourers. "They (Centre) don't want to use India's Defence Budget for the training and security of jawans...You will neither be recruited in the Army nor in Railways or in any Public Sector Unit. Why? The Government wants you to become contractual labourers," said Rahul Gandhi. "They have given the name 'Agniveer' but he is a contractual labourer. That is the truth. They can sack him, throw him out anytime they want, without asking him, without pension or any help..." addedGandhi. Former Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav joined Rahul Gandhi in his 'Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra' on Friday in Bihar's Sasaram. The Yatra reaches its final stage in Bihar and is scheduled to enter Uttar Pradesh later today. Yadav was seen driving Rahul Gandhi and other leaders in the lead jeep as the yatra made its way through Sasaram with the RJD leader acknowledging his ally in his post on x. This was the first time the RJD leader was seen sharing the stage with Gandhi in Bihar since state Chief Minister Nitish Kumar severed his ties with the INDIA bloc. Meanwhile, Former Bihar Deputy Chief Minister and Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Yadav launched a fresh attack on Chief Minister Nitish Kumar while addressing the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra and said that the CM does not want to listen to anyone. "You all very well know how our CM is, he does not want to listen to anyone. He used to say 'I will die, but won't join BJP'...We decided to stay with Nitish ji, no matter how much we have to sacrifice, only to defeat BJP in 2024...' Hum logo ne ek thake hue mukhyamantri ko Niyukt kiya hai'..." said RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav. "He does not want to listen to anyone, but still, ours was a grand alliance government, and we wanted to be united with a big goal, We have to stop the powers that be, those who work to sow poison in the country, so this time at any cost, no matter how much we have to bear, no matter how much we have to sacrifice, we joined Nitish ji, so that BJP will be defeated in 2024. We will do the work of ousting BJP from power and we have appointed a tired Chief Minister, " added Tejashwi Yadav. Earlier on Thursday, Yatra reached Bihar's Aurangabad, where Gandhi came out in praise of the Supreme Court over its verdict striking down electoral bonds, promising to conduct a financial survey across the country if voted to power in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. The Nyay Yatra arrived in Bihar days after Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who was at the forefront of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance, a coalition of opposition parties formed to take on the BJP at the Centre, dumped the Mahagathbandhan (grand alliance) and joined hands again with the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance. Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will also join the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra led by Rahul Gandhi as it enters Uttar Pradesh on Friday evening. She will join her brother in Chandauli in Uttar Pradesh after the yatra enters the state from Bihar.The East-West Manipur-Mumbai Yatra traverses 6,700 km through 15 states and aims to highlight the message of "nyay" (justice) while meeting common people on the way. (ANI) Ahead of the Ground Breaking Ceremony (GBC) for industrial projects valued at over Rs 10 lakh crores, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has constituted a special team on Friday. This team includes 12 retired officers from the Indian Administrative Service, four from the Indian Police Service, and seven from the Indian Forest Service (all retired), along with 19 senior educationists. This team will introduce young people to the various dimensions of the Global Investors Summit-2023 and GBC@IV through a series of interactions with them. On February 17-18, this team will engage in discussions with youth at different universities/colleges, addressing their queries related to jobs, employment, and career planning. Additionally, they will raise awareness about the Global Investors Summit-2023 and GBC@IV. In a special event held at the Chief Minister's residence on Friday, the Chief Minister engaged in a dialogue with the 42-member special team, comprising retired officers and senior educationists. On this occasion, CM Yogi Adityanath said, "You are all aware of the unprecedented success of the Global Investors Summit held from February 10-12 last year. We received investment proposals of nearly Rs 40 lakh crores, and now, within a year, these proposals are being implemented. This will immensely contribute to the overall development of the state and provide abundant employment and career opportunities for our youth. You all have witnessed and contributed to the success of this state, and you have been supportive collaborators in this journey." He said that Uttar Pradesh is a state of immense possibilities. "To achieve the overall development of the country and the state, we must materialize these opportunities on the ground. Each of you possesses extensive experience in public life, having shouldered significant responsibilities. It is expected that our youth will benefit from your experiences, and your support in this endeavour is highly appreciated," he said. He said that initiatives such as the Investors Summit and the Ground Breaking Ceremony are not solely for the benefit of entrepreneurs but primarily for the youth. "They stand to gain the most from these endeavours. As industries are established, job opportunities will be created, directly benefiting our youth. We are also focusing on enhancing the skills of our youth and creating job opportunities for them," he said. Inequality has been a significant issue in the development of Uttar Pradesh, he said. "In comparison to Central Uttar Pradesh and the NCR, Eastern Uttar Pradesh and Bundelkhand had seen much less development. There was neither infrastructure development nor efforts to improve the quality of life for the people in these regions. Industries were not established in Eastern Uttar Pradesh and Bundelkhand, leading to a crisis of migration for the youth. Substantial efforts have been undertaken to address this persistent issue of unequal development," he said. The Global Investors Summit-23 was crucial in the sense that it attracted investments for every district in the state. "Now industrial development is not limited only to the NCR or some selected cities, but every district is benefiting from it. The Ground Breaking Ceremony will benefit all 75 districts of the state. All districts will be connected to the main event on February 19," he said. He said that to ensure the success of a plan, it was crucial that the intended beneficiaries are aware of it. "Lack of awareness often leads to the failure of otherwise sound plans. Therefore, continuous communication between the government, industry, and educational institutions is essential. In pursuit of this goal, the state government is seeking the support of all experienced officials and educationists," he further said. He said that interaction with the youth in universities and other educational institutions before the organization of GBC@IV is crucial. "During these discussions, kindly provide information about the plans to attract large capital investment in the state through various policies issued by the Uttar Pradesh government. Familiarize them with the schemes run by the Indian Government and the State Government for the welfare of the youth. Address their queries so that more and more young individuals can benefit from the schemes. Guide them on how this summit will be useful for their bright future," he further said. He said that recently, a report was published indicating that 60,000 workers returned from Tamil Nadu to the state and all of them were employed in the textile sector. "Their decision to return underscores their optimism for a prosperous and secure future in Uttar Pradesh. It's crucial to recognize that these workers not only contribute to factory operations but also play a vital role in bolstering the state's economy. Similarly, we did skill mapping of the migrants who returned to the state during the COVID-19 period and facilitated employment opportunities here," he said. He further added that universities and colleges should also fulfil their social responsibilities. "There should be adequate arrangements so that the youth studying here can easily become familiar with the policies, schemes and programs of the government. Universities need to work with self-motivation for this purpose," he said. (ANI) Taking a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his poll promises, Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge said the former is the chief of all liars as he failed to even fulfil what he had promised during his 2014 poll campaign. "I want to ask him what happened to the promises he made during 2014--he never fulfilled those. Modiji jhuton ka sardar hai (PM Modi is the chief of liars)," Kharge said addressing party workers at an event hosted by Maharashtra Congress in Pune. The Congress national president said people keep praising PM Modi despite the latter not doing much work in the last 10 years. Kharge cautioned that if such a scenario continues, the Constitution will "vanish". "PM Modi keeps lying...you all know what he did in the last ten years. Still, people praise him...if this continues, then there will soon come a day when the Constitution will vanish. We are waging a fight to protect the Constitution and have to keep fighting," he said. Describing Prime Minister Modi as "individualistic," Kharge alleged that the former does not even take his party's name while announcing his "guarantees." "PM Modi keeps on saying that this is Modi ki Guarantee...he never uses his party name. He is very individualistic and full of himself," the Congress president said. Claiming further that the BJP had no role in the country's freedom struggle, Kharge added, "We are fighting for the country and its founding ideals all over again. The BJP had no role or contribution to our freedom struggle. We fought for the country." On the Supreme Court striking down the electoral bonds scheme of the BJP-led NDA at the Centre, Kharge said, "The Supreme Court has struck down the electoral bond scheme because there was no transparency in the process. The BJP got maximum funds from corporates under the scheme. The BJP draws benefits from the corporates and makes laws favouring them. Now we have a level playing field. We welcome this order by the Supreme Court." After the event, Kharge said the support for Congress will increase the more it comes under attack from Prime Minister Modi, adding that the latter is aware that his party is and will remain his biggest challenger. "The more the Congress is attacked, the more will be the public support in our favour. Every speech of PM Modi starts and ends with the Congress. He knows that the Congress is the biggest challenger to his brand of politics," the Congress president posted on 'X'. "Our workers are our pride. The ideology of the Congress party is eternal and will always strengthen the country. In view of the 2024 elections, today @INCMaharashtra connected with my huge family of Congress through video conferencing in the training camp. We will go to the public with their issues on the strength of unity and honesty, and we are confident that the public is with us," Kharge added. (ANI) The Law Commission of India has submitted its report titled "Law on Matrimonial Issues Relating to Non-Resident Indians and Overseas Citizens of India" to the Government of India. The Commission stated that, having conducted an in-depth study of the law concerning the instant subject matter, including the NRI Bill, 2019, the Commission is of the considered opinion that the proposed central legislation should be comprehensive enough to cater to all facets involving marriages of NRIs as well as foreign citizens of Indian origin with that of Indian citizens. Such legislation should be made applicable not only to the NRIs but also to those individuals who come within the definition of 'Overseas Citizens of India' (OCIs) as laid down under Section 7A of the Citizenship Act, 1955. It is further recommended that all marriages between NRIs/OCIs and Indian citizens should be compulsorily registered in India. The said comprehensive central legislation should also include provisions on divorce, maintenance of spouses, custody and maintenance of children, serving of summons, warrants, or judicial documents on the NRIs/OCIs, etc., said the Law Commission. The Law Commission recommended that requisite amendments be introduced in the Passports Act, 1967 to mandate the declaration of marital status, the linking of a spouse's passport with the other and the mentioning of the marriage registration number on the passports of both spouses. Furthermore, the government, in collaboration with the National Commission for Women and the State Commissions for Women in India and the NGOs and Indian associations abroad, should conduct awareness programs for women and their families who are about to enter into marital relationships with NRIs/OCIs. (ANI) A bird flu outbreak has been confirmed in Andhra Pradesh's Nellore district after several chickens died in two villages in the past few days. The samples of the dead chickens were sent to a laboratory in Bhopal, where the test results confirmed the presence of the avian influenza virus, said authorities. The district collector Hari Narayan convened an emergency meeting with the officials of the animal husbandry department and instructed them to take all necessary steps to contain the spread of the disease. He ordered the closure of all chicken shops for three months within a one-kilometre radius from Chatagutla of Podalakur mandal and Gumalladibba of Kovur mandal, where the deaths occurred. He also directed the officials to bury the dead chickens in the ground and conduct gram sabhas in the affected villages to create awareness among the people. The collector appealed to the public not to panic and assured them that the situation was under control. He said that the health department was monitoring the situation and taking precautionary measures to prevent any human infection. He advised the people to avoid contact with poultry and report any symptoms of fever, cough or sore throat to the nearest health centre. (ANI) A report has revealed that the growing demand for Chinese beauty products is putting donkey populations at risk and could eventually lead to the extinction of the species in Africa. Every year, about six million donkeys are killed for their skins, from which collagen is extracted in food or drink supplements, as well as luxury cosmetics like face creams used in Chinese medicine. Chinese Beauty Products Puts Donkeys at Risk The Donkey Sanctuary reported that the demand for such products has severely impacted China's donkey population, with a decline of 76% between 1992 and 2019. Dealers are now focused on Africa, which has historically had the greatest number of donkeys worldwide. However, experts warned that the species is in danger as traders either steal donkeys for unlawful jungle slaughter or convince impoverished owners to sell their animals. The trade is driven by the growing demand for the traditional Chinese remedy ejiao, or donkey hide glue, which can heal anemia, reduce wrinkles, increase libido, and boost energy. According to the researchers, killing animals for their skins is not only extremely cruel, but it also negatively impacts women, children, and communities that depend on the animals. The researchers at The Donkey Sanctuary used data from the skin industry and statistical modeling to reveal that 6.7 million skins will be required by 2027 to keep pace with demand. It is an increase from the 5.9 million, but the researchers noted that these figures are their most conservative estimate. Africa has about 11 million donkeys, so the calculation has raised concerns. The latest report from 2016 and 2021 shows that glue manufacturing increased by 160% in five years. It states that social media platforms encourage illegal trade by allowing sellers to advertise. "Agents working for the ejiao industry persuade people, already living on the brink of poverty, to sell their animals for short-term gain," Calvin Solomon Onyango, director of The Donkey Sanctuary in Kenya, said. "The reality is the long-term loss of livelihood and, eventually, the loss of a way of life for many communities." Onyango added that the destructive impact of the trade has led the governments of countries, including Kenya, Nigeria, and Tanzania, to outlaw donkey slaughter. However, he noted that they now see the emergence of illegal bush slaughter, with hundreds of donkeys taken or stolen and slaughtered for their skin. Furthermore, he claimed that donkeys could join rhinos and elephants as an endangered species in Africa based on their observation in Kenya if the exploitation of donkeys continued for another three to six years. Read Also: Japan Falls Into Recession, Prompting Shift in Ranking as 3rd Largest Economy Africa To Debate on Measure for Donkey Slaughter Donkey slaughter is illegal in some countries and legal in others. On Sunday, the heads of state of the African Union will debate whether or not to ban the slaughter across the continent. The researchers said it would be the most crucial donkey protection measure ever implemented in Africa. A bill to outlaw the killing of donkeys is expected to pass the National Congress this year in Brazil, where large numbers of donkeys are also killed and trafficked for their skins. Marianne Steele, chief executive of The Donkey Sanctuary, said that slaughtering six million donkeys yearly is an animal welfare disaster. Steele noted that donkeys are a lifeline to people living in some of the most challenging environments where losing a donkey can be the difference between modest survival and poverty. Related Article: Smiling Donkey Grateful For Rescue In Floods (PHOTOS) Trinamool Congress general secretary Abhishek Banerjee questioned West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose's 'priorities' for visiting Sandeshkhali within 24 hours after the BJP asked him to but not find time to visit North Dinajpur's Chopra where four children were allegedly found dead in a ditch near a construction site. Speaking at a party meeting on Friday, Banerjee launched a fierce counter-attack on the BJP, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and the Congress at a time when the ruling TMC has been under fire from the Opposition over the events in Sandeshkhali. "All are silent on the Chopra incident where four kids lost their lives due to BSF's (Border Security Force) negligence. Did the lives of those children have no value? Our delegation visited the Governor and requested him to visit Chopra. However, he has yet to find time to visit the scene of this incident. However, when the BJP delegation visited him (and requested him to go to Sandeshkhali), he went there within 24 hours. This shows where his priorities are," Banerjee claimed while addressing party supporters at the meeting. The TMC, meanwhile, laid the blame for the alleged child deaths on the BSF, which it said was engaged in an 'illegal' drain expansion work in Chopra in North Dinajpur district. The party urged the Governor to visit the site and 'fix accountability' for the 'monumental tragedy'. On the summons by the Privileges Committee of the Lok Sabha to top police officers in the state on a complaint filed by BJP state president Sukanta Majumdar, Banerjee, the nephew of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, said, "The BJP MP slipped from his car and a summons was sent. Where was this Parliamentary Committee when our MPs were brutally assaulted and female MPs were dragged by hair?" The Privileges Committee on Thursday directed the top police officials of West Bengal to appear before them over a complaint from the BJP state chief on February 19. The summons was sent in connection with the notice given by Majumdar in which he accused the police and the district administration of Basirhat in the North 24 Parganas of "alleged misconduct, brutality and causing life-threatening injuries to him". Majumdar fell off the bonnet of his vehicle and dropped unconscious during a melee that followed a police crackdown on a protest that he had been leading against the Sandeshkhali unrest. Women in Sandeshkhali have been up in arms over the last few days over alleged atrocities committed on them by TMC leader Sheikh Shajahan and his aides. (ANI) The Election Commission on Friday held important discussions with representatives of political parties in Bhubaneswar on the first day of their visit to the poll-bound state. These discussions were aimed at ensuring a comprehensive review of election preparedness and fostering cooperation among all stakeholders, a press release from the Chief Electoral Office (CEO) Odisha read. The ECI team conducted a review of poll preparedness for simultaneous elections to both the Lok Sabha and the Odisha Assembly. At the outset, the Commission sought the views and concerns of the representatives of various recognised national and regional political parties. The focus was on soliciting active cooperation to uphold the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) in letter and spirit and to ensure a smooth electoral process. Each party had ample opportunity for a patient hearing of their perspectives and concerns by the Commission.Following this, the Commission and the delegation delved into detailed discussions with the District Collectors-cum-District Election Officers, and other officials responsible for election management across the state, the release said. They assessed various aspects, such as the readiness of the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), voter demographics, training status of election staff, and infrastructure setup at polling booths. The meeting involved high-ranking Police officers in the state as well.The high-level delegation comprised Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar, Election Commissioner of India Arun Goel, Senior Deputy Election Commissioners Dharmendra Sharma and Nitesh Vyas, Deputy Election Commissioner Manoj Kumar Sahu, Director General of Media and B Narayanan. Chief Electoral Officer of Odisha and Additional Chief Secretary to Government Nikunja Bihari Dhal and Additional Chief Electoral Officer N Thirumala Naik were also part of the review meeting, the release said. Odisha has 21 Parliamentary constituencies. In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) got the maximum number of seats followed by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress. The BJD won 12 seats, BJP bagged 8 and the Congress won one seat. The state has 147 Assembly constituencies. The BJD swept the state in the last polls, winning 113 seats in the 2019 elections held simultaneously with the general elections. The BJP came a distant second with 23 seats, followed by the Congress with 9, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) with 1 and an Independent candidate bagging another seat. (ANI) The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), under the chairmanship of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, accorded approval for 'Acceptance of Necessity' (AoNs) for various capital acquisition proposals amounting to Rs 84,560 crore. According to an official release from the Ministry of Defence, "The true spirit of 'Aatmanirbharta', the approvals accorded on February 16, 2024, lay special emphasis on the procurement of various equipment from Indian vendors." The DAC has accorded AoN under the Buy (Indian-Indigenously Designed, Developed and Manufactured) (IDDM) category for the procurement of a new generation of anti-tank mines with seismic sensors and the provision of remote deactivation with additional safety features. To enhance operational efficiency and domination in the tactical battle area for engaging targets that are beyond the visual line of sight of the manned forces, the AoN under the Buy (Indian-IDDM) category has been accorded for the procurement of the canister-launched anti-armour loader munition system. Further, to strengthen the Air Defence Systems, especially the capabilities to detect slow, small and low-flying targets, as well as surveillance, detection & tracking of different targets, the AoN has been accorded the procurement of Air Defence Tactical Control Radar under the Buy (Indian-IDDM) category. The AoN for procurement of Medium Range Maritime Reconnaissance and Multi-Mission Maritime Aircraft, through the Buy and Make category, has been granted by the DAC for strengthening the surveillance and interdiction capabilities of the Indian Navy and the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) over the country's vast maritime area. Also, to keep the Indian Naval Ships one step ahead of the threats posed by the adversaries, the AoN under the Buy (Indian) category has been accorded for the procurement of Active Towed Array Sonar having capabilities to operate at low frequencies and various depths for long range detections of adversary submarines. The AoN has also been accorded for the procurement of heavy-weight torpedoes to enhance the attacking capabilities of Kalvari Class submarines. The AoN for sustainment support through follow-on support (FOS) and repair-replenishment support through follow-on supply support (FOSS) for 24 MH60R aircraft under the Foreign Military Sale route with the US Government has also been accorded. The DAC accorded AoN for the procurement of flight refueler aircraft to enhance the operational capabilities and reach of the Indian Air Force. The AoN under the Buy (Indian-IDDM) category for procurement of software-defined radios for the ICG has also been granted. This will fulfil the requirement of the ICG to have high-speed communication with secure networking capability for seamless information exchange between the ICG and the Indian Navy units. To create a friendly defence start-up ecosystem and promote procurement of advanced technologies from start-ups and MSMEs developed under the Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX) and Technology Development Fund schemes, the DAC has approved amendments in the Defence Acquisition Procedure (DAP) 2020 w.r.t. benchmarking and cost computation, payment schedule, procurement quantity, etc. This will provide the much-needed incentive along with a supportive business environment for start-ups and MSMEs under the iDEX and TDF schemes, truly in the spirit of 'Ease of Doing Business'. (ANI) The Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways and Ayush, Sarbananda Sonowal launched 'Sagar Aankalan' guidelines during the stakeholders meet for implementation of the MoUs signed earlier at the Global Maritime India Summit 2023 (GMIS 2023) on Friday in Delhi. The "Sagar Aankalan" Guidelines for National Benchmarking of Indian Ports Performance would be applicable to all Indian seaports with the aim to achieve mapping and benchmarking of Indian Port's-logistics performance and efficiency, harmonisation of standards, definitions and performance with global benchmarks, Improving competitiveness, efficiency and overall performance of the port sector with focus on improvement, productivity, sustainability and customer satisfaction. The Ministry of Ports, Shipping, and Waterways (MoPSW) successfully concluded the Stakeholders Meet- Implementation of MoUs at the Global Maritime India Summit 2023 (GMIS 2023) where courses to convert them were decided and make them actionable at the earliest. The Ministry also drew up an action plan for the swift implementation of MoUs signed during the GMIS. Participants engaged in productive discussions, sharing valuable insights and recommendations to overcome challenges and facilitate the implementation of the MoUs. Speaking on the occasion, Sonowal, said, "The Maritime Amrit Kaal Vision announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the Global Maritime India Summit 2023 is a continuation of the country's strategic initiatives for sustainable growth." He further said that this collaboration aimed to harness the potential of India's vast coastline and maritime resources. "With a focus on sustainable development, technological advancements, and enhancing maritime infrastructure, the Global Maritime India Summit 2023 facilitated strategic dialogues among industry leaders, policymakers, and stakeholders. This collaboration aims to harness the potential of India's vast coastline and maritime resources for the benefit of all," added Sonowal. The Minister urged the stakeholders to work together to turn these agreements into reality and propel the Indian maritime sector to new heights. He said, "Each one plays a crucial role in this journey towards making India 'Viksit Bharat' during Amrit Kaal." During the meeting, the port representatives provided an update on the progress of the memorandums of understanding (MOUs) signed in GMIS 2023. They detailed the milestones achieved and any challenges encountered along the way. Following their presentation, stakeholders had the opportunity to share their perspectives on the implementation of these agreements. This exchange of views allowed for a comprehensive understanding of the MOUs' impact and potential areas for improvement. Overall, the collaborative discussion served to strengthen relationships between the port and its stakeholders while fostering transparency and accountability in the execution of the signed agreements. GMIS 2023 emerged as one of the largest maritime summits globally, attracting a record-breaking investment commitment of Rs 10 lakh crore. The signing of 360 MoUs, with an investment commitment of Rs 8.35 lakh crore, and the announcement of additional investible projects worth Rs 1.68 lakh crore, underscored the immense potential of India's maritime sector. The MoUs signed at GMIS 2023 encompassed various facets of the maritime sector, including port development, modernization, green hydrogen and ammonia, port-led development, the cruise sector, business and commerce, shipbuilding, and knowledge sharing. These initiatives are poised to drive innovation, foster economic growth, and strengthen India's position as a global maritime leader. The Ministry of Ports, Shipping, and Waterways remains committed to translating the objectives outlined in the MoUs signed at GMIS 2023 into tangible outcomes. By fostering collaboration, leveraging cutting-edge technologies, and embracing sustainable practices, India is poised to unlock the full potential of its maritime sector, driving inclusive growth and prosperity for all stakeholders. (ANI) The BJP delegation, which met West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose after being stopped from visiting Sandeshkhali on Friday, said they will personally interact with the women protesters in the area after securing permission from the Supreme Court. The women in Sandeshkhali have been up in arms over the last few days accusing fugitive TMC strongman Sheikh Shah Jahan and his henchmen of sexual abuse and other excesses. "Today, we had to return after being blocked mid-way into our journey to Sandeshkhali. We will move a petition in the Supreme Court, urging that we be allowed to go to Sandeshkhali. We will definitely go there. The way women, children and newlywed brides have been tortured in Sandeshkhali by TMC goons and the police will be highlighted. They will get justice," Annapurna Devi, a member of the BJP delegation, told reporters after visiting the Governor on Friday. Also the Union Minister of State for Education, Annapurna Devi said the party delegation will also be calling on President Droupadi Murmu in Delhi to brief her about the events in Sandeshkhali. Hitting out at the state police for not fulfilling their duty and acting as 'TMC cadres', Annapurna said they have turned into 'oppressors' instead of being 'protectors'. "We will submit our report to the party. The police are not doing their job. They are serving as TMC goons in uniform. They have become TMC workers. The job of the police is to provide security to the people. Here, instead of being protectors, they have turned oppressors," the BJP MP said. Narrating an incident of alleged police atrocity on the women protesters, Annapurna said, "Sandeskhkhali women are not able to say anything in fear. When we were in Rampur and were holding a conversation with them over a video call. Concealing their faces, they shared their ordeals with us and from the back, police were seen attacking them." The BJP Minister also shared that the Governor is saddened by the incident. "We gave all the information to the Governor and he is also saddened by the incident. He has directed the state government to act on this incident," Annapurna Devi said speaking to ANI. BJP MP and delegation member Sunita Duggal, too, asserted that they will come back to Sandeshkhali after getting permission from the apex court. "We will take permission from the Supreme Court and go there (Sandeshkhali)," Duggal told ANI. On the report to be submitted to the party, Duggal said, "We will prepare our report and submit it to the (BJP) national president (JP Nadda)." The Lok Sabha MP from Haryana shared that it is heart-wrenching to see how a woman chief minister could inflict so much 'torture' on fellow women. "The law and order situation here is terrible, people are terrorised by Didi. It is hard to imagine a woman chief minister inflicting such torture on fellow women. The BJP will do them justice," Duggal said. Sangeeta Yadav, another delegation member, said it was the first time that she witnessed such violence in West Bengal. "I have only heard about such violence but today I saw it. The Governor himself is unhappy. We will definitely meet those women after securing permission from the court. We will fight to get them justice," the Rajya Sabha MP from Uttar Pradesh told ANI. Recommending President's Rule in the state, Duggal said, "President's Rule should be imposed here. Despite being a woman, you (Mamata Banerjee) cannot understand their sorrows. Could there be anything worse or more unfortunate? A woman (Sandeshkhali protester) video-called us. As we finished our conversation, the police started hitting her and others around her." BJP leader Agnimitra Paul, who was also a member of the delegation, claimed that Union Ministers such as Annapurna Devi and Pratima Bhowmik were heckled while on their way to Sandeshkhali on Friday. "We spoke about the injustice that was meted out to us. Our Union ministers, including Annapurna Devi and Pratima Bhowmik, were heckled today and the media was not allowed to visit there. We complained about all this to the Governor," Paul told ANI. The BJP delegation also visited the Apollo Hospital in Salt Lake to meet the party's state president Sukanta Majumdar, who lost consciousness during a scuffle that broke out between security forces and party supporters on Wednesday while he was leading a sit-in protest against the prevailing situation in Sandeshkhali. Meanwhile, Union Minister and BJP leader Nisith Pramanik hit out at Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for being a 'mute spectator' to the events in Sandeshkhali. "The law and order situation in West Bengal has completely collapsed. It is a shame that a woman CM is a mute spectator to all the atrocities of the TMC on fellow women. Today, the people of Bengal are asking who is responsible for these atrocities by TMC goons?" Pramanik told ANI. Pramanik added that the central government can help the state control the situation in Sandeshkhali and also assist in tracking down Sheikh Shah Jahan, who has been at large since the attempted raid by ED on his residence. "If Mamata Banerjee so wishes, the Home Ministry is ready to help the state government control the situation in Sandeshkhali. If she wants the Centre's help in finding out Sheikh Shah Jahan and his associates, we are ready to extend all assistance," he said. (ANI) Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman has accused Pakistan's former army chief General (retd) Qamar Javed Bajwa and former director general of Inter-Services Intelligence Lt General (retd) Faiz Hameed of planning the no-trust vote against former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, Pakistan-based The Express Tribune reported. In an interview with a private TV channel, Maulana Fazlur Rehman said that the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) spearheaded the no-confidence move against Imran Khan with General Bajwa and Lt General Hameed giving instructions to political parties. He said, "I was not in favour of it, but I supported it because then the PDM would have said that I saved Imran Khan," according to The Express Tribune report. Maulana Fazlur Rehman said that General Faiz supported the no-confidence motion. He said, "General Bajwa and General Faiz gave instructions about the no-confidence motion and PML-N and PPP sealed it. General Faiz said that we can do everything within the limits of the system and he had no objection to it." Fazl said that the elections held in Pakistan in 2018 and 2024 were rigged. He stated, "We have decided to protest against this vote theft. Now the decisions would be taken on the ground rather than in the assembly," The Express Tribune reported. Imran Khan was ousted as Pakistan's PM through a no-confidence vote in April, 2022. He became the first Prime Minister of Pakistan to lose a no-trust vote in the National Assembly. Despite several attempts to block the no-confidence motion in the National Assembly, the voting took place after midnight, in which as many as 174 members voted in favour of the motion in the 342-member House while members of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) were absent. Meanwhile, the JUI-F chief spoke about the party's refusal to participate in discussions with Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Shehbaz Sharif on government formation. He said, "I believe whatever happened during the 2024 elections, it benefitted PML-N. There are rumours that Nawaz Sharif was given the Lahore seat." The JUI-F chief warned that if PML-N and other political parties went ahead to form the government, they would be held accountable for the consequences, The Express Tribune reported. He said, "I don't see a [bright] future for the parliament, therefore, I invited PML-N to sit with us," he stressed. He also expressed optimism about resolving differences with the PTI, hinting at his readiness to hold talks with Imran Khan's party. On February 10, the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUIF) has said rigging in elections has made history, Pakistan-based The News International reported. In a statement, JUI-F Secretary General Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri said leaders of national mainstream parties were forcibly defeated while little-known candidates were helped to secure wins in their constituencies. He noted that mobile phone service was shut down on the polling day to achieve the desired result. He asked why the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) was so helpless and added that the commission had set new traditions, according to The News International report. Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri said it also happened in general elections that were conducted in 2013 and 2018. He raised the question of why the ECP was determined to give Pakistan an unelected government containing people who would act as showpieces. (ANI) Al-Dabs, said the IDF, was one of the masterminds of the attack at the Megiddo Junction located in northern Israel in March 2023. He led, planned and carried out many of Hezbollah's terrorist activities against the State of Israel, in particular, during the war in Gaza. His elimination was carried out in an Israel Air Force strike on a military structure of the Hezbollah terrorist organization in Nabatieh, southern Israel. The al-Hajj Radwan Force is a special operations terror unit whose mission is to infiltrate the territory of Israel in the north. The killing of Ali Muhammad Al-Dabs came in a week in which fighting with Hezbollah escalated and one Israeli soldier was killed in a Hezbollah rocket attack on Wednesday. (ANI/TPS) The Ministry of Communications said that this means the country's local authorities, emergency departments, government bodies and more, will be able to "continue to consume advanced communication services with broadband, even in case of wired and cellular communication failures." In addition, the Minister of Communications and the representatives of the company reached agreements regarding the entry of Starlink into the Gaza Strip. Today the security officials approved the introduction of one such unit to a field hospital of the United Arab Emirates in Rafah. Starlink's high-speed, low-latency connections will allow conference calls with other hospitals and real-time remote diagnoses. The Starlink company, owned and operated by SpaceX, operates communication services that include broadband internet via satellites and independent of communication centers located on the ground. (ANI/TPS) The US is "concerned" over reports coming out of Pakistan in terms of intimidation and voter suppression and is watching the situation "very closely," Coordinator for Strategic Communications at the National Security Council in the White House John Kirby said in a press briefing on Thursday (local time). Asked whether the US believes elections in Pakistan were not fair, Kirby said, "We're concerned, and we share concerns about some of the reports that we've heard coming out of Pakistan in terms of intimidation, voter suppression, that kind of thing and so we are watching this very, very closely." Pakistan held its 12th national general elections on February 8, amid allegations of rigging and the shutdown of cellular and internet services, Dawn reported. Nearly half of the country's total population cast votes for the new National Assembly and provincial legislatures, however, the tumultuous national election has resulted in a hung parliament. "And as I understand it, votes are still being tallied, so international monitors are still taking a look at those tallies. I'm not going to get ahead of that process," he added. According to the election results, Independent candidates supported by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) have won 92 seats. PML-N is currently in the second position in the vote count with 79 seats while the PPP has won 54 seats, Geo News reported. The MQM-P has secured victory in 17 constituencies. JUI-F has won four seats, PML-Q secured victory in three constituencies, while IPP and BNP won two seats each. The MWM, National Party, PML-Z, Balochistan Awami Party, Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party and Pashtunkhwa National Awami Party have won one seat each. Earlier on Wednesday, the US Department of State spokesperson Matthew Miller on Wednesday called for an investigation of rigging allegations in the Pakistan general results held on February 8. On being asked about US lawmakers calling on the State Department not to accept the results of the Pakistan election until allegations of rigging are investigated, Miller said, "So we have called for those allegations to be investigated. We think that's appropriate step to take. That's - that is our response to questions of irregularities not just in Pakistan, but when we see them anywhere in the world." "We think that they're thoroughly investigated and resolved. And so that - we will continue to call for that. But at the same time, it's clear that the elections in Pakistan were competitive, and we look forward to working with the government, once it's formed, that the people of Pakistan elected," he added. Earlier on February 9, US Congress lawmakers condemned the use of political violence, cell phone service shutdowns and restrictions on freedom of expression in the country. US Congresswoman Dina Titus condemned the use of political violence and the restriction on freedom of expression in Pakistan. She called free and fair elections the cornerstone of a functioning democracy. In a post on X, Dina Titus stated, "Free and fair elections are the cornerstone of a functioning democracy. I condemn the use of political violence and the restriction on freedom of expression in Pakistan. I am closely monitoring the situation on the ground and urge officials to adhere to the rule of law." US Congressman Brad Sherman has said that press organisations in Pakistan should be free to report vote tabulations and stressed that there should not be delay in announcing the election results. "Press organizations in #Pakistan should be free to report vote tabulations and there should be no unwarranted delay in announcing results," Brad Sherman posted on X. US Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib said democracy in Pakistan is at serious risk. She stated that people in Pakistan should be able to elect their leaders without interference and tampering with the process. In a post on X, Tlaib stated, "We must stand with the Pakistani people as their democracy is at serious risk. They should be able to elect their leaders without interference and tampering with the process, and the US must ensure our tax dollars don't go to anyone undermining that." US Congressman Greg Casar said that Pakistanis have the right to elect their leaders without cell phone service shutdowns and other authoritarian practices aimed to undermine poll results. "Pakistanis have the right to elect their leaders without cell phone service shutdowns & other authoritarian practices aimed at undermining election results. The US must stand with the Pakistani people & make clear we will not support anyone working to undermine democracy," Greg Casar posted on X. Meanwhile, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Thursday announced "peaceful" protests across the nation on February 17 against the alleged rigging in the general elections conducted on February 8, Pakistan-based The News International reported. The PTI also invited different political parties that believed that there was "rigging" in the polls to join the protest. Speaking to reporters after meeting with PTI founder Imran Khan at Adiala jail, Gohar Ali Khan invited the political parties, including Jamaat-e-Islami, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), and others, who believe that the recent polls were rigged, to join them in their protest on Saturday. (ANI) As part of his four-day official visit to the United States, the Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General Manoj Pande visited Headquarters of 1 Corps of the US Army, where he received briefings on the Stryker Unit, Multi-Domain Task Force, and the Special Forces Group, aiming to explore opportunities for more significant training engagements. The US Army's Multi-Domain Task Force is a theater-specific unit that uses long-range precision effects. They are the organizational centerpiece in the US Army's operationalization of Multi-Domain Operations (MDO). MDO describes how the Army can counter and defeat a near-peer adversary in all domains. https://twitter.com/adgpi/status/1758314713585439164 The Indian Army's in a post on X, highlighted General Manoj Pande's activities during his visit to the USA. "General Manoj Pande, #COAS, visited @USArmy Headquarters 1 Corps during his #USA visit, briefed on Stryker Unit, Multi-Domain Task Force, and Special Forces Group. The aim: explore avenues for more significant training engagements." During the four-day official visit to the US (February 13-16), the Army Chief engaged in discussions with General Randy George, the Chief of Staff of the United States Army, aimed at strengthening bilateral relations and fostering global peace and security efforts. The Army Chief commenced his visit by reviewing the US Army Guard of Honour. He then participated in a solemn ceremony, paying respects by laying a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery. The Army Chief also visited the Army Geospatial Centre at Fort Belvoir and interacted with the Vice President of the National Defense University at Fort McNair. Additionally, General Pande held discussions with the Charge d'Affaires of the Indian Embassy in the United States, where they deliberated on important ongoing and prospective initiatives. This visit is another milestone in the Indo-US defence relationship, reflecting a mutual desire to enhance military collaboration, exchange strategic perspectives on global threat perceptions, and work together toward future force development and modernisation. The engagements between General Manoj Pande and senior leadership of the United States Army are poised to yield substantive outcomes, fostering an environment conducive to shared security interests and defence cooperation. (ANI) Chinese artists bring joy of Spring Festival to New Zealand capital Xinhua) 09:35, February 16, 2024 Actors perform a dance during the "Festival of Spring" Chinese Lunar New Year Gala Night in Wellington, New Zealand, Feb. 15, 2024. The "Festival of Spring" is a national cultural brand hosted by the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of China's State Council, and the All-China Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese, a Chinese civic organization. (Photo by Meng Tao/Xinhua) WELLINGTON, Feb. 15 (Xinhua) -- The "Festival of Spring" Chinese Lunar New Year Gala Night was held on Thursday night in Wellington, the capital of New Zealand. About 1,500 people enjoyed the two-hour show at the St James Theatre, home of the Royal New Zealand Ballet. The evening brought together the traditional Peking Opera, classic songs, festive songs and dances, as well as stunning Gong Fu and acrobatic performances, which perfectly presented the charm of Chinese culture and art to the audience. During the performance, applause and cheers came one after another. Alice, a local citizen, said that the Chinese martial arts performance was profound and worthy of being the quintessence of China. "These theatrical performances could always transcend race, color and language differences and directly touch people's heart to promote people-to-people exchange." "Civilizations will be all the richer by mutual appreciation and mutual learning," said Chinese Ambassador to New Zealand Wang Xiaolong. "In Chinese folklore, the high-flying dragon symbolizes strength, wisdom and achievement." "Let's work together to carry forward the spirit of the dragon, enhance exchanges and mutual understanding, and take our bilateral relationship to the next level, to the greater benefit of the two peoples," the ambassador added. Yi Zhang, chairperson of the 2024 "Festival of Spring" Art Troupe, attributed his gratitude to the overseas Chinese for their contribution to the friendly exchanges between China and New Zealand. "The overseas Chinese living in Wellington live in harmony with the locals, actively promote Chinese culture, and have made positive contributions to promoting New Zealand's economic and social development and friendly exchanges between China and New Zealand," Zhang said. The "Festival of Spring" is a national cultural brand hosted by the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of China's State Council, and the All-China Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese, a Chinese civic organization. This year, the "Festival of Spring" art troupe from China comprised 35 artists who started their tour performances from Auckland on Tuesday. (Web editor: Peng Yukai, Liu Ning) A Tampa man who was wrongfully convicted and imprisoned for 37 years will receive $14 million as a settlement. The individual, identified as 59-year-old Robert DuBoise, was wrongfully convicted of rape and murder of a woman in 1983. He was only 18 years old when he was arrested in relation to the murder of 19-year-old Barbara Grams, who was beaten to death and whose body was found behind a dental office on the north side of the city on Aug. 19, 1983. Man Receives $14 Million Settlement for Wrongful Conviction In 1985, following a one-week trial, DuBoise was convicted of first-degree murder and attempted sexual battery. The trial included a jailhouse informant claiming that the defendant was guilty and prosecutors arguing that DuBoise's teeth matched what they described as a bite mark on the victim's cheek. While the man was initially sentenced to death, the Florida Supreme Court, three years later, changed that sentence to life in prison. In August 2020, DuBoise was freed after new DNA evidence surfaced that exonerated him and implicated two other men who were later charged in the murder of Grams, as per the New York Times. In 2021, DuBoise filed a federal lawsuit against the City of Tampa, four former police officers, as well as the forensic odontologist who had testified against him. The Tampa City Council on Thursday unanimously approved the settlement, which is to be paid in three installments over three years. In an interview on Thursday, DuBoise said that he was grateful, adding that he was hoping that his case would serve as an example for others who had been wrongfully convicted. He noted that he was also hoping that "they get justice and can move on without having to spend the rest of their life fighting the system that has already wronged them." Based on DuBoise's lawsuit, the odontologist, identified as Dr. Richard Souviron, "knowingly fabricated" the bite mark evidence. This was supposedly in collaboration with the law enforcement personnel involved in the complaint. Read Also: Woman Shot Dead at Chiefs Victory Party Identified as Local Radio DJ Imprisoned for 37 Years Following the settlement announcement, DuBoise recalled what was going through his mind while he was in court. He said that he was dumbfounded through the whole trial, noting that he did not understand how it could have happened, according to Fox13News. The Innocence Project got involved with DuBoise's case in 2018 and investigators later agreed to re-test the DNA evidence in the case. The Hillsborough's State Attorney at the time of DuBoise's conviction, Andrew Warren, said, "I have no idea how you put a price on 37 years that's been taken away." DuBoise also said that he is glad that the entire issue has been resolved, adding that he no longer has to worry about court cases for the rest of his life. Council members said that the settlement money was the least that the city could do for him following his wrongful conviction. DuBoise did not attend the Thursday council meeting as he was represented in the case by the Chicago-based Loevy & Loevy civil rights law firms. The company has handled numerous wrongful conviction cases across the United States, said WTSP. Related Article: Shooting at Chiefs Superbowl Parade Prompted by Dispute Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) on Thursday affirmed that the country will continue to push for peace, prosperity and stability with Palau in the Indo-Pacific region, even though China has encouraged the Pacific ally to cut ties with Taipei, Central News Agency Taiwan reported. The Ministry said in a statement that Taiwan has long supported Palau in tourism development in a bid to strengthen the Pacific nation's "economic resilience and sustainability." The Taiwan Foreign Ministry said that Taipei has been keen to help Ngerulmud improve its tourism industry in the post-Covid era, maintaining stable direct flight links between the two countries while working with like-minded countries to support the Pacific island nation's development. "In the future, MOFA will continue to team up with Palau to facilitate peace, stability and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region," the statement read. This came after Cleo Paskal, a researcher at the US-based think tank 'Foundation for Defense of Democracies', posted a letter from Palau President Surangel Whipps Junior to a US senator on her X handle, Focus Taiwan reported. "The PRC has already offered to 'fill every hotel room' in our tourism-based private sector -- 'and more if more are built' -- and USD 20 million a year for two acres for a 'call centre,'" the letter stated. Whipps urged the US Congress to support the Compacts of Free Association (COFA), a financial aid agreement with Palau, that also includes Micronesia and the Marshall Islands. A renewal of the 20-year COFA was signed late last year, but USD 7 billion to fund it is still struggling to find a path forward in the US Congress, Central News Agency Taiwan reported citing international media. Whipps further said that as long as the US Congress fails to renew the COFA aid package, it will "play into the hands of the CCP and the leaders here (some of whom have done 'business' with the PRC) who want to accept its seemingly attractive economic offers -- at the cost of shifting alliances, beginning with sacrificing Taiwan." In response, the ministry said Whipps has repeatedly supported Taiwan's international organizations on many international occasions, including the UN General Assembly and the 28th Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP28) held last year. The Taiwan ministry also described Whipps as an "adamant ally" of Taiwan, as per CNA Taiwan. In addition, it said Whipps had a phone conversation with Taiwan's President-elect Lai Ching-te soon after the presidential election on January 13 and congratulated Taiwan for advancing 'democratic values', indicating the bilateral ties between the two countries are stable and continue to grow. Notably, Taiwan has long criticised China accusing it of "poaching" its diplomatic allies Nauru severed ties with Taiwan two days after the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) candidate was elected president. It was the 10th diplomatic ally Taipei lost to Beijing since President Tsai Ing-wen took office in May 2016 due to deteriorating cross-Taiwan Strait relations, Focus Taiwan reported. (ANI) Pakistan's former prime minister Imran Khan's party, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), has announced protests across the country on Saturday against what it called widespread rigging in the general elections. In a recent post on social media platform X, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf has called for protests against "the unprecedented, massive, brazen rigging in General Elections 2024, where PTI's win of 180 National Assembly seats & a two-third majority in Parliament, was cut down to half by the illegitimate, fascist regime." https://twitter.com/PTIofficial/status/1758334623564574998?s=20 PTI leader barrister Saif said that a party delegation met JUI-F chief Fazlur Rehman on the instructions of party founder Imran Khan to contact all political parties, which were aggrieved by the irregularities in the conduct of the elections, Dawn reported. "PTI has announced that we will do a country-wide protest on Saturday and this process will continue because the JUI has also expressed doubts about the elections and their results and rejected them," Rehman said as per the Dawn report. Meanwhile, in a message from jail the former Prime Minister called on the US to raise their voice over concerns about the transparency of the general elections saying "America acts like the voice of democracy in the whole world, but both the US and Europe have maintained silence on rigging in the elections in Pakistan," the country's Saama TV reported. Khan's comments from jail were conveyed by barrister Muhammad Ali Saif, Samaa TV said. He accused the US of patronising and imposing dictators and installing corrupt people as rulers. On Thursday, Coordinator for Strategic Communications at the National Security Council in the White House John Kirby said in a press briefing that the US was "concerned" over reports coming out of Pakistan in terms of intimidation and voter suppression and is watching the situation "very closely." On Wednesday, the US Department of State spokesperson Matthew Miller called for an investigation of rigging allegations in the Pakistan general results held on February 8. Earlier on February 9, US Congress lawmakers condemned the use of political violence, cell phone service shutdowns and restrictions during the general elections conducted in Parkistan. (ANI) The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf's (PTI) legal team is deliberating on the possibility of its backed candidates joining Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen (MWM), as reported by Geo News. They further discussed how much the decision would lead the party to get parliamentary benefits. The party members shared that consultations are still ongoing as many ifs and buts are involved. "This has never been done in the country's political history; perhaps, therefore, extreme caution is being exercised before arriving at a major political decision," they said. Moreover, the PTI and MWM have been allies for years but the recent suggestion has put both sides in an entirely different proposition, Geo News reported. As per the party sources, the legal team's recommendations will be presented before the PTI core committee for a final decision. They further said that the PTI will be putting its identity at stake, adding that this is of utmost importance as it needs to be understood how much it will gain in terms of reserved seats which indeed would be MWM seats. The MWM has never enjoyed a significant presence in parliament, they added, as reported by Geo News. "The real question before us is also what exactly the price of meeting the legal requirement to qualify for women's reserved seats will be," a senior PTI lawyer said. Accordingly, it is understood that the list of women candidates for reserved seats must have been very short; therefore, against PTI-backed over 93 returned candidates, the due share might not be available accordingly. According to the parliamentary sources, it would be interesting to see how the Election Commission of Pakistan will react to the possible new scenario in view of the Elections Act, 2017. "We have no problem. It will be great if our platform becomes a PTI platform to take forward a leap for failing the moves of political opponents," said a senior MWM member. Last week, PTI chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan, announced the party's intent to govern in the centre, Punjab, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. He further hinted at an alliance with MWM to secure reserved seats. Meanwhile, PTI spokesperson Raoof Hasan said that the former prime minister while ruling out the prospects of any talks with the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P), has directed the party to form a coalition with Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) over reserved seats, as reported by Geo News. "Those who have emerged victorious in the (February 8) polls, should be allowed to form the government as it is their right (do do so), he said while conveying Khan's message. "I have been given the mandate (by Khan) to approach all political parties to continue the party's political struggle for democratic values with the exception of the PML-N, MQM-P and the PPP," Hasan added. His remarks came as PTI-backed candidates have emerged as the largest group by winning over 90 National Assembly seats followed by the PML-N and PPP with 75 and 54 seats, respectively. (ANI) A three-judge bench of the Pakistan Supreme Court will hear a petition seeking to declare the February 8 general elections null and void on Monday, as reported by The Express Tribune. Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa will lead the bench which will include Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar and Justice Mussarat Hilali. Ali Khan, a Pakistan citizen, filed a petition for the court to order fresh elections within 30 days. Moreover, the plea seeks general elections under the supervision and oversight of the judiciary "to ensure fairness, transparency and accountability". The petition has made the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and the federal government as respondents in the case, according to The Express Tribune. Reportedly, the petition further seeks a stay order on the formation of the new government till the case is resolved. Pakistan conducted its general elections on February 8, in which the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) supported independent candidates secured 92 seats, the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) obtained 75 seats and the Pakistan Peoples Party secured 54 seats. Additionally, various political parties and losing candidates have raised allegations of fraud in the elections, The Express Tribune reported. The Sindh High Court (SHC) directed that the electoral watchdog hear the complaints of all the parties and take a decision accordingly before February 22 as per the law. Moreover, it said that the election commission should examine the records of the applicants in Forms 45 and 47. The court has ordered that any irregularity if found, should be removed. The court disposed of the petitions, as reported by The Express Tribune. Following the Pakistan general elections, widespread protests have been held in Balochistan, Sindh and other parts of the country against alleged rigging in the 2024 general elections. Political parties, including the National Party, PPP, JUI, BAP, BNP-Mengal, PkMAP, and PkNAP, staged protest demonstrations engulfing major thoroughfares and district returning offices, demanding recounts and challenging the declared outcomes in Balochistan. Meanwhile, four political parties, including the BNP-M, PkMAP, and the Hazara Democratic Party (HDP), announced joint protest demonstrations against the alleged election rigging in the province. Furthermore, these political parties also established a joint protest camp to mount pressure on the Election Commission of Pakistan to reconsider its results about their constituencies, according to The Express Tribune. Additionally, various political parties including the Awami National Party, JUI and some candidates blocked the main highways linking Balochistan with Karachi, Sindh, Punjab and other parts of the country. Reportedly, today, the capital police have enforced Section 133 in force in Islamabad and highlighted that stated action will be taken against any illegal gathering of people. (ANI) The UKPNP spokesperson, in a recent post on the social media platform 'X', stated that Justice Qazi Faez Isa suggested a referendum in GB and PoK. Khan called it unrealistic and unacceptable unless Pakistan complies with United Nations Commission for India and Pakistan (UNCIP) resolutions on Kashmir and vacates occupied areas of the State of Jammu Kashmir. https://twitter.com/NasirKhanUKPNP/status/1758399854173167652 "In PoK and Gilgit Baltistan, nationalists are barred from participating in elections unless they submit allegiance to Pakistan. The Pakistani deep state and establishment have consistently manipulated elections in Pakistan and its occupied areas of Jammu Kashmir," Nasir Aziz Khan said. "Even recent election results are indicative of manipulation and rigging to achieve desired outcomes. In such a lawless and hybrid system environment, a referendum of the public would lack legitimacy and legal grounds," he added. The UKPNP spokesperson stated further that the prerequisite of the referendum is that Pakistan must withdraw from all areas of the disputed state of Jammu Kashmir and the state should be reunified. Jamil Maqsood, secretary, Foreign Affairs of UKPNP, said, "Timely warning to those who have violated their promises with our people. Pakistan must withdraw its security and civilian administration from both the peripheries and let the people of Pakistan Occupied territories of Jammu and Kashmir decide about local government and governance." "At present, Pakistan's political parties have occupied all the space and local people have been disenfranchised and only those, who sign oath of allegiance to Pakistan, can vote," he added. (ANI) The Deputy National Security Advisor, Vikram Misri on Friday highlighted India's consistent and steadfast policy in support of peace, security and stability in Afghanistan and said that India has legitimate economic and security interests in Afghanistan, an official statement said. "India has been consistent and steadfast with its policy in support of peace, security and stability in Afghanistan. As a contiguous neighbour, India has legitimate economic and security interests in Afghanistan. Ties with the Afghan people date back centuries and are historic and civilizational," he said. Speaking at the Sixth Regional Dialogue of Secretaries of Security Councils/National Security Advisers on Afghanistan in Bishkek, he said that India's common immediate priorities include providing humanitarian assistance, ensuring the formation of a truly inclusive and representative government, combating terrorism and drug trafficking and preserving the rights of women, children and the minorities. "For India, development is a fundamental human right. India believes in working with the international community and like-minded actors for the welfare of the Afghan people. India has presence in almost 500 projects in Afghanistan spread across each of the 34 provinces in critical areas of power, water supply, road connectivity, healthcare, education, agriculture and capacity building. India has invested more than USD 3 billion for the welfare of the people of Afghanistan," he added. According to the official statement, he also underlined that India has till now supplied nearly 50,000 tons of wheat, 250 tons of medical aid and 28 tons of earthquake relief aid. In view of the urgent UN appeals, India also supplied 40,000 litres of Malathion (pesticide) to Afghanistan to fight the locust menace. He stated, "Since August 2021, ICCR has granted admissions to more than 3000 students, including 600 Afghan girls. India has also continued its collaboration with the Afghan National Agricultural Science and Technical University by providing online scholarships for Afghan students in agro-related fields. India also continued its assistance for the Habibia school and sent winter clothing and more than 5000 units of stationary items for the primary school students." Deputy NSA said, "Drug trafficking is a serious menace for the region. The recent seizures of large shipments of drugs are a worrisome trend. India is partnering with UNODC in Afghanistan to provide humanitarian assistance for individuals, especially females, who are benefiting from drug rehabilitation programs being undertaken in Afghanistan. Under this partnership, India has supplied 11,000 units of hygiene kits, baby food kits, blankets, medical aid etc. to UNODC, Kabul." "It is equally important to create economic opportunities, empower the people to be self-reliant and self-sufficient, and re-build the economy. To this end, India has continued its trade relations with Afghanistan. Tariff concessions under SAFTA continue to be provided to Afghan traders. A 'Humanitarian Air Corridor' between Delhi and Kabul has been created," he added. To foster maritime cooperation, he also invited Central Asian neighbours to utilise the Chabahar port as well as the Shaheed Bahesti terminal at the port for maritime trade with India and other countries of the world. Solicited support of members to include Chabahar port within the framework of INSTC and make this a reality. Sports interactions and exchanges with the Afghan people have been greatly enhanced, he said. Addressing the issue of terrorism at the meeting, Deputy NSA reiterated India' stand that Afghanistan's land should not be used for sheltering, training and planning or financing terrorist acts. "Our collective approach has been articulated in UNSCR 2593. Afghan territory should not be used for sheltering, training, planning or financing terrorist acts; specifically, terrorist individuals proscribed by the UN Security Council, including those belonging to the Lashkar-e-Tayyiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad. It is well established that any instability in Afghanistan is a threat to the whole region," he said. "India was and is an important stakeholder in Afghanistan. Consider it imperative to have a 'consensus' based approach at both levels, regional and international, he added. The 6th Regional Dialogue of Secretaries of Security Councils/National Security Advisers on Afghanistan was held in Bishkek on 16 February 2024. Vikram Misri, Deputy National Security Adviser, National Security Council Secretariat represented India at the dialogue. This is a regional security mechanism on Afghanistan comprising the Secretaries/ NSAs of the National Security Councils of Iran, India, Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, China, Turkmenistan and Pakistan. India hosted the Third Regional Security Dialogue on Afghanistan in New Delhi on 10 November 2021. Notably, NSAs from Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan participated for the first time in The Delhi Dialogue. (ANI) Amid plans by the Israeli armed forces to push ahead and intensify its ongoing military operations in southern Gaza and Rafah where thousands of Palestinians are taking refuge, Egypt began tightening security measures on its border with the Gaza Strip, CNN reported on Friday, adding that the move was aimed at preventing an influx of Palestinians onto its territory. According to the report, the Israeli military launched a ground assault on the enclave's southernmost city, Rafah, where more than half of Gaza's population is being sheltered, just steps away from the frontier. The fortification by the border with Gaza is a 'precautionary' measure ahead of an expected Israeli ground operation in Rafah, Egyptian security officials told CNN. Further, as part of its security buildup, the officials said Egypt has deployed more troops and machinery in North Sinai, bordering Gaza. Also, as a precautionary measure, Egypt appeared to be building a massive, miles-wide buffer zone and wall along its border with southern Gaza, new satellite images showed. CNN reported that the images, taken this week by Maxar Technologies, showed that a significant section of Egypt's territory between a roadway and the Gaza border has been bulldozed. At the actual border, multiple cranes can be seen laying sections of the wall. Additional satellite imagery reviewed by CNN shows that bulldozers arrived at the site on February 3, and the initial excavation of the buffer zone began on February 6. There has been a significant uptick in excavation this week, according to the report. Checkpoints leading to the Rafah border crossing on the Egyptian side have been boosted with more soldiers and the areas around the main road were being prepared for the deployment of tanks and military machinery, CNN reported citing an eyewitness. Egyptian military helicopters were also seen flying on the Egyptian side this week, according to an eyewitness in Egypt and social media videos shot from the Gaza side of the border. Officials in Egypt and Israel rarely criticize one another in public, but Egypt's foreign ministry spokesperson on Monday lambasted comments by far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who said Cairo bears considerable responsibility for the October 7 Hamas attacks on Israel that killed 1,200 people and led to the abduction of more than 250 people, according to CNN. Israel's subsequent military campaign in Gaza has led to the death of more than 28,000 in Gaza, as per the Hamas-run health ministry in the Strip. It is "unfortunate and disgraceful" that Smotrich "continues to make irresponsible and inflammatory statements, which only reveal a hunger for killing and destruction," the Egyptian spokesperson said on X, formerly Twitter. Egypt was the first Arab nation to recognize Israel in 1979. The two signed a landmark pact that saw Israel return the Sinai Peninsula it captured from Egypt in the 1967 war in exchange for peace. The treaty also limited the number of troops stationed on the border between Egypt and Gaza, which at the time was controlled by Israel. The treaty turned Egypt into a pariah in the Arab world but decades later helped pave the way for other Arab nations to sign similar agreements with Israel. Western media outlets, including the Associated Press and The New York Times, have reported that Egypt has threatened to void the peace treaty if Israeli troops invaded Rafah. Egypt's foreign minister dismissed those reports, but said in a news conference Monday that Cairo would adhere to the treaty "as long as it remains reciprocal," the state-run Ahram newspaper reported. CNN cited an Israeli official, who acknowledged that the Egyptians have been concerned with Israel's operation, as saying they are not aware of a specific threat with regard to the treaty. "There is a collaboration between Israeli and Egyptian security forces. Always has been and always will be," the Israeli official told CNN. Emad Gad, an advisor at the Cairo-based Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies and a former member of Egypt's parliament, said Egypt suspending the treaty was "totally unrealistic." The move, he told CNN, would have consequences with the US, including on the significant financial and military aid Egypt receives from Washington. "The present crisis presents potential dangers not seen in previous incidents," said Ofir Winter, senior researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) in Tel Aviv and A lecturer at the Department of Arabic and Islamic Studies at Tel Aviv University, CNN reported. Egypt and Israel have had rough patches since the treaty was signed, Winter told CNN, adding that this is the worst period in Israeli-Egyptian ties since decade-long ruler Abdel Fattah el-Sisi came to power. Israel has been under pressure from the international community to refrain from launching a ground operation in Rafah, which has for weeks been under Israeli aerial bombardment. The city is the last major refuge for Palestinians fleeing the north and centre of Gaza. (ANI) Amid reports of the brutal killing of a social activist Hidayat Lohar in his hometown Nasserabad in the Larkara district of Sindh province in Pakistan, the World Sindhi Congress (WSC) on Friday vehemently condemned the death and said that "This cowardly act of violence underscores the grave risks faced by activists and champions of justice in Sindh. "Lohar's life was tragically cut short when he fell victim to a brutal attack by two assailants on motorcycles in his hometown of Naseerabad, Larkana, Sindh, Pakistan. He was enroute to fulfil his duties as a teacher at a local school, merely minutes away from a police station. This cowardly act of violence underscores the grave risks faced by activists and champions of justice in Sindh," WSC said in an official statement. "World Sindhi Congress Strongly Condemns the Brutal Murder of Sindhi National Activist, Mr. Hidayat LoharThe World Sindhi Congress (WSC) vehemently condemns the ruthless murder of Mr. Hidayat Lohar, a devoted Sindhi National activist and esteemed teacher. With profound sadness, we mourn the loss of a fearless advocate for the rights of Sindhi people," it added. According to the release, the father of activist, Sorath Lohar, central convenor of Voice for Missing Persons of Sindh, and Sasuai Lohar, central press secretary have been left shattered by this tragic loss and are protesting with his dead body, demanding justice and the swift apprehension of those accountable for his brutal murder. Lohar's abduction by Pakistani law enforcement agencies in 2017, followed by over two years of enforced disappearance, serves as a stark reminder of the systematic oppression endured by activists in Sindh. Despite being declared innocent by the court, Lohar's abduction underscores Pakistan's sinister agenda to instil fear and silence dissent within the region. Several prominent activists and human rights organisations from Pakistan also condemned the killing of social activist and said that the incident must be taken seriously. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan also stated on 'X' "HRCP is shocked to learn that schoolteacher and political activist Hidayat Lohar has been murdered in a target killing by unknown persons. Given that Mr Lohar was forcibly disappeared for two years himself and that his family are notable activists for victims of enforced disappearances in Sindh, this incident must be taken seriously. HRCP demands a prompt and transparent investigation into Mr Lohar's murder. HRCP will hold a protest, led by chairperson Asad Iqbal Butt, on Saturday 17 Feb at 4 pm outside the Karachi Press Club in solidarity with Mr Lohar's family." https://twitter.com/HRCP87/status/1758431101675278548?s=20 Lohar was a prominent activist from Sindh who regularly raised his voice against enforced disappearances of the people belonging to the Sindhi community. Renowned Baloch leader and activist, Mahrang Baloch in a recent social media post on 'X' said that "Shocked & saddened by the news of Hidayat Lohar's brutal killing. He was the father of Sassi & Soraat Lohar, prominent leaders of the @VmpSindh7. Despite enduring forced disappearances himself, Hidayat Lohar's dedication to defending human rights is an inspiration to us all. Those responsible for this crime must be held accountable. We must unite in collective struggle against state oppression. #EndEnforcedDisappearances. https://twitter.com/MahrangBaloch_/status/1758433425797587333?s=20 Another prominent Baloch activist, Sammi Deen Baloch said on 'X', "It is with deep sorrow to hear the tragic assassination of Hidayat Lohar. Sassi and @Sorath_Latif, brave daughters of Lohar, had previously courageously combated the unlawful abduction of their father, and ultimately achieved his safe release. https://twitter.com/SammiBaluch/status/1758435680953262474?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet "Then they went on to become an advocate for all families of missing persons and a strong voice for the oppressed people of Sindh who have been suffering state cruelties, despite facing numerous threats and baseless legal charges. Sadly, now their father has been ruthlessly murdered. Oppressed people get no justice, only dead bodies," Baloch activist added. (ANI) The Kathmandu University in Nepal hosted the prestigious AIU North Zone Vice Chancellors meet under the theme of "Globalisation and Internationalisation of Higher Education & The Bharat-Nepal Higher Education Summit" from February 15 to 17. The summit being held at the University campus in Kavre's Dhulikhel is aimed to foster collaboration and knowledge exchange among universities from both nations and further strengthen the educational ties between Bharat and Nepal. The event included three Technical Sessions on topics such as "International Collaborations and Partnerships: Building Bridges for Higher Education", "Global Higher Education Policy & Regulation: Harmonizing Standards" and "Student Mobility and Diversity: Enhancing International Experience." The Summit was inaugurated by Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal who said, 'There is a huge out flow of money from countries like Nepal on higher education and this trend should now be reversed. We should create an environment conducive for those youths seeking opportunities globally." He also pointed out the need to re-evaluate the internationalization of higher education. The Summit was also attended by the Vice Chancellor of Amity University, Uttar Pradesh, Balvinder Shukla who while speaking at the Summit noted that with the introduction of National Education Policy-2020, the importance of global higher education policy and regulations has increased manifolds on an international scale. "The AIU Meet aims to explore the theme of 'Globalisation and Internationalisation of Higher Education' for insightful discussions and nationwide collaboration of institutions at the zonal and national levels. Because of the implementation of NEP-2020, the importance of Global higher education policy and its regulation increases manifold as it encompasses the various laws, policies, and frameworks that govern HEIs and systems on an international scale," she said. "Also, these policies and regulations address a wide range of issues, including quality assurance, accreditation, funding, mobility, research, and collaboration. Global higher education policy and regulation require coordination, collaboration, and ongoing dialogue among governments, international organizations, institutions, and stakeholders to ensure the quality, accessibility, and relevance of higher education," she added. During the meet, 100 Indian Universities, showcased about 5000 academic and vocational programmes, innovations, and best practices. The faculty and students from India and Nepal got an opportunity to interact and deliberate on mutual research collaborations, faculty/student exchange, twining programmes, joint/dual degrees, etc., and to showcase their innovations and best practices. (ANI) Stressing that the global order is not working for anyone, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, on Friday said the global community was more fragmented and divided than in the past 75 years. Addressing the world leaders at the Munich Security Conference in Germany, Guterres said global governance in its present form is "entrenching divisions and fueling discontent." "The global order is not working for anyone. Our world is facing existential challenges, but the global community is more fragmented and divided than at any time during the past 75 years," the UN Secretary-General said, adding, "Everyone is fighting for a piece of this pie. We need peace for justice." "The transition to multipolarity without strong international institutions can create chaos," the UN Chief added. Guterres stated that if governments honoured their duties under the UN Charter, "every individual on Earth would live in peace and dignity". However, governments are disregarding these obligations, and millions of people are paying a high price, with unprecedented numbers compelled to escape, he noted during his address. Meanwhile, weighing in on the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Guterres said the suffering and loss of lives have been 'appalling' while its impact on the global economy has been devastating, particularly for developing countries, UN News reported. "We desperately need a just and sustainable peace for Ukraine, for Russia, and for the world. A peace in line with the UN Charter and international law, which establishes the obligation to respect the territorial integrity of sovereign States," Secretary-General Guterres said. Guterres also touched on his 'New Agenda for Peace', which was introduced last July and intends to modernise global collective security structures through "a more networked and inclusive multilateralism". The recommendations include restructuring the UN Security Council, recommitting to the elimination of nuclear weapons, and emphasising the importance of sustainable development and climate action in conflict prevention, the UN News release reported. The 'New Agenda for Peace' will be considered during the Summit of the Future, which will be held in September at the UN Headquarters in New York. The UN Secretary-General stated further that the international community should strive for reasonable and equitable solutions. Addressing the mounting civilian toll and the humanitarian crisis in Gaza in the face of the military offensive that followed the heinous strikes by Hamas in southern Israel on October 7, he said, "The situation in Gaza is an appalling indictment of the deadlock in global relations." "The level of death and destruction is shocking in itself. The war is also spilling over borders across the region and affecting global trade," the UN chief added. Noting that the humanitarian response was "now on life support," he warned that an all-out assault on Rafah, the heart of the humanitarian assistance operation in Gaza, where over half the population in Gaza is currently sheltered, would prove disastrous for civilians already on the verge of survival. "I have repeatedly called for the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages, and a humanitarian ceasefire. That is the only way to massively scale up aid delivery in Gaza," the UN News release quoted Guterres as saying. The 60th Munich Security Conference (MSC) is taking place as an in-person event from February 16-18, 2024, at its traditional venue, the Hotel Bayerischer Hof in Munich, an official statement said. This year's conference is being held under the chairmanship of the German Ambassador to the US, Christoph Heusgen. According to the statement, "the MSC will once again welcome a series of high-ranking international decision-makers and experts, including heads of state and government, ministers, and diverse voices from international organisations, civil society, the private sector and the media." (ANI) Indian farmers are using kites to battle against drones that law enforcement personnel are using to disperse demonstrators using tear gas canisters. For the past two days, thousands of farmers in India have fought pitched battles with security forces roughly 200 kilometers north of New Delhi. The situation comes after law enforcement authorities stopped the demonstrators' "Delhi Chalo" or "Let's go to Delhi" march to the capital. Indian Farmers' Protest The protests are part of the farmers' efforts to demand the local government provide higher prices for their crops. Representatives of the farmer's unions on Thursday met with government officials in an attempt to reach a solution for the current issues. The farmers also brought their tractors and trucks along to the demonstrations and have used them, along with other farm equipment, as deterrents to the police action. Jute vegetable sacks are soaked in water and are used to contain the tear gas canisters while blowers disperse the fumes, as per Reuters. On top of using kites, the farmers were also equipped with slingshots and flare guns as they fired against the police drones. In a statement, the general secretary of the Punjab Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee, Sarvan Singh Pandher, said that many people who joined the movement are veterans of the army, police, or other forces. Many servicemen in the country's Punjab and Haryana states turn to farming in order to make a living after they retire. A 23-year-old protestor, Karampal Singh, said that law enforcement personnel were "forcing" farmers to act this way. He said, "Let them do what they want, we will find a solution." On the other hand, law enforcement personnel are also using their own innovative tactics to control the protesters. Reports noted that this was the first time that security forces utilized drones to drop tear gas canisters. Police sources said on Thursday that they were monitoring the situation closely to watch out for strategies and techniques that the farmer groups used in their skirmishes with Haryana Police. Delhi Police were able to procure 20,000 tear gas shells to be used in case of riotous situations, according to the Times of India. Read Also: India Begins To Deploy Naval Forces to International Waters To Challenge China Kites Versus Police Drones Sources noted that the procurement of the equipment was made from BSF's Tear Smoke Unit at Tekanpur in Madhya Pradesh's Gwalior. The canisters will be distributed to the districts that are near the border areas. Furthermore, deployment of law enforcement personnel at the borders and in central Delhi localities has now reportedly reached around 25,000. The Union home ministry has also sent roughly 85 companies of reserve forces to the capital and 150 companies of additional forces have been mobilized on top of local police deployments. On top of using the usual sandbags and barbed wire, police have dug up strips of the road going to the capital and drilled nails into some stretches to prevent vehicles from moving forward. Law enforcement personnel were also using devices that emit high-pitched sounds to stop the protesters in their tracks and have stocked up on lubricants to make the roads slippery if the farmers decide to use horses to advance, said the Straits Times. Related Article: Indian City Faces Chaos as Hundreds Get Injured Amid Conflict Over Demolition of Madrasa United States Vice President Kamala Harris on Friday blamed Russia as reports came of the Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny's death in a Russian prison, CNN reported. "Before I begin today, we've all just received reports that Aleksey Navalny has died in Russia. This is, of course, terrible news, which we are working to confirm. My prayers are with his family, including his wife, Yulia, who is with us today," she said. "And if confirmed, this would be a further sign of Putin's brutality. Whatever story they tell, let us be clear: Russia is responsible," she added while speaking at the Munich Security Conference in Germany. Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has died in prison, Al Jazeera reported on Friday, citing state media. The death of the jailed Russian opposition leader, 47, has been reported by state media which further cited the prison service of the Yamalo-Nenets region where he had been serving his sentence. Al Jazeera cited a statement put out by state media quoting the prison service of the Yamalo-Nenets region which said that Navalny "felt bad" after a walk and lost consciousness "almost immediately." Describing the ongoing role of the US in Israel Hamas war, Harris said, "In the Middle East, we are working to end the conflict that Hamas triggered on October 7th as soon as possible and ensure it ends in a way where Israel is secure, hostages are released, the humanitarian crisis is resolved, Hamas does not control Gaza, and Palestinians can enjoy their right to security, dignity, freedom, and self-determination." "This work, while we also work to counter aggression from Iran and its proxies, prevent regional escalation, and promote regional integration," she added. During her speech, Harris launched a veiled attack against Trump, describing his foreign policy approach as "dangerous" and issuing a stark warning if the US cedes ground to Russia. "They suggest it's in the best interest of the American people to isolate ourselves from the world, to flout common understandings among nations, to embrace dictators, and adopt the repressive tactics and abandon commitments to our allies in favor of unilateral action," Harris said. "Let me be clear - that worldview is dangerous, destabilizing and indeed shortsighted," she said. Trump had drawn immediate consternation last weekend for saying he would encourage Russia to invade countries that don't meet their NATO obligations. The comment concerned not only the American foreign policy establishment but from American NATO allies, who have watched warily as Russia proceeds with its invasion of Ukraine. The former president on Wednesday said he wouldn't defend NATO nations who don't spend enough on defense but did not repeat his comment about encouraging Russia to do whatever they want "I've been saying look, if they're not going to pay, we're not going to protect, OK. And Biden said, 'Oh this is so bad, this is so terrible that he would say that.' No, if they're not paying their bills, and most of them weren't when I got there," Trump said at a campaign event in North Charleston, South Carolina. The 60th Munich Security Conference (MSC) got underway an in-person event from February 16-18, 2024, at its traditional venue, the Hotel Bayerischer Hof in Munich, according to an official statement. This year's conference is being held under the chairmanship of the German Ambassador to the US, Christoph Heusgen. (ANI) United States Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources Richard Verma will travel to India, Maldives and Sri Lanka from February 18-23. The visit is aimed at strengthening cooperation between the US and each of these Indo-Pacific partners. He will first travel to India, where he is scheduled to meet with senior government officials, business leaders, and entrepreneurs to advance the US-Indian global strategic partnership on a full range of issues, including economic development, security, and technology, according to a US Department of State press release. In the press release, the US Department of State said, "Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources Richard R Verma will travel to India, Maldives, and Sri Lanka on February 18-23 to strengthen the United States' cooperation with each of these key Indo-Pacific partners." "Shortly following the second anniversary of the US Indo-Pacific Strategy, his trip will reaffirm the United States' enduring commitment to a free, open, secure, and prosperous region," it added. On Friday, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar held a meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Munich and held talks on the sidelines of the ongoing security conference in the German capital. The talks between the two leaders centred on the ongoing situation in West Asia, Ukraine and the Indo-Pacific. Taking to his official handle on social media platform X, the EAM posted, "Great to meet my friend US @SecBlinken this afternoon on MSC 2024 sidelines." "Our talk centered on the situation in West Asia, Ukraine and Indo-Pacific. Reviewed the continuing progress in our bilateral ties," he added. After concluding his visit to India, Richard Verma will travel to Maldives to meet with senior officials and advance shared priorities in increasing economic cooperation and promoting maritime security. He will also tour the planned office space for a new US Embassy in Male, according to the US Department of State press release. He is also scheduled to travel to Sri Lanka and hold meetings with senior officials who will support US-Sri Lankan defence and maritime security cooperation. He will visit the Port of Colombo's West Container Terminal, where the US is supporting Sri Lanka's ongoing economic recovery through USD 553 million in financing to transform Colombo into a regional shipping hub. Verma will meet with civil society leaders in Sri Lanka to hear their perspectives on democratic governance in Sri Lanka and with government officials to voice US support for the protection of free speech and open discourse. (ANI) NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) Motorists ran into serious delays near Berry Hill after a vehicle reportedly ended up underneath a tractor-trailer along Interstate 440 Friday afternoon. The Metro Nashville Police Department said a call came in about the incident at mile marker 5.6 on I-440 East shortly before 1:30 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 16. According to authorities, a vehicle got trapped under a tractor-trailer, leaving one person injured. Have breaking come to you: Subscribe to News 2 email alerts The Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) SmartWay map showed traffic backed up along the interstate, with multiple TDOT and Tennessee Highway Patrol (THP) vehicles blocking all but one eastbound lane at the crash site. However, all lanes have since reopened. No additional details have been released about the incident, which is reportedly under investigation by THP. Download the News 2 app to stay updated on the go. Sign up for WKRN email alerts to have breaking news sent to your inbox. Find todays top stories on WKRN.com for Nashville, TN and all of Middle Tennessee. This is a developing story. WKRN News 2 will continue to update this article as new information becomes available. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKRN News 2. Australian police offered a $1 million award Friday for help solving the cold case of a mother who was murdered 45 years ago. Mary Anne Fagan, a homemaker with five young children, was found stabbed to death in 1978 at her Armadale home, Victoria police said. Mary Ann Fagan, a mother of five children, was murdered in Australia in 1978. Victoria Police are offering a $1 million reward for information in her case. / Credit: Victoria Police, Australia Detectives said in a statement they "believe that it is possible there are still people in the community who know what happened to Mary Anne and who was responsible." On the morning of Feb. 17, Fagan drove her children, then 15, 13, 12, 6 and 17 months, to school in the family's station wagon. She returned home around 9:15 a.m. and was seen about an hour later in the front yard of the property by a witness who had driven past the house, police said in a statement. Her husband, who was away at work, called his 41-year-old wife around 11 a.m. for a brief conversation. That was the last time anyone spoke to or heard from Fagan. When her children arrived home around 4 p.m. that afternoon the side gate was open, they couldn't find their mother, and they heard a baby crying in the house. Victoria police said the children found Fagan bound and gagged, and fatally stabbed a number of times in the front bedroom of the house. A number of personal items taken from the home have never been recovered, police said. Australian police have offered large rewards previously to the public for assistance in solving cases. Last May Western Australia Police offered a $1 million award for information about 12-year-old, James Patrick Taylor, known as Jimmy, who vanished on Aug. 29, 1974, after walking from his family's home in Derby to a local store about half a mile away. A month later, Queensland police offered a $500,000 award from information in the case of Meaghan Louise Rose, who was found dead at the base of Point Cartwright Cliffs at Mooloolaba on the Sunshine Coast on July 18, 1997. Queensland police issued an arrest warrant for 70-year-old Keith Lees shortly after the award announcement. Shooting after Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl parade leaves one dead Eyewitnesses describe scene at Kansas City Chiefs parade shooting Biggest benefits of opening a CD right now As a fire raged in historic Bisbee Wednesday night, gutting the inside of two historic storefronts, officials said the city's antiquated fire suppression system made it challenging to efficiently contain the fire. The fire occurred in Old Bisbee on Main Street, the city's primary tourist and commercial corridor filled with boutiques, art galleries and eateries. For four years, the city has turned to the U.S. Department of Agriculture for help to upgrade the plumbing infrastructure in Old Bisbee, with no luck. With virtually no space between storefronts, containing the fire was of the utmost importance. Although the Bisbee Fire Department and other responding agencies were able to contain the blaze, it took them longer than desired with the area's 100-year-old water lines, said City Manager Stephen Pauken. "I saw it last night. We were able to get water on the fire, but it wasn't like we wanted," he said. Firefighters hose down a building on Main St. in Bisbee, AZ on Feb. 15, 2024. An upgraded water system would result in more water pressure, and water flow, and higher capacity, Pauken said, adding it would have helped responding agencies fight the fire faster. On Wednesday night, Pauken said he saw around a dozen fire trucks lined up on Main Street, with six agencies assisting. Once the Douglas Fire Department arrived with a ladder fire truck, firefighters were able to put out the fire much faster. Douglas is located 25 miles southeast of Bisbee. Officials were unsure of the estimated damage and cost of fighting the fire, as buildings were still smoldering Thursday. Firefighters hose down a building on Main St. in Bisbee, AZ on Feb. 15, 2024. Bisbee faces challenges to fund water system upgrades In addition to upgrading the plumbing infrastructure in Old Bisbee. Pauken said the city would also like to have a ladder truck, but it remains unaffordable for such a small community. "These events normally bring out weaknesses in your infrastructure," Pauken said. "And for the last four years, we have been trying to get funding from federal agencies, especially in the post-Covid period where there's a lot of money available." The city applied four times for the USDA grant in conjunction with the Arizona Water Company, a water utility company in Bisbee, officials said. A USDA spokesperson could not be reached Thursday afternoon. Despite having an antiquated water system, Pauken said the impact of the blaze could have been worse and spread up and down the entire historic corridor. Firefighters hose down a building on Main St. in Bisbee, AZ on Feb. 15, 2024. The calm weather worked in the city's favor, as the night had cool temperatures and no wind, he said. Although the city has not yet determined the cause of the fire, part of the area will likely have to be rebuilt, Pauken said. "There's a big crack right between the two buildings and it's leaning out," he said pointing at one of the two buildings impacted by the fire. Firefighters hose down a building on Main St. in Bisbee, AZ on Feb. 15, 2024. Town rallies around emergency responders Bisbee Mayor Ken Budge said the town is rallying behind the personnel responding to the fire. On Thursday morning, Cafe Roka, a restaurant across the street from where the fire occurred, was feeding public works personnel and others late Thursday morning. "That's what I love about this town because we are so eclectic in respect of whether you're an old miner, or an old hippie or one of the new entrepreneurs. Everybody works together for the better," Budge said. When business owner Doc Dougherty of Doc's Dyes heard about the fire on local Facebook Groups Wednesday night, he was concerned the fire would spread down Main Street but had faith in the city's fire department. "We were concerned about it spreading. These are all mom-and-pop businesses ... And we all live and work here. What impacts one impacts us all to a degree," Dougherty said. "We were concerned last night, but of course we do have a good fire department." Firefighters hose down a building on Main St. in Bisbee, AZ on Feb. 15, 2024. City officials said they want to open nearby restaurants and businesses as soon as possible, as tourism is one of the city's primary economic drivers and February is in the middle of tourist season. The city will block off the affected area in such a way that many of the nearby businesses can reopen, Pauken said. "We are open for business. If you were planning to come to Bisbee this weekend, please come," he said. Reach the reporter at sarah.lapidus@gannett.com. The Republics coverage of southern Arizona is funded, in part, with a grant from Report for America. Support Arizona news coverage with a tax-deductible donation at supportjournalism.azcentral.com. This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Bisbee's antiquated water system made fighting fire a challenge WELCH, WV (WVNS) 11 people were arrested and one suspect was found dead after an investigation was done into suspicious drone activity happening at the Federal Correctional Institute-McDowell (FCI McDowell). According to a press release from Sheriff Muncy of the McDowell County Sheriffs Office, officials from FCI McDowell contacted the Sheriffs Office requesting help into investigating suspicious drone activity happening around the facility. Once an investigation into the drone activity was started, Sheriff Muncy received multiple reports of drone activity around the federal prison in December 2023. On February 9, 2024, deputies went to arrest a suspect connected to the investigation, 29-year-old Jose Sanchez Rodriguez. According to the press release, Rodriguez ran from deputies and was not immediately found. He was then placed into the National Crime Information Center database. On February 15, 2024, members of the McDowell County Sheriffs Office found Jose Rodriguez dead. His body was sent to the WV Medical Examiners Office for an autopsy. U.S. Marshals warns West Virginia residents about hoax phone calls In collaboration with the West Virginia State Police Welch Detachment and the McDowell County Prosecutors office, the following people were arrested in connection to the investigation: Jose Enrigue was arrested and charged with Attempt to Introduce Contraband into a Correctional Facility, Attempt to Unlawfully Operate an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (Drone), & Felony Conspiracy. He has a $20,000 cash only bond. Arturo Gallegos was arrested and charged with Attempt to Introduce Contraband into a Correctional Facility, Attempt to Unlawfully Operate an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (Drone), Possession with Intent to Deliver a Schedule I Controlled Substance & Felony Conspiracy. He was given a $50,000 cash only bond. Dominguez Santos was arrested and charged with Attempt to Introduce Contraband into a Correctional Facility, Attempt to Unlawfully Operate an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (Drone), & Felony Conspiracy. He faces a $20,000 cash only bond. Bailey Rene Sexton was arrested and charged with Attempt To Introduce Contraband into a Correctional Facility, Possession witt Intent to Deliver a Schedule I Controlled Substance, Possession with Intent to Deliver a Schedule II Controlled Substance, Attempt to Unlawfully Operate an Unmanned Areial Vehicle (Drone), Felony Conspiracy, & Contributing to The Delinquency of a Child. She has a $40,000 cash only bond. Hector Luis was arrested and charged with Obstructing An Officer, Fleeing from Officer On Foot, Assault on Officer, Battery on Officer, Unauthorized Use of An Unmanned Aerial Vehicle, Introduction of Contraband into A Correctional Facility, Terroristic Acts, & Felony Conspiracy. He was given a $150,000 cash only bond. Raymond Saez was arrested and charged with Obstructing An Officer, Fleeing from Officer On Foot, Assault on Officer, Battery on Officer, Unauthorized Use of An Unmanned Aerial Vehicle, Introduction of Contraband into A Correctional Facility, Terroristic Acts, & Felony Conspiracy. He has a $150,000 cash only bond. Rivera Gamalier was arrested and charged with being a Fugitive from Justice out of the state of Pennsylvania. He also has pending charges of nauthorized Use of An Unmanned Aerial Vehicle, Introduction of Contraband into A Correctional Facility, Terroristic Acts, & Felony Conspiracy. His bond was listed as Fugitive Hold. The following people were also arrested but did not have a mugshot available: Frank Salgado was arrested and charged with No Operators, No Insurance, Introduction of Contraband into a Correctional Facility, Unauthorized Use of an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle, & Felony Conspiracy. He has a $50,000 cash only bond. Francisco Gonzalez was arrested and charged with Attempt to Introduce Contraband into a Correctional Facility, Attempt to Unlawfully Operate an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (Drone), Possession w. Intent to Deliver a Schedule I Controlled Substance & Felony Conspiracy. He faces a $50,000 cash only bond. Miguel Piceno was arrested and charged with Attempt to Introduce Contraband into a Correctional Facility, Attempt to Unlawfully Operate an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (Drone), Possession with Intent to Deliver a Schedule I Controlled Substance & Felony Conspiracy. He was given a $50,000 cash only bond. J.H., a juvenile, was arrested and charged with Charges: Attempt To Introduce Contraband into A Correctional Facility, Possession with Intent to Deliver a Schedule I Controlled Substance, Possession with Intent to Deliver a Schedule II Controlled Substance, Attempt to Unlawfully Operate an Unmanned Areial Vehicle (Drone), & Felony Conspiracy. A detention hearing was held by Magistrate Judge Mark Shelton. The McDowell County Sheriffs Office has met with the McDowell County Prosecuting Attorneys Office and United States Attorneys office regarding the investigation and prosecution of those charged. The meetings were also done to ensure the safety and wellness of McDowell County residents and the staff at FCI McDowell. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WVNS. Pennsylvanias workforce ended 2023 on a high note, and plenty of high-paying jobs are available through the commonwealths public sector. According to the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industrys December unemployment report, the Keystone States unemployment rate sits at roughly 3.5%, up slightly from 3.4% in November but still below the national 3.7% rate. Pennsylvanias total nonfarm jobs increased by about 6,200 and landed at a record 6.18 million, the agency says. If youre searching for a job with steady pay and strong benefits, the public sector might be your best bet. Heres a look at some of the highest-paying jobs open and advertised publicly through the commonwealths online portal as of mid-February. Staff psychiatrist Salary: $189,399 to $224,708 Agency: Department of Human Services Description: Clarks Summit State Hospital is recruiting a licensed psychiatrist to perform detailed examinations, make appropriate diagnoses, perform daily rounds, assume leadership roles during psychiatric emergencies, prescribe treatment orders and assume responsibility for the overall treatment of patients, according to the online job posting. This job, based in Lackawanna County, operates on a Monday-through-Friday schedule but may require some evening, weekend and on-call work hours. Key qualifications and requirements include certification from the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology or the American Osteopathic Board of Neurology and Psychiatry, plus a license to practice medicine in Pennsylvania. Dentist openings Salary: $128,274 to $174,358 Agency: Department of Corrections Description: Many dentists are needed to work with inmates and oversee dental operations at several state correctional facilities throughout the commonwealth. Dental professionals in these roles provide basic dental care to their inmate populations while referring patients to physicians, oral surgeons and other health care professionals as needed. Positions are open at correctional facilities in Clearfield, Forest, Greene, Huntingdon (SCI Huntingdon and SCI Smithfield), Luzerne and Somerset counties. Candidates should have a license to practice dentistry, plus training through graduation from an approved school of dentistry. Veterans Extended Care Facility commandant Salary: $110,240 to $167,531 Agency: Department of Military and Veterans Affairs Description: The Southwest Veterans Center, located in Pittsburgh, is searching for a qualified candidate to lead health care activities and management functions. This facility provides nursing, personal and domiciliary care, treatment and restorative and rehabilitative services for veterans requiring long-term care, the job listing says. Minimum qualifications for the Allegheny County-based job include at least six years of professional management experience in budgeting, accounting, purchasing or human resources, including at least four years of experience in a hospital or nursing home, plus a bachelors degree. An equivalent combination of experience and training can work, too. Candidates should also hold a valid license as a nursing home administrator, as issued by the Pennsylvania State Board of Examiners of Nursing Home Administrators. No degree needed for these open Pennsylvania state jobs. One offers up to $76K a year Environmental toxicologist Salary: $110,240 to $167,531 Agency: Department of Environmental Protection Description: Pennsylvanias environmental agency is searching for a qualified candidate to provide expert advice and scientific guidance relating to environmental toxicology. This position holds great importance, as it directly impacts the well-being and survival of Pennsylvainas diverse biological resources and their inhabitants, the online job description reads. Though the position is listed in Dauphin County, a toxicologist in this role might have the opportunity to work remotely full-time, the listing says. Key qualifications for the role include at least three years of post-doctoral experience in toxicology or pharmacology, including two years of experience in conducting risk assessments or setting toxicity thresholds, plus a doctoral degree in toxicology or another closely related field. The position also requires board certification in general toxicology from the American Board of Toxicology or an equivalent certifying body within 18 months of employment. IT services coordinator Salary: $84,597 to $128,627 Agency: Pennsylvania Office of Administration Description: This role, officially listed as information technology generalist administrator 2, helps lead the agencys technology initiatives while blending strategic thinking with tactical execution. Key responsibilities include leading and directing IT strategy development and project coordination while consulting with business units, coordinating support activities and championing projects that enhance system reliability, security and cost-effectiveness, the job listing says. Full-time remote work is possible for this Dauphin County-based job, according to its description. The minimum qualifications vary widely depending on candidates schooling and work history, but it generally seeks experience as a tech administrator working in application development and maintenance, network operation and maintenance, website development and design, data analysis and more. Candidates must meet the Pennsylvania residency requirement for this role. Auditor Salary: $75,191 to $112,666 Agency: Department of the Auditor General Description: The Bureau of Performance Audits seeks an auditor to supervise performance audits of commonwealth agencies and state-owned institutions, plus other special projects as assigned, the job description reads. An auditor in this position, officially titled auditor 4, is responsible for planning, directing and supervising auditors and keeping them in line with official policies, procedures, laws, regulations and auditing standards. Auditors in this role also complete and submit administrative reports and provide mentoring and training to audit staff. This job is based in Dauphin County and may qualify for full-time remote work. Key qualifications include a bachelors degree in accounting or auditing or a bachelors degree with at least 12 credits in accounting or auditing (plus an equivalent combination of work experience in government auditing and training). Candidates must have a valid Pennsylvania drivers license. Preferred qualifications include one or more of several certifications, including those for public accountants, fraud examiners, internal auditors and government auditing professionals. In the first month of this year, the Tennessee Department of Health carried out more than 800 inspections of restaurants, food trucks and other food service kitchens in Davidson County. The median score for those inspections continued to be high: 97 out of 100. But not every restaurant scored that well. A health inspector in Texas examines the hood vent in a restaurant. Listed below, in alphabetical order, are the 17 restaurants that received a score of 74 or below in January on initial inspections. Unless specified, the restaurants are in Nashville. Restaurants are given a chance to correct issues, and sometimes a follow-up inspection is completed the same day. A full list of January inspection scores can be found at the end of this story. Want to learn more about restaurant health inspection in Tennessee? See our explainer. The Tennessean also posted a searchable database with health inspection scores dating back to August 2022. Inspections can be found at the end of this article. Full inspection reports can be found on the website of the Tennessee Department of Health. More: What you need to know about restaurant health inspections Acapulco Burrito Restaurant Score = 61. Date of inspection: Jan. 29. Examples of violations: White, fuzzy stuff on lettuce in the cooler; raw meat was thawing in a sink of standing water; black substance on ice machine. See the full inspection report. 13020 Old Hickory Blvd., Antioch China Pan Buffet & Grill Score = 69. Date of inspection: Jan. 11. Examples of violations: Employees handled food without washing hands; tray that held raw fish rinsed but not washed before it was put away; floors were dirty in kitchen and walk-in cooler. See the full inspection report. Follow-up score = 93. Date of follow-up inspection: Jan. 25. 5353 Mt. View Road, Antioch Dumpling House Score = 63. Date of inspection: Jan. 30. Examples of violations: Black build-up on floor under coolers and kitchen equipment; plastic bag of raw chicken was stored on floor of walk-in cooler; excessive grease drips on oven vent. See the full inspection report. 2117 Belcourt Ave. El Santuario Mexican Kitchen Score = 70. Date of inspection: Jan. 9 Examples of violations: Spoiled, gelatinous buttermilk dated from October in the cooler; raw food thawing on prep table; spider seen descending from ceiling. See the full inspection report. Follow-up score = 86. Date of follow-up inspection: Jan. 24. (Note: Restaurant scored 91 on a second follow-up inspection on Jan. 25) 1132 Murfreesboro Pike Element Hotel (kitchen) Score = 71. Date of inspection: Jan. 25. Examples of violations: A moldy block of brie cheese was in a cooler; women's restroom had no soap; employee loaded dirty dishes and then handled clean dishes without first washing hands. See the full inspection report. Follow-up score = 98. Date of follow-up inspection: Feb. 9. 2825 Elm Hill Pike Horus Cafe Score = 72. Date of inspection: Jan. 24. Examples of violations: Person in charge handled raw chicken then opened bag of raw beef without first washing hands; grocery bags used to store raw meat; walls and floors damaged and have excessive food debris. See the full inspection report. Follow-up score: 94. Date of follow-up inspection: Feb. 5. 888 Murfreesboro Pike La Costa Nayarita Restaurant Score = 46. Date of inspection: Jan. 10. Examples of violations: Raw fish being thawed in a sink of stagnant water; fly traps with dead insects hanging above food prep area; significant black buildup on nozzles of soda machine. See the full inspection report. Follow-up score: 87. Date of follow-up inspection: Feb. 1. 5332 Cane Ridge Road, Antioch L.A. Jackson at the Thompson Hotel Score = 74. Date of inspection: Jan. 29. Examples of violations: The temperature in a prep cooler was 50 degrees; raw eggs stored above produce in a walk-in cooler; employee was eating cookies above clean cups in dish washing area. See the full inspection report. 401 11th Ave. S. Nash House Southern Spoon and Saloon Score = 69. Date of inspection: Jan. 29. Examples of violations: Spoiled spinach in cooler; employee loaded dirty dishes and then handle clean dishes without first washing hands; hand sink leaking onto floor. See the full inspection report. Follow-up score: 91. Date of follow-up inspection: Jan. 29. 114 Eighth Ave. S. One Spunky Spud Score = 74. Date of inspection: Jan. 24. Examples of violations: Vent hood filters extremely dirty; no soap at a hand sink; bare wood separates kitchen and dining area. See the full inspection report. Follow-up score: 95. Date of follow-up inspection: Feb. 1. 1000 Rivergate Parkway, Goodlettsville Roma Pizza & Pasta Score = 69. Date of inspection: Jan. 25. Examples of violations: Cooked wings stored in a raw chicken box; green spots growing on bag of unopened shredded cheese; live roaches seen in the three-compartment sink. See the full inspection report. Follow-up score: 91. Date of follow-up inspection: Feb. 1. 3803 Gallatin Road Sky Bar & Lounge Score = 70. Date of inspection: Jan. 9. Examples of violations: Several refrigerators had no thermometers; beer cooler in bar area had black and brown material on the inside; raw eggs stored overnight at room temperature. See the full inspection report. 825 Hamilton Crossing Starwood Pizza Score = 73. Date of inspection: Jan. 25. Examples of violations: Roach seen crawling on wall behind the three-compartment sink; brown substance on the inside of the prep cooler; raw chicken stored above ready-to-eat food. See the full inspection report. Follow-up score: 87. Date of follow-up inspection: Jan. 25. 12637 Old Hickory Blvd., Antioch Taqueria El Millon (food truck) Score = 62. Date of inspection: Jan. 29. Examples of violations: Food in cooler is not marked with date; no soap at the hand sink; person in charge did not know the symptoms of food-borne illnesses. See the full inspection report. Follow-up score = 93. Date of follow-up inspection: Feb. 8. 14910 Old Hickory Blvd. Ten Century Restaurant Score = 69. Date of inspection: Jan. 25. Examples of violations: Beer pooling on floor of the walk-in cooler; live roach seen on baseboard in the buffet area; raw fish was thawing on a rack at room temperature. See the full inspection report. Follow-up score = 92. Date of follow-up inspection: Jan. 31. 10 Century Blvd. Till Five Pizza Score = 62. Date of inspection: Jan. 23. Examples of violations: Person in charge could not answer questions about proper cooking temperatures; raw shrimp stored above apples in a cooler; frozen sandwich meat was thawing on top of a toaster. See the full inspection report. Follow-up score = 88. Date of follow-up inspection: Jan. 29. 231 Seventh Ave. N. Wingstop Score = 74. Date of inspection: Jan. 24. Examples of the violations: Heavy grease build-up on the floors; the walk-in cooler was missing a thermometer; ceiling tiles leaking water on the floor; an employee illness policy not on site. See the full inspection report. 127 Gallatin Pike N., Madison This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Nashville health inspections: List of 17 worst restaurant inspections A mechanic prepares dry ice to cool an engine down during the Sprint Race of the 2023 United States Grand Prix in Austin, Texas, Oct 21, 2023. A group of Tennessee elementary students and a teacher were briefly hospitalized Friday following a science experiment involving dry ice. Third-grade students began to fall ill after conducting the experiment at Vena Stuart Elementary in Gallatin, about 30 miles northeast of Nashville, a Sumner County Schools spokesperson told WZTV. An "outside presenter was working with the students to conduct the experiment, after which several students reported feeling sick, the outlet reported. The school reached out to Sumner County Emergency Services "of an abundance of caution," the spokesperson said. All 18 students and their teacher were taken to a local hospital to be evaluated. Everyone involved, including the students, are reportedly in stable and good condition, the outlet reported. The students parents were all notified of the incident. Gallatin Fire was said to have assessed and ventilated the classroom where the incident took place. USA TODAY has reached out to Sumner County Schools and Gallatin Fire Department for comment. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 18 Tennessee students, teacher hospitalized after dry ice experiment Montana Republican Rep. Matt Rosendale announced that he is dropping his Senate bid a week after the official launch as former United States President Donald Trump endorsed his rival, Tim Sheehy. Rosendale had publicly explored a campaign for the Senate for months, teasing his potential entrance into the race in conversations with like-minded GOP lawmakers. However, a few hours after he got into the race, the former president had already given his endorsement to another candidate. Matt Rosendale Drops Montana Senate Bid The Montana representative said that he concluded his path was irrevocably severed by the Republican businessman. The state is a top target for Republicans as they seek to take control of the Senate. Rosendale finally announced his long-anticipated Senate bid last Friday as the GOP is looking to unseat Sen. Jon Tester, who is one of only two Democratic senators running for re-election in states that Trump won in 2020. The sudden reversal is a boon to national Republicans, who have given their support to Sheehy and are eager to avoid a damaging primary. Rosendale conceded in his statement that in his state, Trump's endorsement of Sheehy would be too much to overcome, as per Politico. Furthermore, the Montana representative also faced a serious fundraising challenge given the head start that his rival Sheehy and his allies had. Sheehy, who runs an aerial firefighting company, has massive personal wealth and is willing to self-fund his campaign. Rosendale said that by his calculations, Trump's endorsement of Sheehy and his own lack of resources means that the battle will just be too uphill. The Montana representative has not yet decided whether or not he will run for re-election to the House. He only said that he would "prayerfully consider what is next" as he returns to his state to be with his family. Read Also: Former President Trump Appears in Court on Hush Money Case Donald Trump's Endorsement of Tim Sheehy On the other hand, Trump said that he would back Rosendale's bid for the House if he chooses to run for re-election. The filing deadline for that particular race for the state of Montana is on Mar. 11, 2024. Sheehy, on top of gaining Trump's endorsement, was also able to gain support from Sen. Steve Daines, Rep. Ryan Zinke, and Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte. He turned to social media after learning the news of Rosendale dropping his Senate bid, according to Fox News. When Rosendale announced his bid for the Senate, he sought to cast himself as a candidate who was opposed to the Washington establishment. He also pitched himself as the one in the race who had the closest ties with the former president. In a campaign video, the Montana representative said that he "voted in support of President Trump's agenda every single time." He added that he continued to stand by the Republican businessman and voted against the electors on Jan. 6, 2021. In a post on Truth Social, Trump said that he respects Rosendale, adding that he was happy to endorse the Montana representative in the past. The former president argued that now, Sheehy is the candidate who is currently the one best-positioned to defeat Tester, said the Washington Post. Related Article: House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Retires Following Leadership in Mayorkas Impeachment Effort The measures in the anti-crime bill raise concerns about its adverse effects on Black residents in the District of Columbia. In a few weeks, the D.C. Council will undertake a final vote on legislation that would establish new laws and policies intended to address the rise of homicides and other violent crimes in the nations capital. The Secure D.C. Act, which was unanimously supported by the council in a preliminary vote, seeks to address public safety concerns in Washington, D.C. However, the provisions in the anti-crime bill raise concerns about adverse effects on the sizeable Black population in the district. The Secure D.C. Act, to a very minor degree, makes some investments and adjustments that make it easier for us locally to meet some of the governments responsibilities, in terms of public safety, said Markus Batchelor, national political director at People For the American Way and a candidate for the D.C. Council seat representing Ward 8. He added: I dont think overall the Secure D.C. Act is what its being billed as. The comprehensive public safety omnibus bill contains 100 measures, including provisions that would give the police chief authority to declare drug-free zones prohibiting the congregation of two or more people on public property, extend pretrial detention for adults and youth accused of violent crimes, and fine transit passengers who fail to provide their real name and address to issue a notice of infraction. The legislation also would ban the wearing of face masks to commit a crime or threaten another person, enhance sentencing for crimes committed against elderly and other vulnerable adults, plus expand law enforcements ability to engage in vehicle pursuits of a suspect who poses an imminent threat to safety. I dont think it effectively addresses the need to hold the guilty accountable, Batchelor said of the crime bill. Its full of pretty dangerous proposals that threaten our civil liberties that unnecessarily put the innocent at risk. Washington, D.C., elected leaders, however, have championed the Secure D.C. Act as vital to keeping streets safe. Mayor Muriel Bowser, who has taken political hits for the districts crime, urged the 13-member council to act swiftly and hold its needed second vote this month. We must work with urgency to implement commonsense legislation that will rebalance our public safety ecosystem [and] make our communities safer, Bowser said in a statement on X. D.C. Council member Brooke Pinto, who introduced the Secure D.C. Act, said she believes the bill will help turn the tide on the crime trends that have overwhelmed our communities. D.C. Council member Brooke Pinto speaks with local activists in Washington, D.C., during the councils meeting on Feb. 6 to vote on the Secure D.C. Act. (Photo: Mostafa Bassim/Anadolu via Getty Images) Pinto said the council is scheduled to vote on the Secure D.C. Act on March 5. However, the bill approved during the first vote may not be the final legislation, as the council could still make additional amendments before passing it into law. Advocates are hoping theres enough time to persuade council members to make needed adjustments to avoid causing greater harm to Black residents, who have historically been overpoliced and over-incarcerated. The Council Office of Racial Equity, an office within the D.C. Council, explained in a report last month that several provisions of the crime bill such as expanding minimum sentencing for organized retail theft and theft of a car key to steal a nearby vehicle would exacerbate racial inequities for Black residents. The office also said several provisions are not substantiated by evidence-based research. Further, research shows that several of these provisions are especially harmful to Black residents who are involved, or likely to be involved, with the criminal legal system, the report reads. Batchelor, who expressed concerns about the provision to establish drug-free zones, said, The danger that it poses is that it does really provide a slippery slope for these abuses that we see in these policies all the time when we talk about issues like stop and frisk, when we talk about issues of over-policing in communities of color and communities that are poor. The D.C. Council hopeful said the district already has existing laws that allow the police chief and mayor to combat illegal drug activity. If we want to enforce the drug laws in our city, we have every capability to do that, Batchelor contended. But we dont need to create new laws to do that. The citys crime issues, he said, are a result of insufficient investments in communities that are driving the largest gaps in income and wealth, in health outcomes, in life expectancy [and] in joblessness. Crime is also a hot-button political issue nationally. As President Joe Biden and national Democrats seek reelection to office this November, they are fighting against accusations from Republicans that their policies are leading to more violence and criminal activity. Last year, Biden signed a bill pushed by Republicans and supported by some Democrats overturning reforms to the districts criminal code established by the council like lowering penalties for carjackings to the ire of district residents and advocates for statehood. President Joe Biden and his administration did not comment directly on the Secure D.C. Act, but the White House press secretary told theGrio that Biden respects D.C.s right to pass measures that strengthen both public safety and public trust. (Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images) When asked if the White House had a position on the Secure D.C. Act, press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told theGrio that while the administration would not comment directly on the proposed legislation, the president respects D.C.s right to pass measures that strengthen both public safety and public trust. Were going to let D.C. go through their process And were going to do everything that we can to continue to lower crime here in the U.S., Jean-Pierre noted. How certain criminal laws intended to end crime and their potentially harmful impacts on Black and brown communities in Washington and elsewhere has been a growing concern for area advocates and progressive policymakers, who have long argued that data shows increased policing and sentencing do not end the existence of crime. Candice C. Jones, a violence intervention expert who serves as president and CEO of the Public Welfare Foundation, told theGrio that lawmakers should learn from the controversial Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 best known as the 1994 crime bill which was signed into law by President Bill Clinton. What we see in research is that we are literally still paying, pun intended, for the choices that we make, said Jones, and they didnt make us safer. The legislation, which was passed 30 years ago, was the largest crime bill enacted in U.S. history, authorizing funding for 100,000 new police officers, $9.7 billion in funding for prisons, and mandated life imprisonment for a third violent felony, also known as the three-strikes rule. Ironically, Biden, then a senator from Delaware, drafted the Senate version of the 1994 crime bill. On the basis of that federal legislation, many state and local jurisdictions replicated the things proposed, said Jones, who said the wave of laws came with a tenor of getting tougher on crime, increasing penalties [and] increasing incarceration. While the criminal measures were intended to end crime, she maintained, when you look historically, that is not what it has yielded. In order for lawmakers and policymakers to truly make a difference in public safety, according to Jones, leaders have to target communities and people at the highest risk by offering them something tangible, like cognitive behavioral therapy, access to jobs, deep investments in education, supportive services for youth and young adults and access to small business loans. Something that feels like a real incentive to make different life choices than they had, she explained. The kinds of investments that we know we put into affluent communities every day to ensure those communities thrive. For a long time, said Jones, policymakers havent done it in communities of color in a meaningful way. Gerren Keith Gaynor Gerren Keith Gaynor is a White House Correspondent and the Managing Editor of Politics at theGrio. He is based in Washington, D.C. Never miss a beat: Get our daily stories straight to your inbox with theGrios newsletter. The post As 1994 crime bill turns 30, Secure DC Act fuels worry of repeated racial harms appeared first on TheGrio. NORFOLK The Elizabeth River Ferry service has some new wheels. Local leaders celebrated the arrival of the two newest mock paddle wheel ferries Friday at the Waterside docks. Hampton Roads Transits new ferries are slated to go into service in the spring. This ferry helps to unite our communities and makes us stronger as a result, Portsmouth Mayor Shannon Glover said at the ribbon cutting ceremony. Ferry service between downtown Norfolk and Olde Towne Portsmouth began four decades ago, providing an alternative to driving through the Downtown and Midtown tunnels. But as we soon discovered, the ferry passenger service between Portsmouth and Norfolk provided more than just a quick way for people to get around, Glover said. Glover and Norfolk Mayor Kenny Alexander said the modern ferry has helped grow their downtown communities and businesses. The ferrys roots stretch back centuries serving as a testament to our enduring relationship with the river, Alexander said. The new boats replace two older models and have a lifespan of about 30 years, according to Ben Simms, HRTs chief operating officer of transit operations. They were built in Palatka, Florida, by St. Johns Ship Building for $6.4 million. Simms said upgrades from the older versions of the craft wouldnt be very noticeable to the rider. But the crews will notice the ferries are easier to steer. The ferries operate seven days a week. They can hold 150 passengers; travel costs $2 each way. The Elizabeth River Ferry has been serving Hampton Roads for more than four decades, traveling 7,000 miles each year back and forth across the river since 1983, Simms said. It has carried more than 16.9 million passengers and were just getting started. Since its creation, the ferry has operated by a contractor Norfolk by Boat. Owner and operator David Jordan thanked riders and city officials for their continued use and support for ferries, which operate about 100 hours a week. Last year, ferries accomplished an almost 99% on time rate, according to Jordan. Elizabeth River Ferry celebrates 40 years of carrying passengers between Norfolk and Portsmouth The mock paddle-boats themselves, Elizabeth River Ferry VI and VII, are now part of the systems four-boat fleet and are mostly the same as the vessels they replaced, but with some new technology, according to Simms. He said Elizabeth River Crossings, which operates the tunnels, has provided over $20 million to improve ferry services over the past decade. Two ferries were also replaced about seven years ago, Simms said. The ferry doesnt just have one type of rider, according to Simms. Its used by area residents to get to events, tourists exploring the area, and commuters, he said. We do have a lot of commuters that either work downtown Norfolk or downtown Portsmouth that dont want to sit in traffic, Simms said. Glover said the ships are bridges that dont just connect the cities to each other, but also to the future. By investing in this efficient and reliable public transportation, we are investing in the future prosperity of both of our cities, he said. Ian Munro, 757-447-4097, ian.munro@virginiamedia.com HORRY COUNTY, S.C. (WBTW) A home caught fire along with a boat, a garage, and a car Thursday evening on Wildlife Lane near Pee Dee Highway, according to Horry County Fire Rescue. Crews were dispatched to the scene at about 4:40 p.m. When they arrived, they found that the home residence and a nearby building had suffered significant fire damage, along with a vehicle and boat. No injuries were reported, HCFR said. Displaced residents will be offered assistance from the American Red Cross of South Carolina. The Brittons Neck / Gresham Volunteer Fire Department assisted Horry County Fire Rescue. The cause of the remains under investigation. * * * Taylor Ford is a digital journalist for News13. She joined the News13 team in January 2023. Taylor is a Florence native and covers the Pee Dee out of News13s Florence Bureau. Read more of Taylors work here. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WBTW. A student at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs was arrested on murder charges Monday in the fatal dorm shooting of two people at the school, authorities said. The student suspect, Nicholas Jordan, 25, of Detroit, was taken into custody after authorities found him in a vehicle Monday morning, Colorado Springs police said. He is expected to appear in court on Tuesday, jail records show. Authorities did not elaborate on how they were able to identify Jordan as a suspect but said they obtained an arrest warrant for two counts of first-degree murder on Friday. CNN is working to identify Jordans legal representation. Nicholas Jordan - Colorado Springs Police Department Police also did not detail any motive in the Friday shooting that left both Celie Rain Montgomery, 26, of Pueblo, Colorado, and Samuel Knopp, 24, of Parker, Colorado, dead. Knopp was a student at the school while Montgomery was not. Given this cases active and fluid nature, additional information about those leads and any potential suspect details will not be released at this time, Colorado Springs police said in a statement. Investigative efforts so far continue to indicate this is an isolated incident between parties that were known to one another and not a random attack against the school or other students at the university, the statement continued. Police said the El Paso County Coroners Office will determine the cause and manner of death. They added the deaths were being investigated as homicides. This remains an active investigation, and anyone with information or who is a witness to this investigation is asked to call the Colorado Springs Police Department, police said in the news release. Celie Rain Montgomery - Family Handout Samuel Knopp - From UCCS Music Program Police rushed to the scene Campus police received a call just before 6 a.m. Friday about shots fired in a dormitory. University police reached the dorm at 6:05 a.m., where they found two people dead, Cronin said. Each had suffered at least one gunshot wound. CNN affiliate KKTV spoke to a student who was on campus when the shooting happened. I was shocked, honestly, Adam Trujillo said. I had woke up to an email from one of my teachers saying that there was a lockdown and to just be safe, lock the doors. And then I came out here to all these police cars and news people, and I was pretty shocked. Campus went on lockdown Campus police and the Colorado Springs Police Department said the shooting was not an active shooter situation, but it led the campus to go into lockdown and dormitory residents were ordered to shelter in place for several hours. Lockdown! Lock interior doors, an alert sent by campus police just after 7 a.m. stated. Turn out the lights. Move away from sight. Do not open the door. Maintain silence. Evade/Defend. A few minutes later, university police posted there were no reports of an active shooter, but asked those on campus to shelter in place. Just before 8 a.m., police said everyone could leave campus except students at Alpine Village, a residence hall housing sophomore through graduate school students. At 8:52 a.m., campus police said there is no safety concern on campus and the shelter-in-place order for Alpine Village was due to an ongoing investigation. The order was fully lifted at 9:36 a.m. The campus was closed Saturday and Sunday. Classes have been canceled for Monday but the campus will be open for support and healing, the university announced. CNNs Cindy Von Quednow and Andi Babineau contributed to this report. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com Arrests have been made in two of Greenville County 95 cold cases, Sheriff Hobart Lewis announced Friday. The deaths were unrelated but occurred at the same Pelzer address. Family members found Charity Southerland, 21, shot to death in the bedroom of her home on April 2, 2022. She suffered multiple gunshot wounds, the coroners office said. Lewis said investigators believed they had a suspect early on but did not have the evidence to bring charges. A month ago, investigators say they received DNA evidence and witness statements to tie the suspect to the crime. Arrested in Rome, Georgia, was Charles Russel Reams, 22. He is in jail there, facing charges for an unrelated assault. Reams was charged in Greenville County with murder and possession of a weapon during a violent crime. Lewis called it a domestic dispute. Last year, Southerlands family held a vigil for her to bring attention to the unsolved case. Charity was, she was just such a good person. Everybody she encountered with loved her person, character, she was just a loveable kind of a person, a likable kind of person, her father, Linnie Southerland, said at the time. The family had offered a $2,000 reward for information. Lewis said an arrest had been made in a drug deal gone bad. Zachery Whitley and three others were shot on April 17, 2016. Whitley died and the others survived. Wesley Nix, 34, was arrested at his workplace on Wade Hampton Boulevard, Lewis said, and two suspects remain at large. Nix is facing the following charges, murder, attempted murder, two counts of assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature, attempted robbery, possession of a weapon during a violent crime, and criminal conspiracy. When Lewis was elected sheriff in 2020, he renewed the effort to solve the large number of cold cases. They have cleared 11 so far, he said Friday. Nine resulted in arrests. He credited improved DNA technology and the tenacity of investigators for clearing the cases. Family members and employees of a Roxbury nursing home spoke with tears in their eyes Thursday as they called for state and local officials to keep Edgar Benjamin Healthcare Center open. 25 Investigates confirmed this week that the nursing homes CEO filed an intent to close by July 1. Nearly 80 residents live at the nonprofit nursing home, which has been in operation for nearly a century in Roxbury. Employees said residents have lived there for decades, and some have challenging conditions that will make it hard for them to find a home elsewhere. Were hoping that somebody hears our plea to save our building and that the governor, the mayor, anyone will come forth and try to help us save our building, said director of admissions and nurse Leslie Henderson. Director of Nursing Marie Colsoul said the state should consider every option available including a possible state take-over or receivership. She said the community over the decades has fought to keep the Roxbury nursing home open. We want to shine a light and were asking for help, she said. Keep our doors open. 25 Investigates broke the story in December about how employees have gone without paychecks at times over the past few months. Employees and family members said they have questions about where the money is going. Felix Ramos said his mother lives at the nursing home, and said he appreciates the staff for taking care of her and other residents even when paychecks have bounced. He said he heard the nursing home was closing on the news. When I saw that, I was like, What? How is this place closing? he said. It cant close. He said he has questions about the fiscal management of the nursing home, which he said has a long history of serving the community. It needs to stay open for my mother and all these other patients that have been here all these years, Ramos said. Its a travesty whats going on. But somethings going on. Maybe somebody might need to investigate. I know my mothers insurance pays for her staying here because its not free. Money must be going somewhere, he added. Benjamin Healthcare Center President and CEO Tony Francis has blamed the closure on financial challenges including labor costs. Our hearts are heavy as we understand the significant impact of our centers closure on residents, families and employees, as well as our hospital partners, particularly given the care that we provide to Bostons communities of color, Francis said in a Wednesday press release. We have done everything in our power to keep the Benjamin viable and open, however, the fiscal reality of operating a nursing home in the current environment, including surging labor and other costs, have led us to this decision. 25 Investigates has found Benjamin Healthcare Center CEO Tony Francis has the highest base salary of any top administrator at any nonprofit nursing home in Boston. Thats based on a review of nursing home administrator salaries reported on the nursing homes IRS forms. His pay has climbed from $189,435 in 2016 to $628,592 in 2021, according to compensation reported on the nursing homes IRS forms. According to the states Center for Health Information and Analysis, Francis total compensation in 2020 was $932,501 including health insurance, pension and payroll taxes. 25 Investigates has asked the attorney generals office, the state Department of Public Health, the governors office and the Mayors office about what steps the state and city could take to keep residents at the home. Those entities didnt immediately respond to requests for comment Thursday. In a statement Wednesday, Department of Public Health spokesperson Katheleen Conti said: During the closure process, the facility is responsible for working with residents and their families to identify new placement for residents, and must maintain safe, high-quality care for all of its residents. Throughout the closure process, DPH will review the facilitys proposed closure plan to ensure that the necessary measures are put in place to minimize the impact on residents and their families, Conti said. The Department will monitor the closure process to ensure the safe and orderly transfer of residents and that safe, high-quality resident care is maintained throughout. Conti said residents and family members who believe their needs arent being met by the facility may contact the facilitys Long Term Care Ombudsman to provide assistance or file a complaint with the Department of Public Health at (800) 462-5540. Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW BALTIMORE A Baltimore County police officer was charged with first- and second-degree assault, reckless endangerment and misconduct in office in Baltimore City, according to online court records. Cpl. Zachary Small, 51, joined the county police department in 2004 and earned about $122,000 last year, according to salary records. Two other county officers were charged in connection with the same incident last fall. Jacob Roos, 28, who has nine years of service with the county, and Justin Graham-Moore, 24, who has two years of service, both face one count of misconduct in office. Details about the incident were unavailable Thursday evening. A spokesperson for the Baltimore States Attorney declined to comment Thursday evening but said Baltimore States Attorney Ivan Bates would speak about the charges at a press conference Tuesday. Attorneys for Small, Roos and Graham-Moore could not be reached immediately for comment Thursday evening. Baltimore County Police spokesperson Joy Stewart confirmed in an email Thursday that three county officers had pending charges in the city from a September 2023 incident. The Baltimore County Police Department is cooperating with the Baltimore City States Attorneys Office regarding this matter, Stewart said. She did not answer questions about the officers employment status. In a statement posted Thursday on Facebook, the union representing county police officers urged both their members and the public to wait until all the facts had been thoroughly examined. Were aware of the charges against three of our members involved in an incident in Baltimore City, Baltimore County FOP Lodge 4 President David Rose said in an interview. We support our members right to due process and fairness that the law requires. We encourage everyone to reserve judgment until all facts are known. The Baltimore Sun filed a Maryland Public Information Act request Jan. 29 with the police department for a summary of Smalls internal affairs history. The department has not yet fulfilled that request. _____ (Photo : Alex Wong/Getty Images) ASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 29: NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg speaks at a joint press conference with Secretary Of State Antony Blinken at the State Department on January 29, 2024 in Washington, DC. Secretary General Stoltenberg is in Washington to push for more funding for Ukraine in the war against Russia. As defence ministers gathered to discuss the growing threat from Russia, the head of Nato issued a stark reminder that peace should never be taken for granted. Jens Stoltenberg's cautionary remarks surfaced among increasing worries regarding the Kremlin's intentions to launch a space-based weapon with nuclear capabilities. US officials have been presented with evidence that raises serious concerns about Moscow's development of capabilities to disrupt global communications, as per to Daily Mail. NATO Chief Addresses Russian Space Weapons NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg addressed mounting concerns over the Russian Federation's alleged intentions to deploy nuclear weapons in space, emphasizing the organization's commitment to monitoring potential threats across all domains. Asked about the alleged Russian intentions, Stoltenberg replied, "Within NATO, allies maintain a state of constant vigilance in their observation of potential threats emanating from all directions and areas." The severity of the situation has prompted Jake Sullivan, the United States National Security Adviser, to bring up the potential risk to national security. A detailed briefing is scheduled for tomorrow, providing further insight into the crisis. House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Turner has already provided intelligence briefings to members of Congress regarding a substantial threat to national security, possibly linked to Russia. CNN reports indicate that the threat involves the placement of nuclear weapons in space by the Russian Federation, adding further complexity to the global security landscape. Concurrently, Russia has escalated its military interventions in Ukraine, focusing its soldiers on Lviv, the biggest city in western Ukraine close to the Polish border. Recent findings indicate extensive destruction to multiple educational institutions, including a kindergarten, as well as numerous residential structures. Tragically, a person lost their life, while nine others sustained injuries. In the Kyiv region, a village called Buda-Babenetskaya was recently struck by a missile, leaving behind a devastating scene. The impact created a massive crater and caused significant damage to seven private buildings, according to RBC Ukraine. Read Also: Israeli Airstrikes in Southern Lebanon Kill 9 Civilians Including Women, 4 Children Russian Strikes Escalate in Ukraine The situation prompted Poland to activate its operational command, issuing a warning about potential disturbances in the country's southeast due to increased aircraft activity. Warsaw emphasized the ongoing long-range aviation operations by the Russian Federation, specifically missile strikes on Ukrainian territory, prompting heightened measures to ensure the safety of Polish airspace. Lviv Mayor Andrii Sadovyi confirmed the impact of the attacks on the city, reporting explosive waves that shattered windows in several buildings on Naukova Street. Russian strikes extended to the Dnepropetrovsk, Poltava, and Zaporozhia regions, causing destruction to a warehouse in Poltava and damaging civilian objects in Khmelnitsky. A 67-year-old woman died as a result of a residential house in Chuhuiv, Kharkiv, being broken into. According to initial reports, Ukraine appears to have successfully intercepted some of the 26 missiles targeted at the country. This includes the impressive feat of downing five Iskander missiles. There is growing worry related to Ukraine's ammunition stockpile as Russian attacks continue unabated. The global community is on edge, as NATO and the United States closely observe the situation and evaluate what might come out of Russia's reported intentions to militarize space. The situation clarifies the pressing requirement for diplomatic initiatives aimed at reducing tensions and averting additional instability in the region, Express reported. Related Article: Israel Weapons vs. Hezbollah Arsenal: Warring Fanctions' Military Capabilities Put Risk to Wider War Official White House Photo by Adam Schultz President Joe Biden meets with staff aboard Air Force One in 2021. Official White House Photo by Adam Schultz Any plane carrying a US president is called Air Force One. John F. Kennedy was the first to use a jet designed specifically for a US president. President Donald Trump proposed new paint colors for the exterior of Air Force One in 2019. Since the mid-20th century, US presidents have flown on special planes designated as "Air Force One" while carrying out their official duties. Nicknamed the "flying Oval Office," today's Air Force One is equipped with everything the president might need, including office spaces, two kitchens, sleeping quarters, and a fully functional operating room. Here's how the design of Air Force One has changed through the years. President Dwight D. Eisenhower was the first president to travel on a jet aircraft in 1959. Air Force One taking off in 1959. Terry Fincher/Mirrorpix/Getty Images Eisenhower's Boeing 707 Stratoliner, nicknamed "Queenie," featured a section for telecommunications, room for 40 passengers, a conference area, and a stateroom, according to Encyclopedia Britannica. John F. Kennedy was the first to use a jet specifically designed for the US president. It had the tail number 26000. President John F. Kennedy's pilot, Colonel James B. Swindal, left, and Major Lewis Hanson, co-pilot, check Air Force One's cockpit before a presidential take-off in 1963. John Rous The Boeing 707 included a living room, bedroom, bathroom, and kitchen, according to Encyclopedia Britannica. Raymond Loewy designed the plane's blue and white exterior. President John F. Kennedy and first lady Jacqueline Kennedy arrive in San Antonio, Texas, in 1963. Kennedy Library Archives/Newsmakers/Getty Images The plane's design featured an American flag on the tail and presidential seals on the nose. After Kennedy's assassination, President Lyndon B. Johnson was sworn in on Air Force One. President Lyndon Baines Johnson takes the oath of office on Air Force One in 1963. Universal History Archive/Getty Images It marked the first and only time a presidential swearing-in ceremony took place on an airplane. Johnson met with Cabinet members on the presidential aircraft in 1966 in a small seating area. President Lyndon Johnson meets with cabinet members on Air Force One. Bettmann/Contributor/Getty Images The small alcove was decorated with a globe decal on the wall and curtains lining the windows. In 1972, Richard Nixon was the first president to use the Boeing 707 plane with tail number 27000 as Air Force One. President Richard Nixon aboard Air Force One. Wally McNamee/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images Nixon stood behind the plane's bar while meeting with military and civilian leaders en route to Vietnam. When President Gerald Ford took office after Nixon resigned, seats in the rear cabin were upholstered with striped fabric. President Gerald Ford holds a mini news conference aboard Air Force One. Bettmann/Contributor/Getty Images Presidents would occasionally make their way back to the rear cabin to chat with reporters. Ford's office, just off the stateroom, also featured striped furniture. President Gerald Ford poses with Candice Bergen on Air Force One in 1975. David Hume Kennerly/ Getty Images Ford is pictured with Candice Bergen, the first female photographer to shoot a behind-the-scenes story on an American president. President Jimmy Carter outfitted the press area with blue carpeting. President Carter is interviewed aboard Air Force One in 1978. Bettmann/Contributor/Getty Images Carter talked to reporters on his way back from a trip to Europe in 1978. President Ronald Reagan used 27000 as his primary presidential aircraft. President Ronal Reagan meets with advisors aboard the plane in 1983. Bill Fitz-Patrick - White House via CNP/Getty Images Reagan met with Secretary of State George P. Shultz and national security advisor-designate Robert McFarlane in a meeting space that featured a magazine rack, teal chair, wood grain table, and photos of him and first lady Nancy Reagan. Reagan also hung pictures of himself in Air Force One's rear cabin. President Ronald Reagan with reporters aboard Air Force One in 1981. Bettmann/Contributor/Getty Images The photos show Reagan toasting with a champagne glass and waving while boarding Air Force One. New blue striped curtains matched the blue carpeting and furniture in another meeting area. President Ronald Reagan with staff aboard Air Force One. CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images The meeting room also included a television set. In 1990, George H. W. Bush began using new Boeing 747 planes with tail numbers 28000 and 29000 as Air Force One. The presidential office of Air Force One in 1990. Consolidated News Pictures/Getty Images The presidential office was updated with a stately desk, gray carpeting, and leather chairs. The staff and secretarial area was decorated with neutral whites and grays. The staff and secretarial area of Air Force One in 1990. Consolidated News Pictures/Getty Images The staff area featured plenty of phones for official business. Air Force One is also known as the "flying Oval Office." The new plane's annex could also be configured for medical use. The Annex of Air Force One. Consolidated News Pictures/Getty Images The annex is pictured in executive configuration, with seating for meetings. The new planes featured over 4,000 square feet of space, which President Bill Clinton often used to hold meetings. President Bill Clinton holds a meeting aboard Air Force One. LUKE FRAZZA/AFP via Getty Images Clinton met with a delegation from North and South Dakota to address flooding in the area. In the guest area, Clinton's Air Force One featured tan chairs and blue carpeting. President Bill Clinton on Air Force One. DAVID SCULL/AFP via Getty Images Clinton met with members of Congress to discuss nuclear waste management in 1999. President George W. Bush flew 27000 one last time in August 2001 before it was retired to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library. President George W. Bush and first lady Laura Bush sit aboard Air Force One on the plane's last mission in 2001. Rick Wilking/Getty Images The plane flew 444 missions adding up to over 1 million miles, according to the Bush White House. When the World Trade Center and Pentagon were attacked on September 11, 2001, the Secret Service kept Bush in the air aboard the new Air Force One. President George W. Bush talks on the telephone on September 11, 2001, as senior staff huddle in his office aboard Air Force One. Eric Draper, Courtesy of the George W. Bush Presidential Library/Getty Images Bush insisted on returning to Washington, but the Secret Service refused since they were unsure if more attacks were coming. In a 2016 interview with Politico, Bush's assistant White House press secretary Gordon Johndroe described Air Force One that day as "the safest and most dangerous place in the world at the exact same time." Bush conferred with chief of staff Andy Card in his stateroom, designed by Nancy Reagan. President George W. Bush and Andy Card on September 11, 2001. Eric Draper, Courtesy of the George W. Bush Presidential Library/Getty Images The president's suite included a small bed, light-pink couch and carpeting, and a desk with a brown leather chair. Bush walked down a hallway arm-in-arm with Harriet Miers, assistant to the president and staff secretary. President George W. Bush and Harriet Miers on September 11, 2001. Eric Draper, Courtesy of the George W. Bush Presidential Library/Getty Images The hallway was lined with a beige couch with side tables and lamps on either side. When President Barack Obama took office, Air Force One's conference room had been updated with a television screen and brown leather chairs. President Barack Obama talks with his staff aboard Air Force One in 2009. Pete Souza/White House via Getty Images The plane has 85 phone lines as well as encryption and scrambling devices to ensure secure communication, CNBC reported. On the other side of the conference room, a decal that read "Air Force One" was displayed on wood paneling. President Barack Obama talks on the phone aboard Air Force One. Official White House Photo by Pete Souza The food and drinks are provided by the plane's galley kitchen. The plane's senior staff room featured more phones, a coat closet, and leather chairs. President Barack Obama talks with senior staff and former President Bill Clinton on Air Force One in 2012. Official White House Photo by Pete Souza Obama met with chief of staff Jack Lew, senior advisors David Axelrod and David Plouffe, and former president Bill Clinton in the senior staff room in 2012. The presidential office furniture was also updated, with mahogany chairs and sofas replacing the gray. President Barack Obama meets with staff on Air Force One in 2014. Official White House Photo by Pete Souza The carpeting was updated to a subtle star pattern, which also appears in the conference room. The plane's guest section was reserved for special visitors like members of Congress. President Barack Obama talks with a Congressional delegation aboard Air Force One in 2009. Official White House photo by Pete Souza The chairs feature a subtle polka-dot pattern, and the tables fold down to make more space. The rear cabin for press looked just like a standard commercial airliner. President Barack Obama arrives to brief traveling journalists on board Air Force One in 2010. JEWEL SAMAD/AFP via Getty Images Journalists can wander the rear cabin freely, but they aren't allowed to walk forward to speak to the president the president has to come back to them. President Donald Trump proposed new paint colors for the exterior of Air Force One in 2019. A model of the proposed paint scheme of the next generation of Air Force One. Alex Wong/Getty Images As part of the Air Force's Presidential Aircraft Recapitalization program updating Air Force One planes, Trump proposed a red, white, and navy blue color scheme for the new models. The Air Force ultimately rejected Trump's proposed color scheme because it would have been more costly and caused engineering issues. Air Force One in February 2024. Brittany Murray/MediaNews Group/Long Beach Press-Telegram via Getty Images The darker paint color would have caused overheating issues and been too costly, Politico reported. Instead, Biden selected a baby-blue color scheme similar to the current model. The new VC-25B Air Force One planes are expected to be ready by 2027, according to the Air Force. In Biden's Air Force One, the conference room has the same star carpeting as the plane's presidential office. President Joe Biden meets with staff aboard Air Force One in 2021. Official White House Photo by Adam Schultz Plain beige carpeting continues down the hallway. The placard in the conference room has been updated to read "Aboard Air Force One" with an image of the iconic aircraft. President Joe Biden participates in a phone interview on Air Force One. Official White House Photo by Adam Schultz President Joe Biden took his first overseas trip as president in June 2021, visiting Europe for the G7 leaders' summit. Read the original article on Business Insider Brazilian police have officially charged Jair Renan Bolsonaro, the youngest son of Brazil's former President Jair Bolsonaro, with alleged fraud, intensifying legal woes for the family of the far-right leader already embroiled in multiple investigations. The charges against 25-year-old Renan, coupled with ongoing probes targeting other members of the Bolsonaro family, underscore mounting legal pressures faced by the once-prominent political dynasty. Legal Storm Surrounds Bolsonaro's Youngest Son In a statement released on Thursday, authorities in Brazil's Federal District, encompassing the capital city of Brasilia, disclosed that Jair Renan and an associate are suspected of fraudulent misrepresentation, use of counterfeit documents, and money laundering pertaining to a bank loan application. However, intricate details surrounding the case remain undisclosed as the investigation remains under seal pending prosecutorial review. Last year, Brazilian media outlets initially reported suspicions of inflated revenues within one of Jair Renan's business enterprises, allegedly orchestrated to secure a bank loan. Despite assertions of innocence, Jair Renan has been under scrutiny since August 2023 when law enforcement officials seized pertinent documents and electronic devices. Earlier this month, Brazilian authorities conducted searches at the residences and offices of high-ranking aides to the former president, concurrently confiscating Jair Bolsonaro's passport. These actions were part of an investigation into purported plans to orchestrate a coup aimed at unseating Bolsonaro's successor, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, just one week following the latter's inauguration on January 8, 2023. Court documents reveal a scheme allegedly devised to prompt Bolsonaro into declaring the election fraudulent in the event of defeat, thereby justifying potential military intervention and the subsequent call for new elections. Although the ultimate phase of the alleged plan, issuance of the decree, never transpired, the investigation persists. Read Also: Bolsonaro Coup Probe Undermines Power of Brazil's Right-Wing Bolsonaro Family Under Scrutiny Notably, other members of the Bolsonaro family have come under scrutiny in separate legal proceedings. Rio de Janeiro City councilman Carlos Bolsonaro, Congressman Eduardo Bolsonaro, and Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, all siblings of Jair Renan, are subjects of ongoing investigations, amplifying the legal quagmire enveloping the family. These developments unfold amidst broader inquiries into alleged misuse of governmental resources and institutions during Bolsonaro's tenure. Recent police operations have targeted individuals associated with Brazil's intelligence agency, ABIN, amidst allegations of political espionage and interference. Concerns regarding the politicization of ABIN surfaced following revelations of a purported "organized crime" group operating within the agency during Bolsonaro's presidency. Utilizing sophisticated surveillance software, the group allegedly monitored political adversaries and manipulated public narratives for personal and political gain. The group is also under suspicion for attempting to disrupt ongoing police inquiries, including those which focused on or implicated two of Bolsonaro's additional sons, Jair Renan and Flavio. The nexus between ABIN and the Bolsonaro family, particularly former ABIN chief Alexandre Ramagem's close ties, has raised suspicions of impropriety and favoritism. Ramagem's appointment by Bolsonaro in 2019 was met with criticism over concerns of undue influence and nepotism, ultimately resulting in his reassignment. Amidst these legal battles and mounting controversies, Jair Bolsonaro has sought to galvanize support, calling for demonstrations in his favor on February 25, 2024. With the political landscape in Brazil increasingly tumultuous, the repercussions of these legal entanglements on the country's governance and stability remain to be seen. Related Article: Jair Bolsonaro Villa Raid: Police Search Properties of Former Brazilian President's Son A sprinkler runs at Liberty Park in Salt Lake City on Thursday, July 7, 2022. A resolution before the Utah Legislature urges communities to adopt water efficiency standards for new construction. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News While a lot of emphasis has been placed on the agricultural use of water in Utah, particularly in the Great Salt Lake drainage, a resolution is asking cities to do their part to conserve by adopting water efficiency standards for new construction. Rep. Doug Owens, D-Millcreek, has a resolution, HJR27, encouraging the adoption of those standards to help cut back on the consumptive use of water. Owens, in his testimony before the House Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment Committee Friday, said 80 communities representing 40% of the population in the Great Salt Lake drainage have yet to adopt a water efficiency standard for new construction. Basically this is the Legislature encouraging municipalities within the Great Salt Lake Basin to have a meaningful conversation about water conservation, he said. I think a lot of the public sees that our agricultural users use a lot of the water in the state and theyre thinking that their water solution is going to come from taking water from farmers and I dont think we should be doing that ever unless the municipal water users have their act together. Owens added: So I think this is trying to say I think we ought to get the municipal situation in order before we go looking for agriculture to make the contribution for helping the Great Salt Lake or other water conservation needs. The resolution is nonbinding and does not require communities to do anything. But Owens pointed out that while the communities may be taking steps to conserve water, it is simply impossible to tell. They may be doing something, but we just dont know it and theres certainly no requirement for new construction to incorporate any water efficient standards. Tim Davis, Great Salt Lake deputy commissioner, emphasized the resolution does not force any city to take action but rather encourages those conversations on water management to happen. Related Station 54, a brand new fire station east of U.S. 89 in Layton, incorporated water-wise landscaping during its construction. It is part of the citys efforts to save water. | Layton City The state has a turf buy-back program that has invested $5 million, with water savings beginning to fill the conservation bucket. When the drought had Utah in a particularly bad chokehold in 2021, a retrospective revealed these water conservation success stories: Laytons culinary water consumption in August 2020 was 752 million gallons. In August 2021, it sat at 485 million gallons. A Layton official said August is typically the citys highest water consumption month all year. The conversion to a smart irrigation controller system by the University of Utah several years ago has led to a sustained reduction in water consumption at the campus of 20%. Salt Lake Citys water delivery has been shaved by 20% compared to the last three years average. Alan Packard, general manager of the Jordan Valley Water Conservancy District, told committee members the district invests in financial incentives to retrofit landscapes to make them more water-wise. It is more efficient and cost effective, he stressed, if water-wise landscapes are embraced at the outset. Its so much smarter for the state or ratepayers to make the investment with the original construction, rather than pay the expense of retrofitting that landscaping in the future, he said. Having landscaping that is compatible with Utahs climate is essential to meeting the needs of our current and future customers. According to the districts website, more than a half dozen communities have adopted water efficiency standards set by Jordan Valley. It added that it is five times less costly to install water efficiency landscaping during new construction than to change it later. There is just not enough water to support future growth if we use old-style landscaping, Packard said. The resolution received unanimous approval and now advances for further consideration. EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) Nine individuals were recently arrested after a warrant operation was conducted Tuesday, Feb. 6 and Wednesday, Feb. 7 in Las Cruces, according to a press release sent by the New Mexico State Police. The New Mexico State Police Crime Suppression Bureau (CSB), Fugitive Apprehension Unit, along with the United States Marshals Service and the New Mexico Corrections Departments Security Threat Intelligence Unit (STIU) conducted the operation, which focused on locating and apprehending individuals with active warrants, according to the press release. The following nine individuals were arrested: Aldo Nava (24) Probation violation. Robert Daggett (35) Probation violation. Heidi Pokusa (53) Trafficking/possession of controlled substance. Gregoria Aguirre (40) Failure to appear (receipt, transportation or possession of a firearm or destructive device by a felon. Marissa Garcia (29) Probation violation. Julian Zamora (33) Probation violation. Elias Lazarin (37) Residential burglary. Jacob Escalante (37) Shoplifting (new charges Battery on Law Enforcement Officer-with deadly weapon, aggravated battery, aggravated fleeing law enforcement officer, resisting, evading law enforcement officer). Monique Rojas (27) Possession of controlled substance. The New Mexico State Police will continue to conduct warrant operations like this throughout the state, according to the press release. For the latest updates, you can follow the New Mexico State Police on all social media platforms @NMStatePolice. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTSM 9 News. Community members and parents pay their respects at a memorial outside of Ellen Ochoa Learning Center where a deadly shooting killed a boy on Tuesday in Cudahy. (Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times) The first gunshots rang out in Bell half an hour before midnight. Two men in a red vehicle sped away, leaving behind one man dead Sunday night outside an elementary school. Over the next 90 minutes, authorities say, southeast Los Angeles County was the scene of a terrifying and seemingly random string of killings. When it was over, four people were dead in a series of drive-by shootings within five miles of each other, including a 14-year-old boy. The violence left family members of the victims grieving and communities reeling. On Thursday, Los Angeles County prosecutors charged two men with the slayings. "Multiple communities have been terrorized by these mens callous, cruel, and coldhearted actions. This senseless violence will not go unanswered by the scales of justice," Dist. Atty. George Gascon said in announcing the charges. Dist. Atty. George Gascon on Jan. 30 in Los Angeles. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) Investigators said the suspects are affiliated with street gangs, but did not disclose any information about a motive behind the shootings. It was unclear if one or both men opened fire in the shootings, and investigators said they had not recovered any weapons used in the killings. Prosecutors charged 42-year-old Gary Garcia Jr. and 20-year-old Timberland McKneely with four counts of murder and two counts of attempted murder with special circumstances. Read more: 4 southeast L.A. County victims were part of 'random murder spree'; 2 suspects arrested Both are being held in lieu of $2-million bail. They were scheduled to appear in court Thursday and had not entered into a plea, according to the district attorney's office. Court records show that Garcia has an extensive criminal record for driving with a suspended license, vandalism, burglary and other offenses. McKneely has what Gascon called a "very minimal record." Both men face life in prison without the possibility of parole if convicted, the D.A.'s office said. Community leaders said they were relieved to hear of the charges, though much is still unknown about the reason behind the shootings. "Families across Southeast Los Angeles are grieving, and communities are still shaken by the terror created by this senseless rampage," Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn said. "Nothing we can do will make these families whole again, but these men must be held accountable for the pain they caused and the lives they stole. Friends and family say a prayer during a vigil for Kevin Parada on Tuesday in Bell. (Michael Blackshire / Los Angeles Times) Huntington Park Police Chief Cosme Lozano issued a statement saying the killings sent " shock waves throughout our communities." On Tuesday evening, friends and family gathered outside Martha Escutia Primary Center for a vigil to honor one of the victims, Kevin Parada, a 24-year-old father who died lying in a driveway outside the elementary school. Illuminated by warm yellow votive candles and surrounded by white roses, daisies and sunflowers, the vigil attendees sang a series of prayers to God and the Virgin Mary. Give them eternal rest, a man said in Spanish, to which the crowd replied Asi sea So be it. The killings unfolded in quick succession. The first shooting targeted Parada and a 29-year-old man around 11:30 p.m. on Sunday, homicide investigators said. The other man was uninjured. Thirty-four minutes later, in an unincorporated part of the county, bullets felled a 27-year-old man in a parking lot in the 1500 block of East Florence Avenue. That man died and he was identified as Josue Ramirez. Four miles east, at the Ellen Ochoa Learning Center, 14-year-old Javier Pedraza Jr. and a 13-year-old boy who were standing outside the school were shot just 12 minutes after the previous shooting. Pedraza died outside the elementary school, according to the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner. Neighbors said the boy attended the school as an eighth-grader. The 13-year-old was wounded and taken to a hospital, authorities said. The last victim was shot five minutes before 2 a.m. in the 6300 block of Santa Fe Avenue in Huntington Park. He was identified as Omar Alexander Mora, described as being between the ages of 35 and 45. Parada's aunt, Michelle Ramos, wrote in a post on GoFundMe that the family is "in shock and disbelief" about his death. "He had a family and his baby boy it's such a tragedy for his life to be cut short," she wrote. Gascon said one of those slain was "experiencing homelessness" but did not provide any additional information. At each shooting, a red Honda Pilot was captured on surveillance video footage driving away from the scene. Investigators were able to verify the vehicle's license plate and put out a bulletin to law enforcement that the driver was armed and dangerous and wanted in connection with the shootings. A vehicle matching the description was stopped by San Bernardino County sheriffs deputies at 4 p.m. Monday, and a suspect was taken into custody. Investigators would not say which of the men was driving at the time. The second suspect was identified and arrested after a search warrant was issued and executed by a SWAT team at a Compton home Tuesday morning, according to investigators, who suspect that a third person may also be linked to the shootings. Homicide detectives and multiple Department resources worked around the clock to identify and arrest the suspects who were threatening the safety of our communities and involved in these senseless murders, Homicide Capt. Andy Meyer of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said in a statement. Times staff writers Angie Orellana Hernandez and Andrew Campa contributed to this story. Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. Audience members hold signs that read JEA Not For Sale before a special council meeting Feb. 14, 2018, called by Mayor Lenny Curry to discuss the sale of JEA to the private sector. COMMENTARY | I get asked some version of this question often: Will ex-JEA CEO Aaron Zahn and former CFO Ryan Wannemacher get convicted? The truth is usually unsatisfying: I dont know. I dont know because Im not a member of the jury or in this case, for complex legal reasons, a member of the two juries who will hear this case and so its simply not my place to adjudicate whether either man committed an actual crime during their tumultuous leadership of Jacksonvilles city-owned electric, water and sewer utility. Heres what I do know: The facts that is, the thousands of pages of public records Ive seen, the interviews I conducted over the course of several years, and the considerable testimony Ive heard in federal court have convinced me that Zahn and Wannemacher were not fit for public service, that they led a dishonest campaign to sell one of the largest public utilities in the United States to a private power company, and that more likely than not, they adopted a wildly misguided belief they were owed a considerable share of the billions in profits such a sale would have generated for the city, had their very greed not derailed that potential transaction. What they did, in other words, was grossly wrong. They brazenly toyed with the livelihoods of career civil servants, treating them as disposable assets, and assumed the rest of us were rubes who would not see through their transparently flimsy word games and "business case" a term Im using loosely for privatizing an agency that was, until Zahns arrival, considered a model public power company. I believe the government has marshaled enough evidence to convince the jury of this basic narrative. Its not mere coincidence that people across the political spectrum city officials, attorneys, investigators, and, apparently, a grand jury came around to this view. Money & Power: The secret origins and public collapse of the campaign to privatize Jacksonvilles electricity and water But the jurors not me, not you get to decide whether that impropriety actually amounts to a federal crime, or rather, in this case, two federal crimes: conspiracy and wire fraud. That is a distinct and important question from whether all this occurred. Zahn and Wannemachers trial, barring an unforeseen delay, is set to begin Tuesday. Zahn and Wannemacher were indicted nearly two years ago by a federal grand jury on allegations they sought to enrich themselves by essentially skimming profits off the top of a sale of JEA. They are accused of concealing this plan beneath what on the surface appeared to be a modest long-term employee incentive program. The board, prosecutors have said, was not properly informed of the programs true nature before it, at the behest of Zahns executive team, signed off on the program. Zahn and Wannemacher never got paid, of course, because the City Council Auditors Office decoded the opaque math underlying the incentive plan, releasing a report that caused a firestorm that eventually consumed the entire privatization effort. But prosecutors believe their alleged lies were prolific enough and far-reaching enough to merit bringing a case. And that case is substantial: Federal prosecutors have amassed public records, videos of JEA board of directors meetings, and compelling testimony from key players and insiders who worked with and for Zahn and Wannemacher throughout the privatization process. And the defense Ive seen to date is well, not substantial, or at least not terribly convincing. The jury, however, wont be asked to weigh whether the governments evidence is substantial, or compelling, or even convincing. They must decide that the evidence shows beyond a reasonable doubt that these two men broke the law. Sensing a pattern? Public corruption is tough to prosecute. This is not a murder. There is no bullet-riddled body on the ground, and the debate isn't merely a question of who to blame. The debate in this case is whether there is a body on the ground at all. Was it a criminal conspiracy or a very, very bad idea? How jurors answer that question will determine the fate of JEA's former executives. Trials are meticulously orchestrated affairs. Often, what facts the jurors are allowed to see is the result of painstaking, adversarial negotiation by the prosecution and the defense refereed by a judge and its not unusual for that bargain to result in a presentation of facts that doesnt match what we here in the outside world actually saw play out in real time. This JEA case is no different. There are threads of this story I found, and still find, intriguing: While JEA executives were working to sell JEA, for example, there was also an effort underway to outsource the utilitys payroll data to a private firm, a remarkable project given the alleged plot by Zahn and Wannemacher to secretly pocket sales profits. This is to the point where I am feeling bullied into accepting something improper without being allowed to ask any questions, one JEA manager said in an internal email at the time of the payroll project. Privatizing the payroll data wouldnt have exempted it from disclosure as a public record, but it would have made those records more cumbersome and time-consuming to obtain and given the rapidly moving privatization effort, that outsourcing project was, in my view, a highly suspicious ploy. But that outsourcing project, according to the voluminous court filings in this case, will play no role in the trial. Likely, prosecutors simply view it as a complicated side-story in an already complicated narrative. Former JEA executives Aaron Zahn, left, and Ryan Wannemacher appear at a December 2019 Jacksonville City Council meeting to answer questions about JEA's potential privatization and a controversial bonus plan. You get my point: What we saw and what the jurors will see are not the same. And thats OK. Zahn and Wannemacher as detestable as I found their conduct are entitled to a vigorous and fair defense. To date, theyve certainly had that: Unlike many criminal defendants, theyve had the resources thanks at least in part to access to millions of dollars in legal defense funds paid out from JEAs insurance policy to mount an exhaustive effort to combat the prosecution. Its worth reiterating how unlikely all of this was: The privatization effort was backed by powerful forces, up to and including the leading bidder and one of the most politically influential special interests in the state Florida Power & Light and its parent company, NextEra. And this project was moving rapidly. Id actually forgotten, until sitting through some of the turgid pre-trial hearings in this case, how close this had really come to fruition: NextEra and some of the other bidders actually had in their possession draft purchase agreements for JEA. Again, public corruption is tough to prosecute. Its remarkable that local federal prosecutors took this to the wall. This case is complicated and by no means a slam dunk, something its easy to imagine getting ignored or written off as an abstract parochial controversy. Instead, assistant U.S. Attorney A. Tysen Duva, one of the Middle Districts most experienced public corruption prosecutors, has vigorously fought for this case. Id be remiss not to note (or re-note) that this sales effort invited nefarious forces into our city, and this touched me in a deeply personal way. NextEra, which offered about $11 billion to acquire JEA, has denied what I consider compelling evidence that it or its employees were party to an effort to spy on me for the mere sin of doing my job. NextEra has never been accused by prosecutors of wrongdoing, and I wont rehash that controversy here, but suffice it to say this ill-conceived JEA privatization campaign went badly astray. And there is much more about this sales effort Im glossing over the loss of local control over electric and water rates, the questionable justifications provided, the possible rate increases we were all set to face. The other question I get asked: What about former Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry? To which I have to and often, again, unsatisfyingly respond, What about him? Lying to the public, a sin I firmly believe him to be guilty of, is not a crime. The JEA board was stacked with Curry appointees when it hired Zahn, a man whod not worked a day in his life at a utility of any size, and the then-mayor quickly became one of Zahns key political allies. That included Currys backing to move forward on selling JEA. Yet Ive never seen definitive evidence linking Curry to the core allegation against Zahn and Wannemacher their alleged effort to enrich themselves. Thats simply as straightforward as I can be: criminal prosecutions need records, testimony in a word, facts. One last bit of personal privilege, which I dont normally like to discuss: After these several years on the JEA case, odds are good Ill miss the verdict. My wife and I have a long-planned trip overseas in early March. Long ago, when we planned this, I simply couldnt have known the drop-dead trial date. March felt late enough to cover my bases. Alas. Ill cover most of the trial, but given what I know about the prosecution and defense strategy to date, I dont expect to be here to cover the end of it. Thems the breaks. My wonderful colleagues, including journalists like David Bauerlein and Mark Woods, who, like me, have written about this controversy for years, will of course keep you apprised as it unfolds. Nate Monroe is a metro columnist whose work regularly appears every Thursday and Sunday. Follow him on Twitter @NateMonroeTU. This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: JEA corruption trial set to begin. Will Zahn, Wannemacher be convicted? LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) More than 100 people gathered in front of the state Capitol building Friday afternoon for an Abandon Biden rally. The rally drew in people from around Michigan who say they are ready to vote uncommitted in the Democratic primary this month. Some people came from as far as Flint and Saginaw to take part in the rally. The protesters are calling for a ceasefire in the Palestinian territory of Gaza, where tens of thousands have died in Israeli attacks since October. They say they wont support President Joe Biden for reelection if he continues to ignore the movement to call for a ceasefire in Gaza. Dozens gather at the Capitol for the Abandon Biden rally, calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. I am incredibly frustrated that so many Americans support a ceasefire, the international community does not support an Israeli invasion into Rafah. I just hope we can all come together and put pressure onto politicians to actually listen to their constituents, said Flint resident Tara Gragg, who was at the rally in Lansing. At the podium, many organizers said candidates will have to earn their vote by supporting a ceasefire. Speakers shared poems and led chants to remember civilians who have died in the attacks, and to call on the end of military support to Israel. Lansing Council calls for ceasefire in Gaza Some speakers said they will support of any candidate, regardless of party affiliation, who will back a ceasefire agreement. While some in the crowd agreed that the fighting in Gaza needs to come to an end, they were also skeptical about not voting for the Democratic presidential incumbent during the general election. One man told 6 News off-camera that seeing Biden go up against former President Donald Trump is like being stuck between a rock and a hard place. Others said the focus should be on using the Presidential primary to advocate for a ceasefire, as well as pressuring candidates to add that to their platforms. I dont think we owe our votes to either one of the candidates; its absolutely right, said James Mercer, a ceasefire supporter. We owe it to the importance of being an American and the process of our democracy; we need to challenge the candidates to do better and be better and truly represent what we want. Last month, several Arab American and Muslim leaders in Dearborn refused to meet with Biden campaign staff. But that changed last week as meetings were held behind closed doors. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WLNS 6 News. LAS VEGAS (KLAS) The judge attacked in her courtroom last month says it felt like she was hit by a car and said she is still recovering from her injuries more than a month later. As the 8 News Now Investigators first reported on Jan. 3, Deobra Redden, 30, a three-time felon, was in Judge Mary Kay Holthus courtroom for sentencing on a charge of attempted battery with substantial bodily harm. Holthus was sitting behind the bench, which she described as four feet high when Redden ran up to her, jumped over the desk and attacked her, video shared with the 8 News Now Investigators showed. Several other people, including Holthus courtroom marshal and her law clerk, then fought with Redden before throwing him to the ground. Photos showed a bloody scene, with blood on Holthus bench and on documents scattered in the area. And he literally trampolines like Superman over my bench, he clears the monitors and he bunny hopped the defendants table like it was nothing, Holthus said. I mean, it was boom and he was on me. Before the attack, Reddens attorney asked Holthus to sentence his client to probation. Holthus then said, I think its time he get a taste of something else. Last week, a Clark County grand jury voted to indict Redden on several charges, including attempted murder. Prosecutors had already charged Redden. The indictment means the case moves directly from Las Vegas Justice Court to Clark County District Court. It was a sentencing and it was also a motion to quash the bench warrant, Holthus told the grand jury, according to transcripts the 8 News Now Investigators reviewed. He had previously failed to appear so his attorney wanted to quash the warrant. He came in. We were going he was going to be sentenced on an attempt battery with substantial bodily harm which can either be treated as a gross misdemeanor or a felony, probably more information than you need. The man recorded on video jumping a table and charging at a Las Vegas judge, attacking her and her staff, appeared before that same judge on Monday, Jan. 8, 2024. (KLAS) Redden was previously in front of Holthus on charges of malicious destruction of property. Records show he served prison time on a domestic battery charge for a year, starting in 2021. In that case, a different judge sentenced Redden to prison for a term of 12-30 months. A board granted Redden parole in 2022. In December, Holthus issued a bench warrant for Redden after he failed to appear for a hearing. Anyway, we had a back and forth and I kind of explained to him basically letting him know that he was going to prison because thats what his record warranted, Holthus said. And he kind of was fine, he was like, Well, you know, I dont think I should but youve got to do what youve got to do, whatever you think is right. I said, Okay. His attorney kind of made some pitches and next thing I know in the interim my marshal, we kind of have a first of all he knows me well enough to know when somebody is going to be remanded because he was out of custody at the time, and so I kind of give him the look and he knows its going to be time. And a lot of, most of the time if anything happens its going to be theyre going to dart for the door, they go out the back. And so the marshal positions himself between the door and the defendant. And then upon remand time, he gets right out behind him and thats what he did. In this image from video provided by the Clark County District Court, Judge Mary Kay Holthus is seen cradling her head after a defendant launched over her desk during his sentencing in a felony battery case, Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2024, in Las Vegas. (Clark County District Court via AP) Seconds after Holthus said, I think its time he get a taste of something else, Redden jumped a table, ran to Holthus bench and slammed her against a wall, she said. The next thing I know he literally jumped that defense table and flew before I could even, and just slammed me into the wall, she said. Dont know what hit me where. It literally I mean, it was so incredibly fast I cant even and I sure didnt expect it because, you know, I didnt. I slammed against the wall. We have a marble wall behind the bench. My glasses flew, my head slammed against the wall. Prosecutors showed the grand jury photos of Holthus injuries, which she said included a lump and bruises on her head. As officers attempted to detain Redden, Holthus lay under her bench curled up, she said. Absolutely terrified, she said about laying on the floor as her staff and officers subdued Redden. There was if they hadnt been there I would not be here. I had I was no match. He was absolutely taking me out. My marshal was across the room. My law clerk who was right next to me couldnt react fast enough and couldnt get him off and was struggling and struggling. If it was just me, I wouldnt have survived multiple blows to the head which is clearly where we were going with it. So Im very thankful. Paramedics attended to Holthus injuries, and she later went to the hospital for a scan, she said. It hit hard. It was literally like getting hit by a car when youre not sitting in a car, she said. I had a headache for a couple days. Like I said, I still cant sleep on my left arm and its still inflamed. My tailbone for two weeks was killing me. I took two weeks off a treadmill and all I do is walk on it and I couldnt do that. I lost clumps of hair, but I guess thats not really its emotionally painful. Holthus law clerk, Michael Lasso, helped officers, including Holthus marshal Shane Brandon, detain Redden. Brandon suffered a large cut to his head in the melee and also dislocated his arm, he told the panel. Lasso described the cut to Brandons head as like an onion peel. The video doesnt really do it justice, Lasso told 8 News Now a week after the attack. To just how fast it was. In the minutes after the attack, officers took Redden to a holding cell and then to the Clark County Detention Center, which is connected to the Regional Justice Center via a tunnel. During the transition, Redden allegedly told an officer he had a bad day and was trying to kill Holthus. He also mentioned that he thought that the judge had it out for him and that she was evil and she got what she deserved, a corrections officer told the grand jury. He was surprisingly very calm and very serious. He wasnt joking around. By what he said, he really truly felt he didnt understand if he did anything wrong at all. Judge Mary Kay Holthus presides over the arraignment of Republican electors, accused in a fake elector scheme, as they appear remotely at the Regional Justice Center, on Monday, Dec. 18, 2023, in Las Vegas. (Bizuayehu Tesfaye/Las Vegas Review-Journal/Tribune News Service via Getty Images) While at CCDC, Redden allegedly spit in a corrections officers face, police said. In addition to attempted murder, the grand jury indicted Redden on eight other charges, including extortion and battery. The attempted murder charge carries an enhancement due to Holthus age. Reddens family said he struggles with his mental health and that the criminal system has failed him. Holthus sentenced Redden the following week as the interrupted hearing continued. Redden, who was sentenced from 19 months to four years on an attempted battery charge, appeared in the courtroom wearing a mask and surrounded by court marshals as two Metro police officers held onto him. Before sentencing Redden, Holthus said she did not modify or change her decision on his sentence because of the attack. Voters elected Holthus to the bench in 2018. She previously worked for the Clark County District Attorneys Office. She often hears domestic violence and sex assault cases. Redden was in custody at the Nevada Department of Corrections after Holthus sentencing. He was due to be arraigned on the new charges stemming from the Jan. 3 attack on Feb. 29. Amid four high-profile incidents over the past several months, a court spokesperson said the court was amending its security contract to supplement court marshals. The court also was working on additional safety and security measures and added marshals to courtrooms for high-risk events. In addition, the spokesperson said the court has allocated $1.7 million in security upgrades and was reviewing a possible courtroom redesign. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KLAS. A US Coast Guard ship successfully intercepted a shipment of weapons that were intended for a militant group. The seizure was announced by US Central Command on Thursday. In a statement, the command announced that on Jan. 28, personnel aboard the Coast Guard cutter Clarence Sutphin Jr. successfully located and boarded a vessel. However, no further details were provided regarding the operator of the boat or any other specifics. However, the command stated that the shipment originated from Iran, as per Politico. US Coast Guard Seizes Lethal Aid Coast Guardsmen in the Arabian Sea managed to board a vessel that was heading from Iran to Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen. Central Command disclosed the find of more than 200 packages containing components for medium-range ballistic missiles, explosives, and military-grade equipment for communication, missile launching, and underwater vehicles. General Michael Erik Kurilla, commander of CENTCOM, condemned the incident, labeling it as another example of Iran's disruptive activities in the region. The seized vessel's operator was not disclosed by the command. The Houthi rebels, regarded as an Iranian proxy militia, have been disrupting global shipping in the Red Sea, citing objections to Israel's actions in the Gaza Strip. The US has escalated actions against Iranian-backed forces in Yemen and neighboring countries since January, culminating in the reclassification of the Houthis as a terrorist organization after two Navy SEALS lost their lives in clashes. The intercepted weaponry included materials essential for ballistic missiles, anti-tank rockets, explosives, and communication equipment. CENTCOM described the seized cargo as 'lethal aid originating in Iran,' violating UN Security Council Resolution 2216, according to Daily Beast. Read Also: Iran, Saudi Arabia and the UAE Jockey For Influence in Sudan as Threat of Famine Increases Houthi Attacks Rise Houthi attacks on US military and commercial vessels intensified following a deadly blast at the Al-Ahli hospital in Gaza in mid-October, coinciding with the Israel-Hamas conflict outbreak. The rebels vowed to continue targeting vessels until Israel ceases military operations in Gaza. General Michael Erik Kurilla emphasized the gravity of Iran's actions, violating international law and jeopardizing the safety of international shipping. Iranian officials have yet to comment on the seizure. Recent confrontations in the Red Sea saw a British warship downing a Houthi drone, and two Navy SEALS declared lost at sea during a mission to board a ship smuggling Iranian weapons. As of Wednesday, the US carrier strike group, comprising the USS Eisenhower, USS Philippine Sea, USS Mason, USS Gravely, USS Laboon, and USS Carney, has conducted over 95 intercepts of drones and made more than 240 self-defense strikes on Houthi targets. Houthi leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi claimed that Israeli ships were unable to pass through the Gulf of Aden, asserting a significant victory against American and British attempts to secure passage. Houthi militants, controlling populous regions in Yemen, have targeted international commercial ships, forcing companies to alter routes and prompting retaliatory strikes by US and British warplanes. The attacks, conducted in support of Palestinians during the Israel-Hamas conflict, have heightened tensions in the region, resulting in disruptions to shipping routes and retaliatory actions by the countries involved, Daily Mail reported. Related Article: Families of Hostages File Complaint at ICC Claiming Hamas War Crimes, Demanding Investigation OKLAHOMA COUNTY, Okla. (KFOR) An affidavit shows three Oklahoma City middle school students were arrested for a shooting in December that allegedly started as a meetup for a phone. According to the affidavit, one of them was seen holding an AR-15 at the time of the shooting. The alleged shooting did not happen near the middle school, per officials. Caddo Co. D.A. seeks death penalty for caretaker of Athena Brownfield The document details that on December 7, a girl at F.D. Moon Middle School said that a student took her phone from her hand and wouldnt return it. The girl told investigators she used her friends phone to call the alleged thief to get her phone back. Eventually, she was able to get ahold of that student and both of them reportedly agreed to meet after school at McNabb Park, located at 916 Northeast 35th Street in Oklahoma City. The victim had two boys with her one of them drove her to the meeting place. She told police, according to the affidavit, that while driving west on Northeast 33rd Street to Mildred Avenue after school, there were three boys she knew with guns. The affidavit reported that two of the boys had pistols and one, the one who allegedly stole the phone, had an AR-15. Shots were fired with several of the bullets hitting the vehicle the girl was in, according to the affidavit. Better Business Bureau investigating Oklahoma debt collection agency after surge in reports On December 7th, around 5:30 p.m., officers responded to Northeast 33rd and Springlake Drive on reports of a shooting, said Sgt. Dillon Quirk of the Oklahoma City Police Department. After shots rang out, the affidavit stated that everyone in the vehicle ducked down to avoid bullets. As the trio tried to drive away from the gunfire, they crashed into another vehicle before then speeding off and getting away. They called the police shortly after, according to the affidavit. Oklahoma City Police reported that nobody was injured. Eventually, three people were arrested in connection to the incident with the latest one arrested February 6. It was confirmed through the school that two of the three who allegedly fired shots were students at the school at the time of the shooting. The other hadnt been enrolled since September. As of Thursday, none of the students arrested are currently enrolled at F.D. Moon Middle School, according to Oklahoma City Public Schools. Domestic violence homicides in Oklahoma among nations highest, report says Oklahoma City Public Schools emphasized that this did not happen on school grounds whatsoever and that they take the safety of their students and staff at F.D. Moon Middle School very seriously. The school said that applies to every student and staff member at all of their schools. An affidavit details the timeline of events that led up to the shooting. {KFOR} A look at F.D. Middle School, the shooting happened off-campus. {KFOR} OKCPS also said F.D. Moons School Resource Officer, OKCPD Sgt. Andrew Anthony, is someone who goes above and beyond supporting kids and making a positive impact, especially at F.D. Moon. In December, when their school won the all-city football championship, he brought them all championship rings. In early December 2023, FD Moon Middle School leaders were made aware of a suspected shooting in the community. This incident did not happen on OKCPS property therefore according to our communication protocols, this information was not shared with FD Moon families. The individuals involved are not currently enrolled at FD Moon Middle School. Because this incident didnt occur on any OKCPS campus, and is unrelated to OKCPS and FD Moon Middle School, all other inquiries should be directed to OKC Police. As a reminder, weapons of any kind are not permitted on OKCPS campuses and any item that might threaten or even imitate a threat to our students or staff is strictly prohibited. We would like to encourage families and community members to keep firearms safely stored and we want to take this opportunity to remind young people about the dangers and repercussions of gun violence. The safety and security of our students and staff is the top priority for OKCPS. Oklahoma City Public School District For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KFOR.com Oklahoma City. RICHMOND, Va. (WAVY) Attorney General Jason Miyares has joined a bipartisan coalition to advocate for funding for the Crime Victims Fund (VOCA Fund). Since 1984, the VOCA Fund has provided services to victims and survivors across the U.S. VOCA Funds services include housing, mental health counseling, and domestic violence prevention programming. It also funds crime victim compensation and victim specialists in U.S. Attorneys Offices and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). In every corner of our nation, victims of crime rely on the vital support and services provided by federal funding. As victims navigate the aftermath of trauma, from the pain of physical injuries to the anguish of emotional distress, victim advocates are there to support recovery and well-being. Thats why it is imperative that Congress acts swiftly to ensure that victim service programs, like those available here in the Commonwealth, remain fully funded, Miyares said. AG Miyares partners with HR Chamber and local businesses for human trafficking initiative A letter from the coalition said the U.S. Department of Justices Office for Victims of Crime estimates 2024s funding for VOCA Funds grants will be approximately $700 million lower than last year. It stated this will threaten the funds services and programs. As violent crime continues to rise across the country, we have to ensure we remain committed to supporting victims every step of the way. Im proud to stand with this bipartisan coalition of attorneys general calling on Congress to ensure victims and survivors have the resources and assistance they need in their most difficult times, Miyares said. Click here to read the coalitions full letter. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WAVY.com. The Jackson-Medgar Wiley Evers International Airport has received $8 million in federal grant funds as part of the U.S. Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The funds will be used to upgrade equipment at the airport, according to L'Sherie Dean, the airport authority's director of communications, marketing and public relations. "The facility is 60-years-old, so this will allow us to enhance our elevators, escalators, HVAC, all of those different units that may need upgrades for years to come," Dean said in a phone interview. "We're the number one airport in the state of Mississippi, we're servicing up to 1.3 million passengers annually now, so in order to better serve our customers we want to give a high-quality experience by upgrading essential equipment." The announcement was made by the Jackson Municipal Airport Authority in a press release Friday afternoon. The Jackson airport authority recently reported passenger numbers for 2023 at levels "not seen in a decade and a half." The airport authority has been lobbying in Washington D.C. for these funds, Dean said, but there is no date as to when the airport will receive the funds, nor when construction will begin on the upgrades. The airport authority recently reported passenger numbers for 2023 at levels "not seen in adecade and a half." As of Dec. 31, the airport saw a 5.1% increase in travelers compared to 2022, and continues to be the busiest airport in the state of Mississippi, carrying close to six of every 10 passengers boarding at the state's seven commercial airports. In the press release, the airport's Chief Executive Officer, Rosa Beckett, said the airport authority will continue to work closely with the federal government and Mississippi leaders to plan and secure funds for a next generation airport. The airport currently generates nearly $2 billion annually to the state. Beckett also thanked "the Biden-Harris administration and members of the Mississippi Congressional delegation" for help securing the grant. She also thanked the U.S. Department of Transportation and the Federal Aviation Administration. This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Jackson, MS International Airport receives $8 million federal grant Donald Ball, dean of business, engineering and information technologies at Stark State College, far left, leads a tour for Intel representatives on campus Friday for the school's new Intel/Dell AI lab in the W.R. Timken Center for Information Technology. JACKSON TWP. Stark State College is on the cutting edge of artificial intelligence. Intel representatives were on campus Friday to tour the school's new Intel/Dell AI lab in the W.R. Timken Center for Information Technology, created through a partnership with the manufacturer. Stark State will offer two career enhancement certificates in the fall in AI. Officials hope to expand their AI offerings and integrate the technology into other career paths such as manufacturing and health care. In 2022, Stark State was one of 15 community colleges nationwide and the only Ohio college awarded a $40,000 grant to create an AI incubator. Intel, Dell Technologies and the American Association of Community Colleges offered grants to community and technical colleges to make AI training accessible to novice learners. Intel, which is investing more than $20 billion to build two computer chip factories in Licking County in Ohio, created the AI for Workforce program. The Jackson Township-based college with satellite locations in Akron and Canton will offer two certificates in AI including an 18-credit certificate that can be completed in two semesters and a second nine-credit credential focusing on the fundamentals of AI that can be completed in a semester. "The idea is an introduction to AI," said Larry Ray, chair of the Computer Science and Information Systems Department. "We want students to understand the role of AI and down the road be able to roll out additional curriculum." Donald Ball, dean of business, engineering and information technologies, said there are many ways the college could incorporate AI into its curriculum including robotics and manufacturing. Brian Gonzalez, executive director of government partnerships and initiatives for Intel, said the company realized the potential of community colleges. "We are at the beginning of the beginning (of AI)," Gonzalez explained. "And (Stark State) is ahead of others." AI is everywhere, he said, and every occupation will benefit from AI. Intel representatives Kevin Hoggatt, director of state government affairs for Ohio; Brian Gonzalez, executive director of government partnerships and initiatives for Intel; and Stanley Ball, vice president and head of legal, trade and government affairs, participate Friday in a roundtable at Stark State College for the school's new Intel/Dell AI lab in the W.R. Timken Center for Information Technology. "It's not about the technology, but it's about the fact that it can augment human capabilities," Gonzalez said. "(AI) is a set of tools and technology to solve a problem. It's not about the technology but what we can do with the technology. It's about approaching problems." AI will more likely reshape a job rather than replace it, he added. Intel's AI Workforce Program aims to teach the skills needed to apply AI, build trust and responsible use of AI, and ensure that students can obtain employment. Stark State President Para Jones is excited by the partnership with Intel. "It has been very exciting with Intel coming to Ohio and making a major investment in the workforce and people," she said. The school's trustees understand their role is to ensure Stark State offers the highest quality of programs that allow students to advance themselves and their lives and align with workforce needs, she said. The new AI certificates and curriculum involving AI in the future are another way to provide students with more opportunities. "I'm happy we've made a small investment into the right place at the right time," Gonzalez added. Reach Amy at 330-775-1135 or amy.knapp@indeonline.com. Donald Ball, dean of business, engineering and information technologies at Stark State College, leads a tour for Intel representatives on campus Friday for the school's new Intel/Dell AI lab in the W.R. Timken Center for Information Technology. This article originally appeared on The Independent: Stark State College partners with Intel to give students leg up on AI ALABAMA (WHNT) A new filing in Federal District Court is asking the court to stop another Alabama inmate from execution by nitrogen gas, saying that the execution of Kenneth Eugene Smith using the method was botched. The new filing, made on behalf of death row inmate David Wilson, argues executing Wilson using the current protocol would violate his Constitutional rights. Alabama House passes gaming bills, moves it to state senate Wilson was convicted and sentenced to death in Houston County, Alabama for the killing of Dewey Walker during a 2004 robbery and burglary at Walkers home. Investigators said Wilson confessed to the crime, admitting that he hit Walker with a bat and put a cord around his neck while trying to get him to drop a knife. Three other people were sentenced to between 23 to 25 years in prison in connection with the case. Thursdays court filing asks that Wilson not be executed by nitrogen hypoxia, calling it torturous. The attorney cites published witness accounts of Smiths execution, which differ from what representatives for the state predicted: that Smith would lose consciousness in seconds. Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall, prior to the execution, said it would be the most painless and humane method available; however, the filing cites claims from witnesses that Smith shook and convulsed and appeared to hold consciousness for minutes after the gas began being administered. What the witnesses saw was a far cry from the peaceful and dignified passing that the Attorney General represented to the Court and the public prior to the execution, whereby Mr. Smith would be rendered unconscious and unable to feel pain before he died, the filing said. HEMSI: No one hurt after ambulance shot at, struck on Beard Street Smith became the first man to be executed by nitrogen hypoxia in the country on Jan. 25 when Alabama used nitrogen gas in a novel execution method. The document argues on the basis that Smiths execution proved the current protocol would violate Wilsons Eighth Amendment Rights by constituting cruel and unusual punishment. Wilsons attorney also claims he has unique medical conditions that would contribute to the likelihood he would suffer a prolonged death in violation of the Eighth Amendment. The filing goes on to name those conditions as pulmonary issues, Aspergers Syndrome, and light hyper-sensitivity and vision impairment. Wilsons attorneys have also been in a long legal battle to get Wilson a new trial. One key point has been over discovery in his original case, particularly over the state turning over a letter supposedly written by one of Wilsons co-defendants. In that letter, the writer, who identified themselves as co-defendant Catherine Corley, said that she hit Walker with a bat until he fell, according to court documents. A judge ordered the letter be turned over to Wilsons attorneys last year, but litigation regarding it and its effect on his original conviction have continued. The Associated Press contributed to this report For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WHNT.com. The family home of Alex Murdaugh, who murdered his wife and son near the property in 2021, has been sold for $1 million to an unnamed buyer that plans to operate a horse farm there. The house and about 20 acres of land were portioned off from the rest of the former Murdaugh property, which was bought last year for nearly $4 million by Jeff Godley and James Ayer. In a statement, Godley said they were seeking a new neighbor to enjoy this gorgeous house and land. The listing by auctioneer J.P. King describes the house as a secluded haven offering tranquility and privacy, suggesting it could be used for family residence, hobby farm, or private retreat. The property includes a cottage with a game room that was a central piece of the Murdaugh investigation, because it housed the former lawyers extensive gun collection. Murdaugh was convicted in 2023 of killing his son Paul and wife Maggie near the dog kennels on the property, which were not included in the sale of the Murdaugh house. Alex Murdaugh is serving two life sentences in a South Carolina state prison. Read more at The Daily Beast. Get the Daily Beast's biggest scoops and scandals delivered right to your inbox. Sign up now. Stay informed and gain unlimited access to the Daily Beast's unmatched reporting. Subscribe now. WASHINGTON Republican investigators leading the impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden were dealt a major blow on Thursday evening after a former FBI informant was indicted by Justice Department Special Counsel David Weiss for lying about Biden and his son, Hunter Bidens involvement with a Ukrainian energy company. The informant, Alexander Smirnov, has been touted by Republicans for months as a credible source that shows the president and his son were directly involved in corruption schemes. Smirnovs arrest and charges that he fabricated his claims about the Biden familys business dealings significantly undercut Republican allegations that the president was improperly involved with his sons business interests. But Republicans downplayed Smirnovs indictment on Thursday night. House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer, R-Ky., one of the Republicans leading the inquiry, said in a statement that the probe is not reliant on the FBIs FD-1023, referring to the name of documents the FBI uses to document information from confidential human sources. The inquiry instead, Comer contended, is based on a large record of evidence, including bank records and witness testimony, revealing that Joe Biden knew of and participated in his familys business dealings. The GOP-led inquiry into the president is broad in scope. Smirnovs allegations about Joe and Hunter Bidens involvement with Burisma, a Ukrainian energy company, is just one of several other allegations Republicans are chasing. But his claim that Joe Biden as vice president fired a Ukrainian prosecutor to protect his son who was serving on Burismas board was a central piece of evidence the GOP has touted. To date, House Republicans have also yet to produce evidence directly tying Joe Biden to any of his sons foreign business ventures. Regardless, Comer promised to continue to follow the facts to propose legislation to reform federal ethics laws and to determine whether articles of impeachment are warranted. Heres what comes next. Hunter Biden, the son of President Joe Biden, makes an appearance at The House Committee on Oversight and Accountability hearing to Markup: 1 H.Res. on Jan. 10, 2024, recommending that the House of Representatives find Robert Hunter Biden in contempt of Congress for refusal to comply with a subpoena duly issued by the Committee on Oversight and Accountability. What happened with Smirnov? Smirnov is accused of lying to the FBI and saying that Ukrainian executives of Burisma told him in 2015 and 2016 that Hunter Biden was hired to the board to protect us, through his dad, from all kinds of problems. Those executives, Smirnov alleged, also told him that they paid $5 million each to Joe and Hunter Biden to take care of all those issues through his dad. Those statements supported allegations that Joe Biden, as vice president, helped oust a Ukrainian prosecutor, Viktor Shokin, to protect Hunter Biden. But according to the indictment, Smirnov was in contact with those executives at the end of the Obama-Biden administration and after Shokin was fired. Shokins ouster was also motivated not because he was investigating Burisma and consequently, Hunter Biden, but because U.S. and European diplomats and officials were lobbying for his removal because he was not pursuing corruption cases after corrupt politicians. President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, Friday, Feb. 16, 2024, in Washington. Whats next for the House GOPs impeachment inquiry? House Republicans are still going full steam ahead over other allegations that the president financially benefitted from his sons business affairs and have two massive testimonies scheduled in the coming weeks: James Biden, the presidents brother and Hunter Biden himself. James Biden is slated to sit for a closed-door transcribed interview with investigators on Feb. 21. The investigating committees have zeroed in on James Bidens business dealings and are interested in the extent to which, if any, the president was involved in any of them. Lawmakers are likely to ask James Biden about a pair of checks he made to the president in 2017 in 2018 labeled on the memo line as a loan repayment. Bank records previously reviewed by USA TODAY suggest the checks were indeed repayments for loans the president previously made to his brother. Hunter Biden, who is at the center of House Republicans allegations against the president, is then scheduled to testify behind closed-doors a week later on Feb. 28 after much back and forth between him and investigators. GOP lawmakers have repeatedly alleged Hunter Biden sold his last name as a form of "influence peddling while Joe Biden served as vice president. Joe Biden, Republicans allege, was complicit in Hunter Bidens schemes and directly benefitted from them. Following his closed-door interview, Hunter Biden will then speak in a public hearing before the Oversight Committee. Along with James and Hunter Bidens testimony, the investigating committees have additional transcribed interviews in the coming weeks with other people associated with the Biden family as Republicans seek to close out their inquiry and decide whether to draft articles of impeachment against the president. Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., prepares for a television interview the U.S. Capitol on January 18, 2024 in Washington, DC. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Alex Smirnov indicted: House GOP Biden impeachment probe's next steps A 41-year-old Alexandria woman has been arrested months after a fatal crash on Browns Bend Road, accused of vehicular homicide, drag racing and other charges. A 41-year-old Alexandria woman has been arrested months after a fatal crash on Browns Bend Road, accused of vehicular homicide, drag racing and other charges. The Alexandria Police Department announced the arrest of Nena Campbell Thursday afternoon. A news release stated she was being charged in connection to a two-vehicle crash in the 300 block of Browns Bend Road that happened on Oct. 7. The crash killed Bret Tibbetts, 42, of Alexandria. Campbell, of the 3600 block of Peach Street, was booked into the Rapides Parish Detention Center #1 on charges of vehicular homicide, first-degree vehicular negligent injuring, first-offense DWI and drag racing. Total bail on the four charges is $401,100. Campbell remains in jail as of Friday afternoon, according to online jail records. 2021 homicides: Cases of Alexandria double homicide, death of Lecompte baby get trial dates Justin Grant Walters sentencing: Colfax man sentenced to 25 years in prison in Rapides rape, kidnapping case According to the department's release in October, officers responded to an early morning crash between a Dodge Challenger and Chevrolet Camaro. "The initial investigation revealed that both vehicles were traveling southbound on Browns Bend Road when the Dodge Challenger attempted to pass the Chevrolet Camaro and, for reasons still under investigation, the vehicles came into contact with each other," it reads. The Challenger ran off the road and hit a tree, ejecting Tibbets and the driver, who was seriously injured. Campbell was not injured. She was driving the Camaro, according to a civil lawsuit filed in late January against her, the driver of the Challenger and others on behalf of Tibbett's two children. This article originally appeared on Alexandria Town Talk: Police arrest woman in 2-car crash that killed Bret Tibbetts, 42 The US government is allocating $1 million of American taxpayer funds to support gain-of-function experiments involving high-risk bird flu viruses, in partnership with scientists from China. According to the research documents, the study focuses on infecting ducks and geese with various strains to enhance their transmissibility and infectiousness. The aim is to investigate the viruses' ability to infect mammalian hosts, as per Daily Mail. Senator Ernst Questions $1M Avian Flu Research Senator Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) has raised questions about a $1 million grant awarded by the Biden administration for a joint avian influenza research project involving the US, the UK, and China. In a letter to USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack, Ernst sought details about the project, expressing concerns about the involvement of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and a researcher affiliated with the Wuhan Institute of Virology. The project, slated to run from April 2021 to March 2026, focuses on "wet-lab virology" experiments with strains of avian influenza virus posing risks to both avian and human populations. Ernst urged Vilsack to provide information on safeguards, potential risks associated with gain-of-function research, and the extent of work conducted in China. Gain-of-function research, aiming to enhance pathogen transmissibility or virulence, has raised concerns about the potential for creating pandemics. Ernst emphasized the importance of scrutinizing such collaborations, especially with researchers linked to the Wuhan Lab, referencing concerns about experiments that may have contributed to the COVID-19 pandemic. The experiments involve infecting vaccinated chickens, mallard ducks, Chinese geese, and Japanese quail to assess the virus's transmissibility and potential transmission to mammalian hosts. Ernst stressed the need for caution, stating, "The health and safety of Americans are too important to just wing it" according to New York Post. Read Also: Iran, Saudi Arabia and the UAE Jockey For Influence in Sudan as Threat of Famine Increases Cut for Overseas Animal Labs Over Safety Concerns Ernst referenced the nonprofit watchdog group White Coat Waste Project, which brought attention to the experiments. Justin Goodman, the group's senior vice president, called for Congress to cut funding to "unaccountable animal labs" in China and Russia. Noting that viral experiments have caused outbreaks and deaths, Ernst highlighted China's labs' lax safety standards. Additional bird flu testing is set to occur at the USDA's Agricultural Research Service in Georgia, with statistical modeling conducted by the University of Edinburgh's Roslin Institute. The concerns raised by Ernst come amid a backdrop of increased bird flu cases in the US In 2024 alone, the USDA has detected bird flu in eight commercial flocks and 14 backyard flocks, affecting 530,000 poultry. Since January 2022, over 81 million US poultry and aquatic birds have been culled due to avian flu across 47 states. USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack acknowledged challenges in developing a vaccine for the current avian flu strain and expressed plans to discuss poultry vaccinations with trading partners. The World Organisation for Animal Health has recommended bird flu vaccinations for poultry to prevent a potential pandemic, while the US government has previously imposed restrictions on French poultry imports due to their decision to vaccinate ducks against avian flu, The Straits Times reported. Related Article: Palestinian Patient Killed, 6 Injured as Israeli Forces Storm Khan Younis Hospital KYIV Russian President Vladimir Putin is on a decades-long quest to restore his country to what he views as its rightful place in world affairs, and he is willing to crush anyone who stands in his way. Putins regime has ruthlessly consolidated power through murder and oppression, while using unfettered militancy abroad to expand the Kremlins reach. Until recently, the West has largely accommodated Putin, deluding itself that engagement and dialogue would temper his remorseless thirst for control and appetite for conquest. Western inaction, infirmity, and addiction to cheap Russian oil and gas have allowed the dictator to prevail despite a series of wars, assassinations, terror attacks, and a deadly conflict in Ukraine that has killed hundreds of thousands. The latest high-profile victim of Putins bloody repression of political opposition is Alexei Navalny, 47, a nationalist politician and anti-corruption campaigner who led a series of protests against Putin ahead of the 2012 election in Russia. Putin kills any potential political threat to his rule and to a possible democratic future for Russia, says Oleg Mihailik, a human rights lawyer in Ukraine. Before the 2022 invasion, the lawyer regularly worked with opposition figures and dissidents fleeing from Russia, Belarus, and other lands under Kremlin domination. Now, he primarily focuses on humanitarian aid in liberated territories. On Friday, the Russian prison service announced that Navalny had been found dead in his cell in a high-security prison above the Arctic Circle in Western Siberia, where he was serving the latest in a series of sentences, after being tried on charges that human rights groups describe as a sham. Navalny is survived by his wife Yulia and two children. Yulia Navalnaya said Friday, I want Putin and his entire circle [to] know that theyll bear responsibility for what they did with our country and my family and my husband. A spokesperson for the family said they would issue no additional comment while Navalnys lawyer travels to Siberia to investigate. Russian authorities say the cause of death was a blood clot, but this has not been independently verified. Lets make no mistake, Putin assassinated Navalny. He did so because Navalny was brave enough to stand up to Putin. He did so because Navalny offered the Russian people an alternative to kleptocracy and repression. This is a tragic day for Navalnys family but also for Russia, wrote Bill Browder, a financier-turned-activist responsible for the passage of landmark anti-Putin legislation in the U.S. Called the Magnitsky Act, it individually sanctioned members of Putins inner circle for their involvement in the 2009 arrest, torture, and murder of Sergei Magnitsky, a tax advisor who worked with Browder in exposing high-level corruption. Navalny also ran afoul of the authorities over his anti-corruption efforts. He first came to national prominence in 2008, when as an activist investor in multiple oil and gas companies, he led a crusade against bribery and corruption by trying to force companies to publicly disclose their financial records. By 2011, he had established a non-profit called the Anti-Corruption Foundation (ACF). In the months leading up to Russias March 2012 election in which Putin was set to win an unprecedented third term by flagrantly exploiting a constitutional loophole Navalny became a key figure in mass protests in Moscow against the return of the former KGB officer. There was cause for fear among those who joined the protesters. Over the course of his 24-year career at the highest levels of Russian leadership, Putin has ruthlessly eliminated critics and opponents of his regime. As one might expect from a former KGB agent who served as a liaison with East Germanys Stasi secret police in the 1980s, very few of the misfortunes that have befallen his enemies can be tied to Putin directly. Like Navalny, most of those who oppose Putin have died suddenly under murky circumstances. When Yeltsin appointed Putin prime minister in 1999, it was in the hopes of finding a silovik or strongman from within the security state who could keep the resurgent communist party at bay while strengthening Russias nascent liberal democracy and market reforms. Russia in the late 90s was beset by economic chaos, corruption, and security crises. Chechen militants were clashing with Russian forces in border areas, and had backed a separatist movement in Dagestan. Hardliners within the security services wanted to reassert control over the region, despite Yeltsins continued promises that there would be no new war in Chechnya; the first, ending in 1996, had been a disaster. In August 1999, only a month after Putin became prime minister, Russia was rocked by a series of bombings targeting apartment blocks in Moscow, Dagestan, and Rostov that killed hundreds and wounded thousands. Three bombs were also discovered and defused before detonation. Within weeks of the first bombing of an apartment building, the previously obscure bureaucrat Putin had become the plain-speaking commander-in-chief in a War on Terrorism, promising to wipe out Russias enemies in televised meetings with military commanders in the field. His popularity soared. By December, Putin became acting president, taking over as Yeltsins hand-picked successor. In May 2000, when Russia held its first post-Yeltsin presidential election, acting-President Putin won easily. It was arguably the first peaceful transition of power in Russian history. But skeptics immediately began asking questions about whether Chechen terrorists were actually behind the apartment bombings. Some suspected that the Russian security services had carried out false-flag attacks to bolster the candidacy of their chosen man: Putin. Such a line of thinking was not without merit. On Sept. 23, 2000, residents of an apartment building in Ryazan, in central Russia, had reported suspicious men carrying sacks into the basement of their building. When police arrived, they discovered what appeared to be 300 pounds of explosives with a detonator and timer attached. The device was defused by the local bomb squad, the head of which said the substance in the sacks had tested positive as RDX, a military-grade explosive. Local officials praised the residents and police for their vigilance in preventing a tragedy. Descriptions of the suspects and their car were made public, and two men were quickly arrested. But there was a problem. The suspects produced IDs showing that they were members of the Federal Security Service, or FSB, the primary successor agency to the KGB. After local authorities made phone calls to Moscow to verify that the men worked for the FSB, the suspects were released. Later that night, Putin unleashed a devastating air campaign against Grozny, the capital of Chechnya. The next day, FSB director Nikolai Patrushev brushed aside the incident in Ryazan as a training exercise that had never posed a risk to the public. The FSB said that the sacks had contained sugar, not explosives. The wave of apartment building bombings attributed to Chechen terrorists stopped in the immediate aftermath of the Ryazan incident, but the questions started. In the early years of Putins presidency, Russian news media was still freewheeling and inquisitive. Investigative journalists immediately began to find flaws in the governments story. Official inquiries soon followed. Like the media, in the early 2000s, the State Duma Russias lower legislative house created in 1994 had not yet been brought to heel under Putins hand. Legislators and opposition parties remained chaotic-but-energetic participants in state governance. Fears that the FSB was murdering Russian citizens in staged bombings prompted former Soviet dissident-turned-legislator Sergei Kovalev to form a public commission of inquiry in 2002. It was now, with the Kovalev Commission, that Putins public opponents began to die. On April 17, 2003, Sergei Yushenkov, the commissions vice chairman, was shot to death outside of his apartment in Moscow. Four men were arrested, and based on the testimony of one of the suspects, the mastermind was found guilty. He maintained his innocence and tried to kill himself, before being transferred to Moscows notorious Lefortovo Prison. However, FSB Lt. Col. Alexander Litvinenko soon went public with assertions that Yushenkov was killed because of his investigation into the apartment bombings. Litvinenko would later defect to the U.K. after publicly calling out corruption and links between organized crime, security officials, and the powerful oligarchs who rule Russias economy; he died on Nov. 23, 2006 slain with polonium-laced tea, in the first-known case of assassination by radiation poisoning. The list of Putin critics who have been murdered, died suddenly, or have nearly died is long: Lawmaker Yuri Shchekochikhin, felled by a mystery illness on July 3, 2003 only days before he was set to travel to the U.S. and meet with FBI officials to report on corruption in the FSB; investigative journalist Anna Politkovskaya, shot by contract killers on Oct. 7, 2006; lawyer Stanislav Markelov and journalist Anastasia Baburova, shot to death outside a press conference on Jan. 19, 2009; Natalia Estemirova, a human rights activist kidnapped and murdered in Chechnya on July 15, 2009; whistleblower Alexander Perepilichny, whose sudden death while jogging in London on Nov. 10, 2012 has been called into question; oligarch Boris Berezovsky, dead of a mysterious suicide on March 23, 2013; physicist Boris Nemtsov, shot to death in Moscow on Feb. 27, 2015; former spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia, who barely survived being poisoned with the nerve agent Novichok on March 4, 2018; Yevgeny Prigozhin, who died in a plane crash on Aug. 23, 2023, after mutinying against the Kremlin over its handling of the war in Ukraine. There are dozens more lower-profile victims. Navalny can now be added to the list. In many ways, he was one of the more critical threats Putin has faced during his rule. The 2011 protests that sealed Navalnys status as a viable opposition figure in Russia were particularly galling to Putin, who viewed them as a continuation of the United States policy to undermine his rule. Our people do not want the situation in Russia to develop like it was in Kyrgyzstan or not so long ago in Ukraine, Putin said at the time, referring to political protests that had resulted in Moscow-aligned politicians losing power. To Putin, the protests were another attempt at a color revolution, part of a broader campaign of regime change pursued by Washington in Iraq, Libya, and elsewhere. Navalny was arrested multiple times during the protests from 2012 onwards, often facing trial on drummed-up charges of financial misconduct. But he continued his political activism, organizing rallies, creating a political party, participating in elections, and producing documentaries critical of Putin and his cronies kleptocracy. Despite numerous attacks even twice being doused with a bright green antiseptic dye and extensive bureaucratic interference aimed at keeping him out of politics, Navalny persisted. His ACF was branded a foreign agent and banned in Russia in 2019; he even survived an assassination attempt by poison on Aug. 20, 2020. After being evacuated to Berlin for treatment and recovery, in January 2021 Navalny made the fateful decision to return to Russia to carry on the fight against Putin. His plane was diverted and he was arrested upon landing. Navalny spent the rest of his life in prison. He was a very brave man to return back to a totalitarian country, knowing he had no chance to survive there, and having every chance to become a powerful Russian opposition leader from abroad, human rights lawyer Mihailik says and he would know. In 2019 Mihailik was shot in the chest by a sniper, in an assassination attempt he believes was tied to his own anti-corruption activism. Mihailik survived, but the perpetrators were never caught. Outside of Russia, public outrage at Navalnys death has been swift. Putin tried and failed to murder Navalny quickly and secretly with poison, and now he has murdered him slowly and publicly in prison. He was killed for exposing Putin and his mafia as the crooks and thieves they are. My thoughts are with the brave mans wife and children, wrote Garry Kasparov, the former chess master turned anti-Putin critic. With the death of Navalny, there are few prominent figures who have the gravitas and influence to rally significant public opposition to Putin: The closest may be the businessman Mikhail Khodorkovsky once Russias richest man who has lived in exile since 2013 and has been called the Kremlins leading critic-in-exile. But Khodorkovsky is not in Russia. While Navalnys courage and tenacity in returning home and risking a martyrs fate are undeniable, it is an open question whether his death will have a lasting effect on Putins regime. This creates a significant political problem for the regime they will have to deal with Navalnys legacy, observed Tatiana Stanovaya, founder of the Russian politics-focused R.Politik and a senior fellow at the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center. I have no doubt that very soon well witness a significant wave of anti-Navalny repressions, raids after indignations in social networks, criminal cases, and arrests. Putins rule has now endured through five U.S. presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama, Donald Trump, and Joe Biden and each administration found ways to appease, placate, or ignore Putin as he expanded his power internationally. Sanctions and strong words have done little to prevent him from achieving his goals. Despite Bidens 2021 promise that Putin would face devastating consequences if anything happened to Navalny, it isnt clear that the U.S. has any more mechanisms to use as leverage against the Kremlin than it has already employed after the invasion of Ukraine. For almost a quarter of a century, Putin has been responsible for the assassination of dissidents and political opponents at home and abroad; the systematic and deliberate targeting of civilians, aid workers, and journalists in several war zones; the brutal suppression of independence movements inside Russia; and the illegal annexation of territory in neighboring countries. Although the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Putin over war crimes last year, and he has been branded an international pariah, the man who rules Russia may never be held to account for his atrocities including his complicity in silencing Alexei Navalny. More from Rolling Stone Best of Rolling Stone Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, seen here marching in 2018 in memory of politician and opposition leader Boris Nemtsov, has died during his lengthy imprisonment. Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, seen here marching in 2018 in memory of politician and opposition leader Boris Nemtsov, has died during his lengthy imprisonment. Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, one of Russian President Vladimir Putins biggest foes, died Friday while being held in a Russian penal colony in Kharp, a city in northern Russia, the Federal Prison Service said. He was 47. According to the statement released by the countrys prison agency, Navalny lost consciousness after he felt unwell during a walk. While emergency services attended to him, they did not manage to revive him, they added. Navalnys spokesperson Kira Yarmysh said Navalnys lawyer was travelling to Kharp to find out more, adding that they were not in a position to confirm his death yet. As soon as we have some information, we will report on it, Yarmysh wrote on X. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters Putin was notified of Navalnys death, adding that the Federal Penitentiary Service is investigating the events. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov: "As far as we know, in accordance with all the existing rules the Federal Penitentiary Service is checking and establishing" what happened to Navalny. "No special orders [from the Kremlin] are required." pic.twitter.com/5Cpc9flCza max seddon (@maxseddon) February 16, 2024 World leaders have been sharing their reaction to the reports of Navalnys death, with U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak calling the development terrible news. As the fiercest advocate for Russian democracy, Alexei Navalny demonstrated incredible courage throughout his life, Sunak wrote. My thoughts are with his wife and the people of Russia, for whom this is a huge tragedy. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, whose country is at war with Russia, told a news conference in Berlin, Alexey Navalny died in a Russian prison it is obvious for me that he was killed. U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan said the Biden administration was actively seeking confirmation of the news. If its confirmed, it is a terrible tragedy, and given the Russian governments long and sordid history of doing harm to its opponents, it raises real and obvious questions about what happened here, Sullivan told NPR. Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting with workers at the AO Konar plant, a few minutes after his spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that President Putin had been informed about Alexey Navalny's death, on February 16, 2024 in Moscow, Russia. (Photo by Contributor/Getty Images) Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting with workers at the AO Konar plant, a few minutes after his spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that President Putin had been informed about Alexey Navalny's death, on February 16, 2024 in Moscow, Russia. (Photo by Contributor/Getty Images) Navalny was serving a 19-year sentence on extremism charges after he was convicted for the fifth time in August over his foundations activities and statements by his associates. He decried the charges as politically motivated. In December, he was transferred to a penal colony in the Yamalo-Nenets region near the Arctic Circle in December after his allies had previously reported losing contact with him for three weeks. Navalnys supporters said his transfer there was yet another effort by Putin to suppress him. Navalnys death comes ahead of Russias presidential election scheduled for next month. Putin is all but certain to win reelection. Last year, Navalny had been reportedly suffering from stomach pains. Yarmysh said in April that she feared the illness could have been caused by a slow-acting poison. His health is not a good condition, Yarmysh told Reuters at the time. We cant rule out the idea that he is being poisoned, not in a huge dosage as before, but in small ones so that he doesnt die immediately but for him to suffer and to ruin his health. Navalny had been unable to eat the prison food because it was worsening his symptoms, Yarmysh said, and hed been forbidden from accessing alternative food. The Kremlin referred Reuters questions about the situation to the penitentiary service, which did not respond to Reuters request for comment. Navalny is seen on a screen via a video link from his penal colony before a hearing over the extremism criminal case against him at the Basmanny district court in Moscow, April 26, 2023. Navalny is seen on a screen via a video link from his penal colony before a hearing over the extremism criminal case against him at the Basmanny district court in Moscow, April 26, 2023. At the end of April, more than 100 public figures, including various journalists, actors, musicians and filmmakers, released a letter calling for Putin to release Navalny. Visits from relatives and phone calls are forbidden, his attorney-client privileges have been canceled, the letter read. Despite running a fever, he is required to stand all day. Navalny, leader of the Russia of the Future party, was Putins most prominent critic. He was evacuated to Germany in August 2020 after being poisoned with a Novichok nerve agent the same type of chemical weapon used to poison former Russian military official Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia, in 2018. Navalny fell ill while on a flight from the Russian city of Tomsk to Moscow, his spokesperson said at the time. Navalny could be heard loudly moaning in pain in a video recorded by a passenger on the plane. A joint investigation by news outlets Bellingcat, CNN, The Insider and Der Spiegel, published in December 2020, implicated Russias Federal Security Service in Navalnys poisoning. The U.S., the U.K. and other countries imposed sanctions against top Russian officials in response. In January 2021, after receiving medical treatment abroad, Navalny was detained by Russian law enforcement agents at a Moscow airport upon his return. Opposition supporters attend a rally in support of Navalny in central Moscow on April 21, 2021. Opposition supporters attend a rally in support of Navalny in central Moscow on April 21, 2021. The official reason for the arrest was Navalnys failure to appear at a parole hearing, but many of his supporters said his detainment was politically motivated. He was sentenced to two-and-a-half years. Navalny went on a three-week hunger strike in March and April 2021 to protest prison officials refusal to allow him to see a private doctor. He ended the strike on the advice of his doctors and after his demands were partly met, he said. In March 2022, Navalny was sentenced to nine years at a maximum security facility on charges of fraud and contempt. Putin has a long history of silencing dissidents, including journalists and other political opponents. Its widely believed that the Kremlin was behind the poisonings of Skripal and his daughter, who both survived. Russia denied responsibility for the attack against them, despite ample evidence to the contrary. The Russian government is also believed to have been involved in the deaths of Nikolai Andrushchenko, an anti-Putin journalist, in 2017, and Boris Nemtsov, a former deputy Russian prime minister, who was gunned down on a bridge near the Kremlin in 2015. Navalnys imprisonment sparked the biggest confrontation in years between Russian authorities and critics of the Kremlin. Tens of thousands of demonstrators marched across Russia to protest his arrest, and more protests followed his hunger strike and his court sentences. Alexei Navalny was born June 4, 1976. His role as a leading Kremlin critic began about a decade ago when, while working as a lawyer, he began publishing investigations into the finances of state-run companies on his blog. He founded the Anti-Corruption Foundation, which releases articles and films documenting Russian dirty-money trails, and rose to political prominence after helping orchestrate major protests across the country beginning in 2011. Navalny was subject to numerous threats against his safety over the years. In 2019, he was imprisoned for 30 days for protesting election officials decision to bar some opposition candidates from running for Moscow City Council. While in prison, he suffered an allergic reaction that was widely believed to be the result of poisoning. He lost partial vision in one eye after an acid attack in 2017. Navalny addresses supporters and journalists next to his former colleague Pyotr Ofitserov (center left) upon his arrival in a Moscow railway station, July 20, 2013. Navalny addresses supporters and journalists next to his former colleague Pyotr Ofitserov (center left) upon his arrival in a Moscow railway station, July 20, 2013. In 2013, Navalny was sentenced to five years in prison for embezzlement, despite an absence of evidence pointing to any wrongdoing. He was released shortly after in an equally confounding set of circumstances, allowing him to run in Moscows mayoral election. He came in second place among six candidates. Navalny was placed under house arrest in 2014. He defied orders and left the house so often that authorities eventually stopped following him. Instead, they brought in his employees for interrogations. Several of them left Russia to live in exile across Europe. Navalny was retried in 2017 and again found guilty of embezzlement. Around 2010, Navalny was involved with right-wing nationalist groups, an association for which he was later criticized by other opposition activists. In an interview with NPR in 2018, Navalny declined to apply a Western political label to his ideology. With the help of his Anti-Corruption Foundation and personal staff, Navalny continued his attacks on Putin via social media while he was imprisoned. Navalny is survived by his wife, Yulia Navalnaya, and their two children, Daria and Zakhar. Nora Biette-Timmons and Willa Frej contributed to this report. Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny reportedly died Friday, leading to an outpouring of grief worldwide. Navalny emerged as one of the most vocal critics of Russian President Vladimir Putin and was a popular figure known for standing up to the Kremlin and corruption in Russia. From a small-time politician and blogger to a major opposition leader and Russian presidential candidate who was poisoned and then imprisoned until his death, heres a timeline of the life of Navalny. 1976 Navalny is born June 4, 1976, to a military family in the town of Butyn, near Moscow. He spent much of his youth on the move with his family. He was a teenager when the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991. 1990s Navalny graduates from the Peoples Friendship University of Russia in 1997 with a law degree. In 2001, he completes an economics degree at the Russian governments Finance Academy. In the 90s, Navalny works for a bank and a development company as a lawyer, according to Russian media. 2000 Navalny marries his wife, Yulia Navalnaya. The couple have two children together, a daughter named Dasha and a son named Zahar. Navalny also joins the Russian United Democratic Party (Yabloko), a liberal political party. 2001-2007 In 2001, Navalny goes to work for the headquarters for deputy elections of the State Duma, the lower house of Russias federal parliament. In 2002, he is elected to office for the first time, becoming a member of the regional council for his party, Yabloko, in Moscow. From 2004-07, Navalny serves as the chief of staff of Moscow for Yabloko and also as deputy chairman of Yabloko in Moscow. He is later expelled from Yabloko after attending an ultranationalist, anti-immigration protest. Navalny is known to have anti-immigrant views. 2008-2009 Navalny makes a splash for the first time nationally when he published evidence of embezzlement funds for major state corporations, including Russian gas giant Gazprom. In 2009, he serves a brief stint as an adviser to the Russian governor of Kirov. 2010 Navalny becomes a prominent anti-Kremlin activist and blogger. He starts a website and organization called RosPil in 2009 devoted to publishing information about corruption in the state procurement of assets. Lawyers linked to RosPil also challenged many public procurements in court. 2011 FILE Navalny speaks to journalists after being released from a police custody on the outskirts of Moscow early Wednesday, Dec. 21, 2011. (AP Photo/Mikhail Metzel, File) Navalny establishes the Anti-Corruption Foundation, which became Russias largest anti-corruption organization. He also begins speaking out against United Russia, the dominant political party that is affiliated with Putin, calling it a party of swindlers and thieves. Navalny is arrested for taking part in protests against the State Duma, joining thousands of people to rally against what they considered widespread fraud. Navalnys participation in the protests brings him into the global spotlight for the first time. 2013 FILE In this Monday, Sept. 9, 2013, file photo, Navalny gestures while speaking during an opposition rally in Moscow. (AP Photo/Ivan Sekretarev, File) Navalny runs for Moscow mayor but loses. But he still draws nearly 1-in-3 votes, a relative success for an opposition candidate in Russias capital city. He is also indicted on charges of embezzlement from a lumber company, a case that was later overturned but then retried years later, giving him a suspended sentence. 2014-2015 Navalnys anti-corruption activities increasingly draw the ire of the Kremlin. He publishes often embarrassing and satirical videos on YouTube of corruption, including spotlighting an expensive home owned by former Russian President and Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, a Putin ally. In 2016, his Anti-Corruption Foundation publishes a major investigation into Medvedev that showcases his extraordinary accrual of wealth. 2017-2018 After Navalny announces he will run for president in 2018, he pushes for free and fair elections. But Russias courts bar him from running, citing his past sentencing. Navalny calls for protests against the decision. 2020 Navalny is poisoned with the Soviet nerve agent Novichok while on a flight to Moscow from Tomsk. He is transported to Berlin and recovers from the poisoning attempt. 2021 Navalny flies back to Russia from Germany and is quickly detained by Russian authorities. A judge rules he must serve more than two years in prison for his previously suspended sentence on embezzlement charges. Navalny publishes another major investigation into Putins wealth in a popular YouTube video called Putins palace. 2022 Navalny is sentenced to nine more years in prison on fraud charges that he denies. 2023 FILE Navalny appears Thursday, Jan. 11, 2024, via a video link from the Arctic penal colony where he was serving a 19-year sentence, provided by the Russian Federal Penitentiary Service during a hearing of Russias Supreme Court, in Moscow. The Federal Prison Service said in a statement that Navalny felt unwell after a walk Friday Feb. 16, 2024, and lost consciousness. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, File) Navalny is sentenced to 19 years in prison on extremism charges that he says are political. Navalny also went missing for three weeks toward the end of the year, worrying his lawyers and support staff. He later resurfaced and said he had been transferred to a remote Russian prison facility in Siberias Yamal Peninsula, a tundra above the Arctic Circle known as the end of the world. 2024 Russias federal prison service said Navalny collapsed during a walk and that he was unable to be resuscitated. Supporters in Russia and world leaders quickly mourned him after news of his death, with President Biden pointing blame directly at Putin. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Alexei Navalny, who has died in prison aged 47, emerged in 2012 as the leading figure in the opposition to President Putin of Russia, albeit one whose ideology and goals appeared increasingly unclear, even ambiguous, as greater prominence brought more scrutiny. Navalnys rise was often attributed to his being the first Russian politician to harness the power of the internet. From 2008, he exposed corruption in his blog on the platform LiveJournal, which with his use of social media had garnered him a substantial following among the young. In 2011 he set up an anti-corruption foundation and described Putins United Russia party, in a phrase soon widely echoed, as one of crooks and thieves. This appeared to have stung the authorities into retribution, and the following year he was convicted of using his position as an adviser to the governor of Kirov to embezzle $500,000 of timber. He was sentenced to five years in prison, which would have prevented him from standing in the forthcoming elections for the mayor of Moscow. He was released the following day, however, and the publicity around the court case proved to have raised his profile hugely amongst a public largely reliant for information on state media. Navalny after his arrest at an anti-corruption rally, March 2017 - KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV Navalny led rallies against Putin that attracted upwards of 100,000 people, the most since the end of the Soviet Union, and which were aggressively broken up by police. Despite being barred from appearing on television, he polled 27 per cent in the election (and claimed the vote had been rigged), much higher than anticipated. His conviction was subsequently set aside after the European Court of Human Rights ruled that his trial was unfair. However, his sentence was later reaffirmed (albeit in suspended form) by the Russian courts. His brother was also subsequently imprisoned on suspected fraud charges. His showing in Moscow led Navalny effectively to replace Gary Kasparov, the chess champion, as the head of the opposition to Putins regime, a status that was consolidated after the murder in 2015 of Boris Nemtsov, the leading liberal politician. Two years later, he took aim at Dmitry Medvedev, the Russian prime minister, whom he accused of corruptly amassing a vast property empire, including a duck house that became a symbol of protest. Navalny is treated by his wife Yulia after being sprayed with green antiseptic by unknown assailants in 2017 - Evgeny Feldman/AP Campaigning under a slogan intended to undermine Medvedevs use of his diminutive to appear the straight man He is not Dimon to You Navalny led a series of marches in cities across Russia. He was arrested several times and attacked in the street, being sprayed in the face with a green dye that partially cost him the sight in an eye. In late 2017, Navalny, who had for years been denied permission to formally register a political party, announced that he would stand in the following years presidential elections. The countrys electoral commission barred him, citing his conviction, and Navalny urged a boycott of the vote. In February 2018 he was convicted of assaulting a police officer while being arrested during a protest the previous month. He was jailed on several subsequent occasions for organising anti-Kremlin protests. Yet for all his speech-making, it remained unclear what Navalnys aims were. There was a decided absence of firm policies or ideas beyond trite mottos and talk about reforming institutions (especially the judiciary), decentralising power and improving the minimum wage. Moreover, many of Navalnys known pronouncements and actions were, to liberals anyhow, rather troubling. His first engagement with politics, in the opposition party Yabloko, had come to an abrupt end in 2007 when he had been expelled for attending a nationalist march. He later called himself a nationalist-democrat and made this awkward marriage the touchstone of his party, Narod (The People). Navalny is seen on a videolink from prison in a Moscow courtroom in 2022 - Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP Thereafter, he consistently made populist pronouncements about tighter controls on immigrants Georgians were rats. He wanted better integration with Ukraine, from where his father came, and spoke in interviews of the desirability of an economic if not military dominance of its neighbour by Russia (he approved of gun ownership). He was proud of his Orthodox faith, even if that had once lapsed, and boasted that all his family were blue-eyed blonds. Equally, there were questions as to how his work was funded and about how deep his support really ran, especially outside Moscow. Who was it that supported Navalny? There were those who concluded that much of his popularity stemmed from his appealing simultaneously to several factions, nationalists as well as younger liberals, and they wondered if once again Russia was falling for a personality cult rather than for a leader with answers. Alexei Anatolievich Navalny was born at Butyn, outside Moscow, on June 4 1976. His father Anatoly, who was Ukrainian, was an army officer, and Alexei grew up in closed garrison towns such as Obninsk, although he and his younger brother Oleg would spend summers with their grandmother near Kyiv. Their mother Lyudmila worked as a micro-electronics laboratory assistant, but after the collapse of the Soviet Union she and her husband bought a basket-weaving factory. Alexei read law at the Peoples Friendship University in Moscow, graduating in 1998, and later studied finance. In 2010 he attended a course at Yale for several months. Navalny leads a march in memory of his murdered ally Boris Nemtsov - Grigroryanich/Alamy Having found work in the law, Navalny joined Yabloko in 2000 and by 2007 was deputy head of its Moscow section. After founding Narod, in 2008 he bought stock in five leading companies, among them Rosneft and Gazprom, and became an activist shareholder, pressing for greater transparency and accountability. It was his publication in his blog of allegations of corruption that first gained him public attention. In 2010, he documented a fiddle at Transneft that was engineered to conceal the disappearance of $4 billion during the building of the Eastern Siberia-Pacific pipeline. He also examined state procurement, pointing to MPs who had acquired French chateaux. Navalny then formalised this project under the name RosPil, a pun on the Russian word for sawdust, or money illegally appropriated. This helped prompt Medvedev to admit in 2011 that a trillion roubles ($33 billion) had been siphoned off from government contracts. That year, Navalny exposed a deal between the Russian and Hungarian governments involving the sale and re-acquisition of the latters embassy building in Moscow at a greatly inflated price. He went on to point fingers at such prominent figures as Igor Shuvalov, the deputy prime minister, whom he accused of profiting illegally from Alisher Usmanovs acquisition of the British steel firm Corus (which Shuvalov denied). Other targets included Alexander Bastrykin, head of the federal investigative authority, whom he accused of owning undeclared foreign real estate (which Bastrykin denied). While he was detained in prison in the summer of 2019 Navalny was treated in hospital for symptoms which suggested poisoning. In August 2020 he was more seriously stricken, however, during a flight to Moscow from Siberia. An emergency landing was made at Omsk, and Kira Yarmysh, the press secretary for Navalnys anti-corruption foundation, reported on Twitter that he was unconscious in hospital after being poisoned. She added: We suspect that Alexei was poisoned by something mixed into [his] tea. It was the only thing he drank since morning. Navalny with his family in a Berlin hospital in 2020 following his poisoning with a nerve agent - Anadolu Agency via Getty Images A plane was sent from Germany to evacuate him, although the authorities at first refused to let him go. Eventually, German doctors announced that he had been poisoned by a Novichok nerve agent. Towards the end of 2020, Navalny released a video of himself impersonating a Russian security official in a phone call to a chemical weapons officer who told him that the Novichok had been placed on his clothes, particularly his underwear. In the New Year he returned to Russia and was immediately detained, and the suspended sentence he had received in a fraud case involving the Yves Rocher cosmetics firm was replaced by a prison sentence of two and a half years, to be served in a correctional colony, where his health deteriorated significantly; Amnesty International accused Russia of killing him slowly, by torture and ill-treatment. In March 2022, in what Amnesty described as a sham trial, Navalny was sentenced to nine years for embezzlement and corruption; he subsequently complained that he was being kept in permanent solitary confinement, and a year later he was transferred to an isolated punishment cell. In August 2023 Navalny received an additional 19 years in a special regime colony on charges of inciting extremist activity and rehabilitating Nazi ideology. He was sent to a colony known as Polar Wolf inside the Arctic Circle, considered to be one of Russias toughest prisons. Alexei Navalny is survived by his wife Yulia, whom he married in 2000, and by their son and daughter. Alexei Navalny, born June 4 1976, death announced February 16 2024 Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 3 months with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. India's Supreme Court issued a ban on controversial anonymous election donations, dealing a major blow to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The Thursday development strikes down a contentious fund-raising mechanism that allowed individuals and corporations to make political donations while staying anonymous. It was a system that was widely seen as an advantage to Modi's ruling party. India's Supreme Court Bans Electoral Bonds While the high court's judgment comes a few months before the country's next general election, it is probably too late to affect the race's outcome. Activists, however, argued that it could bring more accountability to campaign finance down the road. The ruling on "electoral bonds," as the fund-raising instruments are known, comes six years after the prime minister's government introduced them. Political analysts argued that Modi's ruling BJP raised immense sums of funds during that period, both from electoral bonds and other means. They added that the money was then used to trounce the ruling party's rivals in elections and drown out opposition voices more generally. The government-owned State Bank of India, under the contested fund-raising system, issued paper bonds that could be purchased in exchange for donations to a political party of the donor's choice, as per the New York Times. The paper bonds range from just $12 to more than $120,000, with no limit on the number of bonds that a donor is allowed to purchase. While the purchases were anonymous in the sense of not being publicly reported, every buyer's identity has been known to the State Bank of India, which is run by the federal government. A leader from the ruling party, Ravi Shankar Prasad, responded to the Supreme Court's ruling by saying that the decision was undertaken with a laudable objective to bring transparency to the electoral system. He added that the BJP will give a proper response after studying the whole judgment. Read Also: Indian City Faces Chaos as Hundreds Get Injured Amid Conflict Over Demolition of Madrasa Major Blow to Narendra Modi's Ruling Party The judges wrote in their 232-page ruling that they wondered how elected representatives could be held accountable to the electorate if "companies, which bring with them huge finances and engage in quid pro quo arrangements with parties, are permitted to contribute unlimited amounts." Members of the opposition as well as a civil society group also challenged the electoral bonds system on the grounds that it hindered the public's right to know who had given money to political parties, according to Reuters. The Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) found that individuals and companies bought $1.99 billion of electoral bonds in total up to November last year. The ADR is a non-government civil society group that works on election funding in India and has been a petitioner challenging the system. India's elections have become the most expensive in the world, surpassing the United States' pricey contests in some cases. This is particularly true in 2019 when the South Asian country's national election cost an estimated $7.2 billion. The Supreme Court's ruling brings opaque campaign financing to the forefront of the nation's political discussions. The judges' decision prompted praise from all national parties, except for Modi's ruling BJP, said the Washington Post. Related Article: Indian Farmers Use Kites To Battle Police Drones Trying To Disperse Demonstrators By Andrew Osborn LONDON (Reuters) -Alexei Navalny, reported to have died on Friday by Russia's prison service, was the fiercest domestic opponent of Vladimir Putin, whom he accused of trying to kill him and of having him jailed on bogus charges and deprived of medical care. He was 47. The Kremlin dismissed the allegations and cast Navalny as a Western puppet and common criminal guilty of the charges he was convicted of - fraud, contempt of court and extremism. The prison where he was serving said it was investigating his death. Regarded as the Kremlin's personal political prisoner by many Western governments, supporters say the fiery opposition politician was systematically persecuted for challenging Putin, Russia's paramount leader for over two decades. A former lawyer, Navalny was barred from running for president in 2018, made detailed corruption allegations against the Russian elite and accused President Putin and his allies of being autocrats who had led Russia into a disastrous war in Ukraine. The Kremlin suggested Navalny was a CIA stooge and troublemaker out to topple the authorities and turn Moscow into a pliant U.S. vassal state. Putin never mentioned him by name. Navalny and his followers - many of whom were under 30 - were outlawed as extremists after holding noisy anti-government protests that were dispersed with force and encouraging tactical voting to try to oust pro-Kremlin candidates. In the West, many people saw him as a courageous and charismatic opposition politician ready to risk everything for a country he said he believed could one day become free and happy. In Russia his movement counted around 700,000 people at one point, but state media did not mention him for many years and public opinion was divided. He used YouTube to urge young voters to put their faith in what he called the "beautiful Russia of the future", but found it harder to connect with people outside big cities. Married with two children, Navalny survived what Western doctors said was a nerve agent poisoning attempt on his life in 2020 on board a plane in Siberia. He later phoned one of the men he said had tried to poison him, posing as someone else, and was told that state security agents had put poison in his underpants. He said of Putin at the time: "However much he pretends to be a great geo-politician, he'll go down in history as a poisoner. There was Alexander the Liberator, Yaroslav the Wise, and Putin the Underwear Poisoner." Putin denied the Russian state had tried to kill Navalny, saying it would have "finished the job" if it had really wanted to eliminate him. Navalny's allies said he was planning to formulate a policy platform and create a pool of people ready to govern when the Putin era ended. He had urged his followers to turn out to vote in Russia's presidential election next month at noon to express their opposition to Putin, who is widely expected to win. He was physically attacked inside Russia by pro-Kremlin activists several times and almost blinded in one assault. Before he was jailed in 2021, he said he and his family were followed everywhere by Russia's intelligence services. In a Reuters interview in 2017 he shrugged off the risks. "The security services are following us. They follow my children, my wife (Yulia) and me. Cars are constantly passing by. I don't even pay attention to it any more, but Yulia is really bothered by it." 'RUSSIA IS MY COUNTRY' The son of an army officer, Alexei Anatolievich Navalny was born on June 4, 1976 and grew up mainly in Obninsk, about 100 km (62 miles) southwest of Moscow. He obtained a law degree and a separate finance degree, and spent time in the United States on a fellowship at Yale, which pro-Kremlin critics seized on to suggest he was a foreign agent, a charge he and allies dismissed. When protests erupted in Moscow following what critics said was the ruling United Russia's fraud-tainted election victory in December 2011, Navalny came to international prominence with his fiery speeches and was one of the first people arrested. Internet-savvy and often dressed casually in jeans, he cut a stark contrast to the conservative image of former KGB officer Putin, whom he accused of "sucking the blood out of Russia." His description of the ruling party as "crooks and thieves" resonated with followers and he was detained multiple times in the following years. In 2013 he was sentenced to a five year term on corruption charges before being freed the following day. Later that year, he ran for mayor of Moscow, losing to a Kremlin-backed candidate but gaining 27% of the vote, a result his supporters cast as impressive given no state media coverage. He unnerved some liberals in Russia's divided opposition with what they saw as a populist and nationalist streak, joining an annual nationalist march, calling for a crackdown on illegal immigration, and advocating a visa regime for Central Asians. Fond of calling Putin "the old man in his bunker" during the COVID-19 pandemic, he promoted sophisticated investigations on YouTube into what he said was vast official corruption, a strategy he hoped would in time erode popular support for Putin. His group used drones to film the luxurious residences of officials whose wealth they were scrutinising. He was repeatedly sued. One video alleging that Putin is the ultimate owner of an opulent palace, something the president denies, has been viewed more than 128 million times. Navalny returned to Russia in 2021 after being treated in Germany for his poisoning, knowing he faced certain arrest. "It was never a question of whether to return or not. Simply because I never left. I ended up in Germany after arriving in an intensive care box for one reason: they tried to kill me," Navalny wrote before his return. "Russia is my country, Moscow is my city and I miss it." In August 2023, Navalny was sentenced to an extra 19 years in prison on top of 11-1/2 years he was already serving in a criminal case that he said was designed to cow the Russian people into political submission. The charges related to his role in his then-defunct movement inside Russia, which the authorities accused of trying to foment a revolution. "I understand perfectly well that, like many political prisoners, I am serving a life sentence," he said at the time. "Where the life sentence is measured by the length of my life or the length of the life of this regime." (Writing by Andrew Osborn, Editing by Philippa Fletcher and Timothy Heritage) Alexei Navalnys long struggle against President Vladimir Putin began with a humorous blog and culminated in repeated demonstrations of his willingness to risk his own life. It was a courageous but one-sided struggle that finally ended on Friday in a prison camp inside the Arctic Circle. Russian prison authorities said the 47-year-old died at 2:17 p.m. on Friday after collapsing following a walk at the Soviet-era IK-3 penal colony, 1,200 miles northeast of Moscow. Navalnys team were shocked by the announcement of his death, which came just days after they had seen him in relatively good health. Alexei had a lawyer at his place on Wednesday, Leonid Solovyev, his lawyer, told the Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta. Everything was normal then. On Thursday, Navalny appeared in court via videolink and seemed to be in good spirits, laughing and telling the judge that he would send him his bank details so he could top it up from his huge federal salary, because thanks to your decisions I am running out of money. One day later, he was dead, Russias leading opposition voice silenced just a month before a presidential election at which Putin will once again face no real rival. SOTAvision , , : SOTAvision // pic.twitter.com/QD85dcisQd (@mediazzzona) February 16, 2024 Other dissident figures went into exile or died in mysterious circumstances over the past decade, leaving Navalny as the last national figure with a dedicated following. Though he had been arrested many times before, Navalnys defining moment in the eyes of many Russians came after the attempt to assassinate him with the nerve agent Novichok in August 2020. He recuperated in the sanctuary of a German hospital but chose to defy Putin and return to Russia in January 2021, knowing full well he would end up in prison. After his inevitable arrest, he used a series of Moscow show trials to lay bare Russias ugliness and injustice. He was then subjected to the harshest conditions in some of Russias worst prisons until his inevitable demise. The prison service in Yamalo-Nenets, where he was being held, announced his death on Friday. Human rights defender Karen Shainyan was among those to express their anger at Navalnys sudden death, remembering a man who had amazed me with his courage and with his very genuine human behaviour. He went on: Everybody said the Kremlin needed Navalny, as a wild card or a bargaining chip. They do not have anybody left with such a high profile as Navalny... I cannot even imagine the pain Alexey Navalnys wife, Yulia, and their children feel right now." Navalnys brutal treatment began immediately after he was first given a custodial sentence in February 2021. He launched a hunger strike after prison authorities refused to let him receive medical attentiona recurrent theme throughout his incarceration. His Foundation for Fighting Corruption was also banned as an extremist organization after Navalny was jailed, with several team members subjected to their own legal proceedings. The prosecutions also kept coming against Navalny. In 2022, he was given an additional nine-year sentence on embezzlement and contempt of court charges. Navalny was transferred to a maximum-security facility where he would soon spend lengthy periods in solitary confinement for trivial transgressions like failing to have buttons on his clothes fastened correctly. In December 2023, Navalny disappeared from view, only to be discovered at the IK-3 penal colony, built in 1961 on the site of a former forced labor camp under Stalin. Navalny leaving a police station after yet another arrest in 2017. Maxim Zmeyev / AFP via Getty Last year, Navalnys team began raising concerns about his health and access to medical care. They said he was suffering from severe stomach pain and suspected he was being poisoned. In August, a court sentenced him to another 19 years on extremism and other charges which his supporters said were politically motivated. Navalny sped up the Kremlins switch to dictatorial rule by a few years, as from the moment of his return nobody cared to even pretend to follow the law any longer, opposition politician Gennady Gudkov told The Daily Beast. And now the regime is completely doomed. From the day in August 2020 Navalny collapsed in agonizing pain on the floor of a plane as he tried to return home to Moscow from campaigning in Siberia, Russians wondered if he would continue his struggle, if he would risk his life once again. My job here is to stay that guy who is not afraid. And I am not afraid! he told Der Spiegel in his first interview after the attack. He was convinced that the order for the assassination plot came from the very top. I assert that Putin is behind the crime, he said. Navalnys Big Plan for Putins War Revealed Ilya Yashin, a friend of Navalny for 20 years, said he has long been exhausted by constantly worrying about his friends being assassinated. For years I felt worried about Boris Nemtsov. He was gunned down here in Moscow on February 27, 2015, he told The Daily Beast. And yet he knew trying to protect Navalny was futile. I never told Navalny to stay in Germany, it was useless, he made his choice long ago to become the president of Russia, and to do that he had to be on Russian soil, said Yashin, who is also an opposition politician. A lawyer by education, Navalny joined a liberal opposition party, Yabloko, in 2000, when he was 20. Yabloko expelled him in 2007 for his nationalist views and unapologetic participation in far-right activities. Currently, Yabloko is the only registered independent democratic party in Russia. The year he was forced out of the mainstream opposition party, Navalny founded The People movement with the radical leftwing novelist Zakhar Prilepin. Together they ran campaigns where Navalny would look out at crowds of activists with his big blue eyes and tell them that no matter what kind of political background members of The People hailed fromnationalists, liberals, or democratsthey were going to tell the truth. In years to come, Prilepin turned into an avid Putin supporter, fought as a volunteer in the war in Ukraine, and was awarded a managers job at one of Moscows biggest theaters. When thousands of Russians were protesting against Navalnys arrest all across Russia in January 2021, Prilepin was busy negotiating a merger of his small political party with another pro-Putin party. Navalny took a harder road. His campaigns first came to national prominence in 2011 during a period of protest against Putins return to the presidency after the former KGB officer had sat out one term as presidentassuming the temporary role of prime ministerto thwart Russias presidential term limits. Those anti-Putin rallies attracted as many as a hundred thousand people. We can feel how your hands are shaking, Navalny warned Putin. We are the majority! One of his first high-profile arrests came during a protest in Moscows Bolotnaya Square in May 2012. Cameras captured him screaming in pain as police brutally arrested him. You are breaking my arm! he shouted. The Kremlin allowed him to run for mayoral elections in Moscow the following year, probably thinking that would demonstrate how insignificant he was. But Navalny won 27 percent of the vote despite his total absence from any of the state television networks during the campaign. 140716569 Alexei Navalny arrested at a demonstration in Moscow in 2012. Alexander Nemenov/AFP Just as his name was absent from the main TV broadcasts, Putin hardly ever uttered the words Alexei Navalny. For years, he referred to him only as the blogger and later tried to diminish him as Berlins patient. In 2013 and again in 2014, Navalny was convicted in Russian courts for fraud and embezzlement, subjecting the campaigner to more arrests, long ordeals in court, threats of long-term imprisonment, and a clear message of intimidation. In both cases, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that Russia had not given Navalny a fair trial. Every time he got out of jail, Navalny and his Anti-Corruption-Foundation just got straight back to work. Along with the rallies and public events, they were becoming adept at carrying out deep investigations into corruption. First, they targeted key figures among Putins loyal elite, tapping away at the Kremlins power structure like woodpeckers. Ultimately, Putin himself became the target of the increasingly sharp investigative reports. Navalny got his start in anti-corruption by working at a small law firm in Moscow, where he developed the strategy of buying stocks in state-linked oil companies and banks so that he could question the companies leadership as a minority shareholder. By 2017, he had worked his way up to an expose alleging that Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev had a vast network of palaces worth $1 billion. The YouTube video accompanying the investigation was viewed more than 35 million times. Some of these investigations had been widely viewed, but Navalny did not attract nationwide popularity until the Novichok attack. Many Russians who had never heard of himor actively disliked the campaignernow saw him as a martyr. 1190489733 Law enforcement agents raided the offices of Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation in December 2019. Dimitar Dilkoff / AFP via Getty Images Mikhail Zygar, a political writer and historian, told The Daily Beast that since the first major anti-Putin movement on Bolotnaya Square, Navalny had become the strongest voice condemning those stealing from their own people. Navalny will be remembered as Russias only real politician, he said. Navalny has surprised Russians many times. He transformed himself from a nationalist activist into a democrat defending liberal values, and from an atheist into a believer in Christ. In his final speech in court before his latest conviction, Navalny quoted the Bible: Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. The biggest surprise for some Russians was Navalnys decision to return to the country after he was so close to being murdered by an FSB hit squad in 2020. Putins terrifying remarks on the subject only reinforced the clear and present danger. The president noted with a laugh that if Russian special services wanted to kill Navalny, they would have finished him. Many Russians found the sound of that laugh to be chilling. Despite the threat to his life and the clear warning from prison authorities that he would be arrested on his return, Navalny still came back. Some supporters accepted that this was his destiny; others regretted that he did not stay safe in Germany. Gennady Gudkov knows the burden of Navalnys decision all too well. He was once the strongest Kremlin critic in the Duma and credited by the Economist with "the most striking act of parliamentary defiance in the Putin era." Then the Kremlins allies closed in on him, he was thrown out of parliament on spurious charges and threatened with imprisonment for his political activities. Eventually, he chose to leave the country. My son, also an opposition leader, wanted me to leave, since two Gudkovs in prison would be too much, he said. Gudkov saluted Navalny for making the ultimate sacrifice: I admire Alexei for his courage, for setting up a unique example for Russianshe is a national hero. Among those paying tribute to Navalny was Garry Kasparov, the former world chess champion and exiled pro-democracy activist. Putin tried and failed to murder Navalny quickly and secretly with poison, and now he has murdered him slowly and publicly in prison, Kasparov wrote on X. He was killed for exposing Putin and his mafia as the crooks and thieves they are. Read more at The Daily Beast. Get the Daily Beast's biggest scoops and scandals delivered right to your inbox. Sign up now. Stay informed and gain unlimited access to the Daily Beast's unmatched reporting. Subscribe now. Vladimir Putin and his friends will not go unpunished, an emotional Yulia Navalny warned in her first comments since her husband Alexeis death was announced. Ms Navalny choked back tears as she addressed the Munich Security Conference on Friday afternoon. Earlier, the Russian prison service said Navalny, opposition leader and fierce Putin critic, collapsed and died after becoming unwell during a walk. In her speech, his wife called upon the international community to come together and fight against the horrific regime in Russia. An emotional Yulia Navalny chokes back tears in an address to the Munich Security Conference after Russia said her jailed husband Alexei had died (REUTERS) The Kremlin has been accused of a brutal assassination, with 47 year-old Navalnys death sparking outrage among world leaders. The prominent anti-corruption activist had been serving his sentence at an Arctic penal colony. The Siberian prison service said he almost immediately lost consciousness after becoming unwell but no cause of death has been revealed. Officials said medical staff had been called, but that they were unable to resuscitate him. Antony Blinken, the US secretary of state, said Navalnys death underscores the weakness and rot at the heart of the system that Putin has built. He met with Ms Navalny at the security conference and expressed his condolences andreiterated that Russia is responsible for his death, the state department said. Navalny, pictured here being arrested, was an outspoken critic of Vladimir Putin (AFP via Getty Images) Rishi Sunak said it was terrible news, adding that Navalny had demonstrated incredible courage throughout his life. My thoughts are with his wife and the people of Russia, for whom this is a huge tragedy, he added. Justin Trudeau, Canadas prime minister, said Navalnys death served as a reminder to the world what a monster Putin is. He was such a strong fighter for democracy, for freedoms for the Russian people, he said. It really shows the extent to which Putin has, will crack down on anyone who is fighting for freedom for the Russian people, Trudeau said. It is a tragedy and its something that has the entire world being reminded of exactly what a monster Putin is. Navalny had become the leading figurehead for the opposition against Putin in Russia , organising anti-Kremlin protests and serving several stints in jail. He first came to prominence as a blogger in 2010, publishing investigations into corruption in Russia. As Navalnys team sought confirmation of his death and warned against Kremlin propaganda, Latvian president Edgars Rinkevics was among those who noted that his death would amount to being brutally murdered by the Kremlin. This is terrible news. As the fiercest advocate for Russian democracy, Alexei Navalny demonstrated incredible courage throughout his life. My thoughts are with his wife and the people of Russia, for whom this is a huge tragedy. https://t.co/AQvQQW5GBh Rishi Sunak (@RishiSunak) February 16, 2024 The Kremlin has said that it had no information about Navalnys death, but that Putin had been informed. Navalny had been sentenced to 19 years in a penal colony around 40 miles from the Arctic Circle on charges his supporters say were politically motivated. He was moved from his former prison in the Vladimir region of central Russia in December to the special regime penal colony, which has the highest security level of prisons in Russia. The political agitator has been behind bars since January 2021, when he returned to Moscow after recuperating in Germany from nerve agent poisoning that he blamed on the Kremlin. Before his arrest, he campaigned against official corruption, organized major anti-Kremlin protests and ran for public office. Antony Blinken, US secretary of state, said Russia was responsible for his death (Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.) Over the years, Navalny faced physical attacks, repeated arrests, investigations, and criminal proceedings. The assassination attempt, via Novichok poisoning in Russia resulted in him being evacuated to Germany in a coma for life-saving treatment. The United Nations Human Rights Office urged the Russian authorities to ensure that a credible investigation into the death was carried out. "If someone dies in the custody of the state, the presumption is that the state is responsible - a responsibility that can only be rebutted through an impartial, thorough and transparent investigation carried out by an independent body," spokesperson Liz Throssell said. "We urge the Russian authorities to ensure such a credible investigation is carried out." Russias Investigative Committee has launched a procedural probe into the death, the Investigative Committee said. A person who was providing information to the FBI has been accused of providing false information to their handler regarding connections between President Joe Biden, his son Hunter, and a Ukrainian energy company. Prosecutors stated on Thursday that Alexander Smirnov lied to FBI investigators in June 2020, claiming that officials from the Ukrainian energy business Burisma sent $5 million to each of Joe Biden and Hunter in 2015 or 2016, as per to NPR. FBI Informant Arrested Over False Claims Against Hunter Biden The House Republicans' impeachment inquiry, challenging a key claim regarding a $5 million bribe involving President Biden and his son, Hunter Biden. The indictment targets Andrii Smirnov, who was arrested at the Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas on Wednesday. Smirnov faces charges of providing "false derogatory information" to the FBI, with the indictment asserting that he fabricated details despite prior warnings to provide truthful information. The allegations involve false claims made by Smirnov in 2017 and again in June 2020 concerning discussions with executives associated with Burisma, a Ukrainian energy company linked to Hunter Biden. According to the indictment, Smirnov initially reported a conversation with Burisma's owner in 2017, suggesting an interest in acquiring a US company and conducting an initial public offering (IPO) on a US-based stock exchange. He claimed Hunter Biden's involvement as a board member during this conversation, which was publicly known. However, in June 2020, Smirnov allegedly introduced new claims about meetings held four to five years earlier, asserting that Burisma executives admitted to hiring Hunter Biden for protection and paying $5 million to each Biden to handle a criminal investigation, according to Fox News. Read Also: Israeli Airstrikes in Southern Lebanon Kill 9 Civilians Including Women, 4 Children Alexander Smirnov's Statement Prosecutors argue that Smirnov's statements in 2020 were fabricated, emphasizing that he did have contact with Burisma executives in 2017, but when Joe Biden was out of public office and unable to influence US policy. The indictment suggests that Smirnov transformed routine business contacts with Burisma into bribery allegations against Biden, exhibiting bias against him and his presidential candidacy. Smirnov's arrest has repercussions for the House Republicans' impeachment inquiry, as it challenges a key component of their investigation. The $5 million bribe allegation, which played a crucial role in the inquiry, has been undermined by the indictment. House Oversight Committee Ranking Member Jamie Raskin urged House Republicans to reconsider their inquiry in light of the detailed indictment, emphasizing that the central evidence was based on a lie. However, House Oversight Republicans remain resolute, vowing to continue their investigation. Despite the setback caused by the indictment, they assert that their reasons for the inquiry extend beyond the specific FBI informant or corruption allegations. The unfolding developments cast uncertainty on the trajectory of the impeachment inquiry and the evidence underpinning it. As the legal processes happen, there continues to be interest in the credibility of the information that sparked the impeachment inquiry, which makes things worse for the state of politics, Daily Mail reported. Related Article: Kim Jong Un Oversees Missile Test and Calls for Increased Weapons Production Amid Rising Tensions Ukraines counteroffensive against Russia may have sputtered, but it has not died. Ukrainians are willing to fight for their freedom, but they need weapons and ammunition to do so. Whereas Congress was once willing to rubberstamp almost anything President Zelensky requested and a bipartisan array of senators even pressured the White House to be more proactive in augmenting Ukraines military capabilities, in recent months a narrative of Ukrainian corruption has tempted many senators and representatives against supporting Kyiv. When President Putin addressed the Russian people at the start of his illegal war, he justified his acts in part on pervasive corruption in Ukraine, claiming: Corruption, which is certainly a challenge and a problem for many countries, including Russia, has gone beyond the usual scope in Ukraine. It has literally permeated and corroded Ukrainian statehood, the entire system, and all branches of power. While it was once true that Ukraine, under previous Russian puppet governments was wildly corrupt, that is no longer the case. Indeed, by any objective measure, Russia is far more corrupt than Ukraine. Under Zelensky, corruption has declined significantly; Ukraine is now on par with the Philippines and ranks lower in corruption than Mexico, India, Turkey and China. Zelenskys government has not hesitated to prosecute political allies and judges when evidence of corruption warrants and over the course of the Zelensky Presidency, corruption in Ukraine has markedly lessened. Yes, it remains stubbornly present in many aspects of Ukrainian life. But, for the first time in a generation, it appears that Ukraine has the chance to shed its post-Soviet legacy as a state captured by corruption. The same cannot be said for Russia, which under Putin, has sunk into a kleptocracy that has institutionalised corruption from the Presidency down to the beat cop. Notwithstanding this, Russia is desperately pushing the claim that Ukraine is irredeemably corrupt. When Zelensky travelled to Washington in December 2023, the Kremlin upped its campaign to tar the Ukrainian president with the corruption brush. In a series of news stories and social media amplifications, anonymous actors accused a purportedly corrupt Zelensky of purchasing a $20 million mansion in Vero Beach, Florida and becoming an American citizen. France 24, promptly debunked these claims and found that Zelensky did not buy this villa. It exposed the current owner of this property and found that the purported author of the article, Jessica Devlin, does not exist her profile photo stolen from someone else. The image of Zelenskys citizenship certificate circulated online was clearly doctored with an obviously inaccurate seal. But in many ways, the damage to Zelenskys reputation and to the war effort was already done. Why has Russia proliferated these seemingly obviously counterfactual claims about Ukrainian corruption? The answer is that, in this war, ballots matter more the bullets. The conflict has reached a stage where neither side is making progress, as Russias massive advantages of manpower and resources has been blunted by Ukrainian grit and a supply of Western (primarily American) weaponry. If Russia could cut off that supply of weapons, it could turn the tide of the war. The easiest way to cut off those weapons is to influence the minds of those people in the United States who vote for the politicians signing off on military aid. The sooner American policymakers, and the freedom-loving Americans who support them, realise that they are being taken for a ride, the better chance we have to protect democracy, defend America, and build a world where good stands united against evil. Ivana Stradner is s research fellow at FDD. Josh Birenbaum is the deputy director of FDDs Center on Economic and Financial Power Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 3 months with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. The last of the Big Three airlines made its first-ever call on Pasco on Thursday afternoon. An American Airlines Embraer 175 sporting American Eagle livery touched down on Runway 12/30 at the Tri-Cities Airport at 1:13 p.m., right on time. The inaugural American Airlines flight with new non-stop service to Phoenix receives a water cannon salute from the Pasco Fire Department Thursday in Pasco. It carried 33 passengers who had boarded at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. After a ceremonial blast by water cannons followed by de-icing, the incoming passengers stepped off the aircraft. After a quick cleaning, 77 passengers from Pasco picked up celebratory cookies and water bottles, passed under a red, white and blue balloon arch and walked across the tarmac to the waiting airplane for the return 2-plus hour trip. American is the third and last of the so-called legacy air carriers to establish a route to Pasco after United and Delta airlines. We finally have the last piece of the puzzle, said Buck Taft, airport manager. American will fly daily between Phoenix Sky Harbor and Pasco. It is an important new connection that links the Pasco airport to a global hub offering flights to hundreds of destinations. Taft is eager to see it succeed and to see American consider adding more flights in and out of Pasco to more destinations. Inside the Pasco airport, Americans ground crew uses a roving ticket desk that lets them move between gates as space is available. The Port of Pasco, which owns the airport, is preparing to add technology at three gates that will let any airline use them in the future, making more efficient use of the existing space as the port contemplates a future expansion.. American has assigned a 76-seat Embraer 175 aircraft to the run. The aircraft is comparable to the equipment used by the other carriers that call on Pasco. Local ground crew employees poses for a photo Thursday in front of the inaugural American Airlines flight to Pasco. American announced last summer it would add the Tri-Cities Airport to its route map. Prices for round trip tickets begin at $529 for the main cabin and $1,079 in the premium cabin. The addition of American promises to help boost traffic at the local airport into record territory. In 2023, boardings were just 1,000 shy of the record set in 2019. American Airlines inaugurated its first-ever service to the Tri-Cities on Feb. 15. The airline will offer daily service between the Tri-Cities Airport in Pasco and Phoenix Sky Harbor International. Tri-Citians using the local airport can now choose flights by Alaska, Delta, United, Allegiant and Avelo airlines, as well as American. Allegiant offers service to Phoenix, but uses the smaller Phoenix-Mesa Airport. Go to flytricities.com. Local dignitaries take part in the ribbon cutting ceremony Thursday for the inaugural American Airllines flight with new non-stop service to Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport at the Tri-Cities Airport in Pasco. Sign Up: Boom Town Tri-Cities Stay up to date on Tri-Cities growth and development with our weekly business newsletter. Get the latest on restaurant and business openings and closings, plus the regions top housing and employment news. Click here to sign up. In your inbox every Wednesday. This undated image provided by Sanna Rameau, shows Ana Maria Knezevic, right, and Rameau. Spanish police are searching for Knezevic, a Colombian-American woman who went missing suddenly in Madrid. (Sanna Rameau via AP) MADRID (AP) Ana Maria Knezevic traveled from South Florida to Spain in December to get away for a while. Her family and friends say the naturalized American originally from Colombia has been going through a nasty divorce from her Serbian husband, but the trip was also a chance to explore new places. Then, she vanished two weeks ago, shortly after a man wearing a motorcycle helmet disabled the security cameras at her Madrid apartment building by spray painting the lenses. The next day, two friends received separate text messages one in English, one in Spanish from the 40-year-old's phone saying she was running off for a few days with a man she had just met. She wouldnt do this ... it is very unsafe and crazy behavior. She wouldnt do that. She wouldnt do that, said Sanna Rameau, the friend who got the English text. It was written, she said, in an emotionless style that wasn't Ana's. The Spanish message was so flat it appeared to have been written in English and run through Google Translate, she said. It just didnt make sense," Rameau told The Associated Press. She's also tiny smaller than the 4-feet-11-inches tall (1.5 meters) listed on her driver's license, Rameau said. I can lift her up with one arm and carry her away," the friend said. Police in Madrid and Fort Lauderdale were notified, launching investigations on each side of the Atlantic. Both agencies are being closed mouthed about where the search stands, with each declining comment. The American embassy in Madrid also declined comment. Spains Missing Persons Association has posted Knezevic's photograph around the nation's capital, but has not received any responses, spokesman Joaquin Amills said. David and Ana Knezevic have been married for 13 years and own EOX Technology Solutions Inc., which does computer support for South Florida businesses. Records show they also own a home and two other Fort Lauderdale properties, one of those currently under foreclosure. Anas brother, Juan Henao, called the divorce nasty in an interview with a Fort Lauderdale detective, a report shows. There is a substantial amount of money on the line to be split up between the two and David is not happy about it, the report says. David Knezevic's current whereabouts are unknown. Henao told the detective he believes his brother-in-law traveled to his home country of Serbia in January. After Ana disappeared, Henao texted David to ask if he knew her whereabouts. He replied Whats up? before telling Henao that Ana was missing, which he already knew. "Nothing else besides that," Henao said. In a short phone interview, Henao said he hopes the international attention will make finding Ana a top police priority. Lets just keep pushing and see if that will get them to do more to help us find my sister, he said. No one answered the door Thursday at the Knezevics' Fort Lauderdale home, where the mailbox is overflowing and the cars are covered in dirt and dust. No one answered the phone at their company, and David Knezevic did not respond to emails and a voicemail. Rameau said Ana never mentioned fearing her husband or that he was abusive. She never said to me that she felt in danger, said Rameau. Ana chose an apartment in Madrid's wealthy and fashionable Salamanca quarter, traveled with Rameau in Austria in January, and planned to see a Spanish friend in Barcelona on Feb. 5 before reuniting with Rameau in Madrid starting Feb. 8. But on Feb. 2 at about 9:30 p.m., the helmet-wearing man disabled the apartment complex's security cameras something no one searching for Ana knew for almost a week. She had a normal phone call with a friend about a half hour later. Neighbors said they last saw her about that time. The next day, Rameau became alarmed when she got a text from Ana's phone. I met someone wonderful!! He has a summer house 2H (hours) from Madrid," it read. "We are going there now and I will spend a few days there. Signal is spotty. Ill call you when I get back. That was followed a minute later by a second text: Yesterday after therapy I needed a walk and he approached me on the street! Amazing connection. Like I never had. The Spanish friend got similar texts, the ones that appeared to have been translated by computer. Rameau said there is no chance she would run off with a stranger, and never told her friend that night she had met someone. Rameau and the Spanish friend contacted police after she didn't respond to their increasingly frantic calls and texts. Firefighters went to her apartment for a wellness check, looked inside and found nothing amiss, Rameau said. Madrid police said they would investigate if she didn't show up for her Barcelona trip. When she didn't, detectives asked a Spanish judge for permission to search her phone records and apartment, but absent strong evidence of a crime, they were denied. Rameau and the Spanish friend then went to her building on Feb. 8, and learned from a clerk about the helmeted man painting the cameras. They alerted police. Now, Ana's family and friends wait for news. Im just desperate to find answers," Rameau said. "Im just desperate to find a reason for who could have done this. ___ Spencer reported from Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Americans are split over whether TikTok should be banned in the United States amid national security concerns about the video-sharing apps connections to the Chinese government, a new poll has found. The app is already banned on federal government devices and some state government devices a move that is supported by most adults surveyed in the AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll. In the AP-NORC poll, 31 percent said they would support a total TikTok ban, 35 percent said they would oppose a ban and 31 percent said they had no opinion on the matter. Nearly half of people aged 18 to 25 said they would oppose a ban. The findings come after President Bidens reelection campaign joined TikTok on Sunday with a Super Bowl-themed 30-second video featuring Biden answering questions. Deputy campaign manager Rob Flaherty described the move as an effort to continue finding new, innovative ways to reach voters in an evolving, fragmented, and increasingly personalized media environment. The moves have led to some criticisms of Biden from critics of TikTok. Lawmakers have voiced concerns about privacy and safety on the app and have accused Chinese company ByteDance of potentially misusing or sharing data with the Chinese government. TikTok officials have denied the allegations and sought to distance the app from the Chinese government, including in testimony during a Congressional hearing last month. TikTok provides the [Chinese Communist Party] with the ability to weaponize the platform by suppressing, magnifying, and otherwise constructing narratives to target specific audiences abroad, a bipartisan group of members of Congress wrote in a Feb. 8 letter to Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo. The AP-NORC poll also found a majority of adults are concerned about the amount of time children and teens spend on TikTok. About 21 percent of adults surveyed said they use TikTok daily, but the number jumps to 44 percent for people aged 18 to 29. Daily TikTok users were found to be less likely to be concerned about the dangers of the app compared to those who use it less often or never. About a third of Americans younger than 30 regularly turn to TikTok for news, according to a Pew Research Center survey last fall that also found the percentage of Americans using TikTok has been steadily growing across all age groups. The AP-NORC poll was conducted Jan. 25-29 and included online and telephone interviews with 1,152 adults. The margin of error is 4 percentage points. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. America has a new national park. One of 10 Japanese incarceration camps located in a remote corner of southeastern Colorado, the Amache National Historic Site was designated as a national park Thursday. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland made the formal establishment after the Town of Granadas acquisition and donation of the land, which was needed to establish the site into a park. In March 2022, President Biden signed the Amache National Historic Site Act, which entered the site into the National Park System. As a national park, the site will be protected for future generations to learn more about the history of Japanese American mass incarceration during World War II. A reconstructed octagonal guard tower looms over a sign at the Amache site in Grenada, Colorado, where about 7,500 Japanese Americans, most of them U.S. citizens, were forcibly detained without due process during WWII. As a nation, we must face the wrongs of our past in order to build a more just and equitable future. The Interior Department has the tremendous honor of stewarding Americas public lands and natural and cultural resources to tell a complete and honest story of our nations history, Secretary Haaland said in a statement. Todays establishment of the Amache National Historic Site will help preserve and honor this important and painful chapter in our nations story for future generations. The announcement came a few days before the Day of Remembrance of Japanese Incarceration During World War II, observed each year on Feb. 19. It is the seventh internment camp to be established as a national park in the U.S. Other sites that preserve this history include Minidoka in Idaho, Manzanar and Tule Lake in California. Learn more about Camp Amache: Camp Amache survivors want the world to remember their experience Also known as the Granada Relocation Center, Amache was a place where more than 10,000 people were incarcerated between 1942 and 1945. In 1943 at its peak population, there were 7,310 incarcerees at Amache, making it the 10th largest city in Colorado at the time. During World War II, the U.S. created 10 incarceration sites to detain Japanese Americans who were forcibly removed from their homes on the West Coast under Executive Order 9066. The order deemed them a threat to national security following the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. Under the order, 122,000 people, including children, were taken to these isolated and fenced internment camps. Over half of those incarcerated were American citizens. They lost their personal liberties, homes, businesses and property, according to the National Archives. With original building foundations and the historic road network, Amache is one of the most intact World War II internment camps, thanks to the preservation work by Amache survivors and their descendants. Visitors can see a historic cemetery, a monument and several reconstructed and restored structures such as a barrack, recreation hall, guard tower and water tank. There is no fee to visit Amache, which is located about a three-and-a-half hour drive from Denver. Amaches addition to the National Park System is a reminder that a complete account of the nations history must include our dark chapters of injustice, National Park Service Director Chuck Sams said in a statement. Kathleen Wong is a travel reporter for USA TODAY based in Hawaii. You can reach her at kwong@usatoday.com. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Former Japanese internment camp Amache is the newest national park A writ of possession is taped to the door of an apartment at the Life at Jackson Square apartments on April 11, 2023, in Houston. Credit: Annie Mulligan for The Texas Tribune As more renters struggle to afford housing, Texas landlords are filing more evictions than they did before the COVID-19 pandemic and tenants have few, if any, protections to keep them housed. Landlords filed more than 177,000 eviction cases in the Houston, Dallas, Austin and Fort Worth areas in 2023, according to records tracked by Eviction Lab, a research center based at Princeton University that tracks eviction filings. The figure represents a slight uptick from 2022, the first full year after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the federal governments nationwide eviction moratorium. In Houston and Fort Worth, eviction filings have consistently exceeded pre-pandemic levels for nearly two years. Cities in Texas used to be some of the more affordable ones in the country, said Adam Chapnik, a research specialist at Eviction Lab. It's not like that anymore. A lot of renters are facing this new reality and the laws don't exist to protect them. Some $1.8 billion in federal rent relief flowed to Texas over the course of the pandemic, helping more than 265,000 families keep a roof over their heads. Now that money has all but run out. Texas shuttered its statewide rent relief program last summer along with a sister program aimed at diverting tenants from eviction. Most local governments, too, have closed their rental assistance programs for lack of federal funds. That has left vulnerable renters in a pinch at a time when theyre under more pressure than ever from the states high housing costs. As the Texas economy boomed in the pandemic era and demand for housing skyrocketed, rents in the states major urban areas increased by double digits. A record 2.1 million renters, more than half of the states renters households, are cost-burdened, a recent Harvard University report found meaning they spend more than 30% of their income on rent and utilities, leaving them with fewer dollars to spend on household costs like food, health care and transportation. Those most affected by Texas rising rents are low-income earners, who face a dire shortage of affordable housing and have seen their options for cheap rental housing further diminished amidst the states economic boom. Renters are no better off in the state of Texas than they were before the pandemic, said Ben Martin, research director for Texas Housers, a research and advocacy group. In a state with some of the countrys weakest protections for renters, lawmakers last year didnt extend relief to tenants. Texas legislators left renters out of a $12.7 billion property tax-cut package that included $5.6 billion in direct relief for homeowners, though proponents of the legislation have argued the tax cuts landlords will see on their rental properties will trickle down to tenants. Lawmakers also barred cities from enacting additional tenant protections, a move aimed squarely at rules in Austin and Dallas that gave tenants more time to make good on their rent before their landlords filed a formal eviction against them. Those safeguards ended when the new state law took effect Sept. 1. Lawmakers who pushed for the legislation and landlord groups argued that allowing cities to write their own eviction laws created inconsistent judicial standards across the state. Chris Newton, Texas Apartment Association executive vice president, said the law was desperately needed to provide uniformity across the rental industry as companies dealt with a patchwork of regulations across jurisdictions, resulting in increased costs of operations that impact property owners. Housing experts and tenant advocates in the Dallas area hypothesize the now-gone local tenant protection could be why landlords in Dallas County filed some 5,000 fewer evictions last year than they did the previous year. Lawmakers didn't learn anything, Mark Melton, an attorney who leads the Dallas Eviction Advocacy Center. They killed the protections that were there. Theres at least one bright spot for tenants. Before the pandemic, it was rare for tenants facing eviction to have a lawyer represent them in court. Thats still true, but its more common now to find legal aid lawyers offering free legal representation at justice of the peace courts, which hear eviction cases. Merely having a lawyer can significantly boost tenants chances of keeping a roof over their heads, even if just for a little longer, research shows. In a survey of nearly 1,300 eviction cases in Dallas County from November 2022 to April 2023, observers working for the Dallas nonprofit Child Poverty Action Lab found that judges ruled in favor of landlords 69% of the time when tenants didnt have legal representation. When they did, landlords won only 7% of the time. When tenants have legal representation, their outcomes tend to be a lot more favorable, said Brianna Harris, Child Poverty Action Labs director of housing initiatives. Some judges are taking additional steps to make sure tenants have a lawyer at their side when their case is heard. Judge Steve Duble, a Harris County justice of the peace, used part of a $2 million grant from the National Center for State Courts Eviction Diversion Initiative to hire a full-time employee to connect tenants when they arrive for their hearing with legal aid groups to see if they qualify for free legal representation. Duble said he hopes to eventually put tenants in touch with legal aid as soon as they receive their notice of eviction. If we have someone that is coming through and we identify that this person is really at risk and could be on the street it's just going an extra mile in trying to help people, Duble said. Harris County commissioners in December allocated $4 million in federal pandemic relief funds to expand legal aid services across the countys 16 justice of the peace courts, on top of a similar $4 million investment in March. But legal aid groups say there simply arent enough lawyers to keep up with the sheer volume of eviction filings. Of the 81,510 eviction cases filed in Harris County last year, only 2.1% of tenants had legal representation, according to January Advisors. Paul Furrh, chief executive officer of Houston-based Lone Star Legal Aid, said his organization turns away roughly two out of every three prospective clients facing eviction simply because they dont have enough lawyers or enough funds to hire more. Our biggest problem is that we need more boots on the ground, Furrh said. There are some moves afoot to try to address the shortage of legal aid lawyers. The states Access to Justice Commission in December approved a recommendation to allow legal paraprofessionals to provide legal advice and counsel to tenants facing eviction as well to low-income people facing other legal problems even though they dont have a law license. The justice gap for poorer people is so big and we've been working on it so hard for so long, said Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice Nathan Hecht, a longtime advocate for legal aid for low-income Texans. Weve got to keep trying. We've got to close it as much as we can. Disclosure: Texas Apartment Association has been a financial supporter 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. We cant wait to welcome you to downtown Austin Sept. 5-7 for the 2024 Texas Tribune Festival! Join us at Texas breakout politics and policy event as we dig into the 2024 elections, state and national politics, the state of democracy, and so much more. When tickets go on sale this spring, Tribune members will save big. Donate to join or renew today. Nearly 50% of American voters believe that Joe Biden will likely lose his Democratic presidential nomination. This is what a new poll, which was conducted by Monmouth University, revealed. Most of them said that they think this will happen because of the U.S. president's age and mental stamina. This just shows how serious the effects of special counsel Robert Hur's report really are. But, they also think that Donald Trump could face the same fate as Joe Biden, meaning that the former POTUS might lose his Republican nomination as well. 50% of American Voters Think Joe Biden Will Lose His Democratic Nomination Monmouth University's latest study clarified that Robert Hur's report wasn't able to shift people's opinion on whether Joe Biden mishandled classified documents, which were discovered in the think tank office he uses, as well as in his house. Although this is the case, the special counsel's report was able to raise more concerns about the American leader's mental and physical health, as reported by Politico. This is noticeable in the new poll, which revealed that almost half of American voters believe that Biden will be replaced as a Democratic nominee. "Nearly half the electorate foresees the possibility that Biden may be replaced as the Democratic nominee before November, primarily for health reasons," said Monmouth University via its official study. Meanwhile, over 33% of poll participants also believe that Donald Trump could be replaced as a Republican presidential nominee. They said that this might happen because of the legal troubles that the former U.S. president currently faces. Read Also: Biden Condemns Trump's Actions as Undermining U.S. NATO Dedication, Deeming It 'Un-American" Who Could Replace Joe Biden in 2024 Presidential Election? Many American voters, U.S. officials, and even presidential candidates believe that U.S. President Joe Biden will soon leave the 2024 presidential race. "[Donald] Trump is going on 78, and the president is 81 years old ... It's the same. They are old, older folks, that are our choices, and that's what this nation wants," said Sen. John Fetterman (Pennsylvania). But, the question is, who would replace Joe Biden if he really drops out of the U.S. presidential election this 2024?Harris Kamala Harris: She is considered to be the de facto pick to replace Joe Biden on the general election ticket. Gov. Gavin Newsom: Newsom is another great replacement for Biden. Sen. Bernie Sanders: In 2022, he released a memo saying that he hasn't ruled out running for president in 2024. If Joe Biden leaves the presidential race, there's a high chance that Sanders might decide to run. Aside from these three potential Democratic nominee replacements for Joe Biden, here are other individuals that critics think could replace the U.S. president in the election race: Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer Colorado Gov. Jared Polis Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro Related Article: RFK Jr. Targets Joe Biden's Alleged Poor Memory-Saying Jill Biden Should Encourage Him To Leave Politics (Bloomberg) -- President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador tightened his grip on Mexicos power industry Thursday after getting a green light to buy a majority stake in Iberdrola SAs energy assets. Most Read from Bloomberg The deal achieves a key goal for the 70-year-old president who has sought to strengthen Mexicos state energy producers and roll back pro-business reforms in the power generation sector passed by the prior administration. The deal had generated concern from international companies about the presidents statist interventions in the economy. The countrys antitrust regulator on Thursday approved the Iberdrola purchases as long as the energy assets are operated independently. The regulator set conditions, including capping the governments stake at 51% and requiring an independent administrator be in charge of operations. Read More: Mexicos Top Court Voids Governments Statist Power Reform The $6 billion deal, which will allow Spains energy giant to sell its stake in 12 natural gas-fired power plants and a wind farm, would give Mexicos state utility Comision Federal de Electricidad, or CFE, more than 55% of the national electricity market. The government stake will be limited to 51% as part of an earlier agreement; the remainder will go to private investors. Mexicos Finance Ministry said the decision allows the government to become a leader in Mexicos power generation sector and would not affect competition. This transaction does not imply increasing the budgetary public debt beyond the acquisition cost of 51% and does not put pressure on public finances, it said. AMLO, as the president known, has said the deal would be 30% cheaper than building the electricity generation capacity from the ground up, although some analysts have said the plants are aging and funds would be better spent on renewable projects to help achieve the nations climate pledges. --With assistance from Alex Vasquez and Michael O'Boyle. Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2024 Bloomberg L.P. Amy Schumer responds to criticism of her 'puffier than normal' face and explains she's dealing with medical issues Amy Schumer has responded to recent comments speculating on the appearance of her face. In an Instagram post, she said it was "puffier than normal" due to endometriosis. Endometriosis is a common condition that causes painful periods and sex. There's no known cure. Amy Schumer has responded to comments speculating on her appearance during recent interviews, explaining that her face is "puffier than normal" due to endometriosis. "Thank you so much for everyone's input about my face!" the comedian and actor sarcastically wrote on Instagram. "I've enjoyed feedback and deliberation about my appearance as all women do for almost 20 years. And you're right it is puffier than normal right now." Taking on a more serious tone, Schumer then explained she had been diagnosed with endometriosis, which is a chronic condition in which uterine-like tissue grows in the pelvic cavity outside the uterus, according to the World Health Organization. It causes painful periods, pain during sex, spotting, and sometimes fertility issues. There's no known cure for it. A range of medications can help manage endometriosis and its symptoms, including hormonal medicines such as GnRH-analogues and contraceptives, according to the WHO. It affects one out of every 10 women of reproductive age, or roughly 176 million women worldwide, per the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. "There are some medical and hormonal things going on in my world right now, but I'm okay," Schumer added. "Historically, women's bodies have barely been studied medically compared to men." She continued: "I also believe a woman doesn't need any excuse for her physical appearance and owes no explanation. But I wanted to take the opportunity to advocate for self-love and acceptance of the skin you're in." She concluded her post by saying some days she felt "confident and good as hell," and on others she wanted to "put a bag over my head." A representative for Schumer didn't respond to a request for comment from Business Insider. The comedian and actor appeared on the likes of "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon," "Good Morning America," and "The View" this week to promote the second season of her Hulu comedy-drama series, "Life & Beth," which she writes, directs, and stars in. She shared clips of her interviews on her Instagram page, which attracted comments about her appearance. Screenshots and videos also began circulating on X, formerly known as Twitter, where she was mocked and subjected to medical speculation. It's not the first time the "Trainwreck" star has spoken openly about her experience with endometriosis. In September 2021, Schumer underwent surgery to remove her uterus and appendix as a treatment for endometriosis. After the surgery, she said in a follow-up Instagram post that all of her "lifelong pain" had been "explained" and "lifted out of my body," leaving her a "changed person." The procedure meant she would no longer be able to carry a pregnancy. Schumer already said she "could never be pregnant again" after undergoing "really tough" rounds of IVF to welcome her son, Gene David, with her husband, Chris Fischer, in May 2019. Read the original article on Business Insider People gather at the monument to the victims of political repressions following the death of Alexei Navalny in Saint Petersburg People gather at the monument to the victims of political repressions following the death of Alexei Navalny in Saint Petersburg By Guy Faulconbridge and Felix Light MOSCOW/TBILISI (Reuters) - The death of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny deprives President Vladimir Putin's opponents of their most formidable leader and the man who, for some, embodied hope of a better future in Russia. The Russian prison service said Navalny, 47, collapsed and died on Friday after a walk at an Arctic penal colony, a statement his allies and wife could not confirm. Navalny had been by far the most prominent opposition leader since coming to international prominence during street protests in 2011, and some supporters had believed he would eventually walk free and become Russia's leader. His death, if confirmed, leaves the scattered groups that oppose Putin without a figurehead, and no obvious candidate to try to turn any discontent over his demise into mass protests. "This death is about all of us," said Andrei Kolesnikov, senior fellow at the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Centre. "About an indifferent society. About reckless cruelty. About the loss of hope." "Now our supreme commander has no competition - he is now the Solus Rex, the lone king," he said. Prosecutors warned Russians against participating in any mass protests in Moscow. Police watched as some Russians came to lay roses and carnations at a monument to victims of Soviet repression in the shadow of the former KGB headquarters on Moscow's Lubyanka square. At a vigil in the Georgian capital Tbilisi, where many Navalny supporters have found refuge, hundreds of anti-Kremlin emigres picketed the city's closed Russian embassy. Anastasia Panchenko, a former member of Navalny's team in the southern Russian city of Krasnodar, wiped away tears as she spoke of the man she had hoped would become her president. "We all believed he was strong, that hed definitely cope with this (prison), that wed build a wonderful future Russia, that hed be president, that everything would be okay," she said. AN 'ALTERNATIVE' TO PUTIN Though his approval ratings were dwarfed by Putin's, Navalny offered some urban, educated Russians an alternative to the country's veteran paramount leader. Russia's opposition is in disarray as Putin prepares for an election in March which opposition groups call an "anointment" and will keep him in power until at least 2030. Putin faces three other candidates whose job, opposition activists say, is to lose. The authorities have cracked down on what remains of Russia's independent media. Russian officials cast Navalny as a criminal and extremist who was a puppet of the CIA, which they say wants to sow chaos in an attempt to rip Russia apart and steal its vast resources. Opponents of Putin are scattered throughout Europe and the United States. Those still in Russia are either in prison or so scared that they remain mostly silent. "Its very hard to see who else would fill the role of Navalny, controversial though it was," said Keir Giles, a senior consulting fellow of the Russia and Eurasia Programme at Chatham House in London. "He has been treated as a figurehead for the Russian opposition, and meanwhile of course, President Putin and the central Russian authorities have worked very hard to ensure that no similar figure emerges, with either the kind of backing that he had within Russia or the popularity abroad." "So, no, there is no obvious candidate for replacing that central figure as a representative of the Russian opposition," Giles said. PRISON 'DANGEROUS' FOR PUTIN FOES Navalny earned admiration from Russia's disparate opposition for voluntarily returning to Russia in 2021 from Germany, where he had been treated for what Western laboratory tests showed was an attempt to poison him with a nerve agent. The Kremlin denied trying to kill him and said there was no evidence he was poisoned with a nerve agent. "Navalny emerged as a seminal and historical figure, embodying an unyielding anti-Putin political stance and representing the most substantial alternative to Putin's regime since 2000," said Tatiana Stanovaya, of the R.Politik political consultancy. She said Putin feared Western meddling in Russia around the election, and that this would make him take a "more hawkish, more repressive approach to any hostile manifestation." "One by one the state of Russia gets rid of its best people, gets rid of people who can speak the truth for power," said Nina Khrushcheva, professor of international relations at the New School in New York. The opposition ranges from Western-oriented liberals to hardline communists and radical nationalistic or even monarchical supporters of a reborn Russian empire. Some opposition activists are concerned about two of the more prominent Putin opponents - Ilya Yashin, who is serving an 8-1/2 year term for discrediting the armed forces, and Vladimir Kara-Murza, serving a 25-year sentence on a treason charge. Russian nationalist ex-militia commander Igor Girkin, who accuses Putin and the army brass of failure in the war in Ukraine, was convicted by a Moscow court last month of inciting extremism and jailed for four years. "We all already understood that places of detention can be dangerous to life and health," Strelkov's wife said. "Especially for those objectionable to the system." (Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge in Moscow, Felix Light in Tbilisi, Hannah Ellison in London and additional reporting by Reuters bureaux; Editing by Timothy Heritage) The Kremlin has been trying to kill Alexei Navalny for several years but there has probably never been a better time to do it than now. Vladimir Putin has laid the groundwork in domestic society. For more than a decade, he has tightened the noose around his charismatic younger foe, with the operation against him mirroring a broader crackdown on Russian society. At first, there was enough life in the Russian opposition to prevent Navalnys elimination. In the summer of 2013, a Russian court in a provincial town jailed him in his first criminal case but it was forced to release him 24 hours later after thousands of people blocked the streets in central Moscow. Even when the Kremlin was emboldened by its popular annexation of Crimea in 2014, Putin did not jail the pesky protest leader it was clear at the time that the Kremlin would suffer more damage from the move than it was worth. Dissenters have fled or been silenced By 2020, that rationale had shifted. Internal repression had steadily grown. As the public increasingly shied away from direct protest and the long prison sentences that resulted FSB agents poisoned Navalny. They failed to kill him, and hoping that there was still a heartbeat in the anti-Putin movement, he took the decision to return to Moscow. Then, the full-pressure of the Kremlin vice was applied. He was thrown into prison, with spurious sentences piling up on top of each other. Where once he had commanded thousands in the streets, only the foolhardy raised their voices in the face of draconian new laws. Most of Navalnys allies fled to exile or were jailed. In retrospect, these moves appear to be part of Putins years-long preparations for invading Ukraine. By coming down so hard on the political opposition, he ensured there were few people willing to come out and protest against his criminal war, launched on Feb 24, 2022. Almost two years into the war in Ukraine, Russian civil society has been decimated; almost every single prominent anti-Putin political figure and hundreds of thousands of anti-war Russians have fled abroad. The rare critics who have stayed, such as Ilya Yashin and Vladimir Kara-Murza, joined Mr Navalny behind bars. The Kremlin does not have to fear protests in a country where a 72-year-old retired woman was sent to jail for five years last month, simply for an anti-war post on social media. Putin can torture, jail and kill the countrys most popular opposition politician safe in the knowledge that he is untouchable within Russias borders. Outside of them, he does not fear the West. It took several months of the war in Ukraine before sanctions were imposed on Russias energy sector and oil exports in particular. But the Russian economy is nowhere near the point of collapse; the Kremlin can still sell oil and gas on global markets, if not in Europe, and linchpins of the Russian export market such as the diamond trade have not been affected at all. Meanwhile, the death of Mr Navalny comes at a moment when the West is clearly getting tired of having to fund Ukraines military. Putin, for his part, is signalling that he would not mind freezing the frontline where it stands and calling it a victory. If Putin was not being blamed for the death of Mr Navalny, one could foresee US and European politicians following in the footsteps of Tucker Carlson and visiting him for talks in Moscow, sooner or later. Whether Mr Navalny died in an assassination or as a result of the torturous conditions he had been exposed to for three years, his death should put a halt to any such overtures at least for now. This is Mr Navalnys parting blow against the man he fought against for more than a decade. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 3 months with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. The Scene WEST ORANGE, N.J. A few weeks after he entered the race for U.S. Senate, New Jersey Rep. Andy Kim stood in his umpteenth living room house party and gave his umpteenth stump speech. Few in the north Jersey crowd had met the south Jersey Democrat before. Many had been involved in the partys post-2017 suburban surge, when swing seat Republicans faced weekly protests from new resistance groups like Indivisible and NJ 11 for Change. A memento from that year hung on a nearby Christmas tree: A sparkly ornament, reading many snowflakes create a storm. Democrats had done the impossible then, said Kim, and winning the primary to replace Sen. Bob Menendez should be easier. There was a journalist who asked me: Whats it like to be the underdog in a Senate race? Kim told the room. Im like: Im 23 points up in the polls! In what other state is someone whos 23 points up considered to be the underdog? Nowhere else, he said. Kim, the first Democrat to announce his candidacy after Menendezs Oct. 13 indictment, faces no real competition from the senator, who polls in the low single digits and has until March 25 to decide whether hell run again. The June 5 primary is really between Kim and New Jersey First Lady Tammy Murphy, who has never sought office on her own before, but started the race with a bucket of endorsements and a loaded rolodex. Davids view The early consensus on this race was that Murphy would lock it up. In the first fundraising quarter, she outraised Kim $3.2 million to $2.8 million, despite entering the race six weeks after him. She also quickly nabbed the support of nine of the states 21 county Democratic party chairs. That was invaluable, thanks to a peculiar New Jersey institution known as the line in many of the states key counties, candidates endorsed by the party are listed on one ballot line, while unendorsed candidates are shunted off to the side. Academic studies have found that the line gives parties preferred candidates a double-digit advantage. Therefore, if polling showed Kim up by a low-double digit margin, as this months Fairleigh-Dickinson survey did, the margin would be erased. That conventional wisdom has begun to erode, however, with race now looking increasingly up for grabs as Murphy and Kim prepare for their first debate Sunday. Few policy differences separate the two contenders, so Kim has drawn another contrast: An insurgent campaign against a machine. Hes joined less well-known candidates in urging most counties to abandon the ballot line system and hes highlighted reporting on how Murphys team, in vain, pressured state College Democrats not to endorse him. (This is why people lose faith in democracy and our system, he posted on X, linking a New York Times story about the quiet pro-Murphy lobbying.) Ill be honest with you my stock amongst independents and even Republicans in the state is through the roof, Kim said at another house party, in Montclair. Never again will the Republicans ever be able to say Im just some yes man for my party, when Im literally running against the senior senator and the governors wife. That difference has won Kim some national Democratic support. In early January, Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman told Semafor he was endorsing the congressman because Murphy was a nepo candidate. The contrast was also an asset for Kim last weekend when he beat Murphy handily at the Monmouth County Democratic convention, the first open process with a delegate vote. Kim represented about a third of the county in Congress, but Murphy came into the event with high-profile local endorsements, and the result was covered like an upset. I dont think we need any more dynasties, said Alyssa Casazza, who came to one of the Kim house parties to meet the Murphy alternative. She did not, she said, know a heck of a lot about him. But he was not married to the governor. Step Back Kim, a former diplomat who flipped a swing seat in 2018, gained national attention when he cleaned up trash in the Capitol after Jan. 6; Jack Gavin, who came to meet Kim in West Orange, called the moment clean-up on aisle democracy. His agenda largely overlaps with Murphys, who summed up her own plans this way to a local news station last month: I want to work on abortion, I want to work on affordability, I want to work on gun safety, I want to work on climate change; and ultimately, I want to help defend our democracy. Still, Murphys campaign is looking to exploit what policy daylight does exist between the two candidates. Earlier this week, it went after Kim for voting with Republicans on two immigration-related amendments one on a border wall, one on non-citizens getting COVID benefits designed to jam Democrats. Its not the only time that Andy Kim chose to vote with Trump Republicans on immigration matters and other important issues, Rep. Albio Sires, a Murphy endorser, said in a statement. In an interview, Kim said his opponent was grasping at straws to attack a son of immigrants, married to an immigrant who has voted to give a pathway to DACA recipients and Dreamers. Kim also argues that Murphy, who picked up the support of EMILYs List this week, simply hasnt proven herself as a Democrat. The first lady got credit from Democrats for her focus on reducing infant mortality in New Jersey, a cause that took her across the state. But she has been answering questions about many issues for the first time. When those answers got crosswise with the college-educated liberals who have disproportionate sway in party primaries telling New York magazine that she didnt have a position on the Senate filibuster, then coming out against it, for instance it helped Kim. Im not really sure what her positions are, Kim told Semafor. I have five years of a voting record, showing what it is that I believe in including some tough votes in a district Donlad Trump won twice. The only voting record we have for the First Lady is that she said she was a registered Republican until 2014. I dont know what her beliefs are on different issues. I think she has to answer those questions to the people of New Jersey. Murphys response, from spokeswoman Alex Altman, was that Tammy is the progressive candidate in this race, and the only candidate with the strength, resolve, and experience to stand up to extremist Republicans and push for key Democratic values in DC. One X-factor in the race is that the battle for ballot lines is even more complicated than it sounds. Murphy does have the line locked up in some of the counties that produce the largest number of votes in Democratic primaries. The county chairs in Hudson and Essex have already endorsed her, securing the line in populous, racially diverse communities just outside New York City. But in other counties, the chairs dont have that power. In Trentons Mercer County, any candidate who gets 40% at the upcoming convention shares the line. Bergen County, which might make up one-tenth of the total primary vote, endorses via secret ballot. Salem County casts just a few thousand votes in competitive primaries, but it doesnt have a line at all. Fifteen weeks out from the primary, Murphy runs stronger with non-white voters than Kim; Kim runs stronger with white liberals. And he has taken every opportunity to portray himself as the underdog, turning every Murphy endorsement into a question about her tactics and the Trenton machine. Murphy has tried to attack Kim over his high-profile supporters as well, with mixed results. After ex-Rep. Tom Malinowski came out for Kim, Murphy hit Malinowski over his violations of the STOCK Act, which regulates congressional stock trading, noting that Kim did not call on Congress to ban trading stocks until after former Congressman Tom Malinowski was investigated by the House Ethics Committee. That was a sore point for local Democrats who watched the congressman narrowly lose in 2022, and will weigh in on the fight for a ballot line. Shes behind in the polls, Malinowski told NJ Spotlight News. She desperately needs the support of the very people she insulted by going after me in such a personal way. Notable In New York Magazine, Simon van Zuylen-Wood followed Murphy and Kim on the trail, and saw how the battle for the line was affecting the race: Local press coverage of Tammy Murphys candidacy has been jaundiced, and Democrats across the state have been moaning about her undeserved advantages. In Politico, Matt Friedman saw Murphy facing resistance, verging on hostility, from the rank and file of her party, after what had been an immaculate campaign launch last year. After a brief respite of quiet weather, another round of "atmospheric river" storms is forecast to slam into California over the next few days, dumping heavy rain and snow and raising fears of floods and mudslides. "California is facing another multi-day siege of stormy weather for several days starting Saturday, which could result in the potential for flooding rainfall, landslides, heavy mountain snow, strong winds and coastal flooding," said Weather.com meteorologist Linda Lam. The storms come roughly a week after a strong atmospheric river unloaded as much as a foot of rain in the Los Angeles area. This time, northern and central portions of the state could see the worst of the weather from the first storm over the weekend, while southern California, including the Los Angeles area, will see its most significant storminess on Monday from a second, stronger storm. "The wet stretch of weather will lead to travel disruptions across the state in the air and on the ground," warned AccuWeather meteorologist Elizabeth Danco. Vehicles damaged by flooding remain stuck as a powerful long-duration atmospheric river storm, the second in less than a week, impacted Southern California on February 5, near Malibu, California. More storms are on the way for California this weekend and over the next few days. Snow in the Sierra will be measured in feet Snow in the Sierra Nevada will come in two parts: The first of two storm systems moves in Saturday followed by a more significant system Sunday night. Saturday night's snowfall will be measured in inches, but by Sunday start counting in feet, said meteorologist Matt Chyba with the National Weather Service in Reno, Nevada, the office that forecasts weather for the high Sierra. According to Chyba, Saturday's storm should leave about 6 inches in the mountains. But by Sunday night into Monday morning, snow could start falling at a rate of 2 to 3 inches an hour, leaving up to 3 feet in the higher elevations. Anyone planning to travel through some of the region's mountain passes, including Donner Pass, should prepare for the high risk of restrictions and closures as a result of the heavy snow, AccuWeather said. The Sierra snow will be great news for ski areas and also for water resource managers, as it will add to what's been a below-average Sierra snowpack so far this season. Heavy rain in SoCal could trigger flooding At lower elevations in southern California, the fear is primarily about heavy rain and potential flooding from Sunday's storm. "This system has the potential to bring high impact weather and flooding concerns to the area through Tuesday evening," the weather service office in Los Angeles said. According to the weather service, the storm will bring periods of moderate to heavy rain (2-5 inches and 4-8 inches in some mountains and foothills), strong south to southeast winds, along with the potential for flooding, rock slides and mudslides, and possible power outages. By Monday and Tuesday, creeks and rivers could have strong flows, said Ryan Kittell, meteorologist with the weather service, so campers and hikers should avoid them. Big surf is also expected Sunday through Tuesday. An extended storm Sun-Wed will likely bring periods of heavy rain, mountain snow, strong winds, flooding possible power outages. Stay safe: avoid low-lying areas and large waves at the coast and be prepared for disruptions. #CAwx pic.twitter.com/ndl5FyzRCp NWS Los Angeles (@NWSLosAngeles) February 16, 2024 Atmospheric rivers explained Made visible by clouds, atmospheric rivers are ribbons of water vapor that extend thousands of miles from the tropics to the western U.S. At 250 to 375 miles wide, they provide the fuel for massive rain and snowstorms that can cause flooding along the West Coast. In general, atmospheric rivers pick up water vapor from the warm, moist air of tropical regions and then drop the water over land in cooler regions as rain or snow. On average, up to 50% of the annual precipitation on the West Coast occurs in just a few atmospheric river events. More: What is an 'atmospheric river'? These rivers of water vapor can extend thousands of miles. Contributing: The Ventura County Star; Jeffrey Meehan and Siobhan McAndrew, The Reno Gazette Journal This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Atmospheric river' storms forecast to hit California again, NWS says As medical students living and working in Kansas City, we are concerned about House Bill 1708, proposed by state Rep. Adam Schnelting, which seeks to restrict church leaders from banning concealed carry firearms in places of worship. The legislation would also allow firearms on public transportation and would allow 18-year-olds to carry concealed guns. This would aggravate disparities in underprivileged communities, as gun violence increases proportionally with loosened gun restrictions. As two medical students learning within a safety net hospital system, we see firsthand the inequality that politicians turn a blind eye to. On Feb. 2, we all received a school-wide electronic group notification informing us of an active shooter in our emergency department. That morning, both of us felt unique colors of pain, fear, and sadness. While the faculty continued to lecture, we know that several of our peers experienced the same whirlwind of disbelief. Some students chatted frantically in the back of the class, while others gazed with glassy eyes toward the front of the lecture hall. The faculty members were used to this they had worked several years in this city. Sadly, after several minutes, we all seemed to zone back into discussions of cardiac pathologies and lose our previous innocence to the danger of firearms on campus. Our group chat discussion ended with, Im so glad you are OK. Our weekly experiences in outpatient clinics continue this persistent numbness. We saw one patient with signs of cardiogenic shock refuse to go to the emergency room during a clinic visit. When pressed about the issue, the patient said that they did not want to miss the annual remembrance ceremony of their child, who had been shot to death. A shadowing experience through the University Health surgery department continued this trend as we saw patients paralyzed from gunshot wounds to the spine and others unable to breathe without mechanical aid after being shot in the neck. We recognize that injury due to firearms is more than just a crime. Its an American epidemic. Firearm injury is the No. 1 cause of death for American children and teens. In Missouri, 1,351 people die and 2,312 are wounded by guns in an average year, according to the 501(c)(3) nonprofit Everytown for Gun Safety. This makes Missouri the state with the eighth-highest rate of gun violence in the United States. The symptoms of this epidemic are felt constantly in Kansas City. One eyewitness from the Crown Center mass shooting on Jan. 17 is calling Kansas City by a new name: Killer City. Six people were injured as an assailant opened fire in the shopping centers food court. And then, another mass shooting marred what should have been pure joy at Feb. 14s Super Bowl victory rally for the Chiefs at Union Station. When our elected representatives turned a blind eye as those violent events unfolded, our medical staff, our police and our emergency service technicians did not. Students now consider these events commonplace as people throughout Kansas City report active shooters at their apartments, gunshots heard from their rooms, and bodies in backyards. As the trauma follows us inside and outside our clinic, medical practitioners in the city are forced to ask serious questions about our states gun policies. Laws should follow the evidence In medical school, we are taught to question standards of care to maximize evidence-based practices in our decision-making. Research shows that laws improving background checks when purchasing a gun, laws that allow families to petition courts to prevent patients in crisis from purchasing firearms, restricting permitless carrying, and secure gun storage requirements all decrease gun violence. For our lawmakers to oppose bills such as H.B. 1708 would be the beginning of an evidence-based therapy for the gun violence epidemic in Kansas City. Policies like this bill have a direct impact on the problem. For example, a recent article in the American Medical Associations JAMA Network Open found that the 2017 Missouri policy to allow permitless carry increased young adult firearm-related suicides by 21.8%. Another study found that the 2010 repeal of the permit-to-purchase laws increased firearm-related homicide by 23%. How would these statistics continue to worsen with H.B. 1708? Medical students, doctors and the people of Kansas City have the opportunity to address this public health crisis together. We are calling on everyone to stand with our medical vow: to do good and to do no harm. Every resident of our gorgeous city should stand with our neighbors and make our communities safer. Medical trainees know this firearm epidemic will end by one cure alone: if every member of the Missouri General Assembly stood against bills like H.B. 1708 and stood to love their neighbor as themselves. We believe that Kansas City is the city of kindness. We are the concerted effort against the firearm epidemic. By opposing this legislation, you are taking the first step toward a citywide cure. Will you stand with us? Samuel Kim is a first-year medical student at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. He is a founder of an anti-gun violence organization chapter at the School of Medicine. He is an active Christian who believes that peace in Kansas City is achievable only by valuing your neighbor over yourself. He co-authored this with Audrey Yu, a second-year medical student at the University of Missouri School of Medicine. During her medical school journey and time in Kansas City, she found a passion for gun violence advocacy. She continues to strive and advocate for policies against gun violence. Just when Southern California thought it had seen enough rain, another storm is brewing for the region during Presidents Day weekend and with it, the possibility of more flooding and mudslides. Showers are expected to move into western Los Angeles County on Saturday night before drying up Sunday morning, according to National Weather Service forecaster Joe Sirard. Then a second round of rain is forecast to begin Monday afternoon, ramping up during the evening and continuing through Tuesday night. There's also a shot for showers Wednesday night before the weather turns dry for the rest of the week. (Paul Duginski / Los Angeles Times) Los Angeles County is expected to receive 1.5 to 3 inches of rain through the entire weather event, according to Sirard. Mountain areas could get 2 to 4 inches, while in Antelope Valley, rainfall amounts are expected to range between 0.5 and 1 inch. The weather service also issued a flood watch from Sunday night through Wednesday morning for western San Luis Obispo County, central Ventura County, the South Coast, coastal valleys and the mountains of Santa Barbara County. Runoff from the storms could result in flooding rivers, streams, creeks and low-lying, poor-drainage and urban areas. Debris flows and landslides are also possible. The storm is expected to hit the San Francisco Bay Area from late Friday evening through Sunday morning. The North Bay and coastal ranges could get between 1 and 3 inches of rain, while other parts of the Bay Area could get 0.2 to 1 inch. Another system is expected to hit the region Sunday, bringing widespread rain and wind into Tuesday. Early February storms deluged the state in historic rainfall, damaging homes, triggering debris flows and mudslides and killing several people in Northern California. Read more: Record rain saturates SoCal landscape, heightening fears of more landslides The rainfall for downtown Los Angeles for that five-day period topped 9 inches, which is more than 60% of the city's annual total. Because the ground is still drenched from the last storms, Sirard said there's potential for mudslides and debris flows in L.A. County too. And although the rain isn't expected to be intense, there are still chances for flooding in low-lying and urban areas because the precipitation is expected to continue for several days. "Any of those areas that were susceptible to mudslides in the last storm will be more susceptible this time because the ground is already saturated," he said. "The ground won't be able to hold much water so that produces more rapid runoff." Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. Then US President Donald Trump (R) meets with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at the US ambassador's residence during a NATO summit in 2018. Bernd von Jutrczenka/dpa European leaders called on Friday for greater unity in developing the continent's security and defence capacities as former US president Donald Trump's potential return to the White House rattles Washington's EU and NATO allies. Trump's shadow loomed large on the first day of the 60th edition of the Munich Security Conference, an annual gathering in the southern German city of top political and defence officials to debate international security policy. The main topics on the three-day conference's agenda are the ongoing conflicts in the Gaza Strip and Ukraine. Russia was firmly in the spotlight not only for its nearly two-year-old invasion of its neighbour, but also for the reported death in prison of leading opposition figure Alexei Navalny, news of which left participants stunned. But Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee for November's general election in the United States, was often top of mind. EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell summed up the concern, saying the European Union has for decades been "very happy" under the "security umbrella" offered by Washington. "Well, the American umbrella maybe will not be open all the time," he said, urging the EU to become "more autonomous" than it had been used to. Europe was unnerved by Trump's recent comments that Russia should do "whatever the hell they want" to NATO members not meeting their financial commitments. That remark drew sharp rebukes from Trump's likely Democratic opponent, US President Joe Biden, as well as NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and a chorus of capitals across Europe. Memories are fresh of Trump's scepticism toward the trans-Atlantic alliance during his first term in office. He created a furore in 2017 when he called NATO "obsolete," and he frequently charged that the US was paying an unfair share as a member. "In view of the word's situation, we must in Europe invest more in defence," European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in Munich. "We must invest more, we must invest better and we must invest European," she said. Von der Leyen added that the commission will soon publish a defence investment strategy aimed at achieving this. German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said he was eager to meet with US lawmakers at the conference in order to personally reassure them that Berlin was "doing its homework" and committed to shouldering its share of responsibility when it comes to NATO. He emphasized that the trans-Atlantic relationship "is and will remain of great importance in every respect." Comments made by German Finance Minister Christian Lindner suggested how difficult it will be for Europe to find consensus in forming a defence strategy. Lindner said he was against Germany spending more on defence beyond NATO's target of 2% of gross domestic product. "Given the size of the German economy, 2% of defence spending is sufficient. We must decide over the next years, but maintaining 2% is already challenging," Lindner told a panel discussion in Munich. The minister reiterated his desire to see Germany stick to its traditional fiscal discipline, saying the need to make military improvements was no reason for debt-fuelled spending in the EU. He spoke out in favour of a single market in the EU for defence manufacturers and joint procurement, but said that economic growth was ultimately the key to enhancing defence capabilities. It had become "a sport" in Brussels lately to see the answer to every problem in joint EU borrowing, he quipped. In her high-profile speech at the conference in the afternoon, US Vice President Kamala Harris tried to dispel fears that Washington had become an unreliable and disruptive ally. Harris championed the NATO alliance as "central to our approach to global security" and vowed the US would meet its obligations. "Before the president and I took office, some questioned the usefulness of NATO, suggested it was 'obsolete,'" Harris said, referring to Trump. "Some in my country also questioned the value of our commitment to NATO's collective defence and called for the withdrawal of US troops from Germany. "Now, thanks to the leadership of the United States, NATO is stronger, larger, more unified and more effective than ever before." Hours earlier, the conference was kicked off by UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres. He delivered a bleak assessment about the "existential challenges" facing the world, including threats such as climate change, nuclear weapons, and the potential for artificial intelligence run amok. He said the world has struggled "to take effective steps" on any of these potentially humanity-destroying risks. "Today we see countries doing whatever they like, with no accountability," Guterres said, blaming a lack of "strong global institutions." Anya Taylor-Joy has been criticised for a problematic outfit she wore to the Dune 2 premiere on Thursday (15 February). The Queens Gambit actor donned a white floor length gown with a hooded veil reminiscent of a Muslim burka and hijab (headscarf) in the Dior fit. Taylor-Joy confirmed her place in the cast of Denis Villeneuves sequel, starring Timothee Chalamet and Zendaya, as she appeared on the red carpet. However, fans were quick to call out the striking look for its similarities to traditional clothing donned by Muslim women. They will cosplay as muslim women but never speak up for them, said one frustrated user on X/Twitter. Another said her decision to wear the outfit was disgusting, with many describing it as an example of Orientalism. Orientalism is a theory generated by academic Edward Said to denote the racialised imitation or depiction of aspects of the Eastern world, by artists from Western society. The theory suggests that Eastern communities are often fetishised as exotic and mysterious by other communities. X/Twitter users slammed Taylor-Joy for her outfit (Getty Images) One user on X/Twitter said the outfit represented double standards, writing: A white girl wearing it is fashion, a brown or Muslim girl wearing it is oppressed. Another said: So modesty in dressing is only oppressive and backwards when its practiced by Muslim women. Got it. However, others suggested that the look could be derivative of a number of religions and cultures with one person saying: Muslim or catholicism? as some remarked that Taylor-Joys look could be likened to a Catholic nun. There were those who described the hate as misguided, with one social media user arguing that there is know way we can know the inspiration behind the dress. The hate: understandable, but maybe misguided I think actors had to dress a certain way, so hold the hate till its known, they wrote. The Queens Gambit star is seen in a floor-length gown and hooded veil (Getty Images for Warner Bros. Pi) Zendaya was praised for her cyborg-style outfit styled by Law Roach, the Euphoria stars long-time friend and collaborator. The 27-year-old actor wore the vintage Thierry Mugler silver bodysuit from its Fall-Winter 1995 archives. Dune: Part Two stars a number of high-profile actors including Timothee Chalamet, Zendaya, Florence Pugh and Austin Butler. The movie is based in a sandy landscape reminiscent of the middle east and is based on the novels fantasy novels by Frank Herbert. Taylor-Joy had long been rumoured to join the star-studded ensemble and confirmed the news in an interview on studio Warner Bros TikTok account. This is a dream come true, she said. The books are incredible, but with this cast and with Denis, it doesnt get any better than that. Zendaya was praised for a futuristic outfit styled by Law Roach (AFP via Getty Images) The Independent has contacted Taylor-Joys representatives for comment. Dune: Part Two is set to be released in cinemas in the UK on 9 March.